13. Important People and Realy Important People

As every Temple Day afternoon, Lang Fing Fang had his meeting with his subortinates. They had already the news from outside the County, the bank and auctionhouse discussed. Now he directed his gaze at Alego Sal Fang and asked.

So, Alego how are the other Clans behaving. Anything new?

The man in question flicked through some papers, more to collect his thoughts than really reading anything and then finally answered.

Well, most things are not really new and not that importand. They are of course in the reports you all can read if you want. But there is only one thing that is impactfull enough, that we should discuss at this venue.

The Tung Clan, or better to say their head of operation in Nordrand, is determined to get spores of those mushrooms the Gahn have found behind the Rift. If they get those and find a way to grow them, they will be able to get their fingers in that buissness.

I have asked some specialists, and they think that if they are successful the grown mushrooms will be a lot less potent, but still usable for the same kinds of products. That will put a dent in the profits of the Gahn, and as this is their first really profitable product from the rift, it will come to quite some bad blood between them. The question is, do we intervene now, before anything happens?

Do they stay inside the rules with their planing? Lang asked.

Yes. Alega answered. They started to plan and work through cutouts. Mercs and some gangs from Dreebrucken and Nordhaven. But their orders to them were inside the rules, and they are warning about breaking them.

Then we will do nothing but watch for now! Lang decided. Tell your counterparts in the other Countys the same. We are not here to secure the profits of one Clan against another. As long as they abite by the rules.

Everybody at the table nodded, it had been the expected decission after all.

So, if that´s it from the Clan side of things, what about the County? He looked at Fasa Fing Fang.

Nothing of importance. Fasa answered. Unless you want to hear news about our most spoken about visiter.

Hah! Nel Sang Fang spoke up. There you can only mean that Nymph. Do you know something that did not already gone into the gossip? By the way, she was at the auctionhouse yesterday evening and tried to buy, or at least ask for some really strange things.

Oh, I know. And not just here, she asked a few Alchemists for the same stuff.

What is this about? Asked Lang.

As I know from my people near her and the questioning of the Alchemists after she spoke with them, she is on the search for something she calls affinity subliments. She told them that there are alchemical made sublements, that can strengthen one’s Affinity, even if it is not high enough to get you a Class with Affinity yet. As she told, it is something, that can even be usesed by nonawakend, to make certain they have an Affinity at the time of Awakening.

Really? Nel Sang Fang was surprised. She didn´t tell that much to my people. If that is posible, it would change a lot.

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Well, as with most things that person tells, she regrettably doesn´t know how they are made. Only that Essenzcrystalls, which are pure of a single Affinity, are used in their making. Fasa said. To tell the truth, I am happy that Nymph is going to Ephemersfurt tomorrow. All those new ideas may bring us good fortune sometime in the future, but for now we have to deal with the fact that not only the Ritualists and Enchanters, but now the Alchemists too are in uproar and are bussy tinkering instead of doing their normal work. Pretty sure that all alchemical products will get more expensive, as the work of the others already did.

Well, hopfully the profits will go up as well, if they get something out of their research. Said Fang. Do you have things prepared, to have her under watch in Ephermersfurt as well?

Of course! Fasa assures his surpirior. And as important as the wellbeeing of their Coppers is to the A.S.S. we will not have any problems there.

Maarifa was still pissed. She sat near the shining disc of the Well looking at a door.

It was a normal door. Brown wood set in a brown frame. It just stood there, not connected to any wall or anything. You could only see it if you looked at it directly from the front. From anywhere else it was simply not there.

Once again, she of course knew exactly how often she had done that already, but she tried not to think about it, she pushed the door handle down with a claw and pulled the door open.

The same sight as every other time greeted her. A very small room. A broom and a bucket. A few cleaning supplies with very colourfull labels on some shelves. It disturbed her, that those Labels were in a language, that she didn´t know a short while ago. That meant that there had been a new influx of knowledge not long ago. An influx she couldn´t pinpoint.

She slammed the door close with an angry push that made a satisfying boom. Then she looked at the disc trying to show her imense dissatification with her eyes.

After a while the Well materialize an Avatar, a humanoide shape of colourfull fog, in front of her.

I really can´t tell you more as I already did, Maarifa.

Then tell me again. Snaped Maarifa. There must be a clue. I smell the unknown knollege behind this door. I can tast it! It is just outside my crasp. He can´t do that. He can´t bring knollege into our realm and don´t let me have it. It´s unnatural! It´s wrong!

As I told you when you came here, Karneol dosn´t plan to not let you partake. He said he just needed some time to prepare everything and that it would be a big surpriese. Mula, the Well, tried to placate Maarifa. And I can only tell you that Karneol used the link to that outside world, that Junita used for her botched summoning, to have a look. And, as I know him, to steal there whatever he could and get him interested. Mula gestured to the door. Then he created that door, said to me I should wait, and that the surpriese would be worth it, and walked through the door. You came here just a short while after.

Hello there! Near the Well materialized four Avatars. Jivana, the Primordial Truth of Life in the form of a gigantes, and her three daughters. Jhagada, the Primordial Concept of Strife in her typical form of a lethality emiting Rabbitbeastkin. Bakaya, the Primordial Concept of the Natural Balance, a gigantes like their mother. And Sepiyan, the Primordial Concept of Sapient Life, as always, a Dryad.

Hello! Answered Mula. What brings you to me? All four at the same time.

That asshole called us here. Jhagada said clearly in a bad mood. Said we would hit ourselves if we would miss his surpriese.

Oh, come on sister. Bakaya tried to placate Jhagada. We know you hate Uncle Karneol since he tied you to all forms of Rabbits somehow. But that was ages ago. It´s time to let it be. But it´s true, Karneol did invite us because of some big surpries.

Well, and it seems not only you. Interupted Mula. There are others on their way here. Quite a publikum he gathers here. That surpriese must be really good.

In the following time more and more of the family came to the Well at the middle of everything.

Agizo and his brother Kekucauan, the Concept of Chaos, who´s Avatar never could stay in a single form. Heppni and Malaia, the concepts of Luck and Misfortune, son and daughter of Karneol. Sakti, who´s Avatar incorporated everything that is Energy. The Dark and, at least for others than the present company, terryfying presents of Antya, the Primordial Truth of Ending. The arival of Samaya, the Primordial Truth of Time, and of Antariska, the Primordial Truth of Space, was just felt, as they were as formless as the imagination the sapien lifeformes had of them.

Just as they were gathered, the door opend, not showing any cleaning supplies anymore, but Karneol.

Ah there you are. He spoke. Come in! Come in! You gonna marvel at how many games and entertaining fictions on a pletora of mediums I found in that outside World.