Those Blessed with Talent

[rcnr]

It's much easier to discourage someone from purchasing than to convince them they owe you for buying something you wanted, but weren't willing to pay for.

What's Han Wei going to do, bluster about how he saw us first (and didn't offer a red cent for our entire future) and bid first (for exactly ten of those cents per year of hard labor)? The only one who'd be on his side at that point is his internal monologue.

 

[BFldyq]

Think is, even someone of the Imperial Clans withdrew.

This miiight have gone beyond some low-level clan member being insulted.

 

[redaeth]

My guess is he spread some rumors about us that made it seem like we were an unrepentant thief\murderer\whore. Take your pick of which.

 

[Pipeman]

Think is, even someone of the Imperial Clans withdrew.

This miiight have gone beyond some low-level clan member being insulted.

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Or it might be that the guy who measured our rank and wants us for himself is falsely claiming we're deficient in some way.

 

[BFldyq]

My guess is he spread some rumors about us that made it seem like we were an unrepentant thief\murderer\whore. Take your pick of which.

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And we're A-ranked. Power excuses a lot of things.

Or it might be that the guy who measured our rank and wants us for himself is falsely claiming we're deficient in some way.

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Anyone can analyse us with a variety of different skills and determine our worth that way. So, unlikely.

 

[hunter09]

[X] The Mu Clan's idiot brat: 20 silver a year, an idiot will help you find pets, education. You'll have to be this weirdo's friend?

 

[drake_azathoth]

We kind of were dumb enough to wait three days, so that's not saying much.

Honestly though, even if it turns out that Mu is the best of all possible outcomes, that would basically just be dumb luck saving us and it's rather clear that waiting three days was an obvious mistake we still threw ourselves into with all of our might.

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What's this 'we', kemosabe? I wasn't here.

Honestly, if I had the choice I'd have gone for the army back when the choice was offered. I think it would have been interesting and set a good pace and direction for the story. And having an entire effing military complex invested in you growing stronger isn't exactly a bad thing. But forumgoers tend to shy away from any kind of questline where people have explicit rather than implicit authority over them, even if it involves less overall scrutiny. An ego thing, I suspect...

The one good thing the third day PROBABLY did is knock out those unwilling to defy Han. There's no guarantee that kindly merchant wouldn't have essentially been forced to sign us over after he bought our contract if he DID take us on the second day. Han doesn't need reason if they can use bribery or intimidation. If Mu is sticking around, it means something.

 

[redaeth]

I did vote army. Sadly I think only one other person voted so it was doomed.

 

[wayne82444]

But forumgoers tend to shy away from any kind of questline where people have explicit rather than implicit authority over them, even if it involves less overall scrutiny.

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Ok, I've been following this for a while even if I haven't voted, but I'd like to know how this statement makes sense in the context of voting to become a slave over voting to join the army? While the army may have a lot of authority over you, becoming a slave is pretty much giving someone all authority over you for whatever the agreed upon time is. Sure, you can make some reasonable demands in advance, but I find it hard to believe the army would turn down a few reasonable demands for an A rank.

Oh, and if you were wondering, I almost voted army then, but decided not to bother since it was clearly going to lose out to becoming a slave. Something that I thought was basically voting for a bad end during character generation honestly, glad to see I was wrong.

 

[redaeth]

Ok, I've been following this for a while even if I haven't voted, but I'd like to know how this statement makes sense in the context of voting to become a slave over voting to join the army? While the army may have a lot of authority over you, becoming a slave is pretty much giving someone all authority over you for whatever the agreed upon time is. Sure, you can make some reasonable demands in advance, but I find it hard to believe the army would turn down a few reasonable demands for an A rank.

Oh, and if you were wondering, I almost voted army then, but decided not to bother since it was clearly going to lose out to becoming a slave. Something that I thought was basically voting for a bad end during character generation honestly, glad to see I was wrong.

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Eh my recommendation is to vote for what you want. QQ has a fairly small voting block and it can swing away from a winning vote pretty damn easily if someone writes up a convincing argument.

 

[Xicree]

Ok, I've been following this for a while even if I haven't voted, but I'd like to know how this statement makes sense in the context of voting to become a slave over voting to join the army? While the army may have a lot of authority over you, becoming a slave is pretty much giving someone all authority over you for whatever the agreed upon time is. Sure, you can make some reasonable demands in advance, but I find it hard to believe the army would turn down a few reasonable demands for an A rank.

Oh, and if you were wondering, I almost voted army then, but decided not to bother since it was clearly going to lose out to becoming a slave. Something that I thought was basically voting for a bad end during character generation honestly, glad to see I was wrong.

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Actually. This is not being a slave its indentured Service. Ie we're a servant with a contract and an expiration date for said contract. This and Slavery are actually 2 mutually exclusive things.

Going to the army is very much a similar situation to indentured service. Infact I'd argue its pretty much the same thing only that your indentured to the military as opposed to being indentured to a single person.


I agree with Redath that in waiting the full three days we actually dodged a bullet. In that Han Wei is a bastard and a thug and would have wanted us back in his hands no matter how he had to press the matter. Which means that anyone who bought our contract for before then might have found themselves pressured towards giving it up or making us work for him either way since he's clearly got quite a bit of clout.

And on the other hand while the army would have steered us clear of him... I'm kinda getting the impression that the kid is actually a way more interesting option than anything else which would have shown up across the board thus far.

 

[wayne82444]

Actually. This is not being a slave its indentured Service. Ie we're a servant with a contract and an expiration date for said contract. This and Slavery are actually 2 mutually exclusive things.

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Han Wei keeps the same carefully dismissive tone, "You also might sell yourself into servitude. The imperial family, any of the great generals or the noble clans would be delighted to purchase the contract of one so talented. You would have little say in your future, but once the term of your contract expired, you would be free to dictate your own affairs, and few would question your loyalty. Of course, I doubt one of your potential has any desire to live as a mere servant and you would have next to no say in your affairs."
A second bad option. Well, you doubt they'd abuse you, and they probably wouldn't waste you on domestic tasks, but selling yourself would trap you for seven or even fourteen years.

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This is all the information we had on the slavery option when it was voted for. To me this said that the only difference between selling ourselves and someone else selling us is that we could decide it was only for X amount of time beforehand, which would lead to people with any degree of forethought treating us better or ordering us onto a suicide mission before that time span ended. We didn't know we would decide what offer we took, nor that we could set terms other than how long it lasted until after we had decided it.

That is why I thought it was pretty much voting for a bad end at the time, as well as why I phrased it like I did when asking drake_azathoth how it was having more control than going to the military would. Even with what we know now it still only seems like the same amount of control as the military at best.

I do agree that the Mu kid looks interesting though, not that we really have any other options here. It is some kid I'd expect to see in a Shonen manga, a weird lady who offered us candy to come back to her house, the guy who is pretty much saying he will do his best to ruin our life, or try to run past a bunch of thugs waiting for us to do exactly that. Can't really see any of the last 3 ending well.

 

[drake_azathoth]

Ok, I've been following this for a while even if I haven't voted, but I'd like to know how this statement makes sense in the context of voting to become a slave over voting to join the army? While the army may have a lot of authority over you, becoming a slave is pretty much giving someone all authority over you for whatever the agreed upon time is. Sure, you can make some reasonable demands in advance, but I find it hard to believe the army would turn down a few reasonable demands for an A rank.

Oh, and if you were wondering, I almost voted army then, but decided not to bother since it was clearly going to lose out to becoming a slave. Something that I thought was basically voting for a bad end during character generation honestly, glad to see I was wrong.

Click to shrink...

It's a matter of perception, but the fact is being someone's personal slave - in the Greek sense- often means since you are THEIR property they are the only person with the ability to give you orders and punish you. Thus, you have someone with explicit authority over you, but only one person. There are situations where that offers a lot of freedom.

Being in the military means taking orders from whatever superior officer you've been assigned and so forth further up the hierarchy. Either way, it's obviously very different from slavery or indentured servitude. We'll have to see how the Mu thing turns out, it's looking relatively good even with poorish pay but I wouldn't be shocked to learn there's a catch.

 

[Pandemonious Ivy]

Screw that Panda... I want back my Nightmare.

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If we survive long enough to get a dragon and get some training in, I'm down for capturing another demonic shadow creature.

 

[wayne82444]

[x] The Mu Clan's idiot brat: 20 silver a year, an idiot will help you find pets, education. You'll have to be this weirdo's friend?

Might as well vote, I tend to wait until I'm sure I won't think of a reason to vote for something else, but I did just point out what the other options were myself

 

[john doe]

[x] The Mu Clan's idiot brat: 20 silver a year, an idiot will help you find pets, education. You'll have to be this weirdo's friend?

Money's a bit dissapointing but the point of becoming a servant wasn't the money anyway

 

[redaeth]

Money's a bit dissapointing but the point of becoming a servant wasn't the money anyway

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It kinda was, whenever Little Bee thinks of indentured servitude it was the cash she thought of first, as you need money to buy your way into higher ranks.

 

[BFldyq]

I advocate running for it. I was against this path from the get-go, and this just strengthens that desire.

 

[Pandemonious Ivy]

It kinda was, whenever Little Bee thinks of indentured servitude it was the cash she thought of first, as you need money to buy your way into higher ranks.

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And skill books!

 

[Pandemonious Ivy]

Huh somehow completely missed I had a reward for the omake. Only caught it when I was rechecking the votes.


This please.

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Don't forget about our special kitten, guys! It might even be Autumn!

 

[drake_azathoth]

When you're sitting down to chew a piece of bread and sulk, some brat even has the nerve to sneak into the tent from the back! You're worried at first, till you realize that he's your age, with smooth unscrewed skin, fancy—if decently dirty—clothes and a glove on his hand that marks him as a noble. You bow, fighting the urge to glare as he circles around you.

"Wow!" there's enthusiasm in his voice, "So you're the girl everyone's talking about, aren't you?"

You resist the urge to say something sarcastic. You've angered one noble and now you're probably going to end up stuck serving him. You'll do nothing to anger this one, instead you nod quietly.

"Oh come on, don't be like that! You're charisma based so you have to be outgoing, that's the way it works." The noble boy's tone is teasing, but his eyes don't hold a shred of malice. No, you look at him and all you can see is terrifying innocence.

"Just go away," you manage to creak out eventually. You don't think the boy's as insecure as Han Wei, to come after anyone who dares disagree with him.

"Oh come on, where's the fun in that little sis? Anyway, I've come to bid on behalf of myself, because really who wants to hire someone without meeting them and you seem like you could be fun."

"Fine," despite yourself you let a thread of hope enter your voice.

"Hmmm, well if you don't want to just join the clan then, yeah, I'm sure I can talk all those grannies in the Mu clan into giving you food and books and stuff for 5 or 7 years, and hmm... Oh! Yeah, I'll help you hunt down whatever monsters you want to capture for pets. Hey don't laugh! I may be small, but I'm a strong man of the Mu clan you know I'm sure we can tame some kind of grown up X+ rank 7 Torments Infernal Dragon God or something if we try at it!" He pats a nonexistent bicep like he has something to be proud of, and smiles like X rank is an actual thing that exists, "And umm... I don't have much money today, but I'm sure I can get at least a few silver together every year, maybe 20 or so?"

Lord Mu waves cheerfully and silently at you from the audience. The old man keeps staring at Lord Mu somewhat nervously; Han Wei's thugs move closer to the entrance. No one speaks.

Click to shrink...

Drug peddling slaver and Han Wei's thugs are scared shitless of the 'little boy' Bee dismissed as an idiot brat.

Yeah, it's either the general or someone else pretty scary.

 

[Garahs]

I advocate running for it. I was against this path from the get-go, and this just strengthens that desire.

Click to shrink...

Waaay too late for that now.

 

[BFldyq]

Waaay too late for that now.

Click to shrink...

It's still on the table. Hard, difficult and risky, but at this point, I'd take it.

 

[Wawv]

Money wasn't really the most important thing for us, in my opinion gaining the skills and stats that would represent our ranking is. If we come out of this strong enough to carve our own path, the money will eventually follow.

 

[Darkened]

[X] 1 Reject everyone and try to make a run for it. You'll have to dodge Han Wei's thugs and Lady Yuwen Xiao might hold it against you.: (BFldyq)
[X] 12 The Mu Clan's idiot brat: 20 silver a year, an idiot will help you find pets, education. You'll have to be this weirdo's friend?: (john doe, rcnr, Pipeman, Pandemonious Ivy, hunter09, Xicree, Ct613hulu, Wawv, drake_azathoth, wayne82444, redaeth, Garahs)

Well, close vote. Going to call it for Mu then.

 

[Darkened]

Shouting at storms watches for a few more minutes, allowing the silence to continue. Then he whimpers oddly at you before recovering himself and sharing a few quiet words.

"So, Yuwen Xiao? I don't know what happened to drive the price so low, you could have expected at least 50 gold a year," you know exactly what Shouting at Storms doesn't, but there's no point in telling him that. You got someone high up mad and now he's taking it out on you.

You start to agree, but you can't bring yourself to say the words. You probably should go with Yuwen; but something about the way her smiling servant tried to buy you with a few pieces of candy, set you on edge. You've seen a few people in the Lower City who liked to smile at you street-rats, give them treats and sometimes offer to take them somewhere. It never ended well. Maybe you could go with her if you knew why Yuwen Xiao actually wants you, or what she plans for you to do, but without that information you can't bring yourself to trust enough to sign this contract.

Han Wei doesn't even bear thinking of, which leaves... You look at the idiot, wonderful. Hopefully he can actually pay, and his clan actually backs up the contract. Then again, you can't imagine that the big clans just let their brats wander around anywhere without a watcher normally, so there has to be something special about the idiot.

You smile at Shouting at Storms, then shake your head.

"I'll take Lord Mu's offer."

The merchant stares at you as if you're some strange and terrible beast. He takes a deep breath and then positively hisses at you, "You do realize that it's only one fiftieth of the money that Lady Yuwen's offering?"

You nod, "The, umm, other perks? of the deal look good enough?" you're not a bad liar, you just haven't leveled enough to be a good one yet. Still, you made your announcement loudly enough and the idiot's already bouncing up to the stage, vaulting onto it with ease to approach Shouting at Storms. Miserable, the merchant takes Lord Mu to a prepared table.

The old man stares at Lord Mu for a few more moments, then shakes his head and departs. Han Wei's thugs amble slowly out. You wish you could trust them to leave for real.

Then Lord Mu pulls you over excitedly and shows you the contract. Damn. You don't think the idiot would have it in him to trick you like this, but... you can only read a few of the characters on the paper, nowhere near enough to understand what you're actually going to sign. For all you know Shouting at Storms swapped it for a slave deal or something.

"Do we need to use something like this?" you do your best to keep the uncertainty out of your voice as you glance between them.

Shouting at Storms gives you an odd look, "Without the contract there wouldn't be anything to hold either party to the terms of the deal. Perhaps if you were in a position of equal power, it might be unnecessary. Please just sign already." the merchant seems wan and apathetic, infinitely less willing to come to your aid than he was before the auction. Your request to have him read the contract to you dies on your lips.

You could run, turn and dash out of the tent and the city and leave it all behind. Sure it's dangerous out there, but you're a beast tamer and you can work out something or... No, Han Wei's thugs would grab you, you're sure of it. You're trapped now, and no matter what the contract actually says, signing can't be worse than not signing. So you sigh and write the characters for 'little' and 'bee.' At least you know those. Shouting at Storms snaps the contract off the table, rolls it up and hands it to the lord in exchange for a very small purse.

"Now please leave so I can forget this whole unfortunate process." Shouting at Storms sighs miserly and begins counting. Lord Mu, or should that be master now—nah, impossible—smiles at you then thumps you on the back with surprising strength.

"Cool! Now, let's go, I can't wait to show you the estate, there's so much stuff there and then we can plan a trip and..." he may be your 'master' for the moment, but you still manage to drown him out, while bowing your head and nodding thoughtfully at his every word.

He stops at the tent's exit, "Wait a second, I'll go and check to make sure those nasty guys aren't hanging around." 'Master' walks out of the tent, and you watch the entrance carefully, ready to run. If they are waiting, they might be stupid enough to attack Lord Mu then grab you. You jump as thunder crack's the sky and raindrops begin to pound on the tent's roof. Behind you Shouting at Storms mutters a few quiet curses.

A heart-pounding minute later, Mu walks back inside, soaked and no less cheerful.

"It started raining, but I think they're gone!" he smiles cheerfully, then taps his chin thoughtfully, "But a genius like me knows better than to trust to that kind of thing so, how are you at running?'"

"That's..." without waiting for an answer, Lord Mu grabs your hand and pulls you out the door into the frigid rain.

"Come on, faster, faster!" he giggles madly as he charges into the storm. You do your best to keep up, stumbling across muddy streets and slippery stones as he pulls you up toward the inner quarters of the city. Trying to spot any of Han Wei's goons, you manage to stumble and trip into a wall, dragging Lord Mu down with you.

Laughing like a maniac, he pulls you to your feet and charges forward. "Oh come on Little Bee, just pretend there's a monster chasing us, like a big cat or an angry dragon," it's not hard to picture a city guardsman behind you, face red from alcohol and thoughts of violence as he tries to hammer another urchin for the fun of it.

Even if you've never met a guard in love with his job enough to work through a storm like this, the thought still spurs you forward, past Lord Mu, who shouts encouragement even as he speeds up to pass you again. You've been running for your life since you've been on the streets. It's no fair at all that this snobby little crazy lordling is in better shape than you are!

+10XP​

Eventually he slows to a walk, waterlogged enough that there's no point in hugging a building or waiting out the storm under an awning. Your master leads you skipping through the storm laughing and panting (him laughing, you panting) to the entrance of a massive fortress. A pair of spear-carrying stone-faced guards stand outside the outer wall, ignoring the rain as best they can.

"It's kinda small" you stare at the massive stone building, just shy of a castle. Its roof is ornate. Angry dragons stand, flashing bright gold on black in the brief illumination from the storm's lightning. Small he says...

"But land in the city is really expensive or something, I don't really pay attention to any of that money stuff, but they say we couldn't buy anything bigger or awesomer unless we were the emperor."

The guards move to bar your way, stare at Lord Mu's muddy rain-soaked face for a few moments and rush to push open the thick iron gates.

"The young lord returns!" both shout at once, solemn, then they slam the gates behind you.

Lord Mu leads you through the courtyard, walking slowly now despite the rain. Well, you're already muddy and wet (And you already had a bath this month too!) so you might as well see what you can. The gardens are amazing. Trees and flowers and even a small pond stand around the three storied wooden building at the estate's center. Everything is arranged just so like someone actually spent time deciding where to put all the weeds! A few smaller outbuildings dot the estate. Are.. are you really going to live here? It's almost too much to believe. It's too big, too open too unlike the squat crowded tenements and back-alleys teeming with beggars in Lower City.

Gently Lord Mu pulls you into the building properly, standing cheerfully inside a stone entryway where guests can remove their shoes, "I'm back, and I brought a great souvenir!"

His obnoxious voice shatters the building's solemn quiet. Presently an older man with spectacles steps smoothly out from a side room, "Yes, you were expected days ago, when those guards that were meant to be accompanying you arrived and..." he looks at you. You try desperately to hide behind Lord Mu.

"Did you have someone kidnap a monk in training?" the older man must know Lord Mu because he doesn't sound unbelieving, just exasperated, "Nope! This is Little Bee, she's..."

The older man slaps his palm against his face, "Oh, everyone knows who that is. Please next time just have your guards raid a monastery. Easier to explain and less of a headache for anyone involved"

You glance between the two, then dip your head nervously, "A-are you going to have him throw me out sir?"

The man shakes his head, "Unfortunately in this matter, I lack the authority to overrule my childish cousin. I am Mu Gan. I expect when he gets bored and forgets about you in a few weeks you'll be remaining here, and you're really too talented to leave as a normal servant."

"HEY!" Lord Mu shouts, "Little Bee's interesting and a friend so I won't forget her at all!" Mu Gan ignores his younger clan-mate with a look of long suffering.

"Winter Breeze, Veiled Tiger," two identically dressed young women step forward, wearing simple robes of black lined with elegant strands of gold, "Please assist the young lady in bathing and changing her clothes. Young Lord Mu and I will be explaining this situation to the honored elder."

Lord Mu nods, then kicks off his shoes and hops onto the wooden floor despite the fact that he's dripping wet, "Ooh, Gramp's around? Cool!"

Mu Gan and the servants just sigh, then follows Lord Mu inside. Hmph, not like there's anything strange about getting a bit of mud inside a normal house. And just like that you find yourself alone with two servants, two fellow servants. They look at you for a moment, you raise a hand and try to wipe the mud from your face. One goes to fetch a towel.

Winter Breeze and Veiled Tiger are both professional, if way too forceful when you object to the bath. You might be able to get away if you bolt for the wilderness now! Everything inside passes like a dream, as you're pulled doll-like from strange happening to stranger happening inside this devilish house. By the time you snap out of it, you're dressed in the Mu clan's colors: black with gold trim, waiting to be called in to meet the clan's elder.

You don't have a clue what's going on, aside from knowing that the man one rice-paper door aside from you is one of the most powerful people in the world, one of the few at the very top of a great clan. All you really know is how powerful he is, how you need to be on your best behavior and that you're about to be introduced to a man who could have you killed on a whim. It's your last chance to run.

"Enter." the voice is old, and stern, lacking any noticeable warmth.

Quietly you slide the door open and step into the Mu Clan's audience chamber, bowing deeply.

"Hmph, show me your face girl and sit. I'm too old to cramp my neck staring up at anyone."

Hurriedly you raise your face and drop yourself down on a cushion, then you bow deeply again for being so inelegant about sitting down, promptly remember that he told you to show your face and sit up tent-pole straight.

The clan elder sits across from you, rain-soaked idiot ruining a cushion at his left hand and exasperated Mu Gan at his right. He's small, pruning with age. The old man seems practically dwarfed by his robes. They're a dozen shades gold, unadorned save for the outlines of black dragons circling around like vultures waiting to devour a soon to be corpse.

"You know," the man gestures at you with his pipe, "Han Wei convinced all of us to have you killed. Charisma at 7 stars is simply too dangerous he said, a resource sure, but a treasure that none of us would want our enemies to have. Better to buy you cheaply and push you on one deadly task after another, use you up and let you die before you can get uppity."

You glance at the idiot, he yawns then waves back at you before dropping his hand to his side. No help there. Mu Gan seems an impassive wall.

"Han Wei may be an overlarge boil that badly needs a good popping, but he is right from time to time."

You tense, as if you could really escape from the Mu clan's headquarters within the capital. You made a mistake, you should have run, should have left the city as fast as you could once you realized how talented you are. Monsters out there? Wolves would have made better masters than anyone here and now you're going to die without ever getting to live and...

"However, the young master," the clan elder reaches over with his pipe and shoves the wet idiot, "seems to have decided otherwise. And, Han Wei needs to have a plan blow up in his face every now and then. It's no good if we all dance as he wants now, is it? the old man laughs, it's a painful, brutal sound like claws dragging across stone.

"So you're the Mu clan's little monster for the next seven years. Any questions girl?"


[ ] No. You're just going to shut up and sit very quietly and hope they forget you exist.
[ ] Yes (write-in)

 

[rcnr]

Ah, so that look was "Oh shit, it's Lord Mu. Does he know about the plan? Is he going to stick to the plan? He's not going to stick to the plan, is he?"

They'll probably expect us to have had our contract read to us. We still don't know exactly what it says, and it'll give us a better idea of what's expected of us.

I mean, we already signed it. It's not like they won't figure out we can't read eventually, and the ship has sailed as far as possible consequences for that go.

Of course, asking an elder to read us our contract could be construed as insulting, when somebody else less important is perfectly capable of doing that. Does anybody else have any questions?

 

[Raron]

"So you're the Mu clan's little monster for the next seven years. Any questions girl?"

Click to shrink...

Didn't we agree for five years?

[X]Ask him about your future duties.
[X] Ask what your contract says.
-[X] Admit you can't read.
[X] Apologize, but you're not that familiar with this clan or it's members. May you know who you are addressing?

 

[rcnr]

Didn't we agree for five years?

[X]Ask him about your future duties.

Click to shrink...

Five to seven. It's within the range he gave us on day two.

 

[redaeth]

[X] Ask him about your future duties.
[X] Ask what your contract says.
-[X] Admit you can't read.
[X] Apologize, but you're not that familiar with this clan or it's members. May you know who you are addressing?

Holy crap, we dodged a bullet there, almost literally. If we had taken the offers on day 2 we'd have gotten killed because of what Han tried to do. Also I think getting what our contract says out right now, otherwise no one will bother telling us.