Sunday, December 20, 2009

Play report: Beatriss in Khanbaliq


Playing with fire…
Originally uploaded by NaPix
Gwinch wanted to rebuild the dwelling place destroyed in the fire. He offered to assist with his know-how and the labor of his sohei followers in a rebuilding project. The landowner, of course, was very glad to have his assistance. The former tenants, however, were not to be found.


Beatriss pursued the rumor that there were other people “like her” (i.e. Cynadecian) living in Khanbaliq. Gamo (“Senior”) introduced her to an entertainer named Ashi who came from a faraway place where they spoke a different language and ate different foods. When she first came to Khanbaliq, Ashi stayed with other girls and young women and one of them looked so much like Beatriss that they could be sisters. In their brief conversation, it emerged that Beatriss was acquainted with Mehwa. This was interesting to Ashi because one of her friends, Kei-Lo had gone to his household. Ashi was glad to know Kei-Lo was happy there. She couldn’t say much about the Cynadecian woman, because no one could talk to her. Even when she was awake, she seemed to be dreaming.
Beatriss decided to explore the outer city on her own. She encountered a lost child who refused her help. She came upon the smoldering remains of a fire. Gwinch’s new construction had burned to the ground just like its predecessor. The gathering crowd pointed at Beatriss ("ash face") suspiciously.
On her way back to the “green zone,” Beatriss met with three peasants, who seemed to recognize her. No, they had not seen her personally, but they had her about her when she visited their region. They came from Jangze, a village a day’s trip to the west that was plagued by spiders the size of dogs. Beatriss had killed some spiders there already so maybe she would like to kill some more.?
They implied that it was a matter of duty. Because Beatriss had killed some spiders in the service of Mehwa, they hoped she would complete the job. Especially since the problem had become worse in the month since her visit—- had she done something to anger the spider spirit? Beatriss agreed to introduce them to Tehwa’s family.
At first, the family was more hesitant than Beatriss in offering assistance. But the peasants seemed to know a lot about Mehwa. It was rumored that he had promised his own daughter to the spider spirit. And it was breaking his promise (because isn’t Mehwa’s daughter going to marry someone here in Khanbaliq?) that had angered the spider spirit and had made the spiders attack the village. While the peasants didn’t believe these rumors about Mehwa and his family, other people might, especially if the problem were allowed to continue.
The family agreed to send eight of its soldier in company with Beatriss. Besides dealing with the spider problem, they were also recover the body of Mehwa-- or at least his armor.

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