The road continued straight beyond the bend for about thirty feet before curving to the left along the side of the mountain, gradually climbing upwards. We made our way halfway up the stretch, where the woman leaned against a portion of the rising mountain slope, an unlit pipe, long and elegant, clenched between her teeth.

  “I apologize for my rudeness earlier,” she smiled, taking the pipe from her mouth and casually lighting it with a gentle purple flame that appeared at the tip of one artfully manicured nail. “My name is Tamamo no Mae. Family and friend-of-family call me Mae, please.”

  She bowed as she spoke, the neck line of her kimono dropping distractingly low. I purposefully redirected my gaze, bowing.

  “Nice to meet you, I am Chanter.”

  “I’m Katarina.” I glanced over and saw her staring at Mae with a confusing combination of hunger and anger.

  “And I am Encore,” Encore bowed his head. “It is a pleasure to meet you.”

  “I’m Abernathy!” Abe called from the cart, approaching. He gestured towards the donkeys pulling the cart. “These are Copernicus and Galileo!”

  Mae glanced around, straightening and taking a draw from her pipe with a smile. “Encore? That is not a traditional name. How did you come by it?”

  “It was a gift from my bonded companion, Chanter.” He replied.

  “Ahhh.” She exhaled a plume of purple-gray smoke as she spoke. nodding. “It is a dangerous thing, the bond. Wonderful and execrable. A beautiful sunset seen from a crumbling cliff. Come, we have much to discuss.”

  She turned and walked through the side of the mountain. Katarina glanced towards me and shrugged, stepping forward. The illusory wall rippled as she did, and a notification appeared.

  Illusory wall discovered by party! Illusion negated.

  A section of the looming mountainside shook like the surface of water, disturbed by a thrown stone. The ripples spread to the edge of the illusion before a section of the mountain, ten feet wide and high, vanished into a shadowy alcove. Mae stood within the alcove, opening a heavy wooden door embossed with carvings of cherry blossoms.

  The door took up the entirety of the alcove, more a gate than a door. Mae pulled it open with ease, bowing her head and gesturing for us to continue within. A short hall decorated in what I associated with traditional Japanese style led to an open courtyard.

  We walked through the hall and out onto the courtyard. The mountain rose around the area on all sides, reaching high into the sky. A wooden building sat at the base of the mountain, forming a ‘U’ around the courtyard. Thickets of bamboo grew in two patches at either side of the clearing, and a single cherry blossom tree grew over a small pond at the center of the courtyard. The tree was in bloom. Soft pink and white petals drifted, landing on the surface of the pond. Large koi swam just below the surface of the water.

  “It’s beautiful.” Katarina breathed as we stepped into the clearing. I nodded, looking around, trying to take everything in at once.

  Mae nodded in thanks, closing the large door and motioning to a large clearing adjacent to the entrance. “Your beasts and cart can go here, if you please.”

  The donkeys immediately began tearing up chunks of the lavish grass that grew in the area she indicated.

  “I’m sorry, Cap and Gal are hungry and might eat up all your grass.” Abernathy stammered as we began unhooking the donkeys from their harnesses.

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  “I’ll not keep you long,” she made a dismissive gesture with her hand. “Lingering too long here may have… detrimental effects.”

  “Detrimental effects?” Katarina asked, tossing a harness aside as I tethered one of the donkeys to the cart with a long lead.

  “Can I offer you tea? Or sake?”

  “Tea would be great!” Abernathy finished securing the other donkey.

  “Wouldn’t mind trying some sake,” Katarina smiled as we followed Mae across a small yard of vibrant grass, past a cluster of bamboo, and to a porch built from the home to overlook the pond.

  She delicately stepped out of the wooden platform slippers she wore as she stepped upon the wooden flooring of the porch. We followed suit, sending our boots to our inventories before continuing. Katarina hesitated for a moment, glancing down at her prosthetic leg before stepping onto the platform.

  Mae guided us to a small table surrounded by pillows. “Please, sit and get comfortable. I shall return in a moment.”

  She pulled a sliding door made of narrow wooden planks and white paper open, walking within.

  “This place is incredible.” Abernathy breathed.

  Katarina: Yeah but it feels weird. I don’t like it.

  “Yeah so pretty! Did you see the koi fish in the pond?” She asked aloud.

  Abernathy: Really? I didn’t notice. It does seem odd though. Too perfect?

  “I did! They're so big, their scales have got to be bigger than a coin.” I replied.

  Chanter: I get a weird feeling too, but I think we are safe. Mostly because we have Encore with us.

  Encore: Indeed, we should be safe here.

  “They look delicious.” Encore eyed the swimming figures below. He sat at the edge of the porch, his tails wrapped around his legs.

  Mae emerged from the building carrying a tray.

  “That was quick!” I shifted, standing to offer assistance.

  “Please, remain seated.” She approached with quick steps, kneeling as she lay the wooden platter on the table. The platter held an ornate tea kettle surrounded by five cups, as well as a stout white ceramic bottle surrounded by five smaller glasses.

  She reached across, lifting a circular wooden plank from the top of the table. A small coal pit lay beneath. She reached below the blanket that extended beyond the edges of the table and small jets of purple-tinged flames sprang to life beneath the coals. She flipped the wooden circle, pulling a circular metal mesh from the underside and affixing it over the coals, which had begun to glow from the flames.

  Mae sat the teakettle and sake bottle on the mesh, reaching under the cloth once again to turn off the purple flames. The glow of the coals remained, filling the courtyard with the scent of burning charcoal.

  “It will only be a few moments before the drinks are ready.” Mae pulled the pipe from her bun, where she had stuck it opposite the jade spike, lighting it and puffing gently. “You handled the men at the base of the mountain in a most… unique fashion, I must say.”

  “You saw that?” Katarina asked. “How?”

  “And the gnolls. It is a powerful young group you are a part of, cousin.”

  “We have overcome much together.” He replied.

  “With more yet to come.” She exhaled a series of smoke rings. “It is well you did what you did to those humans. Their intentions were ill. It seems an unfortunate trend of humanity as of late, though it is not a surprising turn of events when faced with the difficulties they have experienced since coming to this world.”

  Katarina shifted and spoke. “Can you tell us about that? About humanity? I was… raised far from society. It seems we are looked down on by the other races, but I don’t know why. One of the men mentioned we were new to this world? Four generations?”

  “Please, 'I’d like to know too.” I added.

  Mae shifted, pulling the instrument from her back and settling down next to the table. “Four generations, it is easy to forget how short human lives are.”

  She pulled the bachi from between the strings on the neck of the the biwa, plucking a few notes as she tuned the knobs at the bent head of the instrument.

  “Cousin, you must be careful when flying. Why do you not hide your form behind that of a wisp, as others do?” She continued adjusting the nobs.

  “I am… unable to do so. It has eluded me since kithood. My greatest shame.”

  “Perhaps. But maybe not. You are far from the first of the kitsiho to experience such problems.” She struck the bachi across the strings of her instrument, producing a reverberating note that lingered, wrapping us before dissipating. Encore blinked.

  “Truly?”

  “I speak truth, cousin. And hear me now.” She brushed the bachi, a small, curved piece of wood that resembled a narrow axe head, across the strings in sweeping motions, her other hand modulating tension on the strings. “As I tell the tale of humanity, and their tragic arrival.”

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