Planning the Escape - Part 3
[X] Swarm
City
"If Sect Head wishes to seek shelter in the crowds, then this lowly one has the following suggestions for her…"
Notes:
- As promised by Lady Xue, so long as it's an option offered by Old Chang, he will be able to get you to that city.
- Your choice of city and activity is not locked-in permanently. If you accidentally stab the mayor's child or otherwise generate too much heat, you will have the option to pick up sticks and move to a different city and/or switch to banditry, soldiering or starting your own homestead in the wilderness.
- However, making a move incurs costs of its own. Each time you move to a different place, you will have to leave something behind, be it members of your band, infrastructure, and/or established relationships with people and groups in the previous location.
[ ] [CITY] Shangmen – "The Gateway of the North"
"Located on the northern coast of Gudai, this port city hosts extensive maritime trade with Passanic merchantmen, Augustan galleys, as well as all manner of ships from overseas lands of which this lowly one is shamefully ignorant.
There is always work on the docks for those who are willing to spend their days shifting heavy loads from harbor to boat and back, and many second, third and fourth children of farmers go to Shangmen to seek temporary employment during the lull period between the sowing of the seeds and the harvest of the crops. Sect Head and her band will be taken to be yet another such group, and simply be one more drop in the vast pool of menial laborers.
Yet such menial labor at the docks may be all the work that is available to Sect Head, for the practice of all other trades require a permit from the Magistrate's Court, and the Magistrate's Court listens very closely to the voices of the trade-guild families, who guard their prerogatives very closely and jealously. If Sect Head wishes to be able to rent accommodations where she and her band can practice their arts without fear of discovery, she will need to find a way to join persuade, or "persuade", one of the trade-guild families to allow her to join them.
Shangmen is the largest and most important city in the Beidaohai League that dominates the north of Gudai, and there are many Sects, Clans and Gangs who maintain a presence there, presenting opportunities to make martial allies or acquire new arts through subterfuge or observation. It would also be far easier for Sect Head to fish there for news from the River and Lakes regarding the identities of those who are attacking the Sect as well as the fate of the Disciples of the Sect who did not join her initially, and far easier for the Disciples to find their way to Sect Head once she re-establishes the Sect again.
Beidaohai is as far as we can get from where we are now without leaving Gudai entirely, so it is less likely that any of the people attacking the Sect hail from Shangmen. Of course, there are good reasons why Sect Head may wish to avoid any and all members of the River and Lakes at this time."
[ ] [CITY] Ulaankorum – "The Star of the Steppes"
"Once it is completed, Ulaankorum will be one of Temjin Khan's greatest accomplishments, second only to his unification of the tribes of the Gebi Steppes.
Where his unification of the fractious tribes is a political marvel, Ulaankorum is a physical spectacle, the first permanent settlement in the Steppes. Temjin Khan is sparing no expense on this, opening up his treasury to bring in tidal waves of building materials and offering high wages to entice craftsmen, artisans and scholars to build and live in the city. Anyone and everyone are welcome, no questions asked. Sect Head and her band will not draw any attention in Ulaankorum despite the differences in appearance from the peoples of the Steppes, and there will not be any limits or restrictions on what trades you practice or what jobs you take there. In addition, the large herds of horses and goats that form the staple of the Steppes' transportation and diet and that flow through Ulaankorum's markets, will offer easy access to large quantities of blood to fuel Sect Head's arts.
This lowly one would warn, though, that when "anyone and everyone" are welcome, inevitably this includes the dregs of society who come seeking new prey for their skinning knives. Sect Head and her band would need to be on guard for those who see "youth" and think "weakness to be exploited", and you may need to teach a hard lesson to many such deluded fools before the rest recognize your strength and leave you alone.
The River and Lakes do not flow deeply on the Steppes, though this may yet change as Ulaankorum attracts more adventurers and fortune-seekers. For now, if you start your search at Ulaankorum for information on the aftermath of tonight's attack and the fates of the Disciples of the Sect, this lowly one expects that you would need to expend twice the effort for half the results."
[ ] [CITY] Vulcanus – "Where the Riddle was Solved"
"Augustan metallurgy and in particularly Augustan steel is renowned for its superlative quality, and Vulcanus is where it all began. In the village then known as Hephaestia, the village smith Claudia was pondering the Riddle of Steel when the god Vulcan appeared before her and challenged her to a drinking contest. Through wit and cunning did Claudia out-drink Vulcan, and demanded and received the secret to making steel as her reward. Thus was the city now known as Vulcanus born.
As not merely a temple or a sacred district, but an entire city sacred to Vulcan, Vulcanus is religiously inviolate to the Augustans, and it remains untouched by the civil war between the "Konshus" that now rages through the rest of the Augustan's domains. The song of hammer on anvil chimes ceaselessly through Vulcanus day and night, fed by the rich deposits of iron in the surrounding hills and the dense forests so essential for charcoal, and in turn feeding blades and spear-points to all sides of the civil war.
Unlike other Augustan cities which allow foreigners to enter for trade or work, Vulcanus only permits Augustan citizens to enter the city. However, given the waves of war-torn Augustans from other towns and villages seeking shelter in inviolable Vulcanus, it will be a simple enough matter for this lowly one to help disguise Sect Head and her band as Augustans and to slip into the city as just another small group of refugees.
Once inside, Sect Head and her band would be able to find work as charcoal burners or other menial labour, and be secure in the knowledge that the Gudai attackers of the Sect will not easily be able to make their way into Vulcanus. With good fortune or sufficient daring, Sect Head may be able to procure an excellent Vulcanus spear or blade that would surely enhance the prowess of her arts. With outrageous amounts of fortune or recklessness, Sect Head may even be able to find a way to be anointed as a smith-priest and enter the forge-temples to learn the solution to the Riddle of Steel for herself."
[ ] [CITY] Persegardae – "The Netherworld's Nemesis"
"Passanic physicians are the best in the world. It is known.
And among Passanic physicians, Persegardaeian practitioners take pride of place. It is known.
Originally famed for its myriad of hot springs with potent healing properties, in the centuries since its founding Persegardae has become even more celebrated for its accumulation of skilled physicians and vast collection of medical treatises and scrolls of anatomical studies. Even a single consultation with a Persegardaeian physician can extend one's life by a decade or more, should the patient be humble enough to abide by the physician's harsh advice.
Taking advantage of the fact that everyone wants to come to Persegardae, the city charges outrageous sums for a permanent residence permit, and only slightly less outrageous sums for a one-year visit permit. Anyone else who steps foot within Persegardae is required to secure an endorsement from a patron in Persegardae within half a year, or forever be prohibited entry thereafter.
Should Sect Head find a way within the six-months grace period to obtain enough money to purchase a permanent residence permit, or to perform such meritorious service for a patron as to earn an endorsement, Sect Head would be able to remain in Persegardae and study the medical treatises at her leisure. Who knows what marvels of the human body or what mysteries of blood Sect Head may discover, that may enhance or transform the arts of the Crimson Essence Sect?"
Cat
What name did Xue Hu give to her blood pet?
[ ] [CAT] His name is: (Write-in)
[ ] [CAT] Xue Hu did not bother naming her blood pet. It is an expendable source of blood to fuel her arts and her Blood Affinity, nothing more.
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There are votes on two items in this update. One is a vote on a subject that will determine the direction of the next arc and plot-hooks of the quest.
The other is a vote about which city you want to go to.
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