The Tale of the Treasure of Fang Zan

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=== A Confluence in an Estuary ===
With their work on the Seven Devil seal in Tokumei's hands Meng and Crystal were taking some time to "relax" - with Meng hurling and breaking things in the back garden, and Crystal composing some new epic.
Over in Ang Teng, Daxi and Hepastia met surreptitiously in a dockside tavern, Daxi following the advice of a spirit; Daxi had heard a rumor that The Pearl of V'Neef, a legendary treasure that had fallen into pirate hands, and had acquired a mystical talisman that points in its direction, and was looking for companions to seek it out. They were discussing passage to Marrull Vaar when Reeds was regaling old friends about his adventures... and his sudden need to flee the city.
The two groups' paths crossed in Marrull Vaar, with Hephastia challenging Meng to a sparring match, which ended in a right old mess. However, with the promise of treasure ahead the group soon embarked on the back of Snails towards Sweet Tea Village
=== In Pursuit of Death ===
On the way to Sweet Tea Village our heroes encountered an abandoned boat, seemingly washed down from the village and stocked with rice.
Upon their arrival they found the village deserted, its sacred tree seemingly chewed down and the dead buried beneath it exhumed. Signs pointed to a sudden abandonment after the arrival of a group of deck-booted strangers. Hurriedly following a trail of campsites up-river they arrived at Canopy Village, its arborial platforms crammed with the living and beset by the dead.
Heroically drawing the unholy monstrosities towards him, Meng was swarmed by them as Crystal picked of those closest to the treeline, Daxi picked off those who were trying to join them, and Hephastia harried those who were thrown from the pile. In the end the dead lay thick in the forest, quiet at last, but our heroes still drew breath.
Things were not settled however - one of the Sweet Tea Villagers attempted to murder a Canopy villager before fleeing into the trees, only quick thinking kept the victim alive. Suspicion and distrust were rife. As Reeds arranged to get the Sweet Tea Villagers home the Crystal cornered the culprit with the murder weapon which Hephastia had retrieved. Desperate for justice to be done, both villages agreed that since they would each punish their own with exile, exile must be a fitting punishment for the other.
With the villagers returned along and the road to recovery sighted, our group boarded Snails and set out up river; on their minds the information they had gathered about the marauder behind this madness, which Daxi recognised as bearing the hallmarks of the dreaded Lintha pirates.
=== Dancing With The Water Devil ===
On the trail of the invaders our heroes travelled up river to Stiltwalker village, finding as they did so a small turtle-shelled duck and an otter with a fishes tail - signs that what lay up river was not strictly natural. Hephastia presented Meng with a pair of claws she had made for him, so that he might not have to risk fighting the unclean dead with his bare hands... however Meng seemed wary of such an unsolicited gift.
In Stiltwalker Village things were going well as Fa Song, the exile from Canopy village found acceptance as an apprentice in the priesthood of Igappo, the village's many-tentacled guardian spirit. Suspicious, Daxi investigated and found dire warnings about Igappo's claim to that which fell into the water, but before much else could be done a feast was held, with much food and music and dance. In one such dance Daxi tripped, plummeting into the swamp below with his dance partner, and the great beast below the surface seized them as tribute!
As Daxi fought against the beast's many arms Meng dived into the water to save the villager, dragging her to safety. But once she was to safety Meng turned and leapt back in - the water boiled with the two Solars' animas beneath it. Meanwhile Reeds called upon the god-monster at the shrine in the centre of the village, but it refused to let the others go unless they threw the woman back to it; Reeds didn't wish to, and he guessed that Meng at least would not be either, but he had little to offer instead and so turned to Hephastia for help.
As Daxi and Meng battled to reach the creature's maw, deep beneath the swamp, Hephastia hatched a plan - she would rebuild the Three Sisters' Damn, expanding the swamp in order to appease the raging god. With the addition of an orichalcum-and-moonsilver chased statue Igappo agreed.
With the village in chaos, but less immediately threatened, the group headed up river further still; taking the original exile, Daxi's unfortunate dance partner ("Plucks by Moonlight") as well as the tooth that Meng had ripped from Igappo's mouth - an ivory pillar the size of Meng himself!
=== The Wounds we gain along the way ===
Banished unceremoniously from Stilt-walker village with both the stabbed  exile from Canopy Village (Fa Song) and the woman that was dancing with Daxi.(Plucks-by-Moonlight) after nearly destroying the settlement.
Hephestia and Meng talked about the destruction. Hephestia urging Meng to take  more care with the balance between the gods and mortals, whilst Meng held that the swamp god was in the wrong. 
Reeds however was inspired to learn how to fight and asked Meng to punch him, which Meng promptly did. Throwing the merchant clear off Snails and leaving him badly concussed. 
As they travelled onwards discussing the Three-Sisters Dam among other things, they spied a pair of flower-boats moving swiftly across the water. Reeds urged Snails to race to catch up by going around the shore of the lake and evidently their haste was noticed as the boats diverted to meet them.. 
They stopped off at a tiny hamlet at the mouth of a river leading in to the lake. Reeds knows a woman there called Seven Tails, an eel catcher renowned for her hospitality. 
There they met the boat's crews who decided to disembark to meet the merchant speeding towards them. They were a little guarded but made a show of not being hostile. 
There were four presumed Dragonbloods and 8 sailors who seemed to be under Nabil's command:
* Seter (The Laughing Blade) - an athletically built, lightly armed woman with the stance of a duellist. 
* Hamar (Iron-Face) - A taciturn and stoic woman dressed in jade armour and carrying a pillar-like club wrought in jade. She would not tell Reeds where she was going.
* Nabil (Grey-Ocean) - Apparently the captain of the 8 crew that have joined them, a clean-shaven man and a sorcerer..
* Walen (Oak-Heart) - Dressed in dull natural colours, he seemed to be their scout or navigator.
They exchanged pleasantries and enquired about where the Solars were going, mentioning that they had come from the same direction that the rest of them had. They were travelling up First Ascent river on business. So were going to part ways.
Reeds was able to identify that they were members of the Broken Talon, part mercenary group, part support network for Dragonblood exiles and renegades. Their names, oddly uniform were likely psuedonyms.
Reeds bunked up with one of the sailors as well as Plucks-by-Moonlight who had been increasingly frustrated by their involuntary banishment and constant travel. 
They left early in the morning, but stealthily Daxi was able to observe their sorcerer summoning the flower boats for the next day’s travel once they had left the camp as they took the river towards First Ascent village.. 
They however made their way up the river to Two-Hills Village, where the trinket was pointing them. 
As they stopped and rested the night Hephestia made a fine suit of chain armour for Daxi and they discussed training reeds in how to defend himself, Meng refused to punch him again, but as Hephestia was about to begin some sparring five tree-like great cats descended on the camp, leaping out from ambush. 
They nearly cornered Crystal who was saved by Meng’s timely intervention, but Reeds was not so lucky and was savagely mauled. The rest of the beasts were driven off and now Reeds lies grievously injured on the clearing floor, already recovering from Meng’s strikes. 
=== To Two Hills Village ===
With Reed's life hanging in the balance after his mauling, Hephestia summoned a whirlwind to bear Daxi and Meng (carrying Reed's unconscious body) up the river and to Twelve Pillar Village, while the rest followed behind.
As they approached the village, they left the river and tore through the dense trees, which proved to be too much for Hephestia's skill to navigate, causing her to loose control. Thankfully, no one was hurt and soon our heroes realised they were being watched. 
Calling out to their watchers, they beseeched aid for their wounded colleague and were granted hospitality and the healing of a shaman, and Reeds recovered, in a tree-top village attached to an old First-Age tower.
Unfortunately tales of their misadventures at Stiltwalker Village and Reed's over-honest recounting of their tale meant that the group were asked to leave in the morning, which they did. 
Back on board Snails, the group carried up north past a confluence from which the Wyld corruption was spreading and further up into the hills, where they reached Two Hills Village, having found that the Shark-headed beastman and his crew had been on a drunken rampage and made bad guests of themselves for the townsfolk, all of whom were glad to see the back of them. 
Reeds, following his contacts, discovered that the pirate group had headed further out over the hills and into the dessert. The group resolved to set off the next day and follow them. 
=== I'm Done With All these Sharks! ===
Daxi tracks down the pirates and recommends waiting until near nightfall to deal with them. Reeds is acting oddly as they plan. 
Hephestia carries Meng and Daxi in to strike directly at the pirates, while Reeds and Crystal ride Snails up the river so Crystal can engage with her bow and Reeds can try to rescue the pirate's slaves. 
The pirate chief Fang Zan calls up three Rain Sharks to join the fight. In a wild melee the Rain Sharks are driven off but Fang Zan gets hold of Hephestia as she strafes the fight with her tornado, wounding her severely. Daxi rushes to her aid and between them they crush him. 
With their leader down and Meng tearing into their ranks, the Lintha pirates flee in terror. The raging Dawn Caste gives chase and few get away to spread terrified tales of his prowess and fury. 
With Hephestia wounded and Reeds in some distress that no one understands, the arrival of the Broken Talon is a concern but Daxi manages to strike a bargain, when one of the prisoners claims that the other slaves were is servants and the mercenaries are here to rescue him. In exchange for letting them reclaim the people and take a third of the treasure, the mercenaries treat Hephestia's wounds. 
Daxi notes that the prisoner who made the claim - whitehaired and in fine silks - was probably carrying the pearl that they've been chasing... or maybe he was the 'pearl'. it's a shame to let it go but two-thirds of the treasure is still a vast wealth for the circle to take home. And Daxi still has the pendant... 
To Be Continued...
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