Playing in the Sandbox

Smithe nodded to Skaimos and looked for any sign of anyone else in the group disapproving. He replied to Toku, "I imagine they'll be quite brusque with us, just to ensure her safety but, I can't imagine how we could go about this any other way without risking getting ourselves in seriously hot water. Still, we should probably cover her in a cloak or something so that some opportunistic kidnapper or an agent of another city doesn't recognize her before we get there."

"As long as I stay near Mykaila I'm game for any plan... And I guess the hiding her with a cloak is the best option." Cyrta comments wishing she had an idea of her own to offer.

Tethe wraps her arms around her raptor's neck and gives it a tight hug. "You be good now Aran Dom! Make sure to eat your food properly and if some strange person you don't know tries to ride you, you bite their legs off you hear me!" She says in a tone like a mother sending their child off to school, patting its nose gently before handing over the reins not noticing as it snaps at her in annoyance. She takes a few steps away and towards the group before stopping mid step and turning around and taking the reins back and hugging the raptor once more. "I can't do it! Whenever I think about how the poor thing would be scared and alone I can't just leave him!" With her face buried in the raptor's neck, she completely misses its attempts to reach its own arm and chew it off.

Maihime shakes her head quietly in response to Tethe's actions with a soft chuckle. Wearing a more conservative set of robes, a deep red color with white accents, now that they've arrived in town. Reaching into her bag she draws out a hooded cloak, a relatively plain white, and sets it around Mykaila's shoulders. Pulling the hood up over her head for a moment and kneeling down before her, she inspects the ill-fitting disguise for a moment before chanting under her breath while holding on to the fabric. The cloak beginning to shrink until it's a more fitting size for the young Thri-kreen. "There, I think that'll do!" She says just as Tethe rides up alongside and reaches down, picking Mykaila up and setting her down on the raptor in front of herself.

"Well, I'm ready to go whenever you all are!" She says with a grin, apparently having gotten over her emotional outburst in the three steps it took her raptor to walk over.

"...We're sure she's not rattled? Alright...Still, I suppose there's nothing else for it...Maybe I'm just being paranoid." Toku shrugged a bit, thinking about how they'd handle things. "At any rate, we should get going soon. If someone needs a ride, I'm sure mine can handle my weight and another's..." He blinked, looking around. It seemed rude to ride when others had to walk, after all.

Smithe notes that it'd be quite a long walk to the palace and that they should probably ride their raptors. After a quick discussion, Mykaila and Cyrta end up riding with Tethe and Smithe with Toku, thanking him for the offer, and Uhiya and Thag each stick to the outside of the group.

They avoid traveling down the main thoroughfares or any alleyways so as to minimize the chances of notice or incidents. For the most part the group notices that buildings in Hanko are rarely taller than three stories but, tend to be a bit more spaced out from each other than in Kabikyo (not a whole lot but, by enough of a difference that Skaimos and Cyrta notice the difference). As they saw before, most buildings are covered with the pale leafed ivy. They also notice barrels or troughs of water next to buildings. Occasionally they spot someone collecting the leaves of the ivy or replacing the barrels or pouring water into the troughs. Overall, the street traffic and daily life seems just as fast paced as it was in Kabikyo.

They keep to the western side of the river the whole time and after a few hours Mykaila points out a towering wooden structure in the distance that, without her having to even say so, is clearly the palace. When you get closer to it, you can tell that it occupies a lot less area than the palace in Kabikyo but, it looks like it's about twenty floors tall. By the time you get close a few more hours later, it's nearing evening and you imagine that it would probably not take you all that much longer to pass the palace on go to the sea if you chose.

When you approach the palace groups you first notice that there is a twelve foot wall of white stone around it. You come up on what Mykaila notes is the western entrance. She informs you that the south entrance is the "main" one. And you probably wouldn't have been able to tell that without seeing the other as you see people coming in and out at a regular enough pace and there are eight samurai (clearly palace guards) standing at the wall's gate (which is actually a wooden door that they open for people to come through and immediately close afterwards).

The Pixie nods politely when she sees the samurai.

Skaimos took in the surroundings as they made their way toward the palace. "Hmm, it appears the ivy's leaves must have some beneficial properties. Or perhaps it is used as a symbol of prominence, that this city has enough water to sustain these plants. That would also explain why they decided to make their palace out of wood."

"Well, if the south entrance is the "main" one, it might be best to use that one. I wonder why so many are using the west entrance, though. Oh, that reminds me." He turned to Mykaila. "Is there any particular phrase that we could use to inform the guards that we have "official business", so to speak?"

He winced as he remembered Mefas' lie to a similar question ("The spirits sent you").

Smithe cuts in, "We're coming in this entrance to cause a lesser amount of fuss. And because it's closer." Mykaila nods and says, "I think... just tell them why we're here?" and then shrugs.

"...Fair enough. Well, here goes nothing." Skaimos leads his raptor in front of the gate and looks up. "Good evening, sirs. We have urgent business with the daimyo. We have brought someone who I am sure he will wish to see immediately." He turned to Mykaila. "Mykaila-cha...Mykaila-sama, would you please remove your hood so the guards can have a better look at you?"

Mykaila gets off of Tethe's raptor and quickly walks up to them but, instead of lowering her hood she just moves it around and looks up at them so that they can see her face. The men all tense up and freeze for a moment before surrounding the group and drawing their weapons. One of them states gruffly in a way that implies there will be no arguments that you are all to get off the raptors and come with them. Six of them escort your group past the gate.

On the inside of the wall around the palace there is a rock garden and ponds of clear water with wooden pathways going from the gates to the palace as well as a circular pathway connecting all of them. There are also a few small buildings about. Roughly halfway down the pathway one of the samurai waves to some men at a stables and they rush over and take your raptors. After a few very long minutes of walking you are brought into the palace itself. The place is larger on the inside than you had imagined with many people walking back and forth. Many of them stop to stare at your group as you are quickly brought upstairs. After you reach the third floor you're brought into a large room with tasteful but, not quite rich furnishings and paintings hanging on the walls, no windows, or exits aside from the way you entered. Four of the guards who came with you this far remain in the room and are joined by six more and the remaining two leave with Mykaila. The guards then spread out around the room (keeping your group in the center) with two guards positioned in front of the door, which they then close behind them.

---

My apologies for the lack of proper description of the palace, it's really not my forte. If there's anything specific you want to know, just ask.

"...And now we wait." Skaimos glanced around the room. The lack of exits made him wonder if this was if this a meeting room for visitors or merely a well decorated cell. Still, Skaimos wasn't overly worried (alright, maybe a little, ten guards is nothing to sneeze at). Mykaila would tell her father that he and his group had done her no harm, and their peaceful surrender would help corroborate that. Judging from Mykaila's polite, kind manner, he assumed that her father was not one who would callously murder his group now that "they have no further use".

Granted, there was no guarantee of generosity, either. If the daimyo decided to grant them nothing more than his gratitude and allowing them to keep their lives, they weren't exactly in a position to argue. Still, getting Mykaila back safely had been the right thing. It...it was important that some good had come of this..."quest".

Toku sighed softly as he glanced around, thinking for a moment...He was kind of afraid this would happen. Nice to see his paranoia wasn't always completely unfounded. He crossed his arms and shifted about, trying to figure out an escape plan if things went south...But nothing was really coming to mind...Getting out of the room would be easy if it came to it...Escaping the castle on the other hand, with the resources and allies at hand...Possible, but extremely difficult...But...Hopefully it wouldn't be necessary.

"Well... We won... With having gotten Mykaila back to her home..." Cyrtanthus states sounding hopeful of how things were going.

Tethe scratches lightly at her chin. "That could probably have gone better..."

Maihime sighs as she sits down in a nearby chair. "Well, it's not the worst reception I've ever gotten..."

Tethe looks over to the nearest guard and waves. "Hey there! Can I ask why all the security? I get that I'm fully armed and everything but...is something going on?"

persuasion roll Tethe:

A couple of the guards make a face of mocking disdain at "fully armed" but, otherwise there's no response at all.

Tethe sighs "Ah I see, you're all that kind of guard." she says in a rather clearly disappointed tone.

About half an hour later the door opens and a servant quickly lays down a platter with a couple of small dishes on it, then promptly exits, the door is then closed again behind him. There's some thin square rice crackers wrapped in dried seaweed, meatbuns, and sliced pickled vegetables. There is also a large pot of tea with seven cups and a shot glass you figure is meant for Cyrta.

"Well, it seems we have been promoted to "guest" status. Or at least "prisoners who get nice food" status." Skaimos poured himself a cup of tea and grabbed one of the meat buns. "Cyrta-san, would you like me to pour some tea for you?"

The Pixie nods. "Yes please, Skaimos-sama..."

Toku looked at the food for a moment, shrugging before pouring himself some tea, getting a little of everything to eat...If they were in trouble for doing the right thing, he'd rather face his fate on a full stomach...Other than that, though, he was quiet, trying to sort out his thoughts on the matter...

Tethe sits down heavily in a chair and scoops up several of the meat buns, tossing them into the air and snapping them up with her mouth to pass the time.

Maihime regards the meal spread out for a moment before picking out a few of the crackers and a cup of tea for herself, seeming satisfied with whatever she was inspecting. "I wonder how long we'll be here?" she muses aloud before taking a sip.

Uhiya takes a little bit of everything and Thag takes some meatbuns and tea. Smithe contents himself with just some of the pickled vegetables and nurses his tea.

A little over another half hour later Maihime's question is answered as the door opens, a guard comes through and tells the other guards that they (you see three more guards outside the door) will be taking them (you), and then those four guards escort your group up seven flights.

The floor you stop on is incredibly ornate with actual wooden furnishing, woven murals hanging on the walls, and various ancient objects. You are lead into a large room with a view of the sea on the eastern side. There are four guards, one standing in each corner of the room, wearing much more impressive armor than the ones you've seen so far that is tinted blue. You assume these are the Daiymo's personal guard. This assumption is given credence based on, at the opposite side of a very large wooden table from you, there being Mykaila sitting to the left hand side of a sky blue male thri-kreen in formal robes who is in the center of the room that you would guess is Daiymo Nyesif Sa'Hak-cho. To the right hand side of him is a large red colored shardmind. To the right hand side of the shardmind is a male kalashtar. To the right of the kalashtar is a thin and young looking female githzerai. To the left had side of Mykaila there sits a silver female thri-kreen.

The four guards bow to the daimyo and depart, closing the door behind them. Then the shardmind indicates with a gesture that you should all come sit down.

Skaimos gave a respectful bow to the daiymo before taking a seat. "It is an honor to meet you, Sa'Hak-cho-sama. I am Skaimos Terai. I presume that Mykaila-cha..Mykaila-sama has told you a bit about us?"

The Daimyo smiles and nods and says, "Yes, in a manner of speaking." At Skaimos' slip up, the silver thri-kreen briefly displays an amused smile, while the shardmind and the kalashtar both give a slight frown.

---

I'd post more but, I figure I should give everyone else a chance to sit down and do/say stuff.

Toku bowed respectfully to the Daimyo as well before taking a seat, watching the reactions carefully...It seemed the Daimyo was in a good mood, at least for the moment, though the reason why was probably fairly obvious...