Zao Wu Hai was not a fool, He took the opportunity to check out where the Fungal Lord had come from. Its grove was filled with all sorts of Mushrooms. Slipping into the shadows like it was a puddle and swimming through the forests undergrowth, Wu Hai was enjoying the Combat Form, its boost to his agility was just one of the many bonus.'
As a Water Elemental, Wu Hai swept away of everything in the vicinity, then he ran across a very large chest that with a funky lock on it. The Chest was stuck to the floor like it was a part of it.
The lock was broken shut, it would require prying either way. Using the tiny cracks around the lid, Wu Hai forced it open and saw a glob of golden liquid. It gave off a strong aura of the ground and smelled like fighting, if such a smell were to actually exist. He was quick to store it and collected anything in sight.
While exploring the Fungus Lord's lair nearby the exit, he noticed the remains of a lot of Dwarves. They were dressed in fancy armor that glittered and many of them were wearing spacial rings.
Anything he could find, including the bones of the Dwarves were taken up without further consideration. Dwarven items were never to be underestimated, throughout all of the books and scrolls or even stories that Wu Hai had heard, Dwarves were obsessive over quality.
Wu Hai rushed out of the Grove. If Fungal Lord returned and found him, it would be like asking for a funeral. Sensing that he could be tracked as an elemental, Wu Hai quickly removed his clothing and rolled the Dice to change forms.
'Wood, Healing, Explosion, Dragonkin, Enormous.' The compulsion to leave washed over Wu Hai, he decided it was time he rejoined the group, the Mushroom cave wasn't empty but greed was the downfall of many adventures in books. Wood Dragons were rarely seen, let alone written about. Having
transformed, he had a difficult time collecting his things from the
ground for he flew away.
Fleeing from the scene, Wu Hai must have been a spectacle from to people from far away.
Often Times resembling the twisted trunk of an ancient tree, Wood Dragon's had branches for horns that were considered treasures in of themselves. Wood Dragons, any part of them could be considered sacred in some circles. He skin cracked and creaked while he flew into the air, swimming in the currents.
Being such a large Dragon, his presence was immediately known the forest creatures below. Wood Dragons were given priority over themselves, it was a choice. The Wood Dragon was considered a sign of luck and good fortune, the fruit from a fully matured Wood Dragon could sustain a life for hundreds of years. The lifeblood of the Dragons flowed within them and except for a few other body parts, the fruits would be considered apex herbs or ingredients for alchemy.
Lucky for Wu Hai, he didn't have any fruits hanging from his horns. Soaring into the air, he could see the Twins in the distance. As the oversized wood dragon approached, they were on alert.
Zao Wu Hai had left as an Elemental, now, he was a Wood Dragon. Looking more like a Mega-Mesquite Tree, the thorns on Wu Hai's branches looked like they could paralyze anything. They dripped with a sort of poison at the tips and he looked very menacing.
The value of materials like a hair and skin were extreme in some cases, thinking to himself for only a moment, he had Khan Ni take the branches he had grown for later. She stored them away and jumped down with the Jiao.
Darkwing landed on Wu Hai's shoulder, he made sure to watch for thorns and asked "When do we leave again?"
The Twins were still laughing at the crushed Gnome.
The Fungal Lord literally beat the gnome to death with the Rushroom. The Gnomes imprint mashed into the ground again and again as if beaten with a ball-peen hammer.
The Twins decided it was better that they left the walls up, it had a splatter that looked more like art. There was nothing to clean up, the corpse of the Gnome was essentially gone. Mu merely had to open up the soil and discard pasty remains. Tucking the scattered possessions that remained behind into his storage ring, Mu was rather pleased with the outcome. The Gnome had a lot of booze.
This time it was Khan Ni's choice of how they would leave the campsite, she liked mud buildings and wanted to turn the walled off area into another fungus grove to replace what had been taken. Wu Hai wouldn't have to do much, tapping the tops of mushrooms usually yielded lots of spores.
They made a great big warning sign that read, 'Don't steal from the wrong places.' It was sitting atop the doorway, Wu Hai put a water filtering root inside the building and reinforced the floors.
Someone would eventually find the place, they might as well make it useful and build it to last.
Spreading a bunch of broken dragon bark from his hide across the interior was not hard but it felt wrong. He was shedding, peeling parts of his body off and laying them out for the fungus to grow on. Even though it was possible for him to recover and required no losses on his part, it still felt wrong in a way. Wu Hai had to heal himself a few times to make enough of the bark and was soon tired. Even a Dragonkin with the healing ability would still require some rest if they molted.
They had done everything they could do, the rest was up to nature. Khan Ni used her wind ability and spread spores.
They flew North.
Deciding not to stop for anything except a viable place to camp, they spent the entire day in flight. The Suns were particularly hot in the morning. The air around them had been a humid zone for some time. The group was beaten by the sunlight and stagnant heat.
Wu Hai liked the Wood Dragon body, flight and maneuverability were easy. Everyone got to rest most of the time but Wu Hai's horn branches only covered so much and a single bare spot ws the only place to sit along his back. Eventually one of the Cheng Brothers got smart and pulled things from his storage ring until he found a roll of Golden Cloth in the Gnomes belongings. It was shiny but carried in the wind as he flew.
Unrolling it, it was wide and covered Wu Hai's back for the group. It was secure enough, shading them from the radiance of Two Suns.
Wu Hai was in disagreement with his appearance, no one would normally be able to make a Wood Dragon into a mount. His situation felt a little easier when there was some sort of cover on his body, it made him look more official and less like a loose dragon for the picking.
Sailing across the sky, the golden cloth flapped in the wind, providing a significant reprieve from the heat of the suns. Following the compass, they soon found a large purple and blue Pagoda. It looked bent from a distance, stood thirty three stories, and it was at least half of a mile round at its base.
The Tower was bright like the sky but seemed dreadful, Icy and cold.
Landing, Wu Hai could feel the pull from the compass, it pointed directly toward the doorway. "This is the place but why is the compass pulling so hard. If its inside this place, it should have always pointed here.. right?" Skeptical as always, Wu Hai prattled on.
"Okay, its time I re-roll. Get this cloth off me and cut these horns again, I'll heal before I use the Gygax." Lopping the branches off, Wu Hai could feel a headache.
Healed from the injury, rolling, he threw out the dice.
'Lightning, Metal, Qilinkin, Wave, Tiny.' "Dammit!" Wu Hai hated being small, cursing as he read the roll in his mind, he could feel the changes in his body. They were dramatic but he was interested in what the form could offer in such a small package.
Comprised of Lightning more than anything else, Wu Hai could feel the innate ability for Lightning waves as his pulse quickened. His hybridized metal powers allowed the metals he produced to have a magnetic quality. He felt greedy but did his best to procure materials before getting dressed. Some of the Dwarven Armor was a perfect fit, Wu Hai decided to put a small stockpile of the materials away for safe keeping. It was just a quick and passing thought but material production was becoming a common practice in the group.
The Cheng Twins did their best to produce what they could as well, they understood the Wu Hai had use for them.
Wu Hai's appearance resembled a very angry gremlin from his former life's memories. He felt hilarious and powerful. Dawning a few pieces of armor from the Dwarves, he slowly resembled a miniature Warrior of the heavens. His wings buzzed like a hummingbird, they moved at a speed too fast to watch. He was disappointed at his size but very pleased at his speed.
The Twins looked at Wu Hai like a child they were babysitting, it was a little embarrassing for them and for him as well. He was grateful, at least his voice wasn't high pitched or warped in some way.
"Okay, well.. this isn't optimal but it will do for now!" Zao Wu Hai couldn't help but do some flips with his wings, they helped him a great deal inside the Pagoda hallways, the entrance and paths were quite large and roomy.
'The original owners must have been quite special.' Staring at the artwork and frozen walls, the young adventurer saw a path ahead. Wu Hai scouted ahead after entering and the hallway led to a large central lobby.
As the last of them entered the Pagoda, the group experienced a jolt. They heard a loud bell, Khan Ni the rest of the group were astounded, she was wrapped in a golden light.
She patted herself down and continued. The group officially didn't know what to say, they all threw their hands up and continued down the corridor. For such an exciting moment in the group, little cheering was heard from them. Khan Ni didn't feel like anything was wrong, it was a brief glowing sensation but nothing out of the ordinary happened.
Wu Hai wasn't sure if what she had experienced was a level up but he wasn't about to bring it up casually.