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The Path Unending (A Cultivation Quest)

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[X] [APPROACH] In the past, Kong Zhi wandered freely through the village. Perhaps that was a mistake. We will continue the examination as normal, only Zhi will take a different role.
-[X] The record-keeper for the examination.
 
[X] [APPROACH] Shoubiao's Wake is dangerous, and the wise thing to do would be to retreat. Zhi will attempt to redirect the examination towards Twelve Fields, where a more learned expert may be contacted.

When it's obviously above our paygrade the best step would need to refer up the chain of authority
 
Maybe we could use SEG to see if we can locate a Natural Wonder. Shouldn't be too hard to keep it subtle.
 
[X] [APPROACH] In the past, Kong Zhi wandered freely through the village. Perhaps that was a mistake. We will continue the examination as normal, only Zhi will take a different role.
-[X] The record-keeper for the examination.

[X][SMALL] Tell Daiyu and Kun that they absolutely shouldn't stick out or interrupt the villagers routines, just observe them and look for discrepancies.
[X][SMALL] If people don't break their routine to get tested, convince Clerk Ni to pretend everything is fine. For our collective safety.

Trying to escape feels like it's probably going to be either a waste of a loop (and maybe open us up to something way more dangerous then the village) or a forceful end to the encounter with no further rewards, and contacting Siani feels a bit...much, I guess? Like this situation is definitely one of the more dangerous situations we've encountered, but we've gotten through like a dozen situations without contacting him to bail us out before, I don't think ves would throw something so far above our paygrade at us that pulling the proverbial fire alarm is our only real shot at survival.
 
Dont forget the lesson. Our opponent knows about us, they are willing to give things up for greater advantages, are capable of laying traps, and probably wont let a 'standard' loop fail pass by normally again.

Whatever strat is made for going forward needs to deal with possible intensified spiritual attack, possible hostile interference mid loop, and ideally some way to flip the board altogether.

Beating him at time board may be harder than just punching him in the face and stealing his pieces, dunno.

Either way, active opposition means this isnt happy funtimes mystery investigation anymore, its holmes vs moriarty and that dude is angling to put you on a meat hook. Gotta win now or change the game.
 
One lesson from the last loop should be that we need to be specific with Kong Zhi's actions if we want a certain approach to be taken. Adding a specification could be really helpful.

Just voting to leave the village behind by itself will be something Clerk Ni is opposed to. Similarly, if we don't add anything else then Zhi might also not say anything to his companions. This will make it unlikely that the others will go along with the idea. Regardless of the question if staying or leaving is the best path forward, simply voting to leave seems unlikely to succeed.
 
[X] [APPROACH] Shoubiao's Wake is dangerous, and the wise thing to do would be to retreat. Zhi will attempt to redirect the examination towards Twelve Fields, where a more learned expert may be contacted.

I don't think this will work... but I think Zhi is shaken enough now to attempt it. Whatever is in the village is undoubtedly a threat to the Examination and the Treasure. Even if the Tester does not see it.
 
Considering we still can't hear our hammer, I suspect if we leave, we will simply revert at some point in the near future. This seemed to be targeted, rather than local.
 
We need intel and getting a look at records would help a lot.
[X] [APPROACH] In the past, Kong Zhi wandered freely through the village. Perhaps that was a mistake. We will continue the examination as normal, only Zhi will take a different role.
-[x] The record-keeper for the examination.

See if Daiyu can recover memories from the Horizon.
[X][SMALL] Tell Daiyu to use Twilight Horizon

We want to not disturb anyone's routine for any reason, even if we are here to do the Testing.
[X][SMALL] Tell Daiyu and Kun that they absolutely shouldn't stick out or interrupt the villagers routines, just observe them and look for discrepancies.
[X][SMALL] If people don't break their routine to get tested, convince Clerk Ni to pretend everything is fine. For our collective safety.

Our enemy is a kukuni, so consult the kukuni we know.
[X][SMALL] Check on Chui Dao's wellbeing, memories and any kukuni senses that might be helpful.

But then again...
[X][SMALL] Does Zhuan Kun have a scroll about dealing with hostile kukuni?

The Time anam has to come from somewhere.
[X][SMALL] Keep a look out for any clues about where the disturbance to the local anam is coming from, or any sources of Time anam.

Still a question of when this started.
[X][SMALL] The group should keep an eye and ear out for anything that might be used to date when this loop started.

I'm just curious, not suspicious.
[X][SMALL] If an opportunity arises, ask what message the headman sent to Twelve Fields. Conversationally.

Watch the weather?
[X][SMALL] Is there anything significant about the incoming storm?

When in Rome...
[X][SMALL] Everyone pretend to be cheerful. The day is perfect.

We could also send a distress message.
But I'm not sure if that would be helpful, or whether that might make the kukuni desperate too quickly.
 
So, one thing to note is that the only villager that seems to be willing to talk to us at all is the village head. Might not be a bad idea to chat him up a bit. Maybe ask if there are any points of interest in the village? Or interesting bits of history?

HousePet said:
See if Daiyu can recover memories from the Horizon.
[X][SMALL] Tell Daiyu to use Twilight Horizon
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We did this last time. She got nothing. Probably due to the lack of Time core.
 
This feels like the sort of thing we should just say "Elder Siani, Elder Siani, Elder Siani" and hope to every spirit that he answers, because I doubt this thing is going to let us leave.
 
Romv said:
Maybe we could use SEG to see if we can locate a Natural Wonder. Shouldn't be too hard to keep it subtle.
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I don't know, Kukunis could be a lot more connected to anam then artists. Our opponent might be able to see technique uses easier then mundane actions. Using SEG to find potential wonder might still be worth, it's just not without risk.

Enjou said:
We did this last time. She got nothing. Probably due to the lack of Time core.
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Zhi only recovered his memories when he used the technique for the second time. It could very well be that Mei needs to do so as well. Having Mei use it two times as well seems pretty worth, given the potential rewards.
 
Lucius Domitius said:
Zhi only recovered his memories when he used the technique for the second time. It could very well be that Mei needs to do so as well. Having Mei use it two times as well seems pretty worth, given the potential rewards.
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At the very least, it also loses Mei nothing to try.

Proving that something isn't possible is also valuable information, especially when it doesn't even seem to have an opportunity cost.

(Though the last time Zhi didn't even need to ask Mei to try, she did it on her own once we got visions from it)
 
[X] [APPROACH] In the past, Kong Zhi wandered freely through the village. Perhaps that was a mistake. We will continue the examination as normal, only Zhi will take a different role.
-[X] The record-keeper for the examination.

[X][SMALL] Tell Daiyu and Kun that they absolutely shouldn't stick out or interrupt the villagers routines, just observe them and look for discrepancies.
[X][SMALL] Tell Daiyu to use Twilight Horizon
[X][SMALL] Read Daiyu and Kun into what is going on so far and what you have figured out. Three heads are better than one after all.
[X][SMALL] Ask Zhuan Kun if he has any techniques that might preserve his memory.
 
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I mean, if getting stuck in the time loop (for what I presume has been much longer than expected) gave us some upgrades... why not stay for even longer? It's not like we're losing any time
 
Talace said:
I mean, if getting stuck in the time loop (for what I presume has been much longer than expected) gave us some upgrades... why not stay for even longer? It's not like we're losing any time
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Considering that this time-loop may have started several emperors ago and that several inspectors have seemingly been to the village and left, it is premature to assume that time isn't passing outside of the loop.

Also, there's a Kukuni presumeably trying to unmake us from reality for meddling with their plans, that's also a reason not to stick around more than necessary.
 
Talace said:
I mean, if getting stuck in the time loop (for what I presume has been much longer than expected) gave us some upgrades... why not stay for even longer? It's not like we're losing any time
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I don´t think a Mother of Learning style training grind is in the cards. At the very least it would be incredible bad quest design that doesn´t fit with how Vesvius handles his quest.
Also if getting stuck in a time loop could get solved with a simple trying to leave action I would be equally disappointed.
Just trying to leave doesn´t fit with how this has been presented to us, a mystery to be solved.
 
[X] [APPROACH] In the past, Kong Zhi wandered freely through the village. Perhaps that was a mistake. We will continue the examination as normal, only Zhi will take a different role.
-[X] The record-keeper for the examination.

[X][SMALL] Tell Daiyu and Kun that they absolutely shouldn't stick out or interrupt the villagers routines, just observe them and look for discrepancies.
[X][SMALL] If people don't break their routine to get tested, convince Clerk Ni to pretend everything is fine. For our collective safety.
 
[X] [APPROACH] Shoubiao's Wake is dangerous, and the wise thing to do would be to retreat. Zhi will attempt to redirect the examination towards Twelve Fields, where a more learned expert may be contacted

If It's Shit
Hit Da Bricks
 
[X] [APPROACH] In the past, Kong Zhi wandered freely through the village. Perhaps that was a mistake. We will continue the examination as normal, only Zhi will take a different role.
-[x] The record-keeper for the examination.
[X][SMALL] Tell Daiyu to use Twilight Horizon
[X][SMALL] Tell Daiyu and Kun that they absolutely shouldn't stick out or interrupt the villagers
[X][SMALL] If people don't break their routine to get tested, convince Clerk Ni to pretend everything is fine. For our collective safety.
[X][SMALL] Check on Chui Dao's wellbeing, memories and any kukuni senses that might be helpful.
[X][SMALL] Does Zhuan Kun have a scroll about dealing with hostile kukuni?
[X][SMALL] Keep a look out for any clues about where the disturbance to the local anam is coming from, or any sources of Time anam.
[X][SMALL] The group should keep an eye and ear out for anything that might be used to date when this loop started.
[X][SMALL] If an opportunity arises, ask what message the headman sent to Twelve Fields. Conversationally.
[X][SMALL] Is there anything significant about the incoming storm?
 
[X] [APPROACH] In the past, Kong Zhi wandered freely through the village. Perhaps that was a mistake. We will continue the examination as normal, only Zhi will take a different role.
-[x] The record-keeper for the examination.
[X][SMALL] Tell Daiyu to use Twilight Horizon
[X][SMALL] Tell Daiyu and Kun that they absolutely shouldn't stick out or interrupt the villagers
[X][SMALL] If people don't break their routine to get tested, convince Clerk Ni to pretend everything is fine. For our collective safety.
[X][SMALL] Check on Chui Dao's wellbeing, memories and any kukuni senses that might be helpful.
[X][SMALL] Does Zhuan Kun have a scroll about dealing with hostile kukuni?
[X][SMALL] Keep a look out for any clues about where the disturbance to the local anam is coming from, or any sources of Time anam.
[X][SMALL] The group should keep an eye and ear out for anything that might be used to date when this loop started.
[X][SMALL] If an opportunity arises, ask what message the headman sent to Twelve Fields. Conversationally.
[X][SMALL] Is there anything significant about the incoming storm?
[X][SMALL] Ask Siani for help, you don't quite have the training to handle this, but don't want to just leave.
[X] [SMALL] Describe to Zhuan Kun the Garden of Beasts game you played with the not!Zhuan Kun. Draw out the game's map, the terrain, the natural wonders. See if he can provide a read on this opponet you faced.
 
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