Tianchao Wangguo Chapter 1: Calm before the storm

[Ariakor]

The monk is silent for a while, but then he spaks: "I'm not sure about much of the details, but i guess they were a small group. I came to the entrance of the temple when i heard the sound of horses approaching. I think it was no more than a dozen, including the acursed baoren and this fellow with the scars." The old man cough, draws a deep breath and continues. "before i could do aniything, the baoren cast a spell on me and drained all the strength out of me. I then dropped to the floor. They must have thought me unconcious then, but i wasn't, and so i saw that most of this group dissapeared into the temple and started to smash things. They all looked more like soldiers to me than mere bandits. The baoren and the scarred leader talked about a map or something hidden in the altar's crystal stones, and that the baoren's masters would be pleased with the arranged patterns. I tried to stay awake longer, but at that point i lost conscience."

The prisoner outside is still there.he glares defiantly, but other than that remains silent.

 

[sword-dancer]

Arishan Tüen Li

Is anybody here wounded or harmed in another way?

 

[Nephtys]

"Perhaps finding the Map would help shed some light on the situation." Jian Guo starts searching the badies of the fallen.

 

[Gez]

Lin Xu comes back to the sanctuary, leading the prisonner in.

« Here is the lone survivor of the defilers. He may able to answer some questions, in the eventuality he still cares about his worthless life. »

 

[Ariakor]

The prisoner enters the little cave, his eyes on the ground, hands bound behind his back. he limps a little and looks like he just awoke from some dark dream or another and realized the fate that awaits him.

Aside from their weapons and armor, you find a few items of note on the bodies of the dead: The archer's carved bow, though defiled with etchings in the writing of the shadowlands, seems to be in remarkable shape considering the other gear he and his comrades carried. His gloves had once belonged to an imperial officer and bear fine decorations inlaid in silver along the leather. The weapons of the others seem quite normal, except for one scimitar which still appears shiny and new despite its obvious heavy use. on the bodies you also find 4 flagons of various shapes, mostly made of clay, all sealed. They also seem to carry a few coins with them, though only the archer has a substantial amount of them on his body (carried inside a leather bag which he probably took from some merchant or from one of the shrines, though you can#t be quite sure of that). he also carries a few pieces of green jade, one for each of his undrlings and one jsut a bit larger than the others.
on the baoren's body you find several pieces of parchment, more or less stained with his blood, two more flagons, a small leather-bound book and two red crystals, one of them glowing slightly.

 

[Gez]

« So, Magistrate and enlightened souls, what do we do of him? I spared his life because I wasn't sure at the time he was a defiler. Maybe he can answer some questions about the purpose of these jade pieces? »

 

[Nephtys]

Jian Guo walks up to the prisoner and slaps him hard. "What is your name? Who sent you and why? What exactly were you trying to accomplich here? You will tell us, or suffer the consequences."

 

[Ariakor]

The prisoner looks scared, but seems to refuse to answer your question.

[ooc: do you want to roll intimidate?]

 

[Rhialto]

Pan Chou regards the defiler severely.

"You know, do you not, that the penalty for your actions can be death?"

He unsheathes his blade.

"And if you do not speak, it will be..."

 

[Gez]

« You have seen by yourself that we do not flinch when we have to kill. We want to know from where you came, how long have you been defiling temples, what are the purpose of the unusual items you and your leader carried, whether there are other groups like yours, which sites have you and your team already visited, and so on. Speak freely and you may find redemption. Hold informations from us and you will find the thousand hells. »