LOG START
[17:36:57] Master of Games
All Creation, Beneath the Sword
Session 14
The sun rises at your back as you behold Nathir at last. With it rises smoke from a devastated city. Gensuji has broken the stalemate, but the Nathirian defenders did not fold as expected and Vaneha’s forces must grind their way through the city to the blockaded port, street by street, while the sorcerers of the House of Thirty Seals and their demons murder each other in those streets.
If you think you can hear the cries of the common people ground under the heels of armies, that’s likely your imagination—the city is too far away for mortal voices to carry. But you do hear cries: a terribly high-pitched scream of anguish followed by one of inhuman joy.
Between Datei informants, River Snake’s contacts, and Raizo’s scouts, a picture of the situation assembles itself. Broadly speaking, one may divide the theater of war into several areas of interest:
Gensuji’s base camp and logistics train, where he seems to retreat to rest at the end of the day, but not every day;
the rivers, where Clan Maon ships uphold a blockade and keep the elementals that gather at the confluence from getting involved in the fighting;
the outer, poorer districts of the city, which Gensuji’s army has largely conquered;
the wealthier districts, where the fighting seems to be fiercest now;
the demonologists’ lodge itself, whatever state it is in now;
and the port districts, where Gensuji will arrive and stop fighting if he hasn’t drowned his common sense in conqueror’s bloodlust.
[17:37:01] Master of Games
By all accounts, Gensuji is one who leads from the front, though in this situation perhaps that’s unwise. If he is in the thick of it and you reach him, there would surely be ample opportunity to indebt him to you, or arrange for a heroic death. Or you could walk into his camp and simply wait for him, perhaps even take his supplies out from under his behind.
At the same time, innocents are suffering, an ally of V’neef Sengal’s possibly lurks in the city, and who knows what sorceries are loose now in the House of Thirty Seals?
The day is yours to seize. What will you do?
[17:54:01] Raizo
”I propose we try to meet with the Prince when he returns tonight, and if he does not, then find out where he was cut off and move in to find him. I think this keeps the most options open before we commit to something and lose anything. Other opinions or flaws with this idea?” Raizo asks at an assembly with the circle and whoever of the Band or Blue Legs who care to attend.
[17:57:03] Datei ma Kagemori
”That seems the safest option. There are advantages to trying to meet him earlier, but they carry with them the risks of moving through the fog of war. I would prefer to ensure there is no confusion in the moment of who we are. My other thought relates to the demonologist lodge, but that is a lower priority than the first meeting with the prince.”
[17:58:33] Raizo
”What’s on your mind with them?”
[17:58:54] Master of Games
The Band of the Canopy is behind Raizo’s opinion, at least, those who have been with him some time. One or two new recruits from Jibei stand nearby and observe the meeting. Two from the Blue Legs favor more adventurousness; they like the idea of moving in, helping the downtrodden, and beating up soldiers, though they don’t seem to have a more concrete image of how.
[17:59:58] Datei ma Kagemori
”They remain a considerable resource, and I would like to ensure we control it after this is over, rather than anyone else. Or, at minimum, first pickings of the loot.”
[18:03:59] Datei ma Kagemori
”Helping the commoners caught in the conflict is a good concern. I am not sure how much a difference of a few hours will matter here, but it is a real benefit to the swifter approach,” Kagemori addresses the newer recruit.
[18:04:49] Raizo
”If they can be negotiated with, I’m open to it.”
[18:06:59] River Snake
”I agree that we should do what we can to minimize the damage to the commoners, they likely wanted no part of the war to begin with, few ever do”
[18:07:29] River Snake
”I dont know much about demonology, but better ours than theirs”
[18:11:30] Datei ma Kagemori
”The prince seems to have found some means to divide them. Perhaps bribery, perhaps something else. There is a good chance there will be multiple groups seeking patrons when this is done. The first in will get to claim the choicest prizes, whether that is in material resources or personnel.”
[18:25:34] Master of Games
A member of the Band brings up that the Vanehan forces are likely to assume them reinforcements if spotted, unless the whole company wears a clan mon. Many get ready to march, whichever way it is they end up marching. One of the newcomers burns a few prayer strips in silent devotion.
[18:30:28] Raizo
”A thought comes to mind, we could try to get in with just the three of us and see what the sorcerer situation is like, then catch the prince on the way back or in his camp.”
[18:31:20] River Snake
”That should be more managable than getting a whole squad inside. And…the more we know in advance the better. No sense sitting on our hands for hours”
[18:32:18] Raizo
”Meanwhile, the troops can look for survivors in the outskirts. Maybe make sure no one’s doing any looting on people who don’t have more than the shirts on their backs.”
[18:33:06] River Snake
”Gather survivors and whatever food you can find, make sure everyone eats and nobody dies”
[18:33:16] Datei ma Kagemori
”This is acceptable to me.”
[18:35:00] Master of Games
The Blue Legs agree enthusiastically, and the Band of the Canopy, old regulars and new recruits, likes the idea as well.
[18:42:00] Master of Games
And so you part ways. Sagacious Wen takes command of the Band heading into the outskirts of Nathir, while the Circle takes a more circuitous route along the city’s edge to the banks of the Maruto River to the south, where the House of Thirty Seals, or whatever’s left of it now, stands slightly apart.
[18:49:43] Master of Games
Though you see stone and brick towers in the distance—flying in the face of conventional Vanehan architecture, which calls for a stone foundation but wooden walls—the poorer districts of the city are largely wooden, much like in Jibei. Where Jibei is a carefully manicured garden, though, Nathir is wild growth. The wooden buildings have burned readily. Their own fault for resisting, for building wrong, for not having aqueducts, says the hand that set the fire. Maybe.
[18:52:59] Master of Games
Your path through the outer edges of the city is fairly quiet. Many here have evacuated or are hiding in their homes waiting for one side to declare victory, and know better than to approach unknown armed men.
[19:07:42] Master of Games
The House of Thirty Seals is… well, it’s seen better days. In those better days, it was a lodge housing a small handful of sorcerers and aspiring sorcerers at any one time, next to a library and an open garden, with its own pier into the river. Here they plumbed the secrets of that realm demonologists call Malfeas, which most would describe as Hell, and bargained with demons for power. Theirs was an uneasy relationship with their host city, but they played no small part in Nathir’s independence, and Nathir defended their baroque hobbies in turn.
The lodging house appears to have split in half. The ground leading up to the garden’s entrance is littered with sharp obsidian shards and torn as if by hundreds of small blades. Someone’s taken a large chunk out of the fence. And the library’s unevenly covered in ashen-gray spider webs. It’s deadly silent; the common folk of the city certainly give this area a wide berth now if they didn’t before.
[19:09:46] Master of Games
Smoke rises from the now-open roof of the lodge, though not one that looks like an uncontrolled fire. Perhaps someone’s left a censer burning? Who knows what demon-summoners have in their bedrooms. A shadow moves in the windows of the library, but perhaps it was just your imagination.
[19:12:08] Datei ma Kagemori
”It appears to still be occupied, at least lightly. At the same time, no one has cleaned up since the battle. Could be students or staff, or even lingering spells or demons, as much as it is demonologists who have not found new temporary housing.”
[19:12:47] River Snake
”Well, let’s try not to start any fights, I guess. Should we say hello?”
[19:25:04] Raizo
Raizo may cut an intimidating figure in his full kit, but he isn’t posing himself threateningly, more so alert. His mask, shaped like a stylized blood ape’s appropriately enough, dangles on its straps around his neck. He’s looking with a mixture of astonishment and appreciation at the destruction. “Never seen the aftermath of magic up close like this.”
[19:26:40] Datei ma Kagemori
”It goes to show that the House’s members are - or were, perhaps - the real deal. We could try to enter contact, yeah. Or we could simply try to get the lay of the land and return another time in full force. Either way, I would prefer to enter not through the field of sharp blades.”
[19:27:57] River Snake
”Yeah, looks like it’d hurt to step on one of those”
[19:28:53] Raizo
”Gonna want some sturdy shoes to go through that.”
[19:30:01] Raizo
”We can try to chat, maybe see what started their fighting and figure out who’s on who’s side.”
[19:30:34] River Snake
”I dont really want to fight anyone that can do this” He gestures at the field of pointy glass
[19:31:42] Datei ma Kagemori
”Agreed. I would prefer to pay them to aim them at my enemies, or knife them in their sleep.”
[19:31:59] Datei ma Kagemori
”Very well. The main building? Or the library?”
[19:32:42] River Snake
”I feel like sorcerers are more likley to put traps on their books”
[19:34:11] Raizo
”The bunkhouse would be my choice. I’ll go first, I’ve got the armor.”
[19:34:18] Datei ma Kagemori
Kagemori nods.
[19:34:43] River Snake
”Sounds good. Probably more likely to talk to us if we meet them there anyways”
[19:39:06] Raizo
Raizo begins his approach, drawing his longer sword and using the blunt end to smash any outstanding shards in his path that his steps don’t crush to make the going a little easier.
[19:48:50] Master of Games
The trail of shards requires mindful navigation, but approaching the lodge is easy enough. There is a large hole in the wall, so you don’t exactly have to go in through the door. The lodge as such is a two-story brick building, in a style River Snake may have seen further west in the River Province. It’s sturdily built and nicely appointed, with imported furniture of expensive woods—demonology pays comfortably.
The floor, too, is wooden, and the first thing that greets you is a large bloodstain already faded to brown. That won’t come out easily. To one side is a pile of demolished furniture, easily a day-laborer’s annual wages reduced to so many splinters, and next to that a small pile covered in a blanket. The former owner or owners of the blood on the floor, quite possibly.
[19:49:10] Master of Games
Someone’s done their best to clean up.
[19:50:07] Datei ma Kagemori
”Guess the shard field got put off, to focus on cleaning up inside.” Kagemori raises his voice. “Anyone home?”
[19:52:02] Raizo
Raizo sheathes his sword when they reach the hole in the wall. “Priorities, I suppose.”
[19:55:04] Master of Games
There’s a moment of silence, then you hear movement upstairs. The room you’ve entered seems to have once been a small lecture hall, judging from what remains of desks and chairs all facing the same wall, where a pulpit stands. The room also gives an idea of how many might have been expected to study here at any one time: no more than can be counted on two hands, likely. Sorcery is not for everyone.
Beyond the door is an entrance hall with stairs, and after an expectant silence, a man’s voice calls down, weary and warning. “Who goes there? If you’re a looter, you’ve guts, I’ll give you that!”
[19:57:05] Datei ma Kagemori
”I am Datei ma Kagemori, head of my house. I seek information, and to bargain. I have no hostility. If you wish for us to simply leave, we will do so.”
[20:01:39] Master of Games
”Datei? Datei, Datei…” The upstairs voice approaches, though staying out of sight, and… sings? Yes, he sings a short melody and seems to wait for an answer or lack thereof.
[20:03:06] Datei ma Kagemori
At a lower voice level, directed to his circlemates, “Is that a good response, do you think?”
[20:04:54] River Snake
Snake just looks at Datei and shrugs
[20:05:38] Master of Games
”Hm.” Footsteps follow, then a short man of middle age, with a bandaged midsection, supporting himself on a cane, slowly steps down the stairs to see. “There are demons which can falsify voices, but they can’t resist singing when someone challenges them. I can hear you’re not the last traitor.”
[20:06:15] Raizo
”Good thing I couldn’t hold a tune if it had a handle.”
[20:06:17] Master of Games
”Datei. I’m not up on Vanehan politics, but I didn’t realize that clan still existed.”
[20:06:42] River Snake
”I considered singing it back to you for fun, guess Its a good thing I didnt”
[20:07:11] Datei ma Kagemori
”We were in the political wilderness for awhile there, but our services were too valuable to not welcome back.”
[20:08:12] Master of Games
”I see you’ve not brought an army. I’ll take that as a show of good faith, but if you want me to help you take over the city, you might as well lie down outside and roll around.”
[20:13:09] Datei ma Kagemori
”Fair enough. No, that was not what I had in mind exactly. I was looking for information on what happened to your lodge, from the perspective of one involved.”
[20:16:40] Master of Games
The presumable sorcerer tilts his head and hmms. “It’s interesting that you’re not clued in. Isn’t it your side that put them up to all this?”
[20:17:03] Datei ma Kagemori
”I’m a new arrival. Plus, I said I want another perspective.”
[20:17:43] Master of Games
”Hmph. Well, come on up. My friend’s dying; I want to be in the room when he does. The name’s Morn. Just Morn.”
[20:18:54] Master of Games
Morn turns around and ascends the stairs one at a time, not waiting for an answer.
[20:21:32] Datei ma Kagemori
Kagemori follows him up.
[20:22:00] River Snake
Snake does the same, keeping an eye out for traps but otherwise not bothered
[20:22:24] Raizo
”Raizo. Just Raizo.” He says, following along on the rear.
[20:26:47] Master of Games
The sorcerers’ lodgings are untrapped, though not intact. Morn leads you to a room where, indeed, another man appears to be dying on the bed, covered head to toe in bandages but for his face, which looks horrifyingly burned. One eye is swollen closed, the other is protruding out of its cavity as if trying to squeeze out. Did it just wiggle? Probably your imagination.
”That’s Old Garnet. I don’t think he can talk anymore, or he’d greet you.” Old Garnet breathes out as if in reply while Morn prepares some cups of black liquid. “No tea. The god of tea hears anything you say over tea and writes it down. God of coffee hears, too, but he doesn’t care.”
[20:31:34] Master of Games
With a cup of coffee in hand, Morn sits down before Old Garnet’s bed and explains your presence to him. He doesn’t appear too torn up about his friend’s state or expected demise. “What happened here. Where to start…”
[20:31:59] Datei ma Kagemori
Kagemori nods to Old Garnet respectfully.
[20:38:20] Raizo
Raizo offers a curt bow and sips his coffee. And probably should have blown on it first. Too hot.
[20:39:03] Master of Games
”Well, the short version is, there were eight of us honest folk here. That’s what we like to call ourselves. Five sorcerers, three apprentices. Two of our number wanted to ally with your side and tried to get the other three on board. We disagreed, vehemently. I thought we’d outvoted them, and they’d at least stay out of it if not help. But the third of us loyalists thought the spirits they were calling seemed an odd fit for defending a city. Better for undermining it, maybe. And she called them on it. And then they killed her.”
[20:41:04] Datei ma Kagemori
”Where are they now?”
[20:42:08] Datei ma Kagemori
”I assume they tried to take control of this place, or seize its resources as they fled.”
[20:44:20] Master of Games
”One of them? Being digested by the fish.” Morn shows an ugly grin. “The other, Hoarhound, still at large. I’ve got two assassins looking for her.”
[20:44:35] Datei ma Kagemori
”Interesting name.”
[20:44:45] Master of Games
”It’s a kind of plant.”
[20:46:39] Master of Games
He nods. “A lot happened in the first few minutes. I honestly couldn’t even tell you who cut the lodge in half. I think it was Hoarhound, but it could’ve been the one she killed. A lot of us have… contingencies in place.”
[20:48:17] Master of Games
”Garnet did what you can see outside and got the second traitor and most of his demons with it. And got in this state for his trouble.”
[20:50:49] Datei ma Kagemori
”I’d offer assistance, but I think he is beyond help now. If I find a god or exalt skilled in the medical arts in the city, I’ll let you know.”
[20:51:24] Raizo
”Are the contingencies why we’ve heard there’s demons running amok out there?”
[20:53:50] Master of Games
Morn shrugs. “He’s not going to die die. Still needs to keep an eye on his little brat.”
[20:54:29] Master of Games
He looks at Raizo. “Less contingencies and more… the one who controlled what was supposed to be the ace in the hole is dead.”
[20:54:50] Master of Games
”So now they’re bound for a year and a day, but don’t have anyone to give ‘em orders.”
[20:56:33] Raizo
”How many would you say there are?”
[21:02:03] Master of Games
”Let’s see. I’ve two assassins, they’re under my control and shouldn’t hurt anyone who doesn’t bother them. There’s the Curator, it won’t leave the library. There’s at least one that Hoarhound summoned to help the invaders. The ones that are out of control now… four or five. I know we managed to kill one or two.”
[21:02:50] Master of Games
”You’ll want to stay our of their way. Probably need to pay some Dragon-Blooded mercenaries to actually take care of them, if your Prince can find any.”
[21:03:26] Master of Games
”Maybe I’ll manage them once Hoarhound’s out of the way, but I’m one man with a hole in his side.”
[21:11:52] Datei ma Kagemori
”We’ll figure it out. If nothing else, I can try to ensure civilians aren’t in the demon’s way.” Kagemori pauses, in thought. He thinks the soldiers can handle the demons - though likely with great casualties - but doesn’t feel it necessary to say that. “I appreciate how forthright you have been. You could have easily turned us away or tried to convince us you had more manpower than you do. I will respond in kind.”
[21:13:55] Datei ma Kagemori
”I do not know how long it will take, but I think the city has lost this war. I have no expectation for you to change what you are doing, and if the invaders are expelled, then we never need speak again. But, in the circumstance that the city does fall, I would like to make an offer. I can offer Datei’s patronage to you and any surviving apprentices, and I am sure I can offer better terms than Maon will offer. If they offer any at all. Or, I can ensure you get out of the city, if you would prefer exile.”
[21:26:16] Master of Games
”Ha. I can change the weather, see the city through a bird’s eyes, and call up demons. I don’t need to pretend. Unlike most of us honest folk, I’ve lived here my whole life. I’m not going anywhere. They’ll just have to live with a grumpy old man who hates them.” He drinks the rest of his coffee in one gulp. “I wouldn’t mind getting paid to be the uncle that hates them, though.”
[21:29:50] Datei ma Kagemori
”Excellent. I will handle it on my own end. This will likely piss off lord Maon, but that is my problem, not yours.”
[21:33:15] Master of Games
”Far as I’m concerned, that’s a plus.”
[21:34:52] Datei ma Kagemori
”I’m banking on the Prince seeing it the same way. He wants his vassals rewarded, but any one of them getting too big a share, that’s never a good look.”
[21:38:57] Raizo
”Hard to rule a city you’ve burned and gutted, anyway.”
[21:39:37] Master of Games
”Not my problem. See, that’s why we’re the honest folk. Everyone deals with demons, really, we’re just literal about it.” A wet and frankly disgusting sound issues from Old Garnet without warning, along with a sharp exhalation. “Ah. There we go, he’s ready. A moment.” Morn gets up and turns around to tend to the dying man, and you see that the twitching of his remaining eye wasn’t just a trick of the imagination after all. It actually does squeeze and wiggle its way out of the socket, until it falls down with a long, thick strand of nerve still attached. Morn catches it in a damp towel before it hits the ground and sets it down. “Did it work, friend?”
[21:41:28] River Snake
Snake makes a weird face as he watches the eyeball wiggle out of its socket “…Do I even want to know?”
[21:42:30] Datei ma Kagemori
Kagemori is well trained in keeping a straight face, so his surprise shows but not his unease at how casually Morn treats it.
[21:43:45] Master of Games
A few moments pass, then the eyeball moves again, the strands attached to it twisting and knotting together to form tiny limbs. It moves unsteadily, but it gets up and raises two stubby arms. Morn grins at you. “Told you. He still needs to keep an eye on his kid. One more favor: Let me know if you see a little boy with a missing eye. Didn’t lose it, he was just born without. Doesn’t talk much, creeps people out sometimes.”
[21:44:27] Datei ma Kagemori
”I will keep an eye out.”
[21:44:41] Raizo
Raizo’s eyebrows raise gently, and a nervous smile cracks across his lips. “That is a man’s eyeball.”
[21:45:56] Datei ma Kagemori
”What age is the kid? Any other features of note?”
[21:46:49] Master of Games
”A man’s got to work with what he has. The rest of his body wasn’t going to keep working, so we had to improvise. You learn to think outside the box in this line of work.”
[21:47:26] Master of Games
”Six or seven, depending how you count. Mischievous little brat. He’s got a furry vest he loves.”
[21:47:48] Raizo
”That. Is a man’s eyeball.”
[21:48:17] River Snake
”So…his soul is now a little eyeball creature?”
[21:48:20] Master of Games
”Couldn’t keep him here, you understand.” Morn blinks at Raizo like he’s pointing out that the sky is blue. “Yeah. It sure is.”
[21:48:41] Master of Games
”It’s also the man. What’s left of him, anyway. One more body to bury.”
[21:48:44] Datei ma Kagemori
”Can the eyeball-human speak?”
[21:48:55] Datei ma Kagemori
”Does it…Eat?”
[21:49:34] Master of Games
The eyeball-man shrugs. “We’ll figure that out from here. It was an emergency procedure.”
[21:49:46] Datei ma Kagemori
”Uh. Greetings, Old Garnet. This one is Datei ma Kagemori.” He speaks to the eyeball creature, hoping it can understand.
[21:50:37] Master of Games
The eyeball waves. It’s rather unsettling, but evidently he can hear in spite of lacking ears.
[21:50:45] Raizo
”Urchin Raizo. Charmed.”
[21:55:18] Master of Games
”Well, if you find any unnatural swirls of mist being strange, don’t bother them, they’re looking for Hoarhound. They have a lot of swords. If you hear howling, hooting, braying, or any other sounds an ape might make, go the other way. Fast. Normal apes don’t live here.”
[21:55:21] River Snake
”Shadow’s Edge” He nods
[21:55:37] Datei ma Kagemori
”Noted.”