[It's morning! You guys slept last night! Well, most of last night. Some of you stayed up and talked, for whatever reason.] [You're still on the search for Mary Anne, in Hoshimoto territory. Tairan's sword wasn't stolen from him, but it was confiscated, but he has one on loan from Mikoto, so it's all good. Only Mikoto doesn't have a sword now. Anyway...] [Have breakfast, discuss plans, and good luck seeing through the cool fog that seems to have settled this fine morning.] [Session Start.] (And give me soul rolls.) 2d6 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Millie (2d6) and gets 7. 2d6 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Jinx (2d6) and gets 4. 2d6 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Mikoto (2d6) and gets 7. Tairan> 2d6 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Tairan (2d6) and gets 6. * Mikoto is actually still snoring away. Because he was dead tired. * Jinx took the last shift so he's already up. He walks over to Mikoto, "C * Millie carries on. And for once, isn't still sleeping this early in the morning. She's rubbing down her rifle with a cloth and looking at the fog rolling in with a serious expression, sitting on a log. C'mon, it's morning, time to get up. * Tairan is attempting to do some basic stretches to loosen up his sore muscles. He's being *very* careful with his right arm, though, and not moving it around much. He looks better than he did yesterday, but not by all that much. * Mikoto mumbles something unintelligble and pulls a pillow over his head. ( The pillow is cursed... ) Let 'em sleep. He's had a rough couple-a days. * Jinx gives a half grin and walks over to the others. "How's the arm Tairan?" * Millie rubs her side and frowns. "We all have." (*makes a decided note to ignore this channel for the time being. Must concentrate on paper. <.<) ( The paper is also cursed... ) ( The hamburger isn't cursed, just hungry. It eats Jinx. ) * Mikoto mumbles again, then sits up, shirt (and hair) rumpled and clutching the pillow like a little kid. "Put out the damn sun. There's no way it could be this early yet." ... feels like it was violently dislocated last night. * Millie smirks slightly. "That there fog may do jus' that. Welcome to the world of the conscious, Mikky." Bit better, though... my grip isn't as weak, and moving it only causes shooting pain, not mind-numbing pain. * Mikoto sighs and shuts his eyes for a moment, then gets up and packs up his bedroll, smoothing out his shirt also. "I feel like I was hit by a stagecoach." * Tairan winces as he tries to stretch out his back, and grabs for his ribs. "Ribs're bruised, too. I guess I'm lucky that first shot to the head didn't give me a concussion, though. Small favors." * Millie stands up, setting the stock of Greenpeace in the ground and trying to get a good look around. "Any idea why it rolled in so thick?" * Jinx nods amd comments straight faceed. "Head injuries can be brutal." He then walks over to check on Lightning. * Millie rubs her shoulders and grumbles. "It's too damned cold." * Mikoto does some stretching and a brief kata or two. "Well, we're in the lowlands. Fog's not so uncommon." * Jinx seems satisfied with Lightning's state and walks back to camp. "Maybe we should take a long breakfest, give the fog some time to clear. Riding in this invites an ambush." ( *watches Winamp switch to the WA3 map music* Appropriate enough, I guess. ) * Tairan finishes his stretches, and forces himself to his feet, against his body's better judgement. He quickly puts on his gun belt and his sword belt, looking sadly at Mikoto's sword as he does so. * Millie nods a bit. "Couldn't hurt ta take it a little easy...I mean we wanna make headway, but we'll be no good if we're near dead encounterin' those bandits anywho." ( Are you impinging my sword? *pause* Oh, there's no good way for this to end. ) * Millie twists one of her pigtails around her finger idly, lost in thought. * Mikoto hops on his feet a bit. "Alright... I wonder if I can pull this trick a second time. Millie, Tairan, come here, please..." * Millie blinks and stands up, walking over with only a little flourish. * Jinx nods and starts to add wood to a cooking fire. "Oh, starting a pool on what happened to Mary Anne and what state we'll find her in." He then watches Mikoto with interest. * Tairan walks over to Mikoto gingerly. * Mikoto closes his eyes. "Well, let's hope this works." He holds out one hand and murmurs, "Winds, lend us your strength..." * Mikoto uses the Force! ( Sadly, I use Precognition instead of Heal Another. "Well... sorry about the HP, but I know for sure Mary Anne's in a ditch, headless!" ) ( That's insider betting. I approve, but really, you shouldn't tell us how you know. ^_~ ) ( *snerk* ) [Cue special effects! The winds pick up, making for a nice swirl of mist around Mikoto, along with those tiny green motes. He's lifted slightly into the air, and wounds begin to heal.] * Millie chuckles and smirks over at Jinx. "Ah ain't takin' that bet." She looks down at her hands and feels all tingly. "Huh, weird." ( Oooh particles. ) ( My watch has an eon hand! ) (Unfortunately, there's too many pixels on the screen and we experience massive slow-down.) * Mikoto breathes out and opens his eyes as the lightshow dies down. "Well... a pleasant surprise." * Jinx smiles a bit. "Gotta admire that eastern magic." He then goes about making an extremely rudimentary breakfest. ( Jinx prepares cheese and crackers ) ( Jinx pours out bowls of Honey Nut Tumbleweed! ) ( We can use the decoder ring in the box to unlock ruins! ) * Mikoto chuckles at Jinx and walks over to help. "It would be more admirable if I knew how I was doing it." He pauses. "Perhaps it's just instinct." * Tairan blinks, and rolls his right shoulder back and forth a few times, wincing a bit. "Still sore, but a helluva lot better... same with the ribs. I believe I might be downright functional now." (Good, 'cause I ain't got the EP to pull that off multiple times. c.c;) * Millie looks down and lifts her blouse a little. Since her vest is still on, she can't lift it too much, but enough to check the bruises. (Translation: Sorry, no fan service) * Tairan mutters. "I really gotta stop getting my ass kicked." * Jinx finishes up making breakfest fairly quickly with Mikoto's help. He then nods and grins slightly at Tairan. "Particularly when I have 200 kanmon riding on you." * Millie rolls her eyes at Jinx. "Oh please, ya can make that up in one game of cards an' ya know it." * Mikoto bites into a piece of fruit. "Not in Shomura. Dice games are more popular in the empire, than cards." * Millie sets down her blouse, untucked and smiles at Mikoto. "Good work. Seems a little weird ya helpin' me so much though..." Still can't believe I fucking lost... Kojiro just *had* to cut through here. * Mikoto shrugs at Millie. "I help you, you help me. We rely on each other, so we're able to do things a single person couldn't. It's as much good strategy as it is good manners." * Jinx nods at Millie's comment and then looks back at Tairan. "Shit happens, it was a damn close thing from what I could tell." Well, I ain't really...used ta relyin' on other people. But thanks all the same. * Tairan shakes his head ruefully, then pauses and looks around thoughtfully. "... and unless I'm mistaken, I may have lost something else, too." * Mikoto mms and takes another bite. "Well, I'm the same, deep down. I prefer to rely on myself rather than other people. But survival's more important than pride, in my book." He blinks at Tairan. "What do you mean?" Tracks we followed to the camp. They don't exit the camp. * Millie starts to smirk at Mikoto's comment, but instead turns to Tairan. "Hmm?" * Jinx gets eating and looks over to Tairan, as Mikoto beat him to the question. "Oh, damn." So...we were followin' the wrong tracks? * Mikoto blinks. "You mean the bandits, or the Hoshimoto hunters?" I don't think she can be here though..I mean we searched the place..an' ya think ya'd here her screamin' or yellin' at one of the bandits to stop his naughty ways or somethin' MaryAnne's kidnappers. We were followin' their trail when it lead to the bandit camp, but it doesn't lead FROM the bandit camp. * Millie scratches her temple and looks quizzical. ... which means I musta missed where it branched *around* the camp. Which prolly means we didn't hafta come to the camp in the first place. Which means I feel like an even *bigger* goddamn idiot now. * Jinx frowns. "Hopefully she isn't back to getting kidnapped by things that can fly. Not much we could do then." Well, that's... just a theory, Tairan. Said branch might not exist. * Millie sighs and facepalms, shaking her head. "That's it...that girl's jus' plain cursed." * Sakura wanders in, surprisingly not covered with blood and holding Fanfan's head. * Mikoto looks around, holding a slice of apple. "Still, it does seem likely." 2d6-2 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Sakura (2d6-2) and gets 10, a CRITICAL FAILURE!!! "I hate being random." * Jinx glances up at the warrior. "'Morning Sakura." We did not find Mary Anne. The others are still looking. * Tairan picks up a rock and chucks it at a tree. "S'just a theory, yeah, but it's the only one that made sense. I *know* I had the trail leading from where MaryAnne was kidnapped. If I'd just noticed the branch off... *rubs temples with head in hands* * Mikoto frowns, and bites into another apple slice. "Still... why would anyone kidnap Miss Pippin? What could they possibly GAIN from it? If it were ransom, wouldn't they have contacted us?" Could be something wanting to eat her. That's what the last two were, right? ( Clearly, we need to consult the ouija board. ) (Why didn't you take it as PG?) Maybe they think she can help translate the tablet. Or maybe they're just masochists. Who knows. * Mikoto knits his brow. "But what intelligent beasts live around here...?" He struggles to think of some. * Jinx snickers at Tairan's comment. ( I have 1 minor and 1 major unspent, you know. ) (Oh, I have a fun idea for a magic power. But never mind.) * Millie looks up slowly at Sakura and then turns quickly to Mikoto. "Does it really matter? Without her, we...well, we'd probably make better time, but I think we need her for the tablet." ( I have 1 MP unspent too. ;) * Mikoto shakes his head. "I'm not saying we shouldn't save her. But knowing why they took her could help us track them down." ( Tarot deck! De nine of pentacles be sayin' dat MaryAnne be in a Daaaaaaaaaaangerous place... ... why are you speaking like that, Mikoto? Like what? ... ) She is a useless waste, but we can not allow bandits to have her. * Jinx shrugs. "It was the society offering the reward, they may still pay us either way. Better if we can save her of course." * Millie looks back at Sakura and blinks. "What happened?" Settles it, then. Soon as we break camp, we get back on the trail we followed here and backtrack, and find where they went around the camp. * Mikoto finishes his apple. "At the very least, staying here won't help much." We followed the tracks. Fanfan and John are questioning some people. THey asked me to return here. Questioning? Who's there to question? * Jinx finishes his meal and packs up his stuff. "Won't be easy to find anything in this fog, but I suppose we may as well get a start on it." And which tracks? * Mikoto nods, also curious. "In the middle of nowhere?" He hmms. "Travellers, maybe..." They claim it is not the bandits. Fanfan and John are checking. * Millie slings her rifle. "Either way, maybe we should get goin'. Which way were they headed?" * Jinx puts his gear on Lightning. * Sakura points in the direction she came from. * Tairan mutters. "I really hope they used some really clever misdirection, and I didn't just completely miss this..." * Millie flicks out her compass and points it in that direction, then confirms it with her map. ( Is Hazel here or did John take her? ) * Jinx mounts up and rides over to Tairan. "Fate would probably see to that encounter happening sooner or later. Probably better that it took place over the bodies of slaughtered bandits." (Need me to roll? If so, going to boost by 2) * Mikoto gathers his things and pulls on his gloves. "I think you're making too much of it, Tairan. Everyone makes mistakes now and then." * Tairan gets up onto Lightning. "Yeah, but this one cost me big time. And I'm a tracker... I ain't supposed ta be makin' those kinda mistakes." (Yeah, roll.) 2d6-4 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Millie (2d6-4) and gets 5. * Jinx carries his shotgun in one hand and with the other directs Lightning to the direction Sakura indicated. (@_@) (*hugs boosting*) * Mikoto looks around for Hazel. "We'll get your sword back. It may just be a while before we have the chance. I promised I'd help, and I will." (Tairan, give me a tracking roll, -1.) 2d6-5 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Tairan (2d6-5) and gets -2. * Millie takes a deep breath and palms her compass. "Well that's a plus." * Jinx nods at Mikoto's statement. "I might even help you with the old man too if you like. There's something satisfying about seeing justice take someone who has massacred villages." ... these are animal tracks you were following, Sakura. Hm. * Millie stops and just stares at Sakura. As a loyal subject of the Shomuran court, I have a duty to confront Lord Hoshimoto over his crimes against the people, I think. [Hazel be gone.] * Mikoto frowns. "John must have taken Hazel. I'll have to ride with one of you." No way these are the same tracks that led from where MaryAnne was kidnapped. ... Well, there goes that theory. Figures. Couldn't be more shape changers could it? I mean it sounds outlandish, but it was shape changers last time. 'course, it's still possible these people saw Kojiro and his merry band. Or they could have some sorta magic that masks their tracks, I suppose... but why wouldn't they just completely erase them, then? * Millie sighs and slips away her compass. "Well, they lead almost away from this Hoshimoto territory, so if ya wanna check it out, if not jus' ta gather Johnny boy an' the other girl, that's fine." * Mikoto steps up to Pepper. "Her name is Fanfan. Do you mind if I ride with you for now?" * Millie turns to Mikoto and eyes him. "I know that." She mounts up and looks down at him. "Are ya talkin' ta me or my horse?" * Jinx shrugs. "Not really my long suit anyways. Where to now Tairan?" * Mikoto grins. "Whose permission do I need most?" * Millie smirks slightly. "Get on, Mikky." * Tairan shrugs. "Might as well meet up with John'n Fanfan, see what these people know. Even if these are the wrong tracks, they might'a seen our targets. If not, at least we'll have the group together when we go back'n backtrack along the original trail." * Mikoto hops up on the horse with reasonable skill. "Thanks." Jus' make sure ya find somewhere SAFE ta grab. ( Like her spleen ) * Jinx follows Tairan's instructions and gets Lightning moving. "So, what sort of dice games get played in the East, Mikoto?" ( Monopoly. ) * Mikoto laughs and doesn't hug Millie tight or anything. "I'm an experienced rider. I'll be fine." He glances over at Jinx through the mist. "The only one I've ever taken the time to learn is Chinchirorin, because it's fairly simple." * Millie turns back ahead and hyahs a little, taking off to the northwest. ( Tairan takes a tree branch intended for Jinx. ) (And it was thrown this time) ( *in the distance* BAKA! ) * Jinx nods. "No craps then I take it. Hmm.. be sure to explain the rules to me at some point." * Millie laughs. "Yer hopeless, Jinxy. Absolutely hopeless." * Mikoto grins. "I'd be happy to. All you need are three dice and a sake cup." * Jinx then gives a predatorial grin. "I'll be sure to give you a twenty percent cut of my winnings the first time someone tries to hustle this ignorant Westerner with that game." * Mikoto hehs. "Deal. It's tough to hustle Chinchirorin without loaded dice, though. Most people play it drunk." He looks forward, around Millie. "Hence the sake cup." ( No poker face at all. Honestly. *bright smile* ) * Tairan concentrates silently on the trail, even though it's obviously not the correct one. Doesn't wanna miss anything this time, apparently. * Millie smirks at Jinx. "I could distract 'em for another cut. May work better if they ARE drunk." * Jinx grins a bit more. "You don't say." He then smiles over at Millie. "Oh, I have a few better ideas if I'm going to hustle with you. Winning at a simple dice game against drunks is nothing." * Millie tilts her head at Jinx a little, intrigued. "Reaaaaallly...." * Sakura watches silently! [The fog begins to lift. Yay!] * Mikoto hmms. "How does it go... you throw three dice into a sake cup. If two are the same number, the number on the third's your score. Highest number wins. 1-2-3 is an automatic loss, 4-5-6 is an automatic win." * Millie whips back around to look at the trail. Eyes on the trail! ( Screw that. Let's go to rockland. ) ( Ha! ) ( We can take the old woman for everything she's worth. ) * Jinx goes back to a grin at Millie's response and then thoughtfully listens to Mikoto with a calculating expression on his face. ( Marco: "How did you know?" Jinx: "...lucky guess." ) ( And I hate to break it to you, Atom, but Marco's, like, a 12-year-old boy. ;) ( You're kidding? ) ( I'm not. ) ( Crazy. Looks like a old lady to me. ) ( It's the hair. ) * Mikoto would tick points off on his fingers, but he's gripping Pepper's flank to steady himself. "You get three tries to score. If you can't get all three dice in the cup, it's called a 'miss'." He coughs. "Rowdier players call it a 'piss'." Heh, so if you don't get two of the same roll in those three attempts, it's also an automatic loss? A game a chance. You will waste your money more then you already have. * Mikoto nods. "Yes, but if your opponent hasn't scored, it's a draw." * Jinx looks over at Sakura with his most innocent expression. "Care to bet on that?" I already bet against you and won. That wasn't a game of chance. Exactly. I'm not stupid enough to play a game of chance. ( *cackle* ) * Mikoto chuckles. "She has you there." * Tairan shoots a nasty glare at Sakura, then returns his gaze to the trail. * Jinx rolls his eyes a bit. "Does she really? Seems to me, if I played her, one of of us would lose, so only one of us would be stupid to do it." His voice doesn't really leave any doubt as to which one would lose. ( Sakura: Being a bitch so you don't have to. Est. in 1344. ) ( Heehee. ) * Millie mutters under her breath, whispering to Mikoto "Yeah. Unlike games of chance by runnin' into unknown situations full throttle." * Mikoto smiles distractedly, and says back in a quiet voice, "You say tomato, I say 'toh-mah-to'." ( I originally wrote that as "You say tomato, I say tomato", and briefly realized that didn't make any sense. ) * Millie smirks. "I don't say tomato. I say splat." She snaps her reigns again. * Mikoto chuckles, but doesn't say anything further. * Jinx speaks quietly to himself as he rides along. "Alright, so, five times out eight you don't get doubles. So, in three attempts..." Ignoring the automatic win or loss conditions... Also ignoring missing the bowl.. That's about one chance in four of getting no doubles. * Mikoto laughs. "Considering how you work the numbers, I'm surprised you haven't taken up chess." * Millie keeps her eyes out for actually seeing anything as they ride, now that the fog's lifting. ( I should have taken Gaming (Chess/Go). ) (Shogi?) * Jinx keeps muttering to himself for a bit before what Mikoto said kicks in. "Should probably find some paper. Hmm? Oh? I can play it, but last time I checked there weren't too many numbers in chess. Strategy is a different sort of thinking." True enough. ... never had the patience for chess. S'like a big fight, but slow'n boring. * Mikoto mmms. "I played it off and on, in school... it was very popular, this foreign strategy game. I was alright, but never that good." He looks around. "Still... there is a particular thrill in seeing so many moves ahead, planning out every step of your opponent's actions and watching then spring your traps." I find it a stupid game. Why bother making movements when you can simply remove the head of the queen instantly. ( It amuses me that if you want to delineate the personalities of this group to pinpoint accuracy, ask them what they think of chess. ) ( *skims his BG* WOw. Except for the prostitute part, Mikoto's mother is a lot like Millie. ) (...) ( I said except for! ) (And I said ...) ( And wow, Mikoto's the first Ryuugen in a long while whose name doesn't start with K. I dunno why I made so many K names. @_@ ) ( Because K is for krazy. ) s'a good trainer for war plannin' Sakura, where ya can't always get at the queen to chop off her head, so ta speak. Still... I ain't ever really been much of a long term planner. I 'm good in the moment, but I could never see a few moves ahead. Games like that always unnerve me a bit. Planning that far ahead never works out for me in real life. * Mikoto hmms. "That's the thrill of chess. Your plans are always being adjusted and moved on the fly, because of the unpredictability of human nature." * Jinx smiles strangely. "Actually, it's not the unpredictability of human nature that normally bothers me." * Millie speaks evenly. "It's the unpredictability of Mother Nature?" * Tairan shakes his head, grinning slightly. "S'a game that requires a bit more brains than I got." ( Mikoto's clan traditionally names its people with names starting with a K. The first was Kirby Ryuugen. ) ( I will kill you. ) * Mikoto nods at Tairan, and faces forward again, eyeing the trail. "Oh, likewise. I've never really been smart enough for serious chess. It was more of a schoolboy hobby." Real people play for keeps anyhow. And yeah, Millie, wouldn't say 'Mother Nature' exactly, but something like that. * Millie puts her hand up underneath the brim of her hat to see better. "Of all the needle-toed, rot-wheelin' assmonkeys...we still on the trail or what? I'd have thought we'd seen 'em by now." * Mikoto grins. "It's usually difficult to find 24 color-coordinate soldiers and a large checkered field, however." He pauses. "Unless you're quite rich." I enjoy running into people like that, with more money than they know what to do with. * Mikoto chuckles. "A fool and his money are soon parted." ( What does that make Jinx? ) ( Wealthy enough to be foolish. ) (...I refrained from making a comment along those lines. I really did.) * Jinx grins a bit. "The real trick though is knowing how to find it again." Money's overrated. Nice, but overrated. Dunno, I find it's rated just about right. It's worth whatever you can buy for it. No more, no less. [And so has the forest parted, leading into grasslands. Ahead is a stream, and riding along it are a couple figures, sharing a horse! One of them's wearing a cowboy hat, so it's pretty easy to guess who they are.] ( Elden and Logan? ) * Millie slows down and waits for him to smile to be sure. ( *spittake* ) (*cackle*) * Jinx rides up at normal tracking speed. [The young lady in back points at you all, and the man in front - with the cowboy hat - looks over and smiles. Even in this distance... *ting!*] (*peeks in just now. That's PERFECT!) (I try.) * Mikoto raises an eyebrow. "Well, no wonder they were willing to parlay." * Millie keeps her eye along the edge of the stream for potential ambushers as she rides towards him. [And so, y'all were finally reunited. Assuming they're not copies or zombies out to eat your brains.] [Session End.]