A paladin with Kenji’s principles probably didn’t mean to win the fight with a … ‘blow b’low the belt.’
Nevertheless, Blue Mask stands in the center of the Teahouse stupidly for a moment, holding himself in a squirrel grip, before slooooowly toppling backward with a loud *THUD*.
For a moment, the entire teahouse is silent.
Then, the onlookers break into thunderous applause and cheers!
"Amazing!"
"Stoopendous!"
“I didn’t know Irorans were so ninja. What that paladin just did to the blue dude was street-fighting at its purest!”
"They really showed those Scorpions what for!"
"Jade Ogre Style? I wanna learn! Sign me up!"
"Me too! me too!"
The entire teahouse is in an uproar as customers clamor around all of you, giving you congratulatory slaps on the back, shaking your hands, begging autographs, asking your favorite baby names. A couple of people even try to tear off Radiarch’s clothes! Meanwhile, the teahouse employees simply look at each other and shrug before beginning the task of cleaning up and dragging the unconscious Scorpion School students outside.
After a few minutes, Jiang Fei comes squirming through the crowd, looking quite pleased. "Well done, my students, well done! You did all that I could have asked for and more besides."
"I noticed that a couple of you even improvised your own moves - very clever! I might even have to incorporate them into my teaching, giving all due credit of course!"
She looks around; all of the ruckus inside the teahouse seems to be drawing even more curious faces in from the outside. “There are more prospective students now than I could shake an Ogre club at! Tell you what - go and take a break, because you're earned one, and then meet me back at my home in about an hour.”
“You made good on your end of the bargain and when I return, I will make good on mine, as promised.”
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Kenji blushes after all the praise and is glad that nobody was really hurt.
He helps all the opponents to stand up and heals some by laying on hands.
"Be more respectful of others next time please!! You have to walk the path to perfection which includes manners!" Kenji says with a raised finger to the rude kids.
After taking some time to relax, unwind, and eat a dumpling meal (or ten), you all make it back to Jiang Fei's home only a few minutes after she does.
"This was the most wonderful day!"
She chatters away as she steps into a small room to the side. You can hear the sounds of rustling as she obviously searches for something. "There were so many people interested in signing up for my school! I'll have no shortage of students now, thanks to all your hard work. You have no idea what that means to me!"
A few moments later, the martial artist steps back out to the common room with something clasped tightly in one hand. She holds it out and slowly unfurls her fingers, revealing a beautiful comb of jade. Carved into it is a depiction of a grand palace, as well as nearby landmarks.
"May I present the Jade Ogre Comb."
Jiang Fei smiles. "When Imperial Lung Wa fell, my ancestor took the comb with her for safekeeping and it has been handed down through my family ever since."
"Even with all the bad luck and financial misfortune we've suffered over the last century we have never been tempted to sell it. But it holds what you and Chun Mai seek -- clues to the location of the Summer Palace."
Jiang Fei continues, pointing out the depiction of a very distinctive-looking rock formation in the likeness of an ogre. “See, there's Ogre Rock!”
"While I can't let you take the comb with you, you're more than welcome to take as much time as you need to study it and copy its carvings and patterns. Oh! And before I forget, here's a reward that's a little more tangible -- seems those Scorpion School students happened to drop some of their belongings when they were hauled outside and, well, they won't be needing them anytime soon ..."
Jiang Fei then offers the group a small leather pouch embossed with a trio of ninjas chasing a Tien Ogre containing half a dozen potions. "I wish I could offer more but it's the best I can do until my school really takes off."
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As comfortable as Keiko was fighting, once the fight is over and she finds herself somewhat of a celebrity, she is obviously wildly uncomfortable and she edges her way silently towards the front door to escape the crowd.
~~*Later*~~
Keiko's eyes get real big when Jiang brings out the comb - she easily notices the palace on it. She suggests taking a rubbing of the comb decorations, so they can have a accurate copy without damaging the comb.
While trying to determine the types of potions Jiang Fei has acquired, you settle in and spend the next day or two painstakingly documenting every possible detail about the Jade Ogre Comb, and doing what you can to reproduce the carvings that it bears.
Well, the more industrious of you do. Brand likely spends his time complaining about the heat (or cold) while lamenting the loss of his homeland to the barbarity of the common people.
Jiang Fei also invites Keiko, Kenji and Radiarch to help with introductory lessons for new students learning the Way of the Jade Ogre. The foreign senseis prove quite popular with the locals for their discipline, fairness, and the stories they tell of their homelands.
Eventually, the familiar face of Zhang Chunhua, Chun Mai’s plain-featured maidservant knocks on your door with a new letter from her mistress.
“The lugger is ready for a return journey east across the lake and river that feeds the southern end of the Sea of Ghosts. I understand Changdo, capital of the Successor State of Po Li is your destination, Lilies.”
“Since I last saw you, I have been improving my archery skills – and the Mistress rewarded me with a new longbow of darkwood!”
She hands a light-weight composite longbow to Keiko for examination. “Aren’t I lucky? It was custom-made for me by a Master Fletcher in Xiwu, the city whose university you visited recently.”
That afternoon, you bid goodbye to Jiang Fei and turn your attention towards the next task that Chun Mai had laid before you – a meeting with a minor bureaucrat by the name of Yue Xin ...
♔
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. It is to Changdo that you now travel, enjoying the safety of the heavily patrolled waterways of Po Li. As you approach the city you take in the extraordinary sight of the Eternal Emperor, a colossal statue that has been under construction for over three 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 wearing a broad mortarboard stands beside the well, the line of his bamboo fishing pole disappearing into its depths.
At first, the man doesn't react as Radiarch approaches and removes his hood.
Nor does he answer the paladin’s polite query, apart from a careless shrug of his shoulders.
Then he gives the fishing pole in his hand a brief, puzzled glance before unceremoniously dumping it down into the well. The clattering echoes of the falling bamboo pole are just audible above the sounds of the trading yard.
The young man flips up his mortarboard and scratches his brow. 神离我们比水离鱼更近
Staring back at you, he continues with a broad, nasal twang. “What the F is that supposed to mean, cob?”
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Although Keiko is thoroughly confused by the man's odd demeanor, she will try her best to be diplomatic.
She translates his Tien to her companions, then replies to him, assuming the vague Tien phrase was similar to the poetic couplet tradition expressed earlier by Chun Mai.
(In Tien) "Men may make their plans, but gods are the ones who rolls the dice. We are friends of Chun Mai. Are you whom we were sent to seek? What is your name, good sir?"
“So at least one of you foreigners does speak Tien.”
The man looks taken aback, like a proud teacher corrected by a student.
“And from your response to the couplet via a couplet, I can almost believe you were sent by Chun Mai.”
The man nervously picks at his fingernails, while he considers something weighing heavily on his mind.
Eventually he comes to a decision. “Fine. My name is Yue Xin.”
He reaches into a satchel slung across his shoulder and pulls out a crumpled mess of poorly-preserved papers, handing them off to Radiarch. The papers are crowded with Tien characters and Yue Xin gestures elaborately at an odd symbol, outlined in red ink.
"You can see here why Chun Mai was so interested in my find, right?"
“No? AARGH!! Give me them back then!”
After snatching back the papers, the strange fellow sighs and begins orating at a frantic pace. "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 Chun Mai 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 agents of your mettle will have no trouble traveling to the ruin, avoiding the State soldiers who guard it by day, exploring it by night, and overcoming the ghosts said to haunt it.”
Yue Xin finishes with a gormless smile. “After all, the restless dead offer no threat to she who sparks the tinder.”
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Being handed the wrinkled papers, only then to have them tugged away jostled Radiarch a little, but the man's sporadic behavior was all too familiar to him. He'd seen this play out plenty of times with troops on the front. Fractured minds of those who've seen things they can no longer unsee.
After hearing Yue Xin finish, Radiarch broke his silence with, "This cob will see it through. Thank you for the details. Keiko, it might serve us best if you run point on this one. Though I doubt finding letters written in green fire will be hard to spot."
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“Look, Lady. I don’t know you or anything about you.”
The bureaucrat’s stress is reaching a physical limit. “Yet here I am, risking my life … and what’s worse my career to aid foreign agents, as a favor to Chun Mai.”
He whispers furiously. “I will spell it out for you one more time, then I AM DONE!”
• Travel to the ruin – I have given you directions already
• Avoid the State soldiers who guard it by day
• I would suggest exploring it by night, overcoming anything – undead or otherwise – currently making its home there
• Watch for the words written in green fire (yeah I dunno what that means either!)
He stops, breathing heavily like he’s just run a marathon.
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"Ok, ok, Mister Scribe... don't have a heart attack. Return to the comforts of your life. We shall take care of the hard, dirty work so that you do not risk your... career?... any further."
The witch nods as she rises, adding "You look cute when you get all flustered like that, Mister Scribe... brings some colors to your cheeks."
She winks at him and steps outside.
"We fear not the 'restless dead'. Those we encounter shall be given a final rest."
“Such things should not be spoken off in public!”
Yue Xin pulls a paring knife from his sleeve, cuts off a slice of Tsu Lin pear from his lunch bag and thrusts the remainder into Razisus’ hands.
"You look cute when you get all flustered like that, Mister Scribe... brings some colors to your cheeks."
“Just … just … don’t get caught! If you get arrested I will disavow all knowledge of you and Chun Mai. Now, good day to you!”
As you take leave of the neurotic Yue Xin and head out of Chando to the west, in search of the crossroads that will lead you to the ruined communications center, you have the opportunity to recall what you know about Imperial Communications from prior study, or if you speak Tien, by asking the locals.
Soldiers who guard these ruins are particularly diligent during the day, but known to be somewhat lax by night.
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.
By late afternoon, a tall ruined pyramid-like structure comes into view in the middle-distance.
Perhaps half a dozen armed men in uniform patrol the road leading towards it. They are presently about a quarter-mile away and moving towards you.
It doesn’t look like they’ve spotted you yet.
Perhaps half a dozen armed men in uniform patrol the road leading towards the ruined communications station. They are presently about a quarter-mile away and moving towards you.
It doesn’t look like they’ve spotted you yet.
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Kenji speaks Tien and of course know his way around people!
He tries to gather information.
~
Kenji and the others all work together.
"Okay everyone, I ... I wrote everything down because I am so forgetful! So listen ... ehhh .. . about the Imperial Communications ... so ...
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.
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.
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. So what do you think about that? We wait until night, right?" he asks.
As the group waits for the patrol to pass, the sun begins to set over a number of crumbling buildings that stand at the foot of the towering communications station. Backlit by Sarenrae’s retreat, the ruins take on a shadowy, 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 structure resembling an exterior hearth with narrow, twinned chimneys rises into the sky. These chimneys are far better preserved than the surrounding buildings.
As Razisus moves around the ruined the buildings in the shadow of the communications structure, he reveals a series of cracks in the flagstones under his feet that form a perfect square.
The priest suspects that this stone panel could be moved but that it'll likely take some effort to manage it. Once the stone slab finally pops free, tumbling backward against the other flagstones with a mighty *CR-THUNK* A large space beneath the lid contains a cache of a dozen skyrockets, the tubes of which remain brightly colored despite their age.
There are two each of red, orange, yellow, white, and violet.
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As the night falls and the group decides to investigate the ruins, Magdelina casts a spell of mage armor on herself.
=========================================
Magdelina stares in wonder at the stash of skyrockets uncovered. She casts a simple spell of magic detection to learn more about the items...
With night having now fallen over the area, Magdelina notes the skyrockets give off a faint aura of abjuration or conjuration magic.
She also realizes it is a simple matter to activate a rocket – simply place it in a launcher and light the fuse.
Lung Wa’s Bureau of Communications made use of fireworks to send messages over great distances.
The Varisian witch recalls the information Kenji gathered from the Chando citizenry, but notes with dismay that there do NOT appear to be any green fireworks.
Magdelina takes a blue and yellow rocket, loads them into place and lights the fuse …
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 enormous words written in Tien that seem to hang and linger in the air longer than usual.
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"Good work, Magdelina! And no, I'm afraid I do not. But after this trip, I may pick up some reading materials when we return to Absalom," Radiarch replied reluctantly.
He quietly pulled an arrow from his quiver and nocked it in case the light show drew unwanted attention, darting his gaze around them.
While Magdelina, Radiarch and Razisus puzzle over the significance of this new bit of information, the fiery green words finally break apart with their fallout settling back to golarion.
Well, most of it does.
A couple of the Tien characters maintain their shape all the way back down to the ground. As they come to rest on the flagstones, these pictographs suddenly begin to move! They writhe and shift until they look more like separate blue and yellow bonfires, tongues of flame licking out in search of fuel to burn.
"እሺ, ነፃ ነን!" one of them exclaims, pulsing brightly. "የተወሰደው, ጥቂት መቶ አመታትና ከዚያ በላይ ነው? ለማንኛውም እንደዚያ ሆኖ ተሰማኝ."
The second flame almost seems to stretch as it replies, "ቀ ል ድ አ ይ ደ ለ ም! እነርሱ መጥተው ሲረሱ ብቻ እጠላለሁ. አንድ ነገር አሁን ለመግደል መቆም እችላለሁ. የበለጠ ጥሩ ስሜት እንዲሰማኝ ያደርጋል."
At this point the two flames finally seem to notice that they've got company and turn to face you.
"ሄይ ስለእነሱ? መጀመሪያ ላይ በእነዚህ የቧንቧ ክፍሎች ውስጥ የተጣለቁ ሊሆኑ ይችላሉ! እና እነሱ ባይሆኑም እንኳ እዚህ አሉ ማለት ነው, ስለዚህ..." the second flame remarks.
"ለእኔ ይሠራል. ክፍያ!" the first responds as they both roar and move to engage!
"It only took, what? A few hundred years? Felt like it, anyway."
"No kidding! I hate it when they just summon and forget. I could really stand to kill something right about now. It'd make me feel a lot better."
"Hey, what about them? They're probably the ones that stuck us in those tubes in the first place! And even if they aren't, they're already here, so..."
"Works for me. Charge!"
Blue
Yellow
--
Radiarch
Keiko
Brand
Kenji
Razisus
Magdelina
go first!
Blue Flame charges Kenji!
Despite the ruins’ stubborn overgrowth, Yellow Flame has the speed to not let the vegetation prevent it from reaching Magdelina in a single action.
Round #1:
Blue
Yellow
--
Radiarch
Keiko
Brand
Kenji
Razisus
Magdelina
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"OUCHIE! get your burning mitts away from me!!"
Maggie tries to dodge away from the creature, then, with thoughts of alarm, begs for the help of Daysie, saying out loud, "Daysie! there's a fire you need to put out. NOW!"
Magdelina tumbles away from Yellow successfully and misfortunes the firebringer.
The witch knows fire elementals are immune to fire, bleed, paralysis, poison, sleep effects, and stunning.
Kenji winds up, but the elemental ducks his wild swing.
Radiarch takes an unobscured shot into melee at Blue, and watches his arrow disappear into its burning core, doing full damage.
Round #1:
Blue
Yellow
--
Radiarch
Keiko
Brand
Kenji
Razisus
Magdelina
are go!
Misfortune (Su): For 1 round, anytime the creature makes an ability check, attack roll, saving throw, or skill check, it must roll twice and take the worse result. A Will DC 15 save negates this hex.
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Razisus prays for the blessing of the Lady of Graves, and draws his sling like the hero in the ageless parable of Faith and the underdog.
Brand takes a 5’ step to the south and ✨casts cure light wounds on Magdelina.
“Don’t say I don’t do nothing por toi, Magdelina.”
Round #1:
Blue
Yellow
--
Radiarch
Keiko
Brand
Kenji
Razisus
Magdelina
turn …
Misfortune (Su): For 1 round, anytime the creature makes an ability check, attack roll, saving throw, or skill check, it must roll twice and take the worse result. A Will DC 15 save negates this hex.