Captured! Revelations of the Mysterious Tomb..

[Carthrat]

"How can you be sure they havn't lived that long?" replies Ukyo, covering a slight cough with a napkin.

[Halbarad]

"I..." Hikaru stops in mid-answer. "I suppose I don't know. There's no way even an elf could have survived that long, but there's so little we actually KNOW about the Fey'ri." She looks thoughtful as she considers the idea.

[Carthrat]

Ukyo shrugs. "Either way, there's little to do about it. They seem capable of anything.

Still. So many thousands of years and such little martial skill to show for it? I don't believe I've heard of them outside of just now, either, which goes to show that humans can't have encountered them often.. or at least lived to tell the tale."

[Halbarad]

"Legends and so on are all I've heard to now, and most of those are fairly vague. As for their martial abilities, I'm not in much of a position to judge. The only ones I've seen fight so far are Shigen and the two that we captured here in the capital - Shigen was no slouch by any stretch, and the two we found here were caught off-guard."

[Carthrat]

"We managed to clear the ship, and they had aid from gaijin warriors," replies Ukyo. "Perhaps they are saving their elites troops for later.

Or perhaps we only faced the Fey'Ri youth. There may be others like Shigen; perhaps many..

Oh, don't listen to me," he says, suddenly, having the shame to look abashed. "I'm not much for optimism."

[Corwin]

OOC: 'He' says? I'll assume one of the Doji monks, I guess.

IC:
"The plan is to scout the area for ourselves, but combat may be unavoidable," Umi replies.

[Carthrat]

"If you'll excuse us, we would rather not come," sayeth the monks. "Our methods are more subtle."

[Ebiris]

"Indeed," Fuu nods to the monk, "You are here on a diplomatic mission to the capital. There is no reason for you to accompany us as we go into battle heading away from your destination."

[Carthrat]

The monks nod. "By your leave," the leader states, walking off with his party, their robes fluttering in the wind..

[Carthrat]

"By your leave, Umi-san, I feel that now is an appropriate time to send a message," says the shugenja, looking about wairly. "If I may?"

[Corwin]

"Of course," Umi replies, looking at the shugenja expectantly.

[Carthrat]

The shugenja nods, and starts lapsing into the casting of his spell, magical energy swirling from his fingers, and eventually coalcizing inside his mouth.

He begins to whisper, inaudiably, but all can feel the reverberations of his words as they speed across the blasted wasteland towards the capital...

And soon, it is done.
<->

"Hikaru-san?" A servant appears behind her. "We've just recieved a message from Umi and Fuu; on their present location.

They also claim that a party of Doji monks was spotted; real Doji monks. Come to make sure we know they're not to blame for some of the violence in these parts..

[Halbarad]

"I've found that realism is a far better approach than either optimism or pessimism - and unfortunately, the reality is that we simply don't know enough about the Fey'ri to judge their strength very well."

Hikaru is about to continue when the servant arrives. "Hmm... we still can't go to meet them just yet, as I haven't gotten my new spellbook from the mage in the marketplace." She looks at the servant. "Could you take us to the shugenja that received the message, please?"

[Carthrat]

"Certainly," replies the servant. Ukyo also rises to accompany you.

<->

"Ahh, Hikaru-chan," says Gizen, leader of the Cephiro Shugenja. He's a creepy young man, rumoured to have a bit of a taste for young elven flesh- or any other pretty woman. Standing tall, he looks down at her. "What can I do for you this fine evening? Do you want some wine- oh," he continues, when Ukyo enters.

The two men stare daggers at each other. Hikaru can tell they are *not* going to get along..

[Halbarad]

Hikaru suppresses the urge to roll her eyes. "I was hoping to get the details of Fuu and Umi's message as well as send a reply, GIzen-san."