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Rhon Tai's page

26 posts. Alias of downrightamazed.


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Rhon gives Kyras a pained look, but in the end he nods to the Warbanian. "I do not wish to leave you two here, but my first duty is to the princess. Please hurry." The scholar then dashes up the stairs and out of the room.


Rhon looks around the room. "Well, shall we? The day wears on, and if we are to speak at the university, I can't imagine we've a great deal of time. Eru, you should come with me for now. Madame Curator, I hope your temple is safe, and that I may see you in good spirits this evening. Sifu San Pen, I hope also to see you in similarly good spirits." The elf gives a tentative smile.

"Master Erodal, Azami-san, please lead the way. Let us speak."


Rhon gives Kyras a significant look. There appears to be an understanding of some sort between the rogue scholar and the gaijin.

Kyras only:
Rhon takes your point, and will accompany you.

The elf then nods at the younger noblewoman, his eyebrows raised in appreciation. "That's good Eru. I had suspected something similar, but this lends credence to that theory, more than I would have given it. I doubt they would attack tonight or tomorrow night, however, since they know the city -- and especially the palace -- will already be on high alert for the state dinners. After that, though..." Rhon trails off.

"I am all for departing now, and meeting tomorrow with fresh perspective and information, but I do feel Imuri-san has a point about planning for this evening. I fear that with the Black Dragonflight so present tonight, if we aren't on the lookout and watching each others' backs, some of us might not be around for tea at the temple tomorrow." He frowns. "We know Kyras is the major target, even if we don't know exactly why. We also know Eru is -- as has been mentioned -- a target of opportunity. We also suspect collusion with criminal syndicates internal to the Empire. I will be seeking out Deinor Maren. Leave him to me. I feel the most significant things we need deal with at the state dinner tonight are the following: 1, to be sure we have a safe place to which we can rush Kyras should he come under attack, as much for his own sake as any other concern. 2, to decide how much San Pen, Tokine, and Imuri should expose the Dragonflight to the assembled nobles in the dining hall tonight. Do we attempt such a thing? Is it worth it? Is it even possible? My command of Imperial Protocol is, I fear, not up to the task of deciding these things and I look to you for assistance."


"It is not in Naradil's nature to feel, your highness. But no; none of them know anything, except perhaps Ghar, the extent of whose knowledge is always impossible to divine, both for better and for worse."


Rhon closes his eyes, making a pained expression. "Erudima, no, I'm sorry, I-"


The air in Swift's erstwhile safehouse is suddenly thick with accusations and suspicions and admonishments, both real and imagined. From outside can be heard the distinct *SMEK* of a punch connecting with thick goblinoid flesh.

Rhon winces, then clears his throat.

"Regardless of anything else, Imuri-san is correct about one thing for certain; the Empire is in grave, grave danger, and will need the abilities of all its greatest champions to save it, including the five of you, though I confess I do not know everything about the role Azami and Kyras, here, are to play aside from, er, bait." The simultaneously bookish and roguish elf gives an embarrassed smile to the two gaijin. He then pushes his glasses back up his nose and gives a resigned sigh, the kind that typically precedes some great personal disclosure.

"As for information, I will begin; while Erudima's vision and quest are all real and sincere, I confess that my motivations for coming here go far, far beyond simply guarding a friend, and a noble from the great city of Mamban, though I call that place my home at the moment. I am here partially on a mission of vengeance. There is an elven woman called Kylara, and she is one of the greatest thieves alive, an acrobat of supernatural grace and skill. She recently...stole...something...from me and I believe she is here in Lanzhu. What she stole is extremely dangerous; it is a dragonstone, one of the artifacts said to be able to grant magicians of a certain status control over dragonkind, or certain types of dragons, I..." The rogue scholar falters for just a moment. "...I confess I do not know much of the particulars. Lore on this artifact is well-nigh impossible to find. I speak from experience. What she intends to do with the dragonstone, well, I have a few guesses, and none of them are good. You can imagine what a powerful shugenja could do with such an item while so many dragons are gathered here. That is one concern, but unfortunately it is the least."

Rhon gathers himself. "My fear is that Kylara has a buyer for the dragonstone, and that this buyer has designs on one of two things; to control the Eastern dragons, hitherto uninvolved in this war, but whose great power could easily turn the tide, or -- far worse -- to attempt to control Stonegard, who dwells in the mountains to the north, and is one of the Three Great Red Dragons, Felltouch and Frostbane being the other two. If Stonegard's will were not his own..." Rhon just shudders.

"Madame Curator mentioned Deinor, and his connection with The Uniter, the First Emperor Chan. I was trying to get information from him but he...he has some skill with glamer when given time to prepare, it seems, for I was able to get precious little from him. But I believe Kylara and he serve the same master, and I would speak with him again tonight, only this time I will be prepared to counter his magics."

Rhon squares his shoulders. "The other part of my mission in coming here is odder, but no less dire. In assistance to Sir Korius Merit, Captain of the Host of Iomedae, General of Izmir, and leader of the Paladine who dwell in that place, I seek one of the 12 Abominations of the Archmage Marianasu. I believe one of them to be here. Unfortunately that mission is difficult, and may well see me here long after my companions have left, I fear."


Rhon also bows to Imuri, and the rest of the group, and then looks up at Kyras. "We need to get to the bottom of why there's so much trouble over you, friend."


At the Temple:
At the conclusion of lunch, Rhon is the first to stand.

"Well. I believe we should be going. Have a couple things to attend to in the market district, and I know that Kyras-san was to be 'received' at the palace with the rest of you." He gives a wry look to Yohei and Azami. "We will be on our way, but plan to be in Lanzhu for a couple more days. Hopefully we may speak again before our time here is ended and we begin the return journey west."


*facepalm*


At the temple:

Rhon seems mortified. "Eru, really?"


At the Shoto city house:

When Asago brushes up on Rhon, the scholar says "Oh. Excuse me, terribly sorry." and moves his shoulder out of the way. When presented with a girl of similar...qualities...Rhon's eyebrows shoot up in surprise and he looks at you. "Noble Imuri-san, I fear I may have accidentally deceived you. I will accept this gift if you wish it so, and I do so with many humble thanks and all possible gratitude that you would find me worthy of so noble a gesture, but it should be known that I am not of House del Solarian. I suppose it has not come up in our conversation, so it is completely understandable how you could assume such a thing given my friendship with the young princess, but I am not a noble of Erudima's house, or any of the great Houses of the city-state of Mamban, for that matter. I am from the woods, and while of a certain stature amongst my own people, concepts of nobility, I have found, do not translate as directly as one might hope from one elven society to another, and then to different races. This is by way of saying I do not believe my status earns me a gift such as this, all equivalencies considered, but I will certainly accept it if it is your will. She seems...er...quite useful."

DC22 Sense Motive:
Rhon seems to have no idea what to do with this girl.

The elf settles back into his chair. "I have mentioned how lovely this tea is, have I not? It is, in a word, stupendous." He takes a drink and then looks at you mildly, suddenly seeming quite alien for reasons you would find difficult to articulate. After Eru speaks, Rhon chimes in; "I, personally, am quite interested to see who strikes what bargain with which faction, if any. I have resigned myself to certain likelihoods based on the information at hand, but hope, as they say, springs eternal."


Earlier, At The shoto City House:
Rhon smiles at Imuri. "Time! Indeed. Even being elven I, too, feel the pinch of time, lending urgence to my deeds, especially in these days when, as you say, dragons come forth seeking allegiances. Tell me, Imuri-san, hypothetically speaking, what would one hope for from an alliance with a black dragon?"


At Tea:
Rhon rolls his eyes. "Settle down, Banad, You have to admit you blew your entrance big time. Don't take your frustration with yourself out on us. And Madame Curator is a cleric, you idiot, her weapon is sacred, not just a stick with a big knife on the end. Or did the bells escape your notice, Journeyman? How will Milisandria react when I tell her you-"


Rhon's eyes go wide and he barks out his companions' names. "Earanthil! Gilly! Protection, no blood!"


Rhon nods at the Princess' words, then looks back at his noble host. "Tell me, Samurai; are the spiders in your house's mon a specific kind? Or just a generalization, a metaphor, a...a conceptual spider, if you will, and not one that represents spiders qua spiders." He leans forward, his fingers steepled under his chin. "...because the idea fascinates me."


At the Shoto city house, earlier:

Rhon looks at the new musician with frank appraisal; a look not of prurient or romantic interest so much as a farmer evaluating livestock, or a fighter evaluating an opponent. His eyes linger only long enough to complete this survey, then return to focusing on Imuri's words, and the exceptional tea he is drinking. He speaks not, but nods when the princess asks her questions and looks expectantly at his host.


Shoto Imuri wrote:
"...the suggestion that the Princess wear an open kimono to high court."

Rhon placed his cup near his mouth and inhaled deeply, but took no drink. As Imuri speaks, he in fact lowers the cup ever-so-slightly. As Erudima splutters and coughs, the rogue scholar gives Imuri a small and knowing smile.

"Indeed." he intones, then takes a small sip of his tea. His eyes never leave Imuri's as he does so, though he gazes not threateningly, but questingly. The scholar is seeking knowledge, the rogue is seeking leverage.


Rhon sits back lightly and scrutinizes every single detail of everything Imuri does, obviously cataloging every motion and nuance for later consideration -- clearly this is something he is used to doing. His eyes deviate not a bit from his task at hand, even as Eru speaks and continues to look distractedly about.

When Imuri mentions Bushido, Rhon's eyes suddenly narrow, but he says nothing.


Rhon gives Eru a significant look, then glances around the table, aware of the extreme and unfortunate awkwardness of what was transpiring. He sighs. "In the end, Ros- er, Azami...we know only the following; two months ago your father was contracted to take a shipment of weapons and armor east around the cape and through Katapesh to help arm H'arun. This was an extremely dangerous voyage, and he knew it. House del Solarian bankrolled it and provided warriors to help protect the ship. There are privateers, you see, allied with the black dragonflight, led by Erinyes in many cases and in league with the...fouler...creatures of the deep, and these privateers, these pirates, have been waylaying ships, sometimes destroying them, sometimes not, sometimes slaying the crew, and sometimes...not."

He pauses. "Your father's ship never arrived in Katapesh. Faradwenni boatsmen spotted him last approaching the Isla des las Mil Voces, that accursed place, but then he did not pass the Straits of Faradwenn. No wreckage was found, nothing -- no one -- washed ashore. They simply vanished."

Rhon looks Azami in the eyes. "I know it doesn't seem like much, but there is still hope; hope that he and possibly others still live, stranded on an island, simply waiting for a Faradwenni guard group or fishing party, or another ship, to come within hailing distance."

"There...there is still that hope."


Tokine Nagano wrote:


Tokine lays her hand on Rhon's arm to stop him. "No please...they did no wrong...as I said, matters would have been worse had they not interfered by crossing your word. I am greatly indebted to them as is Izumi, who would have died if I could not reach her in time. Actually.... I would have likely died as well, as their were nearly a dozen of them. Please do not be cross with them...they were my...saviors..yesterday. Her tone had taken on a slow wispy quality, but see ends with a shake and a humorous smile, "And although they did not like to hear me say it, I saw some beauty through their rough exteriors."

Rhon sighs with plainly evident relief, then shares in the laugh. "I would be too terrified to tell Gwen or Naradil, but Fezza. Heh. Fezza I think would be quite flattered, loathe though she might be to admit it."


Rhon also looks at Azami, empathy clear on his face and compassion in his voice when he says "...oh by the Hunter's bow. Why now..."


Rhon sighs and looks at Eru. "He does not look like a Shadowborn. You just think that because they are the only tengu you know. You've never met the Frostborn, or the Woodswards, or any of the other tribes..." He smiles at the young princess with obvious brotherly affection. "...though I have no doubt you will."


Tokine Nagano wrote:
Rhon Tai wrote:
Earlier, before tea "Please. Nagano-sama. These...brutal gaijin. Were they a man and two women? The man would have been a big half-elf, an archer..."
"That was them..They obeyed my wishes for no blood within the temple..and did defend the temple at a time when it was nearly defenseless. But their methods were ...brutal. So you know them? They said they expected to find someone here. I thought they meant you..be that that for good or ill."

"Yes. Those were Naradil, Gwen and Fezza. They are...well they belong to Earanthil, really, but Earanthil's whole team -- those three, Gilly, Earanthil and Ghar -- are currently retained as Eru's protection on this journey. Trust me when I say that were it not for them, we would not be here right now. But traveling with them is...quite trying. Madame Curator I am so sorry, if they behaved at all inappropriately. I told them no trouble in the city walls, but apparently that is too much for them to handle. I will have Earanthil speak with them." He looks over at where the pretty-boy sorcerer is sitting, causing poor Akiko fits as she tries to flirt with both him and Kyras at the same time.


Earlier, before tea

Rhon hangs back to speak with Tokine, looking more horrified with every passing moment as she describes the events of yesterday. When she speaks of the "anonymous donor" he looks at her over his glasses, gratitude and concern both plain on his face. He gives her a smile, though it is tinged with worry.

Then, as she finishes, Rhon looks suddenly as if he'd been slapped. "A trio of...oh no. Oh those idiots!" he hisses under his breath. He turns to look at Tokine. "Please. Nagano-sama. These...brutal gaijin. Were they a man and two women? The man would have been a big half-elf, an archer..."


Rhon has had a look of concentration on his face, and as everyone is seated he looks at Tokine and says "So...so there was an...attack, here? Is this okay for me to say out loud? Is that what happened? The streets outside our inn were buzzing with stories of strange things happening last night; winged tengu, " here he favors Yohei with a significant look, "undead in the streets, grey-clad ninja moving about in large groups, and of course the constant talk about all of us gaijin. 'So many gaijin!' they say. So many."

Can't recall if you told Rhon about the attack on your temple at the State Dinner last night, Tokine...


"I learned a few things, Madame Curator." Rhon says, giving Tokine a significant look. "Hopefully you and Sifu San Pen and I can speak of them later." He smiles at her, and says "But that can wait. First, what happened here? There are guards posted outside and there is blood in the street though the cleaners, it seems, will have that wiped away presently."