Qin - Tianxia
An Eternal Lover
ludique · Article · mercredi, 24 février 2016 à 11:24:35 · 20 min
Fourth session of the campaign, on March 17th, 2007. Our group continues the scenario "The Eternal Lover"[1], which I had placed as an interlude between the core rulebook's scenario and the one from the GM screen booklet. It's also the last session for quite a few of our players — the players of Cui Yuan, Soothing Hand, Lu Yan Sheng and Thirsty Panda will jump ship (before making a better comeback a few years later, for at least two of them).
- Introductory message
- Previous: "On the Road to Yanshan" - "An Eternal Lover"
- You are here: "An Eternal Lover"
- Next: "The Prisoner of the Desert"
Characters Present
- Chen Chi, "Soothing Hand"
- Liu Mei Shan
- Lu Yan Sheng
- Tian Zaisheng
Preamble
In Nao, master Tian and the soldier Lu pack their bags to rejoin their companions. Yan Sheng has finished his first year of military service and decides to spend the second at the northern border of Zhao [2], which marks the boundary between the Zhongguo and Xiongnu territory. As for Zaisheng, he takes leave of his master Left Hand, not without perfecting his horsemanship in view of a long journey. And so, on horseback, our two companions brave the glacial cold, the snow-covered plains and the formidable mountains of Zhao.
For their part, Liu Mei Shan, Soothing Hand, Thirsty Panda and the Snake continue their investigation of the mysterious Lo May. After spending a wonderful evening at the "Four Sisters", Thirsty Panda informs his friends of his discoveries before collapsing in the dormitory, drunk and dead tired. The Snake joins him a few hours later. That leaves only Soothing Hand and Liu Mei Shan to run the investigation!
But that was without counting on the precious help of Ciu Wang, a young scholar versed in the art of Taoism, who was also interested in Lo May and her wonderful talent.
How the Session Unfolded
It's on a snowy morning that Tian Zaisheng and Lu Yan Sheng pass through the walls of Hungo. The local population quickly points them to the "Phoenix Rest" inn, where travelers matching the descriptions of Liu Mei Shan, Soothing Hand and Thirsty Panda are lodging. As they catch up, the latter bring them up to speed, whether about the persistent riders who attacked them or the strange affair surrounding Lo May and her extraordinary voice.
Another patron of the inn is interested in the enigmatic singer. Ciu Wang, a young scribe passing through Hungo, discovers that the voice that lulled him during his stay at the inn comes from a neighboring establishment — the Four Sisters. Passion and curiosity drive him to question the inn's other travelers, until he too runs into Tian Zaisheng and Liu Mei Shan. Over a drink, he listens with fascination to the tale of the night Thirsty Panda spent in Lo May's company. Mei Shan eventually slips away and heads to the Four Sisters to question its proprietress, Mrs. Shin. A futile attempt indeed, since our merchant learns little: Mrs. Shin keeps a close eye on her pennies and is always happy to offer more high-quality alcohol, but she seems to know little about her providential songstress.
Let's now turn to Soothing Hand, who keeps working at the clinic. During his shift, the itinerant physician receives a visit from a rather burly man: he questions everyone about Lo May. Her again! Soothing Hand points him to where she lives, and off the intruder goes without saying more. This intriguing encounter prompts Chen Chi to hasten to his friends for a pooling of information, from which the following decisions flow:
- Tian Zaisheng stands around on the market square waiting for a great beauty to leave the Four Sisters, hoping it will be Lo May. After a while, this hope comes true: a magnificent young woman steps out of the establishment and heads toward the market. Zaisheng, whose training in tailing has never been put to the test, follows her as best he can, only to realize he isn't the only one doing so. Indeed, a sinister-looking thug is also watching the beauty...
- After a good hour on duty, Soothing Hand is sent to the market by the physician, to buy various medicinal ingredients. There he meets Tian Zaisheng, who was clumsily trying to keep an eye on the woman everything indicates is Lo May. No matter: Soothing Hand walks into the shop and takes the opportunity to strike up a conversation with this mysterious stranger. Claiming he'd like to meet a certain Lo May at the Four Sisters, he feigns surprise when she retorts that he is standing precisely in front of her. The lady's attitude is openly playful, even flirtatious, but this embarrassing conversation wasn't meant to last: a plump official barges in and quickly monopolizes everyone's attention as he addresses the one who crystallizes everyone's interest. Introducing himself as Xiao Ping, the man oozes arrogance as he promises Lo May the moon if she agrees to marry him. No wonder that her only answer — a mocking laugh from the beauty — sends him into a drunken rage, so much so that he raises his hand to punish the insolent one, only to be stopped dead by Soothing Hand. Our hero tries to defuse the situation, explaining to the lout that striking a respectable lady in the middle of a public square would do his image no good. But nothing works: Xiao Ping fumes more and more, and only agrees to leave at the cost of a string of insults and threats against the songstress and the wandering physician.
- Beaten to the punch by Chen Chi, Tian Zaisheng changes targets and now focuses on the thug watching Lo May. A providential intuition: the suspect keeps an eye on her until she returns to the Four Sisters, then enters a nearby inn. There, he sits down with two other people, and together they discuss Lo May, declaring that they "still need to gather more information" before "taking action". What sinister omens fall upon the ears of the valiant Zaisheng!
- Teamwork is important. Ciu Wang and Mei Shan have understood this well: since Zaisheng and Chen Chi are working hard, it's up to them to compensate by staying idle! To pass the time, the two of them get better acquainted. The scholar tries to charm the merchant, but the performance is less than convincing. Fortunately, the soldier Lu steps in to ease the awkwardness: waking from his long journey, he bursts in and inquires about what's happening in town. The three then head out for a somewhat sheepish little stroll in hopes of stumbling upon a few clues. Fate smiles on them: after barely ten minutes, they come face to face with the official Tan, who is looking for Soothing Hand to question him about Lo May. But for once, it's not misplaced curiosity: he suspects Lo May of being involved in the thefts plaguing the town of late. Armed with these good intentions, the three companions bring the magistrate to Soothing Hand, so that he can make him an offer. In exchange for Soothing Hand's information, he promises to contain any attempts at revenge from the furious Xiao Ping. Our good-hearted vagabond hesitates, but promises to help if, as luck would have it, he discovered that Lo May was dishonest.
A few minutes after magistrate Tan's departure, someone knocks at the physician's door. It's Lo May in person, bringing her defender and his companions an invitation to her evening recital. She then takes her leave, not without flashing a few telling smiles at Soothing Hand. At this stage of our story, our Wuxia are still young and innocent: it takes nothing more than that for them to decide to entirely redo Soothing Hand's somewhat shabby wardrobe. For hours, the group prepares for this terrible ordeal: Liu Mei Shan dolls herself up like a goddess, Soothing Hand goes to fetch a quality chang pao, and the others ponder the best way not to look too scruffy — without finding an answer, unfortunately.
In the evening, our heroes attend yet another of Lo May's exceptional performances, after which the singer takes her leave of the group and returns to her dressing room. Soothing Hand, Lu Yan Sheng and Ciu Wang take the opportunity to keep watch over Lo May's window from the street. There, a sinister silhouette approaches them, moving with ungainly movements. In an unsteady voice, the individual hurls abuse at Soothing Hand. It's Feng Sho. In truth, the soldier on leave had fallen hopelessly in love with Lo May. Having taken refuge in drink to drown his sorrow, he had heard word that Soothing Hand had won the singer's interest, and all night long he had ceaselessly nursed his resentment over a cup of alcohol. For him, the hour of confrontation, of final judgment, has come. This determination is quickly turned to ridicule when he trips over a deft leg-sweep from Yan Sheng, before being thrown to the ground by Soothing Hand and tasting a snowball carefully crafted by Ciu Wang. The soldier Lu takes advantage of the favorable momentum to requisition the poor wretch's weapon, but the latter won't have it: he tries to take it back, not without insulting his attacker. Ciu Wang's and Soothing Hand's blood boils. They know Feng Sho has made a grave, a very grave mistake. Nimbly, Soothing Hand knocks the drunkard out, hoping that in the confusion of gestures, Yan Sheng will overlook the affront. Wasted effort: Lu Yan Sheng won't be treated that way. He picks up this soaked weakling who insulted the name of his ancestors and lands a powerful right hook square in his jaw. The impact is so violent that poor Feng Sho is thrown to the ground, at death's door. Nobody. Nobody insults Lu Yan Sheng. Noting that the time lost brawling was more than enough for Lo May to make off, Soothing Hand resigns himself to hauling Feng Sho back to the inn to give him some care.
A few hours later, a new event disturbs this tragic night: magistrate Tan presents himself at the Four Sisters, puts a stop to the banquet that followed the recital, and demands that Lo May be handed over to him or, failing that, that he be allowed to conduct a search of her room. Recent revelations have persuaded him that she is guilty. Falling in line with this opinion, Tian Zaisheng firmly orders Mrs. Shin to comply. She resigns herself to leading them to the dressing room, which its tenant has evidently deserted a short while ago. Magistrate Tan gets his hands on the loot from the thefts, as well as on a staggering letter signed by Soothing Hand. Clearly forged — for as Zaisheng points out, Soothing Hand cannot write — it arranges to meet Lo May at the Well of Lovers. Listening to the commotion in the singer's dressing room, Soothing Hand takes the opportunity to slip away to the Well of Lovers in order to clear up this mystery.
The discussion between the rest of the group and magistrate Tan is interrupted by a light rustle from the window: not without drawing attention to himself, a feline figure leaps from the balcony to the neighboring roof. His silhouette seems far too large for it to be Lo May. Lu Yan Sheng rushes through the window and manages to propel himself like a rocket to the neighboring roof, narrowly avoiding slipping in the process. Ciu Wang, who has also spotted the silhouette, sets off in pursuit from the alley. As for Liu Mei Shan, she tries to jump through the window, hesitates, and finally makes it onto the roof. A mad chase ensues: Mei Shan quickly admits defeat, while the soldier Lu digs deep into his resources to keep up with the fugitive. In the frenzy of the race, the last two contenders fail to notice a wide gap separating two houses. Yan Sheng keeps control and brakes, but his prey does not: it slips and barely catches the edge of the roof. Out of the kindness of his heart, our soldier helps the fugitive back up. He is a rather slender young man. Cunning, the latter takes advantage of this moment of weakness to dash off again. Lu Yan Sheng tries to trip him with his Yue, but the young man is so skillful that he escapes the hold. That's the last straw: Lu Yan Sheng leaps like a tiger and delivers a violent blow with the back of his weapon. The blow sends the young man sprawling; he slides and falls into the alley, despite Yan Sheng's attempts to save him. Fortunately, the fall isn't fatal. Ciu Wang arrives on the scene and makes sure the kid can't get any farther. He is followed by Tan, Liu Mei Shan and a few of the magistrate's assistants: questioning their catch, they learn that the young man's name is Second Choice and that he committed thefts in hopes of winning Lo May's heart. His frailty, his innocence and his sincerity never fail to make Mei Shan's heart melt, and she can only plead his cause. She manages to obtain from Tan that Second Choice "only" have his hand cut off for his crimes. Tian Zaisheng, the last to arrive on the scene, raises the stakes: Second Choice not being devoid of talent, he could easily find a place in the army, or among the Mohists. Not only does the intrepid thief accept this way out, he also rewards the group with disturbing information: while spying on Lo May, he discovered that the group of a so-called merchant arrived in town this morning, and that its members are circling Lo May curiously. Their leader, Gu Jin, is accompanied by two lackeys whose description matches quite well that of the men spotted in town by Zaisheng and Soothing Hand. The group thus heads for the Well of Lovers, leaving the magistrate to take Second Choice away and decide his fate.
Soothing Hand had already been on the spot for a while. He had identified footprints in the snow: 9 individuals had been waiting there, but nobody is there now. By the time the rest of the group arrives, the physician is already looking for a trail that would lead him to them. A meow interrupts the Wuxia: from afar, the bright eyes of a black cat are staring insistently at our heroes. When Soothing Hand approaches it, the cat moves away, turns around, and meows all the more. No need to repeat it: the Wuxia have clearly understood that it's trying to lead them somewhere. They follow it all the way to the gates of the Hungo foundry, outside the city, where the feline disappears into a small hole. Lo May must be there, inevitably. The group inspects the surroundings of the building, and it's Zaisheng's sharp ear that brings the confirmation everyone was waiting for: inside, people are gloating over the treatment they intend to inflict on Lo May. Determined to take action, the heroes briefly discuss a plan to enter the building, when a familiar voice is suddenly heard: Lo May calling for help! Tian Zaisheng goes through a window opening onto the main hall of the huge foundry, soon followed by the other Wuxia. There they catch sight of the gentle Lo May, dressed in a simple worker's outfit and hanging by her feet from a cable, right above a cauldron of molten metal. Evidently drawn by the noise, the individuals who were in the foreman's office burst in as well. Among them, our heroes easily recognize the men who had shown an interest in Lo May all day long. They are accompanied by a young whippersnapper and 6 other unprepossessing thugs. The first of the two leaders throws himself at Tian Zaisheng: the latter easily deflects the attack and instantly retaliates, inflicting a gash on his opponent's torso. Soothing Hand and Liu Mei Shan rush toward Lo May, farther into the hall. Two henchmen block their path, while the others restrict access to a staircase leading up to the scaffolding. The young one — Gu Jin, presumably — retreats into the hall he came from, while the second leader, ingeniously, grabs a ladle of molten metal. Lu Yan Sheng takes the front line to clear the way for Soothing Hand and Liu Mei Shan. As for Ciu Wang, he advances firmly toward the character holding the ladle.
The duel between Tian Zaisheng and his opponent rages on. The Mohist is on the defensive, so he leaves it to his assailant to dictate the pace of their exchanges. Meanwhile, the other presumed abductor exults as he splashes Lu Yan Sheng and Ciu Wang with molten metal. Fortunately, the effect isn't as terrible as expected: our two heroes come away with minor second-degree burns. Ciu Wang strikes back with his staff, which doesn't prevent his target from reloading his ladle with metal. Soothing Hand and Liu Mei Shan dart toward Lo May, easily dodging the unthreatening attacks of two of the henchmen pursuing them. These leave it to a comrade to chase the duo from atop the scaffolding, while they turn toward the formidable Lu Yan Sheng. The last three lackeys imitate their leader, rushing to other metal furnaces to arm themselves with ladles. With his halberd, Lu Yan Sheng traces a vigorous arc and mows down the leg of one of the pyromaniacs, as if it were merely a stalk of wheat. Unfortunately, things don't go as well for Zaisheng, whose guard finally gives way: he buckles under the impact of a powerful blow and suffers a severe gash to the shoulder. As a last resort, master Tian resorts to the spinning-parry technique and, despite his wound, manages to parry another blow. However, the next one proves fatal: struck at the temple, he collapses to the ground, downed. At that very moment, Lu Yan Sheng cuts in two the henchman about to burn him alive. The last two tremble and visibly hesitate to keep fighting. For their part, Soothing Hand and Liu Mei Shan are stopped in their tracks when they realize Lo May is clearly no longer where she was at the start of the skirmish. Did she slip into the depths of the cauldron?
The second leader of the abductors burns Ciu Wang again with a ladle of molten metal, and our poor scribe begins to writhe in pain. Fortunately for all, this little victory will be the last for the infamous pyromaniac, for the soldier Lu throws himself on him and runs him through the chest. Hurled by the power of the blow, his victim agonizes against a furnace. In rage, his comrade tries to avenge him by attacking Lu Yan Sheng, but the latter fells him with a single backhand of his weapon. Meanwhile, Soothing Hand climbs the scaffolding to confirm that Lo May has indeed vanished. On the way, he casually snaps the neck of the henchman who had tried so hard to catch up with him.
As the temperature cools down (in every sense of the term), Ciu Wang uses all his inner potential to heal a dying Zaisheng. The intervention bears fruit, but the Mohist will keep after-effects from it: he will remain deaf in one ear until the end of his days. After this battle, the heroes question the two survivors who surrendered. They explain that their leader, Gu Jin, had hired them to take care of Lo May. However, their kidnapping attempt has — or was supposed to have — failed. They also tell the characters that Gu Jin is staying at the inn next to theirs: an opportunity to find him and learn a bit more. The group then pays Gu Jin a visit to worm the truth out of him, not without dropping Zaisheng off at their inn so he can get some rest. Gu Jin proves relatively cooperative. He explains that in the past, Lo May had seduced his father, driving him to ruin himself — himself and his family — in an attempt to keep her by his side. When she finally left, the poor man took his own life. This whole story was nothing but a dark affair of revenge, one that our heroes feel little emotion about. They hand Gu Jin over to the magistrate and then return to the Four Sisters to meet Lo May there. Unfortunately, Lo May has left for good. Her room is empty, save only for a flute lying on her bed, engraved with a mischievous cat. Soothing Hand takes possession of it, immediately thinking of a "magic" relic infused with Chi. To demystify the affair, Lu Yan Sheng blows into the instrument. To everyone's surprise, sound comes out. A few minutes of silence attest not only to the absence of any magical effects, but also to the dismay of our stubborn Wuxia, who struggle to write off the prospect of their first magic item.
The thefts have been solved. Lo May has vanished. In Hungo, everything has returned to order. Our heroes decide to stay there about ten days, leaving time for Soothing Hand to earn a little money, for Tian Zaisheng to recover from his terrible wounds, and for Ciu Wang to collect some much-needed income with his pen.
What became of the supporting characters of this story? After apologizing for his behavior, Feng Sho returns to his mother in a neighboring village. As for magistrate Xiao Ping, he hasn't yet been able to exact his revenge. For now.
Commentary
As has often been said, scenarios that rely on romances are always particularly difficult to run, because they require good faith and a good dose of distance from the players when it comes to portraying heroes head over heels in love. That was the big challenge of "An Eternal Lover", where one of the PCs — here, Soothing Hand — was meant to at least be attracted to Lo May (and at worst, to fall madly in love with her). The story didn't unfold so badly, even though I didn't press that side of things much (my players are free to portray their romances however they want). Be that as it may, I don't feel I exploited the full potential of this script. Sadder still, the group never benefited from the various opportunities and hints that would have let them understand the whole story of the mischievous Lo May.
This session also saw the first character fall below 0 hit points. Tian Zaisheng should have died at that moment, but another PC's quick intervention saved his life. After four sessions, I was finally beginning to gauge the difficulty level of the fights. Not bad at all: the D20 System probably takes longer to tame.