Hanako, satisfied that the young man held captive by a ragged grandmother still lives even with a bronze blade held so threateningly above him, glances about swiftly.

The face on the shrine draws her attention, it's features somehow familiar to her eyes, yet never so still as this one. Music half recalled but compelling in it's cadences, graceful dancers arrayed in vivid finery, and a language without the need for words.

The face is that of a woman grown monstrous, once a queen of men, now a queen of wicked kami and demons, a fallen follower of a stern but fair goddess from a far off land, but a goddess still known to Hanako's people, all be it by a different name and borne there by the words of saffron robed monks.

It is not the serene faced goddess alone that tips the scales of karma in that epic though, there is another force for good whose role is more prominent, a warrior of the great cat kami, who laughs at little monkeys and their antics, but fights the demon queen like a lion, or perhaps even a tiger...

All this passes through Hanako's mind in but the second it takes to see it, along with the knowledge that the laughing tiger lord and the angry outcast queen war eternally, but both are potent forces held in balance only by each other's existence.

The armed and dangerous old woman is thus seen in a different light by Hanako than most onlookers would regard her, but the young man's fate is more urgent than her own interest in royal history.

Hanako turns to the two bodyguards and rapidly whispers "We must free the bound man. The woman is also more use alive than dead. Words before blades, but be ready to use both."

OOC: Hanako has a plan to distract the woman in mind, but there's little time to discuss details in these circumstances. If anyone has any objections, and would prefer an alternative plan, this is the time to say so.

Nafu gulps and fights down his natural urge to flee danger. Reminding himself that he must face danger to become a great and noble hero he turns to the others and whispers nervously

“Perhaps I can circle around and get close enough to get the jump on the witch? I am used to creeping and sneaking…but in streets and alleys not in all these trees…”

"I charge in while e rest of you flank her?" Tan asks.

Hanako whispers back the reassuring suggestion of "Think of them as a wooden fenced alley with many gaps. Free the man. If we fail in this? Then hurry to your friend."



"Yes, but I do not know how many of the macaques here will follow her commands." Hanako warns him quietly, then offers in a whisper "Without orders, they may not be a threat. Engage her attention. Demand she move away from the captive. Force her to if she does not."
This message was last edited by the player at 13:41, Fri 11 Mar 2022.

"Yes milady!" Datuk says before moving forward with his battle axe!

"Halt in the name of the gods!" Datuk roars at the old lady. He moves towards her charging forward as he screams.

Hopefully Nafu is in place or closer when Datuk Tan challenges the woman.  If so he will leap out and attempt to knock her out with the pommel of his scimitar.

If not he will attempt to move silently and unseen into position whilst she is distracted by him

Hanako gets closer, trying to keep the woman in clear sight to slow her likely angry response to a man's challenge with some of her own feminine darkness.

OOC: Hanako looks for her chance to cast WEAKEN on the old lady with the bronze dagger, and will do so if she can get in range in time.

Nafu disappears into the foliage and steals his way towards the old woman along the edge of the ridge. As Tan charges down into the gully yelling,
"Halt in the name of the gods!", Nafu jumps her from behind catching her by surprise and bringing down the pommel of his weapon on her skull, but she manages to move aside at the last moment but is still too flummoxed to react.  Suddenly the old woman stumbles as her knees go weak.

Datuk manages to move all the way up to the old woman threatening her with his axe, but she has not yet dropped the blade....

The macaques do not react in the slightest to the sudden flurry of activity.




Next round.

Nafu will attempt to deftly knock the blade from her hand

Datuk continues to advance while preparing to fight the lady. He will be wary of traps as he advance.

Hanako glances nervously at the many macaques, but as they seem to be no threat at the moment, she makes her way calmly to the the bound man, hidden in the chaos already going on rather than intent on hiding herself.

She looks at the captive, a small but ornate blade in her own hand, as she attempts to discern what state he is in, and what harm has been done to him before she cuts him loose.

Nafu will attempt to deftly knock the blade from her hand, the old woman darts back incredibly quickly for someone of her age and her eyes turn black and hollow.


Datuk springs forward, burying his axe in the womans shoulder even as she stretched out a hand toward Hanako.


Hanako slipped through the crowd of rotting monkeys intent on the captive but as she did so she felt an unearthly pain strike through her momentarily, she steeled herself and fought it off as the old woman stared balefully then hurled a curse into the air.

As one, all the macaques began to move....

Datuk continues to strike at the foul woman with his battleaxe, hoping to decapitate her.

OOC: Is there blood when i cut her?

In reply to Datuk Tan Cheng Leng (msg # 45):

OOC: Quite a bit.  Though she doesn't show as much pain as you would expect.

Hanako blinks, pondering the source of her sudden unease, then narrows her eyes at the woman. Any further pondering is interrupted by the eerie rustling of seemingly dead macaques moving.

"Mercy of Kuan Yin, she's possessed!" Hanako says in horrified recognition, and throws caution to the winds as she lunges low and stabs at the demon ridden woman's ankles, hoping to trip her over.

Datuk is surprised that such a deep cut had such little effect on her.

"Must be on drugs," he says to his companions as he strikes again.

Nafu grits his teeth and lashes out with his scimitar.

Nafu slashes across with the scimitar cutting deep into the womans side, Datuk crashes in but she steps quickly back as if untroubled by her wounds.

Hanako slashes at the womans ankles, cutting one tendon and sending her to one knee.

The woman giggles alarmingly and a cloud of black flies buzz out of her open mouth and spilled out across the canyon biting and buzzing. But all three companions managed to come out unscathed by them.

At the same time the macaques rushed to attack as one. Nafu and Datuk manage to hold off the horde of undead simians for the moment but Hanako is bitten on her forearm.


OOC:

Cloud of Flies: SPEED 12. 1d4+1 damage. 20ft radius.
-2 hp Hanako.

By the Prophet! Nafu curses surveying the scene.

He drops low and slashes at the woman’s legs. Hoping to bring her down.

Hanako, who has already considered that possibility, looks doubtful, and continues her attempt to slow her enemy's steps.

It gives the young sorceress no pleasure that her blade strikes the possessed woman and draws blood, but the cloud of biting insects that swarms forth from the giggling woman's mouth is an unexpected attack, one that to Hanako's relief seems ineffective.

"Not drugged. Demon..." she begins to explain, but breaks off as one of the possessed woman's swarming simian minions bites her arm.

She grabs the offending macaque by the scruff of it's neck, and flings it at it's mistress.

Datuk continues to slash at the witch/demon or what ever it is, cursing in his native tongue

Nafu cuts low across the womans legs but she spins back impossibly quickly on her knee avoiding the blow,  Datuk however connects solidly and the old woman collapses to the ground in a spray of foul smelling blood.

Hanako tosses the dead monkey at the falling woman but as she collapses it becomes inert and simply tumbles to the ground.

The onrushing horde of simians collapse as one into a pile of small, sad corpses..

The injured boy looks around in panic.

Ever practical, Nafu searches the woman for valuables…

There are no valuables to be found on the corpse...or indeed much of anything.

Hanako looks hard at the body of the fallen woman, partly horrified at the death she feels responsible for, but also determined to find some answers to the tragic riddle before her.

She does not stop Nafu from searching the apparent corpse, but does say quietly to him "Please, take care. You saw the flies she spat before? I do not know what other surprises her remains may hold."

That said, Hanako tells Tan "Please keep watch. Those macaques may not be a threat now, but the jungle may hide others." then turns to the matter of the injured boy.

She begins the process of gently but swiftly untangling him from his bonds as she reassures him "You are safe now, Kodok. I am Hanako. These are my bodyguards. We were sent in search of you by your uncle."
This message was last edited by the player at 12:02, Tue 14 June 2022.