The Sacbe 8 (Arrival in the Nexal Valley)

The travelers reached the valley of Nexal. From a rocky outcrop, they surveyed the turgid brown lake, the listless fields, the swarms of desperate people approaching from all directions. Based on a map Zolin had recovered, they identified three cities—Nexal iself on an insland in the lake, and the subsidiary city-states of Tezat and Azatl. This was their destination, but what would they find? Several members of the party were sick with exhaustion. Zolin and Omechoka to go down for a closer look, taking with them Paal, Hoscotl and the two porters.

They crossed the dried-up fields and joined the procession of people making their way toward Azatl. Omechoka’s jaguar armor inspired immediate respect. The beleaguered families and haggard young man all gave them a wide berth. Until another, larger man, also wearing jaguar armor came along, accompanied by 10 strong-looking. This man challenged Omechoka with a cryptic greeting and, when Omechoka did not respond, accused him of not being a real jaguar warrior. As the two faced off, Omechoka insulted Tezcatlipoca and promised that he would fight to the death rather than be sacrificed to him or any of the other gods. He freely admitted that he had never captured a single prisoner and had stolen his jaguar armor from a warrior whom he had killed in ambush. Such sacrilege so distressed the larger man that he ordered one of retainers to fight the duel in his place, encouraging him to do his best to capture Omechoka and so proceed to the next warrior rank.

The other warrior fought with a maca, while Omechoka fought with a knife in each hand. They circled, Omechoka, constantly backing away from the wildly swung maca. As Omechoka retrated, the other warriors tightened the circle, and one of them pushed him into the way of his opponents weapon. The blade caught him above the ear and he was sent sprawling. He lay face down in the dirt. The jaguar warrior and his retainers cheered and the warrior brought out a rope to bind Omechoka. Omechoka let the warrior grab his arm, and then sprung into action. He kicked with his legs and stabbed the would-be captor in the armpit the warrior went down. His companions rushed into stop him from dying and the jaguar warrior ordered Omechoka to take his prisoner. “You have defeated him. Take him to the temple and give him the honor he has earned.” Omechoka, still bewildered by the ways of city people, bound the man.

Omechoka himself was badly weakened by his wounds, so Zolin took charge of the prisoner. As they proceeded toward Azatl, the other travelers were even more deferential than before.

Azatl did not seem to offer anything like what the travelers had expected when they left Otoch so many months before. There were many more people, but they were all hungry. Many of the houses were in ruins. From the tops of the tall pyramids, fires burned day and night, but the constant sacrifices seemed to have purchased little in the way of divine favor. In the market, those with money found little they wanted to buy—jewelry, feather clothing, and fine pottery were available. But food was scare, half-spoiled and still too expensive.

The travelers spent the night in an abandoned house and the next day returned to their place on the cliff.

After a few days, it was clear that the sick people weren’t getting better. Hoscotl thought that they should go back to Azatl to buy medicine and perhaps to find out something about the cloak of the one plume. If they could find it and bring it back to the Village of the Cetay, then they would be honored and welcomed for a long time. Omechoka, still nursing his injuries, and Divemoye took his place.

Divemoye was shocked at the desperation of the of families traveling to Azatl. He gave away all the food he carried and agreed to adopt a child from parents too poor to take care of him. As the travelers reached the city, other migrants noticed that they carried plenty of food and begged to trade something for some of it. Zolin firmly excluded Divemoye from these negotiations, and through shrewd trading, acquired a gold quill from a sunken-faced merchant. This merchant said he could get them medicine, too, and also knew something about the cloak of the one plume. He asked them to meet him that evening and told them where to find his house.

The travelers spent the rest of the days, looking for a safe place to rest. They stayed well away from the pyramids where priests were preparing sacrifices. The quiet parts of the city were barricaded and patrolled by jaguar warriors. In the other parts of the city, they couldn’t avoid deserving beggars.

At nightfall, they found the merchants house. They traded some more food for the promised medicine and listened to the merchant’s tale. In these strange times, the beast people, including half-human jaguar were showing themselves again. A group of tabaxi had come to Tezat recently, stating that they knew the location of the cloak of one-plume and intended to retrieve it. The jaguar warriros, not knowing what else to do, killed or captured the tabaxi. At least one was still waiting to be sacrificed. Zolin noted this with interest, intuiting that his face would be to seek the rescue the tabaxi.

And then there were some surprise visitors. Three men, with macas and spears, who demanded all the travelers’ food. The merchant seemed little surprised. Divemoye charged the leader of the thieves, striking at him with his bronze-headed axe. The man was a powerful warrior; he repelled Moye’s blows and pushed his way into the room. The other two thieves chased Hoscotl and the porters into the corner of the room, stabbing them with their spears. Paal stepped forward to defend Divemoye from the lead warrior while Zolin attacked and killed one of the spearmen. The powerful warrior struck Paal a grievous blow and demanded again that Zolin surrender his food. Instead, Zollin killed the second spearman with his stone axe. The powerful warrior did not like these odds. He fled, warning the travelers that they wouldn’t leave the city alive.

Zolin turned on the merchant. He tearfully apologized and promised both that the medicine was real and the information about the tabaxi was true. He returned some of the food that Zolin had traded.

It was now night but the travelers decided to flee immediately. They climbed up onto the merchant’s house and crossed the rooftops to leave the city.

The Sacbe 7 (Leaving the Cetay)

The travelers remained in the village of cetay for several days. When it was time to leave, two of the villagers, Hosa and Hoscotl, volunteered to come along on the journey to Nexal. The village had once been the guardian of a legendary feather-cloak and rumors suggested that the cloak was last seen in Nexal. The travelers showed little interest in the legends of another village but they were happy to have additional companion for their journey.

While waiting for the appointed day of departure, Zollin, Atl and Omechoka heard rumors that animals had been seen—or at least heard—in the forest outside the village. Reasoning that a few hours hunting could provide them with enough meat to sustain them in their journey and to leave a gift with their hosts in the village, Zollin, Atl and Omechoka asked their new friend Hosa to help them track the mysterious animals. After several hours hunting, they heard a strange and unbeautiful sound, a long, rhythmic shriek without pathos. They traced the sound to a pair of huge, many-armed creatures, with heads like men, but lacking features. Atl encouraged Omechoka and Hosa to attack the creatures.

Atl’s exhortation was irrelevant as the creatures were charging and the terrible sound that seemed to emanate from them reached a nearly deafening level. They resembled enormous ants or other insects. They were multicolored—gray on the bottom and reddish brown on top. Their mandibles were like knives and their arms were like spears. Theirs tails tapered to a sharp point. Omechoka and Hosa prepared their weapons.

Hosa’s first blow knocked off one of the creature’s arms. Without flinching, it lashed at him with its remaining arm and mandibles. The other creature attacked Omechoka. Attacking it with his knife, he found that it seemed to be made of a strange metal, much harder than gold or silver. Hosa struck his attacker another solid blow, knocking off its head, whereupon it began flailing wildly and running in circles. Omechoka, fighting with a knife, was forced to get much closer to his assailant, relying on his armor to protect him. The giant bug lodged its mandibles in a thick fold of Omechoka’s jaguar pelt. He used this opportunity to seize hold of its head and wrench it from its body. This did not incapacitate the creature, however. Instead, it thrashed at Omechoka with its arms, cutting him several times across his chest. Atl and Zolin rushed forward to club the monster to the ground. When its body ruptured, there was an explosion of cold vapor, but no blood or viscera. As the four companions in battle caught their breath and tended to each others’ wounds, they heard the sound of another creature approaching. This one moved much more quickly, especially with its stinging tail. Omechoka was struck and collapsed to the ground. The top of the creature’s back opened like the lid of a box. His friend’s, shocked and horrified, watched the creature lift Omachoka with its long, spindly arms and placed him in the box, and in the same motion turned and started to run. Hosa chased after it and knocked off one of the creature’s legs. In the same instant, he was felled by a quick dart of the tail and pulled inside the creature. Zolin and Atl, however, attacked it from the sides before it could run away and brought it to the ground. There was a sizzling sound like a strike of lightning and then the creature was still. Zolin and Atl pried open the creature and dragged their friends out of the cavity inside. They were cold and unresponsive, but alive. Zolin and Atl carried them back to the village, where Atl mixed a warming drink to revive his friends.

The next day they finally set out, no richer for meat, but with three weeks’ worth of beans and maize. They traveled for three days in the jungle and reached a cliff where they saw that next section of their journey would take them across dry plains. They rested here for the night, and found places to refill their waterskins. During the night they heard voices. Atl called out that those making the noises should show themselves. Silence. A restless night for all.

The travelers reached the plains. The grass was brown. And, as the days progressed the dry grass turned to cracked earth. The wind picked up and tossed clouds of sand into the air, obscuring the white stones of the sacbe. The travellers pressed on toward Nexal and the valley of Zatal.

The Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan (collab with Rainbow Monkey Sock)

What happened inside the pyramid?

Bo Jing remembers it this way . . .

I Bo Jing was on the ship seeking adventure and new trade routes that would benefit my family.  I found many adventures, but as we reached Maztica, I wondered what new goods I would find. .But I really wanted adventure.

Inside the pyramid, I had many adventures.

There was a huge boulder that turned out to be a giant crab.  I leaped on top of it, drawing my fiery sword and with a great shout and a mighty blow, cleaved its shell in half and killed the monster.

Approaching another room, we heard singing.  We put wax in our ears to thwart any magical charm.  There was a woman swimming in a pool. I did my best to ignore her, telling myself she was an ugly siren, like a tadpole without a tail.  I knew that she wasn't really beautiful but just looked that way because of magic.

In another part of the pyramid, Bayan and I  got trapped behind iron bars that fell from the ceiling.  My friends noticed a painting of a sun and Shoji pressed it.  The bars opened and a secret passage was revealed behind the sun.

In that hall, there were four animal heads, one an eagle with a shiny thing in its beak.  When Kafka tried to get the shiny thing, the eagle's mouth shut and hurt him. Bayan unlocked the eagle's mouth with a tickle on the chin.

Continuing to explore the pyramid, we were alarmed when suddenly two iron doors slammed in front of us and behind us and sand began filling up the little space we had.  Singh got his axe and kept battering the door then he gave me the axe and I screamed my battle cry and smashed it down.

We came upon a room filled with giant beetles.  Bangqiu was a  coward. He floated up to scare the beetles and climb the mountain of trash and then he grabbed a shiny knife from inside the stinking pile of beetle excrement.


After the ball game (a tale for another day) my cowardly friend Bangqiu called out for help from Sardan. We got out of a hole in the roof that sardan made.

Play Report: The Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan

Sometimes I write reviews of adventures that are five years old.  Sometimes I write reviews of reviews that are 5 years old.  In this case, Dungeon of Signs, reviewing The Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan.  I'm doing this because I don't have much to add to what Mr. Lux wrote, except that I won't follow him to his bizarre conclusion that this is a really good module, but not good enough to play.  Because I did run the adventure, I have access to some additional insights, that I offer as tips on how to run the adventure.

As Lux notes, this one is hard to drop into a campaign, and I can't imagine re-skinning its Meso-American setting.  Its far from "accurate."  Mayan and Aztec pyramids were places for sacrifices, not burials, and didn't have much of an inside.  The Nereid (beautiful naked temptress) is from Greek mythology and feels really foreign to the Meso-American view of life as pain without pretense.  Despite this, the illustration booklet is very important to the adventure and everything in it looks Aztec  (or Chinese-- but only slightly and it's just one room.)  For me, the setting was easy.  My players wanted to leave their faux-Asian homeland to sail across an open ocean and discover a new world.

The illustration booklet is great and essential.  I very much agree with Lux that rather than try to describe the various trap-ridden rooms, it's great to have a picture to pass around.  My copy had no map booklet, but it's easy to find the illustrations online.

In the 70s, everything was foreign and foreign was always a license to weird.  Unlike Maztica, which tries, oh so earnestly tries, to respect other cultures (and makes them all sound like hippies), this module's authors have no embarrassment about their ignorance and rely on their imaginations to fill in the gaps.  Again, the Nereid makes no sense but provided a lot of laughs, even though none of the PCs wanted to play the straight man and instead went to great lengths to avoid looking at the cavorting nymph. (Shoji revealed that he was asexual.)

The monsters are good, though as Lux notes, PC will easily miss the most interesting ones. This could be fixed by coming up with a quest to retrieve a particular object rather than simply escape the pyramid.  He's also correct that all the monsters all seem attack-oriented.  (Except the Nereid, I keep coming back to the Nereid.)  I'm not sure this is a problem worth fixing.  The rooms are self-contained and the residents are so alien that it's believable that they wouldn't have knowledge or interest in other parts of the dungeon.  And the aggressiveness kind of fits with Aztec views of the world.  On another note, the monsters, while individually tough, are not numerous.  My party of 10 (PCs and henchman) was probably too large.

Lux disapproves of the poison gas, but it worked well for me.  We have limited time IRL so it was good to have an in-game reason for haste.  I didn't track the time closely, but the players had a sense of urgency about them. And they could not take a brute force approach to every problem ("Everyone stands guard and I individually press each block on the south wall.  Ok, now the west wall.  Ok, let's rest and heal and re-learn spells.") Lux is correct that this feeling of haste creates tension with all the weird objects begging for attention, but I think this helps preserve the wonder.  My PCs know they missed some things and are talking about going back.

Lux is correct about the clunky text and clunkier special mechanics.  I don't agree, however, that this necessitates hours of preparation.  Because the rooms are self-contained and because the residents are combat-oriented, you don't need to think too much about how it all fits together.  The adventure kind of runs itself so you can just pause and skim each room while your players look at the illustration.

Here's what I would do to prepare:

1. Look at the map.  Starting with a cave-in that lands the PCs in room 1 works well and the gas extends through to room 39.  Like Google maps, there are three routes that lead to the same destination.  The routes cross over each other, so there are probably 7 or 8 combinations that will get PCs through the maze.
2. Think about whether you want to move the cover star to a different room where the PCs are more likely to meet him.  Or if he has something that will cause them to seek him out.
3. Be ready to wing it on things like drowning or dodging boulders.  The mechanics are complicated and inconsistent and rather than study them it might make sense to use saving throws.  As with the poison gas, the threat of sand filling up a closed room is scary.  But the in-play emphasis should be on the atmosphere rather than the mechanics.  Rolling dice doesn't really enhance the suspense. 

Over the Waves Part 10 (Landfall)

And so the Binggongchang left the Island of Wisdom and after another day of smooth sailing reached a suitable place to land.  Bangqiu dropped anchor about one hundred yards off shore and the boat was lowered.  All passengers and sailors were ferried to shore, just to give everyone a chance to walk on dry land after their many weeks at sea. 

The landing place was a narrow beach surrounded by marshes and jungle.  Rhialle recognized a mountain range further inland and Bagqiu concluded that he had made good use of Sakatha's ring.  The sailors and sohei returned to the ship while Bangqiu organized an exploration party that would travel inland to find Rhialle's settlement.  Kafka argued that he should remain with the ship to maintain order among the sohei and sailors.  But Bangqiu insisted that he would need his help in this strange new land.  Kafka relented and placed Mai-Thi in charge.

Thus, the exploration party comprised:
Bangqiu, with Kafka, Damai, and Rhialle
Bo-Jing
Shoji and his bodyguard Singha
Bayan and her adviser Minh
Hyamsam

The Lucky Ten camped on the beach and then set off into the jungle the next morning.  By midday, they came upon a human settlement, one where the people spoke the same language as Rhialle.  They did not know him, but they knew the way to his home.

A few more days of travel brought them to the village of Tamoachitz.  Here Rhialle was recognized and the party was welcomed and honored-- but not in a manner that they recognized as friendly.  After a few nights, Rhialle heard the shrill piping that he recognized as the prelude to a special sacrifice.  He thanked Bangqiu for bringing him home and urged him to flee with his friends. Bangqiu agreed that he did not wish to be sacrificed but convinced Rhialle that he was ready to explore other paths to enlightenment.  And so the Lucky Ten left Tamoachitz in the middle of the night, setting up across the surrounding jungle.

A full moon guided their path, and they made their way toward a light that glowed in the trees.  This turned out to be the ruins of a towering pyramid.  They slept on the white stones of the deserted city.  In the morning, while planning their next move, the explorers heard the noise of the pursuers.  In controlled panic, they ran toward the pyramid.  Then the earth shuddered and gaped open beneath the party's feet.  They fell amidst a roar of collapsing masonry.  Dust filled the air and the sunlight disappeared as the darkness swallowed the,. 

Over the Waves Part 9 (The Island of Wisdom)

Morning showed no obvious place to seek harbor.  Binggongchang skirted beneath the rocky cliffs of the new continent, close enough to enjoy fragrant breezes but without finding a place to put the boat ashore.  After a few hours, the tantalizing cruise seemed to offer something better-- a verdant island with a deepwater harbor with a channel that was navigable into its interior-- a huge flooded cave. 

Shoji and Bo Jing who had improved on their rudimentary knowledge of sailing during the course of the voyage were able to bring the Binggongchang to a natural dock.  Artful placement of the gangplank allowed the passengers to walk down to a gravel beach without getting their feet wet.  The dripping water sounded like music.  Or maybe that was music, even singing.

Was this Party Island at last?

No,  it was her older, wiser older sister.  About half the sailors refused to get off the ship.

The leaders of the expedition, however, were intrigued and after disembarking made their way eagerly toward a gentle light.  They met a man there who introduced himself as Saridan and invited them to join him in meditation. 

Weeks passed.  Those who weren't familiar with seaweed salad learned to love it.

And then it was time for The Tests.

Hyamsam was brought into a small room and told to sit at a table and watch a rock until it jumped.  It seemed boring and pointless but (with some meta-game encouragement from White Bear) he persisted.  Saridan reward him with this lesson-- moderation in all things including patience, especially when someone asks you to wait for a rock to jump.

Shoji was brought a shrine dedicated to The Path of the Red Mountain and invited to re-dedicate it to his own School.  Although he found the practitioners of The Path of the Red Mountain to be insufferable busybodies, he allowed that their beliefs affirmed goodness in thought, word, and action, and that he refused to treat his faith as a tribal affinity.  He declined to disturb the rival shrine.  Saridan congratulated him.

Next, Saridan invited Bo Jing into a cave lined with swords and asked him a provoking question.  "What would you do if I tried to kill you?"  Bo Jing laughed off the piece of hypothetical sophistry.  When Saridan picked upa fiery sword, Bo Jing drew his katana and fended off a flurry of attacks without seeking to strike Saridan.  Saridan congratulated Bo Jing on his ability to defend himself without excessive force and gifted him with the fiery sword.

Finally, Saridan led Bangqiu and Bayan to a cave with a seemingly bottomless pit in the center.  He told them that they would be leaving the island soon but that he would answer a call for help if they were willing to sacrifice their most valuable possession.  After some debate between the two of them Bayan cast her magical sword-- a gift from her mentor Beatriss-- into the pit.  Bangqiu, reasoning that even though he didn't see much use in the Blood Gem Crucible, he had fought a dragon to get it and assassins to keep it, and thus it was, objectively, the most valuable.  He cast it away with little reluctance.  Saridan scolded them for their lack of confidence in their own abilities but promised that he would honor his promise.

Shoji and Bo Jing were each presented with an additional gift, a glowing pearl, that when dissolved in saltwater, resulted in a bubbling ruby-red drink that was sweeter than honey.

Everyone else-- except those sailors who had refused to leave the ship-- got a vial of holy water.

Over the Waves Part 8 (Another Blind Captain)

Shoji ministered to Bayan and those sohei who were troubled by their contact with the box. As their condition improved, Bayan asked to see the contents of the box. Bangqiu claimed the most obviously valuable item, the mirror. But Bayan recognized that among the pieces of oddly-formed metal, there was a functioning astrolabe and time-measuring device. Bo Jing pocketed a set of intricately-cut keys, reasoning that they must fit the lock to a valuable treasure. The large jar of dark liquid was too strange to throw away or to keep; Shoji agreed to store it in his cabin. The great miscellany, comprising an assortment of oddly-formed metal shapes and stacks of mouldering books were turned over to Bangqiu with the thought that he alone might one day be able to make sense of them.

But they were still stuck at sea. Hyamsam noticed how hungry the crew was and shared his food with them. Captain Won asked Bangqiu if he could have some of the sohei’s rations for his sailors, confessing that he had not purchased an adequate amount. Bangqiu declared that everyone on board would ration their food to provide for the sailors.  

Meanwhile, Shoji noticed that jar of dark liquid was starting to fill with vapor or steam. This troubled him and he resolved to keep it with him at all times.

Bangqiu’s provision of better rations for the crew seemed to improve everyone’s mood, even as the sailors rowed southward with the long oars day and night, hoping to escape the doldrums. Captain Won resumed his sparring lessons with Bo Jing. In the middle of one bout, one of the sailors hurled a hammer at the Captain. It flew harmlessly past his ear, but the rest of the crew took this as a signal—about a dozen attacked their Captain with fists and clubs and tools. Dropping his wooden sparring sword, he drew his steel blade and cut his down 2 or 3 of his attackers. The others hesitated for a moment, and then Hyamsam shot two magic missiles at the Captain—the crew pressed their attack, knocking the Captain to the desk. Bangqiu suddenly appeared and commanded the crew to stop. They were visibly afraid of him and he learned that the Captain had told them he wanted to eat them. When Won stood up and killed another member of the mutinous crew, Bangqiu responded with a blast of blue-green missiles, blasting Won to the deck. He did not prevent the crew from finishing him off.  

The crew cheered and named Hyamsam their new Captain. Hyamsam promised that he woud bring them to the mythical “Party Island” that Captain Won had tempted them with in Heng-Shai.

Bangqiu, meanwhile, ransacked the Captain’s cabin and in reviewing the ship’s log and pages of angry calculations, was rewarded with the troubling knowledge that Won had given up hope of finding his way out of the doldrums.  

After a few minutes in his own cabin, listening to the sailors open a barrel of strong wine, Bangqiu took a deep breath of the stifling air and put on Sakatha’s ring. Twisting it, he imagined the places Rhialle had described to him. As the ring turned into lead and broke apart, the breeze picked up and turned the ship’s course once again to the north. A day of fine sailing brought them into a strong eastwards current. Combined with favourable winds, five more days of easy sailing brought the Binggongchang in sight of land. Not just an island, but a huge continent.

That evening, the sailors danced and sang, Bangqiu tried to sleep, and Shoji instructed Bo Jing and three sohei students on mindful meditation. The ascetics’ session was repeatedly interrupted by noises from the jar of dark liquid. As the liquid began to boil and the jar rattled so violently it seemed about to burst, Shoji grabbed it and hurled it out the window. The glass exploded and a man emerged. His skin was like a baby’s but in the flash of the explosion Shoji recognized his twisted visage as that of the skeletal captain of the ghost ship. He landed in the sea. Bayan heard the commotion and looked out the window of her own cabin. In the moonlight she saw the hand of a man clutch something to his chest as he went below the waves.

Over the Waves Part 7 (The Blind Captain)

As morning broke, everyone on board the Binggongchang. could clearly sea the ghost ship and its crew. Two dozen animated skeletons ambled about the deck. It means of propulsion seemed to be something below the surface that was pulling it across the water by three rusty chains. Bangqiu turned invisible,

As the ghost ship got closer, one of their number began the climb the tallest mast. He was dressed in the once-fine clothes of a merchant captain, with an elaborate hat and cloak. His face was completely wrapped in white bandages, but he climbed the rotten ropes of the mainmast without hesitation. Reaching the top, he – or it—metamorphisized into a flabby-winged, vaguely humanoid, pink thing that flew, clumsily from one ship to the other, landing in the crow’s nest of the BG. Immediately, Bangqiu appeared floating in the air beside it and, with a flurry of magic missiles, blasted away the soft pink flesh. The white skeletal creature inside turned to face Bangqiu and said almost gleefully, “Oh, a wizard, I’ve been looking for another wizard, I think we can help each other.”

Meanwhile, those on the deck, prepared to fight the skeleton crew. Bo Jing, in his eagerness, misjudged the distance between the two ships and in trying to leap from one to the other, landed in the sea. The three rusty chains were revealed to belong to three creatures with bodies like men, scales and fins like fish, and claws and fangs like hellspawn. All three attacked Bo Jing. With a special blessing from Shoji and a burst of his own ki power, Bo Jing grabbed one of the chains, and pulled himself out of the water. As the fish fiends lunged for him, Bo Jing, rappelled off the side of the ghost ship, leaping from side-to-side and slashing with his sword.

Captain Won ordered his sailors below decks to avoid the melee. Bangqiu, temporarily confused by the offer from the undead Captain, gave his response in the form of a trio of fiery shurikens. But before they could reach their mark, a gigantic skeletal hand appeared and deflected the missiles. Bangqiu called out to his friends for help. “Why am I fighting this one alone?”

Bayan started to climb up the best, but was both blocked and incapacitated by a giant spider’s web, cast down on her by the undead Captain. The sohei’s arrows passed harmlessly through his body. But Damai shot two magical arrows both of which found their mark. And a blast of steam from Bangqiu passed through the big skeletal hand and half-overcame the horrible invader. Bangqiu dropped to the deck and called out for Hyamsam. Coordinating their magic, the two living wizards, blasted the undead one out of the sky. He disappeared completely in a sudden burst of flame. By this time, Bo Jing had killed the underwater monsters that pulled the ghost ship. The skeletons on the deck simply crumbled to dust.

Shoji threw a rope down for Bo Jing. Bayan, after being cut free from the web, organized a boarding party. A gangplank was laid down and Bangqiu, Bo Jing, Shoji, and Bayan all boarded the ghost ship and found a flight of steps to take them below decks. The deck and mast were in bad shape, but the ships’s insides were nearly completely rotten. Bo Jing dropped from the bottom step into ankle-deep water. Sunshine, filtered through holes in the deck, and refracted by the surface of the water, created dancing patterns of light in the gloom. He stood half-dazed, waiting for his eyes to adjust when Shoji grabbed him, urging him to get back up the stairs! There was splashing, howls, and an unearthly scream. Bo Jing’s blade fended off an attack by a fish-zombie like those that had attacked him when he’d fallen in the sea. It was followed by two others, and a spectral form lurked behind the, in the deep shadows. He guarded the party’s retreat back up the stairs. Up on deck, the arty surrounded the top of the stairs, all prepared for a deadly battle. But the evil creatures cowered in the darkness. Shoji recommended that the others assist him in smashing more holes in the deck, and flooding the space below with sunshine. With axes and boots, they enlarged the gaps in the soft, rotten wooden, and in triumph as they watched the life-haters recoil in the vanishing darkness. Inevitably, the overzealous Bayan crashed all the way through. She fought her way into a large patch of light and called for the others to join her. Bangqiu found a beam solid enough to serve as a makeshift ladder, and everyone climbed down.

The undead monsters gnashed their teeth and cursed from the shadows, but Shoji chanted a soft, calming prayer so that his friends could take in their surroundings. A huge wooden box attracted their attention. Roughly cubical, it was taller than a man and the side that was fully illuminated was made of new-looking wood, much finer and more solid-looking than an ordinary crate or anything else on the ship. Bayan touched it and immediately regretted it, dropping her sword in a sudden mood of deep despondence to wander toward the shadowy bulkhead where the monsters lurked. The arrow design glowed wickedly on the side of the box. Bangqiu transfixed Bayan with hi magic and Bo Jing pulled her back into the light. Bangqiu went above desk and called for Kafka’s assistance. About a dozen sohei brought axes to chop their way into the box.

 It was gruelling work, physically and spiritually. The effort in chopping through a single plank reduced a discipline monk to tears. As the hole expanded. The monsters ben working on ehe other side, but they were not immune to the box’s terrifying psychic effects. When the hole was large enough, Bangqiu squeezed inside. The contents were strange and, except for a large, highly-reflective mirror, did not, at a glance, seem to deserve such protection. Nevertheless, he called for baskets, sacks and ropes so that the entire contents of the crate could be removed from the ghost ship to the  Binggongchang. As the sun was setting, Bangqiu followed the last of the dubious treasures—a large jar filled with dark liquid—out of the hole and back to his own ship. Once everyone was accounted for, they cast off from the ghost ship, tossing an oil-soaked torch behind them. The sailors had brought up the long oars and those who had strength joined them in rowing the ship slowly forward through the seaweed-choked sea. All night, they watched the ghost ship burning. Those who slept pretended to forget their dreams.

Over the Waves Part 6 (Strange Sightings)

A few days later, the Binggongchang was attacked again, this time by denizens of the deep. Hyamsam spotted something moving toward them at high speed, just below the surface. This something turned out to be a group of about a dozen mermen, who, in surfacing, hurled iron javelins at the ship’s passengers. Hyamsam led the counter-attack—sling stones, arrows, and magic missiles broke up the mermen’s attack. Moments later however, more mermen surfaced, over one hundred, surrounding the ship on all sides. `More frightening, another group of mermen surfaced with what was later referred to as a “demonic eyeball” (Bayan) and “Billy” (Bo Jing). Billy Eyeball was restrained with thick ropes by seven or eight mermen. He struggled ferociously against his captors, but was not friendly to those on the ship either. A beam from his eye stunned several sailors and sohei. This combined with javelins from every direction threatened complete chaos on board the Binggongchang.

 Not all the javelins were hurled as weapons. About a dozen were hooked on one end, and trailed a rope on the other. The mermen were using the hooks to catch hold of the ship itself and pull it to a stop. Shoji chanted a prayer to maintain courage on board the ship abd Captain Won ordered full sails. Bayan and Bo-Jing coordinated the cutting of the tethers. Hyamsam hurled spells at the eyeball wranglers and as their numbers dwindled, they were forced to pull the Billy back under the waves. With the advantages of a strong wind, quick thinking, and sharp blades, the Binggongchang. escaped. The mermen pursued, as the BG passed over an extensive underwater city of stone houses and places, populated by merpeople. On a vast plain of seaweed, Hyamsam counted the wrecks of seven other ships. The mermen continued their pursuit until the Binggongchang had passed over their city.

Captain Won complimented Bo Jing for his bravery at the hostile island and against the fishmen. “If it had been your choice, you would have fought them with your sword, I believe.” And he challenged him to spar, bringing out a pair of wooden swords. He showed himself to be a skilled sword-fighter, more accomplished than Bo-Jing or Bayan. He offered to teach Bo Jing some advanced techniques in exchange for some of the trophies and treasure Bo-Jing had collected. Bo-Jing as reluctant; he did not like the Captain because of the way he treated his crew. But this seemed to be a special opportunity and timely It was likely that Bo-Jing would be pulled into another mortal combat before the voyage was over. A bargain was struck and in fact, Captain Won seemed to benefit from his new role, and was distracted from gratuitously beating his crew.  

And from the weather. A fierce storm overtook the ship, buffeting it from wave to wave for three days and blowing it from its easterly course due northwards. When the storm ended, they founded themselves in a dead calm, in a sea choked with seaweed. Captain Won punished his crew for his shame. And he became vicious in his sparring with Bo-Jing, one day suggesting hey fight with real swords-- to first blood. He won handily—and to relief of Bo-Jing’s friends, made a single slash across the young warriors chest before ending the duel with a smile and a bow. “You have learned much, but I’m still better!” His mood of happy triumph lasted another day in the doldrums, but then he returned to lashing his crew. Hyamsam shared his food with the starving crew members. Bangqiu directly demanded that Won treat his crew better. Captain Won flatly refused to take any advice regarding his methods for performing the job he’d been paid to do—crossing the Unknown Ocean to the land of gold! Bangqiu, after admitting did not wish to turn back, had no choice but to acquiesce.

Temporarily defeated, Bagqiu used his magic to become invisible and hover high above the ship, tethered to the highest mast. From this vantage point, towards dusk, he spotted a ship on the horizon. He shared the news with his friends and Shoji watched the ship with interest. A slight wind had filled the sails of the Binggongchang. The other ship followed behind them throughout the night. By moonlight, Shoji caught the occasional glimpse of the other ship’s sails—its masts were crooked and its sails so badly torn that rather than catch the wind, they fluttered in tatters. Nevertheless, it was moving, in unnatural lurches and gradually closing the distance.

Over the Waves Part 5 (Not Party Island) with guest editor Rainbow Monkey Sock!

Bo-Jing: 

“After a few more days sailing, we found an island that the crew thought was party island. Party island was supposed to be a place where there were going to be food and wine and welcoming women. We discovered instead that there were hostiles. They welcomed us by try to kill us Using spears. They were along  half the beach  in numbers about a 100.  Bangqiu  commanded  a retret. We shot are connons at the the hostile men. There were moaning cause they wanted party island.”

Over the Waves Part 4 (Oil and Water)

The good ship Binggongchang sailed out from Akari and by the end of the day had left behind all sight of land. Captain Won revealed himself to be a harsh taskmaster, stalking the decks with a whip and addressing his crew in tones that ranged from disdainful to explicitly life-threatening. He was, however, very respectful to his passengers, and to the spirits of the sea. On the first morning on the open ocean, he produced an exquisitely-detailed model of the Binggongchang with gold fittings. He asked Shoji to pray over it and then tossed a silver coin to the water, a ritual that he would perform every morning.

Nevertheless, all aboard were awakened the next morning by a ferocious storm. The ship lost her course and the clouds so obscured the sun, that the passengers lost all sense of direction. The Captain ordered all passengers off the deck. After two days of fitful sleep, Bayan was awaked by an odd sound, that of small waves crashing on a beach. The storm had cleared but they were about to hit land. She went above deck and alerted Captain Won. After assuring her that he had already seen the hazard ahead, he made slight adjustments to their course. All the passengers came up to see what first looked the corpse of an enormous whale, pinned by the current on a coral reef just below the surface of the waves.

The ship dropped anchor. Except that it was suspended in the water, the object resembled a long, smooth stone. Much of it was under the water—its full size was at least ten times as long as the ship. The boat was dropped and a small party approach for a closer look. The object was made of dark metal, battered, and badly rusted at the water line. Paddling their boat around it, the party deduced that the object was the hull of a capsized metal ship. Hyamsam sensed a magical aura and detected an eldritch symbol etched into the metal at the center of the hull—that of a burning eye surrounded by arrows pointing in every direction.

The water around the metal ship was covered with an iridescent sheen and the coral was covered with a black sticky substance. Hyamsam experimented a little and learned that the substance burned easily and with great heat. Great quantities of the black oily substance were found inside the metal ship. At Bayan’s suggestion a barrel was ordered from the Binggongchang and filled with the black oil.

The Captain congratulated them on the discovery suggesting that it could be fed to the crew.

After several more days at sea, the voyagers spotted an island just big enough to offer resources. Bo Jing offer to go ashore in the boat, accompanied by Shoji, and two of the sohei. He was oddly unnerved by what he found. Circling the island, he noted a likely landing place, a sandbar connecting the two rocky islets that composed the island. Drawing closer, he noticed the bodies of four sharks on the beach. The circling birds swooped down over the rotting bodies, but each one recoiled before it got close enough to eat. Seeking another place to land, Bo-Jing found another beach, this one bisected by a shallow stream of water. The boat landed. Shoji tested the water and found it good. They followed it upstream to a cave. There was a rusting inside and Bo-Jing decided than rather than entering alone, they should seek reinforcements.

The next day, a much larger group that added Bangqiu, Bayan, and Hyamsam entered the cave. They were attacked by odd, blood-sucking birds, but these were killed or driven off. In following the stream through the cave, they came upon a locked door. When Kafka tried to open the door, he was nearly overcome by intense pain. A symbol glowed on the door—the same symbol that they’d seem on the bottom of the metal ship. Bayan steeled herself and shouldered the door open. Immediately a half-dozen starving giant shrews charged out. The explorers fended them off with swords, spells, and scraps of food. Inside the guarded chamber, they found little that seemed to justify the magical protection—some unfamiliar metal objects that seemed worthless and did not hold any magic dweomer, plus some mouldering tomes in an unknown language. There was a small sack of gold coins and uncut gemstones. But the greatest treasure found in the caves was water-- a large pool that was the source of the stream. The party filled their water barrels with good, clean water.

Over The Waves Part 3 (The Last Known Island)

After a sojourn of a few months in Dar E Lan, it was almost time to begin the real voyage.  The news came that a peace treaty had been signed and the Straits were safe for merchants.  So it was a fortuitous time to set out over the waves. Hyamsam the young magician, intrigued by the prospect of living on a ship in search of places that might not exist, asked the join the expedition.

There was a final port of call before advancing into the uncharted ocean.  Some of the slaves that Bangqiu had rescued came from an island nominally claimed by Zhou Song, but populated by an independent people with their own culture-- Akari. 

The week-long journey to Akari passed without incident and the surprise return of the youths who were kidnapped by slavers over a year ago earned Bangqiu and his friends a heroes' welcome.  They were provided rooms in the best house in the island's, small, but beautiful capital.  The return of those who had given up as lost was only increased by Bangqiu's description of how he had punished and destroyed the slavers, ensuring that they would never return.  Every comfort was provided, and some members of the party joked that they might never want to leave.

And then the party.  The noise of hammers woke them up early in the morning.  The people of Akari were building a a series of colorful tents to host a celebration.  Throughout the day, Bangqiu and his friends were feted with food, drink, gifts, songs, and every manner of attention.  As day passed into evening, the great feast was laid out for them.  Though the day had been clear and sunny, cooled by the mildest breezes, halfway through the feast, a storm broke.  Thunder boomed in the sky and the wind shook the hanging lanterns. 

The ghostly figure of a blue-green man had appeared above the town.  Lightning crackled from the swords he swung above his head.  His breath was a fierce gale, rising in intensity.  Three flying creatures flew about him.  They had bat-like wings and the heads of monkey, with tusks as long as their bodies. 

As the people of Akari ran for cover, the heroes rushed to their defense.  Bayan fired an arrow at the giant air-spirit.  Her bow was strong and her aim was good.  Hyansan shot a magic arrow that hit the spirit in the face.  It howled with anger disappearing into the clouds as the winds increased to hurricane strength.  The flying monkeys descended, one flying at Bayan and another at Hyamsam.  Bayan was struck by a tusk, but managed to grab hold of the monkey and throw it to the ground.  Shoji blessed Bo-Jing's sword as he sprang into action, and struck the grounded monkey with great force.  Bangqiu released a cloud of steam at monkey diving at Hyamsam.  As it neared the ground, Kafka stood in front of Hyamsam, ready with his frost brand.  Kafka was struck by both tusks, but nearly killed the monkey.  The third monkey, meanwhile had noticed that Bangqiu posed the greatest threat and dived at him.  Damai shot it with several arrows.

Flying monkeys are horrific.  Eight-foot monkeys on the ground, slashing you with their tusks are terrifying.  Shoji began to chant, sustaining his companions' courage.  The storm tore the tents away from their moorings, sending huge sheets of canvas careening into the sky.  The lanterns were extinguished, the only illumination now being, bursts of magic missiles from Bangqiu and Hyamsam and from the glowing swords of Bo-Jing and Bayan.  Bayan stood her ground, taking more damage from her assailant and slashing.  Seizing a pefect opportunity, Bo-Jing baited the monkey into turning on him, only to receive a pair of fatal cuts.  Kafka backed away from the monster attacking him, and then surprised it with mighty thrust of his sword.  A magic missile from Hyamsam feleld the feast.  Bangqiu stayed quick on his feet, diving behind tables as the monkey pursued him and blasting it with magic whenever it got too close.  Finally he lured it into a place where the warriors could attack it from all sides and destroy it.  Shoji healed the wounded.  Bo-Jing claimed a pair of tusks as a trophy.

The next morning, the people of Akari bid the heroes farewell.

The Sacbe 6 (The Cetay)

Having found more food than they could carry, the travelers remained at the cliff house and over the next few weeks, consumed the maize recovered from the ruined city. Because of their high vantage point, they felt safe from marauders and did not leave the cliffs except to gather firewood and water. They cooked and ate maize cakes and rested in the coolness. One day, they were approached by a lone traveler, a pluma weaver by the name of Hueyi. He had little to say about himself except that he, too, came from a village threatened by drought and storm and famine. The travelers decided to trust him and to ask him to join their band. Although their reserve of maize was still more than they could carry, the stream was starting to fill with ashy sediment. It was time to move on.

They descended from the cliff house and returned to the sacbe that led to Nexal. The road rose to a high flat plain and they walked two whole days with little protection from the harsh sun. One day, they were attacked by two huge birds. Taller than a man, the birds did not fly, but ran across the hard-packed ground completely silent until the moment of attack when their screams tore the air. One leapt into the air and slashed at Zolin with its huge talons. The other charged through the middle of the party, swinging its axe-like beak from side-to-side, putting the porters and Divemoye to flight. Hueyi proved his worth. As the charging bird turned to make another charge, Hueyi shot an arrow into its back. Seeing the effectiveness of this tactic, Atl and Omachaka did the same. More arrows diverted the bird from its charge, and it chased after the porters. Zolin meanwhile, took a defensive position, ducking under his shield and swinging his weapon to keep the monstrous bird at bay. As the arrow-ridden bird caught up to the porters, Paal rushed to their defense and killed the bird with his maca. The other bird, seeing the death of its fellow, turned with a squawk and ran away.

Atl tended to the wounds of his compatriots while the others butchered and cooked the bird. There was meat for everyone and plenty left over. As they were finishing the meal, a group of people approached, waving their arms from a distance. Zolin waved them closer. There was some debate among the travelers regarding whether they should share the leftover bird meat with the strangers. But when the strangers revealed that they came from a nearby village, blessed with a deep cetay of cool, clean water, it became obvious that a mutually beneficial bargain was close at hand.

During the long walk to the nearby village, the villagers offered that the travelers should feel free to drink as much water as they could. There was something they should know first.

Something lived in the cetay. And it demanded sacrifices from those who wanted water. Sometimes jewelry or trinkets were enough. But it also liked meat. The villagers described a creature that sounded something like the crocodiles that lived in the saltwater marshes near Otoch. But it had hands like a man. And its breath caused the water to turn into snakes.

Desperate with thirst, the travelers decided that they would kill the monsters and then enjoy water without fear. Zolin still possessed the Shield of Friendship. Atl volunteered that he would suffer for Zolin if Zolin would go into the cetay to fight the monster. The travelers, even the porters agreed to do the same, as did four of the villagers. Atl prayed to the new and still barely-known god revealed to him by the old man at the pyramid and devised a special protection for Zolin should he be attacked by the water snakes. Hueyi prepared his bow, Omachaka his knives, and Divemoye his axe. 

 They went to the pool and surrounded it. Zolin slipped into the water with a small splash. As the water cleared, a dark shadow emerged at the bottom of the deep, clear pool. 

 It was smaller than Zolin had expected, but somehow more terrifying, resembling a dog as much as crocodile, and with long, grasping, and clawed hands. As it reached out to grab Zolin, the warrior pulled up his legs and dove with his knife. His strong blow barely pierced the monsters hide, but this seemed enough to provoke a furious counter attack. Its claw tore into the figures on Zolin’s shield and the poweful jaws gripped the rim. The villagers standing next to cetay bled profusely and fell to their knees. Omechoka and Divemoye leapt into the pool, stabbing and hacking the monster’s back. Zolin urged Hueyi to shoot the monster, declaring that he’d rather die by his friend’s misfired arrow than be eaten. As the water began to turn red with the monster’s blood, it turned quickly and lashed at Zolin with its tail. Bleeding welts appeared on the faces and chests of Atl and Hueyi. The monster dove, leaving behind the rumored water snakes—these were literally snakes formed from the water. When Hueyi lashed at one with his knife, the blade passed through its body and he was sucked into the pool. The other water snakes attacked Zolin but were repelled by the divine protection requested by Atl. Atl called for more protection and dispelled the water snake that was wrapped around Hueyi. As Hueyi climbed out of the water, Paal and the four villagers dived in. They grabbed the monster by the tail as Zolin grabbed one of its forearms. Suddenly the monster turned and slashed at Zolin who cast his shield aside, knowing his friends were already severely wounded. As the monster stretched its jaws, Zolin thrust his knife into its throat, stabbing it as the jaws closed in on his arm. The monster thrashed and thrashed and then the water was still. Zolin’s shield floated up to the surface, followed by the heroic slayers of the Ahuitzotl.

They travelers cooked and ate the monster. They retrieved the gold, turquoise, and jade from the bottom of the pool. And they drank lots of water.

Tales From Dar E Lan 3: The Blue Lady Society (Over the Waves Interlude 3)

One day, Bayan and Hyamsam were sharing a tavern meal when they overheard an intriguing conversation at another table. Rather than a conversation, one man, whose name they later learned was Dilawar was holding forth on the powers and mysteries of “her,” allowing himself to be interrupted only by offers of more food and drink. When Hyamsam and Bayan approached the table, Dilawar was immediately welcoming and pronounced that both of them looked like they were “ready.” He introduced them to his half-dozen dining companions, including Lena, a soft-spoken, alert-eyed young woman, and Weeno, an older woman wearing a ragged sari and an abundance of gold bracelets. Dilawar invited Bayan and Hyamsam to a party that night—“at our special house by the lakeside.”

The party took place outside the city, at a pavilion next to a beautiful lake surrounded on three sides by steep cliffs. There was a ruined mansion on top of the cliffs. Despite the setting, Bayan and Hyamsam found the party strange. Other guests asked not subtle questions about the “Blue Lady, who just wants everyone to be happy and enjoy themselves and each other.” Hyamsam tried to explore the mansion on the cliffs—he was dissuaded by the revelers.

The next day, Bayan and Hyamsam were contacted by Jaral, Lena’s elderly father. He was worried about his daughter. Rumors about Hyamsam’s bad behavior at the lakeside party had made him hopeful that he had found someone who could give him useful information about the strange group that had ensnared his daughter’s attention.

Bayan and Hyamsam had little in the way of information, but they agreed to go to investigate at the lakeside. Accompanied by Bo Jing and two of Kafka’s sohei (Minh and Mai-Thi) they ventured forth.

The mansion itself was only a shell, but among its ruins, the explores found a staircase leading into a cave complex. They explored natural limestone tunnels and finished rooms filled with damp, moldering furniture. Murals of undersea life decorated the walls—and beautiful, smiling Blue Lady featured prominently. The explorers also had the strange feeling they were being watched. Hyamsam clearly saw a figure peering down from a ledge. When he climbed up to see what it was, he found only a pool of water. They found that the tunnels connected to the lakeside pavilion where they’d attended the party. They also found Dilawar, Lena, and Weeno, and some other members of the Blue Lady Society.

The Blue Lady devotees were hiding in a locked door that Hyamsam had to break down with magic. Dilawar showed only mild outrage and Weeno began weeping with relief. Bayan asked for an explanation.

Dilawar struggled to assume his usual tone of self-assured authority and mumbled something about “Close-minded people who intrude upon the gathering of those who are steeped in the mysteries.”

As Bayan pushed her inquiry, Weeno began shrieking, and pointed at Bo Jing’s waterskin. It quivered, lurched, and exploded as a spiny fish-headed monster burst forth. Bo Jing’s blade flashed like lightning and cut it in two. Weeno collapsed at Bo Jing’s feet and clung to his knees, wailing.

Bayan accused Dilawar of using magic against them, but Dilwar promised to have no control. “What a horrible manifestation of bigotry.”

After some negotiation (Weeno promised 500 gold coins and to stop crying), the explorers agreed to escort all of the Blue Lady society members back to the city. On the walk back, Dilawar and Lena spoke in whispered tones and gave dirty looks to anyone who tried to join their conversation. Weeno broke her promise and cried whenever Bo Jing, tried to pull his arm free of her grasp. The fourth member of the Blue Lady group, a sullen young man in blue clothes, stayed aloof from everyone and slunk away as they reached civilization.

Lena agreed, with a display of exasperation to let Bo Jing and Hyamsam bring her back to her father’s house. When they arrived, the servants were at first happy to see Lena, but then unhappy to see that Jaral wasn’t with her.

“He went to that place at the lake so he could look for you—we tried to stop him but he wouldn’t listen!”

Bayan insisted that they should rest briefly, but return to the lake that night. Bo Jing and Hyamsam agreed. Lena was anxious to go with them and the party agreed that the benefit of her knowledge outweighed the risk that she might betray them to other members of the society.

Although the gates of Dar E Lan were closed, Lena knew a secret way out of the city, and the quickest path back to the lake. Relying on Bayan’s maps, they swept through the tunnels they’d explored earlier, with Lena calling out for her father. A man’s voice answered them, but he turned out to be another member of the Blue Lady Society. Terrified, he ran from them, and stumbled down a slope to knock himself unconscious. They decided to carry him outside where he would be least likely to hurt them or himself. Lena knew him only slightly, since the entire Blue Lady Society met rarely and only at night so that they could overthrow their inhibitions without fear of being interrupted by nosy closed-minded people.

Interesting. But there was a nosy close-minded person who needed their help and Lena was eager to continue looking for her father. When the group reached the ceremonial room, Lena was dismayed to see that someone had defaced the murals of the Blue Lady, replacing the smiling beautiful nude woman with a fearsome fish-headed monster. Bayan and Hyamsam noted that the painting of the fish-head monster actually looked far older than that of her benign counterpart and that the “defacement” could better be described as a restoration.

As the rescuers continued their search, it became clear that Lena had seen little of the caverns firsthand. Bayan’s careful mapping helped them locate a narrow passage, steeply downward sloping. A trickle of water ran down the middle of it and as the trickle reached a large pool at a low point in the passage, the party prepared to meet one of the strange monsters that had burst from Bo Jing’s waterskin. Sure enough, it leaped out of the shallow pool, claws pointed at Mai-Thi. Bo Jing leapt in front of her, drawing his blade. The tentacles surrounding the monster’s mouth lashed Bo Jing’s eyes, but he fought through the pain and cut it down.

The party pressed onwards until they found a locked door. With a shout, Bo Jing charged at it and threw his body into it. It gave way enough for Hyamsam to pry it open with his staff. Lena’s father rushed out swinging his cane and screaming, “The water is evil!” Lena calmed him down, and they had a tearful reunion, artfully mixing plaintive apologies and half-veiled recriminations. “I’m sorry that I never felt worthy to be your daughter!” “I’m sorry that I never earned your trust!” They were interrupted by Hyamsam who pointed out that a ruder interruption, in the form of three of the fish-headed monster, was on its way.

Hyamsam stood by Lena and her father while the warriors, including Minh and Mai-Thi fought and killed the monsters.

During the long walk home, Lena told her father everything she knew about the Blue Lady Society and in so doing, came to the realization was Dilawar was a manipulative, perverted, and cowardly piece-of-shit.

Tales from Dar E Lan: The Lost Silver Mine (Over the Waves Interlude 2)

The slayers of the earthquake beetle shared news of their success, and were summoned by officials in Dar Elan to provide proof. Bo Jing had collected the mandibles and other samples, which were received with great interest. A sage offered payment for the samples, most of which Bo Jing was willing to part with. He kept one of the mandibles, and asked a grateful weaponsmith to fashion it into a weapon.

Bo Jing wanted to send his reward money, including the silver coins collected from the beetle’s lair back to his parents in Khanbaliq. Compared to the price of sending a ship through the Imperial blockade or hiring a caravan for the months-long trip over desert, mountains, and jungle, his treasure was paltry, and Bo Jing did not find a willing courier for a price he could afford. News of his filial loyalty enhanced the story of his courage against the earthquake beetle, reaching the ears of a wealthy merchant who invited Bo Jing and his friends to dine at his house. The merchant, named Daye, was the son of ex-patriates from Zhou Dang, and, it seemed, distantly related to Bo Jing. During more peaceful times, he regularly traded with his relatives in Tian Jing [check]. He suggested a way that Bo Jing could bring much honor to the family.

The family had rights to a silver mine not far from Dar E Lan. The mine had been abandoned after being overrun by monsters. That was a generation ago and those had claimed to be eye-witnesses were dead.

Daye acknowledged that he did not know the true story. He hoped that it was a tall tale spread by the family to discourage claim jumpers. It was possible that the mine had deserted because the silver ore had been exhausted. Or, perhaps the stories about monsters was true! Regardless, if Bo Jing resolved the mystery, he would be doing the family a great service.

Batzorig and Shoji asked to join the adventure. Sang and Han Bee also agreed to assist.

Daye’s servants showed Bo Jing and his friends the way to the mine cutting a path through the jungle in the foothills above Dar E Lan. Once the dark hole of the mine came in view, the servants returned to the city and the explorers were to left to rely on their courage.

There was a clearing in front of the mine, and several heaps of depleted ore. Among these piles, they found bones and the half-eaten carcass of a recently killed animals.

The heroes lit a lantern and ventured into the mine. A wide, well-worked passage led straight into the hillside, sloping steeply downwards and with evenly-spaced side passages. The party quickly explored these side passage, found that they terminated in dead ends and continued their way down. As the passage leveled off, the floor suddenly gave out beneath them. Sang fell into a deep chasm that had been covered by a sheet of canvas strewn with gravel. Shoji called out to him. He was hurt, but alive. The explorers had no rope, and Shoji encouraged Sang to climb out, if he could. Sang picked out a climbing route and began his re-ascent, encouraged by his companions. They never saw him alive again. They heard him fall again and then silence.

Batzorig, a fearless climber offered to climb down into the pit and see if Sang was still alive. About halfway down, he lost his purchase on the slick walls of the chasm and also fell to his death. The survivors decided to leave the mine.

Back in the clearing, Bo Jing, Shoji, and Han Bee silently cooked a small, quiet supper. It was too dark to return to the city, They thought they should retrieve the bodies of their friends, but weren’t sure how. A unexpected guest joined them, a capricious, self-style magician of the jungle who, besides the other powers he boasted of, possessed a large of quantity of rope. He also knew that the mine was hope home to monsters, though he refused to describe them. “In the morning, we will all see them for ourselves.”

The next morning, the reformed band of explorers entered the mine. When they reached the chasm, the magician (who had refused to reveal his name) climbed down into the pit with an easy nimbleness that made him resemble a spider. Within seconds, he called down from the bottom of the pit that the friends were there, and as expected, dead. Bo Jing and Shoji threw down the ends of two ropes. The magician tied them round the bodies.

As Bo Jing, Shoji, and Han Bee were beginning to hall up the ropes, they were surprised by a ten-foot tall, two-headed woman who was swinging two spiked clubs as she leapt over the chasm into their midst. One club sent Han Bee sprawling. The other club pounded so hard against the wall that small rocks fell from the ceiling. Shoji attended to Han Bee and Bo Jing drew his sword to fight the monster. Bo Jing’s skill and courage was no match for the monster’s brute strength and blind rage. Although he spilled much blood, he surely would have been battered to a pulp if the unnamed magician had not emerged from the pit to shoot blue and green glowing bolts of energy into the monsters back. When the monster turned to fight the new attacker, the magician hid in the pit. Bo Jing rallied. Climbing onto a fallen boulder, Bo Jing sprang at the monster and cut off one of its heads. Shoji too joined the battle. The monster struck Shoji full in the chest with its club. Shoji tumbled backwards to absorb the blow, and then sprang at the monster’s knees, knocking her off balance so that she tumbled into the pit.

The friends worked together to pull their friends out of the pit and bore their bodies back to Dar E Lan. Daye gravely congratulated them on having confirmed that the old tales were true.

A few days later, the explorers returned to the mine, this time accompanied by Bangqiu. Bangqiu, with his knowledge of powerful magic, transformed himself into an owl and led the way into the mine.  When the party reached the chasm, Bangqiu flew down into it and investigated the body of the dead giantess.  He discovered a jeweled necklace and pulled it off of her. He flew back up to the top and returned to human form to pocket the necklace.

The party proceeded down the mine, Bangqiu still leading the way, now wearing his invisibility cloak. In time, the tunnel opened into a large, smoky cavern. A larger, male, two-headed giant was there and he attacked them immediately.  Bangqiu dashed for a corner and threw a fireball at the giant's chest.  The giant chased him, running into Bo Jing's flashing blade.  Han Bee lit an arrow from the giant's firepit and shot it at his face.  Shoji chanted a blessing, calling on the force of good to help them defeat this evil aberration.

With its clothes on fire, the giant, howled and ran wildly. Bangqiu threw flashing stars of fire at its face, giving Bo Jing an opening to slash across its abdomen. Han Bee dropped her bow and joined the attack. The howling giant dropped one of its clubs and caught her by the hair. With a quick twist, he broke her neck and dropped her body to the ground.  Shoji rushed to her body, but there was clearly nothing to be done. Bang Qiu levitated into the smoky darkness of the the heights of the cavern.  Bo Jing didn't flinch, but attacked with renewed courage, determined to avenge his fallen companion or die trying. Thoguh battered by the giant's club, he stayed on his feet, andcalled on his ki power to release storm and blinding cutting strokes. Shoji's kicks to the giant's back were a valuable distraction and a blast of magic missiles from Bangqiu finally felled the terrible monster.

The survivors lit torches and surveyed the cavern. Bangqiu discovered a thick vein of silver ore. Knowing what to look for, Bo Jing found another. And then another. After satisfying himself that they had reached the bottom of the mine, Bangqiu ordered his friends to stand guard while he studied his magical books. The mine was eerily silent, but for the occasional gust of wind from outside carrying the sound of birdsongs. After several hours of this, Bangqiu himself took upon the form of a bird and flew out of the cavern.

More hours passed. Bo Jing slept and Shoji meditated. Finally, Bangqiu returned. With mining tools. Much to Bo Jing's annoyance, Bang Qiu began to mine the silver from the family mine. Hours of hard work accompanied by insults, recriminations, and threats, generated enough silver ore to pay for the pick an shovel that Bangqiu had bought in Dar E Lan. Fianlly Shoji intervened, advising Bang Qiu and Bo Jing that if thier argument turned violent, he would not offer healing or other assitance to either one of them. At last Bangqiu agreed to leave the mine and go back to Dar E Lan. Bo Jing and Shoji carried the body of Han Bee. Bangqiu carried his tool and the sack of ore.

Daye congratulated Bo Jing on his success and promised that as soon as the shipping lanes were sent, he would send news-- and a generous sample-- to Bo Jing's family in Zhou Dang.

Kafka's congratulations were less ebullient, burdened as they were with his questions, "How did Han Bee die? And why?"

Tales from Dar E Lan: The Earthquake Beetle (Over the Waves Interlude 1)

Bangqiu’s ship arrived in Dar E Lan, and as he went about the business of getting paid and compensating the local monastery for a surprise visit of foreign sohei, his associates found other ways to keep themselves occupied. A trader who had just returned from peddling his wares in the remote villages told the harrowing story of how he’d lost his mule. He was coming down the mountain on his way back to Dar E Lan when he was overcome by fatigue and decided to take a short nap. When he awakened, his mule was nowhere to be found, though its tracks were easy enough to follow. The tracks led into a marshy area at the bottom of the valley and across it to a cave at the base of the cliff. Inside the cave, he found the half-eaten body of his mule. Even more horrifying, the walls of the caves were lined with what looked like over-sized insect eggs. The trader confessed that he had fled in panic and hoped that braver people would solve this mystery.

Bo Jing, Bayan, and Shoji agreed that this was their quest. Two of Kafka’s most promising students (Sang and Han Bee) asked to join them, offering themselves as bodyguards for wise Shoji and spiritual advisors for the courageous Bo Jing. The party and their new henchmen set off the next morning very early, and followed the valley trail up into the hills above the monastery. The first day of travel was peaceful and they spent the night at a half-ruined tower, in the company of a small garrison of monks of the Two-Fold Path.

The next day, the party continued on their way, following directions from the trader and from the monks—who had sheltered the trader hours after he fled from the cave. As their path brought them higher and higher into the mountains and they lost sight of the valley, they realized they had missed a landmark and retraced their steps. It was late afternoon when they re-entered the marshy valley, wandering somewhat aimlessly, looking for signs of – a giant insect?

These signs took the form of tremors in the ground so violent that Sang and Han Bee were knocked off their feet. A flash in the sky of luminescent blue-green caught Shoji’s eye moments before an enormous beetle dropped down on Sang, slashing at him with its machete-like mandibles. As Shoji pulled his bodyguard to safety, Bo Jing shot two arrows into the beetle’s abdomen and then charged with his sword. Bayan drew her own sword and attacked the beetle from the opposite flank. The beetle, though wounded continued its pursuit of Sang, now slashing at his legs. Shoji kicked the beetle in the head, and Sang slashed at it with his own weapon. As the beetle turned, Bo Jing jumped on top of it and drove his blade into a seam in its carapace. Bayan repeatedly slashed its underside until it collapsed and flipped over dead.

After Bo Jing collected a few “samples” (the mandibles, some glowing blue-green beetle “juice”), the party set about finding the cave. After locating the place from which the tremors had originated and Shoji had seen the beetle spring into the air, the party was able to find their way to the “cave”, a noisome hole at the base of chalky cliffs, lined with sticky blue-green goo. As the party made their way into the cave, they were attacked by smaller beetles. These were easily killed and the party soon found themselves in the egg chamber. As the trader had said, the walls were completely covered with oily blue-green membrane sacs, each about the size of a person’s head. The floor was littered with bones and scarps of metal, some silver. After collecting the valuables, the party threw down their torches, and with a flask of lamp oil, started a fire.

Over The Waves Part 2 (Running the Straits)

The good Bīnggōngchǎng sailed out of Tianjing on a fine spring morning under a clear sky and steady winds. Captain Huan showed himself to be a foul storm. When strode the decks with a whip in hand, and his trembling crew heard every order as a mortal threat. The crew’s provisions consisted of scant rice, flavored with rotten fish. They drank water mixed with vinegary wine. Despite his treatment of the crew, he was always deferential to Bangqiu and the other passengers and blamed his crew for any problems caused by the non-sailors. Bayan and Shoji noted the Captain’s conduct as unnecessarily strict but did not intervene, instead opting to stay in their cabins. Bangqiu had provided good rations for his friends, including Kafka’s sohei and despite the small space, the two groups lived side-by-side while barely acknowledging each other.

A week passed and, after leaving the Zhounese coastal waters for the open sea, the ship was allowed to drift for a day so that the canons could be tested. Kafka’s sohei had received minmal instruction on how to load and fire the strange devices but through trial-and-error became quite competent. They retrieved coconuts, rocks, and flotsam from a small coral island, and practiced with these items to avoid wasting ammunition, using the island as their target. After hitting it several times successfully, the sohei, switched to iron balls and fired on the island until they had blasted it into two tiny islets. Captain Huan ordered his crew to watch this demonstration and it also proved to the passengers—except for Dai Duo and Pao Tiānkōng who practiced a strange martial art on the foredeck.  The blindfolded Pao, was struck again and again while Dai Duo shouted cheerful encouragement.

A few days later, sailing south-by-southwest, the Bīnggōngchǎng entered the contested waters of the straits of Malaca. They saw no ships the first day, no the second. This was a slight surprise as they had been warned that the navies of both Empires patrolled the waters. A merchant or other neutral ship such as the Bīnggōngchǎng would be treated as an enemy by either side.

Bo Jing kept a careful watch from the top of the tallest magic. Bangqiu, by his magic, was perched on raft of air another 100 feet higher. On the third day, as the Bīnggōngchǎng was entering an especially narrow passage between two long, jungle-covered barrier islands, Bang Qiu spotted another ship behind them and relayed this to Bo Jing who climbed down to report it to the Captain on the rear deck. The distance between the two ships was narrowing quickly and by the time Bo Jing reached Huan all on board could see the other ship. Captain Huan, inspecting it through a telescope, noted that it did not bear the markings of either Empire and did not even resemble a military. No danger. Dai Duo disagreed, “That’s Noh-Moon. The most ruthless pirate in the known seas.”

Bo Jing sided with Dai Duo and ordered Captain Huan to change his course, skirting the barrier islands in favor of the open sea and turning the Bīnggōngchǎng to port to maximize use of the canons.

As the other ship came closer, it became clear that Dai Duo was right. Though know bigger than the Bīnggōngchǎng, it held 3 times as many men, all of them armed. As it drew to within 500 yards, it also turned to port, giving its dozens of archers the opportunity to fire directly on the Bīnggōngchǎng. But the canons fired first. All five of Bīnggōngchǎng’s port canons. Perhaps they fired too soon. Most did of the shot did not reach the enemy ship. The one that did landed on the middle of deck, seemingly causing little damage. Still as the pirates moved toward the rear of the ship, Bangqiu, from his aerial perch blasted the rear decks with a massive ball of magical fire.

The pirate archers were unflappable professionals. They took careful aim at the sohei cannoneers and sent many of them below decks with grievous wounds. Those cannoneers who escaped unscathed fired another round of canon fire—only three rounds this time, but one of the cannon balls cracked a mast. Bo Jing order the Bīnggōngchǎng turned to starboard and to sail southeast.

The pirate ship pursued but in its damaged state could not catch them. As the Bīnggōngchǎng cleared the barrier islands, now several miles to the west, they saw another larger ship lying in wait for them or any other ship that had followed the narrow course. This ship flew the private banner of Noh-Moon. It did not pursue.

Over The Waves Part 1 (Preparations)

Bangqiu had decided to set sail from Tianjing, the closest port to Khanbaliq and the home port of the Zhou Dang Imperial Navy. Besides the on-going war efforts, there were shipbuilders who worked for merchants and other private concerns. Beatriss and Tetsukichi had declined to leave their families to explore unknown seas and continents, but Betriss's protege Bayan was for up for the adventure. She assisted Bangqiu in finding a shipbuilder and a captain. The shipbuilder demanded a high price, but Bangqiu had collected much wealth over his adventures. With the help of a broker, Bangqiu traded Sakatha's crown for a promise to construct the ship over 6 months, built sturdy and fast, along the lines of a war junk, except that, by Imperial decree it would not be permitted to carry cannons.

As Captain, Bangqiu hired Huan, a seasoned sailor, who did not balk at the strange voyage Bangqiu proposed, but merely quoted his price, while asserting that he was the best captain and navigator alive. Again, Bangqiu parted with a large share of his treasure hoard, turning over to Huan enough money to pay for the first half of what he estimated to be a year-long voyage.

While the ship was being constructed, Bangqiu traveled to Pasar to say farewell to his parents. While there, he became acquainted with Bo Jing, Batzorig, and Pasar, and paid for them to travel with an Imperial Caravan to Khanbaliq so that they could join him in Tianjing for the voyage.

As the ship was nearing completion, Bangqiu was introduced to an intriguing pair of monks seeeking passage to Dar E Lan, a distant city, reached only through dangerous waters contested by the rival Zhou empires.  Dai Duo, was an itinerant holy man, advanced in years, who neverthless showed a confidence in rough and seeedy sailor's taven that suggest great power, probably of an supernatural source.  Pao Tiānkōng was his young companion, a farmer's son who bragged of his own experience as a sailor (on a lake) when Bangqiu quoted a high price for passage.

Dai Duo, agreed to the price but said they couldn't pay it until they reached Dar E Lan. Bangqiu was willing to accept this arrangement, especially because Dai Duo offered to help Bangqiu equip his ship with canons. Bangqiu would have to provide the money but Dai Duo knew how to evade the Imperial embargo. And again, Bangqiu would get the money back once he brought Dai Duo and Pao to Dar E Lan.

The Hidden Serpent (Seven Zhounese Brothers Epilogue)

After resting in the statue room a while longer, the party continued to explore the underground labyrinth and in time found themselves in the open air, on the backside of the hill.  Thinking that they might find Bunko waiting for them, Bangqiu lurked behind the rest of the party waiting for the right moment to reveal himself. Sure enough, Bunko did appear, and Bangqiu revealed himself by transfixing Bunko in place before he could even begin asking people to be his good friend.

Bunko could not have been surprised to find yet another group of friends turn on him. Despite some sadistic brainstorming, they did not kill him or harm him, but merely strip-looted him. Bangqiu claimed a plan gold ring and put it on his own finger. Everyone agreed that it really suited him. It was almost uncanny the way it made everything about him seem more interesting, charming, and handsome. Bo Jing got a big bag of gold. Batzorig, the barbarian, destroyed a potion.

The rescuers did return to the hideout once more and found two of the "Zhounese Brothers" who had been held captive for some time, and were surprisingly improved by the experience-- or at least more lucid. The party found them locked in a jail cell, laughing bitterly at the many times they'd been ill-used by their "good friend." On the way back to town, they shared the story of how they'd met Bunko-- and each other! They were neither Zhounese nor brothers.

Clearly, it was about time to leave Pasar. Although Bunko had seemingly been deprived of his power, he might use anything he had left to exact his revenge. Bangqiu was eager to see if his ship was ready and the Imperial caravan was ready to head north.

NOTE: The "Black Flowers hideout" is QUAZKYTON, the B1-inspired of stronghold Zeglin and Rogar from the Hidden Serpent by Faster Monkey. Bryce Lynch writes a decent summary  though I think he's a little stingy with his praise. It hits the right balance between plot and sandbox. It provides a steady backbeat for a creative DM to improvise over.  For instance, although written for a standard fantasy setting, I had no problem running it in my Oriental Adventures campaign, using my own town as a home base.  The Bunko/Seven Zhounese Brothers plot-line was also my own, and it fit nicely with the rightfully classic hooks of "rescue prisoners/find a treasure" supplied by the module as written.   The relatively small size is much appreciated.  The upper level "makes sense" as a bad guy hideout and the lower levels brings some funhouse elements without taking it too far.  But enough, it's available free so see for yourself . . .

Seven Zhounese Brothers Part 7 (Truth is a Cold Hard Beauty)

The new party of rescuers—Batzorig, Bojing, now with Bangqiu and Gungar, plus the two remaining Zhounese brothers (Bi-er and Farang) returned once more to the Black Flowers’ hillside hideout. With two powerful magic-users (wu-jen 7 and shukenja 6), felt much braver about venturing inside and exploring. They were surprised to find the complex mainly deserted, and even more surprised to find evidence of a battle (i.e. dead bodies) between humans and humanoid monsters. They were forced to fight some of these monsters themselves, but used classically effective tactics. Bangqiu blasted the leader with magic, Bo Jing and Batzorig led the charge, and Gungar healed the warriors as soon as they were hurt. The monsters were killed and the rescuers continued to explore.

They found a strange series of magic doors that opened by simply touching them. The party felt they were moving deeper and deeper into the hillside only to find themselves walking outside through the same tunnel that they’d entered. Though puzzled, the party also decided that the small room between doors was an ideal place to play, study spell books, and sleep off drunkenness—the warriors had stumbled upon a supply of remarkably delicious beer.

Back in Pasar, Bunko became suspicious that his friends had recovered his statue from the Black Flowers’ hideout, but instead of returning it, had decided to keep it for themselves. He recruited Shoji, an itinerant holy man who for some time had been sheltered by the monk of the Two-Fold Path. Shoji enthusiastically accepted Bunko’s cause and joined him in an expedition to the Black Flowers’ hideout. Bunko seemed to know his way inside and directed Shoji toward the “magic doors” at the back of the complex.

Bangqiu and the others had discovered these same magic doors and, while mystified by their properties had found them a safe space to sleep off the effects of the very fine beer they’d discovered in the mess hall. Just as the drinkers (Batzorig, Bo Jing, Bi-er, and Farang) were starting to feel like they could walk around again, Bunko and Shoji suddenly appeared in their midst—without either door opening. There were brief, awkward introductions—some of the group considered Bunko a very dear friend while others felt a vague, but deep mistrust. Bunko asked about his statue, only to rebuked that some of the Zhounese Brothers might still be imprisoned. “And that is our priority,” Bo Jing told him.

Bunko insisted that he had no interest in recovering the statue until after his loyal friends were safe—unless he found evidence that he must sadly accept their demise. With this, the party agreed to leave the “magic door” rooms. The always unpredictable Bangqiu turned into a rat, climbed into Bo Jing’s backpack, and fell asleep. The others laced up their boots and opened the door by which they’d come in. They were surprised to find themselves in an Octagon room with a statue of a dragon.

Bunko identified the dragon statue as another one of his missing possessions and Bo Jing took a step to claim it. The dragon seemed to come to life—an explosion of green fire engulfed Bo Jing, leaving nothing but a black smudge. Bunko suggested to Shoji that it was a one-time trick and that he should approach from another angle. Although the outcome seemed to be very much the same, Gungar thought he noticed that Shoji wasn’t burned up, but had fallen through the floor. He boldly jumped forward, bracing himself for a fall—and indeed landed in a dark cave in about five feet of cold water. Batzorig came tumbling after, feeling that he might have been pushed rather than jumped. He realized that Bunko was not a good friend.

The 4 adventures and their rat explored a series of strange caverns and their terrifying occupants—sentient ooze, blood-sucking birds, and screaming mushrooms.

The screaming mushrooms attracted the attention of an evil spirit. Gunjar castigated the spirit, rebuking him for its terrible deeds and long refusal to repent. As the spirit writhed and screamed in shame and agony, Bang qiu climbed out of Bo Jing’s backpack and blasted it into oblivion. In the corridor beyond, the explorers found a long smooth hallway, marred by long scratches along the walls—that stopped abruptly at the threshold of a softly glowing room. In the room was the beautiful marble of a woman hunter—the statue coveted by Bunko.

The party lingered here several hours, enjoying the statue’s power to ward off evil spirits (zombies gathered outside the room and were destroyed by fire) and contemplated how to move it. At last Gunjar convinced the others that the statue should not be moved and they continued their exploration.

Seven Zhounese Brothers Part 6 (Progress and New Alliances)

After a few days of rest Sukh wanted to resume the quest to rescue the Zhounese brothers from the Black Flowers hideout. Bi-er and Farang were ready to join him. Bo Jing was unsure. It was dangerous. And he didn’t trust Bunko, somehow he thought the strange man was somehow assisting their enemies. But from he knew, it seemed the Elders of Pasar trusted Bunko so what was there to do? And, regardless, he had been named the new seventh brother to replace Sum-Oov. So he had a responsibility to rescue his captured comrades.

Batzorig was still recuperating and without his assistance, finding the hideout proved difficult. They spent a night in the forest and pressed on, into the hills that Bat had described. In the morning light, Bo Jing noticed the haze of smoke. As they drew closer, they found small signs of human activity but no obvious structure, nor even a trail. At Sukh’s suggestion, they climbed on top of a large hill that matched Bat’s description and prepared to wait, planning to spend the night.

Within an hour, a patrol emerged from the hill, one Black Flower and six ragged and desperate-looking men. The Leader and three of his men stood in front of the hill, while the three others dispersed into the bushes.  

After a quick, whispered conference, Bo Jing and Sukh began firing arrows at the men in front of the hill, concentrating their fire on the two with bows. One was shot dead by the first arrow. The other turned and shot blindly.

The leader picked up the dead man’s bow and hit Sukh with an arrow. He called for the other men from the woods, while ordering the others to charge up the hill. Bier and Farang charged down, while Bo Jing and Sukh shot more arrows.

Bo Jing and Siukh had every advantage. The Black Flower leader was trying to gather his men around him when Bat suddenly emerge from the forest. Bo Jing and Sukh charged down the hill and together killed their enemies while sustaining only minor injuries.

A voice called out from inside the hill. “What do you want?”

“Our friends!”

A ransom was negotiated. Bat put some money in a sack and threw on the ground, and the party members retreated into the forest. Bat hid behind a tree close to the clearing and Bo Jing button hooked to scramble back to his perch up the hill. A man emerged, wearing the thick armor and tall helmet of an imperial commander and bearing a large shield painted with a black flower. Peering over his shield, he pointed at Bat, “I see you there!”

Bo Jing took this as his moment to attack. With a shout, he leapt down the hill and delivered a mighty blow, just as the commander was turning. The Zhounese brothers charged in. Sukh circled around the clearing, and took advantage of the confusion to find a hiding place in the tall bushes on the hillside, scanning the re from which the leader had emerged, hoping to find the secret entrance.
The emergence of four more armed man, made the portal plain. Sukh ducked inside just in time to see a fifth soldier fleeing up the corridor to climb over a pile of loose stones. Sukh chased him over the debris and to an open wooden door. The man passed through the door and closed it, but before we could bar it, Sukh rammed it with her shoulder, preventing the man inside from locking it.

Outside, Bo Jing killed the commander and with the help of Bi-er and Farang was getting the best of the other four enemies. Bat, having seen Sukh disappeared inside the hill, followed after, arriving just in time to see Sukh bust the door open and send the guard sprawling to the floor.

Bat allowed the guard to run away. The party regrouped long enough to hack the door off its hinges and then retreated to the forest. They spent the night, well-concealed in a tangle of vines. But in the morning, they decided they were not well enough to make another assault on the hideout. Instead they returned to Pasar.

This was a wise a fortuitous decision. Sukh, was had received a bad wound inquired for a healer. Gunjar, a shaman from the north, hearing that his countryfolk were in need of assistance, came to find them at the Monastery. For reasons unknown, Sukh and Gunjar felt an immediate mutual antipathy for each other. So great that Sukh could not receive the shaman’s blessing. The others did receive the blessing and were healed. What’s more when Bo Jing and Batzorig told Gunjar of their quest to rescue their adopted brothers, he offered to join them.

Bojing and Bat met another interesting companion. A young wu-jen named Bangqiu had recently arrived in Pasar. He was there to say farewell to his parents who owned a mine somewhere in the vicinity. It would be a long farewell. He had been to Khanbaliq and Tiajing, cities that made Pasar look like a village. What's more, Tiajing looked out over the sea, something to which Lake Pasar did not even compare. On the clearest day, you could out over the sea like a bird in the sky, except there was nothing to see, only more water. Bangqiu had bought a boat, large enough for 100 men, and with four masts. He was preparing it to sail over the sea.

Most people in Pasar were suitably horrified, but Bojing;s family owned a merchant fleet and Bat was a nomad child, and had spent his youth blown back and forth over wind-swept plains that stretched as far as the sea. So they were keen to join Bangqiu on his voyage. If he would help them rescue their friends.

Seven Zhounese Brothers Part 5 (Loyalty)

Thoroughly reassured that Bunko was a good man, Bat Zorig encouraged his friends to attempt another expedition to recover the poor man's statue. Sum Dank and Bo Jing were interested at first, but when the time came, apologized that they didn’t feel up to it. Bat passed on their excuses to Bunko who smiled wanly and shook his head. “Story of my life. At least you had the decency to tell me to my face that you didn’t want to help me anymore.”

Bat did want to help him. And he had a plan. If Bunko could find some old imperial uniforms, they could disguise themselves as Black Flowers and infiltrate the base. While Bunko looked form uniforms, Bat told his friends about the plan. They still didn’t want to help and so Bat ventured out without them.

Bat returned to Pasar the next morning, exhausted, and carrying the half-dead body of one of the Zhounese brothers. The monks at the Monastery of the Two-Fold Path cared for Bǐ'ěr and Bat told his tale to Sukh and Bo Jing.

Bunko had taken the group to the black flower hideout in the forest. As before, he had moved silently through the trees while the Zhounese marched noisily along. Bat himself had also proved adept at moving through the forest without attracting undue attention. Bunk had found one uniform and given it to Bat to wear. He had also learned that one of the Black Flower leaders was named Krang.

As they were drawing near the hideout, the party encountered a deer, bleeding from an arrow in its flank. The deer was pursued by a ragged group of well-armed man, the leader of whom wore the Black Flowers badge. He was suspicious, but not belligerent, and asked the Zhounese brothers what they were doing in the forest.

Bunko called out from behind a tree that they were lost and looking for friends. At this point Bat made his presence known and elaborated. They were new recruits. He was the son of Krang. “How do we get to the hideout?”

The (real) Black Flowers were confused, especially by this last question. Before the leader could reply, Bunk interrupted, “You were chasing that deer weren’t you?”

“Oh yeah.”

“Don’t let it get away. We can talk more later.”

And so the Black Flowers chased the deer and Bunko, Bat, and the Zhounese made their way to the hideout. After about an hour, a clear path appeared, that led to a low mound in a forest clearing, thickly covered with creeping vines and small bushes. Bat approached more closely and began to poke at the mound with a long stick. A large patch of the brush proved to be an illusion. When Bat prodded it, he glimpsed a tunnel leading into the mound. He led the way and Bunk and the Zhounese brothers followed him. The tunnel led to a heavy, barred door. Bat knocked. A small window opened, a crossbow poked out, and a voice called for a password. Bat started to say he was Krang’s son and the crossbow fired. Bat raised his shield just in time and then backed out of the tunnel. The Zhounese brothers rushed in them. As they reached the door, a mass of debris crashed down from the ceiling. Bǐ'ěr was badly crushed. The others, bruised, battered, and enrages, charged the door, knocking it down. Bunko ran for the forest. Bat pulled Bǐ'ěr out of the rubble and followed him.

They found a sheltered spot and rested. Bunko told Bǐ'ěr that he’d showed himself to be a true friend and that he’d pay for a special ceremony to remember him as soon as he got back to Pasar. Bat protested that Bǐ'ěr would survive and there was no reason to talk like he was dying. Or to talk about going back to Pasar when the other brothers were fighting their way inside. While the two discussed their options, they heard the noise of the returning hunters. They looked to have been successful and were carrying half a deer carcass. Bunko hissed out to the leader, who responded to the call while sending the other men inside.

Bat told the Black Flower leader again that he was Krang’s son and that their friend was hurt. The leader appeared concerned. “We should get him inside. How did this happen?”

Bat asked, “What’s the password?”

The man looked puzzled, “Wait, didn’t Krang tell— Wait—” Suddenly aware of what was happening, the man turned and ran toward the hideout. In a flash, Bunko had pulled a knife, leapt onto the man’s back, and killed him.

“So sad, this always happens to me, I think someone’s my friend and then they just turn their back on me . . .” And then walked into the forest, soon disappearing from you.

Bat waited an hour for the other brothers to return and when they didn’t, realized that if he could accomplish anything it would be to save Bǐ'ěr’s life. All night he walked through the forest and back down the road to Pasar.

A few days later, Frang, one of the other brothers showed up in Pasar, tired, half-starved, and somehow more crazy than before. He had been captured and imprisoned. He dug his way to freedom. The other brothers were still imprisoned. Or dead. He wasn’t sure.

That was all Bat needed to hear. Bo Jing agreed to accompany him this time, as did Sukh. Bǐ'ěr and Farang wanted to accompany them in a few days when their wounds had healed sufficiently; Bo Jing and Sukh liked the idea of more help, but Bat wouldn’t hear of it. He declared that he would attack the hideout by himself if necessary and by this drastic tactic convinced Bo Jing and Sukh to join him the next morning.

Bat Zorig knew the way and led the others down the east road out of Pasar. At about noon, the three adventurers encountered a merchant caravan who warned them of a fearsome monster that was lurking near the road. The monster was a 10-foot tall man with fang-like teeth and attacked with a pair of heavy swords. Several guards had received grievous wounds and the caravan only escaped by throwing to the monster multiple live goats.

Again Bo Jing and Sukh urged caution and again Bat Zorig insisted on pressing onward. He led the way and was the first to hear the sounds of lip-smacking and bone-crunching. The giant, was enjoying its repast at a campsite near the road. It heard Bat approaching, dropped the goat in its hands, and reched for its weapons. Bat released an arrow that found its mark in the giant’s hamstring. As the giant stumbled, Bo Jing and Sukh charged into the clearing, swords swinging. Bat drew his own sword and joined them. The heroes’ blades were swift and sharp and soon the giant was bloodied all over. But it seemed to barely acknowledge its wounds, and continued to wildly swing its huge heavy swords. Bo Jing and Sukh dodged and slashed, while Bat took his blade to a tree, trying to topple it onto his enemy. But when it did land a blow with its heavy blade, the force of the blow sent Sukh flying into the air, to land on the ground with a heavy thud. Bo Jing stepped in to defend his fallen friend and slashed the monster twice across its face. Howling with pain, the monster turned to run from the clearing and found Bat directly in its way, still hacking at the tree. The giant swung both its swords at once, and caught Bat between them. The doughty barbarian of the steppes crumpled to the ground and the giant escaped into the forest.

Sukh, shaking off her own superficial injuries, rushed to aid his fallen comrade, pouring a long-preserved elixir into the mouth of the unconscious Bat. Cursing and kicking, Bat was revived. He started to charge into the forest, but when he stumbled to the ground, reason at last prevailed. Bat consented to return to Pasar.