Over The Waves Part 1 (Preparations)

Bangqiu decided to set sail from Niǔyuē Port, the nearest port to Khanbaliq and home port of the Zhou Dang Imperial Navy. Though much of the city's shipbuilding supported the ongoing war effort, private shipwrights still constructed vessels for merchants and other wealthy patrons.

Beatriss and Tetsukichi declined to leave their families for another long expedition into unknown seas. Bayan, however, eagerly embraced the opportunity. Having become Beatriss's protégé, she was determined to see more of the world than the Happy Valley alone could offer. She accompanied Bangqiu in his search for both a shipbuilder and a captain.

The master shipbuilder agreed to construct a sturdy, fast ocean-going junk modeled after an Imperial warship, though by Imperial decree it could not be fitted with cannons. His price was enormous. Bangqiu's adventures had made him wealthy, however, and through a broker he traded Sakatha's jeweled crown as partial payment for the vessel. Construction was expected to take six months.

Captain Huan did not balk at the extraordinary voyage Bangqiu proposed. He simply named his price and calmly asserted that he was the finest captain and navigator alive. Convinced that the old sailor was worth every coin, Bangqiu entrusted him with enough money to recruit a crew and provision the expedition for the first half of what Huan estimated would be a year-long voyage.

While the ship was under construction, Bangqiu returned to Pasar to bid farewell to his parents. During his stay he became acquainted with Bo Jing, an inexperienced Baghatur; Batzorig, a rough but capable man of the steppes; and Shoji, a young shaman. Seeing promise in each of them, Bangqiu paid for their passage with an Imperial caravan to Khanbaliq so they could join the expedition in Niǔyuē.

As the vessel neared completion, Bangqiu was introduced to an intriguing pair of monks seeking passage to Dar E Lan, a distant city reached only by sailing through dangerous waters contested by the rival Zhou Dang and Zhou Song empires.

The elder, Dai Duo, was an itinerant holy man advanced in years. His patched robes and quiet manner suggested humility, yet he carried himself with such effortless confidence that even the roughest sailors in Niǔyuē's waterfront taverns treated him with unusual respect.

His companion, Pao Tiānkōng, was a farmer's son eager to see the world beyond his lakeside village, who seemed to believe he'd learned everything he needed to know about sailing in piloting a fishing skiff across a stormy lake. When Bangqiu quoted his fare for passage to Dar E Lan, Pao blurted out, "Ten thousand taels? We could almost buy our own ship for that!" Dai Duo silenced him with a patient glance and agreed to Bangqiu's price, while countering that they wouldn't be able to pay him until they reached Dar E Lan. Bangqiu accepted the arrangement, particularly after Dai Duo quietly offered another service. Although Imperial law forbade private vessels from carrying cannons, he claimed to know merchants who could obtain them discreetly. Bangqiu would bear the expense for the time being, but Dai Duo assured him that he would be well compensated upon their arrival in Dar E Lan.