Oriental Adventures - Shadow over Rokugan

"Uh, do any of you folks want or need some rations? Not sure if you guys are up to hunting tonight." he asked, dropping his bag next to a dry patch of leaves, making a small bed of leaves to minimize his bedroll from getting too dirty. He removed his flint and stone, one of his rations, made by his loving mother, and his bedroll, laying it out on top the small bed of leaves. He saw that the bedroll was a bit too small for him, as he huffed, placing his ration down and covered, and went near the river. He splashed his face with the cold water, trying to focus a bit. He stood up, and walked to the middle of the camp. "Well, guys, I have something to show you... Don't be alarmed." he simply said, and began to concentrate, closing his eyes. His body, slowly but surely began to contort into a smaller form, his masculine appearance melting to make way to a much more boyish form, probably about his own age. He remembered this form from walking through a small farming village, much like the one where he found his previous form. Within a minute, he took form, into a young boy, probably 17, 18 years old, looking at the party with wide eyes.

 
Kiyoshi was just helping Ryoko when the rude stranger called for his attention then changed form right in front of him.

"By the Kami...." he muttered his hand snapping to the handle of his katana. So many spirit beings in such a shirt time span and now a shapebender. It could not be natural, no some evil ..... he muttered a short plea to his ancestors bidding them to guide him. Shen without another word he turned and walked towards the river. Kneeling on the bank he cupped his hands and splashed the cooling liquid on his face. It had been a long day, too long. Too much had happened too quickly. He sighed as the water ran down his neck and burned where his armor chaffed. Maybe after sleep everything would make sense.
 
She was far too tired to deal with this. She bit back whatever retort she was going to make to Prettz and made sure her horse was taken care of before she followed Kiyoshi to the river. At another time--even five minutes ago--she would have sliced him in half with her halberd and left it that. But it had been a long ride and she didn't want to have to clean the blood off her blade. She would much rather use the time they had to sleep or eat. She would need the energy to defend her village.

She knelt. She drank water. "... My thanks, Samurai Kiyoshi," she said after several moments of silence.
 
By the time Ryoko spoke to him Kiyoshi had already Removed his chest and back plates along with the pieces of armour that protected his upper arms. And had just removed the undershirt when she spoke revealing a burn in his chest among the scars of battle. The burn was in the shape of a lion's paw holding a katana.

"There is no need to thank me." he replied. "The Akodo teach that a unit must share all work to make a more effective whole weather fighting or working." he looked at the water the light playing off it's surface. "After my gempukku I was sent to their schools to learn from them." He didn't say that it was not a voluntary trip he had taken from his home.
 
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Haruko looked blankly ahead as Bei carried her, save for the time she gave Heanius a strange look in response to the one that he had given her. She had considered telling the group the tale that her clan had loved so much, the scorpion and the frog. She had decided it best that she not do that considering he might drop her into the muddy water out of fear she'd injure him. As they reached the other banks of the rice paddy she was set down.

"Thank you lord spirit for allowing a humble geisha to not get mud on her prized kimono." She bowed lightly but it was cut short by the sounds of the shambling undead and their apparent leader. Well he certainly looks interesting, and that isn't a style of undead I'd use but whatever works for him. She thought to herself, a bored expression accompanying it. She pulled out her fan, looking at the paper thin razor edges adorning it for a moment Just can't let the others know I'm a skilled fighter, oh I know! I'll just make it look like I learned how to dance-fight!

[roll0] + 4
 
Ryoko looked up and found herself staring at a single example of Lion male physique. She had thought as much, what with how much the armor probably weighed, but seeing it for yourself was so much better than picturing it in your head. He had the right idea. She would take her leather armor off for awhile as well, it only to take good care of it. She laid it on the bank beside her before something caught her eye, something besides the scars that crisscrossed his flesh.

She slipped into the water, dressed only in something probably resembling a crude dress. Her breasts were bound beneath it so as not to hinder her and the "skirt" only reached the top of her muscled thighs. She came close to him, possibly closer than he would have liked, studying the burn he bore, the lion paw and the katana. She even reached out to touch it. "This mark ... Old?"
 
Kiyoshi's hand came up catching hes before she could touch the brand. His grip was gentle yet firm. He had born that mark his entire adult life and throughout it his feelings about it had changed but there had always been both pride and shame. To have an outsider question him about it he realized she could not know its significance.

"Yes it is old." he answered "I got it when I was just a child." He was finding it hard to keep his eyes on her face so looked down at her hand. "But learned to bear it as a man."
 
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Shortly after Ryoko's group made camp, a lone figure came trudging up their path. He wore his heavy, double-edged sword slung across his back, and his heavy wooden shield and steel scale armor bore a much-abused emblem of a black eagle with wings outstretched.

"Hello the camp!" Japik bellowed in his native tongue, mostly from long habit, before switching to a language the others would understand. "I am too old a campaigner," he said in broken, heavily accented Rokugani, "to be lost after a single day's forced march."

Without waiting for an invitation, he selected himself an area of ground and dropped his shield, followed quickly, though more carefully, by his sword. "Where," he inquired as he pulled his armor over his head, wincing as damaged scales dragged across a raw, partially-healed wound, "are we headed?"

Dropping his armor next to his shield and sword, he pulled off the padded vest he used to cushion the weight of the armor, revealing a short, sleeveless blue tunic and scarred skin.
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At this point, not even a revelation such as Prettz's transformation could phase her. She was simply too tired. Though she would have normally reacted in envy, her growling stomach prevented her from doing much else but focus on their immediate survival... and food. Bringing four fish from the stream, she turned - as Ryoko and Kiyoshi spoke, she gathered up some stray twigs in the area, as well as several larger pieces... staying away from driftwood for now. Kneeling in front of it, she started a fire the non-magical way - rubbing sticks together. Her next task was creating a 'rack'... washing a few more sticks in the river, she fashioned a sort of 'grill'.

When she was sure that this makeshift device wouldn't burst into flames anytime soon, but still be hot enough, she began to debone, descale, and gut the fish, tossing the undesirable parts back into the river with very little ritual. Washing her hands of blood, she turned back around, working to cook her prize... including, pulling from her pack a (previously stolen) bag of rice... just enough for two handfuls, and a pot of special clay. Filling this with river-water, she brought it to a boil and set about the rice. All without speaking a word. Truth be told, part of this was simple experimentation for her. "It'll be bland to the samurai, but it's a feast for me..."

Her ears flicked as she heard a familiar voice... her heart jumped. "J-Japik!" She stated - her first words in a while. She looked down at her four fish... not enough for the large man. She contemplated getting another. She turned to look at Kiyoshi and Ryoko. "...Th-this man's m-m-my friend." She states... it was, after all, Japik whom held her 'chain' when she pretended to be a slave.
 
Ryoko blinked when Kiyoshi grabbed her hand before she could touch the burn. It was an interesting thing, this burn. Were all Lions expected to go through such pain merely to allow others to know which Clan they hailed from? It was a strange custom. He wasn't looking at her face anymore. He was looking at her hand. She lifted her other hand and touched his cheek briefly. "You are a man honored by your ancestors," she said softly.

Roppu announced they had company. Ryoko stepped back and disappeared, fetching her armor as she went to tend to her horse.
 
Stopping only to move his armour to where his bag lay Kiyosho walked over to the gaijin his eyes taking in the man's size, his eyes a full inch above kiyoshi's, to his armour, and the on displayed on the shield. He carried it before him with honor a true warrior.

"Greetings honored Gaijin." he said stopping in front of Japik and bowing to him as he would another samurai. He spoke slowly so that the man s=could understand him more easily. "Excuse me for not being bressed to greet you but he have just made camp on out way to Egami Mura. We believe there will be an attack there by the same people who destroyed Renga Murai."
 
Prettz huffed, feeling thoroughly ignored. It wasn't THAT much of a trek that they made. Then again, maybe they aren't that used to traveling. And they might've been traveling for a while before he strolled along. Still, would've it been too much to just give a gasp or two?... He shrugged it off, guessing they would interrogate him later about his transformation. He quickly stretched, his form a little foreign to him, a young boy. He thought, ironically, he was about this age as well. He bent down to fix his bedroll, wathing Roppu catch fish and boil rice. He smiled, admiring the ingenuity of the Nezumi. He cracked his bones, getting used to the lithe form he had. He went over to the Nezumi, taking his bow out. "You sure you don't want me to hunt anything? Deer, squirrel, rabbit? I can hunt a bit." he asked, seeing her get the fish. He turned, seeing the man trudge forward into the camp. Prettz gripped his bow, eyeing the man catiously. He smiled, hearing his story and hearing Roppu's words. He dropped his grip from his bow and bowed to the man. "Prettz, at your service. And we are headin to Egami Mura, currently, bu we have stopped for the night. Oh!" Prettz exclaimed, seeing the partially healed wound on Japik. "Do you need one of us to heal that?" he said, looking at the wound.
 
[roll0] (+2, Necromancer)
[roll1] (+3, Bei)

View attachment 1481
Map Key:
B4 (Red Square): Necromancer
C3, D5, E4 (Red Circle): Zombies
I5 (Blue Square): Cao
J5 (Blue X): Bei
J3 (Blue Triangle): Heanius
KI (Blue Circle): Haruko

(Initiative: Necromancer (And Zombies), Heanius, Haruko, Bei, Cao)

With a sneer, the necromancer waves his hand as if to taunt the party into coming closer. "Come, then. Let me see what kind of corpses you'll leave. It'll help me decide what to do with you when you're dead." He runs a hand through his hair, smiling serenely. With a snap of his fingers, his guardian undead creatures all slump, seemingly preparing for an attack.

"Necromancer takes his turn in a full defense. Zombies cannot enter full defense, but they LOOK like they do.
 
As the Zombies slumped, it finally dawned on Cao Dian that these were not simply sickly peasants, but something far worse, and his fingers tightened on the haft of his glaive, as the others moved, after a moment so too did the peasant's fist, moving forwards, albeit cautiously towards the nearest Zombie, beads of sweat beginning to form on his neck and palms.


Cao moves two down and one left in order to close with the lead zombie.
 
Realizing that this indeed was going to come to be a conflict, Heanius took a step back away from the zombies and their necromancer master, nocking an arrow and letting it fly at the necromancer himself. He didn't have time to deal with the minions, and his services would be better served taking out the leader of the group. He'd let Cao and the rest of them take out the zombies and keep him protected while he worked at taking down the Necromancer.

Moved to K3.
Attack Roll: [roll0] + 1 (attack bonus) + 4 (dexterity bonus)
Damage Roll (only if I hit): [roll1]
 
Haruko decided that the best way to kill a beast was to cut off its head! Luckily her scorpion training allowed her to do so, while being unseen. "臨 兵 闘 者 皆 陣 列 在 前!" Haruko muttered under her breath along with the matching hand signs. Suddenly she faded, becoming completely invisible to all around her. She was going to use her stealth to her advantage, moving as quickly as possible to get near the necromancer. As she did a devilish grin crossed her face, readying her war fan for just the right moment.

Haruko moves to square A3 (total movement) after using one ki expendature to become invisible.

Battle Ambiance