John
This is not going to go well
Okay Mana just calm down and let me explain some things.
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Danil spends most of the time until the meeting going over his house finances, seeing where he can squeeze out a few extra coppers.
John
A group of friends and me read from this book. When I woke up the next day I was here. I have no idea who I am, What I do or who I know. My first instinct was to keep it secret because... I mean it sounds crazy to me and I know it's true. Plus it would limit the shock on people who knew the person I became.
She reaches up as if she's going to slap you. "No..you're not him. There's no point in slapping you. You lied to me yes, but you did what you thought was best to the best of your abilities." She lowers her hand but still looks cross. "But...I can't shake it...I still have feelings for you..the other you.." she hugs herself sadly.
She looks sad, and then suddenly kisses you on the lips. She then breaks the kiss. "You kiss like he did...he's in you...I can feel it..." She takes your hand. "I'm not going to hold you to his promise to marry me. Our childhood promise, but will you please try a relationship with me?" She looks heartbroken almost. Like a child you just found out his parents had been replacing his pet hamster whenever it died. "Please?"
[OOC]Awwww.....[/OOC]
When the others arrive Danil opens the discussion (over dinner) with his slightly underwhelming report.
"I've been over my House finances and even with the best management, I'll only be able to secure a few golds a week. If you guys have things to do in Oda, I can spend the time spreading word and trying to raise a little coin, but for myself, I'd be in favor of moving out as soon as possible.
One other idea I had, though. Lucas, you mentioned something about making magic items. Would it be possible to make items using my magic, if I helped? Healing potions and stuff of that sort."
Lucas
"If you learn how to do these... yes, I can make only one item at the time anyway... You could help me with specific items though... I could save some money on spells needed for crafting. It would be only needed if you wanted me to craft items for any of us. If it is for earning money, I think that cloaks of resistance are a good source of money and I have the spells needed for it...
Although, if anyone was able to lend me... 150 gold, I would be able to earn a lot more daily, as I wouldn't need to borrow resources every time...
If we were to leave tomorrow it wouldn't make any difference. I won't do much crafting while travelling.
...
... at least not until I get some specific... tools...
Mori... ow sorry, Patricia, could you tell us how much time do you need for your research?" He answers Danil's question in a tone... like he was a teacher during a lecture... probably the influence of this world's experience...
Then he turns to Patricia, with a bit of concern and waits for the answer...
Danil raises his hand. "I'll lend you up to 450 gold, but I'll be wanting a cut of the profits in that case. :smalltongue: And I was mainly thinking of building up more healing energies. I can't hold much of God's power at once yet, and being able to brew potions or prepare wands or whatever else would be a big help."
Lucas
"I can't help with potions, but I could make belts... they hold few charges and recharge every day...
It would take some time, but I could make few of these..." He says after a short while of thinking on this subject.
SpoilerHealing belt MIC
Patricia blushes when you address her. "It depends, I can easily get basic info on the Lords, but if you want more detailed stuff I'll need to research them one at a time." She's wearing a formal dress, as although he's a minor lord, there are standards for university students. You can tell she's not used to this yet.
"We would probably need detailed information... Starting with Tokugawa? The one with Dragon Princess...
We could wait till you gather information about this Lord, go there, try to convince him/her... Could you find information there, or do you need the resources from this city to work?" He asks, trying to find different options.
"Also, quite a crucial question. Do you want to travel with us, or focus on theoretical part of this adventure? Just sending us your notes, I mean..."
John
I should be able to help with information about the shipping routes but im not sure how far my influence spreads yet. I'll find out more later tonight. Mana has agreed to accompany us and she should know more then me.
Lucas
"So, we are staying here for 16 days? ... sounds like a long time... Patricia, could you focus on every Lord, whose lands are east from here? We would get information about the west half on our way back. We could set off in a week this way..." He says after few minutes of quiet thinking, then turns to others.
"A week... it should be just enough to prepare... What do you think?"
Spoiler
I would also suggest to skip this week, everyone would just list their money-gathering actions etc.
Maybe Zman would want to talk to his squire, other than that we are probably ready... (tell me if I am wrong)
(Addressing Lexin)
"So about that loan you were requesting. Here's what I'm thinking: I provide the cost of raw materials, and you make the item and probably sell it (though John might be able to do that better, not sure.) When the item is sold I get back the raw material cost I put up in the first place and then a quarter of the profits. Sound good?
"Also, how much juice do you need for one of those healing belts? I can do up to three CLWs and three CMWs a day."
(turns to Patricia)
Oh, and have you got any idea where we could find Lee? And does he know what's really happening?"
"I know where I" I emphasize the I. "can find Lee, but I can't give you his location. Rules of the game and all. You might be able to try the Cafe, he says it's one of his favourite spots."
I blush. "Yes...Lee knows what happened to me, he was the first person I talked to...he's been teasing me about it ever since."
"Just some thoughts on strategy. It seems to me that the four most important houses for the conquest phase of our campaign are Hojo (for the paladins), Miko (for the clerics), Tangshima (firearms would be a huge advantage), and Shimazu (to get together enough juice and lore to figure out how to permanently close the portal). The settlement phase will require mostly Asakura and Ashikaga."
"Also, are we all agreed on calling ourselves The Order Of The Pebble?"
All while during the meal Patricia is acting weird. Patricia will start doing subtle feminine things occasionally, then go right back to acting like Mori. Occasionally saying weird things that would only make sense from a feminine side of things, you think she/he might be experiencing feedback, and you're not sure if it's just she who's affected or whether you might eventually start experiencing it too. Every time you question it, she just nods and says she's fine, apparently not noticing her odd behaviour.
(Basically imagine she's glitching, similar as if she was programmed wrong)
Danil's activities over the next week are mostly quite simple, and devoted to scraping out the extra resources he wants. He pulls complex tricks with investments and interest rates to free up coin for his long-term use, he sells a little of his healing energy to raise extra funds, and he casually mentions the Takuga project.
His one major side project is to make contact with Lee, and to that end he drops by the Cafe every day at least once.
SpoilerTaking ten on my Profession check nets me 8 gp at the end of the week. Selling one CLW per day is another 56 gp, and I don't know how much a CMiW would sell for, so I'll fill that in when I know. If I meet Lee at any of these visits, tell me and I'll RP it from there.
Lee eventually shows up on the third day at the cafe, do you approach him?
Certainly.
"Hello, Lee! I presume Patricia has kept you up to date? There are a few things I'd like to discuss with you."
"Coffee would be nice, thanks. So you know about the Takuga project?"
Zachary, with little to do, continues to train. He makes a couple of rounds each night disguised in an old brown scrap robe patrolling the seedy streets as he brings some vigilante justice. He also keeps his ear to the ground about monsters or other supernatural threats.
Spoiler
Well, I can't really make money like Lucas, xp is shared, etc. I have absolutely nothing to do while others make a lot of money...
"Definitely. That's why I'm here, actually. We're heading out to the Dragon province soon and I wanted to know beforehand if you wanted in on the Takuga project."
Lee sips his coffee. "Is Patricia going? I'm only really interested in her. Some same that given her level of training, she's one of the most knowledgeable people in the kingdom." He has a slightly perverted grin on his face. "Plus there aren't that many beautiful girls in Takuga, at least not ones that don't try to kill you."
He smirks and finishes his cup asking for another. "So you're going to Tokugawa huh? Going to see Nova Ryu?"
"Her and anyone else that's willing to help. I would imagine that your bloodlines would be particularly interested, since you'd be particularly good at killing devils. I mean, I know from the histories that a dire wolf who's had his teeth filled with silver can really hurt devils, so I'd imagine your teeth and claws and such would work the same way. Speaking of which, can you give me a referral to the head of your bloodline?"
"Whoever the leader of the silver dragons (or your particular line of silver dragons) is. Like a Lord for humans."
"Nova Ryu. She is the princess of all dragons. With the exceptions of those who decide to leave and go either independent, or serve other lords."
He sips his coffee. "Our focus is mostly on the game. You see, warfare is but a game to us. Take your Crescent Dragon lady, do you think she could beat a Great Wyrm? That is why we invented the game. Fighting between two or more dragons directly would create mass problems, major damage to the land and cityscape. Making the act of fighting having rules and so on prevents such things. It also puts the fighting in the hands of the humans. If a dragon is so powerful that no human would challenge it, they effectively can't fight, and if they do try to fight directly, everyone turns on them. It keeps us in check."
He finishes his second cup. "Ultimately our slow breeding and lack of numbers prevents that sort of thing from happening too often. There are hundreds of thousands of humans in this kingdom, there are at best a few thousand dragons."
"That reminds me, I was wondering about Lady Aisha's title. Is there any such thing as a Crescent Dragon? Just figured that you, if anyone, would know what that meant."
"The Crescent Dragon is just a title. However she is named that cause she is probably the only human worthy of being called a Dragon. Yes there are humans that could fight say, a wyrmling one on one, but she's probably the only one that could take a dragon of her own age, that is to say a young adult, one on one."
He sips his third cup. "A few of the dragons asked Princess Ryu to ask her to change her title, but out of a combination of respect for Teru, and of Aisha's power, she declined the movement. Some suggested trial by combat, but there was no way to make the trial fair, and just. A human and a dragon's fighting style are too different to make a fair fight out of."
He downs the third cup, if it wasn't for the fact this guy was a dragon and not a human he'd probably need a bathroom.
"Of course there are all kinds of rumours surrounding the various humans who run around this kingdom, from Aisha, to Teru, to the various lords of the realm. Everyone has a rumour about them, some multiple."
"I've already heard a few of the rumors surrounding Aisha and the Princess, and learned first-hand that they aren't accurate. Say, are dragon nobles as schemy as human ones, or do you have more diffused scheming due to having more time at your disposal?
But to get back to the main topic, do you have any advice on dealing with Nova Ryu, or with the demons for that matter?"
"Sounds perfect. I'm good at reason and logic."
John
John spends the next week finding out as much about his new life as he can from mana. What he does, what his ranking within the guild is, what my source of income is etc..
Your primary job is to do whatever they tell you to. You're mostly assigned to work with Mana due to your ummm.. "former closeness". Your ranking is the lowest rank due to you having no actual merchant training. Your source is small commission on random jobs.
Mana is helpful in this, and encourages you to try and keep learning. She also tries to keep your chin up, as shippers always need bodyguards, and your fighting skills are far above hers.
Lucas
In the week, they have he focuses mostly on crafting. Unless somebody (either from our group or from the guild) wants something from him.
Spoiler
Outcome- 2100 gp and Healing Belt
100 for Danil for initial loan
If you need anything just tell me, as I have the highest money-making rate, I suppose we could treat it more like a group funds.
(Although if you don't tell me what you want I would just use it from time to time...)
At the end of the week your father comes in and looks over your work. "See you don't need my help to do work." He looks over your papers and healing belt. "Healing belts are good items to have, and you made a fair bit of money too. Of course it's always good to experiment some, that's how you learn the fastest, book learning will only get you so far."
He pats you on the back. "I have something to ask of you before you go to Tokugawa. There is a young woman from there, who needs to go back, I was wondering if she could hitch a ride with your caravan."
Edit: Also I checked your sheet. Didn't I give 1000 xp for the festival not 100? Or am I missing something?
Lucas
Lucas frowns for a second, then shrugs and says
"I have no reason to say no to that. Who is that woman?"
Spoiler
I mentioned that I have 2 sheets, the pathfinder one is where I added 1000 xp, gp changes and healing belt (I have no idea why I added 100 xp to the other sheet)
Lucas
"I already agreed to that. I would like to know her name though, to know who to expect and how to call her on the way..." He says.
Lucas
He nods and asks further "Should I know something about her? Treat her like a friend of family or more like a business partner?"
"Treat her like a human being. Treat her like you would any other person, therefore treat her well. You're a good person aren't you?"
He smiles. "This is a world where there are shapechangers, and shapeshifting magic, you should treat everyone well on that reason alone."
He leaves, leaving you to ponder this sentence.
Lucas
'Huh, it was a bit weird...' he thinks.
'Is he often as cryptic as this time?' he asks Loiosh.
After this one week he goes once again to their group meeting. Hoping to get the necessary information from Mori/Patricia and to see others well prepared to this trip.
Edit
Spoiler
Yes I think it would be nice to start the Big Quest finally.