Adventures of Fu: Fu Pays For Drinking, Sends An Expensive Letter, And Fails At Investigation Despite Black Fox's Help

After the fight Fu invited Black Fox to drink, specifying he's paying this time.

What? Even a beggar has some dignity...maybe not much...and he's looking to become a xia, now! Besides, he'd just won it betting!

The only important part was that Black Fox accepted...and then their roles got reversed again. Fu got drunk talking about the late never-married-bride of the Wolf. He'd not talked much with her, but he remembered her being cute and kind.

"This Su Yan...can't she get killed? I mean, not by you or Xiaomei, Black Fox...but she can be, right? The deal your father struck, it only covers her nor being pursued in court!"

"Not really. We won't take actions against her, at all. She's an influential noble, her death would be a shock, and Heavens know there were plenty of shocks! We don't want to test the state!"

"But it ain't fair", Fu concluded, and got drunk.

Later, he came to his senses while Black Fox was carrying him, and was outraged.

"You're carrying me?!? I've failed at my duties! Didn't protect your father's bride...and now you're carrying me, instead of me watching over you! Despite the fact that you've drunk even more than me, so if anyone attacks us, you might inadvertently kill him!"

"Shh...it wasn't your job to keep her, and neither are you responsible for me!"

"How come I'm not responsible? Of course I am", Fu wept, and resigned himself to his fate.

One failure, no consequences, obviously Heavens were kind! And he was going to be the smart guy and learn from his own mistake while it wasn't too heave, preventing a heavier one in the future!

It's an oath of Never Get Drunk, Prevent Surprises While People Are Drinking. Whether it has any mechanical impact remains to be seen.

The next day the Emperor was announced to have returned. As the statement said, the Minister Pei had misinterpreted the Emperor's prolonged absence during his Mission To Recover The Goodwill Of Heavens, and assumed the worst. The guilty parties had been punished, justice was restored!

In the whole rigmarole, the return of the Emperor's Half-Brother remained almost unnoticed - although nobody can really distinguish them...

"Hopefully his future bride would be able to. If not, how would she know she's not their bride?!?", Fu joked, crassly. The humour went unappreciated.

The next day? The next day he was already in training camp...which is in a village right next to the compound - actually a small castle - where the bride-to-never-be was kidnapped from. 

It soon turned out that being of noble blood was not really helpful unless one can shut his mouth, train hard, and not complain. All abilities that Fu excelled at!

Forced marches? Striking poles? Sparring? He felt at home. Gimmemore! 

Other people were dropping, however...or being chased off. They were told in no uncertain terms that of the 30 of them, maybe 6 would graduate!

The agents of the Ministry of Magic Affairs pass a hard, hard training!

Fu was given some choice (and advised by the trainers, but their advise coincided with what he was thinking anyway), and started improving his Ascending Dragon Fist, focusing on heavy, heavy strikes. He already has the ability to withstand damage, now it was time to learn how to deal more of it!

I'm not sure whether it was Fu or a trainer that said it, but "the sooner your opponent drops, the less damage you sustain! That's why the ability to drop people fast is part of humaneness, you are minimizing the suffering in the world. And given that this is protecting your own health, which was given to you with the Chi of your parents, it's also a form of filial piety!"

...probably not Fu, with such reasoning.

On the evenings, however, he was still drinking with Black Fox, who is "monitoring his advancement". On one of these days, he asked whether he can send a magical kite to his bride to be.

Black fox advised against it, but recommended that he writes a message to his father-in-law-to-be...even though the Magistrate of Middle City has no idea he is to be a xia's father-in-law. The way of familial ties is complicated and mysterious!

Fu the Falcate Spear agreed, and sent a magical kite expressing his best wishes and regrets for not being introduced. "However, I had to leave for my training at the Ministry of Magic Affairs! I am hoping sincerely that I could be introduced after it concludes!"

As a note, magic kites are expensive, so it's a way to flaunt means, as well as influence - and Fu's name is getting more and more famous. Also, it's a transparent hint that he is getting an important position...because if he survives it, he is going to get one!

However, he also insisted on sending a kite to the bride-to-be. (The kites can be returned, once, so you're basically paying 2 gold pieces for two SMS that take 1 hour each direction. Instant communication is at a premium in our wuxia/xianxia! I can't even guess what the price for Internet access would be!)

Well, Fu paid nothing, Black Fox gifted him both kites, although he expressed amazement that Fu is still bothering with that girl.

"How could I not?"

"I thought you'd have tired of her", Black Fox shrugged.

"Maybe, but if I did just leave, wouldn't it mean I've lied just to get to her body? If that's what she wanted as well, of course that would be fine. But I had to at least ask her whether she wants something more. And since she wanted it, how could I say I've changed my mind after receiving what I'd wanted?"

It's not a logic that Black Fox is fond of. He does exactly that!

"Well, it's different with you, you're the Emperor's uncle!", Fu shrugged. "That means it's alright".

Meaning, an emperor's uncle might do much worse and couldn't be punished. Just sleeping with semi-random girls that want it doesn't even register!

At the end of the week, they got practical training. Fu, however, got paired with...Black Fox!

No, nobody'd pulled any strings at all...

However, this was one of the few times when their mission ended up in disgrace. They were trying to follow the lead of the mercenaries who'd kidnapped the late bride-to-never-be, two women and a man, some of them from Jin country!

But they only managed to follow them from Su Yan's palace to an inn, then to a hired palanquin...which stopped in the forest.

Then we did ask in the nearest inns. In the second closest, we found their traces: they'd been there for a day and a half, or two days and a half. Then they'd left.

No traces were found in the nearest inns. The local animals didn't know more than that, either. 

 

OOC, they'd left with a giant heron, but they walked a day and a half to get there. If Hoi had summoned the bird to this inn, he'd have been followed: local animals would know a giant heron was nearby!

However, the bird was on the other side of the capital and they didn't call it. The GM was really surprised when I reminded her of this.

"Good thing for him Hoi is so paranoid, I guess?"

"Well, he couldn't call it, so he didn't!"

"They had a whistle that can do it!"

"Oh...I'd just forgotten about it, and so did Hoi!"

Adventures of Fu: The Nobles Summon Beggars To Help, Black Cat Is Disgraced, A Flying Sword Bears Unofficial Witness Against A Yandere! Meanwhile, Fu Avenges His Loss And Finds Work!

Trigger warning: if you have triggers, stay out!

If not, here's the previous session...

Not one, but two future members of the Jing Family are now missing* at once - the future bride-to-be of the Elder Jing (The Wolf) had gone missing! 

Admittedly, as she is a diviner, she was sleep-walking. And one of the Jing children was tasked with protecting her (they switch for this task), but failed!

Of course, Fu ran to take his 3-section staff, his new clothes, and his books (especially the one with the pictures, although he can't read the language it's in**), and ran off.

Turned out, the one who has screwed up was none other than Silver Cat!
The whole combined team of beggars***, Jing scions and assorted xia was searching through a forest near a castle owned by Wolf. We searched, and searched...and Fu suggested we should look up at the trees.

"I mean, they couldn't have flied off! But they could have jumped up, avoiding any traces, if they know you are going to search like mad, and with the best dogs..."

Soon enough, we found broken branches.

"Eh, they couldn't have flied off! But if they could carry her this way, they could put her in something", Fu guessed again.

"They could have", Black Fox suggested. "But then have searched the nearest inns".

"Did you ask for people with a chest? Like the one we found recently?"

Amazingly, they were only asking for the girl. Jing sorcerers teleported and we had an answer soon, yes, a cart with a chest had arrived in the night, about 30 hours ago...

We tracked it to the city gates, where again, yes, there had been a cart entering late at night. The guards assumed these were shipping flour to the merchants, I guess?

And then Fu and the other beggars just contacted the bakers. Because yes, that was at exactly the moment when bakers start work. And boosted by Jing's immeasurably deep pockets, they tried to remember!

We thus followed it towards the city center, until we reached a gate.
Su Yan's gate! That was the lady which we were warned about, and that had been trying to find a certain liver!

And off we went. Basically, Wolf went in, and told the guards who he is, and that he is going in, and it can go easy...or not.

I think that's when he knew that girl is done for. OOC, I knew that long ago. But basically, Su Yan has a page on TVTropes, and here's the link: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Yandere

Basically, Su Yan herself came, and Wolf still insisted. She probably knew she can't stop him when he's in the mood to ignore law and procedure, which is where he was. 

So she invited him in, and let us search. She also sent a message that he's there and searching her place unlawfully.

Yet we still found no traces of the missing girl!

This, however, actually got Wolf running. I suspect at this point Su Yan was terribly, terribly close to being murdered...by at least a few of us.

Fu was only worried Black Fox might do it, so he was ready to try and restrain him. Of course, Xiaomei was out of suspicion, although it would be equally harmful for her if she did! (Both of them are half-demons, if they ever kill a human, they'd lose the human half of their souls). 

At some point, Wolf just said "Fine!", and dragged Su Yan to the palace! He went in, nobody even tried to stop us...and it turned out, that was the Ministry of Magic Affairs building! The guards tried to stop us, but seriously, what sane guard stops one of the Wulin Top Ten? And we had at least three of those in our group! (Wolf, Black Fox, White Fox, if you're wondering).

"The ministry is disbanded!"

"Minister Pei hasn't got the authority to decide that", was Wolf's answer.

"How can you say that?!? He's the regent!"

"The emperor is alive, there's no need for a regent! What power does he have if the position he's occupying doesn't exist?!?"

"His death was announced!"

"Tell Minister Pei to come here. Tell him I can prove His Majesty and His Majesty's Brother are both alive and well. Tell him we have a deal to strike".

Thus, Wolf dragged Su Yan to an interrogation room, and ordered us to remain outside...
His kids started being worried he might be torturing her, while inside, so we broke the door. She was, in fact, unharmed (and clothed, and on a chair...Fu noted that with some amazement, as he expected much worse from the angry Wolf).

Then Minister Pei came, and Fu realized they're going to negotiate.

He also realized something else as well, though: he realized they're in the very ministry which makes so many officials quiver with...ahem, healthy respect!

"Black Fox, that's your ministry, right? That your father is heading?"

"Yes, sure it is!"

"Who should I speak to in order to apply for a job?"

"Oh...that scribe over there?"

"You can guarantee for me, right?"

Black Fox didn't mind, and Fu went to the scribe. The man was polite, but wasn't really helpful for a couple sentences, intending to drown Fu in documents - then Fu mentioned that he's got a recommendation!

"Oh, that's interesting! Who is it?"

"You've heard of Black Fox, right?"

The man's eyes widened and he actually set a number of documents. "Then those won't be necessary..."

"And I think Xiaomei can say a good word as well. We didn't interact much, but I was in that team when she helped us free the kidnapped nobles", Fu mused.

"...those documents won't be necessary, either, I'll fill them for you later", the man bowed.

"Thank you very much!", Fu bowed in turn. "I'll be in your debt, then!"

"Sure, sure, don't mention it!", the man waved his sleeve.

And that's how Fu got to apply for a place in the Ministry of Magic Affairs, by filling a reasonable number of papers. Which is great, because he isn't anything like a scholar!

On the other hand, he doesn't mind getting dirty, and he has hunted both rogue magicians (magorasts, as he calls them), and demons. Prime material for an agency that would be a cross of Delta Green and Arkham, in a different setting!

Then Fu went out to take a walk in the capital. Black Fox went with him...

And, while passing near the compound of Su Yan, they found a sword. A sword that was talking telepathically, as Black Fox said. The man actually pulled it out, and used it to cut his hand, much to Fu's amazement!

"You haven't gone crazy, right?"

"No, he asked for it!"

Black Fox carried the sword. And the... blade?... actually claimed he'd seen how the woman we were looking for died!

"So she's dead", Fu was crestfallen. "Seriously, that Su Yan is as good as dead!"

"I guess she'll suffer very little for it, actually", Black Fox muttered.

"What?"

"Father hates it, but he has to think of the Empire above everything. He has to strike a deal with Pei. And her life and freedom shall be part of it, she's an important ally of Pei!"

"But she has killed the girl, right?"

"Technically, she was killed while trying to run away. And worse, we have no proof she was even there! No, flying swords aren't usually accepted as witnesses!"

Fu just spat in the dirt.

"Well, that's not right!"

I'm sure the sword agreed. I mean, why are flying swords discriminated against? 

Either way, as a result of this conversation, Fu wanted to punch somebody, so he went on to see his old friend, the Red Tiger fighter. 

Friend? More like rival! But maybe that means something about Fu's friends...

He was actually glad to see me. He was also glad to hear Fu is feeling better (after a diet of candy) and is planning to ask him for another match!

"But this time, no leitai arena. I want to show you my real world skills", Fu explained.

"Fine! We can fight just outside the city, in front of the walls!"

So we fought, in front of the Beggar Brotherhood and the Red Tiger clan. Fu placed a bet on himself, too, and was amazed to see they were giving his opponent 3:1! 

"Just one loss, and they think so low of me? Damn! Well, they'll pay me for it!"

But where the first fight had been a close draw, this time Fu demolished his opponent almost unharmed! 

A lot of strikes, Fu wasn't even defending, just trusting his kung-fu to protect him!

The difference was all due to Rolling With the Blow. 

Where Fu used this technique, there was very little his opponent could inflict on him. It's a difference of 10 points of damage on top of his Iron Skin. Yes, the rule in the game is that you're allowed to stack them.

Fu and the beggars won easily, and he got 90 silver coins out of it. (That is, he had betted most of his money).

The other Red Tigers didn't let him get to their mate, even though Fu wanted to help him. They only said they're going to mock him to no end for losing to a beggar.

Fu only glared at them, but decided one fight is enough. He couldn't risk losing the prestige he'd just gained, it was better to let them deal with their friend the way they did in their clan! 

We had to celebrate!

*OOC, we know what has happened to her, as it was directly related to Hoi's adventures.
Let me just tell you not to expect a happy end on that plot line, although amazingly, Hoi isn't the one that prevented it. That's why we have those warnings.
**Yes, he's literally a teenager with an adult comic in a foreign language he can't read!
***Masters Wu and Hu were there, too.

Adventures of Fu: In which Fu helps a fox out of a predicament, delivers a message, and doesn't learn a secret technique!

Trigger warning: if you have triggers, stay out. 

For the rest of you, here's the previous episode.

A couple hours later, Fu awoke after he heard a voice in his head. 

"Can you come to help me? Second floor, the door with two guards in front of it...there's sleeping powder in my stuff, you'll find it in the hollowed-out bamboo stalk. Make sure to not inhale it!"

Fu put on his beggar outfit, made his hair less kept, and splashed on his face some alcohol from Black Fox's stash, then started stumbling towards the guards, mumbling incoherently. One of them warned him to stop.
 

"Stop?Me? A-ha-ha! But that's my room!"
 

"No it's not, you drunken sod!"
 

"Eh", Fu stumbled towards them and the wall, leaning on it. "Why so rude, man? I was told my room is on the third floor..."
 

"That's the second floor!"
 

Fu looked surprised.

"What? No! I counted it right!"

The guard just put the spear down, towards Fu's chest. Fu merely leaned his hand on the spear, then suddenly stumbled towards the guys, throwing ample amounts of sleeping powders in their faces!
 

Drop, drop.
 

"Ah...shoulda've let me in!", Fu mumbled.
 

Then he waited for the powder to dissipate, put a cloth over his face, and entered. There was a big black fox in a magical circle, a wizard who started saying a spell, and another guard.
 

Fu rushed by the wizard, then simply put his foot in the circle, and dragged it back across its edge.
 

"Ah", said the naked Black Fox inside, who'd suddenly turned human. "Now we're gonna fight!"
 

And he cracked his knuckles.
Fu simply looked at the wizard, and concentrated on the wrongness of using magic. Surely that spell violated the will of Heavens!
 

And that's how the spell fizzled and died.
(In game terms, Qi Resistance, Fu's approach).

Fu merely smiled. "Care to try again, magorast?"
 

It wasn't necessary. Black Fox had removed the guard already (the guy seldom needs more than a couple strikes, lots of enemies go down to one of his attacks) and struck the wizard in an acupuncture point, rendering him mute. Then taking him out was a matter of leisurely applying pressure to the right spots.

"What happened, Black Fox? And for the grace of Heavens, dress up already!"

The black fox reappeared, jumped out the window, and Black Fox reappeared shortly after.

"Hey, thank you...you really saved my skin in there. I saw them and recognized them, didn't realize they've recognized me, too!" 

"I guess they didn't like you. What did you do?"
 

"Just a chick, and she never mentioned she was going to wed that old guy!", Black Fox pointed at the wizard. "Saved him an unfortunate wedding, I'd say! But I though he'd have forgotten her and remarried..." 

 "Indeed", Fu agreed, not even bothering to comment on Black Fox's behaviour. "If she didn't say a thing, it was her fault. And he should be happy you did her before the wedding, not after! If she'd allowed her to have your ways with her after the marriage, he'd be wearing horns. Doing it before the marriage, you saved him that unfortunate fate. He should really be grateful you prevented him from getting married to an unfaithful wife! Who's to say she'd only allow that to you?"

"Oh...why didn't I think of this argument, back then?", Black Fox mused. "I'll tell him when he wakes up. Now let's move these two", he pointed at the wizard and the guard. "You'd be interested in the boy..."

"I. Don't. Swing. That. Way!"

"...oh no, I mean he's the brother of that gal you wanted to marry. Or have you reconsidered?"

"She's got a brother?"

"...you don't know a lot about her family, I see."

"We kinda met at a short notice", Fu reminded him. It was Black Fox that introduced them, if "introduced" is the right word.

We pushed them through the portal to the Golden Lotus, and much to Fu's amazement, Black Fox woke the guy in question up, and told him that the "missing Emperors" (well, really the Emperor and his half-brother, but they look basically like twins, so we call them this) are with us and not dead. The guy obviously started thinking about switching his allegiances...

But Fu told them good-bye and went away. He had no idea how to impress his possibly-future-brother-in-law, other than by "he works for Black Fox", so he just went to the Beggar's Brotherhood.

I swear, he had every intention to just train calmly to improve his skills!

Well, admittedly he did that. He asked good questions, and got good tips. He even found some applications of the forms, or so he believes...

And concentrating on his footwork, he is really starting to master the use of the staff! Besides, his internal energy keeps improving...

 

In game terms, he did master the 5th level of his style, Bandit Beating Staff, which netted him an advancement in techniques. And guess what, he is now a definite master you don't want to fight, with 106% attack skill...

His defence is much weaker, though.

And all of that happened over the course of a day! It was a nice day, a calm one.
 

He even delivered the chest that the beggar chief in the capital had asked him to get to the blind teacher in Middle City. She thanked him, and started touching the cords it was tied with.
 

"Do you want me to untie them for you, Respected Teacher?"
 

She even stopped in her tracks.

 

"Are you a moron?"
 

"I don't think I am", Fu mused. "But Yanzi says I've got a thick head. What does that have to do with untying the cords for you?"
 

"How do you think I can read a message?"
 

"Special kung-fu technique, I've always assumed?"
 

"Stupid! You have mastered Blind Fighting, you know it doesn't help you read!"
 

"Sure thing, but I always assumed there was an extra-special kung-fu technique that allows that, too?"
 

She sighed.

"No, it's the knots. Different knots at different places have different meanings..."

She started explaining. Fu decided she just doesn't want to teach him this technique, since he can read anyway, and doesn't need it.
 

So he went off to train, because he realized that he didn't indeed need anything like this.

 

Overall, it was a good day!

...and then we got summoned to help! Calmly training to improve one's skills would have to wait, again!

But that is for the next episode!

After-Action Report: Road to Monsterberg, session 8

Link to the Previous Session! Wherein we met my new character and got invited to the dukal hunt!

The next morning, people wake up and go a-hunting. Wojslav buys himself a nice heavy crossbow and some broadheads, rides out on his horse, everyone else goes as they are. Humorously, Jules just brings a hatchet and his executioner's axe.

Estelle gets to talking with some huntsmen about wild stories and splits from the group (her player was absent).

Meanwhile, Elias holds up the party because he's busy convincing one of the huntsmen to take the midden mutt that Elias adopted during the Teschen bakery heist and use it in the chase, so it learns some basic hunting tricks from the other dogs. Elias actually manages to convince the guy, which is good for the dog.

Unfortunately, in the time it takes to do so, the party have lost track of the hunters who were supposed to lead them to their position. A rather impatient looking fellow in green livery comes out of the forest and beckons them to follow, chastising them for laying about and wasting time. How helpful!

He leads them to a dried out creek bed and the hunt begins. Huh, surprisingly many animals start coming their way...

 

Wojslav prepares his crossbow and reckons he'll shoot mounted, Vuk crouches down with a sling, Elias ties his whip to some trees to use as a line to trip any big game that happens to come the right way, and Jules just crouches down next to a tree on one bank of the creek and tries to fight his headache (Jules is so debilitated from last night's drinking that all the checks he has to roll are at the second highest difficulty if no additional difficulty applies).

 

The first half an hour, there come various small game animals and some fowl. Vuk and Wojslav manage to bag a few rabbits and pheasants, though they also miss their shots at a bunch of elk coming by and some martens...

 

Then come the Wild Hogs. These wild hogs were perfectly content to keep running and ignore the idiots in the creek bed. The party had other ideas. Vuk and Wojslav shoot one boar and just as they're happy that it's almost certainly dead after being hit by a heavy crossbow and a sling bullet, they hear the thing start to squeal in a frenzy and realize why people tend to use spears to hunt boars.

 

Meanwhile, Elias is apparently unhappy that Vuk and Wojslav are getting all the game so far (by virtue of being the only ones with any ranged weapons, but I digress) so he proceeds with his plan to trip the other incoming boar with his whip, which he's tied to the other side of the forest trope that the animals keep using. He actually does so ... and finds himself with a prone, enraged boar a meter away from him.

 

So right now, there are two enraged wild pigs and a bunch of people who are wholly under-equipped for a boar hunt. The pig that Vuk and Wojslav shot charges at Vuk, ready to end him. 

 

Vuk, who I must point out had previously somehow voided a saber charge by one of von Jarashow's horsemen, now crits on his evasion and manages to throw a bunch of river pebbles into the boar's eyes while he dives to the side, blinding it and avoiding an early death while screaming obscenities in Serbian.

 

Meanwhile, Elias tries to keep his boar at bay with his whip, but the angry creature just bites onto the whip and destroys it after a few combat cycles, finally closing the distance as Elias feverishly tries disengaging with it, chucking a hatchet at it, and then scrambling for his messer. 

 

Here, it is also worth pointing out that Elias is almost entirely unarmored, has the frame of a twig, and has a combat skill somewhere around 60, whereas the boar has 73 and is built like a brick shithouse. 

 

Somehow, Elias does not get gored once and keeps fighting back against the boar.

 

Meanwhile Wojslav dismounts, draws his sword, and goes in swinging at the blinded, frenzied pig that charged Vuk. 

 

The Serbian is still on his stomach, trying to crawl away and get up while the angry blind pig keeps pushing him, keeps him prone, but never manages to actually skewer him due to still being blinded. Jules in this time gets up and throws a hatchet at Vuk's boar, nearly taking Vuk's head off with his hung-over aim.

 

Things were going like this for 7 rounds (each with ~3 combat cycles, i.e. turns) and during this time Elias actually manages to get a critical strike in at his boar and tear open its frontquarters, causing it to slowly but surely start bleeding out. Meanwhile, Vuk has managed to take out his shortspear and impale one boar with it, making it terribly ineffective at actually goring anyone. While Vuk feverishly keeps his spear stuck into the boar, Jules is blearily swinging his unbalanced executioner's axe at the pig and missing every strike, while Wojslav pokes both pigs on their rumps with his sword, but doesn't achieve much, visibly.

 

As Elias' pig is almost completely exhausted by blood loss, Elias gets another lucky defense in and manages to get the pig to accidentally skewer itself on his messer while bearing down on him one last time.

 

Meanwhile, in the very last round of combat, a miracle happens!

 

Jules, still so hungover he can barely be considered awake, finally hits. He rolls some abominable damage number with his impractical executioner's axe, and he rolls the pig's head as a random hit location. So Jules ends up cleanly decapitating the one remaining wild pig, much to everyone else's astonishment.

 

...and funnily enough, Elias' family sigil is actually a boar. It's engraved on most of his pouches and his belt (which yes, his player has detailed). Must have helped him solo his pig.

 

Anyway, after all this, things were surprisingly quiet. Several dozen minutes of nothing, interspersed with some small game animals.

 

The party ends up meeting with the chasers as the hunt winds down, who stare at them incredulously for standing around in one of the most dangerous spots possible. It becomes clear that the man in green who led them there was definitely not one of the hunters and likely had some malicious motive. 

 

Unnerving, that. Who might be trying to hurt nice people like our characters?

Meanwhile, as the bodies of the animals are counted, Vuk and Wojslav overhear some people discussing that there is a reward for anyone who bags 5 or more small critters. 

 

Vuk teaches Wojslav the magic of Balkan scams, and the two decide to pool their caught small game and pass it off as Wojslav's to get the reward. Thankfully, the scribe doesn't catch on to the deception or notice the differences in wounds, so Wojslav gets credited the entire catch.

 

And at the Duke's post-hunt feast, all the party gets is a single fox pelt for their troubles, the pigs bringing no prizes besides some hearty meat. It was meant to be a small game hunt, the prizes are for small game!

 

Despite this, the ridiculous story of how the pigs were brought low. Two factors work for us: Elias' family sigil and his unlikely win against the boar, coupled with Jules being an executioner! People see his win as "him performing his duties on a pig", which makes for a riotous laugh at the feast (and earns everyone involved a bit of Ehren in the eyes of the attendees).

 

And that's it for now. 

 

As a side note, the GM has commented that he honestly half expected the party to roll up an encounter of 4 angry bears and end up eaten. Especially sitting at the dried creek bed. 

 

"I don't know how they had such a relaxing time of it thanks to their encounter rolls, with the exception of the pigs which were entirely self-inflicted", as he put it.

Ah, the magic of rolling stuff in the open, encounters included!

Adventures of Fu: Fu Is Defeated, But Promises Payback, Takes A Good Walk To Clear His Head, And Meets Black Fox Again!

Trigger Warning: If You Have Triggers, Better Don't Read. This post should be fine, but honestly, I can't guess what some people might be triggered by.

Link to the previous session!

After the fight, Fu woke up in the compound of the Resplendent Phoenix society, which are the gamblers organizing tournaments.

The Tiger was there (I need to remember his name, but for now That Huge Red Tiger would do).

 He told me he was worried that he'd struck Fu too hard. The beggar, of course, objected.

"Drop that, man! It's a martial art tournament, who expects to fight and not get punched? Ha! Better tell me, did you win?"
 

"Nah. I won the next, but lost in the finals."
 

Fu was aghast.
 

"How could you lose to someone else after winning against me?!? That's preposterous. You were carrying both of our names at this point!"

"Hey, come on, man....you'd banged me up pretty good! It was a fair fight, she'd just taken way less damage at this point!"

This calmed Fu a bit. But the follow-up made his hackles raise again.
 

"Anyway, I saw you have talent. Despite being small, you strike strongly! You just need to learn the best style out there, the Red Tiger!"
 

IC, the Red Tiger clan are the kind of people who love to fight in exhibition matches, strong and aggressive, and profess that their style is the best. OOC, I'm sure you've seen the type...

"That's a weird way to pronounce 'Bandit-Beating Staff', my friend", Fu grinned. (That's his style).

"Yes, I did lose, but if it was a real fight, I would have made short work of you...that's what your style is best for, fights on an arena. But I hate it to speak empty words, what about me proving you my words next time I pass by the capital? I need to return to my Shifu in Middle city!"

"Fine by me! A good fight is always great! I'll show you that Red Tiger is best!" 

Fu shook his head.
 

"Don't count on it...and rest and heal until then!"
 

"You too! And feed well...you beggars don't eat enough to be really strong, the way we do!"
 

Fu, who had been eating off the table of one of the richest people in the world for a few weeks, merely smirked.
 

That's how Fu left the Golden Capital - having lost in his first fight, and without having gained fame!
 

But defeated he wasn't. He was just chewing candy. The kind of candy the Jings have been giving him.
 

That's like a D&D character carrying minor healing potions and chugging them along like energy drinks. Of course, we don't do the "drink during a combat" bullshit, because frankly, my willing suspension of disbelief only goes so far.
 

After that he went to the inn where he had to meet Black Fox...the previous night. They'd just left him to sleep, because the healer said it's good for him.
 

But, unexpectedly (for Fu), there was a magic kite there and a note, both waiting for him. "If you need a transport to Middle City, use the kite. Black Fox".

Fu thought about it, shrugged, and took it. Black Fox's portals are instaneous, he would rather not waste time. But he also knew that they must not be seen, because it's a spell most people don't know even to exist!
 

As you'd notice, we always knock out prisoners before transporting them. Those we like, with sleep powder. Those we don't, with a guillotine-like "sleeper hold" or acupressure attacks. (And those we really don't like, with extreme prejudice... cue "Four Southern Winds".)

So Fu went to find a relatively distant place. He also wanted to see the country a bit more.
 

The day ended near a village. He inquired about the name of the village at the local inhabitants, and learned that a certain scholar lives there, and his daughter has found good employment and is sending him money. They have suspicions she might be working in the "Rivers and Willows" business**, though...
 

That was clarified by Black Fox subsequently (he arrived near the torii gate after midnight). He said the village's name looked familiar, and then when Fu told him what he'd learned, the Jing xia*** explained the scholar who lives here left the administration after getting in a conflict with a corrupt magistrate.
 

No wonder Jing is keeping an eye on him. Fu, however, only remarked such men are to be respected, and we moved on...to an in that works late!
 

Why? Black Fox was in the mood for treating me to some steak after Fu's stomach rumbled. Small wonder, he'd only had a cup of noodles that day!
 

Fu is frugal when not being treated by people of money, as any beggar should be! (He's trying to become a xia, but he's not there yet, in his own opinion).

Either way, we went there, and then some guys arrived. Black Fox recognized them as dubious and decided to go and check their rooms.
 

He is one of the better thieves, when he sets his mind on it, too. Fu even joked that he's just doing it to show off!

Black Fox just told him not to wait for him, and that he's going to come to sleep after checking the group. 

Then Fu went to sleep. Nothing could go wrong, right?!?

 

 

*OOC speaking, Fu almost wasn't using one of his 5 techniques, "Roll With The Impact". Additionally, his style has a lot of techniques like "Danger Sense" and "Blind Fighting", which are of no use to an arena fight, but are quite useful to a xia! Even his purely combat techniques are made for defense and survival - Multiple Defenses is stronger than Multiple Attacks in anything but a 1:1 fight, and Roll With The Impact is flat-out better than Iron Skin at any level... if you can afford to retreat. Of course, for a spy, which is what beggars really are in the setting, that retreat is "free movement" and greatly useful to break out of engagement and run.
Except, of course, in a leitai arena you can retreat maybe twice. Leitai has no ring ropes, and being knocked out means you lose. If you remember the movie Bloodsport, that's what those fights look like...KO/TKO, submission, ring out!

 
**They're right, but not the way they imagine it: she's an allied NPC of my first character, Wang, and is doing the accounting for his bordello, while studying to take her Imperial Exams.

Wolf made it clear that he approves of this strongly - in fact, he has told her to study a lot, because he expects lots of people shall be necessary for the state administration... does he plan a shake-up? Of course he is planning a shake-up. Why do you think Wang's session title is "Rooting Out Corruption, Bringing Punishment To The Wicked"?

***To be honest, the Jing family aren't xia. They're more akin to xian. (Despite the similar words, one of these means "martial artist protecting the truth and justice", the other means "immortal wizard who flies in the clouds on the back of a crane and pulls miraculous objects from his sleeves").

Adventures of Fu: Fu Helps A Black Fox To Chase Raw Liver, Justice Prevails

Trigger Warnings: If you have triggers, better don't read.

 

The Four Southern Winds, before being executed for their crimes, had informed us (under duress, of course) that the chest taken from the noble family had been given to some guys who were dressed mostly in clothes that were better made than they seemed.

The Wolf's spy network had also concluded that they had, most likely, left for the capital. They'd been tracked to a bit, I think. The advantage of near-instant communication for your spies!

Of course, we travelled via teleport. So after arriving, we concluded that they're probably still behind us, for a day or so.

 
Thus Fu suggested that we should split. (Not splitting the party? He doesn't know what you're talking about!)
 

Namely, he suggested that Black Fox should take us to the nearest inn, where Silver Cat and Fu would try to intercept whoever was travelling. Besides, with Silver Cat being one of the best thieves in the Empire*, we could just check their luggage if they stopped at the inn!

Black Fox agreed, though the girl still seemed strangely reticent. Fu still tries to give her space, but is starting to get slightly tired from all this.
 

Either way, he just ate some "candy" (actually Miraculous Restoration Pills, which heal a body instantly, but Xiaomei literally handed him a handful and told him it's candy, so the name stuck), because his head is still ringing slightly, and took two modest rooms.
 

He also moved on to practice in the inn's courtyard - the Wolf's lessons were precious, and shouldn't be wasted by negligence! - and at some point Silver Cat joined him. After all, they're masquerading as xia. Well, only he is masquerading, and Black Fox say he's actually a xia, anyway. So the major difference is that Silver Cat isn't using her family name.
 

The Jing family is too well-known!
 

Fu, however, introduced himself as "Fu the Falcate Spear", reasoning that the men had left Middle City before he became famous.

This seemed to pay off later, when three traders with a simple buffalo-pulled cart arrived in the inn. The men, who looked nothing like each other, claimed to be brothers, but took quite expensive rooms.
 

Both Silver Cat and Fu tried to point the other at the guys with eyes. Then something said in Fu's head "distract them when they go to drink tea, I'm going to check now".
 

Seems like she believes they're going to be most negligent while taking their own rooms, during the late afternoon, and that they're going to leave a guard in the night. Thus, it seemed she'd be having the easiest time now!
 

Fu, not seeing it as wise to argue with an expert, went to the three men's table and asked them who their leader is.
 

One of them said that it should be him this time.
 

So Fu immediately offered them his and his sister's protection!
 

His reasoning was simple: the men seemed to lack a clear leader, so of course none of them would leave when a decision was taken! Friends decide together, the elder brother decides for the younger brothers!
 

Thus, he offered them his and his sister's help. Upon being asked, he improvised on the spot, naming her Golden Tigress.
 

The men seemed hesitant, but one of them asked to see who Golden Tigress was. So Fu just pointed at her, and assured them that there's a giant ogre between them and the capital! A trader had informed him, Fu explained, and speculated that the man hadn't been eaten due to performing...well, indecent acts for the ogre's benefit.
 

The men laughed at the idea, but didn't question it, and one of them, who kept looking at "Golden Tigress", told Fu they're hired.
 

One of the others asked whether they really had time, but the third agreed that they deserve some fun time, too, and the two xia were hired.
 

Which was good, because Silver Cat had nodded approvingly, and a voice said in Fu's head that yes, these were the traders they were looking for...
 

"Cool. Be ready at dawn, we travel with them".
 

Of course, Fu had just asked a silver piece for the services of both of them. One of the men had handed it to him like it wasn't enough to buy two decent meals!
 

Fu tried to buy a meal for Silver Cat, arguing that our employers were paying, but she instead paid for both of their meals. He just shrugged, and noted it towards paying his dues in the Beggars' Brotherhood.
 

We also spotted them sending a kite. A kite that disappeared shortly after flying off!
The enemy also had instant communications...

Long story short, the men offered Fu and Golden Tigress some wine while travelling. The voice in his head warned him immediately to "only drink if you can make it seem like it's getting in your throat, but it shouldn't, this is a drug".
 

Fu has no such abilities, so he just said it's too early for him for either tea or strong spirits. "Master Pei says that after one has just risen, one doesn't need tea, and alcohol makes one sluggish in a fight".

Silver Cat, however, accepted, and Fu could swear she actually drank! She also seemed sluggish soon after, and climbed on the cart.

At the same time, Fu started slowing down, as if his feet had started to hurt after so little walking. Two of the men, however, stayed with him.
 

Soon after, they pulled knives! But as soon as they did, Fu slapped one of them with his walking staff, and the man's defence only prevented part of the strikes!
 

He also tried casting some sort of spell, but seemed unable to finish it.
 

Also amazed by the assault, his friend swung his knife, catching the xia in the ribs. 

The strike, however, only cut the cloth!
 

After that, hardened muscles slowed it, while still bending inwards, and the man, amazed, saw Fu being pushed away by the knife, like a leaf on the wind! Have you tried cutting a leaf on the wind? The harder you cut, the faster it flies away!
 

Somewhat afraid, the guy started casting a spell, but Fu looked at him hard, and merely said the immortal words:
"Shut up, unrighteous magorast!"
 

And the man almost felt as if he had just received a stinging strike on the wrist by an unseen teacher's ruler...
 

That spell never went up!
 

Fu merely looked at them, and slapped his staff in his palm.
 

"Now you should be starting to understand who you tried to take by surprise. Shall we continue, magorasts?"

At this point, and upon seeing that their friend actually had a knife next to his throat - Silver Cat had also reacted quickly, almost as if she wasn't as sluggish as expected! - the two broke and tried to run!
 

However, no decision-making was involved, as the guy Fu had not attacked ran into the huge giant ogre that was just arriving at the clearing!
 

"Whose sister were you staring at?!?", the ogre bellowed, and delived him a punishing strike, which knocked him out. Then he - Black Fox, of course** - delivered a kick to the other as well, which definitely broke some ribs!
Then Black Fox merely sealed their acupuncture points, knocking them unconscious, and we got them and the chest from the cart to Middle City via a portal. Fu, however, remained behind with the cart.
He made slashes into the cart with the tools Black Fox provided***, and pushed it to the side of the road. Let them investigate an ogre's attack near the capital!
The buffalo Fu - after leading the animal across the hardest terrain he could find - gifted to a poor peasant in the nearest village.

What was in the chest, you ask?
 

Well, first, it was a chest from which cold emanated.
 

Second, the only thing it contained was a raw liver. Black Fox started looking at it like, well, a fox...
 

Remember, he's half a fox demon?
 

"Eh, man, I don't know if we're allowed to eat this", Fu frowned.
 

"Definitely not!", Black Fox broke off. "First, it should remain intact, or its essence would go elsewhere. Second, it's 500 years old!"
 

"You sure? It seems fresh!"
 

"That's why we're keeping it in this chest! It can't be allowed to perish! It's the liver of the last Min sorcerer!"
 

Fu realized that the liver was alive, somehow.
 

Then he remembered the stories about Min sorcerers feeding demons with babies, and merely shrugged.
 

"Sounds fair. So since we're here, maybe we should go and see who's going to meet those guys?"

It turned out to be some horsemen. But their emblems were covered up!
 

Fu suggested that this would change when they start riding, though. So Black Fox hired a room in an inn near the capital's gate, got into it, disrobed, and turned into a hawk.
 

He followed them for half an hour, and soon after both Silver Cat and Fu started hearing dirty, elaborate curses, most of them referring to "That Bitch".
 

Then the hawk calmed down enough to say the name Su Yan, and Silver Cat stated cursing as well!
 

Fu was the only one who didn't know. When the two calmed down enough to explain, turned out it was one of the many wives of their father, but the worst one!
 

How is she the worst one? Well, she had tried to kill him not only before marrying - it seems the majority of Wolf's wives had tried that, including the diviner girl he's planning to marry next - but also during the marriage, and after the divorce!
 

"I'm sorry to say, but your father has a gift for picking the wrong girl if so many of them tried to kill him", Fu said.
 

"But they also stop once they know him!"
 

This obviously hadn't helped with that one. And now she was trying to, obviously, release the last Min Sorcerer!
 

"Figures. She's always been a major bitch", Black Fox commented.

 

That's rich coming from him, since foxes are also canines! Or does it mean he's an expert?!?

Either way, Fu still believed Wolf needed counselling regarding his choice of partners - though he'd have suggested talking to an enlightened monk - but the two Jings explained that Wolf had only married her for political reasons, anyway, so it really wasn't his fault! The previous emperor had believed that it might stop the feud existing between her family and the Jing family, and imposing peace between two noble families should be a good thing, right?
 

Except it didn't quite work...

 

Fu tried to learn more about the Su Yan chick from the local beggars. Black Fox told him to go to the same inn where they'd hired a room so he could change into a hawk, the next evening, if he wants a portal to Middle City.

However, intelligence gathering didn't work very well for him: it turned out she's one of those nobles that hate seeing any beggars near her holdings! She even orders them lashed, if she does.

"OK, she's a bitch", Fu agreed, remembering Black Fox's descriptions.

 

On the other hand, at least the locals liked the fact that he'd "visited them after coming from the Middle City" (remember, nobody knows IC that Wolf can basically teleport - it's a spell that the Jing family is keeping secret).

One of the beggars actually gave him a box to bring to the blind kung-fu teacher in Middle City. The box is tied with elaborate knots. 

 

Fu left it for a time in their compound and went to try and win a tournament "for his age group".
 

Turns out, the Phoenix society puts the fighters in brackets to prevent mismatches with fatal consequences.

This didn't help him much, though: there were 8 people in his bracket (he elected to fight empty-handed), and he lost to the first competitor, a Red Tiger Clan stylist.

Fu was doing his best, and using his techniques to mitigate the damage, but it turned out, his opponent was just as skilled as him! And where Fu had a great defense, he was tying up with a rain of blows. Where Fu had defensive abilities, his opponent was hitting like a bronze hammer!
 

At the end, both of them were reeling, literally. But his opponent, who had been faster the entire fight, manage to regroup, and put him on the ground with one last mighty punch!

 

Fu went asleep, and thus endeth this session!

*No kid of the Wolf is allowed anything else than excellence. Fu is starting to realize that this is actually a terrifying notion.
**The guy is a master of illusions, and the magic communication had told him about the story Fu made up earlier. It is unclear whether he was planning to offer to the trio a chance to escape via indecent acts, but given that Fu hasn't noticed him being into men, it seems unlikely.
***There's a magic spell that does that, too.

Adventures of Fu: Silver Cat Is Unhappy, But Justice And Loyalty Triumphed! Also, Fu Is Being Taught Successfully!

When he announced that to Silver Cat, she was understandably unhappy. I think I heard her muttering "if you only weren't so honourable", but Fu is sure he should have misheard!

Well, at least she had some small but precious items with her...that should make her feel better, right?

So Fu left, and went on to the Beggar's Guild! That was getting a lot harder than he expected! Now, if he was to become a "proper" (-ly groomed, maybe?!?) xia, he needed to become good. Real good.

He thought long and hard about his past fights...

The next day, he spoke with his teacher Hu, judging him the more open to new ideas one. That is, he had watched a prizefighter taking blows - something that Fu himself has learned to do. But the Beggars do it quite differently: they simply allow the strike to propel them elsewhere!

The prizefighter was taking them on without budging.

Fu didn't have time to watch back then, and the man's show had ended when he came back - but he has been asking himself whether learning both methods couldn't be combined! Thus, he was now looking for instruction...
 

"That can be arranged", Hu said. "But talk to your new friend first!"
 

"My new friend?"
 

"Black Fox, I mean".
 

"Master Hu, you know very well we can't be friends! Friends are of the same station, how can a beggar be the same station as the Emperor's uncle?!? That's preposterous to even think about, he's...well, when he's paying, he's being my master. When he ain't paying, it's more like a Bigger Brother-Younger Brother relationship. Although he himself sometimes behaves like the younger brother to the point I really start wanting to chastise him!"
 

"Still, go talk to him", Hu said, not bothering to explain to Fu that Jing family is so unorthodox, they don't even abide by people's station!
 

The GM keeps telling me this...OOC. IC, Fu can't even consider such an idea.
 

So, as a dutiful student, I did. I told Black Fox I'd need a mission or two - dangerous, with doubtful success, but prone to making one famous in case of success!
 

"So you're trying to get better in order to be famous?"
 

"Definitely. The girlfriend said I'd need to be a real famous xia for her dad to agree..."
 

"Which girlfriend?"
 

"You introduced us, how can you not remember? You even made it seem like a dragon was there!"
 

"Oh...that one? So you're getting serious?"
 

"Well", Fu kinda sulked. "I wasn't planning to, definitely. But she believed I'm the love of her life. And she said she's ready to wait for - well, as long as she can avoid another marriage. If she's serious, how can I refuse to be? What would it make me to actually be?"
 

"Glad you're thinking seriously about your life! That can be arranged", Black Fox said. "But come to a lunch first. I'm paying!"
 

"When has a poor beggar I refused such an offer from the illustrious Jing?"
 

As it turned out, the lunch had two Jings, not one: the elder, Wolf, was there as well!
 

They were also talking about Fu's abilities, discussing them in front of him.
 

Turned out, they want him to be ready to kill Black Fox if he ever "goes evil". So they wanted to ask Fu whether he'd agree to be ready to train much
 

"How is that possible? He's been keeping his soul for decades, I don't believe such a travesty to be possible. If I give you a promise that I don't believe for a moment to be possible, wouldn't I be cheating you?"
 

"Then it shouldn't be that hard, right?"
 

"I can't promise that, though. Not that I'm going to kill Black Fox without making sure to try and heal him. I've seen you people doing such marvelous stuff with people's heads, I'd knock him out, and bring him to you first! If you say he can't be helped, then I'm going to kill him. Is that enough?"
 

Neither of the Jings seemed persuaded. I think Wolf considered Fu unsuitable to the job, and the younger Jing considered him "too soft, but would be hardened in the process of training".
 

At the end, we decided that Black Fox would train Fu up, so he could do the job eventually.
 

After the xia asked for explanation, Wolf explained that there are important, powerful people in the world. If they're alright, the world is alright. If they go evil, someone needs to take them down!
 

Otherwise...well, as he puts it, "the age of the Min Sorcerers is what happens when such people are left unchecked". That's like, "the time when Sauron ruled".
 

Thus, each of them is going to find his own killers that are going to keep him in check.
 

"You have such a team, too?"
 

"Of course! Haven't you met Little Minnow and Scribe Yu?"
His sworn brothers have also sworn to kill Wolf if he goes evil! And one of them is #4 in the whole of Wulin!
 

Those people aren't joking. But from what I've seen, maybe they'd actually need to act together.

So the "doggie family", as Fu calls them, threw Fu a bone: Wolf himself taught him the technique to taking strikes that he was looking for!
 

Maybe he has heard of his son's lack of success with explanations, maybe it's just how he teaches (he's old-school in many ways), but the elder Jing did something Fu very much approves of: he showed him the moves to practice, and told him on what to focus. Took them about half an hour.
 

"Now practice it", he commanded. "In a few days, you should be able to take a lot more punishment!"
 

Although the technique isn't perfect, and strong strikes are still felt, Wolf assured him that even weak weapon attacks won't harm Fu. And it would only get better when he gets better at kung-fu in general!

When combining Iron Skin and Roll with Impact, Fu rolls 1d5+8 and reduced the damage by that number. But, once he raises his style to 5+ (he's currently at 4), he'd roll 1d10+10, and end up with 1d10+12 at level 6. The hard modifier is from Roll With Impact, the die is from Iron Skin!
It's also extremely funny that Wolf himself tutored him: Fu was planning to look for a teacher in the city, and considered offering about 30 silver for it - big sum for a beggar!
With the amount of money Jing routinely gives away, such an offer might have reasonably lead to Wolf's death...from laughter.
As he said, "this is an ordinary external style called Ascending Dragon Fist, but it's often useful and teaches well how to take heavy strikes - with good conditioning, even from knives and cudgels".

Thus, Fu returned to practice. Now he's focusing on that, and with diligent practice, he started to improve. Black Fox warned him they'd need to go to chase a chest, though.
 

As he put it, "you're still looking to get famous, right?"
 

"Of course, why else would I practice that?!?"
 

The next day, they were to leave for the capital, to look for a certain chest that was stolen from the nobles that Fu and his group rescued from foreign mercenaries.
 

Turned out, this task was originally Silver Cat's, but she seemed "unwilling to go with them", as Black Fox put it. Fu was kinda perplexed - if it was another girl, he could believe her being distraught, but the beautiful emperor's aunt being moved because of an ordinary xia, who'd believe that? If it is about having fun, she could just get any other youngster she wished, right?
 

Right?!?
 

So, you all can picture Fu as perplexed. I need to find a suitable picture.

Either way, they went the next day, and Black Fox practically (though not literally) dragged Silver Cat with them. She seemed kinda grumpy.
 

Fu decided to leave her some distance, maybe she had hungover? If she was like her elder brother, that wouldn't surprise us in the slightest!
 

"Hangover is the means that gods use to remind nobles and scholars that we're all subject to their whims", Master Hu had told him once.
"Are you drunk?", Master Wu had inquired.
"Exactly! I'm also going to suffer like everyone else - tomorrow", had been the answer.

Adventures of Fu: Women Are Weird, Women From The Jing Family - Doubly More So!

Disclaimer: If you get triggered, don't read. If you read and get triggered, Your Fault.

 

That's when fate started fucking with Fu again!

He went on to train. He's been doing lots of conditioning lately, and it seems to pay off.

 

As he was doing front presses and pull-ups, he caught sight of another Jing, Silver Cat - the traps specialist who is the sister of Black Fox - chatting amiably with our Yanzi, the beggar girl.

They were looking at him doing exercises and sweating, and giggling. Well, one of them is around 16-17, the other is around 25 (and not really acting her age), what else can one expect?

Girls, Fu decided, and sagely finished his series without paying them any heed. Then he turned around and kept doing his pull-ups with his back turned to them!
(If he had any earplugs, that's where he would have been tucking them inside his ears, and the sound would be at near-max levels! As it was, he didn't).

They started giggling even more, but he ignored them for a couple of hours.

A couple of series before he was done, Silver Cat approached him. "Are you free to talk?"
 

"In a couple series", Fu answered. He might normally cut it short, but those three years weren't getting any longer!
 

She was willing to wait. In fact, she started playing slowly a taolu ("formal exercise") of his own style. And her abilities seem to at least be matching his!

 

When he finished, Yanzi was nowhere to be seen.
 

"So, what did you want?"
 

"Are you free today?"
 

"Sure!", he replied. Hey, another aunt of the Emperor! What would you think she could be after?
 

Clearly, that was a test! He knows Black Fox considers him a prospective xia who could be useful to his family. What, he knows not, but he's seen the eldest Jing (The Wolf) hiring xia, and has been hired himself. 

And, since Jing always pays handsomely, Fu is only willing to try passing all their tests!

"Do you have any preferences? It should be on me", he suggested.

 

Hey, he's got money, and last few times he was invited, the Jing family paid for his food. Even a beggar can have a bit of dignity once he's got some money, and at least try to return the gesture...

 

Not that he didn't suspect it's not going to happen. And not happening it did!

"No, I'll insist I'm paying! There's a few places I want to show you..."
 

Oh! Clearly that would be a test, Fu concluded. And knowing the tastes of the Jing family members, she could be leading him to places where he couldn't afford even the entry fee!
 

"OK, if the respected Jing elder insists, a beggar can only agree humbly!", he nodded.

She even looked at his muscles (he trains naked to the waist), which further confirmed his suspicions this is a test. Clearly, she seemed happy with his muscular development and "visible power" (in Chinese, Li - strength, as opposed to Qi power).

So he went to change in his better clothes - the black xia suit gifted to him by Black Fox. He keeps that one clean, and he even took a quick bath. Can't afford to stink when you're trying to impress a potential employer.

And they started going around. Number one was a nice family restaurant that he, being a relative newcomer, didn't know about. They had nice steak and offered avocado salad! 

 

(Note - the GM has imported avocado, bananas and tomatoes to the setting; it's wuxia/xianxia fantasy, not historical China. I keep forgetting whether we've got potatoes, too; they wouldn't fit around that area anyway, they need lower temperatures. But the food is quite varied as a result!)
 

Number two was a type of bar (probably not what they call it in the setting) where they could drink without being molested, challenged, or seen as easy marks.

 

Neither was real expensive, but both were nice and cozy! Perfect for an interview, right?
 

He still didn't know what kind of job she was interviewing him for, but he suspected she might not know. If it was something her father, the Wolf, has ordered her to do, what else would she be doing?!?
 

And of course, the fact that she kept asking him about himself and what his plans are, also made total sense. As a consequence, he tried to make his answers complete and detailed!

Which is why, of course, when she stumbled and fell towards him, he immediately grabbed her in a double underhook!
 

She seemed surprised at his reflexes, so he immediately pulled her up - hey, that's literally what you do with underhooks! - and released her, not willing to keep the contact longer than necessary, lest she be offended!

"See? I know the unfa (application) of Two Snakes Sneak Around The Tree Branches" move! It's even from the same taolu you demonstrated today! Eh, of course I didn't continue with Righteous Beggar Turns Around, after all, I only wanted to prevent you from falling, not to take you down..."
 

In the historical China knowing the move and knowing the unfa were two separate things. The actual unfa is only shown to students the teachers trust, i.e. those from the "internal circle". So Fu is flexing that he's not one of the guys that are being told that the Double Underhook is a "double uppercut".

 

 

"Oh stop it!", she snapped! "Is there anything wrong with me?"
 

"Huh?!? What do you mean?"
 

"Oh forget it...or actually, are you into boys? Nah, doesn't matter..."
 

"Boys? What do boys have to do with anything?"
 

"Well, I'm an woman!"
 

"So what? It's not like you've invited me here as a woman*, right?"
 

"Not as a woman? How did you come to this conclusion?"
 

"Well, it's obvious, right? You're the auntie of the frigging Emperor, for Heavens' sake!"
 

"So are aunties of the Emperor not women?"
 

"Definitely not the type of women who would be interested in a beggar, I'd say! I mean, you're really beautiful" - he had discerned that she thinks he finds her ugly or something - "but your station is high above mine, it's like Heavens and Earth, there's no point even thinking about getting intimate! So I was just hoping to pass your test!"

"My what? You thought I'm here to put you to a test?"

"Yes! I mean, I wasn't sure if it's your father who sent you to ascertain my abilities, or you had some personal issue you wanted to hire me for, but obviously either one works!"

 

I mean, why was anyone surprised? She has been asking about him all night, much like a prospective employer. Granted, she was also touching him, but Fu knew that she was worried about his physical shape, and assumed it was just checking.
He also knew some employers like taking liberties with female workers, but of course, it wouldn't count if it was a woman doing that to him, right? Totally not the same thing!

 

This seemed to only make her thoughtful, though...

 

"Wait...hey! Did my brother warn you?!? That bastard!"
 

"Warn me about what? About your test?"
 

"About me killing my husband!"
 

"No, I mean - about you testing me for a job, obviously...you killed your husband? Eh, did you catch him cheating or what?"

"Would be better if he was...nah. Caught him smuggling opium from the Jing island! That's nasty stuff, Father doesn't approve at all - and neither do I!"

Fu has heard it's nasty stuff as well, so he just shrugged.

"Well, you did a good job, then! But no, nobody told me you did that. And it wouldn't have mattered, why would it? Your family, your call, and it seems like you did the righteous thing!"

She looked into his eyes and decided to trust him.

"Eh...then I guess you're actually into boys?"
 

"Boys? I still don't know what do boys have to do with anything... you mean, for sparring, right?"

 

But no, she stared at him in a way that he surmised she didn't. In fact, Silver Cat made it clear that no, she's not kidding, and Fu has been vetted already by her father, anyway. And then she asked him straight: do you want to go to her room? "I've been lonely lately", she explained.

Eh, what kind of a man would refuse, Fu wondered? Maybe one who's only into boys or something, but he didn't even find boys attractive - at least outside of a lei tai (free combat) area, where he prefers them!

So they went to her room, and she started to undress. Fu reached for her, half-expecting to be slapped away and mocked...then quickly pulled her towards himself after seeing no such thing was happening!

Then he quickly jumped back, realizing he might be committing a dishonest act, which is totally unbefitting a xia!

"Wait! I'd love to do this, but I'm not sure we could! I mean, I'm not sure whether I don't count as 'dating someone already'..."

"How could you not have known?!?"

"It's a kinda new thing, and it's not like I was thinking of such matters...you know, hunting those cannibal murderers and training? That's what had occupied my attention, what right-thinking man would do otherwise?"

I think she made a mental note: Fu has (mistaken) priorities.
 

But hey, he would have loved doing it with her, he wasn't lying! But he has been taught to live according to ideals of fairness, justice and loyalty. If a man hides such information, how is that fair? If he drops an old lover who swore she loved him, how is that loyalty?
 

Fu the Falcate Spear might not be the sharpest spearhead, nor the straightest one, but even he doesn't see a way to deviate that much!

So the woman crossed her hands (producing, in this state, a dangerously seductive effect):
 

"So go check on her, and ask her! I'll wait here!"
 

"Eh...it might take me a while. I'd need to plan that, it's not like her father would approve me! And the security is heavy. So...I'll let you know in a couple days, I hope?"

Have you tried telling to a heterodox xia to wait a couple days when she wants anything?

"Couple of days? Bullshit! Just tell me where it is, I can get anywhere - and I can get you in, too. You want to know it now, right? So you go in, clear it up with her, and we'd know where we can continue what we'd started!"

Fu was amazed. This woman might be a Silver Cat, but she has the bite of a combat dog - once she clamps on something, there's no releasing, only swallowing!
 

Eh, this might be a fun quality, for sure - but going to his lover with...a potential lover, who wants to know whether they can legally do the dirty?!? This was a bit too heterodox for him...

"Why not?", Silver Cat inquired when he voiced his objections. "I'm not going to go in, I'm not going to spy on you. If anything, I'll go check for loose items..."
 

This actually reminded him of something Yanzi has said.
 

"Heh, don't tell me...the kind that feel bad where they are and ask you to take them away?"
 

"Sorta. Sounds like a good reason to give".
 

He sighed, then agreed. After all, she is a master thief, and she'd resolve his issues getting in!

So they got in almost too easily: she used special powder to get the dogs confused, put the guards to sleep with surprise, and helped Fu to jump up to the third floor.

 

When he was safely there, Silver Cat announced to be leaving.
 

Fu jumped through, and announced his name: Fu the Falcate Spear!
 

"My hero!", the girl exclaimed, not disappointing him in the slightest. "So you survived!"
 

"That I did! And I captured the Four Southern Winds...though not by myself, the warriors Silver Cat and Black Fox, from the Jing family, did even more! But I created the plan how to get them to come to us, and I broke one of them..."
 

"So you did capture one, right?"
 

"Sure, I got to break the hand of the magorast! And then the foot!"
 

"I haven't heard that word!"
 

"Eh, a magician who's also a pederast...and in this case, that probably ranked among his better qualities!"
 

"So you captured him!", she concluded, happy, and launched herself at him!

 

It was to be some time before they could talk.
 

But then talk they did!
 

"Eh...dear, what's in the future for us?", he asked. "I mean, no way your father would approve me as a son-in-law, I think. So what are we to do?"
 

"He might", she said. "If you could become a great hero...yes, he might. But you'd need to be really famous!"
 

"That might take a while", he said. "All young xia aim at this. Only a handful ever get even close..."
 

He realized it seems like he's giving up on her, though...
 

"I mean, try I will! But it's not going to be easy, nor fast. And in the meantime?"
 

"In the meantime, I shall resist being married to some boring scholar, probably older than me as well", she promised. "I'll hold off for as long as I can!"
 

Thus, Fu concluded she really wants to marry him. Not that he minded...although he hadn't even considered marrying when he agreed to Black Fox's offer...but listen he had, and what kind of man would just say "it wasn't me, I didn't know what would happen, no fair"?
 

A lesser man than Fu the Falcate Spear, that's for sure!
 

Bad news for Silver Cat!

*And then Fu would have been expected to pay, so her behaviour didn't show she's treating him as a man, in his book.

Adventures of Fu: Fu's Ambush Works, Villains Are Executed, Fu Wonders What To Do!

Anyone who reads our After-Action Reports/Actual Plays does so at his or her own damn risk. We don't shy away from stuff that triggers people.

 

Also, previous session.

***

In short, Fu's ambush worked flawlessly. The two xia with him are consummate thieves and spies, so while he was sitting there, they removed the minions of the Four Southern Winds and started attacking them one by one. He distracted the Four Southern Winds and lured one of them in the traps that Silver Cat (Black Fox's sister) had set.

 

Then, when their wizard tried running, Fu chased him. The man tried transforming into a bird, but Fu managed to grab a wing...

 

And when the guy tried to use his beak on his hand, Fu's answer was "let him, I keep breaking the wing, like a fried chicken's".

At the end, one of Fu's fingers didn't work properly, but neither did the wizard's wing. Then Fu broke one of his legs for good measure, too. Then he used a sleeper hold to put him to sleep.

He did eat Minor Miraculous Restoring Pills, which Jing Xiaomei had given him (she calls them "candy"), stopping his own bleeding. Black Fox's sister, Silver Cat, also set the bones in his finger and hand straight, which also helped.

And then we dragged them to the prison (Fu objected every step of the way to having to carry the magorast, but didn't bring himself to execute him to make it easier). At the end, Black Fox put them to sleep, and transported them with a portal! Yay for laziness!
 

The Four Southern Winds all have standing death penalties, ranging from "being torn between four buffalos (or other bovids)" and "death of a thousand cuts", and all got executed literally the next morning!

Fu decided against watching that, though. He finds it fun to break down people that fight him, he's not finding it fun to watch them being killed when helpless. That's just a necessity, nobody wants the 4SW to escape!

Since we got them with a dirty song regarding the octopi* that Black Fox had written, Fu gave him all the money, and told him "that's the best way to gain money with a song"! 

 

Black Fox did, in turn, give it to the Beggars' Fraternity that Fu is part of, but Fu the Falcate Spear believes that this has nothing to do with him, it's between Black Fox and the leaders of the clan!

"But at lest, now I can visit that girl again! Fu the Falcate Spear did capture dangerous criminals", he mused. Black Fox snickered.
 

"I see you'll understand you're a xia, not merely a beggar", he observed, approvingly.

And then Fu went to see Blue Monkey at the Golden Lotus. He brought him the good news about 4SW, told him to be less daring next time (they were already in a fight, why did he need to jump forward?!?), and was already planning to go check whether the Golden Lotus girls have some food remains, when some guards arrived.
 

The personal guards of the local magistrate were there to arrest the elder Jing! He was being accused of plotting against the Emperor!
 

Surprisingly, the man went dutifully. Fu elected to follow him, just as dutifully, and the sorcerer - who wasn't being restrained at all, what kind of arrest is that?!? - actually talked the guards into agreeing! 

 

Turned out, the issue was to be resolved without major issues, too. 

 

The Wolf asked to be put under house arrest, which was granted. He also pointed out that the accusation of plotting against the emperor and his half-brother...makes no frigging sense, seeing as how he is the emperor's granddad, and the uncle of said half-brother. 

 

He didn't mention that the Emperor and his half-brother are actually alive and well. Neither did Fu.

 

Fu only thought that if he was that guy, he'd tell the magistrate to come to him, instead...

 

But the magistrate, probably realizing that this man in front of him might actually be in the running to become next emperor - that is, if the emperor is indeed dead, as the Prime Minister Pei has ascertained - was very, very cooperative. Thus he imposed the required house arrest, and seeing how the elder Jing is the owner of one of the most luxurious whorehouses and lives there when in Middle City, that doesn't look as bad as it might have...

Additionally, the magistrate agreed to send a message that he can't guarantee the security of such an important person, please send someone to bring him to the capital to answer for any crimes!

Of course, as Fu realized with no small amount of enjoyment, if no such person can get inside the city, none of them can be held accountable for bringing the accused to the capital!

Now, keep in mind, I believe that Pei can order him to just bring the prisoner...but he has "read" the intentions of Pei, which are probably to remain a perpetual regent! To get that, he needs to have the support of the administration. And he ain't getting that if he abuses influential members of the administration.

 

And you ain't getting a post as the magistrate of Middle City unless you're influential. So Pei can spoil that plan, but it would cost him.

 

Also, yes, the man whose daughter Fu fucked couple of nights ago is a rather influential one!

 None of this is known to Fu himself.

After that, Fu went to see the police precinct. Finding the cop whom he'd almost sold a book to, he asked whether they have any outstanding jobs that might use the help of a xia.

Turned out, however, that they didn't. I mean, there were some series of thefts from noble families, but Fu shared with the cop that he can't be bothered about property crimes against rich people. They ain't gonna go hungry over it, their fault if they didn't hire good enough guards!

The cop agreed that he doesn't see it as a really pressing matter, either. Then he proved that he's a total stick-in-the-mud, by refusing Fu's offer to buy him a drink. Can't drink while on duty!

 He's one of the few that can't, I think.

Either way, Fu went on to sleep.

Then he got roused by Black Fox himself.

 

*They all had octopi tattooed on their faces! I guess the executioner might skin those during the execution. Or not. Who cares, after all? 

Adventures of Wang: Rooting Out Corruption, Bringing Punishment To The Wicked - part 2

Anyone who reads any of the Actual Play/After-Action Reports from our campaigns does so at his or her own damn risk. There are topics that might trigger somebody and we don't shy away from those. If you read on, have fun!

***

The next day Wang organised a walk in the hills where we had a painting and poetry competition. Not much is worth saying, other than the fact that it was the women this time who drew the ire of Young She-Wolf...for being too friendly with Wang, in her opinion.

"Hey, cheer up! They are just friendly. Well, and they're fishing for a rich, well-connected husband of good lineage. But mostly, they're friendly. And I wasn't getting jealous when they offered me to buy your contract! I just told'em I don't believe anyone but me can deal with you, even if I needed the money..."
 

"Who says I'm being jealous? It's just they're so...useless! If you want to lay with another, at least she should be one worthy of talking to afterwards! And of course, I'd expect you to invite me to join!"
 

...OK, Wang didn't quite expect the last part - so, if she expects being invited, she definitely considers it that they're dating, not just sleeping together?!? - but he took it in stride.
 

"I'll keep it in mind, but I'm really not interested in them right now. Just take it as them appreciating your lover, and let's go!"

OTOH, Black Fox had a much harder task: we had decided he had to seduce the wife of the Corrupt City Magistrate Yin - and, after seducing her, to persuade her to raise the alarm, saying she had spotted the jewels YSW brought last night!

He is a well-known womanizer, we knew from previous sessions...and she would want to raise the alarm to avoid attracting suspicions that she knew about the burglary all along!

(As far as we know, he poisoned the guy to bring him heavy stomach issues. Once he was secure that Yin is not going to interfere, Black Fox also seduced the concubines of the guy!)

That task was carried out with flying colours, and the next day, early in the morning, Corrupt City Magistrate Yin had been accused of having carried an inside job on the district governor!

Even better, however: the same day the Investigative Magistrate appeared: she's one of the few magistrates rumoured to be incorruptible, named Fen.

 

Wang: "What, were they trying to get rid of her in the capital?!?"

 

Sounded likely.

So we immediately went to see her, and brought to her the complaints. The ones with accompanying documents.

 

And we told her that we've got more of these, but we had not investigated them...

She asked us to bring them. Black Fox immediately went to "our inn" (actually, teleported to the base of the Sword of Justice and took the whole crate!) and brought it all to her.

She started going.

 

The next day, she had pegged Yin not only for the burglary, but for covering a rape and a murder as well. Basically, he was judged as "accessory to crime" and hanged.
His wife wasn't charged, given that she had given him up.

 

(Black Fox took the concubines for himself, given that Yin's Wife had accused them of complicity in everything. Not willing to have them die because of our framing, he brought them to some nearby village and loaned them enough money to let them open an inn. They get a source of income, he gets 25% of the income, his father's accountant is going to be happy!)

An unexpected development, though, was that Black Fox kinda got enamoured with Fen, and remained behind to help her and protect her. Deep country, she's fighting corruption? Sounds like she's liable to become the victim of a hunting accident.

Even when no hunting has been going on, one must add!

Wang, however, let him hang with her ("offering his services as a scholar") and merely offered to Fen to change the militia as well.

 

"I have the exact right people to replace them with, they were trying to help the victims and had organized themselves!"


And then we returned to the Swords of Justice to tell them they're now an official organisation and can keep doing the same and get paid for it.

 

"Also, once you are working for the state, you can prevent corruption much more easily!"

 

They swore that if they approve of Fen, they're going to work for her. Wang had little concerns on that account, so he and YSW called it a job well done, and left to find other places that might need a similar treatment.

 

And also, to travel for a while, just the two of them...

Fun fact, we actually got attacked on the way. We basically scared them (a small group who believed it's just one man, discounting the woman) and they ran.

 

So we chased them using Lightfoot abilities, and captured them. Turned out, they were just hungry.

 

So we gave them money, and told them if they needed help, they should look for the new heads of the militia. We doubt they would.


Also, we went back to Willow City (the District city), which is known for its weaponsmiths. YSW was all over the weapons, and Wang bought her a new sword - one that shoots darts from its handle, a new invention!

 

He made it a point to pay from his own funds, but doubts she noticed the difference.

He only got himself a nice dagger.

After that, they went on to the city where he owns a bordello. They teleported, of course, and he briefly checked the books while she was practicing taolu with her new sword.

 

Then they left to get food and stuff for the trip. See, this island is known for its volcanic beaches, and they wanted to find an isolated one in order not to be bothered by anyone - and not to bother anyone with their activities (fighting and f...whatever, they just want some quality time!), because they're both shy* like that!

However, the city is known far and wide not for its volcano, but for its seers and diviners. So they want to visit one, and Wang suggested they should visit one. He then paid for 5 questions, and offered that they play a modified "truth or dare": they both can ask any question, preferably one that's interesting to both of them, but they also both hear the answer!
 

Beware what you ask...
 

 She suggested he should ask first, and he did. He asked "how many days until Black Fox leaves magistrate Fen".
 

Answer: two days and he'll have to!
 

Wang: Hmm, she didn't look that easy, and she might need protection for longer. Maybe we should arrange something...
 

But he forgot all about it after he heard the next questions of the YSW.
 

"Is the sleeper going to wake?"

 

The medium got into a trance, and the answer was "the blood of the traitor is destroying the seal".
 

Wang: "What?!?"
 

YSW: "You don't want to know!"
 

Wang: "No, I don't, you're quite right! Sounds like something your Dad would care about, not me! Well, ask another one, that was boring..."
 

Then YSW asked:
 

"Where's the Red Queen's corpse?"
 

"She's in the Scorpion Oasis, in Jin**, and she's not quite dead!"
 

YSW asked again.
 

"How is that possible? I was told she was dead?"
 

"She was, but she was brought back..."
 

Then we mostly used the rest of the questions to learn more about who is protecting her, but the answer was the kinda unexpected "The King of Hollow".
Wang only used the last question to ask whether the two of them are destined to marry. 

"The stars can't tell, but you're going to have a long and fruitful relationship".
 

Wang: "Fruitful? Whatdoyamean, fruitful?!? Is she going to get pregnant?!?"
 

...but that was the last question, so he got no answers.

Then they went to the beach anyway to make plans. They decided to go and find Red Queen, probably with Black Fox and nobody else. Why? Because everyone else would try to stop them! (For no reason, as far as they can tell...)
 

Otherwise, the three days they spent went nice. Wang used the time together to ask her if they were dating, or just being fuckbuddies.
 

She didn't believe it's worth discussing. So he sighed, and admitted he'd want it to be done properly, so he invited her to accept officially to date him!
 

"What difference would it make?"
 

"I'd do indecent things to you right now if you were to agree..."
 

"I agree!"
 

And that's how they started dating. Well, Wang at least managed to persuade her to put off the whole endeavour and to learn the transport spell first, so they could run away if the Transport Staff (an artifact allowing to cast the transport magic 3 times for every time the Hour of the Rat has elapsed) was taken away from them!

He himself was going to use this time (about a month) to learn Jin language. Studying twice a day diligently for a couple hours, he wouldn't pass for a local, but at least he could understand them (YSW speaks Jin already***, her uncle leaves there, though she never visited). 

 

They stopped going there some decades ago, before that they were sending them to learn alchemy, of which the elder brother Jing**** is among the best masters!

They went to Middle City, where they're learning with Jing Xiaomei in the Golden Lotus. Wang also started learning Willow Blade Song, because YSW is studying diligently, all day long.
 

He said he is going to take her to an evening out - and he did. It was fun, but the details only matter for them. After all, they're officially dating now, right?
She really needed that, he reasoned. And she admitted she'd needed the rest, because her idea of studying diligently is best described as "cramming".

Wang also used this time to visit two seers and to ask them important stuff about his relationship, including some stuff he didn't understand about earlier comments.

 

In short, one of them explained that his girlfriend is probably into girls, too, so she'd be quite open to threesomes - if she liked the other girl.
 

Wang: "OK, so where's the catch?"
 

Seer (a middle-aged woman): "That you're lucky?"
 

Wang: "I agree I got lucky, but I'm asking where's the trap? Nothing is ever only good!"
 

(He didn't think about the "two mothers in law" trap. I rolled, he hadn't heard the joke).
 

He also realized that he'd best behave with YSW, not that he didn't know, and that if he wants to leave her, it's best to make her leave. Not that he wants to, but he feels a bit weird, knowing that he isn't fully free to leave...

And that is where we stopped, because the other two's lives need to be resolved, too. This one month might impact them dramatically, especially Fu!

*Ha!
**That's Jin, the country, not Jing, the family name of Wolf, Young She-Wolf, Black Fox and White Fox, which Wang calls "the doggie family".
***As the GM puts it, the kids of the Jing family obviously don't get much time for themselves while growing up, including for social life - which explains why they needed Wang, if you ask me! During the crisis, YSW probably got her first whiff of "me time", and of course, she used to hook up with someone...that someone being Wang.
****A.k.a. the White Dragon, one of the BBEGs of the setting, and the man that my third character, Hoi, is working for!