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HP 20/17
AC 18
Fort +4, Ref +9, Will +6
Hero points: 1
Seasonal Boon: summer []; fall []; winter []; spring []
Effects:
Feeling a surge of invigoration as her companion feels a little fear, Hooli -- not particularly caring about honor or fair play, simply survival -- strikes from the depths of the fog. Pulling a piece of metal from her pouch, she sends three slivers toward the drunken fey, slashing into him
Lek keeps hiding behind the bridge's pillar, looking for a way to help.
Bestial Mutagen flowing through his blue veins, the Nagaji grins as the bulk hulk comes closer to the Alchemist's position.
Striding into a Flank with Kwan Tai, Li Jie waves at the stout hobgoblins.
And then the Mad Alchemist takes a bite out of crime!
Hooli fires several darts from her hand which strike the monocular foe, eliciting snarls of pain! Kwan Tai charges forward, bashing the creature with his staff, then Li Jie moves to flank. He trips the one-eye monster before taking a big bite out of him!
The creature retches some more, spitting up blood-flecked bile. He wipes at his mouth as he clambers to his feet and slashes at Lie Jie. The nagaji avoids the sharp blade!
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HP 20/17
AC 18
Fort +4, Ref +9, Will +6
Hero points: 1
Seasonal Boon: summer []; fall []; winter []; spring []
Effects: inspired
Hooli dashes in behind the retching Gurgleguts and slashes with her claws. Unfortunately, she's not a natural combatant and mostly just provides a distraction.
As the fiend rises, Tai thrusts the tip of his staff straight to his larynx with a sickening crunch. Sensing that his foe is weakening, Tai unleashes a barrage of blows, hoping to put him down before he sobers up.
Manners! Ask permission prior to postulating perfect posture!
The Nagaji attempts to re-unseat him!
And then the Mad Alchemist takes a bite out of crime!
Lacking any viable 3rd Action, which will be remedied soon, the Alchemist's Fangs try again!
Kwan Tai bashes Gurglegut as he gets to his feet. He dodges the hobgoblin’s other attacks, but Hooli slices open his back, and then Li Jie scores a critical hit, ripping out the monster’s throat! Gurglegut's body crumples to the stone of the bridge. The jinkins scream in terror as they flee into the fog!
Gurglegut has gathered a few treasures near his impromptu throne—a silver scepter set with semi-precious stones worth 15 gp and a full-pack cantrip deck. In addition, the creature carries three ancient copper coins in a pocket.
The Eternal Lantern stands at the southern end of Dawnstep Bridge, its flame extinguished. This stone lantern is a 5-foot-tall stone lamp carved from silver-laced granite from the Gossamer Mountains. Its interior contains a cold iron cage with a lotus-shaped pedestal on which three glowing copper coins once sat. It’s said that the light from this lamp protects Willowshore from all manners of evil.
It looks like the coins in Gurglegut’s pocket were taken from the lantern. They have lost their blessing and are now just mundane currency. Perhaps one of the town's elders will know how to light the lantern once more...
A bit shaken, Lek moves from behind the pillar. "We should definitely... but first I need to see if my daughter is safe. I'll meet you at Granny Hu after I check with my family."
Li Jie calmly excuses himself, retrieving a clean handkerchief from a pocket.
Foul business this night. Yesss, we must find the eldersss.
Tai shakes his head with finality. "No, Kasem Buakham. We cannot divide our forces tonight." Wielding his staff as a stylus, Tai quickly marks out a rough map in the dirt. "You are right, Granny Hu is far from your responsibilities. However, my home, and the house of Hooli Jinowarui are not far off the path to yours. If this is war, if more enemies block our way, I will want a better weapon than this stick." He glares at Hooli. "These 'things' at your home. They will help us? They are not your prankster's folderols?"
As you cross Dawnstep Bridge, you arrive on the edge of downtown Willowshore. The streets here are empty. Evidence of violence lies everywhere—splashes of blood on the streets and walls, broken weapons in gutters, and smashed doors and windows.
You give downtown a wide berth for now as you head first to Hooli’s house and then to Kwan Tai’s. Fortunately you manage to avoid attracting attention, and you are able to get into the homes and retrieve the heirlooms there with no troubles. The homes themselves seem to have escaped any damage or destruction.
You continue east along Northridge towards the new trade office at the Ceiba-Duyue Exchange. Just completed weeks ago, the office and its warehouse are a fair distance to the east of central Willowshore, making them perfect makeshift shelters. Indeed, as you get close, it becomes clear that the exchange, the fisheries, and and even the Mushroom House have opened their doors to accommodate an influx of villagers.
The villagers are grateful to see you alive, and they direct you to the trade office to speak to Granny Hu. You find her scrutinizing a map of Willowshore, using game pieces from an Eight Paces set to mark where monsters have been sighted and where people might be trapped. Beside her stands Kim Gu-won, the priest of Kofusachi who runs the Exchange.
Your arrival comes as a shock to the two of them. Granny Hu stares at you warily. "Gods above! You must be either brave or foolish to have come all this way through the monster-infested streets. Perhaps both. Dawnstep Bridge is crawling with monsters. How did you manage to cross the river?"
Li Jie calmly smiles at the reassuring presence of Granny Hu and Kim Gu-won. The Nagaji turns his blue serpent eyes scrutinizing the map of Willowshore, using game pieces from an Eight Paces set to mark where monsters have been sighted. He slithers over to the area marking Dawnstep Bridge. He knocks over the pieces set there.
The Bridge is cleared.
Once they reach their home, Lek gestures the others to stay behind. While knowing he should be careful, he can't really contain himself, moving faster than it was prudent.
He enters his home, closing the door behind him. A minute later, the others can hear some crying and then laughing... a captivating laugh of a young child. There is some talking, but the words are muffled thanks to the walls.
Lek leaves his home minutes later. His eyes show signs of recent tears and his shoulders are a bit less hunched, as if a real weight was taken from his shoulders.
"Bravery is doing something despite knowing we might get hurt. Foolishness is the same, and that is why life is challenging." Lek says, quoting an old and wise proverb. "The monsters were gone, thanks to my three companions. I'm certain I'd not have survived if not for them."
Granny Hu scowls when Lie Jie knocks the game piece over, but she gives you an appraising look. "You killed the buso? Impressive."
She points to the markers still remaining. "There are still many other monsters running rampant through our town. I am not sure where they came from, but they descended upon Willowshore shortly after midnight. The downtown area is particularly plagued by them. I have heard rumors that the 'brain' of the monsters that invaded Willowshore is someone, or something, named Mo Douqiu. I believe he might either be a human with occult powers or some sort of human-like yokai. Either way, if he is taken out, it would greatly weaken the enemies' position here in town, but I am sure it won't be easy. We must strengthen our own position here.
"I also heard from some of the survivors who sought refuge with us here that Ugly Cute has gone missing, though I find the idea of the stone statue 'waking up on its own' to be ridiculous superstition. If anything, I suspect the statue might have been animated by magic, or perhaps it has become haunted. Since the source of its mobility is unknown, do not assume that Ugly Cute is friendly if you encounter it. We have more pressing matters to deal with first, anyway."
Kim Gu-won steps forward. "The Eternal Lantern must be re-ignited. Master Zhi Hui herself first lit the lantern over a century ago using coins blessed by the gods Calistria, Kofusachi, and Shelyn. Perhaps we should follow in her footsteps and seek new blessings from the gods' shrines to restore the lantern's light?"
Granny Hu shrugs. "It's worth a shot, I suppose. Aside from those primary tasks, I could use your help with a few other things..."
Missing Grandchildren: On a more personal level, Granny Hu is worried about some of her missing grandchildren. They were last seen heading toward the northern drying yards near the Mushroom House on the evening of the Reenactment Festival. Granny Hu speculates they hosted their own private party there and somehow ended up unable to return home.
Nodding at Granny Hu's frown, the Alchemist's blue scales rustle a bit in humor.
Logic dictate making a house call on our only physician.
The Nagaji grins, as he also has some skillin the art, although not an expert by any means like their Doctor Dami.
He considers something.
We can check at northern drying yards near the Mushroom House after.
"We do not know how long this incursion will last. Securing Doctor Damihansig Mababangloob must be our priority. Any shrines or other horrors we discover on that path will be dealt with. Must we rely on those gods for the lantern's blessing? Replacing any of them with General Susumu would be stronger."
"Any three gods will do," Kim Gu-won says, nodding his head. "Think about which ones you'd want watching over the town and our people!"
Kwan Tai doesn't know of any shrines to General Susumu in town, but there are shrines to other deities abound.
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Lek smiles and take the coins with care and respect. "While we should rescue Doctor Dami, we should not risk wandering the town aimlessly."
"The shrine to Kofusashi is here, so we should take his blessing before leaving. There is also a shrine of Shizuru on Mother's coil, only a couple minutes from our main path towards the doctor's house. And, finally, the doctor himself has a shrine dedicated to Qi Zhong." Lek explains. "By the time we reach the doctor's house, we could perhaps have all the coins blessed already and, if he is safe in his house, we could leave him there a little more so we can reignite the lantern before returning here."
"The prosperity of the Laughing God, the duty of the Empress of Heaven, and the protection of the Master of Medicine will certainly boost our noble village."
The Nagaji simply nods his agreement.
Tai scowls at the idea of trusting in Kofusashi, but waits for Hooli to finish her foolishness.
Kim Gu-won nods and leads you to a shrine of Kofusachi within the trade office. Kim touches the string of seven coins he wears around his neck as he chants a lengthy prayer to the Laughing God. At its culmination, one of the copper coins begins to glow. You will still need to receive two more blessings to relight the Eternal Lantern.
You head west back towards the heart of town. The fog-shrouded streets takes you to Mother's Coil, a Nagajor-styled tower of dark basalt built by an old nagaji wizard who settled in Willowshore fifteen years ago. The wizard died tragically last year, and care of the tower passed to their apprentice and ward, the human woman Igawa Jubei.
Jubei is sheltering with the other Northridgers, but an unlocked back door that leads into a small shrine. The shrine here actually has three altars, one each dedicated to Nalinivati, Shizuru, and Tsukiyo.
Critical Success: The deity blesses the copper coin but also imbues you with additional divine energy and insight. You heal 1d8+8 Hit Points and can cast guidance once in the next 24 hours as a divine spell. You treat all further critical successes at Invoking Shrine Blessing as regular successes instead.
Success: The deity blesses the copper coin.
Failure: You fail to achieve a blessing but suffer no ill effects. You can’t attempt to invoke a blessing at this specific shrine again for 24 hours.
Critical Failure: You anger the deity. The copper coin vanishes, you can’t attempt to invoke a blessing at this shrine again for 1 week, and you become stupefied 1 for 1 hour.
Alternate Blessing Skills: Nalinivati: Midwifery Lore or Nature; Shizuru: Diplomacy or Warfare Lore; Tsukiyo: Genealogy Lore or Occultism
Kwan Tai kneels precisely in front of Shizuru's shrine, invoking the other samurai goddess's blessings in phrases bound in careful etiquette, but not doing quite enough to hide his faint disdain...
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"Honorable Shizuru will see through your heart, Kwan Tai." He says, taking the coin instead.
Lek knees and properly prays for her. His words are filled with emotion, focused mostly or her vigil aspect. He doesn't fight his tears as he speaks of the dead and the suffering of those left behind with nothing but pale memories of their once bright happiness. "... so that your holy sunrays might breach the encroaching fog in our hearts, guiding us again to your embrace."
Li Jie smiles at the sight of the shrine to Tsukiyo! The Nagaji begins to offer him prayer and coin.
While Kwan Tai and Li Jie fail to draw the gods' attentions, Lek succeeds at securing Shizuru's blessing. The second copper coin glows with warm sunlight, as does the bard himself, as the Empress of Heaven extends her blessing to him as well.
"The doctor has a shrine of Qi Zhong. I'm sure the blessing of the Master of Medicine will be a boon to Willowshore." Lek says, ready to leave after he composes himself.
The Nagaji seems to be painfully smiling at his not so much success and Lek's most obvious production.
Yesss,the shrine of Qi Zhong has been a study of mine during medical school.
Having a snake face seems to preclude actually reading if he is being serious or sarcastic....
You make your way west to the Hand of Spring clinic. When you arrive, you can see that the western half of the clinic appears to be boarded up and abandoned, but the sounds of hissing, growling, and the thumping of a battle become apparent, seemingly coming from the eastern courtyard. Peering through the wooden lattice separating the courtyard from the exterior path, you can plainly see several giant centipedes attacking a ghostly gecko the size of a human!
Before you can intervene, three of the giant centipedes clamber out through gaps in the lattice, their mandibles clacking menacingly! "Fresh meat..." one hisses.
"Want to eat..." says another.
"Eat the meat!" the third snarls!
Confidently approaching the Hand of Spring clinic, the Alchemist seems to be keeping his serpentine head on a swivel for ambitious ambushers with the audacity to allow adequate application of any kind of threat.
Viewing the abandoned looking clinic, the Nagaji seems not to be aware of the activities of the sudden sickening sight of the centipedes....
Does that color motif seem odd to anyone else?
Tai takes a broad stance across from the centipedes, using the long haft of his hammer to send it whistling from bug to bug.
"Oh... not again!" Lek says as he turns back and puts some distance between him and the bugs. "Mighty Kwan Tai have already crushed your kind, spirit vermin!"
Hooli and Lek demoralize two of the centipedes. The kitsune takes one out with her needle darts, while Kwan Tai’s hammer whirls as he smashes the other two overgrown insects to pulps!
As Li Jie cocks his head at the clinic’s color motif, he doesn’t notice the jinkin gremlin creeping up behind him until its sword nicks his shin! ”Surprise!” the gremlin cackles with glee.
Startled by the pinprick in his Serpent's tail, Li Jie Qiang smiles down at the gremlin.
I see that hors'duerves are being served.
The Nagaji attempts to snatch a sample!
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HP 20/17
AC 18
Fort +4, Ref +9, Will +6
Hero points: 1
Seasonal Boon: summer []; fall []; winter []; spring []
Effects:
Seeing Li Jie Qiang helping Lek with the gremlin, Hooli focuses on the remaining centipede.
Dashing up to it, she slashes with her claws, splattering the bug all over Tai. "Ha!" she laughs with a quick grin toward the hobgoblin.
Hooli scores a critical hit on the gremlin, following up with another vicious strike that takes the tiny creature down!
You head inside the clinic's courtyard, where the ghostly gecko is just finishing off the last centipede it was fighting. It turns towards you, hissing and lashing its tail in a threatening gesture. A few seconds later, though, the door to the western building opens and Doctor Dami emerges. "Don't kill it!" he blurts out. "It is a guardian spirit!"
"Control your spirit, Doctor Damihansig Mababangloob, and we will not hurt it. We do not want to endanger you tonight."
Li Jie nods over to Kwan Tai.
Blessings be upon you. The dust around here is atrocious.
The ghostly gecko blinks at you, then a few seconds later, it fades away. Doctor Dami sighs with relief. "Thank you, my friends. I do not think the spirit alone would have been able to keep the clinic safe from those murderous insects. I am in your debt, as are those in my care. Please, accept these with my thanks."
The doctor offers you two lesser antidotes and a lesser darkvision elixir.
"You are not in my debt, Doctor Dami, both because I did nothing to save you and because I am still in your debt. I'll never forget how you cared for Malee when she was terribly sick." He says, before adding. "And how you never gave up."
He then takes the antidotes and the elixir, storing it in his pack. "Would you be kind enough to follow us to your shrine? We need Qi Zhong's blessing to light the Eternal Lantern again."
Dami bows to Lek. "Of course. Follow me." The doctor leads you inside the clinic, where you can see a handful of injured citizens, including Igawa Jubei who has sprained her ankle badly and Huo Tian-Zhe who sports a large burn wound. In the back of the clinic, a small altar with lit candles displays the elemental wheel symbol of Qi Zhong, Master of Medicine.