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Journal entries for the Jade Regent campaign

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Character: Kali

Kali’s Journal, Pharast 5 – 6, 4713

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Pharast 5, 4713 (late night, Spirit Road)

I feel naked without my hair.

Dasi and I are making the trip to Muliwan tomorrow, and that means I spent hours tonight working on my disguise with Ameiko, Radella and Dasi. The easy part is looking like a monk of Irori: we almost always visited the temple when we traveled to Magnimar, and of course the time we spent in Jalmeray would qualify as “immersive”. The hard part is acting like one.

My clumsy attempts at being someone I wasn’t back in Kalsgard weighed heavily on me as I practiced, over and over, under the rising Rebirth Moon. I could hear Sandru’s voice in my head: it isn’t enough to know Irori’s faith. I’m not going to be quizzed on his tenets. I need to be someone that meets peoples’ expectations. This includes everything from attitude to speech patterns to gods-be-damned posture.

“Normally, when creating a disguise, you don’t want to stand out. You want to be forgettable,” Ameiko explained as I dressed in the outfit I’d fabricated. “In your case, however, you can’t not stand out, so you have to become someone that stands out for a completely different reason. It’s … a lot harder to pull off.” And that was the problem. Absolutely nothing about me had to be like me.

Dasi and I constructed a simple story for why we were traveling together. This is harder than it sounds because we had to be able to talk about where we were from, how we met, what we were doing together, and on and on. It took a half an hour to develop our “history” to the point where we could answer any questions the others in our group threw at us.

We are as ready as we’ll ever be.

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous. But, good news, thanks to the ring I can fret about it virtually all night long.

Pharast 6, 4713 (evening, Spirit Road)

Amazingly, we made it down to Muliwan and back without incident.

Miyaro came up to me in the morning and asked me why I had cut off all of my hair. I know she hasn’t exactly spent a lot of time around humanoid settlements, but … I thought what we were doing was pretty obvious. It’s the sort of question that makes me just a little worried about having her as our guide through the Forest. What else is she oblivious to?

“I need to not be recognizable in Muliwan, just in case agents of the Five Storms or Prince Batsaikhar are watching for us. My long hair would give me away.”

This seemed to excite her. “Subterfuge. Trickery!” she said with this huge grin.

Ooookay.

She also pointed out her hair, which now had streaks of white and orange in it. Streaks that weren’t there the night before. “What do you think?” she asked.

“It’s lovely!” I said. Though I am a little confused about how she did it.

I didn’t have time to get into a discussion, though, as Dasi and I were getting ready to leave. We wanted to be back by dinner time.

Dasi and I talked a lot on the way down. Or rather, he asked me a lot of questions, and I answered them. I learned that Dasi doesn’t like to talk about himself, though he’ll happily talk your ear off about what he does, which is write music, write poems and research the nobility of Tian Xa in general and Minkai specifically. The most I got about his background was that his mother is an elven performer of some sort, and his father is a warrior or samurai or something. He was raised by his father, which was clearly the only personal information he was willing to share.

Honestly, I don’t really mind the secrecy. He’s still not quite sure what he’s gotten into. You don’t just open up to strangers.

Most of his questions at first were around Varisia and Varisian culture. He wanted to know how Shelyn is worshipped along the Inner Sea, and how it differs from worship in Tian Xia (the answer to which can be summed up as “not much”). He also asked what I knew of the Minkai nobility (the answer to which can be summed up as “not much”). Eventually, though, he got around to what I knew about Ameiko.

“I grew up with her,” I said. “We were close friends, maybe even best friends, for several years.”

His entire demeanor seemed to change right then. “What was that like? What was she like?” he asked, clearly excited.

So I told him.

My family moved to Sandpoint when I was six. It’s a small town in Varisia, the kind where everyone knows everyone, you know? Except of course I didn’t know anyone when we first got there.

Ameiko and I … we just sort of gravitated towards one another. I was obviously a foreigner, and she was a foreigner, too, and we were both girls, and about the same age. It seemed natural that we’d hang out together. Over time we became pretty close friends. And she was a good friend. Much better than I was to her.

Let me explain. Have you ever been bullied, Dasi? I mean, really bullied, not just picked on, or provoked into a fight because you made someone mad. The kind that is relentless, day after day, as punishment for the crime of being seen.

I didn’t think so. I was. You see, I was a small child. Much smaller than other girls my age. I fell seriously ill when I was a toddler and that illness, as a physicker would say, stunted my growth. Magic can heal injuries, cure diseases, even raise the dead, but there are things it can’t undo. So I was small, a foreigner, a girl, not particularly sociable, and not at all intimidating. Just the opposite, really. And that made me an easy target. And on top of that I had a temper, which made their job that much easier.

Ameiko stood beside me through those years. She was there to listen, to help, to offer solace, and when things turned violent, to teach me how to protect myself. And the thing is … I didn’t really deserve it.

No, of course I didn’t deserve to be harassed and beaten, either. No one does. But my friends didn’t deserve how I treated them. Especially Ameiko. When you are bruised enough you lash out at people, including those you love. Yet, as awful as I could be to Ameiko, she still stood beside me. But it’s not just that she helped: it’s how she helped. I wanted to fight back, to hurt the people that were hurting me. But Ameiko wouldn’t have that. She taught me to avoid fights, not to win them.

Yes, I know. I wasn’t big enough or strong enough to do the latter. It’s easy to blow off the significance of it like that. But that’s not why she did what she did. She wasn’t afraid I couldn’t fight back: she wanted me to be a better person than they were. That’s just who Ameiko is: she encourages the best in people.

Her family? No, Dasi, she didn’t learn compassion and human decency from her family. Well, perhaps from her mom, though even that was … complicated.

No. No one knows for sure how she died. The official story, the one told by her father, Lonjiku—which immediately makes it suspect, by the way—is that she fell from the cliffs behind their home. A tragic accident, they say. No one disputes that it was the fall that killed her, but how and why she went over that edge? That was a source of endless speculation for years.

How much has she told you about her family?

Of course not. Ameiko doesn’t talk about her family or her personal life. Don’t worry, though. Most of what I’m sharing with you now was widely known in Sandpoint, or at the very least an open secret, and the rest we reconstructed from the pieces Lonjiku left behind and what we have learned since all of this began.

Her father … Lonjiku was a bitter, angry and controlling man. We have since learned some of why that was, but at the same time, I firmly believe that personal tragedy only brings out more of what you are. Rarely does it cause a transformation in character. Lonjiku was a victim of the Five Storms, yes, but that didn’t make him a good person and he lived long enough to visit his pain on others, particularly to those that were closest to him.

When he exposed the Amatatsu Seal many years ago he was unaware of his heritage, his family’s true name, and his role as heir to Minkai. I suppose that’s Rokuro’s fault, in a way, for keeping that all hidden. Lonjiku was, like anyone would be, endlessly curious about this thing he was forbidden to see and a past his parents wouldn’t discuss. Regardless, the deed was done, and his father sent him south to the family’s holdings in Magnimar, fearing they wouldn’t be safe in Brinewall. But the ships were caught in the fierce storms near Sandpoint and they never reached their destination. Meanwhile, in Brinewall, the agents of the Five Storms were faster than even Rokuro had expected, and they used that same storm as cover to attack the outpost at Brinewall and kill everyone there.

Lonjiku’s mother, who had been living in Magnimar at this time, learned that the ships had been lost and feared that her entirely family had perished at sea. The grief overwhelmed her, and she committed suicide. Atsuii, Linjiku’s wife (and Ameiko’s mother, though this was before Ameiko was born), also believed her husband had died, but instead of suicide she sought comfort in an old, elven lover. But unknown to them both, Lonjiku had survived, floating on debris in the Varisian Gulf for who knows how long—we just know it was weeks, not days—before finally washing ashore. He limped to Sandpoint, starving and dehydrated, where he was reunited with his wife.

Atsuii gave birth to their first child, Tsuto. eight months later, only to everyone’s surprise (except perhaps Atsuii) the boy was a half-elf. A half-breed child—if you’ll pardon the expression—was humiliating proof of Atsuii’s affair, one that was illicit in Lonjiku’s eyes. Of course, she thought him dead at the time along with everyone else, but that did not matter to Lonjiku and the boyt was a constant reminder of his wife’s unfaithfulness and dishonor. Lonjiku refused to even have Tsuto in his home so he was sent to an orphanage of sorts in Sandpoint, where of course everyone knew who he was. Tsuto harbored rage and hostility towards his step-father for years, and eventually came to blame him for his Atsuii’s death.

Ameiko was born a year after Tsuto. Make of that timing what you will. Of course, in time Lonjiku would drive her away, too, because driving people away is what Lonjiku was good at.

It’s rumored that Lonjiku had an affair or two during his many business travels. Probably as a sort of retribution. There was even talk that he had fathered a child in Cheliax, though if Ameiko knows anything about that she won’t say.

Do I believe them? I was ten or eleven the first time I was invited to Ameiko’s home for dinner. That was actually a rare event, Ameiko being allowed to have friends over. Lonjiku … I don’t think I’d go so far as to say he liked me—I don’t believe he truly liked anyone—but he certainly didn’t dislike me. Anyway, he spent much of the evening sniping at Ameiko and Atsuii. Ameiko was mortified. Atsuii was painfully silent. I was really uncomfortable and just wanted to leave. So, yes, I believe them. He all but hated his family. Sometimes I think I was invited to dinner that night just so he’d have an audience.

Anyway, Ameiko, of course, knew her half-brother. She tried on several occasions to reconcile the bad blood between Tsuto and her father. Her heart was always in the right place, of course, but Lonjiku didn’t have one and Tsuto? He would rather be hated than loved. When Ameiko was thirteen, one of those attempts to clear the air ended disastrously. Tsuto actually struck her. She ran away to Magnimar the next day.

Oh, yes, she ran away from home. Twice, in fact. This was the first time, and the second came a couple of years later.

She was only gone for a few months then … but it was long enough to not be home when her mother died. She returned for the funeral, of course, but everything came to a head right then and there. Lonjiku couldn’t even keep the peace at a burial. There was this enormous fight between Ameiko, her father, and Tsuto. I think that’s when Tsuto outright accused Lonjiku of murdering Atsuii.

Ameiko lived at home with her father for the next couple of years out of a sense of … what? Family? Honor? duty? But it didn’t last. Ameiko left again she couldn’t take it anymore, this time to start an adventuring career.

No. Well, yes and no. It didn’t last long: she and Sandru were gone barely more than a year. Something … happened out there. Something she doesn’t talk about. It made her … distant, even to me. So, no, I wouldn’t exactly call it a success, but she did earn enough money to buy an inn in Sandpoint, renovate it, and start her own business. So, that is something, right?

No, Lonjiku did not take this well. He saw it as a deliberate humiliation, and he did not even try to hide his feelings. He literally walked into her bar one night and—right in front of a room full of patrons—very loudly issued an ultimatum to her: come home with him or be cut out of the family. Guess which one she chose?

How did he die? Horribly. It was Tsuto that did it, that murdered him. He had gotten mixed up in a plot against the town and saw his chance to kill Lonjiku as part of it. So he did. He tried to kill Ameiko, too.

What happened to Tsuto?

Ameiko executed him.

We rode in silence for a half hour or so as he absorbed what he’d learned about Ameiko’s history. I don’t know what he was expecting, but it clearly wasn’t tragedy, betrayal and familicide.

Kali Nassim: conversation killer. Thank you. I’ll be here all day.

I finally broke the silence. “She’s a good person, Dasi. Better than most.”

Muliwan was, as I said, uneventful. We sold the items that needed selling, bought what needed buying, and teleported back courtesy of yours truly. The only unexpected stop was to pick up a slab of pork belly.

“Ivan sent to me,” he said when I looked at him quizzically. “He wants bacon.”

I did my best to put on my “disgusted” face. I was playing a part, after all.

That was harder than it sounds. I really like bacon.

Character: Dasi
Character: Qatana

Qatana’s Journal for Calistril 26 – Pharast 11, 4713

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Moonday, Pharast 4, 4713 evening
The Spirit Road

We have settled back into our travel routine, albeit with a much smaller caravan than before. Setting up and breaking down camp is a breeze, and preparing meals for the reduced staff takes little time. Most of us do not need to eat, but even just a bite of something hot at the end of the day lifts one’s spirits enough to make it worth the while.

We remain off the road by a hundred yards or so and occasionally see travelers pass by, but we keep to ourselves as do they. The ground undulates in a lazy series of low grass covered hills with patches covered by a thin veneer of snow. Our travel time is good and during breaks our horses are able to graze.

We’ve not forgotten last week’s ninja attacks, but the repetitive nature of this sort of travel dulls the senses — at least until the next unexpected event.

By noon we began to pass some sporadic clumps of trees. By mid afternoon we landscape was dotted with small groves of conifers. But these were still far apart and offered no real obstacle, and the trees broke up the monotony of the grassland.

This evening Ivan handed me a morning star to use while he is enchanting my flail. “You can use this.” he declared in his matter of fact way. I swung the handle around a few times, but using a morning star is pretty much just hitting things with a stick and I had little doubt about my ability to use it.

“I hope this isn’t a permanent change,” Star grumbled. “Be quiet!” I replied before adding, “And be nice!”

Ivan raised an eye and said, “I assume you are talking to one of your mice.”

“Yes, Star was being… Star, and was commenting on the temporary downgrade of our gear. She can be impatient and does not always take the long view.”

“I’m curious if they will talk to others,” Ivan continued.

“That’s funny, Dasi asked the same sort of thing the other day. They’re not exactly quiet when offering advice, and I bet if you ask them something they’ll answer,” I replied.

Badger was quick to exclaim, “Wait, what? You’re constantly telling us to keep our voices down!”

I sighed and said, “Badger, that’s when you guys are clamoring with your opinions in the middle of combat when people are trying to stay focused.”

Ivan asked, “So what are they telling you now?”

“They are mostly curious about what you plan to do with my flail. Star seems particularly concerned,” I explained.

“Well then, Star, why don’t you help me make Qatana’s weapon something special. You can infuse some of your wisdom into the magic. It’s going to take four days, and so all of you are welcome to come add your own magic to the weapon during the process. You can also keep an eye on me while I work on it,” Ivan countered.

My mice erupted with all sorts of guidance for what Ivan could with the flail, and after a moment when I realized he couldn’t actually hear them, I passed their comments on — well, most of them.

“Make the ball shoot out tiny explosive spikes on impact!” Star gushed.

Pookie said, “I want to see little ghostly mice spring from the flail to the target when Grayflame is active.”

“Make the ball fly off and around, hitting all of our enemies before returning back to its chain,” Badger suggested.

“Maybe make the face of Groetus look a little happier.” This, from Huffy.

Takoda added, “But not while in combat: then it should grow fangs and growl!”

“I think it needs to scream whenever you swing it,” Timber stated.

“I want to see how you’re going to do this so I can add some magic to my tail,” McLovin said whimsically.

And finally Beorn offered, “I really don’t care what it does, as long as I get to decide who lives and who dies.”

Ivan thought about these suggestions for a few moments before saying, “Okay, maybe with all of you helping this could happen. I’ll talk with the gods about letting me enchant Grayflame on the weapon, and you guys can help out with the other stuff.” He then turned around and walked away.

“Ooh,” Pookie replied, “I’ve always wanted to enchant a weapon.”

Wealday, Pharast 6, 4713 evening
The Spirit Road

Kali and Dasi returned from Miliwan. Kali went disguised as a monk, having cur her hair the night before, and Dasi went as himself. Additional precautions included the use of phantom steeds to quickly ride from the caravan, camped a half a mile or so out of town, and back again; plus scrolls of teleportation for emergencies; and complete back stories for who they were pretending to be.

None of it was needed, and they were able to quickly sell off all of our excess items for a reasonable amount, and to buy the items we needed at very good prices (apparently Dasi has the gift of haggle). But then maybe had they not been so cautious they would have had trouble.

We have become a paranoid lot.

I now have a new set of boots, having handed over my old Boots of the Winterlands to Ivan in favor of Boots of Striding and Springing. I also got expensive components for some of the more exotic spells that I know, but have been unable to cast for lack of materials.

And Shalelu now has her own Ring of Sustenance. She was delighted with the gift, and I am delighted that she will be up with the rest of us overnight. No more waking up in the middle of combat and walking into a wall of fire for her.

Tomorrow we enter the Spirit Forest, and at dinner tonight Miyaro explained the name. Over the millenia thousands of people have died there and many of their souls still roam the forest.

This seems like an inadequate explanation. Any city can boast the same number of deaths over the same interval of time, and yet we don’t hear of “The Haunted City of Magnimar” or the “Ghost Infested Metropolis of Korvosa.”

Something else is going on in the Spirit Forest, and given the amount of time we’ll spend traveling through it (from north to south) I suspect we’ll discover more about it than we really want to know.

Oathday, Pharast 7, 4713 evening
The Spirit Forest

We entered the forest around mid morning and before mid day we had encountered our first spirit. We had followed a wide path that led away from the road and plunged into the trees. Snow was falling gently, gathering on the branches of the spruces, firs and cedars, making for a lovely journey. And quiet too, with the snow absorbing the typical woodland sounds, and muffling the sounds of our wheels and steeds.

About ten miles in a standing stone lay toppled across the path, and so we naturally set it back up and brushed away the snow and loam.

“Forest of Spirits, 1200 miles to Minkai”

It was a way marker, and it reminded us of just how long we would be in this forest. Miyaro suggested that we leave a gift at the foot of the marker, and several of us did so. A feeling of goodwill washed over us, and a moment later a small man, no taller than my knees, walked out from the trees and bowed. He was a wizened old thing, dressed in simple robes, and several of us bowed before him. He bowed in return.

He was a forest spirit and this was his way marker.

Miyaro introduced herself, and the man said a disturbing thing, “You are not Miyaro. I know Miyaro and she does not look like you.” Miyaro said something to the little man and he made a face and replied, “I am no longer as good at recognizing faces as I once was.”

Miyaro explained our purpose in passing through the forest, and the man said he would send word of us to the other spirits. He then walked up to the way marker and merged into the stone.

Perhaps it was just my imagination, but after that the feeling that we were being watched grew throughout the day.

Oathday, Pharast 7, 4713 night
The Spirit Forest

We’ve had another meeting with a spirit — this one was a lot less cute and friendly than earlier today, but at the same time not confrontational. I guess.

We were sitting around the camp fire and Miyaro was telling us more about the forest when all of a sudden she just stopped. At the same moment Sandru said, “Do you hear that?”

A lovely humming filled the air, softly at first and then gradually louder. A shimmering figure of a young woman faded into view. She was humming and seemed to be lost in thought. She approached Sandru until she was standing (floating?) right before him, and then began to merge with him.

Olmas tried to hit the ghostly figure before it joined with Sandru, but to no avail. I tried Ghostbane Dirge, but it too was ineffectual. Ivan cast Protection from Evil on Sandru, but the ghostly form joined with him anyway.

Suddenly Sandru began to speak in Tien, telling a tale about samurai. Kali called out to Sandru and asked when he had learned Tien. “Uh, other than a few words I picked up from you folk, I don’t know any Tien. But I do remember telling a story about a samurai. Odd. I don’t know any stories about them either.”

Dasi then spoke with the spirit within Sandru. She was a famous poet and based upon her poems, Dasi realized she must have lived a hundred years ago. But she was clearly unaware of her own death. She thought the Amutatsu family still ruled Minkai, and that she was having a strange dream.

Ivan cast Dispel Magic upon Sandru and the spirit apparently left, but whether she has at long last gone to her final rest or was still wandering the forest we did not know.

Maybe this thing wasn’t harming Sandru, but maybe if we had left it alone it would have eventually displaced him altogether. It is best in situations like these not to take chances.

Fireday, Pharast 8, 4713 evening
The Spirit Forest

I have found our trip through the forest to be quite pleasant. We’ve not seen any more spirits since that first day, and we are making good time.

Ivan finished my flail and handed it back to me after dinner. I could tell right away that it was different, and my little mice friends are all in awe of Ivan.

Of course he had already impressed them as we watched him work on adding the enchantment, and a small mouse scampered out from his pack to watch as well. When I asked him about the little figure he simply shrugged and said, “I don’t know its name.”

“It must be nice to have a quiet mouse,” I said.

“Hey, look at that!” Badger exclaimed. Running around the flail’s handle was etched a troop of eight mice, each posed ready for combat.

Starday, Pharast 9, 4713 evening
The Spirit Forest

Early today we began to climb up along a broad ridge. The trees followed along from much of the way, but now they are thinning out, and we can look out on the tree tops below. It is like staring out onto a sea of needles and snow.

Sunday, Pharast 10, 4713 evening
The Spirit Forest

By mid morning we had reached the top of the ridge. The trees had all but given way to a rocky stone strewn land. Snow clung in the shadows of the larger boulders and at the foot of cliff faces, but the path was mostly clear.

Some time after noon we heard a bird calling a short distance away. This was the first animal sound we had heard since entering the forest, but Nihali swooped down to Kali’s shoulder and said, “That’s some creature pretending to sound like a bird.”

Presently a stone giant shambled out onto the road ahead and called out, “How come you to my home?”

Kali and Ivan replied in a friendly enough way, but the giant seemed intent on pressing his hostile attitude and lumbered towards us.

A moment later and a pair of small boulders landed among us. Looking around I spotted two other giants off on either side of us, tossing rocks and ducking back down behind cover.

Really? You guys are going to attack a caravan with clearly well armed guards all about it? I realize that giants aren’t the smartest of creatures, but this line of thinking takes a special kind of stupid.

As expected, they did not survive for long. Near the end one of them tried to run away, but things had gone too far by then. I’m not sure why this sort of thing makes me sad. It just seems so needless. At least we made it quick.

We followed the giants tracks back to their lair, which was a surprisingly well built stone house, and gathered everything that was useful or of value.

[458] 25′ long tapestry (300gp)
[459]
[460]		 two white tiger skins (250gp each)
[461] three barrels of Minkai saki
[462] two bolts of fine silk (150gp each)
salted and cured meats

We continued on our way, and finally began to climb down from the ridge back into the forest just before making camp.

Moonday, Pharast 11, 4713 just past noon
The Spirit Forest

We had followed the path back down onto the forest floor the night before, and were preparing to break camp (“Only a thousand miles to go!” Timber quipped) when all of a sudden a giant white tiger crashed through the trees before us.

Our presence startled it, and it slowly approached Miyaro, stopping some thirty feet or so from her, sniffing and growling. “This kind of tiger is sacred to the Kami, “she said, “and it should not be acting in this way at all!”

Radella made some sort of soothing animal noise as she slowly approached it.

Dasi thought he detected grief in the tiger’s stance, and so I cast a cure wounds spell on it, just in case it was injured.

The tiger sniffed Radella, who was now quite near, and then bounded off into the trees. Radella followed and I was close on her heels, although some sort of force tried to hold me in my spot (where they hell did that come from?).

With my new boots I was able to keep up with the tiger, but Radella was falling behind. Ivan threw some bacon, but the tiger was not interested. This told me that it must be very stressed: I mean, come on, bacon!

We returned to the caravan, but Radella really wanted to follow the tiger, and Miyaro kept emphasizing how wrong its behavior had been. And so I went along with Radella as the tracker and Ivan came to offer support.

A half an hour on we began to smell smoke — a very subtle smell, not of an active fire, but perhaps of the dead embers of a fire long extinguished. A shifting translucent form of a woman stepped out from the shadows toward Ivan.

Ivan wisely ran away, and the woman came toward me. Beorn greeted her with a toothy, “Hi there!” to which she recoiled and followed after Ivan.

I channeled energy and the wandering wispy woman faded out from existence.

The tiger tracks led to a cave entrance. Radella entered, still speaking softly in her animal language (I had no idea she could do that), and within she found the tiger mourning over the dead figure of a small man, much like the first forest spirit we had encountered.

Ivan used Sending to Miyaro for advice, and she recommend we remove the body. Radella offered the tiger some meat, and she brought the body out, where we buried it.

Back in the caravan Miyaro said that there must be a serious problem in the forest, and that she would tell the kami what we had found.

We still have half a day for travel, and so we are finally heading out.

Character: Olmas

Annals of the Order of the Dragon

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as written by the cavalier Olmas Lurecia, himself.

Wealday, 20 Calistril

One minute there were dragon dancers, and the next minute there were not.

There were ninjas, wearing the standard tight-fitting ninja uniform, armed with the standard poisoned throwing stars, and not, for once, attacking with the typical ninja stealth (we were, after all, looking right at them as they emerged from beneath the dragon.)

To be truthful, I saw eight emerge from the dragon, but they were joined by four more that had quietly infiltrated the crowd.

Ninjas, I have learned, are pretty much on suicide missions.from the time they leave Ninja HQ.  They are most dangerous from a distance, when their poisoned shurikens can seriously weaken or even kill you before you ever can make contact.  If they ever have to close with me, their tight-fitting ninja uniform is usually insufficient against my attacks with Suishen, and they seem unable to throw at such close quarters.

My main concern, of course, was that in a situation like this, Ameiko was not secure.  If the ninjas knew her for who she was, she could be swarmed upon, and she did take on some poison from a shuriken.  Ivan quickly cast delay poison upon her, however. Dasi also made good on his promise to protect her, and I’ll admit that although I was distracted at times, I could swear Dasi walked up to more than one ninja and simply take their weapon out of their hand in the same motion that a magician pulls a coin from behind your ear.  He is neither a swordsman nor an archer, but … I’m not sure what the name is for what he does.

Qatana found herself somewhat in the middle of battle simply by fate of where she stood as the dragon passed, and took a bit of strength damage from the initial flurry of shurikens.  (I also found myself faltering a bit from one until Ivan put delay poison on me.) Kali created a wall of ice to help provide a “rear” that we could not be attacked from, and later managed to haste us so we coiuld finish the battle more quickly..  Ivan calmly pulled out his bow and began shooting arrows faster, it would seem, than is humanly possible.   It seemed at times he was nocking them two at a time.

Ameiko started swinging at a ninja that came near her, but Dasi and I quickly flanked her and after it was dead, took on additional foes as they approached.  While she kept her sword drawn and ready, she allowed us to take the lead.

Partway through the battle, though, it appeared we had gained an ally.  A non-descript woman from the crowd suddenly joined the fray and began attacking ninjas.  The palace guards assigned to us fell quickly, but the woman seemed to be holding her own quite well.  Radella seemed to be hitting the ninjas hard and then …

… it was over. We managed to catch one ninja alive, but his tongue was cut out already (note previous comment about ninja HQ).  And the woman mysteriously said, “We should talk, but not here.”  The crowd had scattered, or was still scattering, in some cases, but we could also hear an approaching force we presumed was the City Guard.

I moved towards the approaching guard to give Ivan a smidge more time to loot the bodies.  While I occupied them by telling what had happened and how awful it was, he was able to retrieve

[453] 5 potions of CSW
[454] 7 empty (used) potions
[455] 8 doses of shadow essence (poison)

They were wearing chain mail shirts which couldn’t really be removed in the short time we had.

Dasi heard the guards looking around worriedly and mumbling, “This was not supposed to happen today.”

While the “cleaning crew” began their effort at making it appear this never happened, the woman, whose name was Miyaro reiterated “we need to talk.”  We returned to our palace accommodations, noticing that this time, the people in the streets and in the palace did not smile as brilliantly or greet us as enthusiastically as in the past. What, it was our fault that their dragon-dancer HR filtering process was poor?

Miyaro, it turns out, knew of our mission.  First Dasi, and now her?  So much for arriving in secrecy.  Although I suppose the oni have been after us for some time now, so it shouldn’t be TOO big of a surprise.  She grew up in the Forest of Spirits – yes, that’s right – and the Forest apparently has taken a side in this issue.  At least some residents there would like to see the rightful heir back on the throne.

Travelling through the Forest is an option now, although Miyaro warned us she would need to guide us.

While we were quietly discussing this, Chua came by and Kali told him abruptly we were leaving before slamming the door in his face.  Radella threw her a look and opened the door to a chastened and confused Chua.  Turns out that the Prince had the same idea.  It was unfortunate, of course, but the safety of his city was at stake, yada yada.  But by way of parting gift, he was happy to give us eight fine steeds to aid us in our departure.  I was about to mention I had no need of a steed but was shushed by several others.

They will be worth money, somewhere, so why throw away money?

[456] 8 filigree saddles, ~200gp each
[457] 8 light war horses, ~300gp each

Qatana used our wand of lesser restoration and soon everybody had their strength back.

Late that afternoon, we took leave of Ordu-Aghanei, the once future home of Princess Kali!

Moonday, 25 Calistril

Travel has been relatively uneventful, and the safer we are the more nervous Kali gets.  I think the whole experience in the city has upset her equilibrium.  Yes we are targets, but we’re increasingly capable of handling ourselves, and her nervousness is contagious.

Today we saw some other riders at a distance, and she was careful to point them out and give them a wide berth.  I’m not worried about the people who approach us openly.  I’m more nervous about those that don’t announce themselves.

Toilday, 26 Calistril

Like today.  More ninjas, and they again did not announce themselves. How rude.

Qatana was on guard duty and saw them coming a little before midnight Moonday.  Apparently ninjas are ordered by the dozen, as it was again 12 that came for us.  But Kali had a new trick up her sleeve.  She created a hut which was transparent for those inside, and opaque to those outside.  You could also pass through it at any point.  That meant we could shoot arrows at will (go Ivan) and if any of them crept alongside the hut, somebody with a sword (ahem) could slash them with impunity.

Being on guard duty, Qatana was outside the range of this hut when it was formed, but she had her own trick up her sleeve.  She projected some type of aura so that when enemies got within 20 or 30 feet of her, they would get confused and either wander off or attack each other.  (Nice to know she can have that effect on somebody other than us!)  Consequently, about a quarter of the ninjas entertained each other.  The others were picked off one by one.  Ivan provided a wall of fire to again restrict the direction we had to defend.

Dasi again smiled as he stole weapons right out of their hands.  How DOES he do that?

Suishen and I managed to lay open a couple of ninjas quite satisfyingly.  If it weren’t for their poison, they wouldn’t be a big deal, I think.

Ivan created a second wall of fire to protect one of the wagons, only to discover that Shalelu had snuck out the back of the wagon to help in the battle.  Oops – well, he couldn’t see her and that wasn’t expected. Still, it was disheartening to see her scorched!

Then at the end, it got strange.  Two of the ninjas ran off, and Kali and Qatana insisted on chasing them.  They cast Fly and took off by themselves.  Apparently Kali summoned a cheetah and had it hunt them down.  Qatana used a spiritual ally.  Seemed a bad idea to have two magic users and no fighters out in the dark, but it turned out okay.  Ivan burned the bodies; in theory their employers will not know what happened but I get the sense we’re still being tracked so they’ll know.

We’re a little less than halfway to Muliwan and are discussing whether to swing wide of it entirely.  Miyaro would have us do that, but it may be the last place for a while where we can resupply and buy a few things.

Character: Ivan

Ivan’s journal: Kicked out of the city without dinner

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Kali has been declared unsuitable for the prince and we have been kicked out of the city. The city just felt there was a sickness that had evaded. I could never quite figure out what it was but nothing seemed right, maybe Sparna felt it too. Sparna may have been trying to teach me something but as usual I don’t understand.

It is hard to believe that a little fight with ninja’s caused such disorder that the prince dumped Kali. To top it all off his servant guy told us to leave the city. Kali was overjoyed to be released from her engagement and I think this may have been the first time she was more worried about getting away from the city rather than setting up some type of business arrangement. We were all given horses to aid us in our travels; no doubt to get us away from the city faster.  It’s a good thing Cayden Cailean was watching over Kali. Had he not intervened to persuade the prince to free Kali she would be stuck. I knew that she was not going to properly thank Cayden so I did it for her.

“This wine I leave out under the open skies so that any brave adventurer walking this path can enjoy the comfort of a good drink, may Cayden bless all that drink from this bottle”

We have a new friend named Miyaro that helped during the ninja attack. She encouraged us to leave the city immediately. This was just before the prince’s aid broke the good news to Kali.  Miyaro is going to guide us through the magical forest. Turns out that she works for the Kami. From what I understand Kami are protectors of nature that were supposedly created by the gods at the age of creation. I am pretty sure that is what Kali said. I have to admit that at first I thought Miyaro said she was a Kami.

I turned to ask Sparna a question and he wasn’t there. I was wondering where the gods are leading Sparna, it’s pointless to guess as the gods work in mysterious ways. Hopefully he gets to settle down with a good forge and make many weapons. If the gods can see fit to find him a wife that shares his love for the forge he can spend his days in the forge and pass his vast knowledge down to their children.

Anyway I was working away on upgrading the enchantments on my bow thinking that I should be close to finishing but there seemed like a lot left to do on the weapon. I got out the paper and recalculated and discovered a miscalculation on the number of days it will take. Normally Sparna catches these errors but he is not hear anymore. That explains why the math said it should almost be done but I just felt that there was a lot more work to be done on the enchantment.

Next up in an enchantment for Qatana. She asked for an enchantment called greyflame which I found in my notes. The enchantment is right on the edge of what the gods will allow. The concept of good and evil still do not make since. No matter how hard I try I can’t figure out if someone is good or evil. Kali has tried to explain good and evil a number of times but it just doesn’t make any since.  How do they know for sure that the Ninja’s are evil? We are killing people and creatures that get in our way; why doesn’t that make all of us evil? Maybe I need to get a spell that only hurts good people and a spell that only hurts evil people. I suppose maybe wands of detect evil and detect good might be a less damaging option. Even if I know if someone is good or evil it doesn’t really change anything, if they are trying to kill us I really don’t care if they are good, evil or a muffin.

Ninja attack. Another batch of ninja’s attacked the caravan in the middle of the night. They must have intended to catch us off guard but that was not the case. The spell thingy Kali put up supposedly prevented the ninja’s from being able to see us so they could not throw shuriken’s at us. Olmas right off the bat asked to be protected from poison but with Amieko running into battle that changed everything. With my back protected by a warming wall of fire I was able to let go a couple of arrows at the ninja’s near Amieko. With Dasi and Olmas both running to her aid I just worked on thinning the herd. Off to my left Qatana and Radella were engaged with the ninja’s approaching from that side so we were kind of ok.  When it looked like another ways of ninja were on their way in the second wall of fire went up.  Unfortunately I found out later that Shalelu had snuck out of the wagon and was hit with the full force of the fire. The positioning was to keep them safe in the wagon and since everyone was in sight it was logical to put up the wall.  Kali stupidly flew after the Ninjas that got away with Qatana right on her heals. I should have sent Radella off with them.

With all of the Ninja’s dead I burnt the bodies just to make it look like they just disappeared.

Character: Qatana

Qatana’s Journal for Calistril 20 – 26, 4713

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Wealday, Calistril 20, 4713 evening
The Spirit Road, south of Ordu-Aganhei

Beorn was right: people died before we left Ordu-Aganhei, but not in the way he (or we) expected, and the expected victims were among those that were spared.

Today was the final day of feasting ordained by the Prince. We had already sent the caravan out from the city towards our next destination in anticipation of trouble from the Prince, and were “enjoying” the festivities out in the streets of Ordu-Aganhei.

Music and colorful banners lifted the otherwise pensive and fearful atmosphere to an almost festive mood. We watched as dancers performed while operating a silk dragon costume, which undulated and darted this way and that to the music. Suddenly the performers tossed aside the dragon costume and charged towards us, throwing poisoned shurikens with deadly accuracy.

Ninjas! I hate these guys.

Battle ensued and the ninjas felled, while on our side we only suffered the effects of poison and the usual cuts and bruises — that is if you did not count the Prince’s guards that died as being on our side, which I definitely did not.

But the battle also had several unexpected benefits.

First, using Hold Person I managed to capture one of the ninjas alive! Ah, ha, now we’ll get one of them to talk. Or we would if he had not had his tongue cut out.

What kind of psychotic prick cuts out the tongues of his servants? And what kind of pathetic sicko continues to blindly follow such a deranged whack job?

Having proven he was of no use to us, we handed him over to the guards with instructions that since the ninja wished nothing more than to die, that he be kept alive.

Pervs, the lot of them.

Second, we had an unexpected ally in combat. While the rest of us were questioning the prisoner or looting the ninja bodies, she was talking urgently with Radella.

Speaking of loot:

[453] 5 potions of Cure Serious Wounds
[454] 7 empty vials
[455] 8 vials of shadow essence poison (strength draining)

We returned back to our rooms at the palace to have a private chat with Miyaro, our unlooked for accomplice. She came right to the point, “You all seem to have attracted some unwanted attention. They failed this time, but they will be back in greater numbers, and soon.”

“We are leaving now. All of us.” Kali stated matter of factly.

Oddly enough I trusted Miyaro for some reason, but I had to ask why she had helped us.

“You are known to more than just the Five Storms. My people have lived in the forest to the south of here since before man, dwarves or elves walked this world, and they detected that the Amatatsu Seal had entered Tien.”

“Your people?” I asked

“Yes, they are the spirits of the forest. They once held the Oni captive until they escaped. I was brought to live with the spirits at a young age, and I serve them by patrolling the human inhabited areas, gathering information, and now,” she said looking over at Ameiko, “to aid in returning the rightful heir to the throne in Minkai.”

At that moment there was a knock on the door, and Chua stuck his head in. “I most humbly…”

“Tell the Prince I cannot accept his offer and will be leaving Ordu-Aganhei at once.” Kali said, and slammed the door on him.

I thoroughly approved of this change in plans, but Radella seemed somewhat shocked by Kali’s abruptness and opened the door.

Chua was still there and explained that the Prince no longer wanted to marry Kali, and would prefer that we left his city as soon as possible.

“Perfect!” Kali replied and slammed the door on him once again.

Radella sighed and stepped out to chat with Chua.

Meanwhile Miyaro offered some advice, “Five hundred miles from here the road enters the forest. But you must not follow the road: it is under the control of the Oni, and it is far more dangerous than you can imagine. Instead you must enter the forest, where my people can assist you.”

We had heard about the Spirit Forest, and that it should be avoided at all costs (“Do not leave the road!” being the most common form of advice we received with regard to traveling in this land.”)

Miyaro said, “I shall accompany you and guide you through the forest.”

Presently Radella came back in with word that the Prince was so anxious for us to leave that he had gifted us with eight light war horses and the finest saddles and tack the city had to offer.

There is an old saying about not looking gift horses in the mouth before they ripped your lips off… or something to that effect. Radella had accepted this gift on our behalf and we now quickly made our way to the stables.

Along the way out the townfolk acted as if we were not there. We found our mounts, already saddled and tacked and ready with a groom beside each waiting to help us up and away. And good riddance to you too!

The sun had already set and by the dusk’s fading orange light we made our way through the southern gates and along the road. Before long evening’s pale glow in the west had faded and low clouds stretched in from the east, blocking out even starlight. We brought out the torches and rode for several miles and finally met up with the caravan, which had set up camp some distance off the road.

Getting Kali away from the clutches of the Prince was far easier than expected, but we were still worried he might try some underhanded act at revenge, and that plus the ninja attack forced us to rearrange our watches such that most of us would be up and awake through the night.

I sat next to Ivan and was reflecting (out loud) about how radically our caravan had changed since arriving at Ordu-Aganhei.

“Ulf is gone, and while I think half of his stories might have been fabricated or borrowed, he was a good guide and I will miss him.”

“True,” Ivan replied, “but we knew he would leave us once we had crossed the ice and made it to Tien.”

“We also said goodbye to Anavaru, who said she might wait with Ulf and cross back over to Varisia with the next caravan.” I continued.

Ivan mused on this for a moment before saying, “Well, Ana was so distant and remote by the time we hit the ice that it seemed like we hardly knew her anymore.”

“Yes,” I agreed, “but then there was Sparna, or to be more precise, there Sparna was not. I am glad he at least sent word with you that he was leaving, but then he vanished without a trace. I wonder what he’s up to now.”

“I kind of saw that one coming,” Ivan admitted. “He was struggling with all of the craziness we were encountering, and the sorts of things we had to do to survive. Besides his passion was clearly working at a forge, and wherever he ends up you can be sure that’s what he’ll be doing.”

“I guess I missed his discomfort with our adventures. I thought he might have been warming up to us. And now I need to hire someone to add an enchantment to my flail.”

Ivan looked at me quizzically, “You know I can do that sort of thing, right?”

“Really? Oh that would be great! I already purchased the enchanting supplies for Sparna to do the work. There’s a special ability I wanted to add.”

Ivan seemed a little doubtful, “What sort of enchantment do you want? I’m not so good with good and evil, or holy and unholy.”

“Oh, don’t worry,” I reassured him, “It’s only the Grayflame enchantment, which enables me to add positive energy to my flail.”

“That’s alright,” Ivan said, looking a little relieved, “I can work on that after I finish the bow I’m enchanting.”

Our party is pretty awesome.

Oathday, Calistril 21, 4713 evening
The Spirit Road

The morning dawned a fog enshrouded ghostly grey as we broke camp. We left glistening tracks in the damp grass as we moved southward, keeping the road a few hundred yards off on our right, obscured by the gloom. We rode on in silence.

Our caravan was down to three wagons. With the brutal conditions of the high ice long behind us it had made sense to pare our footprint down to the bare minimum. Kali had spent long hours fretting over the arrangements, and seemed to view the eight unexpected horses as an unwelcome burden. Miyaro also seemed to think three wagons was the limit of what could “easily” pass through the forest.

The smaller caravan size meant that most of us were riding. Our new horses move out at a brisk but smooth pace which is ideal for traveling long distances. My steed is a spirited chestnut mare whom I have named Ginjinha, after the Varisian cherry liquor.

By mid morning the fog had burned away presenting us with a deep blue sky above, and undulating hills of deep grasses and hummocks of shrubs or stunted trees. To the north a purple band along the horizon was all we could see of the now distant mountains.

The scouts ranged around the wagons in a wide circuit, while the rest of us clumped together, riding in no particular order. After a mid day break I found myself alongside Dasi, and we took the opportunity to chat.

“So tell me,” Dasi asked, “why Groetus?”

His question caught me by surprise. I have been traveling with (or known) the same group of people for so long that I had forgotten how curious people can be about Groetus and those who follow him.

“Groetus is the most benevolent of the gods,” I began, “and it is through him that all suffering will end.”

“His followers are not particularly organized — which is one of the more comforting aspects of our order. No vast sums of money spent on large and ornate temples, no overly complex and stale rituals that do little for the masses. No bullshit trumped up rules and restrictions to appeal to a deity’s vanities or whims.”

“We are left on our own to do the best we can to succor those who are suffering, and to prepare the world for its inevitable, soothing end.”

“Of course, with that amount of freedom there are bound to be those who take advantage and use the powers given to them by Groetus for their own sick purposes. But then there are always psychopaths: just look at Prince Batsaikhar and the suffering he brings upon his own people.”

Dasi then told me tales of Rovagug, who according to some would bring about the end of the physical world. To be honest it did not sound at all comforting, but Dasi had a way of speaking that kept me interested and intrigued. We discussed different end of time beliefs, and how Groetus fit into all of that.

The conversation went on for some time — longer than I usually speak with anyone — and some of my friends became restless. “Patience,” I softly said to quiet them, “there will be time enough for other conversations.”

Dasi looked at me thoughtfully for a few moments before gesturing at the necklace I wear to honor my dear departed friends. “You speak with their spirits?”

“I do, and they speak in turn… or out of turn more often than not!” Here Timber let out a derisive chirping sort of snort, and I laughed out loud.

Dasi looked quizzically at me.

“Case in point,” I said, “Timber was letting me know that my friends are not simply passive idols to be consulted in times of need. They are my constant companions, offering advice and camaraderie. Being spirits they often see things more clearly than I, and I treasure their closeness. They are my family.”

Dasi’s eyes widened and he said, “Ahh Kami. You are truly fortunate to have so many guardian spirits. May they be known to me?”

Now it was my turn to look amazed and it took me a moment to reply. “I do not understand how their spirits communicate with me. I do not know if they choose to only speak with me because of our relationship in life, or if they can only speak to me because of that. Sometimes I do believe others hear them as well, but those are rare occasions.”

We rode silently together for some time after that, before the natural rhythm of our different riding styles caused us to drift apart.

Moonday, Calistril 25, 4713 evening
The Spirit Road

The land in which we have found ourselves is mostly empty. We passed by the occasional village huddled near the road on the first day, but these became less frequent and today we’ve seen no sign of people, except for a group of riders heading in the opposite direction along the road.

As we had been traveling well off the road we passed by at a reasonable distance, but we were uneasy and kept a close eye on them. Some time after the encounter Kali sent Nihali aloft to make sure they had continued along their way.

What a paranoid lot we have all become.

Toilday, Calistril 26, 4713 midnight
The Spirit Road

They set upon us half an hour into the second watch. Our caravan still boasted a full array of winter lighting (something we’ll need to adjust when we approach the forest, if not sooner), and I easily saw ninjas slinking about in the periphery of our light dome.

“Incoming,” I casually said in a voice loud enough for my companions who were awake to hear. And with that the ninjas descended upon the caravan.

Miyaro was correct: there were more of them this time. But they were not able to overwhelm us as they intended. Foes who approach too near me are given visions of the void, and they sense its true nature and how it surrounds us, ever trying to displace our mundane reality with its own. This has an unpredictable affect on all but the strongest of wills, and several of the approaching ninjas halted, or attacked their comrades, or wandered aimlessly.

Ivan quickly erected a Wall of Flame on the opposite side of the caravan, blocking off a large group of the invaders. Kali created a shelter that was opaque from without, but transparent from within, and here the rest of my companions formed a defensive force.

Soon those ninjas who dared to advance found themselves stuck as full of arrows as a pincushion. Unfortunately the only target they could see was me, and I found myself on the receiving end of numerous poisoned shurikens. I had managed to bash one senseless, but the incoming tide was proving to be a challenge, and so I instantly killed one with a Slay Living spell, and brought forth a spiritual ally to occupy the others.

Those who were sleeping were now awakened by the sound of battle (and Dasi’s singing, which had a profound affect on our ability to strike our enemies). Unfortunately Shalelu stepped out from the wagon to confront an attacking ninja only to be caught in another Wall of Flame that Ivan created. With a shout of pain (and possibly anger) she dodged beneath the wagon and into the center of the defenders.

I realized that I would need to do something to minimize the risk of this sort of thing from happening again, but for the moment my attention was focused on our foes.

With our combined might, skill and abilities we managed to kill all but two of the ninjas, who had run away. Kali and I quickly flew in the same direction and overcame them as they lay prone in the tall grass a hundred yards away, looking back at the caravan.

“Oh, this will never do!” Badger exclaimed. He was right, and I dropped a spiritual ally on top of the pair as Kali summoned a dire Lion. The prudent use of Hold Person ensured these two ninjas would not escape and report our where abouts and status to anyone else.

We dragged all of the corpses into the flames and burned them to ashes and then healed our wounds and restored strength lost to poison.

Character: Dasi

Dasi’s Haikus

Dragon Festival
chaotic ninjas attack
we are banished

Welcome is withdrawn
intended bride left confused
Destiny beckons

Eight Kami guard
Do they protect her or us
Groetus welcomes all

Character: Kali

Kali’s Journal, Calistril 20 – 26, 4713

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Calistril 20, 4713 (Spirit Road, evening)

My problem with Prince Batsaikhar has been solved for me. Part of me is … disappointed, I guess. I was so worried. I spent all this time trying to think my way out of it, preparing for as many contingencies as I could. And then I come up with a plan to pull it off and outwit everybody here, one that my friends would finally agree to, and it gets taken from me. I mean, what’s the point? Why set this up but not be permitted to see it through? It feels like I’m being tested but not given the test. I don’t understand.

On the other hand, it did mean a lot less risk (well, maybe a little less). I don’t have to worry about being held against my will, having my things confiscated, or someone attempting to suppress my spells. I don’t have to worry about having made a bad judgement call, or making a mistake in the days ahead. I don’t have to sit and fret for two weeks, dodging the Prince’s advances, worrying about when is the right (or wrong) time to just disappear. And, I suppose, most importantly I don’t have to explain any of this to mom or dad or even bring it up at all. I didn’t want to have that conversation.

And all it took was a threat to my life. Ironically, this actually was one of the ideas we came up with at dinner last night, only the plan was to be more in control of events. All that time strategizing and arguing, and it never occurred to us that the Five Storms would beat us to it. And of course it happened during something I actually wanted to see. I was finally enjoying myself but I was to be denied that, too. I do have to hand it to them, though: on just a few days notice, they found enough ninja not only skilled enough to pull off an ambush, but also to put on a passable street performance as dragon dancers. I mean, there can’t be many of those, right? You can’t just pick up one of those things and call yourself a dragon dancer. Unless that’s part of the ninja recruitment process. Can you imagine that interview? “Are you experienced with the use of poisons? Can you lurk in shadows without being seen? Do you have experience in dragon dance teams?”

I don’t think any of us was really surprised that this happened, as it is not really possible to keep a low profile when the ruler of the city is throwing feasts in your honor. Maybe it was naive to think we’d be able to get out of here before the Five Storms screwed up the courage enough to stage a very public attack in the Prince’s city. Still, they have across as more than a little desperate. At least in Ul-Angorn they managed to pull out an ogre mage, and they had less time to do it. We’d been in this city for four days and the best they could do was a violent theater troupe.

I suppose there’s another possible explanation: that’s what they thought they could get away with. Maybe sending an oni wasn’t practical. Ordu-Aganhei may seem small by most standards but it’s rather severely governed and that means it has resources. Maybe getting an oni in here undetected was the larger problem.

Whatever the reasons, though ultimately unsuccessful the attack was effective: we went from honored guests to ostracized in a matter of minutes. Chua was beside himself trying to eject us from the city without being rude while simultaneously apologizing for the same. I didn’t really give him much of a chance to explain. I had no idea just how much I had been wanting to revile this place until I was slamming the door in his face. Repeatedly. Seriously, the man just could not take a hint.  (Radella didn’t look too pleased about this but her feelings are not my responsibility.)

As parting gifts, they gave us eight of the famed Hongali horses. “Gift” might be the wrong term here, actually. I think they were not-so-subtly encouraging us to leave quickly. They knew the caravan had already left and must have assumed we were going to walk the rest of the way to wherever it was we were going.Please go.  And here’s something to help you go faster.

It was also kind of a thumb in the eye, though obviously they didn’t know it. I’d spent hours—hours—with Sandru doing some caravan planning for the road ahead, reviewing the merits of various options. How many wagons would we need? How much food? What could we sell? What should we sell? Do we tailor it for the forest, or for the grasslands we’d need to cross to get there? All that time and all that work only to have someone ruin it by imposing eight more mouths to feed on us as we are walking out the door. Literally walking out. It was too late to turn back for more provisions, not that we had room for them, or buy back one of the extra wagons, or even figure out if the latter was the right thing to do. So now I have to do this work all over again. Thank you for visiting Ordu-Aganhei, where even the gifts are a burden.

And then there’s Miyaro. Her first words to Radella were, “We need to talk.” Ya think? Normally I’d be pretty irate with someone with a talent for stating the obvious as if it were news (“We need to get off the streets”, “You’re in great danger”, and my personal favorite, “You need to leave immediately. Tomorrow, if possible.”) But, she did actually come to our aid, and she claims to be an agent of the kami in the Forest of Spirits. So I’ll just interpret the advice as her being thorough rather than patronizing us because she assumes we’re completely stupid.

She says she can guide us through the Forest. If true, that solves one of our previously-unsolvable problems. It does mean putting a lot of trust in her, but I think she’s earned it after today. She’s also warned us to stay off the roads and away from Muliwan. Hongal is too xenophobic to accept strangers anywhere but the main road, so we compromised by traveling within (distant) sight of it. The second one, though, is more problematic: we left Ordu-Aganhei in a hurry and that means we may need a supply run. I’m going to talk this over with the others.

(night)

We have a ridiculously complicated guard schedule. I don’t remember the shifts being so short or so many. But we also have fewer people and more enemies, so I’m just going along with it. I am not an expert on these matters, anyway. The others know what’s best.

Miyaro doesn’t spend a lot of time around people. She more or less said as much tonight. After we had finished eating and were just killing time, she came up to me and asked, “Are you a princess? I don’t know your culture …” She just kind of trailed off there. I wasn’t sure how to respond. Me? A princess? I should be so lucky. Well, OK, maybe I almost was, but not by choice.

Anyway, I figured the chicanery with Prince Batsaikhar had been more than a little confusing for her since she wasn’t in on the conspiracy. I tried to explain but I don’t think it came out right. I probably left her more confused than ever. So, good job there, Kali. It occurs to me now that maybe it’s just my long hair and clothing combined with too many fairy tales.

Later, she came up to me and said, “You’re colorful.” It was kind of like being in a conversation with Qatana. Just a random statement of fact. I wasn’t sure how to answer. After an awkward silence she added, “I like colors.” This seemed like a good time to try and make a connection, so we talked about color, nature, and art for a bit. She knew of Shelyn, though only by her domains and not her name. I offered to put color in her hair using the same spell that I use for my own. She said she’d think about it. I’ve learned that “I’ll think about it” is almost always a polite “no”, but she didn’t grow up in the human lands, so maybe it’s just honesty. Which would be refreshing.

I took out some paper and folded her some flowers while we talked. That got an interesting response. “My mother did this when I was young.” How did she come to be associated with the kami? She said her parents “gave her to them” to be raised, which spawned a number of questions that she wasn’t ready to answer. Which I understand. You don’t spill your life story and secrets to total strangers.

Calistril 23, 4713 (Spirit Road, evening)

Dull routine has returned. Not that I am complaining: right now, boring is good. After the madness of the last few days I am thrilled to be back in a dull routine.

I’ve got a couple of items to enchant for Olmas and Radella—his is nearly done—and as time allows I’ve been writing spells into my spellbook from some scrolls I picked up in Ordu-Aganhei. We didn’t have a lot of time there, and the more complicated spells take several hours to transcribe so there were only so many I could do as a direct trade. Scrolls were the only practical solution to the time problem. An expensive solution, to be sure, but I almost certainly won’t have time for this in Muliwan (assuming we end up going) so I had little choice.

There’s no time to work on the talismans, so I decided to cheat: I used a new spell to finish them. It was actually pretty astonishing. I laid out the scale, chain, and gem fragments, and a few seconds later a talisman sat in their place. It took me over two weeks to make one by hand. I could get used to this! Though I should point out that, while it was easy, it wasn’t exactly trivial. I was essentially making jewelry, so I had to concentrate and keep a clear picture in my head of what I wanted. But it obviously worked.

I suppose one could use this spell to make a decent living in the custom manufacturing business. Assuming you didn’t die of boredom first.

Calistril 26, 4713 (Spirit Road, late night)

Our camp was attacked earlier tonight by a dozen ninjas. Qatana saw them crawling along to ground to get as close to us as they could. It would have been a good plan if most of us weren’t sporting those rings: I think only three or four people were asleep.

The fight was chaotic, but heavily one-sided. Since I am writing about it I am sure you can guess which side. We burned their bodies to ash blackened bone inside a ring of fire. Ivan likes to be thorough that way.

Once again, it came across as a kind of desperate gambit that was hastily-arranged. But while we were never really in significant danger, it has forced me to rethink how we bivouac. Let’s face it: we were lucky. One well-placed spell with even a modest blast radius could easily kill half our horses and probably wreck one or two of the wagons. It will cost me a couple of spells, but my idea here is to conjure two small buildings each night that we can use as shelter. We’ll dedicate one as a stable, and the other for our more vulnerable companions. Arrange them and the wagons properly, and we can severely limit just how much damage a single spell can do.

Of course, now that I’m about to go through all this work, nothing will actually happen, right?

It does look like we’re going to make a small supply run into Muliwan. In a concession to Miyaro, the caravan will stay a good 50 miles to the north while Dasi and I race to the town on a pair of phantom horses that I’ll summon. Once we get close we can either walk in or switch to real horses (again, summoned) in order to maintain a low profile. We’ll conduct our business and then teleport back.

The catch is that we’re trying to avoid drawing attention to ourselves, so I’m going to have to leave a few things behind. And I’m going to have to cut off my hair. All of it (it’s fine: I can grow it back in a day or two using a spell). I’ll be posing as a monk of Irori—which I am pretty sure I can pull off, certainly the Irori part of that—since I am pretty recognizable otherwise. But in general Vudrani are not that unusual here, especially ones who are students of Irori’s church.

Why Dasi? He’s a local, he speaks the language, he knows the area, and he’s new so not likely to be associated with us. Why me? Someone has to get us in and out faster than we can be followed. Also, I speak the language, too.

The others are a little nervous about it, but they understand that we to be discreet and that’s not possible if we all roll in on a caravan with a bunch of extra horses. Sending more than two people makes it more difficult to protect the caravan, and to get in and out. So this is how it has to be. Though it’s still over a week away, so there is more than enough time for us to talk it to death.

Character: Olmas

Annals of the Order of the Dragon

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as written by the cavalier Olmas Lurecia, himself.

Oathday, 19 Calistril

Tonight was the night of the Varisian feast.  Qatana and Ameiko were the primary artisans on this one although the prince provided a staff of dozens.  We successfully prevailed upon them not to make the entrees look TOO much like the local fare.

While they were instructing kitchen staff on the finer parts of Varisian cooking (and frankly, that took a good amount of time),  we were working on the theatric entertainment we would be providing.  Chua arrived in the early morning to (of course) invite Kali to a luncheon.  I informed him that since Kali was an unmarried young woman, I would be accompanying her as an escort. He reluctantly acknowledged that.  We told Chua we would be needing a lute and 4 actors, and after we described a lute in some detail to him, he nodded and left.  Around 10am, 4 actors showed up, carrying the lute.

A few minutes before noon, Chua arrived to take Kali to the Prince.  I assumed my most intimidating position, with Suishen at the ready (but not aflame).  He brought a silk dress with flowers for her to wear, and she spent a moment changing into it.

The prince’s attractive bodyguard accompanied us as well.  The four of us first toured the castle – “I added that whole wing”, pointed out the prince – before moving on to the original courtyard we’d met him in, where a generous lunch was already on display.  “Everyone agrees,” he offered, “that the palace is so much prettier with you in it.”

He’s not subtle, but at least so far he was polite.

“On occasion, the King passes through this part of the country,” said the prince, smoothly.  “He has not been here for a few months, however.”

In response to her question, the prince took Kali to a Shelyn temple.   Kali noticed a number of heads on pikes and asked about them.  The prince proudly replied that he kept a very safe city, and that criminals could expect to be treated harshly.  Temple personnel hustled about with purpose, and the high priestess hurriedly bowed and said they were preparing for the evening’s festival in response to Kali’s query.  There will be dragon dancers!

Kali looked awkward and uncomfortable at the attention she was drawing, but the worst was yet to come.  Returning to the palace, Kali seemed to offer some genuine compliments about the luncheon and the prince practically beamed. “‘Kali,'” he said, “flows off the lips like honey.”  I channelled Sparna and did an admirable but mostly hidden eyeroll. “It’s so pleasant having you here!  I wish to put the city at your feet! Kali – marry me!”

Well there it was, lying there in the open like a field dressed musk ox.  Swarming with flies, too.  A proposal.  I glanced at Kali and she appeared mostly composed, but I also knew she’d been preparing for this moment. “I am honored by your proposal,” she began, “and flattered by your attention.  Please take no dishonor at my reply, but it is the way of my people to require my father to approve any marriage.  While he will no doubt find your proposal worthy of consideration, it is a formality we must go through.”

The prince hesitated briefly before smiling a little less brilliantly.  “How can we know of your father’s wishes?    Perhaps one of my many wizards or clerics can arrange for him to appear here.” He looked left and right and, finding none but the four of us, prepared to clap his hands.

“There is no need for a wielder of magic,” said Kali, stopping him in mid-summoning.  “I know a spell myself which we can use to communicate with him as though he were before us. I can perform the magic after dinner tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?!” responded the prospective husband, almost pouting.  “We shall do that, then.  Until this evening, I thank you for sharing lunch with me, and gracing me with your beauty and elegance.  I will make arrangements for the ceremony to be performed after dinner tomorrow, then!  Chua!” and I swear the man appeared oiut of thin air like a summoned demon. the prince lowered his voice but not by much.  “Make arrangement for the ceremony to be performed after dinner tomorrow.”

“Yes, m’lord,” he responded, and escorted us back to the group’s quarters.

I started to ask Kali a question but she waved her hand and silently shushed with her finger.

Dinner was not far off so she indicated to wait until then.

(later)

At a lull in the dinner, Kali cast code speak and brought everyone up to date.  Everyone, that is, except Sparna, who was absent.  Ivan said he was leaving the party because he’d “lost his nerve”!  This came as a complete shock to everyone, including me. I thought we shared a bond, but apparently he sought out Ivan to relay this decision to us.

We are down to five.  We are surviving the attacks of the oni, but losing to the attacks of life.

The rest were alarmed at the marriage proposal, and we had a hasty but fairly blunt conversation about how to handle this.  Kali believes we should leave town, and then she’ll catch up with us later.  That seems like a bad plan, and I wasn’t alone in that assessment.  Kali insisted she could use a scroll of teleport to catch up with us, but we pointed out that for teleport to work she needs to go to a place that is familiar to her, and wherever we are will not be familiar to her.  She responded she could scry for us.  We still had concerns about having an angry prince behind us.  However, the conversation was starting to draw unwanted attention, even though nobody else could understand it, so we agreed to finish it later.

The dinner attendees found it all satisfactory, by the way, and I myself found it muchly welcome.  It was still high-end food – nary a single rabbit drumstick to be found anywhere – but it was rich, high-end, FAMILIAR food.  I have never appreciated Qatana’s and Ameiko’s culinary talents as much as this evening.

The play, reflecting the genuine insanity of its author, made little sense other than the moral that it was great, or possibly horrible, to be human.  The actors did receive more than polite applause, and we  received a jewelled scabbard ([451], radiates magic) in gratitude.

One of the actors, Dasi, seemed interested in our party, or more to the point, our heritage.  He seemed interested in our Varisian roots, and hung out in the ‘afters party’ longer than any of the other actors.  He had a scroll with an artist’s rendition of the old Minkai emperor and basically seemed to be sizing us up to see how much we looked like it.  I laughed and said, yeah, we get that a lot. Everybody here says all Varisians look alike.  But this old emperor wasn’t Varisian, so why are you waving that picture around?
ato our mildly babbled replies, he offered, “I can tell some of you are not being entirely truthful.”  The room fell silent.

I pulled out Suishen and set him aflame.  “Perhaps this is what you seek.”  Dasi’s eyes widened.  “You have Suishen!”  THAT caught me off guard, although I’m not entirely sure why once he revealed he knew the family name.  “You are the heir!”

“No,” I said sternly. “No man we’ve encountered has proven to be a worthy heir.”  Suishen lightly snickered in my head. “But, like you, we are … genealogists seeking a family.”

“May I touch it?” he asked, still in awe.  I thought, heh, this could end it all right here.  “You may,” I replied as I held the blade out.

But then Suishen surprised me.  He said, apparently to everyone in the room including Dasi, “Do you swear fealty to the rightful heir to the throne of Minkai?”

With a mixture of fear and awe, Dasi grasped the blade and said, “Yes”.  And nothing else happened.

“Well then,” I said authoritatively and hesitantly at the same time.  At the same moment, Suishen said to me, “ok, he’ll do.”  This was all very fast, and I was still very uncertain about all this. “Why? Don’t you trust me?” asked Suishen.

“Stop reading my mind,” I sent to him.  “Don’t think so loud,” he replied, but then he did at least shut up.

Fireday, 20 Calistril

Qatana memorized a zone of truth to further delve into Dasi’s motives.  The questions that she and the others asked, seemed to reveal little else of his motives.  Was he a spy, or a royal family groupie?

Then Qatana surprised us all by pointing at Ameiko, saying, well, there’s your heir.

I immediately drew Suishen, added flame, and stepped in front of Ameiko.

“The champion,” murmured Dasi.  “And the sword.”

“I will be watching you, historian,” I said.  But he was appraising Ameiko over now.  From a safe distance, I might add.  Great. Now Ameiko had a stalker too.  How long before Radella or Qatana acquire creepy admirers too?

The town is very busy preparing for the Feast of the Dragon.  But the shops are open, and we have a few tasks to accomplish before then, not the least of which is purchasing some teleport scrolls.

Character: Dasi