Dark Jack

The Prophecy

There, I wrote a post as the yth. As you might be able to tell it turns out that Thaler's command did work, somewhat, but not entirely as intended in that the yth is now compelled to listen to and obey any further orders directed at it, but until it receives a command that prevents this it will remain hostile. This doesn't show IC, of course, but I just wanted to tell you what the ultimate effect of her command really was.

The Prophecy

Shienvien said Uhh... And how exactly does Nilick's mind and predicting work? I kind of assumed that she would draw the information up and do the probabilities when asked, not calculate in advance... And how would it all with interact with her slumber?

The problem with Nilick is that she doesn't really actively think about the things she wants to conjure knowledge about in the sense that she has to remember them or otherwise concentrate on them to make them fresh in her mind; rather her knowledge of everything that has ever happened, is happening and may ever happen is always fresh in her mind and always readily available. The sheer enormity of the stress this puts on her is why she needs to sleep a thousand years every time she spends one day awake, because if she didn't, her mind would pretty much just... I don't even know. Cease functioning altogether, probably, reducing her to a drooling vegetable, which is close to happening at the end of each of those single days she spends awake anyway. Even when she sleeps all of the Oracle's knowledge is still there, in the foreground of her mind, but she is not conscious of it... Her mind is shut off during this time, and there is literally nothing left in her but all knowledge about everything.

cthulu said @DJ does Thaler haz pet?

Shienvien said (...It would take a whole deal of power and complexity from her words to control this supposedly highly intelligent and driven-mad beast for more than two or three seconds. I somehow imagine it would be as hard - if not even harder - to control as the average human.

Shienvien said (Yes, I recall what her words do... It's just "go and bite that person there, and not any other; also don't walk over those guys lying on ground and just ignore those other guys trying to poke holes in you, m'kay?" is much more complex than "back down", "sleep", "stop", "kneel" or some such command, and making it last for long enough on a half-mad being that's all "Freedom!!!" and isn't even humanoid (at least in my mind, mind-controlling things that are different from you is always much more hard to do than controlling ones similar to you) will only add to the load. Back in the old RP, you stated that using the word thrice in one day is pretty much her last limit...

See, this is where it all comes down to the difference between Thaler's True Words and the deities' True Words... for one thing the sentence Thaler spoke just then - "Serve me" - has no power in the deities' True Words because their commands are firstly always single-worded, and secondly because only True Verbs and a few names of epic importance have power in it, whereas the rest are simply there, mundane aside from being the equivalent in all other languages in existence. For another, while the deities' commands are controlled and directed by the will of the speaker so that only the speaker's interpretation has any influence over it, it was once determined that Thaler's commands rely more on the target's interpretation. And finally, while the perfect True Words command reality itself and bend the Planes to them (more or less), Thaler's imperfect ones only command the minds of beings, and only do so if the target cannot muster the will and strength to resist.
That said, I don't know for certain whether her command would work yet... I think I will write a post once I feel capable of doing so, and will assume direct control of the yth as I do that to better understand it and know whether it would succumb. There are several things that should be pointed out about this yth, though: this particular specimen is approximately ten feet long and nearly two feet wide across the shoulders, and its entire form is swelling so enormously with muscle that it's pretty much fit to burst; it is by no means as intelligent as the yth Aemoten fought, and even less so than the one Jaelnec killed, although it is pretty much fearless; and finally, it is a lot less concerned with freedom than it is with "HUNRGY! THIRSTY! NEED PIAAN!"... Yeah, as that last bit would suggest this yth is actually quite stupid and impressionable, but it is also absolutely frenzied and experiencing piaan-withdrawal, which is not pleasant.
Will it serve Thaler? Depends on how it ends up interpreting her command, and what it thinks of it. And regardless of whether the Words actually work or not, "serve" is indeed a lot more complex than many other single-action commands... I doubt that it would actually make the yth enter servitude under her, even for a short time, as much as it would just confuse it.

Shit is still on my plate here so I can't pull myself together to post just yet, but hopefully things will calm down soon so I can get my head back on straight and find my characters somewhere in there.

The Prophecy

Hmm... so in other words Koraakan does not only lacking knowledge of the future or anything that has not yet been carried out or done already, but lacks even mundane foresight into events? It is incapable of telling whether anything will happen before it already has? In other words, if Rilon was to swing his fist at Koraakan, the One would not actually view the swing as a punch or consider it a threat altogether until the moment the fist made contact? Or do you mean that the One will simply not share antyhing that it doesn't know with certainty?
I'm also thinking that since Koraakan is apparently in possession of the knowledge and thoughts of all other beings (or at least the ones it concentrates on), wouldn't the fact that several beings throughout the Planes know what causes the Withering mean that the One knows as well? And wouldn't the fact that another several beings strongly suspect - and at least one knows for certain - how to end the Withering mean that Koraakan knew this, too? What's stopping the One in just focusing on the Oracle and learning everything she knows by knowing what she... ugh, that one got weird quickly.
And I presume that Koraakan's tail-spikes are unaffected by the flames altogether?

The Prophecy

Eh... Two things about the Koraakan-post, the first of which is that it can hardly be said that Rilon did nothing to stop the One's tail and tail-spikes from tearing his arm apart when fire is venting through his wounds, and the tail is pretty much wrapped around a very much wounded arm. The second and more worrying thing is concerning the fact that Koraakan just named itself all-knowing in regards to all things past and present, citing that the only advantage the Oracle had was in knowing the future (which she doesn't, per se... she can only see the consequences of choice, and calculate the odds of events taking place and their outcome depending on decisions made). I can't help but to feel that the One having unlimited knowledge of all things is somewhat overpowered (especially considering that its knowledge is apparently so detailed that it knows what Rilon is thinking at any given moment) and that there being some kind of limits to its knowledge would probably be fair... but I'm also (still - I think I mentioned this already, long ago) concerned about it seeming a bit illogical that the group - Aemoten in particular - would undertake their quest in the first place when it would be much faster and easier to just make a bargain for a cure for the Withering, since Koraakan - being all-knowing - would obviously know exactly how such a thing could be accomplished.
Unless of course you explained to me why that wouldn't work back then and I just forgot, I think there needs to be a reason why such a thing could not be done.

(On another note I can also point out that Koraakan was definitely downright wrong in one of his observations about Rilon: the Blood God definitely cares about family. Very much so. His sister is very important to him.)

The Prophecy

Shienvien said Hmm... Average adult human typically has a skull 16-18 cm wide, with a depth (distance from forehead to the back of head) of 20-22 cm. (6.3''-7'' and 7.9''-8.7'' respectively.) Skin, hair, et cetera would only add to the measurements... In other words, human skulls are pretty big things, and their jaws would have to be capable of opening up pretty wide to accommodate. And swallowing (I actually didn't go that far, I just pictured them taking half a head between their jaws) would be an entire different matter, especially since it has been stressed that they cannot expand their jawbones like snakes do... Neck-wise it would be okay, it's only jawbones that are questionable.
As for the yth width matter (aside of head) - I understood that the ten inches was at their widest. My statement was mostly derived from the fact they appear to be have fairly large heads, followed by three or four inches until the arms, which have been stated to be as thick and strong as average human arms (my own upper arms are maybe three and a half inches thick, so let's go with that for simplicity) begin... Well, there is not too much yth left after the arms. From the back of head to the underside of the last pair of arms would be over a foot. You'd also have to take account of the fact that the long arms make their upper bodies very massive, and accordingly, the hind body must be quite powerful to be of any use while moving or rearing up...

Yeah, I see what you mean... I'll admit that when I designed yths I did so more hurriedly and abruptly than with most of my other original species (usually I'll get the idea and ponder on it, thinking every detail over for at least several days and trying to picture it in my mind all the while before I even try to write a description) and I realize now that I was definitely off with some of the proportions because I only saw each part of the creature separately at the time and didn't try to make them match; even worse than that, I didn't even stop to think about whether I could have made a mistake after I'd designed them, I just went with it. Clearly some of the yth-dimensions will have to be altered, I see that now, and feel somewhat annoyed that I didn't realize this myself much, much earlier.
First of all the head clearly needs to be smaller; I'd say that if an adult yth can open its jaws 15 cm/5.9 inches that would be somewhat appropriate... This won't make them ridiculously oversized, I think, and will mean that they definitely can't go around swallowing people's heads but will still be able to bite down on most limbs and the throat. That's probably the best compromise in that regard, I think. Its body probably also needs to be a little thicker, particularly in the torso, so if I adjust that to average a full foot in width (excluding "shoulders") but only nine inches thick, that seems to suit it better... at least in my mental image. If the tail is then made a little thicker - let's say that rather than there being a sudden narrowing beneath the torso, the tail will rather adjust its width to more closely match the thickness of it and then narrow towards the tip of the tail at a constant rate. And finally let's add an extra foot to the length of the tail (which I realize now, horrifyingly, is actually close to an increase of 30% its previous length even with the head being downsized), bringing an adult yth up to a total average length of six feet. The arms will remain as they are now.
Hmm... in my head that seems more realistic. What do you think?

The Prophecy

Huh? Yth heads? Let me look up their description...
Hmm, I think I know where that went wrong. In regards to the size of an yth's head, what I meant to say when I wrote it was that they were able to fit a man's head through their maw - that is, the head from top down would fit through their mouth and feed straight into their throat without the need to carve it into pieces first - not that a man's entire head could be in their mouth at the same time. The mouth is big enough to fit the (what to call the dimensions of a human head...) width and length (?) of a human head between its jaws, but not its height (???). Meh, you know what I mean. The head will still be big, but not that big. I don't know what I was thinking with the fangs, though... might have confused inches with centimeters or something right at that moment, because seven inches sounds like a lot. It'd be more like three or four inches, I think.
Concerning their stockiness aside from the size of their heads, the point I described as being the thickest, at ten inches, is their "chest" area (where the arms are connected), which is relatively compact, actually... The tail would be significantly thinner (immediately beneath the "torso" it would slim down to six or seven inches, and then continue to slim towards the point from there) and its throat (unexpanded - their proportions expand when swallowing large objects, obviously) would be around eight inches thick.
...I think.

The Prophecy

The wind played with a strand of wispy white hair in front of Gerald's eyes as he stared at Jillian incredulously for a second at her response to his comment on her choice of spell. More explosions than I can count? Does she mean... Rilon's thirst, the girl is insane. So not only did she intend to cast a spell that was projectile-based and difficult or impossible to aim with - so much so that she feared that she might not be able to avoid even hitting themselves - and for which the projectiles could basically shoot and hit anywhere, including among their own allies, but these projectiles were also explosive? And while he still did not know the properties or even the name of the spell in question, the witch's confidence in her choice seemed to suggest that the explosions would be rather significant, too. It was certainly a spell of impressive destructive power, possibly more so than any of the ones recorded in Gerald's spell book, but had she completely forgotten that they were supposed to be helping people at the moment? Were meant to protect something? This spell seemed like it was more likely to kill the Anaximite defenders and tear apart - and if it was fire-based, probably also burn down - most of the forest than to actually help turn the tide of the battle.
Trust you? he thought as he turned his gaze onto the trees before him, where they would perform their magic. I have known you for less than an hour, woman, and while you admittedly have demonstrated a notable affinity for magic and destruction in that time, you've also proven that you lack good judgment and have a disturbing disregard for others. The irony of him - a person that only days ago sacrificed most of the population of Shrubnest to save himself and his research - thinking that about another person was not lost on Gerald, but there was a difference between being willing to sacrifice others and not caring about sacrificing others.
So no, the warlock thought that it would probably be an extremely unwise decision for the time being to place any quantity of trust in Jillian until she had proven herself a little more reliable than that. Unfortunately he had no choice at the moment; they still did not have time to memorize a new spell, and if this was the best she could do, it would have to suffice. Maybe he could use Electric Surge? No, its range was too short... Kreshtaat.

And speaking of unfathomably powerful demons fated to wreck havoc and take countless of lives across the Planes, Gerald was startled just then by the sound of small pieces of clattering metal only several yards away, and which he turned his head to discover had come from a familiar-looking heavy iron chain, its links appearing half-melted and corroded, that had just fallen from the sky. Looking upward, he was rewarded with the sight of Diego trying desperately to escape from three wyverns and wyvern-riders at once, performing some impressive aerial acrobatics and employing his outstanding maneuverability to its very limit, yet apparently struggling. The winged demonspawn flew much more slowly now, he noticed, and his movements were getting clumsier by the second... and when he looked really hard, he could see that the other's right arm was practically drenched in (surprisingly) red blood from the shoulder and down. And as Gerald continued moving towards the tree line and looking up at the scene, another several wyverns joined the hunt, and it was not long before the deo'iel was completely swarmed... and then, once surrounded, he was shrouded by a greenish mist of wyvern-toxin.
The wyverns pulled away to save their riders from the deadly gas, but before it could get away, a pale hand burst forth from the mist and seized one of the wyverns' hindmost tail-spike so that as it flew away, it pulled Diego - now too weak to even beat his wings anymore - with it. He must have clutched at the spike with the very last of his strength, being able to hold on like that, but even that feat was nothing compared to what came next. Before the wyvern could shake off its unwelcome passenger its entire body seemed to start convulsing spasmodically, and so did its rider. A finger of lightning suddenly sprang between the vicious predator and the ground, accompanied by a clap of thunder.
And just like that the wyvern and its rider fell lifelessly to the ground... and the demonspawn, having relinquished his old on the creature, followed close behind it. Good, Gerald thought, aware of how macabre it was to think such a thing in that situation. It would have been harder to get their attention to focus on me if something else was attacking them. Me being the only threat will make it easier.
He also shot a look behind him, at the hulking giant of a mercenary from earlier, but he did not seem to be doing much, having left behind the wind-speaker and now being headed in much the same direction as him and Jillian. Their axe-wielding protector had broken off their course and had gone to intercept the dangerous crusader, so there was probably nothing to worry about.

Once they entered the inadequate shelter of the Anaxim trees, their thick boughs crisscrossing over their heads even as their leaves blotted out the sky, Gerald seized a mental image of himself in his mind and focused on it, picturing his viewpoint as being far above himself, using the entire visible surrounding area to reinforce the scene. He imagined the horizon, not in detail but simply as a line to indicate height, and hoped that the two pictures together would allow him to create his Shadow Image high up in the air despite of not being able to see or picture the destination of the spell.
"I am going to cast the spell now," he told Jillian quickly, turning to face her even as he continued panting from the run there. He began to repeat the incantation and gestures needed for the spell, and prepared his energy for spending. "When I do my body will go limp, but that is only because my consciousness will no longer be concentrated here. I won't be able to move or speak while I'm up there, so when it is time you will have to take my hand yourself..." He paused, thinking. "And if there is anything you want to say before this, now is the time; I can't guarantee that I will hear it once I cast the spell, and I definitely won't be able to reply."

The Prophecy

Ugh, I'm very sorry about my recent inactivity, guys, but some serious shit has hit the fan in real life here, and it's really hard to find the time and energy to put together a post. I'll still post, though, don't worry, but it might take somewhat longer than usual... this time, for instance, I've only posted as the woman despite me also wanting to post as Gerald, because I finished one but not the other. I'll post as Gerald when I can, and then I'll get to work on a post as Jaelnec, then as Rilon... but I can't really estimate when they'll be done. So yeah... sorry.

EDIT: Okay, I have to face that I won't get to finish the post as Gerald today, so that will have to wait until tomorrow... In the meantime I think I'll share a little something that I started working on just after the old RPGuild went down; a compilation in progress of spells of the Planes. I call it the Book of Spells.

Arcane spells:
Acidic Lunge: Thoph menrirl kohrx vanedth maaez grumert, cowath thoujm vanedth dregoth, harteor setogar jhoon. "Extract air [and] change [it to] liquid water [and] earth, [with the] power [of] destruction [of] liquid fire, [and] release [it] projected [from] myself." Forms a glob of extremely potent acid in front of the caster, which hurls itself in whatever direction the caster desires to rapidly corrode anything it touches. Alternate versions: Air-affinity (Corrosive Fog): When striking a target the glob will, instead of splattering, disperse into green fog that spreads over a progressively growing area, continuously corroding anything within it with exponentially decreasing efficiency until it disperses altogether. Water-affinity (Acid Fist): The glob of acid is launched with far greater force and velocity than usual, and is capable of knocking a grown man off his feet in addition to its corrosive properties. Earth-affinity (Greater Acidic Lunge): Improves upon the normal version by greatly increasing the corrosive properties of the spell. Fire-affinity (Burning Glob): In addition to its usual properties, the acid made by the spell also manifests as heated almost to the point of vaporizing, and will both corrode and burn anything it hits for increased destructive properties.
Bonds of the Land: Thoph smaiwe gohn grumert sonedth, tuagar eren meethal caihl menrirl, lemesatheli dweneth lemesatheli, dweneth sonedth meethal xarthliir caihl menrirl, kohrx harteor dweneth, lemesatheli brega, jhoon cowath. "Summon [the] hardness of stone, small [and] flat spheres [with] holes [of] air, copy [and] lock [these together and] copy [again], lock [together] strongly [with a] cylinder penetrated [by] air, alternately open [or] locked, copy all, [put it in] my power." High-difficulty spell that forms shackles of the minerals of the soil, with the bindings, once closed, being unlocked by the caster's will alone. Alternate versions: Earth- or stone-affinity (No name): creates bulkier, even stronger shackles. Air-affinity (No name): Shackles are lighter and frailer, but can be remotely moved by the caster's will.
Boom: Dweneth baadas meethal menrirl, harteor jhoon cowath thagir. "Hold sound [in a] sphere [of] wind, unleash [it by] my [will as a] powerful explosion." Causes a deafening burst of sound to emit from the caster. Alternate versions: Sound-affinity (Dread Pandemonium): Causes a sound even louder than the normal version, capable of bursting most eardrums and causing unconsciousness within several feet of the caster. Air-affinity (Cry of Dismissal): Adds a shockwave to the burst of sound, knocking down those near the caster in addition to deafening and dazing them.
Electric Surge: Thagir dhnirhilk atonakuv, setogar jhoon. "Spread out/cause explosion [of] chaotic lightning, projected [from] myself." A low-difficulty spell that causes the caster's body to briefly wrap in electricity, which then immediately leaps outward in all directions and electrocutes anything and anyone within range. Alternate versions: Lightning-affinity (No name): Results in a significantly more deadly Electrical Surge, with a much larger area of effect. Chaos-affinity (Lightning Vortex): The spell manifests not as lightning spreading out from the caster, but as a number of arcing bolts of lightning that are projected continuously for several seconds, whipping from side to side and up and down, electrocuting whatever they touch. Has longer range and higher destructive power than the original, but is less reliable as not all targets might be near the randomly appearing arcs of lightning.
Emberstorm: Lemesatheli lemesatheli tuagar dregoth, raithla faihgn menrirl gnaihf jhoon. "Copy [and] copy [over] shrunken flame, not moved [by] wind [and] instead [by] me." Summons a multitude of tiny specks of fire from the center of the caster's palms, which will move as directed by the caster's will independently of ambient wind. Each bit of flame has limited destructive potential and are relatively harmless, although they have been known to ignite flammable materials they come into direct contact with. Alternate versions: Fire-affinity (Firestorm): Causes the flames created by the spell to radiate significantly more heat than the original version, allowing ignition of materials to occur faster and lending the spell greater destructive power. Air-affinity (No name): Causes the air within the Emberstorm to move with the magic, making the movement of the flames also create gusts of wind dependent on its movement speed.
Fireball: Purthev cowath thagir meethal dregoth. "Summon [a] powerful explosive ball [of] fire." Very popular low-difficulty energy-expensive spell that summons a single large orb of self-contained flame, which is launched in a given direction at the caster's command. Upon impact with any physical obstruction it will detonate into an explosion of considerable force and heat. Alternate versions: Fire-affinity (Greater Fireball): The fireball burns even more intensely than usual, and upon exploding will unleash a scorching inferno to burn adjacent targets even more than the original version would have.
Flaming Volley: Purthev tuagar meethal dregoth harteor dregoth thagir, lemesatheli raithla lemesatheli, cowath gohn shnail jhoon. "Summon small balls [of] fire [that] unleash fiery explosions, copy [in] another place [and] copy [more], [its] power belongs [to its] master [who is] me." Creates a number of small fireballs in front of the caster, which will hold stationary in relation to the caster until commanded to move, at which time they will shoot forward and upwards to rain down on the area of effect, causing fiery explosions where they hit. Alternate versions: Fire-affinity (Greater Flaming Volley): The fireballs created by the spell burn more hotly and brightly, and upon impact create much more devastating explosions capable of charring flesh in an instant.
Gravitational Defiance: Dweneth jhoon raithla peigein grumert, tuagar jhoon sonedth brega menrirl. "Seal my movement towards [the] ground, diminish my solidity [and make me] one with [the] wind." Causes the gravitational acceleration of the caster to decrease greatly and usually sets their terminal velocity to a non-lethal speed to allow long falls to be endured without sustaining injury or death.
Spark Javelin: Setogar atonakuv jhoon, dweneth cowath tywrui thoulg, raithla gohn peignein. "Project lightning [from] myself, constraining [its] power [in a] elongated [and] sharp [shape], moving [to] its destination." Creates an electrical charge in the caster's hand, to be launched in any desired direction. Upon launch it will assume the appearance of a short spear made of lightning, which will travel unwaveringly forward, potentially passing through and electrocuting numerous targets before its energy is depleted. Alternate versions: Lightning-affinity (Lightning Spear): Creates a bigger, even more powerful electrical projectile that can char flesh at contact and travel further than the original spell.
Spectral Projection: Thoph setogar gohn jhoon, caihl brijhal caihl gothor, peigein brega. "Summon [the] projection owned [by] me, [which] pierces light [and] pierces shadow, [and let that] place [and this] become one." Projects the caster's senses to another location, allowing one to see and hear what occurs elsewhere without being physically present. Alternate versions: Shadow-affinity (Shadow Image): Instead of creating an invisible projection of the caster's senses, this spell forms a ghostly black silhouette of the caster at the location and allows it to not only sense through this, but also speak through and invoke magic through it. Light-affinity (Blinding Visage): Like Shadow Image, this causes the appearance of a visible form at the destination of the spell, only now the spell will manifest as a brightly glowing phantom, through which the caster can sense and speak, but not invoke magic.

Black spells:
Shared Fate: Biehl bethaath qyth gaath veehn voohl. "Bind [together] lives [and] fates, [let] death [call for] powerful retribution." Magically joins the fates of the caster and the target, ensuring that if either of them dies while the spell is in effect, so will the other.

The Prophecy

He is capable of instant travel? she thought, surprised but not startled by her possible target's sudden disappearance and subsequent reappearance - although it took a couple of seconds for her to confirm that the latter had occurred, since she had to scan the area a bit to spot him, suddenly located some way above street-level. Moving anywhere from the wooden beam he was on top of now would be difficult, she reasoned... but that would naturally not be a factor if he was capable of teleporting instantaneously. That would explain some of the reports of the Fixer's activities, if he can do that. And in such a state... he must be able to perform teleportation at a cost far below what others pay for such, perhaps even effortlessly. If so, it can be presumed that he can also do it repeatedly.
Her right arm twitched a little when the other vanished, her hand starting and them immediately stopping moving towards the hilt of the crystal-hilted sword at her hip. She held it in place for a second, debating with herself whether she should draw her weapon or not. Being armed in itself was often viewed as intimidating, she had observed, and having a weapon in hand was considered something that conveyed violent intent. If she drew her sword that might cause this man to attack her immediately, before she could confirm whether he was indeed her target, in which case she would be in an unfortunate dilemma, since her instructions were not to harm anyone at the moment aside from the Fixer and his associates. She was more vulnerable without her sword in hand, though, and with an opponent capable of instantaneous transportation even a momentary delay could prove fatal; if it really was the Fixer, her chances of winning even a battle she was prepared for were slim. There were better tools for this job. She was not suited for direct confrontation with an opponent of the type the Fixer reputedly was... or the one Grim once was.
In the end her hand fell back down her side, away from her sword. Her muscles remained taut and ready, though, and her thumbs moved upward just slightly so that their tips rested just behind the first phalanges of her index fingers, barely touching, ready to move downward quickly and rub along the skin in such a way that it would erase the small arcane glyphs she had drawn there.

The man turned on his perch, only to reveal to her that the lower half of his face was concealed behind a mask and the top by a crimson hood, making facial recognition - especially from this far away and this angle - unreliable at best. When he spoke his voice was distorted by some kind of hoarseness, which real or faked still served the purpose of rendering her incapable of telling whether it was the voice of the Fixer. His choice of words, though... "No meaning to me." That did not sound like something the Fixer would say, nor how anyone trying to hide the opposite of what they were saying would express themselves. An atypical response was not a reliable indicator of honesty, and since she could not read his expression or tone of voice, there was really no way for her to confirm whether or not this was the Fixer.
Was it the Fixer, though? Her soul wards had detected the presence of the Grand Master's energy in this one, just as the Fixer was supposed to have, so that much fit, and although it was possible that this was not the man who had triggered the wards but had simply been at the wrong place at the wrong time, he also wore an outfit with heraldry that was in accordance with the Fixer's supposed allegiance to the Crimson Dawn. If she sensed another ward being triggered she would accept that this was not the man, but as it was she had only felt the two near here giving off their signal. His size was about right for the man she had once known as Grim, although with his current posture it was too hard to determine the resemblance accurately. Then there was his reaction to her calling to him: he had used an ability that could have been utilized to eliminate her immediately to escape out of harm's way, thus giving up the advantage keeping such an ability would have represented when she had been unaware of it. Had it been Grim he would have moved behind her instead and killed her in a heartbeat the second she had spoken up. Unless his ability only allowed movement to locations within his field of vision? No, that was guesswork, no point in thinking along those lines. Besides, it was not Grim she was hunting, it was the Fixer, and as such she could not rely on him acting as Grim would have.
All in all she found that she had no way of telling whether this man was or was not the Fixer at the moment... not from this distance. If she got closer and got to inspect his eyes, however - to check for illusionary magic and the like and confirm their true appearance - then she could be sure. It was impossible to mistake Grim's eyes for anyone else's. So although that logically was the course most likely to get her killed, she had to get this man within arm's reach while he was still alive. She had to know for certain. Such were her orders.

To a Sniffer observing her, this woman would seem even stranger than she did to ordinary people, as the way her soul moved and coursed through her body was abnormally regular. Whereas common creatures of all kinds had their energy twist and writhe within them, flowing in ever-changing directions controlled by the eddies and blockades of emotion, this woman's energy flowed evenly and practically undisturbed, running through her with unobstructed ease, barely ever straying even the slightest from its natural path. Similarly she did not project emotion at all, aside perhaps from a dull constant hum of obedience. To a Sniffer more than anyone else it would be painfully and maybe unnervingly evident what she was: a person without emotions and opinions. A person who is not a person. She knew this, and she thought nothing of it; it was what her master wanted, so it was what she had to be. She did not recall being different than this, nor did she have any desire to. She had no desire at all, aside from the one to serve her master.
Her knees hurt worse now, sore from the run here. She would have to return to safety and apply heat to them, as her master had prescribed, once this was over. It would dull the pain. She had to continue functioning so that she could serve her master. For now, though, she had to stay here. She ignored her knees, and focused her attention on the man who might be the Fixer.

"I serve my master," she replied to the other's question as to her purpose, her voice and expression dispassionate as ever. Her purpose? Another anomalous phrasing, yet a question that was simpler for her to answer than the others people were likely to ask her in such a situation. "I have been ordered to find the assassin known as the Fixer." She paused briefly, then added: "Approach me and let me examine your eyes so that I can ascertain whether you are him."

The Prophecy

They don't lift themselves off the ground with their arms when they "skitter" - at most they would elevate their frontmost body a little, but they would generally only do so if the surface they were on was somehow unpleasant to touch - but their claws are utilized when they move, as suggested. But yeah, you get the idea...

Aemoten would target its other anchored arm? Poor creature... at that point it would probably lose its grip on the guard, who would just fall back onto the floor, whereas the effort the yth put into trying to pull the guard down would propel it backwards and down the stairs. By then it would be extremely weak and incapable of catching itself, so it would let its body go limp as it fell, bleeding profusely all the way down but remaining silent (yths rarely make noise normally)... and that would really be all. It'd be too weak to move much after that, let alone try to escape or fight, so it's pretty much out of the picture.