Cephiro, Elven Province

[Corwin]

Umi nods at the older elf. "Of course, Master Jyoshi. In that case, we'll go and search for five horses, to take us to the capital." She turns to look at the pair of samurai that follows them. "Are you ready to leave?"

[Carthrat]

"Yes, Umi-sama," reply the samurai, exiting. "If they can disguise themselves as any elf, they may have already infiltrated the capital," one says. "Perhaps we should be wary."

[Corwin]

"Alright. Hikaru, can you go with them and secure our horses?" she asks of her pink-headed friend. "I'll join you in a moment."

Then, she turns towards Master Jyoshi. "Excuse me, but do you have any idea how the monks are disguising themselves as elves? And what could be done to find out their true nature, or snap them out of their disguise?"

[Carthrat]

Jyoshi shrugs. "I cannot say. I feel it must be magic; I know that I could pick out most any crude disguise. But to train an entire army of monks in magic? No, there must be another source.

Regardless, a spell used to detect magic or true forms or some such may reveal them. Sakura may have an item that will allow simpler detection for all I know, she has many odd devices from her youth.."

[Corwin]

Umi nods again. "That's just one more thing we must discuss with Sakura-san, then. Thank you, Master Jyoshi." She bows to him, and walks out after her friends.

[Carthrat]

The stables are thankfully intact, and five horses are easy to secure. A short time later, the five elves are riding hard towards the capital..

[Carthrat]

The Capital..

It's a big place. Surrounded by a solid stone wall and a moat, it's more a fort. The front gate is kept open, but all travellers in and out must state their business.

And so, the party of elves soon reach the gate. The guards faces light up as they recognize Umi, Fuu, and Hikaru.

"Good day, ladies. What brings you here this fine day?"

[Halbarad]

Hikaru nods to the guard. "We're here to see Sakura-sama. Can you direct us to her?"

[Carthrat]

"She's in the castle," replies the guard, pointing to the far end of the city towards the place itself. "Do you want your horses stabled before you see her?"

[Halbarad]

"I suppose we should take care of that. Where are the stables?" She swiftly dismounts, taking her horse's reins in hand.

[Carthrat]

"Just over there," replies the guard, indicating a building around the corner. "Good to see you, Hikaru-san. Let her pass!" he calls out to his fellow guards, who nod back.

[Halbarad]

Hikaru smiles and nods to the guard before she leads the group over to the stables to have their horses cared for.

[Carthrat]

A short while later, the horses have been dealt with, and the party are in the midst of the Capital.

Most of the buildings, unlike other towns of elven make, are made of stone with wood as a supplement, as opposed to just wood or huts build in trees. The city is much more like a human city than an elven town, and one notices several humans wandering around, from samurai to merchants. Many master human craftsmen aided the elves in the construction of the captial, with great emphasis placed on the castle.

The city itself is bustling, completely oblivious to the events taking place outside. There is a large marketplace where goods of all kinds are bought and sold, along with many taverns, inns, and restraunts. Several gaijin men are flaunting their wears, including straight-edged broadswords, rapiers similar to the one Umi uses, the ever-popular ticking clock, art, clothes, and many other things. More typical Japanian goods are prevaleant throughout the marketplace.

Like any major city, the Capital of Cephiro has it's fair share of street muggers, pickpockets, murderers, and shifty merchants. The town guard is ever watchful against this sort of thing, and tends to follow up complaints extrodinarily quickly.

It's about midday, and things are going strong. The Castle looms over the city, the courtyard open to the public.

[Ebiris]

Resisting the lure of sight-seeing, Fuu leads the party straight to the castle.

[Carthrat]

The courtyard of the castle is expansive, and filled with wonders of elven nature-working. Carefully planted gardens that almost look unreal aboud, and even the path into the castle is but a pleasent lawn.

Upon reaching the main door into the castle, the elven guards look at the party. "What's your business here?" they ask, a little more harshly than the elves at the gate.