If not for the last minute, I probably wouldn't get anything done, as the old saying goes. Anyhow, unless something goes horribly wrong as I'm typing this, this should get us fully caught up now and with any luck I can get back to the pace I had before things fell apart a while back.
In case you missed it in my previous post, the Kickstarter for Sidereals: Charting Fate's Course, the next Exalted 3rd Edition 'fatsplat' supplement, is live and doing nicely. Fun fact, according to the Onyx Path Monday Meeting Notes, Sidereals is the fastest-funded OP Kickstarter at 9 minutes!
Oh, on a fun note, the session I'm describing here is the fiftieth session of Tales of the Moonlight Maiden. I just wanna take a moment to thank my players for sticking with me this long, and to thank anyone who's reading this for taking the time to do so.
And with that, let's dive in for the rest of last week's session.
We pick up with Shango sitting in the theater district, waiting for Xương and Hǎifēng to catch up after their side-adventure liberating the cult's most recent crop of victims. They show up, having reverted to human form, and Hǎifēng and Xương tell Shango about how their trip went, and Xương remarks it went almost too easy. Shango, aware of reports of a Lunar running around, asks what forms they were in, how many they hurt, if the cult knew they were Exalted, etc.[0]
But once they've gone over what went down in the basement, Shango tells them that he played against the raksha and won the match. He explains that she played like an expert beginner and he just stuck to the basics to counter the chaos he expected. He said it was like she didn't know how good she was, but made mistakes because of it. He also tells him that she went into his head, and realized he was a Lunar.
Hǎifēng asks if that's going to be a problem, and Shango explains she regarded it as being like a pleasant surprise. He got the distinct vibe that she's kind of a tourist in all this, and as long as she gets to do tourist-y things she'll leave without incident. So he figures they can leave her to the monks, for now. Xương, agreeing with that, says there's no reason to do something that isn't your job. As Exalted, it's their job to defend Creation against incursions, and she doesn't represent any sort of incursion (yet). She's not the vanguard of a new Fair Folk invasion, she's not leading an army of hobgoblins, she's just a raksha pirate. Shango reiterates that she just seems to be playing tourist. Hǎifēng says as long as she stays that way, she can stay at the bottom of the list of threats.
At this point, the tournament organizer, Mi-Yun, gets everyone's attention. She tells the crowd that the second round is going to begin soon, but the Game of Scribes event intended for that evening is going to have to be postponed, possibly until after the main event wraps up. There's some disappointed murmurs among the crowd as she announces that competitors have some time to check in for the next round, and then she goes in. Ledaal Kes follows, and out of curiosity Xương shifts to bird form to follow and listen in while Hǎifēng goes and gets a drink.
Xương catches some back and forth between Kes and Mi-Yun where she explains that some important prize support has been damaged in an accident (and it's obvious she's lying) and they're trying to get it replaced as quickly as possible. Kes, expressing frustration because he's literally taking time off of helping to run the Imperial Treasury to schlep all the way out to the ass-end of Creation to try this Gateway variant, offers to help in any way he can to get things back on track. Pretty much offering to help them pay for whatever.
Mi-Yun says she'll consider that, and Kes leaves. Nam-Kyu, whom Xương met in the Vagabond Panther last time the group was in Lathe, comes in and Xương recognizes what's almost certainly a family resemblance. The two of them talk about the Silver Shell trying to find the kimonos while the monks seek the thief. Mi-Yun, pissed-off, laments "It's a fucking Lunar, it's probably halfway to, I dunno where Lunars go, the Wyld." She emphasizes that they have to 'do this test run' and have to 'have it ready by Calibration.' Both of them leave after that to get back to what they were doing.
Xương, very concerned, flies back to Hǎifēng to find them sitting under an umbrella while drinking something with an umbrella in it. They're entertaining themselves by waving to handsome men and then shunning them when they come closer. Xương perches nearby and makes bird noises, and Hǎifēng offers him a cracker. Xương, not at all too proud to do so, comes in closer and eats the cracker.
Xương, as quietly as he can while still being heard over the plaza noise, says "They probably plan to summon a Third Circle Demon." That gets a light spit-take from Hǎifēng as Xương continues. "It's the only thing I can think of that can only be done during Calibration that might involve magic kimonos and an artifact game board." Xương also says that Mi-Yun knows it was a Lunar who stole the kimonos and Hǎifēng immediately says "I don't know what you're talking about." Xương says he didn't say they did, just that she knew it was a Lunar.
At this point the group retreats to Xương's clinic to continue the conversation in private (including Shango, who has some time before the next round). Xương explains that they had something with kimonos for whatever ritual they have planned, but the kimonos have gone missing and it's apparently set back their timetable. But they were planning on waiting until Calibration anyways. And, as pointed out, Xương knows the only thing you really have to wait for Calibration to do, especially if you have the sort of knowledge to identify a Lunar[1], is summon a Third Circle Demon. He theorizes that Mi-Yun might be Exalted, herself. Hǎifēng says that's a lot to take in.
Xương racks his brain trying to think of a satisfactory reasons as to why someone might need to summon one of the dukes of Malfeas to Creation. And then he suddenly flashes back to meeting Nam-Kyu at the Vagabond Panther a couple of months ago. Specifically, Nam-Kyu ducking out of Kim Sơn's 'let's track down the Eternal Wave' pitch meeting, saying that he came to Lathe to find ways to protect Wavecrest from the Silver Prince.
Hǎifēng, outside of Xương's flashback, says very slowly that it might be possible that there could be a set of magical kimonos on their ship. Xương says he might happen to know a guy desperate enough to use the highest of the demons to fight a war of his own. And, in fact, he should probably be finding him right now. He tells Hǎifēng and Shango he'll catch up with them and takes off looking for Nam-Kyu.
Shango's mostly just resting up for his next match at this point, and Hǎifēng realizes they're basically in the clear for robbing the prize room. They return to the plaza and their umbrella, to find what I described as a 'palette-swapped version of themselves' sitting under the umbrella, doing the same routine that Hǎifēng was doing before. Hǎifēng ejects the other individual and retakes their spot.
Meanwhile, nearby, Xương's find Nam-Kyu and just grabbed him by the face and pulled him into a darker corner despite the human's ineffectual struggles.
"What was the plan, exactly?" Xương asks once he releases Nam-Kyu.
"What? What plan, what are you talking about?"
"What are you going to summon?"
The blood drains from Nam-Kyu's face. "Oh, fuck." He stops for a moment to gather his words. "The plan is to get help for Wavecrest."
"From Hell?"
"Right now, Hell looks like our best option."
"I'm staggered that you think this is the best option," Xương says, "But if you summon this thing and turn the tide against the Silver Prince, you're only giving yourselves another master."
That gives Nam-Kyu pause. "What do you think we're trying to summon?"
"A Third Circle Demon."
Nam-Kyu's eyes widen as he just blurts out "No, no, fuck, god, no, fuck no!" and so forth.
And then he explains that they're trying to summon an army of Baidaks. They're also called Empty Pawns, and they're the First Circle spawn of Sigereth, the Player of Games[2], crafted from the souls of those who challenge Sigereth and lose. Empty Pawns are skilled soldiers with a natural grasp of battlefield tactics and they're easy to control because they do only what they're told -- in fact, you can mentally break one by trying to get it to act on its own initiative. As First Circle Demons they're easy enough to summon, but normally summoning First Circle Demons is a 'one per day per summoner' affair, and getting enough to, say, fight the forces of the Skullstone Archipelago is an extended and laborious affair even before getting into the resources a mortal sorcerer to perform the ritual over and over again. Nam-Kyu and Mi-Yun have been working on a custom ritual of their own design to summon an army of them en masse, and part of hedging their bets in making the ritual work is performing it during Calibration when the walls of reality are a little thinner.
Xương's intrigued at this plan, as it seems pretty sound -- unlike some settings, summoning demons isn't inherently evil, and it sounds like that as long as the ritual does what it's supposed to do the risks are pretty minimal. He says he's not an expert, but he'd like to take a look at Nam-Kyu's notes, get a look at the ritual on paper and see if there's something they're missing. Nam-Kyu ponders that, and thinks that he could trust Xương but he doesn't think his sister will let him. He gives Xương a once-over, remembering him from the bar[3], and says he'd need some time to set it up.
Xương assures him he doesn't want to destroy anything, and says he'd even let Nam-Kyu search him for matches. Nam-Kyu, realizing something, takes a moment to make it clear that they're not planning on actually summoning anything now, but they're planning on performing a stripped-down version of the ritual to see if it can get Sigereth's attention, and he and his sister aren't putting Lathe in any danger. Xương believes him, or at least believes that he thinks that, and says he just wants to satisfy himself on the technical points.
Nam-Kyu says he'll put something together and he'll reach out to Xương when he can -- he knows about the clinic, after all. Xương says he hopes to hear from him, and Nam-Kyu thanks him for not gutting or kneecapping him, and says they'll talk soon. Xương goes to watch Shango's match.
Elsewhere, inside the theater, Shango sits down at the game table with its five-tier board across from Shichirou the Digger, Captain Tarok's second-in-command. Shango bows and says it's a pleasure to meet him, and Shichirou says it's a pleasure to formally meet him as well. He calls him by his full name and mentions that while they didn't interact much, without giving away any scandalous detail he recalls Shango's presence on Talipan Beach. He comments that the people of the island are still appreciative of his efforts.
Shango lets him go first and they get into it. Shango starts by building defensive postures, playing safely so as not to make any assumptions and prepares to counter whatever might come up. This winds up being a good call, as Shichirou comes out swinging pretty early, playing pretty aggressively for someone who normally plays the part of the humble dirt farmer who's content to be second-in-command of a pirate ship.
Shichirou continues this strategy into the midgame, where he seems to be broadly applying the concepts of naval strategy -- specifically pirate naval strategy -- to the game, playing in ways Shango wouldn't normally see. In the same way that Shango's been luring opponents into attacks from Air-based units, Shichirou sets up something similar with Water-based pieces. Shango tries to match him strategy for strategy, engaging with him on those terms, talking about what he's studied about naval warfare and its history in school as he applies some of that to the board. Shichirou's pretty animated as he gets into it as well, definitely treating Gateway as more of an abstract battle than just a board game.
As they move into the last stages of the game, Shango tells a story about a Lunar pirate a hundred years ago going by the name of Sparrow[4] and a surprise pincer attack that he pulled off, and Shango plays out that surprise attack in the game as he's telling the story. Shichirou talks about one of his favorite naval engagements, about the Seven Tigers' rebellion against the Scarlet Empress and how her forces relentlessly chased them into the Southwest along the coast.
In the end, Shango manages to break Shichirou's assault and beat him and it's a hard-won victory. Shichirou sincerely offers his appreciation for the match and says that it's been a while since he's gotten to match wits like that -- "The Captain wears the brains on my ship," he points out. But after that he gets up and bows and leaves, as he has things to do.
Afterwards, Shango and Xương head back to the clinic and sleep, while Hǎifēng runs and errand...
Under cover of darkness, as it's nighttime by now, they slip back to the Moonlight Maiden and grab the stolen cash and the kimonos. They toss everything into a bag, and shift into shark form and drag the bag out to an isolated island. They burn and destroy the kimonos on the island, still thinking there's a risk of a Third Circle Demon appearing since they haven't talked to Xương yet. It actually requires some effort to destroy them, as they're made out of some sort of hellsilk, but they manage. Then they go back into Lathe and start giving away the money to buskers, whores, and other people whom society has cast aside.
Then they go back to the clinic to get some rest, and we leave off there.
[0]-- In case you missed it, the answers to those questions are: Hybrid form, "One of them fell and hit her head," (the actual if not verbatim or strictly truthful response) and 'not necessarily but they might assume it.'
[1]-- Though to be fair, Xương doesn't know that Mi-Yun knows that it was a Lunar because a demon spider she'd summoned identified Hǎifēng as one. Though now that I actually type that thought out, it feels like six of one, half-dozen of the other.
[2]-- Sigereth, described and statted up in the Exalted 3e core, is a Second Circle Demon also known as the Indulgent Soul of That Which Wears Down the Mountains. Madelrada's the Third Circle Demon also known as That Which Wears Down the Mountains, and is one of the Eight Masterful Demon Generals and the Eighth Soul of the Sea that Marched Against the Flame. The Sea that Marched Against the Flame is Kimberry, one of the Yozis and, among other things, patron to the Lintha. That last detail isn't especially relevant but I find it fun to point out.
[3]-- I didn't write down exactly what he said or when so I'm just putting it here, but at some point Nam-Kyu asks Xương what happened with Kim Sơn and his expedition. Xương just says that it couldn't bring him the help he'd hoped for.
[4]-- Yes, this is a Pirates of the Caribbean reference.
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