The ship made a gentle rocking movement, the waters tame as could be, as the captain called for the rowers to turn the bow sharply into the bay along the coast of Nihon-Ja. Falynn was standing at the very front of the ship, her wide eyes taking in the new land that was presented to her senses. The smells of new trees, of foreign and exotic foods, and the sound of chatter in a foreign language rang loudly in her ears, the more closely they came.

Of course, this wasn’t the first time she’d heard Nihon-Jan, not by a long shot. Both in her time as a druid of Shallow Brook and during her brief travels outside her forest home, she’d heard several examples of the strange tongue. It was spoken with a very quick cadence, save for those moments when they paused. She’d grown accustomed to the strange word they used when trying to think of what to say next. She supposed it was their version of ‘err’, or ‘umm’.

“This is a beautiful country,” she remarked, turning slightly to look at Leonov, who had approached to stand beside her without a word. “I never thought I’d have a chance to come here.”

“I’ve only been once,” the warrior commented. “There was a time that I thought I may be invading here, so I was sent to learn the language and study the people.”

“Attos was going to invade Nihon-Ja?” Falynn asked, her eyes widening further. “But why? They hardly ever interact with the outside world. What benefit would there be in attacking here?”

Leonov could only shrug at that. “I never bothered to learn the reasons that I was fighting. If my officers told me to do something, I did it. But if I had to guess, I’d say it’s the records of ancient and high-level magicks that the Nihon-Jan are said to possess.”

There was a soft snort of derision behind them. Turning, they saw Miyata, the apprentice from Issho-Ni that had been sent along with them as a guide and messenger. She went slightly pink as they looked at her, and realized she’d made the noise without meaning to. “S-sorry, Master Leonov. I didn’t mean-”

Leonov cut her off promptly. It wasn’t the first time she’d made a passive reply like that. “Spit it out, Miyata. I don’t care for sycophants.”

Miyata only blushed deeper at that. Watching her closely for a moment, Falynn noticed how she gripped the sash around her waist tightly whenever she was uncomfortable, like now. She had to be no older than eighteen or nineteen. Older than Falynn and Roni, and even Taiki, which explained why she was dismissive of them. But she was always painfully respectful toward Leonov, even sometimes bordering on obsequious, as the warrior had noted.

“I mean it,” Leonov said, also still staring at the apprentice warrior. “Tell me what is on your mind. I cannot be offended, as I am no longer of Attos.”

Miyata took a second to glance away from them, looking at the crew around the ship. All of them, the captain, and even the ship was owned by Issho-Ni and were more than familiar with the country of Nihon-Ja. Most of them were born here, after all. It seemed that Miyata was weighing her answer before speaking, as if fearful of offending her countrymen.

“There are no records,” she finally said, turning back. She faced them directly even as she blushed, not breaking eye contact. “The magicks you speak of are passed down orally from sensei to kouhai.”

Leonov nodded slowly. “I’d heard that, of course. But my superiors still thought there was much to learn, and sent me over.”

“Did you learn much?” Falynn asked him, curious. Miyata listened intently. “About the country, I mean. If you know of some hidden part about it, that could help us, right?”

Leonov gave her a small smile. “Sadly, I wasn’t able to learn anything of use. I lived on this land for nearly six months before I was summoned back to Attos. Still, my experience with the outside world was what earned me a promotion to Sergeant, so it wasn’t a total waste of time.”

Falynn let out a low chuckle at that, then turned back to the coastline in front of them. It had drawn much closer as they’d talked, and just then the ship’s captain was calling for the rowers to slow their approach. The docks before them were lively, but nowhere near as chaotic as what they’d witnessed at Sheran. The ship, already bearing the flag of Issho-Ni, didn’t have to wait for permission to come ashore and slid sleekly alongside one of the long piers that stretched out from the docks.

“Teiry!” the captain called, and the rowers immediately pulled back on their oars, their muscles straining to bring the ship’s speed down. The lean craft came to a halt with that one smooth movement. Leonov frowned at that. Normal ships couldn’t stop that quickly. He assumed there was some kind of magic that aided in movement inscribed into the wood of the ship. Several ropes were tossed across the shrinking gap, who tied them fast to the pier with quick knots. Suddenly, the ship came to a true rest, save for the light rocking of the small waves that made it into the harbor.

Nihon-Ja was truly a foreign nation in every aspect. Even to Leonov, who was a seasoned traveler thanks to his time in the Attosian army, it was a shock. The western countries, from Tyrman to Attos, were all similar in some ways. An experienced traveler could find his feat in each nation through these same similarities. Common speech, different types of food, and even a certain uniformity of clothing were always to be expected. But here in the exotic nation of Nihon-Ja, nothing looked familiar.

Chatter rang out around them from all sides as people passed their ships, noticing the outsiders. Housewives clutching baskets of fish talked excitedly with their companions, dock workers stared with undisguised interest and distrust, and even the soldiers in sight turned to face them, making sure to keep the newcomers within their sight at all times. It couldn’t be more clear that they were distrusted. Falynn in particular, half-hidden behind the larger form of Taiki, felt unwelcome. It was a sentiment shared by Leonov and Roni.

“Why do they seem to hate us at the start?” Roni asked. Her right hand was twitching as if she longed to draw one of her knives. Thankfully, she kept her body still, staring back at the people on the docks without blinking. A wolf caught in unfamiliar territory, she was also keeping the enemy in sight.

“You are outsiders,” Taiki said. She put one booted foot on the edge of the ship and heaved herself up onto the docks. None of the workers around her made a move to stop her. A few closest to her even offered a polite bow of greeting. But when Leonov moved to follow, their faces hardened, and one raised his hand, barking some words that none of them understood. Leonov froze, then lowered his foot back to the ship, perplexed.

“It wasn’t this suspicious when I was here last,” he said, a thoughtful frown on his face. “What has changed to make them so distrustful?”

“Greetings, crew, and guests of the Falcon,” a smooth voice said. They all turned to see a short and thin woman approaching them, flanked by four soldiers. She had a pleasant angular face and was clad in simple but graceful light blue robes. The grace of her clothing was nothing compared to her natural poise, however. She bowed deeply in their direction, and, with some awkwardness, they copied the action. “I am sure your journey has been a long and tiring one. But before you are allowed to step ashore, we must ensure that you are not a threat.”

Leonov’s frown deepened, but he had no reply to her comment. Falynn, seeing that Roni didn’t seem inclined to speak either, took up the conversation. “We are here on a mission at the behest of Issho-Ni. Must we really be waylaid in this manner?”

She’d kept her voice as light and polite as possible, but as she asked the question, one of the warriors bristled as if offended and took half a step forward. He opened his mouth to say something but was stopped as the woman put a light hand on his forearm. She maintained the mask of polite interest, but her tone was a bit sharper. “Steady, Mitaka. They have offered us no offense.”

“Lady Shimonseki,” the warrior began, trying to sound reasonable, but was stopped as she turned to look at him directly. “Of course. Please forgive my impudence.”

She gave him a discreet nod, then turned back to the new arrivals. “You are here at the request of our brothers and sisters of Tyrman? I trust that you have a document stating this. May I see it?”

Leonov retrieved the scroll of introduction from his belt pouch and held it out. Taiki turned, seeing this, and let out a slight noise of irritation, reaching over to snatch it from his hand. Then she offered it to the woman, holding it out between two hands, even lowering her head slightly. Not quite a bow, but close. The gesture seemed welcome, and the woman matched it, taking the scroll gently from her, again with two hands, and opening it to read.

“I see,” she said, half a minute later, retying the scroll. “Master Tokugawa speaks highly of you.”

“Grandmaster Tokugawa is the one who sent us,” Leonov said, putting a little extra stress on his title. “We’re hunting a nefarious criminal here in the country. Nobody else has managed to find them yet.”

The woman let out a thoughtful hum, then turned to Taiki. “Apprentice Sato, I presume? I have met your master, and he is a very honorable man.”

Taiki nodded slowly. “I imagine he is in his mountain home.”

“Quite so,” Shimonseki replied with a small smile. “We can send a messenger to him if you wish.”

“No, thank you,” Taiki said. “We simply wish to enjoy a peaceful night in an inn and set out at first light.”

“I see. Well, as long as your party agrees to follow the letter of the law, they are permitted to come ashore.”

Taiki said something quick in Nihon-Jan, which caused the woman to flush slightly. She replied in the same tongue, then turned to the party. “Welcome to Nihon-Ja, honored guests. Please, enjoy your time in our country. If there is anything you need for your mission, feel free to contact me or my nephew, Mitaka, and we will see to it that your needs are met.”

She offered another graceful bow, then turned and strode away, her guard following closely. Only the nephew, Mitaka, glanced back at the foreigners, his eyes hard and distrustful again. Roni noticed, and based on his reply, Leonov did as well. “That one’s going to stick to use like glue every chance he gets.”

“Nothing we can do about that,” Taiki said gruffly. She leaned over the edge of the ship and held out a hand to Falynn offering to help her up. The druid girl flushed, but accepted. Leonov and Roni stepped up without issue, both staring around at their surroundings with undisguised interest. Falynn adjusted her dress, dusting it off then summoning her staff to one hand. Gripping it tightly, she peered out at the town that extended from the docks. “So are we going to the inn first, then?”

Taiki nodded and took the lead, which none of the others seemed disgruntled by. Strange and watchful townsfolk aside, it was a beautiful country, they all thought. Perhaps they could ingratiate themselves eventually. Not everyone could dislike them forever, right? At least, that’s what Falynn hoped, being the type of person to always try and be friendly with any people she met. There wasn’t a single type of person she couldn’t charm.

Except, of course, for the crouching figure at the far end of the pier, tucked out of sight behind a pile of crates. The eyes watched intently, but carefully, avoiding detection. And they were the furthest thing from friendly that could exist.