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Nevill

Arcane
Joined
Jun 6, 2009
Messages
11,211
Shadorwun: Hong Kong
Quick, give her some military training and institute her as our chief tactician!
 

treave

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Patron
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Jul 6, 2008
Messages
11,370
Codex 2012
Even if she didn't increase her INT at all, Yao does have a special skill that increases the herbalism cap.
 

Nevill

Arcane
Joined
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Messages
11,211
Shadorwun: Hong Kong
Dammint, no general Cao'er leading religious fanatics in a glorious battle for Muad Jing... :(
 

Nevill

Arcane
Joined
Jun 6, 2009
Messages
11,211
Shadorwun: Hong Kong
So, uh... about Madam Nie.

Can we ask Qilin and/or Tianxie where she got the Wudu secrets from? Or do they want to leave the matter alone?

It looks like if it is to be left alone, it could potentially implicate the Wudu Cult in a lot of deeds they didn't commit, which might greatly harm them. Indeed, if Yao's words are made public, it would mark the cult as a target for the orthodox world, however powerful they might be. And judging by the Songfeng incident, this may have been going on for a while. How did the Qingcheng absorb the lesser schools in such a short amount of time, anyway?

Also, how long it was since Qilin's mother left her father for Nie Wuxung?

I understand that this matter may be too personal for them, but something has to be done about it.

Is there anything that can be done to lift the suspicion from them if Madam Nie's involvement with the coup becomes public? Personally, I find it strange that a person that high in the hierarchy can fall under suspicion that easily.
 

treave

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Jul 6, 2008
Messages
11,370
Codex 2012
Servitude

“Is this high enough?”

“Higher,” calls out the maid. You raise the red banner up, standing on your tiptoes on the ladder. Careful not to give away any hints of your martial ability, you clumsily fold the banner underneath a tile, pinning it there. The ladder wobbles, and she cries out in concern. You do not fall. Regaining your balance, you climb back down the ladder and wipe your hands on your tunic. “You really are a regular monkey, aren’t you?” Her friends and co-workers have come to watch too, joining the maid in the courtyard. You soon find yourself surrounded by maids and servant girls, applauding your act of chivalry in helping with the banner. “You were wonderful! Did you have any training before?” asks one of them.

“Of course not!” You laugh depreciatingly. “If I were only a tenth as powerful as Master Mao in qinggong, I would have flown up in a single leap and tied the banner in the blink of an eye! Alas, I am only a humble servant, here on the good graces of the great Qingcheng Sect. But that reminds me, once I saw a certain swordsman in the woods...” The girls titter and giggle as you continue entertaining them with made-up anecdotes of flashy martial artists and maidens in need of rescue.

After a while, you subtly steer the conversation towards Song Lingshu’s situation. “Speaking of warrior maidens, I have heard that the wife-to-be of Master Mao is a skilled pugilist, powerful in her own right and as beautiful as a fairy. I have not seen her since I came to Qingcheng Sect and I must admit that I am curious.”

“Oh, the mistress is pretty indeed! She is not a fragile beauty, but strong and confident!” gushes one of the girls. “Tradition dictates that she cannot meet the groom until the day of the wedding, so it’s no wonder you have not seen her around in the main building. She is currently in the east building.” Another of the girls adds excitedly, “She is receiving her friends there too! When I made my rounds in the east building, I saw the Twin Flowers of Huashan!” As the conversation turns from the Twin Flowers into how good-looking Bai Jiutian and Zhang Manxing are, you make a mental note to find a way into the east building.

It should not be hard; the entire sect is busy with activity as they prepare for the upcoming wedding, and you have found that as long as you appeared to be doing work, they did not monitor your location. It looks like Mao Sanjiao is not expecting any trouble, but then again, anyone who would make trouble here, at a gathering of a who’s who in the pugilistic world, would have to be insane.

“After all I have heard, Miss Song must be very excited about the upcoming marriage,” you add. The girls laugh awkwardly – they seem to think differently. You put on a face of surprise. “What is wrong? Am I off the mark?”

“Well…” begins one of the girls, torn between the duty to keep a secret and the urge to gossip it – though not for long – “To be honest, although Master Mao is a noble and good leader, the mistress does not seem too enthusiastic.”

“I would not blame her,” whispers another girl, nodding her head. “He is a bit old. But as the mistress says, this is for the good of the sect.”

Out of the corner of your eye, you spot Mao Sanjiao himself, laughing and talking with a few other men as they walk towards the study. “Master Mao is here,” you hiss. The girls clam up in fright, afraid that they have been caught gossiping. “He hasn’t heard us. Go, go!” They scamper off, scattering quickly back to their chores in the practiced way servants do. You wait for a while, and then take the chance to creep closer towards Mao’s study. Grabbing a nearby broom, you begin sweeping the corridor nonchalantly.

The laughter from within is loud; they certainly are not bothering to lower their voice. If that is the case, they cannot blame you for overhearing anything. You take a furtive peek through the blinds, craning your head back just a little. You cannot see everything from this angle, but it will have to do.

“You are a lucky man, Master Mao, a beautiful young wife at your age! The rest of us have to make do with old shrews.” Liu Ye of Kunlun is there, in a jovial mood like all the others. So is Su Cheng of Taishan. There is also a middle-aged man dressed in less refined cloth, more rags than clothes – this must be the representative sent by the Beggars’ Sect. Mao Sanjiao shakes his head and hands, grinning widely. “Oh, no, no, this is not luck, but a blessing from Heaven. It is something I could only have dreamed of! Who would have thought that the little girl I looked after from a young age would grow up to be such a stunning beauty?” He begins laughing, and the others join in.

“We are not expecting any trouble, are we?” says the beggar suddenly. “Of course not,” says Mao. “Master You, there will be no issue. No one would dare! Not with so many powerful pugilists present. We have the masters of Taishan and Kunlun here. We have you, the most powerful Beggars’ Sect leader! Even Young Master Bai and Young Master Zhang, the pride of the Eight Sects, are here to share my joy. Who would dare?”

You resist the urge to jump into the room and answer his question.

“Indeed, Master Mao! I would say that even the infamous disciple of Zhang Jue would not dare approach such an event!” You hear Zhang Manxing’s voice, boastful and confident.

“Oh, yes, Young Master Zhang. I have heard that you encountered him recently?” asks Su Cheng of Kunlun.

Zhang seems to leap at the chance to tell his story. “Yes, in the barbaric Tibetan city of Dukezong. I was there to win the hand of their princess at the request of the Emperor himself, but that Xu Jing played dirty and knocked me out of the competition. Afterwards, he killed the prince, kidnapped the princess and went on a rampage all over the city, slaughtering the Tibetan barbarians. After a furious chase, I tracked him down and stopped him before he forced himself on the princess and took her chastity, but the slimy little snake managed to slip away using her as a distraction. I would have beaten him otherwise! Thankfully, I managed to rescue the princess, saving her for our Emperor.”

“Well, if he appears here then I shall be relying on you to defeat him, my dear shidi,” says a cultured voice cheerfully. Bai Jiutian. “Y-yes, of course, shixiong! Leave it to me,” replies Zhang Manxing with a trace of hesitation.

You crane your head a bit further, trying to get a better view of the room. This time, you see Bai Jiutian – despite the cheerful tone in his voice, he does not look very enthused to be here. It looks like the Beggar Chief, You, has also picked up on it. “What is the matter, Young Master Bai?” he asks. “You do not look too well.” Bai Jiutian shakes his head, putting on an apologetic smile. “I am sorry. I am just tired from the long trip.” He leans forward, as if weary, but suddenly stops.

You get the feeling that he has sensed your presence – his eyes dart towards the window that you are besides, though from that angle he would not be able to spot you clearly. You edge further away from the window.

“What is it?” asks Mao Sanjiao.

“No, it is nothing,” replies Bai Jiutian politely. “Come, we are here for your joyous occasion, Master Mao. Please do not concern yourself with me.”

Making a few more quiet sweeps, you leave the broom behind and walk off.

***

“I see,” Qilin ponders your report, her legs swinging as she sits on the kitchen table. The both of you have managed to find an empty period in the shifts to meet up, Qilin having cleared one of the kitchens temporarily with some clever talking. “Well, I managed to meet up with Cao’er and Yifang just now. Yifang has spoken with Song Lingshu.”

“What did they say?” you ask.

“It matches what you found. She is doing it for the good of the Qingcheng Sect, holding duty over her personal wishes. A bit silly, if you ask me,” sniffs Qilin. “If I were her, I would have run.”

“I take it that she has no desire to escape?”

“Not exactly, but it seems that she sees no other way that will not tarnish the legacy her father has left behind. It seems like this ‘Uncle’ Mao has been telling her a lot of things to influence her decision.”

“I suppose he would,” you say quietly.

“What should we do? Do we convince Miss Song to flee?” asks Qilin. “If we don’t know what we want to do here, we can’t proceed.”

***

Your main goal here in Qingcheng is to:

A. Bring down Mao Sanjiao by any means necessary; murder, if need be. There is little time left before the wedding. You will have to dispose of him and return Song Lingshu to her rightful position as head of the sect. Mao Sanjiao is too dangerous to be left in charge of Qingcheng any longer than he already has.

B. Convince Song Lingshu not to go ahead with the wedding. If she refuses publicly, or runs away on or before the wedding day, that is sufficient to cast aspersions on Mao’s leadership. He will lose face with the Qingcheng disciples and his peers in the Eight Sects, making it easier for Song Lingshu to take back the sect at a later time once she is ready.

C. Disrupt the entire wedding to make a mockery of Qingcheng and the Eight Sects. It will be a fine wedding day when the esteemed and noble orthodox pugilists are turning their expensive pants brown.

***

“That’s settled then. I’ll make the preparations needed,” nods Qilin.

“There’s still some time before the day ends,” you say. “I’ll try to talk to Song Lingshu one more time myself.”

“Do you know where her chambers are?”

“No problem,” you grin. “I’m good at getting servant girls to spill the beans.”

“I certainly hope that’s the only thing they spilled,” smiles Qilin. “Don’t play around too much.” Hopping off the table, she gives you a wave and exits the kitchen. You decide to leave too – you should visit Song Lingshu at least once. She is in the east building, as you recall.

Turning the corner, you see Bai Jiutian standing in your way, staring at you.

“Yes, young master?” you ask, a nervous tremor in your voice.

“Your disguise may trick the other masters, but it will not fool my eyes.”

“Disguise? What are you talking about-“

His jab comes swiftly, aimed at your face. You block it on sheer instinct before you have time to think, raising your arm and knocking his wrist aside. Bai Jiutian smiles in a satisfied manner. “I can only think of one person who would have the guts to sneak into this place. It has been a long time, Xu Jing.”

“Who? Xu Jing? Oh, Young Master Bai, surely you can’t be mistaking me for that dashing and handsome young rogue?” you simper.

“Enough games, Xu Jing. Why are you here?” he snaps. “Are you planning to disrupt the wedding?”

“Why would anyone want to do that? After all, aren’t Master Mao and Mistress Song so deeply in love?”

He frowns slightly, an irritated look coming across his face. “I would not pretend to know the depths of your strange and depraved mind, Man Tiger Pig. You do not need a reason to ruin the wedding, do you?”

“If they weren’t in love, it would be a good reason, but I am not a Man Tiger Pig or whatever it is you think I am, Young Master Bai.”

“Again with the denials... and they have reason to marry even if they are not in love. This is my last warning. Come clean to your purpose here, or face my wrath.”

***

A. You tell Bai Jiutian the truth about her purpose here and attempt to convince him to help you. From the looks of it, there is a small possibility he might not be fully onboard with this wedding. Mao Sanjiao gaining power also means that he could become a rival to Huashan and Nie Wuxing.

B. You lie to Bai Jiutian and hide your purpose here, claiming only to be curious about the wedding and that you have no mischief planned. You cannot trust him; he might just go to Mao Sanjiao and expose you, ruining everything.

C. If it’s a fight he wants, it’s a fight he gets. It’s been a long time coming.

***

Baltika9 - B A
Nevill - B A
skaraher - B A
Anabanana - B A
Rex Feral - B A
Fangshi - B>A A>B
Kipeci - B>A A
Elfberserker - B A
Azira - B A
Akkudakku - B A
ScubaV - B A
Absinthe - B A
Kashmir Slippers - B A
XenomorphII - B A
Zero Credibility - B A
Esquilax - B A
Grimgravy - B A
RealDDc - A C
Kz3r0 - C C
Jester - C C
Tribute - B C>A
Smashing Axe - A>C>B B>A
Lambchop19 - C B
ERYFKRAD - C B
profreshinal - B A

***

Final tally:

Motive:

A - 2
B - 19
C - 4

Talk:

A - 18
B - 3
C - 4
 
Last edited:

treave

Arcane
Patron
Joined
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Messages
11,370
Codex 2012
So, uh... about Madam Nie.

Can we ask Qilin and/or Tianxie where she got the Wudu secrets from? Or do they want to leave the matter alone?

It looks like if it is to be left alone, it could potentially implicate the Wudu Cult in a lot of deeds they didn't commit, which might greatly harm them. Indeed, if Yao's words are made public, it would mark the cult as a target for the orthodox world, however powerful they might be. And judging by the Songfeng incident, this may have been going on for a while. How did the Qingcheng absorb the lesser schools in such a short amount of time, anyway?

Also, how long it was since Qilin's mother left her father for Nie Wuxung?

I understand that this matter may be too personal for them, but something has to be done about it.

Is there anything that can be done to lift the suspicion from them if Madam Nie's involvement with the coup becomes public? Personally, I find it strange that a person that high in the hierarchy can fall under suspicion that easily.

Chi Tianxie would be the one who knows the most about this. Qilin wouldn't know that much, and what little she does know she pieced together herself anyway. If you want to find out more from the Wudu side, you will have to approach him.

And he's high in the hierarchy, but the Wudu Cult are very strict about their laws and Tulu Huodu is not known for being one to let any feelings of kinship get in the way of running the Cult the way it should be run. Poisons are their lifesblood. Anyone caught leaking the secrets would be marked for death, even if it was the organization's leader himself. They are not above the law. In fact, they should know better, being leaders and all, and thus are not above suspicion or exempt from punishment.

Besides, you would have to spin a convincing theory about Mdm Nie being some super-stealthy spy, or track down any other possible contact she has with the Wudu Cult, if you want to deflect suspicion from Chi Tianxie. It's the most straightforward explanation so you have to work to disprove it.

This is all a little too premature, when it's time for it you'll have the opportunity to investigate further.
 
Last edited:

Baltika9

Arcane
Joined
Jun 27, 2012
Messages
9,611
BJ isn't too happy about Song Lingshu getting married to Sanjiao. Honestly, I think this is the one time him and Jing can work together to a common purpose. Honestly, I don't want Sanjiao in charge, but Song Lingshu. However, an assassination under these circumstances won't work: we're already caught, BJ knows we're here and will place all the blame on us (unless we kill him too, of course). Going for BA.
 

Nevill

Arcane
Joined
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Messages
11,211
Shadorwun: Hong Kong
Well, there is a clear synergy between the choices. No way we can come clean with Bai with 1C, and I think he will find 1A hard to swallow, too.

The fact that he did not make his suspicions public and tracked us down here, first, suggests to me that he does not want to raise a ruckus and has an agenda of his own. And since I have suspected he has a relationship with Lingshu, I think I know what it is.

I'll tell him. My goal is to disrupt the wedding and make it easier for Lingshu to take the sect back. Maybe potentially marry her to someone better suited for that purpose, if she so desires. BA.

(unless we kill him too, of course)
That doesn't quite work, too. We can't kill him and keep our cover. If fact, I doubt we can kill him in the midst of this gathering. The fight will attract every sect master in a mile radius.
 
Last edited:

Baltika9

Arcane
Joined
Jun 27, 2012
Messages
9,611
Well, there is a clear synergy between the choices. No way we can come clean with Bai with 1C, and I think he will find 1A hard to swallow, too.
In before BJ is a total sociopath and is already planning Sanjiao's murder.
 

Anabanana

Augur
Joined
Jul 31, 2012
Messages
1,061
Same, BA. I want to grab Lingshu for our party and take her out to adventure on the jianghu for a bit before she settles down as head.

Also, I think Bai Jiutian likes Lingshu back too. How adorable. ;D
 

Rex Feral

Prophet
Joined
Jan 29, 2013
Messages
1,300
Such difficult decisions.

For the first choice:

I'd like to go A, since we finally get to kill somebody. treave can we do it in a legit way? Like challenging him to a duel to the death?

Then again if we go B we can add Song Linshu to our party, which would be very cool, toward our band of bros.

And C, I just can't pass up the opportunity to troll them

As for the second choice:

B seems like it would backfire on us horribly. BJ knows we're up to no good, if we don't come out clean he will surely alert the others of our presence.

Then again I've wanting to fight him for some time now...

Now let's think in synergy and how our choices would affect others.

For the first choice, killing Mao might get Song Linshu a bit pissed, but ruining her wedding will surely do. C is out, as much as I want to troll everybody we can't be indifferent to the very people we try to help and antagonise them. Besides, if we come clean, Bai Jiutan will expose us for sure.

While if we go B, not only might Song Linshu join us, but also BJ. Really it's the only choice I could see him supporting us.

That being said, I vote BA.

Besides, treave has been forcing this unlikely alliance for some time now.
 

Baltika9

Arcane
Joined
Jun 27, 2012
Messages
9,611
I dunno. Trusting BJ to not fuck us over horribly makes me nervous. We really have no understanding of his character and personality, only that he is a very different person in private compared to his upstanding public persona.
 

Fangshi

Arcane
Joined
Jan 9, 2014
Messages
1,997
Normally I would have no problem murdering the man. However I am not so sure how well it will work now that we have been found out. It might work if BJ is willing to let it happen but we can not guarantee that and it would be a huge gamble to tell him.

C does not seem to be of too much use. We troll a little but there does not seem to be much of a plan beyond that. So B I guess.

As for telling BJ well of the three options A seems the least dangerous. If we fight him then our cover is blown and we will draw every pugilist in the place down on us. As for lying to him well he already thinks we are up to no good, and he is fairly certain we are here to ruin the wedding. I doubt he will believe us if we lie and that will probably lead to a fight or we will have to withdraw.

So BA>AB and hope the (wo)man does not screw us over too badly.
 
Last edited:

Nevill

Arcane
Joined
Jun 6, 2009
Messages
11,211
Shadorwun: Hong Kong
I dunno. Trusting BJ to not fuck us over horribly makes me nervous.
Bro, he thinks the same thing. During Youxia adventures, he only waited for the moment when we show our true colors.

He will not believe that you are here for some innocuous reason. And since we've met him already, it is a bit too late not to trust him with this choice at least.

We'll see how it goes later.
 

Kipeci

Arcane
Joined
May 22, 2012
Messages
3,027
Location
Vicksburg
B>A A.

No choice to leave things be, I just hope we can minimize the coverage of Jing's presence here so 1C is right out.
 

Elfberserker

Liturgist
Joined
Oct 25, 2013
Messages
1,540
BA
I think this is only choice that has chance for BJ to not make our current situation anymore difficult.
 

Azira

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Nov 3, 2004
Messages
8,519
Location
Copenhagen, Denmark
Codex 2012
Welp. Yeah. OK.

BA

mr-t-in-the-role-of-ba-baracus-in-the-a-team.jpg
 

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