thin-limbed gorgeous green eyes smiling and I'm going straight to Hell
So as promised we had our second session of the Mountain Witch, which brought us to the close of the second chapter.
My blogging efforts are simultaneously aided and hindered by the discovery that Nathan (aka hamsterprophecy), our GM, has already done a write-up of the events of the first game. You may wish to check it out, as I have decided I will be focusing almost exclusively on the events of last night's session.
Last week we had the first chapter, which introduced us to our seven samurai:
Eventually the characters picked up and carried on. The snow-covered mountainside was inexplicably strewn with cherry blossoms. Nanami could be seen ahead, gathering up some of the flowers. The group hastened to rejoin her. In the distance they could at last see the castle of the Mountain Witch. But another evil trick was afoot, for it seemed no matter how long they climbed they never seemed to draw any closer. Finally one of the characters made mention of this fact.
"You only think that because its uphill," offered Hiroshi. The others smiled indulgently and corrected his misapprehension. They set out along a lateral path and discovered a passage through the rock, at last emerging closer to the castle. Sanjuro turned back into the tunnel, much to the confusion of his fellows, only to be seen still further up the slope moments later, apparently able to exploit the strange magic as a shortcut. Unwilling to attempt to duplicate his feat the party continued along the slower and more direct path.
They were beset by three Tengu then, the strange flying bird-men mysteriously bypassing Sanjuro to attack the five remaining samurai. Nanami, who can speak with birds, attempted to engage them in conversation, but the Tengu were uninterested and so negotations went poorly. Ieyasu stood tough and tried to stare down his foes before resorting to violence. Hiroshi tried to offer one of the Tengu half a loaf of bread and was likewise met with violence. Hikaru, meanwhile, began reciting a poem even as a Tengu dived towards him. All at once the Tengu received enlightenment, his feathers falling off. He sat in lotus position and had tea with Hikaru while the attack continued. Nanami tackled the Tengu fighting Ieyasu to the ground and, with a little help, killed it. Hiroshi chased around the remaining ungrateful bird-man that had refused his bread, beating it with his sword sheath until it cowered. He chastized it, gave it the bread which had fallen to the ground, and sent it on its way.
The party then caught up with Sanjuro, just in time to face the Witch's final challenge (or at least the last one before entering his keep.) Six foot high stalagtites of ice sprang up before each character, and each character saw something horrible in the reflection, something that halted them and made them question themselves. Hiroshi was the first to fall and be rescued; in his stalagtite he was challenged by an unshaven lowlife menacing him. He staggered back and three more stalagtites sprang up, each containing another criminal figure, who reached and clutched for the portly samurai and drew him into their clutches and into the ice. With a little help from Taro and Hikaru he pulled himself free, but he returned a different man. He himself had become unshaven and filthy, his vast backpack full of food supplies gone, and the pinky finger of his right hand removed, scarred over as if from an old wound.
Sanjuro meanwhile had turned a literally blind eye to his challenge, unable to see it. He utilized his geomancy to weaken the illusions besetting the remaining four characters, even as a swirling vortex of dark evil reached from his own stalagtite and threatened to draw him in. Next up was Taro, who was confronted with a view of the funeral services being held to memorialize the death of the current Emperor. He seemed entranced by the sight; a chrysanthemum wafted down from the scene and he reached up to grasp it. Ieyashu knelt and offered him back his sword, a gesture laden with symbolic meaning. Taro took back the sword and turned his attention from the scene, which shattered, somehow leaving the impression that it alone among these horrible sights might have been more real than mere simulacrum.
Hikaru, faced with what seemed to be her own doppelganger dressed in black, simply stared the vision down. Its muttered words became audible and were revealed to be truly terrible poetry. Hikaru laughed and the stalagtite shattered. Ieyasu was faced with a vision of a dead figure, presumably his fallen master, who called him out on his worthiness to be there. Taro spoke up on his behalf and Ieyasu found his resolve, staring down the dead figure; his stalagtite likewise shattered. Nanami's reflection contained a starving household staring at her expectantly. Desitute figures began to emerge with hands cupped, begging and pawing at her; they tore her shirt to reveal that she had stuffed her empty chest cavity with the cherry blossoms from earlier, which fell into their outstretched hands, defeating them.
Seething tentacles of dark energy poured from the stalagtite behind the unaware Sanjuro. As they touched his back his clothing burst into flame, the fire soon travelling up to his blindflod, burning it away to reveal his sightless eyes. As he tensed and prepared to deal with the threat Taro swept in, brandishing the sword Ieyasu had earlier returned to him. It sliced through most of the dark tentacles with startling ease, and those that remained he grappled with, finally wresting them from the ice and causing it to shatter. The chrysanthemum Taro had grasped in his earlier vision fluttered free and landed in Sanjuro's eye socket, temporarily restoring his sight in that eye. With a sigh that seemed disgusted Sanjuro pulled the flower away and discarded it. Hiroshi stepped forward and offered the sage a rag torn from his tattered clothes to re-bind his eyes.
The party at last approached the entrance to the Mountain Witch's keep. Nanami strode forward and knocked on the doors, which swung open at her touch. As the samurai made their way inside she turned and pressed her hand to Hiroshi's chest, barring his entry. She told him that he was unworthy to enter through these doors and, shaken by his earlier failure, he flinched and allowed her to turn him aside. Ieyasu stepped forward them and demanded to know why. Nanami and Ieyasu had a tense standoff, and just as Hiroshi began making his way back down the path Nanami revealed her Dark Fate; her master, the Mountain Witch, did not welcome Hiroshi to enter. Taro stepped forward to tell Hiroshi that he was in his service, and was still of use. Hiroshi stopped, renewed his resolve and turned to walk alongside the castle wall, insisting that there must be other doors. He informed Taro that he was not in his service; indeed he considered the would-be sovereign in his debt. He passed from the sight of the remaining samurai and Nanami offered to lead them into the Mountain Witch's home. Ieyasu stepped forward then and shrugged, saying simply, "I can lead."
[EDITED TO ADD: I totally forgot the bit where Iesaku discovered, while fighting the Tengu, that the hand healed by Sanjuro's magic (using Taro's imperial blood) was full of Princess Mononoke style brown demominc tentacle power. My bad. Hopefully that's the only important detail I neglected.]
That brings us to the close of chapter two. Join us next week when we conclude the exciting and tragic tale of these seven samurai and their quest to take down the infamous Mountain Witch.
My blogging efforts are simultaneously aided and hindered by the discovery that Nathan (aka hamsterprophecy), our GM, has already done a write-up of the events of the first game. You may wish to check it out, as I have decided I will be focusing almost exclusively on the events of last night's session.
Last week we had the first chapter, which introduced us to our seven samurai:
- Eisaku (played by Richard). Eisaku is a large and excessively solid man, due to the fact that he is a descendant of Mt. Fuji. In spite of this he seems relatively well-adjusted and devoted to his ideals. His astrological sign is Boar.
- Ieyasu (played by David.) Ieyasu is a haughty, pretentious dick with a rigid formal demeanor and a superiority complex. In other words he's the classic samurai. His astrological sign is Ram.
- Hikaru (played by Alexis.) Hikaru is an odd duck and a bit of a mad monk, with training in traditional Noh theatre. He's laconic and what he does says often has an incomprehensible koan quality. His astrological sign is Rabbit.
- Hiroshi (played by me.) Hiroshi is tubby and yet strangely agile and always seems to be eating, except when he's startled, in which case his mouth is hanging open with crumbs falling out. He provides much of the game's comic relief, although he also appears to be a competent samurai. His astrological sign is Dog.
- Nanami (played by Jonathan aka foreign_devilry). Nanami is less a samurai and more a strange and sullen ninja. The group fairly rapidly discovered that she appears to have expired some time prior to joining us in the climb up Mt. Fuji. Her astrological sign is Rooster.
- Sanjuro (played by Eric.) Sanjuro is blind and yet seems to have no difficulty getting around. He is a skilled geomancer and member of the group best schooled in the mystic arts needed to combat the magical tricks and trials sent down by the Mountain Witch. His astrological sign is Ox.
- Taro (played by Ben.) Taro is an imperious and charismatic fellow with a manner somewhat less proud and aloof than Ieyasu, with whom he butts heads. Taro is strangely good at giving orders, although the various party members vary in how well they respond to being told what to do. His astrological sign is Dragon.
Eventually the characters picked up and carried on. The snow-covered mountainside was inexplicably strewn with cherry blossoms. Nanami could be seen ahead, gathering up some of the flowers. The group hastened to rejoin her. In the distance they could at last see the castle of the Mountain Witch. But another evil trick was afoot, for it seemed no matter how long they climbed they never seemed to draw any closer. Finally one of the characters made mention of this fact.
"You only think that because its uphill," offered Hiroshi. The others smiled indulgently and corrected his misapprehension. They set out along a lateral path and discovered a passage through the rock, at last emerging closer to the castle. Sanjuro turned back into the tunnel, much to the confusion of his fellows, only to be seen still further up the slope moments later, apparently able to exploit the strange magic as a shortcut. Unwilling to attempt to duplicate his feat the party continued along the slower and more direct path.
They were beset by three Tengu then, the strange flying bird-men mysteriously bypassing Sanjuro to attack the five remaining samurai. Nanami, who can speak with birds, attempted to engage them in conversation, but the Tengu were uninterested and so negotations went poorly. Ieyasu stood tough and tried to stare down his foes before resorting to violence. Hiroshi tried to offer one of the Tengu half a loaf of bread and was likewise met with violence. Hikaru, meanwhile, began reciting a poem even as a Tengu dived towards him. All at once the Tengu received enlightenment, his feathers falling off. He sat in lotus position and had tea with Hikaru while the attack continued. Nanami tackled the Tengu fighting Ieyasu to the ground and, with a little help, killed it. Hiroshi chased around the remaining ungrateful bird-man that had refused his bread, beating it with his sword sheath until it cowered. He chastized it, gave it the bread which had fallen to the ground, and sent it on its way.
The party then caught up with Sanjuro, just in time to face the Witch's final challenge (or at least the last one before entering his keep.) Six foot high stalagtites of ice sprang up before each character, and each character saw something horrible in the reflection, something that halted them and made them question themselves. Hiroshi was the first to fall and be rescued; in his stalagtite he was challenged by an unshaven lowlife menacing him. He staggered back and three more stalagtites sprang up, each containing another criminal figure, who reached and clutched for the portly samurai and drew him into their clutches and into the ice. With a little help from Taro and Hikaru he pulled himself free, but he returned a different man. He himself had become unshaven and filthy, his vast backpack full of food supplies gone, and the pinky finger of his right hand removed, scarred over as if from an old wound.
Sanjuro meanwhile had turned a literally blind eye to his challenge, unable to see it. He utilized his geomancy to weaken the illusions besetting the remaining four characters, even as a swirling vortex of dark evil reached from his own stalagtite and threatened to draw him in. Next up was Taro, who was confronted with a view of the funeral services being held to memorialize the death of the current Emperor. He seemed entranced by the sight; a chrysanthemum wafted down from the scene and he reached up to grasp it. Ieyashu knelt and offered him back his sword, a gesture laden with symbolic meaning. Taro took back the sword and turned his attention from the scene, which shattered, somehow leaving the impression that it alone among these horrible sights might have been more real than mere simulacrum.
Hikaru, faced with what seemed to be her own doppelganger dressed in black, simply stared the vision down. Its muttered words became audible and were revealed to be truly terrible poetry. Hikaru laughed and the stalagtite shattered. Ieyasu was faced with a vision of a dead figure, presumably his fallen master, who called him out on his worthiness to be there. Taro spoke up on his behalf and Ieyasu found his resolve, staring down the dead figure; his stalagtite likewise shattered. Nanami's reflection contained a starving household staring at her expectantly. Desitute figures began to emerge with hands cupped, begging and pawing at her; they tore her shirt to reveal that she had stuffed her empty chest cavity with the cherry blossoms from earlier, which fell into their outstretched hands, defeating them.
Seething tentacles of dark energy poured from the stalagtite behind the unaware Sanjuro. As they touched his back his clothing burst into flame, the fire soon travelling up to his blindflod, burning it away to reveal his sightless eyes. As he tensed and prepared to deal with the threat Taro swept in, brandishing the sword Ieyasu had earlier returned to him. It sliced through most of the dark tentacles with startling ease, and those that remained he grappled with, finally wresting them from the ice and causing it to shatter. The chrysanthemum Taro had grasped in his earlier vision fluttered free and landed in Sanjuro's eye socket, temporarily restoring his sight in that eye. With a sigh that seemed disgusted Sanjuro pulled the flower away and discarded it. Hiroshi stepped forward and offered the sage a rag torn from his tattered clothes to re-bind his eyes.
The party at last approached the entrance to the Mountain Witch's keep. Nanami strode forward and knocked on the doors, which swung open at her touch. As the samurai made their way inside she turned and pressed her hand to Hiroshi's chest, barring his entry. She told him that he was unworthy to enter through these doors and, shaken by his earlier failure, he flinched and allowed her to turn him aside. Ieyasu stepped forward them and demanded to know why. Nanami and Ieyasu had a tense standoff, and just as Hiroshi began making his way back down the path Nanami revealed her Dark Fate; her master, the Mountain Witch, did not welcome Hiroshi to enter. Taro stepped forward to tell Hiroshi that he was in his service, and was still of use. Hiroshi stopped, renewed his resolve and turned to walk alongside the castle wall, insisting that there must be other doors. He informed Taro that he was not in his service; indeed he considered the would-be sovereign in his debt. He passed from the sight of the remaining samurai and Nanami offered to lead them into the Mountain Witch's home. Ieyasu stepped forward then and shrugged, saying simply, "I can lead."
[EDITED TO ADD: I totally forgot the bit where Iesaku discovered, while fighting the Tengu, that the hand healed by Sanjuro's magic (using Taro's imperial blood) was full of Princess Mononoke style brown demominc tentacle power. My bad. Hopefully that's the only important detail I neglected.]
That brings us to the close of chapter two. Join us next week when we conclude the exciting and tragic tale of these seven samurai and their quest to take down the infamous Mountain Witch.