Stranger Things Afoot

Templo de las Nubes Oscuras - Dragon Gate(#8117RA)

	Underneath Sanqing Hall is the Dragon Gate. This cavernous subterranean space is old. Older than the temple above. More akin to a natural cave than a man made tunnel, it's then perhaps not that unusual that there's an aura of primordial power here. The temperature of this room drops several degrees from the one above, leaving the space perpetually cool and slightly damp. The Yin energies in here - cold, dark, overpowering - they run /strong/. Like a heavy pall draped over a tomb, the Yin touches /everything/ inside the space.

	In the center of the cavern? The Dragon Gate itself. The gate takes the form of a perfectly circular pool, about ten feet in diameter, filled with a still and placid black liquid. The pool betrays no clues as to its depth.

	**** WALL RATING: 3 ****

	(This room needs an Umbra desc. @mail building staff if you want to provide one.)


	(This room needs a Wraith desc. @mail building staff if you want to provide one.)

Contents:
Xiaoling
Grace
Mr. Lao(#17421)
Obvious Exits:
  Qiuzu Hall <QH>

	Danny had invited Grace and Xiao down into the dragon gate. Well, Mr. Lao's had asked Danny to invite them down into the gate. And when a dragon asks for something, Danny has enough common-sense to obliged. The monks would escort the two women down the stone steps at the appointed time.

Grace walks down with her hand on one of the monks arms as he guides her. She honestly does not need it, but it seems to make the monk feel better so she obliges.

It would appear that today is business casual for Xiao, at least that is what she appears to think. As she descend the stairs, the young woman is clothed in a pair of black exercise pants and a black sports bra, showing of her tight midriff. Her barefoot steps take her to the center of the room and she regards Danny with half bow, as well as one given to Grace. "You asked for me?"

	Danny is in his ritual maoshan garb - that is to say, simple black yoga-style pants, a black robe, and his bandana mask. He stands over by the pool. A shake of his head at Xiao's inquiry. "No. Mr. Lao did. There are inauspicious stirrings afoot, and he wants to see what he has to work with." The maoshan then extends one hand towards Xiao, and the other towards Grace, beckoning them to take hold.

Xiao does not question what is being asked of her and she reaches out to take the offered hand, her eyes narrowed and fixated on the man in front of her. A small breath is taken as she awaits what is about to happen, unsure of what Danny has in store.

Grace walks up playing up the blind thing taping her cane as she smiles "I would be honored to display my skills."

	Danny takes firm hold of each woman's hand, one in each of his own. And then, without warning, he pulls them along with him into the inscrutable inky waters of the pool!

	Chinese black magic! The kind that casts a chill on one's soul! That's what's afoot this evening! A few interminable moments will pass with all three in the bottomless waters - no sense of up or down or sideways, just omnipresent darkness! Until they're all unceremoniously spat out on ... the other side! But where is this? The sky here is moonless. Starless. Dark and desolate. Danny treads water and heads for the edge to pull himself out.

She had suspected something strange was going to happen. However, the pool did not scare her, afterall she had come to Danny through the pool. Swirling in the waters, when the journey stops, the young girl swims her way to the edge, rising from the water and moving to pull her hair back into a ponytail, ringing out the water before even beginning to assess where she actually is.

Grace looks to the water and then to the both of you and probably the first time either of you have known here she looks hesitant at something. "Magic is neither good nor evil, but water is, well I cant swim very well, and the senses that allow me to navigate the world are almost useless when I am under water."

	Strong swimmer or not, Grace would have been pulled under with the rest of them. Was it even water? No. No it was most certainly not. But it was wet. And fluid. And served as a gateway between realms. Danny would draw Grace out of the water once they were through and on the Other Side.

	It will be quiet for a few long moments while the trio dry off in the still air. Then, out of the darkness? The eyes will be spotted first. Glowing a baleful dim red color. Then the fangs and claws, gleaming like pale white jade. The rest of Mr. Lao? Is like embodied smoke, or shadow given form. Except that he hasn't manifested in the desert of the real. No, Danny's brought them all across the Wall, and into the realm Mr. Lao calls home - Qi Lung.

	The dragon makes his way over and gives the air a sniff tasting Xiao's and Grace's scents on the air. Then he looks to Danny. "Go ahead then."

Grace blinks as she scans around her as her senses reatune to her new surroundings. Any wraiths would likely be lost on her unless they make noise.

Xiao has seen the Dragon once before, so his appearance did not startle her like it did the first time. However, it is a dragon and it demand attention, thus her eyes remain fixed on the creature and do not stray. Her hands move to fold behind her back and she stands islently, awaiting instruction as to what awaits her.

	Danny nods at Lao's words. He lets his robe fall from his shoulders, the black silk garment pooling at his feet like a puddle of starless night sky. The tattoo inked upon his chest in jade infused ink begins to glow slightly as the maoshan channels his chi. Then he turns towards Grace and Xiao. "You're going to try and hit me as hard as you can. And I will show you what sorts of dangers Lao thinks we might be in for."

Grace bows her head and ask "All out? or we showing restraint?"

	Danny eyes Grace thoughtfully. "There is no need for restraint. We are in the Otherworlds." A faint smile from the maoshan follows. "And I'm a big boy."

	Grace and Xiaoling each unleash martial blows upon the maoshan, while Lao watches with careful scrutiny. Grace's form is flawless, but just as her fist should have landed a haymaker on Danny's person, fortune would conspire to throw off her balance,just a bit, enough that what was once a certain haymaker and One-Punch Man style KO, ends up being a glancing blow which Danny impassively absorbs.

	Xiao's attack is not as flawless in execution as Grace's, but it lands true. Danny, however, remains unphased. Once the two women have had their turn, he moves with preternatural quickness, a blur of chi-fueled motion.

	Danny is a blur of motion, unleashing a torrent of quick, precises, open hand strikes on Grace's person before spinning around to re-direct his attention to Xiao.

	The maoshan makes to unleash four perfectly executed open hand strikes upon the dhampyr. All of this taking place under the watchful eye of Mr. Lao, of course. Let's see what happens when unstoppable force strikes immovable object. Or something.

	And that was just Grace! Danny and Xiao will be more like unstoppable force meets stupidly lucky object!
Grace gets hit and hit hard, a normal persona would be knocked out cold and put into the nearest wall. Grace is thrown and hits said wall with a thump thats a melon cracking sound, but evidently something more is going on as she pushes herself off the ground and dust herself off unharmed except for her pride.

	Danny's blows are like claps of thunder. But the first one? The one that should've knocked Xiao on her ass? Is thwarted by the mystical shield of fortune that Danny had blessed her with earlier. His punch is /just barely/ off as his fist whistles past her ear.

	Danny's final two blows should have hit, but the scent of Xiao's hair was ... distracting, causing the maoshan to lose concentration and miss entirely. TWICE!

Her from is very fluent, acrobatic even, a swan out of water with the grace displayed. Her arms wave before her in hypnotic dance, but it is not her hands that throw the strike. Her upper body sweeps the the ground and her leg comes swinging around in a roundhouse arc from the ground, striking the man in the side of the face. In a moment she is back vettical again and before him, just in time to see his counter.

 The first strike whizzes past her head, even causing her hair to move with its force and proximity. It is the next two that should have landed, were it not for a little bit of luck; be it good or bad. A jerk reaction from her head with the first strike, caused her to sidestep, which in turn caused her foot to catch a small rock, sending her backwards and landing on her back as the next to sailed over where she was. The young girl skipped back up as quickly as possible, only to find a hard strike to her chest upon regaining her feet, sending her back down onto her ass once more. From her back she stares up at the dark sky. "So pretty."

Grace offers Xiao a hand to help her up as she smiles "Okay more to learn."

	Mr. Lao watches as the sparring bout comes to a merciful end. The ebon dragon comes forward and gives Xiao a sniff. "The blade. Do you have it?" The dragon's deep voice rumbles out the inquiry insistently.

Xiaoling takes Graces hand and rises, exhaling softly and shaking off the blow. As the dragon sniffs her, she remains perfectly still and nods at his request. "I can get it." Much like the night she arrived, her eyes remain fixed on the dragon and she holds her hand out, palm open and mutters a few words in Chinese. It takes a moment and she is patient, looking over to the water, but then the eater starts to ripple and the sword comes from the depths of the pool and directly into her hand. "I do...now."

Grace smiles and says "I have been trained to use all kinds of weapons!" She walks over and rattles her prayer beads on her wrist and says 'This is my idea one."

	The dragon watches as Grace and Xiao chit-chat, but takes a step back when the Star Shower Blade is summoned into Xiao's hand. The great beast's crimson eyes narrow. "Is it really?" A dubious arch of an eyebrow. "Show me."

Grace turns her head as something new materializes in her world as she smiles and says "Sword right?"

	Mr. Lao breathes out a cone of shadow, which eventually coalesces into three icy looking orbs. The dragon flicks the orbs out at Xiaoling. She better think fast!

Think fast? Oh she will think fast. The sword is thrown and while in mid-flight and she calls out. "Xin Xing. (which means Nova). The sword splits into three different parts.

	Lao watches as Xiao uses her chi to activate the legendary blade. The chi enables the blade to split into three parts, and each piece of the blade flies through the air at the incoming icy projectiles.

Grace watches with fascination, well you know she pays attention with fascination as if she is taking mental notes.
The blade splits into three different parts, each one of them striking one of the frozen orbs and shattering them, Her hand extended, the blades then rejoin one another into the sword once more and return to her outstretched hand. "Impressive enough?" SHe twirls the sword once in her hand and offers a small smile.

	Lao's eyes narrow, and the dragon reaches up to stroke at his "beard" with his paws. "We shall see, foundling. We. Shall. See." His crimson eyes go to Danny, and then the dragon makes a dismissive motion with one paw as the great beast fades into the darkness.