Turn 17: Unspoken Favors (Year 5/Spring)
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Turn 17: Unspoken Favors (Year 5/Spring)
[X] Plan: Perfecting Cultivation and Alchemy
-[X] Select a technique to boost with 3 TP. [Cultivation]
-[X] Lead the Rust Lotus Project
-[X] Search for an Herbalist (Goal: 22/???)
-[X] Consider Other Promising Apprentices (Goal: 12/20)
-[X] Select a technique to boost with 3 TP. [Cultivation]
-[X] Lead the Rust Lotus Project
-[X] Search for an Herbalist (Goal: 22/???)
-[X] Consider Other Promising Apprentices (Goal: 12/20)
You are sorely disappointed in the Silver Grass Pavilion this month. And honestly with yourself as well. The research had been going so well recently that you had not been paying as much attention as you should have. It was only when one of the latest reports struck you as off that you took a closer look and noticed that an early error in the refinement of Zhuge Lotus had worked itself all throughout the process.
The technique used resulted in qi condensation that looked useful, but was actually vaporous and would quickly dissipate one ingested by a cultivator. Unfortunately only careful testing or a high level cultivator such as yourself would spot the difference and the apparent breakthrough in lotus qi collection had encouraged your alchemists to move ahead with their other tests.
To be fair to them those tests were all successful. From your analysis the new method should result in an elixir one grade higher on the standard Dewdrop scale. It just relied on the one flawed step. So rather than starting over you instruct your alchemists to focus their efforts on finding a method that can replicate the lotus condensation results.
You suspect that using ice and fire qi in series should prove useful and lay out a series of experiments to that effect. To your pleasant surprise rather than grumbling at the extra work your underlings quickly set up and perform the experiments. To your even greater surprise they immediately find an alternative method of producing lotus condensate.
It isn't even the month's end before a group of your senior alchemists are presenting a flask to you in a velvet lined box. Holding it to the light you can see that it is markedly less murky than your initial rusted lotus brews. Running your divine sense through it you can tell that the qi is denser and the impurities less toxic.
This is a great success and when you present it to your mother and the clan elders the quiet murmurs in the background are not rumors of your incompetence, but praise for your abilities.
Rusted Lotus Elixir: Copper => Iron
Removes Clock: Accusations of Inexperience
Adds Pavilion Reputation to your Face
Insights: +3
With that settled you turn your attention to finding people to carry out your mission in the wilderness. There are always loose cultivators wandering around the empire, but for the most part they are unreliable. Their very ubiquitousness means that if they find something valuable they are likely to take it and flee rather than return to their employers. As such only the desperate or poor use their services.
The next step up for most people would be to hire the services of an escort company. These groups offer guards to protect merchant convoys going through the wilderness. And between caravans usually take on small local jobs. Their ties to regular merchants means that their reputations are important to them, but on the other hand they are also leery of risking too much on what is ultimately a side job.
On the other end of the scale noble houses and powerful clans maintain their own sword companies to take on these sort of far ranging miscellaneous tasks. The Zhuge clan of course does as well. You could theoretically requisition one of these companies for your own use. But you are reluctant to. Perhaps if this was some vital matter or you had more concrete evidence.
But simple rumors? You'd be sending an important clan asset to search through the wilderness for months on end. The fact that you have the authority hinges on the fact that you know when not to use it. And in this case you choose a different path.
You turn to the Grand Heart Blossom Sect. Despite the name they are not so grand. They are rated by the Imperial court as a Twelfth Rank Sect with a history of a mere two hundred years. Barely two generations. Their founder is still alive. They don't even have an Ancestor. By comparison most of the Zhuge clan vassals are of the ninth or tenth ranks while the Zhuge clan itself is of the Eighth Rank.
But in this case that is the point. Such a minor sect will be quite keen to retain your favor, and they have enough disciples to do a decent job of searching. Your meeting with the sect master is straightforward and to the point. You tell him that there is a mystic realm in the wilderness with certain characteristics. You tell him that you will be pleased if it is found. The sect master throws you a feast and you have an acceptable time.
No orders are given. No promises are made. But by tomorrow Grand Heart Blossom disciples will be scouring the remote mountains of the Zhuge province looking for clues. Such is the power of your favor as a young master of the Zhuge clan.
Insight: +1
Your plans for new apprentice training are even simpler to carry out. There's no complex weighing of options and polite exchange of favors. You simply order the Zhuge clan workers to build a new series of buildings near the silver grass pavilion.
There are dormitories, large classrooms, and open laboratories for teaching the basics of alchemy. The workers are efficient and have the buildings completed in a matter of months. Your only contribution is deciding how lavish to make the quarters for the teachers. You decide to have them decorated to the level of a senior alchemist.
The official gradations of zhuge clan retainers are fairly broad. This is mostly to allow Zhuge overseers to maintain their own underlings as they see fit. Instead one of the main indicators of a retainer's rank are how fine the quarters they receive are and the level of cultivation resources they are allocated.
By giving your teachers rooms of this quality you are quietly indicating to all the members of the Silver Grass Pavilion that they are important and to be treated with respect. Something they will need if they are to claw the teaching of apprentices away from individual alchemists. If this had been a few years ago this would have also given rise to resentment and envy, but by this point you have proven yourself well enough that your alchemists will simply take it as a new direction for the pavilion and an indication to work harder.
When the new academic pavilion is finished there is a small ceremony. You make a short speech. The teachers are introduced, and a select number of alchemists are inducted as the Oak Cadre. The first of many no doubt.
One Cadre Graduated Per Year: Spring
Insights: +2
Clocks
Personal Clock: PendingClan Clock: Beast Tides (Minor) [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Poplar Clock: Wandering [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Chìhóng Clock: Pending Next Visit
Special Actions
Alchemist Bonus--- [ ] Select a technique to boost with 3 TP. [Cultivation, School of the Jade Cauldron, School of the Iridescent Toxin]
Turn Actions
You may personally lead 3 actions without penalty.Remember that you can also write omakes for other members of the clan to deal with issues you can't.
Cultivation (+13) [Cultivation + Qi]
[ ] Cultivate: +.2 TP for every point on the roll (Stress: +1)--- [ ] Select a trait, skill, or technique to boost with the XP gained.
------ [ ] Who benefits from this boost?
[ ] Plant the Seed (Goal: 50)
Nurture your spiritual core by providing it with plenty of wood qi. Prepare a space in your soul to accept it by obtaining enlightenments as to your path. You will need to have a firm conviction and understanding of yourself in order to provide sufficient insights for the core to take root.
Your mother has asked you to wait before doing this.
[ ] Watering the Roots (Goal 100)
Locked
[ ] Pruning the Sapling (Goal 150)
Locked
[ ] Breakthrough: Eating the Fruit (Goal: ??)
Locked
[ ] Attempt to Gain Insights
- [ ] Pick a Path
You are currently on the path of alchemy. It is a fairly straightforward path as cultivation goes, but every cultivator is unique and their path to ascension will follow no others. You can search for insights on various other matters and use them to forge enlightenments to add to your comprehension of the world.
Administration (+4) [Administration]
[ ] Recruit More Alchemists (Goal: 1/10) (Spirit Stones: $1)Send An Lia out into the city to hire more alchemists for the pavilion. There are always small alchemist shops and loose cultivators that can be recruited by a large clan like the Zhuge. They won't be the best or most loyal, but that can be fixed with time.
Size: +1
Discipline: -.5
[ ] Request More Alchemists (Goal: 0/10) (Reputation Test)
Request that the clan elders assign more alchemists to the silver grass pavilion. Despite your low clan influence this is still likely to be accepted simply because it isn't a very large demand. There are thousands of alchemists scattered among the various pavilions around the province.
Unless you happen to catch the clan elders in a bad mood these will likely be better than the alchemists you can recruit on your own.
Size: +1
[ ] Clean up Corruption (Goal: 0/20) (Stress: +0.25)
It will be rather difficult, but you can track down all the cases of corruption in the Silver Grass Pavilion and put an end to it. Many of the alchemists likely just need a warning, but some will need to be removed entirely. But it should get easier as you weed out the worst of the bunch.
Size: -1
Discipline: +1
[ ] *Search for an Herbalist (Goal: 35/???)
You only know the basics of growing spirit herbs, but there are plenty of cultivators who specialize in it. You can attempt to recruit an Herbalist to assist you in tending to your spirit herb gardens and potentially work on improved herb varieties.
New Retainer
Alchemy (+11) [Leaf Cauldron + Core]
[ ] Brew Flowing Ivy Elixir (Goal: 3/5 Repeatable) (1/6 [1/3] Stress Free)It's always good to have some healing elixirs on hand. You already have the recipe so it shouldn't be too hard to brew a few elixirs. You will gain 1 elixir for each five points of progress.
[ ] Brew Rusted Lotus Elixir (Goal: 0/10 Repeatable) (+0.5 [+1] Stress) (Costs $5 per elixir after first)
Prepare Rusted Lotus elixirs for cultivation, to provide to the clan, or sale to others. You may want to present your first one to the clan as evidence of your ability and to inform of the possibilities.
[ ] Research a new Recipe (Goal: ??)
--[ ] What kind of elixir are you trying to make?
You can try to figure out the recipe for a new pill or elixir. You are quite talented in alchemy so you can try to make nearly anything, but more complex and potent recipes will be harder. They may also require more exotic ingredients.
[ ] Use a Flowing Ivy Elixir (1 Elixir)
-[ ] The Target
Use 1 elixir and your wood qi to fully heal a cultivator of the Knight realm or below.
[ ] Assign the Silver Grass Pavilion a Task
-[ ] Elixir or research
You are the head of the pavilion. You can assign the pavilion as a whole tasks to complete. Even in its current state the alchemists will still carry out your orders. Though their output will be limited.
Automatically carries out a task.
Will continue every turn until stopped.
[ ] Lead a Grand Project
-[ ] Write in Goal
In order to increase the loyalty of the alchemists in the Silver Grass Pavilion you need to prove that you are a capable leader who can provide them with benefits in the future. You aren't sure how exactly to do that at the moment, but you can start by proving that you are a capable alchemist.
The best way you can think to do that is to marshal the entire pavilion into a grand working producing a rare pill of high grade and realm. This will be a complex endeavor. So your first step will be figuring out what you want to try and make.
Quest (+6) [School of the Iridescent Toxin]
[ ] Go on an Adventure (Goal: ??)You probably shouldn't be heading out to explore ruins and look for treasures on your own, but you don't have anything else particularly pressing to do. Take some time off to go slay monsters, search ancient palaces, and roam the wild lands looking for fortunate encounters. (Depending on the roll you can find useful locations, harvest rare materials, loot treasures, tame spirit beasts, increase your cultivation, and possibly reduce stress.)
[ ] Find a Spirit Herb Grove (Goal 30/50) (+10/Turn) (Turn 16)
You will need a huge plantation to have enough Zhuge Lotus for your needs. Your current spirit herb gardens are not large enough. And unfortunately you cannot just plant them anywhere. You will need a location with high quantities of wood and water qi. Plus you will need to be able to adequately defend your new garden against both bandits and marauding spirit beasts that want to eat your bounty.
Locate Lotus Plantation Site
Learning (+5) [Sage]
[ ] Teach Senior Alchemists (Goal: 0/10) (Face Test) (Stress: +1)You are the best alchemist in the silver grass pavilion, and you could teach even the most senior alchemists in the pavilion a thing or two. Unfortunately many of them are significantly older than you and unlikely to listen well. You'll have to force them to accept your teachings.
Expertise: +1 Grade
[ ] Decipher a New Technique (Goal: 10/Grade)
- [ ] Pick a technique
You are not particularly good at coming up with new techniques, but any cultivator understands the basics. You can work out the different Qi circulations needed to perform whatever goal you are after. Depending on how much effort you put into this your new technique will have a better or worse grade.
Create Crude/Low/Mid technique
High/Master/Perfected (Locked)
[ ] Train Lin Qing (Goal: 6/40) (+3/turn) (Turn 17)
You have decided to cultivate Lin Qing as a useful retainer. To that end you have to consider what she needs to reach the soldier level. The basics that any cultivator needs are techniques, resources, and insight. You can provide the first two, but the last one will be up to her.
Completion in 1 Year: Lin Qing (Soldier Breakthrough, Loyalty +1, Unstable Foundation)
Completion in 2 Years: Lin Qing (Soldier Breakthrough, Loyalty +2)
Completion in 3 Years: Lin Qing (Soldier Breakthrough, Loyalty +1)
Diplomacy (+0) [Diplomat]
[ ] Request a Larger Budget (Goal: 0/20) (Reputation Check) (Stress: +1)The clan elders are unlikely to grant the Silver Grass Pavilion more money, but you can always ask.
Budget: +?
[ ] Request a Personal Stipend (Goal: 0/20) (Face Check) (Stress: +1)
You could also ask the elders for a personal allotment of spirit stones. You'd be free to use these spirit stones in any way you wish. If they agree to grant your request of course.
Spirit Stones: +?
Personal [Automatic success]
[ ] Spend Time with your Family (Automatic)You could try to spend some time with your siblings, or even your mother. You don't know who would be available so it would be up to fate who exactly you can pull away from their duties.
[ ] Get Help with your Plantation
-[ ] Pick a family member
You admit the scale at which you are contemplating your new spirit garden is daunting. Setting it up by yourself would be challenging. Finding the site and establishing the Zhuge Lotus beds would be hard enough. But ensuring the secrecy of your new plants as well as defending them would be an ongoing task.
Fortunately you are not a lone cultivator. You are part of a clan. And this is definitely in the clan's interests. You can make your case to your family for support in this endeavor.
Stress Relief
[ ] Take a Vacation (Costs $2)You can take some time off from clan matters to wander the city or journey to a neighboring province on a sightseeing tour. You spend your time carousing and flaunting the wealth and status of a Young Master such as yourself.
Stress: -2
Vacation Cost: +1
[ ] Perform Charity (Costs $3)
You can spend some money on the local mortals or even down on their luck loose cultivators. Forgive a few debts, fund some orphanages, perhaps supply elixirs to a clinic or two. Nothing too grandiose, but still enough to make a noticeable impact on your people's lives. There is unfortunately a good chance this will give you a reputation for undue mercy.
Stress: -2
Face Test
[ ] Ponder Existence
You spend time in the library reading philosophy and trying to find the point of all this cultivation. What exactly is the purpose of life? Is it to gain power or to do good? Is a life well lived one of decadence and pleasure, or should you focus on nature and understanding the world. The cycle of history seems never ending. What exactly is the point of it all?
Stress: -2
Deepens Melancholy
Personal Goals
[ ] Became a True Pavilion MasterIt is time to consider what you truly want from the Silver Grass Pavilion. Is it a tool for your personal alchemy, a pillar of the clan, or a method to train loyal retainers. You will put some thought and planning into choosing a course for how you will manage it.
[ ] Acquire a Spirit Bonded Beast
Many members of the Zhuge clan have bonded companions. You would like to have one for yourself. The process is fairly straightforward, but the tricky part is acquiring a beast that will suit you. There are many options from protectors, to spies, to mounts. You could choose one to help you in alchemy or to cover your weaknesses in other areas.
[ ] Elevate the People
You have always felt that the common people in the clan do not have a particularly good lot in life. They are often mistreated and live short hard lives. Helping any particular mortal or their family is a small matter, but there are millions of them. Even you do not have the money for that. At least not on a whim. If you want to improve conditions in the Zhuge province you'll have to seriously plan it out.
Personal Goals
Could the personal goal be something about increasing the status of our Pavilion and making it more effective and efficient? Or at least increasing the loyalty of our members?
"acquire a suitable bonded animal, that would be directly useful and applicable to my life, and connect with it properly"
'Want to leave a legacy that will help lot of peoples and also make people remember him ?'
Trade & Investment (+0) [Merchant]
[ ] Visit the Market (Automatic)You are not really a merchant yourself, but anyone can buy things. You will visit the markets in Fragrant Lotus city and browse for useful things.
Provides a list of available artifacts/techniques/pills/beasts to buy.
Spirit Beasts (+0) [Spirit's Command]
[ ] Cultivate in the Fire Lily MountainsYour Poplar Guardian has been quietly rooted outside your personal residence for the last few years stabilizing its spirit. No one has really questioned why you have a new tree. That is your prerogative as the young master of the Zhuge clan, but your residence doesn't have the best qi flows for actually cultivating. You can send it to the Zhuge private training grounds to cultivate in proper wood qi.
[ ] Guard Your Residence
You can always leave the spirit by your residence to guard you. It's very large and strong and makes for a perfect protector of your home. Especially since not many people expect an awakened spirit tree.
[ ] Search for Spirit Groves (Current)
Being a tree your poplar guardian is uniquely sensitive to auspicious locations for spirit herbs. If it was a wild tree spirit these would be the exact sort of locations it would seek out to make its own home after all. You can take advantage of this to send your poplar guardian out to find groves and essentially take them over from their current spirit beast owners. This is somewhat dangerous, but your poplar is fairly sturdy. Unless it runs into a Lord level beast it should be fine. It is however slow so this will take a while.
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