Session 16: The Half Mask Monk Report

General Summary

As the teleporting canine launched his mousefolk master into the air, Jerry slashed out at the Half-masked Monk with his Naginata. Bursts of divine energy flashed out as the monk deflected the blows with his bare hands before catching Jerry by the throat in a telekinetic grip.
"I used to have a pet that looked like you. Think I fed 'im to that Dragon Queen bitch though..." The elven monk remarked in a strange halfling accent, before flicking his wrist, sending Jerry flying across the room and slamming him into a pillar at the edge of the portal.
With this, our heroes recognized the true threat that they were faced with and began focusing their efforts on the monk. As Jerry pulled himself back to his feet, he grabbed a potion from his bag and downed it, causing his muscles to bulge as his eyes glowed red with rage.
Seto fought his way up the stairs to close the distance on the monk as the others unleashed a barrage of arrows. Kit managed to find her mark, giving a brief distraction as the golden-eyed monk was trying to get a better look at Aien.
Enraged, the monk glared at the young samurai girl frantically trying to knock another arrow, a thin beam of green energy lancing out towards Kit. Her eyes grew wide with fear as the magic took hold and she stumbled forwards. Looking down into the shallow pit below, she saw the eyes of Zhi and Astrea looking up at her.
"Astrea? I... I can't... Astr-"
Her final stuttered words were cut short, echoing into the chamber as she reached out a hand towards her new friend, then finally crumbled to dust before her very eyes.
Kit was gone. Leaving behind only a small pile of ashes and a smouldering red mask laying on top of it.
With that, Seto saw an opportunity to strike, engaging the power of his tattoo and unleashing a flurry of blows against the monk from the small cliff edge he was standing on. The monk turned in anger, attempting to disintegrate the tabaxi as well but failing to match his speed.
Behind Seto, an enlarged and enraged Jerry had clambered onto their level and was clearing a path to the monk through the remaining zombies with the help of his trusty blink dog.
Down below, Zhi and Astrea were distraught, angry, confused and most of all shocked at the loss of their dear friend. Astrea rushed to where Kit had been standing, falling to her knees as she picked up the smouldering mask. A wave of emotions crashed over her as she looked for reason and someone to blame for this sudden tragedy.
Aien had healed some of his wounds with the magic waters of the healing pools and was now readying a finishing blow to the half-masked monk. The monk's words echoed in his mind as he loosed his arrow. A replacement? For what? What did the monk want from him? What does it matter? He deserves to die.
The ninja's arrow tore through the monk's back and out of his chest, leaving a gaping hole where his heart should have been. The monk smiled, a grim laugh spilling from his lips as his eyes rolled back in his head and he began to fall.
The masked necromancer screamed out in panic as he cast a spell beneath the falling monk, sending him through a dimension door which spat him out towards the now trembling portal. Seto's eyes followed the monk's path as he chased after him with incredible speed. However, by the time he had reached the flying corpse and caught it mid-air, it was already being pulled into the portal of unknown origins.
Seto fought hard against the portal's pull but eventually decided to let it go lest he be pulled into another realm along with it. By this time, the others had surrounded the necromancer and forced him to yield, Aien holding his hooked blades to the man's throat.
The man seemed terrified after what he had just witnessed and tried to give up all the information he could, but for some reason seemed to be pleading specifically with Aien to hear him out in private. This didn't seem to phase the shinobi one bit, his threats becoming ever more real towards his new prisoner as Jerry backed him up with a punch to the masked necromancer's gut.
As the portal was now closed, the group decided to get the hell out of the accursed place they found themselves and headed back towards the waterfall. Aien made sure that their new prisoner, claiming to have some relation to him, was silenced and unable to cast any spells. He did this by gagging him and breaking both of his wrists, effectively disabling the one responsible for the zombie attacks.
Once the group had forlornly made their way back outside and to the pools of the bath-house, they took a moment to rest and recuperate using the magic healing properties of the water. During this rest, Seto used his sword in a ritual to peer into the history surrounding the ancient elven Bloodscroll that their prisoner claimed to be his method of raising the dead.
These visions as well as the masked elf offered the same prophecy told to the group by Brian the Brain:
"When hearts of dragons join clans of old, Ancient horrors from lands untold Shall bring about their fiery reign, And on the sands shall man lie slain."
Confused, tired and grieving, the group continued their rest while Seto began whittling a small sculpture of Kit. As they gathered their thoughts and recovered a little, they checked the time and realised that they had better get back to the city. And so they did, riding in silent contemplation.
Returning to the city, they passed through the gates and headed straight for the throne room, hoping to catch the tail end of the herbalist's interrogation and to report their findings.
The throne room was abuzz with soldiers. Skeletons and shinobi stood guard as their masters oversaw the interrogation. Sitting on the throne was Daichi himself, to his right, Lady Sumehime and to his left, General Mak.
As the party approached the bloodied herbalist and her captors, General Mak looked over the group with worry in his eyes, noticing that his daughter was missing. "Where is she? Why is she not with you?" he pleaded as he descended the stairs towards them.
Zhi broke down into tears, seemingly unable to face the General. Seto stepped forward, taking charge as his position demanded. He explained the situation to the masters gathered around him before introducing them to their new prisoner.
General Mak, in a fit of rage at the loss of his daughter, drew his sword and beheaded the herbalist as she began to cackle under her breath. It seemed her interrogation was over. General Mak turned away, not offering any more responses to the group as he tried to contain his emotions.
With that, Daichi thanked the party for bringing him the culprit of the attacks and congratulated Seto on his performance, promising a reward in the near future for their group. Lady Sumehime was trying to console General Mak, but with the air as thick as tar by that point, the party decided it best to take their leave.
And so, the group mournfully retired to their chambers to sleep off the past few days. Zhi and Seto decided that a good, strong herbal tea was just the thing to calm the nerves after such trauma and invited the half-sleeping group to join them instead.
Seto brewed his Wandercap tea as Zhi gathered the group and they all sat together in the kitchens to toast their fallen comrade.
As the tea's magical hallucinatory effects slowly took hold, Aien cracked open a gourd of sake and Jerry decided to get experimental, expanding his horizons to Shadow Gut (a horrible black gel which began turning him to shadow for the next hour).
The party sat for a while, discussing the day's events as they explored their opinions on what had transpired. Before eventually, one by one, our heroes drifted off to bed. Aien was the last to leave as Astrea had fallen asleep on Zhi's lap, prompting her to let Astrea stay with her for the night. The pair helped their satyr friend to bed before heading to their own resting spots and settling in for a night of wild dreams...

Missions/Quests Completed

Knights of the Living Dead - Completed

Character(s) interacted with

Kit dies
The Half-Mask Monk is killed and thrown through a portal
The Herbalist is executed
The Necromancer is captured
General Mak is traumatised
Zhi has a private interaction with one of the party members ala der ksam.

Campaign

Kiga Shogunate

Protagonists

Seto

Level 9 Tabaxi Monk - Way of the Kensei

/ 66 HP

Jerry Abershaw

Astraea Karasu

Chaotic Neutral Thylean Satyr (Astraea) (Anhropologist)
Bard 13
Warlock 6

122 / 122 HP

STR
12

DEX
18

CON
14

INT
14

WIS
16

CHA
22

Aien

0 / HP

Player Journals

I don't fell so good Astraea by Astraea Karasu

Report Date

07 Jan 2021

Primary Location

Kiga Shogunate