McCoy Apple Orchard Golden apples or poison apples, they all bear a curse

[Third on the Match]

The Evening Stars

Difficulty: Novice | Gameplay Rules

The Encounter's Dice Pool is inactive until players tag @admin in #mod-request for the combat Encounter card when the mask is found.

DC: 3

Hostile

Keyword: Light, Plants

Cinder 7d6

Strike 4d6

Luck 4

The full face mask is a shiny onyx black, orange, purple, and blue cascading down from the forehead in a gradient. The surface is speckled with gold and silver, like stars in the sky. The face itself is that of a woman, expression serene, with delicate carved curls on the sides of her face.

[Sarah Silvers]

Toga

Mim ran her fingers through her tussle hair and worked it into a ponytail behind her head. It had taken her forever to get her hair the way she wanted it but with the bangles, her jewelry, her dark red lipstick, and her lavender toga... she was fire!

That was the term she read online. Fire. She loved that. When she read it online they meant sexy, and she certainly was, but when she thought it she didn't think sex. She thought of pouring smoke and bright orange light devouring a wooden hut. Destruction. Desolation. Fire.

She was fire. She smiled sinfully into her compact mirror and loved the look. Her eyeshadow was smokey, something she'd watched a video tutorial for. God she loved the modern world.

A flutter of a raven's wings drew her attention. Her dark eyes flicking in annoyance to her familiar Gretchen.

"My sweet Gretch... don't make me pluck you." she said darkly.

Clipping her compact mirror closed she strut toward the baccanialia... she needed a mask.

[Third on the Match]

As Mim approaches the attendants handing out masks, she is given a delicate half-mask in pearlescent white, pale green vines creeping along the pristine white surface. They frame the mask with spiky leaves, carrying the unmistakable aura of divine magic for those who can recognise it.

Mechanical Effect: On a successful Cinder roll, the user is granted the use of the Plants keyword like a Half-Blood, including the Bloodrush penalty. Whatever Path penalty applies to the user will activate once the Bloodrush limit is reached. For Arcanists, the consequence is Resonance. This effect lasts as long as the mask is worn. Once the mask is removed, the magic enchantment leaves the mask entirely.

[Asphodel Malvolia]

Outfit, Hair, mask

Could two queens share a dais? It remained to be seen.

Asphodel did not miss the other woman as she entered the mask shop. How could she? She filled the room with a kind of vicious elegance that turned heads. She was gorgeous, with confidence and innate power. It made the vampire immediately despise her. And love her. It was a delicate balance of admiration and foul jealousy.

Watching the other take her mask, Asphodel primped and preened as she delicately fastened hers over the bridge of her nose. The attendant had offered her several full-faced masks, but she would have none of it, rejecting every single one until the woman exasperatedly handed her a little slip of a mask that barely covered her face. She'd blandly noted it wasn't in the spirit of the whole thing, but Asphodel waved her off.

Then, setting her teeth, she glided over to the other woman, moving into view in the mirror behind her. “A gorgeous mask... It suits you! Would you like help tying it over your hair?” A genuine offer--for all the vampire's petty jealousy, it would be unbecoming to try and ruin her look.

Asphodel expected to catch the scent of copper, vellum, or other things that betrayed an immortal, but no. Human. Completely... human. Fascinating.

[Third on the Match]

Mechanical Effect: Asphodel's mask offers a 3d6 bonus to the wearer's base Cinder pool. This effect lasts as long as the mask is worn, and once the mask is removed, the magic enchantment leaves the mask entirely. For those who can sense or track magic, it is clearly something beyond human make.

[Sarah Silvers]

Mim took the mask in her hands and let her fingers trace the patterns along it, the vines and slowly tearing through the surface of the mask. She thought of it as tearing not creeping. Pushing through the dirt and serving like a scar in nature. Trees were such cruel beauties that drained and took and gave and grew and died an- Mim narrowed her eyes and stopped herself. She needed to think in straight lines, not circles. Her sisters had always commented on her habit of aligning her thoughts into circles and rhymes even when it served no real purpose.

Mim was about to place the mask when another woman approached her.

This new woman wore a mask marking half her face and was taller than Mim was. Her hair blond and made up in a twirling braid interlaced with silver vines. She had a like of lithe elegance that Mim would usually only attribute to a particularly fetching knife. The woman asked if Mim needed help getting the mask on with her hair and the witch's first thought was of course she didn't... then she remembered the trouble she'd gone to with her hair and decided it was for the best.

She gave the blond a wide smile that showed her teeth and a dimple in her cheek, Mim liked that dimple since her old body didn't have a cute dimple like that- but one of her sister's had and bragged on occasion when they had all still be young enough for it to matter. Now she had one and, if she had to pick, Mim thought her new face was far prettier.

Holding out the mask by its strap, hanging precariously from a single finger the with offered it over along with her back to the other woman. "Could you? I spent hours on my hair." Mim said. She wasn't looking at the woman anymore, as if she'd handed something off to a servant and was certain the task would be done. Not that anyone could blame her, the blond had after all asked to help.

Oh... polite... Be polite and play the part, making friends a careful art. Mim chided to herself.

"My name is Sarah, who are you?" she asked, her voice a touch less commanding now. After all, Sarah had been a prissy little goody two shoes. She didn't order or demand unless it was about daddy's money.

[Asphodel Malvolia]

The woman slung the mask over her shoulder, but Asphodel didn't move to take it until she introduced herself. She had a commanding tone that rubbed all of Asphodel's metaphorical fur in the wrong direction, and she hated the woman all the more. Yet, she stayed, liking the feeling as it broiled in her lower belly.

“A pleasure to meet you, Sarah. You may call me Delilah,” Asphodel answered, carefully choosing her imperious words as she plucked the mask from her fingertips. With their differences in height, it was easy to step up behind Sarah and lower the mask over her lovely face. As she did, the vampire coveted her heartbeat and enjoyed the coppery scent of her blood, but her fingers were nimble as they tied the mask off, ensuring no strands were caught in the knot.

[Sarah Silvers]

Mim watched her reflection as the other woman deftly slipped the mask from the witches' fingers and then set the thing against her face. She felt the small pull of the chord tat tied the mask to her and all the while Mim watched herself. The lines of the face she stole, the edges of her eyes, her lip as her tooth bit down into it gently and then was dragged off. It was intoxicating being so young and vibrant again. Hearing the other woman's name the witch gave a very soft smile and almost whispered. 'Hey there Delilah~" the rise and fall of her voice matching a song somewhere in the fragments of memory there once poor little Sarah.

Mim couldn't have sung the whole song or told you much about it but she loved music. The structure of the words and sound, it wasn't too far off from her old magic. Less power behind it but just as much intent and meaning. Mim turned and tilted her head slightly to look at the woman who had helped her. Again she was struck by the fact that this girl was taller than her own host and also just as, if not more so, beautiful.

"You are gorgeous." Mim said, sounding surprisingly sincere.

She then looked closer at the woman's mask, pleased that Delilah had been given a half-mask that showed the girl more of this beautiful creature's skin and features. Oh if only this woman had a touch of power as well she would be a perfect vessel. Mim gave off a flash of her white teeth and then offered out her hand with her fingers outstretched. "Would you like to walk with me a while? I'd love to get to know you better Delilah." Mim said rather shamelessly. Let this girl take it as an offer of friendship or proposition. It didn't matter really, since in the end all Mim wanted was to shove one of her sister's into this pretty package.

[Asphodel Malvolia]

Asphodel's sharp ears caught the little song and she smiled, amused and indulgent. The vampire found it somewhat charming--she didn't love the song, but it was one of those funny human quirks that everyone thought to sing when she introduced herself by that moniker. A meme, by its true definition. She wondered how long it would last in the cultural consciousness and if she might one day see the end of 'Hey there, Delilah.'

In any case, Sarah then delivered a compliment that had the vampire lifting her eyebrows in vague surprise. She caught the sincerity there and found it intriguingly out of place. Her cool fingers closed delicately around Sarah's hand, and she smiled winsomely, looking like she might bow over her hand and kiss her knuckles. She did not, being a lady, but she had that kind of poise. Instead, she tilted her head towards the booth's front entrance, inviting Sarah out into the festival and enjoying the rush of blood beneath her skin.

“The feeling is mutual,” she said with effortless grace. “I've been charged with a little hunt for an errant mask. It would be nice to have the company.”

[Sarah Silvers]

When Mim offered out her hand and Delilah grasped it the woman mixed with such grace that the old witch thought this modern girl would take a bow like an old gentleman. Catching her hand like that, Mim almost on reflex bent her knees and gripped her dress in two fingers to gove a quick and prim curtsey. She had never been high enough society to use it often but her sisters and her used to joke around and do the bit.

It was a nice memory.

After that came the odd sensation that Delilah's hands were cold. Poor thing must be freezing. Poor circulation maybe? Well one of her sisters could put up with something so minor if Delilah proved a good host.

When accepted for a stroll Mim smiled with Sarah's perfect teeth and her joyous lips. "Oh I think they did say something about that. It could be fun, let's go." she agreed at once.

Without asking or waiting, Mim moved to slip her arm into Delilah's so they could walk together. "So are you a student at one of the colleges?" the witch asked innocently.

[Asphodel Malvolia]

The pair stepped out of the booth arm in arm, and the arrangement endeared Sarah to the vampire. When was the last time she had the opportunity just to take a stroll with a new acquaintance? Walking this way with polite, friendly closeness made her nostalgic. People often put too much on physical touch these days.

“I am,” Asphodel lied immediately. She added a little bounce of excitement to her voice as Sarah had gotten her spot on. “Baxendale, over in the Upper Fens. Are you?”

The girl looked young, early-to-mid twenties. It was a safe bet that she was pursuing a degree.

[Sarah Silvers]

"Like no way~ Samsies girl. I'm taking a bunch of art courses." Mim said.

Which was true.

Sarah had been deeply interested in photography and wanted a degree to back up what she thought of as her talent. Mim found cameras fascinating, but she more enjoyed the classical arts. Painting especially. So she kept up with the classes, partly as they gave her an excellent grasp of the modern Era.

"What are you taking? Maybe we can share a class next semester?" Mim said.

She hoped they could. It would let her get to know this woman better. Grow closer. And decode of she could properly curse her. If not, well Mim could probably at least make her a loyal customer. Delilah seemed pretty and that often translated to popular which was just a short hop to drug use.

"Oh, how do you plan to find that mask anyway?" Mim asked off handedly

[Asphodel Malvolia]

Strike, Preternatural Senses, Complete success

The offer to share classes the following semester from a woman she had just met was very forward, but it only made Asphodel laugh gently. It made her even more curious, too--if Sarah's humanity weren't so apparent to her senses, she might've thought it was the maneuver of a hunter.

“I'm in economics,” the vampire laughed ruefully, explaining why they'd never seen each other around the campus. “I couldn't draw a stick figure, but hell yeah, if we see each other around campus...” Hell yeah. She loathed the way modern women spoke, but she was nothing if not a chameleon. But now they were on to the mask—a much more pertinent topic.

The vampire's sharp eyes roved over the crowd of humans as they gathered at stalls and wandered down the festival avenue, cheery and bedecked in masks and togas. She had the description of her particular mask committed to memory but nowhere in sight. “Yeah... What a weird game!” she said, referencing the question but not answering it. “What do you think that's about?”

[Sarah Silvers]

Mim squeezed at Delilah's arm affectionately when she learned they went to the same school. It was something she used to do to her sisters when they embraced. Of course she also fought with and cried with her sisters and did everything else with them, but the small squeeze of comradeship felt right here so Mim added it in. As they walked Delilah mentioned she couldn't draw at all and a small smile slipped over Sarah's face that Mim was quick to turn into a real wide grin. Gushing a bit in her excited speech.

"You may not be able to draw but with your looks you could certainly model! Omg you have got to let me paint you sometime. I'll make you look like an empress." Mim said. She was mostly serious too, with looks like Delilah's it wouldn't take much to play a turn on the cat walk. Sitting for a painting or photo would be even easier.

Hell, the woman could probably make bank off of only her fans. Which Mim was still trying to figure out a bit because it didn't make a lot of sense but whatever. More to the point... the things Mim could do while painting... Such an important bond between subject and artist. The cruel little thing that was Mim perked up at the idea of it all.

Then they were back on this topic of the mask and Delilah mentioned it was a weird game. "Oh totes, I don't super, like, get it." Mim said. She loved modern language. It was so flippant and carefree. Why learn your words to punctuate or draw out a sentence when you could just say like and giggle to make some pretty boy's head spin? Mim had never received a proper education as a child, she had to claw and fight for the words that gave her so much power. This age were words were so cheap didn't devalue her own words. They masked them. Plus, playing young ditz seemed garner a bit more attention for those dumb jocks and Mim liked the attention very much.

"Do we just wander around looking?" Mim asked.

[Asphodel Malvolia]

Strike Search

That was silly. Asphodel already looked like an empress, but she grinned at Sarah's evident enthusiasm and nodded. It was non-committal at best, but the girl was potentially interesting enough to indulge.

Except when she said things like 'totes.' It made Asphodel's skin crawl. No matter, though.

“Maybe. Keep an eye out,” she mused, head on a swivel as she kept up her search. Her sharp eyes picked up a glint of bronze on the far side of the food avenue, and she gently pulled Sarah in that direction. “Over here, I thought I saw something.”

[Sarah Silvers]

Strike Search 4d6
3 passes = complete success

A maybe was basically a yes! Mim was pleased with herself as she was already imagining the kinds of paintings she could make with this little divas face. Maybe one of obsession that made the view fall helplessly in love with someone they'd never meet- ruining any relationship they had from then on. Drawn back over and over to a face of paint only to get cursed again and again, spiraling to a miserable life of loneliness. Or a curse inferiority, women looking at the painting every day and then seeing their own face in the mirror and despising it! She could do a full body pictures, mixing in a curse of lust. People staring for hours at the curves of the painting, the supple peach lines that crossed up tantalizing peaks and dipped to sinful valleys. The idea of the paint toward her legs, the darkening of colors to imply shadow, to suggest her- Mim blinked for a second, a bit surprised at the direction of the thoughts.

That was clearly a bit of Sarah leaking through again. Mim was a perfectly composed witch who concerned herself with her curses and little else. When the blonde at her arm began to direct her Mirium followed suit and her eyes narrowed into the crowd as she spied a flash of bronze as well. "So what do we do if we find this person and they don't want to give up the mask? Not that anyone could say no to two gorgeous girls like us." Mim asked, almost answering her own question as she walked alongside Delilah.

[Asphodel Malvolia]

“Well, it's all part of a game, right?” Asphodel mused as their steps quickened. As they turned a corner, she spotted another glint of bronze, the mask they sought under the arm of a lovely, dark-haired woman. She glanced over her shoulder, their eyes met, and she smiled impishly, just before disappearing between two stalls. Asphodel gazed up at the dark shapes of trees looming over the stalls as she completed her thought. “Perhaps we just have to catch her, come on!”

Sliding her hand down Sarah's arm, she interlaced their fingers and grinned at her, before picking up her skirts and urging the other girl into a run.

[Third on the Match]

The Evening Stars

DC: 3

Hostile

Keyword: Light, Plants

Cinder 7d6

Strike 4d6

Luck 4

The full face mask is a shiny onyx black, orange, purple, and blue cascading down from the forehead in a gradient. The surface is speckled with gold and silver, like stars in the sky. The face itself is that of a woman, expression serene, with delicate carved curls on the sides of her face.

By the time Asphodel and Sarah round the corner and step into the floral embrace of the orchard, it has become like a scene out of A Midsummer Night's Dream. Flower petals litter the ground, creating a pathway that leads away between the trees. If they watch carefully, they will see a masked face peek out from behind one of the trees, before flitting back out of sight. Then, a large golden apple will roll onto the path in front of them, glimmering in the light.

[Sarah Silvers]

Deliahla ran her hand down Mim's arm, a gesture the witch was more aware of that she expected to be. It made Mim want to gather up Sarsh's shattered mind and break it all over again. Instead, Mim squeezed the other girls slightly cold hand and followed behind as they hurried after their prey.

The prey in question was a woman with dark hair that Sarah though would look very pretty on her youngest sister, if they caught her and Mim was able to take her home.

When they rounded the corner the petals everywhere made it seem like stepping into another world. So much so that Mim suspected s glamour... but it all seemed real enough. The witch glared at a golden apple as it rolled toward them.

She and her sisters had used plenty an apple to bait the foolhardy in their day. Mim didn't trust apples as much as she adored them.

"That is, like, obviously a trap. Right?" Mim said, seeking to warn her companion.

She couldn't let Delilah eat a cursed apple unless Mim was the one who cursed it.

[Asphodel Malvolia]

It was as though they had stepped into a hidden garden. Flowers were blooming in the moonlight just beyond the stalls, past the treeline, stretching their petals in the breeze. A trail of petals coaxed them further in and there was the rich scent of ripe fruit on the breeze. Asphodel caught the flicker of movement behind the tree, and then a gilded apple dropped onto the flower-petal path, lovely and enticing.

So, this was not just a game, was it? That foolish Cult of Dionysus had only changed their name, not their ways. Well, this was one way to spice up her evening.

“Oh, I have no doubt,” Asphodel murmured, a slight laugh in her voice. She looked over at Sarah and grinned mischievously. Then, the vampire turned to face her, reaching up to gently cup her cheek, a concerned expression crossing her face. “You're not afraid, are you?” she asked, soft as a lover as she sought eye contact.

Unaware of the truth of the matter, If there was any trace of fear in the girl, Asphodel meant to hypnotize her and wipe her memory of this moment. Allow her to continue living in ignorance of the supernatural.

[Sarah Silvers]

As they looked at the apple Delailah took on an odd tone as she turned to look Mim in the face, her hand reaching up and gently touching the witch.

Mim took a sharp breath as Sarah's body reacted to the touch and Mim narrowed her eyes, much of her expression hidden behind her mask.

Mim smiled and brushed Delailah's hand away with her own.

"No, I'm not scared. I'm excited." Mim said. She forced that joyful glee she knew so well into her voice.

But mostly she was annoyed at her body that she so often gloried in.

Crouching down, Mim plucked up the apple and scrutinized it... she did love apples.

"Where did that woman slip off to?"

[Asphodel Malvolia]

Strike Preternatural senses, extraordinary success
Nymph Cinder Plants, Partial failure

Asphodel listened carefully to Sarah's heartbeat and breathed in her perfectly human and enticing scent. When she said she wasn't afraid, Asphodel believed her, but her body was still reacting—reacting to her touch, though, rather than the situation. The vampire's smile curled into an amused little smirk at that, able to read between the lines, even if she would not assume too much.

“Me too,” she agreed softly, letting the other woman go pick up the apple. She watched carefully as she did. If memory served right, the myths that mentioned golden apples only noted that they were made of solid gold and highly sought after. Enough to cause discord, but perhaps here, it was a lure. And as the seconds ticked by, Asphodel assumed that was correct. Nothing happened as Sarah held the apple, although it smelled amazing.

Further up the path, another apple hit the ground, and Asphodel picked up her skirts to pick her way over the petal-strewn path. “This way, I suspect,” she chuckled, her voice light. It wasn't forced, either. The vampire wasn't worried about her own skin--in fact, she was eager to learn what awaited them at the end of the path that was almost certainly a trap.

[Sarah Silvers]

Mim Cinder Mask 9d6
4 passes = Complete success
Nymph Cinder 7d6
3 passes = Complete success

As mim walked with Delailah, reminding herself that the other woman's body was meant for one of her sisters and not anything else, her mind drifted to the apple in her hand. It did smell delicious... but more than that she felt it.

Her magic mingling with the mask on her brow Mim became suddenly aware of all the plants around them... the enchantments in the air and ground.

Her eyes widened a touch as she remembered some of the work her and her sisters did in the garden.

Their beautiful mortal garden.

Reaching out her senses, Mim found the weight of bodies crushing petals. Her own... her companion... and another...

"She is there." Mim said seriously as she pointed off to the side, where the next turn led.

Then their prey acted. Flowers sprouted all around and bloomed suddenly, a lavacous red color and spread a crimson pollen all through the air.

Mim felt magic in it but not what.

Pollen to confuse the senses, muddle the mind, and distract... so that the prey could become the predator.

Mim Luck 4/4

Cinder Roll to resist confounding pollen

[Asphodel Malvolia]

Asphodel Cinder Resist, extraordinary success
Cantrip Telekinesis
Asphodel Cinder Telekinesis, extraordinary success
Nymph Cinder Plants, extraordinary success

As the flowers bloomed all around them, Asphodel took a cautious step back. She watched the pollen puff up into the air with a disdainful expression, but as the saccharine scent hit her nose, she felt the magic try to worm its way into her mind. The vampire stopped breathing, shaking her head to clear it, before sweeping a hand rip the shallowly rooted flowers from the dirt.

They flew to one side in a puff of petals, and then she strode forward around the bend of the flower path.

“Olly olly oxen free,” the vampire sang, a vicious twist to her voice. As she did, thorny vines suddenly sprang from the path, clumps of dirt piling up around them, as they twisted around the vampire's pale legs. Asphodel snarled, but caught a flicker of movement in the boughs over head.

Pantomiming the motion of grabbing something in the air, Asphodel tugged down, hard, and the tree branch cracked as the nymph came crashing to the ground in front of her. The vampire felt her fangs unsheathe, the scent of her own blood filling her nose, while irritation made her hungry. The nymph scrambled to her feet and tried to dart back into the foliage.

Still using old system
Asphodel Luck 5/6
Nymph Luck 3/4

[Sarah Silvers]

Pollen Cinder Resist, exceptional success (6 passes)
Nympth Plant Cinder, complete success (3 passes)
Mim Ritual Cinder, Partial Failure.

Mim watched with dazzled interest as Delilah strode forward with such passionate confidence to drag her hand through the air and pull their attacker to the ground with the motion. Oh dear lords, the blond was magically inclined. Be still her girlish heart if Delilah already had strong magic then that made her even better! She would be such a gorgeous host for Mim's sister, whichever she ended up stuffing into her. Mim couldn't help the sinful smile on her lips as she watched the other woman work. The attacker, a nymph by the looks of it, scrambled up as she tried to flee.

The plants began to wrap around and twist to conceal the fleeing woodland spirit. Mim stretched out a hand as well and took at the same plant matter. "Can you hold her in place, love?" Mim asked, her tone pleasant yet dripping with something a touch cruel. Mim worked her hand into a pattern as she tried to force the plant matter into shape. She wanted a circle, but every time she tried to shape it the nympth was moving it away trying to cover her retreat. It vexed Mim but no matter... she would have this little tree fairy's blood for her crafting.

She would even share it if Delilah asked.

Ritual Prep 0/3

[Asphodel Malvolia]

Nymph Cinder Plants, complete success
Asphodel Cinder Telekinesis, extraordinary success

It was difficult to mistake what Sarah was doing, and Asphodel laughed grimly. “Now?” she asked, a little incredulous.

Still, the vampire was curious. The nymph struggled, but Asphodel tightened her grip. The faint shimmer of scaled coils appeared in the air, crushing the creature into the ground. At the same time, she tried to tear herself away from the thorny vines at her feet, but they tightened their hold, black blood trickling down her ankles and soaking into her gown. The vampire hissed in distaste, but looked over at the newly-revealed ritualist, lifting a pale eyebrow.

Asphodel Luck 4/6
Nymph Luck 2/4

[Sarah Silvers]

Mim Cinder Plant/Ritual Prep 9d6, Exceptional Success (8 Passes)
Nymph Cinder Cinder 7d6, complete success (3 passes)

Mim continued to wave her hands into symbols as she focused on the plants all around them. She and the Nymph were at war both manipulating the plants. Mim was powerful, and the control she currently had over the plants was not to be underestimated... but though she could wrest the vegetation away from the nymph she couldn't lay it and maintain it before the annoying fairy moved it again. When it came to ritual circles too many mistakes caused real disaster.

Then again.. the risk wasn't too great in light of the possible reward.

Her dear new friend continued to motion as well and whatever force she wielded continued to vex the little wood sprite. Meanwhile Mim laved the ground with her will. Vines tore into the ground and rose up to mark out a circle on the ground, before weaving into a braided circle of branches. Good... that would distract. That little pixie bitch would see the wood and try to change it but the carved out earth was her ploy now... along with the nymph herself. Yet even as Mim moved the forest girl wasn't idle either.

She latched vines into Delilah and then bound one of Mim's arms in thorns.

The witch of mirrors looked at the plants unamused. It was shoddy work, they didn't look that sharp or even venomous... if it had been her sister's vine they would hold deadly fire in their branches burning the skin and bursting into gouts of flame if broken or cut. Dealing with amateurs was such a waste of time.

"If you can incapacitate her please do, I don't need her awake for this." Mim said, smiling.

Mim Luck 3/4
Nymph Luck 2/4

Ritual Prep 1/3

[Asphodel Malvolia]

Asphodel Cinder 3/3, complete success
Nymph Cinder 3/3, complete success

At first, Asphodel had thought the newly-revealed arcanist would be doing something useful. Now, it appeared that she just wanted to reap the rewards of incapacitating the nymph. The vampire scoffed and rolled her eyes. There was no way she would do all this work just for some idiot ritualist to come along and blast it away with magic. She wanted to see the mask!

Gritting her teeth, she tore herself from the growing tangle of vines. Though she struggled on the ground, the nymph redoubled her efforts to hold her back, but the vampire just shrugged off the clinging vines, letting them drag long lines of blood across her pale skin. With a vicious scowl, jaw tensed against the pain, she lifted her hand and lifted the nymph from the center of the circle and sent her tumbling backward on the path ahead.

The vampire stepped around the newly formed circle to stalk after the nymph, her voice sharp as she said, “If you want her for a spell, do it yourself.”

Asphodel Luck 3/6
Nymph Luck 1/4

[Sarah Silvers]

Nymph Cinder 7d6, 4 passes (complete success)
Mim Cinder 9d6, 7 passes (Exceptional success)

Poor Delilah seemed a bit miffed as the wood spirit continued to fight back. Mim understood, those last struggling moments could be vexing to tolerate. What Mim didn't fully expect was the response but it but a slow lazy smile on her lips.

Sounding sweet to the point of diabetes the witch of mirrors responded "I didn't mean to make you mad.... and I don't mind sharing." she said- maybe a touch too playfully.

Vines began to wrap around Mim's legs and she felt thorns digging into her skin. She sneered at the pain. She'd have to make a magic cream later to ensure she had no scars on her flawless perfect young legs. Stupid spirit, this body was still wonderful. She didn't have the patience for damage to it.

Twisting her hand in a vicious movement, the branching vines the witch controlled suddenly coiled back like a serpent and then struck forward like a lance... into the nymphs chest where her heat would be.

Mim brushed her dress a bit as the vines around her legs withered... then she looked at her prey... if she did it right... the nymphs heart was incased in that vine now.

Mim Luck 2/4
Nymph 0/4

[Third on the Match]

The Nymph, Defeated

DC: 3

Hostile

Keyword: Light, Plants

Cinder 7d6

Strike 4d6

Luck 4

The full face mask is a shiny onyx black, orange, purple, and blue cascading down from the forehead in a gradient. The surface is speckled with gold and silver, like stars in the sky. The face itself is that of a woman, expression serene, with delicate carved curls on the sides of her face.

The vines slam into the nymph’s body and worm beneath her skin. She screams, her eyes rolling back in her head, and the vines that killed her fall away first, before her floral body starts to blacken and ash. Pieces flutter from her body like petals, revealing the woman who’d taken the mask.

The mask falls away last as the woman gently collapses into a fading pile of petals. She is unharmed, only fainted, and the mask lies next to her, black and twinkling with tiny lights.

[Asphodel Malvolia]

Sarah’s sweet offer earned her a black look. It might’ve been charming if it wasn’t leveled at Asphodel when she was feeling so foul. Still, to her credit, she did in fact “do it herself” and the vampire couldn’t help a satisfied smile when the vines slammed home in the nymph’s chest.

What happened next wasn’t so simple. The body of the nymph seemed to fade away into nothing, leaving the woman who’d stolen the mask. Crossing her arms, Asphodel peered down at the woman, listening the heartbeat of someone who was simply sleeping.

Her legs stung and bled, and to look down at the woman looking so peaceful made her want to snarl. What trouble. Unfortunately, it didn’t look like she would be tasting a nymph’s blood this evening. Dragging her tongue along her top teeth under her lip, Asphodel bent to pick up the mask and turned it over in her hands.

If she weren’t already wearing a mask she might’ve been tempted to slip it on. “What are those goddamn cultists up to?” she griped to herself, as she turned it over to gaze at the lovely carved face. She wasn’t inclined to return it, but she also wasn’t interested in handing it over to Sarah.

[Sarah Silvers]

Mim stepped closer to Delilah to peek over her shoulder at the golden mask then looked over at the girl sleeping. She clicked her tongue in disappointment seeing that it was just a human and not a real nymph. The witch let out a long low sigh, seeming to deflate a bit after the fun. She wasn't used to such conflict herself, she preferred to work from a distance cursing people. Mim put her hand on her hip as she looked at Delilah who seemed to be hoarding that mask while muttering about cultists. She said it like she was familiar with the cult in question.

A small smile tugged at Mim's lips as she stepped to the side opposite of the held mask and moved to link an arm with the pretty blonde. "Well, let's go ask them. Like- they gotta at least reward us for finding this right?" she said with childish enthusiasm returning to her speech.

[Asphodel Malvolia]

Cinder Hypnosis, 6/5, Extraordinary success, contested

Asphodel looked over at Sarah when she linked her arm through hers, all sweet charm again. Oh, but she was sweet. Sweet and vile. The vampire liked that.

Running her tongue over her top teeth again, she leaned over and curled her finger under Sarah's chin, her smile returning. It was sharper than usual, a little predatory as she sought her eyes and asked, “Yes, but first, you'll let me feed. Won't you?”

Her voice took on a musical quality, interlaced with magic that would make the request sound honeyed and delightful.

[Sarah Silvers]

Mim contested Cinder, 9d6: Exceptional Success (5 passes)
5 vs 6, fine have your filthy witch blood

As Mim slipped into place beside the blond the other woman reached around and ran fingers along Mim's chin. Her touch sent a small shiver along the witch's body that seemed to find a resting spot at the top of her scalp. She liked it a bit too much.

When she made eye contact with the vampire Mim noted that she wasn't as tall as her new friend and that she liked looking up at her. She liked her eyes. Those eyes that seemed to swell in her vision. That seemed to expand past and push everything else away.

Fear, concern, worry, suspicion. All of it pushed away while she looked into the woman's eyes. She wanted something, to feed? Mim could give her that.

She could give her anything she wanted. Just as long as- something dark and heated twisted in mim's mind the world seemed to tilt for a second and that set things skewed and let perspective leak back in.

Mim's eyes shifted from a kind of docile adoration to something more serpentine. Pleased but also venomous.

The witch reached up and gently wove her fingers over Delilah's hand, a lover's light touch.

"Of course.... if you give me a small taste in return." Mim was fighting the compulsion. She doubted she could have actually said no... but she could turn the desire to give this woman something to her own advantage.

And her touch did feel so very good.

[Asphodel Malvolia]

Strike Feeding, 4vsDC2, hit
Cinder Venom (5/5), extraordinary success, contested

If Asphodel had felt more charitable, she might've entertained the question, but such was not the case. Sarah had annoyed her with her frivolous attempts at magic and now even more so with her scrabbling about for more. She did not hypnotize the girl just so she could enter into some kind of negotiation--what mattered was that she was pliant, accepting of the vampire's fangs and venom.

Ignoring it altogether, with a roll of her eyes, she pushed Sarah's chin up and to one side and dipped her head in with a practiced motion. Fangs dripping with potent oily venom pushed into the girl's soft, pale flesh, injecting her with a morphine-like magical substance to dull the pain before the vampire began to feed.

[Sarah Silvers]

Contested Strike 4d6: Fail (2/5)

There had been a plan. Even if she was told no. Mim didn't take no very well as a rule of thumb. She was going to draw from the moment and gather it. If the woman was a bit rough, Mim planned to bite back and draw her own blood and turn that in a component in her mouth until she could bottle it. There had been a plan.

But then the most wonderful feeling spread from Delilah's lips. From her teeth. It swam in Mim's blood and her eyes fluttered at the sense of euphoria and pleasure. The heat she felt was more than she would have been comfortable a second ago... but now she was floating in this wonderful drug in her blood. Mim leaned into it and her voice let out a small groan revealing more than a little pleasure in the act.

Unconsciously Mim's hand reached up, but not to push the vampire away. Instead her fingers crawled along the other woman's stomach, palm flat, as she ran her hand along the undead's body. The act was obviously sexual but the Witch's eyes were closed now as she leaned her head farther to the side her mind a million miles away enjoying the high.

[Asphodel Malvolia]

With her focus entirely on feeding, hot human blood welling around her lips, Asphodel let Sarah touch her as she liked. She heard the girl moan as she went soft and pliant, and felt the hand on her stomach and chuckled through her mouthful, a vile little feeling of satisfaction rushing through her. Her venom did the work of subduing the upstart girl while she was forced to enjoy it. A pound of flesh for the annoyance she put Asphodel through.

Her hand rested on the other side of the girl's slender neck as she took her blood while the other pulled at her waist. Still, this was not as much about feeding as it was about exerting dominance, and she did not take her fill. After pumping her full of venom and taking a few mouthfuls, the vampire unlatched, leaving a little circle of blood and lipstick on Sarah's neck.

Taking in her glassy appearance, Asphodel smiled before dabbing her pinky at the corner of her mouth to wipe away a dribble of blood. “Why don't you lie down?” she soothed sweetly, urging Sarah toward one of the trees where she intended to prop her against the trunk. “You look like you could use a rest.”

[Sarah Silvers]

Mim's mind was a pleasant fog as she felt herself guided downward. She let out a pleased little mumble as she felt herself rest against a tree- eyes half open.

Some part of her mean little mind wondered if all vampires made feeding feel this good? If so she'd have to keep one as a pet. Maybe she could bottle the feeling to sell... she wished she was in her bed with her silk sheets right now.

[Asphodel Malvolia]

The girl went without complaint and Asphodel leaned her gently against the tree trunk. Smirking down at her, she looked satisfied, one hand on her hip, the other clutching the bronzed mask to her chest. What a nasty little creature she was. She was sure this wouldn't be the last she saw of Sarah around Easthaven. Hopefully the next time wouldn't be in a morgue after the Exchange had to take care of her. Ritualists did so love to get out of hand.

Asphodel removed her half mask and tossed it down at Sarah's feet. Then, without another word, she turned and left the orchard. She quickly found a member of the Dionysisan cult after she returned to the mask shop. Naturally, the vampire had to give them grief: she let them know that the Exchange would hear about this, even threatening to take the mask for her own collection, but in the end, she returned the lovely mask.

With the last shreds of her charity, she told them about Sarah's location in the orchard and begrudgingly noted that she might've been of some help in the whole endeavor. Best not leave her there, high out of her mind until she was stiff as a board. Wouldn't that be a shame.

[Third on the Match]

With the return of the mask, Ash and Mim are both given a boon, although separately. A boon of hyaloclastite carved in the shape of a small star. The holder of the piece of hyaloclastite can re-roll a Strike attack roll once per thread, but they must touch the star to see if the Gods will offer mercy.