With the few minutes he had before the others logged in, Raime’s attempts at spying didn’t gain him any new information but did give him a general clue as to the opinion of the players around the Keystone. The general opinion seemed to be split between two factors: whether to support the pre-battle efforts only, or to participate in the main battle itself as well. The Tato-Ie’s call for mercenaries to protect their home city seemed unattractive for most players; though it offered good pay for potentially little work, no one was particularly interested in doing guard work. After all, if you’re just standing there, you’re not earning EXP. And if it turns out that the Ryoku-Jo [i]were[/i] set on invading after all, the battle would be brutal, tougher than what any player low-leveled enough to be unaffiliated with any clan could hope to really survive. There was the Flamebringer Princess to fear, sure, but for large-scale conflicts, the Ryoku-Jo clan also held the loyalty of the wide-spread annihilation specialist, the Hero of Hell.

Compared to those two, as well as the main force of steampunk samurai Riens that the Ryoku-Ko trained, it was a much better prospect to work as escorts for merchant caravans headed to the Mora-Sho or Tato-Ie city-states instead. Perhaps bandits and monsters may pop up, but such encounters were more in the vein of what newcomer Immortals were accustomed to. It was even more lucrative to join the Mora-Sho as mercenaries, leeching EXP from a theater and fulfilling requirements for classes without really risking the chance of getting absolutely BTFO’d by Superiors. Many were doubting, really, that the Tato-Ie clan planned to go with a full-on invasion, despite what they claimed. It was more likely a show of strength, to convince with the promise of more military force that it would be better for the Mora-Sho clan to become vassals, rather than for the city-state to be seized by force.

Or well, maybe that was just the thoughts of an opinionated Immortal that Raime had eavesdropped on.

Ames’s quest for the location of the Blooming Springs was much more straightforward, answers gained just by asking a stranger a random question. Despite being along the Pearl Bloom River, the Springs was a proper geothermal spring atop of a hill that the river below snaked around. Though it had once been treated as a pilgrimage site, there was a small village around it now, and the spring was its main attraction: for the low, low price of 800 rishi, you could enjoy an open-air bath in mineral-rich waters that would do anything from improve your skin to give you better luck with your love life. Seemed like a popular spot for couples, and they rented out robes for those more shy about bathing outdoors in the nude. Though you could walk and kill monsters along the way, rickshaw drivers could take you along properly paved roads too, delivering you to the onsen town in just ten minutes…so long as you paid a fee, of course.

As for what the group would do though…well, some more conversation and information-gathering may give them a more unified goal. If not, there was always the trusty option of splitting up to pursue individual desires once more.
[sub][@Shovel][@Searat][@Psyker Landshark][@OwO][@Yankee][/sub][hr]
It was sorta funny that Ari was better at dodging her friends than dodging death. Though Ames had caught a glimpse of her, all it took was a few steps back into the crowds of Immortals, and then a burst of speed, to disappear from the red-headed warrior’s sight. Maybe there would be a future where she could party happily with her online friends…but maybe, considering her current achievements, that would only be possible in VR Minecraft. And only Raime would really play such a boomer game when Cacophony Concord was an option.

Before Ari could tunnel too far into her thoughts, however, she realized that someone was standing in front of her.

A tall woman with flowing, purple hair and a pale complexion beamed down on her. Her white swallowtail suit, an anachronism in the pseudo-Asian nation of Horogi, was embroidered with silver threads, depicting motifs of the moon and swallows, and her bold eyebrows framed her hawk-like red eyes. One hand was placed on her hip, while the other held a business card out for Ari to take. “You’re the sewer diver, aren’tcha?” she asked, a bright smile on her face. [b]“Zhi-Toren Dani, on-field contributor to Cacophony Concord Connect, Horogi division. I’m sure you’ve heard of us before. Let’s have a chat, eh? Over…hm, pancakes and tea?”[/b]
[sub][@Greengoat][/sub][hr]
Nyu-Taro’s neutrality was founded in the fact that all five clans had influence and power here and kept each other in check for the sake of ensuring that there was no unbalanced distribution of Immortals. As such, it was a simple task for Lugh to find the recruiting offices of each clan. They were all lined up, conveniently enough, just a couple blocks west of the Keystone plaza, with plenty of posters and Rien workers advertising the benefits that came with joining any respective clan. The Ryoku-Jo, with their recent victory in the Rinkan Annihilation Tournament, of course advertised themselves as the strongest clan in Horogi, backed up by foreign powers and wielding the hammer of progress, but others weren’t far off either. Certainly, conflicts between the clans and their city-states could get intensely violent at times, but here…it almost felt like Clubs Day in university, where people tried to pull in new members with the promise of incentives or exultations of past achievements.

As for the application themselves, however, it seemed to be a relatively simple process. You would file the paperwork necessary to join the clan as a low-ranking member, and from there own a sigil that marked you as a member of that clan. With that sigil, one could travel to any village, town, or city affiliated with the clan in question, and be treated in accordance to your rank, as well as gain access to employment specific to those regions. There would be reparations made if an Immortal wished to leave a clan though, with the reparations growing greater and greater depending on the rank that you were within the clan. Improving your standing within the clan could be done fairly steadily, of course, just by doing quests and participating in clan-level conflicts. Joining guilds becomes a clan-specific affair, however, and for those who are still not certain about whether they wanted to stick with the clan or not, it was always possible to simply refuse an improvement in their ranks.

Recognition from the clan heads, as well as the upper-level Riens who do the administrative and real political work of running the city-state and vassal states, however, is a different aspect altogether. Though Immortals are able to gain fame and wealth through combat or production, the nature of ‘ranking up’ is automated or delegated to lesser officials. Only exceptional cases, such as the Superiors, would actively be in contact with the clan head and their family. Thankfully, for those who wish to become Samurai, the recognition of lesser houses are often enough. It’s rare that Immortals with the class of ‘Samurai’ hold vows of devotion to specific Rien nobility, after all.

Interestingly enough, the system of ‘ranks’ and ‘reparations’ does not exist for the Gakui-Re Clan. Whether it’s due to the freedom they espouse or to the lack of a proper city-state to call their own, joining and leaving the clan seems to be the simplest, and conversely the most problematic. Without rules established, who knows how traitors would be treated, especially when those you’ve left are just as Immortal as you?

Needless to say, it’s advised to leave one’s clan on amiable terms whenever possible. 
[sub][@Cu Chulainn][/sub]