Sandru, Shinji and Lahja went to speak with the messenger, who unwound the scarf that hid most of his face. He introduced himself as a Hongali emissary from Princess Batsaikhar. “I have travelled here by one of our swiftest ships. The news I bring is grave. The Great Khan of Hongal has been murdered. Her Radiant Highness has evidence that the killer was sent by the Minkaian authorities, but she has concealed it for now. You advised her once not to wage war against Minkai, and now the princess wishes to know if this is still the advice you would give.”
“It is,” Shinji replied. “We believe that it would be disastrous for Hongal to try to fight a war against Minkai.”
The emissary nodded. “This is what she expected, and she will follow your advice, on one condition. To avoid war, the evidence must remain concealed, and this comes at some personal cost to her Highness. Some people may consider that she was the one who gained the most from her brother’s death. To strengthen her rule, she asks for assurances from you. The proposed arrangement between her and the man known as Jiro might not have been suitable, but Princess Batsaikhar seeks a similar arrangement with someone from the future court. She said that ‘diplomatic negotiations could be resumed where they left off’ and then winked at me. I’m not sure I understood. Her Radiant Highness can be rather confusing at times...”
“I understand,” said Shinji. “Tell the princess that many men would eagerly accept. I gave her a gift once before, and now I reaffirm the gift with this sign.” Shinji produced an elegant calligraphic composition displaying the character for ‘coffee’. Looking somewhat puzzled, the envoy accepted the paper from Shinji and said that he would return to Hongal as quickly as he could.
A few days later, Ven received a response from Hatsue:
I have contacted some of our agents in Hiyosai. There have been recent rumours of a possible planned rebellion led by someone known as the Bandit Queen, and it seems that the authorities are already preparing to crush it.
From what the former Lord of Enganoka has told me, it seems impossible that an uprising of civilians could survive against the regime without much bloodshed. I would like you to go to Hiyosai and do what you can to persuade the ordinary people not to fight. You may be able to influence the Bandit Queen to take a different course.
However, the people need some reason to hope. I realise that I am asking you to face great danger, but perhaps you could find a way to isolate and defeat at least some of the regime’s most fearsome soldiers, such as the fire giants who attacked Matsu’s rebels. You could fight in disguise, wearing a symbol that people may see as a sign of hope for the future.
The travellers told Ven that they would try to do as Hatsue asked. Olaf’s phantom chariot helped them to make the journey to Hiyosai in relative comfort. Along the way, Tomoko used Soseki’s samisen to cast legend lore and learn more about the ‘Bandit Queen’, an outlaw and occasional pirate who also called herself the ‘Forest Queen’. The Forest Queen had recently become well-known for targeting the authorities and helping Hiyosai’s poor. Toshi began making potion bottles marked with the sign of a daisy, which he had chosen as a symbol for resistance against the Regent.
The city of Hiyosai seemed peaceful enough when the travellers arrived. The province was governed by a noblewoman who was generally considered to be as fair and just a ruler as she could be while still obeying the edicts of the Regent. The travellers decided to go to the nearby woods and try to find the woman known as the Forest Queen.
- According to an emissary from Princess Batsaikhar, the Great Khan of Hongal has been assassinated. Batsaikhar is suppressing the evidence that the killer was from Minkai - otherwise, she would be compelled by national beliefs about honour to declare war immediately.
- The PCs have travelled to the eastern city of Hiyosai, where a former bandit known as the “Forest Queen” is rumoured to be plotting rebellion.
- Hatsue has asked the PCs to try to discourage the people of Hiyosai province from rebelling - instead, she hopes the PCs will be able to defeat some of the Regent’s forces by themselves. Fire giants are expected.
In which a man with a butterfly on his head hands out daisies
When the travellers reached the woodlands to the northwest of the city of Hiyosai and started walking along the path among the trees, Olaf noticed a butterfly fluttering ahead of them. This butterfly was soon joined by a few more and followed the path for a while.
The travellers passed a pair of weather-beaten statues of monk-like figures that stood on either side of the path. Shinji thought these were probably a type of kami called dosojins. The travellers bowed and left some small offerings, but the statues did not move or speak.
Soon afterwards, the butterflies left the path and flew away among the trees. The travellers followed, climbing up a slope covered with undergrowth. Although the travellers were moving much more slowly now, they could always catch glimpses of the butterflies through gaps between branches and leaves.
After about half an hour, Skygni announced that he could smell humans ahead. Shinji went forward to scout and found a clearing where a group of about thirty humans and tengus had set up camp. Their leader was a woman with hair dyed in shades of green and brown.
Shinji returned to the other travellers, who then approached the clearing without any attempt at stealth. People armed with longbows stepped out from among the trees and told the travellers to stop and identify themselves.
“Hello!” said Lahja. “My name is Lulu and these are my friends! We want to be your friends!”
The travellers were escorted into the clearing and introduced to the woman with green and brown hair, who called herself the Forest Queen. “How did you find this place?” she asked.
“This may sound strange,” said Olaf, “but we followed some butterflies. We believe they are a sign from Desna. We have come to bring you a warning.”
“Sit down and explain,” said the Forest Queen. “This should be good,” she added in a mutter.
A long discussion ensued. The travellers revealed that the rebels in Enganoka had faced fire giants as well as the normal military forces of Minkai, and this was the reason why the rebellion had been crushed so quickly. This news seemed to surprise the Forest Queen, but she expressed confidence that she and her followers would be able to inspire enough support from the people of Hiyosai that even fire giants could be driven back. The travellers each tried to persuade her not to encourage rebellion yet. “Give us a few weeks to face the giants ourselves,” Shinji said finally, and held out a daisy. “Please take this as a sign of our promise that we will deal with them or fall in the attempt.”
Shinji never noticed, but the other travellers saw that a large jade-wing butterfly had landed on Shinji’s head while he had been talking.
The Forest Queen took the daisy but was clearly sceptical. “What makes you think you can possibly succeed?”
The travellers said they would demonstrate a few of their abilities. Some sparring, an archery contest and an exploding tree later, the Forest Queen and her followers seemed convinced, and they agreed not to try to start a revolution within the next few weeks. They shared their dinner of roast venison and root vegetables with the travellers.
The next morning, Tomoko used Soseki’s samisen to cast divination, in the hope of discovering how to find fire giants. The answer was: the dosojins will show you the way. The travellers said farewell to the Forest Queen and returned to the path. Near the statues, they found footprints that had been left there some time during the night. Two humanoids had followed the path into the woods, but had stopped and turned back without passing between the two statues.
The travellers followed the tracks out of the woods and across grasslands. Scouting ahead, Azu-Bemphi spotted two beings who looked like tall, hunchbacked hobgoblins. From the faerie dragon’s description, Olaf guessed that these were ja noi oni. The travellers planned an ambush.
Once the two oni had been defeated, the travellers took the opportunity to interrogate the surviving one - Shinji was commanding and intimidating, and Toshi stood back and drank an extract of detect thoughts. The oni claimed to have been searching for the bandits, but had not been able to travel further into the woods because the path was guarded by kami. “The giants will be here soon,” the oni said, “and they will not be prevented.”
Shinji demanded to know how many fire giants there were.
“Several dozen, sir!”
Although the oni’s mind was mostly filled with images of violence, Toshi managed to determine that these claims were true.
The oni gladly accepted Shinji’s challenge to face Lahja in single combat.
- The PCs have persuaded the Forest Queen not to start a rebellion within the next few weeks.
- Allegedly, several dozen fire giants have descended from their home in the mountains and are approaching the woodland near Hiyosai in search of the Forest Queen and her followers.
In which there is talk of “bears”
Azu-Bemphi scouted ahead to search for giants. They were not hard to find.
After two successful battles against small groups of fire giants and ja noi oni, the travellers decided to return to the woods and report back to the Forest Queen. Not far from the woods, they saw a group of people who looked like farmers and artisans, carrying weapons such as shortbows and spears. Tomoko and Lahja approached and greeted the group.
The leader of the group explained what they were doing. “We are looking for bears. Some have been sighted near the farms, and there may be more in the woods. We just want to make sure our families are safe.”
Tomoko guessed what he was really talking about, and she suggested that if they wanted to find “bears”, they could try leaving a message near the pair of statues beside the path into the woods.
Lahja was moderately confused.
- After defeating some giants and oni, the PCs have travelled back towards the woodland home of the Forest Queen and her bandits, and along the way they met a group of locals who may be trying to join the bandits (or perhaps they really are just looking for bears).
Killed giants. Met peasants. Discussed bears.
Rocks fall, everyone dies.
In which a faerie dragon becomes the voice of conscience
When the Forest Queen heard about the travellers’ battles against the fire giants, her expression changed. “These are the best tidings we’ve received for a long time. It’s always possible to have hope, but this is something different. New and real hope.”
Some of her companions were not as inspired, particularly the tengu named Kreekaw, who expressed scepticism about whether the battles had taken place at all. The travellers invited him to join them on their next expedition in search of giants. Kreekaw agreed, and in the morning they set out from the clearing together.
A few of the farmers who had been hoping to find “bears” were camped near the statues. In her fox form, Tomoko took the note the farmers had left and replaced it with one asking them to return home and wait until their assistance was called upon.
Once the travellers reached the plains, Azu-Bemphi flew high in the air. He could not find any fire giants, but he did spot a group of human soldiers accompanying a large enclosed cart. They were approaching from the direction of the city of Hiyosai. The travellers stealthily investigated and worked out that the cart was probably carrying prisoners. Tomoko noticed that the young officer in charge of the soldiers looked generally unhappy.
When the cart had stopped for the night, the travellers remained out of sight. Olaf asked Azu-Bemphi to turn invisible and contact the officer using telepathy.
“Hello!” said the faerie dragon. “I am the voice of your conscience.”
The officer managed to conceal his surprise from the other soldiers, and he walked some distance away from them. “Who are you?” he thought back.
“Your conscience,” Azu-Bemphi reiterated in solemn telepathic tones, marred only by a brief telepathic giggle.
The faerie dragon asked about the officer’s mission, and the officer said that he was transporting prisoners to a place near the mountains. He and his soldiers had carried out this task once before, some months ago. He knew that the prisoners had been found guilty of sedition, but he was uncomfortable with the order to abandon the prisoners in the wilderness, still chained inside the cart.
“Would you be happier if these prisoners were freed?” Azu-Bemphi asked.
“I don’t want my soldiers to get in any trouble,” replied the officer.
“Wait until tomorrow. The situation may change in your favour.”
“Thank you, conscience,” said the officer. His tone made it clear that he knew he had been talking to someone who was not any part of his conscience.
The next morning, Tomoko disguised herself as an officer of slightly higher rank, and disguised Lahja and Toshi as ordinary soldiers. They approached the cart openly.
The officer saluted and identified himself as Lieutenant Kado. Tomoko gave him written orders she had forged and explained that she would be taking charge of the prisoners, while Kado and his soldiers were being sent elsewhere.
Kado happily accepted the orders and handed over keys and extensive paperwork to Tomoko. Once the lieutenant and his soldiers were out of sight, the travellers freed the prisoners from their chains, bandaged their ankles and gave them food and water. The prisoners admitted that they had all been trying to encourage rebellion against the Regent’s rule, or at least had suggested the possibility in public. “People should be able to say what they want!” Lahja announced.
The travellers asked the prisoners where they wanted to go. They all knew that it would be too dangerous to return to their homes in Hiyosai. Most of them decided to travel northwards and find work on farms, while a few volunteered to join the Forest Queen’s bandits. Kreekaw agreed to accompany those prisoners back to the woods.
The travellers decided to try to find out why the prisoners were being sent into the wilderness, and so they took the empty cart to its intended destination. After several weeks, they arrived at the place on Lieutenant Kado’s map. They left the cart on flat ground near a small rocky cliff-face that was part of the foothills of the mountains. The travellers hid and waited.
Shortly after nightfall, there was a grinding noise, and figures emerged from among the rocks. These figures looked human and wore the same grey uniforms as the rescued prisoners, but their movement was unsteady, erratic and rapid. Their skin was very pale apart from flushed red patches across their cheekbones. They talked constantly, but apparently only to themselves - Tomoko’s attempt to engage them in conversation was ignored. Olaf guessed they were undead and probably wights, but he had never heard of this particular type.
The travellers attacked the wights with a pit, a wall of force and many arrows. “Sharp pointy painfulness many times at once,” said one of the wights. “Find the one who shoots all the sharpness, stop him, stop him.”
The wights could climb and run remarkably quickly, and some were soon in reach of the travellers. They seemed unaffected by Skygni’s icy breath, and Shinji noticed that the magical energy on his arrows was not doing as much damage as he expected.
The wights’ touch could simultaneously burn and freeze, or burn and corrode.
Shinji guessed that the wights were absorbing energy and turning it against their attackers. He switched to casting magic missile on his arrows, while Lahja stood in the midst of the wights and used her healing touch against them.
“The healing, it hurts,” said the wights. “The hurtingness heals, it heals and hurts, much hurting, ouch.”
Tomoko struck an injured wight down with her rapier. “There is something we should do,” said one of the remaining wights. “Not fighting. What is it, what is it? That is it. Raise the alarm. Alarm, it should be raised.” It started to run back towards the rocks.
Olaf cast dimension door to move Lahja between the wight and the rocks. Looking somewhat unhappy, Lahja touched the wight and it fell.
Once all the wights had stopped moving, the travellers discovered a doorway hidden among the rocks. It led into the cliffs.
The travellers guessed that someone had created the wights from the previous group of prisoners. There was a stern expression on Lahja’s face. She approached the door.
- Using forged orders, the PCs have rescued a group of prisoners who were found guilty of sedition by the authorities and were being sent by cart to a remote location in the foothills of the mountains.
- When they arrived at that location, the PCs encountered some rather peculiar (perhaps experimental) undead who may have been created from a previous group of prisoners. The PCs have found a doorway into the cliff-face.
In which illusions overact
After Tomoko checked for traps, the travellers opened the door and looked into a large rectangular room containing two clockwork soldiers and a nine-foot-tall granite statue of some sort of oni. Another of the strange wights stood near the door in the opposite wall.
“You are trespassing, uninvited, unexplained,” said the wight. “This is your second-last warning! Now your last warning! Surrender! If they don’t surrender, crush them, crush them into tiny pieces.” The wight stepped back through the doorway and out of sight, and the statue began to move. Some of the travellers recognised it as a stone golem. “Your time is running out, intruders!” shouted the wight. “Eleven, ten, nine, eight, seven, eight, seven...”
Olaf gave Azu-Bemphi a scroll of hold portal and sent him to close the door between them and the wight. Then Olaf created a pit beneath the golem, which jumped clear with improbable speed and grace.
Toshi decided to try surrendering, and the golem and the clockwork soldiers stopped moving briefly - until Olaf began casting another spell. The clockwork soldiers attacked some illusory travellers, whose panicked and shocked reactions were perhaps somewhat exaggerated (although a certain faerie dragon might disagree). Meanwhile, Shinji shot many electrified arrows into clockwork, Toshi threw bombs at the golem, a hound archon appeared and attacked the golem, and Lahja tried to prevent any of their opponents from reaching her friends.
The clockwork soldiers were soon broken, and a well-placed arrow from Shinji finally defeated the golem.
From behind the opposite door, the wight was still counting but had not made it to “zero” yet.
Azu-Bemphi dismissed the spell keeping the door closed. Lahja opened the door. “Can we be friends?” she asked.
Someone cast a spell, and the travellers were caught in a storm of pounding hail. Lahja could just see the figure of an elderly woman at the other end of a very large room. Lahja and Skygni ran forwards, avoiding the long tables in their path - the room seemed to be set up as a laboratory. Olaf sent a summoned leopard to prevent a clockwork servant from scuttling across to a body on one of the tables. Severely bruised by hailstones, Azu-Bemphi took shelter and hid.
Lahja and Skygni flanked the elderly woman, who placed a curse on Skygni. Shinji shot the woman but found that the acidic magic on his arrow was reflected back on him.
Lahja managed to grapple the woman and then held her immobile. “Stop shooting!” Lahja said.
Whether the next four arrows were loosed just before or after this instruction is a question whose answer may never be known to history.
Toshi, some leopards, a winter wolf and Shinji finally defeated the wight.
The body on the table turned out to be a prisoner who was strapped down and being slowly poisoned by a complex apparatus. She was wearing an amulet that had an aura of necromancy. With a touch, Lahja removed the effects of the poison. She and Toshi then freed the prisoner and tried to reassure her.
The travellers found other prisoners locked in adjoining rooms. One of these prisoners was very pale and wore a similar amulet. “Take it, take it away from me, take it,” the prisoner said in a toneless voice. Lahja took the amulet from the prisoner, who collapsed immediately, lifeless. The travellers soon realised that the prisoner had probably been dead for some time.
Olaf advised Lahja to destroy the amulet.
The prisoner in the next room did not speak, and the only movement was in her eyes. Again, the travellers removed an amulet and destroyed it. The prisoner in the third room was already properly dead.
Olaf tried another door and found the elderly woman’s library. “This may take some time,” he said.
- The PCs have defeated an undead-creating wizard, rescued one more prisoner and come into possession of rather a lot of paperwork. It seems that the wizard was in the process of researching how to become a lich.
-
...The course taken by Takahiro will not be suitable for my case. Aspects of his mind and his abilities were changed. Also, before the ritual, a great act is needed. That could be disruptive during these times...
...I have read histories and tales of those who have taken this path before me. All did so because of their own desire to extend their life. Perhaps, because I do this for another’s sake, I do not have the necessary will. No matter. Defeat is not dishonour if we keep fighting...
In which fire giants are offered cake
Olaf did indeed spend a considerable amount of time in the library, which had belonged to someone named Soto Onoko. As well as spellbooks and notes on necromantic research, Olaf found paperwork suggesting that the experiments on the prisoners had been authorised by the Regent and seemed to be legal (for some definition of legality, at least). There were also eleven scrolls of sequester and eight scrolls of greater teleport.
Olaf selected the most valuable documents and packed these up, and then the travellers burned much of the rest, particularly the necromantic research. They abandoned the wagon, then took the rescued prisoner to an isolated farming village where, under an assumed name, she agreed to work for the community.
The travellers searched for fire giants again. Azu-Bemphi spotted a group of giants marching from the mountains, and the travellers set off to meet them. Toshi and Lahja waited openly in the giants’ path while the other travellers hid.
Lahja tried to persuade the giants to go back home. “Killing people for fun is bad! Eating cake is more fun. Wouldn't you prefer cake?”
The giants were unconvinced by this argument. Eventually, something Lahja said seemed to provoke their leader, who stepped forward to attack and immediately fell into a hungry pit created by Olaf.
Other giants closed in to flank Lahja. After a somewhat challenging combat, the travellers defeated the giants. “You should have chosen the cake,” Lahja said sadly.
Over the next week, the travellers found and defeated several more groups of giants, and they learned that the giants had been ordered to meet the General at a location in the wilderness to the northwest of Hiyosai. The travellers went to that place, and Tomoko scouted ahead in her fox form. She discovered a comfortable campsite that contained three palatial tents. The General and the Battle Herald were staying there, accompanied by three bodyguards, some servants and a pair of extraordinarily good-looking people dressed in the sort of clothes typically worn by forest bandits.
The travellers began planning an ambush.
- After defeating several more bands of fire giants, the PCs have made plans to ambush the camp of the General.
In which an ambush is postponed
After a considerable quantity of discussion, the travellers decided to wait and observe the camp for longer before acting. The next morning, the travellers were carefully hidden and listened as the General gave orders to the pair of very glamorous Minkaians dressed as bandits: they were to enter the woodlands and bring back a real bandit for questioning.
When those two agents of the General arrived in the woodlands, they soon encountered Tomoko in a clearing. She was disguised as a bandit and was pretending to have injured her ankle.
The two agents offered to help, and Tomoko explained that she had been foraging for mushrooms. “You can tell us why you’re really here,” one of the agents said in a soothing tone.
Olaf, who was hiding nearby, suspected that enchantment was being used. He warned the other travellers, who stepped into the clearing. They surrounded the General’s agents and ordered them to drop their weapons. The agents complied, but became much less co-operative when Toshi started trying to tie them up: long spider’s legs appeared from the agents’ backs, and giant spiders arrived on the scene.
After a brief fight and pursuit through the forest, the travellers managed to defeat the spiders and force the General’s agents to surrender properly. The travellers worked out that the agents were shape-shifting creatures known as Jorogumo.
There was a protracted, tense, awkward conversation backed up with some mind-reading by Toshi. The Jorogumo eventually convinced the travellers that they were pragmatic and self-interested enough to change sides... and not foolish enough to attempt betrayal. They offered to help, perhaps by spreading stories of what the General and the other allies of the Regent were really like. They also suggested that they could help to trick the General. The travellers began planning an ambush...
- The PCs have made a (perhaps uneasy) alliance with two shape-shifting former servants of the General.
- The PCs are once again making plans to ambush the camp of the General.
In which Toshi receives a recipe
The travellers waited until night had fallen. Azu guarded the Seal, allowing the travellers to use some dimensional travel (along with silence, a wall of force, more silence, a stinking cloud, arrows and rather a lot of cold) to surprise, attack and defeat the Battle Herald and the General in their tents. (It turned out that the General was indeed a fire yai oni in disguise.) Without too much difficulty, the travellers persuaded the two confused bodyguards to flee rather than fight.
The travellers brought the news back to the bandits in the forest. The Forest Queen was overjoyed and arranged a celebratory feast in the hidden camp. During the meal, the travellers convinced the Forest Queen to continue to stay out of trouble rather than stirring up further rebellion. They hinted that other steps were being taken to bring the regime of the Jade Regent to an end.
The travellers visited the city of Hiyosai and found that the mood there was subdued. There seemed little danger of an uprising in the province, and so the travellers decided to return to Kasai.
When their phantom chariot brought them back to the capital, the travellers hurried to the caravan and learned that their companions were all well (although Sandru’s stocks of coffee were dwindling). Shinji reported back to Hatsue via Ven’s book. Meanwhile, Sandru gave Toshi a letter that had been delivered to the caravan just after the travellers had left Kasai. The letter was addressed to ‘Masatoshi Wright’ and there was a note written on the outside of the envelope which read “Your cousin Soto Sunshuke can explain.” Inside the envelope was a piece of paper that had been torn into several thin strips. Toshi quickly rearranged these and discovered that the document was a hand-written list of alchemical ingredients.
Toshi found Shinji and demanded an explanation. Shinji warned Toshi against making any use of the recipe, saying that the letter had been sent by Jubrayl Vhiski, who was trying to entangle Sandru in another devious scheme. But as soon as the conversation was over, Toshi went shopping. He purchased each ingredient from a different shop and started making plans for experiments (which he would conduct in a location well out of earshot of the city).
Meanwhile, some of the travellers were discussing whether any of the Regent’s other allies could be subverted or otherwise dealt with. Ven had informed them that the chief of Kasai’s police force could apparently be easily bribed with fine art and other rare objects, despite the regime’s official stern stance against corruption. The travellers considered the possibility of paying a visit on Sandru’s behalf, to seek support for Sandru’s plans to purchase land on an island to the south of Minkai. Some of Sandru’s increasingly desirable coffee might make a suitable gift to show their appreciation of the police chief’s good work...
- The PCs have defeated the Battle Herald and the General, and the province of Hiyosai now seems quiet, with little risk of rebellion or violent repression.
- The PCs have returned to the capital.
- Toshi has received a list of ingredients (carbon, sulphur and saltpetre), but not additional information on the ideal proportions. He has purchased quantities of these from several different locations and is planning some experiments.
- Meanwhile, some of the other PCs have been planning to visit the chief of the Kasai police force, who is rumoured to be vain, gullible and susceptible to bribery.
In which Olaf joins a hoard
Toshi received another letter. This one offered to put Toshi in touch with a secret guild of alchemists who knew the best proportions of ingredients for creating the most effective explosions. Toshi went to speak with Ameiko, who was still working in the caravan, disguised as an assistant cook. Toshi explained that the letter had been sent by Jubrayl Vhiski. Lahja was present - she listed to the conversation and did not speak, but looked concerned.
Ameiko reminded Toshi that Jubrayl had a long history of manipulating people to get them tangled up in schemes for his benefit.
“Yes,” said Toshi, “he’s obviously doing this to tempt me... because it would work really well. Did you see those cannons? They were amazing!”
Lahja continued to look concerned. Toshi eventually decided that it would be hypocritical to accept Jubrayl’s offer after criticising Shinji so strongly for getting involved with Jubrayl’s Sczarni gang, and he reluctantly wrote a reply declining the offer (although it’s just possible he may have been hoping that Jubrayl would still send some information anyway).
Sandru, Olaf and Shinji meanwhile made an appointment to speak with Commander Zhai Tzahn, the chief of the Kasai police force, about Sandru’s request to purchase land on an island to the south of mainland Minkai.
The police headquarters was a large building located just outside the entrance to the walled Palace grounds, and the commander’s office was decorated with a selection of beautiful objects and artworks. The commander himself was a blandly good-looking man in his mid-thirties, which seemed surprisingly young for his rank.
Shinji lavished extraordinarily fulsome praise on the commander for his achievements in maintaining order in the city, and then he asked what sort of gift would be appropriate to demonstrate proper appreciation of the commander’s talents. The commander replied that it wouldn’t be right for him to accept any gifts, and told Sandru that he should simply fill out the necessary paperwork and wait for a decision. During this conversation, the commander had been studying his three visitors with an appraising gaze, and when the appointment was over, he offered Olaf a job. “If you’re interested, talk to my secretary to arrange an interview.”
But when Olaf left the commander’s office and spoke to the secretary, it seemed that no interview was necessary. Olaf was given a uniform of a colour that matched his eyes, and he was assigned the task of dealing with administrative requests from the public. He learned that his predecessor in this role had been a beautiful Vudran woman, who was now working in another part of the headquarters. In fact, a surprisingly large proportion of the civilian staff of the police headquarters possessed some variety of exotic good looks.
“Don’t worry,” said one of his co-workers to Olaf in a quiet moment. “He’s never so much as touched any of us.”
Olaf spent a few days working for the police, and heard that the commander had been sent away on a mission for the Palace. Olaf stayed back late that afternoon and sneaked into the commander’s office. Among all the objects on display, only the ceremonial armour and katanas on the wall and the inkwell on the desk were magical. Olaf worked out that the inkwell was magically linked to a small lever attached to the underside of the desk. Moving the lever would open a trapdoor beneath the commander’s chair and release pyrotechnics from the inkwell.
Olaf searched the room thoroughly and found a single strand of black hair, which probably belonged to the commander. Then Olaf returned to the caravan and used the strand in a scrying spell.
Through the spell, Olaf saw the commander alone in a familiar landscape: the low rocky cliffs just outside the entrance to Soto Onoko’s laboratory. The commander was examining the ground carefully, and then he went inside through the doorway.
The travellers decided they should follow him there. Some of them discussed whether they should ambush or capture him. Lahja said nothing, but looked concerned.
The travellers eventually decided that they would talk to the commander first. They left the Seal with Ameiko, and most of them disguised themselves as ninjas, while Olaf turned himself and Azu-Bemphi invisible. Olaf used one of Soto Onoko’s scrolls of greater teleport to take them outside the laboratory. They went inside and surrounded the commander. Although he was alone and unarmed, the commander did not seem worried in the slightest.
Toshi spoke to the commander. “Surely you can see the harm that the Regent’s regime is doing to your country.”
“This is not my country,” the commander replied.
“So why do you work for the Regent?”
“My work for the regime has been lucrative. I have abilities that could be useful to you… should you happen to have anything particularly aesthetically pleasing to offer me.”
The traveller conferred for a short time and then presented Soseki’s samisen. “Would this be of interest?” Toshi asked.
The commander studied the samisen, then nodded. “Most impressive. In exchange for this item, I am willing to aid you for a certain amount of time. Shall we say two months? How may I be of assistance?”
At that time, the travellers were most interested in information. The ‘Raven Prince’ was the person they knew least about among the Regent’s allies. The commander revealed that the Raven Prince was a tengu assassin who was currently trying to hunt down Jiro in the Forest of Spirits. The commander agreed to search in the Palace for a feather or an object belonging to the Raven Prince.
“We will contact you again soon,” Shinji said.
The commander nodded and left the laboratory, taking the samisen with him.
The travellers had noticed that the commander was not carrying any camping gear, so Olaf asked Azu-Bemphi to follow the commander out into the wilderness to find out where he was going. Still invisible, the faerie dragon tracked the commander for about a quarter of an hour. Then the commander stopped, looked around, transformed into a huge wingless serpentine dragon with scales the colour of half-molten volcanic rock, and flew into the darkening sky.
- Olaf has accepted the offer of an adminstrative job from the police chief. (The offer was apparently inspired solely by Olaf’s exotic looks.)
- Later scrying revealed that the police chief had somehow travelled in less than a couple of days to Soto Onoko’s laboratory in the mountains west of Hiyosai. The PCs used one of Onoko’s scrolls of greater teleport to follow him.
- The disguised PCs talked to the police chief and discovered that he was only working for the Regent’s regime as a way of obtaining valuable objects and works of art. In exchange for Soseki’s magic samisen, the police chief has agreed to assist the PCs for two months.
- The police chief has revealed that the Raven Prince is a tengu assassin who is currently on a mission to find Jiro in the Forest of Spirits. The police chief has agreed to search in the Palace for a feather or an object belonging to the Raven Prince.
- Azu-Bemphi followed the police chief into the wilderness and saw him transform into a huge underworld dragon.
In which invisible people watch each other
The travellers returned to Kasai, and Olaf returned to work. Two days later, he was summoned to the commander’s office to give an opinion on a new item that had been delivered as a ‘gift’. It was an elegant Varisian vase that looked as if it had come from Ameiko’s glassworks - but it was not one of the pieces that Sandru had carefully transported in his caravan.
“On a completely unrelated matter,” said the commander, “I see no reason to decline your previous employer’s request. Here is the permit to allow him to purchase land. Please see that the paperwork is completed promptly and correctly.”
A few days later, the travellers found an envelope in a hiding-place they had suggested to the police commander. The envelope contained a small fragment of a black feather.
Olaf used the feather to scry, and he saw a tengu walking through dense forest. The tengu wore a large red and green cloak and carried a variety of equipment including weapons, potions and bombs.
Shinji and Olaf agreed that Jubrayl Vhiski was surely the one who had bribed the police commander on Sandru’s behalf. They talked about what to do. “We should ask Ven to look for him,” Tomoko suggested.
“No we shouldn’t,” said Shinji. “She’ll just fall under his sway, as so many other people have done.”
“She can handle it,” Tomoko replied. She drew a portrait of Jubrayl and left it with Ven, who commented on Jubrayl’s appearance in an entirely restrained and dignified way.
Olaf requested leave from his job and then teleported the travellers to Zaiobe’s mountain in the Forest of Spirits.
After he had greeted Zaiobe telepathically and inquired how the mountain-tending was going, Shinji asked whether she knew anything about the Raven Prince. Zaiobe replied that she had heard stories of a tengu threatening some of the forest’s inhabitants and demanding to know if they had seen a human matching Jiro’s description. “Did he hurt anyone?” Shinji asked.
“Not... badly,” Zaiobe replied.
From the reports Zaiobe had received, the tengu seemed to be following a systematic path through the forest. The travellers decided to lay a trap for him. They set up a campsite where Toshi and Lahja were visible, and Toshi cooked a meal over an open fire. Meanwhile, Tomoko scouted in fox form. Shinji created a hide where he would be able to observe the camp, and Olaf climbed up a tree and turned himself invisible.
The tengu approached the campsite slowly, studying his surroundings as he moved. He looked up at the tree where Olaf was hiding. The tengu then vanished from sight.
Olaf and Shinji were both using magic to allow them to see invisible things. They watched the tengu as the tengu watched Olaf. To see what would happen, Olaf climbed down the tree and sneaked closer to the campsite, pretending to spy on Lahja and Toshi. The tengu followed Olaf silently and continued to watch, now visible but carefully hidden.
Tomoko got tired of waiting. She transformed into her human shape and walked towards the tengu. “We have heard that you are looking for someone,” she said. “What would it take for you to stop looking?” Lahja joined them and listened to the conversation.
“If someone gave me a task of greater importance, I would attend to that first,” the Raven Prince replied. “Importance is determined by price, of course. Is there anyone you wish me to kill?”
“Yes, yes there is,” Tomoko replied, thinking quickly. “Colonel Arashin!”
The Raven Prince nodded. “The colonel is a suitable target - I believe he is a threat to the future stability of the Empire. How much is the colonel’s head worth to you? He is a high-ranking military officer, a person of influence. Shall we say thirteen thousand?”
“Thirteen thousand?”
“Very well, for such a charming client... how about eleven thousand? For any less, I cannot consider the task to be of sufficient-”
Lahja interrupted. “Killing people is bad! Killing someone just because someone gives you money is bad! I think you are a bad person and you should go away now!”
The tengu swirled his distinctive green and red cloak around himself and vanished in a puff of smoke.
“What?” asked Tomoko, seeing Lahja’s expression. “I wasn’t going to pay him.”
Further discussion was postponed as the travellers set off in pursuit of the Raven Prince. Tomoko and Skygni were able to track the smell of smoke and the scent of feathers, and after some time the travellers were close to catching up with the assassin again.
- The PCs have asked Ven to try to track down Jubrayl Vhiski.
- The PCs have teleported to the Forest of Spirits to stop the Raven Prince assassinating Jiro. The PCs are now pursuing the Raven Prince through the forest.
It’s always the way. While our masters trudge through dense forest, we ninjas get left with the thankless undesirable tasks... like searching a wealthy cosmopolitan city for tall, handsome, charming foreign men...
In which there is a certain amount of confusion
They quickly discussed the best approach to take. The other travellers couldn’t convince Lahja that it would be right to hunt down and simply attack the Raven Prince, given that he seemed to be obeying her instruction to go away. So they stopped chasing the tengu, but Tomoko and Azu-Bemphi kept tracking him and watched as he camped for the night in a bracken-concealed hollow. The following morning, they saw him resume his systematic search through the forest.
The travellers eventually decided to plan a second ambush, with Toshi disguised as Jiro.
“Are there any messages you wish me to pass on to the family?” Shinji asked. “And I just want to let you know that even though you’re very annoying, I have some measure of respect for you.”
“Uh-huh,” replied Toshi (because Tomoko had asked him not to move while she was finishing the make-up for his disguise).
They set up another camp in the tengu’s path. When Azu-Bemphi reported that the tengu was approaching, Shinji carefully constructed a hide where he could watch the camp and Toshi. Olaf waited a short distance away, ready to teleport Lahja and Skygni to Toshi’s side if the tengu attacked.
Everything was going to plan until Azu-Bemphi sent Olaf a telepathic warning, saying that he had lost sight of the Raven Prince. A few moments later, Olaf saw a column of thick black smoke rising from the location of Shinji’s hiding-place. Olaf teleported Lahja, Skygni and himself into the smoke. Almost immediately afterwards, he inhaled a fine powder that had been blown into his face.
Toshi and Tomoko ran towards the smoke. They saw Shinji tumbling out of it, looking weakened and bleeding badly from a wound in his back. Toshi heard Olaf babbling incoherently from within the column of smoke. When Toshi stepped into the smoke to help, Olaf attempted to punch him in the face.
Toshi emerged from the smoke, guiding Olaf. Lahja and Skygni followed them. “I think he’s gone,” said Lahja.
Skygni had apparently been biting his own foreleg.
The tengu stepped out from among some trees and tossed shuriken at Shinji. Lahja used divine magic to take onto herself the additional injury and poison that Shinji would have suffered.
Finally, Shinji was able to shoot at the tengu. Lahja and Skygni closed in.
“I told you to go away!” said Lahja. “You’re a bad bird!”
The Raven Prince pointed his sai at Lahja. “I may be bad,” he said calmly, “but you are an enemy of the Empire.” He proceeded to stab at Lahja three times and miss three times.
Lahja and Skygni attacked, and Tomoko dealt the final blow.
“That was the most foolish plan we have ever made, and I am including the incident with the white dragon,” Shinji said sternly. “Someone could have died. And worse, it could have been me.”
“I don’t understand,” said Lahja. “You were happy with it before the fight.”
The travellers spent a few days resting and recuperating in the forest, while Toshi brewed replacement healing potions and Azu-Bemphi tried to improve Shinji’s mood with coloured lights and aerial acrobatics.
“Shinji, please smile,” Olaf begged after Azu-Bemphi had staged a short theatrical performance on the forest floor, complete with improvised dancing and singing. “Just once?”
The travellers then returned to the southern edge of the forest, near the prison camp at the Minkaian border. Shinji, Tomoko and Toshi disguised themselves as Minkaian soldiers and went to the gates of the camp, claiming to carry an important message that needed to be delivered to the colonel in private. The colonel agreed to speak with them alone, although his expression was grim, as if he was expecting particularly bad news.
“We are here with a warning, sir,” Shinji said. “We have overheard the Raven Prince accepting a commission to assassinate you. He said that you were a threat to the future stability of the Empire.”
The colonel raised his eyebrows. “But who would bother to pay someone to kill me? Not the Regent, surely. If they wanted me dead, they’d just order me to report to the Palace, and I would be arrested and executed. I half-expected that you were the ones with that order... They’d only send an assassin after me if I had fled from my post. Not that I haven’t thought about fleeing a few times. But here, at least I can protect the prisoners from worse cruelties. And of course this place is much more comfortable than hiding in that forest or trying to reach Hongal. If that makes me lazy, and a coward... well, I don’t think I can deny it.”
“It seems to me that you owe the Regent’s regime nothing,” said Shinji. “Will you give us your word that you will not aid the Regent if he summons you to the Palace?”
Quite a few different expressions appeared on the colonel’s face before he replied. “Very well, you have my word,” he said in a tone of voice that sounded both anxious and relieved.
Tomoko then changed the subject. “Is there anything we can do for you in return? We have heard rumours that there was an understanding between you and Lady Renshii Meida.”
“I think she liked me once, but it seems she prefers the power and status that marriage to the Lord of Enganoka has given her.”
“Surely not,” said Tomoko. “He can’t possibly be compared to you.”
“I suppose not. He’s the noble-born ruler of an entire province, and I’m just a disgraced outcast with a doubtful bloodline and a prison camp on the edge of nowhere.”
“There still may be a chance for the two of you, depending on how things turn out,” Toshi said. “Would you like us to deliver a message to her?”
“Gah,” said the colonel as he reached for pen and paper. “I promised myself I wouldn’t do this again.” He scrawled a note which he sealed and gave to Toshi. “Good luck,” he added as the travellers prepared to leave.
While the others were still returning from the prison camp, Olaf received a sending from one of Hatsue’s followers: You are suspected. Your descriptions posted in capital. Your friends in hiding. We will send you location of Jiro. Take him immediately to the Shrine.