Dreamfall at Oriab

Expedition

While Hashinara Yoshitakatomo made arrangements for a facsimile of herself* to be present at the Mōri tournament, her* true self was stepping through a portal, beyond the wall of sleep, and into the Dreamlands. Accompanying her* were retainers Hosokawa Gracia and Matsumoto Hiei, both of whom owed their current bodies and lives to Yoshitakatomo's immense mystical power. After traveling through the space between planes, the place where the three arrived was not so different from many vistas found on Earth. Long grass ran up to thigh-height on a short cliff overlooking the ocean. Behind them, an immense snow-capped mountain poured itself into the sky, shining under the midday sun. The air was fresh and tinged with salt. A coast, perhaps an island, familiar save for the strange fruits sprouting from nearby bushes and trees.   This was not Hosokawa Gracia's first venture into the dream world. Previously, she had headed an expedition to establish a forward camp in this very land, which mirrored Japan's approximate geographical position on the other side of the oneiric barrier. According to Gracia, this was the Isle of Oriab. It was largely uninhabited save for the major port of Baharna on at the island's northern point. Fortunately, the Baharnans were friendly toward their cause, and had previously allowed Gracia to set up an outpost not far from their city. If they wanted to travel to another major city, such as Dylath-Leen or Celephaïs, chartering a vessel from Baharna would likely be the best option.

Yoshitakatomo was not interested in those cities, however, so much as the true reason for her* venture into dreams. The rift between these realms of sleep and reality still posed a threat to their growing empire and she* would see it closed from this side if possible. Unfortunately, Gracia wasn't privy to the exact location of the tear on this plane. It was supposedly somewhere in the Southern Dreamsea, which probably meant close north of Oriab, but beyond that she couldn't say. Any further explanation was interrupted at this point by a rude interjection from Hiei. The Matsumoto boy had been taking in their surroundings while his companions spoke and picked up on something that the others missed. After tuning her* ears to the sloshing of waves and calls of sea birds, Yoshitakatomo heard it too. Somewhere nearby, voices were raised in guttural tones, shouting orders over the clank and rustle of chains.   Rather than approach the source of the noise herself*, Yoshitakatomo instead expanded her senses. By seeing with faculties beyond her* primitive eyes, she* was able to gather a comprehensive picture of the company not far down the cliff. Upon the coast itself, a boat of middling size had been moored, no doubt subject to the grand Black Galleon anchored a bit further from shore. Two rows of Baharnans stood in shackles, heads bowed, as their slaverss barked orders and moved cargo about. From only a cursory examination, it seemed the crew of this Galleon had docked here to resupply. Not surprising, as they would be very unwelcome in the main port, especially with their cargo of Baharnan slaves.   These were not the only captives shackled on the beachfront, however. An enormous creature, fully sixteen feet tall, required two Men of Leng with heavy chains to keep it subdued. At the heavy iron collar beneath the creature's alien, vertical fanged mouth, a symbol etched into the metal glowed faintly. To Yoshitakatomo, it looked like a crude eye scrawled at the center of a five-pointed pentacle. Occasionally, the beast would scratch the earth with one of its four trunk-like, black-furred arms, but it otherwise appeared somehow dazed. The two yellow eyes on either side of that horrible vertical maw were dazed, staring unfocused at the sea.   Finally, at the far rear of the slaving crew, a small wooden cage had been set haphazardly on the sand. The prison was obviously not meant to house anything dangerous. As Yoshitakatomo watched, something small and white flitted around inside it with an air of annoyance, but it was too small and too far for even her* inhuman sight to make it out.