Uploaded: 13th March 2005


Chapter 14: The Search for Thoth

Mr and Mrs Chow were both simple people, Mr Chow one of the few human farmers in the village. Although their possessions were few, they were more than happy to let Clay stay in their home. Befana took Kimiko in, hoping to gain a little trust … and she also needed help with a couple of other patients. She told her she'd always needed a nurse, but it was such a demanding job that no one ever stayed long. Kimiko didn't quite know what to say to that.

Jack and Ashley's families were staying with two of the other village inhabitants. Luma Luma cooked a giant's meal for the entire village, and everyone enjoyed an outdoor gathering for supper. Jack skipped dinner; the current mood he was in meant that he didn't want to be with anyone. Not even Cloudstorm could coax him into going, and therein lied the problem. Cloudstorm. Jack's thoughts were racing after what he had found out.

What did he mean, when he told me all those things? How could he know all those things? Why is he telling them to me? Shouldn't he be telling the Xiaolin dodos about all this, and not me? Why do I feel so comfortable around him? Why does he trust me? Why do I trust him …?

Jack stayed up late, outside, thinking, while absently repairing and building his robots.

The next morning, Jack returned to the Jing Spring, the large lake he'd been to the previous evening. He hoped to find Cloudstorm there. He still didn't know how the griffin knew all the things he'd been saying, or why he trusted him, but he did know that Cloudstorm had much more to say. How could he, Jack, have created the puzzle-box? It didn't make any sense. Unless there was some kind of magic he had used to jump back in time. That was the only thing he could think of. Maybe the only way to beat Wuya in the present was to beat her in the past …

Cloudstorm didn't disappoint him.

"I knew you'd come back here," he told him.

"Of course! The things you said last night – how could they be true?"

"You must have a little faith, young one, and just trust that they are true."

"I don't buy it," Jack said stubbornly, although he was smiling a little. "And why are you calling me young one? You're only five years old!"

"A person's age does not denote a person's wisdom. I call you young because you still have many things to learn. Come, follow me."

Cloudstorm took him a tiny distance to the edge of the great lake. The water glowed with a throbbing greyish colour.

"Did you bring your inactive Shen Gong Wu …?"

There was a brief pause and then Jack said, "Yeah. Why?"

"Take them out."

Jack emptied out his pockets, revealing the Vial of Light, the Stallion Medallion, the Wolf's Fang and the Feather of Feng Huang.

"Close your eyes."

Unknown to Jack, Cloudstorm picked them up in his beak, one at a time and placed them on the edge of the fountain that was a bit of a way behind them, round the other side of some trees, so that Jack couldn't see them. They glowed a soft golden colour.

When Cloudstorm returned, he asked, "Can you feel the energy?"

"No, not really," said Jack, a little frown appearing. Was he supposed to able to feel anything?

"Which direction are the Shen Gong Wu in?"

Upon some kind of inner reflex, Jack pointed to the left. When he opened his eyes, and Cloudstorm led him to the clearing, he was astonished to see he had been pointing directly at them the whole time.

"See, I told you you had great inner strength."

"Could just be a fluke …"

"Believe what you want. But it's no accident. The Puzzle of Gui Xian wasn't the only Shen Gong Wu you made."

Jack was getting overly excited. "Does this mean I can sense Shen Gong Wu like Wuya and Dojo?"

"Possibly … that glowing substance you see is the planet's essence, leaked up through the earth. I think you're able to sense these Shen Gong Wu right now because they're in such close proximity to it. But I'm not sure if you can sense any others outside of here …"

Jack nodded. Even if he had made several Shen Gong Wu without realising, he'd never been able to sense them before. He wouldn't have needed Wuya around if he had.

"I need you to do a favour for me," said Cloudstorm. "Take the Vial of Light in your hands, and hold it out over the fountain." Jack complied. "Concentrate your will, focus your power, and the SGW will do the rest."

Focus my … what? Whatever …

Jack closed his eyes again, and breathed out deeply. He tried to concentrate as best as he could; and his hands shone with an orange glow. He opened his eyes, and was startled when he saw a tall pillar of white light shoot upwards from the Vial of Light.

"You've just infused the Vial with jing from the fountain," Cloudstorm informed him.

"Come again? Jing?"

"Jing is life essence, young one. Every life form has this essence within them. The planet essence is the same substance, only a more crude and ancient form."

"And … what does that mean exactly?"

"It's now been activated."

So that's what they look like when they first become active. Jack thought, with quiet awe. That beam of light shoots up … His astonishment soon turned to panic when he realised what having a newly active Shen Gong Wu meant.

"Wait – that's gonna attract Wuya right here!"

"Relax, young one. This is an isolated place, positioned over an area of pure yinyang essence, which masks the energies of any active Shen Gong Wu, and also shields us from the outer interference."

"So … Wuya can't sense them? Not even the Horn of Qilin?"

"That's right. Actually … " Cloudstorm grinned slyly. "I need your help, young one. Did you meet Drongo yesterday?"

"Drongo?"

"He's the great blue wyvern. He usually guards the pavilion. Ever wondered what was in there?"

"Can't say I have," Jack said honestly.

"Shen Gong Wu, young one."

"Shen Gong –?"

"Yes."

Jack looked at the huge pile of Shen Gong Wu next to the fountain. He groaned inwardly, realising what the griffin was about to ask …

"Drongo guards those Shen Gong Wu. Now that Wuya's been resurrected, we may need to use them. But to wait for them to activate naturally – well, that could take months. Far too long to wait. Wuya will have taken over the world by then. Not only that, she also possesses the ability to infuse SGW with jing … and, with the Sun Chi Lantern in her possession, I suspect she will have collected more than enough jing for herself."

"What's the Sun Chi Lantern got to do with anything?"

"Jing is used to make chi energy …" he said, trailing off. "Wuya … can drain people of their jing, provided she's taken away their chi first."

"Oh … I guess you want me to activate all those Shen Gong Wu, huh."

"Please. Long wanted to give some of them to you all, but they'll be more useful if they're active and it's much safer if they activate here."

"I get to keep some?" Jack rubbed his hands. "Now you're talking!"


Later that day, when Long summoned the others to the Jing Fountain, they were surprised to see Jack already there.

"Phew," he was saying to Cloudstorm, "that was harder than I thought. But I got it done!"

Kimiko, Clay, Ashley and Omi sat down on the grass, around the fountain and in front of the Shen Gong Wu.

"What are those?" Kimiko asked. Befana was standing up, next to her. "Shen Gong Wu?"

"Yes," smiled Long. "Jack was helping us with them …"

Clay raised an eyebrow. Jack? Helping out? Now he'd seen everything. Didn't mean he was going to trust him, though. It would a lot more than that for Jack to get in Clay's good books.

"Don't give me that look, cowboy. I just made all these Shen Gong Wu active for you guys, so I think I should get a reward." He looked up expectantly at Long, who was in dragon-form. "Don't you?"

"Well," said Long, "you can keep a couple, as long as you don't use them irresponsibly."

"Jack?" said Clay. "Using Shen Gong Wu irresponsibly? Never!"

"Shut up, Clay. Okay, here's the lowdown …" Jack quickly went through them, holding up each one as he named them. "We've got the Boar Basket, which has whatever food you like inside; Bai Hu's Key, which allows you to open any door; the Shining Darkness, which heals spiritual injuries; the Flora Flute, which lets you talk to plants … Uh … can't remember the rest. There's too many."

Cloudstorm took over, and named the Shen Gong Wu that Jack took from the pile. "The Revealing Lens, Sunbird Down, Hearing Earring, Ox's Hoof, Shining Darkness, Ruby Tiger, Bag of Tricks, Dragon's Mask, Mouth of Saiping, Scarf of Scares, Porta Pouch … and the Snake Charm."

"That is a lot of Shen Gong Wu," said Omi.

"And they're all active?" asked Kimiko.

"Yep. Did it myself."

"I have to say," said Befana, somewhat begrudgingly, "I'm impressed. It would have taken me a lot longer."

"Heh, you have to agree that I rock now. Oh yeah – there's the Transforming Tea-Leaf, but I didn't do that one. That's the magic carpet Bai Hu was riding."

"Pick one to keep," Long said to the group. "They may help you against Wuya."

Clay immediately picked the Boar Basket. Kimiko chose the Key of Bai Hu, a golden key; Omi chose the Hearing Earring, a hoop-shaped earring, and Ashley took the Porta Pouch. Jack picked up the Sunbird Down, a small jacket-shaped item made of white feathers.

"Now …" said Long, looking very serious. "Under no circumstances are you to attack Wuya directly. You must avoid her at all costs."

"What about the Shen Gong Wu?" asked Jack. "We still need to look for them, don't we?"

"You must be very careful. We must try not to let her acquire too many. If she gathers them all in one place, the consequences will be dire. But you must still be extremely careful when collecting the Shen Gong Wu. If Wuya captures you, she will kill you. She won't hesitate just because you're young."

"What about Raimundo?" Kimiko asked.

"The Dragon of Air …? His fate was sealed the moment he brought Wuya back to life. There is no hope for him."

"I don't believe that!" Kimiko yelled, standing up in righteous anger.

"Sometimes the truth is hard to accept, young one, but accept it you must. He is gone."

"I can't believe you're just giving up on him! We've gotta go after him!"

"No!" Long said sharply. "Stay away from Wuya, or she'll kill you too!"

Kimiko stopped in her tracks. "Raimundo's … dead?" Omi and Clay both looked up at her; they'd never heard her voice sound so small.

Long was about to answer, but Befana shook her head, overruling him. "Air's chi and jing are still separate, Long. I'm … still trying to figure out why Wuya hasn't absorbed them yet …"

"Good luck," snorted Jack. "I could never figure out what that woman was thinking. She always kept me in the dark."

"Whatever it is," said Befana, "we need to be on guard. Don't fight Wuya if you help it, and don't provoke her. Yes, that means you, Jack Spicer."

"Moi?"

"Yes, YOU. I've heard what you're like, and frankly I'm surprised Wuya didn't leave you for someone else sooner. Don't stay to gloat or taunt if you win a showdown. Just leave right away. Okay?"

"All right, no need to lecture me. Sheesh. I know what Wuya's like too; I had the woman shrieking at me in my basement for the last six months, for crying out loud."

"Heads up, gang!" Dojo came slithering in, Bai Hu walking beside him. "Another Shen Gong Wu's just become active!"

"What one?" asked Jack.

"It's called the Dog's Nose."

"You're gonna help us find SilverClaw, aren't you Bai Hu?" Kimiko said.

"Yeah," Bai Hu replied. The only Shen Gong Wu he could sense was the Horn of Qilin; he couldn't locate any others, at least not without help, so the Dog's Nose would be useful for the warriors to have. "Once we find the Dog's Nose, we'll be looking for Thoth. One of the sphinxes said that SilverClaw went to see him recently, so that seems like a good place to start."

"You're coming too, aren't you, Cloud?" Jack said.

"Yes, I'm needed," the griffin replied.

"Oh, that's right …" Befana took the Bag of Tricks (a small brown satchel) and fitted it around Cloudstorm's body. She bent down and put a glass bottle containing a clear liquid inside the bag, and then stood up to face the others. "I've given Cloudstorm a bottle with Movement potion, so that if anyone does get frozen again, you'll be able to heal it right away."

"Cool," said Kimiko.

"Okay!" said Dojo. "Chop-chop, we've got a Shen Gong Wu to find!"

Everyone got up, except Ashley, who had remained oddly silent for the whole day. "I'm, er … gonna sit this one out."

"Why?" asked Omi.

Ashley looked tired, and fed up. But mostly tired. It almost looked like she had given up on everything. "I … just don't feel like looking for a Shen Gong Wu right now …"

Jack shrugged. "Forget about her. Let's get going."

"Okay …" said Kimiko worryingly.


"We're lost," said Ricky, looking around at the dry desert that surrounded them. There was nothing but sand, sand and sand. "It's official. We are LOST."

"We're not lost," said Uru, sitting calmly on the sand. He drew a line in the sand with a dried stick. "Not lost at all."

"Does this look like Ping-jing to you? I think not, matey." He kicked the ground, sending little flecks of sand flying. "We're stuck in the middle of nowhere and that freakin' Coyote's off gallivanting with the Egyptian Gods!"

"But you know how Coyote's Mystic Fog works. It takes us where we need to be, not where we want to be."

"And why would we need to be here, huh? To admire the spectacular view?"

There was a squawking noise, and a giant peacock appeared. It was a junglebird, tied to a rope, and a girl was leading it. She took the bird up some stony steps, which led down to the only sign of civilisation in the area, Thoth's underground temple.

"Hey, Marcia. Is 'Yote finished?"

Marcia began to stroke the junglebird. It was a large creature, about the size of an ostrich, but with dazzling bright pink feathers.

"Not quite," she replied. "He told me to go back outside. We should watch out for trouble."

"What kind of trouble?"

As if answering the question, the junglebird screeched in alarm; and a pink shield appeared over the group.

"What's going on?" asked Uru sternly, standing up. "Why's she activated the camouflage?"

"Don't know …" Marcia tried to soothe the junglebird. "Please, calm down, Flor. What's got you so spooked?"

"I think it's that purple portal …" said Ricky, looking directly ahead. The portal was not far from beginning of the temple stairs. "Looks like magic … but who's using it? Oh, it's only a couple of goblins. Who's that?" he added, when a new person emerged from the portal.

"That," growled Uru, "is Wuya."

"That's her? Doesn't look so tough to me."

"Don't be fooled," warned Uru quietly. "She's very powerful."

Ricky almost jumped a mile in the air when he saw the next person to exit the portal.

"Raimundo? What the HELL is HE doing here?"

The magic of the junglebird's shield allowed them to remain hidden from anyone outside, so that they could hear what going on outside, but the outsiders couldn't hear them. But they wouldn't be able to hear anything if Ricky kept opening his big mouth.

"Quiet!" shushed Uru, as he strained to eavesdrop.

"… sure Thoth knows where SilverClaw is?" Wuya asked one of the goblins. Mudo'ip was its name, Uru believed.

The goblin nodded. "Oh, yes, your Highness. SilverClaw was here herself not too long ago."

Wuya disappeared down the stairs, and Raimundo hissed at the goblins: "You're dead meat if you're lying."

Both goblins shook their heads vigorously, and ran down the stairs. Raimundo moved his head around, and for a second, Ricky could have sworn Raimundo was staring straight at him. It felt like their eyes had locked together … The moment passed, though, and soon Raimundo followed the others down.

Uru had to hold Ricky back, to prevent him from following as well. Ricky was shorter and had a smaller build than Uru, so it wasn't hard; but Ricky was determined to find out what was going on.

"I'm not letting you get yourself killed Ricky. Another day, perhaps, but not today."

Ricky relaxed, and Uru let him go. Ricky paced around frantically. "But why isn't Raimundo with the other Xiaolin Dragons? Have they been killed or what?"

"I don't know," said Uru, slowly and calmly, hoping to make Ricky think rationally. "But charging in like a fool is not going to get us the answers we need. We should wait until it's safe."

"But Uru," said Marcia. "Coyote's still in there …"

"…"

Ricky smashed the ground with an almighty kick, sending a whole heap of sand flying. "Dammit! What are we supposed to do? Just sit here and hope that everything's gonna be all right?"

"…"

Raimundo, you fool … What the hell are you thinking?


The Dog's Nose, it turned out, was in Egypt – inside Thoth's temple, in fact. A lucky break, because the Xiaolin warriors would be able to kill two birds with one stone, and finally find out where SilverClaw was hiding. Along the way, Kimiko was finally able to remove the bandage on her arm, as Jack used the bright liquid from the Vial of Light to heal her. Before they left, Jack had also given them the Puzzle of Gui Xian in exchange for the Orb of Tornami, on the condition that he could study the strange box whenever he had the time.

The Xiaolin warriors had taken along some of their old Shen Gong Wu to help find the Dog's Nose, and it wasn't until they arrived outside Thoth's temple that Jack found out it was useless to him. It allowed someone to sense the location of other Shen Gong Wu. Dojo explained that it changed colour from blue to red, depending on how close you were to the nearest active Shen Gong Wu, and that could make all the difference in a showdown.

Cloudstorm elected to remain outside the temple. It was Jack, most of all, who was upset by this decision, but the griffin always seemed to have a good reason for doing everything, even if he didn't always explain himself. After walking down the stairs and walking through the entrance, the group entered a passageway full of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs on the walls, and the beeps from Jack's detecting machine steadily grew more frequent. It was dark, and once again Jack had brought a few of his Jack-bots to help light the way. He was armed with his Mega Ray Cannon, ready to blast any Huai-Ren that might appear. The Xiaolin warriors didn't object to this; it was nice having Jack on their side for once, and Bai Hu seemed to be taking a real interest in his inventions.

"No sign of Wuya or her creepy minions," Kimiko said, as they approached the end of the corridor. There was a large stone door at the end.

"Yet," said Clay.

"Don't jinx things," said Dojo.

A golden sphinx was sitting in front of the stone door. She didn't move any part of her body as the group came closer, except her eyes, which gave each of them a cool, unsettling gaze.

"Not another one," muttered Jack. He hadn't got along with the sphinxes of Ping-jing; they had kept bothering his Chameleon-bot to the point where it had suffered a massive breakdown.

"Greetings, my name is Ember," she said, acknowledging their arrival with a slight incline of her head. She rolled all her 'r's. "I had a feeling I'd get visitors. The Dog's Nose is active. I know you fight for the Xiaolin order. I cannot let you pass, however, until you solve a riddle."

"Oh, come on!" Dojo moaned. He was definitely feeling like his old vocal self again. If he had known his father had forgiven him, he would have returned to Ping-jing ages ago. "We're on a quest to save the world, and you're giving us a quiz? Give us a break!"

"I cannot go against my master's wishes," the sphinx said calmly. "I must tell a riddle to all who wish to go past this point."

"You're not even going to let Bai Hu pass?" said Dojo. "He's a real big-wig, y'know. Guardian of the West and all that. He's got a lot of friends in high places."

Ember looked down at the floor in uncertainty. "I … can't … go against my nature … It is a sphinx's highest honour to protect and guard for others …"

"It's okay, we'll try to solve it," said Bai Hu affably. "Don't want any fuss. I don't want to be treated differently."

"What happens if we get it wrong?" Kimiko asked.

"I will be forced to kill you."

"You'd go up against all of us?" snorted Jack. "Yeah, right …"

"Exactly right. I wouldn't be able to stop all of you, especially since you have the Guardian with you, so you really have nothing to lose."

"Very well, we shall solve your riddle," said Omi confidently.

"Yeah, fine, let's get this over with," said Jack. "Should be no problem for someone with a genius mind."

"Listen carefully, then." The sphinx recited this riddle slowly and clearly:

"A visitor to a house sees a portrait of a person, and asks the owner who it is. The owner replies in rhyme:

'Uncles and brothers have I none,
but that man's father is my father's son.'

Who is portrayed in the picture?"

Both Omi and Clay closed their eyes to think, and Bai Hu frowned in concentration.

"Duhhh …" said Jack, after a brief silence.

"So much for your genius mind," said Kimiko scornfully.

"Let's hear your suggestion, then!"

"Uhh …"

"Ex-actly."

"Quiet, I am trying to think …!" Omi scolded before returning to deep concentration. " 'Uncles and brothers … he has no uncles or brothers …"

Dojo was going round in circles. "That man's father … is the father … father's son … man's father … in the picture … father …"

"Let's see," said Kimiko, ready to try again. "The man in the picture … is who we need to find …"

Clay opened his eyes. "His son."

Everyone looked at him, even Omi. "What?" said Jack.

"It's the owner's son."

"Correct," said Ember, standing up.

Jack was amazed. This hick had beaten the rest of them to the punch in a mind-boggling riddle. "How'd you work that one out, cowboy?"

Clay gave one of his victory smiles. He'd just got one over on Jack again. "I'll explain it to ya later, Jack. Should be no problem for a genius like yaself."

"Wise guy."

"Beware," Ember warned sternly. "The Moshu-Ren who passed here causes pain and death without compunction."

"Wuya's here?" asked Clay.

"You let her pass?" added Omi.

"She solved my riddle," Ember answered simply, although she added in a more fearful tone, "but she would have killed me if I did not let her through, regardless of the outcome."

Jack's eyes narrowed. "If Wuya's already here, we could be walking straight into a trap."

"I don't think so …" said Ember thoughtfully.

"Why?"

"She didn't come here for the Dog's Nose," she explained. "She came here because my master has knowledge that she desperately seeks. I think she may have left already, she had this teleportation Shen Gong Wu. There was a human child possessing the element of Wind with her. She may have sent him to search for the Dog's Nose once it revealed itself."

"We should be all right with just Raimundo," said Kimiko.

"We should get going, we'll be sitting ducks if we don't keep moving," said Dojo. "Besides, we won't get anywhere by just standing here."

Everyone left for the door, except Jack, who lingered with the sphinx.

"I don't suppose you know where the Dog's Nose is? Thoth doesn't have it, does he?"

"No he doesn't … I know where it is, but it's difficult to reach without guidance; there's a dead-end which cannot be bypassed unless you know the correct stone to push, and I cannot leave my post."

"C'mon," said Jack, "this is more important than some stupid guarding post. You gonna let some stupid witch scare you silly?"

The hesitation came again. "I …"

"Let's go, Jack!" Dojo called.

"Yeah, sure." He followed the others through the door.

Ember watched them leave.

I hope the master's okay …


Named this Greek sphinx after one of my friend's cats. A shy black cat.

flor – flower (Portuguese)

Um, that's pretty much it.

Oh wait, since there's a showdown next chapter … have to do one of these. Helps me keep track of who's got what.

Xiaolin

Omi, Clay, Kimiko: Sapphire Dragon, Sword of the Storm, Monkey Staff, Tongue of Saiping, Eye of Dashi, Third-Arm Sash, Helmet of Jong, Shroud of Shadows, Jet Bootsu, Puzzle of Gui Xian, Boar Basket, Key of Bai Hu, Hearing Earring. (13)

The Ping-jing SGW: Ox's Hoof, Shining Darkness, Ruby Tiger, Revealing Lens, Flora Flute, Mouth of Saiping, Scarf of Scares, Dragon's Mask, Snake Charm, Shining Darkness, Transforming Tea-Leaf, Mengmei Chime. (11)

Jack: Changing Chopsticks, Tangle-Web Comb, 9 Dragon Ring, Mantis Flip Coin, Falcon's Eye, Lotus Twister, Horn of Qilin, Stallion Medallion, Wolf's Fang, Feather of Feng Huang, Vial of Light, Sunbird Down, Orb of Tornami. (13)

Cloudstorm: Bag of Tricks

Ashley: Porta Pouch

Heylin

Wuya, Rai: Golden Tiger Claws, Serpent's Tail, Reversing Mirror, Sun Chi Lantern, Heart of Jong, Longi Kite, Star Hanabi, Fist of Tebigong, Two Ton Tunic, Magic Magnet, False Fleece, Rabbit's Foot. (12)

DarkClaw … has a Shen Gong Wu which I haven't named yet.