Table of Contents

- The Providence of Coincidence

- Three Hour Tour

- Ghost Hunters

- Alike in Dignity

- The Price of Good Fortune

- Dream Eater

- Ship of Gold

- Substitutions

- The Coil

- Fire and Ice

- Four Brothers

- Whispered Secrets

- Book of Five Rings

- Bureaucracy for Beginners

- Night of Gates

- The Eternal Dream

- Unwelcome Invitation

- Monarch Butterfly

The Providence of Coincidence

From Dragon

"Do the difficult things while they are easy and do the great things while they are small. A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step."

It is the Day of the Late Crane in the month of the Crane, the last day of winter, in the
thirteenth Year of the Fox since the Regency Council was formed.
The run takes place in the Butterfly Kingdom.
Next Run
Contents

1 Personal Plans
2 Circus Acts
3 Various Meetings
4 The Finale
5 Puttering

Personal Plans

The Circus of Silken Wings begins its day of dress rehearsals, at which the final headlining acts will be chosen. Those in the know, whether those be court residents or visitors, have heard that this is the best time to see the performers in a more informal setting, so some have exerted their status to officially gain entrance, while others have taken advantage of distraction to sneak in. However, in addition to planning to watch the circus acts, most of the visitors have other goals they hope to accomplish.

Li Merit knows that the conductor of Silken Wings will be letting the crowds decide which acts are cut and which continue, and wants to make sure that people do see all the shows and generate as much enthusiasm as possible.
Anto has heard rumors of Takanata's involvement with a strange ritual on the Winter Solstice, and is curious to learn more.
Takanata, on the other hand, is hoping to find someone who knows something about rituals, who can explain what all his notes on the ritual mean. As part of his traditional morning ritual, he has written a poem.
Wu Shuyan has discovered that one of her snakes has gone missing, and wants to recover it without incident.
Yoshi is curious to hear more about the thug who has been breaking people's legs and exactly what was happening with that.
Zhu Cai-Wen is in charge of picking volunteers, and has found that the best choices are the people with a big difference between their Mind and Social stats, so he's looking for good candidates there.
Deng Zhi-Hao is still worrying about the opium smugglers, and wonders whether other travellers have better ideas about which of the Twelve Kingdoms are likely to be the source.
Teng Hanako has noticed that her brother seems more worried than usual since the solstice ritual, and wonders if he feels guilty that he could not be the hero and rescue them. She is contemplating arranging a situation in which Hiro can save someone, in the hopes that that will make him feel better.
Teng Hiroki has been more worried than usual since the solstice ritual, but it is about his sister. She has little appetite, and is more clumsy than she was, and he worries that she is ill, or cursed. He hopes to find a discreet healer to ask about her. Lijuan's dog Ho has badly bitten a snake in the stables, and Lijuan is very concerned that it is one of Wu Shuyan's snakes. She hopes to let Wu Shuyan know of this without actually getting herself (or Ho) in trouble.
Song Min Feng is curious about Xiao Fa, who seems to be following her, and wonders whether other people know more about him. She also has a letter she has borrowed from Takanata's office regarding herself, that she wants to return without coming to his attention.
Xian is hoping to get permission to visit the Library of the Butterfly King. Xiao Fa hopes to learn where on the Isle of Butterflies there might be plum blossoms, as he collects clippings for the Grand Monastery of Meihua Sannong. Yang Shen-Ji is wondering if others have more experience with tael than he does - as a metal sorcerer, he is very curious about them.
Arata Kasumi has grown frustrated with not being assigned any actual missions, and so has been setting herself personal training missions, such as stalking Li Merit and observing people covertly.
Tsai Su-yin plans to ask around about where various flowers are, in the hopes of finding an ideal location for a beehive (not too near any yellow flowers, but near similar-colored flowers). Like Xiao Fa, she has to ask the locals what they know of the flora, but unlike Xiao Fa, she has prepared a map.
Master Zhou is rather puzzled, having just woken up several hours ago, with almost no memory of... anything, really.

Circus Acts
Scattered through the various tents are the acts of the circus, each seeking to gain favor with the crowd, and most providing opportunity for the visitors to test their own mettle.
The Knife Throwing of Silent Han!
Silent Han is a small man who never speaks. His assistant stands before a target, blind-folded, and moves through various simple martial arts kata while Silent Han throws knives at the target. The knives pass between the limbs and hair of his assistant hitting the target every time. After each performance, Silent Han's assistant asks for volunteers.
(Volunteers must make will rolls of increasing difficulty not to flinch)
The Mighty Kar Lo, Strongest Man Alive
Behold, as the mighty Kar Lo juggles weights, lifts boulders and tosses people with ease! He even breaks wooden boards with his head! Truly the mightiest man alive! Kar Lo challenges all comers to a Tug-of-War!
(Volunteers may combine their strengths to pull against Kar Lo)
The Amazing Juggling of Gipeno!
Gipeno is a master of the dextrous arts. Watch as he tosses knives, melons, and chairs without letting a single one fall. He can balance a dozen plates on a dozen sticks while hopping on one foot... or one hand! He offer lessons to those who wish to learn his art.
(Gipeno will teach volunteers to juggle bean bags)
Comedy Min-Su and her Amazing Monkeys of Distraction!
Witness the comedy stylings of Min-Su, lady of monkeys. The wacky hijinks of Min-Su's "comedy team" will enliven any gathering, lift any worry, and relieve any stress. No can watch the show without laughing, but you are welcome to try... (Onlookers have a hard time keeping themselves from laughing)
Iron-shirt Jo-Jo, Monk of the Ascending Path
Clubs, boards, fists and even knives! Nothing can harm the master of the Iron Shirt. Watch in amazement as his assistants beat on him, throw things at him, and even stab him with sharpened knives! Can nothing hurt him? Could you? (Volunteers are offered a knife to attempt to harm Jo-Jo - at best, they can draw a single drop of blood.)
Mystic Mondo, Riddlemaster of the Deep Mysteries
"How does a monk fight the dawn?" "Why will a ring never shine?" Match wits the Riddlemaster and prove before all the subtlety of your mind.
(It takes an impressive Intelligence roll to best Mondo at the game of riddles)
Fortune Telling with the Enlightened Melina
The management is sorry to report that Enlightened Melina will not be performing today due to illness.
Akimoto the Astonishing!!
The management is sorry to announce that Akimoto the Astonishing will not be performing this evening due to injuries sustained while preparing his death-defying acts.

General Mechanic - people can make an act-based roll every twenty minutes, and attempting such a roll (whether it succeeds or not) generates a "clap". Success draws the interest of circus workers, who ask for further aid in small missions; succeeding in these small missions generates Alpha for the party.

Various Meetings
GM Note: Feel free to add conversations and interactions of interest! We missed most of them!
Lijuan, Xiao Fa, and Shuyan are quickly united in investigating the snake near the stables it proves to be a highly dangerous brown asp, not Shuyan's missing snake after all, and Shuyan quickly dispatches it with a shovel. Lijuan and Ho are not in trouble after all, and are pleased with themselves for protecting the horses from a Bad Snake. Xiao Fa notes that he has seen a large copper-colored snake in the Gardens of Harmonious Contemplation this morning, and when the three proceed there, Lijuan is able to track the snake to a rabbit's burrow, where Shuyan recovers it.

Hana declares to her brother that she wishes to see the strong man defeated, so Hiro puts together a large group of people (minus Master Zhou, who is has not yet even figured out where he is, let alone why people are battling a strong man) to defeat him in the tug of war.

Takanata describes the winter solstice ritual to the sorcerer Shen-Ji, who is appalled at the idea of starting a Grand Ritual with the invocation of the Cycle Animals and proceeding through the elements to the invocation of the Tao. That is completely wrong, and he is also somewhat perturbed at the lack of any missing elements.

Hana recruits Min Feng to her plan; Min Feng promptly recruits Shen-Ji, and prevails upon him to take her up flying on his metal disk. It is a wobbly tippy process, and after a particularly bad tip, Min Feng falls off, to be caught and rescued by Hiro.
Zhi-Hao asks the non-locals about opium, and finds that it is most common in the south, and along the coast.
Li Merit goes to check out Melina, and discovers she has been poisoned! He quickly gathers aid from the healers in diagnosing her. They indicate that her poison is not fatal (she was given ginkano root), but that it will interfere with her powers for a few days. Why would anyone want to interfere with the fortune teller's powers?

Su-Yin constructs a map of the flowers of the Isle of Butterflies based on the recollections of local residents, and decides that in the north, near the lilacs of the Tokai lands and the violets of the forest, is the best spot for a beehive. Xiao Fa is impressed that she has had the foresight to prepare a map, and is similarly able to locate the blossoming plum trees he seeks.

Anto and Xiao Fa both recognize Master Zhou as an Ancient Master from Iron Mountain particularly renowned as a walker in the realm of the spirits. That doesn't really answer the question of what has happened to him, and why he is here now, however.

Xiao Fa examines Hana, at Hiro's request. Her pulse is slow and irregular, and she does seem a bit chilled and fatigued, but the greater surprise is that in her Chi, her Yang has been wholly suppressed and dominated by her Yin. That is very unusual. Hana speculates that maybe it has to do with the twins' bond to each other -- does Hiroki have a similar Yang-domination? Sadly, Xiao Fa is unable to examine Hiroki's Chi at this time, but promises to do so later.

The festive atmosphere of the circus is disrupted, however, when the sun's light dims and darkens, blotted out by the moon in a transient eclipse. The animals of the circus panic and many break loose of their tethers, trampling people in the confusion. The conductor declares that the show must go on, and his shaky confidence is reinforced when the sun's light quickly returns, but the performers are off their game and are not as impressive as they were before.

With the less effective circus performers, more volunteers are able to succeed against them. The circus workers begin to ask for aid in the small missions (getting a knot tied, annoying an unpleasant circus patron, finding a lost sketchbook), and the party starts to gain alpha.

Takanata considers the omen of the eclipse. An eclipse is always a double-edged omen, combining light and dark as it does. It could presage a something bad happening at the beginning of something large, or a good event happening at the end of something large. Takanata suspects the event will not be good, whatever it is.

A herald arrives, announcing that shortly before the circus finale, the grounds will be sealed, in preparation for the arrival of the royal family. This throws the performers into even more nervousness, and their visitors take advantage of their new shakiness.

Takanata consults the I Ching regarding Master Zhou. As he sorts the yarrow stalks in his hands, most of them fall out and away from the casting area, much to Master Zhou's consternation. The resulting pattern indicates a battle which has been lost, and nine out of ten men in the army are dead.

The time for the finale approaches, and the last "claps" are given to the acts. Zhi-Hao and Takanata encourage the other visitors to not vote for Silent Han or Jo Jo, as they are quite nervous about sharp pointy weapons being encouraged on a day of such ill omens. Additionally, there is a popular movement afoot to support Melina, despite her lack of performance. In the end, the three most popular acts are Melina, Min Su, and Mondo, and the total Alpha is 17.

The Finale

The Royal Family arrives, accompanied by seven bodyguards. Intimates of the court realize that this is quite unusual - Ti Lao is known for disliking having to be guarded in his own capital, as it sends a terrible message to the people. Li Merit insisted however, and had a friend of his in the court convince the king that it would be OK this once. Master Deng and Master Tokai are invited to the royal box to join the royal family while they watch the finale, while the rest of the visitors settle themselves in the stands. Shuyan, Li Merit, and Cai Wen go to their places for the finale to begin.

Cai Wen takes the stage to welcome guests and the royal family. He asks for volunteers from the audience - Hiro's hand shoots up, but the rest of the crowd regards him somewhat suspiciously. He chooses Hana instead (as the high Social/Mind ratio person), and Su-Yin (as the high Mind/Social ratio person), and instructs them that they are the tree spirit and the traveler, respectively.
"Last time my sister got picked for something, it all ended really badly." - Hiro
As Cai Wen starts to instruct Hana and Su-Yin, Xian stands up in the bleachers and shouts "Ninja!", pointing at the king, just as the ninja who has just appeared behind Ti Lao stabs him. Yoshi starts running towards the royal box, pausing only briefly to ponder why the ninja is doing this.

A mage appears on the other side of the tent, and summons a number of crouched dark creatures with long ripping claws - and the creatures immediately leap to attack whoever is nearest.

Master Zhou demands a weapon from Zhi-Hao, and the latter, startled, hands him one, before stopping to wonder who he is. Xian runs away from the nearest demonic ripper towards Merit.
"If you're running towards me for help, you're in a sad way." - Merit.
Lijuan draws her bow and shoots the ninja; Kasumi leaps into the royal box and grabs the ninja's nose, confusing him for several rounds. Zhi-Hao and Zhou both stab the ninja (as well as nearby rippers) several times.
"This is not part of the act! Run away from the demons, or kill them if you can!" Merit
Most of the crowd tries to flee, as does the mage, but then Xian pulls a piece of paper from his pocket and brandishes it at the mage, a bluff which Cai Wen happily joins with.
"If you leave, I'm going to burn this. This is your Hell Contract, and you don't want that." -Xian
"How did you get my Hell Contract?"
"Don't mess around, just tear it up!" -Cai Wen

Between the two of them, they confuse and worry the mage quite a bit. He declares himself to be surrendering, but moves his fingers to instruct his rippers to go after Xian, which they do. As Xian falls, three of the rippers grab the "hell contract" and flee for the door to the tent.
"Way to pull aggro there." -Eon
Min Feng quickly disguises herself as Ti Jun, confusing the rippers in the royal box about which one to attack. The tide of battle begins to turn, as the ninja falls, and the first of the rippers finally falls as well. Min Feng's initial examination of Ti Lao indicates that he hasn't taken enough damage to take him down, so she suspects poison. The guards in the royal box and the rippers there finish their fights; about equal numbers are down on each side.

Merit lights a firework and heads towards the contract, brandishing it menacingly. Ti Jun attacks a ripper, quite impressively, and Shuyan throws a snake at the mage. Lijuan, in the audience, is still being attacked by an unwounded ripper. Between snakes and the fact that he's surrounded, the mage really does surrender, kneeling down and putting his hands on his head.
"Lijuan is technically a girl. I draw my katana to save her." -Hiro
Min Feng announces that the ninja had a vial of tarry black stuff on him - the king has either been poisoned or magicked somehow.
Shen-Ji searches the mage ("If he resists, he hasn't really surrendered!"), and finds an ominous black crystal. He examines it and determines that when the last of the rippers is either killed or banished it will explode.

Su-Yin joins Min Feng in examining the king, and is also quite sure he has been poisoned. Meanwhile, the fighters finish off the last of the rippers, just as more royal guards show up and escort the royal family away (carrying the fallen king, and also taking the ninja and mage away in chains). Takanata, as well as the two healers (Xiao Fa and Su-Yin) are asked to accompany them; Yoshi explains to those who are still in the tent that the ninja and the mage were working for a foreign liege. Li Merit performs first aid on several of the wounded.

Master Long wraps Ti Lao up in yellow silk, which heals his hit points, but not the effects of the poison. The poison is identified as the Terrible Oil of Wasting Death, a painful and nearly incurable poison; only one of the Great Cures can counteract it, such as the Tincture of Pure Respite. Ti Wren asks Takanata to contact everyone he thought was of assistance together in the morning, as she would like to speak to them.

That night, Min Feng overhears a conversation between the queen and the prince. Apparently, a merchant from the Strand named Chou Sen-Gou has fortuitously arrived with a vial of the Tincture of Pure Respite. The prince thinks buying it and saving his father is an obvious choice, but the queen refuses. She does not trust the arrival of this timely vial and is sure there are hidden strings attached.

Lijuan prowls around the tent, looking for signs of where the ninja came in - it appears he came through the roof, though a slit cut in the silk of the tent. She also finds a black thread on one of the poles indicating where he climbed up earlier, and brings this all to Merit's attention. He says he'll let the guards know.

Zhi-Hao talks to the prince later that evening and helps him deal with his rage at his mother's decision. He doesn't get all of the details, but the prince is calmed down a bit and thanks Zhi-Hao for his advice.

Hiro corners Cai Wen about what he was planning to do with the act that he dragged Hana into, and chews him out about not protecting her from the rippers. Hana protests that Cai Wen probably shouldn't be held responsible for the appearance of demons during the show, but Hiro still thinks that once Hana was on stage, she was Cai's responsibility.

Shuyan demonstrates the powers of biting people with snakes, which heals quite a bit of Lijuan's damage (much to Ho's consternation), and Xiao Fa and Su-Yin gather the wounded together to watch over them for the night. The next morning, it is the first day of spring, though it is without the normal sense of celebration that this brings.

The party gathers together in a sitting room in the palace as they wait for Ti Wren to meet them. Takanata briefs the others on Ti Lao's condition. Then, Enlightened Melina, Min Su, and Mystic Mondo briefly come by to thank the group for their support. Now that they have been chosen as the headlining acts of the Silken Wings circus, they offer their assistance if it is needed. Melina can peel back the veil of the future; Mondo can solve a riddle, puzzle, or intellectual trap, and Min Su can provide a really good distraction with monkeys. Each of these will be for 17 successes, and only usable once.

Then, Ti Wren greets the group. She thanks them for their assistance during the combat, and remarks on how when so many fled from the scene, each of those here ran towards the trouble, to offer aid and protection. Now she asks for their aid again - to travel to the Strand, to find Master Hsi, a renowned alchemist, and to offer him the Sphere of Harmony (one of the Seven Treasures of the Court of Distinction) to beg his assistance in preparing a Tincture of Pure Respite or any other aid he can grant. She also asks Li Merit to allow the group to travel with the circus as camouflage - for she suspects that her normal agents are currently watched, but this random group is not. As she trusts in the providence of coincidence, she places her faith in the hands of this rather random assortment of people who have already proven their willingness to provide aid. Everyone bows, and promises to do what they can.
Servants deliver a crate with the Sphere of Harmony, and also a pouch with fifty silver li (enough to be useful, but not enough to be remarkable).
Puttering

Takanata and Shen-Ji talk to Master Bai about the winter solstice ritual. Xiao Fa checks in with Master Kwan, and takes a quick trip to the plum grove to the south, to get a flowering branch.
Xiao Fa and Master Zhou visit Master Kwan.
Xiao Fa, Hana, and Hiro visit Master Kwan.
Master Zhou instructs one of the circus workers to make sure that there is Always Tea in one of the travelling tents (so there is an excuse for where to look for other players on zephyr (-c dragon-empire))
Anto and Master Zhou visit Master Koji then Master Long Shen.
Lijuan, noting all the Master-visiting, says goodbye to Hikaru, as well as the hunting dogs and horses of House Tokai.
Zhi-Hao attempts to get more details from Ti Jun.
Xiao Fa heals Min Feng some more (now that the healing rules are clarified) Li Merit organizes the Circus to be ready to move quickly, stocks up on extra traveling supplies, and puts together materials to disguise the circus wagons as a funeral procession, in a pinch.

Retrieved from "http://boojum.scripts.mit.edu/Dragon/index.php?
title=The_Providence_of_Coincidence"
Category: Book One Logs
This page was last modified on 16 July 2010, at 14:26.
Three Hour Tour

From Dragon

"The water that a ship sails on is the same water that
swallows it up."

It is the Day of the Early Fox in the month of the Tiger, in the third Year of the Fox since the crowning of Ti Lao.

The run begins in the Butterfly Kingdom and ends in the far north of the Hon'eth Arcade.
Previous run Next Run
Contents

1 Taking Leave
2 Ships on the Horizon
3 Kraken Attack
4 Storm at Sea
5 Unfamiliar Lands
6 The North Wall
7 Puttering

Taking Leave
It has been a handful of days since Ti Wren asked the party to journey to the Strand in search of the Tincture of Pure Respite, and the Silken Wings Circus is ready to travel.
In a local Inn, Cai Wen is having a drink on his final evening with the lovely Kiri, a local sailor lass he's been meeting up with the last few nights. She decides it's time to cut things off between them as she has to ship out in the morning and hates long goodbyes. His charms win her over, however, and she decides she doesn't really have to ship off until the actual morning... She slips away to her ship at dawn, prepared to leave the Butterfly Kingdom for quite some time.

Elsewhere, Corporal Wei Han of the Dragon Army is working on selecting a piece of land for an imperial garrison. He was ordered to escort Cai Wen to the Butterfly kingdom and then report to the local garrison for reassignment. Finding no garrison, he did the only logical thing and starting setting one up himself. A member of the royal guard arrives to question him on his activities and, on hearing Wei Han's explanation, rushes back to the palace for clarification, assuring the good corporal that he will return by dawn.

That night, the Ringmaster gathers the members of the Circus - old and new, party members and people not in on the secret plan - and briefs them on the Solemn and Important Task given to them by Ti Wren. Additionally, he reminds them all of proper behavior on the Imperial Highway, and how to convince VIPs to let the Circus pass.

In the morning, the circus sets off to be loaded on the boat - the Silent Wind, a huge cargo junk that will take them to the Port of Auspicious Voyage in the Hon'eth Arcade. Cargo and animals have been loaded on all morning, and it remains only for the members of the circus themselves to go aboard. Kiri, the ship's first officer, is stationed on the gangplank, greeting everyone who boards, and, apparently, searching them for contraband. Which, it turns out, is comprised of mice, musical instruments, cymbals, and other things that spook elephants. Anto, the first on board, protests that he has none of these things. Kiri nods knowingly - he must not have been with the circus long. The next aboard, one of the circus workers, is discovered to have his pockets full of mice, which are confiscated and locked in a box in the hold. He has, its seems, been with the circus on previous voyages.

Meanwhile, Captain Ko, captain of the Butterfly guard, approaches Shen Wei Han with a letter sealed with the king's seal. Reading it quickly, Wei Han rushes off to continue his escort duty of Cai Wen, with the captain of the guard wishing him luck. After Wei Han leaves, the guard captain arranges for some men to remove the stakes Wei Han was putting in the ground to mark his new garrison...

Back at the dock, Kiri is a bit surprised to see Cai Wen attempting to board. She realizes he did say something about working with a circus to make ends meet and is embarrassed at her earlier goodbye. Flustered, she neglects to search him - so his pet ferret is not, in fact, locked in a box in the hold with the mice.

Lijuan protests that her dog, Ho, does not want to be in a cage, and there is a very polite argument between Kiri and Lijuan; in the end, Lijuan promises to keep Ho leashed. Shuyan has only her green healer-snake, and promises that all the others are in a crate. Both Ho and the snake are told to stay away from the elephants.
Once everyone is aboard, the captain greets the travelers. They have, essentially, the run of the ship, but are enjoined to not open the boxes tied with red ropes. These are where the noisy and other elephant-scaring equipment is stored. The junk begins to make ready for departure, casting off ropes and pulling up ladders, when Shen Wei Han comes up the dock at a quick trot, declaring that he needs to be on board.

"Hey, Wei Han, what are you doing here?" - Cai Wen "Following you, sir." - Wei Han
"Isn't that done?"
"No, sir. My escort duties have been continued." "Well. That'll be... pleasant."

Wei Han shows the letter with his new orders, much to Cai Wen's confusion. The captain concedes and allows Wei Han on board, and the junk sets sail! The weather is good, though the crew thinks that is a bad sign, as clear skies usually mean more wind. The captain promises to have them to the Port of Auspicious Voyage in a little over two days time.
The first day at sea passes relatively uneventfully. Anto and Kasumi climb the rigging, and no one opens the red-roped boxes.
Ships on the Horizon

On the morning of the second day, Anto is in the main crow's nest talking with the lookout, when they spot a number of dots on the horizon. Ships, the lookout says. Quite a lot of ships, in fact. More ships than you usually see in the Straits of Silent Winds. The lookout reports (not too loudly, to avoid spooking the elephants) on this new situation, and Kiri asks Cai Wen if there is anything that they should be aware of that would cause what looks like a fleet to be lurking near the Butterfly Kingdom.

Everyone rushes to the front of the junk to look at the fleet. The second officer assures them that it must be a convoy, not a fleet, as a fleet would be rather more threatening than a simple convoy. Once the junk is a bit closer, the flags being flown are identified as from the Savanna of Tears - Kiri hadn't realized they had that many ships, but they're in something like blockade formation now. They're definitely warships, with ballista and firethrowers and such. Cai Wen professes to not know anything about fleets.

However, he does give Wei Han a bit more of a hint - that there is a particularly valuable item in one particular crate in the hold, that must be delivered at all costs. Wei Han asks if this is something that he is willing to risk his life for. Cai Wen allows as he has been asked to do so.

Kiri notes that the blockade force may not actually be a blockade after all - three of the warships are breaking formation and heading for the junk. The captain declares an emergency meeting with the first and second officers, the Ringmaster, and Cai Wen (the highest-status member of the party currently on deck), and Wei Han (not that the last was invited, but where Cai Wen goes...)

The captain wants to know why there are three warships heading for the Silent Wind uncovering their ballista? The Ringmaster suggests, weakly, that it was because they knew the circus was going on tour? The captain finds this unlikely. Well, does the circus have anything able to defeat warships with ballista and fire-throwers? Not so much. The captain declares that they will be making a run for it, then. The junk heels about in the wind, pursued now by five warships.

Kasumi, ever mindful of the Particularly Valuable Item not to be stolen by pirates, takes the Sphere of Harmony out of its crate, and arranges with Shuyan to hide it in the crate of snakes.

The junk, unfortunately, is a rather large and heavy cargo ship, and the warships are rather sleeker and smaller, so they are gaining on the hapless merchant vessel. The captain calls to deploy the Yellow Sail. Kiri explains that the yellow sail is a once-per-voyage artifact of the captain's. Generally, they only deploy it to escape storms on the Strait of Silent Wind. It should help get them away from the attacking fleet, but then they won't be able to use it until they make landfall.

"Who has the highest status, of the people that make the boat go?" -Heidi "That would be the captain." -Mike
"That's the one I have to shoot at, then."
<everyone stares at Heidi>
"On the other boats."

Kasumi and Anto are sent back up into the rigging to assist as lookouts - in order to escape the warships, the Silent Wind has left the safe passage, so they should be on the lookout. For what, Anto wonders? Rocks? Reefs? Pirates? The ship's lookout laughs nervously no, no pirates out here. What, then? Kraken? The lookout shushes him quickly:
"Don't say the K word. If you don't say it, you won't see it."
The elephants begin to grow restless, and the warships in pursuit do eventually turn back. Then, the whole junk leaps a few inches to the left, nudged hard by something in the water. Most people keep their balance, but one elephant slips and falls over. Cai Wen heads over, though he has no actual elephant helping skill.
"I'm only going over there so that you'll be over there if we need someone to lift the elephant." -Cai Wen to Wei Han
Up on the high prow of the boat, Su-Yin thinks she sees something in the water, and starts to warn the captain. At first, he scolds her for her poor attempt at humor, but then realizes that she is serious. He starts to warn the rest of the crew:
"Everyone! It's very important that, whatever you do..."
but is interrupted by a tentacle coming over the side of the junk, which grabs him and pulls him over the side. A few moments later, the ship stops, dead in the water, and eight more tentacles slither aboard.

Kraken Attack

Lijuan shoots one of the tentacles - it withdraws back below the surface. And, in fact, Anto remembers adventure stories about Kraken - its tentacles can be driven back, but in order to defeat it, one must strike the head. Or, better yet, have the Horrible Head of Han-Wa, to brandish at it. However, there are more tentacles than fighters, especially since Wei Han is guarding Cai Wen. The latter promises to stay in the middle of the boat (where the tentacles are finding it hard to reach), if Wei Han will go deal with the monster.

The second mate leaps bravely towards the tentacle holding the captain to try to rescue him, and a few moments later, Lijuan shoots that tentacle. It retreats into the water again, leaving both the captain and the second mate in the ocean. Shuyan shoots a tentacle trying to steal one of the elephants, though the elephant nearly falls overboard at that point.

With the captain off the boat, Kiri is in command and can use his shticks, and calls the crew to battle stations. (Unfortunately, while they can more easily attack the tentacles this way, they can also more easily be grabbed.) The party starts to get into the rhythm of chopping tentacles to chase them away before they can grab people or elephants, but one elephant is badly spooked, and runs into the mainmast and then tramples Shen-Ji (who is generally at a loss for what to do, as his metal sorcery can't summon anything with no earth to bring it forth from.)

Both Kiri and the second mate are grabbed by tentacles. Then, the monster's head surfaces, eating the captain and the second mate as it does so. Kasumi leaps onto the monster's neck, climbs up to its head, and grabs its nose, stunning it briefly.
The tentacle holding Kiri drags her underwater, but Ho bravely leaps after her, and woman and dog are paddling in the water shortly thereafter. Cai Wen grabs some rope to toss to them, while the Kraken attempts to eat Wei Han (who proves somewhat more crunchy than the captain).

A tentacle tangles in the rigging, and starts to pull down the yellow sail, while others start pulling off pieces of the boat, such as the rudders. Cai Wen gets one end of his rope thrown to Kiri, while the sea monster chomps Su-Yin (she's tastier and less armored than Wei Han). One persistent tentacle keeps trying to grab Anto, but he just barely manages to evade it.

The sea monster attempts to finish Su-Yin off, but Wei Han leaps in the way, probably saving her life. Cai Wen manages to anchor the rope well enough that Kiri can climb up, with Ho.
"You saved Ho! You're my hero!" -Lijuan to Cai Wen
The battle with the Kraken continues; the tentacles pull down the mainmast, but the Kraken's head is beginning to drip quite a bit of ichor on the deck. The monster takes a last chomp at Lijuan, and she and Kasumi deliver the final blows to drive the Kraken away again. Anto's tentacle makes one last attempt to take him with it, but fails.
"It's going to be a much bigger tentacle when I tell this story." -Anto
However, Kasumi, who has been clinging to the monster's head, is pulled overboard as the Kraken submerges again, and one tentacle pulls Ho in as well. Ho can swim, but Kasumi, less so, and the ninja flails around haplessly in the water.
"I use Look At Me to try to get someone to notice that I've fallen in." "You have "Look at me"? You're the strangest ninja ever."
Ho proves able to rescue himself, and Kasumi is pulled aboard just as the storm clouds roll in. Unfortunately, the junk is in no shape to do anything about it. The main mast is splinters; the crew starts taking down the first sail, but the last is badly tangled, eventually requiring ropes to be cut. The rudders are smashed and no longer connected to the wheel. Then, the storm hits, and everyone who is not consumed by sea-sickness is busy keeping the elephants from panicking.

Storm at Sea

With the dark of the storm, it is not completely clear how much time passes - the seasick people are sure it is weeks, maybe years, but the rest think that it is at most a day or two in the wind and the darkness. Then, finally, there is some light, followed by a horrendous crash, as the boat grounds on a rocky shoal.

Kiri and the remaining crew climb down and take stock of the situation. This appears to have been the last voyage of the Silent Wind. Her keel is broken, the mainmast is missing, and one side is close to stove in. All that remains is to get things ashore (and Kiri grabs a backpack from the captain's cabin). There is a bit of water (though it's not deep) between the shoal and shore; since the junk is being abandoned, parts of it are cannibalized into rafts to ferry the cargo ashore, and some block and tackle is rigged using one of the remaining masts and some convenient elephant power. Coaxing the elephants into the water is a bit of a challenge, though.

"The sailors are wondering, at this point, whether you really need to bring the elephants."
"Yes! We spent a long time saving the elephants!"

It is a bit odd that no one has showed up on shore to gawk at the shipwreck. Where are they, anyway? ("A desert island" seems to be a popular theory, just on general principles.) The party decides that spending the night on dry land is preferable to one more night on a half-sunk ship, so the makeshift rafts are put to use, and land is reached.

Unfamiliar Lands

Once each person steps on dry land, they have a quick and disconcerting vision - a very rapid zoom out from where they are standing, increasing swiftly in scale to show the whole of the Twelve Kingdoms, but then the vision pops, leaving nothing behind. No one is very sure what to make of this, though Shen-Ji has enough chi to concentrate on where he is in the vision, and decides that they're rather farther north than the plan was to be. Anto thinks that calls for exploration, but half the party is still very seasick. Su-Yin has three herbal cures, which she uses on Cai Wen, Shuyan, and Shen-ji, who are the worst off and not otherwise likely to be recovered by morning.

Before night falls, Shen-Ji summons a sword from the ground - it's more jagged-edged and serrated than the usual sword he creates. Then, he floats up on his metal disc to take a look around. Far to the south, in the distance, there is a black line... that would be the Wall. Oh, dear.

The party settles in for the night, with Wei Han making sure that there are watches set. Anto calls up his adventure tales of monsters north of the wall - they feature ravening undead, and creatures which have many teeth but no heads. Lijuan bursts into tears, to be reassured by Shuyan.

On the first watch, Cai Wen and Wei Han notice a lot of people, off in the western distance, traveling south.
On the second watch, Anto and Su-Yin hear faraway noise, and see some flashes, like distant lightning, off to the south.
On the third watch, Kasumi and Shen-Ji see some people heading from south to north, fewer than the people reported by the first watch.
Then, it is dawn, and Wei Han makes sure everyone is up and moving. They start marching south, in a caravan of elephants and wagons.
After a journey of a few hours, the party is approached by three barbarians on shaggy ponies. Unfortunately, only Wei Han has any Torghut at all, and he only has one rank of it, so communication is limited. The party is declared to be from the Happy Tribe, up north. They are here (in the lands of the Bloodspear Tribe)... to attack the wall! With their big animals.

In addition to having not much language, Wei Han also doesn't have very much diplomacy or charisma, so he does not manage to convince the Bloodspear Tribe to join with the Happy Tribe to attack the wall together. The Bloodspear leader declares "No! We attack wall! You die!"
"That might have been somewhat awkward later, if we showed up with a barbarian army..." -Anto
It does seem rather odd that the three barbarians think they are sufficient to take an elephant train and a whole lot of people. Wei Han thinks they're trying to lure the party forward, and charges, so as to make himself the target.

The leader rides forward, raises his staff, chants something about the hungry dead, and zombies rise from the ground. Well, that would even the odds a bit more. Lijuan thinks hopefully about getting undead elephants.

The leader is quickly stuck with arrows and distracted by snakes, while Kasumi heads for the two lieutenants, with Wei Han. Anto hooks the leader with his kusarigama and pulls him off his pony.
"Mr. Soldier Man, Yoshi would want you to tell them to surrender." -Lijuan to Wei Han
"I'm sure he would." - Wei Han mutters
Zombies shamble forward and start biting people - people who take damage also take corruption points. The leader, having particularly noticed Anto at this point, lays his hand on the young man and does six corruption points. Anto wraps him up in the chain of his kusarigama, but the leader speaks to him in Torghut and tells him to unwrap him again. This burns some of Anto's corruption points (as many as he has Resolve, in fact), and he unwraps the leader. (This appears to be a body-control effect rather than a mind-control effect).
The ringmaster goes down, under a small mob of zombies!
Lijuan continues to shoot the leader, so he burns the rest of Anto's corruption points to send Anto after "the girl with the bow". Apologizing profusely, Anto attacks Lijuan with his sickle (and the best attack roll he's ever made).
"Ho doesn't like you any more." -Lijuan
The leader manages to corrupt Shen-Ji a bit, but not enough to turn him, before falling to the blades and arrows of the party. People with corruption take more damage at the leader's death, and the ringmaster kind of explodes, moments from death. The two lieutenants are finished off (causing the last of the zombies to fall to dust), and Wei Han, thinking quickly, shouts that people should grab the ponies before they run for home. Lijuan and Shuyan grab the lieutenants' ponies, and Anto grabs his with his kusarigama chain.

Su-Yin manages to keep the ringmaster from dying, but he's in very bad shape and not waking up any time soon. Shen-Ji searches the leader, and finds several jagged daggers and his necromantic staff (the Bloodspear).

The caravan starts moving south again; Kasumi, Anto, and Lijuan disguise themselves in barbarian furs on the shaggy ponies, with the hopes of distracting or drawing off any further barbarians. They try to get Wei Han to teach them insults in Torghut. However, no further barbarians are encountered, save for the bodies they start to pass as they get closer to the Wall, as if there was a battle last night.

Then, the Wall is reached, looming above the circus train. The soldiers on the Wall tell them to halt, and that there will be no crossing the Wall! One of the soldiers runs for a lieutenant, who returns to argue.

The North Wall

Wei Han brandishes his letter, and says he's escorting Zhu Cai Wen and this group, and they need to re-enter the Twelve Kingdoms. Cai Wen is put forward as the leader, to try to explain all this.

The soldiers seem to think that the group is "wall tourists", which means that they are expected to already have paid bribes to cross over, and be good for more bribes to cross back. Cai Wen's best guess is that for a group this size, the right price would be something like 50 copper zhu per person. (Lijuan frets that she doesn't have 50 zhu, and will be left behind in the barbarian northlands).

Cai Wen offers a performance, instead, and while the lieutenant is not convinced, he's willing to see a demonstration. Shuyan starts with some snake tricks, Kasumi's failed attempt at juggling is passed off as a not-very-good clown, Anto does some acrobatic tumbling, and Shen-Ji finishes it up with a very impressive demonstration of swordswallowing (dispelling his previously summoned sword). The soldiers have never seen a sword swallower who actually ate the sword before. Each of the successful performers gets to bring a few friends across; Cai Wen brandishes Wei Han's letter (which has the seal of the Butterfly Kingdom on it), and that gets the two of them through. For the rest, five silver li are sufficient to bring through everyone else and their stuff (including the elephants).
The circus is directed to proceed south a little ways, to the town of Daizhou at the head of the Imperial coastal highway, to recover from their ordeal and set up for the performance.
Puttering

Xiao Fa examines the ringmaster's chi and physical health.
Ringmaster Te hires on most of the now-boatless sailors as crew, and hires a translator, Qin Yanyu.
Hiro and Xiao Fa gather up Merit and Shen-ji to meet in Merit's tent to talk about Hana.
Takanata, Shen-ji, Anto, and Xiao Fa discuss the chi beyond the Wall. Cai Wen and Kiri check out the local gambling houses. Shen Wei Han accompanies them without comment. Cai Wen's notes about people selling ships recently Shen-ji communes with the magic items in the party loot.
Anto and Min Feng wander around town.
Master Zhou spends some time finding a good stick, suitable both as a walking stick and a staff for whacking people with.
Stick in hand, Master Zhou wakes Xiao Fa up for training.
Cai Wen (accompanied by Wei Han) takes a trip down the coast to visit the Hidden Orchid Flower House.
Takanata casts the I Ching for Hanako.
Retrieved from "http://boojum.scripts.mit.edu/Dragon/index.php?title=Three_Hour_Tour" Category: Book One Logs
This page was last modified on 16 July 2010, at 14:26.
Ghost Hunters

From Dragon

"A good idea, like a ghost, must be spoken with a little before it will explain itself. A bad idea is more willing to flatter."

It is the Day of the Late Phoenix in the month of the Tiger, in the third Year of the Fox since the crowning of Ti Lao.

The run begins and ends in Daizhou, in the far north of the Hon'eth Arcade.
Previous run Next run
Contents

1 Murder Most Confusing
2 Customs Inspectors
3 Police Inspectors
4 Late Night Meeting
5 The Next Morning
6 Exorcist
7 Merit's Bounty
8 Exorcism
9 Puttering

Murder Most Confusing

While waiting for Ringmaster Te to recover, the Silken Wings Circus has been putting on performances. Now, he is mostly fit to travel, and the circus puts together its final performance in Daizhou. Li Merit insists that while Ringmaster Te may be well enough to announce the acts, he is under no circumstances to stand up while doing so. He will be in a chair, which will be borne about by bearers (Hiro and several other doughty circus workers). Takanata has written a poem, which, unusually, he seems to have written on both sides of the parchment. And Hana has had an odd dream about being cold, and sitting by a warm fire.

Several of the not-originally-circus performers have begun to work up their acts - Hana and Hiro have a singing and dancing routine, and Zhi-Hao does weapons demonstrations. Yoshi is making plans to be a "danger chef", which appears to involve chopping flying vegetables with his sword, but he has no cooking skill as of yet. A young boy asks ZhiHao to demonstrate how to use an odd hooked-blade shuriken, which Zhi-Hao is disconcerted to realize has some blood on it. The boy claims to have gotten it from a guy in one of the tents, and is willing to lead Zhi-Hao there. Much to Zhi-Hao's dismay, the shuriken appears to have come from the dead body in the storage tent - a guy in nondescript dark clothing, with a red mask. The boy claims that the guy said that he could have the throwing star "before he went to sleep", but Zhi-Hao lets his disbelief show, and the boy makes a run for it, grabbing his friend and bolting entirely from the circus.

Zhi-Hao sends a circus roustabout for Li Merit, who is simultaneously being warned by another circus crewman that there are a number of inspectors here - Merit tells the messenger to send the inspectors to talk to Ringmaster Te, while he goes to talk to ZhiHao. Meanwhile, Zhi-Hao has been searching the body - he has a boot knife, a short sword, and a tattoo of the League of the Hidden Hand - the group of opium smugglers previously encountered in Boot to the Head.

Merit gathers up the rest of the party, to discuss the appearance of a DEAD BODY, in addition to inspectors of unclear provenance.

Customs Inspectors

The inspectors, as it turns out, are here because the circus appears to have skipped the normal step of going through customs at the port, when travelling from the Butterfly Kingdom to the Hon'eth Arcade, so the inspectors have been sent to make sure nothing is being smuggled in. Min Feng, at Li Merit's suggestion, immediately diverts to the storage tent with the Sphere of Harmony, unpacks the decorative padded box from the unmarked crate (replacing it with some dangerous-looking tools so Merit's sign "Do Not Open" makes some sense), and hides the fancy box in the trash after giving the Sphere to Li Merit.
League of the Hidden Hand tattoo
Merit thinks that the murdered guy looks like he was surprised while he was tampering with boxes - sure enough, the box of elephant feed proves to have a bag of opium hidden in it. Min Feng cuts it open and spreads it in the elephant dung pile, so there will be no using or selling that opium. Meanwhile, Hana and Hiro head off to entertain and distract the inspectors, accompanied by Yoshi.

Of the four inspectors (Ando, Bo, Car, and Di-Tan), Yoshi thinks that Ando and Bo have ulterior motives, but Car and Di-Tan are basically honest. Hana serves tea and tells them entertaining stories of their journey - Inspector Ando in particular is very interested in the details of this, and pumps Hana for more information. He's particularly interested in the trip across the wall - this isn't secret, as far as anyone knows, so she happily tells him more.

Meanwhile, Master Zhou has discovered an odd pattern drawn on the ground near Takanata's tent. He shows Merit and Takanata - Takanata thinks it is chi-active in some fashion, and it is certainly interesting to look at, but no one recognizes it. Takanata thinks that while it has some resemblance to part of a ritual, it would be an unusual ritual-maker who would draw the symbols and then wander off. So perhaps whatever it is is done - but it is entirely unclear what it is.

Hoping that the two boys Zhi-Hao encountered might have heard or seen something more about the murder, Min Feng heads into Daizhou to look for the pair. After some asking around, she finds them telling their story about finding a dead body to a group of kids for the cred. She asks for details, and they spin her a tale about attacking ninja but it becomes clear that they aren't really interested in being precise with facts or going back and testifying. Min Feng offers them a reward if they come back and explain what they really know. A few charisma rolls later, they decide that she's probably cool enough to go along with it, and head back to the circus with Min Feng.

Merit decides it's time to shake things up a bit, and informs the four inspectors that there is the body of a guy from the League of the Hidden Hand in a storeroom. Those with social skills think that Bo is unhappy about this turn of events, and Ando thinks it is interesting; the other two are shocked and dismayed. Merit also takes the opportunity to expound on the Circus Cover, and adds bits about the blockade. Ando finds the news of the attack on Ti Lao the most interesting, while Bo thinks that this all calls for searching every single box in the circus for contraband. Yoshi notes he clearly has strong motives to get the inspections going.

Merit, in an attempt to dismiss any notion that the circus is involved with drug smugglers, has begun to dramatically retell the story of his (with a little help) taking out the Hidden Hand's opium smuggling ring in the Butterfly Kingdom, which Yoshi notes has caused Bo to decide that Li Merit now has to be eliminated. At this point, the inspectors, prodded by Bo, decide to break for the evening and return in the morning to conduct their sweep. As the inspectors are walking across the compound, Merit uses his Spycraft skills to subtly pass a note to Ando, indicating his concerns about Bo. Ando, not to be outdone, passes a quick note back arranging a secret meeting at 3AM under the big top for Ando and Merit to talk.

Min Feng returns with the two boys, and grabs Zhi-Hao and Hana (as the most likely to get some truth out of them) while the boys spin their story about a fight between a bunch of ninja, and tigers, and flying birds that took the ninja away again. Bribed with a few copper by Zhi-Hao and persuaded by Hana that their true information might be very important, they do finally confess that they only heard a fight, and didn't see anything. At that point, though, the final Daizhou performance of the circus begins, and Hiro and Hana have to go start their act. The two kids are given free passes in to see.

Since there has been at least one instance of opium being hidden in the circus's supplies, it seems likely that there could be more, or that whoever killed the Hidden Hand guy might have been doing... something. So Min Feng starts going through the crates, in search of more contraband, while Merit and Yoshi look for particular signs of tampering. Unfortunately, there are a lot of boxes.

While they search, the finale starts, and Merit dashes in to make sure Ringmaster Te doesn't stand up. He passes off the Sphere of Harmony to Hiro, as he thinks it would be a shame if he were killed by Bo and got the carving smashed in the process.

After the finale, the inspectors are convinced to return in the morning, while the circus workers start laying things out in order to let them be more easily searched (and searching for contraband). Unfortunately, there are still a lot of boxes.
"It seems unlikely that you have two loyal people, one spy, and one criminal, all pretending to be customs inspectors, so I trust their bona fides." -Merit
Police Inspectors

At this point, however, several prefects have arrived, in response to a story of a dead body. Chief Inspector Xun takes charge of the interrogation - he initially fixates on Merit and Zhi-Hao as suspicious, since they are clearly familiar with the League of the Hidden Hand, and Zhi-Hao in particular appears to bear them a standing grudge. While Chief Inspector Xun takes down people's statements, his assistant is wandering the room - ostensibly looking for clues, but apparently also trying to get a look at the back of people's necks. Interesting.
Inspector Xun orders the circus to not leave town while this matter is being resolved - it should be only a few days. Then, two of his flunkies come in to carry the body away Master Zhou spots that one has a tattoo on the back of his neck.

The searching of the circus boxes continues all night. Merit hires "movers" from a friend of his who lives in town (Bob), Min Feng is a master of searchiness, and Master Zhou is hardy, so does not become too exhausted from searching in the middle of the night. Everyone else is easily tired by the activity.

While searching, Hana comes across a talking torch. She converses with it, and the flaming torch reveals that it is a ghost looking to make alliances with Hana. She's confused whyever a ghost would want to ally with her, but he's unwilling to go into details at this time. That makes her suspicious, so to ease her impression of him, the ghost warns her to avoid the many exorcists that hang out up here near the northern wall. She seems perplexed, but he rushes off.
Claw of the Raven tattoo
Takanata, still suspicious of the odd labyrinthine pattern near his tent, spends some time attempting to sketch it. Despite his skill in the fine arts, he finds it remarkably difficult. He asks the Enlightened Melina about it - she also does not recognize it, but finds the lines of the design fascinating, and thinks it is of a scale meant to be walked.

Once Hana is done with her conversation with the haunted torch, she rushes over to Takanata's tent to let him know about it, but is quickly mesmerized by the utterly fascinating pattern drawn on the ground. She walks into it, following the spirals, but finds herself in the center, unable to leave again. Hiro, on the other hand, has no trouble walking back and forth across the pattern - but when he attempts to pull or carry Hana with him, she slips from his grasp. Scuffing out the pattern just leaves Hana more confused and stuck. Yoshi attempts to draw a straight path out with a stick, though she cannot follow it herself; Takanata attempts to draw a more complex path in keeping with the turns and twists of the trap, using the elemental marker. While this is not yet sufficient, once Hiro tries to help Hana walk that particular path out, she is able to escape.

Then, she recalls what she originally came over to tell everyone about - there's a haunted torch! That is, there's a ghost in one of the torches in the tent where the body was, and it spoke to her. It wasn't the ghost of the dead man - but it did suggest that if they wanted to speak to the ghost of someone who died by violence, it might be possible to do so by doing violence to the person who killed him. That's somewhat disturbing, but does not sound totally implausible to the people more versed in magic rituals. However, when the group heads back to that tent to examine the torch, it is unlit and un-haunted, as far as anyone can tell.

Late Night Meeting

It has gotten late enough that the next thing on the agenda is the 3am meeting with Ando. Being rather paranoid at this point, Li Merit arranges for a lot of backup. Min Feng is hiding in the tent, Zhi-Hao is not hiding, but standing some distance off rather obviously. Yoshi and Master Zhou are outside the tent, within shouting distance and a quick move. Merit discovers that there is a rope attached to the center tent pole, labeled "Don't Pull", which appears to be new. He does not pull it, and a few minutes later, Ando emerges from the shadows and wanders over.

Ando admits to being flattered by the multiplicity of bodyguards - Merit notes that at least one of the other inspectors wants him dead, and explains about the whole "breaking up the opium smuggling ring" thing. Ando thinks that if Merit is going to smash drug smuggling operations, he has to be willing to expect a few contracts on his life. Anyway, Ando was thinking of an information swap - if Merit gives him the details about exactly who was over the wall, Ando will give him the general briefing on what's up in Daizhou. Merit explains that, in fact, it's just as he said before - everyone came back over the wall. Even the elephants. Ando acknowledges this as well played on Merit's part, though it's not clear to anyone else what he means by that.

Ando explains that the town of Daizhou is currently embroiled in a gang war between opium smugglers (the League of the Hidden Hand) and firedust smugglers (the Claw of the Raven). Both sides have infiltrated all over the place, and are trying to frame each other and kill each other. The word on the grapevine is that the circus is heading out soon, so both groups are interested in using them as transportation. There will probably be more people trying to hide things in the circus supplies tomorrow. And, the Hidden Hand has put a price on Merit's head - Bo has been telling people that Merit is in town to reinforce the Claw.

Meeting concluded, Ando idly scans around the tent, and remarks that he doesn't see any sign of contraband - he'll sign the inspection report. Once Merit has the other three sign it, he's good to go. Merit asks about the other inspectors - Car and Di-Tan are honest, Ando says, but the prefecture is riddled with tong members, except for Chief Inspector Xun himself. Ando heads out, remarking that he advises Merit cut the rope before pulling it. It turns out to lead to the monkey pens, and probably would have been a good distraction if one had been needed.

Hiro declares that everyone needs to stop searching crates, so they'll be fresh for the combat tomorrow when people try to kill Merit. Min Feng suggests stealing Bo's chop so as to forge his agreement on the inspection report, but nobody else is excited enough by that idea to join in on the plan. Merit suddenly realizes that while he trusts his friend Bob, if the whole town is riddled with tong members, that means the actual movers themselves might be suspect. This revelation can't wait, so he decides to wake Bob up in the middle of the night to ask about it.
"You walk into town by yourself?" -Mike
"....No. Never mind, it can wait until morning." -Merit
The Next Morning

One somewhat short night of sleep later, it is morning. Hana has had an odd dream: a small fire being pursued from bush to bush by buckets of water, reflected in a mirror. In the mirror, the fire is larger, and burns up the buckets. Other than odd dreams, searchers are for the most part fresh, and everything finishes getting searched. Master Zhou decides to double-check the boxes that the "movers" searched, and runs into Bob taking a package of firedust out of the box - he apologizes for the misunderstanding. Bob later offers the firedust to Merit as recompense, but Merit claims not to be interested.

Takanata (accompanied by Zhi-Hao and Min Feng) heads into town to get an appointment with Ando. Ando's assistant is a devotee of Takanata's poetry, and sets up an immediate meeting. Takanata tells Ando about the visions everyone in the circus had when landing north of the wall. Takanata also shares the party's investigations into the different character of the Chi beyond the wall. Ando takes this in stride, as if he already knew about the visions, but seems a bit appalled that every single person in the circus had them. He finds the chi investigations interesting, but doesn't know anything about them. Ando assures Takanata that he will see what he can find out on both counts and contact Takanata again. Though it may take considerable time. He asks about the circus's scheduled stops and plans so he can send a message later if needed.

Meanwhile, Hana, Hiro, Merit, and Yoshi discuss ghosts and exorcists. Hiro says that Master Kwan recommended an exorcist to help with Hana's problems, but Merit (who has been briefed by Xiao Fa, who has been briefed by Master Kwan) backpedals - it will be important to get a discreet exorcist, not just one that will... hit Hana with a stick, or some such. Apparently the north has more exorcists, and they are often from the Temple of the High Path. However, no one has been to the temple in Daizhou yet.

Back at the city hall, Min Feng manages to overhear Ando dictating or possibly reading a letter to his assistant. She doesn't get it all, but the general gist is that it is an addendum to his recent report to someone in the Imperial Chancellery, regarding the circus. It seems the entire circus is compromised, and worse yet, are beginning to figure out what this may mean. It's far too many people for him to deal with himself, so he suggests the circus be carefully watched in the weeks to come as they journey south.

Takanata, fulfilling his self-appointed circus task of Conveyor of the Official Cover Story (and it doesn't require that he pull ropes or do goofy things in public) tells the mayor that Ti Lao is not dead and generally fills him in on the news from the Butterfly Kingdom.

Next stop on the town trip is the guy who Min Feng says sells custom shuriken. However, that trip is cut short when Zhi-Hao remarks that the shape is decorative rather than mechanical, and Takanata notes that the hooked shuriken is just hooked because that makes the tines look like claws - probably not for interesting mystical or functional significance, just artistic.

Min Feng tells the others about the letter Ando is sending, and Takanata expands on what Ando was and was not surprised by. The group discusses exactly what this means. He can't "deal with" all of them because he's just one person. Does "deal with" mean "kill"? Or something less ominous? It appears that the disjunction in their chi did... something, that the Hidden City cares about. But what? And why? No one is sure.

Perhaps someone could make Ando's letter vanish? Min Feng and Hana both think they might be able to break into the mail, but perhaps not without being caught. But, in any event, it would just be a stalling tactic, since Ando would still know.
"We'll have to search hundreds of mail bags..." - Merit
"But we're really good at that now" - Hiro, indicating the hundreds of boxes
Exorcist

As the group discusses whether or not to burglarize the local mail, a circus foreman comes in. He wonders - Merit said nobody was supposed to be planting anything in boxes, and Merit should be warned if anyone looks like they're doing that. Does that include monks? And does that include monks not planting boxes, but doing other suspicious things? Yes, yes it does. Apparently there's a monk, messing around with the weird pattern on the ground outside Takanata's tent. Everyone starts over, but Hana is told to stay behind, for fear of getting stuck in that stupid pattern again.

As she and Hiro fall behind, debating whether they're going to Takanata's tent or not, Hana thinks she starts hearing the voice of the fire ghost softly behind her. Hiro stays back with with her for protection. After some quick consultation with Hana, the ghost decides to appear in front of Hiro as well, so a tent flap starts burning. Hiro decides that it isn't OK to talk to burning tent flaps so calls for help. This attracts Min Feng, who was looking for the pair. She quickly rouses the circus folk to put out the fire, and sends someone to inform Li Merit.

Meanwhile, everyone else has found a tall bald woman in monk's robes, examining the magically drawn lines on the earth. She introduces herself as Tien Su-Sen, of the Temple of the High Path. It comes out that she walks the Wall, tracking undead who cross over. Recently, a ghost crossed over the Wall, and Master Tien has followed it south to the circus. She is quite concerned, as a ghost would have to be extremely powerful to cross the protective barrier of the Wall by its own ability. She is also concerned about who drew the strange magical path out of the ghost trap - Takanata confesses that it was him. She wants to know why, and he says that his great-niece was caught in it. As she starts to pursue the question of exactly why he thinks it was his great-niece, Merit leaps in with the distraction of "The King of the Butterfly Kingdom isn't actually dead!" Being rather single-minded, Master Tien starts to ask how they know he isn't dead, and why it is even an issue. (Clearly, she thinks, the party has some serious confusion about life/death issues.) Hana arrives, and tries to explain that the ghost Master Tien is chasing has been located in a torch or more recently, a tent flap - Master Tien is having none of this, being quite clear that the ghost she was following is standing right in front of her, and the fires are some sort of distraction. Hana is quickly shooed away by Takanata again.

Meanwhile, Takanata has drawn Master Tien aside from the rest of the group, and explains to her that his great-niece was, to his understanding, tragically killed in a ritual done by southrons, but she does not know she is dead. So, yes, a ghost did cross the Wall coming south, but it was a ghost from the Empire, not an evil Northern ghost. And, also, the soldiers let her in - she did not cross under her own power. Master Tien is finally convinced that Hana is slightly less of a threat than she had thought, though she does disapprove of the whole ghosts-walking thing. She is also quite displeased with the soldiers letting people cross the Wall - they are not taking their duty seriously. There are all sorts of dangerous things up there besides ghosts and zombies - shapeshifters, unpleasant curses, and the like. (Everyone wonders again about Ringmaster Te).

[NB - While Takanata is not trying to hide this information from the party, he does ask that they treat it as Secret, and that they not casually share it with the rest of the circus. -Charles]

While Takanata speaks with Master Tien, Hiro and Hana have tried an experiment, and they head into a tent and quickly change clothes, a trick which is virtually impossible to see through. Hana (disguised as Hiro) pokes her head into the conversation between Takanata and Master Tien, completely derailing the ghost-hunter. Is the other one dead too? What is going on in this place? Master Tien dashes after the disguised Hana, finding the twins together - Hana apparently alive and Hiro now a ghost, as far as Master Tien can tell. Master Tien is appalled - are the two of them sharing one life between them? This will end up with both twins dead, she is sure. And she thinks it is wrong Wrong WRONG for the ghost to be stealing the live twin's energy like this - not that she understands how it is being done, or is even sure which one is really dead and which one might have been stealing the other's life before. The twins play innocent and admit to nothing. Hana escapes to look for the fire ghost again, leaving Hiro (looking like Hana) to take the brunt of Master Tien's distress (and serve Tea).

Merit attempts to suggest that if Master Tien doesn't understand, perhaps it is less bad than she thinks, or she should study it more, but she has begun to fixate on life-draining and the horrible danger that the live twin (whichever one it is) is being exposed to. And yes, while it is very comforting to have your loved ones around even after they have passed on, it is a false comfort. She fixes Takanata with a piercing gaze and tells him that she has seen women who have lost a child, who continue to clutch the body long after it is cold. And that sometimes, such attachment causes the ghost to remain, and the child cries. But it does not live, and it does not grow older - it simply remains, a lie, a cruel fakery of life. It is not healthy for the mother, and it is not healthy for the ghost, which does not move on as is proper.
"Do not hold on to your child, simply because it still cries." -Master Tien
Takanata, however, is sure that the I Ching thinks there's a reason for Hana to still be around, and tries to explain. Master Tien has never heard of the I Ching insisting on something, but she is also suspicious that if the I Ching wants something done, it will not necessarily care if Hana kills Hiro in the process. The balance between life and death, she claims, is one in which life turns into death, not the other way around. Takanata is willing to agree with some of her particulars, but is resolute on the general principle that both Hana and Hiro are important.

Meanwhile, Hana dressed as Hiro (and followed by Yoshi) looks for the fire ghost, and finds it in a burning stick. However, it still wants to talk to her - it isn't clear whether it can see through the disguise or just notice what Hana looks like at all. The disguised Hana and Yoshi talk to the ghost a bit and he makes his offer. He'd like to trade shticks with Hana. He can teach her to hide in flames, and she can teach him to speak with non-manifested spirits. Hana wasn't really clear she could do that, but presses him a bit further on why. He claims that he wants to contact other spirits to gather allies.
Between the two of them Yoshi and Hana manage to get a fair bit of details about his history out of him. He was a fire sorcerer named Dorga from the Forest of Chin. He was trying to enhance his stature, by performing various magical experiments in his cabin outside of a small village. But the villagers feared what they did not understand and stormed his cabin and burned him alive. He managed to kill several of them with fire as he died, but not enough to save himself. He'd be interested in justice. He'd be willing to help Hana with whatever she needs in exchange for her shticks. She rejects his offer, and he leaves to consider his options. Hana remarks to Yoshi that Dorga seems like a very bad guy. By this point, the people in the tent (especially Hiro) have noticed that Hana's been gone quite a while, and Min Feng goes off to find her and Yoshi, and returns with a quick thumbs up.

The two of them return to the tent, where Hana decides that this whole being-mistaken-fora-life-sucking-abomination thing is probably causing more trouble than it is worth, and tries to convince Hiro to stop with the disguise. Hiro tries to hold out - he doesn't want the exorcist knowing any more about what's really going on - but Hana thinks that it will solve the immediate problem.

"Take your shirt off!" -Hana
"I can't do that with your dress! It's got ties in funny places." -Hiro, gesturing behind his back

And, in fact, once they have explained to Master Tien that they just disguised themselves as each other, she is relieved enough at discarding the life-stealing-abomination idea to be almost calm about a polite and friendly ghost. And, since there is apparently a much less friendly (and fire-starting) ghost around, she is willing to be distracted into investigating that instead.

Hana shows Master Tien where the various fires were, but the ghost of Dorga does not appear to be there now. Master Tien takes the torch, and heads off to try and follow his trail. Disaster averted, at least for the moment.

Merit's Bounty
Meanwhile, while the the ghost hunter was taking her leave, the inspectors were arriving.
The three inspectors suggest (mostly at Bo's prompting) that it would probably be easiest to finish the inspections with a minimum of fuss if they all split up. Bo would go with Li Merit and the others would head off with other circus folks. Seeing the trap, but being unable to avoid it, Master Deng volunteers to go with Merit and Bo, but other that than, the three of them wander off in the direction Bo suggests. The three of them head towards a secluded tent which Bo suggests should be inspected first. Before they wander in, Merit calls to a bunch of circus hands to head in first and bring the boxes out. Bo protests mildly, but Merit's guys are quite quick. Sadly for them, inside the tent is the expected ambush, and they are cut down to the man. Assassins of the Hidden Hand start flooding out of the tent to attack them. Zhi-Hao starts by attacking Bo himself.
"I pull my sword, point it at him, and say... what was I going to say?" -Zhi-Hao
Merit mocks Bo for being a moron - he put the ambush in the first tent they inspected? Like Merit wasn't going to suspect something? It was obvious what Bo was up to, and Merit had already warned everyone he was in the Hidden Hand! His bosses are going to kill him. Run now! Unfortunately, Bo realizes that while his bosses might want to kill him, they'll be less likely to do so if Bo can bring them Merit's head.

Zhi-Hao demonstrates why he was an arms instructor for the Butterfly Kingdom, chopping Bo and the other assassins right and left. (His riposte trick also makes the assassins rather unwilling to attack him). Master Zhou demonstrates a trick of his own, a nerve strike (though everyone else seems to think it looks rather similar to grabbing someone's nose, much to Master Zhou's annoyance). Before Bo can get another action, he is cut down.

Yoshi, meanwhile, is doing his best to convince the assassins that they would be better off it they gave up their criminal ways. Several of them take the hint (and notice that they're losing), and start to flee, but are immediately attacked by a different set of thugs (these presumably working for the Claw of the Raven). With the help of this new group all of the Hidden Hand assassins are taken out, but Hiro decides that the Claw guys can't be allowed to just leave, so starts the fight with them too.

Eventually, the thugs are all down, and one of the remaining customs inspectors has already run for the prefects. Zhi-Hao searches Bo - in fact, he has a tattoo for the Hidden Hand. He also has some firedust on him. Merit goes through their pockets for loose change, and picks up about half their money. (40 copper, distributed amongst those who are still in copper.)

Hana makes tea for the inspector, and then for Chief Inspector Xun, when he shows up. Merit does his best to explain. Chief Inspector Xun suggests that the circus not leave until this matter is resolved (which should be only a few days), though he notes that the previous matter (that being yesterday's dead body) has in fact been resolved.
Yoshi, Hana, and Min Feng think that the thing that caused Xun to be favorably inclined towards Merit's story is that the thugs all still have money on them - if they weren't robbed, then it was less likely to be a setup.
Master Zhou notes to Chief Inspector Xun that one of his prefects has a Claw of the Raven tattoo, and Merit suggests maybe he should have them all searched for tattoos. Xun bows politely and thanks Merit for his suggestion, in that way that conveys "I wish it were that simple..."

That plot apparently solved for the moment, Takanata goes back to his prophecies from earlier in the day, and tries to figure out if there is more to worry about. After many attempts to figure out who the two different people that they need to follow to the south are, Takanata finally realizes that the omens of his poem indicate that two different people care about their trail from the north - Ando and Master Tien. Though exactly what Ando cares about still isn't clear.
That leaves only two loose ends:
1. Does anyone want to steal Ando's letter? In the end, people decide that will just make him more suspicious, and more sure that there's something wrong with the circus. So, nobody does.
2. Does anyone want to help Master Tien catch Dorga?
Exorcism

Master Zhou thinks the fire ghost needs dealing with, so goes off in search of Master Tien. While she has been pursuing Dorga, he is wily (and also able to move very quickly), and she is having a hard time catching him. What would be most helpful would be the ability to use Hana as bait, since he is clearly interested in talking to her. She concedes that she intends no harm to Hana at present.

Master Zhou puts Master Tien's case to the group. Hiro says that it is completely unacceptable - Master Tien has to find another way. However, Hana is more inclined to be helpful, and at least willing to discuss it with Master Tien.

Master Tien's idea is to put Hana inside a ghost trap with a fire, and try to lure Dorga into contacting her. Once he notices the trap, he should be drawn in, and if he moves to the fire without looking, he will especially be trapped. She will bring Hana out before starting the exorcism. She also reiterates that she currently intends no harm to Hana (and Yoshi and Min Feng think she's not lying). Much discussion commences about ghosts which are manifest, and/or corporeal. (Dorga is apparently manifest in flames; Hana is both manifest and corporeal).
Once agreement is reached, Master Tien draws a ghost trap (spending several chi) in one of the much-abused storage tents, and Hana immediately wanders in. As the others hide around the tent, Hana tries to contact Dorga through the flame. As it turns out, that doesn't work immediately, but after several hours of waiting, the flame does blaze up again, and Dorga asks Hana if she's reconsidered his offer. Suddenly, Master Tien bursts out from her cover and crosses into the ghost trap, leading Hana out as quickly as possible. Dorga is incensed at the betrayal, and blasts both of them with fire once before they get out. They are damaged, but manage to escape. Dorga's flames don't appear to be able to escape the trap any more than he can.

Then, with Dorga in the ghost trap, and Hana restrained by Hiro to keep her from going in again, Master Tien begins the exorcism - Dorga does his best to try and scour the lines of the ghost trap away with fire, but that doesn't really help, and eventually he is banished.
Master Tien gives her thanks for the assistance, and heads off back to her temple for some rest and healing, and the dangers of Daizhou are, for the most part, past.
Takanata casts the I Ching a final time, attempting to determine the truth of the following statements:
1. Passing beyond the Wall separates you from the Empire somehow.
2. The Chancellery is aware of that.
3. Inspector Ando is a chancellery spy, watching for people who cross the Wall.
4. There are shapeshifters beyond the wall.
5. Inspector Ando wants the Chancellery warned that the circus needs to be dealt with.
6. The Circus did not bring anything dangerous back across the wall that Ando needs to worry about that it did not take there.
Of those, the last is the only one that is false.
Ringmaster Te asks if everyone is packed and it is time to move out. Li Merit explains that the Chief Inspector has asked them to stay a little longer, but he's sure things will be resolved soon enough and they should be on their way in a couple of days.

Puttering

Xiao Fa checks in again on the injured circus people (Akimoto the Astonishing and Enlightened Melina).
Xiao Fa heads to the Dragon Army barracks to assist in the infirmary and look for a sparring partner.
Takanata visits the (Clear Melting) temple of the High Path
Hana goes to Xiao Fa for some healing of her fire-ghost-inflicted injuries. Xiao Fa looks for interesting chi
Cai-Wen (followed by Wei Han) heads out to the bars and gambling halls. He acquires a young woman named Chiyo, an officer from the local barracks. He hears tell of blockade runners, and lets it be known that he'd be happy to meet some. Notes
Takanata and Yanyu visit Ringmaster Te.
Anto trains with the monks of the Steadfast Heart Sect.
Master Zhou finds Anto for some kung fu training as well.
Master Zhou and Xiao Fa visit the Steadfast Heart monastery, and go on a patrol of the Wall.
Master Zhou visits the Clear Melting temple.
Wei Han trains with the Dragon Army barracks.
Shen Wei Han quietly convinces Zhu Cai-Wen that a solo trip through bandits is a bad idea.
Retrieved from "http://boojum.scripts.mit.edu/Dragon/index.php?title=Ghost_Hunters" Category: Book One Logs
This page was last modified on 16 July 2010, at 14:26.
Alike in Dignity

From Dragon

It is the Day of the Late Bear in the month of the Tiger, in the third Year of the Fox since the crowning of Ti Lao.

"If you wait long enough by the river, the bodies of your enemies will float by."

The run begins in Daizhou, in the far north, and ends in the Harbor of Fortunate Arrival, the capital of the Hon'eth Arcade.
Previous run Next Run
Contents

1 On the Road Again
2 A Broken Wheel
3 Visitors to the Circus
4 Plaza of Deliberate Celebration
5 Morning Recriminations
6 Puttering

On the Road Again

Xiao Fa shows Master Zhou a tree that he believes to be a good site for meditation and cleansing the chi. Zhou tries to do his meditation training there, but it isn't quite right; the chi seems not quite so calm and clear as it was in the Pavilion of Selfless Design.

That evening, Ringmaster Te asks Cai-Wen (as the highest-status person he can find) if there is any reason he knows of to not leave in the morning, since the investigations have all been wrapped up. Given how far behind schedule the circus is, Te suggests skipping the Port of Propitious Voyage, and all of the small cities in between, and heading south all the way to the Harbor of Fortunate Arrival (the capital of the Hon'eth Arcade, about halfway down the coast) before the next show. It'll stretch the budget thin to go that far without performing, but he thinks he can manage. Cai-Wen suggests, instead, that they do divert to the Port of Propitious Voyage, since he wants to ask around about blockade runners. Ringmaster Te says that'll add a day or two to the schedule, and begins to arrange it. When Cai-Wen realizes that the Harbor of Fortunate Arrival is also a port, he decides that this is probably sufficient for his investigation, and tells the Ringmaster that going straight down is fine. Of course, by this time, Te has already modified his plan to stop at the Port, so he has to go re-juggle the numbers a third time when the side trip is canceled.
"I will break him of the habit of asking me for instructions." -Cai-Wen
The circus is gathered together and informed of the plan: pack up now, and move out first thing in the morning for a straight run south to the Harbor of Fortunate Arrival. Te checks with the "new hires" to see how their acts are coming along. Kasumi has been working on her acrobatic running.

"Can you do that on a wire?" -Ringmaster Te "Over rotating blades and fires?" -Tom "Grr. I hear you grab noses." -Meg

As the only circus pro with any experience currently not busy with offscreen tasks, Ringmaster Te asks Shuyan to take all the newbies under her wing to get their acts into shape. Shuyan is a little intimidated.
"But they're all older than me!" "They're still all scrubs."
Cai-Wen suggests that Master Zhou train people (such as Xiao Fa) on stage for his act, but Zhou glowers that "training is not for entertainment" and Xiao Fa protests that if he were to play a bumbling student, he might not actually bumble all that well.

Xian thinks about putting together a stage magic act, and looks through the storage tents for some interesting props. He finds the Sphere of Harmony, in a plain wooden box which clearly contains something of great value. Hmm. It might be better to put it back in the fancy box if it's going to advertise like that. Xian puts it in a different box with a false bottom, and decides it's appropriately shabby, at least for the moment.

Then, it is morning, and the circus breaks camp and heads south. The initial days of travel, to the main highway and then along it, are fairly uneventful. As the circus approaches the spur going from the main north/south highway to the Port of Propitious Voyage, they have to halt for a column of soldiers, heading from inland towards the coast. While the soldiers march across, a few of them drift up the line of the circus, checking things out. Mindful of Li Merit's Fast Passing Rules, everyone breaks into their acts. Shuyan demonstrates snake dancing, and Wei Han flings Kasumi up in the air to land acrobatically on the roof of a wagon. Satisfied with the performances, the soldiers do not insist on searching anything, and the army finishes crossing.

Cai-Wen asks where they're going, and receives the not-very-reassuring answer that "it's only a minor disturbance, don't worry about it, sir." After the army finishes passing, Kiri takes her leave of the party and heads towards the Port of Propitious Voyage, with the other travelers straggling after the army.

A Broken Wheel

A couple more days of travel go by with no incident. Then, some distance off the highway on a small local road, a few people spot what appears to be an overturned mule-cart full of cabbages, and a horse-drawn carriage with curtained windows, which appear to have collided. The party heads over to assist and investigate. The carriage's passenger is a young woman in a yellow silk dress, with long white hair, who is reassuring the cart driver, who is very concerned about his cabbages. Xian, Wei-Han, and Cai-Wen all start to think that they have seen this guy before.

The carriage has a broken wheel; the mule-cart just needs righting. Master Zhou asks if either of them need assistance; the cabbage merchant asks for assistance righting the cart, which Cai-Wen supervises. For some reason, Anto finds it very easy to right the cart, (he's strangely rolling for 5's), though he still needs the assistance of Shen Wei-han. Cai-Wen asks if the cabbage merchant is all right, but he is too disturbed by the plight of his cabbages to be coherent, until Xian asks him whether he has had trouble with red grubs. Discussing cabbage farming perks him right up, and he notes that he was heading to the Port of Propitious Voyage with his cabbages.

The young woman, who introduces herself as Kuan-Xi, thanks Anto profusely for his assistance, and Cai-Wen less so. She was heading to the Harbor of Fortunate Arrival, but was taking the slow road rather than the highway, as she is not in a hurry.

While Kuan-Xi is distracted by chatting with the others, Kasumi sneaks into her carriage. It is very well furnished - the yellow silk she's wearing now is probably the shabbiest thing she owns. Kasumi also finds a locked box that probably has her money in it, but doesn't try to open it.

Cai-Wen tries to figure out if she's telling the truth about not being in a hurry, and thinks she isn't in a hurry now. She tries to get a brief introduction from everyone, starting with Anto and still somewhat focused on him. She says she's from the east of here, and talks about her trip through the Arcade but kind of avoids details about where she's actually from.

Xian notes to her that her wheel is broken, and apologizes that if he fixed it, it would probably only get about five or ten feet before breaking again. He also thinks that according to his Sense Motive roll, things seem to be going according to her plan. ("Wait, since when? Before or after the accident?")

Master Zhou is very suspicious, but according to his Sense Motive roll, doesn't think she means active harm. Wei Han suggests getting a wheel from stores, since Li Merit packed a whole bunch of extra wheels. Master Zhou sends Xiao Fa back to get one; Xiao Fa returns with a wheel and someone who knows something about changing them.

Cai-Wen (with his Sense Motive roll) notes that she does an excellent job (well, clearly not that excellent, since half the party has Sense Motive) of hiding the fact that she's only interested in Anto. Xian interrogates the cabbage merchant, to try to get the details of the crash, to figure out if she seemed to have caused it deliberately. Xian also reminds the cabbage merchant that they were there for a previous crash.
"Am I really that generic looking?" -Xian
The cabbage merchant does suddenly recall that the last time he crashed his cart, these people were there as well! He regards them all with new suspicion, wondering whether they are part of some wagon-crashing cult, or perhaps are cart insurance salesmen.

Xiao Fa takes the opportunity to check out Kuan-Xi's chi, and notes that her Tao is as great as his own. Also, she seemed to be projecting chi energy directly at Anto for most of the encounter. Nothing harmful, he thinks, just specifically directed at Anto.

The circus roustabout finishes changing the carriage wheel. Kuan-Xi offers him her grateful thanks, and also gives him three li as a reward. She is pleased to hear that the circus is traveling to the Harbor of Fortunate Arrival as well, and promises to come see them when she gets there. Anto suggests (much to Master Zhou's displeasure) that she travel with the circus for safety. She thinks that Anto is just the sweetest thing to offer, but she has to make a stop to see one of her sisters first. But Anto is welcome to come with her on her side trip, and then they can catch up to the circus after. Xiao Fa makes wide throatcutting motions to Anto, behind Kuan-Xi, and Anto, after a resolve roll, declines.

Xian continues to talk to the cabbage merchant, trying to figure out exactly how the accident was caused, but he seems to have kind of forgotten the part in the middle between first seeing her carriage approach and the accident. Kasumi asks the roustabout how he would expect the wheel got broken - he thinks it's most likely that it must have hit a big rock. (The party bemoans their lack of Cart Forensics skill). Does he think it's possible that it happened from hitting another cart? He thinks it's possible, but not so likely. Shuyan notices that these cabbages are probably the best she's ever seen, and buys a couple for dinner later.

As the group takes their leave of Kuan-Xi and heads back to the circus, the roustabout mentions putting the two li in the circus general stores, but Cai-Wen refuses to let him pocket the other li. Xiao Fa tries to explain to Anto that Kuan-Xi had a lot of Tao, and was definitely using it on him, but Anto thinks she seemed nice.

Visitors to the Circus

A few days of travel more, the circus reaches the spur of highway heading towards the Harbor, turns, and exits the Highway at the city limits. The advance men have prepared the city for the circus's arrival, and there is much cheering by various people lining the local road. A clear field has been prepared, loaned by the House of Benevolent Oversight (the Royal House). Tents start to go up; Cai-Wen donates Wei-Han's services to rope-pulling and pole-hoisting, remaining himself in an advisory capacity. A few hours in, Cai-Wen spots someone who looks somewhat familiar to him - a guy somewhat resembling Xiao Fa but with long hair in a braid, who he had an unfortunate encounter with some years in the past. This guy seems to be part of a line of circus roustabouts carrying boxes. Cai-Wen heads after them, only to catch up to the group minus one person. The box sits to the side, discarded and empty. (No, it wasn't the box with the Sphere of Harmony in it, just (apparently) a box of tent pegs).

Investigation of the Mysterious Box which may or may not have contained tent pegs commences. Maybe he was carrying an empty box as a diversion? Maybe he stole the tent pegs? Maybe the box had opium instead of tent pegs and he picked up the opium? To the best of anyone's ability to determine (which is, unfortunately, not so great), the box used to contain tent pegs, no longer does, and is not otherwise of any note.
Elsewhere:
A gentleman wearing opulent robes and a thick gold chain catches the attention of Master Zhou. He asks after Qin Yanyu, who he has heard is travelling with the circus. Master Zhou says she is not currently available; the gentleman asks him to please tell her that Tso of the House of Beneficent Travel would like to engage her matchmaking services.
A young woman wanders by, apparently searching for someone named Myo, but she doesn't seem to be finding him.
A different young woman, named Ayuki, turns up to say hello to Kasumi. (Kasumi took Ayuki's place at ninja school, and Ayuki is only now catching up). Ayuki wonders whether the whole circus is secretly ninja in disguise, and asks to be introduced to CaiWen, who she thinks is cute.

A tent says "Psst" to Xiao Fa, and a hand under the tent flap beckons him in. It appears to be a guy who looks somewhat like him, but is buffer and has more hair. He questions Xiao Fa about where he's been all the years, and wonders what's up with the crazy monk disguise. Xiao Fa claims to not know what the mysterious stranger is talking about. The stranger presses saying Xiao Fa should cut him in for a piece of the action for old times sake. Xiao Fa apologizes once more and then the stranger suddenly remembers something. Since Xiao Fa is back, and hasn't died, he must have abandoned him. So, he should probably get thrashed for that. He proceeds to thrash Xiao Fa within an inch of his life and departs.
Xiao Fa eventually wakes and moans from the tent, causing various people converge on him to offer concern and assistance.
"I'm all right..." -Xiao Fa
"Did he say "I'm all right"? Woah, that's no good." -Master Zhou
A handsome young man pokes his head into the tent, looking for Liet, but then keeps going.
Xiao Fa briefs the group about his encounter: "This one does not recall him, but he does seem to know this one." The mysterious semi-stranger beat him up in punishment for abandoning him, years ago. Also, Xiao Fa thinks that he was looking for a score in the empty box - he was not expecting tent pegs.

Again, the girl comes by looking for Myo. Master Zhou catches up to her before she leaves, and demands to know who she is and what's going on. Shuyan, a bit warmer, asks the girl (who says her name is Liet) if this is a Secret Romantic Meeting like in the stories. Yes, it is! Myo is her betrothed, and they are going to run away together. She wonders who you ask about running away with the circus? Nobody is sure who is in charge of that, though Master Zhou suggest that she pick a tent and stay in it rather than wander around randomly, and as she flounces away, he notes that she has some kung fu skill.
Xian goes back to looking for clues on the tent peg box - maybe there was some sort of label that would identify it as the one that has smuggled goods in it?
"Make a Detective skill roll to look at the outside of the box." -Mike "Unfortunately, I was using Concealment, which is not as useful on the outside of the box." -Cael

"Wait, were we done asking Xiao Fa prying questions about how he got this way?"
-Kasumi
"You wandered off to play with the love plot!" -Xiao Fa
"Did you just tell a perfect stranger to go into our tents?" -Xian
"Well, she was doing that anyway."
Ringmaster Te announces first call for the opening act: twenty minutes!
"Let's take a turn around the circus to see if there's anything else we should know about that we can't do anything about but should worry about." -Cai-Wen to WeiHan

The tent Liet was in now seems to have Myo. Kasumi, wondering if this is some sort of shapeshifting body-swapping thing going on, hides in the tent to watch, but he keeps looking over his shoulder in her direction. Cai-Wen suggests to Ringmaster Te that he call the two lovebirds up on stage, so they can finally find each other. Te wonders if they will be good on stage. ("Probably not, sir." -Wei Han). Well, if they're lost, he can call their names for the lost and found at the end.

Master Zhou realizes that the two lovers must be in warring families, so it probably isn't a good idea to call them to the stage together. Unfortunately, by this time, Ringmaster Te is nowhere to be seen, having gone off to start the show.

The circus performance starts, and the acts are received with much cheering. Cai-Wen spends his time chasing after Ringmaster Te, always arriving a little too late. Then, for the finale, the Mighty Kar Lo announces that he will juggle three people! Ringmaster Te asks Cai-Wen to point out the volunteers - he chooses three completely nondescript people, none of them Myo or Liet. Then, as Te starts to announce the lost and found, Zhou manages to gesture him to not mention Liet or Myo. Disaster possibly averted.

Plaza of Deliberate Celebration

Afterwards, Ringmaster Te says that there will be a party thrown by the Royal house, at the Plaza of Deliberate Celebration. He needs eight more people to come with him, and is grabbing the people on hand (that is, the people in the run). They should be sure to make a good impression - enjoy themselves, and make sure that other people enjoy themselves too.

Ayuki reappears to pester Kasumi into introducing her to Cai-Wen, and gets to join the group as Cai-Wen's date. As she works for the House of Judicious Increase, he expects she may know something about the other guests and the party mechanic. Xiao Fa and Kasumi loot the costume tent for good party wear, and then the group proceeds to the party.
It is not immediately evident what the goals of the party are (or even who has them), but the basics turn out to be:
There are five areas in which a party guest can excel: Dancing, Drinking, Seduction, Charming, and Erudition
Actions are taken by rolling Status (with a +1 for people who participated in the circus acts) for speed.
Representatives of the six Houses can exert a claim on a particular guest, by handing the player a numbered token, each color indicating their particular House. Tokens can be turned over (usable once) for successes equal to half the number on their face. In addition to the party and House representatives, there are a number of other guests. Almost anyone who one might want to meet is here, if you look for them. (Kuan-Xi, for example)
Interesting mechanics happen in Drift: Drinking (teleport to a bar), Dancing (either Ladies' Choice or Gentlemen's Choice, in which one can whisk a partner to dance with), and Seduction (also either Ladies' Choice or Gentlemen's Choice, in which one can whisk a partner to the corner.)
At the end of the party, the person in the lead for each category scores for the House that they hold the greatest value of tokens for.
Each high scorer ends up owed a favor by the House that they scored for.

Our heroes take their first steps into the mechanic, with Anto getting on the board first with four successes of Charming. Kasumi asks someone to dance, and takes the lead there. Anto experiments to see if being less charming helps - his three subsequent successes don't seem to do anything. Ayuki briefs Cai-Wen a bit about how the mechanic works. Anto gets on the board with Seduction as he offers to buy Kuan-Xi a drink (though there isn't actually any buying of anything at the party, she appreciates the gesture). Kuan-Xi is therefore first on the board for Drinking, and Master Zhou gets on the board for Erudition for expounding about Kung Fu.
Wei Han takes the lead early in Drinking to take it away from Kuan-Xi, and continues to hold it all the way through the party as he garners more tokens and spends them to increase his lead.

In the "Seduction" drift phase, Anto whisks Kuan-Xi to the corner, followed immediately by Master Zhou with a woman from the House of Benevolent Oversight. Master Zhou glowers at Anto and Kuan-Xi, sure that she is Up To No Good, and then grabs Anto and drags him several hexes away. Xian tries to find someone to talk to about chariot races, but with 0 successes on a Tao roll, finds someone who is an expert on nearly everything else in the world (and who will end up topping the Erudition category).

Ayuki starts asking around about what's going on politically, and Ringmaster Te finds a fireworks expert to chat with - perhaps there will be a new act. Xian gets the scholar to talk about the state of mathematics, Xiao Fa steals Kuan-Xi away from Anto to dance with her, and Anto takes the lead in dancing with someone else, in the hopes of making Kuan-Xi jealous.

Cai-Wen tries to get a bidding war started (since he seems to be doing pretty well with the Seduction category) between two houses, trying to get tokens out of both of them. Ayuki returns to brief Cai-Wen: the House of Enticing Vintage and the House of Resplendent Decoration have been rivals for a while, but there seems to be someone else (probably the House of Gainful Protection) trying to turn their long-running dispute into an actual hot war - these are very uncommon.

Cai-Wen briefs the people he can reach about the house war, and goes looking for a woman named Malkoha, previously mentioned to him as a retired gambling master in the area. She turns out to be at the party, and demonstrates a shtick of hers by declaring CaiWen her moll and banishing Ayuki to the far corner. Xiao Fa talks to Kuan-Xi about chi mastery - he thinks she knows something of the subject too, but now she knows he knows... Xian also chats with Kuan-Xi about sorcery, dropping truths and obvious fallacies in his claims, to see if she corrects him. She says she has spent some time studying the five elements and the interplay between them, but does not admit to being an actual sorceress.

As the party starts to wrap up, Anto thinks about burning the rest of his tokens to take the lead in Charm, but the representative from the House of Judicious Increase, which has been giving him a lot of tokens, hints "not yet" to him. They may have some sort of a plan having to do with Kuan-Xi, which of course puts them on Master Zhou's list of bad guys.

Master Zhou makes a brave attempt to drag Anto bodily out of the party (since it's gauche to go back in). However, both the house rep Anto is currently speaking with, and Anto himself, resist, and Master Zhou doesn't quite get him to the door. Master Zhou shouts at Anto: "Do not spend chits! They have a plan they are in on with her, and she does not have your best interest in mind!" Since the party is pretty much not on Kuan-Xi's side at this point, she can give Anto an action (and he can roll for 5s while doing so), so he takes the action and grabs the lead in Charming, burning his tokens.
"You're not the boss of me!" -Anto to Master Zhou
At the last drift action of the party, it's Men's Choice for Seduction, and they can whisk their choices to an exit and make a seduction roll. Cai-Wen whisks Malkoha, followed by Wei Han with a woman from the House of Gainful Protection, and the four head to a Flower House to enjoy the rest of the evening.
Xiao Fa whisks Kuan-Xi to an exit, much to Anto's dismay, and succeeds in his seduction roll, much to Xiao Fa's own surprise.
In the last round, Scholar Turtle holds forth upon opera, to a sufficient extent as to give anyone still in the room one free skill in it.
The winners are:
Charm: Ringmaster Te and the House of Resplendent Decoration Erudition: Scholar Turtle and the House of Benevolent Oversight Seduction: Cai-Wen and the House of Beneficent Travel Drinking: Wei-Han and the House of Beneficent Travel Dancing: Anto and the House of Gainful Protection
As people are leaving the Plaza, they hear an argument going on outside:
"If anything happens to Lord Myo, it will be war!" - someone from the House of Resplendent Decoration
"If you do not return Lady Liet, you will die!" - someone from the House of Enticing Vintage

Morning Recriminations
Xian wonders whether the group was victorious at the party, or not.
"Does anyone know... what we just did? Do we have any idea what we were doing?" -Xian
(As far as anyone knows, the houses which supported winning people gained some status yppgppg in their overall mechanic, and the winning people are owed favors from the houses that supported them.)

Ringmaster Te has been making arrangements and calling in his favor, so he has a great plan for the opening night in the next city. Because everyone did so well at the party, he gives them the day off - they don't have to be back at the circus until evening.

Xiao Fa has awoken with a definite feeling that Kuan-Xi is not actually bad, and tries to convince the rest of the party. They are not so convinced, though Anto wants to know if Xiao Fa got her number. Xian is particularly concerned - does Xiao Fa actually remember anything from the previous night? Did she persuade him she wasn't bad by anything she said, or just mind control him into thinking that? Xiao Fa refuses to talk about what happened, but blushes quite a bit.
Master Zhou is very disappointed in both his students, and drags both Xiao Fa and Anto off for an hour of exercise.
"Come! We will train!" -Master Zhou "Is this going to help...?" -Xian
While those three are off training, Ayuki shows up, decloaking just behind Kasumi. WeiHan tries to chop her, but she manages to dodge. She has heard that both the House of Enticing Vintage and the House of Resplendent Decoration have received ransom notes. (Xian is crestfallen - he had wanted to do that!) Each House is blaming the other one, and war seems more imminent. The group is split as to whether the lovers have been kidnapped by the House of Gainful Protection, or have written the ransom notes themselves (Kasumi and Shuyan favor this theory as more romantic).

Xian wanders around asking the circus roustabouts about Liet and Myo - did anyone see them leaving? Just about everyone saw them wandering around ineptly looking for each other, but eventually someone recalls seeing them heading out the east gate together (east being roughly in the direction of the city).

Elsewhere, Master Zhou has been putting Xiao Fa through his paces, making him do exercises while hitting him with a stick and shouting questions at him. Anto watches, interested. After the hour's training, Master Zhou concludes: "Your mind has been influenced - but subtly, because it is to believe something that is probably true," and Xiao Fa apologizes to Anto.
"Does that mean if she comes back, you don't mind if I talk to her?" -Anto "If she comes back I wish to speak to her!" -Master Zhou
"Well, so do I!" -Anto
The three monks return to the rest of the party, and Master Zhou explains his conclusions. The others explain about the ransom notes. Luckily, Anto has learned the "Nose for Trouble" shtick from the brothers of the Steadfast Heart Sect, so he can head towards the walled field where the two groups of House warriors have drawn up battle lines. The leaders of both groups are the ones who were at the party last night, and each of them has a sack of 1000 li; they have been instructed to throw the money in the well if they ever want to see Liet or Myo again.
"And we have showed up just in time to collect it. We are so awesome!" -Xian
Xiao Fa examines the chi of the area. He thinks the well is not actually a well any longer, though it used to be one. The two house leaders demand to know what the party knows about what's going on.
"We're from the circus, we're here to help." -Anto.
Both sides claim that they came to pay the ransom, and found the other group here, thus proving that they must have had something to do with the kidnapping. Cai-Wen tries to suggest that both sides have been tricked by their competitors, but both sides also think that their competitors are right here too, and also, Liet and Myo are in fact missing.

Anto drops a torch down the well - it lands on the ground, and then a short while later, goes out. But it seems pretty deep. The two ninjas search the outside of the walled field, but don't find anything of note. Wei Han intimidates both sides into sending people to get rope. The House of Enticing Vintage guy brings back a better rope, which nearly starts the brawl all over again.

The party starts climbing down one rope; Wei Han stays up at the top, to lower down the non-climbing experts like Cai-Wen and Xian, on the second rope. Shuyan and Kasumi are the first to reach the bottom of the well, and discover that there's an actual tunnel that goes from the bottom of the well off a ways and then turns. There's a rustling noise around the corner. Kasumi sneaks towards the rustling - it's a guy in black with a sword, but he doesn't see her, and another person in black behind.

Xian starts doing magic tricks for the "audience", to try to distract the two mobs of soldiers from fighting each other. The unarmed foe karate-chops Shuyan, and the sword-wielder accidentally runs into Kasumi, and chops her instead of Shuyan. Other party members reach the floor of the dry well, and try to get forward into the combat.
Xian starts a long plan of action, suggesting to both leaders that if a fight does break out, they don't want to lose their money, so they should have someone obvious and helpless hold it. The soldiers are somewhat skeptical, and try to get him to explain the thing about the money again, but at least they aren't advancing on each other for a round or two. Xian suggests fake bags of loot, with clinking rocks; the leaders can come up with some lame imitations of money, that go clank and thud instead. Xian is not impressed at their trickery skills.

Zhou grabs the black mask of the guy without the sword, and pulls it off - it is in fact Liet, and with the traditional "when your mask comes off everyone is somewhat smitten" effect, the guys in the party are briefly stunned by her beauty.
Up above, Xian continues to try to convince both sides to hand him all the money, and surprisingly succeeds. He climbs down the well with it, plus a spare sack-that-goes-clunk.
Down below, Anto grabs Liet, telling her that "your families are going to kill each other!" She protests that her family doesn't care about her. Shuyan tries to convince them they do care - they brought the ransom, after all! Liet is surprised and pleased by that - hooray, they brought the ransom! Kasumi pulls off Myo's hood, producing another round of stun for the other half of the party.

Cai-Wen has finally reached the bottom of the well at this point, and tries his own bluff: "Foolish Children - put down your weapons and return to your houses, or the House of Gainful Protection will surely have you killed."

Liet makes a counter-offer: how about they split the ransom, and everyone runs down the tunnel and escapes? Master Zhou loses his temper and lectures them about how their parents are willing to kill and die for them - are they willing to let them die? But he doesn't have the right dice to make a persuasion roll, so he's not sufficiently convincing.

However, since Liet and Myo are pretty outnumbered, and the party is doing a pretty good job keeping them grabbed, they eventually surrender. Anto suggests that the story be "we saved them from the kidnappers" to get them in less trouble with their families.

Up above, the soldiers have gotten all the way to each other in the middle of the field. Shen Wei-Han manages to get them to not fight in the first round of engagement, but it won't last long.

The group below puts Liet in the rope loop, and Wei-Han pulls her up; Shuyan runs to the top of the well and announces that Myo is on his way up next. Myo is pulled up, and while Xian is sorely tempted to keep the 2000 li, he has spent too much time convincing the armies they know exactly who he is and where he's from (the circus) for that to be the right course of action, so he does come up as well.
Xiao Fa, Ayuki, and Kasumi remain below in the well to follow the tunnel to see where it goes. (A while later, they come out at the coast, where there's a rowboat tied.)
Back up in the field, the party browbeats Myo and Liet into admitting that they're in love, and Cai-Wen attempts a grand bluff:
"Given those two facts, does anything else really matter?" -Cai-Wen
The Enticing Vintage guys seem swayed, and the Resplendent Decoration guys seem willing to pretend to be swayed, though they likely will be biding their time. Xian suggests a surprise alliance between the two.
"I don't know anything about your politics, but I do know that surprise is half the battle." -Xian
In any event, the two houses will not be fighting today. Tomorrow may be another story.
Puttering

Wei Han stops by the local Dragon Army barracks to practice.
Yanyu goes in search of Master Tso, and, separately, Kuan-Xi.
Takanata visits the House of Benevolent Oversight to tell them Ti Lao isn't dead. Takanata visits Scholar Turtle to discuss art.
Takanata attends the opera several times, and arranges for an invitation to a party of patrons of the arts. Malkoha and Cai Wen join him.
Xiao Fa investigates the local feng shui and acquires some children. Xiao Fa assigns Akimoto the Astonishing some leg-strengthening exercises. Merit, Cai Wen, Anto, Wei Han, and Takanata (plus others?) head on a fact-finding expedition to look for blockade runners. They find a captain who seems willing to make a round trip run for passengers, or deliver letters next time he runs the blockade.
Master Zhou visits the House of Enticing Vintage to speak to Liet. The Harbor of Fortunate Arrival celebrates the Cherry Blossom Festival on the Day of the Tortoise. Takanata, Hana, and Hiro wander around the festival, and visit the Gallery of Exquisite Ornamentation, where they meet Scholar Turtle. Min Feng, Hana, Hiro, Xiao-Fa, and Anto head off to explore the town, especially the markets.
Xiao Fa searches for a sprig of plum blossoms for his collection.
Xiao Fa returns to the House of Quiet Concordance during the Cherry Blossom Festival, visits the garden, and gets a job offer.
Wei Han takes a quick trip back up to Daizhou to train.
Cai Wen (followed by Wei Han) picks up a local girl named Petal and brings her by the circus. This turns into something of a confusing chase scene, with screaming. Xiao Fa escorts Takanata-san to the House of Quiet Concordance, to view their garden. After Takanata is coaxed to write a poem for Master Tranh, the latter agrees to teach Xiao Fa a feng shui shtick.
Retrieved from "http://boojum.scripts.mit.edu/Dragon/index.php?title=Alike_in_Dignity" Category: Book One Logs
This page was last modified on 16 July 2010, at 14:25.
The Price of Good Fortune

From Dragon

It is the Day of the Late
Butterfly in the month of the Tortoise, in the third Year of the Fox since the crowning of Ti Lao.

"Artists must be sacrificed to their art. Like bees, they must put their lives into the sting they give."

The run begins in the Harbor of Fortunate Arrival, and finishes in the Port of
Auspicious Voyage, in the Hon'eth Arcade.
Previous run Next run
Contents

1 Leaving Town
2 Another Army Column
3 The Strange and Wondrous Troupe of Players
4 Gathering Clues
5 Hidden Enemies
6 The Next Morning
7 An Explanation
8 Dress Rehearsal
9 Final Performance
10 The Magpie Strikes
11 Puttering

Leaving Town

The party starts to wrap up their business in the Harbor of Fortunate Arrival, before the circus heads south again. Shen-Ji spends a bit of time cruising around the city on his flying metal disc, hoping to draw out other sorcerers. He eventually meets Renilo, an apprentice to a metal sorcerer down south. Apparently, his master sent him off into the world on a quest for knowledge. In any case, Renilo's impressed with Shen-Ji and gives him a letter of introduction to Hsu Verity, his master down in the Port of Auspicious Voyage.
Takanata, as is his custom in the mornings, has written a poem, which he shows some of the others:
The web shivers with dancing strands The butterfly struggles and launches free Wings sparkling in the sun
Heavy with the golden prize
The bird waits, poised
Ringmaster Te, concerned about time and money, thinks that the plan should be to make a run down the coast to the Port of Auspicious Voyage. They're trying to make up for lost time, but they can't completely skip performing, or they won't be able to pay the circus folk or feed the elephants. Merit wonders if going too fast now will just cause trouble later when there are fewer wealthy cities, but the numbers seem to support being able to make the several day journey to the southern port.

The Ringmaster assigns Xian to ride up on an elephant, at the front of the circus procession, "because he's familiar with the area", though really, the highway goes there, so it's not clear just what the Ringmaster is up to. A young helper joins Xian on the elephant's back to teach him how to drive it. Everyone else wonders whether "Xian falls off an elephant" would be a sufficiently entertaining circus act that they should encourage it.

Another Army Column

The circus heads south, traveling towards the Port of Auspicious Voyage. A few days' travel in, they encounter a full column of the Dragon Army, marching northwards. Many of the party have forgotten Merit's Fast Passing Rules, but the actual circus hands start preparing to perform. Xian (on the elephant) and Cai-Wen (not on the elephant) go forward to offer tea to the officers, though they are a bit unpolished (Xian has trouble getting the elephant to stop and nearly runs down the officers, and Cai-Wen forgets the name of the circus.)

The commander says that they have urgent business in the Port of Propitious Voyage, so yy g p yg they cannot be delayed, but they will drink some tea with the circus while the column passes. Various younger officers check out the circus acts while the column marches by. Merit mentions to the commander that the circus passed a different column heading towards the Port of Propitious Voyage over a week ago; that causes the commander to order a faster march. Merit also briefs the commander about the assassination attempt on Ti Lao.

That interests the commander - so it was an assassination attempt? He doesn't let much more slip than that, so Cai-Wen and Min-Feng go to try to chat up some of the younger officers. Rumor has it that the blockading fleet doesn't have enough supplies for a proper blockade, so they've been resupplying from the port at the Jasmine River. The enlisted troops don't seem to know what's going on with the blockade/war; they're somewhat confused by the fact that while blockades or wars are going on in the south, they're marching north. Clearly something is going on in the Port of Propitious Voyage, but whether it's a distraction or a real emergency is somewhat unclear.

Merit toys with the idea of sending the circus to the Port of Auspicious Voyage, and catching a fast coach to the Illuminated Precincts to sabotage the blockade supply - but the coach would have to be acquired in the port city, rather than midway along the imperial highway, so he concedes that maybe it would be better to stop there to try to get more information first.

The Strange and Wondrous Troupe of Players

The circus arrives in the Port of Auspicious Voyage after another day's travel. As always, the advance men have done their job well, and there are people cheering the arrival as the circus sets up in fields outside the city. Various party members head into the city to see what they can learn - it appears to be bustling with people. The blockade is considered to be a terrible tragedy that is also very good for business. People who would be going to the Butterfly Kingdom are here instead, and spending their disposable incomes on the local art and theater. Cai-Wen does bump into a guy who seems to recognize him, but then runs off. On general principles, Min-Feng disguises him, causing Xian to burn a Yin recognizing him later.

Xian picks up an advertisement for the Strange and Wondrous Troupe of Players ("They tread ground that no one else dares"), and hears that they seem to be cursed - three theaters that they were playing in have burned down in the past week. Shen-Ji goes looking for the sorcerer but doesn't find her. However, he does confirm the story of the burned down theaters in the arts district. Curious.
Merit looks for information on ships in the blockade, and gets the names of some of the ships from before they were sold to the Savanna of Tears, but chances are their names will have been changed by the new owners. Many of them do seem to be new ships.
Ringmaster Te tells Merit that there's a great opportunity to make some quick money and allow the circus to keep moving sooner.
"There's a theater troupe that needs a venue..." "No!"
Merit explains that, if it's the same theater troupe, they seem to burn their theaters down, and the circus can't afford to be burnt down. Takanata notes that he has a letter of introduction from Scholar Turtle to the troupe - perhaps they should talk to them? Merit isn't clear whether asking them why they're burning down theaters will be productive, but supposes that burning down a single tent might be okay if they were well recompensed.
"Try to get a low interest rate when you're borrowing trouble." -Merit
The troupe is supposed to be practicing tonight at a (non-burnt) auditorium. The party heads there, and slips past a sign saying "Quiet! Rehearsal in progress!" to see what's going on. There is a guy with a torch on the stage, saying something about "Who goes there in the steamy darkness? I cannot see, for the rain is too thick." From the balcony, there's an angry woman's voice, who says "No! The rain is too deep!". The actor complains that this doesn't make very much sense, and is told to stick to the lines as written.

The troupe's manager notices the party, and bustles up, saying that it's a closed rehearsal. Merit swiftly claims that Ringmaster Te has asked them to watch the rehearsal just to be clear about things. It takes the manager a few moments to realize that this means the party is from the People Who Might Rent Them Space, but once he catches on, he has some documents for Merit. (They seem to involve paying well above market rates to rent the tent, but absolve the troupe of any damage not directly caused by them.)

Xian notes that the play really doesn't look finished to him. Min-Feng starts gathering information amongst the backstage crew - who might hate them well enough to set their theaters on fire? The crew seems to be divided up into two camps - the ones who think they're really cursed, and the ones who think it's sabotage by the Mainstream Theater People who dislike them because they're Edgy.

Merit asks for a copy of the script, and learns that the troupe is somewhat improvisational, and each night is different. He tries a fast-talk roll to get multiple scripts from multiple nights, but this seems surprisingly difficult to arrange, and the manager heads upstairs to ask the playwright.

Takanata thinks that the show is somewhat avant-garde and not necessarily to his own taste; the actors are quite good, but the writing has a stressed quality to it. Anto and Shen-Ji note, watching the rehearsal, that all five elements do play somewhat obvious roles.

From upstairs, the woman is shouting again: "They are not artists, they do not want to see scripts, they want gold! Give them money!" Takanata, having fairly good cred as an Artist, as well as a letter of introduction, asks the manager to introduce him to the playwright. The manager is chastised again: "You didn't tell us he was someone of import."

The manager introduces Takanata to Namura Hayato (the playwright) and Hsu Verity (his "associate"). Verity sounds like the one who was doing the shouting. Takanata inquires as to their trouble with previous venues? Verity is cross:

"Ungrateful clods. we bring them money, and they complain about little accidents."
-Verity
"So unreasonable." -Takanata

Takanata manages to ingratiate himself by agreeing, so gets to watch the rehearsal progress from the vantage of the balcony, and watch the collaboration. Hayato is quiet and a bit diffident - he will suggest something like "They should express their love for each other now, dramatically", and Verity will say "Yes, but first, a swordfight!". Takanata thinks that dramatically, it would be better without the swordfight, but Hayato is doing well within the constraints. It's definitely a true collaboration - the play might be better without the constraints, but Hayato accepts that Verity gets to put constraints in.

Back downstairs, the manager tries to sweeten the deal with Merit: "Sign now and I'll double it!" Unfortunately, for him, Merit wants to talk about the burned theaters. The manager protests that the first one was their own accident (a campfire on stage), but the other two were not their fault. At one, the stage completely burst into flames, and for the second, the theater caught fire while they weren't even in the building! Merit notes that the manager seems to believe all this is true, but is also pretty sure it means that Merit won't rent to him.

Surprisingly, Merit tells him that the circus does have the advantage of "portable replaceable buildings", which makes the manager perk up. On the other hand, the circus does have a reputation to uphold, so it really shouldn't be associated with a terrible disaster. Half the money up front! The manager makes pained faces, and heads upstairs to ask his bosses (who Takanata is still hanging out with). Verity tells him to stop worrying about it and just give them the money. The manager returns to tell Merit that it was a tough sell, and they'll have to wait until after house receipts to pay the second half, but he can do it.

Gathering Clues

Shen-Ji, watching the rehearsal, concludes that it's not really a ritual, though maybe it's part of researching one. He explains about Magic Rituals and the Creation of Magic Rituals and how you have to experiment with things to get them right. Most of the party begins to split up at this point for different investigations, leaving Takanata with the two playwrights to finish watching the rehearsal. He asks how they met and is told they were introduced by a mutual friend. At this, Verity hides a ring she was wearing from Takanata's sight, but says nothing more.

Cai-Wen and Min-Feng go off to ask around town for recent news and gossip. They catch several rumors about a dock workers riot in the Port of Propitious Voyage, but find it odd that the rumors of the dock riot started after the rumors of the army moving out to suppress it started. They also find out that the Wondrous Troupe is being pretty exclusively funded by the fortune of their playwright from his last masterwork, so don't have a lot of ties to others. In fact, word on the street is that they are blowing through Hayato's money quite quickly. It isn't expected to last much longer.

Merit arranges to possibly buy some canvas from a local merchant, in case the circus needs to replace a tent's worth. Canvas prices are a bit high due to the local ship-related business boom, but he puts a small deposit down to reserve some for a few days.

Merit, Shen-Ji, and Anto go to examine the three burnt-down theaters, from most recent to oldest. The most recent is the one that caught fire while the troupe was at lunch. Shen-Ji doesn't see any signs that look like fireball marks on the outside - he thinks if he were a fire sorcerer, he'd set the building on fire from the outside, not the inside, for fear of falling timbers. However, Merit notes some char marks on the inside that look to him like lamp oil was used. Hmm.

At the second theater (the one where the stage exploded), some people are replacing the stage boards. Everyone keeps talking about it as if the stage had been coated with tar, but Merit doesn't see any signs of anything like that. Shen-Ji finds a couple of less-burnt boards, and notes that they seem to have caught fire in the center of the wood, not from either surface. This strikes him as classic "Fire Destroys Wood" in the elemental sense, and the timing of the stage going up just as the curtain fell does seem significant, as if it was a result of something finishing. It could be Yang grounding out at the end of a ritual, or the awryage as part of an experiment...
At the third theater, much of the repair work has already been done, but the crew working on it seems clear on the story, that there was a campfire on stage that ended up causing the stage to catch, and then as the backstage crew tried to put it out, a branch got knocked forward and onto the carpet. This one does seem like an actual accident. Shen-Ji speculates about it being part of a Grand Ritual of City Destruction, where the experiments involve burning down buildings in different ways...
Xian blends in with the acting troupe and wanders around backstage collecting various pages of the script from their belongings for later study.
The group meets back at the theater, where rehearsal is beginning for the second act. Surprisingly, Xian appears to be on stage (he's still blending in) - he doesn't have any lines, but gets to be a spear carrier in the background. Everyone else briefs each other on what they've discovered.
Shen-Ji heads up to talk to Verity, with his letter of introduction.
"I'm terribly sorry, could you excuse me for a second?" -Verity "YES!" -Charles, as Takanata is finally alone with Hayato.
Shen-Ji explains that he met Renilo, still on his quest for knowledge in the Harbor of Fortunate Arrival.
"All this time and he only got one city away." -Verity
She tells Shen-Ji to watch the dress rehearsal and then tell her what he has learned. If his skills prove sufficient to this task, she may indeed teach him more.
Meanwhile, Takanata talks to Hayato, and asks if he'd like advice about the ritual. Hayato kind of evades on that, and asks what Takanata thinks it does; he also says that it would be better when seen as a whole, because of the cyclic progression between performances.

Sure enough, the second act has various evocations of the animals of the Cycle here and there in the plot. Then, the rehearsal ends, though it's still not clear exactly what the ritual point was.

The troupe manager announces to the troupe that, thanks to the generosity of Ringmaster Te, they will be having their dress rehearsal and final performance at the circus. The actors are pleased by that, and the manager promises he'll figure out where and when they should report.

Hidden Enemies
The party regroups at the circus tea tent, to discuss and brief each other.
"How did you get on stage?" -Takanata
"Well, just because he's a goof on the elephant..." -Min-Feng
"Just lucky, I guess..." -Xian

Xian also mentions that, just before everyone left for dinner, he noticed an invisible bird sitting in the rafters, very high up. It left as the actors were leaving. Xian is not a great bird expert, but his guess is it was a magpie.
"How did you notice an invisible bird sitting in the rafters?" -Merit "Just lucky, I guess." -Xian
It is about this time that the ninja attack. Xian spots them rappelling down from the top of the tent, and when he shoots one with his bow, other people can spot it, but otherwise they are reasonably well hidden until they attack or are attacked. Combat ensues!
A new bug is noticed in the combat tracking system:
"Hey. Cael attacked that ninja and he became more powerful." -Mike, looking at his display
Anto kung-fu chops a ninja, much to everyone else's confusion.
"Did you forget to bring weapons? There are four ninja and you're working on a merit badge?" -Merit
Min-Feng quickly disguises herself as Cai-Wen, shouts "You Fools!" and starts to run. That convinces most of the ninja that she's the real Cai-Wen, and they go after her instead. Their blades are poisoned with what Merit identifies as "mild drift poison". Deng Zhi-Hao proves to be his standard whirlwind of sharp pointy damage, as does Anto, after he switches back to his kusarigama. The ninja turn their focus to those two, and they go down. Zhi-Hao is dying, but Merit manages to stabilize him and then get him conscious again. One of the ninja has taken enough damage that he flees, but the others are still trouble.

Cai-Wen, realizing that he's going to go down to the poison, shouts to Takanata "I fall, but I cannot control the inevitable retribution. Warn them all to flee!" hoping to fast talk the ninja into fleeing, but he's not sufficiently convincing to get them to flee. He falls, and one of the ninja grabs him, ready to leave.

Having lost the two fighters, and about to lose Cai-Wen even more seriously, Takanata calls for Min Su and her monkeys to provide a distraction. Suddenly, there is Monkey Pandemonium!
"Unless you get seventeen successes on a resolve roll, you have no idea what's going on."
Everyone escapes in the pandemonium, including the ninja, and Merit starts to organize healing. Cai-Wen's ferret has found a note, presumably dropped by one of the ninja: '"It didn't seem possible, but he's returned. Gather at the mill and we'll go regain our honor tonight." This is a little confusing - are they going to the mill now? Or did they already gather at the mill and came here from there? It's night now, so probably this is from before. Do ninja even have honor?

Merit isn't able to wake Cai-Wen up, and the group worries about what to do. Maybe there's a Tao-healer somewhere in the city they can hire? How about a sick house to stay in for the night? But it would have to be a very discreet one. Best would be a temple of the Selfless Path, which would certainly be willing to not say anything, but it would be gauche to not make a donation if they can afford it.

Before spending any money, Merit and Shen-Yi head out to look for an old supply cache of Merit's, in a cave on the beach a little ways north of the city. That provides enough healing supplies to get everyone up and somewhat better healed. Merit tells everyone in the circus that the party will be sleeping in one particular tent; then, they sleep in a different tent, tended by Merit for bonus extra healing.

The Next Morning

In the morning, people contemplate the note again. Why would it seem so unlikely that Cai-Wen was back? Maybe because they thought he was dead? Perhaps the person who sent the ninja also sent the kraken and the storm? That seems a little implausible. Maybe whoever recognized Cai-Wen thought he was someone else?
Meanwhile, Takanata and Min-Feng head out to speak to Hayato, and Takanata offers to read the I Ching for him. He agrees, somewhat intrigued. Takanata's reading indicates:
"The left wing of the butterfly thinks he is mining unknown gold; he is actually trying to steal something someone else has stolen."
Ah, this no doubt ties into the poem, which also had a butterfly and gold. Takanata explains:

"I believe that the I Ching thinks that you are operating under a misconception in what you are doing. The treasure that you seek with the play - the reason you have been having trouble is that someone else believes they have rightfully stolen it." "Does the I Ching reveal what we should do?"
"No."

Hayato thinks that he and his partner have made an awfully large investment to abandon it at this point. Takanata thinks they'll succeed in what they're doing, but that someone of Spider aspect currently has possession of the... money, whatever it is, the I Ching keeps calling it gold, but stole it from someone else. And, additionally, the person who started with it (or possibly a third party) is aware and waiting. Takanata wonders if Hayato could provide more information - he says that he'll discuss it with his partner and meet them before the dress rehearsal to talk about it.

Takanata and Min-Feng head back to the circus, and the group tries to figure out what they can about the ritual, and the other parties involved. Well, the invisible magpie is probably the bird in the poem - though it probably isn't an actual magpie that is the bad guy. Xian is pretty sure the magpie he saw was an actual magpie, though, albeit an invisible one.

Shen-Ji, Takanata, and Xian analyze the new and old scripts acquired by Xian. From what appears more and less in the experiments, it seems likely to be a ritual of Transformation and Control, focused on Metal with a hint of Fire. The Cycle animals are fairly well balanced, though there's a hint less Magpie, which makes the final ritual result likely to be slightly magpie-ish (Shen-Ji has to spend a while explaining the way rituals work - the energy goes into the things that aren't strongly represented in the ritual). Still it's a Grand Ritual, which Xian thinks must be for scale, since who would do a Grand Ritual if you don't have to. And as far as "metal with a hint of fire" goes, gold isn't a fiery metal, but Tael is.

So, what sort of ritual is a Transform/Control Tael ritual going to be? Are they robbing a bank? Creating money (that would surely be Creation)? Making it non-magic (that would be Destroy Fire)? Nobody is quite sure.

Xian speculates that the Regency Council is spying on people through the Tael. Maybe they have a map of where all the money is, and the ritual is going to hijack the signal? That seems to Takanata like something that a Spider would love to have, but a Butterfly is unlikely to want. Remember that he thinks he's mining unknown gold, not stealing someone else's gold. Also, possibly it's more metaphorical than physical.
Shen-Ji notes that if the two playwrights were really nefarious, they probably would have tried to kill him already, because he already revealed too much about what they're up to, and they also wouldn't be likely to ask to do their ritual on his home turf.

An Explanation

Eventually, Verity and Hayato show up at the circus to speak with Takanata. (This includes everyone else except for Merit, Xian, and Zhi-Hao, as it turns out). Verity is a little suspicious of the addition of everyone else, but Takanata says that they have his trust.

"We have talked it over, and are quite disturbed by your readings..." -Hayato "How certain are you?" -Verity
"I am sure that what the I Ching has said is true. I am not always sure that I have completely understood what it has said." -Takanata
Verity nods at Takanata's wisdom, and looks at Hayato. Hayato suggests, "We may as well explain it. It's not like it's sordid."
"In creating the tael, the Empire did a great thing in protecting the currency. As an accidental side effect, they have introduced thousands of small magical items, which are traded all around the Arcade. That creates a magical flow of chi energy, but at present it is being lost, wasted. This ritual will harvest that chi, and funnel it directly into the arts."

The people with Sense Motive think that they both appear to be sincere - he honestly wants to benefit his arts, and she thinks that it's a really cool ritual. She's starting to realize that "at present the energy is being wasted" isn't true, but she doesn't seem to have known that before.

They explain that they have finished their experiments, with the last of the previous performances, so the real ritual will be at the final performance. Anto wonders how they will have enough chi to power the ritual - will there be a pile of tael wandering around on stage? Verity concedes that the audience will be... helping. There will be a lot of people from the mainstream art world, who will be showing up to see them fail, and they will make them succeed despite themselves.
Takanata brings up the evidence they have that someone else is watching, for some other purpose. That will be something to beware of.
(Zhi-Hao checks with Takanata - is he worried that this ritual will cause the Arcade to preempt the Butterfly Kingdom in the arts? Takanata declares "Art is Art!" and approves of the ritual.)

The group asks for more details on the play and the ritual. It is a story of many houses coming together, and at the end, each house contributes a piece to the final showpiece: a big blocky statue, very heavy. It will then be moved from the circus to a theater, where it will be activated to channel the energy. They have arranged for a theater that the statue will be donated to. The original plan would be to do the ritual inside a theater, so there would not need to be the "moving" step, but that seems infeasible now.

Takanata, who is more appalled by the arson than the accidental burnings, guesses that someone is trying to chase the troupe out of the real theaters, to make it easier to steal on the way. Perhaps moving them to a real theater will cut down on that risk. Merit and ShenJi note that if they help and watch the whole thing, maybe they can figure out how to get the Butterfly Kingdom to leverage its own tael flow.

Dress Rehearsal
The dress rehearsal begins. The playwright and the sorceress walk on stage first, and start:
"I make my invocation"
"Me too."
The actors object - why aren't they saying their proper lines? The ritualists realize that if you don't invoke the Tao, no matter what happens with the rest, the ritual won't accidentally go off. Xian spots another invisible magpie hidden up in the rafters. Xian is confident that it's not a person shape-changed into a bird, so it's probably someone's spy point. Maybe it will be possible to follow it when it leaves?

At the end of the rehearsal (which involves putting a bunch of objects in a pile, where the statue will be), the playwrights again give fake invocations to end it. Takanata thinks that while the play suffers a bit from its constraints, it's still pretty good (rolling for 9s because of the constraints, the playwright got six).
The bird flies off at the end of the rehearsal - Xian guiding Zhi-Hao, on a horse, with MinFeng following them on another horse. Alas, the magpie escapes.
Shen-Ji meets with Verity for her promised meeting. She thinks that testing him on how much he figured out is a little lame, given that she explained what the ritual was trying to do, but asks him what he learned that he didn't know. He says that he noticed that there's a slight imbalance in the Magpie aspect, and he doesn't know how they're going to soak/ground the energy at the end. She says that that's how you hit a kingdom - as he knows, the spirit of the Magpie embraces the Hon'eth Arcade, but evades the question of soaking the energy. She allows as Shen-Ji shows some promise, and she might be willing to teach him something, if the ritual goes well.
The party worries that Verity's plan is to have Hayato eat the damage, and that he doesn't know that.
"I don't know how to ask, are you planning to kill your partner in a freak play accident..." -Merit
Cai-Wen gives even odds that he already knows, and Xian agrees - he's already blowing through all his money and possibly doesn't expect to survive. Takanata catches Hayato on the way out. Hayato says he needs to go burn his reputation on getting everyone to show up tomorrow, so it would be good to know where to send them. Takanata says he'll try to figure that out soon. But, before that - has he discussed with Verity-san where the excess energy is going to go? Hayato says that they have plans for that. It'll be appropriately taken care of... it seems necessary. He seems sad. Takanata sadly agrees: "A worthy sacrifice."
The party agrees, that it sounds like he thinks that it's going to ground into him, and he does understand. Anto guesses he's sacrificing all his talent.
Min-Feng catches up to Verity and Hayato as they're leaving, and asks if it's possible that the person who introduced them is the "magpie" villain? Both of them seem quite sure that the answer is no (Verity seems particularly sure).

The Magpie's plan probably involves making them move the statue, and snatch it on the way. Perhaps some sort of misdirection with multiple carts and fake statues will be in order. Merit floats the idea of swiping the statue for themselves, but he doesn't have an obvious place he wants to redirect it.
"You'd just put it in one of your caves, and then the Hon'eth Arcade would have the Best Caves Ever." -Xian
Though... that would actually be channeling it into Merit's "supply caches", which could be kind of nice. At least, Merit thinks so.
Takanata thinks he might be able to arrange for a theater, but worries that that just means the Magpie will burn it down at noon before the performance, and he doesn't want to destroy some random person's theater for nothing. Min-Feng suggests advertising for performing in a square outside the theater, and then moving inside because of rain. That might be complicated, logistically, but the idea of performing in the square is a good one that makes the distance to travel a lot shorter.
Takanata casts the I Ching on what he knows of the plan:
1. The Tael circulating in the Hon'eth Arcade is generating Chi flows.
2. The play will be a giant ritual to refocus these flows.
3. The playwrights plan to focus that power into the arts of the Hon'eth Arcade.
4. The people currently benefiting from the power of the Chi flows don't know it is going to be redirected.
5. The "magpie" knows the Chi flow's power is going to be redirected and plans to redirect it to his own advantage.
6. We would be less pleased if the magpie succeeds than if the playwrights succeed.
He draws a squiggly dashed line over "don't know" in item 4.
The playwrights' plan seems like the most benevolent use of the chi flow of the choices available. The party wonders whether there might be a way to do a fake ritual, let the Magpie expose himself, and get him? It's hard to do a "fake" ritual, and Merit speculates that the sorcerer will be in the audience so he'll probably know if it's real or not. Well, how good does the theater have to be? How about setting up an art gallery in a tent? It has to be a "real" theater, not a bluff theater, Takanata is pretty sure.
"What if we set it off while we're carrying it?" -Zhi-Hao "Then... carts in the Hon'eth Arcade will get really good." -Takanata
The party canvasses the theater district, looking for a square where a tent could be put (they find one), and a struggling theater that might be convinced to take the money (they also find one). However, the group's ability to protect against ninjas has diminished, so they decide protecting a theater might be too tough.
"I have one yin left. Nobody put on any disguises!" -Xian
Final Performance

Takanata uses his reputation to convince the city to let the Troupe use a public square for the night's performance, and Merit blows his "buddy" shtick getting someone to vet the guards that Verity and Hayato hire. Cai-Wen blows his moll shtick picking up a chariot racer to drive the chariot across the square from the back of the tent to the theater. The circus carpenters come up with something that, when you put it under a blanket, looks similar to the statue under a blanket.
"The blanket is key to this plan." -Mike
Merit makes sure that anything identifying the circus is removed from the tent to be used for the theater, and declares that he's not coming inside, just in case everything goes badly. Three carts are put at the back of the tent - two with the fake statues, one ready for the real statue, which is in a box on a little platform with wheels. Xian hides in the box, the better to notice if anyone messes with it.
As the audience starts to trickle in, Min-Feng wanders around eavesdropping. She overhears a conversation between two gentlemen in the audience:
"I'm not sure, but I think they are going to try to interfere with the alchemist's deal." "Yes, but more interesting is that the Silken Wings people are assisting. I read Ando's report, but he didn't indicate that they were this deep into things..." "How could they be? Still, I suppose we could have them summoned to the Hidden City. It's the only way to be sure." "Indeed, the only way to be sure."

Act One begins. Verity thanks the audience for their generous donation of their time, energy, and attention. Hayato gives a little speech invoking the Tao: out of the darkness of the mind (the house lights are turned down), from whence all stories are born, let there be light (the footlights are brightened). At the invocation, people in the theater (which includes all of the party except Merit and Min-Feng, now hiding under a cart) spend all their chi. Verity and Hayato head to opposite corners of stage front, which is a little odd. The play begins!

Act Two begins; this is about when the invisible Magpie sorcerer shows up, but, unfortunately, Xian is hiding in the box backstage, and does not have the opportunity to notice. This causes some problems with the party's theory of "take out the bad guy before he does his plan". Oops.

At the end of the act, the twelve actors each start to put their charged tokens into the statue, as Verity comes to the front and gives her closing speech: "...As each of the houses has found peace and harmony, we take the lesson that it is our art that drives us. Mote it be so." Then, Hayato makes his closing speech, ending with "Let this be the one true grand act that lasts throughout the ages" as the last actor adds his token. (The Magpie token is last, as it turns out.)
At that moment, two things happen:
The play changes from 7 9's worth of good, to the absolutely worst play ever, as Hayato soaks the Yin of the ritual directly into his reputation.
The invisible sorcerer becomes visible, grabs the Magpie token and starts to run (or, float without moving his feet) up the aisle.

The Magpie Strikes

The Magpie sorcerer is the arch-typical creepy sorcerer - long fingernails, white face, and a high-pitched cackle. Combat commences. Verity summons a forge (anvil and fireplace) in the middle of the aisle, blocking him, and Anto grabs him with his kusarigama.
"We were at the worst play ever, and some guy tried to grab a memento, and the guards killed him..." -Merit, speculating
Xian emerges from the statue-box, and shoots the invisible magpie (the familiar) hiding in the rafters; it flees. Min Feng notes the guys she overheard are leaving. Merit starts driving one of the carts around the tent towards the front, in case the sorcerer makes it out the front.

As it turns out, the sorcerer is rather outmatched in combat by the party plus all the hired guards; he leaps up into the air, pausing, and after being shot by several guards, vanishes and drops the Magpie rod and another small object. Xian, refreshing his yin, spots an invisible sorcerer shape-shifted into a magpie, flying for the hole in the tent that the other magpie fled through.

Xian pulls out a coin from the statue, and waves it, calling out to the sorcerer: "There's still a chance to salvage a little bit of power! They can't see you, come here!" With a resolve roll, he catches himself before throwing the coin to the magpie. The magpie ventures a little closer, and Xian is again tempted to throw the coin to him.

Zhi-Hao grabs the rod, and heads for the front; Verity, closer to the stage, takes the handoff, and gets it to Min-Feng, telling her to put it back and give a speech. Then, she notes that Xian has the coin, and shouts in a panic for him to put it back too.
Min-Feng, with an acting roll and a flourish, declares "And thus the rod is returned!" and feels as if she's done something right.
Xian throws him a coin, doing sleight of hand to switch a zhu for the token from the statue (and making a resolve roll to not throw the real coin). The magpie catches the zhu, which gives people a hex to shoot for. Zhi-Hao manages to hit him with a shuriken (rolling for 11s, for invisible and small); a moment later, a magpie (not a shape-shifted sorcerer) falls to the floor dead, also bearing the marks of Xian's earlier arrow.

Takanata takes the real coin from Xian, and replaces it in the statue, and soliloquizes "Thus the price of good fortune is repaid" with artistic/poetry/magic ritual skill. He also feels as if he's done something right.

Sorcerer defeated, the statue is put in the cart, and taken to the theater. Hayako's status is something like -8, and everyone thinks he's a loser. Only Merit and Min-Feng remember the play as having been any good at all. Ringmaster Te checks to make sure that the Silken Wings name wasn't on anything associated with this fiasco.
"Does anyone try to steal the magic artifact before invoking it in the theater?" -Mike "I'm way on the other side of the tent." -Drew
Zhi-Hao manages to recover the small item dropped by the sorcerer from the guard who found it - it appears to be a monocle; after some investigation, Shen-Ji identifies its function: when a drop of blood from an animal is placed in the handle, the holder can look through the lens and see through the animal's eye.

Verity warns Zhi-Hao that he should be careful - "it'll take Ezokin months to get over the loss of his familiar, but when he does, he'll come for you." She didn't know who it was until she saw him, but Ezokin is a somewhat legendary Magpie sorcerer who haunts the eastern half of the Empire, who is a collector of various sorts of magical power.
Ringmaster Te declares that, having been paid handsomely, the circus should be ready to move out shortly.
Puttering

Cai-Wen (presumably with Wei Han) takes a quick trip up to the Harbor of Fortunate Arrival to speak with Malkoha.
Takanata has a visit from Dutiful Hsung. After some consultation with his greatniece and -nephew, he speaks to Madame Cho and formally withdraws Hana (in theory still in the Butterfly Kingdom) from the House of the White Lotus. Wei Han teaches Zhi-Hao about wearing armor.
Master Zhou takes Shuyan out for some kung fu lessons.
Cai-Wen, Zhi-Hao, Min Feng, Wei Han, Merit (and maybe others) plot to defeat the blockade resuppliers through gambling. They do make a nice profit, and Wei Han goes out drinking with their target the next evening. Summary
Yanyu and Xiao Fa take a quick trip south to the Illuminated Precincts. Xiao Fa checks in on Ringmaster Te and Akimoto again, and looks for people not up to full health after the fight with the ninja.
Takanata discusses Namura Hayato with Yanyu, and Yanyu goes to visit him. Li Merit has made arrangements for people to send letters back to the Butterfly Kingdom, if anyone wants to do so. (Takanata does so, as does Master Zhou.). Takanata and Min-Feng go looking for the two guys who "read Ando's report", and find one of them (named Tadeo).
Master Zhou visits the Brilliant Dawn temple (Ascending Path).
Takanata briefs the local nobles on the Official Cover.

Retrieved from "http://boojum.scripts.mit.edu/Dragon/index.php? title=The_Price_of_Good_Fortune"
Category: Book One Logs
This page was last modified on 16 July 2010, at 14:26.
Dream Eater

From Dragon

It is the Day of the Early Monkey in the month of the Monkey, in the third Year of the Fox since the crowning of Ti Lao.

"The man without dreams has no past and no future, only an endless moment of the
present."

The run begins in the Port of Auspicious Voyage in the Hon'eth Arcade, and finishes on the road to the City of Light in the Illuminated Precincts.
Previous run Next Run
Contents

1 On the Road Again
2 Monster Hunters
3 Xiaolu
4 The Creature Found
5 To Sleep, Perchance to Dream
6 Losses
6.1 Wants
6.2 Fears
7 Wrapup
8 Puttering

On the Road Again

There is little left to do in the Port of Auspicious Voyage before the circus sets out again, south towards the City of Light (main port of the Illuminated Precincts). Xiao Fa frets over not having found anything properly aesthetic to rearrange with his new training in feng shui, and considers purchasing some potted plants. Shuyan frets over the fact that Master Zhou (who is training her in kung fu) has not yet assigned her any homework. Perhaps she is not worthy, she thinks.

Ringmaster Te posts Hiro on the lead elephant, and the circus gets under way. The journey up the spur to the main north/south highway is fairly uneventful, and the first several days of travel are fairly quiet. The only opposing traffic of note is one small caravan of fancy carriages; Hana is dispatched to offer them tea while the circus passes. Hana is a gracious conversationalist and tea server; Shuyan is an exemplary acrobat, and Yoshi demonstrates his Danger Cheffery. The travelling performance is perhaps not one of the circus' finest, but it serves to entertain the nobles and the circus caravan continues along.

Monster Hunters

On the third day of travel, the circus caravan starts to pass two young boys, who have partially climbed up onto the highway, and appear to be looking for soldiers. Having failed to find any so far, they ask after the circus strong man (yes, it has one), and whether he could help them. Yoshi explains that he is a Danger Chef, which is just as good at helping as a strong man. The boys are pulled up onto the highway, and the group tries to find out the problem. It is a bit difficult to determine exactly what it is, but after some interrogation, the story seems to be that the people in their village (a tiny rice-farming community named Xiaolu) have been replaced by walking, talking statues who look just like the original people. It is not yet clear what distinguishes a talking statue from an actual person - the boys admit that they do eat and so on, but both boys are adamant that they're Not Right in some fashion. Yoshi and Hiro admit to being Monster Hunters, and entirely capable of taking care of evil walking statues.

Xiao Fa repacks one of the circus carts into other carts, and requisitions it for the Monster Hunting Expedition. The two boys want to borrow the strong man, but Ringmaster Te doesn't want any of the top acts going off on a diversion. The little group can catch back up to the circus again, hopefully before they hit the City of Light, and they'll bring the Hunter's Map (and the other minor magic items) so they can catch back up to Cai Wen if the circus ends up going in another direction.

As the cart exits the highway and heads to the west, Hiro questions the boys (named Cheng and Hai-Sung). The turning-to-statues got really bad a couple of days ago, which is when they decided to come and get help. It happens in the morning, when you first wake up. It had kind of started maybe two days before that, that some people got like statues, but when their parents turned to statues, that freaked them out too much. Were the boys both at home when it happened? No, Cheng was staying with Hai-Sung's family, because a tree fell on their house and it needed fixing. How exactly are they different now that they're statues, Hana enquires? What did they do in the morning? Hai-Sung says his mother gave him breakfast. That doesn't seem all that bad, but on further questioning, he says normally she wouldn't just say "here's your breakfast," she'd say good morning, and give him breakfast, and tell him to sit down and be good, and to not cause trouble, and... Ah, notes Hana, so she's more quiet than usual? Yes, Hai-Sung agrees. And wrong.

Has anyone new visited Xiaolu recently? The boys recall that the rope salesman came by, but they'd seen him before. Does that count as new? Maybe not. Xiao Fa checks out their general health - they're peasant children, kind of tired and hungry and a little malnourished, but not in bad shape. Peasant kids don't have a lot of chi, but theirs is maybe even a little less than he might expect.

The boys ask if the party can bring some elephants with them, to go faster. Alas, no, that is not to be. Elephants prove an exciting subject of conversation in general - whether they can be eaten, how old they are, and then an interesting story by Xiao Fa about how Master Zhou created the elephants. The boys find this very exciting and terrifying, especially when it is suggested that Master Zhou turns people into elephants, rather than creating them from scratch.

Master Zhou demands to know from the boys what landmarks are near their village. Well... there is a tree. And some hills. And some rice fields, though they are not appreciably different than the rice fields being passed through now. Master Zhou glowers, the boys whimper that they can recognize their neighborhood even if they can't describe it.
"I'm sure as long as you're good he won't turn you into elephants." -Hana
Xiaolu

After most of the day's travel, the cart reaches the area near Xiaolu, and is parked under a tree just over a hill and out of sight of the village. Hiro and Xiao Fa creep forwards stealthily. There are people working in the rice paddies; some are hoeing or pulling out waterweed, and some are scaring fish into nets. It seems rather peaceful, and there is no immediate evidence that the farmers are actually talking statues. No one appears to notice the pair.

When the two decide to stop being sneaky and start towards some of the farmers, still no one appears to notice. No attention is paid to them at all, until Hiro says hello, and the farmer says hello and goes back to his fish-catching. Hiro asks about the village, and who is in charge - there is apparently no mayor, but the clan chief is several towns over. The man seems willing to answer questions, fairly tersely and without interest. Hiro asks how much a bag of fish is - one zhu - and buys the bag of fish. The farmer goes back to his fish-catching. Well, that seems somewhat anti-social, but not Monsteresque. On the other hand, a Sense Motive roll reveals absolutely no motive. Xiao Fa looks at the man's chi, and notes with some horror that it's not moving at all. Hiro says that the bag is too heavy for him - can he call a kid to carry it for him? The farmer shouts over another kid (named Tochi) who was working in the field, and tells him to carry the bag. He does so without comment. The affectless kid creeps out Hiro and Xiao Fa even more than the affectless adult, and they decide to retreat from the field with their bag of fish and kid.
Cheng and Hai-Sung are also somewhat spooked by Tochi (they agree that that's who he is), and there is some worry that whatever is affecting everyone might be contagious.
On the other hand, Hiro notes that if anyone wants to search anything in the town (is the fallen tree suspicious? the rope? Nobody is sure yet what to blame), probably anyone can look at anything and not get stopped. People investigate the fallen tree - it has been removed from on top of the house, and its limbs lopped off. The house is in the middle of repairs. They also look at the bedroll that Cheng and Hai-Sung were sleeping on - it's small, but not mystically protected in any way anyone can see.

Yoshi tries to pin down the timing between the fallen tree and when things started getting weird. The kids say that maybe when Mrs. Tsu didn't yell at them, that was the first thing. They didn't realize it was statues then, they just thought she wasn't yelling. And that was before the tree fell.

Master Zhou sneaks up behind Tochi, and then brings his staff crashing down on a nearby rock. Tochi looks, but doesn't jump or look worried. The other two boys, though, are sure that Master Zhou just tried to turn Tochi into an elephant and it didn't work! Shuyan assures them that Master Zhou has lots more powers than elephant-turning at hand. Xiao Fa examines Tochi for his overall health - he also has about the health you'd expect for a peasant kid. He doesn't wiggle at all during the examination, which Xiao Fa finds particularly wrong.
Yoshi tells some happy stories to try to cheer Tochi up, to no particular effect, though Cheng and Hai-Sung are somewhat cheered.
Xiao Fa does a walkabout around the area as evening starts to fall, and notes that the chi of the village as a whole is somewhat subdued and calm - and that the people aren't really affecting the chi at all - but that over in one rice field there's something that looks sort of like a self-contained chi fountain. It's not connected to the chi of the village, but supplied from somewhere else.

The Creature Found

It's getting dark enough that the villagers are coming in for supper. Cheng's mother tells him that it's dinner time, and goes into the house without seeing whether he follows. The party still doesn't really know how the chi-stilling is happening, so tell the kids to go back and guard the cart and eat there, while they go to investigate the weird area of the rice field.

After much searching, something the size of a large badger hole is located. Shuyan sends in one of her snakes, using the magic monocle to see through its eyes. Unfortunately, once it gets down the entrance to a larger opening, it sees a strange creature with an elephant's trunk and strong sharp claws - the creature grabs the snake with its trunk, and rends it to bits with its claws. Shuyan screams.

The description sounds a little familiar to those versed in the spirit realm (or ancient stories). A benign spirit called a baku (with the trunk of an elephant and paws of a tiger) is said to eat nightmares, leaving only good dreams for the sleeper, and is said to be good luck. This seems more like an evil version of such a thing (a yumekui?), perhaps a demon from the World Below instead of a spirit from the World Above.

Yoshi asks the two boys if they got any sleep while Cheng was staying with Hai-Sung. No, not really. They kept whispering to each other all night. Ah, so perhaps the yumekui hasn't gotten them because they haven't been dreaming. Hiro racks his brains for what he remembers about demons - there are the kind that have come all the way through, and are running around in the world. Them, you defeat and they go back to where they were. Others are in both places - the World Below and the world - but tend to stay in approximately one place, and have to be fought somehow in both worlds. The first fight is likely to be much more difficult than the second, after they are cut off. So - is this the sort of thing that is immobile and in both places, or is creeping around in the middle of the night eating dreams physically? Checking for tracks at the badger-tunnel doesn't show signs of anything having crawled in and out recently.

Shuyan thinks about the old stories about dream-foes. Most often, the hero will fight the opponent in his dream, and after that find that he is much less scary in the real world. Master Zhou thinks that most dream battles are solo, though it is sometimes possible to share a dream - husband and wife, or siblings, or another close tie, might allow that to happen.
This suggests that the best plan of attack is to fight the yumekui in dreams first, though it is not clear how the party will gather to do so. There is an attempt made to get the villagers to leave the village - Yoshi tells them there are rampaging... he grinds to a halt, unable to come up with any sort of lie, and Shuyan fills in "elephant demons"... rampaging elephant demons that they need to get out of the way from. Some of them go back to their houses and put furniture in front of the door; others are willing to follow Yoshi and the alsopersuasive Hana to a nearby hill that Xiao Fa thinks is out of the yumekui's range.

As part of forming close ties, Master Zhou offers to train anyone who wishes to be trained. Yoshi is not sure that he wants to become a student for that reason in particular, but is willing to be taught kung fu. Master Zhou trains him for an hour, and notes that he may be able to fight the demon in the dreamworld by force of personality rather than intellect (as is most common in dreams).

The magic items are divided up, in case they prove helpful in the dream. Yoshi insists that he won't be able to remember that he has the map once he's asleep, so Xiao Fa tells him a bedtime story involving an exciting adventure with a magic map.

To Sleep, Perchance to Dream
The party camps as close to the badger-tunnel as possible on dry land, and tries to fall asleep. Those with meditation do a bit better at it.
Xiao Fa dreams of his brother, shouting at him in pain and anguish, in a language he doesn't understand. Eventually, he shakes his fist at the sky, turns, and runs off. Xiao Fa follows...
Yoshi dreams of tracking down Reiko, following a trail of massacres. The bodies are getting fresher, and he eventually finds some who are not yet dead. Unable to heal them, he follows after the trail...
Shuyan dreams of the snake killed by the yumekui. She apologizes; the snake says it's sad to go, but was glad it was helpful. Would Shuyan like to come see it off to the World Above? She would like that, and follows after the snake... Hana dreams of being with Hiro in the kidnappers' carriage. Hiro shouts that he has to save Hana, that she'll get killed or something, and they have to flee. Hiro kicks open the carriage door, and holds his hand back to Hana. Is she coming? She follows after him.
Hiro dreams of being with Hana in the kidnappers' carriage. Hana says that they have to get out - Hiro needs to protect her. She picks the lock on the door with a hairpin, and tumbles out. Hiro leaps out after her, and follows...
Master Zhou dreams of teaching young students, faces upturned and wide-eyed to receive his wisdom. However, after a little while of demonstration, the students begin to look bored, and whisper to each other of a better teacher elsewhere. They begin to leave, out through the archway in the courtyard. Master Zhou grabs the last student and attempts to demonstrate amazing kung fu. The other students continue to leave, though, and even the one he has grabbed seems to be losing interest. Eventually, he chases after them...

Following the things and people they want, each dreamer reaches the center of the local dreaming, a circular area where everything is flowing inwards. They must build their own paths in. The basic rules are:

* You may follow something you want in the inward direction, placing tiles as you go. Any tile that you move into this way, you may "claim" (but any tile that you leave goes unclaimed).
* If you ever stop going inwards, you lose that thing that you wanted, and it goes in without you.
* You may go in the outward direction, placing tiles as you go, but you must defeat a thing you fear to do so. (A resolve roll; more successes are needed the farther in you are). Any tile that you move into this way, you may claim.
* You may always move onto an adjacent tile that someone else has claimed.
* Whenever a newly placed room is entered, make a Tao roll. If you get successes equal to the number of entrances, the dream-self of one of the villagers is trapped here. They no longer want anything and/or cannot conquer their fear, but they can move into claimed rooms.

* Other non-room tiles that can be drawn include Nightmare (scares everyone away from nearby rooms), Heart's Desire (brings everyone to that room from nearby rooms), and Lightning (picks up and reshuffles unclaimed rooms).

The dreamers start by heading for the center, where the yumekui is, but Yoshi and Shuyan realize that if they don't rescue the villagers from its domain first, fighting the yumekui will probably cause them to be lost. The party settles into a more tactical exploration, sending the higher-Tao people ahead to explore rooms and having others claim rooms behind to leave a path for villagers to escape. Finding all the missing villagers does result in losing a lot of things that they want and fear, though.

' "Maybe we should take turns, to even out the damage?" -Hana
"Nah, none of that stuff was important." -Yoshi, having already lost "Stop Reiko and redeem her" and "Save the Butterfly King!" and the like.
"I'm worried you'll end up like those people out in the village." -Hana
"I am afraid of that." -Yoshi, pointing to where it is on the list he's been making of things to fear
Losses
By the time the party reaches the center, they have sacrificed a great number of the things they want and fear:
Wants
Hana
Find out about the demon

Warn my
parents about the ritualists

Find out what I'm supposed to learn to do that the I
Ching said I could

To be the
perfect lady Kill the guy who
kidnapped us that I vowed revenge on
Learn more mimic-magic
My real name Save the Butterfly King!
Find the villagers For Yanyu to apologize

The date and place of my birth
The family recipe for Tempura Codfish
Master Zhou To defeat the demon
Learn more snake abilities Respect
Rule Dad's fiefdom with Hana
The memory of my time on Iron
Mountain
To restore my father to grace Revenge for the dead
snake

"I want to not be in a dance number"
Master
Zhou/Tom, as Hiro and
Hana start to sing R-E-S-PE-C-T

Hiro to be friends with Xiao Fa
Hiro
Save Hana
Shuyan
Mom to come back
Xiao Fa
The monster to stop eating the villagers' chi
Yoshi
To stop Reiko and get her
back
My aspect To teach the monster to have its own
A decent meal Be a star performer dreams and desires

Not to have to be
separated
from Hiro
when I grow up.
Kick the
monster's ass Cook the
perfect meal To discover Hana's
purpose
Save Shuyan Be able to
defend myself
Get to know everyone
better

The elephants to not be
afraid of my snakes
To be a great Feng Shui
artist

To learn
enough kung fu to make Master Zhou proud

To return to the Harbor of Fortunate
Arrival and help the
orphans
To dance on the high wire
Snakes (lost during the
combat)

Fears
Hana
The success of the people who tried to perform the ritual at the Southern
Wall
Hiro
Hana getting hurt
Shuyan
Everyone being taken away from me
Xiao Fa
That I
abandoned my brother
Yoshi Master Zhou
Having to kill Incompetence Reiko
Getting
shown up in archery by
Lijuan

My parents to find out that I've been
dressing up as Hana
My snakes The reason I turning on me got severed Getting
Lijuan killed Helplessness
My aspect Being wrong
about being able to protect people
without
killing

"I fear being too far behind on the
damage
curve..."
Master
Zhou/Tom

Once the villagers are all saved, the party reaches the center again, and battles the yumekui. In the dreamworld, the creature is enormously bloated, but its claws are still sharp. Hiro discovers that his sword is no use, but others attempt to use their mind or will to damage it. It claws at them, draining stats and knocking them out of the room so that they must want new things to come back in.

Yoshi's persuasion that it should give up eating others' dreams is powerful, though not quite sufficient. Shuyan distracts it by flinging a snake at it, but then no longer wants her snakes. Xiao Fa manages to drain out some of the chi that it had collected, and Shuyan heals the chi as it flows back to the original source. Hana sings it a lullaby, and then (after being knocked out of the room) dresses as Hiro and the two of them puzzle it to determine which is which. Master Zhou tries to convince it to retreat to the real world, where it will stand a better chance in the fight, and Hiro finally hits it with persuasive logic and law that its behavior is beyond the rules.

"Wait, how come I have dodge and you don't? That doesn't make any sense." -Hana to Hiro
"That is because he is Yang, and you are Yin." -Master Zhou
Finally defeated, it withdraws, and the group of monster hunters awakens in the morning.
(As it turns out, people do end up with the magic items in the spirit world, but no one ever attempts to use one. Other items, such as swords and snakes, are made to vanish in the spirit world but are still there when the dreamers awake.)

Wrapup

Unfortunately, now that they are awake (and still missing many of the things they want), not everyone finds it necessary to defeat the demon in the real world. Hana manages to persuade Master Zhou and Hiro, and the others are still willing to fight it (and Yoshi no longer wants to persuade it instead). They get the villagers to dig up the spot in the rice field where the yumekui has nested, and, without its dream-self to back it up, it is easily bested, and vanishes back to the World Below in defeat.

At that, the hopes and fears that the creature has consumed start to flood back, and people must do their best to catch their own wishes. This is not a complete success, but everyone does manage to get some portion of what they lost back (except for Master Zhou, who chooses to not take back wanting Yanyu to apologize). The villagers, similarly, are subdued but no longer creepily affectless, and are most grateful to the monster hunters for rescuing them.
The party is feasted, with rice, fish, rice with fish sauce, fish with rice sauce, rice wine, fish beer, and the like.
Puttering

The circus has crossed from the Hon'eth Arcade into the Illuminated Precincts, but has not yet reached the City of Light.
Xiao Fa tries to figure out how to heal the damage caused by the yumekui. Xiao Fa chats with Hana.
Hana chats with Shuyan.
Cai-Wen tries to organize a group (Anto, Shen-Ji, Kasumi, Wei Han, Takanata, possibly others) to do some information gathering and/or sorceror-meeting at a party.
A group (Cai-Wen, Merit, Wei Han, Shen-Ji) goes shopping to investigate small magic items for sale.
Cai-Wen suggests that some of the yumekui-eaten people (Shuyan, Yoshi) might be interested in visiting Madam Song?
Cai-Wen goes out gambling (accompanied by Wei Han).
Master Zhou beats up Xiao Fa to within several inches of his life.
Retrieved from "http://boojum.scripts.mit.edu/Dragon/index.php?title=Dream_Eater" Category: Book One Logs
This page was last modified on 2 November 2010, at 22:20.
Ship of Gold

From Dragon

"In a country well governed, poverty is something to be ashamed of. In a country badly governed, wealth is something to be ashamed of."

It is the Day of the Early
Magpie in the month of the Monkey, in the two hundred and fifty-ninth Year of the Fox since the opening of the
Exalted Library.

The run takes place in the City of Light in the Illuminated Precincts.
Previous run Next run
Contents

1 Akimoto's Return, Deferred
2 Docks Gossip
3 Ando's Return
4 The Butterfly Prince
5 Thieves Strike
6 Forgeries and Real Treasures
7 Magical Tracking
8 Questioning Whisper
9 Tribute Decision
10 Puttering
10.1 Fog Ship Trip

Akimoto's Return, Deferred

The Silken Wings Circus prepares for its entry into the City of Light. Lijuan volunteers to ride the elephant for the entry procession, and Zhi-Hao teaches Wei Han a sword trick, in gratitude for Wei Han's loan to purchase armor. Wei Han and Kasumi show off their trick (Wei Han throws Kasumi into the air and she acrobatically lands on things) and do well enough to make a few zhu in tips.

The area the circus has reserved is a roped-off square in the city proper - it's large for a square, but small compared to what the circus usually uses. The City of Light is full of canals and bridges, so there isn't a vast amount of open green space anywhere.

Akimoto the Astonishing checks in with Li Merit - he's totally ready to return to performing, and asks Merit to clear it with Ringmaster Te. His clever plan is foiled, however, when he is reminded that Merit also has medical skill, and insists on examining him first. Merit only gets one success, though, and isn't really sure Akimoto is ready to go back as a headliner when he hasn't practiced for months. Merit decrees that he has to practice until the Ringmaster okays his act for an actual performance. Akimoto complains that he is being ganged up on, but agrees to provide artistic advice to Wei Han and Kasumi's act as a means of participating early.
Takanata passes around his poem of the morning, which, as always, Merit thinks is insufficiently helpful.
The river runs clean and silver The golden ship drifts like a leaf
The reflection of the ship shines as brightly But cannot be touched
Akimoto checks in with Wei Han and Kasumi. Kasumi explains the act: "He throws me up there, and then I dangle precariously..." and demonstrates, getting three 7s. Akimoto thinks that she can do better, and coaches, reminding her to say "Ta-Daa!" after each move. He has her try with just one hand (three 9s), and then just one foot (two 11s). This is better than he expected, and he declares that maybe he can work with her. He gets Wei Han to throw him up to the wire as well, and demonstrates a four-thirteens move, balancing on only one hand. Kasumi tries, but falls, to be caught by Wei Han.

"Say it! Say it!" -Akimoto [long pause]
"Ta-Daa?" -Kasumi

"I am a monkey ninja. I don't see what's so hard to understand." -Kasumi "It's not hard to understand, it's just wrong." -Takanata
"That means we know what she's up to... until we don't." -Merit "Until we hear the Ta-Daa at the end!" -Lijuan

Docks Gossip

As the circus sets up, Lijuan notices there aren't many little kids running around, the way there normally are when the circus comes to town. She finds this somewhat disturbing, and checks with Takanata, who thinks that "no kids" is not actually a normal feature of the City of Light. However, due to the lack of distractions, the circus gets set up much faster than usual.

Ringmaster Te warns the party that they should do their best tonight - there are a number of important guests expected, beyond what the circus usually gets. There should be representatives from the Savanna, and also people from a boat which is expected in. The mayor let him know this, but he missed some of the details.

Min Feng recalls that she overheard a conversation at a party (from puttering) that mentioned the sending of a tribute ship from the Butterfly Kingdom, and suspects that that is the golden ship from Takanata's poem. That still doesn't explain what to do about it, or what the reflection is, but it's a start.

Merit, Zhi-Hao, Lijuan, and Ho go to wander around, particularly down by the docks, to pick up information. Kasumi sneaks after them (with 5 stealth), and Min Feng disguises herself as Kasumi and sneaks after as well (with 3 stealth). Kasumi is pleased - now any time someone sees Kasumi blow a stealth roll, they'll assume it's Min Feng!

There are large crowds at the dock, waiting for the tribute ship to arrive - sure enough, this is where all the kids are. There is a lot of talk of kraken attacks - there are several badly damaged ships over to the side, with snapped masts. One is a Savanna military ship, the others are Precinct trade ships. There is also much hope that once the tribute is paid, the blockade will finish, since, like the Arcade, the Precincts do a reasonable amount of trade with the Butterfly Kingdom. Lijuan briefs the local kids about the Butterfly King not being dead, and also about the party's own kraken attack. Wei Han notes that there's a local garrison of the Dragon Army, but no major military presence.

Merit and Min Feng ask around about the blockade - two of the piers have been set aside for Savanna ships, and the three-master is where the people running the blockade are located. The locals seem to be doing their best to swallow the Savanna claim that this isn't an invasion of the Precincts, because they don't want trouble. They don't pick up too much more about the "ship that cannot be stopped" - it carries its own fog bank with it, so people assume it is from the Shrouded Isle - but it can vanish into the fog and pass through the blockade without problems. And, the tribute ship is late; it was expected in this morning. Merit and others are very suspicious - it doesn't sound in character for Ti Wren to send tribute. But she is kind of random.

Ando's Return

Takanata has remained back in his tent at the circus, and hears a polite clap at his door - it is Inspector Ando. They have another of those conversations in which Ando thinks he is fencing and Takanata thinks they are talking.
"Ando! This is quite a surprise. Did you get my message?" -Takanata "Many people got your message. May I ask why you addressed it to me?" -Ando
"It seems that we have become linked in the minds of many. This shall either be a great boon or a great disaster to my career, and we shall see which, but for the moment, I have been promoted." -Ando

"Why, exactly, are you here?" -Ando
"I believe the circus has an engagement in the City of Light." -Takanata "Yes, of course, obviously... so you have nothing to do with the missing tribute ship?"
"Is there a missing tribute ship? When did it go missing?"
"About the same time you arrived."

Takanata offers his congratulations on Ando's promotion. Ando is an inspector-withoutportfolio now, and his current assignment is to assist the Imperial Chief Inspector, who is assigned to verify the contents of the tribute ship before they are transferred from the Butterfly Kingdom to the Savanna of Tears. But, he says, eying Takanata, now he understands why he was sent.

Down at the docks, rumors are starting to fly - most of the crowd suspects the tribute ship has been eaten by kraken, or it is just one of those things that happens to boats, that they are late sometimes, but near the Savanna docks, there is grumpier muttering that there was never going to be a tribute ship, that it has all been a trick.
"We have replaced the Mystery of the Missing Children with the Mystery of the Missing Ship."
Lijuan is rather concerned about the idea that there are more kraken now than there used to be - they didn't used to plague the shipping lanes so badly, certainly - but nobody can give her more details about the reasons. Merit notes the uniforms of the Savanna sailors - there are several clans, each with their own colors, but they're fairly distinguishable from the Precinct locals.

The dock-exploring party heads back to the circus for the evening, for the opening show. Ringmaster Te has started to set up two private boxes - one for the Butterfly dignitaries and one for the Savanna dignitaries. There is some question as to whether or not the Butterfly box is actually needed, but Wei Han advises that they both be set up - it would not do to look like they knew that the Butterfly ship was not coming. Akimoto checks to see if Kasumi is ready to open her acrobatic act rolling for 11s. She's game.

Merit wonders whether the party can do anything from here about the blockade. They're definitely having trouble with supplies, as the rumors in the Port of Auspicious Voyage had indicated. Perhaps if the locals could be riled up more - if the Savanna soldiers could be encouraged to cause more trouble. Or perhaps they could arrange to forge some bills of lading, and get the Savanna ships loaded up with the wrong supplies. Zhi-Hao suggests that the Savanna box be given extra beer - perhaps if they get drunk and rowdy, they will cause trouble not for the circus, but for the locals on their way back to their ships.

Takanata points out Ando, in the audience. Merit grumbles that it is unacceptable for the Imperial bureaucracy to be giving their stamp of approval to this transaction. Takanata notes that Ando thinks the circus stole the tribute ship. That is one straw too many for Merit, who cracks.
"Yes. Our elephants swam out to sea. And they seem like kraken, with their snouts...!"
The Savanna's boxed section is very full of clansmen. Ando sits in the box for "guests of the Ringmaster", and Takanata sits by himself in the box reserved for the Butterfly dignitaries. He finds that it is difficult to get any tea, since all the servers are making extra trips to deliver extra high-proof beer to the Savanna box.

Lijuan does her trick-shooting act, against kraken targets, and Kasumi manages to get a single 11 on her acrobatics performance. There is someone in the audience who particularly appreciates it and claps loudly, but for the most part the audience is only mildly impressed. Min Su and her Monkeys of Distraction close out the show - a messenger arrives in the confusion, but is not noticed by anyone but Merit, who, undeterred by monkeys, manages to intercept the messenger and get the information: that the tribute ship has arrived.

The party starts to dash for the docks, on the theory that if something is going to happen, it will be happening now, and that they can get there faster than the now-drunk Savanna clansmen. Merit waves Ando over, to let him know that the ship has arrived and invite them to join the group to see what is happening. Ando is more convinced than ever that the party is in on whatever the plot is, and comes along.

The Butterfly Prince

Once at the docks, the Fair Seas is obvious - one of the largest Butterfly vessels, but its midmast is broken, probably snapped off by a kraken. People with particular heraldic (or Butterfly Court) skill note that above the Butterfly Kingdom flag is flying Ti Jun's personal standard. Takanata and Zhi-Hao can easily get permission for themselves and their party to come aboard; Ando is introduced as an Imperial Customs agent.

Everyone is shown into a cabin where Ti Jun is seated. Ando is presented to the prince, who is most impressed at the efficiency of the Imperial machinery, given that the ship has only just arrived.
"We do try to stay on top of things, your Highness." -Ando
Ti Jun asks if Ando would like to inspect the "merchandise". Ando demurs: he is not the Chief Inspector, he is just providing logistical support for the Chief Inspector. He will be happy to tell the Chief Inspector that everything is ready for the inspection... Takanata suggests that they meet again in the morning. Ti Jun agrees: they will meet tomorrow at the hour before noon, and commence with this charade. Ando bows himself out.

Ti Jun seems very cross with the whole matter, and, hoping for good news, asks if the party is on their way back from their mission. No, they are still on their way there. There was this Kraken, you see...
"We shall both proceed with our ill-conceived missions and pray that they will turn out well." -Ti Jun
The group asks about Ti Jun's "ill-conceived mission" - that would be paying tribute to the Savanna clansmen "to rectify any wrong that may have caused this misunderstanding." He nearly spits out the last words, and notes that there has been little discussion of what the Savanna's actual grudge is.
"The most insulting thing we've done so far is surrender when they attempted to invade us."
Ti Jun is pretty sure that it was the Savanna's intention to invade, though the blockade is sufficient trouble. Merit notes that he thinks the blockade is fairly fragile, due to supplies, logistics, and kraken. Ti Jun thinks it didn't look so fragile from inside, but the party does think that Ti Wren has been operating with insufficient information.
Ti Jun shows the group the tribute: there is a large pile of tael and li, and three Great Treasures, each in its own locked cabin.
Pearl Lion: A stylized lion, somehow shaped from a single pearl the size of a fist, with no signs of having been carved.
Peacock Crown: An incredibly delicate tiara of silver and platinum, set with diamonds and opal, and inlaid with tiny shards of colored gemstones.
Precious Bonsai : At first glance, this appears to be a small bonsai tree. With a closer look, it is clear that each leaf is jade, strung on hairlike silver wires to mimic a real tree. The trunk is of ebony. (Every year, the sculpture is adjusted ever so slightly, as the "tree" grows.)
"Her Majesty has negotiated an end to the blockade with the transfer of these items. If you can call it negotiation." -Ti Jun
Merit does his best to convince the prince that the blockade is going to fall apart - or perhaps get the Savanna to bankrupt itself - shortly, and he becomes even more unhappy about his mother's plan. If the Savanna agrees to take the tribute in front of the Imperial inspectors, then they will be held to ending the blockade by the Empire, or have to go to war against the Dragon Army. But, Merit points out, the Dragon Army has all headed north, so what will they be able to do? Ti Jun simmers some more.

Ti Jun notes that they seem kind of friendly with Ando - have they gotten anything useful from him? Merit says he's a spy for the Imperials. Ti Jun says yes, he knows that. Merit clarifies: he means a spy spy.

Wei Han checks out the security for the treasures. Each cabin has its own key, but there aren't as many guards as Wei Han would like. Ti Jun says that the crew and guards are securing the ship after the journey, but they'll be on duty after that. Lijuan offers to stay on board and guard; Ti Jun demurs, as he is sure that Master Takanata has things that he must need her to do. She decides to wait and watch on the docks.
Kasumi realizes that all this asking for permission is no good, and she and Min Feng decide to hide on the ship.
"I am the Butterfly Court's ninja! I don't need permission to guard its treasures! And when I ask permission, they say no." -Kasumi
Merit (followed by Wei Han, who has decided that Merit is the nearest thing to Cai Wen to guard) finds an old buddy to talk to about the blockade. The buddy confirms that it's a losing proposition for the Savanna, costing them more than they expected. This is about what the people in the Arcade were saying, but the difference is - if the Arcade was running the blockade, they would stop if it was unprofitable. The Savanna is more honorbound to not quit unless something happens. The tribute will let them go home and claim that honor was satisfied.

Thieves Strike

Min Feng, who has a trick for getting through locked doors, hides under the bed in the room with the pearl lion (though not very well), while Kasumi lurks around in the hallways. Min Feng eventually hears a noise in the room next door, and runs out, shouting that "there's an intruder in the peacock room!" Kasumi and the guards converge on the "peacock room", and do hear someone inside. The captain shows up with the key, and Min Feng and Kasumi try to look unobtrusive. Lijuan starts to hear shouting on board the ship.
"I try to shoot anyone sneaky leaving the ship." -Lijuan "This is a recipe for disaster, but in a fun way." -Drew
Once the door is opened, the people inside the ship see that there are several intruders in the room - one has his hand on the hull, which is glowing. Someone else is passing through the glowing section of the hull out of the room, and a third person has a wall shield and is blocking entrance to the room. Min Feng and Kasumi run for the deck, so they don't see what else happens in the peacock room.

Lijuan hears a splashing in the water, and then sees a second person fall out of the side of the boat into the water. She shoots at the falling body, and then gets hit by a shuriken. Min Feng, on the deck, spots a rowboat a ways away, and several people swimming for it. Kasumi swings down into the rowboat on a rope from the ship (shouting "Ta-Daaa!" at the end). Min Feng hears what sounds like an angry mob belowdecks, shouting to kill them all.
"This is more Pirates of the Caribbean than I expected" -Brian
Lijuan puts an arrow into the back of one of the guys in the boat, taking him down. At the end of the round, though, she decides that that was a job well done, and it is time for a nap (probably because of the poisoned shuriken she was hit with).
Kasumi grabs a pouch away from one of the thieves - it's still tied to his belt, though. Min Feng shoots another thief. Kasumi manages to cut the bag loose with her katana as the big fighter climbs into the rowboat. He frowns at her, and gives her an action - she leaps over the side of the boat. The boat starts moving at very high speed, and is quickly out of sight. Kasumi manages to keep hold of the bag without drowning, and makes it to shore.

Min Feng, still on the ship, disguises herself as a guard. There still seems to be an angry mob somewhere, but nobody can find it. Eventually, the noise stops. As she jumps over the side of the boat to join Kasumi and Lijuan, she hears the captain say "Thank the Butterfly they didn't get any of the treasures," which suggests something odd is going on.
Min Feng carries Lijuan, and the group shows up, dripping wet, at Takanata's tent.
"Someone tried to steal a treasure." "Did they succeed?"
"We don't know."

They show Takanata the recovered crown, while Min Feng goes to wake up Merit (and Wei Han awakens at the fuss). Merit declares "if I'm not sleeping, no one else is either!" and wakes up the rest of the party. He examines Lijuan, notes the little poisoned shuriken stuck in her, and gets her woken up.
"Oh, were we supposed to take that out?" -Kasumi
Merit wants to know why Kasumi has one of the Great Treasures of the Court of Distinction.
"I didn't steal it! I.. stole it from the people stealing it!" -Kasumi
Merit checks out the peacock crown - he thinks it's real, and priceless.
"You could retire with that." -Mike "I've already retired!" -Merit
As is traditional, Kasumi checks the Sphere of Harmony to make sure that it's still there. It's in a crate labeled "Xian's Magic Props", inside a plain but wonderful box, and does not seem to have been bothered. Kasumi notes that the Sphere of Harmony is way better than these other treasures. Merit reiterates his suggestion that Mystic Mondo be asked to open the sphere up to see what is inside. Kasumi protests that it is a Great Treasure, not a mere puzzle box.
The group continues to be concerned with the sending away of more Great Treasures.
"The queen does seem very free with the treasures" -Zhi-Hao "Well, she did marry into the family" -Merit
Forgeries and Real Treasures

The party heads back to the Fair Seas, arguing over who gets to carry the Peacock Crown (Merit wins the argument) and Zhi-Hao pulls rank to see the Prince. He is rather disturbed by the attempted theft, and tosses Zhi-Hao a dull grey coin with an angry face on it - has he ever seen one of these? It apparently sounds like an angry mob of some sort and was used as a distraction to keep the guards busy. But none of the treasures were actually stolen.

Merit takes that as his cue to brandish the Peacock Crown. Kasumi grumbles that that's what she was going to do, if Merit hadn't taken it away from her. Well, that is no good. Everyone heads down to the treasure rooms. Takanata thinks that the Peacock Crown that the Prince has is subtly less impressive, and Merit notes that the diamonds are fake.
"This one misspells 'diamonds' in the description" -Charles
The Precious Bonsai is apparently also a forgery (it's a precious bosnai). The Pearl Lion appears to be real (probably because Min Feng was in the room the whole time). Lijuan has Ho sniff the forgery, but he only manages to track the trail to the hull, where the thieves magically passed through.

Merit briefs the Prince about the new information he's picked up about the blockade overextending the Savanna clans. Merit's own preference is to lure the Savanna into economic disaster, but he doesn't push Ti Jun very hard about it. It becomes clear that Ti Jun has already been advocating the "no tribute for the Savanna" plan, but that he has been vetoed by Ti Wren.

As far as the stolen artifacts go, unless the Savanna can be directly blamed for the theft, saying that the treasures have been stolen will probably not end the blockade. Merit suspects that fabricating them such that they can be seen through with only a handful of successes is not as impressive as it might be. So... it was probably meant to be an insult, that the Butterfly Kingdom deliberately sent forged treasures. Which could turn the blockade into an actual invasion. It seems a little odd that the Savanna would be running short on money but still be able to commission forgeries. On the other hand, forgeries are cheaper than real treasures. Still, it seems more likely that there's a third party trying to continue the war.

Merit and Zhi-Hao think they may recognize the thieves, as a group known as the Keepers of the Hoard, who steal impressive treasures and hide them away, against the day that the Dragon Emperor returns. They all carry a trinket from the hoard, like the coin-of-angrymob-noises. Since the coin was left behind, it's possible they will be returning to collect it.

The group wonders, if the Savanna is looking for a pretext to abandon the blockade, whether they'll accept the fakes. Probably not if it's pointed out to them in front of everyone that they're fakes, though. The prince notes that if the party tries to recover the treasure and fails, he won't be deliberately disobeying the Queen if he doesn't give the treasure to the Savanna. However, the effort should be made. He also notes that he is in gold, in case resources are needed for the operation. Merit asks if they should risk the other mission to accomplish this one. Ti Jun thinks that delaying it slightly is acceptable; but abandoning it is not.

Takanata notes that the ritual of The Knife Returns will let them find Lijuan's attacker, since no one has healed her shuriken wound yet. They do not have a sorcerer who can perform the ritual, but perhaps one can be hired. Perhaps Yuwen Fire-eye, who several people met during a recent party.

There is some discussion amongst the group as to whether or not they should recover the artifacts. Merit thinks that it's better that the tribute mission fail. The Queen didn't have full information when she sent the ship, and the blockade is running the Savanna out of money. And with some persuasion, they can probably get Ti Jun's permission to change the plan. On the other hand, Takanata doesn't think that it's their place to pre-empt the Queen's decision. In the end, the fact that unknown bad guys are trying to stop the tribute ship plan sways people enough that they decide it's still worth trying to get the treasure back before arguing about it again.

As things stand, the Imperial inspectors are going to come and examine everything tomorrrow morning. A delay is likely to be necessary; Ti Jun suggests that it would be better if the delay come from the Imperial end rather than the Butterfly end, and perhaps the party's friend Ando can arrange that? Merit sends Ando a note, saying that "The entire transaction will go much more smoothly if there are some procedural delays".

Magical Tracking

The party borrows a ship's boat, and heads off to Fire-eye's estate. Takanata calls upon his reputation in order to have the servants show them in and awake their mistress at such a ridiculous hour (which Takanata apologizes for). She's heard of the tribute ship, as several of her associates have been making pests of themselves trying to be put on the group which will be evaluating the treasure, so that they can see it. Takanata explains that some few of the treasures have been stolen, and asks if she might assist in tracking down an attacker who was so careless as to leave a weapon. She is also familiar with the Knife Returns ritual, and is happy to perform this service at her usual rates as a favor to Takanata (rather than the "you woke me up in the middle of the night with an emergency" rates).
The ritual involves Zhi-Hao throwing the shuriken at Lijuan at the beginning, and then someone being sliced by the shuriken at the end, and taking a lot of damage.
"I'll take it. That's what I do." -Wei-Han
"That's what I do too, because I haven't figured out how to dodge." -Lijuan
After the enchantment, the shuriken floats in a saucer, with the bloody point pointing, presumably, towards the person who originally threw it. Off the group rows, taking six of the Prince's guardsmen for muscle and to help row. As it turns out, the party's boat and the thieves' boat run into each other in a canal, each tracking towards the other (the thieves appear to be tracking towards the coin, which Zhi-Hao has).
Though the party doesn't find all of the following out, we include for completeness:
Whisper : the particularly stealthy thief, who carries the Coins of Distraction, and is the target of the Knife Returns spell
Wing: the big defensive fighter, who carries the Rabbit's Foot
Scyne: the wood sorcerer, who carries the Wooden Comb
Trivance: the jack of all trades, who carries the Ebony Lockpicks

A battle ensues, complicated by the current in the canal sloshing back and forth and moving the boats around. Wei Han is the first to charge the other boat, and discovers Scyne's trick of making the wood of the boat temporarily intangible long enough for him to fall in the canal. His armor is not helpful at this point, but he manages to clamber back onto shore. Trivance starts trying to switch the boat-goes-very-fast device from one side of the boat to the other.

Merit points his crossbow at Trivance, and orders him to "Leave the propulsion thing alone and just sit tight". Wing takes up a defensive stance, putting his wall shield in between Trivance and Merit. Lijuan tries to shoot Trivance, but hits Wing. Scyne does something mysterious, causing Lijuan's arrows to glow.

Whisper tries to sneak from the thieves' boat to the party's boat, but unfortunately for him, the shuriken reveals his position. Merit points the crossbow at him, and surprises him into revealing himself, whereupon he is grabbed by several of the Prince's guards.

Zhi-Hao and Kasumi leap for the enemy boat ("Ta-Daa!"), and, after several rounds of trading actions, discover the joy of falling into the canal. Zhi-Hao is probably lucky that he hasn't learned how to wear armor yet. Since Wing has been distracted by fighting Zhi-Hao and Kasumi, Merit gets to point his crossbow at Trivance again. Of course, since he's rolling his Mind instead of his Body, he can't actually fire it, but he does make the crossbow look pretty scary.

Trivance nearly gets his "outboard motor" connected, but then Min Feng manages to shoot it and breaks a strap, so the boat is no longer quite ready to take off at high speed. Wei Han leaps back into the boat, and chops Scyne.
"Grab Trivance's nose! His is the nose that has to go!" -Merit to Kasumi
Kasumi manages to grab Trivance's nose before being dropped out of the boat again, as Wei Han dives for cover and avoids falling into the water. Merit gives the Prince's soldiers a grappling hook, and one of them manages to snag the thieves' boat before Wing grabs the hook. The soldier tries to pull him into the water, but he just lets go.

Takanata, in a display of bravado, jumps from one boat into the other. The continued pummeling of the party fighters takes Scyne down, and Trivance doesn't get his motor connected before Wei Han takes him down as well. Wing grabs the downed Trivance and runs; his Rabbit's Foot lets him go fast enough that he manages to escape, but Whisper and Scyne are taken captive.

Questioning Whisper

The remaining thieves are looted - this turns up the other fake treasures, the one remaining real one (the Precious Bonsai), and the Coins of Distraction and the Wooden Comb, which creates a magical connection between the holder and the person whose hair is in the comb. Takanata fiddles with it and notes that he has a magical connection to Wing - he could probably read his I Ching from here. (That turns out to be what let Scyne pass off keepingthe-bulkhead-permeable to Wing so that Wing could be the last one to exit the Fair Seas.)

Now that the party has all six of the treasures (real and fake), they contemplate letting the customs agents and sages examine the real treasures, and then swapping them for the fakes, so the Savanna gets the forgeries. The thieves only have the correct three treasures, which is suspicious - how did they know which ones?
Merit interrogates Whisper, taking a tack of "it sounds like there is external pressure being applied, which is an insult to your group." Whisper offers that if they let him and Scyne go, they will "leave the city, trouble you no more, and tell you everything we know about this affair before we go." At Lijuan's behest, Merit adds "We also ask you to repent your evil ways," though both Merit and Whisper roll their eyes a bit at this. Whisper agrees that they will perform no more evil acts in the city.

Merit sulks that if they keep the thieves' loot, the Keepers will probably come after them again. He suggests to Whisper that they get to hold onto the two magic items for a month, and then return them. Whisper is not immediately willing to agree to this; Wei Han and Zhi-Hao suggest that they could kill him instead, but Merit keeps negotiating, since he's interested in the information and not just the loot. Whisper agrees that it is appropriate for Merit to keep his item (the bag of coins) for a month, since he is the one who failed. The party also gets to keep the "outboard motor".

Whisper says that a passenger from the Butterfly Kingdom came on "the boat that cannot be stopped", and arranged for the theft and replacement, with duplicates of a carefully calibrated quality. It is not normally their way to replace the items with forgeries, but it was too good to pass up. Their reward was that they would keep the three items they stole. Their contact said that he was acting on behalf of Tokai Wanakaru, but this was in itself deemed rather suspicious - most people who hire thieves do not take the trouble to mention who they are working on behalf of, but, nevertheless, this is who they officially consider themselves to be working for. When they describe the passenger, they mention someone with a scar, that Takanata recognizes as sounding like a servant in the Butterfly palace.

Whisper is willing to be convinced that "this is what happens when they depart from their true path" (that is, just stealing things flat out). Merit wonders whether they ever take side commissions that are unrelated to their mission in keeping the Hoard? Whisper admits that they are sometimes paid to steal things - for example, when rivals are trying to ruin each other - but they do not steal things for other people.

Merit tries to appraise the forgeries - how much are they really worth? Well, "worth" is a tricky term for forgeries. They probably cost about a dozen li to create, such that one could intend to sell then for many tael as the real things. One might otherwise sell them as "a replica" for several li.

The party lets Whisper head off with Scyne, and heads back to see the Prince, as morning dawns. Ti Jun reports that the Imperial contingent has insisted that all the original forms be followed (apparently thanks to Ando). Since yesterday's plan was that everyone go to the circus on the night before the examination, everyone will darned well have to go to the circus on the night before the examination. So, circus tonight, and examination tomorrow.

Tribute Decision

Merit briefs Ti Jun, with the disturbing news that the thieves were part of the group known as the Keepers of the Hoard, and that they knew exactly which treasures were on board the ship. Merit describes the servant with a scar, who came across on the "fog ship". Ti Jun recognizes the man as one of his household servants, and declares that he will be executed for treason upon his return. Merit politely suggests that maybe the servant should be interrogated first, and used as a counterspy, or something more useful. Also, the thief said that he had been given the name of Tokai Wanakaru. Ti Jun is appalled, and looks at Takanata. Everyone explains that that was unlikely to be true, though Merit is beginning to wonder whether this is all a plot-within-a-plot by someone in the Butterfly Court after all.

So. What should actually be done with the treasures? Ti Jun, after some pondering, notes that "those who are clearly our enemies want the plan to fail," which somewhat supports the idea that the tribute should be allowed to go through. But... giving away the treasures! Argh!

Takanata suggests that he throw the I Ching for Ti Jun. The first few of the falling reeds indicate that the prince's greatest enemy is temptation, and that he must gird himself against it, for if he falls, he will be... and then the boat lurches and all the remaining reeds fall to the floor unread. Takanata suspects that someone else's proof against scrying is interfering, but finds the whole thing very disturbing. He explains to Ti Jun that the I Ching thinks that he should resist temptation in this matter, and Ti Jun sighs and gives in.
"I suppose in the end, one cannot go wrong following the wishes of one's liege." -Ti Jun
The party keeps the three forgeries, just in case. Merit also briefs the Prince about the coinage ritual. He says he will give the notes to Master Bai. Zhi-Hao notes in passing that the prince appears to be cutting the party more social slack than he normally does to people of their class.

That day is set aside for Lunch and Nap, as everyone has been up all night chasing thieves. At that night's circus performance, Merit continues to skew the beer heading for the Savanna box, though the Butterfly Kingdom box is not neglected as shamefully as the previous night. There are some rumors about drunk clansmen having been rowdy, but nothing terrible happened.
In the Kasumi / Wei Han act, Wei Han throws a little short, but Kasumi does get the 12 necessary to catch the wire. Akimoto is impressed, and tells her that if she buys two more levels of acrobatics, he will be willing to take her on as an actual student.

Ando swings by to chat with Merit and Takanata. He trusts that there will be no difficulties this time, if things go off as scheduled? Takanata admits that it was unfortunate that things got delayed, but things should be in order now.

The party wonders whether it might be possible to trade the information they've learned about the Savanna/Butterfly war to Ando, in return for getting him to make things right with the Empire about the circus having crossed the Wall. It is not clear that Ando has the ability to just make things right with the Empire, and doing so might involve taking the Bloodspear away from Shen-Ji, if that's what is making them worried. Or maybe it has to do with being cut off from the Empire's chi - but that's not something they can fix. Merit arranges to meet Ando the next day for lunch and a beer.
That night, the party guards the treasures, but nothing interesting happens.
Merit trades the information about the thefts, for Ando's information about the Alchemist.
The Master of the Imperial Treasury is an alchemist - you have to be an alchemist to deal with the tael. Merit wonders if he will come after the party for their role in the Arcade ritual. Ando doesn't know about his having actual forces in that way. He also doesn't know what the magic is being used for, but says that the Empire is tapping the energy of the tael, as far as he knows, everywhere in the Twelve Kingdoms, except the Hon'eth Arcade (now) and the Butterfly Kingdom. Merit tries to suggest that Ando not report all this to the Master of the Imperial Treasury. Ando notes that he is not a direct minion of the Imperial Treasury, but they are in the same branch of Chancellory, so he can't really guarantee that his report won't be seen, but he'll consider how much circumspection in his report is appropriate. Ando buys the beer, which Merit considers a victory.

The inspection takes place - the Imperial contingent is the Chief Inspector and Ando, and there are a number of sages from the Precincts. The treasure is deemed acceptable Thus Ending All Dispute. Everyone but the Savanna clansmen gets off the boat, taking their flags with them, and a Savanna flag is run up the mast. The Savanna clansmen agree that the blockade is ended, though it may take up to a week to notify all the ships.

Kasumi wonders how Ti Jun is getting home, since the Fair Seas is no longer a Butterfly ship. That provokes the captain to mutter darkly to his crew, overheard by Min Feng - he is definitely worried about the Prince's security, since he wasn't supposed to be on the boat. He just came down to the dock moments before they set sail, and took charge, and the captain could not really gainsay him.
Takanata throws the I Ching once more, to try to discern the connections of various plot threads:
1. Her Majesty, Ti Wren, sent three of the Treasures of the Butterfly Kingdom with the Prince to the Illuminated Precincts
2. She told the Prince to give them to the Savanna to arrange the end of the Blockade. "You tap the crossed-out bit a few times, unsure"
3. A palace servant arrived on the fog-bound ship from the Butterfly Kingdom before the Prince's ship to arrange the theft & replacement of the Treasures.
4. The replacement would probably have sparked the blockade into a war.
5. The Servant acted without the knowledge of the Queen.
6. The fog-bound ship is acting at the direction of the Shadowed Isle.
Zhi-Hao arranges a weapons training session with the Prince, and manages to convince him to reimburse the cost of his armor.
Puttering

Cai Wen suggests a trip to Shuyan, Master Zhou, and Xiao Fa. They (plus Wei Han) travel to the Harbor of Fortunate Arrival and visit the Hidden Orchid. While in the Harbor of Fortunate Arrival, Master Zhou visits Namura Hayato. While in the Harbor of Fortunate Arrival, Master Zhou and Wei Han visit a Dragon Army encampment.
Zhi-Hao arranges for an introduction to Prince Ti Jun for Cai Wen. Cai Wen suggests Zhi-Hao and Ti Jun wander around the city, followed by himself, Wei Han, Lijuan, and Min Feng to see who says what.
Wei Han goes to talk to Yanyu.
Takanata visits the Exalted Library and asks about their prices. He spends several days inside in study.
Cai Wen helps some apprentices develop a small ritual: The Unfortunate Letter Xiao Fa figures out how herbalism plus acupuncture may be able to heal the stats eaten by the yumekui, and starts healing people.
Lijuan chats with the local urchins, including some entreprenurial crayfish-fishers. Cai Wen, advised by Merit and accompanied by Wei Han, go gambling. They don't make much of a profit, but do meet a woman named Willow, who picks up games very quickly and doesn't seem to be playing for the money.
Fog Ship Trip
Cai Wen runs into Kiri in town - she is apparently serving on the Fog Ship That Cannot Be Stopped (named the Moon's First Daughter), and offers a bargain price for a trip to the Butterfly Kingdom. Cai Wen, Wei Han, Yoshi, Lijuan, Shuyan, Xiao Fa, Master Zhou, Anto, Min Feng, Merit, and Xian take a round trip. Lijuan does manage to convince Kiri to give her a short tour of the ship.
Yoshi, Cai Wen, Wei Han, Min Feng, Master Zhou, Lijuan, and Merit have an audience with Ti Wren.
Shuyan and Master Zhou visit Madam Si-Sen.
Anto and Master Zhou visit Master Koji.
Xiao Fa and Master Zhou visit Master Kwan.
Retrieved from "http://boojum.scripts.mit.edu/Dragon/index.php?title=Ship_of_Gold" Category: Book One Logs
This page was last modified on 2 November 2010, at 22:20.
Substitutions

From Dragon

"Far more hideous crimes have been committed in the name of obedience than have ever been committed in the name of rebellion."

It is the Day of the Late Dog in the month of the Monkey, in the two hundred and fiftyninth Year of the Fox since the opening of the Exalted
Library.

The run takes place in the City of Light in the Illuminated Precincts.
Previous run Next run
Contents

1 Orphans at the Show
2 Evening Visitors
3 A Transfer, and a Kidnapping
4 The Hunt
5 Dangerous Bowmen
6 Questions
7 Return to the Circus
8 Paperwork Mechanics
9 Puttering

Orphans at the Show

Ringmaster Te gets together with Shen-Ji, Hana, Xian, and Cai Wen (the higher-status party members), to run his plan by them. The circus performances are still pretty popular in the City of Light, and the next stage of the journey - south and then across, close to the Wall - has a lot fewer cities in it. So he thinks staying here for another week will let them get a good reserve before making the less-profitable run across the south Savanna to the Strand. Ringmaster Te reminds everyone to work on their acts.

Cai Wen gives a brief rundown on recent events. The Butterfly Prince is here. The blockade is theoretically ending even now. There's a tribute ship heading upriver to the Savanna. There's Takanata's I Ching readings about people secretly behind the Butterfly/Savanna conflict, and Ando, an Imperial spy watching the circus. Also, be on the lookout for ninja trying to kidnap Cai Wen. ("Inform Wei Han at once.")

Xian discovers that his box of magic supplies (the most recent location for the Sphere of Harmony) has been completely repainted and gilded by bored circus hands trying to keep busy.

The evening's circus performances go well. Ti Jun has returned to see the show; also in VIP seats are several Illuminated Precincts sages, and a new friend of Cai Wen's named Willow. The Ringmaster makes a special point to welcome the children from the House of the Hopeful Dawn - this is a group of mostly younger children, with two older kids flanking and herding them.
"Are these the same kids that Xiao Fa met?" "No, this is an entirely new bus load of orphans."
Shen-Ji notes that Willow keeps whispering into the ear of one of the sages (and winks at Cai Wen occasionally). Hana notes that the two older kids are twins. Xian notices a couple of guys watching Shen Wei-Han toss acrobats around with a bit too much interest. They don't do anything other than tip him though, so he doesn't take any action.

The acts go reasonably well, and the audience is pleased with the show. Wei Han, (throwing various junior acrobats) gets twelve zhu in tips, mostly from the guys Xian is watching. Xian thinks this is entirely more money than seems reasonable for Wei Han's part in the show, and is suspicious. The twins, "Melody and Harmony," also get some tips, as do Shen-Ji and Anto, but Xian flubs his own sleight of hand roll for his magic act and people are unimpressed. The orphans try to charge the stage at the end, but the two older kids successfully herd them away. The circus ends with the now traditional Monkey Pandemonium!

Hana asks Ringmaster Te who invited the orphans. He says he did! He had been asking around the city for good groups of kids to give tickets to, after he noticed that one of the other new circus hires was building up support with the local youth population, and thought that was a good idea.

"Who?" -Xian
"You know, the one with the bow, who's all 'woooooooo'" -Ringmaster Te "Lijuan." -Xian

Evening Visitors

Willow shows up later to meet Cai Wen. She says she thinks something is going to happen soon, but says she doesn't have details, and doesn't know yet which game it'll be in. Not without actually seeing the move, at least.
Xian wanders by to ask Wei Han if he would mind swapping the zhu he got in tips for others of Xian's zhu, in case there are mystic traps laced in the zhu or something.
"This is a good con, I know how it goes. You trade zhu, and then you trade again, and after a few rounds, he has all the money." -Cai Wen
"Yes, of course, it is tempting to steal a trivial amount of money from a large, easily angered fighter." -Xian

Wei Han is willing, but puzzled - why bother? Xian says that the guys watching Wei Han weren't interested in anyone else's act, just him. And his act just isn't that good. They swap coins, but as far as Xian can tell, the coins in question are just zhu.

Meanwhile, a strange guy in a overcloak steps out of the shadows near Shen-Ji and Xiao Fa. He says, "Psst!" When the curious pair approach, he opens his cloak and asks if they want to buy a chakram. "Round and deadly." They can't meet his price though, so he wanders off. Shen-Ji identifies chakram as traditional ancient weapons from the southern Strand, but they've mostly fallen out of use. Why this guy was selling one at the circus is anyone's guess.
Hana and Hiro decide to go visit the House of the Hopeful Dawn orphanage to see how things work there.
"If you don't care about protecting me, that's a great reason to wander around in the street at night." -Hana
The orphanage is about a half hour's walk towards the outskirts of the city. When they arrive they meet Ling and Lung. The pair of twins was raised in the orphanage, but stayed on to run things as the "adults on the premises." once they grew up. Their patron pays for things, his family has supported the orphanage for many years, but doesn't seem interested in getting involved directly, so he lets them pretty much manage it as they see fit. In any case the two pairs of twins settle in for an evening's conversation.
"I am particularly polite and charming" -Hiro "Really?" -Mike
Ling (the girl) is excited to meet other twins, while Lung (the boy) is more suspicious. The twins seem to have developed more tricks than Hana and Hiro have, though they don't have the shtick in indistinguishably dressing as each other. Lung does point out to Hiro that there have been some weird guys in the marketplaces lately looking for a pair of twins. Hiro and Hana might want to avoid them, but no one's actually come to bother them, so perhaps it's nothing. Talking further, the pairs seem willing to swap shticks, and agree to meet the next day, as it is getting towards bedtime for the younger kids. Hana and Hiro each leave 20 zhu in the donation box as they depart.

Meanwhile, Xian, Wei Han, and Cai Wen try to figure out who the people watching Wei Han might be, whether it ties into something Min Feng noticed regarding people watching Cai Wen recently, whether it ties in to the mysterious guy who hired the Keepers of the Hoard, whether the mysterious guy went back to the Butterfly Kingdom, and other subjects similarly suited to late night conversation.

Xiao Fa wanders over, to see if anyone there has been approached by someone trying to sell a chakram. Back at the other end of the circus camp, the guy returns, to try to sell Shen-Ji a chakram, and pays him a few zhu for a tip on where Xiao Fa is. Then, he vanishes back into the shadows, saying "Tell Xiao Fa I am Tag, friend of Li." However, when Shen-Ji reports the incident to Xiao Fa, he neglects to give him the message.

After Hana and Hiro return to the circus, Hana makes tea for those who are still up, and Hiro serves, still being strangely charming and polite to Xiao Fa in particular. They mention the people asking around about twins, and Hiro gets given the one shot "Squawk before being attacked" amulet. Cai Wen explains about Willow's idea that "something is about to happen," and there is much speculation about whether Willow knows and isn't telling, or just doesn't know. Anto and Shen-Ji mention the chakram salesman - maybe "Round and Deadly" is a secret pass phrase, and he's trying to get someone to give the counterphrase? Could he be a minion of "that one"? Nobody is sure, and it's also not clear if he is still lurking around the circus tents.

Hana insists that tea be finished before the party fans out to search the camp for "Tag, friend of Li." Xian notes that he mostly approaches people by themselves, and declares that he's going to wander around looking like he is by himself. Anto sneaks after him, causing Xian to have to spend a yin to notice him. The chakram salesman ducks his head in the tea tent, looking for Xiao Fa, but he's already left.
"It's Myo and Liet all over again." -Anto
Xian does manage to run into the salesman, and suspects that in addition to looking for Xiao Fa, he's kind of having fun messing with people by being sneaky. Xian can't tell at all if he really wants to sell the chakram, though. The guy says again "Tell Xiao Fa that Tag, a friend of Li, is looking for him." Xian still suspects that he's looking for someone to give a counterphrase, and tries a fast-talk roll to look like he has it on the tip of his tongue, throwing out words and getting the guy to confirm. He ends up getting Tag to coach him through a counterphrase of "The priest has a desire to talk to me," before Tag leaves, more confused than he started. Xian reports all this to Xiao Fa, including (eventually), the "Tag, friend of Li" part, which doesn't ring a bell to Xiao Fa. On the other hand, it is pointed out, practically every third person in the world is named Li; it would be a great name to use if you wanted to make someone think you had a mutual friend. The circus even has one!

Anto follows him when he leaves; after a while, he starts behaving as if he's trying to shake off a tail, though he doesn't actually seem to see Anto. Anto eventually stops following him and heads back to the tea tent. There seems little left to do at this point, so people head to bed. Xiao Fa's tent has a piece of paper stuck to the tent pole with a knife, saying "Xiao Fa. Tag will return."

That night Hana and Hiro have a bad dream. In their dream, a bunch of southerners build a large house, and throw Hana and Hiro inside, but then can't get in themselves. They huff and puff but can't get in. So they build a second house and throw the twins from the orphanage inside. Sadly, this second house is badly made, and the roof leaks, and it's mostly falling over. So after getting in and poking around, they abandon the second house and burn it down. Hana and Hiro awake to the sound of twins screaming in the fire...

A Transfer, and a Kidnapping

In the morning, Willow notes to Cai Wen that it is "round one": Cai Wen's opponents have taken their turn, and now it's his turn. She still doesn't know what the game is, though, until a Dragon Army courier shows up in the circus camp looking for Corporal Shen Wei Han, with a form for him. Wei Han reads it impassively, and notes "I've been reassigned."
Day of the Late Crane in the month of the Monkey in the thirteenth Year of the Fox since the Regency Council
Corporal Shen Wei Han: You are forthwith assigned to the Bearers of Swift Response, Fen Jui, South Wall, Third Battalion, under Commander Huang Fan.
You are relieved of any current and pending duties, and promoted to Sergeant as of your receipt of these orders.
This assignment effective as of the end of the Day of the Late Tiger in the month of the Monkey in the thirteenth Year of the Fox since the Regency Council.

Office of Gang Zhen
Lieutenant-Adjutant
Dragon Army Garrison, IP

Willow notes that the new orders are Lucky Chang's move (having heard about Cai Wen's game with Lucky Chang during the previous puttering). Cai Wen is intrigued - can she tell what other games are going on, and who is playing them? She points out that she only has so much Yin a run.

Then, the circus erupts into confusion: "Remember that combat you were in, with monkeys everywhere? It's like that, but with orphans." The orphans from the House of the Hopeful Dawn have discovered that Ling and Lung are missing, and have leaped to the conclusion that they have run away to join the circus (because really, who wouldn't?) Hana and Hiro say that Ling and Lung aren't here right now, but don't go into details about what might have happened to them. The orphans are given tea and breakfast in the tea tent, and Hiro declares that there is a RESCUE to be done! The evil southerners, who originally kidnapped Hiro and Hana have kidnapped a new set of twins! Xiao Fa and Hana feed the orphans breakfast and keep them contained in the tea tent, while Hiro gathers the rest of the party. Tag, friend of Li, makes a brief appearance at this time, but decides that there is too much going on to try to make contact now, and vanishes again.

Willow examines Wei Han's transfer, and notes that it comes from the LieutenantAdjutant's office, not the Lieutenant-Adjutant himself. Which means that the best way to countermand it will be through the Major-Adjutant's office. Of course, either of those officers would themselves be able to cut Wei Han some new orders, but Willow surmises that if you actually engage the officers themselves, they'll think about it and actually decide something. She isn't convinced that a Dragon Army officer will think that protecting a random gambler as he wanders around with a circus is worth an army escort, so it's probably best not to bring the question to their attention at all. Thus, the trick will be getting his office to issue new orders, which can be done with the appropriate mechanic.

Cai Wen wonders what other games are going on - what does she think is up with the guy looking for Xiao Fa? She thinks that's unrelated - that's a cleanup move in a much larger game. How about the southerners Hiro is talking about? Willow winces, looking at Hiro that's a very big game. Whatever Hiro did, he thwarted them last night: they tried to take a turn and it failed. Whatever that means. The orphans are the fallout from the opposition failing their move. Willow thinks that Hiro and Hana used to be pawns in that game, but now they're also players. Hiro explains about his dream - that they're trying to use others but they can't, they can only use Hiro and Hana.
Anto decides the quickest way to find the missing twins is to look for people in trouble. Unfortunately, starting from the circus leads him to Cai Wen.
"Tell me about this bodyguarding thing." -Anto to Wei Han "You have two days to learn." -Wei Han
Hiro tries to find out if Wei Han actually wants to be transferred, but Wei Han doesn't think it's appropriate to have that sort of opinion. Hiro shrugs.
"Well, if he's ordered to the South Wall..." -Hiro
"By the machinations of the guy who's trying to kill me!" -Cai Wen "Oh. I guess we should thwart that on general principles." -Hiro

Ringmaster Te rounds up some clowns to watch over the orphans while the party heads off to look for the missing twins. Willow notes that she isn't really so much a combat person, and says she'll go work out the transfer mechanic, and meet Cai Wen later.

The Hunt

The party splits up - Xiao Fa, Shen-Ji, Anto, and Hiro head to the orphanage (taking the map that shows where Cai Wen is with them), while Wei Han, Cai Wen, Xian, and Hana (dressed as Hiro) decide to ask around the city for swarthy people asking about twins.

The second group learns that the bad guys had a reasonable amount of money they were offering for information, so the next step is to ask around at the higher-class lodging houses. They learn that there were two possibly-southerners who were staying until the previous night, when they checked out and headed north (in the direction of the orphanage). Cai Wen tips the concierge a zhu for the information, which even the people in zhu realize is a little substandard, so the information flow stops until Xian gives him twelve zhu. Since that's most of Xian's money, the concierge lets them search the room. Cai Wen's ferret finds a map that has the location of the orphanage marked on it, and a circled area in the nearby woods.
At this point, the group gives in to the hints and joins the first half of the party, which has been investigating the massacre near the orphanage.
Meanwhile those at the orphanage find the place in disarray, and definite signs of a struggle in the twins' room. Apparently, they were taken out the window and down the side of the building while the orphans slept, and dragged off into the woods. Tracking leads this half of the party through the woods where the signs become harder to follow, but Hiro manages. At last, they break into a clearing where the remains of a ritual gone horribly awry are all over.

There are some animal cages, holding a tiger and a dog as well as an empty cage that used to be holding a monkey. (There's also a wicker basket later determined to contain a cobra.) The monkey is out of its cage and apparently trying to open the lock on the tiger cage. Elsewhere, there are several dead men, a mage with a dagger in his back, an armored heavy fighter with a dagger through his armor, and a ritual master with a small staff. Upon closer examination, it appears this last one isn't dead yet. Xiao Fa and Anto try to keep him alive for questioning, while Hiro deals with the monkey, preventing him from releasing the tiger.

The group then discovers the remains of a bonfire, with several bodies in it, and a small pile of metal, later identified as silver "boats" (small linkable pieces of silver) totalling 50 li worth of loot.

The other half of the party arrives on the scene, and is told by Shen-Ji to not touch anything. Hiro starts digging graves for the murdered twins. Shen-Ji explains what appears to have been going on - a ritual with "substandard components", followed by the Bitter Recriminations phase. Meanwhile Hana has wandered off and apparently started talking to a tree at the edge of the clearing.

Hearing Shen-Ji's explanation, Hana reveals she's been talking to the ghosts of the twins, and says it's a little more complicated than that. Apparently, the original ritual had seven people doing it, but after the ritual went awry, an eighth guy appeared out of nowhere, and began to backstab the ritualists. Since there are three bodies here, there are four who escaped plus the assassin. While the assassin stopped to poison the ritual leader, the other four ran. (Xiao Fa thinks poisoning him after stabbing him was overkill, and identifies the poison as one intended to bring painful death, rather than swift death.)
Hiro notes that the people running went in two directions - two back towards the city, two towards the Wall. The assassin seems to have pursued the ones heading towards the city.
Shen-Ji makes sure all the bodies are searched. The large guy has 4-def star scale armor, but it has a large hole in it; Wei Han takes it anyway. Several have the curved southern swords. Shen-Ji verifies that most of the stuff is non-magic, just symbolic. The silver is probably easily convertible into cash, however.
Xiao Fa manages to wake up the poisoned cultist, and Xian talks to him to try to get some information out of him. He keeps babbling about "Her arm! It comes!". Xian notes that he has been betrayed; he says he has been punished, which is no more than they deserve. Xian suggests that they could have another go at it, and gets that the assassin is a "thuggee" and "the Arm of Kali."

The guy continues on - they failed because they were unworthy. They hoped it would succeed, but it did not. Xian persuades the guy that he is a sympathizer - what should he do? He must capture the twins and deliver them to the Wall. What will happen then? "Then the yuga will end, the wheel will turn, and civilization will be reborn." Finally, he calls out "Her Arm, it comes!" again, and dies. Cai Wen, who knows the most Senatali, thinks that the "yuga" is a southern word for the "calendar".

Hiro finishes burying the two twins' bodies. The ghost of Ling tells Hana that she will lead them to her murderers if Hana makes sure the orphans are taken care of. The ghost of Lung says he will lead her to his murderers if he is granted vengeance. The party thinks that "killed as bait for the assassin" counts as acceptable vengeance, and sets off in the non-city direction, on the theory that it is too late to catch up to the assassin going after the other two. Xian grabs some of the wavy-bladed daggers that were stuck in the dead bodies.
There is a brief argument between Xian and Wei Han as to whether it is worse to be a nonsoutherner murderer of orphans, or a non-murderer southerner.
"I would be more upset at the orphan-murderer." -Xian "But I would kill the southerner first." -Wei Han
Dangerous Bowmen

Lung's ghost leads them a ways further through the woods - Xian takes point, as he can manage to see the ghost, and thinks that Hiro and Hana shouldn't be seen by the cultists unless they have to be. They come upon a flat plain with a wide stream; two people (the archer and the artist from the ritual) have taken refuge on a small island in the middle of the stream, and one is shooting at the treeline opposite where the party is.

Xian shouts in Senatali "Peace, we have her arm, it's dead!" and waves the wavy dagger and a head-sized bag. The two on the island are surprised, but then a red arrow comes out of the opposite trees and hits their tree. "You lie!" shouts the archer, and the artist draws something in the ground near the tree. Xian thinks the thuggee is definitely cheating somehow, having gotten to town and then to here already, but they did lose some time in the interrogations. Xian gets shot a couple of times, before Hana drags him back into the trees so Xiao Fa can first aid him.
Wei Han charges; Hiro advances, shooting at the artist. A puff of dirt intercepts the arrow, leaping up from where the artist has been drawing.
Xian apologizes for his terrible Senatali, and tries to explain: "I apologize for my terrible Senatali. I didn't mean we had killed him, I meant we want him dead." The thuggee shouts to not help the ritualists, that they are already dead, but the guys on the island are willing to take a deal - work together against the thuggee assassin, and not attack each other.

Wei Han and Anto close with the thuggee, taking several arrows in the process. Hiro follows after them. Anto gets the thuggee wrapped up in his kusarigama chain; he and Wei Han manage to pull him out of the cover of the trees, where the archer can hit him. The rest of this part of the combat mostly involves the thuggee stabbing Wei Han and Anto, but being immobilized well enough for the archer to hit him.
The thuggee takes Wei Han down, leaving Anto feeling rather vulnerable. Xian runs out to try to draw more fire away from Anto.
The thuggee points at Anto, points at Wei Han, glowers, and shoots at the archer. Anto doesn't bow to the mimed threat, and grabs him again with his chain. This time, it takes an extra round for him to escape, and he takes another arrow from the archer, and one from Hiro, who takes him to zero. Anto pulls two actions to go immediately, and hits the thuggee again, taking him down.
The party is rather scattered about; Hiro think that they should get closer to the archer before turning on him, but the archer is really quite nervous.
"Praised be! You leave now, we go our separate ways, all in peace!" "Not so fast, bub. You owe us a lot of answers for saving your lives." -Cai-Wen
Cai Wen and Xian manage to persuade the archer that they owe them some answers, but are unwilling to promise to leave again afterwards.
"I will give you five answers, then you leave. You swear to this?"
While Cai Wen stalls the archer, people try to heal Wei Han and the other injured party members, but Wei Han is too far down to wake back up. However, the archer warns that if anyone tries to come any closer, he'll start shooting again.
Shen-Ji searches the thuggee - he is wearing red silk, but also, his skin below the neck is red and tough. He has a bandolier of the curvy daggers, a red silk strangling cord, and a red bow and arrows (all of which Shen-Ji picks up).
Questions

What are the other two cultists good at? They were the academic and the spy (standing in for Tortoise and Spider in the ritual).
Who is your boss? The guy with the staff, the one poisoned by the thuggee. What is your next ritual step, assuming you survive and go back to your effort? Their sect is going to be extinguished by Kali's enforcers; the other sect will go back to kidnapping the party's twins.
Do you really think you deserve to die? If so, why did you run? We were hired and tricked! We should get to live! Our leader was flawed.
Are you part of the same outfit as the thuggee? We are part of one of two competing sects; the thuggees are the religious enforcers over all of them.

That's about as long as they can be stalled before they realize that the party isn't actually going to let them leave, so combat breaks out again when the archer tries to shoot Anto (who dodges).
Hana comes screaming out of the forest (dressed as Hiro), shouting that the angry dead will have their vengeance.
"Now you've done it." -Cai Wen
That spooks the archer enough to shoot Hana a couple of times; Hiro still doesn't really care about protecting Hana, and hits the archer himself with a few arrows.
The talkers continue to muddy the waters:
"We could fake your deaths, and you could escape!" -Xian
"What he's offering is probably better than being betrayed by me again!" -Cai Wen
Anto reaches the archer's tree and starts climbing it - that draws the archer's attention back to him again, and he gets shot some more. Shen-Ji, on his flying disk, finally also reaches the tree, and he chops the archer with his sword.
"If you only had a sharp round flying disk to stand on. Round and deadly..."
Xiao Fa bandages the angry dead (Hana), and the fighters finish taking down the archer. The artist, having no attacks and seeing which way things are going, drinks a vial of poison. Shen-Ji loots the bodies, but there's not much interesting other than the archer's bow and arrows (well made, but normal). He also examines the markings on the ground to his best guess, they're something like "art, simulating Earth sorcery", but he's not quite sure how it works.

The thuggee is down but not dying. Xiao Fa's herbalism doesn't have anything that will keep him unconscious without healing or waking or dying for days, and everyone is leery of healing him enough to interrogate him, or giving him to the authorities if he has strange movement powers.
Anto suggests killing him with the archer's bow, to throw off any weird magical tracking based on weapons. Hiro does so.
"I wanted to kill your boss, but strangely I don't any more, so I will settle for you." Hiro
The group heads back to town, carrying Wei Han and stopping by the site of the massacre. The monkey is lying in the monkey cage where they left it earlier; after Anto pulled Hiro's arrow out earlier, it seems to have bled into unconsciousness. Xiao Fa and Anto bandage it, and Xiao Fa concludes that if it were a person, it would need some nutritious broth. A monkey that can pick locks and obeys orders could be useful, but it doesn't seem to be so good at the latter yet. Maybe Min Su can train it.
Ling's ghost can no longer find her murderers - presumably either the spy hid them, or the thuggee killed them quickly before moving to the second two.
The animals (tiger, monkey, dog, and snake) are left behind for the moment, and the group returns to the circus.
Return to the Circus

Hana and Hiro discuss the fate of the orphanage - all the younger orphans would need a few years yet to catch up, so it might be necessary to find someone for a few years to run things, before any of them are ready to take over. The patron would need to hire someone, though it sounds like spending the money might not be a problem.

Willow is waiting at the circus for the returning group - she notes that keeping Wei Han unconscious so he can't transfer is brilliant. She has a set of forms that should cause the Major-Adjutant's office to issue a new set of orders, without actually having to decide anything.

Shen-Ji talks to Ringmaster Te about the animals - he sends an animal retrieval unit. The monkey is given to Min-Su, the snake is put in Shuyan's snake cages, and the tiger is given to the elephant trainer (for lack of a better candidate). The dog seems to be a fairly normal dog. The dog looks around and the various party members and barks.
"I give him some food." -Anto "He's your dog now!" -Mike
Hana and Hiro go to meet with the orphanage's patron who seems willing to go along with anything, so long as he doesn't have to get involved himself. It's a family thing that his line has been supporting for generations, but he himself is not really interested in it.

Cai Wen briefs the others on the paperwork that needs to be done for Shen Wei Han. The question is, what would Wei Han want his new orders to say? It is a strongly debated question whether or not he should be woken up to ask that question, especially as everyone agrees that he will likely claim that it is inappropriate to have an opinion.
"If we wake him up early, he'll just waste his hit points." -Hiro
Outside the tent, a "pssst" is heard - it looks like Tag, Friend of Li, is trying to sell his chakram to a circus roustabout. The roustabout points out Xiao Fa when he pokes his head out of the tea tent.

A very confusing conversation ensues, in which Tag claims that Xiao Fa knows why he's there, and Xiao Fa denies all knowledge of it. Tag finally says never mind, this was clearly all a misunderstanding. Xiao Fa agrees that this must have been all a misunderstanding, as he has no idea what this is about. Tag starts to leave, muttering darkly about Li Merit sending him on wild goose chases. Xiao Fa says, er, wait, he suddenly realizes that he does want to talk to Tag after all. Indeed, he has asked Li Merit to find him and send him Xiao Fa's way for just this conversation.

The two of them (Xiao Fa and Tag) wander off for a chat. Xiao Fa asks about being a spider-aspected sort, and gets a spiel about watching the web and being ready at a moments notice, etc. It's mentioned that Xiao Fa is a chi manipulator, and Tag offers to try and teach him a shtick on the theory that lines of chi are somewhat like a web, so it just might work. They practice a little and Xiao Fa shows some natural talent. He uses a shtick in sensing traps from afar and determines that a piece of paper in Wei Han's possession is indeed a trap. Well, the party already knew that, but it seems to confirm the stuff works. However, at the last moment, Xiao Fa decides that there's something he's missing here, so decides to not purchase the shtick. Tag shrugs; it matters not to him. He had the talk and told Xiao Fa what he knows, so he expects Xiao Fa to put in a good word for him with Li Merit. Other than that, (well one more chakram offer is made and declined), he's off.

Paperwork Mechanics

Meanwhile, Cai Wen declares that he is unwilling to not talk to Wei Han about rewriting his new orders. However, it will take a while to get the forms filled out, so they can start working on them now and talk to him before submitting the paperwork. Cai Wen starts passing out forms for people to help with - Xian gets the Transport Security Certification Form, Xiao Fa gets the Medical Clearance Certification Form, and Cai Wen will arrange to have the Prince sign the Military Transfer Request Form. These will all be assembled into the Transfer Order Confirmation Request Form and will have to be sealed and stamped by someone in the Major-Adjutant's office.

Cai Wen gets an audience with Ti Jun to one, explain why it's good that the circus gets to keep Wei Han, and two, ask what orders the prince thinks would be appropriate. The prince (who, we remind people, is thirteen) doesn't have a particularly strong agenda to assign Wei Han to, but thinks that this new idea of "protecting the calendar" is an intriguing one. He's willing to sign to request a set of orders that basically says "Wei Han should help with the secret mission as long as he's needed", though the exact wording still needs work. When Ti Jun hears that Wei Han is injured (in defense of the calendar!) he sends a healing potion back with Cai Wen, which is sufficient to get him up again.

The procedure is explained to Wei Han, who is appropriately scandalized at the idea of writing his own orders, but accepts the rephrasing of "writing a suggestion to his superiors". He contemplates who the best commander for "following secret orders" would be - a commander in the Hidden City might be most appropriate, but also might be more likely to notice that there's a new soldier in his command structure. They settle on transferring Wei Han to be under his one-command-previous commander, Chang Hu in the Jade Taiga.

Hana and Hiro confer with Willow about the orphanage. She volunteers that if Cai Wen doesn't need anything else she could probably spend her final chi for the run instantiating a mechanic to find the perfect orphanage manager. After a bunch of discussion and negotiation, they decide on a system of audience participation schemes at tonight's circus performance that will identify such a person. They head off to talk Ringmaster Te into it.

After their conversations, that night's circus involves a lot more audience participation, so people have to roll for 9s for their acts. The participation does end up focusing Hana and Hiro's attention on an old woman with a cane, Mother Virtue, who seems both competent and willing to be hired as a caretaker for the orphanage. She is presented with the keys to the orphanage and later introduced to the patron.
The next morning, Xian takes charge of convincing a military inspector that the circus is the safest place in the world for transporting people and important things, Xiao Fa examines Wei Han and pronounces him injured and fit only for light escort duty, and Ti Jun signs the "unspecified mission" document.
Medical Clearance Form
Sergeant Shen Wei Han
Severe joint/significant energy meridian damage, possibly due to barbarian combat techniques.
Patient's injuries preclude extended active combat/wall duty. Intermittent weakness/slowness possible.
Recommend escort or other low combat duty.
Xiao Fa (Selfless Order Healer)
Transport Security Certification
1. Circus personnel are all familiar to one another. Appearance of unknown persons is quickly reported and reacted to.
2. Circus location organized expressly to be ready to move out at a moment's notice.
3. Presence of many large wild animals deters infiltration by unauthorized persons.
4. Multiple live action vulnerability exercises.
Inspector Chun
Military Transfer Request Form
To assist representatives of the Butterfly Court, and their associates, as defined by His Highness, Ti Jun, for such time as is needed.
Ti Jun, His Royal Highness
Xian and Cai Wen go in to fast-talk (12 successes!) the Major-Adjutant's secretary, and get the orders signed and stamped without anyone ever reading them.
Xian relocates the Sphere of Harmony into a moderately scruffy looking box, labelled "Wooden Fish, Funeral Cymbals, Cremation Accessories, Pieces of String Too Short To Use."

Puttering

Hana plays with the silken strangling cord.
Takanata arranges a Great Expedition to visit the island where the combat took place (with Yoshi, Xian, Anto, Wei Han, Zhi-Hao, and Shen-Ji).
Wei Han reports to the local commander (Sun Jianjun) about the southron combat, and checks in with Prince Ti Jun to clarify his orders.
Cai Wen also talks to Commander Sun about the southron attack/ritual. Wei Han issues an invitation to the Drunken Bear to celebrate his sergeant's stripe. Lijuan stops by the House of the Hopeful Dawn.
Hana goes to talk to the Lost Ghosts.
Cai Wen and Hana (+Wei Han) go to visit the Hidden Orchid in the Harbor of Fortunate Arrival.
Master Zhou and Xiao Fa visit a monastery of the Sect of Falling Leaves (Spiral Path), outside the city.
Retrieved from "http://boojum.scripts.mit.edu/Dragon/index.php?title=Substitutions" Category: Book One Logs
This page was last modified on 2 November 2010, at 22:21.
The Coil

From Dragon

"It is easy to go down into Hell; night and day, the gates of dark Death stand wide; but to climb back again, to retrace one's step and emerge again into the light, there indeed lies toil."

It is the day of the Early Crane in the month of the Butterfly, in the first Year of the Fox since the crowning of the Viridian Queen.

The run starts in the City of Light, passes through the Savanna of Tears, and reaches the Strand
Previous run Next run
Contents

1 Monkey Business
2 Moving Out
3 A Refugee
4 Wall Without Shadow
5 An Uninformative Briefing
6 Into the Coil
7 Puttering

Monkey Business

The circus is wrapping up its business in the City of Light, ready for the long trek across to the Strand. Hana and Zhi-Hao are drinking tea in the tea tent, when an elephant steps into the tent and starts to mess with the tea makings. Zhi-Hao sends one of the circus roustabouts off to get an elephant handler boy, and manages to leap onto its back. The roustabout starts by finding Li Merit, first to get told whenever there is a problem. He also is starting to hear that other elephants have run amok. Xiao Fa finds that all of the elephantshackles have been opened. Kasumi starts to search for the ninja that she figures must be around to take advantage of the confusion - she hears a "click" behind her and sees the tea cupboard swinging open, but no ninja.

Min Feng goes to search for the Sphere of Harmony, finds a note left by Xian saying it has been moved to a different box, and finds the new box unlocked and empty. She also runs to let Li Merit know - he has finished tracking down another of the elephants by now. Yet another elephant menaces Shen-Ji, who gets out of its path, and starts looking for Min Su, as he figures this is all the fault of the monkeys. Min Feng finds a monkey's pawprint near the box that used to have the Sphere of Harmony - it looks like Shen-Ji was right.
Shen-Ji finds Min Su looking for Li Merit herself, in some consternation. The "lockpicking monkey" has gone missing, and has left her a valuable-looking treasure.
"Do you know what I should do with this?" -Min-Su, with the Sphere of Harmony "Read it! Read it for typos!" - everyone
Her tent is full of other items that the monkey has stolen and left there. Merit takes the Sphere and reassures her that is is one of the forgeries having to do with the mess with the tribute ship.

"I look for monkeys." -Shen-Ji
"He's a master tracker..." -Min-Feng
"Really?" -everyone else
"No! He takes carriages into the woods!" -Min-Feng

Nevertheless, Shen-Ji manages to follow the sounds of shrieking women into the shower tent, where there is a monkey working on unchaining the arrangement with the water barrel. Shen-Ji shouts for Min-Su, who arrives and snaps her fingers at the monkey. It dutifully leaps to her shoulder. She takes him back to the monkey tent, and puts him in his cage. She takes the locks off all the other monkey cages (replacing them with sticks), and puts them all on this one cage.

Min-Feng offers to take the rest of the stuff that the monkey has collected back to its owners - there is some jewelry, 22 li of money, various packets of letters tied with string, and a sealed box marked with a water symbol with Takanata's name. They all appear to be things that might have been locked up.
"My stick?" -Master Zhou
"Do you lock your stick up at night? Then no." -Mike
Min-Feng returns the loot, but not before reading all the letters, in case they're incriminating. They appear to mostly be personal letters, love letters - one set from a number of different women in different cities on the Circus's route - but nothing that appears to be written to or from a spy. (She gets a point in KS: Circus for free).
Meanwhile, Shen-Ji tries to "console" the women from the shower tent, but they are not impressed and chase him away.
Min-Su asks if anyone knows anything about the Spirit World; most people point at Master Zhou. Has he heard of the legend of the Seven Enlightened Monkeys, she wonders. As it turns out he has. There is an ancient tale which says that the Great Monkey Spirit always has a small piece of his being hidden away in each of seven monkeys. If one monkey dies, that piece moves to another monkey, elsewhere. Finding all seven of them is the first step in learning the true name of the Great Monkey Spirit. Anyhow, Master Zhou cannot immediately discern by visual inspection if this is an Enlightened Monkey, and Shen-Ji only gets one success on trying to figure out if it is more like a monkey, sorcerywise, than regular monkeys are. However, it has opened most of the locks on its cage at this point - Min-Su snaps her fingers at it, and it hands over the rest.
Merit suggests not locking the cage, but putting it on its side, with another cage on top. That seems to keep it put for the moment.
Ringmaster Te declares that it is time to leave the City of Light. First thing in the morning, they will be heading out, and they will be rolling overland, not traveling on an Imperial Highway. "Take the usual precautions, and we'll all be fine," he warns, and Merit points out the number of newcomers, and asks him to run a special briefing session for the circus crew who haven't heard the usual precautions yet.
"Ringmaster Te: Ringmaster. Li Merit: Ruiner of Fun." -Drew
The precautions are for the most part tied to the fact that there's no barrier to wandering up and messing with the circus when it's not traveling on a raised highway. Be careful for people joining the caravan and stealing things. Be careful to not insult anyone in the Savanna, and be careful not to eat anything in the Strand.
"Are our own provisions all right?" -Hana "Sigh. They're all going to die." -Ringmaster Te
In addition to not eating anything in the Strand, don't touch anything. The question is raised whether there is anything that is considered particularly insulting in the Savanna that people wouldn't guess? Don't insult the honor of the Dragon Army, Merit notes. Or the honor of anyone else in the Savanna. Or suggest that they're weak. Actually, as insults go, these are pretty standard, but Merit suggests just not talking to anyone in the Savanna at all. Hana thinks that being polite should be sufficient. It isn't clear whether being from the Butterfly Kingdom will be a problem, now that the blockade is over.
"We could just claim to not be from the Butterfly Kingdom." -Zhi-Hao "There's a problem with that..." -Merit, indicating the enormous circus
Moving Out

The next morning, the circus gets under way. Merit arranges for the couple of little kids who actually travel with the circus (because their parents work in it) to take turns watching the Lockpicking Monkey (or Monko, as Min Feng names him). Min Feng and Xiao Fa also volunteer to watch, and Min Feng starts passing him locks to unlock and pass back. That seems to calms him down quite a bit, and she finds it boring long before the monkey does.
After several days of uneventful travel, they pass from the Illuminated Precincts into the Savanna of Tears.
Master Zhou, keeping on particular watch the first night spent in the Savanna, hears a rough coughing growl off the road. He notes the animal noises to the others, and extra torches are lit.

"It's another monkey..."
"A big fierce monkey!"
"I think those are called 'gorillas'." -Kasumi
"A monkey eel!" -Drew

Later that night, Kasumi wakes to hear a strange noise in the night. Unlike Master Zhou, she goes to investigate what it is (in case it is another ninja), and sneaks into the grasses to look for the source. Eventually, she finds two glowing eyes, regarding her in the darkness, and stops. The eyes do not move either. The two look at each other for a long time, until the moon rises and reveals a tiger. Kasumi concludes that tigers are Definitely Not Her Job, and manages to vanish behind a bush by throwing all her Yin into stealth. The tiger leaps on the bush where she just was, and she hightails it back to the circus.

In the morning, Merit mentions to non-martial-looking travelers that he's seen a tiger, and be careful. They say that farther along, the terrain gets a bit wetter, so there may be fewer tigers at that point. They also mention a Dragon Army training camp up the road, probably that the circus will pass tomorrow.
"Dun du dunnnnh!" -Brian
It's Zhi-Hao's turn to ride the lead elephant, so he is the first to spot an approaching dust cloud off in the distance and to the right. The party worries about the dust cloud - is it a sandstorm? A stampede? a cavalry charge? If it keeps moving in the direction of the circus, it might arrive in an hour. Merit thinks, tactically speaking, that it makes no sense to send a cavalry charge against a circus caravan, and especially not from an hour away, but issues instructions to have the circus continue forward for another half hour and then stop to see what happens. Half an hour later, it looks like the dust cloud is moving in a different direction, so perhaps it is on some sort of maneuvers.

Zhi-Hao notes that the camp in that (approximate) direction is where he was stationed when he was a Dragon Army trainer, and he'd like to stop by and say hello. Master Zhou and Xiao Fa go with him, in case of tigers (well, Xiao Fa has also been there before). The camp is a big stockade, with guards at the gate, but Zhi-Hao is able to get permission to enter. Master Eto ("the Wolf") is still out on training maneuvers, however. Zhi-Hao asks when he might be back - the guard notes "On a day like today with the sun high and hot, they'll be wilting around three, so... probably sunset." Master Zhou nods approvingly. Once inside the palisade, security is much laxer, and there are not many soldiers around. The cook takes it upon himself to feed the three travelers a mini-feast, and teases Zhi-Hao about being "back for more training with the Wolf."

The three visitors stay until evening, when the soldiers return. Zhi-Hao and Master Eto do the "manly hug thing". Eto asks how things are going with Zhi-Hao's father (he had returned to the Butterfly Kingdom when Venerable Deng broke his legs. Zhi-Hao says he finally had vengeance on the man who attacked his father. Eto says this calls for celebration! There are drinks for everyone - Master Zhou manages to sip his slowly, but Xiao Fa has to make health checks to stay sober in the face of so much vigorous drinking. Zhi-Hao says he's been the weapons master for the Butterfly Court, which causes some good-humored mockery: "You're good, but not even you can teach those guys, right?" But he's traveling now with the Silken Wings Circus, heading west to the Strand. The visitors try to get what gossip they can, but the rumors about the dockworkers' riots seem similar here to those in previous cities. There appears to be some disappointment that there wasn't a war between the Savanna and the Butterfly Kingdom, as that would have been more interesting. Maybe next time.

The night of drinking and story-swapping continues; Zhi-Hao points out Xiao Fa as "the guy who was at that fight I told you about." That gets him more drinks, and some comradely thumping. Master Zhou asks Master Eto about how Dragon Army training works. They do basic training first, the same for everyone. Break them down and get them to forget bad habits and silly ideas, and teach them specializations after that.

Meanwhile, back at the circus, in the Perils of Overland Travel, Hana avoids getting sunburnt, and Shen-Ji spots the bulk of the Southern Wall off in the distance. The circus will probably be coming closest to the place that the original Southron ritual took place, tomorrow.

A Refugee

Later that afternoon, Min Feng spots someone fallen in the grass near the road, twitching and flopping around. She goes to fetch Li Merit, and everyone else comes along to see (except the three still at the army encampment). The guy lying in the grass is covered in mud, badly scratched, with an inflamed arm. Merit thinks he has, at least, poison shingles from a poison shingle tree, dehydration, scratches on his back from both tree branches and a blade, and delirium possibly from hallucinogenic mushrooms. Min Feng gets him some water.

The guy sees Merit, fixes him with staring eyes, and warns "They're in the frying pan! They're in the frying pan!" before passing out. Merit does what he can to make the guy comfortable, including getting him new clean clothes and strip searching him in the process. He appears to be a not-very-competent spy: he has his knife hidden in the obvious place, that sort of thing.
"Has he written down his passphrases?" -Drew
"He's not that bad a spy." -Mike
Once the army encampment group returns, Xiao Fa brews up a salve for the shingles, and gives him sips of water to get him less dehydrated, but thinks that the mushrooms will need an antidote if he's to recover quickly. The antidote should be reasonably common in the next town - but that means Merit also has one. They administer the antidote, and he wakes up again, long enough to say "Gau Tso! The chicken is in the frying pan!" Xiao Fa thinks he'll be more coherent in the morning. It seems likely that the hapless guy has staggered out of the Strand, but further details will have to wait until he has recovered enough to be lucid. Merit says he doesn't know this guy, but that Gau Tso is an old friend of his, another "traveling merchant".

Wall Without Shadow
The circus crosses the border and pulls into a small town in the Strand without further incident. The refugee appears to be improving and will hopefully be awake and lucid sometime soon.
Shen-Ji wants to take a ride down south with Hana to inspect the ritual site near the wall. She wonders if that is a good idea. He admits that it's an idea, and concedes that it might be worth bringing more company in case of trouble. Master Zhou, Zhi-Hao, Kasumi and Xiao Fa are recruited to join them, and the six head off on the circus's horses, pushing them hard to get there while there is still light in the day. Merit and Min-Feng stay behind with the refugee, in case he wakes up.

The party reaches the clearing where the ritual was performed on Midwinter's day - the first thing that is obvious is that during the summer, the shadow of the Wall stretches south, rather than north. Kasumi finds a rusted sword; the outdoorsmen note that it's been a long time since anyone was here doing anything interesting, and there are no informative tracks from six months ago.

Arriving at the ritual site, Xiao Fa meditates on the chi of the area, and walks, mesmerized, right up to the Wall, places his hands upon it and appears to commune with it. Shen-Ji examines the ritual site, but finds pretty much none of the material clues remain. However, the area still resonates strongly in the chi, and Shen-Ji's Yin is strong enough to sense it. He determines the ritual was supposed to be Yin, but it ended up being Yin and Yang together. It was supposed to make darkness separate from the absence of light (not that that makes sense). Instead, it did horrific things mostly to Hana but possibly also to Hiro. Originally it was likely intended to be a direct attack on Yin everywhere.

Shen-Ji and Zhou discuss it and decide that, had the original ritual succeeded, it would have been necessary to follow it up with another ritual attacking the Yang on the midsummer solstice. Since it failed, this follow up is either more or less important, but they are unsure which. It's also possible that the followup should occur at the Northern Wall instead of the Southern, but then Shen-Ji thinks it should use Northern magics, and things just get complicated from there.

After about half and hour of discussion about rituals, people notice that Xiao Fa is still off communing with the wall. Zhou pokes him with a stick a few times, and calls his name, but he is non-responsive. So for the good of all, Master Zhou picks him up and throws him to the ground hard enough to snap him out of it.
"What, this again?" -Xiao Fa, waking up
He explains that he was "following the chi flow downstream", and he had just reached the ocean, when Master Zhou pushed him over.
"That was just a few moments, no?" -Xiao Fa "No." -Master Zhou
Shen-Ji also notes that the most important thing about the ritual location was the shadow of the Wall crossing it, which is not here now. So, a future ritual might need to be done on the other side of the wall or do something else to account for the ritual significance of it.

Kasumi considers climbing the wall, but decides it is not unclimbable enough. The GMs belatedly point out that her shtick on climbing unclimbable surfaces does work to climb climbable surfaces as well, that's just less interesting.

An Uninformative Briefing

Back at the circus, the refugee wakes up. He boggles to see Merit - did he make it all the way back to the Butterfly Kingdom? Damn, he's good! Merit informs him that no, he did not make it all the way back to the Butterfly Kingdom, just barely out of the Strand.

He goes by "Slippery Reed", and explains that the Queen sent three full spy teams into the Strand, to look into the poison and antidote used to poison the King. That didn't go so well, it turns out. (Merit recalls how under the king people knew enough not to send spies to the Strand). Gau Tso said he wasn't sending people without going himself, and he was Reed's training officer, so he brought Reed along but told him to not do anything. He didn't do anything, and he didn't know anything - so then, when the men with green sedge hats came to take the other spies away while they were in Qiqing, getting ready to leave, they didn't take him. Gau Tso told him to report back to the Butterfly kingdom, and not attempt to rescue anyone by himself. He did follow the captives long enough to see when they were thrown in to "a door in the forest," and he describes to Merit where the doors are.
The three teams were investigating
where the poison came from
where the antidote came from
why spies in the Strand vanish

Meanwhile, the ritual investigation team rides back to the circus in the dark. When they return to the circus, they discover that their ninja is quieter than usual. In fact, she seems to have gone missing. Three riders go back to try to find her, and discover the horse and ninja by the side of the road - the horse has a broken leg, and Kasumi is unconscious and lying in a patch of poison ivy.
Zhi-Hao puts the horse out of its misery, and Xiao Fa tries to figure out how to get her out without getting her totally poison-ivied. Her ninja clothes might protect her, he thinks, so he wakes her up and carefully lifts her out (getting poison ivy all over himself in the process).

Everyone returns to the circus; Xiao Fa makes salve for both himself and Kasumi, and then disposes of her ninja clothes. Merit frowns at the loss of the horse, and then briefs everyone on the spy plot.

Slippery Reed is given a few li and a horse and sent on his way, with instructions: Remember the clues about the door in the woods, and the green hats. Then, report directly to the Home Office - submit three written reports, one to each division, before talking to anyone.
"At no point should it happen that he goes to someone and they say 'Who else have you told?' and the answer is 'no one'." -Merit
Into the Coil

The party sets off, bringing the map to find Cai Wen, so they can be sure to find the slower-moving circus if it takes a while. Merit retrieves protective clothes and herbal antidotes from an old supply cache just north of the Strand, and Min Feng brings Monko. It is a journey of many days more, further into the Strand, to reach the "doors in the woods" - two brass doors leading into a low mound.

Eventually, the group reaches the site described by Reed, and sees five guards moving around in front of the doors. The most important point seems to be to prevent letting them flee inside to alert anyone within, but people are not sure that they can take out five guards very quickly (or at all). A plan is devised - Hana will make things very very spooky, some people will creep up to the top of the hill and jump down - Kasumi and Master Zhou doing nose grabs and nerve strikes immediately to stop the guards closest to the doors. Merit will try to bluff to scare the rest of them away - he and Xiao Fa concoct something to put on the weapons that smells and looks as though it might be poison.

The plan is enacted. As the night gets spookier, the guards start remarking that they have "a bad feeling about this". Mist starts to rise from the ground, and strange and creepy sounds come from the jungle. Once everyone is good and truly nervous, the combatants jump down - Kasumi and Master Zhou stun their foes, and Merit tries his bluff.

"The hell portal inside should be well opened. Kill these, so that their souls may feed the fire." -Li Merit
"Xian would be so proud." -Mike

One of the non-stunned guards shouts at the others to keep it together, but two of them flee. Master Zhou shackles him with the Shackles of Silence, and the two stunned guards are knocked down, followed by the third. The three guards are looted for their green hats, and Monko unlocks the great brass doors.

The dungeon (which the party will eventually discover is called the Coil) is a long and narrow corridor leading forward, with cells on either side. The group progresses in, encountering some number of perils at ever-increasing difficulties. (As part of the mechanic, any given person who succeeds at passing a peril can bring one other person for free, or more people by spending tokens). The perils include:

Bend Bars, Blocking Chi Flow, Confused Guards, Depressing Bones, Fighty Guards, Greedy Guards, Guard Dogs, Guard Post, Hidden Latch, Impressible Guards, Locked Turnstiles, Magical Horribleness, Mesmerizing Guard Serpents, Nearby Guards, Old-Fashioned Puzzle Locks, Persuasive Guards, Pit Trap, Poison Gas, Poisonous Spores, Rolling Boulders, Slick Floor, Sneaky Guards, Softie Guards, Sticky Webs, Swinging Blade Trap, Twisty Little Passages All Alike, Ucky Muck, Very Unpleasant Worms, Watchful Guards, Withstand Cold, and Zillions of Needles.

Each of the cells is found to have one of the captured spies, though they have forgotten most of the knowledge they knew; each one of them only has a scrap of the briefing remaining.

Turning back again would cause the difficulty to continue to increase, and after the group has progressed in a little ways, the un-perilous rooms behind them start to be replaced. Their carefully constructed path of returning without peril is destroyed, and it seems likely that they will be unable to leave. However, the two party members who can get through walls (Hana and Min Feng) realize that in the same way they can bring people with them past a peril, they can also bring people with them through the outer wall to freedom, so the dungeon run becomes "Forward Or Die!".

Eventually, Gau Tso and all of the spies but one are rescued before the combination of peril and doors not pointing in the correct direction lead the rescuers to decide that it is too dangerous to go further. Three briefings are pieced together:
Spy Briefing (Antidote) Spy Briefing (Poison) Spy Briefing (Coil)
Gau Tso says that the Chief told the Queen that it was too dangerous to go into the Strand, but she insisted. The Chief thought maybe the mission was a distraction for something else, but didn't know what. Gau Tso and the other spies head back towards the Butterfly Kingdom to report and get checked over, and their rescuers start the long trek back to the Circus.

Puttering
Location Note: The Circus is making its way up the long tail of the Strand; puttering can reach the Illuminated Precincts, or the Savanna of Tears, but not Iron Mountain.
Yoshi heads off to the Teng lands in the Forest of Chin to deliver a messsage from Hana and Hiro. He'll be back later.
Takanata and Hana zip back to the Illuminated Precincts to do some library research. Wei Han goes back to the Illuminated Precincts to talk to the garrison there. Wei Han, Cai Wen, and Xiao Fa take a quick side trip into the Savanna to talk to the army and other people that present themselves.
Wei Han, in conjunction with at least Cai Wen, Lijuan, and Shen-Ji, plans a scouting mission to explore the further-ahead parts of the Strand.
Retrieved from "http://boojum.scripts.mit.edu/Dragon/index.php?title=The_Coil" Category: Book One Logs
This page was last modified on 2 November 2010, at 22:21.
Fire and Ice

From Dragon

"Just as tall trees are known by their shadows, so are good men known by their enemies."

It is the day of the Early Dog in the month of the Phoenix, in the first Year of the Fox since the crowning of the Viridian Queen.
The run takes place in the Strand
Previous run Next run
Contents

1 Scouting Ahead
2 An Eccentric Visitor
3 Seekers of Enlightenment
4 The Village of Ancient Stones
5 Icemelt
6 Shadows On the Wall
7 Puttering

Scouting Ahead

The countryside of the Strand is more perilous than previous travel on the highway or even the Savanna roads; Ringmaster Te's previous instructions to not touch anything and not eat anything failed to prevent all trouble in the last run. Therefore, Wei Han decides that scouting ahead to test out the peril may cut down on the danger to the actual circus caravan, so he, Lijuan, Cai Wen, Xian, and Shuyan head forward of the main caravan, leaving Hiro and Takanata behind (Takanata has no interest in going and looking for danger, and Southrons might be interested in kidnapping Hiro, so Wei Han wants him to stay put[1].).

The road ahead has a lot of overhanging trees, and is only barely wide enough for the circus wagons. The air is hot and muggy, and smells like swamp. Cai Wen, Shuyan, and Xian prove to not be experts in Strand survival: when Shuyan notices that one of her snakes has wandered up in a tree, she climbs up to get it and dislodges a lot of sap and pollen on Xian and Cai Wen in addition to herself. The sap proves to be very attractive to bugs, which is first noticed by Shuyan who panics at having BUGS ALL OVER HER. Lijuan pours her canteen over Shuyan's head; Xian tries to calm her down, but as he's covered in bugs himself, he is less of a calming influence than he might like, and she panics more. Master Zhou tells her sternly to stop it, and she decides that of bugs and Master Zhou, Master Zhou might be scarier, and calms down a bit.

The group straggles into the next town up, a small place called Four Wells. Wei Han arranges for baths and meals, and suffers through some mocking about taking naps under saparilla trees. The three bug-infested people are given some yellow powder to put in their bath, and end up without bugs, but smelling of sulfur. Cai Wen talks to the innkeeper to learn about the dangers of the nearby area, and picks up two temporary Strand survival skill ranks, which he can pass on half of to others with some quick instructions.

Xian asks around at the inn for local gossip. They do know that the Silken Wings Circus will be here soon - Ringmaster Te's advance guys have already gone through. They eventually find out that there were a couple of people who passed through recently asking about the circus - an old guy and a kid. The locals suggested they wait for the circus to arrive, but they said the matter was pressing, and headed off to the east to try to meet them. Xian pretends familiarity with them: "The kid was... a little rambunctious?" and gets more details - they went via the northern road rather than the southern road (the scouting party took the southern road, which is presumably why they didn't meet up). Worried, Lijuan reminds everyone that Spies Do Not Come Back from the Strand, so people should be careful in their information-gathering.

The scouting party also realizes that it is a little silly to try and hide the fact that they're not from the circus, given that they'll be back in a day or two and probably be recognized then, and shifts into pretending that they were never pretending to not be from the circus, but that they just forgot to mention it. It was probably the saparilla. They also get directions to Ancient Stones, the village where the two travellers were from. It's past Green Falls, down the stream that they call a river that really isn't anything like a river.

Xian mentions that he has heard a story about the village of Four Wells. That leads to the locals wondering whether the story included how to tell which wells are safe to drink from. Apparently, it did not. More drinks are bought for the locals, and Xian is warned to not drink from a well until he sees someone else drinking first.

Now that the scouting party has some information to relay, they decide to head back. There is some argument as to whether to return the way they came (in theory safer, and shorter) or go back on the north road for extra bonus exploration, and possibly to catch up to the other two travellers. Eventually, the group heads up to the start of the north road, and Lijuan directs Ho to smell the footprints that probably belong to the boy and the old man. Ho smells the path, a nearby tree, a puddle, and then points up the road. The party goes the other way, to the south road. Ho gives Lijuan a look as if to say he doesn't see why she bothered asking him to try to find their trail.
On the way back, Wei Han spots a saparilla tree, and backs into some poison ivy avoiding it, but everyone else manages to avoid the general environmental peril.
An Eccentric Visitor
Back in the circus caravan, Takanata shows his morning poem to Hiro:
Ice which does not melt, but burns
A touch of Winter at the heart of Summer (this line has a shadow underneath it) The truth is in the shadow, the action in the light

Hiro concludes that there are nefarious Ice Mages or Ice Demons in the area, and looks for some sort of fire to combat them with. He contacts Gipeno, a juggler, who juggles flaming torches (in addition to other dangerous items) in his circus act. Hiro asks to borrow some of the torches for use against the suspected ice-mage. Gipeno gives him two torches, and tosses him a third to see how he reacts. Having no actual juggling skill, Hiro does not fling the initial torches in the air, but tries to transfer both to one hand before catching the third. Gipeno decides he should stick with only two for now, and instructs him that you can set the torches on fire by rubbing them together; the only way to extinguish them is by submerging the flame entirely in water. Hiro contemplates the possibilities in setting his arrows on fire.

Meanwhile, Takanata notices someone he doesn't recognize looking at one of the luggage wagons - a young woman in green, with light brown hair. He points her out to Hiro, whose incredibly appraising eye notes that she would be quite good looking if she brushed her hair and took a bath. He goes to investigate, and Takanata notes with a sigh that now Hiro is going around and around the wagon looking for the mysterious stranger, while she perches atop the wagon watching him.
Hiro finally notices and jumps up to the top to introduce himself:

"Hi, I'm Harmony!" -Hiro "Like a song?" -young woman "And you are?"
"I don't sing, I dance."
Then:
"Are you looking for something?" -Hiro
"Do you have something?" -young woman
"Doesn't everyone?"
(She thinks about that.)
"You're probably right. But I'm only looking for bad things."
There does seem to be something odd about her, from her conversational style...
Anyhow, she indicates that there is something bad in the box that she's standing on now (the one that has all the party loot, except for the Sphere of Harmony, which is off in its own Box). She suggests burning the box, which Hiro thinks may be an excessive reaction.

Hiro points out Takanata - that's his uncle, and he's very good at this sort of thing. They should tell him about the box, and then have tea. Hiro is hoping to distract the woman from the contents of the box (as she does seem likely to be distractable), but Takanata is all about talking to strangers about mysterious things. (Perhaps it comes of being an I Ching Master).

"What sort of bad does it have in it?"
"The worst kind!"
"Mystically bad, politically bad, poisonous...?"
"Is politics bad? No, I'm talking about the Horrible Bad from Beyond!"

Takanata has Hiro fetch the box and is about to open it when Hiro leaps in: "But first, time for tea!" Takanata manages to learn her name - Da-Xie - and asks if she lives around here. All around, she agrees.

"Why is your heart submerged?" -Da-Xie
"That's something of a personal matter." -Takanata "Oh, I'm not good at those." -Da-Xie
"Oooh, I'm totally going to ask about that later." -Hiro

She sniffs her tea, dips a finger in it, then drinks it all down in a gulp. Takanata points out that normally, one takes a little longer over tea, and delicately sips his. She delicately sips her next cup, doing a spot-on Takanata impression. Hiro does his best to charm Da-Xie, since she's a babe, but doesn't get much farther than her telling him he's nice.

Takanata declares that it's time to open the box, and they do. He asks if the red strangling cord is the bad thing. She approves of the fact that he can tell, and says yes, it's from Beyond. She asks if they got it when they went south recently - she says that she followed some of them back after that. Ah, notes Takanata - she normally lives closer to the Wall? Yes, she does. "Which side?" Hiro asks, and is fixed with a withering and scornful glance Da-Xie crossly says that she didn't come from Beyond.

Takanata asks Da-Xie if she knows which spirit the Jade Taiga is aligned with. She says the Jade Taiga's not next to the Wall, and asks if he's going to deal with the strangling cord. He's not sure what "dealing with" means - burning, throwing it back, something else? She says burning is good. Throwing it back might work, but it might just return.

Takanata asks if there's anything else bad around. She says she doesn't smell anything else. Takanata checks - how about bad things from the north? She says she doesn't go up there. (Takanata notes she also isn't identifying the Shackles of Silence as bad, and it was apparently southern magic).
Takanata tells Hiro to burn the strangling cord, which he does. Da-Xie takes her leave, saying that she'll be back in a few days to have more tea.
Seekers of Enlightenment

The scouting party straggles back to the circus caravan, smelling of sulfur and bug-bitten. Wei Han is decontaminated, and his armor scrubbed, before his poison ivy gets too bad. Once back, Lijuan asks Ho to try to find the old man and the boy, but Ho again gives Lijuan a Look. They have apparently not arrived at the circus's location yet, despite having quite a head start on the scouting group.

Hiro immediately suspects the old man of being the Ice Mage that they've been expecting, and Takanata shows everyone else the poem. They also mention Da-Xie's visit - it is not clear whether she was human or some sort of forest spirit.
"She could totally have been from the other side of the Wall. It wasn't a dumb question!" -Hiro, defensively
Takanata confirms a guess that "A touch of winter at the heart of summer" refers to Wei Han. That is, one of the instances of it does.
Since the expected old man and boy have not turned up yet, the circus heads towards Four Wells on the southern road, and the scouting party heads up the north road (again leaving Takanata and Hiro to guard the circus). About halfway there, Ho starts barking and pointing - there seem to be some tracks left by a small boy, but they only came this far and then turned around.

Further up the road, some shouting can be heard: "If I get out of this, you will receive the beating of ten thousand lifetimes!" Then, a boy runs up, bows, and asks "Dear travelers, do you happen to have an axe of some sort? Or perhaps a sharp sword?" Some of the scouts point at Wei Han, who does have a sharp sword. The boy jumps about in delight: "Oh! We are saved, Master!"

The old man is enmeshed in a patch of tanglevines, and complains that the boy pushed him in; the boy claims the man stumbled. Wei Han and Master Zhou chop at the roots, releasing him. The old man introduces himself as Elder Ma-Chin, of the Village of Ancient Stones, and the boy as Soy. Elder Ma-Chin expresses his gratitude, and says he will not keep the group from their journey, as he and the boy do have a great deal to do.

Master Zhou says that he hears that they are looking for the circus - it will be in Four Wells tonight. Elder Ma-Chin is impressed by Master Zhou's knowledge, and says that he wishes to speak to Mystic Mondo, Enlightened Melina, and the Confounding Xian. Master Zhou, in an unaccountably informative mode, declares "Elder: this is Xian!"

Elder Ma-Chin bows deeply to Xian, and says that he and the whole of his village would be greatly appreciative if Xian would visit the village of Ancient Stones and provide his insights, as their mystic (Chen Shi-Jen) is in need of some assistance. Mystic Chen had recently returned safely from a quest for knowledge; they had a small dinner to welcome him back, but then after that, awoke to find his house completely encased in ice! This is beyond any of their knowledge.

The village has a small shrine dedicated to the ancestor spirits of the village, with a piece of star-metal as a revered relic. The mystic borrowed it for his trip, but did return with it. However, now the relic as well is trapped in the ice. The village's priest is planning to commune with the ancestor spirits to learn more.

The scouting party, with the two additions, continues back to Four Wells, and Xian asks for more details about the mystic and his "knowledge quest". Elder Ma-Chin doesn't know where he went, but it was over a week's travel. The mystic has only lived in Ancient Stones for several months, and has been of great assistance. Xian asks where he came from before - Elder Ma-Chin notes that "Many have asked, none have answered." He believes that Mystic Chen left his home after a personal tragedy, but they did not press very hard.

That evening, Xian introduces Elder Ma-Chin to Mystic Mondo and Enlightened Melina. Mondo, ever able to cut to the heart of the matter, asks if anyone saw the star-metal relic when Chen returned. Ma-Chin says yes, he saw two things in Chen's bag - the relic, and a piece of ice.
"It was but fist-sized, it did not encase the house" -Ma-Chin "I am sure it was but a coincidence." -Hiro
Xian and Takanata recall that star-metal is said to be potent but difficult to control, when used in sorcery and ritual.
Finally, since Mondo has solved one puzzle and Xian has confounded, Enlightened Melina draws the veils of fate aside, and notes:
"Star metal is but one of the keys you seek. This is not the only time this has happened, and while it may be possible to free her now, it is not certain whether it will happen soon or in the far future."
She collapses, drained from her exertions, and Hiro makes her tea.
The Village of Ancient Stones

The party (including Takanata and Hiro, this time) heads towards Ancient Stones. A couple of people fall in the stream, which gets them to Green Falls (the town halfway between Four Wells and Ancient Stones) in a much faster and wetter manner. On the second day of travel, several people twist their ankles (they're sure Soy tripped them), and are down a point of reflexes. After that, no more peril threatens before they reach the Village of Ancient Stones.

It is a small village, of perhaps a hundred people. And, sure enough, one of the small houses is encased in ice. At least, it seems to be ice, and is as cold as ice, but it is not melting and is dry to the touch. The villagers say that the ice glows faintly, and after dark, the shape of a man can faintly be seen. Shuyan looks at it with the heat-vision of a serpent, and notes a small heat source within. Soy lures Lijuan into licking the ice house, which proves unfortunate for her.

Elder Ma-Chin introduces the new arrivals to Elder Stonekeeper, the village priest. He says that at sunset, he plans to summon the aid of the village's ancestor spirits, hoping that they will succeed where shovels and icepicks have not.
Takanata looks at the ice, and thinks it looks more yang-y than most ice should - but also notes that up in the top of a nearby tree is Da-Xie, watching everything with interest. He heads in that direction, followed by Wei Han, who is already starting to regard the young woman with a deep disdain. Da-Xie looks down, asks "Oh, is it time for tea?" and jumps, flailing her arms and legs wildly. Hiro rushes over, and catches her as she falls - somehow the flailing turns to a perfect in-arms landing at the very end.

Hiro declares that he brought some tea, just in case, and starts to prepare it. Wei Han, exasperated, goes and takes out his frustrations on the ice with an ice pick. The ice does not chip at all - it barely scratches - but when Wei Han touches it, it is wet under his fingers. He tries digging a hole, and finds that the ice does not extend very far into the ground. He starts to dig under it.

Takanata asks Da-Xie what she thinks of the ice. She is surprised - was she supposed to have noticed it? It isn't from Beyond. Did she notice the man inside the house? No, not particularly. Lijuan tries to spot the figure of the man, but it's too bright, and the ice is too reflective to see much.
Da-Xie whispers complaints to Hiro - why did Hiro bring him (indicating Wei Han) down here? To keep Hiro safe. Da-Xie takes umbrage - that's her job!
"Are you guarding us?" -Hiro
"Why, are you in danger?" -Da-Xie
"People keep telling me I am, but they're so wrong."

Hiro asks if Da-Xie saw the ritual at midwinter. She says she heard it, but she was farther away during midwinter. It's definitely going to happen again, she notes. Did Da-Xie know that Hiro's sister and he were in it? "You have a sister?" Da-Xie remarks in surprise. Hiro explains that the Southrons kidnapped them and tied them up and tried to kill them.

Da-Xie protests again: "They tied you up and did bad stuff, and you went and found Mr. Grumpy Grumpy-head to keep you safe, instead of me!" Hiro admits that this is true, though he figures she means Master Zhou (who else would be described as Mr. Grumpy Grumpy-Head?), and protests that he didn't know her then. She should come with them in the future! Master Zhou, suspecting a different identity for Mr. Grumpy Grumpy-Head, asks about Wei Han, and she does a mocking impersonation of him, stomping around on stiff arms and legs.

"He follows orders and hits things with a stick and does everything the boring way."
-Da-Xie
"Ah, so you have met him before?" -Master Zhou
"No, not this time." -Da-Xie
"What?" -Cai Wen
"'Not this time!' How is that not perfectly clear?" -Takanata

(Takanata has an unfair advantage in figuring this all out, having previously read Wei Han's I Ching, and gotten a result much like the I Ching for the Northern Wall; he's also been told that Yanyu says Wei Han's Cycle aspect is "Winter", some portion each of Bear, Dog, and Crane.)
Takanata asks Da-Xie if there is also a Spring and a Fall, but she doesn't think so. Master Zhou catches on:
"You are Summer and he is Winter." "Duh!"
Icemelt

The discussion of what it means to be Summer or Winter is interrupted by Elder Stonekeeper, who says that as it will be sunset soon, he is starting the ritual to summon the ancestor spirits. Takanata and Master Zhou pay careful attention as he places carvings and flowers around the the frozen house - it doesn't look like a magic ritual, but is very reminiscent of Master Tien's exorcism.

As the ceremony begins, leaves begin to rustle and blow about, circling the house. Xian notes pockets of energy rising from the ground where the offerings were left. Stonekeeper calls upon the ancestor spirits to release the trapped mystic, and continues to chant. Then, as the sun touches the horizon, Da-Xie screams, and the leaves fall to the ground as if embarrassed to be in the air. Xian notes all of the invisible energy shooting off to the south. (Shuyan notes that the heat source is still there inside the ice).
Da-Xie asks, unhappily, "Why would they have stolen all of the ghosts?"
Hiro mentions that his sister is often considered a ghost. Da-Xie exclaims, "You have a sister!?" Hiro nods, "I do." Da-Xie frowns a bit and then takes Shuyan aside and whispers to her:
"Usually, when your sister is a ghost, you say 'did' instead of 'do'" -Da-Xie to Shuyan
Hiro tests out his new shtick, learned from Ling and Lung, and sees through Hana's eyes she is flying towards the south Wall at high speed, trapped. Takanata notes that it will be several days to get to the Wall, but if they hurry, they should reach it by midsummer. But that's days away - they can spend a few more minutes trying to fix the ice.

Takanata builds a fire under the ice, in the hole Wei Han dug and is surprised to see the ice grow down and engulf the fire. Da-Xie notes that this is very irritating, and says she's going to head off and try to find out where Hiro's sister is. She'll be back in a bit.

So... if fire makes the ice grow, does cooling it down make it melt? Lijuan tries pouring some water on it, and fans it with an origami fan that Takanata makes for her, but this doesn't seem to get rid of the ice.

In the nearby woods, some birds fly out of the trees. Wei Han is sure that something very irritating is going on, and heads into the woods to check. Da-Xie is standing in a circle of vines which seem to have grown up around her.
"Spirit of the Butterfly, Spirit of the Phoenix, Spirit of the Serp... argh! What are you doing here? Don't you have Wintery stuff to deal with!? Leave me alone!"
Wei Han stomps back to the ice house, to be cornered by Hiro. If he's "winter", can't he do something about the ice. He points to the scratch marks left by the ice pick. "No, something that works", Hiro complains. Hiro badgers him into trying to push on the ice with his hand, and with effort, it's more than just wet but melts a little under his hand. As he pushes on the ice, his hand slowly sinks in, and then the ice reforms on the other side.

As Wei Han heads, slowly, into the ice, he's surrounded by coldness, and order. The irritating girl, Cai Wen wandering blithely into danger - it's all gone. He's very tempted to stay, but makes a resolve roll and keeps pushing forwards.
Outside, stormclouds start to roll in, and there are several lightning strikes in the field where Da-Xie was last seen.
The trip takes Wei Han all night; inside the house, there's a man who is frozen, in the act of turning away from the table and starting to run. On the table is a little stand, a rock, a piece of glass, and a candle. Wei Han pinches out the candle, and picks up the rock and the guy.

Outside, once the candle has been put out, the ice begins to sweat and drip. It is high summer in the south, and now that the ice suddenly seems to be just ice, it is more easily pick-axed apart. Inside, Wei Han notes with unhappiness that something has begun to ruin his perfect orderly place of peace. He sighs and carries the mystic and starmetal relic out.
Though rescued, Chen is badly chilled and will require several days of warm blankets and broth to become lucid again. Elder Stonekeeper says he has tried to communicate with the gpy
ancestor spirits - he could not reach them, and thinks they are in danger.
The village is very grateful for the party's efforts in rescuing Chen - is there anything they can offer to be of help in rescuing the ancestor spirits as well? The village's two plowhorses are borrowed, as well as the star-metal relic. Cai Wen asks about their best wilderness tracker, but that is apparently Soy. They decline to take him.

Hiro looks through Hana's eyes again - the southrons, led by the Guy Hiro Hates, have finished a ritual, and there is a big glowing dome over the circle that he and Hana are in. The other southrons are cleaning up the bits from the first ritual, and setting up for a new one, most notably building a large wood pile for a bonfire. Lijuan wonders if they took Hana in the hopes that Hiro would show up - but there is no stopping Hiro from charging to the rescue at this point.

Shadows On the Wall

The party dashes for the Southern Wall in the direction that Xian indicated the ancestor spirits went. When they are nearly there, on the Day of the Phoenix (that is, midsummer), Da-Xie meets the group and complains that they should have gotten faster horses. Takanata checks - was the storm her doing? Yes, she says, she was preparing. Hiro describes the ritual setup he has seen, and Cai Wen clarifies that they're "trying to make the yerg turn" (Xian re-clarifies that the word is "yuga", but Da-Xie is not interested in southern words). Da-Xie thinks from the description, they will be doing a ritual in the shadows cast by the fire onto the Wall.

The ritual begins - Hana and the leader are in the glowing circle, there are piles of wood, metal, water, and stone surrounding the circle, the bonfire is lit, and twelve people construct animal masks and put them on. They begin to run back and forth between the circle and the wall, ferrying... something. When the party reaches the scene, there have been several rounds of successful running, and each animal has scored one point for its season in the ritual tally.
Da-Xie tries to figure out what she can, while others start the fight.
The closer you are to the wall, the stronger your shadow is. The farther away you are from the wall, the more reflexive your shadow is.
Lijuan shouts "Surrender or die!", though follows that up by immediately shooting her target. (Yoshi would be proud of the initial impulse, but might want to check up on the follow-through). Xian shouts "Wait, wait, stop everything! You need to use the talisman!" and waves an arrow at the cultists, but he is not yet very convincing, as he has forgotten to speak Senatali.
When the tally of each season gets to 18 (Hana's age), it's done.
The leader calls out (translated by Cai Wen) telling the cultists to not stop to defend themselves - just keep running. Xian continues his fast talk, this time remembering his Senatali.

"You need to plunge the talisman into the sacrifice!" -Xian
"If you are telling them to stab my sister, we are going to have words after the combat." -Hiro

The Crane ritualist starts to be confused by the different instructions; the leader shouts at him that if he takes the 'talisman' then Kali will feast upon the entrails of his family for a dozen generations.

Takanata considers using the star metal to chop the wood - but southron rituals are so haphazard, that it's hard to be sure it would disrupt things as much as it would in a proper ritual. Cai Wen helps Xian confuse the Crane ritualist, and between the two of them he ends up befuddled enough that he will never really recover.

This is very confusing. If we thwart them in the short term it could be worse in the long term. But if we don't thwart them, they win. Watch out for the thwackback. There's something I'm missing.

"Is it possible we need to tag the wall and bring things back again?" -Wei Han "Don't be silly!" -Da-Xie
"That probably means I'm right." -Wei Han

Takanata folds an origami butterfly, and flaps its wings on the wall. Da-Xie thinks that's great: "That's a two die butterfly! Attack shadows with it!" Even better, Takanata crosses the Butterfly-ritualist's shadow with his origami butterfly, and steals what it was carrying to the Wall (he thinks it's part of Hana's Yin, kind of.)

As Hiro charges into the arc of light cast by the fire on the Wall, his juggling torches burst into flames, and he (along with Hana and the leader, who are inside the glowing dome) casts no shadow on the Wall. He leaps into the dome and stabs the leader, but Hana is linked to him and takes equal damage (but has fewer hit points total!).
Master Zhou grabs the Tiger-ritualist's mask - it falls to pieces. However, there is still the shadow of a tiger on the Wall, no longer quite as controlled by the man casting it.
If you take them down, or take their masks, their shadows keep doing the ritual. But Hiro has no shadow, so he's free to chop them!
Hiro tries to pull Hana out of the circle, but that doesn't work - much like trying to pull her out of the ghost trap didn't either. He takes her hair combs and puts them in his own hair, looking like her, but while the leader can't tell which is which at that point, he still can't get Hana out.
Hiro is the only person who can take out a guy and his shadow at the same time.
The leader calls down lightning to try to strike Takanata (who has gotten far too irritating with his shadow-butterfly), but a second bolt of lightning (one of Da-Xie's) knocks it aside. Takanata, emboldened, manages to steal the Shadow of the Butterfly from the other guy to his own butterfly. Now his butterfly is the ritual Butterfly. Da-Xie declares that Takanata is pretty cool for an old guy, and smites the ex-Butterfly ritualist with a lightning bolt for good measure.

Hiro apologizes to Hana and thumps her, hoping that knocking her out will knock the leader out too, but he isn't able to knock her out automatically, and that just does both her and the leader more damage.
Xian alters the emotions of the Crane ritualist from confusion into submissive fear - as it turns out, he already had a lot of submissive fear, but now it's all directed at Xian.
Most of the party is attacking various shadows, and slowly taking them out of the ritual. Taking out the Tiger's shadow is a bit of a tactical problem, as that frees the Tiger ritualist to run around attacking people. Takanata takes the Shadow of the Butterfly to the edge of the firelight, and lets it go. After that, he makes an origami phoenix. It isn't very good, though - perhaps setting it on fire would help.

Wei Han takes out the Tiger ritualist just before the latter finishes killing Shuyan. He also tries to claim the Bear's shadow for his own, but just damages it enough to take it down. Hiro grapples with the leader (Aikido!), knocking him out of the center hex that he seems to need for lightning bolts. The party manages to take down the shadows of two of each season, so the ritual is still going on, but only very slowly. The cultists that have lost their shadows attempt to engage - the Tortoise ritualist nerve-strikes Xian, and the Fox tries to distract Lijuan - she giggles and bats her eyes, so he probably thinks it worked.

Wei Han tries to grab the leader through the glowing circle, but takes damage and is thrown back. The Magpie steals Lijuan's bow. Takanata tries to draw an exit with the elemental crayon, the way he drew an exit from the ghost trap. He spends the piece of Hana's yin that he has, and manages to clear four of the Fall-season tallies. The last Fall shadow is dropped, so the ritual cannot continue.

At this point, the leader switches to Plan B and shouts "The ritual is complete. I invoke the yang!" Lightning bolts strike all the cultists who have no shadows, and everyone in the party - except that Da-Xie, who was waiting for this, manages to ground out all the lightning except the bolt that hits Wei Han (she apologizes, but she just can't). Hiro also takes eight lightning bolts, but they seem to fill him with energy instead of slaying him dead. Takanata thinks now he has the giant reserve of Yang the way Hana has the giant reserve of Yin.

At this point, the leader's force field shrinks to be around just him, and he starts walking towards the Wall. Takanata runs as far forward as he can, throwing the star-metal talisman to Master Zhou and grabbing up Hiro's fallen fire-batons to try to cast a shadow of the leader on the wall with them.

Lijuan stands directly between the leader and the Wall, blocking his forward progress with two strength and bravado. Unfortunately, that's thirty-five points of damage for her as he tries to push by. Zhou touches the glowing aura with the starmetal. He takes damage, but the glowing aura leaps into the starmetal. Da-Xie shouts "Ancestor spirits, that's the right side, not the other guy!"

As the leader's shadow has appeared, people chop at it, but he manages to get to the wall and vanish into it before they can destroy his shadow. The last three cultists (Monkey, Serpent, Spider) try to kill themselves, but between much grabbing and distracting, Serpent is captured.

Da-Xie warns Hiro: "You're going to have to be careful. We could have ended the threat once and for all, but then you would be dead too. And you're nice, so that would be sad. You have to be extra careful now, though, and at midwinter you have to have Mr. Grumpy Grumpy-head help, because I won't be able to."

She thinks that Plan A was taking Hana's Yin to the Wall - this would have taken Hana out of being significant (though maybe then she would just be dead), but would have let the southrons have all that Yin to do whatever they wanted with themselves. Plan B was to shift to a much longer-term ritual - so now last Midwinter was "invoke the Yin" and this Midsummer is "invoke the Yang". Next they will probably do something to invoke the elements somehow. That will need to use powerful elemental essences - maybe big elemental spirits, maybe something else.

People ask if the plan should be just to take the fight to the Southrons and chase them over the Wall and kill them rather than waiting for them to come back. Da-Xie is adamant that under no circumstances should people go over the wall, and if they did, she wouldn't let them come back in. Everyone resolutely doesn't mention that they've all left the Empire already, since Da-Xie seems to be so bothered by the idea. And both Wei Han and Da-Xie can agree that it's unfortunate that the Wall hasn't gotten as much attention as it should.

Takanata reads the I Ching on the serpent cultist. He doesn't have a lot of future - he has pledged his Chi to another, and when the time comes to move on to the next world, he is not going to have a good time of it for his failures here. While he resembles a "Serpent" in nature (which is probably why he was chosen for this task), he is in no way actually touched by the Great Serpent Spirit.

Puttering

Hiro calls together Hana, Takanata, and Yoshi for a Tokai War Council. Takanata organizes a return trip to Ancient Stones (including so far Master Zhou, The Confounding Xian, Wei Han, Hiro, and Lijuan).
Takanata delegates "Interrogate the remaining southron" to Cai Wen (plus others). Master Zhou gets Shen-Ji to look at the star-metal before it gets returned to Ancient Stones.
Cai Wen, Wei Han, Merit, Kasumi, and Min Feng take a trip to the Savanna to look into the fate of the Butterfly Treasures.
Master Zhou discovers that there is a monk of the Ascending Path in the circus, and interrogates him.
Cai Wen and Master Zhou both try to get a briefing about Summer / Winter from Da-Xie. So do Hiro and Hana, but they also invite her to dinner.
Wei Han, Cai Wen, Lijuan, Takanata, Anto, Xian, Shen-Ji and Master Zhou head west to look for the ice-covered pagoda. People collect perilous ice chips. Hiro leads an Expedition to the Top of the Wall.
Anto, Master Zhou, and Xiao Fa visit a dojo in the Savanna of Tears where another Master of the Five Elements (Master Kangjon) teaches. They also meet Master Fu, who teaches the Way of the Leaping Flame, and Master Hwa, who teaches the Way of the Turning Wave.

1. GM note for the future: The PCs not in the run are generally assumed to be busy doing circus-related tasks and should not be counted upon for protection. But Hiro is not kidnapped at this time.
Retrieved from "http://boojum.scripts.mit.edu/Dragon/index.php?title=Fire_and_Ice" Category: Book One Logs
This page was last modified on 2 November 2010, at 22:22.
Four Brothers

From Dragon
"If you stand straight, do not fear a crooked shadow."
It is the day of the Late
Monkey in the month of the Phoenix, in the first Year of the Fox since the crowning of the Viridian Queen.
The run takes place in the Strand
Previous run Next run
Contents

1 Last of the Small Towns
2 Theft!
3 Multiple Chens
4 Everyone Takes Hostages
5 All About Highways
6 Battle with the Bandits
7 A Puzzling Explanation
8 Puttering

Last of the Small Towns

Ringmaster Te opens the day by gathering everyone up. He lets people know that this should be the last of these little town gigs for a while. There will be two days of afternoon shows here, and then the circus is off to the capital, where they will hopefully score a performance with the Viridian Queen, and the party can do "the thing with the guy - er... whatever that is". So, he encourages the crew to put on good couple of shows here, and then off they'll go. "The objective is in sight!" (Everyone cheers!) Then the circus will head for home, back to the Butterfly Kingdom to resupply for a northern run.
People set up the stalls in town square, and start putting on their acts. Zhi-Hao's swordsmanship demonstrations attract the interest of a gentleman named Chen. He seems more interested in the technical aspects of swordsmanship, rather than the actual use of swords - as if it's an intellectual exercise for him. Zhi-Hao does a bit of mental sparring with him, and finds him quite skilled - at least, as long as no one picks up any actual swords.

Elsewhere, Lijuan is showing off her sharpshooting, and Mystic Melina entertains a distinguished man named Chen with her visions of the future. In another booth, the Danger Chef (Yoshi) reduces a pile of vegetables to a tasty afternoon snack in a flurry of deadly blades. Yoshi also hears that a merchant named Chen is about and goes to check on Hana and Hiroki, as a merchant named Chen was responsible in part for their original kidnapping. After a quick investigation, he finds out that this is an entirely different guy. It seems Chen is indeed as common a name as people thought.

Shen-Ji's sword swallowing is well received, but the star of the show appears to be Anto. His flame juggling is dazzling and soon he's got quite a crowd watching him. He's definitely having a good day.
"I seem to be rolling for fives. I look for Kuan-Xi." -Anto
But, peering around the crowd, the woman with white hair is nowhere to be seen. Anto's act goes so well that Ringmaster Te asks him if he is ready to put on a VIP encore for the most distinguished guests. The Ringmaster gathers up all of the VIPs around, including the Mayor, a local priest, the distinguished Merchant Chen, and a few other dignitaries. They get a small private box, "dangerous" refreshments are served, and Anto goes to work. Sadly, he doesn't seem to do as well this time (still rolling for fives, still no sign of white hair, but the luck is not on his side). Still, he presses on through the performance, giving Yoshi time to peer closely at the mysterious Chen who's been popping up all over the place. The party gathers up awaiting his pronouncement. Chen seems to have quite a Social stat, but eventually Yoshi gets through his impassive screen and realizes: he's the distraction!

Theft!

Distraction? Everyone wonders what he's distracting them from. Zhi-Hao decides there's only one thing worth distracting people from and runs off check something. Luckily, the really impressive box the Jade Sphere is kept in is still there. On the other hand, it appears to be empty. Looking around the other boxes, Zhi-Hao finds the three fake Great Treasures are missing as well.

He alerts the party, and Shen-Ji takes to the air. From high above the circus, he sees two unknown people heading out of town to the west on horses, and a young woman with white hair getting into a carriage that heads off to the east.
Yoshi wonders why everyone is so worked up about the Jade Sphere anyways, finally breaking his yumekui-induced psych lims...
"On second thought, perhaps that is important. We promised the queen we'd take care of that..." -Yoshi
Zhi-Hao follows the carriage to the east. Luckily for him, it only goes three blocks or so before stopping at an inn, in which the girl with white hair gets out of her carriage and carries a small leather case inside. Zhi-Hao follows her in, but is intercepted by the innkeeper who asks if he can be of service. Zhi-Hao chats him up a bit and finds that the white-haired woman has recently arrived, coming in off the east road, and that she was asking earlier about where the circus was performing. Zhi-Hao finds out which of two rooms she is in, but doesn't pursue further until he hears what else is going on.

Meanwhile, the others pursue Merchant Chen as he departs. He goes to his horse and slowly starts heading out the same road the pair of strangers left on earlier. He heads out the west road a fair ways and then takes a path up to the north. The party trails him up there, and then rides right past the manor house they find so as to not raise suspicion. Surprisingly though, on the other side of the manor house a couple of hundred yards further up the trail, they find a nearly unconscious man beaten to within an inch of his life. They ask him what happened. He says that he was attacked by robbers. When they mention that they are from the circus, he says... "Xiao Fa..." and passes out. Anto believes he may actually be faking unconsciousness (though he's definitely only got a hit point or two left), but the party decides to take him back to the circus before talking further.

Multiple Chens

Everyone heads back to the circus. Everyone, that is, except Lijuan who decides to scout out the manor house by herself. She silently approaches the window and hears someone within saying, "Fool, you were followed! Someone is outside listening!" The door flies open and out runs Merchant Chen. Then another guy comes out, and it's also Merchant Chen, although he's wearing different clothes. Lijuan takes the opportunity to run very fast. The shout inside, "Get Do out here - he can catch her!" A third Merchant Chen emerges but then a voice from inside calls them all back in, saying they have more important matters to attend to. Lijuan runs all the way back to the circus.

At the circus, Xiao Fa and friends are questioning their new guest. He says his name is Shan Tsu. He was heading into town to watch the circus, when almost a dozen bandits came pouring out of a manor house having broken through windows, trampled bushes, etc., in their haste to leave. He tried to stop them, but on his best day, he is only a match for six or so. Xiao Fa thinks hard and realizes that Shan Tsu is a renowned Kung Fu master - not on the level of Master Zhou or anything, but well spoken of just the same. Shan Tsu asks Xiao Fa if he knows any Kung Fu. Xiao Fa says he has studied under Master Zhou. Tsu nods, and then declares that he will rest.

Meanwhile at the inn, Anto and Shen-Ji show up to see what happened to Zhi-Hao. After questioning the innkeper, he managed to get a brief talk with Kuan-Xi as she came downstairs to pick up some food from the innkeeper, but didn't really get anything out of her. ("Where are the charisma people when you need them?") On his arrival Anto questions Zhi-Hao about the girl with white hair and confirms that she matches Kuan-Xi's description. On Xiao Fa's advice, he asks the inn-keeper to give her a note indicating he visited and will be back to speak with her tomorrow. The innkeeper looks him up and down, and suggests that perhaps Anto might want to make his play sooner since the gentleman over in the corner (Zhi-Hao) is also looking to meet the young lady. Anto gives Zhi-Hao an appraising stare and then declares, "I'm not worried about him." The innkeeper shrugs and departs.

Confident that Kuan-Xi is going to be sticking around for a while, the party heads back to regroup at the circus. They are sharing information about Shan Tsu, and the manor house when Lijuan runs up:

"He's demons!" -Lijuan
"What?" -Everyone
"Merchant Chen! There's three of him and he's demons!" -Lijuan "What?" -Mike

Well that's that. The manor house is clearly the source of trouble and now has demons to boot. Everyone packs up and heads up there to deal with the situation. As they are departing, Shan Tsu comes out, and asks Xiao Fa if he has a plan for wherever it is he is going. Xiao Fa shrugs and Shen-Ji shouts "Get 'em!". Tsu shakes his head sadly and returns to the tent to rest.
Everyone arrives at the manor house and prepares to break in. Everyone, that is, except Yoshi who won't break in without asking.
"I'm going to talk to them first." -Yoshi
"That won't work." -Lijuan
"No, but I won't attack them until it fails to work. Or I see a demon." -Yoshi

Everyone Takes Hostages

Yoshi knocks on the front door while the rest of the party surrounds the house. An amazingly distinguished guy (looking like Merchant Chen) opens the doors and greets Yoshi politely. He mentions that it's not really a good time and perhaps Yoshi can come back later. Sadly, you can look right into the room from the front door and see the great treasures sitting on the table. Meanwhile, one of the Chens inside glances around and says, "We're surrounded!"

Regrettably, combat breaks out. Chen Mi surrenders immediately, but confuses Anto enough that Anto doesn't do much after taking him prisoner. Chen Re and Chen Do hold off Zhi-Hao and Lijuan quite effectively. Chen Fa, the charismatic Chen, spends most of the combat negotiating with Yoshi, who spends most of the combat collecting treasures from the table. Eventually, Chen Fa proposes that Yoshi take the treasures and they can trade an appropriate amount of treasure for Zhi-Hao and Lijuan tomorrow after heads have cooled down.

"Is the combat over?" -Zhi-Hao
"Well, they are taking you hostage..." -Yoshi
"They are? They didn't mention that to me." -Zhi-Hao

Unfortunately, while taking Lijuan prisoner, Chen Re hits a little too hard and she drops and starts dying. This disrupts negotiations a bit and things go back to fighting. However, Yoshi agrees to be their prisoner, in exchange for letting Lijuan get to a healer. The Chens think getting the enemy leader is probably a good deal, so allow it. Elsewhere, Anto still has Chen Mi captured, so in the final resolution, the party returns to the circus with Chen Mi and the treasures, but the Chens keep Yoshi. They agree to meet tomorrow to discuss a trade once everyone has slept and regained their wits.

"I gave myself up so you could get away." -Yoshi
"That wasn't the plan." -Lijuan
"That was your plan." -Yoshi
When they return to the circus, Shan Tsu is there to greet Xiao Fa. He looks at the state of the party, the captured Chen Mi, and Yoshi's empty horse, and pronounces:
"This is what comes of not having a plan."
Shan Tsu shakes his head and heads off to rest. The party discusses whether they should interrogate Chen Mi. (He's currently wearing the shackles of silence.)
"If we want to question him, this one could go get the monkey." -Xiao Fa <Shocked and confused look> -Chen Mi
"He's the smart one. I think if we interrogate him, he'll find out everything. Let's leave him quiet." -Anto

After a while they decide to risk it. Xiao Fa gets Monko, who unlocks the shackles. He (Xiao Fa, not Monko) asks about the excellent gardens around the Chen house and Chen Mi tells him his father did them all. He's retired and Feng Shui is his hobby now. Xiao Fa tells him that Xiao Fa is a student of Feng Shui as well and admired Chen's father's work. He wonders what Father Chen's job was, and whether it had anything to do with all this, and Chen Mi tells him that their Father was an Imperial Architect for roads and such, and was kidnapped. Then Xiao Fa tells Chen Mi that three of the treasures are actually fake. He then realizes what he just said and calls Anto, who slaps the shackles back on him. Indeed, it seems questioning him is too dangerous. However, searching him reveals a map with an X leading to an Imperial Highway way up in the northern Strand. It's marked with the same compass rose as the Hunter's Map, although it doesn't seem to be a magic item. ShenJi determines that it is, however, the target of a sorcerous spell, probably some sort of scrying. Everyone is careful not to talk in front of the map.

Meanwhile, at the manor house, Yoshi is offered noodles and they agree to unlock him from his bonds if he gives them his word of honor that he will not attempt to escape. As he has actual skill in Honor, this goes quite smoothly. So the Chen brothers fill him in on their problem.

Their honorable patriarch, Father Chen, has been kidnapped. They tracked the kidnappers to the north, but were confronted by a man in fine clothes, a bunch of goons, and another man in a Dragon Army uniform. They would of course have fought anyways, but the man in finery held a knife to their father's throat, and threatened to kill him if they did not depart. They offered themselves in exchange, but the man said Father Chen was very valuable to him. Perhaps if they could come up with something even more valuable he would listen. He gave them a map to lead them to him if they managed to find something quickly enough. They returned to their manor house only to find it had been robbed while they were gone chasing the kidnappers. They then sought out the mystics of the circus, as the local circuit of whispers indicated that their wisdom had been quite helpful to the nearby town of Ancient Stones recently. So they went to the circus and consulted with Mystic Melina. She tore apart the veils of fate and pronounced that the solution to their problem could be found in the circus itself. They split up and investigated all around, until Chen Mi, after a quick search, turned up a great treasure trove.

"After a quick search?! Don't we hide those things better?" -Everyone "Honorable sir, might I suggest you not hide your secret treasures in the most impressive box available?" -Chen Fa

The rest of their story the party presumably knows, having been involved in their pursuit. Yoshi suggests that perhaps they misinterpreted Mystic Melina's wisdom, and the solution to their problem lies in the circus's people, not its treasure. They agree to go back to the circus and team up with the rest of the party in the morning.

In the morning, people are bustling around preparing for their circus acts as Yoshi and three of the Chen brothers ride back into town. Xiao Fa and the rest meet them with the fourth brother in tow. Shan Tsu wonders who the white-haired woman following them around might be, at which point the rest of the party notices her too. Of course, it is a new day, so Kuan-Xi has shown up looking for Anto. She apparently got their note, so decided to come by early. Not wanting to discuss prisoner exchanges and the like in front of KuanXi, Anto leads her off alone to talk.

Kuan-Xi and Anto have a fine conversation after which he realizes that she really did track him halfway across the world just because he is cute (even though she never really said as much). He decides to cut her some slack.

The party and the Chens fill each other in. Master Shan Tsu is nearby and Xiao Fa asks his opinion. He concludes that the only missing fact here is what was actually stolen from the manor house by the thieves who apparently knew when the brothers would be distracted. Sadly, the Chens have not had a chance to do a serious search of their own house as things have been a bit busy.

Everyone decides to head up to the manor house, and then to the X on the map. Kuan-Xi offers to come along, but Lijuan doesn't trust her, so rather than letting Kuan-Xi in on all of their plans, Lijuan takes her off alone.

Kuan-Xi and Lijuan have a fine conversation about horses and dogs and Ho and all sort of other things, after which she realizes that Kuan-Xi really is just trying to be helpful. She decides to cut her some slack.
"She's taking us one by one!" -Yoshi
All About Highways

So, the party, the Chens, Kuan-Xi and Shan Tsu all head to the manor house. After a search, the Chens decide that the only things taken were some old work papers in storage from before their father retired, and his writing kit. Apparently, before his retirement, Father Chen was an architect who worked often for the Empire, laying out new building, roads, etc. But that was years ago. Why would anyone need old plans, or his writing kit? Several people speculate that if his chop were in the kit, they could falsify old plans, but no one is really clear what there is to gain.

Then the massive party proceeds to the location on the ransom map. There's a whole bunch of discussion as to how to proceed. The best plan seems to be a simple exchange where they give over one of the fake treasures in exchange for the old man, but there's some discussion as to what to do if that actually goes off. Sure, they'll get the old man back, but then they won't know what the heck is going on!

"Wait, are we seriously worried about what happens if the plan works?" -Yoshi "If it works, we don't find anything out." -Zhi-Hao
"I understand why we care, I just don't understand why we think our plan might work." -Yoshi

In any case, they proceed. The circus portion of the party (with Kuan-Xi and Shan Tsu) arrive first to scout. They see several massive work crews apparently moving a section of highway. They're taking out wonderfully sculpted gardens and smoothing all of the curves to make a fast straight section out of what was probably the most beautiful stretch of highway anyone has ever seen. They see what appears to the the construction foreman, in an army uniform, yelling to make the work go faster. The well dressed man occasionally steps out of the construction hut to check on things. Most importantly, they see a set of bandits setting up an ambush right where the Chens are expected to arrive.

Battle with the Bandits

The beginning of the plan goes well. The Chens arrive, and the foreman, well-dressed man and bandit leader come out with Father Chen in tow. The Chens offer a Parl Lion in trade. This is when Chen Mi notices the ambush and shouts "It's a trap!"

Combat commences. With Kuan-Xi giving Anto bonus rounds, and Shan Tsu giving Xiao Fa combat pointers, things go pretty darned well. The bandits are being dealt with, and the construction workers are unable to see down off of their construction area into the melee area where the combat is occurring. The man in uniform is taken down by Zhi-Hao and Anto, but the well dressed man manages to drag his body up onto the highway in progress. Zhi-Hao pursues and is about to bring his sword down for a final blow when he realizes he's now standing on the Imperial Highway. Every one of the four dozen imperial construction workers gives him a look, and he decides to retreat back down to the main fight. This gives the well dressed man a chance to retreat to the construction hut. As he escapes he snaps his fingers and the map Chen Mi was carrying bursts into a fireball, taking him down.

Down with the force of ambushing bandits, Anto goes down. Kuan-Xi rushes out to help him, but Xiao Fa gets there first. He starts to pick up Anto, but Kuan-Xi apparently gives him all of her hit points and goes down herself. This at least brings Anto back up to finish the fight. Xiao Fa picks up Kuan-Xi and carries her to safely. With a first aid roll she is brought back to consciousness. She wakes in his arms and says, "Xiao Fa! You saved me." From across the battlefield, Anto glares.

In the end, one of the Chens is down, but stable, and the field is held by our heroes. They head back up to the highway where construction workers are gathered around the body of their fallen captain. Apparently, the well dressed man left him here. The party offers to take him to their healer, and since no one on the highway saw anyone in the party attack the captain, they agree. Suddenly, the construction hut bursts into flames ("Wasn't the last bad guy in there?"), and all of the workers are busy trying to save it.

A Puzzling Explanation
The construction captain and Father Chen tell their tales.
Apparently, a well dressed man approached the captain with a letter. The letter bore the seal of the Regency Council and said that what the bearer did was done on their behalf. He offered the captain forty li and the letter to order his construction battalion to make certain modifications to the highway. Also, he was instructed to hire some local bandits to kidnap Father Chen and rob his house. Zhi-Hao is disgusted with his corrupt behavior. Yoshi presents the construction battalion with this tale, and the senior sergeant orders the captain arrested and dragged back to Southern Command to face a court martial.

Meanwhile Father Chen explains that all they had him doing was making changes to the original blueprints and signing them with his old chop. It's as if they didn't only want to ruin the Feng Shui of his beautiful highway, but they wanted it to appear that it had always been that way. But Father Chen is not a forger, so it's clearly not going to fool anyone. It seemed more like they were trying to fulfill some arcane technicality.

Examining the wreckage of the construction shed, the party does find the 40 li the captain was paid, and adds this to the letter they took off of the captain earlier. Shen-Ji also finds the remains of a quickly sketched map in the dirt and notices the power of a fairly rapid ritual dissipating. Judging by the map he estimates that the well dressed man transported himself to somewhere in the vicinity of the Hidden City. Questioning the captain further, they find that little is known about the well dressed man. Given the letter he produced, the captain was calling him "Minister" but he never gave any true name or title. The one odd thing he noticed is that the minister never allowed anyone to see him unclothed. Not even his bath attendants, who were all sent from his room when he bathed.

Shen-Ji, after examining the transport map in the dirt, the Hunter's map, and the map that Chen Mi had, announces that whoever else the escaped man is, he is also a powerful cartogramancer. Cartogramancy is an ancient and obscure branch of sorcery that no one has practiced for hundreds of years, as far as Shen-Ji knows. He's surprised anyone still knew how to teach it.

People decide to put the letter away in case it's either useful or a forgery, or something, and split the 40 li among all present, including the Chens, Kuan-Xi and Shan Tsu. Everyone gets 3 li, except Xiao Fa who is given the extra one as well. The captain is dragged away by his men, as are the bandits, and the construction battalion agrees to halt construction until they get better orders. Xiao Fa looks at the chi of the highway, and reports that the work crews were changing the intent of the road from "safe and comfortable passage", to "speedy passage above all", no longer concerning itself with the safety of the travelers.
Everyone retires to the circus for an evening of relaxation.
Puttering

Various people check to see if the Chen Family will teach their rescuers any shticks. They seem willing.
Xiao Fa also mentions that Monko's chi is unusual - it dances and capers. Yoshi asks for people to try to free the Southron prisoner from Kali's grasp. Xiao Fa (with Master Zhou and Yoshi) goes in search of a Selfless Path temple. Anto practices sparring with the Chen brothers.
Anto spends time with Kuan-Xi.
Cai Wen (with Wei Han) looks for some gambling opportunities, and hears of some intriguing options.
Hana chats with Father Chen about highways and feng shui
Retrieved from "http://boojum.scripts.mit.edu/Dragon/index.php?title=Four_Brothers" Category: Book One Logs
This page was last modified on 2 November 2010, at 22:22.
Whispered Secrets

From Dragon

"So long as I can keep a secret, it is my prisoner. If I let it slip, then I am its prisoner."

It is the day of the Early Fox in the Month of the Serpent, in the first Year of the Fox since the crowning of the Viridian Queen.

The run takes place in and around Nine Terraces, the capital of the Strand
Previous run Next run
Contents

1 A Long Lunch Break
2 Nine Terraces
3 Visiting Master Hsi
4 A Mysterious Ailment
5 A Reward of Three Secrets
6 Hidden Treasures
7 The Whispered Ball
8 Puttering

A Long Lunch Break

The circus caravan has stopped for lunch, on the way to Nine Terraces, the capital of the Strand. The lunch hour seems to stretch for quite some time - Takanata is pleased to have a leisurely pause in the tea tent, for three or four hours, but some of the others are curious what is going on.
Hiro pesters Takanata to see the day's poem:

A mask is always beautiful Smiles with perfect grace But shows nothing
Beneath the mask lies the skin Beneath the skin lies the truth Beneath the truth
Lies the secret

Finally, someone heads to investigate, and discovers that Li Merit is up at the front of the Circus train dealing with an elephant emergency. Apparently, one of the elephants got a rash, and has jumped into the soothing swamp. Another elephant fell in trying to pull the first one out.

"The first elephant, sank into the swamp.
The second elephant... sank into the swamp.
The third elephant burned down, fell over, and sank into the swamp. The fourth elephant stayed up!" -Cael

Unfortunately, like Merit, Xian does not do so well on his Medicine roll, and notes that one elephant has a rash, but cannot identify it. The elephant that doesn't have a rash is finally coaxed back out of the swamp, and the leeches removed. Of course, in this process Xian is covered with mud and leeches. Meanwhile, Min Feng is able to identify the rash as due to poison rhubarb, and Xian and Merit can, from that, recall that the solution is a mint poultice. The tea tent has some mint tea, as do Hiro and Hana, but not nearly enough to coat an elephant. That means foraging in the swamp, unfortunately, but Hiro volunteers.

Wei Han has noticed some spearmint vines around a saparilla tree near the road, and Hiro manages to cut several vines and delicately pull them away from the tree without shaking it or coating himself in saparilla sap. Xian, Min Feng, and Li Merit turn the spearmint vines into a poultice (Merit saves the spears for use later), and treat the affected elephant with it.

With the elephants back on the road it's time to "Line up for de-leeching!" Merit says keep the leeches, too, as they can have medicinal properties when applied with skill. While using small flames to remove leeches, no one gets caught in an ice chip of doom. Li Merit does find the ice chips quite interesting though, and so asks to borrow one from Xian. Confused Xian stalls untill finally Wei Han loans his to Li Merit.

With the circus finally ready to move out, people ask Li Merit if they should wake up the ringmaster. Ringmaster Te was taking a nap during the lunch break, but that's several hours long now. When he does wake, he fusses quite a bit over the fact that the circus might be late getting to their command performance. The tea tent is hurriedly packed up and it's marching at double time all the way to the city. The rashy elephant is taken off of the performance list for the evening.

Nine Terraces

The circus caravan does manage to make it to Nine Terraces - the crowds which have gotten bored and begun to sit down, stand up again and cheer. The circus is shown to the park set aside for their use, directly in front of the royal Palace. There appears to be a construction project in progress - one wing of the palace is covered in scaffolding and stonework seems to be being repaired. The green-robed majordomo is very distressed that the command performance might end up being late, but Merit's practice with event planning gets everything underway smoothly, and soon all the tents are set up and ready to go.

The doors to the palace open, and two lines of dancers emerge, to gracefully and sinuously dance until falling down in two parallel lines, between which the Viridian Queen and the royal party walk. The Queen is quite young - perhaps not quite as young as the young women of the party, but probably in her twenties.

The circus gives a strong performance - the Queen is particularly impressed by Min Su, and invites her to the royal box to congratulate her. She also invites Hiro, and Kasumi and Wei Han, and the large soldier beside her presents them with scrolls inviting them to attend the Whispered Ball on the following evening. Ringmaster Te also thinks that he can bring a few more guests due to the accolades given the circus in general.

Before then, Ringmaster Te suggests that Merit and the others go do... whatever the secret thing is they came to the Strand to do (and Master Alchemist Hsi does live nearby in the village of Qiqing). That sounds like a fine idea, and Merit briefs them on what he knows about the Whispered Ball as they head out, Hiro carrying the Sphere of Harmony in a secret pocket.

Spying is not only allowed at the party, it's practically required. If you are clever, you can get out not having spilled any secrets and pick up a bunch of secrets from the other guests, but do watch yourself.
Mechanics: The ball is similar to a regular combat, except your hit points are coming from Status and Resolve. Your attacks come from Charisma instead of Accuracy. Skills like Conversation provide x1 attacks; Fast Talk and Conversational Interrogation provide x2 attacks, and Seduction provides x3. Spycraft and Strong Will act as a general dodge skills. Damage is usually successes x multiplier +Int (instead of +Str). If you lose all of your "hit points," you give a secret to whoever "took you down."
It's considered dreadfully insulting to leave before the Queen departs.

Perhaps people should arrange to do terribly embarrassing things so as to have some nonimportant secrets to lose? In any case, the party heads to the village of Qiqing. Kasumi briefly "scouts" off the road on the trip, and wanders through some poison rhubarb without noticing.

The group arrives in Qiqing fairly late, and knocks on Master Hsi's door. The door is opened by a young man (Reishi, his nephew), and Merit explains that they seek an audience with Master Hsi. Reishi thinks it is rather late - do they have an appointment? Er, no. Is this an emergency? No, not that either. Merit looks to Takanata, who has a bit more status, for assistance. Takanata introduces himself as an emissary from the Butterfly Court; Reishi is somewhat convinced, and offers "If you and the young sir <referring to Hiro> would like to come inside, your retainers could wait outside?" Takanata decides he would rather have everyone there than meet immediately, and instead suggests that they return at ten in the morning tomorrow.
The question is raised as to whether a guard should be posted over the alchemist in the meantime.
"If something were to happen to him before tomorrow morning, our mission will be over." -Wei Han
"Oh, come on! What could possibly happen!" -Hiro

Takanata notes that unless the alchemist has a Tincture of Pure Respite immediately to hand, there will be more time than between now and the morning, during which Something Might Happen to Master Hsi. Takanata suggests staying at the inn (and then Wei Han can watch the alchemist's house if he really wants to). Master Zhou objects, warning that the innkeeper will be able to tell exactly what they are all there for (as was the case when people visited to buy poisons from the Ancient. Various people object that walking back through the swamp in the middle of the night is likely to be a problem as well, though a different kind of problem. Hiro points out that they still haven't done any ridiculous things to be found out as secrets - will that be easier at the inn or back with the circus?

After much argument about where to stay, the party heads back to the capital and sleeps at the circus. Kasumi gets covered in spearmint to deal with her poison rhubarb, and a bunch of the circus girls hit on Hiro, hoping for an invitation to the ball tomorrow. Hiro, having been encouraged to generate extra secrets he can have spilled at the party, takes one for the team and goes and makes out in a hayloft. Also that night, Li Merit and Wei Han head into town to run a "little errand" for Merit. He meets a guy in the alley and items change hands. He passes his contact the Ice Chip of Doom that Wei Han loaned him, for further study. The contact says to watch out, as he was being followed earlier, but perhaps that's not so unusual here in the Strand.

The next morning, Hiro, having been reminded that perhaps he'll need some social cover at the party, finally invites one of the girls (named Belle) to accompany him to the ball. She's thrilled and heads off to prepare.
"Why would I do that?"
"Think of her as a Meat Shield for social combat!"
Visiting Master Hsi

Then, the party heads back to the village of Qiqing to finally talk to Master Hsi. The apprentice Goji lets them in and starts to offer everyone tea, but is distracted by Kasumi's minty fresh scent. He finally recovers, when apprentice Reishi arrives with tea, and sees to the party's needs. Eventually Master Hsi arrives and, seeing Kasumi, immediately offer his help: "I gather that you are here on a matter of... ah, rhubarb difficulties."

Takanata takes charge and explains the actual mission. Master Hsi states that a Tincture of Pure Respite can not be provided without great need, and even then the cost would be great as well. Takanata indicates that someone of no small importance to the Butterfly Court has been afflicted with the Terrible Oil of Wasting Death, and they are authorized to offer one of the Great Treasures of the Butterfly Kingdom. Hiro takes the Jade Sphere out of his hidden pocket and presents it to Master Hsi for inspection. Master Hsi is impressed.

"Oh my. You offer one of the ancient Puzzle Boxes of Guansho." -Master Hsi "Ah ha! I've been saying for months that there was something inside of that thing!" Li Merit

Negotiations are interrupted at this point, as there is a commotion outside. It seems Master Hsi's third apprentice (Quai) is attempting to keep a bunch of royal guards out of the private meeting. Min Feng overhears the conversation and manages to prep people for their arrival, so the puzzle box is quickly hidden before they burst in.

By order of the Viridian Queen, these guards have come here to escort Master Hsi to the palace. He demands to know why, and is told that the Queen's emissaries to Iron Mountain have just returned, and there is trouble he is needed to deal with. The guards also state that jg

the party must now be confined here until the matter is resolved, as this information is not to be spread until the Queen is satisfied. Takanata manages to get the party invited along to the palace rather than confined, so the guards can keep an eye on them - as well as the fact that they might prove useful.
"You know, there was a time when I would have doubted that. Now it wouldn't surprise me." -Li Merit
Apprentice Quai also comes along. Master Hsi brings his green satchel and everyone sets off to the palace. Interestingly, no survival rolls are needed in the swamps when traveling with royal guards. En route, Kasumi asks if Quai can provide something to neutralize her mint affliction before meeting the queen. Quai, always looking for a score, pulls out a small vial and offers it to Kasumi for the bargain price of three li. Kasumi sadly declines, and everyone tries to cheer her up by saying that the smell of mint suits her.

A Mysterious Ailment

At the palace, they are brought into a room with several people on beds, apparently in the throes of some terrible illness. The Queen herself is there tending to one of them and thanks Master Hsi for arriving so quickly.
"Oh Master Hsi. Excellent that you could have... brought the circus?" -Viridian Queen
She confesses that one of her representatives to Iron Mountain was her good friend and tutor when she was younger, and dearly wishes that he survive. The emissaries were sent to investigate the rumors of happenings at Iron Mountain, ostensibly as part of the usual diplomatic interchange. The mission returned early, but just as they were about to deliver their report to the Queen, they fell over, almost as one. Within minutes, all four were apparently dying. Suspecting poison, she sent immediately for Master Hsi.

Master Hsi gets to work and is quite puzzled. After much careful examination, he declares that he can find no cause - they are not poisoned or ill, and it is almost as if their organs were simply crumbling from within. This is not good.

Something about that phrase strikes Master Zhou's memory, and he asks to examine the stricken. At first, the Queen is not sure what use circus performers can be, but he introduces himself as Master Zhou of Iron Mountain, and she allows as that might be relevant. One of the Queen's guards whispers to her (overheard by Min Feng) that if this is Master Zhou, he is indeed one of the three great masters of Iron Mountain, but is currently rumored to be in exile.

Master Zhou's examination confirms that they have been struck by the Quivering Palm, one of the deepest secrets of his style of Kung Fu - but he does not remember the technique to reverse it. The queen looks thoughtful and then questions him about it. "You should know... and it's secret? It is something you have learned but are not to speak of?" Master Zhou allows as this is true, and admits that some of his memories are hidden from him. The Queen says that she can be of assistance in finding out this secret, if Master Zhou will permit. He agrees.
The Queen asks Master Zhou to choose three of his companions.
"For what?" -Merit, looking alarmed.
"Choose me, I'm minty fresh!" -Kasumi
"Takanata, Li Merit, and the Confounding Xian." -Master Zhou "You win! I surrender! No sticks!" -Merit
She tells Zhou to write down, for each companion, the secret that he most wishes to keep secret from each of them. He does so.
While he's thinking, Merit talks to Quai about ordering useful ingredients from elsewhere, in case he travels through here again. Most of what she is interested in is from countries bordering the Northern Wall, as those are the most remote from here. Merit, thinking about it, confirms to himself that the things she wants sound like medicinal ingredients and not poisons, and the main relationship between them is their rarity and price.

Once Master Zhou has come up with three secrets, the Queen tells him to think of the knowledge he wishes to be revealed, and to tell her which of the three secrets she may reveal. He chooses Xian's. The Queen thinks, and tells him that the secret "antidote" to the Quivering Palm is to strike the target with a particularly placed Kung Fu roll for 20s, and that the secret he has written down for Xian is not true - she makes a slight change to correct it.

Hiro points out happily that he also has kung fu, so perhaps he can help? Master Zhou says Hiro does not have kung fu, he has aikido. Hiro says that's better than kung fu, so it ought to count.

Attempting to strike the Queen's favorite for 20s proves more difficult than expected. Three karma and forty-eight dice later, a 10 is finally rolled (Zhou has 10 skill), and the Quivering Palm damage is repaired. Master Zhou also successfully strikes two of the other emissaries, so only one of the four succumbs and perishes.

A Reward of Three Secrets

The Queen tells Master Zhou that she understands that some of the party may be attending the Whispered Ball - in thanks for what he has done, if there are three questions/secrets that he wishes the answer to, she will ensure that those who possess those secrets are at the ball. Then, she gives the group some time to figure out what those three secrets should be. Additionally, Merit contemplates getting copies of the guest list, to compare and see who gets added, to identify which people correspond to the secrets the party wants.

Many possibilities are brought up - who caused the assassination attempt? What happened to Master Zhou's memory? How can he get it back? What's going on with the Northern Barbarians? What's going on with the ice pagoda? Wei Han hints that he knows more about the Northern Wall, but that he's been ordered not to say, so it might count as a secret. Who are the traitors in the Hidden City? What is going on with the Imperial Chi? Who benefits from the changing of the Cycle?

As an aside to that last, Master Zhou notes that as of the next Month of the Spider, they will be in the Year of the Spider, in the Cycle of the Spider, in the Great Cycle of the Spider.
"You have two months to prepare."
In the end, Master Zhou chooses the subjects:
What is happening at Iron Mountain?
What is the point of the changes in the chi of the Empire?
Who arranged the assassination attempt against Ti Lao?

Li Merit finds some palace servants, and quickly determines that there is a guest list available, and it is trading at "the usual rates". However, since the Queen invited Merit and the others personally, he is likely to be a favored guest, and can get a discount. A pouch of zhu changes hands, and Merit gets the list, which includes (in addition to the party members from the Circus):

Ambassador from Jade Taiga
Ambassador from the Savanna of Tears
Ando
Cho-Sun the Talespinner
Lo Han Su, an herbalist
Machan Li
Madame Tsen
Master Hsi
Merchant Siri Meng Ao
Quai
Zhantai Reng

Hiro thanks the Queen again for inviting him to the Whispered Ball. He notes that the reputation of the secrets revealed at the party is legendary, and he does want to make sure he doesn't reveal anything learned in the palace today. The Queen sees what Hiro is driving at, and grants Hiro the ability to roll for 6s at the party, and says she is terribly sorry about his sister.

Hidden Treasures

The group proceeds back to the circus, and decides that if there is something hidden inside the Sphere of Harmony, it would be good to know that before giving it to Master Hsi. The party cashes in the favor with Mystic Mondo - between his seventeen successes and three karma from Min Feng, he aligns the twenty shells of the Sphere of Harmony, and extracts an amulet:

Great Talisman of the Butterfly : A white and black medallion. On the front, in silver on white, the cycle is carved around the perimeter. Centered is a butterfly in gold. On the reverse side, in silver on black, are the symbols for "Fenghuangnu: Importance of the World". The medallion doubles the base Status (before any modifiers) of its holder/wearer.
This sounds very useful for the Whispered Ball - Takanata is given the amulet to hold, but if anyone seems in danger of spilling their secret, he can pass it to them.
Treasure extracted, the group heads back to Qiqing and Master Hsi's house. There seems to be a good deal of shouting going on inside - Master Hsi is blaming one or more of his apprentices for using up the rare ingredients for the Tincture of Pure Respite. They all deny it, but it seems likely that this has to do with the previous Tincture having been sneakily made.

Master Hsi is very apologetic - there are particular rare flowers that have to be used either fresh or pickled, and his jar of them has been found to be empty. The party offers to help hunt for the flowers in question, for recompense to be offered when they return, and thence follows a great deal of perilous searching in the swamp. Much travail later, enough flowers have been harvested to produce another Tincture, with some to spare.
Toward the end of the herb-hunting, Merit and Min Feng talk to Goji (who has accompanied them to help). They press him on how the ingredients might have vanished, and how it was an interesting coincidence that a Tincture appeared when the King of the Isle of Butterflies was poisoned, and suggest that if he came clean it might be possible for him not to get in trouble. Min Feng is pretty sure that he was involved with making the other Tincture, but he seems more surprised about the poisoning attempt, and is clearly also a little distressed at the idea that that Tincture didn't actually work. Unfortunately, now he's too scared of being linked to attempted regicide to do any confessing to Merit - but it's also not clear how much more he knows that isn't in the spy report.

When the group returns, Master Hsi finishes preparing the Tincture, and also presents them with ten healing potions as additional recompense. Then, it is back to Nine Terraces, to wash up and dress for the party. Ringmaster Te gives Merit a bit of a Look for having missed the afternoon's circus performance, but he does understand that there was some sort of Important Secret Mission that involved being here.

The Whispered Ball
Merit picks up the revised guest list - there are two additions, and one reminder.
Chi Master Ko
Master Kiriel of Iron Mountain
Machan Li has been sent a reminder to make sure he is coming to the party.

The group proceeds in, through cunning secret doors which separate them and bring them out in different bits of the party. Social combat ensues, as people wander around attempting to discover each other's secrets. In addition to the circus crew, there are four soldiers in green hats, and the Queen, and her bodyguard; the latter are proceeding along the side of the room.

Wei Han notices, at the end of one wing of the large room, that there are some workers fussing with some construction and a block and tackle. He investigates, and notes an old statue, with a plaque reading
The Beryl Queen
Beloved Ruler of the Serpentine
There may be a third line, but it's crumbled away quite a bit. Ando is also examining the statue, and between social attacks, asks Wei Han what he thinks it says, and asks if he can ask some of his friends about it as well. Wei Han tells him what it says, and Ando replies, "Oh dear. I was afraid of that." Wei Han tries to claim that he will just answer any jy
questions Ando asks, so the social attacks are unnecessary, though it isn't clear that Ando thinks that's the same thing at all.
Merit meets up quickly with Merchant Siri, who says that she expects that he has a coin pouch for her? He does, in fact. Merit gives her the purse he's been saving for the Keepers of the Hoard.
A number of secrets are revealed over the course of the evening:
Merchant Siri just stole one of the Great Treasures of the Butterfly Kingdom, and is trying to avoid having the Savanna ambassador find this out.
Machan Li flirts with Belle, which gives Hiro a free move because someone is hitting on his date.
Zhantai Reng knows that Master Kar Fai will be returning from beyond the South Wall soon.
"Did you know that 'Nerve Strike' and 'Got Your Nose' are the same maneuver?" Kasumi, using Annoy on the nearby martial artists
Meng Ao's secret is that the Son of the Moon was paying court to the Daughter of the Sun, but to no avail.
Master Hsi's secret is that he now possesses one of the Great Treasures of the Butterfly Kingdom.
Unfortunately for Master Hsi, the Ambassador from the Savanna is standing quite nearby and overhears this.
Ringmaster Te and Machan Li end up going head to head, and with some help from everyone else, Machan Li goes down.
Machan Li arranged for the poisoning of the Butterfly King, as well as the antidote and the blockade. He arranged all the parts of this plan, and he has no superiors in this world.

After revealing this, Machan Li runs for the door; Wei Han runs after him and grabs him. This triggers the Queen's Bodyguard, who chops Wei Han and informs him that there shall be no combat at the party. Wei Han protests that Machan Li has confessed to attempted murder of the Butterfly King and is under arrest, but the bodyguard is uninterested, and separates the two combatants. Machan Li gets out through one of the secret doors, though Wei Han has grabbed his shirt, and all can see a large tattoo of a spider covering his back. Wei Han pursues him out, but comes out a different exit, and sees him riding off on a black horse with one white fetlock.
Back inside the party, the Viridian Queen has left, and others are making for the doors as well. A few more secrets are gathered before the party ends:
Chi Master Ko believes that in the past decade or so, the highways and aspects of the Empire's chi have been being reoriented to provide great chi conduit into the spirits of the Cycle. Given the changes being made, he expects it to be complete in the next few months.

Master Kiriel is from Iron Mountain, where he was one of the ranking students of Quan Lo. He was ordered by Quan Lo to do battle with Tai Lung, the student of Master Zhou, in order to give Master Zhou time to escape into the spirit world. Since he and Quan Lo's other students were defeated, they cannot retake the mountain itself, as no one can defeat Tai Lung.
Ando's secret is that when he first took his job, before he knew what it entailed, he crossed the Northern Wall.
The Ambassador from the Savanna was sent to the Strand (it is an unpleasant posting) because he was in charge of security for one of the Great Treasures of the Butterfly Kingdom, and let it get stolen.

Madam Tsen notes: "I am a humble augurer and reader of tea and dreams. Eight separate young women have come to me in the past weeks telling me of a dream of a young man named Yoshi. Most hoped that it was a sign of their true love to be, but I suspect something else."
Lo Hansu escapes without going down, and the party turns on each other!
Belle (Hiro's date) has taken herbs that will make her likely to get pregnant if Hiro takes her to bed.
Hiro, quite startled and displeased to learn this, dumps her immediately.
Min Feng is learning her shticks from a member of a secret society.
Once the party is over, everyone heads back to the circus. Most head to bed, though Xian and Master Zhou spend an hour sparring first.
Puttering

Wei Han reports Machan Li's confession to the Royal Guard, with somewhat inconclusive results. He also briefs the local Dragon Army garrison. Takanata, Master Zhou, and Xiao Fa search out Chi Master Ko.
Master Zhou searches out Master Kiriel.
Takanata goes to the palace to read the Viridian Queen's I Ching, and chats with her about Butterfly treasures.
Cai Wen and Wei Han finish up going to their mysterious party.
Master Zhou searches out the stricken emissaries.
Takanata and Yoshi visit the tea reader Madame Tsen.
Hiro attempts to recruit travelling companions for a trip to the Forest of Chin; Anto and Shen-Ji are recruited, and they head off for a trip of a week or two. Hana (supervised by Yoshi) talks to Ajeel (the Southron prisoner).
Min Feng and Kasumi ransack Merchant Siri's room at the guest house. Master Zhou visits the Dojo of Dark Waters.
Master Zhou seeks out Zhantai Reng.
Takanata has lunch with Ando, and then the two of them look for Merit. Wei Han, Takanata, Master Zhou, and Min Feng visit the Jade Taiga, where Wei Han briefs his ostensible commander, Chang Hu.
Yoshi, Lijuan (and Ho) and Ajeel visit the Bending Reed Selfless Path temple that Yoshi visited before.
Cai Wen and Anto talk to the Savanna Ambassador.
Retrieved from "http://boojum.scripts.mit.edu/Dragon/index.php?title=Whispered_Secrets" Category: Book One Logs
This page was last modified on 2 November 2010, at 22:22.
Book of Five Rings

From Dragon

"If you fix your eyes on details and neglect important things, your spirit will become
bewildered, and victory will escape you."

It is the day of the Early Tiger in the Month of the Serpent in the third Year of the Fox since the Burning of the Black Spire.

The run takes place in and around Harmonious Endeavor, in the southern Jade Taiga
Previous run Next run
Contents

1 Heading Home!
2 A Town Divided
3 Acorns of the Selfless Path
4 Mayor and Monkey Guy
5 Duchess Lan
6 Duke Hong
7 Spending the Night
8 Funeral Arrangements
9 Body Snatchers
10 Rescue of Hana
11 Final Details
12 Puttering

Heading Home!

Having had enough in the Strand (and having acquired the Tincture of Pure Respite) our heroes and the circus are preparing to move north, through the Jade Taiga towards the City of Spires, where the plan is to grab a river boat all the way down to the City of Light. First though is a gig about midway to the City of Spires, in the town of Harmonious Endeavor.

Ringmaster Te begins by looking for Yoshi, who usually heads out in front of the circus and scouts out the area before the main group arrives. This time, though, he's been with Lijuan at a temple of the Selfless Path attempting to arrange for a transfer of custody for their Southron prisoner. The temple agrees, but asks that in return, Yoshi seek out the Revered Cheng He, a disciple of the Selfless Path, who is in need of assistance. Coincidentally, the Revered Cheng lives in Harmonious Endeavor, so this is not so far out of Yoshi's way. The prisoner Ajeel is left in care of the monks, and Yoshi heads back towards the circus to rejoin Lijuan and the rest.
By this time, the circus is packing up though. Fearing to leave Yoshi behind, Lijuan leaves him a note with the innkeeper:
Yoshi
We wint to
Harmoneus Endever Lijuan

In any case, everyone does meet up, but Ringmaster Te is concerned that no scouting has yet been done. Therefore, he asks Yoshi to take the party ahead on fast horses to the town of Harmonious Endeavor and make sure the way is clear for the circus's arrival. Everyone is thrilled to make the last of their Strand survival rolls (well, most people make them, but Shen Wei Han is able to keep Kasumi away from the saparilla trees after she fails hers) and finally cross into the Jade Taiga.

A Town Divided

Cresting the hill overlooking Harmonious Endeavor, the party sees that half the town (mostly the northern half) has white pennants hanging from their roofs and windows as if in mourning. The party heads into town to see what's up. Approaching the tavern areas in the south, they find a pair of inns next door to each other but completely different in character. One inn is filled with rowdy revelers while the other is quiet and dignified. Cai Wen and Wei Han head into the rowdy inn, while the rest of the party heads into the quiet one to gather information.

In the quiet inn, the innkeeper relates that he thinks the partying is in poor taste as a man just died. Specifically, the Duke Lan Shai passed away suddenly a couple of days ago, and it is the supporters of the Duke Hong who are celebrating. Apparently, the town of Harmonious Endeavor was founded years ago directly on the border of the two duchies as a way to bring the two eternally feuding families together. That didn't work. Sadly their division has divided much of the town against itself. Lan Shai's funeral is scheduled for tomorrow, so bringing the circus in in full performance mode is probably not very politic. Hana asks a few details about the late Duke's family. He is survived by his wife and a daughter.

In the other bar, Cai Wen makes friends with a local named Bao who the other revelers seem to be avoiding. She claims they're all scared of her, so wouldn't mind hanging out with someone like Cai Wen who knows how to show a girl a good time. Elsewhere in the bar, Wei Han buys a round of drinks and makes a few friends of his own. His drinking buddies warn him that Cai Wen better not mess with Bao, as she's Lu's right hand. Also, he and his circus friends should avoid walking around at night, as there is a serious bandit problem in the area.

Meanwhile, Bao asks Cai Wen if he's looking to make a little money. When she hears that he's with the circus, she tells him that everyone in the circus could make some money. Apparently, at the funeral tomorrow, there will be a great giveaway of the late Duke's possessions and anyone who shows up can walk away with some of his riches (this is interpreted by Cai Wen to be some sort of euphemism, as it seems unlikely to be actually true). She encourages him to bring everyone he can. Heck, he should bring the circus elephants too, and make a real party of it. With that invitation, she's got to be off, as she needs to make a few preparations. It's the last night before the storm, as it were, but she won't tell Cai Wen what it's all about until tomorrow. Apparently, her boss will be "breaking up the band" tomorrow, so it's her last shot at the big time - but she'll see him tomorrow. She leaves, and Kasumi watches her as she looks around and then leaps up to the top of the inn and scoots off across the rooftops. Interesting.

Acorns of the Selfless Path

Leaving the inns, the party heads to the center of town to consult with the mayor and find the Revered Cheng He. They start with the local temple of the Selfless Path. Out front is a young kid painting numbers onto a pile of acorns, but he is happy to lead them inside and introduce them to Cheng He (anything to get away from the acorns!). The Revered Cheng relates that he was asked by the late Duke to give away all of the Duke's worldly possessions at his death. Cheng He and his assistant are a little concerned that the Duchess will not be on board with this plan, and so are grateful that the party is here to assist. Cheng is happy that Duke Lan finally came to this line of thinking, for it seems that he was quite a miser until recent months, when he suddenly started spending quite extravagantly, including numerous projects to help others with his wealth at Cheng's request. Cheng thinks that Lan's daughter will somehow survive the transition (he's clearly not saying all he knows here), but is worried that Lan's wife will not appreciate being made effectively penniless. Perhaps the party can speak with her about it. The late Duke wished his possessions scattered as widely as possible, so perhaps entrusting many of them to a circus full of travelers is the best way. Thus he too asks that the circus show up at the funeral. (Respectfully, of course.) He also notes that the Duke Hong will likely attend the funeral, but shouldn't cause much difficulty, as it would be too disrespectful even for him at a funeral.

Cai Wen changes the subject and asks about "Lu and his people". Again, it seems as if Cheng is not saying all he knows, but admits that he's heard of the bandit Lu. He finds it very interesting (and perhaps pleasing) that the party thinks Lu is about to end his banditry, but doesn't have much to add as to what they could be doing for their one final score.

Meanwhile, Lijuan heads back outside to talk to Cheng's apprentice. It appears that he and his master have been annoyed of late by a "monkey guy" who has been irritating Cheng to no end. Lijuan extols the virtues of circus monkeys and the pair heads off to find this "monkey guy". First though, they finish numbering the acorns for the random loot distribution at the funeral.

Wei Han is concerned that someone might put something incriminating into the house, so that when Cheng takes it out to distribute it, it will shame the Lan family in some way. Cheng suggests that in that case, the party might guard the house this evening with the Duke's guards, or stay with the family. Cheng will provide them with a letter of introduction, but agrees that the party might not want to "intrude on the widow's grief," which the party interprets as a hint that talking to the Duke's daughter might be more useful than talking to his wife. (However, they have no better plan for getting hold of the daughter than to pay a formal visit to Duchess Lan and hope Mistress Lan is also around.)

Mayor and Monkey Guy

Then they head to the mayor's office. They find the mayor arguing with a performer with a small organ and a monkey. He's trying to convince the monkey guy to leave town, but the man wants to perform at the funeral. The party arrives and announces that their monkeys are better performers. Dismayed that the Silken Wings circus is about to arrive in town and presumably show up any entertainment he might provide, the man leaves in a huff. The mayor is quite grateful to the party for getting rid of that annoying performer, who has apparently been making a nuisance of himself about town for weeks. The mayor talks to the party about the situation in town - he agrees that they do not want to exacerbate any local tensions, but thinks it should be safe for the circus to go to the funeral. He also corroborates that the late Duke became quite profligate in his spending of late, and his estate is quite deeply in debt. In fact, most of his debt has been bought up by the Duke Hong, so it seems likely Hong will not be happy with Cheng giving away all of the late Duke Lan's estate. Thus, the mayor would really like it if the party could find some way to mediate between the Revered Cheng and Duke Hong on this matter. They promise to do what they can.

Between Master Cheng and the Mayor, the party learns a bit about the two Dukes and their families: Duke Lan has a young wife, and a single teenage daughter. Duke Hong has a wife, but no heir; he had a daughter who would be perhaps 30 by now, but she disappeared and has not been heard of in years. (The party speculates wildly, but has not yet met anyone in the right age range to possibly be the missing daughter.)

Outside, Lijuan, Kasumi, Cheng's apprentice, and Shuyan catch up to the monkey man. He calls himself Fen Gong the Magnificent, and his monkey Tofu. The monkey dances a bit, but otherwise seems pretty unremarkable. He claims that he's on the road a lot, but settled in this town to perform for a couple of weeks because it seems nice. Fen Gong the Magnificent does get them to promise to talk to Ringmaster Te about a joint engagement here in town. With that, he bows with a flourish and leaves.

At this point, they discover that some of their belongings are missing. Shuyan appears to have a ring instead of her monocle, and Lijuan appears to have a monocle instead of her vanishing hat. Luckily for her, Ho is able to chase after the scent of the monkey. When they catch up to him, Fen Gong laughs it off as a silly monkey trick, gives back Lijuan's hat and quickly leaves again, leaving the gold ring behind.

The party sends a report back to Ringmaster Te, informing him to bring the circus into town quietly, and to attend the funeral, before starting any performances at least a day after that.

Duchess Lan

Then they head to the Lan estate to see what they can learn there. Hana is given the Butterfly Amulet to make her extra-statusy for the occasion. Madame Lan Shai, the duchess, greets them. She is much cooler to them when they present their letter of introduction, and wishes to know how members of the circus came to associate with "the bandit Cheng, who wishes to put a poor widow and daughter out of their home". The duchess explains that the minds of the aged become addled as they approach death. Hana commiserates with the duchess, and eventually wins some amount of trust. The duchess asks if she can expect the party's support at the funeral, as she tries to keep their estate from Cheng's vultures. Hana temporizes, which the duchess takes as at least a tacit agreement that the party won't interfere, if not actively support her. Hana points out that the mayor has invited them to be there, so she'll mostly be there to pay their respects as is appropriate. Pressing on the point of the Duke's death, the party notices that the duchess definitely doesn't want to dwell on that, although she does admit it was quite sudden and unexpected. Most people see through her though, and conclude that she likely had something to do with it. On that note, the duchess retreats.

Outside, Kasumi sees a young girl sneaking out the back of the house. She follows her out into the bamboo forest, where the girl stands next to a particular tree, makes a bird call, and grabs onto the rope that suddenly descends from above. Kasumi climbs to the top of a nearby bamboo tree herself, and finds the girl and the bandit Lu locked in a passionate embrace. Disappointed that they did not lead her to the bandit headquarters, Kasumi starts to leave in embarrassment, but the lovers are more rattled than she is.

"They've sent ninja to kill us my love - as long as I die in your arms!" -Lu "This is not the bandit hideout." -Kasumi
"No! And you shall never find it!" -Bandit Lu

The pair rush off across the treetops, and Kasumi follows stealthily. It turns out that they do, in fact, lead her to the bandit headquarters. Lots of bandits are coming and going and getting equipment, but unfortunately Kasumi is unable to overhear their plans. She watches long enough to see the girl finally leave their little bandit love-nest, and return to the mansion. Kasumi follows her back.

As the rest of the party is leaving the Lan estate, Shuyan gets the strange feeling that something meant for her has been left behind inside. A quick check of the possession indicates nothing is missing, but this brings the mysterious gold ring Shuyan has picked up to the party's attention. Lijuan notes that the duchess was wearing a similar ring, though not identical. Shuyan gives her ring to Hana for study.

The party does some discussing and then decides to guard/spy on the Lan residence for the evening. Kasumi and Lijuan take up a patrol route outside the estate looking for ninja or other intruders. Hana, Shuyan, and Wei Han go back in the Lan mansion. Sadly, the duchess is no longer available, but they do get to talk to the late Duke's daughter, who Kasumi pointed out is the bandit leader's lover. She's quite in tune with the plan to give away the estate, as she claims to have no desire for money of her own. Pressing her, it seems she does have some sort of plan for the future, but won't say what it is. Hana notes that Mistress Lan is also wearing a gold ring. Hana tries to convince Mistress Lan that she should make plans to take care of her mother after the loot is given away, out of filial piety. Mistress Lan agrees that even though she's only a stepdaughter, she does still have some duty to look after her stepmother. (Ears prick up: there's another Duchess unaccounted for? The plot thickens!)

Duke Hong

Cai Wen, Deng Zhi Hao, and Yoshi head off to the Hong residence to speak with the other Duke. Sadly for them, he too is unavailable ("indisposed") at the moment so they can't get in. Hanging around for a while, they see Duchess Lan leave there, heading for home, and then suddenly the Duke is available once more. Suspicions abound. They head in to talk to the Duke, and once more are asked for their support at the funeral. The Duke wants to not have the estate given away because Duchess Lan has promised it to him in payment of the Lan debts. Hong has let her believe that he'll take care of her afterward, but the party's pretty convinced he's just playing her. Hong also mentions that the first Duchess Lan, the daughter's actual mother, died under mysterious circumstances, so he's not so sure that the current duchess is worthy of his trust in any case. (Lan married his second wife before his first wife died.)

Spending the Night

Meanwhile, back at the Lan residence, Hana fakes an illness, and so the trio is invited to stay the night. Shuyan meditates some, and decides that the thing which she feels should be hers, whatever it is, is deep down below them. Scouting around the mansion, the only thing down there is the crypt, but it is guarded and no one is allowed in until the funeral. So they begin a complicated plan of keeping everyone in the mansion busy and distracted, while Hana goes through the floor down into the crypt alone. It's pretty much as expected. She does find the late Duke's body, and goes so far as to unwrap it and verify that he has yet another ring on his finger, but not knowing enough about either the ring in her possession or the ring on the body, decides that swapping them might be a bad idea, so eventually wraps up the body again and slips out of the crypt.

Outside, Kasumi and Lijuan notice Fen Gong sneaking up and sending his monkey towards the house. The monkey slips up to the house, but then looks confused. Apparently, it's not very good as breaking and entering. It seems to ask Kasumi for help, but she doesn't let it in the house either. So the monkey shrugs and jumps on her shoulder. She shoos it away. It encounters Lijuan next and once more steals her hat, replacing it with something else. Lijuan searches her pockets and is shocked to find the Tincture of Pure Respite. Kasumi searches her pockets and finds a small monocle. Damn that monkey! Fen Gong the Magnificent appears and he and the monkey run off into the woods. No one pursues as they don't want to get too far away from the house, and do still have the Tincture.
By this point, people are starting to get confused as to who is who, and who is on which side, so they make a diagram to keep track of it.

They stake out the mansion for the rest of the night, but no bandits ever show up. What could they be up to? Cai Wen and some others retreat back to town to sleep the night in the inn, and Cai Wen encounters Bao. They have a fun evening together and she's so impressed that she answers a few of his questions.

1. Where are the bandits? Sleeping before the big gig tomorrow.
2. What's the plan for tomorrow? First we get the free loot from Cheng's giveaway and then steal the Duke's body.
3. What's the big score? Lu gives them all a share of the vast wealth after he gets the body and they all retire.
4. How do you turn a Duke's body into treasure? She has no idea. Lu's in charge.
Well, that almost explains what the bandits are up to. Sort of.
Funeral Arrangements

With the dawn, the party all gathers at the Lan residence for breakfast before the funeral. There's a great deal of discussion. Should the party steal a ring from the body, from the duchess Lan, from the young mistress Lan, from someone else? Why are there all these rings anyways? Why is stealing the body helpful to anyone? Sadly, no conclusions are reached, and no one thinks they understand the plot well enough to actually risk stealing something, so they decide to wait for the funeral and see what happens.

First though, they head to the Revered Cheng's to get ready. They do press him though, for a little more information. He confides that he thinks Fen Gong is a low grade con-man
- he hasn't noticed anything strange with the monkey. Of course, he doesn't have much in the way of material possessions to have stolen, so he may not have noticed if it was a thief. Cai Wen asks about the golden rings. He uses his Glib Guessing ability to trick Cheng into revealing that the lovers (Mistress Lan and Bandit Lu) wear a pair of magical rings meant to "preserve and protect their love". But if there's a monkey around switching rings, that could be bad. Especially once the party reveals that the duchess appears to have a ring as well. Cheng admits that the main plan was for Lu and Mistress Lan to marry, but they couldn't get the Duke's permission. Now that he's dead, they may just elope. Cheng has no idea what the deal is with body stealing though. Why would anyone want the Duke's body?

So, they all head to the funeral to see what happens. Shen Wei Han sets up some rope lines to keep order. Kasumi hides in the crypt to see if something happens there, although the body has already been moved outside for the funeral. They also make sure Min Su shows up to deal with any monkey issues. Ringmaster Te arrives to pay respect to the Lan family on behalf of the circus. Otherwise, the place is quite packed. Lots of people. Cai Wen recognizes Bao in the crowd.

The Revered Cheng speaks about the spirit of generosity and the nobility of giving. Thus, in accordance with his final wishes, Cheng declares that all of the Lan possessions will be distributed to the crowd. A bunch of people in the crowd cheer, but Duchess Lan says "No!". Unfortunately for her, Mistress Lan says yes, and the Lan guardsmen split down the middle on the issue, providing no help to either side. The Duke Hong also says no, but at the party's warning, the mayor prevented the Hong guards from showing up. So, with no one to interfere, and the crowd (comprised of circus folk and bandits) in favor, the loot distribution commences. Acorns are drawn and loot is acquired.
The party gets some stuff:
Shuyan: A Red Sealed Scroll
Lijuan: A [Pipa (http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/pipa/hd_pipa.htm) ] (musical instrument)
Cai Wen: A Dragon Scroll (level 1)
Hana: A painting (which appears to have someone who looks like Lijuan in it.) Ringmaster Te: A first edition of Tokai Takanata's "Air, Water, and Rain". Deng Zhi-Hao: A scroll with a blue diamond seal.
Min Su: An antique doll.
Wei Han: A tiger skin rug
Cheng's apprentice: Annoying wind chimes.

Shuyan opens her scroll, blushes bright red, and swears never to speak of it. Cai Wen opens the Dragon Scroll and is shocked at his good fortune. (A Dragon Scroll allows one to purchase a shtick as if it were in major concept even if it is not.) Zhi-hao opens his scroll and discovers that he is the owner of a small piece of land north of the city.

Body Snatchers

Suddenly though, a combat starts! For the bandits have all jumped out and are trying to steal the body. The Lan guards are trying to prevent them, but then some Hong guards arrive and try to steal the body for themselves. Unfortunately, as Lu, the bandit chief, reveals himself to the crowd, Hana, who has been carrying one of the golden rings for the last day and a half realizes that he is her one true love, and she his. Hana defects to the bandit side.

After some struggling, it becomes clear that people don't really want the body, they want the ring it is wearing. This causes the duchess to leap upon it to try to get the ring for herself. Hana, trying to forestall all not-bandit people, uses her powers to make the funeral area entirely too creepy. Lu calls to Hana to join him, which outrages Mistress Lan, who tries to reason with him. She thought she was his true love. Yoshi discerns that Lu is after the ring on the Duke's body because he thinks it's the twin to his Love Ring which he needs to get back for his true love so they can run off together. Yoshi tells him that the ring on the Duke's body isn't the one he thinks it is. At this point, Mistress Lan finally figures out that she's wearing the wrong ring, and says that Hana must have the ring she tried to put on her father before he died. Lu tells Bao to get him and Hana out of here, leaving his minions to stand around confused about whether they're still stealing the Duke's body. Bao tells Cai Wen to meet her at a secret location later, and sweeps the two lovers away across the treetops.

This confuses the bandits, as they didn't expect their chief to leave without them. This in turn gives the duchess a chance to grab the ring off of the Duke's body, but Shuyan snatches it from her. Wei Han grabs the body to keep everyone else away from it, but by this time the place is so creepy that it seems to start to writhe like the living dead. Duchess Lan grabs the ring back from Shuyan, declaring, "You're not the only one touched by the serpent!" Then she slithers away, but is stopped by Deng's attack. This of course brings the Lan house guards back into the fight, now against the party.

Meanwhile, the monkey has been swapping items, and winds up with the Great Amulet of the Butterfly. Wow, perhaps that is one of the Monkeys of the Apocalypse. Min Su finally puts an end to his shenanigans and keeps the amulet for herself. Lijuan's dog Ho captures Fen Gong the Magnificent, and the Duke Hong decides that this is a bit too crazy for him and has his guards abate their efforts to steal the body. At this point, the Revered Cheng gets his biggest shtick off and enforces peace in the immediate area. (No one with a Tao lower than 1 can take any offensive actions).
Yoshi and Cai Wen descend on the crowd of remaining NPCs and force them to confess everything they can think of:
The Duke Hong slipped the Ring of Profligacy to the Duke Lan months ago. Mistress Lan swapped her father's ring for her Ring of True Esteem in an attempt to get him to like Lu, getting the ring of Profligacy.
Fen Gong has tracked the Ring of Profligacy across the land and swapped a plain ring for it with his monkey days ago, but got the Ring of True Esteem instead. Duchess Lan swapped her husband's ring for the Ring of Feign Death in order to stop him from spending them into nothingness. Oh, and she also accidentally killed the first duchess Lan.
The Revered Cheng knew about the lovers, but seems otherwise blameless in this. The mayor was smart enough to not come to the funeral.
In the end, the party gives the Ring of Profligacy to Cheng (as he is unlikely to have anything worth giving away), and the Ring of Feign Death to Shuyan.
Finally, with the Ring of Feign Death removed from his finger, the Duke Lan wakes and it is revealed that he was not actually dead. Hooray! Most people give him his loot back, but he insists the party keep theirs for their service on his behalf.

Rescue of Hana
Then the party takes off into the woods following Cai Wen's lead to find the missing Hana and Lu.
They arrive at the bandit hideout to find a distraught Bao.
"Thank god you're here, they've gone insane!" -Bao
She relates that she brought Lu and Hana back to the hideout and tried to get her share of the vast wealth. Lu informed her that there was no wealth. Bao yelled that he said they were going to acquire a great treasure. Lu declared that "Love is the greatest treasure of all." Then he and Hana ran off across the treetops together.

The party, with Bao's help, catches up to the fleeing lovers. Hana, not being as skilled with treetop running, was slowing Lu down. (Though he didn't mind, of course.) The party intercepts and tries to capture them. Hana protests, "Shuyan, don't stop us from escaping, we're in love!"

Bao shuttles people up to the top of the trees and a flowing treetop combat commences. Cai Wen uses the Great Amulet of the Butterfly to impress Hana after she's disarmed of her ring. She eventually starts to realize that Cai Wen is indeed much cooler than Lu (the fact that the ferret on his shoulder has Lu's ring also helps). In the end, Lu and Hana are both disarmed of their rings, and people wait around having tea until the effects wear off.

It is decided to let Lu and Mistress Lan keep their rings, as long as they promise to wear them themselves. Apparently, they really do preserve and protect lovers, assuming they are worn by true lovers. If worn by those not in love, well, then these crazy things happen.
"Evil Yoshi's plan would be to get the two Dukes to wear the rings and bring harmony to the town." -Good Yoshi
Final Details

On the way back, the party stops off at the land Deng now owns. On it, they find a little cottage, which houses the Duke Hong's long-missing daughter. She apparently has a son, who people identify as the child of the Duke Lan. Even more complications. Deng decides to give the woman his deed to the land. She confides that Lan always intended to give it to her when he passed, but she hasn't seen him recently. Apparently, she hadn't even heard about the funeral. However, since the Duke is alive again, no one tells her now.

The party returns to town and confers with the mayor. Duke Lan gets most of his stuff back, and has his wife arrested. Mistress Lan and Lu are given permission to marry, provided Lu gives up banditry forever. The mayor can't really punish the Duke Hong, but writes up the entire affair for the party to carry to the king in the City of Spires. The king will have to deal with him. Shuyan gives her red scroll to Hana and again vows to never speak of its contents (Cai Wen asks Hana about the contents, but Hana doesn't tell him). Hana gives Lijuan the painting, and Lijuan gives Hana the musical instrument. Tofu the monkey is taken away from Fen Gong and given to Min Su. Fen Gong himself is given to the mayor for justice.
Ringmaster Te decides that the circus will perform for two days here in town, and then head to the City of Spires.
Puttering
Lijuan tries to get the kids of Harmonious Endeavor interested in team sports
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title=Book_of_Five_Rings"
Category: Book One Logs
This page was last modified on 2 November 2010, at 23:06.
Bureaucracy for Beginners

From Dragon

"The only thing that saves us from the bureaucracy is its inefficiency."

It is the Day of the Early
Butterfly in the Month of the Serpent in the third Year of the Fox since the Burning of the Black Spire.

The run takes place in and around the City of Spires, capital of the Jade Taiga
Previous run Next run
Contents

1 A Dangerous Poem
2 City of Spires
3 Seal Quest
4 Meeting with Ando
5 More Intelligence Gathering
6 Meditation at the Spiral Path
7 Presentation of the Report
8 Assassin!
9 Meeting the King
10 The Golden Spire
11 Poem in the River
12 Puttering

A Dangerous Poem

Ringmaster Te forwards the Official Report from the mayor of Harmonious Endeavor to Takanata, for delivery to the king of the Jade Taiga when the circus reaches the City of Spires. Takanata takes the report and returns to his tent for a good night's sleep before the trip. Just before midnight, he awakes to inspiration. Moving to his desk he pens a poem, but struggles through it, as if his writing were being opposed. He spends a few yin, and has just enough time to feel them being refreshed before passing out over his writing desk.

Early the following morning, as the circus is packing up for the trip, Song Min Feng is walking around watching the work. She happens to overhear a couple of guys in the elephant pens talking in hushed tones.

"Look, I didn't get into this business to carry elephant droppings all over the place." "It won't be for long. I hear he visits Takanata quite often. Once he shows up, we'll check him out, report to Internal Affairs, and get out of this damn place."

Min Feng heads to Takanata's tent to report this and finds him unconscious. Help is summoned, and Li Merit and Xiao Fa determine that Takanata is suffering from severe exhaustion. Xiao Fa examines his chi and decides that his spirit has been used as a battlefield recently. It is as if two great forces met there, fought, and then both retreated.
They move him to a carriage for transport, but let him sleep. The rest of the circus finishes packing up, and off everyone heads to the City of Spires.
En route, Min Su introduces Min Feng to the new monkey, Tofu. Apparently, while Monko is still quite interested in locks, he's become much less interested in taking things now that Tofu has shown up. On the other hand, while the two monkeys play well together, Min Su won't be allowing it anymore, after the amount of trouble a lockpicking monkey and an item swapping monkey were able to cause in just a couple of hours.
After much of the first day of travel, Takanata finally wakes to some tea. He is informed of his condition by Xiao Fa, including what they determined about the state of his chi.
"There was a great battle." -Xiao Fa
"Was I a participant or the battlefield?" -Takanata "The battlefield."
"Oh, good!"
"Yeah, he wouldn't want to have been too yang!" -Zhou

Min Feng then informs him about the spies in the circus. Takanata tells them all that he expects to meet with Ando in the City of Spires, and can't think of anyone else who visits him regularly. Indeed last time he invited Ando over, the latter refused and instead asked to meet away from the circus, so people are pretty convinced that the spies are indeed after Ando.
Then the party turns to discussion of Takanata's latest poem.
Unfortunately, other than a couple of guesses, people don't seem to have enough information to really understand its meaning at this time. There's some discussion of whether "foxruns" might refer to the spirit realms of the Great Fox Spirit, but no one is really sure what it might portend.

City of Spires

After a couple more days of travel, Takanata is fully recovered, and the circus is almost arrived at the city. As they all crest the final hill they see a vast crowd, dressed up and waving banners, lining the roads and bridge leading into the city. When the elephant crests the hill, the crowd cheers and waves their banners. The banners are a mix of the colors of the Jade Taiga and the Dragon Army.
"Our advance guys are pretty good." -Li Merit
"They're usually not this good." -Mike
As the crowd continues to cheer, a horseman rides up to the circus and demands to know what everyone is doing here, disrupting the rehearsal. He explains that the city is preparing for the arrival of the Obsidian Warlord (Commander of the Dragon Army), and the circus is disrupting the proceedings. Li Merit and the others convince him that it makes a better rehearsal if there's someone for the people to actually cheer at. Thus the circus plays the part of the arriving army, and marches to much fanfare directly to the Royal Spire.

Li Merit, Xian, and Ringmaster Te take notes on how the arrival ceremony might be improved. Mostly they notice that the crowd is not nearly as excited as they have been instructed to seem.

At the Royal Spire they receive a fairly cold welcome as they simply do not have permits to set up a circus in the main square. The party explains about the enhanced rehearsal and assures the official that they will move to their scheduled performance space as soon as possible. Ringmaster Te says he has great experience with pageantry and is happy to provide notes. The official says that any such notes will have to be delivered to the Visiting Bureaucrat, Master Long.

Seal Quest

The circus heads to their area, and Xiao Fa and Zhou head to the Golden Spire (followed by Min Feng). As they approach the spire, they notice that the bottom two thirds of the structure are covered with cloth and signs indicating that the structure is being renovated. Guards posted at the main doorway tell Zhou and Xiao Fa that no one may visit the spire during the reconstruction, which is funded by a generous grant from the Regency Council. They are quite adamant about their duty. No one without a Royal Seal may pass. The pair leaves disappointed.

"Think they'll be back?" Guard 1
"Yeah, those two look like trouble." Guard 2 "Think they'll get a seal?"
"Maybe. Someone's got to finally get in there..."

Well, the party regroups and heads to the Royal Spire to get a Royal Seal. Tokai Takanata, wearing the Great Talisman of the Butterfly, requests entry to the king's presence. His augmented status gets the party through all of the outer layers of security, but they are stopped at the office of the Visiting Secretary, the official in charge of the king's schedule. He speaks with Takanata for quite some time, and is deeply regretful to have to refuse Takanata an appointment. It seems that the party simply doesn't have enough documentation or endorsements to make it onto the schedule, regardless of the importance of their visit.

It seems that the official is truly regretful, and in fact encourages Takanata to return to the circus and make his own annotations to the Official Report from Harmonious Endeavor in order to make them more impressive. He seems like he's stuck enforcing rules he doesn't believe in and indeed gives the party as many clues as he can how to get around him.

They return to the circus and Takanata attempts to add his own seal to the report. With several Status successes, he succeeds. Now the report includes an Officious Seal making it look more impressive.

While Takanata is working on seals, Li Merit heads to town to meet with his local contacts. First he is given a handful of Ice Chips of Doom. His home office is somewhat upset with him, as the ice chips caused quite a bit of trouble for them until they figured out that they could dissolve the things in sea water. Not salt water, just sea water. He thanks them for their research efforts, and also requests a dossier on Visiting Bureaucrat Long. They tell him they'll get back to him with a dossier fairly soon.

Takanata finishes his seal work and then collects all the letters and invitations indicating that the Viridian Queen visited the circus. Putting these all together, he heads back to the Visiting Secretary, who manages to convert it all into a second Officious Seal. Now the Official Report has two Officious Seals on it. The Visiting Secretary comments that Takanata is now well on the way to an appointment with the king. He also comments that the highest ranking person in town, other than the king, is the Duke Huang, who lives in the Flaming Spire. Takanata thanks him for his assistance, and heads back to the party.

People head over to visit the Duke Huang. With Takanata leading the way, they manage to get in to speak with the Duke. The Duke also seems perturbed by the added bureaucracy of late, and asks them what he can do to help. The party explains about the perfidy of the Duke Hong and their need to deliver the Official Report. Duke Huang volunteers to assist and takes the report into his study. When he returns, the report has a third Officious Seal on it. The Duke also offers to find someone else who could place a seal upon it if they would only return in a few hours. He's quite eager to help.

The party thanks him and departs. When they leave, Takanata notes that the report seems to have changed a little bit. It used to say it was a report "implicating the Duke Hong", while now it says "mildly implicating the Duke Hong". Given this change, people are reluctant to visit Huang again and get more of his "help".

Several hours are spent reconstructing the original report and Takanata works on transferring the Officious Seals from the doctored report to the original. It's a difficult process, requiring a large amount of status and Bureaucracy skill.

Meeting with Ando

The party wonders what happened to Ando, as he hasn't shown up yet. It's realized that he probably won't show up while the party (specifically Takanata) is being followed around by the two spies Min Feng discovered. So, Li Merit executes a clever scheme involving multiple rickshaws to drop the tails. Once the party is in the clear, Ando shows up to talk to them.
"You never take the first rickshaw, any idiot knows that." -Li Merit
He confirms that the bureaucratic obstacles preventing them from seeing the king were not here on his last visit. Indeed, they all seem to be the doing of the Visiting Bureaucrat Long. How he got such power is a mystery to Ando, as he's never heard of any Bureaucrat Long. Ando's main question for the party is if they know why he is apparently being followed by spies of his own agency. The party is mostly convinced it's because he spilled that he's been across the Northern Wall during the Whispered Ball. Ando is none too pleased that the party thinks several people, at least the Queen's people, overheard this, and agrees that it's probably the cause.
In return, Ando fills them in on the fact that the Dukes Hong and Huang have been associated since childhood and go by the name "The Fire Dukes". So they shouldn't expect any help from Huang in getting the Hong report to the king unaltered. Curious, they ask if there are "Water Dukes". Ando confirms that in fact there are. The Duke Lan and his boyhood friend Duke Lu were so known. Sadly, the Duke Lu does not live anywhere close to the City of Spires, so he will likely be of no help.

Ando does let them know that other than Huang, the two other people closest to the king, and thus most likely to be able to imprint Officious Seals, are Mistress Litona of the Silent House, and Mystic Tikon of the Spiral Path Temple.

"Mistress Litona of the Silent House" -Mike "Hey, she's in my secret society." -Kate
<Shocked silence>
"Er... I probably don't say that in front of Ando."
Li Merit and Ando set up a way to get into contact with each other, although Ando reminds him they'll have to ditch Takanata's tails whenever they meet.
More Intelligence Gathering
Li Merit then goes to contact his people once more and receives the dossier on Long:
"A minor bureaucrat with the planning ministry of the chancellery. He works mostly with the planning committee for the imperial highway system. He was recently transferred to the Hidden City's Mayoral office where he received supplementary training under the eunuch bureaucrats. After this training, he was posted here about three weeks ago."
Well, if he's learned bureaucrat shticks from the eunuch masters in the Hidden City, no wonder he's able to show up and completely revamp the Royal Spire's mechanics.
Pressing on, they take their Official Report to the Mistress Litona's residence. She talks to the party amiably, but doesn't commit to affixing her seal to the report. She wonders why they've come to her with their report and offers to help, but fears she will be unable to unless the party can indicate what it is she'll get out of the affair. At this point however, Takanata points out that Min Feng is an apprentice of Sister Helena of the Silent House, back in the Butterfly Kingdom. Litona allows that it's always good to be owed a favor and affixes her Seal to the report. She also invites Min Feng back for tea at some later date.

Meditation at the Spiral Path

Finally, the party proceeds to the temple of the Spiral Path. The temple is surrounded by a walled garden and there is no response to their knock on the main door. Undeterred, Min Feng and Zhou search the outer wall for secret entrances. They are mocked for this by the rest of the party. That is, they are mocked until they find a secret door and then they do the mocking. Zhou declares that it is acceptable to enter a Spiral Path temple unannounced if you find their secret door, and so the party proceeds within. They head to the central spire and follow the spiral staircase up to the top. At the top, they find an aged monk, presumably Mystic Tikon, meditating. Unwilling to break his meditation the party prepares tea and attempts to wait him out.

This proves quite challenging as it appears the monk is willing to meditate for quite some time. Li Merit starts looking out the windows hoping to see a local bar he might wait at. Finally, Zhou joins in the meditation. Once he is properly centered, he hears a voice in his mind, "What is it you seek?" Zhou mentally responds "Assistance and Enlightenment." His response is, "Your greatest assistance will come from assisting others. As to enlightenment, you must follow the path those you help set before you."

Tokai starts painting a water portrait. He finds himself painting the City of Spires skyline, although in his painting the Golden Spire is not covered with construction cloth or anything. It's quite lovely.
As people get more bored, they start snapping at those still waiting.
"Hey Xiao Fa! Go Feng the Shui and make him talk to us!"
Xiao Fa meditates. Once he is properly centered, he also hears a voice in his mind. "What is it you seek?" Xiao Fa replies "To assist you." Inspired to help, Xiao Fa uses his Harmonious Arrangement shtick to improve the Feng Shui of the spire. While he's working, he realizes that what he really needs to make it work is down in the dormitory. Heading down and searching the dormitory, he doesn't really find anything useful, except an Officious Seal! He brings the seal upstairs and affixes it to the Official Report.
The party departs. "Master Zhou of Iron Mountain thanks you."
Presentation of the Report

Finally, the party heads back to the Royal Spire. Takanata shows the Visiting Secretary the annotated Official Report. He's quite impressed that Takanata has managed to acquire so many Officious Seals and makes an appointment for the party to meet with the king first thing in the morning, hours before the arrival of the Obsidian Warlord.

Li Merit has another secret meeting with Ando and gives him the dossier on Long. In return, Ando tells him that the strange Dragon Army troop movements in the east during the siege of the Butterfly Kingdom were apparently in an attempt to simultaneously get the troop out of the way in the south, and apply pressure to the Shrouded Isle in the north. Why the Dragon Army wanted these things is unclear, but that's what Ando's uncovered.

Now though, it is time for the nightly circus performance. Visiting Bureaucrat Long shows up and sits in the VIP section. Li Merit rushes around the circus making sure all necessary permits are displayed in all necessary places, just to be sure the Bureaucrat and his entourage can find nothing wrong.

Assassin!

Things go quite well for a while, but during the Confounding Xian's performance, he notices an assassin in the audience, apparently lining up a kill strike on Long. Unlike his usual assassin detection, this time the assassin seems content to wait. Xian has a while to decide what to do about it. He takes the problem to Li Merit, who decides that perhaps letting Long get killed at the circus is the wrong plan. So Xian heads to Master Zhou. He describes in detail which of the audience members is the assassin and Zhou heads off to deal with him.

Li Merit gets the elephant trainers to give a private show for the VIP section, putting elephants in all the likely fire lines. Wandering around through the crowd seemingly aimlessly, Zhou manages to sneak up on the assassin who has fixed his attention on the target. Zhou nerve strikes him in the surprise round, them slaps the Shackles of Silence on him and drags him down behind the stands to Xiao Fa and Min Feng all before the assassin recovers his lost actions. Before the assassin manages to either strike back or flee, Xiao Fa, Min Feng, Xian and Zhou pummel him into unconsciousness.

Sadly, the party realizes that they don't have much in the way of interrogation. So, Min Feng distracts Takanata's tails, and Li Merit goes to get Ando to help with the interrogation. Xian prepares the interrogation tent to give Ando the best chance, and Ando rolls quite well, so the assassin cracks.
"If Ando wishes to join the party, he's going to have to give up his day job." -Xian
He's the house assassin of Huang. The Duke Huang is sick of needing Officious Seals to do anything, and decided to eliminate Long. Having learned about the circus's connection to the Hong report, he decided the best way to deal with both problems was to have Long assassinated at the circus. The assassin was prepared to strike, but was merely waiting for Authorization. He's totally unclear why he was waiting, as he doesn't usually do that, but the party figures Long was using some terrible eunuch bureaucrat shtick to prevent him from being attacked by anyone not authorized to do so.

Li Merit stashes the assassin in a safe house with a friend of his while the party discusses what to do with him after their meeting with the king. With that detail taken care of, they turn in for the night to prepare for the morning meeting.

Meeting the King

The party heads to the Royal Spire and gets through all of the security to the Visiting Secretary. They are sent in to see the king. Suddenly, Long himself appears and says that unfortunately the king is too busy to speak with them. However, they brandish their many Officious Seals. Defeated by his own mechanic, Long is forced to allow them to pass into the Royal chambers.

The king is overjoyed to see them, as he's been stuck dealing with paperwork for what feels like weeks. They explain about the Official Report, and the king promises there will be an immediate investigation into the Duke Hong. Then they ask for the Royal Seal to get into the Golden Spire. The king is quite surprised, as he believed the Golden Spire was a national treasure and open to all. The fact that it is covered up annoys him, and he writes them a letter of entrance as well as an order to the guards to remove the coverings hiding the Spire. He affixes the Royal Seal to the letter and sends the party off with it.

Min Feng disguises herself as Takanata and heads back to the circus to distract the spies searching for Ando. She then slips back to the party, they collect Ando, and head to the Golden Spire.
The guards read the letter and shrug, "We are of course all servants of His Majesty." They then proceed to remove all of the covering on the Spire and admit the party inside.
The Golden Spire

People head up to the highest level, which Xiao Fa identifies as a powerful Feng Shui site. There is a sign on the way up indicating that there is no taller structure in all the Empire. On the floor on the top level is a giant tile mosaic depicting all of the cycle animals. Various people start to meditate and contemplate questions...

Takanata stands on the image of the butterfly and wonders who Long works for. He realizes it must be "The Marked" referred to in his poem.
Min Feng stands on the image of the phoenix and opens herself to what she needs to know. She suddenly sees the chi connections between all things in the Empire, but the three that stand out are strong dark connections between someone in the Hidden City, the approaching army, and Takanata.
Xian lies down in the middle touching all 12 segments. He gets a strange sinking sensation.
Xiao Fa stands on the image of the spider and gets the chance to discard his destiny shtick in exchange for any shtick he wants. He can buy it right now, in major concept regardless, and will even be loaned the XP if he doesn't have enough. He declines.

Meanwhile, downstairs, Ando and Li Merit are fussing over some of the newly installed plaques. Prying one off the wall, they discover an older inscription beneath it. The inscription refers to the third king of the Foxruns. Ando and Li Merit fence for a while, but finally both admit that they see the word Foxruns. Ando admits that if they brought one of the guards up here, that guard would likely see the words "Jade Taiga" instead. He thinks there might be some significant hidden history, only visible to people who have at some point left the Empire.
They head back upstairs where:
Zhou stands on the image of the Tortoise and thinks about his past. He recalls being in terrible pain and hearing a mocking voice tell him there is nowhere in the Empire he can go to escape the voice's influence. Suddenly, another voice says, "There is one place." and Zhou sees himself suddenly awake in the Gardens of Harmonious Contemplation in the Butterfly Kingdom, where his current set of memories began. Xian stands on the image of the Fox and wonders who it was that encased the southern pagoda in ice. He sees an image of the moon.
Ando stands on the image of the Magpie and declares it to be broken. How can the solutions to his current problem possibly be the poem in Takanata's hand? Li Merit stands on the image of the Magpie and seeks something no one else knows to collect. He sees an image of the Great Talisman of the Magpie far off in the Hon'eth Arcade.

Poem in the River

Puzzling over their clues further and reading the poem a couple hundred more times, Takanata decides to drop the original of his poem in the river. As soon as he does, the entire thing dissolves instantly. A little later, an announcement is made throughout the city that the Obsidian Warlord's visit has been canceled. He won't be arriving after all.
The party breathes a great sigh of relief for dodging... something.
Finally, not knowing what else to do with him, the party decides to deliver the assassin and his confession to Mistress Litona. She's welcome to do with him and the information as she wishes.
"Well aren't you all just dears. Min Feng, tell Helena that if she wishes to take you to the island, she shall have my support."
Well, no one's really clear what that means, but it seems cool, so they head back to the circus, seemingly triumphant.
Puttering

Min Feng has tea with Mistress Litona
Master Zhou meets with Master Furuta of the Fivefold Way, and Master Tanuma of the Second Way.
Takanata has tea by the river.
Master Zhou, Xian, and Xiao Fa visit a waystation of the Wandering Path. Cai Wen, Min Feng, and Wei Han investigate vaguely recent construction projects in the Taiga.
Cai Wen and Wei Han visit Duke Lan at Harmonious Endeavor, bringing a letter from Takanata
Master Zhou visits the Hand of the Wind monastery near the City of Spires

Retrieved from "http://boojum.scripts.mit.edu/Dragon/index.php?
title=Bureaucracy_for_Beginners"
Category: Book One Logs
This page was last modified on 2 November 2010, at 22:23.
Night of Gates

From Dragon

"Down along the rocky shore, Some make their home,
They live on crispy pancakes Of yellow tide-foam;
Some in the reeds
Of the black mountain-lake, With frogs for their watchdogs,
All night awake."

It is the Night of Gates,
between summer and autumn, in the second Year of the Fox since the ascension of the High Warlord Ze.
The run takes place mostly in the Forest of Chin
Previous run Next run
Contents

1 Deep in the Forest
2 Back at the Circus
3 Dread Pirates of the Jasmine River
4 Tea with the Tengu
5 Final Planning
6 Strange and Unusual Creatures
7 Amikiri the Unbinder
8 Yumekui
9 Other Conversations
10 Soup
11 Missing Non-Persons
12 Confrontation
13 Wrapup
14 Puttering

Deep in the Forest

While the Circus has been traveling through the City of Spires and performing there, Hiro has led an expedition (of Shen-Ji and Anto) to the Forest of Chin, to talk to his mentor Pir Pir, a tengu. Pir Pir has given them some advice about elemental spirits, and what to do about the Southerners, but notes that if they wish to meet more spirits, the thing that they should do is come with him to a Grand Council of Spirits and Demons that night. Sadly, even one as exalted as he, would not be able to get them in unless they had some stolen elephants with them. They question him on this point and he's quite clear that a stolen elephant would definitely make sure they get into the party... er... meeting.

So, they start planning how to kidnap elephants. Pir Pir makes them little hats out of twigs and berries to wear as disguises when they go to get the elephants, so no one will recognize them during their thievery. (After all, if they just give you elephants, they aren't stolen.) Hiro points out that the difficult part is getting the circus and them in the same place at the same time, with enough time left over to get the elephants to the council meeting. The circus itself is still back at the City of Spires. They are planning to come this way down river, but Hiro and the others aren't clear on the timing. Pir Pir says he will take care of that. Pir Pir heads off, leaving the trio in the clearing to work on their disguises.
"You guys practice wearing hats, and I'll meet up with you again for stealing the elephants."
Back at the Circus

Morning dawns on the last day of summer, as the Circus is scheduled to head to a rented boat and start down the Jasmine River. Hana asks Shuyan about snakes as she has wanted a snake of her own ever since the yumekui trouble. Shuyan finds a baby grass snake for her, and gives her instructions on how to care for it, mostly involving feeding it baby mice when it's hungry but not otherwise. Sadly, Hana isn't as warm as most people are, so she's not as nice to hang out on, but being the Source of Food will probably still convince the snake she's OK. Once Hana finally has a snake, she finishes getting rid of the yumekui imposed psych-lim causing her to want snakes, but now feels responsible for the little thing, and is determined to look after it properly.

Elsewhere in the circus, one of Ringmaster Te's roustabouts comes to tell Master Deng that Te himself is sick; Zhi-Hao is in charge of getting everyone rounded up and moving onto the boat. Ringmaster Te will catch up to the boat when he feels better. That sounds very unusual, so Zhi-Hao goes to see him. Guys at the door of his tent (regular circus guys, not suspicious new guys) say that Ringmaster Te insists that he see no one. Zhi-Hao calls through the tent flap to confirm that it's really Ringmaster Te - he sounds pretty sick, and reiterates the instructions to get things moving.
When Shuyan hears about this, she worries about his health, and goes to visit the ringmaster to see if she can be of any medical assistance. He claims that he's too sick to see her, which doesn't sound good, but already has some medicine, so should be fine in a day or two and will catch up to the circus later. She makes him some healthy soup, and passes it under the flap of the tent, before finally rushing to meet the boat before it heads off down the Jasmine River.

Dread Pirates of the Jasmine River

With the circus heading downriver, a little disorganized because of the sudden ringmasterless departure, Yoshi worries a bit about river pirates. It seems they tend to be in places where the river bends and gets narrower, so there's shouldn't be a problem for some time. As the big riverboat heads down a non-bendy non-narrow stretch, some fog rolls in, and two small river barges start approaching the bigger ship, one from either side, except that one of them is very very far away (possibly even farther away than the river is wide).

Hana, the only one who gets a good look at one of the barges, flying a small pirate flag, realizes that the four figures in it are Horrible Monsters (one with a fish head, one with a horse head, one with a badger head, and one EVEN WORSE). She screams.

On the barge, Pir Pir (the even worse monster) checks to see if his crew has come up with a Clever Plan to board the boat and steal the elephants yet. Also, someone should make a dramatic speech? He tells them remember to cup your hands in front of your mouth when you do so. (As it turns out, if you don't, you sound like you're talking in scary monster speech and the people on the boat can't understand this).

Hiro (the fish-headed monster) laughs (which comes out as laughing horribly and scarily), and then cups his hands and shouts "We are the Dread Pirates of the Jasmine River. Surrender or be doomed!"
Yoshi contemplates why the fish-headed monster is doing this.
"Ultimately, I think I'm doing this to save the world. It's pretty yak-shavey, but still."
-Marleigh
Yoshi tells the party to hold their fire - the monsters are stealing elephants to save the world! Or something like that.
"But there's no such thing as the Dread Pirates of the Jasmine River, and if there were, they wouldn't be four monsters in a rowboat." -Yoshi
The even-worse monster stands up and shouts scary monsterese at the ship, until he remembers to cup his hands in front of his mouth. "Watch out on the other side!" he warns, just as the very far away guy (not a monster, as far as anyone can tell) reaches out, picks up the elephant, and puts it on his very far away boat. Hey, that doesn't seem fair!

Yoshi notes that elephant thief's reason is more like "to one-up my brother in elephantstealing", and that that isn't nearly as good as saving the world. He calls back "Dread Pirates of the Jasmine River - steal that elephant!", pointing at the elephant on the other boat. The fish monster (who seems to be better at remembering to cup his hands) calls back, "We will ally with you to steal that elephant - we accept your offer."

Zhi-Hao gets the outboard motor from Lijuan, and gets the captain to start attaching it to one of the dinghies hanging at the rear of the boat. This takes a little while, and in the meantime, the Dread Pirates of the Jasmine River have rounded the back of the boat and are heading in the direction of the far-away boat with the elephant on it.

Lijuan tries to call the elephant to come back to the ship, but it trumpets (very loudly, despite being so far away) sadly, since it can't cross the many thousands of feet of distance. It is after all, an elephant. Zhi-Hao throws a shuriken at the far-away guy, and, amazingly, the shuriken lofts through the air for the thousands of feet that it takes to get there and hit him.

Yoshi tries to get the lead monster on the pirate boat to explain what the elephants are for but doesn't get a good answer, while calling out to the other thief to "stand down and return our elephant!"

Taking heart from Zhi-Hao's shuriken throwing, Hana leaps for the far-away boat. She zooms into the air, across the huge distance, and onto the elephant's back, shouting "TaDah!"
"Wow, she's leveled up since I last saw her..." -Hiro
Yoshi leaps into the boat with the four monsters (which looks much easier, since it isn't far far away), and contemplates why the badger-demon (Anto) is doing this. As it turns out, the badger-demon is not really sure on the details, but he thinks it's thwarting evil somehow. How about the horse-demon? The horse-demon (Shen-Ji) has no idea why he's doing this. Yoshi also confers with the fish demon (Hiro) to see if it is trying to save the world in the same save the world plot as Yoshi is. The fish demon "uses its monster powers" (waving its arms around mysteriously and ominously) to determine that yes, it is. Yoshi finds that fascinating, especially the part that suggests that that the first half (using the monster powers) isn't true, but the second half (it's the same save-the-world plot) is true. Meanwhile Zhi Hao and the Badger Demon (Anto) both follow Hana's lead and leap to the "far away" boat, crossing in the air and landing on opposite sides of the thief. The badger demon wraps the elephant thief up in its ... badgery tentacles, while Zhi Hao chops at the thief until he surrenders. He "unzooms" the boat at that point, and now it can be seen to be tethered to the side of the Circus's riverboat.

At this point, the horse and badger demons (still on plan "Steal that elephant") try to get the elephant into their boat. Hana, on top of the elephant, tries to distract them with a demure show of ankle, and does distract the badger-demon quite a bit. Shuyan throws a snake at the horse-demon, which proves distracting and also quite frightening to everyone else, as now the snake looks enormous and monstery as it battles with the horse-demon. The fish-demon decides to climb onto the elephant to stop Hana from flirting with Anto.

Still on target, Zhi-Hao tries to intimidate/interrogate the lone elephant thief, who explains that he was taking the elephant for acrobatics training. When that fails to impress, he says that he needed the elephant so that his wicked brother would not beat him. This doesn't sound much better. Zhi-Hao klonks him on the head, knocking him out.

The horse-demon finally manages to get the better of his snake, and throws it at the elephant. It lands in Hana's lap. She doesn't much mind, but the elephant doesn't like snakes, and rears up on its hind legs. The fish-monster manages to acrobatically land on its feet, but Hana starts to tip off the elephant into the river - only to be caught by the fishdemon instead. She screams, and brandishes the snake at it.

Hiro decides that this is enough demon-ing for one adventure, and takes off his fish-demon hat (which, once he's not wearing it, looks like a vaguely fish shaped hat made out of twigs).
"Oh!" -Yoshi
"Now, we are all going to go back onto the ship. And have tea!" -Hiro
Tea with the Tengu

Tea is provided, with great politeness and formality, by Hana. (Hiro gives her the spiced walnuts that he brought back from his trip; this is something like the third set of "walnuts for Hana" that has been bought, as everyone kept eating them). Anto also takes off his monster-hat, leaving just Shen-Ji disguised as a monster, until Hiro reaches into the horse's maw and takes his hat off too.

Hiro introduces Pir Pir (the "even worse" monster), who wanders around on deck around the mast, and reappears without his disguise as well. Hiro also explains that there will soon be a Great Council of Spirits and Demons...
"Wait, are we still lying to them?" -Pir Pir
Pir Pir explains that tonight (between summer and autumn) will be the Night of Gates (those brought up most places know of this holiday as a time for costume parties and dancing; those brought up in the Forest of Chin know of this as a time to stay inside with the doors locked.) The great gates between the worlds open, the demons below and the spirits above meet, and... are they going with the great council meeting story or the big party story?
"Which is more accurate?" -Hiro
"Accurate? You are filled with crazy notions." -Pir Pir
Anyhow, Pir Pir insists that he (and the people he brings) will get more credit with the others at the party if he brings elephants - because... elephants!. Lijuan suggests bringing monkeys instead, but Pir Pir hurries to tell her not to mess with the monkeys. Especially the monkeys at the party. It's the Great Monkey Spirit opening the gates, after all! Hana makes sure to warn Min Su to be careful of the monkeys getting troublesome or particularly monkeyish. This leads to a mention of the two extra-monkeyish monkeys, and Hiro hopes that the original monkey isn't mad at him because of getting shot...
"Wait, you shot the GREAT MONKEY SPIRIT with an arrow? Really? Oh, hah, you got me there." -Pir Pir
What should they do about the other elephant thief? Lijuan suggests giving him to Yoshi to reform, but it seems clear that he and Pir Pir know each other, and Zhi-Hao wants more details. Pir Pir wakes him up, and tells him that he has to tell Zhi-Hao his name, so that Pir Pir can talk about him. The other tengu is initially a little unhappy about doing so, but Zhi-Hao points out that he is tied up, and Hiro says that in the future when Hiro tells the story, it will involve Great Hour-Long Battles up and down the river, so the other tengu finally acquiesces and introduces himself as Tek Tek. He is a master of Space and Size (and also Time and other things). Pir Pir also notes that it will be hard for him to get eight people into the party; it might work better if he took four and Tek Tek took four.

Hana suggests that they will untie Tek Tek if he takes some of them to the party. Yoshi makes sure to add a codicil: that he not steal any of their elephants, and that he not cause any more trouble for them. And, they will give him cookies, Hiro additionally tacks on but only until the end of tea. After everyone confirms that everyone knows what the agreement is, Tek Tek is untied, and, on request, demonstrates his mastery of Space and Size by making Lijuan very far away but also very tall at the same time.

As the riverboat docks for the evening, Hana wonders what they should all be wearing to the party and if there are any particular rules to be followed. Pir Pir checks - was she planning to leave by dawn or be trapped for all eternity? Hana would prefer the former. Pir Pir says she shouldn't tell anyone she's a spirit, then, but he'd be happy to provide a fancy monster hat. Alternatively, she can wear her best clothes and that could also be okay.
Pir Pir directs them to meet him and Tek Tek (with an elephant) at sunset in a clearing outside of the town - and to make sure nobody else is there.
"You go clear the clearing, I'll go make hats, and rescue that Ringmaster guy, and meet you there..." -Pir Pir
"Wait, what?" -Everyone
Pir Pir claims everything is under control, not to worry, and zooshes off. (Yoshi thinks whatever happened to Ringmaster Te, he's probably actually okay and not really harmed.)
Final Planning
While Pir Pir is gone, the group wonders whether they need to bring more than one elephant, but Hiro thinks not.
"He wants to bring elephants to the party to make mischief, and one is probably sufficient." -Hiro
They also briefly pool what they know on demons, spirits, and so on. Demons are from the World Below; spirits are from the World Above. Demons are not necessarily malicious and spirits are not necessarily benevolent, but on the whole, demons are more likely to be trouble than spirits. Great Spirits are also from the world above. Some spirits are elementalish (the ones that the Southrons need for their ritual would be this kind). The Sun and the Moon are/have things more like Yin and Yang-ish spirits.

Hiro also mentions the advice that Pir Pir gave him about fighting the Southrons - find elemental spirits that might get grabbed, and arrange for some sort of booby trap or switch. Or, if Kali has enemies of her own, perhaps they can get those enemies as allies to fight Kali.
"Does Kali come to these parties?" -Yoshi
People also contemplate rules that ought to be followed at parties like this, or in dealing with spirits and demons in general, from their knowledge of stories of other people who have done this sort of thing:

Do not go if you are not invited.
Do not eat food that is not for you (Yoshi notes that at a properly run party, what food is for you should be obvious).
Don't make promises you don't plan to keep.
Demons and spirits will be snooty to each other.
Don't claim to be something you are not - you may find yourself forced to behave like what you have claimed.

What was going on before about Tek Tek's name, Hiro wonders? That was probably a Tengu thing - Pir Pir didn't want to interfere with a prank in progress, so until Tek Tek gave them his name, he might still be stealing the elephant, but once he had agreed not to, it was probably all good.
Then, the group sets off with their elephant.
"I hate to make this sound like kindergarten or swimming lessons, but should we have a buddy system?" -Hiro
They reach the designated clearing, and Anto suggests checking around for hidden traps and people, since Pir Pir was clear that there shouldn't be other people there. And, in fact, Lijuan finds two little kids hiding in some bushes. She offers them cookies, but insists that they go home. They argue with each other about whose fault it is that they're not at home, and Lijuan warns them darkly about horse-headed monsters and giant badgers. Yoshi, Lijuan, and Anto take them home, with promises of tickets to the circus from Anto.

Tek Tek shows up, and passes out twiggy-looking hats to those who don't already have monster hats. He notes disapprovingly that Pir Pir isn't back yet from his mission to calm down some shouty guy. Tek Tek offers to demonstrate his "Got Your Head" shtick (No, it doesn't work on trees - trees don't have heads!) but no one volunteers. Hiro suggests that Tek Tek teach it to him, but Tek Tek doesn't want to fight with Pir Pir over Hiro.

Off in the distance, there is a huge thrumping noise, coming closer. The elephant begins to look nervous, and people surround it to pat it soothingly. As might be expected, the thrumping turns out to be Pir Pir, who shouts "Am I late?" at the top of his lungs. The Ringmaster was certainly shouty, he notes, but now it's time to go! Watch for monkeys, and if you see one, follow it!

Strange and Unusual Creatures

Shuyan spots the monkey first, and everyone troops after it for a little ways, until they reach a strange menagerie of creatures standing in line. Pir Pir directs them into the line, which is proceeding forwards to an archway with monkeys standing in it. Directly in front of our heroes is a small man-shaped creature made out of dry leaves; he seems rather nervous about the humans, and the elephant in particular. He presents his scroll to the monkeys, who let him in.

Pir Pir presents a scroll as well, and informs the monkeys importantly that these four are with him, those four are with Tek Tek, the snakes are with Shuyan, the dog is with Lijuan, "...and the elephant is with me." The monkey rolls its eyes, but lets everyone in. The banquet hall appears to be made of trees, arching high overhead. Monkeys carry around plates with food, and also lurk above in the branches.

The leafy guy shyly approaches Shuyan, and says with astonishment "Wow, you really were invited? Wow." He asks who invited them, and Shuyan says "The tengu." Leaf backs off quickly, and excuses himself to get a drink, where unspeakably weird things are offering glasses with colorful liquids. A monkey offers Hana a strange bite to eat - she worriedly asks if it is okay to eat, but the monkey nods.
There are large numbers of strange creatures of all sizes, but some include:
Demons
Pir Pir
Tek Tek
Thorn (a twisted tangle of thorny vines, roughly man-shaped) Carrion (a dark man with a vulture's head)
Gulper (a frog with a gaping maw)
Muzxi (a cactus-lke guy with metal tines)
Jaku (an imp)
Kozetsu (a six-foot tall fat baby)
Oni (a horned ogre)
Heike and Gani (crabs with human faces)
Gaeshi (who warms nice cool pillows)
Water Monkey (a green-furred monkey, dripping water) Yumekui (that dream-eating demon the party has encountered before)
Spirits
A large number of Soot Sprites Brown Feet (a forest cat spirit) several Kitsune (fox spirits)
Leaf (the dry-leaf spirit)
No-Face (an amorphous black spirit with a white mask)
Radish (a very fat vegetable spirit)
Beko (a red cow)
Amikiri (a spirit festooned with chains and ropes)
Badger (also sometimes a teapot)
Kawa Uso (a river otter)
Swanla and Swania (swan maidens)
Kappa (a turtle-ish spirit with a depression filled with water in his head) Oni (a giant snail with a woman's face)
Baku (similar to Yumekui, but less clawed)
Chuff (a plump owl-ish spirit with large eyes)

Amikiri the Unbinder

Once the group arrives at the party, Anto notes that if they want help from elemental spirits, perhaps they can offer help to one. He uses his "nose for trouble" shtick to head in the direction of someone who needs help. The party heads into a dark corner of the hall, and encounters a spirit draped with broken nets and broken chains. He introduces himself as Amikiri the Unbinder, cutter of nets and breaker of chains.

Yoshi immediately becomes interested, and says that he has a friend who is bound, with a chi hook from beyond the Southern Wall. Amikiri looks dubious - it should not be possible to be affected by chi from beyond the Wall. Yoshi says that he came from beyond the wall and is here now. Amikiri thinks that might be more possible. Is the friend here? No, he is not. Amikiri takes some notes and says he will do some research and tell Yoshi what he discovers. Hiro says that he has been bound into a ritual against his will - can Amikiri do something about that? Amikiri takes some more notes. Anto asks if anyone else here is bound - Amikiri says that really, everyone is bound by something, but he will see what he can determine and get back to them.

"I'm sorry, this may seem awfully forward, but I have this feeling that you need help." -Anto
"I, need help? Why would you think that?" -Amikiri
"Hmm. Was my nose leading me to him, or the guy he's standing on?" -Anto
But there's no one here but Amikiri now, at least. Amikiri excuses himself to head to the bar as well.
"If he were just a guy wearing chains and stuff, would we have any way of telling?"
Shen-Ji notices that between the chains and vines and rope and so on, Amikiri does have all five elements in his accoutrements, though what that means is anyone's guess.
Yumekui

Yoshi and Lijuan head off to talk to the yumekui. The baku is nearby, and the two are kind of glowering at each other. The yumekui declares that it has been looking everywhere for Yoshi, though it was looking more in the material world and not here. It wants to eat more of his tasty ideals, and says it has been practicing doing things like just nibbling, and also, it has figured out how to spit things into people's dreams. So it has been spitting Yoshis into people's dreams, and then nibbling on them to see which ones changed, and the ones that changed are the ones that recognize Yoshi.

Yoshi drinks the ice wine he's been saving since the Butterfly Kingdom, and becomes extra-persuasive (and rather drunk), and glows with an inner light. While under the influence, he urges the yumekui to be good and eat only things that are good for people to have eaten. The yumekui wants to try to do this, and is willing to follow Yoshi while he tries to figure it out. Yoshi asks if the yumekui has a name - it doesn't have one of its own, and Yoshi names it Kibo.

The baku, nearby, shakes his head sadly, sure no good will come of this. Yoshi asks if the baku can help with this - it's really not sure that this is a good idea. It explains how it eats unhappiness and nightmares - people will get fixated on something, and that fixation will take on a life of its own, like a pearl in an oyster. The baku eats the pearl, but leaves the oyster. It thinks that yumekui are not so careful.

Some experimental nibbling happens - Kibo nibbles at Yoshi's glow, and says it's tasty but not filling. Then, Yoshi asks what Lijuan is worried about, and she's worried that the yumekui is going to eat Yoshi. With her permission, the yumekui tries to nibble away the worry. Well, okay, perhaps she doesn't have to worry about it eating Yoshi because it's eating her instead! Hana also wanders over, clearly worried about all the nibbling going on, and warns them against doing anything stupid. She also mentions to the yumekui that she thinks she's still missing bits of herself that it ate -- does it think it could spit them back, like it spat the Yoshi-dreams into people? It says it will experiment.

The yumekui says that Lijuan's worry doesn't seem as disconnected as the pearl analogy would suggest - it's more like a plum, around a plum stone, and it's work to nibble the fruit away. Well, it seems like the yumekui is interested in trying, at least.

Other Conversations
Elsewhere, Shen-Ji encounters Muzxi, who identifies himself as a metal demon. Shen-Ji mentions that he's a metal sorceror, so maybe Muzxi has some things he might teach him.
"Do you want to learn to bind metal to your own dark purposes?" "Um... yeah."
First though, Shen-Ji does remember to pass around the warnings from Hiro. Asking Muzxi where they might find metal spirits who might be fodder for Southron rituals, Muzxi describes the deep mines of the world, and says that such places are most appropriate. He can think of a good list and will give it to Shen-Ji sometime after the soup course.

Shuyan, meanwhile, is off talking to Jaku, who turns out to be a little imp attempting to tempt people into dancing for him. Shuyan and he make an agreement that she'll dance for him if he'll tell her a secret about snakes, and she starts dancing. Twenty minutes later, Master Deng comes by and sees that Shuyan is still dancing with the little imp, and so cuts in, breaking the spell. It is a party, and that sort of thing is allowed, so Jaku keeps his end of the bargain and whispers a snake-related secret into Shuyan's ear.

Hiro, meanwhile, is wandering around the party looking for element-related spirits to give his warnings to, and possibly organize prior to the southerners return. None of the spirits here are particularly elemental, but Kawa Uso knows a lot of the bigger water spirits, and Brown Feet knows a bunch of tree spirits. He'd really like to get in touch with a powerful wood sorcerer, as the wood spirits in his forest need some reorganizing, and he'd be grateful to help out if that happened. Sadly, the party doesn't know any wood sorcerers, so they promise to look him up if they find one.

Zhi Hao also, in chatting with the cat spirit, finds out that the party doesn't seem to be filling up as fast as it usually does. The usual number of guests seems to be arriving, but the place just isn't as crowded as he'd have expected...

Soup

This line of thought is interrupted by a great gong though, as the monkeys begin to pass out bowls to all the party goers, and the various guests start heading towards the soup serving stations. The humans regroup together to share conversations. Zhi-Hao mentions Brown Feet's observation about the party's sparsity, and they group speculates that maybe people are vanishing? However, now it is time for soup!
The party guests queue up to where the monkeys are ladling soup out of two large pots one labeled "Spirit" and one labeled "Demon". When the first human gets to the front of the line, the monkeys look pained; one holds up a finger, and they confer. Several more monkeys show up, and they begin to put things together in a pot as well, carefully scrutinizing the humans as they do so.
"They're going to make us human soup!" -Zhi-Hao "I don't like the sound of that..." -Shuyan
After a little while, the third pot is labeled "Human" and the party gets soup from there. No one seems to be drinking the soup yet, though - there seems to be a "wait until everyone is served" plan. Ho and Shuyan's snake both are served a bowl of human soup, and the elephant is given a bowl of demon soup. The humans clamor that the elephant should not be eating demon soup. The monkeys look at Pir Pir, who protests that the elephant is with him. The monkeys bring a new bowl of (human) soup for the elephant. Then, once everyone is served, everyone drinks their soup.

As it turns out, the monkeys are a little unclear on the differences between people, so the soup has a bit of everyone's characteristics in it. Each person gets one characteristic that may belong to someone else, but when they behave that way, they begin to think that they are the other person. Lijuan gets her own flavor, so she is twice as exuberant as usual; Yoshi starts behaving like Lijuan, Hiro like Anto, Hana also like Anto, Zhi-Hao like Hiro, and Shuyan like Zhi-Hao. (Anto and Shen-Ji don't trigger theirs, so there are three Antos all together).

Lijuan gathers up the soot sprites, and tries to convince them to join the circus. She and Yoshi (who also thinks he's Lijuan) strike up a game of catch with Kozetsu, adding more and more rules as they go. The game (or, rather, the two Lijuans) pulls in others like Hana and Shuyan; the baby becomes very unhappy and likely to shriek when someone leaves the game, but Lijuan keeps it distracted.

Seeing this madness, Beko goes to talk to the monkeys about the fact that the humans just started acting weird. As he's an expert in blood, and the maladies thereof, he quickly deduces that the soup is responsible and takes the monkeys to task for it.

Now that they realize that not all people are the same, and the soup may have caused a problem, the monkeys come and take away all the soup bowls from the humans again; anyone who has not already drunk enough to become someone else is safe. The two Lijuans decide that the monkeys are sad because they don't have soup of their own, and concoct a "soup" from Lijuan's spare dog treats, and whatever they can find behind the bar. They present it to the monkeys, pleased with themselves. The monkeys eye it, then take it back into the kitchen. A monkey returns to nod and pat his stomach to Lijuan, reassuring them that they found it tasty, but do not need any more. Really.

Missing Non-Persons

Elsewhere, Hiro (as Anto), now more enthusiastic about saving the world than usual, starts looking for people who might need help. He's quite exuberant about being helpful, but things start going wrong as several of the people he was talking to earlier just aren't around. He's looking for the otter spirit, known to be in quite tight with the water spirits, when he encounters Swanla, bereft because she can't find her sister. At this point, Hiro remembers one of Anto's other most famous characteristics, and goes into full-on "player"-mode. Between that, and Hiro's natural inclination to assist damsels in distress, Hiro places himself at the complete disposal of the beautiful swan lady, and they start scouring the party for her sister.

Sadly, not only do they not find her, but they start realizing that all sorts of other spirits are missing as well. Shen-Ji can not find Muzxi to talk about that list of mines he was promised, the otter spirit has vanished, and even Tek Tek can't figure out what happened to Pir Pir. People start getting together in groups and organizing searches, while looking for mysterious exits or other perils. Hiro guards Lady Swanla, and everyone spreads the word that something odd is up. The monkeys seems distressed as well, but don't have any bright ideas.

Lijuan and Yoshi-as-Lijuan talk to Kibo about the fact that Yoshi seems to be having the odd dream of being Lijuan. Yoshi isn't quite sure he isn't, but Lijuan is pretty sure about it. After some convincing both of Kibo and Yoshi, Kibo agrees to eat the Lijuan-dream out of Yoshi and return it to Lijuan next time she dreams. The "eating the Lijuan-dream" step works and Yoshi is now back to Yoshi, but the monkeys throw Kibo out for "fighting." They talk to the baku at this point - he also thinks he can do the same thing, and at this point, he wouldn't mind being thrown out - otherwise, he might find himself vanishing mysteriously! So, the baku fixes Hana (Zhi-Hao, channeling Hiro, says "fix Hana instead of me!"), and then makes it obvious he's eating someone, also getting thrown out.

During the partnered up searches, Amikiri lures Shen-Ji into a corner and shows him what Shen-Ji recognizes as a magic bottle. Nothing happens though, and Amikiri heads off to continue the search elsewhere. Shen-Ji finds this quite suspicious, and several people start watching Amikiri from afar to see if he's somehow connected to the vanishing spirits/demons.
Lijuan convinces Ho to follow Brown Feet's trail (he's missing also) - this is much like chasing a cat, so Ho is particularly good at it, and he eventually follows the trail (to no one's particular surprise) right up to Amikiri the Unbinder. Having figured out who the culprit is, the party is a little unsure what to do about it - can they just Get Him, or will they be thrown out (or worse) for fighting?
"I don't know what the standards of evidence in the spirit world are..." -Shen-Ji
Confrontation

Shen-Ji sticks to Amikiri, while the rest of the group goes to tell the monkeys about what they've determined. The monkeys seem to find the evidence convincing, and draw a complicated circle on the ground. With gestures and a few misunderstandings, they indicate that the party is allowed to fight with Amikiri, but only in the circle.

After some thought, they recruit Swanla to stand in the circle and pretend to be stuck, while Zhi-Hao goes to fetch Amikiri, claiming that she has been bound in the circle, and he has to get her out. As pretexts go, that's a good one, so Amikiri does come up and step into the circle with Swanla, and promptly gets jumped on by the humans.
Hiro (still thinking he's Anto) attempts to grapple him, but isn't as good as the real Anto is. Yoshi, with Hana's help, makes a brave try at convincing him to surrender:
"We can see you're in trouble - whoever you're gathering these spirits to impress, we can help you against them. You're the Unbinder, let them go free."
Yoshi thinks that should have worked, but didn't, probably due to some fatal flaw in his argument. Maybe he isn't really the Unbinder after all? Shuyan, who (as Zhi-Hao) has acquired a sword from Hiro (who doesn't think he needs it, as Anto), demands "Release those spirits, or I'll chop you!" Alas, he does not, or, at least, not in the desired method instead, he uses a bit of Muzxi's power, and thousands of little metal needles pop out of him, damaging Hiro in particular but everyone else as well.
Clarifying the problem with Yoshi's argument, Amikiri shouts "Fool! I am not the Unbinder! Now you will face your doom!"
Zhi-Hao starts in on the stabbing. Hana, still on Yoshi's side, protests that it's not too late to work this out, but not if he keeps trying to hurt people. The real Anto wraps Amikiri up with his kusarigama, and Yoshi grapples with him over his bottle.
"Don't break it! I don't know if that's good or bad, but it's clearly irrevocable."
Amikiri bats his swanlike eyes at Zhi-Hao (using another shtick from a captured spirit), who finds himself unable to attack for an action. Lijuan manages to pull out the bottle's stopper, but that doesn't do anything obvious. Amikiri then calls on Pir Pir's mimicry, and now looks just like Yoshi.
Anto decides that the thing to do is to split his dice and attack both of them. Hiro does the same thing (since that's what the real Anto would do).
"Well, I'm Anto, so I don't have a good wits roll [to tell the two apart]" -Hiro "Hey!" -Anto
The two Yoshis and the bottle go into a swirling whirlwind (using one of captured Leaf's powers), but hit the circle boundary and come to a halt. No fleeing for him! A different stolen ability lets Amikiri stomp on the ground, producing a ripple of earth (again stopping at the circle boundary), which does everyone a bit of damage.

Zhi-Hao readies to chop both Yoshis as seems to be the popular wisdom, but this causes the real Yoshi to shout "No, don't chop us both, I'll die!" Zhi-Hao uses this outburst, burns two karma to see which one is which, and chops Amikiri, which, along with Hiro punching him, puts him down and dying.

Yoshi takes the bottle, and Shen-Ji proceeds to search him, discovering that the chains-andvines is not actually part of him, but more like a cloak that he's wearing. When Shen-Ji removes it, it looks like a man underneath. Once that's revealed, the monkeys hit the gong several times and start leaping out of the trees to land nearby, surrounding the circle.
"He wasn't invited." -Zhi-Hao
Shen-Ji closely examines the magic bottle - it looks like a bottle of spirit trapping/binding, but it's been overcharged to let it hold more than one spirit. It's easy enough to reverse the trap - fill it with water and pour it out.

Wrapup
Shen-Ji fills the bottle with water and pours it out. As each spirit escapes, it looks to a particular party member and thanks them for saving it. Favors are owed:
Leaf: Shen-Ji
Muzxie: Shuyan
Brown Feet: Anto
Kawa Uso: Yoshi
Swanla: Hiro (who still manages to specialize in damsel-rescuing) Radish Spirit: Zhi-Hao
Beko the Red Cow: Hana
Pir Pir: Lijuan

Beko, who knows something of human blood, noses the people who are still confused about who they are (Shuyan, Hiro, and Zhi-Hao), and then noses the monkeys. The monkeys make them three new bowls of soup, which fixes their confusion.

Pir Pir explains that getting home, however, now that the party is winding down, may be a problem. Since there was an uninvited guest, the great gates (which would take people back to where they came from) have been shut and locked. The little gates are still open, but they lead where they lead - World Above, World Below, or somewhere in the Material World, but it's not easy to tell such gates apart. The party asks if it would be a bad idea to go through the spirit gates. Well, that will put them in the World Above, which could be seriously bad. Beko can tell them which of the little gates are spirit gates. Pir Pir can presumably tell them which are the demon gates, but no one is totally sure that they trust Pir Pir not to think it's amusing to have the party end up in the World Below, so Lijuan exuberantly burns her favor on getting him to tell her truthfully which are the demon gates.

Meanwhile, while people are looking at Amikiri, it becomes clear that the actual spirit Amikiri was essentially skinned and worn as a disguise, which is how the guy looked like a spirit to the monkeys. Eeew. People wonder what should be done with the remains? Perhaps taking them to a temple or shrine and laying them to rest is most appropriate.

Shen-Ji finishes looking at the bottle. He says that if you uncork it and get a spirit or demon to look inside, they will get sucked in. If the spirit is too big to fit, it will probably explode. As it is now, it's just a single spirit/demon trap - using the spirit's powers was probably a shtick, and the ritual to hold more than one was probably a Grand Ritual.

Lijuan, bored by all this talking, helps the monkeys clean up the remains of the kitchen and the banquet. Hiro briefs anything that looks like an elemental or nature spirit about the Southern Ritual and the possibility that someone may be trying to use them in a ritual. They note that none of them are the really big elemental spirits, like the spirit of the Jasmine River (water) or the spirit of the Taiga Bamboo (wood), but some of them may be able to pass the message along.

What will happen to Amikiri? Pir Pir thinks the justice of the spirits is to just leave him behind when the gates all close, and he'll be lost between the worlds forever. (He does not appear to be a Southron, and he has no tattoos, so he may not be tied to a previous plot). However, it would be good to know who or what he actually works for, so the group uses two of the healing potions from Master Hsi, and wakes him up.

Yoshi tries to convince him his master isn't going to help him - because his master is clearly evil and selfish - while Anto tries to tell him Talk or Die. He confesses: He is Tai Fong, an apprentice. He may not speak his master's name lest he die. His master's philosophy is "to receive great reward, you must dare greatly", so he dared greatly to come here to try to capture spirits, but it does not appear to have worked out for him. What kind of rewards does his master value? Power. Tai Fong wishes to serve at his master's side in the future, and this deed would have impressed him, had he succeeded. Yoshi presses: is his master worthy of his loyalty? Well, when his master wins, Tai Fong would be rewarded, but that won't happen now. Doesn't he deserve better than to be abandoned like this? Well, he didn't dare to hope he was worthy of actually overthrowing the master. What is the master's goal? The Master does not confide his plans in his apprentice, but his goal is domination, power, and perfection. How can they find the Master or his schemes? What will they do if he tells them, he asks wavering. Go and thwart him, Yoshi declares.

Giving in, and unhappy at his general fate, Tai Fong tells Yoshi that he must swear to go forth and thwart his master. His master's name is Shinjo-rushi, and he is the Imperial Alchemist. At this point, Tai Fong's blood turns to acid, though Yoshi uses his powers to give him a soft and painless passing into death.

Between Beko and Pir Pir, all but five gates have been ruled out. Anto has an ability to hear through earth; he hears the high fast winds of a barren peak through one of them. Hiro also has Ears of the Bat, and hears monks chanting through another. Shen-Ji notes that a third gate has the metallic sounds of fighting coming from it. The other two are unknown.

The monks seem like the potentially safest alternative; people (including the elephant) begin going through. They come out, falling into a room with twelve monks in a circle there hardly seems room for an elephant. The monks seem unwilling to stop chanting, though. Hiro tries to drag one out of the way, but the room starts to go odd and wavering, so Hiro lets him ago. Then, there's a mighty thump of an elephant landing - on the roof.

As it turns out, this is the top floor of the Golden Spire, the tallest building in the world, and the monks were cleansing it after the previous trouble. It is not entirely clear how one gets an elephant down from the roof - there is a spiral stair around the wall, but it is sized for people, not elephants. Lijuan climbs up onto the roof to calm the elephant and keep it from either leaping off the roof or stomping through the ceiling of the upper room.

Hiro thinks that the best solution may just be to butcher it and buy another elephant, but the rest of the party is far too attached to it to agree. Eventually, the group decides to notify the King of the Jade Taiga (or, at least, his advisors) and the city authorities, and let them deal. Hana and others go to the Royal Palace to explain.

The King's architects are in fact able (with a lot of effort and expense) to rig up a block and tackle and pulleys to lower the elephant, but the end result is that the circus owes the King a favor for having put the elephant on the roof in the first place.

"We should make sure everyone sees the elephant on the roof, it'll be great publicity for the circus."
"A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! -- we sincerely hope!."

Puttering

Anto looks for Master Furuta in the City of Spires.
Anto, Hana, and Shen-Ji go to visit Sasaki the Wood Sorcerer (Master Zhou, Shuyan, Lijuan, Xiao Fa, and Cai Wen stand by in the City of Spires if needed, but do not mob the sorcerer).
Cai Wen and Master Zhou putter around the City of Spires looking for a kung fu master named Burnt Chalk.
Cai Wen, Hana, and Wei Han visit the Hidden Orchid.
Cai Wen and Ringmaster Te resolve the anti-favor by providing the architect with a month's guest-right to the Sunrise Tower (courtesy Cai Wen).
Retrieved from "http://boojum.scripts.mit.edu/Dragon/index.php?title=Night_of_Gates" Category: Book One Logs
This page was last modified on 2 November 2010, at 22:24.
The Eternal Dream

From Dragon

"A man cannot win a war in the world if he cannot win it first in his dreams."

It is the Day of the Early Bear in Fox Descending, in the second Year of the Fox since the ascension of the High Warlord Ze.
The run takes place mostly in the Tanzhe Plain
Previous run Next Run
Contents

1 Moving Again
2 Army, Army, and Temple
3 In the Dream
4 Crossing the River
5 Battle Plans
6 Puttering

Moving Again

The Circus's riverboat is docked in a small town in the Forest of Chin, and is due to head downstream again soon. Putterers both in the Forest and the City of Spires begin to trickle back in.

Min Feng wraps up her tea with Litona of the House of Silence, getting the enigmatic advice that when things look most like a clear choice, that's when you must seek out the third option.

In the tea tent, Cai Wen explains to any who will listen how the master Burnt Chalk has explained that a nerve strike and "got your nose" are in fact the same thing, as the conflicting impulses between "protect the nose" and "the nose is actually fine" get jumbled together at the same nerve cluster that a nerve strike targets.

Some of the circus roustabouts find Li Merit - they think the plan is to pack up tonight, but could he go and ask Ringmaster Te? Merit heads to Ringmaster Te's tent, which has a couple of circus workers standing outside to warn people away. Everyone else who goes in, comes out very unhappy or in tears. Still, Merit braves the dangers, and heads in, where Ringmaster Te greets him calmly and offers him a cup of wine. Merit confirms that the circus should be packing up, and lets the guys outside know that. Then, he tries to figure out what's wrong with Ringmaster Te. His best guess is that he's putting on a good front over being upset. Apparently Xiao Fa said he was roiling up his chi, and he needed to relax, or Consequences Might Follow. So he's trying to relax. Merit confirms that Xiao Fa was the last person to talk to Ringmaster Te, and didn't actually run out crying.
Min Feng notes to other party members that she heard somewhere that the Forest of Chin and the Savanna of Tears are about to come to blows in the Tanzhe Plain.
Wei Han goes to take this news to a local Dragon Army garrison. Wei Han asks the private at the desk which patrol has most recently returned from downriver - the private says they're all being sent down river, and aren't coming back. A sergeant is summoned, who has more details. Since just about all of the region's Dragon Army forces headed up to the Port of Propitious Voyage, the locals have been getting frisky. Now, the ones that are left are just concentrating on keeping the river safe. He recommends that they travel by day and keep moored by night. Wei Han asks if there are river convoys, but not yet. Since Wei Han will be going down the river with the circus, he is given some dispatches to take to various posts.

In the hopes of keeping either side from attacking, Merit finds a supply cache that has a Dragon Army flag, and some Dragon Army uniforms. He wants to put some circus people in the uniforms, but Wei Han insists that this is Not Appropriate (and likely the sort of thing that gets you hung if the army catches you at it).
"Would you rather they die?" -Merit
"Do you really want me to answer that question?" -Wei Han
Flying the flag is more acceptable, on the theory that it counts as Wei Han's courier ship, though that does put the ship in the chain of command of the army, so there is a chance that it could be ordered to do something by someone who outranks Wei Han. Grumbling about general doom, Merit puts the flag and uniforms back in his cache again. Despite general nervousness, taking the river junk downriver is still faster than walking, as far as circus travel goes. The "outboard motor" gets installed on one of the small boats, in case it is needed for an emergency. Merit takes the small boat and rows over to another ship on the river, to find out what he can about what's going on. Apparently, the Forest of Chin is taking back their ancestral homeland - though that leads to quite a bit of ribbing between the crew (of various nations) about whose ancestral homeland it was first. It sounds like there's only been trouble for about the last week, though everyone thinks it has to do with the Dragon Army mostly being up north.

The first night traveling is spent at a Forest of Chin dock. Late at night, a man approaches the ship, claiming that his cart has thrown a wheel, and he is hoping to borrow some tools. (No, it's not the cabbage merchant). As it turns out, though, Merit has spare wheels in all sizes, having packed these when the circus first left the Butterfly Kingdom, and offers this as well as assistance. Cai Wen, observing the man closely, thinks that he is confused and suspicious and thrown off by Merit's super-extra-helpfulness.

Merit wakes the circus cartwright, and sends him with Master Zhou and Shuyan, as well as Cai Wen and Wei Han, to help fix the cart. Lo, there is in fact a cart with a wheel off, so the cartwright gets to work. He notes quietly to Cai Wen that this wasn't a crash - someone just took the wheel off, there's not an actual problem. Meanwhile, the owner of the cart has been chatting up the others for information. Wei Han is pretty close-mouthed, and Shuyan defends herself by babbling about all sorts of circus business, but Master Zhou flubs his defense and confesses the thing he most doesn't want the guy to know. That turns out to be that the great Master Zhou of Iron Mountain is only second level now, which is very embarrassing.
Once the cart has been "fixed", the guy thanks them all and heads off on his way, and everyone else heads back to the river junk.
"Who goes there?" - Merit
"Wei Han."
"It's us!" -Shuyan
"That combination is pretty convincing." -Xian
Cai Wen explains that the guy was some sort of spy, but that it didn't turn out too badly.
"...so Master Zhou kind of cracked and told him what he didn't want him to know..." -Cai Wen
"Which is that nerve strike and "got your nose" are the same thing?" -Merit

Xian notes that the guy doesn't seem to have been expecting an actual wheelwright, which would be stupid if he were specifically going after the circus. So he was probably just checking out anyone moored here for the night.

The rest of the night passes uneventfully, and the river junk sets off downstream again. Mid-morning, a small boat with two soldiers wants to see their papers. When Wei Han comes to the side of the ship, the two soldiers stand up and try to salute, nearly tipping their boat. The papers for the junk and the circus are both pretty much all in order, so that's not a problem. The two soldiers are trying to make sure no one is carrying troops down the river. Most of the Savanna navy is upriver still. Which means it could be right behind the party even now!

Merit has the captain move the outboard motor from the small boat to the back of the the large ship, making it go... a small amount faster. It's not really meant for propelling large boats. To save more time (and try to keep out of the way of the Savanna navy), though, the plan should be to travel at night as well. The suggestion to not travel at night was only a suggestion for safety, not an order, so it's decided that this is probably the way to go. The ship is decked out with lanterns and lights and decorations, to make it very very clear that it is a traveling circus and not a troop ship (the elephants are displayed prominently).

That evening, a larger boat crewed by Dragon Army soldiers encounters the river junk. Wei Han explains that they're heading downriver to cross to the Butterfly Kingdom, and gives them the dispatches for their base. They also do a quick inspection, but again, there are no troops on board. Cai Wen pumps the lieutenant for information. They're doing their best to look like the Dragon Army is keeping things under control, but they're woefully understaffed. They've basically retreated to the river, rather than trying to deal with the entire countryside.

The party splits itself onto different watches, now that they're travelling at night, and Xian wakes up before dawn with a Dream of Import. He asks the others who are awake (Cai Wen, Master Zhou, and Shuyan) if anyone has heard of the Temple of the Eternal Dream? No one has, though Master Zhou notes that this means it's not Ascending Path. The captain doesn't think it's on the coast - there's monasteries in the hilly area of the Tanzhe, but he doesn't know their names.

Xian says he got a message in a dream from, um, someone he knows, who was calling for help, because something was going wrong at the temple, and the army was involved, and "they won't wake up." The others are awoken to tell them about the news, and various people clamor for more details from Xian, such as exactly who sent the dream.

"A... friend."
"Could you be any more specific?" -Wei Han "I could, but how would it help? Her name is Yuwen."
"For example, my motivation has just increased 100% percent!" -Cai Wen "Hey!" -Xian

It seems plausible to leave the circus boat heading downriver, and go on a side expedition to see if something more can be found out about the trouble at the temple, so the group takes one of the small boats and heads to the small port on the Tanzhe side. Asking around after the Temple of Eternal Dream at a bar turns up some description of them as "crazy monks who don't do anything" but directions can also be provided. As the captain speculated, it's in the hills, and local gossip says that there isn't any trouble there yet, unless someone starts it, but if someone does start trouble, that's where it'll get started. However, now there's new gossip to add, about the Circus Evacuation of the Monks, which is interesting enough to start embellishing.

Army, Army, and Temple

The party troops onto the Tanzhe Plain towards the hills where the temple should be. After some hours of walking, people start to spot something on a nearby hill, but those with sharper eyes note that it's not a temple, it's a battle encampment. As they get closer, flags of Savanna clans can be seen. They discuss whether to detour around the army, or walk straight through and possibly have trouble? Xian worries that whatever is going on is urgent, and they can't spare the time for the detour, but being captured might well waste more time.
Master Zhou takes this time to get a better description of the dream from Xian:
Yuwen, is standing on top of a hill, shouting. There are spooooooky shadows and ominous movement down the hill below her. "Hello? Hello? Is anyone out there? Can you hear me? If anyone remembers this in the morning, please help! I'm at the Temple of the Eternal Dream, in the Savanna, er.. on the Tanzhe Plain. They won't wake up, and I think the army is going to - wait, what?" (At this point, the shadows swirl around a lot more, and move up the hill somewhat). "Hello? Hello? Is anyone out there? Can you hear me? If anyone remembers this in the morning, please help..." but then you wake up.
Master Zhou thinks the shadows are disrupting the dream somehow, but it's not clear what that means.
In the end, the group detours widely around the army, and gets to a vantage point where the next hill over can be seen - there's a building at the top, with gargoyles at the four corners, with a small figure sweeping the steps of the temple. Xian thinks this is the same hill as his dream, but there wasn't the building there in it. Wei Han starts to get a bad feeling about the area, which usually means something about undead.

Shen-Ji recognizes the gargoyles as statues of baku (which he met one of at the Night of Gates party). Ah, that's somewhat reassuring - baku are the good ones, so they aren't actually monsters. Hey, why wasn't the temple in the dream? Master Zhou explains that in order to see the dangerous part, the baku couldn't be in the dream or they would have eaten the darkness, but no one else really understands what he means there.

The road up to the temple appears to be watched by scouts from the Savanna, but there are also scouts on the other side, probably from an army in the other direction. Min Feng thinks she can sneak up without being spotted, but not everyone is so sneaky. Perhaps she can go up and find out if there's a secret entrance? Cai Wen draws a drop of blood from his ferret (which gives him a very reproachful look until he distracts it with peanuts), wears the party's magic monocle, and gives Min Feng his ferret. Then, she and Master Zhou sneak up the hill.

At the top, there's a young man in monk's robes, nervously sweeping the steps. Min Feng thinks he's very concerned, and also not really sure why he's sweeping. Master Zhou notes that this is perfect high ground to control the local area. The pair lets the monk know that they're there, but Min Feng reminds him to keep sweeping in case people are watching. Is he in need of assistance? "Yes!" he responds. "The monks are in dire need of assistance!" Well, there are people here to help, but they want to get to the monastery without being spotted. Can he help with that? Well, he could take the cart down to the nearby town to get food, and they could hide in the cart on the way back.

Master Zhou writes a note: "We're sending the monk with the cart to come and get you" and shows the note to the ferret, greatly puzzling the young monk. Min Feng disguises herself as a similar monk, and stays and sweeps the stairs, while the original monk goes down with the cart. The plan of Secretly Fetching the Party is successful, without (as far as they know) any of the scouts spotting them, though Min Feng does get pretty bored with sweeping and has to make resolve rolls, so once the monk returns, she gives him the broom back.

The young monk explains (while sweeping) that the monks are dreamwalkers, who follow the Eternal Dream. Normally only a few of the monks are in the Eternal Dream at any one time, but now none of them are waking up. The Master told him, before going into the dream, that "So long as the steps are clean, the sleepers shall be safe," so he has been continuously sweeping the steps, but he doesn't know what else to do.
Min Feng asks if the monk's name is Yuwen - he pretends to be confused and not knowing what she's talking about, but she's pretty sure he's lying.
Merit ponders the steps-cleaning thing, and thinks it's probably literally about cleaning the steps, so the monk hasn't misunderstood, but he doesn't know why it's important. Meanwhile, everyone starts to explore the monastery. Once inside the walls, there's a ticking sound which seems to resonate everywhere. The main floor has living quarters, a small number of sleeping quarters (with no one in them). A spiral staircase leads down, and an archway leads up to a short tower above.

Shen-Ji and Wei Han go down the stairs. There's a big "crypt" below, with twelve biers, and eleven monks sleeping upon them. Some of them seem to be somewhat dehydrated, but Merit is able to get them to drink a bit of water even while sleeping. Min Feng discovers a hidden niche in the column at the center of the spiral - inside the niche is a box with a metronome in it. It doesn't appear to be moving now, though. Shen-Ji thinks the metronome is a magic item - probably an aid to meditation - but they aren't under a sorcerous influence. Upstairs, the tower view gives people standing in the tower +3 Tactics skill to observe the area. Wei Han contemplates the tactical situation: the armies are about even; while they aren't starting to move yet, they're in a state of readiness, so if one starts to move the other one will likely do so as well. Perhaps if one gets reinforcements before the other does, that will trigger the battle.

The young monk starts to get a little exasperated as everyone runs about the monastery while he's trapped sweeping, but then Xian and Cai Wen ask him some more questions about exactly what has happened. Normally, the sleepers rotate through the Eternal Dream, a few sleeping at a time. Then, the first few didn't wake up, so others went to sleep to find them. Then, they didn't wake either, so the rest went in, giving him the instructions about keeping the stairs clean. After this explanation, the apprentice monk convinces Cai Wen that he needs to go off and contemplate all this while he talks to Xian. Cai Wen also finally notices that the apprentice monk is a girl, and points this out to others, though many of them are not so surprised.

Shen-Ji wonders if he could get the metronome to match the speed of the ticking they can hear. Probably not, as it seems to be very old and broken, and no longer capable of moving on its own. But wait, it's actually the source of the ticking anyway - ah, that's what the magic item part does. The group asks the apprentice if the ticking is normal. Yes - it helps thedreamwalkers enter the dream without assistance. Would turning it off help? He doesn't think so - that would make it harder to enter the dream, but it won't actually wake them.

Can the others enter the dream too? Yes - the monastery allows people to enter without a shtick, and the biers let the dreamwalking skill be intrinsic. What is the dream world like, Merit asks. The monk says that it is much like the realized world, but it can provide insight, can allow you to see into the realms Above and Below, or let you explore strange other worlds.

However, even if the Dream Masters were to wake again, they won't be able to fight armies on their own. Merit considers the question of "what would an undead army that no one else can see be good for?" Well, really, what couldn't it be good for? An army no one knows about is always a huge tactical advantage, and if undead means unkillable , or "the people on the other side who fall get up on my side", that's also pretty useful. Shen-Ji doesn't think there is any necromancy going on inside the monastery, though. And Wei Han doesn't notice any creepy dead vibes on the inside, only when he's outside the walls. (The apprentice monk clarifies that the feeling of death is a much more recent phenomenon
- it's not always like that.)

Merit pokes his head out the tower window to talk to the statues of the baku: "Oh spirits who watch over this place... we kinda want to help out." Being statues, they don't answer him, but he gets a warm appreciated feeling. Shen-Ji tries as well and gets a similar feeling. Talking to the statues is suddenly popular, so Shuyan tries, and with slightly more success, gets a warm and comforting feeling of sleepiness.

Xian is more successful in talking to a baku statue, in that he suddenly collapses and falls asleep. Wei Han carries him downstairs to the crypt, and puts him on the empty bier. After a bit of consultation, the group decides to bring some spare sleeping pallets downstairs, put the monks on them, and leap into the dream world after Xian.

In the Dream

Turning up first, Xian gets to look around. The temple itself looks just like it does in the real world, but the landscape beyond the walls is strangely iconic in places. The only difference in the temple is that the four baku statues are gone. Xian feels like the baku he was trying to commune with is off in a direction towards a small stream he sees in the distance.

Between him and the stream, however, are several spectral armies. They seem to be all of different times, and in many different uniforms, with differing weapons and armor and so on. They are fighting each other, completely surrounding the temple, but not apparently taking any notice of it. You couldn't get anywhere without going through one of those spectral battles though.

Back in the real world, everyone else attempts to go to sleep, but nothing seems to happen. People discuss whether they should be trying to make their resolve rolls or fail them, until someone notices that Xian's body is missing, as are the other monks.
At that point, Xian calls down to them from upstairs - "it's boring down there, come up here!" He gives them a tour of the monastery as it is in the dream world.
People consider looking for the monks - those who try hard enough make chi rolls, and those who succeed well enough (Xian, Shuyan, Master Zhou, Shen-Ji) vanish, and appear elsewhere in the dream world, by the stream Xian saw in the distance (a tributary of the River between the Dream world and the World Above, as it turns out), with the monks. Some of the monks are wounded and others are tending them; some are throwing rocks across the stream, and some are fighting against dreams of spiders. The baku form the corners of a square perimeter of defense around the monks.

Master Zhou introduces himself and asks if they are in need of assistance. They seem to think the question hardly needs asking, but yes, they do. Wei Han takes the place of one of the monks battling the spiders, so that he can talk to the group.
They have three problems:
On the other side of that stream is a butterfly, trapped in a spider's web. It must be freed. As they are not spirit walkers, they cannot cross the river to free it. They are throwing rocks at the spiders who are attacking the butterfly on the other side; on this side, spiders are also attacking them.
The wounded are unable to dream themselves back to the monastery; they cannot simply carry them because there is the spectral army in the way. The army, they think, probably has to be dealt with in the realized world rather than here.

Cai Wen speaks to the monks about what asking for insight entails. They ask him what problems weigh on his mind - the answer is Lucky Chang. Luckily for him, he's not actually looking for Lucky Chang, just for insight, so he sees a meandering path through the Twelve Kingdoms, leading to Iron Mountain. The monks warn people, "Do not actually seek your enemy in the dream unless you believe you can deal with them while you are awake. For if you find them, and you do not believe you can take them, you will not be able to."

Wei Han thinks about how one might safely get a small group from here to the monastery through the spectral armies. Sadly, he doesn't think it seems possible. The options seem to be to clear an actual path through the armies (probably by doing something in the realized world) or healing the monks here.
Shen-Ji suggests that if someone wears the skin of Amikiri, they might be able to cross the river into the World Above. Unfortunately, it has been left behind with the circus, so it will be something of a trek back. The people at the dream-monastery see Shen-Ji briefly appear, then go into the monastery, then vanish again; he can get out past the Savanna army on his flying disk, but it will take him most of the night to get there and back.

Shuyan starts to heal the monks with her snake - this seems to get them to rest easier, but doesn't wake them up. But the spirit-world river starts to approach more closely, much to everyone's consternation. The monks are intrigued, but don't know what that means.

Xian asks for more details about the spectral armies. They aren't sure exactly what is happening, but they think there is a battle going on, or about to go on, which is stirring up the dead of battles past. The Tanzhe Plain has been the site of bitter bloodshed for countless generations. If the battle were stopped, or moved, that might let the dead rest more easily again.

Shuyan tries to return to the monastery, but isn't able to reach it. Instead, she has the insight that it is probably in danger tomorrow. The dreamers left at the monastery do manage to get to the monks at this point, though.

Shen-Ji reaches the circus boat at this point. The Savanna army troops are searching for contraband weapons - Shen-Ji helpfully starts pointing out the knife-thrower's knives, the flaming clubs, and so on. He ends up spending about 5 li replacing the confiscated circus weapons, but does distract them from the actual important stuff, such as the Tincture of Pure Respite.

The group discusses other possibilities. What if they move the monks' bodies to somewhere else? It would have to be somewhere that is a significant landmark in the dream world - like the Golden Spire, or the Warlord's Throne. But none of those are close enough in the real world to get to before the battle.

Merit examines the fallen monks, and determines that they're poisoned by spider venom. Min Feng starts shooting spiders, freeing up another monk for the discussion. Merit recalls the antidote to the spider venom - a particular rare flower in the Strand. Cai Wen thinks there may have been some near the Coil, and Merit himself remembers some during the search for other flowers for Master Hsi.

Two monks, Merit, and Master Zhou dreamwalk to the flowers, and end up in a glade surrounded by saparilla trees, but they manage to harvest flowers without too much trouble. Then, they dreamwalk back to the fight, but arrive slightly outside the safe zone. Master Zhou is bitten by spiders, and falls unconscious. Merit makes up the antidote from the flowers, but his successes don't beat the spider's successes, and it doesn't work. At least, that's the explanation that the monk gives - that seems unfair to him, since he got the actual flowers and it should just work!

Xian and Merit have a "there is no spoon!" moment, and decide to try to make an antidote without any ingredients. This is reasonably successful, in that they dreamwalk to an apothecary shop in the Hon'eth Arcade, buy some antidote, and dreamwalk back again. This is actually more successful, and the six successes defeats the spider venom. Master Zhou and the fallen monks begin to wake.

Crossing the River

Shen-Ji returns, wearing Amikiri's skin. Master Zhou offers to go with him across the river, though everyone else thinks that is a bad idea. Won't the Spiders try to get him? (Possibly) Will it even work? (Also possibly).
"Are you sure that is a good idea, SIR?" -Wei Han
"When he says "Sir" in that tone of voice, it means "fool"." -Cai Wen
The plan is made that Shen-Ji will cross, and if he needs help, Master Zhou will go after him. As it turns out, crossing while wearing Amikiri's skin is pretty easy - spirits going back to the World Above can do so easily. On the other side of the river, though, things look very different. It's dark and foreboding, and there are webs everywhere. The cartoonish spiders of the dream world have been replaced by seriously fearsome things that also look quite a bit more real. However, they do keep falling over (due to Min Feng and the others shooting them, not that Shen-Ji can see that any longer).

Shen-Ji flies up on his disk to try to cut the butterfly free, hacking at it through the webs with his sword. From the other side, it looks like Shen-Ji is just shaking the little web with the butterfly in it, and the spider density starts going up precipitously. People try to shoot them, and Merit tosses a coin of distraction over the river.

In the end, it's a close thing - the butterfly is freed (it flaps in gratitude, and then flaps off) just as Shen-Ji is bitten. As he falls, he tries to leap to get to the other side of the river again. He is falling short, so Master Zhou tries to world-walk, and grabs him and pulls him in. Zhou feels something beckoning to him from the other side, but it is likely Spider, and he doesn't succumb to the temptation. Everyone else can see the river part, briefly, RedSea-like, and a crossing to the World Above would be easy. The monks find this most remarkable, but no one is interested in making the crossing at this time.
Shuyan tries to dreamwalk to seek insight on what her I Ching reading means - a little passage through the river opens for her as well. This leads Master Zhou to realize that she hasn't finished the homework he assigned her, and there is some scolding.

Then, people dreamwalk back to the monastery. After a brief period of confusion in which the party remembers that they moved the bodies, everyone wakes up again. (A pair of monks stay behind to perpetuate the Eternal Dream.) People ask why the apprentice was set to sweeping - the head monk (Master Bao) asks if he is still sweeping, and on hearing that he is, nods in approval.

Battle Plans

Wei Han thinks about what sort of defenses would be needed to hold the monastery against a small army. 20-30 trained soldiers with crossbows could probably do it, but none of the monks and most of the party don't qualify. One Dragon Army soldier trying to keep the peace would likely just be "accidentally" killed and then apologized for. Min Feng wonders whether it would be possible to move the fight, by trickery or some other method. What are the long term implications of having a battle here, anyway?

The monks say that this has long been a holy place, but it has also long been a fought-over place. If there is a real battle here, then the ghosts will be troubled for some time, but they will be able to re-establish things in the future. But it does mean that it will not be useful in entering the Eternal Dream for many months. (The building itself has a shtick; normally you need a personal shtick to dreamwalk.) If the battle takes place somewhere outside of the cleared area around this hill, it will probably be all right.

Various plans are contemplated, including Min Feng forging and sneaking in orders to go somewhere else; encasing the whole mountain in ice (the apprentice is particularly appalled by this idea); convincing an army that a different area is even more tactically valuable; having the baku do something clever to make them think something else (the monks say that the baku won't send nightmares).

A final plan is devised. Min Feng sneaks into the Savanna camp and comes back with a copy of their orders: the Third Blades of Redemption, under the command of Nam Cho, are ordered to take all needed actions in order to secure this area. Forged orders of a similar style are made, telling the Third Blades of Redemption that the Savanna is crossing the Jasmine River to attack the Forest directly, and that they should return with all speed in order to get in on the looting. Shuyan is disguised as a Savanna courier; with the ring of Feign Death, she can pretend to be killed by the Forest of Chin scouts and they'll get the message. Then, the party will come charging over the hill as reinforcements, before they can do more than take the message. A couple of people scout out a good location to stage this.

Still somewhat unhappy about the whole timing of this war (especially since the Dragon Army left months ago), Merit looks again at the original orders - wait, these are forged too! Can they just tell both armies that their orders were forged and then they'll go home? Well, the Savanna is unlikely to let the Tanzhe Plain go without a fight. And the Forest of Chin is unlikely to just retreat back out if they think they're winning. So, even knowing the orders are forged may not help. Still, that can be tied into the "new" orders to make them more plausible.

The monks agree to send dreams to both sides saying that their orders may be forged (they are unwilling to send false insight, but people think it is likely that both sides have been duped). The courier message is adapted to have more of a tone of "You idiots, what are you doing way out of position, the real action is at the river invasion!"
Xian notes that, as an additional bonus, he can make the monastery look fortified, so if one of the armies is wavering, it might think twice about attacking.
The plan is enacted! Shuyan, disguised as a Savanna courier, runs past where some Forest of Chin scouts are hiding. They shout at her to stop, and when she doesn't, shoot at her. She's hit by six arrows, and falls down quite convincingly dead with the Feign Death ring. The scouts search her and take the "message", but before they can loot her further and take the ring, the rest of the party charges intimidatingly over the hill, and the scouts flee.

Merit is terribly apologetic - he had no idea they would shoot her that much! Some healing later, she's up and around, though she notes that being dead hurt a lot less than being wounded.

Xian dresses up the fortress with a stick here and a flap of cloth there - somehow, from the outside, it really does look like like the stick and cloth and things are Dragon Army soldiers. It's quite fortified.

It comes to pass that the Forest of Chin army is fooled, and starts heading in the direction of the "actual invasion". The Savanna army, not knowing what's going on, makes a brief foray up the hill to take the high ground in the other army's absence, but decides that since the Dragon Army is already somehow holding it, they'll go after the Chin army instead. The spectral armies in the dream world begin to dissipate, and Wei Han's bad feeling about the area starts to calm down.
Before everyone heads back to the circus, a few people take the opportunity to get more insights from the Eternal Dream.
Min Feng discovers something new about her secret group.
Shen-Ji looks for insight about Phoenixes (the real ones, not the people with that Aspect or the Great Spirit).
Wei Han and Master Zhou share a dream - Wei Han attempts to visit somewhere full of Death and Horribleness, but Master Zhou manages to tackle him to keep him from getting there.
This leads to a bit of an argument between the two about exactly what the heck Wei Han is doing (he can't say) and why he can't say (he was ordered not to say).
"Are you saving the Empire or obeying one man's orders?" -Master Zhou "Yes, sir."
Puttering

Cai Wen and Wei Han visit Malkoha in the Harbor of Fortunate Arrival A bunch of people (Shen-Ji, Master Zhou, Cai Wen, Takanata, and Yoshi) go on a field trip to visit the Exalted Library in the City of Light.
Takanata, as well as several others (Anto, Min Feng, Master Zhou, Cai Wen, and Xiao Fa) visit the Temple of Eternal Dream again.
Master Zhou and Xiao Fa visit the Brilliant Dawn monastery in the Port of Auspicious Voyage.

Retrieved from "http://boojum.scripts.mit.edu/Dragon/index.php?
title=The_Eternal_Dream"
Category: Book One Logs
This page was last modified on 2 November 2010, at 22:24.
Unwelcome Invitation

From Dragon

"Of all the thirty-six
alternatives, running away is best."

It is the Day of the Early
Serpent in Fox Descending, in the in the two hundred and fifty-ninth Year of the Fox since the opening of the
Exalted Library.

The run takes place on the way to and in the City of Light in the Illuminated Precincts.
Previous run Next run
Contents

1 Elephant Trouble
2 Imperial Summons
3 Party Planning
4 Particularly Mad Plans
5 Hana is "Kidnapped"
6 Evidence Packet
7 Puttering

Elephant Trouble

Once the circus's river journey leaves the Tanzhe Plain and enters the Illuminated Precincts, Ringmaster Te says that they need to start performing again a few last times. Paying the ship's captain to travel at night has been expensive, so the plan will be to travel through the Precincts, putting in for the night in the late afternoon, setting up and performing without the big tent, and then leaving again in the morning. It will be a little slower, but not a lot, and will make enough money to pay for the crossing back to the Butterfly Kingdom. The first night of performance goes uneventfully enough, but on the second night (on Yellow Jay Island, mostly a fishing town), Cai Wen notices during the show that one of the elephants is limping. He points this out to Ringmaster Te, who arranges to have a dramatic elephant swap in the middle of the show (Lijuan ends up being flung into a trampoline) to take out the wounded elephant. Xiao Fa, who is not performing, checks out the elephant, and finds that someone appears to have stabbed it in the foot quite recently maybe just before the show, maybe during the show. Xiao Fa reports this to Takanata, who is also not performing. Takanata, who has just written a prophetic poem, says it was probably a ghost, and starts thinking about what sorts of undead would be haunting the circus.

Xiao Fa passes along the warning, and tells the acrobats in particular to be wary of ropes being mysteriously snapped underneath them, as the circus finishes the finale. Lijuan goes to watch over the elephant, which the elephant handlers have put in a stall with its foot raised, to keep it from walking on the wounded foot.
Everyone else converges on Takanata's tent to ask why he thinks it's ghosts. He shows them his poem:
A seed sown in the north grows to bear a bitter fruit A seed planted by my hand in its shade grows as well
Corruption seeks to destroy even those not its enemy But makes enemies of those it does not destroy
The obvious seeds from the north are undead, and if the elephant was stabbed by an unseen foe during the performance, that probably means a ghost rather than a zombie.
"Well, elephants might not be its enemy..." -Anto
Lijuan hires some of the local urchins to watch the circus at night, paying them a (to them) exciting wage of one zhu each. They don't spot anyone suspicious around the circus, except for Hana, who they carefully follow as she wanders around the circus trying unsuccessfully to contact any ghosts.

Xiao Fa does his best to heal the elephant's foot; it may be able to walk again tomorrow. Lijuan tries to track the culprit, and does find the elephant's blood trail, which she follows back to the elephant pen. Ah, so it wasn't stabbed during the performance after all. Maybe it wasn't ghosts...
"This elephant was stabbed IN ITS OWN PEN!" -Cai Wen "That's a shame. Um... where are you going with this?" -Anto
As it turns out, the answer is that Cai Wen is hoping to inspire Anto to detective around and find out who stabbed the elephant, but Anto's only detective tool is "find someone who needs my help", and he isn't sure helping the elephant-stabber is the way to go. Maybe the attack was to delay the circus from getting to the City of Light, since it meant the elephant shouldn't be walking (or riding on a boat with only three legs for balance). Some confusing conversation follows, as the group tries to decide the correct reaction to an attempted delay: leave the elephant behind? Split up from the circus and run for the City of Light with the Tincture? Be delayed?
"I think the people who delayed the circus to delay us are not the people we want to keep from knowing that we're with the circus." -Anto
Xiao Fa inspects the elephant's chi, but it's much as you might expect from a wounded elephant - troubled, but not magically so. Anto suggests waiting until morning to see if more clues develop, in case it becomes clearer what the purpose of delay is.

Late that night, Inspector Ando wakes Takanata up with a whispered warning, and a caveat that he was never here, but then Takanata goes back to sleep until morning. Hana also walks around the camp looking for ghosts again, but finds nothing other than one of Lijuan's urchins following her.

Imperial Summons

In the morning, at breakfast in the tea tent, Takanata says that someone who was not here has warned him that there is an Imperial Courier (with a small troop of Dragon Army guardsmen) waiting for the circus in the City of Light, with a summons to the Hidden City for a command performance. Any portion of the circus which heads in that direction will probably not be returning - they have probably figured out how to have an "accident" which would affect the whole circus. The advice Takanata was given was to see if the courier could be temporarily put out of the way while the circus gets by him - the circus as a whole is probably not sneaky or fast enough to evade a dedicated courier.

In order to find out more, though, it will be necessary to send a small party ahead to find out more about the messenger and the message. After some contemplation of various disguises, the group decides to travel as "Takanata and his family/entourage", explicitly not part of the circus.
"It's an order for a command performance. I have never performed for the circus."
Takanata
As they go, the group contemplates ways to put the courier out of the way.
"We could encase the messenger in ice, get the circus by him, then dump sea water on him and run." -Hana
Once to the City of Light, Lijuan and Anto (on the "no going off without a buddy" theory) chat up some local kids at the docks, for gossip and general information, but things have been relatively peaceful here since the blockade ended.

Cai Wen and Hana go look for Willow, and then have lunch with her and a friend of hers from the Exalted Library, who she invites along when the idea that Hana also needs a date is broached. As it turns out, Hana has to spend much of lunch charming/distracting her date while Cai Wen briefs Willow on the courier problem - she encourages the young man (named Meng Shou) to talk about ghosts, which he does rather entertainingly, and also mentions that there is a rumor that the Exalted Library is haunted. He's never seen the ghost himself, but some of the younger librarians have; he's said to be an old researcher who died before completing his research, who still seeks to finish. This leads to a digressionary conversation about whether knowledge or research can ever be evil - loyal to his librarian roots, Meng Shou tries to claim not.

Meanwhile, Willow says that the Council of Revered Sages has a trick that they do when an order comes down from the Hidden City that they don't want to follow (because, really, the Council of Revered Sages often doesn't like doing things) - that they'll distract the messenger for a little while while they send up an evidence packet that will get inserted into the bureaucracy indicating that whatever it was, has already been done. Even if the people at the top realize that it wasn't, it's very hard to get the machinery of the bureaucracy to try to enact the order again.

She explains the general mechanic - in this case, the evidence packet needs to have various piece of "proof" that the circus actually was in the Hidden City, flavored appropriately for each country and its Regent and its own sub-bureaucracy. Her suggestions are:

1. Illuminated Precincts - A note from the Precincts Regent thanking them for their service. She can provide this one, as they have a lot of them on hand (their Regent is in on the trick).

2. Butterfly Kingdom - a piece of art, like a sketch of people by one of the landmarks.
3. Shrouded Isle - Notes on a magic ritual experiment done there.
4. Hon'eth Arcade - receipts for reasonably significant stuff that was bought or sold there.
5. Savanna of Tears - a giftworthy weapon brought for the Regent.
6. Strand - a note regarding a secret found out from one of the circus members.
7. Qin Chao Steppes - A report from a North Wall garrison.
8. Roof of the World - A blessing from one of the High Temples for the Regent.
9. Forest of Chin - A pledge of alliance to the Regent's house from another warlord in the present Tanzhe conflict.
10. Jade Taiga - A message for the Regent sealed with a (Taiga) Royal Seal. 11. Iron Mountain - A report on the current bandit situation, delivered by the circus. 12. Hidden City - Willow doesn't have a good suggestion for this one.

For each piece of evidence, the final "duping roll" will have +1 die and +1 skill; 6 is the minimum necessary for the deception to work, and 7+ is better (so as to, in essence, fool more than half of the Regency Council and/or its bureaucracy). She notes that it may be possible to come up with a better idea for some of them; using a lot of worse ideas won't work well. One of the above can be replaced by a letter from a local to their Regent, "carried by the circus", as well. Also, when she hears of the warrant saying "whatever the bearer does is done on behalf of the Regency Council," she notes that that will, one, work for the Hidden City, and also count as +3 for general bureaucratic spiffiness.
Takanata and Xiao Fa, having no better two-person mission to embark upon, find a nice hotel for the group to stay in. They get the "Garden Suite", which Takanata pays for. Eventually, the party regroups at the hotel; Cai Wen brings Willow along to offer advice.
Party Planning

Lijuan, Anto, and Hana do a preliminary surveillance of the courier, whose name is Niyo. They aren't masters of stealth, but can keep an eye on him from a distance. He spends the afternoon wandering around the city, making Gather Information rolls. He confirms that the circus is a few days upriver, though their advance people are in town. He doesn't seem inclined to deliver his message to the advance guys - probably Ringmaster Te is the appropriate recipient. Lijuan stays outside the hotel to watch it for the night to see if anyone meets him late at night - nobody seems to, but she does find out that the six guards have two rooms on either side of him. They don't sleep in the same room, but they'll probably hear any trouble and be able to be there quickly. It's not cold enough to have fires built in the rooms yet (it's early autumn), but they do have lanterns and candles.

The rest of the party discusses various plans. Could they convince him that the circus is heading for a different port? Possibly, but then he'd probably just go and meet the circus en route, and he can go a lot faster than they can. Willow notes that the way her boss would do it would be to arrange to get him extra-drunk, and then fake that he had gotten in a fight with someone really important, so he could be jailed for a little while. Nobody here is quite that important, though, except possibly Takanata, and they don't have control of the local government the same way.
Takanata also recalls that they know Yuwen Fire-Eye, the fire sorceress, in the City of Light; she could be useful for any plan involving Ice Chips of Doom and Sudden Fires.
The next step may be to arrange to meet him and see if he can be bribed or persuaded not to deliver his message. Willow can arrange for party invitations in a few days; Takanata decides to throw a smaller party sooner than that, for a preliminary meeting. Xiao Fa does some shopping, and finds some herbs that he can put in wine that will exacerbate the effect of the alcohol, without changing the taste too much.
Takanata has the hotel arrange a party (though Xiao Fa rearranges things a bit to make them more harmonious and conducive to quiet conversations), and invites:
Commander Sun, the head of the local army garrison the ambassador from the Hon'eth Arcade
the ambassador from the Savanna
the ambassador from Iron Mountain
Messenger Niyo (who brings one guard)
one of the Exalted Librarians that Takanata has met

Anto talks to the Iron Mountain ambassador about more details about the bandit situation. The bandit attacks seem to be principally on merchants and anyone of importance occasionally, turnip farmers and the like will be able to get through, but people disguised as turnip farmers are quickly attacked. Anto asks after Master Koji, and providentially, the ambassador has heard that he's currently in the lowlands.

Takanata chats with Messenger Niyo - he seems like a nice enough young man. Niyo asks if Takanata is working as an advance person for the circus - Takanata claims no, though he has travelled with them in the past. Takanata also chats with the Savanna ambassador; he seems to have no hard feelings about the conflict with the Butterfly Kingdom, and is in "graceful winner" mode, about it being good to have resolved the unfortunate difficulties and come to a resolution. Now, his ire is directed at the Forest of Chin, and the conflict in the Tanzhe. The party gets a little more detail on how things started - House Zhen staked out a claim on Savanna land, and when the Savanna struck back at them, they dragged in other allied warlords. That's traditionally how that sort of conflict goes, he says.

Meanwhile, Hana uses her feminine wiles on Messenger Niyo to get him talking. She's taking a ladylike enough pose that he doesn't make any serious passes at her, but he is definitely interested. He does admit to having a message for the circus for a command performance, but he seems to think that that will be a great honor for them. He likes traveling and seeing new places and new people - he appreciates the east coast most, and doesn't care for travel in the Strand, but who does? Since he has his meals and lodging paid for, he saves his salary and does attend some theater in the Hon'eth Arcade when he can. He does seem like an idealist, rather than part of an Evil Conspiracy, and nobody likes the idea of killing him even to save the circus.

Cai Wen talks to Commander Sun (who he's previously spoken to about the Southron troubles), and tells him about the incident in the Tanzhe, with the two armies fighting over the Temple of Eternal Dream. Commander Sun doesn't seem to think that the part about the two armies is very surprising, and officially doesn't want to hear about having been pretending to be a Dragon Army garrison. Commander Sun mentions that there seems to be more infiltration by Southron spies than you usually see - and no, they don't all look like swarthy-skinned guys with funny accents. They tend to use the obvious Southrons for their strike teams, to fool people into thinking that if they don't look Southern, they aren't.

Cai Wen asks the Arcade ambassador what he might want to buy here to trade in the Hidden City, if the circus is going that way. The ambassador suggests magic items and fireworks. Commander Sun doesn't want to interrogate Hana during the party, so he asks her to come by later to ask her more details about her experiences with the Southerners.

Particularly Mad Plans

Once Takanata's party has finished, the group convenes again to brainstorm. Messenger Niyo seems nice - would it be possible to play on his sympathies to get him to not deliver the message? He does take his job very seriously, though, and probably can't be easily convinced - and then if he does fail to deliver the message, he'll probably be in trouble. And he does know what the message says, so just switching the scrolls will probably not work.
Lijuan suggests accepting the message, going to the Hidden City, waiting for the bad guys to try to get them, and get them back instead. This is not popular as a plan, however.
"The people who warned us stabbed the elephant - why do we trust them?" -Lijuan
While Niyo may not be corruptible, he seems eminently seducible. They don't have any real evidence to demonstrate that giving them the order would be a bad thing. Maybe Mystic Melina's 17 successes of unveiling the future would make it clearer? On the other hand, they don't really know what Mystic Melina would say, and if it looks like an "accident", it still might not convince him that the message is bad. What if they take the message, say "Okay, we're going!" and go to the Butterfly Kingdom instead? Well, the troop of the Dragon Army might be there for an escort - it's not big enough to capture the circus, but it'll definitely notice if they don't go where they've been ordered to. And that would give the Hidden City an excuse to be mad at the Butterfly Kingdom, which is dangerous.

Anto suggests disguising someone as Niyo, committing a crime, and running back to Niyo's inn, to get him arrested. Cai Wen suggests tricking him into insulting the Savanna ambassador, so that they duel. Encasing him in ice still sounds attractive, too.

Cai Wen asks Willow if she can get her boss to take Niyo out with their standard tactic she thinks she can get them to do that, or to arrange for the evidence packet, but probably not both.

The mad plans come thick and fast. How about setting a house on fire, with fake screaming coming from inside, so he'll run in to save the people trapped inside - and then they can throw in an Ice Chip of Doom? Takanata isn't keen on setting a random Precincts house on fire, even if there isn't anyone home, and suggests that the party should focus their "gratuitiously illegal stuff" on Niyo rather than random homeowners. Maybe the party can offer him a ride to the Butterfly Kingdom to meet the circus there instead of here? Then, they can make him sick with a favor from Beko the Red Cow! This one might be a little too convoluted. The Shackles of Silence also could be useful in any plan involving stashing Messenger Niyo somewhere, though it isn't clear anyone has the capability of putting them on him in combat time.

Xiao Fa does some more shopping, picking up a medical tincture that one would use for a stronger unconsciousness, and some wine skins that can be used to shoot streams of water, which he fills with sea water.

Finally, what will turn into the final plan is suggested. At the next party, Hana will use her feminine wiles to lure Niyo to a hotel room, and drug him. Anto and Lijuan will be disguised as ninja, and will thump the guard, while making it clear that ninja are kidnapping Hana (and Niyo just got in the way). Then, he'll be put in a crate on a ship headed for the Port of Propitious Voyage, and the party will spend a few days running around in a panic "looking for Hana" until they find her.

Cai Wen arranges with a sailor on a mildly skeevy boat for a crate to be left for him on the dock, and for the boat to not turn around when someone mildly important but with no proof of who he is, is found as a stowaway. The sailor charges Cai Wen 8 li, which he will need to share around with some other of the hands on the boat, to make sure the crew generally agrees to not turn around; Cai Wen also thinks they're only mildly skeevy, so won't just dump him overboard. It would be unfortunate to go to this much trouble to arrange to not kill Niyo or even get him fired, and then have him be drowned later.

Lijuan finds another good hotel with windows onto a garden that abuts a quiet street, and a room is pre-rented. A cart is arranged to be outside the garden gate, ready for a quick getaway.

Anto and Lijuan are the most convincing of the ninja, which is good, because they'll be the ones the guard gets the best look at. Xiao Fa has to be satisfied with a hooded cloak that disguises his features for one success.

Hana is "Kidnapped"
Takanata does a brief tactical Connections reading:
The courier does not know what will actually happen to the Circus if it is summoned to the Hidden City.
If the courier is shipped to the Hon'eth Arcade, it will delay him long enough to get the Circus past the City of Light.
If it looks like Hanako was kidnapped, no one will quickly associated the Circus with being responsible for the kidnapping.
It will be Bad for the Circus to be summoned to the Hidden City.
If we finish the Report Mechanic, it will protect the Circus from being summoned again.
The courier will only bring one guardsman to the party.

The I Ching confirms that this is all basically true (with caveats about being able to change the future if you try). Since the plan seems basically sound, Takanata attends the larger party that Willow has arranged for an invitation to, with Hana in tow. Xiao Fa makes a brief stealthy appearance, in order to drop his herbs in Niyo's wine, so he gets extra-drunk.
Takanata makes sure to talk to people and be noticed; he also is able to come up with someone to contact later for a "letter from home" for the Report Mechanic.
Hana is gay and sparkling, and ensnares Niyo in conversation. She hints that her Uncle Takanata is so restrictive to travel with, and sometimes she just likes to get away for some more... private, intimate fun. Niyo is no match for Hana's seduction roll, and agrees to sneak out with her. His guard, Wei-Han-like, looks as if he is sure this is a bad idea, but doesn't argue.
They leave, and Hana manages to suggest the hotel that has already been prepared. Niyo tries to pay for the hotel room, but it's already been paid for. Drunk and happy, he's sure that this is just because everything is going his way. The guard stations himself outside the door, while Niyo and Hana head in for the promised seduction. Hana does an extra-sexy tea ceremony, with "certain roots, for the man..." in the tea, which gives a good reason for the tea to taste funny due to Xiao Fa's knockout drugs, and after drinking his tea, Niyo is quickly unconscious. Hana manages to turn his collapse into some bouncing and squeaking of bed springs.

Lijuan and Anto are already in the room, stationed behind a screen; Xiao Fa and Cai Wen climb through the window from the garden. There is a bit of noise at that, and the guard raps on the door, asking if everything is all right. Hana makes some Appropriate Noises, and Cai Wen joins in for the male counterpoint (much to Hana's mortification), and the guard goes back to guarding. Xiao Fa and Cai Wen get Niyo handed out the window to Xiao Fa; Cai Wen grabs Hana, and Hana screams, alerting the guard for real.

The guard chops the door in, but Lijuan shoots him and Anto wraps him up in his chain before he can react further. Cai Wen hisses in Senatali "Come quietly, or we'll kill your boyfriend too!" to Hana, loudly enough for the guard to hear. Lijuan and Anto start in on the guard, while Cai Wen and Xiao Fa drag their "prisoners" through the garden to the cart. Hana "makes a break for it" and goes out through a wall to make her own way away.

The guard breaks out for long enough to chop Anto a few times. Ho (and other dogs) bark outside loudly enough to keep the alarm from spreading past the immediate lobby of the inn. The innkeeper shows up with a crossbow, and hits Lijuan with it (not very eptly), and some of the patrons get involved with shoe-throwing and attempting to first-aid the guard. All in all, it's a pretty convincing ninja attack; after the guard has fallen, both Lijuan and Anto make it out the window and across the garden with "Leaping Flame".
Hana sneaks back to the party's hotel room, changes into looking like Hiro, and waits for Takanata to get back from the party to ask him where "his" sister is.
Meanwhile, Cai Wen drives the cart to the dock, strips Niyo of all his stuff and his livery, and puts him in the crate. (He has a tattoo on his arm, of a crane in flight.) Anto goes to a bar for the rest of the night to establish his alibi - since he's somewhat wounded, it's better that he not meet up with the guards. Lijuan recovers Ho and heads back to the hotel, meeting up with "Hiro" and Takanata, and they play out a scene for no audience of Hana being missing. "Hiro" doesn't believe that Hana would have gone off with some boy, and suspects mind control. He's very indignant.
However, when "Hiro" and Takanata go back to the party to gather information, they do in fact learn that Hana left with Niyo and his guard.
"I tell you what, I will send a sharply worded note to the imperial messenger." Takanata, trying to placate "Hiro".
Back at the site of the kidnapping, the city guards have been investigating. The guard has been patched up a bit and explained what seems to have happened; shortly thereafter, some more guards show up to ask Takanata about his niece. Commander Sun is also summoned, as he was investigating the Southron kidnappings before. Enough people are able act shocked and worried (or Takanata, who is acting to let nothing slip of his embarassment of his niece having gone off for an illicit liason...) that Commander Sun is not suspicious. Various guards are sent in various directions; Cai Wen goes along with the ones going to the docks, and manages to divert them away from looking at the north-going ships (since Southern cultists would likely be going south). The next morning, Lijuan spreads rumors among the urchins about Southron ninjas, and Commander Sun assigns a few guards to stick with Hiro, since he is in theory also at risk from Southron kidnappers. Takanata takes the time to read Commander Sun's I Ching: he is doomed to not be the one who solves the plot he most cares about, but he will make slow and steady progress towards discovering information about it.

Since Hiro is under watch, it will be hard to "find" Hana immediately; the plan is laid out to go off in search of Hana with Anto's "find people in trouble shtick", pretend to rescue her from the ninjas en route, and then meet up with the circus to disguise Hiro as Hana before announcing the rescue.

Evidence Packet

Before all that happens, though, the group remembers the Report Mechanic, and contemplates how much they can gather together. Some things (a report from a North Wall garrison) are not easily obtainable, and some (a blessing from a High Temple) might be findable with a lot of searching, but it's harder to plausibly search for random paperwork instead of Hana (and it's gotten late). Some other options are contemplated: a report on the perfidy of the Imperial Alchemist's apprentice in the Forest of Chin might count, but could draw the attention of the alchemist; a lesser report with no names, but also with the spirit bottle, would also probably count. In the end, the evidence packet contains:

1. Hidden City: the Regency Council warrant (+3 bonus)
2. Jade Taiga: the report with the Taiga royal seal
3. Strand: the secret that the Circus is carrying the Tincture of Pure Respite to the Butterfly King
4. Iron Mountain: Anto compiles a report on what the Iron Mountain ambassador said about the bandits
5. Savanna of Tears: the red Southron bow and arrows (as these aren't mechanically interesting weapons, this is the most lame of the inclusions, but Willow says one lame one will be okay)
6. Illuminated Precincts: a letter from the Regent, provided by Willow
7. Hon'eth Arcade: Takanata burns a karma to find Ando again, who can provide appropriate customs receipts
8. Shrouded Isle: an Ice Chip of Doom (Cai Wen gives his to Willow, who has been intrigued by all this talk of encasing people in ice)
9. Butterfly Kingdom: Takanata burns his reputation to find an art collector with a picture of a Hidden City landmark, and does a quick sketch of people in the circus there.
10. One letter from a resident of the Forest of Chin
With 13 dice total, there are 10 successes of fooling-the-bureaucracy, so the circus is safe!
Puttering

Master Zhou goes to visit the Temple of the Immovable Soul, where Iron Shirt Jo-Jo hails from.
Anto, Master Zhou, Shen-Ji, Li Merit, Cai Wen, Yoshi, and Xiao Fa visit a temple of the Selfless Path in order to lay Amikiri's remains to rest.
Xiao Fa, Master Zhou, Cai Wen, and Wei Han putter around the Harbor of Fortunate Arrival looking for Shanxi.
Wei Han heads south to ask a favor of the Bearers of Swift Response...

Retrieved from "http://boojum.scripts.mit.edu/Dragon/index.php?
title=Unwelcome_Invitation"
Category: Book One Logs
This page was last modified on 30 July 2010, at 14:19.
Monarch Butterfly

From Dragon

"Know your enemy as you know yourself, and you shall ever be victorious."

It is a few days before the Day of the Early Spider in Spider Rising, in the third Year of the Spider since the crowning of Ti Lao.
The run takes place in the Butterfly Kingdom.
Previous run
Contents

1 Return to the Butterfly Kingdom
2 Insufficient Tincture
3 The Spirit Journey
3.1 Joining of the Cycle 3.2 Mirrors
3.3 Shrike
3.4 Changing Objects 3.5 Elemental Amusement 3.6 Mists
3.7 Taunts
3.8 Dots
4 The Butterfly King Returned

Return to the Butterfly Kingdom

Having successfully diverted a summons to the Hidden City, the circus is in the City of Light ready to journey back to the Butterfly Kingdom. Ringmaster Te hires a ship, directs everyone to get the elephants on board, and the journey to the Isle of Butterflies goes surprisingly uneventfully (if marred by storms).

The circus will be wintering here, repairing, mending, cleaning, and putting together new acts, and Ringmaster Te notes that perhaps the people with the secret antidote should head off to the palace. Shuyan starts making her goodbyes to everyone else, but Hiro will have none of that, and insists that Destiny brought Shuyan in with the rest of them, and Destiny insists that she see it through to the end. After much discussion of the appropriate walking
pace, and a few minor diversions[1], the party sets off in a Purposeful Stroll towards the palace.
The palace guards ask the standard "who goes there?" question, and everyone points at Takanata to introduce himself. He does so, and says he had hoped that Her Majesty would be available. The guard indicates the large mob of the party, questioningly:
"And these folk..." -Guard
"...are my entourage." -Takanata
Lord Takanata and his Enormous Entourage are permitted to come in, and head (under light escort) to the Queen's secretary's office. Zhi-Hao waves to various palace guards, and they are pleased to see him back again.

The secretary says that the Queen is currently in seclusion. At Takanata's request, he goes to inform her that Takanata is here, regarding matters of some importance. The party is led to a small dining room to wait, and arrives only moments before Ti Wren does. She is very pleased to see them, and asks after the Tincture. Hiro produces what appears to be a Tinicture of Pure Respite, but just as people are starting to check the spelling and become suspicious, Li Merit produces the real Tincture, having created a decoy in case of theft. The Queen leaves with the real Tincture in a rush, instructing her staff to have a celebratory banquet made ready for the group later.

The party entertain themselves for a bit in the palace - Lijuan and Kasumi watch for ninja, but there don't seem to be any other than Kasumi herself. Zhi-Hao looks for Prince Ti Jun, but hears that he has not returned to the kingdom since the tribute ship was sent. There is some concern about this; neither the prince nor his escorts have returned.

Cai Wen meets a young geomancer named Peng - she is visiting the Butterfly Kingdom to see the Gardens of Harmonious Contemplation - and invites her to the banquet that evening. Takanata writes a note to Her Majesty asking her to please let them know if additional assistance is needed, as his most recent poem suggests to him that there is more to the King's illness than can be cured with the Tincture:

Body
Ravaged by venom,
Salvaged by love.
Far travelled, long sought, First key is the draught. Mind
Inquisitive and cunning, though assaulted by all, Memory's salvation
needs those cross'd the wall. Soul
Peerless connection
twixt body and mind.
Off on a journey,
Its plans to unwind.
Recover the heart of the Butterfly's pawn,
though spirit and demon will fight till the dawn.

Shen-Ji reports in to his master. Master Zhou reminds everyone, in case they've forgotten, that there is Upcoming Doom due to the year of the Spider coming, and that the Marked are surely up to something. Tomorrow is New Year's Eve, so tonight's banquet is a little sparsely attended.

Insufficient Tincture

During the banquet, a messenger comes to find Takanata. As he had worried, the tincture is not working. He and Zhi-Hao head to the King's bedchamber. The Queen is there, and tells them that while he seems to be resting more easily, he is not waking. Takanata shows her his poem, and says that he and his friends are "those cross'd the wall," but she doesn't know what that means they should do, and the part about demons and spirit fighting until dawn doesn't sound good.

Others are summoned. Xiao Fa looks at Ti Lao's chi, and notes that a lot of it seems to be missing - not cut away, like Master Zhou's, but just elsewhere. Master Zhou puts the King's unconscious body through some physical therapy, and concludes that he is spiritwalking. Shuyan uses her Serpent's Ring to become dead, and briefly catches sight of a golden cord from the King's body going elsewhere.

Meanwhile back at the party, Hiro regales the local women with his tales of heroism, especially the tale of crashing the Spirit/Demon Ball on the Night of Gates. Peng comes over to him to ask about his expertise in spirits and demons, as she has heard many rumors about the Gardens of Harmonious Contemplation. She'd like to visit the Gardens in the dark - but the rumors of odd noises there during recent nights have kept her away. But with his expertise to protect them, Peng, Hiro, Hana, and Cai Wen head off to see the gardens.

Meanwhile, Shuyan and some others have started trying to follow the golden cord, by having Shuyan "die" over and over, and see where the cord goes. They follow the cord to the northwest area of the Gardens of Harmonious Contemplation, where it vanishes - into what Master Zhou thinks is the exact place that he appeared when he arrived with no memory. There appears to be a tiny rift between the Material World and the World Above here. Xiao Fa notes that the feng shui of this part of the garden puts it very close to the World Above, and with some adjustment, it might be pushed farther, pushing the whole area close enough to the World Above to spiritwalk through the rift, even without a shtick.

Takanata briefs the Queen on what the party thinks has happened - that the King's spirit is spiritwalking. He thinks this will solve the "soul" portion of the poem (though he is worried about the "mind" part and if it is all right to do them out of order.) Xiao Fa confers with Peng about the arrangement of the garden, and comes up with a list of changes that should be made - move this boulder, take those blossoms off that tree, etc...

Once it is morning, work begins on rearranging the garden. Master Zhou thinks it is important to have the King's body be in the same place, so he is brought to the garden, with guards. Ti Wren stays in the portion of the palace adjoining the garden to oversee, so as to not end up in the World Above accidentally. Master Zhou reminds everyone of some rules about the World Above - if you are given a challenge by a spirit, you must do the challenge or fight the spirit. If you fight the spirit directly, you will die.

People spend many hours rearranging things at Xiao Fa's direction. During this process Li Merit and Song Min Feng are summoned back to the circus. There's apparently some sort of emergency there, and Min Feng is known to have a good relationship with the Lockpicking Monkey, so the pair head off. They plan to be back before sunset though. Sadly, sunset comes several hours sooner than expected and things become somewhat different in the garden. Those in the garden are able to spiritwalk (leaving their body behind) to the World Above, and can follow the golden cord towards the King's spirit. Before anyone can react, a large grey spider descends on a thread from the World Above, looks around, and goes back up its silken line.

The Spirit Journey

Rolls made in the World Above are based on Tao, though people can add their nonTao substats to a roll, once per substat.
There are strands of spiderweb strung about throughout this part of the World Above. Touching one is bad. This is represented by saying the word "Spider"'. Touching the spiderweb, or failing in the challenges, increases the number of words that cannot be said, and, as it turns out, causes demons to arrive, each group shepherded by a spider.
For each challenge, there is a "par" number (usually people, but not always). Accomplishing the challenge with less than the par number decreases the number of dangerous words.

Anto is the first to slip into a spiderweb, and "Butterfly" is added to the list. Some of the party leap into the World Above; those left behind try to drag the bodies of those spirit traveling closer together for easier defense. Those in the World Above choose one of many possible scenes to encounter...

Joining of the Cycle

Here is a flat space, one of the few places you have seen where nothing moves or changes or tries to eat your head. From here, the demesnes of each of the Great Cycle Spirits stretch off in pie wedges that aren't really shaped much like pie wedges at all. It is very important to keep to the correct path here.

Come up with a set of yes/no questions (par 5) which can be used to unambiguously tell apart the Cycle Spirits (i.e. "Do you have wings?).
You cannot use the names of the actual cycle animals, or synonyms for them, in your question.
The questions will be tested by someone who didn't help write them, choosing three Cycle animals at random and answering the questions.

After much debate, the group settles on an unaesthetic but workable solution involving questions of the form "In an alphabetic ordering, are you in the first half?" and find their way. Once past the confusion, they find a place where a Mark (looking much like the tattoo on the back of Machan Li) has been branded into the space. Touching the mark causes the one who touches it to see a vision...

You fall faster and faster, far to the west. Before you looms the great peak of Bear Mountain. You fall, below the main peak and see an altercation on the path. Several men with bows stand around lounging, while a single huge man does battle on the path. Before him lie the broken bodies of a dozen monks. The last defiant monk struggles in his grip.

"You can not stop us all. In the end we will win. Should you kill me now, more will come. Eventually you will die for what you have done, even if we must wait for the Dragon himself to deal with you."
The great man laughs and drops the final monk...
"The Dragon? You wait for the Dragon to save you? There will be no more Dragons... The spirit of the Dragon is bound and tormented by my master, never more to grant his touch in this world. The only touch left for you... is mine."
Suddenly the great man strikes out with a single blow, that lands almost gently upon the chest of the fallen monk.
"Our battle is done. Go. Should you attempt to climb, your heart will explode. Should you attempt to speak, your heart will explode. Should you do neither of those things... you will have three days. Three days to understand the hopelessness of your position. The hopelessness of all your kind. There is only room in this world for one true master of Kung Fu."
The monk staggers off down the hill, and the great man laughs and is cheered by his men...
Then you feel yourself pulled back up by a delicate hand and hear the beating wings of a Butterfly...
Those back in the material world are plagued by Ripper demons (they seem to be a particular problem in the Butterfly Kingdom, and another sort of demon that seems to punch nearby foes into swapping with faraway ones.

Takanata notes "The demons are using the webs of the one they appeared with; if those webs go down, they may leave," doing well to avoid mentions of Spiders. Master Zhou is not so lucky and mentions Butterfly, and "Marked" joins the list of dangerous words, (although the demons have to wait to appear until the next section of combat, since Master Zhou is in the World Above).

Mirrors
Those in the World Above enter another scene:
This area of the spirit world is silent, and all full of mirrors, at crazy angles, all up against each other. Some of the mirrors have no reflection, others, the reflections of you are subtly twisted or have oddly wrong expression. It doesn't seem to be possible to pass through without going physically through the mirrors. The spirit who inhabits this area peers furtively out at you from the corners of the mirrors, only half-glimpsed out of the corner of your eyes, never straight on, and often seems to look like you.

The first person steps into a mirror, and picks, at random, the token for one of the other people in the scene.
They should, with their eyes shut, physically mimic the character so chosen, for up to their Yang in minutes.
At any time, someone can choose to try to walk into the mirror by saying they do so.
If they were right, they are at the next step of the mirrors; they should then draw another person to mimic.
Hana, Shen-Ji, Zhi-Hao, and Xian manage to successfully mimic each other (to some hilarity), and trigger another vision:
You fall deep within a fortress, far far below. In the lowest places underneath the stone walls you come to a cavern. Within, a man Marked with the sign of the spider on his back, bows before a great cauldron. Above the cauldron, an inky black presence responds to his entreaties...

"I can not find him, Great Lord. Even the most potent divinations say he is neither in this world, nor the next. I do not know how Tai Fong has eluded me, but he is nowhere I can see."
"Keep trying, the secrets he has stolen must not come to light."
"Lord, what harm can possibly come to you now? Even should the powerful somehow find out that the Great Spider Spirit is a skinwalking demon, it is too late to stop the grand design. The web is cast, all will be caught within. The only true opposition rested with the other great spirits, and with the turning of the Cycle, their window has closed."

"Fool!!! The secrets of skinwalking are not hidden because they are secret. They are hidden because they are dangerous! Cast your web wide, for there are always hidden enemies. Until all is complete, you shall not lower your guard. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Lord Aku. I shall double my efforts, but if he is truly not in this world or the next... "
"If he has taken refuge in the realms above or below, I shall find him and deal with him myself."
Then you feel yourself pulled back up by a delicate hand and hear the beating winds of a Butterfly...
Shrike

The travellers in the World Above have done well to drop the list of dangerous words back to "Spider", but the demons called up are still causing trouble. The fighters learn that when the shepherding spider is banished (after taking enough hits), the minion demons are pulled back to the spider's location, but not defeated. A small victory, but in the end it's only a delaying tactic.
In the World Above, the travellers see a dangerous looking spirit in a maze:
A maze of sharp-edged walls here, with a horrid spiky tree in the middle. Small spirits hang on the spikes of the tree, occasionally twitching. A sharp and pointy spirit, sometimes winged, sometimes not, stalks swiftly around.

A 3x3 maze of GOOTMU tiles is set up. The tree is in the center.
People can enter from the corners. They move their Yang in squares, and roll Yin plus Stealth to sneak. If you are not moving, you may roll Stealth for 5s. If the Shrike is in your map section, you need 3 stealth successes to not be heard. If he is in an adjacent section, you need 2. If he is in a farther away section, you need 1.
If you fail your stealth check, the Shrike moves one map section towards you (or towards the most-failed person, if there is more than one.) If it was in your map section and moves towards you, it grabs you and puts you on its tree. Ouch. You cannot get off by yourself. And the Peril number goes up by one.
Goal: to get someone to the center square while the Shrike isn't on it.

Hana, Xiao Fa, and Shen-Ji sneak into the Shrike's maze. Hana makes noise to draw the Shrike away, allowing Xiao Fa to make a run in to reach the tree and the mark there. You fall faster and faster towards a seemingly endless sea. As you get closer, you find yourself turning towards a familiar coastline, finally ending on a beach in the far north of the Hon'eth Arcade. There, you see a great warrior, with the pennant of the Dragon Army flying proudly behind him. None of those who obey him know of the Mark beneath his armor...
"Captain! As we have fully secured the port, you may commence the blockade."
"Sir. Our intelligence from the Shrouded Isle indicates that they are not making any preparations to move. Is a full blockade truly necessary?"
"You may not understand this captain, but those on that Isle are one of the few threats to the Empire that remain. They may not look dangerous, but the bonds that have prevented them from acting are about to fall away, and we must be ready for whatever they do."
"In that case, sir, should we not simply scour the Isle clean, and eliminate the threat here and now?"
"No, captain. It is a worthy thought, but the Shrouded Isle is subtle. You would find the peasants, and even the lords of that land, but you would never find our true enemies. In any case, keeping them contained for a cycle is all that will be necessary."
"A full cycle sir? We couldn't possibly maintain a blockade for that long!"
"You will maintain it, Admiral, or the Dragon Army will have to find a new Sea Lord."
"Sea Lord? Uh... Yes, Warlord. It shall be as you command."
Then you feel yourself pulled back up by a delicate hand and hear the beating wings of a Butterfly...
Changing Objects

With so many people in the World Above, the combat starts going poorly. Shen Wei Han calls out for help, and some nearby vacationing Dragon Army soldiers who were picnicing in another area of the Gardens of Harmonious Contemplation hear his call, and come to assist. Near the King's body, Cai Wen breaks a vial of smoke filling the area. This provides some protection against demon attacks, but even so, they won't be able to hold out forever.
In the World Above, the travellers find:
The terrain here is constantly shifting -- a hill one moment is a valley, and then a huge chasm. A wall becomes a shadow of a wall, becomes an oil slick. One of the things here is probably the inhabiting spirit, but it is difficult to know which.

First, who can identify the objects on the table that have just been covered with the scarf?
Second, everyone can make a Yin roll with Perception skill and study the table for 15 seconds x successes.
Now, shut your eyes/turn your back while we move things / change things / remove things / add things.
Identify all the differences. (The initial identification counts for extra credit).

People in the spirit world initially remember ten of the clutter of objects, and correctly identify all the changes: the magnet of David changed his clothes, the coaster of Poseidon has become a coaster of Zeus, the tea has changed brands, the stones have moved from the shot glass to the bowl, the candle snuffer has been turned 180 degrees, the dice have been rotated, the cinnamon stick has been removed, a spoon has been added, a bottle cap has been added to the "mana bottle", and the blue gems have been turned upside down. They misidentify that the cows have been moved, but the extra credit cancels that out.
They find another mark and trigger another vision:
You fall, faster and faster, towards the Hidden City. Clearly visible from your great vantage point Above. You descend past the Regency Council Chambers, and the Great Palace, finally to land before an intricately decorated house, settled among the great residences of the most powerful men in the land...

You follow in a finely dressed man, humming to himself in satisfaction, as he enters and passes his coats to his servants. No one notices the Mark beneath his clothes.

"Have Su-li waiting for me this evening. I shall spend an hour or so in my drawing room and then be ready for dinner and diversion. Tell her we shall be joining the Festivals this evening. Have my evening clothes set out for me. I'll bathe before and after dinner."
"Of course sir, all shall be ready."
The man heads through the corridors of his house until he comes to a great locked door near the center. He produces a key from his pocket, marked with a familiar symbol, and enters the room, locking the door behind him.

The walls and tables and desks are covered with maps, too many to count, but they all pale in comparison the great relief map of the Empire that dominates the center of the room. It looks to have been carved with great care, and must have been the work of years.

He inspects the work, and then gets a small chisel and brush from a work bench and hovers over the model of the mountains in the east.

"Well, Chang. We shall see if your boasts were justified, or if you have failed our Master. I would not wish to be you if this does not work."
Compass Rose of the Cartogramancer
Carefully he reaches down and places a small ironwood block over the careful lettering for "Bear Mountain". With a few deft strokes and a quick brush, he carves into the block the characters for "Iron Mountain".
With a satisfied look, he heads back out, to bathe after his exertions.
Then you feel yourself pulled back up by a delicate hand and hear the beating wings of a Butterfly...
Elemental Amusement
The three vacationing Dragon soldiers join the fight - it seems pretty clear to them that the demons are the bad guys, so they don't need a lot of briefing.
Takanata warns people not to remove the bodies of anyone who is spiritwalking - their spirits might be unable to get back, as the King's might have been. He also tries to exit the Gardens long enough to ask the Queen to summon more guards, but they shoot at him, thinking he is some sort of spider-demon himself. Apparently, those outside the gardens can not clearly see those within. Takanata retreats back into the Gardens and continues the fight.

Kasumi is targeted by heavy attacks from the lightning-throwing demons who have all been pulled back to near her, and Ho leaps in the way of some of them, falling himself. "Noooo! Hoooo!" Anto also comes in for a lot of chewing on by demons, but his dog is less self-sacrificing.
In the World Above, the party enters another area.
The landscape here is painted in the five bright colors of the elements. In the center is a small pagoda; a spirit in elegant gold sits, watching as people approach. He negligently gestures, and obstacles begin to spring up. "I shall let you pass," he says, "if you are sufficiently amusing."

There are five obstacles here: A wall of fire, a flooding river, a chasm too far to leap across, a metal grate, and a thornbush.
across, a metal grate, and a thornbush.
point skills.

Takanata writes a love poem to the flooding river, and tosses it in. It parts for him. He gathers up some sticks, and places them at the base of the wall of fire, so that they look like lit candles, and calls to Hana to come and blow them out, singing "Happy Birthday" to her. When she tries to "blow out the candles", he opens his Bag of Wind (a minor magic item), and the wind rushes out extinguishing the fire.

Anto tells a tall tale of an adventure story involving a grand and exciting journey around the chasm to the other side, demonstrating that he is, in fact, already there. "But how will you get back?" asks the spirit, and he has to tell another story to retrieve himself.
Shen-Ji identifies the metal grate as actually made out of gold. Using his jewelsmithing and sculpting, he fashions a gold statue of the spirit out of it, and presents it to him.
Hiro (who has recently acquired the "Stomach of the Termite" shtick) eats the thornbush. The spirit is amused, but thinks it is poor form to bring a tengu in a party of adventuring humans!
Once past, another mark is touched and another vision is triggered:
You fall, faster and faster, towards the Hidden City, clearly visible from your great vantage point Above. Descending quickly into the center of the city, you come to a great hall filled with bureaucrats, each at a small desk passing countless small parchements among them. At the head of the room sits a man dressed in gold, the Mark on his back hidden by his rich robes. His bejeweled fingers are each stained with the ink from a thousand forms. He looks up, just as a messenger arrives. In a high-pitched voice, the eunuch bureaucrat messenger reports to his master.
"We've received a report that the Silken Wings circus has been dealt with."
"Very well. Refile them into the third great category, section seven, drawer three."
"But sir, it's not clear that anything actually...."
"Silence! Do you question the art? Do you question its results?"
"No master. The forms will be filed."
"Very well. We will move on to the next threat. Have the chancellory recall whatever agent they had watching the circus and reassign him to another problem from beyond the wall. It is time we turned our attention away from the north, and refocussed our efforts in the south. Several disturbing reports from Commander Sun have begun arriving about Southron movements. I want these reports... alphabetized."
The messenger pales and bows very deeply. "If you so wish, master."
The man in gold shakes his head sadly. "It is not my wishes that should concern you. Merely the necessities of the art."
"As you say, master."
"Good. I shall go now and prepare myself for the meeting of the Regency Council. The meeting must start on time, or the fools might start thinking for themselves."

The man in gold stands, and then bends down to make a careful notation on a ledger on his desk. He then walks to the door, pauses, and makes another notation in a ledger affixed to the door frame. Finally, he leaves.
Then you feel yourself pulled back up by a delicate hand and hear the beating wings of a Butterfly...
"Wow, they can alphabetize in Chinese. That is pretty menacing." -Cael
Mists

The World Above travellers have done a good job at decreasing the dangerous words, but there is one more encounter with a spiderweb, triggering demons who seem to be made of broken weapons. These destroy weapons when they are hit by them, and an attack by such a demon also destroys weapons.
In the World Above, the travellers reach:
Dark, swirling mist obscures nearly everything ahead.
They enter; various things happen, causing several of them to take damage in their Tao stats.
Then you feel yourself pulled back up by a delicate hand and hear the beating wings of a Butterfly...
They are successful, but Takanata notes "... and we probably won't remember most of that. But that's why no one will believe us."
Taunts

At this point, the fighters in the Material World are heavily beset by demons, and several have lost their weapons. Master Hsi's gift of healing potions is all that is keeping them standing, and protecting the unmoving bodies of the spiritwalkers from demons intent on eating them.
In the World Above, the travellers find another spooky area.
An upside down tree stretches its roots into the dark air, and a passage leads below into the ground beneath its trunk.
The spirit here will taunt you. If you cannot face it with equanimity, it will take your face.
Equanimity means success in Chi (substituting in for Resolve) with Strong Will type skills. Each time you are taunted, you must get one more success.
As a whole, twelve taunts must be withstood.
Xiao Fa

You left your brother to be killed. Hiro
You did let your sister get killed.
Kasumi
There's nothing more pathetic than a ninja working for a pacifist. Shen-Ji
When you die, you'll be burnt as a necromancer - and they'll be right. Anto
Even your own friends won't tell you your destiny. Xian
You left a whole pile of your sisters to be killed. (This seems to be a party theme.) Xiao Fa
You sacrificed the only likelihood that you'll ever amount to anything. Hiro
If you take all your lessons from demons, that's the direction you'll grow in. Shen-Ji
You are too lazy and easily discouraged to become a proper sorcerer. Xian
And these people think you're their friend.
Xiao Fa
The monastery only took you in out of pity.
Shen-Ji
You're actually hard to taunt, because you just have no heart.
Some of the taunts make others wince, but the target of each is able to keep any reaction from showing on their face, and the mark is found.
You fall faster and faster, towards the mouth of a great river. As you get closer, you recognize the crowded streets of the Precincts and close in on a single island, with but one house and a private dock. Within, several men talk in hushed tones about a table with several papers spread out before them. At the dock is tied a black horse with a white hind right fetlock.
One man's pleasant but stern voice cuts through the discussion....
"How does this keep happening? The plan was perfect. The plan is always perfect."
"My friend, the best plan can not account for poor luck." "No, fool, my plans account for luck, good, bad or any other kind. Do not think that I've been trying plan after plan until one worked. The failures are built into the plan, again and again until success is achieved. If they do not buy the antidote, they are invaded and need rescue. If they are not invaded, they are blockaded. If the blockade is broken, a war is started. If a war fails to start, they are drawn in with a trading offer... Unless a different war starts!!"
"How could we know they would attack each other over the plain now. It's just incredibly bad luck."
The man with a Mark on his back picks up one of the parchments from the table and shakes it at the protester.
"No, this is not luck, this is malice. Someone opposes me, dares to oppose my plans. The question then becomes how. If we have discounted luck, swept aside destiny, then only one possibility remains... betrayal. Someone gave the plan to the Butterfly Kingdom. One of you."
"No! We would ne... nev.... what... Machan Li, stop. We didn't.."
One by one, all the other men at the table fall over in pain. The Marked man picks up his tea, and finishes it. He tastes the venom, but as always, is immune.
He shakes his head, and starts adjusting the bodies. A scrap of parchment in a pocket here, a small red stain on the arm there. When everything is just so, arranged exactly as he wishes, he smiles to himself.

"No, friends, do not call me Machan Li again. I fear that good man perished here with the rest of you this evening. I will begin again. A new name, a new plan, but in the end, the Butterfly Kingdom will be delivered."
He quietly leaves, and returns to his waiting horse.
Then you feel yourself pulled back up by a delicate hand and hear the beating wings of a Butterfly...
Dots

No new demons have shown up for a little while, so the
tide is slowly beginning to turn back in the party's favor

as people retreat into the smoke area, and several of the most pesky demons are down. Many healing potions have been used and karma points have been spent on healing shticks, so this can't last forever, but it seems the end is in sight.
In the World Above, the travellers reach the last of the scenes they must navigate.
Several spirits frolic in a brightly colored but otherwise peaceful looking meadow. The spirits split into tiny dots of color, and reform again, laughing. One of them, which stays resolutely un-formed, calls out to you "I will let you pass by if you name me."
Rooster Spirit
A number of circles of dots must be put together to show the spirit's true form.
Quite a while later, Anto correctly names the spirit "Rooster" and the last mark is found.
You fall, faster and faster, far to the west. You land in a great courtyard. Behind the shining citadel, you see, in the distance, the great peak of Bear Mountain itself. In the center of a courtyard is a great Ironwood tree. Tall and pefect, but for one hollow in its bark...
"Greetings, Lord Yu! I have returned! I'm sorry it's been so long, but I had many preparations to make."
"What preparations! Why are you here, Chang? I thought I made it clear that we had nothing further to discuss..."
"Why, Lord Yu, have you possibly forgotten our wager? Soon the Red Pagoda will be mine!"
"What foolishness is this? I've already told you that no mere merchant shall live in one of the great pagodas of Bear Mountain."
"You did say that... But you also said I may buy the Red Pagoda for myself on the day I strike a wound to your Ironwood tree twice as deep as the one Kar Fai placed there when he left."
"What! Your drunken boasts are not the issue here. I shall..."
"No, Lord Yu, the issue here is that you offered a wager, and I have accepted it. The bet shall stand."
[Lord Yu's eyes cross slightly, but he recovers and seems even more angered than before.]
"Fine, if you wish to play out this farce, so be it. Strike the tree, show the world your weakness, and then get out."
"Of course, great sir. Though I should warn you. I'm feeling Lucky..."
Lucky Chang steps to the tree, and considers it carefully. This is for a bet, so he can add his Gambling skill to the bit of Kung Fu he has bought for the occasion. Adding his Chi and Yang to his roll and spending a karma, he has a large handful of dice to roll; he puts down four 10s to start with, from his "reliability". He calculates the odds of rolling high enough on the rest of them to get what he wants, with precise definitions, and it's just possible enough that he uses a shtick for a coin flip instead, and succeeds. Then, he picks up some of the lowest dice and rerolls them. After all that, his strike is mighty, and he has, in fact, doubled the depth of Kar Fai's strike.
Then you feel yourself pulled back up by a delicate hand and hear the beating winds of a Butterfly...
The Butterfly King Returned

Now the golden cord to Ti Lao's spirit (which appears here as a monarch butterfly - the same one the monks of the Eternal Dream were trying to free) is clear and the spirit walkers converge on Ti Lao's spirit. He bows, and conveys his gratitude to the travellers, as well as his sympathy for the trials they have endured. He apologizes for having to put them through these trials, but says that "it was necessary that you see the things you have seen and remember them, for I will not, since I have not crossed the wall."

Takanata asks if he will be able to learn these things again if he is told? Yes, in theory, but he expects he will not believe them. Takanata asks what he wishes them to tell him of what needs doing?
"Tell me what you feel is necessary, but the important thing is that you do what you know is necessary."
Ti Lao thinks that one of the eight Marked (the one in the misty scene) is particularly resistant to divination, and responsible for the greater inability to remember things such as the changes in the country names. Takanata asks if that has anything to do with Ti Jun's fate being shielded. Ti Lao does not know, though he says he was trying to find out what had happened to Ti Jun when he was trapped in the spider's web. He again thanks Shen-Ji for freeing him.

Ti Lao then says that dawn is coming, and they should return to the material world before the Cycle turns. Everyone moves back to their bodies, and then Ti Lao invokes his authority over the Isle of Butterflies to separate his land from the Worlds Above and Below, forcing all of the remaining demons to retreat.

Ti Wren and her guards can now see into the gardens clearly again. She is overjoyed, thanks everyone, and promises them rewards for their doings this night and over the last six months.
Then, as the sun rises, another voice booms out.
Fools! You think you can keep me out? My time has now come! With the turning of the Cycle, I am now finally free to act directly once more. As my first act, I shall scatter those who have annoyed me.
Yoshi takes a moment to look at the Great Spider Spirit and wonder why it does these things. The answer is "Power and Dominion", and Yoshi finds its intensity quite... intense.
Then, the tiny rift between the worlds ripples and tears one final time, and the party is flung far and wide, to who knows where...
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