The title is a little punnier than I normally go for, though it may not be obvious why at first. I apologize for nothing.
(It may seem like this post has appeared a couple of times before. Long story short, I initially tried posting it from my phone and that screwed up the formatting ways it wouldn't let me fix, so I've just reposted it. But now the url is wonky unless I change the name, and I like the name too much to do that. So hoist by my own petard, I guess. Sigh.)
So we pick up where we left off, moments after the revelation that the local god jerking these people around is a disease god. (Referred to as a god in earlier editions but in 3e as a disease spirit, though the difference is largely semantic as far as I know.) Xương asks what happened to the old volcano god, and there's some awkward back and forth regarding which volcano god, since the town has basically 'broken up' with two of them. But what he meant was Magma Blossom, and all that really happened there was that his temple was replaced. Magma Blossom is a regional volcano god, he's got followers across many islands and thus doesn't spend as much time and energy directly on one. Blackened Bone Whispers' cult showed up and offered to protect the settlement against pirate attacks, and they'd had a few issues with that lately. (Which, Apatu acknowledges, may have been the cult putting someone up to it because that's how protection schemes work.)
Xương asks how many people they were sacrificing versus how many they were losing in pirate attacks, and while it's not substantially less, more than a few of those were the old and terminally ill who were going to die anyways and thus got chucked in the volcano. But the concern about the pirate attacks isn't merely death, but what could come after, given that there are a few deathknights stalking through the waters in recent years. In the end, it does actually seem like a decent enough trade-off. But then Vaihil showed up -- personally, not his cult, but actually the god directly -- and offered them a better deal, and they took it.
But none of this is sitting well with Hǎifēng, who sees the gods toying with these peoples' lives and is getting worked up about it. They accuse Apatu (and, by extension, her people) of betraying Magma Blossom and storm out. And it hurts because it's kind of true. Xương, frustrated, comments that the group can't go around striking down any religion they don't especially like. But Apatu then speaks up and says that it's all horrible, that they don't want to have to sacrifice anyone to the gods. There's some back and forth, and she says that they were pressured into taking Blackened Bone Whispers' deal and saw Vaihil as their best chance of getting out of it -- and Magma Blossom hasn't exactly shown back up demanding answers or offering help.
Xương goes outside at this point before he says or does something he'll regret. Shango looks around and asks what they sell there. She shrugs and says general goods, and he just buys some pot off of her (which, in this corner of Creation, definitely counts as 'general goods'). Once the woman folds together a paper envelope origami-style to hold it, he then goes outside to find Xương watching Hǎifēng menace a local man next to the ruin of the burned building.
A few minutes earlier...
Hǎifēng storms out of the store, distressed and struggling with themself (as they have a couple of Intimacies spurring them to action). They go looking for someone who might know something useful, and spot a middle-aged man standing next to the burned building that used to be Blackened Bone Whispers' temple, staring thoughtfully into the ashes. Hǎifēng decides he'll do and grabs him, slams him up against a wall all Batman-style, and demands to know where Vaihil is.
The man that he's in the jungle, and Hǎifēng just growls "Where?" at him, some of their more animalistic traits slipping through. The guy says that he's usually out at a local watering hole, there's a path through the jungle, and if Hǎifēng gives the guy a second he'll give them a rough guideline on how to get there. With a moment to breathe, the man gives them directions through the town to the entrance to the path through the jungle. Specifically, to a pond that's fed by a spring that they should be able to hear bubbling when they're close enough.
This is about the point where we catch up to Xương stomping out of the store, and both he and Hǎifēng are aware that they're finally drawing those 'everybody gawk at the outsider' stares they'd been 'missing' since they arrived. Xương stands back and watches rather than interfere, but Hǎifēng's done with the menacing for the moment. They straighten themself up, smooth down their clothing, and take a hit off of a flask as Shango comes out with the small package of weed. Hǎifēng pops out a fan to fan themself and hide their scowl as they rejoin the group.
Shango asks what just happened, and Hǎifēng simply, ominously, says they know where Vaihil is... and they're going to go kill him. Xương wants to know what for, and Hǎifēng says "For victimizing the people here." Xương says they should be careful about how they define 'victimizing.' Hǎifēng argues that Vaihil is taking advantage of these people, and Xương asks what they're going to do about the next god that shows up. Hǎifēng counters that if a bunch of 'thugs hopped up on Dragon-juice' assaults a village and they stop it, then what about the next one of those?
Hǎifēng argues that they can't just draw a line between gods and Dragon-Blooded in this regard. Xương sees a difference that he doesn't want to take the time to articulate.[0] He pauses and thinks for a moment and says that Hǎifēng has followed his gut enough times that he can return the favor. Hǎifēng is pissed about the situation -- more pissed than Xương has ever seen them -- but they're willing to take 'yes' for an answer.
By now the Lunars are getting stares from all of the local townsfolk as they head for the jungle to put a stop to all this. Xương gives the crowd a handful of rude gestures known to the region's cultures, just to make sure the bases are covered. The three of them hike through the jungle, and after about a half-hour on the path, they see someone coming the other way, human-sized with one of those conical hats and a couple of buckets. The guy's head is at an angle so the hat conveniently obscures his face.
Xương stops him, not willing to risk the god slipping past them. But the guy anticipated this and immediately swings the buckets at him, trying to splash the entire group with what is likely disease-contaminated water. Xương then just grabs him by the face and pretty much goes Kiryu on him and beats the stuffing out of him.
Hǎifēng assumes the war form as they continue, and it's not long before they hear the sound of the spring described earlier. Xương's also pretty angry now -- autumn fever is spread through water contaminated by animal urine, which means the water thrown at the group earlier was likely piss-water, and that's just crossing a line even before its use as a disease vector. Shango shifts to his war form and gets his bow ready.
As they approach a clearing surrounding the pool in question, a woman steps out in front of them. She has brown hair and a clothing style that definitely doesn't match the area, something more fitting to the mainland, and slightly out of date. Xương immediately tells her that if she tries to projectile piss on him, he's going to kill her.
She introduces herself as Fallen Scale, and takes credit for that incident and apologizes, as it was a miscalculation. She explains that she's an assistant to Vaihil. Xương and Hǎifēng can recognize that she's not human, but they're not sure as to exactly what she is. She looks human but there's something slightly off about her face.[1] Xương, partially to stop himself from charging in, makes it clear that he's not taking the lead on this one, and that he's just Hǎifēng's bodyguard. So he steps aside while Hǎifēng glares at her and says they're not here to talk to an assistant -- they want to know where Vaihil is. Shango readies an arrow and aims it at her.
She watches the group for a moment and acknowledges again that she made a mistake, and leads them to the watering hole. Hǎifēng remains close behind her, asserting dominance with their body language as they see Vaihil on the other side of the pond, sitting on a wooden throne, with mortals in attendance -- many of them with obvious signs of jaundice.
"Vaihil, I presume," they growl.
Fallen Scale steps off to the side and mutters to the god, loud enough for the others to hear, that she 'told him it wouldn't work.' Vaihil waves dismissively at her and turns to the group, introducing himself.
"What are you doing here? This is not your home, these are not your people," Hǎifēng growls.
"Home... I have no home," Vaihil laments.[2] "I have no people. I've been cast out. This jungle is my home, now. I can't be where I was, so I've come here."
"You're hurting these people."
"It's in my nature," Vaihil concedes with a shrug. "And I can protect them from the worst of it with the strength of their worship. And I can protect them from outsiders and troublemakers," the god says, obviously having rehearsed that spiel.
"You're the outsider and troublemaker; you're making these people sick. You're taking advantage of them and making things worse. They are not for you to toy with."[3]
"They're mortals. They're beneath us. I'm not toying with them, I'm using them."
And that was the absolute worst thing he could have said to Hǎifēng under these circumstances. Without explaining the Intimacy system or Hǎifēng's backstory in detail here, let's just say that they have a real thing about people being treated like property. So as Vaihil circles the pond, arrogantly ready to face the Exalted, the group gets ready to go after him.
Hǎifēng and Xương both move at the same time as they lunge at him, their earlier grievances and disagreements cast aside as they come together in a single purpose. Xương lunges in and gets Vaihil in a grapple, holding him still for Hǎifēng who just goes and and wails on him with their fans, and then they stop and look the god in the eyes as he impotently struggles in the shark-Lunar's grip. They see the fear in Vaihil's red and yellow eyes, which swirl in an unnatural fractal pattern, and they reach up to neatly slice him up the cheek. (The slice, BTW, is an interpretation of the extra attack from Wasp Sting Blur)
Shango just leans against a tree and watches the others take care of this, actually dropping the hybrid form as a show of confidence in them.
Hǎifēng channels as much Essence as they can muster, calling up the lights and music as they assume their iconic anima and invoke the full authority of Luna. They strike a pose, standing on one leg, and pass one of their fans down to their prehensile foot where they get a grip on it. They then spin around, bringing the war fan around with a spinning kick, and they manage to take the god's head completely off with it. Fluids gush out of his neck, dissolving into Essence as the god's body goes limp. Xương tries to aim the spray away from himself before dropping him.[4]
Fallen Scale has a look of relief on her face. Hǎifēng flicks the blood from the fans and turns to leave, just emotionally spent and a little numb after all that. Fallen Scale thanks them, and Xương just gives her the finger and storms off. Shango suggests to the mortals present that maybe they should ask Magma Blossom for forgiveness, before he follows the others.
The group gets back to find a bunch of the townspeople 'just happening' to be lounging around part of town near the entrance to the jungle, and the trio can see visible relief on their faces when they realize what likely happened. But at the same time, they're too ashamed of everything to say anything to the Lunars as they return to their boat. Before Xương steps on-board, he turns to the humans present and growls at them "We might not be back in the near future. Make better fucking choices."
Back on the Moonlight Maiden, Hǎifēng just goes back to their room for a little cry. Once they're underway, Xương comes in and acknowledges that the two of them disagreed, but they followed Hǎifēng's gut and they turned out to be right... and that's why they travel in packs. Hǎifēng just leans against Xương and the sharkman lets them cry it out. Then Shango comes in, smoking some of the weed he bought from the store, and gives the other two a hug in kind of an "I love you guys" moment.
The screen goes to black, "Executive Producer: Chris Shaffer" appears on the screen to start the credits, and then we hear "Shango, who's steering the ship?"
And that's it for now, folks -- wait, hold up. There's a post-credits scene.
Xương stands in a jungle, next to a pool of water. Beneath him, in the clear blue water, he can see what appears to be a fortress. He looks over to find Fallen Scale standing next to him.
"When you find it, it'll be waiting," she says, mysteriously.
Xương wakes up, swiping around his head like he expects her to be there, trying to ward off the spirit's influence.
And now we're done. Next time, Lathe! Finally!
[0]-- If I may interject a moment, really what's going on is that to Xương, this feels a little too much like telling these people how to live and worship, which is a little different than fighting off some bandits. Now, of course, events suggest it's both more and less simple than that. But it made for some unexpected, interesting character conflict. I also feel the need to point out that Zac, Hǎifēng's player, was good about checking in with everyone and making sure none of this anger and frustration was bleeding over out of character.
[1]-- It doesn't come up in-character, but the woman is a Mask, a type of weaker god of humanity. Formed out of a human's reflection when they gazed into a pool of water during an emotional moment, masks study human cultures and are known for their oracular abilities. Many of them wind up as assistants to powerful gods or Exalted.
[2]-- Yes, that is a Bride of the Monster reference.
[3]-- I feel the need to add in here that until Hǎifēng said that they're not here for him to toy with, Vaihil had a perfectly good counter-argument in that their job isn't to kill people but to make them sick -- and a treatable illness gives the people a much better chance than being thrown into a volcano. However, well...
[4]-- For those of you who might be wondering, yes, Vaihil is properly dead. For reasons not explored in this story, he's lacking a proper sanctum and thus has no place to reform up on his death. If he had a cult that actually wanted him around, they might be able to bring him back. Alas.
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