The Well of Demons

It had been a long day, starting with scamming the rice shipments, being smuggled out to the hidden Imperial Shrine, fighting their way through the malevolent cemetery, and finally meeting the dead Emperor Higashiyama Shigure. Now they were told they had to go someplace called the Well of Demons, recover his body, and either make deals with all the worst former emperors of Minkai or kill them. The party decided they needed a rest.

An Emperor Found

Sawyer cringed as he saw Ameiko fall. He’d urged her to cross the bridge of light; he’d been so sure she’d be safe on the other side. Instead, she had been struck down by some eldritch power as she’d stepped under the archway leading to the bridge. He started to rush to her side, but she stopped him with a weak wave. “I’m OK,” she gasped. She was far from OK, but she was alive. Gripping Suishen tightly, he turned to protect Ameiko from the enormous Gravebound Warden that had formed itself out of the headstones and crypts of the cemetery. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the cemetery’s caretaker, Kiyomi, cowering at the edge of the moat. An area of Darkness suddenly appeared, and she disappeared into it. Sawyer snorted at her cowardice.

The Imperial Shrine

The waters of Kasai Bay lapped gently against the stone pier as old Ejigoro tied the boat to it. The party scrambled out of it onto the shore of the mysterious island known as the Imperial Shrine that had appeared out of the mists. Ejigoro looked nervously up the midnight-shrouded path that led to a shadowy cemetery. “Uh, if you don’t mind, I’ll just wait for you here,” he said nervously.

Sowing Discord

After rescuing Hatsue, the group was going through some well-earned down-time, resting up for their trip to the Imperial Shrine. As they drank tea with Isao, Bella spoke up. “I’ve been thinking about all those things Sandoval learned with that magic banjo he got from O-Sayumi”

“It’s called a ‘samisen’,” Sandoval said wearily, “and it’s an incredibly powerful …”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” Bella continued, interrupting the bard’s attempt to educate her. “My point is, Isao said that the Jade Regent’s closest allies don’t necessarily like each other all that much. You said it might be helpful to ‘sow discord’ among them, right?” Isao nodded. “Well, now we know a bunch of secrets about them – I think we should use them to stir up some trouble!”

Good Deeds

The hour was well past midnight, and the group still hadn’t come up with a strategy for raiding the Imperial Granary and making off with enough food to help stop the starvation that was plaguing the people of Kasai. The problem wasn’t getting in; despite the heavy guard outside, they were confident they could teleport inside without being detected. The problem was the sheer volume of rice involved. Zhustin and Nicki had dome some quick calculations (and the others would have to trust their arcane knowledge), and figured that it would take roughly sixteen tons of rice to feed the starving populace – and that was just for one day! Getting that amount of rice out of the granary without bringing the army down on them was the real challenge.

Battle at the Docks

“Shit!” Sawyer thought as the guard grabbed Ameiko by the arm. “Stay calm. She’s smart – she can talk her way out of this.” Everything had been going so well. They’d disembarked the boat that had smuggled them into Kasai, everyone disguised as Minkaian sailors. They'd gone about their business, unloading cargo, and most of the party had managed to satisfy the Typhoon Guards who were watching the docks, interrogating any newcomers. But then Zhustin’s disguise hadn’t fooled one of the guards (why they hell did he think wearing orange robes would be a good way to blend in?), and then Ameiko, under questioning, tried to bribe the guard a ridiculous amount of money. And doubled the bribe when he got suspicious. “Shit, shit SHIT!” Now the invisible oni who’d been perched on a nearby roof was flying over. Sawyer could see him thanks to Suishen’s See Invisible power, and as the oni flew, he changed to human form. He was dressed in the same green armor as the other Typhoon Guard, but with fancier rank insignia. He landed behind the guards holding the two troublemakers, and became visible.

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.