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Taker of the Dead
Prelude
Two horses, their breath steaming in the night air, slowly walk along the road, the brightly painted wagon of a traveling puppet master rolls and sways behind them, its wooden axles groaning and creaking in the moonlight. The driver pulls the reins to stop the horses and leaps from his seat on the roof to land in a swirl of purple robes and serpents embroidered in sickly yellow thread.
The driver ties off the horses to the gravestone of a departed watchman of Clan Song, even as he does so the horses shy away from him, his scent and presence disturbing them. The driver walks to the back of the wagon and lifts from its brackets the heavy beam that locks the rear door from the outside. He steps back holding the heavy beam in one hand like a huge club as the door is push open from the inside and white robed figures pour out. The figures are dressed in the tattered and bloodstained robes of white temple acolytes, the robes are huge on the small figures hiding their feature from view except for their long scaly and talons arms which hang more then a foot from each sleeve.
The robes also fail to conceal their bowlegged walks and hunched backs as they scurry from the wagon to the graves and begin to hack and stab at the ground with pick and shovel in a flurry of flying dirt and hissing grunts. In mere moments 20 fresh corpses are dragged from their graves, arms and legs dragging through the dirt to be presented by the now bowing figures before the purple robed driver. The driver begins a dance while chanting in a foreign tongue, swirling and leaping until he ends with a shout on his knees before the dead, his hand held out as if making a offering to the silent corpses before him.
Then long black vipers twist down his arm from his sleeves to drop like blood from a festering wound to the ground, each viper twists and pushes their way across the ground until they reach the lips of the dead and force their way into the mouths and down the throats. A moment passes before the dead begin to jerk and flail, then rise in limp stance before marching to climb into the wagon. First 5 then 10 and finally 20 push and shove into a wagon that could not hold more then 6 before the last of the white robed figure climb in behind the dead and the doors are pulled shut from inside with a loud slam. The bar is replaced, the reins are freed and the driver leaps his seat whipping the horses into a gallops to leave the violated graves far behind.
Player Perspective
The Other Monk* and Hansu went to the town of Broken Tiger hoping to find information on the Taker of the Dead. The Other Monk* checked the market square and the Song spy network while Hansu relaxed with a cold beverage at a local tavern. Hansu struck up a conversation with a Jun barbarian who seemed knowledgeable about the Taker. Realizing he wasn't understanding it all, Hansu took the man to meet with The Other Monk*.
The cupbearer explained, for a fee, that Acu had taken up residence in the catacombs of Castle Song. The Taker is just one of many servants of Acu who have come to the area. The Jun described the Taker as a fruity man in yellow and purple. The fruity quality was ascribed to his unusually graceful (like a swan's neck) movements. The Jun also explained the Taker rode out of Castle Song each night on his gaudy looking gypsy wagon. Although the wagon appears empty and the man seems alone, the guard asserted that neither was true.
The Other Monk* sent for The Prince of Birds* and the three went off on the road to Castle Song, hoping to set an ambush for the Taker. The Prince of Birds* observed they were being followed and The Other Monk* had them all hide in the woods when they found a good spot for an ambush. The Jun must've seen them as only one of the pair came forward. As he began searching for them, he was killed by The Other Monk* and The Prince of Birds*. Hansu's attempt to capture his partner failed.
Mirumoto Long joined the group at the ambush site and together they watched an entire household going from Castle Song to Tai Town where they were to serve as the new governors. Shortly after dusk, the Taker came along, whipping his horses into frenzy and barely able to stop when a tree fell in ihe road in front of him. As the wagon came to a halt, he leapt from his driver's seat to a trapdoor in the roof and into the wagon.
Mirumoto Long leapt into the driver's seat and cut the horses from their leads while The Other Monk* jumped atop the wagon. The Prince of Birds* investigated the back and underside of the wagon, while Hansu protected him and began placing firewood under the wagon.
Mirumoto Long jumped onto the roof and dropped into the wagon which turned out to have a series of rooms each as big as the entire wagon. The backdoor, which had been barred from the outside, suddenly opened and eight mishapen lizards wearing tattered robes of the white order appeared, teeth gnashing and claws ripping at empty air. Hansu and The Other Monk* jumped into the fray and were joined momentarily by Mirumoto Long. The Prince of Birds* stayed back and cast spells at them. WIthin minutes all the lizards were dead.
Not satisfied, the Taker cast a spell of some sort and shadow snakes poured out of the wagon and slithered down the throats of the dead lizards. As soon as the snakes entered, the lizards rose again, though they were not as hard to kill the second time. As the group debated its next action, hideous green eggs came flying out the front of the wagon. Mirumoto Long and The Other Monk* charged while The Prince of Birds* cast spells. Hansu braced himself and, with a might heave, upended the wagon which rolled gently down the shoulder of the rode to wind up on its roof. The other three made quick work of the snakemen which hatched from the eggs, but it was too late - the Taker was gone.
The wagon was put to the torch (it had already been burning for some time) and the grounds were searched. Two po disks were found and kept. The remains of the lizards and of the wagon were cleared from the imperial road.
Experience
| Mirumoto Long | 8,420 | white chip |
| Virtue 2 (45) | "My brother is under my thumb" | |
| Wuxia 2 (42) | Jumping about | |
| Honor 4 (47) | Defeating Taker | |
| The Other Monk* | 10,000 | 1 black |
| Virtue 2 (41) | Taking charge. | |
| Wuxia 2 (42) | Jumping about | |
| Honor 4 (47) | Defeating Taker | |
| The Prince of Birds* | 10,030 | 1 white chip |
| Virtue 1 (42) | Warning followers | |
| Wuxia 2 (41) | Spells | |
| Honor 4 (44) | Defeating Taker | |
| Fong Fa Hong | 7290 | Balancing on bamboo |
| Virtue (40) | ||
| Wuxia (38) | ||
| Honor (42) | ||
| Hansu | 10,050 | 1 white, 1 black chip |
| Virtue 3 (53) | Dutiful | |
| Wuxia 3 (45) | Flipping wagon | |
| Honor 4 (50) | Defeating Taker |
- 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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