Against the Bear People

 

Having defeated the Master—and destroyed the older, darker force that birthed him—the heroes of Zhou Dang lingered in triumph at Hosadas’s palace. The Master’s minions had scattered, hauling away what treasure they could carry, yet leaving behind more than enough food, drink, and comforts for their conquerors. The party traded travel-stained garb for new finery, slept in warm beds, and debated whether conquest obliged them to rule.

• Bo Jing – young khan, imperial agent, skilled swordsman
• Bangqiu – mercurial wu-jen, master of destructive spells
• Salt – Mongolian udgan, shaman with natural attunement
• Tetsukichi – disciplined warrior from Zipang, adopted by the Sansar clan
• Hyamsam – unpredictable magician, sometimes ally

Even without seeking it, power gravitated to them: former attendants of the Master now pledged fealty to Bangqiu, Bo Jing, Tetsukichi—or even to Salt, who wanted nothing of dominion. Among the obsequious courtiers, four stood out as valuable allies:

• Sahir, a wizard who had feigned loyalty only to pursue magical knowledge.
• Nagar Ahmar, a carpenter who survived by playing the fool, gaining access to storerooms.
• Zhak Shi, a vengeful wanderer who had lost his family to the Master’s cruelties.
• Hu-Fei, who had led them from Hunza’s heartland to the secret valley where the Master had built his citadel.

With their counsel, who had pledged loyalty to Tetsukichi, the party turned to the testimonies of Hunza’s farmers. These laborers, once promised “enlightenment” through endless toil, knew the land best. They spoke of the northern frontier, where rice paddies met dark forests haunted by savage cave-dwellers. These raiders—primitive yet deadly—kept no herds, sowed no fields, and struck the farms with terrifying ferocity. The Master had driven them back once, posting patrols of Red Robes to enforce an uneasy truce. But since his fall, the raids had grown bolder, threatening even the heartland of Hunza.

Zhak Shi had walked those patrols. He remembered their totems hidden in trees, their arrows striking unseen, and a fire glowing behind a waterfall at the mountains’ edge. Now, with raids unchecked, the new rulers faced a choice: to leave the savages to their own realm, or strike them in their lair. The heroes chose the latter—and even summoned Hyamsam to join them.

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Into the Caverns of the Bear People

Zhak Shi guided them west, then north, along ridges above the forest, until they found the river that plunged as the waterfall concealing the raiders’ den. Behind it lay a vast cavern and a tunnel flanked by crude statues of wide-mouthed women. When Nekhil strode forward, lightning leapt between the figures, scorching but not killing him. 

Bangqiu and Hyamsam transformed themselves into small birds and tried to fly past the statues. They, too was struck by lightning, but shook off the pain and flew deeper into the cave. The passage descended steeply, soon reaching a low point from which two other passages rose back up, with flickering torchlight visible at the top of each of the interesting passages. From one side, the torchlight grew brighter and more steady, and was accompanied by voices. Six huge men emerged at the top of the slope, their torches casting bizarre shadows about the cavern. They were dressed in furs with helmets fashioned from bear skulls. Spotting the little bird that was Bangqiu, one raised his spear. Bangqiu and Hyamsam dropped to the ground, resuming their human forms and enveloped their would-be attackers in clouds of scalding steam. The men dropped to the floor, their torches extinguished. Bangiqu and Hyamsam dashed up the slope and examined their still steaming bodies. Each carried a leather pouch containing a few polished greenish gray stones.

Experimentation revealed that greenish-gray stones, taken from slain warriors, could be fed into the statues’ mouths to permit safe passage.

The party explored a labyrinth of tunnels leading up and down, choosing their way carefully to avoid meeting any large groups. When forced into combat, the magicians used their most devastating spells before Bo Jing rushed in to quickly dispatch any survivors. And in this way, they avoided raising any alarm. They were intrigued to find a stout, well-constructed door in an otherwise rough natural cavern. They were especially intrigued to note that it was barred from their side. But when Bo Jig removed the bar and pushed it open, the door squeaked loudly. Knowing they had given up the advantage of surprise to whatever horrible thing resided within, they moved away quickly, bypassing a nearby group of women engaged in cooking to follow a narrow twisting passage deeper into the caverns.

Exploring the home of the “bear people” the party found crude murals depicting houses on fire and screaming people being pursued and eaten by snakes, animals, and horned men. Sudden drafts carried pungent, eye-watering smoke. A shrill discordant piping, like that of a bird, could be faintly heard above the sound of the party’s footsteps, ceasing when everyone stopped to listen.

They wandered into a large cavern, the floor slick with guano and the foul air almost unbreathable. Choosing another path, they found a short flight of steps carved into the rock. The steps, thickly covered with filth, led into a small forgotten shrine for a single dusty idol. Searching the tiny chamber, they heard voices. A fissure behind the idol provided a second means of egress. In a room beyond, a group of bear-man warriors sat next to a smoldering fire, passing around small jars and sniffing the contents. They sat with heir backs to the fissure and gave half attention to the wide corridor in front of them.

Hyamsam, using his magic to conceal himself from being seen or heard, climbed through the fissure and into the room.

The party watched the men closely and silently, waiting for any sign that they had detected Hyamsam.

While the rest of the party was watching Hyamsam, Salt, ever wary heard the noise of someone creeping up behind them; without asking any questions, she turned and blasted the approaching figure with boiling steam—only to discover she had slain a lone woman.

The sound alerted the bear-men. Bangqiu attacked them with magic missiles and Bo-Jing charged in with his sword, followed by the other warriors. The bearmen barely had time to stand before they all been cut down.

Salt, fearing that she had overreacted, inspected the body of the woman she had killed and found that she had snakes growing from her head in place of hair. With a mixture of relief and horror, Salt reported to her companions that the caverns could be filled with strange creatures, among whom the bear people were perhaps the least fearsome. 

From his position beyond the fissure, Hyamsam reported that he had found a large corridor that led back to the entrance. What now?

Though their incursion was devastating, the caverns proved too vast to conquer in a single push. Hungry, tired, and unwilling to risk rest in such a place, the heroes withdrew. They returned to Hosadas’s palace alive and unscathed, having slain many of the raiders and penetrated deep into their lair without alerting the tribe.

It was not yet victory, but it was a show of strength. The caverns of the bear-people remained—a lurking threat. Yet for now, the heroes returned secure in their dominion over Hunza, their claim bolstered by both triumph and fear.. The sound alerted the bear-men. Bangqiu blasted them with magic missiles and  Bo-Jing charged in with his word, followed by the other warriors.  The bearmen barely had time to stand before they all been cut down.

Salt, fearing that she had overreacted, inspected the body of the woman she had killed and found that she had snaking growing from her head in place of hair. With a mixture of relief and horror, Salt reported to her companions that the caverns could be filled with strange creatures, among whom the bear people were perhaps the least fearsome.  Hyamsam reported that the large corridor led back to the entrance.

After a brief conference, the party agreed that they had been very successful in infiltrating the bearpeople’s lair, having killed several of the warriors without having raised the alarm or even leaving any living witnesses.  They had suffered no casualties themselves, but they were hungry and tired and none wanted to risk finding a place to rest with the caves. Thus, the party heartily agreed that it was time to leave the caves and return to the Master’s palace, feeling all the more secure in claiming it as their own.