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NOW LIVE! Into the Woods--new character species, eerie monsters, and haunting villains to populate the woodlands of your D&D games.
[OA/FR] Rokugan - Updated 12/13/03
- Thread starter Black Omega
- Start date
Black Omega
First Post
The group and their guards traveled straight to the Glitterune House of Foreign Mysteries, while keeping an eye out for anyone following them. A bell chimed musically as the group entered the building and a smiling Rokugani fellow greeted them. “Hello, welcome to my humble establishment, how many I help you?”
Then before anyone in the group could respond the man’s smile grew “An elf! How remarkable!” in a flash some black lenses were lifted in front of his eyes as he stared “a real elf, yes. And the young lady, most remarkable…you are from the Western Kingdoms?” he asked, dropping into Common.
Volar was the first to react, stepping up “Yes, I’m Volar, from Evermeet. Who do I have the pleasure of speaking to?”
The rokugani looked down then ‘Oh...right.” And a moment later the illusion is gone and a gnome stands before them, on a stool behind the counter. “Sorry, I forget sometimes. I’m Agnar Glitterune.” He and Volar switched to Gnomish for a moment and then quickly to Rokugani so the samurai didn’t feel left out of the conversation.
To start, the gnome was more than happy to talk about the clocks he made. Purely non-magical but made of gold and using precious jewels. Kurocha had bought one, yes. The gnome was reluctant to discuss other details, like hidden compartments, though. Client privilege and all that. But Agnar could tell them Kurocha was a friendly fellow who knew many people. But friends? That’s a rare thing in Ryoko Owari. A merchant named Whisper, perhaps. Or an Eta named Itoshi, official torturer for Ryoko Owari. Agnar really could not tell them anything more than that. But he invited them to visit his house that evening for dinner. A real, proper Western realms style meal. An invitation the group accepted.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The guards would certainly have an interesting report to pass along later. Meetings with local ‘firemen’, the only gnome in the Empire, and now the merchant running a place called the Southern House. A clearing house that dealt with bulk orders and orders other merchants had difficultly getting rid of.
When the group entered, though, they were greeted with a surprise. The merchant, an oily looking man in a dark blue kimono, immediately prostrated himself on the floor “Spare me, noble Crab! I simply obey the will of my Lady! I thought she should remain with the Crab, but it’s not my decision! Mercyyyyy!”
Toshiro picked up on this quickly enough and stepped forward, growling “We’ll give mercy if you answer our questions truthfully.” A glance around the merchant’s shop revealed a wide variety of items. From black bottles labeled ‘Oni’s Blood’ to the ‘Secret Dueling Techniques of the Crane Clan’ and a water tank filled with eels that kept changing colors as seconds passed.
“Yes, milord. I’ve enjoyed serving the Crab Clan, I admire you deeply. I will do anything you wish.” The merchant said cravenly “What can I do for you?” looking up, he seemed surprised now to see the others in the group. A curious elf, and even more the silver haired beauty, Mir. Even panicked and nervous, he was always thinking.
And the group began their pointed questioning, while keeping the pressure on the poor man. Why had he panicked? Two Crab samurai in heavy armor walked in on him. When his mistress, Yasuki Nobuko, had left the Crab clan and joined the Crane. He had feared they were here for revenge. Kurocha? Real piece of work. Information broker. If you needed to know all about almost anyone or thing, he was a good guy to ask. And a bad guy to reveal any secrets too. From what Whisper had heard, Kurocha was a former Scorpion. Definitely not a guy to trust.
The group seemed satisfied with his answers, but Whisper saw an opening now “Is there anything I can do for you? Anything that looks interesting here? Crane secrets, if you wish to know more about your enemies. No? How about Oni’s Blood. Collected and purified by real actual Crab Clan shugenja.”\
“What does it do?” Toshiro asked dubiously.
“You spread it along all the doors and windows of your house. Guaranteed to prevent any oni from entering your home.” Whisper smiled winningly.
‘And if he’s attacked by an Oni in his home despite this? Toshiro has killed Oni before.” Volar added in.
“If he’s attacked at home by an Oni, I’ll give him double his money back.” Whisper assured smoothly.
Toshiro wasn’t interested, though and the group left. But not before Mir pulled a little trick of her own. A cleric spell called Chain of Eyes that she dropped on Whisper to keep an...um...eye on him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mir used her familiar, Thrush, and the Chain of Eyes to keep watch and just minutes after the group left, Whisper had closed up shop and was off to see someone. He frequently stopped to look over his shoulder, making sure he wasn’t followed by any mundane means. And then he continued on cluelessly to his meeting with a pudgy figure Mir recognized. Buka, from Bugaisha. The guy who had been entirely too enthusiastic about following Mir around there, and who had sold them out to the Bloodspeakers, leading to the firebombing of the teashop. And now he was here in Ryoko Owari…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
With evening coming up fast, the group split up for dinner that evening. Toshiro and Verick were invited to dinner with Lord Shinjo Yoshifusa, Governor of Ryoko Owari. While Mindra, Volar and Mir went off for dinner with the Gnome.
Kaz was still at the Dragon Gate when Toshiro and Verick arrived. The dinner was a very proper affair, with Yoshifusa and his son Dairu, commander of the Thunderguard, both sounding out the visiting samurai. Were they here on a mission? For Lord Jyaku? Yoshifusa was very adamant he had the situation well in hand, he needed no help, either dealing with the Scorpion or keeping order in his own city. Dairu was a little more calm and reasonable. He was interested in talking about the battles the group had been in. He wasn’t very political but took great interest in the battle readiness of his Thunderguard. Toshiro and Verick gave nothing away, not that they had much information to give away. They knew Kurocha had something to pass along to Toshiro, that was about it. The rest of the evening was polite and pleasant. Verick slipped away early, using his amulet to alter his appearance so he could sample the nightlife of Ryoko Owari.
Still accompanied by guards, Volar, Mindra and Mir went to the Glitterune House of Foreign Mysteries for dinner. Agnar was a talkative little fellow and very friendly. He’d been in the Empire for 75 years now. It had taken 20 years to get beyond Bugaisha and even longer to get permission to set up a shop in Ryoko Owari. Why he had ever left the Western Kingdoms was more mysterious, suffice to say he had good reasons to avoid the Western Kingdoms for a while. As a fellow illusionist, he had plenty of shop to talk with Volar.
And a little additional plotting. Volar had an idea for a clock the Gnome could make. The others agreed and had a few suggestions of their own. A very special clock, and make sure working on it was kept quiet. Only talk about it in Gnomish, then the others could not understand. Agnar was agreeable, and charged 3,000 koku for it. He’d let them know more when he had the sketches created.
[DM Comment: Yes…yes…a sort of tinker gnome. I know. I can only say my group hasn’t played DnD for well over a decade, we’ve missed out on the annoying Dragonlance gnomes. And Agnar’s absent minded illusionist routine was simply fun to do.]
While the samurai were being entertained at the Dragon Gate, Volar, Mindra and Mir were still restless and decided to go on ahead to check on Itoshi the torturer while he would be home from work. Directions were not much of a problem, Thunderguards were still following them around. But only up to a point. Itoshi was an Eta, one of the unclean samurai would not normally deign to even notice. Beyond the Smoking Gate lay the area even other Eta looked down on. Little Shadowlands, where the Eta who handled dead bodies and other very distasteful tasks.
The Thunderguards decided to wait back by the Smoking Gate, blind to the various people lurking in the shadows smoking opium, while Volar, Mindra (in his Chen form) and Mir went on. Despite the area’s reputation, it was actually quite clean and well looked after. The houses were plain but well built, and in front of each there were small flower gardens. Knocking at Itoshi’s house, they were greeted by a squrany looking man of gaunt appearance, a receding hairline and stringy black hair. He wore a plain brown kimono with the mon of the Thunderguard.
Itoshi invited them in for tea, a very polite but curious man with an oddly stilted way of speaking. But he was a good friend of Kurocha and willing to help in any way when it came to finding Kurocha. He knew Kurocha was a former Scorpion. A Shosuro, in fact. A descendant of the Shosuro samurai who’s spirit haunts one of the temples in Daikoku’s Shadow, the temple complex of the city.
Itoshi also waxed eloquent about his work as a torturer. Not in a sadistic, ‘I love to hurt people’ sort of way. But in a artistic, it’s a public service sort of way. He was quick to emphasis being a torturer was not really about inflicting pain, but seeking truth, using a variety of means.
Finally he looked over his three visitors and smiled a thin smile “You are not telling me everything. I can tell. And you are being…let us say tricky for lack of a better word. An...elf with flowers in his hair. That’s not you, Volar. I know nothing of elves, but I’m sure. And Chen…there is something not right about you as well. But Mir is being sincere with me. And I can tell you are truthful about wanting to help Kurocha. A…torturer’s primary skill is not inflicting physical…pain or mental duress. It is being able to tell the...truth from the lies. Kurocha is a friend to me. If I learn anything more, I’ll pass it along to you, I promise.”
[DM Note: This was a fun scene. Even Verick’s player was commenting that Itoshi was creepy. Characters sometimes take off on their own, though. Itoshi’s stilted speech started off in my mind something like Riff-Raff from Rocky Horror. The group saw it as more Shatner-esque. And while playing Itoshi he ended up being more Hannibal Lector.]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When the group left Itoshi’s house Mindra suddenly paused, frowning a little. Quickly he murmured to the others “There’s a couple of guys watching us. No, don’t look there. At the corner of that house…”
Mir had an idea to try a Hold Person on one of the thugs but Volar acted even more quickly. “Surrender!” he yelled out in Rokugani. At the same moment, before the men even had time to react, a crackling bolt of electricity arced out from his hands and exploded over the watchers. Running over to check, they found three men, all dead and smoldering from the electric energy. Mindra and Mir just looked over at Volar who shrugged “What?! I felt threatened…” Moments later they head the sound of someone else running away in the darkness, escaping before they could spot him.
Mysteriously enough, the guards waiting at the gate had seen no one, and had no idea who might want to attack the group. Very suspicious indeed. The three returned to their inn to wait on the samurai’s return.
The next morning a note was waiting for Verick, from Matsu Shigeto.
We’ve found some additional information on Kurocha. Come meet me in an alley down by the riverside docks. Just go down Scorpion Row, take a right past the fish market, then a left at the Carp warehouse. You can’t miss it.
A trap? Volar was certain it must be. “Of course, we’d better go to this meeting.”
“Tell me again. We all agree this is probably a trap. Why are we walking into it again?” Verick wondered.
“How else are we going find out what it’s all about?” Volar replied.
Faced with this irrefutable logic the group set off to the meeting.
Then before anyone in the group could respond the man’s smile grew “An elf! How remarkable!” in a flash some black lenses were lifted in front of his eyes as he stared “a real elf, yes. And the young lady, most remarkable…you are from the Western Kingdoms?” he asked, dropping into Common.
Volar was the first to react, stepping up “Yes, I’m Volar, from Evermeet. Who do I have the pleasure of speaking to?”
The rokugani looked down then ‘Oh...right.” And a moment later the illusion is gone and a gnome stands before them, on a stool behind the counter. “Sorry, I forget sometimes. I’m Agnar Glitterune.” He and Volar switched to Gnomish for a moment and then quickly to Rokugani so the samurai didn’t feel left out of the conversation.
To start, the gnome was more than happy to talk about the clocks he made. Purely non-magical but made of gold and using precious jewels. Kurocha had bought one, yes. The gnome was reluctant to discuss other details, like hidden compartments, though. Client privilege and all that. But Agnar could tell them Kurocha was a friendly fellow who knew many people. But friends? That’s a rare thing in Ryoko Owari. A merchant named Whisper, perhaps. Or an Eta named Itoshi, official torturer for Ryoko Owari. Agnar really could not tell them anything more than that. But he invited them to visit his house that evening for dinner. A real, proper Western realms style meal. An invitation the group accepted.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The guards would certainly have an interesting report to pass along later. Meetings with local ‘firemen’, the only gnome in the Empire, and now the merchant running a place called the Southern House. A clearing house that dealt with bulk orders and orders other merchants had difficultly getting rid of.
When the group entered, though, they were greeted with a surprise. The merchant, an oily looking man in a dark blue kimono, immediately prostrated himself on the floor “Spare me, noble Crab! I simply obey the will of my Lady! I thought she should remain with the Crab, but it’s not my decision! Mercyyyyy!”
Toshiro picked up on this quickly enough and stepped forward, growling “We’ll give mercy if you answer our questions truthfully.” A glance around the merchant’s shop revealed a wide variety of items. From black bottles labeled ‘Oni’s Blood’ to the ‘Secret Dueling Techniques of the Crane Clan’ and a water tank filled with eels that kept changing colors as seconds passed.
“Yes, milord. I’ve enjoyed serving the Crab Clan, I admire you deeply. I will do anything you wish.” The merchant said cravenly “What can I do for you?” looking up, he seemed surprised now to see the others in the group. A curious elf, and even more the silver haired beauty, Mir. Even panicked and nervous, he was always thinking.
And the group began their pointed questioning, while keeping the pressure on the poor man. Why had he panicked? Two Crab samurai in heavy armor walked in on him. When his mistress, Yasuki Nobuko, had left the Crab clan and joined the Crane. He had feared they were here for revenge. Kurocha? Real piece of work. Information broker. If you needed to know all about almost anyone or thing, he was a good guy to ask. And a bad guy to reveal any secrets too. From what Whisper had heard, Kurocha was a former Scorpion. Definitely not a guy to trust.
The group seemed satisfied with his answers, but Whisper saw an opening now “Is there anything I can do for you? Anything that looks interesting here? Crane secrets, if you wish to know more about your enemies. No? How about Oni’s Blood. Collected and purified by real actual Crab Clan shugenja.”\
“What does it do?” Toshiro asked dubiously.
“You spread it along all the doors and windows of your house. Guaranteed to prevent any oni from entering your home.” Whisper smiled winningly.
‘And if he’s attacked by an Oni in his home despite this? Toshiro has killed Oni before.” Volar added in.
“If he’s attacked at home by an Oni, I’ll give him double his money back.” Whisper assured smoothly.
Toshiro wasn’t interested, though and the group left. But not before Mir pulled a little trick of her own. A cleric spell called Chain of Eyes that she dropped on Whisper to keep an...um...eye on him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mir used her familiar, Thrush, and the Chain of Eyes to keep watch and just minutes after the group left, Whisper had closed up shop and was off to see someone. He frequently stopped to look over his shoulder, making sure he wasn’t followed by any mundane means. And then he continued on cluelessly to his meeting with a pudgy figure Mir recognized. Buka, from Bugaisha. The guy who had been entirely too enthusiastic about following Mir around there, and who had sold them out to the Bloodspeakers, leading to the firebombing of the teashop. And now he was here in Ryoko Owari…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
With evening coming up fast, the group split up for dinner that evening. Toshiro and Verick were invited to dinner with Lord Shinjo Yoshifusa, Governor of Ryoko Owari. While Mindra, Volar and Mir went off for dinner with the Gnome.
Kaz was still at the Dragon Gate when Toshiro and Verick arrived. The dinner was a very proper affair, with Yoshifusa and his son Dairu, commander of the Thunderguard, both sounding out the visiting samurai. Were they here on a mission? For Lord Jyaku? Yoshifusa was very adamant he had the situation well in hand, he needed no help, either dealing with the Scorpion or keeping order in his own city. Dairu was a little more calm and reasonable. He was interested in talking about the battles the group had been in. He wasn’t very political but took great interest in the battle readiness of his Thunderguard. Toshiro and Verick gave nothing away, not that they had much information to give away. They knew Kurocha had something to pass along to Toshiro, that was about it. The rest of the evening was polite and pleasant. Verick slipped away early, using his amulet to alter his appearance so he could sample the nightlife of Ryoko Owari.
Still accompanied by guards, Volar, Mindra and Mir went to the Glitterune House of Foreign Mysteries for dinner. Agnar was a talkative little fellow and very friendly. He’d been in the Empire for 75 years now. It had taken 20 years to get beyond Bugaisha and even longer to get permission to set up a shop in Ryoko Owari. Why he had ever left the Western Kingdoms was more mysterious, suffice to say he had good reasons to avoid the Western Kingdoms for a while. As a fellow illusionist, he had plenty of shop to talk with Volar.
And a little additional plotting. Volar had an idea for a clock the Gnome could make. The others agreed and had a few suggestions of their own. A very special clock, and make sure working on it was kept quiet. Only talk about it in Gnomish, then the others could not understand. Agnar was agreeable, and charged 3,000 koku for it. He’d let them know more when he had the sketches created.
[DM Comment: Yes…yes…a sort of tinker gnome. I know. I can only say my group hasn’t played DnD for well over a decade, we’ve missed out on the annoying Dragonlance gnomes. And Agnar’s absent minded illusionist routine was simply fun to do.]
While the samurai were being entertained at the Dragon Gate, Volar, Mindra and Mir were still restless and decided to go on ahead to check on Itoshi the torturer while he would be home from work. Directions were not much of a problem, Thunderguards were still following them around. But only up to a point. Itoshi was an Eta, one of the unclean samurai would not normally deign to even notice. Beyond the Smoking Gate lay the area even other Eta looked down on. Little Shadowlands, where the Eta who handled dead bodies and other very distasteful tasks.
The Thunderguards decided to wait back by the Smoking Gate, blind to the various people lurking in the shadows smoking opium, while Volar, Mindra (in his Chen form) and Mir went on. Despite the area’s reputation, it was actually quite clean and well looked after. The houses were plain but well built, and in front of each there were small flower gardens. Knocking at Itoshi’s house, they were greeted by a squrany looking man of gaunt appearance, a receding hairline and stringy black hair. He wore a plain brown kimono with the mon of the Thunderguard.
Itoshi invited them in for tea, a very polite but curious man with an oddly stilted way of speaking. But he was a good friend of Kurocha and willing to help in any way when it came to finding Kurocha. He knew Kurocha was a former Scorpion. A Shosuro, in fact. A descendant of the Shosuro samurai who’s spirit haunts one of the temples in Daikoku’s Shadow, the temple complex of the city.
Itoshi also waxed eloquent about his work as a torturer. Not in a sadistic, ‘I love to hurt people’ sort of way. But in a artistic, it’s a public service sort of way. He was quick to emphasis being a torturer was not really about inflicting pain, but seeking truth, using a variety of means.
Finally he looked over his three visitors and smiled a thin smile “You are not telling me everything. I can tell. And you are being…let us say tricky for lack of a better word. An...elf with flowers in his hair. That’s not you, Volar. I know nothing of elves, but I’m sure. And Chen…there is something not right about you as well. But Mir is being sincere with me. And I can tell you are truthful about wanting to help Kurocha. A…torturer’s primary skill is not inflicting physical…pain or mental duress. It is being able to tell the...truth from the lies. Kurocha is a friend to me. If I learn anything more, I’ll pass it along to you, I promise.”
[DM Note: This was a fun scene. Even Verick’s player was commenting that Itoshi was creepy. Characters sometimes take off on their own, though. Itoshi’s stilted speech started off in my mind something like Riff-Raff from Rocky Horror. The group saw it as more Shatner-esque. And while playing Itoshi he ended up being more Hannibal Lector.]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When the group left Itoshi’s house Mindra suddenly paused, frowning a little. Quickly he murmured to the others “There’s a couple of guys watching us. No, don’t look there. At the corner of that house…”
Mir had an idea to try a Hold Person on one of the thugs but Volar acted even more quickly. “Surrender!” he yelled out in Rokugani. At the same moment, before the men even had time to react, a crackling bolt of electricity arced out from his hands and exploded over the watchers. Running over to check, they found three men, all dead and smoldering from the electric energy. Mindra and Mir just looked over at Volar who shrugged “What?! I felt threatened…” Moments later they head the sound of someone else running away in the darkness, escaping before they could spot him.
Mysteriously enough, the guards waiting at the gate had seen no one, and had no idea who might want to attack the group. Very suspicious indeed. The three returned to their inn to wait on the samurai’s return.
The next morning a note was waiting for Verick, from Matsu Shigeto.
We’ve found some additional information on Kurocha. Come meet me in an alley down by the riverside docks. Just go down Scorpion Row, take a right past the fish market, then a left at the Carp warehouse. You can’t miss it.
A trap? Volar was certain it must be. “Of course, we’d better go to this meeting.”
“Tell me again. We all agree this is probably a trap. Why are we walking into it again?” Verick wondered.
“How else are we going find out what it’s all about?” Volar replied.
Faced with this irrefutable logic the group set off to the meeting.
Brown Jenkin
First Post
Notes from Mir
Ah yes, Volar's Surrender-Boom! approach. Normally when you yell surrender you give someone a couple of seconds to actually surrender before killing them. Something we still won't let Volar live down.
Mir
Ah yes, Volar's Surrender-Boom! approach. Normally when you yell surrender you give someone a couple of seconds to actually surrender before killing them. Something we still won't let Volar live down.
Mir
Black Omega
First Post
A new set of guards were with the group as they set off for the river docks, but they were more friendly and helpful than the group from the previous day. Arriving at the spot the note mentioned the group paused to look around. Mir had Thrush fly up and scout around but there was no one on the roofs of the warehouses there.
Then from inside a warehouse a figure walked into view. A ronin in heavy armor, his face heavily scarred, his jaw disfigured, like it had been smashed at some point. His hands resting on the hilt of his katana and wakizashi, he walked into the middle of the street and calmly looked over the group. “You should have accepted the offer from Shigeto. Toshiro! I used to be a Crab samurai. I have no desire to fight you. You can stand down, my fight’s not with you!”
Toshiro knew this guy from chats with his old pal Sho. A samurai named Ago, part of the same family that Sho had been in, and using the same katana/wakizashi style Sho had used. A really tough fighter.
“We stand with our friends. I don’t want to fight you either, but we won’t back down!” Toshiro called out, drawing his katana.
Ago nodded calmly “I can respect bravery. I’ll make sure your swords are sent back to your families. For the rest of you, you have a few seconds to make peace with your gods.”
Verick was just snickering in the background “One guy against all of us?”
“And he knows who we are, and he’s not worried about it. Don’t underestimate him.” Mir commented.
There was a soft sound of chanting from where Ago stood and suddenly he almost seemed to vibrate. Volar recognized a haste spell when he saw it. Laughing, the flower decorated elf gestured and a magical Web descended down over the area where Ago stood, stranded fastened to the warehouses on either side, cutting him off from the group and hopefully catching whoever cast the haste as well.
“Plan B!” Ago yelled from inside the web and then there was silence. Mir’s thrush didn’t see anything moving in the area. Assuming Ago had not simply retreated, Mir cast Silence on her thrush familiar and sent him higher to keep an eye out. Toshiro switched to his bow while Volar and Mindra cast protective spells. Verick got devious though, retreating out of sight behind a shack. He had noticed the Thunderguards with the group were edging over behind them, acting suspiciously. Verick used his amulet to take on the appearance of a Thunderguard and came into view, asking the guards “What’s happening?”
‘A fight, just relax and watch.” One of the guards answered.
Then suddenly Ago appeared, his blades gone void black and doing their best to slice Mindra into little monkey bits. Mindra didn’t even pretend to be brave, the monkey scampered away immediately, running for his life. Toshiro snapped off a shot from his bow then dropped it and drew his katana again. Volar’s dispel magic slowed down Ago, but his twin swords still did terrible damage to Toshiro next. Toshiro hacked back viciously and Mir moved up to heal Toshiro before Ago could get another shot in.
The guards kept edging over behind the group and Verick asked in mock excitement “What’s up?”
“Just watch, kid. We’ll show you how this is done.” The guard answered.
“No, I’ll show you!” Verick snarled, dropping the illusion and charging forward to engage Ago, helping Toshiro flank.
Mir’s thrush noticed a new group on the scene as well. Skulking at a corner watch the battle were some cheap punks, watching intently. Mir warned the group about it and Toshiro yelled to the guards to go handle those punks. “Hai! At once!” one of the guards answered, and then they started looking around to try and see what punks Toshiro was talking about. Somehow...they just didn’t see them.
The battle got bloody quickly. An invisible shugenja was healing Ago and keeping him going while Mindra and Mir kept Toshiro and Verick up and fighting. The silenced Thrush was causing problems for both sides in healing their fighters by swooping down over the battle, but was definitely hurting Ago more.
Toshiro swung high with powerful strikes, trying to take Ago’s head off in one stroke while Verick kept slipping in from the side, sneaky stabs finding the weak spots in Ago’s armor. Once Volar hasted Verick, Ago was losing ground fast and suddenly he broke away and ran around the corner of the warehouse, guzzling down a potion quickly. Verick yelled out “After him! We’ve got him now!”
Verick was the first around the corner and Ago’s two swords struck with lethal precision, the katana finding a critical spot and drawing a dark gout of blood from Verick’s body. Mindra was fast on Verick’s heels though and healed the young Lion again while Toshiro ran around the corner, moving to flank Ago again. A spell from the invisible caster caused a bluish mist to rise around the fighters and Toshiro staggered, then slumped to the ground, asleep. Even Mindra’s screeches were not enough to wake the Crab samurai. But before Ago could act, Volar struck with a barrage of magic missiles and Verick kept stubbornly attacking, a perfect slash of his sword lopping Ago’s head off in one stroke.
The invisible caster retreated quickly, unseen. And slowly the group relaxed, realizing they had won. Toshiro took a full minute to wake up but then he made sure Ago’s head was cut off and put on a spike with a message proclaiming what had happened. But Toshiro also collected Ago’s swords, planning to make arrangements later to see his Daisho was sent back to the man’s family.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
With that settled, Toshiro stalked over to the guards “Why didn’t you chase down those thugs?” he asked angrily.
“We never even saw them!” a guard protested. “Where were they at?”
That did make Toshiro pause. He had never seen the punks either. But Verick passed along what the guards had said to him “I don’t know why they stopped, but they were up to –something-. I’m just not sure what yet. We can’t trust these guys.” A sentiment all agreed with. But the guards had not actually done anything more than act suspiciously, so they weren’t sent away.
While the group conferred, they were approached by some men in red kimono trimmed with yellow. Rivals to Shigeto’s Strong Arm Firemen, these were the Fire Eaters. And if the group needed any help with those cheap Strong Arm thugs, they were willing to cooperate.
And so another announcement was posted publicly at the square there. A challenge from Verick and his group to the Strong Arm Firemen for tomorrow morning at their headquarters.
While debating what to do next Mir noticed another punk watching the group. A fast Hold Person failed to free the boy and he took off running at full speed down an alley. Toshiro, Volar and Mindra took of running after the punk, letting the thrush guide them where the boy was fleeing. Verick and Mir, and the guards, followed more slowly, taking their time.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The punk was running from alley to alley like a bat out of hell, then rushed into a tea shop, trying to shake his pursuers. Seconds later, Toshiro burst into the teashop, snarling “No one move!”
Faced with a heavily armored samurai, covered with blood and brandishing a katana, the teashop owner immediately prostrated himself on the ground, crying out “I’ve not done anything, I swear! It’s not me!” As Toshiro glared down at the man, the teashop owner glanced several times off to the side toward the bar. Picking up the hint, Toshiro dived over the bar and came up with a firm grip on the punk who had been following them.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Meanwhile, Verick, the guards, and Mir were walking along the street, bringing up the rear. Suddenly from an alleyway several punks came running out, saps in hand. And they certainly knew how to use them, both Mir and Verick were hammered be precision strikes to subdue.
Verick was definitely surprised by the sudden attack. “What? But the guards are with us!” he snarled. Katana drawn in a flash, Verick glared back toward Mir, the punks, and the guards, and growled “Your only chance to live is to run.”
A second passed and then the guards took off running past Verick, disappearing from the scene as the dumfounded young Lion looked on. The punks finished knocking Mir out then two grabbed her to run away as two more got in Verick’s way to block him chasing. Verick cut through the two punks as fast as he could, but it wasn’t enough. By the time he was looking, the other two punks and their unconscious burden had disappeared.
[DM Note: Terribly bad luck for Mir. First Mir and Verick rolled terribly to spot the ambush. Then Mir rolled bad on init and took two rounds of sneak attacks. Verick’s ‘your only chance to live is to run’ comment was just priceless. The guards had been looking for a chance to help Mir get captured. So the guards fleeing at this point was very natural. And the look on Verick’s player’s face…]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Volar, Mindra and Toshiro were just getting ready to question the punk when the guards came running up. “Verick and Mir are in trouble!” one guard yelled.
“Then what are you doing here?” Toshiro asked, frowning.
“Verick told us our only chance was to run. He’s a Lion, I’m sure he knew the tactical situation better than we did, so we followed his orders.” The guard said breathlessly.
Yeah, right. Verick showed up soon after and though the guards pretended there must have been a misunderstanding, the group wasn’t buying it. They could not simply grab and interrogate Thunderguards without it causing trouble. But it was made very clear to the guards if the group saw them again, there would be trouble.
The punk was no fool either. He knew he was in deep deep trouble and he was even eager to cut a deal. He’d tell all willingly if he’d be allowed to go free. Toshiro agreed to this and the punk spilled his guts. He was part of a gang, they were hired by some fatso named Buka to follow Mir around wherever she went. And if the chance came they were to grab her and deliver her to a certain spot. Men waiting there would pay them 1,000 gold for Mir, alive and unspoiled. He had no idea why Buka wanted her, and didn’t really care. None of his business, really.
Volar was quick to say “Toshiro, you said you would not kill him, but you didn’t say I would not kill him.” Toshiro was tempted, but he was also honorable. An honorable samurai doesn’t look for loopholes or let others dishonor his word. And so the punk was set free.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thrush, Mir’s familiar, was chattering this whole time “Mir’s in trouble, I can’t contact her, Mir’s in trouble, help her, Mir’s in trouble!” Volar managed to calm down the bird and ask it to go up looking for Mir. Rushing over to where the punks were supposed to take Mir didn’t work, whoever it was had apparently already taken off. But asking around revealed some guards had gone out with a wager. By this time Mir had awakened and could confirm through Thrush she was unharmed, but all her items, weapons, money, etc had been taken and she was locked up inside some boxes on a wager, tied up very securely.
With Thrush’s help the group tracked to the wagon to the north gate and took off riding up the road as fast as they could, hoping to catch up to Mir before the wager got to where ever it was taking her. It would be close…
Next up: Saving Mir! Fighting the Firemen! And more trouble with guards!
Then from inside a warehouse a figure walked into view. A ronin in heavy armor, his face heavily scarred, his jaw disfigured, like it had been smashed at some point. His hands resting on the hilt of his katana and wakizashi, he walked into the middle of the street and calmly looked over the group. “You should have accepted the offer from Shigeto. Toshiro! I used to be a Crab samurai. I have no desire to fight you. You can stand down, my fight’s not with you!”
Toshiro knew this guy from chats with his old pal Sho. A samurai named Ago, part of the same family that Sho had been in, and using the same katana/wakizashi style Sho had used. A really tough fighter.
“We stand with our friends. I don’t want to fight you either, but we won’t back down!” Toshiro called out, drawing his katana.
Ago nodded calmly “I can respect bravery. I’ll make sure your swords are sent back to your families. For the rest of you, you have a few seconds to make peace with your gods.”
Verick was just snickering in the background “One guy against all of us?”
“And he knows who we are, and he’s not worried about it. Don’t underestimate him.” Mir commented.
There was a soft sound of chanting from where Ago stood and suddenly he almost seemed to vibrate. Volar recognized a haste spell when he saw it. Laughing, the flower decorated elf gestured and a magical Web descended down over the area where Ago stood, stranded fastened to the warehouses on either side, cutting him off from the group and hopefully catching whoever cast the haste as well.
“Plan B!” Ago yelled from inside the web and then there was silence. Mir’s thrush didn’t see anything moving in the area. Assuming Ago had not simply retreated, Mir cast Silence on her thrush familiar and sent him higher to keep an eye out. Toshiro switched to his bow while Volar and Mindra cast protective spells. Verick got devious though, retreating out of sight behind a shack. He had noticed the Thunderguards with the group were edging over behind them, acting suspiciously. Verick used his amulet to take on the appearance of a Thunderguard and came into view, asking the guards “What’s happening?”
‘A fight, just relax and watch.” One of the guards answered.
Then suddenly Ago appeared, his blades gone void black and doing their best to slice Mindra into little monkey bits. Mindra didn’t even pretend to be brave, the monkey scampered away immediately, running for his life. Toshiro snapped off a shot from his bow then dropped it and drew his katana again. Volar’s dispel magic slowed down Ago, but his twin swords still did terrible damage to Toshiro next. Toshiro hacked back viciously and Mir moved up to heal Toshiro before Ago could get another shot in.
The guards kept edging over behind the group and Verick asked in mock excitement “What’s up?”
“Just watch, kid. We’ll show you how this is done.” The guard answered.
“No, I’ll show you!” Verick snarled, dropping the illusion and charging forward to engage Ago, helping Toshiro flank.
Mir’s thrush noticed a new group on the scene as well. Skulking at a corner watch the battle were some cheap punks, watching intently. Mir warned the group about it and Toshiro yelled to the guards to go handle those punks. “Hai! At once!” one of the guards answered, and then they started looking around to try and see what punks Toshiro was talking about. Somehow...they just didn’t see them.
The battle got bloody quickly. An invisible shugenja was healing Ago and keeping him going while Mindra and Mir kept Toshiro and Verick up and fighting. The silenced Thrush was causing problems for both sides in healing their fighters by swooping down over the battle, but was definitely hurting Ago more.
Toshiro swung high with powerful strikes, trying to take Ago’s head off in one stroke while Verick kept slipping in from the side, sneaky stabs finding the weak spots in Ago’s armor. Once Volar hasted Verick, Ago was losing ground fast and suddenly he broke away and ran around the corner of the warehouse, guzzling down a potion quickly. Verick yelled out “After him! We’ve got him now!”
Verick was the first around the corner and Ago’s two swords struck with lethal precision, the katana finding a critical spot and drawing a dark gout of blood from Verick’s body. Mindra was fast on Verick’s heels though and healed the young Lion again while Toshiro ran around the corner, moving to flank Ago again. A spell from the invisible caster caused a bluish mist to rise around the fighters and Toshiro staggered, then slumped to the ground, asleep. Even Mindra’s screeches were not enough to wake the Crab samurai. But before Ago could act, Volar struck with a barrage of magic missiles and Verick kept stubbornly attacking, a perfect slash of his sword lopping Ago’s head off in one stroke.
The invisible caster retreated quickly, unseen. And slowly the group relaxed, realizing they had won. Toshiro took a full minute to wake up but then he made sure Ago’s head was cut off and put on a spike with a message proclaiming what had happened. But Toshiro also collected Ago’s swords, planning to make arrangements later to see his Daisho was sent back to the man’s family.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
With that settled, Toshiro stalked over to the guards “Why didn’t you chase down those thugs?” he asked angrily.
“We never even saw them!” a guard protested. “Where were they at?”
That did make Toshiro pause. He had never seen the punks either. But Verick passed along what the guards had said to him “I don’t know why they stopped, but they were up to –something-. I’m just not sure what yet. We can’t trust these guys.” A sentiment all agreed with. But the guards had not actually done anything more than act suspiciously, so they weren’t sent away.
While the group conferred, they were approached by some men in red kimono trimmed with yellow. Rivals to Shigeto’s Strong Arm Firemen, these were the Fire Eaters. And if the group needed any help with those cheap Strong Arm thugs, they were willing to cooperate.
And so another announcement was posted publicly at the square there. A challenge from Verick and his group to the Strong Arm Firemen for tomorrow morning at their headquarters.
While debating what to do next Mir noticed another punk watching the group. A fast Hold Person failed to free the boy and he took off running at full speed down an alley. Toshiro, Volar and Mindra took of running after the punk, letting the thrush guide them where the boy was fleeing. Verick and Mir, and the guards, followed more slowly, taking their time.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The punk was running from alley to alley like a bat out of hell, then rushed into a tea shop, trying to shake his pursuers. Seconds later, Toshiro burst into the teashop, snarling “No one move!”
Faced with a heavily armored samurai, covered with blood and brandishing a katana, the teashop owner immediately prostrated himself on the ground, crying out “I’ve not done anything, I swear! It’s not me!” As Toshiro glared down at the man, the teashop owner glanced several times off to the side toward the bar. Picking up the hint, Toshiro dived over the bar and came up with a firm grip on the punk who had been following them.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Meanwhile, Verick, the guards, and Mir were walking along the street, bringing up the rear. Suddenly from an alleyway several punks came running out, saps in hand. And they certainly knew how to use them, both Mir and Verick were hammered be precision strikes to subdue.
Verick was definitely surprised by the sudden attack. “What? But the guards are with us!” he snarled. Katana drawn in a flash, Verick glared back toward Mir, the punks, and the guards, and growled “Your only chance to live is to run.”
A second passed and then the guards took off running past Verick, disappearing from the scene as the dumfounded young Lion looked on. The punks finished knocking Mir out then two grabbed her to run away as two more got in Verick’s way to block him chasing. Verick cut through the two punks as fast as he could, but it wasn’t enough. By the time he was looking, the other two punks and their unconscious burden had disappeared.
[DM Note: Terribly bad luck for Mir. First Mir and Verick rolled terribly to spot the ambush. Then Mir rolled bad on init and took two rounds of sneak attacks. Verick’s ‘your only chance to live is to run’ comment was just priceless. The guards had been looking for a chance to help Mir get captured. So the guards fleeing at this point was very natural. And the look on Verick’s player’s face…]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Volar, Mindra and Toshiro were just getting ready to question the punk when the guards came running up. “Verick and Mir are in trouble!” one guard yelled.
“Then what are you doing here?” Toshiro asked, frowning.
“Verick told us our only chance was to run. He’s a Lion, I’m sure he knew the tactical situation better than we did, so we followed his orders.” The guard said breathlessly.
Yeah, right. Verick showed up soon after and though the guards pretended there must have been a misunderstanding, the group wasn’t buying it. They could not simply grab and interrogate Thunderguards without it causing trouble. But it was made very clear to the guards if the group saw them again, there would be trouble.
The punk was no fool either. He knew he was in deep deep trouble and he was even eager to cut a deal. He’d tell all willingly if he’d be allowed to go free. Toshiro agreed to this and the punk spilled his guts. He was part of a gang, they were hired by some fatso named Buka to follow Mir around wherever she went. And if the chance came they were to grab her and deliver her to a certain spot. Men waiting there would pay them 1,000 gold for Mir, alive and unspoiled. He had no idea why Buka wanted her, and didn’t really care. None of his business, really.
Volar was quick to say “Toshiro, you said you would not kill him, but you didn’t say I would not kill him.” Toshiro was tempted, but he was also honorable. An honorable samurai doesn’t look for loopholes or let others dishonor his word. And so the punk was set free.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thrush, Mir’s familiar, was chattering this whole time “Mir’s in trouble, I can’t contact her, Mir’s in trouble, help her, Mir’s in trouble!” Volar managed to calm down the bird and ask it to go up looking for Mir. Rushing over to where the punks were supposed to take Mir didn’t work, whoever it was had apparently already taken off. But asking around revealed some guards had gone out with a wager. By this time Mir had awakened and could confirm through Thrush she was unharmed, but all her items, weapons, money, etc had been taken and she was locked up inside some boxes on a wager, tied up very securely.
With Thrush’s help the group tracked to the wagon to the north gate and took off riding up the road as fast as they could, hoping to catch up to Mir before the wager got to where ever it was taking her. It would be close…
Next up: Saving Mir! Fighting the Firemen! And more trouble with guards!
Brown Jenkin
First Post
Notes from Mir
Everyone wan't to kidnap me for somee reason or another and I don't know why. I'm a nice person, really I am.
Mir
Everyone wan't to kidnap me for somee reason or another and I don't know why. I'm a nice person, really I am.
Mir
Black Omega
First Post
Tokiwong said:
Very tricksy. Distracting the group from their mission in all types of ways.
And Mir's not only nice, but so popular. Her fans have to kidnap her just to try and get a little quality time.
Black Omega
First Post
The group had to ride fast to catch up with the wagon where Mir was being held. Guided by her Thrush and pushing their horses to the limit non-riders like Volar and Mindra could manage, the group came up on a wagon guarded by six ronin. Toshiro yelled out a challenge and that was all it took. Mir heard Toshiro’s words and relayed that through Thrush. And the fight was on. The guards were skilled and competent as fart as wagon guards went. But they stood no chance against such experienced samurai and spell slingers. Only one of the mounted guards escaped, and another was captured and Charmed by Mir, once she was released from the wagon.
The guard told an interesting story. Buka was behind the kidnapping attempt all right. He had done well for himself in a less lawful town like Ryoko Owari and had a private home to the north of town. A very nice residence with a walled garden. And more guards, of course. Several more guards. One didn’t make money in Ryoko Owari without gaining enemies. And Buka had left very specific instructions on how to handle Mir. She was to be disarmed, gold, items; everything put in a separate box and brought to him.
The group could have returned to Ryoko Owari and gotten on with the mission, but this was a matter of principle. Attack someone in the group and you pay for it. Mir was even planning to look up those cheap punks later for a little payback. But now the real question. How to get close enough to get Buka without him running. Their Charmed buddy was able to reveal there were probably six more guards at the estate.
Finally the plan was made. Verick would use his amulet to look like one of the guards while others hide in the wagon for their chance to strike by surprise. And Mir was back to being a prisoner, if only in name. The trip to Buka’s estate took another hour and Verick whispered back to the others that there were only two guards out front. Then he was off, leading a not really tied up Mir into Buka’s stately manor past the guards.
Buka wasn’t expecting trouble, as far as he knew everything was going according to plan, and his eyes positively lit up when he saw Mir brought into the room. “Wonderful! Oh, she’s just perfect.” The pudgy man positively beamed. “You may go. I don’t wish to be disturbed for a while.”
Verick turned to go but only made it as far as the door before he drew his katana out in a flash and cut down the guard by the door. Mir tosses off her bonds and gestured before shouting at Buka “Die!” and with a strangled cry Buka fell back, laying still.
Hearing the disturbance inside, the group charged into battle. Toshiro and Kaz ran inside to catch the guards who had been at the door. More cautiously, Mindra summoned a brown bear inside the manor and let it run loose, though it never actually came near the battle. Buka’s guards recovered from the surprise quickly and the battle turned more bloody. Buka snapped back to surprised awareness after the Command Word had worn off and he was up with surprising speed, ready to flee. But Mir tackled him down again and the two started wrestling, a situation that distracted Buka from his plans for escape.
While Mindra’s summoned brown bear chased servants out the back of the building the guards were trapped between Toshiro, Kaz, and Verick. Finally they surrendered while Buka was still enjoying his wrestling with Mir and Verick came over to lay his katana’s edge on Buka’s back and ordered the stout fellow to give in.
Buka had no choice but to surrender and then cravenly beg for mercy. Mir questioned him, but there wasn’t really much worth learning. No one had put him up to the kidnapping. He worked for Yasuki Nobuko, but she didn’t know anything of his lustful obsession. He had contacts and had checked around to see who might be willing to handle catching Mir and he had easily found some help.
While Buka as questioned, the others looked over the house. It was more Luv Nest than vacation home. Large amounts of wine and other luxury items. And as Volar’s sharp elven eyes found, a secret room deeper in the house. Recruiting Verick to open the door, they found a shrine to Mir filled with many items. A rather scandalous painting of Mir, a book from the Western Kingdoms about the worship of the Oak Father, a scrap of cloth from Mir’s kimono, even a splinter of wood from Mir’s staff. This was a very serious obsession indeed. Volar is also pleased to discover a large pounce of koku, Rokugani gold coins with square holes through the middles.
Buka’s fate is left up to Mir, who was not in a merciful mood. At least his end was fast, unlike the fate he had planned for Mir. The guards are released after some debate. They are pros, their meal ticket’s dead and there’s no money in revenge. By the time they were done, it was getting into the evening and the group decided to wait until early the next morning before starting back for their confrontation with the Strong Arm Firemen. It would be a two-hour ride so they’d have to leave early, but they could not miss that battle.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sorry for the short update, but the words aren't flowing too smoothly right now. Rest assured though, the action is just about to start picking up.
The guard told an interesting story. Buka was behind the kidnapping attempt all right. He had done well for himself in a less lawful town like Ryoko Owari and had a private home to the north of town. A very nice residence with a walled garden. And more guards, of course. Several more guards. One didn’t make money in Ryoko Owari without gaining enemies. And Buka had left very specific instructions on how to handle Mir. She was to be disarmed, gold, items; everything put in a separate box and brought to him.
The group could have returned to Ryoko Owari and gotten on with the mission, but this was a matter of principle. Attack someone in the group and you pay for it. Mir was even planning to look up those cheap punks later for a little payback. But now the real question. How to get close enough to get Buka without him running. Their Charmed buddy was able to reveal there were probably six more guards at the estate.
Finally the plan was made. Verick would use his amulet to look like one of the guards while others hide in the wagon for their chance to strike by surprise. And Mir was back to being a prisoner, if only in name. The trip to Buka’s estate took another hour and Verick whispered back to the others that there were only two guards out front. Then he was off, leading a not really tied up Mir into Buka’s stately manor past the guards.
Buka wasn’t expecting trouble, as far as he knew everything was going according to plan, and his eyes positively lit up when he saw Mir brought into the room. “Wonderful! Oh, she’s just perfect.” The pudgy man positively beamed. “You may go. I don’t wish to be disturbed for a while.”
Verick turned to go but only made it as far as the door before he drew his katana out in a flash and cut down the guard by the door. Mir tosses off her bonds and gestured before shouting at Buka “Die!” and with a strangled cry Buka fell back, laying still.
Hearing the disturbance inside, the group charged into battle. Toshiro and Kaz ran inside to catch the guards who had been at the door. More cautiously, Mindra summoned a brown bear inside the manor and let it run loose, though it never actually came near the battle. Buka’s guards recovered from the surprise quickly and the battle turned more bloody. Buka snapped back to surprised awareness after the Command Word had worn off and he was up with surprising speed, ready to flee. But Mir tackled him down again and the two started wrestling, a situation that distracted Buka from his plans for escape.
While Mindra’s summoned brown bear chased servants out the back of the building the guards were trapped between Toshiro, Kaz, and Verick. Finally they surrendered while Buka was still enjoying his wrestling with Mir and Verick came over to lay his katana’s edge on Buka’s back and ordered the stout fellow to give in.
Buka had no choice but to surrender and then cravenly beg for mercy. Mir questioned him, but there wasn’t really much worth learning. No one had put him up to the kidnapping. He worked for Yasuki Nobuko, but she didn’t know anything of his lustful obsession. He had contacts and had checked around to see who might be willing to handle catching Mir and he had easily found some help.
While Buka as questioned, the others looked over the house. It was more Luv Nest than vacation home. Large amounts of wine and other luxury items. And as Volar’s sharp elven eyes found, a secret room deeper in the house. Recruiting Verick to open the door, they found a shrine to Mir filled with many items. A rather scandalous painting of Mir, a book from the Western Kingdoms about the worship of the Oak Father, a scrap of cloth from Mir’s kimono, even a splinter of wood from Mir’s staff. This was a very serious obsession indeed. Volar is also pleased to discover a large pounce of koku, Rokugani gold coins with square holes through the middles.
Buka’s fate is left up to Mir, who was not in a merciful mood. At least his end was fast, unlike the fate he had planned for Mir. The guards are released after some debate. They are pros, their meal ticket’s dead and there’s no money in revenge. By the time they were done, it was getting into the evening and the group decided to wait until early the next morning before starting back for their confrontation with the Strong Arm Firemen. It would be a two-hour ride so they’d have to leave early, but they could not miss that battle.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sorry for the short update, but the words aren't flowing too smoothly right now. Rest assured though, the action is just about to start picking up.
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