by David M Zahn
Chapter Five: The Clan
"Take this map. It covers the route to Roselake," Cunliffe said, handing me a map.
Our party gathered in an antechamber off the throne room around Cunliffe, who was instructing us on what needed to be done to complete the quest.
"Okay, great," I replied, accepting the paper and placing it into my inventory. "Is there any more information you have for us on what might be causing these disappearances?"
"No. If we knew that we wouldn't be sending you out there," Cunliffe replied curtly. "When you get to Roselake, you'll want to speak to the mayor who may have more information for you. It shouldn't be hard to find him. It's not that big of a village after all."
"Okay, fair enough," I said, somewhat annoyed by the way he was treating us.
"Now take this gubernatorial decree from Lady Katarina Amarion authorizing you to investigate on behalf of the state," Cunliffe said producing a document signed by Katarina. "If you abuse the authority granted to you by this document and we find out about it, I will personally make sure you never see the light of day again."
"Don't worry, we won't," I said, accepting the document and placing it into my inventory.
"Lastly, take this document," Cunliffe said, producing yet another piece of paper. "This lets the clan registrar's office know that the fee for registering your clan has been taken care of by the state."
"And where is the clan registrar's office?" I asked.
Sighing, Cunliffe said, "Give me that map back, and I'll mark it for you."
I pulled the map out of my inventory and handed it back over to Cunliffe who walked over to a desk, pulled out a quill and some ink, and marked a location on the map before handing it back to me.
"Remember, you are representing the state of Altria and Lady Katarina on this quest, so do not do anything that would cause embarrassment," Cunliffe said. "That is all I have for you. If you will follow the guard, he will lead you out of the palace."
One of the soldiers standing off to the side came up and motioned for us to follow him. He led us back through the palace, though thankfully not back through the dungeons and the lower level. Instead, he led us out the main doors of the palace and down the wide steps in front of the building until we were back where Mackland originally handed us over.
"Well, that went pretty well," I said to the group after the guard returned to the palace.
"Sure, if you consider having to hike out to some hillbilly town and look for missing people 'well'," Eldertits replied.
"At least we're not fugitives of the state or locked up," I replied. "And she generously offered to pay the fee to start a clan for us."
Eldertits rolled her eyes and said, "Yes, we all noticed your schoolboy crush on Lady Katarina."
"I don't have a schoolboy crush on her," I responded defensively.
"Sure, you don't," Rondo said, walking up and patting me on the shoulder. "Let's just go take care of this clan registration."
Opening my inventory, I pulled out the map and activated the item, adding it to my personal map. Next, I copied the map and sent it to the rest of the party so they would have the coordinates.
"Doesn't look like the clan registrar's office is too far from here," Viltria said.
"Well, then lead on," I said, motioning for the dark elf to walk ahead of me.
Viltria led us back down the main thoroughfare of the city and down one of the fairly spacious side streets. Near the entrance to this street, she led us to a door with "Clan Registration" written on a sign above it.
As we passed through the door, we saw several clerks sitting behind wooden desks. Ropes running from stanchions set up the queue; no one currently waited in line. We came at the right time.
Our group walked through the queue and up to the first available clerk.
"Are you here to register a new clan?" she asked politely.
"Yes, that's right. We were given this," I said, withdrawing the document given to me by Cunliffe and handing it to the woman.
She looked it over twice and then, with surprise on her face, looked back at group and said, "This is a gubernatorial decree. These are not given out lightly."
"So we've been told," Eldertits replied. "But the mistress has charged us with completing a mission for her and having a clan is apparently part of that."
"I see. Well, I can certainly help you start your clan," the woman said, regaining her composure. "I assume all six of you will be the clan owners?"
"Clan owners?" I asked.
"Yes. Owners of the clan appoint the clan leader and can remove him or her at their discretion," she explained. "As clan owners, you would have legal ownership of the clan and are entitled to one hundred percent of the profits as well as carrying all of the liability. Of course, most clans allocate their earnings in some fashion amongst all clan members, but the choice is up to you."
"I see," I said, trying to process this information. "Yes, I would say that all six of us will be the clan owners."
"If you would all just sign your names here," she said, motioning to a document in front of her.
I picked up the quill next to the document, dipped it in an inkwell, and wrote "Ryland" on the piece of paper. Admittedly, I wrote it rather poorly, but I've never used a quill and ink before. The rest of the party followed my example and signed the document.
"Good. Now what name do you wish to give your clan?" the woman asked, picking up the quill herself.
"Um," I responded. "We hadn't really thought about that. What name do you think guys?"
"The Titty Brigade," Eldertits said at once.
"Absolutely not," Elaria said flatly. "I refuse to be a part of anything with such a name."
"How about the Otters?" Rondo suggested looking at Minty.
Viltria laughed and said, "So no one takes us seriously?"
"It was just a suggestion," Rondo muttered sourly.
"Oh, I got it," Eldertits said excitedly. "What about Ku Klux?"
Rondo started at her and asked, "Seriously?"
"Fuck yeah. We've even got a grand wizard right here," Eldertits exclaimed, slapping me on the back.
"I'm a sorcerer, and there's no way we're naming the clan that," I replied. "Any actual suggestions?"
"How about the Immortals?" Turin suggested. "You know, because we can't die."
"I like it," I said.
"Yeah, but it feels like something is missing," Eldertits said. "We need to add something after Immortal, like the Immortal Warriors or something."
"How about the Immortal Exiles," Rondo suggested. "Because we are all exiled in one way or another from our native homes."
"Works for me," I said, the rest of the group giving their assent as well.
"So, your clan name is the Immortal Exiles," the clerk said. "I assume you are going to appoint one of you as the clan leader?"
"I think Eldertits would probably be a good leader," I said, thinking back to her command on the battlefield.
"No, I will not have her as my leader," Elaria said. "She causes far too much trouble.
"And you think you'd be a good leader?" Viltria responded harshly. "The day I follow you is the day I can no longer think."
"Well, I would never follow you or your little slave boy," Elaria snapped back. "Rondo would be fine with me."
"Like hell," Rondo replied. "I don't want to do that. I think Ryland is the only natural choice for the job."
"I don't really think I'm a natural choice," I said sheepishly. "Really, I think you'd be a better choice."
"I vote for Ryland too," Eldertits said, quickly ignoring my complaints. "All in favor of Ryland say aye."
The rest of the group responded with "aye," and I let out a sigh.
"Sure, I guess it's me," I replied mildly irritated and a little bit amused.
"Well, I'm glad that's decided," the clerk said with a slight frown while she wrote this down. "All that's left is to give you the key to your clan hall I think."
"Clan hall?" I asked.
"All clans are granted a clan hall when they are formed," she explained. "Part of your fee goes to pay for this. Well, I guess in your case, House Amarion is paying for it, but it still works the same. You'll notice that your clan hall might be rather sparse, but it's up to you to expand it and outfit it how you wish. I'll mark the location on a map for you. You can administer your clan from within your clan hall."
Pulling out a map of the city, she circled a small location on the other side of town for us and handed it to me along with a key.
"Enjoy your new clan, and if you ever wish to expand your clan to other territories please feel free to come speak with us or any clan registrar's office located throughout Alderoth," she said dismissing us.
Congratulations you have established a new clan!
Clan: Immoral Exiles
Clan Leader: Ryland
Rank: 158th in Altria
Level: 1
A new menu is now available within the Book of You.
Congratulations you have completed the quest: Found a Clan! You have earned 100 XP.
You have received a new quest: Clan Leadership
"Your clan hall currently has no leadership aside from you. Please change this by filling the following positions:
Clan Warleader - This person is responsible for leading the clan into battle. They will grant temporary bonuses to those within their sphere of influence. Note: Only a clan leader has the authority to declare war on another clan.
Clan Secretary - This person oversees the day to day operations of the clan and is responsible for allocating quests and resources.
Clan Recruiter - This person is responsible for recruiting new members and teaching them the ways of the clan. This person gets an extra 15% bonus to Persuasion when recruiting potential new members.
Clan Builder - This person is responsible for updating and maintaining the clan hall. Note: if the clan has multiple clan halls, each one must have a clan builder, or they will fall back to level 1. The same person cannot fill the position of clan builder for multiple clan halls.
Clan Designer: This person is responsible for designing the clan sigil and banners and can change them at any time. They also are responsible for the furniture and design of the clan hall.
As the clan leader, you can fill any of the positions yourself or assign them to someone else. Any clan member can fill as many leadership positions as you want unless it is otherwise specified such as with multiple clan builders."
Type: Common
Reward: 100 XP
Penalty for Decline or Failure: None
Do you accept this quest?
Yes or No?
No sooner than I had accepted this quest, another one popped up.
You have received a new quest: Grow the Immoral Exiles
"Currently you have very few members in your clan. To level up your clan, you will need to recruit new members and gain clan experience. Clan experience is gained by completing clan quests such has your quest: Disappearances in Roselake. If you look at this quest, it will now have (Clan) next to it indicating that it is being performed by your clan. All XP earned on these quests will go to both you as an individual and the clan. Please meet the following criteria to reach level 2:
Clan Members: 10 (6 currently)
Clan XP: 500 (0 currently)
As your clan grows the reputation of the clan will grow as well, and doors will open that once were shut.:
Type: Common
Reward: 100 XP
Penalty for Decline or Failure: None
Do you accept this quest?
Yes or No?
I accepted this quest as well and decided to take a look at my clan menu. I found a new icon labeled "Clan" with the silhouette of a large building above it. Opening this menu gave a wealth of information about the clan, including several leadership positions that were currently sitting empty and the Clan Hall level which apparently could also be leveled up separately from the clan itself. There was a clan chat function, which I'm sure would be useful for when we all weren't in the same party.
What stuck out immediately though, was that the clan was named the Immoral Exiles and not the Immortal Exiles. The stupid clerk must have written it down wrong. I thought about trying to change the name and was greeted by an unfortunate prompt.
Your clan name cannot be changed. If you wish to change the clan name you will need to disband this clan and form a new clan under a different name. Please be aware that this will require paying the clan registration fee again.
Well, that sucks. Guess we're stuck as the Immoral Exiles now. Ignoring this information, I activated the map and shared the new coordinates with the rest of the group. Managing a clan could end up being a full-time job, and that wasn't something I particularly wanted to do.
"Who wants to go check out our new digs?" Rondo asked. "'Cause I would like to see this new place we now apparently own."
The rest of us agreed, and we set off towards the coordinates listed on the map. It took us around thirty minutes to find the building, partly because it was on the other side of town and partly because it was literally a shack. None of us could believe it. Our clan hall scarcely looked better than an outhouse.
"This has to be some sort of mistake," Eldertits said, stepping up and touching the side of the building with one hand. "I know I wanted a fuck shack, but this wasn't exactly what I had in mind."
"According to the map, this is it," I said, stepping up and placing the key in the door.
With a small twist, it turned, and the door opened revealing the barren inside.
You have received a new quest: Better Than a Shack
"Your clan hall currently sits as perhaps the worst building in all of Istria, and it is up to you to improve it. This can be done by gathering the required resources and spending them on the quest. For your clan hall to reach level 2, you will need to spend to following resources:
Lumber: 300 units
Once you grow your clan hall you will have to spend resources to maintain its current level, or it could become dilapidated and fall to a lower level. A clan hall can never fall below level 1."
Type: Common
Reward: 100 XP
Penalty for Decline or Failure: None
Do you accept this quest?
Yes or No?
Sighing, I accepted this quest too. This clan business was like a whole other game on top of the original game.
"This is the clan hall. I just got a quest to upgrade it on top of the quests to assign leadership positions and grow the clan that I got earlier," I told the group.
"I haven't gotten any of these quests," Eldertits said. "I guess it's because you're the clan leader. Care to fill us in?"
Explaining the details of the three clan-related quests I had received, I filled the group in for what each leadership position was required to do and what it would take to improve our clan hall.
"Well, I guess we're going to need to fill the Clan Builder position and get some lumber to improve our outhouse," Rondo said. "Maybe at level two, we'll get one of those crescent moon windows on the door."
"I hope it's a better upgrade than that," I muttered dryly. "I do think the first order of business is assigning these leadership positions to the group, and since we are the clan owners, I think we should be the ones filling them."
"Sure boss," Rondo replied. "You're the leader after all."
"Please don't call me boss," I replied. "I think you might have made a mistake assigning this role to me."
"Naw, you'll be fine," he replied, and then with a smirk added, "better you than me."
"Alright, well for Clan Warleader I nominate Eldertits. She has the best leadership capabilities I've seen in battle, and if we ever get into a fight I believe she is most qualified to handle the position," I said.
"It's true, I can handle a lot," Eldertits said, mischievously making a gripping motion with her hand.
"Elaria, I know that you had objections to her filling the role
of Clan Leader, but you have said yourself she is great to have in a fight," I said, looking directly at the ranger.
"Oh baby, you said that about me?" Eldertits said, pretending to swoon over the other woman.
Elaria gritted her teeth and said annoyed, "Yes, you are great in a fight. I have no objections with this, but please don't let it go to your head."
"Then, that's decided," I said, accessing my clan menu and assigning the role of Clan War Leader to Eldertits. "Next, we need a Clan Secretary who will handle the day-to-day operations of the Clan, who would like to volunteer for this?"
A silence settled over the group, and I internally cringed because I did not want to get saddled with this role. It seemed like a lot of work, and I didn't know what I was doing.
Finally, Viltria spoke up and said, "I've had a thought, just hear me out."
"Okay sure, I'm all ears," I said to the dark elf.
"What if Turin and I stay in Istria while the rest of you go and complete the quest for Katarina?" Viltria asked. "We could take care of the day-to-day operations of the clan, try to grow the clan, and improve this building, because I, for one, do not fancy leaving on a journey to the middle of nowhere and coming back to a shack. If you recall, I'm used to a higher quality of living."
There was a pause after she spoke and then I said, "I think that would be a good idea actually. Any objections?"
Elaria looked like she wanted to object, but with what looked like sheer willpower, she kept her mouth shut. The rest of the group was all for the idea, and honestly, it seemed like a good one. We could grow this clan and complete the task assigned to us at the same time.
"Okay, I'm going to assign Clan Secretary to you and Clan Builder to Turin," I said, accessing my menu.
"If you would assign Recruiter to me and Designer to Turin as well, I think that would be for the best," Viltria responded.