This my character in the next campaign after the Kozakura campaign. This time we are playing in the nation of Wa (similar to Japan in the Edo period rather than in the warring clans period as Kozakura is.) Again, the author is not just me. We have our four players.
Shalvaney: Playing T'kharr a Gnoll priestess who worships the broken God Illmater
Maxpd: Playing Balan a gold dragonborn paladin who worships the north wind Bahamut
Winterhawk: Playing Mingzhu a sea spirit folk shamaness that worships the path of enlightenment
The Eye of Jom: Playing Zee Vogel a human swashbuckler and 7th heir to the diamond industries fortune
The1Kobra: He is our Dm/screenwriter an director playing all other npcs.
The young woman gets up before the crack of dawn preparing herself for the day, and it’s a huge day for the village. She dresses in a simple slightly oversized shirt and trousers. While she does, she notices the small two room hut has an eerie silence within. She thinks to herself dad must be getting the ship ready. She then narrows her eyes.
“Snout! Where are you, you mischievous pup!” She is met with more silence. Mingzhu looks under the bed first, then under her father’s bed. She sees nothing. Going to the main room she checks the makeshift cabinets her father built for them. When she finds nothing, she turns around to the fireplace and crosses her hands in front of her. Resting on a mount is a cauldron with yesterdays all Stew. It’s usually full of seafood being the village is a fishing village but sometimes her father adds pork, beef or bird depending on what is available. She steadies her breathing and keeps concentrating on the large cauldron.
Soon enough a nose appears pointing at the open doorway of the hut. Then a head. It’s a small sea otter and it has a big redfish in its mouth it stole out of the cauldron. Mingzhu shouts at it, “Snout! You know you’re not supposed to get in there!” The otter stops slinking out behind the fireplace. It bounds out the doorway and down to the beach. Mingzhu gives chase to the threshold and throws up her hands. “You're going to get banned again if dad finds out!” The otter undulates into the water, turns on its back and grunts in pleasure at her as it starts to eat its stolen fish.”
Mingzhu puts her hands on her hips and sighs, “I have to meditate with the old man. You stay there! I need you to come with me when I get back.” She puts her slippers on and walks up the path overlooking the ocean village. Halfway up she turns around and looks down.
The village has 3 wooden buildings and about 60 huts nestled in a quarter moon shaped cove. A little over 50 families live there. There are several docks rolling out into the bay. Beside them there are 5 fishing junks. The men are loading blocks of ice into each ship made by the local wu-jen. She smiles. The village of Dienshi is poor but not destitute and this is the season they make the greater part of their coin for the year. It is Tuna season, and the small fleet is about to cast off. She looks for her father, a crewman on the second ship, but does not see him. The people are so small from this point she cannot tell one from another. She takes in a deep breath and smells the air. It will be good seas today, again she smiles. She then turns around and walks the rest of the way up the hill.
Mingzhu is an 18-year-old Shou Lung girl with unusual ancestry. She is a sea spirit folk. She is part spirit and part human. It gives her a few abilities above and beyond most humans. This caught the eye of the local shaman. Thus, he took her in as an apprentice. She is only 5ft2 and can't weigh more than 100 lbs. Her skin is pale. People often comment that her skin is the same color as a dolphin’s. She has pale brown eyes that are slender and starkly almond in shape. She has raven black hair and small lips. Her eyebrows are thin. Even as a peasant she is starkly beautiful with a comeliness of 19. Her muscles are tight and well formed as a swimmer though they are also lean. Not one to carry heavy weights but well adapted to moving in water.
She meets the old man on the hill. Guan the shaman is an older man, perhaps near 60 and his belly sticks from his shirt from all the meals the villagers have fed him in reverence. Guan was one not to upset the spirits by refusing food……. ever. Mingzhu shakes her head and bows to him. He greets her rather roughly, “Biggest day of the year, Mingzhu and you are late. Young lady. I hope you brought some stew.”
“No Stew Master Guan……. Snout.”
“Where is that little cretin? I’m missing a ring from yesterday’s meditation.”
“He’s in the bay eating a stolen fish from the pot.”
He laughs, “Well, no matter. Full lotus. Let us start.”
She sits down in full lotus position and brings her hands up palms together in meditation across the fire from her mentor. She begins to meditate as he instructs. You’ll need mending spells for the nets. A minor cure in case someone gets a bruise or cut. Trance would be a good one to predict and when you get to the tuna grounds speak with animals. Oh…. Also, a leather muzzle for that thieving varmint of yours."
That breaks her meditation for a moment, and she opens one eye and looks at him. She sees something in the air around him. A shadowy, smoky form that looks like a monkey. She opens the other eye and blinks mystified. He takes a switch and hits her on the shoulder. “Meditate or you won’t get all that the spirits are willing to offer.”
“Master…… There is something… above you?”
“What really? He looks up…. Oh, it’s Yu. One of the spirits I talk to. You have spirit sight now. That’s very good Mingzhu. Now you can see the spirit plane just as well as the physical world. Congratulations! I knew you would be my best pupil. He taps her shoulder with a switch again. “Now back to it.”
As she again meditates, he continues, “The open ocean is dangerous not like here in the bay. Remember to watch everything around you. There may be sharks, jellyfish even worse. Be careful Mingzhu. Your job will be one of the most important. Call the dolphins away from the tuna before the nets go down. If a dolphin is killed the sea gods and sea spirits will be angered. The fleet may not come home, and our village set to ruin.”
“Yes, master.”
“It’s too bad I can’t do the same things as you can but now with a fish whisperer our fleet will be much safer this year and we want you to come back. Do you want to go over what you have to do?”
“No master we’ve done that 100 times now.”
“So be it, then. Be careful we want you to come back.”
“I will and I’m done. The spirits have touched me. I must go now.”
“Hold it right there, young lady! I still have something to show you. You’ve been practicing it without knowing. Now stand up.” She stands. He continues. “On up to the dummies.” She moves to the combat dummies he moves to another. “Now a chop to the corraded artery, palm strike or punch behind the ear or side of the forehead. Elbow to the ribs, above the heart or navel. All of those we call Stunning fist.”
She teases, “Master that’s more than a fist.”
“Ha, ha Mingzhu now I know why you have that bandit as a companion. They may not be all fists, but these blows are all called stunning fist because it will stun your opponent long enough to get a few more hits him before he can. Now practice a few paces. I want you to hurt it.” She puts all her efforts and concentration into it. After going through a few series, he is satisfied. “Good you don’t have much power, but you have technique. It will be good if you get into trouble and need it. In time I may even be able to teach you the star strike.”
She smiles and nods, “Thank you, master Guan.”
“I give you leave to get to the ship before it takes off without you. I’ll get to relax my one eye that’s always peeled watching that rascal of yours.”
Mingzhu bows quickly and starts to run. Before she starts down the hill she turns around and waves at him. He bends down slightly and makes whisking motions with his hands as if saying, ‘Go already before they leave without you’. She turns and runs down the hill to the 1rst ship picking up Shout along the way.
She Came from the Sea
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Winterhawk99
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Winterhawk99
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Winterhawk99
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Re: She Came from the Sea
Mingzhu rushes down the hill. Her first stop is her family hut. She goes to her bed and quickly picks up her bag of clothes, her oyster knife and then looks at the clam shell with pearls she was allowed to keep from her pearl diving. There are about 30 pearls resting in the shell. She picks out 20 pale gold and pink pearls just in case. Shipwrecks are uncommon but if such were to occur, she would need something to barter with. She then rushes out of the house and down to the shore.
There she watches for Snout. It takes several minutes until he surfaces. She calls out, “Come on, come on or we’ll be late.” He swims up to her and bounds up from the water. She turns and heads to ship 1 all the while he stomps his front feet while following like he’s marching with all the seriousness of a soldier on the march while whistling and clicking at her. She whistles back smiling. They get to the docks and go to the first ship.
She yells out to come aboard and a 16-year-old boy is the first to come over. “What are you doing here Mingzhu? And what’s that flea bitten varmint doing with you?”
“I was told to come to this boat Jizi.”
The Boy laughs, “You’re a pearl diver not a fisherman. Go away. If you want to see your father, he’s on boat 2. Keep that disease ridden rodent away from this ship too.”
A deep voice behind him says, “Hold Jizi. She is coming with us. We have need of her.”
“What! Dad! What’s this all about?”
“She has a job now with the tuna harvest. Now let her aboard.”
“Fine but that mangy rodent isn’t getting on our ship dad.”
“Where she goes, Snout goes? Listen to me son. She’s going to be more important than you think.”
“For what mending nets?”
“That and more. No more backtalk from you, stand aside. NOW!”
Mingzhu bows. “Thank you, Wei Tian, sir.”
He grumbles, “You’ll bed down in my room Mingzhu. I don’t want your father angry at me for anything nefarious if you sleep with the men.” He looks down at Snout. The otter grabs Mingzhu’s leg and looks up at the burly fishing captain. He pulls something out of his pocket. It’s a tightly wound colorful ball of string. “You’re the famous one, Snout but I know just how to make sure you're not into things you're not supposed to be.” He holds it out to him.
Snout looks up to Mingzhu. She says, “Go ahead it's for you.” Snout lets go of her leg and reaches for the ball. When the captain doesn’t pull it away, Snout takes it with his paws, puts it in his mouth and starts to run to the bow. Then he rolls around the deck playing with it.
Jizi huffs, “It better not get in the way, and you better not be barfing all over the deck in a few days. I’m not cleaning up your messes.”
The captain looks at his son for a long time. A slow smile comes to his face. "Jizi, help her set up a bunk in my cabin. You two will be mending nets come morning. Now!”
Again, Jizi sighs, “Fine come along pearl girl.”
Mingzhu follows him a bit confused at how rough Jizi has become. She follows him to the cabin. He helps her set up a bunk and explains to her the ropes to hold her in bed if there are high seas. He leaves quickly. She’s left not knowing what to do.
There she watches for Snout. It takes several minutes until he surfaces. She calls out, “Come on, come on or we’ll be late.” He swims up to her and bounds up from the water. She turns and heads to ship 1 all the while he stomps his front feet while following like he’s marching with all the seriousness of a soldier on the march while whistling and clicking at her. She whistles back smiling. They get to the docks and go to the first ship.
She yells out to come aboard and a 16-year-old boy is the first to come over. “What are you doing here Mingzhu? And what’s that flea bitten varmint doing with you?”
“I was told to come to this boat Jizi.”
The Boy laughs, “You’re a pearl diver not a fisherman. Go away. If you want to see your father, he’s on boat 2. Keep that disease ridden rodent away from this ship too.”
A deep voice behind him says, “Hold Jizi. She is coming with us. We have need of her.”
“What! Dad! What’s this all about?”
“She has a job now with the tuna harvest. Now let her aboard.”
“Fine but that mangy rodent isn’t getting on our ship dad.”
“Where she goes, Snout goes? Listen to me son. She’s going to be more important than you think.”
“For what mending nets?”
“That and more. No more backtalk from you, stand aside. NOW!”
Mingzhu bows. “Thank you, Wei Tian, sir.”
He grumbles, “You’ll bed down in my room Mingzhu. I don’t want your father angry at me for anything nefarious if you sleep with the men.” He looks down at Snout. The otter grabs Mingzhu’s leg and looks up at the burly fishing captain. He pulls something out of his pocket. It’s a tightly wound colorful ball of string. “You’re the famous one, Snout but I know just how to make sure you're not into things you're not supposed to be.” He holds it out to him.
Snout looks up to Mingzhu. She says, “Go ahead it's for you.” Snout lets go of her leg and reaches for the ball. When the captain doesn’t pull it away, Snout takes it with his paws, puts it in his mouth and starts to run to the bow. Then he rolls around the deck playing with it.
Jizi huffs, “It better not get in the way, and you better not be barfing all over the deck in a few days. I’m not cleaning up your messes.”
The captain looks at his son for a long time. A slow smile comes to his face. "Jizi, help her set up a bunk in my cabin. You two will be mending nets come morning. Now!”
Again, Jizi sighs, “Fine come along pearl girl.”
Mingzhu follows him a bit confused at how rough Jizi has become. She follows him to the cabin. He helps her set up a bunk and explains to her the ropes to hold her in bed if there are high seas. He leaves quickly. She’s left not knowing what to do.
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Winterhawk99
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Re: She Came from the Sea
Mingzhu wakes up well before dawn and goes to the bow of the junk. She sits down in full lotus setting her hands on her knees. Snout bounds up to her laying down at her back. She meditates while the sun comes up.
Meanwhile Jizi comes to the wheel to see his father who is already up. He looks forward, “What is she doing now? Not working.”
His father Tian looks down at his son, “She is working do you not know she is Guan’s apprentice? He has been tutoring her for 3 years now. That’s why you don’t see her much. She is either there or with the other pearl divers looking for good beds.”
“The old fat man on the hill everyone feeds. The one always talking about spirits and magic which is only slight of hand. Come on dad we are fishermen. All that stuff is just hocus pocus and mirrors. I bet she barfed all over your cabin yesterday too. She looks so sickly and she’s always wearing a shirt 2 sizes too big probably a rail of a girl. I’m going to roust her into starting some actual work. Maybe cleaning pots.”
“Oh, my boy, you have so much to learn. The spirits of the ocean are why she is here. You’ll see. She is not sickly. She did not get seasick. In fact, I don’t think she can get seasick. She is pale because of her ancestry. She is part spirit. We are lucky to have a girl like that with us. You will not disturb her. She will be a great boon to us this season and you will not disturb any meditation she decides to do. She’s a shaman, have respect.”
Jizi just sighs and waits.
Mingzhu is touched by the spirits, as the sun rises in the east. She gets up and goes to the captain. “I am finished, Captain.” She looks at him and then Jizi, who turns his head in another direction as if to ignore her. She then focuses on the captain again.
He smiles at her. “Are you ready to work now Mingzhu?” She nods. “We need our nets inspected from the last outing. “You and Jizi inspect and repair any holes in them. After that you can go to the kitchen and start cleaning the pots, pans and other things from dinner. Can you do that?” She nods again. Jizi show her the ropes, please.”
Jizi walks to the side to a small hatch. He takes out several lines of rope. She and Snout follow. He give her a dozen thick strands then takes two himself. “I guess I’m babysitting you. When you find a hole, you have to rebuild it.”
He takes a netting needle out. He threads a large line into the needle and takes another large line. He then makes a knot making sure that the end line is down. “This is a thumb knot you will use this for basic broken lines in the net. Now if you have to put in a patch you use a sheet bend.” Again, he takes two lines, one threaded with the needle, and makes a different knot. “This is a sheet bend knot each line of the patch will have to use this knot.”
Last but not least you need a quick way to repair a knot while we are fishing for tuna. We can throw nets up to three times a day. Nets will need to be repaired quickly so use these two knots. He does two more knots using two lines. He knots them together on both ends. “This one is a single hitch. The other a double. The double is better but sometimes you don’t have time before they throw the nets again, so it depends on how much time you have. You got that pearl girl?”
She nods, looking a bit confused. He sighs, “Did you at least get the first two? The thumb and sheet bend? Look try it.”
She tries the thumb knot and almost gets it right. He corrects her rudely, “Not like that! Here watch again.” She tries again and gets it. She smiles and holds it out to him. “Hrm. Alright now a sheet bend.”
She tries a sheet bend and gets it all wrong. “Are all girls this stupid! Here let me show you again.” Snout growls at him.
Mingzhu strokes his head, “He’s just trying to teach me, Snout. It’s ok.” She turns to him obviously upset but says nothing to the boy.
Jizi’s shoulders slump a moment in frustration not knowing what to do or say. He finally gathers himself. “Look I’ll do it very slowly.” He does. She copies him with her lines getting the knot right this time. She smiles and offers it to him. “Yea well at least you can do those two. The hitch and double hitch are easier. Let’s spread the nets out and get to work. There are patches and line in this hatch when you need them.”
They spread out the nets on the forward deck. Jizi tells her to take the one with less holes in it while he takes the other. She goes to hers. Mingzhu first fixes the small holes and frayed lines with the thumb knots she learned. As she sits and works Snout mimics her as best he can making motions with his paws. Jizi looks over partly discussed by the whole scene of her actually doing something and that overgrown pet of Her’s mimicking her actions.
He gets back to work on his own net. He hardly notices her getting two patches and going to work on them. Mingzhu looks at the holes. Both are just under a square foot. She looks over to Jizi to make sure he is tied up in his own net fixing. She lays down the patch and spreads the ends to make sure they are touching all the broken lines. She then prays softly and casts a mending spell. The patch lines connect themselves to the broken net lines. When she finishes It doesn’t even seem that the net had a hole in it. She does it again with the second patch using a mending spell to bind them together. Then she walks over to Jizi.
Jizi sees her walk up. “I knew it. You already forgot the sheet bend didn’t you?”
“No, I finished.”
He looks at her strangely. “Whale shit! He stands up and walks over to the other net. As he inspects it he scratches his head, “I know there were two holes in this net but I can’t even see where the hell you put those patches? What the hell kind of trick is this Mingzhu!”
She shrugs. “Should I go to the kitchen now?”
“Yea go to the kitchen and clean up. That’s where a girl’s place is anyway! Just go! I have to figure out how you did this!”
“Ok, Come on Snout.”
“Don’t let that mangy thing eat all our food or I’ll kick it overboard!”
Mingzhu sights and goes down into the ship. Tian was watching the whole time while his first mate is beside him. The first mate asks, “Should I intercede?”
Tian asks, “My pipe please.” The mate puts some herbs and tobacco in the pipe lights it and gives it to him. Tian draws deeply. He looks at his son. “No, the boy likes her but is confused about why he does and what to do. He’s frustrated. He’ll get it eventually. Like we all did… or not.”
The mate looks at him. “Aye, sir.”
Meanwhile Jizi comes to the wheel to see his father who is already up. He looks forward, “What is she doing now? Not working.”
His father Tian looks down at his son, “She is working do you not know she is Guan’s apprentice? He has been tutoring her for 3 years now. That’s why you don’t see her much. She is either there or with the other pearl divers looking for good beds.”
“The old fat man on the hill everyone feeds. The one always talking about spirits and magic which is only slight of hand. Come on dad we are fishermen. All that stuff is just hocus pocus and mirrors. I bet she barfed all over your cabin yesterday too. She looks so sickly and she’s always wearing a shirt 2 sizes too big probably a rail of a girl. I’m going to roust her into starting some actual work. Maybe cleaning pots.”
“Oh, my boy, you have so much to learn. The spirits of the ocean are why she is here. You’ll see. She is not sickly. She did not get seasick. In fact, I don’t think she can get seasick. She is pale because of her ancestry. She is part spirit. We are lucky to have a girl like that with us. You will not disturb her. She will be a great boon to us this season and you will not disturb any meditation she decides to do. She’s a shaman, have respect.”
Jizi just sighs and waits.
Mingzhu is touched by the spirits, as the sun rises in the east. She gets up and goes to the captain. “I am finished, Captain.” She looks at him and then Jizi, who turns his head in another direction as if to ignore her. She then focuses on the captain again.
He smiles at her. “Are you ready to work now Mingzhu?” She nods. “We need our nets inspected from the last outing. “You and Jizi inspect and repair any holes in them. After that you can go to the kitchen and start cleaning the pots, pans and other things from dinner. Can you do that?” She nods again. Jizi show her the ropes, please.”
Jizi walks to the side to a small hatch. He takes out several lines of rope. She and Snout follow. He give her a dozen thick strands then takes two himself. “I guess I’m babysitting you. When you find a hole, you have to rebuild it.”
He takes a netting needle out. He threads a large line into the needle and takes another large line. He then makes a knot making sure that the end line is down. “This is a thumb knot you will use this for basic broken lines in the net. Now if you have to put in a patch you use a sheet bend.” Again, he takes two lines, one threaded with the needle, and makes a different knot. “This is a sheet bend knot each line of the patch will have to use this knot.”
Last but not least you need a quick way to repair a knot while we are fishing for tuna. We can throw nets up to three times a day. Nets will need to be repaired quickly so use these two knots. He does two more knots using two lines. He knots them together on both ends. “This one is a single hitch. The other a double. The double is better but sometimes you don’t have time before they throw the nets again, so it depends on how much time you have. You got that pearl girl?”
She nods, looking a bit confused. He sighs, “Did you at least get the first two? The thumb and sheet bend? Look try it.”
She tries the thumb knot and almost gets it right. He corrects her rudely, “Not like that! Here watch again.” She tries again and gets it. She smiles and holds it out to him. “Hrm. Alright now a sheet bend.”
She tries a sheet bend and gets it all wrong. “Are all girls this stupid! Here let me show you again.” Snout growls at him.
Mingzhu strokes his head, “He’s just trying to teach me, Snout. It’s ok.” She turns to him obviously upset but says nothing to the boy.
Jizi’s shoulders slump a moment in frustration not knowing what to do or say. He finally gathers himself. “Look I’ll do it very slowly.” He does. She copies him with her lines getting the knot right this time. She smiles and offers it to him. “Yea well at least you can do those two. The hitch and double hitch are easier. Let’s spread the nets out and get to work. There are patches and line in this hatch when you need them.”
They spread out the nets on the forward deck. Jizi tells her to take the one with less holes in it while he takes the other. She goes to hers. Mingzhu first fixes the small holes and frayed lines with the thumb knots she learned. As she sits and works Snout mimics her as best he can making motions with his paws. Jizi looks over partly discussed by the whole scene of her actually doing something and that overgrown pet of Her’s mimicking her actions.
He gets back to work on his own net. He hardly notices her getting two patches and going to work on them. Mingzhu looks at the holes. Both are just under a square foot. She looks over to Jizi to make sure he is tied up in his own net fixing. She lays down the patch and spreads the ends to make sure they are touching all the broken lines. She then prays softly and casts a mending spell. The patch lines connect themselves to the broken net lines. When she finishes It doesn’t even seem that the net had a hole in it. She does it again with the second patch using a mending spell to bind them together. Then she walks over to Jizi.
Jizi sees her walk up. “I knew it. You already forgot the sheet bend didn’t you?”
“No, I finished.”
He looks at her strangely. “Whale shit! He stands up and walks over to the other net. As he inspects it he scratches his head, “I know there were two holes in this net but I can’t even see where the hell you put those patches? What the hell kind of trick is this Mingzhu!”
She shrugs. “Should I go to the kitchen now?”
“Yea go to the kitchen and clean up. That’s where a girl’s place is anyway! Just go! I have to figure out how you did this!”
“Ok, Come on Snout.”
“Don’t let that mangy thing eat all our food or I’ll kick it overboard!”
Mingzhu sights and goes down into the ship. Tian was watching the whole time while his first mate is beside him. The first mate asks, “Should I intercede?”
Tian asks, “My pipe please.” The mate puts some herbs and tobacco in the pipe lights it and gives it to him. Tian draws deeply. He looks at his son. “No, the boy likes her but is confused about why he does and what to do. He’s frustrated. He’ll get it eventually. Like we all did… or not.”
The mate looks at him. “Aye, sir.”
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Winterhawk99
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Re: She Came from the Sea
Mingzhu gets used to the ship routine. After 5 days the nets are ready. The crew is in high spirits. She likes this. Jizi, however, is always short and unkind to her. She is at a loss to the reason. He tried to disrupt her meditation several times, but Shout chased him off every time.
The ice is checked twice a day to make sure it will hold until they get back home with fish. Everyone searches the horizon for signs. They have seen schools of small fish, whales, colonies of birds resting on the water but not what they want to find yet. Late in the afternoon a flag goes up on ship 4. Everyone rushes on deck and all eyes go to it. Tian turns the wheel. It takes 15 minutes for all the ships to turn but as they get into position Mingzhu sees them, Dolphins.
They found the Dolphins and they are heading even further east, and where dolphins go on the open sea you will find Tuna eventually. The ships follow the fast-moving mammals until sundown then strike a general heading.
In the morning the sea is calm. The waves are only 4 feet. After doing her morning meditation she stands as the captain calls out to her. “You’re up Mingzhu!” She looks down at Snout. She had replaced the spell trance in her repertoire with Speak with Animals. She casts it.
She makes clicking and whistling sounds at him. “Snout, fast swimmers breath air, yesterday? Where?” Snout bounds around her three times then lifts one paw, points his nose and his tail goes straight out He looks like a pointing dog and he’s pointing north-east.
Jizi watching says, “That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever seen in my life. We’re not going to follow that varmint’s nose, are we?”
His father smiles, “Of course we are.” The ships turn and follow Snout’s nose about mid-day they catch up to the pod of dolphins. They see no Tuna yet. All day the small fleet follows them, staying back a short way or desperately trying to catch up. They travel northeast for ½ day then again east. The sun goes down. They set the heading.
The captain asks his first mate about the ice. “We got 4 days, captain, before we need to turn back, or the fish will go bad on the trip back.” Tian turns to Mingzhu. “You have 4 days girl after that we turn back. You know how much we depend on the harvest.”
Mingzhu nods and turns her eyes back to the sea.
The ice is checked twice a day to make sure it will hold until they get back home with fish. Everyone searches the horizon for signs. They have seen schools of small fish, whales, colonies of birds resting on the water but not what they want to find yet. Late in the afternoon a flag goes up on ship 4. Everyone rushes on deck and all eyes go to it. Tian turns the wheel. It takes 15 minutes for all the ships to turn but as they get into position Mingzhu sees them, Dolphins.
They found the Dolphins and they are heading even further east, and where dolphins go on the open sea you will find Tuna eventually. The ships follow the fast-moving mammals until sundown then strike a general heading.
In the morning the sea is calm. The waves are only 4 feet. After doing her morning meditation she stands as the captain calls out to her. “You’re up Mingzhu!” She looks down at Snout. She had replaced the spell trance in her repertoire with Speak with Animals. She casts it.
She makes clicking and whistling sounds at him. “Snout, fast swimmers breath air, yesterday? Where?” Snout bounds around her three times then lifts one paw, points his nose and his tail goes straight out He looks like a pointing dog and he’s pointing north-east.
Jizi watching says, “That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever seen in my life. We’re not going to follow that varmint’s nose, are we?”
His father smiles, “Of course we are.” The ships turn and follow Snout’s nose about mid-day they catch up to the pod of dolphins. They see no Tuna yet. All day the small fleet follows them, staying back a short way or desperately trying to catch up. They travel northeast for ½ day then again east. The sun goes down. They set the heading.
The captain asks his first mate about the ice. “We got 4 days, captain, before we need to turn back, or the fish will go bad on the trip back.” Tian turns to Mingzhu. “You have 4 days girl after that we turn back. You know how much we depend on the harvest.”
Mingzhu nods and turns her eyes back to the sea.
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Winterhawk99
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Re: She Came from the Sea
The very next day Mingzhu and Snout find the dolphins again. This time during mid-morning. The ships follow them until about 1pm then the pod dives and disappears into the depths. The captain calls out to her. “You're up, Pearl.” Mingzhu nods. She drops her trousers and takes off her shirt. She is all but naked having no top and nothing but a small rope to cover her privates that wraps around her waist and between her legs up along her butt crack. There is a large knife sheathed on the right side and a small pouch on the other that holds her pearls.
Jizi sees her perfect c-cups, her thick swimmer thighs and strong calves and his jaw just drops. He seems mesmerized. His father looks at his pants, walks over and slaps him on the back of the head. “Wake up and control yourself! A man doesn’t show it!” The boy turns around red-faced and embarrassed.
Mingzhu dives into the water. When Jizi hears the splash, he turns around and runs to the bow. “What the hell! She trying to kill herself!?”
His father yells out, “WATCH FOR MINGZHU TO SURFACE OUTSIDE THE SHIP CORRAL. SIGNAL THE OTHERS SHE IS IN!”
The ships are signaled and get into position. They form a loose pentagon and hold positions. Jizi runs around the boat frantically looking for Mingzhu calling out her name.
Mingzhu dives into the water. As soon as she does hidden gills in her neck open up. She takes in all the water she can filling up her lungs to stabilize the pressure. Her gills soak in all the oxygen she will need. She swims down until she catches up with the dolphins moving the tuna up to shallow water. She casts speak with animals.
She knows one of the curious dolphins will eventually stop long enough to take a good look at her. She follows them up, which is easy because they are pushing the tuna up themselves but trying to catch an individual would be impossible. She swims up until the top of the school is only 20 ft below the surface then one of them swims over to her.
She uses the whistles and clicks of a dolphin. “I with humans on wood. They family. We fish too after you. With nets. We no wish to hurt your family. We no wish catch your family in nets. Get meal fast follow me and little otter.”
The dolphin makes clicking sounds at her for a moment then swims off. She sees it’s telling the others to be quick and to follow the sea human. She smiles and waits. She cannot surface yet or the nets will go in.
Up above Jizi is getting frantic. He shouts out, “It’s been 20 minutes where is she.!”
His father tries to calm him down. “She’s a pearl diver, Jizi. She will be alright.”
Jizi comes up to him. “20 minutes. No one can hold their breath for twenty minutes, Dad! I’m going in after her!”
“Jizi stay calm! She’s fine. Stay on the ship. It’s not safe in the water.”
Jizi grabs the side of his head with both his hands and screams. The captain looks at his first mate. The mate chuckles.
Mingzhu gets within ten feet of the surface. The dolphins start to catch fish, Shout dives down and greets her. He swims around her. She sees something flash from the corner of her eye and turns just in time to see a thresher coming straight for her. She quickly touches the knife on her harness then decides against it. Blood is already in the water from the dolphins catching fish blood on her would be very bad as more threshers start to come in to pick off what the dolphins leave.
She raises her fist at the ready. As it comes in and opens its mouth she pivots and punches it on the side of the snout. It spins away and she ducks swimming down quickly to avoid its nasty tail. She then comes back up to see most of the dolphins have caught fish. She swims as fast as she can out of the corral.
The dolphins one by one follow some even leisurely passing her. As she comes past the corral she turns and motions the mammals to continue. When she counts all of them past, she surfaces and waves. She is between ships 2 and 3. She puts her hand up and waves it vigorously. Her father is the one that sees her first. He yells at his captain and waves to her. Its flag goes up. The nets begin to drop.
She then swims as fast as she can to ship one. Jizi is frantically throwing the rope ladder down and going down it himself to catch her. She smiles and shakes her head. She gets it now. She swims over and holds out her hand. As he catches it, she throws the water out of her lungs and her gills close up. He looks at her funny, “Theres something on your……. They disappeared!”
She shrugs and turns her head. “Come on slow poke on my shoulders.” He swims up and wraps his body around the back of her neck. Jizi helps her up the ladder. She comments, “You're getting too heavy for me to climb with, Snout. You’ll have to find another way up soon.” The rodent whistles content.
When they get on deck. Tian says, “Your done for the day Mingzhu. Good job. So far it looks like only tuna and no dolphins. The gods and spirits will be pleased. She nods and collects her clothes. One of the sailors throws her a towel. She goes below.
Jizi goes up to her father, “Dad, When I caught her hand, I could swear her neck had been cut by some claw but then the marks disappeared.”
His father laughs, “She wasn’t cut son. Those are her gills. All sea spirit folk have them. Why do you think we brought her?”
Jizi drops his jaw dumbfounded. The first mate laughs.
Jizi sees her perfect c-cups, her thick swimmer thighs and strong calves and his jaw just drops. He seems mesmerized. His father looks at his pants, walks over and slaps him on the back of the head. “Wake up and control yourself! A man doesn’t show it!” The boy turns around red-faced and embarrassed.
Mingzhu dives into the water. When Jizi hears the splash, he turns around and runs to the bow. “What the hell! She trying to kill herself!?”
His father yells out, “WATCH FOR MINGZHU TO SURFACE OUTSIDE THE SHIP CORRAL. SIGNAL THE OTHERS SHE IS IN!”
The ships are signaled and get into position. They form a loose pentagon and hold positions. Jizi runs around the boat frantically looking for Mingzhu calling out her name.
Mingzhu dives into the water. As soon as she does hidden gills in her neck open up. She takes in all the water she can filling up her lungs to stabilize the pressure. Her gills soak in all the oxygen she will need. She swims down until she catches up with the dolphins moving the tuna up to shallow water. She casts speak with animals.
She knows one of the curious dolphins will eventually stop long enough to take a good look at her. She follows them up, which is easy because they are pushing the tuna up themselves but trying to catch an individual would be impossible. She swims up until the top of the school is only 20 ft below the surface then one of them swims over to her.
She uses the whistles and clicks of a dolphin. “I with humans on wood. They family. We fish too after you. With nets. We no wish to hurt your family. We no wish catch your family in nets. Get meal fast follow me and little otter.”
The dolphin makes clicking sounds at her for a moment then swims off. She sees it’s telling the others to be quick and to follow the sea human. She smiles and waits. She cannot surface yet or the nets will go in.
Up above Jizi is getting frantic. He shouts out, “It’s been 20 minutes where is she.!”
His father tries to calm him down. “She’s a pearl diver, Jizi. She will be alright.”
Jizi comes up to him. “20 minutes. No one can hold their breath for twenty minutes, Dad! I’m going in after her!”
“Jizi stay calm! She’s fine. Stay on the ship. It’s not safe in the water.”
Jizi grabs the side of his head with both his hands and screams. The captain looks at his first mate. The mate chuckles.
Mingzhu gets within ten feet of the surface. The dolphins start to catch fish, Shout dives down and greets her. He swims around her. She sees something flash from the corner of her eye and turns just in time to see a thresher coming straight for her. She quickly touches the knife on her harness then decides against it. Blood is already in the water from the dolphins catching fish blood on her would be very bad as more threshers start to come in to pick off what the dolphins leave.
She raises her fist at the ready. As it comes in and opens its mouth she pivots and punches it on the side of the snout. It spins away and she ducks swimming down quickly to avoid its nasty tail. She then comes back up to see most of the dolphins have caught fish. She swims as fast as she can out of the corral.
The dolphins one by one follow some even leisurely passing her. As she comes past the corral she turns and motions the mammals to continue. When she counts all of them past, she surfaces and waves. She is between ships 2 and 3. She puts her hand up and waves it vigorously. Her father is the one that sees her first. He yells at his captain and waves to her. Its flag goes up. The nets begin to drop.
She then swims as fast as she can to ship one. Jizi is frantically throwing the rope ladder down and going down it himself to catch her. She smiles and shakes her head. She gets it now. She swims over and holds out her hand. As he catches it, she throws the water out of her lungs and her gills close up. He looks at her funny, “Theres something on your……. They disappeared!”
She shrugs and turns her head. “Come on slow poke on my shoulders.” He swims up and wraps his body around the back of her neck. Jizi helps her up the ladder. She comments, “You're getting too heavy for me to climb with, Snout. You’ll have to find another way up soon.” The rodent whistles content.
When they get on deck. Tian says, “Your done for the day Mingzhu. Good job. So far it looks like only tuna and no dolphins. The gods and spirits will be pleased. She nods and collects her clothes. One of the sailors throws her a towel. She goes below.
Jizi goes up to her father, “Dad, When I caught her hand, I could swear her neck had been cut by some claw but then the marks disappeared.”
His father laughs, “She wasn’t cut son. Those are her gills. All sea spirit folk have them. Why do you think we brought her?”
Jizi drops his jaw dumbfounded. The first mate laughs.
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Winterhawk99
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Re: She Came from the Sea
Mingzhu is happy. The next day turned out much the same and now the dolphins are swimming close to the ships as sailors throw smaller fish to them as they sort. It quickly becomes a symbiotic relationship. The captain is thrilled. This is the first time they may come back home with their holds filled to the gill.
The only problem that Mingzhu has now is Jizi avoids her and when she does see him, he is staring at her neck. She touches it. It feels normal like any other person. The gills only open when she dives into water. She makes a guess he never knew and has to process it. She shrugs.
The captain comes up to her that night. “We’ve done so well this year because of you Mingzhu. Not only did we catch no dolphins in our nets. The holds are ¾ s filled. We’ll do this one more day, then tomorrow night we head home. The gods and spirits are pleased. We’re also cutting it a little too close to Wa. We’re near the borders of their territorial water. We have to be careful now and avoid any ships with their flag.
She looks up at him. “Ok…….Jizi seemed to avoid me today? Is it because of my neck?”
Tian frowns, “You’re the first spirit folk the village has had is well 16 or so years… He really didn’t know what you were. In fact, none of the younger people know. Your father is very protective.” Snout bumps him on the leg. The captain looks down. “Yes, yes. You too Snout.” Snout bounds around them in his soldier march then grows at the captain. He chuckles, “Give him time Peal. He’ll come around. That is if he can get past Snout…….and your father.”
She shrugs and looks out over the ocean then goes down for dinner and to sleep waiting for tomorrow’s work.
In the morning, she meditates at sunrise and makes herself ready. The dolphins are swimming around the ship waiting in anticipation already. She casts speak with animals and dives in. The dolphins dive down deep. Deeper than she could ever hope to go.
She waits patiently at about 50 ft. Snout swims in circles to mark her position for the ships. She looks up and smiles. After it seems like 2 hours the first tuna flashes in her sight. She looks around for sharks. There are none…. yet.
The dolphins rise up with the tuna. This time as they pass her, they click their names at her. At least the ones that pass her swimming through the water like torpedoes. As she sees them each take a fish, she starts to swim outside the ship corral.
Up above as the sailors wait watching Snout one boat puts up a flag. The crew on that ship gets frantic. Some of the men are pulling harpoons from the sides of the ship. Tian shouts to his men as more than a dozen giant black fins rise to the surface. “Whales! Orcas! Make ready protect the ships!” He runs to the nearest harpoon himself.
Mingzhu is swimming as fast as she can out of the corral not knowing the danger. As she gets near the edge, she sees a large blurring form coming toward her. Snout becomes very agitated. She turns on her back and he swims right up to her chest and wraps his paws around her as wide as he can. His claws come out and they sink into her flesh. She is so surprised she yelps herself. His head turns. Hers follows and she sees a gaping mouth of a very large killer whale coming straight at them.
She freezes. She doesn’t know what to do. Even her knife is just a pin prick to it. and it’s too large to avoid. As it gets within 20 years a dolphin hits it in the side with blinding speed throwing it off its target. It turns.
Mingzhu freezes and doesn’t know what to do. A dolphin speeds to her. As it goes past, it tilts showing its dorsal fin. She grabs for it catching it just in time. Suddenly She and snout are speeding through the water at 30 miles per hour. She can hardly breath. The water is running too fast along her gills.
The dolphin dives to 40 meters. Her ears pop several times. It keeps swimming. Others in the pod slowly catch up to it. For a half hour they move then slowly they start to rise to the surface. Another 15 minutes and the pod of dolphins slow down, finally stopping. She breaks the surface, lets the water out of her lungs and beaths air again. She looks around. The ships are gone.
She tries to click and whistle at the dolphins, but her spell has expired. She can no longer understand what they are trying to tell her. She floats with the currents and eventually tires. As night comes. She slips under the water and sleeps.
She wakes up at her regular time. There are only three dolphins of the pod swimming around her and Snout who is also swimming now. It seems they protected her from other predators. She meditates. It’s hard. She’s never done this while swimming before. She does manage to connect with the spirits, and they touch her.
She casts a spell. She clicks and whistles at troller a large male dolphin. “What happen?”
The large mammal responds, “Whale pod that love family for meal. It go after family and you. We have to escape. We take you. You family us now.”
“What of my family on wood?”
“They look for all night. We try call them. They no understand. Go wrong way. Too far now.”
“Cannot drink water where swim. Need fresh water on wood, land.”
Troller breaks off and swims around her for several minutes. She hopes her Speak with Animals spell holds out. He stops and swims up in front of her. the other two gather beside him. “Land two day right of sun. We stay with until see land. You get on wood. Go back home.”
She weighs her options carefully and it seems the dolphins have the only option of survival. She clicks. “Will go with to land.”
Troller says, “We start.” The dolphins start to swim south. She follows. From what she knows they seem to be leading her south to Wa. All she knows about that land is that they are told to be bloodthirsty barbarians and warriors always set for a fight. She gets an uneasy feeling.
The only problem that Mingzhu has now is Jizi avoids her and when she does see him, he is staring at her neck. She touches it. It feels normal like any other person. The gills only open when she dives into water. She makes a guess he never knew and has to process it. She shrugs.
The captain comes up to her that night. “We’ve done so well this year because of you Mingzhu. Not only did we catch no dolphins in our nets. The holds are ¾ s filled. We’ll do this one more day, then tomorrow night we head home. The gods and spirits are pleased. We’re also cutting it a little too close to Wa. We’re near the borders of their territorial water. We have to be careful now and avoid any ships with their flag.
She looks up at him. “Ok…….Jizi seemed to avoid me today? Is it because of my neck?”
Tian frowns, “You’re the first spirit folk the village has had is well 16 or so years… He really didn’t know what you were. In fact, none of the younger people know. Your father is very protective.” Snout bumps him on the leg. The captain looks down. “Yes, yes. You too Snout.” Snout bounds around them in his soldier march then grows at the captain. He chuckles, “Give him time Peal. He’ll come around. That is if he can get past Snout…….and your father.”
She shrugs and looks out over the ocean then goes down for dinner and to sleep waiting for tomorrow’s work.
In the morning, she meditates at sunrise and makes herself ready. The dolphins are swimming around the ship waiting in anticipation already. She casts speak with animals and dives in. The dolphins dive down deep. Deeper than she could ever hope to go.
She waits patiently at about 50 ft. Snout swims in circles to mark her position for the ships. She looks up and smiles. After it seems like 2 hours the first tuna flashes in her sight. She looks around for sharks. There are none…. yet.
The dolphins rise up with the tuna. This time as they pass her, they click their names at her. At least the ones that pass her swimming through the water like torpedoes. As she sees them each take a fish, she starts to swim outside the ship corral.
Up above as the sailors wait watching Snout one boat puts up a flag. The crew on that ship gets frantic. Some of the men are pulling harpoons from the sides of the ship. Tian shouts to his men as more than a dozen giant black fins rise to the surface. “Whales! Orcas! Make ready protect the ships!” He runs to the nearest harpoon himself.
Mingzhu is swimming as fast as she can out of the corral not knowing the danger. As she gets near the edge, she sees a large blurring form coming toward her. Snout becomes very agitated. She turns on her back and he swims right up to her chest and wraps his paws around her as wide as he can. His claws come out and they sink into her flesh. She is so surprised she yelps herself. His head turns. Hers follows and she sees a gaping mouth of a very large killer whale coming straight at them.
She freezes. She doesn’t know what to do. Even her knife is just a pin prick to it. and it’s too large to avoid. As it gets within 20 years a dolphin hits it in the side with blinding speed throwing it off its target. It turns.
Mingzhu freezes and doesn’t know what to do. A dolphin speeds to her. As it goes past, it tilts showing its dorsal fin. She grabs for it catching it just in time. Suddenly She and snout are speeding through the water at 30 miles per hour. She can hardly breath. The water is running too fast along her gills.
The dolphin dives to 40 meters. Her ears pop several times. It keeps swimming. Others in the pod slowly catch up to it. For a half hour they move then slowly they start to rise to the surface. Another 15 minutes and the pod of dolphins slow down, finally stopping. She breaks the surface, lets the water out of her lungs and beaths air again. She looks around. The ships are gone.
She tries to click and whistle at the dolphins, but her spell has expired. She can no longer understand what they are trying to tell her. She floats with the currents and eventually tires. As night comes. She slips under the water and sleeps.
She wakes up at her regular time. There are only three dolphins of the pod swimming around her and Snout who is also swimming now. It seems they protected her from other predators. She meditates. It’s hard. She’s never done this while swimming before. She does manage to connect with the spirits, and they touch her.
She casts a spell. She clicks and whistles at troller a large male dolphin. “What happen?”
The large mammal responds, “Whale pod that love family for meal. It go after family and you. We have to escape. We take you. You family us now.”
“What of my family on wood?”
“They look for all night. We try call them. They no understand. Go wrong way. Too far now.”
“Cannot drink water where swim. Need fresh water on wood, land.”
Troller breaks off and swims around her for several minutes. She hopes her Speak with Animals spell holds out. He stops and swims up in front of her. the other two gather beside him. “Land two day right of sun. We stay with until see land. You get on wood. Go back home.”
She weighs her options carefully and it seems the dolphins have the only option of survival. She clicks. “Will go with to land.”
Troller says, “We start.” The dolphins start to swim south. She follows. From what she knows they seem to be leading her south to Wa. All she knows about that land is that they are told to be bloodthirsty barbarians and warriors always set for a fight. She gets an uneasy feeling.
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Winterhawk99
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Re: She Came from the Sea
The pale young woman slowly swims toward the beach. As the water gets waist deep, she stands making her way to the sand unsteadily on her feet. She looks slightly emancipated. She takes three steps and collapses. The woman is almost naked having no top and only a rope harness to cover her bottom. It is the same outfit most pearl divers use. She even has a large oyster knife sheathed to the harness and a small pearl bag on the other side. Just by her skin color most that have seen one would recognize her as a spirit folk.
A few seconds later a sea otter bounds up and sits on top of her. When anyone attempts to get near her. The four-foot varmint stands on its hind legs, hisses and growls until they leave. If anyone ignores the warning and tries to touch the girl, the otter lets out a blood-curdling scream and tries to bite them between the legs.
Some passers-by ask where she came from. A small child that saw her rise from the water points out toward it saying, "She came from the sea."
A few seconds later a sea otter bounds up and sits on top of her. When anyone attempts to get near her. The four-foot varmint stands on its hind legs, hisses and growls until they leave. If anyone ignores the warning and tries to touch the girl, the otter lets out a blood-curdling scream and tries to bite them between the legs.
Some passers-by ask where she came from. A small child that saw her rise from the water points out toward it saying, "She came from the sea."
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Winterhawk99
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Re: She Came from the Sea
The pale young woman slowly swims toward the beach. As the water gets waist deep, she stands making her way to the sand unsteadily on her feet. She looks slightly emancipated. She takes three steps and collapses. The woman is almost naked having no top and only a rope harness to cover her bottom. It is the same outfit most pearl divers use. She even has a large oyster knife sheathed to the harness and a small pearl bag on the other side. Just by her skin color most that have seen one would recognize her as a spirit folk of the sea. Her skin is grey like some dolphins. Her eyes are small and sharply almond shaped. Her thin eyebrows and other features leave little doubt.
A few seconds later a sea otter bounds up and sits on top of her. When anyone attempts to get near her. The four-foot varmint stands on its hind legs, hisses and growls until they leave. If anyone ignores the warning and tries to touch the girl, the otter lets out a blood-curdling scream and tries to bite them between the legs.
Some passers-by ask where she came from. A small child that saw her rise from the water points out toward it saying, "She came from the sea."
Mingzhu opens her eyes. It’s night. There is a figure kneeling over her. Within the hood she sees strange animal-like eyes. It’s saying something in some unknown language. She pleads, “Water, fresh water.” It isn’t even a second before she feels Snout come to her. He rolls into a ball against her stomach. She puts her hand on his belly looking up at the strange figure.
The figure seems to understand her. It scoops up some water. She feels a spell being used though she doesn’t know what it is. She is too tired, confused and thirsty. It pours the water from its hands directly into her mouth. She drinks as much as she can.
After a few minutes she slowly lifts herself up into a sitting position. “Where am I?” The creature says something that she doesn’t understand. She studies it for a moment. It looks like a dog walking on two legs. ‘It must be a hengeyokai if it is a dog hengeyokai it is one of good intent.’ She thinks to herself.
She tries to stand up but falls back down. She sits again. Snout nuzzles her. She pets him and tries to speak to the hengeyokai again. “I need clothes and… food, Shelter… but first I must thank you for your kindness.” She opens her pouch and digs around. She brings out a pearl. In the dark she doesn’t know herself if it’s one of the pink ones or pale gold ones. She offers it to the funny looking creature.
The dog man shakes her head again and says something. Its eyes are amber, and its face is funny. It's not like a normal dog…. More feral or wrong.
The dog woman leaves her and starts walking along the beach looking down. It leans down and catches a bunch of crabs. She watches it. When it comes back it offers her some. She gives one to Snout. The other two she gets the meat out of the claws and eats those herself while giving snout the rest of what she doesn’t eat. While she does, she watches the strange dog girl. It is eating the crabs whole shell and all.
She stays down for 15 more minutes then tries to stand again. This time she stays up but feels shaky in her knees. She has not walked on the land in three days.
She cannot see a town nearby but sees the footprints on the beach. She looks across the shore on both sides and points to the dim light on one side. “Town. We will find more food and clothes.”
The creature seems to understand. It starts to walk toward the light. She and snout follow it.
They walk. There is no one on the beach and soon enough they see buildings. Mingzhu studies them. With her low light vision, she can see them almost as clear as in the day. It is a big port with many wooden and some stone homes. She sighs in relief. As they go into the town there are no guards or guard posts, no walls. She thinks to herself, ‘It’s not a huge fishing town but one that is much bigger than her own and looks wealthier. There should be an inn to stay in. She looks at the hengeyokai hoping they know a good inn.
He goes to a large establishment. She reads the sign. It says, “The Dizzy Panda.”
As she walks in behind her, she sees tables and a bar. There are about a dozen patrons there and a man behind the bar. The men at the table are keeping to themselves. The man at the bar waves to them then takes up a towel and cleans a glass. She looks down at Snout, “You have to be good here. We don’t know these people.”
She follows the creature to the bar. It talks to the bartender. The place smells clean but she can smell the heavy scent of ale. After they stop a moment, she asks him in her native low shou, “Sir, do you have clothing I could use?”
"We uh... do have some spares. It might not be the greatest fit, but it'll at least keep any of the sailors from getting any ideas. Just a moment please.” He goes through a door. She watches not wanting to look over at the other patrons again. He comes back with a tattered old robe and hands it to her. “"Should help keep you warm, lass."
She digs in her bag and offers him a pink pearl. He takes it. “Yeah, thanks lass. This should cover your stay too.” He gives her some keys. The men at the table start to make crude laughs and whisper while watching her put on the robe. The innkeeper starts talking again. “Let me guess, you had a run in with those Corsairs too?”
“No, Orcas.”
The hengeyokai looks angerly to the hecklers. They seem to return to their previous talks. Mingzhu gets an unusual feeling of self-consciousness. Something she rarely felt in her own village.
"Orcas? Huh, it must have been a real nice prize to go for if you were hunting one of those. Well, not every fishing trip goes well. Hope it goes better for you next time." The innkeeper nods. She seems to sense he has seen others in her state of affairs before.
“We were hunting tuna. The orcas attacked me. I was the fish whisperer.”
"Uh... huh, I see." The Innkeeper nods to her listening. "Well, hey, you wouldn't be the first to have bad luck out at sea. Especially these days..."
She nods to him and looks up at the Hengeyokai. “Food, drink, sleep?”
She looks surprised that it understood her. It didn’t seem to until now. It says, “A mug of tea'd be nice, bit chilly out. That, and I'll probably need a night's rest and meditation"
Mingzhu nods to it and finds a table away from the other patrons. She hears the innkeeper say, “Yeah, room I gave you two should have enough space for the both of you. As for a tea, coming right up." He leaves to make tea. She calls to snout and points under the table. He goes there and lies down. The hengeyokai joins her. It leans its staff against the wall.
The innkeeper comes back with tea and bowls of plain white rice. Mingzhu scoops it out with her fingers and eats it. She is definitely peasant class. While she is eating, she looks up at her large companion. “I am Mingzhu. Who are you, kind stranger?”
It says, “Nice to meet you. I’m T’kharr.”
Mingzhu looks for spirits at the inn but as her eyes pierce the spirit world, she sees none. "T'kharr... It is nice to meet you too. I am glad you found me I may have died of thirst. 3 days without fresh water.”
“That’s not healthy for anyone.” The woman replies to her.
She nods, “Next time I go out to sea I will bring a water bladder.” The innkeeper slides a cup of water over to her. She smiles, “Thank you.”
The innkeeper gives her a smile in turn, “Let me know if I can get you anything else.”
Mingzhu looks over at the other table suspicious about what they are doing and saying. As she does T’kharr also looks over. As they stop talking, they are able to listen to them being the others don’t seem to be trying to be quiet at all.
"So, did you hear about that other Hengeyokai? The badger? Wonder if this one here is as vicious?"
"Yeah, anyone saw what he did? Got into a scrap with one of the Daimyo's tax collectors and their hired thug. Picked them up and slammed them right through a table."
"Bastards deserved it. They're taxing us all to the brink and doing crap to stop those corsairs!"
"Did you hear a rumor? The harbormaster might be closing down the port because of these troubles."
"That's crap! Wouldn't even do shit to stop it"
Mingzhu uses her community domain power and centers it on the table of near-do-wells. While T’kharr talks to the bartender in that strange language again. The other table seems momentarily calmed, some of them maybe getting drowsy from all of their drinking. Still, it doesn't feel like a lasting solution, the root of their frustrations is still clearly present. Mingzhu sighs and relaxes a bit.
She turns to the two of them. “It seems this town is on hard times. I feel for these people.”
The bartender switches to shou, “All five villages have hit hard times, lately." He sighs.
The hengeyokai also switches. Mingzhu suspects it used a spell to communicate. "That could be a problem...island I take it?"
"Don't know where you are?” The innkeeper asks. “You're on Sakurajima Island. There's five villages around here, you're currently in Ginji, though there's four others, Rhakku, Tsaboru, Saduzki, and Golamaru. Way, I hear it though, none of em are doing well. Lots of troubles just started cropping up out of nowhere a few months ago, and there's been no end to it in sight."
She asks, “What country is this, sir?”
At that, the Barkeep seems to look at Mingzhu a bit strangely, perhaps perplexed, but he doesn’t press the matter. "Ah, you're in Wa. Southern part, if you want a geographic location."
T'kharr nods quietly to the barkeeper's answers "Well, sounds like there's work to be done here then."
“Oh, I'm from a small fishing village in northern Shou lung. it’s to the west.” Mingzhu answers the unsaid question.
The innkeeper studies her. “Sounds like you're a long way from home then. Unfortunately given the troubles at the harbor and around, getting home's gonna be a challenge. Even if you could secure a boat, there's been Corsairs scuttling them around here." Then he nods to T’kharr. "There is, but it's not like a lot of the farmers and fishers can really do anything. And if the Daimyo doesn't send any men at arms to help, then... well, leaves people feeling frustrated and helpless, that."
Mingzhu sighs and looks up at the ceiling, thinking.
T'kharr nods in reply "Well, if there's anything I can do to help beat back such a scourge, do let me know..."
The Innkeeper looks to T'kharr, considering a time, before speaking. "Several scourges, and you look like you can handle yourself, but I'm not sure how you'd fend off pirate fleets unless you had a boat of your own. And a good crew with fighting men." He gives a pause "Still, if you are looking to get into the mercenary business to help out, I do know of some people you could try talking with."
"The Harbormaster is probably the one who would know the most and be able to give the best direction, but he's a busy man, and would likely not have time unless you were able to distinguish yourself somehow. Maybe the mayor could help but... same issue there."
"Though there are other avenues besides those two. There are three trading companies who often do business here, one from Zakhara, one from Durpar, and another from the West. Each of them may also be able to set you in a direction but just keep in mind that their interests won't always line up with what's best for the villages here, even if they do want these problems to go away."
There's another pause as he considers T'kharr "I suppose there is also the option of trying to go to that Tax Collector that Daimyo Kaluso sent but given he uh... got mauled by another Hengeyokai not long ago, he might need some convincing. That and he's not exactly popular with the locals."
The Innkeeper stops cleaning his tableware, seemingly focused on the conversation now, but awaits if T'kharr has any questions. Mingzhu listens silently.
The door opens and a giant of a creature walks in. It wears a hood and has a shield on its back and a curved sword on its side. Mingzhu sees some openings the robe it is wearing. She doesn’t see skin but does see a flash of golden scales like a goldfish and they are glowing slightly. It yells something at the innkeeper in that foreign language then plops itself down right at a table.
Mingzhu looks back down a moment. She is not sure what to do. She looks back up to T’kharr and the innkeeper. “I have 11 more pearls. I'll get them exchanged........I do suppose you have an exchange here? I'm not sure I can fight anything except to knock a villager out if I need too. Looks over to the arriving figure and just shakes her head and looks at T'kharr and the innkeeper. while taking another bite of her rice while reaching down and trying to keep Snout calm.
The monster walks by tapping her shoulder and says something to her. It has a gruff unsympathetic kind of voice. It then leaves but she can hear it moving around by the door. She turns her head to the doorway for a moment then blinks and shudders, not knowing what to do.
After a moment she looks at the innkeeper. “I must get up before sunrise. hopefully the spirits will touch me.” She stands and bows to the innkeeper and T’kharr then goes upstairs to her room after making sure T’kharr as a key. Snout bounds after her.”
Before she goes up, the innkeeper replies to her, though after giving the scaled stranger some water and a small meal. "Well, if you want to sell those pearls for coin, there's some merchants by the harbor that can do it for you. I'm not sure who would give the best price, but I guess you could check to see who would, in the morning. Well, in the morning at least."
T’kharr heads up right after her. She joins her in her room and they both nod of quickly.
A few seconds later a sea otter bounds up and sits on top of her. When anyone attempts to get near her. The four-foot varmint stands on its hind legs, hisses and growls until they leave. If anyone ignores the warning and tries to touch the girl, the otter lets out a blood-curdling scream and tries to bite them between the legs.
Some passers-by ask where she came from. A small child that saw her rise from the water points out toward it saying, "She came from the sea."
Mingzhu opens her eyes. It’s night. There is a figure kneeling over her. Within the hood she sees strange animal-like eyes. It’s saying something in some unknown language. She pleads, “Water, fresh water.” It isn’t even a second before she feels Snout come to her. He rolls into a ball against her stomach. She puts her hand on his belly looking up at the strange figure.
The figure seems to understand her. It scoops up some water. She feels a spell being used though she doesn’t know what it is. She is too tired, confused and thirsty. It pours the water from its hands directly into her mouth. She drinks as much as she can.
After a few minutes she slowly lifts herself up into a sitting position. “Where am I?” The creature says something that she doesn’t understand. She studies it for a moment. It looks like a dog walking on two legs. ‘It must be a hengeyokai if it is a dog hengeyokai it is one of good intent.’ She thinks to herself.
She tries to stand up but falls back down. She sits again. Snout nuzzles her. She pets him and tries to speak to the hengeyokai again. “I need clothes and… food, Shelter… but first I must thank you for your kindness.” She opens her pouch and digs around. She brings out a pearl. In the dark she doesn’t know herself if it’s one of the pink ones or pale gold ones. She offers it to the funny looking creature.
The dog man shakes her head again and says something. Its eyes are amber, and its face is funny. It's not like a normal dog…. More feral or wrong.
The dog woman leaves her and starts walking along the beach looking down. It leans down and catches a bunch of crabs. She watches it. When it comes back it offers her some. She gives one to Snout. The other two she gets the meat out of the claws and eats those herself while giving snout the rest of what she doesn’t eat. While she does, she watches the strange dog girl. It is eating the crabs whole shell and all.
She stays down for 15 more minutes then tries to stand again. This time she stays up but feels shaky in her knees. She has not walked on the land in three days.
She cannot see a town nearby but sees the footprints on the beach. She looks across the shore on both sides and points to the dim light on one side. “Town. We will find more food and clothes.”
The creature seems to understand. It starts to walk toward the light. She and snout follow it.
They walk. There is no one on the beach and soon enough they see buildings. Mingzhu studies them. With her low light vision, she can see them almost as clear as in the day. It is a big port with many wooden and some stone homes. She sighs in relief. As they go into the town there are no guards or guard posts, no walls. She thinks to herself, ‘It’s not a huge fishing town but one that is much bigger than her own and looks wealthier. There should be an inn to stay in. She looks at the hengeyokai hoping they know a good inn.
He goes to a large establishment. She reads the sign. It says, “The Dizzy Panda.”
As she walks in behind her, she sees tables and a bar. There are about a dozen patrons there and a man behind the bar. The men at the table are keeping to themselves. The man at the bar waves to them then takes up a towel and cleans a glass. She looks down at Snout, “You have to be good here. We don’t know these people.”
She follows the creature to the bar. It talks to the bartender. The place smells clean but she can smell the heavy scent of ale. After they stop a moment, she asks him in her native low shou, “Sir, do you have clothing I could use?”
"We uh... do have some spares. It might not be the greatest fit, but it'll at least keep any of the sailors from getting any ideas. Just a moment please.” He goes through a door. She watches not wanting to look over at the other patrons again. He comes back with a tattered old robe and hands it to her. “"Should help keep you warm, lass."
She digs in her bag and offers him a pink pearl. He takes it. “Yeah, thanks lass. This should cover your stay too.” He gives her some keys. The men at the table start to make crude laughs and whisper while watching her put on the robe. The innkeeper starts talking again. “Let me guess, you had a run in with those Corsairs too?”
“No, Orcas.”
The hengeyokai looks angerly to the hecklers. They seem to return to their previous talks. Mingzhu gets an unusual feeling of self-consciousness. Something she rarely felt in her own village.
"Orcas? Huh, it must have been a real nice prize to go for if you were hunting one of those. Well, not every fishing trip goes well. Hope it goes better for you next time." The innkeeper nods. She seems to sense he has seen others in her state of affairs before.
“We were hunting tuna. The orcas attacked me. I was the fish whisperer.”
"Uh... huh, I see." The Innkeeper nods to her listening. "Well, hey, you wouldn't be the first to have bad luck out at sea. Especially these days..."
She nods to him and looks up at the Hengeyokai. “Food, drink, sleep?”
She looks surprised that it understood her. It didn’t seem to until now. It says, “A mug of tea'd be nice, bit chilly out. That, and I'll probably need a night's rest and meditation"
Mingzhu nods to it and finds a table away from the other patrons. She hears the innkeeper say, “Yeah, room I gave you two should have enough space for the both of you. As for a tea, coming right up." He leaves to make tea. She calls to snout and points under the table. He goes there and lies down. The hengeyokai joins her. It leans its staff against the wall.
The innkeeper comes back with tea and bowls of plain white rice. Mingzhu scoops it out with her fingers and eats it. She is definitely peasant class. While she is eating, she looks up at her large companion. “I am Mingzhu. Who are you, kind stranger?”
It says, “Nice to meet you. I’m T’kharr.”
Mingzhu looks for spirits at the inn but as her eyes pierce the spirit world, she sees none. "T'kharr... It is nice to meet you too. I am glad you found me I may have died of thirst. 3 days without fresh water.”
“That’s not healthy for anyone.” The woman replies to her.
She nods, “Next time I go out to sea I will bring a water bladder.” The innkeeper slides a cup of water over to her. She smiles, “Thank you.”
The innkeeper gives her a smile in turn, “Let me know if I can get you anything else.”
Mingzhu looks over at the other table suspicious about what they are doing and saying. As she does T’kharr also looks over. As they stop talking, they are able to listen to them being the others don’t seem to be trying to be quiet at all.
"So, did you hear about that other Hengeyokai? The badger? Wonder if this one here is as vicious?"
"Yeah, anyone saw what he did? Got into a scrap with one of the Daimyo's tax collectors and their hired thug. Picked them up and slammed them right through a table."
"Bastards deserved it. They're taxing us all to the brink and doing crap to stop those corsairs!"
"Did you hear a rumor? The harbormaster might be closing down the port because of these troubles."
"That's crap! Wouldn't even do shit to stop it"
Mingzhu uses her community domain power and centers it on the table of near-do-wells. While T’kharr talks to the bartender in that strange language again. The other table seems momentarily calmed, some of them maybe getting drowsy from all of their drinking. Still, it doesn't feel like a lasting solution, the root of their frustrations is still clearly present. Mingzhu sighs and relaxes a bit.
She turns to the two of them. “It seems this town is on hard times. I feel for these people.”
The bartender switches to shou, “All five villages have hit hard times, lately." He sighs.
The hengeyokai also switches. Mingzhu suspects it used a spell to communicate. "That could be a problem...island I take it?"
"Don't know where you are?” The innkeeper asks. “You're on Sakurajima Island. There's five villages around here, you're currently in Ginji, though there's four others, Rhakku, Tsaboru, Saduzki, and Golamaru. Way, I hear it though, none of em are doing well. Lots of troubles just started cropping up out of nowhere a few months ago, and there's been no end to it in sight."
She asks, “What country is this, sir?”
At that, the Barkeep seems to look at Mingzhu a bit strangely, perhaps perplexed, but he doesn’t press the matter. "Ah, you're in Wa. Southern part, if you want a geographic location."
T'kharr nods quietly to the barkeeper's answers "Well, sounds like there's work to be done here then."
“Oh, I'm from a small fishing village in northern Shou lung. it’s to the west.” Mingzhu answers the unsaid question.
The innkeeper studies her. “Sounds like you're a long way from home then. Unfortunately given the troubles at the harbor and around, getting home's gonna be a challenge. Even if you could secure a boat, there's been Corsairs scuttling them around here." Then he nods to T’kharr. "There is, but it's not like a lot of the farmers and fishers can really do anything. And if the Daimyo doesn't send any men at arms to help, then... well, leaves people feeling frustrated and helpless, that."
Mingzhu sighs and looks up at the ceiling, thinking.
T'kharr nods in reply "Well, if there's anything I can do to help beat back such a scourge, do let me know..."
The Innkeeper looks to T'kharr, considering a time, before speaking. "Several scourges, and you look like you can handle yourself, but I'm not sure how you'd fend off pirate fleets unless you had a boat of your own. And a good crew with fighting men." He gives a pause "Still, if you are looking to get into the mercenary business to help out, I do know of some people you could try talking with."
"The Harbormaster is probably the one who would know the most and be able to give the best direction, but he's a busy man, and would likely not have time unless you were able to distinguish yourself somehow. Maybe the mayor could help but... same issue there."
"Though there are other avenues besides those two. There are three trading companies who often do business here, one from Zakhara, one from Durpar, and another from the West. Each of them may also be able to set you in a direction but just keep in mind that their interests won't always line up with what's best for the villages here, even if they do want these problems to go away."
There's another pause as he considers T'kharr "I suppose there is also the option of trying to go to that Tax Collector that Daimyo Kaluso sent but given he uh... got mauled by another Hengeyokai not long ago, he might need some convincing. That and he's not exactly popular with the locals."
The Innkeeper stops cleaning his tableware, seemingly focused on the conversation now, but awaits if T'kharr has any questions. Mingzhu listens silently.
The door opens and a giant of a creature walks in. It wears a hood and has a shield on its back and a curved sword on its side. Mingzhu sees some openings the robe it is wearing. She doesn’t see skin but does see a flash of golden scales like a goldfish and they are glowing slightly. It yells something at the innkeeper in that foreign language then plops itself down right at a table.
Mingzhu looks back down a moment. She is not sure what to do. She looks back up to T’kharr and the innkeeper. “I have 11 more pearls. I'll get them exchanged........I do suppose you have an exchange here? I'm not sure I can fight anything except to knock a villager out if I need too. Looks over to the arriving figure and just shakes her head and looks at T'kharr and the innkeeper. while taking another bite of her rice while reaching down and trying to keep Snout calm.
The monster walks by tapping her shoulder and says something to her. It has a gruff unsympathetic kind of voice. It then leaves but she can hear it moving around by the door. She turns her head to the doorway for a moment then blinks and shudders, not knowing what to do.
After a moment she looks at the innkeeper. “I must get up before sunrise. hopefully the spirits will touch me.” She stands and bows to the innkeeper and T’kharr then goes upstairs to her room after making sure T’kharr as a key. Snout bounds after her.”
Before she goes up, the innkeeper replies to her, though after giving the scaled stranger some water and a small meal. "Well, if you want to sell those pearls for coin, there's some merchants by the harbor that can do it for you. I'm not sure who would give the best price, but I guess you could check to see who would, in the morning. Well, in the morning at least."
T’kharr heads up right after her. She joins her in her room and they both nod of quickly.
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Winterhawk99
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Re: She Came from the Sea
Just before sunrise Mingzhu gets up and goes down to the beach. There she meditates along the shore. until the sun rises. The spirits touch her with communicate with animals and trance. When the sun rises, she begins to practice a northern form of qigong. Snout plays on the surf and catches himself a good breakfast while she does her exercises.
After that she takes a swim undressing from the robe. Anyone seeing her plainly can tell she is a pearl diver now. She finds some oysters but no pearls. She scoops those she opened up. Coming back to shore she walks back into the inn with Snout at her heals. She’s eating raw oysters. She sees the monster and the hengeyokai sitting together. She looks at the table unsure of herself. The monster seems to be arguing with one of the locals.
“Umm, hello she says in low shou.”
He’s arguing with a tax collector. The Wa official trains his eyes on her. “Yes? Who are y…” He then looks at the monster and switches language. He then looks over at her again, “Yes? What is it?”
“Mingzhu. I lost my ships and washed up here yesterday.”
“How did you lose your ships.”
“I was the fish whisperer. Orcas attacked the dolphins while I was leading them away from the nets. The dolphins rescued me and took me here after we lost sight of the fleet.”
"I ...." The Tax Collector just blinks, looking Mingzhu over, perhaps perplexed by her. "Which village do you hail from? This is probably best, a matter for your village elder."
“My village is in northern Shou-lung it is called Dienshi.”
"Then you are quite far away from home. I do not have jurisdiction over that region, nor does my Daimyo."
Mingzhu gives the official a nod. T’kharr gives her a nod in greeting as she takes a pull from her mug.
The Tax Collector watches T'kharr rather nervously, then looks back to Mingzhu "Curious that you shipwrecked all the way here from Shou Lung, that's quite a long ways away."
“We were following the tuna to the north and east. Captain was worried that we were close to Wa territorial waters. but he knew what he was doing. I was on the sea alone for three days except for Snout and three dolphins.”
The Tax Collector looks over, taking out a piece of paper, seeming to make a note "I see. Well, regardless, that sounds like a natural accident rather than an aggravated incident, and well outside of where I would have jurisdiction, I'm afraid. If you need to get back, there should be boats that will take you up the Golden way, assuming the Harbormaster doesn't close the docks down."
She asks him, “Where can I exchange pearls?”
"Try the docks merchants. There's a market near the docks."
“Ok.” She says.
"Was there anything else? If not, I have a meeting to attend to."
She shakes her head silently and looks at the table where the two creatures are. “May I sit?”
She waits for T’kharr to answer her. The innkeeper seems to sometimes translate. She is very unsure of herself. The hengeyokai looks up and tells her “Sure.” In shou. She guesses that he has at least a few words down. She sits down guiding Snout under the table and puts her head under, "You have to be good. no shinnies"
They have a long conversation. She just looks between the three of them, not sure if she should say anything. T’kharr at one-point smiles at her. She just looks at them all and opens more oysters to try to find a pearl as she doesn’t, she cleans and eats them putting the remains on a plate.
When she is done, she looks around for spirits, her eyes adjusting to the ethereal plane. She doesn’t see any. T’kharr gets up and gets her staff. Mingzhu is confused but the whole affair but is determined to stick by the hengeyokai.
The Innkeeper looks to her, speaking in Low Shou for her benefit "Ah, your Hengeyokai friend agreed to help me with a small matter and bring a letter to Tsaboru's tradesmaster. They've been late on their shipments here."
She replies, “Oh and they are leaving? I guess I go where they go. I do not know these lands.... or ...." sighs, "Anything but my own village and surrounding sea."
"Well, you take care of yourself, then."
"Come on Snout let’s go for a walk" She stands the otter comes bounding out. She smiles at the innkeeper. "I will try."
T’kharr leads them out of the inn. Mingzhu follows behind. Still not sure of the big creatures T’kharr and her are with. She’s very leery of it. Snout bounds along following her.
After that she takes a swim undressing from the robe. Anyone seeing her plainly can tell she is a pearl diver now. She finds some oysters but no pearls. She scoops those she opened up. Coming back to shore she walks back into the inn with Snout at her heals. She’s eating raw oysters. She sees the monster and the hengeyokai sitting together. She looks at the table unsure of herself. The monster seems to be arguing with one of the locals.
“Umm, hello she says in low shou.”
He’s arguing with a tax collector. The Wa official trains his eyes on her. “Yes? Who are y…” He then looks at the monster and switches language. He then looks over at her again, “Yes? What is it?”
“Mingzhu. I lost my ships and washed up here yesterday.”
“How did you lose your ships.”
“I was the fish whisperer. Orcas attacked the dolphins while I was leading them away from the nets. The dolphins rescued me and took me here after we lost sight of the fleet.”
"I ...." The Tax Collector just blinks, looking Mingzhu over, perhaps perplexed by her. "Which village do you hail from? This is probably best, a matter for your village elder."
“My village is in northern Shou-lung it is called Dienshi.”
"Then you are quite far away from home. I do not have jurisdiction over that region, nor does my Daimyo."
Mingzhu gives the official a nod. T’kharr gives her a nod in greeting as she takes a pull from her mug.
The Tax Collector watches T'kharr rather nervously, then looks back to Mingzhu "Curious that you shipwrecked all the way here from Shou Lung, that's quite a long ways away."
“We were following the tuna to the north and east. Captain was worried that we were close to Wa territorial waters. but he knew what he was doing. I was on the sea alone for three days except for Snout and three dolphins.”
The Tax Collector looks over, taking out a piece of paper, seeming to make a note "I see. Well, regardless, that sounds like a natural accident rather than an aggravated incident, and well outside of where I would have jurisdiction, I'm afraid. If you need to get back, there should be boats that will take you up the Golden way, assuming the Harbormaster doesn't close the docks down."
She asks him, “Where can I exchange pearls?”
"Try the docks merchants. There's a market near the docks."
“Ok.” She says.
"Was there anything else? If not, I have a meeting to attend to."
She shakes her head silently and looks at the table where the two creatures are. “May I sit?”
She waits for T’kharr to answer her. The innkeeper seems to sometimes translate. She is very unsure of herself. The hengeyokai looks up and tells her “Sure.” In shou. She guesses that he has at least a few words down. She sits down guiding Snout under the table and puts her head under, "You have to be good. no shinnies"
They have a long conversation. She just looks between the three of them, not sure if she should say anything. T’kharr at one-point smiles at her. She just looks at them all and opens more oysters to try to find a pearl as she doesn’t, she cleans and eats them putting the remains on a plate.
When she is done, she looks around for spirits, her eyes adjusting to the ethereal plane. She doesn’t see any. T’kharr gets up and gets her staff. Mingzhu is confused but the whole affair but is determined to stick by the hengeyokai.
The Innkeeper looks to her, speaking in Low Shou for her benefit "Ah, your Hengeyokai friend agreed to help me with a small matter and bring a letter to Tsaboru's tradesmaster. They've been late on their shipments here."
She replies, “Oh and they are leaving? I guess I go where they go. I do not know these lands.... or ...." sighs, "Anything but my own village and surrounding sea."
"Well, you take care of yourself, then."
"Come on Snout let’s go for a walk" She stands the otter comes bounding out. She smiles at the innkeeper. "I will try."
T’kharr leads them out of the inn. Mingzhu follows behind. Still not sure of the big creatures T’kharr and her are with. She’s very leery of it. Snout bounds along following her.