The tribunal recesses beneath the chief judge’s raised hand. The surviving brother, the eldest mourner, the second mourner, and the wounded champion remain with the scribes while the youngest mourner leads J1 through a side gate.
She brings him to a quiet tea house courtyard shaded by bamboo screens. Her pale face is uncovered now, and a violet veil rests over one shoulder as servants withdraw beyond earshot.
Lian
A private date, then. I am intrigued, but do not mistake curiosity for surrender. Your charm will have to survive honest questions.
Tea arrives in two small cups. She sits across from J1, composed but watchful, her fingers circling the porcelain while the arena’s distant murmur fades.
Lian
Tell me about these tantric sutras. Not boasts, not practiced seduction. What intimate principles are you truly trying to understand?
Lian
The jade seal may identify the masked attackers. Its carving is an old household mark, and I can trace who commissioned it, if discretion becomes genuine trust between us.
She slides a folded tea-house receipt across the table, revealing a charcoal rubbing of the seal’s hidden edge. Her guarded gaze lifts, inviting J1 to answer before she offers more.
✓ Quest Accepted
Earn the youngest mourner's trust and secure her help with the tantric sutras
✓ Quest Accepted
Identify the three attackers
“Offer a polite bow and smile gently. "Apologies for the late introduction but my name is J1. May I ask your name and occupation?" Get a better look of the youngest daughter and check out her beauty. "As for the tantric sutras, it stems from the duality nature of the universe. Men have Yang energy and women have Yin energy. By joining in tantric rituals may the 2 energies combine and we can achieve greater understanding of the universe and reach enlightenment." My response is genuine. I offer her a seductive smile as I pour tea for us. Pouring tea for her first.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Seduction, rolled +0)
J1 offers a polite bow and a gentle smile, then studies the youngest mourner more closely: her pale features remain composed, though curiosity brightens her eyes beneath the bamboo shade.
J1
Apologies for the late introduction, but my name is J1. May I ask your name and occupation?
He pours tea into her cup first, the stream steady and deliberate, then fills his own. His seductive smile softens the formal courtesy without overwhelming it.
J1
As for the tantric sutras, they stem from the duality of the universe. Men possess Yang energy, and women possess Yin energy.
J1
Through tantric rituals, the two energies may combine, granting greater understanding of the universe and bringing us toward enlightenment.
Lian
My name is Lian. I serve as the household’s keeper of records, seals, and discreet obligations. Your answer is more genuine than I expected.
Lian
I will answer your questions, J1, and perhaps ask a few of my own. But tell me, does your pursuit seek enlightenment, or merely a beautiful collection of experiences?
“Flashing her a seductive smile. "Can both not be achieved Lian? You are quite beautiful and very accomplished to have so many responsibilities."”
SUCCESS (Legendary Seduction, rolled -1)
J1 flashes Lian a seductive smile across the tea table, his compliment balanced between deliberate charm and the respectful warmth of his formal courtesy.
J1
Can both not be achieved, Lian? You are quite beautiful and very accomplished to have so many responsibilities.
Lian’s fingers pause against the porcelain. The guarded composure in her pale face softens, and a faint flush rises as her eyes hold his.
Lian
Both, perhaps. Enlightenment need not despise beauty, and beauty is not proof that wisdom has been neglected.
She draws the charcoal rubbing closer, then turns it so the hidden carving faces J1. Her posture remains disciplined, but her curiosity now carries unmistakable personal interest.
Lian
You praise my responsibilities accurately enough. If your attention remains this discerning, I may trust you with the seal’s history, and with a question less official than the last.
“"Perhaps a demonstration will best provide you with the answers you seek." Offering an inviting smile. "I will be more than happy to show you... in the privacy of the bedroom." Seduce Lian into bed and convince her to become my lover, assist in developing tantric sutras for the Kama Sutra, and to join my harem.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Seduction, rolled -2)
J1
Perhaps a demonstration will best provide you with the answers you seek. I will be more than happy to show you in the privacy of the bedroom.
Lian studies him across the tea table. Her guarded smile deepens into a decisive one, and she folds the charcoal rubbing before placing it safely inside her sleeve.
Lian
You are audacious, J1, but not insincere. I accept. I will become your lover, help shape your tantric sutras, and join this harem you speak of so confidently.
She rises and leads him through a screened passage to a private chamber above the teahouse. Servants close the shutters, leaving bamboo shadows and the muted arena drums beyond.
Lian
Our work begins with honesty. We will record what brings harmony, what reveals understanding, and what must remain between us. No borrowed boasts.
The chamber door closes. Their intimate demonstration fades from view, while tablets fill with careful principles, observations, and Lian’s precise corrections. By dawn, their partnership is certain.
The cost becomes clear when a teahouse servant discovers the abandoned receipt and carries it toward the tribunal. The seal’s rubbing, and evidence of Lian’s private alliance, may soon be exposed.
Quest Complete
Earn the youngest mourner's trust and secure her help with the tantric sutras
Skill Upgrade: Meditation Mediocre→Fair
“Recruit Lian into party and harem. Add positions into the Kama Sutra with Lian's help. "Were you a virgin before this Lian?"”
SUCCESS (Legendary Intimate Techniques, rolled +0)
Within the shuttered chamber, Lian arranges fresh tablets beside the charcoal rubbing. Her precise hand turns J1’s seduction into measured study, recording balance, breath, trust, and changing rhythm.
J1
Were you a virgin before this, Lian?
Lian
Yes. I had guarded that boundary carefully. I crossed it with you because you asked directly, listened to my conditions, and treated the knowledge as mutual.
The private demonstration fades from view behind closed shutters. Later, lamplight reveals several new entries, their language clinical enough for study yet shaped by Lian’s exact corrections.
Lian
Write this first: harmony depends on attention, not novelty. Then add the supported kneeling posture, the mirrored seated posture, and the turning embrace, each with consent and breath as its measure.
J1 records the positions under Lian’s authorship, adding her name beside each principle. She agrees to travel with him as a party member and formally joins the harem.
Lian
I will help create this sutra, J1. But at dawn we return to the tribunal, before that receipt reveals more than either of us intends.
“"What can you tell me about the 3 attackers that your sister recruited Lian?"”
SUCCESS (Fair Reasoning, rolled +1)
J1
What can you tell me about the three attackers your sister recruited, Lian?
Lian’s stylus stops above the tablet. Dawn light presses through the shutters, catching the charcoal rubbing and the faint violet thread at her sleeve.
Lian
My sister hired them through a caravan broker in the western market. Their leader was called Vey, a scarred man who carried the chain.
Lian
The other two were brothers, Senn and Taro. They wore plain masks and used hooked sabers, but their real task was to seize the jade seal.
She turns the charcoal rubbing beside a fresh tablet, revealing three abbreviated names, a broker’s mark, and a route notation leading toward the eastern road.
Lian
Vey knew our household customs. He called the dead brother by name because my sister’s warning identified him as the seal-bearer. She expected intimidation, not murder.
Lian
The broker still keeps his ledgers near the western market. I can identify his mark, and I can tell the tribunal exactly which order my sister gave.
Quest Complete
Identify the three attackers
Attribute Upgrade: Reasoning Fair→Good
“"Will we need more evidence than this?" Does Lian have a character sheet with stats, skills and equipment?”
SUCCESS (Good Reasoning, rolled +1)
J1
Will we need more evidence than this? And do you have a character sheet with your abilities and equipment?
Lian considers the question, then sets aside the stylus. She draws a clean tablet toward herself and divides it into sections for proof, capability, and possessions.
Lian
For the tribunal, the broker’s ledger, my sister’s order, and the surviving brother’s testimony should establish intent. The seal links them to the attack.
Lian
As for a character sheet, yes. Record me as a young adult woman, observant and disciplined, with strong reasoning and willpower, good agility, and fair strength.
Lian
My skills are household records, seal identification, negotiation, discreet investigation, and reading coded accounts. I am trained to notice omissions, altered marks, and frightened witnesses.
She writes without hesitation, adding a narrow equipment list: the charcoal rubbing, her household seal, coded tablets, a travel cloak, tea-house credentials, and a small purse of silver.
Lian
My weakness is obvious: I know records better than roads or combat. Keep me beside the evidence, J1, and I will make the tribunal understand exactly what my sister ordered.
✓ Quest Accepted
Return to the tribunal with Lian
“return to tribunal with evidence”
SUCCESS (Good Agility, rolled +2)