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Player Characters:
Shen Chun
Hidden Arrow
Bao Yang
Chao Feng
Wei Ruomei
Sects:
The Righteous Outlaws
Calamity Star
Ou Jinghzhu
Tea Master Houzhou
Relentless Corpse Sect
Relentless Corpse Queen
Da Mei Mei
Bone Breaking Sect
Bone Breaker
San
Chen
Fearless Cat
This session the party was split in two different locations at the start of the session and by the end they were divided into three groups. This is indicated by headers.
The City of Chen
Most of the party was still in the Banyan, trying to arrange a meeting with Calamity Star in the city of Chen. They were doing this to appease their ally Relentless Corpse Queen who had a grudge with a woman named Left-Handed Maiden and was one of three people masquerading as a bandit leader named Calamity Star. Last session they had also learned through their contacts that their own sect leader, Bone Breaker had died in a battle in Hu Qin. Since then their sect had been usurped by a man named Drunken Hero Kang. The party decided to arrange a meeting with Calamity Star at Hu Shang Temple through one of her men that they had captured (Ou Jinghzhu).
Before the meeting, Hidden Arrow received news that Fearless Cat had been killed. He shared additional information sent to him by a contact that the body of Bone Breaker had been taken to the House of Paper Shadows and his spirit maintained with a Dragon Coin. According to Hidden Arrow, if they could obtain an object called the Ding Vessel of Yu from the Seven Blood Cave Alliance in the Hanging Valley of the Dead, it might be possible to resurrect Bone Breaker. However he was slowly turning into a Phoenix Ghost so time was not on their side.
They went to the temple and were shown to an audience hall where they spoke with a woman claiming to be Left-Handed Maiden*. The party suggested many possible arrangements and even had to request a moment of privacy to debate the best course of action. This led to a hotly contested discussion over whether they should work with or against Corpse Queen.
They eventually proposed that if she help them retake their sect, they would tell Relentless Corpse Queen that she had been killed. She had originally requested they help her kill Relentless Corpse Queen, some seriously seemed to consider the offer (possibly with the aim of betraying Calamity Star in the final moment) but they settled on faking her death instead. To seal the deal she gave them her sword as evidence and went with them to find Hanging Valley of the Dead.
Chao decided to go north on his own to retake Bone Breaker Sect. This created a big rift in the party. The other party members wanted to resurrect Bone Breaker before trying to retake the sect. So they would go to Hanging Valley of the Dead.
Southern Empire
Bao Yang headed into Li Fan, going to Gaoxing, where he went to physician Liao Cao's Medicine and Acupuncture. He talked Liao Cao into traveling with him as an official physician, where he would be paid on average 25,000 spades per treatment he provided. His food would also be paid for.
The two headed north to investigate a man named Iron God Meng in the city of Tung-On. According to Bao Yang's sources, Iron God Meng had taken over the Golden Way, a pleasure quarter in the city, and had even taken over the Lucky Sword, a gambling hall that formerly belonged to the magistrate's son.
First he went to the Lucky Sword, and walked up five stories to a balcony where he found Iron God Meng enjoying a meal and wine. He made an offer, telling Iron God Meng he should join him and work for Relentless Corpse Queen. When Iron God Meng asked for more details, Bao Yang told him it would involve performing tasks for Relentless Corpse Queen throughout the martial world.
Iron God Meng did not like this arrangement and said he would rather side in his Lucky Sword and earn money on his own. Bao Yang implied he would be sorry if he didn't take up the offer and left.
He then went to Ouyang Wan, the son of the magistrate. He told Wan he intended to take back the Lucky Sword. It was easy for him to talk Wan into paying a large sum for the task.
He then went south and eventually bumped into some bandits who tried to rob him. When he mentioned Relentless Corpse Queen the bandits brought their leader to him, and a deal was struck where the Bandits, for payment, would appear beside him when he went back to the Lucky Sword to face Iron God Meng. However the bandits only had 15 men, so he asked where he could get more and they suggested the Plum Tree Security Company.
He went to a small village and spoke with the chief of the company, who agreed to a fair payment and promised 150 men.
Then Bao Yang went to Iron God Meng again, placed his sword on the table and told him to take the offer.
Iron God Meng was angry and stood his ground, refusing. He then stood up and attacked.
A lengthy combat unfolded between Bao Yang and Iron God Meng, with the latter controlling most of the fight. When Bao Yang would counter with a spinning back kick his leg would get engulfed in Iron God Meng's belly and it was as if a force restrained his leg as his energy was drawn into the man. Then Iron God Meng dug his fingers into Bao Yang's flesh and flung him across the room where he smashed into a pillar. This continued for some time until Bao Yang was so dazed by an attack all he could do was stare blankly into the air.
Hanging Valley of the Dead
Because Li Sou Chao was traveling with them, she knew the location of the gate to Hanging Valley of the Dead in Zhaoze Swamp. The Hanging Valley was a kind of ethereal realm that existed outside the world of man, and required travel through a gate to reach.
They made it to the gate and Li Sou Chao activated it with a ritual, which caused it to fill with red light and expand. They walked through and found themselves in another swamp, with a series of massive fuming peaks to the south.
They headed in that direction until they came to a pine forest and heard the sounds of galloping in the distance. A strange creature with the body of a horse, the torso of a man, but its skin inside out rode toward them and fired an arrow made of bone.
The arrow struck Shen Chun and his skin immediately turned inside and his body began to change. Shen Chun used his invisible thread to ensure the creature while Wei Ruomei leapt at it with her Blade of the Dancing Fox technique. Her claw attacks nearly killed the thing. After the party finished it off, Li Sou Chao told Shen Chun he must eat its heart to reverse the transformation. He ate it without complaint and his body turned back to normal after about twenty minutes (however his skin was bruised all over).
They continued south until they came to the edge of the peaks, where guards in black armor approached them. Hidden Arrow demanded they be taken to seen Marauding Dragon (leader of the Seven Blood Cave Alliance) so they could present him with a gift). The guard summoned chains into the air and they wrapped around the party. He told them they would meet Marauding Dragon but he was taking this precaution.
The party appeared before Marauding Dragon in an audience hall deep inside a mountain cave. He asked them what was the gift they had spoken of.
Hidden Arrow said they had a supremely good gift, a sword that when it was paired with a few other items would make him the greatest martial expert in the world.
Marauding Dragon asked where the weapon was. And Hidden Arrow said it was the River Flowing Sword, on Left-Handed Maiden's person. He grabbed it, and seeing its cross guard was made of pure jade, that the handle was decorated with emeralds and the blade itself made from a strange steel, he nodded. Pleased he said it would make a fine gift for his wife and asked what they wanted.
The party said they needed to borrow his Ding Vessel of Yu. He laughed and said 'everyone wants to borrow the Ding Vessel of Yu'. He could lend it to them if they agreed to perform a task for him in the future. The task would be left unstated until the time came, and whatever it was, they had to do it no matter what. Hidden Arrow agreed on behalf of the party and he summoned the Ding Vessel, telling them it would return automatically to him after it was used.
Bone Fortress
Chao went to Bone fortress with Tea Master Houzhou, Green Carp and a group of Pork Merchants he had met in Zun City. He also hired a man named Blue Handed Snake for 40,000 spades to accompany him. He had Green Carp and Tea Master Houzhou hide inside boxes which he tried to present as a gift to Kang.
At the gates he was greeted by Lingsu, a scholarly looking man who was reluctant to let him in. He offered the boxes and LIngsu believed his story that they were gifts but insisted that they not be brought inside the fortress.
Chao tried to signal to members of the sect he recognized to join with him, but they staunchly gazed forward. He insisted he was Third Chief and wanted his position to be honored by Kang, but Lingsu informed him that the position of Third Chief was filled already.
Eventually he Chao left with his boxes. Later that night he, Tea Master Houzhou and Green Carp snuck into the fortress, but they had been expected and as soon as they leapt into the Bone Fortress courtyard, Kang and his men all came out to greet them.
This is where the session ended.
*Calamity Star is actually three triplet sisters: Left-Handed Maiden, Green Carp and Flying Mercy. They lead the martial world to believe they are one individual and many of their techniques require the three of them to use.
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