Long Game 30: Journey Before Destination

[Magestar]

Balthazar stood.  The Chasmfiend had begun to shake even more wildly, and Balthazar felt the need to dig into something more safe.  He cut his way up and out of the stomach.   Gore had quickly engulfed him, but his swords – half-shard Whitespine tusks carved into blades – were strong, and cut it away easily.  He braced himself against the creatures innards as it shook itself. As the creature shook, Balthazar felt his foot hit something hard.  He turned in shock, and what he saw sent him into bouts of hard, disbelieving laughter.  He reached down, and felt the creature slam into the ground.  He braced himself, and pulled.  He felt the Chasmfiend begin to move, and his mind reoriented itself as he felt the fiend – no it was impossible – execute a roll?  But he held on, and succeeded in ripping out the GemHeart.  He grinned, a terrible thing.  He hadn't felt this good in, oh, in ages, not since he had last slain a whitespine. He began to work his way out of the stomach, cackling.   Tides of bile flowed past him, knocking one of his swords out of his hands, but it propelled him outwards.   He could feel the things inner teeth lacerating him, but it didn't matter now.  With a triumphant exclamation, he forced his way out of the Chasmfiend's mouth.  He roared in exultation, holding the GemHeart aloft.  And then he collapsed, unable to keep himself up.  But he kept laughing.   What days these were!  What days.

[Alvron]

4 hours ago, Doc12 said:

Second question. What are we to do with Arin?

@Alvron @Arraenae, @DroughtBringer, @TheMightyLopen, @A Joe in the Bush, @randuir, @TheSilverDragon. You were the people that voted for Arin's lynch. Now I wish to put this question to you. What exactly do you want with him now? Those of you with reasons, are they strong enough to call for his execution? Some of you were bandwagoning. what do you want to do with him, now that he's in jail? If we leave him alone, do you think the Unjust would pick him off like they did Sheep if he's innocent?

But I would much rather we try to find a target which we can actually debate on and take stands on, so I guess we're dropping Quiver this round? I am still a little suspicious of how the lynch on Arin formed up so quickly and overtook the lynch on Quiver. If Arin turns out to be innocent, it might be worth taking another look at Quiver. 

Anyways, my vote. I had previously stated suspicions of Ecth and Jon, but their posts have convinced me to lay off them for a bit. Technically, Ecth never really answered the question I first asked him, about why he thought Jondesu was being more helpful than Lopen, but that's probably me being pedantic. I guess I'll be putting my vote on Alvron, then, seeing as he's my only lead from last cycle. Yes, you've given your reasons, and I'll most likely change it before the cycle is over, but still. I'm watching you. 

Oh, and concerning the bonds... I have been investing all my honor towards on spren for two cycles now, and I haven't got it. Either the particular order is expensive, or someone has it.  

Personally, I'm against killing Ari.  We don't need to kill anyone.  Only the Unjust need to kill and they have to kill everyone.  We on the other hand just need to jail the Unjust.  Sure, we get information from their deaths but killing those in jail feels like we're doing the Unjusts work for them.


I too would like more discussion rather than going after Inactives.  I voted for Ari because I was suspicious of him and to get some discussion going.  However, as you pointed out, a bandwagon did form on him fairly fast.  But seeing as they don't die when jailed, I'm not sure if it means anything.  I'm also back to square one for suspicions.  

Watch me all you want but know that I am watching you right back.


You should've been told if another player has already bonded the Spren you're after.

[Hemalurgic Headshot]

Ouch. Ouch. Ouch...

Stormlight had healed the gaping hole in his gut, but for some reason, he winced each time he touched his abdomen. Why? Sareth shook his head. He wasn't a doctor, this wasn't something he would know. It is best not to think of the wound. He thought back to just barely an hour ago. They had done it! The chasmfiend had been defeated, and no one was killed! Not even Balthazar, who went inside the beast. And he was rewarded for his recklessness, with a glittering gemheart. The Initiates gathered around, smiling and cheering over their victory. Gloryspren danced around. All was merry... until...

Boom

Thunder rumbled over the Shattered Plains. Everyone turned and looked to the sky, eyes widening with fear, and then someone said the dreaded word:

"Voidbringers!"

Utter chaos ensued. Initiates scrambled to their feet, weapons drawn. Captain Kaladin shouted orders to his Squires, pointing positions and getting very angry. In his hand a silvery spear manifested, and he shot into the sky to face the Voidbringers. The tall Squire, Rock, ran forward, and the Initiates raced after him. Fifth scooped up Rea into his arms and ran after them. Lightning shot down from the sky, crimson bolts of death, striking stone. The other Squires took positions behind the group. They yelled at Sareth, who had been slow to get up.

"Get moving! We want everyone to get out alive!"

Sareth grabbed his staff and sprinted after Fifth and Rea. The Voidbringers were screaming as they fought, a terrible piercing cacophony that shook fear into every man's heart. Sareth saw their red eyes. They were filled with rage and hate, a mask of power and energy hiding something beneath. What was it, their souls? He heard that the Voidbringers were parshmen once, harmless. Was the hate in those eyes for themselves? A bolt struck the ground near him, sending a shock wave that almost made him trip. Unfortunately, he wouldn't have any time to sit down with a Voidbringer and talk about their problems and convert them to the Truth. He smiled sarcastically at the thought. Converting Voidbringers? Quite the religious zeal you've got there, Sareth.

They began to jump down among them, flinging themselves from the cliffs and landing, feet-first, on the ground, seemingly unharmed. They grinned maliciously and swung their swords. Some struck flesh, others missed. Kintas stabbed one through with his own blade. As one advanced on Fifth, Sareth swung his staff around and caught it in the back of its neck, enhancing the blow with stormlight. The Voidbringer lurched forward and crumpled, but struggled to its knees. Sareth beat it down with another swing to the head. The Voidbringer collapsed. There will be no touching Fifth and Rea, Sareth thought, and ran along with them.

Must get to the Oathgate.

[Arrae]

Arionium (Arinian). As I said before, he did some fishy stuff. First he specifically said that there were four elims. Then he asked those questions, supposedly to pad out his posts.

Um, uh, what questions?

Well, I don't remember, but someone out there does. Anyways, Aronium has felt wrong since the party. Weren't people gonna interrogate him then?

Um... yes?

Yeah, what happened to that? Feels like we just jumped on Ashetvl (Sheep) instead.

[DrakeMarshall]

2 hours ago, Arraenae said:

Teresh (Drake), that thing about calling out our bluffs would be a lot more dramatic had you waited a few more hours to say that. We're being chased by storming Voidbringers! At least wait for us to get somewhere clear before lobbing around accusations, yeah?

 

Rollover is at midnight for me. Now, I don't know about you, but I try to go to sleep by 10:45 PM. Then I also have school. I got up at 6:40 AM today and had fifteen minutes to read through Aman's writeup while eating breakfast. School starts at 7:30 for me. I cannot use the phone in first period unless I want it taken away from me. It's not even my phone, so if I have to go to the office to pick it up after confiscation, bad things will happen. After that class, I have another one with intermittent, unpredictable computer use. Sometimes I can check SE, and sometimes I can't. It depends on what I'm supposed to be doing. Then I have a 15 minute recess where I can choose to check SE. I say "choose" because I don't always want to spend my 15 minute break on SE and SE alone. Sometimes I buy food. Sometimes I get outside and socialize. If I choose to check SE, I can either use a school laptop, if it's available, or a phone, if it's available. The laptop is connected to very poor internet. The phone is a pain to type on. Then there's a class with more frequent computer access, and afterwards I have lunch. Again, for lunch, I can choose to check SE. I can also choose to eat and socialize. Sometimes I don't have a phone to check SE with.

At the time you made that post, I effectively had 15 minutes total (maybe less) to check SE. I spent a lot of that time reading Aman's writeup. Would you like it if 15 minutes after rollover, someone said that you were being suspiciously silent?

I have a life outside of SE, and sometimes I haven't posted anything 10 or 11 hours after rollover. That doesn't mean that I've pulled an all-nighter, skipped school, and was in front of a computer the entire 10 or 11 hours between rollover and now. Please try to consider the schedule of players before calling them out for supposedly being silent.

 

I spent a lot of time typing that up. Now the teachers want me off of this laptop. I will respond to what you said. I just can't do it right this very moment.

While you lodge a completely valid counter-argument about my remark about your activity...

You should probably understand that the meat of my reasoning had absolutely nothing to do with your activity, or a lack thereof. Obviously people have RL things sometimes. I'm not demanding immediate response time.

 

My main reason for voting to execute Arinian is that I think we should go through with this lynch, despite (and perhaps especially because of) its questionable origins.

I say I am calling y'alls bluff because I didn't particularly support the Arinian lynch, but I'm nevertheless the first one calling for his execution. This was most certainly not addressed specifically at you, or your lack of response. I was simply noting that nobody had yet expressed a desire to go through with the lynch, and I intended to change that.

It would indeed be unreasonable if I voted to execute Arinian simply because you did not reply soon enough. That really was not why I voted how I did however. I apologize if this was previously unclear.

 

As for my vote on you... My main reason for voting to interrogate you is that I found your vote on Arinian suspicious last cycle. You may take all the time you like to respond to that vote; the cycle is plenty long.

 

35 minutes ago, Alvron said:

Personally, I'm against killing Ari.  We don't need to kill anyone.  Only the Unjust need to kill and they have to kill everyone.  We on the other hand just need to jail the Unjust.  Sure, we get information from their deaths but killing those in jail feels like we're doing the Unjusts work for them.


I too would like more discussion rather than going after Inactives.  I voted for Ari because I was suspicious of him and to get some discussion going.  However, as you pointed out, a bandwagon did form on him fairly fast.  But seeing as they don't die when jailed, I'm not sure if it means anything.  I'm also back to square one for suspicions.

Well... This was what I was concerned about. I don't like the town thinking of their lynch as not real, just because it takes two votes instead of one.

I suppose I see your point in holding off on executing Arinian... But I also believe that an interrogation vote at least needs to contain a reasonable expectation for an execution. If the town refuses to ever kill people, it'll be pretty hard to ever move past gut reads for the basis of our voting. Sure we can win without ever using the execution... But that will mean our voting will be all but random. It sorta turns the game into a giant coin toss.

If you want to wait until the elims start killing people for the town to make their first execution... I can respect that. But when I'm hearing arguments that go along the lines of "I'm not sure if the lynch means anything"... Well perhaps you understand why I am voting to execute Arinian.

[TheMightyLopen]

I'm definitely in favor of executing Arinian. Because otherwise I feel like the lynch on him would be largely wasted. I know our goal is just to imprison or kill all of the Unjust, but we have to get information from somewhere in order to catch all of the Unjust. Do we want to have more lynches like the last one where everyone is complaining about accusations being really weak? Because that's pretty much the only type of accusations we can scrounge up unless we get the lynched players alignment. Like I said from the very beginning of the game and still hold to, when I vote on someone, it's to imprison them and execute them, unless we somehow get solid evidence that the player we jailed is innocent.

Next point, Sheep's death. I'm not sure what this is about. Even the fact that it's only a 1 man job doesn't seem worth it to me. Right now, I'm thinking they're investigating as many players as possible, while also having one or two of them try for a spren, so they're not killing just yet. But I guess we'll have to wait and see. There's not really much point to guessing.

On to the next lynch. I've no idea right now. I'm still a little suspicious of Jondesu, but that might just be me tunneling on the only other suspicion I had besides Arinian. I need to go over the previous lynch and see if I can catch anything odd. I may actually go over every player and give my feelings on them, as that sometimes helps me clear my thoughts as well as give you all some insight for what I'm thinking.

[Arrae]

@Amanuensis, do the Unjust have to investigate someone if they've been interrogated?

[Amanuensis]

Just now, Arraenae said:

@Amanuensis, do the Unjust have to investigate someone if they've been interrogated?

No.

[DrakeMarshall]

So Arinian told Doc told me that while in jail Arinian can't open up new PMs, only talk on existing ones.

Point is, if you want to have a reasonably trustworthy communication with everyone else while imprisoned... I highly recommend that you maintain at least 2 PMs with free players at all times. That way nobody will be stuck unable to communicate with everyone else if they get jailed.

I'll try to do some RP... Probably tomorrow. My available time and what part of the game I choose to focus on both vary significantly (which is why I'm loving these 3 day long cycles).

[Jondesu]

4 hours ago, TheMightyLopen said:

 

I'm definitely in favor of executing Arinian. Because otherwise I feel like the lynch on him would be largely wasted. I know our goal is just to imprison or kill all of the Unjust, but we have to get information from somewhere in order to catch all of the Unjust. Do we want to have more lynches like the last one where everyone is complaining about accusations being really weak? Because that's pretty much the only type of accusations we can scrounge up unless we get the lynched players alignment. Like I said from the very beginning of the game and still hold to, when I vote on someone, it's to imprison them and execute them, unless we somehow get solid evidence that the player we jailed is innocent.

 

Gotta say, I didn't vote for Arinian and didn't feel the reasoning was that convincing, but there were enough people that voted on him that going ahead and executing him should give us some very workable information.  Probably more so, actually, since we get to compare who voted to imprison him, and then who voted to execute.  So yeah, unless I'm convinced otherwise, Arinian.  I guess it's possible that the Elims would take him out anyways since they did kill Sheep and it's an easier kill to get someone who's imprisoned already, but I wouldn't want to assume they will, and if he is an Elim, they definitely won't kill him.

[Arrae]

Ralaanar froze at the appearance of the Voidbringers. They were bigger than he'd thought they would be, half-humanoid, half-monster. Scarlet lightning crackled between their hands, matching their bright red eyes.

"Ralaani, you have to run!" someone said. Rissa. Ralaanar remained locked in place. He watched in horror as red lightning shot out at Kintas.

"Storms, you have to move, Ralaanar!" Rissa screamed. The green spren tugged at Ralaanar's arm, which had no effect. His fear had paralyzed him.

---

If someone wants to grab Ralaanar and make him move, that would be much appreciated.

[Ecthelion III]

General note: For the sake of continuity, I like to include excerpts from other players' RP to ensure a consistent storyline flow. These will be colored in light brown/gold.

Let us move onto the Mental Internal powers, the first of which is Thought. Mental Connections are usually the easiest to forge, and knowing the thoughts of another can be a powerful psychological tool and weapon. The more—shall I say Spartan—of you may tend to brush aside the Mental powers, but do not underestimate their usefulness in social as well as combat situations.

@TheSilverDragon

"Voidbringers!"

Utter chaos ensued. Initiates scrambled to their feet, weapons drawn. Captain Kaladin shouted orders to his Squires, pointing positions and getting very angry. In his hand a silvery spear manifested, and he shot into the sky to face the Voidbringers. The tall Squire, Rock, ran forward, and the Initiates raced after him. Fifth scooped up Rea into his arms and ran after them. With another flash of light, he had collapsed his staff down into a silver coin, returning it to his pouch. He now ran as fast as he could toward the path to the Oathgate, with Rea in both arms and Sareth & Kintas not far behind.

The Voidbringers began to jump down among them, flinging themselves from the cliffs and landing, feet-first, on the ground, seemingly unharmed. They grinned maliciously and swung their swords. Fifth slid to an abrupt halt. The Voidbringers were mere feet in front of him, and he was holding a child! Losing no time, he slung Rea over his shoulder, then reached into his pouch and instinctively reached for another silver coin, this one engraven with a different symbol. He threw it directly out in front of him and, in a brilliant flash which blinded his enemy, it transformed into a large silver shield.

Man, I love these things!

He held the shield out in front, just in time to block a stab from a Voidbringer. He countered with a thrust from the shield, which knocked the enemy backwards but otherwise did little. Two more Voidbringers appeared on either side of him. I can't hold them off forever, but I can't afford to fall here, not with another's life on the line!

Suddenly, Sareth was there, his staff a whirlwind of motion as he smashed aside multiple Parshendi. With the enhancing effects of the stormlight, he moved like a tornado, smacking the demons to the ground with several hits.

Fifth turned to the remaining one, knocking away its attacks--one, two--and with it off balance, he charged it, slamming his shield and body weight into the Voidbringer, crumpling it to the ground. It attempted to rise up again, but another blow from the shield knocked it out--or at least stunned it. No longer in imminent danger, he strapped the shield to his back and cradled Rea back in his arms, running at full speed once again toward the gate.

(An escort mission, I see. This I can do.)

[A Joe in the Bush]

Voidbringers.

Gone was Jonly's former uncertainty. The greatshell had not been a life or death situation. This was. Now he had no choice, but to utilize everything he had. Bloodlight and Feruchemy both. He tapped Steel and Zinc, and time began to slow around him. He tapped just s touch of pewter to give him a burst of strength, enough to take a step and leap, nearly 50 ft away from the Greatshell and towards the Voidbringers. He began to store weight, and leapt again, this time with more pewter and steel. At his decreased weight, he rocketed forward, above the first ranks of the Voidbringers. He tapped Iron and even more pewter. filling out his muscle mass and increasing his weight thirtyfold.

The Voidbringer he landed on was crushed flat like a beetle. He stopped tapping weight, and turned in time to take a bolt of lightning to the face.

His vision cut out, and his nose filled with ozone. He hissed through his burning lips, and sucked in Bloodlight. It flowed through him, healing his eyes and face. As soon as he could see again, he stood. "Right, that was stupid of me." The Voidbringers were still charging the fleeing initiates, Only a few other Initiates were charging back. And one was staying put, doing nothing. The girl he had been talking to earlier. He had made her a offer, and he intended for her to live to accept it.

He tapped more speed, dodging away from another lighting bolt, and headed back, passing Fifth, Uther and Sareth. Once he reached Ralaani (or was it Ralaanar? Rusting Spren called the girl a different name then she did.) He stopped tapping speed, tapped strength, and scooped her up without protest. "Right, let's get back to the others Ralaa." @Arraenae

[TheSilverDragon]

Rea started blankly at the ground in front of him, rough wooden boards underneath his knees. A single torch lay on the ground; it's flickering light reflecting in a dark pool around the child's feet. The small form stared at its hands, one clenched in a fist around the handle of a knife, looking at the green eyes that stared back at it in horror. What have I done? Was the only thought that pounded in the shocked scull. The torch flickered out, and the room was plunged into darkness.

 

Rea wearily blinked his eyes open. W-were am I? He wondered as the landscape before him slowly sharpened into focus. What happened? He wondered as his vision cleared to show him an unfamiliar face. "Whaaaa," came the scream, slightly higher then intended, as he began to flail his arms in panic. 

@Ecthelion III

---

Well, Rea is going to be really sad that Ashetvl died, but I'll get to that later. I'll admit that I bandwagoned a bit, though in my defense I only had about 30 mineuts to read the thread. As for killing Arinian, I'd say we keep him in prision, maby letting the unjust kill him for us? we can always kill him afterwards if they don't. It would be intersting to see if they contiune killing those we imprision for the easy kill, or go after someone they think is improtatnt. If they do that, then we would know that whom ever they killed had some bond or information that was improtant enough to kill for, so we could gleen info that way. 

[Ecthelion III]

The power of Thought is accompanied by that of Emotion. Neither is highly effective without the other, as context is paramount when reading the book of the mind. As this is an Internal power, it cannot affect the emotions of others, only read them.

Fifth felt Rea stir in his arms. As the boy cried out, Fifth tried his best to calm him, though the task was somewhat difficult as he was running at top speed. "Hush, child. Everything is going to be just fine."

An arrow whizzed by Rea's head, missing it by centimeters. "Well, maybe slightly less than fine, but..."

What am I supposed to tell the boy? "We're surrounded by Voidbringers and about to die!?"

He decided that in this case, honesty was not the best policy. "Just another one of the Captain's, er, training exercises. Nothing serious, I just have to carry you through this--er, war zone..." Storms, I'm bad at this.

Fifth dodged to the side as a pile of rock came crashing down from the top of the chasm wall, kicking up stones and covering them in dust. "Just hang in there, all right? If anything wants to get to you, they have to get through me first." He flashed a grin and spun around to block a flying spear. "And I'm not going to let anything get through me first."

[TheMightyLopen]

Well, I had hardly any time to analyze or anything today, so no big post from me right now.  Maybe tomorrow, but no promises.

I will vote though. I'm not sure what it is, but I've been getting a really strange read on Doc for a while. I like that he's posting a lot, but something just feels off, like he's trying too hard to be helpful. Maybe it's just me though.

[Doc12]

Hithon did not understand.

They had won, had they not? The fiend was dead. And he had helped to bring it down. Stormlight had been freely given, and bruises and wounds and life-threatening injuries alike healed. Food had been passed around. There were beginnings of laughter, and he had had to fight down the sudden surge of camaderie he had felt. 

Then there had been the arrest. An ugly affair, but before he had time to process it, he had smelt the ozone in the air and heard the chanting. 

"Voidbringers!!" The shout had come, and suddenly he was in the centre of a storm. Everyone around him was up and moving and shouting. Hithon managed to get to his feet, head jerking around trying to find the calm amidst the panic.

Captain Kaladin was shouting at them, he could barely pick out the words. But he understood enough to mean that they had to go, and fast. Growling, Hithon pulled a sheathed dagger into his hand, ready to draw it at a moment's notice, and began running. 

He hated being taken by surprise. In his job, it would be him holding the element of surprise. And with him blind and forced on the run, he knew with absolute certainty that he would be of no help here.

He could only run.

---

6 hours ago, TheMightyLopen said:

Well, I had hardly any time to analyze or anything today, so no big post from me right now.  Maybe tomorrow, but no promises.

I will vote though. I'm not sure what it is, but I've been getting a really strange read on Doc for a while. I like that he's posting a lot, but something just feels off, like he's trying too hard to be helpful. Maybe it's just me though.

 

Heh. Well. Yes, Lopen, I am trying hard to be helpful. If you've noticed, I have been making it a point to post every single night for this game, a promise I made to myself for my activity. Is that what you mean by trying too hard to be helpful? Seeing as I was only able to post once a day, I try to collect everything that happened in the morning and comment on each of them, as not to miss anything. I am actually liking this system very much, and honestly I feel that I've been doing very well in this game in terms of developing my analysis and arguments as compared to previous game. So...yeah? I'm not sure what to say when being accused of being too helpful  

Anyway, update on Arin. Arin cannot create PMs while he's in jail. Seeing as how I was the only one to have made a PM with him on cycle 1, he's been talking through me. Of course, we've found that just because he can't PM us doesn't mean we can't PM him, so if you want to talk to Arin, feel free. 

What's he's basically been saying is that he still suspects Alv, and he has trouble reading Rae, but think she looks suspicious for now. He had no defense for himself, saying that he's already said all that needs to be said in the last cycle and repeating it isn't going to make the situation any better. He's also really confused as to why the Unjust killed Sheep, and thinks that they are all investigating or trying to bond spren. 

This cycle has been quiet, guys. Try to get some more talk going, yeah?

[Arrae]

Ralaanar was scooped up by Jonly and carried away from the Voidbringers. Ralaanar let out a sigh of relief. That... that had been too close.

Ralaanar mumbled out thanks, but Jonly cut him off. "Right, let's get back to the others, Ralaa."

Ralaa? Did Jonly know?

"I, um, I can run from here," Ralaanar said. He squirmed out of Jonly's grasp.

[DeTess]

Ranatar tried to keep an eye on everything and everyone at once. Before and around him, the other initiates fled. Most had been quick on their feet the moment the shout of alarm came, and those that hadn’t been had been dragged and carried off by their fellow initiates.

Voidbringers swarmed on the plateaus behind them, tossing lightning down. Some had jumped down, but they’d been quickly dispatched by Kaladin’s squires and the initiates. Most of the voidbringers seemed focused on the windrunner,  but mote than enough of them had given chase.

While he looked back at the voidbringers chasing them, he caught a flash of movement from the corner of his eye. Several Parshendi had jumped across a chasm branching off from the one they’d been following and where now racing to get ahead of them. Several moments later they jumped down from their plateau, in the path of the fleeing Initiates. Rather than attacking them head on though they raced ahead. The reason quickly became clear to Ranatar. The entrance to the spire was only just broad enough to allow two men too  pass each other. The four parshendi now racing ahead would be able to hold it long enough for their fellow voidbringers to catch up and decimate the group.

"Voidbringers ahead, don't let them beat us to the spire!" Ranatar shouted before sprinting after them.

So, anyone willing to help me run down some voidbringers?

I'll have some discussion about the current suspects and the arinian execution up in a bit.

 

 

Edited February 15, 2017 by randuir

[Jondesu]

Kintas heard Ranatar's shout about Voidbringers racing ahead, but he didn't have a weapon anymore.  As he ran, though, he spotted a spear sticking out of an Alethi corpse on the floor of the chasm.  He yanked it out as he darted past, feeling it's weight as he spun it.  He hadn't trained with the spear at all, but it was basically just a staff with a pointy end, and he knew how to use one of those well enough.  He'd back out of the way if more experienced fighters reached them, but he could help if he was one of the first to arrive.

The Voidbringers Ranatar had pointed out became visible for a moment at the top of the chasm, and Kintas saw they would likely reach the Spire first, but they would have to reach the ground to block the entrance.  There were still some soldiers at the top, so they likely wouldn't try to block that end, and would instead jump down into the chasm to cut off the Initiates.  He sucked in more Stormlight than he'd held so far, his skin glowing and mist streaming from it as the Stormlight became too much to hold at once, and then he ran.

He'd used a Returned body for a long time, and had gotten used to having more stamina and physical strength than most men, never truly becoming tired, but this was unlike anything he'd ever experienced.  Instead of just not getting tired, he felt pushed to move faster and to keep running.  He quickly outstripped many of the non-combatants he'd previously been running behind, and found himself reaching the bottom of the Spire as the Parshendi leapt off.  Once they were airborne, they couldn't change their direction or pick a better landing spot, so Kintas had just a moment of the advantage, and he took it.  He spotted where one of them would land, and vaulted over a rock to reach the landing point.

Then he just planted the spear in the ground.

It was a little like a game he'd played, throwing colored rings onto a post, only this time the spear was the post, and the Voidbringer's body was the ring.  It didn't have a hole for the spear to go through already, of course, but in a moment there was a perfectly spear-shaped hole right through it, from abdomen to neck.  Kintas flung the spear to the side, not bothering to try and remove it from the corpse, and flung himself behind a boulder as a bolt of lightning seared through the air near him.  One down, three to go.

@randuir, there's some help. :-)

[DeTess]

Kintas had overtaken Ranatar about halfway towards the group of Voidbringers. He was running like he was trying to outrun a Highstorm. He’d probably have managed it too. Kintas quickly got ahead of him and managed to reach the point the Parshendi would sue to drop into the Canyon before they did. He braced his spear against the ground and manage to gut one of the Voidbringers, using its own speed and momentum against it. The three remaining turned to him with shrieks of rage, and he managed to duck behind a boulder in the nick of time.

This left an opening for Ranatar, as the three Voidbringers where facing away from him and where focused on Kintas. Ranatar switched his spear to his left hand and drew his sword. He stabbed through the spine of the middle of the three Parshendi, then cut sideways, nicking the arm of the beast to the right of his initial target.

The two remaining voidbringers switched their attention to him, but Ranatar quickly ducked between them and dived behind the same boulder Kintas had taken refugee behind. One bolt of crimson lightning seared his shoulder, but Stormlight suppressed the pain from the wound and closed it rapidly. Ranatar breathed in to replenish his supply of Stormlight, but the waning storm inside of him was only strengthened by a small amount. A quick glance at the pouches containing his spheres showed that none of them glowed anymore.

'We'll have to be quick then, before I run entirely out of Stormlight'. A quick glance sideways showed that Kintas was fine, but unarmed, so Ranatar handed his spear over to him. "Two more to go. Let's clear the way for the rest of the initiates."

Yeah, @Jondesu, that'll do

[Hemalurgic Headshot]

Ranatar and Kintas had run ahead, laying waste to Voidbringers where ever they turned. In a more peaceful position, Sareth might have wondered how a band of soldiers as inexperienced as them- some were not even soldiers- could have killed so many Voidbringers already, and not have been obliterated in the process. However, this was not a peaceful position, and Sareth was simply grateful that he had not been fried yet. The rain was beginning to pick up. This was a strange storm; there was no stormwall. Instead, the rain increased like a crescendo, gradually growing in strength until they came down with the force of stones. Water poured over the edge of the chasm and made wide puddles on the ground. Red lightning flashed, casting menacing shadows. They grew nearer and nearer to their goal, the Oathgate, but the Voidbringers became more ferocious. Their screams of fury echoed off the chasm walls, the rending sound filling everyone's ears.

Sareth batted one away with his staff. It snarled and pounced, but he gave it a hard jab in the throat section. It made a choking noise and backed off, clutching its neck and eventually collapsing. He didn't see if it got up. As he turned back towards the others, his ears caught a new noise: a low rumble, a faint rushing, like a hidden river. His eyes widened. A river... oh Truth have mercy... He broke into a sprint and yelled to the other Initiates.

"Run, for all you have! RUN!"

---

@Amanuensis, is that okay? Am I allowed to include a flash flood, or is that too significant that it would derail the normal plot you have planned? I can change it if necessary.

[Amanuensis]

23 minutes ago, Hemalurgic_Headshot said:

@Amanuensis, is that okay? Am I allowed to include a flash flood, or is that too significant that it would derail the normal plot you have planned? I can change it if necessary.

 

Yes, of course that's okay! I have the overall narrative planned, but not the fine details - those are for you, the players, to fill in. I'm happy to see you take the danger up another notch. Braize, I encourage it. 

Edited February 16, 2017 by Amanuensis

[Hemalurgic Headshot]

4 minutes ago, Amanuensis said:

Yes, of course that's okay! I have the overall narrative planned, but not the fine details - those are for you, the players, to fill in. I'm happy to see you take the danger up another notch. Braize, I encourage it. 

If that's okay, then let's have some fun. Initiates, brace yourselves for the flood!

[Jondesu]

I have a plan to help at least a few people that can't make it to the Spire if needed, but I'll wait to see what others do. Kintas has a spear again, but remember, he's not that skilled, he just got lucky. He's not going to be able to go head to head with the Voidbringers.