The Spirit Division had seen no action since they landed here on Yoruba. Virginia marked that as a sign of success. Their prerogative was to lay low and not to draw attention wherever possible. This resulted in them clinging to the shadows along the edge of their supposed territory. Unfortunately, Mosa had become a bit of a wild horse, charging off into action. Despite their misgivings, she was set on her action. Not an hour passed where Jin lamented their decision to come along. Mosa wasn’t acting like a team player by not respecting their wishes. So they had stayed behind while she was out on expeditions. They guarded the mining operation and scouted the surrounding areas. At night, the division would come together to discuss the daily happenings. During these, they had decided that should the situation get precarious, they would be ready to evacuate immediately. If Mosa wanted to gallivant off into the wilderness and put the lives of her own men in danger, then that was her choice. Of course, they didn’t tell this to her. To be fair, they didn’t need to. The terms of their cooperation had already been set during their initial meeting. If she were to push their interests to the wayside, then naturally the pact would fall apart by her own hand.
One day a hawk made its way to the area. Jin watched while up in a tree as it circled overhead. It didn’t seem to have a particular destination. It slowly descended in her direction until it landed in a branch above her. The two creatures traded inquisitive glances. Then the hawk cawed, shaking its leg. Jin’s eyes followed the movement to the small package that had been tied to its leg. She held out her arm. Sure enough, the feathered messenger swooped down and landed on her. She unfastened the package. And unravelled it. She began reading.
All the treasures you seek have been amassed in the belly of our temple. If you have the meddle, you'll journey through the mountains into the heart of our community to arrest the rest of our possessions from this land and our hands. However be warned, the Shandian blood that vitalizes our body and flows through the veins of this land won't allow its gold to be taken without resistance. Should greed guide your hand, may your God be with you. -Raoul Rowles - Shandian Chieftain
The cogs in her head started turning. The bird was circling like it was looking for someone in the area. This meant that the Shandians knew vaguely that there was a faction in this area. But they didn’t seem to know exactly. Her mind quickly went through the possibilities. Was this a fake? If so then who and to what purpose. It seemed unlikely. To have a bird that was this well trained, it would have to be native to the area. Jin had heard nothing of this sort of messenger hawk being used by the Marines or anyone else for that matter. And as for the map, it matched every scouting report that they had put together thus far. It had even labeled their general vicinity correctly. She could see no reason to doubt it other than its mysterious origin. She couldn’t shake her suspicion.
If this was legitimate, then the implications were massive. First of all, they had a whole map of the island with everyone’s location. Their objective of gaining knowledge of the land had already taken a massive leap forward. And as for the treasures that lay at the heart of the temple, well, she could only imagine. One thing was for sure, there would be no stopping Mosa if she managed to get her hands on it. She decided to report back to her division so they could make the decision as a team.
An hour or so later, the whole division had assembled in a cave that had been mined into the side of a mountain. These small pocket mines were littered throughout the mountain range where they had landed. The first few caves had been formed due to the prospecting process of the mining operation, the revolutionary mineral experts taking samples from the earth and deciding where to focus their efforts. After they had been cleared as not useful, they turned into the sleeping quarters and base of operations. Brown tarpaulins had been hung from the cave entrances to disguise them from the outside.
There in the dusty darkness, the whole team decided to let Mosa in on the info. They knew that this would lead to an expedition to the temple. The reward was worth the risk. Agent Grey reiterated to his division that they would assess each situation as they came and bail if things got too risky. And so they confronted Mosa with the invitation from the Shandian Chieftain. With no surprise, the Revolutionary Army was marching toward the temple within the hour. The Army marched under the guise of the Freeminer’s Collective that they had arrived in.
