It had been a routine morning, tending the garden and caring for her companions. Taki enjoyed these mellow days, studying in her spare time while she tended to the home she'd built. A message arrived later that morning via courier, stamped with the official seal of the Mage's Guild. She opened the letter and read over it carefully, strolling through the house towards her room. After reading it, she found Rina and Kamina in the living room.

"Rina, would you mind telling Hakaze to get ready for travel? Kamina, please tell Shion the same?"

"Right away Taki." Rina replied, buzzing and bobbing her way outside

"Of course miss, another adventure?" Asked the curious Lightning Pixie.

"Of a sort, yes, we'll probably be gone for a few days at least."

"Alright, I'll go get Shion."

With that, the shaman gathered her gear and headed out into the courtyard. Outside awaited her newest companion, a Drake that she'd trained with under the tutelage of the W.E.F. after the encounter with the Nightcaller King. Together with her Prismatic Spider companion, the group headed out for Sol City. They arrived just after midday, landing outside the gates before entering the city. She headed for the Housing District, and it's local branch for the Mage's Guild to report in.

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SPOILER: Click to show

Quest Name: Find the Middle Man
Chapter: One

Description: Someone in Sol City is making and passing out fake solars. Unfortunately we do not know the source and need you to go undercover and find some information. Spend time in the city, go to local hot spots, pose as someone looking to peddle stolen goods or fake product in the attempt to catch the attention of one of these people. Once you have gained the attention of one of these middle men you need to gain their trust and befriend them.

Requirements:

- Requires at least two people (you and one other, the other does not need to be interested in the guild)

- You must make at least 5 post with each post being 150 words to complete the mission.

- You must go undercover in the city and try to locate a middle man

- You must befriend and gain the trust of one of these men

- Once you complete this mission you gain access to chapter two. (which needs to be a separate topic)

Perrath’s trip to Sol City isn’t exactly one he made willingly, but nevertheless, here he is. At least during the trip he’s been reunited with a familiar face or two, having been met with a pleasant surprise amongst what he would otherwise describe as a gaudy, pretentious dump of a place. During his stay, he has exchanged coins with multiple vendors, both local and non as special merchants wrap up their stalls from the summer festival and the leaves start to shift to their fall colors.

Things have been pleasant enough… That is until he offers payment to a man selling what some called ‘the best meat on a stick money can buy’ and his payment is refused.

“What?” the paladin says through his teeth.

“I’m afraid I can’t take this sir, these Solars don’t appear to be real,” the merchant says coolly.

“What do you mean they’re not real?” Perrath demands, snatching the coins back. He compares them to a few other Solars in his coin pouch and immediately sees red. “Ridiculous! Yet another reason why Sol City does not deserve the gift of my presence! The crown cannot even keep its coin mint within its very own walls!”

Strolling through the streets, Taki smiled as the sun was setting and shops were beginning to close up. A small crowd was milling about, trying to catch last minute deals or forgotten purchases before heading home for the day. People cleared the way as the brightly colored shaman and her pair of equally vibrant companions. Hakaze in particular stood out, an adult Wind Drake of dazzling sky blues and bright whites. He surveyed the area cautiously, but stayed only a few paces from the shaman.

As the odd group strolled through town, Hakaze bumped Taki with his snout gently.

"Someone shouting ahead, something about the crown... solars... I can't make it all out clearly from here but we'll be there in a moment."

"Well, that's a fine place to start... Shion, watch our backs if you please."

"Right away Miss." The Prismatic Spider replied, hopping over a fence and up the side of a building to find a place to keep watch. Taki continued down the road, until she came upon a row of food stalls, and standing in front of one was a figure she'd not seen in some time. The familiar Dragonkin stood out in their heavy armor, and the heavy blade strapped across his back only added to the effect. She approached with Hakaze towering over her shoulder and tapped Perrath on the shoulder.

"Well met, Perrath. Is there some sort of problem here?" Asked the shaman, who could sense the tension in the air.

To the merchant’s benefit, a familiar face approaches Perrath – the shaman Shitakibo. Had she not, Perrath might not have held his composure together, but with an audience of someone he has some respect for, he doesn’t allow himself to stoop. So he lets a snort out of his nostrils and straightens himself up to appear like the regal dragon he is.

“Well met, Shitakibo,” Perrath says, though an irritated grumble remains in the back of his throat. With his arms crossed, he turns away from the man to face his old companion. “This merchant claims that my coin is not mint and cannot be accepted,” he explains, motioning to the merchant who would rather be dealing with anyone else. “Surely this is a mistake as no one would accuse a paladin of Lunala of the lowly act of attempting to use counterfeit coin. That’s absolutely absurd.”

“Erm, sir, I don’t mean any disrespect, I just can’t accept these Solars…”

"May I?" Taki asked the merchant, extending a hand to inspect the coin. The merchant handed it to the shaman, who pulled a Solar from her own pouch to compare. Scrutinizing the pair, she could see the slight difference in luster, as well as a less defined stamping of the coin. Finding this interesting, she thought of one more test to see if her slowly forming idea would be a good one. Convenient that she were born with four arms, she clasped each coin between a pair of hands firmly for a few moments.

"Two observations thus far: Firstly, the coin you had Perrath seems to be stamped from a mold likely made as a copy of the original. Secondly, the finish and surface of the two is different. Your coin had a somewhat coppery finish, while an official Solar has something closer to a Brass or Bronze appearance. Lastly, we can test their material composition in a simple fashion... as I suspect our counterfeiters are using an alloy of Pyrite, or Fool's Gold." The shaman concluded, before opening both pairs of hands and trying to bend the coins held within. Perrath's coin didn't so much bend as crack, and would need to be remade for it to be a coin again. The other coin seemed almost made of rubber, easily bent over the shaman's knuckle before being straightened out.

"There you have it, Gold will be a malleable substance with gentle heat applied and not much else. Pyrite on the other hand needs to be carefully pressed or cast into shape and doesn't have the same elastic properties." She handed the merchant her proper Solar after the demonstration concluded.

"I hope that clears things up, thank you for being understanding ser."

"Yes, that's quite alright. As a merchant, I would be equally displeased in this situation."

Taki bowed politely in return before turning to Perrath.

"How about we do some investigating of our own? Maybe track down whoever's responsible and break all their machines... maybe even a few heads along the way?"

Taki’s calm approach to the situation helps settle Perrath’s admittedly violent and angry emotions. His arms remain crossed though his tail sways side to side, dragging along the cobbles while he watches Taki experiment with the coin and come to a reasonable conclusion. It doesn’t make him any less irritated at the situation because now he needs to go hunt down the jackass who shortchanged him with cheap knock offs. Nevermind that he should have checked his coin. Obviously, he expected too much out of the people of Sol City. He won’t make that mistake again.

With the conversation with the merchant concluded, Perrath looks at Taki. “Forget breaking their machines, I will crush their bones with the gold they counterfeit. I will seek retribution for this sleight on my honor.” The dragon lets a snort escape his nostrils, his shoulders shifting in his armor. "Let's start with the last person I traded coin with." Then he starts off across the market back to the stall where he got change most recently. If he's not stopped, he will likely not approach this with tact. 

While the shaman could understand the warrior's impatience, she had every inkling that his plans were quite destructive in nature. With a sigh of resignation, she took off after the lad clanking through the market in his heavy plate. She wasn't sure she could convince Perrath directly into this investigation... he'd already seemed perturbed enough and she wasn't keen to become a target. She followed along quietly, barely making much of a sound or impact with her passing as she observed the various dealings of the market. Though sparse, she could tell this problem was already beginning to get out of hand... if the Mage's Guild couldn't round up this group of criminals, the Crown might be forced to take action.

On the surface that seemed like handling their duty as protectorate of the realm, but some shady politics had been going around since the Vulcadreus incident. Even before that, the Crown's latest moves gave Taki pause, moving more like an occupying force than a peacekeeping mission. While she wasn't sure precisely what all was happening, her growing renown often loosened lips who might otherwise be hesitant to let others in on local issues. Her pile of sidework seemed insurmountable lately, and a lot of it was due to the movements and actions of the Black Legion's forces, who weren't shy about tearing up farmland or fencing of pastures. How did this all link together? What could possibly give someone such bold assertion as to minting false currency and unleashing it in the Capitol of all places? Too many questions left unanswered meant the shaman had her work cut out for her.

While he walks through the streets of the marketplace, Perrath takes the time to let his senses come back to him. Shitakibo was correct in her assertion that the merchant he attempted to make a purchase from was not in the wrong and deserves none of his ire. Following that line of thought, it occurs to him that the one he received the fake coins from might not be aware either, but he suspects this might be easy enough to identify by challenging them on a new purchase when given fake solars. Catch them off guard in the moment or something along those lines.

Slowing to a stop, Perrath looks at Taki and explains his idea. “The one who gave me bad coin is that man there,” he says, pointing with one talon towards the man doing business with some passersby, offering to purchase knick knacks or whatever people had to offer. Perrath himself had sold him a few blades collected from killed bandits after a recent outing along the roads. He curses himself for thinking it too easy. “He will recognize me if I approach, but let’s see if he gives you bad change.” Pulling out a simple dagger, Perrath offers it to Taki. “If you offer to sell this, he might purchase it. If he gives you fake solars, perhaps point it out to him and see how he reacts. If he runs, I will pursue and stop him so that we may question him.”

Taki paused as Perrath did, listening to his idea and nodding in understanding. She took the dagger in her hand and it gave her a clever idea in the process. "I do believe I have just what we need. One moment." She replied as she stepped into a small alley that went between the corner shops. Her outfit changed from her typical adventuring gear to a more formal kimono, complete with obi, geta and flowing sleeves down each of her four arms. She stepped out of the alleyway as if she were fresh off the boat from Moonglade as a trader and approached the stall, dagger in hand and hoping she hadn't overdone the outfit.

"Well good day miss, how can I help you?"

"I was hoping to make a last minute sale before I return to Moonglade. Would you be interested in this?" She responded, handing the dagger over. She watched with keen eyes as the man inspected it, before he set it down on the table. The pair haggled briefly before settling on a price, which the man retrieved from a small lockbox. Taki took the coins and rolled them between her fingers, noting that two felt distinctly different from the others. After holding a suspicious one up to the light beside a regular, she turned back to the merchant.

"Sir, I cannot in good faith take two of these coin. They appear to be forgeries... counterfeits."

"T... That's preposterous! How could you prove such a thing?"

"Watch as the light passes across the surface. A true golden solar will have a consistent yellow color and a brilliant shine. The fake will not, it will have a more rusty color as the light passes over it and a less consistent surface finish. See here, as I turn them slowly..." She explained, watching the man pale knowing he'd been had. He grabbed the dagger from the table, along with the lockbox and bolted, knocking over a small stand of trinkets into the market to cause confusion. Taki just sighed, wrapping the coins up in a cloth from the table and walking back through the alleyway to change her outfit and wait for Perrath to return with the man.

Whilst Taki goes to haggle with the man and put the plan into action, Perrath watches silently from the shadows of a nearby alleyway. Things seem to go smoothly until Taki uses her keen eyes to identify that the merchant indeed gave her false coins. Any respectable merchant would apologize and take the coins back, but this one instead steals the dagger and runs. Perrath moves quickly to cut him off, an imposing shadowy figure in the alley that stops the man dead in his tracks.

“Where do you think you’re going?” the dragon sneers through his teeth, taking one step forward.

“Running an errand!” the merchant lies badly.

Cloaked in shadows, Perrath rushes up to him, standing well over a foot and a half taller. His fangs bared, he says, “I believe you’ve stolen something from my friend.” Before the man can flee, Perrath grabs him by the shirt and drags him back toward Taki. With the two of them cornering him in another alley, Perrath draws his blade threateningly. The black blade glimmers in the low light, and sickly flames spit at the edges.

“Now, you’re going to tell us where you got these false coins, and then you’re going to take us to the operation.”