After successfully acquiring the Maiden’s Bell for Donovan, the party returned to the Tigers of Nam’s base one last time to take back the plant constructs.
Characters Interacted With
Auntie Kim: Talked to the party, led home by Thien
Tigers of Nam Grunts: Lead the party to the Captain’s office. Some of them later betrayed their captain.
Tigers of Nam Captain: Negotiated with the party, then fought them when things went sour. Betrayed by his subordinates and some of the Leferinese guards, causing the Koi Spirit that was possessing his body to lose control. The original Captain had actually died over a year ago.
Leferinese Associates: Present when the Captain fought the party, later turned on him in an attempt to steal the plant constructs
Jinli: Admitted to the party that both him and the Captain were actually Spirits possessing bodies after their original owners had passed away
Elder Koi Spirit (“Da Ge”): The true identity of the Captain. Now reduced to a primitive form after sustaining heavy injuries to his physical body and soul.
Laseen: Helped the party escape the Tigers of Nam Base and protect Jinli
Fanna Echo: Showed up at the end to torture the Tigers of Nam Grunts and Leferinese Guards to death, before being defeated offscreen by Thien with the aid of his Crossbow Spirit.
Other Characters Mentioned: Soup, Bachariel Rainyday, Donovan, Michael
Locations
- Tigers of Nam Nightclub
- Shengdu
Session Overview
As the party long slept, they found themselves in a dream. They were waiting in a long line on Main Street at Shengdu. All of the businesses were closed, and there were no street performers. As they waited, they saw people run back from the front, carrying tiny containers of fresh blood. When asked by the person behind them what they planned to do with the blood, the confused party asked them what they meant. The person happily explained how people were lined up to take blood from an executed criminal, as blood and body parts taken from a condemned criminal were incredibly valuable. They also explained how the criminal was executed for treason and conspiring against the government.
Once the party got closer, they saw a bunch of guards standing by the palace gates, where the line lead, and the dead body of the “criminal” lying on the ground. The dead body was Donovan’s, clad in ragged and dirty prisoner’s clothes, skin covered in fresh black and blue bruises after being mobbed to death, eyes frozen in horror, and blood trickling from a wound on his skull. The party watched as the person at the front gave the guards a bag of gold as payment, and then bent down and sawed one of Donovan’s fingers off. The next in line handed the guards three bags of gold, then, with the help of his friend, pried open Donovan’s jaw, yanked on his limp tongue, and cut it out of his mouth.
The party was disgusted with this act, and refused to engage in the practice. The horrifying scene then faded away, and they were all woken up by the Sending Stone Michael had given them activating. The party answered, and Michael asked them what they were doing: Mei had returned the previous night with the Maiden’s Bell, but told him the party had stayed behind. Fanna explained that due to unfortunate events, they lost possession of the plant constructs and were trying to get them back. Michael warned them that the government was getting more and more desperate to find those things, and that it was vital they not lose sight of them again. He also explained how things had ramped up in intensity at the Eastern Shengdu Temple. State police had stationed themselves in front of the entrance, where all of the protesters were gathered, and some of the statues in the temple were damaged during a fight against an adventuring party trying to get in. After lamenting the state of things, Michael hung up.
Thien walked out of the woods and joined the party, explaining how he got caught up helping the aunties and uncles in the nightclub’s kitchen after the “fire” broke out. As the party struggled to brainstorm how to get into the nightclub and Tigers’ base again, Thien suggested that he ask one of the aunties there for help, since they were fond of him now. The party agreed to that, and began heading towards the nightclub, figuring they’d have a better idea of what to do once they actually got there. There, they saw that the doors and windows were all boarded up, and there was a sign on the door saying that the nightclub was temporarily closed. A confused auntie was standing around at the front. Thien went up to her and conversed. She explained that she hadn’t received any news of the club’s closure and was taken by surprise. Thien offered to walk her home, to which she gratefully accepted, even inviting him to join karaoke night with her and the other aunties.
The rest of the party decided to try and pry the boards off the door with a crowbar. They climbed onto the roof, and after some apprehension, were able to do so, though noticed that the door glowed briefly as the boards were removed—likely some kind of alarm system, and the Tigers now were aware of their presence. When the party went inside, they found it was completely dark inside and abandoned, as if the place really was temporarily closed. When they walked in front of the doors leading downstairs to the base, the doors glowed, and a message of floating text appeared in front of the party: “If you seek your objective with the least resistance possible, shed your weapons and spell foci.”
The party was apprehensive, but if the Tigers were open to diplomacy, didn’t want to ruin their chances with them. They come up with a backup plan. Thien, being the speediest out of them, would stay behind with all the weapons and spell foci. Then, if diplomatic measures failed, Thien could run down and deliver all of the weapons and spell foci back to the party. With this in mind, the party ventured forth.
To their surprise, they found two Tigers of Nam grunts behind the doors. Instead of attacking, however, they merely gestured the party down the stairs. As they went downstairs, more grunts guided the way. After some grunts at the lowest floor informed them the Captain was expecting the party, the party headed to his office, and were let in by some of the grunts.
The Captain was sitting at his desk, and welcomed the party. He told the party how he heard they had been causing “disturbances” around the base, and asked them to explain themselves. Fanna told him the story the party had been using, that they had a very sick “brother” and needed the Maiden’s Bell badly for his health. After leaning in, the Captain asked the party if they knew the story of the Maiden’s Bell. When they admitted they didn’t, he proceeded to explain: The Maiden’s Bell was said to come from a woman who died after refusing to tell rebel soldiers where her husband was, and the sympathetic Gods turned her into a flower resembling the bell chimes she played to honor her loyalty. As this was happening, the party noticed that Jinli was watching the conversation through a slat in the bedroom door.
The Captain moved on, explaining how he decided to spare the party from his wrath (for now) because Jinli liked them. He put a proposal on the table: The party will return the plant construct and mirror they stole from him. He will supply monetary support and any more Maiden’s Bells that were needed for the sick “brother”. In turn, the party will move at a designated location closer to the Tigers of Nam base, and, once a week, come over and spend time with Jinli.
The party, still set on the plant constructs, attempted renegotiating the terms of the deal, saying that they weren’t on board unless the Captain gave them back. In doing so, they admitted that they were important enough to have exclusive knowledge about them, so the Captain countered by suggesting they stay behind, help the Tigers construct copies of them, and then once those were completed, he would hand over the originals. The party then decided to appeal to the Captain’s soft spot for Jinli. They started saying how they were familiar with spiritual and arcane matters, and knew some people that were skilled with Spirits and the arcane as well (Michael, Guiying, Master Hua). If the Captain handed over the plant constructs, they’d be willing to heal Jinli’s ailment for him.
The Captain, now curious, demanded proof demonstrating this ability. The party handed over the talisman Michael had given them, but he still wasn’t satisfied. The party tried applying pressure by saying now could possibly be the last chance the Captain would ever have of curing Jinli, but the Captain reiterated that he wanted to see concrete proof of their ability to heal Jinli. The party, at their wits’ end, resorted to casting a Charm Person on the Captain, but the spell was countered by a security measure in the Captain’s desk. The Captain turned hostile, shouted to Jinli to cover his eyes and ears, and then called for reinforcements.
Two Tigers of Nam grunts and two Leferinese guards funneled in. Their momentum was halted by a Slow spell by Fanna. On one of the grunts’ turn, they took out a bundle of hair covered in occult symbols and burned it in their lighter, putting the party on high alert. The next round, the ritual the grunt had done took effect, causing the Captain to clutch his head and scream in pain. To make matters worse, the Captain was incapacitated by a Psychic Lance from Fanna as well. The grunts moved forward and rifled a Bag of Holding off of the Captain’s pockets, then shouted to the Leferinese guards that they were ready to run.
Fanna cast a Fear on the guards and grunts, causing the grunt to drop the Bag of Holding containing the plant constructs and run, alongside the two guards. Thien also willingly took being in the area of effect for the greater good, and ran out of the office as well after being hit by the Fear spell. The remaining grunt who wasn’t scared tried to demand the bag back from Fanna, but was easily intimidated to back off and run out after his pals.
The party, not wanting to kill off the Captain, had Amanti Polymorph him into a frog and stow him away in a pocket. Laseen then burst through the door, having overheard the commotion and asking what happened. She arrived as Jinli emerged from the bedroom, asking where his “big brother” was and getting upset when the party wouldn’t give him a straight answer. Before the party could decide how to approach this, they were interrupted by the lights suddenly flickering, shadows creeping across the walls, and the air growing chill. They ran outside of the office and saw the Tigers running around in a panic. Then, a dark figure that resembled Fanna emerged from shadows on the floor. The greeted the party, commenting how there was a lot of individuals to “play” with, before snapping their fingers. Blood gushed out of the orifices of the grunts and Leferinese guards from before, and they collapsed to the ground screaming and groaning in pain. When Laseen poked her head out to ask what was going on, the party told her to get Jinli hidden away as fast as possible, and she obeyed. Fanna tried reasoning with the Fanna Echo, but it cruelly proclaimed how it didn’t care what Fanna thought of them.
Thien, who had returned after shaking off the effects of Fanna’s fear, felt their crossbow buzz, and the Spirit inside it popped out. It said how it saw entities like the Fanna Echo attack his people before, and was very familiar with them. He said he could help Thien defeat the Fanna Echo if Thien was willing and up to the task. After some convincing, Thien agreed and stepped forward. He told the party to run ahead without him and that he’d catch up later. The party thanked him and quickly fled, waiting hesitantly outside the nightclub for him to return.
After what seemed like forever, the front door was kicked down by Laseen, holding Jinli and Thien under both arms. She raced out before falling to her knees, clearly exhausted. The party quickly applied healing magic to all three, but saw that one of Thien’s arms was now reduced to a stump. They decided to take out the Captain and heal him too, but when reverted back to his human form, he didn’t wake up. Instead, his body wavered like heat waves, and silvery “mist” floated off his body, coalescing into the image of a small Koi fish. This was his Spirit. Jinli gasped and held the small Koi, crying over what had happened to his “big brother”. When the confused party tried figuring out what had happened, Jinli admitted that the Captain had lost control over his “form.” When questioned further, he finally admitted the truth about him and his “big brother.” In truth, they were both originally Spirits, who had taken over the body of a child and the former Tigers of Nam Captain when they died in an altercation with some Leferinese.
After making the party and Laseen promise they wouldn’t tell anyone else, he explained their full story: The elder Koi Spirit took him in and acted as his guardian after he had lost his family. They survived together, enduring hardships, like growing pollution in the rivers. One day, the elder Koi Spirit took him to a street alley near the Tigers of Nam’s base and told him to wait until he said the coast was clear. The two, in hiding, witnessed the former Tigers of Nam Captain meet with some Leferinese, where they discussed a deal of some kind including information, Pourronium, weaponry, and rare artifacts. The Leferinese ended up turning on the Captain, killing him and a sickly street kid who was caught in the crossfire. The elder Koi Spirit and Jinli took the chance to possess their bodies, granting them human forms after all this time. Then, the elder Koi Spirit told Jinli to close his eyes. After a couple minutes of sounds of bloodshed, the elder Koi Spirit came back and told Jinli he could open his eyes now. When he opened them, he saw the ground littered with the bodies of the Leferinese. The elder Koi Spirit then took Jinli’s hand, and together the two walked back to the Tigers of Nam’s base.
Jinli further explained how his “big brother” wasn’t dead, but reduced back to a basic, primitive form. He would have to wait for him to attain a more intelligent, humanoid form again. The party contemplated what to do, as it seemed like Jinli and his “big brother” couldn’t return to the Tigers, with their base being ravaged by the Fanna Echo. They turned to Laseen, asking what she planned to do as well. She admitted she wasn’t sure, but figured that since her injury had healed, she might as well return to fighting in the Shengdu Colosseum. She revealed how she had injured her ankle while training, taking her out of fights for the season, leaving her unable to earn enough money to support her family. The Tigers offered to shelter her and her family when this happened, as they were huge fans of her for her Tiger shtick, and she’d been staying with them since. She planned for the stay to only be temporary anyway, so she wasn’t too shocked at being uprooted again. The party, pitying her financial situation, offered her money, saying that she could open a restaurant or business of her own, but she insisted she couldn’t take the money. As an alternative, the party made Laseen promise that if she ever opened a business of her own, that she’d give the party discounts for their help, to which she agreed.
The party decided that they’d take Jinli and the elder Koi Spirit back to Shengdu, to see if Michael or one of the other people there could maybe help Jinli and his “big brother”. Then, since Thien decided that he’d retire from adventuring after losing his arm, Jinli could maybe stay with Thien’s family, as his parents would probably appreciate having a young one around the house with them. Laseen would gather her family again, find a more permanent place in Nam province, and visit Thien’s family and Jinli often. That plan decided, they said thanks and goodbye to Laseen for her help, and let her go to fetch her family. They then went back to Thien’s family to rest one final time before returning to Shengdu. After Thien’s parents freaked out at him for losing his arm, even though he insisted it was fine, they expressed their gratitude to the party for being his friends and stopping him from getting himself killed. Once rested, they used the spare needle and jade pieces Master Hua had given them to fast travel back to Shengdu.
They popped out of the ground right in front of the Eastern Shengdu Temple, where a huge crowd of protesters carrying signs were demonstrating in front of the steps. At the entrance was a line of state police. As they got closer, they noticed a strange Elf with a mechanical arm—the same arm that Thien had lost—arguing with the police, trying to get them to let him in. He kept claiming he was a colleague of Donovan’s to a very incredulous policeman. The party shouldered their way through the crowd up to the policeman. They were able to catch the attention of Michael, who told the policeman to wave the party in, before joining the policeman’s side in listening to the rambunctious Elf.
The Elf further explained how he was the son of two High Elves, Lu Bu and Diaochan, who previously ignored his existence as he didn’t have a “pure” birth that retained any High Elf ancestry. They came to him recently, saying how another High Elf named Lauran was causing trouble, and they wanted him to deal with him. He also reiterated how he’d been following some of Donovan’s work, reasoning how the plant constructs was just Donovan putting all of the work he had been building up before in practice.
Michael, who previously wasn’t taking Bachariel seriously, told the policeman to let him in when he mentioned Lauran. There, he joined Fanna, Amanti, and Brooks in getting settled into the temple. Michael shooed the sixth plant construct which had stayed behind at the temple away, who roared with fury as it ran out of view, and led Bachariel plus the party off to a side room. The session then ended with Bachariel introducing himself to everyone.
Key Learnings
- The story of the Maiden’s Bell: The flowers are said to be the result of a woman being turned into a flower by the Gods, who were sympathetic when she perished after refusing to reveal to rebel soldiers the location of her husband
- The Tigers of Nam Captain and Jinli were in reality Koi Spirits that had possessed the recently deceased bodies of a sick street kid and the original Captain, after a deal with some Leferinese turned sour and resulted in the death of the original Captain and a kid caught in the crossfire.
- Laseen had sustained an injury that took her out of the season. The Tigers, who were fans of her, offered her and her family shelter while her injury healed.
- Thien exited the party, deciding to retire from adventuring and dedicate more time with his family
- A new player character, Bachariel Rainyday, joined the party!
Items Of Importance
- Bag of Holding
- Donovan’s plant constructs (4, for a total now of 5 in the party’s possession)