Let's Play Jade Empire!

I never got too much into Drunken Master because it didn't agree with my general style of hopping around like I was having a seizure, but I got a lot of leverage out of the support modes in general, especially later in the game.

And drunk Meijyi was adorable XD I bet Master Li never let her try that before!

Hou <3 I like the fact that you're party for your mighty +*destiny*+ is composed also by a child, a cook and Kang XD It's really nice.

I'm quite sure he did not! :D

Ha, yeah. XD

"The prophecy never mentioned this!"
"Prophets don't know everything!"

Once I've soaked my head a bit, I'm feeling more normal again, and Hou reminds me that my job's not finished.



Yeah, that makes as much sense as anything, and I still have to visit the temple anyway to find out what's causing the other problems in this forest.

I don't think relying on Hou and Drunken Master style is going to be the best way to go about this, though. I think now's a good time to backtrack a bit to Tien's Landing and show our new friend our increasingly populated campsite.



It's a good thing I didn't send Hou that way on his own, because there are already more ghosts on the paths that I just recently cleared. Whatever's wrong with this forest, it's really, really wrong.

We don't run into anything we can't handle, though, and we make it back to Tien's Landing without any real incident.

Sky stops me just before we rejoin the others.



Well, I wouldn't call it that exactly - but I have been wanting to talk to him a little bit more. Now's as good a chance as any.





I've got it! You were raised by a traveling circus troupe, right?

"Curses, you've uncovered my secret!" Sky has a cute laugh - and actually, he says, I'm not too far wrong. He and his wife met because they both, hm, operated outside the law.



I'm not sure how I feel about being compared to his dead wife... but really, there are probably worse compliments.

In any case, it was through his underworld contacts that Sky managed to track down Gao the Lesser - by working from the top down. As he investigated slave trading rings, he started seeing connections - to the Lotus Assassins. Every operation he saw, the Assassins were at the very least aware of. Learing that Gao the Greater was dealing heavily with the Assassins is what led Sky to him.

Sounds like the situation with the Lotus Assassins might be even worse than I'd already supposed. So why are the Assassins connected to so many slaving rings?

Sky doesn't know, but he'd very much like to, and he's glad for the opportunity to take the fight higher.



Yeah.

Poor, poor Meijyi. Drunken Master is a vicious style.

...speaking of friends and allies...





That's going a little far, although I suppose I can't blame Sky for it too much under the circumstances; he hasn't had much of a chance to get used to Zu yet.

But as frustrating as he can be, Zu hasn't done anything to prove himself a threat to us. He's certainly had plenty of chances to screw me over if he'd wanted to. And while I'm not sure he cares much of anything for me, I'm pretty sure he's not going to do anything that would put Dawn Star at risk.

Call it a hunch.





Not really. He's a good bit less veiny and claw-fingered from what I've seen so far.



Down, boys. That's enough of that out of the both of you.

I'm just... going to leave them here to sort this out on their own. Wild Flower can come with me to the Forest Shadow's temple. If I'm going to be talking to a spirit, I'm willing to bet Chai Ka will have some kind of helpful input to offer.

You guys don't break anything that can't be fixed while we're gone, okay?

That last screenshot brings us to 500 images for Chapter 2! Woof.

Also I ended up doing that conversation with Sky twice because the first time he and Meiyi decided to get a little too up close and personal:

I love how livid she looks XD "Programmer, you get met out of here RIGHT NOW."

They spent the whole conversation looking like they were seconds from either coming to blows or making out. It was very intense.

Plus Sky does this periodic one-handed gesture while he talks which, at that close a proximity, meant that he kept reaching for Meiyi's hair. Guys, we've barely even started the romance yet, ease off a little!

It happened to me in... Mass Effect, I think it was? The elevator bugged and Shepard ended in the back while Kaidan and Ashley veeeeeery slowly walked towards him, then stopped right in front of him and stood there, glaring. That was... awkward. And then the game crashed.

Very awkward indeed, I can imagine. XD I don't think this case was even a glitch, I just triggered the conversation while standing way too close, so... whoops.

The second time around I took advantage of the opportunity to set it in a slightly more picturesque area.

At least the crashing thing is something the game does reguarly or I'd really be worried XD

Edit: Oh come on, Sky and Meiyi know where this is going to go, they were just getting a head start! :D

SKY DO NOT LISTEN TO JOIE.

Seriously, I really like Sky. Only thing better would be if Zu were romanceable.

I am probably the only one who wants that.

Nope.

Probably.

I cheerfully admit to being kind of disappointed when it became clear he was not. Although I like Sky just fine so it all works out.

I was a little bit worried about dragging little Wild Flower around in the incredibly haunted forest...



...but as it turns out, I really didn't need to worry that much. Chai Ka is very good about taking over the moment it looks like there's trouble.



We found the Forest Shadow's temple. It's in about the same shape as the rest of the forest, which doesn't bode very well.

When we got there, though, I discovered that I'm not the only one out here fighting restless spirits.





What I'd really like to know is, why do everyone's weapons work against ghosts except for mine?

Seriously, how is that fair?





This is about when both of them notice that I'm there, and the big guy perks up immediately: "Hold on, that one's got all her parts, and none of 'em are hanging out! About time I had a challenge!"



--We're really doing this?

Really?



...yes, apparently we really are.







No offense, but I'm siding with Spear Catches Leaf on this one. That's not quite the dumbest fight I've gotten into recently, but it's pretty high on the list.



Well, that's nice. One of you want to explain why he attacked me?



--no, no, it was clear, I was just really hoping there was something more to it.









...I'm tempted to ask which part of his naked, screaming, drunken attack made it the most effective, but I'm not sure I want to hear how he's going to answer. Besides, Wild Flower's standing right over there.

Not pictured: Chai Ka covering Wild Flower's ears whenever Black Whirlwind opens his mouth.

If I had known this was who I was going to find at the temple I might have made a slightly different choice of companions.

If I can get things back on track before Black Whirlwind does anything too appalling - if you're Spear Catches Leaf, I have some fairly important business with you.



He's gotten things started by lighting the temple's furnaces, but he says that one of its key crystals is missing, and without it he can't even see what the furnaces are supposed to do.

Well, I did find this crystal at the Pilgrim's Rest after killing all those cannibals...

Seeing it brightens up his spirits considerably. It should fit into the central pedestal, he tells me, and that should unlock the rest of the temple's mechanisms so that we can perform the ritual - something Lord Yun's father called the "ritual of the seasons."





Sounds kind of like the lion statue back in Two Rivers, in a way. Seems like that was forever ago, now.

--okay, I'm pretty sure I can figure it out from here. Spear Catches Leaf tells me there are some old scrolls in the temple that might help if I get stuck.

He's going to head towards Tien's Landing to report to Lord Yun, but he tells me he's leaving Black Whirlwind here to 'help.' "If anyone can control him," he says, "it's you."



Why do I suddenly feel like I'm running a home for incorrigible children?





...well, speaking of fighting an army... odds are good that's probably going to be happening at some point or other. I suppose having someone like Black Whirlwind around could be helpful when that time comes.



On the other hand, I probably can't afford you. Are you sure traveling with me won't cramp your mercenary lifestyle?



Well, that's... big of you, Whirlwind. Welcome aboard?

Can't wait to see what Zu's going to make of this one...

Whirlwind only has three rules, he says: "don't touch my axes, don;t touch my wine, and don't get between me and my enemies. If you can live with that, we'll get along just fine."





Have I mentioned how much I like this kid?



Like a fungus?

I love party member reactions to Whirlwind.

I never had Wild Flower there before and she makes the best comments. Man, I love that kid.

Wild Flower is just so unimpressed with Black Whirlwind and I love it.

I love Black Whirlwind SO MUCH.

Also I've never heard her comments on him either! I love it.

From what Spear Catches Leaf told me, this shouldn't actually be very difficult, but just to be on the safe side I have a look at the scroll he mentioned in the temple.



So if I do this wrong, it could be very bad.

Got it.



The first order of business is putting the crystal I found with the cannibals back into the central pedestal, which if Spear Catches Leaf was right should unlock the whole works.

Once that's done, I can move the larger crystals over the furnaces into position...



...huh, that's kind of neat.



From here it's not too hard to figure out what to do. I'm not sure what it says about the son of the guy who wrote that scroll that he couldn't even be bothered to remember "blue crystal, red crystal."

Honestly, I'm not even sure I'd call this a "ritual." I was picturing something a little more, I don't know... formal?

Or something.



Then again, why am I complaining about something being relatively simple for a change?

Maybe there really is something wrong with me.



The summer and winter crystals focus their beams of light to a crystal held by a fox statue in the temple...



...and a portal opens inside.

This should lead to the Forest Shadow. If it doesn't, I'm probably in some real trouble.

Who am I kidding, I'm probably in for real trouble anyway.

Maybe Lord Yun's family doesn't have epic puzzle solving skills... or maybe it's only simple for those with a ~*destiny*~?

I'm not taking Black Whirlwind with me - I can only imagine what would happen if I tried to talk to the Forest Shadow with him on hand.

Besides, someone needs to make sure nobody comes along and does something that closes that portal and leaves me stranded. I'm pretty sure he can handle that job.

C'mon, Wild Flower, let's go see where this takes us.



It's certainly a lot nicer inside the portal than it was in the forest. That's a good sign, right?

Naturally, though, we've barely set foot into this place before someone starts complaining, and it's not Wild Flower.



I'm sorry?

"For so long it appeared you'd be one of the easy ones. Then that whole bandit attack happened, and I haven't rested since."

--wait, no, I changed my mind. I'm not sorry. Who are you?



Destruction? Hey! I haven't destroyed anything!

Sure, things have gotten destroyed while I was around, but I don't see how that's my fault.

And why would you need to record something like that anyway?

"Our calculations keep the universe in balance," Zin Bu says. "Without us, chaos... anarchy... utter ruination."

Personally, I'm not sure how writing down the details of everything that gets messed up is going to make it any less messed up.



My point exactly.

"But imagine if they failed to record his various... deeds. We would never be able to determine his eventual position on the Great Wheel. You can't just guess at it! You must have records. Itemized records, in triplicate, signed by the Overseer of Carnal Destruction and Disorder herself!"

Oh. Okay, that makes a bit more sense. This is a Celestial Bureaucracy thing.

...I kind of can't believe I just said that.

Anyway, it sounds like a difficult job.



Not to mention, that was not my fault. Why don't you go take it up with Gao, wherever he's currently rotting?



Oh, shut up, Zin Bu.

But it's becoming clear that there's no shutting this guy up once he gets going. He's been demoted, he says, to a much lower role in trade and commerce. And he's not happy about it, even if it does mean he's no longer responsible for keeping up with me.

"I'll be lucky if I ever attain the rank I had before you came along, but I have a plan that just might get me there."



Don't drag me into--

--wait. Did you just say you just appointed yourself my personal merchant?

Yes. Yes, that's exactly what he just said. Zin Bu's taking it upon himself to make sure I'm supplied with whatever I need; all I have to do, he says, is sell him anything I come across that I won't use, and buy things that I need from him.

How this is supposed to get him out of his demotion, I have no idea, but if it means I have my own shopkeeper from the heavens on call whenever I need him, I don't see a reason to complain about it.

Unless he keeps whining this much the whole time. Then there might be a problem.

This is going to be fun to explain when I get back to camp!

JE gets the funniest companions bar none. And I really like this level. Gorgeous light and environment.

Fortunately for the lurking ghost of a headache that my adventures in Drunken Master style left behind, Zin Bu vanishes to go find some appropriate stock, and that gives me the chance to talk to my companions and see if Chai Ka can tell me anything about where the heck we are.



Well, I guess that explains Zin Bu. Given that the portal from her temple led us here, I'm guessing this is probably the Forest Shadow's domain.

Which seems like an argument in favor of her not being the source of all the trouble. If she were, wouldn't her corner of the heavens be just as corrupted as the forest?



Also an argument in the Forest Shadow's favor... and yet, at the same time, really not encouraging.



The fox spirits don't attack me on sight, which is nice.



But this reminds me about the part where the Forest Shadow tried to turn me to stone, which is not so nice.

I don't get the chance to ask about that.



Toad demons. Been a while since I've fought these.

I still don't like them.



The foxes honestly didn't really seem to need my help that much, but I think I might have won a few points for myself by chipping in; one of them tells me that I've earned the right to go see the Forest Shadow.

She warns me to be careful, though, because the Forest Shadow is weakened by the disease in the trees and these attacks are becoming more frequent. She also tells me that the Mother is behind them.

I probably don't have time to stand around asking questions.





I still don't like horse demons either, if you were wondering.





But it looks like neither does anyone else here, so I might be in good company after all.

Let's find out what the Forest Shadow has to say for herself.

*Rubs hands together* And so it begins...

Yeah, well. I don't trust anyone who ambushes me and tries to turn me to stone, either, so we're even.



"Even with the Heavenly Gate Guardian here," Shining Tusk says, "I do not know that we can afford trust."





Anybody want to tell me what that means?



Of course not.

It's probably related to "the Other" Wild Flower mentioned before. But she's right at least in that I have more immediate business here to deal with.

Is it me or did Chai Ka just pull one hell of a smug face there? I guess it's good to be home for him, kind of.

It's too bad that you can't take the foxes with you. They make fighting demons a lot easier.

I suppose straight answers would be too much to hope for?

Like, you know, why you attacked me?

"Think about what you have seen at the inn. Now remember what happened at the bridge. There was purpose in the attack."

You're saying that you attacked me at the bridge to... what, warn me?

The attack at the bridge served two purposes, the Forest Shadow tells me: it made my mind uncertain and, thus, sharper, and my search for answers revealed the cannibals to me. And by attacking me, she made sure I'd come here to speak with her.

Which, okay, but you tried to turn me to stone. What were you going to do if I didn't know Stone Immortal?

Seriously, I was coming here anyway. You could have just asked nicely, like Lord Yun did.

Why does hardly anyone ever just ask nicely?

Come on, Forest Shadow - pieces on the table. What was so important about getting me here that you felt the need to go to all of that trouble?

Big surprise - it all comes back to the Water Dragon.

"The Mother's awakening and her spreading corruption is just a beginning," the Forest Shadow says. "One of many that happens all over your empire. You do not want to see the end."



Recent? But the Water Dragon was killed at Dirge, right? That was twenty years ago; there's no way I could have come into contact with her recently, unless it was as a--

--oh.



I'm an idiot.

That's fine, she's an anthropomorphic fox thing.

And I never made that connection until she said it, either >_>

Water Dragon.

"Names are fleeting," she says, "given so your kind can point and say 'that is mine.' All words... names, history, dreams... they die on your lips."





Stepped beyond their station... you mean the Emperor, challenging the gods? Challenging you?

"He challenges the order. He pushes above while you are where you should be... where you must be."





I don't understand.

But the Water Dragon's spirit is gone again before I can ask anything more.

She really likes her cryptic claptrap, doesn't she? Clear answers are really hard to get in these games.

I'm starting to think it's contractually obligated for spirits, but the Water Dragon is the most cryptic of all.

Is this a power level thing? The more powerful you are the more you have to speak in riddles?

This would explain a lot.