1??????????????Soul Bound
1.1????????????Finding her Feet
1.1.6??????????An Innocent Profaned
1.1.6.4????????Journeymen
*flip*
Kafana found herself sitting in the group area outside their sleeping cells, having her hair put into a French braid that was almost a circlet of flowers by Vessel-Alderney.
“It looks nice” said Tomsk, as there were no mirrors around for her to look at it in. In Torello, the knowledge of how to make silver-backed glass mirrors was jealously guarded by the Glassblowers Guild, and as a result they were too pricey for anybody except the nobility.
“And practical”, said Wellington. “It will keep your hair out of your cooking, and work well at the beach.”
“Thank you, Wellington” Kafana replied, gravely.
He continued “So, to plans. I’m proposing you come up with gelato in the morning, then in the afternoon we meet up at the beach to play a little volleyball. How does that sound?”
Alderney arrived, having waited for her vessel to finish Kafana’s hair. “I’d like to suggest an alteration to that. I’ve just listened to the amazing letter that Vessel-Kafana wrote. Kafana is way ahead of us when it comes to getting to know her other half. I think, while Kafana is cooking, the rest of us should concentrate on filling any requests our vessels have made, and entering into the event queue the times we are likely to be on, and the activities we have planned for then, to take advantage of the vessel’s kind offer to help out. So, for example, if Bungo knows that in 10 hour’s arlife time he intends to visit his monks, if he fills that out in the queue, then when he logs in, he’ll find himself already near the monks. They’ve also proposed holding a ‘get to know you’ session, where we all play games using group performance coordination in different mixes of spirits and vessels. How about we fit that in for after the beach? Yes, it won’t get us quests or experience or combat skills or reputation with people in the city. But I think it is just as vital. A happy vessel can train your skills for you when you are not logged in. It means, compared to players who ignore their vessels, we’ll progress at 3 times the speed.”
Kafana: “They’ve worked really hard for us since we fought the trolls. If you’ve not yet done so, check out your skills, look at the quests they’ve handed in, the loot and rewards they’ve collected for us, identified and sorted, the trainers they’ve visited to get journeymanships.”
“I’ll start. My modified stats are:”
“My skills are:”
“I’m a journeyman mage under Captain Nafaro, and a journeyman priestess under Suor Isabella” she added “I have several skills I can upgrade, and I still don’t know what to do about Singer and Musician. Next person?”
Wellington spoke up “My stats are”
“My skills are:”
“I have not yet found a high mage I want to take a journeymanship under, and my companion quest is to send money to his family. I’ve set some aside, but I need to go to the Messengers Guild. To do it properly, I should set up an interest bearing account in his name with a good bank, and set up a standing request to send a monthly sum to his family. I can get that done this morning. Next person?”
Bungo said: “My modified stats are:”
“and my skills are:”
“I need to find an evasion tank oriented warrior to take me as a journeyman. I’m now a journeyman mage under Flavio. I’m hoping to make master and activate my Living Illusion skill, but I’ll need to demonstrate good competence in both seer and illusionist to do that, and I don’t have a seer trainer. Possibly Olga that Ruffiana mentioned. It would be awesome if my Vessel could take that on, as he’s got as much experience as I have at being a seer. Which is to say, none at all. It would also help with my companion question, which is to help my vessel earn respect. So I hope we can do the thing with visiting the Vecci camp, bringing footballs and music, fairly soon. Next person?”
Tomsk said: “My stats are:”
“and my skills are:”
“My vessel has done a great job getting me journeymanships under Captain Lelio, and advancing several of my skills. I don’t want anyone to underestimate how useful Group Performance is during combat. It is basically formations by another name, and it is the key to using a group to take down a higher level enemy, whether physically or via magic. I also think the mixed combat exercise is a very good idea. If one of us is looking through our portal at soul bound and notes our vessels about to be attacked and contacts the rest of us in arlife, we could be dropping into combat sequentially, one spirit taking control at a time. Indeed, we really ought to set our tiaras to monitor Soul Bound at all times, and arrange a signal that vessels can make to attract our attention. I’ve completed my current companion quest. Also, Wellington tells me that, after Alderney’s stunt shattering the troll’s club and having a chat with Flavio, he thinks that with the help of Alderney, Kafana and Flavio’s triple support group, he could put an enchantment upon my longsword that inflicts cold damage and may even have a chance of shattering enemy weapons or armour. I’ve got an enchantment slot free, so I’m eager to try that before we next get into serious combat. I picked up the reward from Lelio for our finding the smuggling route, and straightening out the guards on the dock. He’s ordered the watch to cooperate with reasonable requests we make in the cause of completing quests set by city officials, and I’ve been granted status as an honorary officer of the watch, which gives me a legal basis for enforcing some laws even without an explicit quest. Ok, I’m done.”
“Then my turn”, said Alderney “My stats are now:”
“and my skills are:”
“I am a journeyman with Harlequin now. I haven’t picked a High Master crafter yet. None of them have particularly impressed me. I also need to figure out what to upgrade several of my skills to. My vessel spent much of the last two days playing hide and seek with Carlo, tracking and disguising trails, and setting traps or detecting and disarming them with Harlequin. Not only that, she’s worked her fingers to the bone preparing everybody beachwear for this afternoon, so I can’t hold a grudge; she’s awesome, and rather brave. She’s asked me to help her look attractive for Carlo, so I’m thinking dress plus jewellery, but I don’t know Carlo well enough to know what he’d like. I do know he isn’t attracted or disgusted by this body; he’s got a well earned reputation for seducing men and women of all shapes and sizes. I need to go talk to Gregorio the Skull Crusher, who seems to know him quite well. Kafana, I think your vessel knows where Gregorio lives, and I might need to ask you to flip out for a minute so she can tell me. Bulgaria?”
Bulgaria said: “My stats are simple:”
“and my skills are:”
“I have done my current companion quest. I believe the effect isn’t just making the companion happier. It is to also bring the personalities and abilities of the Spirit and Vessel closer to unity. If I’m right, the end point will be the two people becoming functionally identical. Which tells us some rather interesting things about XperiSense, or the programmers there, and what their actual reason was for creating this game.”
“I am a journeyman actor under Comico. If you’re wondering why, it’s because the moment I saw a play he was putting on I realised that he was a master both of deception and of manipulating the public. Few realise it, but he is a key player in this city, in his own right. He is also stunningly cynical, and questions every assumption.”
“Talking of which, I’d also like to propose an addition to Wellington’s plan. It is all very well our saving the orphans. It needs doing. But we’re losing sight of why there are so many orphans in the first place. Plague is spreading like wildfire through Basso, and in days it will bring this city to its knees. A cure is needed, and fast. I looked earlier in the stores our vessels sorted and noted a crate we took from the bandits smuggling items into the city contains vials of disease. Can we go to Isabella and see what can be done about creating items or counter-potions to help stop the spread? Or failing that, get the watch prepared to enforce a quarantine. No matter how good the gelato, trying to launch it as a product in the middle of the equivalent of the Great Plague of London, or even The Black Death in late 1300s Europe won’t go down well.”
“Point taken,” said Wellington. “I’ve put a revised timetable in the event queue. Everyone happy with it, bearing in mind that we can modify it as we go along?”
Bungo: “Can we change the rendezvous from meeting at the Stadia to meeting at the Dove? There’s no fun in missing meals, and we’re not that pushed for time.”
Kafana took a moment to look at the gifts she’d received:
Kafana: “I’d also like to stop by the orphanage after lunch on our way to the beach. The gift I received from Flavio should allow me to heal Nicolo’s mind of some of the mental scars he gained as a brothel-captive after his parents died, if he so wishes.”
Wellington: “Agreed. Alderney, can you pick up the vials from the cell the vessels stored things in and then meet us at Isabella? Let’s go.”
