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Player Characters:
Shen Chun
Little Bai
Silent Dagger
Ong Lao
Min (Feiyan)
Disciples of the Sect:
Red Eagle (Little Bai)
Mount Dao/Biggest Sister (Little Bai)
Filial Cricket (Little Bai)
Dim-Witted Chen (Shen Chun)
Sects:
The Righteous Outlaws
Calamity Star
Ou Jinghzhu
Tea Master Houzhou
Stone Palace Sect (Also called Golden Way)
A gambling hall and criminal network in Yun Hu. Currently under control of party, with Weeping Lotus managing it. They've absorbed many other sects into this organization including Crocodile Sect, Blades of the Weeping Lotus, Temple of the Jade Mercies, Relentless Corpse Sect and more. Recently they joined with Relentless Corpse again when Shen Chun arranged a marriage with their leader Da Mei Mei.
Members:
Shen Chun (King)
Da Mei Mei (Queen)
Weeping Lotus (Right Vanguard)
Silent Dagger
Feng (Accountant)
Gu (Head Chef)
Little Bai
Min
Scholar Shen (a scholar who has been writing a story about Little Bai's life)
Dancing Scorpions
Criminal network in Yun Hu
Relentless Corpse Sect
Da Mei Mei
Temple of the Jade Mercies (see Stone Palace)
Abbot Wei Zhao
Abbess Bao-Yu
Yao Tu-On
Yao Chun
Yao Ba
Southern Hill Sect
Yellow Mantis
White Chysanthemum
Green Mantis (Dead but important)
Twin-Fisted Eagle Sect
Twin Fisted Eagle
Jade Fist
Bone Breaking Sect
Destroyed and taken over by Drunken Hero Kang
Glorious Death Cult
Led by Supreme Master Tung, who says he is a god of death
YUN HU
Ong and Min left Xiaomin in Yun Hu and went to the Jade Temple south of the city so Ong could learn more about Gushan. When they arrived, they entered and heard a heavy chanting that wore down their bodies. Ong followed the sound to a chamber where the nuns established by Temple of the Jade Mercies were continuing to chant in an effort to break apart the massive jade deposit. The Gushan statue that was in the chamber had been completely destroyed by the chanting, laying in shattered pieces on the ground.
Speaking with the head abbess, Ong was given one of the remaining fragments that had a head. Later he found a small one that was somewhat intact as well. Once he had these they headed back to Yun Hu to help Xiaomin, but before leaving he summoned a storm and listened to the Gushan head speak. Very faintly it whispered "The answer is on the feet".
When they returned to Yun Hu, they asked Xiaomin for more information. She seemed embarrassed and reluctantly showed Min in private that on her foot was a tattoo of five satchels. Ong knew that the Nature Loving Monks used satchels to mark rank, so they found a beggar in the city, and offered to buy him food.
The beggar took Ong to a nearby restaurant and began ordering a large number of dishes. The bill for the meal was hundreds of spades, but the beggar answered his questions. He said that all beggars carry satchels, and the number denotes rank. But the only man with five satchels that he knew of was Hong Mai the arrogant apothecary. The beggar told Ong that Hong Mai was a high ranking member of their 'clean clothes division' and pointed to his shop down the road.
They went to Hong Mai's shop, the Banyan Sage, and asked him if he knew who Xiaomin's father was, explaining that she came from Purple Lotus Temple. He told them that he didn't always have five satchels and that if the tattoo was related to rank in the sect, it was likely someone else.
They asked for his help. He was reluctant initially and it was clear in their interaction that he looked down upon the regular beggars. He thought for a moment and said "Perhaps if you do something for me, I can shed light on this lady's parentage."
Ong and Min asked what he wanted and he said "That filthy beggar, Ping Wu carries a letter or decree. I would like you to steal this letter and bring it to me. I promise to tell you everything I know at that point. You can find him quite easily sleeping in a cave down by the canal"
They said they were friends of the beggars and didn't want to steal anything, but would go speak with him. Hong Mai tried to talk them into doing his bidding, but they were wary of his aims. He rapidly changed the subject to the sale of some Banyan Sage Root and they left for the cave with Xiaomin.
When they reached the cave, they waited and Ping Wu soon approached. He paused, looked at them cautiously and asked who they were.
Ong, who had been preparing food by a fire, looked up and offered him a bowl of rice.
"How do I know that isn't poisoned?" He asked.
Ong took a large bite of rice and swallowed. Ping Wu smiled and sat down to eat with him. They asked him if he knew who Xiaomin's father might be. He said he couldn't.
They explained that she was brought to Purple Lotus Temple as a child, and had five satchels tattooed on her foot.
"Someone obviously wanted to get rid of her," he said.
They told him it was clear someone in his sect was her father.
"No one in my sect would have such an ugly child!*" He replied.
People did not tend to perceive Xiaomin as ugly, so this claim seemed outrageous to Ong and Min. The more they pushed on the matter, the more belligerent he became, so they finally sent Xiaomin away and tried to reason with him. He flatly refused to help them, and asked them to leave, taking their 'bitter rice' with them.
They took her back to the sect, and waited for the party to return.
YAO GONG PALACE
The rest of the party traveled to Yao Gong Palace with Chao to find the Purple Spirit Manual. On the way they stopped in Shin Yu and found an old man at a lean-to offering his guide services. They agreed on 15 spades a day, he gathered his things and lead them into the mountains. On the first day from Shin Yu, a thick cloud descended upon them and grew heavier with each passing day until it was a glassy purple haze.
They walked up a winding pathway with steep descents on either side. The fog obscured their vision, and continued to intensify, despite the aridity of the area. Jade Priestess fell and tumbled to a ledge, but managed to climb back up. She and Silent Dagger tied a rope to each other for extra safety. Chao had everyone rip their robes at the shoulder so they could identify each other in a fight if need be.
When they got to the entrance of Yao Gong (a deep underground temple) they found the door smashed in and bodies of nuns all around. Little Bai led the way. He passed through a archway with a phoenix and a ghostly creature emptied from the arch to attack. They smashed the stone of the arch as the creature attacked. When the arch was destroyed, the creature faded.
At the end of a long hall, Silent Dagger found a trail of blooding leading down winding stairs. A floating paper lantern bobbed in the air like a squid in water and tried to land on his head. Chao countered its descent with an arrow, and Silent Dagger sliced the lantern in half. A severed head slipped from the lantern.
They continued to explore, eventually coming a bridge over a river over mercury. Naturally everyone was fearful and used whatever abilities they had to get over safely (leaping, flight, walking on air, etc). Chao approached the river to inspect it, but a lashing arm came at him like a wave, wrapping around his throat and pouring mercury down his mouth. The others came to his aid and cut it down. But his left arm soon hardened and the transformed into a silvery substance.
Silent Dagger suggested that he and Little Bai use their superior Qinggong to explore the rest of the complex while the rest of the group remained safely behind.
They made their way through several chambers, at one point fending off a swarm of golden mercies. Eventually they came upon a lake of mercury, with a massive rise of gemstone in the center that appeared to imprison figures within its surface. Silent Dagger used Swift Stride to appear on an opposing ledge in a blink. Little Bai tried walking upon the air with his Fearless Stride of the Storm ability, but came crashing down into the lake. Initially he stayed upright, but quickly his body succumbed to the strange density and he struggled to fall face up rather than face down in the liquid metal. Silent Dagger flew over and pulled him out with a rope. He seemed okay and they continued on the ledge.
They came to a sealed gate, and bolts of lightning rained down upon them. Little Bai was hit directly but unharmed.
A cackle was heard of the lake.
Fearless Cat appeared, looking like a misty figure hanging in the air. She was holding the Purple Phoenix Manual in her hand.
"Your people want this?" She said.
Silent Dagger tried to negotiate an exchange, but she waved her hand and it vanished in a swirl of fog.
"Tell your leader, he is to come to the House of Paper Shadows, alone, if he wishes to have this. I do not wish to kill his men again."
Then she vanished.
Realizing what they came for wasn't there, they trekked back toward Yun Hu to decide what to do next. They carried Chao across desert, wastes and plains as his other arm, then his legs, turned to mercury.
YUN HU
The party returned to Yun Hu they went to their physician and he began a two-day process to expel the mercury from Chao's body. Then they spoke with Min and Chao who explained their adventures in the south, their time at Purple Lotus Temple and their efforts to find Xiaomin's father.
They introduced Xiaomin to Shen Chun and Da Mei Mei. When he asked why she wanted to join, Xiaomin said that the temple nuns said her temperament wasn't suited to the worship of Hen-Shi, and that Stone Palace Sect (not Sect of the Golden Way) seemed like a more suitable fit for her personality.
They had her spar with Little Bai as a friendly match to test her skills. She unleashed a storm of daggers, which he repelled. But she blocked his attacks with her Iron Body. Shen Chun stopped the match once he saw her abilities.
He accepted her as a member of the sect and asked Da Mei Mei if she wanted a new disciple.
"I don't have time for a pet" she said.
Shen Chun then asked the rest of the room and ultimately Silent Dagger agreed, with Jade Priestess' permission, to take her as a student.
After she was inducted, Ong offered some of his services in exchange for help forming a temple of Gushan. They talked about other possibilities as well.
They decided to go to Bone Kingdom, to speak with Kang about the competition and to (possibly) abduct someone there named Zhendao. Before they left, Little Bai was summoned by Filial Cricket, who pointed to a wealthy lacquer broker winning at one of the tables.
"That man is cheating," He said. "He won nearly a million spades already."
"Cheating is a truly deceptive practice" said Little Bai. "I'll go talk to him".
Little Bai went over and said "I am the countable of Goaxing and you've been cheating. This is a grave offense, so I am going to detain you for questioning."
The man protested that Little Bai's authority didn't extend to Yun Hu, and said he had many powerful friends in Gaoxing, but Little Bai grabbed him by the arms and pulled him into a back room.
There he was questioned by Shen Chun and Silent Dagger. They checked the dice he was using and found them loaded. He said he was framed, but once they threatened to kill him, he immediately confessed.
They promised to let him live if he gave them his lacquer brokerage services for free and submitted to a public humiliation so everyone would know that Stone Palace didn't abide cheating.
They placed his hands on a table in the common area and announced his crime. Then they plunged two daggers into his hands. He screamed.
Sheepishly and in pain, the man gathered his wives and left to return to Gaoxing.
BONE KINGDOM
On the way to Bone Kingdom, Ong summoned another storm far off from the party and listened to the Gushan head speak. It said "Someone loses a head". He informed the party of the prophecy and they decided to avoid dealing with the Zhendao situation, and instead make the visit entirely about inviting Kang to the tournament.
When the party reached Bone Kingdom they asked for a meeting with Kang. They were led into his courtyard where he had hundreds of men, several heroes and a boy. The boy scowled at them.
"We would like to invite you to a competition on the first of the Demon Moon", Shen Chun said.
Kang offered to send a champion, but they mocked him for this and Little Bai suggested it was cowardly for the leader of the martial world not to fight for himself a grand tournament.
Kang eventually relented and said he would attend. They also pressured him to put his champion against their's. Again he was reluctant, but gave in when they hounded him with accusations of cowardice.
A Kushen woman named Ho'elen stepped forward and met Little Bai.
"It is my custom to let women strike first, so you may have the first strike," He said.
She wasted no time and summoned a cloud of swords that threaded to impale him. He used Eyes of the Formless Interception to find the weakness in her attack, then deflected it back upon her.
He then leapt at her with Blade of the Dancing Fox, carving into her with his sword.
She responded by clutching his throat with a ghostly hand and suddenly Little Bai seemed to age ten years.
In a rage, Little Bai said "Give me back my ten years of life" and flew at her with another series of strikes.
After the exchange, Kang tried to end the match, saying they should call it a draw before someone dies. However Shen Chun did not agree. With encouragement from Silent Dagger, Little Bai pressed again, impaling the woman through the chest and slicing open her belly.
Kang was visibly angry, slamming his hand on his chair he said "I will pay this back tenfold, be gone from my sight. We will meet at the tournament."
They left rather quickly.
Soon Kang appeared on the edge of the wall of Bone Kingdom.
"I have something for you," he said throwing Ho'elen's head at the group.
Silent Dagger caught the head and chucked it back, which Kang also caught.
"Ten fold!" He said.
This is where the session ended.
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