A brief linguistic history of Alyan

Humans were living there.  Elves arrived.  The Elves taught the humans many things including a simplified version of their own language, now known as “Common.”

If human characters speak an additional language, it will probably be dialect of Common that’s spoken in their home area.

Pure elvish is the language of educated people, though most humans know a few words. 

Not all humans were so eager to welcome the elves and those who have continued to live aprt in the swamps, forests, and mountains, are known as Gray People.  They speak their own language, which includes many local variants.  As with elvish, everyone knows a few words.  Grayspeak is great for swearing.

The Hobbits’ language sounds like a dialect of common, though like other common dialects, its accent can be exaggerated to become nearly unintelligible to outsiders.  All hobbits understand each other when they speak this language, even if they come from areas very far apart form one another.

There’s little reason to know dwarfish or gnomish as most trade is conducted with members of these groups who speak perfect common.  Dwarvish is a very difficult language both to speak and to read/write.

Only people with very specialized knowledge will have made a point of learning Oanoise, the language of a group of settlers/invaders/guests who were driven out of Alyan a century ago.   Even those who “know” Oanoise might be able to do little more to recognize certain characters.  Pronunciation varies from one sage to another.

Orcish, goblin, hobgoblin, etc.  The monster languages are almost unknown.  Some sages argue that these creatures do not exist and that their languages have been artificially created by hoaxsters.

Protection from Evil

Weevil, a photo by kampang on Flickr.

I’m running a game in which one of the PCs is a paladin, meaning that we have to figure out what that permanent protection form evil spell is all about.  We are using Labyrinth Lord rules with the Advanced Edition Companion.  According to those rules, Paladins “radiate protection from evil in a 10 foot radius at all times.”

Protection from evil refers to a 1^st level cleric spell (also quoted from LL AEC):

“This spell wards a creature from attacks by “evil” creatures. It creates a magical barrier around the subject that moves with the subject. The subject gains a bonus to AC of –1 and a +1 bonus on saving throws. Both these bonuses apply against attacks made or effects created by evil creatures.

In addition, this spell prevents bodily contact by summoned or created creatures. This causes the natural weapon attacks of such creatures to fail, and the creatures recoil if such attacks require touching the warded creature. However, these creatures can attempt missile attacks. The protection against contact by summoned creatures ends if the warded creature makes an attack against or tries to force the barrier against the blocked creature.”

Despite the scare quotes and alignmental relativism, we could figure out the bit about “evil” creatures.  But what about “summoned or created creatures?”  If a creature is not “created” then what is it?  By one logical interpretation, a paladin and five of his closest friends are completely immune to undead touch attacks and a lone 1^st level paladin could sit down and have a picnic whilst surrounded by mummies, wraiths, and spectres.

The 2e rules are nicely succinct and don’t make a mistake of referring to a spell without seeming to think through what that spell really says:

“A paladin is surrounded by an aura of protection with a 10-foot radius.  Within this radius, all summoned and specifically evil creatures suffer a -1 penalty to their attack rolls, regardless of whom they attack.  Creatures affected by this aura can spot its source easily, even if the paladin is disguised.”

I like the 2e rules, but I don’t mind granting a little extra protection in the case of “summoned” creatures as long as I can be sure what that means.  So, for the purposes of my game and maybe yours, here is what the paladin’s protection is:

·         All “evil creatures” (which includes bad people of all sorts and almost anyone or anything that would attack a paladin in earnest-- except for things like giant frogs, green slime, and crazy drunkards) get a -1 to hit the paladin and anyone else within the spell’s area of effect.

·         The paladin & co. get +1 to saving throws against attacks from such creatures even if the creatures are attacking (by missile or magic) from outside the area of effect.

·         Summoned creatures are those creatures that were called into battle by some unnatural means.  The bats summoned by a vampire and a demon summoned by an evil cleric would not be able to touch the paladin or his friends who were within the area of effect.  If the summoned creatures successfully goad the paladin into battle (perhaps by threatening to attack innocents outside the area of protection) then the protection is “waived” with regard to those summoned creatures that the paladin attacks.

·         Created creatures are golems.  Undead are not created, but reanimated.  I can’t think of anything besides golems that would be “created” in this sense.  Such creatures are subject to the exact same rules as summoned creatures.

·         Creatures affected by this spell do figure out the paladin is the source of the protection.

Hommelet is not impressed. Hommelet is also not completely unimpressed.

There’s a new gang in town. They’ve made two trips to the moathouse and back, and so far not one of them has been killed. The people of Hommelet have started making a point of remembering their names.

Except for that paladin. That one’s too good for a name. (And obviously marked for death. Both times he returned from the moathouse with terrible wounds. Many tears have been wasted on the hero too good for a name.)

His confessor, Arpad, must have the easiest job in the world. Father Terjon says that he’s all right. Minds his own business and that never hurt anybody.

There’s one woman in the group. Her name is Godith. Based on her advanced reading skills, it seems likely that she’s had contact with the elves. The young men of Hommelet admire her from a safe distance.

Oh Lem, you sweet buffoon, the animals love you. He tried to start an argument with good ol’ Squire Denton about whether giant marauding demon pigs need their tusks. And he loves those colored frogs he brought back from the swamp.

Angus has also shown a keen in the frogs. Jaroo of the Grove says he all right, just very very inquisitive about certain things. Like the Weaver’s son. But now he’s moved out of the inn to live in an old widow’s barn.

That one guy, Roark, we don’t know about him. Yes, we do, he’s a reekish cur. We don’t want to look at him and we don’t want to let him out of our sight. But Father Terjon says that those frog belts he sold to Melubb, they may be ugly but there’s no evil in them that can’t be fixed by melting them down.

So, one day we were all sitting in the bar when there was the terrible garralumping of a trio of terrible too-tall, too-big demon pigs with tusks that were most hideously twirly and pointy, tentacles growing out of their faces, and flapping wings at the back their heads that-- in their smallness compared to bulk they would need to carry into the air—epitomized vestigial. The Paladin assisted Denton’s sons with the horses while Arpad slipped out the back door to do mind his own business. Godith did something elfish.

The stampeding juggernauts threw a dog into the air, smacked the horses with their tentacles and then passed out of the village, taking their terror to parts unknown. Squire Denton had a little fun with Lem and Roark, but could not goad them into a wild demon chase. Instead, after a brief (and unnecessarily private) conference, this new group, led by The Paladin, manifest their intention to follow the tracks of the horrible beasts and find out not where they were going but where they came from. A most shocking example of wisdom for these people. This wisdom was surpassed by the many other patrons of the Inn who chose instead to continue with their meals.

What follows is based mainly on accounts provided by those who enjoyed the honor of tending to The Paladin as he recovered from the wounds of his battles.

They followed the tracks of the terrible creatures that had stampeded through Hommelet. They followed them through the forest, toward the swamp and along the way they saw places where the creatures had battled with men, and among the evidence of these battles was the smashed body of one of those wild men. He was naked and tattooed and bald-headed and his teeth sharpened. Like the ones that burst into the Bekens’ kitchen and spoiled their dinner.

So this group, The Paladin and his companions, they followed the tracks some more and they came upon a pair of the wild men chasing a group of deer like they must have chased those other creatures.

 

And cowards that they are, when they saw the Paladin & co., they turned and ran. They ran and hid and with their wicked friends set a trap and waited in ambush along the trail. But The Paladin doesn’t seem to care so much for gold (though he got a good deal from Melubb for those ugly frog belts) so he warned his companions, no, wait stay close.

But Agnus maybe didn’t listen and he got too close to the coins on the road and so the whole lot of wild men, maybe six, maybe eight came crashing out of the forsest screaming like they do and waving their clubs. Lem spends a lot of time talking to the trees and so it’s good to know that he’s made some friends with them. So the trees entangled a good number and pulled them down to ground where they thrashed and screamed while their wicked brethren set upon Angus and upon the Paladin. Arpad is a priest of the old style and he joined his companions in their fight and with the Paladin was grievously wounded. Churlish, reekish Roark turned his reekish chulishness for good this once and we have heard killed several wild men with his arrows.

The Paladin and his companions returned to Hommelet to celebrate their victory, to tend to their wounded (The Paladin’s pale brow!), to sell those ugly belts, and to ask Jaroo about some frogs they found. Beautiful colors of red white and blue, like the one the Bekens found in their kitchen the day after the wild men’s visit. But Angus, unlike the Bekens could not be convinced to give it to Jaroo, and instead bought a basket to carry the frogs with him everywhere he goes. (And then Lem follows him. Poor Lem. Poor Angus.)

After resting, upgrading their armor and in the process completely depleting the stock of Rannos and Gremag, The Company decided to visit the Moathouse itself. The deep tracks left by the enormous creatures were still evident, and the path itself, while overgrown was plain enough. Reaching the moathouse, they encountered the same disgustingly enormous frogs that have troubled other visitors. But bravely led by The Paladin, the Company slew or drove away the foul creatures and planned their entrance into the ruins.

Sensing an evil presence waiting for them in the courtyard, the Company circled or, if you will, button-hooked to the back of the moathouse where they found another breach and collapsed section of wall had resulted into a narrow, but viable entry point. Here, Godith’s dog ran away, and the mule balked at crossing the moat.

Despite these omens, the Company entered the ruins and soon found themselves in the great center hall of the weird people who had built the fortress so long ago. And as they entered, walking corpses emerged from the gloom and attacked the Company. As always The Paladin, encouraged by his dedication to the safety of his comrades, met his foes with unflinching valor, and destroyed them, perhaps single-handedly. (Roark says otherwise, but you know, that’s Roark. And Angus has gone to find a new place for his frogs.) Again the Paladin was most grievously wounded and again his comrades assisted his painful return to Hommelet so that his wounds could receive proper attention.

turquoise frog, a photo by moocatmoocat on Flickr.

Hommlet Road

Over the past year or so, the long stretch of road that passes through Hommelet—and with it Hommelet itself— has been struck off the itineraries of most merchants and traders.  It’s not the usual banditry and brigandry that are just part of the cost of doing business.  When entire caravans simply disappear—that’s a risk not worth taking. 

The people of Hommelet are self-reliant and obstinate.  When they can’t make it themselves, they make do without.  Except for certain things, like bacon.

Pigs are dirty animals and people didn’t used to keep them in Hommelet.  But a little ways down the road, two days journey if you push it, the town of Aeigh-o-waugh is famous for its bacon and for its pigs.  A few enterprising young men from Hommelet pooled their savings, made a little trip, and bought a boar and two sows.

The Swineherd, a photo by mandolux on Flickr.

  It was during their return trip that the new swineherds discovered what had been keeping the merchants away from Hommelet.

They reached a crossroads and were struggling with the seemingly simple task of making the pigs turn left.  Neither gentle prodding nor rough cursing had any effect.  Hearing the loud rustle in the trees, the men joked that if only they had a bow among them, they might shoot some deer and sell venison instead of bacon.  But then the “deer”— human bodies, mangled and decayed, obviously lifeless but still walking on their half-rotten legs— emerged from the forest, three of them at once surrounding poor Sebastian, who batted at his assailants with a swine-whip before the monsters  knocked him to the ground and stomped him to death.

“It all happened so quickly,” said Sebastian’s friends, “we could see there was nothing we could do for him.”  More of the walking dead approached from another direction.  They were accompanied by one or two natural, breathing men, both wearing helmets that covered their faces.  The swineherders fled, driving the pigs before them with panicked ferocity. 

“They were setting a trap for us, and if it weren’t for them pigs, we’d have walked right into it.”  Except for Sebastian, all the young men—plus the pigs— made it back to Hommelet alive.

Sebastian himself returned the next day, in a state that put to rest any wicked gossip about his friends’ weird story.  The soldiers from the tower had to be called to do the work that soldiers do.  It wasn’t really Sebastian anymore and his face bore no expression of fear or pain as first two and then three spears pierced his re-animated body.  After the body finally collapsed and lay still, the villagers told the soldiers to drag it to the boneyard on a long rope, and cover it with lime in a deep pit. 

The boys gave up their plans and slaughtered the pigs all at once.  Most of the meat went to sausages and most of the sausages went to the dogs and to the tinkers, too poor to afford fear, who still follow the road that passes through Hommelet.

Rescuing Golfo

A large party was organized for the mission to Xitaqa: Beatriss; Tetsukichi; Al-Fitar; Phi Phong; Kreppu-san and his three companions, rescued from the slavers’ stockade; Xīngqíliù and his six brothers. Their path followed a dry channel worn into the escarpment that rises on the north side of the Lam River. After an hour or so on the path, Xīngqíliù pointed out the top of the well-fortified tower that is the major landmark of Xitaqa. They saw dark shapes flying around the top of the tower and Kreppu-san recommended that rather than meet any enemies in the confines of the path, they would do well to seek higher ground. With ropes and the assistance of expert climbers, the entire party managed the climb up onto the higher ground.

The ground was rocky and there was no defined path, but up out of the channel, they could all get a good at not only the tower but the little ghost town beneath it—a warren of twisting “streets” carved into the stone by the weather, and lined with small structures that were half-carved into the stone and built out with bricks of the same mottled red, pink, and yellow color.

On top of the escarpment, the party also attracted the attention of the flying creatures, which, as they drew nearer proved to be very large bats.  Several members of the party were very good shots with their bows, and they shot enough of the bats in their approach that the survivors circled back and flew away.  The party continued until they came to a place where unless they were willing to divert their course, they would need to “cross the street”—that is climb down one side of the gully and then back up the other side.  They found a relatively gentle slope with natural footholds where they could climb down, but climbing up was not so obviously easy.  One of Kreppu-san’s companions, a woman named Jintara, was a skilled climber and so they sent her up with a coil first of rope to help the others.  As soon as she reached the top Jintara, turned back and waved her hands in alarm.  The party took a defensive position and were well-prepared for a group of men, armed with spears and leading apes.  Tetsukichi warned the party not to attack the apes unless necessary, as he had knowledge of animal speech.  So when the spearmen order the apes to attack, the party’s archers shot at the spearmen while Tetsukichi warned the apes that they need not be enemies.  Several spearmen were shot and killed; the others, seeing the apes’ hesitation to follow their orders, retreated in panic, dragging their “pets” with them.  Two of the apes remained behind, and they told Tetsukichi that the area belonged to the apes and no humans were wanted.  The party made a show of cautiously retreated and the apes went there own way.

Swayambhunath Monkey Face, Kathmandu, Nepal, a photo by Peter Akkermans Fotoakkermans.nl on Flickr.

  With Jintara’s help, the party found a place to climb back up on top of the escarpment and continue their approach toward the tower.

Soon the group came to a point that overlooked a small plaza, surrounded with buildings of slightly larger stature than the others they had seen and, directly opposite them, tall doors leading into the tower itself.   One of the doors was slightly open, but the interior was unlit and no one could see anything inside.  wo of their local guides agreed to climb down ropes into the plaza while the rest of the party either held the ropes or covered their descent.  As the guides descended, men from inside the tower shot and killed them and then rushed out with their spears, only to be shot down by the party’s archers.  Two more volunteers, both more heavily armored, descend next, and reached the plaza floor without incident.  They confirmed that the sides were dead, that there was no obvious danger waiting for them and signaled the rest of the party to follow.

Entering the tower, they found a once grand foyer with a tiled mosaic floor and well-carved statues of wolf-headed people, plus the hammocks, eating utensils, and other personal belongings of the men who had attacked them in the plaza.  Pushing onward, they reached a large atrium with a dry fountain in the middle of it, where two wolves, each the size of a horse was waiting for them.  The wolves attacked viciously, but the many strong warriors held a defensive line to protect their weaker comapnions and together killed the beasts.  As ; Xīngqíliù tended the wounded, his brothers explored the room.  One of them prodded at a tapestry, and feeling his spear hit something behind it went for a closer look.  A very large man jumped out, brandishing his sword, and struck down ; Xīngqíliù’s brother.  The other party members reacted quickly and the man—who bore the markings tattoos Jintara recognized as those of the Bloodhead tribe and whose armor and headgear indicated he was likely its chief—was partially subdued ; Xīngqíliù found that his brother was grievously wounded but not dead and with the other brothers’ help, carried him aside to give him what aid they could.  Meanwhile the party questioned the chief.  They told him that they had killed Golthar and were looking for their friend Golfo.  The chief confirmed that there was a prisoner upstairs.  He did not know where the prisoner was held or even that he was still alive, but showed them where the stairs were and announced that if they wished the brave Golthar’s magical guardians, he would neither help nor hinder them.  During these discussions, X and the brothers assisted their brother in retreating from the tower, offering that would hope to meet the party later. 

Beatriss led the way up the narrow spiral stairs to the next floor.  As she reached a closed door, she heard a shout from below.  It was Al-Fitar, the rearguard, who had been attacked by the Bloodhead chief.  Al-Fitar dodged the main force of the blow, and threw himself back against his attacker, knocking the chief back into the room and giving several other party members room to get back down the stairs and assist their friend.  Overpowered and outnumbered, the chief fought with valor, but was killed.  The party looted the chief’s body and Al-Fitar claimed his great sword, which bore the mark of a renowned smith.

handmade chinese sword fittings dynastic dao jian saber peidao, a photo by swarovskilighting on Flickr.

Once again the party ascended the stairs and opened the door into a barracks.  Besides beds for 10 men, spare weapons, and typical personal effects, they found manacles and other accoutrements of kidnappers and slavers.  And they found another spiral staircase that led them still higher in the tower.

On the next floor, they found what appeared to be a bare room with a cell one side of it.  A man, naked and bruised lay on the floor of the cell and some creature seemed to be trying to batter its way inside.   Beatriss charged into the room—and disappeared!  They could still hear her footsteps—and then her voice, calling out that she was still there, but no one could see her.  But the unseen creature could see her and attacked.  Taking a defensive position, she took select strategic slashes at her invisible foe, while warning the rest of the party to stay back and out of her way.  The creature followed maintained its attack, but Beatriss deflected most of its powerful blows, while her own struck again and again, not only harming the creature, but also giving her a better sense of its great size, general shape, and fighting style.  When she began to tire, she lured it toward the entrance so that her companions could try to strike it without hitting her by accident.  By this ploy, they killed the beast, and dragging it out of the room found it to be a anthropomorphic bull, wielding a powerful sword.  (Jinatara claimed the sword.)

Rose with sword, a photo by jmolives on Flickr.

(It suits her.)   Phi Phong and Beatriss rushed to the cell and confirmed that it was indeed Golfo.  He was alive but in very bad shape.  The party despaired of how to get into the cell.  Neither Phi Phong nor Jintara could pick the lock.  And the strongest of them was smart enough to realize that if anyone could break in, it would have been the bull-monster.  Then Tetsukichi remember the bag he had looted from Golthar back in Menkan,  sure enough it contained several keys and one of them opened the door to the cell.  Golfo and Phi Phong reunited in a way that was at first touching and very soon uncomfortable for everyone else, and then Beatrsiss loaned him some clothes and suggested they should get to safety.  Golfo protested that he wanted to find his armor and that Golthar’s room upstairs must contain a hoard of treasure, but wiser heads prevailed.  They descended the tower. 

Xīngqíliù and his brothers were holed up in one of the smaller building off the plaza.  The injured brother could walk with support and the reunited party agreed to leave Xitaqa together, following the surface streets this time due to the difficulty in trying to get the injured people up on top of the escarpment.  They encountered no one and made it all the way down to the beach.  There they were ambushed by group of slavers on horseback.  It was a fierce fight.  Although the party killed most of the slavers and drove off the one or two survivors, one of X’s brothers was killed and several more were wounded.  The party captured the horses and used them to pull litters for the dead and most seriously wounded.  But once they reached the boat, they decided not to try to bring them aboard and instead boarded it themselves and sailed down the Lam toward civilization.

Smashing the wolf-people's idol

Beatriss and Tetsukichi, along with their companions and guides, sailed down on the western branch of the Lam River and then up the eastern branch, as guided by Xīngqíliù.  Along the way, they passed near Quitokai and picked up Afu the Priest and Kreppu-San, a warrior from Zipang who claimed to have been travelling with Gwinch and to accompanied him in his attack on the slaver’s stockade.  Indeed as they traveled up the eastern branch of the Lam, Kreppu-San was able to point out the peaks behind which—according to him—the stockade was situated.

And, according to Xīngqíliù, they were also nearing Xitaqa.  But before he would reveal the exact location of the tower that was Golthar’s former home and the likely prison Golfo, he would demand, as he had warned them, a favor.  His demand was in fact both a request for a favor and a loyalty test.  Xitaqa was a wicked place, built by wicked people of a former age, and a beacon to their sucessors in wickedness.  And what better way for the party to prove that they were not among the wicked than to destroy an idol of wickedness?
Xīngqíliù indicated a path, faintly visible from their boat that, he explained, led to a cave inhabited by a family of wolf-people.  They had built a wolf idol for themselves and worshipped it in the cave until they were rewarded and cursed with the power to turn into wolves and to command natural wolves.  If the party would enter the cave and retrieve the idol so that he could destroy it, he would reward them with the information they sought.

Tetsukichi, Beatriss, and Kreppu-San debated Xīngqíliù’s offer.  What was their quarrel against the wolf people?  What if these were just natural wolves?  But they weren’t being asked to murder but only to steal.  And if they were natural wolves, they would have no interest in an idol.  If they were wolf-people, then they shouldn’t be eating people-people, as Xīngqíliù claimed that they did.
They made a plan to attack at night when most of the pack would be out hunting.  Neither Xīngqíliù and his brothers nor Afu would enter the wolf cave, but the priests did give the party some assistance—one glowing stone to provide them with light and a second to mask the sound of their footsteps. 

The party disembarked and followed the path up the river to the path that Xīngqíliù had pointed out.  They followed it to the cave, obviously the noisome den of a pack of wolves.   

Al-Fitar was posted outside to watch for the pack’s return while the others entered.  The short entry tunnel led to a central chamber with several smaller caves radiating off of it.  Climbing up to a ledge, they found a small alcove and inside it, the idol—a clay statuette with gemstone eyes.  While discussing (silently) how to retrieve it, the natural wolves inhabiting the lair detected their presence and began to emerge from the other rooms.  The party fought the wolves and killed them and then swiftly retrieved the idol and ran out.  Al-Fitar reported no sign of danger, but the party didn’t linger. 

They returned to the boat. Xīngqíliù congratulated them and took the idol.  His brothers guarded it while the party spent a few hours in restless sleep, awakened near dawn by the sound of piteous howling.  They pushed up from the shore and remained anchored in the middle of the river until daybreak.  When the sun was up, Xīngqíliù asked for he and himself to be put down on shore where, after a short ritual, they smashed up the idol.  (And, it seemed, pocketed the gemstone eyes.)  Xīngqíliù was well-pleased with the party and agreed not only to show them the path to Xitaqa, but to accompany them there.

Putting pieces together in Menkan

The morning after their battle on the dirty side of Mekan, Tetsukichi, Beatriss, and Al-Fitar were nursing their wounds, and eating a late breakfast at The Nice Inn, when who should walk in the door but Golfo’s wife Phi Phong. She was very happy to see them and at the same time very distraught.

Golfo had been captured or killed or had been captured and was about to be killed. She explained what regular readers already know—not long after they left Quitokai in resumption of their mission to find Gwinch, Goyat, and Kawabi, she and Golfo, along with Tsao Ho and the other monks were ambushed by a large group of men, led by a flying sorcerer in yellow robes. Their brave guides had assisted Phi Phong in escaping their assailants, but when she rejoined Tsao Ho and his monks, Golfo was not among them. Two monks had fallen as well and Tsao Ho refused to risk their mission to go back and try to find them.

When it was time to make camp, Phi Phong convinced one of the guides to help her go back and look for Golfo. At the site of the ambush, they found the dead bodies of the monks, but no sign of Golfo. Phi Phong and the guide returned to Quitokai. Some people there knew of Golthar, the flying sorcerer in the yellow robes, that he was in league with the slavers, and that he may well captured Golfo alive, whether to interrogate him or send him to a mine, or for some other evil purpose. They knew that Golthat lived at an ancient citadel known as Xi Ta Qa, but they didn’t know where it was. Phi Phong decided to go to Menkan, both with the hopes of meeting Tetsukichi and enlisting his aid in rescuing his cousin and with the object of finding someone who knew something more about Xi Ta Qa.

Tetsukichi and Beatriss were interested in helping. And they recounted the story of their encounter with Golthat the previous night. They made a plan to return to the scene of last night’s battle, hoping Golfo might be found there.

But first, they were injured, and needed healing. They visited several temples on the north side of Menkan and received some small measure of expert care for their injuries. They also asked various priests if they had heard of Xi Ta Qa, and received a few blank looks and a few vague answers (“in the mountains.”) And when they returned to The Nice Inn, they found a self-styled holy man waiting for them: “I have heard that you are looking for Xi Ta Qa.”

Hermit :), a photo by aufidius on Flickr.

The holy man, who was named Xīngqíliù , said that he knew the exact location of Xi Ta Qa, and that he, with his six brothers, would take them there. “But I will want a favor from you in return. And horses.” Xīngqíliù also agreed, for the price of 30 taels, to accompany them in their return to Golthar’s hideout in Menkan.

When they returned to the dingy neighborhood in the vicinity of the south end of the wharf, they found a crowd of people milling in the alleyway in a state of restrained excitement. The people’s stares seemed less hostile and they gave the party space to pass. Beatriss knocked on the door of the gate, demanding Golfo. “Go away. He’s not here,” said the people inside. There was a woman’s voice among them, probably that of the woman in black robes. After some argument, the party barged in. Besides the woman in the black robes, there were three men, one of them armed with Beatriss’s bow, which she’d dropped the night before. The woman fled while the men held the party at the gate—briefly.

After dispatching with the men, the party pursued the woman through the house and into the street. Here the party hesitated, but then, noting that the crowd was perhaps very subtly hindering her flight, continued the chase. People in the alleyways, with nods and half-glances guided Beatriss into the alley where she at last captured and killed the woman. The party returned to the house, searched it, and found no sign of Golfo. They did however, recover a good bit of money. Now it was time to make plans for Xi Ta Qa. Learning from Xīngqíliù that Xitaqa was on a cliff overlooking the Lam river, they decided not to buy horses, but instead to pay for everyone to go by boat. And so the next morning they set sail.

Slum on Chao Phraya River Bangkok Thailand 1995, a photo by wordcat57 on Flickr.