BLOOD OF THE DEMON MOON CULT SESSION XI: THE WIND OF THE DEMON EMPEROR

This is the campaign log for the eleventh session of a google+run Wandering Heroes of Ogre Gate campaign. The previous session is described HERE. 

Note: I am running two campaigns in the same setting and treating them as occurring in different realities with some vague similarities. Characters in one may appear in the other, but there are no direct causal effects from one campaign to the next. Partly this is to playtest, but this is also partly due to the multi-dimensional aspect of the universe I run all my games in. It would theoretically be possible for the party from the Blood of the Demon Moon cult campaign to dimension travel to the Secret of Je Valley Campaign, in which case direct interactions could occur (and they could even meet their counterparts in the alternate dimension). This was a one-player session. 

CHARACTERS

Player Characters

Mofeng: A young wandering Hero who is frequently at odds with his traveling companion Zhang Wan

Zhang Wan (Bone Breaker): An unpredictable and violent martial expert who is the brother of Zhang San. Third chief of Qui Pan Bandits

Zhang San: A wandering hero and sister of Zhang Wan, more calm than her brother

Chen: A poisoner and healer known for his lazy ways.

Key NPCs

Jade Priestess: Bone Breaker's Sifu and former member of the Demon Moon Cult

Jade Butterfly: San's Sifu

Prince Yuan: Son of the King of Li Fan, controls the eastern territories.

General Dee: An important military commander in Hu Qin who pays Bone Breaker for services

Iron Spear Tip: A magic weapon with a mind of its own, the bride of Zhang Kang.

THE WIND OF THE DEMON EMPEROR

Bone Breaker began preparations to go west and retrieve the head of Vaagu. He also awaited the arrival of the Senior Grand Councilor Cai Yuanyu.

He planned to bring 300 men with him initially but Jade Priestess was concerned this wasn't enough. Even the 600 he could muster wouldn't be able to deal with the thousands of Kailin horse riders they'd face at Vaagu. She had been conducting research and was aware of another gift the Demon Emperor could bestow that would help them defeat an army but the cost would be his arm. Bone Breaker thought about it and decided to perform the ritual. Jade Priestess cut off his right arm and he awoke a day or two later. Jade Priestess explained that she had made an appeal asking for him to be given the Wind of the Demon Emperor. He was vaguely aware that the power resided in him and could be used once per lunar cycle to wipe an army with air from his lungs. He also knew that it had to be a proper battle for the gift to work.

Before he left, the Senior Grand Councilor came to the Ogre Gate Inn and stayed in camp outside. Bone Breaker met with him and discussed his plans. He also revealed that he had cut off his arm and lost years of his life in service to the demon emperor. The Senior Grand Councilor was impressed and explained that his aims were much grander than what Bone Breaker had in mind. He wanted to "invert heaven" by restoring the Demon Emperor. He believed it was fate that brought them together, because the Face of Vaagu was a key part of his plan. He instructed Bone Breaker to refrain from taking the face to Reckless Storm (his initial intent) and instead take it to the badlands of Yao, where they would meet again. The Senior Grand Councilor promised to handle Reckless Storm personally and to look into the matter of Bone Breaker's curtailed life span (he couldn't make any promises but said he would see if a solution existed).

The Senior Grand Councilor told him to go to General Dee before heading west. He promised the general would present him with the Seal of the Demon Emperor as a reward for his service (a device that enables teleportation).

In Yuzhing, Bone Breaker found General Dee's residence partially burned. The general explained that they had set an ambush for some meddlesome heroes, who managed to escape. Bone Breaker offered to track them down and kill them when he had time. The General was grateful and gave him the Seal of the Demon Emperor. 

Bone Breaker also asked the general for advice about marriage. The General suggested he consider marrying the daughter of an important sect leader, or perhaps the Little Venom of Zhaoze sect (whose father was a well known poisoner and martial expert). 

After meeting with General Dee, Bone Breaker returned to Ogre Gate Inn. From there he headed west and took nearly 600 men with him. He also brought a significant store of Divine Powder and Jade Priestess. They marched for seventeen days and finally reached the plains north of the Kailing Desert. There a tall and narrow stone formation rose high into the sky, the tip resembling a giant human head. This was the face of Vaagu.

At the base of the Face of Vaagu was a Kailng encampment of about six thousand men. Bone Breaker approached, instructing Jade Priestess to command and prepare the forces in case anything went wrong. He had Sand Demon Burrow beneath the camp and asked if he could meet with their leader. They took him to the tent of Princess Samga, who was flanked by guards and sitting on a raised platform and throne. He said he wanted to work something out, that he needed to borrow the Face of Vaagu.

This infuriated the Princess who immediately rejected the idea. Bone Breaker told her not to be hasty and signaled Sand Demon who sucked one of her men below the sand. Princess Samga promised to kill Bone Breaker, so he signaled Sand Demon to attack her. It burrowed beneath her and tried to drag her below the sand, but she flipped in the air and evaded its clutches. Bone Breaker then unleashed Spear Tip on Samga, which went threw her stomach and out the other side.

Princess Samga leapt forward to knee him in the jaw but he spinning back kicked her and she crashed back on her throne, nearly dead. As Samga's men formed a line to protect her, Bone Breaker heard the sounds of war outside the tent.

He used Spear Tip to threaten Princess Samga's life and took her hostage. Then he went outside and keeping the spear tip against her throat calmed the battle. The Kailin let him retreat with the princess to his side during the lull in fighting.

He took Samga to Jade Priestess, and they debated a course of action. He decided to unleash the wind on the Kailin. Inhaling deeply, Bone Breaker blew a hot breeze across the encampment and watched as it tore away the soldier's flesh, leaving heaps of bone in its wake. This sent a murmur of fear through the ranks of his own men, but they quickly fell into line once he commanded them to take the Face of Vaagu. At first they tried to scale the rock formation so they could use Divine Powder to precisely explode beneath the head. However stone shapes attacked anyone who got more than fifty feet up and dozens of his men fell to their deaths. Instead Bone Breaker opted to blow up the base of the rock formation.

When the Divine Powder was lit, there was an enormous blast and the Face of Vaagu came crashing to the ground, releasing a huge plume of dust and debris. Concerned that the Kailing settlement to the south would hear or see what happened, they quickly began dragging the face back the way they came. Bone Breaker also took the Princess with him and wrote a ransom letter to the leader of the Kailin, demanding he personally come to the Badlands with a quantity of wealth sufficient to reclaim the princess.

It took nearly a month but they reached the badlands. This is where the session ended.