IUCHI EVENT: Spirit Quest (D9, Early Night)

[Soshi Yuuru]

Yuuru tried his hardest to figure out how to make the potion... but failed miserably.

---
OOC Rolls:
Failed
0 Damage (after void)

[Kitsune Kumahime]

Kumahime is reminded of the vision quests some of the elder members of her dojo have gone on to commune with the Proud Bear, and manages to prepare her concoction not just correctly, but to the above-normal dosage appropriate to a warrior of her stature.

Unfortunately, doubt poisons her mind. Usually, those who go on such vision quests are five, ten years farther along in her training, and it takes days, or weeks. To suddenly go on a quest on demand?

In the end, she comes closer than she knows, but ultimately holds herself back, tethered at the first step in a journey to a larger world.

((Poison, untrained, VP, TN15: 3d10 27, pass. One point.
Meditation, untrained, VP, TN15: 3d10 14, fail.
Total: 1 point.))

[Miya Mei]

Mei listened as the Iuchi showed everyone the herbs with trepidation on her face. When the instruction was finished, she looked at the batch carefully.

"So I just cut this here? Then mix it together like we are cooking? And this lets the Unicorn enter the Spirit Realms?"

Her voice was skeptical but after the Iuchi nodded at her in confirmation she did exactly as she was shown.

Unfortunately, she missed the small detail that you had to crush the bulb of one of the flowers instead of cut it, as the juices did not fully extract otherwise and were quite harmful. This led to an very unpleasant night of severe nausea, night sweats, chest pounding, and the spins.


----Rolls----
[D9 EN] Mixing Up Herbs, +1k1 Int, No Skill. TN 15: 3d10 14
[D9 EN] Mixing Up Herbs Damage: 2d10o10k2 14: Voided to take 4.

[Yuzuki]

Her earliest attempts at cooking had been referred to as poisonous by some; so she figured she already had some of the knowledge required for this event. Unfortunately, she was wrong about that. Fortunately, she had enough luck that it didn't actually matter. Her concoction did taste good as a result, though.

"Hmm! That anise!"

She had just enough time to comment on her skills before she fell to the ground. A helpful Unicorn nearby tried to step in to help her back up, but she pushed herself up into a seated position without assistance.

"Woaw," she let out a breath as her pupils dilated and her spirit succesfully separated from her body.

Looking around at her new surroundings, Yuzuki discovered she had gotten shorter somehow. Oh no! She was back to being a kid!



This was literally the worst thing that could possibly happen! But then she saw something furry down at her feet, and to her delight discovered it was Kon. She bent down and picked him up, petting him and wuvving him and not feeling quite so weirded out by what was happening.

You're kind of short for a stormcaptain, aren't you?

"Huh? Who said that?"

Yuzuki looked this way and then that way and finally turned around to see...



...something pretty weird.

"Huh? I'm not a stormcaptain, I don't even own a boat!"

Well that's kind of dissappointing. I'd expected you to at least be someone with a boat. Or a castle. Or a horse! Horses are good. I hear they're all the rage these days.

"Uhm... I don't have any of that. I do have Kon though," she said as the furry feline escaped her arms and vanished.

Ah yes. The cat. How delightful. He'll do quite nicely for our purposes I suppose. At least he's bigger than you.

"Huh? Kon's not bigger than me."

Oh really? Look behind you.



"..."

"..."

"...KON!" Yuzuki shouted, hands on her hips, "How MANY times have I told you not to eat so much!"

And then Yuzuki's spirit got pulled back to her body again, leaving behind two rather amused spirits.

Always a good laugh, that one.
Shame we couldn't scare her more than that.
Yes, well. Better luck next time.

Craft: Poison / Intelligence, Void for +1k1, +2 from orokos! TN15: 3d10+2 21 +1 point
Meditation/Void, VOID for +1k1, +2 from orokos! TN15: 3d10+2 17 +1 point
Divination / Intelligence, +2 from orokos! TN15: 2d10+2 11 +0 points

2 points total

[Yogo Yuichi]

Are they trying to poison us? Yuichi was not very convinced about this whole 'spirit world journey'.

Oh, well if they kill us, they will not have more excuses... hopefully this mixture will kill me slowly, that way I will be a living reminder of these gaijin's treachery. Yuichi thought as he mixted the herbs.

He drank the infusion. For a minute or two, nothing happened. Suddenly he could feel his soul departing from his body as he entered into the void and then into the spirit world. '' Wait? That actually worked... ''

For a short period of time his soul floated around the spirit world. He could feel a great battle in the surroundings. Time passed slowly but he saw Samurai vs Samurai, ancestor vs descendant, killing each other.

...

His soul returned to his body.

...

Apparently nobody believes a 'crazy' Yogo. Nobody will believe what I just saw. He shrugs and departed in silent contemplation.

******************

[OOC - Rolls]

1) Craft: Poison/Intelligence - 22 |Pass [TN 15, 1 Vp for skill]
2) Meditation/Void - 23 |Pass [TN 15, +1K1 VP]
3) Divination/Intelligence - 30|Pass [TN 15]
0/2 Void Points left
3 Spirit Points

[Iuchi Yukarin]

Was this something the Iuchi in other groups did then? Yukarin certainly never remembered her relatives mixing up herbs to see visions.

Still, it would be remiss of her to not at least TRY something sponsored by her Family.

As she dug into the basket of herbs she was very careful in looking them over. She knew a little general knowledge about plants and such, and after the mixture was heated with water she ended up with something the colour and smell of something one might find on a stable floor

She frowned as she looks at it in the cup. Well... here goes nothing I suppose...

Downing it in one gulp her face scrunched up and she waited... Surprisingly or not though she felt fine. Then she started feeling better than fine...

Soon she had slipped into a trance, sitting cross legged in a calm smiling position. Rather than anything trippy though, she sees a vision where spirits and people were locked in battle.

She was frowning as she slowly woke up.

+×÷=+×÷=+×÷=+×÷=

3 Spirit Points

[Otomo Tenzo]

There was a reason Imperials in general and the Otomo in particular did not get involved in the arts of poisons and herbs, but such a lesson did Tenzo not heed as he fumbled around with a mash of herbs without any real idea as to what he was doing with them. Quite naturally, of course, he felt immediately sick to his stomach once he swallowed some of it down. Throwing away the rest of whatever disgusting concoction he had made, he decided the best course of action from there would be to go to bed, see if he could sleep this pain off, and forget about ever dabbling into this sort of thing without requisite knowledge again.

Herb mixing: totally failed!
Poison wounds: 12 (after VP for reduction)


Note: made this roll as well as this one when it should have been 4k3 per the one raise; correct roll is above because I don't know how to read

[Moshi Asakiko]

The Moshi studied the herbs as she mixed them. The smell wasn't that pleasant but the combobulation was drinkable. She noted That she was drifting into the void. A figure the Moshi recognized came to view. Her voice was soft and serious. "Asakiko chan prepare for those of the shadows. I will grant you my blessing so you can bless those who fight against the darkness. The army is coming for them."



******
LN Craft poison, vp for phantom rank TN 15: 4d10o10k3 15
LN Meditation TN 15: 4d10o10k2 16
LN Divination 1 raise TN 20 last void: 7d10o10k4 28

4pts

[Usagi Tomoe]

Tomoe was a skilled herbalist, trained by the best healer in the Hare Clan. She knew that some plants could be beneficial or dangerous, depending on the amount or how it was prepared. Even the Iuchi judges were impressed with how quickly she assessed the proper dosage of the herbs and prepared them to exact instructions.

As the mixture began taking its effects, she could feel an unnatural surge as her spirit slipped into another realm...



"G... grandfather?" Tomoe looked puzzled at the familiar man, who looked much much younger than she remembered, but she could never forget his violet eyes. Violet like hers.

"Child, you should not be here. Your mixed blood, I'm not sure if you can handle the return."

"Please, grandfather, I've come so far. I need your help... answers? I feel sure I was supposed to find answers..."

"I don't know what answers you seek, but you should be aware; something is calling the spirits of the honorable dead back to your Realm. The ancestors will walk the land again. Not as they did under the Bloodspeaker, as empty husks, but as flesh and blood once more. But it is human nature to fight, as you know... it will not end well."

Tomoe had more questions, but she felt her spirit being pulled back to the mortal realm once more. She managed to pant out the warning of a coming struggle, with returned spirits of the ancestors, before she lost consciousness as her body protested against the weird strain she had brought upon it. The Hare spasmed for a few moments before it stopped.

---

D9 EN EVENT: Medicine/Intelligence. +1k1 Void. 2 raises. TN 25: 7d10o10k5 52
D9 EN EVENT: Meditation/Void. +1k1 Void. TN 15: 4d10o10k3 26
D9 EN EVENT: Untrained Divination/Intelligence. TN 15: 4d10 16

5 points

Aaaand seizure time

[Soshi Bantu]

Bantu, being a fine upstanding Scorpion, of course had no idea how poisons worked, but somehow his selections from among the herbs seemed to create a mixture that was non-lethal at least. Whether it would generate the desired effect, he would soon find out.

With the concoction flowing through him, Bantu took a series of deep breaths. Slow, rhythmical, melodic; until on one exhalation it felt like he expelled his very soul from his body. Indeed, Bantu found that he could look down and see himself, the bonfire and the other assembled samurai but they all seemed frozen in time as a spectral figure drew near to him.

The wordless figure held out a small flower to Bantu, a single chrysanthemum. When Bantu reached for it though he cut himself upon the steel petals. Clutching the bleeding finger to his lips, he watched the spirit give him a knowing nod and disappear back into the mists.

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

D9 EN Mixing Up Herbs. TN15 Craft: Poison/Intelligence Unskilled: 4d10 20 = SUCCESS = 1 point

D9 EN Enter the Spirit Realm. Meditation/Void. VP for +1k1 TN15: 4d10o10k3 35 = SUCCESS = 1 Point

D9 EN Glimpse the Future. Divination/Int. VP for Skill 1CR TN20: 5d10o10k4 38 = SUCCESS = 2 points

Total = 4 points

[Tonbo Misa]

Misa wasn't the best with herbs, but her family had dealt with them before for divination. It took her a bit of feeling around, and asking Sanmi what they looked like, but finally she seemed to find the right mixture. Grinding it up, she prayed that she'd done it all right, and a moment after she took the mixture, she felt herself leaving her body.

It wasn't an unfamiliar sensation. She'd felt it once before, the day her sensei had told her she had taken a larger step on the path toward enlightenment, even if he could not say if she was or not. That time, she had seemed to be nowhere, in an emptiness that wasn't truly empty; cold and hot, empty yet... full at the same time. It had felt right, comforting. It was all she'd ever known, but there had been a small glimpse of what she was told was light.

Now, for the first time, she... saw things. It took her a moment to realize what it was. After all, she'd never seen anything before, and doing so now was almost disorienting. Only her supreme sense of peace kept her calm, looking and knowing that she needed to look while she still could. She had concept of shapes only from her hands, but she knew that what she saw were people in armor. She heard no sounds, but even without them she could hear what sounds everything she saw should make, as if it were all meant to. She knew at once by all the blades and armor that it was battle, and something told her that the other side were not mortal men and women.

As soon as it had all started, the vision ended. There was a brief spark of regret having lost her one and only time seeing, but she found her center again as she heard the bonfire before her again. "Sanmi, grab paper and charcoal. Write down everything I tell you."

------------
Mixing Up Herbs = 20 (1 point)
Enter the Spirit Realm w/ 3 raises = 50 (4 points)
Glimpse the Future = 28 (1 point)

6 points total

[Shinjo Hanashi]

Hanashi did his best to keep track of what exactly the Iuchi was doing while demonstrating what he'd need to make. Barely blinking, he tracked each step, each ingredient, each mix of the bowl.

Then forgot to reverse what hands to use and poisoned himself. Thankfully it was only a bit of mild pain; though it still left him gritting his teeth for the rest of the day.

***************************
Mixing Up Herbs! TN 15: 13
Damage: 5 (void for damage)

[Doji Ameka]

Ameka glanced over the ingredient arrayed before her. She recognized most of them between all the coloring and flavoring she needed to do her work. Some of them were safe to use on their own, but become poisonous with the other ingredients in the right dosages. What they were going for was obviously a milder effect. It made it not too difficult to guess the proper proportions. In fact...

Ameka pulled out a small bag of the sugar she used for candy making, deciding play with it a little.

In a few minutes, she was a purple, and as it turned out, very hallucinogenic, piece of candy. She tried to focus and meditate, but it was very difficult with the strange pale-haired man riding a unicorn in front of her. Was he one of the people at the miai she hadn't met yet...?





~~~

Poison: SUCCESS! +3 points
Meditation: FAIL! +0 points

Total: 3 Spirit Points

[Seppun Hitako]

Hitako carefully looked over the items she had been given. She listened to the man who had given her the items, the herbs and plants, then tried to follow his directions. His rather lackluster directions. Still, she would do the best she could. It was all she could do.

She felt off, and her hands felt like they were tingling as she mixed the crushed plants into a paste, then added the liquid parts. She did recall the cook in her home growing up telling her that you mixed the dry part and the liquid parts separately, then combined them at the end. Which seemed to work!

Taking the semi-liquid mixture, she held the bowl carefully over the fire for a time, then gulped it down.

Now, she was supposed to meditate next, and hope she had gotten the mixture right, and would enter the spirit world. She felt her spirit come out of her body. This was interesting.

What should she attempt to look at? The Emperor. Always the Emperor. She then felt two paths before her. How odd. One of the Emperor, and one of the Emperor. Huh.

She chose one at random, and moved along it, finding herself floating over a vision of - oh, this was when he got away from his guards, and wandered through the snow. This wasn't good. This - his fingers. He was turning blue at the fingers. She knew, intellectually, he would survive, but emotionally was something else.

Could she do anything? Anything to help him? The Dragon! They had found him, in the first place, could she direct them to him earlier, maybe save him some of the suffering?

She swirled around, trying to find some of the Dragon, then did. And, tried to get their attention. Which - wasn't happening. She could do this! She focused all her effort, summoning the image of the Seal in her head, and manipulating it to try to get across the idea. He needed help!

"He needs help!" She jerked back awake, not knowing if she had been successful. Hoping she had.

__________

Mixing up Herbs: Craft: Poison/Intelligence, unskilled, TN 15: Passed with a 17! 1 point.

Enter the Spirit Realm: Meditation/Void, VP for 1k1, 2 CR, TN 25: 36 for a full pass! 3 points.

Glimpse the Future: Divination/Intelligence, VP for 1k0, 1 CR, TN 20: 9 for a full fail. 0 points.

Total is 4 Spirit points.

Edited for correct math on Spirit points.

[Isawa Nonin]

This was . . . even more unexpected than some of the other contests. Perhaps it would be more difficult to integrate the Unicorn back into the Empire than he had thought.

Medicine he knew, strange herbs that made you dream . . . not his area. But at least he could avoid the poisons, ne? He drank it down, not too bad, a little heavy on the mint maybe?

To dream, to dream, he easily slipped free of his body to drift like a cork among the sea of stars. Visions and echoes assailed him, ancient words spoken by living voices. Too much to understand or was it? Sudden insight showed him ancestors at war with their descendants! How could that be?

OOC:
Part 1, Success, 1 Point
Part 2, Success with 2 Raises, 3 Points
Part 3, Success, 1 Point

Total 5 Spirit Points