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Message: <blockquote data-quote="JollyDoc" data-source="post: 6752893" data-attributes="member: 9546">Tide Of Honor5 Lamashan, 4715 - 3 Abadius, 4716 - Tide of HonorMunasukaru's sanctum was a charnel house of death and decay, its glowering walls a vision of madness, sin and unsatisfied lusts. Countless figures were carved into the walls, glaring, pleading and screaming in silence, but on closer inspection, the carvings were revealed to be the rotting corpses of araneas, humans, hobgoblins, and more impaled on the walls, their anguished features frozen at the moment of death. On one side of the chamber, a wide, open pit gaped in the floor. At its bottom lay a twenty-foot wide circular stone doorway, surrounded by a dozen golden figurines depicting the Tian zodiac. Contorted humanoid faces and limbs lay frozen in stone within the doorway, and a faint, primal magic still danced around its edges. Amidst the carnage of the chamber, the heroes discovered a vast library, its long shelves filled with books, scrolls, carved stone tablets, calligraphic writings on bone and tortoise shell, rice paper journals with bamboo covers, silk scrolls scores of yards long, and countless other tomes, some of huge size. The entirety of the collection would have filled multiple carts or wagons. Nevertheless, the heroes, having time and leisure to at least scan the writings, discovered several interesting pieces of information about the oni of the Five Storms. It seemed that, though powerful, the Five Storms were  disorganized and easily distracted, and its members were constantly at odds with one another. Despite this, the leader of the Five Storms had always been the same...a powerful wind yai oni called Anamurumon, with control over storms and lightning. While trapped in their prison at the heart of the Forest of Spirits, the Five Storms had long lusted over the lands of Minkai, intending to remake the nation into an empire of excess and horror in which to indulge their twisted pleasures and appetites. However, they could not simply conquer Minkai, for just like with the kami, the gods had set in place strict laws preventing the oni from taking direct action to seize worldly power. In order to create their private empire, the oni needed subtlety to infiltrate society on all levels. The linchpin of their plan was the extinction of the five imperial families of Minkai. If no one could claim descent from the divine line of emperors, then no one could challenge the claim of the pretender the Five Storms placed on the throne. Many different varieties of oni made up the Five Storms, but all of their best warriors escaped the House of Withered Blosssoms decades ago, taking most of their resources with them. Munasukaru was one of the weakest oni of the organization, known as the Least among her peers. To keep the kami in the forest outside from learning their plans, Anamurumon commanded her to stay in the palace while the other oni fled using something called the kimon, a magical demon gate powered by living souls. The writings also said that Anamurumon commanded mortal agents, promising great rewards for their service, and well known to honor those promises. Beyond this, Anamurumon was also obsessed with siring half-human progeny. He needed the "perfect" grandchild...a tiefling who would not only be unquestioningly loyal to him, but could also pass as human. Such a child would be the perfect agent to infiltrate the imperial familes of Minkai. Alas, all of Anamurumon's descendants were deemed unsuitable and were in turn killed by the oni. Lastly, despite his great power, the writings implied that Anamurumon had an unusual weakness to weapons imbued with royal honor, such as the ancestral weapons of the five imperial families of Minkai, including Suishen, Guardian of the Amatatsu clan._____________________________________________________________When the companions exited the House of Withered Blossoms for the last time, they found the kami of the Forest of Spirits assembled and waiting for them, along with Koya, Spivey and Shalelu. The kami had sensed the death of the last oni in the fortress, and knew that they could now enter freely. They were eager to learn all that the heroes had discovered, though it saddened and dismayed them to learn how the Five Storms had freed themselves, and what harm they had wrought across Minkai since their liberation."If you would have me," Miyaro offered to Ameiko once the tales had been told, "I would continue to guide you through the rest of the forest and beyond. I believe that rebellion is coming to Minkai, though I fear that those opposed to the rule of the Jade Regent have no strong leadership, and may still squabble among themselves.""Your assistance would be most welcome," Ameiko replied, "and it is my intention to try and bring these factions together, so that my people can reclaim our land."Miyaro nodded."We will emerge from the forest in rural farm lands," she said. "I have heard tales that a large group of ronin are said to have retreated there. Rumors say that they are ready to fight against the Jade Regent, but cannot do so alone. Their leader is a man named Hirabashi Jiro. If we were to find him and tell him what we have learned here, we might gain a powerful ally.""That sounds like as good a place to start as any," Ameiko agreed._________________________________________________________________It took over a month for the companions to traverse the Forest of Spirits. With Miyaro's guidance, they were able to avoid any unpleasantries with the dangerous denizens of the woods. They emerged into Minkai's northernmost region, the Osogen Grasslands, a vast, sparsely inhabited plain disputed between northern barbarians and Minkai settlers. According to Miyaro, the camp of Hirabashi Jiro and his ronin was located some two-hundred miles south of the forest, in the southern reaches of Osogen known as the Borderlands. After another week of travel, the group entered the Borderlands, distinguished by the humble farmsteads surrounded by ditches and palisades that began to dot the landscape. Ubiquitous watchtowers stood above the farmsteads, allowing local militia to keep an eye out for marauding bandits. A lattice of footpaths and irrigation canals fed by the waters of the Kosokunami River connected the scattered settlements. As the companions neared the great bend where the river turned to flow into Lake Tsukishizuku, the number of settlements increased. Ahead of them, a cluster of wooden huts with thatched roofs stood atop a hillock overlooking the northern riverbank. The area seemed somewhat inhospitable, with most of the surrounding millet fields overgrown with brambles. Barely visible in the distance west of the hillock, several figures were at work digging a ditch and demarcating the boundaries of a paddy. Closer by, a group of youths were training with shortbows before a line of straw targets. Next to them, a tall figure yelled orders in a husky voice. When they noticed the newcomers, the youths paused in their training. The tall figure turned to follow their gaze, then began striding purposefully in the direction of the companions."We don't get many travelers here," she said as she drew close, as she was obviously female on closer inspection. She carried a well-made shortbow across her back, and held a sharp-looking naginata comfortably, but non-threateningly in one hand."We are not here by chance," Zula replied, stepping forward. "We are searching for a man named Hirabashi Jiro.""Hmm," the woman nodded slightly. "And what would you seek with such a man?""We have heard that he has no love for current occupant of the Emerald Throne," Zula answered. "Neither do we, and we be able to help one another solve that problem."The woman smiled, and bowed."I am Habesuta Hatsue," she said. "Come with me."She turned and strode back down the hill, yelling to the young trainees that the session was suspended, and ordering one of the young men to fetch Jiro.________________________________________________________The camp's main hut was a spartan affair. Besides a clay fireplace and a low table, the interior was almost bare. The only item worthy of notice was a portable shogi-ban, a Minkai chessboard, currently laid open for a game in progress."I am a sohei," Hatsue said without preamble as she entered the hut behind the companions and set about pouring cups of green tea and putting out millet cookies. "Your people would call me a warrior-monk, I suppose. I am from the Sankyodai Mountains, but I have been here with Jiro for some time, defending the settlers in the Borderlands."She glanced down at the shogi-ban board."Do any of you play?""Unfortunately not," Zula smiled. "But we do have similar games of skill and strategy in Avistan."Hatsue returned the smile."My passion for shogi is the only thing preventing me from fully embracing the peace of Irori."At that moment, the door flap of the hut opened, and a man stepped inside. He appeared to be in his early thirties, of average height, and with his head shaved except for a long topknot. He patted dirt and dust off his robe and leaned a staff against the wall. When he saw Hatsue discussing shogi with Zula, he rolled his eyes. As he sat to take a cup of tea, he murmured gruffly to himself,"Hatsue was probably an angle mover in a previous life."He glanced briefly at his guests, then spoke briskly."So, tell me why westerners crossed the Crown of the World to end up thousands of miles away from their home.""It's a tale long in the telling," Zula sighed as she folded her legs and sat opposite the ronin, "one best told from the beginning."For the better part of an hour she told their story, starting with the happenstance discovery of Ameiko's heritage while fighting a goblin tribe, the formation of their caravan and the journey to Brinewall, with the revelations revealed there. The narrative continued through the Land of the Linnorm Kings, and across the Crown of the World, then down into Tian Xia and the Forest of Spirits. Jiro listened to all it patiently, betraying no sign of what he thought of the tale. When it was done, he was silent a moment longer before speaking."A samurai and a peasant are brought before a ruthless daimyo," he said. "The daimyo wants to know whether a matched katana and wakizashi set are capable of killing a man with a single cut, so he commands the samurai to kill the peasant in order to test the swords. The samurai is faced with two dilemmas...first, he has two swords, but only one would-be-victim, and second, he loathes his duty. He does not want to kill an unarmed, innocent man, but his lord has commanded him to do so. What does the samurai do?"For a few moments, the companions just stared at one another, perplexed by this sudden tangent away from the topic of conversation. It was Sandru who finally broke the silence, clearing his throat."In my opinion," he said, "since the daimyo is ruthless, and the samurai loathes his duty, the samurai should spare the peasant, keep the swords for himself, and leave the service of his dishonorable lord."Silence filled the tent once more, but then Jiro smiled and nodded. "Hmph," Hatsue snorted, "of course a ronin would approve of such a response. The samurai should kill the daimyo for giving such a contemptible order, then kill himself for the dishonor of slaying his lord. Then he has tested both swords as his lord commanded, but his honor is also satisfied, and the innocent peasant is spared.""As you well know," Jiro chided his lieutenant, "there is no one correct response. We must all do as our hearts lead us.""Regardless," Hatsue waved his comment away, and turned to the companions, "Jiro's little game illustrates a metaphor for the current political situation in Minkai. A ruthless ruler is manipulating the nobles and causing woe to the people.""And for that reason," Jiro interrupted, "if it is truly your wish to overthrow the Jade Regent, then you shall have our support."It was Ameiko's turn to smile now, but before she could reply, Jiro held up one finger."However," he said, "my ronin are ill-equipped and outnumbered, and currently live in a muddy camp in the middle of nowhere...hardly an army capable of effective resistance. We also have a rather...pressing problem."Hatsue was stone-faced."Bandits have been plaguing this region for the past few months," Jiro continued. "The local daimyo have ignored the raiders, focusing on their own political maneuverings in the Jade Regent's court. Recently, the bandits discovered an abandoned fortress in the hills called Seinaru Heikiko, and began restoring it, turning it into a well protected hideout. Led by a chieftain of the Yumogu barbarians named Gangasum, they have been using the fortress as a base ever since. I believe they may even be negotiating with a local daimyo to become allies of the empire. If this were to happen, the bandits might attract many more of their kin and become a powerful tool for the Jade Regent to use to fight dissidents such as myself. Gangasum is aided by a powerful barbarian shaman, and I do not have the man-power to assault him. However, they are usually split in two groups. The first is always on the move, traveling the plains on horses to forage and pillage. The second group stays with Gangasum in the fortress. I fear that if one group is attacked and destroyed, the other might retaliate against the defenseless peasants. It is said that the winds magically inform the bandit shaman of everything that transpires in the Osogen Grasslands.""Just tell us what you want us to do," Ameiko said."You seem powerful and well-equipped," Jiro nodded. "I would like for you to assault Seinaru Heikiko, while I and my warriors lure the riders into an ambush they next time they visit a settlement to trade goods or buy slaves.""No problem," Ameiko replied."There is...one other thing," Jiro said. Ameiko's eyes narrowed. "I have been looking for an ancient treasure of my family: a legendary adamantine sword that once belonged to my revered ancestor Hirabashi Akikaza. It is rumored to be held within a secret cache of weapons inside Seinaru Heikiko. According to legend, the cache can only be opened by a true imperial scion of Minkai. Surely the heir to House Amatatsu should have no trouble securing such a cache."He smiled wryly. Ameiko returned his smile, though it did not touch her eyes."Just tell us where to go," she snapped.___________________________________________________________Seinaru Heikiko lay some fifty miles away from the ronin camp in a large crack in the wall of a ravine along a small brook that flowed into the Kosokunami River. Built in a natural cavity in a forty-foot tall cliff face, the fortress was partially hidden by a grove of tall pine trees, and was directly visible from only a very short distance away. Behind the grove, a wooden wall obstructed the gap in the cliff face. Beyond it, two mighty chimneys, fashioned to resemble a giant warrior and a great square tower, rose over the roof of a large building erected against the bare rock. "There is a large courtyard beyond the wall," Zula told her companions. The Shoanti woman had just returned from a covert scouting mission, flying invisibly over the wall on the flying broom that had once belonged to Gnome-Brr Phive."The only bandits visible were the four atop the wall, though I could hear the shouting and revelry of a great many voices coming from one of the larger buildings.""How do you recommend we approach?" Ameiko asked her advisor.Zula shrugged."We are not know for stealth, my Lady," she smiled. "I say we go in the front door and see who comes to welcome us."_____________________________________________________________The guards on the wall were taken completely by surprise. One moment the courtyard was empty, and then the next, an opaque domed appeared in one corner, literally out of thin air. One of them had the presence of mind to quickly knock and loose a whistling arrow from his bow, sending up a signal to the fortress. An instant later, however, an oversized arrow launched from the dome and pierced his throat. He fell, gurgling, from the parapet. One of his comrades stared in stupefied disbelief for a moment before another arrow sprouted from the center of his chest. The remaining two guards fumbled to raise their bows, their eyes going wide when a heavily muscled warrior, easily over ten-feet tall, came rushing out of the dome and straight towards them.Zula watched Haroldo lumber out of the tiny hut and towards the guards on the wall. She turned her own attention towards the building from where she'd heard the bulk of the noise on her scouting mission. Knowing that she only had a matter of moments before bandits came swarming out, she cast a spell on the ground before the doors to the building. Instantly, the rocks there sprouted dozens of tiny, sharp spikes, which would not be visible except upon close observation. Haroldo reached the wall, and started sweeping across the parapet with his massive great-sword. Both of the remaining gate guards where quickly dispatched, and then he turned and began moving back towards the hut, just as the double doors to the main hall exploded open.Over a dozen bandits came howling out of the hall, swords waving and blood-lust in their eyes. Their cries turned from battle fury to howls of pain a moment later as they reached Zula's spikes. The razor-sharp stones easily pierced the the thick soles of the raiders' boots and sank into the tender flesh of their feet. They drew up short, hopping about and stumbling, not knowing where it was safe to step. They were sitting ducks for Lucian, who began to ply his bow with impunity. The celebration was short-lived, however, as the doors of another building across the courtyard burst open. This time, though, it was not more bandits who emerged. Instead, a hulking figure, easily equal to Haroldo's current height, stalked out into the daylight. Though clearly female, there was no trace of humanity about her. Her form was that of a savage, bipedal tigress, her claws easily six inches in length and wickedly curved. Behind her came something even more intimidating, if possible. Half again as tall as the tiger-woman, it was a being composed of living fire...an elemental. As it strode forward, it raised its arms over its head and its voice boomed in a magical incantation. A hot wind blew with gale force across the courtyard, focused on the opaque dome of the tiny hut. Within, the companions felt fatigue and pain wash over them as the wind blast hit, knocking several of them to the ground. Haroldo stopped his advance towards the dome, and turned towards the new threat. Lowering his head like a bull, he charged towards the elemental. Before he made it half-way, however, the were-tiger pounced, slashing her claws across the blood-rager's mid-section. As Haroldo reeled and tried to continue his advance, he found his path blocked by the mass of the bandits, who had managed to extricate themselves from the bulk of the spiked stones. Enraged, the giant warrior began laying about with his massive sword, hewing down the nearest of his foes.Inside the hut, Lucian had managed to regain his feet in time to see the tigress closing on Haroldo. He sighted, drew and loosed in one smooth movement. His arrow struck true, sinking into the meat of her thigh, but she barely slowed. "Our friend is in trouble," Zula said to Sandru as she extended her hand to help the caravan master to his feet. "Should we go to his aid?""Immediately," Sandru nodded grimly. Zula closed her eyes and concentrated. A nimbus of light surrounded her and Sandru, and they abruptly vanished. They reappeared a moment later, right next to the the tigress. Sandru was in motion as soon as his feet touched the ground. He sword was a blur as he struck , scoring several telling blows against the creature. She never even looked in his direction. Instead, she leaped for Haroldo, catching him behind the knee with one swipe of her paw, then sweeping his legs out from under him. As he crashed to the ground, she was on him, leaping onto his chest and pinning his arms to his side. The bandits closed in for the kill, but then quickly parted as another figure stepped forward. A burly man dressed in tightly banded armor and wielding a gleaming scimitar, he stopped and looked down at the blood-rager, then smiled broadly and raised his blade in both hands above his head, before bringing it down in a powerful overhand chop."No!" Sandru cried as he lost sight of his friend, but before he could react, the elemental began invoking again, and this time a twenty-foot wall of fire sprang up, bisecting the courtyard, cutting off the rest of the companions, and catching the caravan master in the middle of the conflagration.Darkness swam at the corners of Haroldo's vision as he teetered on the edge of consciousness. His wounds were agonizing, and the weight of the were-tigress on his chest was suffocating. Still, his rage burned, and the thought of succumbing never entered his mind. He focused his blood-magic with what little ability he had left, and his right hand transformed into solid stone. Summoning all of his remaining strength, he slammed his fist into the lycanthrope's temple, and felt her skull crush beneath the blow. She sagged bonelessly and crumpled to the side, her body shifting as she fell into that of a simple Tian woman. Haroldo sucked in a great whoop of air, then gripped his sword with both hands again. Rolling to his side, he swung the blade in a low arc, hacking across the knees of the bandit chieftain. Then the bandits were upon him again, raining blows down on him like hail stones.Sandru, his clothes aflame, somersaulted out of the wall of fire just as Ameiko and Lucian leaped through as well, their skin blistering from the heat, but determined to come to the aid of their companions. The three of them closed quickly to the bandits surrounding Haroldo, attacking them from behind. Then, in a blur of motion, Zula was there, appearing in the midst of the bandits, she reached down and touched the prone blood-rager, and the two of them vanished then reappeared a dozen yards away."Catch your breath, big boy," she smiled down at Haroldo. "You're going to need it."Sandru twisted and turned among the bandits like a dervish, dodging blows while delivering his own until he finally reached Gangasum, the chieftain. The big raider was still reeling from Haroldo's assault when the caravan master drove his scimitar through his gut. It was a testament to his fortitude and savagery that the blow did not fell him immediately. He staggered backwards, clutching his insides to keep them from falling out as his men moved to cover his retreat. The huge fire elemental towered over the fray as the combatants danced around its feet. It extended one hand, and a serpent of fire spewed from it, snaking among both enemies and allies alike, burning and scorching as it went. Lucian tried to leap aside, but the fire engulfed the wood of his tree-like body. Still, he managed to keep firing his bow, sending all of his arrows towards the elemental, hoping he was having some effect on the creature. Ameiko moved gracefully among the bandits, Suishen alive in her hands as she carved a path through them. She finally reached Sandru's side just as he pushed past Gangasum's body guards. The two of them faced the bandit chieftain. His life's blood rapidly spilling on the ground, he still raised his blade in defiance. It didn't save him as the Amatasu heir and her dear friend cut him down.Lucian stood between Haroldo and the bulk of the bandits, so it was he who first saw the threat, though there was nothing he could do to stop it. Several of the bandits had drawn javelins from their quivers, and as they raised them, the spears began to crackle with electricity. "Watch out!" he cried.As the bandits hurled the javelins, they transformed into bolts of lightning, sending multiple blasts of electricity coursing through the oracle and the blood-rager. The remaining bandits, though their leader lay slain, did not give ground. Instead, as the elemental bellowed orders, they redoubled their efforts, charging en masse at their opponents. Simultaneously, the elemental hurled a handful of flaming seeds into the midst of the companions, where they exploded into fiery geysers. The force of the blasts threw Sandru from his feet, and he did not rise again, smoke rising from his deathly still form. Ameiko, Zula and Haroldo met the onslaught of the raiders, unable to reach Sandru. Behind them, Lucian fired volley after volley into the elemental, until at last, with a mighty groan, the creature toppled. When it hit the ground, however, an elderly, robed man lay in its place.When the elemental fell, the bandits' resolve broke. The few of them left alive threw down their weapons in surrender at Zula's command. Lucian ran to Sandru's side, and breathed a sigh of relief to find that his friend still lived. He lay his hands upon the caravan master, and a moment later, his eyes fluttered open."Did we win?" he asked, smiling through bloody teeth.</blockquote>

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