Ariel Rolls: 80
Game Move:
GM: Holy shit, Ariel, you did it! That’s at least 80.
Ariel: I don’t play when mysterious bitches rolling up on me in my house, in the woods behind my house!
GM: I see.
With her flaming sword blazing at her side and torching the grass nearby, the winged woman called Jophiel says,
“You look confused to see me. A ruse is wasted energy. Take me to your hive or wherever you mmoatia keep your prisoners. Agiel and Zazel will be freed by order of the Archangels of Endla.”
Then Ariel, with her hands up to show that she is not interested in the fight the winged woman has brought to her, says,
“I sent my guard away because even though you’re strange as fuck, something about you feels familiar. I don’t want to fight you, I don’t have a flaming weapon to match what you showed up with here today. Obviously you’re angry about something, but I guarantee you that I am not the cause of your problems. Maybe I can help you find a solution. What is not helpful, is stepping to me like you are right now. I don’t know none of the names you just said, but your whole angel warrior vibe is fierce and I’d like to know more, unless you plan to keep threatening me.”
Jophiel’s face twists with annoyance and she flicks hair over her left shoulder, her right arm holding steady on the sword.
“I like the way you speak, your cadence is most soothing, but I am not here for aboatia tricks.” She raises the sword in front of her, pointing it at Ariel who falls back in a stance like she is ready to run. “Under different circumstances, I would let you sing to me in a prairie vista on the fourth sphere of Endla, but sadly, you are complicit in an act of war against the beauty of Endla and I have vowed to bring judgment upon you and your ilk. Comply or be feld by my sword.”
She swings her sword at Ariel, who retreats just in time to avoid being harmed, though she feels the heat and hears the roar of the flame as it whizzes past her. Ariel ducks and runs as Jophiel swings her sword again, and rushes past the winged woman, through her scent of burning vanilla. She runs faster than she ever has before, slapping at the stray branches on the hiking trail that would have slapped her. Ariel is wearing a tank top under a light, flowy jacket, and sweatpants with Crocs on her feet, and none of it slows her down. She only thinks about getting to her house, being on the back porch and hoping that her mother is still in the kitchen and her cousins still by the pool so they can get away as quickly as possible.
And in what seems like the blink of an eye, she is on the porch, seeing her mother through the glass door that leads out to the patio.
“Take them and get out of here,” she says to her mother who looks concerned but calls Ariel’s cousins out of the pool. When Ariel looks back at the trees in the distance, she sees Jophiel fly out of the woods and stop to survey the area. “Go now, tell the guard on the street to take you. Go!”
They rush into the house and Ariel looks out at Jophiel who is flapping the large wings at her back while she scans the area. Her flaming sword is obvious from the distance. As Ariel watches her, Jophiel seems to lock on her position and she flies full steam at Ariel.
Ariel braces herself. Maybe she is afraid, but there is nothing to do. Until Seraphiel and Jess Mess descend from the sky in their casual business suites with large white wings at their backs. Ariel rushes to the edge of the patio and watches Jophiel stop and keep herself aloft in the air like Jess and Seraphiel, beating their wings casually.
Ariel is speechless. She has never seen Jess and Seraphiel with wings.
“We heard you were still on your way,” Seraphiel says.
“Common tactics for dealing with potential spoilers,” Jophiel says. “Are you here to spoil, Seraphiel? I have started my investigation on this planet and I have found one of Pultine’s daughters. Surely you would agree that this one should be interrogated. Pultine is the greatest enemy of Endla and the disappearance of the twin governors is surely evidence of her reemergence and intent to destroy our homeworld. I will see what the daughter knows of her mother’s machinations, and then I will hold her as bait. Surely you agree that this is a fruitful vein of investigation. Or are you a spoiler?”
Seraphiel bows by bending at the waist. “I trust your glorious judgment, you are the spectacular Jophiel sent to meete out the justice of Endla. But this daughter of Pultine works for the glory of Endla. She has no knowledge of her infamous bloodline, this is the first she has seen Jess and myself as we are. Most humans are ignorant of the Aerphim, of the Fonlanders who dwell among them. She cannot help you in your investigation, glorious Jophiel.”
Jophiel snorts and extinguishes the fire of her sword.
“How is it that she has no knowledge of what she is?”
“Because she is mostly human,” Jess explains. “Her ecstatic gland has never activated. Neither has her third heart. She is Pristine Black mmoatia, but those traits are dormant in her.”
“This is true of all the daughters on Earth?” Jophiel asks skeptically. “If they are no threat, then why are you both on this planet? Jess I understand, he was born on this planet to shape it’s theogony and bend the Earther perception of divinity toward the awesome vision of Lêgba. But why have you been here for so long Seraphiel, if the Earthers know nothing and have no information about the mmoatia-led resistance?”
“Because Earth has more value than just information on the resistance, glorious Jophiel. The daughters of Pultine are cut off from the hive and can be used against them.”
Jophiel is quiet and stares at Ariel who considers running from the craziness. Seraphiel and Jess are not at all what she thought they were, though maybe they are all angels. But Ariel, are you very religious? Do you believe in angels?
Ariel: I mean, how else do you explain this? I knew there was something different about Jess and Seraphiel, they have this presence, like no other people I’ve met. Until that lady.
“Can I take her to Endla for questioning and education?” Jophiel asks Seraphiel.
Seraphiel and Jess are taken aback.
“She will be safe, if what you say is true, of course. I will bring her back safe and sound.”
They can’t deny a direct request from an archangel, even if it interferes with their plans. They will have to disappoint a crowd in Charleston, and probably a few more stops after, when they announce that Ariel won’t be performing. But that was their problem, and much easier to navigate than angering an archangel.
So it comes to you Ariel. Seraphiel and Jess, with their glorious wings and their charisma come to you, with Jophiel slowly flapping her wings behind them. They tell you,
“We know this is very strange to you, and we will explain everything, or she will if you are ok to go with her. If not, then you will need to get away from here as fast as you can while we placate her and call for some backup. Going with her will be much easier for everyone involved, but we understand if you can’t do it.”
Game Move:
GM: They’re not giving much to go on, but the choice is yours, Ariel. They want you to go with Jophiel who threatened you with her flaming sword. But apparently it was a misunderstanding. You don’t have to go, you can run and Seraphiel and Jess will cover you. What do you do?
Ariel: I need to know what this is all about. It’s strange, but Jess and Seraphiel have done a lot for me and I don’t think they’ll put me in danger. Right?
GM: I hope not.
Ariel: You ain’t no help. Well, I guess I’m going with Jophiel, even though ain’t nobody telling me where I’m going. I assume it’s that Endla place?
GM: Probably. So, this is an easy roll for you since it’s what everyone seems to want. Roll 2d10 for a combined score of 15 or more to go with Jophiel for questioning and education.
Tune in next week to see if Jophiel takes Ariel to Endla and gives her an exam on people and places she’s never heard of.
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