It was a few hours after sunset in the city of Karakorum, capital of the Khaganate of Mongolia, and a heavy rainstorm was pitter-pattering away, and flashes of lightning could be seen off in the distance, in the direction of another Mongolian settlement, one that was founded very recently. Two men, both wearing dark, hooded, identity-concealing cloaks, were darting from dry shadowed area to dry shadowed area, towards the city's centre from its Eastern outskirts. These men were elite agents of the Heavenly Empire of Japan, a glorious island nation at the farthest Eastern reaches of the known world, on an extraordinarily secret "research and development" expedition, with the objective of procuring rumored advanced seafaring techniques being developed by the landlocked Mongols.

As the two men found convenient cover beneath the roof overhang of a local butchery, from where the smell of freshly salted ham wafted into the surrounding air, the first man, His Serene Highness Daimyō Shiba no Taneie the Just, Kampaku to His Imperial Majesty Tennō Hajimari, Daijō-daijin of the Heavenly Empire of Japan, pulled out a ratty piece of parchment from within his cloak, on which a crudely sketched map of Karakorum was visible. A thick circle was drawn over a building on that map in red ink, and Shiba triangulated his position on the map from his surroundings, and quickly plotted the shortest route to their destination. As Shiba consulted the map, the second man, The Honourable Inoue Yoshika the Fist, Dainagon of the Heavenly Empire of Japan, kept watch of their immediate surroundings, while munching on a ration bar of mystery seafood blend. A whole batch of these ration bars had been squished together, and preserved by the liberal application of salt, just for this expedition, and the one Inoue was finishing was the last. A new source of sustenance would be required for the pair to make their way back to Japan, but that could be figured out after their primary objective was accomplished.

"Inoue-san, the target facility is just over there," Shiba whispered to Inoue, while tracing their route to the facility on the map with his index finger. "You keep watch on the main entrance here from under the roof of this house here, and be ready to cause a distraction if any local patrols decide to check on the place" Shiba continued, pointing out the referenced locations to Inoue on the map, "I'll head into the facility myself, and secure the data. Be ready to scram as soon as I return." "As you say, Shiba-dono," Inoue whispered back, and the pair then headed out onto the still rained-upon streets once again. As planned, Inoue took up a position under the roof of a nearby house, with a conveniently-placed shub to conceal his location with, while Shiba cautiously approached the facility's main door, slowly creaked it open, and then slipped inside.

The inside of the facility was a single, massive room, which according to the Japanese Empire's informants, should contain several prototypes of what they referred to as "sailing ships", and piles of diagrams, schematics, manuals, and other documents relating to their construction and operation. But as Shiba entered the facility and looked around, there were no prototype boats to be seen. All Shiba saw was a vast pile of smoldering charcoal is the centre of the room, and some sleeping horses stabled up on the room's right-side wall. Fuck. They must have scrapped the designs. This was a massive waste, then. Unless... As he was pondering his predicament, Shiba idly noticed that the aforementioned horses had odd metal half-rings attached under their hooves, and odd boarskin garments placed on their upper body. There was also a small stack of parchment on a desk nearby the horses, clearly the documents for whatever is going on with the horses. Maybe we can salvage something out of this after all. Shiba began walking slowly towards the horses, now careful not to accidentally wake them, when he abruptly stopped in his tracks, eyes wide open in shock.

A brilliant, iridescent sensation had suddenly bombarded all of Shiba's mortal senses, and an unfamiliar, ethereal voice now echoed throughout his mortal mind.

CEASE THIS MADNESS NOW. YOU ARE NOT HERE TO ACQUIRE THIS TECHNOLOGY.

As he struggled to remain lucid under the unrelenting assault on his sense, Shiba continued staggering forward towards the desk, and managed to eke out a coherent thought in response to his mental visitor. Aaaaaaaaaargh! I need to return to the Imperial Court with something! There's no reason why this horsey stuff won't do! It's right in front of me!

NO, IT DEFINITELY WILL NOT DO. YOU CAME HERE TO ACQUIRE DATA ON SEAFARING, AND ONLY SEAFARING. CEASE YOUR MADNESS NOW, OR WE WILL CEASE IT FOR YOU.

"Eeeyyyaargh!" shrieked Shiba in pain, as he defiantly pressed on forward. As he looked in front of himself, he thought that he saw his own hands begin to shrivel up and contort, and then he felt his legs collapse under him. He continued to struggle forward, crawling on the floor, as he began to feel unquenchably thirsty, and felt his skin begin to harden and crack.

YOU HAD YOUR WARNING. DIE.

Shiba's mind ceased all conscious thought, and the Mongolian laboratory workers would find a strange, vaguely-humanlike congelation of salt in the middle of their facility the next morning.

Inoue, hearing Shiba's anguished shrieks of pain, decided that he didn't want any of that, and ran all the way back to Japan, like the little bitch he is. All of that excessive cardio was very helpful for Inoue's next Ninjutsu practice, however, so maybe the expedition wasn't a complete, unmitigated, irredeemable waste.

Meanwhile, at the Shiba family estate in Kyoto...

As the sun rose over the lands of the Heavenly Empire of Japan, The Honourable Shiba no Tadazane, a young man in his early twenties, and the sole son and heir of Shiba no Taneie, was relaxing on his father's lordly throne in the Shiba clan's estate in Kyoto, eating from a stack of saltine crackers that was neatly stacked on the throne's right armrest. An elaborate embroidered carpet, depicting the divine Shiokarai-no-Kami, the mythical ancestor of the Shiba clan, covered the floor of the throne room, while tapestries depicting that same deity, as well as its mythological allies and companions, were hung across the walls of the room. A grand oak double-door was positioned on the wall directly across from the throne, guarded by a pair of the Shiba clan's sworn samurai. That door was suddenly opened from the other side, and a contingent of Shiba samurai entered into the throne room, and silently kneeled in front of the throne Shiba no Tadazane was occupying, while an Imperial messenger party, headed by none other than The Honourable Inoue Yoshika the Fist, Dainagon of the Heavenly Empire of Japan, a colleague of the elder Shiba, approached the throne. The younger Shiba stood up from his throne, and bowed respectfully to Inoue, who bowed back.

"Inoue-san, it's a pleasure, as always. May I enquire to what brings you and your entourage to our humble abode at such an hour?" Shiba asked of his visitor. "Shiba-dono, I come bearing news from His Imperial Majesty the Heavenly Emperor, and it is of a tragic sort. Your noble father, ever the loyal servant of the Empire, died in honour and glory during our last expedition to the Western hordes. I offer my sincere condolences. Your father was a great man, and an even greater friend," Inoue said sombrely, "If you are able, His Imperial Majesty wishes for you to travel to the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, so he can offer his own condolences personally, and to discuss your inheritance of your father's offices and titles." Shiba stood silently for a moment after Inoue finished speaking, almost as if in shock, then composed himself and said, "Thank you for your kind words. I... will need a day or two to get my affairs in order here. Please inform His Imperial Majesty that I will be in Tokyo before the week's end." Inoue and Shiba than did their perfunctory bowing routine, and then Inoue and his messenger party exited the throne room, as did their escort of Shiba samurai. After everyone but Shiba himself and his two throne room guards left the room, a strong breeze of the salty ocean air outside propped the doors open for an extra moment, before they finally swung shut. Shiba sat back down on his throne, and quickly lost himself in thought, ignoring his half-eaten stack of saltines. Well, that happened.