Dramatis Personae

• He Bohai aka Eleven (NPC): TBA. Tagline: TBA.
• He Donghai aka Twelve (NPC): TBA. Tagline: TBA.
• He Qing aka Four (NPC): TBA. Tagline: TBA.
• Laoshu aka Mouse aka Three (NPC): TBA. Tagline: TBA.
• Meiyou Ren aka Six (NPC): TBA. Tagline: TBA.
• Rang Baozhai aka Ten (NPC): TBA. Tagline: TBA.

Previously . . .

A good portion of the boys had finished their tinctures with them resting up after several boys explosively expelled impurities from their bodily orifices from drinking the two tinctures too closely together. The boys are forced to keep inside their creche’s room area, though the horrible smell doesn’t always make it all the way to the garderobe. Jing Min slowly recovers from the effects of the tinctures with the aid of Zhiyu Zhige, the healer that kicked He Qing in the groin, that mixed together an herbal remedy to quell most of the impurity expelling. When it’s said and done, the children that took both tinctures at once, especially Jing Min, feel extraordinarily clean.

The Tiger Team

Jian Wu, Jiao Ting, Liang Jing Min, Nongmin Chushi, Sheng Yi, and Zhiyu Zhige
The Citadel of the August Order of the Black Jade Guard
Tenth Month 3rd day, 998 Zao Dynasty, 12th hour
Shidao Province

The day after the rest day, the creche is woken early by the incredibly loud sound of a gong that startles most of the creche. Most of them already feeling rather hale and hearty now heading to the mess hall to eat tomato and some congee gruel for breakfast. There’s already a large amount of people in the hall, seeming like this creche was woken up last. There’s at least another hundred kids in there between the ages of eight and fourteen.

He Qing reaches to take Mouse’s bowl only to get intercepted by Zhiyu who locks his limb behind his back, causing quite a bit of pain. She begins to admonish the bully while the rest point out that Mouse was really rather dangerous the night before last. He Qing grunts in acquiescence and waits for Zhiyu to let go while Mouse quickly scarfs down her food. After breakfast, the elder in charge of overseeing training, Shu Feng Kung, comes forth and informs them that they’ll be granted trainers and assigned tasks to complete.

The creche is once again last to be called where they’re a part of has been granted the designation of Tiger and they have been assigned numbers instead of names. It’s announced that Tiger Creche is on an extended length woodcutting detail for firewood. They’re granted a horse and cart to help haul the wood back from the southern primeval forest where it’s rumored the forest is haunted. They aren’t given provisions beyond the basic tools for survival and hunting. They’re expected to gather their own food, most people are a bit downhearted at this news.

While Tiger Creche withdraws supplies from the quartermaster, their trainer comes and introduces himself and comments about the southern end of the valley before telling the creche to try to come back alive as they’re going to be starting training when they come back. If they don’t come back alive, well then, the trainer will make sure to cut off their head. Dealing with requisition Sheng Yi gets a bow and twelve arrows to hunt with while Nongmin gets a fishing pole and Zhiyu gets sacks and a first aid kit.

They have to deal with the possibility of the fact that no one actually knows how to work a horse and cart. Sheng Yi asks the trainer how to move the horse since none of them know how, and they’re told to just make do. Jing Min warns Sheng Yi to stop pushing for things while Nongmin tries to speak with the horse and gets on the cart to try to steer the horse with some success. Jing Min and Jian Wu along with a few others hop into the back of the cart while the rest hike the four hours.

Tigers in the Forest

Jian Wu, Jiao Ting, Liang Jing Min, Nongmin Chushi, Sheng Yi, and Zhiyu Zhige
The Citadel of the August Order of the Black Jade Guard
Eight Month 3rd day, 998 Zao Dynasty, 16th hour
Shidao Province

The forest is huge, the larger specimen of trees are almost the size of redwoods with the canopy extending upwards hundreds of feet. There are smaller trees around that have shown signs of harvesting. They’re expected to harvest 50lbs of wood each, every day, on average as well as replace trees by planting saplings that they’re been sent with.  It’s going to take most of the kids almost eight hours to gather 50lbs. They have Rang directing the group to find proper trees and looking out. Ren, Mouse, the Twins, and a few others are setting to chopping wood along with Jian Wu, Nongmin, and Jing Min. Sheng Yi goes to hunt while Zhiyu and Ting move to forage edible items.

The couple folks expend a good amount of extra effort in getting the wood chopped with He Qing being a bit lazy. They take twelve hours to gather up almost a third of their goal. Mouse keeps a handy eye out on everyone as they work. Zhiyu and Ting gather up food slowly while Sheng ends up accidently tracking down a grizzly during his first hunt and then a deer the second time. He hunts down the deer, managing a leg shot, crippling it and then killing it. Sheng Yi returns to the camp and recruits help to get the deer back to camp.

Zhiyu, Ren, Nongmin, Jing Min, and Sheng Yi goes to find the deer and find the grizzly gnawing on it. Jing Min isn’t exactly happy to be there when the grizzly roars at them. Ren goes at the bear with an axe, striking it and then dodging the bear’s counter attack. Zhiyu attempts to do something but misses. Jing Min breaks free from his stun, Sheng Yi draws an arrow and hits the grizzly in the groin. Nongmin charges in and attacks it with his axe, hitting it in the torso. Jian Wu strikes, but after chopping all day he has overstrained his arm can’t swing his axe.

Ren misses his next strike and the hurting bear misses his counter attack. Sheng Yi draws a new arrow while Jing Min runs up with his axe to strike the bear but misses. Nongmin sidesteps to the side of the bear and telegraphs two blows, glancing it with a blow. With his axe arm done, Jian Wu headbutts the bear in the groin.

Ren swings at the bear, striking it once more with the bear attacking Nongmin but missing the flatfooted boy due to the pain. Zhiyu kicks the bear who falls prone with its attempt to dodge her attack and gains the title of Ballbreaker. Sheng Yi lets loose another arrow hitting it in the leg. Jing Min swings his axe, but also having cut trees all day, his arm is also overstrained. Nongmin keeps striking at the bear while Jian Wu wiffs his kick. Ren strikes true to the bear’s head, breaking through the bear’s skull and killing it.

The boys now have to deal with dragging back two large animals to camp where Jing Min suggests that they just cook them there. Nongmin suggests that they just quarter the beasts and drag them back instead as some of them get learned on how to butcher them. Zhiyu helps direct them with her surgery skill, Sheng Yi directs them to perform actions. Neither Jian Wu or Nongmin are certain enough about how to butcher the beasts. They manage to get enough meat from both animals and create a small litter to drag the meat back to their camp with. Netting over a quarter of a ton of meat combined.

While the group were away butchering the animals, the ones left behind have built a camp and started prepping the foraged foods. Nongmin cooks some of the meat and preps the rest for longer lasting cooking and plans to head out the next day to find more ingredients to make things tastier while most of the others cut down trees. They keep chopping down trees for a good twelve hours with the exception of Nongmin and Ting. Nongmin smokes the meat and goes off foraging while Ting gathers the canteens and goes to forage water.

They chop through the trees with amazing alacrity. He Qing once again chops down eight hours a day, not as long as everyone else, but still keeps going. They gather up another third of their goal. With the help of Jian Yu building a smoker, Nongmin smokes some of the meat with Ting forced to help, unfortunately he ends up fouling up almost twenty pounds of meat through troubles. He’s only slightly better at gathering water finding a natural spring about a hundred yards from the encampment before he moves towards replanting the trees slowly.

Aftermath

After Action Report (GM)

The PCs had a lot of fun (so they said) despite us basically playing GURPS Lumpjack. There were jokes about a Quantum Grizzly and Calvin’s character got to shoot a bow for the first time. Too bad he forgot he’d need to haul back 200+ lbs. of deer meat. Overall, a fun session and I’m really leaning into team building (except for the NPC He Qing who is a jerk and probably on his way out). I also added a new player (L.A.) who took over the rule of Zhiyu Zhige a trained healer.

Other Notes

Bonus report here.

Soundtrack

None.