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Riku'Osui... the name rolls off the tongue... usually followed by a curse word and the sounds of hands slapping at insects that are trying to drain one of vital fluids.
Riku'Osui... the cool temperate swamp that none the less is so humid that even mildly warm days are sweltering. A place infested with insects, of all sizes, fevers, mysterious spirits both fair and foul, and no place for a noble to live.
Riku'Osui... where people who have no way to make a living go to make a fortune. Riku'Osui... where gold is easy to be had, if you can work for it, or if you've got the will to take it for your own and the skill to keep it.
Riku'Osui... where foreign devils dare to come to trade with the Isle of Ren'Shan. Where the buildings are built on stilts, not solid land. Where the smell in the air is constantly of rotting vegetation and fish.
Riku'Osui... where you are currently...
Kūwěi'de'huā... the largest port in Ren'Shan, and the one most overrun by foreign filth, a once great city that's become decayed from exposure to the outside world. Filthy foreigners spread disease and dissension in equal amounts. Home of the disgraced and dishonored, who serve these foreign devils, be it by making food, giving them a place to stay, or even letting them use their bodies.
Kūwěi'de'huā... rolling in it's own sin and reaping the benefits of having neither honor nor pride.
Kūwěi'de'huā... a place where fortunes can be made... and lost... A place where even a lowly thatcher's son can change his stars...
The city stinks, and not just from the swamp around it. Rotting fish, rotting bodies, waste from thousands of people, all combine to give the city a miasma that is all but tangible. It is said the air of Kūwěi'de'huā can be cut with a katana, but it will dull the noble blade to do so.
The city is spread out along five miles of the coast like a wall of flotsam and jetsam, just some garbage washed up by the tide. The noise is constant, even in the wee hours of the night. The city is only big enough for 50,000 people, but it's got 70,000 jammed into it. Buildings are built up, and rooms are tiny unless you are rich.
Street vendors hawk their goods all day, and the food vendors much of the night. Whores call out lewdly to anyone passing by that looks like they have coin, especially foreigners. Beggars with lame or mutilated forms beg for coins in the street, moving quickly to avoid kicks.
Kūwěi'de'huā - The place for dreams to be realized... or to die a whimpering death...
The rice escort didn't exactly pay well, but it wasn't hard work either. The rice had dried in warehouses with glass panels in the roof to a dry hard grain. The rice had then been put into burlap bags and put on skiffs and pushed down the rivers to the 200 ft waterfalls that separated the upper water land from the lower. Water powered cranes lowered palates large enough to fit six horses down to the swamp below.
From there, the rice was shipped through the damp swamp as quickly as possible to avoid it getting too damp and mildewing and rotting. Special skiffs with large wide drafts and containers to hold the rice were used. Over the bags of rice, they dumped dry moss to absorb the moisture before it could get to the rice.
From there it was loaded into warehouses that were kept warmed and dry to avoid moisture. Along the way, swamp creatures great and small and spiritual and mortal had watched, but the rice caravan was too large a group for an easy attack, so it was mostly just a show of force.
Once in the city, the guards are payed off, and the warehouses closed up, leaving the guards to find their own way to whatever. Most have been doing this for awhile, and already know where they are going.
It's the 7 new guardsmen that are left sort of milling around in the warehouse row, not sure where to go next or what to do.
"Well where do we go now? I've never been here before, and I find so many people all in such tight quarters... a bit... intimidating. Someplace to stay? or perhaps we could find another escort job that would thankfully take us out of this place quickly. Surely if goods come in, goods must go out as well."
This all said by the young lady Kimiko with skin with the look of burnished wood with swirling grain and green hair flowing down her back. She did take the floating stone above her head that was constantly there on the road and secret it away in a pouch when she entered the city. Since arriving, has kept her tiny black and white companion, a small skunk, tucked into the crook of her arm. It watches the goings on around the two of them with bright black beady eyes, but with its shy nature, it stays on her arm and makes no sounds. She does seem a bit naive in the big city though... like any tourist, she points at oddities and stares at the locals with her exotically bright green eyes.
"I've said it once and I'll say it again: swamp water plays hell on my clothes." says Dunja as she examines the soaked ends of her clothes with a frown. During the journey she had seemed perpetually burdened by the armor she wore and the weapons she carried. Her conduct was far from professional but given the ease of the trip it mattered little.
When Kimiko speaks she picks up her head from her melancholy. "Maybe, but something like that could take time. Going back through the swamps outside of a large group would be a real pain."
While Kimiko is the only green haired wood skinned person the small group saw in the city, the majority being human, there are plenty of non-humans around. Kongquikin(Sylphs), Onikakun, a lot of Ji'Erman (Gillmen), Shuikun (Undine), Tengu by the ton, and even a few Kitsune, Nagaji, and even one Longkun (Half Dragon).
Most of the people wear either blue or gray, although a sprinkling of green, yellow, red and brown can be seen. Very little brown.
There are even a few spirits here and there, mostly water spirits, like Kappa or Frog spirits. Lots of frogs and geckos, taking the place of rats in other cities.
"But this city.. it" she lowers her voice so as not to be overheard by the locals "it smells so bad.. and it's so ... crowded and busy." There's no whine to her complaints... she simply states truth as she sees it. "Besides.. I don't think Yujin likes it here." She looks down at the skunk she carries when she says that, and cuddles him a little closer.
"He's a skunk isn't he? I can't imagine the stink is really all that bad for him. We still have coin so at least we can buy a respite."
"You'd be surprised at how clean he is... he grooms constantly like a cat. And he only sprays when he's in dire danger... it's only happened a couple of times since we met, and both times, he was very sorry afterwards. But yes... let's find someplace nice to stay, as you say, a respite." She starts searching signboards that might indicate the presence of an inn.
Sasayaku may have been the least bothered by the thick atmosphere, which was very like her jungle home. The lack of shade made the sun beat down on her black fur, and the stench was one of the most repugnant she had ever encountered. But what really made her uncomfortable was the land. Or what passed for land in the swamps. All that mud, with no dry place to set her foot, and heaven only knows what manner of creatures wriggling through the muck.
"The last time I was here, it took me weeks to get rid of all the fleas." Just the memory is enough to make her itch. "With luck, we will find employment that takes us away from this kuso-heap town."
Lingfeng had been rather quiet since the rice was delivered. In truth, she had been rather quiet the entire trip. To her fellow guards, she must have come off as cold and standoffish, though that could not be further from the truth. It was the job, that was all.
This was not the most fulfilling work in the world, though she had managed to form some sort of vague justification in her mind that she was doing good work out here. To keep from complaining, she had simply kept her mouth shut, kept a firm hand on her spear, and smiled politely throughout the trip.
Now it was over, and rather anticlimactically, at that. No angry spirits to fend off. No bandits to do battle with. Nothing that really tested her mettle. And now she is standing around a warehouse, freshly dismissed and with nowhere to go. Kūwěi'de'huā is new to her; too new to make her way around on her own. With a shrug, she mentally commits herself to sticking with the other ladies until she finds her footing.
All the talk of the swamp water and fleas and the stink of a skunk's spray lightens her mood, and she allows herself to relax. She tips her wide-brimmed hat up with the tip of her spear so that her face is more visible and makes her way closer to the rest of the group.
"You weren't kidding about the swamp water," Lingfeng says to Dunja, whom she has formed a bit of an admiration for over the course of the rice escort. "My poor boots. I suppose I can afford to blow a gold on a new pair, but... ech." She nods to Tsume. "You've got the right idea, I think. The sooner we get out of this town, the better..."
...Though this is the perfect sort of place to find your particular sort of work, she thinks. A town this grimy and corrupt is bound to have plenty of problems to solve. It might require a nose clamp and a week's worth of baths afterward, but I'm sure there's a reason my feet have led me here. She stares down at her muck-caked boots sadly. A good reason, I should hope.
You would think with so many frogs about there would be less bugs...perhaps they don't taste right or there would be even MORE bugs... In his natural form the kitsune scratches at his hat strap as the group chit chats. I think Kimiko is right. Find a place to nap, get a meal and then see if some caravan of goods moving out.
Dunja slaps a mosquito that had decided to land on her shoulder while she talks idly among the other guards.
"We'd be lucky if there was a large one like what we came in on. Otherwise I doubt the local wildlife would be so friendly on a second trip."
As the group begins mulling toward the non-warehouse portion of town (at least, the bit they've seen) in order to find a place to stay, or at least look for work, there's a commotion up ahead.
A troupe of soldiers in armor, red with gold trim, are led by a samurai in full regalia, also red with black and gold trim. Next to him walks a petite woman in splendid red robes, also with black and gold trim. Despite her lack of height, her face is even with the man she walks next to, as her wooden clogs never come within 6 inches of the ground as she walks along on the air.
In front of them, bound, is a young woman in elaborate golden robes. Next to her, is a young foreigner, also bound.
The entire procession is heading down the docks toward a foreign designed ship that's at anchor. There are ugly mutterings from the ship as the sailors on it begin to come to the rails, hands on odd foreign weapons.
Dunja stops to watch the procession. It was certainly unexpected to see such a thing in a slimy town like this. She muses on the situation while looking on.
"Riku'Hi Imperials...? Probably not, they'd be awful far from home to be pulling a stunt like this. Maybe some other branch then. And those other two; foreigners no doubt. Could even be some kind of royalty based on their colors. Did they try and stir up some kind of trouble?"
"She doesn't have to walk in the mud like the rest of us," Sasayaku mutters under her breath at the sight of the first woman. The sight of the prisoners catches her attention, though. She takes a few steps in the direction of the procession before she stops and looks back at her comrades.
"Well, are you coming?" she says. "Don't you want to know who these people are to warrant such a powerful escort?"
"Is it really any of our business? Those are bona fide government officials by the looks of it. Not the kind of folk that you tangle with for the sole sake of curiosity."
"..."
"On the other hand, I'm sure there's no harm in getting a better view."
I uh...She is uhm...this damn hat! Its the humidity... but I swear that might be uh...
Yanyeeku struggles to catch the itch under his hat strap clearly impairing his memory for a moment...
Xu's not sure exactly which one, but she's almost certainly one of the Emperor's extended family, not one of his daughters, but likely a favored niece or possibly granddaughter or grandniece. Given the family crest has been ripped off her neck, he can't be sure which one. She's obviously been disowned by the Emperor, given the foreign boy next to her is also bound, it's likely someone caught them 'in flagrante delicto' breaking the emperor's rules about sullying the blood of the Imperial line with foreigners. The two should be beheaded by now, if that's the case, so the parade is odd.
Finally getting underneath the strap Yanyeeku sighs, I can't remember her name. I think she is a niece? Granddaughter? I seem to recall she might be favored but the whole "carried off with a foreigner" situation might suggest otherwise. The kitsune stands up a bit straight and offers a low whistle, Say do you think they got "caught" ... you know? The shorter fox/man bobbles his head side to side to suggest an indecent or inappropriate thought but then stops and strokes his chin...But then wouldn't she be dead...or both of them dead? Unless...Oh! Oh! Maybe he is a very important person too!
Lingfeng's eyes narrow as she watches the proceedings. "Well, that is odd," she says. "They've got to be from Riku'Hi..." She tugs at the collar of her red traveling robe for emphasis, just in case anyone among their group hadn't already made the connection. "I can't think of any reason why they'd be here. Same for the lady in gold... and with a foreigner, no less?" The corner of her lips tugs up into a smirk. "Oh, my. I do love a good scandal..."
Never been this close to an Imperial, she thinks. This has trouble written all over it. Can't well look away now, can I? "I think you've got the right of it, Yanyeeku. Shall we go and have a closer look?"
Kimiko stares at the strange costumes and the opulent colors worn by those in the procession. She moves closer with the others to see what's going on. "Who are those people and why are those two tied up? I don't understand." She listens not only to those of her new friends, but chatter if any from the city folk around as well.
Yankeeku frowns, "Sorry, let me be more clear. I know she is royalty, I just can't remember the specifics like her name. It's odd that she is with a foreigner but what is weirder still is that if she had done something wrong against her family, like say being romantic with a foreigner, she would be executed but that is not what this is right ? So I'm saying she did something bad but maybe he is too important to kill so they are doing..this...whatever this is..." The small waves at the procession to emphasize his point .
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"Royalty? If she didn't do something against her family, what do you think she did to warrant being tied up then? This seems so odd to me. Perhaps they were sold? I have heard of such customs."
"When they call that much attention to themselves, I hardly think they can object to our paying attention to them," Sasayaku says cheerfully in reply to Dunja's concerns.
"Besides, if that really is a member of the Royal Family, this is something big."
She seems more interested in the foreigners, though, studying their ship as they approach.
"I get the feeling these foreigners aren't from around here," she mutters.
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The Tengu who had been trailing quietly behind says,
"Whatever it is, It's no concern of ours. I say we go with our original plan and find someplace dry to rest up and look for work that will take us away from here. Or do you think they'll offer us a job to look after an Imperial princess? Make us into Riku'Hi? Hah, and next the moon would become the sun!"
The girl seems resigned to whatever is happening. The foreign boy seems extremely upset, but the gag in his mouth is keeping him from doing anything like begging.
The procession moves onto the dock next to the boat, and the samurai points to the two, and then the boat. "By order of the Emperor, this ship is ordered to leave these waters and never return! Also by order of the Emperor, once the ship has left, these two are to be disposed of in sight of the ship, as a warning to never return. If the ship does not leave immediately, all on board will be killed."
The woman next to him then speaks in a gutteral foreign language, and the crew of the ship mutter angrily. However, the dozen men behind the samurai all draw bows and knock arrows. The arrow tips burst into flames, and it quickly becomes obvious that the ship and it's crew don't have a lot of choice.
"You will leave a boat lowered over the side, and I will see to it that two before me are disposed of in that boat, so you may take them with you, to do whatever you will with them afterward. This much I can do for you." Some of the samurai's men seem surprised at that, but none object.
As the large boat begins undoing the mooring lines, the samurai kicks the back of the knees for both the girl and the boy, sending them to their knees.
The ship draws back out of the slip, and the person on deck who seems to be the spokesman yells something at the Samurai angrily. The woman whispers in the Samurai's ear, but he doesn't respond to the man.
Once the ship is about 40 ft away from dock, the Samurai nods. He steps forward and draws his katana in a lightning swift motion. As it comes up it lashes out toward the boy, and on it's downward stroke lashes toward the girl...
...and the ropes for both fall to the dock as the sword cleanly slices the bonds holding them. With a continued motion, the Samurai grabs the girl in gold by the waist with one arm, and sprints forward, his feet touching not the relatively calm ocean water, but ice that forms over it as his feet come close to the water.
The woman in red likewise grabs the boy around the waist and sprints forward, her feet hovering 6 inches off the water as she runs. The two teenagers are dumped roughly into the boat on the side of the ship. "STAY DOWN!" The Samurai orders, and the woman repeats some gibberish at the boy.
Then the two sprint back to the dock, the ice cracking and breaking up as the Samurai steps back onto the dock. He moves forward toward the men he brought with him, blocking their line of fire toward the ship, which is suddenly madly hauling the boat up via winch.
The men in red seem shocked, and indecisive, and one of their number steps forward. "What are you doing?! You are defying the will of the Emperor!"
"It may be of no real concern to us, but it's a curiosity, and they ARE making a bit of a spectacle of themselves, as if they want to attract attention. We are merely being curious." She cranes her neck to see better as they follow the procession.
"He's saving them! Maybe they are star-crossed lovers? That should be honored if they are... Oh my! I wish I understood more about what was happening here." Kimiko pushes forward through the crowd to get a better look..
Kasani clicks her tongue at the surprising turn of events and shoots an admiring look at the crimson samurai and his lofty companion. She glances down to Zamu at his comment and shrugs, "Perhaps. They saved lives just now, though. Many lives if those flaming arrows are any indication. A noble decision, if you ask me."
Yanyeeku lets out a low moan, It is too early in the day for such hard moral decisions! But if it is love then they should never be killed for it! The kitsune follows after the mikobito shaman taking the opportunity (since everyone is surely not looking his way) to change into his human form.
Needless to say Dunja is surprised at the actions of the two Riku'Hi officials. Zamu was right the two were now liable to be executed, their respective families would likely suffer the same fate. Knowing that they had still chosen to spare the girl and her companion. The samurai may have even used some of his influence to ensure that the task was delegated to himself personally. Perhaps they had been involved in her upbringing?
At the rear of the group Dunja whispers to herself in a voice barely audible above the murmur of the crowd: "Seems like they deserve just a little bit of serendipity." Without further ramblings she attempts to slip away into the crowd and seperzte herself from the other guards.
Carefully she makes her way through the throngs of people while deviously feeling two small pellets in her belt pouch. Once she is close enough to the group of soldiers she discreetly opens the pouch and lobs both of the pellets at them.
Her mind races as she draws another flask from the pouch. In truth she hadn't really thought this far ahead. It was only now dawning on her just how incredibly stupid this plan was. What if the Samurai didn't take the opportunity to escape? She throws the flask at the group while her mind races. Could she take advantage of the crowd, ensuring nobody had any real idea what had transpired? Just after the flask explodes she lets out a loud cry. "ASSASSIN!" she shouts "ASSASSINS!" With any luck the bystanders would take the cue to devolve into chaos.
Chaos suddenly explodes in the docking area, with civilians crying out and fleeing the smoke, while the soldiers in the smoke begin coughing. A few arrows fly over the heads of the Samurai toward the boat, a couple even thunking into the side, but most miss due to the cloud and coughing and hit the water.
Through it all, the Samurai and his companion show no fear, and no intention of moving. The Samurai stands amidst the chaos swirling around him, like the eye of a storm. Over the sounds, he speaks to the man who'd stepped forward (and out of the area of the bombs). "The Emperor ordered that he should never see their faces again, and that they be disposed of accordingly, where the ship would witness it once away from shore. They are disposed of, and the Emperor will never see their faces again, and it was done so the ship could see it after it left dock. I have fulfilled the order of the Emperor, to the letter. If the Emperor wanted them dead, he should have ordered their death. I would have then beheaded both."
The man also ignores the choking soldiers behind him. "You know what the law is, and what was intended... I will not let this pass."
The Samurai tilts his head. "I have done what was ordered, intent is nothing beside what is said. However, I do understand that your honor will not let you let it pass."
The two stare at each other for a long moment, and then there's a flash of motion.
When it's over, a Katana flies through the air to land point first in the dock near Dunja's foot, the metal ringing as it drives point first nearly 4 inches into the hard wood.
On the dock, the Samurai's arms drip frost as he flicks his sword to clear it of blood before sliding it back into it's sheath. The man he'd dueled with lays back on the dock, his front coated with blood red ice from knee to shoulder.
Looking at the soldiers behind the downed man, the Samurai waves. "This is beyond your honor. Take Lord Mirochi to a healer immediately, and return to the Emperor and relate exactly what occurred and nothing more or less."
The soldiers, still recovering from the bomb, look at each other, then at the downed man, and begin recovering him.
The Samurai's companion motions at Dunja. "Retrieve the blade, woman. Before the 'assassins' return. It is now Lord Migari's, by right."
Lord Migari is (or likely now was) The Imperial Senpai, or combat instructor, for the Imperial Guard. The Migari clan have been personal servants of the Emperor for at least 10 generations.
Lord Migari Tarin is known to have a companion, a female mystic, named Nintao Mokota. Little is known about her, or the Nintao clan in general, other than she's a formidable mystic who is equally comfortable using swords as she is spells.
Kasani's unblinking eyes widen slightly in recognition of the Lord's name. She whispers to those erstwhile companions still near her, "Migari? That's a name long loyal to Emperor. And he seems to be as good with the blade as his station would require." She sidles forward slightly as the woman directs her order at Dunja. "And what do you pair intend to do now? I'd guess that was quite a wasted spectacle if you aren't planning to flee."
The samurai shakes his head. "You misunderstand the spectacle, if the spectacle had been intended to allow me to flee, then that would have been an insult to my honor, and I'd be bound to challenge whoever threw the vials." He says, his voice cool but not unfriendly. "Obviously, the vials were thrown with the intent to stop the archers from shooting the ship, and it was very effective, for which I would thank the person. If I knew who it was..."
Next to him, the woman covers her mouth.
Kasani cocks her head as a wry grin plays faintly at the edge of her lips. "If you do not mean to leave, why send your men away without also surrendering yourself?" She glances in the direction the samurai fled with their wounded as she asks the question, but her posture remains relaxed and calm.
I knew there was a reason I liked Dunja, Lingfeng thinks as her fellow guard (ex-guard?) throws her gadgets into the group of soldiers. In the chaos that ensues, Lingfeng makes her way near to Dunja, in case anyone happened to notice her. She jumps a bit when the samurai's duel with the soldier ends with the latter's katana plunging itself into the ground at Dunja's feet.
What a marvelous swordsman, she thinks. She listens to the conversation that follows with great interest. "For what it's worth, I think this is a good thing that you've done," she says, though she cringes as she listens to the words coming out of her mouth. "Er... I mean... It's not as if I'm privy to what exactly was going on here..." She clears her throat and takes a quick bow, remembering the station of the man and woman before her. "What is going on here, if I might ask, honorable sir? This does feel like a conversation we've stumbled into late."
Yanyeeku sidles up behind Kasani and Dunja but stays quietly listening nodding at to himself at the importance of this chance meeting...or the chance meeting of someone so important...
"They are not my men, they are Lord Migari's men, he took it up on himself to accompany me on a mission gave to me by the Emperor." The Samurai says, after a moment of thought. "He did not agree with how I fulfilled that order."
Again, the woman covers her mouth.
The Samurai looks at the people left standing on the dock, and sighs. "Well, I imagine that since you intervened, you'll likely be considered some of mine. I really hadn't intended on dragging anyone else into this. However, the log is burned, and it won't unburn itself. You might as well follow along for a bit."
The two turn to walk off, in tandem, leaving those still standing around (the former guards, now bystanders possibly roped into this) to decide whether they go with them or not.
Kimiko shrugs and follows, hoping the others do as well, even though she wasn't really actively involved. She is intensely curious as to the samurai's intent with them now, especially if following him might result in a way out of this city. She looks back at the others and makes a little gesture to beckon them to follow as well.
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Zamu bows,
"It was well done, Master. The satisfaction of honour and compassion in one blow. Forgive my hasty words, I spoke in ignorance earlier; and who is to say that the Emperor in his wisdom did not speak as he did to allow you such action. It is Lord Migari who should be ashamed at presuming to know the Emperors will. Nevertheless, that is a powerful enemy who will not be satisfied with such a loss of honour before his own men. It would not be wise to linger here. We should make our way to another location before he recovers."
Dunja stands somewhat uncomfortably as the crowd scattered around her. Originally she had intended to melt back away with the fleeing bystandards once her antics were finished. Unfortunately, the sword embedded firmly before her had spoiled that plan, though the Lord would have likely have seen through her ploy regardless. "I guess serendipity cuts both ways, huh?" she growls while glaring at the troublesome blade.
When the Lords companion speaks to her, Dunja hurries to reply. However, with no time to think of a convincing lie she is forced to begrudgingly comply. Most of her attention goes to trying to pry the katana free. "Why are these things so heavy?" she says while struggling with it. By the time she actually manages to free the sword the other guards had gathered and collectively agreed to throw their lot in with Migari. Dunja rushes to catch up and offer the sword to the Samurai. "Your trophy, M'Lord."
Yanyeeku offers a wink to Dunja and bobs his head as he walks after the samurai and companion...
"They are not my men, they are Lord Migari's men, he took it up on himself to accompany me on a mission gave to me by the Emperor." The Samurai says, after a moment of thought. "He did not agree with how I fulfilled that order."
The Samurai eyes the group out of the corner of his eye, and shakes his head. "Lord Mirochi is, indeed, a powerful man... within Rihu'ki. However, we are not there. He is limited in what he can do outside of his lands. And while I disagree with him about the proper disposal of the prisoners, he is well within his rights and honor to do what he did. It is not a pleasant situation at all... even for the children. Although their lot is likely better than mine, at least as far as my ambition goes."
The woman again covers her mouth.
Migari eyes the woman. "Something wrong?"
"Oh, no My Lord. Nothing at all..." The woman's voice sounds slightly strained, perhaps with mirth.
"Ah, I see, well, yes then..." Migari looks up, and turns to enter a seedy looking weapons shop just as Dunja catches up. "Hold on to it until I can get a sheath for it, thank you."
As he steps into the weapon shop, he nods at the shop keeper, an old man with missing teeth and big eyes... or at least, they are big now. "I will require your best armor, my wardrobe will need a change. Also, I'll require your best gray sheath for this." He waves a hand toward the katana Dunja holds. "Finally, a runner to take a message to the Harbingers, I have need of a message to be delivered."
"My lord, may I ask what crime the two committed, and what interest Lord Mirochi had in their disposal?" Sasayaku says softly, catching up to the group and hearing Migari's summary of what happened.