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The Centipede's Dilemma [Exalted Kung Fu Quest]

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[X] Ask for Marrow's help. The sickleman knows the land and its people, making him half a friend and half an outsider. Though he has a lover in the Adder, he also sees the harm they do to Embercairn, leaving him conflicted. You can try and solve that conflict with him, convincing him to grant you more direct help and advice and to be your intermediary with certain key people on both sides of the community.

[X] To uphold the honor of the martial arts. Because you cannot abide seeing the once-proud disciples of the Snake having devolved into glorified thugs.
 
[X] Approach the mountainborn tribes. According to Abanya, though they took tribute from Embercairn, they also provided them with much-needed resources - but the Adder's presence has turned them into enemies conducting dangerous raids on the village. If you could reach out to them and arrange negotiations with the villagers, you might both mend the rift, and create a powerful ally against the Adder.

[X] Because you have to. Marrow was right. You are a magistrate, even without a title and in a foreign land. The law must be upheld. The wicked must be punished. It is your duty.
 
TenfoldShields said:
It's understated but I actually really like this scene, this kinda- sleepy, sunbaked, washed out and half-exhausted-by-noon feel to it all. The two of them sitting around the fire, staving off some of the early morning chill, and just getting to know each other a little better. It does a lot to flesh out their relationship and the characters themselves: Golden Road may have fallen from grace but she was wealthy at one point, substantially wealthy and like so much else she's not really used to how that's declined. To people who don't see the (now non-existent) aura of authority and influence she used to have. Not exactly a noble lady sitting in a house but...a powerful civil servant. And now all that's gone now, just kind of a ghost behind her. Another kind of phantom limb. And there's something there, I think, that at the start of the quest Golden Road is basically defined by all these empty missing spaces in her self, physically and otherwise, and being consciously reminded of what used to be automatic and assumed is fucking her up. And Marrow meanwhile is-

Idk if "huge sweetheart" is quite appropriate, and it's not like he's a moron or anything. But he's sincere and kinda thoughtless and emotional in a way that Golden Road, closed off and controlled and well-kept even as far as she's fallen, isn't. He's this kinda constant passive force, nudging her out of her comfort zone. And I like a lot of the little touches of- he doesn't exactly dote on her, but you get the sense that he likes taking care of her and doing little things for her, not because she's been maimed and is currently down a set of legs, but because he's just that kind of guy. He likes being friendly and he likes being social and he likes getting to be a little...

Nurturing would be the word maybe? And to an extent that's a business asset for him, he's a merchant and not an especially prominent or prosperous one. But it also doesn't really feel forced or insincere either.
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One of the things the writers of Exalted try to get through to their audience - not always with success, including when it comes to actual published content - is that beastmen aren't just abstractly "people," they are human. In a literal, metaphysical sense, Marrow is a human being, with a human soul, who just happens to have (very) different physical and physiological traits from most of Creation's inhabitants.

But at the same time when writing animal-people it's always tempting to make their animal theme directly relate to their character. So Creation is full of savage wolf-men tribes, deadly shark-people, a snake-man running a crime gang, and so on. And it's sort of... natural as a narrative device. You always have limited space in your writing so it often feels wasteful to just randomly make someone a minotaur and then not have that tie into their personality and skills somehow.

So Marrow is sort of an application of that idea that doesn't often pan out in Exalted material. He is a seven-feet tall buff raptor-man with giant claws, and he is kind of a softie, cares easily about people, and works as a merchant instead of some kind of warrior. His nature (and background) would still make him terrifying in a mortal fight, but he is not inclined to seek out combat. He doesn't have a "predator" personality.



zxzx24 said:
God Kicking Boot? Is that you?
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If Wise Old Guru won't give the people what they want, it falls on me to take up that burden.

(this story isn't actually knowingly inspired by GKB, I came up with the idea then ten minutes later went "oh shit I'm ripping off GKB" but by then it was too late, the brainworm was inside me)
Who? said:
Also, possibly relevant to the Steel-Fanged Adder/Silver-Fanged Adder school's backstory -



They don't seem large enough to be a proper Great School, which I assume has like, hundred of students?

But they could definitely be a subset of one.
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someone who actually read the setting material for this quest? i refuse to believe it

Robotninja said:
Nothing forced her to be a thug here and extort villagers and make things worse for them while "protecting" them.
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That's true, and what Nashai is doing is a bad thing, which is why Golden Road so quickly took an antagonistic approach to her.

That said, just because it's wrong, doesn't mean it's surprising. Martial art schools turning into extortion rackets or criminal gangs is a thing that happens in Creation. The code of honor Road lives by precisely exists to deter such behavior and ostracize those who do it - but it exists in part because it needs to, because even with this code existing, some schools still go and turn into local mafias.
 
I read the setting materials you made as well. But I misread something and for a moment I thought swords were literally growing out of the ground.

Like 'Welp some ornate sword grew in my tomato patch, have to leave it there or I get cursed'. And I can't get that image out if my damn head.
 
MiracleGrow said:
I read the setting materials you made as well. But I misread something and for a moment I thought swords were literally grew out of the ground.

Like 'Welp some ornate sword grew in my tomato patch, have to leave it there or I get cursed'. And I can't get that image out if my damn head.
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That is absolutely a thing that's happened at least once in the Swordbleeds.
 
Omicron said:
That is absolutely a thing that's happened at least once in the Swordbleeds.
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I'd imagine it be a massive pain in the ass if they pop out of your floorboards. You just have to flip over a pot ontop of it so you don't step on it by accident.

"What's with the new wood pillar?"
"Another legendary sword grew through my floor and it reached my roof. So I hollowed out a log and wrapped it around the sword."

Normal people dealing with the odd consequences of tons of magic is something I adore.
 
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can't wait until <bad english dub> NUMBER FOUR LIZARD </bad english dub> shows up at the last minute and this turns into actually Five Deadly Venoms in Creation

[X] Tenfold
 
[X] To prove that you can. Because you are not meek. You are not a cripple. You have strength none of them could possibly know, and you will show them.

Pride is a heckuva fun vice.
 
[X] Ask for Marrow's help. The sickleman knows the land and its people, making him half a friend and half an outsider. Though he has a lover in the Adder, he also sees the harm they do to Embercairn, leaving him conflicted. You can try and solve that conflict with him, convincing him to grant you more direct help and advice and to be your intermediary with certain key people on both sides of the community.

TenfoldShields is right. I like Marrow, and any scene with Marrow is fun. So we should start by asking him for his help.

[X] Because you have to. Marrow was right. You are a magistrate, even without a title and in a foreign land. The law must be upheld. The wicked must be punished. It is your duty.

Respectfully, TenfoldShields is wrong. (IMO, natch.) Golden Road is both a martial artist and a magistrate. But is she motivated to be a good magistrate because of her Honor as a martial artist? Or is her honor as a martial artist an outgrowth of her pursuit of Justice?

I see people have formed two voting blocks, but I think each individual vote is worth debate in-and-of themselves. *shrug*
 
Mmm, does anyone know if voting for two separate things in two separate locations will function properly?
 
[X] Because you have to. Marrow was right. You are a magistrate, even without a title and in a foreign land. The law must be upheld. The wicked must be punished. It is your duty.
 
[X] Approach the mountainborn tribes. According to Abanya, though they took tribute from Embercairn, they also provided them with much-needed resources - but the Adder's presence has turned them into enemies conducting dangerous raids on the village. If you could reach out to them and arrange negotiations with the villagers, you might both mend the rift, and create a powerful ally against the Adder.

[X] Because you have to. Marrow was right. You are a magistrate, even without a title and in a foreign land. The law must be upheld. The wicked must be punished. It is your duty.

Not what is most likely to succeed but to set straight what was twisted. If there was an arrangement with the Mountainborn in the past we can see if it could be restored or adapted.
 
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[X] Approach the mountainborn tribes. According to Abanya, though they took tribute from Embercairn, they also provided them with much-needed resources - but the Adder's presence has turned them into enemies conducting dangerous raids on the village. If you could reach out to them and arrange negotiations with the villagers, you might both mend the rift, and create a powerful ally against the Adder.

[X] Because you have to. Marrow was right. You are a magistrate, even without a title and in a foreign land. The law must be upheld. The wicked must be punished. It is your duty.
 
[X] Approach the mountainborn tribes. According to Abanya, though they took tribute from Embercairn, they also provided them with much-needed resources - but the Adder's presence has turned them into enemies conducting dangerous raids on the village. If you could reach out to them and arrange negotiations with the villagers, you might both mend the rift, and create a powerful ally against the Adder.

[X] To uphold the honor of the martial arts. Because you cannot abide seeing the once-proud disciples of the Snake having devolved into glorified thugs.
 
[X] Ask for Marrow's help. The sickleman knows the land and its people, making him half a friend and half an outsider. Though he has a lover in the Adder, he also sees the harm they do to Embercairn, leaving him conflicted. You can try and solve that conflict with him, convincing him to grant you more direct help and advice and to be your intermediary with certain key people on both sides of the community.
[X] To uphold the honor of the martial arts. Because you cannot abide seeing the once-proud disciples of the Snake having devolved into glorified thugs.
 
[X] Ask for Marrow's help. The sickleman knows the land and its people, making him half a friend and half an outsider. Though he has a lover in the Adder, he also sees the harm they do to Embercairn, leaving him conflicted. You can try and solve that conflict with him, convincing him to grant you more direct help and advice and to be your intermediary with certain key people on both sides of the community.

[X] To uphold the honor of the martial arts. Because you cannot abide seeing the once-proud disciples of the Snake having devolved into glorified thugs.

@TenfoldShields is right I think. Believe in the Tenfold.
 
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[X] Ask for Marrow's help. The sickleman knows the land and its people, making him half a friend and half an outsider. Though he has a lover in the Adder, he also sees the harm they do to Embercairn, leaving him conflicted. You can try and solve that conflict with him, convincing him to grant you more direct help and advice and to be your intermediary with certain key people on both sides of the community.

[X] Because you have to. Marrow was right. You are a magistrate, even without a title and in a foreign land. The law must be upheld. The wicked must be punished. It is your duty.
 
Switching asking help from the elder to Marrow. I like the idea of working with the settlement but we can here too, with Marrow's help, and I was reluctant to have Marrow side against his boyfriend but I'm more reluctant to have the raiders involved.

[X] Ask for Marrow's help. The sickleman knows the land and its people, making him half a friend and half an outsider. Though he has a lover in the Adder, he also sees the harm they do to Embercairn, leaving him conflicted. You can try and solve that conflict with him, convincing him to grant you more direct help and advice and to be your intermediary with certain key people on both sides of the community.
[x] Because you have to. Marrow was right. You are a magistrate, even without a title and in a foreign land. The law must be upheld. The wicked must be punished. It is your duty.
 
[X] Ask for Marrow's help. The sickleman knows the land and its people, making him half a friend and half an outsider. Though he has a lover in the Adder, he also sees the harm they do to Embercairn, leaving him conflicted. You can try and solve that conflict with him, convincing him to grant you more direct help and advice and to be your intermediary with certain key people on both sides of the community.
[x] Because you have to. Marrow was right. You are a magistrate, even without a title and in a foreign land. The law must be upheld. The wicked must be punished. It is your duty.
 
[X] Ask for Marrow's help. The sickleman knows the land and its people, making him half a friend and half an outsider. Though he has a lover in the Adder, he also sees the harm they do to Embercairn, leaving him conflicted. You can try and solve that conflict with him, convincing him to grant you more direct help and advice and to be your intermediary with certain key people on both sides of the community.

[X] Because you have to. Marrow was right. You are a magistrate, even without a title and in a foreign land. The law must be upheld. The wicked must be punished. It is your duty.
 
[X] Ask for Marrow's help. The sickleman knows the land and its people, making him half a friend and half an outsider. Though he has a lover in the Adder, he also sees the harm they do to Embercairn, leaving him conflicted. You can try and solve that conflict with him, convincing him to grant you more direct help and advice and to be your intermediary with certain key people on both sides of the community.
[x] Because you have to. Marrow was right. You are a magistrate, even without a title and in a foreign land. The law must be upheld. The wicked must be punished. It is your duty.
 
Looks like it's a tie so far! So much for writing the next update to distract myself from Hellworld 2020 :V
 
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