A Sage's Journey (Original Xianxia)

[Walker]

[X] Stay here

 

[ChandraMagic]

*peers in here, laughs, and toss out a tally before going off to do something else*

Vote Tally : A Sage's Journey (Original Xianxia) | Page 3 | Questionable Questing [Posts: 86-91]
##### NetTally 1.9.9

[X] Apprehend the thugs
No. of Votes: 2

Spoiler: Voters

Winged One
moop

[X] Follow the thugs
No. of Votes: 2

Spoiler: Voters

Raron
weeksauce

[X] Stay here
No. of Votes: 2

Spoiler: Voters

Dirk93
Walker

Total No. of Voters: 6

 

[TotalAbsolutism]

[X] Follow the thugs

Be smart, like Sun Wukong. Or dumb, like Sun Wukong. It tends to work out for him regardless.

 

[mrttao]

[X] Apprehend the thugs

 

[UrsaTempest]

[X] Follow the thugs

 

[mrttao]

knowing their base from follow option doesn't really help us because we don't stand a chance against the entire base. unless we are aiming for diplomacy with the boss? which is iffy and risky.
also, it means letting them actually report to the boss. unlike apprehend which delays their report.

on the other hand, boss might take it as a slight if we turn them over to the law. or berate them if they go whine that they were beat up. then again they will probably say dad beat them up instead of little girl... so, trouble.

 

[Sue Donim]

Well, they clearly aren't going to leave us alone, and getting them arrested isn't really a very good solution to the problem.
[X] Follow the thugs

 

[Minion #Q]

[X] Apprehend the thugs

 

[cezyou]

[X] Follow the thugs

 

[Kerfirou]

[X] Apprehend the thugs

 

[ChandraMagic]

Sorry, this would have been up sooner, but War of the Chosen dropped a couple of days ago and my favourite streamers have been almost nonstop streaming it, so that has taken my time. Fret not, this is not abandoned, nor is it forgotten.

---

You think long and hard on this. Do you concentrate on your parents, and making sure everything is okay, do you try to apprehend the thugs so they will face the full brunt of the law, or do you follow them to their hideout, so you can...you're not sure what you will do when you get there, but you will do it, yes you will.

Your hands grip the bamboo umbrella in your hands and you feel it creak a bit as you worry your mind back and forth between just running up to them and kicking their asses, and sneaking behind them, somehow because you aren't the most stealthy, and trying to find out where their base is. For reasons. That you haven't decided yet.

Finally,you sigh and hand the umbrella to mother. It would be better to find out where they are coming from, rather than cut your information source off. Please, you will do something. Something big. Something that will stop them from coming. Something...that you still do not know.

"Hold this, I will be back in a bit," you say to mother, before bouncing off. Your hands absently rise up and tie your hair into a quick topknot and you try to blend in with the crowd of people -too fucking scared to come out when the thugs weren't limping away- that is starting to spill out onto the dusty streets once more.

"Resplendent Lotus, don't do…," mother starts to say, only to trail off and just heave a heavy sigh. You're not focused on her, but you imagine she just waves her hand vaguely at you. "Just...be safe, child."

"Be quick, Resplendent Lotus," father says in turn, and even though you are not looking at him as you travel further away, you imagine he's folded his arms in front of him and is glowering at you. "Don't be late for clean up, daughter."

You smile slightly, and as you pass out of hearing range, turn back and flash them a smile, and your index and middle finger held up in 'V' sign to show them that everything is alright and they shouldn't worry. You can't promise about being there to help with clean up, if only because you kind of want to not have to do it if you do not have to. You will never mention that fact. Never ever.

Now, following the thugs is both easy, and hard. Easy, because it is easy to follow the thugs, what with one still nursing your kick to his dick slowing them down, and being noticeable in the hunched way he walks. Hard, because you have to follow them on the street and it is hard to hide and still keep an eye on where the two thugs go.

Still, you manage to hang back and follow them along. Occasionally, you have to stop and do something else. Like pick up some newsprint to read, and have to buy because the shopkeeper is glaring at you. Or, or, start looking through some produce...and have to buy some because you accidentally drop the peach in your hand. Or...well, you manage to make it through the district you live in, and only have to spend most of your money on things you will never see again, because if you want to move you have to keep your hands free.

You sigh in relief when they, and then you, pass through into the 'lower' district. So called because it is where those that barely make enough money to survive live. Thankfully, this is not you, but it still kind of breaks your heart to see the people here shuffling along as they seek to make enough to live on.

But today is not about your sympathies with the poor. You are a stealthy stealth type following two thugs as they crawl back to their boss and master to tell them how they failed because of you, because of a girl. You hope they choke on having to report it. You doubt it though. Probably a lot of macho posturing, and chest beating...well, you'll just have to kick them in the nads again.

Only harder. Make them regret looking down on you and all that.

Then you hear a sound and you barely manage to frantically look around for a second, before jumping up and grabbing an overhang and pulling yourself up, out of the way. Two guys, dressed similarly enough to the thugs that are currently getting away, pass close underneath you as your arms strain to keep you from falling down and being discovered. Bend, don't break, bend don't break.

Bend, don't...and your muscles give out and you fall. Surprisingly, you manage to catch yourself and land almost silently on all fours. Stifling a squeak, you shuffle on all fours out of sight, pressing yourself into shadow as you wait for the two guys to turn a corner before dragging yourself back to your feet and dashing to relocate the thugs.

"Yeah, guess they were seeing things. Didn't find no slag following them," one of the two guys says to a third guy. Your fist clenches at the insult, but you keep listening. "Nah, let them tell the boss. No point in us borrowing any trouble, when it will all fall on them anyway."

So, these two, well, three, are also in the employ of whoever sent the thugs to the bakery. Well, with them standing outside of a...massage parlour -and doesn't that just make your skin crawl- you can guess that their base is inside Now is the time to decide what to do. Be all action-y, and fight your way in, when you have no fighting ability, sneak your way in, when you suck at stealth. Or something else.

Whatever you decide, at least you know where their base is.

So, what do you do now?
[X] Fight your way in
[X] Sneak your way in
[X] Go home
[X] Tell the authorities

 

[weeksauce]

Welp. Looks like Lotus has the devil's luck - or is much better at fighting and sneaking than she thinks. Still not good enough to take on a den of thugs, though.

So what to do?

[-] Fight your way in
Nope

[-] Sneak your way in
Yes, well. And then what?

[-] Go home
Kind of boring, but probably for the best?

[-] Tell the authorities
I doubt that'll work out. Though it might..

 

[ChandraMagic]

Welp. Looks like Lotus has the devil's luck - or is much better at fighting and sneaking than she thinks.

Click to shrink...

To help you put this into context. I tend to go 'hrm, should something random happen now? I know, qqbot roll me a die' (this is amusing because those in the know know that qqbot is a capricious, and sometimes evil, dice roller). And then I roll percentile dice to see if things go off the rails. In this case, I roll a 99, which means that no, the random event (the two guys) would not be bad, but good. So you did the whole 'hide on the ceiling' gag. But you're kind of shit at strength things, so you fell, though that was just after they walked away so you had time to hide again.

As to the sneaking and fighting, well. I do not have anything to say about that.

Although, Sun Wukong did take enough interest in you to give you a book to help you on your way. It's up to you if you want to see more into that or not.

 

[Minion #Q]

[X] Go home

 

[weeksauce]

To help you put this into context. I tend to go 'hrm, should something random happen now? I know, qqbot roll me a die' (this is amusing because those in the know know that qqbot is a capricious, and sometimes evil, dice roller). And then I roll percentile dice to see if things go off the rails. In this case, I roll a 99, which means that no, the random event (the two guys) would not be bad, but good. So you did the whole 'hide on the ceiling' gag. But you're kind of shit at strength things, so you fell, though that was just after they walked away so you had time to hide again.

Click to shrink...

Hah! So it was the devil's luck in this case. Or some other theme-appropriate version of the saying. In any case, while I am tempted to storm the castle massage parlor our skills aren't quite up to that yet. Or the stats page says so at least ..

[X] Go home

 

[Raron]

[X] Tell the authorities

Hopefully this works.

 

[Sue Donim]

Ok I know people are voting for go home, but that's clearly a terrible idea-
If you go home now, you'll have to help with cleanup.
[X] Tell the authorities

 

[gammoregan]

I kinda really want to molotov their base, see how they like it. Unfortunately that's not an option.

[X] Tell the authorities

 

[Menosay]

[X] Tell the authorities

 

[Lydia]

[X] Go home

 

[ChandraMagic]

Hunh, sorry, but my week has been a bit wobbly. Not been able to get to this, like, at all. And tonight is not going to get better, as I have things I always do on Thursday, so I won't be doing the update tonight. Hopefully, tomorrow is freed up. In the meantime, have a vote tally:

Vote Tally : A Sage's Journey (Original Xianxia) | Page 4 | Questionable Questing [Posts: 104-110]
##### NetTally 1.9.9

[X] Tell the authorities
No. of Votes: 4

Spoiler: Voters

Raron
gammoregan
Menosay
Sue Donim

[X] Go home
No. of Votes: 3

Spoiler: Voters

Minion #Q
Dirk93
weeksauce

Total No. of Voters: 7

 

[ChandraMagic]

Sorry this took so long to get to, but as I said before, I have been busy with other things. I also, admittedly, do not have this as the highest priority of things in my mental queue, because it is SFW, and I know that it takes a while for votes to accrue. Ah well. Have unhelpful civil servant and helpful civil servant!

---

You wrestle with the idea of just going home, of reporting this to the authorities, or maybe, an errant thought - that you ruthlessly crushed the instant it appear- suggested, you go in and fight them. Yeah, no. You, in the end, decide to report it to the Prefect's office. It's the responsible thing to do, and you don't have to try to do something you are not good at. E-even if you have weird luck lately, and managed to not get hurt flailing like a...like a....well, like a thing that flails a lot.




The Prefect's office is in the main government building for the city, which is a rather ornate building, all told, and shows definite signs of good craftsmanship. Also, there are inlaids of jade, because someone thought it was a good idea to have the most pretentious looking building in the city. Probably not the Prefect though. The governor most likely, since he was the one to order the building built.

You're getting distracted and sidetracked though and you enter the building and begin looking for the Prefect's office. Which, thanks to a large sign, which you can read -because mother could read and she broke her back teaching both you and father- thankfully, you find said office relatively quickly. Unthankfully, you also find the clerk that acts as gatekeeper.

"If you do not have an appointment, I am afraid you can not see Prefect Arin," replied the brown haired, officious woman. "If you wish to make an appointment, then next month is the earliest I can pencil you in."

"But...but...I have vital information!" you exclaim with a burst of irritation. How dare this woman keep you from reporting this to the relevant authorities. Your fingers clench as you grip the countertop with your hands, to keep you from going over and doing something to the annoying woman. "Look, I do not want these thugs to attack my family again! I thought the Prefect, you know, the guy that handles law and order in the city, would appreciate knowing about this?"

"Yes, yes, he would, but you still do not have an appointment, so you can not see him at this time," the clerk rattled off again, seemingly bored with the interaction. And not at all afraid of your nonthreatening self. Somedays, it does not pay to try to deal legally with anyone.


"If I may?" comes a cultured, male voice from behind you, causing you to turn around and look at the subprefect that you had to deal with when the thugs attacked the bakery the first time. "Ah, I recognise you. The daughter of the baker and his wife, yes? Did you have something additional to report about that?"

"Yes, well, no, but yes," you say, stumbling over your explaination for a moment, before setting your shoulders and taking a deep breath. What was his name? What was his name? Oh, right! "Subprefect Azure Hair of the Moon! Yes, you can help me, but I don't think it is in your jurisdiction? Nevermind. I found the hideout of where those thugs attacked live, or hang out, or whatever thug things thugs do when they are not being thugs to innocent people."

"It's Eyes. Azure Eyes, but you are not the first to make that mistake," the subprefect, Azure Eyes says with a long, suffering tone. "Very well, tell me what you have found, and I can report it to the Prefect when I meet with him later today, when I make my report to him on the attack on your father's bakery."

"Fine, you see…," you start to say, settling yourself back and relaxing your handgrip on the counter as you start to tell him about where you found the hideout, and the general intelligence of the people that called it 'home'.


What do you want to do now?
[X] Meditate
[X] Learn to Face Punch
[X] Read more of the Book
[X] Help with Bakery

---

I should clarify what the Prefect is? He, or she, is basically the judge and jury and investigator for a city, elected by the governor. The Prefect chooses subprefects to hand off a lot of his workload because he can not be everywhere at once. Actual police forces are different, and are often more of a neighbourhood watch type deal.

At least, that is how I interpreted some things I read about ancient China. And if I am wrong, well, that is how it is in this Quest, so nyah!

 

[Lydia]

[X] Learn to Face Punch
I think we should really stop with the flailing and start with the punching

 

[UrsaTempest]

[X] Read more of the Book
We don't want to just punch good - we also want to be enlightened, which just happen to cause us to punch good. Therefore, let's check the next step.

 

[Minion #Q]

[X] Read more of the Book

 

[Menosay]

[X] Learn to Face Punch
Enlightenment's all well and good, but if we're going to get into any sort of real fight we need some bare basics like 'how to throw a punch without breaking your own fist' first.

 

[Walker]

[X] Learn to Face Punch

 

[Sue Donim]

So I've got a conduct that I'm voting along- a set of rules for how I wish our hapless protagonist to behave. The end goal of this conduct is to mold our protagonist into a incredibly effective bumbling oaf.
Well, the end goal is my amusement, but one implies the other.
1: The immediate consequences are the only important consequences
2: Do not start fights, but blithely walk where fights are liable to start
3: Do not avoid fights, but do not be near when violence seeks you out
4: Never acknowledge your Sagacity regardless of the weight of evidence

This conduct is not immediately important for this vote, but in line with oaf out of our depth and unaware of it I'm voting
[X] Read more of the Book

 

[Winged One]

So I've got a conduct that I'm voting along- a set of rules for how I wish our hapless protagonist to behave. The end goal of this conduct is to mold our protagonist into a incredibly effective bumbling oaf.
Well, the end goal is my amusement, but one implies the other.
1: The immediate consequences are the only important consequences
2: Do not start fights, but blithely walk where fights are liable to start
3: Do not avoid fights, but do not be near when violence seeks you out
4: Never acknowledge your Sagacity regardless of the weight of evidence

This conduct is not immediately important for this vote, but in line with oaf out of our depth and unaware of it I'm voting

Click to shrink...

Nah.

[X] Learn to Face Punch

 

[Raron]

[X] Help with Bakery