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>>4374245
"Finally! Ohhhh yes..." you glance upon your enemy, almost unable to believe it. You allow a short, victorious chuckle to yourself.*
"The power of the Dragon Scroll..." you unsheathe it, prepared to take in its fabled power "Will be mine!"

It hits you, the golden shine of the immense power of... of....
The page is empty, you try to view it from different angles, maybe you opened it wrong? But no matter what you do it is only the astonished face of your golden reflection is looking back

"It's nothing!" You are not saying it to anyone in particular, they are just frantic thoughts leaving your mind through your mouth.
"It's okay, I didn't get it the first time either." comes the answer, as the panda pushes himself off of the ground.
"What?" you feel confused, your chest is thumping harder than in the fight before.
"There is no secret ingredient"
He is talking about food again, you can't believe it. You drop the Scroll in disgust. It is worthless junk.
"It's just you" he goes on
Your mind is racing.

>A) Spazz out and start breaking stuff
>B) "Then it was all for nothing?"
>C) Kill the fucking Panda
>E) Write-in

>>4374259
>Demand to know where the best noodle shop in town is because you don't think you've eaten real food for like decades

>>4374259
>B) "Then it was all for nothing?"

>>4374259
>C) Kill the fucking Panda

>>4374259
>B) "Then it was all for nothing?"

>>4374259
>E) this >>4374272

Our life's work has just been invalidated. We need to destress and rethink our next objective.

>>4374259
>C) Kill the fucking Panda

>>4374259
>B) "then it was all for nothing?"

>>4374259
>>B) "Then it was all for nothing?"

>>4374259
>B) "then it was all for nothing?"
fucking cry

>>4374272
this too, but also cry

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>>4374272
>>4374292
>>4374311
>>4374316
>>4374324
>>4374346
>>4374352
>>4374359
>>4374363
“Then... it was all for... nothing?”
“Nothing? Dude, you kidding me? You are Tai Lung! You were the first to master the thousand scrolls of…” but you don’t hear him the thoughts are pumping your head, your life, the journey here, you didn’t even stop to eat in two days just going ever onwards to fulfill your destiny the destiny that was…

“And then you pew, paw bang!” the panda is doing all sort of dances and doing weird noises, you are not sure how he got there. You can only watch with a numb face.
“Listen you idiot!” you burst out and he freezes in the last pose he was doing “I have been rotting in jail for TWO DECADES!!“
“Well I uh..” he avers his gaze awkwardly trying to think of something to say. You have plenty.
“I have had my vital points pierced by jade needles every hour fo the day!” you step forward and stab at him with your finger angrily. Not even a real attack anymore.
“I haven’t seen the sunlight till four days ago! I was fed with leftover meat once a day!”
“I… mean” he backs up but you follow with a poke punctuating each point.
“I have spit on the grandmaster of kung fu’s personal decision! I have razed a village in an afternoon! I have murdered my f...”
The last item on the list gets stuck on your throat.

You turn back towards the temple, the broken gate still in smithereens, and the top of the stairs shattered. Behind those walls lies your most henious act. You do not know what to do.

>A) You must get out of here!
>B) You have to see Shifu!
>C) Cry
>D) Write-in

>>4374379
>>B) You have to see Shifu!

>>4374381
Poe saw Tai Lung being there one second his index finger pointing at him ready for another poke, but all intent gone from his face as well as any motion. Then he blinked, and he was gone.

You are running up the stairs leading to the Sacred Hall of Warriors, the stone almost cracking under as you kick off for more speed. You finally arrive to the tattered gates, and hesitate. Second time today when this never happened before, better not make a habit of it.
You enter. Your setps echoing acoss the emerald hue of the hall, making your way to the sacred fountain. Legendary weapons embedded into the pillars and scattered around, the light shines down from the hole on the roof. You brush away the fresh memory with disgust, and approach the crumpled from of master Shifu, afraid of what you might find.

Kneeling down, you see him. Severe bruising around the neck, and some damage to the cervical vertebrate, several cracks along the thoracic curve, there is probably more in the arms, and the one leg that never healed fully. You are no stranger to damage, you’ve been suffering them yourself plenty while in training, and as time went on learned to pay them no mind whether it was on your someone else. It faded away as your sense of pain. Somehow it is different.
You are surpised to the relief you feel when you see his chest rise and fall at a slow and a bit ragged pace.

>A) Leave this place, find noodles far far away
>B) Try to wake him up (and tell him what?)
>C) Finish the job
>D) Write-in

>>4374416
>B) Try to wake him up (and tell him what?)
Apologize, promise him we'll make up for what we did

>>4374416
>B) Try to wake him up (and tell him what?)
and tell him the dragon warrior is all just some neo bullshit.

>>4374416
>>B) Try to wake him up (and tell him what?)
So when it was all for nothing, why did Ugway incurred our wrath like this? Where is he?

>>4374423
>>4374446
>>4374476
“Master?” you call out to him, supporting his head “Fa.. Shifu!” he slowly opens his eyes. When sees you, you can see the trace of a single tear in his eyes, before a solemn look takes over his face. He has prepared to die.
“Master, I..” the words don’t come easy. How could a simple sorry cut it? There will probably be retribution. This man have denied your dream in the name of tradition and principle, he is sure to not let this pass without proper atonement. But you have no better ideas at the moment, so you say it.
“I am sorry.” you close your eyes “maybe, you weren’t the only one blinded by… by pride. I.. I faild didn’t I?”
“No” Shifu’s voice is raspy, trying to talk through his almost crushed windpipe “the failure was mine as well. I have instilled delusions of grandeur in you, and for that you’ve paid the price.”
Tai Lung is not sure what to say, he embraces the broken body of his parental figure.

“Poe, where is Poe?” he breathes heavily
“By the sounds of it he is halfway up the stairs. Did you… did you know the scroll was empty?”
The old mentor hesitates for a moment before deciding that they are long past cryptic teachings
“No. I’ve had no idea. Funny isn’t it?”
“So the Dragon Warrior was a lie all along?”
“No, there has to be more to it. Master Oogway said that there are no coincidences, I firmly believe that.” You try not to react in disgust to the old turtle’s memory, or try to blame your fool of an old man for believing in him for now.

>A) Go down to tell the panda that you’ll need a healer
>B) Depart, and try to make this right
>C) Start cleaning up the Sacred Hall of Warriors
>D) Write-in

>>4374506
>>A) Go down to tell the panda that you’ll need a healer

>>4374572
+1

>>4374506
>>A) Go down to tell the panda that you’ll need a healer

>>4374506
>A) Go down to tell the panda that you’ll need a healer
Then after that we should leave and skedaddle. We've caused too much damage.

>>4374506
>>A) Go down to tell the panda that you’ll need a healer
>>then leave, say to poe as we leave "Take care of him panda"

>>4375466
+1

QM I swear to god you better comeback we haven't had a novel idea like this in a while

>>4375520
QM is a bitch ass nigga

This quest is beautiful plz don't flake, OP.

>>4375466
+1
Plz don't let this die qm, i mean it. Plz?

>>4375683
Get used to having good prompts abandoned.

QM, you have a voter base, you have a good idea, i am begging you don't abandon it

Someone with time and interested should ninja the QM and run this themself

>>4378152
No you

aaand he's gone.

>>4378164
God no, I don't QM

>>4378301
It's easy anon. The votes are A so you could have Tai Lung say some words lay down Oogway he runs out the temple down the stairs and yells at the panda that Master Oogway needs a healer than fucking dip heading to town putting on some fucking cloak he steals and eating stealing some piece of meat because he's fucking hungry. Than fucks off away from the place.

I would write it but busy, if no one else take over, I could post after 24 hours pass from this post.

>>4378389
Do it anon, be the hero this quest needs

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>>4378672
K But to keep this alive until someone takes it. Watched the ending to know what was happening

>>4374572
>>4374646
>>4374647
>>4375466
>A) Go down to tell the panda that you’ll need a healer

"Save your strength Shifu, its not your time yet. I dishonored the Sacred Hall of Warriors and the legend of the Dragon Warrior, I'll not cause anymore more dishonor by staying." The Master is carefully placed down and you look behind to see the fat panda out of breath, breathing in more heavily than the dying Shifu.

"Stairs." He heaves and pants you ran to him grabbing him by the fur of his neck.
"Go get Shifu a healer, he don't make it without one." Poe one moment was gasping for air, the next felt himself being choked to the next seeing master Shifu laying on the floor.

Tai Lung run down the flight of stairs on all fours, running away for the Sacred Hall of Warriors. Thinking to himself what kind of Dragon Warrior almost kills a master, ruins a Sacred hall, razed a village in an afternoon, and heavily hurts or kill the members of the Furious Five. Is that how a Dragon warrior should act? You ran out of Valley of Peace after bringing much of the opposite to the land.

You don't stop running until you're on the mountainside in the wildness. You felt disgust of what happened, you only hope that master Shifu lives as you rest for the night, hungry but alive.

>A) Depart far away, try to make this right
>B) Leave this place, find noodles far far away
>C) Change your look, name, and clothes no longer you are Tai Lung but (Name)
>D) Write-in

>>4378716

>>C) Change your look, name, and clothes no longer you are Tai Lung but (Sum Ting Wong)

Let's be the vigilante this world needs!

ALSO THANK YOU FOR KEEPING THIS GOING!!!

>>4378716
>>A) Depart far away, try to make this right

Redemption arc BOI

You are a god among men[/spoilers]

>>4378741

Second this option with the first option!

>>4378754
I say keep our name, but don't give it out

>>4378773

yeah, that was just my internal shitposter going for a shitpost name

>>4378775
That was a classic, another name could have been Ho Lee Fuk

Hmmm no finger pinch could have ended up with us having a spirit adventure
>>4378716
Lets keep our name for now >>4378773
This basically

>>A) Depart far away, try to make this right

>>4378716
>A) Depart far away, try to make this right

>>4378716
>A) Depart far away, try to make this right
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CGMk_roNaE

>>4378894
A modern classic

>>4378716
>A)

Damn. I missed this. People still waiting on QM? I could try and give it a go in a few hours. Only really watched the first film though though I doubt that'll be important if we're playing a surviving Tai Lung

>>4378389
>>4378943
Depends, anon has offered to do it if no one else willl

>>4378943
Fuck, I'll do it. Been meaning to run a quest and might as well nut up and post.

You run, leap, and flip your way down the Ten Thousand Steps of Contemplation that leads up to the temple you once called home many years ago. Shifu's words echo in your mind.

[i]“the failure was mine as well. I have instilled delusions of grandeur in you, and for that you’ve paid the price.”[/i]

You growl and shake your head. Was he right? Or were you simply too weak to take the mantel of the Dragon Warrior? Whatever the answer is, the fact is you nearly killed your master, the panda is the real dragon warrior, and perhaps...perhaps there are things you still must learn. Your escape leads you back to the small village at the base of the mountain. If you were going to leave this place far behind you then you would need supplies. You quickly take a large blanket and fashion it into a traveling cloak to hide your face and other features. You're a criminal on the run despite your new intentions and a well known one at that. It would be best to keep your identity hidden for now.

As you pick through the village for suppiles you hear a familiar set of voices.

"Tigress! Po and Shifu asked us to evacuate the town! We have to go back!" pleads the soft voice of Master Viper from a fair distance. The sounds of skittering and the clicking voice of Master Mantis join soon after.

"Viper is right! We have to leave it to Po and Shifu to slow Tai Lung down! Maybe we can find others to help us take him down."

You quickly hide around a corner and some rubble. If the furious five are here and they see you, no doubt they still try and fight you. But perhaps they might be Shifu's only hope of getting treatment. You're unsure if they can be reasoned with.

>What do you do?
>Come out of hiding and reveal yourself to them. Try to explain that Shifu needs help and you're not sure if the Panda can do much with his...figure.
>Try and stay hidden but somehow send a message that Shifu needs help before making your escape. You can try to direct them away from you and to the temple.
>They're still unaware of you. Use their arguement to sneak away and hope the Panda can find them first or help to safe Shifu.

>>4378949
Fuck didn't see this post. If anon wants to continue it then just ignore me and I'll for for
>>A) Depart far away, try to make this right

>>4378955
Well I'm still here, just that I'm busy running my own quest.

>>4378955
>Come out of hiding and reveal yourself to them.
They're not going to believe us if we say we've turned a new leaf. They know that we could easily kill them.

What I suggest we do is "pretend" to be evil and mention that the master is slowly dying, and if they dont get him a healer soon then he will surely perish. They have two choices: they can go find a healer for Shifu after the fact we've "learned of the secrets of the Dragon Warrior," or they can fight us, leaving their master to ultimately die along with them.
If they choose the former then good. That give us the chance to leave with little fan fair. If they choose the former then we will subdue either of them, cripple one of them a little, and threaten to save Shifu's life or else.

>>4378961
I can take over if it's cool with you so you don't burn out running two quests and at least we can try to breathe some life into this one.

I'm gonna head to sleep so if anon passes it off to me I'll take the votes in a few hours.

>>4378741
>>4378879
>>4378882
>>4378894
>>4378929
>A) Depart far away, try to make this right

Now that you were out of the Valley of Peace and away from anyone that fight you. You start thinking of what to do next, as a wanted criminal on the run keeping your identity hidden would be the best thing to do for now. You're not going back to the prison before you can right the wrongs that you have done.

Now that it's night you travel to the nearby village and do your last piece of stealing stealing a blanket someone forget to take back in. With it over your form nobody would know who you are. You'll keep your name but not give it out as it's the name Master Shifu gave you after he saved you as a baby.

You travel all through the night coming across a poor farming village right outside the Valley of peace, there are posters all over of wolves. Seems like outside the valley the furious five do little to help the others outside in need.

>A) Search for the wolves bandits
>B) Return back to the Valley of Peace to find out what happened with Master Shifu
>C) Keep traveling further away from the valley
>D) Write-in

>>4378963
Nah it's a dead quest anyway. I should have been gone longer than 4 hours before someone else took over.

>>4378966
Then I'll leave you to it. Good luck!
>search for bandits.

We might need to keep the peace around here while the masters recuperate after the ass kicking we gave them.

>>4378966
>>A) Search for the wolves bandits


this is good

>>4378969
Stay for back up, my life right now is busy. Don't know if I'm going to get called in for work tomorrow.

>>4378966
>A) Search for the wolves bandits
LETS GETS SOME BITCH BOYS

>>4378974
Alright. I'll lurk around. Let me know if you want me to take over. I realized I might have fucked things up with my posts and eagerness. My bad man.

>>4378966
>A) Search for the wolves bandits
wolf bandits
wolf bandits

>>4378966
>A) Search for the wolves bandits
should be easy to take care of

>>4378966
> A) search for the wolves bandits
I bet we’re gonna piss off Lord Shen doing this shit but Its most likely going to be fun

>>4379156
He was the bad guy in the second film right?

>>4379442
Yep

Alright time for me to take over

>>4379793
I was giving QM a day before stepping in myself like I mentioned last night

>>4379799

yeet

>>4379806
It's been nearly 24 hours so I'll guess I'll start writing now that I'm on my computer. We're chasing wolves. How can a mere bandit clan stand up to the mighty Tai Lung?

You gaze lingers on the posters of the wolves. Will you have the same posters once word gets out that you're still alive? Or would Shifu attempt to talk people over...assuming that he lived.

You shake your head. No, now is not the time for such thoughts. You left the panda in charge of finding a healer and even revealed yourself to the Furious Five just incase. Just as your stomach growls and your mind wanders to finding food, your thoughts are interrupted by a voice.

"Excuse me stranger! But is there anything I can do to help? These are troubling times with bandits wandering the countryside. Otherwise I suggest you find a place to stay. It's nearly dark out." You turn to face the man who spoke to you, a pig of average stature. His clothes were muddy and tattered, signs of his status as a farmer. You hastily adjust your makeshift cloak and hope it is enough to keep your identity hidden for now.

"These wolves..." You say quietly motioning to the poster. "Who are they?" The farmer's face falls slightly.

"Ah my friend, are you not from around here? It is a miracle that you have not yet seen them. That is Xing Yi Quan and his gang. They stalk the trade routes in search of merchants to attack. Please do not tell me you're thinking of going after them."

You remain silent, waiting for him to continue. When he does not you speak, "And the Furious Five? Why do they not help? Surely the most powerful warriors in all of China would do something?"

The farmer shakes his head sadly, "We are just a small village and the Five are preoccupied with much bigger things. They help us when they can but as you can guess even they cannot do everything." His face brightens as he realizes something. "Ah! But fear not! For things are about to change! They have chosen the Dragon Warrior! Surely with him they will be able to help us."

You maintain your silence, unsure. Your attack has left them all in terrible condition and as a result you're unsure when they will be able to move out and defend the people. At that revelation you're reminded of Tigresses last words to you.

>You do nothing but bring destruction and misery Tai Lung. Mark my words, I will find you. And you will pay for what you've done.

You growl slightly, causing the farmer to look aprehensive. Catching yourself you speak, "I'll go after them."

The farmer's eyes grow wide but something in your voice convinces him that you will not be dissuaded. "I see...my friend we do not have much in the way of money but if you manage to defeat them we will do all we can to repay you! I will speak with our village leader. Perhap he can gather some money for you when you return."

(1/2)

>How do you respond?
>Tell him that you don't expect any payment. While money would help on whatever you think wandering the country will do, soon all of China will be looking for you and who knows if you'll be able to spend it.
>Tell him that instead of money, if he can offer some food and rations for your travel. You're still hungry and if you want to prove you're trying to redeem yourself theft won't help your case.
>Simply walk away. The less people know about you the better. Talk about rewards will come later after you succeed.
>Ask the farmer for more information. (Write in)

>>4379853
>>Tell him that instead of money, if he can offer some food and rations for your travel. You're still hungry and if you want to prove you're trying to redeem yourself theft won't help your case.

>>4379866
Taking this vote. Writing.

"Food." You say gruffly. The farmer looks confused. "I just want food for travel." You explain before adding an awkward. "...please." The word sounds forgien if not a bit foul in your mouth. The farmer nods eagerly and motions for you to wait a moment before dashing off.

"Here." He says smiling and holding out a woven backpack full of vegetables and dried meats. While well worn, it is well made and only feels slightly small on you. As if sensing your imminent question he quickly adds, "The bandits hide out in the mountians to the north." He explains pointing in the general direction. With that you immediately make your way in that direction. The farmer hesitates as the distance between the two of you increase before shouting out. "You can stay with us traveler! If the bandits worry you about traveling I can offer you shelter while we wait for the Five to arrive and help! Please! Xing Yi Quan's gang is 50 men strong and he himself is said to be as strong as another 10!"

You ignore his pleas but can't help but reply, "Don't worry about me!" before quietly growling angrily to yourself as you feel your lust for battle rise, "They'll need every single one of them."
-----
As the sun sets, fog of night begins to fill the roads and you use that cover to fall on all fours and sprint. The wind whips around your face, pulling back your hood and revealing your face. Running, jumping and fliping over the terrain is second nature to you and you find yourself thinking. Why were you doing this? You still felt hatred and anger. 20 years of imprisonment, your master's broken promises, the urge to make others feel the frustration you felt of being denied what you felt was your right. All of those emotions culminating and threatening to explode at the fact that it all lead to the Panda of all people being the Dragon Warrior!

But even then your mind reaches back just a few hours prior, to Shifu's broken body. His apologies for leading you astray and filling your head with thoughts of granduer. And at that moment you felt something else. Pity? Regret? Compassion? You could not say.

(1/2)

---
You travel for 2 days and 3 nights to reach your destination. With the moon high above your head on the third night you find the bandits camped in a small open area surrounded by the mountains, leaving only one opening for an enterance. You hide behind some boulders and take a quick glance.

A group of 5 guards stand at the opening taking watch, while in the distance you can see several more people wandering within the encampment. They're too far away to count properly but it seems that the numbers might be right. 50 in total more or less. As you watch, you begin to imagine engaging the camp. They were weak and you could easily take them out. Simply charging the entrance and taking down the 5 guards, then brutalizing your way into the camp. Your breath grows heavy with anticipation as adrenaline begins to course through your body.

Or you could take them by surprise. Wait for the early morning. Then strike while they sleep! They will stand no chance and only your mercy would decide if they lived or died. Or better yet, you could walk into the open and open challenge them. Take them down one by one, slowly breaking their moral as you prove again and again your ferocity. At the edge of your percption find that your digging your clawss into the rock you were hiding behind, slowly cutting into it.

As the haze of bloodlust begins to fill your vision you think you hear something albeit faintly. The sound of a child crying.

>What do you do?
>Rush the camp. Here is your chance to prove you are a warrior worthy of respect. And by finishing these bandits you can prove that your changing your ways. Even if you maim them, only a few need to survive to tell the tale.
>Sneak into the camp and begin to take them out one by one. Only by knowing true fear will they understand how pathetic they are and how it is to become prey.
>Challenge them outright. Prove that they are nothing against the one who was to be the true Dragon Warrior.
>Try to calm yourself. You're letting yourself fall into your old habits again. You think your heard a child cry. Why would that be a sound coming from the bandit camp. Attempt to get a better look at the situation.

(2/2)

>>4379926
>>Try to calm yourself. You're letting yourself fall into your old habits again. You think your heard a child cry. Why would that be a sound coming from the bandit camp. Attempt to get a better look at the situation.

>>4379926
>>Try to calm yourself. You're letting yourself fall into your old habits again. You think your heard a child cry. Why would that be a sound coming from the bandit camp. Attempt to get a better look at the situation.

>>4379936
>>4379933
Taking these votes. Tai Lung must find inner peace or attempt to anyways. On that note would like to do rolls or should it be just based on choices? For this vote I'm just gonna say you succeed but I'd like to know for future posts. I'm thinking simple d20s?

>>4379958
d20s work, if you want more of a bell curve of success you can do 3d6 or something like that

>>4379963
Never tried 3d6. How would that work? Like a target number and add them all together or number of successes kind of thing?

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>>4379967
either or, i was thinking the former if you wanted to make critical successes and failures less common

but the latter is a good idea, i didnt think of that

>>4379976
Huh interesting. I could give that a try. Modifiers would be weird but I'll look around google to see what we can do.

>>4379998
I’ll just suggest what GURPS does: 3d6 vs target number based on skill and attribute, meets or lower than TN is a success. Degrees of success or failure increase the effectiveness of some activities, critical successes and failures are 3-4 and 17-18 respectively, with particularly high or low skills increase the range to 3-6 and 15-18. Normal “dude with decent training” skills are a 12, fairly proficient use would be a 14, 16 is the low end of elite users, 18+ is the beginning of true mastery and mostly exists to eat up penalties and fight other high skill people in opposed contests. It works well.

You pull your claws out of the rock and clench your fist as you take deep breaths. Your ragged and uneven breathing slowly evens out and you can feel yourself thinking more clearly. For the first time in your life you feel what you can only describe as a small smidgen of disgust at yourself but you can't pin point as to why. Loss of control? Feeling that you're just making yourself weaker by trying to change? Or maybe that you've been forced to this position of having to grovel and look for work to survive. Whatever the reason, you'll need to contemplate that later.

You slip your hood back on again and deftly sneak towards on of the rocky outcrops that surround the encampment. Jumping on a ledge, then grabbing a tree branch and swinging around it to fling yourself higher, you make your way to a perch that overlooks the bandit's hideout. You take note of what the wolves are carrying. Weapons of shoddy quality were the more common. Rust covered baldes, spears with pock marked edges, or simple clubs that ammounted to no more than a branch. Less common were weapons of higher quality that you assumed were part of what was stolen from merchants. Judging by the physique of their weilders, you easily assume that they must have been higher ups within the gang.

As you continue your recon you hear it again, the sound of a child sniffling followed by the sound of someone trying to hush them. You find the source among a group of people huddled in a corner. Various men and women dressed too finely and looking too anxious to be part of the gang. Merchants.

"Shut that kid up! The boss wants to sleep!" A wolf with an eyepatch shouts. "Or maybe we'll just have you find out what the secret ingredient in rabbit soup is!" He says brandishing a weapon at the group. One of the merchants hurries over and gets on his knees to beg.

"Please! Just let us go! We'll pay you anything! We're merchants we have money! Just let us go to town and we can get a loan or withdraw some from our stores!" The wolf laughs and kicks the rabbit merchant back into the crowd.

"As if we'd let our prize pigs escape. Don't worry. We'll bleed you all dry of your money. Just let us handle the work."

Disgust once again begins to rise within you. That man was so weak. What right did he have to be saved by you? What could possibly make them worth saving? But your ire also rose towards the bandits. They were attacking the defenseless. They were no warriors and them plauging the country, your country, was contemptable.

"Bolin, shut your mouth! You want everyone to know we're here?" Another wolf barks. "By know all of china must be looking for these weaklings. So instead of attracting the attention of their mercenaries. Keep your mouth shut!"

The wolf known as Bolin laughs, "With brother Xing we're invicible! What do we have to fear? The Fearsome Five? Please, they're so busy being high and mighty they'll never come after us!"

You decide to ignore their prattling and begin formulating a plan.
>What do you do?
>Jump in and begin to fight! Teach these bandits what it means to weild true power. The situation with the merchants will sort itself out in the end.
>Wait and try to sneak into the camp. Perhaps you can speak with the merchants to get more info on your opponents.It was as your fathe- master taught you.The power of Kung Fu was to take your enemy's weakness and make them suffer for it.
>Jump down and open challenge their leader. Your name carries weight. Perhaps you could use it to get his attention even if it exposed your identity.
>Write in.

>>4380010
That sounds pretty interesting. I'll need to look at the Gurps rules so we can stat up Tai Lung but I think I could give that a shot. Thanks!

>>4380023
>>Wait and try to sneak into the camp. Perhaps you can speak with the merchants to get more info on your opponents.It was as your fathe- master taught you.The power of Kung Fu was to take your enemy's weakness and make them suffer for it.

>>4380029
+1.

>>4380023
I’m not sure I’d recommend using more than the rolling system for a quest, GURPS can do anything but you need to be fairly familiar with what rules and options to use for some genres. It’s a great system but not a simple one to dive into without guidance.

>>4380048
Yeah I got the GURPs lite pdf and it seems like it's kind of complex for a quest.

>>4380029
>>4380048
Time to sneak. Good thing we're a cat. Writing.

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You pull back from the edge of the overlook and sit down, legs crossed. You keep a close watch over the camp and enter a semi meditative trance. Once again, memories of the recent days bleed into your thoughts.

>Your battle against the Panda who claimed to be the Dragon Warrior and realizing that all your training to be the Dragon Warrior was for nothing once you saw the empty scroll.

>Master Viper giving you a look of pity and telling you, "Tai Lung, if there is any good in you. Turn yourself in. There is no peace in trying to hunt one another."

You shake yourself back to reality and pull your bag closer for a quick meal. The vegetables you were given consited of mostly roots, which by now were rather fiberous and chewy but still somewhat filling. You compliment your meger meal with a bite of dried meat and settle back into your vigil. Hours later, you see that movement in the camp has come to a stop. Many of the wolves have fallen asleep in their posts or have retired for the night in their tents. You take a few steps back and get a running start before leaping off the mountain. You sail silently through the air, land on another minor cliff face before leaping at another branch to grab and fling you over the camp to the other end. With one last jump you land with a quiet thud behind all the merchants.

The hostages gasp with a mixture of horror and awe before they huddle together and watch you warily. You adjust your hood once more, your imposing figure towering over them and raise a finger to where your lips would be, the universal signal for silence.

"I'm here to...help." You say in a hushed voice with some difficulty. You're unsure of your role here or how to interact with these people. "I need information." You continue quietly as you squat down to get to their eye level. The rabbit who begged for their release hobbles over holding his ribs.

"What can we do? We're just hostages. We can't even offer you money." He says in a defeated whisper. You're unsure of how to respond to that. Should you lie and attempt to raise their hope? Tell them the truth and risk them getting scared? You shake your head wonder that yourself. What could these people even offer you in this fight?

>What do you say?
>Ask why were they captured. Bandits ussually take goods not people. What made them special?
>Ask if you know of any weakness that you can exploit to fight the wolves. Things like fighting styles, favored weapons, or injuries.
>Ask if they noticed anything strange that you might be able to use against them.
>Ask something else (write in)

>>4380075
>Ask why were they captured. Bandits ussually take goods not people. What made them special?

>>4380075
>>Ask why were they captured. Bandits ussually take goods not people. What made them special?
>>Ask if you know of any weakness that you can exploit to fight the wolves. Things like fighting styles, favored weapons, or injuries.

>>4380075
>Ask why were they captured. Bandits ussually take goods not people. What made them special?
>Ask if you know of any weakness that you can exploit to fight the wolves. Things like fighting styles, favored weapons, or injuries.
Ask if they are all the prisoners. If we dont have to worry about a secondary group, then we can begin.

>>4380121
>>4380119
Asking about their kidnapping and possible weaknesses. Writing.

>>4380124
Will take this question into account too. Knowing if everyone is present is a good idea.

"Why did they take you prisoner?" You asks bluntly. "Bandits ussually don't take hostages." A wave of murmuring washes over the prisoners as they look at one another.

"We're not really sure." The injured rabbit replies. "Some of us have been here longer than others. We mostly assumed that we'll be held for ransom. Thats what the guard keeps saying about us being bled dry for money." A few of the nearby merchants nod in agreement.

"But they haven't sent anyone out to get money." A small girl squeeks out in fear. Everyone turns to look at her and she shys aways. "I-I mean I don't think they have." She stammers. You tilt your head and motion for her to continue. "E-everytime they send someone out, they ussually bring more of us here. I've counted how many they send out and every time the exact ammount of bandits come back. Every time they send a group out, it's to bring back more people and no bandit ever stays behind." You think about it.

"Is this everyone?" You ask. "They haven't left anyone of you behind or set anyone free?" Another wave of mutterings occurs before people begin to confirm that everyone's caravan was kidnapped in it's entirety. "So they took precautions to make sure no one could go spread the tale...why?" You ponder. "If they wanted a ransom, they would have left someone to collect the money at a drop point. Can you think of any other reason why they would want you here and not outright kill you?"

The prisoners flinch. "Well..." The injured rabbit speaks. "They took one of my workers and a few other prisoners." He points to the largest tent in the camp. "They took them over there. We haven't seen them since." Another merchant speaks up.

"That's also where they're keeping all of our stuff. I don't know why they need them though. Do you think...are they you know..." The mechant says trying to dance around the question.

"Dead? I wouldn't know. What exactly did they take from you?" You ask looking around for any wandering patrols. The rabbit scratches his head.

"We were all making our way to the Jade Palace for the ceremony of the Dragon Warrior. I was going to deliver some fire works." He explains.

"I had some nice vases and pottery."

"I was going to sell weapons there." Another says and looks around embarassed. "What? They were dull and only for decoration purposes! Just replicas...Why I had this nice replica of the sword of heroes! I cost me a fortune to get the jade inlaid."

"Fake weaopns...pottery and fireworks...." You think. "And each one of you had a person taken from you to that tent..." You stand to your full height. "I think I have an idea of what I need to do. Before I go do you know of any weakness they might have? Fighting styles, injuries or weapons?" The prisoners shake their head.

"Only that they're drinking my best wines and alchohol! I was going to make a mint off of those. They don't even know how to savor it. They just guzzle it down and get completely wasted." One merchant laments. "Please you have to help us! We'll give you anything! You can even have my daughter!" He complains. You scowl at him but say no more. This whole situation felt wrong. Something was going on.

>What do you do?
>Try and sneak into the large tent where everyone was taken. If you were going to preform any heroics, it's best to see if anyone else was still alive there.
> Go around the camp and start incapacitating guards. The less you have to deal with the better but one mistake might alert the camp.
>Try and work on the alcohol angle. Maybe you can use that to your advantage. (I have an idea but feel free to suggest something.)
>Call out the leader and challenge him to single combat. If he knows who you are then maybe the fear will give you an advantage.
>Write in.

Last post for the night from me. It's midnight on my end. I'll probably around to continue around 10 or 11 am tomorrow PST. I'll need to think of a trip or something incase I have to make a new thread.

>>4380156
>Try and sneak into the large tent where everyone was taken. If you were going to preform any heroics, it's best to see if anyone else was still alive there.
>Try and work on the alcohol angle. Maybe you can use that to your advantage. (I have an idea but feel free to suggest something.)

Getting them drunk should help us sneak in. Obviously we can defeat the bandits, we can defeat almost anyone, but even as skilled as we are they might still be able to kill hostages before we can take out every single bandit. We’re trying to turn over a new leaf, starting by getting people killed would be a poor omen.

>>4380165
support, have to say something about these bandits feels off man

>>4380156
your a legend for picking this up

>>4380156
>Write in.
Sneak into the Bandit leader's tent to beat him and whoever else inside to an inch of their life, bring their bloodied bodies outside, and proclaim yourself the new leader. Should anyone attempt to flee they will be killed. There is said to be 50 of them. Have all the bandits rounded up so we can appraise them.

After at least fifty or so of them are made visible, and asking if they're all accounted for (again mention cowards or those hiding will be gutted) tell them all to engage each other in hand to hand til knocked out. It'll be a free for all, and the remaining 10 wolves that survive will become our new disciples and learn how to become martial arts masters, so that our names will be carved into the annals of history. More riches and power than they could ever dream to acquire should they prove their metal. The fact that we're here, and the Dragon Warrior isn't should speak volumes.

This is all a ruse to play into their greed. Should any attempt to flee, they will be made into examples (bloodied and bruise). Should they all begin to fight each other to unconsciousness, then we can simply defeat the remaining ten while they're too fatigued to put up a decent chance. I've no idea how this deception would feel to Tai Lung. He is definitely strong enough to face all of them, but I have my doubts if he would even be able to catch and pummel all 50 of them should they scatter in different directions.

>>4380169
This is some anti-hero, thinking and damn is it good, though not sure if a Tai Lung who is trying to go good, would do this

>>4380165
>>4380166
As far as anyone is concerned, Tai Lung is the big bad boogie man that kills without remorse. They might rationalize that taking someone hostage wouldnt really would on someone as remorseless as Lung, so revealing himself to the bandits might be enough to either coerce them into obedience (enough to do the "beat each other up" plan), or scare them all away so we can free the merchants in peace.

>>4380171
Between tricking people to fight each other so he doesnt have to track down 50 fleding bandits, or intoxicating them all with high quality hooch (how would he get them to drink?), which of the two would he be more liable to consider?

>>4380169
I do quite like this plan as well, it feels more appropriately arrogant and Tai Lung. Gonna change my vote to this.

>>4380169
changing to support

>>4380173
Alright, yeah you have a point

>>4380169
>>4380174
>>4380175
Holy shit guys. Nice write in. Looks like Tai Lung is falling back to his old ways but with a twist. Writing.

"Where does their leader sleep?" You ask, your voice dangerously quiet. The prisoners shrink away and turn to point to a tent in aprehension. It was on a small hill so it overlooked the rest of the camp.

"He sleeps there and only comes out in the mornings or when he is going to send out another group to rob. But what could you possibly think you can do to help us..." The rabbit's voice trails off as you have vanished into the night without a trace. As he spoke, you had jumped over one of the wagons that was keeping them penned in. Staying low on all fours your quickly sprint through the camp like a wraith, ducking behind barrels, rolling just under the passing guard's vision as they groggily make their rounds or look for another drink of the merchant's alcohol. Rather than make your way around the camp, you extend your claws and dig them into the steep hillside to climb your way to the top. With on last flip, you land at the top and stride into Xing Yi Quan's tent.

The tent, while bigger than a regular sized one, was still sparsely decorated and contained only a table, chair and cot. In said cot was Xing, fast asleep. You grab a small lantern and turn it on, it's dim light casting your shadow over the defenseless bandit as you stand over him. One again you feel your ire rise, the great Tai Lung, master of the 1000 scrolls of Kung Fu, on the run and forced to beg for food. Disgraced and denied their destiny by their own hand. What purpose did you have now? Years of imprisonment, decades of broken bones and bruises all for a goal that was no longer attainable. Why could no one understand the rage that flowed through you?

"I will show them." You mutter to yourself. "With or without the dragon scroll I will be a master worthy of the title of Dragon Warrior." You glare at the bandit leader and clench your fist before you let out a gutteral roar and drive your fist straight into Xing's face! The impact shatters the flimsy cot and drives the bandit's head straight into the ground with a loud crunch as you feel his jaw break. Your fury now loose and unhindered, you repeatedly strike the bandit while he writhes on the ground unable to speak due to the pain as you pour all your anger and frustration of the past few days into him. With another roar, you grab him by the leg and slam Xing behind you and through the table, shattering it and the lamp! The lamp oil spills everywhere and ignites, setting fire to the tent but you were long done with such a small arena. You pick up the bleeding bandit and kick him straight through the roof of the tent and down into the main encampment, the sounds of shouting and of Xing impacting into something else ringing in your ears.

(1/x)

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The fire rages behind you as you walk to the edge of the hill and watch over the camp as the bandits all run around looking for weapons and for you. You get a running start and leap straight into the middle of the chaos, drop kicking another wolf into a barrel of food. The camp freezes and all eyes turn to you as the clan tries to size up the newcomer in the maskshift cloak. You calmly bend over and lift their broken leader by the neck. "Your leader is broken before me!" You shout out. "So I will only say this once! Those who choose to stand against me will suffer far worse! Those who I choose to be merciful to will only suffer his fate!" You cruely hurl the leader's body straight through another wagon. With a low chuckle you turn to face the rest of the bandits. "And belive me, I find myself to running very low on that."

As if in reply you hear all of the bandits raise their weapons at you. One of them foolish enough to approach you snarls, "And why shouldn't we just kill you where you stand? 50 against 1. I like those odds." He asks brandishing a rusty blade. You smile underneath your hood as you raise your leg into a perfect axe kick and slam your heel down on the poor wolf's head. The bandit slams into the ground so hard he bounces and on the way up you smash both palms into his chest sending him flying into another group of wolves. You flex your neck and other muscles before slowly lowering your hood. "Perhaps I should have rephrased that into a question. Which one of you boys wants to defy the great Tai Lung?"

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>>4380520

The camp explodes into chaos as news of your attack spreads, "SILENCE!" You roar and everyone freezes. Calmly making your way to a table, you lean back against it and casually cross your arms. "You." You start by pointing to another bandit. "Food and drink." you command. "NOW!" you shout when the wolf hesitates sending him scurrying to a nearby barrel for drink and to the nearest fire pit for food. While you had no intention of running a bandit clan, you couldn't deny yourself some of the perks. You keep him in your vision as he does so, now would not be the best time to get poisoned. Once your meal was brought to you, you turn your attention to the rest of the clan. "10 minutes." You say calmly, though your tone carried anything but benevolence. "You have 10 mintues to gather everyone of your men here. For every mintue you go over..." You pause and take a big bite out of a peice of meat, bones shattering in your teeth. "...I'll kill one of you. Do I make myself clear?" You finish as you swallow.

The wolves stand at attention and begin the race to rouse the others from their drunken sleep. As they do, you call out over the din of movement. "Some of you may have heard that the Dragon Warrior was chosen! Well he will not save you. I have defeated him in single combat! He will not come! But follow me and I promise you more riches than you could possibly imagine! The respect and fear you all deserve!" You pick up your flagon of ale and begin to drink. Once the first drop hits your tongue you find yourself chugging it down in one go. Gulp after gulp you find yourself remember all those years without a drop of fresh water to drink. How long had it been since you had even imagined drinking even fresh water. So long that this watered down filth tasted like the finest wines from the Jade Palace. As you put down your empty mug, you see that a large group of wolves stands before you.

9 mintues and 50 seconds.

"Excellent." You say quietly as you stand again. "Now...let me show you that I can be...fair." You chuckle. "IF ANYONE IS STILL MISSING OR REFUSES TO JOIN I PROMISE YOU THAT YOUR DEATHS WILL BE QUICK AND CLEAN!" You shout as you count the heads. "I've heard your group is 50 men strong. Barring the 2 that were in my way, I notice we're missing one." Turning to the wolf you brought you food you ask. "Where is he?" Before he can speak, another shouts. "H-he's right here! He's just drunk! We couldn't wake him up Master Tai Lung sir!" You push your way through the crowd and see that he is telling the truth. Fast asleep, is another wolf that reeks of beer.

You growl and raise your fist. "Weakness...has no part in my gang!" You roar and bring it down upon him. The wolves protest, stating that he is one of their best men and it was a simple mistake but your attack goes through. Your fingers strike the uncouncious bandit's pressure point and he seizes and goes stiff, lifeless.

The bandits gasp and stay still, in fear of their own lives. Unbeknownst to them, your strike has merely paralized your victim giving the illusion of death. A trick you once used against the Five. "Leave him. He is worthless." you spit as you take your place back at the table.

"Now." You says calmly. "I want you all to fight for me." Murmers of confusion explode around you and you raise you hand for silence. "I want you all to fight amongst yourselves for me! For I will offer you something that is worth far more than just gold! The 10 survivors of this brawl will be taken under my wing as my disciples and my top men! Power beyond your imagination! Power enough to defeat the Furious Five and their so called Chosen One! Our names will be forever known in history as the mightest warriors in all of China!" You shout raising your fist.

There is a slight quiet before one wolf shouts,"I will not fail you Master!" and raises his sword to strike someone next to him. His attack never goes through as you roundhouse kick him unconcious.

"Idiot! You will fight unarmed! Do you think reducing our numbers in any way is a good idea?" You turn to face the group. "The only one who can kill anyone of you is me! I decide who lives or dies! Your lives are mine! Am I understood?!" You shout. The wolves look at each other and slowly toss their weapons away. "Good...should I find any of you dead by the end of this, I will find out who did it and they will be made an example of." You take a seat and place your feet on the table. "You may begin." You say lazily motioning to the bandits. At once the camp explodes into a brawl and the sounds of fist fighting ring into the air. You keep an eye on the melee but you flick them over to the prisoners as you notice them watching you.

Their eyes are no longer full of hope and awe but instead look at you in fear and disgust. And you're not sure how to feel about that...

>What do you do during the massive brawl?
>Keep an eye on the fight while eating and drinking.
>Go speak to the prisoners. You feel...uncomfortable for some reason at the way they look at you.
>Check out the large tent. See if there is anyone still alive there.
>Write in.

Big write up. Sorry about that lads. Wanted to make sure I had all your ideas in.

>>4380567
>You promised to save them, not that it would be pretty, not that it would be heroic, just that you would save them, look away, for now, that is something you will deal with later, right now you need to check the large tent for survivers

>>4380567
>Keep an eye on the fight while eating and drinking.
We'll keep an eye on their progress as we recover lost strength. 20 years in a prison, I think only being sustained with the bare minimum has left Lung significantly weaker than what he was in his prime. Some food, drink, and entertainment will do him some good.

>>4380567
>Keep an eye on the fight while eating and drinking.

>>4380575
This I suppose. We can do a head count later. Grab a flagon of something and maybe some meat.

>>4380580
So are you chaging your vote to check the tent while bringing some food with you? Or is it still sit back and watch?

>>4380584
The former
Tent investigation + meal to go

>>4380575
>>4380593
Gottcha. Acknowledging that our methods aren't pretty and checking out the tent with some food. Writing.

>>4380596
right on

>>4380596
what a fella

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You force yourself to ignore those looks. You weren't the hero they wanted. You weren't noble or honorable. Not the Five, just Tai Lung. But you said you were going to help them, and you would keep that vow. No matter the cost. You stand up and grab another mug of beer and another shank of meat before making your way to the large tent. The prisoners mentioned some of their group were taken in here. Leaving the sounds of combat behind you, you push through the tent flaps into what looks like some kind of storage room. The tent is dimly light with small candles and if you did not possess a keen eyesight and night vision, you'd have trouble navigating the maze of barrels and goods.

Taking a bite of food and a swig of beer you make your way around the tent. At one end you see tables covered in a black powder and lined with vases, another full of weapons that glinted in the dim light next to a large whetstone and another pile of ornate but dull weapons. As you approach the tables you hear a squeak and the sounds of something being knocked over followed by it's immenint crash. Turning on instinct you raise your claws to defend yourself and come face to face with a goat holding a sword. He trembles and his grip on the blade is awkward and ametuer at best. Behind him are two children, a rabbit and a pig. They cower behind the man and cling to him for protection.

"S-stay back! Kill me if you must but let the children go." He says flipping between self sacrifice and defending himself. His voice carries no threat as he struggles to maintain his nerve.

>What do you say?
>Attempt to calm him down before asking what he is doing here. You're here to help although the sounds of fighting outside might make that a bit difficult.
>Maintain your facade and order him to lower his weapon and to tell you what is he doing here.
>Say nothing but offer him some food that you've brought with you. You've been a prisoner before so you can imagine the kind of treatment they've been getting. Questions can come later and while they eat you can investigate some more.
>Write in.

>>4380629
>Say nothing but offer him some food that you've brought with you. You've been a prisoner before so you can imagine the kind of treatment they've been getting. Questions can come later and while they eat you can investigate some more.

>>4380629
Offer some of the food. We’ve learned something from being a prisoner at least.

>>4380629
>>Say nothing but offer him some food that you've brought with you. You've been a prisoner before so you can imagine the kind of treatment they've been getting. Questions can come later and while they eat you can investigate some more.

>>4380629
>Disarm the goat, and put some food in his hands instead
>"Get out of my tent. Now."

>>4380652
What about the two kid ?

>>4380655
"I said get out! take your kids with you."

I'm gonna grab some lunch. Be back in about half an hour. Loving the write ins and posts. Hope you guys are enjoying the game too. I'll count the votes when I get back.

>>4380660
Maybe we could do that after the fight. It's not as though they would prove to be troublesome the longer they stay in the tent.

>>4380635
support

>>4380635
Support

>>4380635
yes.

>>4380635
>>4380638
>>4380642
>>4380683
>>4380681
Overwhelming this. Writing. As Oogway once said, "I do not ask a wounded person how he feels, for I have been wounded the same way once."

>>4380635
This

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You look deep into the man's eyes. They bore the look that only a trapped animal could have. Desperation. Fear. Resignation. The same look you recall Shifu once had all those years ago when you two fought before you imprisonment. You wonder if you once had those same eyes when you first felt the the shackles clamp down on your body. You remain quiet as you slowly bend down and remove your backpack. The merchant flinches and tries to hold his blade steady as he trembles more. "W-what are you doing?" He asks to no response.

You slowly pull out your rations and lay them on the ground for them along with your drink. You can't force them to eat but at the least you can do than what either of your captors did. Offer a decent meal. The children eye the vegitables hungrily and you stand to go back and investigate the tables once more. It doesn't take long before you hear the sounds of chewing behind you.

Your attention is immediately drawn to the biggest threat, the weapons. Picking up a sword from the table you compare it to the ones on the ground. They are both ornate and stylized with the only difference being that the ones on the table are crudely sharpened. Their edges are nicked and chipped but they still hold deadly cutting power. That would explain why some of the bandits held superior weaponry compared to the rest. They weren't higher up, they were slowly getting armed. You drop the weapon and stride to the black powered table.

Running your fingers across the surface to pick some up, you give it a quick sniff. Explosive powder. You move some broken shards around and notice that they are made of bamboo and brightly painted. "The fireworks..." You mutter and quickly throw open the lid of a nearby pot. Filled to the brim, the pot contained the same black powder that littered the table.

You turn to face the merchant and two children but they are too busy eating ravenously to notice your gaze. At the same time you've noticed that the sounds of fighting have died down considerably.

>What do you do?
>Ask the man what he was doing here. What were the bandits up to?
>Go back outside. The task you've given your "clan" is nearly over and they might begin to wonder where you've gone.
>Leave the prisoners be and continue to explore the tent. The bandits were up to something and you're starting to get an idea of what. Perhaps there's more clues in here.
>Write in.

>>4380712
I can already draw up a conclusion. They could had been bidding their time for some kind of grand raid, not that they would ever succeed. Crudely sharpened blades and modified fireworks for explosives. Simple minded brutes.

>Go back outside. The task you've given your "clan" is nearly over and they might begin to wonder where you've gone.

>>4380712
>Say to the man "Wait here for me to return, I have to deal with the rest of the wolves", then go outside congratulate the "winners" and have them detail what the old leader was planning

>>4380716
+1. It isn’t difficult to figure out what bandits would do with these items.

>>4380717
+1

>>4380716
>>4380717
>>4380720
>>4380726
These are basically in the same vein. I'll combine the votes. Telling the prisoners to stay put, and heading out to question the "winners".

>>4380717
+1 yes. I'm quite enjoying this!

You head out to face the wolves once more. "Wait here for me to return, I have to deal with the rest of the wolves." You say as you pass them. "And don't let the kids eat too much. Your bodies aren't used to eating well and you'll end up throwing up, dehydrating you."

You push past the tent flaps, to face what's left of the wolves. Bodies lay scattered on the ground, battered and bruised perhaps missing a few teeth but otherwise unconcious. All that remains is 6 wolves. You slowly clap as you make your way back to the table. "Well...well...well. I see I have found my prized warriors. You have done well to defeat the others. How did it feel? The power? The brutality? Being able to take your foes down with your bare hands and nothing. To assert your will on someone else?" The wolves nod eagerly, their eyes and faces swelling up from the fight, as they drink in your every word. You sit back down and place your feet back onto the table. "So tell me. Instead of fostering your skill, what innane plan did your so called leader have in that tent there?" You ask, casually jerking your thumb at the tent. "And those prisoners. Why all this when you can simply take what you want by brute force!"

The wolves look at each other and hesitate. You frown and slowly remove your feet from the table to lean in. "I thought it went without saying but perhaps those blows to the face might have jarred your thinking. When I ask you a question, you awnser!" You growl, crushing a nearby mug with your bare hand. The wolves snap at attention.

"I'm sorry Master!" One pleads. "It was all brother Xing's plan! He said it would be the greatest raid in all of China. An attack against the village at the foot of the Jade Palace." You can't help but scoff and laugh.

"That was your plan? Did you forget the Five live there? Did you forget that they are the second strongest warriors in all of China?" You ask. The wolves nod sheepisly.

"Well said Master but Xing said that we would never face them." The wolf says. "We were too...that is. He was going to load up the explosives on to the merchant's wagons and send them in. They would pretend to sell their wares all over the village. That way no one would question why they had vases and other odds and ends. Then when they were spread enough appart they would detonate them. Xing said the explosions would be so far apart it would force the Five to seperate and in the chaos we sould come in and steal everything we could. We would cut down any who tried to stop us."

Your growls grow louder. "And you expected them to simply do it? Tell me, was this so called Xing stupid enough to think that they would be eager to denotate the carts themselves and be caught in the blast?"

"T-that's why we took them all Master! We would hold some as hostages. And if they didn't do what they were told and explode the carts we would kill them!" The wolf shouts evidentally becoming more and more uncomfortable at your increasing glare and at having to hear the plan outloud.

You feel your anger rising again. These were all the plans of a coward. A disgusting sacrifice of life. While you may have been willing to kill and maim to get the Dragon scroll in your anger, you had at least the courage to face the consequences head on and do so via your own power. You feel your hands clench and a veil slowly go over your eyes. The wolves slowly begin to back up as you stand. You wanted nothing more than to put these animals in their place. Make an example of them. But you can also feel the eyes of the prisoners fall on you. Their wary and frightened gazes.

>What do you do?
>Make an example of the remaining wolves. Break them. This farce has gone on long enough.
>Order the remaining wolves to let the prisoners go. With food and supplies to make their journey to the village. Then you deal with them.
>Intimidate the wolves into helping you tie up the rest of the gang. They're getting off easy for not having to face your wrath but they'll be helping you take the rest in for justice. Keeping an eye on 6 during travel is easier than 50.
>Write in.

>>4380760

>Order the remaining wolves to let the prisoners go. With food and supplies to make their journey to the village. Then you deal with them.

No killing the wolves. We need zealot followers to gather more followers.

>>4380760
>Write in.
Knock out the remaining six, then release the prisoners. Suggest that they tie up the wolves. They're free now.

>>4380765
>>4380760
Support, but adding on,
>keep the 6 that were left standing, bandits they maybe, but they still managed to be the last 6 standing out of a 50 man melee, you are on a path of redemption, might as well force them to join you on it

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>>4380775
>>4380765
>>4380762
No murder, release the prisoners and tie up the bandits save the final six. Wait...did we...did we just start our own Furious Five/Sons of Batman? Guess we'll see. Writing.

>>4380790
I mean it's a tie lung redemption quest so why not

>>4380792
Not gonna lie, I expect people to go solo, maybe pick up an orphan to take under our wing, and hit on tigress but this is equally bad ass. Make a crew and become the heroes of china. Kind of a "If I can't be an offical Dragon Warrior then I'll make my own furious five and give myself the title." Sounds equally as Tai Lung. Maybe slowly leave that way of thinking as we save people and redeem ourselves. I dig it.

>>4380760
>Write in.
keep the 6, let the prisoners go and after they've gone kill the other wolves don't want any loose ends.

>>4380795
>>4380790
I vote to name our troop the Seven Saviors

>>4380815
Let's hold off on a name for now

>>4380815
Seems kind of tacky. I agree that we should withhold on the name making. Possibly for indefinitely. The fact that we have to come up with a name sounds really unappealing.

You slowly make your way to the remaining 6 wolves. They inch away from you and look at each other warily. "Bombs. Hostages...these are the methods of cowards!" You shout. "We are martial artists! What we do, we do with our own strength!" You look at each and everyone of the 6 wolves. "Perhaps, your old leader forgot that...and perhaps it's time I drill that into your heads!"

In a flash you kick one of the wolves in the throat! He clasps his neck and goes down coughing as he loses conciousness. In one fluid motion you put down your leg and spin on it, slamming your elbow into the chin of another and thrusting your other foot back into the gut of the one behind you. In their exhausted state they offer little resistence as they crumple to the ground. The remaining three leap at you in a vain attempt to subdue you. You raise your hands in the air and catch one, throwing him on the ground and striking his chin with your foot, incapacitating him. One of the wolves throws a jumping kick that you block with your forearms before grabbing his leg and weilding him as a weapon. You spin with him in your hands and slam the last two wolves into each other as they collapse on the ground.

You turn to face the prisoners. "You are free." You say simply. "Take as much as you want and leave but before you do. Maybe tie up the wolves. There are more of you in the tent." You lift the 6 you knocked out and place them on the table. "But not these. I will deal with them." The merchants look at each other warily unsure of what to do.

"S-stay away from us." One of the merchants say and they slowly begin to ease out of their pen. They keep their distance from you and you simply drag the table to another end of the camp so you don't get int their way. They whisper among themselves hoping that you don't hear them but your keen ears catch it all.

"What's Tai Lung doing here?!"
"We need to tell the Five!"
"What? He just saved us! Besides I don't want him coming after me!"
"I be he just wants us to clean up his mess so he can start up his own gang."
"Tie up the bandits. What are we supposed to do with them?!"

You sigh, and decide that you better get on that yourself. You tear into the tents and use the strips of them to use as makeshift rope. Again they prisoners keep a wide berth around you. As you work, you feel a small tap on your leg. You turn and find yourself facing the man from inside the tent. He doesn't give you a chance to speak as he wants to speak before his nerve leaves him.

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"Thank you for saving us...and for the food. It's not sharp I'm afraid but I kept it hidden. Those brutes didn't deserve something this nice." He says handing you a wrapped up object. You look at him in confusion as he leaves. Unwrapping the bundle reveals a beautiful sword, polished and inlaid with a jade dragon but ultimately dull. The replica Sword of Heroes.

You quickly wrap up the blade again and put it in your pack trying to process the rush of emotions you feel. Once you finish binding the last of the bandits you look back at the merchants. Serveral carts have been loaded already and they seem to be ready to leave but something seems to be holding them back a bit. An air of expectancy hangs in the air and you wonder if they're waiting for you to say something.

>What do you do?
>Tell them that they're free to leave. You will stay behind.
>Tell them you're willing to escort them to the village. They can take the bandits with them to turn into the authorities.
>Ask them to haul off the wolves while you stay behind. You can't very well walk back to town now that everyone knows who you are. The wolves are bound and the merchants have weapons. There shouldn't be any problems on their way back.
>Let them go but only ask if they can keep your name out of this. It's the only thing you ask of them.
>Write in

I wonder if the Furious Five named themselves. Up to you guys to decide if you want to name yourself and what. I'm not really good at alliterative names but I'll try if you guys earn one from the people.

>>4380826
>>Tell them you're willing to escort them to the village. They can take the bandits with them to turn into the authorities.
>>we only ask they not mention our name

>>4380826
>Tell them you're willing to escort them to the village. They can take the bandits with them to turn into the authorities.
>ask if they can keep your name out of this. It's the only thing you ask of them.
I don't support keeping the remaining six wolves, but since we are I guess we'll keep em.

>>4380830
+1

>>4380831
Seems like I misread the idea of keeping the wolves. I thought I read everyone wanted to keep them but it was basically all three. Yes keep em as zelots, no, and yes as trainees. So I'll make that a vote now. My bad guys.

>Do you want to keep the 6 wolves along or do we send them along with the rest of their gang?

>Yes keep them
>No send them off.

>>4380839
>>Yes keep them

>>4380839
>No send them off.
If we end up keeping them it’s fine, just feels a bit early. I’d rather be pickier about who we train.

I'll leave it that vote open for a while longer while I write up the previous votes so it doesn't slow down.

>>4380839
>>No send them off.

>>4380839
>>No send them off

I feel like Tai Lung needs to discover who he really is before training others

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You make your way to the merchants. "I...am willing to escort you back to the village." You say awkwardly. "The roads might still have other dangers and leaving you to escort the bandits alone is not a good idea." You let the offer hang in the air. None of the merchants seem to want to be the one to answer. The silence begins to get awkward and you add. "If not then all I ask is that you don't mention my name. It'll be better for all of us." You wince at how you worded that last phrase. The merchants huddle and begin to whisper among themselves unaware that you can still hear them.

"Do we tell him to go away?"
"If he's with us, no one is gonna wanna mess with us and I don't want to carry all those guys alone."
"What does he mean 'better'? Is he gonna off us if we squeal?"
"He's a wanted man! I heard he killed a 100 men with one hand! We should be turning him! There might be a reward to recoup our losses."
"You wanna be the one to try to take him down?"

You grunt and go to pour yourself another drink as you wait for the rabble to decide your offer. After a few moments they turn to you and speak. "We will accept your...umm...gracious offer but we want your cart to be infront of us so we can...umm...keep an...eye on you?" The merchant says as you eye him curiously. "So...uhh please gather your "people" and we can leave. The sun is starting to come up." You sigh and get to work. You take one of the wagons and begin loading it up with the bandits, making sure they're all securely tied. Its long tedious work as you now have to tie their legs together so they don't run off.

"Well then. Let's head off." You say and begin to lead the caravan out of the valley and back on to the roads.
----
Several hours later...

You sit at your small camp fire several yards away from the main group. Citing safety reasons, the main group managed to pluck enough courage to tell you that you need to keep guard and stay away in case some of the bandits got free. You obliged and now your find yourself poking at the fire with a stick. The bandits in your care spit and swear at you, making you contemplate knocking them all out again just to get some quiet. Your stomach growls and you reach into your bag for some food only to find it empty and remembering you gave it away to the prisoners in the tent. Dejected you dump your bag on the ground and sit, ready to wallow in your hunger when a voice breaks through your thoughts.

"A man should be wary when he sits at the table with demons, lest the demons have him for dinner." You turn and find yourself looking at the sheep that held you at sword point in the tent. He looks weary but relieved and is sporting a cane to help him walk. In his hands he holds some food, which he offers you.

>What do you do?
>Take the food and ask him what he wants.
>Take the food and say nothing.
>Say nothing but shoo him away.
>Don't take the food and stay quiet.
>Write in.

>>4380896
>Take the food and ask him what he wants.

>>4380896
>>Take the food and ask him what he wants.
>>wearily thank him

>>4380905
>>4380908
Eating and talking. Writing.

>>4380896
>He's a wanted man! I heard he killed a 100 men with one hand!
Actually it was 5600 rhinos. Remember the prison break? There were supposedly a thousand of them.

>>4380908
support

>>4380931
It was a thousand? Jesus, I remember he took out tons during the prison break but I didn't think it was that many. We're awesome.

>>4380935
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrE123Yw2lQ
I meant to say 500 with one hand, implying that be got 1000 between both hands.

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You take the food and give a weary but gruff, "Thank you." Before you begin eating. It feels a bit odd to be watched while you eat. A feeling you haven't felt since you were a child. "Do you need something?" You ask quietly as you lift your face from your food and wipe your face clean. The merchant motions to a spot next to you asking for a seat and you nod. He eases himself down onto the ground with a sigh.

"It's been too long since I've had a good rest. Those bandits had me working day and night. Well...not all day but I would often take shifts to allow the little ones rest." He says looking at the night sky. "They say the sky looks bigger to a man who has been freed than to one who'd lived as a free man. I'm inclined to agree." You look up at the star filled sky and wonder if he was right. Since your release you had thought of nothing but obtaining the Dragon scroll. Until know, it hadn't dawned on you that you were free. On the run from the law, but well and truely free. No walls, no guards. You could go anywhere you liked. "You must be wondering why someone like me is here." He asks but you don't answer. "When I first saw you in the tent, I saw anger and rage. You can see it in the way you walked. Then you found us and we locked eyes." The sheep pokes at your fire with his walking stick making it burn slightly brighter. "Then I what I saw was a reflection. A man who knew about the situation we were in but also full of doubt."

"You don't know anything about me old timer." You reply. "What I've been through. What I've done." The sheep nods.

"No I truly don't. But I've heard stories." He replies. "But I've also lived long enough to know that you're at a crossroads. That doubt in your eyes isn't because of fear or confusion. It's because something happened and now you're finally seeing everything you can be. Everything you can do. It's the same eyes I saw in the mirror when I buried my father." The elderly sheep stands. "Don't let that doubt become indecisiveness. It's ok to take your time to think and plan but make sure that your moment does not pass. But I'm rambling again aren't I?" He chuckles "I guess what I really should be saying is 'Thank you'. Thank you Tai Lung. For saving us." The sheep begins to shuffle off, leaving you alone to your thoughts.

"Old man." You finally speak up and the sheep stops. "The sky...it does look bigger. Endless."

The next few days of travel were uneventful, barring a few arguements among the merchants over who lost the most money. By the end of the 3rd day you arrive at the outsirks of the village. "We are here. As I said. You're all free." The merchants cheer and begin to rush towards the town as fast as their legs could carry them. All except the old sheep. He stands next to you as he catches up and gives you a small smile.

"What will you do now?" He asks. "I presume you weren't simply released from prison for your good behavior." He chuckles.

>What do you plan to do?
>Hand the bandits in yourself then leave. It's what you told the villagers you'd do. Hopefully the merchants will keep your name out of this.
>Ask the old sheep if he can take the bandit cart into town while you make your leave.
>Say you don't know.
>Say you don't know and ask the old man if he can suggest anything to do.
>Write in.

>>4380976
>Say you don't know.
>Write in.
This old ram is really wise. He sure he's not some monk? I presume he's also a merchant himself. What did he sell?

>>4380976
Forgot to include this. There's probably a bounty for these wolves. If they're so worried about the money then they can claim it for themselves. Unless some anons have better ideas. Maybe spare enough food and drink for a weeks worth of travel.

>>4380976
>Ask the old ram to join us in turning in wolves, let him take the possible reward for capturing them, only taking enough for supplies for a long journey

>>4380979
You don't know. You never thought to ask (in character at least. Out of character it didn't really come up). That weapon he gave you wasn't even his to give. It belonged to the other scummy merchant who offering his daughter if you rescued him. Also I've been calling him sheep because I didn't keep notes. Well better start on that.

>>4380992
+1.

Gonna grab dinner. Be back in about 30 mins.

>>4380992
>>4381004
Asking the old ram to come with us as we ask for the bounty. And asking what he sold. Writing

"I don't know." You admit. "Until recently I had one goal. Then I learned it all meant nothing." The old ram smiles and holds his cane.

"Young man, even nothing is something." He says. "From nothing there is infinite possiblity. Like an empty table, we can fill it with food. Or remodel it into something else. All it takes is your eyes to see the posibilities." He chuckles. You give the old man a look.

"Just what kind of merchant are you?" You ask befuddled. The old man laughs.

"My boy, who says one must be a merchant to travel the roads? But I suppose in some eyes I am a merchant of stories and advice. I'm just a mere storyteller that hitched an unfornate ride with this caravan. But was did that mean my choice meant nothing? Why now I have the tale of the mighty Tai Lung coming to save us." He says. You pull your hood over your head.

"I'd much rather you keep my name out of this. It's only fair seeing as I don't even know yours." You say gruffly.

The old ram smiles again. "I suppose I've been rather rude haven't I? I often go by Luo Guanzhong but Luo shall suffice for us and I do suppose I can keep this story archived. It seems you have a plan then?" You nod.

"For the moment. Though...I suppose I'll need your help. These bandits...they must have a bounty. I- I mean you can turn them in and claim the reward. That should help cover the loss for the merchants." You explain. The old man nods.

"A selfless deed." He muses. You shake your head.

"Not entirely. I just need enough to cover to pay for a weeks worth of travel." You explain as you begin to head into town with the cart in tow. The old man nods.

"It is only fair. You did all the work. But they will ask for a name. No one will ever believe an old goat like me defeated all these bandits. What will you give them?" The old goat did have a point.

>What will you tell them? What name will you give?
>The Dragon Warrior. It is who you aspire to be and one the people will trust actually saved the day and thus keep yours hidden.
>Your real name. If you want to redeem yourself then people will need to know that your name is attached to deeds of good.
>Give no name and insist on it. No one needs to know who it was. The only person it should matter to is you.
>Write in

>>4381097
>>Give no name and insist on it. No one needs to know who it was. The only person it should matter to is you.

>>4381097
>>>Your real name. If you want to redeem yourself then people will need to know that your name is attached to deeds of good.

>>4381097
These are all good choices. I don't know what top pick.
>Give no name and insist on it. No one needs to know who it was. The only person it should matter to is you.
Leaving it a mystery sounds fun. It's not like anyone will believe the evil Tai Lung saved the merchants, so we might as well let people create their own tales. In a way we can almost claim responsibility while maintaining anonymity.

I went with no name as I think it's to early to be giving out our name

>>4381098
+1. We seek redemption, not fame. We could gain fame easily, very easily even, but that isn’t the point.

>>4381111
>>4381100
>>4381098
We are the traveler with no name then. Our deeds are our own. Writing.

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"Nothing." You say. The old goat raises an eyebrow. "Like you said, even nothing is something." You chuckle gruffly. The old man laughs uproariously.

"And thus, they are left with infinite possibilities of who it might be." He chortles wiping a tear from his eye. The two of you walk through the chaos of people celebrating their freedom, townsfolk looking in awe at your wagon, and everyone in between. You make your way to the somewhat small jail house at the edge of the village. The two "guards" that were standing outside the jailhouse were looking at the commotion immediately eye you and Luo. Their status as keepers of the peace only shown by two mis matched uniforms and badges with the imperial seal. "Good day to you gentlemen." Lou says happily. "I would like to claim a bounty." The guards' eyes widen.

"Is that...Is that Xing Yi Quan?!" One of them shouts. Xing shoots a glare at your group and Lou nods smiling.

"Yes and his 50 men. All accounted for." Lou replies happily.

"Old man how did you catch them?" The other guard asks in astonishment causing Luo to laugh.

"Oh it wasn't me. But the real hero asked that I collect the bounty and share it among their prisoners. I...oh dear I'm afraid he never game me his name." Luo says feigning senility. "I hope that won't be too much trouble." He asks innocently.

The guards shake their head. "N-no. We'll just put your name as the collector and add a note you were given authority over the money...I hope you don't mind debt notes. Our village doesn't have nearly enough funds to pay this upfront. Just take them to a bank in one of the bigger cities and you can exchange them for actual funds." Luo nods understandingly.

"That will be fine but if it's not too much for an old man to ask. Could you please give my friend here some traveling rations? He won't be joining the rest of the caravan and he's afraid carrying money will draw the attention of more bandits. If it helps, you may take this out of my share." The guard nods.

"Yeah...sure. Just come with me and we'll settle all the paper work. Lin go get this guy his food." The guard says still in awe of the capture then coming back to his senses. The other guard hurries off to bring your food to you.

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---

You sit outside the guard station drinking some peach juice and keeping to yourself. The guards had given you a new bigger pack filled to the brim with foods as well as a new set of traveling clothes that you have yet to put on. You are about to stand and leave when you see Luo making his way back to you. "I see you still haven't left. It is good to take a break here and there. Would you burden yourself with the company of an old man?" You half shrug in indifference and nod when you catch yourself. The old ram sits next to you on the steps of building. "All the money has been distributed to the merchants and their silence bought...more or less."

"What do you mean by that?" You ask.

"Well for those who decide they wish to tell the tale. No one will belive them. The others simply wish to leave that part of their lives behind them and won't corroborate. And the last handful were given enough money for them to turn a blind eye." He explains. You nod in understanding. "Now comes the next part of your journey my new friend. Where will you go now? What roads would you like to travel?" You don't speak as you wonder that yourself.

>What will you say?
>Tell him that you don't know, only that you seek redemption for who you once were.
>Tell him you plan to go to one of the bigger cities. Maybe there's work there and maybe the size will help you keep hidden.
>Say you want to go to another small village. They probably won't recognize you as easily and they might have more troubles you can help with.
>Ask Luo if he has any suggestions. He is clearly wise and well educated.
>Write in.

>Also, will you ask him to accompany you? He seems to have grown quiet fond of you but you're unsure why.
>Yes
>No

>>4381159
>Ask Luo if he has any suggestions. He is clearly wise and well educated.

>Also, will you ask him to accompany you? He seems to have grown quiet fond of you but you're unsure why.
>Yes
I see no reason why he shouldn't. That is if he wants to.

>>4381159
>>Tell him that you don't know, only that you seek redemption for who you once were.
>Ask Luo if he has any suggestions. He is clearly wise and well educated.
>Yes

>>4381165
+1.

>>4381165
+1

>>4381162
>>4381165
>>4381171
>>4381180
Asking for advice and asking if Luo would like to join us. Writing.

"I don't know." You admit. "I only wish to redeem myself for the person I had become." The old ram closes his eyes and nods. He seems to think for a moment before opening them again. "What would you suggest I do?" You ask after you see them open.

"I see." He says. "I'm afraid I'm simply an old story teller. Even in my age I cannot say what the true path of redeemption is. However, I know that your mind is troubled, unbalanced. Many stories say that the true path to happiness is inner peace. To know the hearts of others, one must first discover his own. To that end...well even I cannot in good faith send my friend on a fool's journey." He says shaking his head. You cast a look at Luo.

"If you know something old man, tell me." You say standing before taking a step back. "Please." You add quietly, ashamed. "I no longer want to be the man I am known as." Luo looks at you for a long time before speaking again.

"The Pools of Contemplation." He says. "Legends speak of a twin to the Pool of Sacred Tears. A place where one can go and ponder the secrets of their soul in true and utter peace. However, like I said, it's merely a legend. The stories are so old that even if it was real, the location is lost to time."

"So there is no where I can learn the location of this place or even if it is real?" You ask. Luo shuffles to his feet.

"I'm afriad not. You may try the sacred library at the peak of the Huangshan mountains. Or you may attempt to find inner peace on your own." He offers. "Perhaps the library might offer texts on that matter." You nod quietly.

"Will you not come with me?" You ask after a long time. "There might be more stories for you to see." You add with a hint of humor. Luo chuckles as the air lightens.

"Oh no my friend. I am afraid these bones are too old for the journey of one as young as you. Besides, I really do want to get to the Jade Palace and hear of how the Dragon Warrior was chosen" He says politely. "However should our paths ever cross again or should you ever having an inkling that we are in the same location. Do not be afraid to ask for my name. I would love to trade stories with you once more. Perhap next time we shall meet on more comfortable circumstances. Like a high class tea shop. I think I'd like that."

He offers his hand for you to shake and when you do he grips it with a strength that surprises you. The two of you lock eyes and you see that the humor and gentleness has left his eyes. "Tai Lung my friend. Always remember that even in the darkest of nights, all it takes is a single spark of light to banish away the shadows. Never lose hope, do not be afraid to stop and ask for help lest you lose yourself in the shadows as you try to run away from them." He pats the back your hand and smiles at you warmly, the jovial old man returning.

"Goodbye my friend! Maybe your roads lead to warm beds." He says as he walks away. You stand there contemplating Luo's words before picking up your pack and walking in the opposite direction away from the village and hopefully away from the man you once were.

(With that I gotta head to sleep. Thanks for voting guys. I'll write up a quick epilogue expanding a bit more on Luo and that'll be my last post. I'll try to start up again tomorrow at around the same time 11am PST and we'll see what other adventures Tai Lung can get into.)

>>4381248
Thanks for running, you have an pretty good plot hook set up

>>4381248
this was a bomb as quest hijack. nice.

>Several days after the bandit's defeat.

Luo Guanzhong makes his way up the last of the Ten Thousand Steps of Contemplation that lead to the Jade Palace. Named after the fabled Pools of Contemplation, the steps were meant as a replacement for the mythical pools with the idea being that such a long climb allowed the mind to focus on the inner self. A factiod that never failed to bring a smile to the old ram's face as he personally found the walk to be a boring chore since his youth. Not that he ever expressed that opinion. The trip was always worth the effort once he arrived at the beautiful Jade Palace and it's surrounding gardens. Luo quietly hums to himself as he wanders aimlessly and finds himself in the Sacred Hall of Warriors. "My my. Still meticulously maintained as always." He says happily as he wanders around looking at the various weapons and artifacts. "Always amazes me how well kept these are." He mutters thinking of all the stories each item held.

As he wanders the sounds of foot steps grow louder as the double doors of the Hall are thrown wide open. A red panda hurries over to Luo panting and heaving. "Master Luo!" He breathes heavily. "I did not- Had I known we could have prepared a proper greeting!" Luo turns away form the piece he was studying closely and smiles.

"Little Shifu." He replies smiling. "Still as energetic as always. Why I remember when you had heard that Master Oogway's birthday was coming all those years ago, you had spent all night cleaning the palace and trying to prepare a feast on your own! We found you fast asleep in the orchard trying to get apples for pie." He chuckles.

"I- that is.." Stammers Shifu before he coughs and reasserts himself. "To what do we own this visit? You haven't been to the Valley of Peace in decades." He asks trying to hide his fluster. Luo nods.

>>4381248

Ty op!

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"The same reason I travel, young one. I wished to hear a good story. I heard that the Dragon Warrior was chosen. I'm sorry to say that I was help up by an unfortunate bandit attack. Kept hostage as a matter of fact-" Luo says before being interrupted.

"Bandits captured you?! I shall get the Five at once!" He says turning to leave. Luo places a hand on Shifu's shoulder and makes a placating gesture.

"It is fine. The situation has been taken care of. Thanks to a new friend of mine." He says. "Otherwise I would not be here admiring the Palace's collection. Such as this trinket here." He says motioning to the artifact he was admiring. Shifu's jaw drops at the notion of it being called a trinket.

"Tinket? Master...how could you call that of all things a trinket? It was yours!" He says dumbfounded. Luo nods wisely.

"Then would I not be the best at knowing if it was a trinket or not?" He asks gently. Shifu looks conflicted but nods begrudgingly "A weapon is merely an extension of one's body. The only power it has is that it can give it's owner and even then it knows not good or evil. Now, instead of me rambling again, why don't you show me the Dragon Warrior? I am keen to see who it is. Word in the village is he already has a momentous victory. I would like to hear the story from him and maybe have him get something to eat. I so do miss the noodles from that shop."

"Err...yes. I will go introduce you to Po. Just becareful. He's...different." Shifu says leading Luo out to the training grounds. Just as the door closes he casts one last look at the pedestal they were standing next to. The one containg the Sword of Heroes.

Part 1. End.

>>4381256
>>4381266
>>4381285
Thanks guys! I hope this keeps going and I hope you enjoy the epilogue. Luo has turned out to be one of my favorite characters for someone who was just made up on the fly and built up on the fly as well. Was thinking using his name as a trip but it's too long. You guys have any good QM names? I have an old one but it's too scifi.

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>>4381286

>>4381287
go with your but for a name, or use as random name generator

>>4381287
bravo!! Is this the typical quality of posts on /qst/?

>>4381366
Depends on the quests, some quests are already running some threads that are good.
Also I was so damn busy. I couldn't even check /qst/

>>4381287
Eh your choice

I might suggest MasterQM since thats the more easy one of them
Remember if you need any help with kung fu panda lore stuff some of us probably know a thing or two or way too much in some cases

>>4381577
There's lore to the series beyond the movies? Color me surprised. I was mostly ad libbing names and stuff.

>>4381580
oh yeah man, there was a whole TV show, that wasn't half bad.

>>4381589
Oh damn. Now I suddenly feel less adequate to run this quest. Well, not gonna stop me from giving it the old college try. How does Storyteller Luo sound as a QM name?

>>4381597
Sounds good, also if you want take a look at the fan wiki

https://kungfupanda.fandom.com/wiki/Kung_Fu_Panda_Wiki

might prove helpful for ideas, particually the character Peng

>>4381603
Thanks. I'll give it a look. Can't promise I'll stick to cannon but I'll do my best. I'm gonna start writing up the next bit. If you guys have any questions about what's happened so far. Feel free to post them.

>>4381622
Eh its alright to butcher cannon since this is quest after all
Im super alright if you make your own characters for the story, adds flavour to it

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>A broken Shifu lays before you. His breath is ragged and labored as he struggles to speak. "I...have always been proud of you." He gasps. "From the first moment...I've been proud of you."And it was my pride that blinded me. I loved you too much...to see what you were becoming." His bruised and bloody face turns to look at you. "What I...was turning you into." He pauses for another rattling breath. "I'm s-....I'm sorry." He finishes before colapsing on the ground. Dead.

You awake with a start and gasp loudly as you feel the ground under jolt. A pang of pain jolts through your head as it hits the roof of the wagon you hitched a ride in. "Whoa there! Sorry about that buddy!" The driver, a middle aged chicken, says as he looks behind to look at you. "The roads are a bit rough here thanks to the rain a few days a go. Got lots of rocks. I can slow down some more if ya like?" You shake your head and adjust your straw hat so it keeps obscuring your face.

The traveling clothes you were given a few days ago were comfortable and warm. While they did come with a hood and cloak that you wore, you opted to wear the straw hat versus the hood in order to feel the fresh air during travel. The replica Sword of Heroes that Luo had gifted you hung on your hip, held in place with a simple rope belt, you made a mental note to buy a sheathe for it in the future. While still dull and useless as a bladed weapon, you hope that it looked intimidating enough to the uninitiated that you will be left alone. If for some reason you are forced to use it then it would serve as a emergency blunt weapon.

"It's...alright." You say trying to not sound grumpy. In an effort to keep your mind off your dream you ask, "How much longer did you say we would be traveling?"

"Oh, the next village should be within sight soon. I come here all the time, even had a few sweet hearts before I met the missus." The driver chuckles. "Friendliest place you'll ever vi...sit..." His voice trails off causing you to lean forward and look out. Just as he predicted, the village was in sight. However his description seems to fall flat as you can see a crowd following a woman. Judging by the frantic movements of their target and the noise, you assume this isn't a friendly gathering.

>What do you do?
>Tell the driver that he should probably skip this stop. It looks like trouble and you really don't want any detours on your way to the Sacred Library. You're quiet a ways away still.
>Stay quiet and watch what's happening. This is none of your buisness but you doubt you can convince the driver to keep moving.
>Ignore the crowd and try to find some lodgings. The village receives decent traffic. There might be an inn where you can rest properly and wait for things to die down.
>Intervene. Place yourself betweent he crowd and the woman. Only cowards try to overwhelm an clearly defenseless opponent.
>Leap in and engage the crowd. You're not here to mince words. Once the crowd is subdued, you can figure out what is going on.
>Write in.

>>4381651
>Leap in and engage the crowd. You're not here to mince words. Once the crowd is subdued, you can figure out what is going on.
how many days has it been since shifu?

>>4381652
>Intervene. Place yourself between the crowd and the woman. Only cowards try to overwhelm a clearly defenseless opponent.

>>4381665
It's been roughly about 2 weeks since your fight with Po and about 5 days since you and Luo parted ways. Just realized it might not be clear because of my post. But to clarify, Shifu isn't dead as his converasion with Luo shows. However Tai Lung doesn't know that. Just that he had told both Po and the Five of Shifu's condition before fleeing.

>>4381652
>>Intervene. Place yourself betweent he crowd and the woman. Only cowards try to overwhelm an clearly defenseless opponent.

>>4381652
>Intervene. Place yourself betweent he crowd and the woman. Only cowards try to overwhelm an clearly defenseless opponent.
Oh what's all this then.

>>4381681
>>4381674
>>4381667
Placing yourself between the crowd and the woman. Writing.

You tap the driver on the shoulder and move him to the side a bit giving you enough room to launch yourself from the back of the wagon onto the road. Running on all fours you dash to the village and make another huge leap, landing between the raging mob and the helpless woman. Your landing must have looked impressive as the crowd stop and looks at you as you bring yourself to your full height. "Stand aside stranger! This has nothing to do with you." One of the villagers shouts. A few of them eye your sword gingerly and shuffle uncomfortable when you remain silent.

The woman gasps and scrambles to her feet before running away to the other end of the village and out of sight behind some buildings. "What are you doing? Move! She's getting away!" The crowd tries to get around you but years of training leave no opening for them to do so. "What do you want stranger? Can't you see we're trying to enact justice?"

You slowly look down on the person talk to you and his voice dies in his throat. You find yourself having to say something but you're unsure what.

>What do you say?
>Ask the obvious. What is going on?
>Berate the villagers. What they're doing isn't justice.
>Say nothing and go after the girl to talk to her. You'd probably get a straighter story from her than an enraged mob.
>Walk away and find some lodging. Let the crowd disperse and calm down before you start asking questions. You're not likely to get a decent answer from then right now.
>Demand to know who is the leader of this village and why would they allow such cowardice and dishonor to happen.
>Write in

>>4381699
>Say nothing and go after the girl to talk to her. You'd probably get a straighter story from her than an enraged mob.

the mob is too hyped up on emotion for a straight answer and if they really are out for justice best to get the girls side of things first

>>4381699
>Ask the obvious. What is going on?
We dont know what happened. Maybe the lady is innocent. Maybe she's guilty and only planned on paddling her. Let's hear them out.

>>4381708
I'll support this is if pick up the guy who last talked to us and go after the girl. That way we get to sides of the story.

>>4381716
sure, we can tell him to follow up and for the rest to wait in town

>>4381708
>>4381716
+1, grab this guy and run after her, then we listen

>>4381708
>>4381716
Taking one villager and going to speak with the girl. Writing.

"You." You say gruffly and point to the nearest villager that spoke to you. "Come with me. The rest of you stay." You command. "Or else I'll be the one getting angry." Leaving that threat in the air you turn around and begin to walk in the direction the woman went. The crowd speaks amongst itself and seems to be restless but ultimately they relent and one of them follows you.

"You don't know what you're doing! She's a menace! She needs to be punished! Do you even know what's going on?" The villager hisses as you two walk.

"I will soon enough. Now hush. I don't want to hear another word out of you until I have spoken to the girl." You say as your eyes scan the village. Following the woman's trail wasn't too difficult, her dress was dragging along the ground and considering majority if not all of the villagers were behind you it made her trail easy to follow. You find yourself wandering up to a small house at the end of the village. The villager hops up and down shouting, "That's her house! That's where she's hiding I bet!" He rushes to the door and starts pounding away.

"Get out of there! We're not through with you yet!"

You growl and grab the man by the neck of his shirt and lift him up by one hand. "No. More. Words." You growl and drop him to the ground. You move to a window and take a look. The house is sparsely furnished only containing the bare nessecities but you can't see the woman. She must be hiding. You step back and knock on the door though much gentler than the villager. "Come on out." You say flatly. "I just want to talk and figure out what's going on." No reply. You shoot a glare at the villager. This was going to be a bit harder than you thought.

"I mean it. I just want to talk. Whatever this baffoon next to me says, I just want to get both sides of the story." Again you receive no reply. You sigh, probably attributing this to your less than stellar people skills.

>What do you do?
>Tell the villager to leave. He's probably the reason she doesn't want to speak.
>Announce that you're entering and force the door open. You'll get to the bottom of this one way or another. Even if you need to push things along.
>Begin talking to the villager while you wait outside. Better to get one side of the story for now. Maybe hearing it will get the girl to come out and defend herself against the accusations.
>Try to coax the girl out of the house. Promise her something. Perhaps protection or her aquittal of whatever crime that is levied against her.
>Write in

>>4381756
>Begin talking to the villager while you wait outside. Better to get one side of the story for now. Maybe hearing it will get the girl to come out and defend herself against the accusations.
Better than nothing.

>>4381756
>>Begin talking to the villager while you wait outside. Better to get one side of the story for now. Maybe hearing it will get the girl to come out and defend herself against the accusations.

>>4381757

+1

>>4381773
>>4381760
>>4381757
Getting one side of the story. Writing.

>>4381795
you're doing good, mate!

>>4381802
Agreed, very enjoyable.

>>4381795
The best ninja pick up of a quest, I have seen in a while

You grumble and pinch the bridge of your nose. You turn to the loud villager and grunt, "Speak. What is going on here?" The villager dusts himself off and places his hands on his hips.

"Maybe you should ask before you act, you big oaf." He snaps, his anger pushing his fear of you away. "If must know. This woman has cursed our village. Our crops die! Our medicines refuse to work. And worst of all some of our children have gone missing." You tilt your head. The first two could be supersition. The third however is more concrete.

"What makes you think that woman is behind it?" You ask.

"We've seen her." The man says in a low whisper. "She wanders into the bamboo forest at night. We've been hearing odd noises coming from there as well. She wears odd pastes on her cuts and once or twice some of us have seen the lights on in her house at the middle of the night. Chu Hua swears she once even heard the girl chanting during one of those nights." The man turns to the house and shouts. "You hear that?! We're on to your game! Give us our children back!"

You place your paw on the man's face and smother his shouts. "Quiet." You grunt. "I said I want what's going on. Not your petty antagonizing." You stay quiet and listen in. You can hear some movement in the house but no signs of the woman coming out. You shake your head. Clearly, her fear of the village was greater than any desire for her innocence. You feel frantic patting at your hand and you realize you must be making it hard for the man to breath. You let go and he gasps for air before shooting a glare at you. You take the moment of silence to gather your thoughts and formulate a plan.

>It's roughly noon. What do you do?
>Send the villager away and try to talk the girl. It's been long since you felt fear and only recently you felt it genuinely again. Try to connect with her on that point.
>Walk back to the center of the village and find the woman named Chu Hua. She supposedly heart the girl chanting. She might have more information.
>Head back and find the village leader. He might have a better understanding of this mess.
>Find the driver. He said he was familiar with the village. Maybe he can talk the girl into speaking with you.
>Wait until night fall. The villager says odd things are happening at night. If you want to get to the bottom of this might as well head to the heart of the problem.
>Write in.

>>4381802
>>4381804
>>4381805
Thanks guys! Hopefully you can continue to enjoy the quest.

>>4381832
>>Send the villager away and try to talk the girl. It's been long since you felt fear and only recently you felt it genuinely again. Try to connect with her on that point.
>Wait until night fall. The villager says odd things are happening at night. If you want to get to the bottom of this might as well head to the heart of the problem.

>>4381834
+1, gotta handle things delicately.

>>4381834
+1. First, and then the second if we don’t hear anything particularly convincing.

>>4381834
Thats a this from me

Gonna grab a bite to eat guys. I'll be back in about 30 minutes.

>>4381850
>>4381837
>>4381835
>>4381834
Talking to the girl and then visiting the forest at night. Writing.

"Go back to the village." You tell the villager. "Tell the rest I'll handle this." The man gives you an odd look but does as he's told and heads back to the center of the village. You sit down in front of the door and wait patiently. The woman makes no noise or give any indication of wanting to come out. You wait a while longer before you speak once more. "I...I understand you fear." You start. "The panic of being chased down. Having to hide from the mob, afraid of being caught and the consequences of it." You sigh. "If you know anything about what's going on I suggest you start talking." You look behind yourself at the door and quietly add. "Believe me. Its much better than being hunted down for something you've actually done and regret. Never having the chance to make up for it. Always knowing that it's because you don't deserve it." You stand and dust your pants off. "I'll be in the village. If you ever decide to face the crowd again. Look for me. I'll make sure you're heard."

You're about to leave when you hear the door creek open. "I wasn't me who took the children. I tried to stop them...I just wanted to help my father. I didn't think it would go this far." You hear the woman squeak. You turn to look at the door. A pair of eyes peek out from the small opening and you see a chain holding the shut.

"Who? Who did you try to stop?" You ask the woman. She squeaks and shuts the door. From behind the wood you can hear her say, if only barely.

"The Wooden Men."

"The what?" You ask. "A gang?" The woman remains quiet before speaking again.

"No. I said too much. I will deal with it myself. Just keep the villagers away from me. It's all my fault. I brought this darkness on the village. I'll be the one to banish it even if I have to wander alone." She says and you hear her scurry away deeper into the house.

>What do you do?
>Try and get her to come back. Offer her some help. (What do you say?)
>Go back into town and inquire about these "Wooden Men". Maybe the other villagers would know about this. Though you're unsure if this might incite their wrath again.
>Ask the driver if he knows anything. He's not from the village so he might be more cooperative.
>Continue with your wait until nightfall. The woman might think she can handle this but she might need help. If she sneaks out again, try and follow her.
>Write in.

>>4381917
>Try and get her to come back. Offer her some help. (What do you say?)
>"Tai Lung my friend. Always remember that even in the darkest of nights, all it takes is a single spark of light to banish away the shadows. Never lose hope, do not be afraid to stop and ask for help lest you lose yourself in the shadows as you try to run away from them."
The villagers will continue to show you their animosity until the children are saved. You need my help.

>>4381928
Probably rephrase it a bit but dispensing some wisdom might help. If we can get her attention back ask if these wooden people are something to be fought; If it’s something more spiritual or abstract then secretly rushing in to help her and punching everything might make things worse.

If we can’t get anything from her we can go ask the driver, we’re quite fast when we want to be so going back and forth probably won’t be an issue.

>>4381933
>>4381928
Passing on wisdom that was passed on to us. Writing.

>>4381928
support

You walk back to the door and kneel next to it. "I understand what you want to do. Wanting to fix something you caused. To make the pain go away. To be able to forget about it all. Every day you just say 'I only need to hold on a bit more. Then it'll be all over. I only need to do this and everything will be forgiven. Just one more sacrifice. One more line crossed.' but that time never comes. A...friend of mine once told me, 'Don't be afriad to ask for help. All it takes is a single spark of light to make the darkness go away or else you risk getting lost in it.' You don't have to say it but if you need help then tell me. Who are the wooden men?" You wait quietly for a response. All you can hear is the sound of footsteps within the house and soon after you see the door open again. The young cat woman removes the chain and opens the door to wave you in. You step in and the woman quickly shuts the door behind you.

"I don't know." She says worried. "I've never seen anything like them before but I have an idea." She fidgets a bit. "I think they might be connected to the nature spirit of the forest near here." You tilt your head in confusion.

"Nature spirit?" You ask skeptically. The woman nods ferverently.

"Yes! My father said that long ago our village used to pray to the nature spirits for good harvests and protection. But as our village grew, the decendants slowly began to forget and eventually the spirits became only a memory of a myth. But my father and I still pray to them. It's why our medicine is the best in the village." She points to her arm that was covered in a salve. "And why ours still has some healing properties."

You nod, trying to make sense of what she was saying. Though you never denied the existence of spirits or the mystical nature of the world, your intense dedication left you little time to devote yourself to things outside of that. "These wooden men." You begin. "If we were to defeat them, would the village be saved?" The woman shakes her head unsure.

"I'm not sure. I don't know how to fight. When I tried to pull the kids away, the wooden men attacked me and I fled." She admits. "All I can do is pray for their safety." You sit down and cross your legs, comtemplating everything you heard and looking out at the setting sun.

>The woman is willing to talk. What do you ask her?
>She mentioned that all this was her fault. Ask her what she means by that.
>Ask her how she intended to save the kids if you had decided to not to help her.
>They took the children. Ask her if she has any idea why a spirit of nature would kidnap them.
>Write in.

>>4382002
>>She mentioned that all this was her fault. Ask her what she means by that.
>They took the children. Ask her if she has any idea why a spirit of nature would kidnap them.
>Ask her how she intended to save the kids if you had decided to not to help her.

in that order

Anons, unfortunately I'm going to be stopping early today. Didn't get much sleep last night and my head is killing me. Like always I'll try to start up at 11am PST and on the subject, I won't be running the quest this weekend. Have a few things to do Saturday and Sunday plus it will give me time to brainstorm a bit.

Sorry again guys but I don't want to just shovel out low quality posts and make this some kind of quota or chore. In the meantime, take care of yourselves.

>>4382055
Thanks for running and hope you feel better soon, have a good week end.

>>4382055
quests are for fun, don't push yourself too hard dude

hope you feel better

>>4382010
This but offer to help her when night comes. Does she think she's small enough to be confused with a child? If she's a munchkin type cat lady then she could definitely pull it off. She can be bait, and we'll try to get the drop on these "spirits".

>>4382143
oh that is good, we are going to fuck up these "spirits"

>>4382143
This might backfire - considering that they're spirits they may see right through it

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>>4382503
We don't know if these are exactly, and the cat woman doesn't look like she actually put up a fight- actually she probably did try fighting back considering the healing salve she's using.
There are a few things we can confirm. If the ghosts are really ghosts, then Lung should have an easy time fleeing from them if the cat lady (who is probably slower than he is) can flee from ghosts. The ghosts can inflict harm but nothing too fatal anyone can't just flee from.

I would like to conduct an experiment. I call it the "Figure Out if you can Punch Ghosts" experiment.

https://imgur.com/a/si8Kx

>>4382010
do dis fagit

>>4382010
>>4382143
>>4382618
Alright seems like we're going for this order and offering to help. Writing.
>>4382558
Dude. I fucking love the ghost puncher story.

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"You said this was all your fault. If that's true, why did you run? What did you do?" You ask not moving from your sitting position. The woman fidgets and looks away ashamed. She wrings her hands and bites her lower lip before she stands up and walks away, motioning you to follow. You get to your feet and she leads you to a room in the back. It's a bedroom, dimly lit by candles. The smell of herbs permeates the air and you notice a person laying in bed. The sheets rise and fall slightly indicating the person is in a deep sleep.

The woman kneels at the side of the bed. "This is my father." She says quietly. "We cut bamboo for a living and sell it to passing merchants. One day his ax slipped and cut him deep. If he wasn't at the edge of the woods, we might not have arrived in time. I used all our best medicines to help him but nothing was working...so I prayed. I prayed to the forest spirits for help. We always offered our thanks for their bounties so I hoped that they would repay us...and they did." She reaches out and holds a bundle of herbs. Despite how long they've been cut, they look as fresh as if they were still grown.

"I had a vision that night of a grove full of these rare medicinal plants. Plants I've only ever seen in my mother's medicine scrolls. So I took some." She looks at you with worried eyes. "I only took enough for my father! I swear! But then the other villagers noticed how fast he was recovering and asked for some." She looks out the window to a small garden in the yard.

"We've always been blessed by plentiful harvests because of our prayers. Enough that our little garden always has enough for us to eat and save for the winter. The other villagers mock us for our traditions but they're also jealous of our harvests. I hoped...I hoped that if I shared some of the medicines I was gifted they might accept us as their own again. So I returned to the grove and took more. I thought that if I offered a bigger offering of our food and prayed more often the spirits would forgive me...but it seems like they didn't. Eventually everyone's crops stopped growing and rotting. Their medicines refused to work...except ours. Father soon began to fall ill again so I used what little medicine that worked to keep him asleep so he could rest...the nature spirits must be punishing me for my hubris."

You cross your arms and say nothing for a while. "Then why take the children?" You ask. The woman shakes her head.

"I don't know. I've read all of mother's prayer scrolls and I've found nothing." She says. "All I can imagine is that this to further incriminate me. Perhaps once I've been properly punished they will return." You shake your head.

"If that was the case then why didn't you let the crowd capture you?" You muse mostly to yourself.

"Because I'm afraid of what they'll do to me. I don't think it is their place either way. The spirits have a plan and so do I." She says.

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"Is that what you mean about fixing all of this? What do you propose to do?" You ask.

"My mother has these scrolls. I think perhaps her family used to tend to the grove. They contain rituals and prayers. I found these set of clothing in a box that belonged to her. I never asked about her before she passed. But one of the scrolls contains a ritual that is said to appease and calm the spirits! Perhaps that can help. I was going to go into the woods and preform it...if all else failed I would allow the woods to take me. My life for the children's. If that is what it takes, then I'll do it."

You are about to reply when you hear it. Both your and the woman's ears flick towards the woods. The soft sound of a hum. If flows eerilly from the woods as if it ringing out of hollow bamboo yet it feels soothing and reminds you of days long past. Days of peace. Days when Shifu held you and raised you. The sounds grow louder and raise from a hum to a soft singing. And then you're snapped out of your reverie by the snapping of branches. The two of you hurry to the window and look out into the forest. And eerie glow burns deep within them but your eyes lock on movement. Tall figures emerge from the bamboo. They look vaugely humanoid, their movements stiff and erratic, snapping from one position to another as they approach the village. Their steps creak like old floorboards and their moving limbs snap like dry twigs.

Soon after you hear another sound. The sound of dozen of doors opening and closing simultaneously. You to look at the woman. "What's going on?" You find yourself whispering. A surprise even to you. The woman looks at you in fear.

"I don't know. I've never seen anything like this. Before the wooden men led the children away. There was no sing- look!" She whispers pointing frantically. From the edge of the village a handful of kids begin walking towards the woods and the figures.

>What do you do?
>Leap out the window and fight the wooden men. If it was them who took the kids, then perhaps defeating them will stop the children from leaving their homes.
>Wait and watch. You're not sure what's going on. The best plan is sit back and observe.
>Tell the woman to gather her things. You'll hold off the wooden men and try to keep the kids safe while she preforms the ritual.
>Ignore the kids and the wooden men. Tell the woman get her ritual ready and to take you with her. If the nature spirits are angry they might not take kindly to her spell so she might need protection.
>Write in.

(big write up. Sorry about the wait.)

>>4382775
>Leap out the window and fight the wooden men. If it was them who took the kids, then perhaps defeating them will stop the children from leaving their homes.

Huh slow day today it seems. Should I give it a bit more time?