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[Devastator]

There are no dreams this week.

The weather is dark and stormy, with the first real storms this year having blown in from the sea.  There's some lightning and thunder, and lots of rain.  It's a proper week for a story, with people huddled under hoods and cloaks as they run between buildings trying to keep the water off.

As for events, there is another high profile murder in the Foreign Quarter.  The glass maker of last week has returned to his country, but a small retinue has remained behind, including an apprentice and some guards.  That apprentice is now dead, and there are many rumors swirling about the murder.


You negotiate with Li Yue, displaying your new skills, and beseeching her to give you a bit more time to your own.  The two of you negotiate, and Li Yue is surprisingly passionate about her need for you to protect her.  After this goes on for perhaps about a half hour, you eventually come to a realization.. that if you aren't here, you have no chance of protecting her.  It isn't about money, so much, she has plenty, but she doesn't want to die, or you to die defending her, and time off makes it slightly less likely for you to be here if she gets attacked.

Even so, eventually your new skill, prestige, and charming demeanour eventually convince her to cut your hours a bit without cutting your pay.

It seems highly unlikely she will do so again.

You have two actions this week.

Spoiler: Status (click to show/hide)

Week 6

Assets and Abilities:
Prestige = 1
7 silver.
Concealable fighting dagger
Adventurer's diary (partially studied)
->Information on southern jungle nations
->Secret locations in southern jungle.
->Information on spiritual beings, spiritual being society, spiritual being outlook.
->Information on animal life of the southern jungle
->Information on magical beings of the southern jungle
->Instruction on spirit-related magical rituals.  Versatile dust triggering rune.  Two more undeciphered rituals.
->Instruction on an unknown magical field.
->Instruction on wilderness survival methods
->Instruction on what seems to be the language of the southern jungle nations.
->Instruction on an unknown language.
Plan for trading in cloves.  Buy at a very cheap price, wait an uncertain amount of time for the price to rise, sell at a profit.  Costs 4 silver a bag, can yield 2-3 silver a bag, barring additional events.
Miscellaneous magical diagrams, captured from one of your dreams.  Uncertain accuracy.

Skills:
Charming, +1
Combat, +0/+1.  Unarmed combat training.  Also applies while armed.
Magic:
Versatile Dust triggering rune.

Allies:
Employed by Li Yue, merchant, 1 prestige, 0 favors.  Paid 2 silver/week, acting as a servant and guard, takes three actions.
Huan Zhang, diplomat, 2 prestige, 0 favors.
Li Song, martial arts student, 0 prestige, 0 favors.
Upscale Weapon Shop.

[ZBridges]

Even with (slightly) more free time, I don't think this is a great opportunity for us, but I'd like to hear what others think about the job.

Am I correct in thinking that the job now requires 3 actions instead of 4?  The status still says 4.

[Devastator]

Yes, three.  Thanks for pointing that out, it's edited.

[Naturegirl1999]

I like the job, a steady source of pay, and nothing happens most of the time, on time off we can train which will help when a threat does come

[ZBridges]

Fair enough.  Let's continue training at the dojo.

[Naturegirl1999]

Fair enough.  Let's continue training at the dojo.

+1

[King Zultan]

Fair enough.  Let's continue training at the dojo.

+1

+1

[Devastator]

Unfortunately, the bloom seems to be off your recent benefits.  This week you're back again to getting bruised and beaten up, for seemingly little benefit.  You'll be quite sore going to bed after this session.

At least it's going better for Li Song, who has taken his test, and has now reached the same rank as you.

One action remains.

Spoiler: Status (click to show/hide)

Week 6

Assets and Abilities:
Prestige = 1
7 silver.
Concealable fighting dagger
Adventurer's diary (partially studied)
->Information on southern jungle nations
->Secret locations in southern jungle.
->Information on spiritual beings, spiritual being society, spiritual being outlook.
->Information on animal life of the southern jungle
->Information on magical beings of the southern jungle
->Instruction on spirit-related magical rituals.  Versatile dust triggering rune.  Two more undeciphered rituals.
->Instruction on an unknown magical field.
->Instruction on wilderness survival methods
->Instruction on what seems to be the language of the southern jungle nations.
->Instruction on an unknown language.
Plan for trading in cloves.  Buy at a very cheap price, wait an uncertain amount of time for the price to rise, sell at a profit.  Costs 4 silver a bag, can yield 2-3 silver a bag, barring additional events.
Miscellaneous magical diagrams, captured from one of your dreams.  Uncertain accuracy.

Skills:
Charming, +1
Combat, +0/+1.  Unarmed combat training.  Also applies while armed.
Magic:
Versatile Dust triggering rune.

Allies:
Employed by Li Yue, merchant, 1 prestige, 0 favors.  Paid 2 silver/week, acting as a servant and guard, takes three actions.
Huan Zhang, diplomat, 2 prestige, 0 favors.
Li Song, martial arts student, 0 prestige, 0 favors.
Upscale Weapon Shop.

[ZBridges]

If Li Song has reached the next rank, why is he still at prestige 0?

[Devastator]

Prestige is based on accomplishments, not skills.  In your case it represents your self-confidence and in general your fame.  For NPCs it's essentially a level that basically represents how many friends, allies, and resources that person can draw upon.

A truly elite combatant will probably have at least some prestige, but it isn't a requirement, nor does fame result from having great skill.  Some people are simply content not being prominent in the eyes of the public, regardless of their own abilities.

In your case, your first point of prestige doesn't come from achieving your level of skill.  It comes from a superb test performance in front of a good number of your friends and peers, and was available because you'd joined a large dojo with a great many students.  It's an achievement worthy of your first point.

[ZBridges]

I see.  Makes sense.

I think we should use our other action to study the other spirit-related magic ritual.

Some things to consider:

1.  Based on the time discrepancy between our current location and the location of the evil, it is quite far away.  We will need to use divination or exhaustive (and likely pricey) search methods to locate the evil.

2.  The central building in the dream was created to teach magic.  From this we can deduce that the evil is magic in nature.  We will need to find a way to dispel magic or (possibly) a safe way to kill many practitioners.

3.  The symbols, once deciphered, will likely help us determine the exact nature of the magic threat.  Knowing more about the magic used will probably help us determine an effective way to dispel or prevent it.

[King Zultan]

+1 To studying the spirit magic ritual.

[Naturegirl1999]

+1 To studying the spirit magic ritual.

+1

[Devastator]

Something less physical sounds good for your other activity.  You could use fewer bruises at least.  And hopefully the next ritual will be as interesting as the last one.

The next ritual is explained in detail, but the detail is the wrong detail.  This is apparently for some kind of close-ranged telepathy-related ritual, at least that's what you can gather from it being formed from, apparently, thoughts.  You're supposed to arrange your thoughts in some way that is full of characters that don't translate, and it lets you do something with someone else's thoughts in different characters that don't translate.  You do have a picture of how it's supposed to be arranged, but how do you physically arrange thought?  The phrasing is most definately not 'hold the picture in your head' or 'visualize this arrangement' (which you do try also), but something clearly different, forming physical arrangements made of thought itself, somehow.

And it's not that it's just difficult or complicated, you genuinely don't understand how you can physically rearrange your thoughts.  It must be a spirit thing, because people don't work that way.  Ugh, disappointing in a bit, but you do at least realize that these are magical rituals intended for spirits not spirit-related magical rituals for humans

Spoiler: Status (click to show/hide)

Week 6.2

Assets and Abilities:
Prestige = 1
7 silver.
Concealable fighting dagger
Adventurer's diary (partially studied)
->Information on southern jungle nations
->Secret locations in southern jungle.
->Information on spiritual beings, spiritual being society, spiritual being outlook.
->Information on animal life of the southern jungle
->Information on magical beings of the southern jungle
->Instruction on spirit-related magical rituals.  Versatile dust triggering rune.  Thought communication? rune?  One ritual remains.
->Instruction on an unknown magical field.
->Instruction on wilderness survival methods
->Instruction on what seems to be the language of the southern jungle nations.
->Instruction on an unknown language.
Plan for trading in cloves.  Buy at a very cheap price, wait an uncertain amount of time for the price to rise, sell at a profit.  Costs 4 silver a bag, can yield 2-3 silver a bag, barring additional events.
Miscellaneous magical diagrams, captured from one of your dreams.  Uncertain accuracy.

Skills:
Charming, +1
Combat, +0/+1.  Unarmed combat training.  Also applies while armed.
Magic:
Versatile Dust triggering rune.

Allies:
Employed by Li Yue, merchant, 1 prestige, 0 favors.  Paid 2 silver/week, acting as a servant and guard, takes three actions.
Huan Zhang, diplomat, 2 prestige, 0 favors.
Li Song, martial arts student, 0 prestige, 0 favors.
Upscale Weapon Shop.

[Devastator]

You experience no prophethic dreams this week.

After the storms of last week, this week brings bright and clear weather, with the city somewhat washed clean by the storms of last week, with clear skies and plenty of birdsong.

Intrigue-wise, however, things are not calm.  There's a large mob in the government district this week, as a few ships have had their cargos seized, and the owners have mobilized their crews and likely a few local thugs to add to the numbers.  They're busy mobbing a few homes of the people who are supposedly responsable for the decision.  It's not at the point of outright violence yet, but it seems like some violence could be in the offering.

On a more personal violence-related note, you have done something more remarkable.  As you are temporarily outside the house on a gathering errand, making use of the pretext to check on the people outside your employers home, you notice a man dressed as a crippled beggar sitting down on the street across from the front door.  Although such beggars are common sights throughout the city, this one you have seen before.  Last week you think he was a regular customer at the tea shop just behind the house, on the next street over, near the fence and the back side of the building.  At the time, you noticed him from his rogueish good looks, and you merely though he was inspecting the patrons of the tea shop for looking for companionship, but you think he could have been checking for guards.

You get another look upon your return from your errand, and this time there's no doubt, this is the guy you spotted last week, and this guy is scoping out the mansion.  He either is the assassin, or is someone working with the assassin.  You don't think you have been noticed, but there's no way to know that for certain.

Spoiler: Status (click to show/hide)

Week 6.2

Assets and Abilities:
Prestige = 1
7 silver.
Concealable fighting dagger
Adventurer's diary (partially studied)
->Information on southern jungle nations
->Secret locations in southern jungle.
->Information on spiritual beings, spiritual being society, spiritual being outlook.
->Information on animal life of the southern jungle
->Information on magical beings of the southern jungle
->Instruction on spirit-related magical rituals.  Versatile dust triggering rune.  Thought communication? rune?  One ritual remains.
->Instruction on an unknown magical field.
->Instruction on wilderness survival methods
->Instruction on what seems to be the language of the southern jungle nations.
->Instruction on an unknown language.
Plan for trading in cloves.  Buy at a very cheap price, wait an uncertain amount of time for the price to rise, sell at a profit.  Costs 4 silver a bag, can yield 2-3 silver a bag, barring additional events.
Miscellaneous magical diagrams, captured from one of your dreams.  Uncertain accuracy.

Skills:
Charming, +1
Combat, +0/+1.  Unarmed combat training.  Also applies while armed.
Magic:
Versatile Dust triggering rune.

Allies:
Employed by Li Yue, merchant, 1 prestige, 0 favors.  Paid 2 silver/week, acting as a servant and guard, takes three actions.
Huan Zhang, diplomat, 2 prestige, 0 favors.
Li Song, martial arts student, 0 prestige, 0 favors.
Upscale Weapon Shop.