The attitude of the Minaur guide had taken a sharp turn and make him sound more like a scholar than a miner in the moment. The descriptions of his city and people's accomplisments that he was giving to the group were full of reverence. When talking it sounded like there was a debt that could never be repaid to the Dragon Emperors of the past.
"Well, Here we are. I'm sure the Elders can direct you where to go." Proudly puffing his chest out to the 3 Qilinkin that followed the Elf and Elemental, the guide rushed off down the tunnels and back to his regular job at the Gate.
A group of Elders came to the group, it was not every day that people came into the City and Qilin were very respected, if not dangerous enough to pay attention to.
"Great Beings, I see you have found our refuge." One Elder calmly looked at the group and ushered them to sit.
"Tell me, Why do you seek our Minaur City?" Another responded, he had robes on and smelled like he bathed more frequently than the others. At least, he didn't stink so badly.
"Yes, We have you to thank for bringing a Jiao to visit with our people. We are blessed to receive you, what is it that you ask of us?" The Elders within the chamber all nodded as the Head spoke up.
"My name is Chief Elder Penire, I've been an Elder of the Minaur people for almost 85 years. Our Jiao brethren left us long ago, to see another, it brings tears of joy to us all." Chanting in an endless loop, the Elders spoke in circles before going on with their explanations. Those that were not speaking, were chanting indictinctly. Their actions all seemed rather ceremonious and creepy to Khan Ni, she hated the underground, all elves did.
"We invite you to stay for as long as you like, honored guests." All the Elders nodded in succession.
"We really just want to see the Shops and wanted to find out what was in this Dungeon, to think it was a City with a lost Race. We shall not reveal this matter but we really do wish to leave soon if there is no opportunity for exploration." Wu Hai finally had an opportunity to talk. 'It was hard to fit a word in with the babbling cattle.' He wanted to shake his head at thier attitudes but it the whole area, everyone in the cavern around them was staring.
"Then, please, let us show you to the Shops. After that we hope you can tell us of the outside, what has become of the Guardians? Are they all gone?" Questions that were not expected, kept coming out of the Elders.
Wu Hai was eager to find Shops and get out of there, something about the Minaur didn't feel right after all and it was starting to itch at him again and again. "Let us be on the way." Wu Hai spoke up again and the group turned to leave.
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"This is the trade district, there are several hundred shops with pottery, metal ores, furniture and food. We also have weapons and armor. You don't look like you need armor, strange, a group so lightly equipped." The Elders kept asking about one thing or another until finally Wu Hai had had enough. "If you're interested in something specific, I can take you there now."
"We would like to look around, could you please let us do what we have agreed to come and do? Otherwise we should just be on our way." Unwilling to hear more of the endlessness of the Elder Minaur's shrill, Wu Hai nodded to the group.
They all jumped, gliding on the air and passing over the crowd into the main trade center.
The Elders watched helplessly as the group went into the general public areas to look around.
Speechless, the Elders couldn't believe they had been dropped like rotten fruit and stood there unaware of their sorrowful looks.
The crowd below was more receptive than they group thought they would be, most of them got out of their path and watched from afar. The Twins had caught everyone's eyes and they were unwilling to look away.
'I need to look closer at this situation. These people, this place, it's giving me a bad feeling..' Thinking to himself, Wu Hai fell behind. He rushed to catch up to the Group.
As the defacto Group Leader, Wu Hai instructed them on a few things to watch out for, "This could be tricky and I don't know what's going on here." He took some rings out of his pocket and passed one to everyone in the group. "Here are rings with gold and a few empties. Get whatever pleases you and make sure that you don't waste money needlessly, we can make as much as we want but, lets not attract more attention that we don't already have."
Splitting up, the group each took a different path.
Darkwing went to the Weapon Shop. He was annoyed at the selection that the Pagoda Tower had on display.
Pleased as can be, he strode up to a Doorway. He was the first to find something that he wanted, "Eh?? What is that?" Darkwing noticed a strange cylindrical cup with a silver polished lining. It was embossed, they were strange patterns that seemed familiar so without any hesitation, he bought it first. There were a lot of different styles of Weapon, he had a few stacks of things set aside.
If a Weapon looked unfamiliar he would set it aside, Darkwing had a small collection on the counter when he was ready to go.
Looking at things turned out to be was exhaustive, Darkwing had found so many different types of swords, hammers, fist weapons, staffs, bows, spears and lances. What he could not find was something that seemed directly useful to him. He was indecisive, so he settled on buying a few of everything.
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The Cheng Brothers quickly found a Bar.
Every culture had a bar, that was one thing every adventurer could count on. Drinks. Buying out the entire inventory was the first idea they had. After tasting a few of their cheaper drinks, they decided to not buy the lowest quality drinks, at all. "Now we can drink different things." Yu was a little disappointed but at least they both had plenty for the time being.
The barkeep felt like he heard something interesting, he copped a strange look and brought the Twins in closer to talk. His attitude changed and he spoke kindly, "My Dear Friends! You have drinks? from somewhere else?" His lips quivered in hope and he looked like he would beg if they waited too long to answer, "Might I have a try?"
The Brothers both grinned and had the Store owner bring out large glasses.
"Tell me, what you think of this Wine?" Pouring from his Gourd and allowing its aromatic smell to waft about, the Barman watched each drop as it pattered against the next with wide open eyes. Cheng Yu was smiling while he poured the Wine, he had been wanting to see that expression on someone else for a while.
"This smell.. exquisite.." The cup was overflowing and wine started to spill out, then to the floor. The Twins were making a show, it wasn't uncommon for them. "Uhh.. you're spilling it." the Barman was distressed, watching fine wine splatter against the floorboards made him twitch.
"I see. Try this then, Mu pour the man another glass, of yours." Yet another wine fountain began to pour, this one was sweet. The Minaurs in the Bar watched as the wine soon filled the cup to the point where it was also spilling onto the table and laps of the group. When the countertop was sufficiently soaked, he kept it upside down and started to chug enormous mouthfuls of wine straight from the Gourd.
"We Qilin love to drink... Blurrrp!" Wiping the wine from his beak, Yu quickly asked, "What do you have to trade? I can offer you 5 barrels of each. I don't want to spend that much time pouring for others." The Twins had grown quite good at looting others over the years and now with their newfound bravado, they definitely had skills to help back them when it came to fleecing.
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It wasn't but a few minutes before Wu Hai found himself surrounded by books. The storefronts did have a variety of subjects on the shelves. The books themselves were not in any sort of order, hundreds of cheap looking books were stacked in a clumsy fashion in every direction.
He read the titles as he fingered at one of the bookshelves:
'The Great War of the Custodians' .. 'Mining Techniques to pass down' .. 'How to polish your horns and attract a mate' .. 'The Creator's Helpers' .. 'World of Shame' .. 'Orcs for Dinner' .. 'Cooking with Human' .. 'Don't Panic, We're all Cattle' .. 'Dead Gods' .. 'Wu Wu Loves Danger' .. 'Twilight Farming' .. 'What not to step on in the dark!' .. 'The Surface and its endless death.'
The story titles just got worse, although he couldn't find many magical books, a few titles in the store did stand out. "How much for these". Plopping a very large stack of various books onto the table, the shopkeeper was confused why Wu Hai wanted them but he was thrilled to make a trade.
"We are a Mining community, so the price will be 50 kilograms of Iron, or a really nice gem. I can find another mate with a gem on my Horns." The strange practices of the Minaur people were not something that Wu Hai could understand. He pulled out a gem that the black spot had not wanted and threw it onto the table. The shopkeeper seemed like he lost his vision for a moment, he fumbled the gem in his hands a few times with it before he finally grasped it calmly. "What is this?"
The Gem was about the size of his fist, "Its a very potent Earth Crystal. Eat it and you will develop the ability to control the ground. You'll be happy with the results." Wu Hai looked the shopkeeper over and wanted to roll his eyes.
Holding the gem in his hands, the Minaur was confused for a moment but the crystal was well cut and beamed with light. "Deal!" He didn't care if it gave power, he wanted a mate. The gem was about the size of Baby's head. If he cut it in half and fixed it to his horns, he would become unimaginably fascinating to the females of his kind. "What else does this wealthy little Lord want from my store?" He rubbed his hands and put the crystal away, "If you can't find what you like, just close the shop down." Whooshing away, the Minaur completely disowned the Bookstore and rushed down the tunnel like someone had who had won the lottery or had their tail on fire.
Puzzled, Wu Hai stared at the dust trail left by the previous owner.
The store was empty of people.
"Really Now?" Not standing on etiquette Wu Hai, looted everything and headed to the next shop. "This will be fun, lets see what happens.."
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Khan Ni was searching shops for useful items, she had a feeling that something related to the World Tree was in the bazaar, somewhere. She could feel its sacred aura as she was passing through Minaurs, the trail lingered in one area. Most of the people around her had stopped in front of her before she could pass just to take a look at her once. She was the companion of the Jiao that had just arrived, they idolized her in some regard and some gave her strange looks of contempt.
"Where are arrows and other magical tools? I was told that you had very few magical items and so I'd like to take a look." Khan Ni approached a light brown Minaur who hid his face in a metallic mask.
"Elves and Magic Tools.. Minaur do not need tools or magic to stay alive but even our Ancestors knew to appreciate easier work." With a sarcastic remark, he bellowed and pointed Khan Ni in the right direction. "Krosk Item Shop is down 2 levels and at the end of the tunnel, Tell him he owes Jurr and that he better pay up." He stared her down and spoke again, "Eh? Can you not hear me? Go!" Balling his fists, he looked ready to hit Khan Ni for asking questions.
"Excuse me?" Khan Ni was no lackey, unwilling to deliver the message, she noticed he had completely ignored her while she spoke and was already walking away.
She stormed off looking in the direction he had been sent for the item shop. 'What Bully, Haha!' Khan Ni laughed inwardly at her own pun, she thought it was pretty good but he had left too soon to use it.
A few minutes later, there was a knock on a large stone door. The store door was a Vault door! A very sophisticated one. It was certainly sealed very well. Entering the shop, Khan Ni saw bunches of Arrows that had gathered dust, they were rainbow in color and had several different heads, each with its own property.
Across the shop on a shelf, behind a large Vault Door sat a small box that contained the aura of the World Tree, its smokey green aura brought a sweet smell to the entire shop. Khan Ni had trouble catching her own breath when he realized what might be in the Box.
"I want that and these arrows, what do you want in trade?" Khan Ni couldn't help herself, her anxiety was going through the roof, she was impatient and jumpy. 'With that seed... that seed..' Knowing right and well that what was in the box was a world tree seed, she couldn't hide her emotions. She stared at it unblinking for a minute while the Shop owner watched her every move.
"Not for sale! Although, I can sell you the arrows, the seed stays." Krosk was not interested in Khan Ni's expression. He could tell she was furious after he told her that the Seed was not for sale but he understood that she was an Elf. Seeing the World Tree Seed on a shelf was probably torturous and somewhat sacrilegious to her kind's beliefs.
"Little Elf, You know what a World Tree Seed can do right?" Krosk kept on.. "A World Tree Seed brings luck, fortune, and protection from the Elements. While other shops have experienced cave-ins and Blackhoof's men robbing them, Mine has been left untouched."
"Blackhoof?" Khan Ni hadn't heard that name or title yet, she was doing her best to assimilate how things worked in the City but there was little she could piece together with the information she had.
"Yes, Blackhoof is the leader of the Blackhoof Crime Guild. They never pay for anything and beat shop owners who don't pay protection fees. Racketeers, I've almost had enough of it." Slamming his fist onto the counter-top he pulled out a crossbow. I've been here for 73 years, My father gave me this crossbow to scare off Thieves and Thugs. Now, I have no customers because of those damned Blackhoof!" Feeling depressed and frustration, Krosk sat down on his chair. His facial expressions betrayed him, there was a pained look on his face.
"So, Blackhoof is a rebel in Minaur?" Khan Ni was looking for justification to his accusations. She couldn't just outright believe anyone she saw.
"Excuse me, I have some friends here that are extremely good at strange things. If we can stop the Blackhoof, will you sell the seed?" Khan Ni was not going to give up, she thanked Wu Hai for his tenacity under her breath, hoping he couldn't hear her prasing him.
"Little Lady...If you get rid of the Blackhoof, the Clan Leader won't be too happy. He gets a large part of the gemstones and ore from Blackhoof directly." He folded his hands and seemed to laugh slightly, "However, Yes. If you manage to get rid of the Blackhoof, the Seed is yours." Krosk was sure that she couldn't do what she had said, no one in the City could defeat the Blackhoof. "I'll give you one more piece of information, free for the little miss. The Blackhoof are known to kill rather than compromise." Krosk ushered the Elven girl out of his shop and locked the door. He knew full well, trouble was coming.
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The Twins had made out like bandits, stuffing their spacial rings with enough booze to drink a Capital City under the Table. The Gourds they had were used to fill a small warehouse after hitting many of the shops and each time they were done, they'd move on to clear out another. Feeling very satisfied with the haul, they were thrilled at their use of time.
Wu Hai was still trying to find books but all he had found earlier were books that contained no magic, even the books themselves were left mostly abandoned, still knowledge was useful, he collected everything. Rows of shops were stretched out in front of him. He quickly found a small stall with a few crystals of different color, gemstones primarily but lots of other minerals were present. There was a bright gray crystal sat among the piles. It looked more metallic than crystal but it had been chipped and cut just like all others.
"What do you want for this pile of crystals?" Wu Hai was sure there was a deal in there somewhere, so he made the effort and asked.
"What does the Meat sack think? Do you believe you have something of value? Take it out, show me." The vendor's disinterest was crystal clear as he spoke, it caught Wu Hai by surprise and mildly soured him mood.
'What a prick, I suppose he just doesn't like outsiders.' Pulling out a few monster parts, a Piece of meat found its way to the table, it was about 80 kilograms. "This is from an Ashchete, it will make you stronger." Wu Hai was serious, the Ashchete meat was one of the best meats he had stored away. It had energy sources that boosted strength, he had come across only the one but he really wanted the gray crystal. However, alerting the Shop Owner about an anomalous item wouldn't help move trade negotiations along, it would only raise the price. He brought meat out, hoping that it would drive the price down, Meat was very rare in the Minaur City.
"Meat? This is a start, what else do you have?" The shopkeeper was not slow at all, demanding a bit more he pointed at the meat.
Negotiations in Minaur seemed more aggressive the further Wu Hai went into the Trade Centers. "Very well, I do have this.." Placing one hand on his weapon, Wu Hai made the shopkeeper nervous.
The shopkeeper was a little cautious, he blurted out, "Please don't cause problems!" He was startled a bit and started to reel backward.
Wu Hai corrected the Shopkeeper, "I'm only getting something for you, relax." A potion entered his other hand, he passed it over.
"This is Ancient Healing Potion, It can heal 'ALL' wounds and it can not be found.. anywhere." Placing it in front of the shopkeeper, he watched as the shopkeepers eyes got rounder and rounder.
"!DEAL!" Pushing the gemstone pile away before grabbing the potion and meat, the stall owner quickly ran away with the meat.
"Why is it always like this here? Does no one care about their shops?" Wu Hai was in a light state of confusion until he heard a loud, grinding sound coming from a distant shop.
"YOU BEAST! I"LL KILL YOU!!!" The Roar of Battle had begun.
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