Fiction: The Wandering Tower

[Seppun Kuron]

The Wandering Tower

Rokugan, the year 3 AT...

“Is this all?” asked Emperor Toturi I. “Just these three remain?”

“Hai, Toturi-sama,” replied the weakened voice of Naka Kuro, Grand Master of the Elements. “Once the veil of the Lying Darkness was lifted, I was able to find the remaining four. One-” the old shugenja coughed, an ominous, rattling sound. “One, the Darkness had prepared for me. Its magics lashed out at me. The same time, the scroll consumed itself.”

“Which scroll was that,” asked the Emperor, with concern in his eyes. In the faint, flickering light of the hidden underground chamber, the Grand Master looked worn and thin, his robes hanging from an emaciated frame.

“The Wasting Disease,” said Kuro. He waved aside the alarm in Toturi’s face. “I can contain it within myself. Neither you nor Otosan Uchi is in danger. I would not have you die again just weeks after returning through Oblivion’s Gate. But it is incurable. No matter,” he sighed. “I have been planning on returning to Tengoku since the Day of Thunder.”

“But what shall we do with these? Three of the Twelve Black Scrolls. Surely they should be destroyed.”

“I am unsure if that is the best course of action, Toturi-sama,” rasped Kuro. “For one, Fu Leng’s essence is gone. The scrolls may no longer be Tainted. Remember, these were Isawa’s original scrolls, the ones upon which he wrote the fundamentals of magic that all shugenja follow. There may come a time when it may be essential to learn this knowledge. These are some of the most powerful spells in Ningen-do.”

“Do you know which ones you have?”

A wizened hand pointed to each of the black cylinders lying on the table, reciting a name in turn. “The Iron Citadel. The Shambling Horror. Return of the Fallen Lord.”

Toturi looked at the scrolls doubtfully. They seemed menacing, lying there.

“Can they be hidden away then? In case they or their knowledge is needed in the future?”

“The Phoenix do have a Hidden City, one where dangerous or very powerful objects are stored. We could-”

“I would prefer not,” interrupted the Emperor. “It was your Council that opened a great number of them before the Day of Thunder. I think the temptation to read some of Isawa’s original writings would be too great.”

Kuro coughed again. “Perhaps you are right.” His pale eyes grew distant with thought. “There might be another way. Do you know of Takken no Shigen-do?

“The Wandering Tower? No, I have not heard of such a place.”

“It is often spoken of in legend, but I have visited it twice myself. It is a long story, but almost 800 years ago, a powerful shugenja decided he wanted to live forever. He knew the folly of dealing with the Shadowlands, so he decided to tinker with the flow of Time itself. This made the Celestial Dragon quite angry, I might add. He managed to ‘unstick’ his Twilight Mountain tower in time. It crosses over with our time for one month every hundred years. During the time when it is gone, I am confident that no force in Creation could penetrate it. In addition, the tower itself is mazelike and full of defenses, for its master was a paranoid man.”

“Hmm,” said Toturi, lost in thought. “While I dislike the idea of simply delaying the decision, perhaps some distance would help the Council of Masters find some clarity. The Empire still reels from the influence of the Lying Darkness. In a century’s time I am sure it would be stronger, its enemies controlled. In addition, my line will be secure, my heirs numerous. They will be up to this challenge. When does the Takkan no Shigen-do appear?”

“The first day of summer, my lord. I will journey there myself to place them inside.”

[Jer]

Well, if the game lasts for another year and a quarter we'll see what happens. Heh.

Jer
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This is not a fish! I was promised a FISH! - Jer

[Michael]

Um, its the year AT 103.
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I like my coffee like I like my women. COVERED IN BEES! -Izzard

[Jer]

Oh, I thought we started in Year 101. My bad.
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This is not a fish! I was promised a FISH! - Jer

[Michael]

Yes, look for the Tounrament: Race for the Scrolls, coming in Turn 16!
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I like my coffee like I like my women. COVERED IN BEES! -Izzard

[The Dragon]

Race for the scrolls....could this be yet another plotline? We may just hit a hundred, yet! -T.
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I like my coffee like I like my women. In a plastic cup. -Eddie Izzard

[Juan Valdez]

Between tinkering and mechanical sounds, Toyotomi's voice rumbles out from beneath the Ancestral Speedboat of the Mantis "We got this one in the bag. Could someone pass me the 7/16?"
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What exactly do you mean by "You're dead"?

[Michael]

Grrr. It's a Tournament. A self-contained event with its own pre-published rules, promising either fabulous prizes or painful humiliation. Enter at your own peril.
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I like my coffee like I like my women. COVERED IN BEES! -Izzard

[The Dragon]

Ah, an actual tournament? I thought you were using "race for scrolls" as a metaphor for another longer term quest we needed to participate in, not literally. I'll be sure to watch for it, then... -T.
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I like my coffee like I like my women. In a plastic cup. -Eddie Izzard

[Juan Valdez]

The Mantis are souping up the Ancestral Speedboat of the Mantis for the upcoming race and are in need of some decoration. As such Toyotomi is sending a call across the Empire for any aritifcers who could sculpt some animals along the side. The only requirement is that the animal has to have long ears.
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What exactly do you mean by "You're dead"?

[Kakita Tanaka]

There could be a picture of Toyotomi sculpted on the side. Oh! Wait! That is the wrong kind of Jackass!

Somehow Toyotomi can hear the laughter of Tanaka, as he speeds across the water.

[Juan Valdez]

I thought we agreed to leave the symbols of the modern Democrat Party out of this forum. Besides Tanaka will have to kick his own Oracle in the nuts to get that portal back open.
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What exactly do you mean by "You're dead"?

[Dr. Spank]

What turn is it now?

[Michael]

It's turn 15 now. Turn 16 will be the Race for the Scrolls Tournament. I'll post the rules here before Turn 16, as this will be another one where you'll have to commit a character earlier than your Turn Sheet.
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I like my coffee like I like my women. COVERED IN BEES! -Izzard

[Michael]

Ok, the Race for the Scrolls Tournament has the following rules and regulations:

The Kami, spirits, allies, and luck of each clan (Gaijin and Shadowlands included) will allow them one and only one entrant. The Wandering Tower is deep in the inhospitable Twilight mountains, it'll take some doing to get there.

A Clan can decide not to send an entrant. They can also pass on their one entry to another Clan, should they want.

This is essentially a dungeon crawl, as the various characters try to work their way up through the Tower, hoping to be the first to find where the scrolls are located. The winner will get to select which scroll of the three (The Iron Citidel, The Shambling Horror, The Return of the Fallen Lord) they want to find. The second place finisher chooses next, and the third place entrant gets whatever is left.

The winners of the scrolls can decide what to do with them. If they think they are an evil that should have been destroyed a centruy ago, they can destroy them. If they want to try and extract the writings of Isawa from the scroll, they can attempt that. Or they can simply use the Magic of the scroll (they are all 1 shot items) as they see fit.

The Tower has four levels. Each level requires a check against a different Ring:
Level 1: The mazelike entrance halls require a Water check TN 20 to navigate.
Level 2: The crumbling, MC Esher-esque second level requires an Earth check TN 20 for the strength and stamina needed to leap, shove, and climb through.
Level 3: The disjointed time effect of the tower has left this level full of hundreds of different time shades of the Tower's master. Only the skillful diplomacy of an Air check TN 20 will enable quick movement.
Level 4: The temporal distortion is great here, as the folds of space and time are twisted. Void checks, TN 20, will be your guide to the scrolls that are hidden somewhere here.

Each time you fail a check, you fall a step behind the other racers.

In the likely event of ties at the end, either Duels or Diplomacy will decide the order.

However, you can interefere with the progress of the other racers. Everyone will know who is in the Tower. At any level, you can take a Raise of +5 to your difficulty in order to give another racer a +5 to their TN should you succeed in your check! So taking a huge raise just to mess with something is pointless if you can't handle the TN. In the event that two people raise each other, it becomes a direct contest, with the one getting the lower roll falling a step behind.

If multiple people Raise 1 target, then we apply a version of the Co-op rules: The highest Raise + 5TN. So if Toyotomi, Husaki, Morimoto, and Akahito all take 1 raise to up Anzai's TN, her TN isn't up +20, but rather +10. But if Toyotomi took two raises (say on Level 2), then Anzai's TN is 15 (Two raises, plus 5TN).

If multiple people raise 1 target, and the 1 target raises one of those people, it becomes a contest between those two, with the character getting the help recieveing a +5 for each person who is "helping" them by raising the first target. So if Anzai is also raising Toyotomi, it becomes a contest between the two, and Toyotomi has a +15 from the 3 others helping him with the raises. Moral of the story here: if you think you're a big target on a level, keep your head down and focus on the goal.
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I like my coffee like I like my women. COVERED IN BEES! -Izzard