IW-ST-1: The Arrival

IW-ST-1 The Arrival	Invitation to Wine: Tales of Three-Mountains Next IW-1 (Story)
Mere moments after our guest arrives in Shangshu, the wine is already uncorked. This is a fated encounter.

Characters

Kroos Lee Mr. Nothing Boatman Innkeeper Zheng Miss Du Inn Assistant Street Youth

Backgrounds

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Lee the Lungmenite arrives at Shangshu and opts to stop over at Xingyu Inn for a spell. Meanwhile, Kroos and Mr. Nothing also make it to Shangshu after a rugged journey full of hardship. However, some sort of scheme appears to await them.

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<Background black>
Dad, why's there a knife on the wall? That was my constant companion when I was young and begging for food. So why's there an empty shelf under it? That's reserved for an old elder of mine. What happened to them? We had a falling out. Why? Because...
It's early in the morning, and the weather's cloudy. Along Yingfeng Road in Shangshu of Great Yan, sits an inn. Not many establishments would call themselves an inn in modern Yan. But this one has the most antique atmosphere, the finest wine and tea, and is the most cultured in all Shangshu. Its sign is red with gold lettering. "Xingyu."
<Background 1>
[An old Caprinae innkeeper is counting the stocks.]
Someone Innkeeper-esque	Ten jars of Husong, three jars of Yunliao, six jars of Guixing reserve... hmm... Liu, why are our numbers here so much lower than across the river?
Inn Assistant	Don't blame me! They went crazy with banquets at the start of the month. Of course they sold more than us!
Someone Innkeeper-esque	How much difference can a few parties make?
Inn Assistant	Aiyo wei! You don't even know the half of it. You were out of Shangshu then. You don't know how ridiculous that hoo-hah was... Those two days of business could pay half a year's worth of bills, no exaggeration. We were beating them for months, and those two days completely sunk us. You can't keep letting them make a fool of us, Mr. Zheng. Remember, we were here first, and were the first to do it well. If you ask me the other places should be bowing to my old man here. Don't be fooled into loving your grandkids while you forget your son here.
Innkeeper Zheng	What are you even blubbering about? Since when am I your old man? I haven't even said anything.
Inn Assistant	Yeah, and it'll be all over for me once you do. It was just bad luck. If I were the one to meet those nobles...
Innkeeper Zheng	If it's just bad luck, then where's all your good luck to balance it out?
Inn Assistant	Gah! Nobles, nobles, where did all those nobles come from...? We've always relied on word of mouth from our regulars, and you won't even do ads. If we could just invite a few pretty boys and girls to...
Innkeeper Zheng	(Glare) ...
Inn Assistant	You heard nothing. That was the wind just now.
Innkeeper Zheng	Running a restaurant-inn depends on customers with taste and connections, true. But what do you know about who's connected and who isn't?
Inn Assistant	If I knew, I'd be running the inn.
Innkeeper Zheng	Then sit tight and learn. Anyone with eyes can discern if someone rich, powerful, stylish, and wise, that's plain as day. So why can't you?
Inn Assistant	Erk...
Innkeeper Zheng	Whether you're a kung fu adventurer or a settled person, so long as you're alive you'll mingle with plenty of other people. So keep mingling, and you'll get a good eye for this. Knowing people, and knowing what they know, is what lets us live well. Meanwhile, you spend all day fiddling about, and run off to the mahjong parlors every night. What kind of future do you expect when... ......
Inn Assistant	Why'd you stop the lecture?
Innkeeper Zheng	Don't you see our two guests at the door?! Why aren't you greeting them?!
Inn Assistant	Aiyo... I completely missed them! Quick, quick, get them in! The first two customers of the day! Get them two plates of salted peanuts and a pot of chrysanthemum tea!
[Lee, the Lung leader/founder of Lee's Detective Agency, walks into the inn alongside a Liberi boatman.]
Lee	Might our luck be looking up?
Boatman	We are early. Let me treat you to dinner in Mr. Liang's stead.
Inn Assistant	Take a seat! Tea will be with you in a moment!
Lee	I thought we'd have made a beeline for his residence.
Boatman	Your "friend" there is still a magistrate. Busy, in any case.
Lee	Busy enough to overlook a friend? Must be busy as can be.
Innkeeper Zheng	......
Inn Assistant	(Sir, sir, what do you think, then? Are these two noble-types?)
Innkeeper Zheng	Pah. Don't ask, observe. You can't judge at first glance.
Shangshu, where the winds blow high, and the clouds part to show off the moon. The land was mountainous since times untold. Some would say the rugged terrain posed quite the obstacle to the nomadic city's development.
But the folk of Shangshu were loath to give up the land they'd dwelt in since antiquity, so they went to great pains to move mountains and fuse their city with the peaks. Hence, unlike other cities, Shangshu's plates were distributed along the lines of the range, each perhaps hundreds or thousands of meters wide and utterly unique in their scenery.
How auspicious Shangshu's habitation must be that in recent years it has never once been struck by Catastrophe. Its people have built new towns in the mountains, and opened them up with ropeways and tunnels. Furthermore, with the guidance of the Tumu Tianshi, a mountain range of particular renown was directly relocated onto the nomadic platforms, where...
<Background 2>
[The matured Kroos walks alongside Mr. Nothing through Shangshu's mountain pass.]
Kroos	Slow down mate, what's a Tumu... Tianshi? "Heavenly Master of Earth and Wood"?
Mr. Nothing	You might be unaware, benefactor, but Yan has multiple bureaus of tianshi, Celestial Masters. Any student of the land even a mite accomplished at Originium Arts may apply to join, take layer upon layer of examination, and so serve the country. Originium Arts have a dizzying array of applications, and the science of Originium is developing by the day. The tianshi of Yan are naturally classified by profession and specialty—civil engineers, for example! The artists of earth and wood indeed.
Kroos	And here I thought cool titles like that would be reserved for Casters like Leizi—y'know, ones with crazy battle prowess.
Mr. Nothing	Would Leizi be that Yan official in Rhodes Island you mentioned before? My my, it may have been like that in the past, but times have changed. Now the welfare of the people comes first. Originium technology benefits the masses, and every tianshi of Yan's Ministry of Engineering pours their life's blood into researching Originium's Arts and testing new materials.
Kroos	Other countries couldn't dream of moving whole mountains onto nomadic cities, that's for sure...
Mr. Nothing	Indeed. While landscapes may soothe the soul, it certainly wouldn't be worth such monumental efforts if it broke the backs and the banks of the people in the process. Still, most of the credit belongs to the civil engineers of the tianshi who loved their home enough to put in the work. And moving mountains was easy compared to convincing the local villages and estates to agree to the project. Yan has an old proverb. It's a land that raises its people. A shame I can't speak much on Originium Arts, or else I'd have the same things on my mind as one of those nomadic city architects.
Kroos	Is everyone from Yan like this?
[Mr. Nothing gazes at the scenery ahead...]
Mr. Nothing	It's these rivers and hills before us, see—
[...before unfolding his fan, and...]
Mr. Nothing	The limitless sights. Early springs so tranquil you can hear the snowflakes land. There's a lasting charm about it. If you'd lived here since the cradle too, perhaps you'd think the same way.
Kroos	Maybe. Who can say? Phew—now that's refreshing. "Where the winds blow high, and the clouds part to show off the moon." I can see how it earned that.
Mr. Nothing	Within Shangshu lie the renowned "Three Mounts and Seventeen Peaks," and they draw plenty of tourists. Some foreign nobility even make the trip out here simply to admire them. Presumably the common folk owe it only to the pains of crossing the land that these landmarks aren't swarmed by such visitors coming in droves.
Kroos	There's a comfy breeze up here. I was worried it'd rain and delay us from heading up the mountains today.
Mr. Nothing	Quite right, benefactor. The spring breeze caresses one's cheeks, the drizzle falls finely, all silent and slick in the rain.
Kroos	Been meaning to ask, actually. You're a martial artist, right? So how'd you get so... bookish?
Mr. Nothing	My master often instructed us that practicing the martial arts hardly precludes the study of culture. Indeed, the arts come both martial and cultural. To learn them well is but the duty of the modern soul. Besides, the art of gab can be a gateway to making some money. Benefactor, what say we visit the nearest summit on the way? I hear more people have taken to the mountains these last two years; there's been quite the hubbub.
Kroos	Pass. We'll rest in the city for a day or two, wait for the sisters to meet up with us, and head on our way... *Sigh* Never felt so bad about missing all the scenery on the way though.
Mr. Nothing	You've always been singularly devoted, benefactor. A mind only for the objective, not a whit more. And as proof of your conscientiousness, you never take a break.
Kroos	Never take breaks? Me?
Mr. Nothing	But of course!
Kroos	Whatever, flattery will get you nowhere. We're not going.
Mr. Nothing	Er, but you're merely taking me to the office for onboarding. Such a minor errand needn't be so urgent. And did I not hear Lava mention you undertook this journey intending a vacation? Surely nothing impedes you from a good tour of the scenery then?
<Background 2>
Kroos	*Sigh*. If only Lava were here... I'm not the only one who needs to sort out her head right now.
Mr. Nothing	Benefactor Lava just happened to be tasked with a sudden commission taking her a different way—I imagine she'll pass by scenery just as fine.
Kroos	I don't think she's the type to gawp at the view. Not in a million years.
Mr. Nothing	Haha, so she isn't.
Kroos	To be honest though, she wasn't always this way. Me neither, of course.
Mr. Nothing	You needn't brood, benefactor. Things change, we change. The world's affairs are inconstant. Let's hurry on our way, then.
<Background 3>
Street Youth	Found them, Miss Du.
[A young Feline named Du responds.]
Miss Du	You sure?
Street Youth	No mistake. They came in at Zhengshan Crossing, and got to Yingfeng Road in Weichang District. He got someone reliable to come with him the whole way.
Miss Du	And the Lungmenite's carrying an antique little box on him, correct?
Street Youth	Yep. Clear as day.
Miss Du	If anything goes wrong, you're responsible.
Street Youth	You left this to us. We won't let it go wrong.
Miss Du	Good!
[Du gets off the table.]
Miss Du	Then we're paying this buccaneer a visit in place of those yellow-bellied oldies!