I approach the Rainbow Koi.
It’s a large and beautiful building, light from inside spilling out through the stained glass windows and casting colorful shapes across the ground. Not the
most impressive I’ve seen, but its bright red roof tiling is quite striking. As I get to the door, a cloaked man enters before me. The inside of the inn is very well kept. My glance toward the bar shows many liquors that I can’t recognize, but some that I can. A jovial man waves at the cloaked figure and myself. I shrug and approach the table. There are already others at the table; a really odd bunch.
“Greetings! My name is
Feng Da,” he says with a huge smile.
“I’m
Vae,” I say with a little nod of greeting.
He seems to wait to see if I have more to add. After I say nothing else and take my seat, he takes a drink from his cup. “I and the others are… heading out to… a certain area that many don’t travel.”
It’s not hard to tell where he’s talking about. This place is infamous for being a gathering place for those seeking to go
East.
East. It’s forbidden to go there. Only exiles and criminals are sent there now. No one has ever returned, though why they haven’t is still a debate. What lies out East? Is the land poisonous? Are there dangerous creatures no one has ever seen? Perhaps it’s a land full of magic, or treasure.
“Well, then it looks like this merry band is what I’m looking for.” I grab an offered cup from Feng Da and take a swig.
“Perfection,” Feng Da says with another smile. He turns his attention toward the rest of the group. “Here we have
Fwip the kenku,
Spark the tabaxi, and this giant man is
Arslan.” He looks at the hooded man who entered before me, who takes a seat. “And you would be?”
"Zyon,” he answers.
“Perfection!” Feng Da hands a mug to
Zyon and smiles wide. His flushed cheeks speak to how much he’s already had to drink. Feng Da goes back to working on a painting he apparently started earlier.
As I finish my drink—a very fine liquor I’ve not tasted before—the door opens and two men walk in. Well, one middle-aged man and another figure who is better described as a gaunt and lanky boy; likely half my age.
The older one approaches our table and asks “Would you people happen to be seeking…” He pauses to think about how to phrase the question.
“We’re going East,” the young man pronounces and steps forward. The older man glowers and whispers harshly to him.
Feng Da takes the question in stride and the two men join the table.
I glance over the group. The kenku has black feathers and carries a bow and quiver. Spark wears what appears to be monk robes. Zyon broods under his hood. Feng Da merrily paints away. Arslan, a giant goliath, seems almost hunched trying to sit in the chair, a large sword on his back. The older man introduces himself as
Shen Po Ren, and the younger one is
Wen. They both appear to be priests of
Lune.
East is my last hope. And this strange smattering of people is my best chance. I sigh and get another drink.
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