Difference between revisions of "JesseLowe/PirateMonkeySession23"

Revision as of 08:07, 5 April 2010

• Back to Session 22

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( WHat's up? )

The Storyteller . o O ( Working on an antagonist... )

TonyC materializes out of thin air.

jetman [to TonyC]: Hi there!

TonyC [to jetman]: Evening.

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( Hopefully a stout one Jesse. )

TonyC [to Apollonian]: Os.

The Storyteller . o O ( Os? )

Monkey . o O ( General greeting noise. )

TonyC [to Apollonian]: Similar to 'Sup and Yo.

The Storyteller . o O ( Ah. )

The Storyteller . o O ( So, where were we? )

The Storyteller . o O ( Did you both get a chance to look at the wiki page for the Scarlet Fortress? )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( Yep. )

Monkey . o O ( I have. )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( What was Monkey's plan, BTW, or did he give the Captain any details? )

The Storyteller . o O ( Also, how many days do you spend preparing? )

Monkey . o O ( I didn't give you any detail. Although if Kaizoku asks IC, I see no reason not to answer. )

Monkey . o O ( For me? None. Let's do it that very night. )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( One full day of preperation, so the second day after the initial recon. )

The Storyteller . o O ( Do you want to outline your plan, or shall we just get a move on? )

Captain Kaizoku asks Monkey "How do you plan to take the tower and allow the fleet to get in undetected? Infiltrate throught the city or storm it from the ship?"

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( The cruisers will create a perimiter while the fighters move in to attack the Death Star... )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( The basic plan is this: )

Monkey says, "Neither, actually. I think scaling the tower's wall from outside the city would be the easiest way."

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( Monkey infiltrates with the Marukani and Norio (as a sniper, at the captain's suggestion) on the costal trader, posing as a merchant to get close and seize the sentry tower. )

Monkey says, "Mind you, Captain, it's not the most elegant way, but hey, we aren't trying to impress those dynasts, are we?"

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( The Corona and all 8 of the Northmen ships, with the Stormhammer, enter the harbor at noon. The Stormhammer and four ships got to raid the warehouses, while the Corona and the other four move to the shipyards. The Solar fleet ships will give the barracks a few shots from their weapons. Using spare firedust from the captured triremes, the shipyard will be fired once the Tender and some of the biremes have been siezed. )

Captain Kaizoku says, "Results are the most important consideration, Monkey. "

Monkey . o O ( Noon? I thought dawn? )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( Whoops, yes, so Monkey goes in before dawn. )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( No diving out of the sun advantage to be had in this sort of fight. :) )

Monkey . o O ( I still think that raiding the shipyard is too risky, but hey, it's not my neck. :) )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( That's the best place to go after a ship... few people will be on it. )

Monkey . o O ( Actually, dawn is better. The dynasts will still be sleeping off their previous night's party. At noon, on the other hand, only the most wastrel of them will still be sleeping or hungover. )

Monkey . o O ( Well, anything that needs to be taken care of? )

Monkey . o O ( Who handles disguising the coastal trader? )

Monkey . o O ( Akbar? Me? Someone else? )

The Storyteller . o O ( Do you both have a copy of the map handy? )

Monkey . o O ( Not me. Not for the next hour anyway. )

The Storyteller . o O ( Okay... d'you remember what the city looked like? )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( Akbar is the "front man" Captain, yes. )

Monkey . o O ( Yeah. )

Captain Kaizoku says, "Monkey, bring your Essence Cannon along. And Norio."

The Storyteller . o O ( I just want to make sure we're all on the same page, so things don't get any more confusing than they already will be... )

Monkey says, "Eh? Why? I won't be needing them."

Monkey . o O ( Essence Cannon doesn't have that much range. From the tower, I don't think the Essence Cannon will be able to reach anything worth shooting at. )

Monkey . o O ( And Norio, well, she'll just slow me down. )

Captain Kaizoku says, "Better to have them and not need them than need them and not have them. Furthermore, it will make it easy to stop any attempt at retaking the tower."

The Storyteller . o O ( Heh. That's what I tell my wife when I'm trying to persuade her we need to beef up the hurricane kit. )

Monkey says, "Ah well, if you say so, Captain."

Captain Kaizoku says, "And she will stiffen the Marukani should you need to take individual action Monkey."

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( Though I thought she could use that longbow a lot better than it seems she can... )

Monkey says, "Her? I don't think the Marukani will get stiff from the sight of her. Bwahahahaha."

Monkey . o O ( Yes, that was a crude joke. )

The Storyteller . o O ( Her sheet hasn't been updated in ages... We can say she picked up some l33t 4ch3ry ski11z in the meantime. )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( Well, Monkey doesn't have the Mastery of Seven Subtle Witticisms charm... )

The Storyteller . o O ( Charm name yoinked. )

Captain Kaizoku says, "Very droll Monkey. The Stormhammer will retreat last... hold your position until it does and join it. We will regroup outside the harbor and have two meeting points, here and here."

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( And neither point is where the ships are beached now. )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( Half of the Raitons will stay at the camp, along with the Venture, Saji on the Nimbus's Ballista and WSW in command. )

Monkey . o O ( Where would you be? Corona? )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( Razor Leaf is on the Stormhammer as gunner/battle commander. Hydros is gunenr on the Corona and that is also where the Captain is, with the flag. )

Monkey . o O ( Well, if there's nothing else, I'm good to go. )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( I am too. Jesse, does this sound clear enough to start? )

TonyC [to jetman]: So, saw the 4th Advent Children trailer yet?

jetman [to TonyC]: No! (he said, pulling the bookmark down).

jetman [to TonyC]: I did pre-buy Xenosaga Ep. II and got the cutscene DVD of Ep. I though.

The Storyteller . o O ( Let me sum up, then: First, Monkey takes the Stormhammer in disguised as a trading vessel, with Akbar as front man and Norio as a sniper. Monkey and his team capture the lighthouse the night before the raid. At dawn, the Kamsa and the Corona sail in with most everyone else. Half the fleet raids the shipyards, half raids the warehouses, and you take off after you've swiped biremes and tender, leaving the shipyards ablaze. Then you all meet up later, at a predetermined and not-yet marked point... )

TonyC [to jetman]: What cutscene DVD?

Monkey . o O ( Looks you got all my parts right. )

Monkey . o O ( Looks you got all my parts right. )

jetman [to TonyC]: All of them. Every cinematic in the game on a DVD, with both Japanese and English vocal tracks.

TonyC [to jetman]: And did you play Xenosaga 1?

jetman [to TonyC]: Oh, yes. Loved it.

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( one thing... it was the Costal Trader Majestic Voyager that took Monkey in, as the Stormhammer will be in with the main force on gunboat duty. )

TonyC [to jetman]: Very cheesy game. Cheesy cutscenes too. I pretty much had everyone running around in swimsuits.

The Storyteller . o O ( Ah, important point. Stormhammer would probably be too recognizable to veterans of your last battle... )

The Storyteller . o O ( Regarding the rendesvous points... Where are they going to be, in terms of direction and distance from Scarlet Fortress? )

TonyC [to jetman]: My justification is of course the double EP, but maybe it's just Shion looking good. :)

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( 30 and 50 miles south of the city. )

The Storyteller . o O ( At sea, or on the coast? )

jetman [to TonyC]: And how! I certainly used the swimsuits as much as I could. :) And I love being able to call up mecha.

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( On the coast. )

The Storyteller . o O ( Okay, what is this game and what system is it for? )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( Xenosaga Episode I for Playstation 2, early prequel to Xenogears for PS1. )

TonyC [to Apollonian]: And beware the in-game CCG. It's just as bad as Magic.

TonyC spent the time to collect the complete card set.

The Storyteller . o O ( Hrm. I really should pick up a PS2 at some point, anyway... )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( It is worth it, but yes, onward! )

TonyC [to Apollonian]: There is a good chance that Xenosaga: The Animation will be released in USA sometime next year, probably FallJesseLowe/PirateMonkeySession23/Winter 2006. You can probably just watch that instead.

The Storyteller . o O ( right, moving on to the bit with Monkey on a "stealth" mission. )

Monkey . o O ( "stealth". Yup. )

The Storyteller . o O ( Oh, and just to make sure: Infiltrating the lighthouse (on the east end of the entrance) or the tower (on the west end)? )

Monkey . o O ( Kaizoku says tower, so tower it is. Although if he changes his mind, he had plenty of time to tell me. )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( It is indeed the tower. )

The Storyteller . o O ( v. important. Okay, then. Monkey, as commander of the lead element, when does the Majestic Voyager sail into Scarlet Fortress? Gimme a quick desc. )

The Majestic Voyager, ably captained by the Great and Wise Akbar, sailed into port sometime in mid-afternoon. Having journeyed from Lookshy, Akbar wishes to sell some of his excellent Threshold goods and foodstuff at a mutually advantageous price. Meanwhile, his mercenaries (protection from pirates), led by an able Dragon-Blooded commander, is given liberty for the night, to stretch their legs (and not interfere with the actual trading).

The Storyteller . o O ( Nice... )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( Very smooth. )

The pilot guides the Majestic Voyager to a slip near the center arc of the harbor, accepting a few jade bits for his troubles. The crew drops the gangplank at the feet of a man with an officious look and an official book, standing impatiently on the dock.

The man shouts to Akbar -- clearly the captain, after all -- with a bit of a nasal whine that grates on the nerves. "Permission to come aboard, captain?"

The Storyteller . o O ( CK, wanna run Akbar for the moment? )

Monkey . o O ( David, your Follower, your call. )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( Sure. )

Akbar waves the man aboard with a grand gesture and a humble bow. "Of course, of course!"

The man strides up the gangplank, followed by a pair of servile-looking, androgynous northerners. One carries a sack, the other a coat. The man glances around the Voyager and introduces himself. "I am the harbormaster of Scarlet Fortress, Uran Green, and I welcome you to our city. You are here to trade, I assume?"

Akbar claps his hands together. "Of course, of course! I am a humble trader outfoxed by clever customers at every stop. I lose money on every sale, but still, a man must eat. I am Akran Ganeesh, welcome to my ship" he says in an ingratiating tone.

Uran Green bows graciously to the humble trader. "Indeed, such is the lot of a merchant in these troubled times. I see that you have come far -- are you not a man of the South? I have a cousin who once traveled to Chiaroscuro... Ah, but I forget my duties. As you see, a fine harbor such as ours costs money to maintain for ships such as yours. Thanks to our lady, Ferem Pearl," he waves in the general direction of the manse, "the docking fee is a mere two minae, payable immediately upon docking." (The price is outrageously high, more than three times the standard dockign fee at Lookshy...)

Monkey . o O ( Slip him some baksheesh. )

Akbar clutches his heart and lets out a piteous moan. "Aieee! With such a fee I cannot pay my guards, and they will cut their payment out of my flesh instead! Does such a fee apply even to small, humble vessels such as this one? My gratitude would be as big as the sun in the sky if you could find some exemption for me!"

A little description, while you type: The Majestic Voyager is docked at a slip it shares with a pair of coastal traders, both on the opposite side of the pier. You are directly in front of the warehouse district and perhaps a hundred and fifty yards west of the shipyard.

Uran Green clasps his hands in front of him in a pose of sympathy. "Worthy Master Ganeesh, I understand your plight! But -- the law is iron-clad! No less than two minae must be charged for a vessel carrying cargo of such value as yours, indeed, must, as it comes from distant lands and is so graciously appointed!" He glances around artfully, ensuring that no official might be close enough to hear him, and leans forward a little. "Why, the only way the fee might be lowered is if the harbor assessor judged your cargo to be less costly than it appears. You must appeal to him."

Monkey . o O ( The traditional reply is to clasp the man's hand in gratitude and thank him profusely while asking to be introduced to the harbormaster. It will help a lot if your hands happen to have some jade bits when clasping his. :) )

Monkey . o O ( Oops. Harbor assessor. )

Monkey . o O ( Although now that I think about, some cultures frown on cash. Bribing is done by giving gifts of, say, fine wine. )

Akbar leans in closer as well. "Surely you can tell the assesor that my humble ship carries fine silks that were tragically reduced in value by an untimely leak in the hull and quality vellum that has stuck together by the same leak... perhaps worthy as ballast in another ship." He clasps the man's hand. The only cargo that survived intact is a few bottles of date wine... please, sample it to asses it."

Monkey . o O ( Heh heh heh. )

The harbormaster snaps his fingers at the servant carrying the coat. Quickly, with practiced motions, the servant takes Uran Green's current coat off and replaces it with the carried one, a snappy green and gold number. "Why, as it happens, I am the assessor. As part of my duties, I should clearly test the wine to ascertain its value. Will you accompany me into your hold to ensure that I am... an honest man?

Monkey . o O ( Ah, performance worthy of Ottoman harbormasters everywhere. )

Monkey . o O ( )

Akbar lets out another cry. "Some small fortune is with me to find not one but two honest officials in one day!" He gestures Green forward. "The finest remaining cask I have stored in sight of my own cabin, lest the sailors drink it dry and drain my life's blood along with it!" he gesticulates, following along after dashing into his cabin for a pair of goblets. Deftly putting a handful of obols under the rounded bottom of one goblet out of the man's sight, he taps the barrel and pours a half glass for each of them.

The Storyteller . o O ( Make a Wits + Bureaucracy roll for Akbar... )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( Is this covered by Wheeling and Dealing? )

The Storyteller . o O ( Definitely. )

Captain Kaizoku rolled 9 dice on Wits+Bur and got 3 successes.

The Storyteller . o O ( Excellent... )

Green takes a delicate sip of the wine, and mock-grimaces. "Ah, clearly if this is your best wine, your cargo is... Yes, I see that the harbormaster should only charge you a shekel for the docking fee."

The Storyteller . o O ( This is much more reasonable... )

TonyC decides that saving the world takes priority over chatting and disappears.

The Storyteller . o O ( ? )

Akbar claps his hand to his heart and sighs. "Perhaps I shall avoid starvation long enough to continue my enterprises!" he says as he hands over the shekel. "Would you know of the trading house where a humble personage such as myself would be able to sell his most humble goods?"

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( Disconnect? )

The Storyteller . o O ( Maybe he had to switch computers. Anyway, we can conclude this scene in a moment... )

TonyC takes a break from saving the world and wanders in.

jetman [to TonyC]: WB!

Monkey . o O ( <grumble grumble connection dumped grumble charter com sucks> )

Monkey . o O ( The last thing I saw was assessor assessing a shekel. Anything I missed? )

Akbar claps his hand to his heart and sighs. "Perhaps I shall avoid starvation long enough to continue my enterprises!" he says as he hands over the shekel. "Would you know of the trading house where a humble personage such as myself would be able to sell his most humble goods?" RE

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( Which reminds me... I've been having some weird disconnects lately... the connection lags but I don't get a DC notice. So if I suddenly vanish for a few minutes, it is to restart. )

Monkey . o O ( duly noted. )

As Akbar escorts the harbormaster/harbor assessor back to the gangplank, Uran Green says, "Indeed. The market is just up the street from this pier, and there you will be able to sell your cargo, small though it may be. If I were you, I should negotiate first with Master Bozak, the manager of House Margard's operations here. Though he may not buy from you, it would be an insult to go to anyone else first. His house is the one flying House Margard's banner, the chain and shield."

The Storyteller . o O ( Incidentally, what cargo _is_ the Majestic Voyager carrying? )

Monkey . o O ( Why, silk, vellum, and date wine, of course. :) )

The Storyteller . o O ( And presumably, has enough room in the hold for a good bit of plunder... )

Akbar bows several times. "A thousand and one thanks my friend! And where can my men go to find entertainments on the mere pittance I am forced to pay them?"

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( Yes, booty from the estate raids along the coast before coming north, that we haven't been able to unload yet. )

Green says, "There are a few inns around the marketplace that cater to sailors, and for more disreputable entertainment, I suggest Madam Zi's, just north of the barracks -- no coincidence, if you understand me..." He winks broadly.

Akbar replies with a wink of his own. "Ten thousand thanks to you. With such a place, I know where to round up my men before I sail again! A good day to you!"

Green says, "And to you, captain!" He and his two servants walk on down the gangplank and head up to the city at a good clip.

Akbar goes below to where Monkey and the Marukani wait. "We have tied up and all is well" he says in less outrageous tones.

Monkey says, "Great. Thanks, Akbar. If all goes well, we'll see you tomorrow."

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( Hmmm... can I retro-inspert part of the plan now? Akbar having some firedust to set one of the rearmost warehouses of Margard aflame as a diversion right before the attack? )

Akbar clasps Monkey's arm. "Good fortune to you."

Monkey nods back.

The Storyteller . o O ( Make an Int + Lore roll, CK. )

Captain Kaizoku rolled 6 dice on Wits+Lore and got 5 successes.

The Storyteller . o O ( Yes, yes you can. )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( Oh, my. )

Monkey says, "Alright, you scum. If anyone asks, Norio there is your commander, and I'm her second-in-command."

The Marukani give nods of agreement. (What language are y'all speaking?)

Monkey says, "And if you'll excuse me, I have some disguise to apply. They do have Wanted posters of me."

Monkey . o O ( Low Realm. )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( Should I make the Tactical Insticts roll now, so the Captain's planning can help Monkey out in the initial stages? )

The Storyteller . o O ( Yes, that sounds reasonable. You can roll it again when you sail in. )

Monkey rolled 5 dice on Wits + Larceny + autosuccess = Disguise and got 2 botches.

Captain Kaizoku rolled 7 dice on Tactical Instincts and got 3 botches.

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( Oh, lord... )

Monkey . o O ( Well, good thing I used up a WP. )

Monkey . o O ( Told you raiding the shipyard was too risky. ;) )

The Storyteller . o O ( My God... Okay, the planning will have overlooked a couple key things... )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( Well, it only needs to have failed to account for Monkey being Monkey. :) )

The Storyteller . o O ( True, true... )

Monkey . o O ( Indeed. )

The Storyteller . o O ( What does Monkey's disguise look like? )

Monkey is all bundled up and has braided his short hair into little dreadlocks. He also applied a false moustache. Lastly, he glued a large mole over his right eyebrow. The result isn't likely to fool anyone who already knows Monkey. But perhaps, if nobody pays close attention, nobody will put two and two together.

The Storyteller . o O ( Okay... So, what does Norio's band of rough mercenaries do for shore leave, now that Akbar is off negotiating with the local merchants? )

Monkey . o O ( If we run into V'neef Barada, the plan is screwed. )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( He's probably still in bed. And wasn't the plan that the mercs secure the tower once Monkey has gone in and seized it? )

The Storyteller . o O ( I considered it... )

The Storyteller . o O ( Hm. (Checks Norio's sheet to see how obviously DB she is...) )

The Storyteller . o O ( Not that obviously. Do you tell her not to wave her jade gear around? )

Monkey says, "Alright scumbags, good news! You guys get to spend a night whoring and drinking, all paid by good Captain Kaizoku, until I or Norio rounds you up. Akbar recommended Madame Zi's. If you catch some disease, now you know who to blame. So let's get out and have fun!"

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( It's before dawn. A turban and face scarf would do it... )

The Storyteller . o O ( Botches accounted for... )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( They say a Solar can stand along against a whole army... I guess Monkey will show us how that works in game terms... )

The Storyteller . o O ( Time of day: Seeing as it is now late afternoon, what's Monkey doin'? )

Monkey goes to look at the tower and its surrounding area.

What Norio does is up to her, provided she tells Monkey where she can be found.

Norio accompanies the Marukani to Madame Zi's, hoping to pump a couple of gullible soldiers for information while she's there. Meanwhile...

Akbar goes to sell the cargo and looks at good places to put his firedust while there, as well as for any particularly juicy places to direct the looters when they come.

Monkey finds it easy enough to head for the tower. He makes his way along the docks, passing through the merchant section and into those piers used mostly by small, local traders and the wealthier fishermen. He draws few stares and fewer comments on his walk. The tower itself stands sharp against the city wall, with a door guarded by a single bored sentry facing the middle-class neighborhood that abuts the wall here. There's a clear plaza some sixty feet wide around the tower, clearly a security zone.

The Storyteller . o O ( done describing )

Monkey . o O ( There are several information I'd like to have. How much time is needed to walk from Madame Zi's to the tower? Next, any inn nearby the tower? )

Monkey . o O ( Do people walk around openly wearing armor and weapons around? Any curfew? )

The Storyteller . o O ( Only soldiers walk around in armor and with weapons more than a short sword or dagger. There is a curfew, from an hour after sunset until an hour before sunrise, but this curfew does not apply to the docks. )

Monkey approaches the sentry and, in the style of Threshold people, hails him. "Good soldier, if it doesn't trouble you much, can I ask you several questions?

The Storyteller . o O ( Roll Appearance + Presence )

Monkey rolled 5 dice on App + Pre and got 2 successes.

The sentry, armored in a reinforced buff jacket and leaning on a spear, looks up at Monkey's approach. He looks the newcomer over quickly, then glances around. "I suppose it couldn't hurt, sailor. What are you looking to know?"

Monkey says, "My master has just recently arrived from Lookshy. She finds the common sailor accomodations available in the docks... lacking. The harbormaster told me that a finer establishment, suitable for someone with blood of dragons, could be found around the tower. Sadly I was busy ogling at a wine merchant's daughter when my master told me the name and exact location and I couldn't very well admit that I wasn't paying attention. Not unless I want a good thrashing."

Monkey says, "So I've been around here for some time, and my situation goes desperate. If I tarry too long, my master will be suspicious. Perhaps you can help?"

The sentry says, "Well, now... lodging suitable for a Chosen? Can't say as I know a place near here. Most Chosen, as I understand it, stay with the lady up in the Manse, or lodge near the gates at Master Mhan's. Finer than the likes of me can hope for, you know, but they like it."

Monkey says, "Ah, as I said, she's from Lookshy and as such, would prefer avoiding the Realm's finest, at least until she can get properly introduced."

Monkey says, "Look, all I can remember of the place is that this tower is the nearest landmark. Oh, and the establishment has a color in the name. Or maybe it was a bright colored animal? If you can just maybe tell me the nearby inns' names, maybe it'll jog my memory."

The soldier nods. "I see, I see. Well, there's an old lodge over on Shadin Street that the rich merchants like to stay at when they're relaxing." He points in a vaguely northwesterly direction. "The Rainbow Squid, it's called. Damnfool name, if you ask me. No sign, but it has a pair of rose bushes growing by the entrance."

Monkey says, "Ah, that's it. That's it. Thank you very much. Let me buy you a drink to show my thanks. Uh, I suppose you can't very well leave your post, no? Here, buy a drink on me when you're off-duty."

The sentry grins and says, "Aye, well, drinking now would get me the lash, but I'll raise a flagon to you this evening."

Monkey hands the guard a little bit of cash, enough for a mug of something stout.

Monkey heads off to Rainbow Squid.

Monkey says, "Innkeeper! Innkeeper!"

The Storyteller . o O ( Knowing Monkey, he doesn't exactly look reputable... )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( And has had problems pulling off his impersonation of a Dynast servant before. )

Monkey . o O ( Who? Me? Monkey can look very reputable, thank you very much. Granted, he'll have to put his mind to it first, which doesn't happen often, but if the stake is high enough, why not? )

The Rainbow Squid is as the guard described it. The two rosebushes flank a gateway into a small garden with a fountain and a pair of benches in the center. A wall eight feet in height surrounds the garden, while in the rear rises a three-story building of old and elegant -- if faded -- aspect. The door is half-open, and a young woman in a neat gray dress sticks her head out when Monkey shouts. She looks him over with a critical eye and says, "Deliveries are 'round the back."

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( He can, true, but not with a mustache like that... )

Monkey says, "Foolish woman! It's true I'm but a servant, but my master did not send me here to deliver you fish and vegetables!"

Monkey . o O ( Of course, telling her Kaizoku sent me here to rob the city blind won't win me friends either. )

The woman steps out and raises an eyebrow. "Oh? Who's your master, then?"

Monkey says, "A trader prince out from Lookshy. Master Ganeesh is his name. Even as we speak, he's finishing up negotiations with the House Margard. Which is why I need to see the innkeeper. I had to make sure everything's ready for him when he arrives."

A look of enlightenment crosses the woman's face, and she gives a half-bow. "Oh. What will your master require, then?" She opens the door fully and gestures for Monkey to enter.

Monkey says, "Your finest room for himself, and nearby accomodations for his retinue of twenty."

Monkey leans forward and whispers, "Mostly bodyguards. Troubled times, you see."

She says, "Twenty! Mela's tits, that's a lot. I'd better get the master. Wait here, please." She vanishes up the nearby stairs at a good clip.

Monkey . o O ( I'm already seeing holes in my story. Hopefully though, by the time the guard, the woman, and the whores tell their tales, we will all be at least two days sail away. )

A few minutes later, a fat man in fine blue wool tunic and trousers comes down the stairs. He walks over to Monkey, he says, "I am Master Jef. Marissa tells me that your master would lodge here, correct, and also desires beds for his large retinue?"

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( Jade should patch enough of them to hold up. And said tales will be forgotten after the amazing raid. )

Monkey says, "That is correct, O Innkeeper."

Master Jef says, "I see. What quality of lodgings does he require for the retinue?"

Monkey says, "In the past, the sudden appearance of such a large retinue of rough men upset the servants and other guests so much that my master got into endless inconvenience. Which why today I've been sent first to settle things."

Monkey says, "Oh, nothing too expensive. They are rough men, used to harsh condition. Of course, nothing too cheap either. They are rough men, and if they got upset with me, they know too many ways of inflicting pain when my master is not looking."

Monkey says, "Now, for my master, on the other hand, only the finest will do."

Master Jef says, "I know a good place, then. You can put them up down the street at Old Yen's, where the beds are mostly free of lice and the beer is not watered -- too much. He does a good soup for those with simple tastes. Your master, of course, will be wanting the finest rooms in my establishment, yes?"

Monkey says, "Certainly. But Master Innkeeper, I should say this. My master will want two bodyguards in front of his room while he's there. And those bodyguards will need to be rotated. Would not the traffic to and fro be troublesome, especially at night."

Master Jef taps his finger against his chin for a moment, then says, "Ah! I shall place your master in the Sparrowhawk Suite. It is near the outer doors on the second floor, so that your master's guards may enter and leave by them without disturbing my other guests. Furthermore, the suite is most tastefully decorated, and the bed is one of my largest. Do you think this will suit him?"

Monkey says, "Excellent. Excellent. That will do most wonderfully."

Monkey says, "And if you will arrange things with Old Yen's, I shall inform my master of this most wonderful news."

Monkey moves on to haggling about the payment, making suitably indignant posture at the initial asking price, etc., etc., before allowing himself to be out-haggled. After all, given the trouble the authorities will give him in the next couple of days, he ought to get something out of the bargain.

Master Jef says, "Then it is settled, save for the price. For the lodgings and the board -- dinner and breakfast -- I charge a mere 4 obols per night. I trust this will be agreeable? As for Old Yen's, I'll send a message to him."

The Storyteller . o O ( 4 obols is a reasonable price, and things are settled pretty quickly. Do you pay now or later? )

Monkey says, "Done and done! Here's enough for two days. My master plans of staying for a week, so this is but a down-payment."

Master Jef quickly pockets the jade and says, "Excellent! I look forward to your master's arrival."

Monkey goes back to Madame Zi's and told the Marukani to show up at Old Yen's before curfew. Norio, on the other hand, gets to stay at the posh inn.

The Storyteller . o O ( BRB. Nature calls. )

Monkey comes back with a story of how House Margard has invited Master Ganeesh to stay at their mansion for the night. He also whispers to the innkeeper that Norio is Master Ganeesh' lover, but that she is currently out of favor, which is why she is not at the mansion at the moment. Monkey advises them that since Norio has the blood of fire dragons in her veins, it's perhaps best if everyone leaves her alone, at least for tonight, lest some accidental flare of temper happens.

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( Seems to be going OK so far, which means the worst is yet to come. )

The Storyteller . o O ( Hm. Interesting tale, but why not! Who's Master Jef to question someone with jade to spend? )

The Storyteller . o O ( So, moving ahead. )

The Storyteller . o O ( During their brief stay at Madame Zi's, Norio was able to get a little info out of a couple of soldiers over a bout of drinks and flirting. The local garrison is a full dragon of Cherak troops, currently backed up by a talon of Realm marines. The tower and the lighthouse are both garrisoned by a scale of Cherak troops. The garrisons are rotated once a month, but communicate daily with HQ. At the moment, the barracks scuttlebutt focuses on a Dynast who showed up two days ago, Ragara Denerid. He's a charismatic Fire Aspect who's "inspecting the troops." His real reason for being here is unknown. )

Monkey discards the disguise and spends his time drinking and trying to charm the barmaid into bed. Afterward, he asks for ink, paper, and pen and composes a letter.

The Storyteller . o O ( Oh dear, not again... )

Monkey . o O ( It's not what you think. :p )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( It's worse? )

Dear Master Jef, My apologies for tricking an honest innkeeper. By the time you got this, some trouble is brewing. If you hear loud noises, I advise you to make sure all the doors are locked and stay inside. Once things calm down, expect a visit from soldiers. Cooperate with them. I'm quite sure they'll be quite a pain in the butt, so here's some money for your trouble. Use it as you wish, but I advise befriending someone high up who's convinced of your innoncence. Thank you.

                                            Signed,
                                            Monkey

PS: Oh, I put an extra 20 obols for the five days that "Master Ganeesh" was supposed to stay in that room. Don't forget to give Old Yen his share.

Monkey . o O ( Hmmm, why is the paragraphs doubled? )

The Storyteller . o O ( Heh. I'm sure he'll be deeply consoled. )

The Storyteller . o O ( So, as night falls, what do you do? )

Monkey . o O ( Me? I wait until maybe an hour before dawn. )

Monkey writes another letter.

The Storyteller . o O ( Okay. Captain, you're sailing toward Scarlet Fortress. Anything to do on the way? )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( Have a Wind-Carried Words message sent to Monkey when the fleet is about an hour out, informing him of the imminant arrival. )

Commander of Scarlet Fortress Garrison,

Permit me to inform you that the raid conducted today is courtesy of Captain Taiyo Kaizoku of The Fleet of The Unconquered Sun. If you wish to extract recompense, feel free to try.

                    Signed, on behalf of Captain Taiyo Kaizoku,
                                   Monkey

Monkey nods acknowledgement. "Tell the Captain everything's going fine."

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( That only works one-way... )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( Like a pager. :) )

Monkey . o O ( So? Won't be the first time Monkey talks to nobody. :) )

The Storyteller . o O ( Okay. It's a bit out of range, but no biggy. )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( I just hope he doesn't try to yell to make sure the reply is heard. :) )

The Storyteller . o O ( It is now an hour before dawn. Monkey? )

Monkey folds the letters, gets dressed, ogles the sleeping maid one more time, and leaves for Rainbow Squid. Coming in from the second floor's entrance, he nods to the two Marukani standing guard (like Norio needs to be guarded by mere mortals, hah), and knocks. "Norio, it's almost time. In half an hour, go to the tower with everyone."

She opens the door a crack and says, "Aye. We'll be there with bells on."

Monkey goes downstairs and have a few drinks to wait until the sky starts to light up. Once he does, he goes to find the innkeepers, bangs his door loudly several times and leaves the letter and the bag of cash on the floor for him to find when he opens the door. That done, he goes to the tower.

The Storyteller . o O ( Hm. Okay... )

Monkey . o O ( Alright, metagame stuff. Once I near the tower, activate Flow Like Blood, Increasing Strength Exercise, and Graceful Crane Stance. All personal essence. )

Only a few lights gleam from the tower's windows. The sentry -- a different one -- stands backlit by a pair of torches that bracket the door. He is obviously awake, and seems to be moderately alert. The door is closed.

The Storyteller . o O ( Okay. Noted. )

Monkey . o O ( Okay, how do you want to do this? )

Monkey . o O ( Do you want to switch back and forth between me and David? Or just go finish the tower first? )

The Storyteller . o O ( Well... there are 25 soldiers in the tower, including the guard, and they're all extras. So we'll do the tower first. )

Monkey . o O ( The first guard is easy. )

Monkey grabs his Useful Tube before he reaches the clearing. As he nears it, he takes aim, and darts the guard with paralytic poison.

The Storyteller . o O ( Roll it... )

Monkey rolled 8 dice on something and got 3 successes.

The guard looks around wildly for a moment, then slumps to the ground. His spear falls with a clatter.

Monkey looks up. "Hmmm, I wonder how far up the topmost window is."

The Storyteller . o O ( About 80 feet. )

Monkey goes over the clearing, drag the unfortunate guard to the side, and breaks his spear.

Monkey . o O ( Monkey leap should be plenty. )

The Storyteller . o O ( Keep posing -- I'll interrupt when you need a roll or something. )

Monkey hops up and grabs the ledge of the topmost window.

Monkey . o O ( Is it barred? Is it big enough to fit me in? Monkey's pretty small build and limber. )

The Storyteller . o O ( It's a wide arrow loop, maybe a foot wide. Monkey can fit in easily enough, but he'll need to make a Dex + Athletics roll to hit the window in the first place. Monkey Leap gives you a height of Str x 10 yards, so, um, e )

The Storyteller . o O ( grr... stupid number pad. 60 yards. o_O )

Monkey . o O ( Plenty. )

The Storyteller . o O ( Yup! )

Monkey rolled 10 dice on something and got 5 successes.

Monkey pulls himself up and knocks on the covered window. In the cold northern climate, the troops had covered it with some kind of shutter.

The Storyteller . o O ( And so's that. There's no response to your knock, but make a Per + Awareness check. )

Monkey rolled 3 dice on Per + Awa and got 1 success.

Monkey says, "Guess nobody's there."

Over the noise of seagulls and wind, you can hear the tread of a sentry on the top of the tower above you. After you knock, you hear the soldier's footsteps stop at a point more-or-less above you on the parapet.

Monkey opens the shutter and twists himself in.

The uppermost room is unoccupied, and bare save for a spiral stair going down in the center and another stair to your right leading up. It's about 25 feet in diameter. There's another window across the room.

Monkey ignores the guy upstairs and climbs down.

The Storyteller . o O ( Roll Dex + Stealth )

Monkey rolled 6 dice on Dex + Ste and got 5 successes.

Monkey . o O ( Well, that's nice. )

Monkey unscrews the Ultimately Useful Tubes, extending it into a staff. Tapping the staff on his shoulder to the time of a sea ditty he whistles, he climbs down the spiral stairway, noting the contents of each floor.

Monkey strolls down the stairs in absolute silence and sees a guard staring out the southwest window. Her hand rests on a ballista that's aimed out to sea, but uncocked and unloaded. She is unaware of his presence.

The Storyteller . o O ( Hm. So much for absolute silence. But ay, whatever. The first floor below has a ballista looking out over the entrance to the harbor and a guard. )

The whistles attracts the attention of the guard and she turns around. Monkey nods to her politely and before she can react, jabs the staff to her solar plexus.

The Storyteller . o O ( Roll it. )

The Storyteller . o O ( And get 2 motes back for the stunt. )

Monkey rolled 14 dice on Staff jab + 1 die stunt and got 5 successes.

The Storyteller . o O ( She's out cold. )

Monkey puts his staff back on the shoulder and moves down.

The next floor is nought but stores and supplies, mostly of the sort to feed the ballista. It's all stacked up on the north side of the room. The rest is bare. On the next floor down after the storeroom, Monkey finds himself in a circular room with 8 doorways. One is open to a stairwell on the south side of the room. The rest are closed.

Monkey thinks, "Hmmm, barracks?"

Monkey opens one of the door and looks in.

The Storyteller . o O ( Which one? Pick a cardinal or semi-cardinal direction. )

Monkey . o O ( Start with north. Then go clockwise. )

Monkey . o O ( If door is locked, move on to the next one. )

The northernmost door is a study of some sort, with desk, map of the city, etc. No window. (none of the rooms have windows.) The next is a closet, the third an unoccupied bedroom, the fourth a closet, the fifth the stairwell, the sixth a closet, and the seventh an occupied bedroom. A man is sleeping in the bed on the far side of the room, which (like the other rooms) is a circle ten feet in diameter.

TonyC [to jetman]: So, what do you think of the Advent Children trailer?

jetman [to TonyC]: The interface was twitchy and I didn't want to risk a crash in the middle of the game, so I haven't seen it yet.

Monkey shrugs and whispers, "Sweet dreams". He then knocks the guy out.

Monkey goes down the stairwell to the next floor.

Monkey . o O ( I'm assuming that since he's sleeping, he's pretty much defenseless. )

This is the barracks. Soldiers lie snoring on bunks, all blissfully unaware of your presence. The stairs continue on down.

Monkey shakes his head before going around knocking them out one by one. "Don't bother waking up. It's really not worth the trouble interrupting your dream."

The Storyteller . o O ( Okay, roll Dex + Stealth to avoid waking anybody. )

Monkey . o O ( For speed's sake, using WP for autosuccess. )

Monkey rolled 6 dice on Dex + Stealth and got 3 successes.

The Storyteller . o O ( Good enough. Having knocked out almost the entire garrison in ten minutes of sneaking around, what do you do next? )

Monkey keeps going until he reaches the ground floor and opens the door to let Norio and the Marukani in.

Monkey then goes back up to keep lone soldier patrolling the parapet company.

The next floor down after the barracks is another store room, this one rather full of food, water, etc. Heading down from there, Monkey hears someone moving around and smells something cooking. Looking out from the stairwell, it seems he's found the kitchen, and the cooks preparing breakfast.

Monkey changes his mind and goes back to grab one of the guard uniforms. He wears them hastily, and quickly goes downstairs. However, rather than knocking the cooks out, he simply goes down the stairs to the floor below.

The Storyteller . o O ( Dons them hastily? )

Monkey . o O ( Yup. )

Monkey hopes the cooks won't bother noticing another guardsman going down for some fresh air.

The next and ground floor is an assembly and training area, and Monkey has no problem opening the door to his waiting accomplices.

Monkey also hopes the cooks will prepare enough food for the unannounced guests.

The Storyteller . o O ( No worries on that count. The stairwell on the bottom five floors is in a semi-enclosed area along the side of the tower. )

Monkey climbs back up with the Marukani and Norio and greets the cooks. "Ehm. Err, how do I explain this.... Basically... ah heck, this is a raid. Everyone has already been knocked out. Now, they're all alive though, so please don't try anything silly. Now, can we get some food here? Oh, get me some extra for the guy upstair.

The Storyteller . o O ( Intimidation or persuasion? )

Monkey says, "Norio, there should be a study upstairs, two floors up. Kindly search it for anything you think Captain Kaizoku will like to see, and please leave this letter there for the garrison commander to find later."

Monkey . o O ( Persuasion. )

Monkey . o O ( Monkey is really a reasonable guy. )

The Storyteller . o O ( Roll Cha + Presence + 2 dice from being backed up by a gang of toughs and a DB. )

Monkey rolled 6 dice on Cha + Pre + 2 and got 4 successes.

The two cooks comply with great alacrity, serving hot porridge sweetened with honey. They're also working on some bacon, but it's not done yet.

Monkey gets some food for himself and the guard on the parapet. Before going upstairs, he says, "Well, men, tie them up. Try not to kill them, but if one of them tries to escape, well, he dies. After that, man the ballistas and lock the door. Ah heck, you know what to do. And somebody bring me some bacon when it's done. I'll be at the roof.

Monkey . o O ( David, feel free to get your scene going. )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( How does the approach look? )

Monkey knocks the trapdoor to the roof before opening it and announcing, "Hey, breakfast's done. Here, this is yours. Someone will bring the bacon up when it's done."

The sentry says, "Aye, thanks... hey, wait -- who are you?"

Monkey says, "Name's Monkey. I'm new here. Just got in today."

Roll Manipulation + Larceny

Monkey rolled 4 dice on Manip + Larceny and got 1 success.

The Storyteller . o O ( good enough. )

The sentry shrugs. If you got up here, past all the rest of the garrison, you must be legit, right? Right.

The Storyteller . o O ( David, your turn. )

Monkey . o O ( My plan for the rest of the scene: watch Kaizoku does his thing while kibbitzing with the guard. )

Monkey says, "Beautiful sunrise, eh."

Captain Kaizoku is at the bow of the Nimbus, in the van of the floatilla, with the Stormhammer to one side. He trains his spyglass on the tower and sees no commotion as they approach, taking it as a good sign. "Steady as she goes Kerrigan" he instructs.

The harbor is not as quiet as the Captain had anticipated at this hour... rather than the silence of a pre-dawn settlement, the last stragglers of the fishing fleet are leaving the harbor. Few give the flotilla more than a passing glance -- until they see the Nimbus. A trireme flying neither the colors of the Realm or Cherak draws some very alarmed stares and shouts.

The Storyteller . o O ( This is where those botches come in... )

The Storyteller . o O ( But roll Tactical Instincts again for the rest of the raid. )

Captain Kaizoku rolled 7 dice on Tactics and got 2 successes.

Monkey sits down on the floor. "Whoooh. Cold. Hey, sit down here. No sense standing around in the cold right now. Might as well eat breakfast and watch the sunrise, no?

Captain Kaizoku gives the surprised fishermen a sharp salute, as if nothing at all is out of the ordinary.

The guard nods. "Aye, true 'nuff." He shovels some porridge into his mouth as he gazes east.

You rolled 3 dice on something and got 1 success.

Meanwhile, the flotilla enters the harbor unopposed...

The Storyteller . o O ( Captain, what are you doing? )

TonyC whispers, "You know, are those botches the reason why you didn't ask David why Kaizoku did not account for the big chain?"

Captain Kaizoku turns his spyglass to the barracks by the shipyards, helping Hydros line up a Ballistae shot on the largest building. "After this, switch to the Implosion Bow and keep troops away from the warehouse with it... and our diversion should be going off shortly..."

You whisper, "Yes, plus fishing fleet, plus one other thing which will come up in a minute..." to TonyC.

The western tower is silent, but from the lighthouse you hear the clanging of a gong from the uppermost level. It is quickly answered by a hubbub from the barracks area, carrying faintly over the water...

The Storyteller . o O ( Regular ballista or lightning ballista? )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( Lightning. )

Captain Kaizoku says, "Fire."

Monkey says, "Mmmm, this is good porridge. You guys actually have a decent cook! What luck!"

The alarms are suddenly drowned out by the thunderous CRACK of the lightning ballista. The bolt leaps from the Nimbus and shatters the roof of one of the barracks buildings, illuminating the harbor in harsh white light. The guard next to Monkey drops his porridge and shouts, "-the HELL was that?!"

Monkey says, "Judging from the sound, lightning."

Monkey stands up and looks to the south and then east. "On time."

The guard shouts, "On time! What are you talking about?"

Monkey scratches his head. "Looks to me like some large pirate raid, conducted by Captain Taiyo Kaizoku, a Solar with a large bounty on his head.

Monkey says, "There should be 12 ships there. Let's see, one, two...."

Monkey says, "Oh, that be the flagship."

Captain Kaizoku calls out "All head full!" He waves his sword and lights up his anima banner to cast reflections on it, giving the signal to divide into the two groups.

Meanwhile, the activity along the waterfront has jumped tenfold in ten seconds. As the flotilla sweeps in for the plunder, you see ships trying desperately to cast off and get away from the coming havoc. Most get tangled in the confusion. The naval vessels are not moving, yet, but you can see crews rushing down the seawall and along the docks toward the three triremes.

Monkey says, "Heh. Too flashy."

Monkey . o O ( Should the tower's ballista be firing too? )

The guard looks out over the harbor and then looks at Monkey in horror. "By the Dragons... Anathema... if that's Kaizoku, then you must be..."

You rolled 3 dice on Guard valor and got 1 success.

Captain Kaizoku thrusts his sword at the sailors rushing to their ships. "Mr. Hydros, cut them off! Fire at will!"

Monkey's hand goes to his upper lip and then right eyebrow. "Oh right, I took the disguise off." He slaps his forehead. "Forgot about that."

The flotilla parts cleanly, if a little inexpertly -- one thing you've noticed is that the Kamsa, for all their bragging, aren't really great sailors -- and the ships slide into position on the docks.

Monkey says, "Look, I told you already I'm Monkey, so don't act too surprised."

The Storyteller . o O ( Tryin' to decide if he should jump, gibber, or faint. )

Captain Kaizoku has the Corona pull alongside the Tender, cutting it off, as the smaller ships head to the biremes. "Prize crews, Raitons, prepare to move out!" he calls.

Monkey says, "Don't bother raising an alarm. My men already took over the rest of the tower. Oh, and don't worry, nobody's dead. Luckily, most of them were asleep. So, why not finish the breakfast and enjoy the scenery?"

Hydros' suppressing fire is effective -- sailors do not reach the triremes. Off in the warehouse quarter, there's a *thump*, then smoke rises into the dawn sky accompanied by cries of "Fire!" The raiders assigned to the warehouse rush up to the city, meeting resistance only once they hit the warehouses themselves. The clang of blade on blade reaches your ears.

The guard nods dumbly.

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( How's the resistance on the ships, if any? )

The Storyteller . o O ( Prize crews on the biremes -- check. How many men to a ship? )

Monkey says, "Rats, they're taking forever with that bacon." Turning his head to the guard, he says, "You know, you never did tell me your name."

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( 10 each )

The Storyteller . o O ( That's enough to quell the watch on each, with a little brief fighting. Who's taking the tender? )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( The Captain, of course. )

The Storyteller . o O ( With how many troops? )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( With the Raitons behind him, 25 worth, and the Implosion Bow softening up anyone who gets on deck before the boarding. )

There's no resistance on the tender as the captain and the Raitons board it. A fang of the Raitons runs along the dock, quickly untying the lines that hold the ship fast to the dock. What do the rest do?

Back on the tower, the soldier appears to have lost the power of speech. Norio showing up with the bacon -- and the Implosion Bow -- doesn't seem to help, though he does nibble at the bacon a bit.

Captain Kaizoku calls out "Two fangs, search the troop compartments! Prize crew, to your positions!" as he waves over more of the Nimbus's crew that had sat idle on the voyage in. "Burning fangs, down the gangplank and start laying the firedust!"

Monkey takes a small tin bottle from his pouch, shakes it next to his ear to judge how much is left, and takes a sip. "Ahh." He then offers the bottle to the guard, "Lookshy dragonfire. Very potent. Spiced with temu bark. Very good. Try some. It'll warm you up."

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( It was four birememes and the tender in the military dock, right? )

The Storyteller . o O ( 5 biremes, three triremes, one tender. )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( Didn't the triremes go out to sea on an alert? )

The crew moves fast, the fangs heading down into the hold and the firestarters spreading firedust. The prize crew is moving into position when the sudden clamor of fighting erupts from the troop compartments.

The Storyteller . o O ( No. They tried, but you cut the crews off with fire from the implosion bow... )

Captain Kaizoku jumps down the hatch closest to the troop compartment and calls out "Status," his glowing caste mark turning dawn into bright noon around him.

Only four Raitons make it out of the crew compartment before the deck is suddenly crowded by Realm marines, fully armed and awake. At their head is a dynast in red jade armor, wielding a daiklave of scarlet on scarlet.

You're heavily outnumbered. It looks to be a full talon of marines -- 125 -- plus the DB.

Monkey . o O ( Ah. Good luck, El Kapitan. Remember that Monkey is far away enjoying a drink of temu-bark spiced Lookshy dragonfire while watching the battle below. )

The Dynast shouts, "Captain Kaizoku! Your career ends this morning, demon!"

Captain Kaizoku is burning with more than light, but presence as well. "This ship is now the property of the Fleet of the Unconqered Sun. Leave it now, on your feet, or later, feet first over the rail."

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( As Admiral Ackbar would say... it's a trap! )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( And that was backed up with Majestic Radiant Presence. )

Monkey . o O ( I'm going to switch computers. Don't worry, I won't miss anything. )

The Dynast barks a laugh. "Ha! Your bravado is just that -- hollow as your soul. Men! Kill them all, but leave the demon for me!" He and his troops charge forward, a scale of marines breaking off to swarm the Corona.

The Storyteller . o O ( Rolling stuff... )

TonyC has reconnected.

You rolled 7 dice on resisting MRP and got 3 successes.

Monkey . o O ( While Monkey's enjoying porridge, buns, and bacon with a sip of sauce, TonyC will be drinking tea and enjoying chips and salsa. )

You rolled 14 dice on inspiring troops and got 7 successes.

Spurred on by the words of the Dragon-blooded -- and fiery phantoms that seem to accompany him -- the marines charge into the battle against Kaizoku's warriors.

The Storyteller . o O ( We're going to run this with a bit of Mail and Steel... )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( While the top troops the Captain has eat breakfast. )

The Storyteller . o O ( You have... how many troops and sailors backing you up on the tender? )

Monkey says, "Oooo, look that, I think that's some dragon matching steel with Captain Kaizoku. Looks like fire."

Monkey says, "Any idea who that might be?"

The guard stammers, "I think that's Ragara Denerid..."

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( Let's see... the Corona was fully crewed and trooped, and the troops have been accounted for, and also the "extra" crew and all but a skeleton crew from the Nimbus aboord for support and prize-taking. )

Monkey says, "Is he any good?"

The guard says, "I don't know."

Monkey . o O ( Hey, you sent us here to this tower. )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( The Captain has a new trick though, and this looks like a dramatic enough time to use it. )

The Storyteller . o O ( Back on the numbers... how many troops is that? )

Monkey says, "No idea? Well, neither do I. Since both of us don't know a single thing about him, how about I give you one to one odds. I bet Captain Kaizoku will win and I'm willing to put my money where my mouth is. How about you?"

The guard shakes his head. He's not _that_ dumb...

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( 90 sailors, (well, 89 plus Hydros), 25 Raitons. )

Monkey says, "Aww, shucks."

The Storyteller . o O ( Call it a Talon, then... Magnitude 3, HTH attack add 2 successes, HTH damage add 2 dice, and armor 2. Drill is 2, Valor is 2. Do you have the M&S rules handy? )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( Yep. )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( Combos work normally, right? )

The Storyteller . o O ( 'kay. Assume relaxed order for the entire combat, since it's shipboard. Combos do work normally. )

The Storyteller . o O ( Roll initiative for long turn 1 -- Cha + Presence + 1d10 - (magnitude - drill) )

On 1d10+10, you rolled 12.

Captain Kaizoku rolled 1d10+6 and got 9.

The Storyteller . o O ( So basically, this is going to work like the two of you duelling... Therefore. )

Ragara Denerid runs in front of his troops, his feet leaving scorch marks on the deck. His daiklave erupts in flame as he brings it up from a low position into a vicious upward strike at Kaizoku's torso.

The Storyteller . o O ( Basic melee attack + Dragon-graced weapon. Holding an action for defense. )

You rolled 15 dice on Ragara attack and got 5 successes.

Captain Kaizoku is well used to the headlong rushes of the Dragon-Blooded, and lets essence guide his hand as he parries the blow with his gleaming Daiklave.

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( DSD. )

The Storyteller . o O ( 5 + 2 from his troops = 7 sux. )

Captain Kaizoku rolled 14 dice on something and got 5 successes.

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( And +2 to that, right? )

The Storyteller . o O ( Yes! Hadn't noticed that. )

The Storyteller . o O ( So that's a successful parry. )

The Storyteller . o O ( Describe? )

Captain Kaizoku whips the burning blade aside. "Your flames burn cold compared with the power of the sun!" he replied casually, turning the parry into a riposte... no... a flurry of them, golden cresents lashing out from every direction once inside his guard.

The Storyteller . o O ( Combo? )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( No, three conventional attacks. )

The Storyteller . o O ( Ah. Roll 'em. Usual penalties for multiple actions. )

The Storyteller . o O ( Oh, and +1 die for stunt... )

Captain Kaizoku rolled 14 dice on Strike 1 and got 9 successes.

Captain Kaizoku rolled 13 dice on Strike 2 and got 7 successes.

Captain Kaizoku rolled 12 dice on Strike 3 and got 11 successes.

Monkey . o O ( Impressive )

The blazing daiklave spins out and taps the golden crescent, and its wielder flickers like the flames of a bonfire as he twists and turns to evade the orichalcum blade...

You rolled 11 dice on Ragara parry and got 7 successes.

The Storyteller . o O ( 7 + 2 successe = successful parry on the first... )

The Storyteller . o O ( next some dodgy biz... )

You rolled 15 dice on Safety Among Enemies and got 3 successes.

You rolled 15 dice on Safety Among Enemies and got 12 successes.

Kaizoku's second strike hits home, smashing into the jade armor, but his third is confused in flames and strikes one of his own men down.

The Storyteller . o O ( roll damage on that second one -- soak is 15L. )

Captain Kaizoku rolled 3 dice on something and got 2 hits.

Captain Kaizoku 's center slash was the true one, finding its way past his armor and tearing into the Dynast's hot flesh. "Your tricks do you no credit!" he says tightly as the flaming illusions make his strongest stroke slice into one of his own sailors.

The Storyteller . o O ( Next action sequence... Dynast goes first. )

Denerid steps back and brings his blade into a guard position. He sneers, "Those who worship false gods deserve their fate!" He shouts to his men, "Courage, marines! This Anathema's minions are meat for your blades!" The marines press the attack against the Solar Wind Fleet, fire flickering from his anima and dancing along their blades.

He holds his guard position, giving up the initiative for the moment...

The Captain flashed back to prior battles, of his strongest strike bouncing harmlessly off the flesh of a Dynast, despite all the Essence behind his swing. He needed to find a way to channel more Essence, to call down the power of mighty winds and raging waves... He stood with his back to the sea as waves crashed around him, bringing down his sword with the crests of water, feeling the way power flowed downwards, learning to catch the same power that propelled the tides, blade growing brighter and brighter as he caught more and more energy. He stood atop the mast of his ship in a gale, cutting through the mighty gusts to hone the speed of his strikes... He found that the force of the void in the air left by his blade impacted just as hard as the initial blow.

Coming back to the moment, The Captain brought his blade down to his side with a quick stroke, gleaming bits of Essence trailing along the length of his golden daiklave. Golden winds began to circle around his shoulder, then ran down the length of his arm and his blade. The swirling energy did not stop at the curved tip of his weapon... they continued on, adding to its length, extending the blade to three times its normal size. It appeared to be a ray of sunlight standing atop a hilt.

Monkey . o O ( Wheee! Kaizoku's new trick! )

Captain Kaizoku says grimly "You had your chance and now the Sun will show you your fate! Transcendent Sword Technique Method One! Horizontal WAVE!"

The Storyteller . o O ( Okay, 3-die stunt for starters. What's in the combo? )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( Excellent Strike, Hungry Tiger Technique and One Weapon, Two Blows. )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( Maximum power on ES, 9 dice. Channeling Valor to cut down the army and save more sailors. )

The Storyteller . o O ( Not bad. So. 2 pumped attacks that count successes double for damage. )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( Thirty one dice. )

The Storyteller . o O ( Jayzus... )

Captain Kaizoku rolled 31 dice on Transcendant Sword stroke early stroke and got 11 successes.

Captain Kaizoku rolled 31 dice on Transcendant Sword stroke later stroke and got 14 successes.

The Storyteller . o O ( That's what I forgot to do... give this guy some combos... )

Monkey . o O ( David got his first 3 die stunt! )

Monkey . o O ( Meh, you got plenty of reflexives. Just use them all. )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( I wrote that pose over two weeks... it wasn't spur of the moment. )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( At least I get two extra successes for the troops! )

Monkey . o O ( Kudos. )

As the golden light crashes down on him, Ragara Denerid grins wickedly! "Portentous Comet Deflecting Mode!" he shouts, and his anima flares, a raging lion of fire bursting into existence behind him. He slashes his daiklaive in an X in front of the falling blow, and sparks flying forward from it to intercept the attack.

You rolled 14 dice on Portentous Comet Deflecting Mode 1 and got 5 successes.

You rolled 14 dice on Portentous Comet Deflecting Mode 2 and got 7 successes.

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( Hey, isn't this an attack enhanced by charms? )

The Storyteller . o O ( Ow, nice catch. Should have used Safety Among Enemies again... )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( Well, he won't have a chance to learn from his mistake... :) )

Monkey . o O ( So use it. Ragara's experienced. He shouldn't make this kind of mistakes. )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( How many Solars has he faced though? )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( Though DBs use charm-boosted blows too, though. )

The Storyteller . o O ( True. So he will... but now I have to rewrite the damn pose... No solars, but plenty of other DBs. It's not something he'd be likely to overlook. )

As the golden light crashes down on him, Ragara Denerid grins wickedly! "As long as you have allies, I have shields!" he shouts, and flickers like fire toward Kaizoku's men, drawing the attack to them.

You rolled 15 dice on Safety Among Enemies 1 and got 7 successes.

You rolled 15 dice on Safety Among Enemies 2 and got 5 successes.

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( Darn it! There was something else I wanted to do beforehand... call up giant squids! Oh, well. )

Two unfortunate sailors are caught by the golden blade and simply explode, the gore coating the remaining combatants...

The Storyteller . o O ( And now it's his go. )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( Well, crap. That was notably unspectacular. )

Monkey . o O ( Pshaw. Remember that you get a 3 die stunt! )

The Captain brings his blade back, his anima flare shining off the scarlet armor of his foe. Ragara springs forward, lightning swift and blazing like a falling star, his daiklave reaching out for the Captain's vitals as he jumps over a fallen marine.

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( True, but the results were a bit lacking... And it's hard to pull off a big attack like this twice. Plus I have no defense up, thinking that'd be enough. )

The Storyteller checks to see how nasty the anima is at right now.

The Storyteller . o O ( Third combat sequence -- you can defend. )

Monkey . o O ( Ah, but it's a new round, and you get your action again. )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( Ah, I thought he'd held more actions than he needed. )

You rolled 16 dice on Ragara attacks! and got 7 successes.

The Storyteller . o O ( Stoking Bonfire Style, 2 actions held for defense. )

The Storyteller . o O ( 2-die stunt. )

The Storyteller . o O ( Total of 9 successes. )

Captain Kaizoku looks over his small glasses at the burning, raging dynast. He brings his blade up to counter the streaking blow, holding his sword out before him, backing it up with his hand near the tip to push the man back for a counter.

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( DSD again. )

Captain Kaizoku rolled 15 dice on something and got 12 successes.

Monkey . o O ( There's two ways you can go. You can do normal attacks and wear his motes down. )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( Wish I had that proportion last roll! )

Monkey . o O ( Or you can take a risk, tell your men to protect you, and try Butterfly. )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( Yes, that has always seemed the effective course, but it seems... unheroic just to use the Poke of Doom. )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( It can be dodged, and he's got a bad dodge charm for that. )

Monkey . o O ( Alternatively, cast Summon Monkey. But that'd be taking the spotlight off you. )

The Storyteller . o O ( Oh dear. )

Captain Kaizoku knocks the blow away without effort, pushing it down to the deck. He drags his own daiklave along the decking, bringing it across the Dyanst's legs, then up in a diagonal slash inside his sword arm and finally a slash at his head in the opposite direction.

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( Three attacks. )

Denerid's anima is blazing around him now in a near-bonfire of elemental fury. The board beneath his feet are charring swiftly, and even his own men are careful not to get too near to him.

The Storyteller . o O ( Roll 'em. )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( Stunt, if any? )

The Storyteller . o O ( Oh, sorry. 1-die. )

Monkey . o O ( I recommend the Butterfly against his men. Once that's clear, tell your men to disengange and go one-on-one. With no one near, he can't use Safety Amongst Enemies. )

Captain Kaizoku rolled 14 dice on Leg slash and got 6 successes.

Captain Kaizoku rolled 13 dice on Chest slash and got 9 successes.

Captain Kaizoku rolled 12 dice on Throat slash and got 4 successes.

Denerid whips his blade up from the deck in a hot rush of flame, catching Kaizoku's blade on the way up, and then angling it away from his torso.

The Storyteller . o O ( two held parries... )

You rolled 12 dice on first parry and got 6 successes.

You rolled 10 dice on second parry and got 6 successes.

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( If he sees an opening when I bring up the sorcery charm, he'll go crazy with an attack. )

The Storyteller . o O ( and a quick Safety Among Enemies... )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( And at this rate, I can use DSD all day long. )

His blade too slow to catch the third blow, Denerid snags an unwary sailor by the arm and interposes him between throat and blade...

TonyC decides that saving the world takes priority over chatting and disappears.

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( One of his or one of mine? )

You rolled 14 dice on SAE and got 9 successes.

TonyC takes a break from saving the world and wanders in.

The Storyteller . o O ( One of yours, of course... )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( And is he rolling for my Majestic every turn? )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( Or is that once every long turn? )

The Storyteller . o O ( I read that as once per scene... )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( Power Combat 208 says never more than once per turn. )

The Storyteller . o O ( Hm. )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( In any case, the chest blow hits? )

The Storyteller . o O ( Ah. That is pretty explicit... )

The Storyteller . o O ( And yes, the chest blow hits. )

The Storyteller . o O ( minus 8 successes, of course. )

The Storyteller . o O ( soak is 14L )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( 15? )

Captain Kaizoku rolled 4 dice on something and got 1 hit.

The Storyteller . o O ( Okay... roll init. )

Captain Kaizoku 's blade skitters along and through the dodging firebrand's armor, tearing into his flesh, the final decaptitating blow taking off the head of yet another of his own men. "Your cowardace does you no credit" he remarks cooly.

Captain Kaizoku rolled 1d10+6 and got 15.

Denerid tosses the corpse aside, its clothing ablaze from his anima. "All this talk of credit -- one might think you an accountant of the Guild, demon!"

On 1d10+10, you rolled 20.

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( Hey, will he burn through the deck and get stuck at a bad time if the Captain plays his cards right? And crap, thought I had the init that time. )

You rolled 7 dice on Denerid vs MRP and got 6 successes.

Monkey . o O ( But you don't want that, because you want to capture this trireme tender intact. )

You rolled 5 dice on Denerid's marines vs MRP and got 2 successes.

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( It's only a three foot hole in the deck... not all the way to the bottom. )

The Storyteller . o O ( Give it two more long turns and he'll have the ship well ablaze... )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( I can't see how his init is so good! Units are the same, maybe drill's better... )

Monkey . o O ( But he'll start burning down there too. Keep it up and he'll eventually burn all the way down. )

The Storyteller . o O ( Cha 4, Pre 4 (leading troops +2), and his drill cancels out his magnitude. )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( He stops burning once his throat's slit... and he can't dodge if he's stuck. Unless he has that charm... )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( Ah, forgot about specialties. )

The Storyteller . o O ( v. handy. )

The Storyteller . o O ( Anyway, posing... )

Monkey . o O ( Which he might, since he's a Fire Aspect (and Dodge is Fire) and that Threshold charm is a beginner charm. )

Denerid steps forward in a quick lunge, his blade flickering like a torch in a strong wind as it strikes at the captain one, two, three times...

The Storyteller . o O ( 3 attacks... no actions held. )

You rolled 12 dice on attack 1 and got 2 successes.

Captain Kaizoku 's caste mark burns brighter as the Sun guides his sword against one blow after another.

You rolled 11 dice on attack 2 and got 5 successes.

You rolled 10 dice on attack 3 and got 2 successes.

Captain Kaizoku rolled 14 dice on something and got 6 successes.

Captain Kaizoku rolled 14 dice on something and got 5 successes.

Captain Kaizoku rolled 14 dice on something and got 8 successes.

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( DSD all around. )

The Storyteller . o O ( So that's 4, 7, and 4 successes... one gets through. What's your soak? )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( 10L How does one get through? Don't I get the +2 bouns from my men? )

The Storyteller . o O ( Shoot, you're right. Never mind. )

The Storyteller . o O ( Okay, your turn. )

Captain Kaizoku never loses eye contact with Denerid as power of the Sun burns brighter with every parry. "Your fellow-captain was your inferior in tricks, but far exceeds you in honor..." he remarks over the clash of heated metals.

Captain Kaizoku adds "And you have left yourself open in too many places!"

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( One action, disarm attempt )

The Storyteller . o O ( Dammit, I'm already juggling three rulebooks.... )

The Storyteller . o O ( 1-die stunt )

Captain Kaizoku twirls his sword in a perfect circle and brings it against the jade daiklave in three places, setting up a resonance making it hard to hold onto... before he reverses the blade and hooks it, pulling the sword to him and away from the Dynast.

Monkey . o O ( Interesting way of getting around Safety Among Enemies.... )

The Storyteller . o O ( Difficulty 3, he gets a normal defense... plus a roll after to retain. )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( Oh, that too. )

Captain Kaizoku rolled 17 dice on martial disarm and got 10 successes.

Monkey . o O ( Well, he has no action left, so he has to use a charm. )

The Storyteller . o O ( Using a Charm? )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( Me? No, convential disarm. )

The Storyteller . o O ( Ah! )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( DSD was my charm for the turn. )

You rolled 11 dice on Portentous Comet Deflecting Mode and got 10 successes.

Monkey . o O ( No, Jesse was checking whether he gets to use Comet Deflecting Mode. )

Monkey . o O ( Ingenuous on his part too. )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( I really wish I'd been able to find someone to learn Summon Elemental from... could have hosed this guy. Literally. )

The captain's three blows strike sparks from the jade daiklave, and the sparks deflect the Solar's hook attempt.

The Storyteller . o O ( Captain, what's your anima at? )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( two motes off peripheral, but I used a mote to light it up earlier, so it's burning brightly. )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( At the brighter setting. )

The Storyteller . o O ( Okay, just checking... Rolling )

You rolled 7 dice on Denerid vs MRP and got 5 successes.

You rolled 5 dice on marines vs MRP and got 3 successes.

Monkey . o O ( Consider multiple disarm actions? You have a big enough pool. )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( He'll stop doing that soon... his will to fight will falter as he keeps doing that thing. )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( I thought one would be enough, but it looks like, yes. )

Denerid shouts, "Ha!" as he whips the sword overhead in a fast pattern of blows at the captain's head and shoulders. (four attacks, nothing held.

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( Oh, my... clever idea here. )

You rolled 11 dice on Attack 1 and got 5 successes.

You rolled 10 dice on Attack 2 and got 6 successes.

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( DSD defense. )

You rolled 9 dice on Attack 3 and got 5 successes.

You rolled 8 dice on Attack 4 and got 4 successes.

The Storyteller . o O ( My, that's not bad... )

Captain Kaizoku rolled 14 dice on parry 1 and got 6 successes.

Captain Kaizoku rolled 14 dice on parry 2 and got 7 successes.

Captain Kaizoku rolled 14 dice on parry 3 and got 6 successes.

Captain Kaizoku rolled 14 dice on parry 4 and got 4 successes.

The Storyteller . o O ( All successful parries. )

Way back at the tower, Monkey finally stoppers his tin bottle and pockets it again. Turning around to the lone guardsman, he says, "Look, it's probably going to look back when your fellow guards wake up and finds that you alone were conscious. Tell you what, try to hit me, and then I'll tie you up. That way you can claim you tried to fulfill your duty but was overpowered."

Captain Kaizoku put his left arm akimbo at his waist as he knocked aside every single blow, spinning around in a circle each time, brining his sword in front of his head to guard it, sending up an extra bright flash... one in the direction of the Corona... a signal in the new code.

The Storyteller . o O ( Ooh, I like that... )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( The Captain is signaling Hydros to fire a shot from the Bow into the water, right below where Denerid is standing. )

The hapless guard nods, and throws a wild punch at Monkey.

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( He's going to attack after Den is splashed, since he'll be distracted, maybe blinded and on uneven footing from the cold water and the steam that will result. )

Okay. +2 die stunt.

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( hopefully it 'll keep the ship from burning up too. )

Monkey takes the punch on the cheek.

Monkey . o O ( Soak is 4B. )

Hydros appears to get the message and just as Denerid leaps to the attack, the shockwave from the Corona rocks the tender. Water fountains up and over the deck, exploding into steam as it hits Denerid's anima.

Captain Kaizoku cuts through the column of water that envelops his foe, aiming a blow straight for his chest... a feint, one that goes to his weapon arm instead, knocking the blow forward. He brings the point low and the hilt high, cutting into the Dynast's wounded shoulder with the base of his sword and finally thrusting downward to pin his foot the the charred deck.

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( Three attacks, disarm first. )

The Storyteller . o O ( Monkey -- no damage from the punch. CK -- it will apply a -2 environmental penalty to attack and defense on this turn from all the steam... )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( To dice, or successes? )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( That will just cancel the troop bonus, if the latter. )

The Storyteller . o O ( to dice. )

Monkey steps back and rubs his cheek. "That's a good punch. I'll be sore all day. Right, turn around and put your arm behind you so I can tie them up. Then let's go down the stairway and I'll tie your feet there."

Captain Kaizoku rolled 13 dice on Disarm and got 8 successes.

Captain Kaizoku rolled 12 dice on Chest and got 2 successes.

Captain Kaizoku rolled 11 dice on Foot and got 2 successes.

Doused by the water, Denerid's flames spring back to life almost immediately as he throws himself back from both the water and Kaizoku's blade.

Monkey says, "It's warmer down there. I mean, who knows when the others will wake up. It might even take them a few hours. No sense risking frostbite and sickness."

The Storyteller . o O ( Safety among enemies again, as Denerid stumbles back over blinded and confused combatants. )

The Storyteller . o O ( The guard cooperates fully... )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( I'm going to have to get some grappling skills... )

You rolled 11 dice on Safety Among Enemies and got 4 successes.

You rolled 11 dice on Safety Among Enemies and got 6 successes.

You rolled 11 dice on Safety Among Enemies and got 4 successes.

Monkey . o O ( Try the brawl tree. The MA ones don't mesh with armor. Except for the dragon ones, of course, but good luck finding a teacher. )

The Storyteller . o O ( How much Essence do you have left, CK? )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( 22 peripheral )

The Storyteller . o O ( Are you remember to get back motes from stunts? )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( Yep. )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( Else I'd be a lot lower. )

The Storyteller . o O ( Aye. Let's see... last action sequence of this long turn now. )

You rolled 7 dice on Denered vs MRP and got 1 success.

You rolled 5 dice on marines vs MRP and got 1 success.

The Storyteller . o O ( Heheheh. )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( Oh, my... )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( Init? )

Staggering back from the steam and the flashing blade, Denerid blanches in fear for the first time in the combat. His men pick up on his mood and the marines falter in combat. "Fall back! Fall back!" Denerid shouts as he scrambles to his feet.

The Storyteller . o O ( He's trying to disengage... )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( He HAD his chance. )

You rolled 10 dice on disengagement roll and got 3 successes.

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( Good. )

The Storyteller . o O ( Not quite good enough... )

The Storyteller . o O ( Your action. He still gets defenses, though. )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( Damn, I wanted him to retreat and then use the butterfly strike. )

Monkey . o O ( So disengage yourself. )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( What's the roll for that? )

The Storyteller . o O ( Wits + Presence -1 at difficulty 5 )

Captain Kaizoku rolled 7 dice on Disengaging and got 3 successes.

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( I knew it... )

The Storyteller . o O ( Okay, now roll Init. )

Captain Kaizoku thrusts his sword to his side to hold his men back for a moment as the situation develops.

Captain Kaizoku rolled 1d10+6 and got 12.

On 1d10+9, you rolled 11.

The Storyteller . o O ( You win init. )

Captain Kaizoku spins his blade in a circle, trailing a yellow stream of power... which fades into a green one as he calls up the power of Emerald Sorcery. "They will get what they deserve!" he calls to his men.

The Storyteller . o O ( rolling to disengage again. )

You rolled 10 dice on disengagement roll and got 6 successes.

The Storyteller . o O ( Success! )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( Does it help if I don't press them? Guess it doesn't matter. )

Denerid and his men retreat in good order, shields up -- he's seen this sorcery before. They start moving down onto the dock as the captain's sorcery reaches its peak...

Captain Kaizoku calls out with the force of the Sun behind his words "You had your chance to retreat before... you spurn mercy and find justice!" He puts his hands out before him, thumbs hooked as the butterflies begin to flutter past them... a handful, a dozen, a thousand, the air turning black as the glass tide washes over them.

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( Does the troop strength help with the sorcery roll? )

The Storyteller . o O ( Nope, that's all you. )

Captain Kaizoku rolled 8 dice on Sorcery and got 8 successes.

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( +3 for Essence. )

The Storyteller . o O ( Okay. Defending, then... )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( 11 successes... )

You rolled 13 dice on Denerid dodge and got 6 successes.

You rolled 5 dice on marines dodge and got no successes but no botches either.

The Storyteller . o O ( Pain! Pain!!!! )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( So... 13 L for Den... 19L for the men. )

Monkey . o O ( Since the marines all have shields, 2 successes are substracted. )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( 17L then. )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( DEn has a soak of 14, so just three. )

The Storyteller . o O ( Denerid's soak is 12L, marines soak is 5L... I think the marines are toast. )

Monkey . o O ( Are marines extras? )

The Storyteller . o O ( Yes, they are... )

Captain Kaizoku rolled 3 dice on Denerid and got no hits.

Monkey . o O ( Marines are toast. Maybe if you're kind, some of them were outside the area of effect. )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( Not retreating in close order down a plank... )

The Storyteller . o O ( Also, most of the lines on the tender are also shredded... though not the sails. )

Captain Kaizoku 's obsidian tide flutters to the ground, its force spent... with only the Dynast standing among the shredded remains of his men. "How many more will you sacrifice today?" he spits at Denerid.

Monkey comes back up to see the overall situation.

Denerid does not respond. He's too busy running up the dock toward the barracks. As he approaches the wall, he runs straight up it in a burst of flame and vanishes into the barracks.

The Storyteller . o O ( Which wraps this combat up unless you pursue... )

Captain Kaizoku 's lips grow pale as he presses them together, unhappy about the senseless waste. "Prize crew, Corona crew back to your stations and prepare to cast off."

Captain Kaizoku calls to Hydros "Whisper to Razor Leaf to pull back the Northmen!"

As the Solar Wind fleet pulls out of the harbor with its prizes in tow, the Kamsa pour out of the warehouse district burdened with plunder. Well, not completely burdened. About half are carrying something, but the other half are busy fighting a retreat with the Cherak legionnaires. They board their ships in good order and follow the Corona out to sea...

The Storyteller . o O ( How are Monkey & co leaving? )

Monkey . o O ( Beats me. We'll figure something out come the time. )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( Monkey was instructed... the Stormhammer's hanging back and will go in for a pickup after the other ships clear the harbor. )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( Unless that's another botch coming to play. :) )

Monkey . o O ( Stormhammer will be leaving last, but whether it makes sense for Stormhammer to actually dock or if it's better if we steal another ship, let's see. )

The Storyteller . o O ( BTW... I'm figuring Akbar took the time to trade for some naval supplies before the SHTF. )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( Yep. )

The Storyteller . o O ( Either way, does the Majestic Voyager leave with you? )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( Yes. )

The Storyteller . o O ( Right. Then we'll wrap up now, I think. )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( I thought about leaving a note behind mentioning how the Realm is a poor ally, but Monkey beat me to it. :) )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( And they may get the message in any case. )

The Storyteller . o O ( The losses on your side are some thirty sailors and Kamsa dead, and another thirty or so wounded. You'll make it back to whichever rendesvous point you want successfully, with a somewhat damaged tender and... )

Monkey . o O ( And? )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( 4 Biremes and maybe some Triremes too. )

Monkey . o O ( Alright, who got venereal disease? Akbar's paying for the medical bills! )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( Though I thought the latter went out to see. )

The Storyteller . o O ( Say, four biremes. No triremes, though -- the suppressive fire Hydros laid down to stop them from going into action also prevented prize crews from getting to them. )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( Good enough. )

The Storyteller . o O ( No. There were two triremes that went out the day you scouted Scarlet Fortress, and three that were in dock during the raid. )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( Ahhhh. )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( Now we have to recruit again! )

The Storyteller . o O ( Also, 5 XP each, and an extra one to the captain because of the stunt. )

Monkey . o O ( Q: Norio was instructed to search the study in the tower, did she find anything of note? )

The Storyteller . o O ( Ah! Right. Yes, she finds a map of Cherak with the disposition of Cherak's legions and navy marked on it. )

Monkey says, "Well now, excellent, Norio. You ought to bring this to Captain Kaizoku's attention."

Captain Kaizoku tells the men to rouse them after the disengagement "For the Dynasts, defeat is worse than death, as they have to live with defeat!"

Monkey . o O ( Alright, we ought to formulate next week's mission. )

The Storyteller . o O ( Also... On the way to the rendesvous point, one of the Corona's crew brings something to the captain. It's an arrow he found embedded in the deck. Wrapped around the shaft is a map of Cherak, with a point on the coast west of Scarlet Fortress marked. There's also a date: the last of the month, before Calibration begins, and a short message in Low Realm: "I believe we may be of use to each other." No signature. )

Monkey . o O ( Checking date.... )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( How long from now is that? )

The Storyteller checks the timeline...

The Storyteller . o O ( figure about three weeks. )

Monkey . o O ( Not sure, but about 20 days. )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( Next time, repair, cement alliance with the Kamsa and try to locate the greater part of their host to talk with their sun lord. )

The Storyteller . o O ( Formulating the next mission will have to wait -- I need to go to bed. )

Monkey . o O ( Good night. )

Captain Kaizoku . o O ( Night! )

The Storyteller . o O ( 'night. )

• On to Session 24