Alluari had long ago sensed the figures that the lord had commanded she find- a swarming mass of Qi all bundled together in a tight little pack of friendship, in one of the old temples they had devoted to researching the Qi when it had first appeared. She smirked to herself, bat wings beating in the air as she flew on, high above the world and a few stray clouds, remaining hidden- circling the mountain as she continued to analyze the situation while keeping her own power low, as not to draw attention to her nearly-perfect self.
They had arrived not long ago in the day, as had she- keeping far and watching them. They had seemed unsure at first, but had quickly settled in- and luckily, they hadn't quite seemed to make much sense of the information within. It was a matter of time until they found something that could properly combat Balthanax's great strength, so she had to act quickly- but she was not about to run into a group of martial artists, trained- even vaguely- in Qi yet so potently saturated with it.
She tsked, making another circle. Perfectly white teeth bit down on a dark amethyst lip, the darken-ess scrunching her forehead in thought.
How to go about this?
And indeed, they had been exploring- Tigress and Viper taking the initiative of two groups, The former leading Po and the Latter leading Mantis, leaving Crane in the care of Salu'ir and Shifu. They were wandering further down the main hall for the sake of exploration, but Salu'ir was still standing, dumbfounded, at the old skeleton.
Upon inspection, it was dressed in some sort of robe- something that reminded him faintly of ancient depictions of Asian-Centric Monks and martial artists. He had no weapons, and his robe was crested with some sort of rune- a Backward's 'S' with the Top fairly larger than the bottom half, a dot under the curl, the sigil itself woven with a golden thread onto the white chest. It was aged significantly, moldy at the hems of the cloth with holes being eaten through by varying moths that likely clung nearby.
They had taken to lighting the torches that lined the way, dim light casting ominous shadows along the temple's form. It was intricate, carved in an obvious Chinese fashion- with intricate carvings of dragons, serpents, and various other beasts relevant to their culture along with the odd tapestry depicting battle between armor-clad figures. Curiously, the skeleton near the entrance was the only one found- the rest of the place was empty.
To the left, upon entering the temple, lay two rooms- one being a sort of sleeping quarters that smelled of old must and seemed to at least faintly resist winter's chill- but most curiously, also a library, filled to the brim with scrolls that were written in an ancient dialect of the Chinese word- or so, they thought. To the right was a small training hall- busted training dummies lying in disrepair along with rusty weapons, rotted staves, and some old mats with burnt sticks of old incense, some of which had toppled over. And, at the end of the main hall, a small room extended into a kitchen with a dining table- function obvious.
Shifu noted all of this with a cold stare into the distant darkness, trying to make sense. A temple, hidden in the mountains and completely untouched until now- with ancient knowledge locked behind a language barrier, and a skeleton that the human claims is one of his kind's? He shook his head, once, twice, ear twitching and tail batting back and forth. Like the Jade Palace, this temple had a central pool- but that was where it ended, as where the Jade Palace's was filled with water, this one was frozen over and had turned stagnant from the inside out.
Obviously, Salu'ir's kind lived here at one point. Some time, far ago. But then they left, all but one, who died due to...natural causes. Why did they leave? There is little in terms of damage here. There is no obvious disadvantage besides the mountain's climate, and that can be overcome with a great group effort. So why leave?
He sighed before turning to look at the rapt human still staring at his fallen ilk's remains, frowning softly. We will stay here- regain our strength. And hopefully- find whatever led us here. Nodding to his unspoken decision, he approached, tapping him on the shoulder. "Salu'ir."
He didn't respond. Another tap with the gnarled staff stirred him from his fugue. "H-Hmn?" His face was...pale. Drained of it's usual color. Bright blue eyes, peering at him with fear. A familiar fear, he realized, reflecting on their first encounter- his disorientation and frustration, his feeling of being lost. For a brief moment, he empathized- before his focus returned.
"...I understand you are feeling..." he struggled for the word. "...confused?" Salu'ir nodded, resolve returning- if vaguely. The old man tugged on his beard faintly, sighing deeply. "...we are making our camp here for the following day and night- both to recuperate, and to make sense of anything- to what might have led us here in the first place, or the reason why we were led here." He turned to regard the skeleton- eyes remaining on the row of teeth on each jaw and the empty eyes and nasal pits. "...if you-"
"Let me bury him," he interjected quietly. Shifu turned to study the human thoughtfully before nodding his head- he would do as he would.
"...alright. Then please, see if you can make sense of the Library's facets." He nodded before turning to the skeleton- using the clothing as a sack to gather his form before picking it up, pressing the great doors open enough to slip through, and trudging off through the winter.
He heard a slapping of leather against the floor of the temple, turning to face Viper- who was frowning vigorously. She shook her head- "Mantis was looking through the kitchen for anything of use, and-" She sighed, tail flicking back and forth for a moment. "...well. Humans made liquer, and lots of it."
Shifu raised an eyebrow, suppressing the urge to smirk or even respond positively. Of course, there was booze, these were still men isolated on a mountain with one another. He shook his head- "Tell no one, but if they happen to find out on their own- don't stop them." Viper nodded and slithered off- and for Mantis, he was likely dealing with a near-blackout experience. Little bodies need little alcohol to be overwhelmed, after all.
He turned towards the left and paused in the entryway, ears flicking as he listened with strain. Tigress and Po chatted along- well, what could be considered chatting, with Po making comments about what was on his mind, and Tigress making the occasional comment that showed how she had come out of her shell- particularly with her previous demeanor being completely quiet. He felt that same odd pride well somewhere in his gut as he tuned in.
"So they had beds, covers, all...this stuff. That means there's a kitchen somewhere, right?"
"..."
"Wonder what human food was like, if anything. I bet they used spice."
"..."
"Do you think they liked noodles? Ooooh, you think they even HAD noodles?!"
"...maybe."
Typicaly- Po, focused on food, and Tigress, mostly going along. He snorted, turning away before continuing back towards the main center, folding into a lotus pose and closing his eyes- re-beginning his meditation.
Everyone had more or less retired after cooking food, taking up residence in the old resting quarters- the bottom beds, as the top bunks were unstable (again, rotted wood). However, Salu'ir was more than adept at sneaking at this point- one had to try their best to remain stealthy when accompanied by some, especially on creaking wood floors in a dojo or crunching snow and gravel on a dark night. He had found his way to the scroll repository, tearing apart item after item and opening them to read.
Most were jumbles of sigils and words that he couldn't quite make out, as his sudden understanding of chinese had not extended to this sect- ancient and forgotten tongues that were lost to time. He squinted his eyes on occasion, making out a few phrases- but for the mostpart, it was illegible. He grabbed at his brain, growling at a monotone level- the slightest noise was bound to set anyone off- but he still felt the need to express his frustration.
He heard clacking. He turned his head to look at the door, tensing- waiting to get caught.
Crane turned the corner to look at him, hobbling slightly- squinting at him from under his hat. He smiled awkwardly, timidly, sighing. "...you...uh. Couldn't sleep either, huh?"
"Nah." Salu'ir shook his head for a moment before waving the bird over, patting the ground beside him. "I'm trying to make sense of these...things- Shifu wanted me to have a look at the Library, but I can't make heads or tails of any of this." He itched his head in thought, sighing. Crane frowned for a moment- looking over a scroll laying open on the floor, his good leg picking it up and carrying it over. "...you can't read these?"
He looked over at the bird who was studying the parchment, blinking. "You can?"
"I study the written script in my spare time, I- uh. I write?" He shook his head. "And study literature." Salu'ir scratched his chin for a moment- standing and sorting through the scrolls before taking out a scroll engraved with a visible 'Q'. He rolled it open- looking at it and a few others before looking at the others, before back to Crane. "Think you can translate a few of these?"
He nodded. "Given, uh. Given time, I could. And parchment, and ink, and- uh. And a brush."
Salu'ir pondered for a moment- all was plausible except for the ink, as he was pretty sure it was perishable- not much but a hunch in his gut. Another idea-
"Charcoal rubbings?" "Uh, that- yeah, could work."
The two then labored throughout the night- finding a sort of pattern to swing between each other, Crane Translating into seperate parchments as he held scrolls open on display, supplying him with paper he could find and the coal piece for when it ran out. Finally, they had translated a large majority- most of the first cabinet, along with the scroll engraved with the 'Q'.
Crane stretched, standing- beak snapping open as he yawned. "I...I'm fixing to pass out, I think. Good way to pass time." He flapped his good wing for a moment before regarding the human, who stood also to greet him- nodding his thanks. "Right. You...were a big help- we'll get the set back and translated fully, but you helped to a larger effort." Crane's head tucked further into his head, smiling awkwardly- Salu'ir crossing his arms and nodding. "R-Right, I- uh-" "Thanks. Go...get some sleep."
Crane turned and hobbled towards the door for a moment before turning around- eyeing the embossed scroll. "...why that one? Why go out of order?"
"Call it a hunch." Crane shook his head- leaving him. As soon as the bird had left audible range, he pounced on the translation of the great scroll- breathing heavily to himself as he rolled it open.
The translation, smeared slightly, detailed directing currents of energy throughout the body towards one's center- Qi, he imagined. It detailed some side effects as well as a strain- he skimmed over it eagerly before absorbing the instructions.
"'Gather every piece of your being, your atom, your fiber, and focus it into your center- magnify your strength, stretch it, and keep it expanded- and you will find your own power multiplied by your own. But be warned- such power requires focus, and failure exacts a heavy cost."'
"'Qiojen'"
He studied the technique for a moment, thinking- feeling the ebb and flow of Qi through his form. He glanced at a few of the other scrolls- deciding training was likely more apt. If the other scrolls were anything similar to this...
Well. The Jade Palace had the Hundred Scrolls of Kung-Fu. This...mountain temple- it held the equivalent, for what he hoped it would be-
The Hundred Scrolls of Qi.
He retired at an extremely late hour at some point, resting little and gleaming sleep for roughly five hours before waking with everyone else for breakfast. The others went out to investigate the lost palace, inspecting for further clues and items of interest- or something akin to that- while Salu'ir studied the scrolls to his best ability.
Po and Shifu in particular were keen to feeling tugs of Qi from him rather spontaneously- the translations that he was provided by the currently-resting Avian master allowing him to tap into the inner flow of his power. From his hand he could expunge bursts of bright, golden light, or jade bolts that chipped away at the stone walls with sudden impacts- he could infuse himself with greater stamina and strength beyond what was possible. And beyond that, something of his own creation- pooling his energy into his hands before thrusting them together formed a twirling beam of Qi that shot forward.
Of course, he was exhausted, but kept pressing on- meditating and feeling the flow of Qi around him to revitalize his wearing form. Magical prowess caused him to levitate during a few kicks, gave him greater leaps and speed- it was amazing.
And all was going relatively well until a great crashing noise emanated from outside the temple's walls, a wrongness tinging the air almost immediately. Alluari looked up as the doors swung open to reveal the two most available at the moment- a twitching Shifu and a waiting Viper, each of who's eyes widened at the darken-ess that stood before them.
"Balthanax sends his regards~."