Tian Xia PW 124: The Road to Shanyi

[Long Piao Bai]

Thankfully the weather held. As they neared the first way station, Piao Bai was grateful to see it. At his normal size, the distance would have gone much faster, but as it were his legs ached. Piao Bai felt proud of himself, though. He'd kept up to Cai's long strides, though he'd had to trot to do so.

The structure itself was neither grand nor imposing. It was a long, simple building with four walls and a peaked roof. An extension with an open fence offered coverage for animals, of which two donkeys and a fine horse were in residence. A pump offered cold, fresh water.

Within, once the pair entered, they would find the floor held a central pit used for for cooking. To the left of the cooking pit, the aging owner of the donkey lounged against a pack, watching a pot of rice boil. His equally aging wife tended the pot. The pair eyed the other inhabitant, years of deference ingrained in their demeanor.

The courier had taken a position near the door. His vigilance was required at all times. Lee Fei Ping was an older human man in his 40s. His body was fit and lean. Years of exposure to the sun and elements had etched his face with character. He looked hard and rough, an exterior that discouraged familiarity, which was a boon on long-distance courier jobs.

[Cai]

Cai entered the waystation with a brief nod to the current inhabitants. She was relieved to see that the courier seemed to share her own taciturn tendencies. He'd not missed the token of the Jinyiwei that Cai wore, but showed little immediate interest in her business.

At least, Cai thought with some relief, she was unlikely to be hassled for conversation all evening. "We were fortunate the weather favoured us today. We should set up our bedrolls now, before it gets too dark, and get a good night's rest. Tomorrow, we travel to the next waystation, and the day after that we seek the forest path to the hot springs. If the weather turns foul, at least we've something to look forward to."

As if to suggest the sky had been listening, the first plunk of fat raindrops hit the waystation roof, developing into a slight patter for a minute or two. Then the sky opened and the rain fell with reckless abandon, until the roar of the downpour drowned out all sounds. Cai had to admit, they probably weren't going to find the next day's travel all that pleasant. "I think you may wish to avoid walking tomorrow. The road may have become oversaturated and muddy." Cai had a mental image of Piao Bai half-walking, half-swimming through mud. No, that would not do.

[Long Piao Bai]

At the sight of Cai, the couple visibly blanched. Not one but two governmental representatives had taken shelter. Both bowed out of courtesy to the Jinyiwei. The courier watched Cai and Piao Bai through slitted eyes. It appeared the rumors he'd heard when he'd switched horses were true. An omen, perhaps, but whether good or bad, he wasn't one to say. He would leave that to his Emperor. As for the Jinyiwei, well, her reputation preceded her.

Piao Bai peered around in curiosity.This would be his first way station. Outside lightening flashed causing the livestock to complain. The rain competed with thunder for noisiest element. If the pair blanched at Cai, they stared outright as Piao Bai moved closer to the fire. The storm brought a chill wind with it and prickled along his back.

"Certainly. I don't like this storm. It feels ... off." Piao Bai fell silent, regarding the couple quietly as they stared at him. "Cai, could we contribute some of our chestnuts and things to their meal?"

[Cai]

Cai pondered the suggestion. There was no harm in sharing the chestnuts, although Cai would remain watchful of their provisions. Foraging for more food if their trail rations ran low was never an ideal scenario. Still, it meant striking up conversation instead of sleeping.

In the end, with a stifled sigh, the Jinyiwei introduced herself to the old couple. "I am Wénshēn Cai. Emperor's blessing on your work. Allow me to give you some wild chestnuts picked from the mountain." The etiquette was correct, but Cai's delivery was stilted and somewhat awkward. The elderly keepers bowed in turn, the woman responding "Thank you for your generosity. I am Shan, and my husband is Liang. Please share in our meal."

With the formalities over, Cai retrieved the chestnuts and spoke with Piao Bai "What do you mean about the storm?" The old man, Liang, kept glancing nervously at the little dragon.

[Long Piao Bai]

Piao Bai was pleased Cai had taken his suggestion. A feeling that expressed itself through the bond they shared. He had wanted to eat rice with the old couple. In truth, the couple reminded him of two retainers he had known when he was younger. "Something about the air. It makes me feel ... "

Piao Bai watched as Shan took the chestnuts. She retrieved a second pan from their belongings before rinsing and scoring the chestnut's shells. These were placed to the side. Chestnuts didn't take long to roast. The rice needed to be almost done before the chestnuts would be placed over the coals. As he watched, Piao Bai thought about the sensation.

"... oh, I don't know. It just feels like tickly fingers up and down my back." Though not in a make him giggle and squirm kind of way.

Surprising the couple and Piao Bai, too, Lee Fei Ping stirred and produced a fermeted vegetable dish. Shan's eyes widened, then she bowed in thanks.
"Is it not delightful to have friends from distant quarters?*"

Kindness and gratitude twinkled in her gaze as she peered at Lee Fei Ping, Cai, and even Piao Bai. Between the three contributions they had a veritable feast.

"A bit of fragrance clings to the hand that gives flowers," responded Piao Bai, even though the old woman could not hear him.

The old man's glances moved from the dragon embossed on the courier's leather over tunic to the small, living dragon before his eyes. The mention of the Emperor's blessing didn't help matters any. When his wife referred to the trio as "friends," his eyes nearly jumped out of his head. A sound of admonishment slipped from his lips toward his wife. The man moved to his knees, bowing low.

"Emperor's blessing on you, as well, /respected ones/."

(*OOC: attributed to Confucius
)

[Cai]

Cai extended her senses, but whatever was troubling Piao Bai was not something which she could sense. There was no nearby concentration of malicious astral energy. "It is not something which I can feel, but then, I am not one of the Kan Yu. I could not tell if weather was tainted by astral energies unless there was some obvious sign - such as purple clouds, for example." Which, to be fair, she had seen once when a wizard had been using sorcery to create sleep-inducing rain. It had taken some effort on behalf of Cai and the area's magistrates to put that band of thieves out of action. A quick check confirmed however, at present, regular-coloured clouds.

When the courier also joined the dinner party, Cai was more than happy to parrot Piao Bai and save herself the hassle of coming up with her own pleasantries "A bit of fragrance clings to the hand which gives flowers. It seems we were fortunate to reach here before the storm hits us." When Liang corrected his wife's social misstep, Cai nodded slightly, a sign that there was no offence taken.

As much as Cai didn't particularly enjoy smalltalk, there were matters which were always worth enquiring about. "Have the travellers passing through been well behaved in recent days?"

Often times the waystations were good places to get a sense for whether unsavoury types had been passing through. It was a habit of roaming magistrates to make good friends with as many waystation operators as possible - and though Cai was not a magistrate, and her mandate more typically covered non-human malice, it didn't hurt to keep apprised of potential dangers on the roads.

[Long Piao Bai]

Piao Bai was even more pleased when Cai repeated his comment. Certainly the courier's brows lifted. Maybe the rumors about the woman's personality was untrue?

Shan passed a glance to her husband. Funny thing about magistrates and Jinyiwei's and couriers, they could leave after all was said and done. Shan lifted the lid on the pot of rice. She nodded to herself and put the chestnuts on to roast. Soon the nutty scent filled the room.

"Ahh, people will be people." SHan turned her rheumy gaze toward the Courier and Cai, "what of you, any news from the Capital?"

Lee Fei Ping grunted a little.

"Word has it Lord Min's daughter, Xiao Xiao, is marrying Lord Yue's son." That was decent news for the local region as Lord Min's main estate was from the next town over.

[Cai]

Lord Min was a name which tugged at only the slightest strand of recognition for Cai. A provincial bureaucrat, perhaps, with some vested interest or affiliation with a village she'd once aided. Or possibly just a coincidence. Then again, Cai made a habit of ignoring politics in favour of discharging her personal duties to Emperor and Empire.

Suddenly Cai realised Shan was still looking her way. Ah, the keeper had addressed both herself and the courier. "I've not been to the capital in many a month, though I expect I shall return in time for the new year. I have no specific news to share. Laoshanmen continues to thrive." If gossip were a foodsource, Cai had just left her audience liable to die of starvation.

Outside, the storm continued to build and the rain thrashed against the ground. As if in counterpoint to the raging water outside, Cai drank a calm sip of water from her flask. "With weather like that, my rain hat will ring like a gong beneath its beating. Let us hope it diminishes in rage overnight"

[Long Piao Bai]

Piao Bai didn't recognize the names at all, thus his interest was not piqued. Much.

Shan nodded, "They will be a good match. She is smart and he is good-looking." The old man nodded.

Cai's comment struck a chord with Piao Bai. The image that appeared in his mind's eye of a dour Cai ringing like a gong made him laugh. This translated to a wide-eyed look up at Cai followed by a snerk-snort sound. The mirth translated easily to Cai.

"Bless you," said Lee Fei Peng. A fact that made Piao Bai cover his mouth with his paw. Piao Bai did his best to nodd his head gravely in thanks to the courier.

Shan moved the chestnuts from the fire.

"Come, eat!" She beamed, wrinkles crinkling up her eyes in a joyful way.

[Cai]

Cai nodded politely along with the small talk of regional gossip. Piao Bai's pulse of mirth passed through their bond which, followed by the little dragon's choked back laugh, was enough to cause the Jinyiwei's lip to twitch in restrained amusement as Lee Fei Peng offered the appropriate benediction.

There was an absurdity to the interaction, and Cai decided she could never have predicted that she'd be witness to such a thing. Hongjiang Mu, she had no doubt, would have had some apropos witticism for the occasion - but there was a reason why he was one of the Jinyiwei who preferred being stationed in the capital.

As the room filled with the woody scent of roasted chestnuts, Cai accepted the offered food from Shan "Thank you for the meal."

[Long Piao Bai]

Shan was kind enough to provide Piao Bai a small serving. After a while, for lack of anything better to do, Piao Bai produced his flute and played.

Lee Fei Peng hid his surprise well. The couple, not so much, though Piao Bai was convinced later they thought him some kind of pet. A fact that irked a little. Had he been his full size, they most certainly would not have considered him thus.

Not for the first time, did Piao Bai wish he could figure out how he'd managed to transform his body to human-like. Yet, like his flame, no amount of wishing would make it happen. With a sigh, Piao Bai curled up beside Cai after he'd put away his flute. Tomorrow would be a new day and one step closer to the hot springs!

That thought put him a much better mood. A sense of contentment wrapped through him.

"Mmm, Hot springs...," He muttered before dozing off.

[Cai]

The pair made their polite farewells the next morning. Lee Fei Ping had departed before they awoke, in the gloom of a pre-dawn rainshower, his duty requiring he give little thought for matters of personal comfort or social niceties while travelling. Cai and Piao Bai, however, had no pressing deadline and waited for the weather to ease a little.

As it turned out, it wouldn't have mattered. The storm returned and hurled water upon them as if it held some kind of grudge. Piao Bai was spared the worst of it, sheltered somewhat by Cai's steel rain hat as he took up position across her shoulders. The stoic Jinyiwei endured nature's wrath with an air of disgruntled determination as she trudged along the muddy roadside. Their evening camp was a miserable affair, under the damp and meagre cover of a rocky overhang. Cai's mood improved when they finally reached the path which would leave them to the hotsprings. A stone road marker, carved into the shape of a pagoda, bore the inscription 'Humble Serenity Hot Spring'. Even the weather cleared up.

---

Matters had fared just as poorly for the group of men huddled in waiting further up the trail. The junior and prospective members of the Black Gate Society had hurried out of Laoshanmen at the order of their branch leader. When Cai and Piao Bai had been sleeping, they had been pushing through the stormy night, trying to get as far ahead as they could to better prepare their ambush.

Still, at the cost of sleep and much of their stamina, they had arrived well ahead of the Jinyiwei and the small dragon their masters desired. They chose their spot carefully - the air currents left them downwind of those travelling to the hot springs, concealing their scent. In makeshift dugouts under shrubberies, the muddy and bedraggled assortment of thugs and society members waited for their prey.

---

Later, Cai would castigate herself for the lack of foresight in sending her astral vision forward to scout their path each morning - despite the costs doing so incurred. However, given the lack of sleep and general feeling of fatigue, Cai erred on the side of comfort instead of caution. Which was why, when an outburst of rustling sounds from the dense woodlands surrounding a clearing on their path signalled the ambushers' presence, her only response was to sigh regretfully.

Eight men burst into view. Each was clad in black, their clothing muddy and peppered with plant material from their hiding spots. All of them bar one wielded cudgels. It was the odd man out, wielding a spear, who addressed Cai and Piao Bai "The Black Gate demands the dragon. However, the Black Gate respects the station of the Jinyiwei. Hand the dragon over, and we shall vanish like shadows without harm to you."

Cai's knuckles tightened on her walking staff, pushing it into the muddy ground. "Piao Bai, I am trusting you not to get caught. In a moment, I will likely need to drop the pack and attack the leader. When I drop the pack, please try to find a safe spot." Aloud, the Jinyiwei spoke, her voice curt and cold "At this time, you have yet to commit an actual crime. You may walk away freely without legal culpability. However, if you attempt to lay a hand upon myself or my property, you will be committing treason and shall be punished accordingly in the name of the Emperor. Make your choice."

The spear-wielder nodded, intoned "The Gate Closes" and made a gesture akin to someone turning a key in the lock. An oppressive sensation filled the clearing, and Cai suddenly felt ill as her awareness of external Astral Energies was suddenly muffled by an unfamiliar force.

As the Jinyiwei shook her head, as if to clear it, seven men started moving towards Cai and Piao Bai. With a grimace Cai regained her focus. She swiftly released her grip on the staff, shrugged off her travel pack, and stepped forward as she collected her staff once more. A flick of its muddy end sent muck flying into the face of the man closest to her as she sprang forward to thrust the soiled tip at the spearman's face.

The ringleader hopped to the side, and almost slipped in the mud. Two men moved in to assist their leader while the other five, including the one trying to get mud out of his eyes, pulled out coarse hempen bags and tried to catch Piao Bai. Cai barely had the time to wonder how the spearman's sorcery was affecting her companion as she deflected a sweep of the spear with her staff.

[Long Piao Bai]

Piao Bái cuddled around Cai’s neck, tucked under the overhang of the metal gong hat. He hummed softly to himself using the staccato beats of the rain on the hat to keep time. The heavy smell of water, loam, and wet mulch filled the air and blew at a cross current from their path. The men of the Black Gate had chosen their position well, anticipating the sensitive nose of their quarry. The sounds of their emergence, though, didn’t go unnoticed. Cai understood the sounds, but Piao Bái did not.

Piao Bái viewed the men with curiosity, then alarm. They wanted to take him?

“Yes, Cai.” Trusting in the bond they shared, Piao Bái did not move immediately. He did loosen his hold on Cai, though, and slipped to her stand on the pack. His front paws rested on the hat. He would leap when she dropped the pack, then flash to safety. He glared at the group before Cai.

The delay was the first flaw in his plan. Like Cai, the muffling of the astral energies made him feel ill. Cai shook her head, dislodging him and the pack. His graceful leap was more belly flop into the mud than dissolving into beautiful golden, white light. Piao Bái shook his head, feeling dizzy.

The squelching approach of feet in mud prompted Piao Bái into moving. Up to his elbow and knee joints in muddy ground, Piao Bái’s feet moved a few times before he gained purchase, but the mud was his ally as well. The first man leapt for him and landed face first. The second came at him from the left, so Piao Bái zigged right and behind the man.

Even in the mud, despite the magic limiting spell, Piao Bái was quick. It was like farmers chasing a greased pig. Piao Bái had seen this event once and had found it quite amusing. His humor was the second flaw in his plan. He was able to run rings around the men, avoiding capture for quite some time, enjoying making fools of the men. The men, though, weren’t as amused. Eventually, they encircled him, trapping him between them. Four men lept for him, and Piao Bái gleefully slipped through their legs and behind them... right into the bag of the fifth man.

[Cai]

At first, Cai was unable to devote any attention to keeping watch on Piao Bai. The spearman was an aggressive fighter, thrusting at her while his two companions zoned out her ability to press in as they flanked their leader with their cudgels. But their presence, while protecting the spearman, also limited the angles from which he could attack.

Cai's staff swept in broad arcs as she shifted out of the line of each spear thrust, and the cudgel wielders found themselves unable to press forward without risk of a crushing blow to their knees or skulls. Her movements hampered by the muddy ground, Cai fought defensively while she tried to determine the best way to survive the encounter. The spearman's weapon cut through the air as cudgels simultaneously swung at her, and the Jinyiwei found herself forced to give ground as a cut opened up along her side.

A flash of white amidst the frantic activity of the other five men showed that Piao Bai was still free, but hadn't been able to escape the clearing. A cudgel barely missed Cai, and the air rushing it its wake brushed across her face. She barely managed avoid the spearman's next thrust, and was given no opportunity to attack beyond short defensive thrusts of her staff to keep her attackers at a manageable distance. Cai desperately tried to sense the nature of the magic inhibiting the qi within the clearing as she did so.

The spearman's sorcery was oppressive, but it only seemed to dampen external qi. Cai risked a glance towards Piao Bai as she stepped backwards, stalling her opponents with a sweep of the staff, to see the men carefully positioning themselves to force a mistake out of the agile little dragon. It seems the Jinyiwei had no choice.

Breathing deeply Cai centred her own qi within her Xia Dantien, then let it flow through the dragon tattoo on her chest all the way to the Zhong Dantien, and invoked the Emperor's Protection. Cai sprang forward, translucent jade scales deflecting the spear and cudgel strikes as she charged past the spearman's companions, and swung the short end of the staff in an uppercut to the spearman's chin. Without needing to fear the impact of the cudgels, Cai was able to go on the offensive, a flurry of staff strikes disabling the first, then second, cudgel wielder.

Cai glanced around, trying to spot Piao Bai, failing to see a sign of his white form flicking about. Nor could she sense him through their bond, the Black Gate sorcery continuing to confound the efficacy of their link. Perversely, even though the spearman was unconscious, his magic didn't fade: seemingly linked to the clearing, rather than his direct control, in a fashion similar to Kan Yu geomancy.

The she saw it, the shifting bulge in the hempen sack which suggested the struggles of a small captive dragon. Cai charged, and four cudgel wielders moved to intercept her assault in an attempt to let their companion flee with their prize.

[Long Piao Bai]

Mud and dragon tumbled into the hemp bag. Piao Bái twisted and turned, attempting to get off of his back and use the weight of his body to push his claws into the fabric. But, the mud made him slippery, caking the interior of the bag and making it hard to get purchase.

Piao Bái panicked. He could see nothing, hear nothing, and even his connection with Cai seemed broken. There was nothing but the smell of loamy mud. Nothing, until a sensation he recognized filtered into his awareness.

Cai!

Piao Bái renewed his efforts to break the bag that held him. Something clenched in his chest. He couldn’t be stolen away so ignobly as this. He felt it then: a reflection of the energy of the invocation Cai had used stayed trapped within the clearing. Piao Bái reached for it.

The motion of the bag stilled. Pinpricks of light filtered through the weave of the hemp and grew until the bag exploded outwards. The light lit the trees and bushes in bas relief.

“Cai!” The voice was masculine.

Piao Bái wasn’t sure what happened, exactly. He’d latched onto the echoes of Cai’s qi and willed himself out of the bag, fully intending to merge into the tattoo that represented the bond the pair shared. Instead, just as in the village, he transformed his shape.

Piao Bai looked down at the ground, long human arms ending in hands. He stood, palms facing upwards. The fading light limned his body. He looked up and glared, golden eyes narrowed. The light clung to his naked form long enough for him bare his teeth and clawed hands at the man who had taken him captive. Piao Bái was no fighter but he was ready to try.

He was taller than the men, taller even than Cai, though not by much. As with the image the triplets had shown in the Chestnut Grove, Piao Bái’s body was hairless and well formed: slim yet toned, with broad shoulders and narrow hips. Mud streaked his neck, chest, arms, and legs. His hair was as white as bleached bone and fell to his waist in strands that seemed to lift on the light. A pair of tiny horns sat on either side of his forehead. His canines, like his nails, were pointed though not very long.

“D-d-demon!”

The man who had captured him stuttered out the word and fled. "Regroup!"