[Closed] 4: Terror in the Mountains

[Starbeard]

Senichi

Imperial Highway, Beiden Pass [map]
Early Afternoon (Hour of the Horse)
"Death Day" in High Week, 4th of Long Month [calendar]
Weather is mostly pleasant and clear

Senichi and Saburo keep to their horses and make a break for it! The goblins seem oblivious, rushing headlong into the others while you escape. You hear the court shugenja rattling off a spell to encircle his party within a small moat of water, and then are around the bend and out of sight.

Do any goblins pursue? (1 in 3) [1d3] = 2 (No pursuit).

You are now heading along the road north/east. The castle is back south/west, but that way is cut off by a small horde of goblins. Soft Wind Village, where you stayed the other night, is the next stop ahead, still a couple of hours' ride away.

You can always take to the dense woods on either side of the Imperial Highway to double back to the castle, but the valley shoulders are very steep (your horse should be fine for simple riding, but Saburo will almost certainly have to dismount and walk), and there's no telling what you might encounter on the way.


Actions?



登場人物

• Matsumoto Senichi, Unicorn shugenja: TN10, Init +2, wakizashi 4k3 (DR 4k2) | Hnr 3;2, Wnds (4) -2;0 | Void Pts 2/2 | Spells: F2/3 - A2 - W3 - E2 (double heal rate)
  • Saburo: 3E/3W/1F/1A/1V | TN5, Init +1, DR 1k1 | Hn 2;7 - Gl 0;0 - Wnds (6) 0;0 | Void Pts 1/1

How far back to the castle (just on the road, of course it will be longer with a detour)?

What kind of resources would be at the village?

Clearly we need to get a message through to the castle, but having escaped we need to make sure the message actually gets through. Is there any safe observation point where we could watch the fight? If the shujega and samurai do prevail, then one would assume they would head back to the castle to warn of the goblin activity, if they don't, I wouldn't want to go back down the road without a decent force. Either way, clearly we can't summon help in time to make a difference in the battle. The castle is most important to alert, but the village needs to be alerted also.

Along the road, you are two hours from the village ahead, and four hours from the castle behind.

You do see the ruins of a small shrine perched atop a ledge in the mountain that should give a good view of the area. After a quick Perception test vs TN 15 ([1d10] = 8, [1d10] = 5, [1d10] = 5), you think you spot a way up through the trees, and figure you can make it in about 20 minutes.

The village won't have any particular resources, except more runners to get word out. They can also alert the Imperial Waystation at the bottom of the pass, which has two large garrisons (one Imperial, one Lion). It should be about half a day to run down there, and the better part of a day to march back up.

[ffilz]

Hmm, could I send Saburu on ahead to the village to get the word out? I could ride up to the ruin and take a look around, and then seek a path back to the castle.

[Starbeard]

Definitely an option.

[ffilz]

Definitely an option.

Ok, let's go with that. Hopefully the road on to the village is safe and Saburu makes it there. After sending Saburu on his way (I hope this bodes well for Saburu's redemption, this is a great opportunity for him to serve as a messenger), Senichi will make his way up to the ruin, but first, he will listen in case he can hear any sounds from the battle behind and discern the progress or outcome.

[Starbeard]

Imperial Highway, Beiden Pass [map]
Early Afternoon (Hour of the Horse)
"Death Day" in High Week, 4th of Long Month [calendar]
Weather is mostly pleasant and clear

Sounds like a plan.

Saburo follows his orders fearlessly as usual, despite being very green on a horse and having never been in the countryside by himself. You watch him gallop off clumsily, and wonder if he'll be able to stay on the saddle the whole way.

With just you and your Shinjo purebred, you are able to surmount the temple a little more quickly. It gets quite steep toward the top, until finally you hit some crumbling stairs that pass through an old-fashioned torii gate. The shrine looks like it has layers of history: just ahead is the abandoned Rokugani building you spied from below, but surrounding it are the collapsed ruins of a very ancient building, probably built by the Naga before the creation of humans when the Great Kami fell to earth.





From the Rokugani shrine you have a fairly commanding view of this part of the Pass. You see that Saburo is making decent time and finally disappears around a bend. It takes you a short while to determine where the fight should be, but soon you do spot an area along the road strewn with corpses. It looks like the samurai actually managed to take out most of the goblins, but you can only assume they lost in the end, because a couple of small figures are running back and forth between the bodies, defiling and looting.

Actions?



登場人物

• Matsumoto Senichi, Unicorn shugenja: TN10, Init +2, wakizashi 4k3 (DR 4k2) | Hnr 3;2, Wnds (4) -2;0 | Void Pts 2/2 | Spells: F2/3 - A2 - W3 - E2 (double heal rate)
  • Saburo: 3E/3W/1F/1A/1V | TN5, Init +1, DR 1k1 | Hn 2;7 - Gl 0;0 - Wnds (6) 0;0 | Void Pts 1/1

[ffilz]

Ok, now it's time to make my way back down, but on the castle side of the ambush and make my way to the castle. I will note the interesting ruins for later investigation.

[Starbeard]

Alright, let's get this started up again.


Imperial Highway, Beiden Pass [map]
Early Afternoon (Hour of the Horse)
"Death Day" in High Week, 4th of Long Month [calendar]
Weather is mostly pleasant and clear

The trek across the high slope is a little trickier than you expected, but not impassable for your horse. There are just one or two spots where you have to dismount and lead it across a crook or over a rock by hand.

At one ledge, you look down through the trees and see that you are directly above the main battle site. Corpses have now been dragged away, but the blood remains. Looking along the road in the direction you fled, you see the chief goblin with three other goblins. They are crawling menacingly on the ground—sniffing, licking, listening, something. They seem to have caught a scent, and go sneaking with great speed right up the path to the abandoned temple!

At this point you have about a 20 minute lead from the temple. If you keep to the mountain side it will be another 20 minutes before you can set down out of sight beyond the battle site. You can also skip down the mountainside right here and be back on the road (right at the battle site) in 10 minutes. Based on what you saw, the goblins are able to move about twice as fast up and down the steep mountain paths as you on your horse.

Actions?



登場人物

• Matsumoto Senichi, Unicorn shugenja: TN10, Init +2, wakizashi 4k3 (DR 4k2) | Hnr 3;2, Wnds (4) -2;0 | Void Pts 2/2 | Spells: F2/3 - A2 - W3 - E2 (double heal rate)
  • Saburo: 3E/3W/1F/1A/1V | TN5, Init +1, DR 1k1 | Hn 2;7 - Gl 0;0 - Wnds (6) 0;0 | Void Pts 1/1

[ffilz]

I'll back into the brush enough that I can still see but it will be all but impossible for them to see me and wait for them to get well off the road and then head down to the battle site. Senichi considers that it's possible a goblin or two will still be around the battle site but with several following the leader along my path, I shouldn't have too hard a time with any that might remain. After that short delay (should just be a minute or two) I will come down at the battle site, and if I can quickly spot the shujenga's body, I will grab that and then make haste back to the castle. I want to be gone from the battle site at least 5 minutes before I figure the goblins could make it there.

[Starbeard]

Your planning is good, and you go about it without any encounters. The battle site is abandoned, though the few corpses that have not been dragged away, the ones that have been butchered and half eaten, have all been thoroughly plundered. Unfortunately, the shugenja is one of the bodies who has been stolen. You quickly scour the site for any evidence of him that may have been left behind, but you don't find a thing. (Perception+Investigation, rolled 17)

Perception 3k3 roll: [1d10] = 1, [1d10] = 8, [1d10] = 8

You have to start your ride pretty quickly once you hear goblins calling to each other from the mountainsides and begin leaping and sliding back down the path with startling speed. Fortunately your horse's hooves are greased lightning and they have no hope of catching up.

You arrive back at the castle in late afternoon, the Hour of the Monkey. The guards are obviously very surprised to see you.

[ffilz]

I will convey an urgency of needing to speak to the lord about a serious matter.

[Starbeard]

The urgency is expressed, and you meet Lord Nasu fairly quickly. He's out riding his horse around a small course and has no interest in what you have to say, but at least you got to see him right away, and as usual Lady Nasu shows up out of nowhere and delegates to keep him on track.

I'm assuming you relate things more or less as they happened? Regardless of what exactly you say, the first mention of Shadowlands creatures immediately piques their interest as you'd expect. Both of them seem very surprised and alarmed, and impetuous Lord Nasu practically goes riding off down the hill before you've finished your story to hunt them down himself.

Lady Nasu is more reserved, and admonishes him (and you) to wait and stay tight lipped. "It would be best to send out a small, secretive scouting party, so that we know whether we can handle this threat with our own forces. News of goblins in the Pass could bring foreign armies swarming in to take over."

You have a chance to sway either of them to you view (we'll call that a contested Awareness+Courtier roll), and that ought to determine what happens next.

[ffilz]

Senichi will express sincere agreement with Lady Nasu's thoughts of keeping the lid on this, though reminding her that he did send Sabaru on to the village so we should send a runner there to assure they don't spread panic. Senichi also offers that his traveling companions might be willing to be part of the small group that scouts the situation out.

[Starbeard]

Your suggestion to keep things inside the group has resonated with them as an excellent idea. "But first things must come first, don't they! Your companions will need to be rescued from that isolated village, and we will need to ensure that your messenger delivers his message with tact!" After a few minutes of guided discussion, Lady Nasu finally convinces Lord Nasu to round up his companions and ride with them them to Soft Wind Village, on the guise of taking a quick hunting trip. She asked him to stay at first, but he was so adamant about going out himself that she gave up that argument. Once again, Lord Nasu comes across as a man of action and simple desires, proud of his privileged position but also resentful of being cloistered in his castle.

You are asked to stay until they return (they'll be riding through the night, to ensure that they catch Saburo), and in the meantime you will be given tours of the castle and its breathtaking views of the valley, and invited to take leisure however you like.

[ffilz]

Hey, I just wanted to understand the social implications of what all went down. I feel bad that Senichi ran, but certainly if the NPCs were there as escort to see Senichi through safely then the implications are not too bad.

[Starbeard]

Yes, whatever might be written in the rulebook, I'm definitely leaning toward letting this work out for Senichi. The NPCs had a duty to protect with their lives, and they did. Senichi wasn't bound by that duty, but he still took on the NPC's request to get word out, which itself was risky. If Senichi also talks up their heroism, that would also help put a positive spin on it.

The main thing I'm getting from L5R is that most actions can be spun into a negative or a positive, depending on how you decide to treat it. An NPC with a grudge might cause problems by accusing you of running, but you can also turn that around by convincing them that you were actually taking selfless and honorable action.

[Starbeard]

Beiden Hill Manor, Beiden Pass [map]
Mid Afternoon (Hour of the Goat)
"Death Day" in High Week, 4th of Long Month [calendar]
Weather is mostly pleasant and clear, but cold with snow


Continued from & merged with Thread 3: On the Road — Arriving at Beiden Pass.


Your travel up the mountain Pass is quicker, thanks to your horses. Lord Nasu does not say much, but keeps a resolved trot that forces you all to keep up, lest you fall behind.

The mountain ridges to either side stretch up even higher as you wind upward, always casting a long shadow into the Pass; until finally the peaks are blocked out entirely by stacked lines of giant fir trees that crowd the Road, guiding it up a long, steep rise that twists northward then southward as it climbs. Your horses are noticeably tired when they reach the summit and burst out of the treeline into an open field powdered with snow, bordered on either side by gentle slops that curve up into the precipitous peaks of the Spine of the World Mountains, now much closer than you had thought.

"The Road is more level from here on out," says Lord Nasu, practically the only thing he has said all trip.

Two miles up the road bends left and enters a narrow valley, and Lord Nasu points off to the woods that huddle against the valley wall, saying, "This way." Following him off the Road, you walk your horses into the trees and see a pile of corpses, some goblin and some human, all butchered or devoured in some fashion. "This is where the ambush took place. We would have come to you sooner, but we had to move the bodies and then wait to be cleansed of blood and taint by the shugenja." Without another word the daimyo turns his horse and heads back to the Road.

In the middle of the afternoon you see a tall, snowcapped hill with steep sides of grass in the distance, sitting in the middle of the valley like a giant mole. All up and down the hillside, and along its crest, are leveled elevations with buildings settled upon them. "That is Nasu Castle," Lord Nasu says, pointing to what you all know officially as Beiden Hill Manor. Serene and majestic in a quiet, rustic way, but certainly no castle.



It doesn't take long to reach the hill, but near the bottom of the hill you have your horses taken from you, and the walk up the winding path feels as long as the last leg of the journey itself. In the end you are led to one of the guest buildings about midway up the hill, overlooking the valley to the West. The sky is clear, and even through the valley haze you can see two villages not far off, one where the river forks and another farther off, against the mountainside, where a dark draw stuffed with foliage cuts up the rock, hinting at a mountain stream. To the south, you can just make out the top of a mountain shrine high up on the peak.

(We can assume that you learn the names and general locations of these locations through casual conversation with the manor occupants)



You have now officially arrived at Beiden Pass. The Festival of Sorrowful Passing, the main attraction that you have come to see and pay your respects, is eleven days away. You will be housed here as guests for as long as you like, through the festival and possibly beyond if your hosts take a liking to you.

Is there anything you would already like to do at the castle? If no one has any immediate interests or questions, I will be happy to put you in adventure and intrigue. Basically, I will be rolling encounters for each day you are here, which will produce rumors, contacts, events, etc. that will (hopefully) lead the overall mysteries of this adventure toward some sort of conclusive action.



登場人物

• Kenta, monk: TN10, Init +2, naginata 7k4 (DR 6k3) | Hnr 2;7, Wnds (6) -3;0 | Void Pts 2/2
• Kitsune Shōe, Fox shugenja: TN10, Init +2, wakizashi 5k3 (DR 4k2) | Hnr 2;5, Wnds (4) -0;0 | Void Pts 2/2 | Spells: F2 - A2 - W2 - E2
• Matsumoto Senichi, Unicorn shugenja: TN10, Init +2, wakizashi 4k3 (DR 4k2) | Hnr 3;2, Wnds (4) 0;0 | Void Pts 2/2 | Spells: F3 - A2 - W3 - E2
  • Saburo: 3E/3W/1F/1A/1V | TN5, Init +1, DR 1k1 | Hn 2;7 - Gl 0;0 - Wnds (6) 0;0 | Void Pts 1/1
• Mirumoto Koga, Dragon bushi: no armor+daisho (TN15), Init +2, daisho 2k2/6k3 (DR 5k2) | Hnr 2;7, Wnds (4) 0;0 | Void Pts 2/2
• Mirumoto Aiko, Dragon bushi: no armor (TN20/5), Init +3, daisho 5k4/6k3 (DR 4k2) | Hnr 3;5, Wnds (4) 0;0 | Void Pts 1/2 (crippled left arm)
• Yoshida Osaru, ronin: no armor (TN15), Init +3, katana 6k3/6k3 (DR 5k2) | Hnr 2;7 Wnds (4) 0;0 | Void Pts 2/2

[ffilz]

Yes, whatever might be written in the rulebook, I'm definitely leaning toward letting this work out for Senichi. The NPCs had a duty to protect with their lives, and they did. Senichi wasn't bound by that duty, but he still took on the NPC's request to get word out, which itself was risky. If Senichi also talks up their heroism, that would also help put a positive spin on it.

The main thing I'm getting from L5R is that most actions can be spun into a negative or a positive, depending on how you decide to treat it. An NPC with a grudge might cause problems by accusing you of running, but you can also turn that around by convincing them that you were actually taking selfless and honorable action.

Cool, ultimately it makes sense that word had to be gotten out, and while Senichi could have just sent the boy, there was no guarantee he would make it out.

[GreyWolfVT]

Osaru will go to the shrine and meditate trying to sort things out mainly trying to figure out where he went wrong days back with the old enemy that killed the merchant.

[Rex]

Kenta

Kenta will try and find a quite place he can meditate and rest as he tries to regain his strength.

[Captain Kinkajou]

Aiko

ooc: Sorry I've been a bit quiet of late. RL has been hectic.

I'm thinking that, assuming Master Osaru was willing, Aiko would look to resume her sparring/training with him, trying to improve her ability to compensate for her crippled arm.

There's also the scrolls and what was going on in the village.

I'm not sure what we would have done with the scrolls. Were they too tainted for us to take? I'm thinking maybe wrap them in something, so we don't have to touch them and show them to Senichi before turning them over to Lord Nasu but I'm not even sure whether we could take them without being tainted / "unclean"?

In terms of the village, it was never Aiko's intent to conceal anything that might reflect poorly on her honour. She would instead lean on her sincerity to tell what they had discovered honestly but leniently e.g. emphasising that the taint in the eta village had been purged and those that remained had tried to oppose the maho but were not powerful enough and too afraid. They had tried to destroy the scrolls but failed etc. Plus in the village, there was no evidence that anyone other than the headman suspected anything.