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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Emperor Valerian" data-source="post: 1977846" data-attributes="member: 15043">Yeah, Captain Li went down fighting.  It was rather interesting... he was only an NPC, but the reactions between the two players to his demise were different.  Felonca's was rather sad... Nayu's player had never liked him and only felt a little bad about doubting him.  The vargouilles took a great deal of Li's strength, and I imagined he’d probably just keep right on fighting (considering for several sessions he’d been wanting to prove his loyalty to Nayu, especially).  The centipede critted and rolled near max damage on the bite... hence Li’s demise.The intent of that final fight was for Hu Man to paralyze Nayu (Hu Man had failed to spot that it wasn’t really his brother), and let the vargouilles go to work.  Felonca went to town, so that while Nayu was paralyzed, she killed all the vargouilles around him. ===========================================The Prince Returns, and a Sword is StolenFor a minute or so, Felonca couldn’t feel anything save the blazing pain now rushing through her back, and the feeling of bile rushing up her throat.  She looked between Li’s broken body and Chou.  The young man kept staring, his mouth opening to form words, but no sound coming out.Then, she remembered her own life.The sword! Slowly, respectfully she went towards the front once Liu and Nayu had gone to comfort the warrior.  She clambered up the bier, and peered inside, wincing almost as if more vargouilles would leap out.  None did.Instead, there was only the body of the late prince, his face peaceful almost, clad in the finest silk.  On his chest lay a longsword, its blade gleaming gold in the torchlight, its hilt sparkling with studded amulets and gems.  With a twisted face, Felonca reached inside, and gently pried the man’s cold fingers from the blade.  Within a few seconds, it was loose, and she pulled it out.What now? she thought.  For the first time, she had to consider how she was going to get the blade out of the chambers.  She couldn’t just strap it to her hip or the like... everyone knew this was the old prince’s sword.  Somehow, she needed to get it out, and she had a few ideas.The blade is fairly narrow... I think it’ll fit, she thought, as she entered a few minutes of finangling and cursing before she was satisfied.“Master Nayu,” Liu’s voice was decidedly tired and worn, “I think I can comfort Li Chou.  You must play your role, to protect all of us.”Play my role...  Nayu gave a nod, and tried to slip into the shoes of Prince Hu Shikai.  The emotions in the air made thinking difficult.  What would the prince do here?  Dance over his brother’s body?No... even if its known he hated the man, Shikai would weep over his brother as a dutiful and virtuous man would.But what kind of weeping?  Hysterical?  No... Shikai sounded too calm for that.  Bitter weeping though...“Liu will take care of you,” Nayu tried his best to reassure the fighter.  Dammit!  He forced any thoughts of Captain Li, or his own father, from his mind as he attempted to focus.  “Now... all of you,” he said, turning towards Felonca, before he had to stop.The back of the hengeyokai’s dress was burnt and cut open, but the front was still intact... save that she seemed to be walking strange, as if something was strapped to her, keeping her from moving.  She held her left arm limply by her side, and she seemed to have a slight limp favoring that side as well.  For a second, Nayu was confused, before he remembered her other task... and gave her a slight nod of recognition.“All of you!  Go!” he hissed, waving them out.  “I can pull off the grieving brother, but the rest of you should play the part of sane people and act like you’re fleeing!”  Nayu’s eyes then found Chou’s, and for a second, there was a look of mad defiance on top of the other emotions present.  Nayu heard Liu whispering quiet words to the fighter, and gently start moving him towards an exit.  Close behind, Felonca rather stiffly brought up the rear.As they left, Nayu focused on clearing his mind.  Images of his own father kept appearing in his mind, and several times tears started to well.  Instead of pushing that image away, Nayu allowed it to stay, as tears rolled down his cheeks.  When he looked at the dead Hu Man, Nayu instead saw his own father, and began to wail, screaming for servants.It was nearly an hour later when the stiffly but rapidly walking Felonca reached the tanner’s shop she’d ‘visited’ the day before.  Outside, the people passing by were the same as before... merchants shuffling between the city markets, children playing, women carrying their laundry.  Then she noticed one difference.  Leaning on the wall of the shop, his arms crossed and his eyes downcast as if in deep thought, was a man.  A wide peasant’s hat was drawn down over his eyes, but she could just tell by his movements that the leopard hengeyokai had spotted her.  Slowly, carefully she walked towards him.Just as slowly, nonchalantly even, she saw him start to reach inside his tunic.  For a split second, she was confused as to why he’d reach for a weapon, but then she realized He doesn’t know if I have the sword!  He thinks I might have set him up!Felonca wasn’t naive, but neither was she fully experienced in the darker sides of city life.  To a true prostitute, her ‘provocative’ slight lifting of her skirt might have bordered closer to comedy theater than suggestive, even moreso because her street clothes were still on underneath the nice dress.  To the average passerby, however, it looked normal enough, and aroused no attention.   The guildmaster’s face, however, snapped up to look at her, disbelief in his eyes.  She dropped her skirt to normal, as he shook his head.  Not able to restrain herself, she gave  a slight giggle as the master thief attempted to regain nonchalance, and hide his shock.  He looked about with only a partial amount of calm, before motioning her to follow him.The two entered the tanners, and quickly went down the secret passage to the guild’s hideout.  Once inside those wood paneled chambers, the facade of calm broke.“How in the name of the Nine Hells did you do that?!” the leopard cried, hsi eyes openly wide in shock.  “As I told you before, I am an excellent thief!” she replied smugly, before laying on the ground.  With some effort, Felonca managed to shift, tug, and push on the blade wedged on her left side underneath the skirt until she had it free.  Before she could even stand up again, the guildmaster had the blade in his grasp, and was staring at it in awe.  She stood back up, and crossed her arms in pride.  No need to tell them I had some help... I bet they’ll find out soon enough.Slowly, others started filing into the room, all with eyes wide in shock, some whistling slightly, some murmuring “Impossible!” or hissing slightly.  She even recognized the small halfling thief that had called for her blood only the day before among the admirers.For a few moments, she admired her handiwork, before the guildmaster turned to her, clearing his throat.“You... well... passed with flying colors!  Um... naturally, the profits from fencing this will go to the guild... but...um... is there anything else we can do for you?”“Two things,” she said, before her smug smile changed into a scowl.  “There were White Wolf assassins in this city, intent on killing me!  You surely knew they were here, why didn’t you inform me!” she snarled.  The guildmaster opened his mouth once again in confusion.  This time, she read the emotion as genuine.“We... we weren’t aware!  If we were, we surely would have told you!”“Fair enough,” her scowl remained, “then tell me about this Prince Hu Shikai.  What is he like?”  I have the feeling we’re going to be dealing with him now... is he a schemer?  A two timer?  An honest man?The next ten minutes were filled with descriptions of the Prince’s life, as much as the Thieves’ Guild knew of it.  Which was quite a great deal.  He’d been born to a lesser wife of the Governor Hu Lan, and had been in continual strife with his older brother for the past three years, even to the point Hu Man had arranged a scandal to get Shikai and his mother exiled.  Shikai had only returned on his dying father’s pardon.The young man was also, at least according to the guild, was very fearful of assassination, to the point he was considering hiring White Wolf assassins to counter potential assassins.  However, when she asked if the Guild knew why the Prince had ridden to Xianlung instead of the funeral, the guildmaster was perplexed.“Where did you hear this?” the leopard asked, “We have no sources saying the same!  Lixi here says that there was an attack on the prince within the palace this morning even!”Well... might as well inform them, Felonca thought, and proceeded to do the impossible, impressing the guild even more with her tale of how the sword was taken...“Majesty!  Majesty!” a servant came running towards Nayu, wringing his hands in worry.  True to his role, Nayu looked up, and snarled at the man.“Why do you disturb me!  Someone has tried to kill me, and has killed my brother!” he bellowed, more tears streaming down his face.  Tears for Chou's sorrow, and tears for his own father.  “Majesty!  An army has come to the city!  They have been let in the gates, and now ride to the palace!” the servant panicked, gesturing wildly.  “They shall arrive any moment!”An army?  Whose army?  Why would someone-OH!Everything suddenly came together.  Why a betrayed son would be riding away and skip his father’s funeral.  Why he would need a double to make it seem like he was there.  It all makes sense!  His role now abandoned, Nayu dashed out towards the palace front.Some hours later...“I wish to thank you all for your assistance,” Prince Hu Shikai, now Governor of Langya Province, spoke.  He shifted slightly on the throne, his armor creaking and clanking as he motioned for his servants.  Two came into the room, carrying a table between them, upon which were neatly stacked piles of gold taels.  With a nod, the servants were then dismissed, before the prince returned his gaze to the party.  “Without your assistance, I am afraid this situation might have become... difficult.”A princely armored hand waved to the table.  “Four thousand golden taels, as we agreed.”Felonca and Liu both looked at Nayu, and the young man felt heat flushing to his cheeks.  He glanced sideways at the still stoic Chou, whose eyes were looking at the ground, but focused on a soul somewhere far away.  Nayu then glanced back towards Felonca, wh nodded slightly.  Gingerly, he cleared his throat, and stepped forward.“Your Excellency,” he began, “we have lost a dear comrade in the process of this mission on your behalf.  As such, we wish an extra thousand golden taels...” Nayu paused, and then looked directly at Chou, “...for his surviving family members.”  Hastily, Nayu added a proper bow, but his eyes had switched back to the prince.Hu Shikai looked at the young man, at the look in his eyes almost defying the prince to say no.  “I was unaware you had suffered such a loss.  My deepest condolences,” the prince said, nodding to both Nayu and Chou.  An armored hand was waved, and another smaller table was brought in, its golden taels set alongside the much larger table already present.  The prince then rose, turned towards Chou, and gave him a bow.“A wise leader cares for his subjects,” the prince spoke, quoting directly from a text of Kongxi, “and you, young man, do certainly care for your friends.  Your actions here show a great deal of wisdom... wisdom many of my father’s scholars and advisors lacked.  They also tell me that you used fire from your hands to subdue the beasts... something unusual for someone that has never seen the inside of a dao academy or studied the great masters.  The state could use someone of your-”“I most respectfully cannot accept,” Nayu replied, giving another bow.  Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Felonca and Liu both looking at him, mouths agape.  He ignored their shock and continued, “I merely ask Your Excellency to find it in your heart to assist me in finding my parents.”  As per procedure, Nayu went to his knees, and started to kowtow before the prince’s own hands grabbed his arm, preventing him.“There is no need for that, brave one,” the prince said simply, pulling Nayu back to his feet before giving a sigh.  “I am afraid that is one thing I cannot help you with at this moment.”  The prince then turned, and started back towards the throne.  “From all sides, the armies of the Empress Dowager and her brother, the Prince of Shu, threaten me.  Because of this, I cannot send forces yet to the north to destroy the Military Governor, or find your parents.”Nayu started to open his mouth to protest, before the prince raised a hand for silence.“Young man, I know your parents must mean a great deal to you.  Unfortunately, I have hundreds of thousands of parents and children under my rule that must also be cared for.  I hope you understand.”“In the meantime however, I wish to offer you and your brave companions my hospitality.  I am granting you lodging in the Governor’s Palace for the next week.”  A servant appeared, and the prince took several stamped pieces of paper from him.  He then handed the papers to the party.  “During that time, I can hopefully find information that may be of use to you.  I will meet with you in one week’s time, and hopefully then, can we set you on the way to a happy reunion.”= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = This is the end of the fourth session.  From here, things get even more exciting, as in the next session we had a guest player (Isida Kep’Tukari stopped by, and joined the party for a day), as well as further exhibitions of what Felonca’s dagger is capable of...</blockquote>

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