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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Emperor Valerian" data-source="post: 2036710" data-attributes="member: 15043">I'd like to apologize for this week's updates being not as 'meaty' (ie. as long) as normal.  Real life has sadly intervened (I hate presentations) to some extent, but on a happier note, so has the game.  The end of last session (whose outline notes span 10 pages), the players decided they wanted to "take it to the man, and beat the crap out of him," in a major way, which is requiring a great deal of time on my part planning... <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />EDIT - Oh yeah, did I mention this meant likely a full scale battle? With masses of armed people and such? :-DA Surprise Visitor for Felonca“Lovely,” Felonca sighed, looking at the two posted messages a few hours later. She looked at Nayu, and the grimness on his youthful face. It just seems like things are getting worse and worse.  “So,” she forced herself to climb out of the malaise, “you are a traveler by trade.  Where is the safest place?”“Mingzhong,” Nayu said quickly, looking warily as the town prefect approached.  “Prince Hu at least owes us.  That’ll give us at least a few chess pieces to play with, as opposed to none.  That, and maybe we can sell this beastly skin, and its claws, for some cold hard cash...”  Which’ll be good to have if we have to go into hiding....“I still say that I do not fully trust that young man,” Liu replied testily, behind Nayu.  When his fiery eyes met Nayu’s, the younger man shrugged.“Any better ideas, Master?”  The monk stood in silence for a few moments, before admitting defeat and shaking his head.“Mingzhong it is.  Give me a few minutes-“ Felonca started, before the prefect hurriedly huffed into the presence.  His own young eyes read their dark minds, and he gave a deep bow.“I hope I’m not troubling you, Master Wakabayashi, Mistress Wa-Feng, but I could not help but see the sadness and foreboding on your faces.  Master Kongxi always said we should not forget the present, when looking with such depth towards the future,” the man offered unobtrusively.“Thank you for your kind words, sir, but I am afraid we’re going to have to leave Mafeng this morning,” Nayu spoke, looking back towards their inn.  Mom will be safe with Cho... here, out of the way.  If something should happen to me... she’ll be fine...“What!?  No!  No no no!” the prefect broke protocol and launched a vigorous protest. “The citizens council agreed with me late last night that some of the money recovered from Gao Yun should be spent on the celebrations in your honor!  I’ve hired the best known bard in the region to come sing!  It would be worthless if you and your friends are not-“The prefect’s voice suddenly died, as his gaze riveted on Felonca. For a few seconds, he stared, his eyes showing a mind keenly at work, trying to place features and face.“What is it, Eminence?” Felonca asked guardedly.  Why are you staring at me? Imperceptibly, her hands slipped towards her warfans. You don’t want this wretched dagger as well, do you?!“It is nothing short of odd,” the prefect replied, shaking himself from his reverie, “that the bard is also a panther hengeyokai!”  The prefect gave a laugh.  “Perhaps you two are relatives or something!”Felonca stood, rooted in position, her soul starting to quake.  A thundering, commanding voice came into her mind, and she shuddered at hearing her father’s stern words yet again.  You are Wa-Feng, Felonca!  Do not dishonor this house, this clan!  Dishonor can only be cleansed by death!They mean to kill me, after what I did!  I dishonored my family by running away, and now they want the family honor cleansed!  Felonca shuddered as the conclusion came to her mind.  With all the focus she could muster, she managed to keep the fear from affecting her too much, and managed to sputter out, “Ah...um... what is this bard’s name, Eminence?”“Well, I am sure the surname is a coincidence, Mistress Wa-Feng.  His name is Wa-Feng Meiji.”Meiji?  Felonca immediately recognized the name.  The blacksheep, figuratively speaking... Meiji had been the son of her uncle Dian, a boy handsomely built and quick of mind.  However, even from an early age, he’d shown an affinity not for war, but music.  When it came time for him to choose between the family profession of soldiering or some other life, Meiji, to his father’s chagrin, chose to go abroad, singing.  Unlike Felonca, however, he had not signed onto an honorable profession only to run away from it, soiling the family honor by stealing in the process.  He’d chosen his life, and dropped from knowledge or conversation since... his crime had warranted exile, not death.That had been five years before... when Felonca was in her fifth year at the Academy.  What if he wants to talk to his father, or return to the clan?  What better way than to hunt down the errant kitten that has done deeds worthy of destruction!?“It seems you have gone to an immense trouble to entertain us and the village, Eminence, of course we shall stay,” Nayu gave a polite bow, which the prefect answered in thanks.  As soon as the man was gone, Nayu spun to face his friend, her face locked in an expression of barely concealed fear.“What is it?  You know this Wa-Feng Meiji?  Is he a relative?”“Yes... but I think he might be out to kill me!” Felonca finally broke free from the paralysis, her voice so riddled with fear that it came as a high pitched squeak.“Like that would be anything unusual for us,” Nayu rolled his eyes, trying to humor her into calming down.  It didn’t work.“Perhaps you could just go talk to him, explain what has happened.  Master Shenyang always said that talking with your enemy can solve most of the problems between you,” the monk confidently offered.Talk with him?!  What if he really means to kill me!?  Or... what if he means to capture me, to take me back to my family!  So they can kill me!  She shook at the mental image of her father, glowering over her, rage and sadness in his eyes as he hefted his katana high over his head...“Nayu can talk to him!” Felonca offered quickly, shoving the sorcerer towards Liu.  “Can’t you, Nayu?  Tell him something like you want to know about his family relations, or something?”Right... this is the inn, Nayu grunted unhappily a half hour after his conscription as messenger, his long strides taking him through the foyer and towards the innkeep.  It hadn’t been that hard to find out where he was... panther hengeyokai were rare in this region, so he was easily distinguishable.  Now... to just figure out a way to get to his room...“Good sir!”  Nayu began confidently, even as his mind raced to think of a way to discover the bard’s room number.  “Please, could you tell me which room Master Wa-Feng Meiji is residing in?  The famous bard?”“Why d’ya wanna know?” the innkeep replied, tossing his long queue behind his head and crossing his arms.Crap... alright... think Nayu...“I’m his cousin!” Nayu blurted out, wincing after the words had passed his lips.  “A hengeyokai with a human cousin?” the barkeep’s arms came uncrossed, and his face had changed from doubt to confusion.“Yes!” Nayu stumbled onward, down what he felt for sure was a slippery path.  “I am his cousin, Nayu, come to visit him!  I have a message from his father, Hu!” he kept piling lie on lie, until the innkeep’s eyes were awash in confusion.“Ah... he’s in... um... room...6” the innkeep replied slowly.  Before the man could rethink his statement, Nayu quickly thanked him, and dashed off to the said room.A few minutes later, Nayu found Room #6, and noted with a snort that it had a brass knocker attached to the otherwise plain wooden door.  Someone is staying in a fancy place.  For a second, Nayu’s mind tries to find a reason for being here.  Great!  You are excellent at glib, perfect at talking and negotiating, but now your mind goes blank!  THINK Nayu!  His mind was still searching when he grabbed the knocker.“Just a minute!” came a voice from inside the room as the ring of brass echoed down the hall.  Nayu heard scuffling noises and movement for a minute, before the door finally opened.Before him stood a rather tall, thin hengeyokai in human form, his skin coal black, his hair and light whiskers perfectly ringed and curled, the smell of several perfumes wafting from his body.“Wa-Feng Meiji, I presume?” Nayu gave a bow.  The hengeyokai merely nodded in reply.“I...um...presume you are...um...enjoying your stay?” Nayu offered, praying the inn was upscale enough that it had attendants.“Oh, yes indeed!” Meiji replied, delving immediately into his views on the service of the inn, and where improvements could be made.  Dumbly, Nayu nodded at each comment, offering appropriate grunts and noises of agreement.  Finally, the bard stopped his assessment, and gave a smile.“Now, son... let me know the real reason why you’re here!  I’m guessing it wasn’t to just ask how the staff could be improved!”Dammit!  Nayu stammered to a halt, his brain frozen.  What to do?  What to do?  For an awkward minute or two, Nayu looked like a fish, flopping down the dusty street, his mouth agape in confusion.  Finally, he settled on a course... a course he kicked himself for not taking earlier.“You have a visitor, sir,” Nayu said slowly, gaining the necessary confidence as moments ticked by.  “I believe you had a cousin who was attending the Hsiu-lan Military Academy, Master Wa-Feng?”  The moment of truth...Immediately, the hengeyokai’s face lit up in recognition, though its happiness dimmed when the past tense of Nayu’s statement registered.  “Yes...” the bard replied slowly, cautiously, before blurting out a long string of worries.  “How is she?  Is she alright?  Has anything happened to her?  What has happened?”Inwardly, Nayu gave a sigh of relief, seeing the worry written all over Meiji’s face.  He cares for her... she had no reason to fear him.  Realizing that the man was now staring at him in anxious worry, Nayu spoke.  “She is fine, Master Wa-Feng... though she is no longer at the Academy.  She ran away some four months ago.”The hengeyokai gave a long whistle of awe.  “Wow... her pops must be ticked off his rocker!” the bard laughed, easily delving into colloquial Common.  “So, when can I see her?  I’d like to catch up!”Dammit, Nayu shouted at himself.  Felonca never said she WANTED to meet him!  Desperately, the young man looked about as the bard gushed about wanting to give his cousin a hug, ask her what happened, and all sorts of other forms of catching up.  The sorcerer looked about and saw no weapons, nor hidden weapons.  Seeing no devices for murder present, he made up his mind.“Um... sir!  I’ll go check about the chocolates on your pillow right away sir!” Nayu blurted out, quickly slipping out of the room, and closing the door behind him before the panther could sputter a reply.  Inwardly, Nayu growled at his own dullness of mind.  Outwardly, he winced, knowing full well the explosion that would likely come.After heading downstairs and a few blocks away, he told Felonca what he did...</blockquote>

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