The Vault of Ch’hina Ito
6/14/99

Prelude

The East
We have encountered the Monkeys and won, Oh lord.
Excellent, continue the search and remain in hiding, no one but us knows of the vault and I wish it to stay that way.

Adventure Summary

We were camped outside the tomb and after a few days securing the grounds and studying with our masters, we decided to return to the tomb. The upper levels were more desolated and eerie than before, since the priests of the White temple had been busy bringing peace to the restless dead who had inhabited the first floor.

We made our way to the tiger gate and opened it; faced with stairs going both up and down, we chose up first. The area opened into some guard rooms and what appeared to be Ch'hina Ito's bedroom. Nothing appeared to be alive or animated on the level and we headed back down the stairs. On our way down, Pang spotted a footprint. Unable to determine if it was going up or down, we retraced our steps and discovered that it had come from the bedroom and was headed down.

Returning to the throne room, we found three courtesans who appeared to be performing an intricate dance. Unsure how to proceed, we waited and watched. As the women drew nearer, a fourth one was revealed when she used the power of the Throne to conjure a mongol horde to attack us. We fought valiantly and quickly put down the horde of mongols.

The women, who turned out to be ghouls, were not so easily dismissed; their very touch brought paralysis and soon we were left with only Song Li and Wu Ho Song facing three of them. Wu Ho leapt through a conjured wall and was badly weakened in the process. Overcoming his wounds, he killed the ghoul who had been using the throne. Song Li killed a second one, leaving two.

Wu Ho noticed that the blood which pooled beneath his lord formed the ideogram for sit and when he sat upon the throne, he gained control of its powers. Thinking quickly, he summoned more creatures and dispelled the two walls which had been conjured. The tiger which appeared made short work of one of the ghouls and Song Li killed the other. While they attended to their fallen companions, neither of them noticed the arrival of another creature.

With their wounded tended, they turned their attentions to the ghouls and their remains, only to find a dirty midget greedily snatching up jewelry and other valuables. When asked his name and his business, the filthy wretch proved insolent, and Hu Shude ordered his death. The others agreed and the midget would have been killed if not for the arrival of Rho Dan, who told them that one of the dragon's children was about to die.

Chagrined at learning that the mishapen thief was somehow related to them, if only in spirit, the others relented and allowed the ill-mannered lout to accompany them.

We headed downstairs next and found a series of octagonal rooms, a total of nine. There was one for each element, with Wood in the center. The other four rooms were a library, a vivisectionist's labratory, and two prisons. One of the prisons was not investigated.

During our first foray, we tried to see all the rooms first and it proved our undoing. We skirted past the tree in the nature room, but when we arrived in the library, first Hu, followed by Pang Sho, Wu Ho Song, and finally Li Hong forgot their purpose; Pang Sho and Hu Shude also forgot their spells. Unsure how to progress, we retraced our steps and exited the tombs. A brief discussion with Wu Po revealed that another of Ch'hina Ito's servants was known as the "Eater of Dreams" and was rumored to be able to steal men's memories.

Armed with this knowledge, we returned to the library to try to find the creature, which was said to be physically helpless. While Hu waited in the central area, the others attempted to drive it out of the alcoves. Unfortunately for him, the Eater was in the main room and quickly struck him unconscious, stealing his form and his memories.

He then suggested to the rest of the group that they leave, since he had already been attacked and was no longer vulnerable to the creature's power. Unsure of this rationale, and bolstered by their constant shouts of "We're here to kill the Eater of Dreams", the rest of the group found out that Hu was unconscious. As they rushed to attack, the fake Hu launched a fire shuriken at Wu Ho Song and missed, setting much of the library on fire. The rest of the group was able to overpower the creature and save Hu from its clutches.

We rested more and returned, this time we found the prison where Ch'hina Ito's early mistakes in forming his servants were held. The men in the room had been horribly deformed, in ways that only a twisted and deviant mind could have considered. There was a man with no flesh, one with no mind, one with no bones, one bound in a sword, another was turned to stone, one had been split in half, but the strangest one had been broken into pieces which still lived in jars. We pulled them out of the tomb, but there is little hope that they will recover. To further prove Ito's sadism, it seems these men are immortal and may be cursed to live as freaks forever.

Our final foray of the night was to kill the tree, at which we succeeded. We then found that the four statues in the nature room moved and that when facing outwards, they cast lights on the pillars in the rooms of the other four elements. It appeared that the pillars needed to turn, but we could not reach fire or water and apply enough force to move them. When we attempted earth, several more ghouls and a powerful looking warrior appeared to defend it. In our badly wounded state, we opted to return to fight another day.

Noteworthy Events

It was revealed that several of the characters were so filled with Chi that they actually glowed when using powerful abilities.

Similarly, it was revealed that all the characters shared Hu's sexual prowess but that none of the others had ever gotten a chance to prove it.

Quotebag

Wu Ho Song: Stealing is dishonorable
Fu Ton: Even to save your own mother?
Wu Ho Song: Yes!
Fu Ton: Hoarding is dishonorable!

Wu Ho Song: You're going to attack the woman?
Pang Sho: She's got claws!
Wu Ho Song: It's only your honor, your family's honor, your master's honor, your Lord's honor...

GM: Their attacks
Steve: Whoa, whoa, whoa, I stab mine with a sabre...no I don't
GM: Their attacks

Song Li: I lay hands on myself
Li Hong: Ewww!

Wu Ho Song: Stop or die.
Fu Ton: Oh, threats we have

Steve: Literacy is in my blood. I get cut once, I bleed an ideogram.
Joe₁: Cool, what's the answer to this riddle? (Mimes drawing sword)

Dave: Cool beans!
Lou: No, cool rice

Wu Ho Song: I throw some salt at him (Fu Ton); eyes too.
Steve: Yep, it sticks.

GM (to Fu Ton): It's the first time anyone ever gave you anything
Lou: Besides a boot in the ass.

Fu Ton: I'm in hell!
GM: It's rumored to be one of the three largest concentrations of treasure in the world.
Tim: It's heaven.

Hu Shude: Make it clear to him (Fu Ton) that he is not to speak to me ever
Wu Ho Song: Stick out your tongue

Song Li: Why didn't it take my memories?
Wu Po: Whose did it take last?
Li Hon: Mine
Wu Po: Ah! Drunk!

Li Hon (mimes pissing on burning scrolls): I've been drinking a lot.

Experience Summary