In which Ameiko tries out several disguises and code-names
One of the volunteers’ rowing-boats appeared out of the fog and approached the bank. “We’re not sure what happened,” an Olaf said. “We were towing the funeral ship, but the line must have been cut somehow. Then I think we went around in circles in the fog for a while. Maybe because Olaf here was rowing backwards. That was fun! What are we doing next?”
The travellers decided to return to the city and then to their caravan. As they rowed back upriver, they heard noises that could have been from the remnants of brawls still happening on the bank. Through a gap in the fog, the travellers glimpsed the torch-lit pier, where a brown-haired armoured woman and red-haired man leaned drunkenly against each other and spoke to a few of the city guards.
Once the rowing-boats returned to Kalsgard, the travellers thanked the volunteers and asked if any of them wanted to make a journey to Minkai. Then the travellers hurried back to the caravan. There was no response when they knocked on the wagon where Ameiko usually slept.
“She’s hiding in the coffee,” Sandru said. “We got your warning.”
The travellers went to one of the cargo wagons. Ameiko climbed out from among the large sacks of coffee beans. “What’s going on?”
“We have failed you, my lady,” Shinji said. “Do you require someone to commit seppuku?”
“What? No!” said Ameiko, sounding panicked. “No, of course not.”
Olaf gave a less emotional account of recent events.
The travellers then interrogated the captured ninja, who was resolutely silent at first. But Safa’s grandmotherly admonishments and Tomoko’s quiet threats may have paved the way for Safa’s charm person spell to be successful.
“What’s your name, dear?” Safa asked in Tien.
After a long pause, the ninja spoke. “Code-names only! I’m Crimson Raven.”
The ninja was clearly struggling with mental contradictions – the magic made her think of Safa as a friend, but she had no friends. She seemed to resolve this by concluding that the travellers were poorly briefed colleagues of hers.
With careful questioning, the travellers learned that Crimson Raven worked for an organisation known as the Frozen Shadows, which was led by Omayu, a “master of combat and poison”. Omayu served a woman named Kimandatsu. Ulf Gormundr was being held prisoner by Kimandatsu, who wanted him alive because she expected his skills and knowledge to be useful to her. Ulf was in Ravenscraeg, a fortified house built among cliffs not far from Kalsgard – it had once belonged to Snorri Stone-Eye but had been sold a number of years ago. Ravenscraeg was of course guarded, and a code-phrase was required to gain entrance.
“We were given a new code-phrase very recently,” Toshi said. “Maybe it has superseded yours. Which one do you have?”
“The jade raven falls at midnight,” said the ninja, and explained that this code-phrase would be valid until next sunset.
Toshi created some more secure bonds for the ninja out of alchemical cement.
The travellers gave one of their hats of disguise to Ameiko, and she practised looking like various people, including Tomoko, Shinji and the Sandpoint postman.
Shalelu suggested that the travellers – along with Koya and Ameiko – should spend the remainder of the night in Kalsgard rather than staying with the caravan. The travellers agreed to find an inn.
“We need to be constantly on the alert,” Shinji said. “When you’re facing a ninja, watch your back.”
When Tomoko woke Shinji for his turn on watch, he spoke rapidly. “I dreamt about the jade dragon – I need to tell you before I forget. It wanted to remind us that it can heal the heirs, and we don't need to open the box to receive the healing. As long as we’re touching the box, it will work. We should carry the Seal with us.” The travellers agreed that Shinji would carry the Seal hidden at the base of his quiver.
In the morning, Olaf visited the Jade Quarter of Kalsgard and spoke to some scholars to find out what they knew about oni.
The travellers then went back to the caravan to check that everything was all right there. They found large black feathers scattered around the area, and Zaiobe was tending to a badly injured Shalelu. “They asked me not to contact you,” Zaiobe told Shinji through their telepathic bond. “Your elf woman is a bad patient,” she added.
The caravan had been attacked by a small group of tengu ninja, who seemed to be searching for someone or something. The defenders had managed to drive them off – perhaps the ninjas’ decision to retreat had been influenced by Sandru shouting that “they” had left the caravan.
“He should not have said that,” Shinji said. “He revealed information to our enemies.”
“What information?” Toshi asked. “That we have working feet?”
Shalelu staggered upright. “We need to track the ninjas,” she said, and promptly fell forwards onto her face.
When she was more thoroughly healed, Shalelu managed to track the tengu for some distance – they seemed to be heading in the direction of Ravenscraeg. The travellers decided it was time for them to go there too.
The travellers walked towards the cliffs until they could see the house built into a narrow defile. Azu-Bemphi flew over the house and reported back with the information that there was a small dell behind the house, with a path leading deeper into the cliffs and rugged hills.
Since there were two human ninjas who would not have returned from the funeral ship, Tomoko and Ameiko offered to disguise themselves as Frozen Shadows ninjas and scout ahead, to try to find out where Ulf was being kept. Tomoko wore the dark blue shinobi shozoku taken from their captive, and Ameiko used the hat of disguise to look like another ninja. If asked, Tomoko would give the code-name of Crimson Raven. The travellers tried to invent a plausible code-name for Ameiko, and ‘Scarlet Wasp’ was eventually chosen (it ranked slightly ahead of ‘Purple Octopus’).
While the other travellers watched from a hiding-place at the base of the cliffs, Tomoko and Ameiko climbed the long, zigzagging set of wooden ramps and stairs up to the house. Along the way, a large winged insect with a spider-like head emerged from beneath one of the landings and looked at Tomoko and Ameiko, but allowed them to pass without attacking them. When they reached the front door, Tomoko gave the code-phrase, and two tengus on guard duty let them into the great hall. The two imitation ninjas subtly explored around the hall, finding a few bunkrooms, storage for food, and a room that seemed to be part torture chamber and part laboratory for brewing poisons. In a small adjoining cell was Nezhrovan, chained to the wall and barely conscious.
Tomoko found the key to the cell hanging on a wall among various implements. She opened the cell door and freed Nezhrovan from the manacles. “Be careful,” he told her in a choked voice. “They’re looking for you ... there’s a woman ... beautiful, blonde hair, but that’s not her true form. I don’t think she’s human.”
Tomoko gave him water to drink. He explained that he had woken up strapped to the table in the laboratory, and had been subjected to questioning about the travellers – what were their names, had any of them recently returned from a trip to the north of Sandpoint, and what was the purpose of their current journey? He had pretended that he had never paid much attention to his travelling companions, and deliberately got their names wrong. When he had sensed magic intruding on his thoughts, he had tried to fill his mind with the song Safa had taught him.
He said he had overheard mention of another prisoner, who was being kept “downstairs”.
He had been searched, and his belongings had been left on a table in the laboratory – they included a set of masterwork thieves’ tools, several daggers in scabbards that could be concealed inside his boots, a garrotte designed to be hidden inside a shirt cuff, and a bloodstained sealed letter. When Tomoko offered to return these to him, he asked about the letter and snatched it out of her hand. He then thanked her profusely for all her help. Because his absence from the cell could be easily noticed and might place the inhabitants of Ravenscraeg on alert, he agreed to stay in his cell until the rest of the travellers arrived to rescue him and Ulf. Tomoko left the key to his cell with him.
Tomoko and Ameiko then went downstairs from the laboratory. They found a locked treasury, and a secret door concealing a storeroom stocked with fine food and wine. Beyond the storeroom, there was a short corridor leading to a double door. A short distance in front of the doorway, there was a pair of alcoves facing each other across the corridor. Each contained a statue of a samurai that held up a curved sword. Tomoko and Ameiko did not like the idea of walking between those statues.
They spoke the code-phrase and stepped forwards cautiously. The statues began to move and seemed to be about to slash their blades downwards. Tomoko and Ameiko backed away quickly. The statues stopped moving. Tomoko then tried saying the name ‘Kimandatsu’.
The noise of footsteps came from beyond the double door.
Tomoko and Ameiko ran as quietly as they could back to the storeroom and hid. There was the sound of a door being opened. “Did you hear someone saying my name?” asked a woman’s voice.
The two imitation ninjas decided that it was definitely time to go back outside and rejoin their companions.
- The Amatatsu Seal has reminded Shinji that it possesses some healing magic it can use on members of the Amatatsu family. (It mentioned the ability to remove curses and diseases, and cast restoration. It advised Shinji not to die too frequently, because it can only bring an Amatatsu heir back from the dead once a month.) Shinji is currently carrying the Seal (in its warding box).
- Nezhrovan is staying in his cell for the time being.
- Ulf may be imprisoned somewhere “downstairs” in Ravenscraeg.
- It grants +2 to Perform (string) checks.
- The person carrying the samisen (as long as it’s not hidden in an extradimensional space like a portable hole) gains +5 to Diplomacy checks when interacting with kami.
- If it’s being played by someone with at least one rank in Perform (string), any allies who can hear it gain +2 insight bonuses to attack and damage against oni.
- Someone with at least one rank in Perform (string) can use the samisen to cast feather step once per day and solid note once per day. Someone with at least four ranks in Perform (string) can use the samisen to cast feather step, solid note, misdirection and whispering wind, each once per day. Casting any of these spells is a standard action and requires the performer to play a chord or brief melody. The caster level equals the performer’s ranks in Perform (string), and the DC for any saves equals 15 + the spell level (as cast by a bard) + the performer’s ranks in Perform (string).
In which increasingly many people are disguised as ninjas
Watching from a hiding-place near the base of the cliffs, the travellers saw two ninjas step out through the front entrance of Ravenscraeg and hurry down the wooden stairs.
The ninjas approached the hiding-place stealthily. “Hm,” said Shinji. “Perhaps our code-phrase should be: We should have agreed on a code-phrase.”
The ninjas uncovered their faces, revealing themselves to be Tomoko and Ameiko. They recounted their experiences inside Ravenscraeg and noted that they had overheard a woman’s voice using a second code-phrase (“stylish silk kimonos”) to get past the two statues. Tomoko and Ameiko had then quickly returned to the great hall, where they had knocked out the two tengu ninjas on guard duty and wedged shut the doors to the two bunkrooms.
It would not be long before these actions would be discovered and the alarm raised, so the travellers decided to act quickly. However, they did not want to be attacked by the spider eater hiding beneath the wooden stairs.
The shinobi shozoku and the two hats of disguise would allow three of the travellers to look like ninjas. The other travellers would pretend to be prisoners. For some reason, Shinji was keen to be one of the people disguised as ninjas.
The travellers climbed the zigzagging staircase. There were two imitation ninjas at the front and one at the back of the group, and the other travellers held a rope between them as if bound.
The spider eater emerged again. It looked at the ninjas and the group they were escorting. After a few moments, it returned to its place beneath the landing, perhaps with a spider eater’s equivalent of an expression of disappointment.
The front door was now unlocked and unguarded. The travellers retrieved two more shinobi shozokus from the unconscious tengu guards. After a bit of adjustment to the dark blue cloth, two more of the travellers were disguised as ninjas.
The travellers quickly made their way to the chamber adjoining Nezhrovan’s cell.
“We’re rescuing you properly now,” Lahja said. She healed Nezhrovan and asked him about his time in captivity. “If they were hurting you, why didn’t you tell them what they wanted to know?”
“You were my travelling companions,” he said. “We’ve worked together, sung songs together ... I’m not going to betray you to bullying strangers.”
He collected the rest of his belongings from the table outside his cell. Meanwhile, Toshi picked up a few items of alchemical equipment and some pamphlets of recipes for poisons.
Olaf heard the sound of a single footstep on the staircase beyond the closed door. He alerted his companions. They waited and listened, but there was no more noise. So they opened the door. A brief fight with a man in dark blue followed – the travellers’ opponent was slowed by one of Shinji’s magic-infused arrows, and Lahja closed in to knock the man unconscious.
The travellers then went down to the corridor with the statues, and Ameiko warned Lahja not to step between them, in case they started moving again.
“Are statues allowed to do that?” Lahja asked.
Ameiko spoke the code-phrase she had overheard, and Osserc pushed open the double door. He was confronted by a blonde woman who was ready with an arrow nocked and drawn. When she loosed it, it burst into flames.
Lahja charged in to attack and Ameiko moved around to flank. Soon afterwards, the area surrounding the blonde woman was plunged into darkness, and the woman began attacking with a studded club. When the travellers eventually managed to strike the woman down, the darkness ended in time for them to see the woman’s body transform into a cloudy substance and move towards the doorway.
The travellers pursued the dark gaseous shape. They remembered to speak the code-phrase just before stepping between the statues. They arrived back in the great hall, where they saw the dark cloud floating up towards a hole in the roof.
“Can you follow that cloud?” Olaf asked Azu-Bemphi. “But be careful!”
The faerie dragon followed the cloudy shape through the roof.
The travellers returned downstairs. Among the objects left behind by the blonde woman were a large club and a magical key.
Olaf determined that the club had the ability to place willing people under a blood geas such as the one that had killed the warrior whom Tomoko had tried to question after the attack on the road leading to Kalsgard. The travellers decided to keep the oathtaking club intact for a while, in case they encountered someone else under its effect – the travellers would be able to destroy the club in that person’s presence and so prove that the blood geas no longer existed.
There seemed to be nowhere else to go in this downstairs section. Toshi and Osserc stopped by the treasury briefly to collect some of the more portable items, and then the travellers went back upstairs to search for another way down.
The travellers charged into the kitchen and told the three people there to surrender. The kitchen workers quickly complied, and the travellers bound and gagged them. There was a trapdoor in one corner of the room. The travellers opened it and climbed down.
After walking through a few storerooms, they reached an open doorway. The room beyond contained a barrel close to the door.
As the travellers were about to step into the room, Olaf noticed some darker shapes against the dark ceiling, and he identified them as creatures known as “executioner’s hoods”. He knew they could be damaged by being splashed with alcohol.
There was a faint but definite smell of alcohol from the barrel. To avoid going through the doorway to reach the barrel, Toshi and Safa both cast mage hand, and together they moved a small bowl beneath the tap on the barrel. They turned the tap, filled the bowl and dragged it back towards the doorway.
One of the executioner’s hoods dropped down from the ceiling, shuffled to the doorway and somehow managed to look plaintively hopeful.
“That’s the most adorable thing I’ve seen all day,” Safa said.
The other hoods also dropped down and approached.
Toshi and Safa pushed the bowl into the room. The hoods clustered around the bowl and drank – very carefully – from it. It seemed that the creatures had picked up a taste for alcohol (despite the danger it posed to them).
While the hoods were occupied, the travellers crossed the room and opened the door at the other end. Two trolls were sitting in the next room.
“Why aren’t you working?” Shinji demanded, speaking through the mask of his ninja costume.
The trolls hastily picked up shovels and began shifting coal from one pile to another, with no apparent purpose. They did not attempt to stop the travellers, who went through to the next room.
This was a large space with banners on the walls and a polished wooden floor that made a musical squeak as soon as Lahja stepped forward onto it.
“It’s a nightingale floor!” Shinji warned.
Three men dressed in robes emerged from adjoining rooms. They asked the travellers to identify themselves. Those of the travellers who were disguised as ninjas replied with improvised code-names (various purple animals). The three monks were not convinced. They attacked with spears and fists, dealing a reasonable amount of damage before being defeated.
The travellers explored a few more rooms and eventually found a door with a magical lock, which the magical key fitted.
Beyond the door was a large white wolf. Its collar was chained to the wall. It growled at the travellers but did not attack immediately. Olaf identified it as a winter wolf.
“Hello, poppet,” said Safa. “Would you like a biscuit?”
“Poppet?” The wolf’s tone was half speech and half snarl. It sniffed disdainfully at the ginger biscuit Safa offered.
“If you don’t attack us, we can help you get home,” Safa said.
After some discussion, the wolf introduced himself as Skygni and said that he had been captured by a blonde-haired woman. Skygni agreed not to attack the travellers, although he refused – perhaps out some wolfish notion of pride – ever to be ‘friends’ with them.
The door beyond also had a magical lock. The travellers opened it and looked through the doorway. There was a pool of dark water and a man chained to the wall nearby. He was bruised and dressed in ragged clothes, and his blond hair and beard were tangled. He looked towards the travellers with an unfocused gaze.
“Ulf!” said Lahja. She ran towards the man and hugged him.
- Nezhrovan has finally left his cell, and he has joined the PCs on their tour of Ravenscraeg.
- A blonde-haired woman (who may be an oni named Kimandatsu) apparently died, but her body transformed into a dark cloudy shape and left the scene.
- The PCs have just found a dishevelled prisoner matching the description of Ulf Gormundr.
In which a guide is hired and the Amatatsu family doubles in number
“Do I know you?” the man asked.
“I’m Lahja, and these are my friends! We’re here to rescue you.”
“Um, thank you. Watch out for the frog-things, they–”
Two frog-like creatures emerged from the pool, and their large eyes emitted light intense enough to blind Tomoko as she was unlocking the prisoner’s manacles. Olaf identified the creatures as blindheims and summoned a giant spider to deal with them.
Once the blindheims had been defeated, Olaf detected a faint aura of magic behind the opposite wall. By touch alone, Tomoko managed to locate and open a secret door. It led into a cupboard-sized space. There was an open pot of dust of dryness and a couple of shelves of small notebooks. Behind the first few notebooks was a paper scroll. The text on the scroll was in Minkaian and stated that Kimandatsu of Storm-Anchor Mountain had been given permission to act as she saw fit outside the borders of Minkai, with exemption from any applicable laws, as long as her actions were in the best interest of the Minkaian Empire. The document was signed by ‘Grand Magistrate Muron Ana, under the authority of His Excellency the Regent of Minkai, on behalf of His Serene Majesty the Emperor of Minkai’. The notebooks were written in an apparently random jumble of Minkaian syllabic characters – Olaf guessed that it was a cypher.
Olaf collected all of the notebooks, and the travellers left the downstairs area, accompanied by the prisoner and Skygni the winter wolf. They passed the trolls, who quickly began shovelling coal again.
When the travellers returned to the kitchen, Olaf noticed that the bonds of one of the workers were tied differently from the travellers’ original knots. This led the travellers to suspect that someone in the building was preparing an ambush.
The travellers went out to the small dell behind Ravenscraeg. They considered leaving by the path that led away among the cliffs, but they did not know where it went, and it seemed likely to be a rugged and difficult route.
So the travellers returned to the building and went towards the front entrance. As they were about to open a door into the great hall, Lahja sensed the presence of several evil auras beyond. After the travellers made a few preparations for battle, Lahja opened the door.
Facing her, in the hall, was a person who looked nearly exactly like Shinji, dressed in ninja clothing but without the face-covering. This person had just finished drinking a potion and threw the empty bottle aside. “I suggest you all unmask,” the imitation Shinji said. “Or this could become rather confusing.” There were five ninjas in the great hall, including two waiting on either side of the door to the room where the travellers were.
Lahja sensed someone trying to influence her thoughts, but she resisted. Skygni moved into the room and attacked one of the ninjas, and Lahja squeezed past the winter wolf. The imitation Shinji ran to a side wall, climbed up it with startling speed, caught hold of a supporting beam beneath the gallery level and swung up over the railing.
Olaf summoned an eagle to pursue the imitation Shinji. While her sight gradually returned, Tomoko played the magical samisen to assist in the battle (guessing that the imitation Shinji was some sort of oni). The music blended with Safa’s chanting. Toshi threw a bomb at a ninja. He was struck by one of the ninjas’ arrows, and soon afterwards he collapsed, unconscious from poison.
Lahja glanced upwards during her combat with ninjas, and she saw two eagles fighting each other above the balcony. One of the eagles was rapidly felled. The other eagle swooped down, transformed into an imitation Shinji and attacked the real Shinji.
Shinji infused arrows with the last of his remaining arcane power and struck down his double, who – when dead – transformed into a fox-headed humanoid. Olaf identified this creature as a nogitsune, who had probably been the troublesome Renn.
The travellers searched the rest of the building and dealt with a few more ninjas. Then they left Ravenscraeg, and their ninja disguises persuaded the spider-eater to let them pass once again.
Olaf was becoming worried about Azu-Bemphi. However, the faerie dragon returned not long afterwards. He reported seeing the dark cloudy shape move towards the western horizon, becoming larger and more diffuse. “Tired now,” Azu-Bemphi concluded. He curled up inside Olaf’s backpack and fell asleep, producing soft burbling snores.
The travellers began walking back towards Kalsgard. Lahja carried the still-unconscious Toshi. Safa invited Skygni to stay with their caravan and share their campfire and food. Skygni refused, but admitted that he might coincidentally be travelling in the same direction for a while and might steal some cooked meat from the caravan if there happened to be any left conveniently unattended.
After Lahja asked a question about wolves, Olaf began a detailed explanation of the differences between wolves and foxes, between foxes and kitsune, and between kitsune and nogitsune. Toshi started to regain consciousness during this lecture and promptly fell asleep again.
When Olaf finished talking and Toshi woke up, the travellers stopped to rest for a while. The man they had rescued from the dungeon beneath Ravenscraeg looked at the travellers. “I’m sorry. Who are you again?”
“I’m Lahja, and these are my friends!”
Some of the travellers were still disguised as ninjas – they removed their face-coverings and introduced themselves. (Lahja noticed Nezhrovan make a very slight double-take at the sight of Shinji’s face.)
The man confirmed that he was indeed Ulf, but said he preferred to be called Gormundr. “Or just shout ‘Guide!’ at me.”
The travellers explained that they were interested in hiring a guide. Toshi mentioned that his mother had travelled on a caravan to Hongal many years ago, and Gormundr said that he remembered the trip and Toshi’s mother. He quickly agreed to join Sandru’s caravan, especially as it would be a chance to get away from Kalsgard.
The travellers continued back towards the caravan. Lahja found an opportunity to speak quietly with Nezhrovan, and she asked him why he had reacted to the sight of Shinji’s face. Nezhrovan refused to explain. “It’s a matter of honour. I’ve already revealed too much.”
When the travellers arrived back at the caravan, Safa warned the guards that a winter wolf might lurk around looking for some cooked meat to ‘steal’. Olaf began work on deciphering the notebooks and determined that they were a log kept by Kimandatsu. Apparently the oni had seers back in Minkai who could sense whenever the warding box of the Amatatsu Seal was opened, and this had put Kimandatsu on alert – she had arranged the attack on the caravan, the theft of the samisen and the kidnapping of Ulf Gormundr, all because she was expecting that someone from the Amatatsu family might arrive in Kalsgard on the way to Minkai.
There was a distant rumble of thunder.
That night, Shinji dreamt of the jade dragon again. “This may seem counterintuitive,” it said, “but you need to open the warding box. If you don’t, you and Ameiko and Koya will probably all soon be killed.”
When he woke up, Shinji told the other travellers about his dream, and they agreed to open the box.
In the white landscape of the vision, the jade dragon spoke to the gathered travellers. “If anyone else is willing to join the Amatatsu family, you’ll have to decide soon. There’s a trick I can play to make the oni believe that all the heirs are dead, but after that you’ll need to keep the box closed until we reach Minkai and learn what sort of danger you could face there.” The jade dragon explained that people could only be adopted into the Amatatsu family and swear the oath if they were in the presence of the Seal while the box was open.
After some discussion and further questions for the Seal, Lahja and Olaf agreed to become part of the Amatatsu family. Ameiko formally adopted them, and they swore the family’s oath to protect the people of Minkai.
Shinji then asked Zaiobe if she would be willing to join the family.
“Are you sure I’m the right sort of person?” she asked. The offer had clearly surprised and confused her. “Can that be the path for me? I don’t think I’m worthy.”
“Your actions inspired me to choose a different path for my life,” Shinji told her.
After a few more moments of hesitation, Zaiobe agreed. She was adopted by Ameiko and swore the oath.
There was another rumble of thunder in the distance.
The travellers went into Kalsgard again to purchase more equipment – Gormundr advised Sandru on appropriate gear for a caravan journey across icy terrain. The travellers also took Gormundr to the inn where Uksahkka was staying, so that the two friends could catch up before the caravan departed.
While he was in Kalsgard, Olaf was approached by a Tian man offering to sell him an allegedly very rare book about the history of the oni in Minkai. After some haggling, Olaf paid a large sum for the slim volume.
The inhabitants of Kalsgard seemed concerned about the weather. There was a line of heavy dark clouds on the western horizon, over the ocean, but the storm-front did not seem to be moving. No one could remember seeing anything like it for many decades. Sea voyages were being postponed.
The travellers decided that it was time to leave Kalsgard and continue their journey northwards. Nezhrovan stopped by briefly to collect his suitcase. He offered his thanks to the travellers for his rescue from Ravenscraeg and said farewell to everyone (although Sandru ignored him). Nezhrovan then spoke directly to Shinji. “I have two pieces of advice for you. If you truly want to make a new start in your life, then I’d suggest you tell your companions the whole story. You’ve gone this far – you may as well. It will make things easier in the long run.” Nezhrovan’s tone became colder. “Also, I’d recommend that you never set foot in Varisia again. The next cut will not be to your face.”
Nezhrovan then turned to Lahja. With a simple sleight-of-hand gesture, he produced a bunch of blue wildflowers and offered them to her. “Farewell,” he said. “I hope your journey brings you both glory and happiness.”
He rode away.
Many of the travellers were now looking at Shinji.
As the final preparations for departure were being made, Shinji explained that Jubrayl Vhiski and others had befriended him after his parents had died. His new companions had treated him with respect and he had found himself beholden to them before he realised who the Sczarni really were.
“Why didn’t you come to the rest of the family for help?” Toshi asked.
Shinji did not reply directly.
There was yet another rumble of thunder from the western horizon.
- The nogitsune named Renn died in Ravenscraeg, but the fate of Kimandatsu remains unclear - she transformed into a dark cloud and escaped westwards. Azu-Bemphi followed the cloud for a while but it became too distant and diffuse for him to track further.
- Ulf Gormundr has been rescued and has agreed to guide the caravan to Minkai.
- Sandru has hired some additional guards and drivers for the caravan. Erik the undine and Ragnar the human have also joined the expedition (but none of the Olafs from Kalsgard have).
- Olaf has deciphered Kimandatsu’s notebooks - one of the posts below has a summary of what he’s learned. In particular, the oni have seers in Minkai who can sense the location of the Amatatsu Seal whenever the warding box is open.
- Olaf has also bought a book about the history of the oni in Minkai. One of the posts below has a summary of the information from that book. In particular, Kimandatsu may belong to an alliance of warlike oni known as the Ceaseless Storm.
- The newest members of Ameiko’s family are: Amatatsu Olaf, Amatatsu Lahja ... and Amatatsu Zaiobe.
- Nezhrovan has left the caravan to return to Varisia, and Shinji has admitted to having been a member of the Sczarni.
- There are persistent storm-clouds on the western horizon.
- While in Kalsgard, Kimandatsu took the form of a ‘lesser’ type of oni. It’s not clear what her original or adopted forms were, but it seems that this was a deeper alteration than simple shapeshifting magic. She mentioned being less powerful but also more patient - the new form affected some aspects of her thinking and personality.
- Kimandatsu infiltrated the Rimerunners Guild by killing and replacing one of its promising young merchants. She then gradually took over the organisation, leading it into criminal activity. Renn assisted her with nogitsune magic, influencing the attitudes of the people of Kalsgard and spreading profitable rumours.
- Kimandatsu received prompt notification by sending that the warding box of the Amatatsu Seal had been opened three times: once in Brinewall Castle, once a few hours later near Brinewall and once several weeks later in Sandpoint. The seers tried and failed to scry Kikonu, so he is presumed dead. (Kimandatsu noted that Kikonu should receive a posthumous commendation for his likely role in finally revealing the location of the Seal.)
- Kimandatsu began keeping watch for any Minkaian travellers heading towards Kalsgard from Varisia. Ordinary merchant gossip brought news to Kalsgard of the approach of Sandru’s caravan. Kimandatsu went south, flying high and invisibly above the caravan, and she noted the presence of several people of Tian appearance. However, she did not go closer, because she did not want to risk placing the caravan on alert so soon.
- The ambush outside Kalsgard was intended to test the caravan’s strength and see if there was any evidence linking the caravan to the Amatatsu family. The results were inconclusive.
- Kimandatsu had also planned the theft of the samisen as a more reliable test – she believed that only members of the Amatatsu family could have reason to believe that the samisen was of any particular importance, and they were the only people likely to risk going onto a funeral ship to retrieve it. (And if the bait had not worked, Kimandatsu would not have been sorry to see the ‘revolting object’ end up at the bottom of the river.)
- Kimandatsu arranged the kidnapping of Gormundr and the absence of the other guides. She noted that Gormundr’s skills were likely to be useful in the future, so she wanted to keep him alive despite his initial recalcitrance.
- Scattered through the notebooks are a few mentions of an entity named Atiyan who inhabits the icy regions to the north. Atiyan seems to be an ally of the oni of the Ceaseless Storm.
- Many centuries ago, a group of oni known as the Five Storms attempted to take control of Minkai during a period of political turmoil. Five Minkaian heroes led the resistance and eventually defeated the Five Storms. The five heroes tried to ensure that Minkai would always remain defended against the oni. Their families became the new ruling houses of Minkai. They created the Seals and various heirloom artifacts with powers against the oni, and they required all members of their houses to swear an oath to protect the people of Minkai. Any heir who refused to take the oath was disqualified from inheriting positions of power. The Imperial Throne passed among the five ruling houses – the Empress or Emperor was supposed to nominate the person from the five families who was best suited to become the heir. Often, this was the next in line within the current ruling family (because this person had been specially trained to inherit) but sometimes the ruler chose a different candidate.
- Not long after the defeat of the Five Storms, a new alliance of oni arose. They considered themselves to be incarnated spirits of war, and they desired the destruction caused by war. They called themselves the Ceaseless Storm - they justified this boastful name with the assertion that while humanoids continued to exist in the world, the storm of war would never cease.
- The leader of the Ceaseless Storm is a former kami of great power who had turned from guardianship to destruction.
- Although oni tend to be hedonistic, the Ceaseless Storm oni are taught to suppress their instincts and take pleasure only in training, combat and occasional refined sensory experiences, such as a single glass of expensive wine to celebrate a victory. However, these attempts to be abstemious can be a weakness - many of the Ceaseless Storm oni may be more vulnerable to temptation than other oni who do not try to control their desires. One glass of wine can lead to another and then more; a particularly alluring mortal may be able to manipulate the oni easily.
- The oni of the Ceaseless Storm see themselves as honourable. They avoid breaking promises (although they have no compunction about lying or any other form of deceit) and many of them can be quickly provoked into combat with accusations of cowardice.
- The bookseller said that the information about the Ceaseless Storm was given to the book’s author by an oni-blooded tiefling. The author, the tiefling and almost every copy of the book disappeared shortly after publication (hence the high price). The truth of any of these claims is uncertain at this point.
- After his parents died, Sunshuke was befriended by Jubrayl Vhiski and other members of the Sczarni. At first, Sunshuke wasn’t aware of exactly who these people were and what they did – he just knew that they treated him with respect and offered him a sense of purpose and belonging. Gradually, he made commitments and promises in return for Jubrayl’s trust. Eventually, Sunshuke found himself trapped by his sense of honour into carrying out various tasks for the Sczarni, such as delivering very polite messages to ‘clients’ of the Sczarni (these messages were usually the only warning before other members of the Sczarni implemented whatever threat had been implied).
- Jubrayl wants his younger brother Sandru to return to ‘the family’. Before the start of the campaign, Sunshuke had been instructed to try to persuade Sandru not to make any long caravan journeys away from Varisia. Jubrayl became particularly concerned when Sandru returned with the PCs from Brinewall and began planning a trip to Minkai.
- A couple of times in Sandpoint, Sunshuke abruptly left conversations to visit someone (see here and here). He was reporting to Jubrayl.
- After the trip to Brinewall, Sunshuke asked Jubrayl to release him from his commitment to the Sczarni. Jubrayl did not even acknowledge the request. Instead, he instructed Sunshuke to accompany the caravan as far as Kalsgard and then ensure that Sandru returned to Varisia rather than going any further. Jubrayl said that if Sunshuke could not persuade Sandru to return, then Sunshuke had to come back to Sandpoint instead.
- Jubrayl told Sunshuke that he was sending another Sczarni agent along with the caravan. This agent would be delivering letters to potential business contacts in Kalsgard, but Jubrayl had also told him to follow Sunshuke’s orders if Sunshuke needed any assistance in whatever plan he came up with to make Sandru return to Sandpoint.
- The agent was described by Jubrayl as a reliable operator, although perhaps not particularly imaginative. (Nezhrovan is motivated by a strong sense of loyalty, primarily to the Sczarni but also to anyone else he feels he has an obligation to, as long as it doesn’t conflict with his duties to the Sczarni. These duties do sometimes include stealthy assassinations, but nothing of that sort was planned for his visit to Kalsgard.)
- Before leaving Sandpoint, Sunshuke obtained a sample of the sheriff’s handwriting.
- During the caravan journey, Tomoko searched the locked suitcase belonging to Nezhrovan. Along with several sealed letters, she found a garrotte and a dagger with a little vial attached to the scabbard. When Tomoko described the dagger to the other PCs, Sunshuke recognised it as a weapon sometimes used by the Sczarni to mark those of their own who turned traitor or deliberately failed to carry out their duties (the vial contained tattooing ink).
- On Sunshuke’s request, Tomoko unlocked Nezhrovan’s suitcase a second time and replaced the tattooing ink with a nonpermanent dye she had concocted out of cosmetics.
- When the caravan arrived in Kalsgard, Sunshuke slipped away from the group and instructed Nezhrovan to forge a letter to Sandru from the sheriff of Sandpoint (this was the letter saying that Sandru needed to return to Sandpoint at once because there was terrible news about his brother - see here). However, after seeing Sandru’s reaction to the letter, Sunshuke reconsidered. He found Nezhrovan again. Sunshuke said that he could no longer be part of the Sczarni and asked Nezhrovan to mark him. Sunshuke then returned to the inn (with his face still bleeding from the cuts Nezhrovan had inflicted) and announced that he had determined that the letter was a fake.
- Because of the substitute ink and the prompt healing from Lahja, Sunshuke was soon left with no trace at all from Nezhrovan’s dagger. He asked Tomoko to tattoo the image of a jade dragon on his arm as a replacement mark and a reminder of his past mistakes. He also changed his name to Kaijitsu Shinji as a sign of the new start he had made in his life.
- After being rescued from Ravenscraeg, Nezhrovan made a subtle double-take at the sight of the unmasked Shinji because he was expecting to see a mark on Shinji's face.
- Sandru may have been too focused on looking after the caravan (and his cargo of coffee beans) to work out all of this. But it doesn’t take much motive-sensing to tell that Sandru is still somewhat unimpressed with Shinji...
Lahja: female human paladin of Sarenrae. She has been adopted into the Amatatsu family.
Kaijitsu Shinji: male human myrmidarch magus, formerly known as Soto Sunshuke. He has been adopted into the Amatatsu family. He is the grandson of Tsutamu (whose original name was Soto Ansai), a samurai in the service of Ameiko’s grandfather. (Tsutamu apparently took his own life when it seemed that all the heirs of the Amatatsu family had been killed.)
Isawa Tomoko: female human rogue, who has said that she cannot join the Amatatsu family (for reasons she has revealed only to Ameiko).
Masatoshi (“Toshi”) Wright: male human alchemist. Toshi is Shinji’s cousin and a grandson of Tsutamu.
Safa Zice: female human bard.
Olaf Adalger: male human conjurer wizard. Olaf has been adopted into the Amatatsu family.
Osserc: male elf magus.
Ameiko Kaijitsu: female human, also known as Amatatsu Ameiko. Former tavern-owner and the current head of the Amatatsu family. (Her grandfather was killed by lightning on the battlements of Brinewall Castle.)
Koya Mvashti: female human cleric of Desna. She has been adopted into the Amatatsu family.
Sandru Vhiski: male human caravan owner and coffee aficionado.
Shalelu Andosana: female elf ranger.
Zaiobe: female harpy. The PCs met her in Brinewall Castle. She is mute, but has a telepathic bond with Shinji. She has been adopted into the Amatatsu family.
Azu-Bemphi: male faerie dragon. Notable for both enthusiasm and patience. The PCs met him near Brinewall Castle.
Skygni: male winter wolf. The PCs rescued him from Ravenscraeg.
Kimandatsu: female oni. In human disguise, she was the leader (until recently) of the Rimerunners Guild in Kalsgard.
In which the Amatatsu family is forever destroyed ... apparently
The travellers finished purchasing items for their journey – Olaf returned from Kalsgard with a large collection of scrolls, and Lahja seemed very pleased with her shiny new armour.
Shinji, Lahja, Olaf, Koya, Ameiko and Zaiobe all dreamed that night of the Amatatsu Seal speaking to them in the form of an imperial dragon with jade-coloured scales. “If these storm-clouds start to move, open the warding box. And remember to ask me about teleportation.”
When they woke, they quickly told each other about the dream, to make sure they remembered it. They hoped the reference to teleportation meant that the Seal had the power to carry them away from danger.
Koya’s memories of the dream were mingled with others. She had read her cards the previous evening and had received the warning once again – as far as she could tell, her dreams were predicting great danger that the travellers could not hope to defeat, only survive.
However, the line of storm-clouds remained stationary on the western horizon.
There were still some preparations to be made for departure, and a question to be resolved: what to do with the captured ninja from the funeral ship. The travellers decided that the best course was to hand her over to the authorities. Shinji took the prisoner to one of the guardhouses near the walls of Kalsgard. The guards did not seem convinced that the ninja could be as dangerous as Shinji insisted, but they agreed to take her into custody. They mentioned some gossip about the Rimerunners Guild, which was apparently in an uproar over the discovery that their leadership had been corrupted by outside forces and had been left in chaos after intervention by unknown intruders.
As Shinji was returning from Kalsgard to the caravan, he noticed that the storm-clouds had begun to move towards the city. Shinji rushed back and called for the other members of the Amatatsu family to gather inside one of the wagons of the caravan. Once they were all together, Shinji opened the warding box and the Amatatsu heirs found themselves in a joint vision, facing the jade dragon surrounded by an expanse of whiteness.
“I think the six of you should get away from the caravan,” said the dragon. “And the city, too. Leave the box open for now. I can help protect you with illusions. When I tell you to close the box again, close it quickly and keep it closed until you’ve reached Minkai and assessed the dangers there.”
“But won’t you get bored?” Lahja asked. “Stuck in a box with no one to talk to?”
“We don’t have time at the moment for existential conversations with artifacts,” Olaf said, then turned to the dragon. “In our dream, you said something about teleportation. Are you able to take us away to safety?”
“Sorry. No, I can’t,” said the jade dragon. “I just need to let you know that I can’t be teleported. It’s a protection against theft.”
There was a rumble of thunder, not so distant now. The vision faded. Shinji, Lahja, Olaf, Koya and Ameiko hurried outside to their horses. As they were leaving, Ameiko spoke quickly to Toshi, explaining that the heirs were leaving the caravan for a while and would try to catch up soon.
With the warding box still open, the six Amatatsu heirs were marked with glowing jade-coloured symbols on their hands, chests and foreheads, making them even more conspicuous than usual as they rode or flew away from the caravan.
Toshi and Tomoko helped Sandru to calm and tether the remaining horses, and to check that all the wagons were secured and sheltered. (Sandru seemed particularly concerned about his new portable greenhouses.) Tomoko and Toshi both noticed the storm change course abruptly, moving directly east instead of south-east to Kalsgard.
Meanwhile, the Amatatsu heirs were riding eastwards. For about three quarters of an hour, they stayed ahead of the storm. But the lightning strikes were getting closer, the wind was strengthening, and the sound of heavy rain behind them was distinct and unrelenting. Once they were well past Kalsgard, they headed south-east, hoping to reach a forested area. But the storm caught up with them too quickly.
They continued through the pounding rain and arrived at a stone bridge that led over a low, narrow ravine with a river at the bottom. The heirs crossed the bridge, dismounted and began to climb down the wet, slippery rocks to find a hiding-place at the edge of the ravine, beneath the bridge. But before they were hidden, they saw someone fly out of the storm-clouds.
At first, she looked like the blonde-haired woman they had fought in Ravenscraeg. Then she transformed into the larger shape of the white-haired oni they had glimpsed briefly before she had turned into black smoke. She changed again, into a yet larger form with blue-grey skin, tusks and three brilliant white eyes. Her silken Minkaian garments were elaborate – arguably ostentatious – and swirled in the winds that surrounded her.
As Kimandatsu approached and hovered nearby, Shinji identified her current form as a wind yai oni. She had the most powerful aura of evil that Lahja had ever encountered.
“So this is what remains of the Amatatsu family,” Kimandatsu said in a deep, echoing voice. “A rabble of exiles, foreigners and monsters. Appropriate. They always were disreputable troublemakers.”
“Have you finished talking?” Shinji asked, raising his voice above the noise of wind and rain. “Because it is time to die.” He drew an arrow and nocked it.
“If you are in such a hurry,” said Kimandatsu, “then I am happy to oblige.”
The voice of the jade dragon spoke in Shinji’s mind. “Shinji, jump! Jump now.”
From the central eye in Kimandatsu’s forehead, a bolt of electricity arced forward and struck Shinji.
Zaiobe tried to shoot at Kimandatsu, but her arrows were deflected by the winds that whirled around the oni.
Olaf began summoning lantern archons.
A second bolt of electricity struck Shinji, and he collapsed. The jade-coloured symbols on his hands, head and chest all vanished.
“Shinji!” Lahja shouted.
“Don’t worry,” said the voice of the jade dragon in the minds of the heirs. “It’s not him. It’s an illusion.”
Meanwhile, in the river below, Shinji was trying and failing to get a handhold on the rocks, and he ended up being swept downstream for some distance before he was able to swim to one of the banks.
One of Zaiobe’s arrows finally hit Kimandatsu, who responded with another bolt of lightning, singeing Zaiobe’s feathers.
Olaf’s lantern archons appeared and began attacking Kimandatsu with light rays. The oni did not seem particularly bothered by the rays, but her attention now turned to Olaf, and she flew towards him. Olaf prepared to cast glitterdust. “No, no,” said the voice of the jade dragon. “Don’t blind her! She needs to see. Jump now!”
Olaf jumped. He managed to swim out of the river and find a hiding-place among the rocks. From there, he could see himself being snatched from just beneath the bridge and hurled against the side of the ravine by Kimandatsu. Olaf then saw Zaiobe, Lahja and Koya all struck down by Kimandatsu’s chain lightning. Finally, Kimandatsu turned on Ameiko, who was now holding the Amatatsu Seal (even though Olaf knew Shinji had been the one carrying it before).
With one hand, Kimandatsu grasped Ameiko by the throat and hauled her up into the air, strangling her. When Ameiko stopped struggling, her glowing symbols winked out and the Amatatsu Seal darkened from jade to a dull grey. Kimandatsu grabbed the Seal and threw Ameiko’s body aside. The Seal crumbled into grey sand. Kimandatsu moved her hands gracefully, letting the sand trickle between her clawed fingers into the water below. Then she flew up to the bridge and stood there for a few moments in quiet contemplation, with just a hint of triumph in her expression. “At last,” she murmured in Minkaian. She rose into the air, disappearing among the storm-clouds.
“Close the box!” said the voice of the jade dragon in Shinji’s mind. Shinji replaced the lid of the warding box. The voice of the dragon faded as it spoke two more words. “Good luck...”
Olaf found Lahja crawling underwater along the riverbed, and further downstream they encountered Shinji, Zaiobe, Koya and Ameiko gathered on the bank. There was perhaps some lingering confusion about exactly what had happened, but as the Amatatsu heirs discussed their experiences, it became clear that the Seal had turned each of them invisible at some point and replaced them with powerfully realistic illusions, and it was these illusions that had all fallen to Kimandatsu’s brutal attacks. Witnessing these apparent deaths, along with the apparent destruction of the Amatatsu Seal, would have been a compelling reason for Kimandatsu to believe that the Amatatsu family had finally been eradicated.
The storm moved onwards and seemed to be proceeding more naturally. The Amatatsu heirs retrieved their horses and found a place where they could camp for the night and dry their clothes (and feathers).
The next morning, the heirs rode northwards to rejoin the caravan.
- The Amatatsu Seal cannot be transported using teleportation magic or dimensional travel.
- Kimandatsu has reappeared, now in the form of a huge wind yai oni. She seems to have the ability to control storms, and she is also fond of throwing lightning around. Her current whereabouts are unknown.
- Illusions created by the Amatatsu Seal have given Kimandatsu very convincing reasons to believe that she has killed the entire Amatatsu family and thereby caused the destruction of the Seal.
- The Seal has strongly recommended that its warding box not be opened again until the caravan has reached Minkai and the PCs have assessed the dangers there. (While the box is closed, the Seal's healing magic can still work on someone who is touching the box.)
- The Seal has also placed powerful warding magic on the heirs. The Amatatsu heirs are now immune to any divination magic not cast by one of their allies. This effect can be lowered at will by an heir (lowering the effect requires concentration).
In which the Erutaki speak of blizzards and a dragon
Sandru’s caravan began its journey north from Kalsgard. As the days passed, the surrounding landscape became more sparsely inhabited – along the road, there were only occasional small settlements of Ulfen hunters and trappers. Olaf and Toshi spent hours shut inside their wagons, crafting magic items and brewing potions. Lahja continued to try to befriend Skygni the winter wolf, in the hope of redeeming him. And Sandru planted a few green coffee beans in his little portable greenhouses. He had somehow gained the ability to cast prestidigitation a few times daily, and he used this to help keep the soil in the greenhouses warm while the beans germinated. (From a distance, Shinji watched Sandru’s tireless concern for the tiny plants, but made no comment and took no action.)
One morning, Shalelu and Osserc returned to the caravan after scouting ahead. Shalelu reported that they had found humanoid footprints. Olaf sent his hawk Kala to observe the road from above. Kala noticed several people hiding in woodland on either side of the road.
Expecting an ambush, some of the travellers went ahead of the caravan. Tomoko and Skygni left the road and moved stealthily through the woodland, while Lahja walked along the road. Toshi, Shinji and Olaf followed Lahja.
When Lahja walked around a slight bend in the road, she saw three figures blocking the way in front of her. One was a large humanoid with a wolf-like face and frost-blue hair. It held an oversized greataxe in its clawed hands.
As they arrived, Shinji and Olaf tentatively identified the large creature as a lycanthrope frost giant in its hybrid form. (They were curious about the story behind the existence of this creature.)
Next to the lycanthrope frost giant was a pair of more ordinary werewolves, also in their hybrid forms.
The frost giant werewolf spoke in a booming voice. “Surrender! Give us all your possessions and we will allow you to live.”
Lahja could sense two evil auras in front of her and several others in the woodland on either side. She tried to persuade the frost giant werewolf to talk about a better approach – perhaps over a meal – but he just repeated his demand.
Meanwhile, Tomoko was some distance away in the woodland, distracting two human bandits by talking about tattoos.
The frost giant werewolf roared, took a single step forwards and raised his greataxe. The other werewolves moved more quickly, drawing longswords. Arrows began flying out from the woods.
Lahja attempted to cast a spell to ensure that the frost giant werewolf would not attack anyone except her. However, her spell seemed to fail ... and not because the frost giant had resisted it. Instead, perhaps, the target did not exist.
A few moments later, the frost giant vanished and the travellers heard someone casting a spell – Olaf identified it as haste.
After Toshi swallowed an extract of see invisibility, he spotted an elf hiding in the branches of one of the trees overlooking the road.
Lahja and Shinji fought the two other werewolves (who seemed solid enough). Olaf draped the woodland in web and created pits. Tomoko and Skygni worked together to deal with two of the bandits. Toshi chased the elven caster and brought him down with bombs.
When the werewolves and bandits were all defeated, the travellers searched them carefully for signs of connections to the oni, but they did not find any. It seemed that the elven bandit had been a bard, and had created an illusion of a frost giant werewolf to intimidate travellers into surrendering without a fight. The motive was presumably profit alone.
The rest of the caravan caught up, and the travellers continued their journey north.
Weeks passed, and the days continued to lengthen. “Why is the sun acting like this?” Lahja asked anxiously.
“It’s because we’re closer to your god,” Tomoko replied in a solemn tone.
Olaf was concerned about the effect this explanation would have on Lahja if they ever needed to make the return journey during winter. But he did not attempt to present an alternative explanation to her.
Soon, they reached areas where there was still snow on the ground, even in summer. The trees were sparse, and then there were no trees at all. Their road became buried beneath ice. Ulf Gormundr relied on hazy far-off landmarks to guide the caravan. During the long days, the glare of sunlight across the thin cloud and the ice made it hard to perceive the landscape and judge distances.
One morning, as the caravan was approaching the town of Iqaliat, the travellers heard the sound of a group of people approaching them from beyond a ridge in the ice. Tomoko, Toshi, Shinji, Lahja and Olaf went ahead. When they reached the top of the ridge, they saw a group of about forty humans and dwarves, dressed and equipped like local hunters. The man who led them looked young, but his hair was completely white, and he was thinner than all his companions. He was less warmly dressed than them, and he did not carry any weapons.
The white-haired man stopped about seventy feet away from the travellers and pointed at them. He began shouting in a language none of the travellers could speak.
Toshi unstoppered a small bottle and gulped down the liquid inside.
“... must turn back and leave one of their number behind,” were the words Toshi could understand once the extract took effect.
The white-haired young man then spoke in Common. “Strangers! You are not welcome here. You are bringing great danger and harm to our lands. Turn back now. And choose one who will stay behind, as a sacrifice to the spirits.”
Tomoko stepped forwards. “We are here in peace,” she said in Common. “We only wish to pass through your lands. We mean no harm.”
The white-haired man turned to his companions and spoke in their language. “They defy the will of the spirits and refuse to turn back. Look at them. These are the people I foresaw and warned you against.”
Toshi noticed that the white-haired man seemed very tense. And the travellers guessed that none of the hunters spoke Common and so were relying on the white-haired man for translation.
Tomoko said that they would return to their caravan to confer.
“You have an hour to make your decision,” said the white-haired man. “No, the spirits will not wait so long. Half an hour!”
The travellers hurried back to the caravan and spoke to Gormundr, who said that the people of this area - the Erutaki - never sacrificed people as far as he knew. Gormundr did not speak Erutaki well, but he knew a similar language and would probably be able to make himself understood to the hunters. Tomoko suggested that Skygni also accompany them.
Shinji, Lahja, Olaf, Tomoko, Toshi, Gormundr and Skygni went back to meet the group of Erutaki. “Your time is up,” said the white-haired man, even though definitely less than half an hour had passed. “Will you obey the spirits?”
Tomoko gestured towards Skygni. “This is our totem spirit, who has told us that we must take this path. We will travel quickly and do no harm to your lands or your people.”
Gormundr attempted to translate Tomoko’s words into language the Erutaki would understand.
One of the Erutaki hunters pointed at Skygni. Whispers passed among the group, and a few of the hunters nocked arrows, aiming at the winter wolf. Lahja stepped sideways to stand between Skygni and the hunters. “Why are you being so unfriendly?” she asked the white-haired man.
Meanwhile, the white-haired man was looking wide-eyed and panicked by Tomoko’s confident speech. Before Tomoko could say anything more, the white-haired man started casting a spell. Olaf identified it as silence, which the white-haired man aimed at the ground beneath Tomoko’s feet.
Tomoko lost patience. She stepped out of the silent area and loosed an arrow at the white-haired man, missing him by inches.
The white-haired man cast another spell - this one seemed to be intended to aid his companions in battle. Olaf surrounded the white-haired man with a fog cloud.
A few of the hunters began shooting arrows at Tomoko and Olaf, but most of them seemed uncertain - they stood ready with arrows nocked, but did not attack.
Olaf began summoning. He also noticed something white in the sky, far beyond the hunters. It was flying towards them, and its outline was blurred by the glare of the sun.
The white-haired man stepped forwards out of the fog and cast silence where Olaf stood, interrupting the summons. Toshi threw a bomb, catching the white-haired man and the hunter next to him in a burst of flame. Shinji and Lahja had still not attacked - they were waiting because so few of the Erutaki had taken any truly hostile actions. But Lahja did step closer to the white-haired man. “You don’t make me feel icky,” she announced. “So why are you acting like this?”
The same few hunters shot again, aiming only at Olaf and Toshi. Olaf had been watching the white shape in the sky. When it was close enough, Olaf cast glitterdust at it. He sensed one creature resist and one succumb to the blinding effect.
The white-haired man was looking desperate. He seemed to be trying to speak, but managed only a few incoherent syllables.
The white shape was now close enough for the travellers to see that it was a winged creature carrying a rider. The creature had the head, wings and talons of a snowy owl, and the hindquarters of a snow leopard. The rider was an Erutaki woman dressed in white furs. Both of them glittered.
Olaf had heard tales of the snow griffons of the far north.
The griffon circled and landed between the travellers and the Erutaki hunters. “Stop!” said the rider in Erutaki, and then changed to Common. “Stop! What is going on here?” She dismounted unsteadily and turned her head without focusing on anyone nearby, as if she could not see. Olaf quickly dismissed the glitterdust.
“We are travellers,” Tomoko said. “We mean no harm. This man threatened us, demanded sacrifice, attacked us with offensive spells.”
“These people will bring great danger to our-” the white-haired man began.
“Be quiet, Tunuak,” said the rider.
“The spirits have warned me that-”
“I said, be quiet,” said the rider, and punched the white-haired man in the face.
The white-haired man staggered around, lost his balance and fell onto the ice. The rider twisted his arm behind his back, pinning him. She put her free hand on the back of his head and pushed his face into the snow. She held him there for a few moments before dragging him upright.
“What is the matter with you, Tunuak?” she asked. “What has been happening to you?”
He did not answer.
The rider turned to face the travellers again. “I am Nalvanaq, chief of the Erutaki of Iqaliat. Please consider yourselves to be our guests. We will guide you to our township.”
As the caravan and the Erutaki travelled towards Iqaliat, Olaf spoke to Chief Nalvanaq. He began by apologising for casting glitterdust on her. “I thought Tunuak had summoned something to attack us.”
Nalvanaq nodded. “I understand,” she said. “I must apologise as well. Tunuak has been behaving oddly. He is a dedicated man of great power, and he has done much to protect and guide our people. But recently ... His words and his actions have become more and more erratic. He hasn’t been sleeping or eating properly. You saw him back there. I held him face down in the snow and he didn’t even struggle. When I learned that he’d left Iqaliat, and I worked out that none of the people he'd chosen to go with him spoke Common ... I decided I’d better find out what he was doing.”
“I am glad you did,” Olaf said. “And I must say that your mount is a magnificent creature.”
“Thank you,” said Nalvanaq. Walking beside her, the snow griffon fluffed out its feathers and raised its head, looking pleased.
Lahja glanced at Tunuak, looking for signs of fatigue. “Are you tired? I can help you.”
Tunuak flinched away from her and refused any assistance.
Nalvanaq told Olaf more about the snow griffons. The creatures could not be bred in captivity. The Erutaki would track down and befriend nesting pairs in the wild, bringing fresh meat so that more eggs would be laid. The Erutaki kept away from the strongest and most independent hatchlings, who would stay in the wild, but allowed the other hatchlings to become familiar with humanoids. Those of the griffons who wished to accompany the Erutaki were trained to carry riders.
“The cat-bird-thing looks delicious,” Skygni said to Lahja. Lahja persuaded Skygni to remain close to her.
The town of Iqaliat came into view. It was built against the base of a high, ice-topped cliff. The houses were mostly constructed out of wood and tent-cloth, and the outer walls of the town were also wood. “It is temporary,” Nalvanaq explained. “We move the town to a location further south during winter.”
Outside the walls of the town, there were large stacks of wood soaked with oil. Inside the walls, there was a pair of ballistas, painted a fiery orange-red colour and aimed upwards.
The Erutaki offered food to the travellers. Over the meal, Olaf asked Nalvanaq about the stacks of wood, which must have taken a lot of effort to bring so far north. “Indeed,” said Nalvanaq. “But we need defences against a white dragon. We’ve known of its existence for some time, but in recent months it has been attacking humanoids much more aggressively. It hasn’t approached Iqaliat yet, but it’s killed two of our hunting parties.” She gestured towards the ballistas. “None of this is likely to be effective. What’s our chance of hitting a dragon with these? But perhaps they will be a deterrent and give us time to escape into the narrow caves beneath the cliff.”
The Erutaki believed that the dragon lived somewhere near the more southerly path to Tian Xia. The more northerly path led through a region where violent blizzards were common. After their recent experiences near Kalsgard, the travellers decided that they would prefer a dragon to blizzards.
Tunuak walked past. His skin was still blistered and his clothes were still charred from Toshi’s bomb. “These strangers will bring her wrath down upon us all,” Tunuak said.
The travellers noticed his use of the word ‘her’. Did he somehow know about Kimandatsu? Or was he just referring to the dragon?
- The PCs are currently guests in the Erutaki township of Iqaliat.
- There’s a choice of two main paths ahead. The southern path may have a dragon problem and the northern path may have a blizzard problem.
- Iqaliat’s shaman (a white-haired young man named Tunuak) has apparently been behaving erratically in recent months. For some reason, he believes (or claims to believe) that the caravan will bring great danger to Iqaliat.
In which things lurk in the light
The next morning, Olaf and Tomoko spoke again with Chief Nalvanaq about Tunuak. Nalvanaq explained that until recently, Tunuak had been the apprentice of the apprentice of Iqaliat’s shaman. Eight months ago, the shaman had decided to investigate a black monolith. Other monoliths had been seen - they were presumably very old and had long been buried beneath ice. But something was causing the ice directly above the stones to melt away. The monoliths were perhaps linked with violent, unpredictable blizzards that had been occurring north of Iqaliat for about sixty years. As more monoliths were revealed, the range of the blizzards expanded. (Olaf noted that Ameiko’s grandfather, along with the grandfather of Toshi and Shinji, had left Minkai about sixty years ago.)
The shaman and the two shamans-in-training had travelled north. Tunuak had been the only one to return from the journey. Soon afterwards, his hair started to turn white and his powers increased rapidly.
“I should also mention,” said Nalvanaq, “that I don’t make a habit of hitting our shamans. Tunuak’s recent behaviour has been testing my patience.”
Olaf suggested that Tunuak could be under some form of enchantment, and he asked permission to investigate. Nalvanaq readily agreed.
Olaf went outside and found a quiet place where he cast detect magic. He kept concentrating and followed Nalvanaq to Tunuak’s house. Olaf discovered that Tunuak wore a magic cloak and a magic ring, and there was also a lingering trace of enchantment on the shaman.
Later, Tomoko visited Tunuak’s house and asked if she could speak with him. “I will make tea for you,” she offered.
“I want none of your tea,” he said, but he allowed her to stay.
Tomoko spoke charmingly. Tunuak’s replies were sometimes reasonable, and sometimes disjointed and defensive. He claimed that he had never had any intention of sacrificing someone - he simply wanted the caravan to turn back, and he had made up a threat that strangers to Erutaki lands might believe. He also told the story of his journey north with his teachers. He said that he had glimpsed a spectral figure, like a man from the east, in the blizzard. The figure had offered Tunuak unspecified power and rewards. Tunuak had felt himself somehow being ‘caught’ by something, and then he had lost consciousness. He had woken alone after the blizzard had past. As far as Tomoko could tell, Tunuak seemed to believe what he was saying. However, he also stated – with great confidence - that Toshi was possessed by an evil fire demon who was concealed within the alchemist’s heart.
Meanwhile, Lahja was walking through the town, observing the locals. She told off one of the adolescent snow griffons, who was flying in low circles just out of Skygni’s reach. “Don’t tease people. It isn’t nice! And it’s cheating if you fly.”
The travellers needed to make a final decision about which path to take - one path would lead them close to the white dragon’s lair, and the other crossed through the area that was often affected by blizzards. “But they both sound so interesting!” said Olaf. “It’s fascinating ... Sorry, sorry.”
After some discussion, the travellers decided that they would go ahead of the caravan, follow the southern path and attempt to find the dragon. Perhaps they would be able to negotiate with it - Snorri Stone-Eye’s greataxe might be a sufficiently impressive addition to a hoard. (Nevertheless, Olaf decided to purchase a scroll of scorching ray, and Toshi spent some time brewing potions of invisibility and expeditious retreat.)
When she learned of the travellers’ plan, Chief Nalvanaq gave them several sets of claws of the ice bear. She also said that Tunuak had asked to accompany them. She added that they were definitely under no obligation to accept.
“We can’t trust him,” Toshi argued. “He thinks I’m possessed by an evil spirit - he must be seeing himself reflected in other people.”
“Those facing each other cast no reflection,” said Shinji.
However, Olaf thought that the journey might be a good opportunity to learn more about the cause of Tunuak’s erratic behaviour. And so the travellers decided to allow Tunuak to join their expedition.
“Keep your friends close and your enemies in front of you,” Shinji advised.
After a day of preparation, the travellers were ready to leave Iqaliat and look for the dragon. Koya, Zaiobe, Gormundr and Skygni would be going with them (Skygni was curious to find out what dragon tasted like).
When Tunuak met the travellers outside Iqaliat, Shinji faced him. “Why are you joining us?” Shinji asked. “Tell the truth.”
“I may be able to help you find the dragon’s lair,” Tunuak replied.
“Or will you be leading us there? You’ve already been there, haven’t you?”
Tunuak hesitated. “No,” he said.
“You’re a terrible liar,” said Shinji. “You know exactly where the dragon is.”
There was a long pause. “What?” asked Tunuak eventually.
At that moment, Zaiobe emerged from the caravan – until then, she had been staying out of view of the people of Iqaliat. As soon as Tunuak and Zaiobe saw each other, they both stood still and stared, as if they recognised each other.
“Have you seen him before?” Shinji asked Zaiobe through their telepathic bond.
“No, never,” she replied. “But it’s as if we have something in common. I don’t know what.”
She held out her hand to Tunuak. He looked doubtful, but he stepped towards her and took her hand. At once, he collapsed into her arms, sobbing.
“What did you say to him?” Shinji asked her.
Still holding the shaman in her arms, Zaiobe shrugged. “Nothing,” she replied telepathically. “There wasn’t time.”
After nearly a minute, Tunuak straightened and stepped away from Zaiobe.
“What was all that about?” Tomoko asked him.
Tunuak ignored the question. “Are we ready to leave?”
“After you,” Shinji said coldly.
They climbed up the zigzagging path from Iqaliat to the cliff-tops and trekked across the ice-covered plateau for about eight hours. Gormundr examined the ground closely before choosing a campsite.
The people who took the middle watch saw the sun begin to sink below the horizon. But before it set completely, it began to rise again.
Lahja was very happy about this sign of the blessing of Sarenrae. Tomoko wished that Lahja would express this happiness a bit more quietly. Toshi thought for a while, then drew some conclusions about the shape and rotation of the world.
About an hour later, Olaf heard Tunuak muttering in his sleep. Olaf recognised the language as Auran. There was a distinct - but somewhat elusive and strange - aura of an enchantment on Tunuak.
“I know, I know,” Tunuak was saying unhappily. “You’ve shown me that already ... I tried to stop them - there’s nothing more I can do.” Abruptly, he opened his eyes and saw Olaf watching him.
“You were talking in your sleep,” Olaf explained. “Auran is a fascinating language - it’s been a long time since I’ve heard it spoken.”
Tunuak looked alarmed. “What did I say?”
“I couldn’t really understand much.”
Tunuak rolled over, but as far as Olaf could tell, the shaman did not go back to sleep.
Around noon the next day, as the travellers were continuing their journey, Olaf glimpsed a subtle flicker of light in the air ahead. Lahja concentrated and soon noticed the evil auras of three creatures flying towards her. At the same time, she heard a high-pitched voice just behind her. “Hehe! You don’t look much like a gnome, but you’ll do.”
There was a very quiet ‘clink’ – perhaps the sound of a tiny blade striking Lahja’s armour.
Olaf cast glitterdust next to Lahja’s shoulder. The travellers could just see the shape of a small winged creature, which they identified as a ‘lurker in light’. This was a type of evil fey known for sacrificing humanoids to create portals to other planes.
Perhaps the lurkers in light associated glitterdust with gnomes, or perhaps they simply objected to having glitterdust cast at them – soon afterwards, Olaf was being flanked and stabbed by two invisible creatures. Their daggers inflicted little damage, but Olaf began to feel weakened.
Tunuak cast gust of wind directly at Olaf. Some of the travellers assumed at first that this was an act of betrayal, but the magical wind had a much greater effect on the invisible creatures than on Olaf – one creature was blown against Olaf’s face and was briefly prevented from attacking.
Tomoko’s rapier, Toshi’s fiery bombs, Lahja's warhammer and Shinji's arrows eventually destroyed all of the lurkers in light.
As the effect of the strength-draining poison worsened, Olaf staggered forwards, took off his pack and discarded other items to avoid being dragged down onto the snow by their weight.
Azu-Bemphi climbed out of Olaf’s pack. The faerie dragon helpfully began picking up Olaf’s belongings for him.
- Unusually powerful and unpredictable blizzards began occurring to the north of Iqaliat about sixty years ago. (Olaf noted that Ameiko’s grandfather and his samurai guard Tsutamu left Minkai about sixty years ago.) The range in which the blizzards occur has been gradually increasing. This is perhaps linked to certain black monoliths that are being revealed as the ice directly above them melts.
- The blizzards have an unnatural tendency to appear whenever large groups of travellers are trying to pass through the region.
- Tunuak claims to have seen a spectral figure in one of these blizzards. That blizzard apparently killed Tunuak's two teachers. Tunuak seems to be affected by some form of enchantment that acts while he sleeps.
- The PCs (along with Koya, Zaiobe, Gormundr, Skygni and Tunuak) have set out to find a white dragon. There has been some talk of attempting to negotiate with it.
In which Olaf is not held hostage by a dragon
The travellers loaded Olaf’s possessions onto a small sled and continued their trek across the ice. The next morning, Koya cured Olaf of all the remaining effects of the poison.
During the journey, progress was sometimes slowed by Tunuak’s attempts to avoid walking in front of Shinji. The shaman would often flinch when he met someone’s gaze. “Stop looking at me!” he demanded. On several occasions, the travellers overheard him muttering in Auran while he slept.
On the sixth day out from Iqaliat, Gormundr raised a hand, signalling to the group. “There may be crevasses beneath the ice,” he said, and began testing the ground in front of them with a pole.
“Is the dragon’s lair somewhere close?” Shinji asked.
Tunuak closed his eyes, placed his fingertips on the sides of his forehead and stood still for a while. Then he pointed to the north-east. “That way. Not far.”
“How do you know?” Tomoko asked.
“I communed with the spirits,” Tunuak replied in a tone that Tomoko did not find particularly convincing.
Soon afterwards, Gormundr deliberately cracked a layer of ice. Shards of it fell into a deep, narrow crevasse just in front of him. The group – apart from Zaiobe - began to rope themselves together. When Tunuak was offered a place in the line, he shook his head and stepped back. “Do you really want me tied to the rest of you?”
“If you slip into the crevasse, will you be able to fly?” Olaf asked.
“Yes,” said Tunuak as if that should be obvious.
The travellers stepped cautiously across the narrow crevasse, and then began walking parallel to the edge of it. In the north-east direction, the crevasse became much wider. “The dragon’s lair is a short distance ahead,” said Tunuak.
“You have been here before, haven’t you?” Shinji said.
Tunuak turned away from Shinji and faced Lahja. “You think you can see into my heart,” he said. “You cannot. Your angry friend with the bow was right about me. See?” He took off one of his gloves and held up his hand, showing Lahja the ring he wore.
Lahja looked confused.
Shinji recognised the style of the ring, and he guessed that it would shield Tunuak from mind-reading and attempts to discern his alignment. Shinji watched Tunuak even more distrustfully.
“See?” Tunuak said again. He took off the ring.
Lahja still looked confused. “That’s a very pretty ring,” she said. “Are you getting married to the dragon?”
Tunuak stared at her. He seemed to be trying to speak but only managed a few exasperated-sounding syllables (and those might have been in Auran).
The travellers’ attention was then drawn to a cloud of fog that started to billow out of the crevasse.
Lahja looked at the fog cloud. “It’s icky in there!”
Some of the travellers quickly drank potions to protect themselves from cold.
“You are noisy,” said a voice from within the fog. “As it happens, I am not hungry at the moment. You are strangers. What are you doing here?”
The fog began to drift away, revealing a large white dragon standing on the edge of the crevasse.
Tomoko stepped forwards. “We are travellers, and we mean no harm. We wish to negotiate safe passage across your lands. We can offer you this magnificent greataxe. As well as being an exquisite magical item, it has a splendid provenance.” While the travellers brought out the greataxe they had found in Snorri’s funeral ship, Tomoko told the tale (with plenty of drama and humour) of how they had acquired it.
“You are both bold and ingenious,” said the white dragon. “I have no quarrel with strangers. I will offer you safe passage if you give me this weapon ... and him.” The dragon looked at Tunuak.
“What do you want him for?” Lahja asked.
“He is Erutaki! They are murderers! One of the cowards stole into my home while I was hunting. The intruder smashed my eggs. I will have vengeance against them all.”
“How do you know it was an Erutaki?” asked Olaf.
“I found the tracks of one of their ridiculous snow griffons nearby. The Erutaki must all die!”
“This man wasn’t responsible,” Olaf said. “He doesn’t own a griffon.”
Lahja looked at Tunuak. “Do you know who smashed the eggs?”
Tunuak took a few steps back from Lahja. He did not answer her question.
“We’ll go back to the Erutaki and find out what happened,” Tomoko suggested quickly.
The dragon was getting more and more angry. “No! How can I trust you to return? Give the murderer to me.”
“I could stay here with you as a hostage,” Olaf suggested enthusiastically.
The white dragon looked at Olaf. Her expression was perhaps curious, perhaps calculating.
“You will have neither Tunuak nor Olaf,” Shinji said firmly.
The dragon roared and launched herself into the air.
The dragon flew over the travellers, landed next to Tunuak and closed her jaws around his shoulder. Lahja, Skygni and Tomoko rushed in, surrounding the dragon and attacking. Olaf used magic to speed up his allies and slow down the dragon, and Shinji struck it with many fiery arrows.
Tunuak ran from the dragon, but not as fast as he could have. He made no attempt to hide. The dragon took to the air again.
Lahja hurried across to stand next to Tunuak. He cast protection from energy on her just before the dragon breathed cold down upon them both.
Tomoko leapt into the air, managed to grab hold of the dragon’s tail and started to climb gracefully, hoping for an opportunity to stab the creature.
Shinji had another arrow nocked and drawn, but hesitated - the dragon looked badly injured now and was flying directly above Lahja and Tunuak. Shinji shouted at Lahja and Tunuak to move away. But before they could, Toshi stepped forwards and threw one of his bombs at the dragon.
The dragon screamed and fell. Lahja managed to dodge aside and was only partially trapped, but Tunuak was completely buried beneath the motionless dragon.
The travellers quickly dug through the snow to free Lahja and Tunuak.
Lahja sat down. She was shaking and staring wide-eyed at nothing. She seemed to be about to go into shock. Skygni approached her. “What’s wrong?” he asked, and licked her face with his rather cold tongue.
“Being trapped in snow is bad!” Lahja said.
Skygni stood behind her. He placed his paws on her shoulders and rested his muzzle on top of her head, as if trying to make Lahja feel protected from anything else falling out of the sky.
Shinji spoke to Tunuak. “You have fought with honour. Here.” Shinji gave Tunuak an arrow.
Looking baffled, Tunuak took the arrow.
“It had your name on it,” Shinji explained.
Some of the travellers climbed down into the crevasse and found a number of caves. There was a nest with the broken pieces of several large white eggshells. In another cave, there was a small treasure hoard, including magic weapons, gems, coins, scrolls, a terracotta figurine of a horse, and a quiver covered with fur from a winter wolf. They carefully hid the last item in a haversack before returning to the surface.
Meanwhile, the bleeding, bruised and frostbitten Tunuak cast a spell to heal Lahja. “You’re hurt worse than I am,” Lahja said. “Why do you keep punishing yourself?”
Tunuak blinked a few times then spoke in a rush. “The dreams ... They kept showing me a white dragon with its six children, terrorising the sky and the land. We’d never be able to fight that. The dreams showed me what I needed to do to protect my people. I borrowed a griffon and came here and ... But then the dragon started taking revenge. Those deaths - they’re all my fault - how can I face the families? And the eggs ... the moment they hatch, dragons are dangerous, capable of killing. But those were helpless creatures ... but what if I’d done nothing ...?”
“It’s tricky, sometimes,” said Lahja, “knowing what’s the right thing to do.”
“We all make mistakes,” Shinji added.
“But we all try to do the best we can,” Lahja said.
Tunuak hugged Lahja and seemed to be on the verge of tears again.
“But I don’t think you can trust your dreams any more,” Toshi told Tunuak.
The travellers began setting up camp at a suitable distance away from the crevasse. “I’ll make everyone a nice cup of tea,” Toshi offered.
“And then throw it at them?” Shinji said pointedly.
Then the travellers noticed a column of white in the distance - perhaps water vapour rising into the sky. They decided to postpone investigating it until the next day.
The white column slowly dissipated while the travellers camped, and it had gone completely when they set out the next day. They headed towards the place where the column had been, and they found a circular hole in the ice leading straight down to the ground sixty feet below. Set into the ground was a hexagonal spire of polished black stone, about thirty feet tall. Its surface was covered with silvery veins that reflected the sunlight in weird patterns.
While the travellers were examining the monolith, Tunuak and Zaiobe both turned their heads to look behind them. There was nothing to see apart from the ice-covered landscape. But a few moments later, the wind started to pick up. Then the thin pale clouds gathered into a long curve that darkened the sky and reached around behind them.
Zaiobe spoke in Shinji’s mind. “Our enemies have been controlling storms in a way that is ... not right. Perhaps some of us have been chosen to help free the winds?”
The more immediate question was how the travellers could protect themselves from the approaching blizzard. Tunuak and Gormundr had both been taught how to build ice-shelters, and the travellers hurriedly constructed a small closed dome of ice. They finished it just as heavy snow was beginning to blow into their faces. They crowded inside, with Skygni lying across the entrance, and prepared to wait out the storm.
Tomoko was well-prepared to provide entertainment. She was carrying playing cards (offering a choice between marked and unmarked packs for their games), books and two musical instruments. She also volunteered to give her companions tattoos or massage lessons.
Meanwhile, gales howled outside and hail battered their shelter (this seemed unusual for the region). And those with keen hearing could also make out words in the wind. A voice spoke in Common, then in Auran, Tien and Hon-La. “Follow me ... I can reveal ancient mysteries to you ... I can show you sources of world-shaping power ...”
The travellers stayed inside their shelter until the storm finally died down. Then they dug their way out of the snowdrifts that had built up around them.
Despite the heavy falls of snow and hail, the monolith was still visible at the bottom of its deep shaft.
Presumably, the southern path was not safe even now that the white dragon was dead. The travellers decided that they needed to investigate the source of these storms.
- The white dragon has been dealt with. But shortly afterwards (suspiciously so?), another monolith appeared and a violent, unnatural blizzard struck. This suggests that the southern path is not safe. A voice in the storm offered great knowledge and power.
- Skygni no longer detects as evil. Was it the sight of Lahja in shock that awakened his concern and compassion? (It’s unlikely he will ever admit this ...)
- Out of character, it’s been established that Tunuak and Zaiobe are both oracles with the wind mystery.
In which great distances are traversed rapidly
The travellers went back to the monolith to examine it more closely. Olaf noticed that the light reflected by the silvery veins moved even when he stayed still, and the patterns formed by the reflections could perhaps contain meaning. He spent some time sketching the patterns and trying to decipher them, but concluded that he would need more examples before he could interpret them.
The travellers made the journey back to Iqaliat, carrying the head of the white dragon with them as proof of what they had achieved. Just before the wooden walls of Iqaliat came into view, Tunuak asked if anyone happened to be carrying alcohol. Tomoko had several small bottles of different types of drink in her possession, and she offered them to Tunuak. He hastily drank a few mouthfuls.
The Erutaki greeted the travellers joyfully, and Ameiko and Sandru also seemed relieved to see their travelling companions returning safely. Chief Nalvanaq presented the travellers with gifts – a sashimono of comfort and a map of the High Ice – and said they would always be welcome as hearthguests. Tomoko enquired about the possibility of a bath. The Erutaki quickly carried hot water to a large tub inside one of the huts. Tomoko remained within the hut for some time.
Tunuak straightened his shoulders and asked to speak with the chief alone.
That night, there was a feast of roast elk, grilled fish and a selection of marinated mosses. The Erutaki sang of ancient heroes and improvised new songs about the slayers of the white dragon (for some reason, most of the verses were devoted to Tomoko’s acrobatic exploits). Tomoko worked with Safa to put together a polished and somewhat more accurate ballad, which also mentioned Tunuak’s actions during the fight.
“I would create a flower arrangement to commemorate those events,” Shinji said gravely, “but there are no flowers here.”
Apparently, he was overheard. Not long afterwards, a shy young Erutaki woman offered Shinji three tiny pink-tinged wildflowers. “For your arrangement, sir,” she said, then hurried away.
Shinji spent many hours that night trying to create an arrangement that approached traditional ideals of aesthetic balance and harmony, using only a small clay pot, three drooping flowers and dim memories of allusions to traditional ideals of aesthetic balance and harmony. Tomoko helped (perhaps) by accompanying him on the samisen.
The next morning, the travellers discussed their plans. Sandru did not want to spend much more time waiting in Iqaliat - the prospect of still being on a journey through these lands when winter arrived did not appeal to him (for one thing, the little sprouting coffee plants in his portable greenhouses would probably not fare particularly well).
So the travellers decided that the caravan would set out, led by Gormundr, along the southern path. Meanwhile, some of the travellers would go northwards to investigate the monoliths and try to determine the source of the unnatural blizzards. They expected they would be able to catch up with the slow-moving caravan easily.
Chief Nalvanaq offered them two sleds and two teams of sled-dogs. She also asked the travellers to delay their departure for a few hours so they could testify at Tunuak’s hearing.
The Erutaki gathered in an open space in the town, and Tunuak stood in front of them to face charges of endangering the people of Iqaliat and concealing important knowledge from the chief. Tunuak did not contest any of this. He seemed more calm than the travellers had ever seen him.
Tomoko spoke in support of Tunuak, describing how the shaman had led the white dragon away from the travellers during the battle and had also used magic to defend Lahja when he could have been protecting himself instead. After discussing the evidence in private, the Erutaki leaders sentenced Tunuak to six months of ‘all duties’, which seemed to be a gruelling workload of manual labour assisting with any tasks required by the town, in addition to Tunuak’s normal duties as shaman. Tunuak accepted this without protest.
When the caravan was ready to leave, Shinji found Tunuak and said farewell. The young shaman was already busy hauling stacks of firewood. “Remember that a rope is a thousand times stronger than a single strand,” Shinji said.
Tunuak blinked at Shinji and then wished him good luck on the journey that lay before the travellers.
Shinji returned to the caravan and glared balefully at Sandru’s young coffee plants. (The coffee plants did not seem concerned.) Shinji then joined the group of travellers who were about to head north on the dogsleds. Lahja and Tomoko were at the reins, and Skygni sat on one of the sleds, barking encouragement at the dogs.
Shinji chose Tomoko’s sled to ride on. “I was hoping Tunuak could explain that proverb about the rope to me,” Shinji said. “... If someone wanted something to happen, but didn’t want to take any action to make it happen, what should that person do?”
“You could pray to the gods to intervene,” Tomoko suggested.
“Or to our ancestors? Yes, that may be the best course.”
“Or you could arrange some throwing lessons with Toshi near the greenhouses.”
“That would be a bit too obvious,” Shinji said.
Olaf had asked Tunuak for directions to other monoliths, and he had also talked to Gormundr about how to avoid areas with many crevasses. The travellers rode northwards quickly over the ice. Each evening, they camped inside a magical shelter created by Olaf.
As they travelled, Olaf asked Kala and Azu-Bemphi to fly high and scout ahead.
“How do you feel about frost giants?” Azu-Bemphi asked brightly after looping back from one of these scouting flights. “Enthusiastic? Not enthusiastic?”
The travellers decided to make a detour around the frost giants.
“What about gargantuan white tarantulas?” Azu-Bemphi asked some time later. “Are they of any interest?”
As it happened, gargantuan white tarantulas were of more interest to Olaf than the frost giants had been. But the travellers decided to avoid the tarantulas too.
After several more days of travel, Azu-Bemphi spotted a shaft in the ice. The travellers approached and found another black monolith embedded in the ground deep beneath the surface of the ice. Olaf and Tomoko climbed down.
Olaf studied the patterns made by the light moving along the silvery veins. He still could not decipher anything, but he was getting an impression that a few of the patterns had something to do with communication between the monoliths. “You have telepathy, Azu,” said Olaf. “Can you sense anything in the rock?”
Azu-Bemphi tilted his head. He closed one eye, then the other. His face twisted into various odd expressions. “There’s ... something there,” said the faerie dragon. “My thoughts can’t reach it ... but something’s aware of me.” He flew over Olaf and hid inside Olaf’s backpack. “I’m brave, honestly!" said the muffled voice of the faerie dragon. “Mostly!”
“You are very brave, Azu,” Tomoko said reassuringly.
Then the travellers heard the wind begin to pick up.
Soon, storm clouds were visible in the sky to the south. The travellers hastily constructed another shelter from ice, and crowded inside. But this time, the blizzard did not reach them. When the travellers eventually emerged, they saw that the dark clouds had formed into a vast V-shape and were moving slowly towards them.
It did not require much knowledge of the weather to conclude that this was unnatural. The storm seemed to be trying to herd the travellers northwards. They climbed onto the dogsleds and rode westwards rapidly, hoping to get past the leading edge of the storm before it reached them.
They just made it, and watched the storm continue northwards. It gradually took on a more normal shape.
Despite the fact that the storm seemed to want them to go north, the travellers decided that they would go north. It was the only direction that was likely to provide any answers.