On The Roads Again (Xue)

As it turns out, Xue and his fellows easily find their way back to Farmouth, where the abandoned vessel crewed by ex-slaves are in the process of docking. Lots of folks are talking about the strange storm and what it might mean.

Xue and the minion spot Farmouth again, and return to human form. They make the final approach up the coastline. Xue spots the hulk in port, and leads the minion over there. The slaves had seen him in his human form, so he hopes they will remember him fondly as one of their rescuers.

"Welcome to Farmouth, freemen. I thought I'd check in on you before I moved on to the capital."

The local officials ask for a full report on all that has happened, and have some scribes take down every word.

Xue, in a fit of charity, sends a couple of the minion off to get some food for the newly created sailors. Something gentle, since they're so hungry. He provides what little information he can to the scribes, but his involvement was only at the end of the whole affair, so probably doesn't amount to much.

Is the Crimson Unicorn still parked here?

When Xue keeps track of what happens to the freed slaves from the ship, and the ship itself. Perhaps they could be turned into some kind of useful allies, later.

"Zhong, please go ask around the port for any ships that might be available to take us all to the Capital. Don't commit to anything yet, I think we might be here in town for a little while. And make sure they have a tub large enough for our kind. That salt water is making me itch like a... a thing that makes me itch a very lot."

"Xin, your job is to acquire us... legally, mind you... two sets of maps of this shadow and where the shadow routes are. Mark one of them with the new route we took through shadow to get here, and have it brought back to our people. Maybe we'll ask the leader of the local fort to send someone, so that it's official and all that. I guess that's my job."

"Peng, your job is to find us somewhere to stay while we're here. With Farmouth being the new stop for our people, and since I'm not haring off on some silly adventure with strangers, I should spend some time getting things set up for us. Buy a building for our people to stay at here, all that stuff. Mother can deal with the problem of telling the guys at Portland [I just invented the name of whatever the former city was.] that we don't go through there anymore."

"Bao, and Jin you get to babysit the freed slaves on this hulk. For some reason, I am taken with them, and I would like to make sure they are treated well after all that. They're all frail and unarmed, but in possession of a ship, they probably don't have the coin to repair. Get them food, make sure they're not attacked. Of course, do not interfere with any official actions against them, but come tell me if anything is done to them. I'll wave my big fat title around or something, and pretend something."

"And that means I'll be talking to the city's leadership on behalf of our people. Yay me!" Xue makes for the whitewashed fort in the center of the city, looking for the helpful guard from before, and ultimately seeking to speak to the fort's commander.

The fort's commander turns out to be an elderly Knight by the name of Walder, someone with enough experience to have some inkling who Xue actually is and to treat him with a nice amount of courtesy. Walder wears the crimson unicorn of Onyx on a chain of office. He shows Xue into a private study and asks what he can do for him?

[+1 GM points for the Game of Thrones reference]

"Ser Walder, it would seem that the roads from my home have shifted. In fact, I'm here on my own errands travelling to Onyx, but the roads led me here instead of to Portland, so Farmouth now has the perhaps dubious honor of being the closest truly civilized place to us. As a result, I predict that my people will establish a small presence here in your town. Nothing overwhelming, just a man or two to handle the shipping of goods back home, and maybe some travellers now and then. Plus a place for them to stay and to keep the good being sent, most likely a warehouse or somesuch."

"I come before you with two purposes. The first is to simply announce this fact, and to make sure there is no confusion. I now that my people are a bit... imposing to the normal humans of the empire, and some might find it concerning if we were simply to move in next door, so to speak." Xue holds up a hand to forestall an assumed protest by Walder, "Of course, I have no experience with your own people, other than our walk through the town earlier. So I don't mean to suggest any enmity on their part. But, not knowing, I thought it safer to be... let's say 'overly forthright' in an effort not to startle anybody. The worst that can happen to me is that I make your acquaintence, for which I consider myself grateful."

"My second purpose: I thought I'd send word back home of the change and begin the arrangements here, since I was at hand. But, my errand didn't expect to be dealing in property, so I find myself in need of a line of credit against my family's name in order to gather the coin necessary. Might I impose on you as a representative of the Empire, either for the coin itself or to vouchesafe my identity with someone in town who specializes in such?"

He nods and summons a scribe, dictating document attesting to the status of Caspia and her peoples, with Walder confirming what he knows about them. He recommends a local bank to establish a line of credit, noting that contact with Portland will confirm all this. Until then, said line of credit will prove smaller at first. Yet not too much. Ser Walder vouchsafes you, with should prove useful. The document he signs and places his official seal upon it.

Xue bows deeply to the shorter man. "You honor me, ser. I will not abuse this trust."

He takes the document and then makes his way to the aforementioned bank, to get everything squared away. Then he starts to wander the dockside looking for a likely warehouse for sale. It should have high ceilings (we're quite tall), and a space to be used as a stables for the oxen the clan uses to haul goods.

Other errands:
Once Xin gets the maps, and marks the new route to Caspia, he sends Xin and one of those maps back to Caspia to inform Mother. That should take a few days round trip, at least. Xue writes a letter as well, informing Mother of what's he's found, and what he plans to do: buy a warehouse or similar, much as was done in Portland, and start the process of getting things set up.

He'll further write a letter to the group at Portland, and let them know the same thing. They can finish up their business there and make their way to Farmouth whenever they're ready to.

Find out what Zhong says about the availability of transport to Onyx, though on further consideration, Xue might be in Farmouth for a little while, so this isn't as high a priority as it once had been.

Having deftly avoided the bizarre weather effecting the coastline Leeland arrives on his two masted ship the Peregrinus and docks at Farmouth. After handling whatever the locals here require for a docking vessel, be they bribes paperwork or inspections he surveys the city, a tired expression on his face. After a few moments he turns to Quentin, a tall man with light brown hair that is nearing blonde from sun exposure.

"The usual Quentin, offload the cargo and then resupply. The men may go ashore on shifts, but I want a full watch. That storm makes me nervous. Spread some gold around the Taverns and see what you can find out. But a bit more subtle than last time, we don't want a repeat of the events of Haijir."

Quentin shudders as he remembers the near riot that took place. "A miscalculation sir, it won't happen again." A hesitation, he has lost track of the number of ports where they have sought word of the place called Amber. "Anything else sir?"

"Depends on if we find anything, don't purchase any new cargo. If we finally hear something I want to be ready to move. The place is real, I swear it. Purchase charts as well, we're looking for anything referencing a golden circle."

"Of course Sir." Quentin replies before grabbing a pair of men and entering town. The man probably thinks I'm mad or a fool. Or both perhaps. He's probably right. Leeland barks a short laugh that gets him a few glances from the crew.

"I'm headed ashore as well." He waves off any attendants. "I need some time to think, fresh air. I'll be back." If weapons are legally carried Farmouth he will strap on a short blade, if not he will conceal a few small daggers and head to shore, in particular the market. There he will listen to rumors and attempt to locate a restaurant with a decent chef that doesn't serve seafood.

["We serve both kinds of food, here. Seafood, AND fresh water fish."]

Xue is wandering the dockside, looking over warehouse property, when he notices a new ship driving up to the pier. Or shipping. Whatever boat-people call it when their boats move to somewhere. Floating, he decides. Though, that seems to lack the gravitas that boat-people seem to feel about whatever it is they do.

Zhong notices the same boat, and the two easily spot each other above the locals as they approach the pier where the Peregrinus will eventually berth. Xue nods to his man and they both turn to watch the process of parking a boat.

"There's ships going that direction, but nothing going all the way to Onyx. We'd have to stop along the way and find another boat for the next part." says Zhong. "I was going to ask these fellows if they might be headed that way, but... well... here you are."

Xue nods. "I'll ask them. Go find Peng and get some food. Honestly, I think we'll be staying in town for a while anyway. I've decided to get started setting up a new waystation."

"You're stalling. Just take your beating like a man and be done with it." says Peng, after taking a couple steps away. Just to make sure he's out of arm's reach. Then he waves and wanders off to find Peng.

Xue relaxes in a sunbeam and loses himself in the hustle and bustle of the Peregrinus' arrival. He spots what looks like a man giving orders, and eventually the man descends the walkway, or gangplank, or boat-board, whatever it's called.

"Good evening, sir." he calls, bowing sort of mid-depth, as far as bows go. "I wonder if your boat is taking passengers, perhaps in the direction of Onyx?"

Xue is perhaps slightly over eight feet tall, perhaps slightly under 500lbs, and wearing form-fitting body armor, all black with a few red accents, and in a somewhat archaic style. The pommel of a broadsword can be seen over his shoulder, also black, with an eye-catching red tassle flowing from the hilt.

Leeland stops, returning the bow but a trifle deeper. It never hurts to be polite, and this man is a small mountain Leeland is dressed in traveling clothes, well cut but without ornamentation. His long hair is tied back and a shorts word with a ruby hilt hangs from his side.

Leeland smiles as he responds, "Onyx you say? We may be heading out that way, depending on what news and cargo we find here. That is a fair journey, you must have an interesting story to tell. Perhaps we could discuss it over a meal? I've had nothing but fish for a week and could use a change of pace."

"A meal, sure. But all I've seen around this town is your choice of freshwater, or salt water, fish. And maybe some seaweed for flavor. However, I've only been here for about a day. I hold out hope that there's a place known only to the locals, where they keep the good stuff."

Xue's nose flares up, wider than perhaps it should be able to reach, as he sniffs the air, trying to find any sign of food that isn't fish. [His nose becomes more tiger-like.] "Maybe this way?" he says, no confidence at all in his voice, and gestures away from the waterline.

"And I'm afraid the story of my grand adventure is only just beginning. The telling will be done before we even get there."

He pauses then, shaking his head at his own stupidity. "I should have learned from Mintabilia." he mumbles, then extends his hand in the gesture of greeting he saw Winnow using "I am Xue Ren'Gui, nominal champion of the White Tiger Clan. And, I am honored to make your acquaintence. We tigers don't leave our home Shadow much, so I hope you will excuse my poor manners. I have already gravely insulted one person without meaning to, but I'm learning."

As it happens apart from fish, vegetable stews and breads of many different kinds are easily available. Some establishments serve meat, mostly pork but some beef. Cheese is also fairly easy to come by.

Xue catches the scent of something. Flesh... seared with flame, not just heated in a stew. "I believe I have found something, good sir. Some kind of bovine, on a spit." and he heads off towards the smell.

Ahead is a squat structure, with tightly shuttered windows, and faint smoke rising from the chimney. The smell of cooking meat is stronger here, and Xue holds open the door for his unnamed companion. "Whatever that is, carve me off a chunk. The bloodier the better." he says to whoever seems to be in charge of the place.

Intrigued by this strange man and his unusual nose Leeland follows behind, trusting his nose to lead them to a suitable meal.

"Sounds like there is a story right there." Leeland replies, hesitating a moment and then taking Xue's hand (I assume this is a handshake). "You'll find I don't insult easily, I prefer those who speak their minds. My name is Leeland of," he stops, and a wry smile crosses his face. "Old habits die hard, Leeland of nowhere now. I also am pleased to make your acquaintance. You'll have to excuse me, I am not familiar with the white tiger clan though your position sounds quite prestigious."

Leeland slips into the room and surveys the room, taking a moment to breathe in the delicious smells. He takes a moment to make his selection before choosing a promising looking cut and handing over a generous amount of coinage. "Right now Xue Ren'Gui as far as I am concerned you could do no wrong. If I had to eat another fish I believe I would have grown gills." Oh wouldn't my family have loved that.

"Gills... nevermind. And the champion of the clan is more of a... well... I guess there's time over food. I'll bore you with the story." he says, as the first trenchers of meat are brought to them. "The White Tiger Clan are the supreme rulers of the very small mountainous Shadow of Caspia. Some scholars from the Empire suggest that our ancestors must have used magic so somehow blend human and tigers. But all we know is that we were what we were. It was only later that we encountered "regular" humans, and "regular" tigers, and the scholars pointed out the similarities. Feh. Scholars, am I right? Don't know... anyway."

He tears into the meat, using utensils only to avoid getting juices on his fingers, something he understands foreigners don't like when they eat.

"So, as the story goes, when my shadow was being brought kicking and screaming into the Empire, the White Tigers were prepared to die to the last cub, rather than join up. The Regent's forces, I guess there was a ruling council back then? Anyway, they were using magic against us. Honestly, we'd only just discovered that other shadows existed because all of these short monkey people kept attacking us and using foul sorcery against us. We didn't take it well. So, when Leontes was making a concerted effort to consolidate all the shadows into the Empire... well... we didn't want to sign up with all that evil magic, right? We'd rather die." He punctuated his point by stabbing the last morsel of meat from his plate, ignoring whatever non-meat "food" may have come with it. Then he waved at the server for another portion while continuing.

"Anyway, I guess Leontes figured that out before the last of us had fallen, and he showed up personally and challanged our champion to single combat. Hands and weapons only. If he won, we'd sign up (but still reject magic) for the Empire. If our guy won, his heirs would take his body and all their troops and leave, and seal the roads behind them... leaving us in peace."

"And really, Leontes was this little guy, right? Maybe a little taller than you? Tiny. Certainly nothing to look at. I've seen the pictures... he doesn't look that tough. Not to us, anyway. We figured it was a good deal... kill this one little guy, free our world from evil. Yeah, so... it turns out Leontes is really tough. Like, godlike tough. In front of all of our people, he smacked our champion around like a cub. Didn't even kill him. I mean, how much better do you have to be, that you can avoid getting clawed to pieces long enough to punch someone in the head enough to knock him out? And my people don't get knocked out easy."

Xue reaches for his next batch of meat, as it arrives.

"So where was I? Right, there we were signing up for the empire, loyal servants and all that. And then, a generation later, some young cub won some fights and got declared the new champion, and he got it into his head that maybe... just maybe... he could challenge Leontes to another duel. Same bet as before... but this guy had talked to people who saw Leontes fight the first time. He thought he had it figured out, right?"

"He didn't. He didn't last half as long as the first guy. But, that turned it into a tradition. So now, every generation, a new champion of my people heads off to the capital to challenge the Regent. It's a hereditary thing, now. I didn't even have to win any fights. I mean, sure, they trained me in combat... can't have the champion stumbling around not knowing how to hold a sword. But the duel is sort of a pro forma deal, lots of pomp and ceremony, we have the fight, there's a big dinner afterwards where the clan pledges our renewed loyalty for another generation."

"I'm told that having your ass handed to you by a short, scrawny monkey God builds character, and makes one better able to lead the clan later in life. That's what my grandfather tells me, anyway. I'd just as soon avoid the whole thing... we'll be loyal subjects no matter what... we've been in the Empire so long now, we wouldn't know what to do by ourselves anyway. But, here I go off to the Capital."

Another wave for another portion of flesh sets the servers to scurrying again. Xue glances at Leeland's plate. "Go ahead, dig in. It's on me. Tiger's never go hungry, and we don't allow our guests to, either."

When the third portion arrives, he seems to slow down somewhat. "And what's silly... damned foolish, really... is that there are those in my clan who're all telling me I should really try to have a go at Leontes. I mean... it's silly that they think anyone, even a Tiger, could seriously threaten the Regent. If I were ten times the fighter I am, maybe... MAYBE, I'd force Leontes into taking me seriously. And then he'd just kill me quickly. But really... we benefit greatly from the Empire. I'd only be dooming our people if I managed to defeat him through some miracle. And then where would we be?"

"And another thing, all the roads through Shadow seem to have changed recently. We left Caspia a few days ago, supposed to arrive in Portland and then be a quick jaunt to the capital, a couple weeks recovering in a nice hospital in the royal palace, then home by Fall. Now it'll be a long drawn out trip just to get there. And I have to help set up a new way station here for good, so they can be hauled up through the mountain passes the new Shadow road follows. We've got people for this, but they're all the way off in Portland, wherever that is from here. It'll take them weeks or months to even GET here, then... heh... look at me, unloading all my woes to you sir. Nothing makes good meat stick in the throat like a cub mewling about his problems."

"So, what brings you here from 'nowhere now', that also sounds like a story to be heard over the flesh of a bleeding bovine."

Leeland listens to Xue's tale as he enjoys two servings of the meat occasionally drinking from a mug of small beer. A tiger man, I suppose that is no stranger than my own family. As the meal and story slows down he begins his own story.

"My own travels are far more selfish in nature. I suppose it starts in my old home, an island kingdom known as Atlantis. The people of Atlantis are not entirely human themselves, they tend to live far longer and are born with gills that allow them to exist in the underwater portion of our kingdom." Leeland shakes his head. "Sorry, I don't often tell my tale and I am not entirely certain where to start. In Atlantis we knew of shadow, we even had the occasional visitor though none were too interested in it. We are... they are a proud nation who uses its magic and navy to dominate the human nations of shadow. But a few centuries ago, an emissary came out of shadow wanting to make trade agreements with us. They claimed to be from the center of the universe and have power over shadow. Let us just say that the emissary failed in his mission and departed before things turned too unpleasant, but not without leaving a little something behind. Me."

"The intricacies of my family politics were boring to live through so I'll be brief. My mother was the king's third daughter and that put me in a somewhat large royal family. I take after my father rather than my mother and so I was born without the gills my siblings and cousin had. Coupled with being a bastard as well as the child of the emissary of a hated nation, I was something of an outcast."

Finished with his meal Leeland pushes aside the remnants and leans back in the wooden chair. "When my younger sister took the throne, she decided it would be be best to... eliminate my presence all together. Given the choice between exile and death I chose exile. I could have resisted but the sad thing is I always liked her though she hated me. So I gathered some of my more loyal followers, purchased a new ship and set forth."

"I had decided to seek out my father and his home, but the shadow paths did not take me to where I had expected, and so now I search for word of family or charts that match those I took with me. So far I have had little luck."

"That is the gist of my tale. So you see, I do not know where I will sail for next, though so far one place is as good as another."

"Oh, you weren't joking about growing gills." says the larger one, taking his last bite of beef. He pats his belly, contemplating a fourth plate, but decides against it for now.

"I'll admit my people don't usually travel much, so I doubt I'd be of much help in your search. But isn't Onyx the center of the Universe? We do know at least that much."

"And that's the problem." Leeland says, pleasantly full from the meal. "The center of the universe I seek bears a different name entirely. From everything I learned in my studies, all of this..." He makes an all encompassing gesture. "...Is wrong. I was expecting to wander amongst shadows known as the Golden Circle, not an Onyx Empire."

"'Golden Circle'? That sounds like rainbows and fluffy white unicorns. Like children's stories. Are you sure your father wasn't just spinning tales? No offense."

Leeland laughs, "Well, according to my sources the people of the place worship a fluffy white Unicorn... I've never met my father, I doubt he knows I exist. Still, the existence of other shadows was a well known fact amongst my home, and I have seen enough reports and charts that I have no doubt that the Golden Circle exists, or existed at one point. You said that the shadow paths nearby have changed, perhaps that is what happened to the paths from my home."

"I've only heard of Shadows as part of the Empire. They might move around a bit, but they're all still attached to each other. But, I guess there was a time when they weren't all attached, or else Capria wouldn't have been surprised when the humans showed up. So, don't listen to me."

"Everything I learn just creates more questions, there never are any answers. Do you have current charts showing the shadows and routes between here and Onyx?"