The Halls of the Master

[Brian]

Li Bao grunts.  "Well, that'll do.  We've routed most of the assasins.  The local leader was caught tonight; we should be able to clear the area by the end of the week, and then start moving south.

"It's good that someone saw fit to help, but a real shame that it took so long.  The work's nearly over."  Li Bao seems to realize what he says, and then looks somewhat abashed, immediately adding, "Not that we don't appreciate the favor you are doing for the empire; your aid is invalulable to us in this endeavor, and the men's spirits will undoubtedly soar to hear of these reinforcements."

[Dracos]

"The waves of the great ocean move as they will.  Even if not as fast as we desire, they have their place in things."  Kesir responded in a calm cadence.

"If all I've done is keep our soldiers' spirits high, the journey would not entirely have been a waste.  Though, I would be pleased to see my journey accomplished more than that for preserving the people of the Empire."

Dracos

[Brian]

Li Bao nods.  "Good news.  Now, I think we should speak less, and eat more.  I'm hungry, my friend.  Aren't you, from the road?"  Even though he claims hunger, Li Bao first reaches for his drink.

[Dracos]

Kesir nods in agreement, joining Li Bao in eating.

Dracos

[Brian]

Li Bao finishes his drink, and then picks at his meal before pushing the plate aside.  "So," he says, glancing at the entrance, which is currently empty.  "How much do you know about the situation here, and what information do you need?"

[Dracos]

"I had just returned from abroad when the request for aid arrived, so I know little more than what your courier has been able to tell me.  That you are leading a force ten thousand spread among the villages to hunt the last hundred or so of the Night's shadow that escaped the original strike on them so that they are not allowed to reorganize and become a future threat to Empire.  Little about the current state of things beyond that though." Kesir admitted.

Dracos

[Brian]

"That's enough," Li says, shrugging.  "We've got most of them pinned down, so they can't travel easily.  They wouldn't have stopped you, since you're on our side, but guards stand at both roads into the village.  Good luck sneaking an assasin through that.

"Right now we're just waiting for the master inquisitor to bring us the location of the last major pocket of resistance in the area.  I expect we're just about done with this village, and ready to move on to their real hideout...."

[Dracos]

Kesir nods.  "Slowly cornered, the rat seeks to burrow and strike back.  Let us hope it may be slain before they get foolishly desperate.  What is known about their real hideout?"

Dracos

[Brian]

"Not much, other than the fact that it's in this area," Li replies.  "We were actually hoping you could help us discover their actual location.  I'm tired tonight, but tomorrow, we should be ready to interrogate the rat we've captured so far."

[Dracos]

Kesir nodded.  Interrogation was a messy business.  "I shall rest as well, in preparation of a brighter tomorrow that blows away the obscuring mists."

Dracos

[Brian]

Li shrugs, and glances at the courier.  "Show him to a room," Li commands.  "I'll have a letter for you to return to the capitol later."

The courier nods, and shows Kesir to a small, but adequate room.  Not that monks tend to need much anyway.

[Dracos]

Kesir meditated briefly before going to sleep.  No use tiring the eyes before they would need to see clearly past any deception.

Dracos

[Brian]

Kesir's dreams are filled with moves that can't be read, endless go-boards flecked with white and black stones in no seeming pattern....

But Oki B's words still echo through the void of dream.  Kesir has been traveling, even before being summoned to attend Li and the destruction of the assasins.

The pieces are moving into place, even if the entire board can not yet be seen:

Armies are on the move.  The game is close, whoever the contestants are ... but who is white, and who is black?  It's not yet known, until Kesir sees his own position.

He is in Atari, the point where the opponent needs to place only one stone to capture.  And worse, backed into a corner, where playing further pieces will become tricky ... but at the same, this could be to Kesir's advantage.  Having the corner means that there's less need for allies, though the danger can be greater, as well.

In the game, a single well placed stone will take out the threatening stones, leaving the corner clear, though, for this is a rare, and unfortunate situation; that where two players have matching formations which put one-another in Atari ... though, half of Kesir's pieces are actually the borders of the game, and he is otherwise outnumbered.  Still, one well placed stone will turn the tide; Kesir has merely to find it.

Then, too, there is the matter of taking the game into context and applying it to the real life.  Master Oki Bi could see flowers and futures in a game between two childre.  Kesir is not yet that skilled.

What he does know, however, is this:

The Black pieces are isolated, and cannot capture White without considerable reinforcements.  The White pieces have been played without any regard to defense, only offense.

While Kesir's own piece is Black, this does not mean that he is actually on the side of the Black stones from the grander scheme of things.

[Dracos]

Kesir shook his head, pondering what would happen if there was a white piece in his spot, though, more likely black represented Oki Bi's side, split apart, moving as parts to dissolve the aggression of the white pieces.  More specifically, if white moved how it would, it'd pull the black pieces with it most likely.

Getting up, he meditated, greeting the morning sun and taking a moment to accept the humility of life, waiting for the inevitable messanger from Li Bao.

Dracos
Tries!

[Brian]

The sun is a while away from rising, but Kesir finds himself unable to sleep anyway.  Something about that dream and its inevitable significance won't let go.

Li Bao's inevitable messenger is probably hours away ... though in the quiet, Kesir can hear someone snoring relatively loudly, though the sound is much muted through the walls.