A New Day Dawns (Episode 2)

[Carthrat]

"No," replies Lee, shaking her head. "We can't leave the Sound-From-Fire unattended in potentially treacherous waters. You will come with Rishi and I, however," she muses. "Hail, armsmen!" she calls out, in Forest-Tongue. "Could one of your number please accompany us on foot towards the embers?"

[AndrewRogue]

Cloud Riders

Though it is difficult to hear from the somewhat distant vantage, your effort is helped both by the fact that your senses are much sharper than average, as well as the fact that the strangely dressed figures enunciate quite well over the silent crowd.

"...line up to be checked. Yes, yes, each and every one of you shall be checked until we find the last of the vermin. Fear not, for your brave lord guarantees your safety. Provided, at least, you do not harbor the rat we seek. Now, come, line up. That is what we want them to do, yes?" The green does not limit itself to their clothes, instead coloring the skin as well.

"Yes, that is how you check a crowd like this. They form a line, any who fail to do such become our food, yes." The other replies.

The crowd begins to shuffle and line up with minimal fussing.

Boat Folks

Patroklia bows deeply. Thank you, sensei I shall not fail you."

The samurai converse among themselves for a moment before one steps forward. "I am Kaneo Yozo, and among those gathered here, I am the strongest with the sword. I shall guard you in Tetsuzuru-san's stead." The tall man, with his black hair neatly trimmed, bows deeply.

[May]

"Support me with whatever sorcery you can, Master Zhao," Akeha asks, before dropping and flipping off the cloud, gathering essence from her inner soul to lighten her steps, and bound through the branches with no more weight and encumbrance than a squirrel. Closing the distance to the crowd and their captors, Akeha leaps from the trees to the ground, the massive spear Chidori rests across her shoulders, blue jadesteel shimmering in the sun in spite of the oily smoke.

"I'm afraid that to find vermin, you'll have to look more closely at yourselves," she pronounces, standing tall with white hair flowing in the wind. "And for food, you'll have naught but steel fed through your bellies in a decidedly unpleasant fashion."

[AndrewRogue]

Cloud Folks

The two exchange an odd look at you.

"Is she the vermin?" the first speaker asks?

"No, for the vermin hides in the skin of others to avoid fighting us. It would not so openly challenge us."

The first speaker nods and then waves a dismissive hand in Akeha's direction. "Could you please hold your nonsense for a time? We would so hate to lose the vermin."

The peasants, of course, are quite startled and shocked and nigh panicked by your arrival. But, surprisingly, they do not bolt.

[Carthrat]

"I am reassured and honoured," replies Lee, bowing in turn to the heroic swordsman. "Come, let us move with alacrity, for who knows what bloodshed smoke can harbour? Golden fires ever guide me, but red fires speak of death."

So saying, she disembarks and sets out at a brisk pace. "Master Rishi. I have considered our earlier discussion," she says. "I wish to question you more deeply on what you consider to be righteous action, for if we're to stride through Creation together we had best be in accord."

[May]

"No."

In a blur of motion, the spear is tilted off her shoulders and into her hands, Akeha moving impossibly fast as the three bladed spear lunges out for the nearest of the two creatures that spoke of consuming the villagers. The thrust is direct, unhesitating and driven like a blue bolt of lightining chased by a white tail towards the enemy.

((OOC: +3 Excellency to JB
[23:10] <May> roll 11#d10 join battle
[23:10] <Tarubot> May rolled : 11#d10 join battle --> [ 1d10=10 ]{10}, [ 1d10=6 ]{6}, [ 1d10=1 ]{1}, [ 1d10=6 ]{6}, [ 1d10=10 ]{10}, [ 1d10=4 ]{4}, [ 1d10=8 ]{8}, [ 1d10=8 ]{8}, [ 1d10=5 ]{5}, [ 1d10=10 ]{10}, [ 1d10=8 ]{8}

9 successes + 3 = Init 12))

[Magetastica]

Rishi follows along with Lee, making sure to keep exactly to her pace. "There are many ways to interpret 'righteous action.' What kind were you hoping to discuss?"

[Carthrat]

"That's exactly the point, all have a different view," replies Lee.

"What is worth killing for? And what is worth dying for? And are they the same thing?

"To answer these questions is at the root of what we call righteousness. Because righteousness, justice and law grow from one another and become the bedrock of a society, a nation. In short, what you will kill, you say everyone may kill for. What you would die for, you say everyone should die for. I," she adds, "Hold two tenets above all else.

"First, that people should be free to speak and sing words and songs however they wish, and those who try to stop them from doing so must be thwarted. If the parent demands silence, speak; if the ruler denies talk of a better life, talk of it anyway, as loudly as one can. It's silence that's the ally of tyranny- and that brings me to my second place.

"Second, those who rule capriciously- who seek to use the people as their indoctrinated slaves to engineer their own personal vices, whether material or otherwise in nature- are the worst of all rulers and must be confronted in word and deed. Only one who is prepared to die in order to do so can hope to topple such a ruler, though they may not live to see it... such is my theory. What is truly sad is that here, even the slaves may need to be fought, for they are blind and cannot see their own chains.

Lee pauses. "The other ills that plague a society, I feel, can only continue to do so as long as people are silent and as long as people are cowards. Poor organisation that leads to famine. Ruinous taxation. Criminal activity. Corruption. Wars of conquest. Rampant execution, religious persecution..."

[Magetastica]

"Hmm..." Rishi ponders Lee's words for a bit before responding.

"To answer your questions, I feel like I should expand upon your understanding of silence."

"I have been to quite a few lands in my time, and many things hold true across them all. Silence is never truly silence. If a populace is happy, and singing, and never speaks beyond the superficial, that is real silence. But if a populace is silent and won't speak, won't look each other in the eye? That speaks volumes."

"As for what that leads to, well, it leads to a desire to understand if the people are truly suffering. If they suffer, the cause of it must fall. If they don't, and it just happens to be a bad day or week, then there is no problem."

"And what is worth dying for? I say nothing. Death leads only to grief. If I were to attempt to free a people and I died before or while accomplishing it, I could no longer help free other people. It is better to retreat, regroup, and try again another time. Though, no, I don't think slaves need be fought. Fended off, perhaps, but not fought. There is a reason I have taken up the profession I'm in, and that is so that I can topple the unjust rulers and thugs with minimal bloodshed. A single arrow can accomplish the same as an entire war, is my personal belief."

[AndrewRogue]

Cloud Riders

<@AndrewRogue> roll 11#d10
<Tarubot> 1,0AndrewRogue rolled :1,0 11#d10 --> 1,0[ 1d10=9 ]1,0{9}, 1,0[ 1d10=8 ]1,0{8}, 1,0[ 1d10=1 ]1,0{1}, 1,0[ 1d10=8 ]1,0{8}, 1,0[ 1d10=4 ]1,0{4}, 1,0[ 1d10=9 ]1,0{9}, 1,0[ 1d10=4 ]1,0{4}, 1,0[ 1d10=4 ]1,0{4}, 1,0[ 1d10=5 ]1,0{5}, 1,0[ 1d10=10 ]1,0{10}, 1,0[ 1d10=8 ]1,0{8}
<@AndrewRogue> roll 11#d10
<Tarubot> 1,0AndrewRogue rolled :1,0 11#d10 --> 1,0[ 1d10=1 ]1,0{1}, 1,0[ 1d10=10 ]1,0{10}, 1,0[ 1d10=6 ]1,0{6}, 1,0[ 1d10=6 ]1,0{6}, 1,0[ 1d10=10 ]1,0{10}, 1,0[ 1d10=8 ]1,0{8}, 1,0[ 1d10=9 ]1,0{9}, 1,0[ 1d10=10 ]1,0{10}, 1,0[ 1d10=3 ]1,0{3}, 1,0[ 1d10=4 ]1,0{4}, 1,0[ 1d10=1 ]1,0{1}

Initiative
Akeha: 12
Thing 2: 11
Thing 1: 10

[Carthrat]

"People wear all kinds of masks," Lee allows. "And speak the same tune their fellows do. In truth, that kind of life means subordinating your own thoughts to those of group. Certainly, people want to live in harmony and that should be applauded. But it can mask deeper concerns...

She sighs. "As for the causes of suffering, well. Few people truly rule alone. Even the most heinous monarch has an army of servants and minions who do his bidding and make his will manifest. Kill him, and who's to say another won't take his place. Purging the lot of them is an option, but one had better know them well, to be sure they're not in error." Lee shakes her head.

"Besides, who's to say that those who he's enraptured won't see his death as a grievous terrible event that demands vengeance? As you say, 'death only leads to grief'. That's why it's not enough to kill, but one needs to speak, to talk, to force the evil to announce their ways and, in turn, repudiate them. I have decided that I am willing to die to speak those words to power, to tell them why they are mistaken and more important to tell the people they rule how they've been misled, and how they can be put right. And to try and destroy them, if it is clear that none can be convinced. Because, you know- in any performance, the timing and the stage are key. A good chance to reach people's hearts shouldn't be turned down just because it's dangerous.

"I think that your ways are correct in the case where there are many who would bless that arrow's flight. But I fear that when we reach this capital, we'll not see a city of people crying out for help, but of dupes and perhaps fanatics. Every society in the world holds loyalty unto death as a strong virtue, and I'm sure this one is no different. The songs of the fair ones can twist hearts as well as mine can stir them, and who knows what this Lord of Nine Rivers can do. If we simply kill him, we could invite a terrible outcome within moments. And even if we cow the populace with our gifts and might, it is us who must become the tyrants in turn."

[May]

Elated that she's caught them by some measure of surprise, Akeha thrusts her spear straight into one of the creatures, throwing herself and her Essence into the attack with a sudden flaring of her anima. A blue tipped commet of white-gold fire roars through the still air of the village, aimed squarely for the fastest moving of the creatures that had threatened to eat the villagers!

((OOC: Piercing Withering attack so -4 to their Soak, -1 to my defense, cost 1 init; Excellent Strike (3 motes, +1 success, reroll 1s), Full Melee Excellency (9 motes), and Fire and Stone Strike for damage (3 motes).

[18:23] <Tarubot> May rolled : 20#d10 --> [ 1d10=9 ]{9}, [ 1d10=9 ]{9}, [ 1d10=9 ]{9}, [ 1d10=1 ]{1}, [ 1d10=1 ]{1}, [ 1d10=7 ]{7}, [ 1d10=9 ]{9}, [ 1d10=5 ]{5}, [ 1d10=10 ]{10}, [ 1d10=5 ]{5}, [ 1d10=9 ]{9}, [ 1d10=8 ]{8}, [ 1d10=10 ]{10}, [ 1d10=8 ]{8}, [ 1d10=9 ]{9},
[18:23] <Tarubot> [ 1d10=1 ]{1}, [ 1d10=1 ]{1}, [ 1d10=8 ]{8}, [ 1d10=6 ]{6}, [ 1d10=9 ]{9}
[18:23] <May> roll 4#d10
[18:23] <Tarubot> May rolled : 4#d10 --> [ 1d10=4 ]{4}, [ 1d10=1 ]{1}, [ 1d10=3 ]{3}, [ 1d10=7 ]{7}
[18:24] <May> roll 1#d10
[18:24] <Tarubot> May rolled : 1#d10 --> [ 1d10=6 ]{6}
[18:26] <May> roll 1#d10
[18:26] <Tarubot> May rolled : 1#d10 --> [ 1d10=7 ]{7}

(last one is a forgotten stunt die)

18 successes to hit. Dmg is 14+Str 3 +3 for charm + threshold dice -Soak (which is -4)))

[AndrewRogue]

Cloud Riders

((OOC: 21 Dice for damage))

[May]

((OOC:

[18:49] <May> .ex 21
[18:49] <Luna> May: 21: [2: 2, 3: 4, 4: 2, 5: 3, 6: 3, 8: 2, 9: 2, 10: 3]  - 10 Successes))

[AndrewRogue]

Cloud Riders

Initiative
Akeha: 23
Thing 1: 10
Thing 2: 1

The brilliant glow catches both of the things off-guard, and it is only by superhuman movement that the second thing manages to interpose it's twisted blade between itself and instant death. "What?"

The first reacts quickly, stepping forward, it's own blade arcing to remove your head. "I didn't think another of the sunborn lived in these lands! Interesting, interesting!"

((OOC: 16 Dice coming your way. No charms. Stunt away if you want too.))

In the meantime, the crowd is FREAKED at this point, and full blown panic has fallen upon them as they decide maybe bailing IS the correct answer.

[May]

Whirling her spear crossways, Akeha's hands slide across the leather wrapped orichalcum haft, thrusting the three bladed head out to catch and shove away the impending blade  as she backpedals from her initial assault!

((OOC: Dipping Swallow Defense, 2m, to remove any penalties to my defense))

[Magetastica]

"I can understand where you are coming from, and I wish I could see things in so many shades. Sadly, I have lost that ability a while ago, and now I only see in black and white. You are either harmful to the masses, in which case you must be eliminated, or you are not harmful to the masses, in which case fate may do as it will."

He spends a few seconds pondering how best to word his next few sentences. "Let's take this Awakened ruler, for an example. If he has sold his people for his own desires, he must be eliminated and I will eliminate him, no doubt. And if we get to his capital, and the residents there all heartily agree with his ways and even partake in them as well, then they are just as evil, just as rotten, and just as worthy of elimination. I take this on a person-by-person basis, however."

"Just because one reaps the rewards of an evil undertaking does not necessarily make them evil, and certainly there may be corruption or stains on one's soul that do not merit death, but instead merit atonement. My employees back in Inaba are one such case, where they atone for their past misdeeds through hard labour and making the world a better place." Rishi smiles as he thinks of the happy citizens his work has brought him face to face with. "There is evil, or there is no evil. If they are not evil, then I typically don't tend to care overly much about them, except that evil does not rule them. Does that make any sense? I know I can ramble..." Rishi scratches the back of his head with a nervous smile.

[Carthrat]

"But what if that is truly the case?" presses Lee. "What if an entire society holds and partakes openly in inequitable behaviour? What if the ruling monarch engages in an unjust act- the murder of an innocent, for example- and the people praise that act rather than condemn it, cheer it on and curse the name of the deceased?

"Killing the ruler would invite chaos, and the people would be hurt in the ensuing succession. Would you strike against this bloodstained king and prompt a tumult, or would you spare him for the sake of order? Of course, such a ruler is not about to admit to fault or seek atonement for his deeds, for a king knows he cannot submit to a foreigner's justice or he will soon lose his crown."

[AndrewRogue]

Cloud Riders

<@AndrewRogue> .ex 16
<Luna> AndrewRogue: 16: [1: 1, 2: 3, 3: 2, 4: 1, 5: 2, 6: 1, 7: 3, 8: 3]  - 6 Successes
<@AndrewRogue> .ex 16
<Luna> AndrewRogue: 16: [1: 2, 2: 3, 3: 1, 4: 3, 5: 1, 6: 1, 7: 1, 8: 2, 10: 2]  - 7 Successes
<@AndrewRogue> .ex 8
<Luna> AndrewRogue: 8: [1: 2, 2: 1, 4: 1, 5: 1, 6: 2, 8: 1]  - 1 Success
(2 total damage)

Initiative
Akeha: 22
Thing 1: 12
Thing 2: 1

To the thing's surprise, you are far swifter than anticipated. Still, the strength behind the swipe is unexpected and you are pushed back ever so slightly, forced to give an inch of ground.

The other creature, recovered from its surprise, launches a similar strike, aiming low where it's companion aimed high. "We shall take it's head, yes?"

((OOC: 16 more dice coming at you. No charms.  You are currently at -1 Onslaught. There was minimal use for it last round if you hadn't actually wanted to use it.))

[May]

Akeha's direlance is a blur of motion as she weaves a defense against the two creatures, waves of white fire edged with blue warding off attacks in sweeping arcs. Keeping her distance, she uses the tip of her spear to catch their attacks well before they can threaten her directly.

((OOC: Dipping Swallow Defense again, 2m to cancel penalties.))

[AndrewRogue]

Cloud Riders

Initiative
Akeha: 23
Thing 1: 12
Thing 2: 1

Your direlance is like a shield, easily catching the blade and slipping it aside.

[May]

One opponent clearly off balance and the other a more obvious threat, Akeha turns her attention to the beast that had pushed her back, her aura flaring in white gold fire that twisted around Chidori like a whirlwind as she thrust it straight for the creature's throat!

((OOC: Excellent Strike (3m), 6m Excellency, Fire and Stone Strike 3m to transfer up to 3 extra sucesses from to hit to damage))

[AndrewRogue]

Cloud Riders

Initiative
Akeha: 3
Thing 1: 12; 14 Damage
Thing 2: 1

The blade digs deep into green flesh, but too late you realize that the creature had shifted its weight just enough to avoid a fatal blow, even as ichor oozes from it. "Impossible!" is gurgles, clasping a free hand to the open wound.

The thing attempts to leap backwards and open the distance between you and it, but it's movements are slowed by the wound.

((OOC: Disengage attempt. Athletics + Dex to oppose

<Tarubot> 1,0AndrewRogue rolled :1,0 6#d10 --> 1,0[ 1d10=8 ]1,0{8}, 1,0[ 1d10=4 ]1,0{4}, 1,0[ 1d10=5 ]1,0{5}, 1,0[ 1d10=8 ]1,0{8}, 1,0[ 1d10=6 ]1,0{6}, 1,0[ 1d10=3 ]1,0{3}

2 Successes.))

[AndrewRogue]

(Former) Boat Riders

Patroklia hums cheerily as she walks, listening in to the conversation. "One man's butcher is another man's hero, Master Rishi. And one man's hero is another man's butcher. To see the world in black and white is strange to me, for each action we take stretches beyond our perception, rippling infinitely outward. If you kill a bad man and his family starves, do you not bear responsibility for their lives? You would be a hero to some indeed, but I think the mother of a mewling babe now destined to starve might curse you as a devil."

Yozo merely shakes his head a little, his hand resting on his sword hilt as he keeps his focus on the path ahead.

[Magetastica]

Rishi attempts an innocent smile as he turns to speak to Patroklia. "I suppose you may be right, though philosophy still has little to do with me. My skills are not useful for swaying hearts, and I am okay with that. I do not need to be heeded as a hero to believe in the good I do." He eyes Yozo a little as he speaks his next words, smiling halfheartedly. "I may be called a monster, a sellsword, a demon, a necessary evil, a foreigner... However, what I am called does not change what I am, who I am, what I have done, nor what my skills are."

As they begin getting closer, Rishi notices some of the landmarks somewhat near to the village. "We seem to be getting closer. If we are to continue talking, we should do so quietly."