Wednesday 14/09/61, Location: 39.65724, 113.75046, Time 12:45
Leaving the area around Xuanwu Peak, they crossed over into Tianjin province – but the ground was fairly mountainous and rugged along the border, giving Marius an easy time with multiple steep sided valleys to choose from as he blasted across the border. He could feel the electronic sensors questing for him, the light touch of fingers stroking down his neck and back, but he writhed from side to side, dodging their caress, his jamming systems confusing the radar systems as he slipped away from their grasp, preventing them from getting a good read on the aircraft. Within a few kilometres, they'd broken line of sight to the border and the defensive systems designed to detect them and they flew on, crossing row after row of hills that slowly descended down to the plains once more after a hundred kilometres of mostly undeveloped wildland.
Once down into the lowland, though the terrain was smoother, the risk actually increased somewhat as there was nothing to hide behind, and the gentle rolling hills and large areas of cultivated farmland meant they were visible out to twenty or thirty kilometres. That played both ways, of course, with Marius having plenty of time to spot settlements and corporate facilities and adjust course, and working together with Hunter to look at the maps they had access to, they wove an S-shaped course across the province, hammering along at five hundred kilometres per hour. Occasionally some system would detect them and they could spot a drone lift in response to them skirting too close to a corporate facility – but by the time it was airborne and in pursuit they were already too far away for it to be a real threat.
Soon after they could see the T'ai Shan mountains looming ahead of them – forming a line that marched from west to east, a massive uplift in the otherwise flat land that they'd been travelling over. Hunter checked the map again and gave a low whistle.
"There's a city on the far side of the peak, masked by the mountain – just to give you a heads up. The peak is around fifteen hundred metres high, but drops back down to about eleven metres above sea level, within three kilometres of horizontal distance. It's a bit more gentle on our side, but it's a pretty rapid climb still."
"Affirmitive. I will ensure the electronic deception systems are ready when we close on the summit."
They closed in on the range, seeing the crenelated ridges rising up suddenly from the plains, thrust up millions and millions of years ago in response to some massive tectonic event that had shattered the land. The mountains were heavily forested to about two thirds of the way up, then there was an abrupt and noticeable change, becoming home to only low-lying foliage and with massive patches of bare rock and earth. On top of the mountain, they could see a number of large buildings and extensive access routes – similar to Yat-Gwan's mountain, there were wide and sweeping staircases, designed for maximum tourist and pilgrim access, not the narrow and twisting routes and dangerous cliff climbs that they'd seen at Hua Shan. There were also huge radio masts sticking up out of the peaks, covered in receivers and emitters pointing in different directions.
"Why have they got radar up here?"
"It is not a sensor system Hunter. Those are telecoms relays. If there is a major city on the other side of the mountain, at the foothills – those are going to be microwave and laser links, routing over the mountain. I am not detecting any sensor traffic at all, but there is considerable bandwidth there. I would guess it is cheaper to route over the mountain range than to go around it with fibre-optics…"
In the back, Tads felt a little tingle in her stomach, a strange feeling of unease and doubt. She licked her lips nervously and pulled off the viewing prism to look around her. Shimazu was dozing in his seat, trying to relax while the rest of the team were waiting, gear in hand as they closed in on the mountain top. Only Yat-Gwan looked relaxed – her eyes closed, though the numerous bits of strange jewellery in her hair had their eyes open and were watching everything that was going on in the cabin.
"We've had very weird things happen at all the other mountains. I think I should put up a mind-link between us, to allow us to share our thoughts. Make sure we know what's going on, and that we can react quickly to any threats. It's in our best interests really." Her eyes flittered around the cabin, making quick contact with the others and checking with them. One after another they gave a nod, grunt of approval or agreed, and Tads unstrapped to move into the centre of the cabin, reaching out with her senses to encompass them all. Taking a few deep breaths, she tried to reign in her mountain paranoia and a moment later she cast her spell, linking them all together into a gestalt, where they could direct their thoughts outwards to share with each other. "If there's a weird astral eddy or sink, the spell could go down. But hopefully we'll know before that happens."
She gave a sudden shriek as the floor dropped away from her, floating up into the air as the Broadsword dropped like a stone. She started to fall, and no sooner had she made contact with the floor did she then find herself compressed downwards as they suddenly went into a steep climb. Aswon shot a hand out to grab her, pulling her back into her seat, trying to hold her steady as she grasped at the seat belt.
"Wind shear! Strap in tight!" Marius sounded stressed, and the aircraft lurched suddenly to the right, sliding through the air as if pushed, juddering with the sudden impact.
"That's one hell of an updraft," Aswon managed through gritted teeth as he grabbed hold of Tads with his hand, struggling to hold her in her seat while she fumbled with the buckle. When she managed to get the clip in place and there was a noticeable sound of the mechanism locking, he relaxed a little. "Are we good?"
"It started as we came in for final approach to the mountain." Marius responded, not realising Aswon had been talking to Tads. "There must be some awful air currents coming up the valleys and canyons." The aircraft dropped again, plummeting twenty metres in only a second or two before Marius could level it out once more, then control the sudden climb as the air current reversed.
Tads made a grab for the optics and managed to pull them down over her head as the aircraft continued to pitch up and down and slide back and forth dramatically, closing on the mountain in the same flight plan as a particularly exciting and badly-thought-out rollercoaster that didn't care if it made its riders sick or nauseous. As she got the goggles in place and looked out, she spotted an air spirit making a rush for the aircraft, and a moment later felt the results as the nose pitched around twenty degrees while Marius fought with the controls to keep them level. She swapped back to another view, and as she checked around them saw that there were dozens of the air spirits flitting around the mountain top – and several of them were focussed on the aircraft, using their powers to control the air around them to throw them up and down like a cork bobbing on a wild river.
"I'm dropping my shielding," she said quietly, wondering if this was a good idea or not – but as she relaxed her mental shields that normally covered the rest of the team or the aircraft, she refocussed her efforts, instead projecting a different kind of bubble, a mental barrier that would hopefully protect them. As the mana barrier grew outwards from her, the erratic flight of the aircraft stabilised somewhat, the unusual technique that she'd discovered blunting the use of the spirits' powers. "I'd advise getting us down on the ground." She called out as she flicked through the viewpoints available to her. "And quickly!" Her efforts had stymied the spirits somewhat, and she could see them pushing and shoving at her defences, probing at the resistive wall of mana that was blocking their own abilities. Worse though, other spirits which had been floating around the mountain top had seen their fellow spirits being frustrated, and were now heading over to investigate as well…
"I am landing as quickly as possible." Marius aimed down towards the ground – suspecting that something was up but not looking for answers right now. He didn't know what Tads had done to stop the dramatic and violent shifts in the wind, but he didn't want to return to having to deal with that, so he focussed his attention and came in quickly, throwing the aircraft down in a tight spiral that shed forward momentum whilst still keeping his speed up somewhat and circling around his chosen landing spot atop a large rocky outcropping. Manipulating the controls with a masterful touch he rotated the engines and killed the last of his forward speed, bringing them down to a sharp but controlled landing and quickly lowering the thrust to stabilise them on the ground.
"Are we down?"
"Yes, Tads."
"Good. There are a selection of quite powerful spirits poking the aircraft. I think they wanted to have some fun, but I managed to prevent them affecting us as badly – but now they are very curious."
"Air elementals?"
"Not as such. Not spirits either. I believe they are sylphs – Wujen spirits, that are somewhat halfway between elementals and normal spirits. But they look like they're the guardians of the mountain, or they live here."
"Are we safe to get out?"
"As far as I know, Kai. They seem to be more curious about why they couldn't affect the aircraft suddenly. They don't seem too fussed about all the other people on foot out there."
"Ahh – fair point. Come on then." Kai led the way to the door, a slightly weary-looking Shimazu following him closely. The hour-long flight had done him some good and he looked considerably less 'punch drunk' than he had done before, though still not his normal self – but he seemed determined to take his normal position. The door opened and Kai headed out, Shimazu hot on his heels – with Yat-Gwan and the rest following along behind them. As soon as Tads emerged from the interior she spotted the spirits floating around above Yat-Gwan, ignoring the aircraft now, and acting as if a favoured relative had come to visit – lending some credence to the rumour that this mountain could be one of Lung's preferred lairs.
"So – do we need to go anywhere special?" Kai asked, keeping half an eye on the spirits that hovered around her.
"Yes – we will go to the immortal bridge." She gestured towards the edge of the mountain. "It's that way, a few minutes walk."
"Oh – well that doesn't sound at all ominous. Ok, lead on, please!" Kai followed along with the rest of the magical group, once more leaving Hunter and Marius to keep an eye on things back at the aircraft. Yat-Gwan led them about two hundred and fifty metres from their landing point, and then calmly climbed over a small chain fence that had signs hanging from it in multiple languages – all telling people to stay clear. "Um… are we supposed to be here?"
"Oh, they don't like people going onto the bridge. They had to put up disclaimers and a fence to keep themselves safe."
Kai edged towards the outcropping and saw why. A deep chasm dropped away from the edge, dropping down scores of metres and with sharp jagged rocks protruding out from both faces – but trapped between the two sections of mountain where half a dozen giant boulders, each perhaps the size of a small car. At some point in the past they had fallen or splintered from the rock faces and had tumbled down, wedging themselves into a rough arch shape. Their immense weight no doubt had pinned them against each other, and presumably no massive tectonic shudder had happened to shift them. But the climb down one cliff, over the 'bridge' and up the other side was no doubt fraught with the potential to slip and plummet to your death, even in the best of conditions. Throw in wind, rain-slicked rocks, drunk tourists or exhausted pilgrims and he could see the ground at the bottom of the cleft turning into a graveyard.
Yat-Gwan seemed determined to clamber down though, and pointed to the centre of the bridge.
"Right, come on, kiddo. You're with me!" Aswon scooped up Li and hoisted him onto his back, then activated his gecko tattoos before crawling surefootedly down the cliff face, while Li hung on tightly and gave a cheer. The rest of the team clambered down, taking significantly more care – though as they started to descend, the wind dropped to nothing. A quick check in the astral showed the wall of spirits blocking the area to either side of them, leaving them in a quiet eye without movement, dampening the sounds from the outside.
Yat-Gwan started to speak again, questioning a later part of Li's life – asking Spook to describe the choices she had made and what could be seen as forks in the path of his development, times when he'd had to learn harsh lessons or make choices, events that had resulted from those choices and his realisation that they had consequences that he had to deal with. Spook was well versed in the process now, and started to speak much more quickly than she had at the previous mountains – the journey time having been spent in contemplation about her son and his activities, thinking about his life and their time together. The rest of the team stood and listened, learning about the boy and his life, being ready to guard him against anything that happened.
Given their precarious position, they were thankful when nothing did, and thirty minutes later Yat-Gwan once more clapped her hands together, sending a shockwave bounding down the chasm, loud at first but distorted once it had passed the waiting spirits – who seemed to have been listening just as intently as the team had. But, with another ritual seemingly completed, they scrambled back up the rocks to the top of the mountain, then headed back to the Broadsword. Once they were all aboard and took off, Marius turned them towards the final peak of the sacred mountains, Song Shan, and started to carefully accelerate, preparing himself to cope with whatever roller-coaster ride the spirits were going to subject them to. It appeared, however, that Yat-Gwan's presence onboard led them to be more circumspect, and the aircraft was left alone, allowed to proceed freely to the west without being a source of their entertainment…
The journey to Song Shan was another four hundred and twenty kilometres, meaning it would take another hour or so to reach there – giving them time to relax a little, and for Shimazu to get another little nap in along the way. Leaving the previous mountain behind, Tads' feelings of paranoia and doubt faded away, and she was glad to be feeling more her usual self – though having had four examples of unwanted feelings now, she was dreading what the fifth mountain would have in store for her.
"What are we looking at, Hunter?" Marius asked up-front, glancing over to see what kind of maps Hunter had managed to dig up.
"It's in the Henan province, so we have a border to cross – but it doesn't look like it should be an issue for us, any more than the rest. This one is just south of the Yellow River, and pretty near a major city – Zhenngzhou. Another prominent mountain as well, part of a small uplift – the peaks are around fifteen hundred metres, steep sided mountains dropping down to about thirty metres above sea level only a few kilometres away. There's a whole bunch of different peaks, but I've found a tourist map that has some reasonable detail, and it's showing more of that monastery balanced on the edge of the mountain nonsense we saw at the second peak, and I'm not seeing anywhere good to land."
"That will be an issue then…"
"Yeah, can't see Tads wanting to smooth off a landing area, assuming she's not gone into bitch mode, anyway. But there's a large car park on the north side of the ridge, plenty of space we can put down there… but then it's a good couple of kilometres hike up to where they're likely to want to be, at a guess."
"Perhaps I can hover to the side of the mountain, and lower the ramp – let them off, and then we can go land."
"Good call." Hunter changed frequency and outlined the plan to the rest of the team, flashing up his maps of the area and showing them the lack of spaces they could land in.
"Hunter, can you spend a minute or two and find me pictures of something big that I can disguise you as? That might be in the area?" Tads didn't have to wait long for Hunter to do his search, before providing her with pictures of a large airship – a cigar shaped lighter-than-air craft built around a slimline structure filled with gas and with four large propellers mounted at the corners, and some kind of sling underneath, apparently carrying a large rectangular container. He flashed up a number of other images for her, showing different views from the side and rear, and from different elevations.
"That's a Zedong class LTA transporter, used by MSC, China Shipping and a couple of other logistics companies. Not super-fast, but able to carry standard shipping containers. Suncells on top, and a long range. But the size is about right in length, and they normally need a reasonable width to keep stuff clear of the engines, so it should be about right."
"Thanks Hunter, that should do."
Approaching the mountain, Tads felt a slight sense of watchfulness, and was starting to wonder what kind of effect this was likely to be – when she realised that it was much more immediate and close than she'd felt previously. She had a quick scan around the aircraft to look for spirits or magical anomalies, but when she found none she pulled off the goggles from her face and saw both Kai and Aswon watching her carefully.
"I'm fine. Nothing out there, no hostile spirits, no mana ebbs or eddies, no power sites I can see or other strange effects. And I feel… fine actually. Everything is ok." She smiled at them, and it felt natural, not forced at all, and she realised she wasn't just reassuring them. She really did feel fine – calm, centred and at peace. Like everything was going to be… ok. She relaxed back in her seat, pulled the goggles back down and kept checking outwards – at least with part of her attention. But a chunk of her focus was focussed inwards, examining how she was feeling and wondering if this was the mountain, and what it meant for her.
"Yat-Gwan – please check the screens. I have found a courtyard that seems to be large enough for you to land into, with a small railing that should be ok to clamber over, perched on the outside edge of the buildings. Is this close enough for you?" Marius called back, feeding the sensor image onto the screens in the back.
The monastery was built into the side of the mountain, with lots of flights of steps carved out of the rocks, zig-zagging back and forth as they clung to the mountain side, with narrow buildings perched onto ledges in rising terraces. Everything was made from the same yellow-white stone as the mountains themselves, well-dressed and carrying the weight of centuries. There was minimal space to be seen, with most paths and passageways being two metres wide or less, and very few squares or plazas – and those that there were inevitably had fountains, trees or statues dotted around them. There was no way Marius would ever find space for a landing here, but Yat-Gwan looked at the area highlighted and gave a nod.
"She says that's fine, Marius." Kai hit the seat-belt release and gestured for the others to follow him, leading the way through the rear door and squeezing down the narrow passageway in the cargo area, past the fuel barrels and the racks of kit, drones, tools and other supplies they had loaded, aiming for the rear ramp. He felt the Broadsword slow and then transition to a hover, the thundering jets making the airframe shudder and vibrate as they held the aircraft up on four plumes of jet exhaust – though he knew that outside the effect would be vastly different as the powerful spirit concealed their presence.
A bright stripe of light appeared as the ramp opened, a crack in the maw of the rear cargo area, growing wider and wider as the deck plating dropped downwards on the powerful hydraulic rams, revealing the mountainside a few metres beyond. He could see the stone fence lining the edge of the walkway, growing steadily closer as Marius drifted backwards, closing in on the side of the mountain with delicate care. A quick check around him showed the rest of the team and their guests ready to go, and as he heard a faint scraping sound he strode down the ramp and dropped neatly off the end, landing half a metre below on the ancient stone tiles, swiftly followed by Shimazu, Aswon and Tads. They in turn helped Spook, Li and Yat-Gwan descend, offering hands of support to ease them down.
"All clear, Marius!" he called out as soon as they were all safely on the mountain, and he watched as the ramp closed and sealed, and the Broadsword lifted up a few centimetres before drifting away from them – then suddenly disappearing as they passed 'outside' of the concealing spirit's aura. He knew it was there, and if he really concentrated he could see the shimmering in the air as the spirit sought to conceal his senses and disrupt his vision of the aircraft. A quick check in astral and it was abundantly clear where the spirit was – the powerful aura blazing away brightly on the astral plane.
"We are clear, and dropping down to the north-side of the mountain towards the car-park."
"I'm casting an illusion on you now – there." The illusion sprang up around the concealing spirit, appearing in a giant sphere around the aircraft. Where before there was just a ripple in the air, now there was a ponderous inflated sausage carrying a pair of containers slung side by side, hanging from the crane mechanism, now floating down the mountain to the north and heading for the car park. "I should be able to hold that in place without too much issue."
"Roger that. Call when you're ready for pickup."
Yat-Gwan had already led Spook and Li over to the centre of the little plaza they were in, and they sat themselves down on the floor in a triangle around the tree that was planted there. This time, Yat-Gwan wanted to know about when things had gone wrong, and when Li had been needed to fix a situation, or repair damage, or make something right. As much of what was discussed had happened recently, Li was able to be somewhat involved here, adding his own viewpoint to the discussion.
The team stood a few steps back from them, forming a rough box around them and watched the ritual. As it progressed, some tourists and pilgrims wandered over and stood watching – keeping a respectful distance, and listening as the questions went on. They looked a little confused, perhaps taking this as some kind of official service or perhaps a historical re-enactment. Yat-Gwan ignored them, and whilst they were at least not interfering with the process, the team left them alone. It was unlikely to make much sense to them at all, and they were unlikely to be able to affect Li or Spook in the future, so it seemed the wisest course of action to not make a fuss and alarm anyone…
A few kilometres away, it turned out that Hunter was about to wish that he had the same options. Alas though, as they'd set the Broadsword down on the terraced car-park that had been carved into the lower slopes of the mountain, they ran into a problem as old as the history of China itself – bureaucracy. They'd only been landed for a minute, and Hunter was pulling out the fuel hose and running it around to the tank so they could top off from the barrels of spare fuel, when he saw the parking attendant walking towards them. The guy wasn't quite goose-stepping, but he had a brisk pace to him and the way his chin was stuck out just warned Hunter that he was not going to be a chilled person to deal with.
Hunter headed out the 'other' side of the illusion so he could appear to walk around the base of the containers and meet him – rather than manifesting though what should be a solid sided cargo compartment. Closing in, he could see the man's immaculate uniform, the buttons polished and his equipment neatly stored, while his wispy little moustache adorned his top lip like a caterpillar. He looked to be about fifty kilos if he was dripping wet, and the top of his head barely came up to Hunter's shoulders – yet he approached with a determined march that showed no fear, apparently protected by the righteous power of the Song Shan Parking Attendant bylaws and civil codes.
"You are the owner of this vehicle? You should not be parked here. This bay is for cars." He gestured down at another terrace. "That bay is for large vehicles such as tour buses."
"But this isn't a tour bus." Hunter folded his arms and stared down at the man, not trying to be intimidating, but definitely not trying not to be either…
"No, it is not. We do not allow commercial vehicles to park here, only visitors to the mountain."
"Ahh, that's ok then, we're visiting the mountain. And we have some of our passengers up doing a tour now."
"Then you must pay for parking. But you are not a car, and not a minibus, and not a tour bus. You must pay extra! Look how many spaces you are using!" The man was wagging a finger at him now, as if Hunter had perhaps just announced he was invading another country, or about to perform some ethnic cleansing. Hunter was pretty sure this man had reached the peak responsibility in his life, and it was perhaps good that it was only managing a car park and not anything actually substantial.
"Let me go find some cash then. Just wait over there…" He pointed to one side of the vehicle, near where the fuel tank was located 'inside' the illusion. A sly grin crossed his face as a plan started to form. "I will get you the parking fee immediately, and pay for our parking." Somewhat mollified by Hunter's acceptance of his authority, the attendant marched over to the spot while Hunter climbed back aboard and started rooting around looking for some actual cash that he could use. He had to dive into some pockets and check through some bags until he found a bunch of Hong Kong dollars and some Chinese currency they'd picked up along the way, and then headed back out, approaching the man with the handful of cash.
"I have assessed the vehicle. The fee is… two hundred Nuyen!"
"That's outrageous. Here… I've got… eighty-seven in a mix of Hong Kong Dollars and Nuyen, and some Yuan. That's it."
"No, you must pay more! Or you will be reported! And I will give you a ticket!" His lip curled as he pronounced his ultimatum, and Hunter took a calming breath, wondering just how much trouble he'd be in for shooting him in the face. Or throttling him. Or just knocking him out and leaving him hidden inside the illusion until they left. Instead though he moved back inside the illusion, letting the man gasp as he disappeared through the wall of the cargo container, and checked on the fuel status. It wasn't quite topped off, but it was close enough, so he pulled out the fuel nozzle and checked the length of the hose. It should be long enough – just – for what he had planned. With a smirk he wandered back out through the illusion and then flicked the hose, giving the handle a momentary squeeze. Perhaps half a litre of premium jet fuel squirted out of the nozzle, flying through the air in an arc and soaking the man's left leg and shoe.
"Oh, I'm so sorry. My mistake. Here, let me give you the money." He thrust the bundle of notes into the enraged man's hand while he gasped in horror at the liquid soaking into his uniform. Hunter leant over and pushed the green button on the device he had slung around his neck, and then snatched as the parking ticket was printed off. "Marvellous – that's my ticket sorted. You might want to be careful with your uniform – it might bleach it and damage the colours. Oh, and stay away from naked flames, of course. Fuel is HIGHLY flammable, and I wouldn't want you to get hurt!" He smiled – his face cracking open into a horrific lop-sided visage that finally broke through the attendant's self-important pompous attitude.
Quivering with anger, he gestured at Hunter with one finger, not realising how close he came to losing it in an excruciating and painful fashion, while his jaw worked up and down wordlessly, struggling to contemplate the disrespect shown to his august position, before he turned on his heel and started to march back towards the road. Hunter let his eyes scan the route ahead, spotting a small booth down at the bottom of the hill, no doubt his base of operations.
Recovering the hose and sealing the fuel port up, he took his time tidying up and sauntered back inside, sealing the hatch up behind him.
"Was that wise?"
"Oh, you heard. Nah, he's a dick… by the time he'll get back down and report us, and someone gets here – we'll be long gone."
"At least you did not just shoot him…"
"It crossed my mind."
"That does not surprise me. Probably another fifteen minutes until we are called. That should be plenty of time…"
"That's what I thought." Hunter clambered back into the cockpit and plonked himself down in the copilot's chair, checking his systems. "Should have more than enough fuel to get back to the first mountain though now, and we should be able to top off there without any more hassle." Marius nodded in acknowledgement and went back to checking over his systems.
A short while later at the top of the mountain, Yat-Gwan finished her ritual, and got to her feet, dusting herself off. Kai placed a quick call to Marius, asking for a pickup, while Spook helped Li to his feet, making sure the crumbled rock they had gathered from the sea floor didn't tip out of the small leather cups crafted into the side of his headpiece.
"It is done – now we need to return home." Yat-Gwan gave a deep sigh, suddenly looking weary. But, she seemed to gather her strength after a moment, and the team saw her open her arms wide, and tilt her head backwards, raising her face to the sky – and they surreptitiously stuck their fingers in their ears. When her hands clapped together, the explosive sound echoed around the temple, reverberating from the stairs and buildings, blasting back and forth across the plaza and making the watching crowd jump in alarm, drop items from their hands, and in the case of one of the younger children, burst into tears. The crowd were distracted through from complaining when the image of the lighter-than-air craft rose up from the valley below, drawing level with them and then started to drift backwards – causing more cries of alarm as people pushed backwards to get away from what seemed to be a crashing aircraft.
"Ramp is down." They heard over their comms, and Aswon and Tads pressed through the illusion, the tribesman helping the shaman up onto the ramp, then getting Kai aboard next. They, in turn, helped Spook, Li and Yat-Gwan clamber up and over the fence, and back aboard the Broadsword. A moment later Shimazu appeared, gave Aswon a nod and then lightly leapt up onto the ramp, turning to keep an eye on things while Aswon joined him – before they lightly lifted off once more, and started to drift away from the mountainside.
"Back to the first mountain Marius, if you're ready."
"Roger that Kai. Eight hundred kilometres, ETA one hour twenty minutes." The nose dropped slightly and they quickly accelerated, turning to the south on their way back to Yat-Gwan's lair.
"Do we need to land at the bottom of the stairs, my lady?" Kai enquired.
"Well, I'm not walking up them, so I think it would be wisest to land at the helipad at the top. It would slow things down if I asked you to walk up." She smiled at him, giving a little wink at his subtle dig for permission. "Watch the boy, though… we must keep his head upright." They glanced over at Li, and saw that he'd started to fall asleep, his head lolling to one side after what must have been a long and busy day for him. Spook grabbed a jacket and rolled it up into a makeshift pillow, gently padding his head with it and keeping him wedged into position, and with barely a murmur he shifted position and fell properly asleep.
That seemed to set the tone for the journey, with the cabin being quiet, as people dozed or just rested, thinking on the activities of the day. Aswon took over on the viewing goggles, keeping an eye out astrally, while Tads curled up in her seat, deep in introspection, thinking about the things she'd felt that day, the aspects of her personality that had been bought forth by the auras of each of the sacred mountains.
They crossed back into Chengdu, and then into the Canton Confederation, slipping past the borders between the concealing spirit, the natural stealth of the Broadsword, and the careful flying from her pilot, evading the sensor nets that lined the borders of each of the rival states, and just before six in the evening, Marius sent the rest of the team an alert, notifying them that they were on final approach to the mountain-top landing zone. Despite the long day of flying, he bought them in for another perfect landing, the fusion of man and machine dropping them onto the landing pad with precision and poise.
"Excellent – now if you will all accompany me back to the audience chamber, we will conclude this ritual."
"It's not done yet?"
"No, Kai. Not yet. But soon."
With some grumbling from Hunter and Marius, they exited the aircraft, following Yat-Gwan inside the temple complex and back underground. Aswon carried Li in his arms, while Spook walked alongside him with a troubled look on her face. They walked along the concrete-lined tunnels lit with electric lights that felt more like an industrial complex, until they reached the audience chamber – suddenly emerging back into the ornate room lined with wooden panels and paintings stretching back hundreds and hundreds of years, stepping back in time with an abrupt transition as they crossed the threshold. Entering the room they heard the loud humming and chanting of the priestess choir – and realised that they'd remained in position since the team had left this morning, keeping up their side of the ritual.
They were waved to wooden chairs, arranged in an arc around a small clay head and a bronze box set on the floor. Aswon sat in the centre, holding Li on his lap, keeping the sleepy child upright as Yat-Gwan raised her arms once more, the choir building to a crescendo of effort, then falling silent. With careful and gentle movements, she unbuckled the harness from around the child's head, keeping it perfectly upright. The ruby positioned in the front glinted and reflected the light from the lanterns illuminating the room, while the other ingredients sat in their respective pouches and pockets, around the outside of the harness.
The leather strapping was lowered onto the clay head, and the team could see now that it seemed to match not only the size and shape of Li's head, but that it was also sculpted to resemble him. The buckles were carefully fastened, giving the clay bust a new headdress.
"I take it this represents Li – in more than just appearance?" Aswon asked quietly, and somewhat tentatively.
"It does. This was modelled from the boy, the clay softened by his hands while you were away, shaped into his likeness, and imbued with his spirit. And now it carries his thoughts, and dreams, aspirations and regrets. Choices and deliberations, the story of his life."
"But I don't see how this gets rid of the mark of that creature."
"Oh, it won't. Some things just cannot be done. At least not at this time." Spook looked up with alarm, but Yat-Gwan shushed her with a hand, waving for her to remain seated and quiet. "But while we cannot remove the mark, we can redirect it. We can create a simulation of the child, one that burns with his life essence, his love, his fears, his hopes and dreams. We can create an alternative that will feel real to the creature that caused the mark, but will be nothing more than a trap."
"You've made a honeypot?" Hunter snorted as Yat-Gwan gave him a surprised look, before nodding to him. "It's a computer thing… you make a virtual system that looks real, and expose it to the world, through a security weakness. It's designed to be an easy and tempting target, and it attracts hackers and deckers, making them spend effort on getting inside, but stops them getting at the real data. Neat. I get it."
"Indeed. And now that it is so imbued, it burns brightly – so we put it in the box, in a trap designed to protect it, and appear more desirable…" She opened the bronze box, the top one third of the construction flipping back on concealed hinges, revealing an inside made of ancient wood. Aswon and Tads glanced at the box astrally, and both recoiled slightly at the rippling whirl of mana that shimmered and shuddered over the interior. The ward that had been built around the wooden liner was massively powerful – perhaps double the strength of the one they had managed, just, to build over the Broadsword by pooling the efforts of all four of them. Whatever was trying to get through that set of defences, was going to have its work cut out for it…
The clay bust was lowered into the box and the lid gently shut over the top, and then Yat-Gwan gestured to the choir to approach. Two of them bought wooden staves with them, which were slotted into the sides of the box, letting four of the priestesses lift it up onto the shoulders and carry it out of the room like a priceless artefact.
"A false material link… I think I understand." Aswon looked up at Yat-Gwan, impressed with what she'd apparently created. "Even if they try to track him down through the meta-planes, or using some kind of ritual link, or a tracking spirit – it should still find the decoy, as it's got his signature, his essence imbued into it. That's…impressive."
"I am glad you think so. But now our time is almost at an end. Come – let us return to your aircraft. I have arranged for fuel to be provided, it should be here by now." She led the way, returning back down the featureless corridors to the helipad, and then gesturing to the bowser of fuel that had been bought up from somewhere. Hunter looked at the large metal container, and the area surrounding him – and then gave a little sigh of sympathy for whichever poor slots had been tasked with pushing that all the way up the wide staircase leading up to the temple, as he couldn't see any other way of getting it there. He and Marius went to grab it, though, and hauled it over to the aircraft to top up their tanks, while Shimazu and Aswon dived up the cargo ramp to get the partially emptied barrels out so they could be topped off, too.
"Then I believe our business is now concluded."
"Thank you – on behalf of Spook – I mean Sing, and ourselves. Thank you for your help in keeping the boy safe." Sincerity laced Aswon's words, and he stared at Yat-Gwan intently, his face open and honest. He dropped his masking for a moment, letting his gratitude radiate out from him – not that he expected her to be looking, or for it to make much difference, but it felt important for him to acknowledge what she'd done.
"Yes – very much so. Thank you." Kai gave her a smile, and then a slow and respectful bow.
"I don't wish to push our luck." Aswon hesitated, but Yat-Gwan just raised an eyebrow at him, not seeming to mind. "One of the things I would like to do is to try and ward Sing's apartment, to provide her with some additional security, once we drop her off at Hong Kong. But to make it permanent, we need some materials, and we don't have much – not enough to put up a serious ward anyway. So I wondered if you had any to sell? Not asking for a donation, of course – we can make a suitable donation to the temple of course!"
"Or we can provide goods in kind, perhaps." Tads suggested. "We've got a large supply of combat and fire spirit materials for instance, that we've picked up on our journey."
"Fire-aligned materials? Oh… that might be of interest…" Yat-Gwan turned to the priestess waiting by the door, and a moment later she disappeared into the tunnels, presumably sent off in response to a message only she could hear. Tads, meanwhile, disappeared into the hold and dug out the large box of fire elemental summoning supplies they'd liberated previously, and bought them out for Yat-Gwan to examine. "These are useful to me. I will trade them for some more general supplies, one for one."
"Good. Thank you." Tads said curtly, and started to turn away.
[Are you in a sharing mood?] The voice of the dragon echoed in her head, projected so that only she could hear it. She stared at the dragon, struggling to avoid snapping a response back to her in response to being grabbed. She fought down the urge to respond, biting her tongue and forcing herself to take a deep breath, fighting against the influence of the mountain. Only when she was sure of herself did she give a small nod. Yat-Gwan let go of her, staring at her intently. [Then cast your mindlink, let your team understand what is going to happen.] Tads realised that not only was Yat-Gwan looking at her directly with her deep ruby-red eyes, fixing her with an intense stare – but every single one of the eyes in her hairpiece was also looking at her with the same fixed gaze.
"Everyone, I need you for a moment. I need to put up a mind-link." The rest of the team looked over, hearing the snap in her voice, the impatience that tinged her speech. Hunter was just about to say something about the 'bitch being back' when his subconscious mind felt a chill, and he managed to stop himself. The air around them had grown still, and he wasn't sure if the temperature had dropped a degree or two as well. But something was going on, and the mood suddenly felt sombre.
They closed in on their shaman, standing next to her and let her cast the spell, linking them all together. All of them felt the anticipation now, broadcast from Tads, an angry and worried thread that twisted and writhed in her mind, wondering what was going on. Yat-Gwan turned to stand square-on before Tads and raised her hand, her forefinger extended outwards, one long red talon elongating out from her hand.
[What you experienced was only what you bought with you. But what you brought with you is so much more than you are now]
The finger touched Tads in the centre of her forehead, and her sight flashed, a brilliant blinding white for a moment.
The sky was a brilliant blue, a field of azure, stretching out without interruption as far as the eye could see. The sun was a bright orb, to the right, intense and pure, shining down across the landscape. A cold, desolate, snow-filled landscape, plains of ice on either side of a sharp ridgeline, a mountain crest.
The mountain flowed past, until the mind caught up – and realised it wasn't the mountain flowing past, but instead you were moving over the mountain. Smoothly, just above it. Not flying – there was now movement from wings. Floating, quickly travelling over the landscape, moving across the ridgeline, towards the ring of mountains in the distance.
Vision flashed to white. Then an image appeared. Elk. Huge, imposing, standing before you. A rack of antlers grew out of the noble head, rising up a metre into the air, sharp spikes growing out and upwards, three on each side. Large, dark, liquid eyes stared at you. Then the image disappeared, into a field of white once more.
Once more, flying over the sharp, knife edge mountain ridge. Advancing towards the distant mountains. The scene faded.
The elk returned. Closer now. The eyes still fixed upon you. Snow falling gently from the sky, settling on the deep brown fur. Clinging to the antlers. Fading.
Flying again, over the snowy landscape. Moving smoothly, no sense of effort or fatigue.
Fade.
Closer and close to the elk, seeing more and more detail now. Tiny bits of lichen clinging to the antlers. A frozen bead of liquid beneath the nose.
Fade.
Flying forward. Sun beating down. Clear skies.
Fade.
The elk, now close enough to touch. Eyes locked upon you. No reflection, just endless black pools, absorbing all light, deep enough to fall into.
Fade.
The end of the ridgeline now looming before you, one last high peak, covered in snow. High enough to obscure your vision of the landscape beyond. Closer, closer…
Fade.
The elk, now before you – but blurred and out of focus. Too close, too large to see. Dominating your entire view.
Fade.
The ridgeline now rushing towards you, too high, no sign of slowing. An impact only seconds away. A thousand tons of rock, immovable and irresistible, uncaring of the speed at which you hurtle towards it.
Fade.
Darkness… but for only a moment. Then the most incredible golden light suffusing everything. An angelic face appearing out of the darkness, lines of energy flowing from it in a sweeping display that loops and writhes, filling the field of your vision. In the centre, the sun burns with an intensity that can't be equalled, bringing warmth and life, wrapping you in a feeling of safety and contentment. The light growing brighter and brighter, the image before you growing lighter and lighter – whiting out, then fading to blackness, before being replaced by a tree of immense proportions.
Vivid reds and blues highlight it. Waterfalls course from higher limbs, bouncing and rebounding down. An entire world sits at the base of the tree, plains stretching off to the horizon, while stars wheel behind it in a cosmic display.
Yggdrasil. The world tree of Norse Mythology, wrought manifest before you.
Fade.
A snake, coiled before you, tongue tasting the air, grey slitted eyes examining you. Brilliant blue scales sheathe the body, reflecting the brilliant light in a dazzling display.
Fade. The Tree. Fade.
A bear lumbers through the snowy landscape, ice encrusted into its fur, making it a mottled mix of white and brown. It looks at you and pauses, brown eyes locking with your own, examining you.
Fade. The Tree. Fade.
A golden labrador sits on a sunlit bank, staring at you with a happy smile upon its face, pink tongue hanging from the mouth. The fur glows with the reflected light of a sunny day, while amber eyes stare at you with love and devotion.
Fade. The Tree. Fade.
A mouse pauses in its journey, frozen in space as it stares at the giant predator above it. Whiskers twitch as it studies you, the tail extends out behind it, the tip twitching as it evaluates its chances, wonders if this is where it falls into darkness.
Fade. The Tree. Fade.
A chestnut mare gallops across the snow-covered meadow, leaning into the turn as it gallops for joy across the wide open space. A white strip as pure as the fallen snow bifurcates the head, while large eyes stare at you with recognition and acceptance.
Fade. The Tree. Fade.
A dove sits atop a branch, the wind rustling its feathers, while clawed feet grip the slender branch below. It turns to look at you, bobbing up and down, wondering whether to flee. Watching you, cautiously – it decides to stay.
Fade. The Tree. Fade.
A sudden start as the world goes black, then more troubling, dominated by a skull. White glistening bone coalesces before you, wreathed in faint smoke. Unmistakeably human, the empty eye sockets leer at you, while the row of perfectly formed teeth make a grisly grin. The image persists, lasting longer and longer, seconds stretching out – far longer than any of the other visions have lasted. Time stretches out – and hour, it seems, maybe two – fixed looking at the skull before you, then thankfully it too fades, through black to white.
Now you are overhead, in a forest somewhere. Deep snow covers the ground, the trees barren and bare. The elk wanders into view below you, reaching the centre of your vision, where it pauses. It cries out, raises its head and bellows – but no noise is heard. Again it cries out, the steam from the body forming a plume before it in the frigid air. Still there is no noise. It shakes, violently, tossing the head from side to side, and the two massive antlers snap, flying through the air before landing in the snow to either side, shaken off and discarded. The elk leaps forward, suddenly free of its burden, disappearing from view.
Fade.
Now the forest is dark, but full of life. Grass and moss grow, the trees are clad in leaves. Pale moonlight flows through the canopy, illuminating the bird that hovers before you, hovers over the mound of gently glowing coals. It bursts into flames, clad in yellows, oranges and golds, each feather its own fiery display, forming part of the overall conflagration. The phoenix explodes upwards, reborn anew, fiery energy powering its wings as it begins a new cycle of life.
Fade.
Tads landed on her backside with an 'oof', rolling backwards as she automatically tried to break her fall, and the sleeting visions sent from her cut off, leaving only a faint sense of confusion and wonder. Yat-Gwan turned and started to walk towards the doorway, without saying another word.
"Good bye, then!" Hunter called out, unable to resist. She paused at the doorway and waved to him, and gave him a wink, while the eyes in her headpiece each repeated the gesture – but aimed at a different member of the team.
"You ok, Tads?" Kai reached down with a hand, helping the slightly-stunned shaman to her feet.
"I'm not sure."
"Ok, let's get you back on board, and get in the air – heading back to Hong Kong… and we can work out what the hell just happened there."
"If I knew, I'd tell you…"
They climbed back aboard, and minutes later they were in the air, turning to head south for the journey back to Hong Kong to drop Spook and Li off. Tads strapped herself into her seat without really seeing what she was doing, hands working by muscle memory, her gaze fixed ahead of herself as she replayed the series of visions in her head.
What did it mean? What was her totem trying to tell her? Was it a warning? An opportunity? She had no idea, other than a horrible sensation that Yat-Gwan had awoken something that had lain deep inside her, stoking some kind of inner fire that was now blazing away, and would not be ignored…