IsleOfJade/SessionSeven

Kaimi’s Future

(1) Yeled: As Tetsuko helps Kaimi back to the girls' dormitory, they are met by Master Li, who intercepts them where the path from the hill intersects with the paths to the riverfront, the main compound area, and the main school gate. Dawn Star is in tow.

Master Li studies the scene before him, his expression stern as he takes in Kaimi's condition.

(1) Master Li: "What has happened here?"

Sook: "Ayame is a tough opponent"

Master Li frowns. "This is the result of your sparring match?"

Kaimi nods

Sook looks,to his credit,like he never fought,having fully healed the bruising he recieved

Master Li shakes his head. "I thought I asked her to fight defensively while you explored your heightened awareness. Is that not what transpired?"

Sook: "kaimi was....distracted, it seemed. She was not fighting as she does normally....and her timing was off"

(1) Master Li: "And how did she get injured thus?"

Sook: "ayame hit her, in the gut. Kaimi...flew into the pool"

Kaimi shrugs. "We fought. I lost."

Sook waits a moment, then follows with a shrug. Sook looks concerned

Master Li frowns even deeper, the corners of his mouth turning way down. "That is why one must be careful among beings such as her. She does not have the mindset for obedience!"

Sook: "To her credit, kaimi should have been able to block the blow. But, as i said...she was....distracted by something."

Kaimi gives Sook a dirty look 

(1) Master Li: "Mmmm. Very well. It only complicates things a little. Dawn Star, my dear, please go to Hou and ask him to bring the special tea to my quarters. When you have passed him that message, please go there yourself."

Dawn Star nods. "Yes, Master Li.

(1) Master Li: "Kaimi, I must ask that you come to my quarters as well. It is time I told you of things you have longed to know. Testuko may join you, if you wish. But only if you wish."

Kaimi straightens, then winces

Sook looks at master li with the closest thing he would ever get to anger...as it is, the emotion is faint enough so as not to really be visible...but he has figured out that master li has something to do with this confusion kaimi is obviously suffering

Sook: "i will help you....then if you want, i can leave, or stay"

(1) Master Li: "Good. Come." Master Li turns and walks toward the main compound.

Sook helps kaimi along to li’s hut

Kaimi looks up at sook and hobbles forward

(1) Master Li: Master Li's quarters are simple but comfortable. It sits facing the sparring ring, and Master Li is often found there, quietly watching his students practice. Only rarely are students permitted beyond the stern, paper walls and admitted into his private living area.

Master Li pushes the sliding door open, revealing a large and spartan sitting room that you've only been in a few tiems each. The only things in the room are mats on which one might sit, a short table for tea and food, and what appears to be astrological charts and instruments arranged in a chaotic but peculiar way in the far back of the space.

Sook will deposit kaimi on a mat, and excuses himself for a moment into master li’s sleeping area to check on tam bo

Kaimi: "Thanks Sook."

Sook nods as he heads to the other room, returning a scant few moments later, apparently satisfied with the man’s condition

(1) Master Li: "How are you feeling, Kaimi?"

Kaimi pulls her legs under her so that she is sitting on her calves. “I'll live." She smiles.

Master Li sits across from her, crossing his legs in front of himself. He reaches for his long pipe, and begins to fill it with a leafy substance he pulls from his robes.

Master Li: "Are you comfortable with Tetsuko being here for this?"

Sook glances at master li, then kaimi, and seeing no sign of a 'stick around', quietly lets himself out the front door

Sook pauses at the door,due to the masters statement

Kaimi: "Wait. Sook you can stay."

(1) Master Li: Sook sees Dawn Star making her way quickly toward the building when he pauses in the doorway.

Sook stops,his hand on the sliding door,and turns,nods stiffly,and finds a mat to sit on

Dawn Star appears in the doorway a moment later and taps lightly on the frame.

(1) Master Li: "And Dawn Star? Is it ok if she is here as well?"

Kaimi sucks in a breath then nods

Dawn Star looks concerned, then smiles just a bit when Kaimi says it’s ok. She enters and finds a mat on which to sit.

(1) Master Li: "I am glad you decided thus. You three have been such stalwart companions since you were very small, and you will need each other I think in the days ahead."

Kaimi exchanges glances w/ her partners in crime

Sook looks really concerned....and uneasy....he has kind of known, and certainly believed, this day would come, sooner or later...but now that it is here, he isn’t so sure he likes the idea of the status quo changing

(1) Master Li: "Kaimi, you have gained almost all the knowledge I can teach you. You have much to learn about the gift Ayame has bestowed upon you, but in the martial arts you have truly excelled. Your skills are far beyond that of all but the greatest of mortals."

Kaimi smiles a bit at the praise.

(1) Master Li: "You are my..." Master Li is interrupted by a rapping at the door.

(1) Master Li: "Yes."

(1) Yeled: The door slides open and the cook, Hou, appears carrying a tray with a boiling hot tea pot and several china cups.

(1) Henpecked Hou: "Apprentice Dawn Star said you requested the special tea," says Hou, his somewhat higher pitched voice quickly rattling the words out, as is his way.

(1) Master Li: "Thank you, Hou. You may leave it on the table as always."

(1) Henpecked Hou: "Oh, it’s certainly my pleasure, Master Li. If I weren't here doing this for you, I'd probably be back home doing chores for the wife. I don't have to tell you what she gets like when she's fired up about chores. Once, when I was a baker up in Tien's Landing, she had me clean out the entire oven with a toothbrush, just because she thought the customers would appreciate a clean establishment. Truth be told, I think she wanted to keep me busy. I was still fighting back then, and the old windbag was hellbent on stopping me. She thought I should settle down to a nice quiet life now that I was married. But I always admired the martial arts, you know. The the old shrew couldn't appreciate a good punch if one hit her in the mouth. And I tell you I wanted to slug her once or twice. But she's a big lady, and frankly I think I would have gotten the worst of it. I once..."

(1) Master Li: "Thank you, Hou," interrupts Master Li, looking slightly annoyed. "That will be all."

(1) Henpecked Hou: "Oh, right, of course," he says, bowing. "I don't want to interrupt. This looks like such a nice gathering. I once interrupted a gathering of my wife and her friends with dire consequences. Not that the wife has any real friends. They were acquaintances, really. Quite frankly they were closer to enemies. But it’s best to keep your enemies close when your enemy is my wife. Although I prefer to keep my distance. I once..."

(1) Master Li: "Thank you, Hou."

(1) Henpecked Hou: "Oh, right. Sorry." Hou backs out of Master Li's quarters, bowing. He slides the door closed.

(1) Master Li: "Now where were we?"

Sook is blank faced

(1) Master Li: "Ah, yes," says Master Li, clearning his throat. Dawn Star sits up on her knees and begins pouring the tea. She hands a cup to Li, then to Kaimi, then to Tetsuko, and then takes a cup for herself.

Kaimi nods her thanks

Sook takes his cup and nods politely

(1) Master Li: "Kaimi, I daresay you are likely the best pupil I have ever instructed in the martial arts, although you came to me an orphan. I have tried to prepare you for the responsibility your skills will bring. Have you given thought to your future?"

(1) Master Li: The tea is very hot and very spicey. It’s got a woody flavor, and smells of lilac.

Kaimi: "I had thought to travel, Master Li."

(1) Master Li: "You plan to leave the Isle, then?"

Kaimi: "Well, yes. For a time at least."

(1) Master Li: "And what of you, two? Tetsuko? Dawn Star? What do you plan? Will you stay here with me to continue your lessons?"

Sook glances at each in turn

(1) Dawn Star: "I...I don't know," answers Dawn Star, clearly caught off guard by these questions. "I had not thought about...well, Kaimi leaving." Dawn Star sips her tea nervously.

Sook: "you know my place...so far as she has needs that i can provide for, i will stay with kaimi

Master Li nods, clearly anticipating the answers.

(1) Dawn Star: "I would go with her as well, I think, Master, though I mean no disrespect. I have valued your teaching greatly."

"You two don't have to leave your training for me!" Kaimi looks uncomfortable and pleased at the same time

Sook: "what good is training if one never puts it to use?"

(1) Master Li: "Drink your tea, Kaimi," he commands before continuing. "They go with you because you inspire them. You are not exalted, as you so delicately pointed out earlier. And yet you inspire an exalt and one with the blood of ghosts."

Kaimi grins broadly while sipping her tea obediently. "Well if that is the way you two want it, who am I to break up a good thing?"

(1) Master Li: "I recall that as a child you fell and bruised your knee. I comforted you, telling you that even small wounds are valuable lessons. But sometimes all you learn from defeat is that you have been defeated." Master Li seems to be thinking deeply as he speaks these words, as if recalling something important. "This world is out of balance, and you have a role to play that I have kept secret."

Kaimi blinks

(1) Master Li: "Perhaps you think it unkind of me to keep things from you."

Kaimi does not speak.

(1) Master Li: "I apologize for the necessity of such, but I have found that to announce things too soon is to lead to unfortunate ends. What would you have become had I told you as a young girl that you were vitally important to the fate of the Isle? The wise do not move before the time is right."

Kaimi looks as if she wondering if she heard right.

(1) Master Li: "Part of your future concerns this..."

Ayame flings the doors open with the force of her cloud as she bursts into the room unexpectedly, with Yukio onboard

(1) Master Li: "What? What is the meaning of this, Ayame? Yukio?"

Master Li looks quite angry.

(1) Yukio: "Trouble," says Yukio.

Ayame sits calming, cross legged atop her cloud "Bandits. I saw them while flying over the island, then noticed Yukio causing trouble as well. He said they are going to attack the village."

(1) Yukio: "They're burning farms. Killing the adults and taking the children."

Sook: "tam bo"

Master Li still looks a bit annoyed.

(1) Yukio: "And Zan is hurt!"

Master Li frowns at that, his expression changing from annoyance to concern. "It seems the time for practice is already over. Yukio, do you know where they are taking the children?"

Yukio shakes his head. "To the north. That's all I know. Mou-Shendu and an Immaculate Monk are with Zan."

Kaimi: "Is he ok?!"

Sook tenses at the mention of the monk

(1) Master Li: "Very well. Go and find Gao. You and he are born of fire and can move quickly. You are also the two best warriors in the school. Take Gao and try to locate the children before it’s too late."

(1) Yukio: "He's not well. He needs help from a healer."

(1) Master Li: "Kaimi, Dawn Star, and Tetsuko...take up your weapons and go to the village and assist them in the defenses. It sounds like they will need our help."

(1) Master Li: "Ayame, will you carry me to Zan?"

Sook stands...everything he needs is on him, or growing wild

Ayame: "Are you sure it's safe to send them?"

Kaimi: "Ayame tell Zan from me that he better get better or I'm going to come after him."

(1) Master Li: "I am sure of nothing. What I know is one of my pupils is hurt. Tetsuko, make sure the other students stay inside the walls. Only the most advanced should participate in this."

Sook nods.

Kaimi stands and makes sure her swords are properly in place.

(1) Master Li: Kaimi feels much better. Her bruises are starting to heal amazingly quickly.

Yukio drops off the cloud and darts off without another word, leaving the others behind.

Sook strides outside, looking for a reasonably high ranking student or teacher to warn and gather the school to prepare for defense, should it come to the school itself being attacked.

Kaimi: "Right. Ready Echo?"

(1) Dawn Star: "I guess so. Somehow in all this uncertainty I feel confident."

Kaimi: "All right then let’s go!" Kaimi strides out of the room and heads to the village.

Recognized

(1) Master Li: "Is it alright to join you, Ayame?"

Ayame nods.

Master Li jumps easily on to the cloud.

Ayame begins drifting back out of the room with the cloud "Ready?"

(1) Master Li: "Yes. Take us to Zan."

Ayame zips off into the sky, leaving a whoosh of dust and paper

1) Master Li: "I wish you had not hit her so hard," says Master Li. Ayame notices that he's brought the tea pot along.

Ayame: "Not my fault she over-extended herself"

(1) Master Li: "Well, let us hope she has learned her lesson, then. On the bright side, this tea wouldn't have been prepared if she hadn't needed it. A fortunate coincidence."

Ayame and Master Li fly quickly over the marsh to the north. The smoldering farms are clearly visible from their vantage point, and there are at least a dozen of them. To the west, Ayame can see a large river barge moving down the river to the village. Its nearly upon it.

Ayame: "Well, that looks like trouble"

(1) Master Li: "Yes. But our first concern is Aspirant Zan."

(1) Master Li: As they travel onward, they quickly spot Mou-Shendu and three other figures making their way slowly south. Mou-Shendu is carrying a fourth figure in his arms.

Ayame descends rapidly, skimming along the wet ground, causing mist to spray up form underneath the cloud as they approach Mou-Shendu from behind

Mou-Shendu: [7d10.vs(7)] => [4,6,9,10,5,4,2] = (2)

Mou-Shendu turns, raising one arm into a defensive position while shifting the child in his other arm away from his potential assailant. Mou-Shendu relaxes as he realizes this is Ayame's cloud.

Master Li hops easily from the cloud and into the marsh

(1) Master Li: "lay him on the ground"

Ayame: "I should go back to investigate that barge"

Mou-Shendu: "Master," Mou nods quickly. He carefully lowers Zan to a firm spot on the ground.

Master Li bends down to examine Zan's shaking body.

Mou-Shendu: "Wait, Ayame. The barge is probably loaded with the captured children from the farms, but there is also the impending attack on the village. They won't leave without their leader, who leads the assault."

Ayame: "The barge is separate from the attack?"

(1) Master Li: "We saw a barge heading toward the village, Mou-Shendu."

Mou-Shendu: "I can only speculate, but the slavers were taking the kids North to the river, yet one of them admitted that an attack was pending even now."

(1) Master Li: "I wish these bandages were no so water-logged," mutters Master Li to himself.

Master Li takes the tea pot and it’s still steaming hot contents and pours it ungraciously into Zan's throat.

Mou-Shendu turns to Master Li. "Would it help if I gave you my sash?"

Master Li nods.

(1) Master Li: He removes the bandages that Sparrow applied and holds out his hand for Mou-Shendu's sash.

Mou-Shendu quickly unties his sash where it attaches to his belt, then hands it over to his Master.

Master Li begins cleaning the wound as best he can and applies the sash when he is finished.

(1) Master Li: "Ayame, I hate to lean on you too much, but Zan needs to get back to a dry bed to rest. Would you consider taking him back to the school?"

Mou-Shendu turns back to Ayame. "But if they do decide to go, they will probably be heading back to Tien's Landing, and that won't bring them anywhere near the village. If we don't act, we may not have time to catch up."

Ayame scrunches up her face. "Fine, you should really get your own cloud though"

(1) Master Li: "I wish I had one. I truly do. Maybe one day."

Master Li lifts Zan in his arms--a task surprisingly easy for a man of his years--and places him on Ayame's cloud. "Make sure he doesn't fall off. Then come back for me."

Ayame zips off once more

Mou-Shendu lets out a deep sigh. Then, realizing how tense he had become, he takes a deep, slow breath.

(1) Yeled: ((roll Perception + Awareness, Mou)) Mou-Shendu: [7d10.vs(7)] => [5,3,9,2,10,5,1] = (2)

(1) Sparrow: Mou notices that sparrow, who seemed to have faded into the background, is standing starring at Master Li, her head half-cocked. Sparrow has a very strange, confused expression on her face.

Mou-Shendu glances at sparrow, then says, almost hesitantly, "Master Li, this is Sparrow of the Immaculate Order, come to our village to spread the faith. Sparrow, this is my master, Master Li." Mou-Shendu looks to Master Li, for any sign of recognition or concern, but expecting to find no hints of these emotions on his face.

(1) Sparrow: "Master...Li," she repeats, as if trying it out. "But then, you are him. You're him. They've been looking for so long. And here you are, in the middle of nowhere."

(1) Master Li: "Excuse me, my dear? I'm not sure what you're talking about."

(1) Sparrow: "How is it possible? Is this how you have hidden? Right out in the open?"

(1) Master Li: "I think you have me confused with someone else."

Mou-Shendu: "Master, I do not mean to interrupt... Did Yukio inform you of the attack?"

(1) Sparrow: "No. You look just like the...you are him? You're...."

Master Li launches forward so quickly Mou-Shendu barely registers the movement. Before she can finish her sentence you hear three clear, rapid strikes land hard on Sparrow's person. Rather than sprawling backward, like you would expect, she drops silently and without protest to the marsh, landing with a wet splash.

Master Li turns to Mou-Shendu. "Yes, he did. I sent him and Gao after the children."

Mou-Shendu nods. "We cannot possibly defend all the farms. We can protect the village, but it cannot survive without the farmers."

(1) Master Li: "No, you are right. But the village is our first priority. We might at least save as many as possible there."

Mou-Shendu looks down to where Sparrow landed. He then returns his gaze to Master Li.

(1) Master Li: "Come, we must go. Bring her. She will recover, but not if we leave her in the swamp."

Mou-Shendu bends down and collects Sparrow in his arms. "These slavers-- they are catching children for a bounty put out by the Guild in Tien's Landing. It seems they planned to sell the kids right here on the isle."

(1) Master Li: "Perhaps. But we can deal with that later."

Mou-Shendu follows after Master Li, signaling the terrified children to follow as well.

Toad Demon Gang Attack

(1) Master Li: Kaimi, Tetsuko, and Dawn Star reach the school gate after having warned the other students and teachers. Si Pat is standing guard there, but this time he is backed by almost a dozen others.

(1) Aspirant Si Pat: "Are you really going out?"

Kaimi: "Yes Si Pat. We have to be neighborly after all."

(1) Yeled: A great commotion has erupted from the village in the short time since Master Li and Ayame left. It seems like Yukio's warning came too late. The first sound of battle was a massive bang that shook the walls of every building in the school. This was followed by other sounds of battle, and mostly the ringing of warning bells and the screams and cries of frightened villagers. Periodically similar bangs, equal to the first, could be heard over the next few minutes.

(1) Aspirant Si Pat: "Ok, I'm opening the gate."

Kaimi: "Better hurry!"

(1) Aspirant Si Pat: The gate swings open to reveal a scene of utter chaos. Villagers run in every direction. They have no organized defense. They are sitting ducks to whatever is attacking them. You can hear sounds of actual fighting on the far end of the village.

Sook puts a hand on si pats shoulder,"you must close and bar the gate, nobody is to be let in unless they are of the school or accompanied by such...got it?"

Aspirant Si Pat nods as he takes in the scene. He seems eager to follow Tetsuko's order.

Sook: "if hard fighting reaches the gate, leave the defense to the more advanced students...you are to go up the hill, with the other aspirants and staff"

Sook gives si pat a hard look in his eyes, then turns and lopes off after kaimi and dawn star

(1) Aspirant Si Pat: "Ok," he says, forgetting the formal title he should be using when addressing an elder student.

(1) Yeled: The road from the school slopes down to the village proper. It’s not long before Kaimi, Tetsuko, and Dawn Star see actual fighting. Although fighting is probably a generous word. Bandits dressed in clothing peculiar to this region are spilling up from the docks, where they are meeting helpless villagers and slaughtering them. It quickly becomes clear that the village will mount no defense, except to bar the women and children behind doors while hoping that fortune will somehow save them.

(1) Yeled: The bandits quickly gain control of the main village square and divide into small bands as they assault the various doors that are the only thing that stands between them and whatever it is they are after. At the docks, which are partially obscured from view, Kaimi, Tetsuko and Dawn Star can make out part of a large river barge...evidently the bandit's means of entry.

Sook stops and closes his eyes for a moment, and his veins take on a root-like appearance, and the soft grass and lianas along the side of the path seem to draw closer to him, and he stands tall and straight, like an ancient oak.

Sook then takes a bit of sand in each of his hands and presses them into Dawn Star and Kaimi’s own hands. Both girls feel a surge of energy climb out of the earth and into their forms, as the strength of stone enters their bodies.

Kaimi draws her swords in one fluid motion

Kaimi: (( how many bandits are there?)) (1) Yeled: ((dozens and dozens...its too chaotic for you to get a good assessment))

Dawn Star draws her straight sword. "I don't know. Remember what I said about confidence? It’s gone."

Sook looks for a close group that isn’t very involved with the main group, and advances.

(1) Yeled: Its easy to pick out a closer group, as they are essentially divided that way as they assault the houses.

Sook walks up silently behind the farthest back, and grabs the man by reaching his right arm under the mans right arm, locking his long arm around the back of the mans neck, and pulls, leveraging the man over and forward, the force of which flinging the man upside down and then into his accomplices

(1) Yeled: There is a group of six bandits assaulting a house halfway up the street to the school. They are somewhat apart from the others and are also the closest bandits to you.

Sook: [11d10] => [10,8,8,3,10,6,9,9,4,6,4] = (77)

(1) Yeled: Sook hurls the man into his fellows with such force that two of the others are knocked backward along with his first victim. All three of them hit the side of the house with a resounding crack, and they crumple to the ground. The one you threw is very likely dead.

Sook as usual, is silent when he fights....unless he says something, he doesn’t grunt, or huff, or holler, simply moves

Dawn Star follows up Sook's attack, leaping forward and slashing gracefully across the chest of another bandit. He clutches at his chest and falls.

Kaimi dashes into the chaos swords swirling. She slashes out at the bandits as she runs through, aiming for vital spots. Kaimi brings her first sword slashing across a bandit’s face, following with a second to his belly.

Kaimi: [12d10.vs(7)] => [10,7,2,10,8,1,1,6,9,7,5,7] = (7) Kaimi: [11d10.vs(7)] => [2,8,7,5,8,5,3,3,2,8,9] = (5)

(1) Dawn Star: The bandit dies with the first strike. The second is just overkill, but Kaimi does it anyway. The remaining bandit in this group turns as his companions fall quickly around him. It takes him a moment to register that he is in trouble, as only a second ago he hadn't even considered that option. He lifts a curved sword and makes a pathetic attack as he flails out at the three of them in general.

(1) Dawn Star: [5d10.vs(7)] -> [2,9,2,9,4] = (2)

(1) Dawn Star: Kaimi ducks neatly under the clumsy swing.

Sook reaches over as the man swings, and catches him by the hand, the giants massive hand fully enveloping the smaller man’s hand and the hilt of his sword...this stops the motion of the swing, and the man looks up at the frightening visage of tetsuko the wood dragon...tetsuko merely squeezes, as hard as he can with his massive strength, and the man’s face explodes in a look of intense pain as he drops to his knees in the mud...sook simply holds the man there as he screams

(1) Dawn Star: Sook feels the man's hand literally break in his hand. Then there's a second break. And a third. The man indeed falls to his knees and screams as he looks at Sook with pleading eyes.

(1) Dawn Star: "Are we going to just slaughter them all?"

Sook places his foot in the middle of the man’s chest, and pushes it, while he pulls, literally pulling the man’s arm out of his socket...the man falls back onto his back in a splash of mud and blood, too in shock to even scream anymore....he walks up to the man, still clutching the sword with the man’s hand and arms attached, and stabs it through the bandit, skewering the now dead man into the ground.

Sook: "if we have to"

Kaimi: "They're slaughtering the villagers. This fight is far from over. Incapacitate or kill them. Doing otherwise is dangerous for us all." Kaimi troubled eyes and frown seem to belie the lack of concern in her words.

(1) Dawn Star: Down the street and across the square, you hear a loud crack and look to see the door of one building giving way. A host of bandits push their way inside.

Kaimi: "Lets go!" Sook moves off toward the building at a slow gallop

Sook: "there is much to do"

Ayame: "Seems like you have you work cut out for you,” Ayame says, seemingly from nowhere.

(1) Dawn Star: "We're going to have to fight them all just to get there. And look..." Dawn star points.

Kaimi sprints toward the melee

(1) Dawn Star: ((ok...this is down the road and across the square...not a clean shot. There are at least four groups of bandits you'll have to go past and a heck of a lot more are likely to see you run down the road))

Sook skids to a stop in the dirt of the road, and looks where dawn star is pointing. Kaimi does likewise.

(1) Dawn Star: Another door gives way. Hu Perr's store is invaded by eager bandits.

Sook: "sister ayame,your help would be...you know...appreciated"

Kaimi: "Much!"

Ayame approaches the group, though she is mostly just an outline, blending into the rain making her almost invisible "That's why I'm here."

Ayame: "I was supposed to pick... someone... up, but he can walk."

Sook nods and heads off again towards the nearest group

(1) Dawn Star: The nearest group is a few doors down. They're using axes to break through the shuttered windows. There are eight of them.

Ayame does a small spin, causing a whirling cloud of rain water to form around her as she drops into a stance and prepares to get her hands dirty. Ayame chases after the group

Sook slows as he comes up on them and simply walks up to the closest and attacks.

(1) Dawn Star: The bandits turn toward the massive man approaching them, pointing weapons at him and spreading out a bit to flank him.

(1) Dawn Star: As more of you follow Sook, the bandits move to face you as well.

Sook: ((wits+aware for jb roll?)) (1) Dawn Star: ((everyone roll it...just to determine order)) Sook: [4d10] => [2,4,4,9] = (19) Ayame: [9d10] => [7,1,4,1,3,9,9,4,4] = (42) (1) Dawn Star: [4d10.vs(7)] -> [7,1,1,4] = (1) (1) Dawn Star: [7d10.vs(7)] -> [2,1,6,9,9,3,4] = (2) Kaimi: [6d10.vs(7)] => [2,7,6,6,1,3] = (1)

Ayame uses the fact that their attention is on Sook to her advantage to move into position behind them, and let out three quick knife chops to the necks of three different bandits, her unyielding hand crushing into the tender nerves

Ayame: [10d10] => [6,4,6,2,3,10,8,9,3,5] = (56) Ayame: [9d10] => [1,3,3,6,6,8,4,9,4] = (44) Ayame: [8d10] => [3,8,6,7,4,6,1,8] = (43)

(1) Dawn Star: The first bandit crumbles to the earth, as he writhes in pain from the blow. The second and third follow suit, seemingly more hurt than it looks like they should be.

Dawn Star leaps from behind Sook, seeing her opening and attacking before he gets the chance. She aims her blow low, stabbing into the bandit's leg with her straight sword.

(1) Dawn Star: [8d10.vs(7)] -> [1,7,2,9,3,1,10,6] = (3)

(1) Dawn Star: The bandit looks at her as she jabs him in the thigh and he drops to grab at the injured appendage, which spews blood dangerously.

(1) Dawn Star: [5d10.vs(7)] -> [6,4,2,10,2] = (1) (1) Dawn Star: [5d10.vs(7)] -> [5,4,5,4,4] = (0) (1) Dawn Star: [5d10.vs(7)] -> [5,4,10,4,3] = (1) (1) Dawn Star: [5d10.vs(7)] -> [5,3,10,10,7] = (3)

(1) Dawn Star: The bandits are no match for the skilled martial artists before them, and their swings are slow and pathetic.

Sook reaches out to the two directly in front of him, grabbing each of them by the neck, and violently smashes their heads together.

Sook: [8d10] => [7,4,4,8,4,8,3,1] = (39) Sook: [7d10] => [7,4,8,3,10,4,10] = (46)

(1) Dawn Star: The two heads slam together violently, making a loud smack, and blood spills forth from both their skulls. Their eyes roll into the backs of their heads and they fall.

Kaimi also veers out from behind Sook and sweeps her sword in an arc across a bandits torso at the same time she stabs out with her second sword catching a bandit through the stomach.

Kaimi: [12d10.vs(7)] => [4,2,5,4,9,10,9,4,3,5,9,9] = (5) Kaimi: [11d10.vs(7)] => [10,3,4,10,5,7,4,2,6,8,2] = (4)

(1) Dawn Star: Blood sprays across Kaimi, Sook, and Dawn Star as Kaimi whirls into the bandits with her slashing swords. Both her targets fall as they are hit. All the bandits are lying on the ground, either dead or in serious condition. There are at least four homes that have been penetrated now, and you can hear the screams of the people within as they try to hold off their attackers.

Ayame: "Split up?"

Sook nods to ayame

Kaimi nods tightly.

Sook: "that, or make them all come to us at once..."

Kaimi: "If you have an idea Sook now would be a good time."

Sook: "we do not have time to kill them all.....maybe we can get rid of the barge though"

Kaimi: "Ayame could you mess with the barge enough that they would all come running? Or what if we just set it on fire or something?"

Sook nods

Sook: "if we can set it aflame...maybe they will stop what they are doing and...you know...go to it. But....if there are children aboard..."

Kaimi: "We could have one of us sneak them off before hand?"

Sook nods

Ayame: "There's no place safe to sneak that many people, assuming they are on there."

(1) Dawn Star: "Do we have time for that?"

Sook: "well, if they are there, we will have to get them off some time"

Ayame: "I'll sneak through and try to draw their attention to the boat"

Sook nods

Ayame pads off, blending with the rain as she heads towards the docks

Kaimi: "If we at least move the ship they will think they are being abandoned. It is their life line. You may not need to burn it if you can't get the children off."

Ayame: [7d10] => [5,2,8,9,1,9,7] = (41) Ayame: (For stealth)

(1) Dawn Star: "What are we supposed to do then? And what's she doing anyway?"

Kaimi: "I dunno what she is doing but if the bandits can notice it from here we will also."

Sook: "we should attack when they are distracted with the boat...that might be enough to make them run"

(1) Dawn Star: The bandits are now beginning to drag screaming children from the first buildings as even more and more are penetrated. You don't relish finding out what happened to the adults who were defending them.

Ayame sneaks up closer to the docks and stands near the waters, then clenches her hands as she attempts to cause the waters to become turbulent to shake the boat from its dock

Ayame: [5d10] => [4,3,3,5,5] = (20)

(1) Dawn Star: The waters rise up a bit, but are mostly unresponsive to Ayame's beckoning.

Ayame attempts the feat again, waving her hands in wide sweeping arcs

(1) Dawn Star: The waters are completely unresponsive to Ayame's call, and if anything seem to actively work against her commands. ((-1 to your next roll to control the waters of the Xi River))

Ayame leaps high into the air and dives into the water, and uses her last bit of essence to fuel her speed, swimming inhumanly fast in circles below the barge.

(1) Dawn Star: Ayame causes the waters to churn a bit, but it’s not enough to make a huge difference to the large barge. She has managed, however, to attract the attention of several people on the barge. They peer over the side and down into the water.

Ayame gives up on that and shoots up from the water like a torpedo, and lands atop the barge

(1) Dawn Star: Ayame is greeted by a lot of surprised bandits

(1) Dawn Star: "What's she doing?"

Sook: "i....dont....know...."

Ayame stomps her foot on the deck "You there, leave this village at once. You are tarnishing the sacred waters of the Xi. I, Ayame, Goddess of the waters, command you to leave!"