Enter the Ambassador…. BONG!

There was time on their hands while they awaited paperwork from the ruling families. The day was spent exploring the Misawa family territory in town, spending time in the homey establishment of master smith Masato. Mei led the group to his shop and translated as needed. She bought herself a few Kunai to kick things off. Yosh perused a number of the items arranged around the very inviting room. His eyes settled on an Iron Fan which he asked the smith to help him understand how such a weapon was used. Masato obliged, nearly shredding the practice target dummy he had, shocking and surprising Yosh with what the weapon could do. Yosh asked if he could try too and permission was granted. This was his mistake, wounding himself as he tried to make use of it. He asked for some further demonstration and was still unable to remotely use the item properly. So Yosh returned the weapon as graciously as he could. Grogg, noting how interested he was, bought 3 of them. One for his brother, one for Yosh and one for himself. This sale led to Ruurik inquiring about Dokyus. While the weapon he had was as good as what Masato had, the smith did have better bolts and cartridges which Ruurik quickly purchased. When he handed over several gems to pay for the material Masato offered a bandolier for the magazines. A stunned Ruurik thanked Masato.

The next day the party arose from their slumber in their rooms at the Perfect Rose and were met by a representative for Masako waiting for them in the lobby of the Inn. He requested the group accompany him. As many as wished to come. But this was of utmost importance. The entire party decided to come along. It was a very important meeting and its gravity was conveyed by Mei to everyone. She was sure to express how important it would be to come unarmed, a topic Agamemnon took issue with given his hammer is his holy symbol. Mei left this for him to resolve when they got there.

The group was led down winding paths through the city in to areas Mei had never been before. The tallest pagoda in the sector was known to all as the home of the family leader and this was their destination. The pagoda stood like a watchtower among the other buildings. A fence circled the large property guarding both the dwelling and the gardens contained within. The group was led in by the minister to a waiting hall. In the hall was a large table. They were instructed to leave any and all weapons behind on the table before they would be admitted. If they chose to, they could stay here and await the outcome of the meeting. Some chose to stay outside, the rest disarmed. Vic chose to disarm all but his one secreted dagger. Agamemnon brought up his problem and a quick discussion was resolved with a guard assigned to accompany him while he visited the inner areas. And in they went.

They were led out to the garden. A pristine, immaculately tended and landscaped lush area. A path wound in a perfectly unplanned manner through the garden down which they were led to a bench where Masako sat expecting their arrival. She opened the discussion by directing one of her ministers to pass along the paperwork to authorize their trade route and thanked them for the proposal to open this exchange. But this was not the reason they were summoned to her presence. There was a larger issue caused by their presence in town. The organization they knew as the White Ninja were also aware they were there and were looking for them. So intent were they that probing scouting parties had already been encountered on the outskirts of the territory. Masako was well aware they would be coming in numbers to forcibly take Mei, at the least, from the town. And then the pin was dropped. Masako was almost grateful for the conflict. The three families of Unundu were done absorbing the abuse and violence of the Hashimoto family, which led the White Ninja. The three families were in agreement to allow the party to stay in town or they would assist in their mission getting them out of town allowing them to hopefully rescue Tao, Mei’s master. The families did not want to provoke a conflict but would respond were it brought to them. They were just not fully prepared to start such a conflict. With this information exposed Masako agreed to their request for some time to discuss the matter. A Talking Crystal was brought out and a channel to SD opened.

The discussion was conducted furiously with many ideas thrown about but one member of the group, Grogg, was not very interested. He wandered a little bit away to admire the flowers in the garden. Masako noticed this and joined him, offering to show him the finer areas of the garden. The two wandered off down the path to the stunned amazement of the rest of the group. During their walk while Masako led Grogg off the path to some of the more exotic flora, Grogg was emboldened to ask a question. He had come to understand it was proper to announce a loud “BONG” when one bowed. He wanted to know if this was correct. Without missing a beat Masako graciously told him it was not necessary but she gave him full authority to do so whenever he felt it appropriate.

Books hosted the discussion with SD, filling him in on all the details he could. He also shared information they had regarding Gulfmoor and Sudalon as the information Masako had was now outdated. Options were tossed about as SD weighed the surprising news about the White Ninja and the possibility for new allies to confront them. Plans to extricate Tao were proposed and a final plan settled upon. The families would supply a ship to take the party via the ocean to get Tao. A second ship would be loaded with the horses and wagons which would sail south to Gulfmoor and would meet the party there after rescuing Tao. The party would perform new introductions with the local authorities to open trade with these kingdoms. Once there, the party would travel east back to Midway. Meanwhile, SD would investigate the option of having wizards Teleport Tao away from the coastal cities and out of reach of the White Ninja. The discussion essentially concluded, SD requested some time for a private discussion with Masako. He had about 30 minutes of time remaining on the Talking Crystal spell.

Plans finalized it was time to move. The party would gather up their things and head out. The wine still carried in their wagon would be delivered to the local restaurant. And then there was Grogg. As they left Masako bade them farewell. She turned to Grogg, bowed, and uttered a subtle, but audible to all, “Bong!” No one could believe what they just saw and heard.

They moved quickly and found their way to the schooner waiting for them and off they went. The ship sailed directly west putting distance between them and the shore to avoid spying eyes. Once several miles out they turned north and west sailing around the horn between Unundu and Anpuru. Winds were at their back as the ship made terrific time also avoiding any problems. They sailed for three days without issue and on the morning of the fourth day they made towards land, approaching the area directly outside the secluded cave where they expected to find Tao. But there were still a few problems to be navigated. First was the landing. There was no dock here and the approach was broken up by a sand bar and reef which meant they could not take the launch all the way to the shore. Second were the White Ninja patrols and guards roaming the area, some of which could be seen along the top of the cliff.

The party was divided in to three groups as the launch could only support 5 of them at a time. The three dwarves, Crush and Addie were to lead the way, establish the beachhead and defend if assaulted. Addie cast Bat Sense to give her better vision of the surroundings and as they approached the reef Crush leaped out, trying to set foot on ground. But the boat was more unsteady than he knew. He slipped and fell between the boat side and the reef. His padded armor began absorbing water and he began to sink. Crush reached for the reef to get hold and climb out but his has could not get a grip and the sharp reef shred his hands, causing catastrophic bleeding and Crush stopped moving. Addie and Ruurik reached down and grabbed hold of his now limp body, tugging him up and in to the boat where Blargg was able to cast a healing spell to revive him. Rurik then shared a potion to top him off. But Crush would not be the only one to have issues disembarking. Addie and Blargg too had problems slipping and falling unable to reach solid ground. Eventually Grogg asked Crush to help by throwing him. The assistance provided enough of a launch allowing Grogg to land in the reef and sand bar. A rope was tossed to him. He dug in to hold the launch and the other end was tied to a cleat. As secure as they could get the remainder of the group was able to get off the boat safely. Spotting some White Ninja running along the shore away from them they set up a defensive position as the launch returned for the next group.

It took about 10 minutes but the entire team was now on ground.Books cast a Bless to help everyone as they moved on. They had to move forward carefully as the ground was unsteady and marked with pot holes. Several missteps were taken and quick action prevented anyone from falling in. Blargg made it enormously easier with the use of a Find Traps spell. Advancing at a measured pace to ensure as safe an approach as possible it was not long before arrows rained down from the cliff side. As the arrows fell they were finally able to make a quick rush to the beach. The lead group swung around creating a shield wall against the Ninja they knew were racing down the shore line towards them. Grogg tripped in the surf trying to keep up. Gaining his feet he charged back in to position. Kenny used a Bless to once again cover the party.

They were now on the beach and dry land. Crush, near the dark, mysterious cave mouth opening, picked up a shell and tossed it in. The shell went in and disappeared in the darkness making no sound at all. Addie, using her Bat Sense, was unable to see beyond the threshold where the darkness began in the opening. And at that time the White Ninja racing along the shore were almost upon them. The group prepared for the fight. Tyrade fired off a Magic Missile at the first target, Agamemnon cast Protection from Evil on Andrya, who was manning the right wing of the shield wall. Kenny attempted a Hold Person on several of them but his casting failed. Books layered in a Prayer to boost the Bless spell.

At this point, the archers on the cliff top jumped and spun to face the wall and slid down the sheer cliff face in a controlled manner. Vic and Tyrade fired bow shots at the Ninja dropping along the wall, hitting their marks. Grogg was disarmed by a White Ninja using a Manriki Gusari which yanked the weapon from his hands. Agamemnon used his special hammer and scored a devastating blow on one of the enemy. Kenny cast a Hold Person and finally one of the Ninja was affected, making it an easy target to finish off. Blargg attempted to use a Command spell, but it too failed. Crush attempted to throw his new Uchi-ne but fumbled it.

The White Ninja fought back, attacking with their Manriki Gusari attempting to disarm their opponents. Blargg was caught by these attacks. Others used Shuriken. One hit Yosh who was also affected by the poison on the blades. But the party pressed their position. Ruurik cleaved with his battle axe striking down the first, Tyrade took the second with a bow shot and then a third with a point blank shot. Kenny scored a stunning attack with his Spiritual Hammer on yet another and Andrya finished off the held and helpless target.

The Ninja had no quit and attacked with their Wakizashi, Curly taking a significant wound. Books responded using a Hold Person and catching 2 more in the spell. Crush scored a blow that knocked down his opponent. Agamemnon used an Aid spell to help Grogg as he stood the line. Kenny’s Spiritual Whip finished off the seventh and Ruurik ended the battle as he killed the last.

Silence spread across the beach front. Vic stripped a few of the bodies of their clothing putting together a full set of White Ninja attire for himself carefully selecting articles without blood stains. Mei moved forward to investigate the cave mouth opening. That’s when it occurred to her…

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