- The Raven Prince has been defeated.
- Colonel Arashin has given his word not to aid the Regent if he receives a summons to the throne room in the Imperial Palace. He has given the PCs yet another letter for Renshii Meida.
- Olaf has received a sending from one of Hatsue’s followers, saying that the PCs’ descriptions have been posted in Kasai and the caravan members have gone into hiding. Hatsue is asking the PCs to meet Jiro and escort him to the Imperial Shrine.
In which a fox expresses frustration
During the journey to the meeting-place with Jiro, the travellers talked about whether they should tell him that he was not the only surviving heir of the ruling houses. They agreed that it would be safest to keep the secret for as long as possible, but that he deserved to be told before they went to the island of the Imperial Shrine.
They met Jiro deep in the Forest of Spirits. Because Jiro had his family’s Seal with him, they could not simply teleport to Kasai. Instead, Olaf cast phantom chariot, and the travellers and Jiro headed south through isolated areas near the foothills of the Kyojin mountain range. During the following days, Olaf contacted Ameiko several times by sending. Ameiko said that the caravan members had taken refuge in some caverns just north of Kasai - Ven was helping to ensure that they stayed hidden.
Some of the travellers noticed that Jiro seemed pensive and on edge. When Lajha asked him what was wrong, he explained that he was nervous about the visit to the Imperial Shrine. “I know,” he said, “I’ve been prepared for it for most of my life. But now that it’s about to happen... There are stories - just rumours really - of tests of character that the ancestral spirits ask candidates to undergo. Some ambitious heirs retreated to monasteries after failing to receive the spirits’ blessing. It’s hard not to be aware of all of my flaws at the moment.”
Shinji offered some solemn advice that actually seemed to help Jiro become calmer. Unfortunately, this chronicler has been unable to obtain a reliable account of what Shinji said, and so these singular words have been lost to history.
“But won’t it be even worse after the island?” Lahja asked. “If you’re in charge? What if you make a mistake?”
“No ruler can be perfect,” Jiro replied. “I’m sure I’ll make lots of mistakes, especially at the beginning. But I hope I can at least be an improvement on the current regime. And if I can find trustworthy advisors,” he added, looking at the travellers, “then perhaps they will be able to stop me making any very serious mistakes.”
They had been travelling for more than a week when Toshi suddenly had a sense of fighting off a feeling of being watched. He told the others, and Olaf said that someone was probably attempting to scry Toshi. They guessed that the Regent’s allies were responsible, and Toshi suggested a plan: he and Tomoko could travel by teleportation to a nearby city to lay a false trail. While they were there, they could purchase some magic to protect them from scrying.
Olaf took them to a familiar location in the city of Enganoka, and said he would contact them by sending each evening.
That evening, Tomoko reported to Olaf that the city was quiet but the people seemed very oppressed. There were posters on the walls with the travellers’ descriptions and the promise of rewards for useful information. “We could turn each other in, for profit!” Tomoko suggested to Toshi. Instead, they found lodgings in a quiet temple.
Early the next afternoon, Lahja tugged on Olaf’s sleeve. “I’m worried! Do you think they’re all right? Can you talk to them?”
“I’m sure they’re fine,” Olaf said, but he cast a sending anyway.
Help! replied Tomoko through the sending. Olaf agreed to meet her in the temple of Shizuru.
When Olaf and Lahja teleported into the temple, Lahja noticed traces of dried blood on Toshi’s clothes near his left ankle.
“I was attacked by a wild animal,” Toshi explained. “It’s all right - I healed myself.”
Tomoko was frowning slightly.
In the temple, Toshi and Tomoko related the story of their day and a half in Enganoka. They had created fake identity papers and pretended to be a pair of runaway lovers from a provincial village. They used a story about avoiding angry parents (who possessed magical talents) as an excuse to place an order from a magic shop for a scroll of nondetection. The assistant told them it would be ready by the following midday.
The next morning, they were doing other shopping when Toshi had that sense of being watched again. This time, he tried not to resist. Instead, he and Tomoko walked around the city, passing in front of various easily identifiable landmarks.
About half an hour later, they saw a number of city guards approaching. Toshi quickly adopted a new disguise and Tomoko transformed herself into her fox form. They dodged the guards, who were searching the area and going door-to-door to question shop owners and bartenders.
When it was nearly midday, they returned to the magic shop to find that it was being watched by city guards. They hid in an alley and listened through the wall to the assistant describing them and their visit to a guard captain.
At this point, Toshi recalled that there had been a formula for nondetection in a book they had found some time earlier in their adventures. Tomoko expressed her opinion on this, with teeth.
They still needed to purchase the material component for the spell, so they sneaked away from the guards. Tomoko disguised herself as a boy and went to another magic shop to pretend to be a wizard’s apprentice and buy a selection of ingredients including diamond dust. During this transaction, some guards arrived outside this magic shop too. Tomoko managed to evade the one who was ordered to escort her back to her master, and she met up with Toshi again. This was when Olaf’s sending reached them.
Lahja asked the high priest of Shizuru if he would mind taking a letter to the castle in Enganoka.
The high priest saw the name of Lady Meida on the envelope and grimaced. “Are you sure?”
“We’re trying something.”
The travellers teleported back to the wilderness and continued their journey by phantom chariot. As they got closer to Kasai, they had to avoid the groups of soldiers that they were sighting more frequently. Toshi had mixed some extracts of nondetection, but still experienced that feeling of being watched once or twice. At this point, Olaf recalled that they had found several scrolls of sequester in Soto Onoko’s laboratory. This was a spell with somewhat drastic side-effects, and so the travellers decided they would not cast this on Toshi until they were about to take Jiro (and perhaps a few other people) to the Imperial Shrine.
- Ameiko and other caravan members are hiding in (comfortably furnished) caverns just to the north of Kasai.
- There have apparently been several attempts to scry Toshi. Diamond dust has been obtained.
- Lahja has given the colonel’s letter to the high priest of Shizuru to deliver to Lady Meida.
- The PCs have travelled south with Jiro and are dodging patrols of soldiers as they approach Kasai.
In which snow falls amid mist
When they arrived back in Kasai, the travellers avoided the notice of the city guards and found Ven, who was still working undercover in her tea-shop. She was wearing new jewellery: a necklace and ear-rings decorated with red roses made of enamel. Ven told them that Sandru had received an anonymous letter warning him that he and the other members of the caravan were about to be arrested. He had come to her for advice and she had helped them escape to a hidden cave system in the cliffs to the north of Kasai. Not long after all the caravan members were safely away, the city police force had arrived at the caravan and confiscated everything that Sandru had been forced to leave behind (including all the remaining coffee plants).
Ven gave the travellers directions to the caves. She did not explain where her new jewellery had come from.
The travellers went with Jiro to the caves and found Sandru, Ameiko, Safa and the other caravan members all safe and well. The extensive cave system was now stocked with supplies and comfortably furnished. Sandru told the travellers that his brother Jubrayl was also present. “He’s been arranging for the food and furniture to be delivered discreetly to us.”
“Don’t trust him,” said Shinji. “He probably informed the authorities and then sent that note so he can act as if he’s helping you and you feel indebted to him. That’s how he operates.”
“He said he had no idea who sent that letter.”
Shinji looked unconvinced.
“Also, I think my brother has changed, at least a bit. He seems happier, less tense than I’ve ever known him to be.”
Shinji continued to look unconvinced.
Later, Shinji and Jubrayl had a private conversation which ended with Jubrayl stalking out of the caves in fury and Shinji following him, shouting, “Just how petty and small are you? Just how petty and small?”
The travellers used a sending to contact Ven, who said that Hatsue had told her to ask them whether they would be willing to escort Jiro to the Imperial Shrine. The travellers said they would do this, but then they privately agreed that they needed to tell Jiro something first.
They met him in a secluded part of the caverns and told him who Ameiko really was and who her adopted family were. Jiro listened, and said that he understood why they had not told him the truth until then. But he still seemed upset and asked to be left alone for a while.
Next morning, the travellers set out for the Imperial Shrine with Ameiko and Jiro. Once they were on the open water, the travellers finally opened the lid of the Amatatsu Seal again, and they heard the voice of the jade dragon in their minds.
“Hello,” it said. “It’s been a long time. And you’ve had some interesting adventures on the way, as I recall.” It then spoke to Shinji alone. “By the way, do you realise that you proposed to Ameiko when you got drunk during that festival nearly a year ago? I wasn’t sure if you remembered, and I thought you might want to know.”
“What!?” said Shinji. “Wait, does...”
But there was no time for further explanation. A curving wall of mist had appeared on the horizon in front of them, and the travellers steered towards it.
Their craft passed through the mist and they saw a small island ahead of them. Halfway up the hillside were the ruins of a shrine. There were no other signs of habitation.
When they stepped onto the pebbled beach, they found the rotting remains of several row-boats scattered along the shore. Some of the boats had been carrying coffins that now contained human bones and rusted weaponry. The travellers also noticed a few tiny, strange-looking bones in front of one of the old boats. Olaf identified these bones as an imp’s, and he then deciphered the fragments of words painted on the bows of all the boats - they were in Infernal and said: Seek your true master.
As the travellers began walking away from the beach and up the hillside towards the shrine, a few snowflakes started to fall - although the island was still circled by mist, the sky above was blue.
The air temperature dropped and deathly pale figures drifted into view around a turning in the path. They wore tattered pale grey versions of Minkaian military uniforms, and they attacked with blasts of cold and insubstantial icy blades. While they were fighting back, the travellers heard the clanging of metal against metal approaching and saw a corpselike figure in samurai armour walking slowly towards them.
- Sandru received an anonymous letter warning that he and the other members of the caravan were about to be arrested. Ven helped them escape to some old smugglers’ caves north of Kasai.
- The members of the Amatatsu family have revealed their true identities to Jiro.
- The PCs have travelled with Ameiko and Jiro to the island of the Imperial Shrine. On the beach they found the remains of boats that had been carrying coffins.
- As they began to walk towards the only visible building, they were confronted and attacked. They are currently in the middle of a combat with undead (yuki-onna and a graveknight).
In which many past rulers give their blessing (and one offers the location of some secret doors)
The corpselike figure was a graveknight, and it was followed by two more yuki-onna. As soon as Shinji began shooting, the yuki-onna swooped forwards to attack him, and Lahja and Skygni helped to defend him. Meanwhile, Olaf summoned a pair of babau demons to flank the graveknight and keep it busy.
The travellers managed to defeat the yuki-onna with flame and arrows, and then Lahja and Skygni joined the long battle against the graveknight. Finally, a single strike from Tomoko’s rapier defeated the undead creature, and the island became peaceful once more.
The other travellers helped Tomoko complete the task of destroying the remains of the undead with fire. Then the travellers began climbing the hillside again. There was nothing else to bar their way to the shrine.
When they were just a few dozen paces away from the shrine, Ameiko, Jiro, Lahja, Shinji, Olaf and Azu-Bemphi saw the broken pillars begin to grow upwards, and the weathered stone became smooth. The faint outline of a roof appeared, and then the beams and glittering tiles solidified. Translucent silk screens unrolled downwards, filling all but one of the spaces between the pillars. Beyond the entrance, paper lanterns started to glow amid the darkness. The travellers walked forwards into the shrine.
As far as Tomoko and Toshi could tell, they were simply following their companions into unaltered ruins beneath the blue sky.
The interior of the shrine was one large rectangle. Many shadowy figures were kneeling on shadowy mats near the edges of the room. As the travellers stepped into the shrine, the figures rose. The heirs saw the figures become distinct and real - they were all Minkaian humans, but they were dressed in many different styles. Most wore ornate robes in the fashion of one historical period or another, some were in military uniforms or hunting outfits, and a few had plainer, more ascetic clothing.
Shinji immediately prostrated himself. “Majesties,” he said. Jiro, Ameiko, Olaf and Lahja bowed.
“Welcome,” said one of the figures, or perhaps several of them, or all. As soon as one spoke, the figures seemed to blur and change places, and a few of the travellers had the impression that there were somehow more figures present than should have been able to fit into the room.
Toshi and Tomoko saw their companions fade among all the other shadowy figures, and they could only hear distant fragments of the conversation that followed.
“Several possible candidates are here,” said one of the robed figures. “It has been a long time since that has happened,” said another. “Who among you wishes to ask for our blessing?”
Jiro stepped forwards. “Your Majesties, I am Lord Sugimatu Jirosu, and I wish to present myself as a candidate.”
Ameiko glanced nervously at her companions and then also stepped fowards. “Your Majesties, I am... Lady Amatatsu Ameiko, and I wish to present myself as a candidate.”
The past rulers then all looked towards Lahja. “Perhaps what the Empire most needs at this time is a truly good Empress who understands the importance of redemption. Amatatsu Lahja, do you wish to seek our blessing to become Empress of Minkai?”
“My goddess has... helped me get this far,” said Lahja, “I am Lahja, and I...”
“...wish to present...” whispered Ameiko.
“...wish to... present...”
“...myself as a candidate.”
“...myself as a... candidate.”
“Amatatsu Shinji, do you wish to seek our blessing to become Emperor of Minkai?”
“No, Majesties,” said Shinji without rising from the floor. “I do not wish to be a candidate. I have failed to keep hold of my honour, and I would not make a good ruler.”
“Are you certain, Amatatsu Shinji?” asked one of the past rulers. “You have the rare skill of being able to speak convincingly of honour while acting with all the necessary dishonour. You’d make an ideal Emperor.”
Lahja looked horrified, as did several of the other rulers.
“No, Majesties,” Shinji said again.
The attention of the past rulers turned to Olaf. “Amatatsu Olaf, do you wish to seek our blessing to become Emperor of Minkai?”
“Your Majesties, I feel that my role was as a guide and protector on this journey.”
“Are you certain?” asked several of the rulers. “It has been a long time since anyone of truly exceptional intelligence ruled over Minkai.” (Perhaps a few of the more modern-looking rulers exchanged annoyed glances about that remark.)
Olaf hesitated and then stepped forwards. “Your Majesties, I am Olaf Adalger of the Amatatsu family and I wish to present myself as a candidate.”
“Lord Sugimatu Jirosu,” said the past rulers, “we have a question for you. When the heirs of the Amatatsu family revealed their true identities to you, why were you so unhappy? Was it really because of the deception? You know why the deception was necessary. You have lied to many, many people about your own identity during your life. Is this the real reason: you have grown used to thinking of yourself as the only heir? And now that you know there are others, you no longer feel quite so important?”
Jiro opened his mouth to reply, but said nothing. Instead, he knelt and then prostrated himself.
“Don’t feel bad,” whispered Lahja to Jiro. “Everyone gets feelings like that sometimes. It’s not wrong.”
“Lady Amatatsu Ameiko,” said the past rulers, “you have travelled a long way to defend Minkai and reclaim the crown. Yet once you arrived in Minkai, you have almost always stayed hidden, disguised as an assistant cook, while some of your companions faced all the danger on your behalf. Are you perhaps hoping that one of them will face the difficulties of ruling on your behalf as well?”
“That’s true, I suppose,” said Ameiko. “I don’t particularly want to be Empress. But this whole journey was started by me, in a way. I accept my responsibility. If you decide that I am the best candidate, then I will do my duty as well as I can.”
“We are just the spirits of mortals,” said some of the rulers quietly. “Or memories of personalities. Our decisions are sometimes fallible.”
“Lady Amatatsu Lahja,” said the past rulers, “a ruler needs confidence to make difficult choices and accept responsibility for those choices. Even if there are many wise advisors, the choices and the responsibility all belong to the ruler. Do you have that confidence? In the past, you have allowed your companions to persuade you, and you gave them a chance to persuade you to help hunt down that assassin in the forest immediately, even though you knew in your heart that it was wrong. Your view prevailed, and the matter turned out differently. But is that a sign of increasing confidence? Or will you still seek to be persuaded? What will you do if you need to decide something difficult and none of your trusted friends are available?”
“I talk to my friends because I like them,” Lahja replied. “But I always try to do what is best. And... if they’re not around... I’m still always going to try to do what is best.”
As they waited among the ruins, Tomoko and Toshi gradually became aware that one of the shadowy figures had moved to stand between them, and it was becoming more solid-looking.
“I really hope they don’t choose her,” the figure said in a low, feminine voice. “Can you imagine being in her court? Waiting for each pronouncement to end? Almost as bad as being stuck here.”
The figure now appeared entirely real and present to Toshi and Tomoko. She looked like an agelessly beautiful woman with grey-streaked hair arranged in an elaborate style.
“May I ask who you are?” said Toshi.
“Empress Amatatsu Darriko,” the woman replied. “Hello!”
Tomoko and Toshi both noticed that parts of Darriko’s hairstyle seemed to be moving independently, and looked rather like snakes or perhaps tentacles.
“Lord Amatatsu Olaf,” said the past rulers, “your actions in the recent past have arguably been rather more... pragmatic than Lahja’s.”
“That is perhaps true,” Olaf replied, “but I believe in acting in the cause of Good above all.”
“But where do you draw the line?” asked an Emperor in an old military uniform. “If you do not draw the line at desecrating a sacred island by summoning demons onto it to help fight your battles for you?”
“That is a difficult question,” Olaf said, “and I will have to think carefully in some cases, but I can state that I will always make my choices in the cause of Good.”
Some of the past rulers were perhaps frowning.
“It seems,” said one or more of the past rulers, “that all the candidates are flawed in one way or another.”
“It hardly matters,” said some of the others. “We must choose someone. The current regime cannot be allowed to continue.”
One of the rulers - a middle-aged women in jade-green robes - spoke next, alone. “It is perhaps time to hear from someone who has kindly agreed to delay a journey to visit us.”
The travellers heard footsteps approaching from outside the shrine. A young man wearing a modern Minkaian military uniform walked into the space and bowed deeply. “Your Majesties. Honoured candidates.”
Lahja, Olaf and Shinji all recognised him as Lieutenant Kado, who had been in command of a small group of soldiers escorting prisoners through the province of Hiyosai. Toshi and Tomoko only saw the arrival of another indistinct, shadowy figure among the ruins.
“I’m sure you’re getting a sense of just how boring this place can be,” Amatatsu Darriko said to Toshi and Tomoko. “I need to get out of here. There’s a lot that I can offer in exchange. Toshi? You like Ameiko, don’t you? Shinji’s lost his chance, but I can give you advice on how to win her heart. I am her great great something after all.”
“I like Ameiko, but only as a friend,” Toshi replied firmly.
“Are you sure?”
Toshi’s expression looked increasingly unimpressed.
Darriko turned to Tomoko. “How about you, Tomoko? People often overlook you. What do you want when this is all over? I know how power works. I can help you gain a place of influence in the new Minkai.”
“Thank you, but I have my own plans,” said Tomoko.
“All right then, I can offer all of you a way into the Palace, past the wall and the guards. A proper secret tunnel, not a silly one that anyone could discover accidentally. The doors at each end don’t even exist unless I’m present. That was part of the bargain.”
“Does it go into the treasury?” Tomoko asked brightly.
“Not quite. But nearby. Very nearby.”
“Welcome, Lieutenant,” said the rulers.
“Would you mind telling us how you came to be here?” asked the woman in the jade-coloured robes.
Lieutenant Kado bowed again. “When I was given those written orders, telling me to hand over the prisoners and report elsewhere, I was happy to obey. After that conversation in my head the night before, I guessed that the orders were forged as part of a ruse to rescue the prisoners. And when we reported in, the officers seemed to accept my explanation. I thought we’d got away with it, for a while. But a couple of weeks later, one of the Typhoon Commanders arrived to investigate. It’s well known they can read minds. And so when she asked me if I had any suspicions that the orders weren’t genuine... I didn’t see any point in trying to lie to her.”
As the lieutenant spoke, the travellers felt the temperature of the air around them begin to drop steadily.
Lieutenant Kado turned to the travellers. “I’m sorry, I tried not to reveal anything more. But under interrogation, I ended up telling them everything I knew. I couldn’t resist their magic. I hoped you had been in disguise, and it seems I was right...”
“I’m sorry,” said Lahja miserably.
“There’s nothing for you to apologise for,” Kado told her. “I am grateful that I was able to redeem myself in some way, and I am glad that my soldiers are still safe. I only ask one thing. If possible, once all the danger is past, would you be able to find my parents? And tell them... tell them that I was not a traitor.” He bowed again and began to fade.
Lahja started searching her possessions for a pencil and paper so she could note down his name and a reminder for herself. Wordlessly, Olaf handed her a pencil. Kado vanished into nothingness.
As Lahja began writing, glowing golden symbols appeared on her forehead and the backs of her hands. “Go forth with our blessing, Amatatsu Lahja,” said the united voices of the past rulers.
Frowning in concentration over spelling, Lahja did not appear to notice.
“Go forth with our blessing, Empress Amatatsu Lahja,” said the rulers, a little more loudly.
“Everyone kneel!” whispered Shinji.
Lahja looked up. “I will do my duty,” she said.
“Oh, no...” said Amatatsu Darriko.
“Your other companions also deserve whatever aid we can give,” said the rulers. One of them made a subtle gesture. Toshi and Tomoko saw the shrine restored around them. The past rulers appeared clearly in front of them.
“Lahja’s been chosen as the Empress,” whispered Shinji. “You need to kneel.”
Toshi burst out laughing and clapped Shinji on the shoulder. “Good one, cousin!”
Shinji kicked Toshi in the back of his knees, forcing him to kneel.
“Rise,” said the rulers. “We will give you knowledge to help you in the battle to come.”
One of the rulers moved the palm of his hand in front of the travellers’ eyes, and they found themselves falling into a dream.
They dreamt of fighting alongside a desperate band of heroes - ragged nobles and some lowborn impostors - against an alliance of evil oni who sought to conquer Minkai by force. The struggle was long, and some of the conflicts led to betrayals, heartbreak and death, while others took a few heroes into dark realms somewhere beyond death. The surviving leaders (including at least one impostor, but who really cared at that point?) founded the five houses that would rule the recovering empire.
After a generation of war leading to a victory that should have been final, the travellers woke, and it seemed that only a few seconds had passed.
“Take these, as well,” said the voices of the rulers. Pale green prism-shaped gemstones appeared in the air, floating around the travellers’ heads. “They will be yours until the next coronation. All of you, go forth with our blessings.”
The rulers began to fade into shadow. One voice - that of the woman in jade-green - lingered as the roof was replaced by blue sky and the flames in the paper lanterns flickered and died. “Remember what you have learned on this island, and what you will learn.”
Only one of the past rulers remained, standing amid the ruins of the shrine. “Good morning,” said Darriko, smiling.
- All hail Empress Amatatsu Lahja!
-
- Amatatsu Darriko is offering the location of some particularly secret doors into the palace (the doors will only appear when she is present, she claims), in exchange for a way off the island. Yes, she has tentacles in her hair. Yes, she detects as evil.
In which tunnels cross
Shinji remembered some history: Amatatsu Darriko had ruled Minkai over two hundred years previously. Although she had several adult children, various nieces and nephews, and several possible candidates from other houses to choose from, she never got around to selecting an heir to seek the blessings of the past rulers. Instead, she had continued her reign until she was nearly eighty - but she still looked agelessly beautiful according to stories from the time. The heads of the other four ruling houses finally agreed to depose her, and she was replaced by one of Jiro’s ancestors.
“Yes, there were plenty of possible heirs,” Darriko explained. “But no suitable ones. They were all incompetent, irrational or lazy. Sometimes all three at once. Completely incapable of ruling. I had to make the bargain that I did, for the good of the Empire.”
“Well, you did succeed at one thing that few others have achieved,” said Shinji. “Uniting the ruling families.”
Darriko reiterated her offer of help, and complained once again of the vast boredom of her existence on the island of the Imperial Shrine. But after listening and considering, the travellers (and Lahja in particular) decided that it would be too risky to let her leave the island while so much else was at stake. They did eventually manage to persuade Darriko to reveal what she knew about the location of her tunnel into the Palace. In exchange, they promised that if they survived, they would return in more peaceful times, allow her to leave the island and give her a chance to redeem herself.
The travellers then left the island on board a phantom chariot conjured by Olaf. It soon became apparent that an alarm had been raised - they saw fireworks launched from naval vessels as signals, and some ships began sailing in search patterns. The chariot was too swift and agile to be caught, however, and the travellers were able to reach land unseen. They returned briefly to the smugglers’ caves. Lahja went to speak with Sandru in private.
It is believed that Sandru proposed to Lahja, but she warned him that things had changed and their life together might not be what he was expecting. She said she wouldn't mind if he didn’t want to marry her now. Sandru was startled by the news, but he repeated his offer and Lahja accepted. (This chronicler cannot say how any details of the proposal became known - surely it couldn’t be possible that someone was eavesdropping...?)
The travellers were unsure about the best course of action to take next, so they asked Koya to cast divination. She sent two questions: one about whether the travellers should pay a visit to Renshii Meida before going to the Imperial Palace, and one about whether Ameiko and Jiro should stay hidden in a safe location. Koya did not receive any clear answer to the first question, but the response to the second was unequivocal: it was vital for the travellers to take Ameiko and Jiro with them to the Palace.
There seemed to be no reason for further delay. The travellers went with Ameiko and Jiro to the place Darriko had described, which was now a somewhat overgrown patch of land on the boundary between two large farms. Despite lengthy searches, the travellers found no sign of concealed portals. The only trace of anything unusual was a very faint and indistinct aura of evil across one part of the ground.
So Olaf summoned a pair of earth elementals. With the assistance of some Terran-in-a-bottle (a potion of tongues supplied by Toshi), Olaf asked the elementals to burrow systematically and report back on whether they found any old tunnels. The elementals eagerly complied and soon reported back - but only after digging a perfectly square entrance into the soil and a neat set of stairs leading downwards to an empty corridor.
The travellers walked along the tunnel, which headed directly towards the Palace. But when they were about halfway to their destination, the tunnel was intersected by another. While the first tunnel appeared to have been painstakingly carved out of the bedrock, the second looked as if someone had melted a way through.
The travellers decided to continue along the first tunnel. It reached a dead end at a point where the travellers believed they were beneath the Palace. They quickly found a hidden door, which opened onto a rectangle of what seemed to be a paper-thin but intensely hot layer of flame. Tomoko considered taking the risk of just jumping through, but the others persuaded her that they should try the alternative way first.
The second tunnel ended beneath a very large circular metal trapdoor, barred from above. Toshi worked out several ways to open it, chose one and let the other travellers through.
The room above had a normal-sized door leading to a corridor with prison cells on either side. Only one cell was occupied - the prisoner was dressed in rags and was lying on the floor, and he appeared to be semiconscious at best. The travellers unlocked the door and Lahja used some of her powers of healing to help the man. As soon as they saw his face, the travellers recognised the prisoner as Colonel Arashin.
- Amatatsu Darriko has been left behind on the island (for the time being, anyway).
- Congratulations to Lahja and Sandru on their engagement!
- The PCs (along with Ameiko and Jiro) have made their way via two tunnels to an underground level of the Imperial Palace. They have just found Colonel Arashin in a prison cell.
In which a colonel unexpectedly sings (and some fighting occurs)
Lahja and Olaf had just begun to talk with the colonel when they were interrupted by a whoompf from the corridor outside the cell. This was followed by noises that sounded like a gong being struck three times in a distant room.
Tomoko hurried back into the cell - she was unharmed (and indeed unmarked) by the fireball that had been triggered when she started to investigate the door at the end of the corridor. Soon afterwards, a few of the travellers heard a voice speaking beyond the trapped door, and some of them sensed themselves resisting a magical attempt to enter their minds.
They decided not to spend time trying to open the trapped door. Instead, they appeared at the other side of the door with the assistance of Olaf’s dimensional steps ability (leaving Ameiko and Jiro behind to look after the colonel). Two ogre mages were waiting on the other side, standing ready with blades drawn. One of their blows was particularly skilfully aimed and wounded Lahja severely, but the travellers still managed to defeat the oni.
Tomoko opened the trapped door from the outside, and the travellers returned to the cells. Arashin explained that he had been imprisoned on the order of his great-great-great-(this chronicler has never been able to ascertain the precise number of greats)-great-great-grandmother Kimandatsu. He still seemed somewhat dazed from his ordeal, but he offered to help his rescuers by guiding them along the corridors and staircases used by Palace servants - this was a quick route to a grand hallway whose doors led into the throne room.
After magical reconnaissance and a few other preparations, the travellers stepped into the hallway and pushed open the doors.
The throne room looked the same as it had when some of the travellers had visited previously. There were still eight empty alcoves set into the walls. Once again, the Jade Regent was standing just in front of the steps leading up to the throne. His face was expressionless as he drew his black-bladed katana.
Shinji stepped forwards. “I am Lord Amatatsu Shinji, heir to the Empire,” he announced. “Your life is forfeit!” He loosed several arrows at the Regent.
The Regent strode towards Shinji. “He told me that the traitors would all be lured here at last, and he spoke truly,” the Regent said, as if to himself. He swung his blade at Shinji.
Shinji stepped back and shot more arrows while Lahja, Skygni and Tomoko closed in to attack the Regent.
Ameiko began playing her family’s samisen, its magic giving the travellers insight into the weaknesses of the oni. Somewhat unexpectedly, Colonel Arashin started to sing - his inspiring voice blended with the samisen’s tones.
The air just in front of the alcoves seemed to shimmer with eerie light, and Lady Renshii Meida was suddenly standing inside one of the alcoves. And on the other side of the room, the shimmering light faded and Kimandatsu appeared in the oni form that some of the travellers had seen outside Kalsgard. Lady Meida ran towards the Regent. The travellers did not try to prevent her - they were unsure whose side she was on.
Shinji stopped shooting, lowered his bow, closed his eyes and stood still.
The Jade Regent swung his katana twice and wounded Shinji twice. The third blow also struck Shinji, and it would have felled him if Lahja had not used divine magic to take his injury onto herself.
The Regent’s fourth attack missed, and he was finally destroyed by Skygni’s bite.
Meanwhile, Toshi had been throwing many bombs at Kimandatsu, and some quite unpleasant smells were starting to fill the room. Olaf added to the confusion by summoning a pair of dinosaurs.
Having failed to do anything for or against the Regent, Lady Meida ran towards Kimandatsu. Her motives were still unclear. However, when Meida cast heal and touched Kimandatsu, Shinji concluded that the lady’s allegiances were now obvious. He loosed many arrows in her direction.
Finally, the dinosaurs’ attacks against Kimandatsu gave Tomoko a chance to run in close and strike the oni down. And when the last arrow from Shinji’s volley hit Lady Meida, she collapsed. The battle for the throne room appeared to be over.
Lahja ran towards Lady Meida and at the last moment (or perhaps very slightly beyond it), she used her powers of divine healing to rescue the fallen women from death.
Lahja looked around at Colonel Arashin. “Do you want us to save her?” she asked.
Arashin hesitated. When he spoke, his voice sounded anguished. “I’m sorry,” he said, “but I cannot make that decision.”
There was a faint click from behind the throne, and a previously hidden trapdoor in the floor was pushed open. A man stepped up into the room. He appeared to be somewhere between thirty and forty years old, and he was dressed in plain white robes. He was followed by a slightly shorter man who wore the clothes of a gardener - some of the travellers remembered meeting the second man in the Palace grounds during their previous visit.
The man in white glanced around at the scene and then spoke to the gardener. “Palace, destroy these traitors.”
- The PCs have released Colonel Arashin from his cell, and they have defeated the Jade Regent and Kimandatsu after a battle in the Palace throne room. Lady Renshii Meida is currently unconscious but stable.
- A man (the long-lost Emperor???) has just emerged from a trapdoor behind the throne, accompanied by one of the Palace gardeners. The possible Emperor has addressed the gardener as ‘Palace’ and has ordered him to destroy the ‘traitors’.
In which an Empress is crowned, coffee plants are resurrected, new journeys are planned and this chronicle is begun
“Wait!” said Lahja.
At the same time, Ameiko and Jiro both started to reach for the boxes containing their Seals.
“Are you the real Emper-” But before Lahja could finish her question, she found herself standing on an endless, featureless white plain. Olaf, Tomoko, Shinji, Toshi and Colonel Arashin were there too, and the jade dragon of the Amatatsu Seal stood before them.
“The gardener is the kami of this building,” the dragon said, “and he’s about to bring the ceiling down on all your heads. Ameiko and Lord Jirosu may be able to prevent this, but they need time.”
“This place is timeless, isn’t it?” Olaf asked.
“Not entirely,” the jade dragon replied. “But we do have much more time here, and we can use it to draw the Palace’s attention. The Palace defends the ruler, but it has another ancient role that has perhaps been forgotten. It is required to hear and remember words of wisdom brought to it from across the Empire. Unfortunately, since you have just been condemned to death by the Emperor, the Palace is not obliged to listen to you. You’ll need to call on someone else. Someone you’ve learned something from during your journey here. You first, Colonel.”
The colonel looked startled. “Me? I assumed I was just here by accident.”
“No accident,” the dragon replied. “Who will speak your lesson?”
Colonel Arashin thought for a few moments. “Can I choose someone I’ve never met? There was a magistrate in the city of Enganoka... I’d never even heard of the man when I was briefly accused of letting him escape from prison. After I was released, I was curious. Why would anyone suspect me of helping him? I learned what I could about him. If he had ever given me advice, I think it would have been something like-”
Some of the travellers recognised the person who appeared among them - it was the magistrate they had rescued. He looked disoriented and confused, but he spoke clearly. “If you allow fear to control your actions, then you become a prisoner of your own mind.”
A faint image of the gardener appeared in the white space. He was standing to one side but seemed to be listening. Somehow, he looked like an ordinary Minkaian man in plain brown robes, and at the same time like something much more massive, solid and ancient.
“As,” said the gardener. His voice sounded like a normal human’s and also deep and resonant, like an earthquake echoing within a huge enclosed structure.
The magistrate vanished.
Lahja stepped forward. “I will call the soldier named...” She unfolded a piece of paper and read from it. “Kado. He made me think about what happens to people who help me.”
Lieutenant Kado appeared. He did not look surprised or confused. He bowed, first to Lahja, then to the dragon, and then to the other travellers. “Only you can decide which orders are worthy of being followed,” he said. “And you should only follow the orders that you know to be right.”
He bowed again, this time towards the gardener, and then faded.
“You,” said the gardener.
“Zaiobe taught me that it doesn’t matter who you are or what people expect of you,” said Shinji. “You can choose your own destiny.”
Zaiobe appeared, looking perhaps even more magnificently beautiful now. The feathers of her wings seemed to be tinted with a golden light, and when she spoke, her voice echoed like the gardener’s. “The expectation of everyone I met was that I would be evil and do evil. Instead, I found a new path and transformed into a being of protection and good.”
“Command,” said the gardener.
“I call on Mateyo,” said Tomoko.
When Mateyo appeared, he looked nearly as confused as the magistrate had. He was holding a shogi piece in one hand. “Although you may wear many faces, you can always respect tradition, respect the spirits and make the right choices,” he said.
“Your,” said the gardener.