(April 13, 2003) Chronicler: Isaku
Month 11, Day 11, Year 1561 --
We left Waterstone Templewith new companion, Til'k, and headed towards Osawesataray, a barbarian village. From there, we will seek the ruins of Ming Yo Temple (where the set of flutes came from), to find some spiritual items that the abbess believes are still there.
We decided to follow the river towards the village. Til'k scouted ahead, and noticed a big viper in the river. Mulan also found the tracks of a big snake on land, and noticed a pack of wolves across the river. We decided not to disturb the snakes or wolves, and found a place to camp for the night, which passed quietly.
11/12/1561 --
We struck camp and continued along the river towards the village. Mulan and Gorvak noticed 4 ogres with spears standing by the river, and we attacked. Zenako cast her newly mastered Bless spell on the party, and I cast Shield of Faith on myself. Noku fried 3 of the ogres with his newly mastered Fireball spell, while Ashi discovered a Wang-Liang (giant spirit) that became visible and hit Ashi with a lajatang as she tried to move past it. The Wang-Liang whistled for 6 worgs, who joined in the battle.
We eventually defeated the foes with the help of Magic Missiles from Noku and Hatori, Hatori's Ice Blast spell, Ashi's Burning Hands spell, and various hits from the rest of us. Ashi was knocked down by the Wang-Liang, and Noku was knocked down by the worgs, but we managed to patch everyone up after the battle.
After the battle, we collected some loot from the Wang-Liang and ogres:
Gloves of Dexterity (+2)
Lajatang (+2 / +1, +2 Agility)
Nodaches and shields
500 gp in jewelry, and 300 gp
We then continued along the river, until Til'k and Noku heard some splashing. Til'k crept forward to check out the source of the noise, and reported seeing "froggy bakemono" (water goblins) as a dart flew past him, and battle commenced. Gorvak and Zenako charged up and killed one creature each, while Noku blasted 8 of them with a Fireball and cast Sleep on three more. The rest of the creatures swam off, while a big water troll rose up near Mulan.
Zenako went into a ki frenzy and ran towards the troll, but misjudged the distance and hit a nearby tree. Noku cast some soft of levitate spell on himself, and yelled that we needed magic weapons to get through the water troll's natural defenses (regeneration and damage reduction). Zenako managed to extricate herself from the tree to join the battle. The water troll eventually swam off after suffering a Magic Missile from Hatori, and hits from Til'k, Mulan, Gorvak, Zenako and myself.
We found a few spears and clubs after the battle, but not much else in the way of loot. We noted that the water goblins had gills instead of ears. According to our wilderness lore experts, they are rare creatures. They certainly looked odd!
We finally reached Osawesataray Village before dark, and Til'k showed us around. Most of the village is populated by barbarians, and a few ex-Drakarans.
We gathered some basic information on Ming Yo Temple. Most villagers avoid the place because of various creatures reputed to reside there:
Tengu (large creatures with crow heads on human bodies, and smaller creatures with human heads on crow bodies - with Shugenja spells)
Kappa (ninja turtles) in ornamental pools
Undead creatures of various sorts (no one knows exactly what).
Til'k presented a gift of wind chimes to Wynn, the head of the village. The wind chimes are supposed to ward off evil spirits. Til'k then introduced us to some of the villagers of note:
Ashi met Gerd, the Lore-master of the village. Apparently Gerd doesn't sing very well, and bores everyone to death with his stories, but he knows the local history.
Isaku met Raikin, the Shaman/Priest and head of the village shrine. He wears a silver horn around his neck, hates Odo, and is suspicious of strangers. He warned all of us not to enter the shrine, and anyone who disobeyed would be put in a basket and burned. (I get the distinct feeling he would like to see Odo burn.)
Noku met Odo, the Drakaran Wu Jen. Rumor has it that he and Nevilo somehow escaped from the shrine, which is why Raikin hates Odo.
Hatori met Nevilo, the Drakaran Scholar and Artist. Nevilo is married to Odo's sister.
Mulan and Gorvak met Kinoch, the Ranger/Tracker.
Zenako met Cnut, the Head Warrior and 2nd in command.
We also met Tadeus, the Healer (herbalist with some minor magic), and Manio, a Drakaran Ronin and mercenary.
The villagers said we might be able to trade the Wang-Liang's lajatang with the ogre living in a nearby tower. They also mentioned that they liked to test their battle skills against him in "friendly" contests, (i.e. not battles to the death).
Wynn agreed to let us stay in the village longhouse, in return for some entertainment. The villagers generally keep watch at all times against bakemono raiders and whatever else, so some of the party offered to stand watch at night.
In the evening, Gerd sang and told stories until he was thrown out (apparently a nightly occurrence). Ashi then played the flute, and Noku told stories of our adventures.
11/13/1561 --
The party went off to the ogre's tower and knocked on the door. The ogre, named Kwang Cho, showed up in a kimono and cloak. Zenako introduced herself, showed Cho the lajatang and asked if he was interested in a trade. She also offered the Wang-Liang's armor, but he wasn't much interested in that, since he has had some training as a monk. Cho agreed to trade a Ring of Protection (+2 AC) for the lajatang.
Gorvak and Til'k sparred with Cho in the afternoon. He brought us into a 25 ft. wide sparring room in the tower. With Cho's consent, Ashi cast Bull's Strength and Cat's Grace on Gorvak. In the interest of fairness, Noku cast Cat's Grace on Cho, though Cho said he wouldn't need it. Indeed, it only took 3 rounds for him to flatten Gorvak and Til'k. Mulan and Zenako sparred with him later on, and faired about the same.
We returned to the village for the evening.