"I think I understand," says Xin, leaning back against a pillar and waiting for Yog'Moi and Esh to finish their preparations.
"Have you never had to take a life, then?" His gaze slides off into the distance before refocusing on her. "I can't say the same, I'm afraid. My old master used to say that a warrior must welcome death, be comfortable with it. I think it is a frequently necessary result of what we do. Sometimes regrettable and sometimes not. I am... I was a general. Men died under my command and at my own hand. This is part of following the way of the warrior."
Hotcha shakes her head.
“Nope. I guess I’m among the first o’ my kind to be born wingless. Being a dancer seemed like a safe way to exist on the mortal plane, but the way monks fight is like a dance… so I trained.
“I wasn’t really taken seriously as a warrior, at first. But I didn’t mind. That meant nobody would recruit me in one of those Big People wars. So martial arts was simply a new dance! No one wanted to spar with me until Sister Kojima downed a shrinking potion to make it fair. After that, the Shelynite nuns took me in, though they challenged me to dance-offs more than fisticuffs… then when we went out for drinks with some Cayden monks, Master Spiegel got a kick outta the way I plunged into a pina colada! He trained me in the super-secret stance of the jellyfish!”
She seems lost in her memories… but also troubled.
“It’s why you worry so much about us, ain’t it?” Hotcha is known to tease, but she’s being very serious now. “You don’t wanna relive that pain, do ya?”
Xin looks seriously at her. "No. That's not it. It was, once. But we have reached a point in our careers where death is an expensive inconvenience unless the Lady wants us dead. It's not your safety I fear for, Hotcha."
"Its your souls. I've seen good men and women become hard. All warriors have to become used to the idea of death, giving it and receiving it. But to be comfortable with it is to part with a piece of your soul you may never get back. I don't regret the battles I've fought. But I look into my soul and wonder what I've lost. I wonder if I'd even notice, and I don't want that for you."
"We are all adults, but to the extent that I can help us all grow old with the least regrets, that is my duty. And that is why I worry."
Hotcha’s emerald eyes widen as Xin speaks.
“I was just praying to Cayden about that! And ya know what else? All these dead monks were stuck here ’cause o’ their regrets. Yeah… I definitely don’t wanna do something so awful my regret outlives me.
“You’ll use that Phoenix Necklace so I can’t kill—even if I kinda wanna ’cause he deserves it, won’t ya?” Considering how that came out, Hotcha is quick to add, “Not that I have anyone particular in mind.
“I just have a bad feeling we’ll meet some o’ the hard-hearts. And they’ll like that slaying opponents is permitted. I’m afraid I’ll see that and wanna slay the fighter who’d slain someone. But what if he slayed her ’cause she slayed someone, and when someone sees me slay him, they wanna slay me?
“Awww, it would get so messy!”
"That necklace takes awhile to activate. Are you sure that's how you want me to spend my time in fight? Making it easier to fight without killing? I mean, I'm sure Tino and his crew would give us that time, though I have no intention of fighting them if I don't have to. But some of these fighters are going to be killers. A lot can happen in the time it would take me to activate."
He looks over at Yog'Moi and Esh. "What do you think?"
Hotcha says, “Oh, I think we could do that before they yell Round One… Fight!”
"Well, if that's the case, I promise," he says.
"Do you know any boy fairies...fairy men? I don't know what they're called. I mean, have you ever met any of your own people? You're the only sprite I've ever known."
Hotcha giggles a little. “Boys? Haha! No! Heh…”
Suddenly the topic is not even a little bit funny.
“Or men.” Her luminous skin shifts to blue. She’s changing the color on purpose—force of habit. “Like my father. Or women, like my mother… if I was born like that.”
She says this as if there are actually ways a sprite can be born without a mother.
“I don’t really know any o’ my kind. Buuuuut, I guess after a thousand years I should stay in the First World so whenever by body expires, I’m reborn.
“Not that I know how to get there, but I think I can figure that out within a thousand years. There’s probably lotsa boy sprites there, and girl sprites too!”
Her hue shifts from blue to pink when she says ‘girl,’ and her mood perks right up as she speaks of the First World (which she only knows of from books).
If Xin notices the subtext, he doesn't show it. "A thousand years? A thousand? And you'll be reborn? Wow. Well, I hope you'll find the way, my friend. Then you can remember us long after we're gone. And that way we won't really be gone. Maybe you can tell people in the distant future how we won here." He smiles.
“According to what I read,” she says of the thousand years. “A thousand minutes will feel like a blessing after being eaten by a monster!”
Saddened by the reminder that Big People have short lifespans, Hotcha simply nods. Three Men and a Fairy will always hold a special place in her heart, she promises herself.
Getting back to where the conversation started—
“You specifically asked me about boy sprites. I don’t really think about that sorta thing…” She’s definitely thinking now though. “Aww, now I know why! I just pictured myself pregnant! If you see any boy sprite, tell him I’m washing my hair and can’t fit any dates into my schedule until next century.”
She suddenly wipes the goofy expression from her face. “Sorry… this topic is too serious, so I’ll be. A little. I’m not ready for romance. I want to dance and play and swim and fly. I don’t know if that’ll change, and I’ll want that sorta companionship. Right now, I don’t.
“What about you? Any prospect for a Mrs. Wu Xin?”
"No. I just learned she'll be washing her hair," he says with a smile.
"This," he says, gesturing about him more seriously," has been everything to me for half my adult life. I put everything into being here, and burned all those bridges behind me. When we've won, I'll go back to Lingshen and... I'm not sure what then."
Emerald eyes widen in realization. Oh… I did not expect…
Her luminosity becomes rosy red again. But she’s smiling, clearly flattered.
Her evanscent wings flutter, propelling her just high enough to give Wu Xin a kiss on the tip of his nose.
Just a peck on the cheek between friends… but on the nose. Men’s cheeks have stubble, which is significant to fairy lips, not that Hotcha as ever kissed a man. Not even quickly like this.
“That’s for seeing me as a woman, no different than a human woman. I’m very different but… even if you were just kidding or even if you were serious or even a little o’ both, thanks.”
Hotcha casually chucks a fireball over her shoulder. “Who needs those old bridges? We’re gonna win this thing, and that’ll build a whole lotta new ones! One bridge’ll lead to Future Mrs. Wu Xin, and another’ll lead to the stage where I dance for adoring fans!”
Xin blushes slightly. He clears his throat and adjusts his armor.
She's like a sister, he thought. Hell, a -daughter-! She may be a hundred years old, but she knows no more about love or lust than a child. You are about to screw up your team on the night before the contest begins!
But she's not. She's not either of those things.
She's the only woman around and you're just nervous about the contest. You're trying to sabotage yourself. Again.
She is definitely not the only woman. And I didn't sabotage anything before. I just lost.
She's a few inches tall, moron!
The words stopped and the images flowed. Fighting, laughing, bleeding, the team. Esh and Yog'Moi. His weapon master's scowling face. Her lips in candlelight. His men dying in battle. The Ruby Phoenix. Her laughter. Wet legs lounging out of a chalice of sake. His team on the battlefield, looking to him for answers.
Xin's eyes raised to hers in a smile. "Right," he said cheerfully. "Let's go win this thing and build some new bridges. We'll be able to pave them with gold if we want."
Hotcha was unaware of the effect she had on Wu Xin… until now. Now she really hopes there aren’t any boy-sprites in the tournament. These kinds of feelings seem complicated, and maybe my mother met a boy-sprite but wanted to dance and play and swim and fly and NOT take care of a baby.
Hotcha doesn’t know how exactly how she ended up with the Big People. Maybe the eldest nun knew and the knowledge died with her. The younger nuns said it’s not right to resent her parents. No matter why they left me with human nuns, they gave me life.
“Speaking of gold, how much do we got?”
With the 230 she had saved up (which Wu Xin has to carry because money is so cumbersome!), it would take another 500 to upgrade the ruby in her right earring. She doubts they found 2000 bucks already. But maybe I’ll find something I like that I can afford already!
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"Quite a bit, when you add it all up. I've been thinking about what we need to sell and what we need to keep."
Loot List and Proposed Distribution
Hotcha did not keep track of all that stuff. If there’s a way to sell her inferior striking rune, she offers it up to the list of things to sell. If she can have both greater striking and ghost touch runes, she gladly attunes the ghost touch to her hand wraps.
“Shopping will be so fun! I wonder if they have anything in my size! I mean, they knew I was coming, but am I the only sprite here?”
"From what I understand, you'll actually be using the portals to visit the Stone Market in Goka. They have -everything- there."
“Evvv-eryyyy-thinnnnng?!”
Hotcha is excited about the shopping trip. And it looks like her share might give her the extra 500 she needs for a new ruby in her earring! Still… there may be a smarter purchase. Shoes!
She rakes her hair twice as if to comb it with her freshly glitter-polished nails. “I’m ready,” she says.
"Esh, I'm concerned. You refused to retreat when that would have been optimal. There is no dishonor in proper tactics, old friend."
I grumble and sigh at my duly earned reprimand (that is what it is, however friendly it might be).
”Yes, I know. By the time I recognized how powerful the creature was, I was already sorely wounded, and had to use too much of my fire.”
I feel… frustrated. That I made a bad decision. That I foolishly put myself in a position where I was encouraged to make a bad decision. Had I not been so arrogant in my own power, we could have easily slain the creature, but instead I stood and tried to fight it head on. The most basic of tactics when fighting a powerful foe is to stay mobile, and I failed to do so. My pride wants me to mitigate my shortcoming, to excuse my behavior. And there are no shortages of them.
The fire makes it hard to think.
I trained for longer than he’s been alive to be able to think while pulling on the fire.
I was trying to make sure it didn’t attack anyone else.
I was idiotically bleeding out, I cannot protect anyone if I’m dead.
It’s been so long since I’ve fought a foe so powerful, I underestimated it.
Confessing to my own ignorant arrogance isn’t even really an excuse, much less a good one.
I reign in my temper and breathe.
”I apologize for my foolishness, I will do my best to not be so lazy and arrogant in the upcoming fights,” I say after my heartbeat has slowed down.
It is my job to protect my people. I cannot do that if I don’t listen to the tactician. Neither my pride nor my pain are more important than my duty.
I morosely smoke my pipe and softly play my shamisen while the others all attend to their own rituals. I studiously attend to my instrument, pretending not to hear the loud then quiet conversation between Hotcha and Xin, though it brings a smile to my face. I nod along with Yog’s well deserved boasting, his magic was particularly impressive today, and he is well within his rights to take pride in his accomplishments. He pours some holy energy into me and I groan slightly as my flesh pulls together. It is not long until my mood is lifted thanks to my companions.
While Esh is playing his shamisen, Hotcha can’t help herself. She finds the dance that matches the gentle melody. The tune will last as long as the smoke.
As her bells and jewelry jingle with her moves, Hotcha wonders something about her left earring, and so she works a little experiment into her dance…
Still dancing to Esh’s tune, she raises her hands and slowly twirls until she is facing away from her friends, and with at least a twenty-foot clearing before her. In that direction, she hurls a ▶️Sprite’s Spark and she’s about to activate her ring, but her fireball moves faster than she can.
She instead ▶️Energizes her wings.
She continues her dance! She turns and activates her ⏩Fire-Jump Ring, flying herself into the open flame!
From within, she hurls her ▶️Sprite’s Spark at an upward angle and wills herself to become one with it to appear about ten or fifteen feet in midair just behind her spark!
If her trick works, she’ll emerge about twenty feet from the open flame! (And if not, she hopes her Fire Resist Ring is enough to protect her!) Either way, she’ll follow her trick with an acrobatic stunt—
Hotcha does fly out of the flame behind her spark, sans teleportation. She still does a barrel roll for fun and a graceful twirl, giggling at the painlessness of the open flame thanks to her other earring!
She continues to dance for as long as Esh plays!
Once you have recovered and refocused, you head out into the crisp evening air and take a short walk south through the forest until you reach the headquarters assigned to Tino's Toughest. The small library was once dedicated to Gruhastha, the mortal nephew of Irori. According to legend, Gruhastha ascended to divinity by authoring a book so perfectly profound that he merged with it and became a god—the Azvadeva Pujila.
The tengu Takatorra stands in a clearing in front of the library, running through several different stances and practice strikes with their fan-shaped swords. Each weapon has five broad blades that join at its hilt. The kitsune Ji-yook lounges on the library's steps, watching the display through half-lidded eyes.
Takatorra cocks their head in your direction as you approach. They finish their routine with a flourish and holster their weapons before bowing. "Good evening to you, friends. I trust you were able to secure your home base without too much troubles. Care for some candies?" The tengu produces a handful of sweet treats from their pocket and holds them out to you.
Hotcha returns the bow and blurts, “I was in a big monster’s mouth, and we cheered up some sad ghosts!” She doesn’t feel the need to elaborate, though maybe the part about dancing spiders…
Suddenly, there is candy.
“Oh, how pretty. Should I split one with… ohhhh, but then I’ll spoil my appetite.” If the men want candy, a treat is nothing to a Big Person. But to a fairy—“Is one o’ those dark chocolate? Dark chocolate doesn’t spoil anything!”
She’ll take a morsel (a percent of an ounce) of chocolate if it’s dark or coconutty or has a fruit filling like cherry liqueur, aaaaand there’s someone interested in eating the other 99%. Or maybe she can handle five percent if it’s delicious. Else, she’ll politely refuse but thank the tengu for the offer.
“You guys were so nice to us, so we just wanted to check on you and say thanks. We’re gonna go shopping! If there’s a tavern, join us and I’ll thank ya proper.”
They don’t what you mean by that, dummy!
“Like, Cayden-nun-proper. I mean your first round’s on me.”
Without too much trouble. In answer to those words, Yog'Moi's eyebrows crinkle up. He refuses to admit to himself that fighting the bad-breath donkey-thing was not easy, but he doesn't trust himself to say it out loud. "Yeah ... totally. And no, no thanks. Ha! Gotta watch this big boy," he explains as a hand crashed down on his massive belly.
It's unsure whether he's serious or not. He does however reject the candy.
"No tavern. I checked," Ji-yook says with a wistful sigh. "But we'll take up your offer when we get back to Goka. Hopefully, when both of our teams celebrate making it to the finals of the tournament!"
After a few moments, Tino and Yabin the Just emerge from the library as well to greet you. While the stoic nagaji simply gives you a polite nod, Tino smiles warmly. "I would like to hear about the temple of Irori. As a paladin of the Master of Masters, I must admit to some tinge of jealousy that you guys get to stay there instead of us!"
“No tavern, oh…” Hotcha stifles an urge to bemoan the unfairness of life. “…well, I wouldn’t be much of a Cayden nun if I didn’t provide for myself and my team.” She pats the silver cup hooked to her hip scarf, which now also keeps her ‘belt’ from falling down. (The irony of using a skirt to hold a belt up is not lost of the fairy.)
“I’d share mine with ya, Ji-yook, but it would be like quenching your thirst with a dew drop. Yeah, I’ll treat you in Goka.”
When Tino and Yabin emerge, Hotcha bows politely, but she’s interested in what the men have to say about the temple.
Knowing how sensitive religious folks are with regards to places and things most sacred to their faith, Yog'Moi tries really hard to be diplomatic and gentle with regards to the man's possible sensitivities. "What do you want to hear? How it was haunted by its troubled past? Or how it had become the lair of a wicked creature with breath so foul, no mother in the history of Golarion could ever love it? Suffice to say, we cleared out the monster, which mind, still roams the island now, and helped the Pharasma-starved spirits that dwelled within to find peace and by now, they're hopefully receiving Pharasma's judgment. It's a crime that that grave error hasn't been corrected earlier, but that's life for you."
Hotcha adds a little detail about the monk spat. “There were two factions. A nun named Kannitri led a faction that believed physical fitness was the key to enlightenment and meditation is a boring waste-a time. She felt really bad that the disagreement turned to a deadly brawl, so I cheered her up.
“I was still kinda wondering how everybody died. I mean, you’d think there’d at least be one winner of the fight. But then later, Xia-Li the abbot gave me a vision of her ki storm that killed everyone, herself included. She felt bad about that too, even though she killed people who’d just murdered her friends in front of her.”
There are details she could add, but it occurs to her that Tino was probably asking what the temple itself is like, not so much about the drama. “Oh! There’s a rainbow tree too!” Hotcha really likes the rainbow tree. It reminds her of her Shelynite friends. “Ya think everyone killed each other on Crystalhue? I didn’t think rainbow trees were an Irori thing.”
Tino is solemn as you recount the tale of the doomed monks. When you mention the colorful tree, though, he smiles. "Ah! I have heard tale of rare trees like that. The followers of Irori believe these trees possess unique spiritual properties, specifically that their roots extend deep beyond the Material Plane and into the Great Beyond, where they intertwine with their sister trees in the Serene Circle, Irori’s realm.
"Perhaps the monks' spirits have finally found peace there. I al grateful for your efforts to put them to rest. And now that the past is put to bed, we can focus now on the future. And the Ruby Phoenix Tournament is in our future!"
"You are welcome to visit the temple," says Wu Xin, "I am certain that the Old Man has some interest in the place and it would be well to pay your respects."
"And your library? Was it also difficult to clear?"
He wordlessly accepts a candy, breaks off the smallest piece he can manage and hands that to Hotcha. He knows from experience that the fairy couldn't gain weight if she tried. He nibbles a small portion in polite appreciation and puts away the rest for later.
”There was an infestation of boggards, along with their monstrous pets” Tino says. ”But nothing we couldn’t handle! We gave them a solid thrashing and drove them out into the jungle.”
"Well, good. We're heading to the Stone Market to do some shopping before the start of the competition, then we may wander around the island for awhile. We wanted to make sure you're all okay before we got started."
He looks up at the sun, then over to his companions. "We are, however, burning daylight. Shall we get going?"
Hotcha likes Tino’s team, but if they move on she can wash down her candy with Fire Nectar without being rude.
“Haha, the Stone Market guys know what they’re doing. Without a tavern I’ll spend my heavy hunks of metal on other stuff. Well, I’m glad all went well—and you guys are really nice, too, letting the frogmen run off.”
Hotcha wonders if all the other fighters will be so nice, she won’t wanna hit any of them. But this is a tournament so it’s my job to do that stuff!
“Oh, Xin is right, we gotta keep moving! Good luck tomorrow. When I’m your spectator but not your opponent, I’ll cheer you guys on!”
We head to the Stone Market!
Hotcha waits until outta sight before asking for a shoulder ride so she can sit, munch on candy, and sip Fire Nectar.
“Oh! My Fire Nectar reminds me—how about I throw fiery punches and kicks tomorrow?”
Knowing that competitors would need access to armor, weapons, and supplies, Hao Jin tasked the church of Abadar with creating a few specific huts on Bonmu that would connect to the markets of the Cliffside Court in Goka. The church set up a few simple stone buildings, each with an extraplanar link to the markets, which they dubbed the Stone Markets.
Anyone who visits a Stone Market can enter the building to find a small extraplanar window on one side of a plain stone room. On the other side of the extraplanar window waits a merchant from the Cliffside Court. The patron can speak with the merchant as if they were in the same building, and the merchant can deliver goods through the window, but this is a one-way effect—only the merchant has been magically attuned to the window, so any attempts from a patron to reach through the portal fail. Payment must be handed over to the enforcer attending the Stone Market for future delivery to the merchant.
The merchants have the entirety of the Cliffside Court’s wares available and can sell common items of up to 16th level, many imported to Goka in anticipation of the Ruby Phoenix Tournament. The merchants are also willing to buy items from patrons, which they sell to tourists as unique, genuine souvenirs previously owned by famous fighters. The merchants buy items at the normal rate of half their Price, or full Price for art objects, gems, and raw materials.
Hotcha steps up to the window, if possible. If not (because of the one-way portal), she’ll need a teammate to carry her unless an enforcer has a stool they can set up by the window.
“Big People money is very heavy and awkward, but I believe I have more than enough so these guns—” She flexes a dinky arm. “—can pack firepower!” In plain Tien, “I mean I would like to purchase a flaming rune for my handwraps, please.”
Xin has no particular wishes at this time, and wanders the stalls until an idea hits him.
He finds a tailor and orders a silk banner made for the temple. He pays a master calligrapher to paint on it the characters for Dedication, Respect and Tradition. In small gold letters at the bottom, he has embroidered "This temple was returned to the honor of the gods and the peace of its former residents by warriors of four different traditions."
He pays for the banner and promises to pick it up in a few days.
He then buys lunch ready for his team, so that they'll have a hot meal ready for them when they return from shopping.
As you finish your shopping trip and sit down for your evening meal, another team arrives at the Stone Market. Two women and two men, all humans, spread out to shop at the various stalls. The leader comes over to introduce herself. She is clad in studded leather armor, and a katana is sheathed at her hip.
"Greetings. I am Pomtaris, leader of the Trembling Meteors. I look forward to testing our team's mettle against yours in the next few days."
Hotcha takes a swig of her Fire Nectar to wash down a piece of a morsel of food. She stands (on the table) and twirls into a bow.
“Good to meet ya, Pomtaris. I’m Hotcha of Three Men and a Fairy!” The woman is the epitome of samurai. The scar does nothing to diminish her beauty. Her beauty does not lull Hotcha into a false sense of security. She is a true warrior. She will be an opponent, and not an easy one. You’re in the big leagues in the Big People world, Hotcha. You don’t honor them by making friends you don’t wanna fight against. “It’ll be an honor to compete with ya.”
"Hello," says Xin with a polite bow. "I am Wu Xin and these are Esh and Yog'Moi. May you fight well," he says. "Is there a place you would like to compete? We would be pleased to meet you in the morning when the contest has begun."
"I believe our base is far from yours, so we'll likely start by seeking out teams closer to us,"] Pomtaris says. "But should our paths cross during our stay here on Danger Island, you will get a measure of our mettle!"
Wu Xin smiles. "I look forward to it!"
Finding Tino's Toughest to be well is nice, and the chocolate even more so. I nod my head to them, and gratefully take the chocolate, but otherwise have nothing to add.
After a bit of conversation, we head to the Stone Market and meet the Trembling Meteors. They look competent, and I look forward to fighting them in the future.
Pomtaris bows and departs.
You finish your meal without further interruptions. The sun is hanging low in the sky. You probably have another hour or so ot daylight remaining...
Hotcha gives a friendly wave and finishes eating. (And drinking!)
“I like her. I’m actually very impressed with our competitors so far!
“Soooo… exploring now?”
"I don't know how much exploring we'll get to before the sun sets," says Xin. "But let's have a look around, at least."
We exit the Stone Market through the portal and, once back at Danger Island, do some exploring. Umm, let's move south along the coast.
Yog'Moi caresses his bulging belly after enjoying a proper meal amongst friends. The idea of having to move after appeasing his culinary indulgencies to the fullest puts a dark cloud over his otherwise sunny disposition. "Ugh, I keep forgetting you lot prefer the day over the night. Makes sense though, everyone's more pleasant when the sun's out. Says a thing or two about me kind back home, huh? Ha! Let's go, we got places to see, people to fight."
Hotcha says, “I am a light source if it gets too dark for the rest of us.”
To prove a point (or more likely, just for fun), she changes her aura while singing,
Red and yellow and pink and green
Purple and orange and blue…
“Hee-hee! Why are there so many songs about rainbows?” she asks before switching to a different song, changing her luminous hue every verse!