On To Kasai!

After several weeks of preparation, the rebel army was finally ready to march south. Jiro had formed his campaign strategy, and his commanders had their troops outfitted and already on the road. However, he called Ameiko and the party together for a final war conference.

“Our army is as ready as it’s ever going to be. The Jade Regent has ordered most of his troops out of the capital, to try to stop us from crossing the Tagiryu River. But I think we’ll give those southerners more than they expect, and those terra cotta warriors are worth ten human soldiers. But I’m concerned about you, my Princess. Our spies in the south report that the Jade Regent is sending most of his oni out with his army, with orders to fly overhead and focus all their efforts on locating and killing you, despite the cost to themselves. Our ninja allies have also intercepted and dealt with several Oni’s Mask assassins who were trying to infiltrate our lines, again with orders to find and kill you, should you stay back here instead of advancing with the troops. Unfortunately, they cannot be sure that others did not evade them.

“I am confident that our troops can deal with the Jade Regent’s armies, but I am not so sure we can protect you. I have given this much thought, and I wish to propose a radical strategy. It may well be that the safest place for you is right under the Jade Regent’s nose!

“I suggest that we smuggle you and your friends into the capital of Kasai itself. Once there, there is an old friend of your family’s, Asachi Isao, who can give you shelter. He is also an expert on the traditions of royal succession, and can tell you what ceremonies you must complete to ascend the Jade Throne. It may well be that you can gain the blessings of the gods to become empress, and then infiltrate the Imperial Palace and take the throne yourself while the Jade Regent’s attention is turned elsewhere. Once a rightful heir, with the blessings of the gods, sits upon the throne, the entire nation will know, and the Jade Regent’s armies will turn against him.

“This strategy is not without significant risk of its own. While Kasai has been stripped of most of its garrison, it is still heavily guarded, mostly by the Jade Regent’s fanatically loyal Typhoon Guard. And although the Jade Regent expects you to stay in the north, he is also paranoid about you appearing in Kasai: our spies report that the Typhoon Guard are searching everyone entering the city, and have been imprisoning young women on the off chance that one of them could be you. I have already sent Hatsue south to Kasai, to learn more about the situation in the city, and to support you once you arrive.

“We can smuggle you south on a fishing boat; the Jade Regent has allowed Minkai’s navy to languish during his reign, and smugglers easily slip through unnoticed. Once near Kasai, you could either make landfall and try to slip past the guards at the city walls and gates, or have the boat carry you to one of Kasai’s many wharfs, hoping to slip ashore there unnoticed. Meanwhile, we have a woman who will disguise herself as you, and I have hired some Avastani mercenaries to impersonate your friends, to maintain the pretext that you are still with our army. I’m sure the ruse will work – all you foreigners look alike to us!”

Ameiko was excited at the prospect of taking the fight to the Jade Regent; she’d felt like a bystander for far too much of this journey, and the ex-adventurer in her longed to take an active role in forging her own destiny. With Ameiko’s mind made up, the others began to discuss tactics. Bella was disdainful of the prospect of facing the Jade Regent’s Typhoon Guard. “Those guys?” she snorted. “They’re nothing! I think I killed a dozen or so by myself back at the governor’s lodge.” Nicki corrected her. “Um, those were Sennaka’s household troops. The Typhoon Guard were the flying guys.” Bella gulped. “Oh. Yeah, they were tough.” The Typhoon Guard were kuwa oni. Not only could they fly, they had no trouble seeing Nicki when he was invisible, and one had stolen the sorcerer’s voice, severely limiting his effectiveness in combat.

“I can’t wait to see how they react to my new friends!” Nicki chortled. The garrison at Seinaru Heikiko had grudgingly come to accept the presence of Nicki’s two huge oni skeleton minions. But Jiro shook his head. “I’m afraid that would be impossible. Even if I could convince the sailors to take those … things aboard their ship, there’s no way you could sneak into the city with them in your company. And their presence would be an immediate alert that the princess and her companions had arrived.” Bella suggested sneaking one along inside her Portable Hole (after all, it didn’t need to breathe), and she and Nicki spent the better part of an afternoon trying to stuff one of the 12-foot tall skeletons into the interdimensional space, but finally had to admit defeat. Nicki kept them with him as security while they traveled to the coast, but then, unable to ensure they wouldn’t go on a rampage once he was no longer controlling them, he reluctantly released the spell, and they collapsed into piles of disjointed bones.

And so the group set sail, a brisk wind carrying them south just out of sight of Minkai’s western coast. Sawyer joined the crew, happy to refresh his sailing skills, while Nicki spent most of the voyage hunched over the leeward railing. As they sailed, they quizzed the sailors on what Kasai’s port was like. The city was set back in a deep bay fed by the broad Kamiteki River, giving it a long waterfront densely packed with wharfs, docks, shipyards, and warehouses. In normal times, customs officials were the only ones checking on the comings and goings off the water, but the sailors said that recently, the Typhoon Guard had been watching as well.

Initially, their plan was to sail into Kasai Bay, get to within a few hundred yards of shore, and then use their tried-and-true Dimension Door strategy to teleport directly from the ship’s hold to some unobtrusive spot on land. Bella shot that down when she pointed out that Ameiko was carrying the Amatatsu Seal, and the Seal couldn’t be teleported. On to Plan B. They could use Marie’s Water Breathing to allow them to slip overboard, swim underwater, and come ashore away from any watched dock. But they’d still have to get out of the water somehow, and Kasai wasn’t known for its beaches. Not to mention that the city’s sewers emptied into the river. And they’d emerge soaking wet – nothing at all suspicious about that.

And so they settled on Plan C. They’d simply tie up at one of the docks, pretend to be unloading the ship, and try to slip into the city unnoticed. The crew told them that Isao’s people would be watching for them at a particular dock, but they had no idea what their plan was from there. And they weren’t exactly on a timetable, so their contacts might or might not be ready to move the moment they arrived. If they weren’t met at the docks (or if they’d decided to try and slip through the gates or over the walls) there was a secondary rendezvous point inside the city itself.

As the ship glided into Kasai Bay, the party busied themselves with their appearance. Their biggest problem was that they just didn’t fit in. Shinjiro had no problem of course, but everyone else’s fair skin, round eyes, and Bella’s flaming red hair marked them instantly as foreigners. And while Ameiko was obviously Minkaian, she fit precisely the description of the rebel princess the Typhoon Guard were looking for. They had brought several Disguise Kits just for this purpose, along with a handful of potions of Disguse Self. Ameiko quaffed one, and took on the appearance of a portly male sailor. Marie quaffed another, also looking male, while Sawyer settled his Hat of Disguise (obtained over a year earlier against a reappearance of the inquisitors who were hunting him) onto his head, becoming just another Minkaian stevedore. Nicki, who seemed to have an unusual proficiency with makeup, helped the others with their disguises, smearing on cream to darken complexions and using eyeshadow to deftly elongate eyes.

That afternoon, their ship bumped against one of Kasai’s innumerable docks, surrounded by hundreds of other vessels, everything from tiny rowboats, to stinking fishing boats, to large open-ocean merchant ships. As the crew began tying her off, Sawyer noticed they were tying the mooring lines loosely, as if worried about making a quick getaway. The rest of the party huddled below decks, watching through lifted hatches. From their hideaway, they could see several men in the green armor of the Typhoon Guard spaced along the length of the wharf. They kept a watchful eye on the passing commerce, occasionally stopping and questioning someone, but not looking threatening – yet. “Just you wait,” Zhustin assured them. “There’s going to be some kind of distraction on shore, and when they go to investigate, that will be our cue to slip away.” His confidence that Isao’s people would make it easy for them quickly waned as the minutes drug by with no sign of outside assistance.

Finally Sawyer thumped the hatch above their heads. “Time to get moving,” he hissed. “Just start unloading the cargo – look normal, keep your heads down, and make your way off the wharf and into the city.” Marie said a quick Prayer and Sandoval cast Good Hope, and then everyone picked up a box and tried to look busy. Nicki, reluctant to actually do any heavy lifting, crossed the dock and sat down beside a sailor who was mending a rope there. “Hey buddy,” Nicki said in Minkaian, “How’s it going? What’s up in the city these days?” The sailor looked at him suspiciously, then cast a glance at the soldiers at the end of the dock. “Everything’s wonderful in Kasai, thanks to the enlightened rule of the Jade Regent,” he recited as if by rote, then turned back to his work, hands trembling.

Shinjiro and Sandoval took the lead, carrying wooden boxes shoreward, as if to a waiting wagon or warehouse. A pair of Typhoon Guards loitered at the end of their dock, watching the passing traffic. As they approached, one of the guards caught Sandoval’s eye. “You! Get over here!” he shouted, pointing at Sandoval.

Now they hit the other snag with their plan. Most of them didn’t actually speak Minkaian. Including Sandoval. The Guard’s motions were unmistakable, and Sandoval went to him, stopping meekly before him and uttering the only word of Minkaian he really knew “Hai!” Unfortunately, the Guard began barking questions at the bard, and they were just so much jibber jabber to him. “Who are you? Where are you from? What ship are you from and what’s your cargo?” Sandoval’s response to each question was the same: “Hai!” Hoping to be helpful, he pried open the wooden box he was carrying, revealing the spice inside, but the Typhoon Guard batted it out of his hands, spilling pepper all over the wharf. Growing angry with Sandoval’s apparent refusal to answer, he reached for his sword.

“Please, you have to forgive him! He’s kind of touched, you know?” It was Shinjiro, rushing to Sandoval’s aid. “We call him Hai – it’s the only word he knows. He’s my brother-in-law, and my wife will kill me if anything happens to him.” Sandoval was on his knees, trying to scoop the spilled pepper back into its box. The Typhoon Guard spat at him, then jerked his head at Shinjiro. “Just get your half-wit brother-in-law out of here and see that he doesn’t make any more trouble!” With a sigh of relief, Shinjiro grabbed ‘Hai’ by the arm and drug him away, taking shelter behind a fishmonger’s stall to see how the others fared.

Marie was next off the dock. The other Typhoon Guard was questioning her, but fortunately she could speak Minkaian well enough to answer his questions. But her voice was still high pitched and melodious, and the Guard squinted at her suspiciously. Suddenly his hand shot forward and he grabbed her breast through the rough cloak she wore. “Hey! You’re a woman!” he cried. Marie thought fast. “Sh!” she begged. “I had to pretend to be a man to get this job. I really need the money – please don’t get me fired!”

This time it was Nicki to the rescue. He scurried forward and leaned into the Guard conspiratorially. “We know about her, but she needed the help so we let her join the crew. We don’t want to cause any trouble. Here – let me make a little offering for your trouble.” Ten gold pieces passed deftly from Nicki’s hand to the Guard’s. The Guard’s expression didn’t change, but he slipped the coins into his pocket and shifted his gaze down the dock, pointedly not looking at Nicki or Marie. “Come on!” Nicki hissed, and he and Marie hustled away.

Sawyer hefted a heavy box and moved forward. As he walked, Bella followed close behind. “Think there’s anything invisible around here?” she whispered, and Sawyer took the hint. He activated Suishen’s See Invisible power and scanned the wharf. Sure enough, an invisible Ogre Mage, dressed in Typhoon Guard armor, was perched atop a nearby building. Nodding slightly in that direction (for Bella’s benefit), he moved forward towards the Typhoon Guards at the end of the dock. Like the others, they started questioning him, and Suishen telephathically translated their queries for the fighter. He didn’t speak Minkaian either, but after seeing what happened to the others, he was prepared. He opened his mouth, revealing a void where his tongue should have been (courtesy of his magical hat). Satisfied (and approving of the punishment for whatever offence had cost him his tongue), they let him pass.

So far, so good. Zhustin was next up, wearing the saffron robes of a monk. “Why is this ship crewed by half-wits and cripples?” the Typhoon Guard asked, nodding at Sawyer and the retreating ‘Hai’. Zhustin nodded in agreement – he’d been rehearsing his story. “It was a … challenging voyage. I have been sent here by my order to pray for the Jade Regent for thirty days as punishment for disobedience.” Maybe he should have just kept his mouth shut, because the Guard wasn’t buying it. “I don’t think you’re any monk,” he growled. Then he reached out and swiped his hand over Zhustin’s face, coming away with a smear of makeup. He grabbed Zhustin by the arm, and waved towards the building where Sawyer had spotted the ogre mage.

Ameiko was also running into trouble. Her disguise seemed to hold up and the Guard questioned her, like the others, about the nature of their cargo. “We’re bringing goods for the Jade Regent,” she replied, “We plan to make an offering to him.” This was the Guard Nicki had bribed, and he was feeling greedy. “You can do that right here,” he said with an evil grin. Ameiko took the hint, but in her panic to satisfy him, she went too far. “Here!” she said, pulling a sack heavy with 50 GP out of her robes. The Guard looked at it in amazement. “You’re no poor sailor! If you’ve got that much, you must have more!” he said, grabbing her arm. Sandoval moved up protectively. Desperate to satisfy him, Ameiko handed over another 50 gold, which only made him tighten his grip and wave his other arm in the air. Sawyer, from his spot by the fishmonger’s stall, saw the invisible ogre mage fly off the roof, and land lightly behind the two Typhoon Guards – and Ameiko!