22 December 2062 [continued]

Today was an extremely eventful day. In addition to everything I experienced just getting into Seattle for the first time, I have been contacted by a group of like-minded people. Apparently, Kitsune alerted them to my arrival. Perhaps he thinks that the asoociation would be mutually beneficial. I met the leader, a Amerindian man named Kenji, at the Soyzchuan Palace noodle shop near the temple. We shared a hearty meal of noodles, and I shared several of my favorite Ainu folktales with him. Kenji seemed to enjoy the stories and, after I finished, told me that I would hear from the group again soon. On the way back to Arrow's apartment, I was attacked by an ork man, who proved to be very capable with his tetsubo. After fighting briefly, he took his leave and indicated that he did not necessarily share Kenji's opinion of me. If this is how everyone in the group conducts themselves, I may have to reconsider joining. Also, I attracted the attention of the Lonestar cops again. Apparently, a troll running, even if he is running home, is a suspicious thing. Fortunately, the ork had left me bruised enough that the cops believed my story and gave me a ride to Arrow's apartment. I returned to my futon on the floor, relieved to be intact.

23 December 2062

Last night late, we received word from Titus that his magical group had a job for us. After the rest of the team scouted and strategized, I was sent to obtain filter masks, so that we could stand the nasty environment of the ash wastes in Pullyallup. I also spoke with Kitsune again, promising to send patronage his way. I tried unsuccessfully to obtain more information than we had about the building we needed to investigate. In doing so, I did try contacting my friend Lari, but I was only able to leave her a message. I also spoke to Sauly the cab driver, who frequents the Off-Duty bar. He moonlights as a driver for a variety of tasks that require discretion, but did not know anything about a warehouse in the middle of the ash wastes.

24 December 2062

Today was spent investigating the mysterious warehouse itself. Careful surveillance revealed that I know nothing about car repair and that nobody seems to regularly travel by road towards or away from the building. Tonight, Arrow and I snuck in closer to the building and discovered the front door appeared strangely cold to thermal vision. Arrow was able to sniff out jet fuel, leading us to discover a hidden hangar door in the ground some distance from the building. I was able to use rice-paper walk to sneak past the pressure sensors hidden around the door. We were unable to determine an obvious way to enter the complex, so we are taking turns watching over the course of the night.

25 December 2062

I happened to be on watch at 7 AM when a helicopter approached. The hangar opened up, allowing another to leave, only to be replaced by the new one with military precision. During the change-over, the whole area is monitored by four cameras. I shared this with my team, who decided we should sleep on it and prepare to infiltrate the complex the next morning during the 7 AM helicopter exchange. After resting in the motel, we obtained some necessary supplies, such as climbing gear. We happily filled our bellies at the Soyzchaun Palace before setting out for another night of scouting. As we drove out to the wastes, I realized that today is Christmas, but the city seemed only slightly less busy. I am glad that I was not raised to celebrate such a commercialized holiday. I may not really be a Buddhist anymore, but at least I know it.

26 December 2062

Around midnight, I went scouting again, but I was not as successful this time, since I set off the sensors twice while attempting to sneak around the hangar again. Afterwards, I spent the early morning hours in meditation and recalled a saying Master Daizui enjoyed:

Even the clumsiest man is a ninja when the water buffalo stampedes.

I have taken this to mean that the pressure sensors will ignore us when the helicopter passes over, creating lots of noise and vibration. The team hopes to use this effect and a little stealth to gain entry to the complex. As expected, the helicopter exchange happened at 7 AM, and we made our move. We entered the compound with little difficulty. Titus and Fifi used invisibility spells to enable the team to get in position to deal with the guards and technicians left in the hangar. For my part, I dispatched the two technicians with well-placed roundhouse kick, largely unnoticed, since I was under Titus's invisibility spell. We proceeded through the complex with some difficulty, especially when we encountered two mages with toxic spirits and effects at their disposal. Defeating them allowed us to pass through a rift in the Astral plane, where we encountered a large crow spirit under the control of some powerful magic. I wanted to stay and explore this strange place, but we had other duties requiring our attention. An elevator led us to the surface and a large room where many crow shamans were being held captive. After killing the technicians, we freed them from the strange devices that held them. As we made our way out of the building, we discovered the Astral rift had disappeared. Fifi arranged transport through her fixer, and we attended to the bewildered shamans. They had been held for months in some cases, and we thought it best to send them home with a good meal, so we returned to the Soyzchuan Palace and had the special. It had real meat and was quite good. I think I will become a regular at this restaurant.

Most importantly, though, I have worked off my debt to the group and earned enough extra to get a place of my own. I must remember to properly thank Arrow for her hospitality. I also need to learn how to use this gun I retrieved from one of the guards at the warehouse complex. I would very much like to see the Astral world again, but I feel certain that it has many dangers for which I would be ill-prepared.