"Near the end of the last monthly slave sale, someone came up to the Palace with the Emperor's Signet. The Signet is the symbol of inheriting the Crown of the Emperor. We've been this way for generations. About 40 years ago the last Empress and all of her fleet went off to battle. No one's heard from her since." Manager Chou was guarding his crotch, Miss Nara didn't appreciate the looks he'd been giving her.
"Claim to the throne was validated with the Signet Ring's appearance. Since then the new Emperor's been rounding up people left and right. Anyone who disagrees with the crazy policies like a 60% tax hike are just disappearing from their homes. I know you just got here, but.." Manager Chou swallowed down his pride and continued.
"DO SOMETHING! You can have the rest of my stock, not that anyone's buying. Most of the traders have gone directly to the Emperor since his arrival at the Palace. Its awful, the only one that can enter and control the Royal Chambers has to be wearing the Signet.
Normally I charge for this information, but I won't have a business if the Emperor continues. The Signet is supposedly the Key to the Vault, but its just a rumor." Manager Chou seemed to understand Wu Hai's arrival, information was important.
"By the way, your order is ready.. I don't suppose you can take them off my hands today?" Chou couldn't help himself, he was a businessman at heart.
"Yes. But I want the contract for the Eunuch that tends the Stables at the Auction House, doesn't matter how much.. just get it.." Wu Hai dropped a few bars onto a table and leaned against the desk.
"Make sure to have the contracts in order when I pick them up. If you can lend me your auditorium for my departure, I would really appreciate it. Have them all wait inside.." The fat manager was unable to look away, he blinked in disbelief.
"En." Nodding, Manager Chou looked into his desk and pulled out a stack of contracts.
"Its already done. I can move them there now if you like." The Guard who had been stuck to the wall finally decided to talk, the silence spell always had a very temporary effect.
"Let him down. Here. Take this." Wu Hai had Khan Ni release the restraint spell and took another bar out.
"I was never here." The Prince knew that for people like the guard, gold spoke volumes.
"You're going to need a large carriage. Did you bring it to the stables?" Chou asked, he didn't want a repeat of their first meeting.
"Just get them into the auditorium. Hand me the Contracts, lets go meet them there." Wu Hai grabbed the contracts and made his way to the door.
"Your bill?" Manager Chou stuck his hand out.
"Ah.. yes. Just give me the number and lets get on with it." Wu Hai seemed annoyed when he responded, there was something strange going on in the city and the robbery of the Forge left a stain on his feelings.
"About that. 320k pieces should cover it. You asked for beastkin, and these are untainted. I doubt that you could find as many as we have. In total there are 1200, its 250 a head." Manager Chou wasn't sure what would happen after giving the bill.
320,000 was not a small number, Kuzunoha had been paying attention. When she heard the numbers, she was a bit astonished.
"Here are 400 bars. Don't disappoint me." Wu Hai didn't care, gold bars could be made while he was taking a shit in the woods.
"Thank you generous member! Its been a few moments, I'm sure that most of them have been moved to the auditorium. Lets go see if they are done."
"Yes. Lets." Miss Nara was sick of the back and forth, the whole city was giving her the creeps and Manager Chou was a cretonne.
The drapes that lined the hallways were heavy and still, a draft would do some good. The stuffy nature of old buildings in humid environments always bred the mildew. When they entered the auditorium, they had come through an alternate door. The route was a bit longer, but they didn't have to wade through the people inside.
The Stage was clear but once Wu Hai arrived, a few chairs and a table sprouted from the center.
"My STAGE!" Manager Chou wanted to lash out but held himself back.
The Chairs and Table were actually rather exquisite.
Contracts could be signed rather quickly, Wu Hai stuck his palm and smeared the pages. He didn't even care about politeness. When all the contracts took effect, Wu Hai allowed the wound to close.
"This was much faster. Everyone.. get as close together as you can, we don't have a whole lot of time." The Prince waved his hands to direct everyone to come together.
The group didn't take long to get much closer, the diameter of the teleportation ring always broadened the mana costs for the spell circles.
"Chou, unless you are coming with us.. get back a bit." Wu Hai watched the manager, winked, and touched his hand to the ring, grasping it firmly.
The Auditorium was empty in an instant, the familiar collapse of the surrounding dirt proved they had disappeared from the room.
֍ꟷꟷꟷꟷ֍
Qu was getting things in order, the Tower was no longer a quiet place. People were busy throughout the Pagoda. The Bent Tower had 999 rooms originally, some had been altered to suit the previous owners but the biggest modifications had come when he finally came into contact with Zao Wu Hai.
Xuan Kim Li made great efforts to modify a few sections near the Core, his workspace and room. He had been working on creating a method to link the Memory Crystals to the Core. One of Qu's avatars had been at Kim Li's beck and call for months, but it was nothing to allow him access. The only thing that mattered was getting a clear connection, then they could figure out the rest. Communication was widely important for this to happen. Thankfully, Xuan Kim Li's earliest projects had all involved mass communications and information transfers.
There were some issues originally with attempting to create an organic storage device. Kim Li wondered if he could create something that would allow him to absorb all the accumulated knowledge from Qu. The concept was rather intriguing for the researchers, they never tired to try new things in the name of development.
"Sir. I think I have come up with a way to at least connect one crystal to another. Elementium carries energies well, but doesn't contain the proper materials to transmit. Elementium can only radiate its energies. What we need is to infuse it with separated crystal dust. I think we can manage to do this rather quickly, the problem would be jacketing. The best thing to contain is Arentore, If we can fine the right stone and cast it into blocks.. maybe we could build a terminal and work from there.. but that's about as far as i've come. I think its at least worth trying. Its better than just looking for ways to combine different crystals. every experiment to combine crystals has failed, what we really need is a way to grow the crystals ourselves. they have to be naturally occuring but can't we recreate those same effects?" The Assistant had a very good idea.
"That's not a bad idea. We have to find a way to accurately sort each granule type. No matter which method we choose, gotta be better than separating them by eye. The best idea I can come up with for that is using a clean up spell. But, we'd have to have all of the materials identified if we intend to sort them." Another voice came from the back of the room.
"I have an idea for that." Kim Li stepped up.
"Actually, I've been thinking about this for a while. We'll have to get us another floor. You won't like it at all, but I think we'll be able to process things a lot faster if we do it this way." Xuan Kim Li was taking out a piece of paper to show Qu when the avatar that was working with him disappeared.
"?? huh?" scratching their heads, the science team sat down and waited.
Xuan Kim Li wouldn't share the rest of the details twice, they would have to wait until Qu came back.
֍ꟷꟷꟷꟷ֍
The Tower shimmered inside, it had expanded to its normal size ahead of Qu's projected calculations.
"Hey. Qu. I don't have time, figure this out." Wu Hai didn't chit chat.
When he arrived in the tower, a coastline could be seen from the open entrance. They were not in Yunnan.
"Where are we?" Qu was lost.
"Doesn't matter, I teleported us away and raised the tower. Here are their contracts, sort them all out. Tear up the contracts to the ones you think deserve it, we'll figure the rest out later." Wu Hai turned to leave, Kuzunoha was waiting by the door.
They had to go inspect the city, but they weren't going to be social about it this time. Wu Hai was stripped off the cyclops onezee, preparing to switched forms. He hide in the bushes and rolled to a Elemental Body. The Demonkin form was useful for interrogation, but Wu Hai's elemental body was already quite unique. The dark rainbow spot was even being obedient, it hadn't eaten anything that the Prince had brought into his hands in a while.
The Prince pulled out a few stones to try to feed the spot, but it was completely disinterested.
'I wonder if it only eats new things..' Wu Hai pulled out a turquoise stone, it was one that he knew he hadn't fed to the spot yet.
There was movement.
֍ꟷꟷꟷꟷ֍
A glowstone didn't hold heat, but the deeper you went into a mountain the warmer it got. Sitting in the depths were two uncompromising figures having a battle of words. After a long while there was a boiling silence.
They stared at each other intently, and took a sip from their tea.
"!!" Zao Zhan stood up.
"What?! What you're proposing goes against everything I've ever even thought was important. Its one thing to slaughter the bandits, but to slaughter my people indiscriminately is even too low for a Demon like me. Is that so hard to understand? I've offered the limit of my help, the choice is yours and your journey is.. undecided." A laughter came from the grin in the darkness, Ferser couldn't help but wonder if it was fate that drove the Human to his door.
"Do you accept?" The words flew over Zhan like water.
A cold chill wanted to rush over him, but his abilities kept that in check.
"What else do you want to do? I don't know. You're being too vague. I want to catch Darkwing, not wage a war.. You'll have to find someone else to 'inherit' your power. Don't you live forever? What sort of legacy could you possibly give me that would make me want it? Evil Power doesn't suit me, my affinity with nature somewhat counteracts your intentions." Zhan tried to consider his proposition, but it was still too much.
"You have a strange power, it reminds me of the Custodians. Its too small to be of use to you, but to me it is somewhat interesting. I want you as my disciple, but the requirements won't change. state your terms. A deal with a Devil is absolute, we cannot break such a contract." ... . Ferser sipped its tea, waiting for answers.
Zao Zhan had seen his brother fight the demonkin who had arrived at the sect, the battle was frightening. Demonkin were beneath Devils. A Devil was leagues above in all terms, but there were a few things to say about the whole matter.
He took a deep breath and settled his mind before he started. "My terms. The agreement will be over the instant I disagree with the arrangement or situation. I will be able to walk away at any point. I will fight against the Vampires, fight your war. In return, you will give me every bit of power you can muster without complaint. Its easy to see that you are unable to fulfill your desire, like I cannot finish mine. However, when the battles are won. I keep your power, your 'legacy' will not drag me from my own goals. I will follow all leads that point in Darkwing's direction, to recover my daughter is my goal... You may not sway me. Do you accept these terms?" Zao Zhan felt like he had to act like a devil to make use of one, otherwise he would surely become its victim.
Ferser was a devil that could have killed him at any point, yet they had been drinking tea and arguing the entire time. The scene was a bit difficult for Zhan to accept, the stories were definitely different that what he was experiencing but he couldn't let his concentration slip.
"What I give cannot be retrieved or cast away. It will burden you for the rest of your days, there is a way for me to leave. It will cost my place in this world, the Afterlife is boring. When I saw this world, I came to it. This form was given to me, it worked for a time but like all bodies, it failed over time and the stokes of many battles. Allow me in at your own risk, victory, and pain. I can only leave upon your death, or mine." Ferser snickered for a moment.
"A Compromise then. If I do you great service, allow me to stay. If you despise it, end your life and free me. I can only control you and your body willingly, but I will be trapped within my host. The Custodians were a primordial force in this world. You are quite rare. If you agree to mine, I agree to yours. Is a deal struck or not?" Ferser's voice changed, it went sour then stern.
"Deal. How do we.." Zao Zhan was about to continue but the Devil had made its move.
Vanishing in a puff of mist, the swirling smoke tore through Zhan's spirit and made a home for itself.
'This is not as bad as I thought it would be' Zhan through inwardly, he only winced a bit before he heard a voice inside of his head.
To his great surprise, The Devil responded. -{"The pain comes in time, you're not a fool but time weathers all things."}
"Well, Now what?" Zao Zhan started talking to himself in the cave.
His inner thoughts were no longer a private matter, there were a lot of things he had to learn before the Prince of the Zao Clan would have to go to War.
His eyes glowed a deep red, then flashed with green.
-{'The Deal is Struck, training begins now.'} Zao Zhan's body started moving quickly.
His hands moved in the shapes of letters and formation seals. Like a twisted shadow puppeteer from hell, Zao Zhan watched the sequence closely.
Zhan had seen this many times with Kuzunoha and the Onmyoji, but the sequence was off.
-{'You seem familiar with these. How. You have obviously not seen a Devil in your life, but you know of this. Strange Human, at least you're accepting. Now, it is your turn.'} The Malevolent Voice from Ferser calmed down considerably and released its control of Zhan's hands.
"I thought you said you can't control me if I'm unwilling." Zhan had to get some answers
-{'Are you not willing? Seems like I am indeed controlling your body, so you must be willing, Are you not?'} Ferser became more antagonistic but Zao Zhan wasn't interested in games, only power.
"Enough. Please repeat the sequence and then let me try." Zhan swallowed his pride, for his daughter.
֍ꟷꟷꟷꟷ֍
Meanwhile, In another Mountain near the Sect.
Mike Cardelli stood before the Master Anvil at the Forge in the Western Mountain. Mike had reclaimed his dragonkin body, ice-soul powers and all. The Tattoo on his forearm had spread to his shoulders and down his back. The markings of the tattoo covered the scales in an intricate snowflake design.
The image it created made Mike look very majestic, but when he wielded a forging hammer he resembled a brute. As Gefest's direct disciple, Mike was now his sole concern when it came to training. He would give anyone who asked some advice, so long as their questions were genuine and not made to eat up the Forgemaster's time.
"The Hammer Falls" Mike had been yelling the same phrase for 4 hours.
:Sniff: :Sniff:
'Dinner!?!' Mike's sense had heightened near the furnace.
Despite being an Ice Dragonkin, he had chosen the soul abilities that he had grown accustomed to before Prince Wu Hai had taken him to Yunnan.
"Teacher, I'm headed off. I will come back once I'm done." Mike did his best to step away from the forge every now and then.
There were a lot of beastgirls who had come back from the slaver city, and while they had their freedom many of them still did their best to hide away. It was a trauma that wouldn't be healed so easily. Mike wondered if he would ever meet a beastgirl that would be interested in him, he hadn't gotten laid since he had come to the world. So many of the transmigrated had already paired up or paired off and begun families. Mike had waited because he still wanted to go out and adventure. The biggest issue for him leaving was that he didn't know if he had the goods to make it.
Mike changed his shirt, washed his face and went to Harris's Bar.
"Welcome to the Underhill Bar." Harris greeted everyone the same, he wanted to raise his brand.
"You can't be serious, last time you were just working on translating alchemy into food. but now its alcohol?" Mike was wondering what Harris' had done, but wasn't complaining.
"I'll have two of whatever. What's your special? Do you have a special?" Mike's interest had piqued.
"Blind Sighters Moonshine, there's a guy in Zao City that's been making a lot of different types of alcohols. We might even get some micro-brews in the near future. The problem is that mystical grasses are everywhere. Experimenting has shown some strange results." Harris poured a shot and passed it over to Mike.
"This is a Laughter Potion. I know, I know.. but try it. The alcoholic properties are basically non-existent but the laughing is real." Harris nudged the glass further toward Mike.
The drink smelled a bit funny before it entered Mike's mouth, all of his senses played together at the same time and he went into a fit of laughter.
"Kwauahahahat" Mike tried to stop but the laughter continued for a few moments.
"Kwauahahahat" ...
"Kwauahahahat" ...
"Okay, Okay.. that's pretty funny. Make it stop" Mike laughed while he spoke.
"It stops when its over. Which... is about now." Harris looked at the clock, five minutes had gone by.
"I'll take them all!" Mike rubbed his hands together.. the laughter wasn't completely over.
"Kwauahahahat" ...
Another fit of laughter came to a cackle, Harris looked up at Mike again. "Like I said, it stops when its over."