A partial history of the previous regime (deduced from Kimandatsu’s notebooks):
Kimandatsu was once the kami of the largest mountain in the Forest of Spirits, but became drawn to destruction. She eventually abandoned her guardianship and transformed into an oni. She led the oni of the Ceaseless Storm, who prized the destruction associated with war. They were prepared to make plans with a long scope, because order in the present can enable much greater destruction the future.
After one of their older relatives notoriously betrayed the noble he was supposed to defend, three siblings of the Soto family together swore an oath that they would be loyal to their appointed charges unto death and beyond. The elder brother Takahiro and the sister Onoko were both assigned to guard the young Emperor Shigure, while the younger brother Ansai was assigned to the Amatatsu family.
As a boy, Shigure had been appalled by the story of Empress Amatatsu Darriko being deposed by the heads of the other ruling families. He vowed that he would never let that happen to him. He also had dreams of glory through conquest and believed that the best way to protect the people of Minkai was to ensure their military strength.
One day, when Shigure and his bodyguard Takahiro were out hunting, they encountered Kimandatsu in the guise of a beautiful monk who had advice for how the young prince could preserve his reign when he finally became Emperor. Soon, Shigure had made a secret pact with the oni.
Kimandatsu arranged training for Shigure in some ancient monastic traditions. After years of combat practice against specially selected oni and other opponents, which lasted well into his reign, he obtained a degree of mastery that allowed him to choose to stop ageing. However, he knew that his natural life span had not been extended. So he spent years under the influence of successive sequester spells. His plan was to appear only during great crises or victories for Minkai. And as Minkai became ever stronger, his presence would be needed less and less, so that he could be sequestered for longer and longer and essentially rule forever.
When Soto Takahiro was appointed as Regent, this was intended to be a test of the people’s loyalty - those with a tendency to rebel would reveal themselves and be removed from the population. The hints that the Regent wasn’t human and that the Emperor was dead were made deliberately, to give an excuse to the rebellious. The Emperor hoped that after a few generations, this plan would create a culture where loyalty was paramount.
The Regent gave the command for all priests of Desna in Minkai to be killed, and this was a sufficiently evil act to allow him to perform a ritual in which he ended his mortal existence to become a void oni.
Soto Onoko was instructed to seek a form of immortality in which she could keep her powers as a wizard, so that she could use them to defend the Emperor. This is why she was researching methods for becoming a lich.
The Regent was continually building Minkai’s military capabilities. Kimandatsu’s presence in Kalsgard was intended to maintain a foothold on that continent, in preparation for an invasion using the tunnels across the Crown of the World. The assassination of Batsaikhar’s older brother was meant to provoke Hongal to attack Minkai, which would be an excuse for Minkai to begin its invasions.
The Emperor set his sights on conquering the entire world. The Regent and Soto Onoko only wished to serve their master. Kimandatsu was perhaps more pragmatic (although she did not tell the Emperor or the Regent this) - she expected that Minkai’s expansion would be halted at some point, but hoped that there would be a satisfyingly large amount of destruction and death along the way.
About six months after her departure from Minkai, Ven returned. “I think we both knew it wasn’t going to be a long-term thing,” she told the Empress. “He’s fun to be around, but the whole evil gang-leader thing...” Ven shrugged. “Besides, I have important work to do here. You need a court historian! And I should get started recording the first part of the story now, before everything becomes completely crazy around here with royal weddings. If you could just lend me the Seal... It knows so much about what happened!”
A piece of paper among her belongings reminded the Empress of one particular duty she needed to perform. She paid a quiet visit to the parents of Lieutenant Kado and spent some time drinking tea and talking with them.
Some months into the reign of Empress Lahja, the Great Khan of Hongal paid a state visit to Minkai. “When I sent my earlier message,” Batsaikhar said to Lahja, “I was assuming that someone with... perhaps more traditional views would be likely to assume the Jade Throne. I understand that my request for an alliance through marriage was perhaps not appropriate, and I hereby withdraw it. But-”
“That won’t be necessary,” Shinji said. He swept Batsaikhar off her feet and kissed her passionately.
As soon as Batsaikhar regained her footing, she swept Shinji off his feet and kissed him passionately.
A formal alliance between Minkai and Hongal seemed likely.
While Matsu respectfully hinted that it would be entirely reasonable to reinstate some older traditions that had been lost during the Regent’s time in office, Soseki rather bluntly informed the new Empress that her most important role was to listen to the people of Minkai. He immediately began making plans for processes to allow everyone to have more say in how the Empire would be run.
Meanwhile, Ameiko established a large new sake house near the Palace, and used it as an opportunity to hear what her customers had to say. Arashin resigned from the army and joined Ameiko’s staff as an entertainer. Recent rumours suggest that Ameiko and Arashin have been spending a lot of time together...
One night, Olaf was woken by a quiet sound outside the window of his bedroom in the Palace. He went cautiously out onto the balcony, and saw the commander of the Kasai police force hovering in the air just beyond the railing.
“Good evening,” said the commander. “I wish to discuss a continuation of our alliance. It seems to have been advantageous so far. That samisen makes a fine addition to my collection. And I trust that the warning I sent to your caravan master friend was useful. But first... I believe you have some interest in flight? Care for a ride?” Within a few moments, he had transformed into a huge dragon with glowing eyes and dark red scales.
Olaf accepted this offer.
As they soared swiftly through the air high above Minkai, the commander continued talking. “This need not be our last flight together. Journeys in search of new knowledge and journeys in search of new treasures are not incompatible.”
Ven hung a “closed” sign on her teashop, announced that she would be travelling to Varisia with Jubrayl, and asked whether anyone wanted to go with them. No one accepted her offer. However, Toshi was making other plans to return to Varisia - he hoped to continue Sandru’s work and establish a trading business using the tunnels they had discovered to make the trip across the Crown of the World much faster and easier. Safa said that she would return to Varisia with him on his first journey.
Lahja received word from Shalelu and Osserc - they were continuing to build ties with the kami in the woodlands of Hiyosai province. Meanwhile the Forest of Spirits across the northern border was steadily becoming a more welcoming place for visitors.
Koya hoped to help re-establish a church of Desna in Minkai.
Jiro volunteered to advise the new Empress on court protocol and other traditional Minkaian customs, and he seemed content with this role.
Tomoko took charge of the Palace staff, and may also have begun the work of setting up a vast spy network.
Shinji found an opportunity for a private conversation with Ameiko. “Apparently you already know how I felt about you. I’ve just learned what I said to you during that festival - I’d completely forgotten. I humbly apologise. We were very young when we first met and we’ve both been through a lot since. I think we’ve both changed and we both know it. The dreams I had then belong to the past.”
Tomoko gave Akumi (the bonsai kami) into the care of the gardener. Akumi chose a special shelf in the Palace overlooking one of the exquisite courtyards as his main location.
Various high-ranking people in the military and other officials also disappeared, and there were reported sightings of dangerous oni - there was still some work for the travellers to do to ensure that the countryside was safe.
Hatsue, Matsu, Mateyo and Soseki arrived in the capital from their hiding-place among the mountains. “Congratulations on your victory,” Hatsue said to the travellers. “It’s so good to walk freely in the capital again... And a weary former samurai can be expected to listen to only so many arguments about political philosophy,” she added, glancing sideways at Matsu and Soseki.
Meanwhile, the rescued magistrate had returned to Enganoka. The most significant news from that city was that its lord had disappeared. Some clothes and jewels were also missing. The Lord of Enganoka’s final act as ruler of the province had been to pardon the imprisoned priest of Shizuru.
Matsu still considered himself sworn to Olaf’s service. But Olaf was happy to release Matsu, and thanked him for his aid in speaking wisdom to the gardener. “Without your help, we might have all been killed.”
“Was that real in some way?” Matsu asked. “We thought we’d just drifted off into strange momentary dreams...”
Matsu was now free to resume his rule over the province that his younger brother had seemingly abandoned.
A few days later, a coronation ceremony was held in a public park in Kasai, with the high priestess of Shizuru officiating. The sky was clear and it was an unseasonably warm day. A large number of jade-wing butterflies were seen in the surrounding areas.
Overall, the transition seemed to proceed very smoothly. (This can probably be attributed mainly to the major temples all voicing their support for Lahja, and to the amnesty granted to political prisoners. But tales were told of a glamorous, mysterious, elusive pair who had been travelling the realm in the months before the defeat of the Regent and predicting that a new ruler would appear soon.)
Lahja visited Renshii Meida. “Why did you help the Regent?” Lahja asked the prisoner.
“Because he offered me a position of power and influence,” Lady Meida said. “And much more power and influence than someone like you would ever give me,” she added in a defiant tone. “A husband who rules a province and is terrified of his wife is so very useful.”
“What do you want power for?” Lahja asked.
“Having power over others is interesting. Satisfying. Amusing.”
The travellers agreed to keep Lady Renshii Meida imprisoned until she could be handed over to an appropriate court system for trial.
Lahja spoke again to Colonel Arashin about Renshii Meida.
“I have had some time to think,” Arashin replied, “and I realised that I have behaved poorly towards her. I should not have appeared at that wedding banquet, and I should not have continued to pursue her with letters after she refused me. I have no claim on her and no right to speak on her behalf.” Then he knelt before Lahja. “I will request only one thing for her: that you grant her mercy, if possible. And I will request the same for everyone. It’s self-interested, I admit. Some of us are in need of rather a lot of mercy.”
“I want mercy for anyone who means well when they ask for it,” the new Empress replied.
The next day, Lahja called upon some of her divine healing ability to restore one of the dead coffee plants to life. She continued this healing work the following day, to ensure she could present a reasonable number of Sandru’s treasured plants to him when he returned to Kasai from the caverns.
Meanwhile, the other travellers were discovering the difficulty of operating out of a palace that had no staff. Novices from some of the temples volunteered to assist with cooking, cleaning and delivering messages, and Tomoko managed to find a few kitsune to join them.
One of the large rooms on the topmost floor seemed to have been Kimandatsu’s office. There was a letter on the desk, addressed to Kimandatsu from Renshii Meida. In it, Lady Meida described the most recent message she had received from Colonel Arashin. She had made inquiries about who had delivered it, traced the message back to the high priest of Shizuru in Enganoka and had him arrested and questioned. Her letter to Kimandatsu reported her findings: it seemed that Colonel Arashin was in league with traitors. Meida made it clear that she did not care what happened to Arashin and that she would be glad if she never saw or heard from him again.
There were also several shelves of Kimandatsu’s personal journals. (Reading the journals was a time-consuming project, but they eventually made it possible to piece together some of the hidden history of the late Emperor’s reign.)
Nearby, Toshi talked to one of the seers. “Do you have anything belonging to me?”
The seer looked briefly confused, then nodded. “This was given to us, to help with our scrying,” the seer said, and fetched one of the cooking pots Toshi had left with the caravan.
This inspired the travellers to search the Palace thoroughly. In an underground room near the treasury, they found some more items that Sandru hadn’t been able to take with him from the caravan. Toshi retrieved the rest of his cooking gear.
There were also some small empty bags with a faint aroma of coffee, and a few coffee plants, now dead from lack of water.
Meanwhile, Olaf used a scroll to cast stone to flesh on the statue in the chamber hidden beneath the throne room. As expected, the statue became a man. He turned out to be the late Emperor’s uncle, and he was somewhat confused. Early in his nephew’s reign, his comfortable and arguably dissolute existence had been interrupted when he was captured by strange beings and brought to this room in the Palace. He had overheard a voice saying something about needing one family member “not dead” as insurance, and that was the last thing he remembered before seeing Olaf. Olaf made sure there was a comfortable bedroom and some food and drink for the man.
Lahja discreetly left the Palace to pay a visit to the main temple of Shizuru. She told the high priestess what had happened and asked her to arrange for the news to be proclaimed across the city. Lahja then visited temples of all the gods openly worshipped in Minkai, including one dedicated to Susumu.
The general reaction to the announcement seemed positive but muted and cautious. Toshi then advised Lahja to order the immediate release of all prisoners currently being held on charges of sedition. As soon as this was done, the celebrations in the streets of Kasai become much more enthusiastic, with banners and fireworks, dancing and singing, and rather a lot of sake.
A few sendings were cast to let Sandru and other allies know that the mission had been successful.
When they were ready, the travellers informed the guards on duty around the Palace walls that there had been a change in the chain of command, and Olaf instructed a few of them to go out into the city and take down all the notices offering a reward for information about people matching the description of the new Empress and her travelling companions.
A door led from the chamber to another large room. Robed people were standing around a shallow circular pool.
These people answered questions politely but not very informatively - their understanding of the world outside these hidden rooms was limited and abstract, because they had not left the Palace for years or, in some cases, decades. They were seers trained to watch for signs of the Seals.
Further rooms contained rows of desks where people were copying scrolls.
A new ruler was a possibility that these people seemed not to have considered, but they accepted the idea without argument or distress. Lahja suggested a calm gathering in the Palace gardens; Tomoko organised tea while Shinji performed soothing calligraphy. The seers and spellcasters were quietly appreciative, although a few of them blindfolded themselves to protect their eyes from the light of the late afternoon sun.
The gardener bowed low before Lahja. “Welcome, your Serene Majesty. I am the kami of this Palace, and I am bound to protect and obey you.”
“Is there anyone else left in the Palace?” Toshi asked.
“There are no oni in the building, my Lord,” the gardener replied. “Some of their lesser servants are still here, but they are all fleeing. There are some humans down the stairs from that trapdoor behind the throne.”
The travellers made sure that Renshii Meida was securely restrained, and then they climbed through the trapdoor.
A steep staircase led downwards to a vast chamber with dark green polished walls. In the centre of the room was an ordinary sleeping mat. Nearby was a stone statue of a middle-aged man wearing somewhat outdated garments. The statue held a box, with one hand supporting the base and the other placed firmly over the lid. The box was not made of stone, and it looked similar to those used for the Seals of the ruling families.
The travellers were immediately suspicious of the extremely detailed surface of the statue, and they noted a familial resemblance between its face and that of the late Emperor.
The throne room still seemed to be intact, apart from a small amount of plaster dust that had fallen onto Ameiko and Jiro from the ceiling.
Although they had not been conscious of it at the time, the travellers found that they could remember hearing what Ameiko and Jiro had just been saying.
“We are the heads of the surviving ruling families,” Ameiko had said.
“Higashiyama Shigure, we declare you unfit to rule,” she and Jiro had then said in unison. “And we hearby depose you.”
And as the travellers’ awareness returned to the room, Ameiko and Jiro were exchanging glances. Ameiko’s expression was grim. “Palace,” she said, pointing towards the Emperor. “Destroy this traitor and murderer.”
Part of the wall behind the throne became like liquid, rushing forward and closing around the Emperor in a moment.
“Stop!” said Lahja.
The moving wall froze in place - the Emperor was already trapped but not yet crushed.
“Will you serve your people?” Lahja asked.
“I have always served my people!” the Emperor replied in a choked but still defiant tone. “I’m leading them to glory.”
Lahja stepped back.
Ameiko glanced at Jiro again and then spoke to the gardener. “Continue,” she said.
The wall engulfed the Emperor and pulled him backwards. A few seconds later, the space behind the throne had returned to normal. The wall was smooth and unmarked - the only sign of any change was a quickly fading aura of evil somewhere within it.
Matsu appeared. He looked disoriented and startled, and he was also holding a shogi piece. He bowed to Olaf and then faced the gardener. “As a ruler, you must put the welfare of the people first, before the state.”
“Majest-” said the gardener. Before he finished speaking the word, the featureless white plain broke apart and the travellers were back in the Palace throne room.
“I will call someone I never met in life,” said Toshi. “My grandfather Tsutamu, also known as Soto Ansai.”
A Minkaian man appeared and bowed. “An Emperor who cares so little about his country that he never stands before the people and relies on assassins has no place on the throne.” As he spoke, he gradually seemed to become younger, and his merchant’s clothing shimmered and altered until it was the armour of a noble samurai.
The spirit of Soto Ansai then turned towards Toshi. He shook Toshi’s hand while clasping his shoulder, and then greeted Shinji in the same way. “Well done. I am proud of you both.”
When Mateyo appeared, he looked nearly as confused as the magistrate had. He was holding a shogi piece in one hand. “Although you may wear many faces, you can always respect tradition, respect the spirits and make the right choices,” he said.
“Zaiobe taught me that it doesn’t matter who you are or what people expect of you,” said Shinji. “You can choose your own destiny.”
Zaiobe appeared, looking perhaps even more magnificently beautiful now. The feathers of her wings seemed to be tinted with a golden light, and when she spoke, her voice echoed like the gardener’s. “The expectation of everyone I met was that I would be evil and do evil. Instead, I found a new path and transformed into a being of protection and good.”
Lahja stepped forward. “I will call the soldier named...” She unfolded a piece of paper and read from it. “Kado. He made me think about what happens to people who help me.”
Lieutenant Kado appeared. He did not look surprised or confused. He bowed, first to Lahja, then to the dragon, and then to the other travellers. “Only you can decide which orders are worthy of being followed,” he said. “And you should only follow the orders that you know to be right.”
He bowed again, this time towards the gardener, and then faded.
Part Fifty-Three In which an Empress is crowned, coffee plants are resurrected, new journeys are planned and this chronicle is begun
“Wait!” said Lahja.
At the same time, Ameiko and Jiro both started to reach for the boxes containing their Seals.
“Are you the real Emper-” But before Lahja could finish her question, she found herself standing on an endless, featureless white plain. Olaf, Tomoko, Shinji, Toshi and Colonel Arashin were there too, and the jade dragon of the Amatatsu Seal stood before them.
“The gardener is the kami of this building,” the dragon said, “and he’s about to bring the ceiling down on all your heads. Ameiko and Lord Jirosu may be able to prevent this, but they need time.”
“This place is timeless, isn’t it?” Olaf asked.
“Not entirely,” the jade dragon replied. “But we do have much more time here, and we can use it to draw the Palace’s attention. The Palace defends the ruler, but it has another ancient role that has perhaps been forgotten. It is required to hear and remember words of wisdom brought to it from across the Empire. Unfortunately, since you have just been condemned to death by the Emperor, the Palace is not obliged to listen to you. You’ll need to call on someone else. Someone you’ve learned something from during your journey here. You first, Colonel.”
The colonel looked startled. “Me? I assumed I was just here by accident.”
“No accident,” the dragon replied. “Who will speak your lesson?”
Colonel Arashin thought for a few moments. “Can I choose someone I’ve never met? There was a magistrate in the city of Enganoka... I’d never even heard of the man when I was briefly accused of letting him escape from prison. After I was released, I was curious. Why would anyone suspect me of helping him? I learned what I could about him. If he had ever given me advice, I think it would have been something like-”
Some of the travellers recognised the person who appeared among them - it was the magistrate they had rescued. He looked disoriented and confused, but he spoke clearly. “If you allow fear to control your actions, then you become a prisoner of your own mind.”
A faint image of the gardener appeared in the white space. He was standing to one side but seemed to be listening. Somehow, he looked like an ordinary Minkaian man in plain brown robes, and at the same time like something much more massive, solid and ancient.
“As,” said the gardener. His voice sounded like a normal human’s and also deep and resonant, like an earthquake echoing within a huge enclosed structure.
The PCs have released Colonel Arashin from his cell, and they have defeated the Jade Regent and Kimandatsu after a battle in the Palace throne room. Lady Renshii Meida is currently unconscious but stable.
A man (the long-lost Emperor???) has just emerged from a trapdoor behind the throne, accompanied by one of the Palace gardeners. The possible Emperor has addressed the gardener as ‘Palace’ and has ordered him to destroy the ‘traitors’.
Lahja ran towards Lady Meida and at the last moment (or perhaps very slightly beyond it), she used her powers of divine healing to rescue the fallen women from death.
Lahja looked around at Colonel Arashin. “Do you want us to save her?” she asked.
Arashin hesitated. When he spoke, his voice sounded anguished. “I’m sorry,” he said, “but I cannot make that decision.”
There was a faint click from behind the throne, and a previously hidden trapdoor in the floor was pushed open. A man stepped up into the room. He appeared to be somewhere between thirty and forty years old, and he was dressed in plain white robes. He was followed by a slightly shorter man who wore the clothes of a gardener - some of the travellers remembered meeting the second man in the Palace grounds during their previous visit.
The man in white glanced around at the scene and then spoke to the gardener. “Palace, destroy these traitors.”
Meanwhile, Toshi had been throwing many bombs at Kimandatsu, and some quite unpleasant smells were starting to fill the room. Olaf added to the confusion by summoning a pair of dinosaurs.
Having failed to do anything for or against the Regent, Lady Meida ran towards Kimandatsu. Her motives were still unclear. However, when Meida cast heal and touched Kimandatsu, Shinji concluded that the lady’s allegiances were now obvious. He loosed many arrows in her direction.
Finally, the dinosaurs’ attacks against Kimandatsu gave Tomoko a chance to run in close and strike the oni down. And when the last arrow from Shinji’s volley hit Lady Meida, she collapsed. The battle for the throne room appeared to be over.
After magical reconnaissance and a few other preparations, the travellers stepped into the hallway and pushed open the doors.
The throne room looked the same as it had when some of the travellers had visited previously. There were still eight empty alcoves set into the walls. Once again, the Jade Regent was standing just in front of the steps leading up to the throne. His face was expressionless as he drew his black-bladed katana.
Shinji stepped forwards. “I am Lord Amatatsu Shinji, heir to the Empire,” he announced. “Your life is forfeit!” He loosed several arrows at the Regent.
The Regent strode towards Shinji. “He told me that the traitors would all be lured here at last, and he spoke truly,” the Regent said, as if to himself. He swung his blade at Shinji.
Shinji stepped back and shot more arrows while Lahja, Skygni and Tomoko closed in to attack the Regent.
Ameiko began playing her family’s samisen, its magic giving the travellers insight into the weaknesses of the oni. Somewhat unexpectedly, Colonel Arashin started to sing - his inspiring voice blended with the samisen’s tones.
The air just in front of the alcoves seemed to shimmer with eerie light, and Lady Renshii Meida was suddenly standing inside one of the alcoves. And on the other side of the room, the shimmering light faded and Kimandatsu appeared in the oni form that some of the travellers had seen outside Kalsgard. Lady Meida ran towards the Regent. The travellers did not try to prevent her - they were unsure whose side she was on.
Shinji stopped shooting, lowered his bow, closed his eyes and stood still.
The Jade Regent swung his katana twice and wounded Shinji twice. The third blow also struck Shinji, and it would have felled him if Lahja had not used divine magic to take his injury onto herself.
The Regent’s fourth attack missed, and he was finally destroyed by Skygni’s bite.
Part Fifty-Two In which a colonel unexpectedly sings (and some fighting occurs)
Lahja and Olaf had just begun to talk with the colonel when they were interrupted by a whoompf from the corridor outside the cell. This was followed by noises that sounded like a gong being struck three times in a distant room.
Tomoko hurried back into the cell - she was unharmed (and indeed unmarked) by the fireball that had been triggered when she started to investigate the door at the end of the corridor. Soon afterwards, a few of the travellers heard a voice speaking beyond the trapped door, and some of them sensed themselves resisting a magical attempt to enter their minds.
They decided not to spend time trying to open the trapped door. Instead, they appeared at the other side of the door with the assistance of Olaf’s dimensional steps ability (leaving Ameiko and Jiro behind to look after the colonel). Two ogre mages were waiting on the other side, standing ready with blades drawn. One of their blows was particularly skilfully aimed and wounded Lahja severely, but the travellers still managed to defeat the oni.
Tomoko opened the trapped door from the outside, and the travellers returned to the cells. Arashin explained that he had been imprisoned on the order of his great-great-great-(this chronicler has never been able to ascertain the precise number of greats)-great-great-grandmother Kimandatsu. He still seemed somewhat dazed from his ordeal, but he offered to help his rescuers by guiding them along the corridors and staircases used by Palace servants - this was a quick route to a grand hallway whose doors led into the throne room.
Amatatsu Darriko has been left behind on the island (for the time being, anyway).
Congratulations to Lahja and Sandru on their engagement!
The PCs (along with Ameiko and Jiro) have made their way via two tunnels to an underground level of the Imperial Palace. They have just found Colonel Arashin in a prison cell.
The travellers walked along the tunnel, which headed directly towards the Palace. But when they were about halfway to their destination, the tunnel was intersected by another. While the first tunnel appeared to have been painstakingly carved out of the bedrock, the second looked as if someone had melted a way through.
The travellers decided to continue along the first tunnel. It reached a dead end at a point where the travellers believed they were beneath the Palace. They quickly found a hidden door, which opened onto a rectangle of what seemed to be a paper-thin but intensely hot layer of flame. Tomoko considered taking the risk of just jumping through, but the others persuaded her that they should try the alternative way first.
The second tunnel ended beneath a very large circular metal trapdoor, barred from above. Toshi worked out several ways to open it, chose one and let the other travellers through.
The room above had a normal-sized door leading to a corridor with prison cells on either side. Only one cell was occupied - the prisoner was dressed in rags and was lying on the floor, and he appeared to be semiconscious at best. The travellers unlocked the door and Lahja used some of her powers of healing to help the man. As soon as they saw his face, the travellers recognised the prisoner as Colonel Arashin.
There seemed to be no reason for further delay. The travellers went with Ameiko and Jiro to the place Darriko had described, which was now a somewhat overgrown patch of land on the boundary between two large farms. Despite lengthy searches, the travellers found no sign of concealed portals. The only trace of anything unusual was a very faint and indistinct aura of evil across one part of the ground.
So Olaf summoned a pair of earth elementals. With the assistance of some Terran-in-a-bottle (a potion of tongues supplied by Toshi), Olaf asked the elementals to burrow systematically and report back on whether they found any old tunnels. The elementals eagerly complied and soon reported back - but only after digging a perfectly square entrance into the soil and a neat set of stairs leading downwards to an empty corridor.
The travellers were unsure about the best course of action to take next, so they asked Koya to cast divination. She sent two questions: one about whether the travellers should pay a visit to Renshii Meida before going to the Imperial Palace, and one about whether Ameiko and Jiro should stay hidden in a safe location. Koya did not receive any clear answer to the first question, but the response to the second was unequivocal: it was vital for the travellers to take Ameiko and Jiro with them to the Palace.
The travellers then left the island on board a phantom chariot conjured by Olaf. It soon became apparent that an alarm had been raised - they saw fireworks launched from naval vessels as signals, and some ships began sailing in search patterns. The chariot was too swift and agile to be caught, however, and the travellers were able to reach land unseen. They returned briefly to the smugglers’ caves. Lahja went to speak with Sandru in private.
It is believed that Sandru proposed to Lahja, but she warned him that things had changed and their life together might not be what he was expecting. She said she wouldn't mind if he didn’t want to marry her now. Sandru was startled by the news, but he repeated his offer and Lahja accepted. (This chronicler cannot say how any details of the proposal became known - surely it couldn’t be possible that someone was eavesdropping...?)
Shinji remembered some history: Amatatsu Darriko had ruled Minkai over two hundred years previously. Although she had several adult children, various nieces and nephews, and several possible candidates from other houses to choose from, she never got around to selecting an heir to seek the blessings of the past rulers. Instead, she had continued her reign until she was nearly eighty - but she still looked agelessly beautiful according to stories from the time. The heads of the other four ruling houses finally agreed to depose her, and she was replaced by one of Jiro’s ancestors.
“Yes, there were plenty of possible heirs,” Darriko explained. “But no suitable ones. They were all incompetent, irrational or lazy. Sometimes all three at once. Completely incapable of ruling. I had to make the bargain that I did, for the good of the Empire.”
“Well, you did succeed at one thing that few others have achieved,” said Shinji. “Uniting the ruling families.”
Darriko reiterated her offer of help, and complained once again of the vast boredom of her existence on the island of the Imperial Shrine. But after listening and considering, the travellers (and Lahja in particular) decided that it would be too risky to let her leave the island while so much else was at stake. They did eventually manage to persuade Darriko to reveal what she knew about the location of her tunnel into the Palace. In exchange, they promised that if they survived, they would return in more peaceful times, allow her to leave the island and give her a chance to redeem herself.
Also, everyone say hi to ex-Empress Amatatsu Darriko...?
Amatatsu Darriko is offering the location of some particularly secret doors into the palace (the doors will only appear when she is present, she claims), in exchange for a way off the island. Yes, she has tentacles in her hair. Yes, she detects as evil.
“Take these, as well,” said the voices of the rulers. Pale green prism-shaped gemstones appeared in the air, floating around the travellers’ heads. “They will be yours until the next coronation. All of you, go forth with our blessings.”
The rulers began to fade into shadow. One voice - that of the woman in jade-green - lingered as the roof was replaced by blue sky and the flames in the paper lanterns flickered and died. “Remember what you have learned on this island, and what you will learn.”
Only one of the past rulers remained, standing amid the ruins of the shrine. “Good morning,” said Darriko, smiling.
They dreamt of fighting alongside a desperate band of heroes - ragged nobles and some lowborn impostors - against an alliance of evil oni who sought to conquer Minkai by force. The struggle was long, and some of the conflicts led to betrayals, heartbreak and death, while others took a few heroes into dark realms somewhere beyond death. The surviving leaders (including at least one impostor, but who really cared at that point?) founded the five houses that would rule the recovering empire.
After a generation of war leading to a victory that should have been final, the travellers woke, and it seemed that only a few seconds had passed.
“Your other companions also deserve whatever aid we can give,” said the rulers. One of them made a subtle gesture. Toshi and Tomoko saw the shrine restored around them. The past rulers appeared clearly in front of them.
“Lahja’s been chosen as the Empress,” whispered Shinji. “You need to kneel.”
Toshi burst out laughing and clapped Shinji on the shoulder. “Good one, cousin!”
Shinji kicked Toshi in the back of his knees, forcing him to kneel.
“Rise,” said the rulers. “We will give you knowledge to help you in the battle to come.”
One of the rulers moved the palm of his hand in front of the travellers’ eyes, and they found themselves falling into a dream.
“Would you mind telling us how you came to be here?” asked the woman in the jade-coloured robes.
Lieutenant Kado bowed again. “When I was given those written orders, telling me to hand over the prisoners and report elsewhere, I was happy to obey. After that conversation in my head the night before, I guessed that the orders were forged as part of a ruse to rescue the prisoners. And when we reported in, the officers seemed to accept my explanation. I thought we’d got away with it, for a while. But a couple of weeks later, one of the Typhoon Commanders arrived to investigate. It’s well known they can read minds. And so when she asked me if I had any suspicions that the orders weren’t genuine... I didn’t see any point in trying to lie to her.”
As the lieutenant spoke, the travellers felt the temperature of the air around them begin to drop steadily.
Lieutenant Kado turned to the travellers. “I’m sorry, I tried not to reveal anything more. But under interrogation, I ended up telling them everything I knew. I couldn’t resist their magic. I hoped you had been in disguise, and it seems I was right...”
“I’m sorry,” said Lahja miserably.
“There’s nothing for you to apologise for,” Kado told her. “I am grateful that I was able to redeem myself in some way, and I am glad that my soldiers are still safe. I only ask one thing. If possible, once all the danger is past, would you be able to find my parents? And tell them... tell them that I was not a traitor.” He bowed again and began to fade.
Lahja started searching her possessions for a pencil and paper so she could note down his name and a reminder for herself. Wordlessly, Olaf handed her a pencil. Kado vanished into nothingness.
As Lahja began writing, glowing golden symbols appeared on her forehead and the backs of her hands. “Go forth with our blessing, Amatatsu Lahja,” said the united voices of the past rulers.
Frowning in concentration over spelling, Lahja did not appear to notice.
“Go forth with our blessing, Empress Amatatsu Lahja,” said the rulers, a little more loudly.
“I’m sure you’re getting a sense of just how boring this place can be,” Amatatsu Darriko said to Toshi and Tomoko. “I need to get out of here. There’s a lot that I can offer in exchange. Toshi? You like Ameiko, don’t you? Shinji’s lost his chance, but I can give you advice on how to win her heart. I am her great great something after all.”
“I like Ameiko, but only as a friend,” Toshi replied firmly.
Darriko turned to Tomoko. “How about you, Tomoko? People often overlook you. What do you want when this is all over? I know how power works. I can help you gain a place of influence in the new Minkai.”
“Thank you, but I have my own plans,” said Tomoko.
“All right then, I can offer all of you a way into the Palace, past the wall and the guards. A proper secret tunnel, not a silly one that anyone could discover accidentally. The doors at each end don’t even exist unless I’m present. That was part of the bargain.”
“Does it go into the treasury?” Tomoko asked brightly.
“It seems,” said one or more of the past rulers, “that all the candidates are flawed in one way or another.”
“It hardly matters,” said some of the others. “We must choose someone. The current regime cannot be allowed to continue.”
One of the rulers - a middle-aged women in jade-green robes - spoke next, alone. “It is perhaps time to hear from someone who has kindly agreed to delay a journey to visit us.”
The travellers heard footsteps approaching from outside the shrine. A young man wearing a modern Minkaian military uniform walked into the space and bowed deeply. “Your Majesties. Honoured candidates.”
Lahja, Olaf and Shinji all recognised him as Lieutenant Kado, who had been in command of a small group of soldiers escorting prisoners through the province of Hiyosai. Toshi and Tomoko only saw the arrival of another indistinct, shadowy figure among the ruins.
“Lord Amatatsu Olaf,” said the past rulers, “your actions in the recent past have arguably been rather more... pragmatic than Lahja’s.”
“That is perhaps true,” Olaf replied, “but I believe in acting in the cause of Good above all.”
“But where do you draw the line?” asked an Emperor in an old military uniform. “If you do not draw the line at desecrating a sacred island by summoning demons onto it to help fight your battles for you?”
“That is a difficult question,” Olaf said, “and I will have to think carefully in some cases, but I can state that I will always make my choices in the cause of Good.”
Some of the past rulers were perhaps frowning.
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