June 2015 – Page 4 – Tower of Callisto

Rumors of Assassians

An excerpt from a merchant’s travelling account, excavated from a tomb:

…when we arrived, the city seemed to be astir with the recent passage of a fearsome warrior, who, we gathered, was in pursuit of a thief of rare books, such as are written by heresiarchs. A reward was offered for information about heirlooms and books that this thief had stolen, but few would discuss this matter with the assassin, and she departed in wrath.

We agreed among ourselves that we would not want to encounter such a pursuer, and we wondered what would happen to the pursued thieves. What could possibly influence this relentless pursuit?

The Library of Niya

An extract from a traveller’s account of the great library at Niya:

The structure is one of huge halls and hallways of white marble, their walls shaped like honeycombs filled with books and scrolls. On the outside, the extensive building is surrounded by a portico whose columns are shaped as statues of the prophets of Kusinne, holding the roof’s weight as they carried the weight of knowledge.

Nomad Raids Near Anxi

From the Annals of the Oasis Kingdoms:

That season, the nomads travelled from Yiwu to the region near Anxi, establishing their encampment in the ruins of an ancient and long-abandoned town north of that city.

The armies of the Middle Kingdom made many attempts to dislodge them, sending horse riders and regiments of soldiers. But they were defeated by the nomads’ greater knowledge of the desert and its ways. The horse nomads ambushed their patrols and left the survivors for the vultures.

Middle Kingdom Caravans in Niya

From the Annals of the Oasis Kingdoms:

Despite the many threats issued from both sides, the caravans of the Middle Kingdom passed peacefully through Niya that season, escorted by a regiment of soldiers from Dukhan. Though insults and challenges at times threatened to break out into violent conflict, the discipline of the Green Banner Army stood firm.

In the Name of The Emperor of Ten Thousand Years

A Reward is hereby Issued for information regarding the Whereabouts of an Engineer of the name Liu Shui, he being of the 9th rank, who is Wanted for Questioning regarding the Incident at the Grand Imperial Menagerie.

Signed and Sealed in the name of The Emperor of Ten Thousand Years, Lord of the Middle Kingdom, and Ruler of All Civilization Under Heaven.

From the Expedition of 1836

28th Prairial, 1836: Arriving at the site, we took stock of the preparations of the previous season. The precautions taken to preserve the scriptorium and library in the offseason were successful. We have already discovered several additional copies of The Little Book of Kusinne.

Hieronymus’s offseason dig at the battlefield near Aksu proved just as fruitful. He posits, based on the sparrow-markings on the iron weapons, that it dates to the conquest of Aksu by Kuchina in the first century, before their unification into one realm.

As you know, my contention has been that the legendary Queen Fadya, who supposedly undertook this unification, was clearly mythological; perhaps stories of a local guardian spirit were used to create a propaganda for national unification. After all, the stories of the different religious factions mourning at her funeral side-by-side is clearly intended as a metaphor for the triumph of political power over the local religious cults.

Cycle: Year 115, Season of Harvesting

The fields are dotted with laborers; the harvest time has need of them. At the peak of the day, they pause in their work to seek relief in the shade of the olibanum trees, speaking of the far off events they have heard discussed by the pilgrims who follow The Way of the Road.

This ends Cycle 3 and begins Cycle 4…

The Wheat Scythe of the West

The Wolf is a noble beast in the snows of the mountains
But on the plains of the desert he is but a jackal
A Wolf on the peaks poets will speak of fondly
A Jackal on the plains is killed out of hand
This is the nature of things among dogs and men
Who can change it?
The Wolf howls in the north, and the Scythe reaps in the south
If each stays to their own direction
Harmony is found under heaven

“The Wheat Scythe of the West”

The Way of the Road

A letter from a traveller in Yiwu:

We received hospitality at that place, where they properly follow the rites of Kusinne, and felt much relief at finding the shelter.

There were many pilgrims there when we arrived. As we sat around the fire, a storyteller told the story of An-Kuan and the Snow Leopard, and their escape from the pits of the mountain warlord. The crowd was most pleased at the rendition of the familiar story.

They tell me that travellers from the nearby villages and towns are becoming more common, now that the plague has ended. They say that the physician whose skill defeated the petillance has taken up residence in a fine house in Kucina. Perhaps we shall tarry there on our return journey and see this wisdom for ourselves.

Tomorrow, we plan to press on, hoping to ford the river near Chayi, a town we have been told is at the place where the Gushi and Jushi rivers meet.

Administrative Note

The email addon I was using to send the contact lists out at a scheduled time at the start of the game got some wires crossed and resent the contact lists. You may have gotten a resent message or two from me.

I have disabled it now, so my apologies for the superfluous email. If you like, you can treat it was a reminder of some of the people you can talk to.