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Inira tumbles past the Scorpions, earning applause from the audience for her nimbleness. She quickly brings her knee up, striking her target's lower body hard. The blow is painful and he almost doubles over, but manages to recover quickly enough. Dwight, Vayon and Yama, however, makes no attempt at subtlety and they strike in their respective ways at their targets with powerful kicks. Their blows all connect, as they each take down their respective foes. Only Toral falls to land his blow despite Kyra's divine blessing.
The crowd goes wild as half of the Scorpion students are knocked out in rapid succession. "好!" yells out the crowd, and even those of you unfamiliar with Tien gets its gist. Meanwhile, Jiang Fei is looking mighty pleased, urging the Pathfinders on.
The remaining three Scorpions start looking worried, but also irritated at the cheering crowd. Two of them step back to flank Iniria . They give up attempts of special attacks and instead strike as many times as they can, landing two blows on her. The other tries to attack Vayon on his own, but the magus dodges the attacks easily. The Scorpion then pull back.
The save DC for these abilities is always equal to 10 + half the attacker’s level + the attacker’s Wisdom modifier.
Ogre Scares the Foe: A hard strike with the knee aimed at the lower body. A target damaged by Ogre Scares the Foe must succeed at a Will save or lose any Strength bonus to attack and damage rolls for 1 round.
Ogre Smashes Rock: A straight-line punch designed to rock a foe backward. A target damaged by Ogre Smashes Rock must succeed at a Fortitude save or be pushed back 5 feet.
Ogre Stomps Around: A fast, jabbing kick that distracts a foe. A target damaged by Ogre Stomps Around must succeed at a Reflex save or lose its Dexterity bonus to AC for 1 round.
Ogre Swings the Club: A strong side kick. Apply 1-1/2 times the character’s Strength modifier to damage rolls when using Ogre Swings the Club.
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Vayon notes the crowd's reaction to Inira's display and decides to try to join in. He figures that winning is good, but winning with style would really help Jiang Fei. He casts Dancing Lights to create a Vayon shaped glow around himself (a bit of poetic licence I got from Critical Role). He then moves into position against purple (accepting the AoO).
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The purple-garbed tries to strike at Vayon as he moves past him, but the magus just manages to dodge the blow.
However, the tide turns momentarily against the Pathfinders. Dwight and Yama still lacks familiarity with the new unarmed fighting skills and miss their targets by a mile. Toral continues to struggle with fighting hand-to-hand. Only Vayon with the use of his magic intimidates the Scorpion striking him with the sudden otherworldly glow that surrounds him.
Kyra and Inira move up, focusing on the injured Scorpion. With two quick attacks, the ladies knock him out, leaving just two more Scorpions.
The two remaining ones, flustered by being outnumbered and being booed down by the audience, pulls back and focus their attacks on Vayon. However, only one manages to land one blow on him, bruising him on his chest.
The save DC for these abilities is always equal to 10 + half the attacker’s level + the attacker’s Wisdom modifier.
Ogre Scares the Foe: A hard strike with the knee aimed at the lower body. A target damaged by Ogre Scares the Foe must succeed at a Will save or lose any Strength bonus to attack and damage rolls for 1 round.
Ogre Smashes Rock: A straight-line punch designed to rock a foe backward. A target damaged by Ogre Smashes Rock must succeed at a Fortitude save or be pushed back 5 feet.
Ogre Stomps Around: A fast, jabbing kick that distracts a foe. A target damaged by Ogre Stomps Around must succeed at a Reflex save or lose its Dexterity bonus to AC for 1 round.
Ogre Swings the Club: A strong side kick. Apply 1-1/2 times the character’s Strength modifier to damage rolls when using Ogre Swings the Club.
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Toral doggedly attempts the Jade Ogre style but continues to struggle with it. Dwight similarly unused to fighting without his lance, stumbles as he attempted a kick, catching himself just in time, bruising nothing much else but his ego. Vayon withdraws as he fights cautiously, too cautiously as it turns out for his kick lands short. Yama finally gets back into the swing of this, and again a powerful roughhouse kick to the purple-robed Scorpion, earning cheers from the audience. Kyra similarly lands a kick on the other Scorpion after stepping. Inira earns the most applause, however, as she goes tumbling past the two standing foes leaving them utterly confused over where she is coming from. Once in position, she strikes hard at the green-garbed one, leaving him unbalanced on his feet.
Furious at the half-elf for making a fool of them, the two of them focus their attacks on her, but the dextrous monk dodges all of the blows but one. Inira is feeling weak on her feet now.
The save DC for these abilities is always equal to 10 + half the attacker’s level + the attacker’s Wisdom modifier.
Ogre Scares the Foe: A hard strike with the knee aimed at the lower body. A target damaged by Ogre Scares the Foe must succeed at a Will save or lose any Strength bonus to attack and damage rolls for 1 round.
Ogre Smashes Rock: A straight-line punch designed to rock a foe backward. A target damaged by Ogre Smashes Rock must succeed at a Fortitude save or be pushed back 5 feet.
Ogre Stomps Around: A fast, jabbing kick that distracts a foe. A target damaged by Ogre Stomps Around must succeed at a Reflex save or lose its Dexterity bonus to AC for 1 round.
Ogre Swings the Club: A strong side kick. Apply 1-1/2 times the character’s Strength modifier to damage rolls when using Ogre Swings the Club.
Kyra again will give guidance this time to Dwight.
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Toral finally gets the hang of things and lands a blow on his target, although the blow was so gentle it barely injured him, and he easily stood his ground. Yama, however, comes in quickly after that with a powerful roundhouse kick, knocking him unconscious. Almost simultaneously, the magically enhanced Vayon does the same to the remaining Scorpion. The powerful kick smashes hard against his skull, and finally the last Scorpion is knocked unconscious.
The audience breaks out into a rousing cheer, all around the beaming Jiang Fei. From the way they crowd around her, clearly she has been giving them a running commentary of her technique while you were combating the Scorpions. She quickly shoos you out of the teahouse to go and rest back at her apartment while she talks up her school to onlookers. She promises to meet back with them there in an hour.
Sure enough, she returns an hour later, exhausted but elated. She heartily thank each of you for showing off her technique to the crowd. Several onlookers expressed interest in becoming students and two pledged funding her school! As promised, she removes a jade comb from her hair, revealing it to be the Jade Ogre Comb. You study it and find it intricately carved with landscape view. She permits you to make a copy of the carving, but does not allow you to leave with the comb.
Next morning, following any hearty breakfast of dumplings (which still does not taste any better than better), the Pathfinders bid her farewell in good spirits and return to Mai Chun.
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After resting for a few days, you receive a hasty summons from Mai Chun. Mai Chun's door is wide open, as if flung free by the cyclone of a woman pacing furiously around her house, referencing and cross-referencing books, scrolls, and maps. When she sees you, she suddenly stops her pacing, balancing two heavy books in one hand.
"I've found it!" She gathers you round a map. "First, I needed a detailed map, the map you acquired from the calligraphy school in Lingshen. But the map doesn't mark the Summer Palace itself. That's where the picturesque vista inscribed on the Jade Ogre Comb comes in - after some geographical cross references, it allowed me to zoom into the specific area of the Gossamer Mountains. But even then, that is still a large region. The cryptic symbol of the Dog Zodiac stumped me for some time, until I stumbled upon this poem."
"Spring melts into a
Summer’s dark night sky where
Cynosure abides."
She plots a location in the southern end of the Gossamer Mountains as she recites the poem. "The path into the Summer Palace’s valley can be identified by the position of the polestar, Cynosure, between these two mountains engraved on the comb. And Cynosure, in ancient Lung Wa, was often referred to as the Dog Star!" She gleams, mightily proud of herself.
Mai Chun pulls a heavily annotated book from one of her shelves. "This is a chronicle of the Empire’s final days. I'll be putting out a second edition when we’re through! Anyway, see here." She points to a page featuring a gold-and-gemstone statue of a sovereign dragon coiled around a jade scroll case. "This scroll case is believed to contain the 29 final prophecies of the last emperor of Lung Wa. Only a true heir of Lung Wa can interpret them; if this interpretation can be made here in Shokuro, it ensures our nation a high political position among the Successor States. It was last owned by a princess of Lung Wa named Song Rui, but it has never been found. I believe it may be in the princess’s quarters at the Summer Palace. When you find the lost palace, seek out the princess' chambers and find this scroll case. Even if we can't interpret the prophecies, it still provides an excellent symbol of the lost empire. Having worked in politics, let me tell you: symbolism is everything."
---
The trip to the summer palace takes several days through the Gossamer Mountains, but the journey is uneventful. The Summer Palace silently presides over a secluded valley, majestic despite its obvious abandonment. Its terraces and sloping roofs form a multi-tiered affair that seems to grow from the surrounding mountains.
You set out to explore the palace, cautiously at first, but you find no dangerous creatures or traps among its crumbled elegance. Many of the palace's former rooms are buried in landslides or inaccessible due to thick overgrowth of vegetation. The rooms that remain are eerily peaceful and quiet. Strangely, many rooms and halls contain mysterious puddles of stylish clothing and armor, sometimes filled with small mounds of ash. Of the few rooms that remain more-or-less intact, three of particular stood out.
You come across an elegant but austere bedroom. A vast canopied bed dominates one wall, but much of the room is sparse and free from any other kind of furniture. A personal shrine against the opposite wall is surprisingly well-maintained for its age, and a few candles in the shrine are mysteriously lit.
The second is what would once have been the study. Although this room is filled with shelves of books and rows of gilded scroll racks, a section of the roof collapsed long ago, admitting rainwater and hanging vines. The contents of this room — once sufficient to put many civic libraries to shame — have deteriorated to nearly total illegibility. Some of the remaining volumes are books on magical lore that speak about transporting large numbers of people magically, but at great risk. Ominously, right in front of the books, is a bunch of elegant clothing filled with small piles of ash, similar to what you encountered randomly throughout the ruins.
Finally, you arrive at what was once the throne room. Arranged like the rays of a midday sun, the primary corridors of the Summer Palace lead to this enormous room. What is peculiar, however, is the ghostly Tian-Shu woman with an ornate headdress and elegant robes meditating before the throne! She rises calmly from her meditation as you enter the throne room and bows with studied grace. She speaks with ethereal calm, with a voice that gently echoes throughout the room, "Greetings. I am Princess Song Rui. The Summer Palace has not seen visitors for hundreds of years. May I ask for the purpose of your presence?"
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Yama bows to the Princess.
我很抱歉在你的冥想中打擾你的歌瑞, 但我們在這裡是為了恢復一個玉盒子, 那就是說包含了最後一個皇帝的29最後預言。
如果它取悅你的恩典, 也許你可以説明我們在我們的追求？:
I am sorry to disturb you Song Rui Sama in your meditation, but we are here to recover a jade box, that say contain the 29 final prophecies of the last Emperor.
If it please your grace, may be you could help us in our quest?
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Princess Song Rui looks pleasantly surprised when Yama speaks to her in Tien. She nods gracefully at him and smiles. "啊，您是天人啊。虽然口音重，但还是听得懂。哎，好久了。。。但是您的伴友可能听不懂吧。那我们说普通话吧。"
Turning to the rest of the party, she continues in Common, "You seek the final prophecies of my father? I have been long absent from the world, but even so, I can foresee the power this would grant to whoever get their hands on it. Why do you seek it?" She appears more cautious now.
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Yama, still bowed, continue with what he learned from Venture-Captain Amara Li.
With the death of Aroden, the empire fractured into the competing Successor States, with Lingshen, Po Li, and Quain at the shattered empire’s heart. So far, none of the three have managed to recapture the fallen empire’s glory and influence, resulting in a tense stalemate.
Lingshen has the strongest military of all the Successor States. Shortly after Lung Wa’s fall, it annexed the fertile land to the east (now known as Shokuro) and compelled the peasants to labor on Lingshen’s behalf. When a Minkaian samurai named Toriaka witnessed the cruel serfdom, he rallied the peasants and helped the territory secede as an independent nation.
With a well-trained militia and an equitable trading policy with Lingshen that placates the larger nation’s need for food imports, Shokuro enjoys some stability in this post-imperial age. But to gain the standing to fend off expansionist neighbors, the nation must acquire some of the same political currency — namely, symbols of old imperial authority.
One of the first rebels to answer Toriaka’s call was Mai Chun, then a young woman who had lost several friends and family in a Lingshenese invasion to root out prospective dissidents. After serving in Toriaka’s new government for several years, Mai stepped down, returned to her rural community as a folk hero, and set herself to chronicling Shokuro’s new statehood.
Now 40 years later, Mai Chun is a tough grandmother who’s still strong enough to knock out a bandit. She keeps an eye out for historical treasures.
As member of the Pathfinder Society - an organization of explorers, adventurers, savants, and historians from the other side of the world - we have often found ourselves allied with her, and indeed, had to seek her help a number of times for our work in that region. This time however she ask for help in hope to uncover any relics of the old imperial empire to bolster Shokuro in its endless political bickering in the region. In return, she has agreed to let the Society study whatever she recovers.
Kyra just smiles and tries to look nice.
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The Princess Song Rui stares at Yama for some moments, briefly frowning at Toral, but turning back to the tiefling. She takes some time to compose what she says.
"It appears that while I have remained effectively frozen here, the world around me has moved on. In my latter years while alive, the selfishness and scheming of politics has sickened me. I remember the region you now call Shokuro fondly. The people were simple, but they were hardworking and had a strong sense of community. Thus, I am pleased that they eventually liberated themselves, thanks to this Minkaian samurai, seemingly much like yourself. If this forgotten piece of lore could bolster their position, I would be pleased to pass this on." Saying that, Song Rui floats behind the throne, and opens an hidden alcove. From within she withdraws an ornately carved jade scroll case and hands it over to Yama.
"It is time for this to return to the world." She pauses here briefly, then continues with a faint smile. "On one condition. I would like you to bring me to meet this Mai Chun. Meeting this scholarly revolutionary would be an interesting experience. Perhaps it is more than just the prophecies that should re-enter the world." Considering that she is effectively an ethereal being, you can't really stop her from following you, but at least she gives you the courtesy to ask.
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With the jade scroll safely packed away and the Princess gliding behind in tow, the Pathfinders ascend from the valley with two treasures, not just one. As you round one of the switchbacks, however, on the path ahead you see familiar faces. Waiting on the trail are the student Jianghong of Lingshen and his bodyguard Zheng, the bureaucrat Yue Xin of Po Li, and the martial artist Jiang Fei of Quain. They are glaring at each other suspiciously, keeping a distance from each of them. But they are clearly waiting for you as they turn your way almost in unison when they spot you rounding the bend.
Jianghong is the first to speak. He has again reverted to his light-hearted mannerism, but under it you sense a will of steel, and it seems some desperation. "My dear friends, well done! With that map that the teachers have left rotting there for countless years, you have recovered the prophecies! Marvelous, marvelous! You bested me back in Lingshen, so of course, recovering it was no difficulties. But you are bringing it back to Mai Chun? What could she possibly offer in return? I can give you a better exchange. I have here a pouch of marvelous pigments! It can create any object you desire! Just give me the scroll case and return with me to Lingshen and it is yours!"
Yue Xin quickly cuts in, glaring at Jianghong. "The boar offers smokes and mirrors, but they are all for naught." He holds out a simple parchment. "The wise man, rather, presents a gift of substance. This is a writ of exchange for the Star of Changdo, a diamond worth 5,000 gold pieces. I will sign the writ in your very presence - in exchange for the scroll case. You can then claim the diamond back in Po Li with the signed writ."
"No, no, no. What do these effete clowns know - that such worldly goods matter to us warriors?" Jiang Hong quickly cuts in. [b]"Your fighting prowess, as you have already demonstrated, is incredible, but it can be better. Give me the scroll case, return with me to Quain and I will provide you further training, not just in combat but I will also help you unlock wisdom." Here, she offers a headband, and from her words, it appears to be a headband of wisdom.
The three groups return to glaring at each other. Jianghong calls out, "So what say you?" Meanwhile, Princess Song Rui drifts back but still keeping everything in sight, waiting to see how the Pathfinders respond.
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Toral looks at his companions and knows that he is outnumbered.
”Oh by the lucky dwarven beer!! You Pathfinders have no idea about business! Take the 5000 gold pieces! I see no reason to forget the lessons of the past and this lesson shows that we repeat our mistakes ... hmmm ... oh whatever!!!“ he says frowning after seeing his fellow Pathfinders facial expressions.
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"I see," Yue Xin replies coldly. "Then you force my hand!"
Jianghong, seeing matters deteriorate into combat, turns serious and quickly steps back and gesture Zheng forward. He whispers to him but the wind catches his words to you. "Be careful, loyal one. They are formidable. I would not wish to lose you even for the greatest wealth in the world."
Jiang Fei similarly looks reluctant to get into combat with you. She wraps one her right palm over her left fist, and gives a brief bow, a respectful gesture that some of you recognise as a shorthand in the pugilistic world that despite the upcoming battle, she will treat this as a combat of skill rather than to the death. She then moves into a fighting stance, as does Yue Xin and Zheng!
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Inira nods to Jiang in recognition, but then it is too late to matter. She whistles low as she watches Dwight just put her down. Wishing she had some blunt arrows, she closes the distance to try and fight them without too much bloodshed. She does take a shot at Yue Xin, though, before moving to use her bow as a melee weapon.
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Inira sends an arrow flying ahead of her. The arrow drives deep into Yue Xin's chest, sending his coughing out blood. Vayon similarly moves up, calling upon his magic to prepare him for close combat.
Yue Xin takes a step back as he pulls out a scroll. He stumbles through the casting, spraying some blood on the parchment, but struggles sufficiently through it. The magic released from the scroll heals some of his wounds. Zheng swings a massive flail ahead of him as he moves cautiously towards Inira. While staying on the defensive, the experienced warrior still manages to find an opening and smashes the weapon hard against the half-elf's chest.
Smilingly Kyra adds.
"You are trying to attack the higher ground. You will loose!"