Fei Lak's Audience Hall - Shanggu

[Freefall]

Phailak and Mikal:

The envoy looked over the parchments and nodded as he reads over the script.

Cen: I will take this request directly to my master, and I am sure he will begin efforts doing what he can to assist here. In the meantime. rest assured that the forces of Yan have an ally in the south. As long as the Marqius Jiang sules over the province, you and you rmen are welcome...

The general bowed once more in a gesture of farewell, as if awaiting a dismissal to carry back the Marqius request.

[Brother Dun]

It had been some time after the first meeting in the city of Huayin, when a small group of soldiers arrived outside of Shanggu. The men moved with great efficiency and stopped outside of the city. There, they broke up into smaller, more relaxed groups and dispersed into the various taverns and inns in the city for a break. However, one group of six men continued on into the heart of the city towards the administrative center of Fei Lak. Stopping before the guards outside, the leader of the small group approached and gave them a smile, "Greetings gentlemen, I am Han Xin of Huaiyin. I have met with one Zhao Khan of this kingdom, and I am here on his invitation to meet with the Marquis. If possible, would you please inform the general that I have arrived? I would hope to see him during my trip north as well..."

[Phailak]

Phailak and Mikal:

The envoy looked over the parchments and nodded as he reads over the script.

Cen: I will take this request directly to my master, and I am sure he will begin efforts doing what he can to assist here. In the meantime. rest assured that the forces of Yan have an ally in the south. As long as the Marqius Jiang sules over the province, you and you rmen are welcome...

The general bowed once more in a gesture of farewell, as if awaiting a dismissal to carry back the Marqius request.

Lak nodded and bowed as well.

"Be safe on your travels back south, I am glad a new friendship was developed here today, we shall speak again soon."

It had been some time after the first meeting in the city of Huayin, when a small group of soldiers arrived outside of Shanggu. The men moved with great efficiency and stopped outside of the city. There, they broke up into smaller, more relaxed groups and dispersed into the various taverns and inns in the city for a break. However, one group of six men continued on into the heart of the city towards the administrative center of Fei Lak. Stopping before the guards outside, the leader of the small group approached and gave them a smile, "Greetings gentlemen, I am Han Xin of Huaiyin. I have met with one Zhao Khan of this kingdom, and I am here on his invitation to meet with the Marquis. If possible, would you please inform the general that I have arrived? I would hope to see him during my trip north as well..."

The guards nodded and smiled at the mention of their superior.

"Usually the Chief Aide is here personally to greet visitors himself, but he has been rather busy with the Marquis lately. He has informed us that you would possibly arrive, we were told to bring you forth if you would simply leave your weapons behind and consent to a quick search. Your men of course are welcome to follow or wait with us."

[Mikal]

Dun and Phai

As the guards continued their protection routine, a column of horsemen approached from behind. Leading the column, which protected a large palaquin filled with heavy metal, was the Golden General of Yan himself, Zhao Khan.

As he reached the gate, he looked at the new arrivals, a smile appearing as he recognized Han Xin.

"Master Han!", he yelled as he leaped off his mount in a smooth motion, a hand signal to the men behind him ordering them to continue inside. One of the guards took hold of Colonel Khan's mount, steadying it.

"I see you have arrived at last! How was your journey?"

[Brother Dun]

Han Xin smiled to the guardsmen, "I carry no weapons, and will consent to a search. Who am I to question the wisdom of a Marquis?"

When Zhao Khan arrived on the scene, Han Xin gave him a smile, "Ah, Master Zhao! How good it is to see you... Sorry for my delay in arriving, but as I readied myself to travel north, I found my home to be under attack. I helped our friend, Marquis Jiang Sei, repel the attackers... But I have finally arrived!"

[Mikal]

Han Xin smiled to the guardsmen, "I carry no weapons, and will consent to a search. Who am I to question the wisdom of a Marquis?"

When Zhao Khan arrived on the scene, Han Xin gave him a smile, "Ah, Master Zhao! How good it is to see you... Sorry for my delay in arriving, but as I readied myself to travel north, I found my home to be under attack. I helped our friend, Marquis Jiang Sei, repel the attackers... But I have finally arrived!"

"Yes... that seems to be a running trend these last few months." he growled out, looking south, towards Jibei.

"A pity you have come to our land at this time. The Coalition is in preperations for a most... industrious effort, and thus does not have the same beauty as it normally does."

Indeed Khan words seem true, as a column of fresh conscripts march past, a training soldier berating their lack of solidarity, energy, and general hygiene. The Golden General chuckles as they go by, before turning back to Han.

"So tell me, Master Han, what would you like to do or see? Would you like to visit the Marquis?"

[Brother Dun]

Han Xin had been well aware of the various troops moving about the city, however, he did not realize it was due to the impending wars that no doubt awaited Yan. He had heard that Fei Lak had been a man determined to have a powerful military, to fend off all threats, but due to the words of Zhao Khan, he now realized that Yan had more threats than he had originally thought. It was a shame that the these soldiers being trained were about to be thrust into combat, and he knew that many of them probably would die in the next battle. He could already see many comparisons between Yan and his own home in Huainan.

"So it would seem that no where in the Middle Kingdom is untouched by war, even the outermost reaches have been touched by the taint that war brings... Let us go meet with the Marquis first, Master Zhao. Afterwards, perhaps you could show me around Shanggu, assuming the Marquis permits of course," he said with a slight chuckle.

[Mikal]

"Of course he would. Yan is a free land, to those who are not enemies of the Coalition."

He chuckles, as he then gets what Han meant.

"Oh... no. These men are not preparing for war. Well... they are, of course, but not coming soon. No, they are preparing for a more.. celebratory event."

Khan smiles to himself.

"If you wait until the end of the month, I am sure that the D... Marquis would be more than happy to have you as an honored guest during the procedings. If not, then you and your group will be my guests."

He waits for Han's reply, as well as the weapon search. If none are found to be hidden, he graciously escorts the esteemed general into the audience chambers. As they move, he continues his conversation.

"Merchants have brought tales of your battle down south. I am saddened to see the vultures trying to pick at what they thought was a dead body, but more than amused by the black eye you gave them!" he says, laughing as he remembers the tale.

[Brother Dun]

"Oh? Big plans for the Marquis I assume," Han Xin said with a smile, "If you insist, Master Zhao, I shall attend the festivities. And even if I am not a guest of the Marquis, being a guest of yours will certainly be a great honor to me."

After the search revealed no hidden weapons, nor anything that could be construed as dangerous, Han Xin tackled Zhao Khan's remark about the Southern Battle, "Ah yes, the invaders were certainly looking to take advantage of our friend, Jiang Sei. They must have thought the former Lady Yi Lian's lands to be abandoned by all, with no one who surely cares for their people. From what the captive officers claimed, they only wanted Huainan so that they could strike at your Brother's lord, Lin Xin of Yue. They cared not at all for the people of Huainan, and sought to bring even more death upon them in the coming months, turning the province into a battlefield between themselves and a lord whom has no hand in Huainan at all. I was more than happy to send them home with their noses bloodied... I just wish that the pointless loss of life could have been avoided," he said, his voice trailing off slightly.

[Mikal]

"Oh? Big plans for the Marquis I assume," Han Xin said with a smile, "If you insist, Master Zhao, I shall attend the festivities. And even if I am not a guest of the Marquis, being a guest of yours will certainly be a great honor to me."

After the search revealed no hidden weapons, nor anything that could be construed as dangerous, Han Xin tackled Zhao Khan's remark about the Southern Battle, "Ah yes, the invaders were certainly looking to take advantage of our friend, Jiang Sei. They must have thought the former Lady Yi Lian's lands to be abandoned by all, with no one who surely cares for their people. From what the captive officers claimed, they only wanted Huainan so that they could strike at your Brother's lord, Lin Xin of Yue. They cared not at all for the people of Huainan, and sought to bring even more death upon them in the coming months, turning the province into a battlefield between themselves and a lord whom has no hand in Huainan at all. I was more than happy to send them home with their noses bloodied... I just wish that the pointless loss of life could have been avoided," he said, his voice trailing off slightly.

"An interesting viewpoint for one who is adept at ending life. But that is something beyond me." he chuckles, as they wind their way through the hallways towards the administrative heart of Fei Lak's lands.

"I am a simple warrior, trained from birth in the art of blade and battle. I've... never really thought about things like that. To me, life is a play of passion. We are plants whose most fertile soil is strife, usually enriched with the blood of that strife."

He shrugs, as if dismissing such thoughts.

"It doesn't matter. In the end we all pay the same toll, taken by Charon to be judged by the gods, do we not?"

With that rhetorical question, one that shows both depth in its simplicity and shallowness in the assumption that all would believe as he was taught, Khan used a hand motion to the pair of guards outside a nondescript door, one like dozens of others thorughout the complex guarded by such men, a simple yet effective precaution against invaders.

The men saluted, and knocked upon the door three times before opening them. Inside the room sat the Marquis Fei Lak, working as always, tirelessly for the people of the Coalition.

"Marquis, I present to you the man whom I spoke of earlier, Han Xin, a most learned man and friend to Marquis Jiang Sei of Huinan."

Paging Mr. Phallic... err Phailik. Mr. Phailik, please report to the Audience Hall