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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Silver Moon" data-source="post: 451360" data-attributes="member: 8530">Chinese Take-outChapter 31, "OK buddy, where's the nearest pet shop?" September 17, 1018, 7:00 P.M.:The group of Kim-Sung, Lannon, Mark, Mojo, Narg, Serita and Toshiro are heading out to the park area of non-Chinese churches, located in a hilly region four miles to the east, for another confrontation with Rainville.  Unfortunately for Mojo and Narg, the driver of their rickshaw misinterpreted the instructions, and he takes them to a park area of non-Chinese churches five miles to the south instead.  Not seeing any of the others from their party, they seek out the Egyptian church that the group was going too.  After discovering that this area actually had no churches of that pantheon, they deduced they were at the wrong place.   They attempt to talking to the driver, discovering that he cannot understand any of the languages they speak,  regardless of how loud the two of them talk to him.   Finally deciding it is hopeless, with Mojo swearing about how “cabbies should all know how to speak common”, they head back to the inn.  They then joined their other friends in the bar, and waited for the five to return. Eventually the other five return, and recount the details of their encounter with Rainville.  Whereas Mark had been with the group who met with Rainville six hours earlier, he led them directly to where Rainville had been staying, and knocked on the door.  There was no immediate answer.   With her usual tact and diplomacy, Serita ordered him to “Open the door immediately or I’ll blow it up.”  After a few minutes it remained shut, and she yelled, “For your sake, you’d better not be anywhere near to the door, because a lighting bolt is about to smash it open.”  Rainville them opened the door, Toshiro commenting to Mark “She has certain ways of persuasion, doesn’t she?”  The group tells Rainville that they are now seeking his assistance in getting a Hengeyokai to help them to traverse the twenty miles from the anti-magic shell to Morgarth's castle.   They say them need him to come with them since they can’t speak the Hengeyokai language.   He answers that the Hengeyokai also speak the local Oriental tongue, why can’t the two Orientals with them translate?  “These two?” says Serita, gesturing to Sing and Toshiro, “She’s got other duties and he’s currently ‘conflicted’.”   “Conflicted?” asks Rainville.   “Mentally preoccupied,” Lannon interjects, “and we don’t have any Psychoanalysts with the group, Psychotics yes, Psychoanalysts no.”  Rainville then says “What about that peculiar old guy who helped Cassie out at the Inn?”  Kim-Sung angrily interjects “That guy you just insulted is my father.”  “And my uncle,” Toshiro chimes in.   Rainville apologies for insulting Hiroshi.Toshiro points out a passage that he found in his text regarding the Hengeyokai that says that while they have a large degree of apprehension towards all non- Hengeyokai races, they are rather tolerant of Druids, especially those with the ability to shape change into animals, viewing them as a type of “kindred spirits”.    Serita comments “Well of course, what’s not to like about us?”  Lannon replies “Well, based upon the ones from our group, let me give you a list.”   Serita adds that she enjoy an opportunity to talk with these creatures.  Toshiro comments “We’re not here for personal pleasure.”  She replies “I know, if I wanted personal pleasure I’d have blown up the door.”Rainville starts to tell them where the Hengeyokai currently are, how when the anti-magic shell was down there were seven slaver raids into the area, during which seventy-four Hengeyokai were captured.  Thus far the Hendry family has rescued and returned forty-eight of these, and knows the last known locations of four more groups totaling twenty-two.  He then tells them of these potential places to obtain this possible ally, as follows:First, of the six Hengeyokai that had been auctioned off in Shosun on the 5th, the Hendry family has now rescued five.   The remaining one is of the dog sub-race, and is currently the property of a kennel in Shosun.   This Hengeyokai is currently in dog form, a chow, and is one of over fifty of this breed of dog at the kennel, all of which now have on magical collars which look identical to that worn by the Hengeyokai.  Each dog at the kennel also has guard with it, and there are many other guards around the perimeter.   The concludes that this may be too dangerous to try to get, and if they were caught it could hurt the reputation of their associates, the Ming family.Second, are the group of eight Hengeyokai traveling to the city of Zun Hi, approximately 400 miles south of Shosun.  The Hendry family is also traveling as part of this same caravan, which will reach the smaller city of Lai Sao on the following day.   Since the Hendrys have now been identified in Shosun, and since Zun Hi will clearly know of this via river courier long before the caravan reaches it, the Hendrys plan to abandon their cover of being cloth/silk merchants at Lai Sao and then free the Hengeyokai traveling with the caravan.   Serita asks “Once you rescue them, would you allow us to return them?”  Rainville says that he is certain his father would not agree to that.  The group expresses further  reservation about meeting up with the Hendry family, given past tensions between the groups as well as not wanting to be associated with the violence acts perpetuated by the Hendrys during their freeing of the Hengeyokai.  They decide not to get involved with this group if at all possible.Third, it is known that a group of slavers was transporting three Hengeyokai to the city of Chunming.  Serita and Lannon get excited about this prospect, until Kim-Sung points out that her home city does not permit slavery in any form, so the slavers would probably just going there to get passage out of the region, it being the largest port in the area.   Rainville acknowledges the likelihood of this, pointing out that these three were aquatic Hengeyokai.Fourth, are another group of ten Hengeyokai left Shosun with their slaver captors as part of a caravan on the 6th, with their destination being the city of Y’Cho Kang, located approximately 300 miles west of Shosun.   There are fairly good roads between Shosun and Y’Cho Kang, so the caravan should have been able to travel between 25 and 30 miles a day (thus, in relation to the characters current date, the slavers would have probably reached Y’Cho Kang either yesterday, today or tomorrow).  The group says this sounds the most promising, it they can figure out how to get there.Kim-Sung tells the party that The Ming family has a large and prosperous estate in this city, headed up by her mother’s dwarven cousin Tak-Tung Ming.   She says that her father Hiroshi has been to this city over a hundred times, and that she had spent two weeks there during a journey with Hiroshi eighteen years earlier.    Tak-Tung’s daughter Kit-Tung is around the same age as Kim-Sung, and the two of them have spent much time together, as Tak-Tung brings his family to visit Chunming at least once a year.  The group decides they need to return to Shosun and get the others for this trip.  Rainville asks to go with them.   Kim-Sung and Toshiro pull the other three aside, and Kim states that she absolutely does not want this lunatic and his homicidal family in any way involved with her family and their reputation.  Toshiro wholeheartedly agrees, which Lannon points out is the first time that’s happened.   The group tells Rainville no, that each party should try individually to rescue their own Hengeyokai independent of the other.   She then adds that they should tell any Hengeyokai they free about the efforts of the other, to know of their good intentions.  Lannon adds “Yeah, tell your Hengeyokai to call our Hengeyokai, we’ll have lunch.”   Rainville says that, if the Silver Moon is going to free the Y’Cho Kang Hengeyokai, then once his family rescues the Hengeyokai with the caravan they will then head for Chunming.  He suggests that when the group returns to Chunming they have Cassie attempt to contact him on the Astral plane.   The group says “we’ll mention that to her, but don’t count on it happening.”   Once leaving the building Kim-Sung comments “If that guy thinks he and his associates are going to cause trouble in my city it isn’t the Astral Plane where Cassie will find them but the morgue.”  The group then heads back to the city.The five reenter the Inn, seeing Narg and Mojo drinking at the bar, and concluding that they must have been there the whole time.   The entire party gets together to plan their next move.  Hiroshi tells them about Y’Cho Kang, which  is the largest and most populous city on the continent and quite probably the world, with approximately two-and-a-half million people. Like Shosun, is it located at a major crossroad of roads and rivers.  Unlike Shosun, the city of Y’Cho Kang is not surrounded by any type of wall, which has led to continuous expansion of the city over the past four-millennia, with the city itself now spread out to an area covering nearly seventy square miles.   The main river flows east-west and divides the city, with approximately 65% being the southern Y’Cho side of the river and 35% on the northern Kang side of the river.   The group decides that with that much territory they need to send everyoneTwo things are then pointed out, namely the travel restrictions on Timothy and that they have gems scheduled for auction in Shosun on the 19th, and will probably need the funds from that.  It is pointed out that Timothy was once a banker, so he could stay and be able to do fine with the business transactions.  Cassie hands Timothy the diamond, and tells him to put a reserve on the diamond of its appraised value of 100,000 gold pieces.  He is told that if it sells to closely guard the money and to “not spend it all on gnomes.”  Hiroshi gives Timothy three gems valued at a total of 7,500 to also put into the auction.  They leave him at the inn, Hiroshi paying for his room for the next week, while settling the tab for the rooms for the others.   He pays for this night, but tells the innkeeper they may or may not be back.  The group then travel via rickshaw to the section of the Shosun with the Ming Estate.They decide to teleport from the safety of the Shosun Ming Estate to the safety of the Y’Cho Kang Ming Estate.   Before leaving, the party arranges for Hiroshi’s brother-in-law to send his son and three other guards to stay with Timothy and keep him out of trouble.  “And away from any gnomes,” Fiona adds.   The group then teleports to Y’Cho Kang.</blockquote>

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