THE ORB OF HISHEP-RATEP!

===> COH <===> 4/8/2020, 1:35:20 PM <===

THE ORB OF HISHEP-RATEP

I don't want to start
Any blasphemous rumors
But I think that God's
Got a sick sense of humor
And when I die
I expect to find Him laughing
:: Blasphemous Rumours - Depeche Mode

	Thomas "MoGui" Hu, Sidekick of Ether, leads an Interesting Life! Under the guidance of Fan Feng Fu, one of the last azure dragons of the middle kingdom, he is tasked with the recovery of lost artefacts too dangerous to be left uncurated. The current objective? The long lost Orb of Hishep-Ratep, a talisman of dubious provenance, possessed of unpredictable but entirely nefarious powers.

	What the sages (including Mr. Fu) know: Master Hishep-Ratep was a fearsome and wealthy magician, but he perished regardless on a campaign in a distant land, as foretold by the six prophets. As a rumoured follower of the demon-god Ahriman, Hishep-Ratep was buried where he fell. With him was buried his legendary lifestone, a large orb.

	Now? The Orb of Hishep-Ratep has somehow surfaced out in the middle of nowhere in the mojave desert. MoGui calls upon his colleagues and pals to ride out into arid rain-shadow desert on a mission of recovery. Time is of the essence, for surely he can't be the only one after the artefact!

Contents:
Li Bong
Arumi
Lana
Xiu
Obvious Exits:
  Lobby <LO>

Everyone has assembled at the land owned by the Gam Saan Historical Preservation Society, out by an abandoned mine and airfield with hangar, bordering the mojave desert.

	And out of the hangar comes Mo! "Hey! Everybody made it!" The rambunctious sidekick makes his way over to greet the group, pep in his step, excitement in his eyes. "Thanks everyone for covening so quickly on short notice."
	Behind him, comes Mr. Fu - Mo's dragon Guide.

Lana narrows her eyes as she looks at Li Bong, but she keeps the smile on her lips. <<Behave Li Bong, Xiu Tong is a member of the Circle of Nine, she is Verbena and she...>> she hisses out towards the Monk as if noone else knew Mandarin, and leaves her sentence unfinished as she reverts back to English as she instead looks at Arumi. "I'm Lana, Wing Kong witch." she then looks over towards MoGui and bows her head slightly.

Arumi smiles and nods around. "Lana. Li. Hi." Then MoGui's arrival gets a wave. "Hi, Thomas. So... what's going on? I didn't catch the specifics but it sounded like you were talking about something serious, or even dangerous? Figured I'd come see what was going on. What do you need?"

	"Xiu." The same corrects Li - before she glances down at herself. There are a couple of leather poutches and a satchel fastened to her waist, courtesy of a woven leather cord across her torso. Her eyes flick towards Lana at her reacton before she glances towards Li with a light smirk "Thank you for the offer, but I am good."
	..and then Mo's ENERGY announces him before his sight does. The witch turns and moves towards him. "Mo! Greetings." she says, nodding towards him with a smile...before she crouches down. And Mr. Fu gets scritches and pets. Yep. Little dragon gets pet. "Mister Fu. It is good to see you again, too."

	Mr. Fu leans into Xiu's scritches, then flies up into the air, and performs a quick recap for all those assembled, clearing his throat. The little beast's voice rolls out like thunder, disproportionate to his small size.

"Master Hishep-Ratep was a fearsome and wealthy magician, but he perished regardless on a campaign in a distant land, as foretold by the six prophets. As a rumoured follower of the demon-god Ahriman, Hishep-Ratep was buried where he fell. With him was buried his legendary lifestone, a large orb.

"Now? The Orb of Hishep-Ratep has somehow surfaced out in the middle of nowhere in the mojave desert. And we must find it before anyone else does."

Li Bong gives a wink to Lana, and doesn't seem bothered to be ignored by Arumi. The little dragon makes him smile, a lot. He turns his attention to MoGui.
	"How did you come across this lost tomb, Seeker MoGui?"

	Mr. Fu soars down from the air, hovering in front of Li Bong, and glowering. Clearly, Li Bong needed to understand who was in charge around here! "I am tasked by the August Personage of Jade with monitoring and recovering items of either dangerous or unpredictable powers. Sometimes both." Then the little beast alights upon the ground and makes his way back over to hop into Mo's messenger bag. Exposition took a lot out of him!

Lana reaches inside the waiting Mazda and brings out a small duffle bag, she has been on adventures with Mogui before. She studies the monk for a moment and then extends the dufflebag towards him , the man did offer after all and she is primed and ready. Thankfully performing self improving katas and drinking herb brews to improve ones body does tend to remove the pains of a sprung hamstring.
She then listens to what MoGui has to say.
"As always MoGui, the Wing Kong will take its toll, the Dragon demands it. But we are here to aid." Lana adds
The Mazda speeds off having delivered the deputy dragon to her goal

Li Bong nods to Lana and takes the bag, slinging it over the other shoulder. Pack Beast, he can do!

	Xiu rises as the dragon flies up, and she takes a few steps while glancing up and listening. The soar-down towards Li has the strange witch softly chuckle, before she glances over towards Arumi. "I kind of figured you'd be the one to bring packs of heavy gear on something like this."

Arumi waves off Li Bong. "I am already ready for travel, than you though." Re-adjusting the arm cannon on ht left hand, she nods to MoGui then. "Alright. So this is an old school adventure to recover the artifact before the other people do. Cool. I imagine it's too far out into the desert to just drive?"

"Do we have a vague idea? Should I go back into town and rent a jeep? I don't think any of us has enough water with us for an actual hours-long hike out here, do we?"

Li Bong asks Lana,
	"Perhaps call upon steeds of spirit to carry us?"

	Mo pulls out what looks like a small golden compass type device from his pocket once Mr. Fu is safely stowed away. "My luopan will show us the way there," he says, showing the device to everyone. "We'll make most of the journey by jeep," he says, gesturing to an old vintage jeep in the hangar and nodding to Arumi. "Then we make the last little bit on foot. Sound good? Everyone aboard!"

	"I have over a day of a hike behind me." Xiu remarks. "Do not mind my needs." That said, she turns and moves towards the jeep, while she reaches into the satchel...and pulls out a towel.

Li Bong smiles, then follows the ladies with his bamboo stick-hobo bag and Lana's luggage. He will be last to mount up.

Lana climbs aboard the Jeep, making sure Li Bong and her bag gets on it as well. <<There is no need to extend oneself, and call on the aid of the council prior to making sure someone like Mo has things in order.>> she explains to the monk who like her lives in Chinatown and seemingly serves the Dragon there.

Li Bong nods and listens. He gets it. <<Understood, Mistress Lana.>>

Arumi nods to MoGui. "Sounds good. I'm glad you have one already ready. I can drive, if you want to read your detector for me and tell me where to go."

	Xiu climbs onto the jeep, the various limbs holding her firmly there. Then though, she places the towel down neatly with two hands..and settles down on it. Basic courtesy hygiene! There's at least that. She quietly listens to Lana and Li, before she looks over towards Mo. Or rather, his pack, to spot Mr. Fu..before she pets her lap, silently.

	Mo had saved the passenger seat for Arumi, more than willing to play chauffeur. But he's happy to play navigator! "Sure thing!" He tosses the keys to Arumi. The jeep may be old, but it's clearly had some renovation work done and is more than meets the eye! Mr. Fu slips out of the bag once inside the jeep, and makes his way over to settle on Xiu's lap for a nap.

	Soon, they're tearing off across the mojave desert, guided by Mo's mystical luopan, on a path that barely qualifies as a road.

	Eventually, they approach a part of the desert where it begins to give way to copses of coniferous trees. "Here! Stop! We're here!", Mo exclaims. "The rest is a short walk. I'll take point, someone with greater powers of perception than me, watch our six!"

Arumi is not... someone who drives slow even in ordinary circumstances. But once off road, well, time to have fun a bit. "Hang on," she looks back to warn everyone before taking off. She... tries not to get airborne off of any dunes. But it is a Disneyland ride into adventure! So yes, she is very much 'tearing off.'
And smiling the whole way.
She brings the car to a stop, and hops on out, as though she hadn't just driven like a mad... scientist.

Lana keeps a hand over her stomach during the ride, taking in the sights and the other wordly elements that resides out here in the desert. "So tell me more of this Life Orb, what properties is it rumoured to hold and how will the booty be split, between our different lords MoGui?" Once the car stops, she slips out to put her feet on solid ground and only now does she remove her right hand from her stomach.
<<Seng, Li Bong..What are your primary strengths, what do you contribute?>> she arches an eyebrow. <<You are not of the Dragon Court, I imagine not Tiger either?>>

Arumi *totally* would have put her goggles on for that ride.

	With a quite long hike already behind her, Xiu actually dozes off into a light nap as well during the ride - despite Arumi's wild driving - her fingers occasionally caressing the little dragon that's in a similar state. And somewhere during it, a silent prayer goes to the Goddess as her curved-back horns prevent her head from hitting the jeep during that speed devil race.
	It's only when Mo's shout announces their arrival that her eyes pop open. She deeply inhales before she lifts Fu along with herself up into a stand, pulling the towel along with a hand as she tries to orient herself. And with at foot grasping the edge of the jeep, she slowly steps off, eyes alert.
	"I will watch the six." she decides.

Li Bong waits til the others are out of the jeep, then with his own bag and Lana's, he will leap out. However, the usually-drunk monk gets his pant sleeve caught on part of the jeep, and it tugs at him - threatening his balance.
With a resounding -CRASH-, he goes down, over the side of the vehicle, and dumps his load of luggage.
Both bags drop, the bamboo stick rolls away, and his canvas carry-all tears. Three bananas topple free and about a hundred loose green grapes scatter in the sand.

Li Bong hangs there, upside down for a moment.
Then the fabric tears and his legs fall to the ground. - THUD -
	"Be verrrry careful of that last step!" He calls out, lacking any sense of shame.

	<<...well, getting off jeeps isn't one of them.>> Xiu murmurs in mandarin.

	Mo watches as foodstuffs go scattering after LB tumbles! He quickly tries to remember if this was auspicious, or not. Either way? It was a sign! "Thanks for the reminder, Li Bong." He looks around. "Before we proceed, does anyone want jossed up? I will have the fates smile upon your efforts!" He sets his luopan aside and begins warming up his hands to execute some mudras.

Now covered in sand and even more disheveled than usual, Li Bong looks at his lost fruit. The bananas... will be ok. Only the little dragon would eat them without peeling. Well, maybe Demon Troll Xui would also. He shrugs, and gathers them to fold up inside what's left of his canvas bag. He'll tie the torn edges into a knot, and then look down at the grapes.
	"Fate has never smiled much in my direction, but... Li Bong will take whatever blessing is offered." He plucks a few of the grapes, muttering in Cantonese. << Clearly, I need all the help I can get today. >>

Arumi doesn't know what joss is, but she just brings her hands to her goggles, and starts twisting at them. Looking around, trying to pick up any readings, she bites her lip. "I think my heart's going from that drive and I can't settle down enough to get a good reading. I hope your... compass is accurate."

	Xiu actually does not exactly remember what 'Joss' was. She remembers MoGui mentioning it..but she is not sure. Not that she will *say* that, but she remembers it being a good thing.
	Thus she turns and strides towards the energetic self-proclaimed 'sidekick'. "I will take it." she remarks, before she also gestures sideways at Lana. "And her questions are quite valid."


Lana moves over to where the staff ends up and, being all Kung Fu, she flicks it up on her foot and then kicks it back over towards Li Bong. <<Remind me to never let you watch my child.>> she mutters and then looks over towards MoGui and rolls her shoulders as she unclasps her belt, letting it roll out into the jade toothed chain whip that it is and places it over her shoulders. The whip emits an eerie soft howling sound as she stands there with those mirror shades still resting over her eyes.

	Like Dr. Strange from Marvel Comics, Mo's hands move around in arcane gestures. Anyone with awareness will understand he is WORKING MAGIC! Those with Entropy will sense Mo literally tugging at the entropic threads that surround us, forcing them into alignment with his hands.

As the blessing washes over Li Bong, the monk smiles and gives MoGui a bow. And, from his pockets of his loose clothing, he slips a pair of round-rimmed cliche glasses over his eyes. And squints. They really do -not- help him see better, but he'll scan across the horizon, grimacing a bit.

While doing this, Li Bong also leans to pick up Lana's bag again, throwing it over his shoulder.

	Mo looks to Arumi, and Lana. The sidekick looks a little winded - pulling FATE into harmonious alignment was hard work. "Doc, Ms. Lana? Do y'all want jossed?"

Lana offers a nod of her head as she glances over towards Mo. "As long as it wont do anything internally."

The drunken monk's perceptions fan out around then, but that's all he does. Not even a mention to the others, but he's watching their back. And their sides. And technically, their fronts, tops and even bottoms. He's got them covered.
	"You lead, Mister MoGui, and we shall follow."

Arumi tilts her hand to Mo, after she sighs. Leaving the goggles on fully in the dusty environment, she smiles. "Thanks, I'm good. Just let me try again."

Taking a deep breath, settling herself down, she tries again. "Wait, does everyone see those... PINE TREES over there? There's definitely some odd readings over there. PK meter is off the charts, as Dr. Spengler would say. Let's go there. But be careful. Trees can cover up a lot."

	Mo falls into step behind Doc Arumi, pulling out his luopan. "That way, yes. To the final resting place of Hishep-Ratep." To Lana, he offers, "You can help yourself to anything we find but the orb - that, Mr. Fu needs to take into safekeeping." And then the youth blazes a path forward at Arumi's side, counting on Xiu to keep them safe from ambush from behind, and on LB to make them aware of any unseen threats!

Li Bong trudges along, using his bamboo pole as a walking stick. His glasses reflect the sunlight and the desert terrain, and his smile... remains as if some hidden joke keeps him amused.

	Xiu herself keeps her eyes ever so often on their six as promised, as her strange legs carry her along quite silently - even if the gait is a bit exotic overall with the changed anatomy. Still..it looks fluid on her. Downright natural in the strangest of ways.

Lana glances at MoGui and nods her head slowly. "You know how demanding the Dragon can be, but fine. I'll let him decide if it's enough or not." she smiles softly. "My friend." she keeps the chain whip over her shoulders as she wanders along, keeping an eye on Li Bong, Xiu and Arumi.
When the pine trees are pointed out she looks that way and tilts her head slightly, trying to discern if there is any spiritual activity there or not.

	Strangely enough? Though the Wall is low in the wilderness, no spirits seem to be lingering nearby.

Arumi is trying to look at Xiu as little as possible. She doesn't know what's going on, doesn't want to be rude, and well, lacks the study of biological sciences to understand what's going on. So, she just walks ahead, re-gripping her weapon, holding her goggles, keeping a close eye ahead on what's going on, and what they're approaching. "Thomas, I'm not here for any reward. I'm here to help you."

	"I would not turn down a reward." Says Li Bong, with a shrug. Tap tap tap. His bamboo stick taps on the sand as they walk. Maybe it's sending out sonar waves that he's reading. Or maybe he just isn't much of a hiker.

	Mo gives Arumi a smile and nods, "Totes, but you an' I, we're Society." As if that should explain it all. He then goes quiet, looking over a shoulder to Xiu and Mr. Fu every now and again.

	THE FINAL RESTING PLACE
A small semi-wooded clearing lies not one mile from where they left the jeep behind. It consists of an oval pool surrounded by seven large trees, three on each side and one near the end of the pool. Near the opposite end stands the eroded statue of an ancient Persian warlord. There are faint echoes of obfuscatory magic here, probably explaining how it was able to remain hidden away from prying eyes for so long - a mix of mental nudging to avert the eyes and avoid the area, along with actual physical distortion of light and sound around the perimeter. But? The last vestiges of such magics has mostly faded away.

	"Keep your eyes on that stone warrior. In my experience... they are usually the first defense to come to life." Says Li Bong. Maybe he's done a few grave robberies in his past. Maybe he just watched pulp action movies in his youth.

	As they enter the wooded area, Xiu begins to move a bit faster. Not sticking to the actual path they are making, she quietly moves between the trees, staying low - even moving on all sixes at times at a fast pace as she appears and disappears from normal view. She is used to these kinds of surroundings. And should the others enter the clearing..she stays between the trees, and begins to circle the area.
	The mentioning of the stone warrior by Li though? Ohh...bad actual memories.

	Mo peers down at his luopan as they enter the semi-wooded clearing. "This is the spot," he says softly, before looking up to survey the scene.

Arumi taps at her weapon. "Powering up. Just in case. Hopefully I don't have to fire this thing. It's highly experimental." she explains. "Ideally we can just grab it and go. We've got the jeep in case it's an Indiana Jones rolling rock situation." She sticks close to MoGui, not quote back to back, but definitely side to side. "So where do we think it is? In the pool? In the statue? Check the eyes for removable orbs."

	Rolling Indiana Jones rocks. Xiu gets her second bad flashback and she casts an almost stern expression towards Mo. Sadly, or luckily, nobody sees it.

	Mo looks back down at the golden compass in his hand. "We gotta get closer to the pool, I think." He looks up and squints. "Is - is that something IN the pool?"

Lana nods her head slowly as she stands there by Li Bong. <<How correct you are.>> she studies the warriors of stone for a moment and then steps up closer to be beside MoGui and Arumi. "Just to be clear Lady Hanada, I am not here for bounty, I'm here to help a friend, but my employer demands things." she offers, idly placing her free hand over her stomach once more as she moves over to the pool to study it better.

	"I would not turn down a bounty." Says Li Bong, with a shrug. He also looks toward the statue, again. He's got a baaad feeling.

	"I would not turn down a bounty." Says Li Bong, with a shrug. He also looks toward the statue, again. He's got a baaad feeling.

	Mo nods to Arumi, "The Captain used to say the same thing about his Omni-Gun." A small sad sigh slips past Mo's lips at the reminiscence but then he does his best to re-focus. As Lana moves to the pool, Mo makes his way after her. "Let's all try and keep close."

	THE POOL
You see a pool up ahead: 35′ × 15′, 4′ deep, lined with cracked white marble. A bloodstained altar rises in the middle of the pool.

	That altar? That gets Xiu's attention though. The witch changes directions and finally moves away from the trees, quietly rising as she approaches the pool and the strange - if grisly - setup. She does not step into the water though, circling the pool to gaze at the altar from all sides.

	"Not so fast, Mistress Lana. Demon Troll Xui, please... slow your roll, as they say." Li Bong cautions.
	"Things are never as they seem."

	Those with Lore: Mage would be able to piece together MORE or LESS (depending on your successes on your roll) the following about the altar:
The altar is a ritual focus for blood magic: slaying an animal into the pool during the full moon causes any who bathe in the blood to contract a temporary form of lycanthropy that enables shape-shifting into the form of the sacrificed animal.

Li Bong will share what he learned (5 succs!) and then ask.
	"Is tonight a full moon, by chance?"

Li Bong's glance flickers to the little tiny dragon mascot, but then quickly back to the fountain. Nope. No wandering ideas there!

	"Keeping distance.." Xiu says as she slowly continues to prowl around the pool, eyeing the water, then the altar again. Her tail flicks, a couple of times. "Xiu." she murmurs. It's not very audible as she continues to move silently. The questions though - the quite valid question - has her narrow her eyes...before she suddenly turns around and moves between the trees again, prowling in a circle around the clearing. Predators prefer ambushes. And that would be the spot.
Arumi scrunches her face and blinks at that explanation. "Eww," she whines. "That's really gross. Is that what the orb does, Thomas? I mean... if Mr. Fu needs it, he needs it. But. Eww."

	Mo shakes his head, "No. We're not blood magicians." A pause as his brow furrows, "But more importantly? Neither was Hishep-Ratep. Someone or something else has been here."

	Mr. Fu stirs from where he was accompanying Xiu. "That's not Ahrimanic magic, no. We should be careful, and make haste." Then the dragon flies on over towards the statue.

Li Bong grimaces. He watches Xui move to attack mode, then covers the dragon as it flies to the statue. He does not, however, move toward either pool or stone warrior.
	"Good poets imitate. Great ones steal. Why would magical places be any different, Master MoGui?"

	THE STATUE
The statue: White marble, 10’ tall with 10’ base, 5’ wide. It looks to weigh several tens of tons. The statue holds a large jewel likely worth thousands. “Here lies Hishep-Ratep I” is engraved on the base.

"There are dark things indeed that would practice blood magic" Lana mutters as she stands there by the main group and grits her teeth. The hand over her stomach tightens as she still has not relaxed or gone into combat mode. She takes the moment to to survey the scene proper, watching what Xiu does and keeps her special powers at bay so far.

	"What do the Spirits say in this garden, Mistress Lana? Perhaps now is the time to ask them?" Li Bong whispers to the witch. "I fear... trouble is coming."

	Xiu - ironically probably one of those there blood magic practitioners - continues her prowl. This time slower, silently. Very much trying to turn any potential creature sneaking up on them into prey itself. Only occasionally can her motions be spotted between the dry plantlife, the primal witch moving on all sixes once more.

Arumi gets up on her toes, looking at the statue. She circles it, catching it from a few angles. "Look at that jewel in the statue. Gorgeous. To get that done that perfectly would take serious lab work. No way that's just ordinary gem cutting." before getting back to MoGui. Completely oblivious as she admires the gem.

	Mo eyes the luopan in his hand again. The needle appears to be pointing straight at the statue.

Li Bong frowns, watching Arumi.
	"Uh... Science Lady Doctor... you may not want to touch that. But.." He tilts his head. "Behind it, there is a ... depression in the earth."

Lana shifts the whip over her shoulders as it keeps emitting that soft eerier howl and she curls her lips into a soft smile as she tilts her head slightly. "Depression?" she glances at Li Bong. "It carries the trademarks of a trap door, hidden beneath that statue." she motions with the hand that rested on her stomach to the loose each around near the statue. "Rid that, and we may be able to get down there."

Li Bong shrugs and spreads his hands.
	"Yes, Mistress. There are stairs there." He squints. "The Tomb is beneath it. Did anyone bring a shovel?"

	Mo does his best to restrain a mischievous smile, "Or...we could just blast it?" Still, he pulls a tool of the Indiana Jones trade from his bag, tossing a folding shovel towards LB. "Life comes at you fast."

	Fortunately, the soil at the base of the statue is loose and not tightly packed. As if someone had been down there and then back up, and covered their tracks?

Arumi goes wide-eyed when warned of a depression, a trap door. "Oh, oh no. Well. I'm not very good at, um, digging and stuff. And I don't have a core prepared for that for my weapon. I should build one..."

Li Bong grabs the shovel without even looking. Thump. Right into his palm. The benefits of a full-360 degree awareness. He nods.
	"Digging it is. If one of you ladies will watch to make sure the Statue does not grab me... I will have this cleared by... the full moon's rise tonight."

	By then, Xiu quietly makes her way from the trees back to the group. Nothing seems to be hiding out in the foliage - and things seem to be taking an interesting turn.
	The strange witch rises as she approaches, catching the last words being exchanged - and arches an eyebrow as she looks at where glances and hands are indicating the ground.
	A grunt leaves her..and without a word she moves to the spot and begins to dig, barehanded. But hey, it's four hands! And a lot of strength behind them, it seems.

	Mo? He is also not afraid to get his hands dirty. Nor is Mr. Fu. Both make their way to the hidden stairs and will help unearth it with their hands and paws if need be.
Li Bong smiles, looking to the others helping him dig.

	Between all the hands and the shovel on deck, the staircase will soon be cleared! The staircase? It leads down to a door!

Li Bong looks over to Arumi.
	"While I am sure that Demon Troll Xiu can see in the dark, perhaps you have a flashlight on that fancy gun of yours?"

	The door - it appears to be heavy stone slab. No apparent markings or access point to open it. WILL THE SCOOBIES BE THWARTED BY A DOOR?

Arumi shakes her head and snickers. "No flashlight in the rifle. But I have one in my puch here." Her hand touches the fine milled lightsaber hilt... the moves past it to a pouch, popping it open, she pulls out a small flashlight, and clicks it on. It's really bright. She aims it at the ceiling, to illuminate the whole chamber.

	This time around...Xiu decides to go first. Certainly not alone, but first, for some reason. It might be that darkness. It might be her trying to just play protection. But she waits for the others to get ready, before she begins to descend.
	Sadly, the great danger is..a door. She softly inhales, looking it over. "..there must be a simple way to open it." she murmurs and turns a bit, glancing up towards the others along the stairs. "I'd rather we not force our way in. That has...bad consequences."

	"Perhaps... if any of you understand the passage of time, we can learn how it was last opened?" Suggests Li Bong, staying at the top of the stairs.

	Mo closes his eyes, and takes a slow, steadying breath - focusing his chi. When he exhales, and his eyes open? They spark with the power of electric yang chi, as does ... his fist? Little gold arcs of electric yang chi arc and spiral around his entire body, in fact!

	Mr. Fu hovers in the air, then will look back over a shoulder at Thomas, and smile. "Steady, Thomas. We'll break the barrier as a last resort. Li Bong and Xiu speak wisdom in this case."

Li Bong whispers. "Booby trap. Be very careful."

Lana isn't digging, she remains at some distance watching the stone warriors and keeping that hand caressing her stomach as she stands guard.

	Xiu quietly raises eyebrows towards Li..and a subtle smirk moves her lips. "That is actually an excellent idea. I do sometimes ask the Goddess for images of the past." she says, as one of her hands reaches for one of the pouches at her side. "But it will take a few mo-" Mo. Mo!
	"Mo." the witch says, her eyes flicking towards the daredevil. "Patience." She crouches down and retrieves a small tiny bowl from the pouch. Earthen, burnt and shaped soil. And she pulls its lid off, held in place by a wrapped around, black cord of hair. Her own, probably. Fingers retrieve a sticky, not really appetizing looking substance..and she closes her eyes as she extends a dark, pointy tongue and smears it on. It pulls back into her mouth and she just crouches there, eyes closed.

	Mo was about to charge down the staircase and unleash a might iai while smashing the stone slap of a door down with his chi enhanced glowing electric LEVINBOLT fist! But then Mr. Fu, and Xiu put the kibosh on it! A small nod from the young man, "Ok, ok, ok, got it. Hold off on the Seven Thunders Strike." A sigh as he tries to draw the lightning back into hismelf.

	"Maybe... you turn that lightning into a will-o-wisp of light for our path?" Li Bong says to MoGui. "Can you tame that beast to guide us, rather than destroy?"

	The strange witch creature continues to crouch there. There are occasional, audible inhales coming from her, as if in pain. And those eyes under the closed lits are definitely moving, along with that slightly irregular breathing. Her tail, resting along the wall she is crouching in front of, occasionally twitches.
	"A..a cult.." she says, as those eyes flick, unseen. "Blade..hands...the door opens.." she hisses in a slightly more...raspy tone, her body tilting a bit as if in a sway..but then catches itself again. The breathing speeds up a bit.
	And then her eyes open. Not suddenly, but slowly, blinking a couple of times. "The door needs blood. I think they cut their hands and touched the door."

	Mo wrinkles his nose, "Doc H has gotta saberlight, but I guess a back-up wouldn't hurt?" A smile as he tries to control the lightning to turn his fist into an additional lamplight.

	Mo keeps close to Doc Arumi, loathe to leave her unguarded given the uncertainty of this place.

Li Bong is still at the top of the stairs, senses covering the area around them. And keeping a physical eye on the statue. Whatever's happening down the pit... the girls can handle. He's got his bamboo stick and 3 bananas!

Arumi is happily holding her flashlight to help out, regardless of whether Mo uses his powers to add more light or not. She's good at lighting work areas, and knows how to do it effectively.

"I can offer the blood, it's the same as last time." Lana mutters as she looks at those gathered and arches an eyebrow.

Li Bong is still at the top of the stairs, senses covering the area around them. And keeping a physical eye on the statue. Whatever's happening down the pit... the girls can handle. He's got his bamboo stick and 3 bananas!


	Xiu rises again, rubbing her throat and blinking still while she ties that hair around the tiny clay pot again. She puts it back into the pouch..and then looks over at Lana.
	One of her hands moves forward, palms up, while another rises...and extends a claw. "May I, miss Chung?"

	The gem atop the statue gleams in the light of dusk. The sounds of the wild are nowhere to be heard. Likewise, no spirits, neither umbral nor dead, linger near this place.

Lana is quite perplexed over the lack of spirits or wraiths as she stands there with her whip, still keeping a hand protectively over her stomach as she awaits to see what will transpire.

Lana then accepts Xiu's offered hand and follows where it leads

Li Bong stays up at the top of the stairs. He's squishy.

	Xiu takes the hand - and looking at Lana, she lifts the claw, before she runs it over the other's palm. Quickly enough. Just shallow enough to draw blood, not deep enough to do real damage. She has practice with this. That done she lightly smiles for a moment, before her expression turns more serious, she turns and places Lana's hand onto the door, with hers guiding it gently.
	..and nothing happens. Xiu frowns. "I was...I am sure, I saw it.." she growls, a bit annoyed, before she pulls her hand away, and slashes it with her claw - way less careful than with Lana, before she snacks it onto the stone as the red runs down.

Arumi shrugs as she shines her light more directly at the door now, trying to see if extra direct light adds clarity. "So if we don't break the door open, if we don't let Thomas do that, what then?"

	Blood coats the stone slab of a door! Then more blood! And finally EVEN MORE blood. Just when it seems like nothing's gonna happen, the door sinks down into the ground and unleashes a tsunami of water upon the staircase!

Li Bong's eyes go wide. He did NOT expect that. Out here in the desert?
	"The flood!" And he gets a few splashes, as drops of water splatter his ragged clothes.

Arumi squeaks and starts getting out of the way of the water. She doesn't have far to go, but she manages to trip her way up the stairs, comically flailing about before landing on her side at the top.

	Mo's eyes widen as the blood stained door suddenly vanishes and unleashes a wall of water on the party! A breath is taken, as the youth roots himself to the earth and holds his breath. He'll mystically maintain his footing as the water rushes around and over him.

Lana did offers to use her blood as sacrifice and doesn't complain as Xiu cuts her hand, the one thing that does seem to annoy her is the fact that Xiu then acts in anger upon her own body and mutters softly to the other woman then the shit hits the fan and she almost somersaults away to get to safety, cradling her stomach as she does soo.

Li Bong squats down in front of the very wet Arumi. ANd... offers her a banana.
	"Are you ok, Science Doctor Lady?"

Lana mutters to Xiu, "... safe"

	Xiu's slanted eyes widen - before she jumps back in a series of quick steps, rows of sharp, points teeth bared, her body tense. Without taking her eyes off the now open entrance, she leans a bit towards Lana, murmuring...

Xiu mutters to Lana, "You... you... my magicks."

Arumi isn't wet, but falling up stairs and landing on the ground actually does hurt a bit. Groaning, she lifts her head, looks up to Li Bong. "I... I'm fine. I think." She runs her hands over herself, checking her belt, finding where she dropped her flashlight. "Ugh... what was that?"

	Mo is /soaked/ - the wave of water, however, did little to short circuit the mystical lightning held in his body, like some sort of human battery. The competing scents of ozone and fresh water fill the air. "Finally! Olly olly oxen -" Mo's signature catchphrase leaves his lips as he charges into the suddenly revealed darkness, fist held aloft, glowing golden with electric chi.

	"Booby trap. I warned of it." Li Bong says, and pockets his umbrella. But he does give the Japanese girl a hand up if she wants.

	From the interior chamber, Mo's voice echoes out. "Holy smoke! You guys HAVETA see this!!!"
Lana is wet, yet unharmed and managed to remain on her feet as she looks at Xiu and nods her head slowly. She then looks at Mo and makes her way over, all thoughts of personal safety seemingly forgotten.

	FINAL ENCOUNTER: THE TOMB!
The Tomb: Now that the door had been opened, there’s only 1′ of water on the floor. The walls are cracked in several places and roots burrow in from all sides. There are six stone coffins here, three on each side of the room, the containers cracked and with roots burrowing within. At the far end of the room is a large statue of a sphinx that is illuminated by an eerie glow from below.

	Xiu is not giving the water on her skin a second thought. Bonus: No wet clothes. No, her eyes are on Mo as he suddenly *rushes* inside, and she curses under her breath in mandarin. It's not nice.
	A glance back, eyes on Arumi and Li. Then Lana. Before she looks forward and moves into the room behind - way more careful than Mo. Her whole stance and stride being one of being ready to maul something.

The usually drunken monk, Li Bong, is also somewhat of a street detective. Or at least, he would be on the streets. Here, in the tomb of a dead wizard, his Senses pervade the darkness as he sees the chamber through his cheap, street-market round-rimmed glasses.

He comes down last, presumably after Arumi stands and also heads down, bringing up the rear.
	"Be careful, please."

	Its deathly silent in the tomb! And the only light is Mo's chi fist and Doc H's flashlight ... and something at the base of the sphinx statue on the far end of the room.

Arumi does take a moment to climb up, taking help from Li Bong if he offers. Groaning, dusting herself off, checking if her poor costume got ripped. But no, it's just her body that took the hit, and she's limping slightly as she overcomes the bump to her hip, and makes her way down. CArefully dipping her boots into the water before proceeding. Flashlight quickly taken apart, put back in place, put back together, and turned back on.

	Xiu's slitted pupils widen in the low light, as she continues to take slow steps around. She does not speak - she listens, as she takes glances around in the tomb, and towards the sphinx. A subtle smile moves her lips there despite everything, at the half human, half other-animal sight. Maybe she can relate?

Li Bong whispers, "Whoa... they move."

Lana is quite fine relying on the light from the flash light and Mo's lightning hands as she descends into the tomb. "Anyone else hear that?" she offers as she looks around for well basically taking in the sights.
Down here that eerie whining howl from her whip may get unnerving as it's sound bounces of the walls.

Li Bong moves away from the stairwell entrance, and away from the girls, toward one of the sides. The Right.
His bamboo stick, he holds like a flame thrower.
	"Spirit Witch... what has entered the tombs? Are these ghosts, or demons?"

Arumi slips the flashlight into her goggle strap, and starts spinning the lenses again, calibrating just right... and despite her owie, bingo. "Wow. Everything in this room is special. Special materials. Careful construction. This is an engineered tomb. A well engineered one designed to last a long time. These coffins are made with care, and the room. And... two energy readings. Middle coffin on the left, and beneath that sphinx, maybe inside it... Unclear what kind of readings."

	Xiu's head whips around, her eyes finding those..coffins. The eyes widen, pupils almost round as she quietly, slowly steps forward, claws extending fully from her..well, 'upper' arms. A quick glance gets cast towards the others, then towards the coffins. On Arumi's cue, she moves towards the middle one on the left..

"There is someone inside the coffins." Lana states as she looks at Arumi and then eyes Li Bong and shakes her head. "No idea sweet Monk, I have not sensed anything yet and I try not to levy the council to heavily unless needed."

Li Bong chuckles and shrugs, as he too approaches that coffin.
	"A lost tomb full of coffins that make noise, beneath a stone warrior and a priceless gem. Some might argue now is -exactly- when one might levy the council."

	The coffin lids are fastened on tight. STR checks vs 7 to pry them open.

	Now that everyone is down here? The muffled murmuring from within the coffins grows stronger. More desperate.

	Mo looks around, using his fist to help illuminate the space - "But ... but where is the orb?!"

	"Maybe -not- open that..." Li Bong grimaces, grips adjusting on his bamboo pole as he prepares for yet another surprise.

	Suddenly? All but ONE of the coffin have their lids come blasting off and up into the air!

	In all but /one/ of the coffins lies a live man, babbling quietly, eyes wide open. Oak roots burrow into their heads and shoulders. They wear old robes and necklaces of gold and silver. The roots would make removal of necklaces awkward. The murmur of the men in robes is barely a whisper and can’t be understood without leaning closer.

	And then, there is suddenly a loud sound of stone scraping stone - as Xiu grabs one of the stone lids with all four hands, her predatory body tenses, muscles harden..and she grunts as she lifts the slab and pushes it aside, the noise of the action filling the room. Her eyes though? on what's inside, her tail flicking behind her - and then she jumps back as the other lids suddenly come flying off! She hisses, loudly, barely having gotten a glimpse in.

	The second (middle) coffin on the left reveals something different once Xiu pries the heavy lid off- an otherworldly/extradimensional denizen dressed all in grey.

	The men in robes (they look human enough) just sit up, murmuring softly. Eyes unfocused, there's almost a pleading quality to the sound of their voices.

Arumi takes a step back, trying to slip past Li Bong if she can, getting out of the way of these bursts and these... whoever they are. She lifts her weapon, pointing it in front of her.

Li Bong steps forward cautiously, after a quick glance into the two coffins on either side of him. He -was- moving toward the Hero Sarcophagi, but now he pauses, the bamboo stick up as if to parry whatever's coming. Despite the rest of his silliness, he seems to know how to use a staff. He makes no effort to stop Arumi from rushing forward -she's an adult and she has a laser gun.
	"They ask for mercy..."

	Mo blinks, as coffin lids go flying, and Xiu takes care of the final unopened one. "I can't make out what they're saying, just a sec," says Mo as he draws in for a closer listen...fist held at the ready.

"Wise words Li Bong, but I." Lana pauses for a moment as she squeezes her hand over her stomach and smiles. "We are in the presence of others that can bear the burden better than I can right now." she then eyes Xiu as she decides to open one of the coffins. <<That woman, she drives me crazy.>> she mutters softly, for only those nearby to hear and flicks her whip to be ready this time. "Now would be the time..to tax them." she mutters.

MoGui mutters to himself, "... stumble... fleeing..."
You mutter to yourself, "You’ll stumble while fleeing a dire enemy"

	Mo steps back. "That was weird, it didn't make any sense."

	Xiu's eyes flick around - from Li to Mo to the backing off arumi to Lana and back to the coffins. "Which is it?" she asks. "Are they begging for mercy? Are they talking about fleeing?" She actually has her eyes on those roots that are pried into the coffins, then the roots covering those sitting up men, eyes narrowed. The primal witch silent.

	Mo looks to Xiu, "He just said - "You’ll stumble while fleeing a dire enemy. But that's like just another day of the week that ends in "Y" for me.”

	"He told me that my food will be poisoned." Li Bong whispers. "Which is pretty accurate. The pesticides they use here in the West..." He sneers. "Nasty stuff."

Lana glances at Li Bong, then Mo and arches an eyebrow. "Huh." she grunts as she keeps the whip's tip resting on the floor by her feet.

	"Perhaps... these vines bring prophecy...." Li Bong shifts his bamboo stick to one hand, and the other pulls a sheath of acupuncture needles from the folds of his clothing.
	"Unless anyone objects, I will study how Chi flows through them?"

	Xiu blinks..and shakes her head, frowning at the quite different accounts, before she turns and steps towards the coffins. Or rather, the one she opened, gazing down into it. "This one...is different." she remarks, slowly looking him over, her body..tense. "Not human. Not babbling."

	The grey extradim/spirit in the middle coffin is bound. Gagged. He makes sounds, pleading sounds.

	Mo blinks, then goes to check the sphinx statue. "Hey Doc, what do you make of this over here?"
Lana bows her head towards the coffin, such kind words are rare and one should heed them. She flicks her whip idly and glances around.

	THE SPHINX
In front of the Sphinx, is a 20' deep pit entirely underwater. An eldritch glow originates in the murky water - the great orb of Hishep-Ratep is barely visible at the bottom! The pit is riddled with roots of the great oak that lattices its way throughout the room.

Arumi pokes her head back in. "Is it safe to come back in?" She then carefully starts creeping forward, shining her flashlight at the statue... and at the pit in front of it. "Whoa," she says on seeing that. "Anyone know how to swim?" as she shines her light right into the pit of water.

Li Bong looks at the vines on the 5 bodies. Then as the vines trail across the room. THen down into the pit.
	"Huh." He smiles, and then reaches out with one of his needles, 'ting' as he places it in the shoulder of one of hte sitting hosts.

	Xiu raises a foot, the taloned..thing grasping the edge of the coffin she is in front of. A moment later she is crouching on that same edge, leans forward until all four hands grasp the stone...and she leans down, black braids spilling all over the sides of the casing. Is she just *staring* at the thing in the coffin? It is..hard to tell. But a moment later she rises back up, and using those claws of hers she begins to remove the creature's bonds.
Xiu pages: She literally whispered to him 'If you hurt me, I will eat you alive'. And she sounded damn serious.

	The GreyMan screams, "Get me out of here! Hurry! We don't have much time! You have to take me to the surface!"

With the needle still in the goon, Li Bong stares at the 'creature'.
	"Just as I suspected. The Orb has mutated the tree roots. They've grown throughout the chamber, and anima..." He stops, looking over as the GreyMan jumps alive.
	<< Holy Shit.>>

	Mr. Fu? He had remained up atop, perched atop the statue and the gem, keeping watch for sneak attacks from behind.

	Mo blinks at the commotion, "Gotta get the orb!!!" And then he dives into the pool in front of the sphinx!
The does it, something will transpire one way or another and Lana makes her way over towards the GreyMan and nods her head slowly and offers assistance to get up and out of here. Who knows he may decompose once sunlight hits but she has to know.

	Anyone looking into the pit that Mo just dived into will see:
At the bottom of the pit are the orb, with the remains of Hishep-Ratep clutching it, and a great tangle of roots!

	"The Roots... the tree." Li Bong hisses as MoGui leaps into the pool. "They won't let the Orb go."

	The GreyMan is bound tight, hands and feet. Now that the gag was lifted by Xiu, he's almost wid with fear. "The sphinx! The sphinx!"

Arumi gets very nervous. She's watching MoGui dive into the water. Shining her light to illuminate his travel. "You better hurry... get up and out of that water," she murmurs to the underwater man. Then looking back. "What about the sphinx? Should I shoot it?"

	Mo is struggling at the bottom of the watery pit to free the orb from the grasp of the corpse and the roots! Suddenly, the roots seem to be coming alive, moving, gathering into a central mass.

Li Bong growls, and then pulls more of the needles from his little pouch. And... stabs a whole bunch of them into the vines and the guy they are animating. Ting - ting - ting.

	"If you've got ideas, better thing fast."

	Xiu narrows her eyes at the words, and turns her head for a momet as Lana approaches - before she, with swift motions, undoes the creature's bindings and lets lana offer her hand to it. Her own eyes? Are on the sphinx now, wide, watching. Before she realizes time passing. "What's Mo doing?"

Lana tries her best to assist in getting the GreyMan free, tugging and using her fingers to undo the bonds on the man in question. Ohh he knows what will come and she looks at the sphinx while she continues to try and free him.

	Mo?! Oh, you know, Mo. He's been grabbed by the roots at the bottom of the watery pit of despair and is on his way to drowning as he fights to get the orb free! Bubbles of lost oxygen work their way up to the surface of the watery pit!

Li Bong, tapping at the acupuncture needles, hits a nerve and disrupts the Chi of the root that's wrapped around the coffin-goons, that trails across the floor, and into the pool of water. The same vines that hold MoGui. As he does this, he hums, and there's a ripple of magic at work.

	The GreyMan clings to Lana, screaming hysterically, "Get! Me! Out! To the surface! HURRY!"

	As the Root Thing is attacked by magick? IT LASHES OUT! Mo is sent flying up and out of the pool, a hand shaped root pressed against the sidekick's chest, and slamming him up into the ceiling!!! But? At least he's not drowning anymore, right?!

Lana nods her head slowly as she helps the GreyMan out of the coffin, as he clings to her she keeps one hand to shield her stomach and then gives him a push towards the stairs up. "Go on.." she hisses as Mo is sent flying. She takes a few steps towards the exit as if to guide the man.

	Mo grunts as he's slammed into the ceiling by the long "arm" of the Root Thing. But he has the orb in his hand! "I got it!" he yells, between coughing up brackish water. "I GOT THE ORB!"

	Xiu's eyes are still on the sphinx. She can feel magic going on - Li's magic - but she is torn between just lunging for the pool and keeping the sphinxy still in her sights.
	And then Mo goes flying. "Arumi! Roooot!" she calls out, pointing at the long thing keeping mo against the ceiling, as she rushes forward to *catch* him should Arumi succeed.

Li Bong, the drunken monk with the acupuncture needles, ignores the coffee he's been attacking, and spots MoGui. With a shout in Cantonese, he runs toward MoGui and the Telescoping vine.
	"I have MoGui... watch the Sphinx!"

Arumi locks and loads. Lifting her weapon, she charges the core. "Hado Ho Hassha. San.. Ni.. Ichi...." she mutters, before pulling the trigger. A barrage of plasma shots fires from the weapon on her hand, shooting right up to where the root is. The roots holding MoGui, and those around it, are OBLITERATED, incinerated into ash in a bright flash. "Yatta!" she calls out.

As the blazing blast races across the room toward the Vine, Li Bong shouts his Ki shout, and -leaps- into the air, spinning like those amazing Wu Shu movies. He twists, flips, and tackles the falling MoGui!

On the other side of the bubbling, hissing pool, The Drunken Monk and MoGui BOTH stick the landing, gracefully and perfectly!

Lana is pushing the GreyMan up the stairs and then turns around to make sure that the others are somewhat safe.

	Mo lets out a yelp! He had been close to an energy weapon blast before, but not THIS close. "AIEEEEEEEE!" He shuts his eyes as he falls, only to open them and find that he's safely on the ground? With Li Bong? "Thanks," he murmurs as he gathers his bearings.

	But after Arumi obliterated the root? The aforementioned Sphinx that Xiu kept in her sights? It is NOW that it crumbles into the pool - its mass growing quickly waterlogged as it sinks into the now bubbling water and becomes ... ABSORBED INTO THE MASS OF THE ROOT THING!?! The Root Thing makes a horrible sound as it emerges from the pool. PLANTS? THEY SHOULDN'T BE ABLE TO SCREAM!

	"Now... is when we run." Says Li Bong to MoGui. "After you, oh great employer."

	Screaming plants. Screaming. Plants. Xiu makes a mental note - even as she, too, goes for flight rather than fight now, moving back towards the entrance with her eyes right towards that pool. "Mo, Li! Go! Go go go go!" she says, waving them towards the stairs up.

	The ceiling? Its not doing so well. Things begin to fall apart VERY quickly now that the Root Thing has awoken and is no longer holding the room in place. Roots lash out randomly, shooting out from the walls and floor.

	Mo gives Li Bong a nod, and then he sparks up his fist with golden electric yang chi. "I'll lead the way. Keep close behind!"

	Xiu doesn't have to tell Mo twice! "OLLY OLLY OXEN FREEEEEEEEEE!" Mo charges forward, blazing a path with his chi enhanced fists and his signature battlecry!

Lana notices everyone coming running towards her, so she turns and heads up the stairs aswell following the GreyMan up into the sun.

Arumi follows behind Mo, flexing her hand inside her arm cannon, and amazed she dind't get burned. What she doesn't know is that the EM burst was enough that her hair... um. Is practically glowing white right now.

Li Bong follows the boss, but slides to a stop -right- by the coffin he was at earlier. Pluck. Pluck. Pluck. He gingerly (but quickly) grabs his acupuncture needles.
	"One second, please!"

	Only after Mo and Li rush past her, does Xiu follow after them. She was watching the six earlier, and she is watching it again now, listening for the proximity of the screams behind them more than looking back as she rushes along, all four arms clawing at the sides of the tunnel to accelerate her on - if necessary giving those in front of her a boost that way.

Li Bong takes off, running for his life.

	The GreyMan looks behind him as he escapes the deathtrap, ushered forward by Lana! Then he laughs, "Good luck! And thanks for the assist!" Mr. Fu spies the man in grey from his perch atop the statue and blinks, "What?! You?! Where'd you come from?!" Then there'll be a tremendous flash of light as /the Wall/ is breached! And the GreyMan vanishes from sight.

	Mr. Fu flies down to greet the group as the tomb crumbles shut behind them. "We'll deal with him later. Thomas! Doctor! Xiu! Li Bong! Are you ok? The orb - did you secure the orb?! Is it safe?"

Lana grits her teeth as she stands there, cradling her stomach and latches the whip around her waist once more. She breaths softly as she takes note of who is present and just how badly hurt MoGui might be.

	Xiu lunges out last, rrrrrright behind Mo and Li. As she lands on her feet she whirls around in a crouch, arms spread, eyeing the hole in the ground. She holds still. Silent. And waits for a long moment, the tail behind her bent, tense. It will take a good long moment more until she finally exhales.

	Mo is bashed up - not serious enough of damage was done that his joss could intervene and spare him. Interesting wrinkle in his ability. He's roughed up, but he'll live!

Once up on the sand, out of the tomb, Li Bong collapses onto his back to regain his breath. He'd tucked two of the Acupuncture needles between his teeth, the other got -stuck- into his hand. He smirks, flat down and facing the sky.
	"Any landing you can walk away from, yes?"

	Mo laughs and nods, joining the monk lying on teh earth. "That's what the Captain used to say!" Then he looks up and holds the orb out to Fu. "We got it."

Arumi is utterly exhausted from intense concentration. Panting, limping slightly, white haired, she drags herself back to the jeep, and climbs in to slump back, dropping her plasma rifle at her feet. She just.. needs... to sit. Eyes closing as she slowly catches her breath.

Li Bong gets his breath stable and sits up. He plucks the needle from where it say quivering in the back of his hand, and tucks it into his hair like a pin. Then, he offers MoGui a banana, as he finally stands.

	Mr. Fu carefully takes the orb in his little paws --- and then swallows it whole?! I GUESS that was one way to keep it safe? Dragons - you never could tell what they were about! "We should go. The cultists that had been utilizing the magickal resonance here might return."

	Mo was famished after the adventure, so he takes the banana greedily, then offers half to Xiu. "Thanks for comin' with."

	Finally, Xiu leans back, panting. The tension leaves her. And then, she drops from her crouch into a kneel. She does not look hurt!
	But then strange sounds rise. Wet sounds. Cracking sounds. Loud sounds. The sounds of a body changing very physically, and in a raw manner as light twitches move her.
	Those extra limbs she has? Shrinking, as is the tail, the horns. Spots reddening under her skin and vanishing, while the changing bones make her lightly shake.
	It sounds nasty and painful. But a moment later...all that's kneeling there is a naped, ripped AF little asian amazon with interesting skin painting skills and way, way too long braids. She exhales, loudly, as the magick leaves her and looks up at Mo before she grins and plucks up the banana.

Lana watches Li Bong and nods her head slightly in a respecful fashion, then Arumi gets a nod of her head, finaly Mo gets one. Then there is a little pause and she moves over on hurried feet towards Xiu and wraps her arms around her, giving her a hug.

Li Bong walks back to the jeep with the others, tilting his head as he looks at Arumi.
	"Congratulations, Science Lady Doctor. Your curse of fate... has made you look even -more- like cartoon character." He gives her a bow. Of respect.
	"Nice shootin' back there."

	Xiu slowly rises, returning Lana's hug tightly for a moment..before she quietly leans back and and smiles once more, shaking some of her braids aside with a move of her head. "Come. Let's go." she says.

	Mo clambers to his feet, "I'll drive us back to hq. We should let the Doc rest. But Mr. Fu is right, we gotta amscray before w eget bushwhacked by local cultists or whatever."

===> Log ended by user <===> 4/8/2020, 5:32:05 PM <===