The temple that master Oki Bi resides in is just as ancient, it is said, as the sword that Kesir carries. In the center of the Empire's capitol, it is the only building that rises to the height of the Imperial Palace. A square large enough for an army to camp in fills the space between the temple's northern gate and the palace's southern gate.
Travelers and pilgrims pass through this space, along with occasional vendors hawking roasted apples or breaded fish. Children run around the periphery of the area, but guards patrol the center, and shoo the children out of traffic.
Currently, the square is fairly deserted, only perhaps three hundred people wandering across the area. The sun is rising to the east, spreading light across the temple's terraced floors, the huge sweeping roofs covering gardens and training areas across the temple.
Kesir is currently carrying a note, which was sent to him in the field. But Kesir remembers seeing Master Oki Bi collapse in the go-stones of a tea-house. The note summoned Kesir back, to speak with Master Oki Bi.
Kesir moved swiftly, his face outwardly calm and focused, though the signs of his worry would be visible to those who knew him in the swiftness of his stride as he traveled over the beaten dirt ground of the square. Turning, he moved quickly towards the temple, climbing the slight stairs and entering past those opening the doors to the courtyard as the early dawn sun rose. Nodding slightly to them, he paused but a moment before his brief vision pressed him onwards, forgoing for a moment formality of greeting to his brethern in order to quickly continue his journey. Passing through the temple with a grace of years of training combined with the familiarity that had been trained from years of life here, he moved swiftly to his master's chambers, seeking sign of him there.
Dracos
The other monks all recognize Kesir, and nod their heads at him in passing. It doesn't take Kesir too long to find Oki Bi's quarters.
The elder monk doesn't look old, even though he must be. And what age he shows just seems very ... slight. Like it shouldn't hinder him in any way. Just the slightest hints of wrinkles next to his eyes, next to the spark of wisdom that burns brightly within.
He looks currently healthy, and is sitting up in bed (the door is open) when Kesir arrives. A physician is speaking in low tones with the master, but their conversation concludes as Kesir enters the room.
Kesir's training briefly took over as he promptly bowed low to his master. "I have received your letter, Master Oki Bi and came as soon as I could." He kept his head down in the bow while speaking to partially hide the worry, even if he knew it would be picked up on anyway.
Dracos
"Good," Oki Bi says softly. While Oki Bi may be towards the end of his life, he doesn't look weak -- not yet. "There is time left. Time enough for you to learn what you must." He shakes his head, smiling. "You look weary, and the dust of the road is still on you. Sit, a go-board can be brought, and we can discuss your journey."
"Certainly, Master." Kesir responded in respectful terms. "My ears sing with joy to hear your voice again." Kesir moved to Oki Bi's side, standing beside, not asking for a chair, paying close attention to every motion of Oki Bi.
Dracos
Oki Bi laughs quietly. "But it is not my voice which is to be heard, now. Tell me of your journeys."
Kesir regales the elder monk of his journeys over the next hour, being brought a cushion, and eventually, some tea. After the telling of stories, the sun has risen higher, and the monks in the temple are bustling about their tasks. A go-board lies next to Oki Bi's pallet, a game half-finished waiting for the players to return to it.
"Kesir," Oki Bi says, after the final story has been told. "I am growing old ... but no so old that there is no time left. I have, however, a task for you.
"A charge ... and a test. One which all who bore your sword have faced. I speak to you of something you may have suspected ... but there is a trial for those who bear your sword. It has a meaning you do not truly know yet ... are you prepared, Kesir, to learn what that meaning is?"
"I am as to a blank slate, carve upon me the wisdom I am unaware of." Kesir responded, his eyes switching from gleeful at the game to serious as his master's words warrented. He folded his arms, listening. "The chance to further my own understanding is a gift."
Dracos
"Of course," Oki Bi replies, gesturing to the Go board. "All in life has the same total sum. A game may be played in many ways with a similar looking result ... without truly being the same."
The current game being played looks, to Kesir's eyes, to have an equal chance of either white (Kesir) or black (Oki Bi) winning. It's currently black's move, and each player has captured seven pieces.
"The thing to remember is this, Kesir. Balance exists in all things, but is more complex than simply good or evil. The sum total is the same ... and even this ... is balance." He places a single black stone on the board, which now places two white stones in jeapordy, or as the Go term is named, 'atari'.
Kesir can see a few responses to that move, however, thanks to Oki Bi's setup, any attempt to reinforce the area will actually end up weakening it. Beyond that, the game dissolves into chaos, and becomes unreadable.
"You must journey, Kesir. You must travel afield, and seek to see the balance in yourself. But then realize that you yourself, are balanced precisely because you, too, are a stone on a board." Oki Bi nods. "And in seeing this, you shall either be made ... or broken."
Kesir nodded, making a move while pondering the words of Oki Bi, moving for a moment on instinct, where his perception failed him at a way to counter the move effectively.
"As I must, I will. You have helped me forge my mind and my body. Logically, I shall find a way to survive, and even if I break, it shall be yet another lesson of the world for those who will follow. Tell me, Oki Bi. In which direction would you have me travel? I can see only part of the board with my sight."
Dracos
"But that's exactly it," Oki Bi says, gesturing at the board, which has -- somehow -- changed, reverting back about four moves, and giving Kesir the chance to avoid the setup Oki Bi had taken advantage of only a few moments ago. "You must go to what you cannot see. You musty explore the unknown."
"I must...travel past Eastmoore. I must see where the limits of my understanding are in manners that I cannot predict." Kesir ponderously concluded, watching the board carefully and examining not the route he already took, but the other routes he could take, knowing even if he could see the trap he fell into before, it was no good if he walked blindly into another trap.
Dracos
Oki Bi nods. "That is ever the case," he says quietly. "The world is vast, and you must see more of it to be ready for the future."
Kesir moved a piece. "I will set out before the following dawn, Master."
Dracos
Oki Bi nods again. "Then it is good. Let us worry about tomorrow tomorrow, and today, enjoy the life that we have." By this, the venerable master probably means that Kesir should visit the city and the temple a bit, and not spend all his time with Oki Bi. There'll be time left later, after all.
When Kesir next glances at the board, he's taken with a profound sense of intensity. Something about what Oki Bi said may be, perhaps, truer than even he realized.
Kesir nodded. "Then we shall conclude the game upon the morrow, over breakfast before I set off."
Kesir rose and bowed, waiting a moment before taking his leave of the elder.
Dracos
Oki Bi smiles genially. "Go in peace," he says, raising his right hand in the sign of benediction.
Kesir turned, heading off out of the temple.
He would not see the city for a long time to come and while he could reminisce about the temple at night, it would be good to travel it once more.
His calm feet traveled the earthen grounds as he walked through the city streets, letting his feet take him where they would, even as he spent his time absorbing the flow of the city with his eyes.
Dracos
The courtyard was crowded by the time Kesir got there, throngs crowding even onto the temple steps to see the gates of the Palace. And the reason why became readily apparent. The Emperor himself was speaking from atop the gate, while a rain of flower-petals drifted down from above.
"...new ... era ... of ... peace," the Emperor's speech concludes.
The throngs in the courtyard go wild at this, throwing confetti, and hats, into the air.
Kesir blinked, listening as he moved closer to the crowd, standing unobtrusively near the outside of the cheerful gathering. Unfortunately, he'd not been keeping up with the most recent events, so did not know what the speech was about. He waited a moment to see if a minister would be following it up with greater clarification than what he heard.
Dracos
It looks like Kesir just missed the last of the speech. It doesn't take a master to put together clues from the excited city-folk standing nearby, only slowly dispersing:
"That'll do it! No more assasins to darken our nights!"
"...body went and DID something about it!"
"The streets belong to the people again!"
At a guess, the semi-notorious guild of assasins has finally been dealt with.
Just as Kesir reaches this conclusion (which makes very little difference to him anyway; there's seldom call to assasinate a monk, as it turns out to be risky business for most assasins), a burly pair of guards pass through the crowd and begin purposefully marching up the steps.
Suddenly, however, Kesir's memory goes back to the board master Oki Bi showed him earlier that day. These two guards represent a single stone. If they are placed as they intend, then Kesir will be trapped in the path that leads to chaos.
Unfortunately, the only move he knows to counter it is either a block, which only buys time ... or a sacrifice.
Kesir hesistated but a step before following in the burly guards' wake towards the front, pausing at the stairs and looking swiftly about, trying to figure out a solution to the dilema posed. Them being placed may be a starter, but it alone can't be it. It must be something about them being placed relative to the board as nothing exists in a vacuum. He tried to discern what about the place was off in resonance to them.
Stopping them with a hand on one of their shoulders right before they could start climbing he asked. "Pardon me, is there something going on?"
Dracos
The guards spin, with looks of grave concern, though they relax when they see Kesir's robes. "Ah, Master," the first replies, as both bow low to Kesir. "We have come to request your presence on behalf of the Emperor. He wishes to speak with you on a matter of some import to the Empire."
Kesir maintained a calm face, though only a tribute to his training as his mind was whirling with what was actually occuring. Nodding once though, he answered them. "I shall go then." Kesir gestured briefly for the guards to lead the way towards the palace.
Dracos
The guards rise, only to bow again, and then lead the way, parting the crowd before them.
Kesir follows, through the gates of the palace, but not into the palace itself. A small side-building for affairs of state and simple meetings is nearby, and that's where the guards lead Kesir.
Inside, one of the more high ranking members of the Emperor's Council is sitting at a low table. Tea and breakfast have been laid out; far more extravagant than the meal at the temple.
The official looks gloomy, and then when he sees Kesir a bit surprised, and then finally, quite pleased. "Young master! I had not known-- but it is not important. The Empire has a favor to request of you."
"My ears, as are the ears of the temple, are always open to the needs of the emperor." Kesir responded formally, watching the official and attempting to perceive his actual motives behind the request, regardless of what he says about the empire. Kesir respectfully sat across from him in a receptive pose.
Dracos
The offical nods happily. "Please," he says, gesturing to the meal. "Help yourself, should you ... desire anything." He frowns at this, realizing the wasted gesture on a monk. "Well, the Emperor has exterminated the Night's Shadow within the city. They no longer dare to show their faces here.
"But we are concerned that they live on yet, and are still a threat. We wished to ask the Master of the temple if he would see fit to meet one of our officers in the field. We are arranging a meeting of any and all Night's Shadow in a location they believe to be secure.
"We wish only for someone of your skill and foresight to aid our Captain ... to see what is not only most beneficial to the Emperor in the destruction of the assasin's guild, but beneficial to all citizens of the Empire." He nods at this. "If ... you see fit to grace us with your presence on this mission, we would be glad to give a gift to the temple. A gift of...." The offical here pauses, and licks his lips nervously, "10,000 Ryo, and a park within the city. The emperor may also be persuaded to build a statue...." He trails off again, and shrugs, looking nervously fearful.
It doesn't take much for Kesir to see through the man; he's asking the monk to judge an assasin, and he's afraid that a monke might be angered at being asked to kill someone. Which is reasonable to fear. But in truth, Kesir knows that he is not the one who is being sought ... and even though it is only a 'request', there may be ... repricusions should it not be met. Even powerful men are reluctant to refuse the Emperor.
Kesir can see that he has time to back out of his course, but he will need to accept this to avoid Oki Bi being asked, instead. And from what Kesir can see ... if Oki Bi's map was any explanation, the master must remain in the city to prevent chaos.
And, too, 10,000 Ryo could feed many of the city's hungy when they came to the Temple to beg -- for months, easily, but with care, possibly for a year. If the land the emperor gives to the temple for a park is instead used for private temple farms, that year could be extended to several.
Kesir took a small cup of tea, sipping it slightly in thought as he considered. "Your gift to the temple is most gracious. The temple remains, as always, a close friend of the Emperor and appreciates his generousity. Specifically though, It would not behove the temple stand idle while the empire is in need of the vision and understanding to help keep it upon the path of prosperity. I will lend my skills and presence to this mission."
Kesir placed the empty cup of tea upon the table, observing the official.
Dracos
"We are most grateful," the official says, relaxing his shoulders from their anxiously hunched positions.
He and the guards bow again, and after rising, the official adds, "A courier will meet you in the palace square at dawn tomorrow, with instructions on how to contact the Captain. Your gift will reach the temple before the sun sets tomorrow."
"May the Emperor long prosper." Kesir formulically responded as he rose as well, turning and heading off towards the temple, the business moderately distasteful, but necessary. Balance was maintained, through his own choice to act as a piece upon the board. Heading out, he briefly surveyed the night sky, meditating a moment outside the palace on the stars and what they saw down below.
Moving to the temple, he sought the fellowship of his brethern for the night, for he had not talked with them in many a day. Tomorrow's worries were tomorrow's to be dealt with.
Dracos
Kesir passes the evening and night in relative peace, waking before dawn so he can speak with the master as he promised instead of vanishing outright.
Kesir stretched in the early pre-dawn, doing a few exercises to awaken himself and prepare his body for the coming day. Following this, he dressed and headed to the chambers of his master, waiting a moment in front of the door to discern if he was awake and ready, as well as provide plenty of time for his presence to be noticed and invited in.
Dracos
Master Oki Bi is sitting at a side-table in his room, but calls for Kesir to enter when he pauses at the door.
The master his hard at work painting a large piece of paper with caligraphy. The writing is detailed, but also large, so it requires a precise hand. Kesir recognizes the prayer being scribed on the banner: 'Health and Prosperity'
"Kesir," Oki Bi says, working on the intricate whorls and arcs that describe written language. "This banner is being prepared for the birthday of the Emperor." This is not especially surprising, though the Emperor's birthday is always a large event.
Typically, the temple will hang an exceedingly well-crafted banner offering the people's prayers to the Emperor for the occasion. There is a gate, on the far side of the palace, that connects the imperial palace to the royal park. The function of the gate is curious, as it can either connect the palace and the park, or the main thoroughfare behind the palace (which connects the docks to the market district). Depending on how a banner is hung, it can address either the Emperor, or the people of the city.
Kesir nodded, considering. "It is a fine gift to give at such a time." He responded.
Dracos
Who had a better original response. Really.
Oki Bi nods, and then looks up from his work. "You have set yourself on a perilous path, my student. But I have faith in your prudence," he suddenly says.
"Nothing worth keeping is not worth risking for." Kesir responded, not confidently, but neither was he scared. "Though your faith lightens my heart. I shall strive to keep my wits about me as I walk the path."
Dracos
Oki Bi nods, and says, "The sun is rising, my friend. Take this with you for luck." Reaching behind himself, Oki Bi retrieves a worn, but reasonably well cared for travel go-board, and offers it to Kesir.
Kesir's eyes widened just a touch. "A fine gift, my friend and teacher. I shall take good care of it." He took the go board. "May the sun stay long in the sky, warming the backs of those who toil."
He rose.
Dracos
"May it," Oki Bi says warmly. "But the sun rises, you will need to hurry."
Kesir left, swiftly putting together a travel bag and heading out into the square, looking up as the sun's rays were barely starting to crest the horizon, illuminating the square.
Dracos
A courier wearing the Emperor's seal reaches the foot of the temple steps at just that moment, leading a pair of horses. They look burdened to bear someone for quite some distance....
When the courier spots Kesir, he calls out, "Is the master ready?"
Kesir nods silently. "The sun smiles upon our journey." He walked over near the horses, examining them briefly before mounting one and turning his attention to the courier. "Let us be off."
Dracos
The courier climbs onto the other horse, and looks at you curiously. "I thought the master was coming?" he asks. Before a reply can be given, he says, "Nevermind, it is not my business, and I apologize. We will be heading west, to a town called Chengdo's Folly. It's a week and a half by caravan, or six days hard-ride. We have a meeting a week from today with the Captain."
With that, he flicks his horse's reins, and it walks towards a courtyard exit, not picking up speed until Kesir catches up. Once Kesir is caught up with the courier's mount, the two both increase their pace to a faster walk.
"I understand you might need some intelligence on what to expect," the courier suddenly says, breaking a brief silence. "Ask me whatever you need to know."
"I've been given the short of it already, but why not start at the beginning. Who is there on either side and how are they currently arranged?"
Dracos
"We've 10,000 imperial guard outside the city," the courier says. "We don't know how many Night's Shadow remain, but put the number below a hundred. Right now, our Captain is trying to lure one of their last operatives into our trap. If this is done, then we'll know the exact locations of the enemy.
"Beyond that, they fled like rats from a sinking ship, hiding in villages and outlying farms, trying to wait for us to forget about them. We must dig them out!" Then the man nods to himself, and looks at Kesir. This is also about the time that the city gates come into view, which is also about the same point that traffic erupts from nearby side-streets, merchants scurrying to their stalls, and workers running to their jobs. Through it all, the city wakes up, more and more poeple joining the teeming throngs that rapidly flood the streets.
Kesir and the courier just clear the gate before city streets become completely unhospitable for men on horseback. A lone wagon inches resolutely towards the town center, but is looking at a trip of hours, now.
"The people must be protected," the courier continues, once the horses are a few yards down the road, and the traffic is much lighter. "And a band of cheaply priced assasins won't make that job easier."
Kesir nodded silently, agreeing without adding anything. The plan seemed simple enough, though he pondered. Ten thousand for under one hundred remaining? Dangerous they may be, but that seemed overkill. What else though could such numbers be currently amassed to accomplish. What would change with the night's shadow taken completely off the board. He silently tried to reason through, before asking anything else as the two rode onwards out of the city.
Dracos
From what Kesir can see of the situation, the Empire is largely afraid of the Night's Shadow. Then again, the Night's Shadow has a reputation as an exceptionally skilled band of assasins, so that fear may be warranted.
There's little going on that would suggest an attack on anything that would require an army of that size ... but if they were spread out among many villages and towns, hunting down the Night's Shadow, it could weaken the Empire. Without guards near its capital, it could be vulnerable to attack.
Of course, sneaking an army large enough to assault the capitol through those guard-filled villages would be difficult, and the Imperial Navy would (in theory) protect the capitol from the sea. At the same time, this could influence the command structure of the country....
Kesir spends some time mulling this over. But with the Night's Shadow gone ... citizens of the empire would have no more fear of assasins (though, petty thugs and murderers would still be about, if hopefully in smaller numbers). But then, assasins only ever targeted at the least, wealthy merchants. Their forte was nobility.
"Tell me, what do we know of those who've been found so far of the Night's Shadow?"
Dracos
"Not much," the courier allows. "They're reluctant to loose their secrets, even in the offices of the Imperial Inquisitors. From what intelligence we've gathered, they operate in small circles, the vast majority of them only aware of their own circle anyway. This makes gathering more information on them difficult. What may seem like an over-staffed investigation is actually about a hundred normally staffed investigations scattered across the country."
This stands to reason, but Kesir gets the idea that there's more to it than that, even if it's something the courier himself is unaware of.
"We've got imperial guardsmen trying to infiltrate the remaining circles to expose them now. All the same, the field officers were quite receptive when the emperor suggested asking the temple for assistance in this matter. We'd just like to be thorough," the courier adds.
"Understandable. When pulling out weeds, you want to make sure not to leave a root behind to trouble later plants." Kesir mused. What about nearby. Perhaps an external threat? Or threatening an external city? That'd bring about chaos. Far too early to come to a conclusion though. Best to keep the mind open and aware of the board.
"Who leads the investigation on our side?" He asked simply.
Dracos
Kesir can't think of how spreading so many guard across the borders and taking them away from the capitol would threaten any nearby country that the Empire couldn't simply annex anyway. Kesir briefly wonders, however, if chaos is inevitable, and he's just chosen to let the elder master handle it. Then again, if so, it seems that's how Oki Bi wanted it played....
"Li Bao," the courier replies.
Li Bao is a relatively well known Imperial Captain. He's led the Empire in a number of fights a few years ago, fighting off rebels. Before that, he'd always been critically acclaimed in the arena's tactical battles. He's a man of skill with his weapon of choice -- a tiger-spear. It is said that no enemy of the empire, and no criminal have ever escaped him.
Kesir nodded. "A good choice." He then went silent, pondering to himself as he rode along on the trip towards Li Bio.
Dracos
The courier is a man of few words, and doesn't volunteer anything he's not asked for. The journey is quiet, and would be tedious, if Kesir didn't have the puzzle of Oki Bi's last game to sort through. So many factors to consider....
After six days of riding, but not at full speed, Kesir and the courier reach the outskirts of a small village. It would have a population of about 1,200, Kesir thinks, looking at the smoke rising. The courier pauses as the horses edge away from the noisy square, where the women are busily washing their laundry. Beyond the square, the town opens up into a collection of roomy looking one and two-story buildings made of a clay-like substance.
Wood is abundant here, but the people use less flamable building materials, remembering the roots they came from. Villages like this used to be prime targets for invading barbarians from across the desert to the west. This isn't true anymore, but traditions hold fast.
The courier has mentioned, Kesir believes, that this is the town of 'Lower Pine-Haven'. A larger city on a mountain-top a day away is 'Upper Pine-Haven'. The area around the town is cleared for a dozen miles in any direction, and people who had once been foresters are now farmers, who tend the land, and live in the village.
Kesir nodded, taking in the rural town as he rode beside the courier silently, his face calm as he was content to allow the courier to continue to lead him towards the captain, curious to hear from the one in charge how things are currently going. Meanwhile, he also briefly surveys the town as they ride, keeping an eye out for someone taking extraordinary interest and feeling of malice in doing so.
Dracos
Li Bao is a slight man. He has an air of wiry strength about him, however. He's half a hand shorter than Kesir, and currently just wearing a blue worker's robe. In his left hand he clutches a dagger with an Imperial crest on it, partially concealed within his robes. His hair is straight, brown, and about an inch long in messy spikes. His eyes are brown, too. Kesir senses that Li Bao is a very pragmatic man with little sense of humor, and this is reflected in his face; the set of his jaw and the near-permanent scowl his eyebrows are fixed in show a no-nonsense attitude.
Kesir sees him and takes this all in, just watching the man stalk across the street, exiting a nearby cafe. Li Bao nods at the courier after stealing a glance at Kesir, and the courier nods back, whispering, "This is Li Bao. But do not greet him yet; he is undercover."
Caught in his meditations, and trying to analyze the situation, Kesir notes that there's a sense that two go-players who cannot see each-other's stones are caught up in a massive game.... Many eyes can be felt on Kesir, but there's a lack of malice. At least, that Kesir can sense.
Kesir nods, softly speaking. "Lead away then. I shall speak with him when he arrives to wherever our forces are staying."
Dracos
In short order (just after sunset), the courier has Kesir led into an inn across town. This particular inn is called the Bubbling Kettle. The town's other two inns are the Legionaire's Retreat, and the Unshod Horse.
Once inside, the courier almost immediately aquires food. While he's doing this, Kesir realizes that the majority of the inn's occupants are Imperial guard, even if they're all dressed as peasantry. This is most likely the local base of operations.
Kesir silently absorbs this knowledge sitting down and looking briefly for some of the real workers of the inn to see how they were taking hosting all these people or if they even seemed to notice. He waited for the courier to return with food.
dracos
The servers (a man and a woman), and the man behind the counter don't seem to realize, or just don't care that they're hosting imperial soldiers. They look busy, though.
Not long after Kesir sits down, plates of food are set before himself and the courier. The meal is steamed rice with a thin but spicy sauce, strips of grilled beef, and some vegetable.
Shortly after the meal arrives, Li Bao seats himself at another side, and sets down an identical plate. "You're the monk?" he asks, looking at Kesir's robes.
Kesir simply nods, briefly considering if anyone came in following Li Bao from his undercover work, peering over Li Bao and sensing in person that he was just as intense as by reputation.
Dracos
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."
"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
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.
Kesir nods in agreement, joining Li Bao in eating.
Dracos
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?"
"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
"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...."
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
"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."
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
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.
Kesir meditated briefly before going to sleep. No use tiring the eyes before they would need to see clearly past any deception.
Dracos
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.
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!
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.
Kesir continued to wait, deciding not to disturb the loud sleeper as he continued to mentally work out the board, attempting to figure out the pieces, their placements, and their representations in his head.
Dracos
Kesir's meditations are disturbed by someone entering his room from the window.
Kesir now moves to Midnight Encounter (http://www.pishoque.net/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=51669#51669).