The next morning Will and Alea are sitting on the floor, cultivating next to each other again, both waiting for the dwarf to bring the flowers back in their processed forms.
“Will..”
He opens his eyes and turns his head towards Alea, an eyebrow raised in response to her saying his name.
“I’ve been thinking a lot. About what comes next. I think we have some hard decisions to make.”
“What kind of decisions?” He asks curiously as he turns his body to face her.
Her eyes are looking down at the floor, her hands in her lap, her eyebrows scrunched in concentration as she thinks through what she wants to say.
“We’re in a dangerous position. In terms of the world, we’re weak. Very weak.” She says the last part with extra emphasis. Making it clear how low on the totem poll she considers them. “With our masters not with us anymore we have no one to keep the vultures at bay. Not even counting how expensive cultivation can be, without our masters we’d be hard pressed to win in any confrontation.”
“What do you mean?”
“Every cultivator has a backer. Whether that’s the crown in a country, a high tier master who has power and wealth, a sect, a clan. One way or the other they’ll have someone. And that means if we win in a fight there’s someone stronger to follow up and take us out.”
“But in the tournament-“
She looks up angrily at him. “Not all interactions are cut and dry tournaments with refs to stop a killing blow! A cultivator’s journey is not so soft! That was by far the minority. And even if they were, do you think that retaliation after the fact isn’t a thing?”
“I guess I never thought of it like that before. For so long I was alone, and then it was just me and Amos. I never thought how the rest of the world worked when it came to all this.”
Her eyebrows came down in confusion. “Alone? I thought you grew up in a small isolated village somewhere?”
“I did…it’s complicated. But either way,” he rushes on before she can follow up with more questions. “What are you proposing then. Trying to find new masters? Where would we even look?”
“Something like that. But no where near as formal. Master Amos and master Taleya are our masters. Period. But finding new backing while they heal and recover is not only not a bad idea, it may be our only option.”
“So what do you want to do?” He said as he considered everything she’d said. “You mentioned a few examples, did you want to do something like that?”
“Yea I do.”
“So which one?”
“Getting mixed up with the ruling class of a country is to messy. And becoming a guard for some city leads no where fast. A clan is usually reserved for family and branch family members. The only members of a clan that aren’t family either marry in or are retainers and servants of the family. None of which is something I’m trying to be. To many strings and again way to messy. Finding a random solitary master is nigh on impossible for a host of reasons I won’t go into. I’m not sure if you realize this, but we are insanely luckily to have our masters. Like I said though, we already have formal masters and I won’t betray them by trying to find new ones. The relationship between a solitary master and apprentice is a close one. It is often akin to being family.”
Will nodded along. He agreed with her. As time had gone by Will had definitely begun to think of Amos as his family. In many ways, the only real family he’d ever had.
“So, a sect then?”
“Yes.”
“Great. So where do we start?”
“Whoa Will. There’s more you need to consider before we decide to take that path. A sect might be our best option, but it also comes with unavoidable strings. How much do you know about how a sect works?”
“Uhhh, let’s assume, for the sake of thoroughness, that I know nothing. You know, just so I don’t accidentally miss some important information that you assumed I had already known.”
Her eyes squinted slightly and her lips pursed.
“Right. Ok then, from the beginning I guess.”
Nice. I think she bought it.
“A sect can begin many ways. A powerful family that allows in others, a single solitary cultivator that wants to start their own faction, and a few other rarer cases. Regardless, its structure is one with a core of people centered around either a family, sometimes a specific fighting technique, sometimes even a tenet or way of life. The main draw of a sect is that they’ll let outsiders join. All sects have three levels of membership. Outer disciples, inner disciples and core disciples. Above that there are elders and the patriarch or matriarch. Once you’re part of a sect you have their protection. That’s the key.”
“There’s got to be strings attached though. You don’t get something without giving something.”
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
She pointed at him. “That’s the thing. You have to be valuable to the sect. Gotta benefit them in some way. Sometimes that means political clout, although that’s not as common. The other ways are more obvious, being powerful, high potential for future growth, or having lots of money. Sometimes people just need a lot of help.” She shrugged. “They aren’t natural talents and a strong sect can have a lot of tailored resources and skilled trainers. Plus, there’s a lot of prestige that comes with being a member of a strong sect. It can open a lot of doors. There have been some powerful cultivators that have come from wealthy merchant families after they joined a powerful sect.”
The dots were starting to connect for him. “We don’t have any money, nor political influence. So you’re saying…”. He looked at her pleadingly. Hoping she wasn’t about to say what he thought she was.
“You’ll have to be honest about your powers. Belial already knows. If it was some third rate cultivator in the high lower realm then I would say we could avoid him and still keep your secret. But Belial is to powerful. We need backing with equal or hopefully even greater power. And for anyone to be willing to back us and make that green jerk step lightly, we’ll need the cream of the crop.”
Will stayed quiet for a few minutes, thinking through the problem, trying to come to terms with what he might have to do.
“Wait a minute. We have no idea how far Taleya sent us. For all we know we could be well outside his reach.” He got excited at the thought that all of this worrying might be for nothing.
“I doubt it.” His hopes plummeted back down. “People with power, real power, have no real limits as far as their influence. If you’re on this world, they can reach you. The only thing that stops power is power.”
He sighs and looks back at Alea.
“I don’t like it. But I guess the cat’s out of the bag now anyway.”
“…Are cats kept in bags where you are from?” She said with a slight turn of her head.
He couldn’t help a small laugh. “Ah, no, just an expression. Anyway, if I have to I have to. But what’s to say a sect wouldn’t just turn us over to Belial? Or let us leave once our masters are back up and around?”
“We don’t.” She said with a grimace. “But the alternative is much worse.”
Will considers for a little longer. “So. The plan is to find the strongest sect we can, show them what we got, holding nothing back, and hope they don’t kill us or turn us over to the highest bidder and decide to put themselves at risk by helping us?”
“I mean when you put it like that-“
“I’m in.” He says with a big grin on his face. “Like you said, we don’t have much of an option do we?”
She said nothing in response, but smiled at him.
“So. Now that that’s decided. What sect do we try to join? That’s assuming they let us in. I’m betting they don’t just accept anyone who wants to join.”
“No. There’ll be a trial of some kind. But master Taleya did warn me that if I ever do try to join one, that the bigger the sect, the more dangerous the trial.”
“Great.”
“I also don’t know who the top dogs are either.”
“Hmm.”
They sit quietly for a little while, both of their minds to occupied and racing with thoughts of the future and how to proceed to settle enough for them to be able to properly cultivate.
Before too much longer, their dwarven host finally arrives. A bang on the door announces his arrival, and after an answer from Alea, the dwarf marches in.
“We need a favor.” Will said to him, seconds into the dwarfs entrance into the room.
“I feel like I’ve done you plenty already lad.”
“No no. This isn’t anything big. We just need information. When we leave here we’re intending to join a sect. Problem is not only do we have no idea where we are, we have no idea who the strongest sect in the world is. We need you to tell us who they are, and point us in the right direction. That’s all.”
The dwarf hummed to himself as he stroked his beard in contemplation.
“Not a bad idea that. Dangerous, risky, but bold. You’ll need the mountain’s own luck to pull it off, but I can see why you’d choose this path. You’ve been backed into a corner haven’t you?”
“You could say that…” He said.
“Who’s after you?”
“What makes you think someone is?” Alea asked, looking guarded.
“Come now lass. I’m not as slow as all that. It doesn’t take a genius ta figure it out. Showing up half dead with an emergency message from yer master wasn’t a subtle sign after all.”
Will grimaced. He had a point. Did he really think the dwarf wouldn’t put two and two together? Will and Alea looked at each other questioningly, then he shrugged. “You’ve helped us to much for us not to at least trust you this much. Does the name Belial mean anything to you?”
The dwarf’s eyes widen in disbelief.
“Belial Ishtar?!”
“Uhh, maybe?”
“Psychopath? Dresses all in green? Insanely powerful flame user? Fat?”
“That’s him.” Will says sheepishly.
The dwarf runs his hand over his face in exasperation.
“How you two got mixed up with the likes a him…” The dwarf stopped cold. “Taleya!”
“We think she’s fine.” Alea says. “She put the hurt on him, but it wasn’t enough. When she realized this she teleported to Amos’s side and then sent us away. She should have had enough time to leave herself.”
“This changes some things.”
“How so?” Will asks.
The dwarf looks back at Will, his mind obviously lost in thought.
“It might not seem like it, her being so much of a loner, but Taleya’s got allies. If Belial Ishtar went after her, no matter the reason, there will be repercussions. She faced him by herself?”
“Ah..no.” Will said. Quickly making up his mind to trust this dwarf just a little bit more. “Our other master, Amos Statler, was fighting with her.”
“The Metal Hurricane?!” The dwarf started pacing. “He faced Taleya Vapraly and the Metal Hurricane at the same time and still won?”
“Is that master Taleya’s last name?” He asked.
“Belial has gotten powerful indeed.” The dwarf said as he ignored Will’s question. “This must be reported to the elders. If that maniac has gotten this strong…” the dwarf refocused on the two kids.
“If that’s really who’s after you then yes, joining the top sect is your best bet. I wish I could offer you my people’s aide but..”
“You’ve helped us enough. We’re grateful.” Will said.
The dwarf nodded. “My information is a little dated. We don’t interact too heavily with the outside world. Give me a day, and you’ll have your answer.”
They both nodded their thanks.
“Now.” Said the grumpy dwarf. “Do ye want yer gift or not?”
They both smiled as they nodded.
The dwarf grunted and took out two large pills, about the size of a small marble each, out of a pocket. He handed one to each of them and then stood there with his hands on his hips.
“So.” Said Will. “We just eat these?”
“Boy, how isolated was your home?”
He laughed awkwardly. “You’d be surprised.”
The dwarf shook his head but answered anyway. “Yes. You swallow it and immediately start cultivating. Only this time you’ll feel the pill inside you. You’ll find an intense amount of concentrated Qi emanating off the pill inside. Instead of drawing the Qi from the air, you draw it from the Qi coming from the pill and circulate it in the pattern you were taught to.”
“That’s it?” Will asks.
“Does it need ta be more complicated lad?”
Will shrugged. “I don’t know. Just figured there’d be more to it.”
Alea rolled her eyes and bumped him with her shoulder.
“Come on country bumpkin. Time to take another step forward.” She smiled at him, a sparkle of excitement in her eyes.
