"Return of the Rod of the Seven Parts" - D&D

[Silver Moon]

Chinese Take-out

Chapter 8, "Nothing to see here, move right along", September 15, 1018, 11:00 A.M.

The party teleport away from the Heian Empire at noon, arriving approximately a thousand miles to the southwest (and one hour earlier, local time) at a temple near the city of Shosun. The cathedral-style building is made of large polished stones, with marble pillars and a marble floor. Huge stained glass and clear class pictures cover most of the upper walls, allowing a great deal of light to enter. This creates a greenhouse effect, given the vast quantities of trees and plants growing inside the building. “Is this a church or a garden?” Narg asks.

Cassie gestures to and asks about the thousands of iron and ceramic pots sitting on shelves throughout the vast building. “Those contain the ashes of the ancestors” is Hiroshi’s answer. “What! Are you saying that you teleported us into a funeral parlor?” she exclaims. Hiroshi explains how it is the Heian culture to cremate bodies, and store the ashes in a shrine. As this building served as the only Heian place of worship at this city for many centuries it is therefore the final resting-place for the tens of thousands of Heians who lived and worked in Shosun. “Tens of thousands! Let’s get out of here, this place gives me the creeps,” she answers. “This from the woman who dissects any monster's body she comes across?” comments Fiona. “That’s different,” Cassie answers, “I usually know how they died, and most of the time am the one who wanted it that way.”

They exit the temple, finding them to be along a lake. It is about ten degrees warmer than the Empire that they just left. Surrounding the lake are fifteen different churches, each of a different pantheon (a design similar to the International section of Disney's Epcot). Hiroshi explains that the pantheon native to this continent (Chinese) is the only one allowed to be worshiped within the city walls of Shosun, so these church parks were established nearby for foreigners living in Shosun to continue their own religious practices. He says that it is about a four-mile walk from here to the city itself. It is a pleasant day, and the party sets off to the southeast.

After a few miles they see in the distance a large wall, standing eighty-foot high and stretching for approximately three miles north-south, with the northernmost section of this wall still being under construction. Set a third of a mile in from the section being built is a mile-long wall running east-west, ending at another wall going three-quarters of a mile north-south.

They approach the city from the northwest, heading towards the part of the wall under construction. As they near, they see that there are several thousand workers actively engaged in this task, moving and placing huge slabs of stone. Three quarters of the workers are of the dwarven race, with the remaining quarter being either human or dwarven-centaur. Lono looks at these centaur creatures, with dwarven torsos atop mountain goat bodies and mutters “And I thought that dwarves couldn’t get any dirtier.” The group can see how the wall is being made, basically as two fifteen-foot-wide stone sections with twenty feet of space between them, which is then filled with dirt, for a total of a fifty-foot depth. They see that the center section rises seventy-five feet, with a five foot high battlement both sides of the top of the wall, to the full eighty-foot height. Huge pulleys and cranes sit atop the finished wall beside the part under construction, being used to hoist the massive rocks. The party also sees elaborate piping and spiral staircases being built up the center of the section of the wall, which Hiroshi explains is for fire fighting, tapping into the aquifer below the city, to pump water to the top of the tower to spray on a potential fire in the city below.

They then travel further into the open part of the city between the wall under construction and the completed north-south wall a mile to the east. The city is very crowded, with tens of thousands of people of various races. Buildings are everywhere, and look to be poorly constructed, of flimsy materials, mostly bamboo, wood scraps, or in some cases, paper. There also does not appear to be any rhyme or reason to the design of streets and alleys, with buildings and trash heaps protruding out in all directions. Most people are quickly hurrying about, minding their own business, and paying little to no attention to the party. They see a large amount of beggars and other poor just sitting in alleyways. The stench of this part of the city is nearly unbearable. “I’m not very impressed with this city,” Fiona comments to Hiroshi. He replies “That’s because we are not in the city yet, it begins there,” as he points to a huge gated opening at the mid-point of the mile-long east-west wall ahead of them, one of three such openings along this east-west wall at quarter-mile intervals. He adds, “When they eventually complete the walls of this new district these ‘squatters’ will be forced out, and this area razed, so that proper buildings can be constructed along a well-planned grid of streets and alleyways.”

The party witnesses an altercation between a man and woman, leading to the man drawing a knife and slashing her arm, cutting her dress sleeve, with her bleeding heavily. Both Serita and Narg want to intervene, but Hiroshi strongly advises against it, telling the party to keep moving. Toshiro misunderstands his Uncle’s advice, and makes a comment which Serita thinks is Toshiro's approval of what they had just witnessed, leading to a verbal confrontation between the two of them. Hiroshi later informs them that there was a 99.9% chance that what they had witnessed was staged for their benefit, and if they had stopped pickpockets and thieves would have swarmed them. “But he cut her?” Serita says. “Probably just a pouch of pig’s blood strapped to her arm beneath her robe,” Hiroshi answers. She answers “Well, even with your one-in-a-thousand chance that it was real, we still should have done something.” Hiroshi suggests they stop arguing, as they are nearing the city itself, and yelling at each other would just make the gate guards suspicious of them .

As the party enters the opening, they see that it is comprised of a fifty-foot high archway, with a pair of twenty-foot wide double doors, which are currently opened. The doors are made from huge trees, and are each over two-foot thick, supported by vast iron bars. Narg comments that it must take at least one-hundred men just to close them, but as there are three times those numbers of armed troops guarding this gate, concludes that it wouldn’t be a problem. They see on the wall top above archway a huge iron wall, fifty feet wide, which can be lowered to completely block the doorway opening. Hiroshi tells them that this is only one of three barriers that can be lowered, and that up on the wall above are several tons of stone that can then be poured between these metal walls, to completely seal this gate in the event of an enemy invasion. “They’re serious about security,” comments Narg. “And it’s paid off,” Hiroshi adds, “This is the only city on this part of this region of the continent to hold off both the Mongol invaders and the Zhentarum mages, both groups of which ruled the rest of these lands for centuries.

Hiroshi hands each of the party five copper coins of the local currency, which they give to the gatekeepers. They are each given a copper pin with Chinese markings to wear. He tells them that they should wear the pin on their left lapel while in public, as it designates that they are visitors who have now paid for free access to all districts of the city. They notice that about one-third of the people they see wear similar badges, the others wearing more elaborate pins, mostly of gold or silver, on their right lapel, which Hiroshi says are resident identification pins.

 

[Silver Moon]

Chinese Take-out

Chapter 9, "Life in the big city", September 15, 1018, 1:00 P.M.:

As they enter the city they see that they see the city walls are now on all sides of them at the far end of the major streets, which are set in a grid pattern, the walls create a rectangle one-mile by three-quarters-of-a-mile in size. In the midst of the east-west wall three-quarters of a mile south of them is another gate identical to the one they just entered, behind which appears to be even more of the city. Hiroshi tells them to continue forward; that beyond the far gate another city district lies, where they are heading.

They notice that, unlike outside of the city, the buildings here are all well made, of either stone or hardwood. Most buildings are three or four stories tall, although there are others both larger and smaller. The main boulevards are sixty-feet across, with thousands of people walking on either side of the road, and the center of the roads bustling with wagon, cart and rickshaw traffic. As with the outer city, there are tens of thousands of people of various races, and nobody is paying much attention to the party.

They notice that the city is extremely clean, but the awful stench still remains. Hiroshi says that the smell is the city’s one drawback, as the freshwater aquifer below the city is close to the surface, so sewers and outhouses can’t be dug for fear of contamination, with waste having to be removed overland. He gestures to a narrow alleyway running behind the next city block, containing dozens of orange-painted carts pulled by donkeys and ponies, with workers emptying barrels of waste into the back of the carts. He says, “If you see a caravan of those carts approaching it is best to give them a great deal of distance.” He then adds “After a few days you get used to the smell, although I might add that it is well worth the added expense at hotels to pay for chamber-maid service, to empty the chamber pots and keep the scented candles and incense in the rooms continually lit.”

They approach the center of this particular district, where a huge multi-story building standing nearly a hundred feet high dominates the next three city blocks. Hiroshi tells them that this is the government and financial section of this district. They see several lines of troops marching down the street, to the sound of drummers and trumpeters, and Mark comments about whether this is some sort of parade in progress. Hiroshi tells them no, that this is just a city patrol, that all police in the city travel in battalions of eighty-one, comprised of a lieutenant, four sergeants and seventy-six patrolmen. This arrangement allows the battalion to be split into four quadroons of twenty; each led by a sergeant. Each district is divided into twelve segments, and each segment has several of these patrols. He says that there approximately sixty-thousand police inside of the walled city, and a fifteen-thousand strong army to guard the river, port and roads. Shosun is not a place to not run counter to the law. Mojo gives his thief cousin Lono a stern look, and says "Got that?" Lono replies "Sure, be careful not to get caught."

As they are at the business district Hiroshi stops to check on this district’s Auction House, looking for a reference to slave auctions. He tells the parties that no slaves have been sold here recently, but that each district has an auction house, so they need to just keep checking until they find the right one. They eventually reach the next district, traveling through the gate, and on to the auction house, which also has no reference to slaves.

They proceed southward, to a point a quarter-mile away from the next gateway ahead of them, then change direction, now traveling east on another main boulevard, towards another gate half-a-mile ahead of them. Hiroshi says, “The district that we will be staying in tonight is a few districts that way.” “Hold on,” says Narg, “Exactly how many of these districts are there in this city?” “Currently twelve,” answers Hiroshi, “The city is currently set up as a three-mile square grid, with three mile-wide districts running east-west and four three-quarter-mile deep districts running north-south. We entered the city walking through the planned thirteenth district, the walls of which won’t be completed for another six or seven years.”

The next district looks visually different, with all structures made of stone, and narrower boulevards, each only about forty feet across. The buildings themselves have more elaborate décor, and many have manned carriages or rickshaws waiting on the streets before them. Hiroshi explains that they are now in the oldest district, built nearly a millennia before. He says that this district, and the one immediately south of it, are considered the safest as they are the only two districts that do not have exterior wall. The oldest and wealthiest families of the city live here. As with the last two districts, this auction house has no slave auctions listed. While near this building Hiroshi speaks to a dwarven boy, and writes him out a note. “What was that about?” asks Mojo. “Just letting some friends know that I am in town,” he answers.

They continue east, into the next district, which is comprised almost entirely of wooden houses. This part of the city is a sharp contrast to the look of antiquity of the previous district. Hiroshi explains that this district, along with the one north of it and two south of it, were each built within the past sixty years, which was when the dwarves were first hired as construction crews. Prior to that, it took centuries to build the walls for each new district. Hiroshi says that during the past century most dwarven clans on the continent fell upon hard times, having tapped out most of the ore from their mines. In order to survive, several clans began to hire themselves out as either foreign mercenaries or offering their skills as laborers. Four different clans got together, and proposed to the Shosun leaders a plan to rapidly expand the city, proposing a timetable where the walls of each new district could be built in a period of only fifteen to twenty years. What made the proposal feasible was that with fixed completion dates the land within each new district could be sold in advance at market prices. This would provide a steady cash flow to fund the ongoing construction and increase the city coffers. The city and the dwarves have all benefited greatly from this arrangement.

This district’s auction house also has no listing for slaves. They then turn southward again, traveling into the next district. The party immediately notices and comments about the fact that approximately one out of every ten people they see in this district is Caucasian rather than Oriental. “Which is why this is the district we will be staying in,” Hiroshi answers, “Let’s check the auction house and then go get lodgings,” he answers. As before, this auction house shows no reference to slaves.

They proceed to a six-story wooden building, one hundred feet wide along the main street, and stretching back for three hundred feet, taking up an entire city block,. It is located on a major boulevard about a quarter-mile west of the exterior wall. A large sign above the doorway has writings in six languages, one of which is common, and reads “Common House”.

 

[Silver Moon]

Chinese Take-out

Chapter 10, "A place to hang your hat," September 15, 1018, 4:00 P.M.:

The party arrives at their chosen lodgings, the "Common House". A pair of human doormen, one Caucasian the other Oriental, open the front doors, and the party enters a vast foyer, with carpeting and fine oak furnishings. Candles and potpourri, masking most of the odor from outside, heavily scent the room. Wide staircases head up from both ends of the foyer, and several doorways lead off to the sides, behind three to which appear to be formal dining rooms and the other to a bar/tavern room. Looking at the latter, Narg says, “This looks to be the right place.”

Out of earshot from Serita, Toshiro speaks briefly to his Uncle about the confrontation that he had earlier with Serita. Hiroshi tells him “Don’t worry about it. She’s just like my ex-wife, always having to have her way and not realizing that hers is not the only perspective. The best way to deal with someone like her is to just ignore her.” “Ignore Serita?” comments Aradyn, “You are definitely new to this group.” “Trust us, it can’t be done,” Mark adds.

They approach the main counter, and two attendants come over, one Oriental the other Caucasian. Hiroshi explains that they wish rooms and requests a dozen individual but adjacent rooms, preferable in an isolated corner of the building, and with full chambermaid service. He pays, and is given a dozen keys. The Caucasian man says he will show them to the rooms. He leads them up to the northwest corner of the third floor, where the party are shown to their rooms. The fighters choose to take the rooms along the main hallway, leaving the spell casters with the adjacent interior rooms. Hiroshi suggests that they each freshen up, and meet in the foyer an hour later for supper.

Each room is rather sparse, being only 10x8 foot square, with the only furnishings being a wooden bed with a blanket, a wooden chair, a bucket of water, a chamber pot, and a shelf with candles and incense, one of which is already lit. The rooms along the exterior wall have a single window, with a simple cloth curtain over it.

As the party returns to the foyer they are asked to sign the guest books, and pointed to a shelf along the wall, which has six opened leather bound tomes. Above each book is a sign, each in one of the same six languages on the exterior door. As Hiroshi and Toshiro go to sing the book labeled “Heian”, the others go to sign the one labeled “Common.” There are three columns in the book: date, name and occupation. Most of the party signs in, most listing their pre-Silver Moon occupations. Narg and Aradyn listing their occupation as “Bodyguard”, Lannon as “Jeweler”, Timothy as “Banker”, Lono as “Acquisitionist and Hired Guard”, Fiona as “Teamster”, Duegar as “Weapon and Armor Maker”, Mark as “Tanner”. Mojo lists his upcoming title “General and Military Advisor to the Queen of Phlooredah”. A few of the party noticing something significant in the common book, namely that four lines about where they are now signing, is a listing for “September 9th, Hendry Family, Merchants of Silk and Cloths”.

[Background: During the "Retake the Island" module the Hendry family was a group of adventurers working for Morgarth. Hendry, a 14th level Mage, was the family patriarch, but also became the first casualty among Morgarth's troops. With their father and leader dead, the other members of the family reluctantly accepted the job of guarding the captured Cassie and Mark, keeping them as unconscious hostages. Hendry Junior, a mage like his father, soon became infatuated with Cassie, and brought her consciousness with him to unique location on the Astral Plane, where the two began a multi-day dialogue. When the other members of the Silver Moon came to rescue the hostages, and had the Hendry family cornered, Cassie was allowed to negotiate a truce between the two groups. The two teams then worked together but with no trust of the other, with the notable exception of Cassie and Hendry Junior who had now become mutually attracted to each other. Tension increased after Mojo made a comment about wanting to kill them. When an opportunity to escape presented itself the Hendrys' took it, and they were later rescued by Morgarth.]

The Silver Moon discovers that the three dining rooms each serve different cuisine. One serves Chinese food, the second serves non-Chinese food, and the third serves only the daily specials from both of the other two dining rooms, plus one or two specialty dishes unique to this room. They decide that, having had nothing but Oriental food for the past four days, they will go to the non-Chinese food room. Food choices include Duck in Orange Sauce; Braised Venison, Swordfish Steaks, Roast Pig, and a Vegetable Pasta Dish. The party orders some of each. Duegar orders one of each for himself. They find the food to be exquisite, Narg commenting, much to Toshiro's annoyance, on it being a vast improvement from what they were served at the Mitsubishi Estate.

Dinner discussion concerns the Hendry family, with speculation on why they may have been in Shosun six days earlier, and the fact that they may still be staying at this hotel. Lannon and Lono discreetly go and check the other two dining rooms, concluding that they are not presently eating here. Narg offers to go check the bar, but they send Fiona instead, concluding that Narg won’t come back. Fiona quietly says to Aradyn “So, what do you think of your potential rival for Cassie’s affection possibly being here?” He answers “Well, if you thought that I sleep with one eye open before, that’s definite now.”

A bellhop is looking to deliver a message to a "Hiroshi Mitsubishi Ming", and interrupts the party’s meal. Hiroshi indicates that is him, getting comments from the others about the “Ming” addition to his name. Particularly confused by this is his nephew Toshiro. Hiroshi says that “It is a long story, I’ll tell you later, let me see about this note first.” He checks the note, and announces that some dwarven business associates of his have invited him to go out drinking that evening. Hiroshi invites the two dwarves, Duegar and Lannon, to join him. He also invites the others, saying, "Anyone else can also join us too provided that they can match drinks with dwarves.” Mojo, Narg and Serita can’t resist this ‘dare’ and decide to take him up on the offer. Much to the party’s surprise, Mark also says he wants to go. Hiroshi appears relieved when Toshiro states that he will stay at the inn and meditate, as he has much to think about. Aradyn, Cassie and Fiona say they will do some shopping and/or information gathering, and Timothy says he plans to spend the evening in prayer. Lono says he has some "personal business" to attend to.

Hiroshi then asks Cassie and Fiona if either of they know the “Hairy” cantrip. Cassie says that she does, with Lono commenting “She’d still be bald if she didn’t.” [Morgarth had shaved her head to remove a magical crown that she interlocked into her hair.] She asks why, with him answering “My dwarven friends have never seen me clean shaven. I previously came here by boat, during which time I had several weeks for my beard to grow out. Since we teleported here this time I’m going to need some magical assistance to get to the point that they’ll still recognize me.” Cassie says she will take care of that after the meal.

An hour later those going out downstairs to the hotel lobby. They notice that Hiroshi looks very different, with the new beard. He is also no longer wearing his formal Japanese robe and sandals, wearing instead a cloth shirt and pants, a wide leather belt and leather boots. His clothes look to have had a great deal of wear. Duegar and Lannon also notice, but don’t comment about the fact, that he is wearing a Dwarven Clan ring, something they have seen before on a human.

A large wagon driven by two dwarves arrives outside of the hotel, with four Oriental dwarves sitting on benches in the back. The dwarves climb out, the leader being a rugged looking dwarf, human equivalent of forty years in age. He moves forward and warmly embraces Hiroshi.
Hiroshi introduces the man as Chan Ming, son of the Ming Clan Chief. He says that Chan is the leader of the Clan's members in Shosun. Chan introduces his son Xhang Ming, and the other two as Cho-Tau Ming and Chung-Na Ming. Hiroshi first introduces Duegar and Lannon, then the other four, telling the dwarves that they are “Trusted friends, who have looked after my human nephew Toshiro, who you once met a decade ago.” They all climb onto the wagon.

His dwarven friends are taking them to the north central district, so Hiroshi has them go by way of the north east, and the north central financial areas, checking out both auction houses along the way. Again they find no recent listing of slave actions. Conversation in the wagon is pleasant, with the dwarves all speaking in common out of respect for their non-dwarven guests. Chan informs Hiroshi that “Per your request, you are now registered to sell gems at the next ‘Stone and Gem Auction’ in our district. It will be held on the afternoon of the 19th.” “Huh?” asks Narg. “Our cover story,” Hiroshi whispers back to him.

Meanwhile, when the other group is out drinking with Clan Ming, Aradyn accompanied Cassie, Fiona and Toshiro for some shopping. Most of this was spent window-shopping for clothes and at a bookstore, where Cassie bought a book on the history of the region, providing more detail to the information than Hiroshi gave them earlier about the city. The only other shopping of significance was at another book store, where Toshiro made a discreet inquiry about finding a book about the animal creatures. The bookstore vendor said he thought he might be able to find one elsewhere in the city, and to check back in a few days. On their way upstairs that evening, Cassie stopped and asked the lobby clerk about the Hendry family. The night clerk didn’t know anything about them, much to Aradyn's relief.

 

[Silver Moon]

Chinese Take-out

Chapter 11, "A night on the town," September 15, 1018, 8:00 P.M.:

The group arrives at a large, auditorium sized three-story stone building, with a wooden sign picturing a mug of ale, and the name “Dwarf Ale House” written in both Dwarvish and Chinese. The wagon is secured, and the four dwarves exit the back along with their seven guests. They enter a vast building, the interior being one vast room, approximately 250 by 140 feet in size. In the very center of the room is a fifty-foot square wooden stage. There is a side wooden staircase running from the back of the stage to the second floor. Narrower stone staircases to the second floor are along the side walls. Along the side wall, running the entire 250 feet, is a bar staffed by dozens of bartenders. The remainder of the room is filled with tables of various sizes, with dozens of buxom dwarven and human waitresses moving about.

As the party enters the room a well-dress dwarf calls to a waitress to “Show Clan Ming to their usual table.” The group are led to a long oval table, with sixteen chairs, situated equidistant to both the bar and stage. There are about one hundred other patrons in the establishment at this time, mostly at the bar.

The group sits down; noticing that Chan and the other three Mings are somewhat better dressed than most of the other patrons. Chan says, “This is the place to come for fun. All of the other patrons are construction workers.” He goes on to explain that there are over twenty thousand workers employed in building the city wall, and since for the next half-century all construction will be along the northern wall of the city they have found long-term lodgings here in the north-central district. Construction workers each work a six-day work-week, with the day off alternating to keep the same number of workers on the job each day. That means that, on any given night, there are approximately three thousand workers who have the next day off and want to blow off steam. He adds that, “Since this is one of the more livelier establishments, you can expect between a quarter to a third of these workers to find there way here at some point this evening.”

The group is brought tankards of fine dwarven ale, and the waitresses see that a new tankard is also always waiting for each person at the table. The elf and three half-elves have little to no difficulty keeping up, with one of the Mings commenting “Not bad. I was afraid that one of them would embarrass us by ordering a glass of wine.” [The comment was made by one of the players, getting in a dig at the DM for once having done that at a bachelor party.] Hiroshi also has no trouble downing multiple ales.

The conversation initially centers on the party’s mission to Shosun. The Mings do not know anything about these human-animal slaves, and say that generally the only time slaves are sold in the city are when military prisoners are captured, and that hasn’t happened in several months. The party describes the castle that Oterel fought Morgarth in. Chan says that he does not know of it, but that there may be some reference to it in their records, and suggests that they stop by the city's Ming Estate some time the next day. “But please, not in the morning,” Chan’s son Xhang Ming interjects. By now around 300 patrons are in the bar, mostly dwarven, but several human as well.

By mid-evening the building is packed. Chan gestures to the Ale, and declares that “That’s about enough of drinking water, let’s get some real drinks.” He has glasses and two huge jugs of dwarven whiskey brought over, which are then poured for everyone. Mark is the first to decide to stop matching drinks after three rounds of these. The others all continue until both of the jugs are empty after six rounds. At that point Chan declares that “Well, I guess you’ve proven you’re all man enough to drink with dwarves,” he then glances to Serita, and says, “No offense meant.” “None taken,” she says, still noticing that she is the only female patron in the place. She adds “But on the subject of gender, is there a ladies room?” A waitress is called over, who escorts her to the facility used by the woman employees. While there, Serita casts a “Neutralize Poison” on herself, and then returns to the table (and is ridiculed by the other players for cheating.) .

Upon returning she says “Well, I feel better now.” She then gestures to the whiskey, and says to Chan “Is that all? I was just getting started.” The incredulous dwarf orders another jug, and begins a “duel” of drinks with Serita, the others just looking on. After four more drinks Chan is beginning to slur his words. Hiroshi gives Serita a “please stop now before you embarrass our host” gesture, which she is astute enough to recognize, and tells Chan “That was good. Let’s save the rest for later.” During this drinking duel a crowd of nearly one-hundred construction workers has gathered around to watch, and appear very impressed by the young half-elvan lady.

The party now hears music, a band of eight musicians having set up on stage. As they being to play melodious tunes, a group of twelve female humans and twenty female dwarves, all clad in flimsy dancing clothes, head down the center staircase from the second floor to the stage below. They perform various well-choreographed dance routines for the next two turns, appreciated by most of the patrons and at this table and particularly by Duegar. When they finish they each approach the edge of the stage, and pull a patron up to them, who then escort them upstairs to the second floor. “Well, that looks even more interesting” Duegar comments.

Four turns later the females return for another dance routine. Chan gestures to Xhang, who heads up to the bar. As the women are ending their dance Xhang returns, handing his father a fist full of coins. Chan doles them out to the Duegar, Lannon, Mark, Mojo and Narg, saying, “This is a Ale House token. You can either keep it as a souvenir, or use it to pay for a private dance.” Duegar instantly grabs his. Mojo and Lannon casually pick theirs up. Mark eventually examines his while still leaving it on the table, and Narg totally ignores his. “When do you line up?” asks Duegar, looking at the crowd of men gathered around the stage. Chan says “Probably already too late for this time, but they’ll be three more dances tonight, so just line up later. “Too late my butt,” says Duegar, who manages to muscle and shove his way to the front, getting an upstairs escort a few rounds later.

Narg glances over at both Hiroshi and the Mings, and says “I’m involved with someone, so I’m not going to be using this. Do any of you want it?” Chung-Na Ming happily accepts it. Mojo comments to Hiroshi “I notice they didn’t give you one?” Hiroshi is surprisingly evasive, eventually saying, “No, they wouldn’t.” He notices the party still looking at him to say more. He sighs, and gesturing to the whiskey jug and says “Better hand me that, I’ve got quite a story for you.”

 

[Silver Moon]

Chinese Take-out

Chapter 12, "Hiroshi's Tale", September 15, 1018, 11:30 P.M.

Sitting with the group at the table, Hiroshi shotguns two drinks, then begins with his tale. “You see, Chan here isn’t just a friend. He’s also my brother-in-law, I’m married to his sister.” He explains that, in addition to his Heian family, he has a second family, the Mings. He says how many decades ago this dwarven clan became his principal business affiliation on the continent, and most of his travels on the western continent brought him to the coastal city of Chunming, which was co-ruled by the prominent dwarven Ming Clan. His business dealings were primarily with the Clan Chief, and over the years young Hiroshi became rather close to the Chief’s granddaughter, Su Ming.

Shortly thereafter, around forty years ago, he had returned home from his travels to the Heian Empire, and was surprised with the marriage that his father had arranged for him with the Heian woman Kirora. At the time he was totally unaware that Su Ming was pregnant with his child. He first found out about the existence of his daughter Kim-Sung Ming on his next visit to Chunming, when she was a year old. At that point he could not "do the honorable thing" and marry Su Ming, as he was already married.

Six years later, after his wife Kirora had left him, taking with her his Heian son Kojiro, Hiroshi’s father petitioned the Emperor to have the unhappy union dissolved. In a private conversation Hiroshi told the Emperor about his other offspring, and of his desire to marry Su Ming. The Emperor was appalled that Hiroshi would not only be involved with a non-Heian, but also a non-human, and forbade him to ever reveal their existence to anybody, saying that it would bring dishonor to his entire family and destroy the careers of his father and both of his brothers. The Emperor was astute enough however to realize that Hiroshi might now be tempted to permanently leave the Empire, and take his wealth with him, so granted him permission to secretly marry the dwarven princess, provided that nobody outside of her Dwarven Clan be aware of the union.

Hiroshi married her on his next Western Continent trip, and spent much of the next twenty years with his family in Chunming, only returning to Miyako for a few months each year. The rest of the Mitsubishi family equated to his staying away to his not wanting to be reminded of his failed marriage to Kirora and separation from his son Kojiro, which was partially true. During this time Hiroshi and Su Ming had two other children, a son and another daughter. He was also made a full member of the Ming Clan, the only human ever to be granted this honor.

Eight years ago, when Hiroshi was passing on his business to his son Kojiro, it became apparent that Kojiro was not capable of maintaining the international aspect of Mitsubishi Jewelry and Gems, so Hiroshi freely gave the western continent part of the business to his father-in-law, Cho Ming, who had just inherited the job of Clan Chief. This doubled the Clan’s wealth and prominence on the continent. Back at the Heian Empire, Hiroshi found that Kojiro needed much guidance to manage the remaining business, so surrounded his human son with trusted associates, both human and dwarven, including one of Su Ming's brothers, Chen Ming.

Four years ago, when the business eventually stabilized under Kojiro’s leadership, Hiroshi planned to then move to Chunming and live full-time with his dwarven family. That, however, never happened, as either his mother or the Emperor always found reasons to prevent him from leaving. He kept in touch with his other family through Chen Ming, and longed to be with them, fearing that he would have to wait until after his mother passed away for that to happen. He is therefore now extremely grateful for the Silver Moon for getting him away from the Empire.

Serita says to him “Are you telling me that your mother intentionally kept you from your wife and children for the past four years?” Hiroshi says “Well, yes, she did keep me in Miyako, but to be fair, she did not know about my dwarven family.” “Uh huh,” Serita answers “You’ve told us before that your mother was really close to the Emperor who you had made that deal with. Trust me, she knew.” Hiroshi pauses, his eyes growing wide and a look of anger crossing his face as he realizes for the first time that Serita is indeed correct, that his mother must have known. Serita turns to Chan, and says “How has your sister been dealing with this?” He answers “It has been difficult, but we dwarves are well aware of the importance of family honor and obeying one’s elders. Still, she will be quite pleased to see him again.”

Hiroshi sighs, and then says “Well, now that you know, I guess I should tell Toshiro. I just don’t know how. I fear that he may not understand about my other life.” “That easy,” says Mojo “Just wait until we get back to our Island. We’ll have the entire ship’s crew stand in a straight line and announce ‘anyone here whose Uncle is not married to a dwarven princess step forward. Toshiro, stay put.’” Everyone except Hiroshi laughs at that, with Mark, who adds “You’d better tell him soon. This bunch isn’t well known for keeping secrets.”

September 16, 1018, 12:00 A.M.

The night wears on, and the dancing girls head back down to the stage again. The party soon sees Duegar with some other dwarves staggering down one of the side staircases. “Let’s go,” says Lannon, and he, Mojo and Chung-Na start to head up to the stage.” Chan looks to Mark and says “You’d better go too, otherwise everyone else will think that you two are a couple,” as he gestures to Narg. This prompts Narg to urge Mark to “Get going.” Mark heads up to join his friends. Chan glances to Serita, and says “I’m sorry. I should have inquired. Would you want a token too?” Caught off guard, she says “What? No, absolutely not.” After calming down she adds “Thanks for asking,” and pours herself another glass of whiskey.

The three who got to the stage first manage to get upstairs this time, Mojo accompanying a human, Lannon and Chung-Na each with a dwarf. Mark has to wait an hour for the next dance, staying near the stage. A while later, after returning to the table both Lannon and Mojo thank Chan for the token.

Noticing several short fist fights now breaking out from inebriated patrons throughout the building, Mojo and Narg decide “That looks like fun,” and head up to join. Unfortunately for them, every fight stops just as they are approaching. They eventually return to the table to complain. Chan tells them “That’s because everyone knows you are with us. We are very well respected by all of the construction workers, as the city does not consider itself responsible for any workers who get hurt on the job. Our Clan sponsors and funds a nearby hospital for injured workers, and we pay injured workers the equivalent of full wages while they are recovering. We also pay an ongoing pension to the families of any workers killed on the job, dwarven or human.” Mojo says “I thought they were being unusually friendly to an elf in a dwarf bar.” “Let me put it to you this way,” says Chan “If you had walked in here without us you would have been lucky if our hospital was where you eventually wound up.” Narg and Mojo exchange glances, Narg muttering “Maybe we should come back here tomorrow?” Serita then engages Chen in a conversation about the hospital and where it is located.

At around 3:00 A.M. the dancing girls return, and Mark returns from upstairs. The other Silver Moon members start to tease him, which causes Mark’s face to turn a bright shade of red. Chen tells the group that this is the last dance of the evening, and that the bar will close after the girls leave the stage, so to drink up. The remainder of the final whiskey jug is soon emptied. The group makes their way back to the wagon, and are brought back to the inn. Serita casts another "Neutralize Poison" on herself before going to bed.

 

[Silver Moon]

Chinese Take-out

Chapter 13, "Kid, you'd better sit down for this one", September 16, 1018, 6:00 A.M.

Serita gets up at dawn, and goes flying through the city in bird form. She flies directly to the hospital in the north-central district, into the building, and reverts to her half-elvan form. She then travels through the wards, healing and ministering to the patients. None of the hospital employees stop her, as several people had recognized her from the night before (How many half-elf females go drinking in dwarven construction worker taverns?) and they naturally assume she is there on assignment from Clan Ming, the hospital’s patrons.

Back at the Common House, Aradyn, Cassie, Fiona, Lono, Timothy and Toshiro have a fine breakfast in the non-Chinese dining room, being joined by none of those who got in late. When discussing their shopping the night before, Timothy is amazed that they did not buy anything other than Cassie’s book, but is less surprised when Fiona and Cassie go into a long speech about the clothing and jewelry that they looked at. They decide to spend the rest of the morning wandering the six southern districts of the city, checking the auction houses for listings of slave auctions. They also do some minor shopping at a few magic shops, buying spell components. They spend the remainder of the morning checking out stores, traveling west two miles through the next two districts, south to the next, and then back to miles east, then back up. None of the auction houses that they visit lists any recent slave auctions, although one listed a slave auction that took place three months earlier. Toshiro’s inquiry about this reveals that all of the slaves sold then were pirates and brigands that had been captured by the Shosun military for attacking Shosun merchant ships and caravans.

They returned to the Inn at noon for lunch, going upstairs to now wake up the rest of the party. All (except Narg) wake up rather hung-over, and join the others downstairs for lunch. Narg wakes up, throws them out of his room, slams the door to his room shut, and goes back to sleep.

Toshiro is surprised by the major difference in his Uncle’s appearance. Hiroshi reminds him that “You know how dwarves are far less formal that we Heians. Remember when you joined me on my travels years ago, and I always dressed like this when dealing with the dwarves.” Toshiro says that he vaguely recalls that, but had tried to block that from his memory. He says that he , prefers to think of his Uncle as always being the refined diplomat, rather than having to disguise himself as common rabble in order to conduct business. Those who were out drinking with the dwarves the night before exchange glances, realizing that Hiroshi is going to have a problem explaining his “other life” to his nephew.

During the meal, each group relays what they had found out. Hiroshi realizes that all twelve of the city’s auction houses have now been checked, with no indication of the recent sale of the animal-creatures. The party speculate that the slaves had been perhaps sold either at some other type of auction, or at a private auction.

Aradyn mentions making inquires at the inn about the Hendrys, but nobody seems to remember them. They ask some of the waiters, who vaguely remember a group of Caucasian adventurer types, but she has not seen them in several days.

During the meal Cassie has her nose buried in this book, not sharing any of the information with anyone. Aradyn finally gets annoyed and pulls it out of the hands. She then threatens him, so he gives it back, also expressing that the others want to know what it says. She says that it is a recounting the “Seven Realms” of history for the region, each named for the ruling body of the region at the time. These realms were: Warlords, Giants, Dragons, Churches, Mongols, Evil Mages, and Cities (the current realm). Near the end of the meal, Chan Ming arrives, giving Hiroshi four can-shaped potion holders, each containing four potions. He kept one for himself, giving the other three to Duegar, Lono and Toshiro. He explained that these contained potions of Heroism and Super-Heroism, to enable the four to temporarily be of higher level for the impending battles against the enemy.

At Serita’s urging, Hiroshi and Toshiro headed off for a talk. Hiroshi does his best to try to inform Toshiro about his dwarven family, Toshiro going into shock in hearing about his favorite Uncle’s double life. Following their discussion, Toshiro heads straight to the bar and starts drinking. Hiroshi tells the others “He did not take it well.”

Following the meal, the group (except for Narg and Toshiro) all go clothes shopping, having decided to purchase two sets of local clothing for each member of the party, in order to be able to better blend in. They purchased one set of common clothing, and one set of fancy clothing for each. They decided to split up into four groups for the remainder of the afternoon, for separate information gathering missions.

Back at the Inn, Narg wakes up mid-afternoon and heads downstairs. The only one around is Toshiro, who is at the bar drinking heavily. Narg approaches him, and asks, “What’s up kid?” Toshiro replies, “My Uncle is married to a dwarven princess and I’m in love with a princess.” Narg answers “Well, I’m sleeping with a Queen, so I’ll drink with you.” [Narg's elvan girlfriend, Vallessa, was once married to a King of Phlooredah.] The two spend the remainder of the day (and game night) drinking together. Toshiro is quite shaken by the fact that his Uncle is “Now part of the Lollypop Guild”.

 

[Silver Moon]

Chinese Take-out

Chapter 14, "Where were you on the night of the 14th?" September 16, 1018, 1:00 P.M.

Cassie and Fiona decide to investigate the Mage’s Guild, which Aradyn will absolutely not allow them to go to without him, fearing that Cassie might run into Hendry Junior. While there, they find out that the guild has heard of the protective anti-magic shell, but that it is nowhere near Shosun, thought to be somewhere to the east, at least 400 miles away. They spend the rest of the afternoon at the guild, finding out what they can about local spells. Cassie is thrilled to hear that the Guild Library is accessible to any mage, and is also open twenty-four hours, to which Aradyn lets out a loud groan. He is pleased, however, when Cassie’s inquiry regarding the Hendrys reveals that nobody by that name had come buy. They head back to the Inn for super.

Duegar and Lannon decide to go visit the estate owned by the Dwarven clan of Ming, to thank them for their hospitality. The building is a large stone structure, located in the center district along the southern wall of the city. The building is entirely of exquisite dwarven construction, and has been clearly made for dwarves. They enter the building and eventually arrive at the great hall, a 120 by 80-foot room with high vaulted ceiling and sturdy pillars. A heavy oak table fills the center of the room, and seated at the head of the table is in a gem encrusted oak chair is Chan Ming. About two-dozen other dwarves join them, including the other three from the night before, and they all enjoy a fine meal.

Chan mentions that he is bothered that his relative, Hiroshi, has chosen to stay somewhere in the city other than the Ming Estate. Enjoying the fine cuisine, Duegar says “What, you mean we could have stayed here? Why didn’t we?” Lannon explains that this was due to the presence of several non-dwarven members of the party, who might not have been comfortable with all the dwarves. “Well, that’s their loss,” says Chan, “that bunch with you last night didn’t seem to have a problem with us, and boy can that girl drink.” After making inquiries about the castle that Morgarth may be staying in, the two head back to the Common House.

During supper they all conferred. Lono says that had tried to find the local thieves' guild, being unsuccessful. “What did you expect, them to put up a large neon sign?” Lannon tells him. Duegar and Lannon tell of visiting Clan Ming, where they found out that the castle that Morgarth is at sounds like one of four great castles built between 1500 and 2000 years earlier for the giants that ruled the lands. Clan Ming had carved the stones for one of these castles and other dwarven clans had cut the stones for the others three. The Clan agreed to do further research as to the locations of these, although they said their information here in Shosun would probably be rather limited, as the older Clan records are all stored at the Clan headquarters in the coastal city of Chunming.

The group of Hiroshi, Mark, Mojo, Serita & Timothy had spent the afternoon being questioned at a District Police Station, after making an inquiry at a central district auction house regarding unusual creatures sold at a ‘Pet Auction’ on the 5th. After a lengthy interrogation, it was finally revealed to them by the District Police Captain that during the auction in question six of these animal-creatures had indeed been sold. During the past week four of these have now been stolen from their new owners. At the most recent of these thefts, the night of the 14th, four city policemen had been killed, so the police were taking this crime extremely seriously. A six-foot tall muscular Caucasian human fighter with long blonde hair was spotted committing this crime.

Hiroshi explains how Timothy, who does not match that description, is the only Caucasian human with them, He states that their group did not arrive in the city until the afternoon of the 15th, which the police can verify with the records at the northwest district’s north-center gate, so they could not have been involved with this. Hiroshi tells the police that they are gem merchants, coming to the city to sell gems. He says that this can be verified, as they are registered at an auction of gems to be held at the south-central auction house in three days. He says that they were checking out other auction houses, to see where they might get the best price for their most valuable gem. Serita shows the Captain one of the large diamonds to back this story up.

Regarding their inquiry at the auction house about the unusual animals, Hiroshi explained that they had overheard something about that at a bar, and were using that information just as “small talk” to establish a rapport with the auctioneer, before bringing up their true intention of selling gems. The police let them go, telling them to contact the police in the sector and district that they are staying at if they again see the person who they overheard. The rest of the Silver Moon jokes about it being Lawful Good Timothy’s group who wound up being the ones who got in trouble with the police, rather than most of those who were out partying the night before.

After supper, Cassie decided to head back to the Mage’s Guild Library to read. Aradyn insisted on coming with her, which she said was “unnecessary”, and that she was planning to stay there late.

September 17, 1018, 1:00 A.M.

True to her word, it was very late when Cassie finally finished reading, and she and Aradyn then head back to the inn.

 

[Silver Moon]

Chinese Take-out

Chapter 15, "The Unanticipated Visitor", September 17, 1018, 4:00 A.M.

“Cassie, Cassie” Upon hearing her voice, Cassie-Andra awakens. She finds herself no longer in a bed at the Common House Inn at Shosun, but instead, is now back on the unique section of the Astral Plane that she visited before with Hendry Junior. In this part of the plane each person's astral image appears unclothed and of a hue that reflects their alignment at all times. This also makes it impossible to tell a lie here, as their aura would change color if they did. Speaking to her now is Hendry's twin brother Rainville, a muscular and handsome nineteen year old fighter, with hair flowing down to his waist. She immediately notices that his aura is not longer silver as it was before, which indicated neutral alignment. It is now a silvery/gold color, closer to her own aura, which is gold indicating good alignment. She also senses that her link to this plane is much weaker than when she traveled here before with his brother Hendry (and once before with both of them).

“It is good to see you again. Why are you in Shosun?” he asks. She answers “We are after Morgarth.” She sees a look of disappointment cross his face. “How did I get here?” she asks. He answers “I am also in Shosun. I accessed the Astral Plane, to get a message to my father who is currently over a hundred miles away. In returning to my physical body I was pleasantly surprised to find your Astral imprint from when you visited this plane before.” “Where in Shosun are you?” she asks. He answers “In the same place of lodging as you, two floors above and about seventy feet down the hallway.”

“Why are you here?” she asks. “It’s a long story,” he answers. “We seem to have the time,” is her response. “Not really,” he answers, “I am in trouble, and desperately need your help.” “What sort of trouble? Are you still working for Morgarth?” “No,” he answers, “We left him two days after we left your Island, and have been working on a different mission since then.” “What kind of mission? Cassie asks.

He answers “Well, to begin with, you need to know that the land surrounding Morgarth’s castle is filled with humanoid-animal creatures.” “Yes, the Hengeyokai, we know all about them,” she says. He is surprised by this, then says “Oh, well many of these innocent creatures were captured by slavers during the week that the anti-magic shell was down. Father decided that it was our mission to find and rescue these captured slaves and return them to their home.” “That explains it,” she says “We were questioned about an incident three days ago, where several policemen were killed.” “That was not our intent,” says Rainville, " We were just trying to rescue the slave.”

He continues “Unfortunately tonight’s attempted rescue went even worse, as they had set a trap for us. Father, and our cleric, were barely able to escape, and they had to leave me behind. I was barely able to get away. I returned here and sneaked into an unoccupied room that we had stayed in when we were in this city last week. Once safely in this room I traveled to the Astral Plane to let father know where I was, but he said he will not be able to return to get me until tomorrow night. I am very fortunate to have found you, as my body is now physically exhausted, and I fear it will be found before I actually awaken on my own. The city guards followed me to this part of the city, and are currently searching the streets and alleys for me. It is only a matter of time before they begin searching the buildings. I need to you to come and wake me as soon as you wake up in the morning.” “That might be a problem,” she says “I was up very late myself, studying at the Mage’s Guild library, so will probably sleep late into the morning myself.”

He then asks “Who is that with you?” “I’m with Aradyn,” she answers a bit sharply. “No, I mean about fifteen feet south of your physical location. I am detecting another Astral imprint, of somebody who has been to this section of the Astral Plane before.” She thinks for a minute, picturing who is staying in each room, and says “That would be Hiroshi, he’s our translator.” “Would he be willing to help?” Rainville asks. “He might,” she answers, “But how?”

Rainville holds her hand and floats them over to where an extremely faint impression of a man is. He says “Each of us should take one of his Astral hands, and I then need you to mentally call his name as loud as you can.” She does so. On the third call the impression of a man begins to solidify. It is soon totally solid, and he opens his eyes.” “Oh my,” he says, and looking to Cassie and her companion, “Well, what is this all about?” She gestures to Rainville and says “My friend is in trouble. He found me and has asked for help, but I need your help as well. All I need you to do is wake me up in the morning.” He replies “OK, fine, we can talk about that more then,” and releases both of their hand, the image then become faint again. Rainville tells her the specific room that he is in, and then releases her hand, and they both mentally return to their sleeping bodies.

 

[Silver Moon]

Chinese Take-out

Chapter 16, "The Fugitive", September 17, 1018, 5:30 A.M.

At dawn Serita awakens, and heads downstairs. She is surprised to see that the lobby is filled with city policemen. An oriental gentlemen, who she has determined is one of the owners of the Inn, is with the police lieutenant, and they approach her. The owner speaks to the lieutenant in Chinese, then says to Serita “We are sorry for the inconvenience, but these gentlemen need to speak to you. Please accompany them into one of the dining rooms, and they will buy you breakfast while you talk.” She gets very defensive, demanding to know what this is about. This stand-off continues for several more minutes, with the Lieutenant gesturing to several patrolmen to come and assist. During this time she notices that every other patron of the Inn is also being stopped and escorted into the dining room, so eventually relents, but still demands to know all of the details of what is going on.

Not long after that, three floors above, Hiroshi awakens. He quietly walks over to Cassie’s room, being mindful that Aradyn is probably with her, and uses his own key and a piece of wire to pick the poorly made lock. He then enters the room, but before he gets two steps in hears “Freeze” yelled out, and is looking straight into Aradyn’s drawn bow. “What are you doing sneaking into this room!” the elf demands. Hiroshi bows, saying “Many apologies. Miss Cassie-Andra requested that I wake her, so that she can begin my training in the use of magic spells.” “Don’t you believe in knocking?” Aradyn replies. “Many pardons, but I did not want to disturb your sleep, noble archer,” the older man answers. Lowering his bow, Aradyn says “Next time knock. You could have gotten yourself killed.” Aradyn nudges Cassie awake, and tells her "Hiroshi here. He says he has an appointment with you to learn magic?" She looks towards Hiroshi, and says "Thank you, I had forgotten about our lesson. I’ll join you in your room in a few minutes.”

She dresses, and leaves, Aradyn going back to sleep. She joins Hiroshi in his room. He tells her “Well, now that you’ve gotten me in trouble with your boyfriend I really want to know what this is about. It had better be more than just an affair with that other guy.” She replies "It is, he needs our help. And what was that about me teaching you magic?" He answers "I had an arrow pointing at me, and it was the first thing I could think to tell him. Besides, I've always wanted to learn magic, but the family wouldn't allow it." She replies "With your substantial intelligence, you should."

The two of them then head up to the fifth floor of the inn, seeing policemen coming up the staircases from below. The reach the room that Rainville is in. Hiroshi again working the lock on the door, and they enter. Cassie quickly shakes him awake, saying “Move, fast”. Needing no further incentive, the three leave, barely making it around the hallway as a group of twenty policemen arrive at, and open the doors to that room and the three adjacent to it. "Played that one a little close," Rainville whispers. "Shut up," is Cassie's terse reply.

The three make their way into one of the private baths in the center of each floor the Inn. They lock the door and begin to fill a tub so that the running water will muffle the sounds of their voices. Hiroshi starts by asking “Exactly what is that all about?” Cassie tells him “This is a former acquaintance of mine. He was coerced into working for the mage that we are after, but has since escaped, and can help provide us information about this mage’s whereabouts. However, he is currently wanted by the law in this city, and needs our help.” This intrigues Hiroshi, who says to Cassie “Well, based upon your vouching for him, and the color of his astral aura, I am inclined to trust you." Hiroshi turns to Rainville and says "What to you need?” He answers “An invisibility spell and some way to change my appearance would be of the most help.”

There is then a knocking on the door, and loud voice from outside. Hiroshi whispers “They say they are the police, and demand that the door be opened at once.” Hiroshi yells back in Chinese, making his voice sound even older. As the tub is now full, he unfastens his Oriental robe, telling Cassie to put it on over her other clothing. He then quietly slips into the water, saying to Cassie “Quietly unlock the door, then walk over to the tub, keeping your back to the door, and play the role of my personal attendant.” He gestures for Rainville to hide behind the door as it opens.

They do as instructed, and Hiroshi yells out in Chinese for the police to enter. Cassie grabs a washcloth and begins to scrub Hiroshi’s arm and shoulders. Hiroshi berates the policemen for disturbing his bath, accuses them of being rude, and demands to know what they want. They state that they are looking for a tall Caucasian male with long hair, who is wanted for crimes against the city. Hiroshi yells back “Do either me or my attendant look like a tall Caucasian man to you. Get out!” The police do as ordered, shutting the door behind them.

Hiroshi translates what the policemen said, with Cassie deciding that an appearance change for Rainville is definitely in order. She uses hairy, reverse-hairy, and color cantrips to change him in a balding gray haired man, with a yellowed skin tone with a local-style beard. Hiroshi gives him the Oriental robe to wear over his own clothing. Cassie finishes the disguise with an invisibility spell, so that he can get out of the hotel unseen. While they are doing this she also asks about Morgarth's location, and Rainville replies, “A huge castle, originally built for giants. My father said the castle was called the Summer Palace of the Giants.” He says it is far to the east.

Rainville prepares to leave. Cassie asks where he is going to hide, and he replies “I will wait at a local church of our cleric’s pantheon a few miles east of here until my father can retrieve me this evening. It should be safe, as the groundskeeper has given us permission to stay there. Thank you both for your help.” He then leaves. Hiroshi gives Cassie his room key, saying “Why don’t you go get me a change of clothes while I finish my bath.”

 

[Silver Moon]

Chinese Take-out

Chapter 17, "The Third Degree and Breakfast Too!", September 17, 1018, 7:00 A.M.

Meanwhile, the group of Duegar, Lono, Mark and Timothy head down for breakfast. They are stopped in the lobby, and told of needing to be questioned by the police over breakfast. Duegar says “Free Food, lead the way!” They start to enter a dining room, and see Serita still arguing with several policemen. They ask “Could we eat in one of the other dining rooms instead?” The police agree to this, and the four are brought to another room, each being shown to a different table.

Unlike the interview with Serita, where her defensive attitude automatically made her suspect, three of these four interviews proceed quickly. Duegar, Lono and Mark each recount that they arrived in the city the evening of the 15th , and what they have been doing for the day-and-a-half since then. When asked about the Hendry Family all three state that are unaware of them. Timothy, however, remains true to his Lawful Good teachings, saying that he has heard of them and is actually looking for them. This results in three other police being called over for a much lengthier interrogation. Meanwhile, Duegar, Lono and Mark are dismissed and get together at the same table. Duegar looks over the menu, and since somebody else is picking up the tab, orders “one platter of everything”. Duegar then begins to dig in, shoveling the food into his mouth, and getting strange looks from other patrons in the dining room.

A short while later the authorities ask the group of Aradyn, Fiona, Lannon and Mojo to have a seat in one of the dining room. They are asked if they wish to be in the room with the “Loud female half-elf member" or the room with "the dwarf with poor table manners”. Fiona quickly concludes “Serita and Duegar,” to which Aradyn says “Neither, the third dining room will do fine." When told that the police are paying for the meal Mojo turns to Aradyn and says “I was mistaken, it was MY TURN to pay for breakfast this morning.”

Their questioning also goes very quickly, with them being fully cooperative and smart enough to deny knowing anyone named Hendry. Aradyn's player comments “Aradyn has a lot of respect for law enforcement, I figure one of my character’s should." They soon get together in this room for the complimentary breakfast.

Serita eventually finishes, and makes her way into the next dining room. As she approaches the table Duegar tells her to “Eat some eggs,” to that she replies, “I don’t eat anything I talk to.” She is rather angry, especially after being told that she cannot go back to her room. She tells Duegar, Lono and Mark that her interview took forever. “His too,” says Lono, gesturing to the table where Timothy is being grilled, “Maybe they just don’t like you religious types.”

By now it is mid-morning, and another two battalions of police arrive at the inn, for a more intensive sweep of he upper floors. Narg and Toshiro are still upstairs in their individual rooms, sleeping off their hangovers from the night before, while Cassie and Hiroshi are now back in her room, with her giving the septuagenarian him his first magic lesson. When the police arrive these four cooperate in allowing the rooms to be searched, although Narg complains rather loudly about being woken up. A defiant Serita now arrives back on the third floor, refusing to let her room be searched without her being present. This actually works well for the others, as Serita's insolence makes a good distraction, allowing both Cassie and Hiroshi to head downstairs without being interrogated.

The party gets together in one dining room, all except Timothy, who is still being questioned. They try to piece together information obtained from the police during each individual questioning to figure out what is going on. Both Cassie and Hiroshi remain conspicuously silent. The others eventually notice this, and these two are usually the most observant, and ask them what they have noticed. She replies “Not here.” Timothy is finally released, so the party decides to leave, Duegar filling up his backpack with the remaining food from the table.

They head down the street, which is filled with police, deciding to find somewhere else to talk. They eventually settle upon a Lawful Good Church of Kwan Yin, the Chinese Goddess of Mercy. Timothy is able to request a private room for the party to meditate in. All of the party go into the large room except for Toshiro, who goes into a private room to mediate by himself.

Once in the room, Narg looks to Cassie and says “OK, spill it.” She hesitates, with Fiona interjecting “What did you do?” “Not much,” she answers. “Did you steal a book?” Mojo asks. She says “Let me explain...” with Lannon blurting out “She did! She did steal a book!” “I did not,” she snaps back. “Then what was that questioning all about?” Lono asks. Timothy chimes in “The Hendrys did it.” “The Hendrys sole a book?” Lono exclaims. Narg turns to Mojo and says “I’m about to kick your cousin’s teeth in.” Mojo turns around, stating “I didn’t see a thing.”

"Well?" Fiona questions. Cassie answers “I found out that the human animals were indeed created by this Li-Tak, who appears to have also been Lee Takayama. He lived in a castle originally built for giants. The castle was later called Darkhold by the Zhentarum, the evil mages who ruled this land five hundred to seven hundred years ago. It is located far east of here, and is definitely where Morgarth has set up shop. The twenty miles around the castle are where the human animals live. Their race is called Hengeyokai.”

“Where did you get all of this information?” Fiona asks. Cassie answers “Some of it I found last night in the Mage’s Guild Library, and the rest I was told by Rainville of the Hendry Family.” “WHAT!” screams Narg, with the others telling him to quiet down, as they are in a church, and supposed to be meditating. “When did you talk to him?” Lannon asks. “A few hours ago,” she replies, “When Hiroshi and I helped him escape from the hotel.”

This revelation causes several of the party to get rather upset, especially Timothy, who relates that in the course of his very lengthy interrogation he found out that “The Hendrys have now killed eleven people, ten of whom were city policemen. Seven were killed last night and four three nights earlier.” This information upsets Hiroshi, who turns to Cassie and says “Did you know this?” “Not the details, just that his party was ambushed and that he was in trouble,” she answers. Narg snaps at her “For Pete's sake Cassie, you’re supposed to be one of the smart ones in the group, not a kid who can be sweet-talked into doing something incredibly stupid!” Duegar attempts to break the tension by offering everyone a pastry from his backpack.

“How did he find you?” Fiona asks. “On the Astral Plane,” she answers. “That’s where she pulled me in, as I’ve been there before,” Hiroshi offers. Aradyn glares at Cassie, then the archer turns to Hiroshi and says “Is that why you broke into our room this morning?” He answers “Yes, Cassie asked me to.” “Why didn’t you stop her?” Lono asks Aradyn. He replies angrily “Apparently this was only on a ‘need to know’ basis.” Duegar offers the party some scrambled eggs.

After everyone has calmed down again, Fiona asks “OK, why exactly are they running around killing the police?” Cassie replies that they did not intend to kill anyone, that they were only trying to rescue and free the Hengeyokai who had been sold at the auction.” “Morgarth sent them to do that?” Mojo asks. “No,” she answers, “the Hendry family no longer works for Morgarth. They are doing this on their own, having adopted this as their new mission in life.” “Great,” says Narg, “Of all the people you run into it has to be a bunch of P.E.T.A. (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) activists out to save the world!”

Lono turns to Aradyn and says “This is your fault. If you were doing your job she wouldn’t be getting out of line, can’t you control your woman?” Cassie snaps “Who said that I am HIS woman.” “Well, you’re dating him,” Lono answers. She replies “The only reason that I can remember our last actual ‘date’ is because of my half-elvan lifespan.” The conversation then degenerates into a discussion of the merits of dating elves. Mojo comments about the physical characteristics of elves. Fiona comments “Well, she’d be able to compare, since everyone on the Astral Plane is naked.” “WHAT!” yells Aradyn.

Narg pulls Cassie aside and says “Look, I don’t care what’s going on between you and Arrow-boy and Pretty-boy, but you’re supposed to be one of the smart ones. Use your head!” Cassie answers “I’m not leaving Aradyn, I’m just enjoying the fact that he’s not taking the relationship for granted.” Narg answers “Look, any guy acts different when you get them jealous, but we’re in the middle of an important and dangerous mission, so cut this crap out.” A player tells Narg's player “Congratulations, you move from Guy Gardner to Superman in one night.” (A reference to the most obnoxious chauvinist and the diplomatic leader of D.C. Comic’s Justice League.) Narg and Cassie return to the group.

Mark asks “What are we going to do about this now?” Everyone looks to Cassie, who stays silent. Fiona interjects “Look, other than the fact that she just did something stupid, how are we involved?” “Ask Timothy, he’s spent all morning talking to the police,” Lono comments. Fiona turns to Timothy and says “What was that all about? They only spent a few minutes with the rest of us.” Timothy replies “Well, I mentioned that I knew of the Hendrys and was looking for them.” To say that this revelation further upsets the party would be an understatement. Narg yells “You’re saying that you spilled your guts before they even put the screws to you?” Lannon, who has one of the lowest intelligence in the party, says “What is it with you spell casters today! I’m a lot smarter than that!”

Timothy continues, stating that all he said was that the party was after an evil mage, who the Hendrys had been working with. He told the authorities that he had not seen them since the mage had attacked his party at their home months before. “How did they react to all of that?” asks Fiona. Timothy answers “The Police Captain said they may need to question me further, and I am not to leave the City until further notice.” “Timothy, I think you are about to be voted off the Island,” is Mojo’s comment.

Lannon suggest that they sneak Timothy out of the city, and all leave. “That would be stupid,” comments Cassie. “Fine,” answers Fiona, “ What would you suggest? Finding another wanted criminal and give him a ‘Get out of Jail Free Card’?" Lono interjects “No, that wouldn’t be stupid enough. First we’ll go help another wanted criminal escape, then we should go spill our guts to the authorities about it.” As the anger level increases a few threats follow, which Duegar attempts to minimize by offering the group pancakes and bacon. One player gestures to the quietest player at the table and suggests “We might as well let him DM this segment, it’s not like we’re letting the DM get a word in edgewise.”