[BW One-on-One] Part 4, Not Just the Firebrand, but the Fire

[luke]

Ok ladies and gents, cue up your iTunes to Unearthly Trance "Firebrand" from the new one, Trident. Nod your head to the doom and read along.

This is the final installment of Si Juk's solo adventures. But certainly not his last adventure ever!

Continued from this thread:
http://burningwheel.org/forum/showthread.php?t=3330

Someday, we'll have to put them all up on the wiki, eh?



Rich and I talked about playing our final installment a couple of days after session 3. We were both excited and, I think, both a little sad that it was going to end. And it was very clear it was going to end. I was explicit: "One more session. Hell, it'll be one scene, with one conflict!" Rich looked at me dubiously. I grinned, "One conflict, that's all."

"Yeah, right."

Rich came over one evening -- I think it was a week night. We watched the latest episode of The Wire and then sat down to play.


One element I didn't mention before was where we played. There's a game room at GHQ. I specifically didn't set up in there. Instead, we set up at the kitchen table. We would wait for the house to quiet down or empty out and then we'd set up at the kitchen table and go at it. I don't know exactly why I did this, but I think it was important. It became part of the ritual and it definitely put us in a new and different space.


When we sat down this time, I had an two main things in mind. First, no more searching. I felt that Rich had turned over every stone on his quest. He had won that last conflict with Zhu and now he'd move on to his destination. Second, that didn't mean he was going to get what was his without a fight. I had some good twists ready -- I'd spent all week going over the situation in my head. I knew what decisions I wanted to confront him with. (Though I still did NO prep for the session beyond that.)



To start, I described Zhu Kwan leading Si Juk and company upriver, past familiar territory, to a section of the river they'd never been to: the northwestern shore, near where the Woodrock branches and forms the East River.

They arrived at a place Si Juk had heard about -- an old hobgoblin fortress built into the reeds and swamps. This was an old outpost and raiding base during the war. These hobgoblins -- the Kuni Giza -- were excellent riverine troops. Thus they were assigned to harass and interdict. Of course, this was nearly 15 years ago! Chujitsu, Si Juk's bodyguard, was a member of the clan assigned to this duty. No one had ever told his clan that the war was over. They stayed on for ten years after the war was over, until Vega and Palgi Park came and convinced them that their task was done. Some of the hobgoblins went with Vega and Palgi. Others stayed on, just in case. So this was something of a homecoming for Chujitsu. Though he was as surprised as anyone that the trail lead here!

They arrived at this old, worn out, river raiding base and walked along the boardwalks laid among the tall reeds. The place was mostly deserted except for a few hobgoblins and a few Niraih dressed as penitents in simple shifts, carrying wooden bowls of rice or water.

Zhu Kwan lead them back upland to a large clearing. A smooth wooden floor had been laid across the swampy ground of the clearing. There were four buildings -- two large cabins, an open air kitchen and a latrine at the far end. Some penitents sat outside the doors of both cabins. Standing at the center of the clearing was a bearded, long-haired man. He was practicing Si Juk's own sword form, Takashido!

Rich has Si Juk walk right up to him, "Sir. Do I know you, sir?" I had the stranger smile and lean in to Si Juk. He covered his beard with one hand, "Si Juk, it's me, Vega. I knew you'd find me here. I'm glad you've finally come! Now we can return the Emperor and get out of this damnable mosquito nest!"

I think I saw Rich's jaw bounce off the table on its way to the floor, but I could be wrong.

But I didn't let up. Out of the cabin on the left, I described young Emperor Mino emerge, "Excellent, Inspector, you've returned. I trust you've taken care of the wizards? All is safe at the capital? Good. We'll be leaving immediately. Vega, fetch my things. Si Juk, come to your Emperor. There is just one last thing I need you to do for me before we leave..."

Rich's eyes were wide and his mouth was twisted in disgust. He was searching for words, but I didn't give him the chance to break in.

"Si Juk, your Emperor needs you. Within that cabin right there dwells a mad man. He possesses a sword of ancient power and might that the Throne must have. You will go in there right now, slay him and take the sword and return it to me. Then we will leave and return to the Throne."

Rich was sputtering in horror at this point. I was, true to form, grinning evilly. "Duel of Wits, Rich. That's my Statement of Purpose. Duel of Wits. Right now. Let's go."

Rich finally started yelling, "No! Can I roleplay first? Can I? Can I fucking roleplay first? Huh?"

I was laughing. We were both on our feet. Rich indicated that he tore away from the Emperor's grip on his arm. Mino was a man in his 30s, raised in court. Si Juk was in his late 20s, hardended and scarred from years of poverty, trial and adventure. They made quite a pair -- and Rich had long ago made it clear that he personally despised the Mino character, and Si Juk followed suit.

Rich spewed venom, "I will never commit murder for you, you corrupt weakling." He went on at great length.

"I shall make you my personal sword instructor! Come now!"

Rich was about to respond, when I cut him off: "Duel of Wits or not?"

He hesitated.

"Yes or no?"

"No! Fuck him! I walk away. I return to Vega and talk to him."

"Excellent. Mino's eyes glitter and he smiles thinly as you walk away."

More coming soon, gotta go to work!

===


The final destination of this adventure was very interesting to me. Not necessarily what it was, but what it wasn't. When we decided to do these sessions, the idea was to beef up Si Juk and then get him into a position where he forms his martial cult. Obviously, that didn't happen. Rich was a little concerned at the end, but I think the final result more than made up for it.

[Caesar_X]

Amazing AP write-up, Luke. Reads like a freakin' fantasy novel!

I found it very interesting that in several instances (especially when exploring the tomb) he really pushed it close to the edge and it made things happen, whether good or bad. I'm glad he felt so comfortable throwing caution to the wind to push the narrative.

Is session one still around? I get a 404 when trying to access the link to the first session:
http://burningwheel.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3334

Chris B.

[luke]

Here's a link to the first post:
http://burningwheel.org/forum/showthread.php?t=3246

Once again, please don't comment until I finish describing the session!

[Fourth Horseman]

Rich spewed venom, "I will never commit murder for you, you corrupt weakling." He went on at great length.

Emphasis on "venom" and "great length." I had somehow deluded myself into thinking that Luke had forgotten about the Emperor and that I would be able to go through the adventure without thinking a bit about him. Boy was I mistaken.

In any event that exchange has left me with the enduring image of the self-made peasant boy telling off the high born emperor. And the emperor taking it! Its something that not even the really powerful PCs in this universe have ever done. Then again, I'm the only one playing a red revolutionary in this game . . .

[luke]

Mino was not so easily dissuaded or defeated. However, he didn't want to act rashly, either. He knew that Vega and Si Juk shared the same master. He didn't want to turn them both against him, so he remained quiet and in the background for the moment.

Zhu Kwan also remained an observer. He towered over Si Juk, quiet and simply listening to the proceedings. I described him and let Rich know what he was doing.

Rich indicated that he wanted to pull Zhu Kwan and Vega aside. I nodded and he spoke conspiratorially, "Is the Dread Lord here? I must speak with him, Vega. Zhu says he is here. I must speak to him right now."

Vega and Zhu both indicated the low, dark cabin on the right. The door hung closed. Glancing nervously about, Rich indicated that Si Juk headed to the cabin.

He pulled the door open and found that on the reverse side hung an old battle standard. It was royal purple, embroidered with a golden six-spoked wheel. The silver and gold Sword of Kings was embroidered across the central spoke of the wheel.*

Inside the simple structure was a single long room. At the center of the dim, shuttered space sat a strange, forlorn creature. A thin man, naked, covered in scars and filth, missing his left hand sat crosslegged with the Sword of Kings laid across his thighs.

Behind him rested the mantle and crown, set into pegs in the wall, exactly as Si Juk had seem them depicted in the drowned tomb of Lord Crymsah.

Rich had Si Juk sit before the Dread Lord. The Dread Lord received him as a petitioner. He spoke to him of the Dream That Cannot Be Killed. He spoke to him of faith in the Dream. Si Juk responded that he was the Spark to start a purging fire to wipe out evil, corruption and sorcery. The Dread Lord thenceforth called him Spark.

After a few minutes of presenting the Dream and the mission of the Dreamers, the Dread Lord fell silent. He simply stared intently at Si Juk.

Rich said, "He's just staring at me? I slip into meditation."

I judged his obstacle to be 2 -- based on the amount of time he was going to be under. He was successful and he cleared his mind. When he surfaced again, he saw a rather different scene.

The Dread Lord had crawled into a corner at his right and lay shivering and whimpering, curled around the sword. He appeared to be asleep and dreaming.

As Si Juk stood to go, I told him that he could see that the walls were covered in writing and carvings. He examined them for a moment and saw that they were a journal of the Dream Rebellion, outlining the movement from the first town in which it erupted until its dissolution in the fields outside of Gabriel.

The walls also recounted the sword's inscription and various other mantras and dogmas of the Dream Rebellion.

Si Juk exited the cabin and returned to his companions waiting at the open-air kitchen. Rich seemed a bit stumped. He seemed to be having a tough time making a decision.

He spoke to Vega and Zhu again. He explained that he needed the Sword of Kings or he needed the Dread Lord. He had sworn to destroy the last of the Red Council and then route out all wizardry and sorcery. He described how the Red Council had destroyed the capital, Core. It sat empty now, shrouded in arcane mists and lightnings.

At this news, the mood changed. Mino overheard the admission. He strode into the circle and turned to Mok Marun, Rich's younger student. "Give me your sword." I played the young swordsman as overawed by the presence of the Emperor (even if he wasn't a subject). He handed his sword to Mino. Rich was kneading his jaws and listening to me describe the proceedings.

"If what you say is true," intoned Mino, "then the Sword, Crown and Mantle are vital to the survival of the Empire. I must have them. The Throne must have them in order to continue in strength. And I will take them myself."

It was at this point, I think, that Rich whispered to me, "You want me to kil the Emperor, don't you?!" He was angry.

I just shrugged my shoulders, "I want no such thing. I don't want you to do anything that you don't want to do."

What I was doing with the Emperor was a little more subtle than is apparent. Vega, former Lt General of the Center and guardian of the Emperor, was the key to this situation. Vega had sworn to Si Juk that he'd guard the Emperor, keep him secret and safe. Vega had also sworn to Zhu that he would look after the Dread Lord and ensure that no harm befell him. And, in fact, Vega felt a huge debt to the Dread Lord -- Vega had helped train him in the sword and led his troops into battle. And now the man was quite mad, living in a cabin in the middle of nowhere.

Rich knew this. What he didn't know was that Vega had a special trait. I told him, "Rich, Vega's got the trait 'Guardian'. He swore oaths to both of you and he's bound by the equally."

Rich cursed again.

I continued, "The Emperor strides toward the Dread Lord's cabin. He holds the sword stiffly at his side, point toward the ground, like a fencer.

Rich nodded. I think he cursed under his breath, "I draw my sword and follow after him."

"Vega shouts at you, 'Si Juk! What are you doing?!' He draws his weapon and runs after you."

"Zhu Kwan falls in beside you, seemingly relaxed and at ease. He doesn't carry any weapons." I think that made Rich even more nervous.

Mino burst into the cabin and the Dread Lord started awake. He was dumbfounded and bleary-eyed. He looked limp and wasted.

Rich had Si Juk shout to Mino, "Stop! Do not do this! That sword is not yours! It will never be yours. You will leave here now with Vega and take NOTHING."

"Si Juk, you said it yourself. The Throne is in dire straits. The Sword, Crown and Mantle are all that can restore us. With them, I can reunite the Niraih and the Crymsah and drive out the wizards."

I described Mino planting his sword in the floorboards and walking over the wall. He took down the Crymsah crown and placed it atop his head. It was a tall, glittering, golden affair, but it fit atop Mino's head neatly.

"Duel of Wits, Rich, or walk away from this."

Rich positively glared at me. I felt daggers in my heart! I had manuevered him pretty cruelly into this position. Just because he wouldn't take the DoW to murder the Dread Lord, didn't mean I couldn't exact far more cruel terms.

Rich agreed to the Duel of Wits. And I think he'll agree with me that we were on a razor's edge here. It seemed that engaging the Emperor on his terms was the lesser of two evils. The other evil was going to result in much blood shed and many oaths broken. In fact, I seem to remember that as I handed Rich his DoW sheet, he muttered to me, "No blood shed. I want to do this without blood shed."

Fucking cool.

My statement of purpose of Mino was just as I said above, "The survival of the Niraih Throne depends on my getting the Sword, Crown and Mantle. They are all that can restore us. With them, I can reunite the Niraih and the Crymsah and drive out the wizards."

Rich's statement was the same as he said above, "You will leave here now with Vega and take nothing. You will return to your sister and the Throne immediately."

I did NOT have stats for Mino. No prep, remember? However, I knew exactly what I wanted out of him. The young Emperor was coddled at court. He'd never been sufficiently tried, though he was well educated by his father and sister. So he'd have an Oratory B5 and a couple of wises relevant to court, but not much else. Neither did I give him any traits. (His sister, on the other hand, has all of the death-dealing DoW traits one would expect of a princess who runs an imperial court (and spy ring).)

Rich didn't know all this, though! And man was he sweating it! He thought he was going to get trounced right out. His jaw was set and face grim as he scripted out his actions.

Therefore he was surprised when, in the first exchange, I only knocked 3 points off his BoA and he in turn knocked 4 off me.

We went into the second exchange at 4 points for me and 5 points for him. This was the toughest set of actions I ever scripted. I knew that I could knock him out in two actions. I knew that I could win. But I also knew that he could get lucky and knock me out in one. And I knew that he knew that I knew that I needed two actions. And I knew that he knew that he only needed one lucky shot to take me out. So what was it going to be? Would he go balls out with an opening Dismiss and try to win it in one? Would he hedge with a Rebuttal and try to set up an easy win? If he prevented me from doing damage to him, I wasn't going to get a good compromise. So then do I Feint? Or do I Rebut in case of the Dismiss?

We sat there for ten minutes before either of us wrote down an action. The air was electric. Rich was moaning, "I hate this shit! 'I know that you know that I know that you know!'" I laughed nervously and kind of gave off a few "Gah!"s

Finally, we decided. First volley: Mino comes out with a Point. I needed reliable damage. I was gunning for a compromise, not the win. Si Juk comes out with a Feint -- obviously thinking I was going to Rebut. Woohoo! Free Point!

I laid into him and took him down to one point in his BoA. Tables turned!

Second volley: Mino with a Rebuttal. Si Juk with the big Dismiss. We were shouting at each other. We were both on our feet. And Rich does the most fucking awesome Dismiss ever. He has Si Juk fish out his Inspector seal from around his neck. He shouts, "I quit!" and hurls the device onto the floor.

I think my Rebut was something along the lines of, "Come now, don't be rash. Be reasonable. We work well together." I was trying to get under his skin.

I put three dice into attack and five into defense. I rolled two successes on the defense. Bleh. Still, that means Rich needed 7 to knock me out. A persona point and a fate point later... I'm out! He did it, the fucker. Knocked me down to zero. Fuck!

I roll my three dice. I need one success to get the bad, bad tie. I rolled NO SUCCESSES! GAH! Si Juk defeats the Emperor. The Emperor will not take the sword! Fuck!

Compromise, compromise, compromise. Fuck, that's a tough one. I thought about it for a good long time.

"Well, my first instinct is to make you swear to be Mino's Imperial Sword Instructor."

"Oh god. That would suck. That's awful."

"Ok, that's good. That's a start. This is a big DoW and I got you down to one. I want more, though. You can have the Sword, but Mino keeps the Mantle and Crown. AND, you use the Sword to drive the barbarians out of the Crymsah." The "barbarians" were the Oakmen or Hersker. Si Juk had spent time at their King's court on this journey.

Rich turned green. "Fine, but only after I've crushed the wizards. And Mino getting the Crown and Mantle breaks my oath with Zhu. What about that?"

"Oh well." He was going to have to deal with that in play.

[luke]

Then Rich made a gesture as if to address Zhu and Vega, "I swear to you I will do as I have promised you both. I will crush the remnants of the Red Council and when the time comes to serve this man, I swear that I will do the right and honorable thing."

That took me a second to grasp what he was saying. Perhaps Rich can verify his intent here, but I understood that he was promising that Si Juk would kill himself before returning to service with the Emperor.

Fucking hot.

Of course, Mino just rolled his eyes at the theatrics and bluster. He took the crown and mantle and turned to Vega, "Let's be going."

"In a moment, your excellency. I shall be out shortly." Mino nodded and exited.

There was still the matter of the Dread Lord and Zhu. Si Juk didn't actually have the sword yet and he'd made promises to Zhu.

The Dread Lord himself had stood by silently during the debate. I had two reasons for this. One, the Dread Lord is clearly mad. Two, I didn't want to be playing more than one NPC at this point. Matters were too tense and critical. I didn't want to seem partial or unfair in the least. One die could have tipped things. And, like I said, this is all about the trials and Si Juk. Thus the audience remained silent.

Rich had Si Juk turn to Vega and shrug pleadingly, "What was I to do?"

Vega responded, "If you wanted the Emperor killed, you should have let him attack Jubei. He's undefeatable in battle. He fights like a demon. Take a stance, Jubei!"

Vega's tone had changed. He became much more informal. He started addressing the Dread Lord by a given name. How strange!

I described the Dread Lord taking an aggressive fighting stance with his sword. Rich grimaced and shrugged, "Oh well."

Zhu spoke, "You cannot simply take that sword from him."

Vega, "That is not some trinket you are laying claim to. None of us truly knows what it does. Only Jubei has ever touched it (aside from Han who is a wizard!). None of us know what effect it will have."

Zhu, "It is part of the Dream."

Si Juk, "Will I become possessed like him?"

They both shrugged.

Zhu, "While the Dread Lord yet lives, the sword is his. Your cause is just and righteous, but I cannot let you harm him or take the sword."

Rich stiffened, "Then we will start a new Dream with the Dread Lord at its head." Si Juk had quite a bit of experience doing such things, actually.

But Zhu and Vega exchanged glances and grimaced at one another.

"Jubei is not..." Vega trailed off, "...so capable any longer."

We went on like this for about 15 minutes. Vega and Zhu stressed that Si Juk was in way over his head. That the Dream was much larger than any one of them. In fact, they reluctantly confessed to Si Juk that they had created the Dream -- along with Palgi and Anhui (Pyong Gyong and Han). They had done this to overthrow the Crymsah princes. And they were successful beyond their wildest dreams -- because the Dream took on a life of its own.

During the course of the conversation, Si Juk convinced Vega and Zhu to let him have a crack at the Dread Lord. If he could convince him to give up the sword, would they back him? They agreed.

Si Juk turned to the Dread Lord and I immediately spoke to him in a loud and commanding voice, "I am the Dread Lord Crymsah. I have returned from the dead to free my people and punish my sons. I am the Dream That Cannot Be Killed."

That was my statement of purpose.

Rich came right back at me, "I am the Spark to light this prairie fire. The fire whose flame shall burn the land and purge it of evil and sorcery and render it fertile once again."

Whoever won, became the head of the new movement. The sword was implicit in the stakes.

The Dread Lord's character was in my files. So I just pulled it out and used his numbers. He was pretty formidable, but he had a low Will!

However, Rich got to see one of the powers of the Sword. +2D to Oratory and Command for Points and Dismisses. Uh oh. I slammed into him with an 8D Point in the second volley. But I rolled for crap! The magic was fading! Nooo!

We laid into each other and we kept up that tone. All of the maneuvers were religious and spiritual in nature. Much Doctrine was FoRKed.

Si Juk won, but with a compromise. The Sword of Kings was his -- he was now The Dream and The Spark.

I described the man who was formerly the Dread Lord leaning in toward him. He put the Sword into his hand and whispered into his ear, "Please... kill me."

Rich started and whispered, "That's the compromise?"

I nodded.

Rich described Si Juk leaning forward and kissing Jubei on the forehead, taking the Sword from him and then drawing it across his throat.

I described him falling to his knees, sputtering, weeping and whispering, "Thank you..."

There was a long pause between us.


Then I described Zhu Kwan, his face set like iron, leaving the cabin. He took the old banner with him.

Vega turned to Si Juk, "Do what is described in The Book."

Si Juk produced a copy of The Burning Wheel, the doctrine and rituals of his religion, and performed the rites for Jubei. He built a pyre and sent him off to heaven. If there is indeed a heaven at all...


And that's where we ended.

We were both very excited. Rich wanted to write up new Beliefs for Si Juk, but I told him to wait. The Beliefs would be better once we saw where we were going to take this next. And we both knew this was not the end!

We reviewed artha and awards and called it a night.

Oh, and as an interesting aside, Rich failed the Doctrine test to properly say the rites for the Dread Lord. That left open some really interesting possibilities!



*The six-spoked wheel is the Wheel of Cley or the Wheel of Earth. It is the image of the self-same wheel that Rich sought at the holy city of Cley at the outset of these adventures.

[Kublai]

Wooo!

Oh, what great events transpire! I'm jealous!

[Fourth Horseman]

Then Rich made a gesture as if to address Zhu and Vega, "I swear to you I will do as I have promised you both. I will crush the remnants of the Red Council and when the time comes to serve this man, I swear that I will do the right and honorable thing."

That took me a second to grasp what he was saying. Perhaps Rich can verify his intent here, but I understood that he was promising that Si Juk would kill himself before returning to service with the Emperor.

Fucking hot.

You are correct sir. I might just teach His Serene Imperial Highness a few sword moves and some doctrine before I drop the fop off at the capital. Maybe he'll gain a new perspective on life. Probably not. But then I'm off on Si Juk's quest to purge the land of wizards ... and a few demons. When I'm done and if I'm still alive, I sure as hell wont be using that sword to conquer some kingdom for the fop Mino. But I have a pledge to him, which leaves Si Juk with only one honorable thing to do. I'm going to have the character pick up a poetry skill before his exit so he can compose some suitable verse for the very end . . . See what impact all those BITs combined with conflicting DoW obligations can have? Of course this whole scenario is dependent on Si Juk NOT getting possessed by the sword! Still, I'm afraid that whatever the outcome, Si Juk's next campaign is his last. It's been a blast though, I've loved building this character up from his humble beginnings. IMHO, BW is the only system that mechanically builds in this sort of character development and allows for this kind of scope.

[blizarg]

I cannot agree more.

[luke]

:: points::

<whisper to the audience> PSST, Blizarg's the Dread Lord's original player...</whisper>