LOG START
[17:10:32] Master of Games
All Creation, Beneath the Sword
Session 11
You have discovered a hole in the Datei’s famed information network: Kagemori was not informed that they do, in fact, grow that big further south.
You’ve followed rumors and witness accounts out to the western end of Agate Lake, where foreign bandits have prowled for the past few months. Perhaps you’ll win some new converts to Raizo’s cause. Perhaps you’ll win points with the Sword Prince Emeritus for pacifying the waterways. Perhaps you’ll wind up crocodile food.
The marsh bandits calling themselves the Blue Legs make to board the yacht as their leader, astride a crocodile large enough to bite a boat in two, ambushes you from the rear. How will the heroes of the Sun meet this challenge?
[17:16:19] Datei ma Kagemori
”Bandits to one direction. Crocodile to the other. …I’ll focus on the bandits first.” Datei casts off the outer layer of his robe and takes a practiced stance, one leg out forward and ready to leap into action. “Raizo, any analysis?”
[17:20:46] Datei ma Kagemori
Snake already has his direchain in hand, giving it a twirl as he stretches.
[17:30:22] Raizo
Raizo flits his gaze repeatedly between the pirates on one end of the yacht and the enormous beast on the other. There’s a lot of unknowns here; taming a beast that size can’t have been easy, so might they be hiding some magic? Unknowns are bad, they get his men killed. “Line of shields, watch each other’s sides! I’ll hold the rear!” Raizo roars and grits his teeth, stepping toward their leader bestride the crocodile. He sets his brow in a harsh line, staring down the beast and its rider.
[17:46:55] Datei ma Kagemori
Snake vaults over the edge of the yacht, landing with impossible grace on a water-lily. Somehow, the plant holds his weight. Hoping that bandit lord and crocodile mount will still want to get onto the yacht rather than engage him directly, the Night strafes the large beast and tries to land light strikes on its front legs, annoying and delaying it more than anything.
[18:00:40] Master of Games
The monster hisses in surprise, a sound you could convince anyone came from the depths of Hell, but it seems undeterred. River Snake gets a good look at its thick scales as its rider spurs it onward to clamber onto the yacht, whooping cheerfully. “Get the fop, Blue Legs! Swarm and hold him! He’ll be worth a nice ransom!”
[18:13:43] Raizo
Raizo gets some pep in his step as he moves to ward the yacht’s freeboard. Gauging the distance between the yacht and the crocodile, and the crocodile’s size, he reckons it might be worth getting a little adventurous! The Dawn takes a running start and a leap, kicking off the railing of the yacht to push him further over to land on the crocodile before turning his swords on its rider with an overhand slash from his katana.
[18:28:32] Master of Games
The laughter dies in the bandit leader’s throat as Raizo’s blade comes for his neck as it has for many nobles before, and for an instant Raizo sees in his eyes a young hooligan who realizes he’s in over his head. But he’s quick, and manages to dodge the blow by dropping and rolling to the side, catching himself on his steed’s shoulderblade before he drops into the water.
[18:31:45] Master of Games
The giant crocodile does not like this.
[18:34:41] Datei ma Kagemori
Kagemori moves to the edge of the boat, leaning over the railing to look down towards the Blue Legs. He waves at the men recently ordered to capture him. “You sure you’re up for that? Come, scramble up, I am ready to throw you all back down!” He steps up onto the railing itself, pacing back and forth down its length as he prepares himself to kick and stomp the would-be intruders down.
[18:36:11] Master of Games
The beast thrashes in the water, River Snake’s annoyance and the boat forgotten. Its tail slashes upward like a whip with the length and girth of a tree to squash the warrior threatening its master like a bug!
[18:40:18] Raizo
Raizo crosses his swords before him like a pair of shears, poised to catch and deflect tail when it swipes at him!
[18:44:06] Raizo
Moving with a grace like a choreographed dancer, it’s like Raizo can perfectly gauge where the tail will go and how to best redirect the beast’s fury in as safe a direction as possible. His struggle to keep his balance works to his advantage here, dropping to a knee and parrying the tail away from him.
[18:44:28] Datei ma Kagemori
There are too many of them for his efforts to truly prevent or dissuade them from climbing aboard, but not before bruising several hands and causing some grunts of pain as he kicks one in the face.
[18:48:08] Master of Games
The Blue Legs ultimately make their way on board, amid curses and cries, but the one frail-looking noble provides more resistance than they expected. They circle carefully, looking for an opening to swarm him and the others on the boat.
[18:55:24] Master of Games
Raizo’s men, seeing their leader has the giant crocodile situation handled, turn and charge the boarding bandits, the picture of discipline to the Blue Legs’ cacophony of cussing and hooting.
[19:02:45] Master of Games
The two bands engage, and the Blue Legs hold their ground admirably, all things considered, though the Band of the Canopy is clearly the superior force.
[19:07:08] Raizo
Raizo regains enough of his footing to turn himself around on the crocodile’s back. He’s got an idea with that broken axe head stuck in the scales. Carefully making his way forward toward its cranium, he puts all his strength into a good solid kick, trying to drive the axe head home through the rest of the bone.
[19:20:46] Master of Games
He may as well have tried to drive a sword into a granite boulder. He feels the reverberation through his leg, and another man would probably have broken a foot. But the Sun courses through Raizo’s veins, and the axe blade is driven deeper into the crocodile’s head, and partially snaps off. The creature felt that. You can hear it. As likely did anyone within half a mile just now.
[19:25:32] Datei ma Kagemori
With Raizo drawing the crocodile’s attention away, River Snake darts around and behind it. With lightning-fast movements, Snake brings the dire lash down onto the crocodile’s tail again and again!
[19:34:40] Datei ma Kagemori
The crocodile’s scales seem as tough as armor, but with a better appreciation of their toughness this time, River Snake is able to leave a few light cuts along the colossal beast.
[19:37:46] Datei ma Kagemori
Kagemori remains standing on the railing of the boat as the bandits attempt to surround him. He makes a quick movement to his left, as if trying to break out of their half-encirclement, but it is a feint. When the bandits move to follow him, he turns and delivers a scathing kick to the face of the bandit closest to him, combining his own momentum with the bandit’s own. This is a dance he is quite familiar with, moving one way and then another, to keep his assailants at bay, and continually poking them to slow them down as they exert themselves more than he does. With his body as it is, he cannot keep it up for long but he is an expert at it.
[19:59:41] Datei ma Kagemori
Between his harrying attacks, Kagemori tries to ensure that the members of the Blue Legs can only attack a couple at a time. He catches one machete between his palms, just long enough to push it in one direction and his body in the other. For the next attacker, he strikes their wrist, making them loosen their grip for just a moment and stumble in the attack.
[20:00:09] Master of Games
The Blue Legs find themselves fighting on two fronts, although one of the fronts is but one man. Clearly used to fighting on ships, they use ropes and railings to their advantage, spreading out to keep the Band of the Canopy from coralling them while the latter lock shields and attempt just this.
[20:09:31] Master of Games
After their successful initial push, the Band finds themselves facing unexpected resistance and renewed hollering as the Blue Legs, more used to fighting aboard a ship, outmaneuver them and even begin pushing them back, although Kagemori remains a thorn in their side.
[20:10:21] Master of Games
Meanwhile, the great crocodile roars in pain and anger and rolls in the water to shake off the pest that has wounded it.
[20:15:00] Raizo
Raizo’s legs buckle as the beast starts to roll and he quickly drops onto all fours, trying to grab hold of its scales and hold on without losing his swords in the process.
[20:18:22] Raizo
Turns out, holding onto something with your hands full is pretty hard in the best of times, and trying to hold onto the scales of an angry gigantic crocodile trying to toss you isn’t the best of times.
[20:28:01] Raizo
Loose in the river, Raizo quickly orients himself as best he can and tries to swim under the crocodile while he takes stabs and cuts along the underbelly, which is… hopefully much easier to breach than the tougher scales up top.
[20:38:01] Master of Games
And they are, though this is relative. He manages to score a few irritating slashes along the beast’s underbelly before he’s forced to surface. The leader of the Blue Legs, he sees, has held on, clearly used to his steed’s violent maneuvering, and isn’t too happy with Raizo. “Damn you, spawn-for-brains! Could’ve killed Chopper! Blue Legs! Toss the lot overboard!” A shout goes up from the bandits.
[20:47:47] Datei ma Kagemori
River Snake has bided his time, and now he sees his chance. The focus has not been on him so he can move up behind Oboscu and Chopper, and attempts to toss his braided cord of leather of unknown but likely monstrous origin and wrap it around Oboscu’s neck!
[21:02:09] Master of Games
The whip winds about the bandit leader’s neck almost eagerly, like a desperate embrace, and constricts. With a choked sound, he’s yanked violently away from his hold on the great crocodile and goes limp.
[21:05:59] Datei ma Kagemori
With the Band of the Canopy being pushed back, slowly but noticeably, Kagemori goes more aggressive. The Blue Legs are more wary of his movements now, aware that he is more than a match for them individually, and he uses that slight fear to push them away from him, compressing them and trying to pin them between himself and the Band.
[21:10:27] Raizo
Raizo is ever-so-slightly annoyed he wasn’t able to land the final blow on someone impersonating him and besmirching his good name, but that can be broached another time when there isn’t a massive angry killer reptile in his face. This whole business of fighting in water is starting to annoy him, and Raizo kicks off toward the yacht. He takes hold of one of his swords in his mouth to free up a hand and hauls himself back onto the yacht, using the rudder as an impromptu grasping surface. “Canopy, take heart! Their leader is fallen! Push forward!”
[21:16:30] Master of Games
Stuck between Kagemori and the Canopy, three more Blue Legs are sent into the drink before the remainder start realizing what just happened to their chief and their morale breaks. A few more jump and swim, the rest surrender.
[21:17:36] Master of Games
The giant crocodile thrashes about, wounded and searching for its rider, but the Blue Legs have been routed.
[21:20:38] Datei ma Kagemori
”Ha…” Kagemori catches his breath, clearly exhausted from exerting himself more than he has in awhile, outside of the dojo particlarly. “Well fought, men.” He nods to the Band of the Canopy.
[21:24:57] Raizo
Raizo takes stock of the situation after his order, noting the Blue Legs are neutralized, and the crocodile is taking its leave. He dumps the water out of his scabbards and sheathes his swords before smoothing back his dripping hair. “An imitation is no match for the real thing, lads,” he says, walking over to their new prisoners. “I’m Raizo, the Urchin Prince. Welcome aboard.”