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Humble Beginnings, a Cultivation Quest

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Okay, whether or not spending the money for mount-treats is going to be effective, I think it is narratively the most fun thing to do. There's every possibility that the mounts will either be flying swords or spirit beasts (or the setting equivalent themselves) and be less-than-interested in the food a mortal could buy with coppers either way. I think there's only a slim chance that they'll appreciate the food.

However, even if they don't, we (the Questers) still win. If we are rebuked and prevented from presenting them, that's fuel towards the anti-social fire. We're a step closer to breaking out of the complacency and conditioning of our current condition. Win. If we are allowed near them and the mounts don't want the treats and we get pushed back (or even attacked, dream of all dreams!) we'll experience Qi powers for probably the first time in our lives! If we learn from that experience, we might be closer to awakening ourselves! It might even awaken us! Win! If we're crippled, that's character development, baby! Win!

Now on the tiny, tiny, miniscule, off-chance that we get near the cultivators and the mounts like our treats, we've gained even a little positive attention from cultivators! Also a win, I guess.
 
If Wen thought cultivators would get here on flying swords, he would have said "flying" rather than "riding".

If it ends up being regular animals, treats should work well.

If it ends up being spirit beasts, treats could work well. I really don't think it's a minimal chance. Animals are much less sophisticated than humans, which most likely means that spirit beasts are much less sophisticated than cultivators. Sure, they'd rather have a Heavenly Thunder Treat brimming with Yin Qi and made by a Celestial Chef than a totally mundane one made by a mortal street vendor, but I'd bet they'd still love to scarf the latter down. ^^
 
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Haha, I don't think it really changes anyone's analysis but it does seem to me that "mounts" are generally animals that are faster (or at least more efficient at moving) than the people riding them. For mundane animals to be effective mounts for cultivators, the cultivators probably have to be pretty low level.
 
CoatRackRanger said:
Haha, I don't think it really changes anyone's analysis but it does seem to me that "mounts" are generally animals that are faster (or at least more efficient at moving) than the people riding them. For mundane animals to be effective mounts for cultivators, the cultivators probably have to be pretty low level.
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Comfort (being carried > walking) and cultural implications (mounts are status symbols) could be factors, too, potentially offsetting a lower efficiency.
 
I don't think whether the cultivators actually have mounts to feed or not matters - it's what it says about us buying treats for them to be kind/get attention from the cultivators.
 
[x] Save money for now.

Save the money for something else. Also worried that we may be punished as that money is probably considered our masters. Of it gets found out that she spent it shell prob be beaten or worse.

Unless she gets outed as a cultivator, thatll prob instasolve the slave thing.
 
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    Chapter 2
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    • [X] Go with Wen Jianyu to watch the cultivators, but first use the coins to purchase a treat for the beasts you expect them to ride in on.

    Xiǎo Nú hesitated for a moment, glancing back at the path that led to Hou Yanlin's workshop. Ultimately, though, the allure of glimpsing cultivators proved too strong, and she nodded to Wen Jianyu with a grin. "I can slip away for a bit."


    Wen Jianyu returned the smile, and turned to lead the way, taking off without delay, forcing Xiǎo Nú to sprint to catch up to him. He had always been faster than her, on account of his long legs. As she closed the gap, though, she noticed that he seemed to be at least a finger-width or two taller than when she had last seen him.


    "You're already as skinny as a reed, are you trying to be as tall as one as well?" She called out to him, her tone light.


    Wen Jianyu glanced back over his shoulder at her, a playful look in his eye even as he slowed to an easy jog to let her catch up. "Well, Xiǎo Nú, some of us are destined for greater heights. Unlike you, who remains as short and stout as ever."


    Xiǎo Nú laughed, taking the teasing in stride. She had always been short and broad-shouldered, a fact that in combination with her shorn hair caused her to frequently be mistaken for a boy. She shot back a comment on his feminine face, and soon the two were trading playful jabs as they continued weaving through the tight streets, dodging merchants and travelers.


    Soon, though, the weight of the coins in her hand reminded her of the newfound wealth. She slowed her steps, prompting Wen Jianyu to match her pace. Casting a glance at the string of copper coins, Xiǎo Nú hesitated before finally deciding to share her curiosity. "Wen Jianyu, can you tell me about these coins? I've never had so many before, and I don't know their value."


    Wen Jianyu looked at her somewhat quizzically, an unspoken question in his eyes, about how she came across them. "Show me the length of the string," he said.


    Xiǎo Nú hesitated briefly, a twinge of distrust surfacing, but she admonished herself for the unwarranted suspicion of her friends and handed over the string of coins. Wen Jianyu hefted the copper in his hand, as if gauging its weight, before offering an explanation.


    "You've got a tenth of a proper string here, see the knots on each end?" He pointed them out, obviously confident in his knowledge as a merchant's son. "Strings are tied in sections of ten, with each section composed of one hundred coins. In practice, you probably have more like ninety-eight or ninety-nine here - the bankers that tie them take one or two as payment. No one but the most miserly of people is going to make you break another string to make up the difference, it's basically worth a hundred."


    Wen Jianyu handed the coins back to Xiǎo Nú, as she silently absorbed the information, processing the notion of possessing nearly a hundred coins. Curiosity still lingered, and she asked, "And how much is that worth?"


    "It depends on how well you haggle, obviously, but assuming you're not getting scammed, it's enough for five to six decent meals, or a few sacks of rice."


    Xiǎo Nú nodded, her thoughts already wandering to how she might allocate her newfound wealth. As they continued their walk in companionable silence, Wen Jianyu obviously sensed that something occupied her mind. "Something bothering you?"


    Xiǎo Nú hesitated before replying. "I've never had this much before. A customer… a shanmin gave it to me, said to not give it to Hou Yanlin."


    Wen Jianyu furrowed his brows. "My father, he's dealt with a few of them. They don't like when they see the kids raised in the Empire. Wounded pride, he said. Maybe it was just their way of making up for it or something."


    Xiǎo Nú hummed in response, her past interactions with Hou Yanlin preventing her from pushing the topic further.


    Wen Jianyu glanced over at her then back down at the money, before brightening up, seeing a way to change the subject. "Hey, do you want me to show you what the symbols on the coins mean?"


    She nodded and once again handed over the length, which Wen Jianyu rotated and oriented before holding it in front of her to see. "So you read it by going top, bottom, right, left. The top and bottom symbols say Huiqing, who was the Empress before Emperor Weisheng. Then the right symbol says circulating, and the left symbol says treasure. So this is a copper coin, meant for common everyday use, cast during Empress Huiqing's reign. If you broke the string and looked at the back, you would see a serial number, which would show the exact date and location it was cast, along with the location and overseer of the foundry."


    Xiǎo Nú's head spun slightly at the amount of information that was held in such a dense form. "I had no idea that all that was on there, I thought they would just be decorative or something."


    Wen Jianyu laughed in response, making her feel a tinge of shame at her naivety. "Yeah, the Ministry of Revenue takes this stuff seriously. You don't wanna be caught forging fake coins. Father says that one of the bankers reported a bunch of forged strings a few years before I was born, and they came in, found the merchant using them, and executed him within a day."


    That must be why everyone was so on-edge every time they visited.


    That somber thought accompanied them as they continued their way through the bustling streets of Mudanshu. The vibrant colors of merchant stalls and the tantalizing aroma of street food filled the air. As they passed by a fruit merchant, the sight of fresh apples caught Xiǎo Nú's attention.


    On a whim, she decided to purchase a few apples, thinking they might make a suitable offering for the cultivators' horses. She approached the fruit merchant, eager to try her hand at haggling. However, her attempts proved only partly successful, and the merchant only offered her a discount of three copper off the asking price of fifteen for five apples.


    Resigned, Xiǎo Nú reached for her coins to pay for the apples. Before she could complete the transaction, Wen Jianyu, seeming amused by the exchange, stepped in with a grin. "Three coppers for an apple? That's a bit steep, don't you think? How about two apples to a copper?"


    The merchant raised an eyebrow, clearly skeptical of Wen Jianyu's boldness. After a brief negotiation, Wen Jianyu successfully haggled the price down to eight copper. He paid for the five apples with some pocket change, turning to Xiǎo Nú with a wink. "No need to break your string for such a minor purchase."


    Xiǎo Nú felt a mix of gratitude and embarrassment as she accepted the apples. She quickly shoved them into her pockets, save for one that she began to eat, and another she held out to Wen Jianyu. "Want one?"


    He declined with a shake of his head, his eyes glinting with amusement. Xiǎo Nú felt compelled to explain her sudden decision. "Well, you mentioned the cultivators riding in. If they have horses, maybe we can get a closer look if we offer them some apples."


    "Good idea. Come on, let's hurry up!" Wen Jianyu once again broke out into a run, and Xiǎo Nú was once again left in his dust, trying to multitask between running and polishing off her apple.


    Xiǎo Nú and Wen Jianyu arrived at the edge of town just as the sun began its descent, casting long shadows ahead of them. A gathering of curious townsfolk, both children and adults, had already assembled, their anticipation palpable in the air. They waited for the cultivators, their excitement tempered by an undercurrent of tension.


    As minutes ticked by, Xiǎo Nú couldn't shake the worry that her absence might draw unwanted attention from Hou Yanlin. The anxiety crept into her thoughts, but she pushed it aside, focusing on the horizon when the silhouettes of the cultivators finally emerged.


    The approaching figures moved faster than Xiǎo Nú expected, covering the distance in a matter of minutes. They pulled to a stop to converse with mortal guards who had come out to meet them. To her surprise, the guards, many of whom she knew to be rough and crude, stood in perfect order, bowing respectfully to the group of five cultivators.


    As the cultivators drew closer and passed into the town - the gathered crowd giving them a wide berth - Xiǎo Nú observed each of them in turn.


    Two of the horses were identical with buckskin coloration, carrying equally identical men with pale skin, long silky black hair, and feminine faces. Each of them had a curved dao sheathed on their waists, the only sign that they were warriors, not nobles as their fine silk robes may have indicated.


    The third and final horse, a deep chestnut, bore a large armored man. His features were obscured by his all-encompassing bronze armor, but he held a formidable, almost comically-large guandao in one hand.


    A deer, gray and speckled with white as though still in its youth, but still with wide antlers, stepped with unnatural grace, small plants blooming in each hoofprint. The woman riding it held a spear, her skin darker than Xiǎo Nú's and tinged with a faint blue hue. Her hair, blonde and almost glittering like gold, framed her face as she guided the deer with a serene confidence.


    Bringing up the rear was a massive ox, pitch black and towering above the other mounted cultivators, carrying a wild-looking woman. Her unkempt gray hair nearly completely obscured a wrinkled pale face, and a bow was slung across her chest. The ox's shoulder was level with the heads of the other cultivators and lifted the woman above the rest, adding an air of authority to her presence. Small flames flickered out from its nose with each exhale.


    Xiǎo Nú watched them intently, almost starting as the armored man surveyed the crowd, the feeling of intense eye contact - a sensation she was quite unused to, as many took offense at being looked in the eye by a slave - overcoming her for a moment as his gaze passed over her. A quick glance at Wen Jianyu confirmed that he felt the same thing, his normally cheerful face somewhat pale and drained.


    Xiǎo Nú took a moment to shake off the intense feeling of being under the scrutiny of the man. She could sense Wen Jianyu's reluctance beside her, his bravado fading in the face of these immortals. Steeling herself, she grabbed his arm, attempting to pull him along as she broke away from the crowd.


    Wen Jianyu resisted, his expression shifting to one of fear and awe. Xiǎo Nú hesitated for a moment, before deciding to go on alone, and released her grip on him. Her legs trembled with each step she took towards the cultivators, and she felt a surge of nausea as her proximity caused their collective attention to turn to her.


    The mortal guards, visibly angered by her presumption, began to move to intercept her, but a subtle gesture from the woman on the deer halted their advance. Her eyes remained fixed on Xiǎo Nú all the while. With a deep breath, Xiǎo Nú reached into her pocket and procured one of the apples, suddenly gripped by uncertainty as she pondered which cultivator to approach.





    1 roll (2d10) for Charisma & Socialize to haggle, 1 success.
    +1 xp to Charisma & Socialize, +2 xp total.
    +100 copper coins.


    [ ] The noble-looking twins armed with curved dao.

    [ ] The large, armored warrior with the oversized guandao.

    [ ] The blue-skinned spearwoman on a deer.

    [ ] The wild-looking archer on the fiery ox.

    [ ] Write In for anything else.
    Scheduled vote count started by Ubiquitouch on Dec 26, 2023 at 6:30 AM, finished with 51 posts and 28 votes.
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    • haha, so we're in the cultivators on spirit beast mounts world! And the world where we're allowed past the guards to present our treats!

    [] The wild-looking archer on the fiery ox.

    1) waived off the guard, she's tacitly agreed to our actions.
    2) big creatures, such as this ox, generally require more sustenance than smaller ones.
    3) the ox has fire powers. we want firepower. match made in heaven.
    4) we don't have two apples for the twins' horses.
    5) deer probably also a good choice but it may be snooty to sustained wholly on nature magic.
    6) woman seems to be the leader; giving the apple to anyone else seems strange.

    yeah... I need to learn to read.

    [X] The wild-looking archer on the fiery ox.

    she's the scariest.
     
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    [X] The wild-looking archer on the fiery ox.

    Fire power. Also I just like the ox in general. Imagine one hauling a cannon, while we handle the hand cannons.
     
    [X] The blue-skinned spearwoman on a deer.

    She's the one who signaled we were allowed to approach, so even if she's not in charge she's clearly the most open to us.
     
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