"May the gods save us all from getting what we truly deserve," says Xin.
He leads the team back to the sandy area and on to the next region.
Investigating the shrine, Esh and Xin recognize the statue as a depiction of not just any old man, but of the Old Man, Irori’s herald. They both recall a koan about the Old Man. Perhaps speaking the poem aloud may show deference to the herald.
A devout Iroran, Xin speaks the koan with as much poetry as he can muster. He bows to the statue and then enters the room. If nothing untoward happens, he looks around carefully.
It might be his imagination, but Xin could swear that the statue moves slightly to return the bow. At any rate, nothing untoward happens when he approaches to claim the treasure.
In addition to the phoenix necklace, the treasure consists of a bag of holding type III, a jade serpent wondrous figurine, a phylactery of faithfulness of Irori, a ring of swimming, and 570 gp in assorted gems and coins.
This brilliant jewelry is made from fine silver interwoven with a uniquely malleable form of ruby that causes the necklace to glimmer like a flickering fire. Hao Jin created the necklaces to mitigate the potential of death during the Ruby Phoenix Tournament pre-qualifier, and she specially attuned each phoenix necklace to the silver feathers she created for the pre-qualifying round. While the silver feathers themselves aren’t magical, they are required to activate the necklace’s power. Each team starts with 3 feathers hidden in their headquarters; they acquire more through challenges and events. Additionally, the tournament emissary’s enforcers have the ability to deliver messages to the necklace’s wearer at any time by casting sending, though the wearer can’t respond.
Activate [three-actions] command, envision;
Effect: You select any number of willing creatures you can see within 30 feet, including yourself. The selected creatures can make nonlethal attacks without taking a penalty to their attack rolls. This effect remains in place until you remove the necklace or use this activation again.
Activate 10 minutes (envision, Interact);
Effect: The necklace consumes one of the attached silver feathers and casts 7th-level raise dead. Activating this ability is particularly costly and every activation requires consuming one more silver feather than the previous activation.
bag of holding type III
jade serpent wondrous figurine
phylactery of faithfulness of Irori
ring of swimming
If possible, Xin lights a candle and prays to Irori for further challenge to help him walk the path of perfection, mind and body. Then, with with a further bow, he returns to his companions.
"The Old Man has deemed us worthy, or at least not objectionable. I think this ring seems best fit to Esh and the phylactery to me. Either Yog'Moi or I should probably wear the necklace. Hotcha, can you even carry the bag or the serpent?"
Yog'Moi kept a respectable distance when Wu speaks the koan and engages in a sincere spiritual exchange with the Divine. It isn't until the treasure has been claimed by his companions that he gets back in the mix. "Once again a job well done! Clearly, Irori smiles upon what we've achieved here, and it must fill your heart with pride knowing you've brought grace and dignity back to one of his temples."
When Wu offers him the phylactery, he instinctively raises a hand to fend off the tribute. "No, you've deserved it. That, and something tells me the Storm Crow would not be amused by me holding on to such an ... what's the word, axiomatic? ... magical artifact that's meant to guide you through life."
Hotcha looks at the mass of jade. “Oh… that probably weighs a lot of ounces. Maybe even a pound. I can’t carry that.
“But about the ring…”
Hotcha slides her legs through the blue metal hoop. It’s a tad loose, cocked at an angle around her narrow waist. She starts hula-dancing, causing the ring to twirl to the tambourine-like rhythm from her dancing scarves.
“I can hold my breath for over twenty minutes, and I actually did train to fight underwater. Mostly, I learned that in case someone were to cork a wine bottle not realizing I’m inside it. I’d need to force the cork or shatter the glass from within. A highly unlikely situation, yes, but maybe that training will pay off, should that Long Neck Monster pop outta the water back there. I can take him in his own turf!” Turf is land. “His own… surf?”
"Uh...Fine." says Xin. "Why wouldn't you fly, though?"
Hotcha stops hula-hooping.
The ring droops past her hips.
It clatters noisily like a dropped copper piece.
The fairy blinks twice. “Well… yes, flying over that toxic water’s a much better idea than swimming in it.” She lets out a nervous giggle as she bends over to pull the ring back up to her waist. “But, ya see…? I…’m not really that good at flying yet.
“I… I might fall in.” She adjusts the ring at an angle, and says in a tone less wish-washy—seriously, with conviction, “And it’s a risk I gotta take. We’re a team, and if there’s a swimming beast that thinks it can duck underwater to evade us, I got the skills to go in after it.
“And the speed, as long as I’m weari—”
The ring slips past Hotcha’s hips and clatters to the ground again.
“Aw, man! I gotta use my hip scarf to tie that thing in place!”
"Yes, but you make it work, Hotcha," says Xin, amused.
Hotcha gives a thumbs up with one hand, but her other hand does not let go of the ring!
As for the necklace, “That’s gotta go on your neck, Xin. You’re our leader and anything with the name Phoenix in it’s gotta be the team leader’s thing.”
With no further input, Xin puts on the phylactery and necklace, Hotcha keeps the ring, and Xin scoops the jade serpent, silver feather and gold into the bag of holding and tosses that in his pack for later.
"Except for the monster that lives in the fountain, I think we've cleared the interior of the temple," says Xin. "It seems to me that we've a few areas outside the temple to attend to before nightfall. Perhaps that's when the fountain monster returns."
Xin leads the party to the wooded area north of the temple As always, he approaches cautiously, on the lookout for ambushes, pits and I don't know...giant freaking spiders?
The wooded area contains an old well. The water in the temple’s well is still potable, but the rope and bucket the monks used fell into the water long ago. To use the well, you’ll first have to clear away the ivy growing over the well’s wooden lid, then find a means of retrieving the clean water below. Not far from the well, hidden in the foliage, lies a stunning snare.
The last area of the temple is little more than a beaten patch of dirt surrounded by statues. Most resemble animals, but two depict androgynous humanoids. A moderate healing potion is perched on one of the animal statues.
It would seem that the temple is all but clear of dangers, save for the fountain monster that has yet to return.
"Alright, everyone," says Xin. "Good job. Let's set up a watch and prepare to ambush the monster when it returns. If it prefers water, we should try to attack it before it arrives there."
Hotcha considers the stunning snare. “I think we can set this up near the fountain. I wonder which side the Long Neck Monster comes in from?”
Hotcha isn’t the best tracker, but being so tiny, footprints and tail-drags are pretty deep. Maybe the fairy can tell. She musters as much wisdom as she can as she studies the area.
Hotcha finds several large hoof prints in the sand of the fighting pit to the east. While she cannot identify the kind of creature they belong to, it's clear that the beast comes in and out of the temple through the broken wall to the east, near the statue of the Old Man.
The sprite is also sure that drinking or swimming in the water would make her temporarily sick, but it is unlikely to expose her to any long-lasting effects.
“Oh! I wasn’t expecting hooves. Maybe Long-Neck ain’t a swimming monster after all.” She wrinkles her nose at the gross water. “We’re much better off this way. This water’s like, gag me with a spoon.”
The fairy looks ready to gag without the help of a utensil.
She flits to the doorway leading to the arena. “We can set the snare in a room to the east, maybe here, so we fight him the arena.” She then points up the high wall, adding, “With the trap right under the door, we might be able to have two of us rush in from the gross-water room, and Esh and I could leap into the area, landing behind the beast, surrounding him!
“Whaddaya think?”
"So, hooves, eh? And it ... spits poison? Like a cloud, or spittle? I can't remember," the hobgoblin admits as he takes a sip from a jug of brandy. Sadly enough, the alcohol fails to jog his memory. "That sounds like a plan, Hotcha. Part of me wants to say 'but hey, maybe we can talk with it, reason with it', ha, but we both know that's about as likely as Asmodeus admitting he's an ass and he ought to be nicer to the universe."
We set up according to Hotcha's plan, with the snare where she indicated, and wait.
You lie in wait. Just after sunset, your patience pays off, as a hulking beast stalks in from the hole in the temple wall. This ugly creature has a boar-like head with short antlers, a thick bullish body covered in spines, and cloven hooves on its stumpy legs. A horrid stench emanates from its body.
The monster bleats in surprise as it stumbles into the snare! It thrashes about, stunned!
Frightened by Xin’s battle cry, the monster tries to stagger back the way it came, straight towards where Esh and Hotcha are waiting to pounce!
"…Asmodeus admitting he's an ass…"
“More like ASS-modeus! Tee hee hee…”
The fairy erupts into a red-faced giggle fit, tearing up and paralyzed with laughter far more painful than the wordplay that caused it.
“Oh… oh… ahh, those spritely giggle-fits are gonna be the death o’ me. I almost rofled in a sandy hoofprint. How unbecoming.”
When the beast approaches, Hotcha is quite certain he’s more painful than a joke.
▶️ She energizes her wings—
▶️ flies over the monster—
—and shoots from 20 feet above!
Stuck between smiting the creature and protecting his companions, Yog'Moi gives in to the Storm Crow's rage and projects it onto the lumbering hump of bad breath.
While we plan and Hotcha puns, part of me is always thinking. One of the many things that separates elves from the shorter lived races is that even though developmentally we're all at roughly the same stage, I still have several centuries of memories, whereas they only have a few decades at most. It's almost impossible to not get lost down memory lane.
I remember spending similar planning sessions with people that died a hundred years before any of my current companions were born. I remember jokes that wouldn't even make sense anymore, as the context for them is a continent away and 50 years in the past. It's easy to see why so many of my people who spend too much time with the other races suffer from Forlorness. I breathe carefully, the fires in my vision flickering and flaring as I do my best to keep my emotions under control.
Time passes, as it always does, and eventually the creature stumbles into our trap. I drop from the ceiling, finally letting the flames become real, and slash at the creature.
Hotcha and Esh land solid hits on the monster, but Xin can't get through its thick hide. It resists the sprite's stunning fist and completely resists Yog'Moi's harm spell.
The monster bellows, its fetid breath assailing Esh's nostrils. It thrashes its head about, goring the elf with its antlers and scoring two critical hits!
"You might be tough, but with enough hot sauce and time in the pot, even the likes of you will end up in my belly! You hear me?!" It might hear Yog'Moi, but it is the frantic gesticulating and the spiteful glares that really bring the message across. Somewhere in between, he finds time to heal Esh.
Success The target becomes frightened 1.
“Oh… we gotta make short work of this monster or it’ll make short work of us!”
Hotcha’s healing ability only works on herself, so she is best off doing damage. And as tempting as it is to fly above and hurl fireballs… Hotcha knows the men need her to be an alternate target.
She falls, landing safely in a not-so-safe place!
▶️ Her Jellyfish Stance helps her flit about, so her kicks can reach the monster’s butt!
Seeing Esh in danger, Xin shouts "Get out of there, Esh!" But when the barbarian waves him off in a rage, Xin sighs. "Okay. Fool's Gambit, then." He strikes to draw the creature's attention so that Esh can hit it while its distracted.
The creature gores me and all thought leaves my head as my vision blacks out for a moment. I can vaguely hear Xin shouting, probably at me, but I cannot process anything except the pain and my rage.
Hotcha is the only one who lands a hit, but the monster resists her attempt to stun it. It turns its attention from Esh to the little fairy, crushing her in its jaws! It nearly chews her up, but after two critical hits, she barely manages to dodge its last strike!
Hotcha’s tiny form is dripping with monster saliva and fey blood.
She is glad to have shielded Esh from that, but the sacrificial maiden trick is one she can perform only once.
“I th-think… it hyper-f-focuses on… whoever hits it th-the hardest…”
She clobbers the beast!
“So if one o’ ya would kindly hit it harder, I’ll fly!”
As soon as one of her friends distracts the monster, Hotcha will fly out of its reach!
Yog'Moi throws all his divine weight into the fight and weaves a curse to strike their foe before striking with righteous fury at its very spirit.
The target must attempt a Fortitude save.
Critical Success The target is unaffected.
Success The target is sickened 1, but if it spends an action to end the condition, it succeeds automatically.
Failure The target is sickened 1.
Critical Failure The target is sickened 2.
A target sickened by this spell takes a –10-foot status penalty to its Speed until it's no longer sickened
I come to my senses, nearly dropping my sword from my blood-slicked hands. This is not going well. I briefly remember Xin shouting to run, and wished that had happened. Practically speaking, it's too late for that now. I yell and slash at it before sprinting away just fast enough that it could follow, but would have to put effort into keeping up.
Xin misses with his attack, and so does Esh. But the elf follows up with a good strike before falling back. The monster does not take an attack of opportunity. Hotcha clobbers the beast before flying up and out of reach. The creature resists Yog’Moi’s attempt to stuff it, but his spirit blast has full effect, badly injuring it!
The monster bleats and turns to flee, lumbering across the courtyard! You can choose to pursue it if you wish, but after the sound thrashing you delivered, you don’t think it will be coming back if you let it go...
Xin prefers to track the monster down and kill it. He's not vicious, but that thing is, and will remain a menace on the island. However, his crew is badly battered and have achieved their goal, so he restrains his instincts.
"Let it go. We have done what we came to do."
He turns and looks for their Escort Ingdani. "will you please verify that we have taken our first objective?"
Hotcha is prepared to give chase, but… she has her orders.
⏭
“Oh… I had a really clever idea too. But good call, Xin. I can’t dive bomb and not get eaten if I need to chase it.
“I can use my fly-by tactic in a match later on.”
The fairy speaks confident words, but she’s a little shaken.
The hobgoblin rubs his belly as if he just had an amazing steak. Someone's feeling very pleased with himself after landing a decisive blow. "Ha! Let that angry oversized cow bother the others! It knows now to not bother us ever again! That, and I'm starting to feel a little tired. Yes yes, I know I must tend to your wounds, and that's why I don't care to add another hour or two of chasing this beast to the list of things that must be done. Hei Feng's got his share of quality entertainment for the day!"
”The tournament’s enforcers should be along shortly to officially confirm your qualification. Well done,” Ingdani says.
Indeed, only a short time later, a pair of enforcers arrive at the temple. They request that you present your phoenix necklace and 3 silver feathers, then remind the you that the qualifying round begins at sunrise before leaving.
You have officially secured your place in the pre-qualifying pool for the Ruby Phoenix Tournament! You can spend whatever’s left of your first day on Bonmu however you see fit. You can use this time to acquire equipment from the Stone Market, rest, or simply wander Bonmu to learn the layout of the island, meet some of your fellow competitors, and strategize for the events of the following days.
"What would you like to do?" he asks the group. "Personally, I think a bit of exploration might serve us well."
“And shopping! And visiting Tino’s Toughest. Oh, but I’ll need an hour to get ready.” Thinking a bit, she adds, “And a half.”
Hotcha is kind of embarrassed to reek of monster spit instead of booze. She asks one of the guys for a goblet, but won’t dare jump into it while she’s so gross. (Even if Cayden purifies the drink… a nun knows better than to ask too much of her god!)
She asks (Ingdani, if she’s willing; else, one of the men) for help setting up the decanter so she can shower, and also fill two bowls. Once clean, she welcomes the men to take the decanter with them but to kindly leave both bowls and one goblet.
While she and her clothes dry, the fairy takes her cup in hand. She owes Cayden a prayer, and since she cleaned the booze off the outside of her body, she needs some on the inside.
She kneels and places the Fire Nectar before her.
I was in its mouth. Crazy, right? But I think I’m putting my training to good use. Anyway, holding my own against a thing way bigger than big people isn’t even the highlight of my day. I think I really helped that restless spirit. I don’t know if she deserved to be at peace or forever damned… I mean like, in a god's opinion.
Nooooo, not yours, Cay! You’re one o’ the ones who gets mortals. Like Shelyn and Desna! Not everyone gets the fun deities. It’s so simple, too. Life’s meant to be joyful, duh.
Ya think the Irorians will figure that out in the next world? I hope so. Forever’s a really long time to stay angry.
The fairy then picks up her drink and makes short work of it. She helps herself to the abbot’s bed while her clothes is spread out to dry.
"I would never expect a lady to go shopping without looking her best," says Xin. He's covered in sweat and grime, so its hard to be certain whether he's serious.
He leaves the little goblet with his fairy friend and gives her privacy.
He looks grimly at the filthy water in the fountain and goes out to the well to draw up some water. Assuming it isn't fouled, he does his best to wash in it and get the worst soil off his clothes and armor. While he waits for Hotcha, he sits with Esh and Yog'Moi for a time, discussing the day. "I was thinking that island wasn't so very big. We could see much of it before dark and maybe learn something of tactical value."
He sighs and looks up at the elf. "Esh, I'm concerned. You refused to retreat when that would have been optimal. There is no dishonor in proper tactics, old friend."
That man, thinks Xin, was an idiot. Life should be full of love and life and good food. And why live at all if you have no preferences?
But still those ideas held so much sway over the way Xin had lived his life since his two defeats. He had denied himself every pleasure if it meant coming out on top. He had lain with women but never allowed himself to love. He had eaten well but had far more often eaten cold rations in the rain or underground. He had given up the chance for fine homes and families more than once, all in service of his goal.
But all of it was in service of honor. The honor he had lost in Linshen. The honor he would regain here. Then, maybe then, a wife, a home, a family.
But a part of his mind spoke back, saying <you do have a family. You could not love those three more if they were your brothers and sister. You care for their future as much as your own. Maybe more.>
He knew it was true. Somehow, he had allowed something besides honor to matter to him. His weapons master would be contemptuous if he could see into Xin's heart.
<Yet what do you know of what any of them want?> He sighs, realizing he isn't going to get any meditating done and rises. With a bow towards the Old Man, he left the shrine, thinking deeply.
Hotcha flees in terror, leaping off of the bed and into a mouse-hole!
As she peers out of the hole in the wall, she sees many big people in the bedroom fighting each other. Suddenly, there is a terrible lighting storm! Everyone in the room is struck. Some bodies quiver; others are smoldering. One of the dead is a woman whom Hotcha recognizes.
“Are you okay—AAAAH!”
A mouse the size of a big pig seizes Hotcha in its maw! It starts chewing her up. “I’ll punch you in the uvula!” she says, but that’s easier said than done—
Wake up, says a voice.
Hotcha finds herself thrashing under a big person’s pillow.
“Oh… haha? Hi.” The fairy is more embarrassed by her panicky reaction to the nightmare than her nakedness in front of the spirit. She flits onto the pillow and sits in a lotus position.
The big-woman’s spirit is seated the same way at the foot of the bed. What were you thinking, using your body to shield the big strong elf?
I wasn’t. Hotcha doesn’t blurt that. She thinks before speaking. “I was thinking… we’re a team. I can’t just hide behind the men. I gotta get in the fray with ’em.
“So… what about you? Was the fight in the dream how it really happened? You killed everyone, including yourself?”
The woman nods. My brothers and sisters were dead. I was the only one still standing, and the remaining traitors were weakened… but there were many of them and one of me.
Hotcha’s eyes fall to her lap. “Yeah… I get it. If anyone killed my friends, I think I’d do whatever it takes.” Resuming eye-contact with the spirit, she asks, “You’re not mad at me ’cause I forgave Kannitri, are ya?”
The woman smiles warmly. No, little one. Anger is what tethered me here. I was wronged, yes… but clinging to my wrath eternally does no good. As you said, ‘forever is a really long time to stay angry.’
“WHAT?!” Hotcha leaps off of the pillow! The swimming ring-belt slides past her bare hips and clatters round her ankles. “Did I accidentally pray to you instead of Cayden?! How long have I been doing it wrong? Maybe I’m supposed to look up…?”
The woman might actually be amused. She has that wise-monk smile about her, so it’s hard for Hotcha to read the expression.
Though my actions were righteous, I cannot leave this place until I let go of my wrath.
She holds out her palm.
“Oh, ya wanna pick me up?” She looks at the translucent hand. “I apologize in advance if I fall through…”
Hotcha steps into the sprit’s hand. She does pass through, as she suspected.
“Heh, ya know? The Shelynite nuns liked to pick me up all the time. They were gentle and I kinda liked the atten—G-G-G-G-Guh?!”
The spirit cups both hands over the fairy. Within the hands is a bubble. The fairy rises to the center and purple lighting dances about. Her wings and flesh glow the same hue.
You are a joyful creature, so I will leave my wrath with you, if you choose to accept it.
“Oh… kuh-kuh-kuh-kay.”
You will need that joy to counter the wrath, or you will be destroyed by the storm as I was.
“J-J-J-Joy, hu-huh?” Hotcha has an idea!
From the abbot’s chamber, a fairy voice can be heard.
…singing?
“Furry happy monsters laughing
Monsters having fun
Happy, happy
See them jump and run…”
Hotcha comes out of the abbot’s room, her scarves’ tiny bells jingling rhythmically to the catchy tune in her head. She asks Ahmitar to see that the abbot’s name is in a place of honor, then seeks Wu Xin.
“I’m all done with the goblet. You, ummm… might want to use that decanter to wash it real good before ya drink from it. I was still had an open wound when I first hopped in.”
For someone who looked to be on death’s door after being chewed up, Hotcha looks like a whole new person. She is unscathed and squeaky clean!
And… very cheerful!
"Hotcha, are you under the impression that I drink from your baths?" says Xin. "I assure you that while I hold you in particular and the female sex in general in the highest esteem, it is not quite so high as that!"
"Come, my friend and tell us why you are even perkier than usual."
“Haha—oh, no, not at all,” she replies giggling and blushing. (Well… she’s magically shifting the amber hue of her luminous skin to rose.) “I expect you guys always rinse out the goblets after I use them. Besides, I don’t think I make the drink taste good. You saw how fast Long Neck spit me out!”
She giggles some more, but then lets her serious side show just a little.
“Ya know that lady ghost? Not Kannitri, the one you calmed down. She spoke to me. She revealed how she died from her own spell—and now I can use it. Isn’t that great? It’s so pretty and purple, and if you activate the necklace, I won’t kill anyone!”
"...What?" looking as confused as he sounded and glancing over to his companions to see if they understood what he did not.
"A ghost gave you a spell with which she killed herself. But now you want to use it? And what does it have to do with the necklace? This necklace?" he says, touching the necklace around his neck.
Hotcha slows down. (A little.)
“Xia Li was the abbot here. She saw her brothers and sisters dying as she was being beaten to death herself. I saw it in my dream—thunder and lightning struck everyone! But she was so angry, her own wrath destroyed herself along with her assailants.
“When she appeared before me, she said she needed to let go of her wrath. She did this by giving it to me. That’s why I was singing to her… some idea we came up with to counter wrath with joy, so the lightning dances around me instead o’ burning me to a crisp!
“I’m pretty—no—realllly sure I can cast this spell without hurting myself.” She shifts her luminous glow to a lightningy shade of purple. “Being purple is the key. And singing. And dancing. And thinking happy thoughts. I think I only need to do two or three of those things, but I’m not sure which thing or two I can omit.
“Haha, magic is weird!”
If pressed for details, she’ll tell her whole dream.
She nods at the question ‘this necklace.’
“The Phoenix Necklace makes it so I can’t kill, right? I don’t wanna kill anyone. This wrathful ki storm is harmless to me, but could cause a death—or deaths—in the tournament. I don’t care if the rules permit it… I’m not gonna be a killer. Not even if our opponents are.”