Player Characters:
Shen Chun
Little Bai
Silent Dagger
Ong Lao
Min
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
GAOXING
Little Bai arrived in Gaoxing and went to the Red Eagle Wine Shop with two of his disciples, Red Eagle and Biggest Sister. The establishment belonged to Red Eagle and they had come so Little Bai could see it for himself at Red Eagle's suggestion. On their approached Red Eagle said "Something doesn't look right sir."
Coming closer they saw a group of local thugs lazing about the place and bossing customers around. They acted as if they own the place and Red Eagle appeared to be surprised.
Little Bai went inside and spoke to the man who seemed their leader.
"What are you doing here in Red Eagle's Wine Shop?" He asked.
"I already told him, this belongs to Fire Stick Gang now," said the man.
Without a word Little Bai unleashed Sword Whipping Strike, causing all 11 of the men to drop, and leaving the leader staring at him in disbelief with a graze wound across his chest.
"You!" He shouted. "Fire Crow King will beat you for this for sure."
Little Bai told him to have his master come and fight him then sat down to eat.
Red Eagle and Biggest Sister went inside and sat beside him. Red Eagle then began tending to customers after thanking his master.
As they ate, Little Bai saw a distant crow flying toward the wine shop. As it came closer he soon realized it was no crow at all, but a wooden crow with strange devices attached to its belly. It struck his table and exploded with great force, wounding him and several others.
Soon a large man, with fierce eyebrows and a heavy mustache came with 25 men. This was clearly Fire Crow King.
Little Bai flew out into the street and unleashed another Sword Whipping Strike, dropping all of his men but doing little to the man himself.
Fire Crow King then opened his mouth and unleashed a blast of flaming debris upon Little Bai. Little Bai replied with Blade of the Dancing Fox, cutting into Fire Crow King's chest as best he could.
Fire Crow King then pointed his firelance at Little Bai, blasting him with divine fire and swinging the shaft around to strike him in this chest.
Little Bai was growing concerned and decided to end the fight quickly, unleashing a relentless series of stabs, he brought Fire Crow King to the ground.
When the battle was over, Little Bai noticed a crowd around him and an official surrounded by a retinue of men approached.
The official said "I am Magistrate Wuzhan, I am pleased to meet such a hero."
"Well I am Hero Bai,I am going to go drink at the Red Eagle Wine Shop Now." And Little Bai went to the Wine Shop to enjoy more wine and food.
The magistrate followed and humbly presented himself again.
"Hero Bai" said the Magistrate "You are indeed an impressive hero. You handled those men with great skill. I think we could use a man like yourself in Gaoxing."
"What do you mean?"
"I'd like to make you the constable....it won't be easy, I will have to pull some strings since it is doubtful you've passed the exams, but I think I can get you appointed to the position anyways."
"Well, I hear constables solve mysteries," said Little Bai. "If that is what the job is, I'll do it. I want to solve some mysteries."
"Well, yes, mysteries, of course, but your chief responsibility would be to protect me from men like Fire Crow King."
"Okay" said Little Bai.
"Excellent," said the magistrate. "Come to the government quarter soon and you will be given a title and office."
Afterwards Little Bai went back to Stone Palace to prepare for his master's upcoming Wedding.
YUN HU
Shen Chun went with Silent Dagger to speak with Master Zhao. They talked about the impending wedding but came primarily to complain about the jade and Five Dagger Cheng. Five Dagger Cheng had originally offered them 100 Million spades for the jade, and only gave them four. Zhao was deeply concerned and asked if there was another way he could keep them satisfied, as he knew Cheng's personality and didn't want a rivalry between them. He offered to pay them four million more spades which they accepted.
Then they asked about his ninjas.
"Well, they are not my ninjas," said Master Zhao. "If you want, I could arrange a meeting between you and one of my contacts. It is possible they might work with you."
"Excellent," said Shen Chun.
"I will send someone tonight. Just be careful and be polite. They are very useful allies, but you don't want them attacking you if you can avoid it."
Later that night, while Shen Chun was discussing wedding arrangements with Da Mei Mei, a man arrived. He was dressed in armor they had never seen and said his name was Yen Paramizu.
They talked and Paramizu said he could give him ten ninjas, if he brought him the hands of a slave named Zhendao. The slave was last said to be under the protection of Kang of Bone Kingdom. Shen Chun agreed and the man left.
The next day they prepared for the wedding. Guests arrived and included the following:
Baku: a Kushen warrior and representative of Bone Kingdom. Abbess Ren: Representative of Perfect Heaven Lineage.Queen Lu Zhi: Leader of Heiping Sect. Chief Ping Wu: Northern Chief of the Nature Loving Monk SectAbbess Qingyun: A member of tree dwelling nun sect.Little Bai arrived and everyone prepared to leave for the wedding procession from Stone Palace Sect to their new headquarters on Stone Forest Hill (they had been building a villa and complex there for several months).
When they reached the new headquarters they conducted the rites and then had a feast. At the feast the guests each came in turn to express their good wishes, and to mention any concerns their sect had. Most were polite and optimistic about Stone Palace sect. But Abbess Ren pointed an accusing finger at Shen Chun and said "Who orchestrates a wedding on the first day of the Demon Moon?*"
Shen Chun laughed and smiled.
"Your sect failed to attend its own trial out Perfect Heaven Temple," She said. "You were supposed to send Seven-Faced Owl, and he never arrived. This is not through. And I think all present should question Stone Palace's intentions."
Shen Chun dismissed her politely and she left in a huff. When they wedding was done, all retired and the next day, Shen Chun, Silent Dagger and Little Bai, along with a retinue of fifty men and people like Jade Priestess, set out for Gaoxing to learn more about Little Bai's new appointment.
GAOXING
In Gaoxing Little Bai was brought before the magistrate who conferred his title upon him and gave him a medallion. He then was shown his office, which was staffed with ten soldiers and an assistant. The assistant told him there were no cases at the moment. "Okay" said Little Bai. "I have to go off and help my sect, if there are any mysteries, send a message to Stone Palace." The man agreed but appeared somewhat confused.
The group then decided to head south the Banyan to find key allies and recruit people for a martial arts tournament set for a year's time.
THE BANYAN
They first went to Golden Dragon Headquarters and asked to speak with Bronze Master. When they found him, he had a branding on his head with the characters for "Murderer", "Thief" and "Traitor". He was pleasant and polite. They told him of an upcoming tournament and asked if he'd send his best men. He agreed, though he admitted his best men were not great competitors. However in the course of the discussion they tried to work out an arrangement where he would help them spread the word about the tournament if they helped him settle his grudge with Kang of Bone Breaking Kingdom. At first he tried to use his old tricks, appearing righteous and above such concerns, but the branding on his head was obvious to all.
"Look," said Silent Dagger "Shouldn't you dispense with this facade at this point?"
Laughing, Bronze Master said "I can see you have and I share a villainous core. Okay, I would like to see Kang pay for branding my forehead. And if he happens to get branded by a just court, himself, to me that would be most suitable."
Silent Dagger promised to work out the details and they left on good terms. Then they headed to Purple Cavern Sect. On the way they were attacked by Yakshas. It was still the demon moon and such creatures are plentiful at this time. The Yakshas swarmed their men and drew out their life blood with long sharp claws.
In all they lost twenty five men but the party was able to kill the Yakshas. Da Mei Mei instructed the men to recover the Yaksha bones for further use.
When they reached Purple Cavern, they appeared in a hall before Lady Plum Blossom. They flattered her and convinced her to send her best person to their tournament. When she agreed, they politely bid her farewell and headed deeper into the Banyan jungle.
From there they went in search of the Hua Pi tribe. They soon found men wearing human skins and determined they were Hua Pi. They were told that an offering of human skin was the usually way to speech with their chief. They promised something better and were allowed an audience in their encampment.
They spoke with Chief Ong. They promised him land in Hai'an (the former holdings of the Crocodile Sect) if he pledged men. He said he had 75 warriors. He seemed to think they were helping him invade a portion of Hai'an. He asked about the Queen and they promised to assist him if she gave any trouble.
Very pleased, Ong agreed. They asked for a demonstration. He brought forth his champion, Bungert. Bungert fought against Little Bai and demonstrated some skill but was swiftly defeated.
When they formally agreed, Chief Ong said "Let us feast, Bungert's weakness will make us all strong."
Bungert's body was dragged from the tent and roasted upon a fire. When he was served, only Shen Chun dined and Little Bai dined upon the meat, finding it invigorated their bodies.
This is where the session ended.
*The demon moon is an unlucky time for humanity and a period when wicked supernatural forces are at their peak. This is not usually regarded as an auspicious time for weddings.