Part 3 – At the Queens Command
Following the stragglers down the carpeted hallways towards the dinner hall the party became ever so faintly aware of a few of the Shadow Curses refugees, Sailors and even Siu who floated through the halls whilst people moved around them oblivious to the presence of those afflicted.
Entering the dinner hall was a grand affair, people were announced as they entered the room with their weapons (obvious ones at least) taken and placed to the side of the room in a storage rack after which the party were eventually shown to their seats. Looking around the Large room with a crescent cut into the roof above them which revealed a second floor that was connected to the dining room by mirrored winding stairs that ended just at the end of the table, where an empty large throne-like seat sat next to a smaller but equally grand seat.
Judging by their previous scouting and the layout of the room their backs were to the kitchens and they sat opposite Kyoko and Kuang who looks worried but smiled when they realised that people were looking at them. A few moments later and Teng Toshio entered the room descending from stairways that were built in such a way that you could only see him when he was twenty feet from the dinner table, flanked by Lucian and Ruben who wore ceremonial armour and weapons that were polished but still looked functional.
The presence of the cursed and occasional flicker of Siu, who had all but disappeared since entering the walled fort could be felt from the back of the room, where the party had entered but the party caught Kyokos eyes wandering the faces at the table and along the walls as if searching for someone. When the Party caught her eye she smiled and whispered across the 5ft table. “I was hoping my cousin would be here by now, I haven’t seen her in quite some time and we get along well. She was a lot younger last time I saw her so I might just be misremembering her face and looking for a younger woman when she has blossomed into something more.” She said with a nervous smile.
After personally greeting his guests Tend eventually moved to stand between the two large seats “Lords, Ladies, Men and women and guests,” Teng said as he reached his seat after personally greeting his many guests, “It’s not often we get visitors let alone the Daughter of Harimasu family and it gladdens me that we are given this opportunity to give them our hospitality.” A few cheers and scattered claps came forth from the crowd of proud Toshio family servants and soldiers. “But, there is a arrow of sorrow in my side as my wife has been away from the family halls for a few weeks now as she extends the hand of aid and friendship to nearby towns. Let us rejoice now as my wife has returned and will be joining us tonight!” With this the room cheered loudly, but the party noticed that several servants and soldiers looked uneasy if they did or didn’t celebrate the lords wife returning.
A figure moved through the crowd, her head tipped forward as she carried a glass of water and a small scrap of parchment as she presented it to Kyoko before retreating to the back of the room, near where the party entered.
Kyoko sipped from her water as she looked confused and uneasy at the reaction and the party and her guardian, Kuang, felt it too. As the noise died down the click-clack of shoes on the stone steps from the second floor leading into the dining hall could be heard. Kyoko looked down from the stairs to the parchment the lay in front of her, unfurling it and reading it for a moment she was slow to mask her expression of alarm as she looked up at the party before whispering to Kuang who nodded and moved to the back of the room, excusing himself as moved through some guests and servants who stood transfixed as they looked towards the stairway as a glistening white pair of shoes and a robe appeared as Tengs’ wife descended the steps into the dining hall.
Siu looked towards Choi and the other three of the cursed that had made it to the hall as each of them glanced between Kyoko, the Party and the girl who stood behind them against the wall. The girl moved like one of them, invisible but present, undetectable but wanting to be seen and she could see them and them her.
As Siu turned around to wards the girl she made a symbol of respect, something that the Harimasu family would do towards his kind and it the copper piece dropped. Who ever was walking down those steps wasn’t Kyoko’s cousin and judging by the smell of fear and apprehension in the room she wasn’t a being that you wanted to be on the wrong side of.
click-click-clack
As the footsteps came closer an eerie silence filled the room, Kuang stood and moved towards the back of the room but a quick nod from the man, Lucian, “Choi” confirmed for Siu as both watchers of Kyoko noticed the man signal his men to intercept the captain who smiled and gestured that he was after something near the kitchens – the guards did not budge but commanded him to return to his seat – which he did begrudgingly.
The uneasy feeling quickly rose in Siu as the first pure white shoe and portions of a robe could be seen at the top of the stairs and sensing the tension in the air he involuntarily let out a low growl-like hum which the companions who he had travelled with for quite some time heard and jumped at the noise.
Kuang had asked the cursed to come with them to the hall, something about a chance to gain perspective and perhaps prove that they are more than just cursed. Siu didn’t understand but looking at the nod that Choi gave him as he moved off and started to pickpocket weapons, daggers, swords and the like from the guards standing close to Kyoko, Kuang and the party he thought that it made sense.
Without being able to be spotted, with people magically unable to recognise or detect them due to The Shadows curse they made the perfect people to keep Kyoko and those who can make a difference safe. Nodding towards the other cursed members he grabbed a few of the smaller weapons of the party members and some that they may be able to use, daggers, short swords and the like and moved over to place them next to the party out of sight. On the way back he noticed a few guards coming to surround the party of adventurers and intercepted them using his sharp claws to cut belts, draw strings to purses and the like and as they scrambled to stop their weapons and items falling to the ground the party was alerted to their movements.
Siu had his head turned towards the back of the door, working on the lock that had locked when he heard the footsteps stop, the steady clicking that was signalling time passing had finished and an audible gasp could be heard from the room.
Turning around his head and vision seemed to move in slow motion as his vision fell upon a woman in complete white at the bottom of the stairs that made his blood freeze like ice.
As the woman descended the stairs the room dropped in temperature so suddenly that the collective held breath fogged the air over the table when the guests exhaled. The woman was just over five feet in height and appeared to almost float across the ground despite her white slippers that stood on the slowly frosting carpets and rugs that covered the wooden flooring.
“Ah, my queen, you have finally arrived” Teng said, reaching out and helping her towards the larger of the two seats before sitting down in the less impressive of the two. “How was the village?”
A few moments passed as the woman sat, her hair and blindingly white robe seemed to float above her skin as she sat in her throne. Her shoulder length pitch black hair a sharp contrast with the pale blue-white skin that was revealed from underneath the robes. “They did not take the blessings we presented them Lord Teng so I showed them the mercy that we do bring them. Eventually they came around and I believe their leader will come pay homage within a few days to swear fealty” The woman’s drifted over the room, pausing to look directly at Siu as well as at Kyoko and the Party. “I see you have guests, foreigners even. I had thought that they were lost to a warband of Nats, or so I had been led to believe” the woman’s eyes narrowed as she looked at Kyoko. “Why do they sit at my table?”
“My Lady, they come to request aid and return horses that my cousin, Lady Toshio, provided them when they were in need. However I believe that they had lost some along the way – which surprised me to see them present themselves before me and asked for aid despite them being now in debt to our family” Teng said with a knowing smirk, the ploy and plots revealing themselves.
Gritting her teeth Kyoko leant over the table to the party and whispered “I hope you found some evidence” before she stood up to speak. The lady in white floated upwards to also stand, her feet leaving the ground so that her head was above everyone else’s in the room as waves of cold washed across everyone present at the table shaking any remanence of doubt from the minds of those present that she wasn’t a spirit.
“You Lordship, I come before..” Kyoko began before Teng scowled and stood up angrily.
“You will address My queen!” Teng roared, visibility shaking with anger of cold one could not tell.
The spirit smiled cruelly as she taped her finger on her arm while she stared down Kyoko.
Areas and places of note
The halls and courtyard
The halls are relatively uniform with room spread out logically and in some pattern which makes it easy to find your way around. Towards the centre of the building, following carpeted areas of the wooden and stone flooring the party can find the dining hall, reception hall and stairs that lead up to Lord Tengs’ chambers.
Outside the building is a large courtyard that hosts a few smaller houses for those that serve the family, a smithy for the guard, a barracks (more like a drinking hall as the guard seem to drink their time away) and the stables where the Harimasu wagon and those that are cursed with the shadow bruises stays, well most of the cursed stay there.
The Dinner hall – The dinner hall is about 60ft by 20ft wide with a large 5ft by 25ft table in the centre of the room. At the end of the table, towards the centre of the building there are twin spiral staircases that descend at such an angle as you cant see who is coming down the stairs until they are basically down the bottom of the stairs. At the end of the table, between the bottom of both stairs is a large throne-like chair and a smaller twin of the chair.
Notable NPC Interactions
Kyoko Harimasu – Kyoko, despite her best tries to prevent confrontation may as well be laying siege to a castle as the Toshio’s walls and machinations are too well constructed.
Realising it is a fight and a plea that can’t be met she retreats from the engagement, defending herself with the blade that was given to her by Siu, or Choi, as she makes her swift escape.
Captain Kuang Ping – Quick to jump to his wards defence he is nearly impossible to provoke into reckless action. Kuang never leaves Kyoko’s side during the confrontation but in doing so leaves most of the fighting to the party as he helps Kyoko retreat from the room.
Lord ‘Teng’ Toshio – Teng is completely devoted to Yukri, whether by magical charm or by honest adoration one will never know.
Having a small mercenary force under his control Teng doesn’t shy from conflict but hates to get involved himself preferring to stand behind his queen whilst her magic whittles down who ever gets in their way.
Lucian – Lucians natural blood lust and hatred of the Harimasu family already makes him a prime candidate for Yukri’s charming effects but he is devoted to the queen second only to her husband.
Throwing himself into his duty to impress and prove himself to his Lord and Lady he is an expert in martial weapons and a brutal killing machine when his orders match his fury.
Sasha (Hana Toshio-Harimasu) – Helping the party escape, primarily focused on saving her cousin she delivers a note to Kyoko warning her of Danger whilst retrieving any items that she thinks the party may need in their escape.
Having had Yukri enchant the court to forget Hana’s marriage to Lord Toshio she quickly became forgotten and treated like a mute servant, her voice taken by the spirit (original I know) so that no one could be warned or told of what was happening within the forts walls.
Yukri Toshimo – Once a fair and sought after daughter to a lord she was tricked and turned into a Yuki-onna, spirit who controls the cold – a frost maiden. Setting her sights on an alliance with the Toshio Family at the command of The Shadow she commands the many of the ground troops and even has been given authority over some of the lesser Oni clans.
Discovering that the Kyoko heiress is in her halls she doesn’t hold back in commanding her husbands, Teng Toshio’s, family guard and elite mercenaries to try and kill Kyoko and her companions as she will not tolerate another princess with a claim to power.
Siu and Choi – Realising what was happening both Siu and Choi quickly moved to secure weaponry for the party members, proving their weapons where they could, and looked to secure an exit. Moving quickly to dispatch the guards that were blocking the exit before the final push to keep them from getting through the door and to their companions.
The other Shadow Cursed rallied behind Siu and Choi and fought as best as they could, being unnoticeable had its benefit however, the Yuki-onnas magic was too great and when the fallen rose again as rime covered undead their luck quickly started to run out. Doing the only thing they could think of to buy time for Kyoko and the party they sealed themselves in with the guard and undead and stared to fight not for their lives – but for Kyoko and the party.
Environment and running the adventure
The Dinning room – The chairs and table pose an interesting challenge with blocking attacks, movement and impeding the flow in the room. ‘Innocent’ bystanders will be at the side of the room half blocking the doors to the kitchen.
Encounter
Fighting
To find out what causes the fight we will have to wait for the weekend, but conflict is inevitable. As we had a few weeks ago the aim of this conflict isn’t to best the big bad but its to survive and escape the dinner hall.
The guards form a wall between the party and their Lord and queen (and blocking off the escape behind them – see below) while Lucian charges into the party outraged at the accusations, true or otherwise. The moment Lucian gets below half HP, Yukri (who is fond of her most loyal warrior), will order them to seize Kyoko and the party for treason and assault on a vassal of the Toshio family. And with a room filled with dinner guests who are more terrified of Yukri than the party witnesses to the Toshio’s side of the story will be in high supply.
The guards will try and keep the party at a distance, using longer ranged spears and forming two walls. There should be dozens of them to stress the dire-ness of the situation.
Once either Lucian falls, or a handful (6~10) of Guards start to crumble then Teng and Yukri will retreat up stairs to avoid the fallout and the guards will press forward to complete their orders.
End of the encounter
Kyoko shouts in surprise as she is grabbed and thrown backwards out an open door, several slain guards lay at the door as the Shadow Cursed and Siu took them out. Kuang beckons the party to retreat and as he does so Lucian stumbles to his feat, a thick coating of frost and ice starting to form on his body as his dead eyes flutter open and he begins to push his way through the guards.
The aim is to force the party out the doors, but as the guards and Lucian get close to the door they start to drop, blades and flashes of golden scales can be seen as Siu and his invisible defenders start to lash out to protect Kyoko and their friends. As the party leaves the doorway Siu and Choi flash into focus as they close the doors, the sound of a beam being pulled down to lock the door is heard before shouts of war and combat reverberate through the thick wood. Tugging on their sleeves indicates Sasha (Hana) is with them with any items that were left in the racks (they were gone if the party looked for them), and a few bags as she urges them to follow her as she runs towards the servants quarters. Once there she takes them through the servants entrance which leads them to a few quaint houses near the barracks.
Flight
From where the party leave the building they can see that the wagon is on fire, however there are a few guards horses not far from where they are standing next to the Barracks and the party are able to approach them with ease – The gates are also open but guarded so the party will need to deal with that (creativity is encouraged!).
As they leave they hear a terrible shriek and they turn around to see Yukri standing on a raised platform as the deformed, scaled horse (that died then came back to life the threw itself in the fire – yeah that one) walks up to her and nuzzles her hand before staring at the party.
Leaving the compound is easy as pursuit is slow (as there is still fighting in the building) and Kuang seems to the know the way as he leads the party east and away from the Toshio family.
Aftermath
The fight and following flight following Hana Harimasu through the halls, streets and then out the gate should lead us to tie the Shadow-mare (name pending) in with this weeks adventure and the plot of the Toshio family. This encounter, no fault of the Harimasu party will surely bring further conflict between the two families however there lies a bigger issue, escape to safe grounds and the warband that has a few days head start on them heading to the east.
This does mean that Choi, Siu and the other Shadow Cursed are gone – a long with any other guards that did survive the fight with the Nat’s from last week but I think defending their princess is a fitting end.
As the hulking man cut down another guard, despite the fact his innards were spilling out a gash below his ribs Siu turned to the other Shadow Cursed, standing there with swords, knives and daggers as they cut, stabbed and based the last of the guards in front of the door. Siu rushed forward his serpentine body flickering with a dull light as he glided through the air and heaved the door open with the help of Choi and another of the Cursed, Saem.
“We need to get Kyoko out of here.” Choi cried over the racked of the fight as he plunged a carving knife between helm and breastplate on one of the House guards. “The fallen are rising as undead,” he said as he pointed towards the hulking man – his wounds no longer bleeding profusely and his gate and janky movements indicative of the curse of the dead, “they will be up on shortly and we wont be able to out run them” he said as a battle cry rang out – the last of Kyoko’s guards running forward to make room, and buy some time for his princess, commander and the heroes he had been in awe of since joining their mission to these forsaken halls.
The young man cut down a few of his opponents, most of them undead, before a spear run him through but not before he summoned the last of his strength and courage and separated head from body of the attacker. Siu cursed, a waft of smoke sizzling from his nostrils as he looked across the room to assess the situation. Realising the last ploy, the last scheme he had up his sleeve he cursed that it wasn’t to save his own hide but the thought of seeing his cousin, Siuten – Kyoko’s grandfather, in their ancestral halls with her dying due to his cowardice was a worse fate than death.
Flying above the ground he grabbed Kyoko and Kuang by their backs and heaved them backwards, his bestial form having substantially more strength than his human self he had no issues pulling them through the door before noticing the mute, Sasha he had heard he been called before but he knew her to be Hana – a family member. Bowing deeply towards Hana he rumbled a mournful request “look after our family from here on our dear cousin…” and with that he rushed into the fray, separating limbs from bodies and disembowelling a walking corpse before dodging back from a lucky swing from one of the few living guards – his eyes glazed over from the affect of the charm of the Yuki-onna. As he moved back to join Choi and two, yes one two, glancing around he saw the bodies of two of the shadow cursed at the feet of the undead brute – Lucian.
“That one can see us Siu” Choi said.
“Call me Jung, in the end I think its fitting that I die again being known by my own name” he said glancing at the sailor who held a pilfered axe and short sword in his hand – the man nodded and clasped the scaled beast on the shoulder. Turning around to ensure nothing got past him and the dwindling supporters of the Harimasu family he saw that the party had joined Kyoko. “Choi, help me with this door.” he said as he pushed a straggler through the door with a not-quite-gentle nuzzle. “I am sorry my friends” he whispered as he saw their eyes connect with his as the door was closed, shutting him off from his friends and remaining family. “We can not help them now but buy them time” he said looking at Saem and Choi. “They are in good hands but they will be pursued until the frost queen has her will done. Let’s at least dwindle her forces whilst we have this gift. This Curse will be the minions of The Shadows undoing ” he said as he looked forward, the living having stopped advancing as they glanced around for the source of magic or wind that has closed and barred the door from the inside.
“For Kyoko!” called Choi as he charged the front ranks, his axe and sword separating man from life as he pushed forward through the guards. Saem and Tam followed suit, shouting loudly as they crashed into the guards, a spear by chance found Tams stomach as he pushed past the first rank but using his momentum he pushed onward, using his pain and adrenaline to fuel his fight.
Jung sensed it before the sword struck, rolling through the air and coiling his body around him like a snake as the sword connected with a fallen corpse instead of his head. “Right, the dead,” Jung said as he brought himself up tall using his tail and long limbs to batter the lesser zombies into the ranked behind them as he roared into the roof above them – a sound of unbridled anger, commitment and wrath. “For the Harimasu!” he called as he dashed forward roaring, embers sparking either side of his open maw.
The next few minutes were a constant dance of attacking and retreating and try as he may he couldn’t get past the Zombie-Lucians defences, he just wasn’t up to the standard of the heroes that he had travelled with. As his bites connected with the other dead creatures that were grabbing at his tail or limbs they caught aflame and began to burn as if dried tinder, the smell of burning flesh and blood quickly filled the dining hall.
“Jung!” called Choi as he pushed through a few more zombies and revealed several large wounds on his torso. “The queen she is coming!” roared as another guard swung directly at him. It looked like time was up and their ability to stay undetected was being overruled by the queens power over her puppets.
Hearing heavy footsteps he turned his head just in time for his reactions to catch the arms of the Lucian zombie, the sword he was bringing down at Jung’s head mere moments from sending him to his master and ancestral halls, if he would be welcome back.
A cry of pain signalled Saem taking a sword through the chest, and a moment later a roar of anger ended with the clatter of steel on stone -and the room was quiet other than the strain between the undead hulking man and the dragonoid.
Cold immediately began to seep through his scales and he knew it was too late, turning his head he went to exhale, hoping the embers were a predecessor of dragon fire and he was greeted by the eyes of Yukri she she grabbed his snout and held if firmly, the chill was immediate and he felt the Lucian zombie apply more pressure keeping Jungs’ focus on the sword a few inches from his neck. As the Yuki-onna looked at him with curiosity she leaned forward. “I doubt your little ploy here was worth it, you will join that Harimasu princess soon enough in the shadowlands as his darkness spreads through the lands and a new era is brought upon Ryokughan.” She said as she brought her head intimately close “It really is a pity, you have such beautiful scales but, I guess I can always cut them from your dead corpse” and with that she kissed him.
A spike of cold shot through his scales from the point of where her lips touched him and raced towards his heart and all at once his strength failed him, the point of Lucians sword plunged into his neck and his heart beat its last as his blood turned to ice.
As he fell to the ground his eyes fell upon Choi, his friends frozen eyes and the frostbite on his lips evidence that he too fell to the Yuki-onnas touch. As his vision darkened Jung wished that Kyoko was far away by now, that they had brought enough time for his family to escape, that he may be able to one day look Siuten in his eyes and seek forgiveness for the wrongs he had done and then all was silent except for the shuffle of undead and the opening of a door.
A world away, a great golden dragon lowered his head to the crystal orb held in his claws and as his great snout and whiskers touched the smooth surface so to did the tears he wept for the loss of Siu, no he could not be given that name any more as his repentance was over, Jung, for in the end he had proven his worth to his family and had finally realised what it meant to be a part of something bigger than himself.
Away on Stolen Horses
After riding for the good majority of the night, the fleeing dinner guests finally slowed their stolen mounts down to a trot as they came across a stream that was fighting back against the encroaching cold from the surrounding lands.
Kuang quickly moved around the area searching for tracks, the moonlight and his cursed vision enabling him to search for signs of spirits and other foul creatures that could have been sent by the Yuki-onna. The party watched him for a few moments before setting up camp near the stream, tying up the horses to a nearby tree securely so that they didn’t have to worry about them running off when the party was resting. “I found some tracks” Kuang said as he walked back through the thin snow, the sound of crunching snow underfoot the only sound that the seasoned veteran made. “looks like one to two days ahead of us, maybe, it all depends on how much or little snow has fallen as it could have been mere hours if we are behind a flurry of snow.” he said as he sat down and produced a flint and steel that he used to light a small fire to push back some of the darkness encroaching past the trees. “Regardless this area is safe for now, good to eat, get some water from the stream and feed the horses before we continue.”
Kyoko was sitting down the girl form the palace as she wrote in the thin snow with a twig in the flickering ember-light. As time went on it she revealed her name to be Hana Harimasu, and to Kyoko’s surprise it finally dawned on her that she was sitting with both her saviour and her baby cousin. As they communicated the party hunted some game, a young deer nearby and gathered what they thought was edible herbs and vegetables from under the snow nearby. As they washed the vegetables and fed some to the horses and ate the others the strips of venison to cook over the fire and once cooked the party began to eat the freshly cooked meat. Kyoko looked up form the flames and looked back towards the way they came.
“That horse, it was an Onikage. A creature that aligns itself with the Shadow but born to the shadowlands to the far north. A horse that dies whilst cursed by the shadowlands taint will likely rise as one but for that to be true then it was intentionally given to us as one and its transformation occurred as we travelled to the Toshio’s fort.” Kyoko explained with some observations interjected by Kuang where she got portions of it wrong. As she stoked the fire a familiar hissing screech came from the way they came sending shivers down their spines.
“They say that the Onikage are inhumanly cunning and will serve a master where they recognise the benefit to their partnership. I doubt that we have seen the last of it and we may find some benefit in travelling either up or down stream for a bit to have it loose our trail if it does follow us.” Kuang mused as he stood abruptly and began to start packing up their hastily made camp. “If we don’t want to be hunted all night I suggest we get moving, the sooner the better.”
Area of note
Toshio Lands – See map.
The ice and snow had been waning for some time now and the thinning trees gave way to fields of grass poking between the small drifts of snow. It was as if someone had cast a spell to create a wall of wind that buffered and pushed the snow away from the fields but people of the land would claim it was the twin mountains that stood in front of them, acting as two funnels that pushed wind through this particular crossing between Toshio and the wilds on the way to Harimasu territory.
Despite the stream that finished a few miles back towards the snow ridden mountains and valleys there wasn’t much water moving forward but the promise of a stream could be seen in the distance from the elevation of the pass as a flock of deer moved in a slow grazing herd towards a line of trees that wound its way across the pains.
However, the lands void of trees and strong winds gave it a barren and sparse appearance that didn’t lend itself to people on the run, or those being actively hunted as was the case. As the creature came down from the the hill it could see its quarry making their way on weary horses moving further away from the trees which provided great opportunity for ambushes. There wasn’t much time and the hunger in its stomach was only growing.
Encounter
The encounter really is settled around the Onikage killing a pack of wolves and then they turning into zombies that attack the party with an undead Choi on top. The stats for Choi will follow the Zombie template.
As for tactics the wolves would charge in first followed closely by the Onikage and Zombie mounted on its back. As the wolves focus on attacking the horses the Onikage and zombie-Choi will attack the party and will ferociously try and take them down.
Ideally it would happen as a surprise round with the ambush happening those with a keen perception may hear the shuffling of feet and such but until the undead and Onikage attack they will be nearly invisible amongst the trees and snow.
Aftermath
After the battle the party will be back on foot, partially, with some of their horses killed by the Onikage and zombie wolves.
Brazen Wolfe Tabletop 