Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Silver Moon" data-source="post: 463090" data-attributes="member: 8530">Chinese Take-outChapter 42, "This sounds like a really, really bad idea", September 21, 1018, 10:00 A.M.  The part-minotaur, who introduces himself as Cheveyo (which means "Spirit Warrior" in the Hopi language) reminds them that they have promised to help him find out about the others sold with his lot.   Serita says, “Yes, we did agree to that.”  Duegar, Mojo, Narg and Toshiro decide to join Serita and Cheveyo for this.   They decide to begin at the Cathedral to Huan-Ti, as its High Priest had purchased the female half-minotaur.  They travel through the city, getting many stares from passers by (probably due to either the nine-foot tall four-armed Cheveyo or the “kick me” sign that Mojo put on Narg’s back).They arrive at the Cathedral, a large building with a stone foundation, atop which an oak structure with red-tinted glass windows.   They enter, seeing that much of the interior is also red.  There are statues of Huan-Ti, riding a chariot pulled by pegasi.  A priest approaches them.  Toshiro says they wish to see the High Priest, to which the priest immediately answers “Yes, come with me.”   They are escorted to a back room, where the priest is seated in a large chair, with a table of opened books besides him.    Seated in a chair near him is the female half-minotaur.   She is still wearing her plate armor, but has removed the helmet.   The group also notices both the slave collar is no longer on her neck, and the High Priest is not wearing the collar control ring.   She is excited to see Cheveyo enter the room.   The High Priest looks to the party, and says in common “Good.  You got my message.”  Narg answers “Sure.”   The Priest gestures to the female half-minotaur, and says, “She was concerned about what became of her friends.”  “So was he,” says Serita, gesturing to the tall guy.   The priest says, “As you can see, she is safe here.   I had hoped to purchase the whole lot, but had limited funds, and was outbid on all but her.   She is no longer a slave, and has agreed to join my church as a member of the clergy.”   The High Priest goes on to say that the other three half-minotaurs are also safe.  The Emperor’s Treasurer purchased them, as he had need to new guards for his vault, as some past employees had been caught stealing  In addition to strength, the half-minotaurs will provide a physical presence to deter future thefts.  The High Priest had already made arrangements for him and the female to visit at the Emperor’s Estate each week, to observe religious services with the others.  The priest then asks the party what their plans are for their captive.  Serita and Mojo lead the conversation, explaining that many of their party follow the Twin Gods, and that was their interest in him.  They say that he is not a slave, and is free to make his own decisions.  The High Priest then invites him to live at the Cathedral.The tall guy declines, stating that it might not be safe for either of them.   He explains that, even through he is a follower and believer in the Twin Gods, he is still part-demon, and is harmed by things such as holy symbols and holy water.  That is why the Twin Gods markings on his armor are only painted on rather than being metal holy symbols.   He says that he has also inherited a quick temper from his demon heritage, which might make matters difficult between the High Priest and his followers.    Mojo appears concerned about this new information of demon powers and a quick temper.Cheveyo then goes on to tell something of his origin, how he and the others were raised by tribal humans (this world’s equivalent of Native Americans) who were followers of Hoturu, the Native American Wind and Weather God.    Their peaceful life there was disrupted when the Minotaur tribe that their mothers had escaped from found them.  For the safety of the tribe, the half-minotaurs then fled, and have been hunted down in the years since then.    “Hunted down, hold on just a minute there.” says Mojo, “You mean there’s a whole group of minotaurs chasing after you.”  “Oh no,” says the tall guy, which calms Mojo down until Cheveyo finishes with “They usually hire the local assassins guilds to do the hunting.  If you see a single minotaur with a group of assassins it’s probably them.”  “HOLD IT JUST ONE MINUTE THERE!” Mojo yells.“So what are your plans?” the High Priest interjects.  Cheveyo replies  “Well, we came to this land since it was very far from our home, to throw off those after us.  As Huan-Ti, the other deity of the Twin Gods, was worshipped here we thought it would be safe for us here.    While I can think of no safer place for her (gesturing to the female half-minotaur) than to be protected by a High Priest, and it sounds like the Vault of the Emperor’s Estate is probably about the safest and best-guarded place in the city for the other three.  My presence, however, could put them all at risk.   On the off chance that our hunters do follow us to this place it is perhaps best that I move on, to draw them away from this area before the sanctuary of these four is found.  I’m the one that the Minotaur chief, my father, really wants to get back.   I guess I’ll go with these people (gesturing to Mojo, Narg and Serita).   Mojo starts to strongly protest, when Serita casually turns to Cheveyo and asks “Want to go kill a Storm God?”  He replies “Sounds invigorating.”  They leave the cathedral, Mojo stating that "Taking someone into the party who stands out, and is being hunted, sounds like a really, really bad idea." Duegar, Mojo, Narg, Serita, Toshiro and Cheveyo are returning from the Huan-Ti Cathedral when a boy runs up to them and gives Toshiro the message that he is wanted back at the auction house.   Serita swears in response, then the six head over in that direction.  Rather than being any problem, the owner of the auction house instead has two messages for him.  The first is that the High Priest wanted to talk to them, to which Serita says “Done it already.”  The second is that the seller of the Hengeyokai has purchased tables for Hiroshi and Toshiro for the following week’s auction, where five more Hengeyokai will be auctioned off.  The owner also says that he will reserve a selling space and buying table for Hiroshi at the following week’s gem and jewelry auction.   They return to the inn.The messages are relayed to Hiroshi.  The Hengeyokai spokesperson wishes to know what the party is planning to do about the other five to be auctioned off.  “Look,” says Narg, “I came here to take Morgarth's head off and am not planning to do any more anthropology or zoology.”  “You’re just going to leave my comrades then, so be sold as pets?” she asks.  Cassie tries to explain that they do not have the money to buy them.   Kim tries to tell that that they can try.   Lannon comments “So we’ll come out of this with a bigger menagerie and still no cash,”   “Not fair,” a player answers, “I play this game to escape reality.”Hiroshi intervenes, and explains to the spokeswoman that the party could maybe get money from the treasure pile of Storm God to buy them with.   The spokeswoman wants him to pledge that they will do this.  Hiroshi says that, while that is indeed their intentions, it is possible that they will not survive their battle with the Storm God, so he would not be comfortable making any pledges of their actions beyond the coming battle.  This line of reason appeases the spokes-woman, but manages to get the druid Maple-twig even more upset, reiterating that as a first-level druid he really thinks it is a bad idea to take on a Storm God.    “Don’t worry,” says Narg, “You may not die until the second or third day.”  Gesturing to the three low-level additions, Mojo asks Narg “Are you trying to say these three are expendable?”  “Let’s put them in red shirts,” is Serita’s reply. The party decides that their business in the city of Y’Cho Kang is concluded, and that it is time to get to the biosphere.  They do not trust the Hengeyokai with a teleportation device, nor are they fond of having to travel eight hundred miles.   Looking at the map, they decide they could go to Chunming, which would be closer, but still several hundred miles from their final destination.  Kim tells the party that she has actually seen the biosphere, from a hilltop eighty-five miles to the north of it.   They debate having her teleport them directly to the sphere, but since she has only viewed it from a distance there is a sixteen-percent chance of teleportation error, as opposed to a three-percent chance if she teleports to the hilltop that she knows.   Concluding that eighty-five miles is better than eight hundred, they opt for that.    A reduce spell is cast on Cheveyo.  Serita transforms to a bird and lands on Kim’s shoulder, and the others all go into the Bags of Holding.   Kim picks up the bags, and teleports to the hilltop.</blockquote>

Verification