[i][b]Dr. Shen's House of Healing[/b][/i]

((Post between [@Letter Bee] and [@Stern Algorithm]))

A mysterious visitor from Tian itself arrives at Dr. Shen's office, clad in rare blue silk that marked him as a 'Seeker of Immortality' - One of the special agents of Emperor Gao Ming. Escorted by four guards, he asks the receptionist for an immediate meeting with the Doctor in a 'discreet area of his convenience'. Despite the mildness of his words, it was clear that his orders held a genuine authority that must be obeyed. And so he'd wait for the good doctor to escort him to a study or someplace, then present his credentials - A letter imprinted with the Imperial Seal itself. 

After that, he would finally reveal his identity as, "Greetings, Doctor Shen. My name is Tieh Zhu, Seeker of Immortality and once I arrive in the Tian Embassy, the new Ambassador to the autonomous City Government of Venedig. I am here to give you new orders."

[color=39b54a]"Love unites all under the Heavens,"[/color] Shen LinMu greets the Seeker of Immortality, leading him deeper into the complex, which appears much smaller from the outside, to a small recreational room. This particular room, like many others, was made with wood furnishings, the walls being sliding paper screens framed in wood. But what set this room apart was that the paper was multi-layered, imperceptibly, and cottony, while the wood frames were made of hollow wood. This made the room surprisingly soundproof. Still, LinMu left it up to the Seeker's guards to be the real deterrents of eavesdroppers.

[color=39b54a]"Is the term already up for the current ambassador? It's hard to keep track of these things. Business keeps me quite...well, busy."[/color] This of course, was a lie, intended as a joke, rather than deception, since it was LinMu's business to know things. He leaned forward, eager to hear his orders direct from the Emperor. Since being assigned here, LinMu had merely laid the groundwork for future missions, and simply kept his ear to ground while making a comfortable profit. His orders thus far had simply been, 'trade, listen, wait'.

Tieh Zhu then said, "The Emperor of the West, the sole person who can portray himself as almost an equal to our own Imperial Highness, Gao Ming, has made a bad decision. His 'Iron Decree' will cause only chaos in Venedig, Chaos that you are tasked with exploiting to conduct certain... Experiments. A team of Imperial Alchemists, fellow Seekers of Immortality, will be sent to join you in order to explore the possibility of improving the condensation of Humans and Xul into raw magical energy. My own personal experiment involves the transference and containment of this magical energy into nigh-indestructible gems in order to ensure eternal life and eternal beauty. What is your opinion of this?"

LinMu leaned back, a bored expression passing over his face. [color=39b54a]"Chaos is a wonderful opportunity for many things,"[/color] LinMu explained, [color=39b54a]"Not least of which is destabilizing a rival government."[/color] His eyes instinctively darted to the door due to the sensitive nature of what he was saying. [color=39b54a]"If it's ingredients you need, they are in no short supply, chaos or no, and I have accrued sufficient capital and means to provide you with plenty for your needs. If this is all the Emperor wishes for, I lament that he is not taking full advantage of the decree's repercussions, but it is not my place to question the Emperor's wisdom."[/color] LinMu suddenly sat up straight again, and steepled his fingers. [color=39b54a]"Unless either the ingredients you seek have some sort of 'specific requirement', say something that can only be found in 'higher stock',"[/color] here he was referring to noble blood, or perhaps magical prowess, something the rich and noble tended to have better access to, [color=39b54a]"or you require such tremendous quantities of said ingredients that the usual channels of acquiring them are insufficient to provide."[/color] Now LinMu was intrigued. Did the Seeker's experiments require nobles, or more bodies than what was currently in circulation in Venedig's slave trade? Would entire neighborhoods and villages need to quietly disappear into the night?

The Ambassador-to-be frowned, and said, "It should have been the former, but we have acquired a new ally who has an interest in the Nobles, or at least some of them. So instead, we are using the latter - Entire neighborhoods and villages need to vanish."

A pause as he elaborated on his new ally, "Our new compatriots are worshipers of the [i]Old[/i] Gods, whom the Reich's 'Church of Existence' says were merely mortals who drank from a mystic Grail or Grahl. These allies' plan is to bring back the Goddess Growthseed and the God Mansbane, which will cause more destabilization than anything we can do." A thin smile, "But at the last minute, we will betray them and save civilization, taking credit for their defeat and then using the prestige to claim ruler-ship over the shattered remnants of the Western Empire..."

[color=39b54a]"Ah, and that's why we don't question the Emperor's wisdom,"[/color] LinMu smiled, [color=39b54a]"Ambition is most exquisite when it is subtle."[/color] Still, LinMu shared the Seeker's displeasure; using a few high-quality 'ingredients' was more efficient than extracting usable material from large quantities of low-quality 'ingredients'. However, LinMu didn't like this reliance on 'Old Gods'. There were uncomfortable philosophical implications of having verifiable evidence for another culture's religion. The Gods were best left to the realm of the unseen, at least, that was LinMu's opinion. But he wasn't about to share his theological misgivings with the Seeker, and instead asked a different question, [color=39b54a]"I hear and I obey, but my current manpower is sufficient only for managing the business and some security. To carry out an operation of the scale you mentioned would require, well, a contingent of military types. A trusted strike-force of unquestioning obedience who would choose death rather than divulge their mission. Without such a force, I would be put at extreme difficulties."[/color]

Tieh Zhu smiles, and says, "Arrangements have been made - I brought several hundred mercenaries to escort me through the desert wastes; many of them can be 'persuaded' to take a new contract with your establishment and a fund for hiring more can be transferred to your control. However, do not hire Xul - They are dead-set against anything that can potentially help the Old Gods."

[color=39b54a]"Wonderful!"[/color] LinMu clapped his hands, before putting a finger in the armrest of his chair. The finger turned into wood and melded with the chair, while the foot of the chair immediately below the armrest melded with the ground. Thus connected to the entire facility, somewhere in the pantry, he signaled for a serving girl to bring tea and cakes to the soundproof Hall of Tranquility. Disconnecting his finger from the chair, LinMu took Tieh Zhu's warning about Xul to heart. Though he would not hesitate to hire one if they proved useful, he would be sure to keep the details of the operation on a need-to-know basis. The serving girl soon arrived with refreshments. LinMu grabbed the porcelain teapot and served the tea into two cups with one hand, his other hand holding back his sleeve in traditional serving etiquette. He raised his cup to Tieh Zhu, [color=39b54a]"Welcome to Venedig, Ambassador."[/color]