<hr/><div class="floatleft">(http://gunsofold.com/marshal_badge_silver_balltip.jpg)</div><br/><strong>Date:</strong>May 3rd, 1876<br/><strong>Time of Day:</strong>Afternoon, closer to evening<br/><strong>Location:</strong>Den of Eastern Delights<br/><strong>Tagged:</strong>Open, Jia Li, Li-Li,<br/><hr/><div class="floatright">(http://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/d/d1/Mrlee.png)</div>Lee leaned back against the twisted table while she took in the room, his hands running along the sides of it.  When she began to speak, he raised his eyes, curious, the dim light reflecting off his spectacles and hiding them behind the reflection of light.<br/><br/>“Miss Somebody,” he mused.  “Who wishes a meeting with e Captain.”  He reached for a small bowl, stored near the head of the table.  It was a mortar bowl, and with it he picked up a small pestle, taking dried greed seed pods from another bowl, and then a small chunk of ghostrock as well.  The entire mortar fit into the palm of his hand, and he began to grind the pestle within it.<br/><br/>“That is a most intriguing proposition – and I am certain the Captain would be intrigued by it.”<br/><br/>He paused, the only sound in the room the grind of stone on stone, slow and careful.  He considered her for a long moment, then lifted his gaze again.  “Tell me, Miss Somebody – are you a student of history?”  He continued to grind the poppy seeds – or rather, the milk of the dried poppy seeds – in with the ghostrock dust.  “Perhaps I should explain – in Chinese history, there was once a great clash between two men, two warlords.  One of these men retreated with his army into a castle that was considered unassailable, and closed the gates.  The invaders surrounded the castle, but after testing its defenses found the accounts to be true; the castle was impervious.”<br/><br/>Lee stepped a little closer, the bowl still in hand. And reached around behind where Lilah had settled herself, dumping the contents into a jar of water.  “To attack the castle would be to doom his own forces – so the army retreated, beginning to cut the castle off from supplies.  They remained out of sight, and so the defenders sent out scouting parties to acquire additional provisions.  A day later, one of the scouting parties returned, the army of the invaders in hot pursuit behind them.  The defenders managed to open the gates, just as the scouts arrived, and close the gates against the invaders.  Once again, they were at a stalemate.”<br/><br/>He gave a wan smile, taking a wooden ladle to stir the water, opium, and ghostrock filled mixture.  “Until that evening.  Then, the invader’s men, disguised as the scouting party, disabled the castle’s defenses and threw open the gates.  The defenders were quickly slaughtered.”  He sniffed at the ladle, as if he was preparing some kind of soup.<br/><br/>“So now, I must ask – Miss Somebody, who shows up with Law Dogs hot in pursuit upon her arrival – what reason do the Captain have to trust you?”<br/>