Mo & Su Rendezvous (XianYin)

===> COH <===> 2/16/2020, 3:21:25 PM <===
Gam Saan Mine - Xianyin(#17151RM)

	Welcome to Xianyin. The Grey Maze. The Necropolis of the Lost. Essentially, a large, designed cemetery with elaborate tomb monuments. This city of the dead is modeled on the Qin capital Xianyang, divided into inner and outer cities. The circumference of the inner city is 2.5 km (1.55 miles) and the outer is 6.3 km (3.9 miles). The central tomb is located in the southwest of the inner city and faces east. The main tomb chamber housing the coffin and burial artifacts of the Lost Emperor is the core of the architectural complex of the mausoleum.

	A garrison of terracotta figures stands silent sentinel at the entrance to the outer city, locked in precise military formation according to rank and duty, in eternal vigil facing east. The figures vary in height according to their roles, with the tallest being the generals. The figures include warriors, chariots and horses.

	Standing similarly sentinel on the periphery of the inner city is a group of other terracotta non-military figures including officials, acrobats, strongmen, and musicians.

	In the very center and heart of the inner city is the Lost Emperor's tomb itself, surrounded by a lifeless garden maze where two large Imperial Guardian Lions, or Shishi (a traditional Chinese architectural ornament typically made of stone), stand watch at the mouth of the maze that leads to the tomb. The lions are presented in pairs, a manifestation of yin and yang, the female representing yin and the male yang. The male lion has its right front paw on a type of cloth ball carved with a geometric pattern. The female is essentially identical, but has a cub under the left paw, representing the cycle of life. Symbolically, the female lion protects those dwelling inside (the living soul within), while the male guards the structure (the external material elements).

	*** PLACES CONFIGURED ***
Contents:
Mr. Fu(#17798)

	*** Nightzone ***

Obvious Exits:
  Mine Shaft <MS>


	This is not precisely the kind of place Suzume frequents. A short conversation with Mo turns into a long drive into the middle of nowhere and here she is now, struggling to get down the mine. It might be easier if she left her messenger bag in her car, but she's stubborn and the bag is important. She's not a strong one, this little bird; the trek into the mine is perilous and she'll come out of it with more than a few cuts and scrapes.

	Mo just dives off the edge of the mine, plummeting headlong down into the pitch black darkness of the shaft leading down into the mine's secrets, a yell of fearless delight as the brash youth disappears from sight!

	The dhampyr /wills/ his joss into action, struggling with it a bit this evening. Still, will it he does, and fate conspires to have him land in the small pool of crystal clear water rather than go SPLAT onto the hard floor.

	She takes her time, picking her way along. She loses her footing from time to time, scuffing and scraping a bit. She's nearly at the bottom when she spots Mo streaking past her into the darkness. She stares, wide-eyed, until she hears the splash of water - as opposed to the dread //SPLAT// on stone. With a soft sigh of relief, Suzume resumes her slow crawl down until she hits the bottom as well. In Japanese, she calls softly, <<Are you alright, Mo-san?>>

	Mo clamber sn out of the small pool, perhaps no more than 5 feet in diameter, and shakes off, sending water spraying everywhere. A small grin. "That," he says. "Was a close one." A hand comes up to brush wet hair out of his face. "C'mon, we're not far from where I've set up a base camp." He breaks open a small flare to use as a light source.

	The watery spray makes her nose wrinkle in response and Suzume waits until the worst has passed before she pads along after him. "It sounds like it was," she agrees, sliding a look to the water. She adjusts the hang of her bag and checks it before continuing, following the light of his flare toward his base camp. Her mouth pulls slightly to a side, lower lip momentarily caught in her teeth. Whatever question is on her mind is swiftly swallowed and she falls silent.

	The path here, on the ground floor, such as it was, is considerably easier to travel. The only enemy is the darkness, and the darkness is held at bay the flare that Mo holds aloft in one hand. After perhaps a little over a quarter hour, the wall that signals the start of the outer city of Xianyin can be seen! There, just outside a crumbling section of wall - a makeshift camp, just as Mo had said.

	She does not try to think about how difficult it will be to get back //up// the mine. Suzume just appreciates the ease of travel now and takes a little bit of time to study their surroundings. When the outer city comes into view, along with that makeshift camp, her eyes go wide again. "Ah. I see," she breathes, squinting into the gloom as if that might help her pick out more details. Her fingers twitch a little, curving over the bag at her hip.

	Mo grins, "Relax, I already tripped the terracotta sentries along the outer city wall. The ones that still had magic left in them, anyway. I mean, there may be magic guardians yet left further into the heart of the city, but. We haven't got that far in yet."

	Its at this moment that Mr. Fu blinks into existence, perched on Mo's shoulder. His tongue flicks out and he tastes the air before giving Suzume /a look/. Then the little dragon clears his throat and nudges Mo with his tail.

	"Mm." Suzume hums thoughtfully, her expression sliding back to neutrality again. "Just how far are we going?" The neutrality is short-lived. Surprise pulls her up short when the dragon blips into being and- did he just give her //a look//? The young woman is taken aback, only to quickly bow to the small creature with an apology quick on her tongue.

	Mo 'oooofs' as the small dragon nudges him with his tail. A breath is taken, and then he slowly turns to face Suzume, so that Mr. Fu has a clear and easy view of the woman. "May I present to you, the august and most sagacious azure dragon of the lost city of Xianyin (and my guide to the rivers and lakes of the middle kingdom) - Feng Fan Fu, one of the last remaining of the Great Dragons." Its spoken slowly and officiously.

	At the end, Fu nods, and hops off of Mo's shoulder, floating over towards Suzume. "Well done, Thomas. For the abbreviated introduction, at any rate." His glowing white eyes look up to Suzume, "And you are?" Energy sparks off the dragon's blue-green scales, casting Suzume in an eerie light.

	"Ah, it is a great honor and blessing to make your acquaintance, Feng Fan Fu-sama." Suzume bows again once Mo turns and Mr. Fu is properly introduced. It's a deep and properly respectful bow, the young woman keeping her gaze slightly averted out of respect. "I am Hayashi Suzume. Of- of Prospect, now." The dragon's luminous glow makes her already pale skin take on a nearly sickly hue. She bows again and, when she straightens, she angles a look askance to Mo. "This is the Mr. Fu you spoke of, mm?" To the dragon again, an apologetic: "I am sorry that I have no jade to offer. If I had known, I would have brought something appropriate."

	Mr. Fu smiles. "That you still remember the old ways is enough. I have jade enough, for now at any rate." The dragon turns and makes his way over to perch on a piece of broken pottery by the base camp.

	Mo smiles, then looks to Su. "Mr. Fu, yeah, whom I spoke of earlier. I'm helping him prepare for the upcoming conflict between the Great Dragons of the Seven Capital Cities of Heaven."

	"Of course, Feng Fan Fu-sama." But, rest assured that her next visit will find her bringing some kind of offering. Suzume watches the dragon drift to his new perch, awe and respect lingering on her visage even after her attention turns back to Mo. Confusion creases her brow. "Conflict?" In this world? It's more likely than she thinks! She continues, concern threading through her voice. "What preparations are required?"

	Mo motions Suzume closer, so that he may speak in a hushed tone. Leaning in conspiratorially, he explains. "Mr. Fu isn't what he once was - Once, he was a thousand times larger, if no less grand. But the turning of the wheel of ages has diminished his stature, and his eldritch might. But there are artifacts - items that he imbued with a portion of his power in times past. If I can find them before the conflict? Recover them? Mr. Fu can take his power back in advance of the conflict." A sigh, "That's the theory, anyway."

	Dutifully, Suzume draws near, head tipped - birdlike - to one side as if to better catch the words as they are offered. She glances surreptitiously at the august creature, her mouth distorting slightly with the desire to both smile and frown at the same time. She wets her lips instead and slides a look back to Mo. She offers a shallow nod of understanding, along with a soft sound of acknowledgement. "I am not certain I can be of much help, Mo-san," she admits, slowly. She pauses briefly, then: "But I will help if I can."

	"Some help? Is better than NO help. I'm putting a concern together. Once upon a time? Mr. Fu had the Irregulars. That's when I met Captain Levinbolt and Orson and Fatima and the rest. The Captain gave me my nickname - MoGui. But. That was a long time ago. I'm the only one left. I mean, recently we were able to bring Fatima back from the clutches of Emma-o, and set Orson's soul free, but."

	Mr. Fu looks over, and clears his throat. "THOMAS! You're rambling again." The little dragon wiggles impatiently, and beckons the two over. "What my ward means to say, is that once upon a time, we had all the help that we needed. But that was a long time ago, and now we must start anew. I am grateful for your offer."

	"Ah, so it is." Suzume allows a small smile and a dip of her head. Dark eyes flit back to the dragon as he's mentioned, then back to Mo again. She worries at her lower lip in silence again, just listening. Absorbing. Details are filed away until, eventually, she nods again - this time with the strength of conviction. But, as she's about to respond, the dragon's summons is enough to still the words in her throat.
	She draws closer, but maintains a respectful distance - easy for conversation, but without imposing her presence. "Ah. Of course. What would you ask me to do to assist? I am not-" she considers for a moment, forehead furrowed just a little before she continues with a diplomatic: "-especially skilled in a great many things."

	Mr. Fu smiles wryly. "Neither is Thomas, but he's proven to be somewhat useful to keep around." He looks at the dhampyr with a hidden fondness, but a fondness nonetheless. Then the dragon looks back to Suzume. "The upcoming conflict - its form is yet occulted. The waters around its future are muddied. Thus, it is somewhat difficult to determine what sorts of skills might be needed."

	There's a soft noise for that, something akin to amusement. Suzume worries her lower lip, teeth biting a little harder than before until she releases it. "Perhaps the spirits know more," she muses, thoughtfully. "They speak in my dreams, sometimes. Perhaps- mm." Her fingers wrap around the strap of her bag, adjusting it slightly. "I Ching. Tarot. I can do something with all of these, perhaps." Hopeful - but not overly so. She knows well where she fits in the grand scheme of things.

	Mr. Fu perks up at Suzume's words. "See! Already you are proving useful! And we haven't known each other anywhere near as long as I've known Thomas!" The little dragon seems quite pleased with the discoveries about Suzume that have slowly revealed themselves.

	Mo watches the interaction with curiosity, then looks back over at the crumbling wall that signals the start of the outer city. "Xianyin holds more than a few of the artifacts we need to recover. There are also some in Hollow Earth, but to get there we need to recover Captain Levinbolt's zeppelin first. We'd love to have your help with any or even all of it, if you had the appetite."

	"Ah- potential for usefulness," Suzume clarifies with a soft, breathy kind of laugh. "My dreams are not always so useful and some are-" she trails there and gestures vaguely, dismissing the thought with a flutter of slender fingers. "But, we shall see, yes?"
	She looks back to Mo, then tracks his gaze to the crumbling wall, her expression settled into relative neutrality again. Still, something leaves her brow slightly furrowed. "I am..." she begins, then trails, a vague sound following. Her nose scrunches. "I am not sure. Not yet, Mo-san. You are still a stranger - and I am a creature of the city." It is a bit of a tease, though her inflection is poor. "Better to start small than to leap ahead of our own shadow, yes?"

	Mo arches an eyebrow, looking askance at Suzume as if she had suddenly sprouted two extra heads and was gibbering at him in Klingon. "All I /do/ is leap ahead of my own shadow," he retorts with a grin. "It's like, the one thing that I know beyond a doubt that I'm good - no, great - at." He leans back on his hands. "But I get your gist, yeah. Rivers and lakes, the world of jianghu, can be a little disorienting to navigate, especially at first."

	Mr. Fu growls, "What Thomas means to say is that of course, yes, people come to things in their own time. We would be happy to have you accompany us as you are interested or able." The little dragon hops to another piece of broken terracotta, and then flies on up to perch on a piece of crumbling wall.

	A small, crooked smile is tipped in Mo's direction at that; wry, but mild. "I would have never guessed, after your drop into the water," Suzume notes. She remains standing, of course, and moves a little, exploring the space in small pieces. "What do you know of this world? This Jianghu?" Important, of course; perhaps for the purposes of making sense of dreams or other things. Her wry smile softens some at Mr. Fu and she shakes her head a little. "I understand, yes. Perhaps I will feel more comfortable, more //able// in time."

	Mo smiles, and then starts up a small fire at the basecamp, to add some light and warmth to the immediate space. "The space /between/ the Seven Capital Cities of Heaven - it's what we refer to it as. Rivers and lakes - jianghu." Mo rummages in a sack, and pulls out some rations to munch on. "The Seven Capital Cities of Heaven only come together every so often. You can read their impending conjoining in the stars, if you know how to look. My mum, she was skilled in astrology - it's the very first art that I learned." A sad smile tugs at the corners of his mouth from some memory or other. "At any rate, even though the Seven Capital Cities of Heaven only come together rarely, the SPACE between them is omnipresent."

	The fire is watched warily. Eventually, Suzume crosses to where Mo is and sits, cross-legged, with her bag in her lap. "Ah," she breathes with a slight nod, leaning forward to fold her arms over the bag in her lap. "I am- that is something I am learning," she confides. "Astrology. Numerology. All of those things." Fingers flutter a bit. "I am not sure I know what it would look like, to see this- but I understand it." She lapses into silence, a shallow nod offered after a time while she digests his words and the implications. His sad smile, however, draws a responsive smile from her and she reaches over, aiming to touch his shoulder with a featherlight touch of fingers.

	Mo looks up when Suzume reaches out to touch him, and he gives the bone flower a gentle smile. "Long story - the super short sum up version is that my joss is tainted by the circumstances surrounding my conception and birth. Part of what I get outta serving Fu is hopefully a purification of my joss one I've ... balanced out a few things." That last part sounds like there's much more to it than the words themselves convey, but Mo seems content to leave it at that.

	The touch lingers just a little, with Suzume seeking - for just a few moments at least - to catch and hold Mo's gaze. "I understand," she replies in muted tones. "We would not be what we are without suffering; without... unfortunate circumstances." Her mouth flattens, threatens to twist into a frown. Her hand retreats and she faces the fire, hands folding and lacing together. She does not press further, seeming to trust in him; if he wishes to say more, she is open, but she is a patient soul. "I am certain," she says after a fashion, "that with Feng Fan Fu-sama's guidance, you will find this balance."

	Mo offers up a cheerful grin, "Yeah, totes. I mean, not just anyone can hope to strike a mortal blow at the lords of the thousand hells and come out on the other side of such an auspicious event. Especially if it's also a setting of scores." He pulls out a tin of what appears to be WWI era hard chocolate rations. "Look! We can make s'mores!" More rummaging, this time in a decidedly more modern looking messenger bag, and he produces a bag of marshmallows and graham crackers. "These are great. I learned how to make them from the Captain back in the day."

	It's a thought that makes Suzume shiver, though she tries hard to suppress it. "No. That does not seem likely," she replies, considerably more muted than he is about the idea. His rummaging around is a pleasant distraction and she observes the exposure of the tin and its contents with some confusion. That confusion compounds with the addition of yet more things and now it's her turn to look at him as if he has two heads. "What are you talking about?" She is not a stranger to the individual things, but the combination? Confusing and fascinating, all at once.

	"Watch!" Mo impales marshmallows on a stick, then sets them over the fire. After they toasted and caramelized, he slaps them on top of the chocolate before sandwiching everything together with the graham crackers. "These are my favorite," he says offering Suzume the first bite.

	The whole process is a peculiar one to someone who, from the looks of her, never ate much food in the first place. Still, Suzume is equal parts horrified and entranced, unable to look away from the marshmallow's toasted fate and its eventual crushing between chocolate and graham cracker. A protest forms briefly on her lips, but falls away with a sigh. "Thank you." A small bite - just enough to get a little taste of all three components - is taken before she offers it back to him with a bob of her head. She chews slowly, thoughtfully, and with a measure of uncertainty that speaks of someone who really doesn't know -how- to process what's happening on her tongue.

	Mo, on the other hand? The youth has an /appetite/. He'd make a helluva Hungry Ghost! (LOL!) He takes the s'mores back and happily digs in, muttering between bites, "The greatest, amirite? Captain Levinbolt had a lotta tricks but making s'mores was one of his best!"

	"It is very interesting." That's as far as Suzume is willing to go after she swallows and works her tongue in her mouth a bit. The jury's still out, but she seems to find some satisfaction in it, all the same. "I would hope that being Captain was his best, but-" she trails there, a soft laugh following. "If he is half as good at being Captain as he is at making those," she indicates the S'more with a lift of her chin, "then he is a very good man, I think."

	"Well, yeah, I mean, he was the Captain! And he could channel levinbolts via the aetheric matrix in his omni-gun, which was pretty cool, but. Also, maneuvering a zeppelin the way that he did, that was no mean feat." A sigh, "But that was a long time ago, back before everything fell apart." Mo licks at his lips, then wipes his hands off on his pants. "Now, me and Mr. Fu are the only ones left. I mean, the nagaraja managed to make it back from the yin realm, but. She wasn't interested in another go round with us."

	"I... see," she says in a tone that suggest she does not, in fact, see. Suzume processes all of it, but some words elicit a deepening of her already nigh-perpetual look of confusion. She opens her mouth, closes it, then tries again with, "Perhaps, sometime, you can tell me all of the tales of what came before. Of your Irregulars and this-" she tries to shape the word slowly, but isn't entirely comfortable with it: "-nagaraja?" Hopefully she got it right. "I am sorry - this is a lot of information to take in all at once."

	Mo nods, "For sure. Those were the days. And nights. We came together on the eve of the War to End All Wars, which while also being that? Was a proxy for a greater conflict taking place in the shadows." Mo's brow furrows. "So Mr. Fu brought us all together - the Captain, the Fenghuang, the Nagaraja, and me. With a few others." Mo sighs. "Anyway, Mr. Fu says -"

	And that's when the dragon blinks into view again, piping up. "We live life in one direction - forward. We honor the past, by forging the future," offers the tiny dragon. "A lesson young Thomas has yet to fully embrace."

	A smile rises in spite of herself and Suzume nods again, clearly struck by some of Mo's enthusiasm and nostalgia. It's a small smile, a ghost of a thing, but it's there all the same. "A noble band of heroes," she considers, then glances at her bag, only to dust something off of it. She briefly checks the contents and, satisfied, looks up again in time for Mr. Fu to make his appearance again. "Wise words, Fu-sama. But some of us still have to work with the ghosts of the past so they, too, can move forward into their future." She pushes to her feet and dusts herself off carefully, dark eyes glittering in the firelight.

	Fu blinks, and his white eyes crackle with eldritch energy. "Ghosts," he repeats. "Then you were put in our path with purpose." The dragon gestures to the necropolis. "Once we make our way to the inner city." His eyes narrow. "We may have need of someone with your talents. If you would be so kind to assist us in navigating the tomb of the lost?"

	"I have always heard spirits, Fu-sama." Suzume's shoulders rise and fall in a shallow shrug. "But I am not yet skilled in properly guiding them. I speak to them. I can see some. But-" she looks in the direction that the dragon gestures in, "-now, I have a proper direction. I know what must be asked." It's a brief, intense look into nowhere, only for her to blink. The intensity is gone and she glances back to Fu-sama. "But. I would be most honored to assist in navigating this tomb you speak of."

	Mo rises up and stretches out a bit. "That's the trick, yeah. We'll have to make our way through the outer city, then through the inner city too. Finally? We'll have to deal with the shisi. And then, only then, do we finally access the tomb." A grin as the dhampyr leans in towards Suzume. "What a story we'll have to tell, when all is said and done, yeah?"

	It's a daunting prospect and it shows on her face. But, Suzume musters a neutral expression in lieu of a brave one, and she nods, firmly, at the end of that description of just how they'll have to go. "Ah. So it is." But then Mo's leaning in and she blinks slowly at him, lips parted as if to say something - only to utter a soft laugh instead. She aims an elbow gently at his side. "Ah! Assuming we make it, of course. But, perhaps the stars that shined over my birth will shine their light on you and Fu-sama, mm? And anyone else you manage to find for this, yes?"

	Fu watches the interplay between the bone flower and the dhampyr with curiosity. "All in due time. We have a few more companions to gather if we wish to make it all the way to the center of the grey maze successfully." The little dragon turns and stares wistfully towards the dark beyond the outer city walls. "All in due time."

	"Mm. I will keep an ear out for any likely companions." Suzume's nose wrinkles some, but the moment passes. "And for anything else that may be of use, Fu-sama. I should get back soon," though she's definitely loath to depart, given both the lingering look to the area and the look of near dread as she looks back to the entrance that they descended from. It wouldn't take a psychic to realize that she's trying to puzzle her way back up and it's not pretty. "I have duties to tend to, still."

	Mo nods. "I'll be back," he says to Fu, giving the little dragon a bow before the dhampyr makes his way to Suzume's side. "C'mon, I'll help you make your way back out."

===> Log ended by user <===> 2/16/2020, 8:42:44 PM <===