Chapter 48: Scammed

When frog's legs, her favorite food, induces nausea, Sage knows she's pregnant.

It's not long before she's showing.

She's broken into ancient tombs, she's been kidnapped by MorcuCorp and she's gone undercover to take down Cecilia Landgraab. Sage's life has offered much in the way of excitement, and right now nothing seems more appealing than just relaxing at home in her husband's arms.

Kelsey isn't fooled by this domestic tranquility, she knows her daughter takes after her father, and it won't be long before she's yearning to take to the road again.

Kieran spends his Saturday with his dad at the arcade.

He tells Jeremy all about his adventure in Champs les Sims.

"Does Joffrey have job?" Jeremy asks his son, wondering how he has the time to just take off for weeks like that.

"A what?" the boy asks, but doesn't give him time to respond, instead rattling on about his friend Theophile and their dress up games.

No one in the Bowman house is actually employed, and this worries Jeremy sometimes. They are wealthy enough, so it isn't money that concerns him, but the example they are setting for Kieran. The boy is growing up without a shred of a sense of responsibilty or stability. Jeremy tries to fill that void with his own example, but it seems to be too little, too late.

Going back to school after such a long vacation was hard, and Kieran doesn't have friends in his hometown like he has in France. His cousin Lydell, Jeremy's sister Sadie's son, tries to help him get re-acclimated.

Sage and Joffrey have a son, Kaiden.

And just as Kelsey suspected, Sage's desire to be traveling surges back. "Let's go back to Shang Simla," she suggests.

"So soon?" Joffrey responds, "W just had a baby. We can't just leave him here."

"My parents are here, he'll be fine," Sage answers.

Joffrey frowns, "I want to be here with our son, not off in some other country. Sage, China isn't going anywhere, it will be there next year, for many years to come. Kaiden isn't going to be a baby forever. Stay here with me, be a family. And when he's old enough, we can travel again, as a family."

Somewhat reluctantly, Sage agrees. She's been down this road before and won't lose another husband to it.

Kaiden becomes a toddler. For Joffrey, he's nothing short of a miracle. As a MorcuCorp clone, he was never supposed to do this, to mix his supposedly perfect genes with anyone else, to have a child of his own.

Joffrey is a very active parent, spending most of his time with his son, teaching him to talk, reading to him and preparing him for his future.

Sage spends the better part of her days training. Breaking boards does ease the tension, making the long wait until she can be on the road again more bearable. She does spend time with her son, playing and tickling him, but she's less inclined to worry about things like education and training.

"Zhan Min-Su called me," Sage informs her husband, "There's going to be a Grand Tournament at the Phoenix Academy next month. They only hold this event once a decade. I'd really like to participate, and I'd really like you to be there with me."

Kaiden isn't old enough to travel yet, but Joffrey agrees that leaving him in his grandparents' care for a short trip to China isn't so bad.

Sage is eager to show off the skills she been practicing. Her old Friend Bao Louie agrees to spar with her to get her in shape. Bao is the greatest martial artist in Shang Simla, and Sage is sure he'll be master of the tournament. But he doesn't even mention the upcoming event.

For the tournament, she's up against Ai Pei, who is really no match for her. She defeats him easily, and is named Master of the Tournament. There's something very fishy about this tournament, Sage thinks. Only one bout, with no judges and no audience. For a big event that only happens once a decade in a town whose culture is centered around the martial arts academy, this doesn't seem to be a big deal at all.

Sage confronts Zhan with her suspicions. "Yeah, I made the whole tournament up to get you to come back here. I even paid Ai Pei to go along with it. The relics trade has dried up since your last delivery. Shen and I have been resorting to making our own relics to sell to the tourists. We could really use your...ah...services once more. As it happens, I've come upon some information about a tomb hidden right underneath our feet; the treasure of the legendary Dong Huo is buried beneath this market. I'd retrieve the loot myself, but the traps are too much for me. But for you..."

"Right," Sage laughs, "Traps are my specialty." She should be angry at Zhan for scamming her, but Sage is too happy to be here.

Back at his cash register, Shen seems to have his own reasons to be happy to see Sage again.

So with the few days remaining on her trip, Sage explores the heavily trapped tomb beneath the market, and comes up with enough treasure to keep Zhan and Shen in business for a nice long time.

Joffrey and Kieran spend their time in China much like they spnt their tme in France, playing catch, fishing and hanging out.

They return to Appaloosa Plains in time for Kieran's birthday.

Kieran becomes a teen.

He spends the evening playing games with his father.

In the morning before school, Kieran tries out the new chemistry set Jeremy gave him as a birthday gift. His father has been not so subtly pushing him toward a career in science.

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Challenge Notes:
Zhan is actually the 'special merchant' of Shang Simla, and he's also the main quest giver. Since he hangs out in the relics shop most of the time, I wrote him as business partners with Shen, who works the register. I made up the tournament scam because there was one quest that required Sage to become the 'tournament master;' or something like that, but she completed that step after just one successful ranked matched.
Sage does sell most of the relics she finds to the local relics dealer, though she does end up bringing some home to sell at the consignment shop.

So, the two required children are born. Kaiden will be the heir. His traits are Athletic and Brave.
The roll for Gen 7 is Second Chance, 3 kids, Primary career is Sports, and the two secondary careers are Busker and Inventor. The goal is Awesome and the Misc. Fun is Runs in the Family. Brave is the family trait, and both Kieran and Kaiden have that trait. (Kieran is also Good and Genius).

Joffrey has his third tattoo, but you don't see it in any of the pics, since he's kept his shirt on most of the time. He's mastered the painting skill (he paints while in AP, for his Artist career, but that really hasn't come up in the story much), and is level 9 of photography. His LTW is to master both.

Sage got her LTW ages ago, to explore 6 tombs in each location. Sage has cleared out all the tombs on France and China, and only has a few left in Egypt. Since she can't complete the quest lines that require hacking a computer or delivering a photo of a particular Sim, I may have to cheat to gain access to the tombs those quests would have opened.

Jeremy has not had much luck in the romance department after Sage. For awhile, he had a girlfriend, Leigh Sutherland. She broke up with  him and got pregnant by him in the same day. He lives with his two sisters, who are also both doing the unwed parent thing. Their elderly mother is also still alive and living with them.

For those who cared, Aimee Fox never married Rickie Bird. They had two kids together, and are still dating, and every once in awhile Aimee declares Rickie a nemesis. Their daughter Whitney has entered the Crime business like her mother.
Rory is an elder now, and has been happily married to his second wife. They have one daughter, Tameka, who is now a teen.