Molting the Mortal Coil

If the shaking had gone on for more than a few seconds, Sage would probably have dropped to his knees and started praying. He wasn’t really religious, but being a mild mannered programmer meant the only real pressure he’d faced was that of crunchtime before deadlines. The threat of imminent death was something he’d only imagined and never really felt before. To his benefit, the shaking stopped and a giant boulder landed right beside him and not on top of him.

I’m alive!

Turning his head, he looked over at the boulder, that rock the same height as he was. Sage gulped audibly, just a few feet to the side and he would have died instantly. Putting his hand on the rock that might have taken his life, it was a sort of baptism of danger. The time when he’d died had been too surprising and confusing for him to even feel fear at the time. His heart was still beating madly, simmering in the excitement of the near death experience. It took him a few minutes to finally calm down and regain his senses.

What was I doing? This is a bad situation and I’ve wasted so much time being afraid.

Deciding to never again let fear control him like that he took off down the path once again. Sage walked towards the chute to get back home before Uncle Zhang discovered anything. He was pretty sure as long as he showed up in time for breakfast he would go undiscovered. Unfortunately his premonition was correct. The path he’d taken to get here was blocked, the quake caused a cave in.

Figures. It had to happen as soon as I use up my well stocked torch supply on an experiment I’m stuck.

Sending out his Mantis, Sage had her quickly search over the caved in rocks to try and find a passage through. Unsuccessful, he pulled out his copy of the tunnel map and tried to scour the route he’d taken. Locating some possible routes he took off, picking up the normally slow and careful pace. Slowing down only to mark which way he’d come from at any crossroads. He only had two torches left and one of them had nearly run out already. Reaching the end of another tunnel he doubled back and tried the next option. Lighting his last torch and holding back from running to the last two options he’d marked on his map. Another dead end. Every path that was on the top level of the mine was blocked.

Am I going to die again? Will I be stuck in here forever? Surely when I don’t show up in the morning, Uncle Zhang will have people start to look for me. But how will they even have a clue where I’ve gone?

Knowing the hopes of being rescued were slim, he’d have to take things into his own hands. Heading back to the area he had been scouting out already, at least he had a lead if he went that way. Reaching the Spirit Jade Beetles, Sage had to try and make use of the only source of light he knew there was plenty of at this point. Better to push his luck now rather than wait till he was out of options and had no other choice. Getting the Mantis ready to help defend him, Sage summoned forth his meager qi and took the first stance of Golden Mantis Body. A very faint image of a mantis formed behind him, only the merest shadow of that Elder he once saw act.

With the qi circulating through his body, Sage stepped forward. Taking slow steps he moved into the range where the Spirit Jade Beetles were defensive. He set down his last remaining torch, pinning it between two rocks ready to pluck it out quickly. Drawing out one of the Insect Cages from his knapsack, leaving his other hand free. Approaching the Spirit Jade Beetle that had turned toward him. The bug seeming wary of him nearing their Azure Moss farms. Inching closer and closer, focusing for one of the Golden Mantis Body moves.

His arms were curled up in front of him, forearms in a vertical position and his hands curled and pointed downward to mimic the bladed forearms of the mantis. Giving the beetle no chance of defense he darted forward, kicking the ground to propel him towards the insect. The beetles are considered large for normal insects, but even then they were only about the size of a palm. His arms struck out in unison, the left hand flicking against the beetle’s carapace and sending it into a spin. His right hand, the one holding the Insect Cage, darted forward and activated the cage. Stabbing at the beetle with the cage door like it was knife. There was just a soft whoosh of wind and the beetle was gone. In just an instant it was trapped in the cage, clearing the way for Sage to take the two steps separating him from the Azure Moss and starting to pluck handfuls of the glowing stuff and stuff it into his knapsack.

The strange mud that clung to the rocks came along with the moss and the big clumps continued to glow even as he stuffed them into his bag. Clearing out an area a yard in diameter he quickly ran back, scooping up his torch and retreating before the other Spirit Jade Beetles in the area took notice and alerted each other. Stopping twenty yards away, the other beetles were barely in range of his torch light. He watched to make sure that he’d gotten away without the beetles noticing him and then started to experiment with the Azure Moss. Holding some of it out and checking out the extent of the light it provided. It was much dimmer than the torch and when he tried igniting it, the moss had a strange reaction. Instead of just smoking and burning like most other plants it instead blazed into a bright blue flash before dying out in seconds. The other weird thing was that it didn’t combust very well, only the bits of moss that his torch was held on for a prolonged period ignited.

Interesting. So, they can’t replace my torch fuel, but they can act as a bright distraction in a pinch and a dim light the rest of the time.

With no other resources to speak of in the cave that he’d discovered, Sage continued his experiments. Plucking a small pinch of the moss and placing it in his mouth. Giving the stuff a bit of a taste and then chewing it when it didn’t seem to taste terrible. No strange flavors arriving next, he took the risk to swallow it. If it was poisonous he only had the tiniest amount so he had an easier time purging it, and if it was okay to eat he’d find out soon enough.

With a source of light secured, the next step was to see if he was able to carry it around without the Spirit Jade Beetles attacking him. Using the stick from his expired torch he covered the head with the muddy substance and the moss which made a dim glow-light. Sage carried it with him, the real torch now extinguished and letting his eyes try to get used to the dim glow-light. Walking back over to the beetles, he waited for their reaction and was happy to see he was ignored again.

They must only guard their own little farm area.

No longer having as crucial a time limit, Sage studied the beetles a bit more and found that they would head into small tunnels on the walls then return with that mud like substance and tend to their own little patches of moss farms. Each seeming responsible for a certain area, slowly expanding it over time. As he continued to watch, the moss began to seem shiny as if from dew.

Whoa, the beetles also seem to be carrying water or some other liquid and spreading it over the moss.

Seeming to have a good idea on their habits now, Sage moved on, wondering where those tiny tunnels led to. Not yet feeling brave enough to tackle the vertical tunnel passage he brought out his map and decided to check every other route in the upper levels. This decision eventually panned out as after checking every tunnel he found two useful things. The first was the remnants of an office. There was a heavy wooden door and after pulling open the lock he stepped inside and felt like he’d stepped out of the mines again.

It was well lit inside, warm and with clean air. Blinking in amazement, Sage noticed there were symbols and shapes engraved and inlaid with a silvery metal and glittering stones laid out on the walls, floor and ceiling.

Arrays! I haven’t got to look at any up close yet!

Sage had read about them in some of the general cultivator knowledge books. Arrays were special arrangements of symbols and shapes that channeled energy, like the meridians inside cultivator bodies, and perform miraculous effects without any attention. Arrays created a qi spell that continued operating without anyone watching them. They pulled in energy from the heavens and earth to keep running on their own. The book said that powerful arrays made use of Spirit Stones, or were controlled by Cultivators in order to get boosts to their power.

Taking a look around the room, it appeared to be general storage. There was a couple rows of lockers with benches between them. After that was an area with big racks for tools, and finally another area with rows of shelves. Walking through without giving it a detailed look yet, Sage came to a door at the other side of the room and lifted the latch. Slowly swinging it open, ready for something to jump out at him, he was surprised to find what looked like an Office. They must not have done much paperwork down here, the office only had three desks. One on either side and one to the front. Behind the front desk there was a paper window and another door, which he peeked inside and found was a private office with one desk in it.

Heading back into the office area there was another door that led into a set of bathrooms, and despite not realizing it, Sage was suddenly very glad it was there. Doing his business he returned to the offices and gave them a thorough looking over. He then did the same with the storage area. There really wasn’t much, a couple shovels, a pick, a half dozen torches, some rope, and enough clothing to make a couple outfits. In the offices he found various supplies, parchments, ink, some brushes, paperweights, and a bottle of wine that someone hid behind a shelf and forgot to retrieve. As for furniture there was basically tons of storage, those 4 desks and a half dozen chairs.

Not much to work with. I sure hope I’m not stuck here long.