(Player's
Pre-session Handout) The old man speaks, Chaos reigns in the Middle Kingdom and
uncertainty guides the future. The Three Heavenly Opals, most powerful magic items in the
Ming Dynasty, have been stolen. The Emperor is disgraced and humiliated The people have
begun to openly rebel, but no leader steps forward from the crowded throng to unite them
all. So the Heavenly Bureaucracy has stepped in and is to make a profound announcement in
Tianamin Square this afternoon. You have been summoned by our family to guide us to power
in this troubled time. The old man totters into a back room with his servants,
leaving you on your own. Tianamin Square holds more people than you had ever seen in one
place before, more than one million. The crowd is agitated and angry. Some call for the
Emperor's head, others say he should resume control and return the Middle Kingdom to
normality. Tempers flaw but no fighting starts. Imperial troops stand guarding all exits.
It looks as if the entire Ming Army is here. You make your way into the crowd nearing the
gates to the Imperial Palace as the noise from the crowd rises quickly. Looking up you see
that the Emperor has walked out onto the rostrum. He waits for the noise to subside, his
hunched posture nothing like that of the proud arrogant man who ruled the Middle Kingdom
under a strong hand until only a few weeks ago. As he raises his hand to speak you notice
a dragon in the rear of the courtyard behind him. It appears to be controlling his
actions.
The Emperor speaks:
People of the Middle Kingdom, Servants of the Heavenly Hosts,
Supporters of the Three Religion. You are all aware of the events of the past month. Wu
Tze Lee is DEAD!!!! (Astonished silence from the crowd.) The location of the
Three Heavenly Opals is not known. So I am announcing that I will give the hand of my
daughter in marriage to the person who returns all of three of the Heavenly Opals in forty
days. (You know that the Emperor has only one daughter and no sons.) He then turns
and retreats into the sanctuary of his palace. The stunned, silent disbelief of the crowd
quickly turns into a violent rush in all directions as all people seem intent to go and
find the Three Heavenly Opals. The old man who spoke to you earlier is now standing in
front of you and beckons for you to follow. He leads you into a house and up seven flights
of stairs. He points to a table and says That is all we have been able to gather in
the time available. Your transport is on the roof. He vanishes into thin air.
