Onyx Empire Game 10, 11, & 12

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KakitaKaori
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Onyx Empire Game 10, 11, & 12

Postby KakitaKaori » Fri Apr 22, 2016 7:10 am

I'm starting a new thread just so I can tout pride of place for post 3000 on this board.

Background and Characters and game 1: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=813
Games 2, 3, and 4: v viewtopic.php?f=3&t=817
Games 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=830

Onyx Empire Game 10

"Welcome, KiRin." The ghostly leader of the Daidoji forces greeted Daidoji Shourai, the rest of his squadron surrounding him.

A little geography made the whole situation rather more confusing. They were in Lion Lands, if up on the edge of the mountains that lay between the Lion territory and the Yogo provinces. Yet the presence of the Daidoji made Shourai look at it with new eyes. This courtyard was not purely militaristic...it had all the makings of a once-pretty, now neglected garden. The structure had markings that she could actually identify as traditional Daidoji construction. Maybe some ancient lost Daidoji vassal family? The bloodloss wasn't helping her confusion. She rubbed her eyes.

"Greetings, Honored Ones...." she stumbled, then gestured at the others who were with her. "They...are under my protection."

The ghostly Daidoji commander looked down at the body of the creature that had been thrown to the courtyard with impassive eyes. "You are being hunted. Many such as this are pursuing you. You may hide and take shelter here, KiRin. We will defend you."

"Thank you, Honored Ones," Shourai said simply. "What family may I offer my thanks to?" Since they referred to her as Kirin, maybe they were referring to her ancestors, and she should be polite and give proper respect to theirs...

The Daidoji commander looked back at his men, and then at Shourai. "We are Daidoji," he said simply.

"But....who can I offer reverence to in thanks for your aid?"

The Daidoji ghost nodded. "We are here at the command of Lord Uji. Follow my guard back to shelter. There is not long to prepare."

Shourai was too wounded to argue, and the others too confused. (Our guess, as players, is that, based on this conversation, Daidoji Uji had men stationed in all kinds of interesting places....Imagine the supply lines!)

One of the ghostly bushi broke off and led them to a pile of crates, where he gestured. It took some heavy lifting and a potentially broken board, but they managed to move the crates and find a trap door hidden under the keep. When they asked the guard, he said the tunnel led to Yogo lands, an incredible feat. They climbed down a rotted ladder and the Kitsu took a nasty fall. Then, backing into the tunnel a ways, the badly hurt bound their wounds and slept while the others kept guard.

It was silent all night, and eventually all had had some sleep.

Well after sunrise, the Kitsuki climbed the ladder to see what had happened the night before. It was bright sunlight and the ghosts were gone. But there were many bodies of similar monstrous beings like the ones that had been sent after them strewn across the courtyard. Their lives had been saved for the moment. The magistrates, especially Shourai, took a moment to build a pile of stones and burn a fragment of incense in honor of the Daidoji who had saved them.

The trapdoors under the keep led to two tunnels, one south to the mountains, one to the southeast. That one was shorter. Though they wanted to get away from the keep quietly, they decided to take the shorter path so they would not end up on the Yogo side of the mountains, and still would have a chance of reaching the Hall of the Ancestors. The shorter tunnel led to a small entrance under a dock. Beyond it, a lake of moderate size spread out. These seemed smuggling tunnels. The samurai found a small boat and began preparations to travel further towards the Ancestral Hall.


--
It's challenging to make individual gaming sessions interesting to read, I think. While I appreciate Doji Pheelyp's comments, there doesn't seem very much interest in what I write, so it's not doing a very good job of keeping the board alive. Maybe if I can pool a few together so I actually have some story, people might be more likely to offer some conversation. Or feel free to come up with a better topic than me. :bow:
Last edited by KakitaKaori on Wed Aug 24, 2016 7:09 pm, edited 8 times in total.
Kakita Kaori
Kenshinzen of Golden Petal Village and overly prolific fiction writer
http://craneclan.weebly.com/
[Kakita Kyoumi/WC5]

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Re: Onyx Empire Game 10

Postby Doji Pheelyp » Fri Apr 22, 2016 7:48 am

:bow:
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Re: Onyx Empire Game 10

Postby Doji Pheelyp » Thu Apr 28, 2016 4:58 am

Oh, and that's *Pheelyp ;)
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Re: Onyx Empire Game 10

Postby KakitaKaori » Thu Apr 28, 2016 7:16 am

I'm sorry. I'll fix it. I do appreciate your reading my stuff.
Kakita Kaori
Kenshinzen of Golden Petal Village and overly prolific fiction writer
http://craneclan.weebly.com/
[Kakita Kyoumi/WC5]

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Re: Onyx Empire Game 11

Postby KakitaKaori » Mon May 02, 2016 10:32 am

Rowing across the lake and into the marshy grassland seemed to lose the group of fugatives their pursuers. They were able to skirt the mountain front and come to a spot where, if they scaled a shale cliff, they'd be within a day's journey of the Halls of the Ancestors. The ascent was easy for the Dragon, but dangerous for the others, and Sashimasu in particular seemed not very capable of scaling cliffs in their robes. Perhaps the Lion lands themselves had an opinion about whether they wished to have Spider Monks....or disguised Scorpions...entering their most sacred territories.

Despite the tumbles, with the aid of the Dragon all were able to make it to the top with minimum injury, and after a time to rest, proceeded towards the tombs, planning their arrival to come just at false dawn in the hopes of finding any defenders or scouts asleep. Shourai and Sashimasu scouted ahead stealthily, first seeking a blessing from the Kitsu...just in case.

There were no morning fires. No smoke. The road and doorways outside the Halls were in good repair, but there were leaves scattered on the road, as though no one had come through for a number of months. There was no sign of traffic. As the two approached, all they could see was a single, lone old monk in robes of yellow brown, his head as bald as an egg. Daidoji Shourai was torn. Sneaking in was the cautious thing to do...but it was rude to sneak into a temple without greeting the monk guarding it, and even if she knew how to stalk a hare through the brush, she still was a Crane. Courtesy won out. With a gesture of warning to Sashimasu, she moved away from him, straightened, and stepped out of hiding, striding up to the monk and bowing politely to him.

The monk greeted her, saying that he was surprised to see her...he had expected the Matsumoto or the Togashi. On some gentle questioning, he indicated his name was Neiji, and he was a friend of the 'Old Tortoise'. He had sent for the Matsumoto to gain access to the Halls of the Ancestors. Shourai signalled Sashimatsu to summon the others. When she asked the monk why he wanted to ask, and why a Matsumoto would help, he claimed that he had a question for the Jade Dragon (after enough prying), and this is where his shrine was, so he figured that a follower of the line of Matsumoto would be able to access it past the cat-spirit beings who killed anyone who approached.

Something like that. :)

We obviously went forth to enter the Halls. Ah, Players.

Shourai.
Kakita Kaori
Kenshinzen of Golden Petal Village and overly prolific fiction writer
http://craneclan.weebly.com/
[Kakita Kyoumi/WC5]

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Re: Onyx Empire Game 10 & 11

Postby Doji Pheelyp » Wed May 04, 2016 7:46 am

I am heartened the courtesy won out in the heart of the Crane, and that diplomacy led to such rich information. Hooray helpful, innocent NPCs!
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Re: Onyx Empire Game 10 & 11

Postby KakitaKaori » Wed Aug 10, 2016 7:25 am

A little ancestral whackiness has occurred since then...let me see where I got to and check my notes and I will have an update soon.
Kakita Kaori
Kenshinzen of Golden Petal Village and overly prolific fiction writer
http://craneclan.weebly.com/
[Kakita Kyoumi/WC5]

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Re: Onyx Empire Game 10 & 11

Postby Doji Pheelyp » Thu Aug 11, 2016 12:40 pm

We await!
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Onyx Empire Game 12

Postby KakitaKaori » Fri Aug 19, 2016 6:24 pm

The courtyard was a large, open area, surrounded by smaller gardens shielded from the central area by orange torii gates. The path from the main gates of the Halls of the Ancestors to the first large set of torii arches was undisturbed, but when the samurai passed the arches, the overwhelming smell of blood filled the air. A red mist seeped from the flowerbeds and stones, coalescing into to large, felinoid figures twice the height of a man. Each one of the figures carried a two handed sword large enough to slice a horse in two. The samurai braced for battle.

The feline figures were fast, and closed upon the group without mercy, nothing but blank slaughter in their hungry eyes. The Mirumoto was able to out maneuver their blows, but others were less lucky. Daidoji Shorai suffered a blow that tore through her armor like ricepaper, leaving her at the brink of death. Only the quick thinking of Kitsu Chiori and Matsumoto Natsuo saved the party from destruction, for they urged the party to run on, through the torii arches that protected the inner pagoda of the temple area. They half-carried, half-dragged the wounded party members through. Although the feline creatures followed, howling, they were unable to penetrate the arches and enter the temple area.

"Creatures from Toshigoku, the realm of slaughter," offered Natsuo to Sashimasu's inquiry. "They should not be here, for the Torii are to keep all souls in their rest, but it seems the boundaries grow weak and disturbed."

Chiyori and Togashi Nao were bent over Shourai, pouring their best healing into her deep wounds. But Chiyori stopped to wipe the sweat from her brow and add, "There are many in Toshigoku who once thought their rightful place was here, in the halls of the honored ancestors. The outer wards, built to let visiting spirits past, are not as great as in the inner wards. Not great enough, now, to keep such as those away."

It took some hours to bind the wounds of the weary samurai. Shourai survived her blow and was able to awaken, though it would be some time before she would be able to fight. A fitful and restless sleep fell upon the party. Journeying deeper into the pagoda would have to wait.
Kakita Kaori
Kenshinzen of Golden Petal Village and overly prolific fiction writer
http://craneclan.weebly.com/
[Kakita Kyoumi/WC5]

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Re: Onyx Empire Game 12 - Interlude

Postby KakitaKaori » Mon Aug 22, 2016 9:24 am

As the party takes some time to rest and recover, Sashimasu gathered the party around to teach a lesson of Shourido, during an interlude in the adventure. You can find the lesson here: viewtopic.php?f=4&t=862

Daidoji Shourai finds Spider Monks most annoying. Even if they're Scorpion in disguise.
Last edited by KakitaKaori on Wed Aug 24, 2016 7:08 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Kakita Kaori
Kenshinzen of Golden Petal Village and overly prolific fiction writer
http://craneclan.weebly.com/
[Kakita Kyoumi/WC5]


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