Playing in the Sandbox

The Pixie also just bows, being both as quiet and respectful as she could be...

Maihime gives an elegant practiced bow while Tethe barely manages to fumble through one without making herself look like the drunken idiot she actually is before both take their seats alongside the rest.

Once everyone has bowed and is seated, (Skaimos directly across from the Daiymo, Cyrta across from Mykaila, Tethe across from the silver thri-kreen, Maihime to the right of Tethe, Toku across from the shardmind, Smithe across from the kalashtar, Uhiya across from the genasi, and Thag to the left of Uhiya) the Daimyo looks to the shardmind who nods and says to the group, "We have reviewed Mykaila-sama's experiences with your group. We would like to thank you from bringing home our princess and commend you all on your bravery and sacrifice. Daimyo Sa'Hak-cho will be sending messages to Kabikyo to the Terai family to inform them that if they become citizens of Hanko that they will be raised in status. We regret to inform you that if any of you were seeking direct employ by the Daimyo that this will not be possible. Having it seem as if we hired you would almost certainly lead to a confrontation, if not a war. We would however gladly help you find employment elsewhere and give recommendations. We would like to know if you have anything to mention that you think may have been left out of Mykaila-sama's experiences that would be of importance."

As soon as the shardmind is finished speaking, the kalashtar chimes in, "We would also like to know if you still have the remains of the letter and how it was you managed to evade scrying this entire time."

At the last part Smithe nods, as if he'd been expecting the question, and pulls out something that looks like a compass with four needles firmly affixed to each cardinal direction atop of a circular base, with the top half slowly turning one way or another at seemingly random. He hands the device over to the kalashtar, and the shardmind and the genasi lean over to examine it as well, and says, "This device was made for me by Sanae Erklos, an artificer who is no longer with us. I'm not entirely sure how it functions but, she told me that it interferes with scrying. It was given to me so that I might evade more resourceful bandits and have the advantage of surprise over other traders."

Uhiya and Thag shakes their heads to indicate they have nothing to add.

"Thank you very much, Sa'Hak-cho-sama. I had been concerned for my family's welfare since I left Kabikyo, and I am glad that they will have a place that will treat them with the respect they deserve." Skaimos was still a bit concerned. His "less fortunate cousins" may have lost some things during the drop in status, not to mention that they all would have to leave their homes to travel several weeks across what he now knew to be an unforgiving desert. However, while his father may have dropped in status, he was still rather rich, and as he was an accomplished merchant (a fact that Skaimos now had a newfound respect for), he would most likely be able to assemble a caravan to bring his family here safely. As for new homes...perhaps Skaimos could do a few jobs around Hanko to find some real estate and possibly get some "start-up" money for his family when they arrived.

He then looked over to the kalashtar. "As for the letter, here is what we were able to salvage from the street urchins." He brought out the scraps of paper and some red wax. "I'm not sure if you'll be able to do anything with it. I suspect that Nale Mefas wished for us to get caught with this letter in our possession, for who knows what reason, and once that plan failed, he wished to cover his tracks. Speaking of which, I remember Mykaila-sama mention that Nale Mefas was actually the name of a character from a story. Could you tell me a bit more about that?"

Skaimos glanced over at the anti-scrying compass. He had to confess that throughout their journey, the possibility of someone scrying on them had never entered his mind. He shuddered to think about how many more troops from Hanko they may have encountered if they had been able to be scryed upon. He made a mental note to see if he could commission something similar later on, possibly from Toku.

The genasi reach out her arm to Skaimos to take the scraps of the letter. At the mention of the story involving Nale Mefas the daimyo smirked before the silver thri-kreen gave him a sharp look. The kalashtar cleared his throat and said stiffly, "Yes. That is not a proper story. One that one would never tell in such noble company."

Toku looked at the anti-scrying compass, thinking for a moment about how such a thing would work...Perhaps...No, that wouldn't work at all...That might be possible...He'd be interested in looking at it later, though Smithe might not appreciate him tinkering with the secret of his success...Still, he listened, thinking for a moment...Had he ever heard such a story? He wasn't sure he had, but it was worth a thought, it might grant a little insight into the man's motives...

History:

Toku doesn't recall any stories matching that description.

Maihime simply stays quietly seated, Tethe on the other hand seems to be staring at the silver thri-kreen and the shardmind across from them in deep thought. After a long moment she seems satisfied with whatever conclusion she came to and she raises a hand slightly and speaks up. "Hi, I'm Tethe, sorry but may I ask for something to refer to all of you by? A name or a title maybe? Even I know who Daimyo Nyesif Sa'Hak-cho-sama is and of course I should hope I know who Mykaila-sama is after all this time. I haven't got anything to call the rest of you though, and there's no real way to make 'guy on the end' sound properly respectful."

At this the genasi clearly has to hold in a laugh and the kalashtar shoots her a look and says, "My apologies. We skipped the formalities because... well, officially this meeting is not occurring. I suppose we were a bit overeager to get down to business. I am Asmotir Tarfas, chief political and arcane adviser to the Daimyo. This," he says, indicating the shardmind, "is Balantan Ergire, chief military adviser to the Daimyo. She," he says indicating the genasi, "is Ebni Su, our aid. And the lady sitting before you is Auroche Sa'Hak-cho, wife of the Daimyo and Mykaila-sama's mother."

Cyrtanthus is unsure of what to add to this talk... And if anything is very much used to not talking unless talked to when in this type of setting.

Tethe nods quietly in response as she looks at each one in turn as they're named. When the introductions get to Lady Auroche she gives her best approximation of a respectful sitting bow, though it still comes off somewhat awkward due to her not being used to it. "May I say Lady Auroche Sa'Hak-cho-sama that you are the picture of grace. I can see Mykaila-sama will grow into a beautiful, strong young woman after seeing her parents." Tethe says with a smile, proud of herself for managing to say something that sounds somewhat intelligent instead of just squeeling "You're all so adorable, let me hug you!" like she really really wanted to.

Auroche gave Tethe a sincere smile and said in a silky smooth voice, "Thank you Tethe-san. I am sure you are quite right." At this Mykaila's antennae wiggled about furiously and she looked away, clearly embarrassed.

Skaimos handed the scraps of the letter to Ebni Su. Considering the reactions, the tale of "Nale Mefas" was probably some sort of bawdy tale. Skaimos supposed it didn't overly matter, or that it was just that blasted thri-kreen's idea of a sick joke.

OOC: Yeah, I got nothing else. On with the show!

Ebni Su puts the scraps of letter into a pouch. After they finish examining the device the kalashtar hands it back to Smithe. After they have done so the Daimyo says, "We gather that the five of you will continue to work together." he says indicating the party. "I believe Asmotir has found a suitable gift for you." At which point he looks to Asmotir, who looks to Ebni Su, who nods and leaves the room.

The Daimyo continues and turns to Thag, "We know that you, Thag-san, are a resident in this city and have family here. We know of several postings for which we could recommend you that would let you remain with your family and give them a better life." Thag nods and gives a smile. At this Asmotir hands Thag a very thick envelope and says, "Pick whichever you like and hand the appropriate letter to the named party." To which Thag smiles and nods again.

The Daimyo then looks to Uhiya and says, "We believe that what you want most Uhiya Bastos-san, is something that costs us nothing to give. You will have access to our best samurai and they will instruct you at your pleasure whenever they are available." Uhiya gives him a truly delighted smile and you can almost see the metaphorical sparkles in her eyes.

He then turns to Smithe and says, "We would like to offer you, John Smithe, and your men, a position in one of the larger caravans that belong to my family." Asmotir then says, "We understand if you need time to consider-" before Smithe cuts him off by abruptly saying, "I gladly accept." as if he was afraid the offer was going to vanish if he didn't reply immediately. Asmotir raises an eyebrow and nods. "Very well. You will be contacted later with details."

The Daimyo continues, "All of you will always be welcome in Hanko and we will arrange for lodgings whenever you need them. If you require assistance, feel free to contact Ebni Su who will see what it is we can do to aid you." At this Balantan says, "Though keep in mind that this meeting officially never occurred and that any assistance we can give will have reasonable limits."

Around this point Ebni Su returns with a rectangular block of bluish stone a little large than the length and width of a large shield, though quite a bit thicker and places it on the table in front of Skaimos before returning to her former seat. Asmotir states, "This is an item we obtained from a Mirage clan ninja. It is called a Roving Door. On the other side of the door is a moderately sized residence. The Roving Door can be used in two ways. Both require unfolding the door." At which Ebni Su picks up the door, which clearly weighs less than it looks like it would, and begins to unfold it in a manner which you wouldn't have realized was possible unless you saw her do it. When she is finished, it is large enough so that it almost reaches the ceiling and quite wide. It has a strange circular plate with a rectangular handle attached where a doorknob would be. Then she folds it back up again. "The first requires you to place the door on the ground somewhere where there is enough space for the residence it conjures to manifest. The second is to place the door on the wall of a kind of building called an Empty House. Without the door in your possession it is almost impossible to locate an Empty House because of the magics used ward people away and cause them to only remember it as nothing important. We have located several in Hanko and are sure that Mirage has established Empty Houses in most, if not all, cities. We will have to before a ritual to bind the Roving Door to you and unbind me from it later."

When Asmotir finishes speaking, Ebni Su indicates that they should take the door and the Daimyo looks to the side and you can see the sun beginning to set over the water. He then states, "However, first we shall be having dinner. Ebni Su?" To which she nods and again leaves the room. She returns a few minutes later and shortly following that dish after dish is brought in by servants (all of whom you note are of the greater races). There is a lot of sushi, sashimi, and other fish or crustacean dishes, including an entire pre-shelled lobster sitting in it's shell. There are also side dishes of salad, egg rolls, gyoza, croquettes, pickled vegetables, bowls of rice, and other similar thing. There are several sauces and there are a few different cold and hot teas as well as a few bottles of sake and two bottles of red wine. There is also a dish of filet mignon and a duck in a plum sauce. One thing that sticks out is that all of the rice is black.

"A truly wondrous item...You have my most sincere gratitude..." Toku said as the Roving Door was presented...It was an amazing gift, mere words paled in comparison to his thoughts on the matter, but it was...Wow...He took the door carefully, almost as if he were afraid it would turn out to be a trick...Though really, it was simply the kobold being careful with the item...Still, this meeting 'never happened...' he supposed politics prevented them from openly acknowledging their assistance...Ah well, there was little to be done on that front. They were grateful, and that was enough...Fame could wait until he'd come up with something truly revolutionary.

As for the meal, Toku enjoyed a little of all the various foods, making it a point to sample each one and find something good about them...He couldn't remember being in this area before now, sampling the local food was an opportunity he wasn't about to pass up, after all! Though, he limited himself to only a nice hot tea...The black rice was odd, though...Perhaps it was simply a delicacy...Still, he had to admit he quite liked the fish.

The Pixie just smiles and nods... Feeling totally clueless to what this stuff means for her friends overall, but she was sure they were good things. Just the finer details were escaping Cyrta at the moment.

History checks:

"A house that we can carry with us? Fascinating! This will be very useful to us, thank you very much!" Skaimos sat down with the others for dinner, sampling some of the sushi and other dishes. "This food is superb! You can taste the freshness of the fish. Although, I am curious about the rice, I don't think I've seen it black before. Is it a different type of plant, or just a special way that it is grown?"

"Um... Black Rice, also called Forbidden Rice, is specially made by the Artisan Class farmers that is forbidden for anybody to eat other than by The Daimyo, their families, and their most honored friends and guests.... It's really the best rice ever, I think. And it takes a lot of care to make... So yeah..." The Pixie states to answer her ally then said to the Daimyo. "I am greatly humbled to be given such an honored meal... I give all of my thanks for this food." Finally after this comment she gets to happily enjoying the food put before her.

(OOC: We are being given such food to eat, with them, right? If I'm wrong about this, I'll edit this post...)

Ebni Su opens her mouth to answer Skaimos' question but, is beaten to it by Cyrta. She nods and says, "That pretty well covers it." Balantan and Asmotir look pleased that the party has understood the circumstance and the Daimyo and his wife smile as the Daimyo says, "You are most welcome little pixie. And you have our thanks for bringing us back our dearest one." Mykaila meanwhile is trying her best to avoid eye contact with anyone while she attempts to procure an egg roll.

"Both actually. You will be able to identify them by sight and I have a map of the city with a lot of places you might find important marked. I shall hand it to you after we eat. We would not want anything getting blotted out by soy sauce now would we?" Ebni Su replies, finishing with a lighthearted grin.

"I do have some ideas if you would like but, we have ways of providing support without revealing our involvement if you choose to go about finding employment on your own."

---

Note: Ramsus does not actually have a map of the city. Nor a list of all the important things on it. It's just a handy way of explaining certain history/streetwise checks in the city.

"I would be interested in hearing what you had in mind, personally..." Toku said after a moment. "To be honest, I was entirely unsure of what our next step would be after this." True enough, and the kobold was thinking of how to handle the situation...

Ebni Su takes her time listen off the suggestions as they eat. "Well first off there's almost always a few ruins exploration outfits readying to set out. Those can be something of a gamble. The risk and the rewards can both be pretty high but, there's no guarantee how much or that those will match up. You could always join another caravan, maybe even Smithe-san's if you're willing to wait a while. Or for something a bit different you could sign up with a ship. Either for a quick trip to our sister city of Detsu or a longer trip down to Kohuyo. Maybe you could even find a ship trying to get all the way to Ketashin by the seaward route, though that's quite a long voyage and not one taken lightly. Besides the dangers, we won't be able to provide you any kind of support there since we, nor any other city, have diplomatic ties to them. If you want to stay in the city you could always hire on to guards, sell-swords, or information gatherers for a noblemen or recognized artisan. Though, only at the risk of getting yourselves further entangled in politics." At this she gives a mirthful grin. "Or you could get into bounty hunting, though I'm sure our friend Thag can tell you about the downsides of that business. The monasteries are sometimes looking for training partners of outside disciplines for their students. The churches are sometimes willing to hire those without opposing beliefs who aren't members of the cloth to look after their interests, though if you take that path I would advise you to avoid being overzealous in any assigned tasks as they are by no means except from the laws, even if they like to tell themselves otherwise at times. I suppose no matter what you do, you should keep in mind that eventually word is going to get around to at least some of your bringing up back our Oujo-sama. No matter what your intentions or actions, they maybe assume that your loyalty lies with Sa'Hak-cho-sama, and we'd of course be very happy if that were the case, or that you may even be agents planted in their ranks by us. There is at least a silver lining to this. If you are engaged in any confrontations with lawless individuals, we would be willing to provide you with a reward for handing them over to the Daimyo's samurai, even if they did not already have a bounty on them. Of course, really, anyone is allowed to do so but, most would have to remain along with the apprehended individuals for us to determine the truth of the matter. The value of your word has already been proven to us however, so there is no need for us to waste your time on such trivial issues." She stops speaking for a while and then seems to have thought up one last suggestion, "Some groups like yourselves sometimes just go around the city trying to help people out for whatever rewards are felt fair. Though, this rarely ends well. Eventually they tend to run afoul of a gang too tough for them, realize they're doing a lot of work for very little reward and move on to other things, or step over the line and take things far beyond what is acceptable for those not acting under the Daimyo's orders."

After dinner was over and the sun had set far enough that they had to uncover the everburning torches, the Daimyo, his wife, Mykaila, and Balantan bid their farewells to the group. As the servants cleared away the dishes and put the leftovers in a few small baskets, Thag also left stating that he should get home to his family before they were asleep, taking one of the baskets with him.

Ebni Su left briefly and came back with some ritual components and gave most of them to Asmotir before she went off in a corner of the room with the rest and started up her own quiet ritual. Asmotir looked to the party and said, "If you are ready, place the Roving Door on the table and then each of you place a hand upon it." At this point Uhiya and Smithe got up and went over to the window to take in the view while they waited.

Tethe finishes off a small handful of croquettes she'd snagged by more or less throwing them into her mouth with her chopsticks. Finished with the last of her meal she hands the little bowl and chopsticks to one of the servants carrying out the dishes. Cracking her knuckles, she picks up the door and sets it down on the table, keeping one hand on it. "Ready to go when you are."

Maihime adds her own hand to it, speaking up for the first time in a while as she does. "How does this ritual work, if I may ask?"