Lung is far too gentlemanly, or cowardly, to take Piella's hand, and lets her cling to his sleeve. "I feel refreshed," he says to the gnome, "...although..." he adds conspiratorily, "...I wish we had time to sit somewhere and simply read for a bit. How I've missed that."
While his dress is plain, he's taken some time to clean his leather armor, which was getting scuffed and dull--it gleams with new beeswax and a bit of lanolin. The Iron Scroll shines as well.
At the tavern, Lung maintains his formality out of long monastic practice, and if he enjoys the scenery and the gentle cool breeze from the river, he doesn't show it, keeping his face impassive as usual.
Lung bows behind Piella. "I am Lung Shanyang." He waits politely for them to introduce themselves.
Shiro nodded. "I thought it would prove useful should I be working undercover. A good disguise does not just look the part. But I will take the time to clean up if we're to visit Grandfather."
Once he is certain he is alone, the young man carefully washes and scrubs his body to remove any clinging unpleasantness. He then uses a modest amount of sandalwood oil to rejuvenate the skin and leave a pleasant scent, one that might befit a member of a respected family.
He leaves with others in a simple muted blue uniform whose only decoration is the sigil of an imperial agent. Once they arrive at the tavern, Shiro sits in the seat closest to Soeji. Bowing formally, the masked man introduces himself. "I am Heida, Shiro."
Katala stands when Soeji waves the other three in. As greetings and introductions are exchanged he does his best to remember what they say so he can respond correctly.
"Piella Pollyhum-Prettyfoot, Lung Shanyang, and Shiro Heida, thank you for the honor. I am Katala Doratian, Shaman of Lanxu. We have been trying to find a lead toward another of the items you seek, but so far have found no lead to Duan or the Golden Carp. Please join us."
Once the others are seated and more drink is poured he coaxes Shal to try it. The little snark takes a sniff, then takes a little sip, and settles beside the cup glowing slightly. "Taicho, It appears that even Shal enjoys your selection of drink!"
Since coming into the service of Old Soeji, she has met many who are family friends of the elderly man. These two were a bit different and quite capable-looking to her eyes as potential adventurers or beings of action. She, on the other hand, limps with weakness in one leg and seems so cute and small that few would ever think of her as having done the feats she has.
"Shaman Katala and Master Taicho, it is a pleasure to meet you. I'm glad to finally meet some of the others who are frustratingly in search for some of these tasks. We also have shared in the struggles of not being able to hear anything that would lead us to find this 'Duan'."
She looks to Soeji for confirmation that they are who they say they are. He is the only one of these new people she fully trusts, but once Soeji confirms them, they will be like family in her eyes.
Soeji gives Piella a reassuring nod.
"I'm pleased we can finally all meet. Or at least, most. Little Bao is currently at home. I reckoned Piella might not approve of me if I brought him here."
He strokes his beard.
"Katala is right, this Duan is most elusive. I reckon if we keep pressing the locals for answers we may eventually find something, though I still think it'd be best to remain somewhat discreet. Too many connections made and someone may figure out what we're up to."
"I was hoping to see Bao at the residence when we got there, but I imagine he was outside playing with someone. We saw your note and got cleaned up...please...do you smell fish on us?" she asks honestly. She is actually smelling quite fresh. While Shiro smells like sandalwood, she smells like lavender.
"Your grandson has proven most useful at discreet matters. He also was wanting to find out about the competition as well. I'm sure if anyone can find out from the locals about Duan, it is him." she refers to Shiro.
Seeing Piella limping toward the group, looking like some unknown celebrity, Katala picks up her cup with his tail and steps over to her stool. He slowly decreases in size until he matches her height almost exactly. (perhaps a half inch less?) Holding the cup out to her he smiles, "Please take a seat and join us. Perhaps you can bring us up to date on the outing from which you have just returned?"
Lung's eyes widen as the vanara shrinks to match Piella. "Er, we found the colossal blue crab, known as Kuijia. We were not able to reason with it, so we bound it up. It's now being stored at Old Soeji's. We also found some treasures in the sea caves, and a very strange creature, the Stealer in Shadows, that we haven't identified...which is probably no matter. As for Duan..."
Lung rubs his chin. "Did we ever find out if the Stealer in Shadows' master was Kuijia? Perhaps we should talk to the Stealer. What if, haha, Duan is the Stealer in Shadows transformed, and that's why we can't find him?"
Lung refuses any alcohol politely. "Just tea, please. As you can see I'm already a bit addled with all the information we're processing."
A little gasp of joy comes from the gnome as she watches Katala shrink down. She will clap her hands and takes the cup happily.
"Thank you."
Her eyes don't leave the Varana in case he changes again.
"He's like a cute little monkey. I wonder if they like being petted?"
"Old Soeji was going to have him questioned for us," she answers Lung about their prisoner. "It did show some intelligence, but that makes it worse. He has been terrorizing the region for years. I'm sure the whole dockyard is celebrating tonight."
Piella will take her plum wine and drink it in respect.
"We don't really know," she answers the Tengu concerning their prisoner. "He set upon us in an instant and made some bold claims."
Piella's reaction to his size changing brings a smile to Katala's face. Once she is settles he moves back to his own seat, growing back to his normal size.
Once seated he notices that a couple of the others were watching him and realizes that perhaps an explanation was needed? "Ah.... It's rare, but while I thought it was something that Lanxu had granted, I was told that it's something that a few of my race can do. I can't change my appearance though, only my size."
@Lung "I'm confused with your words. You name the crab Kuijia, but say that you couldn't reason with it. Do you mean that it would not communicate? Or you didn't have anyone that could speak it's language, magically or otherwise? Perhaps it isn't intelligent, just huge?"
"And what sort of creature was the Stealer in Shadows? Did you also capture it? You mention that Kuijia might be its master. Could it have been the master of Kuijia? What sort of bold claims did it make?"
Lung bows again to Katala, red-faced. "We did not have time to speak with it. The other crabs, though, they did speak with us. We owe it to Kuijia to converse with it."
"As for the Stealer, he was on the verge of mentioning a master--or something else beginning with 'ma-' and then held his tongue. Yes, it's being held as well."
He seems a little downcast about the failure to find Duan, and ponders again.
"I apologize for continuing to hit the same nail with a hammer, but the elusive nature of Duan bothers me. I wonder if it's even necessary to meet him, or if it's a pen name, or even several people. Perhaps we don't need to find him--just his poetry, which we already have. Or perhaps we should just go to the Leiguang River and look for the Carp. Perhaps the Carp has enchanted him and he lives under her thrall now," he says, with a wink.
"You know, perhaps a sip of plum wine won't hurt."
Piella will clarify for the others. "It is not that they spoke with us as if intelligent. I have magic that allows me to speak to animals that I will use at times. I'd say it enables them to be slightly more intelligent than they would be...in a way. At least enough to speak."
She will then listen as Lung speaks on the Stealer.
"There was definitely the indication that he was there for the purpose of harming us, and at the direction of someone to do so..."
"If a clue or path doesn't present itself, I am worried that at some point, we may have to focus on other tasks at hand. Have you all found anything concerning Duan?"
"I have a quick summary, and memorized key passages..." says Lung, startled out of a reverie. After a cup of plum wine, he has found himself pondering whether the rather hungry Taicho eats chicken.
Artesian sundown
A bighead, golden carp sings
on the Leiguang
Refreshing twilight
A lonely, wondrous woman
out of riverbed
Shining aurora
shall dreamlike transformation
watching the water
Duan
Katala thinks about the various statements. Piella did have magic to converse with animals, but there hadn't been time to try to speak with the Giant Crab. Perhaps it wasn't intelligent? Unknown.
And the Stealer in Shadows.... It had attacked immediately after speaking to them? The Stealer had been captured, but hadn't identified it's purpose or master?
As for his friend, "I really thought Brother Setzin would know somebody that might know.... something. But maybe I don't know him as well as I thought. Anyway, that's why we're here. If Duan is an artist or performer, maybe a bard? But we haven't asked yet."
Reviewing the words of the poem he takes a sip of his wine. "I'm sorry, but that doesn't give me much useful. Artesian sundown? And Refreshing twilight? Interesting that it refers to a time of day twice mentioning when the sun is just below the horizon but there is still some light. And Shining aurora? I think aurora refers to lights in the northern sky?"
"No, no prohibition at all. It is not awakened."
She chuckles at Taicho's clear appreciation for the local delectables. "You are in the right place. You should enjoy yourself a little bit extra here."
She nods with Katala. "It does rather sound like a map in order to find this Golden Carp. Mysterious! If you didn't know, many of our attempts to take hold of these flavors have involved an otherworldly trial. Playing odd games with spirits, sneaking an egg to not get killed, convincing Kuijia's followers to leave her so we didn't have to fight them all at once. It all has had an element of difficulty. I'd expect this to not be any different. Perhaps let us go down to the water at that exact moment? Lung, do you have any insights as to when that would be?"
It's probably more evident that when she speaks to Lung, there are a bit nicer inflections in her voice, she puts on a cuter smile when she speaks to him, and lots of eye contact. She certainly looks to him for knowledge on unknown matters too. To Shiro, she relies on him for knowing the hidden as indicated earlier. She easily can be seen to treat them differently, yet both are very close people to her--Lung perhaps something more? A person she is potentially attracted to from a distance? She was holding his robe sleeve when they walked in.
She will drink her wine as she hears what he has to say.
"I should hope there's no prohibition," scoffs Soeji. "We mean to make a feast of the thing. Can't recreate the feast with just ordinary ingredients, if you know what I mean."
He sips from the wine.
"As for the poem, well it certainly wasn't for the likes of me, but perhaps there's still a kernel of truth among the flowery words. Now, unless someone else feels like chatting up the tavernkeeper, I'll see if I can dig something up about our hidden poet."
Soeji muses for a moment.
"Well, it's not like we don't have plenty of other things to get to. The Leiguang isn't going anywhere anytime soon. If you want to head out and try and find one of our other missing ingredients that'd be fine as well. Bao's also probably driving his family up the walls, so getting him on the road wouldn't hurt. At the end of the day, we have the luxury of time, but we still should avoid wasting it."
He finishes his drink.
"The wine was a fantastic idea Taicho. I think I'll need to come back here more often."
"We can do that," Piella offers considering the other ingredients. She idly wonders where Soeji is going to send this other group. "I can't wait to see Bao again."
She looks to the strangers and concerning Bao, she gives them insight, "He is a boy who has been traveling with us on our journey. He's a darling. Old Soeji," she turns to him and peers over the table's edge from her seat and places her cup back. "We had some issues with our prisoner and the wolf in the Spirit Realm. I don't particularly wish to die on this quest. I was thinking perhaps it might be better if Katala and Taicho come with us? We have more than enough room in the wagon. I'm sure Bao will love the extra company as well."
Katala had been considering speaking with the tavern keeper, but was hoping someone better trained as a diplomat might. That thought cleared completely when Piella mentioned joining them for the trip.
"Room in a wagon? I've never ridden on a trip out of here before! Just walked the soles off of sandals or boots depending on the season! I'd love to join your team, and I can shrink so I load the wagon less! My shaman abilities are available to all, and Shal can fly above us to help scout ahead once we get away from the city."
"You say Bao is a boy? Shal likes younglings, as long as they handle him gently. He's not very big so he could be hurt if handled too roughly!"
After catching his breath he remembers that this isn't a casual trip and there is a mission.... "Where would our next stop be? And what do we seek? The white-haired ox? Dragon fire? Pure water as from the heavens?"
Lung looks like a bolt of lighting has struck him. "A map...yes. Piella, you're a genius."
He pulls out brush, ink block and some parchment.
"...'Artesian sundown.'...An artesian spring is one that issues forth from the ground water with no discernible source. Of course, the source in question is the Leiguang. We need a map of the Leiguang. And we need to go to a place where we can see an aurora, which is either to the far North or South."
He sketches out these notes in written and visual form.
"The carp emerges at sundown, sings, and as dusk falls--twilight--transforms into a woman. Near an artesian spring, with an aurora overhead. We need celestial charts to see when auroras will be due next. They can be predicted, somewhat."
He looks at the others. "I need to find a repository of maps, and astronomy. Can you help me find that? That will tell us what is next on our timetable. If it is soon, we must away at once. If it is later, then yes, the Ox or another goal."
He returns Piella's smile, eyes twinkling. "I think you've cracked it, Piella. Beautifully done. New friends, I am looking forward to an adventure, whichever one it may be, and if it do involve fish, it won't involve their guts."
Piella assigns Shiro to the task of finding out about Duan from the tavern barkeep/owner. He can do so under many guises and keep their inquiries anonymous. Piella seems to mimic Katala's excitement by gently clapping her cutely small hands together as he exclaims his intent.
As he suggests how to interact with Bao, there is almost a motherly wave that passes over her that soothes her soul.
"Hmm...I'm not sure..." she answers the monkey-man. "Ever since reading of it, I've wanted to wrestle pure water from the heavens. That just sounds miraculous!" she whispers.
Piella will turn beet-red when Lung compliments her. She marvels at his intelligence and wisdom as he lays out what he does. One would think she seems like a fangirl staring at her idol speaking about his music. As he begins to request things of them, she somewhat snaps out of it and nods in answer to him.
"That shouldn't be too hard. I'm sure there is a star-watcher society, as well as a local library that contains some scrolls. Taicho, will you join us? Is that okay? Will that disrupt any of your plans?" she asks Soeji. She is certain the crafty old man didn't have them here for nothing.
"The libraries will tell us, Honored Blackfeather," says Lung, standing up abruptly. "Piella, all, we must be finding our way to some books. We can all digest on the way, yes?"
Katala politely finishes his drink and stands, gathering Shal and his gear, "Yes. Sounds like a good next stop!"
"Yes!" Lung begins walking confidently away from the tavern. "Hmmm...er...which way?"
"Are we picking up the boy?" Shiro pondered aloud. He'd left Gou with Bao's family and was perhaps missing his canine companion.
"The Shuishang Collection isn't quite on the same scale as Xin's Celestial Archives, but it's still got quite a trove."
Soeji pays for the drinks and heads out with the rest of you.
Given Katala would have already visited it in their duties with the Temple, they can easily guide you there.
"We could always take a detour to pick up Bao. The Collection may not be exciting, but it's safe."
"Would Bao be interested in a collection of scrolls and books, historical treasures? I know I wasn't when I was younger. It was a task to go there. Strange that I enjoy history now that I've gotten a little older."
"I'm sure one of us can entertain Bao by reading him a story from the library while the rest of us search. It'll probably be something he hasn't heard before."
She wonders if she is somehow volunteering for this. After walking such a distance and with the height of the book/scroll shelving, it would probably be for the best she take that role anyways. The group will notice how slow she is at walking quite easily. She will also return to Lung if he offers a sleeve.
"Of course! I had hoped the five of you would consent to working together. I know we can cover more ground separately, but I think there's truth to the old saying "strength in numbers"."
Katala brightens up at Piella's suggestion. "I can do that! The brothers at temple sometimes let me read to the younglings. I think they realized that I hadn't learned the teachings properly when I was younger and I'd be learning too. Besides, then Shal can meet him too!"
"Wonderful!" she replies to Soeji.
A smile creases over Piella's face at Katala's offer. "What is Shal? I don't think I've ever seen anything like him." She eyes the flying, multicolored bird-bat oddity. "Is he from our world? He seems almost like...something more!"
Katala calls Shal to his hand. Once the tiny creature has folded his bright colored wings it is clear that this cross between a bird and a bat is not common. Katala softly rubs the back of Shal's neck, causing him to glow softly. "I didn't understand much about him at first. But he can project to me when he's upset, scared, or such. He's learning with me. We should be able to talk to each other some day, just not yet."
"He's something called a Snark. Not common to this world. I think his kind are from the spirit realm or something. I commune with him in the morning and learn my spells for the day. Without him I wouldn't have access to the stronger magic that I can use."
"A...snark? I'm not sure that's..." Lung gets very confused indeed. "Well. Shuishang it is." He notices Piella possibly waiting for an elbow/sleeve, and, sheepishly, offers it again. "Now, I need Bao on the other side to balance myself out," he jokes. "Or Taicho, of course; I'm sure you can keep him under your wing--er, so to speak."
Lung makes a mental note to not try to make any more jokes again, ever.
"He looks like he is from the spirit realm. I think that's really neat that he's become your friend. We'll hopefully get to learn as much about him as we will about you. Plus, our journey seems to keep bringing us into the spirit realm. I wonder what he will look like there; if he will seem different."
She looks intently at the little creature as it glows. She would love to see it at night glow even brighter.
"Well, then I guess it will be me helping you look and research, Lung," she smiles up to him. She then looks to the newcomers:
"I'm sure you two are going to love Bao, but be warned, if you are too interesting, there will be no end to his interest in you."
She will take Lung's sleeve with a chuckle. "Most wouldn't think he jokes, but I've seen it a couple of times."
"It's settled then. Taicho and I will work with Bao while everyone searches for information. I just hope he understands that my tail is not for pulling! It is quite real and attached!"
"And since you've indicated that he is a smart lad, perhaps he might have some information about the items that we seek? I've found that children's tales sometimes have useful information within the stories."
"Brilliant! We'll go and get Bao before heading to the Collection."
A brief detour later, the five of you, Soeji, and Bao are following Katala's lead down to the Shuishang Collection. Bao, deprived of attention for far too many hours, can't help himself from blasting everyone with an endless stream of questions.
"What took you so long? Where have you been? When are we going to eat the crab? Are we going to eat the crab? Who are our new friends? Can I play with that thing? Can I ride on your back? Can you fly? Can you climb trees? Are you magical?"
Thankfully the route to the Collection is quite short.
Katala enjoys the enthusiasm of the lad. He smiles and moves beside him. "Slow down! It's hard to answer so many questions with no delay given for an answer. The crab is for the special meal for the ceremony. The meal is for the gods, but there might be enough for a little to be shared."
"I am Katala, and my friend here is Taicho. We're going to try and help find the other things that are needed for the meal."
"If the 'thing' that you are asking about playing with is my friend and spirit animal named Shal? He's not a 'thing', but he does like playing with people that treat him properly. He's delicate though so you can't be rough. If you rub him nicely he glows like a candle. And if you look along the front edge of his wings, you can see his tiny hands. Sometimes he gets sneaky and takes little things that amuse him."
"Any of us could probably climb a tree, but we don't have time for it right now. Maybe once we finish finding all of the needed ingredients, and prepare the feast?"
"Aren't we all magical in some way? Life itself is the magic of creation, in the realms of the Divine. But did you have a specific meaning for your question?"
Lung is surprised at the tengu at his side, but takes it in stride.
"Bao, Katala would like to know any nursery rhymes you might have heard. About a golden carp, for example, but any you know are fine," says Lung with a smile.
"Hmmm...I had never thought of myself as a magical being, but I think you're correct, Katala; we all have a spark of the Divine Court within us, and so does every rock, and tree, and mouse and cricket," says the monk.
Piella will laugh at Taicho as he expresses how interesting they will be to Bao. "Of that, I have no doubt." At the thought of seeing Bao soon, she seems even happier. It is as if their group has a special bond and now it is strengthend by being renewed. At seeing him she will fully hug him and give him little kisses on his cheek and forehead as he asks his questions.
"Oh you silly boy. I love you. Now, let me show you a secret of why we took so long. Look what we found..." she will show him the dragon urn and the stones secretively. After katala explains and answers all of his questions, she nods.
"And don't forget, Katala has a tail, but just like with a cat, you can't pull on it. It's sentitive."
With the trip so short, she won't get to explain all of what happened down in the caves, but will do her best to summarize with the promise that that night, she'd put him to bed by telling him the whole, grand tale. She would also explain what they are doing right now. It is clear, they keep nothing from the boy.
Listening to Lung speak about their spark and how important each of them were, she adds, "And this group is charged with a sacred duty to make a meal for them. The epic task before us cannot be minimized!" she hums happily. Once in the library, she will begin searching, but will tell Bao, "You mind Katala and Taicho. Be careful and gentle as always with books and scrolls as I've told you."
They've handled a number of them on their journey, from her own family books to the scrolls they've found. As she searches, she starts in the sections for arcane events. Surely, someone has detected something in the region that may have to do with a localized event. They may not have had the key to seeing the follow-through though.
""Bao, Katala would like to know any nursery rhymes you might have heard. About a golden carp, for example, but any you know are fine," says Lung with a smile."
"Sorry Lung, I don't got any with golden carps. I only know a few anyhow." He recites the ones he knows (The Moon and the Sun, The Lonely Cricket, Rooster Sings This Morning, etc.) as you head to the Collection, but none are new to you.
"Oh you silly boy. I love you. Now, let me show you a secret of why we took so long. Look what we found..." she will show him the dragon urn and the stones secretively. After katala explains and answers all of his questions, she nods.
Eyes wide with amazement, Bao politely asks if he can hold one, even if for just a moment.
As you request, Bao happily hangs around Katala and Taicho.
---
The lot of you spend a good few hours scouring the Collection. You eventually come across a description of the phenomenon you seek. A day or so before Piaofeng, there is another Woven Stone Gate said to lead to the Spring of the Dreaming Sun. It's off the beaten path however, so you wouldn't have crossed it the last time you went up through the Jintsao Highlands. After all, the Leiguang flows in both the mortal and spiritual realms.