Xin looks at his companions. If no one objects he rises and says "Three Men and a Fairy request that honor."
Hao Jin inclines her head as you step forward to volunteer. You take your positions opposite the trio of Butterfly Blades. Hao Jin raises her hand. "Ready? FIGHT!" she proclaims, letting her hand fall to signal the start of the match!
Yog demoralizes one of the opponents!
Xin explodes into action, moving fast and slipping behind the guardsmen and setting up his allies for a flank.
In ▶️Jellyfish stance, Hotcha ▶️rushes the foe nearest Xin!
She strikes from flank position!
Yog'Moi knows that a team is only as strong as its weakest link and right now, while not weak, one of their foes is being flanked by his comrades. "You!", he bellows as he points a finger at the surrounded bodyguard. His voice is like that of the storm.
A split second later, lightning comes crashing down upon the poor man and, if he's not fast enough, it will then strike his fellow bodyguards.
Well. I did not expect to have a fight tonight. I probably wouldn't have imbibed my pesh if I had known. I take a few deep breaths and shake my head quickly to try and focus. As Hao Jin's hand drops I pull fire onto my blade and sprint forward, landing a very solid blow. Maybe I should smoke before a fight more often?
Esh moves quickly, entering a rage and delivering a critical hit to the central opponent! Xin moves around to behind the Butterfly Blades and begins to inspire the group. Hotcha flutters over to take advantage of the flanking position, pummeling one of the foes twice. He resists being stunned, but Xin slips his blade into the same man's back, leaving him bleeding and weakened!
Yog'Moi's shout demoralizes the wounded man even further, then the hobgoblin unleashes chain lightning on the Butterfly Blades. Two of them take full damage while the third takes twice as much pain as he completely fails to avoid the electric assault!
The opponent Hotcha and Xin attacked steps out of the flank before swinging at Xin with the flat of his blade.
As the blade connects, the foe adjusts his fighting style to counter Xin's, but Xin dodges this blow.
The opponent Esh struck steps to flank Xin and attacks! Xin twists away from the swords!
The final foe focuses on Esh.
He studies the elf as he lands his blow, then adjusts to take advantage of his fighting style, managing a second hit in a vulnerable spot!
The enemy Xin struck continues to bleed.
“Hey! Guards are supposed to stay still, not back away.”
Hotcha ▶️moves to flank with Xin (so he won’t need to move) and strikes some more!
Landing her flurry, Hotcha worries she hurt her opponent’s feelings. She adds, “And Cayden monks are supposed to taunt. No offense meant. Just part of my game face.
“Speaking of face, NOSTRIL CRUSHER!”
Hotcha leaps as high as she can to sock her foe in the nose!
I move to follow my opponent, but leave myself open for his partner, takes advantage of that. I clumsily swipe at him as I reorient myself, then do a quick follow-up that he apparently wasn't expecting.
Xin slashes at Red, then rolls out to flank Orange.
plus
Liking the way the three convulsed, Yog'Moi once more calls upon Hei Feng so that the Empress might witness the power He wields.
Hotcha pummels her opponent with a full combo, then Xin takes him down with a precise strike! The rogue steps to get in position to assist Esh, and as the elf lands a blow, so too does the rogue! More lightning shoots from Yog’Moi’s fingers, and the second Butterfly Blade falls! Badly wounded, the third bodyguard kneels in surrender. ”You win. Congratulations.”
The gathered teams applaud your victory, as do Hao Jin and the empress, who seems particularly impressed!
After helping the Butterfly Blades up, and bowing to them, Xin and the team bow low to the Empress and Hao Jin. Then they bow to the crowd and return to their seats.
"That was outstanding. Yog'Moi, excellent work."
Hotcha smiles at the crowd. She bows to all as Xin bows, but after bowing to Hoa Jin and the empress, Hotcha adds a flamboyant curtsy—just for Yan Fei. And the martial artsy seriousness is gone from her giddy face as her eyes meet the empress’. Her heart is beating for reasons Hotcha hasn’t yet come to terms with.
She lingers. She watches Yan Fei’s reaction. She wants to say something… she bites her lip, and—
—decorum prevails. Or if Hotcha’s honest with herself, she chickens out. For the best. Yan Fei’s a princess. She don’t need no fairy antics. Dip the curtsy into a bow, straighten up, three steps back before you turn and follow the men.
She does all that, but before turning away, she gives Yan Fei a warm smile, skin glowing the same hue of pink it was when she touched her cheek.
Yan Fei’s fan hides her expression, but her eyes follow Hotcha as she leaves the battlefield. Hao Jin offers you a reward for your swift victory: a clear quartz crystal ball.
Half an hour after the exhibition match (during which time you can tend to your injuries), Hao Jin announces the next part of the night’s entertainment. With another flourish of her hand, the quadrants of the courtyard magically transform into different terrain. The northwest quadrant grows into a towering spire of earth, the northeast quadrant collapses into a pool of lava, the southwest quadrant is consumed by a thick layer of ice, and the southeast quadrant sinks into a pit of quicksand. Hao Jin challenges two teams to simultaneously cross the transformed quadrants, one team member per quadrant. The first team to have each team member cross their quadrant wins; if both teams fail to cross all four quadrants, the team that completed the most quadrants wins.
Hao Jin wants a fair competition, so flight and teleportation are not allowed. Of course, the competing teams are permitted to obstruct one another—by combat if desired—so long as the interference is nonlethal.
The Arms of Balance accept the challenge. You have an opportunity to challenge them if you wish to further show off your prowess.
Hotcha says to Xin, “I can fly, so crossing lava’s easy for me. But we’re already a hit with the empress, so I’m okay if we use this challenge to watch two other teams and learn what they can do.”
Yog'Moi eyes the mighty spire and points at it. "This ring 'ere plus my natural inclination to scaling heights ought to give me an advantage with that one."
It's the other challenges, however, which pose more of a question mark. No flying. No teleportation. He supposes other magics are allowed. "You can fly, but they specifically stated they don't want you to fly. No, Someone adept at leaping mighty distances might be better suited for the lava challenge. Hrm, quicksand ... how does that work? You're a lithe lady, perhaps it won't have much of a grasp on you as, ha, it would have on me?"
Hotcha says, “Oh right… I can probably cross the ice without falling on my butt, and I can use my ring to help with the quicksand. Invisibility isn’t against the rules, so I can avoid being hit, if my opponent tries attacking.”
She still is fine being a spectator, but if the men want to play and other teams take too long to step up, she’ll try her best!
Xin stands and signals his team's desire (he transforms it from disinterested willingness to desire) to participate!
You each choose one of the four hazards to try to overcome, taking positions next to the members of Arms of Balance. "Ready? BEGIN!" Hao Jin shouts.
Molten Pool: Large stepping stones float across the surface of this lava pool. The flowing lava causes these stepping stones to sink and bob constantly, making it difficult to keep track of them. A character attempting to cross the lava pool must successfully Seek and then succeed at a DC 34 Athletics check to Leap to the next stone 10 feet away. Every round at the beginning of their turn, the character takes 4d6 fire damage (DC 32 basic Fortitude save; on a failed save, the character becomes enfeebled 1 or increases their enfeebled condition by 1; on a critical failure, enfeebled 2). A character who reaches enfeebled 4 becomes too tired and needs rescuing, failing to overcome this hazard. A character who makes it across the width of the pool (50 feet) successfully completes the challenge.
Quicksand Pit: Crossing the pit of quicksand is a delicate process. A character attempting to do so must succeed at a DC 37 Acrobatics check to Balance across the thick parts of the pit that can support a person’s weight. On a failure, the character begins to sink and must attempt to Swim the rest of the way. Swimming is slightly easier, requiring a DC 34 Athletics check to maneuver. However, the thick sand imposes a –5-foot penalty to a character’s Speed as they Swim through it. If a character can’t make it across the 50-foot pool within 1 minute of falling into the quicksand pit, Hao Jin declares the challenge a failure.
Spire of Heaven: This rocky spire rises 50 feet into the air. Attempting to Climb the spire requires a successful DC 30 Athletics check. Every round, a large rock breaks off from the top of the spire and comes tumbling down on a climber. The climber can avoid the rock with a successful DC 32 Reflex save. On a failure, the character takes 3d10 bludgeoning damage. On a critical failure, the character also falls off, taking the appropriate amount of damage for the fall. Overcoming the Spire of Heaven requires reaching the top. Falling off twice is considered a loss and that hazard can’t be overcome.
Hotcha claims the quicksand quadrant!
She balances with ease, and her little feet move quickly!
When she realizes how quickly she won her challenge, she glows (literally), and again gives Yan Fei a graceful twirl that sinks into a curtsy.
And this time, she tries to catch the expression behind the fan.
The hobgoblin rubs the ring that allows him to climb as if he were a spider, wondering if this makes him a cheat. In a sense, he doesn't give a damn about what anyone might think, but at the same time, the Empress herself is a witness to this event. What She thinks influences what others think ...
He grumbles in answer to all these feelings of doubt and second-guessing and tries to swallow them down. I'll use the damned ring. If I win, at least they'll know my name regardless of what they might think of me. Or should I? She did want a fair competition ... AHHH!
FIRST ROUND
SECOND ROUND
THIRD ROUND
FOURTH ROUND
FIFTH ROUND
SIXTH ROUND
Hotcha will politely cheer on the men as each finishes, win or lose. She wants her teammates to see she supports them, and she wants the empress to see she’s a good sport.
Hotcha is neither embarrassed nor threatened when Esh joins. She of course lets him submerge in the bath before facing his direction, and she’s careful about how she sits—distance, positioning…
But she is glad not to be secluded. And with just Esh here, she knows what she wants to discuss.
“I’m twenty-two.” That’s what she leads with. “So some of the girls I grew up with are my age, and they look my age. But then a few decades from now, they’ll be gray and wrinkled, and then…”
Hotcha’s quiet for a moment.
“I only read that sprites live a really long time. The book was written by a human, so I guess in his research he either asked a sprite how old she was or saw a birthday cake with a thousand or so tiny candles…”
Her tone is so humorless when she mentions the cake. Apparently, her thoughts were already someplace deeply serious by the time Esh joined the bath.
“You look younger than Xin, but you’re older. I’m sure you have past human friends from different human generations. How is it for you to see friends grow old when you don’t? How is it for them to see you stay young? And have you ever…?”
Hotcha is hesitant to use words like ‘wife’ or ‘lover.’ The bath may not be the best place to ask.
Hotcha is willing to answer any questions Esh will ask. The funny thing about being naked in the bath is that no mere word can be awkward!
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I am not nearly sober enough for this I think to myself as I bite back another scream, my vision swimming and my breath gasping. Turns out that trying to play hopscotch and the floor is lava at the same time is not a great idea when the world is already swimming. I finally make it across, and do my best to comport myself with what little decorum I have left. I shakily sit down and try to regain my composure.
Hotcha faces off against Ranya Sibhatesh. Both get off to a great start as they race across the quicksand, but after the first few moments, Ranya stumbles and sinks into the quicksand, allowing Hotcha to win the race!
Across the way, Yog'Moi and the vanara Usvani begin their climb up the rocky spire. The simian Usvani proves quite adept at clambering up the spire and avoiding the falling rocks, but the magic of the hobgoblin's ring gives him the advantage he needs to edge out the vanara to the top!
Xin squares off against Pravan Mishnapti. Both seem evenly matched as they begin, but Xin missteps and falls through the ice, significantly slowing his progress. It is Pravan who emerges victorious, crossing the finish line several seconds before Xin is able to do so.
Finally, Esh squares off against the vishkanya Jivati Rovat. The heat and the erratic movements of the lava makes it difficult for the elf to cross, and he takes his time making careful leaps, a few false starts slowing his progress. Meanwhile, Jinvati seems unfazed by the challenge, leaping from stone to stone, only pausing once to try to find the next perch to land on. He makes it all the way to the last leap, but as he goes to jump, he slips and falls into the lava! The vishkanya cries out in pain as Hao Jin uses her magic to prevent him from burning to death, but this also disqualifies him from the contest, allowing Esh to claim victory!
"Three Men and a Fairy are victorious once more," Hao Jin declares. The other teams applaud, Tino's Toughest particularly loud with their whoops. The members of the Arms of Balance are gracious in defeat, offering handshakes and congratulations. Hao Jin rewards your efforts with a set of five greater rings of energy resistance, one each for acid, cold, electricity, fire, and sonic.
As Hotcha performs her victory dance, she manages to catch a glimpse of Empress Nan Yan Fei staring at her from behind her fan. She is smiling widely, and there's an odd look in the empress's eyes that the sprite can't quite place. Not desire, exactly, but something like it...
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“You look younger than Xin, but you’re older. I’m sure you have past human friends from different human generations. How is it for you to see friends grow old when you don’t? How is it for them to see you stay young? And have you ever…?”
I take a deep breath, pondering. I had been contemplating this very thing earlier, upon seeing Hao Jin again.
"I traveled, a lot, when I was younger. When I started having my visions, and fire followed me no matter what I did, I left home. With my parents blessing of course, but we all knew that whatever was affecting me needed a cure that we didn't have access to. So I searched for it. I met many people, but never really stayed around them for long, and was young enough and focused on other things, so the thought that they would be long dead in what was to me such a short time never really crossed me."
"Later, years later, after I found Hao Jin, and she helped me discover more about my curse and channel my magic, I traveled again, at her direction. I crossed the Crown of the World, to the continent of Avistan. Again, during that time, I was focused on my journey, and gave little thought to the lives of those I passed on my way. Other than doing odd jobs for enough coin to continue my journey, I didn't particularly interact with anyone."
I pause to take another breath of pesh.
"I spent time with the Aiudeen elves in a country called Kyonin there, hoping that they might have some guidance for me. But they were either unable, or unwilling, to do anything, and honestly we did not get along very well. It wasn't until after that that I began to spend time with other races much. I traveled to a country called Isger, a desolate, nearly empty place, and settled there for a while."
"Elves have a... concept I guess, called Forlorn. It's usually used to describe an elf who was born and experiences their childhood around the shorter lived races, but it can be applied to anyone who spends a significant amount of time around them. That described me for some time. I lived in a town for a while, but eventually all the friends I had made... just died. Then their children died. Then their grandchildren died. I couldn't take it. Fortunately, sort of, at that time, a war broke out, and I fought in that to distract me. At least there my friends wouldn't die of old age."
I take a puff to calm myself down and wonder if I'll ever be able to not be bitter about that.
"I suppose that the end result of all that is to inform you that it can absolutely be terrible if you let it. It's important to... remember, I guess, that they will die. And you have to decide before you get attached if it's going to be worth it. Because afterwards, your ability to choose gets taken away. You must be on guard against bitterness, and resentment, and despair. I have found that it helps to preemptively cherish the people you choose to be with. Before it becomes an issue, acknowledge that they will die, and continually remind yourself to be grateful for being able to spend time with them. For me at least, that was the key that helped me most. Gratefulness."
She then follows that up with the predictable question, that of romance. I wince at the memories, but answer.
"I am not a good example of what to do when romantic love gets involved. My first relationship was with a gnome, who can live however long they feel like, so it's not relevant. We parted on amicable terms, and even kept up with each other for a long time after we separated. My second relationship however... wasn't... wasn't..."
I trail off, as the grief hits me again. Like it always has. Unlike every other wound I have ever received (of which there have been many, physical, emotional, and otherwise), this pain has never, ever gone away.
"It was with a human woman. We were very very much in love, in a sappy way I hadn't even thought I was capable of. She got pregnant. Then we lost the child."
My heart palpitates, causing my throat to try and constrict. But long practice has me relax through it.
"We recovered. Eventually. Tried again. We lost that one too. Didn't recover that time."
I pause to swallow, the talking and smoking and emotion combining to dry my throat.
"I have very little memory of the next half century. I know we stayed together, at least technically. But... neither of us were really there. I think she recovered better than I did. I remember after a decade or so she started asking me to go out with her, do things again. I did, we did, but it was never really the same. We could occasionally smile around each other, but I don't think either of us ever laughed, outside of the fake, polite laughs one does in public settings. She eventually died, of course. 74 years old. Her entire life barely a phase of mine."
"I'm not particularly good at romance, and so I can't really give you advice on what to do, just act as an example of what not to do. My recommendation, should you decide to be with someone who will be shorter lived than you, is to... push through the bad times I guess. Even if something goes terribly wrong, you can afford to delay... dealing with it. You can afford to wait, and they cannot. Don't lose what little time you have with them, not if you have any ability to do otherwise."
I shrug, rubbing my forehead.
"I don't know if that's particularly good, healthy advice, but that's all I have to offer," I chuckle half-heartedly.
When she asks if the world was better now or back then, I just shrug.
"Specifics change, but in general, I have found that it's more of a reshuffling. Some things get better, others get worse, but ultimately it's just the details, not the practicalities. I have found that the older I get, the more I measure things by my interactions with people than by world events. But that might just be my personality, not an aspect of my age. I've always been more of a here and now person."
Then she asks me about Hao Jin.
"I don't have strong opinions about it one way or the other. I generally like it, since it's interesting, and it doesn't particularly harm anyone or anything that I'm aware of. But we're not close, I doubt she even remembers me, so I don't feel like I'm in a position to approve or disapprove of it on a personal level. It would be nice if it was something... repeatable, or learnable, but nothing I've heard or read has indicated that that's the case, so..." I shrug.
"So what about you? I can't help but having ahh.... overheard a few conversations between you and Xin. Is that part of what's prompted your curiosity?"
Freezing and still shaking, Xin accepts the ring of cold resistance and hands the others to his party.
He's so beaten he doesn't notice whatever's going on with Hotcha and the empress. He returns to his place at the table, trying not to show the extent of his injury.
Hotcha continues to be supportive to her teammates. A win, a loss, and it looks like the lava pool will make the score two-to-two.
Only, when Esh’s opponent is about to win he—
Hotcha gasps, eyes widening in horror even though she knew—I knew it would come to this! I knew this was all…
Then to the fairy’s surprise, Hao Jin is everything everybody said she was! Of course her magic saved the man’s life. At what point in these three days has it not?
Hotcha clasps both hands around the index fingertip of the offered hand. “That was fun, Ranya. Thanks for not stomping on my head to force me under!
“I mean it—I can see your whole team has a strong sense of honor.”
Hotcha questions her own. A part of her wants the woman to compare hands and underestimate her as too dainty to hurt a fly, but there’s another part that’s glad Three Men and a Fairy incites a sense of awe. The name isn’t impressive. It’s which men and which fairy.
Hotcha doesn’t miss Yan Fei’s look. She can’t quite read it, but…
If the empress wants you to know what she’s thinking, she’ll summon you and say it.
…she says to Xin, “Tino and the gang really cheered us on. Wanna mingle with them?”
At one point, she has tears streaming down her face. At another, she flits over—energizing wings to hover—and she lays both hands on one finger. It’s as if she’s forgotten she’s completely in the buff, and he’s a man and there are boundaries—but this is how a friend supports a friend, and there’s no more to it than that.
She does find a seat on a rock. She dips her toes in a miniature pool and relaxes as the subject switches to Hao Jin and…
Oh.
The thing about luminous skin is when a fairy blushes, she blushes all over. She looks like a rose petal, except rose petals don’t cross their legs and maneuver twiggy arms over flat breasts in a futile effort to make the moment less embarrassing.
Farting in the bath would be less embarrassing! WITH telltale bubbles!
“Heh… yahhh, ya heard that, huh?”
She smiles to stall a bit more.
Okay, Hotcha. YOU opened that jar of worms, so now you gotta spread it on your toast.
“Yes. Xin asked if I would like to meet a boy sprite, and I replied no I would not. It’s kinda funny too ’cause I said—”
Esh lost two children. Maybe right after learning that is not the best time to say ‘imagine me pregnant, tee hee.’
“Well… okay. It isn’t funny at all. I don’t know how I’ll be at romance either. I just know it won’t be a guy sprite or any guy at all.
“I mean, look at those abs.” Hotcha points to Esh’s muscular midsection. “If I craved a man, I would definitely want to play tic-tac-toe on your stomach muscles. Or whatever a lady would do with that perfectly sculpted—“
Hotcha composes herself.
“Sorry… I do this—kid because if I do, I can avoid being serious. The other Shelynite nuns… they were like sisters. There was never any romance—it was never like that. Just tender and gentle.”
Hotcha submerges her body into the water. She imagines a moment, just being held. The way Jillian looked at her. And what of the look when they had to go separate ways?
“It is good advice. My friends have already given me memories to cherish, and I have a lot to cherish now.”
We should be mingling with the competition instead, he thinks. Looking for weaknesses. But then he remembers telling Hotcha how he wondered whether he'd notice if he'd lost some part of his soul from becoming a killer. And in that moment he does notice it. He's more focused on defeating the competition than on making friends.
It's his own reluctance to voice these thoughts to Hotcha that makes him reconsider. In a fleeting instant he pictures the crows pecking at the eyes of his dead soldiers as the rain began to fall on the plains of Shokaru. In the next instant he pictures Hotcha, happy and glowing and innocently dancing for the empress, Yog’Moi and Esh looking on approvingly. Both memories urge him on in different directions. How can he honor one team of comrades without failing the other?
In the Void there is no dishonor, only virtue. Xin knows his master would have beaten him and told him to ignore his own desires and focus only on victory. But what is victory, here and now? The Way of the Void teaches that no strategy is ever correct for more than the instant in which it is devised. With each new moment the student of the Void must see clearly and correctly and make new choices, abandoning the old ones without thought.
He shivers slightly and rises, smoothing his emerald-green kimono. ”Yes, all right. Just let me drink some hot tea first. There is never a bad time to make new friends.” After gulping down some tea, he gestures to the crowd and smiles. It is genuine and warm and more relaxed than he has been all day. ”Ladies first.”
Hotcha happily bounds across chair-backs and center-pieces until she lands on Tini’s table!
She greets Tino, Yabin and Takkatora, addressing each by name before saying to Ji-took, “Remember the day we met—our disappointment in the lack of a decent tavern. Who knew we’d all end up here!”
With a giggle, she adds, “Thanks for being our cheering section just now! I was really happy for you when you came just before sunset. All of our opponents were so gracious in defeat. Was that your experience too?”
”We had a feeling your team would make it to the tournament,” Ji-yook says. The kitsune smiles, her fluffy tail wagging happily. ”I wasn’t so sure about our chances, though! It was close right up to the end. We lucked out—Hao Jin released a whole bunch of silver feathers on the winds for anybody to claim. We were in the right place at the right time and got the last feather we needed, then we hustled to the palace before anybody else could get here first!”
Tino nods. ”Irori must have been watching over us. We faced some sore winners and sore losers during the past few days, but we always acted with humility and integrity. It has gotten us this far, and it will continue to serve us in the tournament to come.”
Hotcha laughs. “I thought naming our team with the word ‘fairy’ would get people to underestimate us, but you weren’t fooled at all. Well, thanks for believing in us!
“Oh—and the runes were a help. We did face a few spirits that needed cheering up, but we had to knock some sense into ’em first. Thanks for that.”
Hotcha is happy to share her adventures if pressed. She doesn’t want to boast, so stories she tells focus on the twins—they are only two people, but despite being outnumbered, they had a powerful opening attack. And Hotcha’s personal favorite moment was getting eating and making that dinosaur regret it! “That was my second time getting eaten that day, so I learned from experience how to handle it.” She finds the bird incident funny and is kinda glad the bird lived. “Unless it burned to death after it ran off engulfed in flames.”
She remembers she wanted to buy Tino’s Toughest a round but “everything’s paid for, so the only way to thank you like a Cayden nun’s to raise a glass to you.” And if they’re drinking, she does just that—toasting “Tino and the gang” with sincerity: “May your integrity and generosity take you far!”
”Hear, hear!” the members of Tino’s Toughest shout as they raise their glasses and drink with you!
Following the phoenix challenge and after an hour-long intermission of conversation over tea and snack cakes, Hao Jin suggests one more entertaining match to bring the night to a close. The Ruby Phoenix first returns the courtyard to its original state as a flat arena, then pits the two top-seeded qualifying teams against each other in a friendly bout with no stakes other than hurt pride. "And so, the Lightkeepers will face off against Three Men and a Fairy!"
The Lightkeepers have stood by in relative peace this entire evening, but they leap at the opportunity to face off against another team in direct combat. "Eh, heh, heh," laughs the white-haired witch, Syu Tak-nwa. "Now this will be a battle worth having. All the other teams we fought in the pre-qualifying round were too easy!" Her familiar, an enormous elephant moth, buzzes its wings in anticipation.
"I've got just the concoctions for the job," says the ysoki, Blue Viper, as he touches the numerous vials adorning his bandolier.
"And if that doesn't work, then I'm gonna squeeze the life out of them!" laughs the frost goblin Ran-To, grinning sadistically.
The last member of the Lightkeepers, Shino Hakusa, says nothing. She merely brandishes her shuriken.
You take your starting positions on the battlefield as Hao Jin raises her fan. "The Lightkeepers versus Three Men and a Fairy. Ready? FIGHT!"
The Lightkeepers do not seem fazed by your battle cries!
"Three of their four members are capable ranged fighters. We need to close and deny them the opportunity. Focus your efforts on the ninja first. She's vulnerable. Then we'll see how it develops. Try not to give the witch room to maneuver. See you on the other side."
"Hotcha. Roll left, flank the ninja and punch!
Xin darts off across the sands to take up a flanking position on Shino Hakusa, preparing to respond to Hotcha's attack.
In ▶️jellyfish stance, Hotcha ▶️zips over to her target as directed by Xin. She strikes from flank position.
Hotcha can’t help but notice her start is weak. This is unofficial. Relax. Focus. And uhhh, brace yourself!
Hotcha manages to hit Shino once before she can act, momentarily stunning the ninja! Xin is unable to take advantage of the opening, however, missing with his opportune attack.
"Fear the shadows," Syu Tak-nwa intones as she weaves a hex. The witch's white hair suddenly extends to an extraordinary length, reaching out to batter Hotcha!
After the strike, the sprite's own shadow reshapes, reaching out to strangle the monk! She manages to fend it off.
Tak-nwa then backs away from the melee.
Shino recovers from the stunning blow, but instead of retaliating against Hotcha, she dashes across the battlefield to get to Esh and Yog'Moi. She quickly aims a punch at his mid-section, scoring a critical hit!
"Come here!" Ran-to shouts as he steps around Hotcha and grabs her. The goblin grins at the little woman before slamming her to the ground!
Meanwhile, Blue Viper dashes past Xin. "You'll love my new recipe!" he laughs as he grabs a vial of poison from his belt. He takes a swig and then sprays it out of his mouth, coating Hotcha and Xin!
The silent ninja attacks Yog'Moi, and I take offense to that.
"Go support the others, I'll take care of this one," I say to Yog, grabbing the ninja's wrist before she could fully return her fist from Yog's gut. It's less comfortable to use my sword one handed, but I make do.
"Stick with the plan!" shouts Xin. "Hotcha! To me!" He dashes over to stay with the ninja, moving into a flanking position.
"Focus on the wounded first," he tells Esh and Yog'Moi as he arrives.
Hotcha fails to resist the poison!
“Gag me with a spoon!”
She contemplates hitting back and turning invisible, but instead, she decides to call a ki storm on her two nearest foes!
Make that THREE!
↩️Hotcha kips up and moves at Xin’s command!
"Focus on the wounded first," he tells Esh and Yog'Moi as he arrives. making sure Shino hears him. "Take her down while she's isolated."
Uncharacteristically, Yog'Moi is annoyed by the fact someone didn't listen to Wu's commands. The normally care-free hobgoblin snarls at Hotcha as he weaves a spell. This would've been endlessly more effective if she had just moved!
It must be the fact someone just weaponized his glorious gut against him that put Yog'Moi into such a foul mood.
-Blades of force form a churning wall. The wall is a straight line 20 feet high, 120 feet long, and 2 inches thick, and it provides cover.
-The wall deals 7d8 force damage to each creature that's in the wall's space when it is created, that attempts to pass through the wall, or that ends its turn inside the wall.
-A basic Reflex save reduces the damage.
-A creature that succeeds at this save when the wall is created is pushed to the nearest space on the side of its choice. Creatures trying to move through the wall fail to do so if they critically fail the save, ending their movement adjacent to the wall.
Yog'Moi conjures a barrier of whirling blades to separate Syu Tak-nwa and Blue Viper from the rest of the battlefield. Esh reaches out and grabs Shino Hakusa, slicing her with his blade as he holds her firmly in place. Xin rushes over to position himself beside Shino, but he fails to demoralize her. Meanwhile, Hotcha kips up to her feet and unleashes a blast of energy around her! Ran-to dodges the worst of it, and Blue Viper manages to completely evade!
Syu Tak-nwa sustains her malicious shadow hex and casts haste on Ran-to! Hotcha's shadow begins strangling the sprite!
Despite being grabbed by Esh, Shino Hakusa is still within reach of Yog'Moi. She lashes out at the hobgoblin again, this time targeting his pressure points to debilitate him! She tries to pull free of Esh's grasp, but the elf holds her firmly.
Ran-to snarls at Hotcha as he punches her! He lands a hit, then reaches out and grabs the monk again, slamming her to the ground once more!
Meanwhile, Blue Viper leaps through the blade barrier. He yelps as the swords slice him, though, as he's not quite nimble enough to avoid them.
Undeterred, the ysoki moves closer to Esh and Yog'Moi before repeating his swig and spray trick, dosing both with more purple worm venom!
Success: The target’s muscles become temporarily weaker. For 1 round, the target is enfeebled 2 and must succeed at a DC 5 flat check when attempting to use actions with the manipulate trait or the action is lost.
Failure: As success, but the duration is 1 minute.
Critical Failure: As success, but the duration is 1 minute, the flat check is DC 11, and the target also takes –10-foot status penalty to their Speed for the duration.
Hotcha is over the venom, but her magic was near useless against the other top-seeded team.
Demoralized and badly hurt, Hotcha turns ⏩invisible, but is too slow to step back from the danger.