DISPOSABLE DISCIPLES OF BONE KINGDOM SESSION 10: A WORTHY FOE

This is a log for my ongoing Disposable Disciples of Bone Kingdom campaign. 

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. 

DISPOSABLE DISCIPLES OF BONE KINGDOM SESSION NINE: THE RIGHTEOUS OUTLAWS

This is a log for my ongoing Disposable Disciples of Bone Kingdom campaign. 

Player Characters: 
Shen Chun
Hidden Arrow
Bao Yang
Chao Feng
Wei Ruomei 

Session
At the start of the session, most of the party headed south to find Left-Handed Maiden, an enemy of Relentless Corpse Queen. Years ago, Left-Handed Maiden belonged killed Relentless Corpse Queen's father, who was the leader of their sect. She joined a conspiracy of disciples who plotted against him. After the the killing she fled, and went into hiding when it became clear Relentless Corpse Queen was a serious threat. Because the party has joined with Relentless Corpse Queen in search of mutually beneficial endeavors, they agreed to help her track down her father's killers. Their information network revealed that Left-Handed Maiden had fled to the Banyan and assumed a new identity: Calamity Star, leader of the Righteous Outlaws. There she lead a group of bandits and lived in highly protective secrecy. 

Bao Yang went north to secure their control over the Lu Da Security company. The rest of the party went to Zun City and spoke with pork merchants at the Lucky Sword, a gambling hall. They learned that the Righteous Outlaws were plaguing caravans passing through the Dai Bien Forest.They also learned that it was almost impossible to get an audience or getting with Calamity Star, that she was protected by Tea Master Houzhu (her bodyguard) and Ou Jinghzu (her go-between). They talked the merchants into transporting several empty carts for them, through the Dai Bien Forest, to the city of Chen. They told the merchants the carts would contain valuable silk and hoped this would lure the Righteous Outlaws to attack. 

As expected the caravan was stopped by bandits. But Chao Feng interceded and convinced them that the shipment was for Ou Jingzhu, that they were not to be delayed. The bandits were persuaded to escort them to Chen and on their arrival Chao Feng and Hidden Arrow both went into the city. 

Hidden Arrow went to the Phoenix Tail Inn, a place favored by thieves and martial heroes. There he spoke to someone he took for a rogue and planted a rumor that there was a shipment of pearls and other treasures coming to Chen in some crates (he described their own caravan to the man). 

Following a lead Chao Feng went to the Menglao Tea House where he dressed as a server and snooped around until he saw a man who matched Ou Jinghzhu's description in a private dining room eating platters of roasted meat and drinking wine. He found another server who was carrying in more platters and confirmed it was Ou Jinghzhu. He then poisoned the server and took the platters in with him, making sure to poison the bowls of wine. 

When he reached the table, Ou Jingzhu told him to sit down and then commanded him to drink from one of the bowls. He refused and claimed he had been sent by Tea Master Houzhu. Ou Jingzhu said if Tea Master Houzhu should come himself. 

Chao Feng and Hidden Arrow returned to their caravan and the next morning the party awoke surrounded by bandits. They quickly defeated and captured them thieves and pressed the leader for information. They learned that Calamity Star was actually three individuals: triplet sisters. Left-Handed Maiden was just one of them. They also learned that Calamity Star gave what they stole to the needy and that her bandits were incredibly loyal. The leader also told them that Ou Jinghzhu fought with chopsticks and chicken bones, using what was on-hand at the table to defeat his foes. 

They decided to go back to the Menglao Tea House and ambush Ou Jingzhu. Hidden Arrow disguised himself as the leader of the bandits and they grabbed a crate (which Chao Feng and Roumei hid inside). Then they went to the tea house and said they had a gift of jade chopsticks for Ou Jingzhu. When they reached the room Shen Chun used his invisible thread technique to restrain Ou Jingzhu, then Roumei burst out of the box and used her kick of the swan technique to batter him. Chao Feng kicked the table away from Ou Jingzhu and within moments they had him bound and placed inside the crate. They threatened his life until he revealed that Calamity Star was at the Hu Shang Temple. Then they left the tea house as if nothing had happened. 

Back at the caravan. They continued to interrogate and greatly shamed Ou Jinghzhu and the bandit leader. They learned the Hu Shang Temple was heavily trapped, including chambers of poisoned gas. They were going to have Ou Jingzhu lead them in. Eventually they settled on arranging a meeting through Ou Jingzhu with Calamity Star. However during the discussion, Ou Jinghzhu mentioned that they rarely stayed in one place long, that they had been at the temple for two months and usually moved avery ten to twenty days. When they asked where Calamity Star wanted to go next, he said north to Zun Valley because they heard that Fearless Cat had acquired the Immortal Killing Sword and moved an army of men south after Bone Breaker died in Hu Qin. The death of Bone Breaker was news to them, and made them reconsider their plans. Ultimately they decided to go forward with a meeting, but the news clearly shook the groups sense of direction. This was probably due to their bad history with Fearless Cat. 

This is where the session ended. 

A BUNCH OF WUXIA REVIEWS

I have been posting a number of wuxia movie reviews on youtube. Here are my most recent ones.

DISPOSABLE DISCIPLES OF BONE KINGDOM SESSION EIGHT: THE FLYING CROCODILE AND THE GOLDEN PAVILION

The players resumed their journey to Crocodile Sect, with the aim of killing White Haired Crocodile (the sect chief). They came up with a plan to buy a boat and capture a flying crocodile from the Whispering Swamp in Hai'an. Half the party went to Yuzhing to purchase a vessel and hire a crew, while Bao Yang and Relentless Corpse Queen remained by the shore. 

King Iron Beard (Lower Left)
Relentless Corpse Queen (Center)

Hidden Arrow and Shen Chun bought the Golden Pavilion, a solid Merchant Junk, from a man named Wan for a little over 100,000 spades (it was originally 120,000 but they talked him down after finding repairs were needed). Then they went to the Towering Chrysanthemum and hired Captain Jing and his crew for 280 spades a day. They made a two-week contract that would include assisting them to catch an animal in Hai'an. They mentioned that the animal in question was a crocodile, but failed to say that it was of the flying variety. 

The ship and crew headed to the swamp and anchored offshore. Then they moved in on smaller boats and set up a trap for a Flying Crocodile. When they spotted one, they tried to lure it into a baited bit with nets ready. However it spotted the crew and went after them instead. The men ran and cast their net upon it, but it was a powerful creature and required the efforts of the rest of the party to contain. Bao Yang was bit trying to pull its nose to the ground, and Shen Chun managed to wrestle it into submission. 

The plan was to take the Crocodile to Crocodile Sect headquarters and present it as a gift (White-Haired Crocodile was known to be fond of animals). They headed west and took the river as far as they could, then carried the crocodile the rest of the way. Upon reaching Crocodile Sect, they were granted an audience with White-Haired Crocodile. 

He was pleased with the gift when it was presented and had his engineer and animal handler, King Iron Beard, take the creature to his menagerie. Bao Yang insisted on accompanying King Iron Beard, who reluctantly led the way. As they exited the hall, Bao Yang sliced the crocodile's restraints, freeing it. He then told Bao Yang to surrender or die. However King Iron Beard touched the crocodile's nose and it remained calm. Pulling out a giant mace, he King Iron Beard met the attack. 

They traded blows and in the course of the fight it became clear that King Iron Beard utilized highly customized weapons. After landing a blow with his heavy mace to Bao Yang's head, he clicked a button and the top opened up to reveal a blossom of razors that shot out in a plum. However, his weapon-engineering feats were not enough and Bao Yang sent him to the ground with a few stabs of his blade. 

As this battle was underway, the sounds of clanging steal had alerted White-Haired Crocodile to the deception. He flicked a switch on his chair and a hail of needles rained down on the party. Shen Chun used deflecting canopy and helped save most of them, but Hidden Arrow was poisoned. Iron Talon dove toward White Haired Crocodile and unleashed a flurry of attacks. The fight lasted but a moment before the master of Crocodile Sect was dead upon the ground. 

Bao Yang brought King Iron Beard into the hall, and the engineer wept upon seeing his dead master. He told them he made weapons for the sect and explained how some of his worked. Bao Yang eventually convinced him to join them, provided he could let go any desire for revenge. He told the party he did not blame the assassins but the man who hired them. 

Bao Yang said he couldn't reveal who had sent them, but agreed not to intervene if King Iron Beard investigated the matter on his own. 

King Iron Beard explained that the moment White-Haired Crocodile died, servants nearby would have released pigeons alerting all the sub-chiefs of the news (and that he sub-chiefs had instructions to commit suicide and dissolve the sect). He could try to reassemble as many people as possible but it would be difficulty because the loyalty ties were all very personal. 

Hidden Arrow remained at Crocodile Sect headquarters and began making arrangements. He also found the sect's assets, which included 1,200 mu of wheat farms and mulberry trees, five ships, land in Xuanlu and Xuan Lu Bank. Hidden Arrow sought news on the people Relentless Corpse Queen was seeking and sent out word that they were hiring martial heroes. 

The rest of the party went to go see Donglai, the smith who promised to make them weapons provided they recover his Harmonious Blade and kill White-Haired Crocodile. Donglai was satisfied when they presented the blade and informed he that they had killed the sect leader. They recruited him and he agreed provided they could secure him a palace within the empire. However he was angry when he learned that King Iron Beard wanted vengeance and they refused to name Donglai. Donglai said he was not a coward and would gladly fight with King Iron Beard upon his arrival at the Crocodile Sect headquarters.

On the way back, they escorted Relentless Corpse Queen to her caverns. She expressed interest in them joining her sect, rather than her working for them in some capacity. Arrangements were vague, but she implied that Bone Breaker, their sifu, had grown weak (this was not the first time they'd heard this from someone), that they were better off joining ranks with her and then dominating the martial world. 

When they returned to Crocodile Sect headquarters, King Iron Beard and Donglai fought in one of the tournament chambers built into the side of the mountain (originally when the party first came to crocodile sect, they had come to fight in a tournament and White-Haired Crocodile constructed several elaborate death chambers to use as arenas). In the end, King Iron Beard smashed in Donglai's head with a mace (which in the view of the party was just as well, since they learned Iron Beard was the better craftsmen). 

During the tournament, Li Sou Chao arrived saying she would join their sect if they promised to help her obtain the Wind Saber of Sunan. Hidden Arrow agreed, but kept the precise details of the promise vague. 

This is where the session ended. 

STORMS OF THE MARTIAL WORLD SESSION ONE: FIVE-DAGGER CHANG

This was the first session of a new campaign. We began with two players and the rest will join next session. So far all characters are young members of the Peng clan. 

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. 

Session
Peng Ke-Yen grew tired of life in Dashen and her father was weary from her antics, so with his blessing she decided to leave and venture into the world. She took her friend, Peng Pei with her and the two set out for the first time together. 

They didn't really have any sense of where to go, so decided to head for Gaoxing, the nearest large settlement. However to get there there would have to pass through Zhainan, a small abandoned village. They reached Zhainan and found a house to stay in for the night. 

Late in the evening, men wearing tiger skins appeared at the door and demanded their money. They claimed not to have any, but Peng Ke-Yen's colorful robes led them to believe she was wealthy. They insisted and threatened to kill her. She used Finger Flick to send a stone at the leader. The attack missed and they immediately drew their swords. 

Peng Pei lept into the air and kicked each of the bandits in turn, knocking all five of them to the ground and killing one of them. They searched the bandit's bodies and found some silver taels as well as a crudely drawn map of what appeared to be an ambush site with a date and some information about monks heading to Yun Hu. They also took their tiger skin shirts and put them on. 

They decided to go help the monks and left immediately for Gaoxing. On the way they were attacked by another group of men wearing tiger skins. The men asked where they got the shirts from and their answers did not satisfy them, so they attacked. 

There were ten men in all, but only eight came down to fight. Initially Peng Pei was able to drop four very quickly with her same leaping technique (Kick of the Swan), but then the remaining four circled her and stabbed her until she fell to the ground. They turned their attention on Peng Ke-Yen who unleashed a blast of Qi energy, knocking two down to the ground. The two remaining pressed her and missed, and she retaliated with another Qi blast, sending them crashing to the ground. 

Peng Pei bandaged herself but was seriously wounded so they hobbled to Gaoxing and went to Liao Cao's Medicine and Acupuncture where he healed using a combination of needles and Qi technique for 1 silver tael. 

They continued on to the ambush site and camped out down the road to stop the monks from falling into the trap. A group of Monks of the Sleeping Mercy approached and asked them why they blocked the road. They explained and the monk thanked them. He then prayed over them to help them "wash away the blood". 

The monks were not particularly imposing and asked the Pengs if they would protect them on the rest of their journey to deposit the money in Yun Hu for 2 taels. Ke-Ye and Pei agreed, and they set off on a course around the ambush site. 

When they reached Stone Forest Hill, they heard a woman singing form the woods "Those who killed our brothers, you will die. Monks who carry golden taels, you will die." Then a graceful woman with two butterfly swords flew out from the trees and landed between Pei and a monk (stabbing both). Pei whirled out of the way but the monk was dropped. There were a series of lengthy exchanges between the woman and the two Pengs. Each would counter the others attack and it became quite clear she was more skilled than the men they faced before. When Peng Ke-Yen managed to hit her with an arm strike she withdrew and announced that she came to deliver a message. Pointing to the southern Yellow Forest she said "Take this gold and these monks to the old Tiger Fort or he will kill you." When they asked who planned to kill them, she said "Five-Dagger Chang". Then the woman disappeared into the woods. 

They decided to take their chances and made their way to Yun Hu. There was at least one ambush set for them on the way but they saw it ahead of time and worked their way around it. 

The monks thanked them and gave them a Sleeping Mercy figure, saying that any Temple of the Sleeping Mercy would give them shelter if they presented it. 

Then they went to the Sword and Wine Inn and ordered a meal. 

Pei noticed a familiar face in the crowd, one of the men she had knocked out in Zhainan. Then they noticed the woman of the trees, enter and take a seat, only to look at them. She was dressed in finer clothing but it was clearly the same woman. 

A man approached and put his hands on the table. "My chief invites you to dinner" he said. 

The characters were wary of the offer but eventually agreed to go upstairs to a private dining area to speak with Five-Dagger Chang. 

There he fed them a meal and served them wine (which the woman drank to show there was no poison). They learned the woman's name was Xu An. 

He told them that because of them, his men missed the biggest score of their careers. He said he would forget that they had killed his men, forgive them for letting the monks get away, if they helped the Tiger Clan steal the gold from Yun Hu Bank. Otherwise they would need to settle accounts with swords. 

Pei and Ke-Yen discussed the matter. Pei was interested in the gold (which they learned amounted to roughly 5,000,000 spades worth of taels). But Ke-Yen wanted no part in the venture. They decided to take the duel instead of agreeing to help. Ke-Yen tried to sow discord by suggesting Xu An was a better leader and the men of Tiger Clan should follow her instead. Five-Dagger Chang said he'd agree to follow her as well if Pei and Ke-Yen also kowtowed to her. They refused to do this and Ke-Yen departed after they agreed to meet in seven days in a nearby field to settle the grudge. Five-Dagger Chang said they were missing a great opportunity, and told them they could bring their own men, as he intended to bring his. 

Pei and Ke-Yen went to the temple of the Sleeping Mercy and asked if there were any martial heroes in the area with grudges against Tiger Clan. Abbot Yan told them that the only martial experts he knew of with grudges against them were other criminals, as they usually killed their victims. He suggested they seek Master Qian Bei of the Water Sword School. 

They followed his advice and went to the Water Sword school, where Master Qian Bei agreed to fight alongside them personally against such terrible villains as the Tiger Clan. He also promised to bring ten of his students. He asked for nothing in return, saying it was simply the righteous thing to do. 

This is where the session ended. 

DISPOSABLE DISCIPLES OF BONE KINGDOM SESSION SEVEN: SECRETS

Rain fell as the party walked the streets of Yuzhing with their newly acquired allies: Reckless Storm and Golden Roc. Both men had agreed to join them in an attack on Jade Temple to recover the Harmonious Blade. 

Relentless Corpse Queen (center),
Da Mei Mei (right)
Two-Timing Cockerel (upper left)
King Iron Beard (lower left)
Art by Jackie Musto

Reckless Storm demanded they stop at the Butterfly Pavilion restaurant for drinks. There he ordered wine and the party found a table. 

A man named Hidden Arrow approached and said there was someone outside wanting to speak with Reckless Storm. Reckless Storm left to meet with the person and in his absence, Hidden Arrow informed the party he was an agent of Bone Breaker sect. He was sent to help them and tricked Reckless Storm into leaving because he knew something the party did not: the man claiming to be Reckless Storm was not the real Reckless Storm. 

Bao Yang went outside and forced a confession from "Reckless Storm" who admitted his real name was Wei Anzhi. He told them he was an antique merchant from Li Fan, in hiding because he owed money to powerful people. Enraged at the deception Bao Yang threatened to kill him if he didn't make up for his lies. 

Bao Yang offered his skills at acting and disguise, as well as his knowledge of antiques (which might come in handy when they try to recover the Harmonious Blade). Bao Yang agreed, the party took on Hidden Arrow, and with him, they worked out a plan. 

The group would work with Weeping Lotus and his men (bandits they had formed an alliance with the previous session). Some of the party would dress as monks and go in through the southern gate, while the bandits attacked the northern gate (they estimated they had superior numbers to the temple). 

Shen Chun and Hidden Arrow entered the south entrance as monks when they reached the temple. They told the monks that they had an important message for the abbot and needed to speak with him. They went inside and examined the tempe grounds finding two significant structures: a pagoda that was guarded by an Abbess. Hidden Arrow spoke with the Abbess and convinced her to take him to the Abbot. Shen Chun stayed behind. 

Going into the temple, Hidden Arrow was given an audience with Abbot Lao, who had just finished a plate of meat and was drinking cups of wine. For a monk of Hen-Shi, his behavior seemed strange. 

Bao Yang and Weeping Lotus launched their attack, storming into the temple gates directly. It was a bloody clash. Weeping Lotus had 600 bandits with him, and they fought only 120 monks, but 200 of his men fell in the first wave of attacks. However they soon overpowered the monks and broke through. 

In the temple, Hidden Arrow warned the Abbot that an attack was imminent, that men were coming to kill him and he should escape to safety. The abbot was convinced by the story, especially when the sound of fighting could be heard. He walked to a wall and pulled secret lever, causing the wall to open wide and reveal descending stairs. He motioned for Hidden Arrow to join him and he escaped through an underground tunnel with several of his guards. 

The Abbess rushed to the temple grounds and stood in front of the Pagoda to confront the rushing horde of bandits. As the bandits broke through, Bao Yang stepped forward to fight the abbess one-on-one. They had a series of exchanges, blocking one another's attacks. But he managed to floor her with a variation on deep biting blade and she collapsed. Under threat of death she agreed to help them. 

Hidden Arrow snuck back and informed the party of the Abbot Lao's whereabouts. Bao Yang and Weeping Lotus rushed to find him and forced him to surrender. Weeping Lotus wanted to kill the abbot. His reasons were unclear but seemed to be based on revenge. Bao Yang convinced Weeping Lotus to accept the Abbot as a slave, to which the Abbot agreed in exchange for his life. 

In the ensuing exploration of the temple they also found a man who was essentially the abbess' husband: Smiling Abbot. They also found the sword. They convinced the temple to work with Bone Breaking Sect. The sect would take a percentage cut of their earnings from the black market artifacts, and in exchange the temple would be protected. Some details were left hanging, but a basic agreement was worked out. 

With that the party departed to find White Haired Crocodile and kill him (they agreed to do so in exchange for a weapon last session). On their way they decided to stop by Relentless Corpse Queen's sect and speak with her. They had met her previously at White Haired Crocodile's residence and thought she might help them defeat him. 

She dwelled in a cave near mountains and they gained an audience. Her sister, Da Mei Mei, was also present, as was her sister's husband, Gai. Shen Chun had taken an interest in Da Mei Mei and was disappointed to learn that she was married. 

Relentless Corpse Queen agreed to work with them, provided they helped her track down the people who killed her father (her sect was originally called River Flowing Sword Sect, but some of its disciples betrayed and murdered the sect leader, her father). 

Bao Yang spoke with Gai, the husband of Da Mei Mei, after the meeting. He inquired about Gai's past. Gai claimed to be the son of a Hai'anese scholar named Wong Dai. This seemed odd to Bao Yang because he knew Wong Dai to be an Imperial Official. He brought the matter before Relentless Corpse Queen and suggested that Gai was a spy. She asked him to kill Gai for her. 

Bao Yang accused Gai and the two fought. During their duel, Hidden Arrow threw needles at Gai, poisoning him and causing him to die. 

Da Mei Mei screamed and rushed to her fallen husband's side. But Relentless Corpse Queen reprimanded her, saying he was clearly an agent sent by enemies of the sect. She had her men carry his body out and left with the party to kill White Haired Crocodile. 

DISPOSABLE DISCIPLES OF BONE KINGDOM SESSION SIX: RECKLESS ALLIANCES

I started running this campaign to playtest the material in our Li Fan book, and it kind of grew from there. I am not 100% sure what session we are up to at this point, so we will just call this session six for now. 

In their first outing the party went to Yao Gong Palace, home to Pure Phoenix Sect. They had recovered a manual that their Sifu, Bone Breaker, desired and also recruited some of the nuns from Pure Phoenix into their own sect. 

After their return from Yao Gong Palace (which took about 3-4 sessions), they were sent to participate in a tournament being hosted by White Haired Crocodile, chief of Crocodile Sect. He promised the winner, the Manual of the Jade Phoenix, an object people thought vanished long ago. They went to the tournament and managed to defeat the competition, taking the prize. On their way back they were hounded by other sects for the manual. 

This session, they had just returned and appeared before Bone Breaker and his wife, Fearless Cat. Two members of the party had a dispute during the competition and spoke their grievances to the sect leaders. They were both punished. 

Bao Yang asked if he could be given a special weapon as a reward and Bone Breaker agreed. He told him of a smith in Hu Qin named Bu Donglai. He gave Bao Yang a note for 1 Million spades and told him to bring it to the Yen-Li Bank in the capital then purchase what he needed from the smith. 

The party set out over the mountains. As they came through a vale, they were herded by bandits into an ambush. The leader, Weeping Lotus, demanded they give him the 1 million spade note. Bao Yang challenged him to a one-on-one fight (a tactic that has worked well for him in the past) and the man, who seemed pleased by the suggestion, agreed. They would fight for the note, and that would settle the matter. No other blood needed to be shed. 

Weeping Lotus fought with a Guan Dao, and used Biting Blade, to spear Bao Yang. However Bao Yang had just masters a similar, but more powerful technique and used it to impale Weeping Lotus. He stopped short of killing him but threatened to behead their chief if the bandits didn't reveal who told them about the note. 

One of the bandits pointed at one of their nun disciples and said she had informed them. This was quickly determined to be a lie. Eventually they discovered that Fearless Cat was the source. They returned to Bone Kingdom to inform Bone Breaker about the news, bringing Weeping Lotus with them as a witness. He tried to bribe them with 4 million spades to free him, but the party refused. They ultimately promised to help secure his freedom if he gave them 4 Million spades, but only after he confessed to Bone Breaker. 

Bone Breaker listened when they returned and said no one was to take any action against his wife, but they should return Weeping Lotus, where he would continue to work with Fearless Cat but report everything back to him. They poisoned Weeping Lotus and made him reliant on an antidote to secure his loyalty. 

They departed once again and reached Yu Zhing (the capital of Hu Qin). Upon arrival they secured the four million spades and then went to speak with Bu Donglai. He said he would make the items they requested but would only do so in exchange for favors. 

First he wanted them to retrieve his Harmonious Blade. His disciple had been carrying it through the mountain pass and was killed by bandits. He wanted it back. 

Second they would kill White Haired Crocodile. They asked why and he told them that he had killed Donglai's niece. 

They asked Weeping Lotus if his men had killed Donglai's disciple. He said they had, but that the weapon was now with the Jade Temple. They often worked with the Jade Temple, selling them precious artifacts. However at the prospect of killing the head Abbot, Weeping Lotus said he had been waiting for such an opportunity for many years. He had several hundred men he could use to help them fend off the temple monks and nuns (of which there were 300). But the Abbot and his subordinates were very powerful, according to Weeping Lotus. They might need help. 

Bao Yang asked if there were any martial heroes in Yu Zhing. He said that Golden Roc had arrived shortly after the emperor died and taken up residence. Also he heard a rumor that Reckless Storm was at the Towering Chrysanthemum. 

Bao Yang went to speak with Reckless Storm and found it only took wine and talk of killing an Abbot to recruit him. Reckless Storm announced his intentions to kill Grand Abbot Lao, loudly in the restaurant and accompanied Bao Yang to find the rest of his party. 

The rest of the party when to Thundering Villa, where they heard Golden Roc was living. They found an old man playing Weiqi. They asked if he would help them take a sword back from Jade Temple. He it sounded like a dull invitation to bloodshed. He was not interested. 

They persisted, and eventually found a way to attract his interest. They would bet their bones. If they went to the temple and the situation proved dull and uninteresting to him, one of them would allow him to break their bones. If, on the other hand, he went and found the occasion amusing, he would refrain from breaking their bones and would lend a hand in their efforts to recover the sword. 

This is where the session ended.