The Asshai's Bloodmage

 The Order meeting had started at 9:00 pm like the last time. This was also the first time I saw Zaya again since the day we "had drinks together" she didn't look me in the eyes and acted as if nothing had happened. Maybe it was better that way...

At that moment everyone was looking at Zhang with wide eyes, Zaya asked if he had changed his appearance and he smugly said that it was his own natural appearance. Since it involved blood magic she was very interested asking several questions, Liza was even bolder touching him in several places and making "Ohh" and "Ahh" noises. Vitarys didn't say anything but was paying attention to all the questions and answers. After they calmed down a bit I started the official meeting and right at the beginning I talked about Vitarys and Jhon's contribution to the emergency mission to heal the injured men. Since we didn't have an official point system for the missions yet I explained the level of poison and how the situation was urgent and time was short. I told everyone to write down a score they considered fair and I would calculate the overall average.

After everyone voted, I analyzed the papers and said all the scores out loud and quickly came up with the average. Each of them got 75 points for saving the two men. Then we started talking about the problems someone could have with their spells and alchemy. Omar asked a lot of questions about the process of learning spells and Zaya, Jhon and Vitarys were the ones who gave him the most guidance in this regard. Jhon also said that he was very close to completing his first spell and everyone congratulated him.

We went back to the bazaar and item trading part, but we didn't get much business since we hadn't made any stops. I put one of the monster corpses up for sale and Vitarys bought it. Jhon then explained to me that several of the monster's organs were valuable ingredients. He also told me that it was probably a mutant fish man or belonged to a more savage and primitive tribe. As a precaution, I only sold the one whose face was melted and decided to keep the other two until we got to Asshai. Right after the bazaar, I took them to the mission board. I had created several missions for tomorrow, since we would be arriving in Qarth.

Among these missions, two people could search for books for the Order. The chosen ones for this mission were Jack and Vitarys. The first knew the dark places in the city and the other had the most experience in this type of book as one of the oldest apprentices in the group. Zaya and Liza accepted a mission to take care of the masks and clothes of all the members of the Order. Jhon would buy a good stock of magical herbs and other alchemical ingredients for our demand. Fatty would find and buy some small animals for us to conduct experiments on, in addition to gathering his own servants. Omar would not leave the ship, so he agreed to go without any missions.

The missions were simple, giving 15-25 points, but everyone accepted and I said that at the next meeting a valuable book would be for sale. The book in question was the animal taming technique I had obtained from Esmer. That was why I had Gordo buy some smaller animals, as well as test subjects, which would be used to test this skill. After that, I left the cabin along with most of the others and we called it a day.

The next day it was 11:00 in the morning when we finally approached Qarth, the city was on a narrow sea route and was the simplest and most direct route to the Jade Sea after leaving the Summer Sea. As I had expected, the port of Qarth was still very busy and the mood was very gloomy, there were wrecked ships and injured people, when I sent men to inquire it seemed like it was the problem I had foreseen with the pirates.

Again, just like in New Ghis, we acted quickly. Omar sent men to resupply our ship and Henry went after the cargo for the second ship, prioritizing grains, fruits, meats and water. I sent the ex-pirate who was the current captain of the second ship to recruit 20 more men for the crew, while I collected the bounty from Pirate Captain Jones and his first mate. And the members of the Order of the Wise went out to complete their missions.

As for me, I went after buying meat to extract its proteins, taking Aisha and Ted to help me. After asking around a bit, I found a butcher shop in the port that has contact with some slaughterhouses and other animal farms. I look for the cheapest meat with the worst taste. I say that I only want to extract a small part of the meat as an alchemical ingredient and I will pay 50% of the price. The owner quickly brings me a giant rodent and an antelope. According to him, the first one has a very bad taste and the second one is known for its extremely tough meat. After using the separation method, I get 190 grams of protein from the rodent and 209 grams from the antelope. These numbers can vary between 20 and 50 grams. But for me, this is already a huge amount of weight and space savings compared to taking all that meat on board.

So I tell the man to gather as much as he can in the next few hours and he sends several employees from the butcher shop. Aisha, who had gone with Ted to buy several bags, helps me start storing the protein powder from the few animals that the man had ready for delivery. As time goes by, more meat arrives and more protein is extracted. After a few more hours, the bags accumulate and I believe I have collected something around 3 tons. I let the butcher shop man weigh it and pay him the total of 5 tons of meat. He still keeps the 7 tons of meat, which, despite decreasing in size and changing slightly in color, still maintains its normal flavor. We conclude the deal and I ask him to deliver the 3 tons to the ship. I'll get some good space in my inventory later.

Now I have something different that I want to try, that would be buying some barrels of milk. With more space on the ship I didn't need to keep my ton of water with me anymore so I left 500 liters in my cabin and gave the other half to the blacksmith, I also returned his furnace that weighed several tons and took up a lot of space and now I have a lot of free space to keep at least another 1000 or 2000 liters of milk.

I still can't use the Separation skill on liquids, one of the problems is how to use the skill and not mix everything again. I had already tried it on seawater thinking that I could remove the salt from it but it didn't work, maybe I needed instruments that would help me with the separation or just an improvement in the skill by evolving the system. When using it on meat all I had to do was hold it and let the powder fall between my fingers into the container. But with liquids this would only be possible if they were in a solid state. I think the skill was created by blood mages with the intention of separating the errors caused by Synthesis. The way I'm using it is a completely out-of-the-box way of thinking. After buying the milk and storing everything in the inventory, I ask Aisha to buy me a few more pairs of clothes and Ted to deliver a message to a city guard, then I go back to the ship first.

When I get there, I see Henry coordinating with the crew to manage the supplies we need. Since it's almost night, we decide to stay here and leave early tomorrow morning. This time, the entire crew decides to go to the city to look for an inn to take a shower, drink and relax a little from the claustrophobic ship, but I remind everyone that we'll leave 1 hour after dawn.

My protein arrives about 30 minutes after I return to the ship and I manage to preserve some of it in my space. There's still a lot of quality stuff that we stole from the Golden Dragon stored inside it and I decide to continue preserving this quality cargo in perfect condition. That's why I didn't prioritize protein. I can sell it as a luxury item, but it's easy to produce more. I even believe I can extract it from the animals of Asshai that are said to be inedible, but I still need to test this theory. When night falls the ex-pirate returns, this time we have a very varied crew: There are Ghiscari men, Asians from Yi Ti, some descendants of Valyria, a sailor from Asshai who will be the new first mate of the second ship and even 3 Dothrakis.

When I ask if everyone speaks Common, the ex-pirate named Will confirms that they do. I ask the three Dothrakis if they are not afraid of water horses and they say that they were raised in the city since they were young and are already used to sailing. I welcome them all and then they follow me to help with the goods on the second ship. Henry's men then focus on our resupply and the work goes on until 10:00 p.m.

After that, the men go out to drink together and get to know each other. Fatty comes back and says that the animals will arrive tomorrow morning at sunrise. He is accompanied by a skinny young man, a beautiful and curvy woman who resembles a Dornishwoman, and the man of 30-40 years old who is tall, strong, dark-skinned and looks like an experienced sailor. He introduces them all to me. The woman will be his assistant, taking care of his meals and other matters similar to Aisha. The boy will be his squire, helping him with the heavy armor. And the man will be a bodyguard; he is a former veteran sailor who served on an old warship for many years. I ask Aisha, who has already returned, to accommodate them in the space created inside the fat man's cabin, which will now also have its own small gym. Fatty confirms that they were all bought and freed from slavery and agreed to serve him.

I nod and tell him to ask if they have family, but he says he has already confirmed that. If they are going to stay by his side, I need to be sure that they are not dangerous or want to harm him. Will, who stayed on the ship with me, asks me if we should not sell tickets for the second ship, but I say that it is better to save food and space so that we can arrive at Asshai with full load.

After that, I keep watch on the Valyria sigh with Henry and Ted, and Gordo stays on the Giant Horn with Will and his new subordinate until the others return.

When it is past midnight, Jack returns with Vitarys, they have 3 books with them that I look at anxiously. I've already stored all the new books and methods that the Order members have contributed in my system, so I want to see what they brought this time to make my copy as well. We have a second meditation method, the level is similar to the first, but Vitarys says that some methods are more compatible for different people, so having more than one type is always good. The second book is a book on creating poisons. Vitarys confirmed the veracity of the preparation methods used in it. The last one is a rare spell that for a moment I thought was fire-based, but I was wrong. It's Spark of the lightning element... "Liza is lucky," I say these words out loud and soon see agreement from both men. I tell them that they can make their copies first and leave a book with each of them before taking the spell book to the girls' cabin. It's already very late at night and they haven't returned. Could they be having a problem? But I remember that their mission was the most complicated. The masks should all be similar, but with different colors, and the clothes would be luxurious robes. Maybe they stayed somewhere near the tailor to spend the night, the same thing happened to Jhon, but I'm not worried about him.

I spend the night awake and when the sun starts to rise I see the men of the crew coming back laughing and still a little drunk. Maybe I have to go after Zaya and Liza, but suddenly I see Liza coming back alone. She says that the tailors worked all night but still need at least 2 more hours before they finish the job. I nod and ask if she rested and she says that they were treated to great food and stayed at the house of one of the craftswomen who is taking care of the cloaks. As soon as the sun comes out completely and the 1 hour deadline for everyone to return to the ship ends all the passengers are back, I am relieved, and not long after Jhon arrives in a carriage full of herbs, mushrooms and several small bags that I assume are other ingredients, as well as glass vials and other alchemical items for replacement.

Another carriage arrives at the last minute and has several cages with birds and some small rodents. They will be able to stay on our ship if we transfer some of the animals for consumption to the second ship. After another hour, Zaya finally arrives in an elegant carriage and a man brings all the remaining items on board. I tell the men to take them to the Order's cabin and I follow them. Before leaving, I tell Liza that I left a surprise for her in her cabin. She leaves, dragging Zaya along with her, curious to see what it is. Omar soon gives the signal for the second ship and we depart from the port of Qarth.

Special thanks to Patreons:

Sage's Supporter: Parsa

Magic Apprentice: Pato Senalima, Axel Bour, Gabriele Sulpizio and Vinnie