I<\/span><\/p>\n van, Radella, and Dasi scouted the granary last night so that we\u2019d have a better idea about what we are getting into. So far, it doesn\u2019t look like anything we can\u2019t handle; it\u2019s what comes <\/span>after <\/span><\/i>that will present the real challenge.<\/span><\/p>\n The granary itself is this enormous, marble building sitting along one of the canals on the north end of town. The front of it has massive double doors that face an open lot the size of several city blocks. Dasi says that four large statues depicting some sort of tiger stand next to them, two on either side, and they radiate magic. We put our heads together, having seen enough magical constructs in the past year, and in keeping with the local culture, we are pretty sure they are taotiehs: large stone golems that swallow victims whole and trap them in an extradimensional space. These were apparently recent additions to the neighborhood, appearing about the time the Jade Regent took a direct hand in the distribution of food inside the city. To the average person, this is a significant threat, though to us it\u2019s just a matter of applying the right tool to the job.<\/span><\/p>\n Alas, we don\u2019t <\/span>have<\/span><\/i> the right tools. Mighty though Suishen is, which is not nearly as mighty as he would lead you to believe, he is not quite up to this task, so we\u2019ve sent Isao in search of adamantine weapons. We\u2019re not being picky: we\u2019ll accept an adamantine <\/span>anything<\/span><\/i> at this point, though blades would be preferred since that\u2019s what Olmas and Radella are used to.<\/span><\/p>\n At first, Suishen objected to the idea that Olmas might need to use some \u201csubstandard thing\u201d for pulling off this raid, but we have long since had enough of his hissy fits and just pointedly asked, \u201cHow do you feel about hacking into magical stone?\u201d And that shut him up.<\/span><\/p>\n We\u2019ve learned to enjoy these moments of relative peace when they come, as they are so few.<\/span><\/p>\n But the constructs aren\u2019t really the problem. With the right weapons and the right spells (there aren\u2019t many that will work on them, but I have a few tricks), we can reduce them to rubble. No, the problem will be what comes after: a warehouse full of rice is not something we can just walk away with. It will have to be loaded and distributed, and that is not a small task, nor is it one that can be effectively enhanced by magic. It will require manpower and time, two things we do not have a lot of.<\/span><\/p>\n Our best bet is to organize a wagon brigade. One that can send in a steady stream of wagons to be loaded with as much rice as rapidly as possible, with each wagon disappearing into the night as quickly as it comes. Each of them will have to escape detection both before and after the attack. It is not a trivial order, which means we\u2019re turning to the Emerald Branch for help. After all, we\u2019ve paid a heavy price to put them on retainer, and by the gods, we are going to make them earn every damned copper of it.<\/span><\/p>\n Our long-term plans are a bit murkier. There is still the Shrine, of course, but I am thinking even beyond that. What will we be facing when we stroll into the palace?<\/span><\/p>\n According to Isao, this whole mess started because the Jade Regent employs a Diviner, and she foresaw a daughter of the Amatatsu clan taking possession of her family\u2019s Seal. The one Seal that he does not, in fact, already have. With all five Seals, they can force the Jade Throne to accept him as a ruler, presumably because that blocks any true heirs from claiming it themselves: no Seal, no claim.<\/span><\/p>\n So who is the Diviner? A woman by the name of Renshii Meida. Dasi used the samisen to find out a little about her, and she comes from a long line of troublemakers. The family goes back centuries, and at one point, they were loyal allies of a human warlord named\u2026wait for it\u2026Anamurumon. He attempted to take the throne in a failed coup a few hundred years ago, and when his forces were defeated and he was killed, the Renshii family scattered like roaches in the light. A few of the survivors went on to become geisha, some of them notable, and Meida is one of their descendants.<\/span><\/p>\n I checked the journals from the House of Withered Blossoms, and the dates line up. It\u2019s not a <\/span>perfect<\/span><\/i> fit from the death of Anamurumon-the-Tian-warlord to the appearance of Anamurumon-the-oni in the House of Withered Blossoms, but it\u2019s in sequence, and that\u2019s good enough for me.<\/span><\/p>\n So. This is not Anamurumon\u2019s first dance.<\/span><\/p>\n B<\/span><\/p>\n ut wait! There\u2019s more! Meida is the Jade Regent\u2019s <\/span>lover<\/span><\/i>! Seriously, you cannot make this stuff up. I can\u2019t help but think back to the journals and notes we recovered from the House of Withered Blossoms. From the day the Five Storms were first conceived, it has been plagued by infighting and backstabbing, all the way until the day they escaped. Because <\/span>of course<\/span><\/i> it was, because they are oni. It\u2019s in their nature to feud with one another and scheme and backstab. And, it took place on a grand scale, far beyond what you see even in the human lands. It was pervasive enough, and overt enough, and <\/span>violent enough<\/span><\/i> that it kept coming up. And this is what we gleaned just from <\/span>journals<\/span><\/i>. What happened that was never recorded by their annalists?<\/span><\/p>\n Here\u2019s the kicker, though: Anamurumon has always been their leader, which means he either doesn\u2019t care what happens beneath him as long as it doesn\u2019t affect him directly, chalks it up as a cost of doing business, or is simply unable to stop it.<\/span><\/p>\n I\u2019d like to think that we can use this somehow; that we can take the pettiness and jealousy and self-centered nature of the Five Storms and get them to undermine each other. Though Meida is probably not an oni, she must know what she has gotten into, and that means she is playing the same game and is cut from the same cloth. And whether or not Takahiro is aware of his heritage, he is still descended from one.<\/span><\/p>\n We asked Isao who else sits in the Jade Regent\u2019s inner circle, and were surprised to learn of a fourth: the royal assassin, known as The Raven Prince. From the name, one can infer that he is a Tengu, but could he be an oni, too? Like Kikonu was, only, you know, less of a lunatic. I added it to my list of questions for the Emerald Branch, along with whether he works for any of the clans.<\/span><\/p>\n When we met with them, I didn\u2019t even have to wait to get an answer.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cOni? Oni\u2026 In the various tales of the Raven Prince, I\u2019ve never heard a hint of that. Tengu, yes, hence the name.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIs he affiliated with any of the clans? Does he have a code of honor?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cHe is known to all the clans, worked for most of them at one point or another, but never joined any. He\u2019s been sought after for years by the highest and most powerful when debts or scores needed to be settled. I can\u2019t speak for him directly, of course, or have personal knowledge of his state or honor, but I have no reason to doubt he holds to his sense of honor.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cCan you get a message to him?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt would be easier if he were allied with us, but\u2026there are still ways. What is your message? We will see to it and advise you of the answer. It just may take a little longer in his case.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t have one yet,\u201d I said. \u201cI am just trying to understand what is possible.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n I have turned this information over in my head several times. Here\u2019s what I\u2019ve come to: of the four in this inner circle, he\u2019s the odd one out. He must know who he\u2019s dealing with, sure, but\u2026what if this is just a job to him? What if he\u2019s <\/span>literally<\/span><\/i> just hired help? That would mean he doesn\u2019t have a personal commitment to the Five Storms.<\/span><\/p>\n The Emerald Branch says he has a code of honor. Maybe he\u2019s not beyond influence. Especially if he knows the <\/span>honorable<\/span><\/i> ninja clans of Minkai\u2014the Oni\u2019s Mask <\/span>does not count<\/span><\/i>\u2014have either stepped aside or are actively backing us.<\/span><\/p>\n Isn\u2019t that worth pursuing?<\/span><\/p>\n W<\/span><\/p>\n e go tonight. Isao has arranged the wagon brigade; the Emerald Branch will help run interference, both before and after. We\u2019ll signal both using fireworks. The same fireworks we picked up in the Brinestump Marsh almost <\/span>exactly<\/span><\/i> a year ago. Like, nearly to the day. It\u2019s strange how we\u2019ve come full circle. Fireworks from Minkai are how this all started. Now they are the beginning of the end.<\/span><\/p>\n N<\/span><\/p>\n ot only did we strike at the heart of the Jade Regent\u2019s empire of fear and control, Ivan and I also managed to spoil an abduction attempt by pulling off a daring rescue mission. I wrote the other day that this sort of thing sounds like bad community theater, but believe you me, I am beginning to understand the appeal.<\/span><\/p>\n It took some effort, but we crushed the constructs. The others reduced three to rubble; I turned the fourth to dust. Beyond that, there is no trace of its existence; it is simply <\/span>gone<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n We were also lucky enough to have a patrol of Typhoon Guard stumble on the scene because destroying constructs simply did not provide the same sense of satisfaction as killing oni. As soon as they stepped into the square, hilarity ensued: the commander <\/span>actually asked us to halt because we were out past curfew.<\/span><\/i> Where do they come up with this stuff?<\/span><\/p>\n The taotieh were gone, and the Typhoon Guard patrol was being hammered into paste when Ivan came towards me and called up, \u201cHatsue is injured!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n He\u2019s been using a spell to track her location and physical state; the same one he and Dasi use to monitor all of us (I assume that\u2019s <\/span>with her permission<\/span><\/i>, as that would be creepy otherwise; this was not the time to ask). \u201cTell me where!\u201d I descended to the ground next to him and watched as he cast a spell to harden his skin.<\/span><\/p>\n He gave me a direction and a distance\u2014about a half-mile and change to the northwest, I forget the exact bearing\u2014and I said, \u201cWe\u2019re going, now!\u201d There was no time to scout the destination. Worse, my teleportation spell couldn\u2019t send us in the blind, but there was no time for that, either. So by the gods, I reached deep down inside myself and <\/span>fucking made it work anyway<\/span><\/i>.1<\/sup> I aimed 10 feet shy and prayed we wouldn\u2019t appear on the wrong side of some gods-be-damned wall.<\/span><\/p>\n We popped into the middle of a street. In the midst of three Typhoon Guard. They were watching a fourth load Hatsue\u2019s limp body into a prison wagon of sorts. A second woman lay motionless inside it. The three Typhoon Guard around us moved to engage, but Ivan got the first shot off, sinking an arrow into the driver. Two of the oni closed in to strike, but my spells protected me. Between their swings, I saw the driver pull on the reins, and the horse took off, pulling the cart behind it.<\/span><\/p>\n Hell, no.<\/span><\/i> I maneuvered away from the Typhoon Guards and threw a wall of ice in front of the retreating cart; the horse quickly came to a halt. The two oni advanced on me again, their strikes finding my mirror images instead of me.<\/span><\/p>\n Then the driver turned and pointed a bow and arrow at Hatsue\u2019s head. \u201c<\/span>Leave now, or they die!<\/span><\/i>\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n So I left\u2026by popping behind him where he couldn\u2019t see me. The driver paused just for a moment, thinking he had won the upper hand with this stunt. Ivan, though, had other plans: he sent five arrows into the driver\u2019s chest before he could react. The oni collapsed over his seat, his nocked arrow releasing harmlessly into the ground.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cReach in and grab one of their hands!\u201d I called to Ivan as the remaining guards advanced on him. I popped into the cage with the prisoners; Ivan threw up a wall of stone to block the remaining guards off. Then I reached deep into myself\u2014again!\u2014and found the strength to cast a teleportation spell <\/span>that I did not have prepared<\/span><\/i>. We vanished and reappeared in the square in front of the granary, Hatsue and the other now-liberated prisoner in tow. Not even a minute had passed.<\/span><\/p>\n Dead oni littered the ground. Zosimus had already set off the fireworks, and the carts were on their way.<\/span><\/p>\n After everything that had happened, I wanted to send a message to the Typhoon Guard. I looked at the remains in the street and suggested writing a message of defiance with their entrails. It\u2019s more practical than you think because you can say a lot in Tien with just a couple of characters.<\/span><\/p>\n Dasi, however, objected to the idea. Somewhat pointedly.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cNo! We don\u2019t want people thinking we are as bad as, or <\/span>worse<\/span><\/i> than, the oni.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Worse than evil spirits manifested in human flesh? What, this is something we\u2019re <\/span>actually worried about?<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not like they\u2019re real people. Slaughtering oni is something the city will understand.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The others were not convinced. So instead, we burned their bodies to ash and etched the Amatatsu family seal in the stone walls of the granary.<\/span><\/p>\n Sure, it\u2019s still a statement, but it just doesn\u2019t deliver the same punch.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1<\/sup>This is Kali spending a Hero Point.<\/small><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Sarenith 20 (Kasai, Early Morning) I van, Radella, and Dasi scouted the granary last night so that we\u2019d have a better idea about what we are getting into. So far, it doesn\u2019t look like anything we can\u2019t handle; it\u2019s what comes after that will present the real challenge. The granary itself is this enormous, marble […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_import_markdown_pro_load_document_selector":0,"_import_markdown_pro_submit_text_textarea":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[32],"class_list":["post-4193","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-journal","tag-kali"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dungeonetics.com\/gamediary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4193","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dungeonetics.com\/gamediary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dungeonetics.com\/gamediary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dungeonetics.com\/gamediary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dungeonetics.com\/gamediary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4193"}],"version-history":[{"count":40,"href":"https:\/\/www.dungeonetics.com\/gamediary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4193\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5733,"href":"https:\/\/www.dungeonetics.com\/gamediary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4193\/revisions\/5733"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dungeonetics.com\/gamediary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4193"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dungeonetics.com\/gamediary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4193"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dungeonetics.com\/gamediary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4193"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Sarenith 20 (Kasai, Evening)<\/h3>\n
Sarenith 21 (Kasai, Morning)<\/h3>\n
Sarenith 22 (Kasai, Small Hours)<\/h3>\n
\n