[LP CYOA] 傳

Speaking of betting, a thought occurs to me that we might score some nice cash that way since we are probably planing to lose anyway at some point. Beggars probably won't have that much money, but we could find more lucrative bets somewhere in the city. And it could serve as a nice cover story if somebody (Qilin) realises we have thrown a fight. What, us planing something? No, we did it just for the money.

But we would also have to find somebody we can trust to make our bets for that and unfortunately that list is coming up blank for me. Qilin could do it, sure, but she is not exactly trustworthy.

 

Cao'er.

But don't let her sister or grandmother find out.

 

Ok, so while somebody(Qilin) takes in that we've done it for the money, what would the orthodox guys think? A high PER master might want to probe deeper than match fixing story, wouldn't he?

 

AB

By the way, are we yet to get the skill boosts?

 

AB

 

Nah, it can't be her. Not because of her sister and grandmother finding out - that could actually work to our advantage as it would give them a motive why the Maniacs apprentice obviously threw a fight (even if they would be pissed off at us). But because I just don't see her doing something like that. We would need a face for this, a rogue. Plus I wouldn't want to drag her into something like that anyway.

Eh, I was only being half-serious. But if somebody does start to look into things, it would still appear better to have some kind of obvious motive rather than none.

 

If we partake in the competition anonimously, who will suspect us if we throw down a fight? Nobody expects anything of us.

The only people who know we are here are the Emei and Qilin. And they already know we are up to some mischievery, what with the fake identity and all. The Abbess won't expose us, as we both know some sensitive information about each other. As for Qilin, that's what B is for.

 

Oh well. My grand plans shall have to wait another day for fruition...

We voted to go in anonymous, well let's stay anonymous. If we now start helping Shaolin monks and getting involved with a girl who is probably best equipped in China to make us 'visible', well, I can see this whole 'anonymous' plan going downhill very, very fast.

Edit: In all seriousness: we decided several updates ago to attend this tournament as anonymously as possible. We stuck to that in our last choice. Neither of the choices here present us with any compelling reason to suddenly break this. What the hell are the Shaolin monks going to do to thank a dude showing them the way, pledge their undying loyalty and give Jing the sect's secrets? People, we need to have a plan in mind when we choose, not just read the choices and decide on the fly, or we're just going to end up proudly announcing our identity to the world soon enough.

BA

 

AB

 

AB

Also since I believe II and IV are still tied in the previous vote, I will unvote IV to put II ahead.

 

It would be good to remember why we did so. To buddy up with orthodox types more easily and procure information.

How about telling us who is the best prepared, most skilled, and the toughest motherfucker on their team, for starters, to awe a merchant boy who had long been a fan of their school? This is something to be proud of, why would they keep it secret?

I don't think we have anything better to do, and I see no reason to avoid them. We might hear something they'd think is safe to mention in a presence of a merchant, but in fact would be tremendously useful to us as a participant later.

 

Tournament here is the key word. What harm is there if we socialize a bit and make some friends?

 

Except the previous choice was exactly about whether we maximise our reputation outside the tournament or not

Anyway, I can understand the benefits of some covert info gathering if there are good benefits, the two options here smell a bit fishy to me for now, though.

Not that it matters, I think AB already has won?

 

Hmm or mby we tried to get rooms in several inns, but unfortunately there was no room in tavern for son of tiger. We lucky had find out about person who was trying to get refund on room but couldn't and we being charming merchant made deal with owner. It explains why we know Chi if someone will ask.

As for getting to know the orthodox. If we will help them, what will they tell people asking about us? That we are polite merchant son who helped them when they got lost in city helping our cover story sink in. I dont expect they will do anything major for us but mby they will give us some intel on their side, dont expect they will hide who is considered most talented from their sect students.

The main advantages of taking inn with chi is that we will know what she is up to and we will get some pointers how to hide in city with unfortunately we cant do well enough if we have to. Jing did everything he know to stay hidden from people still Chi had traced him without him being aware and that is dangerous and counter-productive taking into consideration we wish to get as much info as me can and not being able to hide will charm it.

 

That's actually a very fair question, what can we expect from the Shaolin monks? The way I see it, the Shaolin are a very respected bunch in the Orthodox world and while I really doubt we'll get information on our marks out of them directly, having them vouch for us, a no-name merchant's son, in the "locker room" could be our ice-breaker with the other sects, "oh, this guy isn't so bad even if he is rather unorthodox." Remember, it's all about learning the most of our competition.
As for Quilin, well, I don't think hanging around here is a must for us to keep our identity secret. She didn't appear to give a fuck when we dismissed her invitation:

And I sincerely doubt she'll throw a hissy fit f we opt to stay out in the streets (although the look on her face when we'll eat her snakes will be hilarious), she has her own goals to take care of. It's not like we're her husband/boyfriend, plus developing our street smarts would be better for Jing's general development, he learns best through his own experiences, not having someone else explain it to him.

Now that we're out anonymously, I think it is even more worth it to invest in the drinking skill, to loosen up tongues and catch rumors in the midst of a social gathering, as opposed to picking pockets from those guys; social skills really do suit us better than that. Nevill, you were open to a flop from II to IV, I believe?

Edit: that, and if we accept Quilin's hospitality, she'll start pulling "favors" out of us. I think we have enough on our plate without having to take care of her shit as well.

Edit 2: going for AA.

 

We will be wearing a mask in the "locker room". A merchant has no place there.

I expect to at least know the names of our marks from the monks.

Let's keep it that way. Without knowing what she is up to, there is no telling whether she will give a fuck in the future.

No, I voted IV, but was open to flop to II in case of a tie. There is no longer a need to do so, since II should win by now on its own.

 

We don't have to wear a mask, bro, although going for the whole "White Wolf" thing is pretty tempting, I agree, and it will help us avoid attention from all the women that keep chasing Jing no matter where he goes. We have the invitation, the cover story is that we're a merchant's son that is interested in martial arts and there is no guest list. Nothing is preventing us from going in with our own face.
So, uh, is it possible to solicit that Sleight of Hand to Drinking flop?

 

AB.

 

I, II already won. You can socialize with sleight of hand dice and card tricks anyway.

 

Street swindler, so be it.

 

A tad better than a street drunkard.

 

AA

You guys realize that 2A means the Beggars’ Sect?

 

Maybe. Are we going to reveal our identity to them, too? If not, they do not owe us anything. They don't owe us anything even if we do, though they at least would have a more favourable disposition towards us.

It is a choice of making an ally/not making an enemy out of a character we have cooperated before with and with whom we suspect we'll cross paths later, and trying to befriend some beggars from ground zero.

Truth is, I want to know where Qilin stands in relation to us. She is our link with an unorthodox world, and she is somehow connected to this whole story with the Ten Swords that had taken a back seat for now. I want her as an ally, plain and simple.

 

Beggars' Sect rep is already at +15, so it's only a short jump into +25 (Accepted). And we're trying to get info on the other competitors, which is what the Beggars' Sect specializes in. Revealing Jing's identity to the Beggars' Sect isn't a bad idea considering there are decent odds the Beggars' Sect would ID Jing anyway.

It's good to know more about Qilin, I agree, but that girl will try to trap Jing in unfavorable circumstances, so if we want to approach her, it's better to do it from a position of strength. Sure, she'll let us stay there if we part with our money, but then what is our broke ass going to do when we have expenses (which we will, staying in such a high class place) and she's right there? Not to mention the odds of going to the tournament poisoned. Of course she already recognized us, so we're already in a bad position. Anyway, the Beggars' Sect might be able to help with learning about Chi Qilin too. Also, there are chances that going to the inn with her will endanger chances of Cao'er traveling with Jing.

 

They are information brokers, for God's sake. You give away that information, you don't know where and when it comes up. Hell no, we did not go in the city anonymously to spill the beans to the first beggar we came across. Making use of those measly +15 rep points is just not worth the risk.

This. If she wants to screw you over, she can already do so. No need for poisons, traps and other unpleasant business.
If she doesn't, it would be good to keep the status quo, and possibly make a friend out of her. Knowing what whe wants would be a nice first step either way.