The Great Snowball War - Frontlines (Event) Day 8 EM

[Makime Ayano]

The morning rises on another day...and with it a strange and ominous sight. Throughout the beautiful gardens rest a series of snow berns, surrounding two large snow piles. Atop the great snow mounds rests a flag each. More alarmingly all who enter that no man’s land find themself ruthlessly pelted by a hail of snowballs!

A snowfight had begun! A snowball fight to end all snowball fights!

THE GREAT SNOWBALL WAR!

Part 1) The Build Up

A snowball war is not a simple matter. Rarely does one begin with a surge of white powdery violence. No such things begin with ESCALATION. In our case one errant gardener had been struck by one too many child thrown snowballs and retaliation had been inevitable.

You may roll one of the following:

SKIRMISH!: So a person of direct violence.... While others argue and play with snow sculptures, you bring the fight directly to the enemy! Choose a Weapon skill/Corresponding Trait, Atheletics/STR, Battle/Perception, or Defense/Reflexes vs TN15. You gain 1 Snowball point for success and 1 per raise

BUILD!: Let others fight and freeze, you understand the importance of a well fortified position! Or at least a pretty one. Choose Engineering/Intelligence or a Craft/AWA vs TN 15. You gain 1 Snowball point for success and 1 per raise

INSPIRE!: Call the troops to victory! Let them feel the glory of the cause through bombastic speeches, rousing song, ...interpative dance?! Choose one Perform/AWA or Perform/AGI or Courtier/AWA vs TN15. You gain 1 Snowball point for success and 1 per raise.

TREACHERY!: Hey...I mean sometimes you just want to win. Its not your fault they didn’t see it coming. Choose Stealth/AGI or Sincerty (Deceit)/AWA vs TN15. You gain 1 Snowball point for success and 1 per raise

Part 2) The Battle

The battle rages in full swing now, the time for escalation is over and all is committed to VICTORY. The gardeners rally around their beloved Banner of the Spade and Rake, the children press hard to overrun them!

Choose a side: The Gardners or The Children

GARDNERS: DEFEND OUR FLAG!

You may roll a Defenses/REF, Jiujutsu/STR, or Etiquette/AWA(to shame the opponent) vs TN20. You gain 1 DEFEND! Point for success and each raise grants either a Snowball Point or a DEFEND! Point (your choice, must be declared in roll)

CHILDREN: TEAR DOWN THEIR BANNER!

You may roll Jiutjutsu/STR, Stealth/AGI, or Courtier/AWA vs TN20. You gain 1 ATTACK! Point for success and each raise grants either a Snowball Point or an ATTACK! Point

Part 3) The Aftermath

The battle was long and arduous, many were forced inside to cower around braizers and sip hot drinks. Doomed to murmur the horrors they had witnessed to any who would hear. But for a happy few the day was won! And now...this had to be cleaned up before the Consort or Lord Shiba wander into the gardens!

After tallying the ATTACK! Vs DEFEND! Points a side will be declared the winner and their supporters get bragging rights!

Now everyone must unite or we are all in hot water!

You may choose one of the following:

War? What War! Their hasn’t been any war! - Courtier/AWA vs TN20 to smooth this over and distract while your comrades work. Success grants a snowball point and 1 additional point per raise. YOU MAY NOT CHOOSE THIS IF YOU HAVE CAN’T LIE

I mean yes there was a war, but we are very sorry now. - Etiquette/AWA vs TN20 to try to calm a few angry officials down. No conventions were violated….well none were written either. Success grants a snowball point and 1 additional point per raise.

Heave Ho! - Raw Strength vs TN15 to get the snow shoveled and the paths cleared. Success grants a snowball point and 1 additional point per raise. Shovel young one, shovel for your life depends on it!

We can rebuild it, probably… - Engineering/INT vs TN20 to fix damage to some of the garden structures. Maybe even improve them...or at least keep them up until blame can be shifted!

And I am out….bye! - Stealth/AGI vs TN20 to just get the heck out of here! Let someone else pick up the mess (you craven coward!). Success grants a snowball point and 1 additional point per raise.

And now at the end...tally your snowball points!

The Highest Wins a children’s game! And can probably start calling themselves the ‘Marshal of Winter’ or some other suitable title.

[Makime Ayano]

Ayano was pensive as she walked the gardens this morning. That pensiveness quickly gave way to...utter confusion. "What...is going on here?" She asks one of the gardeners.

"Oh Samurai-sama, these horrid little brats have pelted us one too many times! Today it stops! DOWN WITH THE TYRANNY OF THE CHILDREN!" He shouts at the end then realizes what he just did, "Umm...my apologies Samurai-sama." He bows low, nervous now.

"...this seems a bit ridicul...." Ayano began with a sigh when a white powdery projectile impacted her face.

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The Unbroken and Eternal Hero Fortress Small Snowy Mound Next to the Lord Shiba's Third Favorite Pine, In the name of Itsuki, who was first to fall at the cruel hands of the hated Child Foe, Twice Held against the assaults of the Brat Hordes, Never to Fall from Now to Eternity.

A few...questions may enter the readers mind at this point. For instance why was a high noble like Makime Ayano in a snow fort surrounded by a contingent of the garden staff. Why was she wearing a copper flower pot. Why were they all wearing copper flower pots. Where did they get so many pots...before we get to lost on this spiral let us, dear reader, peek in on the Lion Maiden of roads.

"They came again from the left...they are more cunning then I expected, tunneling through the snow was near a master stroke." Ayano responded with a grim expression on her face, "How many did we lose?"

One of the gardeners, with an equally grim expression, "Hideki was hit square on the jaw, he is nursing one excessive bruise back in the shack..." Ayano glared at the man who corrected, "I mean he is currently in the field hospital recovering from a head wound."

"And Hideki?" Ayano asked.

"Gone...his wife just grabbed him by the ear and dragged him right home." They all fell silent for a fallen comrade.

"Hideki was one of the best of us...but we must press on against these unrelenting adolescent terrors or suffer eternal humiliations." Ayano said with a tone far, far too serious for the situation. "To your posts. MILD INCOVIENCE TO THE CHILDISH INVADER!"

"MILD INCOVIENCE TO THE CHILDISH INVADER!"

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The lines had broken...but a moment ago The Unbroken and Eternal Hero Fortress Small Snowy Mound Next to the Lord Shiba's Third Favorite Pine, In the name of Itsuki, who was first to fall at the cruel hands of the hated Child Foe, Twice Held against the assaults of the Brat Hordes, Never to Fall from Now to Eternity. Had finally fallen.

Ayano found herself in a ring of her brave comrades, rallying around their Eternal Banner of Spade and Rake. A last desperate stand against those who would rob them of dignity...well more dignity given the circumstances.

The Lioness fell back on a series of tirades, her scathing tongue sending at least a few children running back to the safety of their own lines. Hopefully it would be enough.

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"...I am pretty sure it looked like this, Comrade General Makime-sama." The gardener grimaced, "I...err mean Makime-sama."

"We are making it better," Ayano overlooked the slip, her face was bright red from a combination of snow and sheer embarrassment at having gotten caught up in this insanity. "Maybe it will help us both when we beg Lord Shiba for forgiveness."

"Lord Shiba, Makime-sama? Oh no...no no no...its Lord Yuzuru and that damn fox you should fear!" The gardener suddenly had a look for terror, "Was...was that a flash of orange against the snow?!"

Ayano froze, "It's just your imagination....now HAMMER FASTER! OUR LIVES DEPEND ON IT!"

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OOC Stuff:

Battle/Perception for the GREAT SNOWBALL WAR. 3 CRs. TN30: 7d10o10k4 19 - I hate you Orokos, I hope you are doomed to an eternal While-Loop and Memory Leak you horrid ball of spite

Etiquette/AWA for the GREAT SNOWBALL WAR. TN20: 5d10o10k3 28 - I see what you did there. Supporting the Gardeners

Engineer/INT for the GREAT SNOWBALL WAR. TN20: 5d10o10k4 25 - Yeah, yeah die in a fire. 1 Snowball point

Total:
1 Snowball Point
1 Gardener Point (GO TEAM GARDENER!)

[Hantei Kinsen]

Early in the morning, Kinsen notices a tumultuous skirmish going on in the garden.

At one side, the poor, dedicated and slightly more experienced gardeners. People that have given their blood, sweat and tears to build such beauty for our Emperor.

At the other, the mischievous, snotty, and high-pitched voiced terrors of pre-gempukku children. Their frantic and chaotic plays disrupting the peace and serenity of such an important place.

"By the Will of Heavens. Stop now you brats!" Kinsen commands. Yet, they don't listen. The tall lady of the Stag manages to fetch one by the foot, and another two by the collar, lifting them up in the air.

"I sad sto--ph---!" A snowball directed into Kinsen's face stops her for moment, and she can't help but to stay paralyzed for the most important and decisive moment of the battle. In fact, she becomes the main target of all the enemy bombardment.

Yet, as soon as notice of the Emperor is heard, Kinsen doesn't think twice and hastily shovels much of the snow away from the paths with a straw hat she had found nearby.

--
D8, EM, Part 1) The Build Up Athletics/STR TN 30 (3 raises): 6d10o10k5 55 SKIRMISH +4 Snowball Points
D8, EM, Part 2) The Battle Jiujutsu/STR TN 35 (3 raises): 8d10o10k5 34 DEFEND... what?
D8, EM, Part 3) The Aftermath STR TN30 (3 raises): 6d10o10k5 47 Heave Ho! +4 Snowball Points
Total:
8 Snowball points
4 Gardener points

[Doji Misaki]

A war? In the garden? That just would not do. No no. The gardeners needed defending, for all the hard work they'd put into the Palace's grounds and the beauty they'd added to the Empire. She would build them a Fortress. A Fortress of Snow.

Rolling up her sleeves she started making sketches, directing those not on the front lines to build. Soon, with techniques she'd come up with to help the snow stay solid, an imposing snow citadel rose up on one end of the grounds, old gardeners peering through murder holes and snowball slits.



It was smaller than it looked on the outside, so a lot of crawling was involved, but it held strong and was quite intimidating in a pretty kind of way. For her part, Misaki did not hurl snowballs so much as pleas to leave the castle be and lay down arms. Which worked with some children but not most.

After things were done, Misaki worked diligently to make sure the garden was not ruined, nothing knocked over or trampled that was not fixed. She even added some touches of her own... unannounced improvements to the garden's seating, edging, and such as the snow allowed. Come spring, the views and rendezvous here would be special indeed, she thought to herself.

=============

Day 8, EM, SNOWBALLS!, Engineer/Int w/ 2 called raises, TN 25 to build THE FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE: 7d10ro1o10k4 36 3 snowball points

Day 8, EM, SNOWBALLS!, Defend for the Gardeners, Etiquette/Awareness TN20: 6d10o10k4 27 1 gardener point

Day 8, EM, SNOWBALLS!, Aftermath, Engineer/Int to fix (And Improve!) the garden structures, 2 called raises to do the improving, TN30, VP 1k1: 10d10ro1o10k6 52 3 snowball points.

6 Snowball points
1 Gardener point

[Jiyo Sora]

The tinkling of bells heralded the approach of General Phi, with General Shirayuki flanking her.

Corporal Soryu was somewhere on the frontlines, and his sisters shared a worried look.

"The gardeners have been reinforced strongly."

"So it seems. Perhaps it's time..."

"LET SLIP THE DOGS OF WAR!"

Chomper, Crumbsnatcher, and Squirtling yipped excitedly, thoroughly enjoying the chaos... but behind them loomed a fresh menace to the gardeners' efforts.

A bale-eyed nightmare, roaring up to support his devilish brood with the hellish Hikaru warcry that had gone unheard in the Empire for over a decade.

He proved quite effective in assisting the children in their assault, although he was evidently a little winded when the chaos died down, his earnest efforts to help clean up meeting with what might charitably be called mixed success.

[The build-up- Skirmish- 2-raqise success, 3 snowball points
The Battle- TEAR DOWN THEIR BANNER!- Success, 1 Attack! Point
The Aftermath- Heave Ho!- Failure

3 snowball points, 1 attack point]

[Isawa Kyosei]

Kyosei had been drafted by Corporal Soryu. He listened carefully to the young warrior, and gave a brisk nod. "Of course. I have a drum I can bring to provide focus for all."

Which he promptly did. And, with his steady beating, he helped the children get a steady rhythm going.

When the actual attack occurred, some of the gardeners found him, still beating the rhythm on the drum. What they didn't realize, was that Soryu had left him a small pile of snowballs, which he picked up and dispatched, before fading away.

On hearing of the coming of someone of higher rank, he started to straighten things up. And he thought he could manage to make things better... but his training was for a mine, not a garden. Which left him scratching his head as his plans failed, leaving the area no better than it had been before.

And probably a couple gardeners wondering where the two beams of wood had come from...

__________

Inspire!, Perform Drums/Agil, VP for 1k1, 3 CR, TN 30: 38, 4 Snow points.

Attack!, Stealth/Agil, VP for phantom rank, 1 CR, TN 25: 30, 1 Snow point, 1 Attack point.

We can rebuild it, probably… , Engineering/Int, VP for 1k1, 2 CR, TN 30: 21, fail.

Total, 5 Snow points, 1 Attack point.

[Jiyo Ayumu]

"I mean, sure, from an external point of view, the garden might look like a storm just went through it. But in reality the damages are not as terrible as if it had been an actual storm. At least, not a big one.

And... Uh... Kids will be kids... And old people are just grown-up kids...

Okay, okay, we're sorry.

But on the bright side, my ability to deflect snow balls with a stick has definitely improved. That could be quite useful was someone to attack the Emperor or his family... With snow balls."

---

D8EM | The Great Snowball War | Skirmish! | Defense/Reflexes (TN15) | No Raise: 4d10o10k2 20 -> 1 point
D8EM | The Great Snowball War | Defend the Flag | Defense/Reflexes (TN20) | No Raise: 4d10o10k2 22 -> 1 point
D8EM | The Great Snowball War | Sorry | Etiquette/Awareness (TN20) | No Raise: 5d10o10k3 18 -> Fail

Total: 2 points

[Anjing Sagara]

There is a few already there, but Sagara joins them. She has played before, it brings her times of nostalgia. The snow already covers the garden so might as well use it. Treating the snow as she would a block of clay, she builds up some defenses, focusing on the structure, creating an additional amount of snowballs of ammo.

She bumped into Kinsen, and grinned. "we can do this together."

-Snowball war, D8-EM, Built up - Build. 2 Raises, TN25: 30 - 3 Snowball points
-Snowball war, D8-EM, Battle - Gardener. Defense/Reflex. TN20: 30 - 1 Defense Point
-Snowball war, D8-EM, Aftermath. Etiquette/Awareness. 1 Raise, TN25: 32 - 2 Snowball Points

Total
5 Snowball points
1 Gardener Defense point

[Nozomi]

Nozomi was not too dignified for this. When her own daughter hurled a snowball at her, she was not too dignified to absolutely destroy the youngling with the pelting of snow right back and a childish look of glee in her eyes. It was then that the battle lines were drawn, and Mayumi chose her side in the war as the skirmish was joined. She chose... poorly.

Sorry, Uncle Sora, but Mayumi was not yet the woman that her mother was, and Nozomi took things like this with all of the seriousness of a former Hikaru on the hunt, teaching her daughter lessons, fighting back giggles. Worse, a few motherly stares at one or two who thought that they would manage to strike her or the gardeners, and things were looking grim for the attackers.

But when it was time for questions to be answered, the monk was nowhere to be seen...

=============

Staves/Agility for Skirmish (2 CR, TN 25) - 37, Success (3 Snowball Points)
Etiquette/Awareness to Shame Those Who Dare Strike Their Mother (TN 20, -5 for Disturbing Countenance - 23 (Success, 1 Defense Point)
What Monk? There was never a monk here (TN 20 Agility/Stealth) - 38, 1 Snowball Point

Total:
4 Snowball Points
1 Defense/Gardener Point

And Orokos says I should have trusted it more. Pffft, Nozomi trusts nobody.

[Chai Kotsume]

It wasn't long after Kotsume left the corridors that went to the guest rooms and alighted in the garden before she got hit by the first snowball. She was paralysed for a moment - was that actually happening??

She saw... some of the other visitors? Including quite a few of higher rank? defending what seemed to be a fortification of some sort made of snow, while a number of children along with... two of the Imperials? The Isawa from the brunch, and... Sora with his kids? making efforts to invade it... apparently to tear down, or retrieve a banner of some sort that had been placed in a snow-covered mound in the middle of the fortified garden.

Were they... playing?

Before the wide grin came to her face, the otters had already started yipping, gargling and making their way forward, not so much purposefully as just throwing themselves in the snow, excited with all the movement and yelling. Seeing that the battle seemed to be rather one-sided, she quicly decided to side with the kids, and with a quick series of whistles to the furry ones, she set out for a bold direct attack on the fortress - that by now she could see had been built by Misaki!

The first assault was a strong one, and managed to get some hits in, possibly even drawing the attention of some of the defenders for a moment. When the Ki-rin decided to seize the opportunity created to call others (and otters!) to battle and raise the morale of the kids' team, however, after a brief moment in which it almost seemed as if the otters would be able to get by with some of the children and dig a hole into the fortifications... Kotsume AND the three critters were hit by a barrage of snowballs coming at full force from the gardeners' side. She tried to keep her voice up and encourage the kids to push through with the offence... but when her voice was all but buried beneath the snow and the otters started digging around her and rolling about making happy noises, any encouragement she might have offered ended up becoming just laughs.

Dragging herself out from below half a metre of snow, she shook herself to get some of the by now half-melted snow out, and, seeing some more important people around looking awfully serious, she placed a grin on her face and started making an effort to get at least some of the mess cleaned up.

Of course, convincing the otters to stop playing after all that was not as easy as it otter be...

OOC:
D8 EM - Snowball War Buildup - Skirmish! Athletics/ St, 1 CR, TN 20: 6d10o10k3 30 - 2 Snowball points!

D8 EM - Snowball - The Battle - Tear down their Banner! - Courtier/Awa, 2 CR, TN 30, VP for +1k1, Tawagoto's: 6d10o10k4+4 28 Aaaand fail

D8 EM - Snowball - The Aftermath - Heave Ho! Str vs TN 15: 3d10o10k3 14 Aaaaand fail by one! I blame the otters

[Hisomu Matsu]

Matsu had decided to walk the garden early. Seeing the game, and the jubilant cries of the children, she opted to join them. With her great strength, she could help create as many snowballs as possible, suplexing larger snowballs when needed for flair.

Charging with the children, she made a break for the banner of the Gardners, laughing the entire time.

And helping to clean up was a breeze.

EM8 - The Great Snowball War - The Build Up - Skirmish! (Strength 4, Athletics 3, +6 MS1, 3 CR, TN30): 7d10o10k4+6 40 +4 Snowball Points

EM8 - The Great Snowball War - The Battle - Tear Down Their Banner! (Strength 4, Jiujitsu 1, +6 MS1, TN20): 5d10o10k4+6 49 1 Attack Point

EM8 - The Great Snowball War - The Aftermath - Heave Ho! (Strength 4, TN15): 4d10o10 18 1 Snowball Point

Total: 5 Snowball Points, 1 Attack Point

[Makime Ayano]

The war wound down...a lot faster then it began. One of the children spotted a fox lurking on the edges and realized the true folly that had befallen them.

Cease fires were called, truces made, and frantic work begun to hide what had happened.

But it was all too late...the fox had seen everything.

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Kinsen wins with 8 Snowball points!
The children will no doubt speak of her in horror every snowfall and the Gardeners in awe. A great monument was erected but being made of snow disappeared with the return of Lady Sun!

Gardeners hold their ground with 8 Defend vs 3 Attack Points!
The banner of Rake and Spade stands triumphant on the field. Well at present it lies hidden in one of the supply sheds, biding its time until the next great war!