"The only thing better than finding something you're looking for, is finding something you weren't looking for at a great bargain!"
- Common proverb in Iroh's various marketplaces
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Sam, Ket and Machaka started their day off by visiting the Flowing Brush Sect. Ever since they learned that the Earth Drake was worth a lot of money, they were filled with excitement.
Who would pay this much for such lousy materials? Machaka couldn't help but wonder. Do these people really have nothing better?
Everyone was allowed to go through the loot from the mountain and forest expeditions, and no one took even a single item. Compared to the materials they were used to, everything they got here was simply inadequate. Still, they kept some of the best items, except for the Earth Drake's materials, so they could try crafting some items and weapons that wouldn't look out of place in this world.
Sam gathered everything else in a big blanket which he then slung over his shoulder.
After getting paid, they visited a few taverns, buying rounds for anyone interested in making a new friend. Machaka became somewhat known as the "Keg Champion", drinking quite a few contenders under the table. Sam and Ket spent their time making contacts and gathering more detailed knowledge about the city, the nearby sects, and the merchant's associations.
Before returning for the night, Sam decided to make his information network a little more widespread by using the shadows of Iroh to his advantage. The main streets had solid formations, blocking his attempts at dominating the shadows when he tried to do so. The small alleys and deep corners of Iroh on the other hand, were far less protected. Pop down a few shadow creatures to manage the information flow, and a new information network is born.
-In the Flowing Brush sect's embassy-
"To hand in an Earth Drake so casually, they must be an elite squad from somewhere. I hope they won't bring any trouble~" The clerk thought, but even if they did bring trouble, it likely wouldn't affect him personally. So he just continued his job.
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Gora, Qiao and Finn spent the day perusing various market stalls. Iroh has several marketplaces, all unique in the goods and services they had on offer. Gora was looking at weapons, asking merchants about where she would find the highest quality weapons in Iroh. That's how we learned about an underground auction house. The next auction was still several months away however, so this was quickly put on the back burner.
Finn was looking at different seeds and produce he hadn't seen before. He asked questions until the merchants kicked him out, learning about different plants' light and soil preference among other things. He also may have nicked a few seeds while being kicked out.
Qiao was getting distracted by all kinds of trinkets. She didn't learn much, but she got to help a lost kid find his mom. The boy seemed quite poor, but when he found his mom again, they seemed to have everything they needed. Before leaving, Qiao snuck a few of her coins into the boys pocket. It never hurts to have little more than just what you need. Unexpectedly, the feeling she got from helping someone turned out to be the highlight of her entire day. She really struggled to keep her smile off her face.
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When Ikkaku woke up, he was in a pretty good mood. This lasted until he learned he was given the responsibility of taking both Ruby and Sapphire into Iroh.
Ikkaku was preparing for a very rough day, Ruby and Sapphire were already arguing about where to go. They hadn't even left the inn yet.
...
"If both of you don't shut up right now, there will be no next stop. We'll all sit together on a bench until we run out of time for today." The girls looked a little cross, but they knew when they were pushing it. The others may give you some leeway, but both Gora and Ikkaku were the type to bonk you on the head if you annoyed them.
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After coming across a little stand that sold maps, Ikkaku bought one and took a minute to plan a route for the group. "Ok so this is a map of Iroh with various points of interest on it. We can walk this way towards the library, where we'll drop off Sapphire. Then I'll take Ruby with me to the main boulevard to visit some clothing stores, per her request. Along the way we'll visit any apothecaries and alchemists we come across. Turn around over here, go back to pick up Sapphire, and then we return home." Both Sapphire and Ruby wholeheartedly agreed with Ikki's plan.
"You know Ikki, for someone who blows himself up a lot, you're a smart guy!" Ruby declared appreciatively with a big smile, showing her teeth.
Ikkaku winked back at her. "You know it."
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Sirin and Caladrius spent their time looking around the inner city. Studying the architecture and all kinds of arts and crafts found in the various marketplaces.
They drew many gazes as they walked around Iroh. Anytime a young master approached Sirin, Caladrius would flash his Spiritual Realm cultivation level to scare them off. When this wasn't enough, he'd use an artifact he and Sirin created together. When one calls upon the power of the Spurious Azalea, an illusory spirit appears to instill the fear of death in their opponent. The spirit always reminded Henry of an older Yakuza boss. The Spurious Azalea itself is a lovely azalea flower pin Caladrius wears on the hem of his robes. He only had to use the artifact once - that poor young master nearly shat himself as he ran away, shouting something about his daddy.
It seems Henry was right about this city, not many people dare to make a big scene here.
After a while they ended up at the Flowing Brush sect's art gallery, spending the rest of the day looking at different paintings, statues, illusions, and other expressions of art. They took the opportunity to make some notes of it for themselves for future reference.
At the end of the day, every merchant and tavern in Iroh was talking about the jade beauty and her fierce knight.
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I woke up a little sleepily and rolled around in my bed a little more. The inns in Iroh are at least 5*, everything is so soft and smooth. I take the opportunity to go full starfish and nap a little longer until Gerard knocks on my door, asking where we'll be headed today.
The two of us didn't make any plans ahead of time, because today I would be receiving my first system quest since arriving in Turamar. The Inquisitive Pioneer, huh? If it's something doable, then we'll knock it out straight away.
The Path of the Inquisitive Pioneer
As a Pioneer you will face mysteries, you will face obstacles, and sometimes you will have to face your fears. Pioneers are often far from civilization, far from anything familiar. They don't have the luxury to think over their choices carefully, if they even get to choose at all.
A Pioneer is decisive, headstrong, and always prepared.
The First Quest
As a Pioneer, you will learn to play the cards you've been dealt. This means the system will decide your fate quests. Your first quest will be as follows:
- Establish your own Sect.
Establish my own sect?! Don't most questlines start off with "find a lost cat" or "beat a wild slime"?
...
"Gerard, you wouldn't happen to know how to establish a sect, would you?" I ask my experienced butler with a small glimmer of hope.
"I can't say I have any experience in this matter. Is this your new quest, sir?" Gerard responds, as my glimmer of hope dies.
"I'm afraid it is." I say with an exaggerated sigh. "Things are never easy, are they?"
Gerard takes a moment to think. "If we want it to be official, it should happen through some kind of government. But we still don't have any kind of identification, so that makes things more difficult."
Gerard makes a good point, we'd need it to be official. First thing we need to do for that, is to become official citizens ourselves. That means we need the Flowing Brush sect to trust and vouch for us, or to submit the official paperwork and wait for the government to help us.
I throw an idea at Gerard. "We don't know how long it'll take for the paperwork to go through to make us citizens. I say we submit it anyway, and then go to win the trust of the Flowing Brush sect. Then we just see whichever idea works first."
"Splendid," Gerard responds. "But there's one important detail we're missing here. You."
"Me?" I ask befuddled.
"You are currently in the Nascent Soul realm, Henry. The sect masters of both the Fire Lily sect and the Flowing Brush sect are supposedly one step away from the Celestial realm. We'll have to admit to lying about our cultivation levels. You need to have a respectable amount of strength for people to take you seriously as a sect master."
"You're right." And it'll be harder to earn their trust after telling them we've been lying to their faces this whole time. "What if.. wait, I heard the Fire Lily and Flowing Brush had been skirmishing around the edges of their territories. We could help either side, or bring a stop to the fighting in its entirety. That should earn us enough goodwill for them to forgive our little lie, right?"
"I have a suggestion, I could dominate one of the Fire Lily sect's elders and have him attack a few Flowing Brush disciples. Then we simply appear to save the disciples, return them to the city and collect our reward."
Gerard, don't say that like you mean it.
...
"Good suggestion. A little demonic, but we'll keep it as a plan b, ok?" Gerard just shrugs, clearly a little confused as to why I called his plan demonic.
"Lets wait until everyone is back to plan our next step. This quest is a lot bigger than I originally anticipated, we could use a few different perspectives."
"In the meantime, let's go and submit that paperwork."