With the advance payment for accepting the job from Clyde, her coin purse was reinvigorated. She now held 8 gold, a whopping 60 silver, and 4 coppers. Theft was not overly prevalent in this part of town, but she stashed her purse away in her backpack anyway, concerned the bulging seams would be unusually tempting to anyone who caught sight of it.

Confident that she would complete the job successfully and soon get the latter half of her ‘payment’--the shop discounts–Samantha decided not to purchase anything else for the moment. Instead, she browsed the stores, keeping a tally of all the various items that interested her and counting up the potential costs in her mind.

With her shopping done for the moment, she made a beeline for the Registrar’s Hall. Thomas had informed her previously that registering as a cultivator didn’t actually complete the Core Quest they received, despite what the description said. She believed him, but registration would still be an important part of her plan for making quick cash in the time she had left on the floor. Registration was a prerequisite for things like accepting posted jobs, participating in sanctioned duels, and also buying certain restricted items from shops.

The hall was located in the city’s center–the oldest part of Yivesh. When the city was founded over a thousand years ago, the first buildings were erected here. As the population grew and the boundaries of Yivesh expanded, the original structures were rebuilt or renovated to be more architecturally grand. This area was now home to a slew of imposing government buildings, the City Lord’s Palace, and looming manors that housed the wealthiest and most powerful cultivator families, the ‘Big Three’.

In short, the ‘Big Three’ had established themselves as an integral part of city infrastructure, trade, and rulership since early in Yivesh’s history. The roles each family liked to play changed over the years as some avenues became more or less profitable for them, but the last couple hundred years enjoyed a period of relative stability. Currently, the Granvich’s (of which Samantha had discovered their foundational cultivator manual) were mostly involved in ‘civil services’. including the judicial system, city permits, and other regulations. The Braxand’s (of which Samantha had potentially caused the death of a lesser branch member) were mostly involved with ‘security’, including spirit beast research and culling, supplying materials for qi infused armaments, and providing combatants for Yivesh’s standing military and enforcer ranks. The Tarlock’s primary interests included ‘economics’, such as managing banks, minting new coins, and coordinating trade with other cities.

Thinking about it, Samantha felt she really did have some terrible luck. She could hardly believe that in the handful of months since undertaking her cultivation quest she was positioned to potentially anger two of the Big Three. To be totally fair, the simple moniker was accurate in that the families were ‘Big’ in both influence and size, so interacting with a Granvich, Braxand, or Tarlock was not exceedingly rare. In fact, she had encountered members of all three families a handful of times in her years of working at her parent’s store. Still, she’d need to be more careful in the future.

After a few wrong turns and getting directions from strangers, Samantha finally found the correct building. The Registrar’s hall was relatively bereft of activity, since the only times people visited were immediately after successfully transitioning from mortal to cultivator. Still, despite the lack of foot traffic, the building was impressive even in comparison to the surrounding structures. It had only a single floor to navigate, but was at least as tall as a regular three-story building. The foundation appeared to be raised up above ground level by several feet and was surrounded on all four sides by wide steps of polished obsidian. These stairs led up to pristine white pillars standing gleaming and proud as they held up a roof carved entirely from an incomprehensibly large slab of marble. The gracefully sloping trim around the roof looked like a solid stretch of stone from a distance, but upon closer inspection was covered in recessed depictions of cultivators fighting off fantastical beasts or dueling with other cultivators. The artwork was sculpted with such detail and delicacy that it was difficult to believe that the figures were essentially carved from rock.

Samantha stepped into the extravagant building and was amazed that the interior was even more lavish than the exterior. Stained glass windows cast beams of rainbow light through the entire space, and the ceiling was painted with a mural so captivating that Samantha couldn’t help but gawk. Undeniably, the mural was crafted using some sort of qi art. It did not depict anything material she could describe, but the ever-shifting colors and shapes evoked a tangible feeling of power and vitality.

*Ding* You have viewed the painting ‘Dauntless Spirit’. +1 qi regeneration per hour while in the vicinity of ‘Dauntless Spirit’

“First time?” a female voice asked. Samantha tore her gaze away from the mesmerizing ceiling and nodded to the only other person in the building: a woman behind a marble desk. She answered as she walked, the sounds clear and easily heard despite the vast space and the distance between them.

“Yeah… first time in the center of the city in general, actually. I didn’t even know that paintings could have this kind of effect on people. Is the artist local?”

The woman laughed lightly at the question, “Goodness no. The talent to produce something of this quality is once in a generation–if that. A couple hundred years back a true master of her craft came through the city. I’ve been told she was doing some sort of pilgrimage. The City Lord at the time paid a fortune for this piece, as well as a second which is still kept privately today in the City Lord’s palace. What brings you to the Registrar’s Hall today, miss?”

“Right, well, I’ve come to register as a cultivator–” Samantha declared proudly, finally pulling up to the desk and standing before the Low-Copper woman. She was tall and slender, and the combination of her elegant dress and easy poise gave off the impression that she had an aristocratic upbringing. A quick glance at a name-plate on the desk reading “Tabitha Granvich” confirmed the suspicion, “--miss Granvich.” Samantha finished. She gave Tabitha a polite bow in recognition of her family status, despite Tabitha being of a lower rank than Samantha was. Tabitha returned the gesture, the bow dipping slightly lower than Samantha’s to similarly acknowledge their rank disparity.

Niceties concluded, Samantha proceeded to fill out a seemingly unending stream of forms. Most were mundane and required basic information about her identity or rank. A sparse few were magical in nature, requiring a drop of her blood in a qi scripted circle in lieu of a signature. When the final form was handed back to the efficient and professional Tabitha, Samantha was given a Jade token.

“Inject some of your qi into this token to activate its enchantments. It will then be connected solely to you, allowing you to use this as proof of identification and status when needed.” Tabitha explained, “To use the token to accept posted jobs, just touch it to the scripted circle on the contract and the token will record it. When the job is completed, touch your token to any jade tower near one of the job boards and an employee will verify the job’s completion then pay out the reward to you.”

“How do they verify you’ve completed a contract?” Samantha asked, curious.

“Type of verification depends on the job. Spirit beast hunts usually ask for a small trophy for instance, whereas for jobs in the city, usually a messenger is sent to the one who posted the contract to confirm. Sometimes if you work more closely with the poster they will give you a signed writ or some other form of proof. It will usually mention it on the contract.”

“If you work with the one who posted the contract, why would they not pay you directly?”

“In short, the Cultivator’s Association–the ones who run the job board system–want a cut of any job that’s posted. Contract posters pay a fee to use the service. If you do your job exceptionally well, it’s not unheard of for them to pay you something extra on the side, though.”

“I see. So that’s it? I’m fully registered as a cultivator now?”

“That’s correct. Is there anything else I can assist you with?”

“Do you know why my core quest to register hasn't been updated? I haven’t received any notification that I’ve completed it.”

“Yes, I was wondering if you would ask. We get that question a lot.” Tabitha chuckled. “Truthfully I don’t know much about it. Some of the oldest and most powerful cultivators might know something more, but getting them to speak with you is a challenge all on its own.”

“But you do know something.” Samantha pressed, catching Tabitha’s specific wording. Deciding to try and appeal to an aristocratic sense of superiority, she added, “The Granvich’s have always held positions of power in the city. Perhaps there have been rumors or stories you’ve heard?”

Tabitha gave her an appraising glance, seeming to be considering something, “Perhaps… would you be willing to do an information trade?”

“Sure,” Samantha easily agreed, “what would you like to know?”

“You identified yourself as High Copper on the paperwork, and I can see from the papers your parents filed when you left on your cultivation quest that it hasn’t been more than a few months. I can feel for myself that your aura is consistent with someone of High Copper–sometimes people like to try and lie about their strength when they register–so I have some questions about that.”

“Certainly. I don’t mind speaking about my experience.” Samantha said amicably, inwardly nervous about how much she’d need to edit out or gloss over to avoid being carried off by a squad of enforcers.

Tabitha explained that she had been stuck at Low Copper for the last year, and progress to the next rank had been painfully slow. Although the Granvich’s owned a permanent nexus, since she was not part of the main branch of the family she was restricted to visiting it for a single day per season. Otherwise, she spent an hour or two each day practicing her sword forms and qi control.

Samantha saw the problem immediately, though she couldn’t imagine that Tabitha hadn’t had the issue pointed out to her earlier given her family background. Samantha explained–as generally as she could–how she had so quickly risen through the ranks of Copper. Fighting in life or death scenarios against foes stronger than her, constantly emptying her qi pool and being injured, nearly every day since she became a cultivator was filled with strife. These harsh conditions were acting like a bed of rich soil for her seed of personal growth, but her rapid advancement also came with some downsides. The rising risk of imbalance between the strength of her spirit and her physical body, for example.

Tabitha nodded along as Samantha spoke, “I thought as much. We Granvich’s have frequently been posted to administrative or government roles–things that don’t usually require much combat. Much of our family favors rising slowly while in safety to quickly while in peril, but you’ve confirmed for me how noticeable the disparity in advancement can be. Perhaps I can take a page from your book, and add a little more risk to my routine. I don’t think I want to follow the path you took though, it seems a bit too exciting of a life for my taste. Now as to your question…”

Tabitha leaned in conspiratorially, speaking in a quiet whisper, “I only know two things for certain, and you’ll need to make the rest of the connections on your own. One: This Registrar’s Hall was only constructed in the city about 250 years ago. Two: Around 250 years ago is when the Core Quest ‘Unlock Your Potential - Part 4’ stopped being completed by the masses. You’re sharp, I think you can figure out the rest for yourself. I’d suggest maybe… reading up on a bit of history. I can’t say any more than that.”

Tabitha stood back up straight and brushed the slight wrinkles out of her dress, “Now, will that be all for today, miss Cray?”

“Yes, you’ve been a real help! Thank you, and I hope you have a pleasant day, Miss Granvich.” Samantha gave a slight bow in farewell and departed.

The registration process had taken less than an hour, so it was still early afternoon as she made her way to the next place she planned to visit. After activating her Jade Token, she asked for directions to the Athenaeum. The Athenaeum was basically a restricted, cultivator-only library in the City Center. The cultivator’s rank let them access different areas and topics of study, but the content was relatively common in comparison to some families' personal collections (such as the Big Three). Still, it was a good place to start for Samantha’s research.

The building was less ostentatious than the Registrar’s Hall, only two stories tall with modest looking stone walls. It covered a large area, Samantha estimating that her family shop could fit inside four times over. The trim of the flat roof was made from dark, polished wood, but she couldn’t see much more of it from her position at street-level. She thought that the flat top combined with the function-over-form walls made the building’s overall appearance look like a cube buried halfway into the earth. It was an unusual sight for an area saturated with grandiose architecture, which oddly made it stand out as one of the most interesting buildings around. At the entrance were two slabs of stone with no visible handles serving as doors, with a Jade Pillar off to the right of the doors. Shrugging, she placed her token against the surface of the and a dim light shone from it, then faded, before the solid stone doors slid soundlessly inwards and allowed her passage across the threshold. As soon as she crossed the boundary the door closed automatically behind her.

This library, unlike the Registrar’s Hall, utilized every inch of its multi-story height. Bookshelves neatly packed with books and scrolls of various sizes seemed to sprawl like the walls of a maze in every direction. The interior was dimly lit by qi-powered lanterns hanging like ripe fruits from the beams of the ceiling. The few areas Samantha could see that were relatively clear of shelving either possessed a staircase to get to the second floor or had a set of closed, stone doors with a jade pillar off to the side of it.

An employee promptly greeted her and, upon hearing it was her first time visiting, seemed a little surprised. “Really? You look familiar, so I thought for sure you had been here before.”

Now that he mentioned it, the Low Copper man looked familiar to Samantha as well. Without Prey’s Awareness enhancing her vision to see better in the dim light she hadn’t noticed at first. He had a very scholarly look to him–appropriate given his work at a library–and looked thin to the point of frailty. “I’m sure you’ve met a lot of people working here! Maybe I have a common face.” she joked, his identity tickling the back of her mind.

“Actually, I’ve just started working here a few days ago. The name’s Anthony Braxand, by the way.”

Her stomach dropped as the last name jogged her memory. The now sunken face of the man before her overlaid with the face of the man she had gutted in the wilderness nearly a week and a half ago. Him and his brothers had tried to ambush her and steal Silas, and she had feared that she had killed him before the trio teleported away with some sort of emergency escape talisman.

Fearful that her sudden recognition would give her identity away, she immediately dropped her head into a polite bow to hide her expression.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir Braxand.” she lied. Remembering that she had never given her name to the brothers, and not feeling as though she could come up with a convincing alias on the spot, she tried to play it safe and give her first name only, “My name is Samantha.”

“Yes, I know. Of the Cray family.” He gestured to a jade tablet sitting on a nearby desk, “Your identity was logged here when you scanned your token.” he elaborated, seeing her surprise that he knew her full name. “Perhaps that’s where I know you from… I recall my family selling some of the lower quality materials to Cray’s Creation now and then. Are you familiar with the shop?”

Thank goodness I didn’t try to lie about my name.

“Yes, I worked there for a time when I was younger. You have a great memory!” she praised, hoping that this would be enough to satisfy his curiosity and he wouldn’t dig any deeper.

“My intelligence has always been a point of pride for me,” he boasted, “but I don’t think I’ve ever visited the shop in person. I must have met you somewhere else… ah–that’s going to bother me all day. I’m sure it’ll come to me. Anyway, let me give you the spiel and I’ll let you return to your task.”

He proceeded to inform her that the first floor of the Athenaeum held all the available study materials for Copper Ranked Cultivators while access to the second floor would only be granted at Bronze. He warned against trying to sneak into an area above her allowed access on the heels of other patrons, as an alarm would sound after detecting her Copper aura. Lastly, he instructed to treat the books with respect, return items to where she found them, and not to take anything with her when she left. Study tables could be found throughout the floor for extended research periods, and she was welcome to sit wherever there was open seating. He offered her a lantern to make her exploration easier but Samantha declined, afraid that the increased lighting would be the trigger he would need to recognize where he remembered her from.

Samantha left as quickly as she could without appearing overly suspicious, and had never been more glad for the physical changes she had gone through recently. Her increased height, more grown out hair and eyebrows, and proper gear in combination with the dim lighting had likely shifted her appearance enough that any passing acquaintance would have difficulty recognizing her. She only hoped that the effect would hold up to further scrutiny from Anthony.

Rather than draw more attention by leaving as soon as she had just arrived, she was going to do her research as planned. She would be staying as far as she could from the front desk, though.

Fortunately, despite the intimidating layout of the Athenaeum's bookcases and dim lighting, signage was clear and she was able to find what she needed without too much difficulty. First she researched what was immediately helpful to her: information on the Verdant Stallion. She poured through various bestiaries and encyclopedias until she had found what she believed to be exploitable weaknesses.

Next, she looked into the ‘history’ that Tabitha had hinted towards. Samantha had been mulling over what she had been told, and could only come to two reasonable conclusions about why the core quests had stopped being completed. Either there was some other step or action that needed to be taken to complete the registration process that the city wasn’t allowing people to do, or she was registering in the wrong place. Maybe both.

She combed through all the city records that she could find from that time period, even checking some of the rank restricted areas, but the information she was looking for was notably missing. While most of the documents were detailed to the point of being painfully boring, anything related to the core cultivation quests were glossed over. She only found mentions of the new registration building being constructed, but couldn’t find anything at all about the registration process or why it was being built. Even trying to find information about registration from before the new building was erected was difficult. She couldn’t tell if it was just a topic that wasn’t written about, or if it had been purposefully scoured from the books. If she was forced to make a guess though, she’d bet on the latter.

Deciding to risk asking an employee if they knew anything about it, she made her way to the front desk and noted that Anthony had been replaced by a wizened, elderly man. The man’s stiff, knobbed fingers combed mechanically through his long gray beard as he frowned at some book he was reading in his other hand. Samantha could tell even from a distance that he was Low Bronze, so she approached with a deep bow of respect.

“Excuse me, sir. I’m trying to find information about the original Registrar’s Hall. Would you please assist me?”

Samantha figured that this man could be up to 150 years old depending on how quickly he had ascended to Low Bronze. As such, there was a good chance he would actually have more information about this situation, especially if he came from a family line of cultivators who may have lived through the event themselves. She was hoping that a mention of an ‘original’ hall would at least elicit some small reaction from the man, and give her evidence that her guess was on the right track.

“The current Registrar’s Hall is the original.” he answered without looking up from his book.

“I mean, I want to know about where people registered before the hall was built 250 years ago.”

He snapped the book shut and looked at her with a raised eyebrow, “Now, why would you want to know about that? That’s practically ancient history to someone as young as you, no?”

“Academic curiosity?” Samantha pitched.

He gave her a wry smile, “And, what inspired this bout of academic curiosity?”

“I… I just registered at the hall earlier today, and my quest didn’t update. I was wondering why.” she admitted, deciding to be honest after not getting a hostile reaction from him.

Like a flip had been switched, the man slammed the book in his hand violently down on the desk. Samantha jumped back and prepared to defend herself, alarmed at his actions.

“I’ll tell you why it didn’t update! Because some spoiled, rich pricks couldn’t mind their own business and let people make their own choices! Are things more peaceful now? Well… maybe. But still! Back in my grandfather’s day…”

The elderly man went on a nonstop rant for the next 10 minutes completely unrelated to the question that Samantha had asked. He spoke about his youth and how much the city had changed since he was a boy. He lamented the ‘declining moral values’ of the latest generation and how cultivators were getting lazier and softer, among many other trite complaints about modern society.

“...and that’s why I’ll never shop there again!” he finished, panting slightly with the passion of his speech.

Seeing a chance to cut in, Samantha urged, “But what about where people originally registered?”

“My grandad told me he had some fancy ceremony at the Lord’s Palace when he unlocked his cultivation. Registration’s the same place it’s always been, right next to the ascension obelisk. Too bad the only people who get to use it now are criminals. We’ve been shoving so many murderers and rapists through that obelisk for so many years, I would be shocked if the second floor wasn’t just some desolate wasteland with villains plucking up and enslaving anyone who comes through! If this generation…”

Samantha shuffled slowly away as a fresh round of ranting began. She bowed in thanks to the oblivious elder as she scanned her token to leave the building. She took a deep, calming breath as the sounds of his tirade cut off with the doors shutting behind her.

It was already evening, the sun setting and the first stars peeking through the veil of night. She couldn’t believe she had spent so much time researching, but it was worth it. She’d need to hurry a bit if she wanted to make it back in time to catch the cultivator she’d been hired to deal with, but before she could hit her stride someone called out to her.

“Samantha Cray!” a male voice shouted, sounding angry.

She turned and saw some unfortunately familiar faces.

“Oh no… Silas, I need you to get here as soon as you can. It looks like I might be in trouble.” she sent to her bond, her worry emphasizing the message.

“Coming!” he assured her.

The Braxand brothers were strolling up to her at a rapid clip alongside a High Copper cultivator she didn’t recognize. The oldest brother, Liam, was looking like a cat who had cornered a juicy mouse as he stalked behind the High Copper woman, who was looking somewhat disinterested. The twin brothers–Anthony and the larger, scarred man she still didn’t know the name of–walked side by side at the back of the procession. When they were about 20 feet away from her, the group stopped and the High Copper stepped forward.

“Are you Samantha Cray?” she asked, indifferent.

“That’s me. Why?”

“You’re accused of attacking these three lower ranked cultivators while they were gathering herbs in the wilderness, leaving one so wounded he nearly perished. Furthermore, your ruthless attack resulted in a valuable artifact being destroyed! Your cowardice is a shame to all cultivators, and, having insulted my family’s honor, I formally challenge you to a duel.”

Silas pawed at the closed shop door anxiously after Samantha called for him. He chirped to get one of the human’s attention to let him out, but Martha was thwarting his efforts.

“Samantha’s not here, sweetie. I can’t in good conscience let you outside. Do you want a treat? I have some more carrots!” Martha cooed.

Silas didn’t understand a word the woman said, other than ‘carrot’. Although more food was tempting, helping his bonded human was more important. He could feel her stress and tension rising every second he wasted here.

He headbutted the door with a little more force, looking up in irritation at the woman who kept shooing customers away from letting him out.

“Silas! I can’t let you out. Spirit beasts need to be attended by their bond! You can’t just wander about…”

Not willing to wait any longer he gathered the dormant energy that lived within him. He pushed it up towards his ears, letting the power gather at his temples until it exploded outward in a burst of growth.

The humans shouted and jumped back at the growth of his horns, but he wasn’t worried about them. Taking two hops back to get some distance to run up, he faced the door.

“No! No–wait–” Aldon begged.

Silas activated Thump and slammed his foot into the ground, cracking the wood beneath as his body hurtled through the air and slammed straight through the material. His antlers tore through the wood as easily as his teeth through a tender herb sprout, and he ignored the cries of alarm as he rushed through the streets in Samantha’s general direction.