The Path Unending (A Cultivation Quest)

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You are not the type of person who can stand and do nothing for hours, nor are you the type of person to stand aside when the sound of tools biting into wood and stone fills the air. With a nod to Fan Zhao you push away from the desk, striding from the judge's station and into the midst of the workbenches.

There is no question where your attention will go first. You make a direct line right for one of the workbenches towards the front of the crafter's area, one bearing the bronze nameplate of Song Douyan. As you do, you inspect the disciple who many of the people you spoke with earlier consider the frontrunner. She is tall and willowy, with dark hair twined into a heavy braid which ends at the small of her back. Her robes are at first glance indistinguishable from the normal garb of the Eighth Circle, but closer inspection reveals them to be tailored in subtle ways to better flatter her physique. Her hands are covered with over a dozen rings and her wide, seemingly innocent features are screwed up in concentration as she works.

But it is not her appearance which catches your eye- it is her work. Sitting on the workbench before her is a pile of gemstones of every shape and color. They are not the highest quality you've ever seen, but they are more than enough for a skilled artisan to transform them into an object of beauty. It seems that Song Douyan is of the same mind as you; as you watch, a gem saw moves quickly in her hands, slicing small slivers from a sapphire and flattening it out on one side.

Song Douyan doesn't notice you as you approach and you don't speak to break her concentration. Instead you squat down next to her workbench and inspect her efforts. So far, she has taken a dozen gems and flattened down one side of each of them. All of them are of similar size and shape after she is done with them, though their colors and types are of an enormous variety. Is she planning on making one larger piece out of all of these gems? Or does she think that a parade of smaller, more detailed gems will make a bigger impression.

Before you can suss out her idea for yourself, Song Douyan finally notices you. She barely manages to keep from leaping in surprise when she spots you inspecting her work. Her heels actually make it off the ground before she pulls herself under control but you tactfully ignore that. "Lord Kong!" she exclaims, voice high and startled. "My apologies! I did not notice your approach!"

"I assumed as such," you respond dryly. "There is nothing to apologize for; such focus speaks well of your skills."

Song Douyan bows so deeply at your words that she nearly smashes her head into the table. "Lord Kong is too kind," she mumbles. "This one is but an apprentice in these arts."

You wave away her humility and return your focus to the workbench. "May I ask what you are constructing here?" you ask.

"Of course!" she chirps, gesturing towards the gems. Song Douyan scoops one up- a flattened emerald- and lets it roll back and forth along her fingers. "As this is a challenge of beauty in form, I decided it would be best to discard any thoughts of use and focus entirely on crafting a striking visual. As such, I will be bringing these gemstones together."

Her hands move back towards the gems but her words continue to flow. "Right now, I am evening out the gemstones so that I may unite them into a greater whole at the end. Once each stone is prepared, I will begin my true work of carving different designs into each stone. Then once all stones are finished, I will join them together into a large globe that can be illuminated from within."

Song Douyan looks up at you, determination writ large upon her face. "Others here may be faster than I. Some may be stronger. But when it comes to catching eyes, there are none here who can stand against this Song Douyan."

Strong words. You nod along with her as you inspect her work. Now that she has said what her final plans are, you can see them coming together. If she can truly put her plans into action then the others will indeed be hard pressed to defeat her. "Good luck, Song Douyan. I look forward to seeing the final result."

"Thank you, Lord Kong! I will not disappoint you!" she grunts out, redoubling her efforts.

Craft (Jewelry) Check: 6d10s7(1.5) (Gifts of Tiaoyue + Son of Kong Shuren). Dice Rolled: 10, 10, 10, 8, 7, 2, 4, 1, 1. 4.5, rounded up to 5 Successes!

You linger around Song Douyan's table for a long moment and watch her work. It becomes quickly apparent that while she is not at your own level, she has reason to be proud of her skills. The forms taking shape within the gems are clear and well defined, each with it's own flair that captures one's attention.

But her inexperience is showing as well. She is using too much of each gem for her designs to be properly realized. If her plan is to create a larger globe out of these individual stones then she will be forced to chip away at her inscriptions to create the joins. The result will still be striking, but it will lose something without the subtle detail work she is laboring over.

Should you say something? You would hate for her to turn in a lesser project- but at the same time, this is a competition. Should you not allow people to sink or swim on their own merits?

Should you point out Song Douyan's mistake?
[] [DOUYAN] Yes, you will draw Song Douyan's attention to her error before it is too late.
[] [DOUYAN] No, you will not interfere. If she turns in a lesser project, it will simply be a learning experience.
[] [DOUYAN] Write-In
***
Not everyone is as hard at work as Song Douyan is though. Several disciples seem to be deep in thought behind their workbench. Some are still at the supplies, carefully picking out the best of what remains now that no one is there to contest them. As you watch, Siau Satai carefully picks through the pile until she finds several lengths of wood missed by Boli Guozao in his quest to capture all the timbers. She doesn't linger at the pile after that; instead she rushes back to her workbench and flies into action.

Soon, the wood has been pieced into a square frame and deposited squarely on Siau Satai's station. Her preparations are not done yet though. With quick, sure motions, she grasps handfuls of wool and begins to twine them between her fingers. Coarse threads form in seconds and are woven over the wooden frame. Barely ten minutes after the frame is constructed, it has been transformed into a canvas just waiting to be painted.

With her base created, Siau Satai gathers pigment after pigment, spreading them out over her workstation before she grabs a worn brush from her own toolkit. She dips it in one of the pigments, brings it up to the canvas- and freezes.

She stands there for a long moment. Siau Satai could be a statue for all of the energy she is exerting. Her curls, shoulder-length and tied back with a length of green ribbon, do not twitch in the least. Her hands do not tremble as they hang over the canvas. Her robes do not shift in the slightest. She appears entirely still, as if moving will attract the gaze of a great predator.

Until finally, the predator seems to move on. Siau Satai's hands spring into motion, drawing lines of paint across the canvas with her brush. Lines become shapes and shapes become images under her careful attention.

You wait until she pauses once more to step behind her. "Interesting work, Siau Satai," you greet her.

Unlike Song Douyan, Siau Satai cannot restrain herself. Her feet lift the ground as she jumps in sheer surprise, a loud squeak leaving her lungs. When she meets the ground once more she spins and bows. "Good day Lord Kong!" she manages to get out.

"Good day, Siau Satai," you respond, responding to her greeting in kind. "I see you've decided to paint us a portrait."

"Yes, Lord!" she answers quickly. "I- I thought that doing so would prove an interesting piece in this challenge! That is, if a painting is allowed. If not, I can still-"

"Of course painting is allowed," you respond, speaking quietly as if to soothe a startled beat. "Many charms take the forms of portraits and paintings. There is no problem here that I can see."

"Oh," Siau Satai responds, voice trailing off lamely. "Good!"

The two of you stand in silence. In the end, it is up to you to break it once more. "What will you be painting for us today?"

"Um," Siau Satai helpfully responds. "I, um, well…" she gestures towards the front of the room. "I have been quite inspired by the decor of the stadium. I was planning to capture that in paint."

You follow her hand and find it pointing at the enormous Scorpion looming over the entire amphitheatre. It really is quite the impressive painting. You can easily see how someone could be moved to replicate such a work, especially if it was already done in a medium similar to their own. Siau Satai's plan seems to have merit, even if it means her final work will be a touch derivative.

The painter seems to hear your thoughts. "I, um, thought that doing so would allow me to capture the experience of this competition," she explains. "Painting the Scorpion and all of us beneath it will demonstrate the fortitude that these challenges have tested and provide an interesting commentary at the same time."

Sense Motive Check: 3d10s7(1.1). Dice Rolled: 10, 8, 8, 6. 3.3, rounded down to 3 Successes!

...you are not sure who Siau Satai is attempting to convince here, but you are fairly certain that it is not you.

Everything about her posture screams insecurity. Her words are delivered with all the conviction of a soaked child desperately trying to convince their mother that they didn't spend all day playing in the river. Siau Satai's eyes flicker back and forth from you to the scorpion to something over your shoulder, never landing any one place for long.

Her plan could be an interesting one- if that is indeed her plan. But right now, you suspect that she has no plan. You would guess that she decided to paint something without first deciding what that painting is going to be and is now struggling along to finish her work before panic truly overtakes her.

Perhaps she never had a plan. Perhaps she had an idea before the stress of the situation caused her inspiration to vanish. You aren't sure. What you are sure of though is that her final piece will be technically sound yet lacking in any real artistic spark. What a shame.

Maybe you should say something to her? You are not one for inspiring words, but your words are better than no words at all. You could attempt to jar her from her panicked state and let her talent shine on this stage- or you could do no such thing and allow her to sink or swim on her own with no guidance.

Will you attempt to inspire Siau Satai?
[] [SATAI] Yes, you will attempt to soothe her panic.
[] [SATAI] No, you will let her work without any interference.
[] [SATAI] Write-In
***
Soon, even as the noise of the audience grows, a thick silence falls over the workstations. No conversation is exchanged between the competitors; all of their focus is on the work taking shape before them. They have not one thought to spare you as you weave your way through the workstations. Those that accidentally meet your eye quickly look away, as if scared that your attention will destabilize their focus and ruin their projects.

Well, most of them look away. One does not.

Ta Riou makes no secret that she is watching you. As she boils container after container of sand in the firepit she's dug next to her workbench, half of her focus is on the work at hand and the rest is squarely on your shoulders. Every time you turn, you catch a glimpse of her watching you avidly out of the corner of your eye.

Interesting. Your curiosity is piqued. If Ta Riou is spending so much time watching you instead of working, she must be truly confident in her skills. On your next pass through the workbenches, you stop next to her station.

Ta Riou is hunched over her firepit when you approach her but quickly straightens up, holding a steel container in thick iron tongs as she does. "Good day, Lord Kong," she greets you calmly. "Give me but a moment."

You nod obligingly and watch as Ta Riou finishes her task. Under your careful gaze, she grabs a handful of powder from a jar on her workbench and throws it into the canister she's just pulled from the flame. Ta Riou moves to return the steel to the fire, but pauses, adding another handful to the mixture before giving it back to the flame. There it joins several other similar containers. Each of them boils and bubbles as the fire's intensity only grows.

When it seems like the sun-bleached blonde is done maneuvering her canisters of sand, you break the silence. "So, what will you be presenting to us today, Ta Riou?"

"I work with glass, Lord Kong," comes the instant reply. "And since you thoughtfully supplied us with so much sand, I thought it would be best to put my best skill on full display. Today, I am creating a window of stained glass."

She gestures at her workstation where a twisted maze of iron sits. "As my glass has been heating, I have constructed a mold of an image that should prove most striking beneath these lights. Now that the mold is complete, I only need the glass to properly color before I set it in place."

You nod. "I see. And what image are you creating in the glass today?"

Ta Riou smiles up at you, full lips stretched into a cheeky grin as she taps the side of her nose. "I could not spoil the surprise, Lord Kong! That would be telling!"

You cannot help but chuckle. "I suppose it would. I'm looking forward to seeing your final project."

"My thanks," comes the quick response. "I look forward to showing it to you- but before you go, might I beg for a moment of your time?"

You pause midstep, her words catching you right before you walk away from her workbench. "Yes?" you say, glancing over your shoulder.

"While I have you here," she starts, moving to rotate a canister as she speaks. "I have a question for you- if it is not too personal, of course."

Perception Check: 4d10s7(1.1) (The Gifts of Tiaoyue). Dice Rolled: 8, 5, 3, 2. 1.1, rounded down to 1 Success!

"I will not know if it is too personal until you ask it, I suppose," you respond.

A laugh escapes from Ta Riou's throat, a full-bodied chuckle that reminds you of tinkling bells. "Very well," she answers. "Then I shall just ask- it is about your eyepatch."

You pause. "Excuse me?" you ask.

"Your eyepatch," she says again. "I… no, it is a silly question. Never mind."

You shake your head and turn back to her. "No, no, please, continue. Now I'm curious."

Ta Riou nods once. "Very well. It is just… your eyepatch is so plain. It is well made, certainly, and functional above all else. But everything I have learned about you, Lord Kong, tells me that you are a person who values form just as much as he does function. Why have you not gotten a patch that more fully speaks to your sensibilities?"

....huh. You honestly have never really thought about that before. "I-"

Whatever your answer was going to be is cut off as you spot something strange happening behind Ta Riou. Another competitor, Po Yuanji, has moved past her workstation on his way to his own. But as he moves past the firepit, something falls from his hand and into one of her jars. You cannot quite see what it was, but you are fairly sure that it is not supposed to be in Ta Riou's glass.

It appears that Po Yuanji is embarking in some truly brazen sabotage. That's not unheard of, especially in competitions like this one, but it leaves a sour taste in your mouth. It is not as if he is acting against the rules of the competition though. Neither you nor Fan Zhao said that sabotage was illegal. Whatever Po Yuanji is doing is entirely permitted.

Still… you cannot say you are in favor of such actions. But should you move to counter them and risk influencing the contest?

How should you respond to the saobatage of Ta Riou's project?
[] [RIOU] You will quietly point it out to her and allow her to fix the problem before it really becomes an issue.
[] [RIOU] You will call Po Yuanji to task and order him to fix his sabotage before continuing on his own work.
[] [RIOU] You will stand back and allow nature to take its course. It is perfectly legal after all.
[] [RIOU] Write-In
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A/N: Just to remind you all, here's a recap of all you have to vote for this time!