Tales of the Moonlight Maiden: Gathering (Exalted)

Hoi again, folks. I know it's been quiet, but circumstances led to us having to take last week off, so I took the time to get some progress on some personal projects. I don't think I have anything new to report, and I don't want to get too redundant by repeating all the recent stuff, so if you need to refresh yourself on what I've got available, I've got my game writing and fiction indexes to peruse. (Though as a special mention, I will point that my fiction index has links to my recent story reading on Spotify.)

And with that, the crew of the Moonlight Maiden begins a new year and a new adventure!

(This is a 'talky' one, so the usual disclaimer applies. Also, this story follows up on Port in a Storm, so it might be worth going back and reading/rereading that one if you haven't yet.)

With Calibration behind them, the Circle of Lunars leaves Lathe for Zhaojūn, where they can find someone to fill in the missing gaps in Hǎifēng's training and perhaps get a fresh start on tracking down the Captain of the Ashen Umbra. They're on the seas for almost a week of quiet shipping lanes and calm sea, their course taking them back to Talipan Island for the first time since their battle there a few months ago. The island comes into view as the sun rises over it.

A ship comes closer to them, and they notice it's flying a flag they've never seen before -- a symbol that looks like a stylized crab that on closer inspection appears to be made up of small islands. Someone on the other ship gets a look at the Maiden through a spyglass, consults with someone, and gives them a friendly wave. Gou, up on the deck, waves back.

As they sail around the island to get to the port town of Smolder, they see a pair of Realm ships, flying the colors of House Peleps and House Ragara. They're anchored just off of a dockless beach, and on the island just up from the beach is what looks like a large compound or a walled village. It's definitely a new structure, and wasn't here before. 

They move on to Smolder, seeing a couple more ships with that 'island crab' flag, and when they reach the city itself there's not a single Dynastic ship in sight. But the docks are packed -- there's even a Lintha ship, though the demon worm that would normally tow it seems to have been dismissed.[0] In the distance, they can see new construction on the remains of V'neef Gamon's estate, where it looks like someone's been turning it into a fort. They pull into the dock, tie off the boat and all that, and the harbormaster informs them that the Moonlight Maiden and its crew are known to the people of Smolder, and so there's no hassle or fees regarding docking.

The island is positively bustling, the biggest changes being that there are crabfolk and humans wearing crab armor serving as obvious guards in public areas and that the dojo's been shut down and converted into something else. Hǎifēng jokes to Xương about the island having crabs but there is a little bit of quiet concern for Silver Lining, the Dragon-Blooded monk who was operating on the island before. The group goes into the store and Gou starts lining up purchasing supplies -- food, stuff for repairs, etc. -- and noting that the store's well-stocked with a variety of goods. Business is clearly booming.

Xương suddenly hears a gruff, familiar voice behind him. "I thought I'd see you back here, eventually." He and Gou turn to face the voice to see Bokano Spite-shell, the local 'elder' Lunar.[1] She then happily greets them, asking where 'the skinny one' is as Hǎifēng's slipped off. Gou tells her that they've gone to hit up the local bar to 'improve public relations,' and Bokano smirks and remarks that that'll be pretty funny.

Gou comments that clearly a lot's been going on. She says it's been a bit of a change.[2] She's running the island now, assembled a council of merchants to help manage trade, and establishing the 'Bokano Protectorate,' reaching out to other islands needing support and defense. Really, building a micro-nation. She explains that V'neef Gamon's old estate -- well, what's left of it -- is being built into a fort for the island's defense. They're calling it Fort Gamon, in open mockery of the former resident. 

Speaking of which, Dynasts are forbidden from the city of Smolder without an escort. They've got sort of an embassy village down the coast -- the compound the characters saw on their way in. It's called Open Palm, and they have to stay there if they're on the island. They're not allowed out without an escort, nor are they allowed to build a dock (which could facilitate moving troops or who knows who in and out). It's one of a number of choices made to keep Bokano's control of the territory seem like a big enough problem to pull resources away from the Realm's fighting in the Caul.

And I can't remember what gets them specifically on this topic, but Bokano goes out of her way to point out that there are also more Lunars around on the island now, which leads us into...

...the Drunk Octopus, one of the island's more prominent drinking holes, where Hǎifēng has just strolled in to discover that in this decent-sized bar, among the various weirdos and pirates and foreigners that might grace a bar on an island like this, there are a couple of Lunars openly in their hybrid forms. 

One is sitting at a table, wearing foreign clothing -- sturdy, survivalist stuff -- in a form sort of like what we call a kangaroo.[3] He's sitting with a couple of people dressed similarly, possibly assistants of some sort. The other, sitting on the bar and 'holding court,' is female, sea otter-aspected, and scantily-clad.[4] Hǎifēng, upon seeing this, assumes their own hybrid form. This gets them some recognition from locals and they're waved over to the bar and the animal-featured bartender (either some sort of mutant or perhaps some complicated beastfolk heritage) takes their drink order (paid by someone else, natch). Hǎifēng also puts in an order for some ale and spirits to be delivered to the ship later.

The bartender asks Hǎifēng if they're back on the island due to any sort of trouble, and they quickly reassure him they're just passing through on their way to Zhaojūn, and they say that the place has come along way. The otter woman is suddenly right there, still sitting on the bar, as if moving without passing through the intervening space. She introduces herself as Tua, and says she's heard stories about Hǎifēng. Hǎifēng shrugs and says that the swordsman had them stumped and Shango (as these folks don't know him as Gou yet) took a huge hit.

Tua says that it's probably all very new to Hǎifēng, gesturing to herself and the kangaroo fellow at the table in particular. Hǎifēng acknowledges that it's pretty nice to be able to be themselves, and they're surprised there hasn't been any pushback. She says there hasn't been any real trouble, and they've been waiting for something drastic just as a visible attempt to reassert control. But she thinks they've waited too long and know that if they were to make a move now they'd be humiliated. Hǎifēng asks if any Dynasts are around, and Tua asks which direction they came from -- Lathe -- and then she tells Hǎifēng about Open Palm, since their Circle would have seen it on the way in.

Hǎifēng, to his credit, asks if they're being treated okay. Tua says they're doing a little better than they probably deserve, but they are being treated fairly with as few excuses as possible to start anything bigger. Smolder and those living there are being diplomatic about it.

The kangaroo guy comes over and introduces himself as Crimson Mokoro. He explains he's a representative from the Mirage Kingdom, an ambassador of sorts, not really a local -- but he's heard his share of stories about Hǎifēng as well, even if not necessarily about the Battle of Talipan Beach. Tua suggests they share some stories over drinks, and the bartender starts distributing various adult beverages as Hǎifēng starts to tell tales of the group's adventures, including their recent trip to Heaven -- where, according to them, Shango died fighting Sombre Crane. 

Most of the folks in the bar are sad upon hearing this, though some (like Tua) seem to have picked up on this being Hǎifēng playing a little prank on them as he'd have to show up eventually. As they talk, various people in the bar gather around, including a guy with mostly Southeastern features but with almost unnaturally-intense red hair and a pirate-looking mainlander Lunar with blue hair and an "obvious"[5] flat face for a Tell.

We cut back to the others as Xương and Gou have caught up with Bokano when a Lunar comes over covered in black fur, and she seems to be wearing a cloak at first until it becomes clear that she's some sort of bat, with her wing-arms crossed over her chest. Bokano introduces her -- Stormseve Serenity -- and Gou reassures her they're just stopping for supplies, there's no larger problem they need to drag anyone into or anything like that. Serenity asks Bokano if she's asked them about helping her with 'the thing.' Bokano sighs, reluctant, but admits that maybe having an outsider's POV would be helpful.

She explains to Xương and Gou that there's been some local weirdness that she's been too busy to chase down, and feels like she'd benefit from their perspective. It's two things that she thinks might be unrelated, but she's not sure -- first off, there've been some local break-ins and a small fire in Smolder. Not that Smolder's entirely free of crime, but this seems a little outside that. Especially since at the same time, Open Palm have sealed themselves off, claiming quarantine for some sort of illness. Now, this might be a coincidence -- strangeness in Smolder and the Dynasts in their separate village suddenly refusing contact from the outside -- but if it is a coincidence, it's an odd one.

Gou asks Xương if he's up for a little adventure. Bokano's quick to reassure them there isn't any danger, and that if things got hairy they could probably flatten Open Palm with little effort if they wanted to, even without her help. It's pretty well-known that if things got bad, the Dynasts are at the mercy of the Lunars in Smolder. They have to trust that Bokano or her followers aren't going to casually smite them -- but Bokano explains the Terrestrials are free to do something if they have a problem with that notion. Of course, Bokano explains with a grin, not that they have the sheer power to do something about that.

She offers to put Gou, Xương, and Hǎifēng up either in town or at the fort -- though she warns them she's not sure if they'll ever be able to get the smell of weed out of the building, and at this point it might just be an element of the manse. Which reminds her that she wanted to thank Xương again for letting her check out Wantari's Crucible, the manse he claimed over on the mainland, and asks if he'd be okay with Serenity giving it a once-over. He's fine with that, and the younger Lunar offers to inventory to the place. He says he'd appreciate it, though he's not sure there's much of value. 

The bat Lunar says that all knowledge has value, especially old magic and science -- and Lunar magic and science, at that. Xương, half-jokingly, says maybe they could write a treatise on Lunar architecture. She says that would be excellent, and then she turns to Gou to thank him for the business contacts he offered Smolder's merchants after they drove out the Realm -- thanking him because Bokano might not think to do so. Bokano playfully glares, calls her out on brown-nosing, and sends her off to plan her expedition.

Gou makes sure to say that the merchants did all of the actual work, but Bokano admits that he still probably saved them months of reaching out and making contacts. She then says she should probably go, there's probably someone she has to talk to about something -- admining an island is tough. She says that she's thinking of officially declaring a second-in-command, maybe Serenity when she gets back. She points out they've been making inroads with other local islands and assorted powers, finding allies where they can -- they've even got a Solar residing on the island. 

Bokano explains that his name's Sunder (pronounced 'SOON-der'), and he got press-ganged into a pirate crew and Exalted and pretty much turned up on Talipan with a freed crew, a claimed ship, and not having any clue what to do with it. Xương says that sort of thing probably happens pretty often, and that Sunder's situation is certainly better than being left to die. As he says that, he reaches up and touches his shoulder where Luna touched it back in Yu-Shan. She describes Sunder since they wouldn't immediately recognize a Solar -- bronze skin, almost unnaturally-red hair, "charming and attractive but not the brightest sun in the sky."

And as she goes off to put out whatever fires have sprung up, Xương and Gou head to the bar, remaining in human form. They get there to find Kayin, the flat-faced Lunar, telling stories of being a privateer.[6] Tua spots them right away and she snaps her fingers to get the bartender's attention -- presumably using Charms to do so without seeming rude -- and get them served drinks. She takes advantage of the opportunity to be the center of attention by introducing everyone around. When she gets to telling the others who Xương and Gou are, she stops and does an exaggerated double-take at the sight of Gou, as if just now realizing he's supposed to be dead. (Though she figured out what Haifeng was doing and is leaning into it.)

"My name is Gou," he says to the group, confused. Hǎifēng sits with their back to him, trying not to laugh. Gou turns to Hǎifēng with a death glare, asking "What did you do?" 

"Telling us that you died, apparently," Crimson Mokoro deadpans.

Gou says that's news to him. "But if I'm dead, then I must be here to get my revenge on Hǎifēng!" To which everyone is like "Yes, as you should." The bartender shows up with drinks for Xương and Gou and lets them know that the supplies are ready to be delivered. Tua says they should stop monopolizing their guests' time, and she slips off the bar to walk Mokoro back to his table.

Gou sits down next to Hǎifēng to tell them Bokano's asked them a favor. Hǎifēng says before they get into anything like that, they want to go and check on Open Palm and make sure they're being taken care of. Gou cheerfully informs them that's part of the request, and he proceeds to give them the rundown, and that this would be a perfect opportunity to make sure everything's on the up-and-up.

Xương says they could split up; surely neither of the halves of this request needs all three of them. So Xương and Gou will check the local incidents while Hǎifēng checks on the Dynasts. We start with the former.

So there have been a total of four incidents -- two break-ins, a possible break-in, and a shed that burned down. They start with the last, as it's the most severe.

The shed is behind a clothing store in town, and burned down the last day of the year before Calibration. It's still a pile of ash and rubble. Xương pokes through the wreckage, trying to see what his instincts tell him, and gets the distinct impression that someone was living or at least sleeping in the shed, and wasn't inside when it burned down. Gou goes and talks to people living or working nearby about whether they remember anyone dressing oddly, or unfamiliar, or any strange sounds. All he gets is reports of a stranger who'd been seen in the area a good bit, and when combining his info with Xương's they consider the theory that the stranger might have been the one sleeping in the shed.

Xương takes a closer look and determines that it was burned down with lantern oil, but some of it splashed around on the inside as well as the outside. That says to him that it was someone with a connection, either the stranger sleeping in it burning it on the way out or the owner doing so. He goes into the shop, seeing that half of it is stuff for sailors and fisherfolk, and the other half is consignment, and looks for anything that seems like it might have just come out of storage in the shed. He picks up on some signs of stuff that had been in storage or a while but had been out for a month. Longer than the nearly two weeks since it burned down.

Gou asks the owner if she knew someone was living in the shed when it burned down, and she says of course there wasn't anyone living in the shed, that's ridiculous... then he pulls out a silver coin, and she admits she was letting someone stay in the shed to hide out from pirates, but they weren't supposed to be there. They were there a couple of weeks until they left.

That means that if the clothing was moved out of the shed when the stranger moved in, then that matches up with the month-long time frame Xương suspects. He considers the likelihood that the shed burned down because someone was in a rush because they didn't want to still be screwing around in there during Calibration.

And we left off on them getting ready to check out the scenes of the other incidents.

[0]-- As a reminder, Lintha ships don't traditionally use sails or oars. They summon demon worms to tow them.

[1]-- Also a reminder, when it comes to Lunars, 'elder' is relative. Bokano Exalted in the earliest days of the Shogunate and isn't old enough to remember the First Age. We don't know how long the Shogunate was in this edition, but that puts her at at least a thousand years old.

[2]-- I didn't exactly script this little spiel out, and I didn't write down every detail I shared as I shared it, so it's possible some of this stuff comes up later on, or in a different order.

[3]-- I'm not sure if Exalted strictly has kangaroos. I'm assuming it does (as there are regular sharks and also megalodons), but the setting also has something that's basically a type of ancient extinct kangaroo-like critter called a sthenurine. However, I don't want to have to keep track of how to spell it. So I will likely just keep calling his spirit shape a 'kangaroo,' if it's all the same to you lot.

[4]-- As much as I try to avoid referencing furry fandom stuff here to avoid the obvious jokes, she fits an archetype seen in what's probably about a third of all artwork depicting an anthropomorphic female otter -- the scantily-clad islander. (To be fair, I think most of those are all depicting a couple of characters belonging to one person, but I digress.) It's not intentional, but as I was coming up with Lunars for this adventure the image came to me and I decided not to fight it.

[5]-- The quotes are because Tells are always obvious to other Lunars. Mortals and other Exalted can physically see them, but they contain a magic of their own that means that other people usually don't notice them -- like the Sidereals and the Arcane Fate, except for Sidereals it's a curse they can take advantage of. Whereas for Lunars it's a protective effect that helps mask their shapeshifting.

[6]-- Honestly, I try to imagine this scene in my head and I can't help but think that the game crossed over with an Exalted LARP somehow. I came very close to making a joke about that in the title of this post.