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Twin Emperors[EPIC RPG MKIV] - Story Minute
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<blockquote data-quote="Iron Sky" data-source="post: 7093055" data-attributes="member: 60965"><p><strong>Session 4 - Sixfold Suffering</strong></p><p></p><p>Five years ago, Wolfpic, Boulderlander Thane of the Stoneborn Clan, set out with the Winter Horde to invade the northern reaches of the Aedaric Empire. The invasion slammed to a halt in the face of Praetor Ralius and the amassed Curitas Legions who smashed the massed Boulderlanders against a wall of wood and bronze, sending the remnants of the fractured clans scattering in all directions. </p><p></p><p>With their people hunted and on the run, Wolfpic's mother, Sinsia, attempted to seduce Ralius and then kill him, but her plan was discovered before she could carry it out. In a calculated move, Ralius had her crucified at the gates of the 13th Legion Camp. When Wolfpic led the remnants of his people in a heroic charge to put an end to her her dying agony, they were massacred and Wolfpic crucified beside his wife. </p><p></p><p>One year ago, their son Nonac crossed the Frozen Marsh to seek vengeance for his family and people, a week ago catching first sight of the sheer mountains of Saito's Wall.</p><p></p><p>Four days ago, a band of foreign barbarians were captured sneaking into Chiain and set for execution the following dawn. A deal was made with their jailers Aiko Hara and her sister Hamura to break them free in exchange for helping recover their kidnapped twin siblings, later determined to be kidnapped by "bandits".</p><p></p><p>Tonight, after the successful assault on the bandit's liar and the merciful release of the lone bandit survivor, Aiko discovered the rescued "Twins" weren't the Twins but a brother and sister kidnapped from a village further north by a man named Akuma and a small group of mercenaries, led by one Brassy Jons. She insisted they needed to continue the search for the real twins.</p><p></p><p>This brought into debate whether the letter of their agreement had been met; after all, the group had assaulted a fortified camp outnumbered 2 to 1 to rescue them – it wasn't their fault that they were the wrong kids. Under interrogation about the coincidences of having her bail them out the same day the Twin Emperors died, she finally volunteered that she and Hamura had received a ransom request for their siblings and hatched a plan. They spread word in Heaven's Gateway about the possibility of sneaking into Chiain and bribed the bargemaster to turn a blind eye and allow foreigners easy entry - a crime he later died horribly for. Thus they found some foreigners to "kidnap" Aiko to hide their true intentions while also gathering outsiders familiar with the world beyond Chiain – outsiders now grateful and indebted for their escape from the headsman's block.</p><p></p><p>At the tail end of the discussion, Boulderlander Nanoc Borix approached the outpost, claiming he sought worthy companions to aid him in his quest for vengeance on one Praetor Ralius, general of the 13th Legion now marching north to suppress a rebellion in the Eon Baronies. After a brief discussion, Nanoc joined the companions for their promise to help him in his eventual confrontation with Praetor Ralius.</p><p></p><p>They returned to negotiating a contract with Aiko – during which Gorge bluntly told Aiko he would “eat her heart when this is all over” - wherein she promised their weight in gold upon the Twins' safe return to Chiain. Watches were posted and everyone slept. </p><p></p><p>The next morning as they prepared to leave, Michkin discovered a gruesome shrine in the lair's cave – nine bandit corpses mutilated and joined in a ring around a stone altar laden with the fine vases they'd recovered. Closer examination found each vase packed with eyes, ears, fingers, tongues, and the largest and finest of the vessels filled to the brim with blood. Broken backwards across the altar, the "twins" they had rescued, drowned in pools of blood.</p><p></p><p>While Aiko made warding signs against Death Spirits and Raxtus set to cleaning the grisly vases, Pursus demanded to be bound, proclaiming he was responsible. As they complied, he declared that his arcane powers came with two curses laid by his Soul Bank masters – the weaker curse allowing his “manager”, Alban Raha, to access his senses and surface thoughts, the stronger allowing his “ceo” Salga Rathe to blank his mind and control him like a puppet.</p><p></p><p>Eliot Sam responded by driving his spear at Pursus' chest, the Soul Banker saved only by Aiko's Shen-fueled reflexes. As Eliot Sam stormed off, Aiko warned she had poisoned them during their night in prison in Chiain – and Nonac the night before at dinner – promising they'd begin to die within a week without receiving the antidote she had been slipping into their tea. The true cure: a rare plant only found in Chiain. </p><p></p><p>Unswayed, Eliot departed.</p><p></p><p>He had not gotten far when the lone survivor of the “bandit” mercenaries they'd just eliminated crashed through the forest, gesturing of pursuit as he ran for the lair. Sam dove for a hiding spot while the mercenary sprinted past, arriving at the cave to tell his panting tale of capture and escape from their execution guards now calling themselves the Sixfold Suffering Gang after suffering mutilation and banishment for allowing the companions' escape. Their leaders: the executioner and a beautiful young guard captain's daughter, Rya Min, come seeking vengeance against her father's killer, Rextus Atomi.</p><p></p><p>As the Sixfold Gang slinked through the bamboo groves, one of them tripped over Eliot Sam. Sure he was doomed, Eliot Sam fought a desperate running battle in the woods while the main body of the Sixfold Suffering Gang assaulted the switchbacks up the cliff face and Michkin used stealth and cunning to pick off a detachment sent to explore the cave. An intense exchange of arrow and javelin fire, plus a few spells hurled by Pursus filled the edges of the battle while Hamura and Nanoc battled a surge of Sixfold on the switchbacks. Despite starting the battle severely wounded and taking more wounds in the struggle, Eliot Sam managed to wipe out all of his pursuers in a series of skirmishes, chases, and ambushes in the woods.</p><p></p><p>In the climactic final moments of the struggle, Hamura drove her spear through the executioner atop the switchbacks while, inside the lair, Gorge slammed his massive club into Aiko's spine, killing her instantly. "Don't say I didn't warn you, bitch," he said, tossing her body into the waterfall.</p><p></p><p>Outside, with the executioner dead and Rya Min wounded and running, the broken and scattered remnants of the Sixfold Suffering Gang fled. </p><p></p><p>Shotly after, a confused Michken walked out of the cave, Aiko's broken body limp in his arms.</p><p></p><p>Upon seeing it, Hamura screamed in rage and grief, pushing up her sleeve to reveal a golden dragon arm band. A twist of it summoned inlaid armor and a fierce dragon mask, a steel katana materializing in her outstretched hand. </p><p></p><p>The legendary armaments of Chiain's elite Jade Warriors...</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Iron Sky, post: 7093055, member: 60965"] [b]Session 4 - Sixfold Suffering[/b] Five years ago, Wolfpic, Boulderlander Thane of the Stoneborn Clan, set out with the Winter Horde to invade the northern reaches of the Aedaric Empire. The invasion slammed to a halt in the face of Praetor Ralius and the amassed Curitas Legions who smashed the massed Boulderlanders against a wall of wood and bronze, sending the remnants of the fractured clans scattering in all directions. With their people hunted and on the run, Wolfpic's mother, Sinsia, attempted to seduce Ralius and then kill him, but her plan was discovered before she could carry it out. In a calculated move, Ralius had her crucified at the gates of the 13th Legion Camp. When Wolfpic led the remnants of his people in a heroic charge to put an end to her her dying agony, they were massacred and Wolfpic crucified beside his wife. One year ago, their son Nonac crossed the Frozen Marsh to seek vengeance for his family and people, a week ago catching first sight of the sheer mountains of Saito's Wall. Four days ago, a band of foreign barbarians were captured sneaking into Chiain and set for execution the following dawn. A deal was made with their jailers Aiko Hara and her sister Hamura to break them free in exchange for helping recover their kidnapped twin siblings, later determined to be kidnapped by "bandits". Tonight, after the successful assault on the bandit's liar and the merciful release of the lone bandit survivor, Aiko discovered the rescued "Twins" weren't the Twins but a brother and sister kidnapped from a village further north by a man named Akuma and a small group of mercenaries, led by one Brassy Jons. She insisted they needed to continue the search for the real twins. This brought into debate whether the letter of their agreement had been met; after all, the group had assaulted a fortified camp outnumbered 2 to 1 to rescue them – it wasn't their fault that they were the wrong kids. Under interrogation about the coincidences of having her bail them out the same day the Twin Emperors died, she finally volunteered that she and Hamura had received a ransom request for their siblings and hatched a plan. They spread word in Heaven's Gateway about the possibility of sneaking into Chiain and bribed the bargemaster to turn a blind eye and allow foreigners easy entry - a crime he later died horribly for. Thus they found some foreigners to "kidnap" Aiko to hide their true intentions while also gathering outsiders familiar with the world beyond Chiain – outsiders now grateful and indebted for their escape from the headsman's block. At the tail end of the discussion, Boulderlander Nanoc Borix approached the outpost, claiming he sought worthy companions to aid him in his quest for vengeance on one Praetor Ralius, general of the 13th Legion now marching north to suppress a rebellion in the Eon Baronies. After a brief discussion, Nanoc joined the companions for their promise to help him in his eventual confrontation with Praetor Ralius. They returned to negotiating a contract with Aiko – during which Gorge bluntly told Aiko he would “eat her heart when this is all over” - wherein she promised their weight in gold upon the Twins' safe return to Chiain. Watches were posted and everyone slept. The next morning as they prepared to leave, Michkin discovered a gruesome shrine in the lair's cave – nine bandit corpses mutilated and joined in a ring around a stone altar laden with the fine vases they'd recovered. Closer examination found each vase packed with eyes, ears, fingers, tongues, and the largest and finest of the vessels filled to the brim with blood. Broken backwards across the altar, the "twins" they had rescued, drowned in pools of blood. While Aiko made warding signs against Death Spirits and Raxtus set to cleaning the grisly vases, Pursus demanded to be bound, proclaiming he was responsible. As they complied, he declared that his arcane powers came with two curses laid by his Soul Bank masters – the weaker curse allowing his “manager”, Alban Raha, to access his senses and surface thoughts, the stronger allowing his “ceo” Salga Rathe to blank his mind and control him like a puppet. Eliot Sam responded by driving his spear at Pursus' chest, the Soul Banker saved only by Aiko's Shen-fueled reflexes. As Eliot Sam stormed off, Aiko warned she had poisoned them during their night in prison in Chiain – and Nonac the night before at dinner – promising they'd begin to die within a week without receiving the antidote she had been slipping into their tea. The true cure: a rare plant only found in Chiain. Unswayed, Eliot departed. He had not gotten far when the lone survivor of the “bandit” mercenaries they'd just eliminated crashed through the forest, gesturing of pursuit as he ran for the lair. Sam dove for a hiding spot while the mercenary sprinted past, arriving at the cave to tell his panting tale of capture and escape from their execution guards now calling themselves the Sixfold Suffering Gang after suffering mutilation and banishment for allowing the companions' escape. Their leaders: the executioner and a beautiful young guard captain's daughter, Rya Min, come seeking vengeance against her father's killer, Rextus Atomi. As the Sixfold Gang slinked through the bamboo groves, one of them tripped over Eliot Sam. Sure he was doomed, Eliot Sam fought a desperate running battle in the woods while the main body of the Sixfold Suffering Gang assaulted the switchbacks up the cliff face and Michkin used stealth and cunning to pick off a detachment sent to explore the cave. An intense exchange of arrow and javelin fire, plus a few spells hurled by Pursus filled the edges of the battle while Hamura and Nanoc battled a surge of Sixfold on the switchbacks. Despite starting the battle severely wounded and taking more wounds in the struggle, Eliot Sam managed to wipe out all of his pursuers in a series of skirmishes, chases, and ambushes in the woods. In the climactic final moments of the struggle, Hamura drove her spear through the executioner atop the switchbacks while, inside the lair, Gorge slammed his massive club into Aiko's spine, killing her instantly. "Don't say I didn't warn you, bitch," he said, tossing her body into the waterfall. Outside, with the executioner dead and Rya Min wounded and running, the broken and scattered remnants of the Sixfold Suffering Gang fled. Shotly after, a confused Michken walked out of the cave, Aiko's broken body limp in his arms. Upon seeing it, Hamura screamed in rage and grief, pushing up her sleeve to reveal a golden dragon arm band. A twist of it summoned inlaid armor and a fierce dragon mask, a steel katana materializing in her outstretched hand. The legendary armaments of Chiain's elite Jade Warriors... [/QUOTE]
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