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"I will leave you all to the interrogation. I will take the map out of here so if you are spotted there is no evidence. I will see you at Mai's."
Dwight flies straight up 200ft outside the range of any darkvision. Then takes of in a random direction after several hundred feet he corrects his path and flies to Mai's.
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"Jianhong, what did you want the map for? Zheng said that there are better ways. Better ways for what?"
"What business I have with the map will stay that - my business," Jianghong replies rather curtly, sour that he has lost his prize. "Especially since I am not getting my hands on it, it is a moot point, isn't it."
"Listen, let us take out the drama and make a simple business transaction. Dear Jianghong, I would propose to stay silent regarding your actions and hope that you will stay silent about ours and leave this map with us. Would that work for you?" he asks.
"Of course! There is no way I could tattle on you without disclosing my part in this, is there?" He turns to walk away. "Come, Zheng. It is time we took our leave." The loyal bodyguard gives each of you a solemn bow in thanks for not sending his master to the guards and follows along.
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The Pathfinders, as planned, first have Dwight fly out of the walled school deep in the night. The guards' attention are both out of the city walls and on the ground, so Dwight and Hero slips past them easily. As for the rest of the Pathfinders, they simply walk out of the gates the next morning at first light before the teachers spotted that the map has gone missing.
Mai Chun is particularly pleased that you have recovered the actual map, as she considers it returned to its rightful country at last. "Thank you! Finally, it is returned to its rightful owners! And look at that detail! This would help tremendously in locating the Summer Palace!"
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The nation of Po Li includes the former capital of Imperial Lung Wa, and most of its citizens dream of the return of the empire. The oracular bureaucracy ruling from the capital of Changdo allows only one form of worship: the monotheistic veneration of the Eternal Emperor, a figure absent since the fall of Lung Wa but much sought after by the governing Oracular Council. Many minor functionaries in Po Li are oracles, or at least pretend to have inscrutable wisdom for their own political advancement. One such functionary is Yue Xin, the target of Mai Chun's next quest.
You reach Changdo without incident, enjoying the safety of the heavily patrolled roads of Po Li. As they approach the city, they take in the extraordinary sight of the Eternal Emperor, a colossal statue that has been under construction for over 3 centuries. A busy trading yard just outside the city gates is populated by all manner of people from across Tian Xia. To one side of the yard stands a well encircled by a low stone wall. A young Tian-Shu man, presumably Yue Xin, wearing a broad straw hat stands beside the well, the line of his bamboo fishing pole disappearing into its depths.
Once you make yourselves known to Yue Xin, he 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. The young man with the round hat approaches, hands outspread, and greets you.
"无鱼钓鱼识智慧。"
Yue Xin looks at you expectedly.
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Toral looks at the man he hopes to be Yue Xin and starts speaking in common without understanding what the man said.
"Look, I assume you are Yue Xin! I already told your friend Mai Chun that usually poems do not sell well and authors are poorer than poor! So let us get to the point! What information do you have that is too dangerous for you to take advantage of on your own? And how does that help us?" Toral demands.
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Yue Xin nods absently at Yama's reply, as if pondering its meaning. He removes a bundle of poorly-preserved papers from his satchel and hands them to Yama. The pages are crowded with Tien characters, and Yue Xin elaborately gestures at one section outlined in red ink, saying, "You see here why Mai Chun was so interested in my find." He then quickly snatches the papers back.
"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. 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."
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Dwight and Hero take off and circle up slowly until they are high up in the air. In the direction that Yue Xin indicated, Dwight spots a set of ruins in the distance, approximately 4 hours away by foot. It is too far to make out much of the details, except for a large stone pyramidal structure standing near the centre of the ruins. He can also faintly see some figures moving about.
The reconnaissance done, the Pathfinders set off and arrive at the ruins just as dusk is approaching. Keeping some distance away to scout the place, you find a number of groups of heavily armed soldiers patrolling the area. However, as dusk starts to draw nearer, you see signs of the patrols packing up, ready to break camp.
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"I grew up in these lands, and I recall stories about this message passing. It is said that 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. It is certainly possible some of these messages were written and stored."
"Regarding the haunted ruins, I do suggest we be cautious. While there may not be actually ghosts, honor is due to the ancient ones who may have left guardians of some nature. It sounds like maybe an offering of fire could ease some tensions."
Inira makes sure to collect fire making supplies before heading out.
As the guards pack up, she whispers to the others, "We should hide in these bushes until the patrols have settled for the night."
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As night falls, the guards leave the compound. None of them notice the Pathfinders hiding in the distance, so used are they to their daily routines. Spying on them from a distance, you see that they have made their way to an outpost some 2 miles away.
Certain that the guards will not return, the Pathfinder turn to examine the compound. A number of crumbling buildings make up this place. 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.
Just off the central courtyard, a curious stone pyramidal structure resembling an exterior hearth with narrow, twinned chimneys rises into the sky. These chimneys are far better preserved than the surrounding buildings.
As the only outstanding structure, the Pathfinders converge on it. Examining it identifies cracks that form a regular square in nearby flagstones. This single piece of stone is a lid. The panel is quite heavy, but through your collective effort and some sweat, you eventually manage to lift it open. A large space beneath the lid contains a cache of a dozen skyrockets, the tubes of which are brightly colored despite their age. There are two each of red, blue, orange, yellow, white, and violet skyrockets
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Inira uses her low-light vision to pick her way around the compound. If anyone needs light, she does have an everburning torch that should be safe to use around the fireworks.
"Look, as we expected, this was designed to launch fireworks. Looks like two could be sent simultaneously."
She continues to search the area.
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Neither Vayon nor Yama find any writings carved into the stone structure. However, the skyrockets look quite straightforward to operate. Just point it in the direction you want it to go (hopefully up), light the wick and stand away. The gunpowder within still seems dry, so the fireworks are likely functional.
Meanwhile Dwight examine the fireworks with arcane sight, and discovers that all of them have a faint magical aura, except for the blue and yellow ones which give out a moderate aura.
Kyra nods and replies "I have no better idea!"
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Big questions marks on Toral’s face!
He completely forgets up the secret mission.
”Oh wait a minute! Don’t you halfling start with me again to pretend that Chaldira is a halfling goddess! She is through and through a dwarf, she has always been a dwarf and she will forever remain a dwarf! And she is the goddess of luck! Luck! Business luck!“
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Dwight busts out laughing "Yes, I have heard much of the great chipped short swords of the dwaves. Tales as old as time itself, chipped on the rocks they say. I have no issue with war profiteering, so why not worship Chaldira Zuzadlara (elf name) and pray for luck and war. I have to say your defensiveness belies incecurity."
Dwight eggs on Toral. As a free halfing from Cheliax that worships Gorum he knows what it is like to be on the outside of faith.
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Inira inserts one each of the blue and yellow skyrockets into the stone tubes. The Pathfinders then coordinate and ignite the fuses together. Smoke billows out from the stone tubes and the two rockets roar into the sky, trailing sparks of blue and yellow. At a surprisingly low altitude, they simultaneously explode, blue and yellow flashes combining into sizzling green. The green sparks coalesce and twist in the dark, forming an enormous word written in Tien.
The green fiery word hangs in the sky for about 20 seconds. It then breaks apart and settle to the ground a few seconds later. Some of the individual pieces of fire unexpectedly retain their form. Upon coming to rest on the nearby flagstones, the burning green forms roar and charge the Pathfinders!
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The two of the fiery beings that landed south and west are small in size while the two larger ones to the north and east are medium size.
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Between Toral and Inira, the party knows that fire elementals are also especially vulnerable to the cold. In addition, their melee attacks can cause their targets to catch fire, or those who attack them with natural weapons.
Dwight's lance smashes right through the fiery being, dispersing its form completely. Inira fires upon one of the smaller ones, but the nimble creature flits out of the way.
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All the fire elemental, large and small, swarm up the pyramid towards the Pathfinders. As soon as one of them comes near, Yama slams his tetsubo over the one burning orange. The powerful blow dissipates the elemental completely.
The remaining two disregard the fates of their companions, crazed by their long imprisonment within the skyrocket. The larger greenish one slams a fiery fist in Vayon, while the smaller red one does the same at Inira. The clothing of both of them starts to smolder...
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Yama swings at the small elemental but it is flow out of the easily. The larger one is not so fortunate - like its companion earlier, it is easily skewered by Dwight's lance and its essence completely destroyed in the process. Vayon then moves up to strike at the remaining elemental, but again, the dextrous creature ducks out of the way of the ice staff.