"In times of peace, the statue traveled with the court. When the emperor moved to the next capital, the statue would simply be among the many religious artifacts that traveled with his retinue of priests. Now that the government is gone, the teleportation circles have fallen silent. We priests of the imperial family have since relied on whatever resources we are able to pull together."

Hozi moves his hands and arms in a shrug. "Priests from the Southern Capital were able to move quickly up the river here, but the southern priests were always greater combatants than we in the Western Capital and their journey much shorter. We do not have great spellcraft or warrior monks, simply the wealth dedicated to the care of the honored dead.

"This is the first time we have had to send the statue on since the war. When the Yizong Emperor, may his shen be honored among the heavens, passed, the statue was already in Gusing."

Liu Xin nods. "I see, just a few more questions from me then. These teleportation circles you speak of, do you or anyone you know, know of a way to activate them? It would seem to be a much quicker and safer method of transportation than by foot. Finally, do you know where we could find provisions in this city. We exhausted much of our supplies in the journey here and would do well to restock before we leave."

Sai asks, "How many of your fellows know of this errand? Specifically that you were contracting us?

Hon Yin's mind wanders, thinking to the path ahead of them. He can't help but smile to himself - it's certainly a welcome change to be undertaking a holy pilgrimage after a year of fighting in the west. Leaning again on his spear he half listens as his companions question Hozi confidant that they will learn all that is needed without his input. Instead he inspects the temple, admiring the care and hard work that must have gone into constructing the place.

"I had a sending with the head priest at the Temple to the Yi Dynasty three days ago. My fellow priests here also know, of course. The priests at all of the temples to Yi would be aware of the statue's need to move, but they wouldn't know the specifics, unless Meifu at the temple in Gusing told them, but she wouldn't."

Sai closes his eyes and does some back of the hand calculations. "If we're on foot, three moons should be just enough to get us there. I think we can cut some time off, but I'd rather not burden you and your brothers with such trifles as a hypothetical itinerary.

"I am honored to be part of this undertaking. I agree with my comrade, Hon Yin. We will see this through without fail."

Liu Xin grabs the statue and his boots from the monks, tucking the statue into an inner cloak pocket.

"I told you we should have double checked those wards! Lets move, we can put our boots on once we are out of sight of the doorway."

Liu begins to run after the monk behind the dais to see if he can assist him.

Sai awkwardly finds himself in possession of their payment. Looking back towards the entrance as if about to fight, the mission finally takes over and he quickly scoops up his robes, wraps them around the small box of coins, scoops up his boots and dashes for the entrance with his unworn clothes tucked under his arm.

As soon as the passage is open, he ducks inside, letting his eyes adjust to the change in light.

No sooner had the first reverberating thump rung out through the temple then Hon Yin had braced his spear towards the doors, prayer on his lips, ready at a moments notice to invoke the wrath of the shen. When Hozi shouts his commands the young priest freezes, finding himself torn between his duty to the faith, his companions and his word. Eventually, reluctantly, he lowers his weapon and turns towards the secret passage.

"Don't die here Hozi! The shen will persist without the temple so long as the faithful survive. Hold out only as long as you need to then escape." With a final look at the grand temple he plunges into the darkness of the passage.

As Sai Yun and Wu Hon Yin plunged into the dark hall, they see their silhouettes cast against the floor by the light of the shrine room behind. In the dim light, they see that the wood floor goes ahead about fifteen more feet before becoming dark steps downward. The walls are wood paneling like the rest of the temple, but the hall has a dank feeling about it.

Sai moves forward, scouting ahead as quickly as caution will allow.

With the safety of the passageway now discernible, Liu Xin steals the chance to look back at what is causing the commotion at the doors, drawing his hood over his face as he does so in case there is a chance he will be recognized.

Chen Wu remains in the center of the group, looking back from time to time, his right hand as close to the gun as he would dare without giving away its existence to potential enemies.

As the entire group moves into the dark hall, I-Cho hisses, "Be careful. Don't disturb the tags!" The wall moves back into place, and the hall plunges back into darkness. The human mercenaries can't see anything in the dark, though the wall behind them glows lightly with the light from the shrine room.

At the same time, a loud crashing sound comes from back in the temple proper. "Who are you, to disturb this sacred place! The gods will condemn your souls to starve in mud for this sacrilege!" cries out Hozi's voice.