DISPOSABLE DISCIPLES SESSION 33: THE RED MISTS OF DEE

This is a log for my ongoing Disposable Disciples of Bone Kingdom campaign. You can see the previous session HERE. 

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

SESSION
The players left the House of Paper Shadows after forming an agreement with a Spider Demon. They traveled to Yun Hu and Da Mei Mei decided to remain there to tend to sect matters while the rest of the party set out for Dee. 

When the party arrived in Dee, they happened upon a meat vendor selling roasted pieces of human. It was flagrant, out in the open and the man didn't appear ashamed. When Little Bai asked him about the meat he claimed to have a license and it seemed to be a normal occurrence in Dee. 

Inspecting the meat Little Bai said "Hmm, your meat doesn't look like good quality to me, I am going to make sure you get fined."

Then Little Bai went to the City Lord, Yan Buwei and presented himself at his court. The magistrate sat between two pungent braziers and spoke with weary eyes "You are the Heroic Bai I received a letter about, the King of Constables?"

"Yes," Said Little Bai, "And I am here to spread justice through the city, I hear there is a lot of crime and lawlessness here."

There was a small earthquake that shook the ground. 

"Very well, this is an unofficial position so you will have to present cases as an accuser," said the City Lord. 

"Of course," Said Little Bai, "That should be obvious to everyone. Enough small talk, what mysteries need solving in this city?"

"Locals near Red Pleasure Harbor have been found drained of blood with their faces ripped off and the people believe the Devouring Raksha is to blame, why don't you look into this matter."

Little Bai and the party went to Red Pleasure Harbor and asked around. They discovered that young women had indeed been found in the state described by the City Lord. Most recently a young woman had been found by the Shrine of A'zhu. Speaking with the priest there, they learned that the body was found by the shore. He showed them where it had been and explained that the Temple of A'zhu had entered the body in a tomb. 

Little Bai looked around and spotted a trail of blood. He followed the trail which led to a homestead just outside of town. When he announced himself an old lady named Qixia appeared at the door.

Little Bai and his crew demanded entry and walked into the house. She told them not to go through her things. Pretty quickly Little Bai found a leather mask in the likeness of a Raksha and golden bao with the name Fragrant Sword written upon it. 

"Okay old lady," Said Little Bai "Why don't you just admit what you've done. I have more than enough evidence to convict you; what do you have to say for yourself."

"I haven't done anything"

"Yeah? Well where did you get this mask from then?"

"I found it outside my house."

"Allright," Said Little Bai, "It looks like you are friendly with someone named Fragrant Sword, we'll have to go pay him a visit if you are not willing to talk yourself."

"Nooo!" Screamed the old lady "Leave Fragrant Sword alone, do not harm him. It was the Five Ghosts, they are behind all this." 

They asked around and discovered that Fragrant Sword was leader of a group called the Golden Heroes. They went to Golden Hall and received an audience with Fragrant Sword. They had shackled Qixia and took her there with them. 

They entered a luxurious reception hall and found Fragrant Sword in scintillating robes, flanked by 10 subchiefs similarly attired. Fragrant Sword seemed in his early thirties with soft features. 

Fragrant Sword chuckled as they entered and asked what they wanted. Little Bai explained the situation and asked why Qixia had the mask. 

"Why I gave it to her of course," said Fragrant Sword. "She is my lover, and gave it to her to ward off that nasty Raksha."

Fragrant Sword walked up to the party and leaned in to whisper to Silent Dagger "But between you and me, the mask is entirely useless."

"Well," Said Little Bai, "How do I know you didn't kill the young women then?"

"Me? Why would I go around killing young women?"

"I don't know," Said Little Bai, "But you and this old lady seem to be working together."

Silent Dagger stepped forward, "I want to test his Kung Fu Little Bai."

Little Bai nodded and Silent Dagger squared off with Fragrant Sword. 

Silent Dagger went in for an attack and found his weapon absorbed into Fragrant Sword's body as if his flesh was made of a soft dough. They had several exchanges, but Silent Dagger managed to land a solid attack, which caused Fragrant Sword to smile and bow. 

"You have tremendous skill," he said. "Look, Heroic Bai, if you really want to catch the killer I suggest you go speak with the Five Ghost Society."

The party headed over to another section of town to speak with the Five Ghost Society. On the way, as they walked down a street, a red mist rose from the ground and filled them with rage as they inhaled it. Min was able to stave off the urgent thoughts of violence that filled her mind, but everyone else succumbed to the mist's effects. Silent Dagger stabbed a man in the throat. Shen Chun knocked a local merchant to the ground and punched him to death. But the worst was Little Bai who charged through the street using his Sword Whipping Strike, killing thirty innocent bystanders. When the violence was done, the rage passed quickly. They saw priests in white and silver robes, like the one at the shrine, arriving and picking up the bodies. 

When they asked the priest about the mists, he explained they were a regular occurrence. He also explained that the earthquake earlier emanated from a complex below the city where the goddess A'zhu was thought to reside. According to the priest, the city sat atop an area where the division between realms was weak. Without A'zhu, demons and spirits would pour into he city freely. 

"Why would anyone want to live here?" Asked Shen Chun. 

The priest shrugged and walked away. 

They went to the Five Ghost Society. A motto was written above the entrance to their hall that read: Murder, Theft, Intoxication, Lies and Power. There they were led into a chamber where men five men in different color robes, each matching one of the five ghosts, stood. The leader, dressed in white, told them his name was Murder. 

They asked him about the crimes and he claimed ignorance.

"I would tell you if I had killed anyone," said Murder. "I have no need to disguise my crimes, as I commit them openly." 

To Little Bai he seemed like a man who wouldn't lie about this sort of thing. "Who then do you think is responsible?" Asked Little Bai. 

"Well the Golden Heroes are practitioners of Phoenix Essence Kung Fu and it is my understanding all the victims have been drained of blood, and were young women, so to me this certainly looks like the work of Fragrant Sword and his men."

Little Bai and Silent Dagger agreed the assessment made sense. They asked Murder to come with them to take on Fragrant Sword and he agreed. However he said he didn't want to risk weakening his sect, so he would go alone and the other chiefs would remain behind. 

They went to the Golden Heroes once more, and this time they called out Fragrant Sword. He arrived with ten of his Golden Heroes and faced them in his courtyard. It was a terrible battle, and early on Fragrant Sword unleashed an attack of seven jade colored tendrils that drained the life of the people he struck. No one was killed but they were weakened by it. Fragrant Sword's counters proved difficult to content with. His body would bend and warp around attacks. His men had similar abilities but were considerably weaker. Soon the party had dropped most of them and pushed back Fragrant Swords with their attacks. Nearly dead he rose up after a particularly devastating strike, only to have his throat slit by Murder's axe. 

They chased down the remaining Golden Heroes. Silent Dagger stabbed one of them, only to have powerful green energy vent from the wound and sear his flesh with a bitter cold. However, they quickly brought everyone down and took over the compound. Silent Dagger gave one of them his special venom, but it reacted with the man's peculiar phoenix energy and he had to kill him. They looted the place and spoke with Murder about the possibilities.

This is where the session ended. 

STORMS OF THE MARTIAL WORLD SESSION ELEVEN: THE POISONED AND THE DEAD

This was the Eleventh session of a new Wandering Heroes of Ogre Gate campaign. See the TENTH SESSION LOG to read about the previous session. 

Wandering Heroes of Ogre Gate is our wuxia RPG. It is available HERE in PDF. It should be out in print in about a month. 

Characters
Peng Ke-Yen: Eccentric daughter of a merchant who goes against conventions and is notable for her white and black streaked hair. From Dashen village. 

Peng Pei: Daughter of two low Yen-Li priests. Also from Dashen village. 

Zhendao: A former slave of a man named Zhao. 

Shin Du: A performer and actor who is a perfect shot with the bow. 

Song Pei: A one-armed physician.

Sister Fox: Brother Wolf's Sister who is ailing from Life Ebbing Venom. 

Feiyan: A yen-li priestess who is acquainted with Sister Fox. 


The party continued speaking with Sister Fox and also met her acquaintance, Feiyan (who decided to go and help them). They traveled south, through the Yellow Forest and found a giant Yellow Snake in the trees. Song Pei had been gathering different venomous creatures to help concoct a cure for Sister Fox's affliction, and Yellow Snake was on his list. They attacked the and killed the snake without incident and continued on toward Yao Gong Palace to find Stone Spiders. As they traveled, Biyu, Peng Pei's mother, became increasingly nervous. They passed through the badlands and along the way saw a woman dressed in white staring at them from a nearby cliff. 

"Peng Biyu and Peng Pei, come here and face me," The woman said. 

Biyu clutched Peng Pei's shoulder, holding her back. Zhendao shouted that they would all face her. With that the woman raced toward them from the cliffs and hurled her spear toward the group as Zhendao charged to meet her. 

The spear twirled through the air and struck Zhendao with its shaft, knocking him completely senseless. Shin Du sent a hail of arrows at her, which penetrated her skin. In the confusion, Song Pei hid behind Feiyan, sensing she was brave and potentially powerful. Sister Fox followed suit, hiding behind Song Pei. Ke-Yen stepped up to meet the battle, and soon Feiyan did as well. 

The fight went on for some length, but eventually their sheer numbers proved difficult for the woman to overcome, and she vanished in a flash (probably using a technique like Great Stride or Swift Stride). 

Shin Du gave aid to Zhendao, and Song Pei approached Biyu. 

"Care to explain what that was all about?" He asked. 

"I'd rather not get into it," she said. 

"Well, in case this woman decides to show up again, I'd like some information on why she attacked us and called you and your daughter out," Song Pei continued. 

Biyu looked at Peng Pei and said "Your father recently went to fight a duel with this woman at Chrysanthemum Lake, her name is Gentle Ghost, her real name is Gui Nuan. 

"If my father went to face her, and she is here, then..." Peng Pei began to reason. 

Biyu nodded and continued "Your father and I killed her daughter about fifteen years ago. Her daughter was just 14 at the time"

"Why did you do that?" Song Pei demanded. 

"We had our reasons. She killed our master and we needed to get revenge."

"Some master," Said Feiyan. "He couldn't fend off a fourteen year old."

"Our master was no martial hero, he was just a Yen-Li priest, as were we. We attacked her from behind in the streets before we realized her age. Then her parents, Gui Nuan and Gui Ba came after us. We found someone to teach us Kung Fu and laid a trap for them both. We killed the Gui Ba but the wife was too powerful and poisoned my husband. We fled and went into hiding in Dashen."

Satisfied with the explanation, and deciding the best bet was to avoid the woman for the rest of their journey, the group set out again. They reached Yao Gong Palace finding it sealed. This was no surprise to Feiyan who had been here before and new there was a great evil trapped inside. 

They breached the seal, setting off a moon blade trap, which sliced the flesh of a couple of party members. They ventured further inside, into a hall, and Zhendao quickly found a Stone Spider. As the group gathered them, Sister Fox heard a sound emanating from deep below the complex, beyond a steep set of stairs. She told the party and Zhendao announced himself as Shin Du to it by name. 

The voice responded by repeating "Shin Du". Soon something walked up the stairs and the party began to flee. Zhendao remained behind and saw a desiccated figure reached the top of the stairs. He looked like a mummified monk, and he held out his hands causing a spinning vortex of debris to fly down the hall. The wind struck Zhendao throwing him against the wall. Shin Du took out one of his Divine Fire coconuts, and threw it at a support frame. However his hand slipped and the coconut landed in the middle of the party, blasting those who hadn't fled the area yet. 

Creatures like the one they faced
Art by Jackie Musto

The group continued to charge out, and collapsed the entryway as they did so. Their effort was imperfect, and there was still a gap at the top, but they managed to get out and run away. 

They spend quite some time debating what to do next. Ke-Yen and Sister Fox wanted to go to Qinwen Master of the Seven Talismans to resurrect Brother Wolf. Most of the rest of the party was against this plan, and instead wanted to create the rest of the cure, starting with going to Hu Qin to get the Gu vessel from the Temple of Jade Mercies. Even Song Pei, who was Brother Wolf's disciple, opposed the idea of resurrection. 

They decided to split the group, Ke-Yen, Sister Fox and Peng Biyu would go to Heaven Canon and find Qinwen, the rest would go through the desert and mountains toward Hu Qin. They would travel together until they reached the canyon. 

On the way they were attacked by a hungry ghost. They had some difficulty facing it, as it was not affected by most of their attacks. But they managed to destroy it with the help of Feiyan's blazing hands of Hen-Shi. Soon they split and went their separate ways. 

When Ke-Yen and company reached Heaven Palace Sect they were brought before an old woman who didn't announce herself. On the wall, they saw the torso of a man in chains, his eyes rolling in the back of his head. 

"Why have you come," she asked. 

"We want you to save Brother Wolf," Ke-Yen said. 

"How old are you?" She asked. 

"I am 19," Ke-Yen replied. 

"Very well. I can restore him with the power of the talismans. But there is always a price. My price is steep. You must bare a child and give it to me, let's say within three years time, and you must go to the House of Paper Shadows and rescue Hero Feng for me."

Ke-Yen agreed and the woman began to tap the power of a circular golden talisman. Energy flowed from the talisman and into Brother Wolf's body, causing him to breath. 

"He will be asleep for a full month, he needs the rest. Do not wake him or it could disrupt his phoenix spirits."

They thanked her and left heading for Yun Hu. On the way they passed a village near the remains of Ogre Gate Inn and left brother wolf at a small temple. Soon they reached Yun Hu and stayed at the Sword and Vine. 

The journey of the rest of the party through the mountains was not so uneventful. As they climbed into the crags of the mountainside, they noticed beasts roaming around in the cliffs, resembling tigers or leopards. The creatures leapt down and opened their mouths, unleashing sprays of fire. Feiyan, Shin Du and Song Pei all found themselves ablaze. The rest of the part was able, slowly to fend off the creatures, but the three were badly burned. 

They continued on, and happened upon a group of strange priests. The men demanded to know why they were passing through. 

"We are on our way to Hu Qin in search of a temple," Song Pei said. 

"The only temple you need seek is up on that peak," They said. Scoffing they headed away. 

"Yes," Said Song Pei, "We hope to pass there on our journey."

"Who said you could join our temple?" they shouted back and continued on. 

Furious, Zhendao began to raise a challenge, but Song Pei sensed his intent, and used Sealing the Winds of Gushan, a technique where he tapped the throat, to silence Zhendao. 

They continued on, and their luck only grew worse, as three more hungry ghosts came out to attack them from the cliffs. One ghost was fair enough to face, but three proved very difficult. The creatures unleashed plumes of terrible smelling wind. Shin Du and Song Pei were both afflicted. They caught the creatures on fire, continued to attack, but it proved quite a challenge to bring them down. In the end they fled. When they had a moment, Song Pei determined they had Malignant Wind Disease. There was a difference of opinion on the matter but they deduced they either had ten days to live or just under five. They decided to change course and go the temple with the jade deposit near Yun Hu. They reached it, and the abbess was able to help cure them of the illness by brewing a foul tasting concoction. 

She informed them that she had staved off Smiling Abbot, by telling them it was the party who killed the nuns (this was true). She explained he already had information on the group, so she was limited in her ability to convey their deception to him. She warned them that the Temple of Jade Mercies was working with the Glorious Death cult to find them. 

This is where the session ended. 

DISPOSABLE DISCIPLES SESSION 32: WHAT HAPPENS IN THE HOUSE OF PAPER SHADOWS...

This is a log for my ongoing Disposable Disciples of Bone Kingdom campaign. You can see the previous session HERE. 

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

This session the players were still inside the House of Paper Shadows. Anyone who read the last blog entry knows I left out details concerning the house itself. This is because the House is a special location with a lot of GM only information inside. Therefore I didn't want to ruin it for other GM's running sessions in the house. So this entry will just be a brief breakdown of basic things that can be said without spoiling it for others. 

While inside, the party befriended many people who were prisoners of the House. They intend to use these folks as weapons against the leader of the House of Paper Shadows so they can destroy it. It appears they are building alliances outside the house as well to help bring it down. 

They eventually left the house with talk of acquiring a special weapon they'd heard of and of going to Dee. However their experience in the house was not without incident. Many were wounded quite severely and some left rather quickly before the others as the place seemed too dangerous. 

Other things that happened: 

• Min acquired an Ogre Mask. 
• Chao acquired a Horn of the Society of Paper Shadows. 
• Chao left the group, somewhat gruffly, to return to the Glorious Death Cult. 
• Min, Silent Dagger and Little Bai ventured back in on their own after the others had left. This is how the group found the prisoners. 

It seems now they are likely on their way to Dee, a lawless and chaotic city. 

DISPOSABLE DISCIPLES SESSION 31: INTO THE HOUSE OF PAPER SHADOWS

This is a log for my ongoing Disposable Disciples of Bone Kingdom campaign. You can see the previous session HERE. 

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

The party decided to go to the House of Paper Shadows to kill Fearless Cat. First they traveled back to their headquarters, where Little Bai received a message from Magistrate Ouyang of Tung-On. Little Bai had been sending letters to magistrates and this was a reply. The magistrate seemed confused about some of his claims and asked for a meeting in two months time. 

The party then decided to travel in groups of two to Xuanlu. Once there, they would meet and masquerade as pork merchants before going to the house of paper shadows. 

In Xuanlu, Little Bai met Head Constable Yu. He said "My name is Heroic Bai, and I am the constable of Gaoxing. I am here to inform you that I am now the King of Constables, and need to know if there are any mysteries to be solved." 

Constable Yu was confused and asked for paperwork or a decree from the king. 

Little Bai seemed confused by the request. 

The constable explained "Well, you are constable of Gaoxing, which is part of the Zhan Dao empire, but I am constable of Xuanlu, a city in the kingdom of Hai'an. Any such title would require authorization from the king."

"You don't seem to understand," said Little Bai "Justice transcends such concerns, it is about something must bigger. Tell me, do you stand against justice?"

"No" said the constable. "In fact I would like to help, but to do so it makes things so much easier if you have official paperwork from the King or Queen, even a local prefect would do. However I am told there are a great many unsolved mysteries in Dee, where lawlessness is the rule of the day. Should you care to go there and enforce justice, I will write a letter on your behalf to the prefect."

Little Bai seemed satisfied with this exchange and joined the rest of the party. They headed to the House of Paper Shadows and enacted their plan. They knocked on the door and.....

[REDACTED]

....they burst into Fearless Cat's chamber and surrounded her quickly. Unloading one attack after another, the party, despite their grievous wounds, was able to destroy her, with Min administrating the final blow. Once they had her, they interrogated her for information and Chao killed her.

This is where the session ended. 

STORMS OF THE MARTIAL WORLD SESSION TEN: THE PLUM TREE MONK RETURNS

This was the Ninth session of a new Wandering Heroes of Ogre Gate campaign. See the NINTH SESSION LOG to read about the previous session. 

Wandering Heroes of Ogre Gate is our wuxia RPG. It is available HERE in PDF. It should be out in print in about a month. 

Characters
Peng Ke-Yen: Eccentric daughter of a merchant who goes against conventions and is notable for her white and black streaked hair. From Dashen village. 

Peng Pei: Daughter of two low Yen-Li priests. Also from Dashen village. 

Zhendao: A former slave of a man named Zhao. 

Shin Du: A performer and actor who is a perfect shot with the bow. 

Song Pei: A one-armed physician. 

The players continued north by boat, and went back to Dashen, Peng Pei and Peng Ke-Yen's village. There they went to Pei's house and found her mother, Biyu, a Yen-Li priestess. She was alarmed by the tattoos on Zhandao's face, which marked him as a potential criminal. They explained he was a former slave and that he hadn't committed any crimes. Reluctantly she let them stay if they did work around the homestead for her. 

Because he only had one arm, Biyu assigned Song Pei the task of watching the cat outside, while the rest of the party did manual labor. While watching the cat, he had the sense he was being watched. Looking around he spotted a slow loris in a nearby fruit tree staring at him. He mentioned it to Biyu and she said it was only a monkey. 

Ke-Yen went outside the village to lay markers for Brother Wolf and Zhendao followed. That night the two of them stayed in the forest, Zhendao sleeping in the trees. 

Song Pei spoke with Biyu about the cure he was trying to create for Sister Fox. He explained the situation, that she had been afflicted with Life-Ebbing Venom and that he believed he could create a cure with the blood of a god, but wasn't sure how to proceed. She told him that he needed a special Gu vessel to contain the blood, and that he would require then venom of specific creatures to make it workable. He would need Divine Silk Worm, Stone Spider, Yellow Tree Snake, Centipede of the Yellow Forest and Shadow Scorpion. 

In the middle of the night, Brother Wolf arrived and awakened Ke-Yen. She tried explaining that she acquired the Thousand Painful Deaths Flower but had given it to Granny Wind, and that there was another way to save Sister Wolf, but communication and clarity are not her strength. She ran back to the village to get Song Pei, Peng Pei and Shin Du. They walked to the clearing to find Brother Wolf and Zhendao in awkward silence. There Song Pei attempted to explain his plan, but as he was doing so, he spotted the loris monkey in a nearby tree looking at him. He pointed to it and Brother Wolf said "Run. Run right now."

Shin Du and Zhendao remained behind, but everyone else fled in different directions, with Ke-Yen following Brother Wolf. 

The Loris Monkey transformed, its body fuming with purple energy and rising up to the size of an enormous man. Shin Du found his arrows did very little to it. 

The create ran toward brother wolf and unleashed a blast of Qi, sucking his life from his body. 

Shin Du and Zhendao followed to lend a hand. Song Pei and Peng Pei ran to get Biyu. 

The party were able to occasionally strike the creature, who they believed to be the Plum Tree Monk. But their attacks only seemed to have temporary effect. 

Brother Wolf dropped to the ground, lifeless. Ke-Yen flew into a rage and attacked the Plum Tree Monk, but he easily fended her off. Shin Du was struck with a terrible claw attack that nearly killed him, slicing deep cuts across his upper body. 

The Plum Tree Monk searched Brother Wolf's body, found a talisman and took to the sky. Shin Du aimed his bow and fired at the talisman. It dropped and the Plum Tree Monk didn't notice (Shin Du got a Total Success on his attack). 

They retrieved the talisman and saw that it said Wolf Fortress on it with an image of a mountain pass on it. 

When Song Pei, Peng Pei and Biyu arrived they tended to Brother Wolf. He was clearly dead. Ke-Yen insisted they do something to help him. Biyu said only Master Qinwen Keeper of the Seven Talismans could bring the dead to life, and there was always a terrible cost. 

Ke-Yen asked about Qinwen and where to find him, insisting they go right away. 

Song Pei pointed out that the Plum Tree Monk was likely heading to this Wolf Fortress and that was probably where Sister Fox was. She would be in great danger and if they went to Qinwen's now, she might be killed. 

Ke-Yen decided that she would go to Wolf Fortress (which they had to find) then go to Qinwen. Biyu would go with them. 

Song Pei attempted to retrieve blood left on the ground from the Plum Tree Monk, but it boiled through anything it touched. 

Biyu tended to Shin Du, who was in a great deal of trouble. She healed him with a palm technique but the wound would not close and continued to open and harm him each day. 

Looking at the talisman, they were eventually able to determine that the mountains depicted on it was a pass near the village of Jinsa. They left and headed toward Jinsa. 

On their way to a town called Shei, they were stopped by bandits who blocked the road. Zhindao used Granny Chang's Thirteen Dagger Strike killing most of the bandits and sending the rest into flight. 

In the city they found a place called The Silk Worm Society of the Opulent Hill. They spoke with a woman named Fei who seemed to be the head of the organization and bribed her until she told them she could procure a Divine Silk worm for them. However it was expensive and would take a month, since Divine Silk worms were exclusive to the Hai'anese king. If they met her at the Hill of Opulent Fruits, she would give it to them. 

They left the town and headed along the road to Jinsa. On the way, Song Pei noticed something odd about the road, a slight rise ahead of them. They stepped forward and prodded it, causing it to collapse and reveal a spiked pit. 

Zhendao looked around and saw a figure in the woods. He ran after it and found a small boy there. The boy stood his ground. 

"Why did you build a pit trap in the road" He asked. 

"To catch bandits," The boy said. 

The rest of the party walked over and Song Pei asked "Do you catch many bandits this way?"

"All the time" the boy replied. 

They asked for his name and he said it was Gao. He also eventually revealed he had never in fact caught any bandits. He said his parents were both death. Zhendao and Song Pei took some pity on him and offered to escort him to Shei where they could find a monastery to take him in. 

As they travelled along the road, Zhendao saw the boy walk up beside him, pull out a dagger and try to stab. He quickly sidestepped and hit the boy with the flat of his sword, knocking him out cold. 

When the boy woke up he asked "Why did you try to kill me"

"You killed my father, you bastard," the boy mumbled. 

"Who was your father?"

"Master Zhao of Yun Hu"

Zhendao killed the boy before anyone could do anything. He then apologized to Biyu for his actions. 

The party then made their way to Jinsa. It was a small village but had several academies and wine shops. They went to The Academy of the Ink Stained Sword and spoke with Master Wu Shan. When they explained the situation they were facing he said it seemed like a righteous causes and would gladly give them free access to his books on alchemy and medicine. Song Pei and Shin Du spent the day pouring over the material and concluded that the key would be using the blood within hours after it was extracted, otherwise it would lose its potency. 

From Jinsa they went to the mountain pass and found a gate where the Plum Tree Monk was camping (luckily they spotted him before he spotted them). They snuck around, taking the long way. They were attacked by needle traps in the pine tress, which they easily deflected and had to make their way around a poisoned pond, but came to the fortress and found Sister Fox. They spoke with her and learned that she carried the Life Keeping Stone on her, but was not aware of its properties (for example they knew it required living sacrifices to function, yet she did not appear to know this). 

She agreed to travel south with them to Heaven Palace Sect to speak with Qinwen Master of the Seven Talismans. 

This is where the session ended.