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Elfberserker

Liturgist
Joined
Oct 25, 2013
Messages
1,540
C for now.

Chamber seems to be the best place for Qilin recovery, even though I am bit worried about eating rats, limited water supply and the madman. On bright side the madman might be feasting on those dead secret police dudes and we might get a clue for some martial arts move.
 

Jester

Arbiter
Joined
Mar 24, 2013
Messages
1,493
And since an insane old prisoner was the one who scrawled it on the walls, I don't think the Artistic Skill requirement will be that high.
Blind is key word.
Jing is, thankfully, uninjured which means we can afford to risk meeting the Megadeth stage prop.
Golbez rather from my perspective.

Vote C

Hmm high temperature is usual way for organism to increase metabolism to fight infection, as long as it isnt to high is beneficial.
C seem like best conditions from all points of view and theoretical medical knowledge. Dry, with fresh rain water for healing and drinking, bit disgusting but valuable food source... problem is that its inhabited by certain Hulk like entity. Jing is in top shape and if the manual on wall is secret of madman we should have chance to defeat him. Especially after he had avalanched himself, i doubt he had remain unharmed after that. If he is hungry there are numerous corpses of SP here. Guess i am afraid if those rat are man eater, that would mean they most likely pray on criminals from bottomless pit.
 

Tribute

Arbiter
Joined
Jan 18, 2014
Messages
919
For the last two options the stat boosts have turned out to be the thing that would have been the most immediately helpful. I don't think treave dropping new kung fu in our laps here is a red herring.
 

ScubaV

Prophet
Joined
Feb 20, 2011
Messages
1,022
I'm surprised, I thought C would be the red-headed step child option, what with the boulder chains and scary madman threat and all. Still, I like it best and am willing to take the risk. I don't think a search party will be coming soon, perhaps later. And a high-moisture environment is not good for infection in the real world, so I assume it would be similar here. Of course, being the bandwagon choice makes me instantly skeptical, but alas... C
 

Fangshi

Arcane
Joined
Jan 9, 2014
Messages
1,997
Why not try diplomacy? What is the worst that could happen, right? :troll:

We could use a guide and the guy knows the tunnels well. Maybe we could help one another now that the Emperor is gone and he may have calmed down a little...

At any rate I am just too curious about this guy to vote anything but C.
 

Grimgravy

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Sep 12, 2013
Messages
3,469
Codex 2016 - The Age of Grimoire
I wonder how injured we would be had we not abandoned Cao'er. I don't like leaving her with that weasel. Ah well, best not to dwell on might have beens.

It seems unlikely that any help is coming, so A is out. I don't like the limited, and probably stagnant, water in C. We would probably need to make a trip for water before Qilin recovers. The fresh running water by the waterfall would definitely be healthier. The cavern is lit better too. Lots of moss to gather up if we decide to go exploring. C is tempting, but may be too easy a choice.

B
 

Baltika9

Arcane
Joined
Jun 27, 2012
Messages
9,611
You're missing out the part where the moisture and dampness around the waterfall is the worst possible place for Qilin, so that makes B tge worst option. Really, our best bet with a healthy Jing is to find a quick resolution to this. With the psycho's writings on the walls and his lair near us, C seems the most active.
 

Grimgravy

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Sep 12, 2013
Messages
3,469
Codex 2016 - The Age of Grimoire
I see your point, but don't want on the bandwagon this time. In before the "rainwater" turn out to be diluted megadeath prop piss. Or filled with some nasty bacteria. Or some nasty parasites.
 

Nevill

Arcane
Joined
Jun 6, 2009
Messages
11,211
Shadorwun: Hong Kong
Heh. If sunlight reaches the cavern, we can make a condom out of rat's entrails (or human ones, if rat's are too small), fill it with water from the waterfall, and use it as a lens to create fire.

Qilin should have the needles, beeing the master poisoner that she is, and either she can produce silk threads for sewing purposes once she wakes up, or we can do it ourselves.

That's assuming we can find an appropriate source of light to focus the beam.
 

Nevill

Arcane
Joined
Jun 6, 2009
Messages
11,211
Shadorwun: Hong Kong
There goes the plan. Hm, the torches are made of wood, maybe we can make fire just by applying friction without any fancy ideas. How did the torches end up on the wall, anyway? It's not like the blind man needed them. Was this cavern used for some other purpose? It might be important to find out what it was.

Meanwhile...
Xu Jing is already tsundere, though.
When will we get a peek at his dere-dere side?!
Towards Qilin... uh, maybe when things take a turn for the worse and shit hits the fan..
Would be about damn time.

Tally:
Azira C
Nevill C
Rex Feral C
asxetos C
Anabanana C
Kipeci C
Baltika9 C
Smashing Axe C
Tribute C
TOME C
Zero Credibility C
SirArvedeth C
XenomorphII C
RealDDc A
Elfberserker C
Jester C
MystiKnight B
ScubaV C
Fangshi C
Grimgravy B

A - 1
B - 2
C - 17
 
Last edited:

Jester

Arbiter
Joined
Mar 24, 2013
Messages
1,493
If there are torches its probably mean that there is some accessible way to top side, cos why would anyone leave torches to prisoners?
 

Nevill

Arcane
Joined
Jun 6, 2009
Messages
11,211
Shadorwun: Hong Kong
I'm surprised, I thought C would be the red-headed step child option, what with the boulder chains and scary madman threat and all.
The possibility of losing Qilin to injuries or a desease is far scarier than any madman. The man can be fought, chased away, or reasoned with. Qilin's condition... not so much.

If there are torches its probably mean that there is some accessible way to top side, cos why would anyone leave torches to prisoners?
Well, obviously, since we considered hiding in the bottomless pit as a part of the plan. But what was the original purpose of this room? A prison cell? A torture chamber? A vault?
 

treave

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Jul 6, 2008
Messages
11,370
Codex 2012
The Writing on the Wall

The shadows in the chamber gradually grow lighter as you wait, bleary from the lack of sleep; looking up, you can see the barest hint of light far off in the distance. You can see your surroundings without needing the moss now, but even then the only light that filters down from the top is weak and sickly, giving you little to work with. There appears to be a mesh of some sort in the way, but at any rate it is far too high for you to reach even with your qinggong.

Qilin awakens around what you conjecture to be midday, though the chamber is gloomy enough that you cannot be certain. She gives you a faint smile but otherwise remains uncharacteristically silent, too weak to even speak. Her fever has receded partially – as you check her wounds for signs of infection, you are pleased to see that they seem to be healing well. Still, you are no miracle healer: if you are to estimate how long it would take for her to recover fully, you think it would take the better part of a week.

By the time the light starts to recede again, you are feeling peckish. You hear a slight growl of a churning tummy. It is not yours; you turn to look at Qilin, who seems to be slightly ashamed. “I don’t have any food with me, unfortunately,” you say. “We are going to need to eat, though.” If you weaken and waste away down here from lack of food, escape is going to become near impossible. Qilin would also need to eat to regain her strength. Luckily, you are no stranger to living in the wilderness – your time spent in the jungles of Maniac Island have taught you a thing or two about gourmet eating.

You had heard rats moving around throughout the night; they should begin to start up their activity again soon. Holding still, you focus your senses outwards, relying on your ears and nose rather than your eye.

It does not take long for you to pick up the characteristic squeaking and scuttling. You wait quietly for one rather brave and curious rat to venture closer to you.

The moment it sets its paw within your range, you pounce. Bursting forward, you pin down the rat with one hand, trapping it underneath your palm. You scoop up the struggling rat, ignoring its furious squeaks, and with your other hand you wring its neck swiftly. The rat falls limp immediately, its legs twitching in the air. Drawing your dagger, you set about butchering it for its meat. The taste is bloody and raw, and not half as good as the animals you could find on Maniac Island, but it would do.

Qilin looks at you with apprehensive eyes as you dangle a piece of rat flesh in front of her. She shakes her head weakly. It seems that the choice of diet aside, she is still too weak to chew, and the rat meat is too stringy to swallow whole either. It looks like you would have to find a safer way. “Look,” you say to Qilin reluctantly, scratching your head, “It’s not like I want to do this, alright? I’m just taking care of a patient, that’s all. Don’t struggle.”

You pop the piece of rat into your mouth and chew it thoroughly, making sure to break it down properly. Then, you swiftly cup Qilin’s chin with one hand, stretching her mouth open, and cover her lips with your own before she can push you away. She tries to protest wordlessly as you push the pre-chewed food into her mouth with your tongue. It would be easier for her to swallow the food that way. As you draw back, she involuntarily gulps down the rat meat. Her face has turned a bright red and her eyes are closed as she breathes heavily. “I know you’re not happy about it,” you say apologetically, “but I’m going to have to do this until you get strong enough to eat by yourself.” She does not respond, turning her head away from your sight.

You decide to turn your attention to the bloody writing on the walls to occupy your time. They are divided into four parts – the first three segments appear to detail martial arts techniques, while the last is a testament of some kind. The techniques are recorded in the form of poetry… it would take you some time to understand and interpret them properly.

***

You pick one of the first three segments to begin deciphering:

A. The segment that begins: “In my youth my feet were as fast as lightning and as strong as thunder; therein lay my hope to rival the eight mountains.”

B. The segment that begins: “In my prime I became the unsurpassed Conqueror’s Spear; with spear in hand I pierced the heavens and split the mountains.”

C. The segment that begins: “In my dotage the dark took me; the swooping claws of the bats in their hunt leave their mark both on me and my foes.”

***

The last segment was a relatively straightforward account. As you read it, your heart felt ever more grim. It told you of the identity of the one who was imprisoned in this chamber, and likely the one who had seemed to bear so much grudge against the Emperor.

If you had been in his position, you think that you would likely feel the same.

As if on cue, you hear chains rattling the moment you finish reading the tale. You turn to look at the entrance of the chamber. The powerful madman is crouching there, half-hidden in the darkness, a body slung over his shoulder. From the clothes you identify the dead man as one of Gao Ying’s agents. He throws the body to the ground – to your disgust, it appears to have been partially eaten.

“Cold… dead flesh. That does not taste too good anymore? I like to eat them hot, warm. Warm… is better,” mutters the old man, his face swivelling in Qilin’s direction. You move carefully but quickly, putting yourself in between her and the madman. His mutilated face distorts as he senses your movement. You shiver slightly as you remember the old man’s tale, and whose blood he wrote it in. Steadying your feet against the ground, you take a stance, keeping yourself on guard. You can tell that he is strong… perhaps stronger than your master, even.

As expected, he attacks without warning, leaping at you with a hungry moan. As he whips his misshapen limbs around, the chains fly towards you. You realize now that they were not attached to anything: just extremely long. You take a quick hop, landing on the chains as they pass by and leaping off them. When you hit the ground, however, the old man is already there – he seems to be able to read your movements almost perfectly despite not having any eyes. Hoping to throw him off guard, you shout out his name. “General Yang Xue!”

The old man does respond; he slows down for a second. That is enough for you.

Twisting around, you lash out at his head with a well-timed Chuzhan Fist, launched with all of your strength.

At least, at the very least, you could drive him back, and keep Qilin safe for a while longer.

Before your fist can reach him, his chains wrap around your arm, immobilizing it with ease a bare inch away from his noseless face. With a cackle, the old man grabs your head with one hand and slams you into the ground hard enough to make you see stars. His spindly fingers close around your throat as he draws his head close – the stink of his fetid breath causes you to gag. Then, he sinks his teeth into your shoulder. You grit your teeth to avoid shouting out from the pain.

As you try to push him off, you realize that something is changing within you – the old general is attempting to devour not just your flesh, but your internal strength; his fingers are pressed down where several of your important meridian points should be, in an attempt to open the floodgates. As your qi slowly ebbs away from your body, flowing into his, you find yourself able to manipulate your inner strength again…

***

A. If he is trying to absorb your inner strength, you will try to absorb his. You attempt to counteract the flow of qi to the extent that his begins to flow into yours: due to Yuanshi Hundun’s primordial nature, it should be possible for you to learn how to consume his energy in return and attempt to make it yours.

B. If he wants your inner strength, he can take it: you unleash all of the energy you can muster, pouring it into the old man in an attempt to overload his meridians. Your proficiency at extending qi outside of your body will be tested and possibly pushed beyond its limits.
 

Kipeci

Arcane
Joined
May 22, 2012
Messages
3,027
Location
Vicksburg
I think I'm going to go with AA. Speed and strength are our big thing, not spear shenanigans or... whatever the last one is supposed to imply. I could possibly go with 1C, I guess, it would fit the animal theme of our moves and possibly upgrade the mad claws of the beast king stuff.

The 2A is because we do not have a vast qi reserve (toad demon unlocked the potential for that, but we're not there yet!) and it's talking about a Yanshi Hundun-specific thing so it just feels safer, though this will probably hinder us from learning fireballs when we go off to poke around the fire cult.

I must say, it was adorable picturing Xu Jing as some sort of mother bird with an eye-patch in the rat feeding scene, treave. :)
 

asxetos

Augur
Joined
Feb 11, 2009
Messages
820
Location
Greece
Nice update.

Going for AB on this one, but might flop to AA since 2B seems more risky. Will consider again.
 

Smashing Axe

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Dec 29, 2011
Messages
2,835
Divinity: Original Sin
C A

Cool, vampirism time is it? Watch out Anthony Sommers.

I want to absorb this guy's power, it'd be cool and fun. I think C relates more to his current abilities, there's no way I'd vote for B which sounds like a spear technique. So there should be a nice synergy, whatever the ability is.

Also, if we're talking about the success of the second option, I think it's important to know more about this guy's qi technique. Which definitely sounds like C.
 

Smashing Axe

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Dec 29, 2011
Messages
2,835
Divinity: Original Sin
Also, if C is just another more mundane technique, just as A is, then, as someone else noted, it sounds like it could be used to advance our claw abilities, which I think is more important than learning yet another technique, when we've yet to master one. Don't spread ourselves too thin guys. A is a kicking technique and wouldn't expand on any of our current abilities, where C has the potential of better claw attacks. That or understanding of this guy's qi, which is even better, given that it's no guarantee we'll succeed with our own inner strength against this guy.
 

treave

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Jul 6, 2008
Messages
11,370
Codex 2012
Yeah, I had to cut it to get the update out in time, since I won't be able to update for the next few days and the voting has been rather one-sided. I'll combine it with the next update.
 

Nevill

Arcane
Joined
Jun 6, 2009
Messages
11,211
Shadorwun: Hong Kong
Yes, treave really wanted us to go through the tunnels. This meeting was worth plunging in the pitch black darkness headfirst. Well, maybe less so for Qilin.

So it seems that the Frathouse have surprised us yet again. It appears they had a deal of some kind to fake his death, though it is hard to say if it was with the General, or with the Emperor Gaosheng. It is also very possible that the treason that Yang Xue have committed could have been undertaken in collaboration with the currently deposed Emperor Taisheng. After all, the chain of events that lead Taisheng to power have started with the war, and General Yang places the blame on Li Ming, and not Gaosheng, for landing him here. It is more probable that Li Ming have betrayed him, somehow, than that he captured him three years after the war and have secretly ordered this inhuman torture just for the act of treason against the royalty, the very same crime Li Ming would commit a couple of years later.

But why would Li Ming do that? Why didn't he simply kill the man and wanted to make him suffer instead? How much did the Frathouse know about it?

The blood that he wrote on the wall did not belong to him. Was it his woman? Was it the kid?

For that matter, how did the Frathouse aquire Zhang Jue and why did they all give him special treatment that no other disciple received? No other man have trained under the tutelage of all of them.

And we know Zhang Jue is in his forties, and the war had ended forty yeards ago. Yeah, I know, I know, conspiracy theories. But I was suspicious about it ever since I read Yang Xue's story as the scholars told it.

As for the current choice, I'll go with the bestial/vampire motives. We have to start pulling closer towards that neiggong cap. CA.
 

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