Captured! Revelations of the Mysterious Tomb..

[Halbarad]

Hikaru smiles and nods to the mage. "I was told by a friend that you might be able to help me come by a spellbook."

[Corwin]

"Yes, Okina-san" Umi replies, "unless new information discovered during it affects our decision."

[Carthrat]

"Well," he continues, "When do you want to leave? The soldiers will take a short while to prepare."

[Carthrat]

[10:24] <GM-Type-Rat> Hikaru can quite clearly see the Masked Mage from her location..
[10:24] * Hikaru approaches the mage's stall. "Excuse me, sir."
[10:25] <GM-Type-Rat> "Yes, elfling?" replies the mage, brightening up. "Have ye a suitable offer of trade to indulge mine senses?"
[10:26] <Hikaru> "I'm hoping so, at least. I was informed by a friend of mine that you might be able to help me come by a new spellbook and a few scrolls."
[10:27] <GM-Type-Rat> The mage nods. "I see. Yes, I'm very capable of penning you a new book, assuming you're not looking for anything particularly powerful.."
[10:28] <Hikaru> "Whatever I can come by would be helpful; I suppose I should ask what you consider particularly powerful though first."
[10:29] <GM-Type-Rat> "Oh, you know, teleportation, disintegration, that sort of thing," replies the mage.
[10:30] <Hikaru> "Certainly nothing that powerful, by any means." Hikaru laughs. "I wouldn't know where to begin with any of that myself. How much do you usually charge for the book and for additional spells?"
[10:31] <GM-Terry-Bogard> "The book itself would cost about fifty gold. If you want, I can get a special book, guarded with wards and spells for five hundred gold."
[10:31] <GM-Terry-Bogard> "The individual spells vary, however.
[10:33] <Hikaru> "Hmm... I'm hoping to duplicate my old spellbook, although that would include quite a number of spells beyond simple cantrips." Hikaru gives the mage a list of the spells contained in her old book.
[10:35] <GM-Terry-Bogard> "Hmm.. that comes to about 1500 gold," replies the mage.
[10:38] * Hikaru places the chain on the counter of the mage's stall. "How much would I be able to get for this then?"
[10:39] <GM-Terry-Bogard> The mage raises an eyebrow. "I've seen this before," he notes. "3300. You could easily afford more scrolls," he notes.
[10:43] * Hikaru nods. "I thought as much. Let me think... Go ahead and remove magic missile from the list; I've already gotten a scroll of that in the meantime." Hikaru ponders for a moment. "I'd also like to add fireball, dispel magic, and haste. And would it be possible to get these spells scribed in one of the warded books?"
[10:45] <GM-Terry-Bogard> The mage nods. "That brings your total pricing up to about 3100 gold," he notes.
[10:45] <GM-Terry-Bogard> "If you want, I'll toss in this sword," he says, producing a notably fine-looking wakizashi.
[10:47] <Hikaru> "That sounds reasonable enough to me." The pink-haired elf nods. "I'm in need of a new weapon as well, unfortunately."
[10:47] <GM-Terry-Bogard> The mage shrugs. "If you come back tomorrow morning, I'll have the book ready for you," he says. "The chain, please."
[10:48] <Hikaru> "Certainly." Hikaru passes the chain to the mage. "I appreciate your help, sir."
[10:48] <GM-Terry-Bogard> The mage shurgs. "I live to serve," he replies, handing over the wakizashi.
[10:50] * Hikaru tucks the short sword into her obi and bows. "I'll be back tomorrow morning for the spellbook then. Thank you once again." With that, she departs for the palace to inform her friends of the good news.

[Corwin]

"Once Hikaru returns," Umi replies. "In the meanwhile, could we get a description of the gaijin and his mage, Okina-san? And the location of the Tomb?"

[Carthrat]

"The gaijin had a very large moustache," says Okina. "He was always fully clad in that rediculous armour the gaijin like to wear.

I didn't see much of the mage, though. He was very.. forgettable. Very unremarkable. I think he had black hair and brown eyes, was of average height.. really, the only thing that marked him out was his complexion. One gaijin looks alike to another, however..

The Tomb is to the west, near the Matsu border. I can give you precise directions, if you want."

[Corwin]

"The precise directions would be welcome, Okina-san," Umi says.

[Carthrat]

Okina produces a fairly detailed map of the once-glorious forests of Cephiro.

"Unfortuately, most of the native landmarks are gone, but you should be able to find your way one way or another. Given that the Matsu are retreating West and the evidence Shigen has left behind at the boat.. well, It's not an unfair bet to say they're headed there already."

[Carthrat]

Hikaru arrives back at the castle and is quiety filled in on what's going on by Ukyo..

"It's simple. Five teams are being dispatched to harry the Matsu lines," he says. "Umi and Fuu plan to join one of teams and either track or ambush the Matsu, depending on the circumstances. Given the lack of cover, I believe we will be attempting hit-and-run strikes.

At some point, we will be messaged with a location by the Shugenja, and summarily dispatched to join the team. It should take some time; intentionally to allow you to rememorize spells, I gather. We believe the Matsu are heading towards the mysterious Tomb of Lords. God knows what they want, but I suppose the Fey'Ri are the real ones driving them towards it.

Since we just don't know enough, we're stuck with this. We have the rough position of the Matsu, and apparently the elven teams can travel fast. Any questions?"

OOC: Recap time. I need to get this firmly in my head, too. >_>

[Ebiris]

OOC: Good, because I'm pretty much lost, here <_<

"I am ready to depart at any time, Okina-dono," Fuu tells the older elf, wanting to get things resolved with Sakura sooner rather than later.

[Carthrat]

"As you wish, Fuu-san. Umi-san, I trust you are also ready.."

<->

It's dark, now, and Umi and Fuu estimate they've gotten halfway to the border. They've gone out of what little forest remains and are well and truly in the scorched, razed land.

"Umi-san," mentions one of the nameless Bushi, "We've found a clear trail to follow the Matsu by. It's leading west, as we thought. However, given the freshness of the tracks, they may have reached their border already."

OOC: Heh. Talk to me if you don't get it. Cor, Umi wanted a bow? She's got a composite longbow from the armoury, and 30 arrows.

[Corwin]

"Let's follow the trail until we know more," Umi suggests. "Part of our mission is to try and spy on the Matsu and their actions, if we can't ambush them."

OOC: Bows! Arrows! Whee!

[Carthrat]

The elf nods, and soon the chase begins once again..

The teams are spread out over a fairly wide area, keeping in touch via occasionally runners who sprint from location to location. There are several advance scouts who are scouting the forward area to alert the main group if something has happened up ahead.

When none of these scouts return at a set time, suspicions are raised, and the matter is brought directly to Fuu..

You've been travelling for another couple of hours; well on your way to the border, but the scouts shouldn't have reached it yet. It is getting rather dark, however, and it is likely that the humans may have made camp.

[Ebiris]

"Very well," Fuu says in response to the bushi who raised the matter with her, "I shall scout ahead myself. Have the rest of our group wait here for half an hour before advancing. That should give me time to investigate and meet you before you blunder into whatever it was that befell our scouts."

OOC: I'm assuming the scouts were about a mile ahead of us with my time. If it's different, I'll edit.

[Carthrat]

"Very well," replies the soldier. "Be careful."

OOC: A mile is about right in theory, but you'll be closer than that because you were marching while the scouts were supposed to be moving forward, too.