Table of Contents

- Zen Sinker Tour

- On the River

- Sands of Blood

- Serpent's Egg

- Travelling with the Butterfly Prince: Part I

- Travelling with the Butterfly Prince: Part II

- Travelling with the Butterfly Prince: Conclusion

- Truth and Beauty

- Phoenix Hearth

- A River Befouled

- Compass Rose

- A Note for You

- Coin of the Magpie

- Noodles of Fu Manchu

- Recondite Tributaries

- Dream Sequence

- Fox in Socks

- The Eighth Name

- Lifedeath

Zen Sinker Tour

From Dragon
"Thank you! But our prince is in another castle!"
The run begins just after the Day of the Grasping Spider in the month of Spider Rising in the first Year of the Spider since the Butterfly King was Poisoned.

The run takes place in the Butterfly Kingdom and the Hon'eth Arcade.
Previous Runs Next Run
Contents

1 Reunion
2 Elven Rope
3 Choosing a Ship
4 The Curse
5 Landfall
6 Pursuit of Targets
7 Ezokin
8 Puttering

Reunion

It takes a little while for those scattered by Aku to return to the Butterfly Kingdom, but by mid-Spider, everyone has made it back. His Majesty Ti Lao is on the mend, and is beginning to make public appearances, though his strength is not what it was before his long illness. Ringmaster Te lets people know that the circus will be in rehearsal and maintenance during the off-season, and will not be traveling again for several months; spring is normally when it leaves. He urges those who plan to remain with the circus to work on their acts during the off-season. People are still welcome to gather at circus headquarters to practice, help out with the off season equipment mending, and drink tea.

Hiro, however, invites everyone over to the Tokai house as a more private headquarters for tea and gossip. While the party is chatting, Kuan-Xi calls upon them - she says that she has great news! Her new friend Li Merit introduced her to Ringmaster Te, and the Ringmaster agreed that she could hang out with everyone at the circus for a while. (She seems to be conflating "joining the circus" with "joining the helping-Anto part of the party", and it isn't yet clear to everyone what the continuing relationship with the circus will be.) She's also hoping to be introduced to someone named Cai-Wen, so Anto performs introductions all around. Kuan-Xi wants to chat in private with Cai Wen, and asks him to lunch. Anto looks worried and somewhat disapproving, but Cai Wen quickly takes her up on it before he can think of a reason to object. Hiro passes the Hunter's Map to Anto, and he sneaks after them to lunch to eavesdrop on their conversation.

As it turns out, Kuan-Xi is not actually interested in a date with Cai Wen, but is interested in his friend who works on the Ghost Ship. She and some friends of hers are interested in going somewhere that you need a really sneaky ship to get to, and she impresses Cai Wen with the importance of this. Also of the general importance of helping Anto if he needs help.

Satisfied with the conversation, Anto heads back to the Tokai house, while Cai Wen heads to the docks to see if the Moon's First Daughter (aka the Fog Ship) is docked. It is not. However, he does hear rumors at the docks that this is a bad time to be sailing, for it seems that half the ships on the sea are currently cursed! Really, any journeys by sea should just be put off until things calm down or go back to normal or something like that.

Those left behind at the Tokai house receive a message from Her Majesty to speak with her at their convenience. Hiro dashes off to tell Cai Wen about the summons, and then everyone proceeds to the Palace. They are shown into a waiting room with refreshments, and people are escorted in pairs to see the Queen.

Elven Rope

Her Majesty expresses her gratitude to each of her visitors for their efforts both in retrieving the Tincture of Pure Respite, and their efforts to rescue His Majesty's spirit from the World Above. Now that they have returned, she has a gift for each of them as a small token of appreciation.
Zhi-Hao
A set of silks and tassels that can be knotted about the sword guard before drawing it.
Xian
A shiny black dagger
Xiao Fa
an herb satchel
Lijuan
A net arrow
Cai Wen
A pair of linked coins
Anto
A book: Book of the Unseen
Hiro
A book: Book of the Remarkable Wanderer

"Yoshi is going to love this!" -Lijuan "It's not for Yoshi, it's for you." -Ti Wren "But he's the one who cares!"

Master Deng is called in last, and by himself. Ti Wren explains that she is most grateful for his previous assistance, but that she has need of further assistance, and that of his friends, on another matter. As he may have heard, Ti Jun has not returned to the Butterfly Kingdom since the events of Ship of Gold. He has sent several letters assuring his parents that he is fine and learning about the world, but they would really prefer that he return home. She would like Master Deng to find him, and convey this message, which is the will of His Majesty. Zhi-Hao checks, delicately, to see if the mission is "capture the prince" or just "tell the prince" - she clarifies that they should escort him home, but they should not feel that they must "escort" him home. If a direct command and summons from his father is insufficient to bring him home, then she will be Most Disappointed. The most recent letter was received from the Port of Auspicious Voyage - he may not still be there, but it is a place to start.

Back in the snacks room, people are looking at each other's loot. Hiro is particularly enthusiastic about his book - incorporating elements of mad plans that the Remarkable Wanderer used into his own plans will make them more likely to succeed. Once Deng returns everyone retires back to Takanata's house, where Zhi-Hao asks Kuan-Xi to give them some discussion time. She heads back to her inn, letting them know where she's staying.

Zhi-Hao tells everyone about the mission the Queen would like them to go on, and finds that he has to provide similar clarifications: "The orders are for the prince, not for us to compel the prince." Xian notes that Ti Lao said he was looking for Ti Jun in the Tanzhe Plain when he was trapped in the spiderweb in the World Above. Those with more knowledge of the World Above note that the mapping of the World Above to the Material World is not exact, but borders do tend to matter. So the fact that he was looking in the Tanzhe Plain is probably relevant, but it is probably not possible to find a more precise location by figuring out where the border in the Dream World was.

Zhi-Hao briefly heads back to the palace to borrow some items of Ti Jun's that might be tracked later, and also is given 20 li to add to the party loot fund; then the group heads to the docks to book passage. There is some discussion about whether this is a Secret Mission like the last one was. Well, the fact that Ti Jun isn't in the Butterfly Kingdom is reasonably public knowledge. They can probably say that they're bringing a message to the Prince, though they should probably avoid saying that they're going to send him home because he's been running around without permission.

After some more discussion, it seems that bringing Kuan-Xi along is probably okay, given the not-very-secret nature of the mission; if Cai Wen does hook up with Kiri and the "ghost ship" it will be unfortunate if Kuan-Xi is back in the Butterfly Kingdom. Anto goes off to pass the invitation along.
"She's a little power boost that follows me around." -Kurgan "Anto, you're such a romantic." -Eon
Kuan-Xi is intrigued by the idea of bringing a message to the Prince. That sounds important. Should she ask Zhi-Hao to let Anto do it instead? Anto looks alarmed, and assures her that that's not necessary - the group can share credit just fine, he doesn't need all of it. Before she leaves, she asks if she can leave her "little carriage" at the Tokai stable. People ask her how is it that she got her carriage here in the first place? She says she rode in it here when she escaped. Anto tries to get some more details on this, but she is busy keeping the identities of her "new friends" (who helped her against the bounty hunters) secret. Her carriage can travel from one place to another very quickly, but then it has to rest for as long as it would have taken to travel there normally. Since it was from one island to another, she isn't sure how long that will be, as that's not really normal. Hiro agrees to put the carriage in Takanata's stable.
Then, it's down to the docks to arrange for passage to the Port of Auspicious Voyage.
Choosing a Ship

There is some concern over Cai Wen's mention of cursed ships. Lijuan assures people that all the ships are cursed, so all of them are basically the same. Of the two ships scheduled to sail to the Port of Auspicious Voyage, the sailors on one claim to be cursed; the other ship claims to be fine, but will be leaving several days later. Hmm. Xiao Fa looks at the chi of the sailors, but is beginning to think that it is just a curse of all the sailors being incompetent and dropping things and leaving ropes untied.

Lijuan's street urchin friends tell her that "you can't get cursed if you stay awake" and Lijuan makes plans to stay awake for the three days of travel. Cai Wen deploys Xian to investigate - he chats up the sailors on the "cursed" ship. They're definitely unhappy, and have a tale of various things going wrong, food poisoning, and various accidents. The foresail just fell off! On previous voyages, the rudder broke, the steering wheel came unpinned...

"The... ropey thing... came untied." -Mike
"Halyard." -Heidi
"They've been talking in nautical terms all their lives, but this sort of thing has never happened before." -Mike
They're hiring priests to do some sort of cleansing of the boats, but they aren't sure how effective that will be.
Where were the different ships on the New Year, anyway? The uncursed ship was in the Port of Auspicious Voyage as was the cursed ship. The uncursed sailors think that the sailors on the other ship don't know how to sail; they don't believe in curses. However, Xian is pretty sure that the sailors he's been talking to think that it's a curse. Maybe this is some sort of a battle between the Great Houses of the Arcade? Cai Wen thinks sorcerous curses are a little over the top for Arcade houses, but it isn't completely out of the question.

Anto thinks about what the best spirit is to propitiate for a good voyage. The Whale Spirit is one of the larger spirits of the ocean, but it isn't clear how you would call upon it. Lijuan buys a bag of dried shrimp, on the theory that whales might eat shrimp. Anto asks various fishermen about hunting whales - it turns out they are considered too large and scary and deep-diving to fish for, and quite possibly too large to eat.

The party disagrees about which ship to take - go earlier on the cursed ship or later on the noncursed ship? Some people are in favor of "earlier", and Anto likes the idea of saving people from the curse. Xian is the principal voice in favor of Not The Cursed Ship - he doesn't want to get food poisoning, or have the main mast fall on him. In the end, he is outvoted, and the party books passage on the cursed ship. Lo, they get a discount because of the curse.
Xiao Fa stocks his herb satchel with seasickness herbs, emetics, and staying-awake tea.

"We're on a mission! Running away because bad things might happen is chickening out!" -Anto
"That's the only reason to run away - because bad things might happen!" -Xian

The Curse

Then, the ship sets sail. Lijuan and Xiao Fa both stay up all night; Anto and Hiro and ZhiHao take watches, while Xian and Cai Wen just sleep. While on watch, Anto notes that Cai Wen and Xian have had a change of heart, as they're both on deck for a while. In the morning, Xian discovers that some of his zhu are missing. The captain complains that his (magical) hat has been stolen - it was hanging in his cabin while he was sleeping. Hmm. Xian complains about having been (only partially) robbed. Lijuan convinces Ho to try to track the hat - Ho snuffles around the captain's hatstand, into Cai Wen's cabin, and to the open porthole. He growls at Cai Wen until Lijuan shushes him.

Anto asks if Cai Wen noticed anything while he was up in the middle of the night. Cai Wen denies having gotten up, as does Xian. Hiro confirms that he saw the two of them as well, though Lijuan didn't.
"Okay, this is more mysterious." -Anto
People examine the porthole for slime or claw marks or other mysterious spoor, but there isn't anything to be seen. Nor is the hat caught on a twig growing out of the side of the boat, much to Lijuan's disappointment. What has happened is very puzzling, except to Ho, who keeps growling.
"You think Cai Wen stole the hat?" -Xian
'"Woof woof woof woof!"
Wait - maybe this isn't really Cai Wen, but an imposter! The Hunter's Map is quickly checked, but the real Cai Wen (or, at least, the Cai Wen that the map points to) appears to be in the same place as Cai Wen. (Well, maybe he's a level up or down on the boat, since the map is only two-dimensional).
Xiao Fa looks at Cai Wen's chi to see if there are any anomalies.
"Do you remember when you asked if this one could determine if someone was cursed, and this one said no? This one was mistaken. He may also be cursed."
Xiao Fa
"Boy, I'm glad we didn't wait three days for the other ship! Can you imagine how tedious that would have been?" -Xian

Anto looks at Cai Wen to see if he has any bindings on him, curse or otherwise. It looks like he was bound last night, but the effect is fading now. The best way to unbind him is to get him off the ship, though.

"We have a skiff..." -Anto
"No no no no no no! We are not putting me in a skiff and letting me drift off into the sunset!" -Cai Wen
"You should probably listen to Anto. He has good ideas." -Kuan-Xi

Lijuan spends the afternoon hanging over the railing tossing shrimp in the water and trying to call to whales. ("Here, whaley whaley whale!"). She does see a very large shadow pass underneath the boat, but it doesn't surface or become clear, or obviously gobble up the shrimp.

So... is the answer not to sleep at all? Or take shifts watching people as they sleep? The latter sounds more feasible, except to Lijuan, who is still keen on the "three all-nighters" plan. In the afternoon, Zhi-Hao and Anto and Xiao Fa all take naps, while Hiro hangs out nearby, reading his book.

After a while, Xiao Fa gets up and gives two li to Anto, who nods and gives him a thumbs-up, and then both of them go back to sleep. Hiro, puzzled, wakes everyone up. Now, Anto has 5 li instead of 368 zhu. He gives Xiao Fa his 2 li back, but now he has 3 li himself. Wait, where did the 68 zhu go? It's a strange rounding error curse!
"The curse of the arbitrage demons..."' -Anto
In case it's relevant, people ask the captain what his hat did. With some persuasion, he admits that it let him know where all the sailors are on the boat. Now they can slack off and he won't be able to tell, he grumbles.
"Now Lijuan looks for sailors who are slacking off. That will keep her awake!" Heidi
So, the question is, whether there is something or someone on the ship causing the curse maybe a power source of some sort? Anto and Lijuan starts searching the ship. Cai Wen leaps in to assist Anto, as does Kuan-Xi, so Xian partners with Lijuan, and finds a secret hold with heavy golden cloth. He wonders if this is the same color that Kuan-Xi wears, in case that's significant. It's a more sumptuous fabric than she normally wears, he thinks, but it's a color that would look good on her and she has been seen in a golden silk dress.

As the others search, Cai Wen spots Anto untying a rope fastened to the anchor, as they progress through one of the holds. Cai Wen points this out, and finds a sailor who can come and fix it.
"The sailor comes in and BINDS THE ANCHOR." -Mike "Oh, this has nothing to do with the curse, then!" -Cai Wen
Cai Wen checks around, but can't find anything else that Anto has put wrong.
Meanwhile, Xian asks Kuan-Xi about the golden silk. Does that color have special significance? She admits to liking gold, but isn't sure why it's relevant. Xian explains about the stash of silk.
"The captain either knows about it or wants to know about it, so we should probably tell him." -Xian
Kuan-Xi agrees - Anto should tell the captain, since either it's the captain's private stash and it's been found, or someone is smuggling on his ship.
Xiao Fa examines the feng shui of the ship, and, as is no surprise at this point, determines that it's cursed. He starts wandering in the direction of the hold with the golden cloth. Anto, worrying that he's sleepwalking and under the effects of the curse, tries to wake him up, and distracts him before he is sure where the source of the curse is. But - it's likely in the room somewhere.

The group fetches the captain, and points out the golden cloth. He says that he's not smuggling - his ship is licensed to carry cloth. It's his own stash rather than House merchandise, bought in the Port of Auspicious Voyage, but it's legal. Anto tries to convince him that the cloth is cursed, and Cai Wen helps. He grumbles that he wasn't able to sell it in the Butterfly Kingdom while he was there. Anto suggests putting the cloth in the skiff and towing it behind the ship, but the captain worries that it will be ruined by the water or overturn.
The captain thinks that ships from both the House of Resplendent Decoration (his) and the House of Enticing Vintage (their allies) have had ships cursed.
On deck, Hiro is nearly flattened by a falling boom, but he dodges out of the way in time. He tries to figure out what caused the accident, and spots a loose and dangling rope. No one is near the rope now, but there's a dog's tail going around the corner. Hiro chases after, and catches up to where Ho and Lijuan are. Lijuan claims not to have fallen asleep, but there are 20 more zhu in her pocket, and she does seem less tired after her two days of no sleep than she did before. Or maybe it was Ho - he's been napping all day.

That night, people sleep in shifts with others watching them. The captain puts the golden cloth in his cabin - he's not willing to throw it overboard, it's his retirement investment. The sleep-shifts keep any of the party from doing anything odd with money, but other sailors are still being affected by the curse. There are several more acts of sabotage, but the ship does in the end make it to the Port of Auspicious Voyage.

Landfall

The captain wants to go to yell at the merchant who sold him the cursed cloth. Anto and Xian head off with him to try to moderate things if the merchant had no idea about the curse, and also to try to figure out if he did know about it.

Lijuan tips a local urchin to recommend a really good inn, and heads there. She asks for rooms for "eight people and two dogs", and is quoted a price of 50 zhu. She gives him 5 zhu to let her sleep in the stable until her friends arrive, but since she didn't mention where she was going, it may be a while.
"Did Lijuan just go to get an inn by herself? This is why we can't bring her along without Yoshi." -Hiro
Cai Wen looks for a good quality inn, and finds what turns out to be the same inn. He asks for rooms for "eight people and one dog." The innkeeper wonders if he means two dogs? Oh, right, Anto has a dog too. He pays the 50 zhu and asks where Lijuan is. The innkeeper summons a young servant to go and wake Lijuan. The boy gasps at seeing Cai Wen, and goes off - not actually to wake Lijuan at all, as it turns out.

At the same time, Zhi-Hao, Hiro, and Xiao Fa wander around the city trying to pick up any word of Prince Ti Jun. Hiro considers he was just in this situation recently, having run away from overly protective parents, so where would he go? The main thing is, the last time the group saw the Prince, he was in tael. So, he'd probably have taken a room in the best inn in town. The little group heads there, but all the talkers have been sent in other groups. Zhi-Hao goes for the straightforward approach and tells the innkeeper that he has a message for the Butterfly Prince. The innkeeper apologizes, but they have missed His Highness by about a week; he left to stay at another House. He clearly knows more, but is fishing for a tip. Zhi-Hao, having no skill in bribery and no successes, gives him 3 li, astounding the innkeeper. However, the main other thing that he knows is that Ti Jun went to stay with the House of Enticing Vintage.
Meanwhile, Anto, Xian, Kuan-Xi, and the captain have reached the merchant's building, and the captain bangs on the door until someone answers. He demands to speak to Kinoze, the merchant, right now! A grizzled old man comes out, and Xian realizes (spending a Yin) that the shape is a lie - it is actually Ezokin the Sorcerer.
"Oh, fuck." -Xian
The captain argues with "Kinoze" about the cloth while the others whisper together. Xian insists that they don't want to provoke a fight now, as Ezokin can wipe the floor with the three of them. They pull the captain aside, and confound him with a claim that maybe the cloth isn't cursed after all, and that he doesn't need to return it. The captain is confused, but is persuaded to leave. Perhaps he should just sell it to someone else and try to not take too much of a loss.
"Don't sell it to a nice person." -Xian
He thinks maybe he can unload it on the House of Gainful Protection, and heads that way. Kuan-Xi thinks maybe Anto should go and defeat Ezokin, but Xian impresses on her that Ezokin is an EEEEEEVIL SORCERER and significantly powerful. Well, all right, they should find the others. Though where they are, these three have no idea.

Back at the inn, Cai Wen, convinced that the servant boy went off to inform his favorite ninja clan that he's once more in the Port of Auspicious Voyage, arranges his bed to put pillows under the covers, and then goes out to the stables to watch his room while Lijuan continues to sleep. Zhi-Hao's group shows up, since Hiro has the Hunter's Map, and are puzzled to find Cai Wen in the stables rather than a nice bedroom.
"We have rooms, but they come with ninja." -Cai Wen
Having no better lead, Xian, Anto, and Kuan-Xi look for good-ish inns.
"Anto, can't you look for someone who needs help? No, you'd just find us." -Xian
Happily, this is the same method that got everyone else to this inn, so they do find the same place, and they check with the innkeeper to see if the others are there.
"We're looking for our friends." "Eight people, two dogs?" "No, five people, one dog." "I meant, in total.

They head up to the rooms, see the pillows in the bed, decide it's Lijuan sleeping and that no one else is there, and head downstairs again. The group hiding in the stables sees the shadows go in and out of the room, but decide that ninjas would be stealthier than that and wave down the last three of the party.

Finally united, Xian tells the others about Ezokin, and Cai Wen tells them that he remembers now, this is the city where ninja try to kill him. Perhaps the thing to do is to not be in the inn tonight. They all sneak away as carefully as possible, watching for ninja.

Pursuit of Targets

Then, everyone heads to the local compound of the House of Enticing Vintage. They tell the servant at the door that they are here to see Prince Ti Jun, as they believe that he is in residence. The butler says he is sure that they are mistaken, and does not know who such a personage might be, but he will fetch his master.
The group is shown to a small anteroom. Servants enter with food and tea, and then stand, watchful, along the walls. Lord Miyato enters, and Master Deng introduces himself.
"Either this gets us past him [to see Ti Jun] or he's evil." -Zhi-Hao
Lord Miyato apologizes: the Prince is not in fact here, but he will take a message for Ti Jun when he returns. Zhi-Hao says that's okay, they will wait for him. Lord Miyato is a little taken aback, but recovers and offers them the hospitality of the house for a few weeks until His Highness may return. Oh, he is not simply out for the evening? No, after he helped them with a particular matter, he left, to the best of Lord Miyato's knowledge, to the City of Spires.

Xian and Cai Wen consider this with as much suspicion as they can bring to bear, but it does seem that Lord Miyato believes Zhi-Hao is who he says he is, and doesn't seem to have a reason to lie about Ti Jun being gone, or where he went.

How did Prince Ti Jun assist the House, Zhi-Hao enquires? Lord Miyato says that those are internal house matters. Would these house matters have anything to do with the problems that their ships are having? No, that would probably be the counterstrike to the maneuvers that Ti Jun assisted with. The counterstrike is having some... supernatural effects on their ships. Lord Miyato clearly believes that the supernatural is an inappropriate thing to involve itself in trade.

He says that priests are cleansing the ships, but that seems to just reduce the difficulties that they encounter, not eliminate them. Ah - the party can tell him more about this. The sorcerer who is causing them trouble is known as Ezokin, and he is currently in the House gy

of Resplendent Decoration. That briefly causes Lord Miyato to be appalled, but Lijuan quickly interjects that he's in disguise, and they don't know it's him. Oh, that makes more sense. He's in disguise as a cloth merchant named Kinoze. Wait, no, Lord Miyato says that Kinoze is a wine merchant, not a cloth merchant. No, Kinoze isn't either, he's Ezokin, Xian points out.

"Kinoze? Wait, is that an anagram?" -Anto
"Of course it's an anagram! He's an evil sorcerer and needs to leave stupid clues everywhere!" -Xian
The group offers to help Lord Miyato deal with Ezokin. And, they figure, if they work together with the House of Enticing Vintage, they'll end up owed more favors.
"It'll be like a buddy movie!" "...and two dogs!"
As far as favors go, the House of Enticing Vintage can give them a bunch of soldiers to help, or can give them a favor to drive him off without help.
"We don't need their goons. What we do need is a Mad Plan to ambush him with talking fish." -Hiro
Driving him off is probably the best they can hope for, but Zhi-Hao would rather that he be gotten rid of forever and ever; can the locals deal with that, or will he escape? Or, should they just kill him?
"The first step either way is to hit him as hard as possible." -Anto
Xian insists that the thing about only sorcerers being able to defeat sorcerers is a children's tale, so surely they can defeat him.
Ezokin

The group plots their ambush. Setting a cart on fire is a good plan from the Book of the Remarkable Wanderer, so they get the House of Enticing Vintage to ask for a shipment of wine and brandy to be delivered, so he will have to take a cart. They can hide along the path he will definitely have to take, and can prep the street with pitch to set it on fire when torches are thrown. Perhaps an ice chip of doom can be worked into the plan as well? Though then anyone fighting Ezokin will get frozen too.

Two carts are "borrowed" from the marketplace, and put in alleys so that they can be pushed out (two people each) to block Ezokin's cart fore and aft. Others perch on the roof, or ready to leap in from an alley.
A vintner's cart comes along, and Xian confirms that it's Ezokin. Anto tries to grab him with his chain, but Ezokin's staff blocks much of the grab. Zhi-Hao chops him.
"I do 37 damage." "Are you in zhu or li?" "What?"
As it turns out, damage to Ezokin must be paid for or it will not go through - 1 zhu per point of damage, or rounding up to a li.
There is much Getting, and the cart is set on fire. Ezokin would probably flee, but he sees the hated Deng Zhi-Hao, slayer of his magpie familiar, standing right beside him. Much to Ezokin's displeasure, Zhi-Hao has no magic items to destroy, so Ezokin shapes his fingers into sharp talons and slices at him. (This damage can be blocked at a cost of 5 hit points per li.)
Then, ninja leap out through nearby windows. Cai Wen gives all his interesting loot to his ferret, and tells the creature to hide.
Anto, experimentally, drops his purse before hitting Ezokin. Unfortunately, those who are penniless cannot harm him, but it was a good thought. The heat of the burning cart starts causing the brandy to explode, spreading the flames. As they are his own property, they do not harm Ezokin himself.
"We should have paid for the wine in advance." -Anto
Lijuan shoots her net-arrow at him, and tells him that it's not too late to turn to good! His cane blocks much of that entangle as well. He's not going to be leaving that square, but he can still attack those near him.
Meanwhile, the ninja surround Cai-Wen, who surrenders, baffling them. They give Xiao Fa an action to see if he's going to make trouble, but he doesn't. They tie Cai Wen up.
"Hey! Let him go!" -Lijuan "And turn to good!" -Anto
Ezokin continues to try to kill Zhi-Hao, who returns the sentiment. Xiao Fa does his best to keep Zhi-Hao standing. The wine explodes further. Sadly, once Ezokin has taken a bit too much damage, he declares "You may have driven me off now, but I will not be defeated!" He turns into an invisible magpie, and flees, though he drops his cane in the process.
Cai Wen does his best to drag his feet, but the ninja are starting to escape, and pull him up onto a roof. Xian shouts at one of the ninja:
"You are incredibly dangerous and have defeated us so easily, but if you don't defeat the rest of us, you will wreak the vengeance of... death baddy badness." "Okay, you can roll, but you don't get any style points for that." -Mike

But actually, Xian is trying to sway the emotions of the ninja into overconfidence - if he thinks that they're all idiots, he'll think it's easy enough to just finish them all off. So sounding like a goof actually helps with that. The ninja decides to fight them, so the group of them stop trying to drag Cai Wen away for the moment.

Zhi-Hao starts chopping the ninja, but this means several of them turn their attention to him in return. The other ninja attack whoever is convenient. Ninja start falling, but so does Kuan-Xi.

The fire continues to spread, to the two nearby carts. Xian realizes in horror that one of the carts has beautiful cabbages in it, and tries to push it out of the fire; alas, he is not strong enough to do so by himself.

Xiao Fa heals Kuan-Xi, and she tosses one of Anto's ice chips in the fire. This freezes two more ninja, as well as the cabbage cart. Lijuan and Zhi-Hao take out the last ninja standing; as he dies, he says, "Our clan will keep hunting Cai Wen until our honor is restored!"
The cabbage merchant arrives, with the traditional cry of "My Cabbages!" In addition to his cabbages and two ninja, Lijuan's net arrow is trapped in the ice block.
The party explains: "Ninjas attacked us and set this cart on fire! We stopped them with this ice!" They also explain that the ice can be melted with sea water. Cai Wen persuades guards it was all the ninjas' fault. The city guards will take them into custody, once the fire brigade has melted out the last two. Anto tries to get some new ice chips in the fire-brigade melting, but they continue to melt and he is unable to pocket any.

In the end, the party gets a favor from the House of Enticing Vintage; the House of Resplendent Decoration is favorably inclined, but does not issue an Official Favor. And, the group has Ezokin's Cane of Free Action, as well.

Cai Wen manages to get something of an explanation out of the ninja. They're not a very large clan, and their honor was compromised when their master (their only third-level ninja) was imprisoned after the fight with Cai Wen. They want to capture him and trade him for their master, to restore their honor.
"I'm afraid I can find nothing graceful to say, so I bid you adieu." -Cai Wen
Puttering

Xiao Fa talks to Ringmaster Te about a new act.
Cai Wen, Wei Han, and Hana visit the Hidden Orchid.
Hiro, Hana, and Kasumi head off to the High Warlord Ze's court.
Lijuan "borrows" some of Takanata's used shoes and boots from the butler. Takanata visits Wanakaru, and also Their Majesties.
Min Feng talks to her patron about this secret conspiracy that she hears she's in. Li Merit does some experimentation with Ice Chips of Doom.
Cai Wen takes Kuan-Xi out to dinner.
Retrieved from "http://boojum.scripts.mit.edu/Dragon/index.php?title=Zen_Sinker_Tour" Category: Book Two Logs
This page was last modified on 16 July 2010, at 14:26.
On the River

From Dragon

"No man steps into the same river twice; for it is not the same river, and he is not the same man."

The run begins just after the Day of the Grasping Spider in the month of Spider Rising in the first Year of the Spider since the Butterfly King was Poisoned.

The run takes place in the Butterfly Kingdom, and then up and down the Jasmine River.
Previous Run Next Run
Contents

1 More Elven Rope
2 Following Master Deng
3 City of Light
4 River Rocks
5 Lily Wanderer
6 City of Spires
7 Staging an Ambush
8 Puttering

More Elven Rope

It takes a little while for those scattered by Aku to return to the Butterfly Kingdom, but by mid-Spider, mostly everyone has made it back. His Majesty Ti Lao is on the mend, and is beginning to make public appearances, though his strength is not what it was before his long illness. Ringmaster Te lets people know that the circus will be in rehearsal and maintenance during the off-season, and will not be traveling again for several months; spring is normally when it leaves. People are still welcome to gather at circus headquarters to practice, help out with the off season equipment mending, and drink tea.

Her Majesty Ti Wren summons everyone who helped procure the cure for His Majesty, and as with other party members last run, Her Majesty expresses her gratitude to each of her visitors for their efforts both in retrieving the Tincture of Pure Respite, and their efforts to rescue His Majesty's spirit from the World Above. Now that they have returned, she has a gift for each of them as a small token of appreciation.

Shuyan
Rainbow Snake - A small snake with shiny opalescent scales and large dark eyes. It is utterly adorable, even to those who don't like snakes.

Hana
Golden Kimono - A beautiful formal kimono in subtly varied shades of gold.
Shen-Ji
Firebox - An insulated metal box with double-baffled air holes. It is water-proof, and both heat-proof and cold-proof.
Merit
Three incomplete letters written by Her Majesty, with the middles left empty. (Though Merit is nowhere to be found until later)
Min Feng
Linked Scrolls - Two blank scrolls of fine parchment with mysterious abilities.
Kasumi
Silk Rope - A 50' coil of thin silk rope, incredibly strong and incredibly light. It can be coiled up and kept in a pocket.
Wei Han
Storm Shield - A dark grey shield with embossed clouds.
Takanata
Her Majesty shows him a part of the Gardens of Harmonious Contemplation that had been damaged by their transition to the World Above and the attacks by demons, which has been re-imagined to match a watercolor sketch from his book of poetry.

As Master Deng has previously been asked to go and find Prince Ti Jun, he gathers those who are particularly impatient to go (plus Xian), and his party heads out on the cursed ship. The others decide that waiting three days for the non-cursed ship to take them to the Port of Auspicious Voyage will be acceptable, and continue to putter about the Butterfly Kingdom for a few more days.
Takanata points out to Ringmaster Te that he should make sure everyone in the circus knows that people call Bear Mountain by the name of Iron Mountain now, and they should probably all do so too. The Ringmaster is somewhat confused, but Takanata explains about the whole crossing-the-wall thing. Ringmaster Te finds that all rather disturbing, but will make sure nobody in the circus blows their cover. Ringmaster Te also notes to the party that those who wish to stay on with the circus in the next circuit (which will probably go to the north), that it would be good if they worked on their acts. Last circuit was kind of shaky, certainly much more due to circumstances than anything else, but it's time to start perfecting again!

Takanata reads the I Ching for His Majesty, but is not pleased by the results, as they do suggest that the Butterfly Kingdom's name is doomed. He suggests to His Majesty that he write himself some notes telling himself what the country is named, without actually using the name itself. Takanata also wonders whether using sorcery to restore the gardens more quickly (in case that's one of the ways that the Butterfly is being attacked) would be a good idea; Her Majesty is not sure that's appropriate.

Shen-Ji and Min Feng head back to the smuggler's cave to re-examine the water gate. There are no longer any crates there - presumably things were cleared out by the guards His Majesty sent. The magic circle is still there, with the X crayoned over it. Shen-Ji thinks he could probably erase the X and fix the sigil underneath well enough to get it working again, but decides against it. There isn't any sign of the Cartogramancer in the magic circle, and Shen-Ji doesn't think this is particularly cartogramancy.

Meanwhile, Li Merit, has been off at Butterfly Intelligence HQ, filing reports and filling out forms to try to be reimbursed for various expenses. He's been there all day, and has left the Shackles of Silence to see if they can be copied, when a courier finally rushes in. There has been a request for his presence from Her Majesty for four hours now! He hurries to the palace, and is presented with his nummy. He also briefs her on the other plots the party encountered on their journey - she asks some questions, which are less about intelligence analysis and more about "hmm, how was he dressed?" that let Merit make more connections between the things he saw. He begins to think that maybe "governance by random" isn't quite as crazy after all. Hana being dead gets skipped, because that is Awkward, and Her Majesty does not ask Awkward questions.

After that briefing, Her Majesty also asks Merit to assist Master Deng in finding the Prince, so he heads out to the docks just in time to see the cursed ship leaving. Whoops. He nearly hires a fishing boat to go after them, but then discovers the other half of the party waiting for the non-cursed ship. So, he goes back to finish his paperwork. On the way, Kasumi approaches Merit - she has a katana, but it's obviously stolen from the Dragon Army, and she doesn't want Wei Han to see it. Merit fishes for a hint on whether Kasumi stole it herself or what - but she claims she bought it on her way back to the Butterfly Kindgom, but from some... slightly less savory characters. Merit could definitely arrange to have it returned to the Dragon Army, were there an actual barracks here; since there isn't, it's a little trickier.
"Throw it over the wall and run away!" -Shen-Ji
Anyway, Kasumi gets her original katana back from the cleanup of the Garden of Harmonious Contemplation, so she's not unarmed, though she is down the 80 zhu she spent on the katana.

Following Master Deng

The second wave of the party heads off on the uncursed ship. Min Feng wants to bring the Three Enlightened Monkeys; Wei Han thinks that's a bad idea, but most everyone else is in favor of chaos and lockpicking. Chaos notwithstanding, the voyage goes smoothly, and Takanata spends his time in his cabin making a paper chain, with water painted on one side and raindrops on the other. Hmm.

When they arrive at the docks of the Port of Auspicious Voyage, Kuan-Xi is there to let them know what happened earlier - the cursed ship, the battle with Ezokin, the Prince having gone to the City of Spires, and so on. That group's plan was to take a caravan south (avoiding coming close to the Tanzhe Plains) to the City of Light, and then take a boat up the river. Unfortunately, everyone but Kuan-Xi herself is feeling dreadfully ill due to food poisoning from the cursed ship, so they won't be able to travel for a few more days. If this group wants to head after the Prince's trail, then the others will catch up when they feel better. Merit suggests that Kuan-Xi should stick around in case Anto needs her - she's happy to be convinced by that.

Merit (who has been experimenting with Ice Chips of Doom) picks up a couple of casks of seawater, and arranges to have them transported in the caravan. He wanders around the Port for a bit, asking after the best centers of knowledge in the Arcade, as he's hoping that this will lead him to the Great Talisman of the Magpie. Since he thinks nobody knows it's actually wherever it is, his questions are rather circuitous, and mostly what he comes up with is that the arts have really taken off recently, and that if one is looking for something, you can always find one in the Port of Auspicious Voyage or the Port of Propitious Voyage - but if you're looking for something better, you'll find that in the Harbor of Fortunate Arrival.

"Wait, do we think we need all the talismans to stop the Spider?"' -Hana "No, but they're good loot!" -Everyone else
"Er, what do we need to stop the Spider?" -Hana
"We have no idea."
Shen-Ji thinks that they'll need a map in order to fix the country names, but it's on the Shrouded Isle somewhere. And they'll probably need to free the Dragon Spirit somehow.
Merit thinks that as long as they're following the Queen's plan (at this point, that's "Find Ti-Jun"), they'll randomly get dragged by plots that they need to do, due to her Butterfly powers.
"I used to think there was a better way to run a country, but I was wrong." -Merit
City of Light

The caravan heads south to the City of Light, and like the ship voyage to the Port, things go basically smoothly. Merit thinks Ti Jun ought to have gone this way if he was going to the City of Spires, but if he did pass this way, it was more clandestinely than he was in the Port of Auspicious Voyage. People gather information throughout the area and are pretty clear that no one has seen or heard from the prince in the City of Light since the party last encountered him there. Shen-Ji hires passage on a boat heading towards the City of Spires. It's waiting for a few more passengers, but will be setting off the next morning.

Kasumi, Takanata, and Wei Han go to the Dragon Army HQ, and inquire about the state of the war. The Dragon Army has secured the river and thus river travel is now considered fully safe, but uninvolved boats should not dock on the Tanzhe Plain side of the river if they can avoid it. Also, don't transport soldiers/weapons for either side or you will lose the protection of the Dragon Army. Kasumi takes this opportunity to visit the quartermaster and present him with the stolen katana she found. The quartermaster waits a few beats and then realizes that this is the first person in weeks who has walked into his post without asking him for something. He's so relieved, that he gives Kasumi a chit which she can use to requisition some reasonable item from any other Dragon army quartermaster she comes across.

Meanwhile, Hana goes to visit the Exalted Library, meets up with Meng Shou, one of the librarians she met on a double date with Cai Wen, and talks him into sneaking her into the closed stacks to look for ghosts. She does see a young woman who Meng Shou can't; named Tien-Li, who is apparently trying to read all the books in the library, and isn't done yet.
Takanata wonders if Inspector Ando is around - as it turns out, he is, and he's investigating counterfeit tael which have been appearing in the area. He's managed to confiscate a few of them, and has determined that they were probably being distributed by southern spies looking for information. Takanata pulls in Shen-Ji, who looks at the "tael", and says that they're just gold (worth a handful of li each), not actually magical, the way tael are. They do not glow faintly in the dark (as Hana remembers that real tael do), and they can be nicked if you try.
"I'm not in tael. As it turns out, I'm in forged tael." -Ando
The odd part is that the southerners who have been passing these fake tael have been buying supplies - perhaps for storage caches - and information on earth and wood sorcerers. Ando plans to head up to the City of Spires to talk to Sasaki, since he's found out that her name has been given out to the people asking the questions.

Takanata notes: Earth and Wood are the two elements that harm Water. Combining this with the clue provided by his artwork, he concludes that the southerners are planning to chain the spirit of the Jasmine River since they need giant elemental spirits as part of their ritual. Ando has already been briefed on the southron ritual plot by Commander Sun, so he knows something of what's going on, but is glad to hear more details and corroboration (though he notes it isn't really corroboration if they were the source of Commander Sun's information as well).
"What's bad for the Empire is bad for my job." -Ando
"We note that Ando's patriotism is underwhelming. We can use that." -Merit
Ando points out that he was recently relieved of his previous duties, so he doesn't have to follow the party around any more.
"You see how well that is working out for me..." -Ando
Ando and Merit swap gossip and spy intelligences; neither of them has anything earthshattering for the other, so neither ends up owing the other one a beer. Takanata is pretty sure that Sasaki is in the City of Spires now, since he was just talking to her about sweetthorn.

River Rocks

So, everyone (including Ando) loads onto the riverboat, and heads upriver. The first bit of travel goes uneventfully, and Takanata starts to have a picnic by himself on deck, but at about the border between the Precincts and the Savanna, the boat makes a dreadful crunching noise, and runs aground. In the middle of the river. Wei Han falls overboard, which is unfortunate with his armor, but Merit throws him a rope and he manages to not drown.

Merit throws the outboard motor to one of the crew, and tells them to mount it on a lifeboat. Unfortunately, the lifeboats are full of things like luggage and monkey cages and barrels of seawater. Takanata spots an earth sorcerer on the bank of the river, and points him out to everyone else. Min Feng starts shooting at him, while Kasumi simply jumps to the bank with her superleap and chops at the sorcerer.

Merit tries a bluff: "Sergeant Li, he's on this side of the embankment! Get the bandit!" but is not particularly convincing. Takanata heads down into the hold, where there seem to be giant stone stalagmites growing out of the bottom of the river and into the boat. He attempts to fasten the cane of free action to the boat. Wei Han gets back on board the riverboat, and, after evicting the barrels of seawater from a lifeboat, orders one of the sailors to start rowing him over to the bank. Hana tries to distract the sorcerer, telling him charmingly, "Come come, this is all a mistake, you must have mistaken us for someone else."

The sorcerer shouts back to Merit: "Fool! Stoneback Cho cannot be attacked from behind! And you dare call me bandit after the crimes you have committed?". Then, he tries to pierce the boat with another stalagmite, but the cane manages to block the entangle-part, but not the damage-part. So there's no rock in the bottom of the boat there, but instead, a hole through which water starts pouring.

Shen-Ji puts on his twig hat and makes monstery gestures at the sorcerer - but without Pir Pir to enchant it, it just looks like an ugly hat made out of twigs. Stoneback Cho is baffled, but not deterred. Kasumi chops him some more though, and that's more of a problem, so he shouts "Then drown!" and all the stalagmites sink back down, and the boat starts sinking with them. Stoneback Cho starts running up the bank. Unfortunately for him, he's just within Wei Han's move, and he forgets his shtick ("A Rolling Stone Gathers No Moss"), so is grabbed. Shen-Ji gets a stone wall under the boat as Merit and the crew steer it towards the bank, keeping it from sinking much more.

Once the boat is somewhat rescued, it's time to figure out what Stoneback Cho actually wants, so they put him in the hold of the boat to interrogate, and Takanata goes back to his picnic.
"He seems to be a gentleman who is happy to tell us what he thinks." -Merit
Merit and Hana try the buttering-him-up strategy. Takanata suggests that Ando help as well, but this immediately segues into Cho ranting about how can they work with such a dog as Ando? If they are people of honor, then free him, and he will help them rid the Empire of Ando now! Ando protests - he's never even met Cho. Merit "orders" Wei Han to grab Ando, but flubs his wink to Ando, and Wei Han isn't willing to grab someone for pretend. Eventually, Ando retreats upstairs, followed by Wei Han.
Cho tries to get them to overthrow their master and his evil ninja. Hana bats her eyes - but what has Ando done?
He sent his associates under cover of night, and paid me with this." -Cho "Wow, that's a really good counterfeit!" -Merit
"Ah, so you are in on his plan."
"No, I just like money."

But - if it was some random other people (probably southrons) who gave Cho the fake tael, how did he track Ando down? He asked the earth to lead him to the largest concentration of fake tael (similar to his) in the land, and followed that trail to the ship.
"Where I found him! And his ninja, I might add."
Merit explains that Ando is actually the lead investigator for the Imperial anticounterfeiting investigation. But wait, Cho protests - what about his evil ninja? Merit suggests that the Imperials may also have need of sneaky folk, especially in combatting crime.
"An *evil* ninja would use nerve strike, not got your nose..." -Merit
Light finally dawns on Cho.
"I should apologize. I'm not about to be arrested for this, am I? I'm the victim here."
What did the evil ones hire Cho to do, anyway? It turns out they asked him to perform a somewhat implausible ritual - they had designed it, and assured him it would work. It created several stone pillars that made half of a cage, which would be impervious to the magics of water. How was it implausible? Well, it just seemed kind of slipshod and not very well designed. But it did work. Cho notes that he would really appreciate it if they could smooth things over with Ando, and he'd be willing to help them get whoever it is Ando is really after. Merit and Hana head up to the deck "to suck up to Ando." Ando, who has been listening at the top of the stairs, is amused.
"Let the sucking up commence."
Ando thinks that if the biggest source of fake tael is what is in his bag, then the southrons have already spent it on whatever they're buying. Cho was paid several days before he started chasing down Ando, so perhaps the wood sorcerer has also already been paid.

Ando gives Cho the bag of tael. He buries it in the earth and concentrates for a while, and then says that there are equal concentrations in the City of Spires and the City of Light. Well, Sasaki is expected to be in the City of Spires; maybe there's a Water sorcerer in the City of Light? Cho doesn't know of any powerful water sorcerer there, though he knows a couple of lower level possibilities.
Takanata notes that Ando didn't say they were looking for Water sorcerers. What else were they looking for? Cho clarifies that they were looking for three things:
contact with a wood sorcerer
contact with an earth sorcerer
contact with a sage who could tell them the names of water spirits
"Okay, they've already done that, we go upriver." -Takanata
Actually, Takanata thinks about it some more and notes that "They've already done that," is technically not true, but they should still go upriver.
Lily Wanderer

The party, now with both Ando and Stoneback Cho, heads upriver towards the City of Spires. Ando confiscates all the fake tael again, and Hana chats up Stoneback Cho while Shuyan, Merit, and the others patch his wounds. He boasts that he cannot be harmed in a fight he is trying to avoid, but he was angry at Ando and wasn't trying to avoid that fight.

As the river passes alongside the Tanzhe, a Dragon Army checkpoint is reached. The army seems to be going over the boat in front of them (the Lily Wanderer, which appears to have some scholars and some guards) with a fine toothed comb - they're pulling up decking boards, checking for secret compartments, unrolling coils of rope, and so on. The party panics - what do they have that shouldn't be found? The forgeries, mostly - both forged letters and forged Great Treasures. And Shen-Ji's necromancer spear. They hide things in the hold as best they can (6 successes), and then Wei Han searches the boat (2 successes) so he can declare that he's searched it.

Once the Dragon Army lets the Lily Wanderer go, they turn their attention to the party's riverboat. The captain says he has passengers for the City of Spires, which the soldiers accept; they look around desultorily. There don't appear to be any contraband elephants, and then Wei Han says that he searched the boat, and they're perfectly happy to leave it at that. Oh, so maybe it isn't that they're at high alert, it's that they didn't like that boat in particular.

Merit asks what caused the ruckus on the previous boat - the army captain says they've been through this checkpoint five times today and ten times yesterday! They're clearly up to something. Takanata asks if they had a cage of weird stone pillars? No, nothing like that.

Hmm. Maybe whoever was paid, in the City of Light, hired these guys to get the River Spirit's name? They're apparently the (Journeyman) Sage Xuetu and some apprentices. Takanata recognizes that name - he works for Chun-Zi, the Cryptomancer. He's said to be the person you go to if you want information - if you pay him enough, he'll find out the information you need, and not ask any pesky questions like what you want it for or who you might be causing trouble for with it.

The Lily Wanderer appears to have stopped, a little way up the river, and is fishing, or perhaps dowsing in the water. The party's riverboat pulls alongside, and Takanata calls over that he has cause to speak to Sage Xuetu. Several of the guards come up from the Wanderer 's hold, and there seems to be a commotion going on below. Takanata and Hana leap over to the other boat, and Takanata again asks that Sage Xuetu be summoned. The guards move to try to block him from going down into the hold, as Kasumi leaps across more stealthily.

The sage comes onto the deck, and asks what's going on. Takanata introduces himself. Another scholar-type whispers something to Xuetu, and points at Takanata. Xuetu tells him to get back below decks.

Takanata points out to the sage that the currency his master was paid in, in order to learn the name of the river spirit, was forged. Xuetu is a bit rattled by that, but invites him for tea, and offers to discuss things downstairs. Takanata says he has no interest in their determining the name of the river spirit or allowing Xuetu to use him to do so. Xuetu protests - is not knowledge an end in itself? In this case, Takanata claims, the knowledge is sought by those who are enemies of the Empire.

Kasumi sneaks downstairs, as does Min Feng. The hold is full of papers and books and notes, in some disorder. One of the apprentices is very excited: "No, a watercolor from that guy got us seven points! Get the guy down here and we'll just finish it." As Min Feng sneaks back upstairs, the apprentice notes in confusion that "it's getting weaker now."
Back on the deck, Xuetu says that the allegations Takanata is making are very serious, and again suggests discussing them over tea. Takanata insists that the tea be served on his ship.
"With my staff?" -Xuetu
"I would not dream of separating you from your bodyguards." -Takanata
Hana makes tea, and Xuetu and two guards come across. Ando notes that he does have to confiscate the fake tael, but it's back at the City of Light; these guys don't have it. The two bodyguards look around as if they're casing the boat, until Shuyan starts dancing the Dance of the Mesmerizing Serpent, and they watch her in fascination. Xuetu offers to send his master a letter - Takanata writes one, telling him the tael is forged, and suggesting that he turn it over to the Imperial Customs Officer at the port (at Ando's suggestion). Then, once tea is finished, Xuetu and his guards are permitted to leave.

Takanata notes that they're probably going to try to kidnap him. Well, if the party waits for that, then they can definitely Get Them if they try. So the party heads up the river to the City of Spires, at faster speed than the Lily Wanderer, and prepares to set an ambush.

The soldiers at the next Dragon Army checkpoint on the river recognize the name of the ship - it went back and forth a lot several days ago, but it hasn't been by more recently. The party asks if they can try to slow the "Lily Wanderer" down. At first, the soldiers are a bit suspicious of this, but Merit says that they asked him a lot of questions about where the river traffic was heavy, and seemed in general rather dangerous and squirrelly, and he's kind of nervous about them. Ah, they understand that - they'll slow them down for him, and the rest of the trip upriver is pretty smooth.

City of Spires

Once arrived, the party heads off to find Sasaki. She is surprised to see Takanata and Wei Han so soon, and asks if they have more disturbing things to show her. Well, tell her, as it turns out.

"Did you make a magical cage for someone recently?" -Takanata
"I'm afraid I can't discuss other clients." -Sasaki
"Well, you were paid in fake tael." -Merit
"WHAT?"

In fact, the tael are demonstrated to be fake, and Ando confiscates them. Sasaki is not pleased. She says she was approached about the cage ritual the day after Takanata left, and while the ritual seemed rather implausible, it did work. People interrogate her further about how exactly she means "implausible". Well, it seemed like the sort of ritual that a young apprentice would write, on his first try. "Look, here are the five elements!" with no aesthetic or flow or any beauty at all. They did provide some helpers, who spent chi, but she didn't note any sort of different feeling about that. Were there any additional elements she didn't recognize? Well, they had something of a fetish about incorporating shadows; everything was set up so that it was casting shadows here or there.
Both she and Cho can write down the rituals they used, more or less. Sasaki, like Cho, doesn't have any particular ability to find her half-cage now.
When the wood piece and the earth piece of the cage are put together, it will form a cage that will hold a water spirit, or a water mage, or the like. To break the cage again, burning the wooden part or chopping the stone part should work, but the whole thing will be completely impervious to all water magics. Because both wood and earth absorb water, the cage will probably work pretty well to actually trap the spirit in the first place as well. (Shen-Ji notes that while he has a bottle of spirit-catching, it is way too small for the Jasmine River Water Spirit.)

The party warns Sasaki that this "shadow" magical signature is likely that of Mola Ram, a southron, and that their lack of aesthetic sense in the ritual also seems to be relevant. While Sasaki isn't quite as angry as Stoneback Cho, she is definitely willing to help with getting the Southerners, and loans them a seed which will grow into a tree of wooden swords, which might be elementally useful.

Briefly remembering their original plot, the party checks around to see if there is any word on where Prince Ti Jun is. He has apparently been staying with Duke Huang (one of the Fire Dukes).

Takanata, Hana, and Min Feng head to the Duke Huang's estate. is His Highness still in residence? Duke Huang is so sorry to let them know that they have been misinformed, and that his Highness departed days ago. To where? Duke Huang says that he would have to make some inquiries. He might be able to find out sooner as a personal favor between friends. (Hana thinks that Duke Huang's lies are somewhat transparent, and notes that he isn't trying to stall them to thwart them particularly - he's just trying to see what he can get out of them.) Takanata apologizes; he is certain that he and his friends would not want Duke Huang to put himself out, and he will return in a few days. Hana adds that she is sure that the prince would be pleased to receive the message soon. Sadly, her lie is also somewhat transparent, and Duke Huang likely notices as well. Anyway, the group sets off again, promising to return in a few days when they can have an answer without owing Duke Huang a favor.

Staging an Ambush

The original plot disposed of, it seems time to arrange to be mugged. Has the Lily Wanderer arrived yet? Min Feng heads down to the docks by herself to enquire. The boat is around - they have been sending out scouts asking about Takanata and his party. Min Feng's information-gathering and the Wanderer 's information gathering intersect each other, and she starts being followed on her way back. She thinks she's lost at least two of them, though, by the time she reaches the inn where the party is staying.

"Make an Int roll with tactics." -Mike
"I don't have tactics." -Kate
"For 9s, then."
"I get none."
"Well, you think he's totally not going to jump you, then."

When he does jump Min Feng, he manages to get a gag into her mouth before she gets an action, but she gets free of it to shout before he can drag her away. Takanata and Wei Han run out of the inn and chop him - he throws Min Feng at Wei Han and flees. Kasumi gives chase, as does Merit, shouting that the guy tried to kidnap Lord Takanata's niece; the public interest manages to give him enough attention that Kasumi can follow him back to the dock area near the Lily Wanderer, but it's not quite conclusive.

Takanata lodges an official complaint with the city guard that someone tried to kidnap his ward; they will investigate, but since he doesn't tell them more details, they don't get very far very quickly.

The party considers how they can get a good excuse to storm the ship at this point. If Ando thought that it had fake tael aboard, he could definitely investigate and search, but he doesn't think they do have any, and he wouldn't really be able to arrest them all without that evidence. Trying to find out the name of a spirit really isn't illegal - but it is something they want to stop. Waiting until they actually attack, and then Getting Them does seem like a pretty solid plan, though, since the sages seem willing to try to get Min Feng as well.

Merit finds a buddy who has access to a defensible house (only one door, strong walls, good sight lines through the windows), and the party conspicuously heads there and then tries to figure out how to finish stopping the catch-the-water-spirit plan. Burning all the notes could be a good start. Might Min Feng's friend from the House of Silence be able to find the cage? Are there other ways to locate it? Perhaps using the Golden Spire?

Is the Golden Spire something you can visit over and over, anyway? No, normally it's something that you visit at the important times of your life, not every time you're in town. Nobody who hasn't already visited the Golden Spire is sure that they want to spend a rare visit on this plot, at least, not yet. Ando sets some traps in the house, noting that they will mostly ensure that if someone goes down, they'll be a prisoner rather than a dead body. Stoneback Cho asks about stalagmites - Merit says not in the house, at least, not until they start losing.
Then, the bad guys storm the house! Hooray!
Stoneback Cho turns and puts his hands on the wall, once they enter - this appears to seal the house against escape. At first, the thugs try to grab Takanata, but he's using the cane of free action and guarded by Wei Han and mostly manages to block them. After a few attempts at this, they switch to plan 2, which is trying to "grab the niece" instead.
"Technically, she's not my niece, she's my niece." -Takanata, indicating Min Feng and then Hana
One guy tries to jump out the window with Min Feng, but hits a stone wall, thanks to Cho. Another thug tries to grab Hana.
"Unhand me, you fools! How dare you lay a hand on me!" -Hana
Unfortunately, once they aren't able to flee, the thugs have to turn and fight, and they're pretty tough. They're being whittled down, mostly from Wei Han and Kasumi, but several of the party are also looking pretty shaky, so Takanata tells Cho to start using stalagmites as well. Kasumi leaps to the rafters, and yoinks one of the thugs up and down with her rope, dropping him on his head. Merit demonstrates his razor-edged hat and boot knife to good effect.

Wei Han finally falls, as Takanata and Shen-Ji finish taking down the leader. Ando finds the last of the party's healing potions, and heals Wei Han. He tries to pocket the other potion, but ends up using it later when Wei Han falls down a second time. The second thug goes down to Cho's stalagmites, and Kasumi intimidates the last of them into surrendering.

The thugs are interrogated. They indeed work for Chun-Zi, and they have two jobs: first, protect Xuetu and the two apprentices, assist as needed, and make sure that they aren't harassed. Second, make sure that they don't leave - Chun-Zi does not approve of learning from him and then leaving without permission. And yes, Xuetu and the other sages suggested that they temporarily borrow Takanata to let them finish their mechanic more quickly.

Ando notes that they could be sent back to the Butterfly Kingdom to be executed there, but Takanata doesn't think that's necessary, and is willing to let Ando make arrangements for them to be punished here. He heads out with the thugs as prisoners, while the party storms the Lily Wanderer. As it turns out, the three scholars are not worth much in a fight, and are swiftly captured.

Interrogation of the new set of prisoners indicates that the apprentices didn't want to know any details about the kidnapping - they're just trying to find out the name of the Jasmine River spirit. Xuetu tries to blame everyone else - when the apprentices realized there might be a short cut, they became somewhat excited, and their employees most regrettably overreacted in response... Merit notes that he has five witnesses saying Xuetu ordered the kidnapping, and Xuetu folds.
"What can we do to make this right?" -Xuetu
Xuetu is willing to believe that the forged tael story is true - but Chun-Zi is not the sort of person who would approve of his underlings deciding to disobey his orders just because they learned new information. They sent him a letter, and assuming that the story is true, they expect to be called off the task soon.

The party decides that the plan is to use the journeyman and apprentices as leverage over Chun-Zi - they have the "stick" of "your guys tried to harm us, and we can probably blame that on you" and the "carrot" of "we will help you destroy the people who gave you the fake tael." Meanwhile, Min Feng and Kasumi search the boat; they find the notes on the spirit's name (which Takanata pockets), and 20 li (which they end up partially disbursing).

The thugs are left to their punishment in the City of Spires; Xuetu is required to go back with the group, and the apprentices are given the option of leaving Chun-Zi's service here, since the thugs aren't currently able to stop them. They manage to talk the more enthusiastic student (named Jin) into leaving, though he does actually travel back to the City of Light with them, since he needs to convince his girlfriend to leave as well, plus he wants to try to find out more about the Jasmine River Spirit from Takanata. Takanata doesn't really tell him anything about that, but does tell him that the Great Spider Spirit's name (or, at least, part of it) is Aku.

Merit tries to get Takanata to relinquish the notes on the spirit's name long enough for Min Feng to copy them, just in case they need leverage over the spirit later, but Takanata doesn't think that's likely to be necessary.

Ando agrees to go and confiscate the last of the fake tael, and pressure Chun-Zi, and that works reasonably well. Chun-Zi declares, of course, that his journeyman totally overstepped their authority in calling for a kidnapping (and that seems true). However, if Ando (and by extension, the party) is willing to make the entire trouble stop being trouble, he is willing to make it known that he has the river spirit's name, and then when the contact comes for the name, he'll tell the party and they can Get him.
Finally, a message from Duke Huang catches up, to let them know that his investigations have revealed that Ti Jun was heading for Nine Terraces when he left.
Puttering

Shen-Ji goes drinking with Stone-back Cho and meets a metal mage named Copperhand.
Cai Wen zips up to the Harbor of Fortunate Arrival.
Wei Han and Shen-Ji start repairing the star-scale mail.
Takanata, Xian, Master Zhou, and Wei Han take a trip to the Temple of the Eternal Dream.
Cai Wen visits Commander Sun.
Anto, Lijuan (and possibly others) visit Masters Kangjon, Fu, and Hwa. Master Zhou visits Master Jinghua at the Brilliant Dawn monastery.
Retrieved from "http://boojum.scripts.mit.edu/Dragon/index.php?title=On_the_River" Category: Book Two Logs
This page was last modified on 16 July 2010, at 14:26.
Sands of Blood

From Dragon

"The more you sweat in peacetime, the less you bleed during war."

The run begins on the Day of the Early Magpie, in the three hundred and forty-fifth Year of the Spider since the forging of the First Blades of Deliverance.

The run takes place on the way to and in Jabon, the capital of the Savanna of Tears.
Previous Run Next Run
Contents

1 City of Light
2 In the Morning
3 Passing the Gate
4 Prisoner of the Bearers
5 Conclave
6 Puttering

City of Light

People wrap up their business and puttering in the City of Light. Lijuan reports that the reason Ice Chips of Doom dissolve in sea water is because of the moon - no one is quite sure what she means by "moon monks", but she seems quite confident. Master Zhou, still back in the Butterfly Kingdom, has his audience with Ti Wren and receives his present and his request to go find Ti Jun with everyone else. He takes a third (non-cursed) ship to the City of Light, where there's an urchin waiting around for him and Yoshi to arrive. The urchin points him towards the inn, so he heads there.
Kuan-Xi is extremely glad to see him, as she's been looking after the people who got food poisoning from the cursed ship.

"Is there anyone else around? " -Tom
"Yeah, she's in the main room of the inn." -Mike "Good, we don't have to go to speed rolls." -Tom

Kuan-Xi recruits Master Zhou to help get the sick people up and about again; the patients do seem to be much improved, as they are loudly demanding tea and complaining that Master Zhou is not Su-Yin. Once they are feeling better, the party is up to opening the letter left by Takanata, telling them of the events of the previous run.

Cai Wen checks in with Commander Sun to tell him about the Southron plans, and also learns that there is a report of Southerners crossing the wall in force; a captured southerner has been taken to the capital of the Savanna. The translator for the Bearers of Swift Response was killed in the battle, so if Cai Wen happens to be going that direction, he might stop by and offer his services. Commander Sun writes him a letter of introduction. Speaking of translations, Master Zhou shows Cai Wen the silver jewelry with Torghut symbols on it, that they took from the leaders of the fur smugglers - Cai Wen says that they are symbols for martial virtues such as ferocity, strength, and skill.

Lijuan brings some of the local urchins, who she has been trying to teach some fighting skills to, to Master Zhou to demonstrate. He is not impressed by their stick-fighting skills; having only three dice, it's hard for them to get three successes as consistently as he thinks they should. He glowers at them and Lijuan.
"They have learned little! Teach them better!" -Master Zhou
"It was fun watching someone else be tutored." -Anto "You have no idea." -Xiao Fa
As the group gets ready to head out, Lijuan tries to convince Kuan-Xi to wait for Yoshi, but Anto encourages her to come along with him, and in the end, more urchins are left to keep watch on the docks. They refrain from hiring the Lily Wanderer, on the theory that that will just get them searched by the Dragon Army, and Cai Wen arranges for transport on the Turtle Express.

The captain asks what the group is traveling for, and a deafening silence falls. Lijuan finally explains that she is meeting children all over the world, and that the children in the City of Light are better fed than many, because they catch crayfish and eat them with toast. He's not really sure what to make of that, and his nosiness is defeated.
The ship reaches the Dragon Army river checkpoint, and the captain notes to Cai Wen that "problems cost extra". Well, the party does have some fake treasures, but Cai Wen has the Talisman of the Butterfly, and a letter from Commander Sun, so the checkpoint doesn't include much more than asking Cai Wen whether they're carrying any undeclared weapons or mercenaries. The big rumor among the soldiers is that the Sonwu clan (that is, the royal clan) has called a Conclave, which will start in Jabon as soon as the last of the clan chiefs arrive. The Turtle Express lets the party off at Gangmul, the Savanna port where the Fair Seas (the Butterfly tribute ship) is docked.

In the Morning

Cai Wen and Lijuan do a quick pass through the Gangmul docks to see what information they can pick up. The local urchins tell Lijuan that going to the Conclave involves a lot of fighting people in order to talk. Cai Wen hears that there's some dispute between the ambassador from the Strand and the Savanna. Apparently, they are upset that a prisoner taken in Strand territory was brought to the Savanna, and the Savanna thinks that perhaps Strand territory doesn't stretch quite so far into the Savanna as the maps all claim... There's also some dispute internal to the Savanna clans having to do with the treasure that was stolen from the Savanna before - Cai Wen told the ambassador who had stolen it, and he headed out to kill her. Now, there seems to be some disagreement as to who ought to own the treasure now.

Master Zhou also points out that an ambassador from the Viridian Queen recently went to the City of Light to talk to the Council of Revered Sages about "matters of security". Anto thinks that the Savanna should finish its current war before starting another one, but he admits he isn't an expert on politics.

Kuan-Xi arranges for rooms at the best inn in town, and in the morning, the rumors are that Conclave has started. Also in the morning, there's another guest at the inn, a dancer named Sirika, who's looking for someone to escort her into the capital for Conclave.
"We found your moll! Better act quick!" -Tom
She's apparently looking for a "big strong guy" to get her into the city. Hiro immediately swoops to the rescue.
"Are you looking for someone who has an invitation?" -Hiro
"Invitation... that's a good way to put it..." -Sirika
She offers to pay the way for anyone who is willing to get her in. This does raise the question of how one gets into Conclave.
"Just issue a challenge at the gate..." -Sirika
"Can you use wit?" -Cai Wen
"I'm not sure they'll be impressed by that, unless you can knock them over with your wit."
Hiro and Master Zhou start to think that Sirika is oddly familiar-looking. Ah, Master Zhou notes, she's Merchant Siri, and reminds Cai Wen that he nearly got her killed.
"We will not be mentioning that to her." -Cai Wen
So... do they actually want to help her get into Conclave, since she's somewhat a bad guy? No one is quite sure. She doesn't seem to be enough of a bad guy to resort to "get her!" And the party may not be the only people who can get into the city during Conclave. How does one get in, exactly? What sort of challenge does this need to be? Hiro asks Sirika for more details, and Cai Wen talks to the innkeeper. Apparently, once the last clan chief arrives, they seal the city walls, and no one is permitted in unless they prove themselves worthy by defeating a guard. Once you do so, you can take yourself and your servants in. Okay, that sounds simple enough. What about actually speaking at the Conclave?

"You have to stride out into the..." -Innkeeper "Sands of Blood" -Xian
"That's good, they should call it that."
Cai Wen notes that he has business with the Dragon Army. Ah, well, the innkeeper says he can probably get a soldier to fight for him to let him in, then.
Master Zhou archly asks Sirika if they should all call her Sirika now. Yes. Does she plan to cause trouble? Not for them, she says. But she could cut them in on it if they want to help. Hmm - how exactly would they "help"? She says that if they speak at Conclave and support the claim that the Gyeong clan (the people who want the treasure the ambassador recovered returned to them) should receive what is rightfully theirs, she would consider that helping.

"Is this because you don't like the ambassador, or because you want the treasure where it's easier to steal?" -Zhou
"Are there any downsides here?" -Sirika
The party excuses themselves and confer. Should they help her? Do they care?
"I think stealing Butterfly treasures is good and I wish we were doing it." -Lijuan
Since the Butterfly Kingdom is probably not getting them back, Cai Wen isn't sure how much they care either way. If she gets into a lot of public trouble in the city, then being the person who fought to get her in might reflect badly.
'"If you yoink my moll, you get the attendant troubles." -Cai-wen
Basically, the party doesn't much like the Savanna, but they also don't much like the Keepers of the Hoard. On the other hand, if the treasure in contention vanishes, then there probably won't need to be any claiming of land belonging to the Strand, so it could help stop that pending war. Anto declares that this is Not His Plot - and it's not like he needs Hiro to fight his way in for him. Cai Wen notes that even if they don't help her too much, then when they find something they do care about, they may be able to get her to help a little. The party decides to go along with getting Sirika in for the moment, and play things by ear after that.

Passing the Gate

Everyone heads down to Jabon. The capital city is surrounded by a number of tents and food-sellers and the like, and other people who are interested in offering bribes to people who look like fighters. One man offers to be Master Zhou's disciple for a day, but is chastised: "The path of Kung Fu is a lifetime, not a day."
The group splits up into Fighters and their Servants:
Anto: Kuan Xi, Xiao Fa
Cai Wen and his letter: Xian
Lijuan
Hiro: Sirika and Zhou.

Cai Wen talks to the guards at the gate, and says he has a letter for someone in the Bearers of Swift Response. A Bearer is sent for, and gets into an argument with the guard - he has apparently already fought to get in, but the guard says that didn't include Cai Wen and Xian. The Bearer rolls his eyes and knocks out the guard in a blow. They get in.

The guards appear to be drawn from the ranks of the Third Blades of Redemption - they have swordsmen and archers, and seem to know a bit of brawling, but are not vast and scary by any means. Hiro climbs a tree (as part of his Mad Plan), makes a speech, and leaps out onto a guard.

"I am Teng Hiroki, and I challenge you to unarmed combat!" -Hiro "Don't lock your knees when you jump!" -Master Zhou "Oh, you're at -1 die to your next attack now." -Mike
"Jackass!" -Hiro
Master Zhou continues to point out flaws in Hiro's form as he fights, each time subtracting another die. Hiro complains bitterly in response.
"What are you doing?" -Hiro "Teaching" -Master Zhou
Once Hiro finishes knocking out the guard, Master Zhou's criticisms start to make more sense - he realizes he has some spare Yang-equivalent dice now from the lesson.
Lijuan, next in line, looks around for people who might be willing to pay her to get in.
"I look for urchins and people willing to pay." -Heidi "Those are two mutually exclusive groups." -Mike
She settles on two urchins who declare themselves Worthy, and gets them in after a quick archery battle.
Anto, less impressed by these somewhat poor opponents, declares that he wishes to fight a more worthy opponent. The captain comes out, and introduces himself as Nam Chen, brother of Nam Cho. He definitely looks more impressive, and Cai Wen starts taking bets. After Anto has parried a few times and Cai Wen has his bets in, Anto wraps him up in his kusarigama plus some vines, and then pummels him into unconsciousness. The other guards take the feather from Nam Chen's cap, and present it to Anto, telling him "Show this to Nam Cho, and you will be rewarded for your valor." Nam Chen is given some healing potions by the other guards, and he and Anto exchange bows. Anto puts the feather in the disappearing hat, and wears it jauntily.

Prisoner of the Bearers

Rumor has it that the Bearers of Swift Response have taken over a local inn and are throwing a party. Sirika tells Hiro that she'll set up rooms at an inn that isn't full of the Dragon Army, and heads off to do so.

Meanwhile, back in the Butterfly Kingdom, Yoshi is the last to return from his minirun adventures. He is invited to an audience with the Queen, is presented with a tin-edged sword, and asked to catch up on the Quest for Ti Jun. An urchin at the docks tells Yoshi of a boat which can probably easily be stowed away on, but he pays for tickets. Then another urchin in the City of Light points out a hay wagon that he can certainly hide in the hay of in order to get to Jabon, but he chats with the wagon driver and ends up sitting up front with a promise to protect him from any bandits on the way.

Once Yoshi reaches Jabon, he finds the gates barred due to Conclave, but a very honorable merchant (named Merchant Hoh, not to be confused with Ho the dog) tells him what's going on, and offers him two li to get him in as well. The story about the amazing guy with the chain-vines is still going around, so Yoshi is pretty sure he's on the right track. Yoshi challenges a guard to a duel, and quickly knocks him down. Due to the tin-edged sword, it's a very soft takedown, so the guards are quite complimentary. Merchant Hoh (who turns out to be a spice merchant) pays Yoshi his two li, and gives him some Remarkable Pepper which he may work into his Danger Chef routine. Then, he asks around and finds the two Worthy Urchins that Lijuan let in, who can tell him where Anto the Incredibly Cool Chain Fighter is staying; at the inn is Sirika, who can tell him where everyone has gone, and everyone is re-united again.

The group has headed to the inn that the Bearers of Swift Response are staying in - as they approach the inn, a guy goes flying out the window and lands on the ground. Xiao Fa dashes over to make sure he's all right, and notes that he's been pummeled to within an inch of unconsciousness, and also notes that he's dressed something like Wei Han.
"This is a fun inn!" -Hiro
Inside, there's a lot of raucous shouting - that's what he gets for insulting Little Sister. The Bearer who is escorting Cai Wen is appalled.
"He did not insult Little Sister." "No, he did!"
"Good job trouncing him, then!"

When the group cautiously heads in, they find a rowdy party, with a little throne to the side, built out of a chair on top of other chairs, and in the throne is Da-Xie. She waves to the party - hey, people she likes! Cai Wen shows his letter, and says he's here to talk to the prisoner. Well, he isn't in the inn, but they'll be able to take him there. Before that, though, they get the story, or at least something passing for one. A bunch of Southerners came over the Wall, and Da-Xie and the Bearers came and Got them. The one they captured was fighting against the others; Da-Xie thinks he probably got confused. She suggests that Cai Wen convince the Bearers to execute him, rather than keeping him around. In other conversation, Hiro tells Da-Xie about helping the Butterfly King (she's puzzled - butterflies have a king?) and the party at the Night of Gates. Lijuan warns Da-Xie to watch for the elements - as the Southerners were trying to trap the spirit of the Jasmine River.

The party heads to the Army prison, where Cai Wen shows his letter from Commander Sun. The soldiers there are a little grumpy that they don't get to go to the party, and question Cai Wen about how good he is at interrogation, Senatali, resisting interrogation, that sort of thing.

"Did Commander Sun really send his regards?" "That would be telling." -Cai Wen
"Okay, I guess you're really from him."
The prisoner is a huge Southerner, beaten and shackled and chained to the wall. The guards tell Cai Wen they'll be just outside, and to shout if he needs assistance.
Lijuan first-aids him first, and with very poor Xiang, he says "Me you thank." Xiao Fa takes a look at his chi - he has a lot of Tao, and also an invisible connection, similar to Ajeel's, though Xiao Fa thinks it's more smoothly integrated. He mentions that the prisoner has a thing "like Kali", and the prisoner objects: "No! Not Kali!"

Both Yoshi and Cai Wen are fluent in Senatali, so they switch to that language, with one translating for everyone else while the other speaks. The prisoner says his name is Iala Mané, and he admits that he was captured crossing the Wall. When asked why he came, he claims "To defend my land, and yours." Yoshi asks what the danger is; he thinks Yoshi would not understand, but he opposes a power called Kali. He himself is a servant of two masters: Ratri, Goddess of the Night, and Kar Fai, Master of the Sharpened Scale. Master Zhou perks up at this name.
"Kar Fai of the Red Pagoda?" -Master Zhou
"Alas, no more; the Red Pagoda has fallen." "From Bear Mountain?"
"Yes."
Okay, so Southerners still think it's called Bear Mountain, though that is not a big surprise to anyone.
Master Zhou introduces himself as Master Zhou of the White Pagoda. Iala Mané is shocked, and says that Zhou must not return to Bear Mountain, and that Kar Fai is coming.
"Do you know when Kar Fai will return?"
"When a way can be opened. Should he step into the Empire now, his enemies would know of him instantly."
Kar Fai needs a distractions so he can return in secrecy - Iala Mané's mission was to scout out such a plan, but now that will not be. Master Zhou notes that Quan Lo is staying in the Green Pagoda still. Iala Mané finds that not unexpected.
"He seems a decent fellow. I'd hate to kill him." -Master Zhou
"We need to get him free, so we can get Kar Fai back." -Master Zhou "Really? The fast responding people and the lady will be grumpy." -Lijuan
Iala Mané does not know exactly what Kali is attempting to do here in particular detail, but he knows that she plans to "replace your gods". Once she has the power of this land, she will also be able to overthrow the other gods in his land.
"Our people think you are our greatest threat, because you fall under the sway of Kali."
Hey, is Kali a Spider? Iala Mané says that while she has many arms, she is not a spider.
Getting a briefing on how he got captured, the party finds out that the large group of southerners crossing the Wall belonged to Mola Ram, and Iala Mané crossed the wall to try to stop them. His crossing the wall is what alerted the guardians of the Wall to the crossing; it was a necessary sacrifice. This group of Mola Ram's soldiers were specially prepared; they were put through an extensive ceremony that took their Tao away - but deeper than that, they were erased from the map of the worlds, allowing them to cross over at will in secrecy. When he crossed after them, that set off the alert that notified the guardians, and so they were defeated. He thinks it will take a fair bit of time to prepare more such troops. Soldiers who have undergone this ritual aren't invisible, but they do tend to be disregarded
- Iala Mané notes that "your people tend to disregard doings of a great many as beneath notice."
Anto looks at the bindings on his soul - he is bound unto death, voluntarily, to something very large and very far away.
"You are probably not going to get out of this. They want you executed." -Hiro "It is my understanding that they are arguing about that even now."
Hiro thinks he should brief them on how to carry on this work if he falls, but he doesn't know how best to do that. He meant to come here to try to arrange for Kar Fai's passage, but he hadn't gotten to that point yet. As far as the future goes, Kar Fai believes that his burden is necesary to solve this problem. Right now, the enemies are tearing apart the Red Pagoda brick by brick, searching for Kar Fai's burden, because they do not think him strong enough to take it from the Empire. When he returns, they will discover it instantly because they search for it. Thus, to allow his safe return, his enemies must be distracted for long enough for him to return unobserved.

Iala Mané is using several ambiguous terms here - he confirms that the ones he calls "the enemies" are the servants of the Spider. And the "burden" is - the same as the burden your friend carries, though different. He indicates Cai Wen here, which is not at all who anyone expected.

Cai Wen brings him some water and asks about his burden. Can Iala Mané tell him more? Iala Mané says he is not as familiar with such things as the masters of the North, but presumably he carries it to guard it? Xian figures it out first - he's talking about the Great Talisman of the Butterfly, which Cai Wen is wearing beneath his clothes. Iala Mané confirms this - Kar Fai's is a token of the Dragon. Guardians of such burdens have a heavy responsibility. Yoshi asks if any of these burdens have fallen or been captured, but he does not know.

Master Zhou asks if he knows about the Dragon, the Great Spirit? Iala Mané says that Kar Fai says he will return, but that he needs assistance. Kar Fai gave him a medallion of a silver dragon, when Iala Mané first joined him.

Xiao Fa asks what level of distraction would be sufficient? Something that would capture the attention of several of the Marked, for the several weeks necessary for Kar Fai to regain his power. Iala Mané had hoped to lure the Marked into fighting Mola Ram, but does not see an easy way to do this at this time.

The questions begin to circle around again. He doesn't know the details of Mola Ram's ritual, other than that he tries to disrupt the connection of the Empire's gods to their people, so that Kali can compete to claim their souls. Currently, Kali is barred from the people of the Empire. What had he tried to do to get the Marked to attempt to fight Kali's forces? His mission was aborted when he realized the forces of Mola Ram were crossing the Wall. He hadn't actually done anything on that plot yet before being captured. How much do Mola Ram and the Marked know about each other? He thinks not a lot, but he really doesn't know.
How can the party get in touch with his allies? If they take his medallion, one of them will contact the one holding it. Hiro takes it.
As for his immediate fate, Iala Mané thinks that "forces of the Empire are arguing with the forces of two of your Rajahs over who has the honor of destroying me." So this may be a reason to go to Conclave after all. However, if they arrange to release him or otherwise thwart the execution plans, will Da-Xie hate them all forever? Cai Wen suggests - since the Southerners keep trying to kill Hiro, perhaps they can make a case for giving the prisoner to Hiro to execute personally.
"Does that help?" -Hiro
"This is a plan in progress." -Cai Wen
On the other hand, Da-Xie knows that Yoshi kept Ajeel - she was grumpy about that, but doesn't hate him for it.
Iala Mané says he has made peace with his sacrifice - he does not want the party to sacrifice themselves to free him. But, being free would be good if it were possible with lesser cost. They ask about other allies of Kar Fai - he is not familiar with Zhantai Reng, but does know Shan Tsu, who he thinks is also a Silver Dragon. The idea is floated of getting Kuan-Xi to talk to Da-Xie alone to convince her Iala Mané is a good guy. A fascinating plan, but one that might possibly end in serious fireworks.

With a lack of any more questions to ask, the party takes its leave of Iala Mané and heads back to the inn for the night. (Cai Wen tells the guards that he'll write a report of the results of the interrogation). Criers are beginning to announce that the Conclave tomorrow will be the special "Sands of Blood" version.

Conclave
Anto meets up with Nam Cho and gets +2 status out of it for Conclave by showing him his feather.
Sirika briefs them on how Conclave works - basically, the clan chiefs have influence, and can speak any time they want to; other people must fight in the arena in order to have a voice, and their influence is proportional to both their status and the attacks they make. This influence can be directed at any of the clan chiefs, and once a proposition has a majority of the chiefs (the Royal clan counts for +3), it will pass. Sirika is pleased to see that they're interested in it now - do they want a cut? The issues before today's Conclave are:

Give the Treasure Back; The Royal (Sonwu) clan currently holds all three treasures, including the one that was first given to the Gyeong River clan before it was stolen and then recovered by the ambassador to the Strand. There are a lot of rumors hinting that it was Really Very Convenient that the treasure was "stolen" and then "recovered" like that.
Annex Land from the Strand; The long tail of swamp next to the Wall is claimed by the Strand, though it was originally Savanna land.
Trade Land for Treasure; If the treasure is returned to Gyeong River, they have to give Sonwu land. If the treasure is not returned to Gyeong River, Sonwu has to give them land instead.
Give the Prisoner to the Strand; Representatives of the Viridian Queen say that the battle took place on Strand territory, and the prisoner is rightfully theirs. Kill the Prisoner; Execute him now!
Recall Dragon Army; Most of the army has been messing around in the northeast for seasons now - it should stop pootling around up there and get back down here where there are Southerners invading, and actual wars going on.

All of these are basically "the Savanna passes a law saying this" - the Savanna does not actually have the power to recall the Dragon Army, but they can put a great deal of pressure on the Army both politically and socially. Crazy laws will probably not do much, and pushing through a really obnoxious law ("The Obsidian Warlord is evil!") will likely draw a lot of attention. Talking one clan chief into supporting something that doesn't pass may have some effect, but it won't change the point of view of the country.
The starting positions are:
Sonwu Gyeong Namgung Seomun Jegal Hwangbo Koak Tongbang
River
Return 15 100 10 10 - - - -Treasure
Annex Land 80 80 20 - - 20 30 40 Trade Land 70 70 - 40 - 40 - - Prisoner to 30 10 - - - 50 50 50Strand
Kill Prisoner 40 - 100 70 - 30 - - Recall Army 30 30 - 70 70 - 30 -
After some discussion, the party suggests cutting a deal with Sirika - if they get "Give the Treasure Back" passed, she'll steal the prisoner and set him free. She thinks that's a fair trade - as soon as that proposition passes, she'll pull off a prison break. So as long as that decision happens before things like "Kill Prisoner", it's all good. The party also thinks that "Recall Army" is a good one to see passed - it will annoy the Obsidian Warlord, and cause some trouble for the blockade. And preventing "Annex Land" from passing might cut down on the wars happening.
That night, people are able to do some visiting to sway people's opinions pre-Conclave. This will only sway people who don't currently have an opinion at all (that is, the space is blank), and they can only be influenced towards something, not negative.

Xian makes a case for giving Iala Mané to the Strand instead - he'll get thrown in the Coil, and then the Strand will get all his secrets, but that might well bring them on board against Mola Ram and the Spider, which would be a good thing. But "Mola Ram is bad" isn't actually a hard thing to convince people of, and the Spider secret is a dangerous one. Plus then Iala Mané is likely to be brainwashed, which puts him working for the Strand instead of the Dragon, and people aren't sure that's the best plan.

In the end, the group agrees to the deal with Sirika. Merchant Hoh helps Yoshi with his persuasion; his recent battle to enter the city and the righteousness of his cause bring the clan chief of Hwangbo entirely on board with returning the treasure.
(Also that night, Lijuan teaches the local urchins the beginnings of Turning Wave kung fu.)
At Yoshi's request, Kibo sends a dream to the King about giving the treasure back, and Xian sends a dream to Jegal about bringing the Dragon Army back. Lijuan points out that she's been having recurring nightmares about Yoshi eating spiders and turning into a spider, but nobody else seems interested in that. Conclave begins! In addition to the men representing the various clans, and the party, there are a number of random citizens, who are trying to influence the clan chiefs towards things like "lower taxes on beer". With the initial campaigning, "Give Treasure Back" passes pretty quickly, and "Recall Dragon Army" passes not long after. Of the other clans, Clan Jegal appears to be the one with the positions the party approves of most.

Heady with power, the group starts pushing through a bounty on Mola Ram and the followers of Kali, while Xian explains to the spectators and the chief of Namgung who Mola Ram is.

Yoshi passes the Great Amulet of the Butterfly to Anto, dropping his own status precipitously and boosting Anto's quite a bit, much to the interest of the spectators. The Mola Ram bounty passes, as does "Kill the Prisoner", and then the battle ends. Those who fought are taken to the Recovery House of Heroes to rest.

There is a great public outcry when it is discovered that the prisoner (who was no doubt Mola Ram, that great Southern villain everyone has now heard of) has escaped before he could be executed. There is another public outcry when the Great Treasure of the Butterfly Kingdom the Gyeong Clan is stolen... again. Sirika makes a quick exit as soon as the gates are open, as she has learned her lesson about hanging around in enemy territory with stolen treasure. The ambassador comes to visit Cai Wen to see if he has any hints this time; he suggests that the treasure was probably stolen by Mola Ram.

Puttering

Cai Wen, accompanied by Wei Han, Takanata, and Lijuan head to the Tanzhe Plain. Cai Wen is looking for a gambler; Lijuan and others are visiting the Temple of Eternal Dream.
Master Zhou and Takanata go to talk about skinwalkers to Elder Danyu in the City of Spires.
Shen-Ji tries to get an audience with a representative of the (small) Myeong clan in Jabon, and then the pair of them head off to Myeong lands.
Anto and Kuan-Xi head off to Gangmul to try to find Master Koji. Cai Wen visits a racetrack in the Harbor of Fortunate Arrival.
Master Zhou heads out on a whirlwind tour of various temples and dojos, starting with the Brilliant Dawn.
Cai Wen goes shopping in the Illuminated Precincts.
Retrieved from "http://boojum.scripts.mit.edu/Dragon/index.php?title=Sands_of_Blood" Category: Book Two Logs
This page was last modified on 8 August 2010, at 08:49.
Serpent's Egg

From Dragon

"To know of the existence of a secret is to know half the secret itself."

The run begins on the day of the Early Tortoise in the month of the Magpie in the second Year of the Spider since the big saparilla tree fell on the Tong house.

The run takes place around the village of Two Names on the border of the Strand and the Savanna.
Previous Run Next Run
Contents

1 Leaving the Savanna
2 Two Names
3 Vanishing Into the Night
4 Un-vanishings
5 Discussions
6 Denouement
7 Wrapping Up
8 Surprise
9 Puttering

Leaving the Savanna

As people wrap up the last of their business in Jabon, Lijuan notes again that Certain Parties have failed to put the magic crayon back in the party loot. Then, a carriage shows up at the inn - the driver says he's looking for Kuan-Xi, who had arranged previously for the carriage to take everyone to Nine Terraces. However, she and Anto haven't returned from their side trip yet, and there is some confusion as to whether or not that was expected.
"They're off puttering." -Lijuan
"Oh, is that what they're calling it these days?" -Everyone
The group decides that since the carriage has already been arranged for, they may as well take it, and claim to the carriage driver that they are the group that he's expecting. Off they go, leaving an urchin to pass along the message to anyone who turns up late back in Jabon (such as Yoshi). After several days of uneventful travel, as they get close to the border with the Strand, there's a crack noise, and the carriage jolts - the wheel seems to have come off, possibly due to a rock in the road. Several people get out to look around, and observe the subtle transition from grassy plain to swampy plain. Wei Han sees a faint ripple in the grass, heading northwards, as he looks for enemies, and Master Zhou notes that the carriage driver is unconscious. Shuyan jumps on top of the wagon to heal him (using her adorable snake as a distraction), and Lijuan offers to go hunt for dinner while the wagon gets fixed.

The driver is somewhat puzzled by what happened - he must have hit the only thing within a hundred miles! He starts fixing the wheel, while Wei Han holds the carriage up so it doesn't fall on him.

Everyone else starts looking around for ninja. There's still something off in the distance heading farther away, and Kasumi finds another unconscious body nearby in the grass. Shen-Ji (on his flying disc) and Lijuan start heading north after whoever it is that's fleeing (while Wei Han mutters darkly about splitting the party into ambushes, and Kasumi gets ready to snatch the carriage driver out from under the carriage if Wei Han has to drop it). Shuyan checks out the new unconscious body - whoever it is seems pretty far down, but has been stabilized by parties unknown so he's not making death checks, so it's going to take her a little while to get him up again.
Back in Jabon a few days ago, the urchin on the lookout for Yoshi finds him, and gives him instructions:
"Lijuan says you should hire a coach to Nine Terraces and give me the change." Urchin
"Really?" -Yoshi
Oddly enough, the urchin appears to be telling the truth, but since Yoshi is still only in zhu, there's no useful change. However, he gives the urchin a couple of zhu anyways. Off he goes, only a few hours behind the original carriage.
Out on the plain, Shen-Ji loses sight of the ripple in the grass that he's following, and turns on his ability to sense magic, and notices a spot where there is some magic, dissipating. He points that spot out to Lijuan, who thinks that there were a bunch of dogs here, who ran off in a bunch of different directions. She starts tracking after one of them. Shuyan finishes waking up the unconscious man - he says his name is Big Feng, and he's from Two Names, a nearby town. He was at home, waiting for Little Peng to come home before they were going to go out gathering... and he's a little fuzzy on what happened next, but he seems to think the most likely explanation is that the party hit him on the head and brought him here.

As Lijuan and Ho head down the trail of the dog they're tracking, Ho starts getting kind of nervous and whimpery. Lijuan gets out a dog treat and whistles, which causes Ho to look expectant, until Lijuan says it's not for him, and then he sulks. She whistles again, and a very large wolf emerges from the grass and eats the treat. Lijuan attempts to tell it it's a good boy, which is not having a lot of effect, until she realizes that the main problem right now is that she isn't continuing to feed it. She keeps doing so, with whatever little treats she can find in her pockets. (Shen-Ji, overhead on his disk, decides that everything seems to be going okay, and he doesn't need to interfere.) She manages to convince it that everything she has is sufficient tribute, and escapes while it eats.

At this point, Yoshi's carriage turns up, and stops to see what's going on. Shuyan introduces the peasant she's healed, who is still a little confused as to whether or not he's her prisoner - he was at home until Shuyan hit him with a rock? Or something like that. He's never really been outside of Two Names before.
"What are the two names?" -Wei Han "I'm not good at historical things..." -Big Feng
He's rather astounded to find himself "wandering around the Empire", and doesn't quite know what to do. Can they help him get home? Shen-Ji looks more closely at Big Feng, and notes that he's been affected by some sort of magic - witchcraft, he thinks.

Shen-Ji asks if there are any witches near his village - he says that there are swamp witches! Elder Laosao says that the swamp witches are why you shouldn't walk around the swamp late at night.

Meanwhile, Takanata, who has been waiting for the carriage to be repaired, builds himself a little puzzle out of folded colored paper - an egg with a serpent patterned in maze-like colors, wrapped around it, and a little heart. The puzzle is how to get the heart into the egg. This doesn't make a lot of sense to Takanata, who wonders about the symbology of it - is the serpent more like the Queen of the Strand, or the Great Serpent, or like someone he's never met? He thinks it's more like the last two and less like the first. Other people, equally bored, have finished searching the area nearby for other unconscious bodies, but the only other thing of interest that they find is the rock that was thrown at the coachman. It is a weapon that was used to harm someone, but it's a stone rather than a metal weapon, so the ritual of The Knife Returns won't be much help.

Since there seems to be little left to do at this spot in the road, the carriages set off again, with Wei Han and Kasumi sitting atop with the drivers. Once they leave the main road down the tiny winding track to Two Names, the carriages start having more trouble. KuanXi's driver is paid for a week, so he'll go wherever, but Yoshi's driver, originally hired just to go to Nine Terraces, is a little more dubious. However, Yoshi is persuasive, and the goad that the other driver is having no trouble with the road is a good one to use, so Yoshi's carriage follows as well.

Two Names

When the carriages reach the few houses that mark Two Names, villagers peek cautiously out at them. A few shutters are unbarred and doors are unblocked, and then one of the villagers shouts to get the Elder - it's the foreigners who took Big Feng! Yoshi leaps in to head off this misunderstanding, explaining about finding Big Feng injured on the road, and is again fairly persuasive, despite this being a rather implausible story.
"We're from the circus and we're here to help!" -Kasumi
The village currently seems to be mostly women and older kids - they grudgingly admit that the men are out on patrol, and looking for Big Feng. Apparently, during the day, they go on patrols/searching, and at night, they set up a perimeter around the village.
"Do I get the feeling that they're all turned into wolves and no one wants to say so?"
-Yoshi
Elder Laosao turns up, and demands to know why these foreigners in their fancy carriages are here. Again, everyone explains that they are bringing Big Feng home after finding him on the road, and no, they did not kidnap him in the first place. Elder Laosao tries to trick the foreigners into giving their cunning kidnap plan away, but they are not fooled.

Various people ask more questions about the missing people, but Elder Laosao is generally unfriendly and wants to know why the foreigners should care anyway. Another woman, who introduces herself as Mistress Yunru, interjects at this point to tell the Elder to stop causing quite such a fuss, since they did bring Big Feng back, and seems willing to answer a few questions. Apparently Mistress Yunru has a guest room, which makes her much more tolerant of foreigners than anyone else in the village. She says that near a third of the townsfolk have vanished, one at a time, and come back two days later, but they're not right in the head when they come back, and don't remember what happened to them. After this kept happening, Elder Laosao got the menfolk to put together a guard after Big Feng vanished, and no one else vanished after that, but Big Feng didn't come back after two days.

Does Mistress Yunru know of any witches in these parts? She doesn't know of any herself, but maybe Elder Laosao would, or Tseng's wife Xue - as long as they don't mind her strange ways. Everyone pays more attention at the mention of someone with Strange Ways who knows about witches. Mistress Yunru explains that Xue is a foreigner, recently come to town about six years ago, so who knows what foreigners might know? Mistress Yunru is willing to take people to Woodcutter Tseng's house and introduce them, and does so. Woodcutter Tseng is, as is not surprising by now, somewhat suspicious of the foreigners and why they would be interested in what's going on the village, but Mistress Yunru explains that they helped Big Feng. Yoshi explains that they're concerned there may be a witch at work around the village.
"Have you, or anyone in your household, seen any... snakes... around?" -Yoshi "Hey!" -Shuyan
Yoshi manages to convince Woodcutter Tseng that everyone in his family should be interviewed, starting with his wife, so he calls Xue in. However, when Yoshi starts asking for her help, she protests - she didn't take anyone! Just because Elder Laosao doesn't like her, that doesn't mean she has anything to do with the kidnappings!

Kasumi sympathizes - they've been having a hard time themselves, trying to talk to people, because it seems impossible to talk to anyone if you haven't been here forever. Xue agrees with that. When pressed, she says she's from another nearby village, not that far away, but she's still treated as a "foreigner." Has she noticed anything unusual going on, apart from people disappearing? Well, no, the people disappearing is really the unusual thing recently. Have there been any visitors recently? There's a foreigner every couple of weeks sometimes someone comes to buy the current harvest of swamp orchids, and sometimes people are lost, sometimes they're looking for someone for one of the Queen's gatherings or making official announcements. Usually the rest of the town doesn't make them very welcome, whoever they are. The most recent previous visitor was a woman with white hair. Master Zhou looks suspicious, and asks Xue to tell them more of the woman with white hair. Apparently she asked questions, and then got run out of town.

"Why was she run out of town?" -Zhou "Because she was a foreigner?" -Kasumi "Sssh!" -Zhou
"Because she was a foreigner." -Xue

She was asking questions - actually, much like the party is doing. Maybe less about the other villagers, and more about the village. People are briefly distracted by the mention of swamp orchids, as well - what are they good for? Cooking, herbalism, that sort of thing. They're not illegal or psychotropic or anything like that. Does Xue know if there are wolves around? Sometimes, maybe more recently. Did anyone talk particularly much with the white-haired woman? Big Mei did, but then Elder Laosao chased the woman away. Hmm. Did Big Mei go missing? Yes, she was one of the first to vanish. People ask about Elder Laosao, but Xue doesn't want to talk about him. He's trying to drive her away, but she doesn't want to go.

Vanishing Into the Night

It's starting to get late, so it may be difficult to get the carriages back up the narrow path in the dark. The horses are picketed, most people plan to sleep in the carriages, and Takanata claims Mistress Yunru's guest room. Wei Han decides he should help with the perimeter, and with some work, gets Elder Laosao to mention Sen the Younger as the one to talk to about the pickets. Yoshi thinks that's a trick on Elder Laosao's part to make Wei Han insult Sen, and that he should call him Sen the Hunter. Wei Han finds Sen the Hunter, and confirms that there have been more wolves recently, which is bad. Wei Han asks about the village defenses, which immediately makes Sen suspicious - the foreigner is asking about the defenses! - but Wei Han manages to convince him that this is because he's guarding Takanata. The pickets seem to be set up reasonably competently, and the fact that nobody has vanished since they started may indicate that they're working. Wei Han suggests some improvements for the perimeter, because you can always make improvements, but decides Sen was doing a pretty good job.

Lijuan makes friends with the younger kids, who seem a little less xenophobic than everyone else. They are pretty well informed about the vanishings, and mention the fact that when boys get taken, they have lumps on their heads, but when girls come back, they don't. Lijuan talks one of the kids into learning Leaping Flame kung fu, but tells them not to use it for running away.

Yoshi goes back to talk to Elder Laosao about recent oddities. Elder Laosao notes that Tseng Xue infiltrated the town recently, and she could definitely be a witch. He gives a few more details about the disappearances - if you go out at night by yourself, you disappear. If nobody goes out at night, then someone may vanish from inside their house if they're alone. Has Elder Laosao noticed any wolves? Well, Sen the Elder is always saying that his son, Little Sen, has been seeing wolves around. He corrects himself - not Little Sen any more, he's Sen the Hunter now.
"There's other hunters, but Sen the Hunter is the best." -Elder Laosao "Do you ever tell him that?" -Yoshi
Having been lured into Yoshi's clever trap, Elder Laosao ends up agreeing to try to praise his people a little more (that is, any).
"Are there ever any stories about snake-witches?" -Yoshi
"Yes! Like Tseng Xue!" -Elder Laosao
"Hey! Will you stop with the 'snake-witches'? Snakes aren't evil! Maybe I want to be a snake-witch!" -Shuyan

Elder Laosao clarifies the taxonomy of witches - "swamp witches" are the witches that lurk in the swamp and get children who stay up past their bedtime. He doesn't believe in them any more, obviously. Snake witches come into your town and marry upstanding members of the community and turn them against you, and he does believe in them.

Since people who wander off alone tend to vanish, the party starts thinking of ways to wander off alone. Shuyan, grumpy about this whole snake-witch prejudice, decides to prove that snakes have nothing to do with the disappearances, and wanders out into the swamp to try to figure out where there are more snakes, climbing the snake gradient. There's two directions with more snakes. She follows the snake gradient up in one direction, and finds herself at Woodcutter Tseng's house. There are a lot of snakes around here, some of them quite remarkably handsome, but they seem well-trained already, and likely belong to Xue. Hmm. Maybe there's something to this snake-witch thing after all, Shuyan notes, but the snakes don't seem to be hostile any more than Xue does. She heads back into the swamp to follow the gradient in the other direction.

Meanwhile, Lijuan looks around for Little Peng, and tries to get more details on Big Feng's disappearance. Little Peng feels quite guilty that he didn't get home in time to save Big Feng from disappearing. Lijuan wonders why the witch got Big Feng and not Little Peng, if they were both alone? Little Peng wasn't alone, though, he was in the village with some of the other kids. Little Peng and Big Feng were going to go out together to gather swamp orchids - if they stayed together, they would have been safe.
Wei Han joins the perimeter guards, while Kasumi sneaks around nearby, since guarding doesn't seem to be considered a job for women here. Takanata finishes up a watercolor of the village, and retires to Mistress Yunru's guest room. Shen-Ji starts wondering where Shuyan has gone. Lijuan guards the picket of horses, which are worrying about wolves. Lijuan informs Takanata of the horses' behavior and he sends help.

"Master Zhou, can you keep Lijuan calm?" -Takanata "I doubt it."
"Well, just don't let the horses out of your sight."

Shuyan, meanwhile, on her Quest for Snakes, has followed the snake gradient through the swamp to a cave which has a large number of snakes in the entrance, with a "None Shall Pass!" look about them. She manages to convince them that she belongs in there too, being a snake and all, and they let her in.

Master Zhou notes that Lijuan is doing a fairly good job keeping the horses calm, in the face of the wolves surrounding them, but this is probably a bad thing. Ho runs for help, as Master Zhou shouts a warning.
"Ho abandoned me?" -Lijuan, crestfallen
Kasumi and Wei Han are a ways away with Sen the Hunter, but Sen has keen ears for this sort of shout, and starts running back towards the village center. Kasumi and Wei Han follow.

"You know how normally Lijuan in the face of vast danger is like 'Hi, vast danger!' ? Well, this time she's frozen in terror and can't move." -Mike "Is this a bad thing?" -Master Zhou

Master Zhou waits to see what the wolves do, as they close in tighter and tighter around Lijuan. Kasumi, either less interested in the psychodynamics of wolves or more concerned about Lijuan, leaps into the center of the wolf-ring as well, but then she also freezes. However, when Master Zhou attacks a wolf, that lets both Kasumi and Lijuan break out of their mesmerized terror. Wei Han pushes into the wolf-circle, and starts laying about him with his sword; Lijuan tries to shoo the wolves away, but they aren't listening to her. Several wolves bite at Wei Han and Master Zhou, and others growl at the people in the center of the circle, trying to terrify them again.

Due to some minor technical difficulties, two of the wolves are easily taken down, and the others bolt for the darkness outside the village. Sen the Hunter quickly kills the two fallen wolves. Ho returns with reinforcements: Big Feng, Little Feng, Big Peng, Little Peng, Big Mei, and Little Mei
"Everyone in this town has names. I find that frightening." -Kasumi
How did the wolves get in past the perimeter, anyway? Sen has no idea how that can have happened. Lijuan offers to track the wolves back to where they came from - Sen can do that too, but he quickly finds that there are no incoming wolf tracks, and he blames Lijuan for messing the tracks up. The outgoing wolf tracks go into the swamp and vanish. Master Zhou notes that the wolves were acting as one, rather than acting as a pack of separate individuals.

While wolves were stalking Lijuan, Yoshi and Shen-Ji were stalking Shuyan. Asking around town only indicates that she headed out into the swamp, so they head out after her Shen-Ji again takes to the air to try to spot signs of magic, and manages to follow her trail into the swamp. There, they find the cave with a large number of snakes, plus Shuyan, in the entrance. Both snakes and Shuyan have an air of "None Shall Pass!". Shuyan tells Yoshi and Shen-Ji that they're not permitted in the cave, and that she has to guard it. Yoshi notes that she thinks very strongly that it's her duty. They try to find out what she's guarding, but she doesn't know. The pair persuade her that she should go into the cave and find out what's in there, and then come back and tell them. That sounds reasonable to her, so she heads in. Some while later, it seems clear that Shuyan is skipping the "come back and tell them" step.
"Well, that worked out well." -Shen-Ji
Yoshi attempts to convince the snakes that he's harmless and should get to go in the cave too. They seem willing to buy that he's harmless, so they'll be really regretful if they have to bite him if he tries to go in, but they don't seem willing to get out of the way.
"They do seem strangely emotive snakes, in that we're even having this conversation." -Mike
"Can you do anything about the magic? Because I think there's magic here!" -Yoshi to Shen-Ji
Yoshi and Shen-Ji decide that the plan calls for splitting up even further, so Shen-Ji starts flying back to the village, leaving Yoshi alone by the cave. Shen-Ji explains the problem.
"Yoshi's at a cave..." -Shen-Ji
"Yoshi's in trouble?" -Lijuan
"Shuyan is probably in more trouble." -Yoshi

Shen-Ji explains that Shuyan went into a cave, and didn't come out. The villagers nod sagely, noting that she'll no doubt come back out in two days. The party is unwilling to wait two days, and gets ready to charge back out into the woods again. All the villagers think this is a bad idea, but when Wei Han spins it as "all the foreigners are leaving" they seem willing to stop arguing.
Of course, when everyone gets back to the cave, Yoshi is nowhere to be found. Lijuan tells Ho to try to find Yoshi, so Ho sets off to track. The path is long and complicated...
Un-vanishings

Shuyan has been happily guarding her charge with her fellow serpents, and after a while of uneventful guarding, curls up for a nap. What seems to be moments later, she finds herself being offered tea by Xue. She accepts the tea, a little confused, and Xue asks if she feels better. Shuyan thinks she does, though she's still puzzled. Xue explains that the contents of the cave must be protected and kept secret - can she count on Shuyan's help in this? She can, Shuyan says - though is making people vanish the right way to go about this?

Xue protests that she isn't the one making people vanish - that just makes more foreigners show up, and calling attention to things with kidnappings is not the way to protect a secret. At some point, Xue mentions being a spirit, much to Shuyan's surprise.

"Wait, are you a spirit?" -Shuyan
"Aren't you?" -Xue
"No..."
"Er... never mind about all this, then."

Shuyan does want to help, though, and also wonders if Xue can teach her more about serpents. Xue agrees that she can, but Shuyan has to promise to not give away the secret of the cave. She agrees, and they seal the deal with a sip of tea after which Shuyan finds that now she can't tell anyone about the contents of the cave.

Elsewhere, Yoshi opens his eyes. He's tied up, and there's a white-haired woman regarding him intently. She wants to know if he's ever seen this (showing him a painting of a large golden-y egg). He vaguely recalls that Shen-Ji has an egg that looks sort of like that, but doesn't immediately admit to it.

"One of my friends has gone missing - might you know something about that?" Yoshi
"Actually, you're the one of your friends who has gone missing."

She has nothing to do with anyone else vanishing, and she doesn't want to hurt anyone she's just looking for the egg. Why does she do this, then, Yoshi enquires? To ensure her own survival, she claims.
"I have been as kind as I can. I tried to just show up and ask, but that doesn't work with these people. I've been careful to not hurt anyone... much."
They argue a bit more - she seems willing to talk more than she might otherwise, since she claims once he wakes up again later, he won't remember any of it. She says once she finds the egg, she'll be out of there. Yoshi wonders what she'll be off to do, but she finds it unlikely that he would care. She tries to keep to herself, and leave people alone. Her friends (she pats one of the wolves) are more reliable. Yoshi assures her that talking to people is better than talking to wolves - she notes that she tried talking to Big Mei, and then the rest of the people ran her out of town. Yoshi thinks the locals don't deal with people very well. She notes that they're alike in that.
She's not planning to steal the egg. She's just going to... put something on it.
"Like a heart?" -Yoshi "How did you know?"
Yes, in fact, she wants to put her heart into it to keep it safe. Yoshi is concerned - will this make her stop having emotions? She claims not. Will any egg do? No, of course not. Yoshi suggests that she let him go to talk to his friends, who are both unusual and nice, and likely to be able to find the egg for her. Of course, that would mean letting him remember the conversation. He manages to talk her into this, and into giving him her name (Ni Cheng) though she still hits him on the head to knock him out so she can drop him back off in the woods.

By this time, Ho, who has been leading people on a trip through the woods, finally finds Yoshi, unconscious in a little clearing. They carry him back into town as the sun starts to rise, and find Shuyan there, looking around for everyone else. She evades the question of where she's been by fussing over Yoshi with first aid and healing snakes until he wakes up.

Discussions

The discussion ensues - Yoshi says he found a witch named Ni Cheng, who wants to put her heart in some sort of egg thing that Shen-Ji has, so that she won't be killed. He's not sure by what - maybe just time. Shuyan says she can't say what she found, but thinks that Ni Cheng's plan is a bad one. People try to play twenty questions with Shuyan, and think that whatever it is is valuable and alive. Hmm. It does come out that Xue got her out of the cave ("Ahah, so she is a snake witch!"), so Takanata declares that they can just go and ask Xue, but maybe it's time to gather more information about the mundane side of things first.

The party heads off to Big Feng's house, which is full of brothers and sisters, including Big Mei (who is actually the smaller of the two children named Mei). Big Feng's parents are bakers, and hand out bread and sticky buns, which everyone but Lijuan happily takes. Big Mei says that Ni Cheng was nice - she showed Ni Cheng how to comb her hair - but other people were mean to her. Yoshi asks why people were mean to Ni Cheng, but Big Mei just thinks it's because she was a foreigner.

Takanata asks the parents (Kang and Ting-Yan) about the name of the town. Apparently, it's because this is an area that's changed hands a lot between the Savanna and the Strand, and every time someone won, they changed the name of the town back. Then it started going by "the town with two names", and by this point, nobody even remembers what the original names were.

Yoshi notes that this is probably the first time ever that he's seen Lijuan not eat when offered food, and not put spare food in her pockets. He asks her about that, and finds out that she's not hungry. In fact, she hasn't been hungry for a couple of days. Wait... when was the last time she ate? Breakfast, she thinks, before they started off on the carriage trip? Wait, that was days ago! Master Zhou glares at her, and demands to know what is wrong with her. She doesn't have a better answer than not being hungry. But it seems like it might date back to the last trip to the Eternal Dream temple, where people tried to investigate Lijuan's spider dreams about Yoshi (the dreams turned out to have been sent by Kibo the yumekui, in warning). At the end of the conversation with Kibo in the dream, Lijuan gave him some food - so maybe that was why she isn't hungry now.

Meanwhile, as most people try to figure out what's going on with Lijuan, Shuyan heads off to talk to Xue, accompanied by Wei Han and followed sneakily by Kasumi. Woodcutter Tseng is conveniently off cutting wood, so Xue is available for Secret Conversation. Wei Han waits outside, listening at the door, and Kasumi sneaks into the house. Shuyan tells Xue that Ni Cheng wants to put her heart in the thing in the cave, in order to become immortal. Xue thinks that's no good at all, and wants Shuyan and the others to take care of this. Shuyan and Xue decide that if, when the party comes to question her, Xue says that Ni Cheng is a horrible demon and should be defeated, they'll take care of it. Kasumi, having heard this plan, heads back to warn Takanata that this may happen.

Takanata and Master Zhou decide that it's time to stage an intervention with Yoshi. First, when he looked at the Great Spirit of the Spider on the Day of the Spider, and tried to understand why it does what it does, he seems to have influenced himself to become more spidery. Second, in getting Kibo to stop eating people's hopes and dreams, he's pressed him off his path, and he will stop being what he is and become something else. Yoshi thinks that he's becoming something better, and the argument turns into a philosophical stand-off between "The world is the way it is" and "The world could be better!". Nobody really ends up convinced.

Back at Xue's house, Shuyan starts to leave, and is confronted by Wei Han, who heard everything and tells her that one, he heard everything, and two, telling people that Ni Cheng was a demon would have backfired horribly. Shuyan confesses to Xue.
"My friend who insisted on coming along with me heard our conversation!" "Argh!"
Xue says that she's willing to bring the rest of the party in on the negotiation, but they would need to agree to keep the secret, and exchange a secret of equal value to seal the deal. Shuyan and Wei Han return to explain this new plan to everyone else.

Yoshi notes that maybe, in the same way that Kibo ate Lijuan's appetite, maybe he can eat the witch's appetite to become immortal. There is some concern about this - won't that make Kibo want to become immortal? Well, he's a demon - isn't he already immortal? Maybe. Maybe not, Master Zhou mutters darkly, not if Yoshi keeps changing him.
"If you keep changing him, he will no longer be Kibo." -Takanata, portentously "Actually, your Sense Mistake tells you that's explicitly
false." -Mike
That causes some confusion, until Yoshi explains - he named the yumekui Kibo himself.
"You named the demon. Wonderful." -Master Zhou "No wonder he's Yoshi-aspected now." -Takanata "What?" -Yoshi.
There's some discussion of possible secrets to give to Xue then, everyone heads off to Xue's house.
"We're here so you can convince us that the other wolf witch thing is evil." -Shen-Ji "I'm not a witch!" -Xue
The party explains that they've learned that Ni Cheng is trying to do something... Xue is impressed to learn that they've found out her name, which is progress in its own right. Kasumi notes that this isn't her plot, and why should she do anything about it? Xue notes that they could just tell her what they've learned and leave, and she would try to take care of it. Yoshi wonders why Xue thinks her goals and Ni Cheng's goals are at odds. Xue notes that Ni Cheng is a kidnapper, while Xue keeps the area safe. Because it's her home, people wonder? She agrees - that, and other reasons. Yoshi wonders why she does this, and discovers that it's her stern duty.

Xue suggests that she could provide a fuller explanation, if they tell her a secret of equal value. Kasumi is dubious - does that mean they just tell her secrets until she's bored? She is a bit offended, and says that this is a bargain in good faith - she will accept that they will not tell her lies, and they will accept that she will be truthful about whether or not a secret is valuable. Yoshi tries to get more details about Xue's secret in advance, and Xue says that Ni Cheng is searching for something that must remain hidden. What would Xue do, Yoshi wants to know, to thwart Ni Cheng? Xue admits that she can't see anything other than battle, if the witch persists. Yoshi still has some hope that she can be dissuaded.

Yoshi suggests that maybe they don't need to know the secret after all, if they can dissuade Ni Cheng. Master Zhou declares that they do need to know the secret, possibly on general principles.

As a starting position, Master Zhou tells her "The Strand used to be known as the Serpentine." She nods. "That is indeed very impressive, but sadly, that is something that we already know. But you are to be commended for knowing it yourself." Since she doesn't know the other countries, they throw in that what is now called Iron Mountain was Bear Mountain until the Day of the Early Spider this year, and that the Hidden City used to be the Dragon's Throne. She is surprised by the last one, but notes that that explains why her secret is important. She will not tell what they have told her, and they will not tell anyone that she is guarding a Dragon's egg. Everyone drinks tea in agreement, but then the Butterfly amulet that Takanata is wearing flashes brightly, and the agreement extends to the other members of the party (and the logs).

People wonder - if Ni Cheng put her heart in a dragon's egg, would she live forever? Xue is not sure, but is confident that it would be well protected. Would doing this hurt the egg? Xue is also not completely sure - she thinks it could be okay, but is also sure that it is not something that should be experimented with. Someone asks - they can't tell anyone about the egg, but can they use the information? Xue isn't sure what they mean - if they come and try to steal the egg, the snakes will bite them. However, if there comes a time when the egg is needed for something worthy, then that can be discussed then.

The group takes its leave, and heads back to the main village. Yoshi takes a nap, and talks to Kibo. He scolds Kibo for eating Lijuan's appetite, and suggests that he eat Ni Cheng's desire to become immortal. Kibo protests, and sends Yoshi a dream of Kibo sitting there minding his own business, when Lijuan went and stuffed food in his mouth! Then Yoshi wakes up, in time for everyone else napping for a while until evening.

Denouement

Master Zhou goes back to try to convince Xue to move the dragon's egg to somewhere else - she doesn't think that's a good idea. Her husband has lived here all his life, and it would be unworkable to move now. Master Zhou thinks she's being kind of irrational about it, but doesn't make much headway.

There is some argument as to exactly what the plan is now - Yoshi should probably go walking in the woods to be captured again, but should that be a trap so that the group can try to get Ni Cheng? Or follow the wolves to where she takes Yoshi? It's not clear how well they can be followed, or how well people can hide, so the plans are kind of iffy, and also, the goal is unclear - talk to Ni Cheng or attack her? Takanata considers the crossroads that they are at, and decides that she is more likely to keep her heart from the egg if the group reasons with her, rather than fights her. So, people hide near the clearing where Yoshi will be, and he pockets one of Shuyan's small snakes. Shuyan wears the monocle to see through the snake's eyes.

Yoshi gets surrounded by wolves closing in on him, and he freezes in terror before a thrown rock hits him on the head. A rope of white hair descends from the treetops, and snatches him up out of the ring of wolves, and Ni Cheng starts leaping from treetop to treetop with Yoshi. Lijuan runs after them, and is (amazingly) able to keep up, with her new hunter shtick - everyone else is left rather far behind.
Yoshi wakes up again in Ni Cheng's den, and wonders why he always has to be tied up.
"Mostly, people attack me when I kidnap them." -Ni Cheng
"She just needs social skills. This is sort of an Asperger's witch..." -Meg
Ni Cheng asks if Yoshi's friends are going to lead her to the egg and it's all good? No? She didn't think so. She throws up her hands in exasperation - this is all really becoming too much trouble. If she lets Yoshi go, will he agree to make sure that they don't pursue her? Yoshi tries to sell her again on the joys of living with people instead of wolves, but she is confident now that people are too much trouble.
Yoshi wishes he could have met her before she started hitting him on the head, as she doesn't seem that bad. She snorts. "Just some bad, is that it? And you did kill two of my yy
wolves." She presses further on whether he's willing to agree to let her be. He says he's just worried about her. She says that this whole egg business was so that she didn't have to worry about things, but see how that turned out? Yoshi thinks maybe she could help have people and wolves get along better, but she doesn't think that's likely. People don't get along with wolves, she claims. She does, Yoshi notes. She says she's only technically people, having been raised by wolves. Yoshi gives her a crash course in etiquette (and an inspirational speech with 11 successes!), and convinces her to spend a few points on Charismatic and Happiness. As a sign of good faith, she even agrees to skip bonking him on the head as she leaves, though she doesn't actually untie him.

Just as Ni Cheng is leaving the cave, Lijuan arrives, leading the others to the cave. Betrayal! However, since Shuyan knows that Yoshi is fine, it doesn't devolve to "Get 'em!" and she gets to make a parting vow with her new Charismatic skill:
"Your friend is inside. I depart, but you have not seen the last of me."
Wrapping Up
Once Yoshi is untied, and first aided some more, Master Zhou trains with him, to try to learn more about his Spider-touched state. That night, Yoshi has a dream:
A woman with white hair lays upon the ground. Kibo sneaks up on her, and leaps at her head. Wolves leap out of nowhere in the same moment, and Kibo fights with them, with his heavy claws that made him so dangerous the first time the party met him. The wolves are driven away, but Kibo is sorely wounded. He nibbles a bit on the witches head, and then wounded Kibo staggers away, limping.

Takanata wanders around the area with the Eyes of the I Ching up - he thinks that the snakes around here are all connected to the White Snake Spirit, and that there is a chi bubble of some sort around the cave, keeping it from interacting with the nearby area.

Yoshi tells Elder Laosao that the kidnappings were due to a wandering witch, and not Xue. He's relatively convinced that she wasn't behind this trouble, but he remains suspicious of the snake-witch foreigner who wormed her way into town recently. Wei Han talks to Sen the Hunter and asks if he might be able to teach Lijuan some hunting, and he agrees to share some of his skills with her.

Surprise

Then, everyone piles back into the carriages, and head the rest of the way to Nine Terraces. Rooms are acquired, and Takanata goes out to pick up the next step in the riddle path of following Ti Jun. He heads to the palace, and enquires within: he has been told that his Highness Ti Jun was visiting the city.
"You are uncommonly well informed, my Lord... if you would come this way..."
The servants bring in tea and fruit and things that might be fruit if you live in the Strand, and close the window drapes, and then...
"A side passage is opened, and in walks Prince Ti Jun." -Mike
"What? That can't be right!" -Everyone
"...well, at least, someone who looks like the prince."
"That's better."
Takanata says that he brings a message from His Highness's parents: that they would like him to return home. He nods, smiling a little ruefully.
"I'm surprised it took so long. Well, perhaps we should spend a day or two to prepare for the journey, and then head back to the Butterfly Kingdom. What could possibly go wrong?" -Ti Jun

Puttering

Lijuan, Shuyan, and Anto (and Kuan-Xi) go visit Two Names.
Shen-Ji visits the Myeong clan.
Cai-Wen visits Lei-Ling again.
Wei Han meets with Ti-Jun.
Master Zhou and Takanata go to talk to the Iron Mountain messengers who were struck by the Quivering Palm.
Anto and Yoshi visit the Temple of the Bending Reed, where Ajeel is. Takanata drops by Madame Tsen's tea house.
Master Zhou, Cai Wen, and Zhi-Hao go to meet with Ti-Jun.
Takanata and Wei Han go investigate the ice pagoda again, with some detours into sticklebushes along the way.
Takanata and Master Zhou go to talk to the sage Meng Ao. He is somewhat unwell.
Retrieved from "http://boojum.scripts.mit.edu/Dragon/index.php?title=Serpent%27s_Egg" Category: Book Two Logs
This page was last modified on 8 August 2010, at 08:50.
Travelling with the Butterfly Prince: Part I

From Dragon

"A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving."

The run begins on the day of the Early Fox in the first Year of the Spider since the
crowning of the Viridian Queen.

The run takes place heading towards the Butterfly
Kingdom from Nine Terraces.
Previous Run Next Run
Contents

1 Nine Terraces
2 Daigo, Master Bandit of the Pass
3 Punch Bowl
4 Harmonious Endeavor
5 Rattle, Rattle, Rattle
6 Worst Quest Ever
7 Ice Experiments
8 Two Weddings and a Funeral
9 The New Xiao Fa
10 Snake Oil Salesman
11 City of Spires
12 Puttering

Nine Terraces

People start wrapping up any business they had in Nine Terraces. Min Feng asks around at those who were at the Whispered Ball, to hear if anyone else noticed the spider tattoo on Machan Li when he ran out - the answer is yes, and she also hears that if anyone finds out anything about the location of a man with such a tattoo, representatives of the Butterfly Court will pay handsomely for that information.

One of the Prince's guards comes by to where people are having tea - he has a somewhat... irregular... request. His Highness has had a disagreement with a few of the others - perhaps they could ride with this group instead of with the lords? Everyone agrees. Min Feng asks if His Highness wants to be in disguise - the guard thinks that is an interesting idea, and offers to have Min Feng (followed by Wei Han) come up to do so. Min Feng disguises Ti Jun as Hiro, and notes that the prince seems more interested in Min Feng and how the disguise is done, rather than the disguise itself. (Through the rest of the run, Ti Jun is disguised as Hiro but continually introduced as the Butterfly Prince, which may make Hiro's life interesting later.)

Then, it is time to set off back to the Butterfly Kingdom. The Prince notes that he has some ideas for places to stop along the way as everyone heads back, though he's also amenable to other people picking destinations as well. The first destination that everyone clamors for is "North, out of the Strand," so that's the direction the party heads to start with. (The mechanic involves placing arrows on the map, with the restriction that the arrow tip must be closer to the Butterfly Kingdom than the base.)

Daigo, Master Bandit of the Pass

As the group crosses the border between the Strand and the Jade Taiga, they are intercepted by a carriage heading the other direction. The carriage driver stands up and waves his hands, warning them - don't go that way, he was attacked by bandits! The merchant refused to pay "tribute", because he had a group of guards and wasn't scared, but then rocks fell and pinned down his guards, and he was only just able to get away.

There is some discussion of just going a different way around that particular bandit-infested ravine, but if there are guards who were pinned under rocks, perhaps it's worth helping. People look to the Prince to see if he objects - he's looking at Wei Han as if to wonder why he isn't already helping.
"Well, it's not as dumb as getting on a cursed ship on purpose." -Xian
Once the group proceeds to outside the ravine, it seems reasonably quiet, though the road through the shallow ravine does look like a good place for an ambush. Kasumi and Min Feng sneak up on opposite sides of the ravine, and note several places where there are log traps set. On Min Feng's side, there's a guy on a platform overlooking the ravine. Kasumi disarms some of the traps on her side, and then both scouts sneak back to the party (though Min Feng accidentally sets off a log trap on the way). The guy in the overlook shouts: "Who's there? Who comes to defy Daigo?" and Min Feng pokes Monko to make him chitter while she sneaks away.

Wei Han starts planning a Bandit Hunting tactical strike - Kasumi and Min Feng are to sneak to the other side of the ravine, in a good place to intercept Daigo if he tries to escape, while Wei Han and Anto "sneak" up ineptly and the carriage moves forward. Ti Jun listens to all this with interest; Min Feng thinks he's picking up Tactics.

The plan is enacted. Daigo shouts at the carriage to stop to pay tribute to Daigo, Master Bandit of the Pass. Hana shrieks and babbles distractingly, scolding everyone else in the carriage about how they came a stupid way through bandit-infested territory. Daigo is pleased by the panic, but reminds them to pay him - for he cannot be defeated! Then, he sees Wei Han "sneaking", and shouts at him as well.
"You there, I see you approach - challenge me if you will, but you will be defeated."
-Daigo
"Okay." -Wei Han, charging
Kasumi leaps up at him and grabs his nose, while Min Feng shoots him. He's shocked by the appearance of ninjas! Kasumi stabs him some for good measure. Wei Han charges along the ravine, and is confused to find himself sliding down the shallow hill again. Daigo sneers at Wei Han, who cannot defeat him! Anto catches up, and tries to hit him as well - despite Kuan-Xi being around, he's not rolling for 5s, and he finds himself accidentally stabbing Kasumi instead.
"Don't stab our ninja - we only have... one and a half." -Merit
Hana continues her distraction patter, and Merit joins in.
"Wait, who are those guys?" -Hana
"It hardly matters, for Daigo will defeat you all... argh, the damn ninja!" "What are the odds that two groups of bandits would be fighting over our poor wagon?" -Merit

Xiao Fa starts looking for the guards who were hit by rocks, and spots some people hiding behind rocks along the ravine. Anto wraps Daigo in his chain, and attempts to pull him off the platform - as he does so, a vine that was tied to Daigo's left ankle pulls tight, and a stand of bamboo that was bent and lashed down sproings up again, shooting Daigo into the air. Anto has the option of letting go of his chain, but continues to hold on. The two of them come to earth a little ways away - Daigo on another platform, and Anto onto a bed of spikes that has failed to pop up because Kasumi cut the rope earlier.

Kasumi chases after Daigo and stabs him again; Anto and Daigo continue the platformbouncing game. Min Feng is tricked into shooting Anto, but Wei Han jumps in the way to intercept.

"Can we put the guys behind the rocks on the map, since I think everyone's been told about them?" -Eon
"There are guys behind rocks?" -Kurgan

[Eon starts putting down markers for guys behind rocks]
"How many should I put down?" -Eon, while placing the first six "You can put as many of them down as you want." -Mike
"What?! How many of them does one see?" -Eon, backing away from the map "Apparently one only sees six."
Daigo calls for reinforcements, and the guys behind the rocks stand up.
"We think they're in on it. Or maybe unconscious and propped up on sticks." -Merit
Merit continues his shouting distraction, and startles some of the "reinforcements". Daigo flings himself and Anto at the carriage, where the Prince's guards chop at both of them in surprise.
"You know, I was thinking of picking his pocket for something interesting, but... no. I'm not touching him." -Xiao Fa
Kasumi tries to trigger a platform; she launches herself, but also drops an avalanche on Wei Han and some of the reinforcements. Hana gets tangled in Anto's chain around Daigo. Daigo turns to Merit and says "Hi-yah!" and the horses take off, knocking people off the back of the wagon. Anto manages to carefully hit Daigo without accidentally hitting anyone else; Min Feng shoots at Daigo, but shoots through Merit's pocket and wings one of his unfinished letters written by the Queen.
"Given the situation, do you think we could get a discount on the tribute?" -Xian
Wei Han brings the horses to a halt again, knocking more people off the front of the carriage.
"We've only gone one arrow..."
"This is probably one of the more involved ones." -Rob "The one where we fight one guy?" -Cael
Finally, Kasumi takes him down, and Wei Han promptly accepts the surrender of the reinforcements - they were just hired this afternoon, after their merchant abandoned them.
Min Feng searches the Master Bandit, and finds a cunning secret pocket with 20 li in it, which she distributes. Xiao Fa notes that the bandit is dying fast - even first aid and chi healing can only get him briefly conscious. Merit tries to coax him into a Last Statement. He says that he became the master of all the bandits in this pass. While they betrayed him, he defeated them all in the end.
"But now, you and your cursed ninja have defeated me."
Hana hopes his journey to the next world will be a peaceful one, but he fears it will not be so, as he leaves in disgrace. Merit tries to convince him to brag about his treasures, but he notes that his pocket has been cut open, and says that they have their final treasure from him already. He notes that the tales are true - that someone who has attained true mastery can only be defeated by one of their own or a ninja. Then he dies.
Wei Han takes one of the swords from the reinforcements for a spare, and Merit buries the rest as a supply cache for later. Xiao Fa carves a marker for him:
Here lies Daigo
Master of the Ravine
Undefeated until
laid low by a
Ninja on this day,
the Early Spider in the first Year of the Spider since the crowning of the Viridian Queen.
The fate of the surviving reinforcements is debated - they don't have any loot to plunder, and while they were technically working for the Master Bandit (sufficient to get them hung), they didn't actually succeed in doing anything hostile. They are interrogated and let go, on the theory that this should have convinced them that dabbling in banditry is a bad idea.

Punch Bowl

As the caravan passes through the next little town, the Prince declares that he'll buy lunch for everyone, to celebrate the victory over the Master Bandit. That is taken to mean Beer All Around as a first step, though a few people do think food is a good idea as well. The innkeeper looks nervous at the idea of getting beer, and everyone looks suspiciously at him. As it turns out, the beer is the utterly worst beer that anyone has ever tasted. Merit complains loudly about it, and demands wine for everyone instead. The old guy at the
bar notes to the innkeeper, "Don't let the girl drink the wine", and he hurriedly takes it away again, offering people fruit and other lunch instead.
Merit heads over to the bar to ask the guy there what he's drinking - he notes that he brought his own, and waves a bottle of Golden Palace rice wine. Ah, Kasumi recognizes him now - Old Hop, from their stay in Tranquil Endurance. Old Hop notes that "nothing around here is going to be decent until someone gets rid of the demon mold". Everyone's ears perk up. Demon Mold? What's that? Old Hop says that it makes all the alcohol drinks really bad tasting. Some are dubious - how is that different than normal mold? Well, demon mold seems to be able to affect something already in a bottle. The only thing it doesn't grow in is Golden Palace rice wine. Interesting. Anto wants to know where Golden Palace comes from - Old Hop notes that that is a great mystery.

Xiao Fa looks at the chi of Old Hop's rice wine - there isn't anything particularly crazy about it, but he does see that there's a lot of chi running back and forth between the wine and Old Hop - and also some over on Kasumi. Kasumi admits she has a bottle of the wine too.

Back to questions about the demon mold. Old Hop says it moves into a bottle of spirits, makes them junky, and then moves on. Well, that sounds pretty supernatural. Why is it demon mold, and not some sort of spirit? Old Hop points out that he did say demon mold. There is some discussion as to whether or not it ought to be called a mold demon instead of demon mold. Why is it mold, anyway? Have they tasted the beer? It tastes like mold. Well, okay.

Old Hop also notes that usually a demon mold like this will move on fairly quickly perhaps there is something attracting it to here in particular, or keeping it around here. Hmm. Is there anyone who seems particularly pleased by all the alcohol going bad? Apparently some of the old women think it's funny, but nobody seems to be treating it as the answer to their plans.

Some people troop off to talk to the old women of the town. They seem to be innocent. Li Merit goes off to corner the market on alcohol futures. These people are desperate for money, and the party is about to fix the problem, so he can buy up a bunch of alcohol futures cheap and wait for the prices to rise. The townspeople are not so happy about this, especially as taxes have gone up here, and in all the other duchies, recently. Apparently the Fire Dukes and the Water Dukes aren't feuding as much as usual, and agree on raising taxes.

The party plans their Ambush of the Demon Mold. Xian may be able to see it, even though it's normally invisible. Old Hop asks who has the best kung fu - Merit points at Anto. Old Hop pours rice wine on Anto's hands, telling him to "Strike a blow for alcohol."

Anto checks his reference book about spirits and demons - it sounds like catching it is the hard part. Other than the taste of spirits that it's visited, it's pretty undetectable. But if you can see it, it should be a pushover. The party searches around for the spirit bottle from the Night of Gates - maybe they can trap it in the bottle! - but it is nowhere to be found, as Shen-Ji has it.

Anto asks Old Hop if the rice wine on his hands will help if he tries to grab the mold with his chain instead. Old Hop regards him with deep disdain, and asks if anyone else has kung fu? Xiao Fa does, so Old Hop pours rice wine on his hands as well. That night, the group pours some not-yet-tainted wine (from the Prince's wagon) into a punch bowl, and pretend to be having a party. Nothing happens for a long time, but finally Xian notes that the mold demon has appeared.
"Punch buggy bowl!" -Xian
Xiao Fa and Anto both punch the wine, and the demon is dispersed back to the World Below. The group worries - will there be more? Do demon molds travel in packs? Old Hop says he only expects there to have been one of them. Then, he asks which of Xiao Fa and Anto struck the truest blow. They both hit for five successes, so there is some waffling, until Xiao Fa says that it was probably Anto who struck more strongly.
"Ah, you have taken this test before." -Old Hop
He gives Xiao Fa a bottle of Golden Palace rice wine, and notes that "if you need me, you will know what to do." Then he leaves.
"No! Wait! He gave me a bottle of wine and told me that, and I still don't know what to do if I need him!" -Kasumi
Harmonious Endeavor
The next day, the group reaches Harmonious Endeavor without incident.
Li Merit looks for a contact of his; the contact returns the Shackles of Silence, along with a key (hooray!) and a Bracelet of Quietness. Again, there are rumors of taxes going up - the Dukes met with the King on New Year's Day, and then everyone raised taxes after that. Other than that, things have been quiet here.

Xiao Fa suddenly recalls that there are old stories which refer to Old Hop as the Drunken Immortal. Oooh. Too bad he didn't remember that yesterday. He also searches around for good herbs for his herb satchel, but the Taiga isn't as good for that as the Strand.

It's the Prince's turn to pick a destination - he's heard that the Ice Pagoda is interesting, and would like to check that out. There is some complaining - the whole point of leaving the Strand as quickly as possible was to not travel in the Strand! There are various offers to tell the Prince everything that the party knows about the Ice Pagoda, but he doesn't think that's quite the same, and he's not willing to give up visiting anywhere interesting there just because of survival checks. He assigns one of his guards to look after Merit (who is the grumpiest about Strand travel) to keep him from hugging any saparilla trees.

While he doesn't think a briefing is the same as being there, the Prince is still interested in the briefing about what has been learned already. Wei Han notes that Takanata looked at the I Ching of the people frozen inside - of the two dozen people trapped inside, one was remarkably strong and very Yang-ish, many were less strong but similar, and the rest were unhappy. There was also some sort of power near the strong person, and tied to them somehow. (Hana theorizes that since the Moon is supposedly responsible for the ice, and the Son of the Moon was wooing the Daughter of the Sun, perhaps the Daughter of the Sun (who ought to be Yang-ish) is in there along with some retainers and some sort of Sun-ish/Yang-ish artifact that is powering the whole thing. And some hapless mortals.) Ti Jun also hears about Wei Han being able to walk into the ice in Ancient Stones, and hears the story of Wei Han being linked to the North Wall. He also gets one of the spare ice chips, which he finds intriguing. Xiao Fa passes a flask of sea water along to one of the prince's men. Merit talks about the experiments that his contacts have done - being frozen in ice doesn't preserve you magically forever, but you can survive for a long time without dying, just getting colder and weaker. If someone is already dying, freezing them will not stop them from doing so, but it will slow things down somewhat, perhaps for a few more hours. He also notes that he has two casks of sea water, for emergencies.

Rattle, Rattle, Rattle

As the group heads south through the Strand again, there's a terrible shriek heard from the woods nearby. Most of the group runs that way, and finds a man with an axe, waving it madly around. He babbles that they won't go, he can't make them leave, they won't leave him alone, and chops wildly at nearby branches. Xian is the only one who can see the rattle-headed forest spirits sitting on the branches, mostly where the axemarks are. Hana tries to calm him down and find out the details of what's plaguing him - he says that he

found one of the little creatures weeks ago, and brought it home - but now they're all stalking him, and they won't leave! He can't sleep, and every time he stops moving they start closing in on him. Hana brews him some tea with her Travelling Tea Kit, and manages to get him to give his axe to Wei Han.

Xiao Fa examines his chi, and notes that there's an odd little bobble of chi that seems to be stuck to him somehow. Maybe that's what's attracting them? Xian realizes, after concentrating for longer, that the rattling is REALLY LOUD AND ANNOYING when they're close. Xian also tries to have the man point out which spirit is the one he saw originally, but they look enough alike that he really can't tell. Merit toys with the idea that the guy is just crazy, since he can't see anything, but Xian is pretty convincing. It does seem like the main things the guy is suffering from are sleep deprivation and being thought crazy by everyone else. Merit gives him a (non-moldy) beer.

Well... if this problem is that the chi of the original spirit is bound to the guy, maybe it can be unbound? Everyone looks at Anto the Unbinder. Does his Book of the Unseen have any suggestions? It does mention that there are spirits like this that inhabit the wild places, and that it can be dangerous to feed them your Yin, because then they will never leave.
"Oh, so they're like Yin tribbles."
Maybe it would be possible to unbind him with a lot of Yang? Anto thinks he can channel other people's Yang into the process, so a lot of people start throwing theirs in. After fifteen successes of Yang, the little chi-bobble is convinced to detach from the hapless guy, and the rattle-head spirits start to wander away again. The guy sobs in relief. Xiao Fa plies him with soothing tea, and Merit thinks he will probably recover from his trauma. The group also makes sure to convince the other villagers that there were actually spirits tormenting him, and it wasn't just his imagination. Then, the group continues on.

Worst Quest Ever

The next encounter of interest is a woman on a horse, travelling the other direction. Xian recognizes her as Chochiro, last seen as an eco-terrorist thwarting a phoenix poacher. He greets her, and asks if she's still on the same quest. Yup - she's trying to do a favor for the Great Butterfly Spirit now. She searched the whole Butterfly Kingdom for something to do, until she cornered an old master and he told her that she couldn't simply search the island; she had to travel aimlessly to find what she sought. She didn't know what to make
of that, and wanted to know which direction "aimless" would be, but he suggested to start by heading towards Iron Mountain. So she's looking for a sign!
Well, now she has one! Xian introduces the rest of the party, including His Highness Ti Jun, Prince of the Butterfly Kingdom. She falls to her knees in front of him, and asks what service she can perform for him? Ti Jun gets a look that suggests that if nobody else suggests something soon, he will. Nobody else suggests something, so he declares that she will accompany them to the fabled Ice Pagoda of the Strand, and then she will know what to do!

As the group continues towards the Ice Pagoda, Wei Han realizes that nobody has yet told the Prince about the renaming-the-countries plot, so the party briefly excuses itself from Chochiro and does so. Xian is quite persuasive about the plot being true, and the prince finds it... well, he actually finds it a sort of stupid evil conspiracy - to rename a bunch of countries? What's the point in that? Oh, right - the renaming is part of the plan to replace the Dragon in the cycle with the Spider.
"Wait, they did break the calendar, then?" -Ti Jun "No, this is breaking the Cycle - a totally different plot!" -Xian
After Ti Jun is up to speed, he declares that Chochiro should stay in the Strand and figure out how they changed the name of that country. Then, report in and tell him, so that they can figure out how to prevent the same thing from happening to the Butterfly Kingdom. People start giving her pointers:

There's a statue in the Court of the Viridian Queen that has a plaque that mentions "the Serpentine." She should look at that.
Oh, but she won't be able to read it. Crossing the wall will help with that. Oh, but then people will want to hunt her down and kill her. So she will have to figure out how to cross the wall while preventing any of the magical wards and guardians from noticing her, or letting the Empire itself know that she's crossed. Mola Ram knows how to do that, but she probably shouldn't cross that way. Also, she should never go to the Hidden City if she crosses the wall, or she will be Lost Forever.
Chochiro is somewhat nonplussed by the spiralling complexity of this favor.
"Butterfly. Hardest one yet."
Xiao Fa wonders - maybe she could just talk to Da-Xie? Xian thinks that Da-Xie is not capable of agreeing to someone crossing the Wall in this direction - she's even more unreasonable than Wei Han about this, and he doesn't think that telling Chochiro to cross the Wall is a good idea.

Her briefing complete, Chochiro heads off again, on the Worst Quest Ever. The party passes by Ancient Stones; the people there are pleased to see them, but have no new plots. Then, they reach the Ice Pagoda.

Ice Experiments

The group arrives at the Ice Pagoda on the Day of the

The group arrives at the Ice Pagoda on the Day of the Magpie - the night of the full moon. Wei Han has been wondering whether there will be some sort of significance to that, if the ice is tied to the moon. Also, since Xian's elven rope is a star-metal dagger, and Merit has the two casks of sea water, the group can try all the possible combinations of Being Winter-ish, Sea Water, and Star-Metal.

The clearing around the pagoda has a number of pilgrims, gawkers, experimenters with torches, tourists, and the like - and some folks selling food to the aforementioned people. Merit takes the opportunity to suggest that if people have nothing better to do, they build a scaffolding around the outside of the ice, so maybe it will be easier to get in at the people once the ice problem is solved.

Min Feng and Hana starts asking around the crowd about who was in the pagoda before it froze. It's apparently a sisterhood of female monks - they provided some healing for people in nearby towns, and others of them travelled. One of the visitors thinks that they're part of the Wandering Path, though they didn't wander that much. Oh, and also, now a fiercelooking guy with a bunch of goons shows up every couple of weeks. He tells everyone that they should be ashamed of themselves, and chases them away. He was last here about a week ago. Hmm.

People rack their memories a bit more for anything they can recall about the Sun and the Moon and their children. Anto remembers something about the Moon's first daughter having some influence over the seas. (We theorize that the guy chasing people away -- at the New Moon, when perhaps the ice is most vulnerable! -- is the Son of the Moon, but if so, is he trying to keep the ice from being breached, or keep people from noticing his clandestine visits, or what?)

Once night falls and the moon rises, people attempt to surreptitiously experiment with the ice again. (There's still some attention being paid, though, as Wei Han was just here with a guy (Takanata) who said he was an I Ching Master and going to fix the ice, and Wei Han pulled a lot of torches out of the new ice-blocks, so everyone is curious what the group will do next).

Wei Han doesn't have any more success trying to just push into the ice than he did before. Using sea water and ice-chip-of-doom ice, the sea water melts a bit less than Merit would expect - and on the ice of the pagoda itself, only about half as much. Wei Han dips his hand in the sea water and tries to push at the ice - that seems to be much like a normal person trying to melt normal ice - possible, but really really slow. He gives up before making enough of a dent to know whether or not the sea water would wear off.

Dipping Xian's knife in sea water, both Wei Han and Xian seem to be able to push the knife into the ice much like a normal knife and normal ice - again, not a lot. It doesn't appear that combining two different effects multiplies very well.

That's about all as people can think of to test, so it's time to pick the next destination. Merit quickly chooses the City of Spires, so that the Prince won't be able to pick the Coil after that, as it would involve backtracking. Off they go!

Two Weddings and a Funeral

Unfortunately, Anto is distracted by some very pretty flowers that he thinks Kuan-Xi might like, and after a little while of travelling, people notice that they haven't seen Anto in a while. The group turns back, and finds him lying in what Xiao Fa identifies as a bed of saporaflowers, very powerful soporifics, with a little sprig of saporaflowers in his hand. With some rope and lassoing, they manage to drag Anto clear of the flowers.

"I hold my breath and pick the flowers out of Anto's hand." -Wei Han "Wait! Nooooo!" -Xiao Fa
"Wei Han falls over." -Mike

Xiao Fa manages to tuck some of the flowers away in an oilcloth bag in his herb satchel, careful not to touch them, and wonders whether it will be possible to extract some of the sapora oil later. The archers in the party are particularly keen on getting some sapora oil. Wei Han can be awoken with a lot of shaking, but Anto will be asleep for the rest of the day.

The next encounter is with a funeral progression, slowly making its way down the road. The cart the body is being carried in is familiar looking, and everyone is briefly appalled by the thought that the cabbage merchant has died - but no, he is driving the funeral cart. Hana and Xian can also see a man, waving his arms and shouting and trying to stop the cart, but no one else is paying him any attention. Wei Han gets a nervous feeling. He is likely a ghost.

Hana waves to the man, and he comes over, suddenly hopeful now that someone can see him. He says it's very important that they stop the funeral and don't burn his body! Hana tries to find out more details about why.

"Do you see what she's talking to?" -Merit to Xian "Yes."
"Good."

Hana finally gets the ghost to explain that the important thing is that they can't burn him before his hell-contract has been fulfilled. Hana is shocked - why does he have a hellcontract? He protests that it was for a good cause, to save his daughter's life. This doesn't seem to be getting any clearer - can he start at the beginning? He backtracks a bit. His daughter got sick, and he made a deal with a demon to heal her, but the hell-contract lasts until she is married. However, she refuses to marry until her older brother is married, and he won't be married until after the funeral, because he won't be able to provide for his new bride until he has inherited. Hana thinks that the ghost is telling the truth, though he's a little confusing to understand.
"The quick funny way to solve this plot is to put an ice chip on his body - that way he won't burn."
Hmm. Could they just explain everything to the priests? Will the priests insist on banishing the ghost? The ghost thinks the priests aren't as dead-set against ghosts as the exorcist up in Daizhou, but that they are pretty strict about rules. They won't settle his son with his possessions until after he's been put to rest, he's pretty sure.

Kasumi plants a spare Ice Chip of Doom on the body, and the more persuasive members of the party go to talk to the daughter. She finds this idea of the ghost of her father somewhat implausible, but tests Hana about what her favorite candy is, and the ghost knows the answer, so she's persuaded. However, it's still a crazy idea to get married before the funeral - that's only a few hours away!

One of the priests wanders by to escort Hana away from the family - she appreciates Hana trying to comfort the bereaved, but this part of the procession is for the family. Hana looks more imperious, and claims to have had an Urgent Communication from the father's ghost, who is very restless. The priests are dubious - why can Hana see ghosts? Hana waffles for a bit, and Min Feng jumps in - she's touched by the Phoenix. Oh, that makes sense. Still, the priests think having the wedding after the funeral is more proper. The persuasive folks leap in, and Xiao Fa chimes in too, as an expert in ceremonies. The priests are willing to stall the pyre for a little bit while this gets sorted out.

The daughter comes and fetches Hana to talk to her brother - again, she has to prove that she can really see their father, but she can, so it works. The daughter notes that she has had terrible dreams about what would happen if she married before her brother, and that's why she won't. The son is, as expected, somewhat dubious about marrying in such a rush as well. The idea of a Secret Wedding and then a Public Ceremony later is broached, but the priests are having none of that.

In the end, the plan of getting married where their father can see them convinces the two children and also the priests (with enough Charisma dice thrown in), but the son's fiancee is still a little unhappy - she has been planning a nice ceremony, and none of the guests will be here in time! After some nudging, Ti Jun is able to provide some wedding presents ("little trinkets appropriate for gifts for heads of state, bought by someone in tael") that placate the young woman. Merit makes some fast Event Planning rolls, and ropes Xian in to provide "decorations", so that a joint wedding/funeral isn't as terrible as it sounds, and the ceremonies are under way.
"Man and wife! Say 'Man and wife!'" -Andrea
Kasumi steals the ice chip back from the body before the funeral part can go horribly awry. The ghost smiles, and heads for the World After - does Hana want to go into the light too? She's tempted, but no. Merit confers with the cabbage merchant - he should probably avoid letting his cart be seen as a funeral transport and a cabbage transport, by the same people. Perhaps he should get it blessed? Xian agrees to bless his cabbage cart (and spends a Chi), and then it is time for goodbyes again.

The New Xiao Fa

The party leaves the Strand for a second time, this time into the Savanna, and after a few more hours of travel, are intercepted by a kid running for help. He says there was a big fight, with lots of wounded, and the monk Xiao Fa is dying. The group hurries after the boy, interrogating them as they go, to find out whether "the monk Xiao Fa" looks like the Xiao Fa in the party (no) and what sort of fight it was. He isn't clear on the details, but says that his guys were fighting with guys with funny green hats but chased them off.

The boy leads them to the Big House in the village, which is over-full of wounded locals. Everyone gets to work with first aid and healing. Once the group has proven themselves, they are deemed worthy to speak to Monk Xiao Fa, who is in the upstairs room and wounded unto death with many arrows. The wounded Xiao Fa looks at the party Xiao Fa with some surprise - why have the villagers brought the monk with no name? To heal him, they say. Monk Xiao Fa says that he is far beyond healing now.

"Excuse us if we make the attempt?" -Xiao Fa
"First, you must tell me what you have learned. What you have learned since you gave up your name." -Monk Xiao Fa
"That there is no true turning from the past until you actually understand it." "Do you understand the past?"
"The details are becoming clear."
"What will you do about it? How will you make redress for what you have done?" "Sacrifices will need to be made, and this one's feet will have to remain firmly on this path."
"What path is that?"
"The path of becoming worthy of forgiveness."
"Very well, you may make the attempt."

Throwing in all his Yin and spending several karma, Xiao Fa gets eleven successes on his healing. Hmm. Maybe Monk Xiao Fa isn't doomed for death after all, so they get to have some more cryptic conversation.

"Your power has grown. What will you do with this power? What did you do at Iron Mountain?" -Monk Xiao Fa
"This one has not yet returned to Iron Mountain." -Xiao Fa
"Why did you leave?"
"That, yet, is not clear. Unfortunately, the answers are probably at Iron Mountain."

Monk Xiao Fa is torn between returning to the Roof of the World to report on this, and staying to help these unfortunates in this time of war. As a compromise, he tasks Xiao Fa with lessening the burdens of the war on these people, while he returns to the Roof of the World. He introduces Xiao Fa as "the new Xiao Fa, who will see to your needs while I am gone." Then, off he goes, promising to tell the masters at the Roof that their efforts may yet prove true.

The party warns him about Tai Lung on the passes to Iron Mountain, but Monk Xiao Fa points out that he's going north to the Roof of the World, not west to Iron Mountain. He can probably avoid Tai Lung then.

The group talks to the town elders - what is going on with the fighting? They add a few more details: green-hatted soldiers came out of the swamp and attacked, retreating to the plains to the east, and the local clansmen pursued. The locals have sent runners to other villagers warning them, but this all just happened only a few hours ago. Ti Jun listens to all of this with some satisfaction - he clearly doesn't like the Savanna.
Merit contemplates the purpose of the attack - it doesn't sound like they were attempting to hold the territory, more like trying to pull the defending troops out of position to the east.
"It could be a combined Jade Taiga / Strand invasion of the Savanna, and nothing could make me happier." -Merit
His Highness agrees, though Wei Han doesn't - more internal fighting weakens the Empire, especially against the growing external threats!
Merit points out that it's not clear the party can do anything about the war - if they can't, then there's no point in worrying about whether they should. There is also much bitter recrimination about where the Dragon Army is.
"Corrupted to the highest levels!" -Merit
People start to wave goodbye to Xiao Fa, now tasked with remaining behind - except Xiao Fa notes that Monk Xiao Fa didn't live here, he passed through here on his travels, and the New Xiao Fa's task is to lessen the burden of the war in general, not to live in this one particular village.
Merit warns the locals that things will probably get worse before it gets better, if both the Strand and the Taiga are invading. (For future reference, this area is called New Rivers). "Be prepared to be conquered about three times in the next month or so."
Snake Oil Salesman

There's no sign of the fighting Strand and Savanna troops for a while, and after another half-day's travel, the group reaches one of the Imperial Highways crossing the Savanna. On top of the highway are a corporal and a private of the Dragon Army, holding off an angry mob standing in the grass below. The soldiers insist that nobody come up onto the highway; the mob is starting to psych itself up to come up and beat up the two soldiers, on the theory that no one will ever know. Except that with the advent of the party

and the Prince's guards, it seems less likely that no one will know. People begin to circulate to try to figure out what's going on. According to the mob, they're chasing a con man who has taken refuge on the highway. They were going to string him up, but these stupid soldiers are protecting him. (And, in fact, there's a third guy hiding behind the two soldiers). According to the corporal, the two soldiers were on a standard patrol along the highway when this guy said there was a mob coming to kill him and take his stuff, and he claimed refuge on the highway.

The details of his crime appear to be that he was selling medicine from the Strand, that didn't make you better, but killed you instead. Well, that sounds pretty damning. Wei Han summons Xiao Fa to examine the medicine. Xiao Fa determines that it's snake oil: one drop works much like strong aspirin, two drops will put you to sleep, and three drops are deadly. The salesman says he bought the medicine in the Strand because the town was suffering from magpie pox, and he was told that it would help, and he thought he could make a good profit. The locals claim that he charged them all the li they had, and then three people died! The problem seems to be that he didn't tell them about the "three drops is poison" part, which is maybe slightly less damning, but still pretty bad.

Wei Han gets the names of the three people who died, and starts questioning people for the details. One set of parents says that their daughter died - on closer questioning, they both say that they gave her a dose of two drops of snake oil. But it was supposed to make her better, not kill her! Wei Han manages to convince them that they killed their daughter instead, which does not endear him to the other villagers.

Xiao Fa notes that this is not the sort of medicine you should be just selling to random townsfolk who don't understand the directions - a proper healer would dole the drops out carefully. Hana wonders what the actual law would call for - to follow the rules, the Dragon Army should take him away back to their camp, and then the town elders would come and petition to have him given to them to pass judgement. However the elders themselves are not here with the mob.

The salesman protests again - he was trying to help (plus make a profit) because people were sick! The herbalist in the Strand sold it to him. People question him about whether he is a healer by trade. Well, technically, he is now, though this was his first healing-trading mission. Before that, he sold cloth. The herbalist told him to use one drop, or at most two, and he told everyone that. But the herbalist didn't say "poison!"

While Wei Han is convincing the parents that they were at fault, Xian is convincing the salesman that he was at fault - though Xian thinks that the really negligent person in this whole affair was the herbalist in the Strand, who is beyond anyone's reach right now. Wei Han sends Anto and Min Feng (and Kuan-Xi) off to get the town elders; they return in a little while with a pair of the elders, and a third who has magpie pox. Now everyone has been exposed to magpie pox.

The party continues to debate medical ethics and what the line on criminal negligence is. Meanwhile, Wei Han settles on an attempt at justice: He's going to divide all the li the salesman has on him into five parts. One part will go to each of the families of the deceased, one part will go to the town elders for proper use, and one part will go to the salesman himself. But the salesman is being taken to the City of Spires for final judgment by the Captain there.

The elders grudgingly agree to abide by Wei Han's judgement, though they tell Wei Han that when the man is delivered to the Dragon Army commander, Wei Han should try to get him a harsh punishment.
No one is delighted at this justice, but no one seems to think it is too unreasonable either, and the group heads north again, finally reaching the City of Spires.
City of Spires

File:Arrow-10.png Wei Han briefs the Dragon Army captain at the City about the snake oil salesman; the captain seems very distracted, and is willing to go along with whatever Wei Han thinks justice should be. After

some discussion with Xiao Fa, Wei Han conscripts the salesman into the Dragon Army to assist one of the army medics, to be assigned when the group reaches the City of Spires. Wei Han briefs the captain about the burgeoning Savanna/Strand war - this is the first that the captain has heard about it as the party seems to have outraced the news to the city. Merit compares notes with him - the thing that's been keeping him busy is the Jasmine River boat traffic. While he has heard of the tax increases in the Jade Taiga, he appears to be a logistics officer, rather than any sort of intelligence analyst, so he says he just wrote a report saying "taxes went up" and passed it along.

Who does he report to? He says that east of the City of Spires, Commander Sun is in charge; west of the City, Commander Teng is. So he usually picks one or the other to send a report to - he used to send reports to both of them, but then he would occasionally get conflicting orders back, and that was no good.

Merit urges him to requisition boats - whoever rules the Jasmine River will control the supply lines. The captain notes, somewhat unhappily, that currently the Dragon Army only really controls the Jasmine at the sufferance of the Savanna, because they have a crazily large navy for an inland country, due to their aborted blockade of the Butterfly Kingdom.
Still, Commander Teng probably already knows about what the Taiga is up to, so the party suggests that he report to Commander Sun this time.
Having reached civilization again, the Prince notes that they should take a few days to rest here, and then continue on. He's very impressed - they have been making excellent time!
Wei Han suggests that Ti Jun meditate in the Golden Spire while he's here - perhaps he will learn something interesting.

Puttering

Cai Wen swings by the Tanzhe Plain to talk to Crazy Feng.
Xiao Fa heads back to the New Rivers area to visit with people.
Hana has tea with So Ren, one of Duke Lan's men met at A Marvelous Party Cai Wen and Hana go off to get captured by bandits.
Cai Wen pokes around the ruins of the Black Spire, and then recruits Hana, Shen-Ji, Wei Han, Xiao Fa, Anto, and Lijuan for more looking.
Anto and Takanata (with help from Wei Han and Shen-Ji) do the Taint Cleansing ritual on Takanata.
Kasumi, Shen-Ji, Takanata, Xian, Yoshi, and Lijuan all volunteer to come with the Prince and his guys to the Golden Spire.
Hana and Hiro visit the Golden Spire.
Takanata and Master Zhou bring Xiao Fa back to see Meng Ao.
Cai Wen, Takanata, Min Feng, and Hana visit Elder Danyu.
Takanata talks to the local Dragon Army captain.
Takanata and Master Zhou visit Sasaki.
Yoshi, Lijuan, Hiro, Wei Han, and Merit head northwards to follow Reiko's trail.

Retrieved from "http://boojum.scripts.mit.edu/Dragon/index.php? title=Travelling_with_the_Butterfly_Prince:_Part_I"
Category: Book Two Logs
This page was last modified on 3 November 2010, at 15:36.
Travelling with the Butterfly Prince: Part II

From Dragon

The run begins on the day of the Late Butterfly in the month of the Magpie in the third Year of the Spider since the burning of the Black Spire.

"Only he that has traveled the road knows where the holes are deep."

The run takes place in the Forest of Chin, heading vaguely towards the Butterfly Kingdom from the City of Spires.
Previous Run Next Run
As people finish up their puttering in the City of Spires, Ti Jun (who is still in disguise as Hiro) suggests that people get ready to move out, unless there is any business left to attend to in the city.
"I've puttered the daylights out of this city." -Cai Wen
The Prince is amenable to letting the party pick a new destination; Hana and Hiro suggest stopping by their family estates in the Forest of Chin, so the group sets out northwards.
Contents

1 Monkeyshines
2 Two Tongs
3 House Teng
4 Loot of the Hand
5 Shiny Rock
6 Broken Sword
7 Barn Raising
8 Big Boats, Little Boats
9 Puttering

Monkeyshines

Takanata scribbles a brief poem: "Hide Outside." Hmm. Does that mean something he should do, or something that will happen? Possibly both. As the group heads through the forest northwards, several people begin to get the impression that they are being watched.

"Is it Yoshi?" -Takanata
"I wouldn't expect him to be doing it sneakily..." Hana

Cai Wen shouts "hello!" to the unseen observer, and invites them for tea, but no one makes themselves known. Hana makes tea, just in case, while Hiro wanders off alone, on the theory that if the stealthy person plans to kidnap someone, it's best to trigger that early and then Hana can see through his eyes to tell what's going on. After some time during which no kidnapping happens, Hiro makes some tengu noises, and produces a reaction.

"Who's that?" -Mysterious voice in the tree "It's you!" -Hiro
"I didn't take them this time!"
"But who did?"
Hiro invites Tek-Tek (for it is he) to have tea.
"My sister's making it."
"How does she feel about elephants?"
Tek-Tek and Hiro head back to the rest of the group, but things do not seem to become clearer, at least not immediately.
"Well, I appear to be captured. You can interrogate me all you like, but I didn't take them." -Tek-Tek
"What didn't you take?" -Zhi-Hao
"What are you missing?"

As the confusing conversation continues, Tek-Tek notes that they seem to be in a lot of danger. He nonchalantly pulls a short thread from his pocket and... ties up Ti Jun with it, announcing that he has caught the infiltrator! This sets off the Prince's men, who attack Tek-Tek. Tek-Tek protests that he already surrendered - they have to protect him! Shuyan, realizing (well, Tek-Tek is very persuasive) that this is true, throws a distracting snake at one of the prince's men (which turns into a 60-foot python), and things look like they're about to be bloody. However, Hana convinces Tek-Tek to let the prince go, and Ti Jun shouts at his men to stop as they chop Shuyan. Hiro explains that the prince is just disguised as Hiro, but they know who he is.

Once things seem calm again, Hiro serves more tea and cookies - but he doesn't give any cookies to the guards, who he is cross at. Cai Wen and Hana surreptitiously sneak cookies to the guards, as their actions don't seem to have been too unreasonable. Tek-Tek complains that he was just sitting in a tree when the party started stalking him. He tried to evade them, but then Hiro lured him into a fiendish trap! It takes a little while to sort out the different parts of the complaint, but it does sound like Tek-Tek also thought he was being watched, and then Hiro did imitate another tengu.
"Okay, that could have been a trap. Our apologies." -Takanata
Everyone goes back to the tea, looking around again for whoever is watching them. TekTek suggests that Zhi-Hao climb a nearby tree to look around. When he does so, the tree turns out to be very tall - he can see the fighting in the Tanzhe heating up, fighting in New Rivers, boats crossing the Jasmine... but none of the armies seem to be watching Zhi-Hao in particular.

Hana points out that Cai Wen owes her an apology, as there does seem to be conflict brewing between the Taiga and the Savanna. Shen-Ji is confused - did Cai Wen start the war? No, no, he just didn't believe Hana's rumors about the war.
"Don't cast aspersions on other people's rumors!" -Tek-Tek
Takanata suspects, due to his poem, that hiding is the solution to figuring out what's going on, so Hiro and Tek-Tek wander a ways away and hide at the top of a (very short) tree, with Tek-Tek hiding in Hiro's pocket. As it turns out, Hiro isn't very good at hiding, so they switch again, with Hiro in Tek-Tek's pocket instead. That works a little bit better, and a "giant" monkey emerges from the forest to look for them. After a little searching, the monkey spots Tek-Tek, and then vanishes into hiding again.
Takanata starts drawing a circle of monkeys on a tree, and Shen-Ji declares that he is bored
- they should just let the monkey ambush them, and fight it! Unfortunately, the monkey does not seem inclined to ambush them, and the only thing that leaps out of the forest is Yoshi, running late again.

"Cousin Yoshi, did you know you sound just like a giant monkey when you walk?" Hiro
"I get that all the time." -Yoshi

Takanata suggests that Hana hides inside a tree, where the monkey won't be able to find her. Sure enough, when she does so, it comes out to look for her, circling around and around the tree. Yoshi starts feeding it pieces of fruit, which it takes, but it's still more interested in finding Hana than anything else. Takanata, still stage-directing, suggests that Shuyan go and "find" Hana now.

"Make a roll with animal handling and stealth." -Mike "I don't have stealth." -Adina
"What sort of Serpent doesn't have stealth?" -Charles "The sort of serpent with a lot of "Look at me!"
Shuyan goes up to the tree, and knocks on the bark. Hana steps out, "found". The monkey happily leaps into Shuyan's arms. Success!
Two Tongs

As the group continues through the forest, they see up ahead what appears to be a somewhat tense meeting between two groups (Red and Black counters) on opposite sides of the trail. Takanta's quick poem ("Tong throng") suggests that the two groups may be up to no good. However, before anyone can decide what to do to start with, some of the people on one side recognize Zhi-Hao, and shout "Treachery!"
"As long as I go in 1, I might as well run up and try to convince them that it's a misunderstanding." -Yoshi
Yoshi puts his hand on Zhi-Hao's katana, trying to convince the people objecting that it's all a misunderstanding and that they're not on anyone's side. Sadly, the Red leader is pretty sure Zhi-Hao is against his side, and shouts out "It's Master Deng! Get him!" Red team appears to be people from the League of the Hidden Hand.
Chaos erupts. Hana starts making the area spooky, and sending whispers into people's ears saying "The forest is coming for you! Run!". Zhi-Hao lays into the "get him!" side, chopping Red-team people left and right. When he takes down the Red leader, the remaining red lieutenants decry the treachery of the Black team assassins, and go after the Black leader; much of the rest of Red converges on Zhi-Hao and Yoshi, who riposte wildly.

Cai Wen attempts to confuse and distract the enemy - they want to know who paid him. He claims that they weren't paid, and as travellers here, they have no part of the fight. Well, that doesn't seem true, given the number of people Zhi-Hao has already killed. Once most of Red is down, either dead or prisoners, Zhi-Hao searches the bodies. He finds a note written by "The Hand" saying that "what these messengers agree to is agreed to by me", and a map of the Forest of Chin, divided up. He also finds an uninteresting number of zhu.

It seems a toss-up - fight the other group, or drop it? The other group seems to be from another Tong, but Shen-Ji can't remember the name - the Mean Circle? Circle of Death? Something like that. Yoshi tries to figure out why they do what they do - they were here to negotiate a peace, but wiping out the opposition is good too.
"Once the Hand sees the ease with which we eliminated his delegation, he will concede!"
Hiro decides that the best thing for him to do is bring some criminal prisoners when he shows up at home, to impress his father that he's doing Sensible Leaderly Things. And, in that case, it would be best to have prisoners from both sides of the conflict. Thus, the combat starts up again. The surviving Black lieutenant calls out to Yoshi for help, as he seemed to be about the not-fighting originally - if Yoshi will stop the fight and let them go, they will tell him where the stash of the Hand is. They give Yoshi an action, but he refuses to be swayed by bribery. He promises to treat them fairly if they surrender (though by the law of the land, that's probably "be hanged").

The other tong members try to flee, declaring that Zhi-Hao has now made an enemy of the Circle of Spite. One manages to escape, but Hiro grapples one and the other is knocked out. However, now that they've been captured, they seem less willing to confess where the stash of the Hand is. Yoshi says there will be no torturing, but "tell us and we won't let you go" is less of a good deal for them. Yoshi tries to find out why they're bandits - the prisoner protests that he is not a "bandit" or a thug: he is a member of a brotherhood that

prizes loyalty above all else. He offers to tell them where theCircle of Spite tattoo stash is if they let him live. No deal, everyone says. Zhi-Hao
suggests that if he tells them where the stash is, it will thwart
the Hand, his enemy - that, with some persuasion, proves a more convincing line of argument, and he tells them the location, a few days' travel to the northeast.
As the group reaches the Teng lands, Tek-Tek takes his leave, and notes that if Hiro wants to find him again - just call Pir-Pir.
Yoshi remembers that he has another companion - a young woman named Feather who used to be a less-than-legitimate courier in the northern Taiga. He asks her about the two tongs - she says the Hidden Hand are based principally in the northern Arcade, and deal in opium; the Circle of Spite is based in the southern Arcade and concerns itself more with urban crimes and extortion. The two clash in the middle.

House Teng

The party continues on, with prisoners, until they turn off the traveling road and are met at the borders of the Teng lands by several house soldiers. They are confused by the presence of two Hiros, until Ti Jun finally gets rid of his disguise; Yoshi they recognize as well. A messenger is sent to run ahead to the keep, and by the time the party arrives, Lord and Lady Teng have made their Emergency Event Planning roll and preparations for a feast for the prince are underway.

Before the feast, the Tengs chat with their children, the Butterfly Prince, and everyone else who troops along. They ask if His Highness is planning to visit High Warlord Ze? Alas, no (it would be too far out of the way), and while he is happy to discuss matters of mutual interest with them now, he's only here to escort the Teng Heir and his sister. The Tengs offer him (and everyone else) the hospitality of the keep, and there are Baths to be had.

Hiro remembers the prisoners before everyone vanishes into bathtubs, and mentions the tong battle and the prisoners. Lord Teng is pleased that Hiro is taking initiative like this, and says that it would be appropriate to place him in charge of the household guard now, to deal with patrols in the area over the next couple of months, to eliminate any further problems. Hiro leaps in - no, he won't be staying. Lord Teng is not entirely pleased by this, but Hiro has a clever ruse - Hana has been getting along so well with Ti Jun, that it seemed a shame to separate them now, and of course Hiro has to escort her.

"So, you just throw Hana to the wolves?" -Mike
"Sure, yeah." -Marleigh
"You see how far I had deviated from my training, that [marrying the Prince] hadn't even occurred to me." -Andrea

This idea is something of a surprise to Lord Teng, but he is again impressed at Hiro's initiative in looking after the welfare of his sister. He says that Lady Teng and a small delegation will head to the Butterfly Kingdom soon to discuss these matters, then. Lady Teng takes the opportunity to summon Hana for a serious and immediate wardrobe upgrade.

Hiro also attempts to brief his father on the various Evil Plots afoot. He's already heard Yoshi's report about the Southerners (and he's very concerned about that); the story of the Evil Conspiracy to Change the Country Names is new to him, and he finds it both implausible and a really bad idea to talk about. He attempts to convey to Hiro that you really can't go around saying that the Obsidian Warlord is a bad guy. Or that the Spider is a bad guy. Sure, there are probably people working together to increase their own power, and it's probably even the case that those touched by the Spider are particularly likely to do so - but that's how things are, that's not a Terrible Secret Conspiracy that Has to be Stopped. In particular, he thinks it's not Hiro's plot, and that it's crazily dangerous for Hiro to crusade against people like the Obsidian Warlord. Yoshi does his best to convince Lord Teng (with 8 successes), but he's not very much of a convert.
After the parental conversations, Hiro pulls Hana aside to see how the idea of a romance with Ti Jun is being received.
"I have no reason to believe His Highness is interested in me." -Hana "That isn't the question I asked." -Hiro
Meanwhile, as yet unaware of his impending romance, Ti Jun wanders around the keep talking to people. Those with the skill themselves recognize Gather Information being rolled. Hana intercepts the prince, to show him around in a more hostessly (though nonseductive) manner, and Ti Jun takes the opportunity to ask about the whole Being Kidnapped thing. Having heard more about that, he is curious to see the Shadow of the Wall where the first ritual took place. However, he is willing to be persuaded that it is a better idea to go and loot the stash of the Hidden Hand first.

Loot of the Hand

Much to everyone's disappointment, the stash of the

Hidden Hand turns out to be opium, rather than money, and it is quickly burnt (and people stay out of the smoke). Shen-Ji and the others look around for another water-pool teleport, but don't find one. However, Shen-Ji does notice some sort of Seeking clairvoyance, observing what they're doing. While people are searching, a crumpled piece of paper falls out of the prince's pocket, and Takanata pockets it.
Grumpy over the non-profitable diversion, the party heads back south again.
Shiny Rock

As the party heads south, Takanata writes another mini-poem: "*Other* Brother". Interesting. Does anyone else have any mysteriously missing siblings, or evil twins? Nobody admits to having any. Then, up ahead, there's the sounds of fighting. It appears to be a group of armed men fighting against a rich-looking guy and an armed woman. Cai Wen thinks the woman looks kind of familiar. Yoshi checks why the group is doing this - he thinks it is a mission, rather than a robbery - for the honor of their nation.

"What's going on here?" -Yoshi
"This does not concern you, pilgrim. Move on."
"Six on two doesn't seem like a fair fight. (Then, I look over my shoulder at my entourage.)"
"Entourage?" -Everyone else

Zhi-Hao tries to get answers as well, giving one of the fighters an action. The attackers continue to claim that this is none of their concern, and that they should move on or be hurt. The merchant shouts for help, claiming that they have just been attacked.

As far as anyone can tell from here, no one is wearing any sort of livery or identifying banners or sigils. Yoshi keeps trying to talk the attackers down, but includes some chopping as well. The merchant offers to pay anyone who helps save him from these fiends. Shen-Ji makes the brigand leader's sword too heavy to hold. Yoshi and Zhi-Hao continue to chop the brigands, and draw some attacks of their own. Hiro wonders how good a case to make that these are his lands (it's not true, but they're close enough for it to be a plausible thing to say anyway).
Hana calls out to the merchant, trying to get the other side of the story.
"So what about you? Would you like to convince us why you're the good guys?" Hana
Eventually, the brigands are forced into revealing themselves - for the Savanna! - in order to unleash more of their shticks in the hopes of winning this combat. The merchant shouts that they're invaders. Shen-Ji thinks that they're from the Sonwu (royal) clan, and they really shouldn't be here on their own. He reveals himself as a member of the Swift Tiger warband, and demands that they stop. Being a member of another clan's warband doesn't really authorize him to give them orders, but it does cause some confusion, both with the brigands and with the party.
"Fool! Why is your clan getting involved in this? Tell our clan we did our duty!" Sonwu leader
Seeing that the battle has turned against them for good and not wishing to give the enemy any prisoners, four of the Sonwu fighters quaff poison from their belts; the last two attack, taking down the bodyguard in a final effort to complete their mission. Zhi-Hao manages to smash one of the two remaining poison flasks, and Yoshi smashes the other, so these two have no choice now. Hana whispers dread whispers of the Wrath of the Forest into the ears of those two fighters. Seeing no escape, they try to stab themselves, but aren't wounded enough to kill themselves quickly. Instead, they finally manage to finish taking down the merchant, who was closer to falling then everyone realized. Then they fall beneath the party's assault.

In the end, everyone is down except the party, and Shuyan and Hana start doing first aid on people. Takanata notes that the merchant, by his dress and status, is some sort of important personage from the House of Judicious Increase - this could be a plan to draw the Arcade into the war against the Forest of Chin. This guy does seem important enough that his death, if played correctly, could be used to do something like that.

The merchant's condition is stabilized, though he is still down. The bodyguard is also stabilized, and everyone but Shen-Ji thinks she looks quite a lot like him. Takanata notes that her sword is that of a blademaster - not a magical weapon, but it indicates that the wielder has at least ten levels of sword skill. Zhi-Hao wonders whether he can yoink it as loot. However, the clansmen seem to be the bad guys here, so their swords are looted, but the bodyguard and the merchant are left be.
The fallen people are separated, and awoken separately. The bodyguard is awoken first, and questioned. Who are they? She claims she and her charge are travelers - she is Yang Tsi-Ya, hired to accompany this gentleman as he travels through the forest. She doesn't know why they were attacked - this was a secret trip, and no one should have known that they were here at all. She works for the House of Gainful Protection; her charge is from the House of Judicious Increase, which hired her.
Hiro goes off to summon some Teng house guards, and Yoshi manages to awaken the merchant (since his magical healing stacks with Shuyan's).
Shen-Ji tries to talk to the bodyguard alone - she glowers at him and says that his traitorous countrymen will suffer for what they have done. He wonders where she was originally from - the Butterfly Kingdom.
"Were you born there?" -Shen-Ji "Well, so I was told." -Tsi-Ya
She says she was orphaned very young, but was raised by the Butterfly Court's old swordsmaster - the one who retired to the Hon'eth Arcade leaving a space for Zhi-Hao to take over. Neither she nor Shen-Ji sees any resemblance to the other, but everyone else thinks it's pretty clear.

Others interrogate the merchant - he says he was traveling through the Forest of Chin to the City of Spires on house business. Yoshi tries to cajole out of him why the Savanna would have it in for him in particular, but he doesn't want to discuss internal house affairs. However, he does offer them a reward for saving him - money, or a favor from the House of Judicious Increase. They take the favor. The merchant is trying to avoid giving his name, though when Cai Wen thinks about it with KS: Hon'eth Arcade, he figures out who he is likely to be, a high confidant of the head of the house.

Hiro returns with reinforcements, and an offer of hospitality from the Teng keep. The question is - what to do with the prisoners? If this is an attempt to stir up trouble between the Forest and the Arcade, then making the whole thing public might stir up trouble between the Savanna and the Arcade instead. Most people think that keeping the Arcade out of it is probably a better idea, but what will accomplish that? The political fallout will likely be worse for the Royal clan in particular - it probably isn't sufficient all by itself to start a new Savanna/Arcade war, but it's the sort of thing that could add up, if there were more incidents.

Shen-Ji talks to the Savanna soldiers, and tells them that they can only get out of this if they trust him. They say all they need from him is something to let them kill themselves, but he isn't willing to help with that. Then, the party has a Secret Meeting away from all the NPCs, and confers. Different people have different opinions, obviously:

"This is dirty tricks against my country, and I don't like that." -Hana "In general, a banking house will try hard to be neutral, so this merchant will not necessarily push hard for war. But he does know what happened, if his hand is forced." -Takanata
"I want less war in general, but people should take responsibility for their actions." Zhi-Hao
"Me too." -Yoshi
"There were two paths in my I Ching reading for the Queen of the Strand. The path that led to strife was the one that did not lead to the return of the Dragon. Limiting strife is good." -Takanata
"If this isn't exposed, will they try again?" -Cai Wen
"Crack the whole plot open, and send the prisoners to my father. They might try it again!" -Hiro
"Can we use this as leverage against the Royal clan in order to limit how much they try again?" -Shen-Ji

The idea of keeping the prisoners secret and using them as leverage is seized upon - Lord Teng will know about them, as will the banker, but they won't be made public unless further dirty tricks crop up.

Hiro writes a letter to his father explaining the plan; the guards head back to Teng Keep with the prisoners, as well as the banker and Yang Tsi-Ya. Then, everyone starts heading south again.

Broken Sword

As the group travels, Hana increases her attentiveness to Ti Jun, though she takes care to stay on the polite and friendly side of the line. Takanata writes his next mini-poem: "Fated Hated." Ominous. As he ponders the meaning of this, he notices that on the Hunter's Map, the X for Cai Wen seems to be jumping around at one moment close by Takanata, at the next moment farther away.
"Do you also have a secret sister?" -Hana
Since they have a handy map to the X in question, the party heads in that direction. They get reasonably close before the other X starts running. In case the other X can detect Cai Wen (or the map), Hana and Cai Wen stop for tea, watching the map, while everyone else follows it (Hiro watching through Hana's eyes for directions). The chasing group chases down the fleeing guy in a forest clearing; he tries to convince them that he doesn't want any trouble, and they should stay back. Zhi-Hao claims that they just want to talk, but he is suspicious - why were they chasing him just to talk?
"So, it's the weirdest thing - we have a map with an X on it, pointing to you, and we're trying to figure out why."
There is some back and forth argument; it's not clear whether "Why do you have a map pointing to me?" or "Why do we have a map pointing to you?" is a better question, but neither side seems to have an answer. However, the guy also seems a bit jittery - he doesn't want to give his name, and says he's just passing through, and isn't really supposed to be here. Since he only seems to have been running because he was being chased, Hana and Cai Wen start heading for the advance party.

Hiro claims that since they told him about the map, he has to tell them something. Like his name. He says they can call him "Broken Sword", and that he's from the Namgung clan in the Savanna. But he doesn't want to cause any trouble with the Forest of Chin. Yoshi notes that Broken Sword's general plan seems to be to rain terrible wrath and vengeance on someone not in the party.

Once Cai Wen and Hana show up, Takanata turns on his Eyes of the I Ching, and notes that Cai Wen's chi and Broken Sword's chi are fighting over the map somehow. Other than that, though, their chi is not very similar. Cai Wen's is very smooth and silky; Broken Sword is more jagged and impulsive. In the hopes of triggering something interesting, people introduce Cai Wen to Broken Sword. Sure enough, something is triggered...

"Ah, you're from the Namgung clan? I don't suppose you were around for when Lucky Chang..." -Cai Wen
"Lucky Chang?!? Argh!" -Broken Sword

Broken Sword throws a handful of shuriken at everyone, and flees. Since the party has proved that they can catch him once, it seems likely to be a quick fight, until Cai Wen shouts:
"Don't be a fool, he's trying to kill me too!" "Wait, what?"
As he turns in confusion, the party surrounds him. Yoshi realizes that the Vast and Terrible Revenge is probably to be inflicted upon Lucky Chang - and maybe the map is a map of people who threaten Lucky Chang? The party demonstrates the map. Broken Sword finds this intriguing, and suggests that he and Cai Wen should team up to Get Lucky Chang. Takanata notes that Lucky Chang is probably a master gambler, so if Broken Sword is neither a ninja nor a gambler, he's going to have trouble. Hmm, this could be a problem.

Broken Sword says that Lucky Chang stole the Namgung clan's honor, and he has forsworn his name until he has killed Lucky Chang. A relative of his in a different clan consulted the auguries, and said that Lucky Chang's greatest weakness is in the Hidden City, so Broken Sword was going there. Cai Wen notes that the Hidden City is very dangerous - the person who made the map is there. Takanata notes that Lucky Chang was last seen at Iron Mountain, though that was in the company of a powerful martial artist ally, so that may also be a problem. Bah! Too many powerful allies! Cai Wen counsels patience.

Takanata, who still has the map, notes that as people keep convincing Broken Sword that he's doomed, his X-ness is starting to fade, and the map's X focuses more on Cai Wen. Hmm. Takanata explains that he was more of a danger to Lucky Chang before people started talking him out of it, so it does seem likely that he would have had some effect what was his plan? Basically, find Lucky Chang's weakness, exploit it, and throw a lot of shuriken at him. Hmm. That doesn't seem like a very effective plan; it seems likely that the auguries weren't sufficiently clear as to whether or not he could take advantage of whatever this weakness was.

Takanata tasks Broken Sword with going and training with the three elemental masters (Masters Hwa, Fu, and Kangjon), and then consult the auguries on when an appropriate time to move would be. Broken Sword vows that if Cai Wen and Takanata swear to bring him along when they go to fight Lucky Chang, then he will go and train as Takanata suggests. As they swear, his X-ness strengthens again, but merges with Cai Wen's X, so now it's back to being one X where Cai Wen is.

Cai Wen gives Broken Sword several places to get in touch with him - the Hidden Orchid, the Silken Wings Circus, or the Butterfly Court, and then everyone goes their own way again.

Barn Raising

Takanata's next mini-poem is "Girl Whirl", at which both Hiro and Cai Wen perk up their ears. Sure enough, there is soon a commotion up ahead, of many

young women arguing with each other. As the party approaches, they can see a half-constructed structure - a wood frame, with scaffolding and rope and buckets and boards and the like - but it's no longer in progress, because the girls building it have stopped to argue. (There are seven of them, covering all ages from 12 and 18).

Hana tries to mingle with the group, spreading calm as best she can, but she finds that once she's blending in with them, she gets shouted at too, and finds herself tempted to shout and argue back. Hiro extracts the oldest of the girls, who introduces herself as Tsien So. Once she has Hiro's undivided attention, she seems very sweet and nice, and she says that she's sure everything will work out now that Hiro is here. She explains that they're building a barn, but that the others won't listen, and are being dreadfully exasperating. Hiro is somewhat dubious - do they actually know how to build a barn. She claims they do, though, and she at least seems to have more barn-building knowledge than Hiro does, which is none.

Shuyan tries to encourage the new monkey to go get involved, but it seems to think that this is too much pandemonium even for it, and hides. Hana tries to lead the other girls into agreement, but it appears that again just makes her a target for everyone else's arguing.

Finally, Takanata wanders into the middle and stands there, exuding silence and 14 status. Yoshi introduces him: Lord Tokai Takanata, a Judge in the Court of Distinction. They should be silent and present their claims, and Takanata-san will solve the problem. That, along with Yoshi hitting them with "be good!" seems to bring them to attention.

He asks what the difficulty is - they need to finish the construction. But why is that difficult? The answer seems to be "because everyone else won't pay attention", and that it is hard to keep things organized. Well, how do they normally solve that problem? Usually, someone else comes by and sorts it out. They smile charmingly. Hiro thinks that they need to come up with a plan, with a division of jobs that everyone can refer to. So suggests that Hiro make such a plan, but he doesn't know anything about carpentry, so he asks for her advice, and then declares that the plan is what she suggests. The other girls fidget grumpily in front of Takanata, who keeps shushing them, as Hiro proxies So's plan.

As it turns out, this is a fairly effective solution, and once the girls aren't arguing, the barn goes up in what appears to be record time, as they're all very competent, just highly prone to argue. Farmer Jiao (who the barn is being built for) pronounces it done, and pays the girls. They celebrate - one more dowry down, only five to go! Their father will be pleased.
"I feel like they are tied to the monkeys - the seven daughters of the apocalypse."
In celebration of the barn being finished, there's a party that evening. Hana and Shuyan think it's dreadfully dull, as the girls mostly seem to argue with other girls, but everyone else enjoys themselves.
Then, it is off again on the road!
Big Boats, Little Boats

Takanata writes another mini-poem: "Sleight Fight", and as they finally make it to the Jasmine river, the party comes upon a pair of Dragon Army troop ships sailing upriver. There are some crowds gathered on the riverbank watching them pass. More disturbingly, there are a few hopboats approaching the troop convoy, apparently unnoticed. Shen-Ji mentions that he saw similar boats invading the Savanna recently. That group was defeated, but these do seem quite similar.

Hana whispers in the wind so that the boat officers can hear it: "Beware! Small boats are approaching!" Several people on the two troop ships start scanning the water, but for some reason, they don't seem to see the hopboats the party notices obviously paddling up to them. Yoshi asks Kibo to head into one of the troop ships and try to send someone a dream indicating the danger. He goes off to do this, but dreams do not turn out to be a high-speed sort of plan.
Cai Wen tries to warn a Dragon army soldier standing on the shore watching, but she too seems unable to see the hopboats.
Yoshi takes this opportunity to figure out why the hopboat pilots are doing what they are doing. They seem to be trying to make sure that the Dragon Army comes in on the correct side of the war, but further details are hard to see. Shuyan and other party members contemplate doing something obvious, like shooting arrows over the Dragon Army boats, stopping the threat, and then getting arrested, but no one seems willing to start the action.

No one, that is, except Shen-Ji, who rides his flying disk out past the Dragon Army ships, and then dive bombs into one of the hopboats, sinking it, and casting both Shen-Ji and the boat pilot into the river. The Dragon Army troops cry "man overboard!" and start attempting to rescue Shen-Ji. Sadly, he's wearing his heavy metal armor...
"You've been drowning in armor once before, right?" -Mike "Yeah, I know how to do this." -Derrick
Hana keeps whispering to various Dragon Army types, but it becomes clear that they simply can't see their attackers.
While Shen-Ji tries hard to not drown, hold on to the boat pilot, and catch the rope from the Dragon Army, the other three hopboats manage to pull up alongside the troop ships undetected. They start attaching clay jugs to the side which Shen-Ji identifies as some sort of explosive. After several more attempts at drowning, Shen-Ji manages to drag the captured boat pilot up onto the Dragon Army ship. The troops can suddenly see him, now that he's unconscious. They take him into custody and attempt to take Shen-Ji into custody too, but he manages to get the Butterfly Prince to vouch for him from the shore.

Meanwhile, Yoshi has had enough of these shenanigans and calls upon his favor from Kawa Uso, the river otter spirit the party helped save on the Night of Gates. A wave suddenly washes along the the sides of the troop ship, capsizing the hopboats, sweeping their pilots away from the troop ships, and sweeping the explosives off the ships and underwater. Now that they are no longer screened by the Dragon Army troop ships, Hiro starts slaying the swimming invaders with a rain of arrows, and the three of them are soon drowned before they can cause any further trouble.

Shen-Ji manages to gather enough destroyed hopboat parts to make a fair hopboat repair kit, but there's no further evidence in the wreckage. Hana makes sure the soldiers understand that this almost unnoticed attack was perpetrated by people who were invisible to members of the Dragon Army, while Shen-Ji identifies rapidly fading magical sigils on the foreheads of the captured guy causing the effect.

The Dragon Army captain swears that he will get to the bottom of this, and the prisoner is taken below for later interrogation once they reach their headquarters in the City of Spires. The party thinks that there must have been some other part of the plan, as just making the troop ships burn and sink would not have framed anyone in particular, but if there were other confederates, they never showed themselves after their hopboat compatriots were dealt with.
Ti Jun declares that they are making remarkable time - everyone can rest for a few hours, before they set off on the road again.

Puttering

Ti Jun and Takanata send in reports on Wei Han to Commander Chang Hu. Hana vanishes.
Shen-Ji visits the Myeong clan again.
Master Zhou and Xiao Fa visit the dojo of Master Sheji.
Zhi-Hao visits Captain Fa, the swordmaster on the Pearl River, and Eto the Wolf, his old swordsmaster.
Cai Wen visits the dojo of Masters Fu/Hwa/Kangjon.
Hiro goes back to the Golden Spire.
Ti Jun and his guys, Wei Han, Hiro, Lijuan, Anto, Cai Wen, Yoshi, Min Feng, and a squad of Dragon Army borrowed by Wei Han, head to the Temple of the Eternal Dream.
Takanata goes to visit the temple of his sister Kiyasa.

Retrieved from "http://boojum.scripts.mit.edu/Dragon/index.php?
title=Travelling_with_the_Butterfly_Prince:_Part_II" Category: Book Two Logs
This page was last modified on 6 August 2010, at 09:41.
Travelling with the Butterfly Prince: Conclusion

From Dragon
"Every day is a journey, and the journey itself is home."
The run begins on the Day of the Late Spider in the month of the Magpie in the third Year of the Spider since the
crowning of Ti Lao.

The run takes place between the Tanzhe Plain and the Butterfly Kingdom.
Previous Run Next Run
Luckily for the party, the Prince has been diverted from his interest in seeing the area of the Wall where the ritual took place (in part because of Hana vanishing), and has traveled ahead to visit the Temple of the Eternal Dream. Everyone else sets off to catch up with him (and the other party members who are still at the monastery).

Contents

1 Lost Children
2 Eternal Dreamers
3 Hunters and Prey
4 Army Buddies
5 Hopes and Dreams
6 Library Research
7 First Messenger
8 Second Messenger
9 Crone's Apple
10 Forgotten Prayers
11 Puttering

Lost Children

The local gossip is to stick to the river bank while travelling, to avoid the fighting in the Tanzhe. As they do so, heading up the river road, there is a rustling in the forest, and, when Merit investigates, a mudcovered kid emerges, and calls out for help.

"Help us!"
"Why couldn't he have said Boo or anything else, other than 'help us'?" -Merit
Lijuan jumps in and says that of course they will help, but the kid insists on a test first.
"You have to answer this question first: 'What is the difference between a spider?'" kid
"An orange, because a vest has no sleeves!" -Lijuan
"Wait, I thought the answer was a pumpkin, because a raft has no sails. Er, oops."

"All right, I was wrong. Your secret organization does not have the worst contact phrases ever" -Merit to Min Feng
"No, this is my secret organization." -Lijuan

Lijuan heads off after the boy, followed, grumblingly, by everyone else. After half an hour or so, the party reaches the edge of a clearing, and the boy points out what he needs help with - there are several dozen kids, tied in a line and being marched along by eight soldiers. Lijuan identifies the kids as part of a Savanna clan, and Xiao Fa thinks the soldiers are from the Forest of Chin; Merit thinks they're from House Zhen in particular.

The boy says that the kids are from a village in the Tanzhe, a little ways away from here. His dad is a warrior, and is off battling bad guys! People ask about the others in the village
- anyone in the clan who could fight went to the battle, but then these soldiers came and took the kids captive and tied up everyone who was left. The fighters in the group think that the plan should be "Get them!" (and Lijuan in particular thinks that any opportunity to go after House Zhen is a good one), but everyone else is unsure of their ability to take on eight soldiers. Perhaps they can try the fast-talk method instead? This is definitely a dishonorable tactic - can they convince the soldiers that it will cause enough trouble that they should abandon the plan? Merit is not psyched about helping the Savanna, but he yp pypg
also thinks that he should be against the war on general principles, so he is convinced to go and talk to the soldiers.
Everyone else seems happy with the idea of "hide in the forest while sending Merit out to talk", but Merit thinks this is a bit unfair. Xiao Fa volunteers to come along, and Xian is persuaded to join in as well. Master Zhou agrees to come as well, and Shuyan says she'll practice one of her Mesmerizing Dances if things go bad.
The Talking Group heads in. The soldiers tell them to halt and identify themselves, and on hearing that they're from the Butterfly Kingdom, note that this shouldn't concern them.
"I'm in charge of propaganda for a circus, and I'm telling you that this doesn't seem like a good move. These prisoners look like they're five or ten years before they're ready to fight." -Merit

Merit works on the tack that he hates the Savanna, so it would really make him unhappy to have to tell people about these goings-on. Of course, the soldiers think that this is easily solved - just don't mention anything. Ah, but did Merit forget to mention? They are travelling with a patrol of the Dragon Army. Which saw the captive children and... immediately headed off to the local Dragon command to notify them about House Zhen's mission. Merit is smooth enough to fool the captain of the group (who seems to be somewhat easily confused), so he finds this plausible. The captain asks if Merit has any pull with these Dragon Army soldiers - can they offer any inducements? Merit grudgingly complains that this guy is the only honest sergeant Merit's ever known.
"Well, a sergeant isn't too bad."
"You haven't met this sergeant. It's bad." -Xian
Two of the soldiers get sent to run ahead to the rally point to ask the Zhen commander for orders. Now, there are only six soldiers, so team "Get Em" suggests that again, but talking seems to be working okay. Master Zhou decides to skip the subtlety, and suggests that perhaps they should just release their prisoners. The captain protests - the kids are from the home village of the clan that will be holding the center in the next offensive. Xian steps in
- what if the Savanna tried something like this? The captain finds this unlikely - they wouldn't ever think of something like this! Xian agrees - because they're irrationally wedded to their concept of honor. Which means, if their kids get dishonorably used as hostages... then what? Merit offers to take the kids back and smooth it all over.
"The important thing is to not send a Savanna clan into a centuries-long blood feud against your house." -Xian
Then, with a bit of a conversational judo throw, Xian shifts things to idea that the party can take the kids to the Forest army's rally point as directed, so that House Zhen won't be blamed for the trouble. Somehow, with a lot of persuasion and fast talk, the captain is talked into this, and the soldiers set off towards the rally point at double speed, with the party "to follow behind".

Lijuan sneaks after the soldiers to spy on the rally point. It looks like there's a bit of chaos, having been caused by the initial two soldiers and their report; now that the other six are showing up, there is even more consternation. It looks like the higher-up commander does not approve of the captain's plan, so a larger force starts heading back in that direction, while the party starts as quickly as possible to the closest Savanna war camp. Lijuan, returning, makes another plea for killing everyone in House Zhen, but Merit is having none of it, and tries to shock her out of her bloodthirst.

"Even the [House Zhen] kids? We should kill all the kids?" -Merit "I can take them." -Lijuan
"Wait, which sort of "take" is this?" -Xian

Since the mob of kids will be very easy to track, Lijuan and Xian stay behind to fix that. Lijuan describes the tracks and points out various footprints to Xian, and he tweaks the environment to make it look like the tracks turn. (Then, Lijuan sets a little trap at the end of the new tracks). Xian sends Lijuan back to the rest of the party, and remains in hiding to maintain his illusion. He looks over his work, and realizes that it probably doesn't look realistic to make the tracks take an abrupt perfect 90 degree turn like that. He adjusts them again, and then goes back to hide in his tree.

The rest of the group, with kids, reaches the Savanna military camp. Shen-Ji introduces himself as an honorary member of the Swift Tiger warband of Myeong clan, and explains that they rescued the kids from "bandits". Happily, the kids' description of the soldiers is not very distinguishable from bandits, and Merit notes that the idea that the opposing army might do something like this does seem to be a large blind spot in the soldier's thinking. Lijuan returns, and tries to clear up the apparent confusion about the "bandits" but is mostly shushed.
Eventually, the Forest warband does march by in pursuit of the kids' tracks, and follows the false trail, so Xian can rejoin the rest of the group. Battle averted!
Eternal Dreamers

The party reaches the Temple of the Eternal Dream

without further incident (it appears that travelling without the Prince is a bit faster), and Ti Jun is briefed about the previous encounter. He does not approve of the tactic of kidnapping kids, and thinks the party behaved appropriately. The group asks Master Bao about recent events - he is pleased to report that both sides in the Tanzhe conflict have been persuaded that the Temple is off limits until the war is over.
Since it's fairly late in the evening, the group is offered the hospitality of the monastery for the night.
Merit looks around from the central tower, as does Xiao Fa, making tactics rolls. The fight looks somewhat bogged down; the Forest made a lot of initial headway, due to their surprise, but the Savanna has been holding them off with sheer chutzpah. The Savanna military camp that the kids were delivered to seems central to the Savanna front - if it had fallen, that would have spelled defeat for them. But since a lot of the Savanna troops are being withdrawn across the river (presumably due to the other fronts opening up), it seems that while the quick and easy victory for the Forest has been thwarted, they're probably still on the long and sloggy path to victory.

There is only one stone dreaming bier being unused by the monks that night, so Min Feng leaps on the chance to have dreams, and she dreams about how to find her mother. She travels through the dream, to see a high monastery, with a long trudgy path leading up to it. She walks up the path and bounces off of the boundary of the monastery, a river. Her father walks up the path and bounces off as well. Then a random guy (in that Archetypically Random way of dreams) walks up, and can cross. She finds this dream very perplexing.

Xian chats with Shen - he says he has an improved appreciation for the art of sweeping now. Then Master Zhou takes both of them aside for a whispered conversation, while Lijuan tries to persuade Master Bao to let her write on the walls of the monastery with her new crayon. He is not persuaded.

In the morning, everyone takes their leaves and thanks Master Bao and the monks for their hospitality, and the group chooses a new destination - the City of Light! On the road, Master Zhou chats with Ti Jun about the latter's experiences in the Dreamworld, and Master Zhou's insight that Ti Jun "should" be touched by the Dragon but is instead touched by the Spider. It is a long and distracting conversation, so Master Zhou misses the confusion of the next arrow entirely.

Hunters and Prey

While heading down the road towards the City of Light, the party is overflown by a hawk. With particularly keen perception rolls, Ming Feng and Merit manage to identify the hawk as one that has been seen before. It was one of the pets of "Snow Wolf", one of the bounty hunters who pursued Kuan Xi around the Butterfly island on the first day of the year. The knowledgeable members of the party note that the hawk appears to be hunting.

A few minutes later the hawk then overflies again and those with animal handling note that it seems to be returning to report now rather than still hunting. Indeed, after a few more minutes a rider and a cart start approaching from the rear. The party takes the precaution of hiding all of the Monkeys of the Apocalypse, in case Snow Wolf and Snow Leopard are searching for them, but judging by their approach and the hawk's overflights, people are pretty clear their quarry is up ahead.

When the pair of bounty hunters arrive, Merit strikes up a conversation with Snow Wolf while "attempting" to get the party's carriages and carts out of the way so he can pass. Snow Leopard, on her own horse, rides past without a word and heads off down the trail.

Merit manages to get out of Snow Wolf that the pair are indeed bounty hunters and are trying to capture a deserter from the Forest of Chin's army - specifically a member of House Zhen. It seems he deserted with key strategic information involving the start of the war. He can say no more, but now that Snow Wolf and his sister are on the case, the party can rest assured that the deserter will be returned to his camp shortly.

Snow Wolf demonstrates his way with animals by whistling once (after asking for permission). At his call, all of the party horses immediately clear the path for his carriage, and he proceeds down the road following his sister.

Another hour or so pass, and the party catches up to Snow Wolf and Snow Leopard again. This time, they are coming from the other direction and have a tied up prisoner in their cart. They do appear to have gotten their man. Slipping ahead, Min Feng overhears the prisoner complaining bitterly about how he shouldn't be dragged back. He didn't want anything to do with this war, and just because he heard the wrong things in a secret war council shouldn't change that. It's not like he would tell anyone.
By the time the pair of bounty hunters and their prisoner get to the main party, however, a wolf is sitting on the prisoner and he speaks no more. Merit talks to them for a while again, while the rest of the party decides if they simply must "Get 'em". In the end, they seem to have no good reason to attack, and so the bounty hunters take their quarry back to the Forest of Chin unmolested.

Army Buddies

The group continues down the road towards the City of Light. After a while, traffic begins to stall due to a formation of Dragon Army troops passing in the other direction, having been pulled off the blockade of the Shrouded Isle to deal with the Savanna war(s). Since the party has no circus to worry about, they just stay out of the way of the passing foot soldiers, and look for ways to get information out of the officers. Min Feng wanders around eavesdropping, while Merit reports about the mess with the bounty hunters and the

hostage-taking to the captain, and Lijuan interjects commentary about the perfidy of House Zhen. Providentially, Min Feng overhears two of the soldiers talking. Apparently, one of them had forgotten to turn in his blockade patrol schedule when he was pulled off the blockade. His sergeant is pretty pissed as these are sensitive documents. Once the formation makes camp for the night, he and the sergeant are going to have to report this to the captain to see if they (the documents) should be destroyed or sent back to the North.

Merit, making conversation, asks the captain where they're coming from, and what's up with the blockade? The captain says it all started with the dock workers' strike and riots in the Port of Propitious Voyage, which was very disruptive of trade. Now, it turns out that the dock workers were manipulated into it by agents of the Shrouded Isle, so the blockade is to teach them a lesson. After some careful consideration, Merit decides that the captain is making a Sense Motive roll on Merit and is pleased that Merit believes his flimsy story.
"Oh, that means it's subtle. Crap." -Heidi
Merit offers to buy the captain dinner and swap stories, once the army troop has made camp for the night. Min Feng putpockets the Butterfly Amulet onto him to increase his status, and if the captain finds Merit's sudden gravitas surprising, he doesn't say anything about it, and accepts. Merit scrounges up a stash of good alcohol for the evening and also as a gift, and night falls. Merit, Xiao Fa, and Shuyan cook a fancy dinner to bring, and everyone gets to come as "retainers".

"I wash my hands. You have to wash your hands before a fancy dinner." -Lijuan "And you have to use water, not spit." -Xian
"You understand!" -Lijuan

Min Feng, who is pretending to be a servant, slips away once inside the camp. Merit poses as a wealthy merchant, and in fact, the first part of the conversation is spent with the captain chatting about merchanting sufficient to see if Merit seems likely to be lying luckily, Merit has enough skill and smarts to pass as his cover. Merit asks which of the houses in the Hon'eth Arcade were the ones particularly duped by the Shrouded Isle - the answer is the House of Judicious Increase and the House of Beneficient Travel, though it's not clear whether this is the captain's bias or the official cover bias for who to blame it on.

When asked why the army is pulling out if it's so important, the captain replies that there was an official request issued by the government of the Savanna requesting aid in securing their own borders against unlawful aggression. The party is pleased to hear that their chicanery at the Savanna conclave has paid off.

Meanwhile, Min Feng practices her stealth and disguise, sneaking around the camp as a servant. She eventually finds the sergeant and his underling, waiting for the fancy dinner to end so they can go grovel to the captain and dispose of the schedule documents. She lures the sergeant away with a fake message, and gets the private to keep his hands busy eating. While he's enjoying his impromptu meal, Min Feng picks his pocket, duplicates the blockade patrol schedules, and replaces them where she got them. She then slips off back to the party with no one the wiser.
Lijuan shmoozes with the Dragon Army's servants and tells them about House Zhen kidnapping children. They, at least, are properly horrified.
After some pestering by Master Zhou, Xiao Fa goes off in search of a Bear and a Dog to talk to about their Aspects, as part of his homework for Master Zhou. He finds the medic's tent, and offers to help. At first the medic is mildly insulted, as the Dragon Army does not depend upon the kindness of strangers for their medical procedures, but then he recognizes Xiao Fa as one of those wandering do-gooder monks, and suggests that he go through some of the herbal supplies to see if they've gotten stale. Xiao Fa talks about Aspects, and finds out that the medic himself is touched by the Great Dog Spirit, and the one soldier in the infirmary (whose foot was stepped on by a horse) is a Bear. After some chatting, Xiao Fa uses his healing chi on the guy's wounded foot.

After dinner, people return to the party's carriages and Min Feng examines the documents she's acquired. It turns out that with these schedules it would be pretty trivial to run the blockade and get back and forth to the Shrouded Isle. Everyone retires for the evening to continue their journey in the morning.

Hopes and Dreams

That night, Lijuan has an odd dream: there is a bunch of kids, and most of the kids are laughing at one particular girl. Kibo licks the girl's brain, and seems to think it's yummy, but the girl is still sad. In the morning, Lijuan reports about this dream to Master Zhou, who glowers disapprovingly, as he does with all things Kibo, and notes that it is not the job of demons to make people happy, no matter what Yoshi might tell her. He interprets the dream-symbols, and concludes that the little girl is probably a real little girl,
and she's probably particularly strong in some aspect of... something. Unfortunately, there's not too much to go on in terms of finding the girl.
However, when the party stops in the next village to get provisions, Lijuan and Merit notice a keepaway game going on, in which a crowd of children is keeping a comb away from one girl - who Lijuan recognizes as the girl from her dream. Lijuan sends Ho in to grab the comb, which she then offers to the little girl, along with a somewhat squashed roll from her pocket. Lijuan starts asking questions.
"Do you know what Kibo ate? Kibo is my friend, the dream-eating demon!"
The girl looks pretty spooked at that, so everyone else herds her towards Master Zhou. Xiao Fa examines her chi, and notes that she has a non-zero tao - but he didn't roll well enough to see how high it is. That impresses people. However, there is still some concern that Kibo may have eaten some important parts of her psyche. Questioning her about what she should want but doesn't, fails to turn anything up, so Merit has a long psychological chat with her. He concludes that she is the shyest little girl in a village full of ruffians, and doesn't fit in very well, but while she's unhappy about that, she doesn't seem to be missing anything big. Merit also learns that she lives with her grandmother, as her parents are dead. Lijuan and Shuyan are also orphans, so there is a brief moment of bonding between the three girls, interrupted by Master Zhou.

"Come with me." -Master Zhou
"I'm not supposed to wander off with people I don't..." "I will teach you kung fu."
"What?"
The party convinces the girl, whose name is Chen Rue-Mo that she should definitely learn kung fu, and she goes off with Master Zhou to do so. Min Feng suggests taking the girl away - she has a lot of potential, and she's wasted here. Master Zhou notes that while she's not very good at kung fu in particular, she's a little bit good at everything, and thus learns a level of kung fu skill. He also deduces that in her hopes and dreams, when she speaks, whole crowds bow down, but in real life, people don't listen to her.

The girl asks whether, when the other kids take her comb away, if she should use her kung fu on them. There's fifteen of them, so even with a point of kung fu, it's going to be tough. Merit suggests that if there is ever just a small group bothering her, she should stand up to them then, and then they might back off. He teaches her a point of Intimidation. Min Feng tries to teach her the "Overhear" shtick, but since she has no Aspect and no concept, it would be at x3, and everyone thinks that would be rude to use up her EPs like that, so that plan gets scrapped, and Min Feng teaches her Sense Motive instead. Xian suggests that if she just lets them steal the comb, then eventually it will stop being fun for them and they'll stop - and he teaches her a level of Psychology. Lijuan teaches her a level of Turning Wave kung fu, and has her demonstrate for Master Zhou (part of Lijuan's homework).

At this point, the party has burned through about half of her skill points turning her into a junior superspy, and wonders what to do with her. Perhaps she would be more at home at the Temple of Eternal Dream? Min Feng teaches her a level of dreamwalking, though without a shtick in entering the dream world, she won't be able to do much with it.
Everyone goes to talk to Rue-Mo's grandmother, except for Lijuan, who takes the girl outside to play while the grownups discuss her fate.
"I am Master Zhou of the White Pagoda. Your granddaughter has great potential. I suggest that she should train with monks of the Eternal Dream."
"Will she find a good husband that way?"
"All her needs will be taken care of."
"I don't know, monks are not known for having their needs taken care of...."

Master Zhou attempts to persuade Grandmother Chen that Great Potential is more important than husbands, but he is not very compelling. Min Feng also proves unfortunately unpersuasive, and Xian, who doesn't care so much what happens to the girl but cannot stand to see so many terrible persuasion rolls, starts in. He talks about destiny, and growing to greatness, and moving beyond what she can even imagine. Unlike the others, he is actually quite seriously persuasive.

"If you think it's best..."
"I think it is inevitable. Of all the people you have ever met in your entire life, she is the only one with a Destiny. She is fated for greatness."

Xiao Fa reins Xian in before he shades too much into badgering Grandmother Chen, and they send a message to the monastery, which will likely send Shen to pick her up in weeks to come. Another Destiny set in motion, the party heads back on the road, and finally reaches their current destination, the City of Light.

Library Research
Lijuan checks in with the local urchins, and procures a crawfish sandwich for Ti Jun.
"You just got the prince to eat a bug sandwich!" Merit
The prince, not totally sure about bugs, tells Lijuan to make sure that Yoshi has a bug sandwich too. She puts one in her pocket for later to give to him. The choices from here are to take a ship up to the Butterfly

Kingdom (a lot of blue arrows), or to take the coast road up (more green arrows) and then hire a ship in the Port of Auspicious Voyage (only one blue arrow). The latter sounds both safer and more interesting, as everyone suspects the blue arrows of being full of kraken.

Shen-Ji introduces Master Zhou to Stoneback Cho. Zhou asks Cho if he knows anything about Huan Ken, a powerful Earth Sorcerer from the City of Light. As it turns out, Master Zhou has it backwards, leading to some confusion - many buildings in the area are said to be designed by the great Huan Ken, an architect from the City of Light. Stoneback Cho points them out to people. It's a very blockish style, which is not immediately obvious as "the same as the Coil", but the buildings aren't underground, either. Stoneback Cho also shows Master Zhou his tomb - the doors on the tomb do look a bit more like the doors on the Coil. Xiao Fa follows the chi of the area downstream, and walks up against the tomb, which is the strongest chi in the little graveyard.
"You're like a moth, man." -Merit
Master Zhou also takes the opportunity to read a small book about architecture written by Huan Ken, in the Exalted Library. Then, in the morning, the group sets off along the coastal road heading north.

First Messenger

As the party starts north, a rider catches up, and says that he carries a message for Lord Takanata. Since Takanata is indisposed, he is willing to pass it to Takanata's people. But, he notes, it is not a message which is owed to Lord Takanata, so what do they offer him for the information? Merit asks for more of a hint about what it is, and the messenger explains. The message comes from the Cryptomancer himself. He and Takanata have an arrangement, such that if someone comes to learn the name of the Spirit of the

Jasmine River, they will be stalled and Takanata will be informed. This, on the other hand, is not part of that arrangement, and so that Takanata is not required to be informed of it without inducement.

Hmm. Well, this seems likely to be something relevant, so Merit discusses with the others what might be worth giving away as information. Information about the Coil? About the changed names of the countries? The Coil is a pretty big secret, though country namechanging is probably more dangerous should the party be known as the source of this information. After some discussion, they give the messenger the knowledge that many of the countries have changed their names within the past hundred and fifty years, but that the fact that they have done so has been sorcerously cloaked.
The messenger finds this completely implausible, but is pretty sure that Merit himself believes it, so he passes on the message:
Those who were seeking the name of the spirit of the Jasmine River have successfully acquired the name of the spirit of the Pearl River.
Second Messenger

As the group starts on the road again, another rider catches up to them. This one seems to have travelled much further.
The new rider introduces himself - he is a servant of Li Kao, the Permanent Reverence of the Third Spire.
"Li Kao said to his servants that you, your band, your group - dare I say your "circus"? - would know what had befallen him. The Permanent Reverence has not

left the Third Spire for over two hundred winters, but he is gone now. Before he disappeared, he said that you would be among the few in the Empire who could know what has befallen him."
"Hmm. That's likely true." -Merit
"Then, what has befallen him?!"
"I think we're in the "could know" category still." -Merit

The messenger explains that Li Kao's servants still keep up the pretense that he is there, so no one knows he is missing. Merit wonders - how did Li Kao refer to the party? As "the people who put the elephant on the spire."

There is some discussion of when he vanished - was it New Years' Day? Ah, this seems to suggest the party does know something! Though, actually it was the Day of the Grasping Spider, in the middle of the month. (Note: we said New Years in the run - Grasping Spider is the correct day.)
So... did the Spider steal him? Or, suggests Xian, did he go into hiding to avoid something happening to him?
"Do we trust him?" -Merit
"He's just a random guy who rode up on a horse, why not?" -Xian
Master Zhou tells the servant that it seems likely that Li Kao was captured by the Great Spirit of the Spider, since he has knowledge the Spider doesn't want him to have. Has Li Kao ever left the Empire, Master Zhou wonders? To the servant's knowledge, Li Kao has never left the Third Spire. But the servant is not two hundred winters old and does not know for sure what Li Kao did before then. Merit cautions the servant not to casually tell people about this.

So... who is Li Kao, anyway? What does he specialize in? He is a sage, a wizard, a mystic. Hmm. That doesn't sound like a specialty, exactly, people note. The servant clarifies - he is not Elder Danyu, known for knowing any and all facts, no matter how esoteric - what he is known for is putting facts together into theories and constructing understanding from them.
Lijuan gives the servant a crayon drawing of a dragon.
"Thank you, little girl."
"Now I have forgotten what I was going to ask." -Xian, staring at Lijuan "She's going for the confounding title!" -Xiao Fa

Does the servant have anything of Li Kao's that they might use for... well, it's not clear what, but in case they need something with a connection to him? The servant has a set of meditation beads that belonged to Li Kao, which he gives to them.
Somewhat saddened to have lost a potential ally they didn't know they had, the group turns northwards again.
Crone's Apple

season now.
At the last village before the Port of Auspicious Voyage, the group stops for food again, and people wander a bit through the village. Xian is buying some apples from a terribly ancient and wizened old woman, when he spends a Yin and realizes that she is actually one of the most beautiful women he has ever seen - she only looks like an old crone. Unsure what to make of this, he makes small talk with her, asking about the apples, where they were farmed, if she sells anything else... she does sell cabbages some time, but it's apple

He overpays generously for several boxes of apples, and then, somewhat awkwardly, notes that he is surprised to find someone as beautiful as the woman, working as an apple vendor.

"You mock me, sir!" "No!"
"No?"
He asks her to tell him truthfully how old she is. She lies a few times, and then admits that she is twenty-five. Xian is intrigued.
"You understand that I cannot go without an explanation."
"Only a man who does not know my secret can solve my problem." "If you tell me, then I will find someone who does not know, to get them to do it."

In her reckless youth, she says, she had the temerity to compare her beauty to that of the Great Fox Spirit. The Fox Spirit chanced to overhear, and, telling her that there was more to being a Fox than beauty, she cursed the woman to live as a crone until she could "catch the attention of a man" in this form. Alas, Xian says, he doesn't count because he already knew her true form. But, he assures her, he will do what seems right in arranging for someone else's attention to be caught, and he trusts that it will work out.
"If you could follow us until we start puttering... I might be able to handle it with these fools, but I'm going to send Cai Wen." -Xian, thinking out loud
She says that she will promise to meet him later with more apples, if he will promise to buy them. Xian heads back to the group, lost in thought.
"Ah, Xiao Fa!" -Xian
"You hear a bus in the distance..." -Mike
Xian suggests that Xiao Fa take a look at the chi of the apple vendor. Lijuan is immediately suspicious - did she magic him into buying all those apples? Xiao Fa heads off, looks at her, and confirms that she is suffering under an extremely powerful curse. (Meanwhile, Merit is discovering that nearly the entire budget for the day's provisions has been spent on very overpriced apples.)

Xiao Fa and Xian chat about the apple seller. Xian notes, persuasively, that my goodness, it is a powerful curse she is cursed with. But she is not complaining, or sulking, or bemoaning her fate - she's just selling apples, keeping on with her life. Isn't that remarkable? How would most people react to being punished by a curse of such magnitude? And how does she react instead? What nobility of spirit?
"This one understands what you are trying to say. She remains positive in the face of adversity."
Convinced that Xian thinks Xiao Fa can learn much from the woman's fortitude, Xiao Fa goes back and invites her to speak more with him over dinner. Then, Xian intercepts him again for more persuasion. He talks about the difference between the appearances in the world and the true reality underneath, and the value of inner worth instead of outer. Then, after Xiao Fa believes that the woman is most admirable, and is heading towards dinner, Xian hits him with a "Sway Emotion" shtick which subtly shifts one emotion into a related one - such as admiration into love.
"You have that?" -Mike
"Wait, are you brainwashing party members? Don't do that!" -Tom
The next morning, Xiao Fa returns to the group on the arm of the most beautiful woman anyone has ever seen, though he's starting to figure out that Xian has "mojoed" him.
"Was the nature of the curse that the person breaking it couldn't know?" "Yes."
"Then this one is pleased to have been of service."

Forgotten Prayers

Since Cai Wen is not around to be attacked by ninja, the stop in the Port of Auspicious
Voyage to hire a ship is without
incident. As the ship crosses the Strait of Silent

Winds to the Butterfly Kingdom, a sharp-eyed lookout notices a floating clay pot, which bumps up against the side of the ship. When pulled aboard, the pot looks very old for something that has been floating around in the ocean.
Unsealing the pot, a small plaque made of iron is found, with writing carved into it:
The people of the village of Three Piers pray for respite, and ask that our patron, the Great Whale Spirit, deliver us from this fishless drought.
From the make of the pot, and the condition of the iron, it seems to be many hundreds of years old. Merit vaguely recollects the village of Three Piers, a fishing village in the Hon'eth Arcade which is no longer around - it was something of a cautionary tale about how you shouldn't rely just on fish, because then when the fish drought comes, your village does not survive.

Merit thinks that Great Cycle spirits have changed before, though no one else thinks that's part of the conventional wisdom. Was the Dragon really in the Cycle before, or did the Spider replace the Whale? Master Zhou is certain that the Dragon was in the Cycle before, and explains that Ti Jun should be touched by the Dragon, but "those who should become Dragons, become Spiders instead, or they do not become."

Recalling the history of the Empire, the last of the Dragon Emperors was about six hundred and fifty years ago. That was about the time of the Great Cycle of the Phoenix. And, remember that in Shen-Ji's vision from the Golden Spire, the Phoenix regretted something. Maybe the Phoenix reboots the cycle every so often? Are Phoenix and Spider working together?

Xian speculates: the Phoenix rebooted things to take the Whale's place, and that broke the Cycle enough that the Spider could take the Dragon's place later. People note that Cael has mad speculation powers, so perhaps this is true.
Then, finally, the ship puts in at the dock on the Isle of Butterflies, and Ti Jun is finally home!

Puttering

Cai Wen goes shopping in the City of Light.
Cai Wen, Wei Han, and Merit go on a road trip up the Arcade coast. Cai Wen and Min Feng poke around the Port of Auspicious Voyage area. Yoshi, Takanata, Lijuan, Hiro, and Master Zhou go to visit Tara Shien. Shen-Ji, Zhi-Hao, Wei Han, Min Feng, and Anto go to investigate the other side of the water gate from Boot to the Head. They leave one of the communication scrolls behind for Takanata, in case they don't come back. Then they don't come back. Master Zhou wanders around talking to the old Masters of the Butterfly Kingdom.

Retrieved from "http://boojum.scripts.mit.edu/Dragon/index.php?
title=Travelling_with_the_Butterfly_Prince:_Conclusion"
Category: Book Two Logs
This page was last modified on 3 November 2010, at 15:37.
Truth and Beauty

From Dragon

"When you have only two zhu left in the world, buy a loaf of bread with one, and a lily with the other."

The run begins on the Day of the Early Tortoise in the month of the Bear in the third Year of the Spider since the crowning of Ti Lao.
The run takes place in the Butterfly Kingdom.
Previous Run Next Run
Contents

1 Elven String
2 Through the Water Gate
3 Lady in Red
4 Meeting the Artists
5 Sneaking About in the Night, Tromping Around in the Day
6 Midnight Rendezvous
7 End of the Competition
8 Puttering

Elven String

As people go about their business in the Butterfly Kingdom, Her Majesty summons those party members who are easily available (Hiro, Cai Wen, and Kasumi). She thanks them for their service of delivering the message to Prince Ti Jun, and the added service of getting him home again safely. In thanks for their deeds, she again has gifts for them, and people have their choice of:
Courier Baton: This identifies the bearer as an official courier of the Butterfly Kingdom. Travel costs are borne by the Butterfly Kingdom, and particular transport can sometimes be borrowed.
Honeyvine Seeds: A small packet of honeyvine seeds, taken from flowering vines growing in the Gardens of Harmonious Contemplation. Where these are planted, butterflies will come, and some say the place itself is touched by the Great Butterfly Spirit.
Lacquered Egg: Who knows what is inside, but it's probably lucky.
Also, there are a few individual items:
Mysterious Key: A fancily carved key. What it opens is unknown. (taken by Hiro) Thread: A very, very, very long spool of very fine thread. (taken by Kasumi)
GM note: Everyone who was in one of the three "Traveling with the Butterfly Prince" runs is entitled to one of the first three options.
Meanwhile, Takanata finds Yoshi, and lets him know that, first, a number of people (ShenJi, Anto, Wei Han, Zhi-Hao, and Min Feng) have not returned from their (puttering) reconnaissance mission to the other side of the water gate. They left behind one of Min Feng's communication scrolls, but it doesn't say anything. Takanata himself will not be able to deal with this, as he has only a few hours to put his affairs in order before he goes into seclusion at the Court of Distinction to judge the competition for the new Master of Perfected Distinction. Yoshi writes on the scroll "WHAT HAPPENED TODAY:" but no one writes an answer for him.

Then, Takanata finds Cai Wen, and the two of them head to the Dojo of Yellow Silk where Master Zhou has been training and discussing the theory of Kung Fu with Master Long. Here, Takanata briefs the two of them about the artistic contest. The previous Master of Perfected Distinction, Abe Geiju, has passed away, and as the week of mourning has concluded, it is now time to select a new Master, essentially the highest honored of the artists in residence at the Court of Distinction. Takanata and the other two judges will be in seclusion so that their judgement will be just based on the works themselves.

Meanwhile, Hiro, who is bored, sends a message to Ti Jun trying to invite him out fishing. Unfortunately for Hiro, Ti Jun is in buckle-down-and-study mode after having played hooky for several months, so Hiro gets dragged to a history lecture instead, and only late in the afternoon do they break for fishing. Ti Jun, as it turns out, thinks that sitting on the bank with a fishing rod with nothing happening is kind of boring, so the two catch some fish with nets instead, which are eventually given to Yoshi for danger chef practice (though Hiro contemplates the possibility of using them for a plan involving talking fish). Hiro tries to find out from Ti Jun what the mysterious key opens - he doesn't know, and says that his mother is kind of all about the mysterious random items. He talks Hiro out of trying to find a lock in the palace that it opens.

Yoshi starts to put together a rescue mission, and finds Kuan-Xi, who wants to come along as well. Additionally, Long Yue-Mei, who has been serving tea to those in the Yellow Silk Dojo, would be honored to assist in the matter. Yoshi acquires some castle guards, and passes the scroll to Ti Jun for emergencies, since the prince is not allowed to leave the country without permission, and it is thought that the water portal does indeed leave the country.

The rescue group heads out towards the mine where the water gate is. Along the way, people hear some harsh cawing, and note what seems to be a swarm of attack seagulls coming straight for the group.
"Huh, we should have brought the fish."
Cai Wen, who has a box of fireworks, launches a rocket in their direction, which disperses them. Yue-Mei notes that there have been a lot of strange animal attacks recently - dogs attacked the dojo, there were cats clawing at people in the marketplace. The guards note that they hadn't heard of a plague of violent animals, but will look into it when they return.

Through the Water Gate

The mine seems deserted, though the normally-locked gate has been left open (presumably by the scouting mission). The pool of water at the bottom has magical symbols drawn on the water, without the big X over it. Kuan-Xi notes that Anto, at least, walked into the mine, talked to people for a little while, and then jumped into the pool.

Kasumi stealthily jumps into the pool, and jumps out at the other side, though as she's quite stealthy no one is quite sure that she's gone. Everyone else gets ready to jump through - the guards are suddenly somewhat iffy. They aren't really authorized to act against people in another country without more authorization than what they have currently (which was more about rescuing people from a cave), as it could be construed as an act of invasion, depending on where they show up. The party tells them that they should be back in an hour or so - if they don't return, they should contact Master Long at the Yellow Silk dojo, to send the third-wave rescue mission.
On the other side, Kasumi does a quick reconnaissance. Much like the mine, there is a cave with a pool of water in it; access to the rest of the cave from the pool room is blocked by a metal grate with a barred door in it. There are four stone pillars around the pool, though one of them is missing half of its height. On the other side of the grate are several bowmen, though they don't look too alert, and haven't seen Kasumi yet. Lying on the floor, unarmed and tied up, are Zhi-Hao, Wei Han, and Anto. Kasumi overhears the guards talking. Apparently, the fighters were left here, while the dangerous ones, the mage and the spy are off being prepared for interrogation in the storage room.

Master Zhou sneaks through after that, and can't get as close to the grate as Kasumi; he's followed shortly by everyone else, who splash around enough that the guards notice. Kasumi dramatically stabs a guard through the grate, as the others start untying and waking the downed party members. Kuan-Xi has brought a spare kusarigama for Anto, while Master Zhou has Zhi-Hao's spare sword that Zhi-Hao gave him during the initial attack against Ti Lao, and returns it.
Wei Han, with a great feat of strength, wrenches the gate open, which cuts down on the archers' advantage quite a lot.
"Now tear their arms off!" -Cai Wen
A big fight starts - there is a set of mooks (foot soldiers of the Hidden Hand), and four named guys (Enforcers of the Hidden Hand), including a fighter, a leader, a healer, and a water sorcerer. There is much chopping, and everyone is very valiant; some highlights follow.

Cai Wen shows off his exploding walking stick, declaring in an ominous voice that "there will be no survivors." The water mage summons poisonous gas out of the pool of water, making the teleportation room somewhat dangerous. Yoshi notes that the Enforcers are motivated by wanting to be promoted to Fists of the Hidden Hand.

Squeaky the ferret squishes some small unseen thing - Cai Wen examines the area, and there is a nest of cave rats there, and Squeaky seems to have squished a spider near them. Hmm.

Wei Han and the Hidden Hand fighter take turns grabbing each other and throwing each other into the poison gas. Master Zhou shackles the leader with the Shackles of Silence, cutting down on his ability to give people orders. Anto manages to pull Wei Han out of the gas, but then the fighter finishes pummeling him into unconsciousness - and then brandishes his body, declaring himself invincible.
However, while the fighter is doing not so badly, most of the mooks have fallen, as has the water mage. Yoshi calls upon the leader to surrender, declaring that the Hidden Hand will not treat them as well as Yoshi will, given that they have failed. (His plan is to use Kibo to eat their criminal tendencies). The leader surrenders, as do the other two.

The rest of the cave is fairly limited - there is a storage room, and another room in which Shen-Ji and Min Feng are, both unconscious and difficult to wake. Yue-Mei thinks that they are poisoned, not just injured, and should be taken back to the Butterfly Kingdom quickly.

The entrance to the cave leads to what looks like the coast of the Arcade, with an entrance which is likely impassible at high tide. In the storage room is the equipment taken off the initial group, plus two boxes of opium, 20 li, and a copy which has been made of the Hunter's Map (as it appeared to be a map to a treasure somewhere in the Butterfly Kingdom). This narrows down the location of the cave as the southern coast near the border with the Illuminated Precincts. The named League bad guys also have some loot, which is confiscated:

Staff of Healing : 1/scene, you may use a healing shtick on the same person twice. (This does not give you the ability to use the shtick more than you already can, it just lets it stack).
Bracers of Blunting Steel: Provides one levels of Blunt against metal blades only. Puncturable Potion Pouch: A reusable pouch that you can put a potion in, turning it into a thrown projectile that affects the target.
Coded Notes: A little black book in some sort of code. Cai Wen thinks that it's a Ledger, that you really need a Bookkeeper to get full value from.
Parrot Feather Amulet: 1/run, screams before the wearer is attacked (including in a surprise round)

The Hidden Hand guys note that the two prisoners who seemed dangerous (the sorcerer and the spy) got given "poisonous truth serum", and also say that the teleport return is easy to fix - just put the other half column back.

The group fixes the water gate, and heads back through to the Butterfly Kingdom. They draw the "mystic sigil of negation" through the water gate on the Butterfly side, closing it once more, and head back to the city. Yoshi instructs Kibo to try to nibble away the criminal tendencies of the leader; the healer will wait until puttering. Those who are injured can arrange to get healed by the Court's healers, and the prisoners are turned over to the court for justice.

Lady in Red

As they return to the city, a young page runs up, looking for Cai Wen. He's wanted at the Court of Distinction! Everyone else trails after Cai Wen, as this seems likely to be Plot and they are led to a room where a number of artists are painting/sculpting/etc a woman in a red dress. She crooks her finger at Cai Wen.

"Shh! You are late!"
"My regrets." -Cai Wen
"I think you've missed twenty percent of the plot already." "My friends were in danger, it couldn't be helped." "Did you talk your friends out of danger then?" "Not so much, but I provided moral support."

The artists are not happy that she's talking to someone and moving her pose, but she frowns at them and they subside. The woman tells Cai Wen that they're nearly done here, so he can wait for her if he likes - she directs a page to arrange for a private room, which is immediately provided. Hiro, on the lookout for other possibilities, notes that Yue-Mei is a "babe", though she is quite eclipsed by the woman in red.

The party retires to the private room, and Cai Wen briefs the group on the competition for the new Master of Perfected Distinction. Everyone else is more curious about the woman in red.

"Who is she?" -Kasumi
"She's the model for this particular phase of the competition." -Cai Wen "No, but how does she know you?"
"No clue. This sort of thing does happen sometimes."

Discussing background rumors, Yue-Mei tells Hiro that there's currently a bit of a fuss, in that one of the artists, one of the non-locals, is said to be planning to leave town after he wins - not stay on at the Court of Distinction - and that's getting a lot of people quite riled up.
The woman in red finally joins the party in the private waiting room, as the session has ended for the day, and Cai Wen introduces the various party members.
"Ah, Master Zhou of Bear Mountain, I have heard of. You (inclining her head towards Anto) I am not yet supposed to talk to."
Most people look puzzled, but Master Zhou looks rather spooked.
"It is an honor to meet you." -Master Zhou "Yes, it is."
Cai Wen asks if he might have the honor of her name - Master Zhou flinches, but she says that they can call her Sakushi. Hiro says that he would be delighted to hear Sakushi's opinions on the various artists and contests. She looks to Cai Wen, whose lead she is taking (for unclear reasons), but then says that there are three themes left to go - art from life (depicting her), and the best previous work, are both completed.
The artists (in part from a briefing from Sakushi, in part from some Gather Information rolls later) are:
Ren Nitu, a sculptor in clay from the Hon'eth Arcade. He's said to be quite well-todo, and he's said to be the one that plans to leave if he wins (and is sure he will win). Juran, once a monk of the Spiral Path, a painter in watercolors of blossoms. Chi Xiangya, an ivory carver.
Uchihira Shoni, a master of origami.
Katsuo Narina, silk painter and arranger. She's somewhat young.
Myeon Kyu, a wood carver originally from the Forest of Chin. He's said to be very versatile.
Yoshi wonders why Sakushi does what she does, and is briefly dazzled as he stares; people are handing him water and drinks by the time he comes back to himself.
Master Zhou speculates that something about the competition is being planned to weaken the country's connection with the Butterfly, though it is not clear yet how. Interrupting, Sakushi asks a question:

"When you have these little strategy meetings, do you like to save the combats for after, or do you like them during?" -Sakushi
"Well, we are all here now, so we might as well have the fight." -Master Zhou

Suddenly, a pack of cats runs into the room, clawing and biting; the party engages with them, and everyone is hurt a bit. Yue-Mei (even while being protected by Hiro) takes more damage than the others, and Sakushi takes none.

"Were you holding back all the cats, or did you detect the spider?" -Yoshi "If I didn't notice the spider, I wouldn't have bothered to hold back the cats." Sakushi

Sakushi says that she has every confidence that Cai Wen will figure out what's up with the spider, and so doesn't explain. At the party's request, she agrees to hold the animal attacks off until later, so as to not interfere with the competition or the artists. She says she can arrange the timing.

"It seems likely that she's the Great Butterfly Spirit taken human form." -Master Zhou
"That must be why she's so perfect." -Yoshi
"Wait, why is this anyone's theory?" -Hiro

Anto looks in his book about spirits, and notes that Great Spirits do occasionally show up in human form, usually when they want to have children. When they do so, they are under more limitations than in their normal guise, and Anto thinks that the way to know for sure would be to make a deal with her where her telling the truth was her side of the deal.

Meanwhile, the rest of the group contemplates the list of artists. Ren Nitu is the one who is annoying people - does that mean he's the bad guy? He's awfully obvious, if he is. Some more behind-the-scenes manipulation seems likely.

Zhi-Hao, distracted by the other plot, goes off in search of the "head spymaster" of the Butterfly Kingdom, but doesn't actually know who that is. He does manage to check in with the royal guards - they don't know anything about a plague of animal attacks - not that they doubt Zhi-Hao saying there have been some, but they certainly haven't been common.

The group decides that the next step is to go and observe the art and the artists - maybe the Forces of the Spider are planning to replace the art with some other, subtly different art that is... bad, somehow? They head back to the studio.
"This area is not open to the public at this time." -guard "It's all right, I'm not the public. I'm Zhu Cai Wen."
They're let in, but instructed to not talk to anyone, just watch quietly. Wei Han does his best to memorize the art in case it changes when he's not looking, and Hiro notes that the ivory statuette of Sakushi makes her look rather elfin, with large eyes and pointed ears. Yoshi looks at the artists for their motivation, and notes that Ren Nitu wants to "crush his enemies and take their loots back home"; Katsuo Narina is quite insecure; Uchira Shoni is rather airy and not paying a lot of attention to anything but his work; and the rest really want to win and be proclaimed the best.

The group returns to the private room, and confers with Sakushi. Are there receptions or parties that the artists can be found at? There are dinners - VIPs tend to be invited to them, and many of the artists attend. Sakushi declares that she will take Cai Wen to the party would he like to sit with the Queen, or down with the artists? She snaps her fingers, and a page procures invitations for the dinner, to sit down amongst with the artists.

While they wait for the dinner, people question Yue-Mei about why the animals (or spiders biting them) seem to particularly have it in for her. Sakushi drops a couple of hints about acts of sacrifice, until Yue-Mei remembers that time she was running around with Merit and Min Feng, and got stuck with a silver needle instead of Kuan-Xi. Ahah! That... well, it doesn't really explain it, but it explains something. Everyone asks Kuan-Xi why she might be causing Yue-Mei to be hunted by animals. She really doesn't know either.

"Does that remind you of anything?" -Cai Wen "Not really..." -Kuan-Xi
"Answer the man's question, dear." -Sakushi "It's probably because of my secret society..." -Kuan-Xi

Wei Han goes back to the art room and kills all the hapless spiders up in the corners, and Master Zhou examines the ivory carving. Hmm, maybe those are fox ears? There is a sudden panic - is this part of a plan to turn the Butterfly Kingdom into the Fox Kingdom by editing the art? Is the Hon'eth Arcade the Fox's country? (No, that's the Jade Taiga, Cai Wen points out.) Oh, wait, maybe Sakushi isn't actually the Great Butterfly Spirit after all. Okay, that makes some more sense.

Meeting the Artists

Then, it is time for the dinner party. Cai Wen alternates with others double-teaming the artists to chat them up. Ren Nitu comes under a lot of suspicion for being someone's agent, but he doesn't show any obvious signs of that. He's not sure why everyone knows about his plan to leave - he hadn't announced that or anything, and he's a little cross that it's leaked. With brutal self-confidence, he claims that the Butterfly Kingdom has to face the fact that the tide of art has turned, and the Hon'eth Arcade is now pre-eminent - and that's what he plans to demonstrate.

Yoshi chimes in when the time comes to talk to Juran - he's related to Takanata, who Juran greatly admires for his narrow focus in watercolor and poetry. Of all the artists, he seems to have the least ego invested in his work, but he does have trouble when he has to try and depict something unrelated to flowers. He had to draw "some woman" today, and put some red flowers around her.
"A beautiful woman is like a flower herself, wouldn't you say?" -Yoshi "Why couldn't you have said that before?" -Juran
Then, they talk to Chi Xiangya. She says she has no problem focusing on things - that seems to be her virtue, in that it allows her to create in ivory very precise and perceptive representations of that which she depicts. But ivory is very slow to work in, compared to paint or clay, so she is very tired. Master Zhou asks her what she saw today - she says "a beautiful woman, strongly touched by the essence of the Fox, trying to bend the world to her will around her." She has to bend the ivory to that same essence to truly represent it. Yoshi follows up - does she find the form within the element, or in the world itself? He has heard that for artists, they find the form hidden within the material, and have to bring it out. She doesn't agree with that - the form being depicted is in the world, and it must be impressed upon the material.

What does she see when she looks at the other artists with her insight? She has not done much of that, except to Nitu, that arrogant boor. She finds it surprising that he became so skilled - usually the scions of the very rich don't put that much effort into becoming excellent. People wonder when his artistic career really took off - within the last year, she thinks. He's quite lucky, she thinks, to be blessed with so much money and talent.

People try to get the artists who are here to critique the other artists. Uchihara Shoni is not considered to be serious enough. Katsuo Narina is better than she thinks she is, but doesn't have enough confidence to win. Myeon Kyu is probably the one to beat - he's very good at just about every subject. Since the competitions are kept a surprise, his versatility is dangerous. Everyone except Nitu thinks that Kyu is the one most likely to win. The judges are all in seclusion, both to make sure they judge based just on the work, and to make it easier to keep their contests secret.

During the mingling section of the party, people chat with Ti Jun as well, and tell him about the odd animal attacks. He says that the guards had mentioned a plague of animal attacks, but he didn't believe it, as they seemed to be the only ones that thought that. The party clarifies - it's just animals attacking near Yue-Mei. He nods to Yue-Mei unenthusiastically, and she nods to him formally. Everything thinks that's fascinating, and Hiro pulls Ti Jun aside later to ask what's up between him and Yue-Mei. He says he doesn't dislike her, he certainly understands what it's like to be in the shadow of your great father, but she is so annoyingly earnest about it. Yue-Mei, on the other hand, when asked about Ti Jun, says she imagines that someday he will learn his place.

Sneaking About in the Night, Tromping Around in the Day

That night, people try to decide where to guard. Wei Han wants to be inside the room with the art in it, but the guards posted outside are unwilling to let him in. He goes to talk to Ti Jun - remember the Great Treasures? - and Ti Jun tries to arrange it with the Queen, but Ti Wren only posts some of Ti Jun's guards inside and says that she won't stop Wei Han from being outside. Kasumi decides to sneak into the wing of the palace to watch Myeon Kyu (on the theory that they're the highest seeded artist who nobody knows anything about yet).

As it turns out, Myeon Kyu doesn't do anything interesting during the night, but Kasumi does spot someone who slips into the artist's wing wearing a cloak and hood, and who taps on the door of Shoni's room. Kasumi sneaks up to the door in time to hear the tail end of a conversation - "you do what you want. I'm just saying - here you go." The hooded guy gives Shoni a piece of paper, and then slips back out of the room, followed by Kasumi again. The hooded guy heads back through the palace to another wing, where he goes around an area with an honor guard and finds an unguarded side passage, into what appears to be the judges' quarters. Kasumi follows him long enough to see him take off his cloak, so she can identify him now, before she leaves.

Also that evening, Sakushi makes a stab at recruiting Hiro to the side of the Fox, claiming that Hiro could be doing much better for himself. Hiro finds it odd that Great Spirits keep trying to poach him, but says he's happy as he is.
"A tengu? Really?" -Sakushi
Cai Wen and Wei Han contemplate possible plans - maybe the thing to do is to put it about that he's investigating, and then see who looks nervous.
Master Zhou spars with Yue-Mei, and learns that she honors her father and is devoted to him, but she is learning to not trust him, and this is the source of a great conflict in her. Plus, there is the whole issue of being a Tiger who is learning a very Butterfly kung fu, which is its own conflict.

In the morning, the next topic is announced by Her Majesty: a meditation upon the sea. The thing which the suspicious eyes of the party notice is that Shoni does not appear quite as surprised as the others (and is well stocked with blue paper). Xiangya thinks that she will carve a white whale; Kyu suggests going down to the sea for inspiration, and in his walk on the beach, finds a perfect piece of driftwood to use.

The artists split up to work, followed by the party. Kasumi and Master Zhou follow Kyu; Yoshi follows Narina; Anto follows Xiangya; Cai Wen and Wei Han follow Juran, and Hiro follows Nitu.

Nitu gets some clay from the shore, adds it to his clay, and begins to work. Juran paints a flower drifting over the sea, but isn't very inspired. Xiangya does in fact start carving a white whale. Shoni starts his blue paper creation, Kyu starts to carve his driftwood, and Narina fusses with her silks. Nobody appears to be doing anything crazy or evil especially not while watched.

Narani does, however, vent a bit to Yoshi. She doesn't know what she's doing here - she doesn't have the right stuff to be a great artist. She has a good eye, but she doesn't have the soul.
"When you began making it, did you expect it to be a success?" -Yoshi "Sigh. No, you're right." -Narani
Unable to take this any longer, he soliloquizes to her inspiringly, and she starts working more enthusiastically.
That afternoon, Cai Wen searches out the betting pool. Nitu started out as the odds-on favorite, but he's dropped a bit when the rumor came out about his leaving, and everyone else started trying extra-hard to beat him. Shoni is doing a bit better than his preliminary odds might have suggested. Narina is something of a dark horse candidate - she's young, and not expected to win, but has the potential to pull off something amazing.

The party asks if Sakushi can ensure that the other three artists come to dinner tonight. Oh, certainly, she can do that - and when she invites them to dinner, they all accept. People then ask Sakushi if she knows anything about the Great Whale Spirit. She is amused man, do they speculate! Why do they think there was a Great Whale Spirit? The answer turns out to be "Because they think the Spider has taken the Dragon's place," which really doesn't answer the question at all, but she finds it intriguing nonetheless.
Sakushi says that she expects that Cai Wen can trick her into answering three yes/no questions.
Was there ever a Great Whale Spirit?
Yes. (She adds that it is very tricky of Cai Wen to ask that while Wei Han was out of the room.)

Do the other non-Spider spirits think they understand the Spider's plan?
Yeah, it's pretty straightforward.
Do all the other Cycle spirits oppose the Spider's plan?
No. Some of them are waiting to see, some of them are bound to not interfere... it depends.
Since she gave away a little more, she says they should give away a little more and asks what is Hiro's weak point? Hana, the group agrees. Sakushi thinks that's interesting - she pgpg g
wishes she had known that back when Hana belonged to her. Wei Han asks Sakushi if they should be concentrating on the artists or the art, but she's already been "tricked" out of her three questions. She notes that she hasn't seen Wei Han in a long time - he's coming back from a boring phase, it looks like. They chat for a bit about that, and how sometimes he dramatically leads armies across the plains, and other such things more to her liking.

Then, it's time for dinner again where the party can check up on today's results (at least in the minds of the onlookers). The commentators are impressed by Narina's work this time she seems to have found her stride. Again, Kyu and Shoni were quite good; Nitu's wasn't quite as good as the previous couple.

Deciding it's time to get something rolling, Cai Wen starts telling people that he's Figured It All Out. He knows what's up, and he's going to blow the whole thing wide open tomorrow morning. Hopefully, someone will attack him, thus revealing the bad guys' hands. Hiro tries to convince Narina she's great, adding to Yoshi's confidence-building.

Master Zhou wanders around the city, looking for a black horse with a white fetlock. At the best inn in town, he hears that there was a horse like that, but it left a few days ago. Zhou summons Cai Wen and the others, and Cai Wen spreads some bribes around gathering information to find out who the horse's owner (someone named Yasumasa Saigo) talked to. Apparently, one of the judges for the Court of Distinction is traditionally chosen from the common folk, and by amazing coincidence, this person was picked from this very inn and Saigo was his drinking buddy. Additionally, Saigo was the source of the rumor that Ren Nitu would be leaving town after winning.

Midnight Rendezvous

That night, Kasumi watches the secret exit from the judges' quarters, though not sufficiently stealthily. The door opens, and then shuts again - and then after a little while, some guards come by, searching the hallway for intruders. Apparently, someone heard someone sneaking around, but by this time, Kasumi is better hidden and the guards don't spot her. Eventually, the guards leave and the mysterious guy sneaks out again, heading to the inn where Cai Wen is staying. Everyone else is hidden around, ready to pounce as soon as the guy gives them an opportunity.

The cloaked guy raps on Cai Wen's door. Cai Wen opens the door, and declares that the jig is truly up! All the fighters converge on the guy, and push him into the room - which was where he wanted to go anyway.

"I assure you, this was all entirely unnecessary. We're reasonable men. You are well known as a man with prospects. But it occurs to me that you're only in li. How many tael is it going to take to make this whole business go away?" "I regret to say that there just aren't enough." -Cai Wen

The guy says his employer was quite generous - is Cai Wen sure? There is surely enough to go around. Yoshi declares that there are some things that are more important than money!
"We seem to have two options. One, we make this go away. Two, you spend tomorrow exposing the great Butterfly art competition for the sham it is."
"I'm sure they have something in place for if one of the judges dies of natural causes." -Wei Han
That rattles the guy a bit - he wasn't really expecting to be threatened with murder. Master Zhou contemplates the non-violent possibility inherent in the Second Way (a Fox kung fu style he has been learning). The important thing is to have one of the local Butterfly artists win, but without cheating or scandal.

Cai Wen suggests to the judge that he recuse himself from further voting, as well as refrain from further interference, and they won't kill him. He says that could be an acceptable bargain providing the party also does not expose him so he can escape. Sakushi notes quietly that she can make such deals binding if the party wishes to bargain.
The agreement settled upon is:
The bent judge will recuse himself from further voting, will in no way interfere the rest of the competition, and will take no action to besmirch the reputation of the competition. Oh, and he should tell them what other cheating he has done previously.
The party won't take any action against him and will not say anything about the matter to anyone. Oh, and even if they by some fluke lose the competition, they just eat the loss, i.e. they still don't say anything to anyone.[1]

He agrees and tell the party that the cheating he has done so far is: he told Shoni about the next contest being the sea; he arranged to have Xiangya's best work freed from the museum where it was; and he convinced Narina that she couldn't win without cheating, but he hadn't yet convinced her to cheat.
Then, he takes his leave.
End of the Competition

In the morning, Cai Wen... blows open that the League of the Hidden Hand was smuggling opium. Six months or so ago. It's not a very exciting revelation, but given that Cai Wen can't actually disclose any of the actual plot, it will do. People around the court are unimpressed.

The party confers with Sakushi as to what they can do without it counting as "cheating." Guilting Shoni about cheating is probably okay; inspiring people is okay; trying to crush people's artistic ability so they make bad art is probably not okay.

The day's competition is "A tiny sliver of perfection from the Garden of Harmonious Contemplation." The group swings into action! Wei Han talks to Juran about the night the Gardens of Harmonious Contemplation got really weird - but he's the flower artist, and these are gardens, so he's really pretty strongly in his element here. Yoshi talks to Narina again to inspire her, and then he and Hiro stage a conversation about honor and respect, tinged with a lot of Yoshi's "be good" skill, in front of Shoni.
"His origami is spoiled by the drips of tears." -Mike
The next day's competition is "Something of the Butterfly Kingdom, captured in art". Cai Wen, with Yoshi and Hiro's help, starts to talk to Juran, trying to encourage him to broaden his vision, but Cai Wen begins to suspect that this would push him from being a perfect artist in a narrow art, to being a good artist in a broader art, and decides to not push him that extra bit.

Would convincing Ti Jun to model for silk clothes for Narina be cheating? If they pull the strings to get him to do so, probably. Narina doesn't seem to need any more inspiration, after the talks that Yoshi has been giving her, so things seem about as good as they're going to get.
"Does that mean it's time for animal attacks?" -Sakushi
"Could we have ten minutes? We should fortify!" -Hiro
Animals charge, but with everyone behind tactical fortifications that have been hastily put together, they are not too hard ... at first.
"Tell me... what is your elephant mitigation plan?" -Mike
Wei Han throws Yue-Mei on top of the elephant, causing it some confusion, and then Kasumi leaps to the top of a nearby building and yoinks her to the top as well with her rope. That proves to thwart the elephant sufficiently that the elephant handlers from the circus can rein it in and take it back to the circus, which is good, because nobody wanted to have to kill one of the circus's elephants.

Sakushi says that since Yue-Mei took this curse as a sacrifice, Sakushi can't just clear it away - but she can move it to someone else. Hiro volunteers - you can't just leave the girl in peril like that! (Sakushi makes one last shot at recruiting Hiro - switch teams, and she'll find someone else to take the curse instead. But no, Hiro says he makes a better Monkey anyway.) So the deal is done, and Sakushi says that Hiro is now cursed to suffer frequent animal attacks instead. Yue-Mei is very appreciative.
Back at the Court of Distinction, the horns sound, and the judges announce their decision: Katsuo Narina is declared the new Master of Perfected Distinction. Hooray!
Sakushi, when pressed, clarifies that the Spider's plan was never about having the foreigners win - it was about having the locals win by cheating.
"Do we think there's another separate step to rename the Dragon Empire?" "You don't think that yet - but you will." -Sakushi
Puttering

Yoshi goes shopping, accompanied by Lijuan and Hiro.
Yoshi talks to the Hidden Hand prisoners.
Cai Wen and Sakushi hang out; Yoshi makes them Dangerous Kitsune Udon, and she gives Yoshi a ribbon.
Takanata and Master Zhou bring Master Kwan and Sensei Shien together to try to sort Yoshi out. They come up with a sort of walking meditation for him to do. Merit arranges to send a number of additional forms through the Imperial bureaucracy as a result of the artists' competition.
Anto and Kuan-Xi wander around together.
Merit takes Long Yue-Mei out for tea.
Takanata and Min Feng visit Yue-Mei.
Cai Wen gets into a bar brawl defending Sakushi's honor.
Wei Han visits the Hidden Hand prisoners.
1. The GMs forgot to mention this at the time, but the traditional Butterfly-enforced exception of "except to the rest of the party" applies here.
Retrieved from "http://boojum.scripts.mit.edu/Dragon/index.php?title=Truth_and_Beauty" Category: Book Two Logs This page was last modified on 16 July 2010, at 14:26.
Phoenix Hearth

From Dragon

"The fire you kindle for your enemy often burns yourself more than him."

The run begins on the Day of the Early Serpent in the month of the Bear in the third Year of the Spider since the crowning of Ti Lao.
The run takes place on the way to, and in, the Shrouded Isle. Previous Run Next Run
Contents

1 Small Errands
2 Sea Horse, Sea Serpent
3 Secret Society
4 Hot Springs
5 Secrets of the Phoenix
6 Further Investigations
7 Tea with the Bandits
8 Shrouded Citadel
9 Puttering

Small Errands

People wander about the Butterfly Kingdom, somewhat reveling in the lack of a Mission to be running. Shen-Ji takes the opportunity to visit Zhi-Hao's venerable father, and while talking with the learned elder, finds that his phoenix egg is preparing to hatch. Unfortunately, phoenix eggs require extreme heat to hatch, well beyond that generated by a simple forge; heat such as that found in a volcano.
Elsewhere, as one of the judges for the Court of Distinction's competition, Takanata is presented with a small collection of artistic trinkets by the competitors: a clay figure of a woman riding a horse, a phoenix painted in orange, a tiny watercolor of a cherry blossom drifting in mist, a folded paper flower (each petal a different color), a tiny sitar player carved in ivory, and a wooden netsuke of an octopus. He has been too busy to draw any prophetic art of his own, so he will have to make do with this.

Hiro does some experiments in being attacked by animals - when he wanders around as himself, then animals tend to attack him first, and others only as spillover. When he is dressed as Hana, then the animals show up as expected but are briefly confused and don't target him specifically, so maybe that's helpful if Hiro is disguised as Hana around fighters.

Li Merit tries to remember what he can recall about whale spirits - they are said to hold grudges, and have long memories. This is one reason that people don't hunt whales. As for dragon spirits, the prevailing theory is that they went away when the dragons died out.

Kuan-Xi reminds folks that she thinks heading to the Shrouded Isle is a good idea, for various reasons. Shen-Ji notes that he also needs to head there, so his phoenix egg can hatch. And Hiro thinks Hana is around there somewhere, and would like to look for her. So there are a number of reasons to head that way, if someone can find a ship to run the blockade. Merit goes looking for an "honest smuggler" to take them, and finds someone who is willing to do so, in exchange (after several rounds of negotiation) for guaranteed passage past the blockade both there and back.

Merit (with some chipping in from Wei Han and Min Feng) buys a barrel of 18 li worth of fancy meat, as his best guess is that the blockade will cause prices for that to have gone up quite a bit on the Shrouded Isle. Then, the ship heads out towards the Shrouded Isle.

Sea Horse, Sea Serpent

After a few days' travel, people are beginning to get kind of bored, when the sharper-eyed people notice sharks cruising alongside the boat. The sharks seem to prefer the side of the boat that Hiro is on. Hmm. Shuyan climbs into the sails to look around, and notes an ominous-looking cloud, when one of the crew's lookouts shouts "incoming!" Something large seems to be descending from the cloud - a flying horse? No, actually, it appears to be a falling horse. A horse and rider plummet into the ocean nearby, leading everyone to leap to the conclusion that it is the Spy Formerly Known As Machan Li, since he's the only person with a particularly notable horse.

At hearing that there is a horse in the water, the captain looks worried, and calls battle stations. Min Feng asks if that means the Kraken is coming, but the captain is too busy to answer. However, soon enough, tentacles start coiling over the side trying to grab people. The ship's crew does its best to raise sails and get away, while the party shoots and chops at various tentacles.

"Look, I saved you, Kuan-Xi!" -Min Feng, disguised as Hiro, after shooting the tentacle near Kuan-Xi
"Note that I don't actually mack on other people's girls!" -Hiro

For some reason, the tentacles are avoiding the area where the drowning horse and rider are, but a shark bumps up against the person in the water. (As everyone knows, sharks bump you several times, for dramatic tension, before eating you). Wei Han shoots one of the sharks - that takes it out, but the blood in the water summons two more sharks.
"They're kind of like aquatic turbs." -Mike
Wei Han throws a rope to the drowning person, but they appear to be in no condition to grab it. Takanata leaps into the ocean, swimming towards the person and grabbing the rope. Hiro cuts his arm with an arrow, and shoots it into the water, hoping to convince the sharks that their personal target is over there - that does distract a few of the sharks, but putting more blood in the water also summons another.

Takanata grabs the drowning person - who is discovered to be Chochiro, though Takanata hasn't met her himself - and the rope, and Wei Han starts pulling it in. One of the tentacles manages to grab a sailor, but Hiro shoots the tentacle, dropping the sailor in the water near the sharks. Chochiro comes to her senses as Takanata drags her to the rope, but flinches away from Wei Han's outstretched hand as he pulls it in.
"Don't touch me!" -Chochiro "GET IN THE BOAT!" -Wei Han
Wei Han notes that she seems scared for him, not of him, which is odd. Hiro continues to wave at the sharks, distracting them from the sailor in the water, and then the kraken's head surfaces, eating Chochiro's horse and one of the sharks.

The kraken tries to eat Wei Han and Merit, though Wei Han does a good job of blocking it. Another tentacle grabs the sailor, but is shot before it can pull him under. Merit tosses a hunk of bloody elephant meat in the water, attracting sharks away from the sailor, as Hiro pulls him aboard with a rope.
"Roll for fives, but don't tell anyone!" -Kuan-Xi to Shen-Ji
With Kuan-Xi's buffing, Shen-Ji blasts the kraken with a mighty iron arrow attack, and it grumpily submerges again. Merit quickly puts some of the kraken's blood on the monocle, and looks through its eyes - he sees it swimming down into the depths, where it heads into a sunken cargo galley and darkness. Yanyu heads up from the hold to help heal people; between her and Shuyan, they are quickly patched up.
The immediate danger past, people turn to asking Chochiro exactly what happened.
"Why exactly were you plummeting from the sky?" -Wei Han
"You all told me I had to come back into the Empire without crossing the Wall... this is the Empire, right?" -Chochiro

She explains her current task, for those not familiar with the assigning of the Worst Quest Ever, and Takanata notes that the changing of the name of the Strand was probably related to the Coil. Chochiro perks up - he actually knows something about this? She will have to ask him many questions. However, everyone else thinks she hasn't really answered their questions - that is, she may have answered why, but not how. Chochiro says that she traveled around a little in the South, and then made a bad deal with Kubera who is apparently a spirit ("They call them gods.") of Wealth and the North down there. But, now she owes him a fair bit of money, which he just collects from her and anyone she touches; she thinks the technical term for this is "cursed".

"How much do you owe?" -Merit "I wasn't informed." -Chochiro "It was nice meeting you." -Merit
Takanata asks what she learned of the south - she didn't go very far, but she did discover that their spirits - which they call "gods" - don't like each other. Interesting.
Secret Society

The ship reaches the port of the Shrouded Isle without further incident, and people disembark. The captain says he will stick around for a few days, offloading his merchandise, so if the party is done by then, he's happy to arrange passage elsewhere, but he insists on getting the schedule for the passage back, in case they don't return. The mists are pervasive here, and most people wear white or greyish cloaks, concealing brighter clothes only underneath. The buildings are similar, with small windows and high walls, with only a hint of gardens and bright interiors.
Hiro contemplates where Hana is - she's sort of aroundish here somewhere, but also in a weird direction, and still surrounded by fire, though it's a darker fire (or maybe a darker place with fire) than before.
Then, Min Feng, Yanyu, and Kuan-Xi are met by three cloaked women, who turn out to be their three mentors; in the case of Min Feng and Yanyu, it is a surprise because they aren't normally on the Shrouded Isle. The three women need to head to the capital for personal business; everyone else thinks that's a fine plan as well. Merit can sell his barrel of exotic meats in the capital rather than here where the smuggler captain is unloading, and there are probably more sights to see there. Shen-Ji mentions the Hot Springs of Needful Blessings, as well, which he thinks people might enjoy.

At the capital, in the secret underground ritual chamber of the Song of the Phoenix, Min Feng is finally inducted into the House of Silence. Once she's officially a member of the Song of the Phoenix, the three are summoned to the central chamber to form the first Triad in over a hundred years. Why these three were chosen by the Phoenix is unclear to even the elders, but the thing is done. The three young women share secrets with each other, learn of each others character sheets, and survive the ordeal of flames. Once they are officially a triad, they are briefed on the greater plot and admonished never to tell anyone about it. At this time, a projection of the Great Butterfly spirit shows up and informs the Great Phoenix spirit that the newly formed triad is allowed to tell the rest of the party anything it chooses by virtue of prior agreements and obligations the Phoenix owes the Butterfly. The Phoenix spirit agrees, the elders are perturbed, and the three new triad members are relieved not to have to keep secrets from their comrades.

Hot Springs

Meanwhile, everyone else is heading up the mountain to visit the Hot Springs of Needful Blessings. Wei Han is not pleased by the warm and steamy atmosphere, and keeps accidentally wandering into volcanic fumes instead of steam, sending him into coughing fits. People dunk themselves in the hot springs - they take damage, but get a temporary bonus in a stat (except for Takanata, who replenishes his Tao). As the party is drying off again, some villagers head up to the springs, and cautiously greet the group. They take their own turn in the hot springs, and are pleased to find that it makes them not hungry, which is what they were hoping for. They decide that this is something they can suggest to most of the rest of the village, though not the kids or elders, as the damage is a problem. Merit and Shuyan help first-aid some of their damage, and the villagers are very grateful, and offer them what little hospitality they have. Merit suggests trading some of the party's travelling rations for the villagers' more junky food, and they're happy to do that too.

Everyone heads back to the village, with the party asking questions as they go. When the blockade went up, that started causing shortages - the Shrouded Isle imports a lot of its food. Plus, while some of the Dragon Army left when the blockade went up, some of them are still here, and have been taking taxes directly from the locals to support themselves, since they don't have mainland support at the moment (Wei Han thinks this is irregular, but not totally out of line). So the villages are being double-taxed, which is making things hard.

Plus, there have been bandit problems, which the stupid Dragon Army has been completely unable to help with. It's not like the bandits are very competent - they don't steal much, and when they threaten to burn things down, they burn down the wrong barn but the Dragon Army is even more incompetent, and can't do anything about it. The local soldiers are much better - wherever they're patrolling, the bandits are quelled, but wherever the Dragon Army patrols, the banditry just gets worse. The party frowns suspiciously - this sounds more like the Dragon soldiers are going rogue and pretending to be bandits.

As they head down the mountain again, Merit keeps an eye out for things that might be eaten, that wouldn't be recognized as such. He spots a few plants that have tubers which are generally poisonous, but he remembers a trick - if you boil them for four or more hours, then they're fine. He digs up a few of the roots, and points them out to the villagers, who are originally concerned - those are poisonous! - but are interested by the boiling theory. They quickly harvest a sackful before continuing.

The village is reasonably welcoming, though the party is concerned over many of them looking hungrier than usual for peasants. The boilable-roots are presented, and the villagers agree to experiment with them (especially if the party will try it first). It'll take a while for that all to be ready, so in the meantime, Shen-Ji suggests that everyone take a trip to the hottest nearby volcano. One of the locals is hired as a native guide, and when Wei Han wanders into some more volcanic fumes, the guide helps find some more soothing leaves to chew to fix the problem.

When they reach the volcano, everyone peers over the edge, and Shen-Ji looks for a good hot place to put the egg in. He spots a likely area, but it has another egg in it already. Hmm. After some more checking around, he finally picks a plausible spot, and heads down on his flying disk to place the egg to warm (after a quick check to make sure nothing will catch on fire, and borrowing Wei Han's boots to keep from getting his feet burnt). He notices, as he flies, several phoenixes perched under the lip of the volcano, watching him suspiciously. He doesn't mess with any of their eggs, though, and after several hours of volcanic heat, Shen-Ji's egg finally starts to hatch.

First a few chips are dislodged, and then as the shell breaks, it is consumed in a flash of heat and fire. Shen-Ji scoops up the little bird and puts it in his firebox, then heads back to the rim of the volcano, as it starts to peep more and more loudly. Happily, while Shen-Ji isn't really prepared for the question of what to feed a phoenix, Shuyan tends to carry mice and the like, in order to feed her snakes, so she gives him a mouse to cut into pieces for the baby phoenix. The guide nods to Shen-Ji: "Hotman."

Then, it's back to the village (where the villagers are also referring to Shen-Ji as "Hotman" now), and the Feast of Mashed Boiled Tuber. It's flavored with cinnamon, but that really only gets it to the level of cinnamon-flavored paste. However, it's not poisonous, and Shuyan does her best to look like it's the yummiest food she's ever tasted, convincing a number of kids to take their first bites.

After that, they head back to the capital (Wei Han suggests not travelling at night, still traumatized by the fumes, but Takanata can see no reason to stay in a scruffy little village when there are the hotels of the capital available, and overrules him). They rejoin the newly formed Triad, who brief everyone else on what the Phoenix told them.

Secrets of the Phoenix

Min Feng, Yanyu, and Kuan-Xi explain that the triad is technically outside of the authority of their normal Houses, so they can tell each other secrets, and due to the intercession of the Butterfly, they are able to share those secrets with the rest of the party (much to their secret groups' dismay). They cover the high points of their briefing:

The Phoenix was the spirit that replaced the Whale in the Cycle.
The Dragon formed the Cycle initially; some time later, the Phoenix went to the Dragon and asked to be admitted. The Dragon said no, but when the Phoenix asked a second time, the Dragon let her in, and she replaced the Whale.
In order to permanently replace another spirit, the new spirit has to go through a whole of their Great Cycle. (Merit notes that even if the Spider does win this time, this means that another plot could punt the Spider from the Cycle - though that would presumably have to wait for the next Great Cycle of the Spider, in another two thousand years or so. Probably not a plot for this group, in any event.) Because the Dragon broke the Cycle to allow the Phoenix in, that let other spirits break it without the Dragon's consent. So, at the beginning of the Third Great Cycle of the Dragon, the Spider replaced the Dragon. It is now the Cycle of the Spider at the end of the Great Cycle of the Dragon/Spider, so in another twelve years, the change will become permanent.
The Phoenix and the Spider made a number of inter-related agreements - the Phoenix would not attempt to thwart the Spider's plans, but in exchange, the Spider would not kill the Dragon. However, if someone (such as that triad, or the party) frees the Dragon, then the Phoenix would be free to act as well.
As part of fixing this whole problem, a necessary step will be to find the Great pg p yp

Talismans - at least of the Spider and the Dragon talismans, but the more the better, and all of thirteen relevant would be helpful.
One of the agreements between Phoenix and Spider permits the Phoenix to only form one Triad during the Great Cycle in contention - the Phoenix picked these three, but their Houses do not really understand why.
When the Phoenix replaced the Whale, the Whalesong Archipelago was renamed to the Phoenix Hearth; it is not clear to the servitors of the Phoenix why Spider is renaming all the countries. Perhaps that has to do with renaming the Dragon Empire to the Spider Empire?
The group as a whole is called the Song of the Phoenix - the three houses are Silence (Min Feng), Melody (Kuan-Xi), and Harmony (Yanyu).
The reason Kuan-Xi has white hair is that when she was young, she was caught on the slope of one of the volcanoes when it blew. A witness saw her consumed and covered by lava. She was presumably killed, but when people returned the next morning, they discovered her asleep on the slope of the mountain, apparently unharmed, but that her hair turned white. (Takanata notes that Kuan-Xi has an "interesting bloodline", though that may not be related to her hair.)

The party thinks some more about the Spider plan, and how the blockade ties in. Some soldiers encountered in the south thought that the blockade was originally meant as a prelude to invasion - if that's true, then maybe "kill all the people in the Song of the Phoenix group" is the Spider's third backup plan?

So, how many Talisman locations are known yet? Takanata notes that the Spider Talisman is in the Hidden City, under the control of the Marked. The Magpie Talisman is in the Hon'eth Arcade, not guarded by the Royal House; Merit has been looking into where it might be. Min Feng says that the Phoenix Talisman doubles your health, and she knows where it is, but she was told if she tried to steal it before the Dragon is freed, the Song would be required to smite her. People wonder how much they wlll try to smite her maybe they were just saying that?

As far as freeing the Dragon goes, that will definitely mean going into the World Above. Takanata notes that Anto is (probably) the Wu Xing, who can take people physically into the World Above, or bring spirits physically from the World Above, so people will be able to use their full abilities, not a limited set the way they can when they spiritwalk.

Further Investigations

In other subjects, Min Feng asks where/what the Shrouded Citadel is, and what the Smoked Glass is. Kuan-Xi says that's where the Firelord lives, and the Smoked Glass is his secret seeing chamber. Min Feng notes that the party might be able to get a vision from the Smoked Glass. Kuan-Xi is surprised by this - she doesn't normally expect other people to be permitted to use it.

Wei Han mentions that he would like to look into the problem with bandits, as he is concerned that the Dragon Army soldiers have gone rogue and are doing banditing themselves, and he doesn't really want to talk to the garrison to start with, because then he would have to explain how he got here.

Min Feng briefs the House of Silence about the Marked and the relation of the Marked to the blockade. She notes that they can probably smuggle out a bunch of people in the Song of the Phoenix if they want to disperse elsewhere in the Empire. They say they'll think about that.

Merit sells his barrel of meat - he gets 26 li for it in the market, but when he returns to the party, he finds that he only has 20. This appears to be due to Chochiro's curse, and Takanata thinks that it's Wei Han's money and a bit of Merit's money that vanished. Chochiro apologizes again - she didn't think it would keep working on someone who had no money when they touched her to start with! The party suggests that she should go find someone named Lucky Chang and shake his hand, though Takanata, who has already sent several people on dangerous quests, points out that doing so might have fatal consequences. Merit buys 16 li of spices (with his and Wei Han's money), and Min Feng buys 4 li of spices; they should be useful trade goods for elsewhere.

The group heads back to the village, to get more information about where the Dragon Army is patrolling and where the local soldiers are; with some asking around, it sounds like the army will be passing by reasonably soon, on the highway. They borrow a cart, head to the highway, and stage a broken wheel (with Hiro dressed as Hana and Min Feng dressed as Hiro, for extra bonus complication).

After a few hours, a troop of Dragon Army soldiers comes by. They offer some assistance, but Merit says they're all set to fix the wheel. The soldiers say that they should be fine, as they just cleared the area of bandits. Everyone looks very carefully at the faces of all the soldiers, so as to recognize them later if they show up in bandit costume. Then, the soldiers head off again.

Just as they head around a hill, someone says, loudly: "Did he say he cleared this area of bandits? The fools!" And, in fact, five bandits have appeared just behind the group, in dramatically threatening postures.
"You put your faith in the Dragon Army? Fools! Give us something of value and we'll let you be."
Rather than surrendering, or fighting, people try to engage the bandits in conversation, but they don't seem to be initially planning on chatting, except to the extent that they can mock Wei Han.

"Do you surrender?" -Bandit
"What do you take me for, a moron?" -Wei Han "He admits it! Hah!"

Losing his temper, Wei Han rushes up to grab the guy who is talking, but a moment later, he (Wei Han, not the leader) vanishes in a swirl of wind, only to reappear all the way around the hill with the group of Dragon soldiers. Shuyan shouts to them, trying to attract their attention, and Wei Han orders the soldiers to head towards the party at double time.
"Your friends in the Dragon Army cannot protect you!"
Takanata notes innocently that Wei Han is his only friend in the army, and he is not particularly counting on them to protect him. Hiro (as Hana) offers the bandits tea. As the Dragon Army soldiers run back in this direction, the bandit leader says he supposes they can have tea, but the group should join them at their place. Then, another swirl of wind circles around them, and they vanish.
Shen-Ji tries to figure out how this is going on - it's probably not straight sorcery, as "air" is not an element. Probably something more like witchcraft, as there are certainly air spirits.
Tea with the Bandits

Once the army patrol has left again, a hot wind begins to blow across the road, and the group starts to follow it, (Wei Han makes sure he looks more like an ex-soldier than a soldier at this point), trying to figure out what's going on. It does seem clear that the bandits are not the same people as the Dragon Army, and they seem to care more about mocking the soldiers than actually stealing things. Merit also notes that the bandits have likely been stealing zhu from the local peasants, and there is no way that people this powerful are still in zhu (unless they want to be).

"What are your orders regarding them, sir?" -Wei Han
"If I want you to start punching them again, I will let you know. We are on an intelligence gathering mission." -Takanata

After following the hot wind for a while, the group reaches a caldera - it's not much of a volcano, but it does have one pool of lava, and another of hot mud. On a stretch of cooler ground, there is a table set with tea things, looking quite demure.
"If I were going to be a bandit, this is the kind of bandit I'd be." -Hiro
Hiro starts pouring the tea, and with a swirl of wind, the bandits appear.
"Greetings! We were going to have tea, and discuss why you should pay tribute for placing your faith in those who cannot protect you!"
"Aren't you going to introduce yourselves?"
"<whisper whisper> Um... you are in the lair of the bandits of the Double Caldera!"
"Seriously? You just made that up, right?" -Takanata
"...well, yes."

Shuyan points out a few of their artistic mis-steps, critiquing their costumes, colors, and so on, from an entertainer's point of view. They protest that the colors are not negotiable, but seem a little interested in the rest. As it turns out, their colors signify the sources of their power - light, dark, air/water, fire, and life. Yanyu, who is a very good listener, manages to get them to keep talking - there are five spirits who they have bonded with, who are helping them in their quest against the Dragon Army.

The others protest - they do seem to be oppressing the villagers, not the army. The bandits counter-protest - they are really not oppressing the villagers very hard. Nevertheless, none of the party seems to think banditry is the right method here, and everyone leaps into the argument to try to convince them to give it up.
"They can stop the oppression by bringing in the local militia." -Bandit leader "You mean, guys with hoes?" -Hiro
Maybe there is something else that they could be doing? Maybe they could defeat a talking fish, which would make it a mad plan, though it's not clear how this would serve their goals. Or, have Hiro visit the village again, and wait until animals attack the townsfolk, and then the bandits could defeat them? Still, what they really want is to have people get fed up with the army, not prove themselves heroes in their own right, so it's complicated. Nevertheless, nobody thinks "being bandits" is the right thing to be doing.
The conversation wanders a bit - Hiro surrenders to the bandits, so that the Light bandit will analyze his curse.
"You have given your blood to your enemy - the curse can be broken if you remove the blood."
Oh, wait, Chochiro is cursed too! By invading Southerners! Can they look at that?
"Southerners are inavding, and the Dragon Army is wasting its time here?" -Bandit leader
"Yes, that's why we're willing to give you ideas."

To Takanata's "Eyes of the I Ching", two spirits appear to show up - one looks at Chochiro, and the second glares at the first. The Light bandit complains that that was not right - now both he and Chochiro are cursed. Happily, this curse is easier to get rid of they only need 21 more li. The bandit leader rolls his eyes, sighs, and touches Chochiro, noting that they'll get it back from the Dragon Army later. 21 li vanish from the bandit coffers and the money curse from all of the party members and Chochiro is removed.

The party and the bandits brainstorm a bit more. Rumor has it that the King has sent missives to the Shrouded Isle regent in the Hidden City, and he will resolve the issues behind the blockade. However, neither the bandits or the party really have a lot of confidence in that being true. Hey, why do the spirits care about the Dragon Army anyway? The spirits don't, these five guys care. Could they use wind and water to capsize the ships? Not very well - the ships aren't on the Shrouded Isle, where the spirits are based. Will they be able to fend off an invasion if one comes? Probably not all by themselves!
"We're only five, and we work best together." -Blue "No we don't." -Light and Dark, simultaneously.
Merit suggests that they turn their talents to adjusting the weather patterns, helping the local crops grow, teaching the peasants to fight to resist invaders... that sort of thing. They're not very enthusiastic about this - couldn't they do something more... proactive? Like stealing from the Dragon Army to give to the peasants instead? Wei Han nixes that - then the army will just take more. They kind of like the idea of being heroes to the people, but really, only one of them is any good at plants.
The party points out that there will be zombies coming from the north soon enough, and the army will have to pull back to deal with that. Well, that's promising, they suppose.
At some point, the bandits realize they never did get their tribute - Takanata says he will pay them tribute, and reads the I Ching for them.
There is one I Ching among the five of them - if one of them falls, they all will. They are a hammer in search of a nail. While their true nail is yet to come, they would be best served if you could find them a different nail to practice on. Takanata explains that to them, glossing over the "practice nail" part a bit, and then paints them a watercolor of the group of them in heroic poses.

Hiro says that his sister is here (in fact, who looks exactly like him, since he's in disguise), communing with the Phoenix, and will probably appear somewhere on the Shrouded Isle if she appears here, could they help her get a message to House Tokai on the Isle of Butterflies? They agree to do this if they see her.

As no one can come up with a better "nail" (the blockade is the big problem right now), that's about it for the conversation, and the group heads back to the capital. The bandits tell them that if the party returns to the double caldera, the five will know someone is here and come to a meeting, in case someone wants to get in touch with them again.

Shrouded Citadel

Kuan-Xi gives the party a quick precis of the local politics - there are three great noble families (Kobayashi, Minoru, and Suzuki) on the Shrouded Isle. The Fire Lord is always from one of the houses, but when he chooses an heir, it must always be from a different house. The Fire Lord is from Kobayashi (though now that he is Fire Lord, he is technically not of that house any longer), and, um, er, Kuan-Xi's house is Suzuki. Politics is her mother's game, not hers though. Everyone looks excited about this, and Min Feng suggests they go see Kuan-Xi's mother. Kuan-Xi looks agonized and says no, please, no, can they not? Ah, does her mother not know about her being part of the House of Melody?
"We are in the midst of... certain disagreements." -Kuan-Xi
So... Min Feng explains that she has a shell that Cai Wen gave her, acquired at an odd party in the Strand. He claimed that if she broke the shell, she would be entitled to a vision from the Smoked Glass. That doesn't seem very plausible to anyone - maybe they need to figure out an excuse to get into the Smoked Glass room first, and then break it? But what sort of excuse would they have? Could they tell the King the gossip about the Dragon Army invading? Is he unlikely to know what's up with the Dragon Army?

Eventually, Takanata does a Crossroads reading to see whether Min Feng is more likely to get a vision if she breaks the shell before or after going to the Shrouded Citadel and the answer is "before". Well, okay. She breaks the shell. Yanyu gives Takanata a makeover, so his charisma is temporarily doubled, in addition to the status doubling effect of the Butterfly Talisman, and he escorts Min Feng to the Citadel, where he introduces himself and says that his granddaughter is on a quest in service of the Phoenix spirit, and has been granted the boon of a viewing in the Smoked Glass. The guards at the Citadel find this very unlikely, but lo, she is in fact listed in the book of those owed visions in the Smoked Glass.
"That's just creepy." -Merit
The two are shown into the Citadel, and Takanata is provided with a comfortable room in which to wait; servants will bring him food and tea as needed. They tell him that it will be some time before Min Feng returns. Then, they tell Min Feng to think about what she wishes to see, and then, when she is prepared, she can go through the doors. It will hurt less, they advise, if she keeps her breathing shallow.

Min Feng contemplates questions like "How do we free the Dragon?" but as she and Takanata confer, the servants clarify that she should wish to see a person, place, or a thing not an answer to a question, or a solution to a problem. Maybe she could see the Eighth Marked - but then she'll probably come out, having forgotten what she saw. In the end, she decides to seek a vision of the Talisman of the Fox.

The room itself is filled with smoke and stinging volcanic gases, and the glass itself is warm from the heat behind it. Eventually Min Feng's eyes clear, and she sees in the glass, a strikingly beautiful woman, sitting at a dressing table, putting her hair up and polishing the talisman. Min Feng tries to study her (for later location), but is unable to beat the woman's status. In the glass, a man comes in and kisses the woman's cheek; she finishes dressing, tucks the talisman into her robes, and leaves the room. Six or seven hours later, the servants bring Min Feng out again, as she begins to wake up - as she is carried, she overhears two of the attendants whispering to each other - how did she get on the list? Maybe her family performed some service for the Fire Lord. Anyhow, they should make a note for the record, but they aren't sure why she wanted to see the Pearl of the Taiga.

In the meantime, while he waits, Takanata talks with the servants, and they ask him about blockade coping strategies (as a Butterfly Kingdom resident). He also asks after fashion, artists in service to the court, and the like, gently teasing out their opinions on various goings-on. The servants are fairly annoyed by the blockade, but not as hungry as the villagers, and they do think that the King is resolving the matter.

The party gathers together to confer one last time - do they have any last ideas for things to tell the five bandits to do? Should they wait for puttering for someone with better ideas? Takanata thinks he can probably arrange an audience with the Fire Lord, but nobody actually wants to talk to him.
The best idea anyone has at present is to send the bandits on a quest similar to Chochiro's, to try to find out why their country is less connected to the Phoenix. They won't want to go cross the wall, but with spirit companions, maybe they'll learn something.

"Are we overlooking that they are taking food from the peasants?" -Wei Han "Yes, and we are also overlooking that the army is taking food from the peasants." Hiro

The party heads back up to the Double Caldera, and the bandits arrive shortly thereafter. Merit tells them about the renaming of the Shrouded Isle, and suggests that they look into that. They (as expected) find that somewhat implausible, but on communing with their spirits, note that Merit does have a point. The spirits prove a little unwilling to totally brief the bandits but the bandits eventually find out that there is a great enemy that they have to do battle with, but that they can't actually battle him until the party frees their hand to act. Details on this enemy are... very sketchy, but they will look into it.

Apparently, the spirits won't tell them any more about the enemy, or how the party will free them to act, but the spirits also claim that they don't have to, because the party already knows. The bandits are not pleased by this, but will try and figure out something.

The party takes their leave, and heads down to the capital, arguing over whether the next plan involves a ritual to find Mola Ram, or taking Hiro north of the wall, or some other mad idea.

Puttering

Xiao Fa visits the Temple of the White Feather (Selfless Path).
Shuyan, Hiro, Anto, Yoshi, and Master Zhou go to the Double Caldera to introduce people to the bandits.
Shen-Ji goes to visit the bandits of the Double Caldera, separately.
Retrieved from "http://boojum.scripts.mit.edu/Dragon/index.php?title=Phoenix_Hearth" Category: Book Two Logs
This page was last modified on 21 October 2010, at 20:25.
A River Befouled

From Dragon

"Any dead fish can flow down the river but it takes a live one to swim back up stream."

The run begins on the Day of the Late Crane in the month of the Bear in the the third Year of the Spider since the
crowning of Ti Lao.

The run takes place between the Butterfly Kingdom and the Forest of Chin.
Previous Run Next Run
Contents

1 Back to the Butterfly Kingdom
2 Enlightened Melina
3 City of Ninjas
4 To the Pearl River
5 Puttering

Back to the Butterfly Kingdom

People finish up their business on the Shrouded Isle, and look for the captain that Merit hired to run the blockade last time. He's willing to take them back again (though he makes a perfunctory attempt to charge the group again for passage, which Takanata does not fall for). Chochiro asks if she could have a ride back to - well, anywhere will do, as she's already done a favor for the Phoenix. Lijuan buys some shrimp at the docks, for feeding to the Great Very Large Whale Spirit along the way - she calls out "Here, whale whale whale" and tosses it into the ocean. When the shrimp sinks and is not seen again, she counts that a success - the Whale Spirit must have eaten it! Meanwhile, Cai Wen spends some time checking out Chochiro, but after a careful consideration, he decides she's probably not a babe.
Takanata writes a poem - but it is only half of a page, with the other half torn away. That doesn't seem good.
Redemption blooms as an opening flower But bears a single seed alone
He thinks the "redemption" in question is Yoshi-related rather than Xiao Fa-related, in this case.
Chochiro interrogates Takanata about the Coil, in preparation for her explanation to the Prince. Then, Xiao Fa chats with Chochiro about her "affliction" - she protests that the southern money god's curse was removed and he's perfectly safe now. Xiao Fa clarifies he's talking about her Aspect, or lack thereof. She shrugs and says that she supposes she is not of enough importance to be touched by a Cycle Spirit. Xiao Fa asks about her quest, and how she ended up on it? She describes to him the geas laid on her by her home villages traveling wise woman to do a favor for each o the great spirits of the cycle. Xiao Fa says he is also on a... somewhat non-specific quest. The party shows her their copy of the Cartogramancer's Map for more information about country name changes, but warns her that it's a secret.

Then, after a voyage unmarred by hostile ships, large whale spirits or kraken, the Butterfly Kingdom's shores are spotted! Xiao Fa insists on a bath for Lijuan before returning to court, though the ship is not much for hot water. Xiao Fa is unmoved by Lijuan's squeaks.
(Once ashore, Hiro declares that he is heading to cross the North Wall for Midwinter, and Wei Han, looking unhappy, follows to keep him out of too much trouble.)
Once word spreads that the group has returned, messengers quickly arrive on the docks. One message summons Kasumi to a particular room in the palace, at a particular time. Another message is for Yoshi, letting him know that one of the prisoners wishes to talk to him. Finally, there is a message for Takanata from the Enlightened Melina, saying that she will not be available until this evening.

Yoshi heads off on his errand first - the healer he has been talking to has a favor to ask. The dungeon guards ask Yoshi to keep it quiet that they let the prisoner send a message that sort of thing isn't supposed to happen, but the prisoner was very persuasive and has been helping some of the guards out with minor injuries. The healer says that he has been... thinking about the things that Yoshi has said, and - well, remember how he said he was trained by the Hidden Hand since he was young? He has a student of his own, who he wants to get out of the tong life now. Can Yoshi get him out of what he realizes now is not going to be a very good life for him? Yoshi says he'll do what he can. The boy, named Gong Halu, would be found at a sick house run by the Hidden Hand, in the Port of Auspicious Voyage. The first floor actually is a sick house; the basement is where the healers are trained, the second floor has enforcers on it, and the third floor and above, the healer doesn't know. He writes Yoshi a signed note to give to Little Gong, which basically says "trust this guy and do what he says."

Takanata reports to the Butterfly Court about the current state of the Shrouded Isle behind the blockade. (He figures Merit will do a better job and fill in the details later, but he's here).

Kasumi sneaks into the assigned room, about half an hour before the assigned time. After a while, several guards come in, and search, but don't find Kasumi. Then, the King comes in, and shoos the guard away. He sits down before the fire, looking through some papers, and remarks quietly to himself that it's hard to know what to do when people don't report back to you... Kasumi waits for him to acknowledge her, because surely he knows she is there, but he doesn't, and finally, she decloaks.
"You summoned me, Your Highness, er, your Majesty?"
Shattering Kasumi's illusions, Ti Lao appears to be slightly startled by her appearance. Then, he says something that sounds as if he has carefully chosen each word, noting that he appreciates the efforts of Kasumi and her friends on his behalf. However, while it is not his policy to interfere in the world in certain ways, he believes that it would be appropriate if he knew what it was that she was doing, when she acted in his name.

Put on the spot, Kasumi tries to remember exactly what it is she has been doing. Well, there was the mess with the Court of Distinction. And she helped rescue Min Feng from the Hidden Hand, but that was in the Hon'eth Arcade.

"And... I have no idea why we went to the Shrouded Isle. I'm sure there was a good reason." -Kasumi
"That sets my mind at ease." -Ti Lao

Kasumi also points out that they're working on the whole "thing about renaming the countries that you told us to do before you forgot," but doesn't really have more details there. Ti Lao continues:

"We would ask that if you find ways to use your training, you find a way to inform us of the result." "All I'm hearing is blah blah court ninja blah blah (http://www.google.com/images?
q=what%20dogs%20hear) , and nothing else is going in." -Meg

Then, after the King says some more things that she doesn't really listen to, Kasumi is dismissed, and runs off to find Lijuan to enthuse to.
"I'm the court ninja for real now! I think!" -Kasumi
Xiao Fa briefs Master Kwan about what Xiao Fa has been up to, especially the Bandits of the Double Caldera. Master Kwan warns Xiao Fa against getting too entangled with spirits, especially spirits with agendas, which these seem to be. Yoshi asks Shien about healers, especially magical-ish ones. She notes that often, Chi masters like Master Kwan and Master Long will do healing, and there are physicians and other doctors, and there are alchemists who create healing potions, but there aren't many great masters of mystical healing only in the Butterfly Kingdom. There are several possibilities in the City of Light, and another in Nine Terraces that she can recommend.
Crayon portrait of
Grandmother Shien
Lijuan, reveling in her new crayon skill, draws a crayon drawing for Grandmother Shien. (Takanata still will not let her have the Elemental Crayon, though.)
Enlightened Melina

That evening, Takanata and the others head to the circus winter camp. A circus hand is standing outside Melina's tent, and tells them that she is waiting for them. Inside, she has set up a large table with a crystal globe in the center. Takanata explains what he wants her to see (the future of the conflict with Mola Ram and his planned ritual with the Pearl River
- and where he will be when, and also warns her that there may be some opposition. She says she will be careful, but nevertheless, when she starts to chant about tearing aside the veil of the future, she stops, screams, and then faints. Yoshi catches her.
"Xiao Fa! Kree!" -Brian
Xiao Fa thinks that she did manage to block much of the feedback, but still got smacked by a part of it. She comes around quickly, though, with Xiao Fa's help. Before the large prophecy, she has a few minor things to tell people about:

Yoshi - Nine Terraces, not the City of Light. Cai Wen - Ayuki
Xiao Fa - The red vials, not the blue ones. Takanata - Check your pocket.
For the rest, she must write it down.
Melina's flowchart
Melina also has locations of where Mola Ram will be - close to the junction with the Jasmine to capture the spirit, and much farther north towards the head of the river, to do the Midwinter ritual. People examine the details. Hmm, there's a bit about "Hana is reborn"
- is she off getting reborn right now, with the Phoenix? People aren't sure. It looks like there are two options to pursue right now - one, to prevent the river spirit from being captured at all, or the second, to disrupt the ritual once it is captured. Zhi-Hao notes that, assuming Hiro gets north of the wall, the second option allows for two disruptions (Water and Yang), whereas the first option only creates a Water imbalance. However, Yoshi and Anto are keen on saving river spirits, even at a tactical cost. Plus, it seems likely that there will be other options to make the ritual Yang-imbalanced in the future.

Takanata does check his pocket, and finds the other half of his poetry:
The strike which wounds requires more finesse than the strike which slays. Imbalance is a dance with no partner.

Cai Wen, wondering if Ayuki has come to visit the Butterfly Kingdom, asks around about ninjas. However, the only gossip he can turn up is that His Majesty had some sort of scandalous meeting with a ninja, although it's not a highly regarded rumor. Probably false.

Well, Yoshi wants to go to rescue Little Gong from the Port of Auspicious Voyage, and that's the obvious first step towards the Pearl River, as well. And, that's closer to where Ayuki normally is. Off the group goes!

City of Ninjas
Cai Wen spends the voyage writing up pamphlets:
Notice for all
NINJA
of the presence of ZHU CAI WEN ONE DAY ONLY
Lijuan hires some urchins to hand them out.
"This is so that we need a sick house, isn't it?" -Yoshi
As Takanata finds an inn, Ayuki drops in on Kasumi and thanks her for bringing her dreamy friend (Cai-Wen) back. Kasumi rolls her eyes, but the pair spend some time catching up. Then Ayuki convinces Kasumi to go set her up with Cai-Wen...

Two ninja drop down on either side Cai Wen, but one says "ta-daa", so nobody gets chopped. Cai Wen exclaims delightedly that it's been months since he saw Ayuki, and she's happy to see him too. Kasumi rolls her eyes - she's sure Ayuki could do better than to be one of Cai Wen's "molls in every port". Ayuki does mention that there's a betting pool among the other ninja in her school now, and Kasumi puts ten zhu on Cai Wen surviving.

Lijuan asks the local urchins what they know about the healing house. They warn her don't go there! If you go there, you end up owing a favor to the tong and you have to do stuff like stand on street corners when they want you to and whistle when soldiers walk by. Zhi-Hao gets a slightly more precise description - since it's a Hidden Hand house, going there for treatment makes you temporarily a tong member, until your debt is paid. Kasumi sneaks in and looks around - she can't get higher than the enforcer floor with her stealth. The bottom floor does look like a school, but the kids stay there all the time living in a back room. The only thing that comes in and out in large quantities is probably the laundry.

Cai Wen sends Squeaky in to take a look at the top two floors, watching through his eyes with the magic monocle. It looks like the top floors deal with opium - there's a clothesline arrangement to another building across the alley, in order to get it in and out. There's a table with pouches, laid out in a grid - Squeaky takes a pouch, and happily brings it back to Cai Wen. Xiao Fa identifies the contents as uncut pure opium - about a day's worth of trade for the city, before it's cut. He takes a tiny sample for making painkillers with, later.
Well, it seems likely that Squeaky's theft is going to be noticed pretty soon. Could they blame one of the enforcers? Ring the bell on the sick house and try to return the pouch?
"Neighborhood Watch, I believe this is yours..."
There's the "reusable exploding potion pouch" that came from the water mage - maybe using the whole little brick of opium would turn it into something like a knockout grenade. Well, that's a cool idea. Anto thinks that that's a good tactical plan, but an important step is to know which kid Little Gong is, before going in. Kasumi heads back in to try and find that out, but she's the only one with any throwing skill, so it's not like the plan can start without her.
"So... when you come back here and throw the opium, that'll be the signal." -Anto
After Kasumi listens for a while, she overhears that Little Gong says that his brother, Big Gong, was murdered by enemies of the Hand, so he got taken in then. Kasumi writes "When the excitement happens, hide in the supply cabinet", on the back of the note from Little Gong's master, and plants it on the kid silently. Then she comes back out and reports, describing Little Gong well enough that everyone can recognize him. Time for the opium-grenade throw! Kasumi tries tying her magical thread to it, so they can get the pouch back later with a nice tug. Sadly, her knot-tying skills aren't so great, so it's not clear how secure it will be.

"Someone find me an open window?" -Kasumi "There's one!" -Brian, pointing
"Yeah, fine." -Mike

Then, through the window it goes! Xiao Fa counts off the time that he expects the opium to take effect, and then they run at the door to the sick house. One of the guards gets chopped - another manages to sound an alarm, but nobody upstairs seems to be responding to it. The two ninjas and Cai Wen sneak in and then decloak in the supply closet in the basement, and watch. The few enforcers who are still up fight the party, but are whittled down. The healer-students do their best to heal them, as well as run about in panic. Little Gong discovers the ninja and Cai Wen in the supply closet, and is astonished!
"It is okay, little Gong. Your master has sent us - it is time for you to complete your education elsewhere. " -Cai Wen
Kasumi starts messing up the room to make it harder later to find anything, and Cai Wen starts ransacking the supply closet, picking up red vials (and not blue ones). Then, more ninja (dressed like Hidden Hand enforcers) decloak to attack Cai Wen. He anti-lucks one of them, barely manages to dodge the initial attack.

Most of the party's fighters make it down the stairs to the basement, fending off the enforcers. Takanata starts peeking in rooms on the first floor - it's a sick house, as expected. There are people lying on cots, and someone shouting out a window for help. Xiao Fa heals Anto for 18 points - the little healers watch in awe.
As the place is full of little kids, Lijuan and Yoshi start throwing persuasion around.
"Yoshi has come to redeem you! Run for the streets!" -Lijuan
"Kids, the hidden hand is not what you think! They keep you in here so you can't see the truth of what they're doing to this city. Run and decide for yourself!" -Yoshi
Some of the kids are persuaded, and others find it tactically plausible:
"I see why the master wanted to get me out of here. We're getting sacked." -Little Gong
A ninja gives Kasumi an action to team up with him against Cai Wen, but she uses it to attack him instead. Whoops.
"Get us out of here! Master Deng and his ninja have come for us!" -Little Gong
Xiao Fa notes that the shticks the little-kid healers are using is somewhat dangerous, leaving them tired afterwards. A ninja fails to chop Cai Wen, but brings the rest of the colored vials crashing down, so there's no more looting the supply cabinet for him. Ayuki finishes taking out most of the other ninja, and the last standing ninja flees. Takanata loots the sick-house's office, finding seven successes of paperwork.

Then, there's the sound of a larger number of reinforcements showing up, and the party decides it's time to retreat, as they have the kid they came for. Lijuan does her best to hook up some the junior healers they've talked into fleeing with street kids, so if they want to stay hidden, they can.
As the party gets ready to head out, Cai Wen passes out more pamphlets:
Notice for all
NINJA
your gallant efforts are saluted by
ZHU CAI WEN who assures you I SHALL RETURN

Yoshi talks to Gong - no, it's not another Hidden Hand base he's being taken to. But Xiao Fa is a very good healer and might deign to teach him something. They'll bring him to the City of Spires, and then arrange to have him sent to the healer in Nine Terraces.

To the Pearl River

The group (including Ayuki, who is interested by the idea of a field trip to thwart a ritual) heads south to the City of Light - while there, Takanata sends a note to Commander Sun with the ritual locations, and then the group convinces Stoneback Cho to come along, as he has a grudge against Mola Ram for paying him in fake tael. Anto notes that the spirit of the Pearl River was said to have been a favorite with the Dragon Emperors, but it's not clear if that helps any. Then, they head upriver to the City of Spires, which also goes without incident.

Can Stoneback Cho give any instructions on how to destroy the cage? Well, he didn't build it with a self-destruct function or anything. It has a bunch of pillars; each pillar will take about twenty-five successes to destroy, and destroying half the pillars will break the cage permanently. Wow, that's a serious cage.

The group wrests the "motorboat engine" away from the sleeping Li Merit, and borrows a small boat in the City of Spires to install it on. Cai Wen and the two ninja sneak up the bank towards the ritual site, while the boat heads in at high speed. This area of the river seems to be very unpleasant-smelling, full of stinky brownish gunk and floating bits. Well, that's no good, whatever it is. Anto tries to talk to the Pearl River, telling it "People are doing bad things, but we're on it. Don't go there." He realizes that he would want the river spirit's name to really be sure she could hear him.

On the river bank, Mola Ram stands at the top of a large boulder. Guys are taking carts of manure to the water's edge, and dumping them in the water. Other people are standing on top of the cage, near the door, which is halfway open. A goon in the water is calling out to the water spirit by name, asking for help with the nasty stuff in the river. Anto tries to remember the whole name of the spirit while he's hearing it, but it's long and he doesn't catch all of it.

The boat heads in to the bank, just where the cage door opens. Takanata turns on Eyes of the I Ching, and notes that Mola Ram has a connection to the carts, and also to the stone hill he's on. The water is somehow powering the earth (the hill) and the wood (the carts). And, the spirit of the river is just coming up the river now onto the map, very angry.
"Yoshinosuke, if you could close the door, the spirit might not be able to get in the cage." -Takanata
Anto tries to jump to the top of the hill at Mola Ram, but the hill is very hard to climb (it takes a full move to go up a hex), and he ends up at the bottom instead. Cai Wen manages to memorize the spirit's name. Takanata suggests that Stoneback Cho create a wall of earth by the manure carts to prevent them from getting to the river.

"I try to push the cage closed with the boat." -Yoshi "Make an Int roll with Sailing." -Mike
"I have.. Aquatics, and KS: Piracy."

Yoshi does manage to push the cage door closed, but then one of the manure carts flies through the air and lands on the boat, sinking it. (Another cart goes for Kasumi, but she leaps out of the way.)
Takanata realizes that from the river spirit's point of view, the cage is not there. There's just the unpleasant manure showing up, which is a problem she'd want to deal with.
One of Mola Ram's guys gets the gate to the cage opened a little ways. Mola Ram hits Kasumi with a cart that she doesn't dodge. Lijuan pushes the chains meant to lock the door closed, into the river, and Anto grabs the cage door with his kusarigama, hoping to keep it closed. Stoneback Cho puts up a pillar from the bottom of the river, so the door can't open by more than one hex.

Takanata contemplates a Crossroads - can they better keep the spirit from advancing, by keeping her name from being called, or by keeping the manure from dumping into the river? The latter. Cai Wen takes a moment to write down the name of the spirit so he doesn't forget it, and Mola Ram drops another cartload of manure on Zhi-Hao. Ho goes down defending Yoshi from cultists. Zhi-Hao gets to the top of the hill, and starts chopping Mola Ram.
As the sun begins to move past noon, one hex to the east of the hill grows a deep, dark shadow.
Cai Wen puts his hand in the river, and tries to convince the river spirit that she must not enter the trap - allow them to defend her! He hears a voice in his head: "Put them in the water."
"New Plan - kill everyone now, we'll get more bait (manure carts) later!" -Mola Ram
Mola Ram, who has been having very poor luck flinging manure carts at Zhi-Hao, finally does 45 damage (through resistance) to Zhi-Hao with his last cart. Then, he tries to grab Zhi-Hao's heart, but misses due to a lucky dodge. The party is looking pretty shaky, though. Xiao Fa spends three karma to heal all of Zhi-Hao, Yoshi, and Anto at the same time, but moments after that, Takanata falls. Mola Ram, meanwhile, is healed some every time one of his guys falls, and is healed a bunch by any of his guys who kills himself.

"Take fifteen hit points." -Mike, to Anto "Easy come, easy go." -Anto
"No! Not easy come!" -Xiao Fa
Bad guys start getting pushed in the water, at which point they sink without a trace, but the ones not near the edge are still doing a lot of damage.
"Goodbye, Yoshi!" -Lijuan
"No, I'm okay - everyone near me went in the water!" -Yoshi "No, that's not what I meant." -Lijuan, making her death check
"Whose fault is this? I think we get to blame Wei Whose fault is this? I think we get to blame Wei Han!" -Lijuan
Cai Wen lights a fountain firework, which clears away some of Mola Ram's shadow. Anto and Kasumi fall to Mola Ram's cultists, as does Stoneback Cho.

In any reasonable time, the sun going moving towards setting would make the shadow of the rock grow. Instead, the shadow gets darker, except for the two hexes next to the firework. Cai Wen, encouraged, lights another firework. Mola Ram looks annoyed by this.

Though it's still touch and go whether Mola Ram's group or the party will finish falling down first, Mola Ram decides that his escape route is in danger of closing. He shouts to his guys to fight until death, or Kali will devour their souls, and then leaps into the last remaining shadow.
Crayon portrait of Zhi-Hao battling Mola Ram
Xiao Fa goes down, but Cai Wen treats him with one of the red potions. Then, Xiao Fa wakes up Kasumi, who first aids Lijuan. The last of the cultists takes Kasumi down, just as, at the end of the third turn, Commander Sun and the Dragon Army arrive.

The Army captures the last cultist standing, first-aids all the party, and confiscates all the stuff as evidence (including the Icon of Aquatic Motion, much to everyone's dismay. They will have to file forms to get that returned.) The soldiers look ready to haul away the cage (to give it to the Imperial Alchemist for study), but Takanata manages, with Yoshi's help, to convince them that the cage must be destroyed instead. As the pillars are smashed, Takanata notes that the spirit's name has been written on the cage - maybe that has something to do with why she couldn't see it.

Puttering

Cai Wen goes to visit the House of the Hidden Orchid.
Anto, Xiao Fa, Cai Wen, Yoshi, and Yanyu go to talk to the Pearl River spirit. Shortly thereafter, Anto, in avatar mode
(http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa202/KylieGurl17/Avatar/melding.jpg) , storms into the Dragon Army camp and drains all the water out of the Southron prisoner.
Yoshi heads north to Tranquil Endurance to check on the Secret Swords. Yoshi visits the dojo of Masters Hwa / Fu / Kangjon to check up on Broken Sword. Yoshi visits the clinic of Yaozhi Radiance, a healing master in Nine Terraces. He brings Little Gong.
Yoshi and Lijuan visit Tara Shien again.
Wei Han and Hiro head south to the Port of Propitious Voyage.
Cai Wen visits Crazy Feng in the northern Tanzhe, and gets a mission: he, Li Merit, and Min Feng arrange to make a bunch of the Savanna soldiers very sick. Cai Wen and Master Zhou visit Master Tanuma of the Second Way. Master Zhou visits Elder Danyu.
Master Zhou and Cai Wen visit the spire of Li Kao.
Cai Wen, Merit, and Takanata talk to Commander Sun to get the outboard motor back.
Retrieved from "http://boojum.scripts.mit.edu/Dragon/index.php?title=A_River_Befouled" Category: Book Two Logs
This page was last modified on 16 July 2010, at 14:25.
Compass Rose

From Dragon

"I know not how to tell thee who I am. My name, dear saint, is hateful to myself, because it is an enemy to thee."

The run begins on the Day of the Late Tiger in the Month of the Dog, in the eleventh Year of the Spider since the Third Treaty of Houses.

The run takes place mostly in the Harbor of Fortunate
Arrival, in the Hon'eth Arcade.
Previous Run Next Run
Contents

1 On the Road
2 Harbor Gates
3 Not Ruling Out Anything
4 Kidnapped?
5 House of the Black Spot
6 Autumn Rose
7 Bandits
8 Puttering

On the Road

Wei Han makes plans to head south from the Port of Propitious Voyage, which he and Hiro have been visiting after their trip across the North Wall. A caravan for the House of Enticing Vintage offers to hire him temporarily as a guard for the caravan, heading to the Harbor of Fortunate Arrival. It seems that checkpoints around the Port are much more strict than they were previously and the caravan leader would really like a Dragon Army guy around to help cut through all the extra checkpoints. Wei Han does indeed prove worthy in this area, as the Dragon Army officers who wish to search the caravan just let it through on Wei Han's say so.

On the road, the caravan joins up with another smaller travelling party - one wagon and one white carriage, carrying a noblewoman from the Hidden City. Wei Han tries to find out from her guards who she is - they note that the majordomo of her estate called her "Rose" but they don't think that is her actual name.

Off at the other side of the empire, the rest of the party starts packing up, planning to head east to the coast and then north. Takanata puts together a bouquet of flowers while the others pack: two red flowers, two blue flowers, and four white roses.

As they camp for the night in the Forest of Chin, having tea, Hiro asks "How long is it going to take to get there?" Everyone finds that exceedingly suspicious, and begins to interrogate him about when he showed up and why he didn't tell them and who he is really. Okay, fine, the tengu admits, and wants to know which of them is actually Hiro - doesn't he travel with them? They tell him that Hiro isn't here at all - they're going to meet up with him later. He could come with them if he likes. The tengu finds this idea intriguing - but who would he be if he left the forest? He would want to be someone who commands great awe and respect! Various names are suggested and then discarded again - Ti Jun? The Obsidian Warlord? They settle on suggesting Hana. The tengu says he's going to go away and fetch Hana, and return in the morning. Before leaving he talks to Xian a bit and "puts a block on him" so that Xian's shticks won't burn out all of his Yin detecting the disguised tengu. Min Feng studies the tengu as it finally leaves.
Prophetic Flowers
Before heading to bed for the night, Master Zhou shows Takanata a brush stroke painting he has made of Master Jinghua teaching kung fu, and asks Takanata's advice on what it needs. Takanata studies it for a while, and approves of the sense of motion which the picture captures, but thinks that it needs some counterpoint - the student, or the opponent, or something.
In the morning, "Hana" shows up.
"Hana! You're back! How did you get back?" -Merit "The forms must be observed, I see." -Master Zhou
"Hana" spins a tale about being kidnapped by the Great Monkey Spirit - but you know, monkeys, sometimes they forget things, so you get a chance to escape, so she escaped, and now she's here. Some people mock the tengu, as Hana has not in fact been kidnapped by the Great Monkey Spirit.
"After a while, he begins to realize that he does not really command awe and respect." -Mike
It is a long road to walk, though the tengu is happy to continue embellishing his escape story as they go, but eventually the party reaches the Harbor of Fortunate Arrival.
Harbor Gates

The caravan arrives at the Harbor of Fortunate Arrival. Just as they arrive, the white carriage and her guards peel off, as the lady requires that she enter through the West gate instead of the North gate. The guards bid farewell to Wei Han and proceed on their way, while Wei Han and the caravan enter the city and proceed to the bazaar.

On the west side, the party arrives at the Harbor of Fortunate Arrival, and heads for the western gate to the city. Before them is a white carriage, and the guards snap to attention to salute it, before letting it in.

The city guards ask some questions of the party, like point of origin (Takanata says that he was born in the Butterfly Kingdom, and with his sixteen status, the guards can't give him too much of a hard time for being difficult) and purpose of the visit (meeting friends - and, also, trade, Merit adds in). The guards check people's luggage for contraband, but Min Feng has hidden all the interesting secret loot, and nothing suspicious is found.

One of Takanata's white flowers wilts, and everyone stares at it in alarm. Oh no! What happened? Why did the flower wilt? Takanata clarifies, with Interpret Omens - one of the parts of the prophecy has passed. An opportunity lost, perhaps? Maybe they should have tried to meet whoever was in the white carriage? The guards say that it was a high noble lady from the Hidden City, and someone mentioned an autumn rose. Hmm. Hana has flower arranging - does that mean the tengu "Hana" does too? They ask "Hana" if she knows what the wilted flower is. The tengu is fascinated by the idea that the I Ching has sent Takanata flowers, but confirms that the white flowers are autumn roses.
The group spots Wei Han, by his caravan, and waves. How did their trip go?
"I was travelling with Hiro. There were no substantial troubles."
Merit hands a money pouch to Wei Han, with his share of the profits from their spicesmuggling venture, and the caravan master nods knowingly at the exchange. Merit also meets one of his contacts; the Cane of Free Action returns (along with a knock-off), and Merit sends off the Bracers of Blunting Steel to be looked at. Finally, Merit also asks around the bazaar for news - the main item of gossip is that the House of Enticing Vintage sent a lot of its guard north to deal with a caravan, and while they were gone, the daughter of the heir was kidnapped. Wait, is this Liet? Didn't she fake her kidnapping once before already?

"Hana" goes off with Hiro, followed by Min Feng. While the pair of them quickly lose her, she does hear several young men in house livery from the House of Enticing Vintage and the House of Resplendent Decoration declaring terms to each other:

"I will meet you at dawn, for this terrible insult to our honor."
"We will not stand for your shenanigans any longer, and we will face you on the field to avenge this slight."
They seem oddly uninspired, though - maybe even rehearsed.
Merit finally realizes that Wei Han was guarding this mysterious "Rose" woman in the white coach, but Wei Han steadfastly refuses to have any opinion about her. In other plots, Merit has been trying to track down the location for the Great Amulet of the Magpie, and thinks it may be in the center of the mosaic in the Great Bazaar. However, Shen-Ji is pretty sure that there is no powerful magic items below the center of the mosaic. There are magic items for sale around the bazaar, in stalls, but that's not what Merit is looking for. He's sure that the chi of the area is such that it would be a good place for it. Takanata also admires the mosaic, and the chi of the area - artistically, it's the focal point of the bazaar, and a great tourist attraction (which is also good for the bazaar) and is part of what makes the Great Bazaar named, as opposed to being just some really big marketplace. But he doesn't think it's empowering the area mystically, as far as he can tell.
(Master Zhou decides at this point that Rose must be Cartogramancer's lover, based on totally unclear evidence).
Wei Han and Merit head off to look for what happened to the white carriage. They do find the two guards that traveled down with the carriage, who grouse a bit about having been fired in favor of a more serious bodyguard from the House of Gainful Protection. She did give them a nice bonus, but then she sent them packing, so it's more about the insult than anything else. Since a disgruntled ex-employee is the best source of information ever, Merit questions them further - she was very attractive, though not flirty with the guards, of course. She had very particular ideas about which routes to take. Interesting. Merit asks if she cast stones or did some other sort of divination as she went, but they didn't see anything like that. Oh, one odd thing was, she didn't want to know their names.
"Stay mooks!" -Master Zhou
Speaking of names, it was Yang Tsi-Ya that she hired as her new bodyguard. She's reputed to be quite good, and the lady requested her by name. At this point, Merit is convinced that the mysterious woman is trying to meet them - she arranged to travel with Wei Han, she hired Shen-Ji's sister, and so on.

Meanwhile, Xian and Shuyan have been wandering around the bazaar. As they head back to the party's baggage wagon, they spot some street kids looking through their things. Hey! Most of the kids run off, but Shuyan manages to catch one and wrap the poor kid up in snakes. Xian breaks him and gets him to spill their little plan. The local kids gang was apparently hired by an important lady to steal a map of some sort, but as Min Feng hid everything, they weren't able to find it. People grouse that a bunch of kids got hired to rob them. Surely, they're better than that.

Elsewhere, Min Feng asks around, trying to find out more about Liet going missing. Her house has sworn vengeance, of course. It sounds like Myo has also been missing for a day or two, though his house isn't making it as public.
Everyone gets back together to swap stories, and try and figure out how many of the plots are related. At least one of the plots seems very familiar.
"If they're doing that same thing, that's really annoying." -Xian
However, Xian and Shuyan are particularly keen to get everyone to get to the kids' secret lair before they escape, as they still have a kid prisoner.
"Wait, you have a guy wrapped up in a snake with you? Why didn't any of us notice him?"
The party heads off to the edge of the bazaar, where there's a little shack. There's scraps of this and that, and various things apparently dropped in a hurry, as if everyone has recently run off, but nothing of serious import. Takanata picks up a couple of rags, in case Ho shows up later without Lijuan and wants to do some tracking. Merit searches the place, and concludes that it's the flophouse of a bunch of homeless kids. Min Feng manages to find 7 zhu, which belong to Shuyan's prisoner. He says he works for Clips (the boss kid), and that a lady hired him, but he really doesn't seem to know more than this.

"These guys are a dead end." -Merit "A second flower wilts." -Mike
"Hey! I can un-give-up! This is the worst prophecy ever!" -Merit "You saying it was a dead end made it a dead end. So stop talking!" -Xian

Wei Han picks the kid up, who kicks and wiggles and shouts at Wei Han to not eat him. Wei Han makes a few intimidating faces at him, but in the end, decides he really doesn't know anything more, and lets him flee.

Not Ruling Out Anything
The group decides to head for the rich terraces, to see if the white carriage is anywhere to be found. Merit makes sure to stash the Hunter's Map in his secret pocket.
"She's going to be REALLY EASY TO FIND." -Xian, talking into the flowers
On the other hand, they're not entirely sure yet why they want to talk to her.
"Oh, maybe we only need to avoid her four times. In which case, I'm right again." Merit
Takanata declares that the woman is searching them out on behalf of the Cartogramancer but then realizes that that's false. Interesting. Master Zhou speculates that the white roses are a plot, and the red and blue flowers are a different plot - maybe that's "RedMyo and BlueLiet". So maybe they should investigate the kidnapping instead, on the theory that the mysterious lady has two white roses left to find them.

The group starts heading towards the House of Enticing Vintage, with Xian in the lead, based on the theory that he's already helped them out twice (in Alike in Dignity and Zen Sinker Tour). Xian spots a ninja (in disguise as a normal person) walking away from the house, and turns to follow him, not saying anything. Everyone else turns to follow Xian, very unclear on what's going on. Min Feng figures out who Xian is following, and manages to start following him herself, just as he turns a corner and loses Xian by climbing to the roof of the next building. Min Feng climbs up after him, then decides she had better keep the party in the loop, since nobody seems to have noticed that. She writes "Roof" on a note, and gives it to Tofu, sending him towards the others. Xian keeps walking, figuring that the ninja is watching him, and does a circuit around the block back to the House of Enticing Vintage; when they get back to the estate gates, it becomes clear that Min Feng is missing.

"She didn't say anything, and just walked away? Who would do that?" -Xian "Min Feng must still be following the ninja, because no more flowers have wilted." Merit

Tofu swaps the note with Wei Han's commission, which he doesn't notice. Then, swaps Wei Han's commission with Takanata's poem, and so on. Eventually, he takes the Shackles of Silence from Master Zhou, and swaps them for Merit's wrist knife, which results in Merit's rant being cut off mid-word, and people finally start to notice the substitutions, and Min Feng's note. (Tofu then returns to Min Feng and proudly presents her with a new spring-loaded wrist knife.
Master Zhou climbs onto a roof, and looks around for Min Feng - eventually, he spots her returning, as she has finished tracking the ninja to his lair.
Merit makes sure to declare to the flowers that they are not ruling out investigating the ninja at some later time, before the group heads back to the House of Enticing Vintage.
Kidnapped?

The group knocks at the Enticing Vintage estate, and the butler is sent to tell the masters of the house that Xian is here. Surprisingly (to the butler), they are quickly invited in. Does Xian have news for them? Er, no, he doesn't yet, but he would be happy to assist. Liet's uncle (the head of the house) explains that there has been a ransom demand, to pay 500 li, tomorrow at dawn at the Gorge of the Split Rock, outside of the city. The ransom demand arrived some few minutes before Xian did. Everyone notes that he sounds oddly unconvinced, as he explains about the kidnapping, and also oddly unconvinced as he mentions that there is a duel in the bazaar tomorrow - the duel was scheduled before they received the ransom note.
Xian nudges him into agreeing that, in fact, he is required by the honor of his house to... to defend the honor of the foolish girl who has quite probably just run off again.
"So... someone stupid kidnapped her?"
Master Zhou asks exactly what happened when Liet disappeared. She was doing her daily routine "with her usual despondency", but failed to appear for breakfast, and was found to be abducted from her bedroom. The window was open, and there were signs of a struggle, just like last time. Did they clean things up? No, they preserved the "crime scene".
"Now, let's see how crimey it is."
"Yes, let's."
So... why was Liet particularly despondent? She was unhappy about not living the adventurous outlaw life with Myo, apparently. Merit pokes around, and finds that she has a runaway kit packed, but still in her closet. And the signs of a struggle do appear to have been a kung fu battle, where a master fought a not-yet master. Wei Han notes, below the window, several sets of footprints in the garden - when they check, one set does appear deeper than the others, as if that one was carrying someone else.

Merit informs the head of house that Liet really was kidnapped. What, really? Really? Well, for the honor of their house, the people who took Liet will pay! This time, he actually sounds angry about it.

"Go! Find out what has happened!"
"We ask for nothing more!" -Merit
"A blue flower wilts." -Mike
"Wait! I didn't mean it!" -Merit
"Best art ever." -Takanata
"Just for the record, I hate everything about this." -Merit

There is a brief digression about flowers - maybe there are two different plots going on in the house? One is the kidnapping, and one is some other plot that the other flower indicates. Maybe the second plot has to do with the ninja - which they are not ruling out investigating at some point in the future.

The group heads to the House of Resplendent Decoration, and Shuyan and Master Zhou squabble along the way. Shuyan still thinks the Liet and Myo story is totally romantic, but Master Zhou doesn't think they're actually in love or anything, and doesn't really believe in romantic.

Again, Xian gets to be point man. They thank him for his help with Kinoze again, and Xian offers his assistance in this trying time. Like the previous house, they seem a little unimpressed by their trying time

"We have the situation under control, and will take what action is deserved." "I don't doubt that." -Xian
"Or maybe not!" -Merit
"Shh! Shh!" -Master Zhou

The House members are somewhat confused by the byplay. However, Xian convinces them to let them look at Myo's room. He doesn't have a runaway pack, but there is a lot of blood, and a knife, that has been covered over with a blanket. Evidence is that there was a swordfight, between a blademaster and a skilled blademan. The knife is not Myo's knife, according to his relatives. They are unenthusiastically declaring their vengeance against the House of Enticing Vintage. The party suggests that it might not have been them.
"Surely you don't think there is only one house which might mean you harm?" "Look, no, you were here last time, right?"
The party explains, once again, that this time the kidnapping seems to be legitimate. At the House of Enticing Vintage too.
"So... we're actually going to kill each other tomorrow at dawn.?"
Their house received a ransom note yesterday, telling them to bring 500 li to the Gorge of the Split Rock, tomorrow at sunset. Comparing the notes, the handwriting seems to be the same - but doesn't match Myo's handwriting, or Liet's (as found on some love notes hidden in his room). Xian does his best to convince the house that there is an actual third party, responsible for both kidnappings.
Very well, then - they will hold the duel "exactly as planned." A red flower wilts, but now the group thinks that's okay; they've done this section of the plot. On to the next!
House of the Black Spot

The group heads back to the building that Min Feng trailed the ninja to. The door has a black circle on it - Merit identifies it as the lair of the Messengers of the Black Spot. They specialize in infiltration - leaving notes, death threats, horse heads, things like that. As they close in on the building, they see a white carriage turning the corner as it leaves. Interesting! They should follow!

"But we know where this location is, so we might have the intention of quite possibly coming back here again." -Merit
"Best Art Ever." -Xian

The group flags down rickshaws, charging them to follow that carriage! Shen-Ji hops on a flying disk to follow. The carriage is heading to the nicer part of town - the rickshaw drivers ask for more money, but they're still being paid in zhu, so it's all good. The carriage pulls onto the White Peony Terrace, into one of the better manor houses, with a private drive. The rickshaw driver doesn't know who owns the house, but asking around gets the answer that the house belongs to one of the scions of the House of Benevolent Oversight.

Min Feng goes to talk to the gate attendent. The High Lady Autumn Rose is in residence while conducting business, but was not expecting to receive visitors. Takanata writes a letter of introduction to send in ("I have a Reputation shtick and a 16 status!"), asking to call on her later, such as at dinner.

Then, it's back to the ninjas. Min Feng sneaks in, bringing Monko and the Searching Monkey; Master Zhou watches through the monocle and the monkey's eyes. There's someone sitting at a desk - he hears the door click, looks up, but doesn't spot Min Feng, and then goes back to work. This seems to be an entry hall - there's another door behind the secretary, but no other exits. Min Feng settles in to watch and wait. After a while, the far door clicks, and a ninja decloaks in front of the secretary. The secretary nods, and gives him a scroll - "Take this to the bazaar, find the merchant named Li Merit, and make sure he gets this message." The ninja leaves. Merit contemplates meeting him outside the ninja dojo, but decides that will blow Min Feng's cover. Still hidden inside, Min Feng walks through the back wall into the room behind - there are several ninja, training. Master Zhou, observing, thinks that this is basically a 6-success dojo, so Min Feng will need to stay at least 6 successes hidden. There are several other doors in the training room, but only one of them is seriously locked, and probably goes to a stairwell. Hoping to find prisoners, she sneaks to the door (at a cost of two karma) and gets Monko to unlock it. Then, into the basement!

As it turns out, there are no prisoners - what there is, is a bunch of treasure! There are various antique weapons, a pile of 40 new-minted li, from the Hidden City mint. Nothing that looks like the Magpie Talisman, though. There are three sheets of magical parchment, and then a large white scroll on the wall - a large black dot in the center, with characters up and down the sides, telling of the charter, history, and honor of the Messengers of the Black Spot.
"That's the thing they would all die to get back, if you want a Hunted."
Min Feng gestures for people to give her advice, via her set of magic papers. People write various notes to her on their side of the paper.
"Theft even from ninja is not honorable." -Takanata
"It's only justifiable in a greater cause, like... whatever we're doing now, I don't remember." -Xian
"Look for the money that came before the money from the Hidden City - that might pay for the previous message."
"Take it all." -Shen-Ji
"No." -Wei Han, crossing out "Take it all"
"We need leverage for negotiation." -Xian
Min Feng holds a note up to the monkey to read: "Dear ninjas. I have your charter. - Xian"
"I do not think you have thought this plan through. Sir." -Shen Wei Han "I hardly ever do." -Xian
Maybe they can steal a non-crucial item? As a warning shot?
"Choose wisely and come back. We have other things to do." -Master Zhou
There is a click from the door upstairs, and then some more noise. Min Feng grabs 5 li, and a fancy dagger, and leaves a note where the dagger was: "This is my application for employment and/or training." Then, she heads up the stairs, and through the wall into one of the rooms she hasn't seen yet.

As it turns out, this is the office of the grandmaster of the order, and he is disciplining one of his underlings. Luckily, she's still staying hidden, and she sneaks out a different door into the grandmaster's bedroom. She rifles through it - a katana, his ninja suit, some poetry, his personal purse... She takes his ninja suit and one of the poems (quickly copying the rest), and goes out the window into the garden, and manages to get over the wall before anyone spots her.
"We will have to discuss the exact details of your actions, granddaughter." Takanata
Is there anything significant about the li?
"Can you do magical detection on the li? Wait, you're just going to keep them, aren't you?" -Min Feng to Shen-Ji
"You do have to give them to me before I can check." -Shen-Ji

Shen-Ji confirms that they're recently minted - probably magically. The Imperial Mint does do magical minting, which is necessary for tael - it was probably one of the mint apprentices, minting in silver for the practice. So whoever had these li had access to the highest levels of Hidden City society.
Takanata does a Connections reading, which suggests that Autumn Rose is not likely to betray them to the Marked.
The group heads to the bazaar, to meet up with the ninja expected to be carrying the message. Xian, Takanata, and Shuyan start browsing through the stalls, while Merit and the others wait together. After a few minutes, a woman screams for help nearby. Wei Han asks Merit for permission, and then heads that way - someone seems to have been hit on the head. Merit holds his hand out, and the ninja decloaks with a knife to his throat, and places a scroll in his hand. The scroll reads:

Though you may think it valuable, the map will eventually be used against you, unless I repair it for you. Contact me at the estate of the House of Benevolent Oversight, on the White Peony Terrace
One of the white flowers wilts - they have one flower of each color now.
"These flowers suck!" -Merit
Additionally, Takanata receives a reply to his invitation - Autumn Rose would be most happy to receive him and discuss matters of mutual interest, over dinner. Merit asks one of his old friends to see if he can get a dossier on Autumn Rose, but that will take some time.
Master Zhou shows Takanata his new version of a painting.
"Are you studying Butterfly kung fu?" -Takanata
Shen-Ji takes a look at Min Feng's loot. The knife is a dagger of silent kill - the victim cannot intentionally make any sound as he dies. It's very very old, old enough to probably quadruple its nominal value. The magic papers will cloak a message - you write one message on the paper, and say a name. The message will vanish, and you can write a different message. Everyone will see the second message, except for the named person, who will see the first message.

Autumn Rose

The party heads to the White Peony terrace, and are announced at the Benevolent Oversight's manor. Everyone is offered tea and other higher-proof beverages. Then, Yang Tsi-Ya comes in, looks around to do a threat analysis, and nods. After that, one of Cai Wen's molls walks in. Except, it's not one that anyone has met before, so it's not clear why she's so obviously one of his molls. Her status is higher than anyone except Takanata, and her charisma is higher than everyone else's. She doesn't ask for their names.

Takanata chats with her over dinner - he's winning the status half of the conversation, and she's winning the charisma half. He thinks she knows about noble lady pastimes, and tons of high society, but no real art skills. Dinner is lovely, and so is dessert, and then after that, it is time to discuss business.

"You have a map that I have some interest in. I would be pleased to make certain adjustments to the map that would make it safer for you - that would make it untraceable by the one who it is currently traceable by." -Autumn Rose

It's traceable by its creator? Yes. Takanata thinks that this adjustment would be an improvement. Would that limit its current functionality? It would continue to point to Zhu Cai Wen, she says.
"Why would you do such a helpful thing?" -Xian "I am being properly compensated, you need not worry."
Min Feng does her best to detect lies on this - it seems more or less true. No one is compensating her, but she thinks getting to do this is compensation for her. She whispers this to Merit.

Shen-Ji asks about the technical details. She is proposing to remove the signature of the map's creator and replace it with her own. The replacement allows the functionality to remain. Ah, then she could find it?

"It would be easier, yes, but it wasn't that hard for me to find it this time. It would be much harder for the one who can find it now, to find it afterwards - he would have no way of doing so."

Takanata says that he would not wish to offend her by offering her something else when she is compensated, but he would be happy to do her another favor by checking what the I Ching can tell her.
"After that, we can train!" -Master Zhou
She requests that Takanata swear by his name to reveal what he learns only to her. He notes that he would know it himself, of course, and feels a thump at his chest where the Butterfly Talisman sits.
"Well, either that was the Butterfly saying 'and the rest of the Band' or it wasn't." Takanata
Xian says that they do not know enough about her, and is sad that he is so ignorant. He wants to believe! Could the party speak privately? She agrees, and leaves the dining room to let them confer. Min Feng thinks that she has not been lying, though Rose has been careful with her wording, and may have left things out. So, she was probably telling the truth about the Cartogramancer being able to track it. But if she won't tell them what she's up to, should they stomp off? Xian says getting up to leave is only to try to haggle for something better, not to call the deal off.

Shen-Ji says that they should ask for a listing of her shtick tree - then they'll be able to tell what sort of things she can do, and also, maybe she'll teach him! Everyone else boggles at this, and thinks that it's a bit implausible to ask for. Merit notes that she hired incompetent urchin thieves, and messenger ninjas for forty li. That was a message saying "I could have hired real ninjas and real thieves - I can get it if I really want to." Xian thinks it is not as good a deal as they can get; Takanata thinks it is a deal worth taking. These two things are probably both true, but do lead in different directions. Xian says he'll take point on talking to her, and they can see where it leads.
"I hope we can reach an agreement... But, you see, there are powerful forces about which we know almost nothing." -Xian
"I would like to call myself a powerful force about which you know almost nothing but perhaps I'm not yet so much as all that." -Autumn Rose
"Perhaps there is a way we could have ongoing dealings in the future?" "I would not be opposed to future dealings, should you acquire something else of value to me."
"I would hope for some more familiarity - to know what you are getting out of this." "The signature of the maker of the map is... a powerful signature. Such things are my stock in trade."
"You are a collector of names?" -Zhou

"Precisely."
"How do you employ them? Are you a collector or trader?"
"I think you will find that all traders are, at their hearts, collectors." (Everyone looks at Li Merit.)
"It sounds like you feel that our arrangement is not fair to you?"
"Not at all. I think we may have an opportunity for even greater mutual benefit - I don't want to leave those on the table. "
"Unfortunately, my time here in town is quite limited - I should be leaving very soon. Do you have some proposal to make now? Or just assurances of general good will for the future? You may have the latter, but I cannot make any long term commitments."
She agrees to make an additional concession - she had stipulated that her I Ching be kept to Takanata alone; she will allow him to share it with the rest of them.
"That wasn't funny when I said it..." -Mike
"As you collect the things that you desire - is it simply power you seek?" "Power is almost never simple. If you are asking what my end goal in my "grand plan" is - it is the same as all people who are starting out on a path. I do not know all of where it leads."

Min Feng tries to sense motive on that - she thinks it's about right. It's like asking someone in business "are you simply after money?" One answer is yes, but that's also because there are hopes and dreams that may be able to be achieved with more money... it's complicated.

"Is she one of Cai Wen's molls because she has a Fox aspect?" -Xian "I could tell if you hit her." -Master Zhou
"Does throwing a dinner roll at her count?" -Xian
"Let's play good idea/bad idea." -Wei Han
"But I'm not ruling it out!" -Merit
Shen-Ji notes that he would like to learn more of her craft. She notes that it is more of a vocation than a craft - a commitment rather than a hobby.
Agreement is mostly reached and so she spells out the terms one last time to be sure everyone is clear. "I will take the map, and remove the signature of its creator, replacing it with my own. I will then return the map to you and it will retain the ability to locate Zhu Cai Wen anywhere. You will also read my I Ching..."
She gets interrupted...
"And any other functionality inherent in the map will remain the same?" -Master Zhou
She looks slightly chagrined. "At the moment, the map points to Zhu Cai Wen all the time
- with some very few edge case exceptions that I am not capable of duplicating." Can she give an example of an edge case? She says that it is designed to be slightly more general it locates the person who Zhu Cai Wen is, and she knows no reason that he would not remain that person indefinitely. However, if the one who commissioned the map finds another greatest nemesis, or, for example, if Zhu Cai Wen was dead, her new map would not be able to find the new nemesis. (And, the party remembers, that it has once, briefly, indicated Broken Sword.)
She eventually concedes that this is indeed another loss for the party so she offers some additional compensation.
"I could supply you with a name."
"And we would like this because?" "It would depend on whose name it was..." "Don't ask for a name that we won't remember!" -Xian

Can she give them a name in such a way that they can't forget it? In case there is some ability in play that will cause them to forget the name? She can't really be sure of such things, but says she'll do her best. She briefly leaves with the Hunter's Map, and returns it with a slight change.
Autumn Rose's sigil Cartogramancer's sigil
Takanata reads her I Ching:
She seeks to make a Name for herself. The longer she is patient in her quest, the greater her Name will be.
She should make sure to finish her Name before her father finishes his plan, or the party thwarts him.
This is her hard deadline, and she should attempt to cut it as close as she can.
Everyone finds that interesting - and it's told her something interesting about the party.
What name do they seek? If she has it, she will tell them. If she does not have it, she will send a messenger when she gets it. Takanata specifies: "The person who clouded my memory in my last trip to the spirit world. He or she is a Spider, and is in contact or alliance with the maker of the map."
"I was about to utter something so silly as 'I don't recall him having any acquaintances who could cloud my memory.'" -Autumn Rose
It would also be convenient if they could contact her, to apprise her of an approaching deadline. Hmm. If they need to speak to her, just deliver eight autumn roses to her address in the Hidden City. And with that, she declares their business concluded, and Takanata's last autumn rose wilts. Min Feng wonders if she is trying to thwart/supplant her dad. That probably wasn't originally her motive, but perhaps now she is re-evaluating.

Bandits

It is reasonably late - what next? Try to steal the book that the ninja dojo's secretary uses, to see if it has a record of who sent the message? Or try to pull off a ritual of The Knife Returns? Wei Han thinks the ritual idea is better, because if he were a ninja, he wouldn't write down full names and addresses in the book. That seems plausible. On the other hand, doing the ritual is hard - last time, they had to have help from Yuwen Fire-Eye. They might be able to get one of the Great Houses to do it - but it also seems likely that if they hand the plot to one of the houses, it'll storm off in that direction with a bunch of troops.

With a bit of karma, and a lot of chi (and a little bit of cheating helped by Shen-Ji's phoenix familiar), they pull the ritual off, and the knife leads them to near the Gorge of the Split Rock, up the back way. There are some bandits around a campfire - Liet is asleep, and Myo is unconscious.

Takanata checks a Crossroads reading - will they be more successful by trying to take the bandits down, or trying to wake the victims up first? Probably more successful the former way.

In the surprise round, Shuyan lobs an ice chip of doom into the campfire, freezing many of the mook bandits, though the martial arts master (Tiger) leaps out of the way. Merit throws a sparkler in the air, shouting "Now! Everyone!" to sound like there's a larger force.
Tiger growls to Liet: "Join me now, and I will teach you the true power of Kung Fu." Liet, susceptible to social attack, says "Yes, Master!", and attacks Wei Han.
"Xian, don't make me hurt her." -Wei Han
"This is like the first combat this book I've gone in with physical instead of social!" Xian

Master Zhou grabs Liet, and Shuyan throws a snake around her to hold her. Master Zhou is pretty sure that Tiger is the kind of master who just can't be defeated by a non-kung-fu person (or a ninja). It is again pointed out that disguising yourself as a ninja is not the same thing. Meanwhile, Tiger keeps exhorting Liet to greater power (and evil!).
"Use your rage! Escape the snake!" -Tiger
Shen-Ji forces Crane to drop his sword, and Master Zhou nerve strikes him. Cranes's having a bad day. Shen-Ji starts dropping walls of iron around the battlefield - between the walls and the big ice block and the cliff down into the gorge, the combat is pretty split up.
"Use your rage? What happened to skill, and finesse, like Master Zhou would teach?" -Merit to Liet
The red rose begins to wilt - oh, that's no good. Min Feng rushes towards Myo, and manages to postpone his dying until post-combat, for a start. Several bandits, with nobody to attack but Takanata, take him down. Master Zhou glares at Tiger, and tells him "You should not speak of that which you do not know!", and shackles him.
"Adventure? Excitement? You expect to get that with murdering highwaymen? You know, we go on real adventures." -Xian to Liet
That nudges Liet back over to the good side. Merit, who has stashed a bunch of his Coins of Distraction around outside of the camp, starts them shouting, so it sounds like there's an angry mob coming. Wei Han tries to get the bandits to surrender - some of them do start to flee.
"You do know, once he got the ransom, he was just going to kill both of you?" Xian to Liet
Crane takes the sword from one of the mook bandits who are fleeing, and pushes him down the hill. Xian keeps talking to Liet, and thinks she's getting close to a watershed of morale. Crane stabs Merit and Xian, and Xian falls. Tiger goes for Master Zhou, who dodges - Tiger manages to make it look like Master Zhou is terrified of him to dodge out of the way, but due to the iron wall, Liet doesn't see it. Merit calls for help from Liet, throwing in charm and grovelling. Terrifying snakes leap at Crane, who flees.
Finally, a five-karma nerve strike by Master Zhou takes down the shackled Tiger, and permanently defeats him.
"Are you trying to convince her or make her fall in love with you?" -Xian
Takanata notes that the last blue flower is starting to put roots into the water.
The last of the bandit mooks tries a mad plan.
"Take the girl hostage, maybe they'll let us through." "Wait, am I "the girl?"" -Min Feng
They grab Min Feng, and shout that if the party lets them escape, and don't send the mob after them, they'll let the girl go. They give Takanata an action to agree, but threatening his granddaughter is not the way to motivate him.
"If you harm my granddaughter, your spirits will drown in the Jasmine for the length of your deaths." -Takanata
Min Feng starts to glow blue and watery and menacing (kind of like Anto at the Pearl River, but nobody here was there for that.) The bandits, now even more freaked, surrender too. (Then the glow is extinguished.) Shuyan and the others make sure nobody is dying, and the combat is over.
Master Zhou tells Liet that she showed herself worthy in the end. She thanks him, and bows.
Takanata's flowers have finished with one blue flower and one red flower, intertwined. The bandits are looted - Shuyan goes into li, and the rest goes into the treasury. Tiger is officially Defeated by Master Zhou, and the bandits are all turned over to the two houses. Master Zhou interrogates Tiger first, though. The plan to kidnap the two kids was all theirs. He would love to be able to blame it on someone else, and they did come up with the idea while a guy from the House of Gainful Protection was talking to them, but it really wasn't his idea. Master Zhou gets a description of the guy (named Konghua). Liet and Myo are informed, with many warnings to not start a war with the House of Gainful Protection, and Master Zhou tries to convince them that a fun plot would be "Thwart/Get Konghua, but don't tell your parents." They agree.
It seems likely that the bandits will all be hanged, including Tiger, unless Crane stages a daring rescue...
Puttering

Master Zhou goes to train Liet.
Shen-Ji has tea with Tsi-Ya.
Takanata visits Scholar Turtle and Master Tranh.
Merit, Shen-Ji, Takanata, Xiao Fa, Xian, and Min Feng visit the House of the Master of Trade, in the Great Bazaar.
Master Zhou visits Master Sheji, and Master Zhizhu.
Retrieved from "http://boojum.scripts.mit.edu/Dragon/index.php?title=Compass_Rose" Category: Book Two Logs
This page was last modified on 23 July 2010, at 12:55.
A Note for You

From Dragon

"Each of us is a Remarkable Wanderer upon this earth. Our hearts are full of wonder, and our souls are deep with
dreams."

The run begins on the Day of the Late Serpent in the Month of the Dog, in the eleventh Year of the Spider since the Third Treaty of Houses.

The run takes place in the Harbor of Fortunate Arrival, in the Hon'eth Arcade.
Previous Run Next Run
Contents

1 The White Bridge
2 The Arbiter
3 Planning a Duel
4 That One
5 Rooftop Duel
6 The Cost of an Offer
7 Loose Ends and Talking Fish
8 Puttering

The White Bridge

The group (including a tengu visiting Hiro, disguised as Hana) is still in the Harbor of Fortunate Arrival, contemplating where to go next (answer - it's not clear where they need to be, other than back in the Butterfly Kingdom by the Month of the Tiger when the circus heads out.) Their contemplation is interrupted by an urchin, who gives Xiao Fa a note for Master Deng:
The White Bridge - two hours

Lijuan asks the local urchins what they can tell her about the White Bridge - it's a bridge outside the city, but it's outside a gate that's closed for repairs, so no one uses it right now. It seems likely to be a trap, but why not go and see? Everyone heads to the White Bridge; one side is kingdom road, and one side is connected to a spur of an Imperial Highway. Initially, it appears deserted, but Cai Wen spots someone hiding under the bridge. Lijuan waves at the hidden guy, and he suddenly dumps out the contents of a sack into the river red flower petals flow downstream. He then starts running away.

In the distance, the party can see a large wagon coming up the Imperial Highway towards the bridge. A minute or two after the red flower petals drift downriver, a bunch of thugs (like from a local triad) start coming up the river towards the bridge. As the wagon approaches, the one guy who was staked out under the bridge yells to it, "It's a Trap!" and continues fleeing. The two cart drivers start trying to turn their wagon around and escape.

Are they being ambushed? Are they an ambush for someone else? No one is sure. It does seem to be triads involved, though, so Zhi-Hao thinks "chop them all" is a fine plan. Lijuan entangles one of them in her net arrow, and battle commences.

Cai Wen searches around, and spots several other bags, like the bag of red flower petals, in a hidey-hole under the bridge. Xiao Fa investigates the other bags under the bridge - they have different colors of flower petals. One of the triad thugs finally recognizes Master Deng, and is upset, so the thugs are probably from the League of the Hidden Hand. One of the League guys tries to chop Lijuan, but Yoshi leaps in the way. Some of the triad members start to flee, which the party assumes means they should be caught and interrogated, or perhaps chopped more. Hiro tells "Hana" (the tengu) to spookify the area, and spook the fleeing guy back towards them so "Hana"
and spook the fleeing guy back towards them, so Hana castles with him, and the guy is suddenly back with Hiro. There is much chopping, though the cart drivers are not yet chopped, as people try to figure out how they are related. Are they afraid of the triad, or are they on the same team? They don't seem to want anything to do with any of the fight at all - they don't seem to be particularly loyal to anyone here, and they definitely weren't expecting a battle. One of the triad thugs just wants to stall the party long enough for the wagon to leave, though, so that's a cue to stop them.

Yoshi hops up on the White Bridge, as flower petals waft up in the breeze below him, and tries to convince them to stay.

"There's no need to worry - We will protect you from these brigands!" -Yoshi
"What's going on? This wasn't the arrangement!" Cart guy, still turning the cart
Yoshi on the White Bridge
"Hmm. Is the answer just 'take them all out?'" -Master Deng
"There's a company of Dragon Army ten minutes behind you! Get in here quick!" Cai Wen
Cai Wen's bluff stalls the wagon a bit longer, while people mop up the triad. As triad members get chopped to death, Hana appears, coming the other way through the door to the World After, but nobody realizes that this isn't still the tengu impersonating her yet. Hiro asks Hana if she can keep one of the dying triad members alive, on the theory that the real Hana has first aid, so maybe the fake Hana does too. Hana says she can, having picked up some interesting new abilities in her time with the Phoenix, so she bends down and does something very creepy to the guy, which wasn't quite what Hiro was expecting, except that he did ask for things to get spooky.
Anto wraps a triad member in his chain and then shackles him, so between that guy and the one Lijuan has netted, there are two prisoners amidst the carnage.
"Hiro, what's going on?" -Hana
"I'm really not sure, but Xiao Fa, or maybe Zhi-Hao, got a note saying to meet here, and it was a trap, surprising no one, but it wasn't a trap on us, it was on the people in the wagon, so we're being framed, but I'm not sure by who. Oh, and on the far side of the river is Imperial Highway." -Hiro

Cai Wen talks the cart guys into starting to unload, but they want "the li". One of them gives Cai Wen an action, but Cai Wen demands to see the goods first. They unload a couple of boxes of weapons before demanding "Give us the li, and we'll give you the rest."
"I think we're going to have to change the arrangement, because you guys aren't in any position to bargain." -Cai Wen
The pair of wagoners begin to flee.
"Hmm. Maybe we're the trap."
Zhi-Hao realizes that the two cart guys are disguised supply sergeants from the Dragon Army. But they're back on the Imperial Highway again, which means fighting them is likely to be particularly perilous should the fight be seen.

"It's turning into 'get em!'" -Hiro
"Best beloved of all the plans." -Xiao Fa
"It was already a combat when I showed up, how is it not already 'get em'?" -Hana
Yoshi acrobatically leaps to stand in front of the cart, hoping that they will run him over and then he'll have an excuse to get em.
"Gentlemen, I believe your punishment will be less severe if you turn yourself in to the city authorities, rather than admitting your misdeeds to your commander." -Cai Wen
The cart guys flip off their over-cloaks, revealing their army uniforms, and start to leave, up the highway.
"You have won this round, but the League of the Hidden Hand will regret this day!"
The party declines to attack obvious soldiers on the highway, though Yoshi confirms that they're corrupt - it wasn't some sort of sting operation. The party holds the field, and now has a wagon full of Dragon Army weapons, which they roll off the highway to start searching. There are lots of plain "mook weapons", but there is one commander's sword, which is x4, with a sigil of the Dragon Army on the blade. This is basically enough to equip a captain and all the men under him. Master Deng really covets the commander's sword, but it would be both illegal and obvious for him to use.

Yoshi takes the extra bags of flower petals, for possible dramatic use later. Lijuan starts untangling the netted guy, and explains he will have to apologize to Yoshi. When the tengu returns ("Hana has saved the day!"), it becomes clear that there are two Hanas now, and the tengu jumps into the river in a huff. People begin to interrogate Hana about where she has been. No, she's not alive again (Cai Wen is startled to hear her admit that so plainly), though the Phoenix did tell her she could be reborn.

Yoshi talks to the two prisoners; he manages to bring one of them around to his point of view, using his tried and true arguing techniques for breaking Hidden Hand triad members. The sergeants were supposed to bring weapons - the League bosses arranged the sale. This guy was just supposed to bring the cart to the triad house - he can tell them where it is. They were just going to kill these two sergeants and take the cart - they didn't even bring money to pay them. He claims it's not that hard to find corrupt Dragon Army soldiers - like looking for water in a rainstorm. The League is buying arms because they're preparing for a big war with the Circle of Spite. Cai Wen wonders if they have any Arcade Houses in their pocket - no, nothing that big. There are corrupt people in the houses who they work with, but no whole houses on their side.

Zhi-Hao figures they should return the weapons to the garrison, and wonders whether he can finagle getting a x4 sword as a reward. He realizes that as an ex-army guy, he's not the right person to be asking for a reward, so Cai Wen gets made the spokesman. After Cai Wen tells the tale, the garrison commander does offer him a reward - his choice of 3 li for Cai Wen and 1 li for "each of his men", or double that but in Dragon Army equipment vouchers instead of cash. Cai Wen takes the vouchers, but sadly for Zhi-Hao, a x4 sword is more like 50 li than 22 li. Lijuan, Xiao Fa, and Zhi-Hao each take their 2 li of vouchers; the rest goes into the party treasury.

While the rest of the party deals with the prisoners and the reward, Hiro and Hana have a long talk about what Hana learned from the Phoenix and the fact that (as she now admits) she is a ghost. Actually, the Phoenix claims she's the most powerful ghost in the world. Maybe that's why she seems to be more of a full person than most of the other ghosts she's met so far? Hana isn't sure what happens to her after she's done with thwarting Mola Ram. Is that the purpose that binds her to this world? If she were to end up haunting something, it would probably be Hiro. Hiro isn't bothered by that idea -- it would be just like having Hana move in with him -- but Hana worries that it would be like moving in with him while not actually having a life of her own to live. Hiro thinks that while there are some things (like having children) that Hana can't do as a ghost, for most things her current state doesn't seem much different from being alive, so why can't she go on and be what she wants? Hiro thinks there's lots of magic in the world, and so if Hana wants to come back to life, they could work on finding a way to make that happen. Hana says she does want to live, and admits that there's probably a lot more out there, magically speaking, than she knows anything about, but she wonders whether it will turn out that coming back to life is one of those things that can only be done for a price the twins would be unwilling to pay (e.g. by stealing someone else's body). Still, it's worth looking into. Hiro asks Hana what she actually wants -- never mind about Destiny and How Things Should Be. Hana isn't sure: she's actually thought about this a bunch, having realized that the Geisha/Political Marriage path and the Magical Adventurer path are both compelling, but now it's all muddled with the Alive/Dead dichotomy. On that note, the twins wander over to join the rest of the party, who seem to have a plot to discuss.

The Arbiter
A new messenger urchin arrives, this one with a message for Yoshi.
House of Enticing Vintage, Saddlehouse, on Mill Street. Come alone.
Yoshi goes, wearing the parrot amulet, he is followed by Anto, Kuan-Xi, and Lijuan, who hide outside the Saddlehouse winehouse. Yoshi is expected, and offered a glass of a strong vintage, which he downs in a gulp, having failed his check for dangerous food. It drops his Resolve, but he was feeling pretty cooperative anyways, so it probably doesn't matter much.
He's met by a man in a grey cloak, who says Yoshi can call him the Arbiter.
"My master would need to know of your interest in this matter." -The Arbiter "What matter is that?" -Yoshi
"I was sent to clarify a situation, but had not realized that the Secret Swords were involved."
"What situation are you clarifying?"
"The triad war between the Circle of Spite and the League of the Hidden Hand. You have involved yourself in that - is that your intent?"
"What master do you serve?"
"The Shadow."

The Arbiter is here to see that the conflict follows the proper forms for battles between triads. Calling in the law on one's enemies, for example, is seriously frowned upon. Now, if Master Deng has been corrupted and is under Yoshi's employ, then all is well and this is simply an alliance between triads. But the Arbiter had not realized that the Secret Swords were involved here, and invites Yoshi to clarify.
Yoshi notes that an "arbiter" would generally be a neutral party - is the Shadow neutral in this conflict? The Arbiter says that he is not on a side in the direct conflict, but while he is willing to give the Circle a chance, the Shadow will not allow the forms to be broken. "Where is the Shadow's interest, then?" Yoshi wonders. "As always, in the smooth flowing of business," replies the Arbiter. Wars are necessary on occasion, but it is unfortunate when they get out of hand.

In any event, to be clear: It appears to him that the Circle of Spite sent Master Deng after the League of the Hidden Hand. If this is true as described, then they have broken the code, and the Shadow will deal with that severely. However, if Master Deng is working for Yoshi of the Secret Swords, then it is simply an alliance of triads and need not be acted upon. Yoshi, sensing that the first option will lead to a lot more blood in the streets if the Shadow gets involved, grudgingly admits that Master Deng is "one of his companions and allies." The Arbiter says, then all is well, and thanks Yoshi.

Yoshi asks how he would get in touch with the Arbiter again - the Arbiter notes that Yoshi's man Johnny can contact the Shadow, who might send him, or might send someone else if a different service is needed. What other services might be requested? The Arbiter notes that there is no simple price list, but nearly anything can be provided, for a price. Yoshi asks what sort of request would be taboo? The Arbiter hedges - there are no taboos, but not all things serve the Shadow's purposes. It is best to just ask.
Yoshi wonders why the Arbiter does what he does - basically, he's paid well, and he enjoys power. Then, the conversation comes to a conclusion:
"It appears that those who follow me are about to assault those who follow you, so this meeting is at an end." -the Arbiter
"Perhaps you could avert that?" -Yoshi
"Would that I could, but I must be gone before she arrives."
Outside, the point of a sword appears between Anto and Kuan-Xi, and a voice hisses from the darkness.
"If you wish to live, tell me what you know of this meeting." -Voice from the shadows
"Very little. I'm just here to make sure my friend doesn't get hurt." -Anto "What does that one want with Yoshi?"
"If I knew that, I'd be less worried. Or, maybe, more worried."

Planning a Duel
The Arbiter has left, so Yoshi heads out, but Reiko (for that is who it is skulking in the shadows) and the others intercept him. Yoshi explains the notes:
"The first note came from the Circle of Spite. The second came from... dah dah dah... the Shadow!"
Reiko wants to know what the Arbiter said, but Yoshi says they have to talk somewhere else more private. Reiko grumbles, but admits she can likely find the Arbiter again at need. So they all go to the "party room", and Yoshi briefs the entire group on what he learned from the Arbiter, and that "due to his friendship with some youths", Yoshi is considered to be in a triad, and that he has claimed Master Deng as "corrupted into the Secret Swords triad."
Reiko is introduced as "a friend of mine I have known for a long time, who is hunting the Shadow." Reiko concedes that that might be true.
"It's such a pleasure to meet you." -Cai Wen
However, while Reiko is a babe, to Cai Wen's judging eye, she's definitely not a moll.
Zhi-Hao tries to decide whether he minds being considered "corrupt" and part of a triad. On the one hand, it's not true, and it's disparaging to his honor; on the other hand, how much does he care what triad members think? On the other other hand, it's hard to have the underworld think something is true without anyone else learning it eventually - perhaps someone gets arrested and questioned, and then the guard knows...

Yoshi, however, really doesn't want the collateral damage that he worries will happen from a larger scale war. Hana dislikes the idea of the Circle of Spite getting to use Zhi-Hao and the party like that, but Zhi-Hao is happy to take any triad down, even on behalf of another triad. Not to mention, they didn't know who sent the note to begin with. Reiko glowers at Yoshi - he didn't know who sent the note, but went anyway?

Speaking of Reiko, what's she doing here? She says she's here to trace the Arbiter back to the Shadow, and discovered Yoshi's association with the Circle of Spite in passing. She hits Yoshi with a "why do you do this?" as well, and seems satisfied with the result.

Some of the party aren't even sure who the Shadow is. Well, for one, he's some sort of powerful criminal mastermind, but Yoshi also thinks that he's the last of the Marked of Aku. That leads to Reiko asking who Aku is - Yoshi answers that he's "a skin-walking demon who has designs on the Empire." Gosh, that's both true and unlikely to trigger people's disbelief. Reiko nods - if the Shadow works for or with a demon, that might explain some of his more tedious abilities, like vanishing into shadows. Wait, Mola Ram also vanishes into shadows - could he be a Southron? Takanata has checked if the Shadow is one of the Marked, and if Reiko is hunting a Southron, but while the answer seems to be no, people speculate that there could be something missing, and scrying anything related to the Eighth Marked is always fraught with misinformation. (Reiko herself seems to think the Shadow is not a Southron.)

The conversation turns to what to do about Yoshi claiming Master Deng as a triad member. They could stage a big fight in public - on a rooftop, Hiro adds, to pull in a plan from the Book of the Remarkable Wanderer - and Master Deng could thrash Yoshi to turn his reputation around. The traditional Beating of Chastisement is to 1 hit point, so perhaps that should be the plan.
"Ooh, maybe you can redeem me." -Yoshi
"Yoshi, don't you mind people thinking you're a triad member?" -Hana "Well, it did avert a triad war." -Yoshi
"Plus, it sounds like it's true, and Yoshi is very big on the truth." -Reiko "She's got a point--actually, she's got two points there." -Hana

Yoshi notes that the Arbiter told him Johnny Tong can arrange to have one of the Shadow's lieutenants summoned. Reiko is intrigued by this, and notes that she will have to talk to Johnny Tong. Presumably also Yoshi might be able to send word to meet again with the Arbiter, and then people could Get Him, but that seems likely to cause the Shadow's wrath to fall directly on Yoshi and "his triad", which Yoshi might be willing to weather, but the Secret Swords probably aren't.
The battle plan laid out, Cai-Wen decides it's time for another series of posters.
Notice to all TRIADS
Today at high noon DENG ZHI-HAO shall prove his
virtue and reclaim his HONOR
upon the body of YOSHINOSUKE of the
SECRET SWORDS
"Let's take the Secret Swords out, so then only the people who already think I'm in the Secret Swords will think that." -Yoshi
"What would Uncle Takanata think?" -Lijuan
"This one recommends that you do not think too hard about that aspect of the plan." -Xiao Fa

That One

Yoshi suggests to Reiko that they work together to oppose the Shadow. Reiko is not as opposed to this idea as she was before, as Yoshi seems to be a bit closer to being willing to get his hands dirty.
"When you founded this 'triad' I thought you were simply playing, but it turns out to have been a shrewd maneuver. I will have to revise my opinions." -Reiko
Hiro and Hana decide to soothe the tengu's wounded feelings by having Hana go around as Hiro for a while so the tengu can be Hana. Hiro and Hana-as-Hiro go back out to the river. Hiro does a tengu cry, and a little kid, or, at least, a tengu disguised as a little kid, runs up. He has a note to deliver to Xiao Fa, that he got from a different little kid. Hiro and the tengu swap disguises, and then they head back to the party's rooms, and the "kid" delivers the note. Unlike the other times, this time the messenger doesn't run off immediately, which everyone (except Hana and Hiro) think is strange.
Meet me in the Bazaar some time soon. I shall be waiting.
"Wait, you get a note?" - Zhi-Hao
Most people think this is unlikely to be triad-related business - does Xiao Fa even know any triads? Well, there is his brother, who might be in one.
Xiao Fa heads off to the Great Bazaar; Hana (dressed as Hiro), Hiro (dressed as an urchin) and the tengu (dressed as Hana), plus Lijuan, Anto and Kuan-Xi, follow along to go mango shopping. Cai Wen heads out to publicize the rooftop battle.

Xiao Fa spots Shanxi, who heads over to speak with him. Apparently, Shanxi has been "looking into it", and has a solution to Xiao Fa's memory problems. There's a guy in town right now, who Shanxi has convinced to give Xiao Fa some training, in things like figuring out the cost of an action before you do it, or seeing traps before you fall into them. It's all good stuff. Anyway, Shanxi has figured out that training Xiao Fa in something like that will bring his memories back. They can meet again tomorrow evening, and Shanxi will set it all up with the Arbiter. Shanxi says he doesn't usually mess around with people like the Arbiter, but Xiao Fa needs help.
"Mangoes?" -Anto
Regrouping back at the party rooms at the inn, people try to press Xiao Fa for what the heck is up between him and his brother.
"The story is not that long, because this one does not remember." -Xiao Fa
"What is your brother's motivation here?" -Hana "He wants his brother back." -Xiao Fa
"So, he thinks he's acting in your best interests?" "No, he wants his brother back."
Xiao Fa doesn't think Shanxi was involved in Xiao Fa losing his memories originally.
As it's getting late, people try to wrap up their business for the day. Lijuan drops by the garrison, and gets 1 li of army rations in a crate. She throws a party at the outskirts of the Great Bazaar, inviting all the urchins she knows and all the urchins they know, and the food is happily devoured. They tell Lijuan a story about the mean snake-lady and her sorceror friend. Apparently Shuyan and Yang have made names for themselves here as capturers of kids.
Yoshi wonders if Kibo should try to snoop on the Arbiter's dreams. Lijuan thinks that sounds dangerous, so Yoshi refrains from asking him.
"Hiro" (that is, Hana) swoops "Hana" (the tengu) off to look at jewelry at the bazaar. "Hana" leaps on the opportunity - it has been too long since Hiro bought her jewelry. She'll have one of those! "Hiro" takes care to buy something that Hana'll like later, back when she's Hana again.

The whole Hana/Hiro/little kid thing is really starting to confuse people, and people keep being confused by Hiro saying calm insightful things. So that the "urchin" doesn't have to go sleep in a barn somewhere and the party won't wonder why an urchin gets to come to the secret meetings, Hana and Hiro explain the disguises, and that it's apparently rude by tengu standards to admit you can see through a tengu's disguise.
gy ggg
"Oh, it's etiquette! Do I have to wash my hands?" -Lijuan "Yes." -Yoshi
Rooftop Duel

The party makes sure that nobody but Master Deng and Yoshi are on top of the building they're fighting on; other people get to be on top of neighboring rooftops. Most people crowd onto the largest nearby roof with a good view. As Zhi-Hao and Yoshi start their battle, Xiao Fa notices that some of the people in the crowd have crossbows hidden under cloaks.
Yoshi and Zhi-Hao pontificate at each other:
"Master Deng, you are my friend and I recognize your right to reclaim your honor." "While you are my compatriot in other things, in this particular matter, you were mistaken."
"While I believed my actions served the greater good, I wronged you, and I apologize."

Then Zhi-Hao attacks! Yoshi fully parries the first attack and attempts while the contest still appears even to convince the onlookers that despite appearances, this isn't a case where winning makes you right by definition (since Yoshi has already recognized Zhi-Hao's rightness). During the fight Yoshi just parries, but Zhi-Hao is certainly the better swordsman, and is able to get past his defenses.

Hana spots a third crossbowman, and Xiao Fa spots a fourth. This doesn't look good. Hana turns on Miasma of Fear, while Xiao Fa heads downstairs to get up to the roof where Master Deng and Yoshi are. Cai Wen tells Squeaky to do what he can. Lijuan tells some urchins to trip the crossbowmen when they draw their bows, and then run.
Zhi-Hao finishes thwacking Yoshi down to 1 hit point, Yoshi again acknowledges his trespass, and both reaffirm their continued friendship.
Then, over on the spectators' roof, Squeaky (who appears to have much larger fangs than usual, probably due to the miasma of fear) leaps at the face of a crossbowman, who promptly falls off the roof. His tattoo (the League of the Hidden Hand) is revealed as he falls. A bunch of kids trip a bunch of people all over the roof, making it look like some invisible force is felling a great number of people. Hiro uses Tongue of the Frog to grab a crossbow - it appears that his tongue actually wraps around the bowman's neck, halfstrangling him, and causing the crossbow to fly through the air to Hiro's feet. Xiao Fa sets off a smoke bomb on Yoshi and Master Deng's roof to hide them from view, and Anto coaxes the wood of the roof to wrap up a bowman. Only one bowman gets his shot off, but Master Deng parries it, thanks to his present from the Queen.

Yoshi takes the opportunity to scold Anto's prisoner, but it seems like too much trouble to try to have him arrested, so they leave him tied up in an alley nearby. Cai Wen goes and collects the money he's won betting on Master Deng. Then, it's time for Xiao Fa's meeting with Shanxi and the Arbiter.
"Was there an explicit come alone?" "There was an implied one." -Xiao Fa Xiao Fa does agree to bring Ho with him, and Lijuan watches through the magic monocle.
The Cost of an Offer

Similar to the meeting with Yoshi, Xiao Fa is offered a cup of strong drink, but does not drink it, having been warned. He says he'll save it for later. Shanxi does drink his, though. Then, the Arbiter arrives.

He looks Xiao Fa over, and says that he does not normally do this sort of thing, but he has been extremely well compensated, so, what is it that Xiao Fa wishes? Xiao Fa says that he has heard that the Arbiter has tools that would let him regain his memories? The Arbiter looks a bit puzzled, and says he does not have anything specifically for that, but then Shanxi jumps in and says no, teaching him most anything will let him regain his memories. Both Xiao Fa and the Arbiter seem to think that this seems a little implausible, but Shanxi assures them that he's been "looking into this", and he's confident that it will work.

"I can teach you to see the cost of any choice you could make." -The Arbiter "Including this one?" -Xiao Fa
"Well, you can also find the cost of choices you have made, but you do have to learn to use it first."

Xiao Fa asks him how he would teach this, and the Arbiter starts to explain what sounds like a training montage, but then Xiao Fa unexpectedly interrupts: "Or I could just learn it now for half price." (Xiao Fa surprises himself as well.)
"Well, that's a useful talent." -The Arbiter
Xiao Fa points out that "the last time something like this almost happened", he got a free use of the shtick first - and discovers that he does get a free use if he wants it. He wonders what the cost of buying this shtick would be - the answer is that it would turn him off of a very tedious, very annoying, very unlikely path to a destiny, and put him on the fast road to easy power. Despite the obvious appeal of this choice, Xiao Fa has decided that he needs to say no - at that moment, Ho leaps out from under the table to bark at a cat that seems to have wandered into the winehouse, and Xiao Fa manages to slip out while everyone is distracted by the dog/cat fight. He sneaks off and meets up with the others.
"How did it go?"
"Poorly. This one had to escape in the confusion."
Everyone (eventually including Ho) heads back to the party rooms to contemplate things, again. Shanxi does definitely seem to know more about Xiao Fa's amnesia plot than he did last time Xiao Fa talked to him. Xiao Fa thinks that it's possible that teaching him something he knew before would bring back his memories, "but it would take this one off the path that this one is fairly certain he chose." Xiao Fa was hoping that it was that the Arbiter had some particular memory trick, but it seems not. But it doesn't seem like Shanxi was changing his story around a lot - though perhaps he was leaving out important details.

Loose Ends and Talking Fish

There's a knock at the door, and there is yet another messenger urchin with a note - this time for Yoshi. Lijuan offers to teach the urchin Leaping Flame, though that mostly just confuses him.

Your ploy seems to have worked. The Triad War here is over, and the Arbiter is leaving town. He has recruited a new servant for the Shadow in the city - I will eliminate that inconvenience and pursue the Arbiter. -Reiko
"Can you ask her not to do that?" -Xiao Fa
"We should have a better plan than that." -Yoshi, dubiously
The possibilities are considered. Not having Yoshi's friend kill Xiao Fa's brother would be good. But warning Shanxi betrays Reiko, and it may be hard to persuade her out of going after a minion of the Shadow's, and Shanxi does seem likely to be working for him now as a result of the meeting with Xiao Fa having gone wrong. They might get a chance to do something, as the Arbiter probably won't leave town until he's spoken to the other triad leaders, though it's not clear if that includes Yoshi. Convincing Shanxi to break with the Shadow might be a possibility, though that leads to other problems.
"Is being hunted by the Shadow a step up from being hunted by Reiko?" -Hana
Lijuan fails in her attempt to hint that if Reiko kills Shanxi she'll be easier to redeem. Yoshi points out that the last time he talked Reiko into not killing someone who she thought should die, he was mistaken and after that, they killed her family. Two of the most powerful beliefs she holds are that evil should be stamped out immediately when it arises, and most people are just bad. "She doesn't put a lot of faith in the power of redemption."

Nevertheless, Yoshi is more willing to try talking to Reiko than Xiao Fa is to try talking to Shanxi, as Shanxi is likely still angry. Lijuan heads off to deliver a note to Reiko inviting her to come talk to the party again. While doing so, she contacts the urchin messenger network and figures out how it all works. It's not actually that every urchin knows where every person in the city actually is, but there's a strong trade in messages, that they pass among themselves in order to get them to the proper location. So you pay one urchin and the message gets delivered, with the benefits eventually trickling down to the other urchins.

Back at the party rooms, Reiko shows up, out of the shadows, causing everyone to jump. Wait, how exactly does she do that, Yoshi wants to know. Was that Shadow powers? She demurs from answering in detail, but claims it is mostly just stealth. Hana and Hiro offer tea.

Yoshi explains that the individual who joined the Shadow's organization is known to them, and is Xiao Fa's brother. He has attempted, without success, to sway Xiao Fa into joining that lifestyle.

"So, this is not one of your attempts to infiltrate them?" -Reiko "We hope that it might ripen into that situation, but it isn't there yet." -Yoshi "You hope, or you have reason to believe?" -Reiko

Well, actually, they have some reason to believe - Xiao Fa himself did used to be in Shanxi's lifestyle, but he has been redeemed away from it. Yoshi takes the opportunity to try to persuade Reiko away from her "people are irredeemable" belief - look, there's an actual example. Reiko grudgingly has to admit that perhaps some people can be redeemed, and perhaps there is possibility to suggest that Xiao-Fa-like people can be redeemed in particular. However, Reiko takes the opportunity to try to persuade Yoshi out of his "foolish" belief in peace: peace is a reasonable goal, but until you succeed, action is called for. Cai Wen throws a "no fortune for you!" shtick at her, so she doesn't get to roll as many dice as Yoshi did, but Yoshi is much more a persuader than a man of steadfast resolve, so she still beats him.
Reiko says that for the moment, she'll let Shanxi be, and they can continue their conversation some other time, when Yoshi's friends aren't throwing their powers at her. They both withdraw from Yoshi's redemption mechanic at one point a piece.
Xiao Fa sends a note to Shanxi, which says (in summary):
1. Apologies, but that is not the path for this one.
2. Please turn aside from your path; if you desire help in this, this one is happy to help.
3. Invite him to tea to chat more about how we can be close again.

Hiro, as an urchin, goes to deliver the message, since Xiao Fa knows where Shanxi hangs out. Shanxi sends back a reply that he's had enough of dogs for tonight, but "he knows where to find me if he wants to apologize."

That night, Yoshi dreams of Kibo - does Yoshi need him for anything? If not, he's going to have to clear out for a while, because there are great big dreams coming. From where, Yoshi wonders? From Above. Yoshi makes little butterfly flappy motions, questioningly. Kibo shakes his head, and makes little scuttly motions.
"Oh, and Lijuan says Hi." -Yoshi
In the morning, Yoshi warns everyone about Some Sort of Big Spider dreams coming. That's a problem - is there anything that can be done about dreams? People with dreamwalking contemplate the question - it's very hard to join together without some sort of dreamwalking shtick. But they're not going to get to the Temple of the Eternal Dream in one day's travel. Sometimes meditating and dreaming of the same place can bring people into the same dream, but it's very difficult without a shtick either on the part of the dreamsender or the dreamer.

Hiro suggests that everyone dream of a Talking Fish in a fish pond, as the place. Lijuan illustrates the fish, for everyone to concentrate on, and Hiro spends a karma to re-use the Book of the Remarkable Wanderer. After a bit of debate, plan talking fish dream is activated, and everyone meditates on Lijuan's talking fish drawing before bed.

Talking Fish
That night, people have dreams. Hana and Zhi-Hao don't dream of anything particularly interesting.
Lijuan dreams of a talking fish in a fish pond, which won't stop talking. Hiro dreams of a talking fish in a fish pond, which points out that it is Hiro's talking fish, which is particularly cool.
Anto dreams of a talking fish in a fish pond, though then it says that Anto shouldn't talk to talking fishes, so it's not talking to him.
Cai Wen dreams of a talking fish in a very nice Flower House, which seems to be interested in being his moll.
Xiao Fa has a dream of a talking fish in a fish pond. Then, his dream grows darker, and dark waving tentacles descend from above, and he hears "You have defied me three times, so..." "I'M A TALKING FISH!" "... so now you will face my ... " "I'M A TALKING FISH!" "... face my wrath..." "TALKING FISH!". Xiao Fa isn't as scared as he might be, due to the talking fish's presence. But the message is generally conveyed. Xiao Fa has denied Aku three times and thus is forever cast out. He has made a powerful enemy this day.
Yoshi has a dream - Kibo leads him far away from the fish pond, up a river and then up a waterfall, through the great gates of the Hidden City and into a room with a huge map. A man stands at the map, and then the room darkens briefly. A voice says "Another one has rejected us and must be dealt with. Send someone to kill the one known as ..." "TALKING FISH! I'M A TALKING FISH!" The man frowns, and says "I didn't quite catch that?" but the dream fades before he gets clarification. Yoshi wakes up.
In the morning, people compare their fish dreams, and are pleased that at least for the moment, some peril seems to have been dodged.
Puttering

Master Zhou, Cai Wen, Takanata, Xiao Fa, and Wei Han go wander around a section of highway in the northern Arcade.
Cai Wen and Wei Han visit a tea house in the Port of Propitious Voyage. Some of the urchins in the Harbor of Fortunate Arrival have started to call Lijuan "Master Lijuan". Or "Lijuan Sensei".
Master Zhou visits with Master Rao She, an itinerant master, and travels up to Daizhou to confer with Master Lin and Master Tien.
Retrieved from "http://boojum.scripts.mit.edu/Dragon/index.php?title=A_Note_for_You" Category: Book Two Logs
This page was last modified on 30 September 2010, at 19:43.
Coin of the Magpie

From Dragon

"Lie to a liar, for lies are his coin; Steal from a thief, for that is easy; lay a trap for a trickster and catch him at first attempt, but beware of an honest man."

The run begins on the Day of the Early Crane, in the Month of the Crane, in the eleventh Year of the Spider since the Third Treaty of Houses.

The run takes place in the Harbor of Fortunate Arrival, in the Hon'eth Arcade.
Previous Run Next Run
Contents

1 Casing the Joint
2 Further Investigations
3 The Heist
4 Puttering

Casing the Joint

As the group continues to hang around in the Harbor of Fortunate Arrival (having nowhere in particular to be until the beginning of spring), Li Merit starts the run by giving the party his maps from the scouting of the House of the Master of Trade, including all of his insights into the location of the Great Talisman of the Magpie. But before doing anything more, Li Merit gets food poisoning, puts Shen Ji in charge, and rushes off to sleep it off. Shen Ji calls the party to order and starts making a plan. There’s some discussion of the morality of stealing the thing: on the one hand, breaking into buildings and stealing stuff from non-enemies is not generally considered honorable behavior. Also, it seems to be driving the local economy (The Harbor has been unusually prosperous compared to other Arcade cities for a long time). Kasumi reminds everyone of the various reasons why this theft is good: a) getting all the talismans is important, b) the Magpie told Li Merit to go get it, and c) it’s something she can help with. Hana thinks perhaps stealing it isn’t really appropriate, and thinks other plans (such as buying the door-lintel it's embedded in, without letting anyone know the Talisman is inside) should be investigated. Shen Ji thinks the master of trade doesn’t know it’s valuable, so it’s OK. He also mentions that there are provisions and safeguards in the house to prevent swindling, etc., so they'll need to be careful and crafty in any case. Master Zhou thinks this whole thing isn’t the righteous path, but the best argument in favor he can think of is that a better way might be preferred, but he doesn’t know of one that avoids telling them it’s there. Master Deng thinks that the greater good demands that the party acquires the thing at some point, so if they can’t think of a better way, then they should do it this way, but doing nothing is unacceptable.

After much discussion, folks decide to start by investigating the defenses of the place, and generally gathering more information. Hana and Xian disguise themselves as randoms and try to gather information in the area. Shen Ji and the rest investigate the public areas of the house itself. Shen Ji notices that the walls have one shtick in “vaultlike” and there also appear to be contingencies that, if they were tripped, would increase the defenses in some way, but he can’t tell what they do until they are activated. Sadly, some of the guards apparently have some skill in noticing people who are “casing the joint” as Master Zhou notices that they start converging upon Shen Ji. Shen Ji pumps up his Acting skill and and starts carefully admiring the art, having already admired the magic. The guards stop converging, and the pair leave. Shen Ji notes that last time he was here, he scoped out the whole place with detect magic and didn’t attract guard attention, so they clearly have some shtick or sense mode in detecting actual theft planning, as opposed to information gathering, etc...

Elsewhere, Xian and Hana ask around the Great Bazaar for word about the Master of Trade. He doesn't seem to have a lot of life outside his job - while he does have a wife and children, he spends long hours at work, and when one asks about him, the description is always of how he performs his duties rather than what he is like in his spare time. He is scrupulously fair, somewhat vindictive when wronged, polite but not jovial, and prone to lucky chances or very well-informed on his short term plans. They also go to speak with the old madam who works behind the tea counter at the House of the Master of Trade, and while they are in the tea area, Xian spends a Yin and a li to recognize Ezokin as one of those drinking tea (and apparently waiting for something), and Hana (who is very poorly disguised) is recognized by Niyo, the courier who was "ambushed by ninja", who asks her to dinner later. Hana agrees to meet with him later, though she says she will have to get her family's permission, and then she and Xian chat with the tea lady. They get the old madam to compare the current Master of Trade to his predecessor - his predecessor, an older cousin, was better at long term plans, for one. She asks them questions of her own, including wondering if they know what Niyo is researching (they don't). Xian asks if she knows what Ezokin is waiting for (she doesn't), and indicates that Ezokin is "probably the least trustworthy person I have encountered". On the other hand, Xian admits that he isn't particularly trustworthy himself.

Shen Ji goes away and flies up to case the building from above at a distance. There’s a guard who climbs up to the roof every once in a while and does a circuit, but not a permanent roof guard. It also seems that the roof itself also has the level of “vaultlike”, but not the triggers for additional defense, whatever those might be.
Down in the market, Master Zhou talks to a puzzle box vendor and buys a four success puzzle box, while others shop for various trinkets as well.
After regrouping and discussing what's been learned, Xian and Deng insist that Hana go on a date with Niyo as soon as possible to find out what he is researching, since he is ultimately in The Bureaucrat's chain of command, so whatever he's doing, the party probably wants to know.

Meanwhile, Kasumi stalks Ezokin all around as he continues to wait for something. He mostly stays in the tea room at the Master of Trade's House, but he does go to a nearby shop for lunch, and a local inn at night. Everywhere he goes though, he always has a view of the Master's House. He's definitely waiting for something... but what?

Wondering how to send a message to Kasumi if the party needed her, Hana gets a drop of blood from the Stealth monkey (now named Pooky) and puts it on the monocle. She then sends the monkey out to wander through the bazaar, on the theory that its propensity for finding "people who are hiding" might cause it to report to Kasumi. He does notice numerous people stealthing throughout the bazaar, including Kasumi, but he doesn't stop until he comes to rest in the sewers, hiding next to, as far as anyone can tell, nothing. Hmm. This hasn't really recalled Kasumi, and it seems to have lost a monkey.

Further Investigations

At this point, Li Merit and Min Feng recover from their food poisoning. Li Merit goes and meets his contacts and gets the bracers of blunting out of the shop. Li Merit and Min Feng get back into the planning of the theft, and propose framing some League of the Hidden Hand guy. Of course this causes the argument about ethics to break out again.

"I assume we couldn’t just convince him it was for the greater good?" -Hana "Well, that hadn’t really occurred to me." -Li Merit
"Let’s stick with things that might work." -Xian

They discuss the plan of buying the lintel from the Master of the House of Trade, under the pretense of collecting works by whoever the artist is who carved it. Master Zhou looks at the Butterfly Talisman, and determines that it was not made by any artist he is familiar with, so hopefully, no one else will be familiar with that style either. They disguise Master Zhou as a random guy, and he wanders around the House looking for artwork to appraise, finally working his way up to the talisman lintel to take a quick glance at it. He chats to the guards on the upper floor, who stick rather close to him, and he examines all the lintels. Yup, the one over the door at the end of the hall looks like a depiction of a magpie in the same style as the talisman. It's "building decoration" rather than "high art", and the other lintels are in a similar style, as if made to approximately match, though they are of things that aren't magpies.

Hana goes to the city library and asks about the history of the city. There aren’t any texts about the building of the trade master’s office, but it’s clear that the building is older than the great houses, and has been here for a while. The first Master of Trade was appointed when the great houses reorganized the country around the beginning of the current Great Cycle. Merit also arranges to read a dossier on the Master of Trade, which has much the same things Hana found out earlier, but with more explicit names and details.

The party decides to go through a local art gallery and try to get a respected middleman to buy it for them. Well, they decide this very briefly. Then the great argument of theft and it's relative appropriateness breaks out again, as well as the question of whether or not the house will sell them a random lintel without looking behind (or in, or under, or whatever) it and noticing there's a magic item in it.

After a while of more arguing, people notice that the hiding monkey (Pooky) they sent into the bazaar is still hiding in the sewer. They try to figure out why he’s still hidden, and decide to send Min Feng and Kasumi to head down there to reclaim him. Min Feng disguises herself as Kasumi. Calling outside the sewer with monkey treats doesn't summon him out, so the sneaky folk head down into the sewer. They can’t find him, but do finally lure him out with monkey treats. They almost escape unharmed, but just as they are leaving, Kasumi proclaims into the darkness, "I will be back for you!" Suddenly, a throwing knife comes out of the darkness and knocks Kasumi’s mask off, sticking it to the wall. Her face uncovered, she continues to flee after Min Feng. They escape with both monkeys.

Hana finally makes a date with Niyo - she suggests a nice mid-range place (worried about his finances, but not wanting to be insulting), and he counter-suggests a more romantic place.
"Ah, she’s off the leash again." -Niyo, thinking to himself.
When the moral discussion breaks out again, people ask if there is even a viable theft plan to consider. Shen Ji suddenly springs into action, and pulls out maps and flow charts, laying a complete break-in and theft plan. Since he's put quite a lot of thought into this over the last several hours, people are swayed by his reasoning and detailed planing and preparations for the theft begin. Master Zhou forges a fake lintel to replace the real one, though he's the only one who has anything like woodworking as a skill. Then they start to debug the finer points of Shen Ji's plan.

Li Merit gets some local kids to set off fireworks at just the right time and add to a distraction. They drive a hard bargain and eventually he must give them several zhu. Li Merit also spreads a rumor around that someone is looking for trinkets that create walls of iron, with propaganda successes, so that Shen Ji's walls of iron won't necessarily point to a metal sorceror.

The Heist

The Master of Trade eventually goes home for the evening. Team Stealth (Shen Ji, Min Feng, Kasumi, and Zhou) goes up to the roof. Ezokin takes this moment to head from the tea room into the main lobby. Xian, who has infiltrated into the guards, convinces some of the upstairs mook guards to go downstairs and deal with “a troublesome drunken noble” (i.e. Ezokin). Hana whispers into Ezokin’s ear at range, "I know where you are keeping it." Ezokin starts looking around, making per rolls. Xian recruits a couple more guards to his "anti-drunken Ezokin team", though Ezokin is being quite innocuous and non-drunk, as far as anyone can tell. He seems unwilling to be rattled. Hana up the pressure on Ezokin by whispering, "You can’t hide from me, I can see everything," and at just this moment, ZhiHao comes in, leaning on the cane of free action taken from Ezokin previously, and taunts the sorcerer. Ezokin looks as if he has just figured out what is going on, as Xian's guards escort him out of the building. Since Zhi-Hao is heading out as well (and Ezokin is pretty sure that some sort of Plan is happening), he's willing to go outside with guards, asking politely if there's a problem.
"Perhaps it would be better if you can come with us, until we get this sorted out."
Min Feng manages to jam the door out from the smaller roof room, and then the group on the roof works on breaking through the skylight. Kasumi starts tying ropes and dropping them down the side of the building for an eventual escape route, and Shen-Ji preps a wall of iron between the guards and the alcove at the end of the hallway where the Magpie Lintel is.

Back downstairs, Xian shows the named guard (Bear) some of his acupuncture needles, which he somehow manage to make look like lockpicks, and tells Bear that Ezokin had them. Bear heads out to make sure that Ezokin is definitely leaving.
"If that many guards were needed to deal with him, that really must have been Ezokin." -Li Merit, spreading rumors.
The team on the roof finishes breaking through the skylight, and Shen-Ji puts up his wall of iron, keeping the guards away from the thieving party. (However, the assistant to the Master, as well as one of the assistants, is trapped on the office side of the wall with the party.)

As Zhi-Hao pretends to walk away from the building, Ezokin heads away and flips a magpie-feather cloak over his head, vanishing in the shadows. However, he doesn't stay hidden for long, and he reappears next to Zhi-Hao attacking with his now-familiar claws. Unfortunately for Ezokin, Zhi-Hao dodges and then does seventy points of damage back to him in return. Ezokin "buys" his sword, and vanishes with it, now a bit more terrified of Zhi-Hao.

Another of the named guards (Spider) manages to get through from the hallway into the Master's office, but Shen-Ji has been waiting for this, and when he opens the door into the alcove, another iron wall goes up. The Master's assistant (Fox) starts spending actions on calling guards (Spider and Crane, the third of the named guards) towards him and upstairs, getting them in with the party, but Master Zhou and Kasumi keep them mostly busy with nerve strikes and nose-getting, respectively, and secures Crane with the Shackles of Silence.

Ezokin flies to the roof to await people coming out with the loot, and drinks some healing potions. However, Min Feng has previously memorized him and knows where he is, and Shen-Ji spots him, so he backs off a bit more, still a bit nervous after the excessive stabbing earlier.
The group on the second floor finishes prying the lintel off, though the jig is sufficiently up that trying to fasten the forged lintel is not going to fool anyone at this point.
Down on the first floor, Hana and Merit have been trying hard to act like they are just random civilians; an old woman who was in the scroll room finds Hana intriguing and realizes that she's a ghost, but doesn't seem to think that this is related to anything else going on. She asks if Hana is haunting the building (no), what her name is (it no longer matters, Hana says with a sorrowful air), and if she needs assistance passing to the Realms Beyond (no, but Hana would be interested in learning more about that, as she has Things To Do while she is still in the mortal realm, and laying the Northern Undead is one of them!) The old woman says she would be happy to speak with Hana at greater length another day, while Hana is temporarily haunting the House of Trade.

Monko unshackles Crane and they drop to the floor; Shen-Ji causes them to fly to him up on the roof. Min Feng drops some magpie feathers, helping to incriminate Ezokin some more. Everyone climbs back up to the roof, dropping the fake lintel as they go. Crane gives chase, and there's a brief battle with Kasumi in which Shen-Ji makes him drop his sword and he manages to grab Kasumi's, but then everyone escapes.

Xian arranges to be the guard that questions Hana (he finds that she had nothing to do with it), and Merit has been spending his actions convincing the guard near him that he's an idiot, so he also gets let go pretty quickly. Merit spends the rest of the night spreading the rumor around the Bazaar that Ezokin's team is ahead in the scavenger hunt.

Then, the lintel is broken open and the Great Talisman of the Magpie is found, much to everyone's relief. The talisman doubles the energy of the wearer, and also provides a distinct advantage to people who are buying/selling/trading/earning money while wearing it.

Puttering

Kasumi and Min Feng take the broken lintel to hide in Ezokin's room at the nearby inn.
Hana goes back to the House of Trade to talk to the old woman.
Anto and Takanata take a quick boat trip to the Butterfly Kingdom.

Retrieved from "http://boojum.scripts.mit.edu/Dragon/index.php?
title=Coin_of_the_Magpie"
Category: Book Two Logs
This page was last modified on 8 August 2010, at 08:51.
Noodles of Fu Manchu

From Dragon

"The best quality tea must have creases like the leather boot of Qin Chao horsemen, curl like the dewlap of a mighty
bullock, unfold like a mist rising out of a ravine, gleam like a lake touched by a
zephyr, and be wet and soft like a fine earth newly swept by rain."

The run begins on the Day of the Early Serpent, in the Month of the Crane, in the eleventh Year of the Spider since the Third Treaty of Houses.

The run takes place in the Port of Propitious Voyage, in the Hon'eth Arcade.
Previous Run Next Run
Contents

1 Invitation to a Tea House
2 An Unexpected Gathering
3 A Night-time Visitor
4 A Will is Read... Sort Of
5 More Guests Arrive
6 Nighttime Exposition
7 Second Day
8 Third Day
9 Puttering

Invitation to a Tea House

As people putter around the Harbor of Fortunate Arrival, Cai Wen says that he has been investing in a tea house in the Port of Propitious Voyage, to be called the Cup of Five Virtues, and it will be opening soon - everyone is invited to the grand opening. He is a half-owner, and Wei Han is a sixth-owner. There is some puzzlement over exactly why he has been investing in a tea house - the short answer is that the proprietor, Chashui, was defrauded by Lucky Chang and is thus worth cultivating as an ally. Lijuan wonders what the five virtues are - Cai Wen identifies them as "Quality, Service, Taste, Discretion, and Comfort."

Kasumi pesters Hana as to how her date with Niyo went. Hana doesn't go into details about the actual date, but says that she learned that Niyo is in town doing research on transactions in tael that have been going on, and is looking at financial trends. Anto wonders if that has to do with the tael ritual that Hsu Verity and Namura Hayato put together. Or the tael counterfeiting that the Southrons were doing, Lijuan notes. Either way, it's not very clear. Cai Wen does a quick check through the marketplace to see if people are talking about a big shift in finances after the tael ritual. He finds that there is a grand new opera house being built, but there doesn't seem to be public knowledge of a specific trend or massive economic shift towards art. Wei Han buys Kasumi a new katana with the Dragon Army credits, since hers was grabbed by the guards during the Harbor Master House robbery.

Then, the group heads north to the Port of Propitious Voyage, preparing fancy costumes for the opening and renting horses to make a good impression. (Hana buys Lijuan some fancy "retainer" clothes when she deems "washing my hands" to be insufficient for a fancy party.)

There is a Dragon Army checkpoint, about halfway up the highway, asking about where they're bound and what weapons they have, and so on. Cai Wen tries to explain that they're travelling to the Port of Propitious Voyage on business, but when Wei Han comes to ask what's going on, the soldiers are willing take his word that everything is in order. The city gates also have Dragon Army soldiers on it, which is unusual, but again, Wei Han can get them through without a problem.

Lijuan asks the local urchins what's going on with the soldiers. They say that they don't have a lot of details, but think it has to do with the "war on boats" that's going on. The urchins also ask if Lijuan needs a flophouse to stay in. They mention a place called the Rat's Nest that's warm and dry, that they give her directions to, but she declines, saying she has to be respectable this week. Wei Han asks some off duty soldiers about the guards on the gate - they say there's been some sabotage of the blockade, though the problems have stopped now that they've rounded up some dissidents. (Wei Han notes with disapproval that "dissident" is one of those words you just don't say - discipline is clearly a bit lax.)

Cai Wen checks in with Chashui - she's quite nervous about getting things ready in time, and the staff is scrubbing and polishing and such to get everything in order. She also tells him that since he was talking about expanding, the building behind the tea house might be suitable to expand into - the family that owns it has retired to the country, and the building is not really being kept up. So it might be cheap to acquire. Not a thing to worry about immediately, but it's worth keeping in mind for the longer term. Lijuan recognizes the address for the building behind the tea house as the Rat's Nest, and she wanders off to investigate. It does indeed seem to be infested with urchins, all on the look out for some good marks to pickpocket. They perk up when they hear a new high-class tea house is about to open.

Xiao Fa looks at the feng shui of the tea house and its location. The location is quite good
- it's quite near two major thoroughfares, but set back a street or two so that it's not frenetic. The outside of the house is also quite good - the inside has been remodeled several times, and not always with an eye to chi flow, so it isn't great, but it's not bad. He moves some decorations around to help, and gets the decor about as good as it can get, given the current configurations of the walls.

An Unexpected Gathering

There is a peremptory rapping at the front door - an elderly man, dignified in a tall cylindrical hat, wants to know why they are closed? It is very important that they be open! Cai Wen assures him that they will be open soon enough - the grand opening is in two days. He frowns and says that it would be best if they had their grand opening tomorrow. Why is that, Cai Wen enquires? Because tomorrow is when all the important guests will be arriving.
Hana tries to sense his motives - they seem to be as they as they appear, in that he's concerned about using the tea house, but doesn't seem to be malicious.
"Would you do us the honor of informing us of whose presence we are in?" Shuyan
He introduces himself as Solicitor Chan, and clearly thinks that people should be impressed. Shuyan dutifully looks impressed, on general principles, though no one actually recognizes his name. He says that there are a number of Important Guests coming, but their names should not be bandied about on the street. Cai Wen smoothly explains that at the Cup of Five Virtues, one of the virtues is discretion. Solicitor Chan nods, and says that he looks forward to sampling the noodles tomorrow. He heads off again, directing his daughter Chao-Li to stay behind and assist in making sure everything is in order for tomorrow. Chao-Li appears to think that Cai Wen is very cute, so she's happy to stay. Shuyan asks Chao-Li what sort of noodles her father will be expecting? This is a tea house, and doesn't normally serve noodles. Chao-Li is intrigued to hear that it is a tea house now she notes that that is definitely a step up from that other establishment, with a delicate shudder. In the beginning, though, long ago, the building was the site of a noodle house. The party also asks what office Inspector Chan represents - oh, Chao-Li demurs, he's not an inspector, he's a solicitor. He is the executor for a great estate. Though one of the guests will be an inspector. Oh, wait, he's not with the government? No, not at all. People wonder whether they really need to be jumping to his instructions to open the tea house early, though it may be hard to tell him now that they won't do it.

Chao-Li provides more details on the will: before the establishment was a tea house, it was an establishment that we will not talk about; before that, it was a merchant holding house; before that, another one of those establishments; and before that, a noodle house. The noodle house was founded by the departed. Ah, so the will is being read here for sentimental reasons? Yes, plus it is explicitly stipulated in the will itself. Chao-Li notes that those mentioned in the will are wealthy and powerful people, so if the tea house can be open, they will certainly make a good profit.

Cai Wen checks in with Chashui - would it be possible to open tomorrow? That panics her
- they aren't nearly finished cleaning. Xiao Fa and Kasumi volunteer to help scrub. Xiao Fa also checks out the kitchen - it isn't really set up for noodles, though it is set up for producing large quantities of boiling water, so it could be switched over to noodles - but probably not vast quantities of noodles and vast quantities of tea at the same time.

Kuan-Xi suggests that Anto divert a river through the tea house to clean it... Anto thinks that's cool, but he doesn't have that shtick. Cai Wen puts his foot down - flooding is not an appropriate method of cleaning the tea house.
"I'm sad because I can't think of anything equivalent to do with snakes." -Shuyan "With snakes, you could make them hold their party somewhere else." -Kasumi
Lijuan wonders if the urchins could help clean - she drags Cai Wen to talk to the kids in the Rats' Nest. At first, they panic to think that Lijuan has called the law down on them, but she manages to convince them, of... well, of something, at least.

"Cai Wen is very important. He owns the tea house." -Lijuan
"Oh, no! She told the law!" -Urchins
"No, no, he wants to hire you. For food and money."
"Does he have money?"
"He owns the tea house, you dummy!"
"Oh...oh, we get it now. Right. Come in! (Whispered: Sorry, we were slow up the uptake.)"
"I left all my money with friends elsewhere, you realize?" -Cai Wen "Hmf."

Cai Wen tries to convince them that he wants to hire them - honest pay for honest work but there is much scorn at this idea. He had better not be saying such crazy things when Fin gets back. However, the idea of hiring them to do a job seems more plausible. The difference goes over Lijuan's head, but Cai Wen gets the idea. Apparently, Fin is the guy to talk to - he gets the loot coming in, and divvies it up. He also gets the delicious pork buns for them. He'll be back in the evening, if they want to talk to him when he returns. Then, the urchins show Lijuan and Cai Wen out, pickpocketing Cai Wen's oil of squeakiness in the process.

Back at the tea house, Xiao Fa, Kasumi, Anto, and Lijuan throw themselves into scrubbing. The mirror metal polish gets used, making all the metal fixtures shiny-bright. Shuyan is particularly good at making things tidy, Hana does some organization with tea ceremonies, and even Wei Han somewhat grudgingly helps. Still, they're not quite going to be done in time, until Cai Wen hires a last-minute cleaning crew to sweep in and help finish. Lo, they are set to open!

When hearing that there isn't a night guard (tea shops don't usually need to post guards), Wei Han and Kasumi offer to spend the night, just in case some comes to sabotage the opening, or something. Before turning in for the night, though, there is more interrogation to be done!

Does Chao-Li think that anyone will be disappointed that there are no noodles? Cai Wen could arrange for a noodle cart, or something, if necessary. Chao-Li thinks her father is the only one who will be disappointed; the others might expect noodles, but some might be happy that there are no noodles. She mostly advises not deliberately offending them "Who needs people like them for enemies?" Cai Wen points out that he doesn't actually know who they are yet. All she knows is that they are all high-ranking members of the Si Fan. Nobody is sure what the Si Fan is - maybe something about spies - but Cai Wen doesn't want to ask. He does ask where the inheritors are coming from - she thinks they hail from the Hidden City, the Illuminated Precincts, the City of Spires, and the Savanna. The deceased himself is the great Fu Manchu, and these are the scions of the Fu family, here to divide up his... holdings. People with KS: Hon'eth Arcade remember the name of the Fu Bar and Noodle House, a long-ago landmark of the Port of Propitious Voyage.

"I am intrigued by your information gathering approach in which you do not admit that you want any information. Teach me your wisdom in why you take this approach." -Anto, to Cai Wen
Since Cai Wen is a bit unwilling to appear ignorant of what's going on, Anto volunteers to be the one who admits to no clue.
"I'm sure that Cai Wen knows everything that's going on, but I am more confounded. Could you tell me who the great Fu Manchu was?" -Anto
Chao-Li skirts around the issue a bit, but says that Fu Manchu was a... mastermind, of sorts. He founded an organization called the Si Fan - similar to how countries have spies, but it is not associated with a country. A private spy organization, you might say. The scions of the Fu family who are attending are:

Fu Li, number one son.
Fu Sen, number two son
the Precious Jade... also a member of the family
the mysterious Inspector Ando, who she's not heard of before.
"Is Precious Jade a lady?" -Shuyan "I would not presume to say." -Chao-Li
Chao-Li is also quite unsure of why Inspector Ando has been invited.
"Should we expect trouble?"
"Oh, yes."
"What sort?"
"No one hires my father for these things unless they expect complicated mechanics."

But what about violence? People are concerned about that sort of trouble in particular. She thinks that it is possible, though not likely, that they will try to assassinate each other. To do so in the tea house would be very rude, though.
Lijuan, Cai Wen, and Wei Han make another trip to the Rats' Nest, to talk to the urchins about not causing trouble for the tea house opening. Fin, the leader, is willing to negotiate:
"How much trouble do you not want to have?" -Fin "How much trouble do you control?" -Cai Wen
"He's only thirteen. We rate higher trouble than him..." -Hana

Cai Wen thinks that a handful of zhu and some food, every so often, will keep them at bay indefinitely, though if they notice that the tea house is full of really rich people, they may ask for more. He bribes them for the moment with some zhu and "a pile of pork buns", and they agree to Keep Trouble From His Door.

A Night-time Visitor

Kuan-Xi arranges for rooms at the best inn in town - it even has its own attached bathhouse! Lijuan stays at the Rats' Nest, while Kasumi, Wei Han, and Xiao Fa stay at the tea house. Those staying at the inn spot Inspector Ando, drinking rice wine downstairs.
"I could go talk to him and you and Chao-Li could go... amuse yourselves." -Hana "That would be fine." -Cai Wen
Hana sits down near Ando and starts up a conversation with him. He's curious if Merit and Takanata are in town, but Hana says they're not here yet. Ando is reassured to learn that the party clearly isn't here on business then. Hana corrects him that it is business, but it will hopefully not discommode him. They are opening a tea house, near the Avenue of Abundant Prosperity. Ando notes that he also has business near the Avenue of Abundant Prosperity, so perhaps he will stop in. Hana notes that she hears he is already planning to. He is a bit disconcerted by that, and she explains. Ando is shocked - Cai Wen owns the Fu Bar? How did they get involved with such people? He is also still puzzled by why he has been invited. Hana explains further, and he is shocked yet again - the ranking members of the Si Fan are coming here? Perhaps it would be safer if he did not attend at all. Hana says it may be awkward to explain his absence.
"We have a long tradition of being awkward with each other." -Ando
Is there anything in particular that they should know when dealing with the Si Fan, that Ando can tell them? Ando racks his brains and advises that Hana not offer noodles to the younger son. Well... all right, but are there particular concerns when dealing with... these sort of people? Ando thinks not at the moment, though he's clearly thinking frantically.

"A concerned citizen should have no concerns. People in actual informationgathering services do not get along well with private information-gathering services. Others shouldn't notice." -Ando

Hana confirms that the Si Fan isn't a group of assassins, or people trying to take over the world, or consorting with evil sorcerers. Well, they do hire out - so they might on occasion consort with evil sorcerers, but they aren't a group of evil sorcerers.

As she's leaving, Hana notices a well dressed merchant type killing time in the inn. She goes over and looks ornamental at him until he buys her a drink. He turns out to be Fu Sen. She chats him up and discovers that he is in town for a family reunion of sorts, that he doesn't seem to like his family, that he hasn't actually seen his siblings in years because they were all forbidden to come to this city while his father was alive, and that he has noticed there are a lot of high-powered merchants in town, so he expects that he will be given some sort of merchant-y test. Hana tells him that her friend, Cai Wen, owns the tea house where the will is to be read. (Fu Sen is pleased to hear it is no longer a noodle bar.) She also lets slip that Cai Wen has some spiffy trading skills (because he is wearing the Magpie Talisman, though Hana doesn't mention that part). Fu Sen hints that if Hana will use her influence to get Cai Wen to help him, there would be dinner and a nice piece of jewelry in it for her.

Back in the tea house, Wei Han discovers an unlocked door which he is sure he locked, and Xiao Fa discovers some spices in the kitchen which he thought he put away. Between the two of them, that seems to be No Good. Kasumi lets Pooky (the hiding monkey) go, and the monkey manages to find someone sneaking towards the exit. She throws a knife at the door, being as intimidating as possible, and telling the monkey "No, I said stay in the house." Wei Han takes the hint and blocks the door. The thief flees, and Wei Han grabs them as he tries to leap out a window. Both of them crash through the window to outside, but the thief is captured, and Wei Han starts shaking him around. Ho starts barking, and Lijuan and a bunch of urchins show up as well.
The thief apologizes, and claims to have not found anything worth stealing.
"You're just a common thief?" -Wei Han
"I'm a very skilled thief, but I didn't find anything."
Xiao Fa checks everything in the kitchen which was disturbed, and finds some hallucinogenic jasmine tea. Kasumi reports to Solicitor Chan - he says he doesn't want a thief. If Kasumi can find out who he works for, he can hold it against them. Well, technically, the gathering hasn't begun yet, so he cannot strictly penalize them... but he will keep it in mind. Lijuan goes to report to Cai Wen, interrupting him at an awkward time.

Wei Han insists that the thief pay for replacing the window, which the thief takes as solicitation for a bribe, offering five li plus a new window. Wei Han threatens to give him to the army for military justice instead, unless he confesses who hired him. They end up agreeing that if the thief tells Wei Han who hired him, Wei Han will give him to the local authorities instead of the army. The thief says he was hired by Fu Lo Sui (not a Fu name the group has heard before). Wei Han says that if the tea house owner is happy, then he'll take him to the local authorities. The thief thinks this is unfair - Wei Han is changing the deal after the guy has done his half. Cai Wen shows up, and presses him a bit further on what he was doing, and the "thief" admits to planting the jasmine tea, as an advantage to his employer. Anyway, he'll see to the window, and Cai Wen notes that it had better not be an advantageous window in any way.
Kuan-Xi and Anto sneak off to raid the sweet dumplings that the inn has on hand for breakfast; she tells him a bit about being embarassed about Takanata and Yanyu trying to direct her, and a bit about the House of Harmony.

Shuyan has a talk in the baths with a woman who turns out to be Precious Jade. Jade gives Shuyan some skin-care tips (and a small container of skin cream from her stash) and thinks that the adorable snake is indeed adorable.
That covers all the people invited to the will reading, except for Fu Li - he might also be staying at the inn, but if so, he's not in any of the common areas to be seen.
Since there are spies here, the party thinks perhaps Machan Li is also around. Lijuan tells the urchins at the Rats' Nest that she'll give 10 zhu to the first one who can find her a black horse with a white fetlock. They dash off to search, and Lijuan heads over to the tea house to install improvised wind-chimes as burglar detectors.

A Will is Read... Sort Of

In the morning, the thief's brother comes to fix the window. Xiao Fa removes all the nonharmonious wind-chimes. Then, everyone confers over breakfast and fills each other in on what they've learned. In particular, since someone was hired to put hallucinogens in the jasmine tea, they should watch to see who doesn't drink it.

Inspector Ando knocks at the door, wondering if the tea house is open. Much to his dismay, he has been ordered by his superiors to attend, all day for three days. The "three days" part is news to the others, who had been planning on a one-day private opening. Ando confirms that Fu Lo Sui is the courtesan spy known as Precious Jade. The party briefs him on the list of the Fu family - he notes that Fu Li is a bureaucrat spy, and Fu Sen is a merchant spy. And, of course, Ando is an Imperial spy, which is not really like the others. The group wants to know what his goals are here. He says he'll be happy just to survive, and possibly learn how they manipulated his bosses into sending him into the trap. Officially, the Si Fan is illegal (in the way that every country's spy organization is illegal in the many countries it spies on). The Imperial Chancellory has been hunting them
- people wonder whether that means "hunting" in the "letting them alone" sense, but no, Ando's mentor spent most of his career hunting the Si Fan, but they are very evasive.

Solicitor Chan is next to arrive, noting that his secretary has gone absent, so things are in a bit of disorder. Chao-Li dimples - oh, did he need her? Oops. Ando fades into the background, and Hana supervises tea-making in the kitchen. Cai Wen asks Solicitor Chan if there are provisions in the will for expenses for things like tea - Solicitor Chan says there is a provision in the will for the noodle house - not expenses, exactly, but appropriate compensation. Cai Wen is suddenly nervous, suspecting that to mean some sort of painful just deserts.

Some workmen show up with a large box; Solicitor Chan directs them to the private room upstairs. Then, Merchant Fu Sen and his servants arrive. They note that their master finds it wise to be early, so as to not miss anything. Fu Sen appears to be in his forties, wearing silks and gold.

As the arrivals continue, there's a pounding on the door - an urchin is looking for Lijuan, because he found a black horse with a white fetlock! Anto and Lijuan rush off immediately, to a stable at one of the less fine inns - sure enough, there's a big black horse with one white fetlock. Lijuan checks its hooves, and tries to backtrace the tracks - it seems to have come from out of town relatively recently. They ask the innkeeper whose horse it is, professing interest in buying it - the innkeeper says it belongs to Merchant Ko. Lijuan befriends the horse, and Anto heads back to the tea house to tell everyone, leaving Lijuan to watch for "Merchant Ko" to emerge.

Unfortunately, not long after Anto leaves, another urchin shows up for Lijuan - he's found a better black horse with a white fetlock. Lijuan writes a note: "ANUTHER HORS", and tells Ho to take it to Cai Wen. Ho dashes off. The urchin takes Lijuan to a farmhouse a little ways out of town, where there's another big horse with a white fetlock; this one has fluffier feathers than the first horse, and Lijuan could probably tell them apart again later if she tried. She confirms that it's a farm horse by annoying it a lot - if it had been a spy horse, it would have kicked her, she concludes. Back at the first horse, Anto returns to meet Lijuan, only to find a third urchin, who has yet another horse to see.
Meanwhile, at the tea house, Fu Li arrives, precisely at noon. He wears silk but no gold, and is in his fifties. He nods to Cai Wen, who opens the door.
"I see you have remodeled again. I will have the spicy noodles." -Fu Li
As it turns out, Cai Wen has arranged for a day of a noodle cook, and Xiao Fa supervises. Fu Li suggests that they begin, but Solicitor Chan notes that the group is not yet complete. Sure enough, shortly thereafter, another carriage arrives, with a number of burly servants and the Precious Jade, who is so terribly sorry she is late - there are so many demands upon her time.
"We would not have started until you arrived, of course." -Cai Wen "Aren't you the dearest thing?" -Precious Jade
Chao-Li glowers at this flirtation, and the Precious Jade dismissively classes her as a servant. As people settle in, Shuyan fetches tea for Precious Jade.
"It's a pleasure to see you again." -Precious Jade "Of course it is." -Shuyan
"Getting better!" -Precious Jade
Solicitor Chan begins. There are several pages of bequests, that have been made to:
The current proprietor of the Fu Bar (cover page) Solicitor Chan, in an adminstrative capacity (page 0) Fu Li, number one son of Fu Manchu (page 1) Fu Sen, number two of Fu Manchu (page 2) Fu Lo Sui (cough), daughter of Fu Manchu (page 3) Inspector Ando of the Imperial Chancellory (page 4)
All the Fus turn and stare at Ando. He gives a little wave: "Present."
Each page is one of a set, except for the cover page, which contains legalisms and a single bequest, and cannot be changed. The current status of the pages is: 0E, 1A, 2A, 3A, and 4A. Each page will be shown to the beneficiary in question alone. Solicitor Chan also says, firmly, that only those successes acquired inside the noodle house will count. Exploits outside will mean nothing.

The cover sheet concerns the tea house. The deceased, Fu Manchu, remembered his first enterprise fondly, and he places his blessing upon it. He gives this great portrait of himself to be hung in the main room; let all who see it and are seen by it receive his blessing. (Any others who wish to grant blessings upon the house may also do so, by the wondrous properties of the painting.) Wei Han notices that the two karma he has previously spent on letting the tea house summon Dragon Army soldiers, are caught up by the painting and integrated, so now the tea house is protected by the Dragon Army when it needs it.

Page 0 is Solicitor Chan's reimbursement, which need not be detailed further. Fu Li looks at page 1(a), and is outraged! Solicitor Chan reassures him that there will be time for changes later. Fu Sen looks at page 2(a), and, after asking for help understanding the legal details, finds it similarly offensive. Precious Jade looks at page 3(a) - she also needs help interpreting, and, as expected, finds it entirely unacceptable. Inspector Ando is able to read his own bureacratese on page 4(a), and nearly draws his sword in fury. Solicitor Chan reassures them all that there are three days to make changes, and then an imperial bureaucrat will arrive at the end of the third day to certify things. (Chao-Li explains to the party that none of the pages will be read aloud until the will is finalized.)

"I assume we will be able to examine the other pages?" -Fu Sen "I don't know - will you be able to?" -Solicitor Chen
"What will we need to do?"
"I am not permitted to tell you, but I expect you will do what comes naturally."
Meanwhile, at the third horse across town, the urchins proudly present a large black horse, its right foreleg recently painted.
"I couldn't find one, so I made one for you." "I want my zhu back." -Lijuan
Lijuan takes the opportunity to turn this into a Teaching Moment, and notes that when people ask for something like this, it's because they want a specific thing that they're too lazy to find themselves. While the city does seem to be unfortunately thick with black horses now, real and fraudulent, Anto and Lijuan figure that the first horse has the best chance of belonging to Machan Li, so Anto climbs up the side of the inn to look in the window at "Merchant Ko". He's in the room, packing various things into boxes. At about half past noon, the merchant leaves the inn with his boxes, and puts them in the saddlebags of his horse. Anto peers at him, wondering how he is Bound - the answer is that he is bound by contract, having signed many papers to that effect. He must make the best deal he can - if he makes a good deal, he will become rich. Otherwise, he will merely remain wealthy. Lijuan calls out to admire his horse, and he tosses her a zhu, and then rides off - towards the tea house! Anto and Lijuan follow.
Lijuan has a surfeit of black horses with white fetlocks.
Of course, since he's on a horse, Merchant Ko beats his followers to the tea house. He parks his horse and knocks on the door, but Cai Wen (who doesn't yet know he's suspected of being Machan Li) tells him the tea house isn't open yet - the grand opening is tomorrow. Merchant Ko is a bit puzzled, but apologizes and says that he must have gotten the date wrong. He says he'll come by tomorrow, and leaves again.

More Guests Arrive

Precious Jade remarks to Shuyan that if she is expected to behave naturally, she presumes that attractive and wealthy gentlemen may be stopping by for tea. Can Shuyan make sure that they get good seats? Shuyan notes that the tea house isn't really open, except for the private party. Precious Jade expects that the party will be increasing soon. Fu Li, on the other hand, chats to Xiao Fa. He is pleased to see a priest - someone no doubt concerned with order. If Xiao Fa could ensure that those who are in need of his services - law, permits, bureaucracy - are directed into the tea house, he would greatly appreciate it. Should he find himself adequately compensated, then in justice, the tea house will receive his blessing.

Fu Sen looks around, but doesn't see anyone to conduct business with. Cai Wen admits that someone who looked like a merchant tried to drop by, but was turned away. Fu Sen is most disappointed - could they get him back? Cai Wen says he'll be returning tomorrow surely that will be sufficient. Hana tries to soothe Fu Sen's ruffled feathers, and tries to charm out of him what his page bequeaths to him. Apparently, it leaves him all of his father's debts, but none of his assets.

Kasumi asks Ando what was on his page - he puts his hand on his sword, still furious, and says that he will be told the location where his mentor is being tortured to death. Do what comes naturally? Well, the natural thing, he thinks, is to start stabbing people. Wei Han wishes he would not, as that would put him (Wei Han) in a rather awkward position. Could he try to Investigate, instead? That ought to be natural for him. Unfortunately, he's not quite ready to be logical yet.

Shuyan asks Precious Jade about her page - it seems to involve a marriage that she is entirely uninterested in. Precious Jade notes that if there is anything Shuyan can do to assist, Precious Jade would be grateful. And if she does receive useful help, she will leave her blessing on the teahouse.

Chao-Li notes to the party that she's seen the mechanic now - do they have any questions? Foremost on people's minds is whether the cover sheet can be changed. She says that the mechanic will not take the portrait away from them - but if they don't want it, they could always sell it afterwards, assuming they don't want the blessings. There won't be a legal injunction that says it has to hang in the tea house. People wonder whether they can see the other pages. Well, they can try, but her father does keep them on him.

Each of the heirs has their own thing that they need to do - Inspector Ando is supposed to uncover the secrets of the Fu family; Precious Jade has to seduce secrets out of men; Fu Sen has to make a profit and learn secrets from people he bargains with; Fu Li - well, Chao-Li's bureaucracy isn't up to the task of quite understanding what he's doing. Based on how many successes they get, they can upgrade their pages - 20 successes for page B, or 40 successes more (60 total) for page C. Only someone who reaches a page C can actually inherit true leadership of the Si Fan.

Wei Han tells Ando about the "secrets of the Si Fan" goal. He still looks like he would prefer stabbing people, but manages to buckle down to trying to find secrets, on the theory that maybe that will let him rescue his mentor. Lijuan convinces Ando to hire her to find out secrets for 5 zhu each. He bargains her down to 2 zhu up front, 2 later, on general principles, and Lijuan starts hiding in corners to overhear things. Shuyan starts herding interesting men towards Precious Jade. People look over the new customers - they all seem like high-class people, but none of them are exceptionally interesting-looking - except Merchant Ko, Cai Wen recalls, who looked like a very impressive merchant.

Chao-Li admits that her father gets demoted a page every time there's non-mechanic chicanery, like people forging pages of the will. She hopes that doesn't happen, and it would certainly cause him to be upset and take steps.

Hana shmoozes around. One thing she finds is that there is a shortage of jasmine tea, as that's the only thing that Fu Li drinks. She brings him a cup; he mostly looks right through her and thanks her for the tea, and continues his conversation. She tries to start a conversation more insistently, and gets his attention. He asks if she's licensed to practice in this city. Startled she says that no, she's just here socially. Ah - does she wants a permit to found a Flower House here? No, she's just visiting. Fu Li is puzzled at what she wants from him.
"Talk to me when you understand what you wish." -Fu Li
"Really, all I wanted to know is why his brother doesn't like noodles." -Hana
Kasumi goes to break into Precious Jade's rooms at the hotel. She turns up lots of vials of things - some which smell nice, others less so. She also finds a note, telling Precious Jade that Cho Shan Ji will be in town tomorrow, and to be sure to not miss him. When Kasumi checks Fu Sen's rooms, he has a note in a similar hand, suggesting that he meet Merchant Ko today.
Hana, still curious about the Noodle Incident, goes to chat with Fu Sen. Is there anything she could fetch him instead of noodles? He would be happy with jasmine rice.
"But what do you have against noodles?" "Let us leave it at that they remind me of my father."
Hana then chats with Precious Jade, attempting to find out more, but she is insufficiently persuasive, and only learns that "noodles can be used for more than eating."
Anto and Xiao Fa are cornered by Fu Li:
"Brother monks, if I could impose upon you to spend some time examining the crowd and finding those who are in need of my services, I would of course compensate you appropriately."

He's looking for people who need permits, licenses, that sort of thing. They agree to work the crowd for him. Up in her hidey-hole, Lijuan overhears Precious Jade and one of the men, who confesses that he has been unfaithful to his wife more than just this once. She reports this all to Ando and gets paid her other two zhu. Cai Wen canvasses the crowd for merchant opportunities for Fu Sen, and finds a few, and Hana helps Precious Jade a bit.

At closing time for the tea house, Solicitor Chan provides an update. The only page to have changed is 3, which is 3(b) now - so Precious Jade has gone up one. She looks at her new page, and declares it much better, though her father could have been a bit more generous.

Nighttime Exposition
Kasumi follows Fu Li to a less fancy inn than everyone else is staying at, though she doesn't try to break in while he's in it.
Chao-Li Chan briefs the party - she's figured out a bit more of the mechanic. Shuyan and Hana now seem to count as being on Precious Jade's team - they roll for 6's for and against Precious Jade, but are rolling for 8's against Fu Li. Cai Wen and Wei Han are on Fu Sen's team, and roll for 8's against Precious Jade. Xiao Fa and Anto are on Fu Li's team, and roll for 8's against Fu Sen. Lijuan and Kasumi are orthogonal, and roll for 7's against everyone. For Ando, getting non-Fu secrets helps, but only half as much.
She also has the actual scores:
Fu Li: 16
Fu Sen: 15
Precious Jade: 20
Ando: 8

Cai Wen checks with Chashui - maybe they could invite more interesting people? Chashui notes that actually, most of the interesting locals seem to have been invited - she's quite impressed. The Port of Propitious Voyage is the smallest of the three main cities in the Arcade - maybe getting someone really impressive to come up from the Harbor would be a coup, but time is tight to arrange that.
Wei Han thinks the important thing is how to prevent Merchant Ko/Machan Li from showing up. Could they do something to him before he leaves his inn? Or play defense at the tea house and not let him in? At this point, Ho starts barking, and Fin knocks on the tea house door, a bit miffed.
"We need to talk. Someone has seriously misrepresented the caliber of clientele at this tea house." -Fin
"Perhaps we have misrepresented the amount of trouble you could be in." -Wei Han "Oh, is that the way it's going to be?" -Fin
"No, it's not, but Wei Han likes to have things on the table." -Cai Wen "Keep in mind that a bunch of screaming kids can really put a damper on a party."
-Fin

Now that he's seen the impressive clientele, Fin thinks a handful of li, plus pork buns, would be a fair price for the urchins' helpfulness. Cai Wen thinks that's not very sustainable, and Lijuan warns Fin that Cai Wen can just buy the Rats' Nets and kick them all out. Cai Wen offers three li, and all the pork buns they can eat, but with an agreement that Fin and the urchins will also help with any... odd jobs that need doing over the next few days. Fin agrees.

Wei Han talks to the local Dragon Army quartermaster about stopping by to make some deals with Fu Sen, and arranges for some off duty guards to be security for the night. Then, he drops by to talk to Solicitor Chan, who is most unhappy that someone has rifled through his things. Wei Han talks him into coming back to the tea house to spend the night, "where there is more security", and gives him a bedroll.

Meanwhile, though, Ando has been talking to Kasumi, and has realized that the rules of the contest say that the successes have to be earned in the tea house - but not necessarily while it's open. So, if Kasumi can get a Fu or Chan back to the tea house in the middle of the night, they could search him. As it turns out, Wei Han has already arranged for this, all unknowing. Ando and Kasumi sneak past the Dragon Army guards on the outside, and into the room Solicitor Chan is sleeping in, and try to read some of the pages of the will. Kasumi doesn't speak enough legalese to understand 0D, but Ando does - it's "do a good job and earn 50 li." Ando also reads 2B - all of the merchant assets belonging to Fu Manchu will be used to cancel the debts, before they are passed to Fu Sen. These both count as secrets for Ando, and he sneaks out again.

At the fancy inn, Shuyan visits Precious Jade, and begins learning the secrets of charming in exchange for her continued assistance - then she stops by the hotel bar, and talks up the amazing tea house that she'll be at tomorrow.
Those staying at the tea house search the basement, and search for secret doors - they find quite a few, and also find the Secret Noodle Recipe of Fu Manchu.
Lijuan sleeps at the Rat's Nest, trying to figure out where Fin gets the pork buns. She follows him out in the early morning, where he goes to a bakery, and unlocks the back door with a key on a string around his neck; then he takes some pork buns and leaves. Lijuan realizes the fundamental truth of this city's urchin underground: "He who controls the key, controls the urchins."

Second Day

Solicitor Chan is quite cross to discover that his papers have been rifled through again the tea house is no better than the inn! Wei Han is very apologetic. However, since nothing has been changed, it doesn't actually count as shenanigans sufficient to drop his own page. Xiao Fa checks the herbs and teas - nothing untoward has crept in. The guards outside say that several "people of nefarity" approached, but kept walking upon seeing them.

Once the tea house has opened for the day, Kasumi goes to search Fu Li's hotel room. There is a note, similar to the other two, telling Fu Li that an Imperial Bureaucrat Second Class, who will be showing up on the third day, enjoys tea, and Fu Li might do well to speak to him before the time elapses. People contemplate the potential of hallucinogenic jasmine tea given to Imperial Bureaucrats. Cai Wen instructs the urchins of the Rats' Nest that if a man shows up on a black horse with a white fetlock, they should harass him and throw rocks at him. Lijuan warns them that he's very dangerous, so don't actually get close to him.

As today is the actual Grand Opening, Cai Wen gives a little speech about the Five Virtues embodied in the tea house - though there seems to be some confusion among the guests as to why there are so many noodles, if it's a tea house. Kasumi shows Ando the secret doors, and Fu Manchu's Noodle Recipe. Those count as Fu Family Secrets, certainly! Ando asks Xiao Fa to prepare the Noodles of Fu Manchu. Then, Precious Jade, spotting Xiao Fa in the kitchen, asks if he could make her a batch of noodles as well? She would be ever so grateful, especially if he could include these particular herbs (she gives him some herbs that he identifies as fairly standard for loosening the tongue).

Xiao Fa warns Cai Wen that there is a RUN on NOODLES, and to whisper about the herbs. Cai Wen goes to let Precious Jade know that they're running out of noodles, though after talking to her, he thinks that it will be hard to claim that they can't make any more noodles all day. He goes back to let Xiao Fa know he should make the drugged noodles eventually.
Hana scoops up secrets for Ando; Kasumi hides to overhear things, and Shuyan sends people to Precious Jade.

Then, there is a commotion outside. Merchant Ko, on his black horse, is being driven away from the tea house by urchins throwing rocks. He looks most put out. Everyone cheers.
Xiao Fa and Anto cook up the Noodles of Fu Manchu for Ando, and give it to him in a covered bowl. He goes off to spring the noodles on Fu Sen.
Later, Hana and Kuan-Xi are conferring, when Kuan-Xi suddenly looks astounded, staring over Hana's shoulder. A very attractive guy has just walked in - this would be Cho Shan-Ji, quickly nicknamed "Captain Dreamy" by Kuan-Xi, and who the party suspects of being Machan Li in a new disguise. Precious Jade starts making her way over to him, but Hana leaps to intercept, and manages to convince Precious Jade that the way to get him is to be aloof and mysterious. Kuan-Xi notes that this might work for a little while, but not forever
- someone will have to throw themselves on the grenade. She is clearly psyching herself up for the task, but Hana says that this is her job.

"Who of me and Kuan-Xi and Shuyan has the best chance of getting this guy?" Hana
"You forgot me!" -Lijuan

At the same time, Cai Wen (having been briefed on the plan) goes to distract Precious Jade, after Shuyan talks him up to her. At first he's not quite seductive enough, but then when he shows her his adorable little ferret, that puts him over the top. They are about to go off to spend some quality time together when Xiao Fa brings out the drugged noodles for Precious Jade, which she skillfully passes to Cai Wen. He uses his shtick in "cheat in minigames" to only spill stupid small secrets, but he will have Words with Xiao Fa later. Meanwhile, Hana has been trying to seduce Cho Shan-Ji without falling for him herself as it turns out, each of them is more seductive than able to dodge seduction, so it's a mutual. Hana has the "No Impropriety" shtick, so they go off to gaze deeply and soulfully into each other's eyes.

Kuan-Xi, now a little worried, wonders if Hana needs rescuing, as she's just gone off alone with someone who might be Machan Li. Anto goes upstairs in the direction that Hana and Captain Dreamy went, looking for people who need help and specifically trying to tell if Hana needs help. He finds Kasumi (listening for secrets) on the other side of a secret door, so Kasumi suggests staging "we were having a tryst together when we just fell out of the secret door into your room." That sounds like a funnier plan than anything else, so they do this. Captain Dreamy has been professing his adoration for Hana, and his willingness to help her in anything she needs; Hana is about to reciprocate this promise, but they are interrupted by Kasumi and Anto. As the two fall into the room, Kasumi says "Ta-Dah!", trying to sound embarassed. Hana shrieks - artistically and not very loudly - and with this encouragement, Cho Shan-Ji/Captain Dreamy/Maybe Machan Li storms angrily out of the tea house.

The Dragon Army quartermaster shows up, and Wei Han introduces him to Fu Sen to talk about supply. Lijuan follows Fu Sen around, and he seems to be planning something for later, but it's not clear what.
When the tea house finally closes, everyone has reached page B, and Chao-Li later provides the full score:
Fu Li: 26
Fu Sen: 32
Precious Jade: 45 Ando: 32
Ando's page now says he will be informed of the location where his mentor's "comfy retirement home" has been fully paid for.
If nobody gets to page C, Chao-Li says that the Si Fan will likely fall into fighting between the three factions. Cai Wen thinks that getting more blessings (if they all hit C) is a goal to strive for. Lijuan thinks that Yoshi wouldn't approve of spies, and it would be better to thwart everyone. Besides, are they real blessings, Anto wonders? Isn't "May you live in interesting times" a curse? Cai Wen says that Takanata says it's both a blessing and a curse, and it showed up in his I Ching, so he thinks it's a good sign.

Another thing to do is to try to make sure that Machan Li is chased away again. If he's the Imperial Bureaucrat, though, they can't stop him from showing up at all, or the will won't be certified. Could they drug him with the hallucinogenic jasmine tea, so he doesn't do anything dangerous?
"You know, the evidence of all three of these people being Machan Li is a lot to hang on one horse."
"Maybe we could have Cai Wen try to buy the Rats' Nest with him, and then people will have to rescue him, like Hana. But differently." -Lijuan
"More paperwork, less groping." -Kasumi

Ando notes that an Imperial Bureaucrat wil have to follow his schedule - so that will help narrow down when he'll be where. Wei Han guesses that he'll want an army escort, so he heads to the garrison to ask if anyone has been assigned to escort an Imperial Bureaucrat Second Class? Yes, in fact. They're meeting him at the city gates at 3:55, escorting him to the tea house at 4:15, and then away again at 6:00. The plan is formed - have Lijuan and the urchins be a rabble in front of the tea house, so they have to bring him to the back entrance (Ando comes up with a "front/side entrance equivalency certification", but notes that it only has five successes, so don't let him look at it too closely). Then, everyone will ply him with tea and keep him distracted.

Wei Han convinces Solicitor Chan to stay in the tea house again, assuring him that this time Wei Han will personally keep his stuff safe. Kasumi hides in the room before he gets back from dinner - when he returns, he's thinking about staying in the expensive inn, because they have security too, but everyone assures him it's completely full up and there's no more room. He sighs and stays in the tea house.

There is still some disagreement on what ends to be pursuing. Three of the party (Lijuan, Wei Han, Kasumi) prefer to thwart everyone and turn the Si Fan towards civil war, while three others (Cai Wen, Xiao Fa, Shuyan) want to push all three of them to page C and get blessings for the tea house. Hana abstains, and Anto is off running errands due to the lateness of the hour. Hana notes that they're not really criminals like the Tongs, though they do deal with criminals; Cai Wen thinks that if the party is fighting the most powerful people in the world, they need friends more than enemies. Lijuan and Kasumi change their votes, and the party buckles down to planning to help everyone (though helping Ando most). There is some discussion as to whether Ando will get control of the Si Fan if he does best - Chao-Li thinks that possibility is by no means assured, and it depends on what Ando's own page C says.

Wei Han sleeps with Solicitor Chan's briefcase as a pillow, but even so Kasumi manages to get some papers out to look at. The 0A page is a 5 zhu payment; 2C is "all debts are cancelled, and Fu Sen gets his father's business contacts"; 3C is a contract as an Imperial Concubine (which is a surprisingly good job when there is no Emperor).

Xiao Fa looks for another dose of tongue-loosener in the local apothecary, but finds that it costs 15 li, which he can't afford. Lijuan starts teaching the urchins Leaping Flame and Turning Wave kung fu, to organize a tournament in front of the tea house at 4pm.

Third Day

On the third day, Wei Han talks to Fu Li, asking for his advice in requisitioning heavier armor from the Dragon Army. Fu Li assures him that he can help Wei Han jump through the bureaucratic hoops. He has some various forms, including a requisition, some engagement reports, a personal biographical information form, a recent activities form... Wei Han fills them all out, but, gritting his teeth, does not put any actual secrets in the forms. Fu Li nods, and annotates the requestion and includes some other forms, that he says will help if they give him trouble about not having taken the right training classes.

When Fu Sen shows up, Lijuan starts following him again, but now he seems smug. Whatever he was planning, he seems to have done it now. Maybe he met Merchant Ko at night? But no, when people drop Merchant Ko's name, Fu Sen is quite cross that the merchant never showed up to talk to him.
Kasumi goes to look for pink vials, as described by Xiao Fa, in Precious Jade's room. She gets one vial of tongue-loosener, which she brings back for Xiao Fa.
Cai Wen talks to Fu Li - he's interested in getting a seal condemning the Rats' Nest building, to make it easier to buy for cheap. Fu Li assures Cai Wen that if Cai Wen helps push him over the top, he will bless the tea house to have whatever legal victories it needs.

Shuyan suggests that Ando be a cute guy for the cute girls who have come today and are failing to find Captain Dreamy. Ando isn't great at flirtation, but he'll give it his best. Xiao Fa gives Ando the tongue-loosener, and he uses it to spike Fu Li's drink; Fu Li starts telling Ando numerous family secrets, mostly related to old battles between Fu Manchu and Ando's mentor.

Wei Han goes to meet the Imperial Bureaucrat Second Class, with the other escorts, and Lijuan stages her martial arts tournament to block the front door. Cai Wen ushers the bureaucrat into the side door, and people fall over themselves bringing him tea and convincing him not to wander. He does remark several times that he ought to find Fu Li, but he is persuaded to not get around to it.
Then, the party is over, and Solicitor Chan declares the final results - these are quickly ratified by the Imperial Bureaucrat Second Class, who departs once that's accomplished.
0D: Solicitor Chan receives 50 li - some sort of shenanigans seem to have happened last night demoting him one page.
1B: Fu Li does not receive his father's papers, but his own name is expunged before they are published.
2C: Fu Sen gets his father's merchanting black book, and the estate's debts are cancelled.
3C: The Precious Jade is given a post as an Imperial Concubine, and inherits the leadership of the Si Fan.
4C: Ando's mentor is forgiven, because Ando is to take his place as the Great and Honored Enemy of the Si Fan.
Ando is not at all clear that this is as much of a reward as Fu Manchu seems to have believed it was, but it is done.
Solicitor Chan, the scions of the Si Fan, and Inspector Ando begin to take their leave. Before going, though, blessings are made upon the Cup of Five Virtues. They spring from people's shticks, but end up shifting somewhat to become place-appropriate.

Wei Han
This place is under the protection of the Dragon Army.
Ando
No matter what plots happen here, may the secrets of the proprietors always be safe.
Precious Jade
May those who seek another find them here.
Fu Sen
May this place never be cheated in its business deals.
Kuan-Xi
May this be an easy place for those touched by the Phoenix to work.
Hana
May there be no unwanted impropriety here.
Cai Wen
May this place be lucky for those inside.
Shuyan
May the tea bring health and healing to those in need.

Puttering
Cai Wen chats with Precious Jade about Machan Li. Anto and Kasumi also bless the tea house.
Retrieved from "http://boojum.scripts.mit.edu/Dragon/index.php? title=Noodles_of_Fu_Manchu"
Category: Book Two Logs
This page was last modified on 24 August 2010, at 15:12.
Recondite Tributaries

From Dragon

"Friendship is but another name for an alliance with the follies and the misfortunes of others."

The run begins on the Day of the Early Phoenix, in the Month of the Crane, in in the three hundred and forty-fifth Year of the Spider since the forging of the First Blades of Deliverance.

The run starts in the Port of Propitious Voyage, but mostly takes place in the disputed New Rivers area between the Jade Taiga and the Savanna of Tears.
Previous Run
Contents

1 Curfew
2 Five Fists of Fury
3 Verdant Tithings
4 Cold Water
5 A Cryptic Vistor
6 Puttering

Curfew

The party is still gathered at the Cup of Five Virtues in the Port of Propitious Voyage, wondering what the next plan should be, when a soldier in the uniform of the Dragon Army comes in and announces a curfew. Everyone must be indoors from sunset to dawn, for one night only. Min Feng tries to ask him why, but he's off to tell the next place. She follows him out, and notes that other soldiers seem to be notifying establishments on other streets. When people try to object, they're told that the order comes from the Obsidian Warlord, and that shuts them up. Rumor has it that the streets are being cleared because the Dragon Army is pulling out and moving south tonight to crush - someone in the south, it's not clear. Min Feng investigates the docks as well - they're being told that sailors have to stay on their ships after sunset. There are some army supply boats being loaded - the blockade will be losing much of its land support, apparently.

"We wanted the Dragon Army to go south and peace-keep, right?" -Yoshi "That's different than 'crush someone in the south'!" -Anto
"The Obsidian Warlord's methods might differ from our own." -Yoshi

Back at the tea house, there is some brief excitement, as Anto hands the Butterfly Talisman to Cai Wen, who is already wearing the Magpie Talisman. He looks truly impressive indeed, but notes that he probably shouldn't have both of them, hands one away, and then passes out. Xiao Fa examines him and says that he just needs to sleep it off. This one does make it clear, however, that while multiple amulets can be used together, it will only work for a limited amount of time, and "there is no elegant way to get off of that bull once you are riding it."

Xiao Fa receives a message from a brother of his order and tells the others that he will need to go to the Savanna - the people of New Rivers need their Xiao Fa back. New Rivers is quite a ways away, but perhaps the group can take Kuan-Xi's little carriage which travels very fast. Anto suggests leaving tomorrow - he is worried about some sort of ritual, or mass arrest, or something going on during the curfew tonight - or why else would the Dragon Army have instituted it?

Seeking advice, Xiao Fa wakes Cai Wen up - his stats are all down by two. He tries to muzzily catch up on what's going on, and when he starts looking around for plots, notices some people in the back corner of the tea house, whispering covertly to each other. Then Xiao Fa gives Cai Wen some Sleepytime Tea, and he passes out again. Min Feng tries to overhear the whisperers - they are concerned that the army is on to them, and is probably going to round them up. Maybe they can pin it on someone else, or figure a way out of town or something... Yoshi, eying them closely, thinks the leader is a "Freedom Fighter", and Min Feng thinks that only three of them are actually in danger from the Dragon Army, while the others are just concerned and trying to help.
Yoshi, Min Feng, and the four Monkeys of the Apocalypse that Min Feng brings everywhere with her, sit down at the conspiracy table. Yoshi attempts to convince them that the party can help them:
"We are extremely understanding of odd difficulties." -Yoshi
"And we are friends of phoenixes." -Min Feng
"... Yes, we are also friends of phoenixes!" -Freedom fighter, as if he has discovered a contact phrase

There are a few hours left until sunset and the curfew, so the three of them just need some help getting out of the city. Yoshi checks if anyone else needs to be brought, but they say it's just the three of them. Kuan-Xi's little carriage will not actually hold eleven people (it's built to seat four comfortably). She says that she normally hires a driver and the driver needs to be familiar with where they're going. Anto offers to drive, but she doesn't think that's a good idea. Xiao Fa (mistaking her concern for propriety) offers to drive, and she concedes that that might be okay. The three fugitives, Anto, Kuan-Xi, and the unconscious Cai Wen, are bundled into the carriage, and Xiao Fa starts to drive it out of the city.
"So why are you being hunted by the Dragon Army again?" -Anto
They claim to be being hunted and persecuted for their beliefs, but these beliefs appear to be economic in nature.
Xiao Fa discovers that driving the little carriage is actually quite disturbing - he keeps thinking of where he's about to go, and finding that he's already passed it. By the time they reach the rendezvous point a few hours down the coast, Xiao Fa is down several resolve and very rattled and shaky. He pets Mr. Squeaky, trying to not look at how bendy the ferret is.
"You guys just wanted to bring back "don't look out the windows in hyperspace", didn't you?"
The rest of the group heads out of the city the normal way, through the gate. Since it's close to sunset, there's a very long line to pass through by the soldiers at the gate. Shen-Ji has the Butterfly Talisman, so he brings his entourage forward when the status-10 people get to jump the line.

"Do you have any contraband?" -Soldier "Define contraband." -Shen-Ji
"Well, why don't we just search everything, then."

Min Feng urges her monkeys to start jumping around and causing trouble; some things get swapped in the crowd, and the soldiers start to get impatient. They don't find anything that seems to count as contraband and Yoshi warns the soldier who checks out his Dangerous Peppers to not touch his eyes without washing his hands first. The party gets through the gate, and heads south, ignoring the shouting behind them.
"Where's my pocket watch?" "Aaah! My eyes!"
They eventually catch up to the rest of the group waiting with the carriage. Min Feng briefs the "freedom fighters" about the fact that the blockade will be having supply trouble in the future. They do admit that they recently broke out of jail, having been caught sabotaging one of those very supply ships. Since they've fled the Port of Propitious Voyage, the party can find them or their contacts, in the Harbor of Fortunate Arrival or the Port of Auspicious Voyage. But they're from the Arcade, not from the Shrouded Isle they're just in favor of free trade.

Kuan-Xi and Min Feng (and the monkeys) sleep in the little carriage; everyone else attempts to camp outside. Yoshi and Anto prove particularly inept campers, specializing in rocks and fire ants, and wake up a bit down on energy. The monkeys, on the other hand, have a fun night, and Min Feng finds them juggling some of Kuan-Xi's money, having picked the lock on her strongbox of li. She convinces them to put the li back - at least, as many as she can find - before Kuan Xi wakes up. Cai Wen is finally in good spirits, having recovered from his talisman troubles after a good night's sleep.

Xian would really like to go back to the city and find out what happened during the night, while everyone else figures they'll find out eventually. They compromise by waiting near the Imperial Highway until a passerby exiting the city comes by. It sounds like "the army pulled out" is the only obvious rumor, though. Apparently the army has headed south "to plow under everything from the Tanzhe to the New Rivers." They're going to "stabilize" the situation, army style.

At this point, none of the party is willing to drive the little carriage, so the group heads down the road to the next town, where Kuan-Xi hires a driver who knows where the New Rivers area is. Yoshi gives the driver a pep talk, assuring him that he can totally drive the carriage, that the driver finds rather inexplicable; then the carriage sets off (Yoshi rides on top with the baggage, with his eyes tightly closed). A little while later, the carriage stops the driver is apologetic, as he was heading for the center of New Rivers, but seems to have fetched up in the eastern New Rivers area instead. Still, that's close enough, so the party thanks the driver (who is about as shaken as Xiao Fa was after his ride, having lost substantially more Resolve - but Kuan-Xi hired him for his high resolve, so he'll be okay).

Five Fists of Fury

The group looks around for the nearest settlement - that would be a Savanna military encampment, licking their wounds after a battle - the flags indicate that they're the Seomung clan. People stride in, offering bandages and laying about with notvery-expert first aid, though Xiao Fa proves himself useful and gets some more respect. Shen-Ji introduces himself as a Myeong clansman offering assistance, which doesn't get the response he expects:
"Another one? Okay, okay, you can come fight somewhere. We'll give you a guard post or something."
The Savanna is trying to push the Taiga invaders back to the small tributary that is the "original" border between the Savanna and the Taiga - they show the party the map of the disputed area, and the disposition of the units. The party happily chimes in that the Obsidian Warlord will be arriving soon - the commander interprets this as "so we should push them back before he gets here" rather than "we're all going to die".

Xiao Fa asks after the people who normally live in the area - for the most part they've fled the fighting in one direction or another, or are in larger "refugee" camps. Min Feng,
wandering the camp, hears Master Zhou's name dropped a few times, as if someone else is asking about him. She starts spreading the rumor that Anto is a student of Master Zhou, on the theory that if someone is trying to find or kill Master Zhou, they will come and find or kill Anto instead. The rumor mill starts garbling things together - the Obsidian Warlord and Master Zhou are both coming to New Rivers, and when they arrive, they will fight!
Battlemap of the disputed New Rivers / Recondite Tributaries area
Anto and Yoshi wander around, looking for whoever is looking for Anto. Suddenly, a rope drops from a nearby tree, attempting to loop around Anto - Yoshi leaps in the way and gets grabbed instead, and is hauled up into the tree. Anto leaps into the tree himself, wrapping the rope-user up in his kusarigama chain. She bows, noting "you truly are a student of the great master." She tells Anto to bring Master Zhou to the plain outside the camp, at sunset, and all will be explained. Anto hedges - Master Zhou actually isn't all that close by, but Anto can get a message to him.

"Tell him he will not avoid the Five Fists of Fury so easily, and we will see him at Sunset."
"Will he recognize the name?" -Yoshi
"Of course!"

Actually, Anto recognizes the name himself - Master Koji would probably disapprove of calling them masters, so perhaps "adepts", who travel about fighting other masters of the art. They have heard that Master Zhou is developing the Ultimate Art of kung fu, and they wish to defeat his students so that he will teach them. Yoshi, ever focused on end goals, wants to know what they will do once they learn the Ultimate Art, but they seem to see it as an end rather than a means.

Anto agrees to go and meet the challenge in Master Zhou's stead. Xian thinks this is idiotic
- can anyone just make Anto fight with them by issuing this sort of challenge? Anto thinks well, yes, if they follow the appropriate forms - "it's a kung fu thing." Xian thinks hiding in a tree isn't much of a form. Anto explains that it was more complicated than that - first she showed off, then he showed off, then she bowed and issued the challenge.
"Master Zhou does not have to deal with this kind of nonsense because he has Anto to do it for him." -Yoshi
Min Feng offers to pretend to be Anto's student, and then Anto can send her to the fight instead. Anto thinks that isn't really right, but he does borrow the Magpie Talisman, since he's still down some energy from his failed night of camping.

Meanwhile, a Myeong clansman has found Shen-Ji, complaining that the warleaders will not give the Swift Tiger a place in the battle. Now that their warband has their luck back, they need a chance to earn glory! Shen-Ji says he'll talk to people about that, and proceeds to do so. The Seomung are dubious - what does Myeong bring to the battle that other clansmen do not, and what can Shen-Ji provide that will assist? He says he has already brought a trained healer, but will also do what he can to bring information about the enemy. The Seomung warleader agrees that if Shen-Ji can provide more information about the enemy troops, they will allow Myeong a place in battle.

At sunset, the party heads to the agreed-upon field. Standing at the western edge, backlit by the sunset, are five people in a line, in dramatic stances. Anto introduces himself formally as Anto of the Way of Fivefold Essence, a student of Master Zhou. As Master Zhou is not here, he will fight in Master Zhou's stead. The leader of the Five introduces himself as Ti Gri of the Five Fists of Fury, and asks which five of the group are here to fight. Anto demurs - the others are not Master Zhou's students, they are not here to fight. Well, actually, technically, Xiao Fa is Master Zhou's student. Kind of. Ti Gri nods and says that Anto and Xiao Fa can choose two of the Five to fight them, then. Xiao Fa clarifies that while Master Zhou has taught him things, he is not here to fight. Very well, Anto can choose one of them to fight. He chooses Ti Gri.

Yoshi notes that if Anto wins, their sense of honor will probably mean that they'll be helpful to the party somehow, possibly in the army mechanic. Kuan-Xi thinks that this is the best thing to happen in weeks, as Anto gets to be particularly glorious. Cai Wen arranges for a betting pool, but the local soldiers are just betting in zhu.

Anto starts with his traditional grab-with-chain maneuver; Ti Gri is a basic fighter, strong and fast, but he doesn't have Anto's x3 weapon damage. However, after the first round of fighting, Yoshi notices one of the other Five (Man Ti) surreptitiously raising a blowdart, and calls him on it. Min Feng and the Four Monkeys of the Apocalypse have distracted Mon Ki, so no cheating happens at this time. Anto puts up a wall of earth between the fight and the others of the Five, and they have to move to see around/over it.
"Even if your skills are great, if your spirit cannot resist temptation, you will never become a master." -Yoshi
In the end, buoyed by the extra energy of the Magpie Talisman and Kuan-Xi's buffs, Anto prevails over Ti Gri. The Five all bow, and say that if they cannot defeat a student of Master Zhou, they cannot wrest the secret of the Ultimate Art from him. They will come back again to fight Anto again when they have trained further. Yoshi counter-suggests that they should come back only when they have learned his lessons about not cheating, and they agree that that is just.

In the meantime, though, they will act at Anto's direction in a fight - they are a grey "scissors" unit which can be dropped anywhere. The party still hasn't decided what their plan is, though, so they leave the scissors in reserve for later. Then, it's time to turn in for the night, before a move to a different space tomorrow.

Verdant Tithings

The next day, everyone heads farther towards the Taiga, looking for villagers and refugees. They find a village that is over-stuffed with people, serving as a refugee camp itself. At first, there is a shout as the party is assumed to be more

displaced villagers, but then someone recognizes "the Xiao Fa" and a different shout goes up.

At present, the village is known as Verdant Tithings, in the Recondite Tributaries region of the Jade Taiga, as it has most recently been conquered by the Taiga forces. The armies keep tramping back and forth being conquered isn't so bad, but the going back and forth is a pain. They've been harvesting winter rice so they're not starving, but they're going through stores faster than they'd like, due to all the extra mouths to feed.

Speaking of which, some wagons marked with the insignia of the Red Duke pull into the village, and start loading sacks of rice into the wagons. That provokes the party to rush over in a flurry of "oh no you don't!". How dare the soldiers take food from the village? The soldiers explain that this is the way it always is with villages, and that the army needs food to drive the Savanna interlopers from land that belonged to the Taiga only a hundred years ago. The party is unconvinced. Yoshi tries to convince the supply soldiers to not have a war on this land, since the villagers are using it, but there isn't really anywhere to have a war that isn't currently in use by someone. The party chases the cart away, back to its army unit.

Anto has noticed that the peasants farming the winter rice are using sickles, flails, and other farm implements that could be used as weapons. Xian is worried that sending peasants into battle will just get them all killed, but Anto is more optimistic. He starts teaching them to fight with their tools, and Yoshi starts providing tactics advice. Min Feng gets them to hide some of their sacks of rice. Oddly, training the peasants seems to invoke what seems like a group shtick - from a distance, they really look like fighters, even if close up they are still kind of novices. They'll count as a "rock" unit if attacked, though they can't move.

Min Feng forges some credentials for Cai Wen identifying him as an emissary from the Red Duke. He heads to the army camp, and tells them in no uncertain terms that Verdant Tithings is off limits - they'll have to resupply from somewhere else, but it's not his problem where. He also tells them that the Dragon Army is coming in soon, and suggests that they retreat before that happens, but, like the Savanna commander, the Taiga commander thinks that means "get as far as you can before the hammer falls", so he's going to charge forward.

Shen-Ji thinks that the red unit is probably "paper", intelligence worth reporting back to the Savanna. Cai Wen checks in with the blue unit in the same area, as a "great friend of Duke Lan" - not even inaccurate - and determines that the war is in fact at the direction of the King, and not due to the Dukes being in rebellion. It would be a fairly strange rebellion that put Duke Lan and Duke Hong on the same side, in any event.
Back at Verdant Tithings, Xiao Fa finds out that the thing that is worst for the villagers is when a unit "disbands" in the area - in the mechanic, if a unit which has previously had its unit type (rock, scissors, paper) revealed gets beaten, it disbands entirely in a rout. That leads to the losers causing chaos as they flee, and the winners doing some victory looting, so it's bad all around.

Shen-Ji reports his findings to the Savanna commander, and gets permission for the Myeong unit to charge in. They do so, taking out a Taiga unit in the backfield. (It turns out they are paper and cover the rock unit they are lucky enough to encounter.)

Cold Water

The next day, the party heads to an area with units of both the Red and Blue Dukes. There is a frozen lake between the two army camps, with refugees camped near the edges. The refugees warn Xiao Fa to watch out for the lake, which everyone finds amusing, until the villagers clarify - no, really, the lake is treacherous. It is the first thing to freeze in the autumn, and the last thing to thaw in the spring, and it always looks solid, until the ice shatters and you go under. They think it's cursed.

Well, the obvious thing to do is to taunt the two armies into charging across the lake at each other - but this leads into a discussion of what the party actually should be doing with respect to the war. Xian disapproves of drowning armored soldiers wholesale, so there are questions of both tactics and strategy. Xiao Fa, as the expert in the local area, thinks that for stability and goodness for the region, the best thing is for it to not be split between the Taiga and the Savanna - better to be all Taiga or all Savanna. As far as the border goes, this is the natural spot for the two countries to fight - there will likely be another war eventually, no matter where the border is, so sticking with the status quo will not automatically mean more peace later. Well, based on the fighting so far, and Shen-Ji's support of the Savanna, the Savanna troops are doing better than the Taiga troops, so the easiest way to get the New Rivers area to not be split at this point is to keep supporting the Savanna.

And, while "everyone drowns in a lake" does feel meaner, it will actually be more like "some people drown, some people get cold and wet and retreat" in much the same way as if the unit were taken out in a fight, some people would be killed and some would be wounded and retreat. Because it's a mechanic, the effects upon an "army unit" are pretty similar. That reassures Xian and the others with moral qualms.

A plan is undertaken: wait until night, and then steal the flags from each camp and plant them in the center of the lake. Since the red and blue units are rivals, they will likely both charge in to avenge the insult. They nearly are foolish enough to plan to walk out to the center of the lake with the flags ("it should be safe for just one small person, right?") but Shen-Ji volunteers to fly on his disk instead.

Min Feng sneaks into the Red camp while Anto sneaks into the Blue camp; Shen-Ji hovers overhead on his flying disk, watching for trouble. Both are able to get in and get their flags without incident; Anto uses the opportunity to demonstrate his "Minor Control of Metal" shtick that Shen-Ji has taught him, and levitates a shuriken to cut the flag free from its pole. The two thieves escape, and tie the flags to new poles. Shen-Ji takes the flags out to the center of the lake and stands the poles up. He's tempted to climb down for better stability, but resists the urge.

As expected, the armies discover their flags missing, and charge into the trap; they subsequently have to retreat to the Taiga, cold and drowny. The party sends the Five after one of the last of the Taiga units, and it takes them out. Victory is close at hand!

A Cryptic Vistor

Desolation.
The party heads for one of the last remaining Taiga units, soldiers from the Red Duke. The soldiers are looking a bit worse for wear, and the officers are talking to a man in a heavy hooded cloak. Min Feng creeps closer, to overhear - he appears to be telling them poetry.
Battle is joined
Both sides look alike at dawn.
This is puzzling. Is he an evil poet? Is he warning them that both units are rock (as the party suspects)?
Morale cracks
Men run and hide in fear Victory..
The party is still baffled. Is the poet talking to the officers? Does he secretly intend his words for the eavesdroppers?
Rock in a mirror
Battle is inconclusive Victory denied.

Then, he turns and begins to walk away into the cold mists, but the mists are not thick, and the party chases after him. Anto, counting syllables to himself, wonders - are there multiple prophecies, and the one in the right meter is correct? Why would he be telling them conflicting prophecies, though?

Anto considers how the cloaked man is bound - the answer is "by a huge sacrifice, freely made". How could he be unbound? With a bigger grand magical ritual than Anto has ever seen. It is all very mysterious, but the party does catch up to the man in question, as they wonder what to say. A somewhat confusing conversation ensues.

"Good evening, sir. Er, good day. It seems that night follows you, in that huge cloak." -Xiao Fa
"The sun is yet high//My words are not always heard//There is still yet time."
"Are your words not often heeded? " -Xiao Fa
"It is hard to say//If I'm not there at the end.//Sometimes they are heard."
Xiao Fa notes that there is a huge hole in his chi, with a tiny little patch that does a little to fix it. The man moves to leave again, before being intercepted a second time.
"I have tarried long//we should not speak much further//I must go shortly." "Xian, you're the only one who can possibly outconfound him." -Cai Wen "Do you provide your wisdom to all sides in the battle, or just one?" -Xian "I have no wisdom//Only what I hear within//I speak for my art"

Yoshi wonders why he does this - the answer is that this is all that's left to him. Anto suggests that he stay around and meet Takanata, who might be here eventually. Xian is still fixated on why he's only providing prophetic advice to the Taiga.
"Only they listened?//I speak freely to both sides//I walk very slow"
Xian, suspicious of the deep cloak that hoods the man's face, spends a karma to spend a Yin seeing his true form, and declares it to have been the least helpful karma ever, but the mysterious poet does manage to leave, walking off into the mists.

Back with the Taiga officers, Cai Wen (an emissary of the Red Duke again) convinces them to not go after the village. They're thinking of charging sideways towards the Savanna front, avoiding the known units that can beat them. Shen-Ji goes to warn the Savanna, but they are suspicious - if their unit goes after the Red unit, they'll mutual, and Myeong will claim all the glory. Shen-Ji convinces them that Myeong will give all the credit for this last turn to the them, and they are finally convinced.

The plan works - the Taiga reinforcements don't get onto the board, and the Savanna holds all the territory when the Dragon Army finally sweeps in and stomps out all the fighting. They declare the border to be where the armies lie - so, the original Savanna/Taiga border, and the area is all still New Rivers, and not Recondite Tributaries after all.

In other army rumors, the Forest of Chin has been awarded most of the Tanzhe plain, except for the little corner with the Temple of the Eternal Dream in it, which is still Savanna. Apparently, no one was willing to attack that area, having had dreams and visions and heard rumors that it was under the protection of the Dragon Army.
In total, there have only been four disbanded units, so Xiao Fa has four "wounds" to heal to the New Rivers area.
Puttering

Master Zhou and Xiao Fa go to visit the Hand of the Wind monastery. Zhi-Hao borrows the Magpie Talisman and visits the Dragon Army training battalion to upgrade his armor.
Wei Han visits Chang Hu to ask about armor upgrades.

Retrieved from "http://boojum.scripts.mit.edu/Dragon/index.php?
title=Recondite_Tributaries"
Category: Book Two Logs
This page was last modified on 26 August 2010, at 16:02.
Dream Sequence

From Dragon

The run begins at night, shortly after the conclusion of the previous run.

"Now I do not know whether I was then a man dreaming I was a butterfly, or whether I am now a butterfly, dreaming I am a man."

The run takes place in a number of implausible locations in the World of Dreams.
Previous Run
Contents

1 The Gambler
2 The Agent
3 The Hero
4 The Refugee
5 Once More Unto the Dream
6 Spacewalk
7 Fall of the Alamo
8 Puttering

The Gambler

Cai Wen finds himself in a dusty saloon, with a piano playing a tinkling melody in the background. He is briefly puzzled by the odd instrument, but quickly distracted again by the girl on his arm, who bats her long eyelashes at him and complains that he's not paying any attention to her. Cai Wen says as soon as Old Lady Kibo arrives and he can conclude his business with her, he'll be free for the evening. However, Old Lady Kibo is nowhere to be seen, so the girl pouts prettily. Cai Wen buys another drink from the bartender, noting that all he seems to have in his pockets are strange round coins with no holes, and even odder pieces of paper, but the bartender seems willing to take them. However, he's out of whiskey - it was due to arrive here in Gila-Monster Gulch on the stagecoach this morning, but the stagecoach is late. Cai Wen, familiar with the name "Kibo", asks if Yoshi is around? The bartender says Governor Yoshi isn't in town. Neither is Eight-Legged Slick, another important politician likely to be the Mayor soon.

Cai Wen asks his moll if there's any sort of gambling going on - she says there's poker in the back room, but Cai Wen is pretty sure he's supposed to meet Old Lady Kibo out here in the front. Still, she's nowhere to be seen, so he decides to take a look around the town. It's not large, and beyond the few buildings is a sparse-looking countryside, with odd plants that look like pitchforks and bushes that seem to roll around. It all seems pretty implausible, so Cai Wen figures he's probably dreaming. Other than the saloon, there's a hotel, a sheriff's office, a stable, and a blacksmith but no sign of any stagecoach, whatever that is.

Cai Wen goes into the hotel and asks about getting a room. He learns that Old Lady Kibo has a reservation, and Eight-Legged Slick has a room. Cai Wen rents a room, and goes upstairs, where his moll deals with the lock on Eight-Legged Slick's door and lets him into the room. On a desk, he finds two pieces of paper with lots of places and times listed on them--apparently schedules for the stagecoach and something else called a "train". One of the stagecoach stops and one of the train stops are circled.

Cai Wen heads to the stable, and asks for more details about the stagecoach. It should have gotten in at 11 am, after passing through Ambush Gulch at 10 am and Stillville at 10:30. That would have given its passengers plenty of time to meet the 2pm train, known as Old Reliable, which stops at the other end of town. It's about 12:30 now.

Cai Wen rents a horse (the guy seems happy to take his odd coins), and heads out to Stillville, the previous stagecoach stop, and discovers a bunch of people, impatient to meet the stagecoach which hasn't yet arrived. Sighing, Cai Wen proceeds on to Ambush Gulch. Sure enough, at the height of the ambush gradient, there's a stagecoach tipped over, and an unhappy looking driver. Cai Wen remarks loudly that Here He Is To Be Ambushed and Wouldn't It Be A Shame If Anyone Leapt Out At Him, but actually, it turns out that the ambush has already been sprung, upon the stagecoach, and it isn't still waiting around to ambush Cai Wen. The stagecoach driver says that the bandits took Old Lady Kibo away with them.

Cai Wen heads back to Stillville, where he recruits the guys there into a posse (though his moll has to help him with the word), and they head out on the trail of the bandits. The trail circles around town to reach the railroad tracks, where a villainous man in black is tying Old Lady Kibo to the tracks, as the locomotive Old Reliable steams in. The posse and the bandits fight, leaving Cai Wen to deal with the moustache-twirling villain - he manages to convince the villain to gloat over his plans to eliminate Old Lady Kibo, and then as the locomotive bears down, Cai Wen (who has no skill with ropes and knots) finds a stick of dynamite, and lights it, threatening to blow himself and the villain up together if he doesn't untie his victim. His bluff is successful, and the villain unties her, grumbling.

Old Lady Kibo escapes from the rails just before the train passes, and pulls the villain's moustache off, revealing him to be none other than Eight-Legged Slick. She gives the moustache to Cai Wen, telling him "Give this to Governor Yoshi!" before everything goes somewhat cloudy.

The Agent

Shen-Ji hears the doorbell ring, and answers the door to discover a man in uniform, with a clipboard. He has two packages to deliver - "Sign here, please." Shen-Ji confirms that there are, in fact, two packages for him, before signing. The first package has a strange box inside, which when a button is pressed, starts talking.

"Agent Shen-Ji. Your mission, if you choose to accept it - well, actually, you should just accept it, no goofing off this time and saying you don't accept the mission, that's a bad idea. So let's just say your mission, when you accept it, is to rescue Ambassador Kibo from the underwater lair of Dr. Arachnoid. This message will self-destruct in five seconds. Five... four... three... two... one..."
At this point, Shen-Ji tosses the box up into the air where it explodes.
He then opens the next box. It contains a lot of equipment, from scuba gear to a spear gun to a waterproof tuxedo. He kits himself out and heads to the waterfront. There are two boat companies operating out of the waterfront - Local and Knowledgeable Sea Guides, and Babes in Bikinis. Agent Shen-Ji hires a cruise from the latter company, and the boat heads out somewhat randomly vaguely in the direction of Dr. Arachnoid's underwater lair. It soon blunders into a section of ocean studded with mines, but Shen-Ji is able to use a magnetic projector (that is, his Manipulate Metal shtick) to send a small wrench out to bang one of the mines into another. It explodes, setting off a chain reaction of explosions, clearing enough of the mine field that the boat can proceed through.

The boat passes through the remnants of the mine field, to a sunken cave - the boat itself isn't able to fit in, so Shen-Ji changes into his scuba gear and tells the boat to wait for him. He swims through the passage, and is quickly beset by Sharks with Laser Beams on their Heads. As the sharks close in on him, he quickly analyzes the frequency of the laser, and scouts out a rock at the bottom of the passage which has the right refractive ability to affect the laser, and bounces the one shark's laser at the other, disabling it. He then manages to lasso one of the disabled sharks with the rope from his spear gun and rides it, rodeo-style, into the hidden lair.

Ditching the shark, Agent Shen-Ji climbs out of the water, and heads down a hallway towards a larger dome. He can hear some gloating (and muffled unhappy noises) coming from the space beyond, as well as a loud and ominous Humming sound. He pretends to be delivering pizza to the thugs guarding the door and after they open the door, shoots the first two with his spear gun. When the rest of the thugs come after him, he activates the local defense mechanisms, causing walls of iron to cut off the guards. Climbing into the drop ceiling, Agent Shen-Ji proceeds into the dome where he sees Ambassador Kibo tied to a table with a huge laser about to cut him in half. Shen-Ji runs to the control panel where there are two large buttons, one labeled "Off" and one labeled "Self-Destruct - Do not press." Agent Shen-Ji stabs at the second button causing Doctor Arachnoid to shout, "Fool! You'll kill us all!" Then, Shen-Ji pulls the gag off of Ambassador Kibo, who tells him to get Dr. Arachnoid's monocle before they leave, as it must be delivered to Prime Minister Yoshi.

Agent Shen-Ji unties Kibo and then closes on the evil Doctor Arachnoid. Arachnoid heads for the escape chute, but Shen-Ji convinces him to gloat a bit before he departs. This gives Shen-Ji a chance to grab the villain's monocle. The doctor, seeing that all is lost, hops into the escape chute and rockets away leaving Kibo and Shen-Ji to their doom.

Luckily, Shen-Ji pocketed the Shark Controller when searching the thugs he disabled, so he summons a pair of shark to swim them out through the underwater passage. They manage to escape just at the lair explodes and find themselves washed up on a beach. The very same beach where Shen-Ji's boat landed. Shen-Ji and Ambassador Kibo join the beach party in progress.

The Hero

Off in the distance, Hiro hears singing: "Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to work we go," and heads in that direction. He finds the seven Tsien daughters, though shorter than he remembers them, and now sporting odd little beards, cutting wood and arguing about whose turn it is to use the axe. They are apparently chopping wood as part of their construction project to build a Royal Palace for Princess Kibo. Hiro finds it a little too disconcerting to flirt with them when they have beards on, so he heads off in the direction they indicate the Royal Palace as being in.

He gets to a half-constructed wooden building, with a sign: "Royal Palace, Under Construction". Lying in the middle of the floor is Princess Kibo, holding an apple with a single bite taken out of it. Hiro is pretty sure that Kibo is behind this whole dream thing, so he shakes Princess Kibo for a while, telling the yumekui to wake up and take charge of the situation, but it doesn't seem to work. Somewhat confused, Hiro heads back to the seven dwarfettes, and asks if Princess Kibo is supposed to be lying on the ground like that. No, no, she is not. Everyone runs back, but the girls are no more able to wake Princess Kibo up than Hiro was.

Somehow it is decided that Hiro should go to the castle of Queen Arachnea, and see if he can't get an antidote. The girls pack Useful Items for Hiro - sandwiches, a stout bow, a katana, and four other unspecified useful things. And, also, the dwarfettes suggest that Hiro bring a pail of water from the well in back. He goes to draw the water from the well, and notes a shiny gold coin sitting on the edge of the well. Leaving it there, he lowers the bucket, draws up a pailful of water - and then the rope breaks, leaving him with a bucket of water. Hmm. He decides that a bucket is a little impractical for adventuring with, and pours the water into a canteen, declaring that to be another of the Useful Items.

Then, Hiro heads off along the path towards Queen Arachnea's castle. Out of the shadows of the woods along the path emerges an elderly woman with great big eyes and teeth. The old woman invites Hiro down to her house for lunch. Hiro, quickly determining that this old woman is some sort of wolf demon in disguise, tricks him into agreeing that since his disguise has been seen through, he is already defeated. Hiro declares that since the wolf has been defeated, he must come along with Hiro to Queen Arachnea's castle to get a heart to eat up the Queen. The wolf complains that Queen Arachnea is very dry and bony, but Hiro says he'll get her wet first.

Next, two children wander out of the woods. They are apparently lost, despite having taken a loaf of bread with them to help them find their way back home. The wolf tries to get them to come back and taste his gingerbread house, but Hiro will have none of that the children should definitely not go inside gingerbread houses unless explicit terms are quite clearly specified beforehand. Hiro says they can come with him until he can sort out where they belong.

When the party reaches the castle, the drawbridge is up. There's a guard up in a parapet Hiro shouts up to him, asking to be let in. The guard says he isn't supposed to let any heroes in. Hiro claims that he's certainly not a hero - he doesn't do anything heroic at all. Nope, not him. With a bit of fast talk, he convinces the guard that it's okay to lower the drawbridge, and heads in - only to discover a maze of twisty passages.

This seems overly complicated, so Hiro looks around for a way to get up to where the guard is. The guard mentions that there is a staff only access door, but it's not for non-staff, and it certainly not for heroes. Hiro protests that he is still not a hero, and again fast talks the poor guard into letting him through the door, avoiding the death maze entirely.
Then, they head down the hallway marked Authorized Personnel Only, to the Throne room. The queen arrives. She's carrying the crown, but wearing a pointy black witch's hat.
Hiro claims to be a poison salesman, reassuring the Queen that he's not a hero - would a hero use poison? He admits that there was an Unfortunate Incident in a recent village, in which he was forced to drink some of his own antidotes, so he's come here in the hopes that he can get some replacements from the Queen. She's somewhat suspicious - that sounds like the sort of thing a hero would want - but Hiro assures her that he's here to barter for an antidote (unheroic and mercenary) rather than fight her (heroic). Well, that seems plausible. Hiro says he's got some Water of Youth and Immortality that he's willing to trade.

Queen Arachnea asks which poison Hiro needs the antidote for, throwing him for a loop he doesn't know! It was a poisoned apple, but that might give it away, and surely it's not just "apple poison." Hiro improvises - he's not sure what the official name for it is, his family always just used nicknames, but - it's the poison that makes you fall into a deep sleep. The Queen is briefly suspicious again, but Hiro is very charming and anti-heroic, so she identifies it as, in fact, "apple poison". Hiro gives her the canteen of water, and the Queen tells him that the only antidote to apple poison is the kiss of a hero. Hiro allows as that's kind of a trick, since she's not trading it to him, but that's his fault for not being more specific in the trade.

She drinks the water, and then makes a dismayed face - this is wishing well water! Noooo! She starts melting and the the wolf promptly gobbles her up, leaving only her hat, which Hiro takes as loot.

Off the group heads, back to the Royal Palace - now nearly completed ("Royal Palace: Opening Soon") where Hiro kisses Princess Kibo. She wakes up, flutters her eyelashes, and tells him to "make sure to give the hat to King Yoshi."

Hiro decides there are more errands that need doing first, so he asks the dwarfettes if they know where the kids live. They do, in fact, know where the bakery is, and give the kids directions. The two kids head off, waving, and the wolf also goes home. Later, Hiro decides to drop by the bakery himself, but the baker's wife tells him that the kids have been sent to get a cup of sugar from the neighbor. Hiro heads in that direction, only to discover the neighbor lives in the gingerbread house and is the wolf-demon. Strangely, the wolf has been locked out of his house, and is beginning to get angry:
"Don't make me huff and puff this door down! I didn't have to use it on the drawbridge, so I can totally blow this door in now!""
Hiro glares the wolf into admitting that okay, he tried to get the kids to visit in his guest oven, before they locked him out. The kids say they were sent over to get a cup of sugar. Hiro thinks this shows rather poor judgement on the part of their mother, but they protest that's not their mother, it's their evil stepmother. Well, that makes some more sense. Still, it seems like sending them home isn't the right idea. Hiro brings them back to the dwarfettes, and tells them they can be apprentice carpenters. They give the dwarfettes their bread in trade, sealing the deal. The dwarfettes are pleased, as a nice loaf of bread should come in handy if they ever encounter any death mazes...

The Refugee

Yoshi finds himself hiding behind a bush with another man, listening to ominous sounds off in the distance - a muted clanking. Off on the horizon, huge metal eight-legged shapes march forward, snatching people up and flinging them about. The octopods are everywhere - the other man tells him that they have to get to the White Mountains, to talk to Professor Kibo. It's on the other side of the Blue River and the boundary forest, so it'll be a bit of a trek.

After the octopods go by, the pair starts creeping forward. Yoshi finds he has a bag of Three Useful Items - the first one proves to be an inflatable life raft, possibly of use in crossing the Blue River. Unfortunately, there are several octopods standing on the only bridge across the river, and when the raft begins to inflate, their attention is quickly drawn. Yoshi launches the raft downstream with no one in it, and the octopods pursue it, leaving the two to cross the bridge in the distraction.
Similarly, the pair manages to get through the boundary forest by using another useful item from the bag to distract the octopods patrolling the area.
Then, they reach the mountain pass into the White Mountains, guarded by another two octopods. Yoshi pulls his third useful item out of his bag - a loud bullhorn, which he uses to trigger an avalanche, bringing down a pile of snow onto the octopods. After that, they can climb over and reach Professor Kibo's laboratory. Professor Kibo says that more octopods are coming - Yoshi needs to find the octopod controller device to stop them all. He gives Yoshi a pinging locator device, and sends him out again to find it.

Evading octopods along the way, Yoshi find a strange metal tent that the octopod controller locator is pointing to. Inside is a single figure holding a strange device. Yoshi sneaks up on the being (Mister Arachnus) holding the control device - the guy is basically man-shaped, but looks more like something with extra legs wearing a rubber human costume. Yoshi is out of useful items - but he still has a bag! He pops the bag over Mister Arachnus's head, and grapples with him, and ends up pulling off his rubber human mask revealing a spider underneath. Mister Arachnus gloats that he can still succeed as long as he has - and then Yoshi grabs the remote controller, and escapes back to the lab, sending the octopods stomping off to drown in the river with the controller.

At this point, Yoshi is drawn into the dreams of the others, and they give him their loot the moustache, the monocle, and the pointy hat, which he puts in his bag with his remote controller. After this digression, Kibo briefs him.

After the incident with the talking fish, Kibo has come somewhat to the attention of the Great Spider Spirit. The Spider probably prefers to not act directly into the realms of dreams, lest the other Great Spirits start doing so too, but he has been leaning on the dreamworld, so that the default plots and settings tend to be strongly tilted against Kibo. This will likely continue, and the only way to really stop it is to convince the stuff that dreams are made of, that Kibo has already been dealt with.

Once More Unto the Dream

Once everyone has awoken in the morning, Yoshi explains to the others that they need to use the various implements they have acquired, in some sort of plan to make it clear to the World of Dreams and/or the Spider, that Kibo has been “dealt with”. On the plus side, there are fabulous disguises! They might have to return to all the previous genres; Yoshi is not sure.

The group brainstorms possibilities. Cai Wen explains about the “train” things he saw running on rails - maybe they could trick the train into plummeting off of a cliff? Trains are apparently not very smart. Shen-Ji suggests that the cliff could send the train into a river valley, and the river could be FILLED WITH SHARKS. Maybe they could destroy a bridge using the mechanical octopods. Hiro is a bit at a loss how to contribute - his dream was very foody. Maybe there should be a picnic?

On the other hand, in those four genres the group has already visited, Kibo was saved - the new dream will probably have to be something different. The trick will be to get them all into the same dream. Perhaps they should pick a place to meet while dreaming - a theater? py p p g

All four costume pieces could be part of a theater. Or maybe a romance genre - the Garden of Harmonious Contemplation, looking for Kibo! Hiro notes that Princess Kibo was kind of weird as an object of romantic affection in his dream. Oh, wait, this is a ‘’tragic’’ love affair with Kibo - perhaps she has to kill herself to keep them from fighting.

Actually, isn’t the Temple of the Eternal Dream somewhat nearby? The group makes a quick trip to the Tanzhe plain, and Shen-Ji introduces the monks to Yoshi. Master Bao is rather suspiciuos of yumekuis, but says that what they will need to reach is a place of ‘’access’’, so that they can reach the place where Kibo is. And, he will let them use the dreamwalking biers.
"As you lie upon the biers, think of being very heavy, or very light - all together, not both or mixed." -Master Bao
Yoshi suggests that everyone think of light, and they all float - up and up and up into darkness.
Spacewalk

Then, they are all floating in darkness, but feeling constricted and wearing heavy suits. Cai Wen and Hiro remember to hold onto their tethers - Shen-Ji and Yoshi, on the other hand, are beginning to float away. Off through the distance is a huge metal building, all alone in the night, with a name on the side: Babylon 8.

Hiro launches himself at Yoshi's dropped rope, and manages to throw it to Yoshi, who tangles it around his leg. Shen-Ji finds his suit thrusters, and heads over to Cai Wen. Once all together, they manage to reel themselves in on their tethers, to an "airlock". Whatever that is. Then, a strange voice sounds in their heads, prefaced with a "kchh" noise.
"*kchh*. Maintenance team, what's your status?"
"*kchh* We're all done. You can open the door and let us in." -Hiro
The door in the side of the metal building opens, and they go into what appears to be a very small, empty room. Happily, they figure out how to work the controls, and shut the first door before opening the second.

Once they emerge into the hallway, there is a tentacle-faced creature, making confusing noises at them. Cai Wen says the thing he expects to hear, which is that they have finished the repairs.

"Did we actually repair anything?" -Yoshi "Maybe we did that before we showed up." -Hiro "I hope so."

As the group starts to take off their big suits, they find that they have Earthforce/Babylon 8 uniforms on underneath. With no immediate direction, they follow a sign to the "Zocalo", which seems to be a tavern with strange demons in it, like the Night of Gates party. Cai Wen immediately gravitates towards a group of people playing something called "dabo".

There's no obvious sign of Kibo, but upon more thorough investigation, the party comes across a sign warning the denizens of the zocalo that there should be no partying after 8pm, signed by the Babylon 8 Advisory Committee, including Captain Sinclair, Ambassador Mollari, and Ambassador Kibo.
"Ah, Ambassador Kibo is your genre" -Yoshi to Shen-Ji
Shen-Ji tries to figure out where the important people are, and follows the High Society gradient to another area of the station. Guards attempt to block them, but Hiro convinces them that there's maintenance work that needs doing. Shen-Ji finds a schematic map that indicates that ambassadorial quarters are on "Level 2", and with a lucky Tao roll, Hiro talks the turbolift into taking them there.
Once they arrive, they're quickly intercepted - they're late! They're handed trays with food, to pass out to the five beings (people and demons?) sitting at the table arguing.
One of the ambassadors is arguing that there should be a complete trade embargo against the Vorlon Empire. Another ambassador protests - they don't trade with us to begin with. Well, exactly! Maybe they should kick him out of the council altogether! No, they should wait until the ambassador shows up, to discuss it. Well, it's not like he'll be on time. The argument continues as the dreamers circulate, acting as servants, and eying the empty ambassador's seat. In general, the humans seem to think that calling for an embargo is inappropriate, but the demons think the Vorlons are trouble and should be expelled.

Hiro decides it's time to be proactive, manages to pass out all his drinks, and heads out to "get more drinks". He finds a sign to the ambassadorial wing, and heads in that direction. There is another airlock at the entrance to Ambassdor Kibo's quarters, which is somewhat disconcerting, but there aren't any big suits there, just a breathing mask. Hiro puts it on, and goes in.
Inside, there is a creature in a large black suit, with an armored section for a Kibo-like snout.
"YOU ARE TOO SOON." -Ambassador Kibo
"Okay... I thought maybe we should plan or something." -Hiro "WHO ARE YOU?"
"I'm Hiro!"

Back in the council chamber, the demons have forced a vote, and they outnumber the humans, so Ambassador Kibo is de-ambassadored. The eight demon-aides chuckle, and go off into the corner. One speaks into a device from his belt: "He's not protected any more. Go to his quarters and kill him."
In his quarters, Kibo seems to sense that something is up.
"SOON. IT IS THE HOUR OF SCAMPERING."
"Okay... where should we scamper to? We need the big suits to go outside."
The rest of the group dashes towards the ambassadorial quarters, and spots a group of giant black spiky spider-creatures going into the airlock. They remember that they can tell Hiro, by prefacing what they say with "Kchh".

Hiro suggests that Kibo fake his death, while Yoshi uses the remote octopod controller to set the "octopods" to "slow". Inside, the now very slow spiders phase through the wall, menacing Hiro and Ambassador Kibo very very slowly.

Yoshi puts the moustache on over his mask, and pushes the joystick on the spider controller to send them sideways. He claims to the spiders that they will take care of Ambassador Kibo, taking him "to our lair to slowly digest him!" As Yoshi is not very good at lying, he is utterly unconvincing, and the spiders start closing in on Yoshi while his octopod controller starts to overheat. Cai Wen steps in, declaring that they will blow him up with the dynamite instead. He lights it, and holds it to the wall, hoping that it's an outside bulkhead. The spiders flee, as does the group, leaving the dynamite to go off in an earth-shattering Kaboom.

Emergency alarms go off, and Kibo is shuffled into a maintenance closet (after some failed attempts to disguise him with a hat, or fit him in Yoshi's bag). In the maintenance closet, they cobble together a bigger disguise with broom handles, sponges, and mop-tentacles, creating a very fashionable shambling-mound demon that doesn't look much like Ambassador Kibo.

When Maintenance (the real ones) show up, Hiro says that there's been an explosion in ambassador Kibo's quarters. Maintenance discovers that the airlock won't cycle which means it's bad. That sounds reasonably convincing.
Hiro, wearing the witch's hat, goes to check in with the eight demon-aides: "Report back. It is done." The other ambassadors are concerned.

"We're going to need a repair crew."
"Another repair crew? We just got done sending one outside to fix the reactor leak..."
And then, the world explodes.
Fall of the Alamo
The four dreamers fall, and fall, and fall, and finally plummet into the sun-baked dust. Off in the distance through the desert is a large stone building.
Cai Wen and Hiro are wearing denim jeans and leather vests. Cai Wen has a cowboy hat, while Hiro still has the witch hat. The other two find themselves still in their B8 uniforms.
"My fashion sense is tingling." -Yoshi
The group proceeds to the walls of the building, and waves to get in.
"Who goes there?"
"Who the hell are you to ask me that?" -Cai Wen "Captain, we got some more volunteers."

The group is let in - the embattled defenders could use “a couple more guns”. The captain wants to know how they learned about their plight; Hiro says that they are Wandering Heroes. Well, in that case, they probably want to talk to Kibo Crockett. He’s a wandering hero too.
Kibo Crockett briefs the group in more detail - Octo Anna’s forces are surrounding the fortress, and soon they’re going to storm the walls and kill everyone.
"You know we’re here for you?" -Hiro "Yup, ssh!" -Kibo
After briefly trying to figure out how to save the Alamo, the group remembers that no, they’re supposed to make sure Kibo “dies”, and plot a death scene.
Yoshi fills his useful bag with wine, and some jelly from Hiro’s jelly sandwiches are added, to make some semi-plausible blood to spurt. Shen-Ji puts on the monocle to impersonate a doctor, and Yoshi puts on the moustache, to make him look like a general assassin-type villain on the side of Octo Anna.

Cai Wen plays with the octopod controller, once he realizes that the soldiers on the outside are more like eight-legged creatures than people on horses, and finds himself playing breakout against the wall, deciding where to protect and where to chip away.

Yoshi, summoning his Danger Chef reserves, “stabs” Kibo, causing jelly-wine to spurt dramatically. Again, his heart isn’t really in the deception, but the dramatic spurting is good.
"Kibo Crockett is dead!" -Hiro
"Noooooo! He’s dead, Jim." -Shen-Ji (As it turns out, Jim Bowie is right nearby.)
"I apprehend the criminal." -Hiro
"Good, because I don’t want to stand here awkwardly any more." -Yoshi
Once Yoshi is apprehended, the next steps are a little unclear - which team is Hiro supposed to be on?
"You were in diguise - you were actually apprehending me to ‘’’evil’’’ safety." Yoshi
"Yeah, Someone needs to take over the diabolical laughter, because you’re really bad at that." -Hiro

Cai Wen manages to drive the octo-soldier forces around, exterminating everyone except the disguised PCs and Kibo Crockett, who is already “dead”, leaving a fortress full of dream-corpse strewn dramatically around.
"Job well done. Who wants sandwiches?" -Yoshi
They have a picnic in the wreckage of the Alamo.
"Why haven’t we left yet?" -Hiro
"Oh, did you want to go? Here are some horses. Sunset is that way. " -Kibo
The party quickly rides off into the sunset, and wakes up on the biers.
Master Bao asks if they found their journey enlightening, but they are not sure. Did they win? Why were there just two genres? They’re a little confused. Yoshi also wants to pass a last message along to Kibo, which Master Bao says he will make sure the yumekui receives:

"You’ve shown a lot of initiative and self-direction and changed a lot. If you continue on this path of redemption, you’ll become something other than what you started as. If you’ve reached such a point, then that could assist you in the difficulty you are currently facing. "

Puttering

Cai Wen visits the Song family estates.
Lijuan and possibly Anto visit the Hand of the Wind monastery. (Master Zhou and Xiao Fa are probably still there).
Cai Wen, Xiao Fa, and Min Feng visit the Third Spire in the City of Spires. Takanata chats with the Five Fists of Fury, and separately with Duke Lan.
Retrieved from "http://boojum.scripts.mit.edu/Dragon/index.php?title=Dream_Sequence" Category: Book Two Logs
This page was last modified on 19 September 2010, at 23:50.
Fox in Socks

From Dragon

"I could not, would not, with a fox.
I could not, would not, in a box."

The run begins on the Day of the Late Monkey, in the
Month of the Crane, in the third Year of the Spider since the burning of the Black Spire.

The run takes place mostly in the City of Spires in the Jade Taiga.
Previous Run
Contents

1 Picking Directions
2 Regrouping
3 Flower House Visit
4 Through the Night
5 Final Conflicts
6 Puttering

Picking Directions

The run picks up on the Taiga side of the New Rivers, a little while after the war has been ended by the Dragon Army. Li Merit sends the elemental marker off to the shop to be looked at, and Takanata wakes from a very odd and confusing dream of metal buildings in the sky and men shooting fireworks at each other. When he wakes, he is still filled with odd and confusing images, and he puts some of them to paper.
Page 1
Page 2
Takanata glares at the "poems", as they are certainly not proper. Still, there seems to be some sort of danger to foxes. Maybe someone is trying to kidnap Xian? Xian seems to be sleeping very late, but is not missing. No one has a particular plan on where to be, but there don't seem to be any evident foxes right here, either. Merit says that if nobody else has a destination in mind (other than the Butterfly Kingdom eventually), they should stop by the City of Spires to catch a boat home, as he wants to meet a potential shtick source named Prefect Xing and also visit the Golden Spire. Zhi-Hao says he would like to visit the Golden Spire as well, so this seems like a Plan.

The party heads to the City of Spires, sticking to the Taiga side of the border, as the Dragon Army is busy over on the Savanna side putting its foot down. Once they reach the city, Takanata arranges for rooms at a nice inn, and others break up on their own business.
"Someone is going to be locked in a box! Let's split up!" -Merit
Hana goes to a local tea house, and looks ornamental while drinking tea. She picks up some rumors indicating the populace is unhappy about the way the war ended, since they didn't really gain anything. While Takanata writes letters to some of his friends in the city, Shuyan goes to the common room of the inn to practice being charming, and makes the acquaintance of a Mysterious Businessman who is in town on mysterious business (like being a bounty hunter, which Shuyan charms out of him). He does, regretfully have business that he needs to deal with, but suggests that they get together for dinner later? (Some of the party have already met Snow Wolf, but Shuyan has only seen the back of his head.)

Merit and Zhi-Hao head over to Prefect Xing's house, and as they're approaching, Zhi-Hao notices someone sneaking away from the house on the other side of a hedge. He leaps into action, confronting the mysterious person with hand on sword hilt, and demanding to know their business at Prefect Xing's. The person says that she's here on private business, but Zhi-Hao scoffs - what sort of private business would she have in a hedge? She protests that she was trying to depart discreetly. Merit recognizes the figure as Chochiro, and steps in to calm things down. Chochiro says she does still have business to attend to, but Merit suggests that they meet for a beer later.

Chochiro heads off, and Merit and Zhi-Hao knock at Prefect Xing's door, and it is quickly answered by a lovely young woman. By her dress, Merit gauges that she is the "trophy wife" that his briefing on Prefect Xing mentioned. She invites the pair in, and serves tea as they wait for Prefect Xing. The prefect finally arrives, and nods to Merit in recognition.

"I heard you were retired." -Prefect Xing "Yeah, me too." -Merit
"You gotta make those exit clauses explicit."

Merit and Xing chat. Xing says that he does make it his business to know who is around, but, what with being retired, he does try to avoid hearing a lot about other people's troubles. Of course, the talk about the troubles of the Butterfly Kingdom were kind of unavoidable. Merit mentions that his problems even transcend country troubles, which Xing is surprised by. Merit mentions war, the turning of wheels, and so on. Anyhow, he is hoping for any wisdom that Prefect Xing might provide, if he can prove himself worthy of it.

Prefect Xing reminds him that some troubles are in fact unavoidable. However, there is a particular thing that he might find useful, and if Merit can give a good showing there, he might be willing to talk in more detail about preparing Merit for the things to come. He goes through a little song and dance with his wife, asking for Blue Jasmine tea, which they do not have, and convincing her to go out to the market to get some more; once she has gone, he says they can speak in confidence. He met his wife at a Flower House some years ago, before he retired, and she still has some fondness for flower houses in general. Now, a different institution here in the city is having some sort of difficulty - he has taken pains to not hear about it, and as his wife thinks she is being very secretive, he does not want to disabuse her of her illusions. If Merit can resolve whatever the trouble with the House of Peony's Grace is, quietly, then Prefect Xing would be grateful.

Merit and Zhi-Hao take their leave, and head to the Golden Spire, where they meet up with Shuyan as well. There are a pair of royal guardsmen at the entrance, who take their names but do not interfere.

"I was thinking I should not give my name, because there are people who are after me. But they're really after you, so it's okay, but I'm walking next to you!" -Merit to Zhi-Hao
Zhi-Hao meditates on the Crane, wondering what he needs to know. He sees an image of himself, shooting away at tong members with his bow. People leap up in front of them, and he mows them down. Eventually, one of them raises his hand to the others, and they confer out of his range. Then, they carefully go around him, beyond his bow range, and chop the people behind him to bits. Zhi-Hao asks Merit to interpret, and Merit thinks it means the tongs will continue to send people after Zhi-Hao for a while, but eventually they'll get tired of losing, and attack the things and people that he cares about instead. They wonder what the options are - buy them off? Defeat them utterly? Zhi-Hao likes the "defeat them utterly" plan, but Merit thinks that even if you defeat one set of criminals, others will take their place. And, Merit adds somewhat cautiously - the League of the Hidden Hand did take care to not kill Zhi-Hao's father. It wasn't personal then.

Shuyan stands on the Serpent, wondering what she should be doing with her life. After some misty meditation, she sees an image of the Great Serpent Spirit, which tells her that the thing that would make the Serpent proudest would be "to find - or create - a great and abiding secret that you entrust to our line." She mulls that over.

Finally, Merit stands on the Magpie, wearing the Magpie talisman, and spends seven karma. He asks the Magpie: "What do you want, and what do I get for it?" The Magpie is intrigued by Merit's presumption, and makes him an offer.

"I will provide you with three - well, there are rules, but we can work with them three hints to the three keys to the Dragon's Hoard. You can pay yourself before you give them to me." -Magpie
"Done!" -Merit

Meanwhile Hana's continued tea house investigation into the dissatisfaction of the populace with the war uncovers further interesting rumors. In general, the local populace is somewhat disappointed by the results of the war with the Savanna - the Taiga didn't really get anything out of it. There are some bitter recriminations flying around; the Dukes are blaming each other, while the people are (very carefully not out loud) blaming the King.

Hana then decides to head to a local flower house and see if there's anything she can learn there, or at least bring them the regards of her flower house back in the Arcade. Prowling around the city for a likely target, she finds herself in the House of Peony's Grace. It's an establishment with very high quality employees, but strangely little reputation and status. She finds the contrast intriguing and decides to report it to the party. She spends the rest of the afternoon pumping them for political information and rumors.

Takanata talks to Xian about his prophetic art, now that Xian is awake. They should make sure he isn't... kidnapped by people with boxes, or something. Wei Han does his best to make sure that both of them are under guard at all time.

Regrouping
Everyone meets up back at the inn, after their various adventures and investigations.
Merit explains that a plot has knocked on his door - well, okay, he knocked on its door, but maybe that counts, in the Butterfly sort of way. Anyway, the House of the Peony's Grace is having some sort of unspecified trouble, and he'd like to solve it, on the theory that that will get him a shtick source. Hana, surprised, says that she was just there - there wasn't any sort of overt trouble, but probably they were just too graceful to show it. It seemed to be a very good house for the status they had, though no one is quite sure how to interpret that.

Hana also says the geisha at the Peony's Grace think that the two feuding dukes (the Water Duke Duke Lan and the Fire Duke Duke Hong) show signs of their feud breaking out into actual fighting. However, their allied Dukes are starting to get fed up with the whole feuding thing, and may be thinking of smacking their friends down.

Shuyan says she met this bounty hunter guy, and set up a date. Merit recognizes the description as Snow Wolf, and says to make sure not to take all the monkeys on the date one of them was originally his.
"I can't believe I'm saying this, but you should go and talk to him some more and find out what he's up to." -Merit
There is some hope that the problem that the flower house is having is only "it's not popular enough" and the group needs to help it be properly appreciated. Most agree that this would be a "stupid and easily solved" problem, but it would be nice to have to solve one of those once in a while.

Everyone but Takanata heads off to meet Chochiro for the promised beer. She's a little surprised to find the whole group there. Merit says they wander where the winds take them, and she can understand that. There is some cagey discussion about what she is doing here - well, she followed some leads here, to do a big favor for one of the spirits, which led her to her client, who asked her to make some private and discreet inquiries on her behalf. Merit says he also has some interest in the Peony's Grace - Chochiro is impressed, as she totally didn't say the name. Perhaps they could compare notes. Chochiro is briefly a little suspicious - is Merit interested in the Peony's Grace in a good way or a bad way? Oh, a good way. Chochiro is happy with that. They can work together.
Chochiro's plan was to try to watch the place tonight, to see if she spots any bad guys. Merit tries to get some more details about what the actual problem is. Well, Chochiro's unnamed client is not allowed to interfere directly in these things, but Chochiro says that she's worried that the place will be stolen. She's not sure how you can steal a Flower House, but that does seem to be the worry. Also maybe a kidnapping.

Merit says Chochiro should give him a zhu and declare him to be a subcontractor, and then she can brief him. She's persuaded to do so, but is still a little light on details. Her client has learned that the place may be getting stolen, and one of the residents is going to be kidnapped. "Stolen" is apparently really bad, and one resident kidnapped can lead to "stolen" as well, which is bad. So she was going to lurk around and watch for kidnappers. Oh, and also - don't tell any of this to her client's husband!

Merit and Chochiro set up some meeting times later, and Merit warns Chochiro that the kidnappers might be some bounty hunters called Snow Wolf and Snow Leopard. Does Chochiro know who will be getting kidnapped? That varies, she thinks. Maybe according to who is doing well? The party speculates that it has to do with which geisha meets who. Merit comes up with some pre-set disguise features so that Chochiro will know who they are even if they're in disguise - particular flowers to be worn, that sort of hting.

Then the party goes back to brief Takanata. Takanata notes that the Fox's Locks make the Fox's Box move, so the Flower House is definitely able to move, and potentially able to be stolen. Merit examines the poem with an eye to its omens, and thinks that the Sneaks in "Sneaks with Traps come" is the same sneaks as in "Sneaks seek locks on box's fox, sir". For what that's worth.

Hana thinks she can probably manage to have a more straightforward conversation with the geisha about the house's problems without being impolite, but it will be hard for her to infiltrate quickly. "Getting a job" is a slow process; "temporarily staying over" would generally have been arranged between the head of this house and the head of Hana's old house. (No, pretending the letters of introduction were lost in the mail will probably not work).
It's time for Shuyan's date with Snow Wolf now - Merit thinks she should have some clandestine backup, in case it goes awry, or Snow Wolf tries to kidnap her.
"You do subtle better than Wei Han does." -Merit to Zhi-Hao "Only by degree." -Zhi-Hao
Takanata suggest Xian as someone who is both subtle and perceptive. So, Merit wears the monocle with a drop of blood from Shuyan's adorable snake, and Xian and Zhi-Hao have dinner together at the same place. As Shuyan dresses for her date, Merit is appalled - is she using Look At Me to choose clothes for her date? Shuyan protests that her circus clothes are actually more immodest, and Hana gives some fashion advice.

Snow Wolf, on the other hand, is wearing the same thing he was before, but more rumpled
- as if he was in a hurry, and decided to be on time rather than tidy. He talks with Shuyan over dinner - she focuses on animals and snakes, on the theory that that will warm him up, and he is in fact quite pleased to have a pretty girl interested in both animals and him. He is exceedingly knowledgeable about animals, and quite admires the Adorable Snake. The snake likes him too. He seems a little off his game due to being rushed, and he admits that his sister will be really mad if he says anything secret, but she's already mad because of the fiasco this afternoon. After dinner, he is sad to say that he really does have to go off and repair some of the damage from this afternoon. Shuyan suggests meeting for dinner tomorrow, and he happily accepts.
"This monocle is very frustrating. I need to get lip-reading." -Merit
Wei Han suggests giving Snow Wolf the snake next time, to spy on him, but Shuyan is pretty sure that Snow Wolf is popular enough with her snake that she might not get it back again, and it's a nice snake.

Flower House Visit

Takanata, Wei Han (bodyguard), and Hana (well dressed geisha-trained niece) head to the Flower House for a visit. Merit heads over separately, in disguise and wearing the monocle. Takanata (with entourage) receives a very warm reception, combining as he does a ridiculously high status and a reputation. Merit receives a warm welcome, though not quite so over the top. The monkeys are left in their cage back at the inn, since no one wants to bring them.
"I'm not taking four monkeys into a Flower House!" -Merit
The house seems to be busy - Merit thinks that they are subtly moving things back into place after an also-subtle ransacking, but nobody else has sufficient perception to realize that. Merit (since he isn't ostensibly part of Takanata's party) takes on the persona of an Extra Tacky Guy, poking at things, picking them up and asking about how expensive they are, to mask a detective roll. He concludes that the girls are ruffled, but are covering it well. Something bad has happened, but it's mostly under control now. They're not so much "concerned" as "flustered". He also realizes that they aren't specifically concerned about money, but they are looking for a particular right client. Merit decides he has to know who owns the place, if they're rich enough to not care about money. Takanata's party is quickly moved to a different room so as to take them away from the tacky guy.

Hana observes in awe as they conversationally interrogate Takanata, but he dodges quite a bit - they do find out that he is not married but not looking, which disappoints them a bit. She also concludes that they are looking for the right sort of client, which Takanata very much is. He has a marvellous time, and arranges for a meeting with the Flower House's proprietor. He wonders if there is any sort of assistance that they might need, which he could assist with. He has, for example, spent some time making a study of various sorts of divination - this place is under some form of attack which he does not understand. The woman concedes that "Sir is most wise" but does not wish to spoil his enjoyment of the evening. Hana casts an obvious Significant Look to Takanata, hoping that he will suggest that she help instead, but Takanata blithely ignores that.

Takanata goes into a bit more detail - he thinks there are multiple dangers, some to the young ladies directly and some to the house more indirectly. Again, the proprietor hopes that he needn't trouble himself over that. It's true that one of the girls did go missing this afternoon, but they expect her back soon, as they protect their girls quite well. There have been some disturbing...incidents, and she is embarrassed that they noticed the disarray when they arrived. She doesn't think that common thieves are capable of causing them much inconvenience. Hana thinks that she's serious about not being too worried about the kidnapped girl, which is quite remarkable. Takanata offers - if it would not be too troublesome, he could read her I Ching. The proprietress notes that that is a fascinating offer and in other circumstances she might be willing to take him up on it, but one cannot possibly have a guest work while he is a guest.

Hana wonders if she is conspiring to make the trouble happen - but no, it seems like no, she's trying to hide it because she thinks this sort of trouble should be hidden. She does seem to be quite overconfident about the trouble, but she probably isn't behind it. Anyhow, by the time they head back to the main room, everything is running smoothly and there is no sign of any fluster or disarray.
"Forgive me, uncle, but I thought part of the point was to make an offer that we do not seem to have made." -Hana
Takanata admits that he is worried that their confidence is a mystical rather than a political guarantee, and he's not sure he wants to leave Hana here if the whole building is about to disappear - Hana might disappear with it, or not be protected in the same way. Hana points out that they are already meddling with the Flower House affairs, so there will likely be someone from the party here if it vanishes, or if there isn't, it's because they've already failed.
At this point, there is a shriek outside, followed by a different shriek. Both Merit (who is tacky) and Wei Han (who is guardy) rush out. Apparently a young woman was heading into the house through the service entrance, when she startled another young woman hiding in the bushes watching the place. The latter woman (Chochiro) is full of apologies for having startled her.
"Oh, ignore those geisha groupies" -Merit, to the returning girl
The girl who has just returned is rather more flustered still, but Merit makes an effort to convince her to come and talk to him when she has put herself back in order. In the meantime, one geisha (immediately nicknamed "the tacky girl") seems willing to show more interest in Merit, who does appear to be wealthy, if not high-status. Merit increases his tackiness level and purports to only be happy if he's talking to unhappy people about their problems. Thus, when the returned-girl comes back in, he gloms up to her to try to find out what happened. She was apparently tied up and taken away by a very strident woman and a man, but once they weren't paying attention, she left again. Merit is amazed those were surely professionals! How did she escape? While he is persuasive, she can't actually tell him how she got away.
"It's the socks." -Wei Han
Merit hints that those things which protect Flower Houses work in mysterious ways maybe by sending strange visitors like him! The girl is amused, but doesn't think that Merit works for "her". Merit hints darkly that her kidnappers were professional bounty hunters, and will surely return. That puzzles her - bounty hunters? She's done nothing wrong! Well, okay, the line between "bounty hunter" and "kidnapper for hire" is a kind of fuzzy one. The girl says that the bounty hunters should just show up and visit - they'd have a much better time.

At the tail end of the evening, Takanata asks to speak to the lady of the house again. He says that he will likely be returning tomorrow, but in the meantime - his niece has had some training in the Hon'eth Arcade, but he fears it was interrupted. She was curious if it would be possible to remain for the next day or so to brush up on her skills. The proprietor says that Hana is welcome to stay for a couple of days, but she is unable to offer a longerterm arrangement. That's fine, as neither Takanata nor Hana was looking for something longer-term.
Merit comes up with an obscure tea ceremony to use as a favorite, presumably to serve as authentication if he returns without his disguise.
Through the Night

Everyone but Hana heads back to the inn. Wei Han tries to convince Hana that he should get to stay, but she is adamant that that would be Inappropriate, and thinks that he is confusing Flower Houses with those establishments which call themselves flower houses as a euphemism. (People do sometimes spend the night at a flower house in the "up all night talking" sense, or the "had too much to drink and passed out" unfortunate sense, but one does not pay to spend the night with a geisha in the better class Flower Houses.)

The group speculates about exactly what has happened already. According to Shuyan, Snow Leopard and Snow Wolf think they screwed up, but whatever it was that Snow Wolf had to run off to do, it wasn't an attack later that evening. The bounty hunters are probably not the same people who subtly searched the place, as they don't seem to be quite that subtle - unless they have another monkey. Also, the whole thing about the geishas trying to get married is somewhat unusual - maybe whatever has buffed the flower house to be extra-spiffy is temporary and has to be... renewed with a marriage, somehow?

At the Flower House itself, Hana thinks they are graceful and charming but not completely comfortable with her there - they are happy to teach her, but they are also waiting for her to go to sleep. Eventually, she goes to sleep, and drinks her chamomile tea (which is sleepymaking, but not drugged). She pretends to sleep, and listens more - it sounds like they are more relaxed once they are talking just to each other. There are several half-heard comments through the walls about finally being able to relax and take their socks off.

Zhi-Hao and Merit ask around on the street - the House of Peony's Grace isn't particularly infamous or important to the local streetwise types. Rumor has it that the Circle of Spite has a few people in town, but it's not clear what they're doing. Zhi-Hao notes that the western part of the Empire tends to have lots of little tongs/triads, not single large ones the way the east does - that's how Yoshi can get away with "running" a tiny tong in a random little village. Merit notes that Prefect Xing almost certainly knows who from the Circle of Spite is in town, but would rather not ask him unless he can't find that out some other way.

Li Merit heads to the government spires and tries to look into the flower house's permits and finances and other such bureaucratic stuff to figure out of someone is make a move on them. Sadly, the government doesn't seem to have any record at all of a flower house at 17 1/2 Foxglove lane. Indeed, there isn't supposed to be a 17 1/2 Foxglove lane at all! Well, this just gets curiouser and curiouser.

Final Conflicts

Takanata notes that the denizens of the flower house think that it's in trouble somehow, if someone doesn't get married off. People look at the prophecy again, and realize that the "sneaks with tricks, etc" lines are chronological, not descriptive. First the sneaks with tricks came - presumably the people who searched the place. Then the sneaks with traps came the kidnapping. Next, all heck is going to break loose as sneaks with slips and slaps and tracks come. Perhaps everyone is going to attack all at once!

There is some contemplation of throwing someone at the girls to give them someone to marry (Xiao Fa's name is floated), but Takanata wants to know more about why they have to get married. Are they going to end up living under a porch eating rats and thinking they're living a good life? Merit thinks if it's like the normal stories, a fox spirit might have to get married without the person they're marrying knowing they're a fox spirit. Wei Han gets permission to pick up Takanata and take him away if he seems inclined to get married.

Looking at the poem some more, "locks" does appear to mean multiple things - oh, wait, there's a picture of a ball and chain! It does mean marriage too. So... marrying makes the Flower House move? Merit realizes that Prefect Xing's wife was "from a different flower house, years ago" - ahah! It was the same flower house, before it moved! They do seem happy, if a little unusual in the secrets-keeping department. Thus it seems like marrying one of the girls isn't a bad thing. It seems like the main issue is that they're being picky about who one of them should marry, in that they would like a good husband, but are starting to get desperate and a bad one will do.

So... the bounty hunters are trying to kidnap someone, and the tong is trying to... do who knows what. It's hard to thwart a plan that the party doesn't understand, but maybe the idea should just be "hang around and thwart any attempts at "Get 'em!". Merit also remembers to meet with Chochiro and brief her on the theory that both the Circle of Spite and the two bounty hunters will be attacking somehow tonight, and should be Thwarted.

Shuyan goes off on her latest date with the bounty hunter. As they charm and conversationally interrogate one another, Shuyan mentions that she'll be heading to a flower house after the date. Snow wolf indicates that this is a bad night to be heading to a flower house, trying to warn her off. Sadly, his mysterious business for the evening prevents him from showing Shuyan a better time than visiting a flower house would, plus he probably has to attend some crazy pitchfork wedding in the morning, but after that, his bounty will be safely in his sister's hands, so perhaps Shuyan and he should have a nice lunch date, followed by an evening on the town tomorrow? Shuyan agrees, but then excuses herself to report all of this to the party.
"All lack of plans devolve to 'beat them up'" -Zhi-Hao "Well, they are criminals." -Xian
Off at the House of Peony's Grace, Hana has a somewhat elliptical conversation with the other girls. She doesn't get a lot of details, but does manage to confirm that all the girls tend to wear socks all the time, that the kidnapped girl escaped from the bounty hunter by taking her socks off, and that they're all pretty convinced that everything will be fine if only they can get one of them married off soon. She heads out to talk to the party, and meets them as they're on their way to the Flower House. Hana notes that the mistress of the house says that it is not possible to harm the house without harming her, and that she is always in the house and surrounded by people - so she's a point to defend if there's an attack.

Xian suggests that they forge a deed claiming to own the house, because the fact that there isn't one is creepy, and what if someone else shows up with one? Most everyone else feels like this is a little presumptuous or possibly creepy, but in the end Merit forges a somewhat lame deed to the house, only to be used in defensive bureaucratic combat.

Once the group arrives at the Peony's Grace, Xian realizes that all the young women are fox spirits wearing socks. (Why didn't he find this out days earlier? Because he was always shadowing Shuyan on her dates and never investigating the flower house.) He burns out his "Secret vision" on all of the fox spirits. His understanding is that fox spirits are the sort of the spirits who most often get married - foxes like people. Often, though, if their husbands find out, they have to flee. Well, the party is safe from marriage in that case, because they all realize they're fox spirits at this point.

The party that evening is very enjoyable, though people with sufficient social perception realize that there is a feeling of a "last bash" to it all. Maybe the deadline is tonight for someone to get married? Takanata introduces Xian to the lady of the house, and Xian wonders if this is the last party in this house in this location or the last party in this house ever? He also notes that someone seeks to sabotage or hijack the house, using their need to get married quickly.
"The clock seems to be ticking, I can hear it." -Xian "I thought it was just me!" -Mistress of the house
At this point, Chochiro leaps in through a window, two swords drawn. Everyone boggles. She says that Merit said to come in when the combat started. Everyone stares at her some more. She notes, somewhat confused that there are ninja all over the place. Well, that causes the ninja, who are indeed all over the place, to decloak, and five tong enforcers to burst in through the back window. People begin to flee from the ninja.

Takanata turns his Eyes of the I Ching on, and thinks that the smaller foxes are connected to the mistress, and she connects to the house. The ninja are less about "death" and more about "terror" in this case. Wei Han summons reinforcements. Hana runs out of the main room to warn the Mistress and Xian of the nina attack, which causes the Mistress to start instantiating doors and moving around the house, bringing Xian with her. Not realizing this (and being low on actions), Hana hangs about spookifying the corridor outside the room where the Mistress and Xian used to be.

Wei Han serves as a blocker for the enforcers in the hallway, and then Zhi-Hao shows off the shtick he learned one use of from Master Fa, attacking everyone next to Wei Han and pulling aggro like mad. He survives, with Wei Han's help, but loses his own sword to the guy he disarmed.

Takanata thinks about the Garden of Harmonious Contemplation and makes a persuasion roll to try to get the fox women to be calm. He calms many of them down, though one is already running outside, and Snow Leopard grabs her. The mistress hands Xian a map of the house and sends him through a door to the outside, while Snow Wolf comes in to try and charm one of the fox girls into leaving with him to somewhere safer. Zhi-Hao runs through the main room, grabbing a sword and spirit bottle from Merit on his mad sprint.

Merit attempts to convince the girl with Snow Wolf that he's up to no good, which the Dragon Army soldiers summoned by Wei Han also overhear. Snow Wolf is pretty charming, too, though. He makes some bird noises, and Xian notes that one of his birds is circling above the house, gathering bird-reinforcements from the local birds. Takanata notes that Snow Wolf's chi is tied to that of the bird - it's like he is a mage with way too many familiars.

(Another fox girl has fled into Hana's spooky corridor and asks "what shall we do?" Hana tells her to guard the Mistress, so the geisha (after telling Hana not to peek) disappears through the changing doors to join her Mistress.
Zhi-Hao shows the spirit bottle to the fox woman that Snow Leopard has grabbed, and she vanishes into the bottle, leaving Snow Leopard most cross.
Hana appears as the greatest fear of one of the ninjas - he shouts out "It's Hirasoto! Get out! Flee!" and the ninja do, in fact, all flee.
Xian, with an impressive job of fast-talking, manages to sell a marriage contract for one of the girls to Snow Leopard for only 20 li. He assures her that this will work - Xian wouldn't go to all this trouble if he didn't think so. Snow Leopard says if Xian can get her the girl as well, she'll double the price.
Takanata invokes Great Drama on Snow Leopard and Snow Wolf:
"You and your sister have crossed our paths three times. The rule of three says that you can leave us once more - as long as the birds leave with you. Go now."
Snow Wolf is convinced. They decide to make the best of a messy business, and Snow Leopard buys the contract from Xian, convinced that she can show up later to collect the girl. The two Snows leave, and the good guys finish taking down the last of the tong enforcers.

Zhi-Hao starts to get the feeling that he is about to feel the wrath of the house fall upon him, until he remembers that he has a fox spirit in a bottle, and lets her go. After that, there is general celebration, as the day (night) is (sort of) saved! However, they are still missing a marriage.

The party contemplates whether they have any NPCs who might be interested in a sudden hurried marriage. Li Kao's majordomo probably has a high enough status, but might require some persuasion for a hasty marriage. Merit thinks he has a buddy who would be appropriate - an old friend, injured with a scar, but high status. He brings the buddy by the Flower House, as Hana looks up So Ren, the overseer for the Blue Duke. Xian tries to get someone from Mistress Litana, but doesn't manage at such short notice. However, two young ladies do decide to get married to the party's two candidates.

The mistress of the house says that with two weddings, they will become quite lost for a while. So while she does not expect to see any of them again, she is most grateful to them for their assistance (Chochiro is quite happy, scoring another spirit quest), and they will all keep the group in their thoughts.

She is willing to let Takanata read her I Ching at this point, and he notes that while she is correct about being lost for some time, she is incorrect and they will be seeing her again. Whether the circumstances are happy or sad will depend on whether their next meeting is in the World Above or Below.
Chochiro and Merit mutually agree to not tell any details to either of their clients, and Merit suggests that she look into quests at the Golden Spire. She's 2/3 done now!
Shuyan decides to break her date and does not meet Snow Wolf for lunch the next day. After all, his sister will probably try to kill Shuyan if she shows. So she stands him up.
Puttering

Master Zhou, Xiao Fa, and Lijuan continue to visit the Temple of the Hand of the Wind.
Wei Han borrows the Butterfly Amulet and heads to a North Wall garrison to haggle for new armor.
Cai Wen searches out a party that the Pearl of the Taiga is at, and arranges to meet her for tea the next day.
Takanata and Min Feng visit the Golden Spire.
Takanata arranges to be invited to a dinner party with the Xings in attendance. Anto goes to the Golden Spire to talk to the Phoenix again.
Retrieved from "http://boojum.scripts.mit.edu/Dragon/index.php?title=Fox_in_Socks" Category: Book Two Logs
This page was last modified on 20 September 2010, at 00:48.
The Eighth Name

From Dragon

"Tigers die and leave their skins; people die and leave their names."

The run begins on the Day of the Late Fox, in the Month of the Crane, in the in the two hundred and fifty-ninth Year of the Spider since the opening of the Exalted Library.

The run takes place mostly in and around the City of Light in the Illuminated Precincts.
Previous Run
Contents

1 A Package Astray
2 Arrival in the City of Light
3 Autumn Rose and Other Stubborn Women
4 Library Research
5 Fake Wedding
6 Cryptomancer
7 Hunter and Prey
8 A Mechanic
9 Puttering

A Package Astray

In the City of Spires, Li Merit's spy contact shows up, to pick up his most recent item for the shop (the stackable-healing staff), and to pass along a report for Merit to deliver to the Butterfly Kingdom. He notes that hopefully Merit is already having fun with the shipment he got? Merit says no, he hasn't gotten any shipments yet. They're supposed to be delivered to his hand - what happened? The guy says Merit sent him a note saying to leave it at a particular address. Merit fumes at this incompetence, and points out several times that the return from this shipment should be delivered to him personally AND NOT LEFT ON A DOORSTEP, but gets the address.
"What? Someone else has the crayon?!?" -Lijuan "Don't worry, it's the plot." -Merit
Once Merit (trailed by Lijuan, worried about the crayons) reaches the address, he recognizes Prefect Xing's house. Madame Xing invites the pair in and serves them tea; Merit takes the opportunity to try to teach Lijuan something about tea ceremonies.

"Make a teaching roll." -Mike
"I don't have teaching skill..." -Merit "I do! Want me to teach you?" -Lijuan

Prefect Xing enters. He's pleased that Merit could stop by, and wants to thank him for his assistance. It sounds like everything... went as hoped, whatever that may have been. He says that Merit should feel free to stop by any time he is looking for some tips. Merit also notes that there was another reason he called upon Prefect Xing - a package seems to have been misdelivered to him. Ah, notes Prefect Xing - thus begins the first lesson. When intercepting shipments, sometimes they can be traced, so be careful about it. Merit collects his box, and makes his exit.

Takanata suggests that the party head down the Jasmine to the City of Light, as that's the fastest way to get back to the Butterfly Kingdom. Yoshi, assisted with Merit's advice and the Magpie Talisman, hires a riverboat, and the group sets forth. Takanata is inspired by some of the countryside on the way down the river, and writes an oddly edited poem.

Merit doesn't like the mention of flowers
- he always ends up in trouble for flower art when Autumn Rose is involved. His Interpret Omens twinges a little - it probably is Autumn Rose, in fact. The

editing suggests to people that
something big and important is changing in the world, and they should hurry - the group convinces the riverboat captain to let them attach the Icon of Aquatic Motion to the boat, and it goes downriver a bit faster.

Arrival in the City of Light

The riverboat docks at the City of Light's river docks, and Lijuan briefs everyone on the local urchins. Merit and Yoshi wander the streets, asking after Autumn Rose, and Lijuan asks the local urchins, making it clear that Autumn Rose is a good guy and not to be badly pestered. (The urchins here are good at spreading gossip, and "Autumn Rose is a good guy" is quickly the word on the street.) Yoshi and Merit pick up that she's staying at the best inn in town, and spends every other day at the Exalted Library. Hmm. So, does she go in every other day and do the exact same research, seems to be the question. Kasumi and Lijuan head to that inn to stake it out.

Kuan-Xi heads off on an errand, but she is a bit evasive about it, so Anto follows her stealthily. She heads to that same inn, where she bats her eyes charmingly at the guy behind the desk, until he is convinced to show her the registration book. She is upset by one of the names, but shakes her head and goes back to the less-expensive inn where the party is staying.

Meanwhile, Merit and Yoshi head to the Exalted Library and the reading rooms there, to ask after Autumn Rose. It becomes clear that the library employees do know something interesting, but respect the privacy of their customers. In other words, Merit and Yoshi don't have enough status to learn anything from them. They come in again with Takanata, who does some research about the king who gave the Council of Sages veto power; he looks status-ful while Yoshi and Merit point at him, but his roll is poor and doesn't beat Autumn Rose's status. Merit thinks this is a shtick built into the library, so there is some thought that they could meet some librarians outside the library.

Merit wonders whether Takanata wrote any notes about the pre-correction version of the poem as he was writing it, on the theory that he might have forgotten it again afterwards, and goes through his notes. While he doesn't find any notes on the poem, he does find another piece of paper, the one that the Cryptomancer's minions were using to find the name of the Jasmine River spirit. The green circles and arrows are rather similar.
"Ooh, can I see that?" -Lijuan "No." -Takanata
Some people remember - didn't Hana have a librarian friend? That she went on some double dates with, with Cai Wen? Right, Meng Shou. Hiro could disguise himself as Hana, and go on a date with Meng Shou. Hiro objects - he's not trying to date someone as Hana. He can meet some other librarian who is a girl, thank you very much. And, in fact, he heads off to the library to flirt with one of the librarians. She is very flattered, but trying to work. Excellent, Hiro says - when does she get off of work? Oh, very late. He will be back then, having purchased food for a late-night picnic.

Autumn Rose and Other Stubborn Women

That evening, Takanata calls upon Autumn Rose, bringing "people who think they're grown up" (which turns out to be Yoshi, Xiao Fa, and Merit), trailed by Kasumi. The concierge sends up a note to Autumn Rose's rooms from Takanata, saying that he is in town on his way home, heard she was here, and was hoping to be able to spend some time in a pleasant conversation. The note succeeds, and the group is invited up to one of the meeting rooms in the inn; Kasumi loiters stealthily behind, and notices several burly nonninjas sitting in the common area.

Autumn Rose greets Takanata - it is a pleasure, if a surprising one, to see him. He apologizes for any inconvenience he may have put her to - it is likely that an inspiration that came to him on the journey is related to her, probably having to do with the conversation they had last time. She puzzles on that for a moment or two - wait, is he missing? No, Cai Wen is not missing. Or is Takanata referring to her father? No, not him either - Takanata suggests that he refers to the acquaintance of her father's. Autumn Rose notes that her father has many acquaintances.

Okay, she's definitely forgotten things. Xiao Fa asks if he might examine her chi. One of her servants shrugs encouragingly to her, and she agrees. Xiao Fa notes that her chi is healing very nicely, and quite quickly. She seems to have some sort of shtick in effect that's putting her chi back in order, but it seems clear that it's been damaged a number of times in one specific place. Xiao Fa bows, in a pose requesting permission to speak, and she nods permission.

"It does appear to this one that your restoration technique is admirable, but it is being used regularly, for there is something tearing away at a part of your chi." Xiao Fa
"Thank you, good priest. Then you recommend that the lady rest, and you will return tomorrow?" -Autumn Rose's servant

Autumn Rose glares icily at her servant for his presumption, and he falls quickly into a grovelling apologetic pose. She notes to Xiao Fa that she does not know quite what he means by her restoration technique, but she will rest, and as she has matters she needs to attend to (she glares at her servant again), she will take her leave. Takanata receives permission to call on her for breakfast, however, so she will see them then.

Hiro heads off on his picnic-date with the librarian, and lets her pump him for information about what he's up to. This of course results in her telling him what Autumn Rose is up to. Every other day, she heads to the library and runs a search looking for books which reference both herself and Lord Takanata. She never finds anything and leaves disappointed, though she returns in a couple of days and tries again. The librarian thinks it's very odd. Hiro makes another date for the next evening, and reports back.

Meanwhile, Kasumi keeps watch on the fancy inn, and sees a very well-dressed gentleman talking to the burly guys for a little while, giving them instructions and some money. After that, they leave (followed by Kasumi) and go to stake out the inn that the party is staying at. Intriguing! Kasumi comes back in and tells everyone about this. Yoshi heads out to watch them watching the inn, and try to figure out what they want. They seem to be waiting for their target to come out, but they don't mean any harm to anyone, especially the target. Merit listens to Kasumi's description of the well-dressed guy, and thinks that it sounds like someone dressed like Shrouded Isle nobility. Hmm. Hiro is currently considered the most likely to be kidnapped, but there isn't any obvious tie to the Shrouded Isle.

Kasumi wonders what Kuan-Xi was doing in that inn, too. Anto is surprised - was Kasumi following her as well? No, it's just the same inn where Autumn Rose is staying. Well, perhaps Kuan-Xi is the target, then. Everyone heads up to her room, where Anto knocks on the door. After some fussing around inside, she opens the door to him, and is a little surprised to discover the whole party in the hallway. Anto asks if everything is okay, and she says that she's taking care of things, it'll be okay. Anto notes that there are hired thugs outside, hired by some nobility in the Shrouded Isle, waiting for someone to come outside. She's suddenly irate - oh, he did not hire thugs to get her, that is not acceptable. She says she'll be right back, but nobody else thinks that's a good idea. Or, if she's going, she should take the Cane of Free Action. Better, though, she should not go.

"They will take me to him and I will yell at him until he bleeds!" -Kuan-Xi "That's the stupidest plan ever." -Merit
"Oh, is he family?" -Anto
"No, he is not, and he's not going to be!" -Kuan-Xi
Hiro's ears perk up - this calls for a "pretend to be married" plan, which is in his Book of the Remarkable Wanderer.
Merit and Anto manage to get "his" name out of Kuan-Xi - Minoru Katsu. She continues to insist that it's an annoying family problem, but not a really big deal. Takanata fills in they are engaged? Well, some people think that, but they're wrong. Does "some people" include her mother? Yes, her mother is in fact the main culprit. Hmm. Could they convince her mother that Katsu isn't eligible? Kuan-Xi thinks that's unlikely - he'll probably be the next Firelord so he's totally eligible. Yoshi wonders what's so terrible about him, and Kuan-Xi explains that he's completely stifling. He wants to build her a palace, and fill it with riches and servants to wait on her, and have her stay in it. It'd be very boring. Merit wishes that he had such problems.

Various plans jostle for pre-eminence - "fake marriage" and "disguise her so the thugs don't see her" being the main contenders for Mad and Sober. For the moment, Merit disguises her so she's less recognizable, though it's tougher than for most, as her white hair doesn't take dye; on the other side of plan-space, Yoshi starts plotting how to bake a Dangerous Wedding Cake.

Still thinking about the other plot, Xiao Fa notes that the effect on Autumn Rose's chi might inhibit spiritual growth, as it does seem to push things towards a known state. So maybe it's her father's ability, rather than hers?

It's gotten quite late, so people turn in for the night. Kuan-Xi gets moved to Kasumi's room, while Lijuan, Anto, and Yoshi stay in Kuan-Xi's original room. Much later, there's a knock on the door to Kuan-Xi's first room while Lijuan is on watch. The person outside claims to be management - there's been a small disturbance. Lijuan claims to be getting dressed, and then Yoshi opens the door. The guy outside (one of the big thugs) apologizes
- he clearly has the wrong room. Yoshi tries to persuade him to come in, while he tries to persuade Yoshi to let him leave. In the end, he heads back downstairs, with Yoshi, Lijuan, and Anto, to find the other three thugs. There is a bit of posturing about who is going to thump who, but Yoshi persuades everyone that there is no need for bloodshed, whereupon the thugs leave.

Library Research

In the morning, a complicated arrangement for breakfast is made. Anto wants to see Autumn Rose's bonds, in case the current "healy" effect on her is a problem, but he doesn't want to leave Kuan-Xi unguarded either. On the other hand, Katsu might recognize KuanXi through her disguise, so bringing her to Autumn Rose's inn is dangerous. Of course, breakfast at the fancy inn is way too expensive, so nobody actually wants to go there. Two different breakfast places are chosen, nearby that inn, and within shouting distance of each other, and the party splits back into "grown-ups" (plus Anto) and others. Each of those groups gets followed by one of the thugs.
In the morning, happily, Autumn Rose now knows that she's seeking a name for Takanata, and that she believes that it's on a page in a book which also has her name and Takanata's name, due to some notes that she seems to have written herself. However, Takanata notes that she's done this before several times - does she have a plan for avoiding forgetfulness? She thinks maybe if she could identify the right book without reading it, that might be a start.

She tried to determine the name directly, but that doesn't seem to have worked; research in the Illuminated Precincts appears to be her clever backup plan. The party notes that she's done this before, and it does appear to work - except that then she forgets it all again. Takanata notes that the omen which said she was here is written in the style of Chun-Zi, the Cryptomancer - maybe he can assist. Autumn Rose agrees - he would probably have been who she consulted next, had she not found anything at the library.

Merit asks about her way of un-forgetting things. That's not what she would have called it, but yes, she does have some abilities there. Merit notes (having been briefed by Xiao Fa) that what she is doing might inhibit her growth. She looks mildly impressed, but smiles and says that the ability to deal with that is one of the things that separates an adept from a novice. Now Merit is intrigued, but doesn't think there's a good way to ask more questions about it.

Merit, Xiao Fa and Takanata all write themselves notes, and team Grownup heads to the library; Anto heads to the other breakfast, since it doesn't seem like Autumn Rose needs to be unbound from her chi-fixing shtick. Lijuan is jealous that Anto gets to have two breakfasts - next time, she wants to be on that part of the plan. One of the burly thugs has been keeping an eye on their restaurant, but hasn't come in. The second group heads to the library as well, since that seems to be where all the interesting is going on.
At the library, Hiro's librarian friend is waiting for Autumn Rose, who wants to see all the books with Takanata's name, and with her name.
"Same order as last time." -Merit
"Of course."
"But faster."
"We have gotten it from five hours down to three."

Anto thinks they should just leave all the books out for easier access later, not re-shelve them again afterward; Takanata and the librarian share a moment of being appalled at the idea. Hiro talks to the librarian about what books will get brought - a lot of Takanata's poetry, some birth records from the Hidden City etc. But nothing that has both names in it has ever been found. Every other day, she asks for the same search, but doesn't find what she's looking for, and goes away disappointed. Or, at least, that's what the librarian remembers.

Xiao Fa has a scribe take notes of the list of books brought (library patrons aren't allowed their own ink in the library), and Merit takes limited notes with knots tied in pieces of string.

After having been hurried along by Merit, the library clerks get through the books Autumn Rose wants in slightly under three hours. Some of them she skims through, some of them she just looks at a particular page, but she doesn't find anything with both of their names on the same page, and gives up in disappointment.

"How unfortunate. I suppose tomorrow I will have to try speaking with the Cryptomancer." -Autumn Rose
"Oh. How embarassing." -Merit

Everyone else stares at Merit in confusion, and he explains - it was never the library, she does go away disappointed every time, it's always visiting the Cryptomancer that makes her forget. Maybe he's actually the Eighth Marked! Or maybe he just answers her question. He's probably charging her tons of money every visit! If he hasn't forgotten he's taking advantage of her, that's reprehensible. Anyhow, Autumn Rose heads off to make an appointment to meet the Cryptomancer on the morrow.

Xiao Fa tries to follow the chi of the place, but is quickly intercepted by the librarians, as he heads towards the stacks. The chi here seems to emanate out into the kingdom - the building is set up in concentric rings, with better access and more powerful chi in the inner rings, but it acts as a fountain, not a funnel.

Merit chats with Autumn Rose's servants - she doesn't get stricken at the library, then? No, it's the other day that she forgets things. Is she spending a lot of money trapped in this loop, Merit wonders? Well, the library isn't cheap. But what about the other day? The servants don't know the details of where she goes then, but she's not spending a lot of money there. Ah - the other thing he deals in is information, and she's probably a good source for that. The servants say that this is the fourth time she's gone to the library. Oh, good - Merit was worried it was the fortieth or so.

"That makes sense - by the rule of threes, it happens three times one way, and then the next time it happens differently." -Takanata
"You're just making that up! There's no such thing as the Rule of Threes!" -Merit

Merit asks the servants - do they know when the prince from the Shrouded Isle showed up? About a day or two after they did. He's been hanging around recruiting mercenaries, while apparently waiting for something. He's picked up two groups of mercenaries. Merit describes the group of four large guys - yup, that's the recent one. He also recruited some more nondescript people. They describe some people, and Merit recognizes one of the descriptions - a stablehand at the inn the group is staying at.

Anto suggests that the party skip all the intervening steps and just go beat up Katsu. That's what'll happen in the end, right? Merit puts his foot down - no making an enemy of the guy who has a good shot at being the next Firelord! Takanata also doesn't really think that wanting to marry Kuan-Xi is in itself a thumping offense. Merit agrees - that's part of the deal of getting all your money handed to you when you're born; sometimes your family gets a bigger say in who you marry than you do. Kasumi agrees - no thumping Katsu, unless he has a Great Talisman. Merit thinks Kasumi is Not Helping, and there is some argument as to whether or not the party subscribes to the "All loot is ours, we just haven't picked it up yet" school of thought. For the most part, they apparently do not.

Fake Wedding

The idea of planning a fake wedding between Anto and Kuan-Xi is everyone's favorite plan. Kuan-Xi says it won't fool her mother, but Katsu will probably leave for home, and get yelled at by her mother for being an idiot before he decides to do anything else. Yoshi throws together a 3-success wedding cake with Anto's kusarigama hidden inside.

"What is the minimum wedding you would accept?" -Merit
"For the record, when you can't get a date, think back and this is why." -Hiro "It's not that I can't get a date. It's that I don't have time for dates!" -Merit

Merit turns up a local buddy who's good at event planning, and an old supply cache full of wedding decorations. Takanata takes charge of the flower arrangements. Others start tidying up Anto so that he's more presentable.
"Can I add 'Knot Tying'?" -Merit
Merit checks to see what distinguishes a fake marriage from a real one - the paperwork, mostly. However, Anto wants to make sure that he isn't saying any vows that he isn't happy keeping, real wedding or no. Takanata combines some poetry and bureaucracy to come up with vows that sound good and are somewhat promisey but not very strong vowing to support each other in their endeavors, but not necessarily forsaking all others until death. That sort of thing, but more poetic. Merit gets some actual marriage paperwork, but promises to not actually file it later.

"Then - I find a date! He tasks me! I get four successes scrounging up a date!" Merit
"Scrounging? Ew." -Hiro
"Argh!" -Merit

Meanwhile, however, Anto has taken Kuan-Xi aside to make sure she's okay with the plan. He's feeling kind of awkward and embarrassed about fake-marrying his not-reallygirlfriend, and doesn't want to push her into it either. She admits she finds it kind of embarrassing too, and wonders if maybe it could be other people disguised as them instead. However, when Anto suggests this to the party, nobody thinks anyone has enough disguise to pull that off - Hiro disguising himself as Hana is a special case. Kasumi suggests that they get married for real instead, but Takanata insists that's a bad idea.
"I could just kidnap her right now." -Anto
Merit is sulky. He spent a karma plus two shticks planning this, so Anto should get with the plan! A compromise is reached - probably the bad guys will attack anyway, so things will devolve to "Get 'Em". But if they don't, Kasumi will pretend to kidnap Kuan-Xi, so they don't have to go through with it. She hides overhead in the rafters. Once she's "kidnapped" she can take her little carriage to the Hon'eth Arcade and take a boat to the Butterfly Kingdom, or something like that.
"This is why it's bad luck to have the fake groom see the fake bride before the fake wedding."
The "wedding" begins, and two of the four mercenaries run off to report this development. The hall is impressively filled, due to Merit's recruitment.

"Who are these people?" -Anto
"That side is the friends of the bride. That side is friends of the groom. Those people in front there are your relatives; hers are out of town." -Merit

Contrary to expectation, Katsu does not make it to the wedding before the "speak now or forever hold your peace" step, so Kasumi yoinks KuanXi up into the rafters. Anto dramatically gasps and shouts to unhand his bride. The guests find this all very exciting.
The Fake Wedding
Kasumi flees with Kuan-Xi over the rooftops, wondering where to go. She hadn't expected to get to this point, so she hadn't really planned any further. Back at the hall, a fancy carriage pulls up, and Minoru Katsu gets out - the remaining mercenary brief him, and he gets even more upset. Everyone searches around for Kasumi, some pretending, others for real; Lijuan starts using a "chasing" shtick to follow Kuan-Xi.

Kasumi and Kuan-Xi decide the plan is to get Kuan-Xi in her little carriage, and on her way. This goes quite well, as the carriage is already prepped for travel, but just as the carriage is about to leave with Kuan-Xi inside, Kasumi recognizes the driver as the "hired mercenary" stablehand, and starts a fight. There is some leaping up and down from the carriage, and Kasumi ends up in the driver's seat, and drives the carriage... to the fancy inn where Katsu is staying, on the theory that nobody will expect that. The two guys clinging to the side of the carriage fail their Resolve checks and fall off, too stunned to move; Kasumi is down some resolve but still functional. Luckily, it was a short trip. Lijuan chases after, and also takes a lot of resolve damage.

And, now, Kuan-Xi needs a new driver. Since Kuan-Xi is supposed to be kidnapped, and Kasumi is the ninja who kidnapped her, that leaves Lijuan to go into the inn to ask to hire a driver. She asks for a driver to drive to the Butterfly Kingdom, though, so the concierge thinks he's just being made fun of. Lijuan settles for a driver to take them to the docks, but she doesn't have any money. She goes back out to get some from Kuan-Xi, and returns with a slightly more sensible request, that of a driver to take someone to the Hon'eth Arcade in exchange for silver. The concierge procures one, and off the carriage goes. Whew.
The wedding party eats their cake, and Anto pretends to be distraught. Katsu and his group fail to find Kuan-Xi, and stomp off back to their inn.
Cryptomancer
The next day, Autumn Rose brings everyone along to her meeting with the Cryptomancer
- they meet at an out of the way noodle shop..
"How can I assist you?" -Chun-Zi
"The question is, how did you assist her two days ago?" -Kasumi "I see you've made progress."

Yoshi thinks Chun-Zi's a little disappointed that she remembers. Autumn Rose notes that Chun-Zi's statement suggests that she has already paid more than the required amount for the information that they desire, and she and the Cryptomancer glare at each other. He says that he is willing to provide her with the same information again, then - he certainly doesn't want to know it himself. Autumn Rose thinks he can do better than that.

He thinks that there may be a way out of her current predicament - it is a bit more complex, but if they are willing, he could see his way towards drawing up an appropriate mechanic. As for payment... Autumn Rose states that she has already paid. Chun-Zi notes that everyone else has not. They glare at each other a bit more, and Chun-Zi asks the others if they are indeed interested in his suggestion.

Takanata thinks that they have in fact already paid for the information they want, but to others, and he finds it difficult to be put in a position to pay for it again. Chun-Zi doesn't really care whether he's paid anyone else, as that's not relevant to his bargain here. Takanata wonders what price the Cryptomancer is looking for.
"Information. You are a hearty little band. Perhaps I can come up with some appropriate task that you will not find too troublesome."
Takanata thinks that's more of a reasonable deal, so Chun-Zi brings out a map. Out in the woods, some few hours away from the City of Light - he wishes them to go to that location, and report back on the woman that they find there. Any information that they can obtain about her will be useful. Takanata wonders if she is likely to attack them on arrival. Chun-Zi believes that she will only be there for a short time, on business of her own, and he hopes that if they do not interrupt her, she will not attack them.

Hunter and Prey

The group heads out into the woods, towards the indicated location on the map. Kasumi sneaks in advance as a forward scout, loosing the hiding monkey, but Takanata walks obviously forwards; everyone else quickly joins him in the Obvious Group. There's a glade, with several bodies being wrapped in silk by a huge spider. Merit thinks it's some sort of spirit possession going on. Through the monocle, the hiding monkey is slowly sneaking towards the clearing, but it's not clear what it's following.

Lijuan starts shooting the spider from a safe distance. Anto tries to stab it in the face with the spirit bottle, but this only damages it rather than making it vanish. He and the spider play grabbing games, while Kasumi investigates the webbed people - she thinks they're asleep rather than dead, and they're dressed like peasants. Another few arrows shoot from the woods, as combat continues, and then a tall woman in leather armor, carrying a bow as tall as she is, steps from the woods.

"Who dares attempt to deprive Ming Lieren of her rightful prey?" "Our apologies, Lady. We did not mean to interrupt your hunt. We saw a spider wreaking havoc on the locals, and thought it wise to interfere." -Takanata "Very well, let us take the beast together."
Xiao Fa notes that her chi is a lot like that of Old Hop in a non-entropic way.
Yoshi and Anto keep the spider busy and not killing anyone, while Lijuan and the hunter fill it with arrows and Kasumi chops it. Lijuan does her best to show off with all her bow shticks, and ends up getting the kill shot on the spider, which promptly explodes into gunk. Kasumi leaps out of the way, and Yoshi leaps in front of Anto's share, covering him with double the amount of gunk.
Ming Lieren reaches down and pulls a mandible from the exploded spider - there's not much left beyond that - and presents it to Lijuan
"Unless I am suddenly no judge of these things, the trophy belongs to this young one."
Kasumi asks after the people wrapped by the spider, or covered in gunk. Ming Lieren says that cutting the prisoners free should do, but Yoshi will need healing. Xiao Fa clarifies what kind of healing? Spiritual, she expects.
"Yoshi ate another spider. Twice." -Lijuan
Cutting the prisoners free leaves them in a more normal sleep - they should be fine in the morning. Merit eyes everything suspiciously - it seems likely that someone involved was using some sort of enchantment, as you don't normally have possessed spiders running around, or exploding so damagingly afterwards. Ming Lieren says that it was a spider possessed by a spirit from the World Above; she came upon its scent several days ago and tracked it to this place. How did they come upon the beast, she wonders.

"We had been asked to investigate strange happenings in the area" -Takanata "The disappearance of these peasants?"
"The one who hired us was... not so clear."
"You are a mercenary band, then?"
"We perform services in exchange for information."

Takanata suggests that they meet her somewhere else, some ways away. She considers that it would be ungracious to deny a simple request from a comrade in the hunt, so they agree to meet in an hour, elsewhere, and she heads off. This way, Takanata says, they don't have to tell the Cryptomancer what they find out at the *new* meeting place, only what they've found out already.

Merit keeps looking at the mandible - it's not right, he thinks. It's all clean and preserved, not still covered with bits of dead spider. Well, sure, Takanata says - it's a Trophy of the Hunt.
Xiao Fa looks at Yoshi's chi - he seems tainted again. Merit tries to guess from the description whether it's spirit or demon that tainted him, and his best guess is spirit, but they're reasonably similar.
"Oh, if it's spirit, it's not so bad, I can just use my charm to make all the other spiders obey me." -Yoshi
The group heads off to their Second Meeting with Ming Lieren; Lijuan writes up a note to put under her pillow that night, in the hopes that Kibo will read it.
Dear Kibo, I'm sorry Yoshi got spider goo on him but I didn't know he was going to jump in front well fix him, honest. Lijuan
Kasumi asks if Ming Lieren takes students, indicating Lijuan. She asks what Lijuan's goal is - that would be to protect the children, and make up for the trouble she caused. Merit notes that she should probably stick to "protect the children" in future, but points out to Ming Lieren that the discipline of archery might be of assistance to her. She asks where Lijuan hails from - from the Forest of Chin, but her teacher is Hikaru, the Tokai huntmaster, in the Butterfly Kingdom.
"Ask your master of me, and tell him that when you are ready, I will teach you something. He may contact me when it is time. He will know of me." -Ming Lieren
Merit wonders: if, in their travels, they should come across prey that is up to no good, but beyond them, can they contact her? She nods, and takes an arrow out of her quiver unadorned, but with golden feathers - and hands it to Merit. "When you wish to contact me, you will know what to do." Then, she heads off again.
Kasumi says that's just like Old Hop too - he gave her the Golden Palace Rice Wine, and said if she needed to contact him, she would know what to do, but she totally doesn't.
"That's how mysterious masters work." -Merit
"She could still be listening." -Kasumi
"That could also be how mysterious masters work." -Merit

A Mechanic

The party returns to the Cryptomancer, and Takanata carefully describes the initial encounter with Ming Lieren. Xiao Fa points out that her chi was non-entropic, which the Cryptomancer finds particularly interesting. Merit notes his impressions of her - proud, initially annoyed that they were there. Chun-Zi asks a bunch of questions to Xiao Fa Merit thinks that he's using a brute force sort of approach, not detective-y insight.

Then, he presents them with a page of un-filled in words. He says this is the page they seek, and they can hone in on the correct solution slowly - but he advises that they do not finish it. Merit notes that last time they met, he gave some information to Chun-Zi's assistant, and that this is probably related. Chun-Zi says he has walked down that path before, but does not have time to do so again. However, if they do come up with some way of retaining the information, that would be of interest to him.

Autumn Rose fills in some names on the page - hers, Takanata's, and that of the Firelord. Merit is dubious - is "Firelord" actually a name? Yes, in fact - he has to give up his family name when he becomes Firelord, so she's convinced it's a name. That, plus the fact that she was able to fill it in, convince everyone. Autumn Rose thanks the party, and heads back to her inn. They should keep in touch with each other on the progress of their mechanic.
Then it's almost time to finally catch ship back to the Butterfly Kingdom.
Puttering

Xiao Fa and Yoshi go and visit a scholar-physician in the City of Light. Yoshi goes to talk to Minoru Katsu.
Cai Wen makes a quick gambling trip to the Hon'eth Arcade.
Master Zhou visits the Temple of the Immovable Soul and the Temple of the Perfected Form.
Retrieved from "http://boojum.scripts.mit.edu/Dragon/index.php?title=The_Eighth_Name" Category: Book Two Logs
This page was last modified on 1 October 2010, at 22:59.
Lifedeath

From Dragon

"Every man goes down to his death bearing in his hands only that which he has given away."

The run begins just before the Day of the Early Tiger in the month of the Tiger in the first Year of the Spider since the Butterfly King was Poisoned.
The run takes place in the Butterfly Kingdom.
Previous Run
Contents

1 Homecoming
2 Wandering Plot Threads
3 Zombie Jamboree
4 Dangling Plot Threads
5 Puttering

Homecoming

The party takes ship from the City of Light to the Harbor of Shining Reflections in the Butterfly Kingdom. As their ship arrives, the more observant note that the port seems particularly busy, and the (not very large) Butterfly Navy seems to be out and about on patrol. However, sightseeing at the boats soon gives way to a reunion with Ringmaster Te, who is most pleased to see his wayward performers, and even more pleased that Li Merit is back to solve all of the problems plaguing the Circus.
Ringmaster Te gives a brief speech - this is the last chance to put all the acts in order before the procession and final dress rehearsal and then their trip through the northern kingdoms. For those who are still having trouble with their acts - this is the time to get them resolved.
Some of the more pressing issues include:
Monkey Training : while Animal Handling works moderately well with monkeys, Min-Su has been working on training them to respond to gestures. She has much of it worked out, but wants to integrate the newly returned Monkeys of the Apocalypse into her gesture training. (Charades mechanic)
Akimoto's Balances: Akimoto's acrobatic props have gotten damp and warped over the winter, without the prop master to look after them properly. He's in a panic to finish rebalancing them. Please help! (Balancing rocks mechanic)
Danger Chef: Ringmaster Te is considering making Danger Cheffery an official act. However, since Yoshi's been away, he isn't sure yet that it's dramatic enough, so he needs to be convinced. (Fruit Ninja mechanic)
Crystal Ball Tuning: Mystic Melina has been having a lot of trouble recently getting her visions to become clear. She thinks her crystal ball may have been cracked during the winter, and would like help in some final retuning. (Tracing paper mechanic)
Snake Dancing: Ringmaster Te has been considering making The Sinuous Shuyan a headliner in the upcoming tour. However, he's a bit cross that she missed all winter's practicing, so he'll need to be persuaded - and not by the party, because he knows where their loyalties lie! (NPC deck mechanic)
Takanata writes a prophetic poem, though he doesn't understand what it means:
Lahjen na murkkya hautuak kanssa on totta. Ampanen on viholln, mutta ala lo pesa Jakaa kumalen khydistyi.

Cai Wen, Wei Han, and Anto recognize the language as Torghut - Cai Wen has the best sense of what it says: the first line means something like "A face that has not known joy can only grimace, not smile". The second line means "Even if the wasp is your enemy, do not strike the nest." The third line isn't really a complete sentence, something like "the split 'lifedeath' (whatever that is) united."

Wandering Plot Threads

As people begin to chat with the circus-watchers and find out what favors they want in order to put in a good word for Shuyan, they find one gentleman who is looking for names of fortune-tellers. He is given, among many other names, that of Takanata, who then offers to read his I Ching for him. While he is interested in knowing about his future with his kind-of girlfriend, what Takanata sees is that he will die by his grandmother's hand before the day is out. Well, that's no good. Takanata asks after his grandmother - he says both of them are dead. This is... somewhat concerning.

Meanwhile, Master Zhou talks to Long Yue-Mei about her homework - pursuing stillness in various places. She notes that she does not enjoy stillness, but she can do it - so perhaps the lesson is that she can do things she does not enjoy. Master Zhou thinks that the things she needs to know are: one, the storm is coming, so she can be a Tiger soon, and two, if she finds her father, only tragedy will follow. That somewhat startles Master Zhou, as he had not realized that she was looking for her father. Yue Mei does not explain, but clearly finds the advice frustrating.
Then Master Zhou talks to Master Koji about Anto and other things, and hears that there is a "Northern ambassador" who has been meeting with the King.
Zhi-Hao and Hana, concerned over the possibility of undead rising, go to the graveyard. Hana looks for ghosts, and finds an indistinct ghost trundling around the graves, patting them. She tries to talk to him, and the ghost attempts to get her to "lie down and go back to sleep". She declares that she doesn't need to do that, which bothers him, but he seems pretty vague and confused.

Li Merit receives a message from the palace asking him to check on security. He's briefed on the fact that an ambassador appears to have arrived from beyond the northern wall, and is attempting to negotiate some kind of alliance with the king. Meanwhile, Wei Han is noticing that things are particularly creepy around here... a feeling he doesn't often get far from the northern wall. Their investigations combine, and Li Merit leads a small group to the secret cove, where the northern ambassador's boat is hidden. Wei Han declares that there are definitely undead aboard and warns the guards to guard the ship closely. Takanata, worried about his prophecy, advises not attacking the vessel, thinking it might be the wasp's nest.

Hiro and Xiao Fa come across Kuan-Xi's little carriage, without Kuan-Xi in it, and find this... somewhat worrisome. They bring others into the investigation, and much Detecting is done. Cai Wen searches the carriage, and finds some signs of struggle, while Li Merit asks around to find out where it arrived. No one can find any signs of an amnesiac KuanXi, and she's pretty identifiable. Min Feng also determines that she's not on the island. (Ezokin, on the other hand, is still in the Hon'eth Arcade). Shen-Ji analyzes the carriage, determines that it is pretty tired, and that it came from the Port of Auspicious Voyage - and that people left the carriage in transit. He speculates that people who left the carriage will be somewhere which is the average of the Hon'eth Arcade and the Butterfly Kingdom (possibly a geographic average, but it also might be a metaphorical one) - Lijuan figures that's probably the Shrouded Isle, by virtue of the Cycle spirits involved.
Master Zhou tries to interrogate Xiao Fa about his homework, but Xiao Fa is distracted by Kuan-Xi being mysteriously missing, and evades for the moment.
Elsewhere, people are still investigating the doomed lovers. The so-called girlfriend has spent the day mooning over Cai-wen as one of his moll-wannabes, while the kid with the prophecy of death has been trying to convince her that it's time for them to "get serious." Several party members wander into this situation, shake their heads, and wander out again.

During this, Cai Wen is getting a briefing at the palace about the negotiations. Apparently, the northern ambassador has been proposing a bunch of completely unacceptable things. "Alliance against the Qin Chao steppes; trade agreement involving the bodies of our ancestors, etc." The negotiations have closed for the day, and the ambassador has retired to the guest palace to resume in the morning. The court advisers ask Cai Wen for some advice on getting a better negotiating position at the next session. He says he'll get back to them, and goes off to consult with his friends.

Anto, hoping to find Kuan-Xi, heads for someone who needs help - that brings him back to the graveyard, where the ghost of the caretaker is more visible and less confused, as well as concerned about the dead not rising. He's not really sure what to make of non-dead people, and thinks dead people should go back to sleep. Also, he keeps saying that he's dug a grave for Hiro, though on further questioning, it's unclear whether he thinks Hiro is due to die soon, or just eventually. He does seem to think that there will be a lot of death tonight, though, which is neither reassuring nor (at this point) particularly surprising. Hiro summons Hana, who has a long chat with the caretaker-ghost about the history of the graveyard and other things, consents to sit in a grave to make him feel better about her being up and about, and meditates. Shen Wei Han vastly disapproves of Hana meditating in haunted graveyards while the dead are on the rise, but nothing bad seems to happen just yet.

Master Zhou chats with Master Long about undead, and about Yue Mei - Master Long is concerned about what Yue Mei has been asking Master Zhou, but cannot discuss the matter.

Ti Jun summons Wei Han, regarding the letter of armor upgrade that Wei Han has asked him for. The Prince says that if Wei Han is to be an official Dragon army soldier of the Butterfly Kingdom, he shouldn't be wearing junky armor, and the Prince will see that it's taken care of.
The Queen summons Hana and Hiro for a private meeting in the Court of Distinction. She is somewhat more awkward than when they have encountered her before; the issue appears to be that the twins' lady mother has come by the Butterfly Court to speak about the courtship between Hana and Ti Jun (which Hiro put in her head the last time they were home). While she has nothing against the House of Teng, and is most grateful to Hana and Hiro for all their assistance so far, she does have... dynastic concerns. There is much circumlocution around the issue, but in essence, the Queen thinks that Hana being dead is likely to cause problems as far as future heirs goes. Hana understands her concerns, but does make it clear that her mother was making the suggestion in good faith, as Lady Teng is less aware of these issues.

Meanwhile, Takanata, Li Merit, Yoshi and others are trying to gain access to the northern ambassador to ask him some questions. Sadly, his servants indicate that he is indisposed at the moment. Takanata asks the servant about him and the servant protests ignorance. He is not a "great lord of death and life" like his master. He does let slip though, that his master is not currently in the guest palace, he's elsewhere. A small amount more conversation reveals that while not a lord of death and life, the servant does make a study of Imperial Chi, to the extent possible. He indicates that the "lifedeath" word in Takanata's poem is something like the Northern word for Chi, except that the concept is quite different.

Intrigued, Takanata offers to read the servant's I Ching (for a karma, as he's already read one). It forks sharply mere minutes in the future. If his master successfully kills the Queen, the servant will go on to a long and prosperous life. If his master fails, the servant will be swiftly executed. If his master dies, the servant will be one of many in the nearby area to die as well. The group rushes toward the Court of Distinction to see to the queen's safety. Anto brings the northern servant along just in case.

Merit starts shouting to various guards that there's a "Code Red Marmoset" (threat to the royal family) as they run towards the Court of Distinction and various guards start rushing around.

Zombie Jamboree

Back in the conversation with the Queen, her guard suddenly stiffens and gets a vacant expression, and begins to shamble forward. At the same time, the "northern ambassador" bursts into the room, and directs the newly created zombie to kill the Queen. Hana leaps forward and grabs the zombie-guard with her painful-ghost-touch - it affects him but he does not fall. This causes some sort of thwackback effect, but Hana is immune to it. Next, Hiro chops the ambassador, doing him some damage through toughness and causing a big penalty to Hiro's next death check. The Queen, meanwhile, seems to be exerting her concentration to try to not become undead the same way the zombie guard just did. Hiro grabs the Queen and tries to drag her to safety, as other ex-guard zombies converge on the small group.

The rest of the group reaches the gardens outside the Court of Distinction, and starts running towards the trouble. Master Deng, with the Magpie Talisman, is particularly fast, and Anto still has the Northern servant.

"Strike me down, and I shall become even more powerful than you can ever imagine." -Ambassador to Hana
"If you strike me again, you may save your queen, but you will suffer for eternity." to Hiro
"Sorry, I stopped listening after the part about saving the queen." -Hiro, striking
Hiro strikes the ambassador down, and there is a burst of darkness from his body - Hiro leaps in front of the Queen taking her damage as well as his own, and then falls, dead.
Around the court gardens, horrible abominations of death, plus skeletons and zombie type undead, start rising from the ground.
"Who built the palace on ancient burial grounds?" -Merit
Anto's prisoner also turns into a horrific abomination, much to his chagrin.
"I want to shout out the codes for 'Holy shit, we're losing, don't come here.'" -Merit "...oh, and, evacuate the King."
Hiro's spirit sees a kind of white light for him to go into, except that there's a horrible thing with claws and flame in the way. As far as everyone else is concerned, there is a painfully increasing Field of Death around the abomination, causing increased amounts of damage Zhi-Hao, now nearly to the Queen, has to pull up short lest he run out of hit points.

Using Hiro's action, Hana grabs Hiro's soul; from her point of view, Hiro vanishes. From Hiro's point of view, Hana vanishes. From everyone else's point of view, someone who looks like, alternately, Hiro and then Hana, is doing things. Takanata's Eyes of the I Ching goes off, and he sees the Yin and Yang merging together into the Tao, and also a sere dead tree, merging with growing roots to form a double-sided silhouette of a tree with branches extending up and down
extending up and down
large-tree-roots-two.jpg) . And, the chi of everywhere he can see is different...

"There used to be dead things and live things - now there are just Things." -Mike "That's no good." -Takanata
"You're just coming to that conclusion?" -Merit
The huge Field of Death is replaced by a huge Field of Tao. This has several effects:
People in a proper pair can add their Tao to all their stats
People not in a proper pair are limited to their Tao in all stats
Each action, if any tao substats are higher than your overall Tao, take the difference in damage
People in proper pairs can pool/share hit points
A proper pair is one male and one female, no farther away from each other than the sum of their Taos in hexes

"Do they have to be conscious?"
"Do they have to be human? Do they have to be mine?" -Andrea, quoting Little Shop of Horrors

The party is seriously male-heavy, so pairing is a little tricky. Cai Wen summons a moll; Zhi-Hao is still rescuing the Queen, so he recruits her. Master Zhou uses his Yellow Silk Student shtick to summon Long Yue Mei to help, and Merit throws some karma into a buddy of his (the court flower arranger) being nearby, though this leads to more people teasing him about scrounging up women.

"Pair with me and my sword and my body will defend you." -Zhi-Hao to Ti Wren "Long Yue Mei - the storm begins, stand with me." -Master Zhou
"You know, Li Merit is really funny when he's angry. We should poke him more." Kasumi

In addition to the skeletons and the zombies outside, creatures of bright light and life start to appear inside the court building - they are promptly named "un-undead", as that seems about right.

Wei Han calls for backup, and some vacationing Dragon Army soldiers show up. Merit notes to himself that there really do seem to be a lot of Dragon Army soldiers who vacation here, for a place that doesn't have any soldiers stationed.

After various people have pulled in NPC women to pair with, only Takanata, Xiao Fa, and Xian are left. Takanata is also suffering in particular from his unbalanced chi - Xiao Fa resists the temptation to expound on balance some more.

"Pilgrim Xiao Fa, we pair." -Xian "How does that work?" -Min Feng
"That's confounding." -Wei Han
"He can confound the very chi itself!" -Lijuan
"That [the confounding of chi] is not what I would have expected to be going on." Hana

As it turns out, Xian and Xiao Fa are able to form a proper pair - confounding or no. Takanata keeps looking at what is going on with the chi, and decides that all the undead are the failure mode of the plan which was going to make the Butterfly Kingdom count as "north of the Wall". That isn't happening anymore, so this is just destructive thwackback. The zombies do damage, and thwackback which causes people to be at minuses at their next death check; the "life un-undead" add to the next death check, and the eldritch horrors force death checks.
"What the hell are all those purple things?" "Those are girls."
Combat continues, but it's not going so well. Takanata drops his packet of honeyvine seeds in the fountain in the garden, and notes "You are my only pair, love." The water of the fountain splashes out, causing the seeds to grow and butterflies to fly in - and then the butterflies attack some of the zombies, much to everyone's delight and surprise. It also becomes clear to Takanata at this point that there are just enough "small" undead to sustain only four eldritch horrors. Takanata also counts as paired now, too.

Given Takanata's warning, people start concentrating on the small undead in hopes of defeating the large abominations that way. With some concerted zombie-killing, the last of the non-zombies pop, and the combat is finally over. Zhi-Hao puts down the Queen.
"It was an honor, your majesty." -Master Deng
However, the weird Tao effect still continues, and may even be spreading beyond the local area. A butterfly lands on Hana's head, and tells her she must be very careful invoking this ultimate power of the Tao, as it takes a power far greater than her to separate the Yin and the Yang once joined. By the Rule of the Threes, the Great Spirits of the Cycle will only be able to intervene in this way twice more. After that, the Tao effect fades, and Hiro disappears to everyone else's sight.

People begin to heal the wounded, and a running messenger reports that the Northern Ambassador's boat has burned, all the way to the waterline. Other messengers report that the King and the Prince encountered some skeletons, but no abominations, so they were more easily dealt with. As things seem to be mostly calm, the focus changes to Hana and Hiro, or possibly the Confounding Xian.

"Where is your brother, Hana?" -?
"He's right here." -Hana
"That's both of them. At least they're not the same person the way they were before."
-Takanata

There doesn't seem to be too much more to say there, though the people with better ways of determining things start thinking about how to figure more out. On the other hand, the question of Xian is also interesting.

"Yeah, okay, I owe you an explanation. I'm a girl." -Xian "Why are you dressed like a boy?" -Lijuan
"Sometimes girls do that." -Hana
"Yeah, sometimes girls do that." -Min Feng

Xian explains: her home is currently encased in ice, with her sisters trapped in it; those who made it out, in order to protect themselves, went into disguise and scattered. She doesn't actually know much more than the party does about what happened; some sort of emergency started happening, some of her sisters hurried her out, and then there was ice. Indications are that this is related to Meng Ao's secret from the Whispered Ball that the Son of the Moon has been courting the Daughter of the Sun but to no avail. On the other hand, Xian isn't sure who the daughter of the Sun is - it might be her boss, but she never called herself that. Xian's order is called the Gentle Admonishers of Disquiet.

As an example, Chochiro was disquiet, and one of Xian's elder sisters gave her a task to help her grow. Xian apologizes for the ongoing deception. Should they keep thinking of her as male, Merit wonders? Well, Xian concedes that they can think of her however, but keeping the disguise would be good, so referring to her as male would be good. Back to the male pronoun for Xian in the logs!

Dangling Plot Threads
Before the great pile of undead, wasn't there something about Kuan-Xi being missing? There don't seem to be any active leads.
"Maybe she has a diary in her carriage?" -Anto "GASP!" -Xiao Fa
There is, in fact, a diary, which is promptly given to Min Feng, on the theory that Anto reading it might be more embarrassing. The final entries are about being in the Port of Propitious Voyage, waiting for her little carriage to rest before she takes it to the Butterfly Kingdom. Hmm.

Merit thinks that it would be useful to try to retrace the carriage's steps, as it were, and throw someone out in the middle to see where they go. Everyone else thinks that this could be a really bad idea, not to mention, maybe the path is dependent on the particular driver.
"If she's in the physical center, she's in the water, and there's no point looking. So she's in the metaphorical center." -Merit
Maybe there are sorcerous rituals to find people from locks of their hair, the way there are to find knives that attacked people?
"Do you have a lock of her hair?" -Min Feng "...no." -Anto
"What kind of a love plot is that?" -Min Feng
Though, probably what they want is a fortune teller, not a sorcerer. People aren't elements, so locating them is harder sorcerously, without a Grand Ritual.
Merit notes that technically the two countries have no border. So, if it's a geopolitical average, that's the ocean. Does Sister Helena have any suggestions? She doesn't have Kuan-Xi studied herself, but she might be able to do so on the Shrouded Isle, at the Song of the Phoenix. She sets off to do so. Also, maybe Qin Yanyu could do some sort of connections reading, but she's not around during the run.
Takanata looks into what happened to Little Shen, the young man whose I Ching he read. He was, as expected, killed by skeletons during the undead uprising. Sniff.
People ask what the Butterfly said to Hana and she reports.
"It said we should take care in invoking the ultimate power of the Tao, because it can't be easily unsplit, but it can do it twice more by the rule of threes." -Hana "Bah." -Li Merit on the Rule of Threes
The both of them are in Hiro's body now; Hana isn't quite sure what that will mean.
Master Zhou declares that they will train, and drags Hana off to do so. Once they start sparring, that triggers a change to Hiro, but Hiro finds Master Zhou's brusqueness annoying, and stomps off, despite Master Zhou insisting that he remain and train because that's what Hana wanted.
"It's Master Zhou. I go into the light!" -Laura "I feel like that a lot." -Lijuan
Ringmaster Te herds the circus into order to start the final procession around the island, and the final state of the mechanics is tallied, such that many favors are owed.
Min-Su will provide 14 successes of Monkeys of Confusion.
Shuyan is a headliner for the circus this time around, and will provide 14 successes of sinuous snake dancing during a run she's not in.
Yoshi 's Danger Chef act is official, and he will provide 19 successes of Danger Cheffery during a run he's not in.
Akimoto, whose mechanic proved to be a little too hard, will provide 2 successes of Acrobatics
The Mystic Melina will provide 13 successes of seeing through the veils of the future.

Merit asks around, to see if his contacts can find out why so much of the Dragon Army seems to be vacationing here. Wei Han asks around after the army people who died, so he can write about how they fought valiantly defending the Queen.

Xian, having recently learned to read the I Ching from Takanata, reads the I Ching for the paired Hana/Hiro: "Death, with a core of life, with a core of death, with a core of life..." that goes on infinitely long, as the Tao turns. They still have the same paths as before, but they can no longer walk them separately. Oh, and also, it's much easier for them to destroy the world now.

Wei Han trains with Master Zhou, who notes that Prince Ti Jun is working on getting him permanently stationed to the Butterfly Kingdom, but Wei Han's own shticks seem to be opposing that for the moment.
A long day done, everyone finally retires to prepare for the circus' great northern tour.
Puttering
Cai Wen sends Broken Sword to break into Lucky Chang's house in the Arcade.
Retrieved from "http://boojum.scripts.mit.edu/Dragon/index.php?title=Lifedeath" Category: Book Two Logs
This page was last modified on 23 October 2010, at 22:30.