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The Path Unending (A Cultivation Quest)

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How nice of them to give us a portable house just as we get warned that we may have to leave the sect on long journeys.

I'm putting 30 bingo bucks on Siani ambushing us right after Mo Hanying's thing.
 
[X] The stone door inscribed with musical notes.

If this quest be lasting a year in game i'd be dammed if we don't get closer to understanding the symphany in rags. Let's fucking go.
 
[X] The wooden door adorned with an eye.

KZ has a big blazing flashlight eye, door has an eye. Close enough for me.

Interesting update. I had an inkling that 7th circle might've been on the cards, because the overall requirement was 'Impress your Elder' and KZ obviously did that, so makes sense that Siani is both trolling KZ by promoting him early and also quasi-'rewarding' him.

The spatial ring is cool as fuck, super interesting. I wonder what some of the reactions from KZ's friendgroup are when he uses it, or his travelling group when he gets sent out of the Sect. Something like 'How the fuck did you get that?!' which'll be a little awkward. KZ also can't bluff very well, but maybe a good old half truth. "I told my Sage teacher a story he found interesting, and gave it to me as an award."

Sad that the pig got ego-death brainwashed. Seems functionally similar to dying, but more cruel from an outsiders perspective.

Sect politics was interesting. I wonder where the Delving Heart actually sits in an 'objective' strength ranking and not Xiong's 'We're the best!'. It could be something like March > Undying > Heart = Jackal > Others > Grove
 
Vesvius said:
Sister Xiong pushes a door open and gestures for you to go through it first. As you do, she states, "Your reward will be threefold. The first part will indeed be lessons from the Master himself. That will have to wait, however. He is… currently indisposed."
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This was expected, although the other rewards suggest that the lessons might mean more than I thought they would. I was thinking it was pretty minor, since Siani was going to instruct us with how to use time anyway. It seems like his lessons will cover more than that, or go deeper.

Vesvius said:
Sister Xiong stops and fixes you with a firm look. "Kong Zhi, when Elder Siani believes you are prepared, you will be raised to the Seventh Circle."
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Wow. That was... a lot faster than I was expecting. A lot. Though it sounds like this is as much a challenge as an honor. Also... what in the blazing hells did we find?

Vesvius said:
The smile on Sister Xiong's face doesn't waver in the least. "Nothing intrusive or unwanted by my new friend, Kong Zhi," she states, reaching out and patting Songlu on the head. The pig preens and presses up against her palm, searching for more affection. "Songlu was a touch coarse and unrefined before, certainly. But it was nothing my anam could not fix."

...well. The implications of that statement are terrifying.

Perhaps you got off easily by only having to think about worshipping Sister Xiong for a few weeks.
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Zhi is right. This is terrifying. We're either talking permanent personality alteration or enthrallment. It almost certainly works on humans as well, although I wouldn't be surprised if they have to be pretty weak... In any case, this makes it clear that Royalty is potent stuff. Not quite in the same league as Time, but enough to make our Treasure a huge find. We seem to be doing a lot of those lately.

Vesvius said:
All you can do is nod. You turn away from the house and close the door, idly watching as the doorknob shifts and twists beneath your fingers until it is the ring once more. When you pull your hand away, it is as if the door to that peaceful place never existed. "This… this is a princely reward," you murmur.
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Yes, it is a princely reward. Though the practical impact may be limited, beyond making our materials unsealable and always around. Actually, we might be able to do something with that. Buy useful equipment and use it to complete missions. There are likely people who have who base everything on spacial utility techs, so this is significant. I'm also wondering if there's some mechanical impact that we're not seeing. Mental stress, maybe? Healing on missions? I won't be surprised if it's a "try it and find out" quest, like Chui Dao was.

Vesvius said:
The Warren… the headquarters of the Caretakers… has mysteries and treasures locked away in it's lower levels… and you will only find them if you pass tests set by the Warren itself.
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So... we're sitting on a dungeon containing ancient, powerful artifacts, and we have semi-exclusive access to it as Caretakers, which means there's probably a ton of good stuff that hasn't been grabbed yet. Hell yeah! It probably contains ancient charms, techniques, maybe even some Treasures or Wonders. How many actions can we spare a week? Do you think ten will do it, or do we need to find an eleventh somewhere?
 
[X] The wooden door adorned with an eye.

Perception based? We got SEG if that's the case.

Dang that spatial charm is awesome.

Siani thinking of promoting Zhi... I wonder how many challenges he'll have to face!
 
Mr8 said:
The spatial ring is cool as fuck, super interesting. I wonder what some of the reactions from KZ's friendgroup are when he uses it, or his travelling group when he gets sent out of the Sect. Something like 'How the fuck did you get that?!' which'll be a little awkward. KZ also can't bluff very well, but maybe a good old half truth. "I told my Sage teacher a story he found interesting, and gave it to me as an award."
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We've been told exactly what to say.

I went to the deeps looking for a natural treasure.
 
Time to rely on rng once again.

[X] The metal door that is hot to the touch.

It is done.
TimEd threw 1 3-faced dice. Reason: Dooor Total: 3
3 3
 
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Nordlending said:
I want to make something like this ring.
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This is proper lost civilization stuff.
Vesvius said:
"How long does it last?" you ask numbly.

"As long as you need it to," comes the answer. "Though be wary. The Estate can exist for months at a time should you wish it, but when you close the third facet once more, you will be unable to resummon it for as long as you had it open. Spend a week in luxury? You must then go a week without."
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Imagine a treasure like this being left active for thousands of years and then when it is deactivated, could seem like a normal if complex treasure with a not that special effect due to the cooldown.
 
Nordlending said:
I want to make something like this ring.
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Don't know how we are supposed to get a space reagent. Or a time one for that matter. It would be very cool if we could craft another time treasure. A moment respite is nice, but we are way more skilled than we were back then we should be able to do better.
 
[X] The wooden door adorned with an eye.

So now we know where the pig is. Can we just hand it the wool next time or do we need to ask for Xiong's permission?
I don't want to stay in debt to an actual(?) pig .
 
Vesvius said:
Sister Xiong pushes a door open and gestures for you to go through it first. As you do, she states, "Your reward will be threefold. The first part will indeed be lessons from the Master himself. That will have to wait, however. He is… currently indisposed."

You can only blink at that news. "Oh?" you ask. "I was unaware that his… exertions had wounded him to such an extent."

"They did not," comes the cryptic answer.
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Hmmm... I guess the Highest has made her displeasure known, huh?

Vesvius said:
"Master," Sister Xiong interrupts, reaching up to rest a hand on Elder Siani's forearm. "Should we contact the Highest? You know she would demand-"

"No," Elder Siani answers. "She is still… indisposed. We will deal with her displeasure when she emerges. This one will fall to me."
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[X] The stone door inscribed with musical notes.
 
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