Treasures of the Sunken City

Discovery, Exploration

Things in the Earthrealm seemed to have settled down. At least, Hashinara Yoshitakatomo could no longer sense such a powerful disturbance through her* avatars. Aotsuki Tsukamoto remained eager to return to his lands, and Fubuki was just returning from her* smithing lesson with Jorani the Whitesmith. There was little now to keep those generals of the Hashinara from making their way back to The Thing in the Attic. There, Kravann awaited their last delivery of Wamp hides. Fubuki sent telepathic word ahead, asking Taira no Tokuko to inform the merchant that they were on their way.

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Although the streets were still largely deserted under the star-dappled sky above, nothing interrupted their short journey to the inn. When the trio arrived, they found Kravann indeed there waiting for them. Most of the generals they'd brought from Earth also loitered in one part of the building or another. Notably, Chhean the Curator also seemed to be visiting, sharing a friendly drink with Oyama Hikari nearby.   Fubuki detached herself* from the group and made over to that table, while Yoshitakatomo and Aotsuki instead opted to sit with Kravann. Of Sasaki Kojirō and Taira no Tokuko there was no sign. They still had to talk business before they put Baharna behind them, however.   When the Black Blade took a seat next to Oyama Hikari, the little rabbit(?) was in the middle of telling a story. Although Fubuki's arrival interrupted her, it seemed to have been something about Hikari and Ryūzaki Sanosuke performing a heist in the blizzard-covered province of Mimasaka. Fubuki herself* had business there, and so asked Hikari to continue, but the cheerful treasure hunter displayed a bit of uncharacteristic hesitation. Instead, she enthused that she'd made an unlikely friend in Chhean the Curator.   Aotsuki had left the two in something of a standoff, with Hikari ready to "treasure hunt" (i.e. steal) Chhean's Only Accurate Map of the Dreamlands from her library. Fortunately, it seemed events had resolved themselves peacefully in the White Frog's absence. Apparently Hikari had possessed something of great interest to Chhean, and so the curator had traded an item from her own collection for it. The treasure hunter proudly displayed this now. Resting in her palm was a small, golden bell. The cute face painted on it and a pair of nubs resembling ears gave it the unmistakable aspect of a cat.   As they discussed this curious item, Fubuki opted for a pair of cat ears to erupt out of her* own head. However, Hikari appeared entirely nonplussed. It seemed that this treasure hunter was used to a certain level of chaos in her life. As for what the artifact did, Chhean remained vague on the subject. The bell could have unpredictable effects when rung, she advised, and so it was best to keep the clapper on.   Ever the entrepreneur, Hikari turned the conversation once again to Fubuki's collection of treasures. Perhaps the Black Blade didn't consider any of them disposable, but the treasure hunter could "smell" them on her* without any doubt. Maybe they could set up an exchange for the cat bell, since Fubuki seemed so interested in it.   Considering this for a moment, Fubuki once again opined that there wasn't really anything in her* collection that she* could afford to lose. Although... She* produced from her person the Vorpal Sword and the Queen of Hearts' crown. Neither of these were fully understood, even to the Black Blade, and so she* thought to ask Chhean if she could identify anything about them.   Hikari slammed the bell down on the table, stating excitedly that she wanted the crown. Without a moment's consideration, Fubuki agreed. Even as Hikari made the swap, Chhean was saying that she couldn't sense any sort of power from the headwear. It was a fine piece of jewelry, and nothing more. At this revelation, Hikari fell into a funk. She continued to sulk for the remainder of the discussion, looking sadly at the mystically-empty crown in her hand.   The Vorpal Sword, however, Chhean recognized from Alice in Wonderland. It was a wonder that Fubuki had managed to get her* hands on something like this. As the Black Blade made allusions to the various things, like a Jabberwock and the Queen of Hearts, that she'd* encountered in The Enchanted Wood, however, Chhean didn't seem to quite catch on. To the curator, those concepts seemed little more than stories. All Chhean really took away from their talk was that Fubuki had read the book, Alice in Wonderland, in her library. The sword itself was a mighty weapon, however; able to cut most anything in the Dreamlands.   Meanwhile, Aotsuki and Kravann were having their own discussion one table over. The merchant first expressed her surprise that he and his allies were alive. Then, after being assured that the Wamp corpses awaited her outside, she moved to the subject of payment. Aotsuki had agreed to take on the task for two souvenirs; gifts to bring back from the Dreamlands for his loved ones. To this end, Kravann had performed wonderfully. She retrieved two carefully-wrapped packages from beneath the table, setting them forth for Aotsuki's inspection.   Although he trusted Kravann's selection, Aotsuki couldn't help but take a peek inside each one. The leftmost package contained a small, fine vase. It was apparently molded from ordinary clay, but glazed in a fashion he didn't recognize. Under the lustrous shine of resin, small black figures were portrayed in various activities relating to sea travel. In the mosaic's center, a great ship conquered a raging sea. Even at a glance, Aotsuki could tell whom this gift was for, and he silently nodded his approval.   The contents of the rightmost box were a bit more morbid. Wrapped in thin paper, Aotsuki thought the object at first to be a cow skull. Upon closer inspection, however, he found it to look a bit more human than that. The two curving horns which extruded from each side of its smooth skull weren't quite as unsettling as its complete lack of any facial features. All the normal orfices, be they for eyes, nose, mouth, or ears, were entirely absent. Instead, it appeared to be a smooth, featureless chunk of bone in the mocking semblance of a horned human skull. For most people, it would be a gift in extremely poor taste. Even now, however, Aotsuki could imagine Abe no Seimei's reserved delight when she received it.   With that, their transaction was settled. Kravann assured them that she'd get the Wamp corpses loaded onto their ship overnight, so as to be ready to depart as early as the morning. That statement surprised both Aotsuki and Yoshitakatomo for two reasons. First, they'd been planning on leaving right away, not in the morning. Second, Kravann was coming with them?   Indeed, the Baharnan trader was apparently looking to expand her mercantile influence beyond the Dreamlands. On the other side of the Veil, she'd found a willing partner in Tanahase Muramatsu. Apparently, on behalf of Maxim of The Wolfpack, Kravann would be traveling with them back to Earth in order to conduct some business dealings in Ago. The Tanahase Family would, of course, compensate them for the trip.   This arrangement came with some unexpected perks for Yoshitakatomo. As Kravann only wanted the hides and blood, she'd planned to dump the rest of each body into the Dreamsea. After confirming that the remainder of the corpses didn't have any value (who would eat a Wamp?), Yoshitakatomo laid claim to them for her* own study. They could be kept in the ship's makeshift abattoir with the Gug until then.   Kravann's eyebrows raised at the mention of the four-armed beast. Gugs were not native to Oriab, but found far north, with other nasty things like hooved pirates and psychic spiders. Once Yoshitakatomo explained how they'd found the monster enslaved by some Black Galleon pirates, Kravann relaxed. Apparently a Gug on Oriab would have been disastrous. They already had enough to deal with given the hunting Night-Gaunts from Mount Ngranek.   Indeed, that was why the streets had been deserted when Yoshitakatomo and her* squad returned from the Ruins of Tyrhhia. Few braved the streets at night, as Night-Gaunts were known to abduct travelers in the dark of night. Nobody seemed to know where victims were taken or for what purpose. None of them were ever heard from again.   Yoshitakatomo and Aotsuki shared a look. Had they unwittingly been in danger the whole time? Then again, they hadn't seen a single Night-Gaunt on their trip. That, Kravann assured them, was probably because their rubbery black skin blended in perfectly with the darkness at night. If Aotsuki wanted to see what one looked like, he just had to take that skull in the box and imagine it with a coat of black rubber stretched across it. A disturbing mental image popped into the White Frog's head, but Yoshitakatomo didn't have to imagine. She'd* seen them before on more than one occasion.   Regardless, the 'Gaunts weren't afraid of light, as they didn't have eyes. It was likely only because it provided such camouflage that they hunted at night. Still, if they had some kind of light source, it would make it easier to spot them before anyone got carried off. Aotsuki, plagued by visions of Kagami or Tama being swooped off into the sky, agreed.   For lighting up the night, Ka-ten Agni seemed the obvious choice. It only took a little bit of discussion to convince the temporarily-embarrassed Hindu God of Fire that they were looking only to illuminate the streets a bit, not burn them down. Eventually, with a disappointed huff, Agni gathered up the merry fire from the hearth in her arms and carried it like a bale of hay. It blazed like a bonfire in her arms, and should be enough to keep them lit until they reached the ship. Then, they could just wait beneath deck until they reached their destination.   As it seemed that Fubuki was finished with her* own business, the trio of Cardinal Generals reconvened. They'd gather their allies and head for the port, but not before Yoshitakatomo found Zhyrgal sleeping on an empty bed and dropped the Zoog into her* pocket. The Princess-Daimyō yet had plans for that one.  

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The Cardinal Generals opted not to take up Veasna the Elder on his offer of a crew. Instead, by means of her* mystical mastery over water, Fubuki was able to man the ship alone. Everyone, including the current captain, retired belowdecks so as not to offer any tempting targets for circling Night-Gaunts.   It was a relatively short journey, but would still take some time to complete. Fubuki didn't share the Baharnan sailors' familiarity with Oriab's coast. What's more, she* was currently steering by means of vision linked to a dagger strapped to the mast. That situation limited her* vision a bit. So it was that they expected to regain the portal in just under an hour, rather than the half of that time it'd taken them to make Baharna the first time.   To pass the journey, Aotsuki and Fubuki settled down for a friendly game of Go in the gunnery room. Their match attracted quite an audience, most of their allies they'd brought with them, except... With a start, Aotsuki realized that they were missing a single hand. Sasaki Kojirō was nowhere to be seen.   In times like these, Shigeaki Fujino's mental network truly had a chance to shine. Between Aotsuki and Yoshitakatomo, they were able to contact Kojirō. It turned out that the kensei was hunting Night-Gaunts at the base of Ngranek. What's more, she had no intention of coming back with them. That is, so long as the portal would stay open for her return at a later date. Yoshitakatomo assured her that it would be and, drowning out Aotsuki's objections, Kojirō stated that she'd continue her "training," try to get one alive for the Daimyō later, and come back to Earth when she was ready.   Although he still had his misgivings, Aotsuki didn't pursue the matter. Instead, he returned to his game with Fubuki. The board didn't look quite the same as when he'd looked away, but the skills he'd learned from Fujiwara no Takeie weren't about to fail him now. As he reached out to move his next piece, the door to the hold suddenly slammed open.   Oyama Hikari burst into the room, yelling for everyone to stop the game, to stop the ship. This flagrant display of disrespect earned her a chiding from Tsurugi, but Hikari was too pumped up to care. There was a treasure nearby. A big one, very valuable, somewhere beneath the ship. Yoshitakatomo had joined them as well by this point, drawn by the ruckus. Could this be connected to that "sunken city" that they'd heard mentioned on occasion in Baharna?   A powerful dream-curio was too much of a temptation for Yoshitakatomo to resist. She* placed their return on hold, while Fubuki reassessed her* spellwork. With only a little modification, the Black Blade was able to create a "bubble" of suspended water around the ship. Lowering this down, the vessel stayed upright even as it descended to near the bottom of the sea. Fortunately, that wasn't too far just yet. They were still near enough to the coast of Oriab that the shelf of the seafloor hadn't yet fallen off into a full abyss.   As the ship landed softly on coral and fine sand, a magnificent sight awaited them. This was indeed a city, at some point. It had either sunken to the bottom of the ocean or had been built there to begin with. Judging by the swooping, thalassian motifs present in what could be seen of the architecture, the latter seemed quite possible. Everything was covered by a coat of living, vibrant coral. There, in the center of it all, was a chest. Centered on a podium overlooking a great, dark hole in the seafloor, it appeared largely untouched by time. Given the chest's opulence and location, it had to contain something very valuable.   And yet, that wasn't the source of the powerful magic Yoshitakatomo had been sensing as they descended. That was older, less focused, illogical, and somewhere deep in that abyssal hole.   Fubuki's bubble only extended so far. There, the water squirmed like a living wall. It seemed that they'd need to find another way to cross the bejeweled bridge leading to the chest beyond. For the moment, there was plenty enough air for them to take the deck. Fubuki did this now, followed by Yoshitakatomo, who apparated there even as she* laid a cloak of complete oblivion upon herself*. Only the most powerful of creatures would be able to discern her* presence now.   In apparent response to their arrival, something was happening in the dark chasm beyond the chest. A single teal light flickered on, casting its surroundings in an eerie halo. Then another lit itself. And another. Soon, there were six lights rising at various speeds to encircle the treasure podium. As they flowed out of the dark, the observers could see that each light was connected by antennae to a fish-like maiden's head. These things were not dissimilar to Zhyrgal in form, but larger, more piscine in their aspect, and obviously adapted for the deep sea.   The encircling figures didn't attack yet. Instead, they appeared to be watching the intruding ship, waiting for what its crew would do. By the tension of their fins and slant of their eyes, however, one thing was clear. Yoshitakatomo and her* allies were not welcome here.