Sangfielle 32: Passage on the Jade Moon Pt. 1

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In Passage on the Jade Moon Part 1, the Blackwick Group (minus Virtue Mondegreen) reunite and board the Jade Moon, a suspicious luxury steamboat liner traveling up the River Ojan. They are introduced to Hazard, a card sharp on board, and begin to relax and heal — but also to squabble.

Episode description[edit | edit source]

Among Sangfielle’s self-proclaimed adventuring class, the idea of retiring to a riverboat ride is something of an old canard. Everyone says they’ll do it one day, but very few ever speak of actually completing such a post-venture vacation. Something always comes up. A scheduling error, or a last minute change in ticket pricing, or another job crossing the desk. Perhaps none have been as lucky as the Blackwick Group. Perhaps none have had friends in such high places.

This week on Sangfielle: Passage on the Jade Moon Pt. 1

Contents[edit | edit source]

Opening[edit | edit source]

Oh, what a moment in our tale. Half the Blackwick Group reunited and victorious, emerging from below the city like sprouts from soil. The other half, scattered and broken. Some readers of this almanac might think that we are on the precipice of a grand and final confrontation. And I say some readers, ’cause it always vexes me when an editor or columnist asserts their claim on my opinion, writin’ “I know what you're thinkin’,” or “You must suspect...” You do not know me. You could not. Even with my title and reputation well in hand, I am too numerous for that. In any case, some readers of this almanac might think that we are on the precipice of grand confrontation. And, well, I will not speak to how it plays out in particular, but those readers might be surprised, given the pallid shadow cast by recent events, with just how much time the Blackwick Group can find for loungin’ around and card playin’ and memoir writin’ and just how little they spend on hard truths. Tough to put that all on them, though. It's a common observation that the hand is as guilty as the player for a bad turn. I'll go a step further. Sometimes you gotta blame the deck itself. That’s where the whole matter of suits and numbers first starts. The point is: difficult conversations demand difficult contexts, and the Jade Moon riverboat is anything but difficult. Can you really imagine it? The Blackwick Group brought to blows, shoutin’ at each other from the comfort of a sun deck? No. You get dealt a royal flush on a bad day, and what? You’re supposed to fold in loyalty to misery itself? Please. So I say let ’em enjoy the rest and relaxation of a long float upstream. It is a rare luxury for those in their line of work, and who knows what sort of characters they’ll meet? For those of you hungry for blood, well, a river is only but so long and its banks taller than you might think.

Plot[edit | edit source]

Cast[edit | edit source]

Other Characters[edit | edit source]