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Money and Power: A Xianxia Merchant Quest
- Thread starter Mr. Prokosch
- Start date
DangerKitty
shoddy writter
- Location
- lala land
[x] Broken Marionette + Empty Will
Roth963
If I become inactive with this massage, I died
I wonder if Oku hunting things that bother humans will increase our prestige, give us a name as righteous clan that look out for mortals.
As for her cultivation, she got four pillars, three is the lowest qualification, than there are four and five if I remember correctly, than seven as the peak the empire knows of (with protagonist tier being the true limit at thirteen).
I didn't exactly expect Oku to have seven, consdiering she isn't hailed as a genius, but she is only at four, I wonder if she can raise another pillar before making the jump to merging or if making a mastering technique caps her at four.
She also seem to be focusing on destruction, which may be her future goal for a merging, curious what a destruction merging will look like, or if people even know what it would look like, considering destruction is a pretty broad subject with a lot of possible interpretations.
I didn't see a hint of treason from her, but it could be because she didn't think of us, for now I am still optimistic.
As for her cultivation, she got four pillars, three is the lowest qualification, than there are four and five if I remember correctly, than seven as the peak the empire knows of (with protagonist tier being the true limit at thirteen).
I didn't exactly expect Oku to have seven, consdiering she isn't hailed as a genius, but she is only at four, I wonder if she can raise another pillar before making the jump to merging or if making a mastering technique caps her at four.
She also seem to be focusing on destruction, which may be her future goal for a merging, curious what a destruction merging will look like, or if people even know what it would look like, considering destruction is a pretty broad subject with a lot of possible interpretations.
I didn't see a hint of treason from her, but it could be because she didn't think of us, for now I am still optimistic.
SleepyCaterpilar
Just a Rapariga
[X] Broken Marionette + Empty Will
[X] Broken Marionette + Empty Will
I do not like the sound of these techniques. Two damage cultivation which probably is pretty horrible in a cultivation world. And the two others have names which sound like she's becoming a broken, empty husk. Especially when you combine them.
For the least likelyhood for something terrible to emerge from her training I'd suggest
Black Lightning + Empty Will
but that is neither an option nor do I think the result would make her particularly stronger.
I think I'll abstain for this...
For the least likelyhood for something terrible to emerge from her training I'd suggest
Black Lightning + Empty Will
but that is neither an option nor do I think the result would make her particularly stronger.
I think I'll abstain for this...
- Location
- Canada
It will probably help out reputation with the mortals, and it's worth doing. In this world though, I suspect that it's more the show of force than anything else that will get us prestige.
I think you can keep adding pillers, it just gets harder until it's impractical?
Maybe some kind of poison or acid? Lightning? All the merge options seem pretty dangerous.
I generally agree that we are probably safe, but if she was planning treason, I don't think we would see it an interlude. If we want to be sure, there is always diamond mind, but man it's hard to give up on that diamond body survivability.
They do all sound potentially self destructive. Which isn't surprising given her history.
Oku's Mastery and Q3 Order Bookkeeping
It wasn't as simple as cycling two techniques at the same time. She cycled Broken Marionette and Empty Will together all the time. They were her baseline combat enhancements. If Marionette wasn't such a teotl drain she'd keep them both up while she did everything, that was the gold standard at the sect. It just wasn't viable for her, but she still had years cycling both alongside a third technique, even a forth, in combat.
No, she had to mash them together. The sect had a ton of guidance on it, from flowery philosophy texts to dense recipe-like instructions. She tried to keep all that crap in mind, but it all boiled down to 'mash them together in a way that feels right for them.'
The Black Lightning Manual had the real specifics, but it didn't mention the particular combination she was going for. It didn't have Empty Will anyway, just the other three. She stumbled on that dusty old thing in the early days, the worst days. It had a bit of a bad reputation, but it served her very well. She was happy it ended up being compatible with her Path, most techniques weren't.
She cycled the two techniques. They were easy to do together, kept to their own space. Marionette was a field that danced on the outside of her body, only connected by the feed to her core. Will efficiently cycled inside her body, the waterways channeling from core to mind-seat with absolute minimal leakage. So, the first step to mashing them together: bring them close.
Inside was better than out. She wanted the Mastery to enhance herself, and not be so damn wasteful like Marionette. She forced the field down, tightening the pattern until the technique was near-breaking just at the surface of her skin. She did the opposite with Empty Will, pushing the teotl to broaden out. The two met near the eye-seat, and clashed.
The teotl ran wild for a brief moment. Following her training she blasted it out safely. She didn't expect it to work the first time. Or the first hundred times. She'd modify the approach and try again. And again. And again.
She succeeded earlier than she thought. Lucky number… 67. Not a lucky number, people put too much on that shit anyway. It was hard to put the difference in words, it wasn't a word thing. Could be why those manuals sucked so bad at explaining. If she had to do it she'd say "don't mash two things together. Just forget it's two things." She snickered. Wouldn't help anyone.
It didn't seem to do anything at first. But when she tested in battle… Oh boy. Yeah, maybe she could really win this time. She'd have won that duel with it too, by impaling her sister before she could even use her cultivation. Oh well, past was the past.
Oku is a Perfect Master of Black Lightning. She has completed her first Mastery:
Perfect Puppet
She knows it lets her control her body with absolute precision and move at the speed of her teotl. She has not yet fully explored its capabilities.
-------------------------------
[X] have Chachi try to scan herself and other people, see how she is built, notice differences between her body and another's, can she make a person if she tried? Don't try with herself yet. - Minor
Chachi is pretty sure she can "make a person" in an unorthodox way… But she thinks it might only be a flesh golem in the perfect shape of a person. She can maybe reproduce the organs from a model but she doesn't know what the organs do. She expects it would not have a perfectly functional mind or spirit. She won't know until she tries and she's hesitant to try. It feels icky.
[X] Ask our body guard about abysalls clones and how do they work, we are looking into clones both for their use and to try and help our brother, and we are curious about the downsides and prices of abysall ones. - Minor
"A homunculus right? There's a reason we don't just call it an abyssal clone, cause that's technically wrong. A clone copies everything, but a homunculus just… changes the… meat. I dunno how to say it. It needs a victim, a captive. The victim keeps their cultivation but loses their body and mind. That's good, in a way. Means a copy can't make another copy, and I think it only works on people in Perfecting. They're also weak to start out, the new mind doesn't know how to use the old techniques. This is all hearsay, I've only ever fought real abyssals."
[X] offer to give Oku a few tries with your super spear, so she learns how to use it, it can possibly help her in the tournament if you choose to give it to her there.
Oku is in isolation. Technically you could track her down, you even have the tools for it, but you will meet her before the tournament and can have her try the spear then.
[X] Ask Oku for advice about how to deal with it, even as late as it is now.
Oku is in isolation but I'll try to remember to ask when you meet her.
[X] Ask mom to find experts, even not teacher, we need scholars know the language of the beastlands, their culture, the wildlife, the nature of lands outside the empire, they should be willing to venture outside with us in our worm as councilors.
Sure, this is bundled into the option that won.
[X] offer Teo to merge back with his clone, mention that it is his choice, but that you suspect the longer he waits and the more the clone degrade, the more will be lost, bring up the possibility of improving the technique with more stable clones he can integrate back again, but it is his choice, bring up the possibility of studying the effect after the beast lands to create a more stable and usable version.
"I have been training two candidates to replace me as head of sales. Once that decision is finalized, I would be happy to attempt a reintegration. My clone's memories would be particularly valuable, and I am sure he is feeling some amount of mortal dread and may view the integration as an alternative to true death."
[X] check of the existence of any notable land marks in the turtle isles that we may be interested in, I am looking for special geographical features like the heavens span river, but if they have things like giant awakened or spirit reefs that may be useful, or an island with a lot of species of useful spirit beasts.
You send someone from admin to work on this for you. They will prepare an executive report next quarter.
[X] make a new spear, and try to copy the technique pattern to it, see if we can make poor man version of our spear.
[X] make a few spirit stones from different materials, like spirit metal, or spirit wood, possibly try to combine wood with life and see what happens.
[X] try to use prideful order to exhalt an animal and a tree, if this works, try the same to a spirit beast and a spirit tree.
These actions are costly in terms of Chachi's time. Not enough to be a full action, but you'd need to devote time to say learning the forge or experimenting and she'll work through these personal experimentation types of actions.
[X] Give samples to our people to experiment with, both the special diamonds we could easily make (like metal and wood) and the special spirit stones, put other gems into the blender and try to copy their structure too with different essences, they are lesser priority, give to the best of them a few light daggers and rarer stuff to experiment with, since we don't have a lot of those.
You do so, they will prepare an executive report.
[X] have mom find us some expert on the gems, the whole diamond is the ideal of hardness thing, we want at least some knowledge of it, preferably all the knowledge.
This sounds like you either want to devote a little time to studying gemology, which might be part of a diamond acclimation action. Or you want to spend a lot of time on gemology, which would be a skill training action.
[X] ask Teo about an idea I have, making an auction to sell some of our unique materials, like steel ruby, diamond steel, spirit metal and more such materials.
"If you want to mass produce exotic materials of interest to craftspeople we can organize an auction. Since you are not spending much time on design, the main bottleneck will be the availability of essence and demand. Will they be able to recognize the value of your new product? We may want to focus on a limited line at first and develop some advertising. Perhaps we can prepare samples for the Iron Tribulation Tournament?"
[X] Reassure Mom that we value her defensive spying contributions
"Thank you dear! It's always nice to be recognized, it is a rare pleasure. We are at our best when no one knows we did anything at all."
[X] Reassure Teo that Mom is indeed helping the clan in her own secret ways.
"... Just try to keep in mind that her aid is only worthwhile if it is legitimate. If a man rushed into this office and told you that he just saved your life in an epic battle against 1000 invisible assassins, would you reward him? I do not know the full extent of your mother's plans or motivations, but I know enough to recognize that she is an expert liar, and that she acts with her own interests, which may not align with the clan. By stopping my investigation into her hidden assets, you have let her draw a dagger behind your back. She is your mother, so you trust her to use that weapon in your defense. I do not have that same trust, and neither did our father.
"She would never hurt me!"
"... Perhaps an example will help. I expect that she will try to have me killed in about a year's time. If she kills me now the damage to the clan may be irrecoverable, so I am safe in the short term. Once things have stabilized and you have learned enough that I am no longer irreplaceable, she will move against me because of the long-term threat I pose to her holding power."
"Because you don't like her? If we all just got along…"
"Because she wants to be the only voice that guides you. She does not value me. She does not value the clan. She values power. If I, or the clan, aids her in accumulating power then she will protect us. If we stand in her way, she will destroy us. You have been listening to me lately, likely too much for her liking. If you listen to me, you are not listening to her. Beyond this underlying state, what happens if you die? She may not want it, but she'll have a plan for it. That backup plan will be substantially aided if I am already dead. What happens if you have a child? Will they be heir, over me? Over one of my many children? You and I can accept that the best leader should lead, but I do not believe she will."
"How can you know that? You're being paranoid."
"I am not just some stuffy administrator, Chachi. I was our father's right hand for nearly a century. I am twice her age, and five times yours. I am neither blind, nor deaf."
[X] Reassure Oku that we value her advice and contributions.
Oku is in isolation, but you can say something nice to her when you meet her.
[X] Ask Mom if she knows any good cartel targets we could raid
"I'm well aware of that pack of murderous lizards since they left that very rude message. I'm very occupied by that other matter, but we have people on them. It might have felt good, and looked good, to attack right away, but this is better. Just wait. Let them think we've forgotten. Let them think we're just reactive merchants. When their guard slips, we will strike. We will wipe them from the Desert, and then everything that's theirs will be ours!"
[X] Buy good mortal tier construction materials and use spare walking fortress capacity to ship them to the Thousand Islands (It's charity to impress Lady Chalchiuhtlicue and citizens)
Charity Construction
[] [Construction] Spend $5 to send a great shipment of construction materials to Liberation Point?
[] [Construction] Let them live in shacks
[X] Look for technique trades with other clans, sharing combat techniques is risky, but surely someone has a nice collection of non-combat techniques they are looking to expand? (eg. construction, potion brewing, general crafting, makeup, sensing techniques etc.)
Teo smiled at the idea, "it's a good thought, it shows your sense of clan business is developing well. A technique exchange is mutually beneficial, and the world would be a much better place if more clans strengthened each other in this way. It is disappointing that most will not agree to such an exchange unless they are already allies with us. We have already begun exchanging libraries with our new allies, the Kalchiuani and Tehuilotl. With our newly expanded library, we are in a stronger position, so we may be able to entice new partners with an exchange. I will prepare a short-list of prospects.
[X] Renovate the walking fortresses, put a nice garden rest place on the top, and a security checkpoint with some traps in the entrance right underneath
Train Improvements
[] [Renovate] Spend $5 to renovate the fortresses using recent experiences and feedback from the clan
[] [Renovate] Who needs a garden on a train?
[X] Ask Atlikiti if he knows why exultation elixirs require abyssal parts
The wild-haired brewer gave Chachi an uncomfortably long look, then his normally dour face broke into an evil grin, "because it's abyssal cultivation in defiance of heaven. Heaven gifts their chosen with spontaneous exultation, but no one is content with that. We want to buy and sell the blessings of heaven, but heaven cares nothing for our currency. So we found a way to steal it."
Chachi squirmed at the blasphemy, "that's, uh, too philosophical. It's not really an answer."
He frowned back, "The most technically correct answer is that we don't know. You do not need to know why the currents flow as they do to sail on them. But, that's an even worse answer, so I'll tell you what we do know. Put this in your Forge."
He opened a cupboard and tossed her a slice of gray meat. Chachi dutifully broke it down in the Forge… And found it contained a trace amount of blood essence and… nothing else? Nothing at all?
"That was abyssal flesh? It's like it's… Empty. I couldn't make that much flesh with so little blood essence."
"Yes," he confirmed, "I was hoping your Forge would find something our more conventional tools do not. No toetl, nearly no essence. Its principal component is something else. Something highly reactive to toetl and essence, but neither. It appears your Forge does not capture it, perhaps it destroys it or releases it? We refer to it as 'Adam,' ADM, for Abyssal Dark Matter. Or just Matter if we're being needlessly obfuscatory. It's 'dark' because we cannot perceive it, only its effects on the world. One of these effects is the refinement of the spirit. In my opinion, it is closer to Essence than teotl, as it's clear there are different types associated with different Abyssal Organs. I assume the abyssals cultivate these organs and use them in their techniques."
"They're not techniques," Chachi corrected him absent-mindedly.
He shrugged, "I am no expert in abyssal cultivation."
"It sounds almost like heavenly power…" Chachi mused, then stopped. What was she saying? She felt queasy.
His grin returned, "I am no expert in abyssal cultivation," he repeated.
[X] Look for The Principals of Creation and Crafting for Master Crafters
Chachi purchased the books at auction. Apparently, they were introductory texts of the Engraved Village Sect. Not widely available, but for a trivial price, she got a full set of the texts, not just those two. Likely a new student had the bright idea of surreptitiously copying their copy for sale. Chachi just hoped they were genuine.
The Principles of Creation was a short but dense philosophical text. Crafting for Master Crafters was a series of heavy books filled with technical instruction and wonderful diagrams. Chachi looked forward to studying both in detail.
Yecteltlamatqui's book suggestions were widely available novels of questionable value and morals, but she bought them anyway. The first on his list was about a young noblewoman torn between duty and forbidden desire.
Books, how do they work?
Chachi has received a few book suggestions now. She can read them during her leisure time, so they don't cost an action. The thread can vote on what kind of books Chachi is reading each quarter (romance novels or crafting texts?) She'll get some insight from them, the thread will get some lore, and there might be other bonuses.
[X] If we don't have one already, start a clan public library for all types of fiction books, we can experiment later to see if any of them help with body merging adaptation.
Library
[] [Library] Spend $2 to establish a small clan general library, mostly filled with cheap fiction
[] [Library] Spend $10 to establish a grand clan general library, filled with a wide variety of books
[] [Library] No reading, more working!
A repeat of Votes this Update:
Train Improvements
[] [Renovate] Spend $5 to renovate the fortresses using recent experiences and feedback from the clan
[] [Renovate] Who needs a garden on a train?
Charity Construction
[] [Construction] Spend $5 to send a great shipment of construction materials to Liberation Point?
[] [Construction] Let them live in shacks
Library
[] [Library] Spend $2 to establish a small clan general library, mostly filled with cheap fiction
[] [Library] Spend $10 to establish a grand clan general library, filled with a wide variety of books
[] [Library] No reading, more working!
No, she had to mash them together. The sect had a ton of guidance on it, from flowery philosophy texts to dense recipe-like instructions. She tried to keep all that crap in mind, but it all boiled down to 'mash them together in a way that feels right for them.'
The Black Lightning Manual had the real specifics, but it didn't mention the particular combination she was going for. It didn't have Empty Will anyway, just the other three. She stumbled on that dusty old thing in the early days, the worst days. It had a bit of a bad reputation, but it served her very well. She was happy it ended up being compatible with her Path, most techniques weren't.
She cycled the two techniques. They were easy to do together, kept to their own space. Marionette was a field that danced on the outside of her body, only connected by the feed to her core. Will efficiently cycled inside her body, the waterways channeling from core to mind-seat with absolute minimal leakage. So, the first step to mashing them together: bring them close.
Inside was better than out. She wanted the Mastery to enhance herself, and not be so damn wasteful like Marionette. She forced the field down, tightening the pattern until the technique was near-breaking just at the surface of her skin. She did the opposite with Empty Will, pushing the teotl to broaden out. The two met near the eye-seat, and clashed.
The teotl ran wild for a brief moment. Following her training she blasted it out safely. She didn't expect it to work the first time. Or the first hundred times. She'd modify the approach and try again. And again. And again.
She succeeded earlier than she thought. Lucky number… 67. Not a lucky number, people put too much on that shit anyway. It was hard to put the difference in words, it wasn't a word thing. Could be why those manuals sucked so bad at explaining. If she had to do it she'd say "don't mash two things together. Just forget it's two things." She snickered. Wouldn't help anyone.
It didn't seem to do anything at first. But when she tested in battle… Oh boy. Yeah, maybe she could really win this time. She'd have won that duel with it too, by impaling her sister before she could even use her cultivation. Oh well, past was the past.
Oku is a Perfect Master of Black Lightning. She has completed her first Mastery:
Perfect Puppet
She knows it lets her control her body with absolute precision and move at the speed of her teotl. She has not yet fully explored its capabilities.
-------------------------------
[X] have Chachi try to scan herself and other people, see how she is built, notice differences between her body and another's, can she make a person if she tried? Don't try with herself yet. - Minor
Chachi is pretty sure she can "make a person" in an unorthodox way… But she thinks it might only be a flesh golem in the perfect shape of a person. She can maybe reproduce the organs from a model but she doesn't know what the organs do. She expects it would not have a perfectly functional mind or spirit. She won't know until she tries and she's hesitant to try. It feels icky.
[X] Ask our body guard about abysalls clones and how do they work, we are looking into clones both for their use and to try and help our brother, and we are curious about the downsides and prices of abysall ones. - Minor
"A homunculus right? There's a reason we don't just call it an abyssal clone, cause that's technically wrong. A clone copies everything, but a homunculus just… changes the… meat. I dunno how to say it. It needs a victim, a captive. The victim keeps their cultivation but loses their body and mind. That's good, in a way. Means a copy can't make another copy, and I think it only works on people in Perfecting. They're also weak to start out, the new mind doesn't know how to use the old techniques. This is all hearsay, I've only ever fought real abyssals."
[X] offer to give Oku a few tries with your super spear, so she learns how to use it, it can possibly help her in the tournament if you choose to give it to her there.
Oku is in isolation. Technically you could track her down, you even have the tools for it, but you will meet her before the tournament and can have her try the spear then.
[X] Ask Oku for advice about how to deal with it, even as late as it is now.
Oku is in isolation but I'll try to remember to ask when you meet her.
[X] Ask mom to find experts, even not teacher, we need scholars know the language of the beastlands, their culture, the wildlife, the nature of lands outside the empire, they should be willing to venture outside with us in our worm as councilors.
Sure, this is bundled into the option that won.
[X] offer Teo to merge back with his clone, mention that it is his choice, but that you suspect the longer he waits and the more the clone degrade, the more will be lost, bring up the possibility of improving the technique with more stable clones he can integrate back again, but it is his choice, bring up the possibility of studying the effect after the beast lands to create a more stable and usable version.
"I have been training two candidates to replace me as head of sales. Once that decision is finalized, I would be happy to attempt a reintegration. My clone's memories would be particularly valuable, and I am sure he is feeling some amount of mortal dread and may view the integration as an alternative to true death."
[X] check of the existence of any notable land marks in the turtle isles that we may be interested in, I am looking for special geographical features like the heavens span river, but if they have things like giant awakened or spirit reefs that may be useful, or an island with a lot of species of useful spirit beasts.
You send someone from admin to work on this for you. They will prepare an executive report next quarter.
[X] make a new spear, and try to copy the technique pattern to it, see if we can make poor man version of our spear.
[X] make a few spirit stones from different materials, like spirit metal, or spirit wood, possibly try to combine wood with life and see what happens.
[X] try to use prideful order to exhalt an animal and a tree, if this works, try the same to a spirit beast and a spirit tree.
These actions are costly in terms of Chachi's time. Not enough to be a full action, but you'd need to devote time to say learning the forge or experimenting and she'll work through these personal experimentation types of actions.
[X] Give samples to our people to experiment with, both the special diamonds we could easily make (like metal and wood) and the special spirit stones, put other gems into the blender and try to copy their structure too with different essences, they are lesser priority, give to the best of them a few light daggers and rarer stuff to experiment with, since we don't have a lot of those.
You do so, they will prepare an executive report.
[X] have mom find us some expert on the gems, the whole diamond is the ideal of hardness thing, we want at least some knowledge of it, preferably all the knowledge.
This sounds like you either want to devote a little time to studying gemology, which might be part of a diamond acclimation action. Or you want to spend a lot of time on gemology, which would be a skill training action.
[X] ask Teo about an idea I have, making an auction to sell some of our unique materials, like steel ruby, diamond steel, spirit metal and more such materials.
"If you want to mass produce exotic materials of interest to craftspeople we can organize an auction. Since you are not spending much time on design, the main bottleneck will be the availability of essence and demand. Will they be able to recognize the value of your new product? We may want to focus on a limited line at first and develop some advertising. Perhaps we can prepare samples for the Iron Tribulation Tournament?"
[X] Reassure Mom that we value her defensive spying contributions
"Thank you dear! It's always nice to be recognized, it is a rare pleasure. We are at our best when no one knows we did anything at all."
[X] Reassure Teo that Mom is indeed helping the clan in her own secret ways.
"... Just try to keep in mind that her aid is only worthwhile if it is legitimate. If a man rushed into this office and told you that he just saved your life in an epic battle against 1000 invisible assassins, would you reward him? I do not know the full extent of your mother's plans or motivations, but I know enough to recognize that she is an expert liar, and that she acts with her own interests, which may not align with the clan. By stopping my investigation into her hidden assets, you have let her draw a dagger behind your back. She is your mother, so you trust her to use that weapon in your defense. I do not have that same trust, and neither did our father.
"She would never hurt me!"
"... Perhaps an example will help. I expect that she will try to have me killed in about a year's time. If she kills me now the damage to the clan may be irrecoverable, so I am safe in the short term. Once things have stabilized and you have learned enough that I am no longer irreplaceable, she will move against me because of the long-term threat I pose to her holding power."
"Because you don't like her? If we all just got along…"
"Because she wants to be the only voice that guides you. She does not value me. She does not value the clan. She values power. If I, or the clan, aids her in accumulating power then she will protect us. If we stand in her way, she will destroy us. You have been listening to me lately, likely too much for her liking. If you listen to me, you are not listening to her. Beyond this underlying state, what happens if you die? She may not want it, but she'll have a plan for it. That backup plan will be substantially aided if I am already dead. What happens if you have a child? Will they be heir, over me? Over one of my many children? You and I can accept that the best leader should lead, but I do not believe she will."
"How can you know that? You're being paranoid."
"I am not just some stuffy administrator, Chachi. I was our father's right hand for nearly a century. I am twice her age, and five times yours. I am neither blind, nor deaf."
[X] Reassure Oku that we value her advice and contributions.
Oku is in isolation, but you can say something nice to her when you meet her.
[X] Ask Mom if she knows any good cartel targets we could raid
"I'm well aware of that pack of murderous lizards since they left that very rude message. I'm very occupied by that other matter, but we have people on them. It might have felt good, and looked good, to attack right away, but this is better. Just wait. Let them think we've forgotten. Let them think we're just reactive merchants. When their guard slips, we will strike. We will wipe them from the Desert, and then everything that's theirs will be ours!"
[X] Buy good mortal tier construction materials and use spare walking fortress capacity to ship them to the Thousand Islands (It's charity to impress Lady Chalchiuhtlicue and citizens)
Charity Construction
[] [Construction] Spend $5 to send a great shipment of construction materials to Liberation Point?
[] [Construction] Let them live in shacks
[X] Look for technique trades with other clans, sharing combat techniques is risky, but surely someone has a nice collection of non-combat techniques they are looking to expand? (eg. construction, potion brewing, general crafting, makeup, sensing techniques etc.)
Teo smiled at the idea, "it's a good thought, it shows your sense of clan business is developing well. A technique exchange is mutually beneficial, and the world would be a much better place if more clans strengthened each other in this way. It is disappointing that most will not agree to such an exchange unless they are already allies with us. We have already begun exchanging libraries with our new allies, the Kalchiuani and Tehuilotl. With our newly expanded library, we are in a stronger position, so we may be able to entice new partners with an exchange. I will prepare a short-list of prospects.
[X] Renovate the walking fortresses, put a nice garden rest place on the top, and a security checkpoint with some traps in the entrance right underneath
Train Improvements
[] [Renovate] Spend $5 to renovate the fortresses using recent experiences and feedback from the clan
[] [Renovate] Who needs a garden on a train?
[X] Ask Atlikiti if he knows why exultation elixirs require abyssal parts
The wild-haired brewer gave Chachi an uncomfortably long look, then his normally dour face broke into an evil grin, "because it's abyssal cultivation in defiance of heaven. Heaven gifts their chosen with spontaneous exultation, but no one is content with that. We want to buy and sell the blessings of heaven, but heaven cares nothing for our currency. So we found a way to steal it."
Chachi squirmed at the blasphemy, "that's, uh, too philosophical. It's not really an answer."
He frowned back, "The most technically correct answer is that we don't know. You do not need to know why the currents flow as they do to sail on them. But, that's an even worse answer, so I'll tell you what we do know. Put this in your Forge."
He opened a cupboard and tossed her a slice of gray meat. Chachi dutifully broke it down in the Forge… And found it contained a trace amount of blood essence and… nothing else? Nothing at all?
"That was abyssal flesh? It's like it's… Empty. I couldn't make that much flesh with so little blood essence."
"Yes," he confirmed, "I was hoping your Forge would find something our more conventional tools do not. No toetl, nearly no essence. Its principal component is something else. Something highly reactive to toetl and essence, but neither. It appears your Forge does not capture it, perhaps it destroys it or releases it? We refer to it as 'Adam,' ADM, for Abyssal Dark Matter. Or just Matter if we're being needlessly obfuscatory. It's 'dark' because we cannot perceive it, only its effects on the world. One of these effects is the refinement of the spirit. In my opinion, it is closer to Essence than teotl, as it's clear there are different types associated with different Abyssal Organs. I assume the abyssals cultivate these organs and use them in their techniques."
"They're not techniques," Chachi corrected him absent-mindedly.
He shrugged, "I am no expert in abyssal cultivation."
"It sounds almost like heavenly power…" Chachi mused, then stopped. What was she saying? She felt queasy.
His grin returned, "I am no expert in abyssal cultivation," he repeated.
[X] Look for The Principals of Creation and Crafting for Master Crafters
Chachi purchased the books at auction. Apparently, they were introductory texts of the Engraved Village Sect. Not widely available, but for a trivial price, she got a full set of the texts, not just those two. Likely a new student had the bright idea of surreptitiously copying their copy for sale. Chachi just hoped they were genuine.
The Principles of Creation was a short but dense philosophical text. Crafting for Master Crafters was a series of heavy books filled with technical instruction and wonderful diagrams. Chachi looked forward to studying both in detail.
Yecteltlamatqui's book suggestions were widely available novels of questionable value and morals, but she bought them anyway. The first on his list was about a young noblewoman torn between duty and forbidden desire.
Books, how do they work?
Chachi has received a few book suggestions now. She can read them during her leisure time, so they don't cost an action. The thread can vote on what kind of books Chachi is reading each quarter (romance novels or crafting texts?) She'll get some insight from them, the thread will get some lore, and there might be other bonuses.
[X] If we don't have one already, start a clan public library for all types of fiction books, we can experiment later to see if any of them help with body merging adaptation.
Library
[] [Library] Spend $2 to establish a small clan general library, mostly filled with cheap fiction
[] [Library] Spend $10 to establish a grand clan general library, filled with a wide variety of books
[] [Library] No reading, more working!
A repeat of Votes this Update:
Train Improvements
[] [Renovate] Spend $5 to renovate the fortresses using recent experiences and feedback from the clan
[] [Renovate] Who needs a garden on a train?
Charity Construction
[] [Construction] Spend $5 to send a great shipment of construction materials to Liberation Point?
[] [Construction] Let them live in shacks
Library
[] [Library] Spend $2 to establish a small clan general library, mostly filled with cheap fiction
[] [Library] Spend $10 to establish a grand clan general library, filled with a wide variety of books
[] [Library] No reading, more working!
CedeTheBees
Probably high right now
- Location
- Somewhere
- Pronouns
- They/Them
How much cash do we have again?
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Well, Oku's Technique seems sweet, and more or less what we were looking for.
Per the end of last quarter, we had $130, but we're still running at a deficit (-$12 per quarter), so that's dropping rather than rising over time.
I think buying everything is probably still worth it, but it is spending money while we're still hemorrhaging it.
Per the end of last quarter, we had $130, but we're still running at a deficit (-$12 per quarter), so that's dropping rather than rising over time.
I think buying everything is probably still worth it, but it is spending money while we're still hemorrhaging it.
Roth963
If I become inactive with this massage, I died
We solved the losing money problems with our expansion, but we don't make a lot yet.
- Location
- USA
Petition to raise the attempts to 69 please.
Huh, guess we need to establish to mom that we'll probably have to remove her if our brother dies while we're still around. If she's making plans for herself in the case we die, she should be spending more time ensuring we don't. He's way too valuable to remove and we can survive the destruction of our clan likely a lot better than her.
While I understand that we should never deal a man a small injury, eliminating them such that we can take their stuff and eliminating them such that there's nothing for us to take still get the important part of "eliminating the threat". She better not let us be hurt significantly because she's chasing an extreme objective.
While we are still bleeding money, our new routes aren't accounted for as reliable income yet.
Strictly speaking since our routes are still so new, I don't believe they can be relied on for regular profit.
CedeTheBees
Probably high right now
- Location
- Somewhere
- Pronouns
- They/Them
[X] [Library] Spend $10 to establish a grand clan general library, filled with a wide variety of books
This is the only thing I feel strongly about. I can take or leave the other two.
Edit: Fuck it. Go big or go home baybeeeee
[X] [Construction] Spend $5 to send a great shipment of construction materials to Liberation Point?
[X] [Renovate] Spend $5 to renovate the fortresses using recent experiences and feedback from the clan
Edit: Fuck it. Go big or go home baybeeeee
[X] [Construction] Spend $5 to send a great shipment of construction materials to Liberation Point?
[X] [Renovate] Spend $5 to renovate the fortresses using recent experiences and feedback from the clan
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SleepyCaterpilar
Just a Rapariga
[X] [Library] Spend $10 to establish a grand clan general library, filled with a wide variety of books
[X] [Construction] Spend $5 to send a great shipment of construction materials to Liberation Point?
[X] [Renovate] Spend $5 to renovate the fortresses using recent experiences and feedback from the clan
[X] [Construction] Spend $5 to send a great shipment of construction materials to Liberation Point?
[X] [Renovate] Spend $5 to renovate the fortresses using recent experiences and feedback from the clan
DangerKitty
shoddy writter
- Location
- lala land
[X] [Library] Spend $10 to establish a grand clan general library, filled with a wide variety of books
[X] [Construction] Spend $5 to send a great shipment of construction materials to Liberation Point?
[X] [Renovate] Spend $5 to renovate the fortresses using recent experiences and feedback from the clan
[X] [Construction] Spend $5 to send a great shipment of construction materials to Liberation Point?
[X] [Renovate] Spend $5 to renovate the fortresses using recent experiences and feedback from the clan
[X] [Library] Spend $10 to establish a grand clan general library, filled with a wide variety of books
[X] [Construction] Spend $5 to send a great shipment of construction materials to Liberation Point?
[X] [Renovate] Spend $5 to renovate the fortresses using recent experiences and feedback from the clan
Lets do this
[X] [Construction] Spend $5 to send a great shipment of construction materials to Liberation Point?
[X] [Renovate] Spend $5 to renovate the fortresses using recent experiences and feedback from the clan
Lets do this
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] [Library] Spend $2 to establish a small clan general library, mostly filled with cheap fiction
[X] [Renovate] Spend $5 to renovate the fortresses using recent experiences and feedback from the clan
Others seem a waste of cash to me. Spending it on every frivolous idea is how we lose trust and faith of others.
[X] [Renovate] Spend $5 to renovate the fortresses using recent experiences and feedback from the clan
Others seem a waste of cash to me. Spending it on every frivolous idea is how we lose trust and faith of others.
Roth963
If I become inactive with this massage, I died
Hopefully she isn't planning betrayal and is just talking about sparring, we got a bodyguard now, so even if she thinks she can alpha strike us and win, he would probably kill her soon after, and she will probably know it.
By next turn we do body merging, and than she probably have no chance of scratching us until merging at least (or we go insane/die, but I am optimistic consdiering what the author said about bonuses and how he might have let us more than he should have) we would at some point be vulnerable to a betrayal when we reforge our core, but it would likely be after mind merging, and when we get mind, betrayal will be impossible, or damm near impossible.
That good way to deal with mom too, when we get mind, we can bind our entire family in oaths to not hurt each other, even if we die, because if we die I don't see a lot of good options, option one is mom being picked, not a lot of advantages, she is weak, she isn't connected enough, she doesn't understand bussiness and while her speciality is useful, it isn't successful clan maker.
Teo is second best possiblity, he will likely need to get rid of mom or reach tense peace with her, he understands bussiness but is weak, both in cultivation and temperament, Oku could possibly kick his ass even if he merged, assuming it is even possible now with him crippled.
Oku would probably be the best pick, she understands nothing of bussiness, but she is strong, strength is more important than immediate profit, because there is no point in treasure you can't keep, but she will have the most problems with family, might be dealing with constant assassins if she didn't get rid of them, if she did, the bussiness will collapse.
So as soon as we get mind, we should probably set up a system where they are sworn to help each other and not kill each other, especially should we ever die.
That interesting, maybe that's what make heaven hate certain beings, some kind of anti-heaven energy or something, or maybe that is unrelated to heaven, but is simply something similar to heavenly energy.
To detect it my first thoughts are combine our perception art with heavenly ritual, but I suspect this won't work if the forge doesn't catch it.
[X] try to use prideful order to make it more noticeable, see if we can change it despite not detecting it to a more easily detected state (like invisible ink under ultra Violet light), like always, don't push if heaven seem to dislike our actions.
I think principals of creation is better read first, I suspect it will help Chachi's understanding of her dao and help her with learning further crafting by adopting the correct approach.
So basically making a body double rather than cloning yourself, no as useful as I had hoped, but it was pretty obvious it wouldn't be imperial cloning only better at every way.
[X] [Library] Spend $2 to establish a small clan general library, mostly filled with cheap fiction
[X] [Renovate] Who needs a garden on a train?
[X] [Construction] Let them live in shacks
I agree, we can't afford to waste money on non essential things for no reason.
Charity is nice and we can do it as we expand relations and make more money, library is just for please, some reading material is nice but it definitely isn't worth 10$, that a lot of money
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- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] [Library] Spend $10 to establish a grand clan general library, filled with a wide variety of books
[X] [Construction] Spend $5 to send a great shipment of construction materials to Liberation Point?
[X] [Renovate] Spend $5 to renovate the fortresses using recent experiences and feedback from the clan
[X] [Construction] Spend $5 to send a great shipment of construction materials to Liberation Point?
[X] [Renovate] Spend $5 to renovate the fortresses using recent experiences and feedback from the clan
- Location
- USA
[X] [Library] Spend $2 to establish a small clan general library, mostly filled with cheap fiction
[X] [Renovate] Spend $5 to renovate the fortresses using recent experiences and feedback from the clan
[X] [Construction] Let them live in shacks
[X] [Renovate] Spend $5 to renovate the fortresses using recent experiences and feedback from the clan
[X] [Construction] Let them live in shacks
- Location
- Croatia
[X] [Renovate] Who needs a garden on a train?
No, really? Have I missed something or why would a garden be anything important. It is just a very fancy and expensive observatory.
[X] [Construction] Let them live in shacks
[X] [Library] Spend $2 to establish a small clan general library, mostly filled with cheap fiction
We need money. We managed to create some very profitable opportunities during Q2 which meant we basically didn't lose money even with our giant negative profit. And we aren't always going to be so lucky. If we spend a lot, it basically means we have to invest a action into "Make Money". And actions are most impactful things we can do. $20 is a lot.
No, really? Have I missed something or why would a garden be anything important. It is just a very fancy and expensive observatory.
[X] [Construction] Let them live in shacks
[X] [Library] Spend $2 to establish a small clan general library, mostly filled with cheap fiction
We need money. We managed to create some very profitable opportunities during Q2 which meant we basically didn't lose money even with our giant negative profit. And we aren't always going to be so lucky. If we spend a lot, it basically means we have to invest a action into "Make Money". And actions are most impactful things we can do. $20 is a lot.
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- Location
- Canada
hm... Abyssal Dark Matter = Abyssal Structure maybe?
And our new diamond cultivation allows us to create Heavenly Light Structure?
New theory:
Essence is body cultivation and the main path of the tribes
Teotle is mind cultivation and the main path of the Empire
Spirit cultivation is a combination of the two, it is called Structure/Matter and is the main path of the Abyss/Heaven
Maybe this whole process is about altering our structure? Not sure.
Maybe when we get back from the trip, we can fashion some sort of Matter sensor, see what we cam find out.
So glad we (probably) don't have to deal with clones creating clones situation with Tet.
Someone told cloneTeo that he can be reintegrated right? We should let him know, both because it's the thing to do, and if case he is pondering something rash.
Mom knows we are going to develop truth sense later, assassinating Teo seems insanely risky to me in light of this. Does she think we won't ask our Spymaster what she knows about his death?
Indeed, while I'm glad Mom is onboard for the revenge plot, she seems a little too enthusiastic.
If Oku wasn't likely to hate it, I'd say this was an amazing crafting power.
It's mostly for the added security.
[X] [Library] Spend $10 to establish a grand clan general library, filled with a wide variety of books
[X] [Construction] Spend $5 to send a great shipment of construction materials to Liberation Point?
[X] [Renovate] Spend $5 to renovate the fortresses using recent experiences and feedback from the clan
We have enough for emergencies, it's worthwhile to spend on knowledge, solidifying a good impression and, security for one of our main revenue streams.
Roth963
If I become inactive with this massage, I died
I actually think the abysalls practice body cultivation more, because the small spider Chachi fought who were weak spiritually but strong and fast.
The crab was also similar if I remember correctly.
They also have some form of flesh sculpting or the forge, as they use biological weapons like special made life forms.
We told Teo, and I think he is going to tell clone Teo as soon as he can, if he isn't, he probably have a good reason to.