Part MMMCCXLII: Path of Silver and Steel
Path of Silver and Steel
Twenty Seventh Day of the Eleventh Month 293 AC
The gates of Trader Town may not be as crowded as they were a few short years ago before Vaes Dothrak fell under the shadow of the encroaching dead, their guards wary of sorcerers and assassins, but still four travelers in the ornate gold threaded robes that mark the Old Blood of Volantis only draw the guards' eye insofar as you are expected to pay well for passage and news. The lack of a proper caravan at your back is taken to mean some misfortune on the road, though you quickly correct the notion, explaining that you are here to test the markets to see if the way is safe and profitable enough for 'the interests you represent to invest in'.
"You will find yourself amazed and enthralled, Kalo Corlys," the elder of the two guards says as he marks down your name for having paid the gate tax and your reasons for being in the city. Truth be told you could do without being addressed without any form of the Volantene Kaelos, though from what your spell is able to pick up of the man's words the honorific has long since lost any association with slavery and just means something like 'rich foreigner from beyond Qarth'.
"If you have many more horses like these ones to sell you will be earning fine silver too," one of the younger men says, admiring the Dornish Sand Steeds the four of you are riding. "Swift as the storm and gentle as the spring breeze eh? Ever since the Dothraki felt the Wrath of Jigoku we have seen little of fine horseflesh."
Charmed, so they would not cause trouble since Tyene is the only one of you who has any real practice riding anything, you think, but do not reply with anything but a small proud smile. It is a poor merchant who gives away such answers having not even passed the gates.
Tyene meanwhile had fallen into an easy conversation with the commander, her greater knowledge of Yi Tish mannerisms setting him at ease, though he had been initially wary with speaking so openly with a woman. You are not entirely certain what he thinks she is to you but you suspect it might not be entirely complementary, not that she seems at all troubled by the matter.
***
"We need to see Xi Tung, Keeper of the Steel Gate, he's lost a great deal of prestige as much of the trade from Kayakayanaya dried up," your friend later explains as you try try navigate the crowded streets among braying donkeys and evil-eyed camels taking out the burdens of the road on the unfortunates tasked with unloading them.
Delicate porcelain glitters in the sun besides vivid green jade, cloudy blue soapstone and warm amber as the smell of saffron, cinnamon, pepper and ginger fill the air with a heady aroma. Merchants call out their wares in a dozen different tongues, each eager to snare the best and richest customer while sharp-eyed garrison troops ride through the streets with an eye for cheating or other disruption. A well ordered city...
As though some fickle fate had taken that thought for a challenge no sooner do the four of your approach the palace of Colonel Xi a flash of sorcerous fire blooms in the air, though you cannot see what summoned it through the crowds. Silence follows the roar of flames and as most of the onlookers begin to draw back to safety. Among a rustle of renewed whispers you finally catch a glimpse of orange and crimson robes, then of the young woman weaving fire through the air to ward off half a dozen guards with subtly different markings upon the armor than the ones you had seen in the bazaar, the Colonel's own men you assume.
"Hear me well ye warriors proud, if you will not allow me to speak to your master by the grace of reason, then perhaps the voices of the kami will turn your thoughts to light," as the mage, shugenja, speaks in the faintly archaic manner that puts one to thoughts of ritual and prayer it does indeed seem the crackle of flames echos her words, a thousand thousand voices just on the edge of hearing. The kami are more than willing to call down wrath and ruin in her name.
Either the guards do not hear what you do or they do not care, for though pale and wide-eyed at the sight of sorcery they stand resolute. "We cannot allow you passage, holy shugenja, our oaths to earth and steel bind us."
"You would deny your lord a chance to repay an oath sworn before the kami?" the young mage asks shocked, from her expression it is clear she had no intention of fighting but merely hoped to overawe them into letting her pass.
To your surprise the leader of the guards replies in Qarthi, perhaps to keep most in the lingering crowds from understanding, though thanks to the spell of tongues you understand him just as readily: "I will not allow you to use the colonel to return to the imperial presence and sow strife. Let the dishonor be mine and not his for having brought you before the Son of Heaven."
"It seems we are not the only ones wishing to use the weak link to reach the lord of the land," Mereth's voice notes in your mind. "Perhaps she might prove an ally. If nothing else knowledge of the local magics would be useful, and persuading one blessed by their spirits of the dangers that bear down upon the land is likely to make carrying the warning on more effective."
Fair points all, on the other hand the young shugenja had just been accused of sowing strife, she might not be the best person to appear in court, depending on how much truth the guard's accusation has to it. And on the hypothetical third hand if she is in such a poor favor perhaps you might offer her new opportunities, the Scholarum is always looking to broaden its knowledge of the world and its magics.
What do you do?
[] Step in and try to charm the guard into letting both you and the shugenja in, you will likely have some sort of opportunity to work out an agreement while waiting for a meeting with the Keeper of the Steel Gate
[] Wait until the scene plays out and then make your generous offer to Colonel Xi alone, no need to complicate matters
[] Follow the mage once she leaves and try to speak to her in private, offering a sympathetic ear to the dissatisfied is among the best ways to hear what one might otherwise have missed, perhaps more
[] Write in
OOC: I thought about putting in a picture for trader town, but I could not find anything fitting, the closest is this image of historic Samarkand, but it does not quite work. I need something that feels like western China, not just Central Asia.
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