LOG START
[17:17:08] Master of Games
All Creation, Beneath the Sword
Session 8
A premonition of danger has led you to the tiny, rocky island in the middle of Agate Lake, where the iron-dredgers propitiate the great fish Dai-Kiga. River Snake discovered that the Anori, master geomancers of the Sword, have been monitoring a failing manse, and the entourage of specialists they sent wasn’t heard from again.
Well, you’ve found them, held captive by a putative witch and her strange amalgam centipede-spirit. Dressed in garb that reminds Raizo of what’s worn beyond the Great Palisade in places and covered in tattoos and ritual scars, she hasn’t given you the warmest of welcomes, exactly. She paces as she mutters, shooting dirty looks alternatively at you and her Anori hostages.
”Anyhow. I suppose you can have these two back once I move on. Fat lot of good they’ve done me, so far. Are you their backup?”
[17:25:06] Raizo
”Move on to what? What exactly are you trying to accomplish here?” Raizo says. His posture is mostly open but somewhat guarded; his left hand is light on the hilt of his swords, and in his practiced hands he could draw them in a flash, and he flashes a hand-sign to his men to remain similarly alerted but not openly hostile.
[17:32:15] Master of Games
”Questions, questions. Up the mountain, maybe. Are you going to stop me?” Her tone indicates she doesn’t think you could.
[17:33:13] Datei ma Kagemori
”Do you have any knowledge of why the manse was damaged?”
[17:36:53] Master of Games
The witch pauses. “Probably because of me. I was hoping the architects could fix that. They didn’t.”
[17:37:28] River Snake
”How do you even damage a manse?”
[17:38:27] Master of Games
”So, if you’re with them, you could try your hands. If not, you’re wasting my time.” She glances at River Snake. “How am I supposed to know? Most complicated thing I ever learned to do was midwifery!”
[17:39:19] Datei ma Kagemori
”I believe we will help you if your cause is just, and stop you if your cause is unjust. You have not explained yourself.”
[17:45:24] Master of Games
The witch regards Kagemori and the mon on his clothing with a cold look and considers. “What if I told you I want to break your gods and drive them from the mountain, clansman?”
[17:49:55] Datei ma Kagemori
Kagemori observes her body language closely. Is that actually her goal or is she simply assuming that will get a rise out of him?
[17:59:38] Master of Games
Perhaps both. It’s clear from her attitude that she does not consider the group a serious threat—and after all, there’s a giant centipede behind you, a witch of unknown prowess before you, and she has no reason to suspect what you are. But bravado is one thing and announcing a crusade against Ninety-Nine Stars is another, and someone willing to sit around behind a wall of fog trying to extort help from geomancers who happened to check in doesn’t strike you as someone who has a workable plan for a theomachy. At the same time, her words don’t quite have the ring of a lie. Perhaps it’s more of a long-term goal.
[18:02:42] Datei ma Kagemori
”My first thought is that I think that process is a complicated one. I am also unsure what damaging this manse does to aid you in that process. Are you seeking power from it? If the manse can be repaired afterward, I don’t have much of an issue with that.”
[18:05:57] Raizo
”May I ask, any particular reason for overthrowing the gods, or…?”
[18:16:17] Master of Games
”Not the gods. Just yours. Because they stole the land and the people, and the old gods didn’t just go away. Why do you think the great old fish here is so ornery?” She grins. “Old Hundred Hands sent me.” That name means something to any Vanehan who was told stories as a child. Of those things that were routed in the Stars’ descent, the one with Hundred Hands was the hungriest, greediest, and most warlike of them all. It wrapped itself around the mountain and all the land’s bounty and would not let go—wrapped itself around them not unlike the antler-centipede outside wrapped itself around the central obelisk when you met it.
[18:21:44] River Snake
Snake thinks. Trying to recall any legends of hundered hands he’s heard or seen outside what everyone knows, something that might give some kind of extra clue or insight into their current situation.
[18:29:04] Datei ma Kagemori
”Hundred Hands still lives? Fascinating. I hope he provided you with a lot of assistance, as your mission will face great opposition sooner or later. There are quite a few of the Stars, after all.”
[18:32:13] Datei ma Kagemori
”I also still do not know what, precisely, you even need assistance with.”
[18:32:33] Raizo
”Stars this, hands that, I’m just a simple country rebel. All goes over my head.”
[18:35:31] Master of Games
Snake recalls that the iconography of tiger and centipede in this region seems to go back a very long time. Quite possibly, it predates the idea of Vaneha as it currently exists. But while he’s heard of or seen it in a devotional context, it is a purely military symbol in more recent centuries (to the extent such things can be separated in Vaneha). Long ago, the centipede seems to have been a symbol of luck, wealth, and victory, though often with cautionary nuances attached. Some murals suggest morals warning against excessive eagerness or greed. It wouldn’t have taken very much retelling to emphasize the negative aspects of such stories once the hundred-handed (-legged?) one became an enemy.
[18:40:51] Master of Games
”Well, no, not anymore, he doesn’t. It’s a long story. I’m trying to fix my essence. Something’s broke. This place makes me feel better, but you can see it’s not holding up.”
[18:41:33] Master of Games
”So, when the wonks showed up, I said, hey. Maybe they can figure it out.”
[18:42:54] River Snake
”There are things I’ve seen that lead me to believe Hundered hands wasnt as bad as some modern stories say…wait your essence is broken?” He pauses “This is another thing I dont even understand how it could happen
[18:43:31] Master of Games
”Makes two of us. Or three.” She nods to Raizo.
[18:44:34] River Snake
”I’m not much of a doctor, but I am pretty good at finding things and figuring things out. We might be able to help here somehow.”
[18:44:56] Datei ma Kagemori
”Were you previously residing on the foot of Ama-Ni-Traya? There was another manse that suffered similarly. If not, then I think you have no connection to the damage this one has experienced.”
[18:49:50] Master of Games
”I have a guess. But it turns out these two are architects, and a midwife ain’t a building.” The two Anori specialists, meanwhile, are looking on increasingly horrified. “…That was probably me, yes. Was looking for something there. Didn’t end up finding it. The little one you talked to outside is what’s left of its essence.”
[18:51:38] Datei ma Kagemori
”Curious. So you do have some capacity to damage these manses.” He pauses, thinking. “Bluntly, I am not concerned with your crusade against the gods not because I approve but because I think you are far from succeeding in it. If we can figure out your condition, will you leave this shrine so that the local priests can return to their duties?”
[18:57:59] Master of Games
”How do I know you won’t just come back with an army unless I feed you to the kid?”
[19:00:06] Datei ma Kagemori
”If we can reach agreeable terms, I would be willing to swear an oath under all of the eyes of Heaven.”
[19:00:57] Datei ma Kagemori
”I will not agree to never bring force against you for the rest of our lives, but for an agreed upon period of time would be acceptable.”
[19:01:25] Raizo
Raizo considers a more blunt approach but opts to let the diplomat be diplomatic here.
[19:01:36] River Snake
”At least add an ‘unless she attack us first’ rider to that”
[19:02:15] Datei ma Kagemori
”Yes, I think that would be only fair.”
[19:02:30] River Snake
”But really, Miss, would you rather walk out of here with possible friends, or start a fight. I can’t say for sure we’d win, but I can assure you we’ll be a huge pain do deal with”
[19:09:45] Master of Games
”Let me think.” The witch considers. “I want an audience with Dai-Kiga. I want a promise to send me what possible help you find, and I want nosy architects I didn’t ask for off my back. I’m thinking I’ll probably climb the mountain after this.”
[19:16:28] Datei ma Kagemori
Kagemori glances to his eyes, trying to judge their thoughts. “I think we’ve gotten onto the wrong foot. We can speak as equals or not at all. I am not a clansman, as you called me. I am the lord of house Datei. When I speak, I speak with the voice of the entire clan. From what do you claim authority, nameless witch? From that of a dead god?”
[19:43:37] Master of Games
She frowns, and when she speaks, her tone is firm, though less aggressive. “The blood of gods. More than one. And of children sleeping in filth while yours are clean, clanslord, outside the Palisade. If you want a name, call me Mother of Orphans. Is that family enough?” Ink seems to drip from the tattoos on her throat, and she absently wipes some of it off.
[19:48:18] Datei ma Kagemori
”Now we are getting somewhere. Alright, Mother of Orphans,” his tone is calm, respectful but of the respect you would give an equal. “I would prefer not spill blood this day if it is not needed. If you want to speak to the great fish, I think that might be doable. I am not sure what other aid you would like though.”
[19:59:54] Master of Games
”Wish I knew that myself. It’s not as though I was planning on catching these two. But I think something’s missing. Old Hundred Hands said I’d be the avatar of the mountain and the land, but there’s something missing. I think that’s why I need the essence. I was about going insane before I got to this island. The fish is another of the old gods, so him and the mountain are my best bets. Maybe the… Anori? Have better experts than those two. I don’t know.”
[20:07:29] Raizo
Raizo, meanwhile, ruminates. While he has little to contribute in the battlefield of diplomacy, that doesn’t mean he can’t try to fit puzzle pieces together in his own mind. Her condition sounds familiar enough, and it’s not like being Chosen comes with a tutorial. The others are likely smart enough to have made a similar conclusion, and so Raizo continues to be muscle in the background unless called upon to act.
[20:16:23] Datei ma Kagemori
”Hmm. So you have received a divine investiture, but one that has…proven incomplete, or else one that struggles against your souls. Without studying you in depth I am not sure I can give you much guidance, to see where the problem precisely lies. It is an area I have little experience, but I have some talent for magical workings. Or, I may be able to give you a letter of recommendation for a specialist, though you will likely to travel some distance. Experts in souls are not, I fear, commonly found.”
[20:17:41] Datei ma Kagemori
”The Anori are the most talented geomancers here, but their knowledge when it comes to internal magic is likely to be no greater or worse than any other clan.” He glances to the Anori. “No offense intended of course.”
[20:26:34] Master of Games
The Anori hostages aren’t in much of a position to take offense, and seem to realize as much. Mother of Orphans scratches her chin. “And in exchange, I’m to go there and not make a nuisance of myself here, do I get you right?”
[20:28:41] Datei ma Kagemori
”This seems only fair to me. I will also promise to cause you no harm, directly or indirectly, within what we deem to be a reasonable period of time.”
[20:36:04] Datei ma Kagemori
Kagemori wracks his mind, retracing his travels throught Vaneha and beyond. Every place he’s visited. Every story of distant lands he’s heard from wanderers. He realizes he’s thinking about this wrong. What she needs is not something like a geomancer. What she needs is a healer, a spiritual one. Far to the south, where the central mountains of Vaneha begin to give way to the great eastern forest, there is a grand series of hotsprings on a mountain peak, and a small village built around it, renowned for their healing capacities. If anyone can figure out what is going on with her spirit, it is the healers and hosts of those hotsprings.
[20:43:12] Datei ma Kagemori
”Shinsetsu. That is where you want. I am told they can heal even the most damaged of spirits. When the mind or soul is ravaged, a period of rest in the mountain tops and fresh snows will restore it all. If anyone can help you, it is them.”
[20:51:56] Master of Games
”…All right. Write me that letter of introduction and I’ll leave after I’ve seen Dai-Kiga. You can take those two home right away, if you want. You intend to make sure they don’t talk?”
[20:55:42] Datei ma Kagemori
”I think that can be managed. I have ensured they remain unharmed after all. I also hope that the priests of Dai-Kiga can return to their duties…Tomorrow, I suppose?”
[20:56:36] Datei ma Kagemori
”I am going to find a desk so I can get you that letter.”
[20:58:33] Master of Games
She shrugs. “I’m not their mother. I won’t stop them, anyway.”
[21:01:51] Datei ma Kagemori
Kagemori writes out a letter of introduction for the Mother of Orphans. With it, she should be able to travel to the destination with minimal inconveniences and the healers should give her treatment. They might expect payment from the clan at some point, or possibly not, but in either case a personal request, particularly involving only a single person, from a clan head can be expected to be followed.
[21:12:00] Master of Games
Mother of Orphans takes the letter and looks through it—she can read, it seems. “Right. Help me with the fish or don’t, I’ll dive if I have to. Then I’ll be off, and you won’t attack me? Until—say until Calibration.”
[21:16:28] Datei ma Kagemori
”A longer period than I had in mind, but I can agree to that. The only condition I will add is that you - or the centipede outside - do not harm myself, my sworn brothers,” he gestures to Snake and Raizo, “Or anyone bearing the mon of Datei within the same period of time. If you try to kill me, well, I think it is only fair to treat the deal as off.”
[21:17:11] Master of Games
”I’ll agree to that.”
[21:18:58] Datei ma Kagemori
”In the eyes of Heaven, I swear to uphold this oath.” He closes his eyes, and he reaches out, as if to touch her words and his own. “It is done.”
[21:25:31] Datei ma Kagemori
Kagemori’s castemark shines upon his brow, and his silhouette is outlined in light.