Gua-Sar Caves

In the aftermath of the break-up of the Slavers' Stockade, a new generation of adventurers, heroes, wanderers, and fortune-seekers found each other in Kāi'ěrwén, a rough-and-tumble market town about a day's travel from Quitokai.

The company:

Shoji, level 4 shukenja
Sukh, level 1 bushi
Bojing, level 1 samurai
Bat, level 1 barbarian
Sum-Dank, level 2 bushi and his adviser/trainer, Bi-Gon-Dang, level 1monk

Bojing and Bat, despite their very different upbringings were distantly related.  Their fathers, believing that the two could learn something from each other and grow up to be the broad-minded men that the next age would require, had conspired to send them on a vague mission to find the burial place of their common ancestor, rumored to be found in the mountains beyond the southwest edge of the empire.  Interpreting this as a license to adventure and with a budget befitting their high stations in life (minor aristocrat of the imperial court and powerful khan of the high steppes), they found themselves tumbling roughly in Kāi'ěrwén, chasing rumors that someone deserved a righteous beat-down.

Shoji and Sukh had followed a caravan out of Pasar with every intention of assisting Gwinch in overthrowing the slavers, but had somehow been left behind in the Kāi'ěrwén market.  After a few weeks of begging and odd jobs, their welcome was nearly worn out.

Sum-Dank and Bi-Gon-Dang knew there were more slavers to fight in Khanbaliq but also knew they needed back-up.

One night, Bat was on an evening stroll, and he saw a very big man threating a tearful boy.  Not an uncommon sight in Kāi'ěrwén, but no less distasteful to Bat for its banality.  The streets deserted, Bat knew it was his fate to stop it.  He punched the man.  The man drew a knife and sliced Bat.  Bat punched the man again.  The man ran away.  The boy cried even more loudly.

Bat carried him back to his inn.  The noise awakened everyone.  Bojing asked the boy where his parents were.  There was a language barrier.  Either his parents were both dead or the mother was dead and the father had just received a righteous beat-down.  Sum-Dank wanted to knw the boys name.  Bug.  Or that's what he was called.  Little bug.  Dirty bug.  Squished bug.

Shoji suggested it was time for the boy to leave Kāi'ěrwén.

And so the inhabitants of the inn came to realize they were all tired of living in an inn.  Shoji and Sukh volunteered that they knew of a much nicer town.  Good food, nice people.  Pasar.  It wasn't easy to get to, without an imperial escort.  The road was infested with bandits.  And imperial armies.  The mountain passes were high and cold.  But Shoji and Sukh knew another way, a secret way, right through the mountains.

They set out the next morning.  Bojing and Sukh had second thoughts about taking a child with them into a cave, even one paved with an attractive pattern of hexagonal stones.  But Bug had no relatives.  And Bat and Sum-Dank seemed to believe he had a special destiny that they each hoped to share.  There were arguments, a vote, more arguments, threats, tears.  Finally Bug decided.  He trusted Bat and would go with him.

The journey under the mountain was long, dreary, and often dark.  And it seemed that Sukh and Shoji did not have direct personal knowledge of the way or how long the tunnel extended.  On the long straight stretches, the party rationed their torches by marching in near darkness, their way lit by a glowing ember.

After two days, they emerged in a small clearing, surrounded by steep cliffs.  Behind a waterfall was another cave, flooded with glowing greenish-yellow water. 

Happily, there were several small boats, one of for each of them.  One of them was large enough to hold both Bat and Bug.  They paddled slowly, letting the current carry them along.  Bat thought he heard screaming.  Bojing saw hands in the water.  When they spotted a sandy beach, they landed and explored the caverns.  Unlike the underground they had followed earlier, in the days previous, this was a circuit of winding natural tunnels.  In a large, muddy cavern, everyone saw a hand reach up out of the much and grab Sukh by the ankle.  At once, 4 more, disgusting undead creatures likewise rose up to attack.  Bat and Bojing pulled Bug out of the room, leaving the others to fight the monsters.  Despite their horrifying aspect and own lack of fear, the creatures were soon destroyed. 

Bat and Bojing, in their flight had stumbled upon a tunnel that seemed to lead toward the light.  Calling out to the others, the party reunited.  This tunnel was paved in hexagonal stones.  The party followed it steadily upward for several hours until they emerged on a verdant hillside.  Climbing up into the hills to get a higher vantage point, Sukh and Shoji were able to confirm that they were almost to Pasar.  Another day of travel, this one through steamy jungle that almost made them miss the cool darkness of the caves, the party arrived in Pasar.