For that matter, what's the Dream like down here? We could be in for a surprise when we're in a tight spot and decide to evac our allies a short distance from a threat.
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Threads Of Destiny(Eastern Fantasy, Sequel to Forge of Destiny)
- Thread starter yrsillar
- Start date
- Original Users' Choice!
Voted best in category in the Users' Choice awards.
TimEd
Meteor maker
I meant built as in the purpose of the castle.
I really just want to see what would happen when someones "Spirit Form (?)" Is less shooty, but more of an actual space like Elder Jiao seem to be capable of.
Ling Qi would probably be a "city at night" where buildings will bring you to a Moon Party, but staying out brings FSS or something.
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Arkeus
Crazy cat guy
- Location
- France
While BN's post is good at giving the details of the difference, overall the importance is basically "At what time do we have what", and this is a bit more confusing to grok.
The first thing to recall is that in both plans we do the same turn next turn, where we gain a huge power up. In effect, the main difference between the plans is that early FSS+ would have Ling Qi's fighting style mainly be stagnant from dark turn (turn 9) to water turn (turn 13), with some slight improvement in BKSD/UGM/SNR/PLR, but probably not enough to have a real departure overall. OTOH, early water turn would have a switch in styles by quickly focusing on UGM over FSS in the short term, as well as opening up some more socials earlier.
Ultimately it doesn't really matter, but it's a question of whether we think a earlier very powerful FSS+ is better or Ling Qi experimenting with UGM without it being overshadowed first is better.
Turn 8: Arc 5-2
Ling Qi considered the room for a moment. There were definitely fault lines in this group. She could have seen that even without her more advanced arts. However, the problems that existed… weren't really things that could be easily dealt with. Certainly not by her. Rather, by trying to fix them, it was possible that she would just make them worse.
"You should be more confident, but you might be right in this situation. There are still things you can do, though," Sixiang whispered.
They weren't wrong. Ling Qi's eyes slid over to Su Ling, whose body language was still closed off and wary. She could be there for her friend, but that alone wasn't going to help her get more comfortable with the group. Ling Qi looked up, and caught Liao Zhu's eye. That could work. She tilted her head toward Su Ling, and Liao Zhu's eyes crinkled in what she knew to be a smile.
"Congratulations on your breakthrough to bronze," Ling Qi said quietly, turning to Su Ling. Around them, people in the room were beginning to move or talk. Bian Ya had turned back to Xuan Shi, and looked to be trying a different tack with drawing the boy into conversation. Ji Rong stood up to pace, turning his back to them all.
"Feh, that hardly feels good coming from you," Su Ling grumbled.
Ling Qi rolled her eyes, recognizing the words for what they were. "Oh just take the compliment. You don't have to always be difficult about it," she peered at Su Ling. Curiously she noted that the girl still only had two tails. She had half expected her to have grown another one as she did in Second Realm.
"Pretty sure the third one only comes later on in third. That's how it works for the spirits anyway," Sixiang commented.
Su Ling grumbled. "How can you be so calm about this."
Ling Qi hummed to herself. "How will being worked up and nervous help?"
She shot Ling Qi a sour look. Ling Qi held her hands up defensively.
"I'm just saying, all of this tension isn't going to help you. It's definitely dangerous, but we're cultivators, you know? This is our duty," the word felt odd to Ling Qi's lips. Odder still was that she didn't feel like she was being facetious. Her mother and sister couldn't deal with problems like this. She didn't want to have to look at Mother and tell her that one of her friends was dead or have to look at Biyu and explain that her nanny was gone, because the Sect wasn't doing it's job.
To protect what was hers, the people and things around them had to be protected too.
Su Ling gave her a hard look, but seemed nonplussed at what she saw. Silence fell between them.
Naturally, this was when Liao Zhu chose to approach. He stood over them, leaning casually on the back of one of the camp chair "Junior Sister Ling, it has been too long! You've recovered nicely I hope."
"I have, hardly a mark at all," Ling Qi replied blithely. She was well used to Liao Zhu by now. His partially open vest was only a little distracting. "It looks as if you are doing better than expected too, Senior Brother Liao."
"Only an appearance I am afraid," he said, his normally bombastic tone a touch more somber. "While my friend is filling in for my arm, they cannot fight. I shall be looking forward to your support, Junior Sister. But, I am being rude. I have not met your friend, our esteemed diviner!"
Su Ling regarded the boy warily, and glanced at Ling Qi.
"This is Su Ling," Ling Qi introduced, giving the girl a subtle nudge with her elbow. "Su Ling, this is Senior Brother Liao Zhu. He was my tutor once, and my trainer in the Sect's Scouting force."
"I would like to say that I have heard much about you, but my Junior Sister is surprisingly focused on her tasks," Liao Zhu chuckled. "She tends to forget about things that are out of her sight."
Ling Qi scoffed. She was getting better about that.
She felt Sixiang's hand on her shoulder. "You are." The spirit left unsaid that she had needed the improvement in the first place.
"That does sound like Ling Qi," Su Ling replied grudgingly.
"I admit, I am curious as to your methods," Liao Zhu continued casually. "I scent a touch of the Bloody Moon about you. My own talents with the Lady do not lie more toward investigation and elimination than precognition. What do you practice? I had thought lunar divination was somewhat hobbled by our current enemies."
"...You're just noticing my partner," Su Ling replied reluctantly. "I'm not the type to get fancy spirit attention. It's just a blood thing. I get hunches about things now and then."
"Oh, I think you undersell yourself Junior Sister. A disciple with a mere underdeveloped spirit quirk would not have been selected for a mission such as this," Liao Zhu said. "Your talent must be at least somewhat impressive."
"Pyromancy," Su Ling finally said, looking away. "I have a knack for pyromancy, reading fires, alright?"
Ling Qi gave her friend a surprised look. Su Ling had never bothered to explain the method of her divination to her. "So that's what you do. How'd you even discover a talent like that?"
Su Ling grimaced. "I started noticing stuff outta the corner of my eye after I…" she glanced back over her shoulder at the tails curled tightly around her chair. "...broke through, Images in torches and fires 'n shit."
"Hoh, not a common talent these days," Liao Zhu said. "If I recall my history, is it not more effective when used to read queries carved into bones or shells than the fires itself."
"Yeah, been getting a crash course on that," Su Ling grumbled, her ears lying flat against the back of her head. "The Sect dug out a bunch of old tomes that were more dust than paper and set a core sect guy to tutoring me on bone carving and calligraphy.".
"So that is what you've been up too," Ling Qi mused.
"Feh, it wasn't pleasant. I thought Li Suyin was a hardass about handwriting. Barely got an 'acceptable' out of him in the end," Su Ling huffed.
"I suspect I might know the man in question. Acceptable is indeed high praise," Liao Zhu mused. "I shall look forward to relying upon your abilities Junior Sister."
"I'm barely third realm, cut that out," Su Ling said bluntly.
"Perhaps so, yet you are the only one here with such capabilities," Liao Zhu said lightly, pushing himself up to stand straight. "And so rely upon you we will."
"I trust you to have my back, Su Ling," Ling Qi added quietly. She gave her friend a grin and another nudge. "Just like old times, right?"
Su Ling's lips twisted downward and she looked down at the table. "Yeah, yeah, I'll try to keep you both from getting eaten by bugs, I get it. What about you two huh? What can I expect out of you?"
"Obvious deflection is obvious," Sixiang chuckled. "Looks like that Bian girl has pried open turtle boys' shells a tad too. Ji Rong and the boss Lady traded a couple words too. I'll fill you in when you're done here."
Ling Qi glanced briefly at the others. Ji Rong was standing a few steps from Guan Zhi staring down at the maps with a furrowed brow, and Bian Ya and Xuan Shi were quietly chatting, while he traced glittering characters in the air demonstratively. She gave a silent thanks to Sixiang, but grinned at Su Ling. "Well, for starters, I've gotten a lot faster…"
Su Ling was still tense by when their time had run its course, but it did feel like a healthier kind of tense.
Of the others, Sixiang whispered what she had heard as LIao Zhu was returning to his seat. Bian Ya had finally found success with Xuan Shi by asking after his work, and prodding him for knowledge on amplification and communication arrays. Once the subject matter turned that way, she had an easy time keeping him talking, even if she was definitely still toying with him a little.
There was less to say about Ji Rong and Guan Zhi. He had asked her a few terse questions about the map, and gotten polite clipped answers in reply. Guan Zhi had taken a single step to the side to give him room to scowl down at the tabletop with her. It was good that Ji Rong was taking this seriously she supposed.
Sixiang's voice fell silent as the last of them took their seats and Guan Zhi strode to the head of the table.
"Elder Jiao has already spoken of our objectives," she said crisply. "I will inform you of our equipment and methods. Each of you will be supplied with a purifying mask to mitigate the negative effects of the environmental impurities. You will wear this mask at all times, without exception. If your mask is damaged or corrupted, I have a limited supply of replacements. Do not be reckless with this. They are vital to our function."
Ling Qi inclined her head as did everyone else. Before she and Suyin had not gone down far enough to really be in danger, but in the depths they were descending too it was different. "May I ask what provisions there are for our spirits?" She asked.
"Custom pieces have been made for the spirit beasts of participating disciples," Guan Zhi replied. "You will apply these before we descend. I do not have replacements for those."
She would have to warn Zhengui to be careful with his then. He might be resilient enough to do without for a time, but she would rather not test it.
"There are two additional pieces of equipment which we have been provided," Guan Zhi continued smoothly. "Firstly, a portable hearth for Disciple Su to use for her divinations, and finally a clouding beacon constructed by Elder Jiao himself. So long as we do not directly encounter foes we will not be detected until I begin fighting."
Like a massively improved version of the clairvoyance blocking talismans she had used during her conflict with Yan Renshu, Ling Qi supposed, that made sense. They really would be relying on Su Ling though. She gave her friend a look out of the corner of her eye. Su Ling had her arms crossed, but her expression was one of determination.
"As for our methods, the initial plan is simple. Disciple Ling and Disciple Liao will take point, and I the rearguard. Disciples Ji and Xuan will take the center and protect Disciple Bian and Disciple Su," neither Ji Rong nor Xuan Shi looked particularly happy about this. "Disciple Bian's attention will be consumed by her use of cartographic arts to keep our position updated and current within the region of distorted space."
Guan Zhi's expression turned severe. "This is vital. If Disciple Bian is unable to perform her duties, it will exacerbate the delay of our retreat talisman and may even cause it to fail altogether. If Disciple Su is rendered unable to make her divinations, avoiding enemy movements may become nigh impossible. If I am forced to step in for any reason before the final action, the mission will be a failure."
Xuan Shi simply gave a sharp nod. Ji Rong looked like he had bitten into a lemon. Guan Zhi surveyed them for a moment longer. "Am I understood?"
Ling Qi joined the chorus of "Yes, Ma'am," that followed.
"Good. Disciple Su, let us begin the initial divination for our path then," Guan Zhi said, seeming satisfied.
Ling Qi leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes. It was time to start rousing her spirits.
The portable hearth was a stone cube about a meter wide on a side, inscribed with precise formations. It was open on one side, revealing the merilly burning fire held within. However, no smoke escaped, nor the scent of burning fuel, only the flickering light of the flames. She watched with some interest as Su Ling sat down in front of it and pulled a bag and a satchel full of carving tools from her storage ring.
It was… very slow. The bag was full of smoothed chitin plates from the beasts down here, which Su Ling had to painstakingly carve questions and potential answers into along the pieces fracture points. Only then could the chitin be cast into the fire. Su Ling then observed the crackling green tinted flames intently to study the way the chitin cracked and the flame danced to divine her answers.
Frankly, Ling Qi could see why it had fallen out of favor. Compared to even her own simple divination art it was slow and laborious, and reliant upon the users exact wording and placement of questions and answers on the pieces. It was hard not to feel a little impatient.
But,eventually they had charted their route down to the bottom of the mapped part of the cave system. Su Ling projected that it would take between thirty two and thirty six hours to navigate due to the circuitous route, but she would ask again after the first day.
With that done, all that was left was to outfit themselves and their spirit beasts. The silk mask Ling Qi was provided fit snugly over her mouth and nose, it's edges adhering to her skin without need for any kind of strap or attachment. The air she breathed through it was as fresh and clean as an untouched mountain vale.
Getting the masks on her spirits was a little more bothersome.
"I Zhen, deserve better than this," the serpent grumbled as Ling Qi fiddled with the straps of his mask. Unlike her, his was made of metal, a curved plate that was affixed to his snout and rose to a point in the center like a horn. A faint floral scent drifted from it.
"Zhen should not complain, at least he can open his mouth," Gui grumbled, his voice muffled by the boxy construction of leather and wicker that covered the front half of his face.
Hanyi merely crossed her arms, looking like she was struggling not to mess with the mask affixed to her own face.
"No complaints," Ling Qi said sharply. "You want to come with me, you need to wear these."
"Yes, Big Sister," they chorused, chastised.
Around her, similar scenes were playing out, so at least he wasn't the only one looking odd.
"Could you not have designed something more resplendent?" the young dragon Ji Rong had released looked positively mutinous as Ji Rong finished affixing the muzzle like tube of wood and leather to his snouth. The Dragon had grown since she last saw it, now being about two and half meters long.
"You're lucky I'm even bringing you," Ji Rong scoffed. "Breaking through at the last damn minute."
"We shared blood," the dragon replied stiffly. "I will not be left behind."
"Then hold still and quit bitching," Ji Rong groused.
Su Ling's companion, Cibei clung to her thick hair like a nest, peering suspiciously at everyone around them. She was still only about two handspans wide and second realm, the little wicker basket on her nose was kind of cute. Su Ling was standing away from the rest of them, and her mood had fouled again as she glared across the staging area at Bian Ya. The older disciple was humming a soft melody as she brushed the fur of the horse sized three tailed fox which she had released. The fox for his or her part, merely looked back at her with impassive disinterest.
She didn't even know how to describe the spirit beast Liao Zhu had revealed. It was a weird chimera of a beast. It had the wings of a bird, the body of a lion and the scaly reptilian head of a dragon, but with only a single horn. It accepted it's mask with stoic dignity.
"You should still be recovering you clown," the chimera grumbled in a deep voice, padding over to the tunnel entrance to lower his nose to the ground.
Liao Zhu ambled after him with a light step. "Duty nor glory wait my friend."
"Neither does death," the beast grumbled.
Xuan Shi stood off to the side, his hat pulled low over his eyes, tapping the but of his ring staff against the ground as he waited. Beside him stood Guan Zhi, who stood still, studying them all.
It was strange that she didn't have a spirit, Ling Qi thought.
"She does, I can sense it, must not need a mask though," Sixiang murmured.
Ah, something more like Sixiang then? She supposed that made sense for such a physically focused cultivator. She finished adjusting the last buckle on Zhen's mask and patted his head.
They were ready to go.
There was not much to say about the first day traveling downward. She and Liao Zhu blazed the path ahead, scouting the tunnels Su Ling had marked for travel. They worked their way down through winding, often tight tunnels, through caverns aglow with fungal wonders and crawling chitinous wildlife. They marked down dangers and reported back, allowing the others to prepare to push through the caverns natural fauna.
All the while, they descended, and the air changed. Where before it had merely been unpleasant and stale, touched by rot and decay, it soon began to burn. Although Ling Qi was strong enough to resist the effects, it nonetheless made her feel oily and unclean, like she had wallowed in a sewage pipe. On a whim she had tested the air by plucking out a hair and casting it away. The hair had sizzled and disintegrated before it touched the ground.
All the while, the beasts around them began to grow stranger in form. The caverns grew more verdant, bursting with swollen and unpleasant life. As they approached their first campsite, they had to push through a veritable jungle of fleshy pale blue ferns that glowed faintly in the dark. Which grew around the bases of towering black mushrooms the size of trees. Twisted and misshapen things ambled and skittered in the dark on either too many or too few limbs.
It had been well over two hours since she had last sensed a first realm creature. Even the clinging fronds that swayed and grasped at her as she passed through them were filled with an unpleasantly viscous energy dense enough to feel analogous to the second realm.
"There is another blockage ahead," Liao Zhu's voice echoing in her ear did not make her jump, she was more than used to it by now.
"Collapsed passage, or something more lively?" Ling Qi asked under her breath, trusting in his communication art to carry her words as she moved along the perimeter of the cave, searching for gaps and side tunnels which might contain foes.
"The former, happily enough. I shall require your brothers most generous assistance again," his voice answered back.
"Almost finished with the perimeter, be there shortly," Ling Qi replied in a whisper. 'Hear that Zhengui?' she thought.
"Yeah! Gui is ready to help!" He replied.
"I wanna do something too," Hanyi grumbled.
Ling Qi smiled. He had already proven useful, the roots and trunks that he could grow had proven quite useful for propping up unstable tunnels, which were quite common on the route they had taken. She supposed that was why their enemies didn't use it. Hanyi on the other hand didn't have much to do while they were avoiding going loud. 'Be patient, I'm going to need you both at the end,' she chided lightly.
She felt Sixiang tug at her senses then and turned her eyes toward a man sized crack in the ceiling. She still had more investigating to do.
Happily, it was just another brief dead and. Ling Qi was happy to emerge from the frond forest as she finished her search, Liao Zhu stood by their tunnel exit, his chimera beast was already digging through the rubble, burning away stone with silver fire that bled from his eyes and brushing aside ash with his paws.
Ling Qi gave Zhengui a nudge, and he materialized just outside the tunnel. It was almost routine by now, and she very soon felt the subtle fluctuation of wood qi as the roots began to break the surface, crawling up the sides of the tunnel.
"The next cavern is where we planned to camp, right?" Ling Qi asked as she stepped back with Liao Zhu to let their spirits do their work.
"Yes, given that we have had to deviate slightly already, it would be best to allow Junior Sister Su to cast the bones again," he replied.
She gave him a look out of the corner of her eye. "You seemed a bit different talking to her, why was that?"
"Bombast and flirtation were not what she needed," Liao Zhu replied blithely. "Rather, affirmation of her skill was the most important factor."
"I suppose so," Ling Qi mused, only to narrow her eyes. "Wait, are you saying I needed those things?"
He chuckled. "Come Junior Sister, they have broken through. We must prepare the camp for our comrades."
She huffed as he strode away, and vanished between one step and the next. He just couldn't stop messing with her could he?
With Liao Zhu sending the all clear back, it did not take too long for the others to catch up. While no one was wounded, the main group was still a little worse for the wear. Ji Rong's tunic was stained with unpleasant fluids and Xuan Shi's defensive constructs buzzed and flitted around him agitatedly. Bian Ya was pristine, sitting side saddle on her companion, her eyelids fluttering rapidly while she communed with the Sect's base. Su Ling just looked agitated.
She and Hanyi had prepared a small part of the next cavern, freezing and destroying the unpleasant flora to give everyone a place to sit and rest for a moment while Su Ling performed her divinations. It was not a long rest however, and soon they had a choice before them. They were approaching the edge of the Sect's mapping, and the passages they had been planning to take was revealed to have collapsed by Su Ling's divination, and it was beyond their ability to dig out in a timely fashion.
That meant that they were going to have to venture into the unknown sooner rather than later. The fires revealed two potential paths which their enemies did not occupy. So, Ling Qi and Liao Zhu had set out again to do some preliminary scouting.
"It's some kind of massive fungus thing," Ling Qi said with a grimace as she returned. "It's spongy and black and it fills this whole huge cavern. There are passages we can move through in it though, and I didn't detect any activity from the thing."
"It was dreaming," Sixiang whispered. "That doesn't mean it's not active."
"...No activity in the material world anyway," Ling Qi amended.
The others sat or stood in a small circle in the clear portion of the cavern. Guan Zhi nodded to her. "And the other, Liao Zhu?"
"It is a most direct route indeed, a ravine many kilometers deep, whose bottom was beyond my sight, Commander," he replied, bowing with a flourish.
Su Ling chewed her lower lip, looking down at the charred and cracked chitin laid out before her. "The first passes close to our enemy and his slower beside but the second…" she trailed off, looking at the chitin plate inscribed with characters representing various levels of danger from spirits and beasts. It was shattered to fragments.
"An Ill-omen indeed," Xuan Shi said gravely.
Guan Zhi closed her eyes for a moment. "I would hear your thoughts."
"What's there to say?" Ji Rong scoffed. "We can't let the rats know we're coming, so we go down the ravine. We just gotta deal with the danger."
"Miss Su did indicate that the fungal passages merely pass close. Should we exercise a little subtlety, I am sure we can slip by," Bian Ya said carefully. Su Ling's mouth snapped shut and Ling Qi was certain that she had been about to say something similar.
"I am inclined toward the more efficient path," Liao Zhu mused. "Between Ling Qi and myself, I believe that any dangers may be bypassed or mitigated."
Xuan Shi frowned silently.
[] Voice Support for the Fungal Path
[] Voice Support for the Ravine
"You should be more confident, but you might be right in this situation. There are still things you can do, though," Sixiang whispered.
They weren't wrong. Ling Qi's eyes slid over to Su Ling, whose body language was still closed off and wary. She could be there for her friend, but that alone wasn't going to help her get more comfortable with the group. Ling Qi looked up, and caught Liao Zhu's eye. That could work. She tilted her head toward Su Ling, and Liao Zhu's eyes crinkled in what she knew to be a smile.
"Congratulations on your breakthrough to bronze," Ling Qi said quietly, turning to Su Ling. Around them, people in the room were beginning to move or talk. Bian Ya had turned back to Xuan Shi, and looked to be trying a different tack with drawing the boy into conversation. Ji Rong stood up to pace, turning his back to them all.
"Feh, that hardly feels good coming from you," Su Ling grumbled.
Ling Qi rolled her eyes, recognizing the words for what they were. "Oh just take the compliment. You don't have to always be difficult about it," she peered at Su Ling. Curiously she noted that the girl still only had two tails. She had half expected her to have grown another one as she did in Second Realm.
"Pretty sure the third one only comes later on in third. That's how it works for the spirits anyway," Sixiang commented.
Su Ling grumbled. "How can you be so calm about this."
Ling Qi hummed to herself. "How will being worked up and nervous help?"
She shot Ling Qi a sour look. Ling Qi held her hands up defensively.
"I'm just saying, all of this tension isn't going to help you. It's definitely dangerous, but we're cultivators, you know? This is our duty," the word felt odd to Ling Qi's lips. Odder still was that she didn't feel like she was being facetious. Her mother and sister couldn't deal with problems like this. She didn't want to have to look at Mother and tell her that one of her friends was dead or have to look at Biyu and explain that her nanny was gone, because the Sect wasn't doing it's job.
To protect what was hers, the people and things around them had to be protected too.
Su Ling gave her a hard look, but seemed nonplussed at what she saw. Silence fell between them.
Naturally, this was when Liao Zhu chose to approach. He stood over them, leaning casually on the back of one of the camp chair "Junior Sister Ling, it has been too long! You've recovered nicely I hope."
"I have, hardly a mark at all," Ling Qi replied blithely. She was well used to Liao Zhu by now. His partially open vest was only a little distracting. "It looks as if you are doing better than expected too, Senior Brother Liao."
"Only an appearance I am afraid," he said, his normally bombastic tone a touch more somber. "While my friend is filling in for my arm, they cannot fight. I shall be looking forward to your support, Junior Sister. But, I am being rude. I have not met your friend, our esteemed diviner!"
Su Ling regarded the boy warily, and glanced at Ling Qi.
"This is Su Ling," Ling Qi introduced, giving the girl a subtle nudge with her elbow. "Su Ling, this is Senior Brother Liao Zhu. He was my tutor once, and my trainer in the Sect's Scouting force."
"I would like to say that I have heard much about you, but my Junior Sister is surprisingly focused on her tasks," Liao Zhu chuckled. "She tends to forget about things that are out of her sight."
Ling Qi scoffed. She was getting better about that.
She felt Sixiang's hand on her shoulder. "You are." The spirit left unsaid that she had needed the improvement in the first place.
"That does sound like Ling Qi," Su Ling replied grudgingly.
"I admit, I am curious as to your methods," Liao Zhu continued casually. "I scent a touch of the Bloody Moon about you. My own talents with the Lady do not lie more toward investigation and elimination than precognition. What do you practice? I had thought lunar divination was somewhat hobbled by our current enemies."
"...You're just noticing my partner," Su Ling replied reluctantly. "I'm not the type to get fancy spirit attention. It's just a blood thing. I get hunches about things now and then."
"Oh, I think you undersell yourself Junior Sister. A disciple with a mere underdeveloped spirit quirk would not have been selected for a mission such as this," Liao Zhu said. "Your talent must be at least somewhat impressive."
"Pyromancy," Su Ling finally said, looking away. "I have a knack for pyromancy, reading fires, alright?"
Ling Qi gave her friend a surprised look. Su Ling had never bothered to explain the method of her divination to her. "So that's what you do. How'd you even discover a talent like that?"
Su Ling grimaced. "I started noticing stuff outta the corner of my eye after I…" she glanced back over her shoulder at the tails curled tightly around her chair. "...broke through, Images in torches and fires 'n shit."
"Hoh, not a common talent these days," Liao Zhu said. "If I recall my history, is it not more effective when used to read queries carved into bones or shells than the fires itself."
"Yeah, been getting a crash course on that," Su Ling grumbled, her ears lying flat against the back of her head. "The Sect dug out a bunch of old tomes that were more dust than paper and set a core sect guy to tutoring me on bone carving and calligraphy.".
"So that is what you've been up too," Ling Qi mused.
"Feh, it wasn't pleasant. I thought Li Suyin was a hardass about handwriting. Barely got an 'acceptable' out of him in the end," Su Ling huffed.
"I suspect I might know the man in question. Acceptable is indeed high praise," Liao Zhu mused. "I shall look forward to relying upon your abilities Junior Sister."
"I'm barely third realm, cut that out," Su Ling said bluntly.
"Perhaps so, yet you are the only one here with such capabilities," Liao Zhu said lightly, pushing himself up to stand straight. "And so rely upon you we will."
"I trust you to have my back, Su Ling," Ling Qi added quietly. She gave her friend a grin and another nudge. "Just like old times, right?"
Su Ling's lips twisted downward and she looked down at the table. "Yeah, yeah, I'll try to keep you both from getting eaten by bugs, I get it. What about you two huh? What can I expect out of you?"
"Obvious deflection is obvious," Sixiang chuckled. "Looks like that Bian girl has pried open turtle boys' shells a tad too. Ji Rong and the boss Lady traded a couple words too. I'll fill you in when you're done here."
Ling Qi glanced briefly at the others. Ji Rong was standing a few steps from Guan Zhi staring down at the maps with a furrowed brow, and Bian Ya and Xuan Shi were quietly chatting, while he traced glittering characters in the air demonstratively. She gave a silent thanks to Sixiang, but grinned at Su Ling. "Well, for starters, I've gotten a lot faster…"
Su Ling was still tense by when their time had run its course, but it did feel like a healthier kind of tense.
Of the others, Sixiang whispered what she had heard as LIao Zhu was returning to his seat. Bian Ya had finally found success with Xuan Shi by asking after his work, and prodding him for knowledge on amplification and communication arrays. Once the subject matter turned that way, she had an easy time keeping him talking, even if she was definitely still toying with him a little.
There was less to say about Ji Rong and Guan Zhi. He had asked her a few terse questions about the map, and gotten polite clipped answers in reply. Guan Zhi had taken a single step to the side to give him room to scowl down at the tabletop with her. It was good that Ji Rong was taking this seriously she supposed.
Sixiang's voice fell silent as the last of them took their seats and Guan Zhi strode to the head of the table.
"Elder Jiao has already spoken of our objectives," she said crisply. "I will inform you of our equipment and methods. Each of you will be supplied with a purifying mask to mitigate the negative effects of the environmental impurities. You will wear this mask at all times, without exception. If your mask is damaged or corrupted, I have a limited supply of replacements. Do not be reckless with this. They are vital to our function."
Ling Qi inclined her head as did everyone else. Before she and Suyin had not gone down far enough to really be in danger, but in the depths they were descending too it was different. "May I ask what provisions there are for our spirits?" She asked.
"Custom pieces have been made for the spirit beasts of participating disciples," Guan Zhi replied. "You will apply these before we descend. I do not have replacements for those."
She would have to warn Zhengui to be careful with his then. He might be resilient enough to do without for a time, but she would rather not test it.
"There are two additional pieces of equipment which we have been provided," Guan Zhi continued smoothly. "Firstly, a portable hearth for Disciple Su to use for her divinations, and finally a clouding beacon constructed by Elder Jiao himself. So long as we do not directly encounter foes we will not be detected until I begin fighting."
Like a massively improved version of the clairvoyance blocking talismans she had used during her conflict with Yan Renshu, Ling Qi supposed, that made sense. They really would be relying on Su Ling though. She gave her friend a look out of the corner of her eye. Su Ling had her arms crossed, but her expression was one of determination.
"As for our methods, the initial plan is simple. Disciple Ling and Disciple Liao will take point, and I the rearguard. Disciples Ji and Xuan will take the center and protect Disciple Bian and Disciple Su," neither Ji Rong nor Xuan Shi looked particularly happy about this. "Disciple Bian's attention will be consumed by her use of cartographic arts to keep our position updated and current within the region of distorted space."
Guan Zhi's expression turned severe. "This is vital. If Disciple Bian is unable to perform her duties, it will exacerbate the delay of our retreat talisman and may even cause it to fail altogether. If Disciple Su is rendered unable to make her divinations, avoiding enemy movements may become nigh impossible. If I am forced to step in for any reason before the final action, the mission will be a failure."
Xuan Shi simply gave a sharp nod. Ji Rong looked like he had bitten into a lemon. Guan Zhi surveyed them for a moment longer. "Am I understood?"
Ling Qi joined the chorus of "Yes, Ma'am," that followed.
"Good. Disciple Su, let us begin the initial divination for our path then," Guan Zhi said, seeming satisfied.
Ling Qi leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes. It was time to start rousing her spirits.
The portable hearth was a stone cube about a meter wide on a side, inscribed with precise formations. It was open on one side, revealing the merilly burning fire held within. However, no smoke escaped, nor the scent of burning fuel, only the flickering light of the flames. She watched with some interest as Su Ling sat down in front of it and pulled a bag and a satchel full of carving tools from her storage ring.
It was… very slow. The bag was full of smoothed chitin plates from the beasts down here, which Su Ling had to painstakingly carve questions and potential answers into along the pieces fracture points. Only then could the chitin be cast into the fire. Su Ling then observed the crackling green tinted flames intently to study the way the chitin cracked and the flame danced to divine her answers.
Frankly, Ling Qi could see why it had fallen out of favor. Compared to even her own simple divination art it was slow and laborious, and reliant upon the users exact wording and placement of questions and answers on the pieces. It was hard not to feel a little impatient.
But,eventually they had charted their route down to the bottom of the mapped part of the cave system. Su Ling projected that it would take between thirty two and thirty six hours to navigate due to the circuitous route, but she would ask again after the first day.
With that done, all that was left was to outfit themselves and their spirit beasts. The silk mask Ling Qi was provided fit snugly over her mouth and nose, it's edges adhering to her skin without need for any kind of strap or attachment. The air she breathed through it was as fresh and clean as an untouched mountain vale.
Getting the masks on her spirits was a little more bothersome.
"I Zhen, deserve better than this," the serpent grumbled as Ling Qi fiddled with the straps of his mask. Unlike her, his was made of metal, a curved plate that was affixed to his snout and rose to a point in the center like a horn. A faint floral scent drifted from it.
"Zhen should not complain, at least he can open his mouth," Gui grumbled, his voice muffled by the boxy construction of leather and wicker that covered the front half of his face.
Hanyi merely crossed her arms, looking like she was struggling not to mess with the mask affixed to her own face.
"No complaints," Ling Qi said sharply. "You want to come with me, you need to wear these."
"Yes, Big Sister," they chorused, chastised.
Around her, similar scenes were playing out, so at least he wasn't the only one looking odd.
"Could you not have designed something more resplendent?" the young dragon Ji Rong had released looked positively mutinous as Ji Rong finished affixing the muzzle like tube of wood and leather to his snouth. The Dragon had grown since she last saw it, now being about two and half meters long.
"You're lucky I'm even bringing you," Ji Rong scoffed. "Breaking through at the last damn minute."
"We shared blood," the dragon replied stiffly. "I will not be left behind."
"Then hold still and quit bitching," Ji Rong groused.
Su Ling's companion, Cibei clung to her thick hair like a nest, peering suspiciously at everyone around them. She was still only about two handspans wide and second realm, the little wicker basket on her nose was kind of cute. Su Ling was standing away from the rest of them, and her mood had fouled again as she glared across the staging area at Bian Ya. The older disciple was humming a soft melody as she brushed the fur of the horse sized three tailed fox which she had released. The fox for his or her part, merely looked back at her with impassive disinterest.
She didn't even know how to describe the spirit beast Liao Zhu had revealed. It was a weird chimera of a beast. It had the wings of a bird, the body of a lion and the scaly reptilian head of a dragon, but with only a single horn. It accepted it's mask with stoic dignity.
"You should still be recovering you clown," the chimera grumbled in a deep voice, padding over to the tunnel entrance to lower his nose to the ground.
Liao Zhu ambled after him with a light step. "Duty nor glory wait my friend."
"Neither does death," the beast grumbled.
Xuan Shi stood off to the side, his hat pulled low over his eyes, tapping the but of his ring staff against the ground as he waited. Beside him stood Guan Zhi, who stood still, studying them all.
It was strange that she didn't have a spirit, Ling Qi thought.
"She does, I can sense it, must not need a mask though," Sixiang murmured.
Ah, something more like Sixiang then? She supposed that made sense for such a physically focused cultivator. She finished adjusting the last buckle on Zhen's mask and patted his head.
They were ready to go.
***
There was not much to say about the first day traveling downward. She and Liao Zhu blazed the path ahead, scouting the tunnels Su Ling had marked for travel. They worked their way down through winding, often tight tunnels, through caverns aglow with fungal wonders and crawling chitinous wildlife. They marked down dangers and reported back, allowing the others to prepare to push through the caverns natural fauna.
All the while, they descended, and the air changed. Where before it had merely been unpleasant and stale, touched by rot and decay, it soon began to burn. Although Ling Qi was strong enough to resist the effects, it nonetheless made her feel oily and unclean, like she had wallowed in a sewage pipe. On a whim she had tested the air by plucking out a hair and casting it away. The hair had sizzled and disintegrated before it touched the ground.
All the while, the beasts around them began to grow stranger in form. The caverns grew more verdant, bursting with swollen and unpleasant life. As they approached their first campsite, they had to push through a veritable jungle of fleshy pale blue ferns that glowed faintly in the dark. Which grew around the bases of towering black mushrooms the size of trees. Twisted and misshapen things ambled and skittered in the dark on either too many or too few limbs.
It had been well over two hours since she had last sensed a first realm creature. Even the clinging fronds that swayed and grasped at her as she passed through them were filled with an unpleasantly viscous energy dense enough to feel analogous to the second realm.
"There is another blockage ahead," Liao Zhu's voice echoing in her ear did not make her jump, she was more than used to it by now.
"Collapsed passage, or something more lively?" Ling Qi asked under her breath, trusting in his communication art to carry her words as she moved along the perimeter of the cave, searching for gaps and side tunnels which might contain foes.
"The former, happily enough. I shall require your brothers most generous assistance again," his voice answered back.
"Almost finished with the perimeter, be there shortly," Ling Qi replied in a whisper. 'Hear that Zhengui?' she thought.
"Yeah! Gui is ready to help!" He replied.
"I wanna do something too," Hanyi grumbled.
Ling Qi smiled. He had already proven useful, the roots and trunks that he could grow had proven quite useful for propping up unstable tunnels, which were quite common on the route they had taken. She supposed that was why their enemies didn't use it. Hanyi on the other hand didn't have much to do while they were avoiding going loud. 'Be patient, I'm going to need you both at the end,' she chided lightly.
She felt Sixiang tug at her senses then and turned her eyes toward a man sized crack in the ceiling. She still had more investigating to do.
Happily, it was just another brief dead and. Ling Qi was happy to emerge from the frond forest as she finished her search, Liao Zhu stood by their tunnel exit, his chimera beast was already digging through the rubble, burning away stone with silver fire that bled from his eyes and brushing aside ash with his paws.
Ling Qi gave Zhengui a nudge, and he materialized just outside the tunnel. It was almost routine by now, and she very soon felt the subtle fluctuation of wood qi as the roots began to break the surface, crawling up the sides of the tunnel.
"The next cavern is where we planned to camp, right?" Ling Qi asked as she stepped back with Liao Zhu to let their spirits do their work.
"Yes, given that we have had to deviate slightly already, it would be best to allow Junior Sister Su to cast the bones again," he replied.
She gave him a look out of the corner of her eye. "You seemed a bit different talking to her, why was that?"
"Bombast and flirtation were not what she needed," Liao Zhu replied blithely. "Rather, affirmation of her skill was the most important factor."
"I suppose so," Ling Qi mused, only to narrow her eyes. "Wait, are you saying I needed those things?"
He chuckled. "Come Junior Sister, they have broken through. We must prepare the camp for our comrades."
She huffed as he strode away, and vanished between one step and the next. He just couldn't stop messing with her could he?
With Liao Zhu sending the all clear back, it did not take too long for the others to catch up. While no one was wounded, the main group was still a little worse for the wear. Ji Rong's tunic was stained with unpleasant fluids and Xuan Shi's defensive constructs buzzed and flitted around him agitatedly. Bian Ya was pristine, sitting side saddle on her companion, her eyelids fluttering rapidly while she communed with the Sect's base. Su Ling just looked agitated.
She and Hanyi had prepared a small part of the next cavern, freezing and destroying the unpleasant flora to give everyone a place to sit and rest for a moment while Su Ling performed her divinations. It was not a long rest however, and soon they had a choice before them. They were approaching the edge of the Sect's mapping, and the passages they had been planning to take was revealed to have collapsed by Su Ling's divination, and it was beyond their ability to dig out in a timely fashion.
That meant that they were going to have to venture into the unknown sooner rather than later. The fires revealed two potential paths which their enemies did not occupy. So, Ling Qi and Liao Zhu had set out again to do some preliminary scouting.
***
"It's some kind of massive fungus thing," Ling Qi said with a grimace as she returned. "It's spongy and black and it fills this whole huge cavern. There are passages we can move through in it though, and I didn't detect any activity from the thing."
"It was dreaming," Sixiang whispered. "That doesn't mean it's not active."
"...No activity in the material world anyway," Ling Qi amended.
The others sat or stood in a small circle in the clear portion of the cavern. Guan Zhi nodded to her. "And the other, Liao Zhu?"
"It is a most direct route indeed, a ravine many kilometers deep, whose bottom was beyond my sight, Commander," he replied, bowing with a flourish.
Su Ling chewed her lower lip, looking down at the charred and cracked chitin laid out before her. "The first passes close to our enemy and his slower beside but the second…" she trailed off, looking at the chitin plate inscribed with characters representing various levels of danger from spirits and beasts. It was shattered to fragments.
"An Ill-omen indeed," Xuan Shi said gravely.
Guan Zhi closed her eyes for a moment. "I would hear your thoughts."
"What's there to say?" Ji Rong scoffed. "We can't let the rats know we're coming, so we go down the ravine. We just gotta deal with the danger."
"Miss Su did indicate that the fungal passages merely pass close. Should we exercise a little subtlety, I am sure we can slip by," Bian Ya said carefully. Su Ling's mouth snapped shut and Ling Qi was certain that she had been about to say something similar.
"I am inclined toward the more efficient path," Liao Zhu mused. "Between Ling Qi and myself, I believe that any dangers may be bypassed or mitigated."
Xuan Shi frowned silently.
[] Voice Support for the Fungal Path
[] Voice Support for the Ravine
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Alectai
Speaks Words of Wisdom... On occasion
Yeah, my inclination is that we don't want to test the other side, they're going to have scouts ranging around too and it adds a large amount of complexity because we've got to play cat and mouse without raising suspicion with them. Doubly so as they're very good at stealth, and it only takes one guy not reporting back in before the jig is up and surprise is lost.
While the immediate risk is greater on this route, the operational risk is lower. Hopefully the fact we loaded MoSS helps keep the fungus monster shooshpapped until we can slip past.
While the immediate risk is greater on this route, the operational risk is lower. Hopefully the fact we loaded MoSS helps keep the fungus monster shooshpapped until we can slip past.
- Location
- Who Knows
YRSILLAR YOU CAN"T DO THIS TO ME.
[inhales my crumbs greedily anyway]
- Location
- New Brunswick, NJ
- Pronouns
- He/Him/His
Shouldn't this be Disciple Ji? She uses everyone else's family name, but Ji Rong's personal name.
I endorse every word of this. Especially "shooshpapped." Great word.
[X] Voice Support for the Ravine
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fictionfan
Please sir, may I have some Meows?
- Location
- Tempe, AZ
Can we share our stealth at all?
- Location
- Earth
You do not bring a Divination expert on an expedition into the unknown, only to ignore their Divinations. Fungal or bust.
- Location
- A place
Ummmm... How far can cultivators fall before they end up going splat? Can we detect and turn back if we find the ravine is one of those deep earth vents for gases that form down in the earth?
Is there anything else we know about the fungal path other than it having fungus and probably dangerous beasts?
Are these the only two paths?
Is there anything else we know about the fungal path other than it having fungus and probably dangerous beasts?
Are these the only two paths?
- Location
- Charlton, NY
Yep, I call Fungal. We can't be direct until the final action, as the leader says, and that means no charging down a bottomless ravine that's most likely dangerous enough to need full effort to break through, if it doesn't outright stop us or be actually deadly.
- Location
- New Brunswick, NJ
- Pronouns
- He/Him/His
All that's not occupied by the enemy.
Arkeus
Crazy cat guy
- Location
- France
Lol masks. Yrs having fun, I see.
Also, 95% sure that if Su Ling survives and we do well, she is getting to Inner at the end of the month.
Also, 95% sure that if Su Ling survives and we do well, she is getting to Inner at the end of the month.
Heheheheh. Liao Zhu is showing more depth than expected.... which makes sense.
Sixiang can do something:
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DarkLight140
Credit to Team
- Location
- Lost in my thoughts
- Gather up some teens with attitude
- Give them masks to wear
- Send them forth to fight evil
Alectai
Speaks Words of Wisdom... On occasion
Liao Zhu seems pretty confident that between him and Ling Qi, they can bypass or mitigate the dangers. And considering he's the scout corps superman, and we brought our spirit social music art in a time when Spirit-Ken is primed to evolve...
Well, I think we're in a good place, you know?
DangerKitty
shoddy writter
- Location
- lala land
Personally im for the fungal path because su lings divinations clearly indicate it tk be the less lethal path as far as monsters go. As well as maybe sixiang could influence its dreams to keep it asleep/ we could pacify it?
The ravine is giving me made in abyss vibes and it makes me think the bug monsters avoid it because its a rookery of sorts for flying nasties. And not many in our group can fly.
The ravine is giving me made in abyss vibes and it makes me think the bug monsters avoid it because its a rookery of sorts for flying nasties. And not many in our group can fly.
Wiggin42
Wage Slave
My gut says go the fugus path. We've been working on dreamwalking and I'd assume Liao Zhu is even better at it. This sounds like a challenge we're directly spec-ed to take on. The fight with a being of unprecedented danger while we're in the middle of an escort mission just seems to be just begging for a lose condition.
globalwarmth
ruining the weather.
- Location
- Polar ice caps
[] Voice Support for the Fungal Path
Lets take the way of the gravemind, we have dream experience
Lets take the way of the gravemind, we have dream experience
Black Noise
Curious
- Location
- About 1AU from Sol
@yrsillar typos:
Interesting mission is interesting, 2 people on mapping (1 divining the way forward, 1 keeping track where we are), 2 vanguard scouts, 2 defenders for the mappers, plus our commander lady. The life down here looks like a separate cultivation system destructively incompatible with the imperial style, but so far it's not too alien.
As for the way forward, both options are quite risky; the ravine is direct and fast but full of all the danger, while the fungal path is an exercise in group stealth and luck to avoid enemy scouts, and possibly a spot to develop or exercise spirit-social or dream-related skills.
I'm honestly unsure, we do have a powerful obscuring effect surrounding us so the ravine will only be dangerous if we directly encounter something, in which case it's liable to be too strong to deal with quietly, wheras the fungal path pretty much requires walking on top of a dreaming fungus which may well work for our enemies.
Warily
Missing a " mark.
Interesting mission is interesting, 2 people on mapping (1 divining the way forward, 1 keeping track where we are), 2 vanguard scouts, 2 defenders for the mappers, plus our commander lady. The life down here looks like a separate cultivation system destructively incompatible with the imperial style, but so far it's not too alien.
As for the way forward, both options are quite risky; the ravine is direct and fast but full of all the danger, while the fungal path is an exercise in group stealth and luck to avoid enemy scouts, and possibly a spot to develop or exercise spirit-social or dream-related skills.
I'm honestly unsure, we do have a powerful obscuring effect surrounding us so the ravine will only be dangerous if we directly encounter something, in which case it's liable to be too strong to deal with quietly, wheras the fungal path pretty much requires walking on top of a dreaming fungus which may well work for our enemies.
To make sure:
We asked yrs to confirm which route is which
Fungal:
- is the slow route
- is the close route (close to the ratmen)
Ravine:
- is the fast route
- is just 'fathomless darkness', meaning we dont know the danger. (going by ' chitin plate inscribed with characters representing various levels of danger from spirits and beasts.', the danger is likely based on spirits and beasts)
We asked yrs to confirm which route is which
Fungal:
- is the slow route
- is the close route (close to the ratmen)
Ravine:
- is the fast route
- is just 'fathomless darkness', meaning we dont know the danger. (going by ' chitin plate inscribed with characters representing various levels of danger from spirits and beasts.', the danger is likely based on spirits and beasts)
Alectai
Speaks Words of Wisdom... On occasion
It trades off the mystery box for a significant known threat, I wouldn't call that 'Less Lethal' because we literally don't know shit about the threat in the Ravine. Except that it couldn't be read by Su Ling's divination.
Ravine Path Pros: Faster, Avoids enemy advance
Ravine Path Cons: Mystery Box (But presumably scary)
And on the other hand.
Fungal Path Pros: Doesn't go into the Ravine
Fungal Path Cons: Slow, Uncomfortably close to the enemy, twisty and complicated oute.
Literally the Fungal Path's only advantages are that 'It doesn't go into the Ravine'
Now, from a purely gamist perspective, there has to be something scary in the Ravine--but it's not necessarily a problem that needs to be solved by violence. and we're actually well suited for negotiating safe passage through anything but a feral monster or a bloodlusted devil's territory.
Like, again, the only reason the Fungal Path is considered at all is because "It's a known danger", but even that isn't completely accurate because our profile on the enemy's ability and tactics is limited, and they have the home field advantage. It's stacking up all the cons imaginable in exchange for at least removing most of the mystery from the Cons section.
fictionfan
Please sir, may I have some Meows?
- Location
- Tempe, AZ
Liao Zhu has a better version of ENM even if the party fails at stealth he should have a limited ability to make stuff forget about us.
