[003] Into the War Camp

[Marullus]

(Toshizo), Souta, Toshizo, Eiji, Ha, Taka!

[Samwell Turleton]

Thank you!

[jemmus]

Toshizo doesn't have a secondary action. He lost it because partial encumbrance reduced his Speed. He'd have to drop to AC 3 to get it back. I'm debating doing that. No partial encumbrance penalties, and could walk around town with nobody looking at him suspiciously.

[Marullus]

Not a secondary action, just a second action. You can state a Primary Action at both places in the turn order above... its because we're moving swiftly through turns with the main actions being on the astral plane.

[jemmus]

I see. For this turn, want to hold Toshizo's action until after Ha's action. What he does will depend on what the other in-action bushi does.

[ffilz]

Eiji will concentrate on getting Souta back to the house unless other actions before his make some other action more important.

[jmacatty]

Assuming no bakemono are alive in the immediate area, Ha will try and recover the arrow stuck in the bakemono he just killed. If it does not easily come out, he will then move towards the cave, nocking his bow.

[Samwell Turleton]

Taka, seeing the comet tail of light and recognizing her wavering connection to the astral plane, thinks about following the tail of light to its source. She pictures her body moving along that path of light and her astral form splits into identical copies moving in an arc around and past the dai-bakemono to peer down the comet tail of light. The 6 copies and Taka's authentic astral form mix together and move as quickly as they can.

Mirrors of Deception [1d20]=11; # of copies [2d3]=6

[Samwell Turleton]

Souta slick with mud and her kimono blood soaked groans as her body stretches against her wounds as she is pulled from the mud. She stands, doubled over and pulls her saya and sheathed katana from her obi to use as a support for her walking. There was an arrow that came out of the cave with a violent power. It narrowly missed me, Souta coughs, wincing at the pain in her side, and hobbles with assistance towards the house. She looks to the fire and thinks we must light up the cave.

[jemmus]

Having been in a combat with Ha, and both of them having almost been killed, Toshizo feels more familiar with Ha. Seeing him approach, he drops the more formal -san. Ha, perhaps we should return to the house. Souta is barely alive and Eiji couldn't heal her with prayer, like he did with us. He could only bandage her. Maybe his prayers only work in the daytime? Perhaps we should stand watches tonight and rest, then kill the hag and her servants in the morning.

I assume that Toshizo still has no knowledge that Taka is in an occult duel with something in the cave? I suppose Toshizo's little speech is his Give Orders action for this turn.

[Marullus]

Hit Points	Power	Turn Order
Ha 9 / 32 Toshizo 21 / 24 Taka 0 / 9 Eiji 11 / 11 Jīva 10 / 10	Taka 0 / 38 Eiji 0 / 28	Phase 16: Jīva (Basic Action) Phase 12: Bakemono-sho (Basic Action) Phase 10: Souta (Basic Action) Phase 9: Toshizo (Basic Action) Phase 6: Eiji (Basic Action); Souta (Secondary Action) Phase 5: Ha (Basic Action) Phase 4: Toshizo (Secondary Action) Phase 3: Souta (Secondary Action) Phase 2: Taka (Basic Action)

---

Taka, seeing the comet tail of light and recognizing her wavering connection to the astral plane, thinks about following the tail of light to its source. She pictures her body moving along that path of light and her astral form splits into identical copies moving in an arc around and past the dai-bakemono to peer down the comet tail of light. The six copies and Taka's authentic astral form mix together and move as quickly as they can.

As Taka spreads her arms and the water droplets coalesce into seven-fold astral forms, the grimy and unkempt dai-bakemono roars in protest. The seven Takas rush the bake at the mouth of the cave, attempting to pass him and follow his distended aura within. "Cowardly sorcereress!" he bellows as she abdicates the duel with a ruse before he has properly defeated her. The tunnel extends northeast into the mountainside then banks right, heading due east, as she rushes with a spiritual fleetness. He flings his arms wide and spears of iron burst forth from the walls of the tunnel as she enters it. One of that astral Takas is pierced by them and dissipates into a mist of water droplets. The other six Takas rush down the hallway at the preternatural speed of her will.

A cavern opens, soaring 24 feet high with stalactites far above, two bakemono-sho in ashigaru armor standing with spears in hand, terrified looks on their faces as they hold their position against the front tunnel glancing at each other as they can apparently hear the yells of their leader in the physical realm. They are oblivious to the spiritual Takas, however, and she passes them. There is a passage to the right heading southward, but Taka ignores it, following the spectral trail which leads straight across the cavern and south east into another short-ceilinged tunnel.

The dai-bakemono roars in rage as the sorceress follows the 'comet tail,' a wispy thread of light colored red with his anger that hugs the left side of the passagway. A metal portcullis slams down with jagged points, the Dai-bakemono trying to skewer the Takas and halt their progress. A second astral Taka explodes into a small wave of water, splashing the floor underneath it, as the others rush on.

The trail bends to the left at a fork, passing through a closed heavy wooden door, and the five remaining Takas pass through the door as well, it providing no barrier to their astral selves. Behind the door sees a massive chamber, again with a soaring ceiling, tables with alembics and bubbling glass and ceramic containers. She feels her courage freeze within her as she sees a grey-haired hag within, her gnarled hands upon the table wood. The thread wends across the room, leading to her right pocket. The hag looks directly at the real Taka, making eye contact with her with its stony black eyes filled with malice.

Then Taka feels the agony of a dozen blades piercing her spiritual body. She feels the triumph of the Dai-Bakemono behind her as he yanks metal chains backwards and the blades evicerate her form, the other Takas dissolving into splashes of water on the floor as everything around her goes black.

An interesting and creative move for Taka. The mirror image spell allows the pulling of astral duplicates into the physical world, but there's no reason an astral action can't do it (even easier, perhaps). Taka would normally spend 4 Power to invoke Mirror of Deception in the physical world, but in the Astral, her spell actions are not costing power. So, I will not charge for the astral duplicates and she retains her last 8 Power for the chase. The duel ends with dishonorable flight; the dai-bakemono can chase to continue attacks but it becomes a race to see how far Taka can get before a hit lands on her instead of a mirror image.

The Shugenja may overlook the physical world from Kakuri-yo. He
may travel to any location with which he is familiar at the speed of
thought. He expends 1 point of Power for every 10 Ri or less travelled
in this manner. Once in a given location, he may move as if physically
present, although he may pass freely through walls and doors unless
these are magically reinforced.

Given there's no rules for an Astral Chase Scene and Taka is not familiar with the location, I added a house rule on astral movement. Taka's mind travels at BMA 10 as opposed to her feet which have BMA 2. Side note: You should add narration about why exactly she is so slow... I assumed as a noble woman she takes mincing dainty steps (contrasted with Souta) but perhaps she has a physical reason, or something else.

So, first -- Fleeing the Duel:

A character running away from a fight in progress loses 20 times
his own Level in On, plus any On received by his opponent for
winning the combat. If the fight was a Duel, this can be substantial.

The Dai-Bakemono gets On equal to Taka's level plus one (2 On) and took 14 damage from Taka which is multiplied by the level differential (14x(1/4)) = 3 On for a total of 5 On.

Losing the duel wouldn't have cost On. For fleeing the duel, Taka loses 20x1 +5 = 25 On. She is also subject to ridicule in RP as the bakemono spread word of this shame.

Second, Pursuit into the Astral Cave:
Taka has an astral BMA of 10, so a run speed of 20. She is still subject to attacks by the Dai-Bakemono as he pursues her astrally. He will choose to attack randomly - if he rolls a 1, he picks the right Taka. The chase begins at the mouth of the cave, where the astral duel was occurring. Taka has 8 Power (which are serving as her hit points). When she takes that much damage, she will drop from the Astral plane. She is trying to run far enough to make her discoveries before that happens.

Turn 1:
Dai-Bakemono: Metal School (BCS 16) [1d20]=9 Targeting [1d7]=7
One duplicate shattered.

Turn 2:
Dai-Bakemono: Metal School (BCS 16) [1d20]=3 Targeting [1d7]=7
One duplicate shattered. (I should've rolled 1d6, not 1d7, but since only a 1 matters, I'll keep the roll.)

Turn 3:
Dai-Bakemono: Metal School (BCS 16) [1d20]=8 Targeting [1d6]=1
Dai-Bakemono makes a Metal School attack (BCS 16) which would be reduced by her magic resistance (-1) and by her knowledge of Metal School/10 (-0). Roll of 8 is an effect number of 8 plus its level equals 12. It does 12 power damage to the Taka rendering her unconscious.

Returning to her body:

Returning to the body imposes 2D10 of Subdual damage upon the
Shugenja if performed voluntarily, the magician having first returned
to the place where his body lies entranced. If forced back into the
body by the means mentioned above, the Shugenja suffers 100% of
his current Hit Points in Subdual damage. This also occurs if the
Shugenja expends all of his Power while upon the Astral. Violently
handling the Shugenja's physical body has a similar effect.

I am applying this as the consequence of the duel. Taka is reduced to 0 hit points (because she was full) by Subdual damage and had zero power.

...However: She is no longer "returned to the place where her body lies entranced." I'm going to require a Will ST to reach it astrally as she subcumbs.
Taka Will Save (BCS 11) [1d20]=15
...Damn.

Taka will not be able to be wakened, her astral self having not yet made it to her body and instead being with the Hag...

It requires a Magic BCS to project the senses into the Astral and cost 1
point of Power per Detailed Turn to maintain them there.

...I forgot to apply this during the duel. It isn't going to have an impact, so won't worry about it now. We need to remember to apply this to Astral scenes in the future (particularly when it isn't a duel and power aren't hit points).

I assume that Toshizo still has no knowledge that Taka is in an occult duel with something in the cave?

Taka is in a trance and I have described minor phenomena of the mists, frosts, and wiltings that are occuring at the cave entrance giving you a clue that something supernatural is happening there even though you cannot see the Astral fight.

In the physical world...

Toshizo helps Souta stand in her tattered kimono. Amano-san, can you walk to the house on your own? I don't want all of us to turn our backs to the cave. Eiji-san, thank you for your hard work. You have done a lot of healing in one day.

If Souta is steady enough to stand, Eiji will also help her stand and say to Toshizo: Perhaps you should focus on the cave and protecting Taka while I help Souta to the safety of the house.

Souta, slick with mud and her kimono blood soaked, groans as her body stretches against her wounds as she is pulled from the mud. She stands, doubled over and pulls her saya and sheathed katana from her obi to use as a support for her walking. There was an arrow that came out of the cave with a violent power. It narrowly missed me, Souta coughs, wincing at the pain in her side, and hobbles with Eiji's assistance towards the house. She looks to the fire and thinks we must light up the cave.

Toshizo nocks a bowel-raker on his dai-kyu's string and faces the cave's dark mouth, watching for movement. Eiji helps Souta walk towards the building. To the south of them, Ha recovers several damaged arrows from near the open graves.

As Eiji and Souta near the fire, they see Taka standing in serene meditation before them, hands clasped in front of her clean and well-kept kimono embroidered with the Satake crest. Abruptly, Taka swoons, collapsing to the ground unconscious before them. Rushing to her, they find her unable to be roused.

This covers three detailed turns. Eiji and Souta are moving at Eiji's walking speed (BMA 3), so nine yards. that's about 2/3 of the way to Taka. I will assume Eiji and Souta rush to Taka and provide the 'can't be roused' response here as Turn 4. Ha and Toshizo can act in response to seeing this too, but they're further away.

That all said, we're now out of Detailed Time and you can narrate more freely until you again engage in a combat. I'll calculate Budo and On later when I have time and post it here and in the Story So Far.

The map below is Taka's discovery, but she is not awake to communicate it...

Night Fight 10.JPG (60.06 KiB) Viewed 548 times

[jemmus]

Hearing Eiji and Souta move toward Taka, Toshizo turns sees her body slumped on the ground in the firelight. He is indecisive for a moment. Keep guarding the cave entrance? Run to try to help? He turns and runs toward the group outside house, hoping not to hear the sound of a bowstring a second before feeling an arrow between his shoulder blades. When he reaches the group, he asks, Eiji, is Taka-san breathing? He wants to call to Ha and tell him to rejoin the group. But he knows Ha well enough to know that he probably wouldn't want anyone even suggesting what he should do.

I think we should all stay away from the cave and rest in the house tonight. Now two of us very much need rest and healing. I will stand watch and keep the fire going, all night if needed. Eiji, I'm sorry to impolitely ask so directly, but will you be able to heal Taka-san and Souta-san tomorrow? The way you did for Ha and me today? The young bushi's brow is furrowed with concern for the generous samurai lady magician, who lies on the dirt unconscious. And for Souta-san and the group as a whole. Then he remembers his formerly samurai mother's and father's lessons, and his face goes to unreadable and feigned impassive.

[ffilz]

Eiji: I can certainly do more healing in the morning.

[jmacatty]

Ha will return to the group and say, the Bakemono seem to desire the bodies of the dead. Should we burn them?

[jemmus]

Toshizo
Perhaps we should burn only Soji's body. The robbers worked for the hag, so she can be responsible for their bodies. It's cruel, I know. But I think we need to save our strength for fighting the hag and her servants. Then a thought occurs to him. Eiji, if we don't burn the bodies, could the robbers become yurei that we have to fight?

[Marullus]

It's roughly midnight.
Actions until dawn?
Actions after dawn?

[jemmus]

Toshizo prepares to take the first watch of the night. He'll sit outside the house behind the fire, but not directly behind so that it obscures his vision toward the cave. He shows the group his one humming bulb arrow and explains to Eiji (because the bushi know what it is), If I shoot this, it will make a loud, sharp whistling sound. If you hear that, it means the monsters are out of the cave and are a danger to us. Everyone must wake up and be ready to fight, of course.

He goes into the house hauls out more wooden pieces for the fire. Then sits, props his quiver on his thigh, and arranges his 24 arrows: humming bulb on top, then willow leaves, then armor piercers, then bowel rakers. Then stands again. Back in Shinano, his ronin father was right now standing guarding a warehouse. His son wouldn't be so lazy as to sit while on guard for bakemono, with Taka unconscious and Souta barely alive.

[jmacatty]

Ha will rest until awakened by Toshizo, ready to take the 2d watch.

OOC Are you going to distribute budo? I believe Ha should have enough to advance to 2d level at this time.

[Marullus]

I am, but that's math and I am tired. I will give Budo before you engage again.

[ffilz]

Eiji will tend to Souta and Taka and rest as best he can.