After a long debate Bai is tied to Ayuka's horse and they move onward, keeping an eye peeled for the wayang. Lady Chyou rides to the rear, doing her best to ignore Bai. They notice she rides a bit listless in her saddle, and her usual stern face is a bit slack. The day has taken a toll on the noblewoman.
Just as dusk is falling, they find a small village. It is grown around a small waystation, once used for the Imperial Lung Wa riders, now used for Goka traders and merchants (and is manned by Goka soldiers). There are a few small inns as well, catering to less well off travelers from the city.
The villagers pour out when they see a bound man being marched in. An elderly man, with graying hair and a stoop stops the party int he middle of the dusty road and says, 'My name is Chow-Fun. I am the elder here and this village is my responsibility. What is the meaning of this bound man?" he waves a hand at Bai who remains silent.
Ayuka dismounted and approached the elder. Giving him a bow of her head she said, "This bound man tried to ambush us as we traveled from Goka. We were able to subdue him and decided to bring him to the next waystation we came to. Is there someone here whose custody we can transfer him to? As you can understand, Chow-Fun-san, it has been a long day and we would like to put this unpleasantness behind us."
The elder man bows politely, beard dipping to the dusty road, 'Of course. Bandits are not unheard of, although a lone man is either crazy or desperate. Which was he?" His voice is merely curious, apparently this is not uncommon.
Bai, remaining silent is soon led away by two burly villagers.
The elder goes on, 'We have a place where he will keep him until the magistrate arrives. It will only be a few days before he is executed for his crimes." the man says simply.
Yukarii was rather disturbed by what the young man was going to suffer but it was, ultimately, the only way to get them to hold him for long enough to possibly loose him. She doubted that he'd give up that easily but she could only hope this would turn out for the best. Before they turned him over she walked up to him and said, "I hope that you learn from this, she has made the honorable choice, and she has chosen even if it wasn't her idea to marry this man. Please leave her, and us, to finish our journey in peace." She sighed, "One day you will find love again, I just hope you see that and keep your mind open." With nothing further to say to the man she returned to her mount and prepared to continue their journey.
The elder man bows politely, beard dipping to the dusty road, 'Of course. Bandits are not unheard of, although a lone man is either crazy or desperate. Which was he?" His voice is merely curious, apparently this is not uncommon.
Ayuka answered Chow-Fun, "I believe he is both crazy and desperate. He kept claiming his actions were driven by love while apologizing for what he was doing. Maybe he needed money to make himself acceptable to the family of his love." Ayuka sighed. "It is sad that he chose love over honor."
At the pronouncement of Bai's likely punishment, Ayuka nodded. "He doesn't seem to be a bad man. Hopefully his punishment will set him on a more honorable path."
Looking around the small town from where they were at Yukarii was trying to spot the inn. She looked back at the rest of the group and asked, "So, I assume we want to stay here for the night since it's this late. We should probably try and find a place to sleep if that's the case."
After turning Bai over the party moves tot he Inn. They are still quite close to Goka and one a major road so even Otrov's plant raises only a few eyebrows. The rooms are spacious and well-kept and Lady Chyou in particular relishes the warm baths and real food provided. (needless to say she has her own room).
The night is quiet but when everyone wakes up the next day, they see the elder man, Chow-Fun, standing in the common room looking agitated.
Your prisoner, that crazed bandit. He broke out of his cell last night. No guards were seriously hurt but he had help from the outside. Why did you not say he had accomplices?"
Ayuka's face showed genuine surprise at Chow-Fun's news. Bowing low she says, "My deepest apologies Chow-Fun-san. There had been a second person but while we were subduing our prisoner, they fell into the water. They never emerged from the water and I'm embarrassed to say that I forgot about them since they were no longer a threat. What can I do to make amends for my oversight?"
Yukarii slept well, she hadn't slept in a real bed for some time now and it was a great relief. The next morning she went downstairs for breakfast when she saw the man standing there, agitated about the escape of Bai. She too bowed low to Chow-Fun and replied, "I too am sorry Chow-Fun-san, we didn't think his cohort had followed us all this way. The accomplice is likely the tengu we encountered before." She looked at Ayuka as her companion asked what could be done as penance and waited patiently for the reply.
Otrov snorted at his companion's misinformation. "Wasn't he a wayang?" He offered. Otrov had just gotten himself out of bed, his hair reflected that as it was a messy tangle of brown tresses that hung in a wavy curtain. Zubi was at his side, as usual.
Otrov wasn't ready to offer a service in exchange for their "bandit" going free, especially since he was already hoping such a thing would happen. "And don't we already have a pressing matter to attend to Ayuka?" Otrov left off the honorific, not for any sense of familiarity or a lack of respect, but simply because he was still new to the region and therefor their mannerisms, especially when it came to addressing people.
Yukarii flushed with embarrassment as the out lander caught her mistake and corrected her. She bowed low to Chow-Fun once more and said, "He is right, I apologize deeply for my mistake. The man who likely helped is a wayang, though I don't recall his name."
Chow-Fun eyes them. The last thing he wants is for you to stick around. He purses his lips and says, beard swaying 'We have to repair the door and tend to the two wounded men. It is a burden on our little village. A gift of say, twenty gold coins would ease this heavy weight."
The ninja's sharp eyes didn't even blink at the news of Bai's escape. Although he had never experienced it himself (egads!), he had heard the bards sing of it often enough: love. Love always finds a way. Apparently that way had manifested itself in a wayang companion wielding... hmm. A fair question. How had the wayang opened the cell door? Zheng found himself more preoccupied with a professional curiosity for the pair's escape act.
'We have to repair the door and tend to the two wounded men. It is a burden on our little village. A gift of say, twenty gold coins would ease this heavy weight."
Xiaoyu lazily stepped into the conversation.
"A gift for the service of incarceration? How I feel for the simple man here. Having to pay to keep the man jailed who steals my wages? I should count myself fortunate that my house is not on fire. If so, I would have to negotiate my neighbors' rewards for helping me, while the flames ate my roof. Truly, yours is a heavy vocation, elder Chow-Fun."
Despite his words the ninja had brought out his money pouch.
"Tell me, the aforementioned unfortunate cell door; how was it ruined? By force? Magic?"
Yukari pulled out a money pouch and removed twenty gold pieces from it which she then handed to the man. "Please, take this with our sincerest apologies, we brought this trouble upon you with our captive and it is only just that we pay a penance for what came of his presence here."
The elder takes Xiaoyu's coins gladly, nodding and bowing. "The door was burned, or charred. Then the prisoner inside smashed through." the man says, obviously concerned about a arsonist magic-user in his village.
He bows even lower when Yukarii adds more money and says, "We are your humble servants." but there is still a glint in his eyes.
The morning comes quickly and soon you are off on the road again. A week passes. There is no sign of Bai or Eclis the wayang, despite Ayuka and Xaioyu's constant watching. The travel goes well but they notice the Lady Chyou growing more and more distant.
She talks less and less, never joining in the traveling songs or little jokes that spring up. She eats alone in her tent and rises later and later. Several times Yukarii or Ayuka even have to shake her tent to have her arise. She rides listlessly int he saddle, obviously to the spring days around her.
Finally they reach Kingi, a town on the river Huang. A bustling market town, it isn't very big but a rough place full of farmers, porters and ferrymen int he river. It exports food on flat barges down the river to the bigger cities of Quain and Lingshen.
The road travels alongside the river, although the road is now more of a common country track, losing the fine stonework and well-kept quality.
You stand on a rise outside of the brown, low town.
Zheng felt like sh*t. Not just any old sh*t either, but some particularly unpleasant variant of the stuff. Otyugh feces perhaps. He felt like this because his mistress was evidently not feeling much better. The ninja considered himself more than a hired bodyguard. His entire clan revolved around dedicating oneself to these rare noble spirits, to help them rise to whatever lofty station that was rightfully theirs. Zheng was not content with transporting the party's cargo from point A to point B. He wanted to realize this woman. He wanted to be one small helpful stepping stone on her path to destiny. And that was why seeing her like this, so listless, destroyed him. One didn't typically fulfill one's destiny whilst sleepwalking; Lady Chyou recent behavior invalidated Zheng Xiaoyu.
The reasonable approach to solving this would of course be to speak to the woman. Which is why the idea could only be employed as an end-of-days like final solution. Etiquette was in many ways more important to the ninja than mere reason; it was not his place to instruct the young Lady how to conduct herself and so he wasn't going to do so. Clearly the whole affair with Bai had had some impact on her, so Zheng longed for some distraction to divert her thoughts and lift her spirits. The sight of Kingi was then a welcome one indeed for him. His own bleakness had not been immediately noticeable, being a fairly quiet and stoic person, but his eyes practically lit up at the sight.
A market town. Perhaps he could find some diversion for the Lady there. Was there perhaps some trinket she was fond of? Some refreshment? Music?
Xiaoyu though back to what he knew of the Zeng family. What had Lady Chyou amused herself with growing up in Goka...?
With the escape of Bai, Yukari felt some small relief, she hated to see the man be branded a criminal because he wouldn't accept the ladies answer. She just wished he hadn't broken the cell door on the way out. It even had the added effect of quieting Lady Chyou down so she wasn't quite so bossy. Still, after a few days of this the aasimar began to worry about their charge, she'd assumed that Chyou would come out of her funk on her own but, when that didn't work, she decided that something would have to be done. On the night before they reached Kingi, Yukaari went and took the food into Lady Chyou's tent.
When they reached Kingi Yukarii looked down at the town and said, "That place looks...interesting. Do you think that we should just ride in or would we be better off sending someone ahead to check for trouble?"
Xiaoyu racks his brain, thinking of any rumors or gossip he had heard in Goka. She had been a private woman, he knew that, reserved and quiet, everything a noblewoman was supposed to be. Thinking back, he seemed to recall she had a thrill of painting, both doing it herself and admiring the works (lesser and greater) of the cities large cadre of artists.
Ayuka was concerned about Lady Chyou as everyone in their group was. However, the last thing the samurai wanted to do was talk about feelings so she focused on keeping them safe on the road. When Kingi came into view, she had conflicting feelings. More people meant it was harder to control the surroundings which she wasn't thrilled about but a larger center meant they may be able to find something to take Lady Chyou's mind off of Bai.
"That place looks...interesting. Do you think that we should just ride in or would we be better off sending someone ahead to check for trouble?"
"It may be difficult to make sure the whole of Kingi is safe before us entering. It would probably be best if we stuck together. Maybe we can find a proper inn for Lady Chyou-san to gain proper rest."
Otrov couldn't agree more about them sticking together. Though he knew the benefit of separating when the time was right, he knew that with his limited knowledge of this country he would likely make a fool of himself and get himself arrested or worse. He grinned down at the plant at his side, happy that even though he was in a foreign land he still had one constant at his side.
"So are inns different here, or do they still look like inns?" Otrov asked, not realizing when he asked the question that there would be no one to answer it for him effectively, as none of them knew what inns on the other continent looked like. "And weren't we also looking for transportation?" He paused for a second trying to remember a conversation that he honestly hadn't really been paying that close of attention to. "And there was something about traveling by land or sea, did we ever decide on that one?" He was ready to start poking holes in whichever plan the party chose, mostly to help strengthen it by having a critical eye, but also just to see people squirm when their half formed ideas were asked to hold water.
"It may be difficult to make sure the whole of Kingi is safe before us entering. It would probably be best if we stuck together. Maybe we can find a proper inn for Lady Chyou-san to gain proper rest."
"Mmhm," murmured Xiaoyu, seemingly lost in thought whilst looking over the city.
"Yes. We should stick together. Far safer that way. Yes. Lady Chyou does seem in need of a night's rest in a bed that can't be rolled up and slung over one shoulder. Let's see if we can find an appropriate inn."
With his sentiments conveyed, it was then rather suspicious when immediately after finding said inn the ninja told the party that he had to step out for a bit, alone.
"Sorry, I won't be long. There's something I need to find. A matter of... provision."
And out he went, into the streets of Kingi.
In the busy streets of Kingi few took any note of Xiaoyu the ninja but he was there never the less, prowling about for his chosen target. In his mundane working class clothes, with his head held low and his bearing suggesting someone too occupied for anyone else, people’s gazes rolled off him like water off a duck’s back. This was his preferred method of stealth. There were several schools of thought when it came to the art of stealth, surprising many not familiar with the discipline. There was the idea of simply sticking to cover and going unseen, a method favored by many of his kind. There was the method employed by more charismatic swindlers, of insinuating and charming themselves into any environment, allowing them to walk openly without the observer knowing their true identity or intent. And then there was the practice employed by Zheng at the moment: blend into the background. Appear so painfully ordinary that no-one questions you being there. He liked operating in this manner; it let him avoid interacting with anyone and gave him plenty of time to observe. And observation was his intent on this fine spring morning slowly slipping into noon. The ninja had been roaming around the town looking for something and he thought that he had found it now: the finest tattoo parlor in a hundred mile radius.
Granted, this promotion didn’t actually mean much. Firstly, the party’s travels had by now taken them far enough from the greater cities that the rainwater-filled pothole Zheng just stepped over probably qualified as the best bathhouse in a hundred mile radius. And secondly, the dingy building housed the only tattoo parlor in Kingi. Zheng knew; he had checked. It was his impression that its proprietor was not the only tattooist in town, but he was the only one eking a living solely from his art. This made the proprietor the most prolific tattooist around and, Zheng hoped, the most skilled.
Now if only he is the most magnanimous one too, he thought, the request he was about to ask the establishment’s owner in mind, as he stepped into what the faded sign over the door proclaimed to be The Kirin’s Needle.
The proprietor was a man by the name of Irezuma, and he turned out to be very indicative of his parlor. The building’s interior was just as old and shabby as its exterior, descriptors that could as easily be applied to its owner; the man was no spring chicken. He was slight of build, fitting nicely into the small parlor, with wiry limbs exposed from under a simple sleeveless tunic. Said limbs… Zheng didn’t know what to make of them initially. They were a mess. Physically, there was nothing wrong with them; Irezuma seemed as healthy as a man his age could hope to be, but his skin was marred to say the least. He was deeply tanned, to the point that he was more leather than skin. The surface of this leather was lined with age, displaying a spider web of crisscrossing groves, and on top of this were the tattoos. Oh gods, the tattoos. As a tattooist Zheng felt practically offended. While their canvas was poor the tattoos themselves were miserable in their mediocrity. Irezuma had upward of a hundred of them, all small and clearly done by different artists over many years. They competed for space on the old man, some even overlapping. There was no cohesion to them, no artistic vision. The chaos was a travesty in the ninja’s eyes, doubly so in the dusky light of the parlor.
"Can I help you?"
Zheng looked up. Perhaps he had let his distaste show, because the man was scowling at the young stranger.
"I’m hoping so, yes. Good day. You are Irezuma?"
"Who wants to know? It is customary to introduce oneself first, you know."
"Apologies. I am Xiaoyu," he replied, choosing to withhold his family name.
"Hmmph. Well? What do you want?"
Zheng realized that the tattooist wasn't actually scowling. Well, not exactly. This seemed to simply be his default expression. The old man isn’t the type to let me butter him up first… Better to just jump straight to it, I suppose.
"I have a proposition for you. I..."
"Piss off."
"... Excuse me?"
"I ain’t buyin’ whatever you’re selling. Come in here with a ‘proposition’? No, you’re wrong. You’re all wrong. Get out. I don’t need you or your business. Out."
Zheng did not go out. In fact, he did the opposite. He approached the older man whilst reaching into his bag, a gesture that Irezuma took for a threat. He was almost off his stool and about to grab a tattooing needle, either to stab the intruder or simply to threaten him. Zheng would never know which, because the second the ninja dropped his cargo onto the nearest desk the old man froze. Zheng had retrieved his own tattooing tools, a set that the trained eye immediately recognized as a superior example. These were not the tools of an amateur. What’s more was that although it was well maintained, it was undeniably also well used. With these instruments he also laid out multiple thin pieces of carved wood of varying sizes; they were woodblock stencils. Woodblock stencils were used for copying tattoo designs, although typically not entire tattoos. The individual artist added his own touches and imagery, but the small collection in front of Irezuma depicted roiling clouds, crashing waves, dancing onis, coiling dragons and more. Really, they only had one thing in common: they were all absolutely gorgeous.
This got Irezuma's attention. The old man froze in place at the sight and let his eyes, and after a minute his fingers, wander over the art pieces. Zheng had his doubt about the man's own skill, but he was clearly able to recognize the aptitude of others when he saw it.
"These... These are...?"
"My proposition," said the ninja, somewhat curtly. "I would like to give these to you, for you to use in your own designs. Additionally, I would be willing to create more woodcuts at your behest, whatever imagery you wish, as long as I am in town."
Irezuma's astonished scowl broke into a more distrustful scowl. It was hardly customary for tattooists to share their woodcuts among strangers, and these would undoubtedly do much to improve his own art.
"... And for this I give you what?"
Well, here goes. No turning back now. Let's see if this is the dumbest idea I've ever had, or merely the second-dumbest.
"I want you to help me arrange an art exhibit."
This was Zheng's design. Pained by Lady Chyou's recent melancholy he was determined to cheer her up somehow. And seeing that their opposed stations of mistress and servant made it impossible for him to simply talk to her, his only resource was his previous knowledge of the Zeng clan. He recalled that Chyou greatly enjoyed paintings, both admiring and dabbling in the art, but had originally dismissed the thought. It had seemed a useless piece of information initially. After all, Kingi was not exactly the great cultural center of Tian Xia. The town was as likely to house an art gallery as an ant hill was to feature a Caydenite temple. No, this train of thought was at first dismissed as useless.
Except then he realized. There was a visual art form that flourished among the common man. Something that he could reasonably expect to find in a market town like Kingi. Tattoos. Surely there was a tattoo parlor in the town. This artistic subculture was one very familiar to Xiaoyu due to his own vocation, but was by many considered lowbrow, even taboo. An idea now formed in his mind. A treacherous, fiendishly audacious idea: would Lady Chyou perhaps enjoy his art? Zheng wrestled with the question. Surely she was too refined to acknowledge tattooing as an art form. But on the other hand he himself truly believed it to be wholly valid, and he believed in her; he wouldn't be serving her if he didn't. Perhaps she would be discerning enough to recognize the quality in excellent examples? What potential negative repercussions could there be? That she would dismiss the idea and think ill of him? Zheng didn't particularly care what she thought of him. Pride was meaningless in the service of his clan. As long as he could continue to serve Lady Chyou she was free to hate him if she so pleased. He cared for her; her reciprocation was a privilege, not a given.
"HA HA HA HA HA HA," came Irezuma's barking laughter.
"You want to what," the older man continued once he had recovered. "You want to use my humble little studio as an exhibition hall? For what? Why?"
Somehow the man's laughter stung Zheng. He had expected to be dismissed, not laughed at. At least the man's scowl had finally dissipated.
"I want you to help me arrange an exhibit. Help me make full scale paper stencils for display, showcase whatever of your own work you consider worthy, and use your contacts among the town's tattoo enthusiasts to round up some live models if possible. Anyone with notable work to display."
"Heh. He he heh. I dunno. Sounds like a pain."
"I don't intend for you to close up shop for this. A matter of two hours or so, preferably later in the day. Tomorrow, if possible. The exhibit will last no longer. Furthermore, there will be only a single spectator, an acquaintance of mine."
Irezuma scratched his leathery chin. For a second he seemed to find the conditions for the proposal more intriguing than the proposal itself. It was certainly curious. And not without reward for himself. Would give him something to do too. After all, it wasn't like the business was booming.
"Alright, Xiaoyu. You've got yerself a deal."
The ninja breathed a sight born of equal relief and horror. They were really going through with this. Gods help them.
"Only... These models; when you say 'notable' work, what do you mean exactly? Because I've got a buddy who's genitals are painted to look like an elephant, and I'd say that's pretty notable."
"... I'm going to have to veto some of these models."
"So are inns different here, or do they still look like inns?"
Ayuka gave him a confused look, "What would an inn be if not a place where you pay for a place to stay for the night?"
tag Otrov ?
"And weren't we also looking for transportation?" He paused for a second trying to remember a conversation that he honestly hadn't really been paying that close of attention to. "And there was something about traveling by land or sea, did we ever decide on that one?"
"We had chosen land over sea; however, we could potentially travel down the river now that we've reached Kingi. I for one would still prefer to stay on land."
tag everyone
Once they had gotten settled at the inn, Ayuka barely batted an eye when Xiaoyu excused himself. She nodded in acknowledgment and stayed on protective detail over Lady Chyou until he returned.
Once they had reached the inn and gotten their rooms Yukarii slipped into her to change outfits. When she came out she had donned a kimono and the manners of a noblewoman's maid in waiting, the only thing marring the outfit was that she still had the black silk collar on, and went to Chyou's room. She knocked and awaited permission to enter and once she did entered, slid the door closed behind her, and bowed deeply saying, "Lady Chyou-sama, my apologies for the delay, I needed to freshen up and change before coming to serve you." She rose then and asked, "What do you need of my?" Of particular interest about her just now was the fact that the glowing rune on her head was gone though she had brought her pack and set it aside.