Chapter 8: The Iron Cranes

Chapter 8: The Iron Cranes

Upon their way north to Castle Shen, Darius and Hien met a rider by the name of Jien Fei. After a brief introduction, he revealed that he was from a group of rebels by the name of the Iron Cranes. They opposed the Shen, and wished to use these brave new Guang Hu against them.

After they agreed, he led them to the Ying Farmhouse, where a gathering of the rebel leaders was taking place. There, Mei Fan the Taoist leader of the Cranes, and her strategist Kyu Sang waited, planning the details of revolution. Suddenly, a Silver Scarves patrol showed up. Unbeknownst to the rebels, it was led by Chen Zhun, also named The Killer, a top lieutenant of the Shen's. Luckily neither Darius or Hien were found.

After joining with Iron Cranes, the rebels decided to seek the advice of the Man of The Mountains. The MOM offered council to the rebel leader, and divined the magics that surrounded Darius and Hien. It was revealed that the stuffed bear that they carried held the soul of a forsaken child, and would haunt them for the rest of their days until they received the aid of the Necromancers who dwelled in the Well of Souls.

Afterwards, the Iron Cranes gathered their things and made their first attack on Shen Tong. After defeating the military leader of the city, Chou Suk, the Silver Scarf forces disentigrated, and many joined the rebels. There Darius and Hien were joined by Quynh, Hien's sister and a priest of the Light. She revealed their family names to the Iron Cranes. and Kyu Sang took them aside and revealed that their Uncle, the Governor of Yuelan, was indeed behind the rise of the Shen. It was determined that the Lung family may be fomenting revolution against the Empire.

For a week, the Iron Cranes liberated many towns until they came upon Lin Jo Tong, where the Silver Scarves under the command of Shen Qisi took the priests at the Taoist Temple hostage in response to rebellion. Mei Fan was much distraught, as like her, the Taoists had taken vows of nonviolence, and could not defend themselves. It was up to the Burning Band to rescue them.

The Burning Band was the name the Iron Cranes attributed to Hien, Darius and Quynh. In their guise as Guang Hu, they adopted the aliases Burnt Hand, Foxfire, and Talking Spirit respectively. Over dinner they planned the rescue with a map consisting of barbeque pork, and quickly enacted on the plan. It was warned Shen Qisi was a trickster, and he would be coming up with something clever.

It was determined that the issue was solved with an aerial attack. The chimney was the quickest access to the Holy Altar where the high priest and Shen Qisi were held up. They were ambushed by a ninja foe, but he was quickly dispatched. Descending into the Temple, they found Shen Qisi tied up, and the High Priest free. But Hien was not fooled, Shen had actually disguised himself as the High Priest, and vice versa.

When the ruse was discovered, his hench woman Huifua, a master chemist and grenadier. An epic battle was fought with fire and magic, but in the end Huifua was killed and Shen Qisi surrendered. The temple's holy artifact, the Staff of Air and Water, was awarded to the Burning Band for their heroics.

Unfortunately, Shen Qisi revealed that the hostage sitatuation was a ruse. While it was thought that this was merely bluster, the truth was revealed when Kyu Sang burst into the room, revealing that the main horde of Silver Scarves were only two days away.