meri

P2e - Threshold of Knowledge

Walking through Nantambu, Vasimiri is pleasantly surprised by their new associates. They’d been expecting nobles who had spent their whole life in academia—what little they had heard of magic schools on the surface suggested it, at least. Yet these other students would be just as out of their element as himself in such an institution. Luckily, Magaambya was no such place. To be directed towards the community rather than crowded into some wizard’s tower was incredibly reassuring. Vasimiri would do anything to obtain the knowledge they needed to, but… well. He’s glad he can find it here. Hopefully. Maybe. Premature judgements aside, they need to actually begin their education.

Taking a deep breath, Vasimiri follows the group towards the canals. Birds are such alien little creatures, flitting across the enormous sky. They wish they could say the same about their song. They could stand it being little less shrill and… and alarmed, thank you. Caught up in the strange animals’ calls, they don’t notice the group is being approached until the dwarf shakes their classmate’s hand. His clattering armor does an admirable job of masking the chirping, actually. She barely catches his name over his overflowing enthusiasm. Haibram. Hmm. It certainly wouldn’t hurt to have a guide. If he knows where he’s going, that is. Absently rubbing their new bracelet, they ache to inspect it, learn its properties, its origin… but it wouldn’t do to be late on their first day. Haibram has already rocketed off to what is presumably the northwest. His energy is charming—they can’t help but smile. Running, though…

Well. It’s not that they’ve never spent time in their human form. They can operate it proficiently enough. Having such bulky limbs—and only half their usual amount, at that—is still strange, but they have to admit having bones is very nice when it comes to combat. Walking is a segmented, two-beat thing, but she can do it. It’s her body, and she inhabits it with a quiet confidence. Usually. What they have not yet mastered is running. A vital skill, frankly. One cannot just skitter about a humanoid city and expect no one to bat an eye. He wouldn’t dream of showing his true form to strangers, anyhow. The spiny hairs on the back of her neck stand up.

Whatever. They know the basic motions, they can deal with being uncomfortable. Clearing his throat, he turns to his fellow students with what is hopefully a serene expression. “If that man can lead us to our destination, I suggest we follow him."

The Breaking of the Seals

Shivering, Puriel pressed a hand to the doorknob. If they could get the knob to a high enough temperature, then the lock should melt through sheer proximity…

He’s not going to open the door, Cherry hissed.

We will obtain the nephilim, they replied hollowly. At this point, it had become more of a prayer than a plan.

Are you fuckin’ stupid? It’s a miracle we aren’t dead already, we gotta go! They could hardly hear the knight’s threats over Cherry’s panic.

Unwilling to acknowledge either human clamoring for their attention, Puriel funneled their focus down their fingertips, steel glowing red-hot. Tunnel vision always was their biggest flaw—with all of their energy concentrated on the body, Cherry’s frantic mind was free to do as it pleased. Which in this case was to ram itself right into a particularly infernal bundle of nerves and ruin Puriel’s day entirely.

Liquid steel splattered across the floor.

Choking on an inhale, the body fizzled into Cherry’s apartment with a hand still outstretched. A moment passed in riotous coughing. Another in catching breath. One more in silence. Brimstone seared their sinuses.

“What,” Puriel gritted, jaw cracking on the vowel, “did you do.”

The demon knew full well what she had done, of course. Teleporting was a difficult business—they needed a tether to a particular location to appear there, making their destinations predictable and finite. In this mortal realm, their host’s home was the only place they were familiar enough with to use as an escape route. This home was also not where they wanted to be right now. They wanted to be on the other side of that shitty restaurant door, pulling that insolent boy’s spine out through his mouth. They wanted to capture the angelborn before the knights could poison her with human lies. They wanted their host to behave for once in her entire life. But desire was a sin, so they strangled their anger and neutralized the analgesics. Cherry gasped in pain. A small penance, but it would have to do for now.

I teleported, Cherry replied, because she wouldn’t know a rhetorical question if it burned her at the stake.

Though their vision was still useless, the space was recognizable enough—cinnamon air freshener and months-old weed was a concoction just sickening enough to be distinct. Puriel fell unceremoniously onto their stomach, shag carpet tickling their nose. Everything hurt.

Swirling the knight’s soul like the dregs of loose tea, Puriel surveyed the body’s injuries. Charred fingertips, metal still stuck to the pads. Probably for the best—they should’ve removed her fingerprints a long time ago. A gunshot wound in the back, just below the bottom rib. Best to leave it in for now to stop her from bleeding out, but it would have to be removed eventually. A few dozen lacerations across the body. Fucking magic. Those would have to heal naturally. They weren’t deep enough to be fatal, but they were painful. And conspicuous. Not to mention the shredded corneas.

They laid there for a number of minutes. Mortal exhaustion was a tedious thing. They would need someone else to operate on the body if they were to heal in a timely manner. It was the practical option, but it was also horribly undignified. Unfortunately, they needed practicality right now. Which meant… ugh. Puriel allowed Cherry to groan into the floor.

A demon would have to help them.

Which meant they would have to invite a demon into their home, and withstand being called a demon by said demon, even though they weren’t a demon, they were an angel, and it was frankly ridiculous that they couldn’t turn to their own kin for this sort of thing, but they had all been brainwashed. So. Indignity it was.

Projecting their thoughts as far as they could across the city, Puriel sought out any demonic minds. I require aid. Payment will be rendered upon completion of service. Report to the source of this message.

P2e - Threshold of Knowledge

@meri Thank you Meri! Apologies for not handing you the talking stick. I've been swamped with work today, but I have the beginnings of the intro post down hopefully to put up tomorrow.

@wanderingwolf

No worries! Life comes first :)

P2e - Threshold of Knowledge

I don't know if it's actually my turn in the initiative lol, but I figure I might as well introduce myself before we get started :)

Hey everyone! I'm Meri, and I've been playing ttrpgs for about ten years. Never experienced Pathfinder, though, so I look forward to giving it a shot! I'll be playing Vasimiri Gau, an Anadi Thaumaturge who's just a chill dude. Don't worry about his backstory. They're fine. They promise. My favorite thing about roleplaying is exploring dynamics between characters—call me cliché, but I love a found family. I tend to prefer writing platonic bonds, but I'd be willing to venture into romantic relationships as well as long as we establish out of character that that's something both parties would be interested in before bringing it into the roleplay. I also adore wordlbuilding! I read wayyy too much about Anadi lore before making my character haha. The only things not covered by the general rules I'd like to avoid mention of is prostitution/exchanging sex for money.

I look forward to playing with you guys!

The Breaking of the Seals

Moved into a new dorm today :)

The Breaking of the Seals

<Snipped quote by BunniesOfDoom>

they'll cease and desist or lose a limb.. maybe a head.

@Varshanka

Yeah... Puriel would run the body into the ground if Cherry weren't there to constantly remind them how fragile humans are lol

The Breaking of the Seals

@sandstorm I loved the bit about casserole in your most recent post! Great characterization.

The Breaking of the Seals

They had thought the pain was blinding, but actually being blinded was a different sensation altogether. Worse, actually. Cherry’s throat was raw at this point. Puriel did not mend it in hopes that it would discourage her from further screaming. Her eyes were jelly in their sockets, warped and welling up with blood. Her eyelids spasmed, desperate to eject the shards, but only succeeded in mashing them further in. Damn, that kid could aim! Scrabbling sightlessly for the door handle, they made to rush after him—only to freeze.

“I see you, demon.”

Shit. Shit. They curled in on themself, hoping their head was beneath the window. Of course the boy ran. What were they thinking? Be not afraid? When had a human ever reacted without fear in the presence of an angel? Their nostrils flared, burning with the smell of silver. Another knight. Fucking fantastic. The soul of the one they had killed clung to them like vinegar—they hadn’t had time to consume it in the heat of battle. Now, though… they shivered, mouth hanging open like a serpent scenting the air. It was easier without vision, somehow—one less sense to block out as they pulled the limp soul beneath their skin. Energy crackled through them, limbs twitching as they threaded his life force through their veins, stemmed their internal bleeding, relished the destruction of his very spirit. Basked in the knowledge that any vestige of him that made it to heaven would know exactly what the rest of him was used for.

Yum, said Cherry, because she really knew how to ruin a moment.

Puriel sighed. Their vision was a mess of color—it would take some time to heal fully, even with the soul acting as an accelerant. Eyes were complicated beasts. One of them spit out a shard of glass like a vending machine might a crumpled bill. “Hail, knight,” they said. Contrary to what their host would have you believe, they did have some manners. “You are not my quarry. Allow me to pass, and you may keep your life.”

No response. This whole diplomatic approach was really not working out for them. No matter. The knight could chase after them if he wanted to, but they would not waste precious energy on attacking him first. Leaping out of the window, they hissed as air tore past their shredded eyes. The nephilim’s trail was almost gone—city buzz hid any noises her rescuer (kidnapper?) was making, and her raucous mind was nearly out of reach. Chase, Puriel commanded, leaving Cherry with the reins as they stretched their consciousness to its limit.

They had to give it to him, the kid could run. Rubber sizzled on the pavement, ripped from squealing tires as they swerved. His sneakers moved with similar fervor, but a far less revolting smell—their soles were a rubber of righteousness. A good samaritan or a knight who was going to get one hell of a promotion after this. Or… another angelborn. But no. Surely Puriel could not be so fortunate. They clutched the girl’s brain as she was carried below the earth, holding on tight. It would have been better to probe the boy’s and confirm their suspicions, but finding his mind beneath the riotous broadcast of her memories would take more time and energy than they had. Attention whore, Cherry scoffed.

Puriel bristled. You will not speak of an angel that way.

The body ran face-first into a building. Then it got shot.

Cursing proficiently, Cherry dug her fingers into the brick. Puriel flooded her with analgesics. Keep going.

I’m trying, asshole! We’re blind, remember?

Puriel shoved her off of the motor controls. God, they really did have to do everything around here. Patting the wall, they were rewarded with a seam in the brick. A door. They shoved it open and ducked beneath another bullet, retracting their bone-appendages and running (it was really more of a fast hobble) towards the stairs. Screams pierced the incessant buzz of car horns and gunshots. Great. Hopefully this was a restaurant or something and not a place of worship. Their day was complicated enough as it was. Stumbling down the stairs, they hit another door at the bottom—but this one would not budge. The body fell to its knees. Fuck. That knight was probably in hot pursuit.

“Let me in,” Puriel yelled.

You are literally the worst at this.

They would have rolled their eyes if the glass weren’t preventing it. Then perhaps you would like to try.

She poked at control of her own brain. Yeah. Move.

They relinquished it reluctantly, not entirely convinced she wasn’t going to break her shoulder throwing it into the door. She did not. Strange what fatigue did to recklessness. Resting her forehead against the cool metal of the door, she projected her voice as best she could. “Hey, man. I’m Cherry. Sorry that my demon is being a bitch. I totally get that you’re scared of me; I would be too.” She coughed wetly. "But like, not to be an ass, we would have just killed you in that car if we wanted to. We don’t.”

She took a deep breath, praying he could hear her. “Look, we just wanna talk to the girl. Honest and for true. If you open the door, I can teleport us all outta here. You can come and everything. Never have to let her outta your sight. I bet she’s doing pretty rough, right? We can heal her, get her away from all the cops and shit. Get you away from all the cops and shit. We can take a breath and talk things out once we're there, okay? I promise. Demons can’t break deals, y’know. I promise we’ll get you out safe.”

Puriel heard footsteps thundering upstairs. Cherry had to stop this incessant rambling. Either this door opened or they were burning it down.

P2e - Threshold of Knowledge

As a side note to all players:

@PatientBean@meri@rush99999@Frog Dog@Cao the Exiled

I was reading about the Pathfinder society (an official group by Paizo, the makers of Pathfinder) that they do Play by Post games officially on their message boards online. They're about to kick off a session and they mentioned timing specifically like this:

<Snipped quote>

I don't know how everyone's schedules align, and just from watching engagement in the interest checker and here in the OOC, it may be too quick for players, but how would you feel about adopting a same or similar approach to ensure the game doesn't drag on?

Options:

1. Storyteller will post once a day. Players will have 24 hours to respond, or the story will move on without their character responding.
2. Storyteller will post at least once every 2 days. Players will have 48 hours to respond.
3. Storyteller will post at least once every 3 days. Players will have 72 hours to respond.

We don't have to go with any of these, by the way. We can do this organically instead, but with some kind of guard rails like these, it might stop the story from grinding to a halt if one person doesn't check RPG.

@wanderingwolf

Option 2 seems like a good balance, keeping the story going while still allowing time for responses :)

P2e - Threshold of Knowledge

4—off to a strong start lol (roleplayerguild.com/rolls/27295)