Albit through a bit of difficulty progress had been made. While helping her fellow countryman gave her the information to reach her current point thus far, but also new discoveries about her current form. New abilities and powers had made her far more formidable than she had been before, however, these abilities acted as a double edged sword. Her ability to access Qi was fare superior to any living being, yet unlike the living, she was unable to natural restore her pool of Qi instead having to take from others just like the monsters she had hunted. Her past skills carried over into her new life but at the cost of harming herself.

Ruminating over her thoughts as she awaited her arrival to Karith. She kept her concerns and fascinations over the flying boat to herself as her first impression to the crew and other passenger was met with confusion and mockery. Perhaps flying boats were an everyday occurrence to them, this was my first at least they could have been more understanding to concerns of falling out of the sky or the odd shifting through the currents!

While attempting to remain inconspicuous she remained huddled between the stairs headed to the bridge avoiding further embarrassment and chide remarks about her past outburst. Meekly peaking out of her corner to examine the ship. For all intents and purpose, it is a boat, far more metallic than their sea fairing brethren. The only difference is the method of propulsion, while sea boats use or used sails these flying ships use some sort of magical means.

Lixue's thoughts were cut short as the ship came to a sudden halt, with a clang the remaining momentum caused her to lose balance landing on her hands and knee in front of one of the crew. "Ho there young lady, I'm sorry your first flight has no been the most pleasant of memories". The voice moved closer and outstretched a hand to aid the fallen Lixue. "It's fine it's my fault for not preparing correctly". Waving away the man's assitance she regained her footing. While she did not wish to be rude, but her lack of warmth would no doubt cause concern from the kind soul. It would be better to err on the side of caution while seeming rude than to have her be outed as a monster to the city. Looking towards the voice of the man to place a form to the voice. By his adorned coat and rather overly decorated hat it would be safe to assume that this was the captain of this vessel. If she had to guess he would have to be around his mid to late forties and a monster of a man, no doubt his already towering figure was far more impressive in his prime. A salted bread hides most of the cracks within his chiselled face and the overdone hat hide most of his greying hair save for the grey sideburns peaking out from under the hat. " Thank you for the offer, but I'm least able to still stand unassisted". Retreating his mace of a hand towards his pocket to retrieve a pipe. Striking a match against his coat while looking down towards the odd girl with an even more odd dialect. "Is that right"? The sarcasm was as thick as the smoke billowing from the captain's pipe. "Well I'm in no place to refute a lady such as yourself, but maybe A bit of friendly advice to the girl out of time. Be sure to check in at the border, be ashamed for your travels to end before the began". With a mild chuckle, he left to oversee his ship. "Pardon"!? Her exclamation was not out of anger, but shock. Not only had the man understood her, but guessed that she was not part of this time. Quickly bushing herself off she attempted to approach the captain, but the coward of passengers came upon her forcing her to follow in suit towards the check in point.

Lucky or unlucky for her the crowd had forced her to the forefront of the line. Looking toward the odd box like stcurture a man in uniform stared at her with two other men in uniform nearby far more heavily armed stared straight ahead as if in a trance. With a brief exchange of silence, the man sighed, "Name and reason for entering"? The words she could glean from the officer was name and enter, most likely he wished to know why she wished to enter. Thinking of a more agreeable response than I'm here to destroy the Guild, a thought that fit with her appearance came to her. "I'm here to pursue academical advancement". Feeling rather proud of her idea, giving the Officer a boast glance he, however, looked less than, please. Deflated at the Man's confused glare her pride was shattered by his exacerbated "What"! as it appears that an academical pursuit might be needed in the future to commuicated properly.

"Gods, I hate public transportation." Typically he just had to open a portal to get to where he wanted, but this was one of the rare instances when he was obligated to leave his shop in order to attend to business. Opening portals aren't as simple as making a hole in the wall and coming out in a new location–you needed to know where you wanted to arrive or not arrive at all. He had picked up his order of a custom-crafted ceramic pot designed for steeping herbs from the kiln houses below Karith hours earlier and was waiting to get off so he could return before too much time had passed. Truth be told, he was just impatient to retreat back into the peace and quiet of the apothecary shop. For some bloody reason the line wasn't moving at all, which made him lean out from the side scowling in anger. This better not be one of those people who fumbled with their tickets at the last moment or happened to stow away on the ship only to be found out. The boxed earthenware pot under his arm wasn't getting any lighter. Murmuring from other passengers traveled down to the young man's ears where he learned what was causing the stall. Not caring whether or not he lost his spot, he strode to the front of the crowd to where he found the city's guards and some girl having an impasse. "For the love of Reverie–what is taking so long?! Some of us happen to have important things to do than stand here twiddling our thumbs!" He hissed.

"If you lack a satisfactory reason for entering the city, then you have no place in Karith, girl. Step aside." The guard captain spoke, motioning the two under his command to pull the girl away if she failed to give a suitable response. Efrain could feel his blood rising inside his veins at the sound of it. Jabbing a finger towards the girl he raised his voice. "You! So you're the reason why this line hasn't moved for five minutes? Well don't just stand there–spit it out and get on with it!" Seeing her blank stare he narrowed his eyes, "Don't tell me you bought a ride on this ship thinking you'd be sightseeing in Karith for a holiday. If you have no interest in alchemy or metallurgy, then you might as well buy a return ticket." Turning to the guards he succinctly replied: "Efrain Albaret; I am returning to my shop on Cai-hua Street from a brief visit to the kiln houses below to pick up a ceramic pot I ordered." He held the box up as if to prove his point. "Feel free to inspect the contents, officer." The man gave a nod, and the other two took the box off his hands to untie the twine that held it shut. After a few minutes of inspection, it was wrapped back up and he was given permission to pass. He was glad to go, as when he watched the guards handle his purchase roughly it took all the restraint in his body not to call them bumbling clods. 

With haste, he made his way toward the city markets where he could finally check the extent of the damage those two ham-fisted oafs had done to his brand-new pot. It wasn't just any ordinary piece of pottery; earthenware pots used for decocting herbal medicine had to be made with a special glaze that was free of metals and minerals. This was essential as the decoction process made it possible for such things to leech into the medicine. Metal was absolutely not allowed for decoction pots, and if you wanted to buy one it had to be a custom order. Finding a pottery house that had the skill, reputation, and talent to make them wasn't easy. 

"Wait i've already answered you"! Placing a hand to the left side of her chest, "I am Cao Lixue and i've come to seek high learning"! Even with rephrasing her words, all it accomplished was a momentary halt to the two guards and a more irritated expression from the Patrol Officer. It was clear that she would not get anywhere as the guards have already made up their mind with the backing of an ever growing angry line. One of the members stood out from the mob directly called her out. The man that was now browbeating her had an air of nobility to him with the clothes to match. His steely eyed met her own, while her lack of luster was not meant as a blank stare to the narcissist Man he had already taken it as an insult. As with all nobility, any slight against them sends them into a fit of anger even if there was no offence taken. Letting the man finish it dawned on her that his Karith was far more refined than the rest sharing similarities to her own. Cracking a smile as she looks directly into the eyes of the noble, " You have no idea how interested in alchemy am I, however, this accursed Common Karithian makes it impossible to hold a conversation with a majority of my own people".

While she wished to speak with the impatient man more, their brief conversation was cut short by a guard picking up the small Lixue. " Unhand me you grunts, I have done nothing wrong, it is your own ignorance that has caused this misunderstanding"! Struggling proved futile as her small frame was no match for the well regimented Guardsman. Giving up as there was no way that she would escape from the man's grasp and using magic to free herself would only cause her more trouble. Squirming around in the Guard's grasp she positioned herself to look back at the check in to see the Pompios man looking very concerned about how one of the guards was handling an earthen jar. Sighing as she thought back to what the Captain said and how right he was. All that's left is to pray to whatever Gods are listening and hope for a miracle.

Regardless her excuse, Efrain was absolutely sure the problem had nothing to do with common or uncommon Karithian. It was plain to see the fault laid with her failing to answer the inspection guard captain's straightforward question. It was rather simple really–a name and a clear reason why she wanted to enter, then everything would be solved. But no, this girl continued to persist with the same reply, oblivious to why her first one hadn't been accepted. The apothecary also suspected she might be a tad delusional, or at least clueless judging how she claimed to be a native Karithian. Perhaps her parents had emigrated from the city to elsewhere and had taken great pains to instill a sense of cultural pride in their child while omitting a few crucial details, resulting in this farce. Frankly Efrain would have been perfectly fine with ignoring this foolish person and continuing on his merry way, however he had a rare moment of consideration. While she should have picked up on how he had answered the guards in order to be granted passage, the example had gone to waste on her entirely. Really she only had her own ignorance to blame than the guards being inflexible.

Before the confounded upstart could continue further, he turned back around and shouted. "Oh for Celestials' sake–are you here to learn alchemy as an apprentice or are you continuing your studies?! If you already have a sponsor then say so, or else state you are currently searching to study under another's tutelage! Is that so bloody difficult?!" At this point he was sure she was some pampered rich man's daughter who had never set foot outside without a chaperone if she couldn't figure how to put two and two together. Although he chose to give her assistance, he wasn't doing this for her sake. Rather it was for the poor souls trapped behind her, unable to progress thanks to her antics. It was quite unfair that they had to be kept waiting because some child didn't know how to get her point across. If she still couldn't understand what was being made painfully clear, he would let her be taken away for being so senseless. The gods only helped those who helped themselves, and no amount of divine intervention could cure absurdity.

Really that was all, there is no way it's that simple. Now staring blankly at the fop of a man atop of the guard's shoulder, as he has been quite rude to her, but in his own way, he has helped her. It seems I need just as much help as those below Karith, how am I going to rid the world of the Guild when I can't even get past a simple border. Taking in a deep breath and simplifying her mannerisms as much as humanly possible she gave it a final attempt. " My name is Cao Lixue and I would like to study alchemy, I little knowledge in the field and often mack mistakes. I just want to help others! Feeling her pride slowly drift away as the guard lowered her back to the ground. The Officer looked relieved as he could finally be done with the girl that has caused such a jam.

With shuffling of papers and a bit of writing the Officer handed her a piece of paper. "This is a Learner's Permit, this will allow you access to a majority of the city save for the higher levels. You cannot apply for work and you have a week to find a sponsor, if not you will have to apply for another permit or leave. Do you understand the information and directions I have given you"? Receiving the permit from the Officer and nodded to signify her understanding. Modern Kairthian was not as difficult as she had originally thought, it's just a simplified generalization of words than a character for everything.

With her access to the city secure many praises to various gods could be heard from the crowd now that the little annoyance was out of the way. While she did not want to be an alcemist it could be a good place to start to learn about her enemy for the future. However, she had no idea where to start nor how much her homeland had changed since her past life. Setting aside her worries, for now, she had another more immediate issue to take care of. Approaching the Man with the earthen jar and looking at the Man's entire being for a moment. Struggling with her more baser desires to curse the man for his previous rudeness, however, if he did not intervein she would have not had access to the city. "Thank you for your assistance, while I do not own anything of value, however, if it is in my ability I will do my utmost to pay you back for your kindness". Bowing and thanking the very same person who had ridiculed her left a poor taste in her mouth, but not thanking him would stain her families honour.

It should be him thanking her than the other way around for her finally coming to the realization of how to solve that predicament. Any longer and he would have to remove himself from the premises lest he do something regrettable. Though this Cao Lixue had only received a temporary pass until she either finished her stay or found a legitimate reason to continue living in the city. The glaze of his decoction pot was unsullied despite being handled so much, something that brightened his dour mood. With all annoyances perceived and real now dealt with he was ready to return to his usual schedule. Efrain accepted the thanks, as unnecessary as it was, out of obligated courtesy. "The best way you can repay me is by going off to do whatever you came here for." The dark-haired apothecary said tersely. "We're all quite busy here in Karith, alchemists or not. We both have more pressing matters to take care of than exchange formalities." Shifting his parcel under his arm, he gave a curt nod of the head before turning on his heel. Following him, one would see Karith's exquisite marketplace. It was bustling with merchants, workers, and everyday people going about their daily lives. Even a city founded by alchemists needed basic elements that made it livable.

The wide avenues were decorated in gold and crimson, the metal essentially as common as dirt with transmuting it from other base metals one of the oldest beginner's experiments in the book. When students start out as apprentices, everyone finds the idea of making gold the most amazing thing ever to grace the earth. But once that milestone is achieved, the allure fades and they move on to try more ambitious projects. For how valued gold was, its properties made it terrible for anything actually useful. In its pure form it was soft, easily bent and shaped even as a solid. It didn't rust or tarnish, keeping its luster. It was a decent conductor of heat as all metals were and nontoxic if ingested while providing no notable benefits. However, it was ridiculously dense. Aside from ornamentation and corrosion-resistant coating, that made it practically useless. Lacriamium proved itself far superior in both areas, even more so with it not being a naturally-occurring metal. 

Amid this florid display of the city's prosperity was the apothecary shop Efrain ran with his dragon assistant, Heisei. It was nestled in between two stores–a ritzy jade emporium and a large dry-goods store. The Rosenite returned to find the Ataiyan dragon lounging behind the counter, turning the pages of a book with his claws while a lukewarm pot of tea sat beside him. The dragon raised an eyebrow at his unexpected tardiness. "You're back later than expected. Did something happen?" Setting the boxed earthenware pot down, the apothecary released a loud sigh of exasperation. "Yes, not that I want to think about it any more than I have to. There was a delay exiting the airship back into the city because someone thought they could waltz in without a permit." The dragon poured an extra cup of tea, which Efrain took and downed in a single shot. "Darjeeling?" He asked, to which Heisei gave a lazy nod. "Yes, white." Lifting the cup, he wafted the remaining aroma. "Mamlak or Abedian?" Came the next question. "Abedian. There was a fresh shipment that came in this morning." 

The decoction pot was moved to the backroom and Efrain was sitting at the counter looking over a written record of inventory. There wasn't much to do on days like this. The most business they had was a handful of customers coming in to buy dried herbs for potpourri or stews after finishing their shopping next door. Unfortunately for him, his beloved peace and quiet would be short-lived as no good deed went unpunished–as the saying goes. 

Straighting herself as the Raven Haired Man accepted her thanks, however, his acceptance was the same as her thanks merely common courtesy. Perhaps one could argue against simple courtesy as she has been less than courteous to those in line, but many of those in line were hardly understanding of her position. Toiling with the thought of her own possible impasses as she awaited the man who seemed far more interested in his pottry than a debt of kindness. Upon hearing him speak Lixue's focus shifted back to the Man. While he relieved her of any debts, his suggestion to finish her business within Karith is an impossibility. Perhaps she should have understood that taking down a tyrannical organization that has lasted for millennia would be more complex than simply charging headfirst and forcing her way to the leaders, in her defence she had just returned to the living. However, since her reasons for returning home have been dashed by reality, it would be a waste of the opportunity granted to her. Instead of retreating with her tail between her legs, espionage would be an acceptable compromise. With the reformed plan set she wished to continue conversing with the Man, but he seemed to have other plans. Without even an exchange of name or goodbyes, he had already began walking away. Regerreting her previous actions of bowing to such a man, she had no choice to follow after him as he was her best lead.

With his height advantage, it was hard to keep up with the man, who may or may not be trying to lose her, although if he wished to be more inconspicuous wearing less flashy attire would help immensely. Even though Lixue was adamant on keeping track of the man, it would be an impossibility to take note of the opulent avenues. Even if the Guilds methods and actions were unforgivable she had to acknowledge the achievements of her enemy. A bit overdone for her tastes as the gold cased streets seemed a tad overboard, however it would be safe to say that their once touted after goal has been reached and then some. Continuing to chase the man down her chase would end far more swiftly than she would have guessed. For such an introverted person one would have expected him to lead a tailer trough bit the chase in order to lose his followers. Either he did not expect to be followed or he was busy as he had stated before. What was not surprising was that he ran an apothecary. While mildly distrusting of Alchemist it would be very foolish to assume that all Alchemist are bad. It does not appear that this shop was affiliated with the Guild and while he was fairly rude he did not seem like a bad person, anyway what matters is information, not his personality.

Upon entering the shop she overheard the man speaking ill of her again. None of it was false, but talking about someone behind their back is rude. "That someone has a name". Moving next to the man she would also see a dragon pouring him tea. Giving a slight bow to the other party, "Hello i'm Cao Lixue the someone that waltzed in without a permit". Now that she had introduced herself to the other party she had business with her boorish creditor. "I was not finished with our conversation yet, we did not even exchange names nor did you properly allow me to repay your kindness".

Now out of the public eye, the apothecary made no attempt to hide his disdain for his unintentional stalker. He shot her a piercing, hateful glare over his shoulder with a very noticeable scowl. Efrain clicked his tongue in anger as Heisei glanced up from his book with mild amusement. "What was the saying again? I believe it was no good deed–" "–Goes unpunished." The dark-haired apothecary finished with a hiss. Just when he had thought he could settle into another uneventful afternoon, this girl had the gall to traipse into his shop demanding he give his name, again. This Cao Lixue looked like the kind who wouldn't bugger off and leave unless you spelled it out, and he had no patience for the likes of her thanks to this morning. Taking in a deep breath, for a brief moment he mentally told himself to pretend she wasn't there in preparation for what would happen next. The Ataiyan dragon knew at a glance was was coming, but had no interest in stopping him. It would be better if the man vented it all in one go rather than simmer passive-aggressively for the rest of the day. And besides, it had been a while since Efrain had given a poor unsuspecting soul a verbal whipping.

Leaning on the counter, Efrain's expression calmed as he asked in a genuine-sounding tone of concern. "…Are you daft?" His tone then shifted in an instant as he raised his voice and the sharpness returned to his gaze. "I said are you daft?! Do you know how to read the atmosphere? The greatest kindness you can give me is to get out of my sight!" He was now shouting loudly enough for his voice to reverberate off the walls. Fortunately the walls of the apothecary shop were soundproof, or else there would have been more complaints over noise from the neighbors. "This is because of what happened at the gate, isn't it? In that case you've sorely misunderstood–I didn't do it for your sake; I did it because I couldn't stand watching you flail about–achieving nothing! Do not expect me to act as your sponsor, and don't expect me to give you any referrals either. I refuse to accept someone who has failed to perform basic research or preparation for entering Karith. Do I make myself clear??" Were his words harsh? Yes. But he didn't care. If the girl started crying he wouldn't be moved; it was her fault for her shoddy preparations and blatant lack of research. If she had time to plan a purchase of her ticket, then she had time to gather information about rules and regulations to be aware of when traveling to a city for the first time.

Clearly the Man's Irascibility knew no bounds as Lixue could almost feel the Man's annoyance. His coworker, however, seemed much more understanding as he reminded him that no good deed goes unrewarded, even if he tainted the phase into a more fatalist tone. For someone who appeared to be either in his late twenties to early thirty, he had a jaded outlook of a man beat down by time. 

A deafening silence had covered the store as the Steel Eyed Apothecary took in a deep breath. While Lixue was unsure of what would happen next, she could feel that this was the calm before the storm. As he leaned on the counter, she leaned back slightly as if she could feel the Man working up to go for the verbal kill. His calmed expression was far more terrifying than his scowls. The fact that such a man can even make an attempt to remain calm and concerned was the actual concern. With a question posed she attempted to answer but was quickly cut off as his calm expression regained its ferocity causing her to recoil slightly. Multiple rhetorical questions were posed before he roared off his request causing the very walls to quake. She could feel herself shrink more and more as the man scolded her more and more, attempting to shatter her preconceived notion that he was not, in fact, a good man. The tongue lashing that Lixue had just received rattled her forcing her to take a moment to regain herself as she had not been scolded since her past life. While her undeath had not even past a week the man's words made her think of her family more so her father than anything. As she took her time to process the infomation she allowed herself to live in the past for a moment to remember her friends and family.

"Your right that my actions were foolish, but you have no context on how I came to Karith nor what I had to do to get here"! She understood the value of looking at an event through another perception, but she had, had enough. Not only has she been insult browbeaten by an Apothecary who may or may not is affiliated with the guild, but the passengers aboard the ship mocked her those in the line mocked, everyone mocked her. Adjusting herself she stared back into the Apothcaires eyes, while her eyes lacked the luster of the living it was clear to see that she has had enough of turning the other cheek. " I came here for not only a personal reason but with the hopes of others resting on me! It is very clear that I cannot achieve my goal nor the wishes of those who have placed their faith in me! If it was not for you I would not have even been able to make it into the city, out of everyone your one of the three that I can even hold a normal conversation with"! Calming herself as her problems were her own, sure his words were hurtful, but yelling an arguing about something she can do nothing about would get them nowhere. While this would be the time to take a deep breath, there was no need as air was not a requirement for her. " I apologize her pushing my problems on you, and I understand if your wishes have not changed, however, if you would allow me just a small sliver of hope I have a lot to offer". Placing a hand on her heart, " You said yourself that you were busy, I do not tire and I can handle any more simple or mundane tasks that would take up your time. I can cast mostly beneficial magics and I do not require food nor drink, you don't even have to pay me. All I ask for return is information". Keeping her gaze locked on the Man she hoped that her offer was enough to sway him.

"Denied." With that single word Efrain strode into the backroom and slammed it shut, leaving the Ataiyan dragon and Cao Lixue the only ones left in the forefront of the shop. Silence fell at last as the shouting was over and the apothecary refused to communicate further. Waiting for a few moments, Heisei threw a glance at the locked door and placed a bookmark in his book. Putting the cold tea away, he leaned on a forelimb and eyed the girl with passive curiosity. "I have to say, you're the first person who's managed to get such a rise out of him like that, though you did happen to trigger every single peeve at once. You must be incredibly lucky–or unfortunate." Flicking a claw, a chair moved on its own to stop beside her. "Come, have a seat. While my partner wants nothing to do with you, I am not so closed-minded as to throw someone out before understanding the situation. But first, allow me to explain."

"Your little mishaps aside, I myself must agree that you have little if nothing to offer us. When the boy says 'busy', he means busy enough–there's only so much work to be done as we don't have a high volume of customers. There isn't a strong enough argument to justify hiring another set of hands." As the dragon spoke, he was taking note of her in great detail. Her attire was certainly archaic and the style esoteric, very out of place for Karith even by the more arcane-obsessed alchemists' standards. The symbols and imagery were too different to dismiss. Then came the tidbits of information she had let slip in her attempt in appealing to Efrain's sympathy. Not requiring sustenance or rest was highly unusual and did not escape the dragon's ears. The paleness of her complexion and dulled gaze were all pointing to her true nature…that is, if she wasn't human.

Transformation magic was common among supernatural creatures. Heisei continued with a casual tone, calling to attention the heart of the issue. "Perhaps I might be able to better comprehend your intentions if you could explain your reasons for coming to Karith in greater detail? After all, an apology for being an inconvenience is only valid if you cease being one. Obscuring the issue will do nothing for you–my reptilian senses can tell your body heat is almost absent or unnaturally low." While Efrain was sharp-tongued and acerbic, the dragon was more cerebral and methodical. If he wanted something, he could afford to play the long game until it fell into his hands. His replies were neither 'yes' or 'no', and only when he felt he had a firm grasp of the situation would he give a clear answer. He was a dragon, after all.