Hi I'm the Goddess Urd, please enjoy part two of the Emerald Empire.
After the Rites of Initiation, Taco(ma) goes off on his own for a short time. His excuse is I need to practice. (He seems to be doing that a lot lately with his spare time. Even more then the other players.)
Tira here, I just wanted to say that for all the training Taco(ma) seems to be doing he should be better then the others. SInce that is not the cause I wonder what he is training?
Urd: "I think he is reviewing his horizontal stance."
Urd and Tira: heheheheheheh
The rest of the group decides to go own to the next city preparing to find out what their next mission is. Along the way 18 Samurai’s ambushes them. All trying to kill Saito.
Mr. Tai Chi Man fights off his attackers, but is soon overwhelmed by the sheer numbers and falls.
After taunting and killing two of the attackers Anza falls pray to a sneak attack and falls.
Saito the only one left, fights off and kills the rest of his attackers in one might call a true blood bath of a battle.
After healing they manage to get to the next town and await for Taco(ma) to catch up with them.
sorry short session.
Upon reaching the capital, Saitoh and Locke proceed to look for information about their assailants. Using the resources of the Shin-Sen Gumi, as well as some information obtained from an information broker, they discover that the Poison Sparrows were behind the attack. Furthermore, a letter Saitoh received from Illandra also confirmed involvement by the Poison Sparrows and indicated that they were engaging in treasonous activities, trading in state secrets with the Therans with the help of a high-ranking government official. However, not much could be done, as there wasn't enough evidence to prosecute them. Armed with this information, both Saitoh and Locke proceed to track down and dispose of some of the Poison Sparrows, in an effort to obtain more evidence, and to try and force their hand.
A few months go by and the party meets up again minus Taco(ma). Apparently he is hiding away at a priest’s home. (That will be discussed at a later time) A messenger interrupts their dinner telling them they must meet Ilandra ASAP for she has an important mission for them to do. Noticing that Taco(ma) is missing, he asks if Anza would also like to come with Saito and Locke since he needs to bring three people with him. Anza agrees. They head for the capital that night.
They go to the safe house, give the password and are let in and given audience to speak with Ilandra. Surprised that Taco(ma) is not here and there is now a new member she asks Anza if he would be willing to take Taco(ma)’s place. By taking his place, he would be cursed if he failed, but if the group succeeded then the favor would be passed to Anza. Basically, Taco(ma) would be honor bound to do one favor for Anza with an equal difficulty level under the same boundaries as the original contract. Having nothing better to do Anza agreed.
The mission is basically to protect this little girl from harm for a minimum of three weeks. A large number of assassins are coming from the East (Saito's enemies) and also from the Southern and SouthEast part of the counry to try and kill every member of her family. There are already people assigned to other members of her family and Ilandra herself along with others are going to head off as many assassins as possible. They meet the girl who turns out to be Ilandra’s goddaughter, and head out of town ASAP as soon as they get supplies and horses. Let it also be known that Locke was dressed as a girl when they met Ilandra’s goddaughter.
Just for the record Anza recommended that they go Northeast and hideout, but it was Saito’s decision
to go North and hide in the forest.
After searching for a good defendable point, for several days, they find one and decide to camp. A little longer then a week goes by and during the night the first wave of ninja’s arrive. Anza and Locke awake at the time wakes Saito and the girl. Before they can set up any defense, four darts come streaking into their hideout. Valiantly Saito jumps in from of the girl and takes two critical attacks in the back and saves her. Locke and Anza sidestep their darts. That gave the four ninja time to enter their hideout from the top. While landing they made an attack on our heroes.
This is what happened with each person:
Saito:
Two ninja fall down from the top attacking. Smiling, Saito leads off with an anti-air Gatotsu. His attack is on mark, but the ninja gets the last laugh. He has a metal plate on his arm that deflects most of the force of the attack. Saito lands and now has to deal with two ninja’s.
Anza:
Anza begins casting a spell. Sidestepping the initial attack from the air, he casts Spirit Bomb. Basically in this case seven “spirits” are summoned and streak towards their targets and explode. Anza sends four on attacker one for Saito and two on the second one. He saves the last two for the one who dared to attack him. The first four hit the ninja hard and blow him sky high. The second ninja saw what happened and threw a surikan at one of the spirits and blew that one up, missing the second one he gets hit. This gives Saito the time break he needs to disperse some Shin-Sen Gumi Justice. The last two spirits attack the third ninja. He manages to throw a surikan and destroy one, but gets hit by the second one and is dispatched.
Saito:
Going back to Saito’s attack first before we go to Locke. The ninja attacks Saito with his sword. Saito easily dodges it and does a form of one of his zero-stance attacks and sends him flying. The third ninja dies.
Locke:
Locke dodges the ninja’s attack. Looking down and he sees the ninja hunched over sword in the ground. So he powers up his aura palm internal energy attack and blows his head up. BOOMB
The group runs into the night to another good defensible spot they had found during the first week. While going there Anza suddenly realized something important, they are in an area noted for spirit and hopping vampire activity. Not wanting to deal with any of that they head West. Another stupid move because now they are in an area even more dangerous than before. 1) Every animal, creature is a venomous creature 2) more supernatural creatures and 3) there is a mercenary called Poison who lives here. He is one of the named martial artists who can be bought. His specialty is poison.
Avoiding the area south of that, which happens to be home to a population of Naga’s, they head east. They travel out side of a town and Anza goes into town to get much needed supplies. While in town, his horse gets cursed by some unknown person. The curse basically is a piece of paper stuck on the bottom of the horse. If the paper is removed then the horse will turn into a zombie and attack the party. If they don’t either kill the horse or somehow break the curse then the horse will follow Anza and become a beacon for the bad guys. With a lot of luck, Anza transfers the curse to another horse. That way the horse will now follow that other horse sending them on their merry way Anza decides to use his energy and try and sense if there is any one around watching them. Sure enough several people are detected. Darts come flying in trying to kill the girl and her horse. The darts that were aimed for her horse hit it and kill it. Saito jumps up and tries to shield the girl and Locke uses his internal energy and creates a wave to deflect the darts. Not wanting to risk fighting they just run deeper into the forest. Along the way they can tell they are being followed, but can do nothing to stop it.
At this point they realize that right now they are being tested. What the enemy is trying to do is find out the strengths and weaknesses of the party are before they send an all out attack. They have a lose idea on Saito, still kinda clueless on Anza, but know how to deal with Locke. This was proven several days later.
While playing hide and seek in the forest, the party was heading toward a mountain range to try and hide from their pursuers. Suddenly (I think you get the idea) arrows come streaking out from within the forest. Again Saito tries and protects the girl, Anza sidesteps his and Locke does his energy wave. What’s different about these arrows you ask. Well, they are explosive tipped. (Ouch) Locke first sidesteps the arrows that attacked him, and manages to deflect the ones after the girl, but this time he senses an internal energy build up close by. Three energy balls from different directions begin to converge upon him. Anza steps up and deflects one with his hands and luckily Locke gets away from the other two. But his victory is short lived when several more energy balls are sent his way. Having nothing else to do he creates a shield and braces for impact. BOOM.
Anza, creates several more spirit bombs and sends them flying in all directions causing a lot of explosions and smoke. Using this distraction, the party again runs way. Anza supporting Locke as they run away.
Several more days pass and they are about three days away from the three weeks mark. Realizing they can’t take these hit and run attacks any longer. Anza gets divine inspiration and uses his create weather talent. Putting as much Karma as he can afford into it, he creates a huge storm with fog, rain, lightning and strong winds. Having a general idea where the enemy is at, he calls lightning down in that area, hoping to strike a few bad guys along the way. Under the cover of the storm, manage to get a good distance away from their pursuers and manage to make it to a town on the third week. Tired and hungry, they stop at a restaurant and have a good dinner. (Inside joke about eating at this restaurant) Buying four more horses, they decide to head toward Saito’s hometown. As they are about to leave the town, a blizzard comes out of nowhere. (This is the middle of fall, there should be no snow yet) Forced to use internal energy they somehow manage to keep not only themselves warm, but also the girl and the horses. The blizzard lasts for about two minutes before it suddenly stops. A lone figure steps out and with a sigh of relief from the party it is Ilandra. She tells them there about twenty frozen assassins somewhere over there and if the party wants, they can vent out some frustration. Saito jumps at the chance.
Later, she gives her thanks and gives each member of the party a little information to help them on each of their individual quests they are on. Wow that was a big week.
Saito, Anza, and Locke head back to Saito’s hometown to pick my Saito’s housekeeper Kagura (aka Megumi) so she can take part in the Rites of Initiation. Along the way they spot two lone travelers. Sensing trouble, Locke and Anza jump into the trees along the side of the road and keep up with Saito. When Saito meets with the two travelers, there is a brief exchange between the two. (I must add that Saito was not in true form and he was having trouble with his spewing, you know the standard B-S’ing) After the taunts, Saito challenged one of the two in one on one combat. In what seemed like a long exchange of near misses, Saito finally struck home and quickly killed his opponent. Saito quickly challenged his next opponent and the second fight began. This time the fighting only lasted for a short time and Saito was again victorious. After examining the bodies and reflecting on the style the used to fight, Saito determined that his attackers were from Heaven’s Gold. The rest of the trip was uneventful to Saito’s house.
After spending the night at Saito’s house, they escort Kagura to the main capital so she can take part in the Rites of Initiation. Along the way they met four other travelers. The strangers stop the group and issue a challenge to Saito and his companions. (Another one of Saito’s many enemies) More spewing between the two groups and the next thing we know Kagura Gatotsu’s one of the attackers. Skewering him with her sword, she sends him back at least ten feet leaving behind a trail of blood until she finally stops moving with the body still on her sword. While everyone stared at Kagura, Anza quickly attacked his opponent hitting him with his staff in the neck. Taking advantage of the opening, Anza followed up with one of his special attacks and struck him in the head, causing it blow up. As the blood and guts landed, Saito not wanting to be shown off, charges his target with his Gatotsu and skewers him in the chest with destructive force. The impact was so great that his lower body was left behind as Saito ran over twenty feet with the upper body still on his sword. As the dust was settling, Locke powered up his aura palms and fired two energy balls at the last target. This one was a little more slippery and he dodged the attack. Taking a quick look around and seeing all his friends dead in the first round, he threw down a smoke bomb and ran into the forest. Not wanting him to get away unscathed, Anza launched a spirit bomb to cause enough damage to make him limp back home.
The group gets to the capital with the rest of the trip uneventful.
At the complex that holds the Rites of Initiation, Saito quickly debriefs Kagura about what is going on and that some people may try to harm her to get back at him. Smiling she says not to worry, she can handle it. Over the next several days, Kagura shows her true talents and excels in most of the events. For some unknown reason so kids are forced out of the competition due to severe injuries. The officials seemed to keep their eye on Kagura, but keep their distance since they had no proof of her doing anything wrong. I might add this was the first time anyone saw Saito brought to tears as he said “That’s my girl.” Nearing the end of the competition, a young boy was forced out due to two broken legs. He was the son of Maki, a Shinto Priest. And her husband, Mando, a martial artist. What makes these two people special is they are heads of the Temple of the Red Richous Heaven cult. Anza later senses that Maki is placing a curse on Kagura. Quickly he informs Saito of the situation and along with Locke go to deal Shin Sen Gumi justice on those two.
Saito bursts through the door to their private box with his Gatotsu and targets the male. Mando only had enough time to use his internal energy and try and stop the blade from cutting through him, but the blade still barely pierced his chest. The force of the attack pushed him and Saito through the wall of the next booth until they finally stopped. While Saito was still applying pressure, Locke entered next and followed them through the hole and darted to the side of Saito, readying his aura palms, he angled his attack hitting Mando from the back with a sustained energy blast. Massive amounts of internal energy was being built up causing Saito and Locke to raise their internal energy shields as Mando began sending out energy shock waves. While this energy buildup was going on, Anza ran through the hole and charged Maki. Quickly stopping her curse, she tried to set up a defense, but Anza caught her buy surprise and launched a devastating attack to her head, which caused her head to explode. Her brain was splattered all over the room.
In the next room, Saito was in back in true form taunting his Mando. Finally he pissed of Mando enough that caused him to release almost all of his internal energy. Locke was heard asking Saito that maybe you shouldn’t taunt him anymore since he will overload and die anyway. Saito ignored that statement and taunted him one last time about his dead wife and sure enough Mando expelled all his internal energy causing massive energy waves and massive damage to both Saito and Locke. Locke was sent flying through the room, but Saito just stood there and took it. After flash of light from the internal energy died down, Mando’s body had disintegrated. Locke and Saito where now forced to take a long vacation.
It should be noted that Kagura passed her Rites of Initiation with flying colors and through a brilliant display of fighting techniques won the martial arts tournament. Something that even her master Saito was not able to do.
Locke and Saito did a little scouting mission inside the compound under the guise of selling medicine. (Ruroni Kenshin fans take note the signifigance of Saito going to someones home selling medicine) After getting a tour of the place and the idea of numbers, they caught back up with Anza and prepared to attack at night.
It was decided that Saito would walk up to the door and order the cult disband. When reaching the doors, the guards pretty much fled the scene. (Saito is known to be someone who don't want to mess around with in this part of the country.) As the guards fled, Anza fired off his Spirit bombs and killed them as they fled. (Why leave someone alive who hates you and can grow stronger.) Saito kicked the doors down and walked in. Walking into the main hall, guards quickly came and for the most part did not want anything to do with him. After a brief verbal exchange with the guard in charge, Saito leaped and cut his head off. Not wasting any time most of the remaining guards fled the compound. Again Anza was more then willing to summon more Spirit Bombs and made sure they would not rejoin another cult. The remaining four guards were quickly tied up and at the request of Locke not killed but sent to jail. But not before Anza could get the information he needed to take the cults funds and make sure their "evil books" would not fall into the wrong hands. Saito set some charges and then destroyed the complex. The rest of the evening was spend trying to find a way to destroy another one of Saito's enemies. Next week will have the battle with the house.
**** It should be noted that the family is noted for their eagle like attacks. A lot of their moves are based on air attacks and limb breaking moves. They curl their fingers to simulate eagle claws which inflict massive amounts of damage which you will witness later.******
The day of the death match arrived. The battle was to take place in an isolated, plain area. The location was right in the middle of an air tunnel. As Anza and the others walked into the combat area, he noticed real bad mojo working here. It seemed that the other side got their Daoist priest to stack the cards in their favor. And I don’t mean just some minuses on the rolls, but using smaller Karma dice and for everyone but Anza getting Karma burn when using just one Karma dice As they walked to their side of the stage, they saw that the other family brought fifty extra men with them. I guess that was just in case they wanted to attack in mass if things did not go well.
First up was Kagura, she was to face the number one son (we’ll just call him number 1). Number 1 quickly positioned himself with his back to the son and repeated attacked from the air. Suffering some minor scratches, Kagura reversed the side she was on so he would lose the sun advantage. While Number 1 was in the jumping into the air, Kagura used an anti air gatotsu and let go of her sword (don’t worry it is a normal practice for this move). Then, reaching behind her she reached for her collapsible spear and opened it up ready for the next attack. After a series of attacks, she was finally able to get the advantage and killed Number 1, only suffering a broken arm, leg and some scratches. The crowd on the other side was stunned. The father in a fit of anger quickly charged the stage and was preparing to hit her with his deathblow. Saito quickly charged the stage in an effort to save his housekeeper, but it looked like he was going to arrive to late. Anza quickly prepared a levitating spell and shot her into the air. Locke, powered up his internal energy and shot a double aura palm at the father. The father just bated the aura palms aside redirecting it into his own people. As Kagura was being lifted into the air, this gave Saito the chance to leap into the air and push her to safety, unfortunately for Saito the father continued his attack and struck him in the ribs, crushing a few in the process. Locke ran up to the stage and grabbed Kagura from Saito giving him a chance to defend himself. Now in a stare down Saito taunts the father by spitting on his dead son and issuing a challenge. The father retaliated by creating an energy wave so powerful that it tore up part of the stage and even though Saito dodged the brunt of the wave, he still suffered a serious leg wound. Turning around the father left saying we’ll have our turn later.
Next up was Anza and the Captain of the Guard.
They each walked on the stage and moved to opposite sides. While the Captain stood there, Anza took the liberty to stretch out a little. Finally after a few moments, Anza got into his stance and the battle began. The Captain quickly charged Anza so fast that there was no way Anza could keep up with the attack. Basically in the blink of an eye the Captain was gone. Trying to set up a screen, Anza quickly cast Sprit Bomb and set them up in formation around him. But that did not hold the Captain back. Luckly Locke and Kagura where able to see the Captain and they yelled out that he jumped in the air and is coming down. Anza quickly dodged the attack. As the Captain struck the ground, the ground around him shattered from his Eagle Talon Attack. Quickly taking the advantage, Anza grabbed the Captain’s arm and tried to do his version of the Eagle Claw. Before the move could be applied properly, the Captain bent his body and launched a vicious kick aimed at Anza’s head. Unfortunately Anza could not dodge in time and got smacked hard on the head, lucky for him he had his internal shield on which took most of the damage. While still holding onto the Captain’s arm, the Captain was able to get up and get a hold of Anza’s arm. Not wasting anytime, they both crushed each other’s arms rendering them useless. Taking a couple of steps back, they quickly survey the damage done to each other’s arms. Anza, clearly suffering the most damage from the exchange. Wanting a little breathing room, Anza launches his internal energy multi burst attack missing badly. Taking this opportunity, the Captain again charges in. This time Anza charges toward the Captain both preparing their death moves. Surprisingly they both miss. Circling, they come at it again, this time they both hit. As they run past each other Anza’s chest opens spilling massive amounts of blood and falls. At the same time the Captain’s internal system begins to turn to mush and his back explodes spilling massive amounts of blood and guts as he falls. Anza makes his recovery tests and is dragged off the stage. Their match ends in a draw.
Satio vs the Father, Head of the Household
Not wasting any time, the Father quickly powers up all his energy. A yellow glow envelops him, energy crackling. Saito now forced to do the same powers up also. In an all or nothing charge they move towards each other like lightning. With a bright flash and the sound of an explosion, they both hit each other with all their power. A sword going through the Father and huge claw marks cover Saito’s body. Both standing, neither willing to fall even in death. Afterwards, Saito is bandaged up and after his recovery tests will survive it also.
Locke and the 2nd youngest brother
At the urging of Saito (the player not the character) Locke basically intimidated the other son into not fighting. (poorly, I might add) Locke gave the son a way out to not fight and still look honorable at the same time.
After gathering the weapons and martial arts books, the group took another long vacation.
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