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Day 3
Nov 10, 2012 1:14:27 GMT -5
Post by RoseNasty on Nov 10, 2012 1:14:27 GMT -5
“Do not encourage her petulance, Duk, and do not deceive yourselves. The girl got a lucky shot. That was good fortune. It was only yesterday that her life was nearly forfeit. That was on me. Were the circumstances such that would have brought harm upon her or either of you three, today, the blame would have fallen upon you, Aeon,” she says as her glance shifts to him. After a slight pause, and some pensive gazing toward the forest in front of her, she continues to nobody in particular. “You underestimate how quickly the tides can turn in battle, and by how little. When you ignore my orders , you put the lives of everyone in this team at risk. Do either of you want that responsibility weighing upon your shoulders...?” Her voice trailed off and she sighed quietly. In a thoughtful sullenness, she picked up the pace until she was ahead of the others except Nergui, who was still a few feet ahead of her. She felt the lids of her eyes growing heavier by the minute but made every effort to conceal the fatigue that was finally catching up with her. Disinclined to further conversation, but wearied by the thoughts occupying her mind, she opted on whistling a soft tune she knew from childhood to distract her.
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Day 3
Nov 10, 2012 10:10:55 GMT -5
Post by PyrasTerran on Nov 10, 2012 10:10:55 GMT -5
With those strong words, our heroes move back through the woods to the shrine. The elderly caretaker took it upon himself to mind their belongings while they were away. After gathering their supplies together and giving Akane a last checkup, they mount their horses and travel back to the main road. Although they left later in the day, they were fortunate to find no more obstructions for the rest of the day. As the sun was setting, our heroes find themselves deeper in the empty plains, with barely anything to see for miles in any direction. Shelter may have to be found by the road.
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Day 3
Nov 10, 2012 19:13:20 GMT -5
Post by Barnzi88 on Nov 10, 2012 19:13:20 GMT -5
Tun Si remained silent for rest of the day, still feeling pouty from earlier. She couldn't help but ponder how many times while growing up she was told off for speaking and acting out of line for a girl of her status and upbringing. Even outside of her home, she can't seem to get away from the likes of people she deemed as 'bossy' and 'arrogantly domineering'.
However being a monk, she knew she must curb every trace of negativity no matter the circumstances. All she could do was let out a small quiet sigh and simply say nothing at all.
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OkeyDJ
Lvl 1 - Traveler
Posts: 157
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Day 3
Nov 10, 2012 22:32:36 GMT -5
Post by OkeyDJ on Nov 10, 2012 22:32:36 GMT -5
Akane was exhausted, whatever powered they used on her just seemed like it drained all her energy and the seal on her forehead didn't help either. But Akane couldn't help but notice Tun Si being upset and without realizing it, Akane leaned over and put a hand on Tun's shoulder and once she looked at her, Akane gave her an encouraging smile. She gave Tun a good pat before putting both reins back on her horse.
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Day 3
Nov 11, 2012 2:25:12 GMT -5
Post by Cole Deschain on Nov 11, 2012 2:25:12 GMT -5
Nergüi, simply glad to be back on the task at hand, kept a not-unusual silence, periodically riding ahead of the main group to keep an eye out for trouble before circling back.
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Day 3
Nov 13, 2012 23:53:41 GMT -5
Post by RoseNasty on Nov 13, 2012 23:53:41 GMT -5
As they traveled, Tama maintained the lead, riding steadily in front without looking back. When the sun began to set, she looked around for a suitable area to camp.
[dice=20] +5 (Adventuring)
Squinting, she scanned the plains but found nothing and rubbed her eyes. Riding up to Nergui, she spoke quietly, "Not much cover for camp. It appears we'll have to make do out in the open..."[rand=307623947291593825988650839771243272259993959967727571339207736]
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Day 3
Nov 14, 2012 2:20:59 GMT -5
Post by Cole Deschain on Nov 14, 2012 2:20:59 GMT -5
[Adventuring[dice=20]+6= 15]
The Khan grimaced and patted his horse's neck.
"Might be some water in that low-lying area up ahead... I'll go check."[rand=4264286134502749422067989957325929118812861137848728769999398059941]
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Day 3
Nov 14, 2012 8:55:08 GMT -5
Post by PyrasTerran on Nov 14, 2012 8:55:08 GMT -5
Sure enough, there was a small pond initially hidden by tall grass just a few yards off from the main road Nergüi noticed a few frogs by its shoreline preparing their night songs.
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Day 3
Nov 14, 2012 11:19:32 GMT -5
Post by RoseNasty on Nov 14, 2012 11:19:32 GMT -5
Tama inspects the area, then nods an approval.
"Good find." She turns to the rest of the party.
"We'll settle here for the night. I'm going to scout ahead.. Nergüi will be in charge until I return."
With that, Tama rides off further down the road, as darkness begins to creep, she lights her hand in Djinnfire and raises it up before her as a torch.
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OkeyDJ
Lvl 1 - Traveler
Posts: 157
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Day 3
Nov 14, 2012 11:47:49 GMT -5
Post by OkeyDJ on Nov 14, 2012 11:47:49 GMT -5
Akane steered her horse toward the pond, as it started drinking its fill, Akane slowly slipped off her horse and walked over with the rein and tied it securely. She than lifted up her bottom part of her kimono and dipped her legs in the water and sighed gently. She can feel the spirits of the water trying to calm her down. Akane rubbed her temples to try to clear her mind and once she did she started look around for flowers that were near by.
Nature check to look for flowers or possibly sense them [dice=20]+4=19[rand=74016904854215683297973331063986538845606613904226534699089825153]
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Day 3
Nov 14, 2012 11:53:08 GMT -5
Post by PyrasTerran on Nov 14, 2012 11:53:08 GMT -5
Akane: success
Akane was able to find some modest field blossoms not too far from the pond.
Meanwhile, Nam Il has gotten off his horse and is now unrolling the cloths wrapped in his massive pack, preparing a tent.
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OkeyDJ
Lvl 1 - Traveler
Posts: 157
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Day 3
Nov 14, 2012 12:08:09 GMT -5
Post by OkeyDJ on Nov 14, 2012 12:08:09 GMT -5
Akane smiles gently and picked herself up and slowly made her way over to the flowers and kneeled down and started to pick twice as many flowers as an apology to the spirits for not giving her ritual this morning.
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Day 3
Nov 14, 2012 14:44:33 GMT -5
Post by Barnzi88 on Nov 14, 2012 14:44:33 GMT -5
Tun Si secures her own mount by the pond, and caressed the side of its neck gently beckoning it to drink. She smiled once the beast was fully relaxed and then walked away to set up her own tent.
After it was done, she sat down and rummaged through her backpack for a bag of rice and other potential ingredients to prepare dinner with.
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Day 3
Nov 14, 2012 16:14:35 GMT -5
Post by Cole Deschain on Nov 14, 2012 16:14:35 GMT -5
Nergüi grimaced as everybody started setting up their gear or picking flowers as if they were on some sort of picnic.
Like a pack of children.
He extended an index finger at Duk.
"You. You and I are standing watch until one of these others can take a turn."
He raised his voice then, for the benefit of the rest of the group.
"Keep your tents within a defensible distance of one another. Tether your horses unless you feel like walking. And for the love of whatever gods you worship, keep your eyes open, we're not on one of your damned estates."
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Day 3
Nov 14, 2012 16:34:08 GMT -5
Post by Barnzi88 on Nov 14, 2012 16:34:08 GMT -5
Tun Si acknowledged Nergüi's orders with a nod. The last thing she wanted was getting on the Beggar Khan's bad side.
She double checked her mount and tent, ensuring both were secured and close, then looked up for any potential firewood. Only to sigh heavily when she saw there were no trees or anything close to a branch within miles to burn.
[rand=9189904171507806003822934580966830359149420959874998076769518665969]
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Day 3
Nov 14, 2012 19:05:47 GMT -5
Post by PyrasTerran on Nov 14, 2012 19:05:47 GMT -5
Nam Il jumps at the sound of Nergüi's voice, and soon enough grabs his texts of military strategy to make sure his tent's positioning was constituting as "defensible".
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Day 3
Nov 15, 2012 13:07:19 GMT -5
Post by cancerbones on Nov 15, 2012 13:07:19 GMT -5
Aeon gives a weary shrug of his shoulders as he sets up his belongings and tethers his mount to an old stump.
"I hope that tomorrow passes slightly easier than the last few days. So who else has enemies that should be watching out for?"
Aeon looks at duk.
"Should we be worried about a mob of angry husbands hunting us down and kidnapping you?"
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Day 3
Nov 15, 2012 15:50:36 GMT -5
Post by Cole Deschain on Nov 15, 2012 15:50:36 GMT -5
(OOC> Stump? On the open plains?)
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Day 3
Nov 15, 2012 17:53:37 GMT -5
Post by PyrasTerran on Nov 15, 2012 17:53:37 GMT -5
[i guess it's not inconceivable that at least one tree grew long ago.. But then Tun Si would have found it when she was looking for wood. For now old stump = large deep-bedded rock
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Day 3
Nov 15, 2012 19:01:59 GMT -5
Post by AzalaTerran on Nov 15, 2012 19:01:59 GMT -5
Nan Fa Ra Duk sighed as he tethered his horse to the stump large deep-bedded rock
"Me? Why?", he started to protest but must have caught some look in the Khan's eye and just finished with, "Nevermind, fine."
Duk looked over at Aeon, "I certainly hope not, but if they are coming at least I'm keeping watch and can get away."
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Day 3
Nov 15, 2012 20:46:49 GMT -5
Post by PyrasTerran on Nov 15, 2012 20:46:49 GMT -5
Nam Il could overhear the others talking. Aeon's comments stuck in his head, and he wondered,
Who else truly had personal baggage that could obstruct the mission..?
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Day 3
Nov 16, 2012 2:11:31 GMT -5
Post by Cole Deschain on Nov 16, 2012 2:11:31 GMT -5
Nergüi, still in his saddle, rode a slow circuit around the campsite, keeping his eyes peeled for anything out of the ordinary.
[Perception: [dice=20]+15= 20]
He seemed characteristically uninterested in any of the conversation going on around him.[rand=18949352450678048498973685911614565880270653878172631551201448371]
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Day 3
Nov 16, 2012 5:41:02 GMT -5
Post by Barnzi88 on Nov 16, 2012 5:41:02 GMT -5
With nothing to light a fire, Tun Si ultimately decided not to go ahead with preparing dinner and packed away the bag of rice for another, more suitable time. Instead she opted for simple dried persimmon fruit to eat, leaving it up to the others to decide on their night snack.
She almost froze when she overheard Aeon remark the possibility of 'enemies'. The image of her politically-motivated and controlling father came to mind but she shirked off the thought and kept quiet.
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OkeyDJ
Lvl 1 - Traveler
Posts: 157
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Day 3
Nov 16, 2012 9:18:40 GMT -5
Post by OkeyDJ on Nov 16, 2012 9:18:40 GMT -5
Akane came back to camp while gently placing her picked flowers in her back back. She looked at the pond and deemed it adequate for her ritual in the morning. She looked at the group and thought gently to herself.
The only person who will ever take note of my ritual will most likely be Nam Il but everyone else wouldn't care about it, so I don't have to worry too much about my heritage secrets.
After she packed her offerings she looked through her bag and found some left over dried up meat she looked at it with hungry eyes and than devoured it not showing much etiquette in her eating for those who saw but Akane didn't care.
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Day 3
Nov 16, 2012 16:00:53 GMT -5
Post by Cole Deschain on Nov 16, 2012 16:00:53 GMT -5
Nergüi cocked his head, and seeing that Akane and Tun Si were eating what amounted to self-contained food, spoke up.
"One of you relieve the bard. I don't care which. Keep your eyes open."
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Day 3
Nov 16, 2012 16:32:41 GMT -5
Post by Barnzi88 on Nov 16, 2012 16:32:41 GMT -5
"I'll do it." Tun Si volunteered.
She secured her rations then strode over to where Duk stood watch.
"It's my turn now."
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Day 3
Nov 16, 2012 20:54:36 GMT -5
Post by RoseNasty on Nov 16, 2012 20:54:36 GMT -5
Once Tama is far enough from camp to feel comfortable, she pats and dismounts her horse, walking a few yards further into the plains until she comes to a clearing about 6 feet wide. From her pouch, she reveals a dimly glowing purple psionic crystal, and kneels down onto the ground. AS if it were a large piece of chalk, she draws a wide circle large enough for several men to fit in. The crystal leaves a mystic glowing etching of where she traced, and after adorning the circle with several mystic symbols, she takes a step back from her work, and waits.
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Day 3
Nov 17, 2012 0:36:25 GMT -5
Post by PyrasTerran on Nov 17, 2012 0:36:25 GMT -5
After a few moments, Tama's waiting pays off. In a brief flash of purple light, a figure appears before her in the circle. Nergüi: [success] Nergüi is the only member of the party far away alert enough to notice the flash of light. He knows that Tama headed in that direction. Just as quickly as the light flashes, it dies down, leaving a Hoshidonese woman standing before Tama. Tama knew her as Tsubaki Mifune, member of the elite Onna Bugeisha platoon Ishijo, of which she is among those second in command as Lieutenant General. Tsubaki is subordinate under Tama's own squad. "I have been where the star falls," Tsubaki speaks softly to Tama, "do you know what I saw?"
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Day 3
Nov 17, 2012 2:16:39 GMT -5
Post by RoseNasty on Nov 17, 2012 2:16:39 GMT -5
"The crimson sword upon which was shone honor, duty, and law." Tama responds. They approach each other and share a hefty handshake. "It is good to see you, Tsubaki." Tama says earnestly, pressing her forehead briefly against hers in an amiable gesture, "What word do you have for me?"
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Day 3
Nov 17, 2012 2:56:48 GMT -5
Post by PyrasTerran on Nov 17, 2012 2:56:48 GMT -5
"Master Satou." Tsubaki responds, taking a step back.
"I have the requested information." She takes a breath as she unravels a scroll.
"Nergüi, true name unknown. Ulanese. Human. Known in Fa-Rei as a relatively successful mercenary and bandit. Bounty of 12,000 coins has been placed on his head by the Rao-Lan noble family. It has been witnessed that some Ulanese shun him, reason unknown.
Singh Aeon. Rhasmapatran. Human. Servant to the Mahajan merchant house. Initially in Eastern Shyuu for business on behalf of his master.
Nan Fa Ra Duk. Sueonghanese. Human. Traveling entertainer. Practitioner of bardic arts. Nothing further of note.
Si Tun. Fa-Reinese. Human. Daughter of Si Bao-Zhi, of the Si noble family of Fa-Rei. Betrothed to Han Xu, son of Chen Xu of the Xu noble family of Fa-Rei.
Akane. Nationality unknown, assumed Hoshidonese. Assumed human. A hermit of the woods outside Shion-Pa, who practices the mystic arts. Known by some as the Jorogumo of Shion-Pa. Current recorded percentage of accuracy with divination and prophecies: 92%."
She continued,
"The teams led by Daimyo Hibiki Ryu, Captain General Ling Nya, and Chan Sung, arrived at Shion-Pa this morning, and left this afternoon. Daimyo Hibiki's team was headed Southwest, Captain General Ling was headed North, and Chan Sung'ss team was headed West.
Security and squads have mobilized throughout the kingdom, but the palace has remained quiet to its citizens on the true nature of the red stars. But rumors of Dabunraki's return have nonetheless breached their ears. For now, it is seen as simply rumors, but with each passing night of red stars, the citizens grow more worried."
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