-11-
When last we saw our heroes! Zukari and Pamuya had just watched in terror as Mira, the golem girl, collapsed into rubble. Awoken, Yohoka began to draw a sea of sand towards herself and a pillar started to form at her waist lifting her higher and higher into the crisp night air. The walls and ceiling of her lavish room began to shift and melt as the pillar grew taller, allowing the ashen glow of the moon to spill inside. Yohoka ascended higher still. In the dour light, her features were hardened. Every wrinkle was etched deep into her skin by callous, black shadows. A vortex of biting grit began to radiate outwards from the sand bender causing Zukari and Paumya to shield their eyes. Even through the swirling gale Zukari could make out Yohoka’s gaze. She was leering directly at him.
When Yohoka’s pillar met its zenith, she screamed down at Zukari in despondent fury.
“You.. You killed my daughter!”
Suddenly a wave of sand came surging towards them. Before they had time to react, the wall crashed into them. The sheer weight of the wave was enough expel the air from their lungs. After the tide knocked them back, Yohoka gestured and the wave pulled back around to enveloped them both. Trapped, Pamuya and Zukari could feel the writhing cocoon engulfing them. With each shift, the abrasive granules rasped and chafed their skin. The two began to wail, trying desperately to claw their way out.
Hearing the screams, Zera turned her attention from the blazing flame patterns she had conjured in the courtyard, to the far room of the cottage, or rather, what was left of it. She turned to Cedar, gesturing to the whorling pillar, and asked if he had this. Misunderstanding her intent, Cedar confidently reassured her that he had the buzzard wasps well under control. Zera sighed and made her way over to the corroding bedroom. She saw her friends trapped, and towering above them, Yohoka - supported by her twisting sand gown. Thinking quickly, Zera reached into her robes and pulled out a dart. She deftly flicked it in her hand so the blunt handle faced outward and flung it at Yohoka’s unprotected chest. The dart sailed through the storm and struck Yohoka in the clavicle. The flash of pain was enough to distract the sand bender and pull her eyes from Zukari. Zera squinted her eyes and yelled up to Yohoka through the wind.
“I AM YOUR DAUGHTER!”
A new flash of ire spread over Yohoka’s face.
“My daughter is dead!”
Yohoka howled down to Zera.
Seeing that Yohoka was distracted, Zukari saw his chance to escape. He used his arms for leverage and with a heave, rend his body from the sand prison. He knew he had to act swiftly. He sprinted as fast he could while revealing the hidden blade from his staff. When he arrived at the pillar he did his best to quickly trudge up the undulating slope. In the same fluid motion he produced radiating heat from his palm and ran it down the length of his blade, making it glow a dull carmine. After what felt like an eternity, Zukari was in striking distance. He pulled the blade up in a quick arc, lunging at Yohoka’s core, but she saw his advance in time to react. She coated her arm in a second skin of hardened sand to deflect the blow.
As Yohoka’s shield burst, clods of sand flew down the pillar and showered Pamuya who had just freed herself. Pulling the water from both her and Zukari’s water skins, she began to perform precise, elegant water bending forms. The water transformed from tendrils to a thin sheet of ice that she thrust forward just under Zukari’s feet. The plane bisected Yohoka’s pillar, and, cutoff from her supply of sand she teetered in the air for a moment and then crashed down hard on her back. The impact left a shattered crater in the ice plane and sent gleaming fragments sailing.
All the while, Cedar was experimenting with different patterns, trying to unlock the secrets behind the nuanced art of hive mind hypnosis. The buzzards wasps erratically dove and soared above the battle, catching Yohoka’s eyes. As she struggled to her feet, Cedar grinned. He was learning. Yohoka gathered what sand she could and feverishly began forming mandalas. She peered into the sky - tracking her pets as best she could. Slowly, a look of panicked realization washed over her face. The buzzard wasps weren’t responding. She looked down at Cedar in astonishment. His eyes met hers, and he gave her a taunting nod of triumph. Unhinged, Yohoka reached into the folds of her robe and pulled forth a guilded dagger. In one reckless motion, she pulled the blade from its jewel encrusted sheath which dropped unceremoniously into a nearby dune, and proceeded to imbue the dagger with a swirling aura of shimmering sand. Her eyes crazed, Yohoka lunged from the frozen crater and leveled her blade at Zukari.
Zera shouted again, pleading this time.
“I. AM. YOUR. DAUGHTER.”
As the last word was loosed from Zera’s lips, the tempest that had been swirling around the cottage froze. Silence blanketed the tor as each singular grain of sand stood suspended, petrified and glistening in the incandescent moonlight.
No, you’re not my daughter. I failed my daughter. She’s gone, because of me.”
Yohoka, blade still in hand, dropped her gaze to the desert ground. Tears tumbled from her eyes and splashed from grain, to suspended grain until they finally met the cold ground.
Zera beseeched the sand bender.
“There’s no more need for violence.”
Yohoka looked up to see Zera’s imploring face. She weakly loosened her grip on the gold dagger until it slipped from her fingers and dropped - the tip of the blade sticking fast into the sand. As it did, everything else followed. The cottage, the suspended sandstorm, the remnants of the domed cage - all of it fell in a soothing hiss.
“I don’t want any more violence.”
Yohoka said hollowly.
She looked back down to the ground, and slowly her feet began to sink into the sand. She had already buried herself to her stomach before the party had time to register what was happening.
Zukari, who could empathize with Yohoka’s plight, was the first to act. The fire bender who, just hours ago, called her a witch sheathed his staff and flipped it to it’s crook end. He ran towards the sinking woman and thrust the handle within her reach. Seeing the staff, Yohoka looked up. This time there was no disdain in her eyes. Her sinking slowed.
Pamuya followed in turn and reached in her bag and threw her a loop of rope to grab. Asteria instinctively sailed from Paumya’s paldron and landed on Yohoka’s shoulder, giving her a gentle nuzzle with her beak.
A faint smile appeared on Yohoka’s lips and a fresh stream of tears painted her face. She slowly clasped her hands around the rope and the staff, but before anyone had time to start pulling her out Cedar had already grabbed both Zukari and Pamuya. He sauntered over to Yohoka, and, in one big platypus bear hug, pulled her from her tomb and hoisted the three of them high in the air as Zera walked over to meet them.
“Thank you all… Mira… Mira would have liked you.”
Yohoka whispered.
“Thank you Mom.”
Zera chimed in admiration.
Yohoka couldn’t help but smile and reached up to gently caress Zera’s cheek with the back of her hand. Cedar beamed and reflected aloud on the shared familial bond of all humankind.
Yohoka took a step past the party and with one hand, rematerialized the intricate sand cottage. She invited the party in for one last cup of tea, pledging to let them leave whenever they wanted. As they all shared a mild blend of oolong, the party noticed that the looming buzzing over head that had been present since they arrived had all but vanished.
The ochre sun had just begun to peer over the serrated peak of the tor when the party said their final good byes. Yohoka thanked them all again, and as she gazed into the southern sky she began to speak in an assured tone.
“I think I will make my way back to Omashu. It’s time for me to make some new friends.
-Some real friends.”
After salvaging the goodies left over from the cottage, the party began their trek back to Gaipan to collect their reward from Magistrate Toshimoko. As the desert became spotted with rocky plains they new they were getting close. Just as they were about to step into their old camp site a shout came from beyond a rocky maw. It was Marro! She hastened them into the tribe’s perimeter, explaining that their musician had returned since the party had been gone. She and Yidak welcomed the party and after inquiring about their epic battle with the wicked sand witch, they led them through the tangle of tents and hammocks to the stage where and older tribesman sat. He was surrounded by a sizable crowd, mostly children, who were all eagerly awaiting to hear the tale of ShiRok. He introduced himself as Vacar, the Gokai tribe’s musician. When the party had settled, the man stroked his beard, smiled, and began to strum his shamisen. A Gokai girl, about 5 years old, grabbed ahold of Zera’s robes and whispered in her ear that this was her favorite part. The droning tones set the scene and Vacar began to speak.
-12-
When last we saw our heroes! They had just bid a farewell to Marro and the others in the Gokai tribe. They were off to retrieve their award from Toshimoko in Gaipan. They made their way back to the Jinkou trail, and besides Cindari getting splashed by the low rush of the Oasishu river, arrived at the torii gates of Gaipan unharmed. As the party walked further into the village, something seemed off. The bustling, charged energy of the marketplace that they experience their first visit was instead, replaced with muted mingling in hushed tones. The children that usually played in the village square were also conspicuously absent. The party remarked on the dire feeling hanging in the air, musing to themselves and wondering what might have happened. When they finally arrived at the House of the Laughing Carp, the found their somber answer. Just outside of the teahouse, a tripod constructed from 3 long wood poles stood menacingly. From it’s spire, there was a knot tied that secured ropes hanging taughtly below, and attached to the rope was a body, bound by the wrists. Zukari was the first to notice the macabre adornment of the tea house and cautiously moved closer to investigate. The body of the man slowly swayed in the breeze, revealing the figures face. His mouth had been stuffed full of grimy red leaves, clearly an intimidation tactic of the Bloodgood Triad. After grappling with the shock of the scene, the party all moved closer and to their dismay, started to recognize the hanging young man. It was Muwo, Madam Meeshy’s fidgety assistant that served them the last time they visited the Laughing Carp.
The party decided to enter the tea house and find Madam Meeshy to see just what happened. Once inside, they saw Meeshy behind the bar, a somber, distant look on her face as she absent-mindedly polished a ceramic tea cup. Cedar approached her and broke the spell. A fleeting smile touched her lips, but was quickly washed away with a wave of guilt and sorrow. The party asked what had happened, and Meeshy explained as best she could. The Bloodgoods sometime frequented the Carp, and the night before last, Muwo had accidently spilled some hot tea on the leader of the sentry group that patrolled the village streets. The Bloodgoods didn’t even hesitate to string him up and make an example of him. Meeshy began to sob as she remarked that they wouldn’t even let her take him down to bury him.
Outraged, the party took Madam Meeshy’s advice to seek out Kakita at the magistrate’s office, they had business their anyway. They could hear shouting before they even entered the Magistrate’s hall. Kakita was screaming at Toshimoko. Apparently he had freed the Jade Hare prisoners from the cell at the behest of the Bloodgoods. The party entered, and Toshimoko, looking somewhat relieved to have a distraction from his breatment, tried to change the subject. He asked the party if they had good news concerning his roast du.. or rather, the provisions being stolen from his humble village. After a very uncomfortable exchange in which the party, Kakita and Toshimoko discussed payment for the buzzard wasp job, the citizen strung up in the street, roast duck, and the bloodgood problem plaguing Gaipan - the party head a hushed murmuring starting to from outside in the village square.
Toshimoko, who was already nervous, started to break out in a full cold sweat as he peered out to see a tall woman stood atop a crate gesturing to a growing crowd. He tried to slip out the back of the hall as the party was distracted but Zukari was too keen and caught his neck with the crook of his staff. The party and Kakita all went outside to see what the woman had to say. The woman leading the rally was tall with stern features and shoulder length hair with streaks of grey framing her face. Her clothes were dirty from suit, or ore, but were otherwise crisply pressed. The woman spoke with bold determination.
“I have warned against these Bloogoods before, and now, here, tragic proof of the threat they are to our town. And what has our so-called leader done for us? Toshimoko cowers in his hall, and here we are grieving. We cannot wait on the magistrate to act. Something has to be done.”
Zukari felt himself nodding along in agreement. He let Toshimoko go and started weaving through the crowd, sewing excitement and inciting agitation. After her speech had ended to the growl of agreement from the crowd, the party asked the woman who she was. She explained that her name was Hylia, and that she was the head of the minor’s exchange in Gaipan. She wanted to oust Toshimoko from his post to protect the people of Gaipan, but with him being a puppet of the Bloodgoods, that was harder said than done. She delighted to hear that the party was already set to defeat the Bloodgoods, and sweetened the pot with a reward if they defeat Twinglaive, the Bloodgood’s leader, and bring her back any correspondence they find on his person, or in the Bloodgood base.
After talking more with Hylia - dissecting the ramshackle political landscape of Gaipan, and learning that there were whispers of the Bloodgoods having a secret keep in the old abandoned Tienhai Manner at the edge of town - the party decided that a good place to start ridding the village of the Dao Fei scum, was the Poisoned Water Sake House. Kakita wished them luck, mentioning that she may meet up with them later, as she was in need of a new lead.
As the party walked to the Sake house, they say two suspiciously capable-looking men with minor’s exchange emblems cutting Muwo down from his gallows. Meeshy directed from the window of the carp. She looked a little less somber with her friend’s mouth rid of bloodgood leaves.
The party turned a corner and arrived at the Poisoned Water Sake House. Four ruffians lingered on the covered porch, perched on empty sake barrels or leaning against the wall. They all wore grimy scarlet cloaks, their sullen stares fixed on the group as they approached.
One of the thugs spats on the ground.
“Well, well,” he snarls. “Here’s a whole pack of little pups. What do you want, puppies? Come here to bark at us?”
Cedar sized up the thugs, and without hesitation growled a deep
“Woof.”
The thugs sitting stood up with a start and flanked the brash leader. Both the party’s and the Bloodgoods’ hands made ready for their weapons. Before anyone else could act, Cedar carved a stone block from the ground and hurled it towards the trio. It sailed through the air and met its mark - the leader’s stomach. The man doubled over, having the wind knocked from his chest. Gasping, the man grabbed his comrades by their shoulder and thrust them down the porch towards the party as he made his way through the doorway of the sake house. It was a quick, clumsy fight. Zukari missed his mark, Zera accidently splashed the back of his cloak with badger frog slime, and Paumya had to wash him off before he was eaten alive by bog gnats. The Bloodgoods didn’t fair any better, and in the end, Cedar launched one far off into the brambles, and the other stood immobilized by Pamuya’s daggers lodged in his legs.
The party brushed themselves off and looked up to the empty doorway of Poisoned Water.
-13-
When last we saw the mighty Buzzard Wasp Warriors! They had just dispatched the two gruff guards loitering on the porch of the Poisoned Water Sake House. Their leader had scurried off into the establishment earlier, leaving the party wondering what to do next. While weighing their options, Cedar reached over his shoulder to grab his bag. He turned it upside down and gave it a curt shake. With a thud, a reluctant Boshi tumbled out onto the ground. Cedar instructed the racoon bear to clamber up to the second-floor awning of the Sake House and do some reconnaissance. At first the scruffy varmint only gave the bearded earth-bender an disdainful expression having been roused from a nap, but the smell of spilled sake and warm porridge wafting from the open windows made Boshi change his mind. He waddled to the base of the structure and, with labored, jiggling heaves, climbed his way up a pole and peered into one of the windows left open. The party watched as Boshi closed his eyes and smelled the pungent air with deep sniffs. He gave the interior one last look, and then sat on his rump and started grooming his tummy on the sloped wooden roof, apparently communicating that the coast was clear.
The party made sure that the remaining Bloodgood was secured in chest deep earth before gathering their supplies and walking towards the entrance. Zukari and Pamuya donned the dingy crimson cloaks they had liberated from the ruffians, and with one last nod of affirmation, the party slid open the door to the Poisoned Water and made their way inside. The thick, rank smell of spilled sake, mingled with frying oil and opium forced its way into their lungs as their eyes adjusted to the soft light. The house’s interior consisted of a bar at the far end with rows of long bamboo tables flanked with ratty cushions to sit on. The rafters were lit with a tangled mess of paper lanterns, and the room was haphazardly partitioned with folding shoji screens. A few patrons lazily sipped on tea or warm sake on the perimeter of the watering hole, but the bulk of the crowd was huddled around one of the long tables in the center. The party walked closer to investigate the raucous huddle. Just as they peaked their heads over they saw what was causing all the commotion - glinting gold hexagons being passed back and forth across a tattered blue silk ribbon. This was a gambling house as well. Most of the onlookers were opposite the table to a self assured, dark-skinned woman with an athletic build. Her hair was shaved on the sides, but had long maintained dreads braided down the middle, fastened with glints of gold clasps at the end. She wore dark garb of weathered leather and metal, with small accents of fur and cerulean silk - similar to Pamuya’s own water tribe adornments. There was a sizable pile of coins stacked on her side of the table and she eyed them smugly. Suddenly one of the men across the table - apparently her last opponent - hurled his meaty hand towards her winnings, muttering an accusation of etchings on the back side of the air coin. With unbelievable speed, the woman twisted her wrist and the sake from the man’s cup leapt into the air. It arced and solidified into a dagger-like shard of ice which the woman’s other hand gracefully clasped and thrust down in practiced precision. The tip of the shard plunged into the man’s hand and then into the bamboo table below, pinning it before it could reach her coin pile. The man’s face contorted in surprise and pain as he gave out a loud yelp. The woman rolled her eyes and, with another flick of her wrist, the literal ice pick melted back into sake, now with thin traces of blood. She guided it delicately into her own glass - threw her head back, and downed the drink. She wiped her mouth with the back of her sleeve as the panicked crowd started to disperse around her. Evidently no one else wanted to play.
As the farmers and miners shuffled around them, the party just stood there with their mouths slightly ajar - some out of respect for her bending prowess and sheer tenacity, and others out of amorous stirrings. Zera subconsciously whispered under her breath.
“I’m having feelings”
Cedar led the party over to her table and so began the parade of awkward, fumbling introductions. Cedar and Zera were forthwrite, but Paumya and Zukari didn’t trust this stranger. Zukari even tried to pass off as Toshimoko’s grandson, and Pamuya was happy enough to be known as water tribe girl. The woman introduced herself as Riju, a bounty hunter hunkered down in Gaipan drinking her time away waiting for her next job. Zera’s usual cinisim had all but vanished in the presence of the beautiful bounty hunter. Instead she was earnest, clumsy, and all together infatuated. So when Riju finally uncovered the party’s true intentions and made them a deal - a friendly game for her information, vs their coin - Zera was the one to volunteer for the first game. As Riju motioned for the barman to bring them all a round, Zera couldn’t help herself and asked to sweeten the pot with a kiss if she won. Riju stared at Zera offended at first, but the expression melted into a coy smile as they all raised their cups and drank the warm, slightly-salty sake.
Riju collected the tarnished octagonal tokens on the table and began to nimbly rake the one with the water nation symbol over her knuckles. She asked if any of the party new how to play The Gilded Seven, or The Gambit of Nations. Pamuya spoke up and explained that she knew how to play, but back in her tribe it was called Coinspeak.
There are 7 coins on the table, each with a specific icon. Water, Earth, Fire, Air, The Sword, The Shield, and the Scale.
Two players take turns taking an action.
On your turn, you can:
Add a coin to the line.
Flip a coin facedown.
Switch the position of 2 coins on the line.
Peek at a face down coin.
Pamuya competently explained the rules, but she knew that each village seemed to have their own victory condition, and so she inquired how the people of Gaipan played. Riju watched with a bemused smile as “the water tribe girl” explained the rules. She was feeling an auspicious kinship with Pamuya, even if she was still guarded about her home. With a sharp slint in her eye Riju explained that to win; you have to boast that you know all the symbols on the facedown coins on the line. However, you have to be certain that your opponent doesn’t also know. If the opponent accepts your boast, you have to flip over all the turned coins, naming all the correct symbols. If you do successfully, you win - but if you get even one wrong, you lose the gambit. Alternatively, the opponent can refuse your boast, and instead they have to name all the facedown coins, and win or lose depending if they correctly identify them all.
Riju nimbly arranged all the coins below the silk ribbon as Zera maneuvered to sit down on the cushion across the table. The first bet brokered was Riju’s information on the Bloodgood patrol leader that got away (and a kiss) up against the party’s 20 gold pieces. The bounty hunter explained that the guest take the first turn, and that it is customary to play the scale in the middle for balance. Zera indulged the custom, taking the heavy gilded octagon with a violet scale etched in its face and placed it on the center of the line. The two took turns placing, flipping and swapping coins. Asteria and Cindari both watched the glinting, moving trinkets covetously from their respective owner’s shoulders. Boshi however had made his way to the back store-room, smelling the bags of rice and barley.
After a healthy number of rounds, Riju looked into Zera’s eyes and said that she would like to boast. The direct eye induced a flush of embarrassment that rose to Zera’s cheeks. She sheepishly looked down at the line, and instead of stealing the boast, asked Riju to prove herself. The water-bender looked down at the silk suspiciously. Then - one by one - began to flip coins over. Earth, Fire, The Sword, The Shield, Wate… No, it was The Scale. Zera’s eyes shot up to meet Riju’s as the party registered the bounty hunter’s mistake. They cheered and Cedar gave Zera a hearty slap on the back and took another healthy swig of sake. Riju sat back in her chair and feigned remorse, congratulating Zera on her deserved win. Before Zera could collect her kiss however, Riju offered a new wager. Double or nothing. This time information on the supposed ‘secret’ entrance to the Tienhai manor, against 40 gold pieces.
The party took a moment to talk amongst themselves, and decided it was worth the monetary risk, or unbeknownst to Zera, Zera’s monetary risk. Riju demurely asked who her next opponent was. As Zera started to lift herself off the cushion - believing someone else from the party was going to play The Gilded Seven - she was abruptly pushed back down again by Cedar’s sizable palm against her shoulder.
“No, this is still your game, lover-girl.”
The next game was quicker than the first one. Riju’s first move was the water coin, and it quickly became apparent that this time she was more playing more deliberately, more tactically, than the first game. As soon as Zera’s finger left a coin Riju pounced with her next move. And so the game progressed until, once again, Riju said that she was ready to boast. There was a pregnant pause as the party watched Zera comb over the metal tokens with identical backs splayed across the fraying silk. She again chose to have Riju prove herself. Riju’s posture bristled and a small smile tinged the corners of her mouth. In order down the line, she began flipping the tokens. One after the other, correct symbol after correct symbol was revealed until all seven coins lie face up on the silk, gleaming in the flickering light of the lanterns. Riju beamed as she used a hugging motion to collect all coins on the table with her forearms. She winked facetiously at Zera as she did so. After the wealth of loot was scooped into her pack, she looked up expectantly at the party with an upturned palm. They owed her 20 more gold coins. Zera turned out her empty tunic pockets and looked to the rest of the party. Cedar and Zukari gave her an indignant glance and said that they were in it for the first round, but didn’t agree to double or nothing - blaming Zera and her desire for her first smooch. Dumbfounded, Zera began to root around her pack in search of something to pay her debt. Her fingers shuffled through scrolls and vials until they brushed up against something hard and cold. After probing in vain to see if Riju would be interested in badger slime as payment, she pulled out the jade figure - her only keepsake of Yohoka. Dolefully, she offered the small trinket to Riju, explaining that it should settle the debt. Riju shrugged and cooly accepted the payment, placing the jade girl in with the rest of her plunder.
With her coin purse full and her cup empty, Riju stood up, cracked her back with a good stretch, and started to turn away from the party, thanking them for the friendly games of chance. As she did though, Asteria lept from Pamuya’s shoulder and flew beautiful, colorful circles around the bounty hunter, stopping her mid-step. The ornate dance ended as Asteria fluttered back towards Pamuya, who had yet another trinket resting in outstretched palms. This one was a bit larger, and gold. She stated that they party had another proposition for Riju. Riju turned back around - she loved propositions.
Pamuya offered the gold figure as payment for Riju’s help in clearing out the Bloodgoods from Gaipan. Although at first the bounty hunter protested, knowing the party couldn’t afford her usual rates, the combination of a fellow water bender, a blushing academic, a drinking buddy, and the stunning frost hawk somehow reminded Riju of home. She acquiesced and joined the party, for the time being at least. As they all gathered themselves and made their way to the exit, the party heard a scuffle break out from the back room. They turned towards the closed paper door just in time to see Boshi burst though in alarm. He scampered towards an embarrassed Cedar, leaving a trail of sticky porridge as he did. Boshi climbed the mountain of a man and timidly nestled himself in the pack once again. The party collectively rolled their eyes and turned back towards the exit when they heard shouting coming from the hole in the door Boshi had made. Zukari led the way over and opened the door. In the musty store room they saw Kakita dragging the protesting Bloodgood patrol-leader out of a rice sack. After wrestling the wretch into submission Kakita explained that she had followed the party to the Poisoned Water, but broke off around back when she saw the leader run into the establishment. The party wanted answers and retribution for Muwo and Madam Meeshee, but Kakita had already interrogated the Bloodgood for all the information he had. She refused Zukari’s request to sting him up in the street like they had done to the Carp’s poor assistant, and instead explained that she was taking him to the magistrate hall’s prison where she would be keeping watch to make sure Toshimoko doesn’t give anyone else an early release.
Riju leaned against the doorway and sized up Kakita as she talked to the party, but became impatient after surmising that there was no action left to be had at the Poisoned Water. She interrupted, asking if the party was ready to go to Tienhai Manor or not.
After parting ways with Kakita, they all stood outside the Poisoned Water. Riju reached inside her cloak and produced a small bone whistle. The party craned their necks in confusion when she blew hard on the whistle and no noise came out. But just as an intrigued Zera opened her mouth to inquire they all heard a splash from the bog behind the sake house followed by deep thumps of animal footsteps. From behind the building a magnificent polar bear dog came galloping towards them. The massive creature stopped just short of Riju and gave her a gentle lick on the cheek before stepping back and shaking it’s whole body vigorously to dry its soggy white fur. Riju and Paumya were able to water-bend a barrier guarding themselves from the foul bog water, but the rest of the party weren’t spared and instead, were drenched in silty muk. Riju smirked and told Khorus that he was a good boy. As Riju took ahold of the scruff of Khorus’ neck and swiftly mounted his back, Zera ran up to the polar bear dog. She peered up at Riju and beseeched her to let her join her for the ride. Riju turned her head away to hide her rolling eyes, but reluctantly offered her forearm to Zera who eagerly grasped it and clambered up. She had already wrapped her arms around Riju’s waist before Khorus had even started moving.
The party followed Riju to Teinhai Manor at the edge of town, but instead of taking the road all the way to the entrance, Riju instead led the group behind the foundation into the forest beyond. There she and Zera dismounted Khorus and Riju pointed up to a craggly hole in the back face of the rocky hill that the manor sat upon. The secret entrance.
The party all looked at one another expectantly, but before they could formulate a plan Riju was already blazing up the hillside and into the stony mouth of the manor’s basement. The party shrugged and followed closely behind. Zera closest of all. The space that met them beyond the ruinous breach was an sizable cavern stretching out before them. The air was unnaturally cold and smelled of stagnant water and decaying meat. The party ventured deeper still and were able to peer over the ledge of the cavern’s fissure. It looked as though the manor’s foundation had crumbled into a fractured mess, unearthing the natural stone beneath. Even though it was dimly lit with pulsing verdant crystals, they couldn’t see the bottom as it is was diffused in a heavy mist that seemed to flow like water. Zukari could hear skittering and scraping coming from the maw, but there was no movement to confirm the sound’s origin.
Ahead of them were a couple of rope bridges across the fissure and entryways into the different manor rooms. Zukari took the lead and led them across the first swaying bridge into a dark hallway. The light of the crystal didn’t follow them and so Zukari conjured a small flame to lead them further. As they walked down the corridor, Zera couldn’t help but steal glances of Riju’s slim silhouette walking in front of her. Her mind repeatedly returning to the wagered kiss that was stolen away from her in a callous betting game. Zera couldn’t take it, she mustered her courage to try and procure her first kiss the old fashioned way - by putting herself out there. She snuck closer to Riju and tried to smoothly broadcast her intentions. But as Zera drew in for a kiss, an alarmed Riju silently grabbed the fire bender by the forearm, twisted her around and pinned her against the wall with her own wrist.
“Nice try, but this isn’t the time you brazen ash-bringer.”
She whispered in Zera’s ear.
She loosened her grip, but before she released her, Riju drew close and quickly planted a tender peck on Zera’s cheek before the rest of the party could see. She let Zera go and walked faster to join Zukari at the head of the group. Zera however, just stood wide eyed, sofly brushing her cheek with the back of her fingers until Cedar bumped into her in the waning light.
The Buzzard Wasp Warriors finally made their way to the end of the corridor, only to be met with a dead end. A bare stone wall enclosed the hallway. Confused, the party started to investigate, and in no time at all Zukari managed to find a circular stone that when pressed, hissed and rotated, receding into the stone masonry. The wall in front of them scraped open on ancient metal hinges as warm light and the sound of splashing water came spilling into the hallway. The secret passage revealed a five-foot-wide landing that overlooked a large cellar, with stone steps descending to the floor in two short flights on either side. A large stone cistern with a bubbling fountain occupied the western part of the room, whose walls were lined with vases and barrels.
Riju closed her eyes, pinched the bridge of her nose and chuckled under her breath. She asked the party what the point of using the secret entrance was if they were just going to barge in through the front entrance anyway. The party agreed and decided to double back. On the way back through the corridor into the cavern an inexplicable urge to sing and dance came over Cedar and Zera. Riju gave them both a curt glare as their chants echoed down into the mists below.
The party decided to pass the second of the rope bridges and instead made their way up to another doorway. They had discovered another store room, although unlike the entrance, this one was obviously used for stolen and illicit goods. As the party poured over the provisions, Pamuya - who took note of the stone Zukari had pushed earlier - scanned the stone walls of the seemingly ordinary room. Her keen eye was able to pick out another that looked similar, she pushed it gently and again, the wall creaked open with a hiss. Inside was another smaller hallway, this time with wooden walls. The party opened up the closest of the doors and filtered inside. This chamber was lined with racks of weapons, including spears, swords, crossbows, and bolts. A dozen dirty red cloaks hung from hooks by the door.
Riju looked surprised. She confessed that she didn’t think the Bloodgoods were this organized. It looked as though there were anticipating a wealth of new recruits soon. The party was less interested in Riju’s musings, and instead immediately started scouring the racks of weapons in search of new toys. Cedar eagerly picked up a crossbow and grinned radiantly. The rest of the party followed suit and each strapped crossbows and quivers to their backs. Riju simply watched in silent bemusement.
-14-
When last we saw the mighty Buzzard Wasp Warriors! They had all just finished fastening their newly nicked crossbows to their belts. Taking one last look around the room, the rows of crimson cloaks caught the party’s eye. Cedar, Zera and Riju all thought it best to don the red hoods as well as to try and infiltrate the rest of the Bloodgood base.
They all shuffled out of the chamber and back into the hallway. Zukari, pointed to the wooden door at the end of the hallway and turned back to the group with a smile on his face. He explained he was eager to show the rest of the party a new trick he had been working on with Cindari. He picked Cindari up and gazed into her eyes.
“Don’t let me down now.”
He whispered into her twitching ear.
He then gently put her down facing then end of the hallway and, with a myriad of arcane hand gestures and clicking noises, directed her to go to the door and listen for potential threats. Cindari stood motionless at first, staring back up at Zukari. But then when he scattered some delicious pygmy puma treats across the bottom of the door, she lept into action. Cindari ate the treats with great relish, but then instead of stealthily listening in on the other room, she simply stared back at Zukari again with unenthused eyes. As if to say - leave this to the professionals - Pamuya pat a discouraged Zukari on the shoulder as she moved towards the door. Cindari brushed up against her leg on her way back to Zukari’s bag. Pamuya knelt down and pressed her cheek against the cold, damp cobblestones. A cool breeze met her face as it wafted through the space under the door. She closed her eyes and listened, and smelled. At first she only detected the faint scent of petrichor, but as she listened harder she could hear skittering and clattering up and down the walls beyond.
Just as Pamuya turned her head to tell the party what she heard, she saw Cedar was charging - shoulder first - towards the door. She barley had time to press herself against the wall before he rushed past and, with his full weight behind him, tackled down the wooden door. It shattered as tiny shards of wood and rusted metal burst forth into the next room. As the dust and debris settled, Cedar stood in the middle the mausoleum of the Tienhai family. The rest of the party carefully slid through the pointy remnants of the wooden door frame to join him. They all rubbed theirs eye in an effort to persuade them to adjust to the dark faster. When they finally did they saw the three large stone sarcophagi to which the chamber was dedicated. The stone lid of each sarcophagus was carved to depict the person entombed within—two men and one woman, all of ancient noble earth kingdom bearing. The party could now all hear the chittering coming from the dark corners of the room. Small specular highlights danced and churned in the creases of the ceiling above them. Zera moved further inside so she was in the center of the stone tombs, raised her hand and produced a radiant, amber flame. The light chased away the shadows and revealed that in the pockets of the chamber were writhing, skittering, giant scorpipedes. Their elongated bodies were about 2 feet long, with black lacquered carapaces that reflected the flickering flame. Their hundreds of legs undulated in waves as they quickly reorienting themselves to face the new bright light. Seeing Zera, the scorpipedes rushed towards her on the ceiling, pincers drawn and stingers poised. But just as they got close enough to strike, they slowed, and then stopped - becoming motionless. Laying in wait to see what the adventurers would do. The party breathed a collective sigh of relief and began deliberating on what to do next.
Almost immediately Cedar sauntered to the tomb of the noble woman and, with relative ease, slid the heavy lid until it teetered off the base and hit the stone floor with a thud that shook the room. Pamuya crossed her arms and scowled at him disappointedly. The scorpipedes above him seemed to stir and crept closer to Cedar, but again stopped short. Cedar peered inside to see the moldering bones of the noble woman, still dressed in the customary silks of the ancient earth kingdom. He frowned when at first glance there was nothing of value inside the dusty sarcophagus. However after he caught a glint of Zera’s flame reflected in the silver of a signet ring on the woman’s skeletal finger, Cedar turned towards the party and beamed, bouncing his eyebrows. He used the tip of his index finger and thumb to delicately pull the ring from the dried bones, which fell away without protest. Zukari watched as Cedar pocketed the ring. Grinning, the shepherd turned his attention to the young man’s tomb. Zukari planted both his palms on the edge of the stone lid and heaved. It was much, much heavier than Cedar had made it seem, but with some difficulty he was able to slide the adorned lid off as well. He poured over the remains, but regrettably there was nothing but bones and tattered robes in his. As Zukari shook his head in disappointment, the party could hear chittering once again as the glossy black insects made their way above the freshly opened tomb. It seemed as though they were becoming more and more agitated as the desecration continued.
Zera decided not to pay any heed to the ominous writhing above her, and proceeded to make her way to the last of the sarcophagi. Riju stood in the corner, twirling an ice shard on her finger, and watched amusedly as Zera clapped her hands, rubbed them together and heaved at the last lid with great gusto. The lid did not relent however, and an audible crack came from Zera’s back as she pushed harder. She winced and then stood still, wide eyed, as if petrified. The party smirked and tried not to laugh as Riju placidly walked over to her and wrapped her hands around Zera’s shoulders. Riju arched her back to lift Zera off the ground, and with a sharp jostle, popped her back once again. An expression of relief instantly painted Zera’s face, but quickly faded to flushed chagrin. Riju only smiled and leaned on the tomb. Still looking at Zera, she made a quick, effortless jab with her elbow hitting the lid which slid off the tomb and crumbled as it his the floor. Still blushing, Zera leaned over to see what spoils await her, but instead was only met with a cluttered mass of bones, and a deep black, slick hole where the skull of the man should have rested. Zera was disgusted, but not wanting to appear squeamish in front of her crush, lowered her head down further to investigate the small crumbling chasm. As she did the skittering resumed, both above and below her. Before she could react a scorpiped slithered it’s way out of the tomb’s gash and launched itself towards her face. Riju was too quick however, and with incredible speed, drew a whip from her belt and water-bent jagged shards of ice into three loops that split from the end. She flicked her wrist and by water-bending the shards to direct the whip, ensnared the jet-black arthropod. She jerked her hand back and the bug went sailing past all of them and hit the back wall of the hallway with a foul crack. The scorpipede fell to the floor and immediately retreated into a cracks of the wall.
Zera was not out of harm’s way yet though as the closest of the scropipedes on the ceiling detached and fell through the air, landing on her back. She could feel the pin pricks of a hundred sharp feet pierce her clothes as the bug writhed over her. As Zera flailed in circles, the scorpipede lifted it’s stinger and with incredibly speed, plunged it into the small of Zera’s back. A brief look of terror formed on Riju’s face, but when the bug tried to pull its tail back the party saw that it was stuck in the leather strap of one of Zera’s scrolls. Riju sighed in relief as Zera took the opportunity to grab the wriggling thing off her back and launch it into the air. It flew to the ceiling and used its spindly legs to grab hold. Now more scorpipedes were facing Zera, crawling closer. Seeing this, she flung her arm high in the air. Above her clenched fist a mote of light appeared. Instantly it burst into an flash of pure white that showered the entire masualeom. The two closest scorpipedes promptly scurried away into the dark recesses of the room. After the rest of the party blinked away the residual scintillance from their eyes, Cedar fixed his gaze upon the last creeping thing in the far ceiling crease. He planted his feet and made a clutching motion with his hand. The piece of stone underneath the scorpipedes feet broke free and hurled towards Cedar who was waiting with his raised kanabo. He swung hard and smashed the stone in a spray of rubble, but the scorpipede was able to leap off just in time.
Zukari tracked the bug as it landed on the ground between him and Cedar. Without thinking he lifted his staff and brought it down hard on top of the wriggling scorpipede. The staff broke though it’s carapace with a sickening crunch. Viscous blue goo shot out in a radial pattern and painted the sides of the tombs in a grisly masterpiece. Pamuya winced and glowered at Zukari with withering disappointment. Zukari bashfully smiled and backed away as Zera swooped in on her hands and knees scraping some of the gunk into an empty vial. She raised her new specimen to the light to admire it. Through the translucent cerulean ooze she saw Riju staring at her with a quizzical eyebrow arched.
After the party investigated this rocky hole receding from the tomb and deciding that it was not suitable for spelunking, they considered their three options out of the mausoleum. They could either proceed back through the splintered doorway from which they came, through another wooden door in the corner, or through the impressive copper plated double doors at the far end of the chamber. After a brief discussion they all decided that having Cedar barge through the timber doors had been effective thus far, and decided to continue the trend. Cedar pat his shoulder gruffly as he backed away from the frame to get a running start. The party watched as the Cedar propelled himself forward, earth-bending the cobbles underfoot for extra power. He rammed the door hard and it gave way easier than the last one. Instead of breaking entirely, the door flung open on its hinges in a quick arc. A loud thwump, followed by a sharp howl of pain emanated from behind the door. The revealed room was partitioned into three areas, with iron bars walling off the ends. Filthy straw lined the floors of the cells and the hinged doors were secured by chains and padlocks. A pair of disheveled women stared at Cedar - terrified - backing into the corner of their cell to the south, while a boy hid in the cell to the north. The prisoners were dressed in plain gray tunics and had iron collars fitted around their necks.
As the rest of the party rushed in and looked for the origin of the yelp, they were ambushed from behind by a Bloodgood pressed against the wall behind them. The hooded figure drew his shortsword and leapt towards Cedar, catching the top of the earth-bender’s back with his blade. Catching this out of the corner of his eye, Zukari advanced with blinding speed. Unsheathing his hidden blade, he swept it up against the Bloodgood’s chest leaving a clean, crimson incision as he did. Zukari threw his staff in the air and as his target looked up to follow it, the fire-bender struck the man in the gut twice with flaming fists. Tendrils of smoke billowed from the smouldering scorches in the Bloodgood’s tunic as he stumbled backwards into the cell’s iron bars. Riju, who was genuinely impressed with Zukari’s maneuver, rushed in to finish the job. Water flowed from her pouch and crystalized into a blade against her wrist. With one hand she pinned the Bloodgood to the cell, and with the other brought the ice blade up plunging it between the man’s ribs. The cloaked body slumped to the floor as the women in the pen scuffled away, gawking at Riju. The bounty hunter simperred and, using her sleeve, cleaned the blood off the ice dagger before melting it back into her water skin. As Zera watched she had a very hard time determining if she was very terrified, or disconcertingly aroused.
Everyone’s attention had turned to the Bloodgood hidden behind the door. He had just managed to push his face out from behind the battered plank of wood when he saw the entire party looking straight at him. Thin streams of blood had already started pouring from his nostrils (Cedar’s handy work) and he looked a bit shellshocked. He reached for his short sword, but Pamuya was already making her move. She pulled the water from her pouch and splashed it around him, then froze it solid, mummifying him in between the door and the wall. She raised her boot and thrust it forward. The kick struck the door and once again it swung and struck the Bloodgood in the face as ice chips flew. When the door swung open again it revealed the Bloodgood clutching his nose, a fresh nosebleed dribbling off his hand. Cedar chuckled at the poor fool as he took out his axe and calmly sauntered over. The Bloodgood was still struggling to free himself from the ice when Cedar lifted the hilt of his axe above the man’s head and gave him a curt bonk. Dazed, the man reached again for his sword. He managed to find the handle, but when he tried to pull it from the sheath it caught on the wall. Cedar grinned and shook his head in pity.
Zera was eager to jump into the action, both to impress Riju, and also to test out her new crossbow contraption. She loaded the weapon clumsily and leveled it towards the cloaked man struggling in the corner. Cedar turned back in time to see what she was doing, and opened his mouth to suggest a different tactic - but it was too late. Zera squeezed the trigger and the bolt careened towards both Cedar and the Bloodgood. It narrowly sailed over Cedar’s shoulder and missed it’s mark, instead sticking in a crack of the stone wall. Cedar glared at Zera and she carefully put the crossbow down on the ground. Zukari took his staff and flailed it towards the man struggling in the ice, however he too missed his mark and the staff’s end struck Cedar’s shoulder. Cedar turned around fully now to face Zera and Zukari.
“What’s with you two?”
He growled indignantly.
Riju looked around. Miffed that it was taking this long, she took out her whip and flung it towards the Bloodgood. But at the same moment Zukari reached out to grab him and her whip ensnared Zukari’s arm instead. As she jerked it back the fire-bender stumbled and fell face down at her feet. She let out an exasperated sigh - all the clout Zukari had achieved before was quickly evaporating away.
Finally, Pamuya managed not to hit Cedar or interrupt Riju, and restrained the Bloodgood in a column of ice. The party intimidated him into divulging that this was the pen where they kept prisoners meant to be sold as slaves, saying it was an easy way to make some quick gold. The party looked at the traumatized prisoners, and then to the large pile of filthy clothes on the ground - evidence that this had been happening for some time - and felt a mixture of great remorse and bitter fury rise in their stomachs. Zera tried to engage with the prisoners, and at first they stayed silent, too scared to speak out. But then when they were sure that the party was trying to defeat the triad, the young woman ran to the bars and spoke out. The older woman followed suit and introduced herself as Mirna, and then her daughter Nilsa, and young son Nars. They were the family of Nekk, the woodcutter who stood up to the Bloodgoods in the village. They thanked the party for their help, and although they couldn’t fight, Mirna did offer the party information to a valuable family heirloom if they freed them and made sure the coast was clear for them to escape. The party obliged and with Pamuya’s help, Cedar bust the locks open on the iron cages. The family embraced and tears ran down Mirna’s face. As Nilsa held her mother, she turned back to face the party with fiery determination in her eyes as if to say:
“Go out and slaughter those bastards.”
-15-
When last we saw the mighty Buzzard Wasp Warriors! Cedar led the team through the mausoleum from the slave pens and then through the impressive capper plated doors sealing the Tienhai family crypt. The swung open to reveal a somber hallway with faux columns lining the walls. They had barely all made it into the corridor when Cedar stopped fast and raised his arms to his side, catching the Pamuya and Zukari trailing closely behind. As he stepped again, his suspicions were confirmed. Using his tremor sense, Cedar could feel that a couple feet ahead there was a 20 foot pit hidden under a false floor consisting of loose stone tiles laid atop breakaway timbers. With a firm stomp Cedar sent an earth bent ripple down the hallway and the tiles and wood fell in on themselves and plummeted downward, sending a plume of dust wafting from the dark hole.
Pamuya bent the water from her pouch and materialized an ice bridge over the pit. The party took turns carefully inching their way over the hole. Cedar had the most trouble and slipped for a split second, but quickly righted himself and leaped back to sweet terra firma. The party victoriously strolled down the remainder of the hallway and poked their head through the doorway at its terminus. They saw the same bubbling cistern and stockroom that they came across earlier by way of the secret tunnel. They grinned at one another - finding it amusing that they had made a full loop around the manor. This time however, as the walked down the stairs from the booby trapped hallway - they noticed a door past the crates and barrels that they didn’t notice the first time. They decided it made sense to leave no door unopened and so decided to see what lies beyond. As Paumya reached for the handle however, Zukari exclaimed that they should take a moment to celebrate! Clinking emanated from his bag as he produced his bottle of sake. The rest of the party shrugged at one another and took a cup as Zukari eagerly passed the stack around. Zukari raised his vessel and began to toast. Loudly.
In no time at all the door beside them flung open revealing 3 bloodgood guards standing in a small store closet converted into living quarters. They stared at the party and, after seeing their cloaks looked up at them puzzled. They enquired what the party was doing there, and if the new recruits had lost their way. Zukari jumped in immediately and told them that they had just finished a bout of celebratory drinking down at the poisoned sak.. watered sake hole… poised sake water… the hangout. The Bloodgoods relaxed a little and the leader of the trio asked what they were celebrating. Pamuya joined the con saying
“What isn’t there to celebrate when you’re a Bloodgood?
The leader smirked and then turned towards Zukari. He nudged his friend and jeered
“Looks like these new recruits can’t handle their sake.”
Zukari’s eyes narrowed at the insult. He thrust forward his open palm and produced a hot bundle of flames. The leader stumbled back and his eyes lit up, first with fear, then with excitement.
“By the spirits! I didn’t know Twinglaive was recruiting other benders! Welcome brothers and sisters.”
Cedar thrust his cup in the air and agreed that bending Bloodgoods was worth a cheers. The guards invited the supposed new recruits into their room to continue drinking. The party clumsily tried to tease information about Twinglaive and Shivarra out of the bloodgoods with a series of flamboyant toasts and cheers. Soon the topic of a drink-off forumatled in the small stifling room. Zera poured the glasses of sake to the leader and Pamuya, who was volunteered to participate on the party’s behalf. Zera raised a vile of venom so only the party could see and, with her eyes, asked whether or not to spike the guards drink. After she was convinced that the rest of the party gave her the go-ahead, she quickly and stealthily emptied a couple of drops into the ceramic cup and handed it to the leader sitting on his bunk. Then him and Pamuya both tilted their heads back and drained their sake.
“Woo! That stuff from Omashu is something else!”
The leader exclaimed. Not a second later though, his grinned turned to a nervous grimace as he broke out in a cold sweat. He winced as the world around him became a swirling vortex of colors and sensations. He grasped at his ears, which refused to hear the sounds around him. Then in a dramatic flop, his body went limp and he landed on his bunk - his eyes rolled back in his head and already a puddle of drool dribbling from his mouth. The other two Bloodgoods looked at Zera in surprise. One jumped up from his post and wrapped a hand around Zera’s pouring wrist. Almost in the same instant, Riju’s whip entangled the guard’s arm. She leered at him.
“You don’t want to see how this goes down”
She snarled.
Zera tried to deescalate the situation by asking what they expected. This was “the good shit.” The bloodgood released her apologetically. Somehow, the party was then able to dispatch both of the other guards who enthusiastically poisoned themselves - one after the other - in hopes of beating the beautiful waterbender in the drinking game. The party chucked as they looted the unconscious bodies. Zera feverishly scribbled down the side effects in one of her scrolls. After making sure the Bloodgood’s were bound the party left and shut the door to the storage closet behind them.
Seeing a beam of daylight filtering in through the entrance of the manor, Zera proposed that they go back and lead Mirna and her family to freedom while the coast was clear. The went back to the slave pens and led the family over the chasm in the hallway safely. The family thanked the party profusely as the quietly made their way out of the manor and back to Gaipan. Before she slipped through the doorway Zera caught Mirna by the arm. She opened her hand and placed two garnets that they had just looted from the Bloodgoods into Mirna’s palm. Mirna looked up at Zera with teary eyes and thanked her one last time before she darted out into the forest. Zera stole a glance to see if Riju was impressed. Riju shook her head and rolled her eyes, trying hard to hide a genuine smile.
The party made there way through the secret tunnel back to the chasm below the crumbling foundation. They were again greeted by unnaturally cold air and the smell of putrefying meat. Cedar proposed going back over the bridge and through an unexplored hallway on the other side of the cavern. They party agreed and started their way over the creaking planks. Before they could cross however, ominous scrapes and scratches started to resonate from the depths of the misty depths. The sounds intensified as a form started to take shape clamoring up a rocky spire. The party all stopped and peered over the bridge to look at the spire as something pulled away from the blanket of mist and heaved itself onto the rocky column’s zenith.
Before them they saw a pale, emaciated man with slender, hooked, viridescent crystals sprouting from the top of each his wrists and ankles. Out of his emaciated back burst two rows of jagged crystals that curve in on each-other like an inverted ribcage. His flesh was ruddy and necrotized where the crystals blossomed. The rest of his body is haphazardly wrapped with dingy cloth bandages. Although his eyes were covered with a band of the same sordid material, he didn’t seem to have any trouble seeing. Radiating from underneath the wrapping, they saw three points the same unnatural pulsing green light - two where his eyes should be, and a third centered in his forehead. Black dribble streamed from underneath his eye dressings onto his gaunt cheeks. It obscured his face further as it blends in with his long, inky black hair.
“Ahhhh a band of outsiders have come to visit my humble home. Intriguing how outcasts seem to cling to one another isn’t it? What’s fine collection.
An outcast from their nation. Deserter of family. The Ash-bringer.
An outcast from their tribe, named a murderer. The Chief-Slayer.
An outcast from their peers. Labeled a radical. The Scorned-Scholar.
An outcast from the world. Self isolated, preferring the comforts of drink and smoke to people. The Indulgent-Ascetic
And you.. new to the collection, but an outcast nonetheless.
An outcast from themself. Living a lie to numb the pain.
The Self-Hidden.”
The party stared in horror at this spirit entangled mess of a man. The creature spoke of things that the party had never told anyone since leaving home. Cedar spoke first and, feigning confidence, asked if the creature wanted to join them for a drink. The spirit-man cackled and introduced itself in scattered fragments, interrupted by bouts of giggling and sobbing. The party gathered that their name was Noburu. The party was horrified as they realized that they weren’t hearing the voice with their ears, but collectively hearing it in their own heads. As they each posed questions to the climbing, twitching creature, they each received terrifying personalized responses. Most of the questions were skirted and instead re-directed to the topic of fresh meat and the ravenous hunger of Noburu.
As the party talked more and more with the twisted creature, they began to understand. Noburu had called this cavern home long before the Bloodgoods took over the manor. They had been bound together for centuries, since they days of Chin. As Noburu skittered across the cavern talking to itself, Zukari was able to center his thoughts and black Noboru’s piercing, thought-reading gaze. He communicated with the rest of the party and they quickly discussed their course of action. They all decided it would be best to relieve Noburu of his entrapment, but first, they would need to learn all they could about this manor and Twinglaive. As Noburu regained control and started talking once again to the party, he inquired about the freshly bodies of the bloodgoodies. Almost eagerly Zukari back-tracked to the storage room with the unconscious Bloodgoods and dutifully dragged the leader down the dark hallway to the cavern. He lay him on the precipice and with his heel dug into the small of the guard’s back, Zukari gave a heave that toppled the limp body over the edge and down into the mist. Noburu crowed with enthusiasm and dove down into the depths. The party winced and stared pleadingly at Zukari as they heard grotesque, wet crunching coming from the glowing green mist below. These gruesome trades continued as the party inquired about the Bloodgood’s plans and Twingliave’s whereabouts. Zukari humbly returned to the storeroom again and again and dragged out morsel after morsel for Noburu. Secret for secret. Pound for pound.
The creature seemed delighted that the party was so accommodating. Noburu grinned as he thanked the party for their offerings. Maybe Twingliave wasn’t needed after all, maybe he found a new source of sustenance. As he clambered back down below the veridecent mist, Noburu bid the party a fond, temporary farewell and left them with an ominous musing.
“With you fine outcasts providing me with my meat I can be rid of the bloodgoodies for good. I just pray my meals persist or I just might have to leave my humble home beneath the mist to see why my caretakers have forsaken me.”
The party finished crossing the bridge and collectively shuddered as if to shake off the remnants of the horror that they had just been though. Cedar once again took the leave, patting Zera on the back prodding her forward. They made their way to the dark hallway.
Zera illuminated their way and revealed a closed wooden door on their left. They stopped to listen and heard gruff voices from the other side. They were barking insults and orders at someone. Cedar grinned and kicked the doors open with a mighty kick. Inside they saw the room was a barracks containing four roughly built wooden bunks, with heaped-up blankets and dirty rice bowls scattered about. A strong smell of spilled wine and black powder filled the air. Once inside the party saw three tall figures wearing grey tunics under slick, umber, leather plate armor. Two were wearing theatrical white dragon masks with bulging eyes and curved fangs under their hoods. The other had an enclosed helmet with chevron slits down the guided bamboo face plate. They jumped up from lounging among the mess. The party could see who they barking orders at: a sad, scrawny boy, maybe 13, who was demeaning himself for their amusement. Seeing Cedar crash through the door caused the boy to faint immediately.
The man with the slitted helm turned to face the party. Although it was clear he didn’t need it to help him move, he held a white pine walking stick encrusted with precious stones. He began to speak, asking why the party was in this part of the manor. Cedar’s grin broadened - they thought the party were bloodgoods.
Using their deception to their advantage the party struck first before the mercenaries could act. Zukari’s eyes blazed and the flames spilling from his wrists turned from red to a brilliant blue. He drew his staff and revealed the blade. He bathed the metal in the azure fire as he sprinted up to the leader of the mercenary trio. He slashed upwards and sliced clear through the man’s lacquered armor, sending him stumbling back clutching the smoldering gash in his chest. Cedar grabbed his trusty axe and flung it hard towards one of the masked men flanking the leader. It whizzed through the air but before it could embed itself, the merc snatched it out of the air. He stared back at Cedar though the hollow eyes of the mask, hefting the axe in his hands, appreciating its balance. Cedar’s grin disappeared.
Riju lunged forward and raised her hands with a lifting motion. Water from her pouch snaked its way to the floor and covered the ground beneath the merc’s feet with ice. As her arms raised higher she quickly spread her fingers and spikes of ice grew from the sheet and covered the battlefield with a forest of treacherous shards. Zera was starting at Riju with an intoxicated grin, but snapped out of it in time to load her crossbow. She leveled it at the other dragon masked man and loosed the bolt. It sailed up and over the man and clattered to the floor.
“This Crossbow is broken!”
Zera cursed abashedly.
Pamuya lept in front of Zera and bent water from her pouch into a winding serpent. It lunged at the man in the chevron helm, but as it got close the water disappeared in rush of steam and spray. The helmed man was a firebender.
Zukari, still enraged advanced on the mercenary firebender once again. He plunged the white hot blade towards the man’s torso and it slipped under his ribs. The let loose a surprised gasp, then fell to his knees before falling to the ground in a crumpled heap. Cedar charged towards the man who commandeered his precious axe. He reach over his shoulder and drew his kanabo, heaving it up and connecting it beneath the man’s chin. As he flew backward Cedar clutched his axe back and grunted triumphantly.
Riju ducked and weaved through the chaos and drew her whip. She flug it at one of the remaining masked men and ensnared his head and shoulder. She slid to the floor and pulled down hard causing the man to plumet towards the spiked floor below. Zera loaded another bolt as she watched Riju. She once again brought the crossbow up and aimed it at the merc. Before loosing it though she breathed flames on the metal tip making it glow. Taking her time she took aim, squeezed the trigger and fired. The bold sailed through the air and stuck fast in the man’s shoulder. He howled in pain and clutched the shaft of the bolt. He looked over his shoulder and spat
“Banji! What are you doing?! Fight these dogs!”
Hearing his name, the young boy came to. Dazed, then terrified, he righted himself and drew a rusty blade and pointed it clumsily at the party.
Paumya drew her daggers and hurled them at the standing masked man, but he dodged them and made his way towards Zukari. His short sword drawn the merc went to lunge and swipe Zukari’s feet, but Riju’s spikes tripped him up and he narrowly missed his ankles. Filled with regret, the masked man looked up to meet Zukari’s furious azure eyes. Zukari returned the attack and swiped his blade downward slicking clean through the man’s ankles. He fell hard on his back, looked down at freshly liberated limbs and promptly passed out from shock.
With all the Mercenaries dealt with the party dusted themselves off. They might have even forgotten about the young boy brandishing the rusty blade at them until he spoke up in a timid, squeaky voice.
“Wa.. Was that a test? Am I a Bloodgood now?”
Pamuya smiled with pity.
“Yes and you passed - well done. Here take some gold and get out of here. It turns out you’re just too good for the Bloodgood triad.”
The boy fumbled to take off the cloak as he ran passed the party. He forgot to take the gold and disappeared through the doorway whimpering and muttering to himself as he made his way out of the manor.