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.