- Mateyo was sent by the leaders of a Minkaian resistance organisation to watch over Jiro.
- The PCs have tried to make it appear that the second assassination attempt against Jiro was successful. Jiro is going on the run in the wilderness with a few warrior companions, in case the regime in Minkai discovers that he is not dead.
- In an attempt to deflect some suspicion from the caravan, the PCs who were most obvious and recognisable in their defence of Jiro have been arrested by Batsaikhar on various charges such as affray and disobeying the city guard. Officially, these PCs are still in prison (actually, they have ‘escaped’). Meanwhile, Sandru has hired some replacement caravan guards. Time for another round of new identities...
- Princess Batsaikhar has agreed (for now, at least) not to declare war on Minkai.
- Mateyo is travelling with the caravan to help the PCs get past the border. Going through the check-point will have the advantage that the travellers can be issued with identity papers there. There may be some disadvantages. The alternative is to take a longer route through the Forest of Spirits, a place that the oni apparently dislike.
In which rabbit may have been disguised
The caravan travelled onwards across the steppes and plains of Hongal. Toshi spent much of the time inside his wagon, brewing potions. Olaf also shut himself away for a while. When he emerged, he set his hawk Kala free - the faerie dragon Azu-Bemphi had now become Olaf’s familiar.
After more than a month of travel, the caravan left Hongal and took the coastal road alongside the Forest of Spirits. The travellers started noticing rectangular indentations in the ground at the side of the road every ten miles. Curious, they stopped near one of the indentations and searched for tracks. They found markings that suggested a heavy object had been dragged away from the road into the forest. Some of the travellers left the road to follow these marks. They found a milestone concealed amid the undergrowth. Lahja started to pick up the milestone to find out how heavy it was, and she was hit on the helmet by a pebble thrown from nearby. The travellers noticed a small creature hiding behind a tree. It had a blocky humanoid shape but seemed to be made out of stone.
Lahja quickly explained that she wasn’t trying to take the milestone. The travellers introduced themselves. The creature said that it was a kami and the guardian of the milestone. It had removed the milestone because the road had fallen under the control of evil powers. “The road is no longer free to be itself.”
“If we encounter these evil creatures, fear not,” Shinji said. “We will deal with them.”
The kami nodded to the travellers and disappeared, seeming to merge into the milestone.
After several more days, the caravan encountered a small group of Minkaian merchants travelling in the opposite direction on the road. The merchants were escorted by a group of uniformed soldiers. While the caravan made way for the soldiers and merchants to pass, Tomoko greeted the captain and explained that the caravan was travelling from Hongal to Minkai. “I advise you to stay on the road,” the captain said. “The forest is haunted by spirits and other dangers. It is no place for ordinary travellers. I wish you good fortune on your journey.” He rode forward past the caravan.
“Icky but polite,” muttered Lahja. “I bet he thinks he’s honourable.”
As the caravan made camp for the night, an owl landed on a branch in a tree at the edge of the forest. “Who-who,” it said.
“Hello!” Lahja said to the owl.
“Who?” said the owl.
“We’re looking for new friends!” said Lahja.
“Who-who,” said the owl, and flew to a tree slightly further into the forest.
Lahja followed the owl. Skygni followed Lahja. Tomoko, Shinji and Toshi quickly collected their gear and followed as well. Mateyo joined the travellers.
Flying from branch to branch, the owl led them deeper into the forest. They arrived at a clearing. The way into the clearing was blocked by a tall wooden gate. The owl landed on top of the gate.
A suit of armour appeared, floating in front of the gate. Gradually, long robes became visible within the armour, and finally the figure also gained a face and hands. Shinji recognised this being as a zuishin kami, guardian of gates and doorways.
“Why are you here?” the kami asked.
“There are bad people doing bad things and we want to stop them,” Lahja said.
“We believe Minkai has fallen under the control of evil spirits,” Shinji said. “We wish to fight them and defend those who are being harmed by them.”
“Strangely enough,” said Toshi, “what my cousin said.”
“Intense curiosity,” Tomoko said.
“I go with Lahja,” Skygni said.
Mateyo stood some distance behind the others and did not respond to the kami’s question.
The doors of the gate slowly swung back, and the zuishin kami stepped aside. The travellers walked into the clearing. In the moonlight, the grass, trees and patches of unseasonable snow all seemed to be awake. “Greetings, noble spirits,” said Shinji.
Whispering voices from every direction told of trees being destroyed and a mountain that needed to be defended. “Where are the trees being destroyed?” Tomoko asked.
“Towards the rising sun,” the voices replied.
“And where is the mountain?”
“Towards the snow and the sun.”
The travellers offered to help as best they could. Somehow, it seemed that the grass, trees and patches of snow were all bowing. From among the undergrowth stepped a tiny ancient humanoid creature, dressed as a warrior, with a twig growing from the top of his head. He carried a bonsai pine-tree. “I am Akumi. I will go with you and help if I can.”
The doors of the gate swung closed, and then the gate itself vanished. The travellers now seemed to be in an ordinary moonlit clearing, with a bonsai pine-tree on the ground nearby. They picked up the bonsai and started walking back through the forest.
Tomoko asked Mateyo if any of her people lived nearby. “I can show you the way to a settlement not far from here,” Mateyo replied.
“I’ll return to the caravan and tell Auntie Safa that we’ll be away for a bit longer,” Tomoko said. Then she turned into a fox and darted through the forest.
“Was that meant to happen?” asked Lahja.
When Tomoko returned, the travellers set up camp for the night. Mateyo woke them well before sunrise. “We have to visit the settlement at either dawn or dusk,” he explained. He led them through the forest. In the greyish light of dawn, the travellers saw a small village in a clearing. Some people walked out of the cottages. They looked like Minkaian humans dressed in peasant clothing. But sometimes - when the travellers blinked or glanced sideways for a moment - the villagers seemed more like foxes. Skygni remained outside the clearing.
Tomoko greeted the villagers, who welcomed the travellers. In an elaborate traditional ceremony, the villagers served tea. The tea was accompanied by raw rabbit.
During this meal, the villagers talked to Tomoko about the dangers to the forest. Storm-Anchor Mountain, also known as ‘the Blazing Heart’, was a place of great significance to the forest and had once been guarded by a powerful kami. But this kami abandoned its duties and the mountain had since become dormant and vulnerable. Also, the forest was being cleared near the Minkaian border. The Minkaian authorities seemed to be trying to establish new farms and settlements. The villagers gave Tomoko directions to the mountain and to the border region.
Toshi and Shinji were both eating rabbit rather cautiously. “Forgive us,” said one of the villagers. “You may not be accustomed to our food.”
A beautiful Minkaian woman dressed in the clothing of a high-ranking noble walked out from one of the cottages. She carried a platter of delicacies to Shinji and exchanged proverbs with him.
A pretty young Minkaian woman dressed as a kitchen worker served fried crumbed rabbit to Toshi and talked to him about cooking techniques and spices.
A handsome Minkaian lad brought a wide variety of food to Lahja.
As the meal continued, Toshi happened to notice Mateyo standing at the edge of the clearing - sometimes he looked human, and sometimes he had the head and tail of a silver fox.
Once the meal was over, Shinji spoke quietly to Tomoko. “The greatest power of your people is to show us how we really are.” Tomoko seemed unimpressed by this. She turned to a villager and asked if she could see inside one of the dwellings. She was shown into a small cottage and looked around at the snug dry burrow lined with pine needles. “It’s so homey... I’d love to stay here.”
The travellers thanked the villagers for their hospitality, and the villagers returned to their cottages. Soon afterwards, the sun rose fully above the surrounding trees, and the clearing appeared to be featureless apart from the entrances to several burrows hidden among the bracken. The travellers were left with just a lingering aftertaste of tea and raw rabbit.
- The kami and kitsune of the Forest of Spirits have told the PCs of two threats to the forest. The greatest mountain within the forest has been abandoned by its guardian and is now “vulnerable”, and the regime in Minkai has been felling trees near the border to make way for farmland and new settlements.
- The PCs have a new companion: a kami named Akumi who guards a bonsai pine-tree.
In which beautiful women appear suddenly out of the forest
“I hope the hospitality of my people did not disturb you,” Mateyo said to the travellers as they continued walking through the forest towards Storm-Anchor Mountain. “Those of us who live for a long time in the Forest of Spirits become a little more like spirits ourselves. Instead of being one thing or the other, they can be both at once, and their customs follow ancient ways...”
“Their food was good!” said Lahja.
A few hours later, some of the travellers noticed a faint smell of smoke on the wind. The scent of the smoke suggested a forest fire, so the travellers started walking more quickly in the direction the wind was blowing from. Then Toshi stopped suddenly. “Hello,” he said. “Who are you?”
“Toshi?” asked Tomoko. “There’s no one there.”
“That’s very interesting,” said Toshi, “but I didn’t catch your name.”
“You’re icky!” said Lahja. “Stop it. Stop it!”
“Would that work?” Toshi asked. “I’m an alchemist, not a- Ow!”
Tomoko had taken out her sap and had hit Toshi on the back of his head.
“What the-? Ow! Stop, I’m trying to talk to the- Ow!”
Shinji had borrowed Tomoko’s second-best sap, and eventually Toshi collapsed into unconsciousness.
The other travellers watched over Toshi closely during the night - he seemed to sleep more restlessly than usual. When he woke up the next morning, he reached quickly for a pen and paper. “You’re still icky,” said Lahja. “Stop it!” She cast protection from evil on him.
Toshi stood still and spoke to someone no one else could see. “You invaded my mind without my permission. I do not want you to travel with us.”
After that, Toshi seemed to return to normal. However, as the travellers continued walking, Toshi was occasionally overheard muttering. “Carbon, sulphur and... something. Pepper? No, that’s not right...”
The travellers continued through the forest and reached a wide path. There were clear tracks going in both directions: a group of booted humanoid footprints accompanying the marks of a horse and cart heading northwards, and two sets of footprints going south slightly more recently. The travellers decided to follow the southbound tracks first. The two people they were trailing seemed to be walking slowly and somewhat erratically.
Once the travellers had nearly caught up, Tomoko changed into her fox form and went ahead. She saw two men in Minkaian uniforms. They each held a long stick to help them locate obstacles on the path - they were obviously both blind.
Tomoko transformed herself back into human form. “Hello!” she said.
The two soldiers were startled by the sound of her voice, but did their best to pretend they could see her.
Toshi approached the soldiers from one side of the path. “I’m over here,” he said in a reassuring tone. “I’m not carrying any weapons.”
“I am!” Lahja said brightly from behind the soldiers.
The soldiers said they were returning to their encampment on the coastal road. They refused to speak of their mission, but warned the travellers to beware of beautiful women appearing suddenly out of the forest. They tried to avoid admitting that they were blind, but they did accept a stronger pair of sticks that Toshi offered them.
The travellers turned around and followed the tracks that led northwards. Just before nightfall, they reached a small side path that went up to a shrine of Irori. The travellers decided to explore it. The shrine had been abandoned, and Tomoko found a grave that seemed to have been dug up recently. The travellers agreed that this was not a promising sign. Moments later, they heard something moving through the forest towards them. A corpselike figure dressed in tattered, earth-stained robes hopped into the clearing that surrounded the shrine. Attached to the creature's forehead was a strip of paper marked with symbols.
Toshi and Shinji barricaded themselves inside the shrine, while Lahja stayed outside to block the doorway, and Tomoko and Mateyo climbed onto the roof.
Shinji and Toshi shot arrows and threw bombs through the window. Tomoko and Mateyo shot arrows from the roof, and Lahja fought the undead creature while it tried to steal her breath. Eventually it was defeated and crumbled into dust. Tomoko quickly extinguished the smouldering pine needles in the area where Toshi’s bombs had fallen.
The travellers scattered the dust over the grave. The night passed peacefully.
The next morning, as they were walking along the path, some of the travellers heard a voice singing folk tunes and similar melodies. Tomoko played an accompaniment on her flute, and then held a conversation with someone who was invisible and inaudible to the other travellers. It seemed that the singer was interested in joining the travellers, but wandered off after a while into the forest.
Later that day, their path took them near a river, and the travellers noticed that a willow-tree had been cut down and partially burnt. A beautiful woman dressed in pale green robes appeared suddenly out of the forest. Tomoko greeted the woman respectfully. The woman told Tomoko that the tree had been cut down by a group of soldiers.
The travellers continued along the path, and after a few hours they met another beautiful woman in green. She introduced herself as the “Willow Woman” and offered her help against the soldiers. She followed the travellers, but mostly stayed out of sight among the trees.
Finally, the travellers caught up with the horse and cart. Tomoko went ahead to scout - she saw a group of soldiers surrounding the enclosed cart. Some of the soldiers were wearing blindfolds, and the others had similar knotted cloths around their necks, ready to be pulled up over their eyes. There were two people sitting at the front of the cart - they were dressed in gaudy, luxurious versions of officers’ uniforms, and also had cloths draped around their necks. Tomoko reported back to the other travellers, who then walked stealthily through the forest and surrounded the cart.
Lahja stepped suddenly out of the forest onto the path in front of the cart. “Blindfolds up!” shouted the officers. The soldiers raised their blindfolds, but the two officers did not. “Halt!” said one of the officers to Lahja. “Who are you?”
“How can I?” Lahja asked. “I’m not moving. Why are you icky?”
The officers quickly lost patience with Lahja’s attempt at negotiation and urged the horse forwards, apparently trying to run Lahja down. Tomoko loosed a “warning shot” at one of the officers, who responded by casting a lightning bolt at Lahja. Toshi threw nauseating bombs at the officers, and one of them turned invisible. Shinji managed to locate the invisible officer with arcane sight and glitterdust. The glittering outline moving slowly towards Toshi now had a cobra’s head instead of a humanoid one - it seemed that the two officers were rakshasas.
As the soldiers raised their blindfolds so they could aim arrows at Toshi and Shinji, the Willow Woman appeared suddenly out of the forest. Her unveiled beauty instantly blinded several of the soldiers.
After the travellers defeated the rakshasas and the soldiers, they opened the door to the cart and discovered a wounded, unconscious creature in chains. It had a stag-like body, with long horns and draconic scales. Tomoko and Shinji both recognised it from legends as a kirin. When Lahja touched the kirin and healed it, it immediately transformed into a gaseous shape and floated out of the cart. But a few moments later, it appeared on the path and spoke. “Forgive my rudeness. I was frightened and disoriented. Please accept my gratitude.”
- The Forest of Spirits (unsurprisingly) contains spirits. They can possess people, and some of them may not be entirely benevolent.
- The Willow Women are dryads and nymphs who protect the trees of the forest.
- The PCs have intercepted a group of Minkaian soldiers, led by two rakshasas, travelling towards Storm-Anchor Mountain with an injured, unconscious kirin in a cart.
In which Olaf reads the laws of Minkai
Meanwhile, the caravan continued its journey along the coastal road. One day, a caravan guard spotted two uniformed men on the road, walking slowly and carrying sticks to help them find their way.
Olaf went ahead to speak to the two men. “Hello! Couldn’t help noticing that you can’t see.”
“We’re fine,” the soldiers replied.
Olaf could not persuade them to say much, but they did mention being helped several days ago by a group of travellers in the forest.
Later, the caravan reached a small encampment of Minkaian soldiers on the road. Olaf told their captain about the two blinded soldiers the caravan had passed. The captain thanked Olaf for the information, and then Olaf overheard the captain saying something to his subordinates about “message” and “the colonel”. Soon afterwards, a couple of riders set off from the encampment and headed along the road to Minkai.
Several days later, the caravan passed a larger group of Minkaian soldiers riding in the opposite direction.
After many more days of travel, Sandru announced that according to his maps they would soon reach the border crossing. Sandru reminded everyone of what Mateyo had said: the wagons were likely to be searched, and people who seemed to be something more than ordinary members of a merchant caravan would attract suspicion.
Zaiobe - who had previously stayed hidden whenever the caravan was in populated areas - decided that she would not risk the border crossing. She offered to find a way around the checkpoint and carry any items that would be best not discovered by the Minkaian authorities. Olaf asked Azu-Bemphi to go with Zaiobe, and he lent them a handy haversack. After a brief internal struggle, Olaf handed over his headband and spellbook, along with various scrolls and pieces of crafting equipment. Also, Koya entrusted her holy symbol to Zaiobe.
The Minkaian border was marked by a high stone wall cutting through the forest and reaching across to the low cliffs overlooking the sea. A wide, arched gateway blocked the road. There were watchtowers on either side and a small keep just beyond the gate. (Although these defences looked impressive, Zaiobe and Azu-Bemphi discovered that there were only a few more watchtowers as the wall continued eastwards, and the wall itself came to an end about a mile into the forest.)
The Minkaian soldiers on duty at the border crossing ordered the caravan to halt, and they sent for one of their officers. A woman in a white mask walked through the gate - the markings on her green and white uniform indicated that she held the rank of commander. She questioned Sandru about his intentions and the types of goods he was transporting. (He spoke at some length about coffee.) Then the commander cast detect magic and searched the caravan thoroughly. She seemed to have an interest in written materials and went through Toshi’s cookbooks.
The commander called each of the members of the caravan, one by one, into her office in the keep and issued them with temporary identity papers. These were dated and numbered and included a description of the bearer, and the commander made corresponding entries in a large ledger, so the process took nearly an entire day.
“We are strangers here,” said Olaf when it was his turn to receive papers. “How should we behave while we’re in Minkai?”
“Be polite,” replied the commander. “And obey the law.”
“What are the laws of Minkai?”
The commander fetched a copy of the laws of Minkai bound into a single volume. While the commander continued issuing papers, Olaf read through the book.
Most of the laws were unsurprising for a well-ordered country, but a few caught Olaf’s attention. Claiming that the Emperor was dead or even asking whether he was still alive were deemed to be acts of sedition. The worship of Desna or various other chaotic gods was banned. Minkaian citizens were not allowed to leave the Empire without permission from the authorities, and citizens were also required to report any arcane abilities or other powers they possessed if these could be of service to the Empire.
When the paperwork was finally complete, the commander gave permission for the caravan to enter Minkai. The caravan travelled for a few more hours, then stopped for the night.
Zaiobe and Azu-Bemphi stealthily approached the caravan from the forest - they had made their way safely around the end of the border wall.
Later that evening, an owl landed on a nearby tree. “Who?” it said. Olaf noticed that there was a small scroll of paper tied to one of the owl’s legs. The owl let Olaf untie the ribbon and take the paper.
The message was in Toshi’s handwriting: Greetings, Azu-Bemphi, mighty dragon. We humbly request your aid - we are near the foothills of Storm-Anchor mountain. P.S. Please bring your assistant along.
Azu-Bemphi and Olaf decided they would go to meet their companions at the mountain, and Zaiobe asked if she could accompany them. They said farewell for the time being to the caravan.
A short distance inland, there was an area where many trees had been felled recently. This was just outside the border of Minkai. Olaf asked Azu-Bemphi to fly ahead and investigate.
Azu-Bemphi found a temporary settlement with many soldiers and workers. The workers wore grey uniforms (Azu-Bemphi suspected that they might not be volunteers). Some of the cleared land further away from the forest was being prepared for farming. A young man wearing a rather stylish and luxurious version of a colonel’s uniform was wandering around the settlement, perhaps inspecting progress or perhaps just pretending to.
Azu-Bemphi fluttered stealthily back to Olaf.
Olaf, Azu-Bemphi and Zaiobe journeyed through the forest. One day, they noticed a faint smell of smoke, and then Olaf began talking in a polite but noncommittal way to someone whom Azu-Bemphi and Zaiobe could not see.
Olaf had to cast protection from evil quite a few times before he was satisfied that he was no longer under the influence of any spirits.
Olaf, Azu-Bemphi and Zaiobe reached a wider path in the forest, where they encountered two Minkaian men, one of whom seemed to be blind. “We’re fine,” they said in response to Olaf’s query, and they refused to accept assistance even though they were not carrying any supplies. Olaf left some food for them anyway.
Finally, the high peak of Storm-Anchor Mountain became visible above the treetops, and after some more travel, Olaf, Azu-Bemphi and Zaiobe arrived at their companions’ campsite.
“Hello!” said Lahja. “We have some new friends. This is... Young Kirin and this is... Willow Woman and this is... Akumi.” She pointed to the kirin, the nymph and the little kami holding the bonsai.
Four balls of flames rose from the campfire, rushed towards Olaf and outlined him with blue light.
“And we have other new friends!” Lahja said.
(Tomoko explained that they had met some Kijimuna, who were local goblinoid tricksters with a hatred of octopuses.)
Olaf noticed that Shinji’s head was somewhat bruised - apparently a spirit had made an attempt to possess Shinji, and Toshi and Tomoko had diligently defended him, with saps.
“The woman in the red dress says hello, by the way,” said Olaf.
“What?” asked Toshi. “Oh.”
Tomoko told Olaf that they had questioned some surviving soldiers and learned that the rakshasas had been planning to sacrifice their kirin prisoner, perhaps to desecrate the mountain and make it harder for anyone to become its guardian. According to Akumi, the powerful kami who once guarded the mountain had abandoned her duties centuries ago, after becoming vengeful in her defence of the forest and enjoying destruction for its own sake.
“If the mountain remains without a guardian,” said Akumi, “the powers in the forest could become more unbalanced and hostile, or perhaps so weakened that the forest may be destroyed.”
The travellers had been considering finding the fallen kami and persuading her to resume her old duties. “She told me that... not all who are evil are lost to evil,” Lahja announced.
“Who told you this?” Toshi asked. He and Tomoko both reached for their saps.
“Sarenrae. In a dream!”
Toshi and Tomoko put their saps away again.
During this conversation, Olaf had begun to realise that the name of the mountain was familiar. He thought for a while and remembered that back in Ravenscraeg, they had found a letter referring to “Kimandatsu of Storm-Anchor Mountain”. The idea of persuading the fallen kami to resume her duties started to seem a bit less promising.
The travellers had discovered that the mountain peak was now inhabited by cloud giants. In her fox form, Tomoko had investigated some tunnels into the mountain - the entrances were guarded by Mihstu, mist-like creatures who often served evil cloud giants.
“We need to find a new guardian,” Lahja said. “But all the kami say they’re busy.”
Shinji looked at Zaiobe. “Could this be your destiny?”
“I have learned some patience during our journey,” Zaiobe replied through her mental link to Shinji. “What did you say this mountain was called?”
- Olaf (along with everyone else who was travelling with the caravan when it crossed the border) now has valid identity papers.
- A few notable Minkaian laws: claiming that the Emperor is dead or asking whether he is still alive are acts of sedition, and the worship of Desna (and of chaotic gods in general) is banned.
- The peak of Storm-Anchor Mountain is now inhabited by cloud giants, and the tunnel entrances are guarded by unpleasant-looking mists called Mihstu.
- Since Kimandatsu may have been the former guardian of Storm-Anchor Mountain, it seems likely that a new guardian will need to be found. Zaiobe is considering the possibility...
- And the PCs now possess a number of Minkaian military uniforms.
In which a mountain finds its voice
Tomoko, Toshi, Shinji, Lahja, Olaf, Azu-Bemphi, Skygni and Zaiobe walked into one of the tunnel entrances to Storm-Anchor Mountain. Olaf had heard that mihstus could be negotiated with, and so Tomoko bowed and greeted the mist-like creature waiting in the tunnel. It only spoke Auran, but Tomoko had drunk a potion of comprehend languages, and Olaf translated her speech into Auran for the mihstu.
Unfortunately, the mihstu seemed uninterested in the travellers’ initial offerings of music, tea or calligraphy. The travellers asked it what it would like. “Something to hunt,” the mihstu replied.
So Olaf summoned a bison and advised the mihstu to pursue it quickly. The bison ran towards the tunnel entrance, and the mihstu followed.
The travellers continued along the tunnel and discovered that it joined a wide, curving corridor with walls of glowing white crystal. It seemed to form a loop around the centre of the mountain - several of the other tunnels from outside joined onto this corridor. Before they went all the way around the loop, the travellers reached the entrance to another corridor. It also had crystal walls, and it led inwards along a labyrinthine path, winding through the mountain until it eventually reached a large, dome-shaped cave.
Olaf was studying some convoluted symbols formed by the peaks of the crystals in the walls when the cave itself spoke in an alluring female voice. “I think someone is approaching through the corridor,” the cave said.
Shinji looked at Zaiobe - he had heard her say the same thing through their mental link.
The travellers had a few moments to prepare before they heard a sound like a quiet draft of wind approaching them. Two mihstus and a huge lightning elemental arrived. One of the mihstus looked particularly angry and flowed past Lahja and Skygni to attack Olaf. Another mihstu tried to grapple Toshi, while the elemental struck Lahja with electricity.
Shinji targeted the mihstu attacking Toshi, and with a few cold-enhanced arrows he scattered it into shards of frozen mist. Tomoko struck down the second mihstu, allowing Olaf to slow the lightning elemental, which Lahja and Skygni managed to destroy.
“Was that you speaking?” Lahja asked Zaiobe.
The voice of the cave then warned the travellers to block their ears. Tomoko handed out small pieces of wax, which the travellers shaped into earplugs.
The cave began singing, and the cloud giants who arrived soon afterwards moved towards Zaiobe but did not attack. Zaiobe touched Tomoko’s arm and spoke in her mind. “My song has affected them, but not completely. I will need your aid.”
“Honoured giants, this humble one implores your indulgence,” Tomoko began. Together, she and Zaiobe managed to persuade the cloud giants to leave Storm-Anchor Mountain and return to their previous homes on other peaks. It was clear by then that Zaiobe had accepted the role of the mountain’s guardian. Without her new authority, it would have been unlikely that the meeting with the cloud giants could have ended so peacefully.
“You don’t have to stay here if you don’t want to,” Lahja said to Zaiobe as the travellers walked back along the winding crystal corridor.
“I think,” said Zaiobe, “this may be one of the destinies set before me when I was granted my powers.”
“Does that mean you’re happy?”
“I am at peace.”
“I suppose that’s good...?”
Tomoko began talking about bringing furniture for the cave, but Zaiobe said that she did not believe her role would require her to stay inside the mountain all the time.
Once they were back outside the mountain, the travellers said farewell to the Willow Woman and Young Kirin. “I will return to my people to let them know I am not-sacrificed,” Young Kirin said.
But Akumi wished to continue accompanying the travellers. “I am portable, and I am most at home in an urban place.”
Tomoko told Akumi that when all this was over, he and his bonsai could have a shelf in her house.
“I do not require an entire shelf to myself,” Akumi said. “I am not greedy.”
Then Zaiobe spoke to the travellers. “Without your friendship, I would never have been able to travel on this path.”
“Your example has given me guidance on my own path,” Shinji said. “I thank you.” Then he quietly claimed to have something in his eye.
As they were leaving, Zaiobe’s voice spoke in Shinji’s mind. “You were the first to offer your friendship to me. I think there is something I can offer you in return. If there is ever a time when storms or strong winds will aid you, I may be able to send some in your direction. They will likely take a day or two to reach you, depending on where you are. Simply send a message to me with your mind - I should be able to hear it.”
The travellers began walking through the forest towards Minkai.
“What lesson should I draw from these adventures?” Shinji asked. “In the past, I trusted people too readily. But Zaiobe’s example shows us that it is right to trust, in some cases. I was right to trust Jiro too, perhaps. We still don’t know for sure. And what of Princess Batsaikhar? I have no idea whether I should have trusted her or not. Perhaps the lesson is that we need to use our judgement about who to trust... but that requires us to decide to trust our judgement...”
It occurred to some of the other travellers that they were carrying earplugs in their pockets.
Eventually, Tomoko interrupted and asked Olaf if he could explain the important laws of Minkai to them. Olaf was happy to oblige, and he recited several long extracts from the book he had read back at the border crossing. The travellers then tried to work out how to summarise this for Lahja.
“One simple rule,” said Tomoko. “Don’t say anything to anyone.”
The travellers decided that it would be best if they all had genuine identity papers, so they headed to the border crossing. Olaf had the impression that being with a caravan had made it easier for Sandru to persuade the commander at the border to open the gate - the regime in Minkai was perhaps trying to encourage trade. So he suggested that the travellers should say that they were part of the caravan. They would need an excuse for lagging behind, though.
Since Olaf already had papers, he went with Skygni and Mateyo into the forest. They carried some equipment that the travellers did not want to take through the checkpoint.
When the other travellers reached the gate of the border crossing, the masked commander questioned them and asked why they were so far behind the caravan.
“Our companion here caught the mindfire!” said Tomoko. “She needed to rest, and we had to wait with her until we were sure she was not contagious.”
“What...?” said Lahja.
“You should have seen her before,” Tomoko said sadly. “She was the best and brightest of us.”
After some hesitation, the commander wrote out identity papers and allowed the travellers to enter Minkai.
The travellers decided to see if they could stop or at least slow down the tree-felling just beyond the border. They journeyed to the settlement that Azu-Bemphi had seen before, and they observed it from hiding-places in the forest.
There were probably sixty to eighty soldiers in the settlement, and a couple of hundred workers. Also, there were a few small shops, presumably selling basic supplies to the soldiers.
The travellers spotted the colonel, who seemed to be the highest-ranking officer in the settlement. He wandered out of one building to fetch a book from another building. He also spoke briefly to a young woman in a fine kimono - this woman did not seem to spend much time outdoors.
Tomoko offered to try to get employment in the combined sake house and teashop. “If the colonel is an imaginative, bored officer, perhaps he could be... enticed,” she said.
Meanwhile, the travellers started to make plans to frighten the soldiers with fake spirits and other hauntings. Toshi looked thoughtful, then opened one of his notebooks to a recipe for glowing ink...
- Zaiobe has taken on the guardianship of Storm-Anchor Mountain. She has persuaded the cloud giants to move back to other mountains, and she has told Shinji that she may be able to aid the PCs by sending weather (such as storms or strong winds) their way, although it may take a few days to reach them depending on where in Minkai they are. If the PCs ever think this would be useful, all Shinji has to do is send a mental request.
- Toshi, Shinji, Lahja and Tomoko now also have valid identity papers.
- The PCs are now camped near the settlement just outside the border, where many workers are felling trees at the edge of the Forest of Spirits. There are plans to try to trick the soldiers into believing that the forest is (even more) haunted.
In which wolves howl, trees bleed, flags glow and an archon is intimidated
That night, Olaf sent some lights to dance among the trees, in sight of the soldiers on guard duty in the settlement. Meanwhile, Toshi made a few batches of glowing ink, and Lahja went deeper into the forest with Skygni. Skygni howled and Lahja sang eerie melodies that she had learned from Tomoko. The soldiers definitely seemed to be on edge.
The next morning, Olaf found a hiding-place where he could observe the tree-felling. When the workers’ saw first started to cut through bark, Olaf created an illusion of blood oozing from the wound. The workers dropped the saw and backed away, and their escort of soldiers quickly followed them. One of the soldiers went to fetch the colonel, but Olaf dismissed the illusion before the colonel arrived. The colonel showed no particular reaction to his subordinates’ confusion, and he ordered everyone to get back to work.
Lahja went with Skygni through the forest, and the howl of a wolf was heard every time a tree fell.
After sunset, Olaf summoned some wolves to aid Skygni with the howling. Lahja directed the performance to ensure that the howls seemed to be getting ever closer to the edge of the forest.
A few hours later, Azu-Bemphi turned himself invisible and carried a vial of Toshi’s glowing ink to the settlement. Following Toshi’s suggestion, the faerie dragon painted the word ‘Leave’ across the Minkaian flag flown by the settlement. The soldiers on watch spotted this and roused the colonel, who went outside to investigate. As soon as the colonel’s small wooden house was empty, Akumi (who had been turned invisible by Olaf) cast soften earth and stone and partially collapsed the house.
The colonel cast some spells (Olaf guessed these were detect magic and see invisibility). He aimed an arrow at Akumi but did not loose it.
Olaf had also summoned a lantern archon, and he sent it to fly around the settlement and create confusion. The colonel confronted the archon, questioning it briefly and then gazing at it threateningly. When the archon showed signs of being shaken by this, Olaf dismissed it.
The colonel ordered the flag to be taken down. He then appeared to give a stern dressing down to one of his more nervous junior officers.
The travellers decided that there was probably little point in remaining. Some of the soldiers and workers seemed to be easily frightened, but the colonel had demonstrated that he was capable of maintaining discipline and restoring order. The travellers might be able to slow down the work, but the sort of confrontation needed to bring the tree-felling to a halt seemed too risky.
So Olaf created a final illusion of glowing letters in the sky, spelling out the words “Leave or be cursed”. Then the travellers quietly packed up and left the forest.
Mateyo offered to lead the travellers to Hatsue. “She’s the leader of the resistance. So to speak. It’s the only resistance I know of, at least. But we’re not doing very much resisting at the moment.”
The travellers agreed to visit Hatsue. They spent a few weeks journeying across sparsely settled plains and reached the foothills of a mountain range. Mateyo showed the way to a dilapidated fortress in a densely forested valley. After pushing open the unlocked front door and walking through a dusty, cobwebbed hall, Mateyo stopped in front of the next door and knocked in a precise rhythm.
The door was opened, and a couple of men in samurai armour greeted Mateyo. They led the travellers through the plainly furnished but neat building. They arrived at a courtyard where a woman was meditating. “This is Hatsue,” said Mateyo, and introduced the travellers.
Hatsue was a woman in her sixties, dressed in samurai armour. She invited the travellers to take tea with her. Mateyo explained that the travellers were the people who had defended Jiro in Ordu-Aganhei, and he asked if Hatsue had any recent news from Jiro.
“He is staying in a hut in a secret place in the Forest of Spirits,” Hatsue replied. “We hope that if his enemies suspect he may still be alive and attempt to scry for him, his surroundings won’t reveal any clues that will allow them to locate him.”
Hatsue then told the travellers more about the situation in Minkai. “If you wish to continue aiding us, then I would like to know you a bit better. With your permission, I'll ask you a riddle.”
“Oh no...” Lahja muttered to herself. “I don’t do riddles.”
“Perhaps ‘riddle’ is the wrong word,” Hatsue said. “There’s no right answer. It is just a question. Imagine that you are a samurai, sworn to the service of a noble lord. Your lord goes on a long journey, leaving you behind at his estates. Your lord’s steward begins passing on new orders from your lord... but these orders seem inconsistent with your lord’s past behaviour. When you question the steward, he claims that one of your lord’s new commands is that you must obey these orders without question. What do you do next?”
Toshi and Olaf both responded by asking more questions of Hatsue. “How long has this been going on for? Is there any way to contact the lord?” They avoided giving a definitive answer.
“Is he icky?” Lahja asked.
“Er... I’m not sure what you mean,” Hatsue said.
“I don’t do bad things,” Lahja stated.
“I would subdue the steward and determine the truth,” Shinji said firmly. “The steward must pay for his perfidy. If my lord is truly noble, I would know when his words are being presented falsely.”
“What would you do?” Olaf asked Hatsue.
“I suppose I’ve already given my answer to that question,” said Hatsue. “It seems I would hide myself in a remote place and seek proof. Proof that my lord is not giving those orders. Or, less hypothetically... proof that the rightful emperor is dead.”
The travellers then asked Hatsue how anyone could possibly prove that an emperor is dead. Hatsue had no direct answer to that question, but she did have some suggestions for the travellers.
She mentioned an entertainer who had been employed for some time in the Palace and might know much about the people who lived there. The resistance had hoped to speak with him, but he had disappeared recently. One of Hatsue’s contacts in Kasai was trying to trace him.
Hatsue also said that the Imperial Shrine might hold some answers. Jiro would have to go there eventually with his family’s Seal to obtain the blessing of the spirits of past rulers, and perhaps those spirits could reveal what had happened to the emperor.
Hatsue warned the travellers that several heroes of the resistance had already tried to assassinate the Regent. None of them had returned. However, she suggested that the travellers could seek an audience with the Regent. “Someone with arcane insight could go there and study the surroundings carefully while others are talking, and try to understand what defences the Regent and his allies have in the Palace. You’d need a convincing reason for requesting an audience, though.”
“We could simply be paying our respects as foreign travellers arriving in a great empire,” Shinji suggested. “And we could offer the Regent a chance to sample some of our wares. Do you think he’d like coffee?”
- Tree-felling continues at the edge of the Forest of Spirits.
- The travellers are staying in an isolated fortress in a heavily forested valley. They are the guests of Hatsue, the “leader of the resistance” (according to Mateyo’s somewhat qualified description). Hatsue has made some suggestions for how the travellers could go about defeating the oni...
- Hatsue has a contact in Kasai (the capital of Minkai) who may be able to provide advice and assistance. Hatsue has given the PCs the address of a tea-shop.
- There was an entertainer who was employed in the Palace for some time. The resistance thought he might be a good source of information about the people in charge of the regime, but he has recently gone missing. Hatsue’s contact in Kasai has been trying to trace him.
- The Imperial Shrine (where potential heirs go to seek the blessings of the spirits of past rulers) may reveal the truth about what happened to Emperor Shigure.
- Hatsue has suggested that the PCs request an audience with the Regent and use the opportunity to study the Palace defences (she strongly recommends against trying to attack the Regent until the PCs have more information).
In which many unfinished poems are used as kindling, and the future of a broken statue is discussed
The next morning, Hatsue asked to speak with Shinji in private. He returned about half an hour later. “She warned me that she thought I might be susceptible to falling under the influence of charismatic leaders,” he told his travelling companions. “Also, she mentioned that there are legends in Minkai of samurai who swear loyalty to their masters not just unto death but beyond death. Apparently those stories never end well.”
“I think we figured that out when we met our grandfather,” said Toshi. “Who died more than twenty years earlier.”
“Hatsue is like the earthworm,” Shinji concluded. “She sees more than she says.”
“You do know that earthworms are blind, don’t you?” muttered one of his companions.
When the travellers were about to leave the fortress, Hatsue gave them one more piece of advice. “If there are any followers of Desna among you, then watch for butterflies. It is said that they may lead you to aid.”
Just beyond the town of Shuryo, the travellers caught up with the caravan. There were many happy greetings and conversations to exchange news, but Shinji shut himself away in one of the wagons and spent a lot of time there over the next few days.
Eventually, Shinji emerged and spoke to Tomoko. “I need your advice,” he said. “I’m trying to write a poem. I need to express my feelings to someone who must not know.”
“Why don’t you just tell her?” Tomoko asked.
“No! It is impossible! There are bonds of family and honour - this person must never know. You are right. I will stay silent forever.”
Shinji handed over many pages of unfinished poems to Toshi and suggested that Toshi could use them for target practice. Toshi seemed unimpressed by that idea and instead used the papers as kindling for the cooking fire.
Some time later, Tomoko took Shinji aside. “I’ve spoken to Ameiko. She knows - she’s known for a long time. I think she likes you, but you really need to give up the proverbs.”
“What!” said Shinji. “Why did you tell her? It wasn’t Ameiko I was talking about!” He did however look slightly panicked when he glanced across at Ameiko and saw that she was tending the cooking fire. “Besides, proverbs are important.”
“An unspoken proverb is more powerful,” Tomoko suggested.
“That doesn’t make sense. An unspoken proverb is like... snow melting in summer. See, that’s really good. It’s the first real proverb I’ve made up. All right, I’ll try. Thank you. What you’ve said has helped me work out what to do about the person who isn’t Ameiko. From now on, whenever I look at you like this, I’m thinking of a proverb.”
“You owe me a favour,” said Tomoko.
The other travellers noticed Shinji making strange faces at Tomoko quite frequently over the following days.
When the caravan arrived at the city of Enganoka, it was stopped outside the gates and Sandru was questioned by one of the masked commanders, who wanted to know if any Minkaian people had joined the caravan very recently. She made a perfunctory search of the caravan but did not seem particularly interested in anything it carried, and the travellers were allowed to enter the city.
In Enganoka, Olaf visited the Ulfen quarter, which was inhabited by people who had made the caravan journey in past decades and decided to stay.
Tomoko managed to find a couple of distant cousins of hers who kept themselves disguised as humans and worked as entertainers. They gave Tomoko directions to the hidden temple of Daikitsu in Kasai.
Lahja spotted a small temple marked with symbols of the sun, and she asked Olaf to go inside it with her. They were greeted by one of the priests. “Welcome to the shrine of Shizuru. How may we be of aid to you?”
“Olaf...” said Lahja. “He didn’t say Sarenrae...”
The priest talked about the theological debates surrounding concepts that had more than patron deity, until Olaf managed to convey a hint to the priest that Lahja was probably not the best audience for that sort of discussion. Lahja happily trained with some of the novices, who attempted (with considerable difficulty) to get past Lahja’s defences with their practice swords. One young novice seemed particularly impressed by Lahja and may have been inspired to try to serve Shizuru as a paladin.
The travellers saw many soldiers and guards on the streets of Enganoka, and the city guards were enforcing the law quite strictly. Tomoko noticed the owner of a sake house being asked to show his licence, while Toshi witnessed a couple of mildly drunk people being arrested.
There were hints of a possible reason for the guards’ behaviour - some of the travellers heard stories from the citizens of Enganoka about a recent rebellion. About eight months ago, the lord of the province had gathered his followers in a town at the edge of the wilderness and declared independence from the Regent’s rule. The lord had allowed the inhabitants to leave the town if they did not want to join him. Not long afterwards, the rebellion was crushed by the Regent’s forces - there were rumours that giants had emerged from the mountains to help the Regent’s soldiers.
The Minkaian army was still searching in and around Enganoka for any rebels who might have escaped. Meanwhile, the rebellious lord’s younger brother had been given rulership of the province, and perhaps he was trying to demonstrate his loyalty to the authorities. Or perhaps, the travellers speculated, he had been replaced by a shapeshifting spirit.
Some of the travellers decided to investigate the site of the rebellion, so they left the caravan once again and travelled inland to the town. Tomoko and Azu-Bemphi went ahead stealthily and discovered that the town was deserted. There were scorch-marks and other signs of violence, but most of the buildings were still standing. In the main square, they found a statue that had been broken into a few large pieces, as if it had been dropped from a low height. As they looked more closely, they saw that the statue was extremely detailed and realistic, and it was almost certainly a man who had been petrified by magic. Tomoko and Azu-Bemphi returned to their companions to report what they had discovered.
The travellers guessed that the man had probably been the rebellious lord (although his clothing had been more appropriate for a hunter or tracker than the ruler of a province). They considered whether they should mend the statue and find a way to restore it to life - the return of a rebel leader could be a powerful symbol of hope. However, Toshi warned his companions to be careful if they decided to take the statue with them. “You know how our caravan keeps getting searched? We don’t want to be found with that in our luggage.”
- Hatsue has advised any worshippers of Desna to watch for butterflies.
- The PCs finally caught up with the caravan, only to leave it again. They are now outside an abandoned town where a rebellion was crushed by the authorities about eight months ago. Tomoko and Azu-Bemphi have found a broken statue that may be the petrified form of the lord who led the rebellion. (The lord’s younger brother is now in charge of the province and seems to be imposing a harsh rule of law.) There has been some discussion about mending the statue and finding a way to de-petrify the rebellious lord.
- There are stories that the regime is served by giants who usually stay hidden in the mountains but are occasionally sent into more populated areas (generally when there is a rebellion to be crushed).
In which Tomoko receives a rose from an unexpected admirer
The travellers collected all the pieces of the statue and asked Akumi to help collapse a nearby building onto the place where the statue had been. When the travellers returned to the caravan, Tomoko painted and decorated the upper half of the broken statue to make it look like a mannequin for holding jewellery and scarves, while the remaining pieces were covered in wax and disguised as supports for a bench.
The caravan continued travelling southwards along the coastal road towards Kasai, and the new year was celebrated during the journey.
When the caravan finally arrived in Kasai, the travellers went out to see the sights of the capital. (In particular, Tomoko visited and critically evaluated several bathhouses.) The travellers noticed that there were many people wearing military uniforms in the streets. There were also many shops and stalls selling masks and flowers - the travellers quickly learned that the annual Festival of Masks and Flowers would be held in the city in a few days’ time.
The travellers then paid a visit to the tea-shop that Hatsue had mentioned to them. The young Minkaian woman behind the counter put aside the book she had been reading, studied her customers for a short time and then asked if they knew ‘her friend Hatsue from the north’. The travellers introduced themselves, but the proprietor of the tea-shop explained that it was common in Kasai for ordinary people to use nicknames, often ones given to them by friends or acquaintances. “A disgruntled customer once called me a ‘prideful vendor of inferior tea’, so I usually go by ‘Ven’ for short.”
“How did you know about us?” asked Lahja.
“I read about you,” Ven said.
“Are we in a book?” Lahja asked excitedly.
“Well, yes. A short one written by Hatsue very recently.”
“Would there happen to be a magical bookplate involved?” Olaf asked.
Ven smiled and nodded. In response to further questions from the travellers, she explained why she had joined the resistance. “My grandmother was a ninja in the service of the Amatatsu family, and my grandfather worked for them as well, as a historian. I would have hoped to serve the Amatatsu too, but since that is impossible, I decided to serve their memory by opposing the evil forces that have gained power in Minkai. It took me some time to find the resistance, and more time to prove my trustworthiness, but... here I am, working as their agent in Kasai. How may I be of assistance?”
Olaf asked Ven whether it would be possible to buy a scroll of stone to flesh in the city without drawing attention from the authorities. Ven explained that Kasai had a highly secretive black market in magic items, and she would be able to tell Olaf how to contact a seller’s agent.
The travellers then discussed some of Hatsue’s suggestions with Ven. Ven knew that the missing entertainer from the Imperial Palace had been known as Soseki, and the police had been investigating his disappearance. “I’ve been planning to break into the police headquarters and take a look at their files on the case,” Ven said.
“Break in?” said Olaf. “Are you sure that’s a wise idea?”
“I’m a ninja!” Ven replied brightly. “I’ve been learning from a book!”
“Um, that’s... good to hear. Perhaps you could give us a demonstration of your skills?”
“Certainly! If you would all just turn around...”
About ten seconds after the travellers followed this instruction, Toshi and Lahja heard a soft footstep somewhere overhead. They looked around and saw that Ven had gone. Toshi went into the storage area at the back of the shop and found an open trapdoor in the ceiling. As the travellers were asking themselves how Ven had managed to leave the room so quietly, they heard her voice from the front door of the shop. “It’s quite a good book!”
The travellers expressed no further scepticism about Ven’s skills, and they suggested that the night of the festival might be a good time for her to try breaking into the police headquarters. They agreed that they would contact her again soon. As the travellers were leaving the tea-shop, Shinji spoke to Ven. “Sometimes our hopes can come true even when they seem impossible.”
Lahja’s question gave me an idea - I could follow in my grandfather’s footsteps as well as in my grandmother’s! In the book she sent me, Hatsue mentioned that the travellers from foreign lands had an air of destiny about them...
I began taking (mental) notes.
The travellers acquired a selection of fairly generic masks for the festival, and Shinji bought a comprehensive guide to the meanings of all the flowers that could be given during the night. (There was, however, no flower whose traditional meaning was ‘I cannot reveal my true feelings so please ignore this flower.’)
The authorities had announced a military parade during the day of the festival, and the travellers decided to attend. There was stadium seating on either side of a long parade ground, with a platform for dignitaries at one end. The seats at the other end had been closed off to spectators and completely covered with canvas. Curious, Olaf purchased seats as close as possible to the end with the covered seats.
The proceedings were opened by the Regent of Minkai, who arrived surrounded by other people of rank, along with several bodyguards. The Regent was a tall man in his late forties, with grey-streaked hair and a neatly trimmed beard. He wore a black and green military uniform, and the travellers who studied him carefully could spot a faint resemblance between him and Shinji and Toshi. He gave a brief speech in a rather cold tone, stating that he was honoured to introduce this demonstration of the prowess and skill of the Minkaian armed forces. The parade consisted of displays of precision marching, archery and sword-dancing. Finally, a group of soldiers wheeled out a couple of objects covered by canvas. The canvas was removed to reveal short metal barrels that each had a wide opening at one end. And the canvas covering the seats at the far end of the stadium was removed to reveal an array of human figures cut out of thin wood. The barrels were aimed at the cut-out figures.
Olaf began to wonder if he should have bought different seats.
The soldiers blocked their ears with wax, lit the fuses and stood back. Amid the sound of a double explosion, metal spheres shot from the barrels and struck the cut-out figures, throwing them backwards and scattering them into pieces. The authorities had planned the distance from the spectators well - the travellers were not hit by flying splinters.
“That was very loud,” said Lahja. “I don’t like it.”
“That was very loud,” said Toshi. “It was awesome.” He began speculating about the possibility of miniaturising these devices so they could be wielded by a single person.
The parade was at an end, but the Festival of Masks and Flowers had begun in the city streets. Most of the revelry consisted of dancing and drinking, with occasional gifts of flowers. But Shinji was more interested in two tents with signs advertising fortune-tellers. He went into one of the tents and gave some silver coins to the woman sitting on the other side of a small table. “It’s a wig, of course,” she said, referring to her prematurely white hair, which looked convincingly real to Shinji.
The fortune-teller held out a small cloth bag, and she asked Shinji to take a handful of the semiprecious stones inside and scatter them on the table. The stones had ancient Minkaian characters carved on them, and the white-haired woman studied the pattern for some time.
“You have made a long journey,” she said. “Your destiny is uncertain, but I see that you will have a difficult choice to make in about a year’s time. Consider it wisely. It may affect the course of history.”
After listening to this prediction, Shinji persuaded Olaf to have his fortune told as well. Olaf went into the same tent, handed over silver coins and scattered some of the carved gemstones. “You have made a long journey,” said the fortune-teller, and then frowned as if puzzled by something. “And I believe that you will have a... challenging decision to make in about a year’s time. Think on it carefully. It is likely to affect many other lives as well as yours.”
Shinji then persuaded Toshi to try. Toshi received the same comment about having made a long journey, but the predictions for him were different. “Some of your travelling companions will be faced with difficult decisions in the future, and they may need your guidance if they are to choose wisely. Also, you will be able to learn the secret of the ...solution? ...or formula? ...that you seek. But it will place you in some danger.”
Shinji then sent Lahja to visit the other fortune-teller. “You have made a long journey,” the fortune-teller said. “And in about a year’s time, you will have to make a difficult decision... but perhaps it won’t be as difficult for you as it will be for others... This is a night for doing things differently. You have spent much time thinking of others and fighting for them - perhaps tonight you should do something for yourself. Is there someone you want to talk to, someone who may not have understood you because of the way you talk?"
“The people who know me know what I'm really like.”
“Still... people can make assumptions based on how you express yourself. I would like to lend you something. I don’t use it while I’m working in the city, so I’m happy for you to borrow it until sunrise. I know I can trust you to return it.” From a box in the corner of the tent, she fetched a gold-coloured headband decorated with blue and purple gemstones.
Lahja hesitated, but the woman seemed to mean well - there may have been some mischief in the offer, but no malice. So Lahja put the headband on. “Oh my... this is weird...”
“They made the same prediction for you, Olaf and me,” Shinji said excitedly when Lahja emerged from the tent.
“You were listening?” Lahja asked. “You shouldn’t have done that without telling me first.”
Shinji did not seem to notice Lahja’s displeasure. “The fortune-tellers must be able to sense there's something special about us.”
“I think I should go and talk to Sandru,” Lahja said quietly.