The young man in the round hat looks up at Ushi, then gives the pole a brief, quizzical glance and unceremoniously dumps it down the well. The clattering echoes of the falling pole are just audible above the sounds of the trading yard. He then approaches, hands outspread.
Tien:
“To fish where there are no fish is to know wisdom.”
He notices Mongo's scrunched-up face at his words and repeats, in Taldane:
"To fish where there are no fish is to know wisdom."
[spoiler=Knowledge History or Nobility 12]These are more of the Minkaian aphorisms that Mai Chun used in her speech.
Male N Wayang Unchained Rogue (Shadow Walker) | HP 15/17 | AC 19 T 16 FF 14 | CMB +1, CMD 16 | F: +1, R: +7, W: +0 | Init: +5 | Perc: +6 (darkvision 70'), SM: -1 | Speed 20ft | Rapier or Silver light mace +6, 1d4+1; Lt. crossbow +6, 1d6 | Active conditions: None.
L'Mont looks around for a dumpling stand, figuring he can make himself understood by using his hands. If he happens to run across something that looks like a calligraphy school, he'll make a note of its location.
Not sure why the big cheeses sent me on this job - can't understand a word anyone says, can't even read the shop signs. Guess someone will let me know when it's time to do something.
Male CG Gnome Cleric of Desna 6 | HP: 45/45| AC: 20 (12 tch, 19 Fl) | CMB: +3, CMD: 14 | F: +7, R: +3, W: +9; +2 vs. illusions | Init: +1 | Perc: +6 [low-light], SM: +8 | Speed 20 | Channel (positive) energy 9/9 (53d6, DC16) | Reroll: 1/1, Coin: 1/1, Pearl 1/1, Bit of Luck: 6/6, Agile Feet: 6/6| Active conditions:
Religionl:1d20 + 8 ⇒ (7) + 8 = 15
The gnome cannot help himself but to giggle about all the fish talk. "I once heard of a man who's life long dream was a cabin on a lake with no fish. I asked him, why would you want to fish there? He said 'fishing is not about the catching."
Glastor then shrugs, since he still doesn't get it.
"To know wisdom where there is no wisdom is to fish."
Yue Xin glares sternly at Bolty for a second.
Bolty wrote:
"Let's gets down to business."
"Right," Xin says in Taldane, picking up a pack from beside the well. He absently removes a bundle of poorly-preserved papers from his satchel and hands them to Ushi. The pages are crowded with Tien characters, and Yue Xin elaborately gestures at one section outlined in red ink. “You of course can see here why Mai Chun was so interested in my find. You can ignore the fox, but the fox may not ignore you.”
Ushi:
You have a brief moment to glance at the papers, noting a passage that reads 'words written in green fire'.
Yue Xin snatches the papers back from Ushi and shoves them back in his pack unceremoniously while starting to speak as if he's lecturing to particularly-dense students.
“When Imperial Lung Wa controlled these lands, quick and accurate communication was of paramount concern to the Eternal Emperor and his servants. Relay stations formed a network covering much of the continent, speedily carrying imperial dictates to the farthest corners of the realm. In these dark days, those relay stations have fallen into ruin. But into darkness comes light, as into memory comes charitable action. My researches indicate that some of the messages that passed through these redoubts were secretly recorded. A clue to the location of the palace Mai Chun seeks is certainly to be found in a ruined communications station just half a day’s walk to the west, down that road and left at the first crossroads you reach."
Yue Xin hefts his pack to his shoulder and looks down the well, as if considering the fishing pole once more. He turns back to look at the gathered group, startling briefly as if he forgot he was speaking to you. He recovers and continues.
"Directions to the palace are said to be ‘writ in letters of green fire.’ Surely heroes of your mettle will have no trouble traveling to the ruin, avoiding the soldiers who guard it by day, exploring it by night, and overcoming the ghosts said to haunt it. The restless dead offer no threat to he who sparks the tinder, so it is sung.”
With this last aphorism, he abruptly begins walking into the city, in the opposite direction that he pointed for you to go.
Male N Wayang Unchained Rogue (Shadow Walker) | HP 15/17 | AC 19 T 16 FF 14 | CMB +1, CMD 16 | F: +1, R: +7, W: +0 | Init: +5 | Perc: +6 (darkvision 70'), SM: -1 | Speed 20ft | Rapier or Silver light mace +6, 1d4+1; Lt. crossbow +6, 1d6 | Active conditions: None.
L'Mont is confused. He runs after the retreating "fisherman."
"Hold it, bub. Our orders are to get something for Mai Chin from a calligraphy school. What kind of game are you trying to play here?"
Edit - Oh, I just realized - this is the quest from Document 1 instead of 2, isn't it? If so, then ignore the action above. I thought we were going for #2, got confused.
Crap, folks. I just realised that Document #2 and Document #1 are flipped from their position in the scenario. I've put you guys in the non-calligraphy scene. If you guys would like me to wave my magic wand and try again, I can do so. sorry.
"Hold it, bub. Our orders are to get something for Mai Chin from a calligraphy school. What kind of game are you trying to play here?"
Yue Xin stares coldly at the wayang.
"I have given you instructions on how to recover lost communications information from the Lung Wa Empire from a ruined communications locus outside of town. You come to me speaking of 'calligraphy'. If you can’t scale the mountain, you will never climb down the mountain. You are in Po Li....bub."
And with that, he turns again to go.
The party considers his words...You can see any of the spoilers that your check qualifies you for, inclusive to the number you roll. i.e. If you roll a 20, you see both the 15 and 20 spoiler tags. Alternately, you can use Diplomacy to gather information from the people in the square, but you'd need to speak Tien to do that.
Knowledge History 15:
Po Li’s obsession with the artifacts and practices of Lung Wa extends to jealously guarding any imperial ruins within its borders. Soldiers who guard these ruins are particularly diligent during the day, but known to be somewhat lax by night.
Knowledge History 20:
Ruins associated with Lung Wa are frequently said to be haunted, if not literally by undead then by mystically bound guardians of various types, such as creatures from the spirit world or from other planes.
Knowledge History 25:
Lung Wa’s Bureau of Communications made use of fireworks to send messages over great distances. Trained alchemists at relay stations would read messages outbound from the capital in the night skies, then prepare and fire rockets encoded with the same message so that watchers at the next station could repeat the process.
Male N Wayang Unchained Rogue (Shadow Walker) | HP 15/17 | AC 19 T 16 FF 14 | CMB +1, CMD 16 | F: +1, R: +7, W: +0 | Init: +5 | Perc: +6 (darkvision 70'), SM: -1 | Speed 20ft | Rapier or Silver light mace +6, 1d4+1; Lt. crossbow +6, 1d6 | Active conditions: None.
L'Mont opens his mouth, starting to say something, then snaps his jaws shut, thinking better of it.
The Desnan has proven his worth to the group over and over, in combat and out, while you have managed to fall out of a tree, get mauled by a panda, and get your rear end kicked some bandana-wearing kid in a tea house. If he wants to let everything in the forest with ears know that we're on our way, then it will probably end up with him being led directly to the place we're looking for by a parade of songbirds and small, cuddly forest creatures and protected by an honor guard of dire wolves. While you will creep along silently and fall silently into a spiked pit on the trail and die slowly, horribly, and silently. So either button it up, or join him.
But still. Gnomes!
"Anything but that insipid 'Hi Ho, Hi Ho' song," he rasps.
Your group travels along the well-maintained road during the early morning out of Changdo. You pass the first of many well-armed squads of Po Li soldiers within the first hour, shortly after your left turn off the first crossroad out from the trading square. On horseback and in formation, the cadre trots by slowly, some of the soldiers nodding curtly at your group.
You continue to travel through the peaceful countryside, occasionally coming across peasants and farmers driving carts or travelling in groups. Most are courteous and bow; others simply stare at the singing gnome. You pass at least three more squadrons of soldiers along the way, and one squadron passes you in a quicker trot, obviously spurred on by some work errand.
By mid-day, your stomachs growl and you estimate you have one or two hours of travel left. You see what appears to be a ruined ancient statue, nowhere near the height of the Eternal Emperor, off to your left from the road. Two squads of soldiers stand and sit in front of the ancient ruined statue, sharing meals from clay pots and spirited conversation with each other. You recognise the horses as those that galloped past you earlier.
As you watch, you see two soldiers not sharing in the meal, but instead patrolling the area around the statue.
Male CG Gnome Cleric of Desna 6 | HP: 45/45| AC: 20 (12 tch, 19 Fl) | CMB: +3, CMD: 14 | F: +7, R: +3, W: +9; +2 vs. illusions | Init: +1 | Perc: +6 [low-light], SM: +8 | Speed 20 | Channel (positive) energy 9/9 (53d6, DC16) | Reroll: 1/1, Coin: 1/1, Pearl 1/1, Bit of Luck: 6/6, Agile Feet: 6/6| Active conditions:
"Guys, we should probably stop for lunch." says Glastor.
He smiles as he approaches the two soldiers, "Gentlemen," he says (in common), "would you mind if we shared your campgrounds while we partake of our noon meal? We would be willing to share!"
If they don't seem to understand, he asks Luwei to translate.
Ushi says nothing as well, gloved hands folded before him. His thoughts are not so still. May we not have disturbed the hornets, by the Prophecies! Perhaps good neighborly spirit will disarm them better than the usual skulking.
One of the Tian-Shu guards stops shovelling rice in his mouth at the gnome's approach. He stands and approaches the gnome, whistling to his colleagues who all drop their bowls and place their hands on their pommels, rising to a standing position.
Luwei (translating for Glastor) wrote:
"Would you mind if we shared your campgrounds while we partake of our noon meal? We would be willing to share!"
He cocks his head at the sorcerer for a moment, and then responds in a terse and raised voice to the gnome.
Tien:
"This is private property of the nation of Po Li and the Eternal Emperor! You may not trespass on holy sites! Respectfully, I ask you to leave this property or risk prosecution before the Oracular Tribunal!"
Ushi raises one gloved hand before Mongo, knowing the dangerous outcome should blades be drawn. "Be at ease, mighty warrior." Then he offers a bow to the contingent.
Tien:
"We humbly beg forgiveness for our ignorance. The Prophets respect the power and might of the Tribunal, and we the humble servants will obey."
Turning away, Ushi motions to the party. "Let us depart the holy site as they have asked."
Back on the road, it takes another hour of travel before you reach another ruin. Set just off the side of the ride in a glade of trees, a series of ruined stone walls surrounding a central dome shaped structure gives the appearance of w way station, though details are hard to see from the road.
The requisite squad of six soldiers patrolling the way station ruins likely will also make it hard to see details at present.
It appears that there is more than one structure, or one structure with a very-angled outline. You cannot make out more of the structure on your casual walk-by, however.
Male N Wayang Unchained Rogue (Shadow Walker) | HP 15/17 | AC 19 T 16 FF 14 | CMB +1, CMD 16 | F: +1, R: +7, W: +0 | Init: +5 | Perc: +6 (darkvision 70'), SM: -1 | Speed 20ft | Rapier or Silver light mace +6, 1d4+1; Lt. crossbow +6, 1d6 | Active conditions: None.
L'Mont rubs his hands together. "That's more like it, Glastor. Darkness is our friend. We should go a little further up the road, find a spot out of sight of the guards, and wait for nightfall."
Female N Kitsune Sorcerer 1 | hp -5/8 4nl | AC 12, tch 12, ff 10 | CMD 11 | Init +2 | Perc. +0 S. Motive +0
Luwei gives L'Mont a disapproving look, "You seem far more familiar with this kind of activity than a respectable man ought to." her face breaks into a mischievous grin as she adds, "I like that about you."
The party hikes 30 minutes down the road and makes a temporary camp in the woods off of the side of the road until evening rests.
As the sun sets, you all see a number of guard patrols ride by on the road, the demeanour more relaxed, chatting animatedly amongst their number. They don't seem to pay any attention to your party.
Female N Kitsune Sorcerer 1 | hp -5/8 4nl | AC 12, tch 12, ff 10 | CMD 11 | Init +2 | Perc. +0 S. Motive +0
Luwei casts message on L'Mont. "Go ahead. We'll muddle our way in the dark." she pauses, thinking about the guards, "I will conjure dancing lights to distract anyone that gets too close."
The party heads back down the road, cautious and alert for any signs of the soldiers. It becomes quite obvious in only a few minutes that the nighttime patrol is given over to nothing but the reputation of the haunted ruins.
You approach the site that you had noted earlier in the day. Off the side of the road, a number of crumbling buildings make up the compound. Lit only by the stars in the cloudless night sky above, the ruins take on an empty, haunted aspect. An eerie silence pervades the ancient buildings—even the wind has died away to nothing.
Male Half-Orc Fighter (siegebreaker) 8 | hp 69/69, temp 4/4 | AC 27 (haste +1) T 13 (haste +1) F 26 | DR 3/- (adam. armor) | CMB +13 (+2 Bull Rush/Over.) CMD 25 (27 Bull Rush/Overrun, 32 Grapple/Trip) (haste +1) | F +11, R +6 (haste +7), W +6 | Init +1 | Perc +1 (Dark 60), SM +13 | Speed 30' (haste 60')| Breaker Rush: 9 dam on Bull Rush/Overrun | Armored Vigor (4 temp hp) 3/5 | Current conditions: heroism, haste, fly
Mongo will also have his sword out and ready, scanning for threats. Mongo has darkvision
Too many places for people to hide, or for critters to be living. We shouldn't spend any more time here than we need to. Not wanting to break the silence, he says nothing.
Moving forward to stand by L'mont, Ushi makes sure his shield is ready. The darkness is our cover, but also the enemies. He ponders the disadvantages as he scans the dimly lit grounds, his reptilian eyes drinking in the starlight.
Male N Wayang Unchained Rogue (Shadow Walker) | HP 15/17 | AC 19 T 16 FF 14 | CMB +1, CMD 16 | F: +1, R: +7, W: +0 | Init: +5 | Perc: +6 (darkvision 70'), SM: -1 | Speed 20ft | Rapier or Silver light mace +6, 1d4+1; Lt. crossbow +6, 1d6 | Active conditions: None.
L'Mont motions the group forward.
"I think we're the only ones here," he hisses. "Let's hit the big building near the middle first. Maybe we can get in, get what we came for, get out, and get gone."
He draws one of his sharpened, cold iron daggers, and starts forward.
Male N Wayang Unchained Rogue (Shadow Walker) | HP 15/17 | AC 19 T 16 FF 14 | CMB +1, CMD 16 | F: +1, R: +7, W: +0 | Init: +5 | Perc: +6 (darkvision 70'), SM: -1 | Speed 20ft | Rapier or Silver light mace +6, 1d4+1; Lt. crossbow +6, 1d6 | Active conditions: None.
Just saw the map.
L'Mont decides it would be smart to check out some of the ruins of outbuildings along the way, to make sure their escape route is clear if the job goes sideways.
