Tenwa

This sections starts with the parties journey to China. The chronicle was written by Lee Ho.

Landfall in Pusan, which is the major port city of an unusual land called Korea, Buddhists here were friendly and there fighters looked fierce but had carried no Mon.

Stocked up on rice and vegetables as the Portuguese food is very coarse and inedible. Purchased treats for the horses and a prize for the coming training tourney.

Set sail. Tell Yamabushi of training tourney.

Training tourney prize. A full set of good clothing.

The Portuguese have a lot of trees of a very large size. Picture of the sail on the Portuguese ship when sailing.

Box now understands simple orders. It may now be considered an entity like a Bakemono.

Sailing, Fine Winds, Tourney went well, won by Yamabushi number 3.

Arrived at the cosmopolitan city of Shanghai. As large as Kyoto and just as busy. Party is glad to be on land again. Box seems to draw power according to what is asked of it. To make it corporeal, perform conditional instructions, give out light, odour, sound etc. Krappi receives instructions from the captain to go to the “pub” of the three fingered hand. We are informed that weapon carrying is somewhat frowned upon. There are rebels to the south of Shanghai the strongest group where Red Head Bands, and are a Piratical island based mob.

Krappi Karma has been feeling mentally weaker! I will have to investigate. Merchants gives us guide to “pub”. One and a half hour walk away.

Exchange rates. The Chinese use a strange form of paper money instead of hard currency as we are use to. So we had to exchange some of real money for this strange foreign paper.

China has a less strict social status, it is very noisy. We need to register papers quickly. Start to learn Chinese from guides wife. Krappi spends night meditating on his test.

Buy hat for 3 Silver Pieces, and the give it to Mi-Lan. Visit judge to register papers. A novel experience, Registration cost 5 Gold Pieces plus 1 Gold Pieces person. Documents how need to be signed. “Metal (plutonium)” merchants visit here occasionally (1 in 10 days). We are to follow and trace source. We are to stay in the city a while - phew what a cost. Meet guides wife. Learn Chinese (Wu Chinese)

Metal Merchant arrives, talks to the Sapporan's. Money is exchanged for horse and the goods. we discrete watch.

Parties Chinese is getting better, Lee Ho visits local temples.

Local Buddhist more orthodox, rigorous etc. Shin'to spirits referenced in Buddhism not present.

Decided to go to Xi'an (biggest city in the world) to find the temple of Xinsu. The party has no plans to follow merchants at the moment.

Merchant orders a particular drink at bar and introduces himself (grey beard, usually green kimono. he has a magical presence.

Before we set off, Krappi starts meditating on his problem (see day 14).

Travelling. Party has been warned about bandits ahead.

Shang Pi and Fu Erji, two merchants join us for protection, Kai O Shi and Hu Shi Ki the merchants mute bodyguards also join.

Introduced to statues of the 8 fortunate kings, known to Taoists as the 8 immortals.

Meet merchants who have been attacked and lost their bodyguards. Half an hour later we encounter a group of 40 plus bandits, attacking some bodyguard's and merchants. Party mounts up, and Krappi Karma leads a mass charge. Krappi is supremely effective, we wipe them out for NO LOSSES!!. Lots of horse and equipment recovered. All bandits wear yellow head-band. Capture bandit leader.

We meet Washima Zani (has attempted to do the 5 test of Tenwa!) leading a band of soldiers!. His new name is Szu-Fengfu (Mongol). Lee Ho make's Tea with his new whisk!, doing well in the ceremony, when we are covered in smoke. then we are interrupted by a group of Mongols. Mongols have a lighter skin, heavy boned and more hirsute. They carry very big swords, and dress in animal skins and have very crude manners. The Mongols have come so see Szu-Fengfu for a status report on the bandit situation.

Spend evening talking to the captured leader of the bandits. Get location of the bandits hideout. Krappi decides to mount a raid. Before the raid, Krappi decides to visit mongol magistrate for help, he give the magistrate a 20 horse tribute, which is very well received.

Shang Pi and Fu Erji, the two merchants decide to continue there journey, and not wait for us to finish the business with the bandits.

Magistrate arrives with 140 mounted Mongols. Lee Ho stay's with Szu-Fengfu and try to convert the surviving ex-bandits to Buddhism!. Mongol mount a rash charge at the surprised bandit camp. Krappi then cross charges into the bands disordered ranks devastating them. 140 Bandits are sent to the next life.

Mongols are very fast, maneuverable and have good range. They are masters of riding and fighting with a saber from horseback. But are close to useless on foot. They tend to fight in small organized units. But overall have no cohesive tactical ability when in large groups, and therefore rely on swarming/overwhelming their enemies.

Extract from Krappi's Warfare Guide, Part II “The Mongols”.

The party and Mongols have a good party on there return from the bandit camp. A magician who is travelling with us, causes problems with the locals after the heavy night of carousing. He is forced to marry a local girl and stay with her family for 5 year, after been flogged for his actions.

Party talked with Szu-Fengfu, and learn that he used to be in and alliance with Altuzu. Altuzu wanted him to do the 5 tests of Tenwa. and get the Swords of Tenwa. but he fell in to a coma and when he awoke he decided against it all, and changed his name from Washima Zani to Szu-Fengfu and moved from Nippon to China to leave his past life behind.

Start praying before dawn, with the surviving ex-bandits. Still not getting through to them the principles of Buddhism. Continue for 5 days and night. Studying Chinese classics and attempting to convert the ex-bandits. Krappi spends the time continuing the meditation on his problem (see day 14).

Travelling. we meet an old man with box of bottles. A couple of them have been smashed. MeBe finds one with his name on it (It is a position of cat polymorph). The party then goes to the next village, which has a bridge over a very straight canal. Meet up again with Shang Pi and Fu Erji, the two merchants we were travelling with earlier. They have got passage on a boat going to Nanking. We agree to rejoin then and go up the canal together.

We travel up the canal for half a day, and then pass through some gates onto a very large river the Yangtze (1 mile wide). We then travel up river for a further one day, and arrive at Nanking.

Arrive at Nanking, enter through walled approach, with huge walls on either side of the river. One wall is old and battered and the other is new.

The Yangtze river is bridged here, even though it is still very wide. Encounter The King of the Bears chained up behind a temple. He has been chained there for the last 120 years. The chains are made from the hair of the Moon Goddess. Spent eight hours trying to convert him to Buddhism!. Was only meant to attempt for ten minutes. Bear king was chained there by Monkey after he and his people attacked Nanking. Krappi spends lots of money in the Taoist temple!.

Spent week training. Lee Ho in Box, Krappi in Taoism.

A Buddhist with a beads (Nepalese) arrives. He is not liked by the temple Buddhists. MeBe is attacked by a Martial Artist with runes on his knuckles. But suffers no harm.

Lee Ho goes amongst the poor of Nanking, keeping an eye out for Krappi who is doing some painting, and MeBe who is engaging a Chinese priest in a theological discussion. Give away all my notes (do you mean money Howard?), and feel better for going into the new year unencumbered. Krappi buys the complete works of the life of Monkey (will be ready in 5 months!) and some poetry. Lee Ho write a small scroll of praise to Buddha and exchanges it for a medicine scroll and Kanji dictionary. Lee Ho gives the Yamabushi the day off to to celebrate.

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