With the Captain defeated and befriended, the five of you go on your way, leaving the mayoral palace. Those of you who think to speak with the mayor are disappointed – he lies prostrate upon his heap of pillows, the veritable cloud of herb-smoke about him explaining his catatonia. A few slaves and minor bureaucrats crowd about him, trying to wake him from his drug slumber; a futile endeavor. As you pass, some of the saffron-robed officials whisper among themselves, shooting furtive glances towards you. They fall into shamed silence at but a glance in return, going back to their duties, if they can be called that.
Leaving the mayoral palace, you find the day has elapsed while you fought and debated the captain–the sun has plunged beneath the horizon, and the stars faintly illumine the dark vaults of the heavens. The markets still host a few merchants selling their wares after dark, but buyers are scarce. A few inns still bustle with farmers drinking away their day's woes, or else pouring out worship to O-Mochi. It is not without some small satisfaction that you watch peasants spreading libation cups around, encouraging their fellows to take up the rites of the wild rice.
You soon retire to your separate lodgings, once more settling back to sleep. The next day's work will be even greater than that of defeating the Captain – any champion of Sol or Luna could dispatch a lone Dragonblooded, but the task of raising a city to greatness could prove much more arduous. Such are your thoughts as you settle under your bedsheets, or else sleeplessly watch the skies.
You wake to a morning overshadowed by heavy rainclouds, pregnant with precipitation. The farmers of Lotus are practically in an uproar as you walk by their fields, whistling or singing songs of worship as they work, eager for the coming downpour. You smile as you walk past them, once more on your way to the mayoral palace. Captain Transval lies bedridden, convalescing in one of the palace's many over-opulent chambers; his wounds will keep them there for much of the next week. He can have no hand in what comes next – that is left to you.