Fires of a dead Fenix – 2

Following Fires of a dead Fenix – 1.
We have our protagonist, Inquisitor Nfaethius, travelling with Khalea, a survivor of a divine fire in a village called Creya. Nfaethius is investigating the source of fire, and is on his way to Creya, as he finds the Cardinal of the temple of Zayed, out there, dealing with a demon, a beast.
We are using Game Master’s Apprentice cards for this game, and FATE Accelerated with Playing FATE Solo Guidelines

Scene 4: Creya’s Farmlands

[What is going on there? → Grow, Delicious, Beast]
[Is the cardinal summoning or binding a beast? → Yes]
[Is the Lord Protector with him? → No]
[Type of Scene (First Symbol)? → Tower: Fortress, Location]
[What is the Cardinal attempting → Interrupt Hostile Salvation]
[What is the Beast attempting → Refresh Conflict]
[Meaning of Scene (Rune) → Gebo: Exchange, balance, contracts]
[What is the first Sight? → Dried flowers and herbs… (Noun) → Dispute]
[Demon Features → Pride, name: Fazail]

“Do not try to escape, Fazail, demon of Pride. I have you trapped!” Cardinal Tholos is walking around in circles, working on some sort of rituals with herbs that he is throwing around a beast, half-trapped in the ground, in a dimensional black portal.
“Release us, human. If you are not to sign a deal, we have nothing to offer you. No matter the suffering. It is only a matter of time that you lose control of your ritual, and we will be entitled to eat your soul.”

Khalea stays behind the Inquisitor, hesitating and scared. Nfaethius stays cold, approaches the Cardinal and the Demon.

“Ah! Lord Inquisitor, what for a perfect moment, you decide to show up. I am but slightly busy, if you may!”

[Flashy (3) → Critical Failure (-1)]

The Inquisitor begins to incant a few words, in an attempt to control the best, but a fire strike hits in front of him and expels him backwards, flying away until he hits wooden barrels in a barn.

“Haha, your powers are futile here, spirit hunter” – Defies the demon
“Inquisitor, are you alright?” Khalea ran towards him to assist him back up
“Stay put, demon!” Shouts the Cardinal why holding the ritual circle with herbs. His basket running empty.

The Inquisitor’s side will have 3 rounds to collect 3 success token. Succeeding with style gives two tokens. Failing gives none. The difficulties of each attempt will be a random of 1d6+1. Failing will mean the Demon manages to escape. Two minor demons will try to interrupt them.

From the ground, two small demon minions appear, they look…

[Visual → Coif of rusty iron, Smell → Stink of undeath, Element → Fire, How Many → 2]

Angry, the inquisitor stands back up. He drops his travelling robes and grabs some dried out herbs from a pouch, with his right hand, he takes out his sword.

“Khalea, cover me. This demands special demon’s treatment… I need but a moment of concentration”

[Appearance of the Inquisitor’s Ritual → Naudiz: Resistance, Endurance, Trial. Symbol → Blood.]
[Flashy 1d6+1 → Base +2, Stunt “Demon Bind” gives +2, FATE Point on ‘Provoke unease transdimensional spirits’ → Success (5 vs 4): 1 Token]

Khalea thinks of a way of pulling the Undead Fire Warriors away from the Inquisitor, she looks around.

[Is there a Wagon nearby? → Yes]

She runs to the wagon, and hurries up as much as she can to get ready to push the wagon in the direction of the undead spawning.

[Attack: Clever → Base +2, Stunt “Resourceful” +2 → Success with Style! (7 vs Quick(+2): 3). Invokes a boost ‘The path to the Inquisitor is blocked’]

A wagon, fully loaded with construction material and farming tools, is pushed by Khalea who times it perfectly to run over the undead, which get successfully pushed away from the Inquisitor, while he works on the ritual. Khalea draws his bow next. The Cardinal continues to walk in circles around the demon, throwing dried herbs as to help gain time.

[How many of the undead turn to Khalea? → 1d3-1 = 1]

One of the fire undead turn to Khalea, while the other one fell on the side of the Cardinal.

[Undead Fire Warriors roll their Forceful against Khalea and the Cardinal’s Quick. Cardinal is injured]

Cardinal Tholos falls to the ground as he is slashed on his back by the undead fire warrior’s fire sword. The Cardinal turns around on the floor and faces the undead with terror in his eyes. Khalea on the other hand manages to spring backwards and pulls herself behind a trench. Khalea thinks of calling her Puma, but… undead warriors turned fire, there is not much he could do.

The inquisitor is going to continue to focus on his binding ritual, even if the Cardinal is in grave danger.

[Inquisitor retries the same ritual attempt as before, which is a +4 Flashy roll against 1d6+1=7! → Failure. Decides to succeed with a cost (Takes moderate injury, rapid loss of blood). 2 Tokens.]

The Demon Fazail, laughing, while bound by the Cardinal, temporarily. The Inquisitor’s ritual it’s not making effect as fast as expected, so he pushes it by extending the blood amount poured into his pouch. He cuts himself deeper and begins losing of blood rapidly.

Khalea proceeds to improvise bludgeoning arrow-heads, that have a cost in their velocity, but she seeks to achieve a punch effect with her arrows. Her goal is to protect the Inquisitor more than the Cardinal.

[Create advantage, Clever vs 2 → Success! (3). Places Aspect “Hammerhead Arrows”]
[Cardinal is stabbed with a Fire Sword]

The Cardinal screams in pain as life flies away from him. The undead turns into the Inquisitor.

[Inquisitor succeeds with Style the last challenge, gaining two tokens. A total of 4 against the 3 required.]
Khalea opens fire with her hammerhead arrows. Using the aspect invocation, she succeeds with style on her attacks, 4 vs Quick(0) from the undead’s defense. The battle is won, at a heavy cost’s of the Cardinal’s life.

It is too late to save the Cardinal, who died for a good cause.

“Tora-Am-Sadun!” – Holds the inquisitor with a heavy voice. “You are bound to my hands, Spirit. You shall now speak! How did you manage to project yourself into this world. Tell us from the Fire at Creya”
The demon, in fire, twists in anger and desperation. “NO!”
“Then I will banish you from existence, foul spirit. You are of no use to me”

The Demon is giving clues now. He has lost.
[What are they doing here? → Poison Wreckage]
[What is it all about? (First Symbol) → Tower. A fortress, the beginning]

“We are to poison the land with fire, the Fortress of Urya is to raise and have its entrance in this place, chosen by the gods themselves to be our portal to the flesh. It is your punishment, as men, to have done wrong to the Gods!”

Khalea has the aspect “Legends of her Grandfather”, she will test Clever (+2) Spending a Fate Point.
[Clever +2 +2 vs (3) → Success with a Cost]

“Fortress of Urya?. That name rings a bell, Inquisitor. My grandfather mentioned this name once… There are paintings with stories of that fortress in the Mines of Creya. He used to tell them to me. But I don’t know how to get inside, the mines are long abandoned now!”

When Khalea mentiones the Mines of Creya, the demon rages in anger and calls a fire strike on her, the Inquisitor tries to win this race by banishing him before he does so.

[Inquisitor spends a FATE Point on ‘Reading of evil desires’ to get a +2 on Quick, he has 0. Demon has Quick 2. Demon succeeds to attack before he is banished. Flashy +4 vs Khalea’s Quick +3. Khalea evades!]

A Fire Strike from the sky flashes where Khalea is standing, she rolls to her right flank and the strike hits the ground, and moments after it gets dissipated as the Inquisitor completes the ritual, banishing the demon from existence.

To be continued…

Fires of a dead Fenix – 3

JeansenVaars