Lord of a Fief Quest [Xianxia/Western Fantasy Fusion, CK2-ish]

As you journeyed up the river road and visited a few more villages, your spies brought you reports of a gathering of your enemies in Heizhu Valley. It seemed your enemies had mirrored your actions, calling together their own allies to discuss the prosecution of a cold war against you. That could be bad since it meant your attempts to throw Heizhu off balance might prove insufficient if half a dozen provinces pooled their resources to pressure you into submission. Of course, you had your own allies you could rely on and you would likely need to hold a council of war sooner or later.

You arrived in Toril to find it much as you left it, massive stone walls with arrays carved into them and prosperous citizens living in buildings made from proper stone. It was the sort of place a Lord could be proud to call home and you were certain it would impress your guests to a degree. Few towns in the border provinces were as prosperous as Toril.

The cavalry was released to their own devices as your retinue filtered through the city gates, free to mingle and enjoy their vacation before they would be called upon once more to do their duty. This party was only meant to last a day or two, perhaps some negotiations after the party might stretch things the affair to a week. Regardless, you and your men entered the palace that you called home and took up residence there to await the arrival of your guests.


You left through the palace's rear entrance to observe the preparations for the party. Six gazebos surrounded the koi pond in the center of your mansion's grounds. It was meant as a place of quiet contemplation as well as a place to entertain guests of the Lord of Bloodthorn Valley. The number of gazebos allowed each party to have one of their own. That was good, it would not do to slight any particular party by forcing them to share. The diplomatic friction that would generate for you would be unpleasant with a cold war with the Zhou in full swing.

The gazebos were furnished with several cherry wood chairs and a lovely cherry wood table covered in trays of food. Your own gazebo's trays contained the finer things such as high end sake, sushi made from fresh fish preserved through alchemy, and curries made with foreign spices. It was a variety of food that you enjoyed, even if it was not traditional. Since it was your birthday and you were the host, others were expected to come to you when they were ready to present themselves and their gifts. In other words, you were spared the traditional duties of host.

In front of each gazebo was a tiny wooden boat filled with tinder and paper which was intended to carry one's messages for one's ancestors. It would be pushed out into the water and then set fire by arrow so that the smoke might rise to Heaven and bring your messages to the ears of your ancestors who resided there. This was a solstice tradition carried out four times a year. Some hosts would try to read the messages before they burned to gather intelligence on their guests but you were not so crass. These were your allies and they deserved their privacy.

You settled into the cushioned chair that sat at the center of the Bai Clan's gazebo. Your cousin, Chenshen, sat to your right with a bowl of foreign curry in his lap to devour. It seemed you were not the only one who enjoyed the spicy food from the Kingdom of the Hindus. That was good, it would do to offend your cousin by providing him with nothing he favored. This was a formal party after all and not a family dinner.

The first guest to visit you was Nae Fang, the lady healer. She came to you in a low cut pink dress in the style of Hanfu. It was a beautiful robe which clung to every curve, the sort of clothing a woman shopping for a husband would wear. It was too bad you needed the Myeong clan's access to the Village Hidden in the Mountains. Her head was long and red, the mark of barbarian blood, but the Nae clan was known for the liberal views on love and lovers so that was not too surprising. Fang was a beautiful, curvy woman and you would love to take her to bed.

She bowed to you, as befit your station, once she stepped into the gazebo. The view showed a bit of cleavage which your body appreciated.

You remained seated as you smiled at her and said, "Greetings Nae Fang and welcome to Bloodthorn Valley. I hope the journey was pleasant?"

Nae Fang smiled at you in return as she took the chair to your left, as was tradition, and replied, "The journey was pleasant, even if the weather was a bit humid for my taste. And how was your Survey, my lord?"

You shrugged slightly at that, you wanted to say boring but that would be viewed as an impolite response. You made conversation instead, "The journey was a bit humid, that is the weather in the Seto region in this time of year unfortunately. We fought off a pack of direwolves which was a bit of an adventure, I killed several while my retainers kept the creatures at bay. Unfortunately, some commoners were killed due to that particular misadventure."

She nodded, red hair dancing beautifully around her neck, and replied, "Ah, yes, my lord. It is always unfortunate when the commoners suffer. They simply are not well equipped to do battle with spirit beasts, even ones as weak as direwolves. It is good you recognize their losses, many a lord in your position would overlook them completely beyond the weregild owed to their families. Did you consume the spirit cores, I wonder? Or did you sell them for silver to your alchemists?"

You frowned at that. The idea of consuming spirit cores had never occurred to you. You had heard childhood tales of heroes devouring such things to strengthen their dantians but you had never taken such practices seriously like the rest of the Bai clan. The idea it was an option never occurred to you. So you did what came naturally in such a situation and inquired.

"Lady, are you saying your clan consumes spirit beast cores? What is it like? How much does it help with cultivation?"

She flashed you a winning smile and replied, "Of course I have. The Nae Clan has spirit cores gathered for each member to consume upon reaching adulthood, once their dantians are stable enough for such a practice to be safe. The boost in power is considerable, even if it leaves the slightest mark of corruption on one's qi. Does the Bai Clan not practice such? I am surprised you are as powerful as you are without practicing such techniques."

That might explain why her clan was the most powerful of your allies. If the childhood tales and her account of the power gained were true, you needed to delve into consuming spirit cores and soon. That was the sort of thing that would strengthen your power and you needed all the power you could acquire to win the war against the Zhou. Perhaps if you were powerful enough you could duel for provinces, a rare but high stakes event that could grow a clan's wealth faster than any other activity.

You smiled at her and said, "No. I always thought it the thing of childhood tales, not something a Lord would engage in to strengthen his Qi. Perhaps that is something I should investigate with so many spirit beasts in the mountains that surround us. Is there a technique for such things or do you simply eat them raw, so to speak?"

She grinned and said, "It is like sushi, we just eat them raw. The fresher and rawer the greater the transfer of power. I suggest you engage in such practices, what with the Zhou already sizing you up for conquest. I would hate for our Bai allies to lose in such a battle, friends that you are. You already have lost so much with your internal strife after the Clan Head was killed."

"I agree. I will consider such a practice for the power of a Clan's Lords is vital to the strength of the Clan as a whole. It would be a shame to leave such a valuable avenue unexplored if you are confident in the power it provides. I am grateful to you for sharing such wisdom with me on my birthday. Perhaps that should be your gift to me?"

She chuckled and presented you with a thin case she extracted from her dress, about the length of a dagger. She said, "No, I brought the traditional gift as well."

Fang offered it you the case with a grin on her face as she added, "Open it."

And you did. It was a spirit treasure grade athame, a tool used to carve arrays in stone and wood. You estimated it to be made by a cultivator of the third rank. A valuable gift and one you would treasure for it quite literally was a spirit treasure. You estimated its worth at 400 Silver Bars. It was no weapon but it was still valuable.

"Wow. I am grateful to you for this gift, it is quite valuable!"

She stood and bowed to you, showing her cleavage once more. You really wished you could think with your body, not your mind.

You smiled at her and said, "Thank you for your visit Nae Fang. Perhaps we shall talk more later?"

She smiled and nodded.




[ ] Experiment with eating Beast Cores. (Purchase 200 Silver in Beast Cores and consume them)

[ ] Do not experiment with eating Beast Cores.