Basic Information Name: Emiko Tamazaki Gender: Female Age: 22 Profession: Samurai Accent: Japanese accent
Physical Information Height: 160cm Weight: 52kg Body build: Slim, but with accented muscles from warrior training. Skin type: Smooth Hair style: Long straight black hair, usually kept out of the way. Scars: None
[b]Hair:[/b] Black [b]Eyes:[/b] Brown [b]Skin:[/b] Pale, but not overly so. [/li]
Mental Information Alignment: Lawful Good Philosophy: Follows the path of bushido, which among other things encompasses: Courage, Honor and Duty. Deity/Beliefs: Follows the deity Hachiman. Personality:
[u]Honest[/u] [i]Does generally not lie, as that would be dishonorable.[/i] [u]Benevolent[/u] [i]Tries being kind and understanding to people as long as they are not enemies.[/i] [u]Loyal[/u] [i]Protects those she cares about with her life, her duty matters more than anything.[/i] [/li]
Additional Information Gear: A plain full plate, newly forged, but without any adornments. Two katanas in scabbards. Jewelry: None Habbits/hobbies: Forging and drawing. General Health: Perfect health. Favorite Drink: Sake Weaknesses: Worries about not getting back home, which would lead to disgrace, and being declared ronin.
I awoke with a pain throughout my body, almost slipping back into unconsciousness. No I thought to myself, and I forced my eyes open. Around me was various debris, some of which I recognized as parts of my armor. Looking down on myself I saw that my full plate was completely shredded. Puzzled I tried recalling what had happened.
I had been in a fight, as a maho-tsukai and his oni minions were attacking my daimyo's stronghold. Me and my companions had formed a line to protect the daimyo. "My companions" I croaked, my voice dry as if I had not had water in a day. What had happened to them? I tried thinking back.
The enemy sorcerer had cornered my daimyo, and I stepped between them my katana drawn. "You cannot have him" I had said more bravely than I felt. He had looked at me and cast a spell. The spell must been what tore my armor up. And my blade, where is it? Suddenly frantic I sat up too quickly and almost fell back into unconsciousness as a reward. I looked around an unfamiliar place, and could find no trace of my blade.
A feeling of great shame swallowed me up. To lose my blade, there is no greater dishonor. Then I corrected myself, there is one greater dishonor, to betray my master. I need to find him, perhaps he managed to get away from the maho-tsukai and is in need of my help.
I stripped off what parts were left of my former custom crafted armor, and was left with the relatively soft leather underpadding. Nearby I found a discarded weapon, a crude bludgeoning weapon, but it would have to do. Summoning the magic granted to me from Hachiman, I healed the worst of my wounds, making me able to get to my feet and start figuring out where I was.
I walked the streets of this city, unfamiliar to me. The people were even stranger than the city they live in however. Unhuman things, most not looking like anything I've seen before, and many looking like oni. None seemed particularly hostile however so I just kept my distance.
Finding no landmarks or roads leading out of the city, I decided to enter the tunnels below it. Perhaps the city is build on a plateu, and the exit is lower I thought.
I summoned a ball of light to help illuminate my path, and I heard the sound of steel striking steel. Hurrying toward the sound I see a child with two blades trying to break down a steel gate, behind it an animated skeleton trying to get out.
"Be careful, there is a skeleton behind that door" I called out, but she didn't respond. As the door swung open, I sent out a wave of positive energy towards the skeleton and was rewarded by a shower of small bits of bone as it exploded.
The child turned around, coughing on the bonedust. "Oh, I'm sorry I didn't see you there". I realize suddenly that this is no child, she is short of stature, but her eyes and her behaviour told me that she was adult.
I learned her name was Elizandra, and that she too had ended up in this city recently without knowing how. She had appeared here after falling asleep, not knowing how she came here either. She suggested that this was a different place, like the heavens, but if that was the case, I'd think Hachiman would announce himself to me and call me to serve.
Me and Elizandra decided to explore deeper, to search for a herbalist she talked of. Foul humanoids ambushed us a few times, but it was no great challenge, even with my improvised weapon.
We ended up in a huge cavern, big enough to have held the village I was born in, with room to spare. Even stranger creatures lived here, and I kept a cautious distance, while Elizandra started talking to some of the locals.
"Should we search this place for the herbalist?" I asked her, and out of the nearby shadows I heard a voice.
"You have come to the wrong place, you should have taken a different turn by the goblins." His build was something humanlike, but more powerful, and his face looked more like an oni. "I am Shard, a warshaman"
I mentioned that I was looking for a way home, and he started speaking about things that made little sense. He asked me the name of my "world", and Shard knew nothing of the city Nakakyo. He was also unwilling to give any nearby landmarks that would perhaps help me figure out where I am. I believe he might have been unwilling to explain, not unable.
Shard was feeling generous and offered to aid us with magic, and I decided to accept. I kept a tight grip on my weapon, in case he would try to harm us with magic.
His magic turned out benign though luckily, and when we went back out, we felt it helping us overcome foes easily. We came to a corridor I remembered from an earlier exploration I did, so I knew it lead to the surface, so the only way left was some steps down. Elizandra agreed with me and we went down it.
At the bottom we were immediately assaulted by two nezumi, ratlings. We stood in the doorway fighting them, and my weapon could hardly manage to hurt them. "he's tricked us to come here to our doom" I said in anger as I fought. But why would he have helped us with magic if he was to send us here?
Working together we managed to kill the nezumi eventually, and withdrew quickly back up the steps. The magic we had was likely the only reason we were able to beat them. We must have just taken a wrong turn.
Deciding not to take any more chances, we headed for safety and rest. Perhaps tomorrow I can figure out a way to get home.
I stumbled around the bazaar to find a strange hovering creature in the middle of a small crowd. "what... what is that thing?" I asked to noone in particular. "A vargoille" an armored man answered.
Next to him stood a blue skinned, six fingered woman. I wondered how an oni like her could live openly and apparantly peacefully in a city, but it seemed that her kind is accepted in Sigil.
I asked the man, Vale his name was, how to find a way out of the city. I just couldn't believe no road lead out of the city until Vale pointed up to the sky, and I noticed that above me was more ground, the city forming a ring. I instinctively put my hands over my head to shield me, and got nauseous at the thought of the city hovering above by magic.
Once I recovered, I asked the two more questions, trying to figure out a way to get home, but all the answers I got was rather disheartening. Not knowing what my specific prime is named seemed to be a big problem to figuring out a way home.
Vale offered to give me a tour of the city, and I graciously accepted, if nothing else since I was a bit nervous about the oni woman that was paying me too much attention.
He taught me about portals and keys, and some about different kinds of oni, all quite useful. He also showed me some of the more impressive sights of the city, so atleast now I understand a bit better where things are located and their functions.
Now I just need to try locate a way home. Apparantly the odds are against me, but I must try. I have only a year to return to my daimyo or I am declared ronin. That is if he or anyone else even survived the battle that sent me here. I must remain optimistic and start searching for a way...
I found a man having a stall in the bazaar, offering to lend money to people. Since my pockets were nearly empty, I approached him and learned his name was Hildmor. After learning his terms, I agreed to and signed for a loan of 10 000 jink, to be payed back as 12 000 jink within five months.
It quickly came to good use as over half of it went to buy a cloak, amulet and hood from the blue skinned oni from earlier. After Hildmor vouched for her trade being honest.
I decided to test my new equipment through the portal to the gray wastes, which Vale showed me the other day. Bringing the obsidian gem, it lit up in a circular shape. I didn't know what to expect, but the travel itself was surprisingly painless.
The zombies wandering around the plane fell easily as my divine magic turned them to dust. Only the large lumbering zombie proved any challenge, but my magic held it immobile while my searing lights shot huge holes in it until finally it fell.
Then I spotted the cave in the distance, feeling brave I decided to investigate it. Inside, a foul ghast charged me, and my magic would not destroy or hold it. I thought I was doomed, it wounded me gravely, and my searing lights all missed, until finally I got lucky and managed to hold it with my turning. Taking the opportunity I got, I ran for the exit, and quickly returned to Sigil.
I returned to under sigil, where I met a woman named El, who agreed to show me around. We went to the nezumi, where El fought them easily, and wanted me to stay back, but my honor doesn't allow me to cower while a companion fights. I fought cleverly though, and it turned out very well, getting me a nice pair of magical bracers and magical shield.
Now if only I could find some expert in planar travel...
I've spent some days in the forge, crafting myself a simple but effective armor, and two new blades. Neither is the match of the blade I lost, but they will do for now.
I talked to Vale again, and he revealed a secret he had kept hidden from me, apparently he is tainted by oni after his great grandfather made a deal with one. I might have lost my temper a bit during the conversation, which makes me feel bad, perhaps why he left suddenly too. He claimed that a deal like that with baatezu he could keep under control since it was all spelled out in a contract, which I feel is very naive of him to think. Even so, he admitted being three centuries old, and since he's not fallen to evil in all that time, he must be right in some things.
I must learn to be more accepting to people here being tainted, apparently it's very common, and they seem peaceful enough at least while inside the city itself. I can't afford to be too picky who to travel with while I am so desperately in need of the natives aid to get home. I must still find a planar travel expert, and someone who can help track 'tracebacks' that I've heard talk of as a way to find a way back to my home. Hopefully I'll have more luck with this soon.
I recovered a suit of tainted armor in the nezumi tunnels, the evil aura on it was quite noticable to me, even without divination spells. I decided quickly that this item had to be destroyed, so I put it as securely as I could in a sack and pulled it with me. It was quite heavy but I finally made it to the bazaar.
I was asking around the bazaar when I noticed a man lift a gem from the pocket of the man I was talking to, while bumping into him. I confronted him about it, and the victim, Berrenny, as I would learn his name was later, noticed what was missing.
We demanded he return the item or we'd call the Hard heads, and that threat seemingly worked, because he threw the gem back and left us. Lucky too, since the armor I was dragging along would have let me pursued him had he tried to run.
It didn't take me too long after this to find someone who told me the name of someone who could destroy the cursed armor, and as luck would have it, I was referred to Aeron-san, which I've had dealings with in the time. Twice lucky even, since shortly after Aeron walked up to his stall.
A short discussion of the mechanics he'd use later to destroy the armor I let him do it, he didn't even ask payment to do it, but I'm not sure that was because he shared my interest in destroying the tainted item.
I also joined the Adventurers Guild, and hopefully these will have a planar travel expert in their ranks. It did get me a discount on a new enchanted magical belt atleast.
I had a small adventure with Benny and Astarot to the nezumi and then to the plane of ice. We worked very well together even when greatly outnumbered, but at times we needed to withdraw and reengage. In the end it was worth it.
I promised Benny to forge him a new blade next time we meet, hopefully I can make a blade up to his standards.
I also met a man named Selmar in the bazaar, who behaved strangely, very excitable. He also mentioned having been a general, so that made his current behaviour even more strange unless that was a lie. He mentioned having gotten a head wound, so I offered to look at it.
It turned out that the wound on his head was a healed one with something under it. I used magic to slightly desensitize the area and gently opened the old wound. There was a piece of adamantium shrapnel lodged there in his skull.
I had to pull hard to manage to remove it, and once it came out it left a hole in his head that I quickly healed as best I could. It seemed to not completely mend the bone, so I dug up the scroll I found on my recent trip with Benny and Astarot and used it to as best I could heal Selmar.
He seemed alot more collected after removing it, so I do think I succeeded in repairing the worst of the damage. If he gets rest I am sure it will become well in time. If it doesn't, a more proficient healer than me will need to look at it.
Two more adventures completed without too much problems. First I got to return to the swamps of Baator, this time with three companions. It proved simple enough for us when we cooperated.
And I went with Benny and Astarot to the sunken docks, to try purge the undead from the place. We managed to slay alot of them, but seemingly a near endless number of them coming from below the water, so unfortunately I couldn't manage to completely clear it of the evil influence.
Many things have happened the last couple of days, but none have gotten me any closer to my goals of returning home.
I met a knight named Kratos that has many of the same ideals as me, and also has a quest; to find a dragon mount for himself. We went to the ethereal plane, with Benny joining us looking for clues that would help either of our quest, but to no avail.
We also encountered a faulty modron in Sigil which was herded around by a gnoll. The gnoll claimed the modron was following it, but it seemed like the opposite was the case. Benny offered to pay a woman named R'ena to repair it, quite generous of him. I am uncertain how it turned out in the end however.
Benny and I also travelled to Baator together, to the swamps of Minauros. We explored some of the caverns below the swamp, and got assulted by wave after wave of foes attacking us. Finally feeling we were nearly overmatched, I cast a spell to make my body tough but heavy and unflexible. I tried keeping all attention on me, but Benny finally fell.
I kept fighting for what felt like hours until finally I managed to drop the last oni fighting me. Saying a blessing to Hachiman I hurried over to Benny who still had a pulse, although weak. I slowly pulled him out, weakened by the fighting and still hindered by my own protective spell.
I pulled him out and poured healing magic into him, reviving him. He was able to fight again and we made our way out of the plane, although I adviced him to have his wounds rechecked by someone more proficient in healing than I, since I'm only a combat medic at best.
Just when we returned, we ran into Selmar, who was again behaving a bit oddly, and was talking about how he killed people at a hospital he'd gone to. I was rather shocked, but decided to investigate further. Turns out the hospital looked more like a slaughterhouse than somewhere to heal the sick, although that doesn't excuse murder.
Apparantly even the Harmonium hadn't felt there was a big problem that Selmar had killed people here though, so I guess it was best described as self defense. I will still have to keep an eye on his actions from now on though.
Because of his strange behaviour, I decided to re-examine his wound. We went to the Gatehouse where Benny kept him occupied with discussion while I examined Selmars head. The wound apparantly keeps returning, but he's gotten it redressed every day. I did my best to pour more healing magic into it, closing it for now, but I suspect Selmar could use the help from someone more specialized in healing than me.
Healing magic is somewhat like weaving cloth, putting threads together in the right places and making them hold eachother fast. While my speciality is more along the lines of forging things, which works well for brute force spells, but healing magic responds less well to it. Hopefully the healing will hold better this time than last though, since my skill in magic keeps increasing.
