Arrival at Talamau
Seventh Day of the Ascending Month, Season of Fire.



As the tattered sails of the tramp-ship billowed against the fiery hues of the Kai Besil sunrise, a sense of anticipation hung thick in the air, mixing with the salt. The vessel, which was called the Lung Xu, had been battered by the trials of the journey and now anchored cautiously off the coast, seeking refuge from the ravaging seas and lurking sea rebels. The island, once touched by the mystical hand of Lan Yu, sat before the ship like an invitation – a sea of green, lush jungle surmounted by a single, large peak that issued white smoke. It was hardly the enigmatic sanctuary shrouded in the secrets of forgotten wizardry that legends claimed.

Talamau, the small fishing settlement on the island's northern coast, beckoned amid the wilds of the jungle island and the capricious sea. Surrounded by the untamed beauty of the tropical island and the quiet menace of the volcano at its core, seemed to have survived where all other outward markings of Lan Yu’s reign over the region have vanished.

From the village emerged several long canoes, each with four figures in them, making straight for the Lung Xu. The village guides, skilled navigators of the treacherous waters, came alongside the tramp-ship and shouted warm greetings. With practiced skill, they rowed out, guiding the larger ship through the labyrinthine coral reefs to the sheltered embrace of Talamau.

The arrival of the Lung Xu at the small pier of Talamau marked a new chapter in the long history of the Island of Kai Besil, a realm where legends of wizardry and volcanic magic whispered through the rustling leaves, and where the sea and the land wove a tapestry of adventure waiting to be unraveled by those brave enough to call the island home, if only for a fleeting moment.



Strangely perhaps, for the small village, several passengers disembarked with purpose, as though they had business in the backwater village of Talamau - or perhaps the wilderness of Kai Besil...

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OOC: Characters entering the game can start here. This is a sandbox game so my advice is to seek ways to pursue your agenda. You all exist within the same world and occupy the same time frame. I'll open more 'location-based' threads as you explore the island.

Welcome to the game!  Please have fun!

Disembarking the tramp-ship, Hailie shaded her eyes with her hand and looked around the quaint little village of Talamau. She hadn't really expected a big city or anything, but this place was smaller than what she had been expecting. Trying to get her legs to work on land correctly, Hailie made her way off of the dock and into the village proper. It was a long shot, but she wanted to see if the village had a temple, or knew of one nearby to the sea god, Boresh. Hailie has been a follower of his all her life as she has grown up on the sea, in the floating town of Port Tisbo.

Clasping her quarterstaff and kind of using it as a walking stick, she went to find the local church. Surely there was a church of some sort in this little village. The gods demanded their respect and woe to anyone who didn't give that respect to them. Hailie hadn't heard of anyone suffering divine wrath in a long time, but there were stories of old about those who refused to worship the gods and the consequences they suffered from it. Hailie's mother used to tell her those stories to get her to behave and to get her to go to sleep at night as well. She was sure most parents did that type of thing with their children. Returning her attention to her surroundings, Hailie continued her walk through the village in search of the church.

The buildings in the village were extensively wood constructions. They weren't as cobbled together as some of the districts of Tisbo, but the village wasn't very big. The people of the village were watching the strangers disembarking the ship and surely one of them might know where the temple was.

As Hallie walked, she passed one building built with some stone in place of timber. The ring of a hammer on metal revealed that it was a smithy, a few farming implements sitting against the wall which might have been for sale. No sign of a temple of Boresh, though.

Passage upon the Lung Xu had been secured scribing signs of dubious profundity and less than assured auspicious fortune onto the sailors thereof. A sojourn Ketsuyuki owed to the pursuing ire of a wisely distanced magistrate whom had not taken kindly to her answering his call for concubines. The fat sow she'd herded into his esteemed hall not quite the comely Hengeyokai her blandishments had promised.

But as is often the case one meets misfortune on the road they take to avoid it. Having drank and quarreled much too fiercely the night before Ketsuyuki awoke to find herself overboard. Floating amidst her meager possessions and the untroubled goat she'd pressganged into one sided companionship. Wits, wealth and self gathered up as the hermit floundered onto Talamau shore. There she wrung the saltwater from her ragged robes in a motion that revealed more than just the woman's tightly tied fundoshi. A springing sika deer, immortalized mid-leap, dominated the milky pale expanse of her leftmost leg. A remembrance of that chance encounter that'd set her on the long path to enlightenment.

"Be thankful, dear Bento. Seeing much, suffering much, and studying much; these are the three pillars of enlightenment. Many an unenlightened so claim! Let us wonder which, that grand and smoldering pillar of our Kai Besil embodies. What unglimsped sky it stands supporting--"

A growling stomach interrupts her.

"But let us, firstly, fend off this hounding hunger! The belly is an ungrateful wretch, it never remembers past favors, it always wants more and more and more tomorrow..."

Thus spake Ketsuyuki as she strode forth boldly to inflict herself upon an unsuspecting household.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:54, Sun 10 Dec 2023.

The people that saw Ketsuyuki emerging from the water at first made the warding sign of the Sea God, Boresh, and then, when they realised that she was not some vengeful sea demon but a bedraggled, raven-haird visitor that had somehow fallen from the ship.

The locals wore little in the way of clothes - it was too warm for them to need much. Their bodies were wrapped in simple white linin which was stained by their duties of the day. Women wore their hair down, men their hair short. Several of the men were armed with bows, some with large clubs with jagged bits of stone sticking from the thick end. All of them seemed wary, but not frightened, of the newcomers.

Weapons which, though rudimentary, made sure the men of Talamau stood comparably well armed. Narry an implement of war to be spied amidst Ketsuyuki's clutter. Said clobber strung teetering across the length of bamboo that bridged the hermit's shoulders as she walked.

In truth, the arrow of these folk's first assumptions had not strayed so far off target. For the outsider did bear the blasphemous green-flame blood of an Oni-Brood. Paler than pale and with dark, tangled hair--at least a shaku longer than she was tall--one could be forgiven for imagining the low tide had belched her forth.

Barefoot she blunders forward, goat in tow. Taking in the sights with large, round eyes that looked to want nothing to do with each other. Food remained her foremost quarry. And should she find a family seating themselves down at a tabled meal Ketsuyuki would plant herself beside them. Muttering a few words of timely gratitude as though she'd been invited, then eat. Spurning any chopsticks or affronted looks in the process.

Though even without such a windfall it would not be the first time she contested local strays for a belly full of scraps and refuse
This message was last edited by the player at 20:38, Mon 11 Dec 2023.

Alive, he had made it out of the battle of Iskargi with only a few scrapes, far better than the samurai that had been part of House Yuraga. Lord Yuraga fell to an arrow in his eye. His son, Ijo, died when he was pinned under his horse when it fell. The rest of the household were invited onward or became ronin. With fate blowing in the wind, it was time for Isamu to head elsewhere, offering his blade to protect the ship from pirates in exchange for passage.

Happy that he was standing on firm ground once again, Isamu waited a bit for his stomach to settle back down before looking for the closest place to get a drink. While not a ronin to be drinking this early in the day, he was happy to have made it back to shore in fairly one piece, far better than his meals that become so much chum for the creatures of the sea.

"Innkeep, warm saki!" he said, propping his naganata against the wall next to his chair.

Hailie, letting her curiosity guide her, stepped into the building where she heard the ring of a hammer on metal and watched silently as the blacksmith worked the metal expertly. Nodding her head politely, she smiled at her host and said in a smooth, almost too soft voice. "Excuse me sir, could you tell me where the nearest temple is? I've just arrived and wanted to give thanks for the successful and safe journey." Once finished speaking, Hailie bowed her head and kept it bowed until the man answered her or gave her permission to lift it again.

It was hot in here, but of course that was because of the forge and the blacksmith working with hot metal as it was easier to shape into what he wanted it to be than if he hadn't heated it first. Hailie didn't know that much about smithing, never really having an interest in it enough to study it in anyway. She'd been busy with her other studies and duties that left her very little free time. But it had taught her focus and follow through. She hated leaving something half done and if she knew she couldn't finish the task she'd rather not even start it than have to quit in the middle of it. That was what her childhood had taught her. And she was grateful for it now, even if she had whined and complained about it when a child.

Walking into the village, the small, timber-framed houses have large, sheltered porches. On one, a family of four sit to eat some fish and rice in a belated breakfast. The adults seem preoccupied with setting the table and providing the food. One of the children, a girl with dark eyes, watches as Ketsuyki spots them as though the stranger were some strange creature.

Finding an inn isn't too difficult. It takes a couple of questions to the locals who wordlessly point down streets to a building much like any other in structure, but larger. The bar area is deserted and Isamu's shout brings an old woman, grey-haired and toothless, running.
"Welcome, master," she whistles, her mouth all gums. Wary eyes watch the ronin. "We don't have sake... The best we can do is some Millet-Beer. I apologise, though it is strong stuff. We don't get many people here who can afford saki, you see. The occasional visitor, so no need for any saki, master. Might I get you some beer? Have you visited the Elder?"

The smith, battering the metal between the tongs with his hammer pauses in his blows, hammers a few more times and tosses the result in a bucket of water which hisses. He steps away from the forge and takes off his gloves, wiping a hand over his sweating forehead.
"Temple? Yes, there is a temple. You mean for the Spirits, right? Not the old academy? People used to worship Lan Yu, you see, why I ask. In any case, you probably mean the spirits... So it's easy. Head into the village, across the bridge, and past the Elder's house. The shrine and shrine maiden should be there."

Isamu looked at the old lady and bowed "That is fine." he said as the checked the place out, and sniffed the air to get an idea as to what food was available. His mind drifted back to the inn as his belly started to rumble. "No, I have not seen the village Elder, who might it be and where can I find them so I can pay my respects." he asked. "After I get something to eat preferably." he added.

The old woman nodded. "Yes master. I can do you some food as well. Would you like some stew, or rice and fish?" There was no menu - perhaps there was no need for one with only two options available.

"Stew will be fine." Isamu said. "What can you tell me about the village? Is there anyone I should keep an eye on?" he added as he started to drink the beer as he waited for the food.

As he chatted, he pulled out a silver coin, placing it on the table so the old lady knew that he had money to pay for the food and drink.

In reply to Isamu (msg # 14):

The old woman paused. "Tell you about Talamau, master? There isn't really much to tell. They say the town grew up around the academy that Lan Yu built in the olden days, that there was a special brand of magic she taught her followers. After she left, they stayed, or so the stories say. That is, until the Great Eruption a couple of hundred years ago. The ash and such killed most people off on the island. Only a few remained... Talamau is the only settlement on the island now. We're quite proud of our quiet little village, away from all your wars. We're not into killing one another very much, not like you mainlanders.

"As to who to watch out for? Well, nobody really. We have a quiet life here. There are some people you need to meet, like the Elder, obviously. Maybe the Shrine Maid too, Iroko is her name. Nice girl. Bit... intense sometimes. Other than that, really, we're a quiet, sleepy little village in what's left of paradise. We don't have trouble here."

She bowed and headed out into an adjoining room, clattering pots and bowls as she hastened to warm stew over an open fire.

Hallie gave the smith a smile and a polite bow as he gave her directions to the shrine and shrine maiden. Glad she'd found someone friendly and helpful, she didn't take up anymore of his time as she could see he was busy making farming tools and other things. Slowly she backs out of the building, turns and looks around for a second to get her bearings.

Hailie did as he'd told her to, and headed into the village. Coming to a bridge over a stream, she crossed and walked pat what she assumed was the Elder's house. It wouldn't surprise her in the least that the Elder had the biggest house in the village. Once she did, she looked once again to see if she could spot the local shrine. It wouldn't be to Boresh, but it would suffice for her needs.

In reply to Hailie Alwyn (msg # 16):

Hallie didn't realise until she had passed the large building that it wasn't constructed of wood but of dark granite, with narrow lancet windows paned with coloured glass. It didn't look like a home - maybe a small repurposed fortress or something... not a home though. She looked around at the crossroads - the house on her left was large, and there was a line of people waiting to go inside, some of whom had been on the boat with her. She noted several Shogunate warriors in their green-and-black kimonos of the Snake clan.

And that is when she glimpsed it - just a little ahead of her, the small shrine. Hallie approached it and found it empty, a simple three-sided shelter with wide doors that opened the fourth side out seawards. Inside, several wooden posts engraved with old-style kanji words representing the five major elements, the celestial auras, and the rule of heaven.
"Who are you?" came a hard voice from behind Hallie. "Well? Explain yourself, stranger."

Ketsuyuki could be caught lifting her head from where it'd been buried in a bowl of rice long enough to fashion for the girl a smile. A smile that wouldn't be out of place upon a samurai's menpō but a smile none the less. Setting the eartenware down, upturned and empty, to hide the single piece of gold she slides to table. A tenday's worth of work to the common laborer, and many times the price of a much finer meal. Hushing each child as they were made accomplices to this soon to be discovered secret.

Departing with an acrobatic flourish and pockets of fish plundered by the fistful the monk made a single declaration. "Forget not; only dead fish swim with the stream! Swerve and dart--catch bugs and eat plants! Live thus and then, when at last meeting land leap! Leap atop it!"
This message was last edited by the player at 20:29, Tue 19 Dec 2023.

Isamu listened to the old woman as she described the village. "This place sounds rather peaceful. So, no pirates or such in the area?" he asked as he took another sip of the barley beer. "Other than fishing, there is not many professions on the island?" he inquired