 |
|
Orobouras Requiem Part II
Prelude
The company has fought through the catacombs without finding Acu. Can they find him in the castle proper before he figures out how to escape and without killing too many of the ghosts first?
Player Perspective
The group made their way through the secret passage to the deserted main gallery of Castle Song. They moved quietly, trying not to draw too much notice. They were successful until Hansu became impatient and kicked open a door. Almost immediately, the howling began in the courtyard.
They continued the search, hoping that the howling was nothing more than another false alarm. It was not to be so. Chung Yung, brought back as a hopping vampire appeared and attacked. Luckily, he was no match for Miromoto Long and his trusty sidekick, Hansu. The group continued, but The Prince of Sparrows* warned them that more of the cloaked flyers would be joining them soon and were, in fact, already on the move.
The group tried to move quickly to the next hall, but it was not to be so. The fliers, who turned out to be cloakers, were on them in nothing flat. As they tried to move to a more defensible position, one of the vile things attacked Miromoto Long in an underhanded fashion, leaving him reeling from its hideous scream. Hansu, realizing he would die without Long's guidance returned to guard his master's prone body and The Other Monk* joined him.
As three Cloakers swept towards them, Hansu leapt into action, killing all three in a blur of motion almost too fast to be seen. Still, without Long, they were probably doomed. Several more joined the frey as did their Lord. The Prince of Sparrows* loosed a gout of steam which killed or wounded many of them, but still they came. The monk moved to help him while Hansu continued his watch over Long. The Lord loosed a spell which filled the area with black tentacles.
Hansu threw the machete he'd found earlier at the advancing Lord, but it passed through him and hit one of his minions. The lord dissipated as if in smoke. Four more attacked from the East and The Other Monk* and The Prince of Sparrows* fought valiantly to defeat them. Hansu, heedless of the danger, charged at the Lord, throwing his nagamaki as he ran. It sank into the Cloaker Lord who flew into the air to avoid Hansu. A moment later he tossed the sword to the ground with disdain before teleporting away.
He reappeared near the others and was soon slain by Miromoto Long. Hansu entered the courtyard to retrieve his sword and was immediately surrounded by a half-dozen ninjas, their master, and two shadow mastiffs. The dogs panicked him like nothing ever had before and he ran for his life, leaving his companions to fight for theirs.
They defeated the ninja in short order and set about the task of finding Hansu. Luckily, Hansu had already been found by Toru and the Lady Koan who returned him to his fellows. They explained that they had come with Shing to do something with the census data. Shing, they said, had been disturbed by what he found in the reflecting pool. Questioned, they revealed that the pool showed one's last incarnations and was located in the shadow of the Shrine to the Lady of Birds.
The group journeyed there, looking for a safe haven and curious about their own past lives. Each of them looked in turn and was shown their past:
The Other Monk* discovered that he had been a yellow priest for thirty generations and that he had once been the founder of the temple. He was given a pearl which allowed him to fly.
The Prince of Sparrows* discovered that he had once been Chang Kai and that his previous incarnation had lived well, making him a member of the celesitail heirarchy. He was chastised for not being active enough in protecting House Song. He was given a pearl which granted him many powers, but only if he threw himself into danger.
Miromoto Long found that his previous incarnation had been a drunken monkey master. His life as a samurai was reward for having lived well. He too was given a pearl. His gave him the power to sense the motives of those who wished him ill.
Hansu's previous incarnation was a noble wizard. As one would have guessed, his current guise was a punishment for errors in his previous life. He was admonished to seek love and to become more ambitious, but not too ambitious. His pearl allowed him to bathe his blade in dragonfire.
The group encamped for the night. It was revealed that Shing was actually a reincarnation of the dragon Kakarat and had, therefore, fallen the furthest from grace. When he learned that his lesson was to seek less power and be more open, he was despondent, for he was making the same errors. Toru did not reveal his previous incarnation, but he did have a pearl. Koan was likewise silent, although she did shoot Hansu many sidelong glances.
|
|