[It's morning! You guys decided to do the safe thing and not approach Izu during the night. But now it's daytime! Morning, even. What are our intrepid heroes going to do? Let's find out!] [Session Start.] * Mikoto stretches as he packs up his things. "I did... not sleep well. The undead are seriously unnerving." * Jinx stretches and walks over to Lightning, petting her and making sure his stuff is loaded. * Tairan nods. "Hate it when people I shoot or stab don't have the common courtasy to bleed." * John walks over to Hazel. "Unnerving? Yeah, I suppose you could call'em that." * Sakura quietly (gasp! No!) goes about her buisness. (Wow, Sakura's a lot like Peter. I wonder why. o/~ ^_^) * Jinx yawns. "I just mind the ones with armor, harder to kill with a shotgun." Just shoot'em in the head, then. * Millie doesn't speak. She's patting Pepper gently and looking over the top of her absently. Well, if I can pick up the trail, we should be well past there by the time night falls again. * Mikoto shrugs his shoulders and makes a few experimental punches with the wounded arm, wincing a little. "Well, the stories say the undead are here because something's anchoring them to this life. Regret or duty... I feel bad for the people of Izu." * Jinx actually looks faintly embarrassed. "Uh, yeah... Never quite mastered that sort of shot." * Millie speaks to the ground hesitantly. "Who..who cares why they're back?" ... which provides us with a helluva lotta incentive to get a move on. Sun ain't staying for tea after dinner. * John smirks. "Maybe you should, Jinx. And I don't really care why they're back. There's nothing we can do for them... is there?" * Mikoto says, almost too quietly to be heard, "You'd be surprised how loud the voices of the dead are." Y-yeah. * Millie puts her hand over her face and draws her fingers through her hair, lifting her hat a little before mounting up. * Jinx mounts up. "Doesn't do any good to stand around and talk about it." * Tairan gathers up his stuff, and adjusts his hat. "Everyone ready? Grasslands trackin' ain't my specialty, so feel free to keep an eye out." * Tairan joins Jinx on the horse. * John mounts up, hat on his head and weapons all around. He nods to Tairan. Gotcha. Miss Mary, ya comin'? * Mikoto walks over to Hazel and pets her on the nose, putting his customary smile back on in a sort of forced expression. "Thanks for bearing us this far, girl. Just a little more." He then mounts behind John. * Millie looks around for Mary Anne. * MaryAnne smiles and gets up on Pepper with Millie and says to her "I hope you slept well?" * Sakura hops onto Horse. ( Hmm. "mounts behind John" could maybe have been said differently. ) (... Quit baiting the slash writers!) * Jinx moves Lightning in position to help Tairan find some tracks. ( ... a horse named Horse. Very appropos. =P ) ( I can't help it! It's in my BLOOD. ) I slept. * MaryAnne smiles "Good." ( Overnight, Millie and Sakura apparently switched bodies. "You sleep well?" "Millie... sleep." "...Excellent! I think." ) ( Sadly, Millie's personality + Sakura's personality = Fighter from 8- bit. @_@ ) ( .... Oh yes, that's terrifying. ) ( Damn you, first Jokoto and now Sakillie. ) (Heh. Heheheh.) (Hehehe. ^_^) ( TairAnne? =P ) ( Gunchucks, yo! ) ( It's bad when they both laugh. ) * Jinx comments to Tairan. "Wonder if they actually are going through Izu or just are making tracks to there and then doubling back, hoping we won't notice." * Mikoto looks around the plains and sighs. "It's hard to believe peaceful grasslands like this could be home to something so horrifying, too." A beautiful outside can hold a terrifying inside.. and yet, the reverse is true too. Well, they already tried that trick back in Hoshimoto territory. Can't imagine they'd think we'd fall for it again... of course, they may've expected that we fell for it the first time. * John shakes his head. "Don't judge a book by its cover..." * Jinx nods. "True, either way it doesn't make a lot of sense to try it twice." (Sakura and Tairan, give me tracking rolls, -2.) 2d6-4 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Sakura (2d6-4) and gets 1. 2d6-4 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Tairan (2d6-4) and gets 3. * Mikoto smiles at Sakura. "An astute way of looking at it." [Both trackers notice what's likely the trail: many sets of foot and hoofprints, all going in the same direction - east. They seem to be making no attempt to hide it.] * Sakura motions towards the east. "That way." * Tairan nods at Sakura. "Lots of 'em. And they don't look to be making much effort to be sneaky." They believe they have nothing to fear. I believe we shall prove them wrong. ( Does it lead into Izu, or around? ) * John smiles. "We'll prove them dead wrong." *ting!* * Mikoto frowns a little. "Well, the old saying goes, in warfare 'show strength where you are weak, and weakness where you are strong'. But it's always possible they know that too." (Tairan: You don't know. You were never told where Izu is.) Well, that trick in Hoshimoto territory was pretty good... hey, Millie. Hand me the map for a sec? * Jinx gets Lightning next to Millie's horse. "I've got to think Izu is a trap. Why else go there?" * Millie tilts her head to the side slightly. "Thought you couldn't read it last time...ah well." She digs through her pack and holds out the map. I can read it. Just don't usually use one. *takes it; examines to figure out their location relative to Izu and the direction of the tracks* * Mikoto nods at Jinx. "I agree. Out on the plains there's not much chance for ambush. In an abandoned town they could hide anywhere they like and pick us off at their leisure." (*shrug* Navigation roll, Tairan.) 2d6 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Tairan (2d6) and gets 3. ( ... made it. Cool. =P ) (Darn..would have been so humorous if he didn't :P) (Well TOO BAD.) ("Yep - we ain't in Kansas anymore.") Perhaps we should just torch the town. No civilians would be hurt, I can't imagine anyone would be willing to return to Izu based on what we've heard. ("Well, we're not here.") [Tairan spots their general location: right past the border of Murakami lands, in the northwest. He doesn't know where they are in relation to Izu, unfortunately... the capitals of all the major clans are marked, as is the capital of Shomura, but not many other cities.] * Millie eyes Jinx. "An' stir up all the undead? I ain't gonna risk THAT." I believe setting fire to the town would cause more trouble. I'm thinking that if we torch it, it'd just cause a bigger problem. Where are the undead going to go after their haunting place is disturbed? * Mikoto winces. "That might be somewhat extreme. And... disrespectful, somewhat." * Millie smirks slightly at Jinx. "Let me guess. Ya disturbed a burial ground too, raight Jinxy?" * MaryAnne says "It would be best to bypass the town in question and proceed on with our original assignment." ... okay. Izu ain't on this map, so that makes things tougher... guess we follow the tracks and see what's what. Faster we move, more time we have to get past Izu if need be. * Mikoto nods. "They can't stay in Izu forever, if that's where they are. At worst it's a patience game." * Jinx grins briefly at Millie and then shrugs. An' ya wonder why yer called "Jinx" eh? * Tairan hands the map back to Millie, pointing out the general area of where they are as he does so. Nope, never wondered. * Millie draws her fingers through her hair again. "Honestly." She's grinning at Jinx and then turns her attention to the map. * John chuckles. "I don't think he wonders. He knows." He smirks. * Jinx smiles back at Millie for a moment, and then nods to John. It's a figure 'a speech, ya gulleytoads. Gulleytoads? That's a new one. * Jinx chuckles. * Mikoto quirks a brow. "'Gulleytoad'?" * Tairan stays pretty quiet, concentrating on following the tracks and keeping an eye out for any branches. * Millie smirks. "I aim ta please." She snaps the reigns a little. ( Sadly, and somewhat irritatingly, I keep hearing the Wind Waker sailing music as our travelling theme. ) (... I'm going to kill you. 'cuz now I'm hearing it.) ( .. Now the cast picture in my head has changed art style. ) ( And it's terrifying. ) (Windwaker style?) ( ...brrr. I'm Tetra in Lara Croft's clothing. ) ( Yep. ) (Frightening.) * Tairan mutters to himself. "Which way didja go... c'mon, talk to me..." * Mikoto looks over his shoulder at Fanfan and Sakura. "You both have such unique fighting styles. Where did you study?" (Crocadile Hunter Dude "Oye! I was sportin' the Tomb Raider look before Lara was old enough to walk! Dragon Poop!") [Fanfan doesn't seem to be there for Mikoto to ask.] * Mikoto then blinks. "...what happened to Fanfan?" (Snicker) * John raises an eyebrow and looks back at Horse. "What, she's not with us?" Who? ( We have this habit of losing swordsmen. It's WEIRD. ) * Mikoto gives Millie a *look*. "Miss Fanfan! The sword dancer." (Why do the GMs choose to have disappearing characters rather than 'mysteriously silent tagalong' characters instead?) ( Ssh! You shouldn't have said anything. We coulda just pretended she was being quiet. ) * Millie snaps her fingers. "Oh. Raight. Her." ( Brett started it! ) (Because to them, all of us have at least one BP in the kidnapper magnet.) * Sakura looks behinds her. "Perhaps she grew tired and left." ( It's a stylistic fetish - rather an endearing one. ) [You go! And go. Across the grasslands, up a sloping hill, and after an hour and a half of trotting you come across a ruined city, silent in the light. A castle stands at the end.] Well, hopefully she wasn't a spy. But there was probably an ambush waiting either way. Yeah. She'll catch up if she wants ta stick with us, I'm sure. ( Aw shit. We're in Devil May Cry. ) * Mikoto glances at Jinx. "Spy for whom? No need to be so suspicious." He turns back to look at... uh, John's back. "I just hope she doesn't find any trouble." (o/~) ( Or possibly Onimusha. ) Or maybe she just had some personal business to attend to. And Millie's prolly right. (Cool. That means I can hop off the wall and fire my rifle to keep myself up.) ( Thank you to Jinx for the perfect feeder line. ) Or perhaps she was a spy for the bandit group, and she is now going to report your position so that they may ambush and kill you. (Weeee! =)) * Jinx nods at Sakura. "What she said." If they're ambushin' to kill us, they're in for a big surprise. [And you guys keep heading to the city, because that's where the tracks are going!] Look. Either way, it can't be helped now. ... nah. Not in character, I think. Seemed like a good kid. * Mikoto tilts, looking over John's shoulder. "I think we have more immediate concerns." (We like went around the ghosty town, yes, and this is a different town, yes?) (Sakura: It fits, Mikoto did ask a 'spy for who' maybe just drop the or) (Mary: You don't know. You never did find out where Izu was.) (Stop assuming you have a GPS. :P) * Millie slows down and looks slowly to the left and right. "This--wouldn't be Izu, would it?" ... prolly. Still lotsa daylight left, though. So unless we go digging up graves, we should be alright. (I thought the ghosty town was obvious and in our face since we were attacked by ghosties the night before?) * John looks at said deserted town. "It looks like it." * Jinx glances up at the town, he actually looks a bit taken aback and comments quietly. "I stand by burning it to the ground." But he keeps riding. ...great. * John keeps riding. "The tracks go thru here Tairan?" * Millie leans down and pats the side of her horse to calm it. Possibly. * Mikoto whistles, shading his eyes with his hand. "It's a lot of ground to cover in one day." Yup. ( But if we're lucky, we'll find a Scarlet Knight with some grimoires on him, and a few of us can start learning spells! ) * MaryAnne says "Well, why not circle the town and see if the tracks come out of it before choosing to go in it?" (About how big is the town?) ( Uh... ) (It's a city. Enough said. Circling it and looking in detail would take quite a while.) Because that's an excellent way to lose the tracks. And enough time for night to come. (Must be a pretty impressively sized city then) ( Uh, Mikoto is kinda.. not seeing stuff anymore. ) Yeah. We're gonna have to go thru. (Mary: Cities tend to be impressively sized. It's why they're called cities.) Yeah...let's jus' take the direct approach. (Sometimes people say city when they mean town and town when they mean village and village when they mean hut ; ) ) So let's get a move on, and not do any unnecessary sightseeing. * Jinx gets his shotgun out. * MaryAnne says "Very well then." ... although, if we pass a deserted Crazy Feathers shop, we may have to stop in. *grin* * John chuckles. * Millie stops the horse and unslings her rifle, holding it in two hands with the reigns wrapped around the one holding the barrel. She nods. * Jinx looks back at Tairan "Alright, how fast can we move without compromising your ability to track?" If Crazy Feathers is here, I underestimated his business sense. Ah mean, this place is DESERTED. * Mikoto looks at the walls. "This must have been a place of some importance during the war..." It was important at one point. Ya don't build this kinda stuff in the middle of nowhere. * MaryAnne has her umbrella open above her acting as a sunscreen, as usual. 2d6-2 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Mikoto (2d6-2) and gets 0, a CRITICAL SUCCESS!!! "That was close. One cycle later and you'd have fit nicely into a sandwich." * John hasn't drawn his weapons, while we're all explaining what we're doing. ( Whoa. ) Decent pace. No full on sprinting, but we can keep up a slow gallop. * Millie hmms and looks ahead at the castle, raising her barrel as she cups her hand underneath her brim. * Mikoto bows his head and puts his finger to his lips. "This was... I remember!" He looks up. "The Himoto clan, a minor clan under Murakami. They were wiped out in the war when the Teckians advanced into the Empire." This far in though? Izu was their capital city, and the Westerners were so aggressive that... very little was spared. The Himoto were thought to be almost entirely wiped out in one fell swoop through this whole area." Never heard of the West advancin' this far. That's pretty impressive. * Tairan spits. "Sounds like somethin' the old man woulda done." Man, that's pretty far... Interesting. * Mikoto looks at Millie, a bit... unnerved. "It's not very impressive from my viewpoint. An entire clan gave their lives over it." * Millie grins slightly. "So, sounds like we're livin' history." Good chance some relics are still around then. * Sakura wobbles slightly on her horse. * MaryAnne says "Um...well...maybe another time." * Jinx scowls. "Probably not, if they took the time to massacre everyone they certainly looted." * Millie looks over at Mikoto evenly, then shakes her head. "It was war, Mikoto. People die in war. sometimes a great amount of people. ... civilians shouldn't. That ain't war... s'just a massacre. Don't make it raight, but it IS reality. [You near the gates. The doors have been battered down long ago, but it looks like nobody's thought to clean up the mess. From what you can see inside, the city's completely deserted.] * Mikoto shakes his head. "I know what war is. It's an occasional necessity. But this was... just genocide, sparked by nothing but bloodlust. That's not the same." * Jinx picks up the pace a bit. "We can debate this later, I believe we have an ambush waiting for us." * John nods. * Millie shrugs slightly. "If ya say so." She looks for a way to maneuver around the mess. * Tairan quiets down, concentrating on the tracks again. "Keep an eye out for anything out of place. Fresh embers, new looking shell casings, stuff like that." * Mikoto rubs his wounded arm and looks into the city. "I suddenly have a very bad feeling about this." [The tracks go directly in the city, down the main road.] * Millie smirks at Mikoto. "Suddenly? Ya mean ya didn't have a very bad feelin' 'bout it BEFORE now?" * Jinx keeps the pace at a low gallop. "Those who lack tracking skills should watch for signs of an ambush." * John keeps a look out for said things. "This ain't a safe situation. Ya shouldn't be gettin' a good feelin'." * Sakura looks around, her mask hiding any expession on her face. However, her body movements are showing that she doesn't seem too happy to be here. * Mikoto starts watching the surroundings for any people in hiding, but answers Millie anyway. "I didn't have an bad *feeling* before. I'm not a man who plays on intuition often, but..." * Millie tips her hat to Jinx. "Gotcha." She moves Pepper slowly forward, looking down the barrel as she moves it left to right. ... right down the main road. Ballsy. * John keeps looking on the left, as he's on the left. He doesn't have any weapons drawn. Gotta listen to your gut more, Mikky. It's usually tryin' ta tell ya somethin' * Mikoto says, without turning back, "When it learns to speak, I'll be sure to heed it." * Jinx keeps Lightning to the front of the group as it moves. * Millie eyes Mikoto from behind for a second before going back to scanning. * Sakura moves her horse forward, her hand resting on her sword. 2d6+3 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Jinx (2d6+3) and gets 6. [You head down the main road. The city is in shambles: just about all of the buildings have been burned to the foundations. There's no sound other than those of you and your horses, not even that of animals.] * Jinx actively any large piles of rubble as he rides, by his look anything that moves is likely to be filled with shot. [If you were in a city like this in Teck, though, you could bet you'd see a tumbleweed or two roll by.] * Jinx comments, a bit unnerved. "Looks like someone already had my idea." * Sakura is mumbling to herself, although none of you can catch what she is saying.. * Millie frowns as she looks from side to side. "This..is bad, yeah. Millie's gotta BAD feelin'"." * John looks around for tumbleweeds while he's searching the landscape. * Mikoto nods. "The Teck soldiers swept through Himoto land. They did this *everywhere* they went. Izu was just... the last stop on the tour." ( Gimme hearing checks ) 2d6 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Sakura (2d6) and gets 12, a CRITICAL FAILURE!!! "If I go crazy, will you still call me Superman?" 2d6 * Dicesuke throws the bones for John (2d6) and gets 6. 2d6-2 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Mikoto (2d6-2) and gets 7. 2d6 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Jinx (2d6) and gets 6. 2d6-2 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Tairan (2d6-2) and gets 5. 2d6-2 * Dicesuke throws the bones for MaryAnne (2d6-2) and gets 4. 2d6 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Millie (2d6) and gets 7. [Ok... Everyone hears a noise. "Whoooooo!" Those who made it figure, it's just the wind. Those who didn't think maybe it's just the wind... maybe not. And Sakura is utterly convinced it was a ghost.] * Millie sighs slightly and glances at Mikoto. "Yeah. I'm sorry." 2d6-2 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Millie (2d6-2) and gets 3. * Sakura mumbles something else. * Mikoto sighs. "What's done is done. Better to focus on the here and now, I suppose." He shivers a little. "Even the wind is acting strangely." ... okay, bit unnerving. Ignore it, concentrate on the tracks... * John raises an eyebrow. "What's that Sakura?" NOT.. nothing. * John smirks. "Sure." He doesn't push the issue further... For now. * Jinx tries to find a source for the sound, and failing to, slips back to his already highly watchful state. 2d6-2 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Millie (2d6-2) and gets 2. * Sakura looks at John. You get the impression she's >< this close to introducing her sword to his face. ( Any indication of how old the tracks are/how fast they were going, GM-type people? ) * John certainly doesn't. Or if he does, he's not responding. * Millie freezes suddenly. Pepper starts to whiney and kick. She rears up a bit. "Do-down girl." (They're very recent, and not quickly.) * MaryAnne holds on to Millie * Millie tries to pat Pepper to calm her. She doesn't look entirely convinced. * John looks back at Millie. "Can ya calm 'er?" ... tracks're fresh. And they weren't going too fast. Since there're both horse and footprints, I'm guessin' they either have more people than horses, or were leading their horses for some reason... * John points his thumb back at Millie while looking at Tairan. "Mabye that's why?" * Millie just glares at John and rubs Pepper gently, calming her down. * Mikoto mmms. "They might be travelling heavy. We still don't know what the tablet *is*, physically." (Wow, I'm getting people pissed at me a lot this session. ^_^) * Jinx shots a concerned look at Mille but quickly shifts his attention to Tairan. "Any feel for their numbers?" Could be. If their horses aren't well trained, they might spook a lot easier than the horses we got. * MaryAnne asks "What do you mean? It's stone and is about this size." she holds out her hands showing the approximate dimensions of it. (They travel in lines to hide their numbers. :P) Horses spook for other reasons y'know. [You keep going, through a second set of gates. The castle looms overhead. It survived better than the rest of the city - it's still upright - but the wooden parts have obviously been burned.] True. Just throwin' out theories at this point. I'm a tracker, not a psychic. * John shrugs. "I doubt fire'd be very effective here." Nothin' says it takes a psychic..jus' takes knowin' horses. ... m'guessing about a half dozen. Give or take. So..six of them, seven of us...I hope it's take or else we may not quite be equal. Well, if we do this right, maybe we can ambush them for a change. What's the plan? They pretty fresh, Tai? We kill them all. * John checks his pistols. "Yeah, anyone got an idea? Besides running in and hacking?" * Mikoto glances at the palace ruins. "If there's anywhere to hide here, that would be where. It'd also be where any surviving goods would be found, I'd wager." * MaryAnne looks at Sakura with an astonished look. * Tairan shrugs. "Bit more'n I can read from tracks, Millie. They're not hurrying, but I dunno why." * Millie frowns a bit. "I can't see why...I'd say cuz they think no one's followin' 'em, but if they thought that, why would they double back earlier?" And yeah, I got some ideas. I lead a bandit hunting company for a few years... I damn well better know a few tricks. * Jinx scowls up at the castle. "They're almost certainly in there, probably in some extremely defensible location." * Mikoto puts his pistol back in its holster and purses his lips. "We'll think of something." [You're at the castle enterance. The doors are wide open, though bits of them lie on the ground, probably, again, from being battered down.] Well, if they were usin' guns, I'm surprised they're not shootin' at us right now. So we jus' hafta think of makin' it not so defensible. ( Do the tracks lead *into* the castle? ) * Millie looks over the castle, reigning on Pepper. (Yes. I've been assuming you were following the tracks, since nobody told me otherwise.) ( Okay, just checking. Wasn't sure if it was actually into the castle, or just into the castle compound. ) [The castle does not fall on Millie. She is fortunate.] * Jinx nods. "Anyone have dynamite? I avoid the stuff like the plague, but it could do the trick." 2d6-1 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Sakura (2d6-1) and gets 6. Uh...I do. Dynamite? I got some. But... ... let's check the castle perimeter first. I wanna make sure they didn't sneak out a back entrance before we start blowing stuff up. Which would be a really awful idea, by the way. * Millie looks a little sheepish as John speaks up. NO. * MaryAnne smiles and says "Millie is well outfitted," I don' know if this'd be a good place to use it, though. * Mikoto raises an eyebrow. "Now, hold on a second..." * Sakura gives John the look again. "No. No dynamite." * John shrugs. "I'm not into destroying buildings that badly. Espically ones that would probably fall on me. * Millie smiles weakly at Mary. "Glad ya think so." * MaryAnne smiles back and says with confidence "I do consider you to be so, yes." ( And the yuri shippers get THEIR slashbait. ) ... remember, we wanna bypass this place if at all possible. I doubt they'd set camp in the castle of a haunted town... so let's find out if they snuck out, hmm? * Jinx looks at Sakura. "Why not?" It's a castle, I doubt we have enough to destroy it. I was more thinking of blowing up whatever barricade they end up hiding behind." * Mikoto shakes his head. "The wood's been burned away, Dynamite would... I suspect even a little would probably bring the whole thing down." * Sakura pulls her sword out and points it at Jinx. "You will not. Is this understood?" * Millie looks over at Tairan. "An' it'd also make the perfect meetin' place, wouldn't it?" No one would suspect it. (Man, can we go one session without one PC aiming a weapon at another?) * John glances back at Sakura. "Ya have some sorta connection to this place?" (No.) It is not your concern. * MaryAnne says "Well, I don't believe we should go blowing things up unless we find that we really need to." ... okay, can everyone just shut up and listen to the tracker for a minute? ( I've never threatened anyone, for the record. I am peaceful and serene. ^_^ ) (What fun is that?) ( It's the quiet ones you have to watch. ) Sounds like you're makin' it our concern. We'll talk about it after we're done with this. We check to see if they left. THEN we worry about going into the castle. Okay? * Jinx just looks at Sakura. "Now's not the damn time. If you want to challenge me to something, do it once we're out of the city." 2d6+3 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Jinx (2d6+3) and gets 6. * Millie shakes her head and pulls on the reigns, just going to check around the castle on her own if everyone's bickering. * Tairan prods Jinx to actually do what he's been saying to do. * Jinx does so. * Tairan shakes his head, and goes back to his tracking. * Sakura places the sword away, and continues forward. * Mikoto breathes out, then slides off Hazel. "I'd like to look around on foot for a bit, if you don't mind." * John nods. "Sure. It'd be best if we ran into them anyways." [The moment Sakura sets foot in the building, it turns from late morning to the middle of the night.] ... oh for the love of... Sakura! What in the hell are you doing?! (Shoot Atom with a really big gun several times.) * John looks up. "Ah SHIT." * Mikoto pauses as he's unstrapping his naginata from the horse. "...I think it's safe to say they're not in the castle, at least. Ahahaha. Haha. Ha." * MaryAnne says "Oh my." * Jinx switches to his pistol and then reaches in his saddle bag to grab his lantern. * Millie blinks at that and pulls back on the reigns. "..holy..what the hell's goin' on??" * Tairan jumps off his horse and stomps over to Sakura. "Are you deaf or something?" [There's screaming. And you all smell burning. Oh look, the castle's on fire. So's the city behind you.] * Sakura is looking around, visibly shaking. She has her sword out, but her hand is trembling so much she's about to cut off her own head. * John looks around... "Is this..." * Millie steps Pepper back a little. "This..this is just nuts." * MaryAnne says "How peculiar." The city...as it was back then..isn't it. * Jinx lights up his lantern incase the fires suddenly go out. His voice is quite cold. "This is the past I think." * John rides over to Sakura. "Snap out of it!" ... either Sakura just sent us back in time, or we're getting a first- hand look at history. [John sees people being slaughtered. No, not fighting. Slaughtered. The occasional Shomuran has a weapon, but they're no match for the Teckian gunmen.] * Mikoto glances at Sakura, then around nervously. "Memories of the past... the voices of the dead." He bites his lip. "Just one day without hearing them would be nice." I..I hope we went back. * Tairan grabs Horse by the reins and leads it OUT of the castle. * Millie bites her lip. * Jinx rides over next to Millie, he then offers the lantern to Mary Anne. * Millie speaks eerily to Mikoto, in a hoarse whisper. "...don't even joke about that." * John draws his pistols. He looks surprised, but... He's surprisingly calm about hiding any form of panic. * Sakura GROWLS. She leaps OFF horse and rushes for the nearest gunman, screaming nonsense. * MaryAnne holds the lantern while saying "Thank you." [A slightly faded young girl runs past you, only to be killed down by a well-placed rifle shot.] * Millie blinks. "What the hell..." She calls out. "Sakura! It ain't real! Don't worry 'bout it!" * Mikoto says to Millie, through gritted teeth, "I don't joke." (Attack roll, Sakura.) ... deaf AND stupid. Wonderful. * MaryAnne looks towards Sakura and says "Um...I do believe she has serious mental issues." But...damn it sure does look real. 2d6-5 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Sakura (2d6-5) and gets 1. We'll find out soon enough if it is... * Jinx switches back to his shotgun. "It's real enough, we just can't do a damned thing about it, the past can't be changed." * Tairan leads the horse back to the others, and keeps an eye on Sakura, to see what the hell she's doing? [Sakura slices the gunman that killed the girl directly through, left shoulder to right hip. He just looks at the girl through Sakura, then walks through the swordswoman, completely unharmed.] * Mikoto looks at Sakura, and suddenly bows his head a little. "She doesn't seem crazy. She seems like a very controlled person. What do *you* think would make a very controlled person act that way?" ... someone hold the horse. I'll go get her. * MaryAnne says "Well, most people don't go around wearing masks either." * Sakura turns around and slashes at the man again, ignoring the fact that nothing seemed to happen the first time. * MaryAnne continues "Or threatening to kill people that disagree with her." * Tairan waits for someone to take hold of Horse, then runs on over towards Sakura. (Again, attack roll.) 2d6-5 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Sakura (2d6-5) and gets -1. * John nods. "Good luck, and hope she comes peacefully. " * Mikoto glances at Sakura again, then turns away. "I'm going into the palace. There's something I want to see for myself." [Sakura gets him through the back, right where the heart should be. He keeps walking until he reaches the girl, picks her up dispassionately, and tosses her into one of the broken bits of fiery building.] * Jinx watches the scene with a steely look, but raw hatred in his eyes. ( I'm going to go find the two pots that control the spell. You guys head for Zhang Liao! ) * John glances back and forth. He holsters his pistols and dismounts. "You're not the only one who wants to see what's in this place." He pats Hazel on the side. * Mikoto nods at John, then turns and walks toward the castle gate again. * Sakura falls to her knees, tears running down from the sides of the mask. She drops her sword, which clatters on the ground. * Millie takes a deep breath, trying to calm herself. "Steady, steady..." * John walks toward the gate as well. * Jinx hangs his shotgun over his shoulder and moves to grab the reigns of the two free horses. ( John and I head inside! You guys stay here and wait for Sephiroth. ) * Tairan picks up the sword, and holds it out for Sakura. "Sword can't change the past." ( Oh great. You two go off to spark slash writer's muses, while we get killed. ) ( Just use Strike Raid. Seriously. ) (We head towards Long Wang Gate! You take out the supply depot with fire arrows!) ( What do you mean? They're the ones walking into the castle that's about to collapse, not you :P ) * Millie turns her horse in a circle a bit and keeps her eyes on the castle, a bit wide-eyed. You gonna just kneel here, or you gonna take this sword back and see if ya can't change the future? [The castle burns. There's obviously something going on inside, too. Someone jumps or falls out a window.] * MaryAnne says "I say, this is most perplexing." * Mikoto actually has a really cold look on his face as he walks toward the castle, weapon held firmly in hand. * Millie 's horse steps back to avoid the falling person, she's looking from side to side. "This is crazy...this is, this is.." * Sakura looks up at Tairan, the mask covering her face. She grabs the sword and stands up. She goes to follow the slashbait duo into the castle, still not saying a word. * Jinx frowns as he watches Sakura cry, but he still keeps an emotionless expression, he mutters to himself. "Can't say I could act any differently." [John and Mikoto aren't the only ones with that idea; a tall Teckian man in a red duster and hat walks by them towards the castle. He's a about the same age as you, and wears a necklace of animal fangs, dyed red. He also carries a black revolver (an older model).] * Jinx turns to Millie. "Perhaps we should go in." [The Teckian soldier turns and salutes to the man as he goes by.] * Millie eyes that duster, not turning to Jinx. "Y-yeah." * Tairan watches Sakura go. "... 'Thanks for the perspective, Tairan. I'm sorry I didn't listen to your wise advise and caused all this, Tairan.'" *muttermutter* * Mikoto glances at the soldiers. "It's funny... I want to hate Teckians right now, but I can't." He pulls at a bit of his blonde hair. "It's a part of me, too." * Millie dismounts and glances back at Tairan. "You can pat yourself on the back later." * Tairan walks back to the others. "Don't suppose there's a lever around with 'STOP' painted on it." * MaryAnne says "Well, we should all stick together." 2d6 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Sakura (2d6) and gets 5. * Jinx dismounts and quickly ties up the horses to whatever is available. It's quite simple logic, really. You kill the will of your enemy by defeating their innocent. I can't say I approve, but it would be very effective... And I know there are many people out there more than willing to do so. I...I don't want to stay out here with all this. ... guess we follow the others, then. I'd just like to go on the record as saying this one ain't my fault. * Mikoto glances back at Millie, a bit angrily. "You were the one who said war was a 'reality', Miss Reinhart... this is the reality." He turns back around and keeps walking. * Jinx then takes out his shotgun again. "Alright, let's go in. Feel free to stay behind me." * Sakura places her sword away.. and follows the strange red-dustered man. [The castle door opens into medium-sized room, with a hallway beyond going left and right. A samurai comes out of one entrance, leading a woman and her daughter with him. "Don't worry, milady, I shall see you to safety." Then he notices the man in red and gasps.] * MaryAnne says "Well, I did say I didn't want that masked woman along, but you took her side, Mister Tairan." * MaryAnne gets off the horse, a bit with more effort than Millie, and follows along. This...no it isn't. This is...screams of the dead. ... point. Correction. This one ain't COMPLETELY my fault. *forced grin* * Millie rubs her shoulders a little as she walks in. * John nods to himself as he looks around to see the unfolding events. * Mikoto says, quietly, but his tone relenting somewhat, "War sounds better on paper than it appears in real life." He glances at the woman and her daughter, narrowing his eyes. * Jinx walks, keeping close to Millie and Mary Anne. He seems to be shutting out any reaction to the surrounding events. [The samurai grips his katana and rushes at the Teckian, screaming a battlecry. The man just waits for him to get close, then holds out his hand and smirks. "Frostbane." The samurai stops in mid charge, his legs covered in frost. The man in red cruelly shoots his knees, which cause his entire legs to shatter.] * MaryAnne says "Even as an archaeologist, I can't say I am enjoying this." I know. It's more personal..when your pa's involved, ain't it? * Sakura winces as that happens, but continues to stare at the Teckian. You can almost feel hatred radiating off her. If you were enjoying this, MaryAnne, I'd probably have to shoot you for the good of the group. * John watches on. "It always hurts more when family's involved." [The man in red leaves him screaming on the floor as he advances towards the women. It's only after he's almost there than he casually shoots the samurai in the head. "Shut up."] * MaryAnne says "or historian, for that matter." * Mikoto sighs. "A magician too. Someone of importance. Someone wearing the color of blood." * MaryAnne says "I can't say as I care much for that color. I rather like pink." ... okay, you're getting close to the point where I might have to shoot you for the good of the group, MaryAnne. * John glances at MaryAnne. "Now is not the time to joke." * Jinx watches the massacre, the horror seems to be starting to slip through his demenor as he's starting grimace. * Sakura pulls out her sword and aims it at Mary Anne, still looking at the man. "Say another word and you will not talk again." * MaryAnne asks "What's wrong with pink? I like pink and yellow too." * Millie just watches it with a somewhat deadened calm. "Guys, just be quiet." [The man smirks as he raises his pistol at the woman, who's paralyzed in fear. Just as he's about to pull the trigger, though, there's a cry from behind. The man turns, only to be slashed diagonally across his chest as a warrior charges. The man in red stumbles back a bit, but before the other man can follow through, he grabs a hold of the woman and puts his gun to her head.] ... we're watching a massacre, MaryAnne. Don't make comments about fashion. * Sakura keeps the sword pointed at MaryAnne while watching the spectacle. * Millie seems rather frozen in place. * MaryAnne asks Millie "And why are we? It's all in the past. What's the point of watching this...terror." * Mikoto steadies himself by planting the naginata on the floor, his eyes shadowed and, if you're closeby and care to look, wet. "Why does it have to be this way?" MaryAnne. Please. Shut up. Have some respect. [The man in red grins. "Well I'll be damned, Lord Himoto himself. And of course, your lovely wife and daughter." The warrior raises his sword. "Let them go."] * MaryAnne says "Hmph." and turns around and starts walking back out. * MaryAnne says "I've seen quite enough, thank you." * MaryAnne walks back out of the castle. * Jinx moves in between Mary Anne and Sakura, and he's fully grimacing now. That was uncalled for. She ain't ever seen anything like..this before. Ya can't blame her for not knowin' how ta act. * Tairan glares darkly at MaryAnne, then goes back to watching events unfold. * Millie has a massive uneasiness to her voice and still hasn't moved. * MaryAnne walks out to the horses. [The man in red shakes his head. "That'd be a dumb thing to do. Drop the sword." Himoto lowers his weapon, but doesn't drop it. He shoots a steady glare at the man. "Using them as hostages. Have you no honor?!"] * Mikoto snaps, and it's obvious he's crying now, "Atrocity is atrocity! There is no 'knowing' how to act." * John keeps watching the spectacle, keeping his face from showing any feelings he might have. * Sakura is still holding the sword at the non-existant MaryAnne.. not that she notices. Her full attention is on the spectacle in front of her. She's shaking. * Millie speaks offhand to Mikoto. "And you think she wasn't affected? She didn't want to watch it either. Ya ever think those comments were to DISTRACT herself?" [The man in red laughs aloud at that. "You Shomurans and your honor. You always did make me laugh." Then his face goes serious and he jerks the woman. "Drop it. I won't ask again."] * MaryAnne crouches down by the horses, sitting on her heels, and pulls her hat forward over her eyes. People react ta things in different ways..don't mean they don't feel the same way.. * MaryAnne keeps her open umbrella over her head, dispite it neither being sunny nor rainy. You can't just pick and choose the things you want out of life. You have to take the whole world as it is. [The lord doesn't look pleased, but he does put his sword down. As soon as he does, the man in red shoots him in the gut. "There, that's better."] * Sakura twitches violently as soon as that happens. * Jinx scowls. "There are times to show respect to survivors, if not at least the dead." He grimaces again at the murder. * John winces. "Ya never shoot someone who's unarmed..." * Mikoto bows his head again, and then finds his gaze travelling to Sakura. He bites his lip. * Millie whispers hoarsely again. "It ain't raight." * MaryAnne covers he ears with her hands. [Himoto grimaces, and looks down at his wound, then back at the man. "... You can have my life. Please, let my wife and child go." The man in red shrugs. "Already got that. But you see this?" He moves out from the woman a bit to display the gash across his torso. "Look at what you did to me! Do you think I'm going to let you get away with that?!" So saying, he shoots the woman in the head.] * Sakura shakes again at the gunshot. * Millie twitches slightly and instinctively points her rifle at the man before realizing it's just an image. * Jinx lets go of his shotgun with his left hand and just lets it dangle down from his right. * Mikoto is watching this scene out of the corner of his eyes, but is mostly watching Sakura. [The lord cries out. He tries to move forwards, but the man in red fires at him again, hitting him right in the chest. He falls over, barely breathing. The man in red grabs Himoto's daughter and moves, making sure the lord can see. "I'm never going to forgive you for this scar. But you obviously won't live much longer, so let this be the last thing you see."] * John glances over at Sakura, noticing a few of her reactions. * Tairan just shakes his head. [He puts a hand on the girl's head and says simply, "Burn." And she does.] * Jinx quietly repeats to himself. "No one should have to see this twice." * Millie whispers out, dropping the barrel and clutching her face. "I think I'm gonna be sick..." How..it's got to be torture every day... * Mikoto grimaces, his face already tearstained. He manages to say, in a quiet voice, "...and that's the reason for the mask. Isn't it?" [The man in red shoves the burning body onto the dying lord. "Hmph. That's what I think of your honor." Then he heads towards you lot. Or more likely, the door. On the way, he chants a healing spell.] * Millie slowly turns to Sakura. "..torture every day..to survive that." * John frowns. "If we ever find that fucker..." That was not me. That girl's dead, guys. Sakura's alive. [The body is probably not Sakura. It's burning into ash and charred bone pretty fast.] 2d6 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Sakura (2d6) and gets 11. * Millie whips around with her rifle and points it at the guy, her hands shaking for a moment before faltering and holding herself up by the barrel like a cane, leaning on it. * Sakura turns and looks at the man as he leaves. Shaking, she walks after him. * Mikoto nods. "But I was right. You *are* a descendent of Clan Himoto." [The guy doesn't react to Millie on the way down. Instead he casts Frostbane on some poor woman's arm before shattering it.] * Jinx follows Sakura. * Mikoto also follows. * Tairan mutters as he follows along. "The sins of the father..." * John glances back at the man, following him. [The scene below is not pretty. I'll leave it to your imaginations.] * Sakura stops and looks at Mikoto. "... Yes.". She lifts her free hand up to her mask and removes it. What is underneath is like someone from a horror movie, a mass of poorly healed scar tissue and wounds. Her face makes Frankenstein's monster look pretty. She stares directly at Mikoto. [Following the man doesn't do much good. All he does is kill people, many of them helpless.] * Millie looks far too spent to imagine much. She does regain her composure a little. "Well...if it ain't her, she knows him somehow..and probably encountered him." * Mikoto doesn't look *pleased* at that, but surprisingly doesn't flinch. "Did anyone else survive?" ( Is that the Kenneth Braunaugh Frankenstein or the James' Whale's Frankenstein? ) * Millie turns slowly to look at her, looking up under the bottom of her lashes. "Geez..." * John shakes his head and glances back at the rest of the group. He definetly notices the scar, but doesn't comment out of respect. ( I have no idea who those people are. ) * Tairan lowers his eyes momentarily, but lifts his gaze back up to Sakura right afterwards, * Jinx regains his dead to the world expression as he walks. But he flinches and looks away for a moment on seeing the scar. [Something rather like a white vapor touches Sakura's right cheek, then it dissipates.] * Sakura places her mask back on, and looks upwards. "I am Sakura Himoto. I will find that man and avenge my clan. Only then can they rest." [The place is flooded in light.] [You smell no more burning, and hear no more screaming.] * Millie clutches her face. "It's over.." I hope Yeah... * Mikoto nods once. "I think they heard you." He glances up too. "I just have this feeling that they did." * John shakes his head. "We still have some bandits to find." * Sakura puts her sword back into her sheath. "I know they did. I shall not let them down." [Session End.]