IZOU'S PALACE

[goei]

KYOTO BAKUMATSU PALACE
You find yourself in historical Kyoto at night. The city is shadowy and beautiful, elegant but hostile. It's a sophisticated city, but you don't belong there and it knows it. Everyone knows it. You are being watched.

Worst of all, a terrible demon haunts the streets of this powerful capital city.

Eli Walsh, Kirumi Tojo, Still Sunrise, Argenti, Yi Sang, Celeste, Mafuyu Asahina, and McGillis Fareed, do you dare journey into hell?

 

♪♪♪

Comments

PHASE FOUR

[goei]

[Welcome to the freaking fifth floor. Unlike the previous two, this one has a largish central room you walk in on one side of. Around the room are sixteen doors on all sides (so four on each side) and all the doors and walls are covered in murals depicting some sort of fiery hell.

In the center of the room are another set of stairs.... and the demon? He doesn't move to attack. He's just standing there, waiting to see what you all do.]

[fullmoonmutt]

[ Up the stairs and...! ]

Izou! You piece of shit! Get over here!

[ Someone please stop Eli, because he is immediately planning to stomp off across the room towards the "demon". ]

[beautifulknight]

[ Argenti steps in and tries to get in front of Eli despite this probably also being a bad idea, but he will do it anyway. ]

Wait. We should be more careful about this.

[fullmoonmutt]

[ Move your shiny metal ass, Argenti!!! Okay, no, Eli does jerk to a stop and glower up at the knight in his way. ]

Careful?! It's a wide-open room!

[cirquedesang]

[Celeste is also going to just go ahead and grab Eli's wrist. Wait a second here--]

We were brought here by that... thing... we put together. Shouldn't someone try giving it to him, first?

[...Maybe not mafuyu, even though she's been carrying it, in case Big Scary Demon Izou tries to kill the messenger, but...]

[goei]

[The Demon leers at Eli through his straw hat.]

They sent a barking dog to kill a demon?

[fullmoonmutt]

This barking dog has killed way more real demons than you ever have, you big baby!

Re: PHASE FOUR

[beathollow]

( with her gifties and the tsuba, mafuyu just watches for a moment.

...

that's not... is it? )

Who are you?

[goei]

The Demon Stalkin' The Dark Streets of Kyoto. Didn't ya come here looking for me?

[There's something... distorted in the quality of the voice. But it's definitely Izou's.]

[kandata]

Good evening.

[A slight formal curtsy for the demon, yup, although that's more difficult to do when you're wearing a yukata]

May I ask why are you in this building?

[goei]

[KIRUMI SO POLITE EVEN NOW....]

To kill, of course. Haven't you heard about me all over town?

[idealitas]

[ After picking up the completed sword guard from Mafuyu, he keeps a bit of distance from that demon than engage directly, but holds up the guard in his hand for the demon to see. ]

Is this of significance to you?

[goei]

That's the guard I'm missin' on Hizen. Give it here.

[Closer inspection does confirm the katana he's holding is missing it's guard.]

BOSS BATTLE: KAKURENBO

[goei]

[As Shadow Izou steps into the shadow and vanishes, everyone is once again subjected to a flash of memory.

A younger Izou, barely even an adult, is sitting in seiza before a severe looking older man. This time, we actually hear Izou speak, "Please, Takechi-sensei. I know I ain't smart or rich or good at talking like Ryouma is, but I wanna help too."

The man looks Izou over, mouth still set in a thin line, but he nods. "Of course. Unlike the shogunate, I'll have plenty use for a swordsman like you, Okada-kun." He smiles, but it doesn't reach his eyes.

As the memory fades, torches alongside each of the eight doors (I lied earlier when I said sixteen) flare into being, illuminating name placards above each of them.

In order, going around the room, the doors are labeled:

Toukatsu
Reviving Hell

Kokujou
Black Thread Hell

Shugou
Crushing Hell

Kyoukan
Screaming Hell

Daikyoukan
Great Screaming Hell

Jounetsu
Burning Hell

Daijounetsu
Great Burning Hell

Mugen Jigoku
Endless Hell

MECHANICS: Each turn, everyone can choose a room to enter. If they choose the room Izou appears in, they enter a round of combat. You can split up however you like. Landing a Hit on Shadow Izou will require a DC 15 check so make sure you strategize so you can add bonuses to your rolls.]

♪BATTLE START♪

[cleansewithfire]

[ ...There is the slightest frown on Sunrise's face, which way as well speak volumes. ]

I do not know if the names are meant be indicative.

[beautifulknight]

[ Time to enter into them, so Argenti just looks into Endless Hell or he is going to immediately go for that. ]

[idealitas]

...The poem pieces Eli and I found mention a demon moving from one hell to another.

[ He'll just recite it from memory: ]

The demon flits between the hells, where he goes this rhyme can tell...
First along the shadow's edge, the demon follows somber threads.
Next chasing distant screams, amidst the fires panic seems.

[fullmoonmutt]

...what the hell is this? [ Literal, apparently, considering the door names. ] I don't get it?

[ People are referencing the poem, but looking from door to door, he only feels confused. As such, he will be entering no door. ]

ROUND 1 RESULTS

[goei]

[In our first round, everyone's locations are thus;

Main Room: Eli and Mafuyu
Reviving Hell: McGillis, Kirumi, & Celeste
Black Thread Hell: Yi Sang & Sunrise
Endless Hell: Argenti

Here's what they'll find;

MUGEN JIGOKU: ENDLESS HELL
Argenti finds himself in a room where everything is upside-down, and the floor is a black void, giving a vertigo like feeling. It is as hot as an oven and indiscernable chanting can be heard.

KOKUJOU: BLACK THREAD HELL
Yi Sang & Sunrise find themselves in a room where everything (lanterns, a low table, bookcase) is bound in black thread and black lines criss-cross all over the floor and ceiling.

On the table, is another scrap of paper. It says;

Third he twists all upside-down, over the chasm voices sound

TOUKATSU: REVIVING HELL
McGillis, Kirumi, and Celeste find themselves in a room entirely made of iron. The floor is scorching hot, which wouldn't be a problem for anyone wearing shoes. Blood and Iron Weapons are scattered around the room.

Also, out of one of the shadows, comes Shadow Izou!! He takes a swing at Celeste (11). There is no dodging a strike this fast. But now you three get a chance to attack him as well!]

ROUND 2 RESULTS

[goei]

[Our second round everyone is as thus;

Main Room: Mafuyu, Eli
Endless Hell: Argenti
Black Thread Hell: The Rest

And they find... Nothing! Wait, actually, Argenti didn't notice it earlier, but now he's noticed... another scrap!

Fourth now darting two and fro, avoiding boulders crushing foe

Better luck next time, sports fans.]

ROUND 3 RESULTS

[goei]

[This time everyone tried spreading out!

Main Room: Mafuyu Holding Down The Fort Babey
Black Thread: Kirumi
Crushing: Sunrise
Screaming: Eli & Celeste
Great Screaming: McGillis
Burning: Yi Sang
Endless: Argenti doing his thing

A bunch of new rooms to observe!!

CRUSHING HELL: Sunrise finds herself in room filled with boulders and paintings of fierce wild animals on the walls. A lot of the boulders seem precarious as if they could fall over at any moment.

SCREAMING HELL: Eli and Celeste are... sorry Celest, in a room filled with active fires along with the disembodied sound of many people screaming in a panic. On the floor, safely away from any of the fires, is another line of the poem;

Now spies upon turning pyre, charred flesh no sinner will desire

BURNING HELL: Yi Sang has entered on of the hottest rooms yet! Inside is meat being roasted on spits over roaring fires, though something about it... seems inedible. Red hot iron clubs hang from the ceiling. Yikes.

GREAT SCREAMING HELL: McGillis welcome to the fucking snake room. Everything is covered in depictions of snakes or snakes erupting from people's bodies. There's screaming here as well but it feels more like it's coming from inside his head?

Also I'm crying because Shadow Izou is here and he slashes McGillis with a terrible wound! Nothing major has been nicked at least (18).]

ROUND 4 RESULTS

[goei]

[The locations are;

Main Room: Yi Sang & Sunrise
Crushing Hell: Eli, Kirumi, Celeste
Great Burning: Mafuyu + White Men

CRUSHING HELL: It is still full of rocks, though as Eli, Kirumi, and Celeste enter, a rock will fall, rolling right in front of them, ALMOST crushing them. And where the rock was, is another piece of paper;

Then to hell in iron bound, he burns his feet upon the ground

GREAT BURNING HELL: Mafuyu, Argenti, and McGillis are confronted by HORRIBLE DEMONS painted on the wall. The seem to have eyes that follow the viewer. The whole room is aflame and hooked ropes hang from the ceiling that they will have to take care to avoid in order to collect the scrap of paper hanging from one;

Seventh quick he must take care, the traps his kin have left in there

Shadow Izou does not appear in either room!]

ROUND 5 RESULTS

[goei]

[Here's how things stand;

Screaming Hell: McGillis, Argenti, Yi Sang, Eli
Endless Hell: Mafuyu, Celeste, Kirumi, Sunrise

It seems the puzzle has been solved because Shadow Izou does in fact appear in screaming hell!! He tries to attack Yi Sang but, perhaps thrown off by how many of the team showed up in this room, misses entirely and even drops his katana in the process!!! He now only has his shorter wakizashi. Get'em , boys.]

ROUND 6 RESULTS

[goei]

[So Shadow Izou had a bad time this round. After being stabbed badly by both Yi Sang and Argenti he is already in no position to defend, and THEN Eli punches him extremely hard!!! He was downed on the floor, but after just barely being able to reach out and grab Hizen before Yi Sang can steal it, he melds back into shadow.

As they hit Izou, the fires dim, and the temperature in all rooms lower significantly

The boys subsequently ran to the Crushing Room

Meanwhile, the girls and Celeste set up some freaking traps and ambush maneuvers in Endless Hell, which is now just slightly uncomfortable instead of oven hot.

As predicted, Shadow Izou appears, and while he manages to do a big hit on Kirumi (18), he then immediately gets tangled in her webs. Everyone in Endless Hell will get a +5 to their attack rolls because of this and their preparations. Izou is seeming ragged and also very angry.]

You- You all-!!!
[His voice sounds hoarse but unclear if it's from anger, tiredness or both.]

FINAL RESULTS

[goei]

[As Celeste slams Shadow Izou to the floor with Admit One, he yelps in pain before once again sinking into the shadows.

However, once he does, All the doors slam open as the hot rooms cool to room temperature, and in the main room the torches have gone out, leaving the room cold, some corners even icing over with frost as all the fires and heat seep away.

In the center of the room, Shadow Izou is curled on the ground, pitiful and weeping. The straw hat and mask are gone, revealing his face and a faint scar encircling his neck. In a voice that is pitful and soft and yet echoes loud enough for everyone to hear where he is;]

Why I wasn't good enough? I tried my best… what'd I do wrong? Takechi sensei… Ryouma… Why'd you leave me behind? Why?

[It is up to you to decide how to defeat Shadow Izou: Demon of Kyoto.]