The Day of Thunder

[Tyrus]

Three of you enter the front door and something strange happens, reality seems to shift. Instead of the worried murmur of villagers all you can hear is soft wind and bird song. Despite it being night time bright sunlight filters in through the windows.

Sitting at a table is Aoyama enjoying a cup of tea with a soft smile on her lips more at peace than anyone has seen her in weeks. The woman looks up and her serene expression breaks into a fierce scowl. "What are you doing here! Get out! You'll ruin it, you outsiders will ruin everything!" As she speaks she stands, and grows. her body expanding and lengthening until she is over seven feet tall and half again as broad as she had once been. Her skin darkens to near obsidian and her eyes turn a violent red. The scene shifts as well, the bright light slowly darkening until the room is ominously lit by candle light.

Seemingly from air she pulls out two large tetsubo, which she wields easily her voice deeper and growling as she glares at them "No one will take my family from me! Nothing shall ever harm them again." She fixes you with her malevolent glare.

The members of her family can be seen from certain angles seeming frozen mid action almost like statues.

Akuto enters through the back and and finds himself in a hallway with a door at the end of it.

The monstrous woman lunges at the group with unnatural speed for her size swinging her massive weapons at the woman in the middle but her target poorly chosen her blows swing wide, Ayako deftly ducking each attack.
-------------------------------


Aoyama is in the main room of the home, to rescue someone you must get into melee range of them and use a simple action to pick them up and then they must be carried to the door and it is a free action to drop them off. The house will fully dissipate at the end of the fourth round, surely no good fate awaits any trapped inside. Players may, as a free action, leave combat if they are at the door.

characters with Lucid Dreamer may take a simple action on their turn to attempt to anchor the home in the mortal realm. To do so they make a raw willpower roll at a TN of 25. doing so extends the timer by one round. This can be done successfully once per character with Lucid Dreamer.

D6 fight Aoyama initiative | 6k3 ⇒ 26
D6 fight Aoyama who to smash 1 = kenji 2= Ayako 3= yukara | 1d3 ⇒ 2
D6 fight attack on Ayako | 9k4 ⇒ 24 (TN: 37)
D6 fight attack on Ayako | 9k4 ⇒ 36 (TN: 37)


Initiative Order round 1/4

Aoyama, She Who Dreams of Protection atn 28
Yukara - 26
Akuto - 24
Kenji - 22
Ayako - 22

[Ryoshun Yukara]

Yukara felt a sinking feeling as she watched the transformation.

Too late. Again.

Expression hardening, she took in the situation as a whole, and then called to her companions, "Get the family! They can still be saved!"

Squaring up with the giantess, she breathed out in a sharp motion, no time or space for finesse.

Then she focused, forcing her chi into her right hand as she took a wide stance, lancing out with that hand in a flash, sinking a hand opened in tiger-claw into the chest of the giantess, rebuffing the corruption and darkness which had overtaken her. By force. Her fingers unexpectedly terminating in jade claws, they sank in, releasing a shockwave of purifying earth-aligned energy into Aoyama, overwhelming the foul energy which infected her.

--------------
Complex attack: Hit: 28
Void: Free activation of Rest Now, My Brother
Damage: ??? (Does damage as appropriate for jade claws, but adds Xk0 where X equals taint ranks) -- Frees Aoyama of mental influence of Jigoku and removes shadowlands powers for 4 rounds

ATN 30
Attack Stance
Reduction: 3
1/3 Void
1 Jade Finger (5/7)
Init: 26

[Otomo Akutou]

Bow won't help here, Akutou thinks, and as he creeps carefully along the hallway, he sets his bow on the ground beside the wall.

Advancing, he slides the door open quietly, seeing the child therein. He puts a finger to his lips and bends to lift the child, making ready to evacuate the innocent.

~~~~~
Free action to drop the bow.
Simple action to reach the boy (Stealth 5 permits moving up to Water x 10' as a Simple action).
Simple action to lift the boy.

Edited to add combat info
Initiative still 24
Stealth still 58 unless required to reroll
Stance still Attack
Armor: Ashigaru
TN bonus: +3
Reduction: 1
TN to be hit: 23
0/15 +0
0/6 +3
0/6 +5
0/6 +10
0/6 +15
0/6 +20
0/6 +40 Void
0/6 Out
2/3 VP remaining
1 Finger of Jade

[Yoshitsune Ayako]

Yoshitsune Ayako moved to cover Yukara’s flank, then blinked at the sunlight streaming in through the windows. “That… that’s not right,” she breathed in a quiet voice.

Ayako mentally focused on what the house should look like … at night. In the Real World. The room seemed to shimmer again....


-
Healthy (0 wounds). Defense stance, ATN37
Simple Action to Guard Yukara (+15 to Yukara’s ATN for 2 rounds, no change to Ayako’s ATN)
Simple Action to Lucid Dreaming and anchor the house to reality:
6LE Lucid dreaming: anchor house in mortal realm, raw Willpower, free raise to reduce TN to 20 | 4k4 ⇒ 27 (TN: 20) succeeds, +1 round on the clock
No movement (staying within 5’ of Yukara this round)

[Akodo Kenji]

Seems it was a rescue mission now. Moving away from the fight was not really in Kenji's nature but he would trust the two to do what they could as he moved across the room.

Simple: move 30 ft towards far bedroom
Simple move another 30 ft towards far bedroom

[Tyrus]

Yukara felt a sinking feeling as she watched the transformation.

Too late. Again.

Expression hardening, she took in the situation as a whole, and then called to her companions, "Get the family! They can still be saved!"

Squaring up with the giantess, she breathed out in a sharp motion, no time or space for finesse.

Then she focused, forcing her chi into her right hand as she took a wide stance, lancing out with that hand in a flash, sinking a hand opened in tiger-claw into the chest of the giantess, rebuffing the corruption and darkness which had overtaken her. By force. Her fingers unexpectedly terminating in jade claws, they sank in, releasing a shockwave of purifying earth-aligned energy into Aoyama, overwhelming the foul energy which infected her.

--------------
Complex attack: Hit: 28
Void: Free activation of Rest Now, My Brother
Damage: ??? (Does damage as appropriate for jade claws, but adds Xk0 where X equals taint ranks) -- Frees Aoyama of mental influence of Jigoku and removes shadowlands powers for 4 rounds

Except it didn't feel quite right, her nails did not sink in as they should have against a human opponent. They hit her clothing and tore through but the Obsidian skin was hard as she made contact. Her chi flowed out but could not touch the corruption inside.

--------------------------
The kiho is an Atemi attack I believe and all armor bonuses are doubled against them. For the purpose of striking atemi her atn is 33.

[Ryoshun Yukara]

(OOC, since she failed the attack roll, can't spend the void on the atemi, so will instead spend for init boost)

Yukara hissed in frustration as she failed to make contact, drawing the arm back, focusing her chi, and then throwing herself forward, far less constrained and far less cognizant of her own wellbeing. This time, she would not be denied.

There was no armor stopping her this time as she did not pull her punch at all, allowing the five claws to puncture deep and deliver the shockwave of earthen chi - there was no time to waste here. The fight had to end if they were going to get her family out alive, and if she was sane, there was a chance she would recognize that.

If not, she would at least be able to return to the wheel when struck down, and the task would be easier.

-------------
Full attack, Complex: Hit (for real this time)
Atemi: Rest Now, My brother: Activated
Damage: ??? (Jade Claws+taint ranks)

ATN 20+15
Full-Attack Stance
Reduction: 3
1/3 Void
1 Jade Finger (5/7)
Init: 36

[Tyrus]

Akuto moves quietly along the hallway and picks up the young man frozen inspecting a small blade but his body moves easy enough as the Stag picks him up.

Kenji runs across the room and enter the bedroom to see a small girl sitting in a kimono frozen staring at a scroll

Ayako focuses and through her sheer willpower she is able to stabilize the area a bit, things looking a bit more solid. She was holding things for now.

this time her claws dig deep into the jet colored flesh and the chi pulses into Aoyama and she howls in pain but spreading from the wound her skin slowly returned to its natural hue and she shrinks back to her normal size. Her eyes turned from a deep blood red to their normal bright color and her eyes were filled with horror as they darted around the unnatural home. She seemed stunned by what was happening here. "I...I just...my kami....what have I done?" A dark force seemed to push into the space coalescing around the woman "You try to deny me in my own realm? It will not be so simple little kitten" and it pushed against the chi inside Aoyama to reinstate control.

-----------------


Aoyama has been temporarily purified from her taint. Yukara make an opposed willpower roll as the corrupted realm of dreams fights against your Kiho
D6 fight willpower opposed | 4k4 ⇒ 33

Initiative Round 2/5

Yukara - 36
Aoyama, She Who Dreams of Protection atn 28
Akuto - 24
Kenji - 22
Ayako - 22

[Ryoshun Yukara]

The claws and chi were not gentle as they did their work - Aoyama would feel excruciating agony as she was torn back to reality, to the waking realm.

This was mercy, but it was not kindness.

"A cat is free in all realms, monster!" Yukara spat back, exerting her will and focus to try and keep from being repelled. Unfortunately the force of it seemed to be overwhelming her.

-----

28 = Opposed Willpower (Void spent, 0/3 void remain)
37 damage

[Otomo Akutou]

Blade later, boy now, Akutou thinks, and he hauls the boy back to the door, dumping him outside unceremoniously--but safely.

That done, he creeps back in, still quietly, any incidental noises likely covered up by the sounds of the ongoing struggle in the main room.

He is just behind the door, and he would seem to be able to see into the main room, though his own presence may yet be unnoticed...

~~~~~
Simple action to haul the boy under Stealth, per Stealth 5.
Free action to drop the boy outside, per https://dayofthunder.fallenash.com/view ... 1&start=14
Simple action to creep back in under Stealth, per Stealth 5.
Ability to see in assumed from earlier descriptions.
I'm happy to reroll things if needed; please advise if so.

Initiative still 24
Stealth still 58 unless required to reroll
Stance still Attack
Armor: Ashigaru
TN bonus: +3
Reduction: 1
TN to be hit: 23
0/15 +0
0/6 +3
0/6 +5
0/6 +10
0/6 +15
0/6 +20
0/6 +40 Void
0/6 Out
2/3 VP remaining
1 Finger of Jade

[Yoshitsune Ayako]

Now that the house seemed stable - for the moment - the young Crab turned her focus to Aoyama.

"You aren't a monster!" Ayako told her, a determined look on her face as she tried to make the woman stay human by sheer force of will. "You're a mother! Help us get your family to safety!"

-
Healthy (0 wounds). Defense stance, ATN37
Simple Action to Lucid Dreaming to affect Aoyama (contested Willpower).
6LE Combat round 2, Lucid Dreaming to affect Aoyama, contested raw WILL, Void Point, free raise for +5 | 5k5+5 ⇒ 43
If I win, I'd like to dream that she stays in human form - if that's not allowed, lower her Earth ring by 1 instead.
Simple Action to Guard Yukara (total +30 to Yukara's ATN while she stays close, no change to Ayako’s ATN)

[Akodo Kenji]

It was hard to see what was going on in the other room, but that wasn't terribly important at the moment as kenji scooped up the girl and moved back out into the room.

Stance defense: atn 29
Simple: pick up girl.
Simple: move towards door 30ft
Free move towards door 15ft

[Tyrus]

The dark force seeps into the woman "I...I can't fight...please save them." and begins to change her back "This one is mine already and i will not be denied." came the nebulous menacing voice but the tranformation stops part way as Ayako imposes her will on the Dream and forces her body to stop changing. Now it is the body of Aoyama that scowls "you are a troublesome crab, we should have killed you when we had the chance."

Kenji grabs the girl and makes it close to the door while Akuto creeps up and sees Kenji holding a small child and Ayako and Yukara locked in a mental battle with a woman whose form seems to shape and twist in Flux.

The house's stability shudders and begins to deteriorate again, the bolstering from Ayako beginning to weaken.

------------
D6 fight opposed Willpower bonus to manipulate the dream | 6k6 ⇒ 29 Aoyama is only partially changed.

Yukara may make a willpower roll as a simple action on her turn to force the influence out again. She may do this for the duration of her kiho.

Kenji holds Kimi and is 15 feet from the door
Akuto is roughly 30 feet from Yamagato and 45 feet from Aoyama.

Initiative Round 3/5

Yukara - 36
Aoyama, She Who Dreams of Protection atn 28
Akuto - 24
Kenji - 22
Ayako - 22

[Ryoshun Yukara]

Yukara grimaced, the force of will now a growing strain on her body, the chi expenditure becoming an ongoing battle - not something she had expected, but she wasn't about to give up now.

Pushing the chakra out, she tried to form the shield on her skin as she had before, in case the transformation fully reverted, but was unable to focus on so many tasks at once, and the chakra simply joined the torrent flowing out through her claws into the village soldier.

"Maam, please, listen to me. You do not have long - we will save your family, but this power is temporary. You will soon be taken again - I cannot offer you any mercy save a quick death and a chance that your soul rejoins the wheel. Please - if you have last words, make them quick, and then be still, so your death may be painless."

It was the best she could do, and she knew that the woman might not hear her - might not listen, but the resistance of the realm was drawing sweat and painful strain through her body as she was pitted directly in conflict of will with something much larger than herself, and obstinacy could only take her limited internal reserves but so far.

Time was short, and in the next moment, she would have to strike. She prayed it would be a mercy, and not a drawn out affair.

----
Free Action: Speak
Simple Action - Contested Will 28 https://sakkaku.org/r/12324
Simple Action - attempt Kiho (Touch the Stone): Fails (https://sakkaku.org/r/12325)

ATN 34+30
Defense Stance
Reduction: 3
0/3 Void
1 Jade Finger (5/7)
Init: 36

[Tyrus]

It may have been so much bigger than her but it was fighting two of them at once and the house was not fully in the realm but as it grew closer the entity grew stronger. She managed to eject the corruption once more and the house filled with an ominous hissing as the darkness grew frustrated and attempted to surge back into the vessel.

The woman was fighting too tears streaming down her face "Please...just save them. Save them...from...m-" her voice cut short as she groaned, the shadow entering her once more, beginning to change her.

------------------------
D6 contest Willpower against Yukara | 4k4 ⇒ 25 (TN: 28) push out

D6 contest Willpower against Yukara | 5k5 ⇒ 37 pushing back in

PC turns

[Otomo Akutou]

Wonder if'n I c'n pull this off, Akutou thinks, since folks're distracted.

And so Akutou creeps forward, hoping that his careful motions and the clearly intent focus of Aoyama and whatever is in her will allow him to pass without notice to reach Yamagato.

Certainly, he is able to reach the man. Just as certainly, he can hoist him up to bear him out, if with a little more effort than with the boy before.

~~~~~
Simple action to reach Yamagato under Stealth (Stealth 5 permits moving up to Water x 10 as a simple action; Akutou's Water 3, and 30' was the quoted distance)
Simple action to hoist Yamagato.
I'm happy to reroll things if needed; please advise if so.

Initiative still 24
Stealth still 58 unless required to reroll
Stance still Attack
Armor: Ashigaru
TN bonus: +3
Reduction: 1
TN to be hit: 23
0/15 +0
0/6 +3
0/6 +5
0/6 +10
0/6 +15
0/6 +20
0/6 +40 Void
0/6 Out
2/3 VP remaining
1 Finger of Jade

[Yoshitsune Ayako]

"Give up, evil ghost," the Crab growled as the shadow over Aoyama returned. "We will not let you have her!"

Ayako visualized the evil spirit in her mind's eye, then imagined it becoming smaller... weaker...

-
Healthy, Defense stance, ATN37
Simple action to 6LE Combat round 3, Lucid Dreaming to affect Aoyama, contested raw WILL, Void Point, free raise for +5 | 5k5+5 ⇒ 36 - if successful, try to reduce the evil spirit's Earth by 1 (hopefully reducing its future willpower rolls and wounds)
Simple action to Guard Yukara (still +30 ATN while nearby)

[Akodo Kenji]

The family was almost safe it seemed. Which was good? Maybe, it was hard to say al things considered, but this event only solidified in his mind that all the people here might actually to some degree be lost. Moving outside he deposited the girl before moving back inside and drawing his blade.

Defense Stance:
Atn 29
Simple: Move outside
Free: Place down a child
Simple: Move inside
Free: Draw sword

[Ryoshun Yukara]

Yukara tried to keep the darkness out, but ultimately she felt herself slipping further and further - the Chi beginning to grow sluggish, her body aching with the exertion, sweat beading all over her as she felt searing pain behind her eyes.

With a scream of frustration and fury, she tried one last time, and then was rebuffed, her hand coming free as the chi burst backward at her.

While the woman was still sane... in that split moment... she tried to deliver a clean kill, though her body shook with the exertion as her chi began to flow normally within her once again, the blade of her Bisento arcing down in a beautiful cut, but one delivered without the strength to instantly kill a target that was not holding still.

---------
Simple Action Contested will to keep her mind clear: 19 - https://sakkaku.org/r/12356
Simple Action Attack (Will coup de gras if she is still, if not, attack plus damage:) (hit) (19 damage)

ATN 20+30
Full Attack Stance
Reduction: 3
0/3 Void
1 Jade Finger (5/7)
Init: 36

[Tyrus]

As they found themselves more and more immersed inside this thing's realm it grew stronger and more powerful. Ayako put up a tremendous fight their clash of wills shook the foundations of the soon to be dream home, the whole space shuddering. Ultimately, however, this was its element. It repelled Ayako from it shaking her off if just barely.

Yukara's blade swung but was met by a forearm, a jet black forearm and the blade sizzled into the flesh but did not sever the arm. Aoyama growled at them her mind and body fully in thrall to the corruption once again. she lets out a roar as she swung on the meddling Crab guard the tetsubo making two brutal cracks into her. she then slid back with a snarl

---------------------------

D6 fight willpower opposed vs Ayako molding the dream bonus | 7k7 ⇒ 37 (TN: 36)

D6 fight attack on Ayako full attack | 10k5 ⇒ 40 (TN: 37)
D6 fight attack on Ayako damage | 7k3 ⇒ 33

D6 fight attack on Ayako full attack | 10k5 ⇒ 47 (TN: 37)
D6 fight attack on Ayako damage | 7k3 ⇒ 28

Initiative Round 4/5

Yukara - 36
Aoyama, She Who Dreams of Protection atn 18
Akuto - 24
Kenji - 22
Ayako - 22