The first thing that Raymond noticed about Mei Rei Tan was how extraordinarily quiet the tea shop became once he closed the door behind him. There were talismans glued on them, red paper with gold-infused ink, and he could feel an almost imperceptible hum emanating from them. Soundproofing? Quite possibly. The rest of the tea shop seemed to follow that silent atmosphere. Most people sat alone at tables, relaxing and sipping at hot and cold brews or sampling flour-based desserts. It certainly looked like a tea shop for recluses to escape from the hubbud of the outdoors with, and the owner looked to reflect that. With waist-length hair pulled back tight against his skull and braided neatly, the middle-aged man wore silken robes and sported a clean-shaven face. He raised a brow at Raymond's question, almost bemused that the Immortal was treating his establishment as one of those western speakeasies.

[b]"Your order will be coming right up, sir."[/b]

Moments later, far too fast for the normal process of tea-making to occur, a mug of fragrant tea was placed at Raymond's table. Gold leaf lined the hairline fractures in the mug, while the murky green tea was offset by a single flower petal floating atop. The shopowner smiled, and said, in a hushed but not secretive tone, [b]"Fa Trung thinks of himself as an entrepreneur, but blames misfortune rather than inability and slothfulness. He was never famous, sir, only unlucky enough to be misled by short-term success. Now, please, enjoy."[/b]
[sub][@Searat][/sub][hr]
[b]"Misfortune?"[/b] The old man echoed, a glimmer of true hope in his eyes as he looked up towards Ari. [b]"Yes, misfortune most foul, most cruel! Oh, those dastards of the Tsi-Lei Gang, lying about their loans so they could steal everything from me the moment my profits dipped just a little!"[/b]

He covered his face with his hands, letting out a choking sob. [b]"If only I could buy it back, the deed to the building that my family had owned for generations...oh, if only..."[/b] Even as he suffered from those recalled memories though, the old man continued to magically produce talismans, handing them over to the always heroic, always active Ames. Amulak, seeing this quick exchange, could confirm that there wasn't any shopping interface at all. If he so chose, perhaps it wouldn't be so hard to just steal back his twenty silver after the old man handed over the talisman...

If Amulak were to interact with one of the talismans, however, he would see the curious talisman's stats.
[quote][b]Fa Trung’s Talisman[/b]
+5 STR, AGI, END, DEX, LCK
???[/quote]The item's effects, though part of it appeared indecipherable, certainly appeared to fit the bill, and if he were to then press it somewhere on his body, the dark and mysterious man would feel lighter all of a sudden. Twice as light even, and able to move just like how he would move in reality: unbothered by gravity.
[sub][@GreenGoat][@Psyker Landshark][@Haha][@OwO][/sub][hr]
It wasn't so exhausting, just lying there. At least, now that he was upright and gravity's weight was pressing on his head rather than directly on his chest, Krizantemë could breathe decently and just watch the world around him go. Players, in their eccentric, min-maxed outfits that looked absolutely hilarious when rendered in the vibrant realism of the Fantastic perception setting, talked about all sorts of stuff, most of it passing right over the lilac-haired youth's head. Shipments of live cargo to Mora-Sho paying well. Recent surges in higher level monsters over at the Goldspun Fields, with rumors of a Goblin King in the making. Some wannabe-paladin assholes camping the Blasphemed Tunnels and jumping newbies. Feet pics of the Flamebringer Princess going for 50k rishi a pop over at the Floating District.

Fun to listen to, but it only reminded him more of how he was stuck here, waiting for friends that may very well just be drawn away by those hella interesting things and forget about him.

Time passed on. People came and went, some of them glancing at Krizantemë, while others didn't even acknowledge his presence. The shadows grew longer, the night fell...wait, no, that wasn't the night. That was just someone's shadow! Craning his neck up, Krizantemë would see an absolute mountain of a man, every inch of his body practically oozing the sort of hypermasculinity one would expect out of misogynist American cartoons. Amulak may have gone for the creepy-hot look, but this beastly beefcake looked as if someone swerved so hard into the barbarian badass archetype that he came out of it looking like a two-bit gritty-medieval-fantasy Netflix villain!

And it was at this exact moment that both Ames and Lugh circled around the Keystone to see Krizantemë, currently being 'oppressed' by a very big man with a very broken nose.

[hider=Query: "Samurai"]
[quote]A class focused on controlling multiple lesser opponents and dueling powerful foes. With battle cries and indomitable spirit, scatter those unworthy of your blade while withstanding critical blows through sheer force of will. Specializes in bladed weaponry and longbows.[/quote]
[/hider]
[hider=Class Search: "Juggernaut" "Bruiser" "Executioner"]
[u][b]Low Rank[/b][/u]
[quote][i]Brawler[/i]
[sub]+10% HP | +15% STR | +5% END[/sub]
[hider=Requirements]
[list]
[*]Max STR equal to or greater than 10. (Current: 15)
[*]Start a fight between multiple individuals in a public space and survive.
[*]Utilize improvised weapons for five attacks. (Current: 0)[/list]
[/hider][/quote]
[quote][i]Mountain Man[/i]
[sub]+5% HP | +10% STR | +5% AGI | +10% END[/sub]
[hider=Requirements]
[list]
[*]Max END equal to or greater than 10. (Current: 11)
[*]Consume 5 Monsters without preparation. (Current: 0)
[*]Sleep in the wilderness[/list]
[/hider][/quote]
[quote][i]Barbarian[/i]
[sub]+10% SP | +15% STR | +5% DEX[/sub]
[hider=Requirements]
[list]
[*]Monetary value of weapons exceeds monetary value of armor.
[*]Kill 1 monster with a single attack.
[*]Craft an accessory out of your kill.[/list]
[/hider][/quote]
[quote][i]Kegare[/i]
[sub]+10% MP | +10% SP | +5% STR | +5% DEX[/sub]
[hider=Requirements]
[list]
[*]Kill 10 monsters with a melee weapon.
[*]Kill 5 animals with a melee weapon.
[*]Kill 1 Immortal or Rien with a melee weapon.[/list]
[/hider][/quote]
[/hider]
[sub][@Cu Chulainn][@Versa][@Shovel][@Yankee][/sub]