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| Details |
| Author: | Alli |
| Summary: | Atley, Baird, Caspis, Cressidha, Lena, Melancholy, and Mordecai meet up with He Softfoot at the Guo-Lai Halls, after a report comes in that the mogu Shao-Tien leader, Zhao-Jin the Bloodletter, is up to something. ~4200 words. |
| Rating: | T for Teen |
Lena walks into the pagoda, expecting another day of fighting mogu on the stair. She looks around to see who else is there.
Melancholy is right alongside Lena, in her usual colors of red and black. For now.
Caspis spots Mordecai, and goes to wordlessly embrace him for an embarrassingly long time.
Mordecai returns the hug. "Hello."
Caspis reluctantly lets go of the much smaller person and nods, clearing his throat. He's fine.
Baird is waiting off to one side, rifle over his shoulder, gazing pale-eyed into space. He has moved over to the right to place the group at his left.
Melancholy smiles at Baird, giving him a little knuckle salute, and then finger wiggle waves at Cressidha. "Here we are then."
Cressidha smiles faintly. "Good afternoon, everyone. Ah, Melancholy, this is yours." She pulls a wrapped parcel from one of her bags and passes it over.
Baird focuses his attention on the group. He smiles faintly at Melancholy and nods to the others. His intense gaze hangs on Cressidha levelly for a long moment, as though he is seeing through her.
Mordecai mumbles, "Hello," to everyone else.
Melancholy gasps, and receives the parcel with excitement. "Thank you so much," she says, as she reaches into her pocket for a bag to put the parcel into carefully.
"You're quite welcome," Cressidha says.
Atley marches over the neatly-placed inlaid stonework of The Golden Pagoda, bladed helmet under his arm. "King's Honor, you lot," he greets busily.
Mordecai gives Dane a little wave.
Baird stops staring at Cressidha to stare at Dane instead. He gives the casual knuckle salute.
Atley briefly eyes Baird and responds with a nod.
Melancholy gives Dane a black lace gloved finger wiggle wave.
Leven Dawnblade looks over at the team. "It's fortuitous that you've all arrived. There’s been a troubling development."
Atley immediately turns to Leven with an attentive frown.
Caspis visibly tries hard to pay attention.
“I just heard from a guard stationed near the Ruins of Guo-Lai that the Shao-Tien leader entered the halls, killing two of my men in the process,” Leven Dawnblade says.
Lena winces.
Melancholy gasps quietly, putting a hand up to her face. "Oh, no."
"We can attempt a resurrection," Mordecai says, biting his lip.
Baird stares intently at Leven.
"The leader, mm?" Atley asks. "He still about over there, then?"
"If you find the bodies, I would appreciate it," Leven nods to Mordecai, then he turns to Dane. "And yes. They’re intent on something inside, and we need to stop them. He Softfoot has already followed them in. He should be waiting for you at the entrance to the western chambers.”
Melancholy nods, and starts up putting a soul stone on the A Healer she knows of Caspis.
Cressidha unrolls her floating carpet. "Understood."
"He? Oh, good," Lena says quietly. "That Softfoot's pretty stealthy."
“Move quickly,” Leven urges. “I don't like the thought that the mogu may be a step ahead of us.”
Caspis moves bird-quick.
Atley tugs on his helmet and looks to the others. "Right. Let's ride."
Melancholy pulls on two strings on her skirt to set it in the Hurry, Adventure position, revealing fishnet and black tights.
Mordecai steps a little bit away from the group. "This will be loud," he warns, before blowing into his EXTREMELY LOUD hippogryph whistle.
Baird stares at Mordecai with interest.
Caspis caws gently at the hippogryph. Hello, fellow birb(?).
Atley peers at Mordecai. "Why is that so bloody loud?"
Lena whistles for her gryphon, which is nearby. Her whistle is ordinary loudness.
"It-it's the one Caspis gave me," Mordecai mumbles, and shrugs. "I suppose it's loud so that she can hear?" He pats Almond before climbing on.
Atley grunts and spurs Thoras on.
"Maybe he's got a hearing concern," Lena offers, rubbing her ear.
Melancholy glances at Baird.
"Th-that's why I, um, warn everybody," Mordecai says, shrugging.
"That's fair," Melancholy says.
Atley lands. "If that's wot' you need," he says to Mordecai, drawing Thunderfury and his shield.
The team flies for the Guo-Lai Halls.
Mordecai dismounts Almond and looks around for the fallen bodies of guards.
The bodies are nowhere in sight.
There are mogu still milling about at the entrance to the Guo-Lai Halls, but the team fights them off.
Caspis becomes a Doomkin,
They head down the stairs, into the halls.
"The west hall, he said," Lena murmurs.
Cressidha tosses out a pair of elemental bracers. Marina appears! Time to drip water ALL OVER the stairs.
"In we go, then," Atley says.
Melancholy stays back with Baird, on his left, casting carefully.
Lene looks briefly at a cloudy tile in the center of the first room.
At the far end of the left hall, He Softfoot is standing, poised for action. He looks down the hall intently.
Baird scans the hall intently as they move in, rifle at the ready.
Atley jogs over. "Softfoot," he greets.
Melancholy looks around at the room curiously, in more of an aesthetic way, rather than scanning for danger.
He Softfoot nods solemnly, and points down the hall ahead.
"I take it that's the way the mogu went," Lena says quietly.
Baird checks for Melancholy on his left briefly before gazing in the direction He has pointed.
"We're with you," Cressidha says.
Atley stares at He Softfoot. "… Ready to press on, then, are we?”
In answer, He drops into stealth and starts moving down the Hall of Statues. The Jade Sentinels in the first room start slowly making an overhand strike with their hammers.
Cressidha quickly blinks ahead.
Lena notices the movement and hurries to the other side just in time to dodge the falling hammers.
Melancholy starts to follow the others, keeping pace alongside Baird.
Atley spots them. "Oi — a trap! Look alive!" He sprints ahead and out of the way.
Mordecai dodges the hammer itself, but he is knocked into a wall by the impact of the shockwave. He squeaks in pain and quickly heals himself.
Lena looks over worriedly. She starts to offer a healthstone, but no… Mordecai's got this.
Atley jogs over to Mordecai anyway and looks him over.
Baird checks again that Melancholy is there, and then startles and puts an arm out to keep her from moving into the next impact wave as he sees Mordecai fly. When the dust settles, he moves across to the others.
Melancholy bumps into Baird's arm, but stops at it, watching. Her hand goes by her mouth as she watches the result of the impact. "Oh my garters."
Mordecai looks fine, and this time he Shields himself before getting anywhere near the statues.
As He continues down the corridor, more statues follow the same pattern, striking down at some sense of movement.
Marina hurls splashy water at the statue! It doesn't seem to do much besides make the statue wet.
Atley watches the movement of the statues and gets his timing down, charging and stopping accordingly.
Lena dodges most of the strikes, but one shockwave knocks her briefly off her feet.
Melancholy is paler than usual, but she grimly carries on.
Baird swerves to Lena to check on her.
"Shield!" Mordecai covers Lena.
Lena winces as she climbs to her feet, but she crushes a healthstone, and nods to Baird and Mordecai.
At the end of the hallway, Zhao-Jin is standing before a large statue.
Atley glares at Zhao-Jin. "That's him, then." He looks to the group. "All sorted?"
Lena starts to answer, but then…
“And so the Golden Lotus arrive…” Zhao-Jin the Bloodletter yells, turning to see the team. “You are far too late. The Jade Armies are mine.” Zhao-Jin laughs triumphantly. “And with them, I will crush the Golden Lotus and retake the vale in the name of the Thunder King! Die weaklings!”
Caspis lets out a low menacing growl. He has left a trail of molted black feathers in his wake, but always seems to have more.
"Death to you — and your CARRION king," Atley barks, before charging in.
Zhao-Jin starts awakening waves of terracotta warriors, one after another. They rush the team.
Caspis summons a FURIOUS STORM.
Cressidha plants herself in a central location and calls up a blizzard. Marina hurls splashy water at the statues.
Lena starts casting seeds of corruption as quickly as she can, stepping to the center of the team to maintain her concentration.
Baird falls back and begins firing in a steady rhythm, picking off warriors as the waves approach. He is expressionless.
Melancholy is methodical, if slow, sending out curses to slow them, and seeds of corruption that explode in cascades. When she draws unwanted attention, she seems to trust in Baird to hit them before they hit her.
Mogu statue soldiers fall, but more keep rising to take their place.
Mordecai remains back on the stairs. "Sanctuary," he says, and the word echoes in the hall, creating a gleaming zone of healing light in the center of the room.
Baird grows less expressionless and starts to look grim. He does not stop firing. The sound is incredibly loud in the high-vaulted chamber. Sorry, everyone.
Atley charges in at the stone warriors, cleaving and striking.
The massive statue next to Zhao-Jin suddenly gets hold of He Softfoot. The pandareen rogue struggles helplessly, making no sound.
“Your rogue friend is not as nimble as he thinks he is,” Zhao-Jin snarls. “My statue will crush the life from him, leaving nothing but a shattered corpse. You leave your friend to die…” The massive statue gets hold of him firmly, cutting off his breath.
Melancholy loses her concentration as Zhao-Jin speaks, and He Softfoot is snatched, a hand on her chest as she clearly fears for his life.
Caspis roars furiously.
Cressidha immediately switches targets to the largest statue. "It has He!"
Baird turns his rifle on the colossus.
"No!" Lena shouts, turning and flinging as much shadow and corruption as she can at the large statue.
"Destroy it!" Atley snarls, charging in to do as he says.
It takes Melancholy a longer moment than the others but she breaks a soul stone to cast a trio of shadow filled curses and corruption on the colossus.
Mordecai reaches up a hand to touch his own throat and whispers, "Shield." The shield goes up around He.
The statue cracks, and He tumbles to the ground, rubbing his throat and breathing in big gasps.
Atley marches over and offers He his shield-hand. "There you are, then. Breathe steady."
Caspis casts a weak regenerative spell in his direction, able to find some love under his ferocity.
Melancholy seems to gasp along with him, taking in big breaths like she too had been holding hers.
Baird turns his aim on Zhao-Jin but the big mogu's shield continues to gleam in place.
He gets to his feet with Atley's aid and Caspis and Mordecai's help, nodding. He is ready to fight again.
“How noble, rescuing your friend from certain death…” Zhao-Jin sneers. “…and all for nothing. Take them!”
Mordecai reaches a hand out and pulls He across the room to his safer place on the stairs, brilliant wings of Light carrying him.
Atley spins around and narrows his eyes.
More mogu flow in from the sides, not only statues now, but elite Shao-Tien soldiers. The team is horribly outnumbered. The mogu deploy nets.
Melancholy hastily refreshes the soul stone on Caspis, moving through it as quickly as she can. It still had five minutes left on him, but she can cast now, so she does.
Cressidha narrows her eyes, refreshing her ice barrier. Someone hits her with a net, and she turns into an ice sculpture. Someone throws a second, larger net over the ice sculpture.
Caspis struggles pointlessly.
Someone throws a net on Lena. Soul shatter did nothing. She starts trying to summon a demon, but her hands are trapped against her and she can’t cast anything.
Melancholy tries to cast [Unbound Will], which fails repeatedly under her panic. She whimpers, going pale enough that it's likely she might lose consciousness.
Mordecai Fades away, rushing up the stairs.
Atley gets a net thrown over him, and grits his teeth, refusing to yield even as he's forced to do so.
Caspis continues his pointless struggles.
“Your struggle is pointless,” Zhao-Jin boasts. “You are ignorant to the powerful secrets contained within this vale. I will take them, and then I will destroy all of your kind. Throw these prisoners in the cages.”
Baird struggles briefly, checking the net around him, and then glances over at Melancholy. "Hey," he says.
Melancholy turns to look at Baird, wide-eyed and hyperventilating.
Baird just stares at her steadily. Keep your head, girl.
Marina is reduced to a pair of bracers, and one of the mogu picks them up to bring along.
The guards start dragging the prisoners away, though they show no signs of killing anyone, at least.
Atley says, "Steady. We're still together. We've made it out of tighter scrapes than this." As he's dragged along by the mogu. He turns to glare up at one of them.
Melancholy squeezes her eyes shut, her lips moving in what seems to be not exactly prayer, but…a poem maybe?
Baird's gaze is sweeping their surroundings fast, making assessments. Uselessly.
Mordecai Shields himself for an extra boost of speed and runs, trying to get out of the building before the mogu catch up with him.
Lena struggles to get her hands free, but they're trapped against her torso with the movement and the ropes.
Cressidha comes out of her ice. She is now in two nets. She waits for an opportunity.
Melancholy recites over and over, "Not, I'll not, carrion comfort, Despair, nor feast on thee; Not untwist — slack they may be — these last strands of man / in me or, most weary, cry I can no more. I can. / Can something, hope, wish day come.
“Scan with darksome devouring eyes my bruised bones? and fan, O in turns of tempest, me heaped there; me frantic to avoid thee and flee,'" Melancholy continues.
A couple of minutes later, as the mogu have left the building, Cressidha blinks free of her nets. Two mogu grab her and one bludgeons her into proper unconsciousness.
The mogu guards drag the team out of the Guo-Lai halls, to a mogu camp in the shadow of the Serpent's Spine. There they toss each person into a very familiar cage — the kind people have been rescuing Lao from lately.
The guard who found Marina's bracers walks off with them.
Having secured the team, the mogu head back to serve their master, leaving the camp unattended.
Melancholy doesn't keep her feet, crashing to the ground in her cage, eyes still closed as she recites her poem over and over, shaking violently.
Lena sits heavily in her cage, taking slow, even breaths. She looks over to Melancholy and says, "We'll get through this." She looks over to see if Cressidha is awake.
Cressidha is not awake.
Baird is deprived of his rifle; his struggle for it was brief and futile and resulted in him taking the rifle's butt to his stomach, winding him with a grunt. He sits on the floor of his new cage breathing steadily now.
Lena, hands now free, conjures a soulstone and sets it on Cressidha. Just in case.
Once it's clear the mogu are fully gone, He holds up a hand from his cage, and points to his lock. He pulls out a few pins from his pocket, and very soon, the lock pops open.
Lena sits up straighter.
Baird straggles to his feet immediately.
Once Caspis is no longer tied up, Cressidha is soon healed.
He Softfoot looks at the team, and seems to conclude that Melancholy needs freeing first. After that, He rapidly goes around, popping locks open.
Melancholy opens her eyes at the sound of her cage opening, making a uh-nyoh! sound in surprise, relaxing once she realizes who opened it. She stops reciting the poem, and tries for a shaky stand using the bars of the cage.
Cressidha pats herself down. They have taken her staff and more importantly her elemental bracers. "Thank you," she says politely to He, and steps out of the cage. She looks at Dane. "Thunderfury."
Baird steps out of his own cage, puts his head back for a deep breath, and then sweeps the group with a glance. Cressidha is on her feet again, the others seem intact. He heads for Melancholy.
Lena starts to step towards Melancholy, but pauses when she sees Baird already on the way. Instead she looks around, checking the team. "Did anyone see Mordecai? Did they take him somewhere else?"
Melancholy reaches out a hand for Baird, like a lady might, although she's already mostly on her feet, as she looks frantically around for the other person who was there (who must be Mordecai).
He Softfoot looks over everyone in quiet concern.
From not so far away, there is the sound of a VERY loud whistle. A hippogryph swoops down into the treeline.
Baird helps Melancholy out of her cage like a gentleman in a kind of niche situation and then looks around at the sound of the VERY loud whistle.
Lena lets out a sigh of relief, and then calls, "We're down here!"
"Oh, isn't that — the whistle?" Melancholy says, a little obviously. She hasn't quite let go of Baird yet.
Cressidha draws her [Illidari-Bane Mageblade] from out of one of her bags and tosses it to Dane. "Come, let's get our weapons back."
Baird nods to Cressidha. "I need my rifle," he explains to Melancholy gently, and lets go of her hand to go with Dane and Cressidha.
Melancholy nods, as she starts off with them, determined to keep going and get the weapons back.
"I can cast without my dagger," Lena says, brushing herself off. "It's not as strong without focus, but I can. Melancholy, Cressidha, Caspis? Let's get the weapons."
"I can help," Melancholy says, her voice a little strained, but she's trudging through. "I still have fel magic."
Lena nods at her, her expression softening for a moment. "We're almost out of this."
Melancholy pulls out her focusing cane from her pocket. Surprise! She has two weapons.
Lena doesn't. However, she's used to getting by.
Two mogu bring a struggling, netted Mordecai towards the cages.
Mordecai's eyes go wide as he sees everybody has already escaped.
"Incoming!" Baird calls at the sight of the two new mogu and their prize.
Melancholy begins her casting on the mogu holding Mordecai, shattering a soul shard as she triple casts Affliction, Corruption, and Curse of Agony.
"Mordecai," Lena says, and she's already casting.
The doomkin begins raining furious doom on Mordecai's captors.
Cressidha snap-freezes the two mogu in place to root them for Dane's charge.
Once one mogu has been cursed and afflicted, with effort, Melancholy mirrors his soul to the next. Her focus is intense on her task.
Lena's magic is weaker than usual, but still dangerous.
One of the mogu wields Thunderfury, but inexpertly - he doesn't seem to know how to activate its magical lightning properties.
Baird, without his rifle, is pretty superfluous. He swears angrily under his breath.
The mogu are severely outnumbered and outmatched, even with the missing weapons. They were expecting to bring one more prisoner to the cages, not to fight all the newly freed prisoners. They soon go down.
"Mordecai, you alright?" Lena asks, moving forward to free the mogu of their belongings. Or at least the ones that belong to her. Soon, her dagger is back at her waist.
Mordecai is shaking. He's gotten his hands up by his neck to keep the net from strangling him. "No," he manages.
Melancholy sags once the mogu are downed. She looks like she wants to sit down, but doesn't. Instead she drifts forward with the intent to search out her focusing athame. When Mordecai answers in the negative, she starts rummaging through her pocket.
Lena moves over and tries to help disentangle Mordecai from the net. She has a dagger now, so she can possibly cut rope with it.
Baird strides forward, still seething, to yoink his rifle away from a dead mogu.
Atley reclaims his sword and assists in cutting Mordecai free.
Caspis ceases being a doomkin long enough to cast nurturing energy at Mordecai.
Mordecai gets unsteadily to his feet. "They hurt Almond," he says.
Melancholy pulls out a crisp black sesame cracker, standing near Mordecai, and waiting for Lena and other Rope Experts to free the priest. She offers out the cracker to him. "Would you like something to eat? It settles me after something like that."
"Almond," Lena says, looking back the way they came. "Is he that way?"
"Almond is his hippogryph," Cressidha translates with a frown. "She's back there?"
"She, I'm sorry," Lena says, nodding. "We can help her."
Mordecai automatically takes the cracker. "Th-thank you." He pops it in his mouth and turns to point.
Melancholy takes out another cracker for herself, cronching on it as she looks off in the direction of Almond.
"Let's go," says Baird. He is ready to shoot things again.
Melancholy gets her focusing athame back as they move over the dead mogu on their way to Almond.
The wounded hippogryph is on her side, one wing in tatters, shrieking wildly in pain and rage. She is not being attacked, however - the mogu have left her to die.
Mordecai rushes towards her, calling the Light. He seems deeply relieved when her wounds do close.
"Oh, no, the poor creature," Melancholy cries sympathetically.
"She tried to save you," Lena says quietly, as the hippogryph mends.
"I sh-shouldn't have gotten her involved," Mordecai says.
"Hey," says Baird to Mordecai. That's it, that's the sentence. It's a sympathetic one, though.
Almond flaps her wings and launches herself into the sky, then comes back and lands expectantly beside Mordecai.
Lena closes her eyes in relief, and then whistles for her own gryphon. "We need to tell Dawnblade what happened."
Baird turns to check on Cressidha with a wordless survey.
Mordecai struggles to climb into the saddle, but Caspis assists him.
Cressidha looks Fine, for some definition of fine.
Melancholy looks terribly shaken, but she's still going. She climbs up onto the gryphon behind Lena.
Lena looks over her shoulder to make sure Melancholy is secure before the gryphon takes off.
The team at the Golden Pagoda looks up in surprise and relief when they see He and the Cobalt and Fleet people flying in.
"We thought you were dead," Sun says, tears in her eyes. "Thank goodness."
"We found Zhao-Jin," Lena says wearily, getting down off the gryphon and reaching a hand to help Melancholy.
Melancholy takes it, like a fine lady, and delicately descends from the gryphon, setting her focusing cane down on the ground in a way that seems to be for extra support.
Cressidha rolls her carpet up again.
“The Shao-Tien were spotted marching out of the halls with a hundred jade statues,” Leven says heavily. “The mogu now have a jade army to turn against us, and we've yet to uncover their other goals in the Vale. We are all in danger.”
Lena closes her eyes briefly, and nods.
Mordecai quietly goes to sit down, leaning back against a pillar.
"Cinnamon peach," Baird says quietly, expressionlessly.
"Pardon?" Cressidha looks at him.
Melancholy steps to the left of Baird, and utters a little gasp of a dark bell laugh. "Cinnamon peach," she agrees, turning her face towards him.
Baird looks blankly over at Cressidha. He tips his head toward Melancholy. That's it, that's the explanation.
"It's a curse," Lena says to Cressidha, mustering up a smile. "Sort of like Gwen's, but different."
Cressidha looks blankly back until Lena explains. "Ah. I see."
Leven looks over the team. “As Sun says, I had thought you and He dead. It's good that I was mistaken on that last part at least. Rest. Recover. There will be much fighting ahead.”
Mordecai draws his knees up to his chest and wraps his arms around them.
Caspis goes to sit beside Mordecai.
"Understood," Cressidha says to Leven. "You did well," she says to He. "Thank you."
He Softfoot smiles at Cressidha, and bobs his head in a little bow. He touches his own throat.
Melancholy looks like she wants to do the same, but she keeps her feet, and pulls out another cracker to eat her feelings instead.
Lena looks around at everyone, and goes to settle by a column of her own. She looks at her dagger in thought.
"May I — May we have a portal back to the Shrine of the Stars, Cressidha?" Melancholy asks, trying for a light tone, and not making it.
Baird surveys Mordecai with some gentle concern, but goes to stand by Mrs. Shine.
"Of course," Cressidha says to Melancholy, producing an old portal stone. She has leftovers.
They don't even make these anymore.
Melancholy relaxes at the sight of the stone, from old memories.
Cressidha tosses the portal stone up into the air, where it cracks open and reveals the Shrine of the Stars.
Lena pushes to her feet. "Thank you, Cressidha."
Mordecai stands up and mumbles, "Thank you."
"Thank you," Melancholy echoes as she moves to go through, glancing at Baird.
Baird eyes the portal a little reluctantly, but follows.
Cressidha accompanies them.
Lena follows through, to rest in the Shrine.