Zaraleva follows as well.
"Ameiko?"
Byron will move up to the door and search it before trying to open it.
Adrian waits to the side as Byron works on the door, waiting impatiently for them to enter the next room.
Byron finds no traps on the door. Opening the door, you move into a partially excavated chamber, with the entire eastern portion of the room still being a rough cavern wall. Against the base of this wall are three identical chests, bound in bronze.
Waiting for Bayron to check the chests for any signs of danger, Lyraesel checks around the rest of the room.
Byron will move forward and search in front of the chests and then each chest for traps.
Aiko keeps her eyes peeled for traps or ambushes while Byron opens the chests.
There are no pressure plates in front of the chests and no traps on the chests. As Byron checks for traps on the central chests, it suddenly flies open! Before any of you can see what's inside, your senses momentarily black out.
When they return, you're somewhere else, far away from Brinewall Castle and Varisia. You see an army of fiends with burning red skin, glaring eyes, and sharp tusks emerging as a storm from a vast forest, descending on a nation of Tien people with katanas and nodachis and tetsubos. As if by some instinct or hidden memory now resurfaced, you all recognize this land as Minkai, in far off Tian-Xia.
Before the horror of this attack can play out, the vision disappears and is replaced in an instant. You now stand outside of a simple well where two friends are engaging in conversation. You can't make out the precise details, but it appears to be something of great import. One of these friends is a young man in royal robes, the other, a man in armor. Suddenly, the armored man grows to three times his height and his skin turns red, and his armor changes to that of jade, and he strikes down the man in robes, lifting his sword in triumph after the fatal blow, and tossing the body of the royal down the well.
Again, as if by instinct, you recognize the fallen royal as Emperor Shigure of Minkai, from the Higashiyama clan, one of the five royal families of Minkai. But even beyond that, you recall, as if you somehow forgot, that Ameiko's true family name is not Kaijitsu, but Amatatsu and that the Amatatsu's are the last of Minkai's royal families.
As you attempt to process this information, this vision is replaced by another. A young Tian man hands a beautiful sword to an Ulfen merchant, richly dressed in furs and jewels in exchange for a bag of gold. Instantly, you recognize the young man as Ameiko's grandfather, Amatatsu Tsutoku, who has fled his native land, adopted the naming customs of Avistan, and renamed himself as Rokuro Kaijitsu. The sword that he is selling is Suishen, a sword that possesses not just great beauty, but also knowledge of the Amatatsu legacy. The money Rokuro makes will finance his family's further flight.
And finally, you see one last vision, this time not of the past, but of the future, or at least a future. You see Ameiko, rising from a deep sleep, but she is not in the gear that she was when you last saw her, nor is she lying in Koya's humble caravan, but she is in the finery of an empress and she is rising from her resting spot on a jade throne. This, is Ameiko's true destiny, to be the Empress of Minkai.
You all awaken and now can see the contents of the chests. In the center chest is a Warding Box, containing the Amatatsu Seal, while in the boxes to the sides are other valuable treasures. You all feel stronger for this experience and also get the sense that you should really check on Ameiko.
Aiko breathes in sharply.
"I understand!" she says suddenly. "I understand it all! I understand what my father did, and why. I understand how we got here and why Ameiko is in trouble and how this is all connected."
She drops one end of dancing wasp to rub her face and says, "Oh, such a secret. But now the secret is out of the box... literally! We have to grab these chests and hurry back to camp. If everything in the vision is right... Ameiko should be awake now!"
Lyraesel shakes her head as if trying to shake off water, clearing her mind as the last remnants of the vision fade. She looks over at Aiko as she speaks with a renewed sense of hope and urgency.
If Lyraesel understood anything of the vision with certainty, it was that more enemies would be coming, and would continue to come after Amaiko and all who protected her.
Aiko was right, they needed to head back t the camp as quickly as possible.
"Did anyone recognize those creatures? Or the monster that killed the Emperor? If those creatures are attacking... or attacked... Minkai, then we will likely run into them sooner or later." Byron says.
"Demon-ogres, what's the word? Oni," says Aiko. "From Minkai. They killed the emperor, tried to hunt down the royal family, but the imperials and their retinue stripped themselves of their goods and their identities, fled here to Varisia. The castle was destroyed by the oni's minions, but the family escaped to Sandpoint... ugh! To think that Lonjiku was their heir, the rightful emperor of Minkai! Pfagh! No wonder my father was so tight-lipped about his relations with them. But Ameiko... she is the Empress of Minkai. And those creatures will stop at nothing to kill her, to wipe out the Amatatsu line and end any challengers to their despotic rule."
The following visions that go through his head felt familiar... even though he was certain he never visited the place before. And through the vivid images everything finally clicked.
When he woke up, it's by sitting up with a jolt... followed by groaning as his mind still felt a bit groggy. "Honestly, having Longjiku dead was a good service for Minkai. I wouldn't want him to rule over Minkai," He shuddered. "But yeah, we need to get back to camp. I have a feeling Ameiko's feeling a lot better." And surprising himself, he brought a small smile out of him.
"You do? I surely don't. But we can discuss it back at camp. We should tell Spivey if we're leaving. And Kelda, do you want to join the caravan? Oh look! Adrian smiled!"
"I sure would. Anything that gets me out of this hellhole."
Bidding farewell to Spivey and taking your newfound treasures along, you all depart Brinewall Castle and head back to the caravan as quickly as possible. When you arrive, you find that the gut feeling you had was correct, as Ameiko has not just awakened from her coma, but is on her feet and looks fully healthy, though she has an incredibly shocked look on her face.
"We need to go! I know what my family's secret is and I know that this is a big ask of you, but we need to go to Minkai!"
"I have come along this far, and I am happy to aid you in getting the rest of the way." Byron says.
Zaraleva twists her face into a lopsided smirk.
"I don't know... I have a lot on my schedule. There's the crafting and the fitting to get my armor just right. And we need to get all the blood and ichor out of these clothes."
She then runs up and hugs Ameiko until something dawns on her. She falls back and takes a knee.
"Oh! Sorry! I have never been in the presence of royalty before. I am at your service, your majesty."
"The oni and their followers will try to stop you. I will be there to help you fight them." Lyraesel says solemnly.
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In spite of exhaustion, injury, and an uncertain future, Aiko hurls herself to Ameiko in a ferocious hug, resting her head against her long-time companion and charge. "Moon over river/has nothing to compare to/the soulmate's visage," she says extemporaneously. Then she backs up from the fierce embrace a step so that she can fluidly go down to one knee, still holding one of Ameiko's hands, which she presses to her face.
"If by my blade or by my life I can deliver you to the end of your quest, you shall have it," she says solemnly.
It seemed like everyone wanted in on hugging Ameiko, and Adrian was no exception. He quickly rushed over to give her a tight one before stepping back... and noticed somw of the others kneeing before hastily going down himself.
"Ameiko... I had no idea," He spoke softly. "But whatever the case, you have my help as well in getting there."
Ameiko is startled and overwhelmed by the sudden rush of attention, especially when you all speak to her like she's someone high and mighty. "Thank you, all of you, but please just call me Ameiko. Especially since there's a ton of people between here and Minkai that would like to see me dead before I reclaim the throne."
She pauses for a moment, still getting used to talking about the throne like it's hers. "The city in the vision, Kalsgard, we need to go there and get the sword that my grandfather sold."
Kelda looks up at that. "Kalsgard's a big city, you know who you're looking for?"
Ameiko nods. "Fynn Snaevald. He was a merchant and I'm guessing a rich one."
"Then we need to supply our little caravan and head north to... actually, I don't know how to get to Kalsgard. Anyone here good at geography?"
"You were right. Kalsgard is about two weeks north of here, through cold, unsettled lands. My clan hails from Kalsgard, I can serve as a guide there."
"Good. We can handle rough terrain, but a guide would make it quicker." the druid chimes in.
"Then it's settle," Adrian said, standing up as he did. "Let's find Sandru and ask him what he thinks we need before heading north."
"Agreed," says Aiko as she fluidly returns to standing.
"And while we sort that out, I'm going to take a bath."
"How expensive will this sword be? I doubt this merchant will give it to us out of kindness." Byron says.
"A bath? Here? I can't say that I don't feel dirty from the past few days, though. What will happen to Brinewall, your excellency?"
"I'm going to head up to the river where it enters the bay and get a good scrubbing with fresh water, including washing my clothes. Slashing one's way through a dungeon is grimy work."
Very well. I'll stand guard and ensure no one spies on you.
Sandru scratches his head and makes a face in thought. "Well, if it's like Kelda says and we'll be traveling two weeks through lands with no settlements, we'll need food."
Ameiko makes a face when the subject of buying the sword is brought up. "That's a really good question. You're probably right, since my grandfather used it to buy a ship with...you guys didn't happen to find any old treasure in there that we might be able to sell in Kalsgard, did you?"
She waves dismissively when the subject of Brinewall is brought up. "Leave it and never come back. I'm not really interested in owning a castle where a bunch of people died horribly. If someone else wants it, they can take it."
Ameiko makes another face, this time slightly annoyed when Zaraleva refers to her as 'Excellency' "I'm serious. Save that title stuff until I'm actually on the throne. But if you're gonna play Royal Servant, then my first order is to watch over Aiko and make sure that no one tries to sneak a glance while she's taking a bath."
Aiko cocks her head and says, "Why is everyone so focused on my bath? It's not as if I'm even the most shapely person in the crew. I'm just going to clean off the grime of those mucky dungeons, it's not like I'm putting on a show." She rolls her eyes.
"We'll have to trade some of the valuables that we wrested from the dungeon, purchase food, and then head to Kalsgard. If we're lucky then maybe along the way we'll run into something interesting that could help."
Shaking her head in amusement, Lyraesel looks over at Shalelu with a shrug. "Want to go for a swim, make sure everyone is safe? The lower parts of that castle were...grimy." she says quietly, almost a mutter.
Shalelu laughs. "Sure thing. You don't have to tell me how filthy the adventuring life is, though the bards somehow always leave that out." She leads you off to go take a swim and bathe.
Ameiko looks towards everyone else. "So does my royal journey begin with us all taking a bath?"
"It has to start somewhere." Lyraesel mutters with a shrug.
With a bit of a grumble, Aiko heads off to the river to clean up. She brings a change of clothes and her favorite comb.
Zaraleva waits until Aiko is finished and armed, then quickly cleans up and returns to crafting.
As someone who preferred to bathe by themselves, this new fact in adventuring quickly became an uncomfortable subject for the monk, who merely turned his head away in case he was caught blushing. "I'll just... bathe in my own time," he replied meekly.
Byron is not sure what all the fuss is about and just helps his brother prepare to move the caravan away from this foul place.
Aiko pats Adrian on the shoulder and whispers some advice to him before she leaves the camp for the river, carrying her change of clothes.
With a chuckle, Lyraesel joins the others heading to the river. A good bath and a refreshing swim was the best thing to put the eerie castle behind her.
Sandru wrinkles his nose as you approach, Byron, and does a small gesture with his head to indicate that it might possibly be a good idea to follow your partymates and take a bath.
Needing supplies for the journey, you all make a quick turn-around to Sandpoint, allowing Sandru to trade some goods for food, while Ameiko designates some employees to take over running the Rusty Dragon and the Glassworks while she is away "for a time", withholding the full details of her departure. Once that is taken care of, the caravan leaves Sandpoint again and makes its' way back towards Kalsgard, passing Brinewall again as it does so.
As the caravan passes through the desolate lands north of Brinewall, the weather gets colder going through the Nolands. Just as Kelda predicted, you don't see any fellow travelers on the road, save for predators such as mountain lions or bears, who leave your caravan alone in favor of weaker, less numerous targets.
Five days into the trip, you pass out of the Nolands and into the Land of the Linnorm Kings, at which point you begin to notice that the birds of the region, scavengers such as ravens and crows begin to fly behind your caravan, hoping to catch some of the scraps you leave behind.
Aiko goes about her bath rigorously, scrubbing away as much dirt and grime as she can, washing her clothes, and only then taking a moment to simply relax and enjoy the fine weather, the beautiful natural scenery, and the cooling rest on over-exerted muscles. She spends quite a while brushing out her hair, returning it to a lustrous black sheen, long and glittering in the sun.
~~~~~~~~~~
As the caravan continues on its way, Aiko idly decides one night to put up the small tent that she took from Brinewall. The tent has embroidery in the Minkaian style, which piques her curiosity. To her surprise, she discovers that once the tent is set up (taking about ten minutes), it's larger on the inside! A 10'×10' tent on the outside, the interior is 30'×30', and better still, the inside has three (small) separate rooms as well as a main section, and it stays warm even in the cold.
Definitely a good find as the weather turns sour and the temperature plummets.
~~~~~~~~~~
Aiko sniffs and nods her head at the birds. "Spies, I'd wager," she says with a hint of paranoia.
"Look at that one! Those eyes..."
Zaraleva loads her crossbow.
Enjoying the opportunity to get clean, Lyraesel follows her bath with a relaxing swim, embracing the time in the natural world. As the caravan heads out into the wilderness after a brief trip back to Sandpoint, she enjoys the time on the road with few other travelers, noting the increasing chill as they move north.
She also begins to notice the increasing numbers of ravens and crows, not always an unwelcome sight given the special relationship between ravens and wolves, but the eerie sight of the unnaturally large raven makes tiny the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end.
Adrian lets out a sigh, but decides not to say anything before leaving on his own. Besides bathing, there were other things that needed to be done in order to prepare for the upcoming trip.
---------
"They don't seem to be that big..." but with others on alert, he brought out his crossbow just in case. "If you think we're being followed, we better take care of that bird sooner rather than later."
Byron looks over at Lyraesel and says, "Can you communicate with it? Or control it and find out if it is a spy?"
Lyraesel considers Byron's words for a moment, looking over at the ravens and crows in the trees around them at one of the points where they stop for a brief rest.
With a shrug, she moves toward the birds, stepping a small distance form the others as she closes her eyes, uttering an incantation in druidic as she closes her eyes, her mind and body reaching out to the primal force of animal life, and drawing it in more deeply, allowing her to better communicate with the animal world.
Opening her eyes, the druidess shakes herself, almost like a bird taking a bath before moving forward with an odd gait, more hops and isolated steps than walking as she voices a question in a corvid-like caw.
"Why do you follow us?"