He has been set upon a quest to correct the imbalance of chi in the world. He has been roaming the world for many years and has recently come to this forest. The group asks if he has seen the fugitives they are seeking, as they show him the scrolls bearing the images of each of the criminals. He has seen them. In fact they had tried to kill him and take his sword. They were not worthy of his sword and he was not willing to part with it just yet. The sword, he tells, them has granted him long life and great power and intelligence.
Only The Worthy
The great ancient hero Hatsune Namba, with his dying breath imparted great power and knowledge to Kame, who was just a normal little turtle at the time. The embedded sword, if it were removed would kill Kame. Gamma asks, who would get the sword, if, heaven forbid, that Kame was dying. Kame simply answers, "one who is worthy".
The Mystery Of The Kodama
They ask if Kame has seen little white spirit creatures that are oddly shaped, disturbing and deadly. Kame, recognizing their description, tells the group that they have encountered kodama. They are spirit creatures who are vast in size and power. What we see of them as just parts of their vastness. Kame likens it to what a fish would see of a person, if that person were to simply stick their toe into the water. The kodama are varied and some are good, some mischievous and some evil. But their motives are their own and cannot be understood easily. At least they only seem to come out after sunset.
The group talks among itself and then turns to ask Kame if he would like to accompany them upon at least part of their quest. They too seek to right the balance of power in the world by bringing these fugitives to justice. Kame agrees that serving justice is one way to bring balance back into the world. He will go with them.
The party travels for another day and again that evening, the kodama make their appearance. Unfortunately for the young squire of Maddox, he is on watch during the kodama's appearance. He shakily moves to inform Gamma who is the closest. Gamma barely waking tells the boy to simply watch them and not to provoke them and it will probably be okay. The boy retreats into his the other servant's tent to continue his watch through the small flap openings of the tent. For reasons known only the the kodama, they quietly retreat back into the night.
An Unfriendly Welcome
The land though doesn't seem to be producing much. Some of the group pull up bits of the crop and find that it is a rice crop but the plants are short, withered and mostly brown. The land itself seems to have many places where it is caved inward and the soil is grey and leached out looking. The farmland is not doing well.
As they walk through the scattered huts of the village they see many old people bustle about, trying not to make eye contact as they hurry away. The group does not notice any young people. No children playing. No young people planting or tending the crops. Just adults and the elderly.
Finally, a middlep-aged woman approaches the group and asks what they are doing. The group tells her of their mission. They ask if the woman has seen the fugitives they are seeking. She tells them that she hasn't seen them but has heard of strangers entering the land a few weeks ago. They were powerful and dangerous. She tells them that, last she heard they were at the emperor's palace. The woman, Cho Lian, invites the group to her hut where they can be dry and eat.
She ushers them into a small hut where the group sits crowded upon the huts floor mats. The woman begins to boil water and reaches deep into a mostly empty large clay jar. She produces a few small handfuls of rice and begins to boil it. She begins to introduce the group to the Village of Sinju when an old woman barges into the hut and scolds Cho for serving their meager amounts of food to strangers.
The soldiers watch as the younger woman argues about having to honor guests with a meal, even if it means going without. There will be a way they can get food. The older woman gives the group a scrutinizing look then sits down. They learn that the old woman is Shima and Cho asks the group if they could perhaps keep the existence of the odd storm to themselves. It would seem that people with the ability to manipulate water are sometimes taken, to serve the Emperor. At this, Araxie pulls her cloak and hood a little further down to hide her genasi face. Even most of the young have been taken to serve the Emperor, leaving many villages with no young people left.
They ask about the Emperor. They are told he is Emperor Chi Deng Wend. He controls all the land. Vadania, mulls over the name, Chi Deng Wend over and over in her head. Something is familiar about the name. But the connection is allusive.
The group is invited to stay the night, but the old woman, Shima, insists that they must leave in the morning. She will not tolerate it if the village is punished for harboring these strangers. With that the group settles in. Araxie, Vadania and Gamma taking Cho's offer of the warmth and dryness of her hut, while Maddox and his retinue erect their tents just outside of the hut.
A Firey Welcome
It late into the night, almost towards dawn, when Gamma, who is awake hears footsteps approaching. Many footsteps. He can see many spots of fire surrounding and encroaching the village. He quickly warns the others. As they prepare themselves, dressing themselves and donning their armor, Gamma sees now that the village is being entered by at least a half dozen monks, each of their hands aglow in fire. They move from hut to hut until someone, an old man, points towards Cho's hut. With firey hand signals the rest of the monks begin to move towards the hut where the group is.
The group inside the hut looks to Kame. Kame shrugs and says, "not all power can be trusted."
The group politely declines.
As the language becomes more insistent, Gamma pipes up and says that he challenges Duzang. If in the contest Duzang wins they will go, otherwise they are to be left alone. Duzang smiles and asks what kind of challenge. Gamma says a race.
Duzang apparently cannot resist a challenge and feels the massive robed figure of Gamma poses little challenge. He agrees. The two line up together at one end of a dirt and gravel lane. His fellow monks line the small road and light fires along the way to light the show. As soon as the countdown reaches zero, Gamma rushes forward using his monk's incredible speed. Duzang seeing this, steps into the fire closest to him and disappears. The group looks on only to see Duzang reappear at the end of the lane stepping from the last small roadside fire. He handily wins.
As Gamma slinks off into the shadows, either in lieu of an attack or simply sulking, Kame says, "well, I guess we're going to visit the Emperor. As with water one must move with river."
The Flame Palace
He welcomes them to his land and says that he must know everything that goes on and has heard of new strangers. So he has asked them here to meet and to know them. The group tells him of their mission to apprehend the criminals and shows them the scrolls with their likenesses. He nods at seeing each one and tells them that, yes, they were here. They were very powerful and like all power must be used or risk that power being released where it can hurt you
Emperor Wend goes on to tell them that he has tasked the other group with collecting an outstanding food tax but he catches himself. Honor must be shown. The group can bath and relax and they will talk more when they rejoin him for supper that evening. Several servants emerge and present each of the group with clothes and towels and offer to escort them to their quarters. The group looks at themselves, covered in mud and grime from days of travel. They agree and go along.
Meanwhile, Maddox is extremely taken with his personal servant. Sang Yu is young, beautiful and eager to please Maddox as she takes to massaging the large paladin. He eventually tells Sang Yu to wait for him in his room while he talks to the rest of his group. Each of them debate their next course of action.
An Awkward Dinner
Soon enough they are summoned for dinner and each arrive in the dining area of the palace. The low table has many cushions arrayed around it and each of the group finds their place until Emperor Wend enters and joins them. An odd array of food is set before them. Most everything is unrecognizable to the group, save for the rice. Vadania pokes and prods while smelling it, trying to determine if it is poisoned at all. But the odd texture and smells of the food unfamiliar to her make it so she cannot determine any sort of poison. Gamma sits not even looking at the food. Stone golems need not eat.
Emperor Wend notices the large cloaked and hooded figure of Gamma not eating and begins to take offence. Do they not know his empire is suffering from a massive famine. Many villages are forced to give most of their food the the palace, just so their Emperor can continue to protect the land for them. Many starve and die so that the palace and it's monks can continue to protect it's people. Gamma is finally able to persuade the Emperor that he means no offence. He simply does not eat.
It is then that Vadania, silently puts the sounds of "Chi Deng Wend" together. She has mulled the sounds over and over in her head and finally concludes that "Chi Deng Wend" has been anglicized into the "Children Of Gwynt". The thieves/assassin's guild back in Baldur's Gate which was a source of corruption from within the government and The Order Of The Obsidian Dagger itself.
Emperor Wend tells them of tasking the criminals they are seeking, with collecting food from a village who has not yet given over the tithe for many seasons. It is rumored that they have produced much and simply do not want to serve the Empire. He paid the other group a hefty sum but has not heard back from them yet. He is willing to offer the same job to this group and offers the sum of 500 gold pieces. After some negotiating it is agreed upon that they would do the job for 200 gold each as well as the servant girl, Sang Yu.
A Nighttime Visit
That evening, each of the group is in their quarters sleeping. Gamma choosing to sleep in the beautifully tended rock garden atop a black boulder, stepping from shadow to shadow so as not to disturbed the sculpted "waves" in the white pebbles.Maddox talks to his new servant girl, Sang Yu and finds that the palace does not always treat it's servants well. He has noticed this. Many of the servants bear the scars of burns which they try to cover up as much as possible. Sang Yu tells Maddox that shortly after her arrival at the palace that she was raped by three brothers. They still lear at her everyday and she fears for her life. Maddox promises that he will take care of it.
Vadania, sleeps fitfully, choosing to sleep fully armored. Something feels off about this place and she will not let her guard down. She dozes until a few drops of wetness splash her face. She tries to ignore it but it occurs again. Finally she jumps out of bed and inspects her room. She notices that the glass of water on her bedside table is empty, it's water is outside the glass forming the tiny figure of a girl. The image of the girl looks like she is pleading and trying to say something. Vadania cautiously approaches and listens. The watery form of the girl is pleading for help, "You must come find us. We are below." She repeats this until the girls form looks off to something out of Vadania's sight, holds her hands up defensively, her face a grimace of fear. The water collapses silently into a puddle upon the bedside table.
Very unsettled. Vadania, struggles to fall back to sleep.
Off To Nalin Village
The next morning the group collects itself and tells Emperor that they shall travel to the village of Nalin to collect his food since it coincides with their own mission of tracking down the fugitives. They have decided to come back and investigate the potentially imprisoned "below" the palace when they have learned more.
They do have one more request. The Emperor must give them some representatives from the palace itself. Three guards should do. Maddox points out three of them, The Fai brothers; Huo; Shan and Lao. The three brothers that Sang Yu has accused of raping her. Maddox does not tell anyone this. Simply requests the three guards. The Emperor agrees to this.
After a couple days of travel they move up into a mountainous pass. The air becoming chilled and the wind picking up. During a moment when Maddox can talk to his group without being overheard he tells them of his plan to murder the Fai brothers and why. But first he must be sure of what Sang Yu has told him. Araxie is tasked with setting the brothers up with a make work mission of checking out a strange sound further down the mountain. Eager to please the exotic looking Araxie the brothers scramble down the mountain.
Justice At Knifepoint
1,350 XP
Once the Fai brothers are out of earshot, Maddox quickly performs the spell of Zone of Truth. A faintly shimmering hemisphere appears, encompassing the group, some of the tents, the soldiers mats and their lit candles. Maddox begins to question Sang Yu but Gamma holds his hand up to hold Maddox's question. Gamma quickly puts out the candles, their odd smelling incense smoke lingering up to the edge of the hemisphere.
Maddox asks Sang Yu directly. Did the Fai brothers really rape her. She looks humiliated and shocked that one would talk about this in the company of the entire group but she lowers her head and meekly replies, "Yes. They did rape me."
Maddox dismisses the spell and the group waits for the brother's return.
They do not wait long. The brothers come scrambling back up to the encampment, only to be ambushed by Maddox, his spirit dire wolf, and the rest of the party. Before the brothers can react two of them are dead and the third pleads for his life. He never even touched Sang Yu. None of them had.
Maddox grabs hold of the last brother then holds a dagger out to Sang Yu. She takes it unsure of why he has given it to her. He tells her to go ahead and kill him. She deserves to be the one to kill him. Her hand shakes unsure of what to do, until she lowers the dagger.
Maddox understands. Not everyone is built for killing. He snaps the last of the Fai brother's neck.
Justice is served.
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