Nikink/PoA769AscAir28
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28th Ascending Air
They meet Master Wu at the Roll of the Dead once again, soon after dawn. The old man then leads them along the circuitous route to the Tombe of Su Chi. This tomb is a very long way down the valley, indicating it's great age. Also, as they decend the daylight slowly disappears, unable to reach this far beneath the ancient city constructions. Torchlight and Candles are lit at semi regular intervals to help illuminate this region. When they arrive at the location described by the co-ordinates, Master Wu is confused as there is nothing but a blank stone wall where the entrance should be. Savvy and Scarred ask him to go back and double check his co-ordinates, and despite his minor protestations that nothing like this has ever happened before, he wanders back up the hill towards the distant Roll of the Dead.
The three of them notice another old man walking through the misty darkness towards them. The man's staff clicks loudly among the stonework. Jade Wisdom's Essence sight shows the man has an unusual aura, as though it is missing bits. The trio watch as the Old Man slowly walks towards them, and the stumbles into Scarred who manages to catch him before he hits the ground. With a small nod and smaile the Old Man then continues along the cobbled path until out of sight and then out of earshot. This seems a bit weird.
Scarred then notices a note in his hand. He thinks this is odd because he can't remember picking it up from anywhere, and certainly not writing it. Jade Wisdom and Savvy remind him about the Old Man who just walked by. Scarred rolls to disbelieve... Shaking his head, he suggests it must have been planted on him by Master Wu. Jade Wisdom is sure the Solar has gone soft (er in the head from all the alcohol and tries to explain once more about the Old Man who stumbled. Scarred can't recall Master Wu stumbling, and neither can Savvy, but they agree it must be the only option. Looking at Savvy in amazement (hidden by a Myrmidon helmet), Jade Wisdom aruges again saying that Savvy just saw the Old Man and it wasn't Master Wu. Again the Lunar and Solar point out that there was no other old man, so logically Master Wu must have been the one to plant the note.
Jade Wisdom is certain that there must be something in the air slowly poisoning the minds of these Exalted heroes, and is glad for his enclosed armour. He also thinks they have both gone mad... well... madder. He sighs a mighty deep voiced sigh.
They inspect the note. It has a poem on it. A warning about the tomb of Su Chi. It seems ominous.
Looking around the wall they see that the adjacent tomb belongs to Resplendent Javelin, and then they notice the wall is hollow behind it!
Deciding that tomb-robbing in front of Master Wu would be a bad idea, they take a few minutes to discuss their options, given they had planned on meeting Master Wu back here. Savvy (or was it Scarred?) suggests that when Master Wu gets back, that they go with him to another tomb and pretend that is the one they are after. Then they can come back to this one having thrown off suspicion.
They then wonder what they can do regarding the ghosts that may be in the tomb, and conclude there is not much they can do. So it will be difficult.
Wanting to check the wall more thoroughly, Jade Wisdom focusses on his natural affinity to Earth and Stone. Feeling the power of the Great Maker coursing through him he gets remarkably more skilled at all things involving stonework and earthenware... He then realises they could just disassemble the wall to get past, if only they had the tools. And reassemble it behind them even. Improvising, he uses Savvy's Heaven Thunder Leaves to chisel and pry apart some of the stone blocks.
Two hours later, there is a hole large enough for the three of them to squeeze through.
They ask Bitchy, Groany and Feral to stand watch and greet Master Wu upon his return. Giggity. And then they enter the darkened antechamber beyond the wall. Jade Wisdom thanks the Great Maker once again as his Charm and Myrmidon visor make the darkness as nothing to him. Thinking briefly Scarred ignites his anima to create some light. They see just in front of them stairs leading down and bravely take this easy and obvious path.
At the bottom of the stairs is a giant stone door. Fortunately it opens easily. It leads to a chamber some 10 yards tall by 10 yards across by 10 yards deep. In the middle of the room is a giant stone sculpture of an unfeatured man standing above a cage. In the statue's hands rests a metal rope attached to the top of the cage.
Undaunted, the drunken Solar staggers into the cage and channels some essence through it. Nothing happens. He tries commanding it to go down, but again the cage remains unmoving. Jade Wisdom tells Scarred the Old Realm word for 'Down' and the cage moves slightly as the statue tries to move but cannot. Looking over it, the Jadeborn can see that it is stuck and needs some minor repair work and materials to regain movement.
The trio head back upstairs. They decide that Jade Wisdom will get the needed supplies while the Exalts stay with the girls to talk to Master Wu. That said, the Jadeborn runs as fast as he can to get to the markets after replacing the stone blocks in the wall once more. Fortunately, he does not get lost, and manages to procure the necessary stuffs. Savvy and Scarred bicker while waiting...
...---^---...
Meanwhile, back at the yacht, Phinnae decides that she should go looking for the others now the supplies have been stowed and the yacht maintained. She becomes a moosilver tattooed Condor once more and flies high above the city. Looking down she easily spots the glowing Caste Mark of Scarred and flies down to meet him.
Once she has become human again, Savvy explains the events of the day. Roughly. Phinnae then enters the tomb to wait for Jade Wisdm to return while Savvy and Scarred and the girls lead Master Wu astray with cunning deception.
No sooner had Phinnae entered the tomb and replaced the stonework than Master Wu arrives. He apologises and insists that this is the place where the tomb should be according to the records. Savvy tells him not to worry about it, they wish to continue looking at the other tombs. The old man nods and leads them once more through the maze of alleys and paths. Soon after he looks around and is startled to find his tourists have all disappeared.
After waiting for a while, Phinnae lights her caste mark in the darkness and by it's silvery light descends the stairs to the cage room. She recognises the statue as an Automaton.
Savvy and Scarred get back to the walland call out for Phinnae. No response is forthcoming.
Phinnae calls out for Jade Wisdom, and is surprised to get no response. She tries asking the statue, "Can you please lift the cage?" but the statue remains immobile. She starts to get frustrated and climbs onto the statue. Then jumping down she climbs into the cage. When nothing happens she gets out and tries to lift the cage herself, channeling anough essence into her muscles that her Anima goes Iconic and the darkness is banished from the room. But to no avail as the cage steadfastly refuses to budge.
Savvy and Scarred both notice a silvery glow escaping from cracks between the stone blocks of the wall. Calling out for Phinnae again, they are answered by the phrustrated phull-moon.
After a few minutes they finish explaining what Phinnae had phorgotten so phast. Then they mention it's getting late and they should get back to the hotel before nightfall and the ghosts.
"What ghosts?" asks the Full Moon.
They explain the ghosts of Sijan again to the confused Lunar... then they wonder what to do about her Anima bonfire. They conclude that she can always wait until it has died down and then fly to the hotel, but they must start wlking back now or else risk not making it in time.
Some hours later her Anima fades and Phinnae escapes from the tomb and flies to the hotel.
Upon arrival at the hotel she is greeted by the others and Jade Wisdom making a cup of tea.
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