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Hunted
Prelude
As the minister of Rites and Protocols pleasure barge burns down slowly apron the Yellow Sea, two dark clad figures slowly turn from the shore and walk along in the moonlight.
"We shall most likely be killed by our own employers now, we should never have taken a political job, they never turn out well," says the larger of the two men.
"But what a highlight in our careers, an imperial minister. And the payment, what we have already collected could keep us in wine and women for the rest of our lives." Say the smaller of the two men.
The larger man shrugs and tucks his hands into his belt, "Yes the two or three days we have left to live."
The smaller mans teeth shine in the moonlight as he smiles a wide and unnerving grin, "Ah, but I know who our true employers are, and I have a plan that may keep us alive as well as allowing us to collect our payment many times over" The smaller man begins to rub his hands together in greed," It starts with a Pilgrimage to the city of Tai-Mien"
In the hall of the Castle Song, Chung Xu sits at a table amidst the ruins calmly writing as his cousin the violet rider knells before him, the hall is littered with the shredded banners and fallen statues of the Clan Song.
"Tell me." Whispers Xu.
"My lord, I have failed. Song Kami has escaped Tai-Mien." says the Violet Rider bowing his head in shame.
Xu raises a single eyebrow in question as his bodyguard stirs to glare down at the rider, "How?"
"She escaped by means of a magic gate, one of my men saw a priest of the yellow temple holding a golden puzzle box and fiddling with it, only after turning it to the shape of a cube did the gate close."
"Who else helped her?" says Xu as he starts in on a fresh sheet.
"A guardsman named Hansu, and the wandering priest Hong, the priest with the box was the mendicant Kao Li, with them was the Miromoto clansman Long."
"Very well take this list of names and let it be announced that there is a reward of 100 golden Koku for their capture or information leading to their capture." says Xu as he hands the paper to the Violet Rider. As the Violet Rider takes the sheet Xu pauses in releasing it to stare deep into the riders eyes, "Perhaps you will not fail me in this."
Xu stands and leaves the hall trailed by his bodyguard, as he strides past the door he speaks in a loud voice, "I will expect a briefing on all of these men within a hour Lady Yoko".
After a moment the Lady Yoko steps from the shadows and glares at the back of Lord Chung before turning her dark look to the violet rider who quickly follows his lord.
Lady Yoko again turns to glare at the only intact statue left in the room "That certainly sounds like the box you have been looking for".
The statue opens its eyes and grins, pouring down in from the pedestal like melting fat to take on the shape of Acu, the shapeshifter, "Yes, but the fools know not the value of what they have, perhaps it time for me to call my children north to help in the search"
The lady Yoko gives Acu a dark look "keep your freaks out of sight if you must bring them here, but do whatever you wish in your search, but if you find your box you will also find the girl. Be a nice little abomination and kill the bitch".
Acu grin and lets slip his forked black tongue to lick his lower lip in a gush of saliva, "Oh she will die, but not for some time after I find her, heh, heh, ha! Heh, heh.".
Lady Yoko rolls her eyes up to search for ninjas in the rafters, as Acu begins to describe all the things he plans for Song Kami, before she finally loses patience and leaves the twisted Wu Jen alone amidst the ruins.
Player Perspective
For this adventure, our wise and noble leader, Mirumoto Long was forced to split the company into two squads. One group, led by Mirumoto Long of course, headed to Dragonwall for the meeting with Chung Xu. He and The Other Monk* arrived at the meeting and discovered that Chung Xu claimed to have had no involvement with the attacks on Dragonwall. He even swore to hunt down the one responsible.
He asked that the nobles swear fealty to House Chung. In return, he offered that he would split the province into six parts, one for each of them. If any of them failed to comply with his wishes, someone else would become head of the province he had intended for them. The nobles were given a week to decide.
The Violet Rider approached Mirumoto Long and showed him the wanted poster with his picture on it. He told Mirumoto Long that Xu had ordered it held until the nobles made their decision. Mirumoto Long thanked him for his kindness and told him that it was Acu who had ordered the attacks on Dragonwall. The rider deemed it unlikely, since Acu would not have spent the money, but he promised to take the allegation to his lord.
The other team, led by Fong Fa Hong, was given the assignment of rescuing the hostages from Tai before they could be brought to Castle Song and held their against the good behavior of their relatives. The Prince of Birds* and Hansu were sent to retrieve the cannons from the shrine and met the rest of the group, including their leader Fong Fa Hong, near the town. They entered the town and met with Shen, Hansu's cousin, who told them as much as he could about the prison and prisoners.
At night, the prison had only a few watchmen awake and would be an easy target. Most of the hostages were held in a communal cell and a few had cells of their own. The worst news was that four of them, the youngest, had been taken to a hotel by their captor/guardian to spare them the horrors of prison.
Using Hansu to pull the hay wagon, the group made their way to the jail late at night. The Prince of Birds* slept the guards and Hansu replaced one of them while the others headed for the cells. He also placed a barking spider against the door to the commanders quarters and pointed it at the barracks door across the hall. For good measure, both doors were wedged shut.
The other three quickly overcame the guards and released the prisoners. Their escape went well, although the commander awoke and began trying to burst down the door. The noise woke the men in the barracks as well.
As the escaped hostages boarded the wagon, Hansu lit the fuse on the Barking Spider, which began shooting in all directions; luckily, no one in the company was in range. Hansu piloted the hay wagon to safety, running at breakneck speeds through the town and over the bridge to the waiting priests of the Brown temple.
Meanwhile, the other three made their way to the hotel. They were revealed almost instantly when the prison's commander lit several lanterns in his quarters. That didn't stop them! The Prince of Birds* flew up to the third floor window, The Other Monk* gracefully pole-vaulted onto the second floor and Fong Fa Hong destroyed the door with a single blow of his awesome fist.
Upstairs, things did not go very well. The lady Tibado quickly took three of the four children to use as shields, even threatening one with a knife. Her bearers turned out to be ninja, and the twin guards of the Green Rider were also at hand. The Prince of Birds* used a spell to trap Lady Tibado and was partially successful when he trapped her and one small child in his scarf.
The fight commenced in earnest. Things did not go well for the players but then, just as things seemed their darkest, a suit of spirit armor joined the fray and turned the tide of battle. It was later revealed that Mirumoto Long had dreamt such a thing and that some black samurai armor had disappeared and returned.
Experience
| Mirumoto Long | 6870 | |
| Virtue 3 (40) | ||
| Wuxia 3 (39) | ||
| Honor 3 (42) | ||
| The Other Monk* | 6590 | |
| Virtue 3 (36) | ||
| Wuxia 4 (37) | ||
| Honor 4 (39) | ||
| The Prince of Birds* | 8030 | |
| Virtue 3 (37) | ||
| Wuxia 4 (37) | ||
| Honor 4 (36) | ||
| Fong Fa Hong | 7290 | |
| Virtue 4 (40) | ||
| Wuxia 4 (38) | ||
| Honor 4 (42) | ||
| Hansu | 6610 | |
| Virtue 4 (47) | ||
| Wuxia 3 (40) | ||
| Honor 4 (42) |
- Virtue
- Participation by roleplaying and background, Hansu is much higher for this night secondary to written charater background and NPC contacts.
Wuxia- Actions and roleplaying that play to the setting.
Honor- Overall achievment for the night, killing stuff and meeting goals. Mike is always going to end up with a lower honor number because of his advancement being one level higher.
- The chips are not going to be based on Virtue and Wuxia.
- White Chips are Yang and are awarded for actions that advance the plot or impress the GM, these will also often result in a Wuxia award.
- Black Chips are Yin and are awarded for insights and roleplaying that advance the plot or impress the GM, these will also often result in a Virtue award.
- Yang (White Chips) may be spent to give +5 to a dynamic roll (combat, balancing on a rope, catching a falling child before he tumbles past you and into a lake of molten lava, etc.) or to alter the environment in a plausible way (there could be a rope hanging from the loading derrick that lets you swing out to the escaping ship, there could be a weak bar in the cell window, etc.)
- Yin (Black Chips) may be spent to give +5 to a non-dynamic roll (lying to people, making a charm person spell harder to resist, artistic endeavors) or to alter the environment in a plausible way (you hear about another characters capture, the prison guard is married to your aunt, your cellmate happens to be the architect of the dungeon you had heard was imprisoned here, etc.)
* Don't like your name? Fill out a character description...
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