Part 7: The Landing

Episode 06: The Landing



Last time, everything went to hell as Two Rivers was burned to the ground, nearly all of our old friends were killed, and Master Li was taken away by the Lotus Assassins. We know we need to get to the Imperial City, but our first stop will be the nearby town of Tien's Landing because our Mosquito flyer doesn't do long distances all that well.



If we wanted to, we could've had another shoot 'em up section after leaving Two Rivers. However, I decided to skip it by choosing the evade option instead of attack. I like the fact the game doesn't force you to do the flyer sections after the initial one, although we will still be seeing plenty of that stuff because there is a fairly important sidequest that involves a lot of flying and shooting.



This is what the cockpit of a Mosquito flyer looks like. We're experiencing some minor turbulence at the moment, but no worries, everything is under control.





Well, at least until a big chunk of our horizontal stabilizer snaps off.





After that, it's mostly a matter of finding a bit of ground that doesn't have too many people or buildings on it. Maybe also avoiding the cliffs. And the dam.



We've found some ruins and it looks like we might be able to land smoothly between the buildings. Just gotta keep it steady and...



...dammit





And we're dead. We could've totally pulled that off if some idiot hadn't left a chunk of wall in the way.

VIDEO: I can fly this thing, I sw--*CRASH*





Actually, we seem to be doing relatively well after that, we're moving and everything. Considering this was the first time our heroes were flying an aircraft (aside from Zu, possibly), that landing was a fairly decent effort.



It's a miracle we all survived unharmed. Uh... we did all survive, didn't we?



I like the option, but the decent thing to do is ask if our friends are doing okay.



How did we survive such a violent impact without so much as a scratch on any of us? The safety measures on these flyers must be outstanding.



A what? Maybe he could've mentioned this before we took off, although I guess we were leaving Two Rivers no matter what and it wasn't like there would've been wind maps lying around. Maybe one of Gao's men might've had one? Someone must have.



Huh, we could actually ask why Zu didn't mention wind maps earlier, although I didn't do so and therefore don't know what he says about it here. I'm gonna assume it's something similar to what I just wrote there.



And there's our first main goal for this section of the game: find a wind map.



Hey, just because the flyer has exploded into a million pieces and is currently on fire doesn't mean... eh, he's right. We need to find a replacement somehow, which would be our second main goal at the moment.



Ha! You make it sound so simple. Flyers and wind maps are rare things, even in the Imperial City. Out here they're all but unknown.

Gao and his pirates used flyers to attack Two Rivers, and the Lotus Assassins who took Master Li had them, too. Somebody around here must know something about them.

Don't worry, Dawn Star. I'll find a way to get us flying again.

I'm... I'm sorry to get upset, but every second we're stuck here, Master Li gets farther away from us.

We're near Tien's Landing. It's a small village, but maybe someone there knows where we can find a new flyer. If nothing else, I remember a clearing suitable for a camp. And if we can't find a flyer, we can always follow on foot. To the south of the village is a forest. A trade route leads through it to the Imperial City. The village is across the bridge and beyond a large marker stone. Look for the giant rock with a painting of a fish on it, and you'll know you're heading in the right direction.

Let's get moving. Dawn Star, come with me.

Very well. I'll wait here for now. It's not so different from the marsh, actually. More of an impending sense of doom, but that could just be your influence.

What? Hey! Just because I almost got us killed in a flyer crash doesn't mean...



The Chapter 2 introduction is actually supposed to pop up at this point, but I thought the beginning of the update was a more appropriate place for it.



Oh, good. That'll explain the sense of impending doom, I assume.



It's just a bunch of ghosts, though. Convict ghosts, to be exact. We're going to assume these are ghosts of convicts who died and not inmates of a ghost prison, but whatever they are they're just a random trash mob and no different from the ghosts we've been fighting so far.





Once the ghosts are dealt with, Wu is hit by a sensation she remembers from earlier.



He carried a piece of your amulet. It was separated, broken apart, so your enemies could not find it easily. You have the first piece. It trains your abilities now.

Huh. Wonder what happened to that Spirit Monk. I'm assuming he died since Wu is supposed to be the last of her order, but who knows.



These three pieces are physical, but there is one more. It cannot be found, only earned. This final piece is all that will save you in the end.



A vision. The same creature I saw in the spirit cave at the school.

You saw a vision? Strange that I could not make it out. Strong spirits are usually quite clear to me. Please tell me if you have any more. We shouldn't stay here. It... it isn't safe. There's so much pain and suffering in this place that I can barely think. What did Zu say again? A clearing near Tien's Landing across the bridge and south. It sounds simple enough. Lead the way, and I'll follow.

Bringing Dawn Star to areas with a big spirit presence occasionally gives us some interesting dialogue. Sadly, she usually can't tell us when we're about to be ambushed by ghosts like she did here.



There's nothing of interest in this area near the flyer, aside from a destroyed focus shrine. Obviously, it doesn't work, not that we need it right now anyway.



Let's keep heading south. The scenery here is a bit brown and grey for my liking.



We can interact with this headstone, so let's check that out.



This is a cutscene, we didn't actually have to evade the trap.



If you mess with grave stones outside Tien's Landing, there's a good chance you disturb some spirits and get attacked by convict ghosts.



Like so. Nothing special about these guys, and I don't think they drop anything interesting either. Headstones do have money and items, so checking them is usually a good idea if you don't mind fending off a few angry spirits.



This must be the clearing that was mentioned before.



The bridge leads to the site of the Great Dam. We can't do anything with it right now, so let's keep moving.



Past the spirit font, we see this building we must pass through.



There's nothing inside except for these conscripts. I guess this is just a tunnel of some sort.



stupid 3rd person action cameras



Yep, nothing else in the tunnel. We should be pretty close to Tien's Landing when we come out.



However, it appears someone's been watching us.





If you've been paying attention, you'll recall we saw this person in the cutscene when we left Two Rivers. Now she's followed us all the way here.







At this point we don't know why she's following us, but she certainly knows how to make an entrance.





And she thinks we're working for Death's Hand. Perfect.



I don't suppose we can talk about this?



Oh, we can. Or at least we can try.



Death's Hand went too far in ordering its destruction, and Gao the Greater sought to profit from it. My retribution will end with them, but it will begin with you.



Let's all say hi to Silk Fox. Technically we're not supposed to know her name because she never mentioned it in that conversation, but since the game helpfully points out her identity on the HUD there's no reason to pretend we don't know.



Despite talking a big game, Silk Fox is a complete pushover in this fight. She's less dangerous than a random trash enemy, so this doesn't take long at all.



When we get her health low enough, she yields.



Allowed. Uh huh. I don't think Silk Fox expected to fight a Spirit Monk, and now she's trying to save face and pretend we didn't completely clown her right there.



I am not in league with Gao or the Lotus Assassins.

So it would appear. You lack their branding... but if you are not one of them, who are you? A monk? A mercenary? A bandit? You chase a great evil... larger than you realize. Leave, and you may survive. Others have tried to face Death's Hand, but were destroyed, as Two Rivers was.

I don't know why she would even consider we might be bandits, we're far too competent for that to be the case. That said, Silk Fox seems to know a lot about Death's Hand and doesn't seem to think we have much of a chance against him. And to be fair, we'd get destroyed if we tried to fight him right now.



Your honor sends you toward peril, but you do not flinch from it. A trait of fools... and perhaps the occasional hero. I also seek answers from Death's Hand and his minions. If you truly oppose him, you will need to find your way to the Imperial City. Of course, only the Lotus Assassins can come and go as they please, thanks to Gao. Travel routes by land and water are blocked, but they use wind maps and flyers to further their goals here and in the surrounding forest.

So we can't walk to the Imperial City, then. We have to find a flyer and a wind map.



Farewell.



Gotta say, that's a hell of a vertical leap.



With Silk Fox gone, we're free to head towards Tien's Landing. There's the big fish rock Zu mentioned earlier, and past that to the right is the path to town.



So, obviously, we go left. The first thing we see is a small herd of goats doing goat stuff.



Any of you fellows seen a wind map around here or know where we could find one? No? Aw.



Maybe these gentlemen will be more talkative.



They are, but they also want to murder us so I doubt they'll be very helpful in our search.



I am a soldier of the Imperial Army, sent by Death's Hand to destroy anyone foolish enough to enter this place. Unfortunately, this includes you! Kill the peasant!



This goes about as well for them as you might expect.



After the fight, this guy comes out of hiding and begs us not to kill him.



Even though I wear this uniform, I am no soldier. My name is Chen Yi. I'm just a simple peasant from the town of One Stone. These soldiers passed through my village a few weeks ago. One of them angered the Lotus Assassin who was in charge, and the Assassin killed him! As I was coming back in from the fields, they grabbed me to fill his place. They put this uniform on me--blood stains and all--and told me I was in the army!

That... seems like it would be a rather ineffectual method of conscription.



Like, don't you even get any training? Arming random peasants who may or may not know which end of the sword you point at enemies doesn't seem like something the Imperial Army would do, even if the Lotus Assassins are actually calling the shots. What would the Glorious Strategist say?



Go. Leave here and never return.

In any case, I let this poor fool go. If it turns out he was lying and he attacks us, well, he saw what happened to the last three guys who tried.



I want to say there are a couple of situations in BioWare games where you decide to show mercy on someone like this and they do in fact attack you afterwards, but I can't think of specific ones. There's that one asari merc in Mass Effect 2, but it's pretty obvious from the start that she's lying and just wants Shepard to lower their guard. Also, she doesn't attack you, she just runs off and you find out later that she was the murderer the cops were looking for.



Dawn Star approves, of course.



There's a focus shrine and a few chests in the watchtower. The loot is fairly inconsequential for the most part, but then there's this. The Silk Strings are a quest item that's completely useless to Wu, but our buddy Wei Shen will be able to make use of these in his very special episode later.



Traps? Pft.



This orb that has a picture of the amulet is a gem pickup. You very rarely see these, as you generally just get gems from containers or vendors and even when you get a drop from a boss it just goes straight into your inventory.



The path that leads to more ruins is crawling with spirits, and due to the danger it's locked right now. We need to find a key for the gate if we want to get in.





As we've finished looking around here for now, we can finally enter Tien's Landing.



Zu got bored of waiting and just came straight here. He seems to have missed all the action, as he doesn't mention seeing our fight with Silk Fox or anything like that.



Well, that's very thoughftul of him. We'll take a look at the gem in a bit.



I will stay here at this new camp unless you need me. It seems like a good enough place to base ourselves out of.



Good Fortune (Intuition +5, Mind +1, Spirit +1) is quite a nice gem and will go into our amulet right now. That means we have gems equipped for all three of our conversation skills now.



Since we're at camp (well, we technically aren't, but close enough) it's a good time as any to have some conversations with our party members. Let's start off with Dawn Star.





Strange enemies, troubling plots; I will be glad when we can leave this place to find Master Li.

Unfortunately, we just get the "I don't have anything important to say at the moment" conversation at this time. Everyone who has played Jade Empire should be quite familiar with these.



Maybe I just feel this way because of what happened at the school or what I fear will happen to Master Li. I just know we must be careful.

We can also ask what Dawn Star thinks of the area we're currently in, which in this case is of course Tien's Landing.



I will... but I cannot help worrying, or thinking about what has happened to Master Li.

It will be okay. We will save him.

Yes, of course. I am glad you are strong in the face of all the death and destruction we've seen.

Let's actually get to the camp now.







I don't want to think like that. We will set things right. We have to.



Not that we won't be performing a whole lot of killing nonetheless, of course.





Okay, now that we're actually standing around this campfire here, let's see if we can get anything interesting out of Zu.



I have questions about you and the Lotus Assassins.

I can assure you that I no longer share an allegiance with them. It was a short dalliance that ended on poor terms.

Why did you leave them?

I won't discuss that. Perhaps I will say more when I know *your* motives better, but for now, my past is my own.

I am supposed to accept that answer?

I wouldn't have much respect for you if you did, but it is all that I am going to offer right now.

Oooo. Mystery man.



Still, he's got our back. Maybe later he'll tell us what went down with the Lotus Assassins.



It has been a long day, so we'll take a break here. When we continue, we'll explore the town of Tien's Landing and see if we can find the piece of the amulet that was mentioned by the spirit earlier.

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