ask:session_21 [CrazyCode Wiki]

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====== Session 21 ======

The Butterflies tell the mysterious interloper that they do not know of a Huli Jing. Sassani attempts to confess to having seen it, but Wei quickly interrupts to say that it must have been a hallucination. The androgynous being, which calls itself Seven Leaves Falling, says that it is here representing the Summer Court of the Wylds and hunting Huli Jing. It claims Huli is a dangerous prisoner of the courts who has escaped through a tear into this world. The group continue to protest their ignorance, and Seven Leaves Falling departs, saying it will be hunting the surrounding area as it can sense Huli is near. It also states that if it finds the Butterflies to be harbouring Huli they will be considered enemies of the Court.

Once the hunter has left, Huli explains to Wei that he did escape from the Summer Court, and came through a gateway from its world to Wei's. It says the gateways used to be open long ago then closed unexpectedly, only recently beginning to sporadically open again. It says provided the group do not reveal it's presence, it will keep the large creature around the volcano's caldera from attacking Otgon Sum.

The group gathers supplies for their expedition. During this process, Wei meets Mahra for the first time, and uses her services as a fence to purchase some illicit substances. She gives him a discount in return for a favour at a later date. Shava releases Gahr He into their care, but keeps Mana and Dashya back at Otgon Sum. Wei and Sassani give Dashya a wishlist of projects for him to work on in their absence, including more ideas for the wagon and some way of launching flares into the air.

The party travel through the jungle until they find the remains of Shava's Butterfly troops, keeping watch on the grey enclave. The two soldiers, Negu and Binai, report on their observations, then help the party reconnoitre the area. They group counts a little over fifty greys in the camp, including three of the larger, brutish type and one taller, thinner grey they had not previously seen. Ryo and Wei mount a night-time raid on the camp, aiming to sneak through to the cave mouth at the back to investigate the inside, poison the water of the brutes, and assassinate the taller grey that appears to be the leader.

They only manage one of these things; the cave is too closely guarded for them to enter, and they realise they do not have enough poison for the brutes. However, through successful application of the Silence spell and snuffing out a candle they are able to butcher the lead grey as he slept. This done they begin to make their exit, when they //both// see Huli sniffing around. Wei tells Ryo he'll explain later, then agrees with Huli that Huli will make a commotion to help cover their escape. Huli goes to town with this command, releasing a blast of blue light and a thunderclap as they're fleeing, rousing the whole camp.

The group watch as the greys engage in a miniature civil war, with the camp splitting in two and fighting over who will be the new leader, something apparently denoted by who is wearing the head grey's tabard. As one group emerges victorious the losers retreat into the jungle. The group gives them some time to depart whilst discussing how best to attack those who remain.

Scouting the nearby territory they find a river gully just outside the camp that they decide to mine with Flame Bones they confiscated from Sanua's enthralled bombers. Before they put this plan into action, though, they decide to track down the group that went into the forest to ensure they aren't attacked from behind during the battle.

Ryo uses his primeval senses to track the creatures, which seem to have split into two smaller groups once entering the jungle. The party trails the nearest group, catching up with them as they skulk through the underbrush and attacking. The fight is brief, but they group does observe signs of intelligence in the greys they hadn't seen before. Some of the greys were using rough alchemical weapons, and some were casting spells. This was Wei's first time up close with the greys, and as he came within hearing range he realised he could understand their language, as it's the language of his sect's hidden texts. He calls out to the final grey to stop, which it does, staring bewildered at him, before it's cut down by the rest of the party.

The group decide to rest before they deal with the second group in the jungle, but whilst they do they're set upon by some large, glowing snails. They snails are spotted on approach by Kathra, and thus aren't really able to close distance as the party peppers them with attacks from range. Eventually all are felled, and the party are able to return to their rest.

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