The Twin Cages

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mimifearthegn
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Posted by mimifearthegn »


Over a month ago, the first portal was found. . . a doorway to another version of Sigil. The Harmonium sealed it off. Maybe it was an anomaly? Was it the Blinks, returned early? No one knew.

But on the 4th Clerk of Tithing, 136Ha, the "other Sigil" made their intentions clear. Twelve jammers came through the Wayfarer's Arch, intent on destroying key buildings in the Cage. The Lady stopped them, their crews were flayed, with the exception of one. . .

But what would the other side do next?


//This is a thread for people to post their actions / rp around the current campaign.

//other relevant threads (for posterity, no need to add to them)
Eyewitness Report: Strange Portals
Strange Portals: Seeking an Audience
The Stranger Sigil!
Strange Portals: A Courthouse Inquiry
A Sensory Stone: The Darker Cage
Investigating the Survivors
Romance of Two Sigils
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Mymothersmeatloaf
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Posted by Mymothersmeatloaf »


Lyra had thumbed over the documents she had procured from the helm of one of the spelljammer's the interlopers flew.

She was looking for anything of importance... Where they were going, what they were planning, who they were following.. Anything she could scrounge up from the documents she did so.

Lyra had a mind to report her findings to faction leaders, but first she wanted to see the sensitive information for herself, to make sure it couldn't be buried by the harmonium possibly later.
silinrul357
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Posted by silinrul357 »


"I'll be there, if you or Reina need me. Just be sure to let her know too. I don't know if this is over."

Those was the the last words she said to Katani before the small masked drow walked back through. She'd been to this darker, more foreboding cage before. She had a pretty good idea what to expect on the short visits, the ones where she simply ran through as quick information grabs. This time was going to be different though. She wasn't planning to leave merely as soon as she was able.

Not that she liked the idea, standing in what looked like the Great Bazaar with a giant crater in the center of it. Everyone else seemed too tired or celebratory to keep going. She didn't blame them. Katani had come back with Namael earlier to capture two, and she tried to help, but she wasn't sure if anything would come of it though.

Minasien let out another small sigh as she gave the crater another look. It was one thing to have an alternative place like this. It was another to have them try and invade. She turned and kept going. Having been here so many times before, she knew the patrols and how to avoid them, not to speak of the magic she could use to enhance that avoidance. She didn't know how much good it was going to do. Maybe a spare word here from those in the other have. A passing word overheard from a patrolman there. Still, between the bazaar, hive, and between there might be something to get out of it.

"Every little bit helps," she muttered to herself, before looking one more time at the crater.
"Or could get me killed. Either way, doing something at least." She let out another sigh and kept going down the steps. This was going to be long cycles ahead.
Last edited by silinrul357 on Sun May 17, 2020 1:25 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Red the Rogue
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Posted by Red the Rogue »


Tavia's spaced out as she tried to process the events that day. A massive invasion. Fire, wreackage, death... so much blood. She could barely handle the viscera of the scene, and has more than once excused herself to lose her lunch. ... But more than ever, they needed to figure out all they could before tomorrow's meeting.

Later that cycle, the redheaded elf made her way back down. Any guards would find the Sensate Namer using the excuse of it being 'official business' for her to be there, venturing back to Wayfarer's Archway. A small-time mage (as a bard, anyway) and a gatecrasher, Tavia attempts to analyze the portal. She overheard that the origin of the portal was different from what it was supposed to be, so perhaps there may be a clue or bit of information she could glean from it. Where it's supposed to lead, what manner of tampering occurred... anything.
Sharon Raynsford - Experienced adventurer finding renewed purpose beyond her prime.
Lyanna Wayfarer - Traveler of worlds, cultural explorer, and experienced physician.
Tavia - Bardess, tale-teller, daring-doer.
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Serena
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Posted by Serena »


Glad he had thought about securing the documents from the sinking jammer before the Ditch reclaimed it entirely, the Fated factor spent most of the following hours making several copies of all the maps and the attack plans they found in the war room, aided by Maraphiel, a couple of enchanted quills and a glass of wine.
It wasn't much later than one of the copies was sent to the two Andor Factors, another to the Barracks and another one to the Courts.
As for the Duke, he already knew he probably had to break the news to him himself...
"Hand me my shovel, I'm going in!"

Plays: Aidan Rhistel - Factor and Law Representative of the Fated
Feel free to reach to me IC for enlisting or general faction rp
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Mymothersmeatloaf
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Posted by Mymothersmeatloaf »


Using magical ink and some other useful incantations along with presdigitation, the halfling made several copies of some documents she gathered from the helm of one of the many crashed spelljammers. Immediately forwarding one of them to Rhistel first for him to use as needed, she'd then visit all the factions headquarters, delivering the documents. She made a point and heavily emphasized the gravity of the situation, stressing that everyone should be prepared and be on high alert, the documents would detail as followed.

Captain Dardanos,

Our scouts have indicated that the enemies main defensive buildings are what they call the Barracks, and the Armory. The Barracks houses the most troops, and is an imposing structure, but they are equipped for a siege, not a bombardment. Keep their guards busy, and destroy as much of it as you can. If you can weaken the bulk of their army, our job will become much easier.

At all costs, keep your ship away from the Armory. The Doomguard have weapons capable of taking down our strike force, and our intel suggests that the Armory is tougher than it appears. They will be dealt with later.

Your secondary targets are the Hall of Records, and the Hall of Speakers. Neither of these structures are well defended, but our scouts tell us that they are key to the operation of the city. Destroy them, and they will be unable to respond.

Go with the grace of Harmonia,

Mover Karsten

After the documents were delivered to those of import, and offered the fated some cogs for compensation of their time. She'd return to the comfort of her home.
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Asigai
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Posted by Asigai »


Katani had held cautious hopes for peace between the two Sigils. But walking into the scene wavered even her most optimistic wishes. Sigil streets painted red from blood, mangled corpses of the flayed dozens, maybe hundreds. Crashed ships and dead civilians. An old boil returned to her veins watching the gruesome scene. Memories of her father meeting the same fate, right infront her eyes. She was angry, but not at the Strange Cage. Their act of aggression merited a reaction, but they did not recklessly crash their ships into civilian buildings with intent, force upon all of them this investigation under threat of death, nor did they kill her father before her eyes. The entity that caused that would never meet justice.

Seeing Tavia dash away to throw up, she shook the thought out of her mind. Not the time, there were people who needed help. Tavia wasn't exactly on top of that list, instead she started looking at the intact bodies of the civilians, seeing if any of them had vitals. Sadly she was too late for most. The chaos which had many planewalkers debate what to do did not cross her mind, she did her part. Try to find survivors. Some went to investigate a wreckage. And seeing few idle hands she tasked nearby strongest looking entities to start shifting the heaviest rubble out of the way, she was too focused on the task to hear anything, from inside the rubble, until someone from the back shouted "Listen! There's someone in the rubble!" after that everyone exploded into action. A pathway was made with post haste, the golem and giant doing a tremendous work to assist.

It was a bit of a blur to keep up with who all were doing what. Katani stayed behind to try to still the flames, though her spells for it were limited, she exhausted much of her magic reserve into rapidly casting her weaker spells. Some other planewalkers caught up with that as well and started to assist her as many other planewalkers rushed in to save a total of fifteen civilians from the ruins, nine of which were children. Katani was gradually starting to feel spent, all the shifting or rubble and exhausting much of her magic reserve started to take its toll, so she stood back and let other planewalkers tend to the wounded and take them to be treated.

Soon after Minasien came to suggest that they should go to look at the portal. Looking around the assembled people, Katani knew she couldn't help much with that and instead spoke out to get the remaining smartest people to go with Minasien to look at it, among which was Usi'dora and... some fella, she actually didn't know. Figuring it was also time to open up some of the shroud around the entire Strange Cage, she started answering questions and explain those remaining about it, a very shallow quick explanation-The wreckage creaked, where the one team had gone to.

No time for thought, she pointed at the ship and yelled at the giant and golem to go grab a hold of it, and darted in herself. Other planewalkers started to assist as they too realized what was happening. Katanis contribution was minimal, even with ironbody among all the tons of metal and muscle that started to surround her. She caught a glimpse at Caex and wondered what must've been going inside that kobolds mind as they were trying to help among all that muscle. But it was the thought that count... probably not Caex exact thoughts, but- you get the point.

Banging against the hull of the ship to yell them to get out as the ship started to take in ditch water and became impossible to maintain for long. The one giant iron golems seemed to decide it had overloaded and required immediate moment to handle that, making the job that much harder. Katanis own hand hold broke and she fell backwards against the rocks with a loud clang. But the team made it out.

But their news weren't exactly great. Karns mirror version had been killed. And Karn was understandably pissed and confused about that. Katani wasn't entirely sure how she'd feel about it if it had been her double... with all said and done there were a couple outages of this:

1) There was no question this was an act of aggression by the "Strange-Cage" denizen. Dozen ships equipped for war, with battle plans inside according to the wreckage entry team. And no civilians should be allowed to be harmed by it.

2) Her hopes for peace might not be entirely in vain after all. With this display of strength, there is a chance, albeit a miniscule one, that a common ground could be found and further acts of aggression could be mitigated. She'd probably be the only voice for it however. Many would want retaliation.

3) This may be the only chance she'll ever get to gain justice on Her Serenity, the Lady of Pain, and all her crimes. But it would need to be done very carefully, and very close to her own heart. The matter was too big and dangerous to act rashly on.
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Serena
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Posted by Serena »


Mymothersmeatloaf wrote: Sun May 17, 2020 4:41 am Using magical ink and some other useful incantations along with presdigitation, the halfling made several copies of some documents she gathered from the helm of one of the many crashed spelljammers. Immediately forwarding one of them to Rhistel first for him to use as needed, she'd then visit all the factions headquarters, delivering the documents. She made a point and heavily emphasized the gravity of the situation, stressing that everyone should be prepared and be on high alert.



Lyra would receive a note in reply from the half-drow in the following hours, along with a copy of the papers she already had the occasion to envision while on the spelljammer.

"Lyra,
thank you for the papers. I'm not sure if we should be happy our first impression was correct, given the situation, but I suppose we can at least consider this as an useful piece on information. I'm sending you one of the copies of the other documents we found, while we are at it, although I know you are already aware of their content, I suspect we'll have time to discuss this tomorrow at the Hall of Speakers.

Be safe.
R.A."
"Hand me my shovel, I'm going in!"

Plays: Aidan Rhistel - Factor and Law Representative of the Fated
Feel free to reach to me IC for enlisting or general faction rp
godthrilla
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Posted by godthrilla »


Vincent had been blissfully unaware of events leading to the storm that occurred in Sigil. Completely oblivious of the strange portal and the alternate Sigil, his peaceful bubble of ignorance was pierced by the screams of flayed soldiers and the ocean of blood resulting from it.

He investigated the carnage with the throng of 'walkers, threading through shattered bodies and broken ships and avoiding the clanking golems left active in the wreckage, his head aching from the acrid smoke. In the piles of bodies, one stuck out as unique. Instead of the strange Harmonium armor was a body once cloaked in black robes, now tattered rags. Sifting through the pile of viscera, he was surprised to find a badge marking the body as having belonged to a strange version of the Fated.

He joined a small group of companions to explore the one 'jammer that remained, stepping carefully over the remains of the strange sailors, wincing from the cognitive dissonance of seeing the familiar twisted into the unfamiliar.

He cloaked himself in shadow, no telling if any of those bladed golems remained, as he crept carefully into the belly of the ship. Rounding a corner, he was shaken to see a very familiar face. Karn. But Karn had stayed outside. This was a twisted versions of the Sigilian.

The companions attempted to speak with the mirror Karn, but his seething hatred was apparent, and left no room for civility. The mirror Karn attacked with vicious intent, only to be stopped short by flashing blades.

The ship began to sink, forcing the companions to flee with what information they had collected, and the heavy hearts of those who had watched a friend die. Outside, the collected 'walkers had pulled innocent bystanders from the wreckage of the burning buildings, marking the only pleasant outcome for the cycle.

Questions remained, and preparations.
silinrul357
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Posted by silinrul357 »


He wasn't around again when the big 'clash' hit. That was his style anyway, and that was the way he preferred it. Big skirmishes were no stranger to him, but he was well aware that his ability to work well together with others was not his strong suit. He also skipped out on that big meeting in the hall of speakers, because after word reached his ears about what happened, he already knew where to go. It wasn't to say he was unable to work together with others, but more so that it was time to see the "Other Sigil" for himself.

"And what a pisshole it is indeed." He scoffed. Surradio stood over the giant crater in the bazaar, taking it in for the first time. It was a little exhilarating actually. He'd already had something of an encounter with one of the patrolman. Unexpected, since he wasn't used to being attacked simply for being on the street, but fairly easily handled. Turned out being a Planar Hunter had skills to apply even here, as did being skilled in a stand up fight, or sneak of the shadows.

"The 'ive bleeds though. Ours is way better. Heh..." he checked the blades hidden inside the brown longcoat of his, making sure they were at the ready. Surradio was not a stranger to combat, but this called for a little more subtlety, so he'd go for that first. Luck had it, he'd lived in the Cage for as long as he could remember, extended stays away or not. He knew the streets, corners, and general layout. A lot was different, but enough was the same that navigation was no issue.

He kept crouched on the area next to the pile of bones and bodies. There was a barricade behind him where the path to the lady's ward normally was, and ahead of him, another barricade with another guard. He kept relatively still, behind some of the rubble as he looked at the bodies. The smell assaulted his nose, which wrinkled from displeasure. Others from 'his' cage had already been here. He didn't need to go looking through them probably, but he wasn't afraid of dirty work either. It was as good a place to start as any, and he could do it long enough before moving on.

He actually already had a pretty good idea where the return portal was. Portals were something of a thing he could always 'feel' with blades in hand. That wasn't what he had in mind though when it came to moving on. He planned to stay here for a few cycles at a minimum. Maybe catch a few stray patrols here or there, and who knew? Could even find some information on what was going on with their movements. Maybe the Reds would even pay for it. He'd worked their bounties before.

"An' if not, might be fun anyway." He said as he crawled into the pit. Other walkers would probably be coming through those gates to investigate sometime soon. Or they'd be barricaded, he wasn't sure which. Either way, he kept his eyes open for them too. Working with others wasn't his strong suit, but he wasn't an army either and knew it. This was going to take careful work, and if he had help, all the better. Rule number one in engaging an enemy was, after all, to know them.
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