Story 4: Battlecries
"Killing and raping, really? I'll probably check on that, but anyway...I suppose this place doesn't have any criminal organization around here I can get in trouble with just by staring at them weird, right?""Actually, crime has been going up ever since the war started, since the army and police are busy taking care of rebels and foreigners. You won't get them to kill you by looking at them, since many of them like to ambush their prey. There are highway men who patrol the roads and spring out on passing caravans. And then there are those in the forest and mountains who pounce on unsuspecting victims. Everyone, especially tradespeople, have to have some form of protection nowadays. Even for me..." The standkeeper pulls out a butchering knife. "I thought I'd only use this to ever cut animal flesh for sandwiches, but these days you never know..."
Name: Nikolae Kriegsmacher
Gender: Male
Age: 30
Faction: Neutral Foreigner (Deutschland)
Religion: Protestant
Primary Weapon:
Secondary Weapon:
Attributes:
+: Agility, Perception
- Stealth, Intelligence
Health: Normal
Inventory: Winchester 1895, Wrustbalgr Longsword, 48 Yuan
Antonio realizes his opportunity to strike, but a partner would be suitable for this mission. He ventures further into the city, getting into the slums, a breeding ground from criminals. There is debris and trash on the street, and the buildings are of less quality than those back around the market. Antonio sees people shuffling into an opium den, and follows behind them. The interior is lavish although the air is thick with smoke, and unconscious men lay all across the floor. It looks like an expensive tea house, if you replace tea with hard drug. Searching for a candidate, Antonio walks into a scraggly but tough looking young Chinese teen.
"Hey boy, I'm about to place a hit. You want in?" "Sure, how about 40%-60%, in your favor?" Simple enough.
Name: Antonio Fernandez
Gender: Male
Age: 27
Faction: Bandit
Religion: Catholic
Primary Weapon: Rifle
Secondary Weapon: Bombs
Attributes:
+: Perception, Intelligence, Charisma
-: Strength, Endurance, Dexterity
Health: Normal
Inventory: Stattmacher Rifle, 5 Vasic Grenades, 50 Yuan
Chen pulls sheaths his spear and brings out his crossbow as he goes to join the ranged division, made up of archer and gunners. Making sure he is supplied and ready, Chen marches out onto the dirt path to his objective....
A few hours later, around twilight, the Boxer army hangs over the French encampment, looking down at them from a hill. The Frenchmen are busy relaxing after a long day of whatever they have been assigned to. A few guards patrol their outside ranks. The missile units remain at the top of the hill, while the cavalry stay in the rear and the melee units sneak down to the river.
In minutes, Chen hears a battle roar as a league of men swarm to the right side of the camp. The alerted sentry starts firing at them and manages to take one of the men down, but is quickly overran and cut down in the swarm of men. The rest of the Frenchmen sprint to their weapons, but some are hacked and stabbed before they reach guns or swords. As the true fighting commences, the leader of the missile unit signals for his men to begin to fire.
Boxer Army: 78
French Army: 57
Name: Chen Yu (Style name Zijin)
Age: 22
Faction: Righteous Harmony Society
Religion: Buddhist
Primary Weapon: Spear
Secondary Weapon: Crossbow
Attributes: (Leave them blank except for + and - Attributes)
+: Endurance, Agility, Toughness, Stealth
-: Intelligence, Will, Instinct, Charisma
Health: Normal
Inventory: Yamo Spear, Zhuge Crossbow, 50 Yuan
"Where are you all headed, sir? To the front lines, or to any neighboring town?" Leia inquired these questions on Captain Brimstone. "More of the later Miss, we're going to help protect some good Christian towns from those nasty rebels. Nothing like protecting tha' flock of Jesus." Intrigued, Leia asks about Brimstone's soldier. "I have the 16th Mixed Filipino-American Regiment. These men are all experienced jungle fighters, so this ain't anything new to em'. Would you like a ride?" Brimstone gestures to the back of his steed.
Name: Leia Sano
Gender: Female
Age: 21
Faction: Neutral Foreigner: Philippines
Religion: Catholic
Primary Weapon: Sword
Secondary Weapon: Knife
Attributes:
+: Agility, Instinct, Charisma, Dexterity
-: Endurance, Perception, Toughness, Luck
Health: Normal
Inventory: Kampilan Sword, Machete, 50 Yuan
Kenshin ruffles through the belongings of these cave dwellers. Based on the markings and symbols he finds, it looks like these men are some sort of bandit gang, and there should be about 5 or so now based on his findings. Satisfied and ready to prepare an ambush, Kenshin lurks further into the damp space and finds a nice warm pocket in between some rocks. Loading his revolver and gripping his sabre, he waits for the return of the men. From his position, he can still see about half of the room.
A few minutes later, Kenshin hears footsteps. He hears men talking and sees some masked figures step into the room. A couple lay on the blankets. One prepares food, and two others sit down, their backs to Kenshin, and ruffles through some bags. He begins to comprehend their conversation:
"...and then he tries pulling his pistol on me!"
"You're lucky I saved you this time, grabbed the bastard before he shot you dead. You owe me some of your find." He snatches a few coins from the other bandit.
"What?! That's not...okay, I guess it is." They go back to ruffling through the bags.
Name: Kenshin Gato
Gender: Male
Age: 24
Faction: Eight Nation Alliance (Japan)
Religion: Kakure Kirishitan (Hidden Christian)
Primary Weapon: Sword (Western style military sabre)
Secondary Weapon: Revolver
Attributes: (Leave them blank except for + and - Attributes)
+: Strength, Will, Charisma
-: Perception, Stealth, Dexterity
Health: Normal
Inventory: Voile Sabre, Taurro Revolver, 50 Yuan
Wang yells out,
"We're being attacked!" He hears his own army respond in the distance, though it would be a number of minutes before he could be reinforced. His unit would have to hold out on their own for now. As the rebel Swordsmen charge Wang, he drops to the ground, propping his musket up from a prone position, and fires upon them. (3+1 vs. 6) Wang fires a shot, but his target ducks and stumbles as the musket ball misses him by a few inches. Wang's division hurriedly fires upon them also (5 vs. 2) and manages to incapacitate two of them with rifle fire. The remaining swordsman charges Wang, who only gets to a crouching position before the charging man swings her sword at him. (3 vs. 1) The blade nicks the side of Wang's face, and he can feel warm blood trickling down his cheek, though no major damage was done. (4 vs. 6) Wang stands up while simultaneously swinging diagonally-upwards at the rebel with his Saber, but the rebel jumps back.
Before the rebel can slash Wang again, the Imperial men fire (6 vs. 3) and shoot the rebel multiple times in the chest. "Are you alright Sir Tsaongpa?" asks one of the men. Still, more shots are fired from the church (3 vs. 1) and one of Wang's men cries out as he is shot in the leg. The uninjured men fire into the Western structure (2 vs. 2) but fail to hit any people.
Wang's Unit: 6 (1 Injured)
Rebels: 8? (True # unknown)
Name: Wang Tsaongpa
Gender: M
Age: 35
Faction: Imperial Army
Religion: Buddhist
Primary Weapon: Saber
Secondary Weapon: Musket
Attributes:
+: Endurance, Perception, Intelligence, Instinct, Charisma
-: Agility, Toughness, Stealth, Will, Dexterity
Health: Normal
Inventory: Turkish Saber, Musket, 50 Yuan
Charley looks at the remaining money left in his wallet before turning back to the man running the stand.
"Anything for under 35 Yuan?" The man nods. "Perhaps not a pistol or rifle, but some auxiliary tools to help you on your travels." He bends down under his stand to retrieve a set of small knives and puts them on the counter. "Throwing knives, silent and effective. 10 Yuan for a set of 3. For 10, you can also get," he bends back down and puts a red stick of plastic onto the counter, "one stick of dynamite. Explosive stuff, clears out debris in your way or anything you want after you put a fuse. If you have 25 Yuan to spare," he heads to the shelf and pulls out a thick rope, "there's a lasso. Wrangles everything from cattle to horses."
Name: Charley Dalarko
Gender: Male
Age: 31
Faction: Bandit (US)
Religion: Catholic
Primary Weapon: Pistol
Secondary Weapon: Knife
Attributes:
+: Endurance, Perception, Intelligence, Instinct, Charisma, Luck
-: Strength, Agility, Toughness, Stealth, Will, Dexterity
Health: Normal
Inventory: Mauser Pistol, Bowie Knife, "The Official English to Chinese Mandarin Translation Guide", 35 Yuan
Akio stepped off the boat and into Macau. After some initial observations, he went to look for some lodgings. It is crowded and loud, but Akio eventually steps into a inn. There's some traditional music playing on a phonograph in the back. An older woman looks up from the desk. "25 Yuan a night. No exceptions."
Name: Akio Mitsuru
Gender: Male
Age: 24
Faction: Independent: Japan
Religion: Buddhist
Primary Weapon:Rifle
Secondary Weapon: Wakizashi
Attributes:
+: Agility, Stealth, Instinct, Dexterity
-: Strength, Intelligence, Charisma, Luck