Editing Chapter 2 (section)

==Seven days later...==

...the five amalgams stood in the shrine of Xie Tyen.  In the pale green light, the liondog stood over the great sarcophagus draped in green silk.  The team stood in a line, with their hands folded before them in their brown robes of office.  All were weary, especially Zhou Wing; though returning the gold to the tomb had stopped the spread of the plague, it still took work to tend those already sick and nurse them through.  Now they were on their way to the next town, and had stopped to pay their respects at the hallowed grave.

When they left, Willow Leaf had felt well enough to walk as far as the village edge with the help of a staff.  She told Wing, “Please send my father’s apologies.  He really didn’t mean harm.  He wanted to give you this, before you left.”

She held out to him a leather belt with a silver buckle.  Wing turned it over in his hands and saw that it was covered in crescent moons stamped into the leather on all sides.

“I helped him make it... a little.”

Wing stooped in a low bow to her.  “Make sure you keep resting for the next month.  No chores!  That’s what got you into this.  Tell your father to be honest with the circuit rider, and he may live.”

Little Leaf nodded her head solemnly.  As they rode away on their cart, Selara said to him, “Well, you are quite the sentimentalist.”

Zhou Wing still fingered the belt as he stood before the liondog.  It bowed its head low before them and spoke with a deep and rumbling voice in cultured Riverspeak.

“Long ago in the time of the great contagion, there was an immaculate monk that went from city to city caring for those that had fallen to the plague.  Though no one could stop its ravages, Xie Tyen did much to ease the suffering of the people of this land.  In the end, she too died of the disease, and the people who loved her built this tomb in her honor and filled it with grave goods to honor her.  The land still remembers her, and punishes those who would defile her memory.”

The spirit bowed its head to the floor.  “It was my duty to guard this place, and because I failed in my duty, many have suffered.  Children of the Solar Exalted, I submit myself to your judgment for failing in my task and for mistaking you for thieves.”

Toruna raised her arms, gesturing for the guardian to rise.  “Many have wandered from the paths of righteousness, but the time has come to set things right.  Do your duty faithfully; your moment of weakness is forgotten.  Please forgive us...” and at this her eyes darted toward Yao Ye for a moment, “...for trespassing so injudiciously in this sacred place.”

“The authority is yours; no trespass was committed.”  The liondog bowed its head and picked up one of the jade boxes from the grave goods and tossed it through the air to Wing.  He caught it clumsily in both hands.  It spoke once more.

“I have heard of your work in the village; the very wind sings your praises.  You are truly a scion of Xie Tyen.  Take this to help you in your work.  I think that she would prefer that her tools be used once more for good.”

Wing opened the flat green jade box and found inside eight curious acupuncture needles, two of jade, two of orichalc’, two of starmetal, and two of moonsilver.  He bowed deeply to the liondog, speechless at the gift.

Farewells were spoken, and the team left the shrine, carefully sealing it once more with stone.  As they looked over their work, Yao Ye approached Wing with her hands behind her back and her face down.  She had healed from the severe bashing she had taken, but there was still a lump on the side of her head and a slight catch in her walk.

“Wing, I realize that I said some things about you that weren’t very nice, and I may have threatened to kill you a little. So I made this for you.  I really, really hope you like it.”

She handed him a small package the size of her fist, wrapped in green paper and tied with twine.  As soon as he took it, she skipped away to the cart.  “Thank you?”  He called after her.

He untied the twine and unwrapped the paper, and found inside a fresh bar of faintly scented soap.

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# [[Chronicles of the Daybringers]]
# [[Heaven's Mandate]]