Catwakenings - the search for Paw [ages ago]

A write-up of the 'Field Marshall Research' sessions, which took place on 31 October and 7 November 2019.

Despite the distance - in both space and time - the journey back from the Astral Plane was as quick as blinking; their Plane Shift spell dropping the party off where they had gathered mere hours earlier.

Leading the others through the en-tree portal to his abode, Oriloki Genesis directs his minions to make the foyer as comfortable as possible and bring refreshments for whomever wants them. As tens of translucent, human-sized Oris begin to drag cushions and blankets into the atrium of the mansion, and others rush off to fetch plates and cups and bottles and food, Baine and Varis - carrying the senseless Paw between them - lay her down on the makeshift bedding being assembled, with Taffeta adjusting cushions to make her comfortable.

Hurrying over to his friend, Pieni kneels by Paw’s side and starts to hunt through his many bags and pouches. He brings out a near-empty jar of strange glittering paste and smears the last of it across Paw's forehead and under her eyes, where it gradually fades from sight, absorbed into the tabaxi’s body.

“It will not awaken her in her current state,” Pieni says, looking around at the rest, “But it will make her sleep more restful. I’m afraid I’ve run out of the ingredients I need to offer any more comfort to her.”

Ori, who had been watching Pieni’s ministrations, unfocuses his eyes for a moment - as though listening to a far-off voice. A moment or two later, a door at the far end of the room opens and an identical Oriloki steps through, a small “#3” badge pinned to their shoulder and carrying a jar containing a similar glittering substance to the one Pieni used on Paw.

"If you require more materiel, you need only ask." The figure says, as it approaches Pieni and offers him the jar.

Pieni stares incredulously at this other Oriloki, accepting the jar.

Oriloki Genesis chuckles. "Don't be alarmed by Oriloki Tertius - it functions similarly to Secundus, the construct that accompanied us to Wa."

"The one that died?" Pieni asks.

"Oh I see you subscribe to the Drawmijian school of thought - that replicants, clones, and simulacra take on not only the abilities of their creators, but also some essence of vitality and soul?"

Pieni shakes his head slowly. "Um, I subscribe to the school of thought of if it looks like a duck and walks like a duck, then I'll be sad if the duck dies, even if it's not really a duck."

"Interesting. Would it assuage you to know that it had, in fact, no soul, no heart, no feelings, no pain? It was merely a construct. Unlike, for example, those souls we all handed over to the Empress of Wa in exchange for passage home."

"Nothing you just said assuaged me at all.” Pieni states. “I'm not smart or scholarly or a battle-hardened soldier like the rest of you. I don't know if simulacrums have souls or not. I don't like what we did. I just wanted to rescue a friend and get home and hope that it's all over now."

Ori runs a hand over his massive, tattooed scalp. "Then allow me to remove one small burden from your obviously heavy load. Simulacra do not have souls."

“We’re right, you know.” Oriloki Tertius chimes in “We don’t have a soul. Secundus divined as much during the tea ceremony.”

The topic of souls and dying coupled with the realization that he won’t be getting his horse back any time soon seems to be weighing on Baine where he’s sat on the floor, watching over Paw. He hunches in on himself, his large arms wrapping around his knees, brow furrowed. He throws a considering glance at Pieni. “You haven’t got any spare animals that could use a hug, mate?”

"I have these," Pieni says, muttering something in Druidic, and eight puppies come bounding out of thin air and drown him in fur and licks, after which he directs half of them to Baine. Pieni looks back to Oriloki Genesis, shrugs, and mumbles, "...I'll take your word for it."

Ori nods and says "And you're most welcome to it, Master Pieni."

A slightly awkward silence is broken by Taffeta. “Well, um… now that we’ve got that settled… I reckon I know a good safe place for Paw to rest and get better. It’s where my family are staying at the moment. Baine, could you give me a hand carrying her, d’you think?”

Ori nods slowly. "Sounds reasonable, Mrs Thistletop. But I require a few moments of Ms Quick-White's time before you depart."

Taffeta pauses, turning to face the goliath. 'Oriloki, you've helped me a lot, and you've kept your word not to try to hurt Paw – so far. But I don't think any of us have forgotten what you said back there. So maybe less "requiring" and more "asking nicely", hm?'

"I'm afraid I must insist.” Ori says, shaking his head regretfully. “I feel it is the least I am owed given the assistance I have provided and the risks I have taken on her and your behalf. You may, of course, be present."

Baine says nothing but doesn’t leave Paw’s side. Pointedly. “Speak to her all you want mate. Not leaving her alone with you. Simple as that.”

Oriloki pauses nonplussed for a moment, before replying: "That is, quite literally, what I just invited you all to do, Master Cinderwood. I am glad we are on the same page."

Traavor seems to take that as some sort of cue and stands up, drawing his newly acquired exotic sword and looking it over. He gestures vaguely with it and nods at the door.
“I’ll head out. Come find me for a drink when you’re done, Baine?”

The half-orc nods and Traavor makes his way out, already taking a few practice swings as he goes.

Varis, looking battered and tired, turns to Orikloki. The veins in his neck have a nasty, blackish hue, as though filled with peat, and a wound on his thigh slowly leaks blood. He frowns for a moment, closing his eyes, and the flesh knits back together, colour returning to his face.

“Magister Manyvoices, we are grateful to you for your assistance in the rescue of Quick White Paw. I have fought by your side on several occasions and believe you are a being of the highest moral character. However, your revelation about the instructions you received from your order have understandably made several of us uneasy. None here wish you harm, but I think some reassurances on your part that you will seek a peaceful resolution to the issues you have with the dear friend we have just risked life and soul to save would go a long way to calming our nerves. Surely you can see how such ambiguous avowals as you have thus far given serve only to heighten our uncertainty and, therefore, our unease?”

As Varis is speaking, Taffeta notices a change in Paw’s breathing, a slight stirring of her tail. The halfling leans over to Pieni and whispers: "Looks like she's coming round. Listen, she's had a pretty hard time, I reckon. And I don't want himself over there to start talking at her before she's had a chance to collect herself. Can you keep those two talking while I wake her up and get her steady? Then she can decide for herself."

Ori glances over to where Taffeta is sitting with Paw. “Do not make the mistake of thinking this discussion has distracted me, Mrs Thisletop. A lifetime of tedious banquets and diplomatic parties have attuned my ears most finely. And, anyway, this may be the safest place for her at the moment: this house is invisible, protected from scrying, and no-one can enter without my permission. None of us should go anywhere until Ms Quick-White has come round and we’ve had a chance to speak.”

Taffeta scowls but doesn't respond, except by turning her back to him and shifting position to place herself between him and Paw. She places a hand on Paw's motionless arm and begins murmuring quiet reassurances to her, ignoring the rest of the room. In response, Tertius shuffles round to where it can keep an eye on Taffeta and Paw.

Meanwhile, drumming his fingers on his desk in irritation, Ori looks back at Varis. “While your intentions are politic, Grandmaster Nailo, they are somewhat undermined by your companions’ actions and words – which have been considerably accusatory since we arrived back in my house.”

He pauses for a moment on the verge of saying something else, before continuing.

"Do you know what the problem is with you adventuring types: wider consequence never features in your decision-making. You think bold action and dramatic declarations can replace considered thought and appreciation for the wider picture. You reel from one crisis to the next like a drunken sailor on shore leave making his way from bar to bar. You never look ahead to see where your current steps are taking you.”

He waves a hand at Paw.

“Not only has your friend unarguably committed serious crimes in Waterdeep, she has potentially endangered this entire plane through her meddling in Wa and the Isle of Devils. And yet you round on me who wishes only to uncover the facts. As for assurances: do you think I would have enlisted any of you in retrieving her if I intended to kill her?”

Ori's hands are on the verge of visibly shaking with the tension mounting in the room, but he seems resolute.

“No, I could easily have recruited a bunch of swords-for-hire from any of the major cities in the world, journeyed as we have done, and ended her life and any threat to this plane without any of you even knowing what was happening. So, maybe if we can continue to be civil to one another, we can speak with Ms Quick-White and uncover some truth in this matter.”

Pieni emits a confused chirrup and tilts his head. "That was... a lot of words to process... I'm confused. Less than peaceable actions? All I've done since I got here is talk to a frog, help Paw, and summon some dogs."

Varis frowns: “Magister Manyvoices. As you can see, Mistress Paw is exhausted from her tribulations. Can your questions wait until she has had time to rest? In the meanwhile,your earlier comments regarding the safety of this place imply she is in danger from something - or someone - beyond these walls. I wonder if you would elaborate? After all - forewarned is forearmed.”

“Very well - I suppose additional information might be germane at this point.” Ori takes off his spectacles and polishes them on his sleeve before resettling them on the bridge of his nose, using the brief pause to compose himself before continuing. “When I travelled to the Order’s archives to carry out some research on another matter on behalf of Mrs Thistletop, I was called into a meeting with a senior figure within the Order’s inner circle. He commanded I track down Ms Quick-White and her unknown companion, ascertain what level of threat they were, and remove them - given their illegal intrusion into the Order's secret and dangerous archives. I found his manner and his orders quite dubious and his motives inscrutable. I pretended to accept the assignment in its entirety, but resolved to contact and alert the head of the Order, Lady Vajra Safahr - the current Blackstaff of Waterdeep and most likely the most puissant mage alive. In response, she asked me to carry out his orders as far as I felt comfortable and then report back to her - which I did the instant we returned to the Material Plane.”

"The order that you'd been given," says Pieni, "Why'd you not inform us from the very beginning that you'd been told to remove Quick White Paw? It would'a given us a lot more time to process it, reduced hostilities…"

“Because time was of the essence. And, quite frankly, I predicted - rightly, may I add - that you would all react this way in media res as it were. I decided it made more sense to have this discussion once your friend was safe and we weren’t about to step onto an island filled with fiends.”

As Oriloki speaks, Varis’ frown deepens, though he looks more confused than angry. As the goliath finishes, the young half elf opens his mouth to respond, but at that moment, Paw’s eyes open and she looks wearily around the room. Varis’ mouth closes with an audible click.

“Hello, Baine, hello Taffeta, and … are these your puppies? They look lovely. Hello Pieni, Varis, Oriloki-san. I see you did come to my rescue. Thank you all so very much. Well, I have not felt so exhausted since the first months of my training at the Temple.”

Paw goes to stand up and then quickly decides to sit back down cross-legged on the bedding, hoping nobody noticed the sudden change of plan.

“Welcome back,” says Taffeta with a slightly stressed attempt at a smile. “Take it easy, don’t strain yourself. You’ve been through a lot.”

Pieni offers Paw a pup.

“Thanks!” Paw pets the pup.

“Can someone put the kettle on?” asks Taffeta, fishing in her bag for the little pouch of tea she was given during the eventful journey just ended.

"I got it," offers Pieni. "The tea, I mean. Making it. In the kettle."

One of the mute mini-Oris appears at Pieni’s shoulder with a shallow bow and proffers them a kettle and urn. Astute observers might notice the slight deterioration in the quality of the serving-wear being provided since arriving - seemingly in response to the questioning and attitudes directed at Oriloki.

“I would be very grateful, Pieni, if you could indeed make some.” Paw smile wanly at her friend. “You look uneasy, I hope helping me has not brought chaos in your souls.”

"Not any more chaos than usual," Pieni says, shrugging, then busies himself with the tea and distributes it to anyone who wants it.

“That tea smells like home.” Paw says, gratefully accepting a cup.

“Yeah, we, um… we went there,” says Taffeta. “By mistake. I hope you don’t mind.”

“I… do not. At all, actually. Sorry, Taffeta, I had sworn to help you. You ended up helping me again. Oriloki-san, as I told you before, you teach me humility once again.” She sips the tea slowly. Very, slowly. She eyes the people in the room cautiously one by one as she does so.

Just in front of Paw, watching her with a mixture of worry and relief, is Taffeta. The halfling is wearing her usual practical clothes and leather armour. She looks unharmed but a little weary and dishevelled, with leaves and twigs in her hair and sweat still drying on her brow.

Parallel to Taffeta sits Pieni, holding a small clay jug-like mug, as blue and ever-smiling as usual, not that his beak would let him frown. His feathers wilt like thirsty wheat stems. He peers at her from side profile. "You okay, Paw?"

“Yes, Pieni, I am better now. I have not been myself lately, I am afraid. I lost the Way”.

"You haven't been anywhere lately." Pieni murmurs.

“And to many places at the same time.” Paw responds. “I know where I was when I was captured, so I assume you came all the way to the Isle of Devils for me. I am sorry, It must have been very hard.”

A faint whoop follows Paw’s last word. She stops and carefully opens her side pouch to reveal a tiny owl. “Ohhh, Sho, I am so glad you did not leave my side” The owl looks shooketh, but physically fine.

Pieni hoots a 'hello, Sho!', pleased by the now three owls - two of which had fluttered down from the Orilokis’ shoulders to greet Paw’s companion.

Sho starts hooting. “♫ Hello, Blue Owl! Do you understand Big Furry Tree That Moves? Are they a tree? I am confused ♫”

Pieni points to Paw. "Tall two-legged non-bird animal is friend!"

“♫♫!, I didn’t know animal could be that big! Thanks♫"

During these exchanges, Ori’s demeanour has been shifting towards visibly agitated. He appears on the verge of voicing his thoughts when Paw lowers her cup and looks up to Oriloki.

“I am sorry, Oriloki-san, I spent your name in Waterdeep without permission some months ago. I am sure you know that by now. After what I experienced in Kantas before the summer, I started questioning my notion of the Cat Lord being just a product of my own feral instincts - as you know, Baine, since you told me so many times.”

Baine opens his mouth like he wants to say something but changes his mind and closes it again. Instead he gives her a small, tired smile and a shrug, saying nothing.

Paw continues. “I went to Waterdeep with good intentions. I wanted to access the knowledge on the subject available in the West. Your Order seemed the logical place for that. In Waterdeep, however, I was contacted by an emissary of the The Monastery of the Dancing Sword, Yashiro Tomosue. He told me we were on the same quest for knowledge, but he had been refused access because he was unknown to your Order. I offered to help him. You might be asking yourselves why was I so foolish. Well, my sister Silver-eyes-in-the-night became a Dancing Sword when she left Machukara - or more exactly, when she was banished from the Temple of the Rockcliff Waves and stripped of her monk name Yen Mari. Yashiro-san told me he knew were she was.” Paw takes another sip of tea, looking around uncomfortably.

"Oh, Paw," says Taffeta sadly.

At this revelation, Pieni brings his quiet hooting to a halt. "You -- your sister -- was banished?" he says. "Then… Did he really know where she was? Or were you manipulated?"

“We were both banished, Pieni. The Monks of the Rockcliff Waves deny the existence of the Cat Lord and other figures that have at times appeared in visions to members of the order. It is crucial to our - their? - discipline that the struggle along the Way remains an internal struggle for balance and personal growth. Silver was less conflicted than me in her willingness to answer the call of the Cat Lord. She had never quite abandoned the Path - our popular faith in Wa - when it comes to the worshiping of the Kami. She was banished months before me and she left for Paikai. We all know in Machukara that the Dancing Swords have a different view about how to walk on the Way.”

Pieni nods."...Yeah, they do a similar thing where I'm from. Banish them, they're dead, forget about them… But -- so they didn't want to acknowledge the Cat Lord as an external enemy? So he's literal? Can you defeat him? Is that the view of the Dancing Swords?"

"I am sorry they do that, Pieni. At the Temple at least they do not banish for life. If I were to accept their teachings in full again, they would have me back.

"As for the Dancing Swords, I did not join them, Silver did. However, no, their take is that it does not matter whether it is your subconscious mind or the Kami manifesting themselves. They just need to be used to fuel your own Ki and express your full potential. They embrace them, I think you could say. On the one hand you can pursue balance by subtraction, on the other hand by addition. Remember the story about the monk Jin-woon, his cat, and the katana called Green Wind, Taffeta? That, I discovered, is a founding myth for the Dancing Swords. They think the monk in the story was the first monk to reach a higher level of balance by embracing his emotions. I do not know if the read the story correctly. Nobody I asked to truly knows. Not in Kantas and not at Oriloki's Order at least. Anyway, I should have stopped Silver at the time. I thought I was following the Way by letting her free to choose. It was a mistake."

"Was it really?" Pieni says. "You did what you thought was best at the time…"

“Yes, adventurers doing what they thought was best at the time: when does that ever go wrong…?” Oriloki mutters, somewhat affronted at Paw’s revelation and following hard on the heels of Pieni’s reply.

Pieni blinks. "What? Wait, what else are adventurers supposed to do? What they think is worst? Deliberation is optimal, but sometimes you have to make decisions without much time-”

Tertius scoffs and goes to respond, but Oriloki raises his hand to cut off his simulacrum as Pieni continues.

“ -Or resources. Or all the information. People are always going to make mistakes, but I'm not going to blame someone for trying their best."

Ori raises an eyebrow the merest hint of a millimetre. “Your defence of your friend is spirited, Master Pieni, but I apportion no individual blame. I merely point out that the numerous instances of lack of foresight amongst the many prominent, powerful, and illustrious names of Daring are well-documented; and so are the consequences. This debacle is just another in a long list. But to return to more pressing matters...” He looks over at Paw again. “What certainly was a mistake was to use my name to try and gain access to forbidden and restricted information. Do you appreciate the serious trouble - nay, strife! - this has landed me in? Why did you not come directly to me or one of your friends here for help in this matter? And this Yashiro Tomosue: do you think they were truly operating on behalf of these Dancing Swords - or are they pursuing their own agenda? Were they captured with you?”

"Oh, right. There was that other guy we didn't take with us when we left…" Pieni adds, and then sits up straight. "Oh, ♫♪♫! The monks and the demon, too!"

"Paw," says Taffeta, taking the tabaxi's hand and catching her eye. "Are you sure you're well enough for all this? We can talk about it later, when you've rested - you don't need to go over it all now."

“Thank you, Taffeta. I am in need of rest, yes, but Oriloki-san is right to be upset and I want to explain myself. I do not have a good excuse. I wanted to believe Yashiro and his intentions, I guess. I spoke with a librarian, he gave us some texts. Not much, I have to say. I did notice that Yashiro had left the room secretly though, and I did not tell. He rejoined me shortly after and we left quickly. It was then that he told me Silver was part of a dangerous mission to the Isle of Devils”

Pieni takes a guilty glance at the diamond dust jar.

Looking startled, Ori leans forward intently to interrupt Paw. “You say Yashiro left the room? So he was potentially roaming the corridors of the Order unsupervised for a time?!”

“Yes, he was there, but he was also free to move unseen, if you know what I mean. Some monks develop this ability, and he is a Master.”

At this, Ori and Tertius share a brief worried glance, and the simulacrum turns on the spot and hurries from the room.

“Well, I think you might have guessed by now what happened to me next. I had a real reason to go to Wa and so I did. From there I was helped by Yashiro to reach the Isle of Devils. Unfortunately, I was a pawn in their game. I was to be traded for Ide Yayami-san, one of the Whirling Blades, as the leaders of the Dancing Swords call themselves. I ran, I hid, you messaged me once more, and I was finally captured.

“See, things in Wa are not entirely peaceful I am afraid. Machukara and even Paikai are in fact prisons of sorts. The Dancing Swords have always had a more antagonistic stance towards the Path. I mean the Path of Enlightenment, the faith of the Eight Million Gods, the Nine Travelers, and the Celestial Empress. Sorry, I should not presume you know all this. The fighting Shugenja of the Dancing Swords have foretold that the Devils on the Isle and the Monks of Machukara are the opposite extremes the Dancing Swords need to master to fully walk the Way and be free. They want to kill our Celestial Empress - that is how in their vision static Harmony is replaced by dynamic Balance. They tried to entice the Devils with offerings to further their plan. Clearly something went wrong and Yasami-san was captured.”

"Yes," says Taffeta, "We heard a bit about some of that from - oh, what was his name? Fuji?"

“Fuji Yoriari-san?! Did you meet him? Wait, did you also meet Tsugaru Narimune-san? She is an old elf monk”

"Um," Pieni briefly interjects, "I'm interested in Wa, and even if our quests don't lead us there again I'd like to visit it anyway, but all of these places, people, concepts… I'm gonna need a glossary."

“Soogar… no, I don’t think so. But yes, we met mister Fuji. Do you know him? He said he didn’t know you…”

“I am not surprised. The Temple strikes a difficult balance between welcoming its very rare visitors and defending itself from threats. You likely made his life easier by asking of Quick-White-Paw, since I officially never entered the Temple with that name. My given name remains for family when they visit or whenever I meet them. My monk name was So Satsu. Something must have spooked the Elders recently for Yoriari-san himself being dealing with visitors.”

Taffeta thinks for a moment. “I don’t know… they didn’t mention anything. The monks, I mean. I think it was when we mentioned the Isle of Devils that Fuji asked us to come back to the temple. Oh, I’m telling this all muddled…”

"Well, Machukara can be… quite inhospitable. Yet you saved me from the Isle of Devils and made it back with precious tea. By the way, did you know it is worth a pretty coin on the market, Pieni? But please, tell me what happened to you?" As Paw is speaking, the door to the chamber opens and Tertius returns to the room, nodding once to Ori.

“Okay,” Taffeta replies, “Well, so, after your last message where you said you were trapped on the Isle of Devils, Oriloki went and did some research and said he could take us there. But he couldn’t find out about the, uh, the balance thing? The thing you mentioned where souls can’t leave the island unless they’re replaced with other souls? So we didn’t know how it worked, if we had to take a devil with us to trade for you, if we’d get stuck too if we went there…”

She takes a sip of tea and continues. “So we thought we’d try going to Wa first and trying to find out more about the Isle. Oriloki magicked us there, except, er, we didn’t arrive quite where we wanted to.” Ori shifts, embarrassed, in his seat. “It was some kind of big damp forest. And it was night-time, which was really strange because it was only just after lunch when we left Kantas."

"Um," Pieni starts explaining, "That's because if you fly high enough, you see the horizon is curved and you can extend the daylight by flying after the sun, so the reason it's dark at some times in some places but not others is because the planet is round and the sun's light gets blocked by the planet when the sun is on the opposite side. On a lunar eclipse, the shadow of Toril is a circle, too!”

Both Ori’s and Oriloki Tertius’ faces momentarily twitch and wince at the explanation, but neither move to add to Pieni’s comments. On the floor, Baine looks like he’s getting a headache. Taffeta frowns for a time and then shakes her head slightly. "Um, yes, it was dark because of the… the plan-it," she continues uncertainly. "So we camped for the night and then in the morning Pieni flew up above the trees to look around, and he saw we were on an island that looked like Machukara on the map – Oriloki has a map, you see. And then as we were walking towards the coast I saw people following us in the treetops. They jumped down and talked to us, and, well, one of them turned out to be your mister Fuji, and he led us to the, um… the Reclusive Temple?” Taffeta looks to Paw for confirmation.

"The Recluded Temple, yes. That is what the Temple of the Rockcliff Waves is often called in Wa."

“He was very nice and gave us tea.” Taffeta continues. “I tried to be like I’ve seen you do with your tea, he seemed to like that. He told us the story about the war between Wa and… and somewhere, and how both sides used fiends to fight for them, and then after the war the empress trapped all the people she didn’t agree with on islands like Machukara, the ones who follow your, er, your Way, and she trapped all the fiends on the Isle of Devils and put it in another plane.”

Baine sighs and sets the dog down on the floor next to him, letting it amble its way back to its creator. He looks up at Paw and quirks an eyebrow at her. “Yeah, I drank some of that wild tea of yours, mate. Me and Traav got high as all hell. Saw visions of battles between fiends and whatnot. Gave us a few clues so it was a good thing, I guess.” He shrugs his massive shoulders again.

Paw nods, clearly considering something. “The tea of Travel. Clearly, Fuji-san was testing you. And, clearly, you did not lie to him. I am so grateful, Baine. You and Taffeta seem to be talking about the Chaos of the Great Hunt. That happened over a thousand years ago, though. I have never had visions of such a distant past, Baine! Well, according to the legends it was a war fought between Wa and Kozakura with the help of fiends. It ended in chaos and despair.”

“And Fuji said the empress decided no soul can leave the island unless it gets replaced with another one – that was it, wasn’t it?” Taffeta asks Pieni sitting beside her.

"Yeah, that's why we had to, um --" Pieni hesitates -- "Swap all those statues with souls in for ours, later. That we stole."

“We did what we had to, Pieni”, Baine says tiredly. “We can’t save everyone. All we can do is our best. We’re only so powerful, in the end.”

"But we're -- you're so powerful!" Pieni exclaims. "If strong people like you and smart wizards and all the other adventurers in Port Ffirst and Daring Heights can't manage to do the right thing half the time, how the hell are we ever gonna change anything?"

Baine shakes his head, almost to himself. “We did do the right thing. We saved her.” He points at Paw. “If you want to go back and fight to the death for all those statues, be my guest. But by staying alive maybe we can save more.” He shrugs half heartedly and leans his head back against the wall, closing his eyes.

"Wait, you swapped what?!” Paw sits up straight “And whom for?"

“We swapped – Okay, let’s go back a bit,” sighs Taffeta. “Fuji gave us some of the tea and two of the other monks took us into the forest, to the ruins. So we could try to see more, with the – the visions. He said it would work better there. But some things, some… demons? … attacked us? Or at least…” she glances uncertainly at Pieni, “we fought them…”

"They appeared outta nowhere," Pieni replies with a guilty glance to the floor. "I don't know most demons to be especially peaceable, so I jumped and called for help, and the spirits who watch over me came to fight the threat. I didn't mean to… I couldn't think of anything but danger. Maybe they could've helped us, but we captured one in the end. He was… uh… interesting."

"They were fiends," Baine cuts in. "Wouldn't have been no reasoning with them and any help they could have given us would have come at one hell of a price. Don't waste your sympathy on them. Go on, Taff."

“Mmm-mmm.” Ori murmurs, noncommittally. “In my experience, almost anything can be reasoned with - even fiends.”

Baine’s face turns hard and he stares straight ahead, not answering.

“Right, yes. Well, we fought them,” Taffeta says. “It was tough. We tried to take them prisoner but two fought to the end. Managed to catch the last one, though. Baine here did a good job keeping hold of him. And Oriloki asked him some questions. Turned out the three of them were kind of prisoners on Machukara too, like the monks. The empress put them there to stop people going to the ruins. I… didn’t really understand why.”

“The ruins were a gateway to the Abyss." Ori puts in. "Entities from that realm used the site as a staging post during the Great Hunt - the war Masters Cinderwood and Traavor saw during their visions.”

As Oriloki speaks, Taffeta turns to Baine and mouths ‘Cinderwood?’ He gives a minuscule shrug, nods and points to himself.

“The fiends we encountered were presumably posted to stop anything… untoward… coming through.” Ori muses. “Although, that war is long-since concluded, so why they were still there is unclear. Their now-ghostlike forms lead me to think that they died, as it were, on the job. A most-unpleasant way to go. The pension implications don't bear thinking about.”

No-one laughs.

“Uh, yes, unpleasant,” Taffeta nods, not entirely succeeding in seeming like she was paying attention. “Anyway, Traavor and… Cind…?” she glances at Baine, who shakes his head awkwardly. “... Baine, and the other Oriloki said they’d try the tea, and the rest of us kept watch. We did spot a few of the island guards – they’d seen us, so…” A look of sorrow crosses Taffeta’s face. “Fuji’d said if the empress found out we were on Machukara then the monks would be in big trouble, so… we couldn’t let them get away.” She tries not to catch Pieni’s eye.

Pieni stares at Taffeta for a few seconds, surprised, before shaking his head, muttering something about lions.

Paw looks momentarily taken aback: “I am … well, this is … you met - and defeated - the Keepers of the Well. Some of them at least. The legends say five fiends dealt with the Shogunate of Wa and gained permission to open a way to the Abyss in Machukara in exchange for troops to win the war. The Empress destroyed the portal, confined them on the island, and told them to win the war as promised to be free.”

"The Keepers of the…? Well, I suppose we did," says Taffeta, looking a little lost. "Tall woman with a sunshade, very fast she was, and someone in robes. The third one had strange armour on, that's the one we caught; no idea where he is now, though. We tried to take him to the Isle of Devils with us when the others'd finished their tea, but - oh, wait," she says, turning to the half-orc beside her, "You should tell Paw–" But Baine, still leaning against the wall, has closed his eyes again and seems to have fallen into an exhausted sleep.

“Oh, so you were spared the Masked Archer and the Flying Tatsu, it seems. This is incredible! Please, do tell me what you saw.” Paw replies.

Taffeta looks at Oriloki, the only one still conscious in the room who saw any of it – through his mental link with his simulacrum – but the bespectacled goliath just clenches his jaw and looks away. “Okay,” she sighs. “Well, Traavor said he saw a temple – our guides reckoned it sounded like Paikai, the way he described it. And some kind of portal opened up outside the temple and a monk came through and gave some books and things to the other monks there.”

Paw twitches ever so slightly in her lotus position.

“And Oriloki – the other one – saw a big palace on a mountain, with a hall full of statues. And Baine…” she looks again in the hope that he’s woken up again, but no luck. “He said he was sort of flying over the sea and then over little islands with bridges between them, and there was a wagon going across, and a big demon thing waiting for it on the other side with six arms and swords and things. He reckoned it saw him, somehow, even though he wasn’t really there. And he saw you and the others in the wagon. So, well, that was it, we had to go and get you quick before that big fellow got all his hands on you!”

“And so we tried to use a spell to open a gateway directly to you.” Ori says.

“After this one told us he’d been sent to kill you,” Taffeta interjects.

“Been instructed to kill Ms. Quick-White and her accomplice.” Ori continues without missing a step. “Not entirely the same thing, Mrs Thistletop; not entirely the same thing at all. Nonetheless, an entity calling Themselves The Empress intervened and pulled us off course.” Here, Ori looks thoroughly disgruntled at having two transportation spells fail on him in the space of 24 hours. “And so we found ourselves sequestered in Their palace on the Astral Plane. Similar to the Ethereal plane with which you’re very familiar, Mrs Thistletop - but also very different in its own right. They offered us a choice of sorts. We would be permitted to rescue you, Ms Quick-White, in exchange for providing Them with souls from the Isle on which you were trapped. One for each of us.”

Oriloki glances around to see if anyone will interject. When he’s met with silence and awkward glances, he continues. Only Varis holds his gaze, eyes calm and level.

“So we accepted these terms and were conveyed to the Isle. To the very vehicle in which you were being confined and transferred, no less. Very precise indeed. I’ll give Them that. Anyway, as we attempted to free you, we were attacked by a monstrous guardian creature with many arms. We fought it off and collected a soul-statue each. The Empress then returned us to Their throne room where we paid your price; and then we returned here post-haste. You’re in my private house, equidistant between Daring Heights and Port Ffirst, by the way.”

“The Empress. You were summoned by The Empress and visited Their Celestial Palace. I am… I do not know what… I am speechless.” Paw changes position and gets on her knees. She bows ceremoniously to each of her saviours. She then breaks her onenju ring and gives each of them one bead, leaving one in front of Baine. “These are beads from my onenju. Take them as a gift and a token of my eternal gratitude.

You crossed the Gate to the Path, entered the Castle of the Celestial Spirit, met the The Celestial Empress, Keeper of the Path, Light of the Moon, Warmth of the Sun, Spirit of Wa. You fought the Keepers of the Well and the Namahage of Nagiso. All for me. Thank you.”

“Oh, Paw,” exclaims Taffeta, “there’s no need to – I mean – well. Thank you.” She carefully places the little bead into her bag and pats Paw on the (now-reachable) shoulder. “Now, you need some rest, I reckon. Would you like to come and stay with me and the family for a bit?”

Paw nods. “Thank you, Taffeta. I shall come with you for a few days”.

“Good,” she replies. “Well, if you’re feeling strong enough, maybe we’d best leave Oriloki in peace.” She turns to the goliath and looks up at him expectantly.

“Mmm what?” Ori looks up from where he’s making notes on a scroll. He waves a hand. “Yes, yes, you may leave. I don’t think you can shed any further light. I’ll have to report back to the Order, though, in some shape or form; and they may take the matter out of my hands and further.”

“Mm,” says Taffeta, frowning. “Listen… I know you’re taking a risk… Is there anything we can do to help? We could, I don’t know, make it seem like you tried to stop us getting away, or…” She gestures vaguely.

“Thank you, Mrs Thistletop, but no. As I mentioned previously, I contacted the head of my Order concerning the irregularities of the commands as soon I received them. The matter is being dealt with internally.” Ori puts down his quil and steeples his fingers. “As I said, I was never comfortable with the instructions in the first place: the process was too informal and my requests for written confirmation in triplicate were denied. Most dubious. And, anyway, I was simply required to assess and remove any threats by whatever means necessary. I now consider any and all threats nullified. Simply put, Ms. Quick-White is in no danger from me.” He looks at Paw’s companions standing around her and smiles. “And most likely never was.”

The halfling looks momentarily irritated before taking a breath and saying, “Good. Right. Okay. Thank you. And, Oriloki – I know you’ve already helped us a lot, but… I mean, there’s still a rakshasa out there that’s going to be coming for me and my family soon, and it was working with people from Wa, and we don’t know what they were trying to do in Daring or if it’s anything to do with these Dancing Swords or whatever, but it’s our only clue about what’s going on. Do you know what that monk was looking for in the archives? Do you know what they took?”

“At this juncture, I’m afraid I don’t know the precise - or even vague - nature of the topics in which Ms Quick-White’s associate was interested. I have heard as much about these activities as you. Nor do I think I would be inclined or able to share that information at a later date if it did come to light. The archives are classified for a reason, after all. Hence my alarm at Ms Quick-White’s revelations earlier. Maybe Ms Quick-White can shed more light on the focus or foci of her associate’s activities?”

Paw takes a moment and casts her mind back. “Yashiro asked me questions about Kantas and Waterdeep. He was curious about my travels. When we entered the Archives, he told the Archivists he was interested in researching the ancient history of the city and its protectors, like Khelben and Ahghairon. To me he said he would have found the information about the Cat Lord the Order was likely keeping secret. That is all I know.”

Taffeta’s eyes widen. “D’you think he was telling the truth? That the Order knows something about the Cat Lord? What’s that got to do with old Waterdeep history?”

“I have learnt not to trust Yashiro Tomosue. What his real intentions were, I am afraid he hid from me”, Paw replies.

Taffeta turns back to look up at Oriloki.

“Most likely he was telling people what they wanted to hear while keeping the true subject of his clandestine research to himself. Or maybe…” Ori looks troubled for a second. “Maybe he was looking for someone, not something. Making contact. Given how quickly you say he was gone.” Ori stands up and folds his hands into the sleeves of his robe. “But I’ve kept you long enough. No doubt you’ll wish to remove Ms Quick-White to somewhere you deem safe.”

“All right, well, if you find out anything, please let me know if you can.” Taffeta helps Paw up – or at least three feet up – and picks up her bag and crossbow. “I’ll leave the Slumbering Prince with you, Varis,” she says, not turning round, “as that’s how he seems to like it.” And the halfling and tabaxi head for the door.

Varis holds back for a moment, eyes searching the seated Goliath, who seems oblivious to this appraisal.

“Magister Manyvoices.”

He waits until the arcanist looks up, seeming mildly surprised to find his guests have not all departed.

“I thank you for your efforts this day. You have been instrumental in the rescue of one of Daring’s own, and if perhaps your framing of certain realities might have benefitted from a little tact and diplomacy, I shall certainly not be the one to start throwing stones in that particular glass house. Regardless, should you require outside assistance resolving these irregularities within your organisation, I hope you will call on myself and the Order.”

He pauses for a moment, frowning.

“My Order, that is. Obviously.”

Shaking his head as though clear it, he continues.

“I should also be greatly obliged if you were to continue to assist Mistress Thistletop - the creature she hunts is a risk not only to herself and her family, but to many innocent citizens of Daring.”

Ori purses his lips. "I shall do what I can, but I fear my contributions may be limited."

Varis turns and crouches beside Baine’s slumbering form.

“On your feet, Soldier.”

Baine springs blearily to attention, and, with a final nod to their host, Varis guides him from the room, and back out into the night toward Daring.


(written with Malri 'Taffeta' Thistletop Pieni Ser Baine Cinderwood 🔥🌼 Varis/G'Lorth/Sundilar Paw and (barely) Jimbo (Traavor/Torvald) )