[hr][hr][center][img]https://i.imgur.com/E2XVCV4.png[/img][/center][hr][hr][center][h2][url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdPhKXfbPSk]♫[/url][/h2][/center][hr][hr][center][color=808080][i][b]Present:[/b] Yalen Castel [@pantothenic], Valerian Remi Leclere [@yoshua171], Maura Mercador [@Ti], Trypano Somia [@A Lowly Wretch], Ingrid Penderson [@dragonpiece], Niallus Saberhagen [@McKennaJ71], and Abdel Varga [@YummyYummy][/i][/color][/center][hr][hr]		[color=C0C0C0]Bailong Shan had become a can of worms for those who had braved it and, as afternoon took hold, the four biros found themselves in difficult or intriguing situations of varying composition. While Ingrid was faced with an immediate and sticky conundrum, Rikard was set upon by a colossal and aggressive mana slime, hard-pressed to hold it off. While Vel and Niallus rushed towards each other and a trio of guards locked in a feud with a mysterious giant, it was perhaps Ingrid whose exploration held the most potential promise and danger as she approached the much-adorned entrance to a sacred cave

	Whatever curiosity the bloodchild had felt about the floating stone with the blue aura, she had placed it aside in favour of the shrine in the cavern and the colossal energy beyond. It seemed… diffused over the entire mountain, as if the ground itself was living, though that could not necessarily be so… or could it? Perhaps, inside, lay the answers to some of her deeper questions. 

	Sweeping carefully for energies, she struggled to pick them out with her preferred precision, such was the overwhelming nature of the energy of this place. It was thermal, potential, chemical, magnetic, and even subtly kinetic. Yet, with a redoubled application of focus, she could pick out the burning of the torches on the wall and the incense on sticks. There was… a human shape inside and she entered, full of drawn energy and ready to retreat should it prove warranted.

	Words wrote themselves into her mind from without. [color=ed1c24]“You are here to solve a mystery, are you not?”[/color] The chamber that she entered was not a natural cave, even if it had perhaps been so once upon a time, and it was [i]vast[/i], the ceiling disappearing into dusky murk, supported with towering pillars of crystalline rock. [color=ed1c24]“The mana jellies used to kill those men were gathered upon this mountain. I assisted in that measure so that a misguided friend might remove himself from a contest he has no business being in. Soon, I believe, my efforts shall remove a second as well. Magic flows through nearly all things in Retan and animates them in ways that these people do not understand - in ways that the current regime does not understand. The twins and their bloodsucking ilk stifle the people’s birthright to be connected to this great web of magic, to use it, to experiment, be curious, and grow.”[/color]

	She could sense an enormous serpentine form in the depths and, given the name of this place, what the three boys who’d gone on an adventure last night had related to her in the morning, and occam’s razor, it was not a stretch for Trypano to posit that it was the Great White Dragon of Bailong Shan speaking with her. Only… that would support the existence of sentient dragons. [color=ed1c24]“Crows circle their imperium. Oh, they have various names: the Traveler, the emperor of Nikan, Hui, but all have a common goal of toppling the regime and establishing their own new order, but I say now that there is an ancient order to this place, and it should be restored.”[/color]

	There was a sudden flash of energy and the human shape she had detected earlier stepped from the shadows and resolved itself into that of Wu Long. [color=ed1c24]“And [i]come[/i] now: you [i]know[/i] me.”[/color] 

[hr][hr]

	If, indeed, Trypano [i]did[/i], then there were two members of the group who definitively did [i]not[/i] know that they were getting into. These were Niallus and the newly and secretly arrived Valerian, who were hard pressed just to recognize each other. Both sped towards the small but ferocious conflagration between three humans in the livery of patrolmen and… some sort of giant. The former were quite noisy, shouting in coordination and alarm alike as they tried to surround the latter, who was eerily silent, but for the sounds of heavy breathing and exertion. 

	It was the speed, though, in particular, that was impressive. The giant both reacted and moved with startling grace, repeatedly dodging, cutting off, and countering repeated attacks that held clear deadly intent. Niallus closed in, hoping to learn more before engaging. Vel raced forward, already preparing his [i]solution[/i]. The giant and the humans noticed them at around the same time, each radiating fear, but the humans clearly panicked to an alarming degree. Then, something strange happened: Images. Images and… scenes played themselves rapidly through the minds of both young men, imposed from without. 

	They were somewhere far up north, on the open tundra. There was a large tent of skin and bone, a woman of the giant’s species, and three children as well. There was a meeting at a large stone temple, hidden in a great valley by the sea. Dozens of giants - Ogauraq - were there. The air filled with pictures and images above them: the twin emperors, great cities, a sanguinaire from the east, a traveling man, armies coming and butchering their people, and finally, a great dragon, calling them. There were more of these thought-pictures: tallies of food and resources, quick, scratchy writing in an unknown language, families. Finally, dozens of thought-images floated in the air that matched the giant that stood before Niallus and Vel, fighting for his life. 

	Then, the scene ended. A montage of travels took over the boys’ minds: oddly-designed campfires by night, hunting and foraging, climbing mountains and crossing plains, wary encounters with humans and avoidance of roads, fish stolen from a boat hauled ashore and a gift of mammoth ivory as recompense. A view of the great road leading to Wanggang from somewhere elevated and distant, a sighting of Bailong Shan, and the scene of the soaring dragon from the night before. 

	It concluded with the giant standing before the dragon in the same cave shrine where Vel had stood a couple of hours earlier, and they knew his name as ‘Blue Warmth’. The patrolmen were in a panic, though. [b]“你们这些外国人，帮帮我们吧!” (You, foreigners, help us!)[/b] one shouted desperately. [b]“它会吃掉我们!” (It’s going to eat us!)[/b] added another. 

	Whatever might’ve happened next, however, was interrupted by what [i]did[/i] happen. From far away, sounded a gigantic crackling [i]BOOM[/i] and streaks of lightning split open the sky somewhere on the far side. Guards and Ogauraq alike turned, momentarily distracted, to witness the event, and all four were left wide open.

[hr][hr]
	Ingrid, too, had been left wide open, in a sense. Rocks had fallen and people had not died. Normally, this would be cause for celebration, but it was Yin who had stopped the calamity and not Captain Zhu, who was clutching a bluish crystal and glancing warily at his surroundings and, in particular, the two women who had accompanied him.
 
	The innkeeper’s redirection of the boulder had been clumsy, narrowly avoiding another group who’d dove for the ground and nearly been hit. A dozen eyes were on her now and, by extension, on Captain Zhu. Then, came the shouts: 

	[b]“她有权使用魔法吗?” (Is she authorized to use magic?)[/b]
	[b]“你在那里看到我们了吗!?” (Did you even see us there!?)[/b]
	[b]“你差点杀了我们!” (You almost killed us!)[/b]
	[b] “她不是监护人!” (She isn’t a Guardian!)[/b]

	For the first time that Ingrid had ever seen, the normally-decisive Zhu Kai seemed frozen. He opened his mouth to speak, but then there came another, more vicious shout. [b]“巫婆！巫婆！她使用魔法!” (Witch! Witch! She uses magic!)[/b]
	[b]“做点什么，船长!” (Do something, captain!)[/b]
	[b]“或者你，外国人!” (Or you, foreigner!)[/b]

	Yin stumbled a step back, stammering for an answer. [color=f6989d]“我 - 我这么做是为了救她。对不起!” (I - I did it to save her. I’m sorry!)[/color] 
[center][sub][i][b]OOC Note:[/b] From this point onwards, dialogue will be auto-translated.[/i][/sub][/center]
	Captain Zhu turned towards Yin, face full of regret. [color=a2d39c]“You should not have used it, Yin. I could’ve handled things.”[/color]
	
	Yin shook her head regretfully. [color=f6989d]“You were distracted. You could not have.”[/color]
	
	Then there was a wail: [b]“She admits it! Do your job and arrest her, Captain!”[/b] A middle-aged woman pointed an accusatory finger at Yin. [b]“My husband was killed by someone like her: someone who didn’t obey the rules! Who thought she could use magic! They are a menace to everyone."[/b] She seemed genuinely shaken and scared. There were tears at the corner of her eyes.
	
	[b]“But she has harmed [i]nobody,[/i]”[/b] protested a man in the crowd. 
	[b]“She saved the foreign girl![/b] added another.
	[b]“Oh, today she gets to play hero, but how about next time when she goes messing with magic again and it doesn’t go so well? If that rock had landed two feet to the side, at least two of us would be dead.”[/b]
	[b]“She won’t be punished,”[/b] said the angry woman bitterly. [b]“Look at those bright eyes and full lips. She is a favourite of the Captain. Those people never have to follow the rules and the rest of us suffer for it.”[/b]
	[b]“Those rules exist for a reason,”[/b] added another in agreement.
	The blue crystalline ‘slime’ in Zhu Kai’s hands began to crackle and he took a few deep breaths. He looked to Ingrid and settled his face, turning to address the small mob. He seemed to have decided what to say. 
	
	It was at that moment that the heavens tore themselves open and the mountain fell.

[hr][hr]
	Rikard’s search went well, at first. He picked up a couple of the strange mana slimes, eager to figure out what made them tick when he had a moment later, or maybe he could just sell them. Money regularly seemed to be in short supply. Employing a simple arcane spell, he warmed himself as he walked. The sun shone down, sparkling off of the snow and a gentle breeze carried the sounds of distant excavation and conversation his way. Still, he continued higher, here at the roof of the world and felt on top of it, in a sense. Perhaps he would get lucky. Perhaps he would see the dragon up close. It was said that the great arrows of Retan and Nikan were among the most intelligent of all creatures, and the boy’s constant curiosity drove his desire to find out for himself.

	It was around an hour into his search of the seam where part of the glacier had broken loose that he noticed the large crevasse and the substantial reddish glow pouring forth from it. He could not help himself. He slinked up and peered inside and an enormous… slime-beast, the size of a small elephant, hurled itself at him.

	It was all that Rikard could do to avoid the attack. He pulled from its momentum and pushed himself free, rising into the air, but it lashed at him with shapeless tendrils and he felt himself being reeled in towards it. He beheld its horror maw. The massive jelly was filled with bones and weapons and scraps in various states of decay, but what stood out most was the crown at its heart: pristine, as if it somehow… understood the power that it had as a symbol. [color=0072bc][i]A Slime King,[/i][/color] he wondered, but then he needed to avoid death. He surrounded himself with an inferno and it flinched and withered.

	Then, there were explosions as it hurled bits of itself and he was hard-pressed to deflect them all. A tendril smacked him from the air and pounded him into the mountainside and the boy could feel two of his ribs snap. He bit back a scream as the monstrosity advanced. He hit it with a thunderbolt, and again, but it seemed to just absorb the attacks with little pause. Panic began to set in. He was going to die here! At a mad scramble, he took off from the mountainside in full flight, drawing and expelling energy with everything that the Gods had given him. 

	A gargantuan undulating wail escaped the Slime King and he clutched at his head, temples pounding and vision swimming. Finding the wherewithal to remember his sonic magic lessons, he twisted the sonic waves to be anything but what they were and, in a stroke of sudden inspiration, turned them on the slime.

	Nothing happened. [color=0072bc][i]Eshiran help me![/i][/color] A tentacle reached up and grabbed him and Rikard was a doll being tossed about and drawn into its vast yawning maw. His parents, his friends, his family, the sight of the dragon from last night. They all appeared in his mind’s eye. [color=0072bc][i]No! Not yet! Not like this! Fuck you, you terrifying piece of shit. If I go down, you’re going with me.[/i][/color] Waves of fear so intense that they physically hurt coursed through him, but there was a sort of wicked resigned calm there as well. Only once or twice before in his short life had Rikard experienced something similar, as if it were not his hands on the wheel of his being. He drew as if in a fugue state and the mountaintop crackled with thunder. The sky turned black and he ripped himself free, feeling the power of both lightning and… something else coursing through him. He was easily twice as strong as he should’ve been. 

	Rikard landed on the glacier, eyes wild and incandescent as his senses returned. He laughed desperately, maniacally, [i]eagerly[/i]. [color=a187be]“One of us dies!”[/color] he hollered, [color=a187be]“Maybe [i]both,[/i] but what a [i]show![/i] What a [i]display![/i]”[/color] Enormous bluish-white arms of lightning leapt and spidered across the mountainside, pulsing and cracking, surrounding the great mana slime. Rikard fairly glowed with energy, levitating in the air. A huge, wicked grin spread across the boy's face and he made a little pistol with his fingers. [color=a187be]"Boom,"[/color] he whispered and, all at once, the charge he’d drawn switched. A hundred towering thunderbolts erupted from the blackened sky and converged upon the hulking slime, obliterating any trace of it in a blinding flash and a crackling boom that echoed across the surrounding highlands to be heard as far away as the great city of Wanggang. 

	He had ignited the King of the Red Killers, however: one of the most volatile and explosive living things in existence, and that action did not go without consequence. It was two seconds before the shockwave reached him. It had already reached the glacier and an entire side of the mountain was falling.

[hr][hr][center][h2]Action Opportunities[/h2][/center][/color]
[hider=Action Opportunities][color=C0C0C0]There is a lot happening in this chapter, and it'll require a series of quick responses, so most will be played out via discord. Necessary actions include: 
[indent][b]Ingrid:[/b] should react to the moral conundrum swirling about her. She may choose to defuse it or escalate it. Then, the avalanche and rockslide is coming. This will obviously need to be survived, which should be easy enough for a mage. Whether she saves anyone or takes the opportunity to kill anyone is up to her. Then, the Yin and Captain Zhu situation needs to be resolved one way or another.
[b]Trypano:[/b] will have time for a brief discussion with Wu Long and to learn a little bit about the nature of Retan. This is intended as a hook for her personal storyline as well as that of the mission. However, too bald-faced an ambition may cause the dragon to become wary. She is above the level of the avalanche and can choose how to engage with it.
[b]Niallus and Vel:[/b] The avalanche covers the other side of the mountain, but is definitely noticed from their side and could trigger something there. It has distracted the four fighters and they may take advantage of this. If the fight is not defused soon, people will die. They should probably also have some reaction to the thought pictures and to those simply being [i]thrust[/i] into their minds.[/indent]
In general, feel free to post directly as response to this update in the Mountain and Hardboiled threads. most will have to be played out there. I'm looking forward to it![/color][/hider]