Scenario:Cidala - Guardian of the East-Northeast
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Guardian of the East-Northeast
The crew visits the Tiger Temple to meet this year's year spirit, the twin sisters Huang and Bai Cidala. Their foster parent, a sacred tiger named Laolao, fears his parental methods are inadequate and secretly asks the crew to take the girls with them to see the world. However, the twins catch wind of his plan, and they drag him along too so that they can stay together on their travels.
This year, all signs point to the Tiger Temple located to the East-Northeast.
A new year calls for a new prayer to ensure a safe journey. Of course that's easier said than done when everyone's clamoring for a New Year's blessing.
Jostling through the temple crowds will be an ordeal, to say the least.
Vyrn: Sigh... Now I know what a boxed lunch feels like... It's gonna take us a gajillion years just to meet Cidala.
Lyria: I know what you mean... And have you noticed how everyone has a piece of paper?
Vyrn: Yeah, I saw that too. Are they, like, tickets or something?
They discreetly peek at the slips of paper held by a few strangers next to them. A unique mixture of shapes, words, and arrows is scrawled on each slip.
Vyrn: Boy, nothing's addin' up today. First our job request gets canceled, and now these paper thingies are makin' my head spin.
Prior to coming to the Tiger Temple, the crew had gone island hopping to exterminate monsters as part of a job request.
Client: I'm sorry I couldn't contact you earlier, but it turns out the monsters had already been exterminated before you arrived.
Vyrn: Not again... Feels like every time we hit up a new island in these parts, we're always too late.
Client: I see. So this has been happening on other islands as well?
Vyrn: Yeah. We were on a different island just the other day, and the monsters seemed to have disappeared into thin air. What a waste of time.
Lyria: Well, look on the bright side. At least people are safe now.
Vyrn: Nah, I know it's a good thing. I just wanna know what exactly's goin' on.
Client: Considering whose turn it is to be the year spirit, Cidala must already be on the hunt.
Vyrn: Who's that?
Client: The Divine Tiger of the Twelve Divine Generals.
The Twelve Divine Generals, each of whom belong to a certain temple, are appointed the role of year spirit for their respective year.
Since the time of the War, they have monitored the boundary between the Sky Realm and Astral Realm.
Vyrn: What was the Divine General doin' out here?
Client: They used their incredible strength to smash monsters with a big ol' hammer.
Client: After clearing out the monsters, they... Well, it's hard to explain. Better to see it for yourselves. Follow me.
The man brings the crew to a street corner where a peculiar sash is affixed to the ground.
Client: After taking down an especially large monster, Cidala slapped on one of these.
Lyria: Hm... What is it?
Client: No one's really sure, to be honest, but something about this strip keeps monsters away.
Vyrn: What the heck? So it's like a magic seal or something?
Client: It certainly acts like a seal, doesn't it? They called it something I've never heard before.
Client: Hm, what was it again? Fang? Fonk? Started with an F...
Client: It's not coming to me right now, but you can't argue with the results. We haven't seen a single monster ever since.
Vyrn: Do you feel anything special comin' from this thing, Lyria?
Lyria: No, not really.
Vyrn: All right. Guess we'll have to leave it at that, but I do know one thing: a Divine General took our jobs.
(Captain) suggests paying a visit to the Tiger Temple.
Vyrn: Good idea. After sayin' a prayer for our journey, we can give the Divine Tiger a piece of our minds.
Lyria: Ahaha... That doesn't sound like a very nice thing to do...
Vyrn: Fine, that might be a bit much. I just wanna see what kinda person they are, and what this seal is all about.
Hoping to satisfy their curiosity, the crew set off for the Tiger Temple to ring in the new year.
Lyria: Yay, looks like we're next.
Vyrn: Whew... Took long enough...
After waiting in line for seemingly ages, the crew is finally about to meet Cidala in person.
???: Hey! You made it!
???: Welcome.
Vyrn: Huh?
Lyria: I'm sorry... Wasn't this the line to meet Cidala?
???: Yep! You did it!
???: Thank you for waiting.
A pair of twins stare at the crew expectantly. Each one speaks as if they are Cidala.
Vyrn: Psst. Which one's Cidala?
Lyria: I-I don't know...
Choose: Greet the girl on the left.
???: What's up?
Vyrn: Oh, so she's Cidala.
???: Wrrrong. I'm Cidala.
Lyria: Huh?
Choose: Greet the girl on the right.
???: Yes?
Lyria: Oh, so you're Cidala.
???: Grrr! I'm Cidala!
Vyrn: What!
Continue 1
???: Huang, I don't think these people know who we are.
Huang: I think you're right, Bai. Okay, newcomers, open up your ears!
The two girls who call themselves Huang and Bai stand up straight and tall, flashing their pearly whites.
Huang and Bai: Divine Tiger I'm and Cidala of the Twelve Guardian of Divine the Generals East-Northeast—
Huang and Bai: ...
Lyria: Erm...
Vyrn: What'd you say?
Huang: We botched our entrance again...
Bai: Maybe we should count to three first? At least that way we'll be on the same page.
Huang: What kind of lame-o twins have to do a count off?
Bai: To make a long story short, we're both Cidala. It's nice to meet you.
Vyrn: Double Divine Generals? I didn't know that was a thing...
Huang: Sigh... Fine, forget the entrance. Okay, people, show us your layouts.
Lyria: What's a layout?
Bai: Oh, you didn't draw anything before coming to see us? Here, take a sheet of paper.
Huang: It's all about feng shui. Don't tell me you don't know what that is either?
Bai: By layout we mean a home's interior design. Qi flow is influenced by how objects are placed, or even how buildings themselves are arranged.
Huang: People flock to the Tiger Temple to improve their feng shui.
Vyrn: Feng shui? Qi flow? Huh... Learn somethin' new every day, I guess.
Lyria: I wonder if they're talking about that seal the client showed us earlier...
The crew draw a picture of their home on the piece of paper and hand it over to the twins.
Bai: This layout is so strange. It's large, yet long and narrow. What room is a deck? Is that where you go to do your business?
Huang: Come on. It's obviously an airship.
Bai: Oh? You all live on an airship?
Vyrn: We're a crew of skyfarers. Travelin' the skies with no fixed address—makes sense to call a ship home, doesn't it?
Cidala Sisters: A crew...
Vyrn: Oh, that reminds me. We had a job to take out monsters, but I think you two beat us to the punch.
Vyrn: We found your yellow and black calling card stuck to the ground.
Bai: Now that you mention it, I think I did hear that a crew had been hired to exterminate monsters.
Huang: But we were like, "whatever," and crushed those monsters without thinking... Oooh, I get it. You came to yell at us, huh?
Vyrn: Nah, we wouldn't do that. The islanders are safe thanks to you two. We were just curious about how you did it.
Bai: Hmm... The calling card you mentioned is called tiger tape.
Bai: By sticking it on a point of negative qi, it can protect that area from misfortune.
Huang: Keeps little monsties away, so merchants can make bank, and everyone stays safe and happy!
Lyria: It's amazing how well it works.
Huang: For the beefier troublemakers that hassled the village, we made them go squish with our Supreme Tiger Warhammer.
Each girl proudly displays their half of the weapon.
Bai: Some of those monsters were pretty fierce. If you were hired for the job, does that mean you're strong?
???: Very strong, gawr!
Lyria: Eep!
???: Greetings, mighty skyfarers. Make yourselves at home, gawr.
Vyrn: Whoa! How'd a kitty get in here!
Laolao: Who are you calling a kitty, gawr! This lizard's got some nerve talking down to me! The name's Laolao! I'm a sacred tiger, and don't you forget it, gawr!
Vyrn: I ain't no lizard!
Lyria: Oh dear... Can you tell us about yourself, Laolao?
Laolao: I foster these two little ladies. Been protecting the Tiger Temple since the time of the first keeper.
Vyrn: Whistle... Raised by a tiger, eh?
Laolao: Seems like you're really in the dark about how things work at the Tiger Temple, gawr. Divine Tigers don't have biological parents. They're born from peaches, gawr.
Vyrn: Did you say peach?
Laolao: It's a very old story.
Laolao: There once grew a peach tree on the edge of the village, but alas it bore no fruit. That is until the first keeper infused it with their power, and then—poof—it sprouted a peach, gawr.
Laolao: Imagine the first keeper's surprise when they split open the peach and found a baby curled up inside like a ball. That baby became the second keeper, gawr.
Laolao: And so, after a period of time, a new peach would appear, giving us the third, fourth, fifth—well, you get the idea. Which brings us to today.
Laolao: Yours truly here rears all the cubs, gawr.
Vyrn: Poppin' out of a peach is, like, the wackiest thing I've ever heard... You sure the Divine Tiger isn't a primal beast?
Laolao: They're 100 percent mortal, I can tell you that. In fact, the previous keeper has been happily married for a long time and recently had their third child, gawr.
Laolao: They live an ordinary life just like anyone else. Same goes for the previous-previous keeper and the previous-previous-previous keeper.
Laolao: Oh, but if you sniff them real good, you'll catch a whiff of peach, gawr. Guess that's one quirk that sets them apart from regular people.
Huang: Who goes and tells strangers what their daughters smell like?
Bai: People will assume we're a streak of degenerates.
Huang: Except the only degenerate is you.
Bai: No, I'm not. There's beauty in the books I read. Besides, I don't want to hear any lip coming from an exhibitionist.
Huang: Am not! And the only books you read would make even a gangster blush!
Huang's remark causes Bai to pull out a small paperback. She opens the book and shoves it in Huang's face.
Huang: What're you doing! Stop it! Keep that stuff away from me!
Bai: Give it a chance, Huang. Once you read it, you'll see why it's art.
Bai smooshes the open pages against Huang's cheek, who struggles to look away.
Vyrn: What is happening...
Laolao: Grr, cut that out, you gawrls! I'm mortified!
Laolao: Please forgive them. In any case, the take away here is that the Divine Tiger isn't born by normal means, gawr.
Lyria: Gosh... Coming out of a peach isn't something you see every day...
Laolao: The spirit of the first keeper is split between these two, gawr. If you want to argue semantics, you could say the first keeper is their biological parent.
Laolao: Every keeper inherits their physical traits and feng shui talents from the first, gawr.
Laolao: The ordinal direction pointing directly to the northeast is considered an easy pathway for negative qi to flow through, which is why the Divine Tiger developed feng shui, gawr.
Vyrn: What's feng shui anyway? Not just that, but what's negative qi? Ordinal direction? Huh?
Laolao: Feng shui is like a form of divination. It's also the meticulous study of your environs, gawr.
Laolao: The placement of furniture and buildings influences the flow of qi, and... Well, I'll explain more in detail later tonight, gawr.
Steward: Master Laolao, the preparations are underway.
Laolao: Well done, steward!
The elderly gentleman makes a report to Laolao and shuffles away.
Laolao: As for you, good skyfarers, feel free to spend the night with us. Come experience our divine hospitality, gawr!
Lyria: R-really? Why us?
Laolao: That's not important, gawr! Consider it an apology party for swiping your work if you must!
Vyrn: Oh, that? We're not exactly mad or anything, but okay. We'll take it.
Bai: A party? Is meat on the menu?
Huang: Did somebody say meat?
Laolao: Yes, there will be meat, so put your eyes back in your sockets. And wipe the drool from your mouths, gawr.
(Captain) and company have been more or less obligated to partake in a banquet at the Tiger Temple.
Steward: Are we enjoying ourselves tonight?
Lyria: Yes! I've tried every one of the meat dishes, and they all taste amazing!
Steward: I'm glad you liked them. The sisters are quite the meat lovers, so there's plenty more left.
Huang: Chomp, chomp...
Bai: Nom, nom, nom...
The Cidala Sisters look up midway through their feast and turn toward the crew. With their bulging cheeks, they resemble hoarding chipmunks rather than tigers.
Vyrn: Whoa, that's scary.
Huang: Gulp... Did you guys have enough to eat?
Vyrn: Y-yep. We really went ham.
Bai: Try this drumstick. It's delicious.
Lyria: Mm, that looks so yummy! What kind of flavor is it?
Bai: Um... Well, it smells really aromatic... The sauce and spices smell like, um... like harmony...
Lyria: I-I see...
Huang: Bai tries to talk all fancy, but she's bad at it!
Bai: Sigh...
Steward: By the way, girls, I put out a new dish over on the far end of the table.
Bai: Gasp... I need it.
Huang: Dibs on the fat chunk!
Watching the girls dash off, the steward makes sure they're out of earshot before lowering his voice.
Steward: Incidentally, what's the scope of your crew?
Vyrn: Our scope?
Steward: I assume you have your own airship, but how large is it? How many people do you travel with?
(Captain) gives a full rundown of the crew, to which the steward lets out an astonished exhale.
Steward: Well, isn't that something! And how has your journey played out thus far?
Steward: I only ask out of curiosity and not to pry...
The captain gives a brief summary of the adventures undertaken up to this moment.
Steward: Oh my... My, my, my! I couldn't have imagined more astounding feats.
A voice suddenly interrupts their conversation.
Laolao: Are we all doing good here, gawr?
Steward: Master Laolao, these people are the ones.
Laolao: I know. I've already made up my mind, gawr.
The steward departs, leaving Laolao to take over.
Laolao: I'm sorry to ambush you with a favor, but I'd like you to nurture the twins for me.
Lyria: What!
Vyrn: You weren't kiddin' about an ambush... You gotta give us more details than that.
Laolao: It began many years ago when the twins were born, although to me it seemed like only yesterday, gawr.