Completed: Co-Existence (Open Quest)

[Zhu Jian (Malarky)]

Quest: Co-existence
Type: Normal
Mod: No
Difficulty: Easy
Description: Prove yourself to neighbouring villages, by forging your residence into a productive, self reliable economic place to be.

Day 1: Exhaustion

“We can’t go no further Lord Zhu Jian!” a man cried. It was true. Zhu Jian’s small army couldn’t go on. They were tired, exhausted, thirsty, and hadn’t actually slept in a real home for years. They were sick and fed up.

Zhu Jian grimaced; he hated to be called lord. He decided to give up correcting them, but he believe himself to be a comrade. He was angry at them for not being able to move on.

“Lord Zhu,” Mei Xin said bowing respectfully, “Sir our men are so tired and sick of sleeping in tents, we need structure sir. Like a home base.” Zhu Jian nodded and took in these words; they were true. He turned his eyes south upon the village they had just laid siege. Not one person there remained. None.

Zhu Jian smiled slightly, “My comrades, tell me what is it that you want.”

It was silent; fear gripped the company of six hundred men. The jungle was harsh and demanding, but Zhu Jian was considered a psychopath, an insane murderer, even by his own second in command officer. However, one man had the guts, “Sir… we want a place where we can call home.”

Zhu Jian nodded; it was true. He hadn’t had a place to call home since he was 18. He was always on the run. Now… his men needed a place. He needed a place. He smiled, “Men follow me to our last exploit. We shall make our home there. Let it remind you of what were are, soldiers. We take up the spoils of war. We build ourselves a home on the bodies of the fallen, on the memories of the dead. We build our foundation on blood. For together, we shall destroy all who oppose us and all who wish to harm us.”

The speech inspired the men, the shouted and cheered, but they had no idea what to expect. They were soldiers, not craftsman, not farmers. It wasn’t what they usually did. They usually fought and destroyed, not build.

Zhu Jian turned his horse around and started towards the large cloud of smoke, “Come, let us go to our new home.” And his men followed.’

Mei Xin ran up to join her lord, “My lord, why there? Why not just take a village for ourselves?”

Zhu Jian smiled at her, “Because I believe that we must start new to gain respect from the others. Maybe then some of our men won’t be so restless. I know that if we make a safe environment, maybe the people of China will look at us differently. I have heard talking among the men, saying their family names are getting tarnished. I wish to change that.”

Mei Xin’s eyes grew wide. Her lord thinking about his men? When did this happen? Mei Xin pondered as the group went forward further in the jungle towards the small village that now lay in ruins.
Half an hour later, they arrived on the wreckage and the men looked around, the fire and smoldered out and most of the houses now lay in ruin. The men’s hopes rose, they didn’t have to build everything up from the ground. They entered the wreckage as the sun was now low. An unusual cool wind blew and Zhu Jian said, “Men, my comrades, tomorrow we begin anew, a new chapter in our lives. We begin tomorrow.”

The men spread out and pitched tents, tomorrow would be the start of something new…

[Zhu Jian (Malarky)]

Day 2 – 3 : Cleanup

The men rose before the sun. Zhu Jian woke up to the sound of Mei Xin, “My lord, the men are awaiting orders.” Zhu Jian took off the blanket. He wasn’t wearing a shirt which made Mei Xin blush. He smiled and grabbed a shirt. He stepped outside as he slipped it on. He turned and looked at his men, they all stood at attention before him. They didn’t know what to do.

He looked upon the small village they had destroyed, all of the ashes, wood, bodies, and debris that littered the streets. He shook his head and smiled, his men were thorough. He turned to them and said loudly, “Take the bodies to the town square and pile them up. We burn them.”

His men scattered and covered their faces with cloth. It was not good to sick because of this. Zhu Jian went back inside his tent and slipped his boots on. He grabbed a mask and put it on. He stepped out into the street and then proceeded to help them.

The bodies were cold and lifeless and stiff, it made it easier to move them. Soon, in an hour or two, all of the village’s dead citizens were now in a pile. Wood was placed around then and in between them. Mei Xin nodded to a few men, and they threw torches onto the wood. Soon it was burning.

“Men, now find unusable wood and throw it into the fire as well, we shall burn all the unusable and weak things in this world and replace them with strong and sturdy things.” Zhu Jian said. He now truly felt like a lord, and he liked it. Once again the men went to work. They collected wood and threw it into the fire.

The men continued to work through the night and the next day with few breaks, stopping only to eat and drink. Debris was collected, usable wood, items, furniture was collected and placed outside the main square while everything else burned in the village square. The fire never stopped.

It was dark, the moon was out, the stars shone brightly. The fire in the village square was now finally dying down. In two days, the six hundred men had clean the village, now it was time to relax. They all sat around the fire or under the roofs of houses eating, drinking, dancing, and singing. One man even had a qin which he played. The company of men was in a good mood.

After they had settled down, Zhu Jian stood in front of the fire with Mei Xin, “Now my men, I know many of you call me Lord, and as much as I dislike that, now that I look back on it, I am your lord.” The men cheered, it was about time. “Now that we have cleaned, tomorrow we work on the houses. Remember, we need to repair, fix, and if needed, destroy them. We will turn this into a livable place. We have taken a step forward, lets not stop now!”

The men cheered again. Mei Xin smiled, “Lord Zhu Jian… You are amazing.”

Zhu Jian smirked, “Not really. I’m just good with words. Come Mei, let us drink together for a triumphant life so far.” He said as he raised his cup. Mei Xin smiled and blushed lightly and raised her cup too as he said, “To a long life and prosperity.” She reapeated and they both drank.

Zhu Jian placed his cup down, “I am now off to my tent, Mei Xin, keep peace out here will you?” Mei Xin nodded and smiled. Zhu Jian retreated to his tent and took off his shirt. He layed down and closed his eyes, the shadows of the world taking over his conscious.

[Zhu Jian (Malarky)]

Day 4 – 11: Building

When Zhu Jian woke the following morning, he immediately got dressed and walked outside. He had slept early and he was up before most of his men. He smiled and yelled, “IT’S TIME TO WORK!” Some of his men jumped up right away, those who woke early or were just sleepless. However, the majority of them were slow and sluggish to start. After half an hour to eat breakfast and get ready, his men were assembled before him.

“Today we work on the houses left. I want everyone to go to the jungle and start cutting wood. Then when we have enough wood I want anyone who used to be a carpenter to help out and train some of the others. We need to start getting better at other things besides killing.” Zhu Jian said his eyes twinkling. His men laughed, it was true. Everyone had their own unique skills before they joined with Zhu Jian, and now they could showcase them.

Zhu Jian pulled the carpenters and a few other men out of his group and turned to them, “Carpenters, I want you to train these men in your ways and make them your apprentices. We have to get this done as quickly as possible but it must be quality goods.”

For the next two days wood was chopped from the forest and the carpenters started to work upon it. Mei Xin came to Zhu Jian who was in the village square in his tent and said, “Sir, I was thinking, there a few houses on the outskirts of the village that have parts or the all of the roofs missing. We could build upon these and build towers sir.”

Zhu Jian smiled and stood up from his seat, “Mei Xin you once again proven your worth to me. Go spread the news.”

The next five days were filled with the sound of wood being chopped, hammers, yells, shouts, and screams. Soon the houses were mended and some new ones even built, a few towers sat on the outskirts of the city and archers moved in to them, and the village square was now bustling with life. Zhu Jian’s men came and went opening shops and such. It soon looked like a bustling village. But it was much more than that. It was now a home to these men.

Day 12: The Village of the Phoenix

Zhu Jian woke up once more in his tent, and he didn’t know would be his last time in waking up in that tent. He opened the flap and stepped out and saw his men before him. Mei Xin stepped forward, “My lord, these men would like to present you with something.”

Zhu Jian’s eye rose, “What?”

A man stepped forward, “Sir, for all you’ve done for us, we would like to present you with this manor.” He pointed behind Zhu Jian and he turned. The man was pointing out a medium sized house, but it looked better than the others.

He shook his head, “I cannot accept this.”

Mei Xin smiled “Sir they give this to you.” The men stood up and bowed their head, “Its for you sir.”

Zhu Jian smiled, “I will take this. Now my comrades, let us turn this into a respectable good place to live. We have taken a huge step forward. From this day forth, this is now the town of Fèng Huáng (I’m using that in the sense because it is sometimes called the Chinese Phoenix). I want you all to know that this is our home, not mine. Let us become the Phoenix.” The men cheered. They were the phoenix. They smiled, this were their home now…

END

[Zhou Yu]

Task rewards
200 gold
20 fame
10+ Diligence
10+ Honour