The Road to Pasar (1279)
Work on Beatriss’s fortress in the Happy Valley had barely begun when a message arrived from the Emperor.
The imperial engineer Sheng Zhu-Shi, who had supervised the laying of the foundations, was summoned away. Kubla Khan had ordered new fortifications in the south of his empire, near the independent trading city of Pasar. Two imperial agents—foreigners known as Sir Crowler and Prince Slash—had been sent to escort Zhu-Shi to his new assignment.
Beatriss’s castle would have to wait.
Bayan and the young wu jen Bangqiu knew there was no arguing with an imperial decree. Instead, they proposed a practical solution: they would accompany Crowler and Slash as additional guards for the journey south. When Zhu-Shi finished the Emperor’s work near Pasar, they hoped to bring him quickly back north to complete the fortress in the Happy Valley.
And so the four adventurers set out together.
The Southern Caravan
They joined a large caravan bound for the southern frontier. Imperial soldiers marched alongside merchants, pilgrims, and wandering traders. New travelers joined the company as it moved south, and the road became a small traveling city of tents and wagons. Among the travelers was a lively young woman named Jasmine, who journeyed with her stern and suspicious older brother. Jasmine quickly developed a fascination with Prince Slash.
Whenever she saw him studying maps or speaking with the caravan’s guide, she would appear at his elbow.
“Whatcha doing?”
Slash, who took his responsibilities as imperial escort very seriously, tried to remain patient. But the more closely he studied the route, the more uneasy he became.
Although the caravan’s guide—an imperial scout named Zhinan—claimed to know the southern roads well, Slash had begun to suspect that they were drifting off course.
The Witch in the Caravan
Sir Crowler had noticed something strange as well.
Zhinan traveled with a sleek Siamese cat that seemed unusually intelligent. The animal followed Crowler everywhere and occasionally batted playfully at his boots. Yet the knight could not shake the feeling that the cat was watching him.
One evening Crowler finally decided to confront the guide. He and Prince Slash went to Zhinan’s tent together.
The cat followed them.
As Crowler angrily accused Zhinan of misleading the caravan, the cat circled his legs, swatting at his boots as though amused by the argument.
Crowler pointed at it suddenly.
“Who,” he demanded, “is that cat really?”
Zhinan hesitated.
Then he confessed the truth.
The cat was no ordinary animal.
It was a witch in disguise.
The Night Attack
Crowler and Slash immediately ran to warn their companions.
They arrived at Bayan and Bangqiu’s tent just in time to see the cat slipping inside.
The two men burst through the tent flap.
Inside they saw the cat transforming—stretching and reshaping itself into the figure of a woman. She stood over the sleeping Bangqiu, her hands already rising to weave a spell.
Crowler and Slash shouted for their friends to wake.
Only Bayan stirred.
Bangqiu remained trapped in an unnatural sleep.
The enchantress began chanting. Bayan lunged forward and tackled her, trying to prevent the spell—but she was a moment too late.
The witch vanished.
The tent seemed empty.
Then Sir Crowler noticed the edge of the canvas lifting slightly, as if someone invisible were trying to slip out beneath it.
Without hesitation he drew his sword and struck.
The blade met flesh.
The invisible woman collapsed and died before she could complete whatever magic she had intended for Bangqiu.
A Familiar Enemy
At dawn the spell of invisibility faded.
When Bayan and Bangqiu saw the woman’s face, they both recognized her.
She was an enchantress who had once served Red Nar, an enemy they had crossed before.
Zhinan confessed that the witch had deceived him into guiding the caravan along a route that would make her attack easier. Ashamed of his failure, he accepted dismissal as the caravan’s guide.
The journey south continued without him.
The Long Road
The road to Pasar proved long and dangerous.
Bandits shadowed the caravan through mountain passes. Riders from a rival khan attempted to harass the imperial soldiers. More than once Crowler and Slash had to draw their blades in defense of the travelers.
Bayan’s sword and Bangqiu’s magic helped drive away every threat.
At last the caravan reached the southern frontier.
There, at the place designated by the Emperor, Sheng Zhu-Shi began his work on the new fortifications.
With their duty fulfilled, the four companions finally allowed themselves a moment of rest.
Nearby stood the bustling market town of Pasar.
It seemed the perfect place to wait while the imperial engineer completed his task.
None of them yet knew that Pasar had troubles of its own—or that their arrival would soon draw them into a conflict far more dangerous than the road behind them.
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