Harlan's eyes narrow and he watches his companions prepare. He backs Skygni up a few paces and mentally checks his bolts.
Need to remember to buy more of those.
The policewoman looks back and forth from Kiyomi and the man, then notices the rest of the group lurking around the edges. "Back off!" she warns coldly, pointing her blade at Heng and Malnival. She turns back to Kiyomi, ponders a moment, then gives a frustrated grunt. "Get your feebleminded father out of my sight. You should be ashamed, bringing him out in public." She sheathes her sword and gives the man a swift kick in the back, sending him sprawling across the floor. Playing along or not, he makes feeble sounds of obedience and remains prostrate. With a cruel chuckle, she and the other daikan tetsuku move on.
Kiyomi bows repeatedly and low, making sounds of assurance and assent. When the police are gone, she bends low over the old man. "Grandfather, are you well enough to walk? Great apologies, Grandfather. I only wish I could have spared you such a situation as this. Please, my friends and I will help you along and ensure you arrive safely.
The man stands up, his features ashen. "I thank you," he says with a bow. "It was very brave of you to intervene like that. If she had sniffed to your deception, we would both have been killed." He frowns, shoulders slumping. "Perhaps that may have been a greater mercy."
"Peace, Grandfather. They would have tried to kill us. I am fortunate to have friends who would take great offense to the trying. Just as they take great offense to the corruption that bleeds our land. Do not fret, but take hope: change is coming. The Regent will not stand much longer for someone has come to set things right, and we are merely the vanguard of a great war that will put right a great many things that are wrong. Persevere and know that the time of these louts is coming to an end." She kisses him gently on the cheek.
"So uh...what's going on here Kiyomi? Grandfather? Why would the police try to kill you?"
The merchant turns to Harlan, giving a faint smile. "You are an outsider, so the implication of the police woman's question was lost on you. She called me a liar and was going to put me to death for claiming to be from Kokomugi. It can only mean that my town... my home, my family... has been plundered and razed, and all evidence of it to be wiped from history."
"So why would they do that?" Parity asks, still a bit unsettled by the whole encounter and acting a bit on edge as he moves to join the conversation.
The merchant shakes his head forlornly. "Only the governor could say. My town was not wealthy, but we had resources. Perhaps he craved them, or it may be in retaliation for some perceived insult. If they discovered a connection between the rebels and my town..."
"Wait, Heng."
Harlan turns back to the man.
"What rebels?"
***
Harlan turns back to the man. "What rebels?"
The merchant gives you a slightly incredulous look. "You have not heard of the rebels gathering in the north? They are gaigin and ronin, aiming to depose the Jade Regent."
Harlan shakes his head.
"First I've heard of it. What have you heard?"
"Please, Grandfather, we need any information we may find, so that our cause will succeed."
The man shrugs, "I have heard only rumors myself. It is said a band of outsiders has joined with a number of ronin warriors. They have established a base in the north and thrown out the governor's vassal." In a lower voice, he adds, They seek to depose the Jade Regent and bring Emperor Higashiyama back from exile."
"You shouldn't believe every rumor you hear. Does disservice to your wisdom." Parity growls as he follows Heng away.
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Kiyomi smiles at the man, then kisses him on the cheek. "Be well, grandfather. Keep your head down and wait; the moment is coming when all tyrants must fall." She hurries to catch up with the others.
The merchant gives Kiyomi a quizzical look, but then nods and gives a small bow in farewell.
You make your way through the rest of the market to the restaurant at its center. The place is like a building within a building; three stories high with the upper floor balconies overlooking an open central garden. An intricate paneled roof lets sunlight illuminate the area.
A servant host greets your party at the door with a respectful bow. "How may we serve you this fine day?"
"I could eat ... let's sit and see what transpires, eh? These fellas meet near the new moon, not sure what exactly that means, but if it's literally at night, we may have to kill some time," Parity speaks in his native tongue.
Harlan nods along.
"We'd like tea please, and soup if you have it. Do you have camel burgers? I haven't had one of those in a while."
[B]"A nice glass of white wine. Make it a bottle..or three."[b]
The host bows and leads you to a large table adjacent to the center garden. As soon as you sit, serving girls immediately provide drinks -- tea, wine and beer -- and cups of wonton soup. Later, courses of small but continuous servings are delivered to your table, providing a wide array of flavors and textures to choose from. Only after you are sufficiently overstuffed does Ameiko politely wave off any further servings.
The meal does take some time, and after a couple hours, one of your waitresses arrives with a large carafe and cups. "Sake," she explains and begins to pour servings. "A gift from a friend upstairs."
Harlan rolls back, belly distended for the first time since they began their trek so long ago.
"Friend upstairs? Do we know anybody upstairs?"
Monkeys!
Parity smiles thinly and takes a drink, "And so it begins."
He tries hard not to appear nervous.
Malnival Frowns and begins to drum his fingers on the table as he looks around the table at the others. "So it would seem my friend, so it would seem."
"Thank you, and please tell our friend upstairs that we are grateful and would very much like to repay their generosity in person." Kiyomi smiles politely. She sips at the sake, but does not drink it.
The waitress bows to Kiyomi, adding, "My lady, Kondo Yori, will be happy to see you. You may find her on the third floor." She places a small cluster of green bamboo stalks on the table. "This token will grant you access." The waitress bows again and departs.
Kiyomi smiles and picks up the bamboo cluster. "Shall we go?"
Malnival nods and gets to his feet. Enough leisure time, we have work to do."
Parity throws back another sake as he stands. "Yup, let's go."
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Together, you find the stairs and ascend. None bar your passage, but you note that traffic beyond the second floor is nil. On the uppermost floor, you find a handful of patrons spread across the room, all explicitly ignoring you except for a trio seated at a long table near the center balcony.
A plain-dressed peasant woman, thick of neck and limb and with hard eyes, waves you over. She stands and bows slightly as you approach. "Greetings, scions of the Amatatsu." Her eyes flicker to Ameiko in a quick appraisal, but do not linger disrespectfully. "I am Kondo Yuri, of the Emerald Branch. It would be my honor to have you at our table."
She gestures to her two companions, giving introductions. "Ishibasho, of the Black Lotus," she says, referring to a nondescript, balding middle-aged man who stares ahead, rudely not acknowledging your presence. "And Hosokaya Kazu, of the Dragonshadow." This man, the youngest of the three, has his long black hair tied in an intricate queue. With a pleasant half-smile, he stands and bows.
"A rare honor," Kazu says, mostly towards Ameiko. "We expected you sooner," he adds, including the group.
Parity moves to stand behind Ameiko, alert and wary.
-Posted with Wayfinder
Malnival stands back from the others. His hands free of his weapons but ready to cast a spell at a moment's notice.
Harlan beams at the group and bows.
"We would have been up sooner, but you understand how mysterious invites go. First you're getting them and then it's a trap and next thing you know you're running for your life. Reminds me of this time in the swamp when we got a friendly invite and then I got hit in the head with a club. Or something, I'm fuzzy on the details. Anyway, thank you for the invite and we're very happy to meet you all."
"Indeed," Kazu replies to Harlan, his half-smile remaining as he takes his seat.
Kondo Yuri sips saki and speaks again. "Our informants in the north have been watching intently as new things have, shall we say, 'arrived'. We of the Emerald Branch are more than happy to welcome you to Minkai, if your intentions are what we expect they are..."
The Dragonshadow are said to serve a powerful imperial dragon, and only accept jobs to further their own inscrutable goals.
Of the three clans, the Emerald Branch are the most concerned with fighting tyranny and supporting those shackled by Minkai's rigid hierarchy.
Known as master poisoners, the Black Lotus remain strictly neutral in politics, but are willing to take any job for a profit.
Kiyomi stays silent and lets Ameiko speak, but she curtsies politely and keeps her eyes down, yet open!
Slipping closer to Ameiko, she whispers loud enough for her friends to hear, "They represent the three ninja clans. These are the Monkeys, Empress."
Ameiko nods to Kiyomi and steps forward. "Since it appears you already know who I am, then I guess I can confirm what you've heard. We seek to depose the Jade Regent and return Minkai to the rightful rule of the Five Royal Families. As I understand it, that is Emperor Higashiyama, or if he is unwilling... then me."
"I do not do this alone. These men and women with me are my companions... friends and family. They speak as my equals, for I am truly nothing more than a name without them."
Ameiko's words earn the first reaction from Ishibasho, who turns to look at Ameiko, an indecipherable look on his face. Kazu retains his continuous half-smile, while Kondo Yuri appraises her with a blank expression.
"We are here to contract the aid of Minkai's most powerful ninja clans. Or, if that is too ambitious, then perhaps we can at least secure your neutrality. What are your terms?"
The three exchange glances. Kazu shrugs and keeps smiling, while Ishibasho gives a curt head shake. Kondo Yuri sighs and turns back to you. "Each of our clans has its own fees and requirements for contract, but we... unfortunately cannot take your employment at this time."
Parity chokes back his retort as Heng handles the situation with much more tact. He clenches his jaw, seething at the seeming bait and switch and changes his response.
"I assume you mean the agreements that sent you to attack us across the world or do you profess ignorance of those actions?"
-Posted with Wayfinder
Harlan frowns as tensions rise but waits for the ninjas to reply.
"I would never profess ignorance, but that does not mean we had any part in the contract against you," Kazu calmly replies to Parity. "Our beloved Regent has his own agents for such work."
Kondo Yuri nods, adding, "The Oni's Mask are a ninja tong in the employ of the Jade Regent. They have sent their agents after you before, obviously unsuccessfully. Now they have a contract for Ameiko's head, and have assigned one of their most skilled assassins to it. His name is Kaibuninsho. He is a master of disguises and stealth, and bearer of the shinobi fuhonsen."
"Our code prohibits taking contracts from those marked by another clan. So, until Kaibuninsho is defeated or... he fulfills his contract, sadly we cannot help you."
"Kondo-san, you may not take contracts, but may one share information?"