"Really?" asked Ethan. "I thought Shangri-Baa was a myth!"
"Hey, you're talking to the master of Myth, buddy," I giggled.
"Just before the entrance to paradise," said the Lamba. "Lies the Temple of Discord. It is no mere temple, but Hamakala's tomb. By playing to his vanity, a brave band of monks managed to snare Hamakama inside a statue of himself using a potent Harmony Trap. It cost the monks their lives, but their spell has kept Hamakala prisoner for a thousand years."
"We will not forget that sacrifice," I said.
"As a baatishiba, I am not allowed to enter the Hallow Mountain before my time," said the Lamba. "This journey is yours alone."
"We'll be fine," said Christina, smirking.
"A time will come when you see we are all one," said the Lamba. "Harmony flows within you and without you. Just remember all that you have learned." He bowed and left.
"We will," I said. "Let's go, team!"
The temperate dropped very quickly and I was about to cuddle up to Ethan's body when I heard a loud set of roars. "Guys, I don't think that was the wind," I said.
"Definitely wasn't," said Ethan as four giant yetis charged at us.
Frog puke, savior of the world. LOLZ. (These Wooly Bullies are Ice and have 1375 HP and four will join if you have three wizards in the group. They do spam Volcanic Shield but Humongo is not Storm or Fire.)
Christina smashed down some wooden barricades. "Ha, easy!"
The ninjas we found were not impressed. These were the ones watching the cave for Tonkatsu!
"Eat my dust!" laughed Christina as she Power Nova'd them. (The Hoof Ninjas are Death and have 950 HP. They also, sadly, spam Ether Shield so Forest Lord and Humongofrog won't kill them. Power Nova will.)
"You cannot comprehend what Master Tonkatsu conducts, young ones!" hissed the last ninja as he fell dead. "Hamakala will stomp you flat!"
"We have to hurry," said Ethan.
"But this cave is so large!" whined Christina. "Where do we go?"
I looked around. "Look, there's light coming from here," I said. "Let's check it out."
I was blown away - a giant temple was in the cave. This must be the Temple of Discord!
We came down the path and were barred by a elephant spirit. He told us to use the prayer wheels to make the Song of Harmony, or else suffer one last lesson at his hands.
"Game over if we fail," muttered Ethan. "He looks tough."
"Grace, it's all you!" I said. "You are the smartest of us!"
"I am not intelligent, merely perceptive," said Grace, but she tackled the puzzle anyways.
(Hope you wrote down those symbols earlier, because this puzzle is like the one in the Nameless Knight's tomb, you have to rotate the pillars to match the proper symbols for [from left to right] Spirit, Mind and Body. But what about the fourth one?)
"It should be obvious," I murmured, repeating the words the Temple of the Guardian said. "The final chorus should be obvious... But what is it?"
"Wait, what the Dali Lamba said..." Grace turned the last wheel.
"Are you sure?" I asked.
"I am certain," said Grace. "Three interlocking shapes - the symbol of true harmony."
I bit my lip.
"You have proven to be concordant in Harmony, living ones," said the Guardian. "You may enter the Temple... but be warned, you will not be alone."
I sighed in relief. He was letting us pass. (If you fail this puzzle, you are dragged into battle with the Temple Guardian, who is Balance and has 3390 HP. A very dangerous fight for those just at the minimum level as it has much more HP than the final bosses in Krokotopia or Marleybone, where you would be at this level.)
A group of Hoof Ninjas were guarding the path, I wasn't surprised. We took them out quickly...
(And my computer decided to lag and freeze up, so I lost Sierra's file and had to reboot it. Luckily she wasn't booted out the dungeon. Then Christina lagged and froze up so I had to exit her game and reboot THAT, meaning she took a LOT of damage from the Hoofs who ganged up on her. There is another wooden key lock in this room which leads to a special event which I will try to put into an interlude after this update.)
Then we dealt with the leader of the Hoof and his personal guard with Pukefrog. (Zu Wuneng is just a boss-level Hoof Ninja with more HP. :p)
"Brash wizards!" cried the leader. "Waltz to your doom if you wish!" He dropped dead.
I heard unholy chanting beyond the door. "We've hit the inner sanctum," I said. "Be careful, folks!"
"I'll walk to Death with you, Sierra," said Ethan flirtatiously.
"Get a room," said Christina, rolling her eyes. I blushed.
"After we defeat this Tonkatsu and save Lord Beagle," said Grace. "Let's go."
We found the giant statue of what had to be Hamakala, and there was Lord Beagle chained to the platform by magical chains.
We had arrived just in time to stop the ceremony!
"Stop right there!" I shouted. "In the name of all the Spiral, I will punish you for this unholy act!"
"What?" asked Ethan.
"Long story," muttered Christina. "She has superhero fantasies."
"Not gonna happen!" said Christina. "Attack!"
Suddenly, the bowls began rubbing their rims with the spoons and a loud screeching noise pierced the room. I covered my ears in pain. "AH! STOP IT!"
"WISH WE COULD!!!" cried Ethan, trying to cast a spell, but it failed. (The Fire Bowl will spam Smokescreen and use Cleanse Ward if you trap anyone at the end of the turn, but it can only Cleanse once a turn so Mass Prisms will be dispel one at a time. The Ice Bowl will spam shields of all kinds including Spirit Armor and the Storm Bowl will use Windstorm and Balanceblade.)
"Feel the wrath of discord!" boomed Hamakala.
We screamed bloody murder as his eyes blasted sonic energy that tore our bodies apart, or felt like it. (Oh yeah, at the end of your turn, you get the Wrath of Discord gimmick - a powerful area-of-attack blast that does 100 base Balance damage to everyone. This makes universal shields worthless, so watch out. It consumes any Balanceblades placed on Tonkatsu.)
"DESTROY THE BOWLS!!!" screamed Christina, who summoned the Jade Oni to smash a Spirit Armor. "THEN WE CAN BREATHE!!!"
Frog puke, the ultimate solvent. :)
The bowls shattered into clay shards and the noise stopped.
"My bowls!" cried Tonkatsu.
"Silence," said Grace, who hurled a Tempest into his face. The Mass Prism converted it to Myth energy and he was brought down. (The Bowls have 1350 HP and Tonkatsu himself has 2900 HP.)
"Death is but a doorway," moaned Hamakala. "Time is but a window. I will be back!" Then he grew silent as the glow faded around the statue.
"The Song of Discord has been bested by the dreadful wailing of Harmony," groaned Tonkatsu. "But Hamakala - and the Hoof - will not sit quieted for long!" He teleported away.
"Yeah, run away, you coward!" sneered Christina, making a rude gesture. The chains holding Lord Beagle melted away.
"Gladly," said Grace. A portal appeared and Lord Beagle went through.
"We did it! We did it! Wahoo!" said Christina, dancing up a storm. (One of the new dances only members can have, this is the Fresh Dance.)
"Stop acting silly," I said. "Let's get out of here."
I looked up at the statue and shuddered as I remembered Tonkatsu's last words. The thought of that thing being infused into a powerful diplomat was too terrifying to think of. I hurried through.
 |
| (You get this badge when you exit the Temple of Discord through the portal.) |
"Well, it's not Sherlock Bones!" said Lord Beagle. "Yes, it's me. I'm safe now, all thanks to these young wizards here." We saluted. "Now, we really have to catch a trade ship. I hope it hasn't left."
"Don't worry, I put the Krokotopian Wheat in a barrier that the captain couldn't get to until he agreed to remain until you were safe," I said. "By the way, you can go see Emperor Yoshihito now, if you want. He's no longer asleep."
"Bully that!" said Lord Beagle, smiling. "But we'll stick to our route and head to Krok. We'll return to Mooshu a bit later."
"Good idea, things are going to be hectic," I said, smiling. I pulled Ethan away as Christina and Grace headed back.
"You passed MY test," I said. "You proved yourself to be a worthy ally."
"But I didn't help much," said Ethan.
"You did your part, healing us and buffing us," I said. "If you hadn't cast that Spirit Shield, I might not have done enough with the puking frog to destroy the Singing Bowls." I kissed his lips deeply. "You've passed our tests. Welcome to the team, Ethan Jadeshade."
"Nice," he said. "So, care to cuddle up in the tents together?"
"Uh..."
"I have fish to catch, sorry," I said, lucky that my cheeks were red with frostbite to hide the embarassment I felt about sleeping with Ethan. I wasn't ready for an intimate relationship YET.
He laughed. "I think I will enjoy working with you girls. I'll see you later." (There are new fish you can catch in each new dungeon area which are reagents for teleport tapestries to the new areas - but they also require Motes, a new type of reagent only found in these dungeons. Sierra got a Mote of Wisdom so she will try to craft the Tapestry to Kimbaalung.)
[The end of this part]
(Here is some of the stuff we got - Ethan got a Ninja Piggle after the final fight and we got some Level 25 gear which looks different, including blades that look like the Beckett magazine blades. They all give 2% damage to your school.)
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