Todd Riordan's Academic Research: Glimpsing the Verdant Apothecary's Pouch

Todd Riordan's Academic Research: Glimpsing the Verdant Apothecary's Pouch is an Adventure Mission on The Xianzhou Luofu.
==Location==
==Steps==
#Talk to Todd and listen to his request
#Borrow Compendium of Remedies from the healers at the Alchemy Commission
#Speak with Yuluo and inquire the location of the Compendium of Remedies
#Look for the Compendium of Remedies inside the Alchemy Commission
#Hand the Compendium of Remedies to Todd
#Head to the Alchemy Commission again to ask the healers about the herb
#Hand over the herbs to Todd
==Dialogue==
===Talk to Todd and listen to his request===
;(Talk to Todd)
: What are you doing here? And looking around like this?
:Todd: Ah, it's you, (Trailblazer)... I'm looking for an assistant.
:Todd: Someone familiar with the local situation, friendly, well-educated... A capable adventurer... An outworlder... All these qualities must be present to help me finish my research project on Xianzhou.
: Woah, you need that many assistants?
::Todd: That many? I don't think so. Wait, I think you misunderstood. I just want to hire ONE assistant, but as this is for my academic research, I have slightly strict requirements for this person.
: Are you looking for an assistant or the protagonist of a story?
::Todd: You think I'm asking for too much? These are just the basic requirements for an assistant when it comes to the Guild's research.
:Todd: Us scholars from the Intelligentsia Guild must deeply penetrate into alien civilizations and win their trust, while also braving any natural disasters we may encounter. It's as dangerous as being a Nameless.
:Todd: See? Now there's a Stellaron causing calamity here. My plans to research the medical history of the Xianzhou just went down the drain.
:Todd: The locals originally gave approval for me to enter the Alchemy Commission, browse medical texts, and exchange research findings with others, but they kept delaying my visit. Xianzhou residents might be able to afford the wait, but my old bones simply can't.
: A lot has happened in the Alchemy Commission...
::Todd: ... How do you know that?
: The Cloud Knights are already imposing a curfew over there.
::Todd: What? That won't do!
:Todd: Wait... I've been looking everywhere, but you seem to know a lot about what's happening inside the Alchemy Commission! I heard that the general of the Luofu invited some outworlders to get involved in their internal affairs in a rare turn of events... Could you be one of those people?
:Todd: What luck! (Trailblazer), are you interested in becoming my assistant...?
: I don't meet your requirements, though.
::Todd: Forget about those darn requirements! I swear with my invaluable academic reputation—
::Todd: I, Todd Riordan, hereby humbly promise that I will never withhold pay, and will provide (Trailblazer) with personal insurance and double pay for any overtime.
::Todd: How is that oath? Good enough?
: Please go find someone else.
::Todd: Don't be in a hurry to reject me! I can offer you a hefty pay. The Xianzhou is in utter chaos right now, and many outworlders are struggling to even earn enough money to eat...
::Todd: What? Not interested in money? I understand. Money doesn't bring true happiness. I, too, am the happiest when standing behind a lectern and teaching students.
::Todd: I can give you more than just money! I can give you prestige and knowledge!
::Todd: Just think about it. You will be listed in the Guild's textbooks as Todd Riordan's collaborator, and frequently mentioned by every history lecturer in the cosmos. Does this sound attractive to you?
: Why don't you want Xianzhou locals?
::Todd: My child, all these long-life species are the same.
::Todd: I've been in the Xianzhou for a year already. They keep taking me to tourists spots and make me drink terrible beverages. They don't plan to share the secrets of their past with me. Even the application to the Alchemy Commission was only granted after painstaking networking.
::Todd: But you are different. You are chosen by the general and can go into many secret places, unlike normal visitors.
: But I've got other things to do.
::Todd: I understand, I understand. We can start with the most simple task. I just need you run one errand for me. Just go to the Alchemy Commission and pick something up. It's super simple.
: What exactly do I need to do?
::Todd: Don't worry. We'll start with running an errand, the most simple task of all.
:Todd: I want to ask you to go to the Alchemy Commission to pick up some research materials. It won't take too long. Please help a fellow outworlder, !
:Todd: Say, I need a Xianzhou medical textbook called the Compendium of Remedies. Could you please head over to the Alchemy Commission and bring it to me?
: There was no approval. Did you want me to STEAL the book?
::Todd: Look, we are both educated people... Could we use a less accusatory word? Perhaps "borrow"?
::Todd: I've stated that they've already approved my request to borrow it.
: These medical textbooks are the Alchemy Commission's secrets, no?
::Todd: How are these books secrets? They are just references that alchemists can browse at any time. Besides, they agreed to let me borrow it.
:Todd: The Alchemy Commission's chief alchemist approved my request when I met her.
:Todd: According to the Guild's creed, knowledge should be exchanged with an equally valuable piece of knowledge. I gave her a copy of an ancient text, and she gifted me a prescription the Guild had never seen.
:Todd: Go. I'll give you the approval documents. Don't let an old man like me wait too long. At my age, arthritis is a veritable torment.
;(Talk to Todd again, optional)
:Todd: My medical textbook! Is my textbook here?
:Todd: Ahh, (Trailblazer)! My old joints are about to break! Please, have mercy on me!
===Borrow Compendium of Remedies from the healers at the Alchemy Commission===
;(Talk to Tired Healer)
:Tired Healer: I got "asked" to leave before I even finished writing the prescription. 
:Exasperated Alchemist: It can't be helped. It's a mess everywhere... 
:Exasperated Alchemist: Um, hello? How can I help you? 
: (Ask to borrow the textbook from them) 
:Tired Healer: Compendium of Remedies? I remember looking up a prescription in it two days ago... 
:Exasperated Alchemist: Your clothes... Are you an outworlder here for treatment? Why do you want that book? Are you trying to write prescriptions for yourself? 
:Exasperated Alchemist: How preposterous! Since you're already here, a healer will attend to you sooner or later. You can't treat yourself with a medical textbook. 
: (Recount Todd's request)
:Tired Healer: The Intelligentsia Guild's application to borrow textbooks? I think I've heard about this. 
:Tired Healer: *sigh* With the commission in chaos, all of our colleagues are being interrogated by the Cloud Knights. I don't think anyone would know about the request you're talking about. 
:Exasperated Alchemist: However, the new chief alchemist, Lady Yuluo, might be able to help you. 
:Exasperated Alchemist: I think she's somewhere around here. You can try asking her. It's best to ask the chief alchemist about important businesses such as outsiders borrowing our medical texts. 
===Speak with Yuluo and inquire the location of the Compendium of Remedies===
;(Talk to Yuluo)
: (Recount Todd's request)
:Yuluo: Compendium of Remedies? The Intelligentsia Guild's application?
:Yuluo: I see. It was something Lady Dan Shu approved when she still held the post... Oh, I'm sorry. I shouldn't call her "Lady" anymore.
:Yuluo: I don't want to change her policies, but you must've heard about her crimes, right? The Cloud Knights are thoroughly investigating the commission, and even our day-to-day job as healers are being affected...
: So it's not going to work?
::Yuluo: *sigh* I don't think Dan Shu's crimes should influence the academic work being carried out in the commission.
::Yuluo: But rules are rules. After what happened in the Alchemy Commission, everything has to be re-approved.
: Alright. I'll go and decline Todd's offer.
::Yuluo: These medical textbooks are not highly confidential files, nor do they contain forbidden knowledge.
::Yuluo: But I'm not the one who made the rules. After what happened in the Alchemy Commission, every exchange request has to be re-approved.
:Yuluo: I just came back from a foreign business trip myself. The Alchemy Commission had experienced a huge upheaval and armed conflict. Everything is a mess. So many books have been displaced from the bookshelves.
:Yuluo: I even saw some books .
;Yuluo smiles at you.
:Yuluo: I still need to continue making inventory. If there is nothing else, let's talk another time.
===Look for the Compendium of Remedies inside the Alchemy Commission===
;(Investigate box)
:From the minute traces of oil stains at the creases, you think this place might have been used to store food or freshly-dug medical ingredients.
:It is a positive disaster to keep books here. Thankfully, the books were not damaged.
:The Compendium of Remedies isn't here. I should check somewhere else.
;(Investigate box)
:The boxes are more empty than the wallets of the outworlder tourists — the kind of tourists who would believe the ads about "a centuries-old establishment having an anniversary sale" in Starskiff Haven.
:The Compendium of Remedies isn't here. I should check somewhere else.
;(Break vase)
:People talk about shooting fish in a barrel, but never about getting books out of one. You're lucky to encounter such a rare occurrence!
:Today, your happiness came from books. You found one of the volumes of the Compendium of Remedies.
;(Obtain )
;(Talk to Unfortunate Healer)
:Unfortunate Healer: Um? Are you the claims specialist from Heron Express? But your clothes... Why do I feel like you're an outworlder? Did I get the wrong person?
: What's a claims specialist?
::Unfortunate Healer: They're Heron Express staff that specifically manage shipping incidents and provide after-sale support.
: What did outworlders ever do to you?
::Unfortunate Healer: That's not what I mean. I'm waiting for the local Heron Express specialist to arrive. I'm just disappointed to see someone else.
:Unfortunate Healer: The Cloud Knights said it's not safe around here and that I should stay at home for a few days, but I still haven't memorized my medical textbooks. So, I spent a hefty sum to have Heron Express deliver the books from the Alchemy Commission to my home.
:Unfortunate Healer: But that cycrane kept running into walls and trees before it even left the Alchemy Commission! I'm so angry! I watched helplessly as my books fell from the sky...
:Unfortunate Healer: Oh, my textbooks! My precious textbooks! If Heron Express doesn't pay me a million or two, they'll never hear the end of it from me!
: (Ask him where the textbooks are)
:'Unfortunate Healer: ... You're looking for the Compendium of Remedies'? Lucky for you, I do have one of the volumes.
:Unfortunate Healer: But... with the shipping incident... that book ended up in a tree. If you can find it then it's yours.
:Unfortunate Healer: I recorded the incident anyways. Heron Express' specialists just aren't coming, huh? They sure have guts... Seems like I have to visit them myself...
;(Investigate tree)
:This is an ordinary tree. You can somehow hear the sound of flipping pages as wind blows through the leaves.
:You carefully search the tree for the source of the sound and find a book hanging on the branches. The scene gives off a crude sense of beauty.
:Could this be the textbook that Yuluo mentioned? You decide to...
: Take a deep breath and kick the tree.
::You take a deep breath and put power into your legs, then kick the tree.
::Unfortunately, the tree doesn't even shake. Only stupefied silence answers you. The book now suddenly feel more distant than ever.
: Jump up and reach for the branch.
::You jump as high as you can and lift your arms to try to reach the branch. Time stops the moment your feet leave the ground.
::You are concerned that you might reach something you shouldn't touch, such as a bird nest or a beehive.
::As you ponder about this, a book falls from the tree.
:;(Obtain )
: Hit the tree with your weapon! No one is watching.
::You take out your favorite treasure and swing it as hard as you can.
::The rebound from the tree almost knocks you over. Only now do you realize the Xianzhou's trees don't seem to be ordinary trees... Not this tree, at least.
::You've long had doubts about the Realm-Keeping Commission's aesthetics when it comes to artificial greenery. Alternatively, maybe this is a product of biological engineering — The tree truck is made of some kind of hard metal!
===Hand the Compendium of Remedies to Todd===
;(Talk to Todd)
: I got the textbook.
:Todd: Really? Let me see.
;Todd starts reading on the spot...
:Todd: Hmm, it looks like the prescription she gave does exist in the book, but what about the ingredients in it?
: What are you researching?
::Todd: I want to find out whether the prescription the last chief alchemist gave me is genuine.
: That's all?
::Todd: Of course not. This is only the start of my research, but the question I want to answer the most is whether the prescription the last chief alchemist gave me is genuine.
:Todd: After all, I gave her a copy of Theories on Returning From the Underworld, which is an invaluable ancient text. Of course I need to see how good her returning gift is.
: That woman's gifts always contain evil intent...
::Todd: Oh? You've dealt with her?
: Don't worry. She is skilled in pharmacology.
::Todd: Oh? She's treated you before?
: Just make this medicine and ingest it to find out.
::Todd: You want a short-life species to take a long-life species' powerful medicine? I want to live for a few more years still!
:Todd: This prescription is recorded in the medical textbooks, but there's an extra ingredient.
:Todd: The prescription didn't say what this ingredient is or where it's from. It's just called "Divine Aureate Twig." Is this the name of a common medicine in Xianzhou?
: I'm guessing it's a twig from the bodies of the mara-struck.
::Todd: The mara-struck? Why would Xianzhou natives use such odd stuff in their medicines?
::Todd looks at you, puzzled.
::Todd: Hmm, but it does make sense. I've seen these monsters with branches on their bodies. Looks like we've got another mission.
::Todd: (Trailblazer), bring me a sample of this ingredient. It shouldn't be too hard for you, right?
: I don't know either...
::Todd: The answer of one question will always lead to another.
::Todd: Can I please ask you to find an alchemist and get some clues out of them? Please find some answers either through greasing some palms or... more persuasive means.
:Todd: (Trailblazer), old Todd can only rely on you now.
:Todd: If I can't figure out this key issue, that means my net gain would be zero from this exchange of knowledge! Now, go, and I will pay you handsomely.
===Head to the Alchemy Commission again to ask the healers about the herb===
;(Talk to Excited Healer, optional)
:Excited Healer: Just spit it out already.
: (Ask about the ingredient Todd wants)
:Excited Healer: You want to know about prescriptions? Then go ask an alchemist. My specialty is in surgery. The kind that opens people up. Scared yet?
:Excited Healer: ... Wow, aren't you a tough one. Fine, I'll say it in another way: Go find a real professional. This... This isn't my expertise.
;(Talk to Confused Healer, optional)
:Confused Healer: H-Hello?
: (Ask about the ingredient Todd wants)
:Confused Healer: Um, sorry, I just started working in the Alchemy Commission recently. I haven't even memorized the common prescriptions yet.
:Confused Healer: I really can't answer this question. It's better if you ask other people.
;(Talk to Learned Alchemist)
:Learned Alchemist: An outworlder? How can I help you? If you are after treatment, please go to the Healer's Market and make a booking.
: (Ask about the "Aureate Twig.")
:The healer suddenly looks very nervous.
:Learned Alchemist: Where did you hear that name?
: (Tell a lie) The medical textbooks...
:: Learned Alchemist: The medical texts that outworlders have access to would never contain the name of such a forbidden entity.
:: Learned Alchemist: Hmph! If you're not a Sanctus Medicus disciple, then you must have met the master primus and received her prescriptions.
: (Tell the truth) Dan Shu's prescription...
:: Learned Alchemist: I never thought the master primus gifted this prescription to the Guild. How surprising. It's a pity that the short-life species would never understand the secrets behind this ingredient.
: Learned Alchemist: Let me tell you the truth. This is nothing less than the overgrowth on the bodies of mara-struck Xianzhou natives. You cannot obtain this ingredient without killing Xianzhou humans.
: You sure know a lot about this...
: Are you a remnant of the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus?
: Learned Alchemist: The master primus was martyred, and the disciples all scattered. I had no choice but to hide as well.
: Learned Alchemist: I can pretend this never happened today, but if you don't want the Cloud Knights or the Ten-Lords Commission giving you trouble, you better leave right now. Otherwise... I can't make any promises.
: Sorry, I work for the Seat of Divine Foresight.
: Learned Alchemist: You scoundrel!
;(Begin battle against , , )
;(Obtain )
===Hand over the herbs to Todd===
;(Talk to Todd)
: I got what you want.
:Todd: Thank you for your hard work.
:Todd: Fascinating. This thing does look similar to twigs, but its veins shine with a golden light... Its mysteries must be related to the Xianzhou natives' legends.
:Todd: Scholar Bernini will be so jealous once he finds out about what I've learned here.
;Todd makes the eerie twig into a specimen.
:Todd: I don't have a lot of tools available to me here, but the Guild's research finally has some progress after a long delay. Thank you, (Trailblazer).
: You are touching upon the Xianzhou's forbidden secrets.
::Todd: What? Forbidden secrets? I don't seek medicines to grant immortality, and don't wish to become long-life species... What forbidden secrets am I unveiling?
::Todd: What crime is it to collect a small twig that could have come from anywhere? Besides, you gave me this twig yourself.
: You're not afraid of me reporting you?
::Todd: No, (Trailblazer), I'm not afraid of that at all.
::Todd: You have been my capable assistant and helped my investigation from the start to the end. You will gain nothing from reporting me — except losing out on your reward.
::Todd: Even the Seat of Divine Foresight won't be able to pay more than me.
: Now, it's time to talk about payment.
::Todd: Well said, and now it's time for me to fulfill my promise.
:Todd: You've helped me so much, and I'm definitely not a stingy person. Apart from tangible cash, I will also provide the most common reward in the Intelligentsia Guild — that of knowledge. After all, knowledge is worth more than gold.
:Todd: I will share with you all the information I gain from this project. Take this manuscript and keep it safe. I'll come find you again, young one, if I need to conduct more research.
;(Obtain Report: A Rare Plant Specimen)
;(Mission complete)
==Other Languages==
==Change History==
==Navigation==