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Welcome to the Halmae (updated 2/27/07)
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<blockquote data-quote="spyscribe" data-source="post: 2088449" data-attributes="member: 5808"><p><strong>Part the One-Hundred-Second</strong></p><p><em>In which: bridges are burned (figuratively) and cut (literally).</em></p><p></p><p>Over lunch, the party members attempt to brainstorm how they can depart the monastery without being detected by the Inquisitors. They also try to convince Master Genichi to go with them. </p><p></p><p>Master Genichi steadfastly maintains that he would only slow the party down, and that speed is of the essence in their situation.</p><p></p><p>“I have a spell that might help,” Annika suggests. “<em>Floating disk</em>. It’s on scroll now, but if I take today to scribe it in my spell-book I’ll be able to memorize it every day for however long it takes us to get to the Vale.”</p><p></p><p><em>(This genius insight was brought to you by Jo, from jonrog1’s story hour, who we were lucky enough to have guest-starring as Annika this session.)</em></p><p></p><p>Reyu quickly calculates in her head. “If your spell carried Master Genichi, he wouldn’t leave tracks, but… there are still more of us than whose tracks I can conceal behind us.”</p><p></p><p>“Except,” Annika points out, “you don’t have to cover Kiara, because she can fly, and Benedic can help too, so that’s one, two…”</p><p></p><p>“What I want to know,” announces Benedic loudly after several minutes of discussion of the merits of <em>pass without trace</em> and whether Reyu can ask Paws to follow the rest of the group off the trail and thereby not reveal who exactly is leaving a lot of tracks away from the monastery, “is why we’re spending all this time worrying about sneaking out of here, and not letting the Inquisitors know we’re involved in the first place. There’s a really simple solution.”</p><p></p><p>Lira turns to the ranger. “What? Are you saying we should stay here, wait until the Inquisitors show up, and then kill them all?”</p><p></p><p><em>(In case you were wondering, that would be Ross, also of </em>Drunk Southern Girls…<em> fame playing Benedic. Score!)</em></p><p></p><p>“It’s not that hard.” Benedic responds. He pushes aside several plates and begins laying out chopsticks by way of illustration. “We dig a trench in the snow here, and put some people with flaming arrows on top of the main house <em>there</em>, and then, we can get a bunch of sharpened stakes, sink ‘em in the ground, and piss on them…”</p><p></p><p>Euro takes a flying leap off of Lira’s shoulder and begins nosing around the table, checking out the preparations. His voice filters back into Lira’s head, <span style="color: darkorange">Oh yeah, we can take ‘em Boss</span>.</p><p></p><p>But Master Genichi shakes his head. “We have maintained this place since long before the Sovereignty. We have kept whatever…” he gestures to the holy symbols of Kettenek scattered about the dining room, “trappings… have been necessary to maintain our faith. The stewardship of this site has been in my family for generations. I will not abandon my post, and I cannot ask that you aid me in its defense.”</p><p></p><p>“But surely,” Reyu points out, “the important site is the Vale itself. The monastery is… secondary to the spring.”</p><p></p><p>“Besides,” Lira adds, “not that I doubt your resolve, but it is quite likely the Inquisitors will have access to magics that could force you to betray us.”</p><p></p><p>Master Genichi is unruffled. “My will is strong… and they will have to take me alive.”</p><p></p><p>There is a respectful pause until Annika looks up and says, “Umm… not necessarily.”</p><p></p><p>Anvil quickly realizes what Annika refers to. “She’s right. <em>Speak with dead</em> is beyond my abilities, but not greatly so.”</p><p></p><p>“Is Evil the Wench that powerful?” Thatch asks.</p><p></p><p><em>(Player Note: if NPCs refuse to give us their name, we </em>will<em> come up with one for them.)</em></p><p></p><p>“There’s no way of telling,” Annika allows, “but if she isn’t, they would only have to bring his head to someone who was.”</p><p></p><p>“So we would have a head start.”</p><p></p><p><em>(There’s a groan from the other end of the table, followed by the unmistakable clink, clink of a nickel finding its way into the Hutt…)</em></p><p></p><p>“You could try…” Annika turns to Master Genichi, “before you went down… there’s a way to cut off your own tongue and lower jaw, so your corpse can’t tell them anything.”</p><p></p><p>“Well, if that’s the issue, why wait until the Inquisitors get here to take his tongue out?”</p><p></p><p>Master Genichi looks vaguely uncomfortable at the direction the conversation is taking.</p><p></p><p>Perhaps sensing an opportune moment, Lira leans across the table to the Abbot. “Master Genichi,” she says softly, “Your goddess’ season is one of life. Surely she would not wish for you to sacrifice yours now.”</p><p></p><p>The table falls silent.</p><p></p><p>“Think of your granddaughter,” says Reyu. “Surely she is more in need of you than,” she gestures to the walls around them, “these… stones.”</p><p></p><p>Everyone holds a collective breath, waiting for Master Genichi’s response. At last, he sighs. “If I will not slow your progress in the mountains, and by remaining here I do not aid, but in fact could hinder your cause… then I will assent to your request, and accompany you to the Vale.”</p><p></p><p>The party springs into action.</p><p></p><p>###</p><p></p><p>Annika immediately sets about scribing <em>floating disk</em> into her spellbook, which takes her the rest of the day.</p><p></p><p>Benedic, denied his plans for setting an ambush, does work with Thatch and the party’s <em>decanter of endless water</em> to create ice-slicks around the monastery. Reyu consults with Master Genichi and then sets two <em>fire traps</em>: one on the building that used to contain the relics, and the other on Master Genichi’s residence. </p><p></p><p>The others busy themselves as best they can for an early start the next morning, and try to avoid leaving too many footprints in the snow.</p><p></p><p>###</p><p></p><p>Anvil and Kiara are on the last watch before dawn when a lone figure arrives at the monastery and quietly slips in through the main gate. Anvil starts, then recognizes Satsuki.</p><p></p><p>There is a brief flash around his eyes and he calls out to her in his most <em>commanding</em> tone, “Come here.”</p><p></p><p>Satsuki stops, shakes her head a bit, as though to clear it, but does walk over to the fire where Anvil and Kiara are keeping watch.</p><p></p><p>“I am not leaving my grandfather behind,” she announces flatly.</p><p></p><p>“Fine,” Anvil replies. “He is coming with us to the Vale.”</p><p></p><p>Satsuki looks at him with barely disguised shock.</p><p></p><p>“Sit down,” Anvil continues. “You must be cold.”</p><p></p><p>“<em>You</em> convinced him to leave?”</p><p></p><p>“Yes. It was not easy. He is a stubborn man.”</p><p></p><p>For an instant, Satsuki looks amused.</p><p></p><p>Kiara grins and whispers, “I knew you would come back.”</p><p></p><p>Satsuki blinks, but says nothing.</p><p></p><p>###</p><p></p><p>Master Genichi is not pleased to find that Satsuki back at the monastery. “I told you to go to the Vale,” he chides her.</p><p></p><p>Satsuki refuses to give an inch. “Hatsumi knows the way. I wasn’t going to leave you alone here.”</p><p></p><p>However, since no one will be remaining behind at the monastery to make a noble stand to the death against the Inquisitors, the question has been rendered moot, and—dispatching Kiara in swallow form to catch up with Hatsumi—the party quickly gets underway.</p><p></p><p>At Lira’s suggestion, Master Genichi takes a moment as they leave to paint a sign on the door, telling anyone approaching that the monastery has been decimated by plague. No one expects the Inquisitors to be fooled by the device, but to the passing observer, it does present a credible reason for the site to have been deserted.</p><p></p><p>###</p><p></p><p>Although the party does cover their tracks as they press on into the mountains, any pretense of concealing their motives has been abandoned. They keep up a grueling pace to make good time and stay ahead of the Inquisitors, but do frequently pause to slick the path behind them using Thatch’s <em>decanter and endless water</em>, or to trigger rock-falls across the path, and any rope bridges they use to traverse mountain crevasses are severed as soon as the party crosses.</p><p></p><p>Master Genichi watches all of this with an air of silent resignation, knowing that it must be done, but saddened by what it means: that he and his sistren will never pass this way to the Vale of the Holy Spring again.</p><p></p><p>Sometime on the second day of travel, the party reaches a very put-out looking Hatsumi waiting for them in the center of the path. He falls in quickly with the rest of the travelers, but continues to glare at Satsuki for some time.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="spyscribe, post: 2088449, member: 5808"] [b]Part the One-Hundred-Second[/b] [I]In which: bridges are burned (figuratively) and cut (literally).[/I] Over lunch, the party members attempt to brainstorm how they can depart the monastery without being detected by the Inquisitors. They also try to convince Master Genichi to go with them. Master Genichi steadfastly maintains that he would only slow the party down, and that speed is of the essence in their situation. “I have a spell that might help,” Annika suggests. “[I]Floating disk[/I]. It’s on scroll now, but if I take today to scribe it in my spell-book I’ll be able to memorize it every day for however long it takes us to get to the Vale.” [I](This genius insight was brought to you by Jo, from jonrog1’s story hour, who we were lucky enough to have guest-starring as Annika this session.)[/I] Reyu quickly calculates in her head. “If your spell carried Master Genichi, he wouldn’t leave tracks, but… there are still more of us than whose tracks I can conceal behind us.” “Except,” Annika points out, “you don’t have to cover Kiara, because she can fly, and Benedic can help too, so that’s one, two…” “What I want to know,” announces Benedic loudly after several minutes of discussion of the merits of [I]pass without trace[/I] and whether Reyu can ask Paws to follow the rest of the group off the trail and thereby not reveal who exactly is leaving a lot of tracks away from the monastery, “is why we’re spending all this time worrying about sneaking out of here, and not letting the Inquisitors know we’re involved in the first place. There’s a really simple solution.” Lira turns to the ranger. “What? Are you saying we should stay here, wait until the Inquisitors show up, and then kill them all?” [I](In case you were wondering, that would be Ross, also of [/I]Drunk Southern Girls…[I] fame playing Benedic. Score!)[/I] “It’s not that hard.” Benedic responds. He pushes aside several plates and begins laying out chopsticks by way of illustration. “We dig a trench in the snow here, and put some people with flaming arrows on top of the main house [I]there[/I], and then, we can get a bunch of sharpened stakes, sink ‘em in the ground, and piss on them…” Euro takes a flying leap off of Lira’s shoulder and begins nosing around the table, checking out the preparations. His voice filters back into Lira’s head, [color=darkorange]Oh yeah, we can take ‘em Boss[/color]. But Master Genichi shakes his head. “We have maintained this place since long before the Sovereignty. We have kept whatever…” he gestures to the holy symbols of Kettenek scattered about the dining room, “trappings… have been necessary to maintain our faith. The stewardship of this site has been in my family for generations. I will not abandon my post, and I cannot ask that you aid me in its defense.” “But surely,” Reyu points out, “the important site is the Vale itself. The monastery is… secondary to the spring.” “Besides,” Lira adds, “not that I doubt your resolve, but it is quite likely the Inquisitors will have access to magics that could force you to betray us.” Master Genichi is unruffled. “My will is strong… and they will have to take me alive.” There is a respectful pause until Annika looks up and says, “Umm… not necessarily.” Anvil quickly realizes what Annika refers to. “She’s right. [I]Speak with dead[/I] is beyond my abilities, but not greatly so.” “Is Evil the Wench that powerful?” Thatch asks. [i](Player Note: if NPCs refuse to give us their name, we [/i]will[i] come up with one for them.)[/i] “There’s no way of telling,” Annika allows, “but if she isn’t, they would only have to bring his head to someone who was.” “So we would have a head start.” [I](There’s a groan from the other end of the table, followed by the unmistakable clink, clink of a nickel finding its way into the Hutt…)[/I] “You could try…” Annika turns to Master Genichi, “before you went down… there’s a way to cut off your own tongue and lower jaw, so your corpse can’t tell them anything.” “Well, if that’s the issue, why wait until the Inquisitors get here to take his tongue out?” Master Genichi looks vaguely uncomfortable at the direction the conversation is taking. Perhaps sensing an opportune moment, Lira leans across the table to the Abbot. “Master Genichi,” she says softly, “Your goddess’ season is one of life. Surely she would not wish for you to sacrifice yours now.” The table falls silent. “Think of your granddaughter,” says Reyu. “Surely she is more in need of you than,” she gestures to the walls around them, “these… stones.” Everyone holds a collective breath, waiting for Master Genichi’s response. At last, he sighs. “If I will not slow your progress in the mountains, and by remaining here I do not aid, but in fact could hinder your cause… then I will assent to your request, and accompany you to the Vale.” The party springs into action. ### Annika immediately sets about scribing [I]floating disk[/I] into her spellbook, which takes her the rest of the day. Benedic, denied his plans for setting an ambush, does work with Thatch and the party’s [I]decanter of endless water[/I] to create ice-slicks around the monastery. Reyu consults with Master Genichi and then sets two [I]fire traps[/I]: one on the building that used to contain the relics, and the other on Master Genichi’s residence. The others busy themselves as best they can for an early start the next morning, and try to avoid leaving too many footprints in the snow. ### Anvil and Kiara are on the last watch before dawn when a lone figure arrives at the monastery and quietly slips in through the main gate. Anvil starts, then recognizes Satsuki. There is a brief flash around his eyes and he calls out to her in his most [I]commanding[/I] tone, “Come here.” Satsuki stops, shakes her head a bit, as though to clear it, but does walk over to the fire where Anvil and Kiara are keeping watch. “I am not leaving my grandfather behind,” she announces flatly. “Fine,” Anvil replies. “He is coming with us to the Vale.” Satsuki looks at him with barely disguised shock. “Sit down,” Anvil continues. “You must be cold.” “[I]You[/I] convinced him to leave?” “Yes. It was not easy. He is a stubborn man.” For an instant, Satsuki looks amused. Kiara grins and whispers, “I knew you would come back.” Satsuki blinks, but says nothing. ### Master Genichi is not pleased to find that Satsuki back at the monastery. “I told you to go to the Vale,” he chides her. Satsuki refuses to give an inch. “Hatsumi knows the way. I wasn’t going to leave you alone here.” However, since no one will be remaining behind at the monastery to make a noble stand to the death against the Inquisitors, the question has been rendered moot, and—dispatching Kiara in swallow form to catch up with Hatsumi—the party quickly gets underway. At Lira’s suggestion, Master Genichi takes a moment as they leave to paint a sign on the door, telling anyone approaching that the monastery has been decimated by plague. No one expects the Inquisitors to be fooled by the device, but to the passing observer, it does present a credible reason for the site to have been deserted. ### Although the party does cover their tracks as they press on into the mountains, any pretense of concealing their motives has been abandoned. They keep up a grueling pace to make good time and stay ahead of the Inquisitors, but do frequently pause to slick the path behind them using Thatch’s [I]decanter and endless water[/I], or to trigger rock-falls across the path, and any rope bridges they use to traverse mountain crevasses are severed as soon as the party crosses. Master Genichi watches all of this with an air of silent resignation, knowing that it must be done, but saddened by what it means: that he and his sistren will never pass this way to the Vale of the Holy Spring again. Sometime on the second day of travel, the party reaches a very put-out looking Hatsumi waiting for them in the center of the path. He falls in quickly with the rest of the travelers, but continues to glare at Satsuki for some time. [/QUOTE]
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