The Heavens Shall Fall

Rinmei settled in pretty fast, and it had only been a few days, but she had already started developing a routine. Most mornings, she left with Seloryn, going over the basics and getting used to the differences between her previous notions and the reality within the actual center of the sect. Then, whenever she wasn't with Seloryn, she was usually inside the Warden Archives, where Quillian had studied her altered affinity and worked out a new training regimen for her. By the third day, he had already compiled a list of several records involving cultivators whose affinities had changed after prolonged exposure to various external influences, whether natural or man-made, such as poisons, and began instructing her how to explore her mutated affinity.

Soon, Rinmei had enough reading material to build herself a small house from, and, according to her, Quillian's solution whenever she finished a book was to give her three more, earning Siu's sympathy almost at once. However, Siu also found the entire arrangement convenient because at least the old man wasn't pestering him for not advancing over the past month, or at least not as much as he wanted him to.

At the same time, while Rinmei was getting settled, the Spirit Wardens had another problem that Seloryn brought up one night, namely: money. Of course, it did not mean they were broke or anything, but if they had to pay rent for their headquarters, they would go under very quickly. They couldn't allow themselves to become sloppy, not right now. The real issue was that they were now an association and needed supplies. Because nobody, except Bren, had signed up, there was not much CC flowing in, and even if Quillian was quietly supplying them with it, the old man's centuries of savings would run dry one day.

So, they needed to start gathering money, because if people began indeed signing up, they would expect supplies, equipment, medicine, or just the usual advantages of being part of a group. And if they can't provide that? Their bad reputation may become solidified. Which was why Siu was once again inside the Nine Hanging Bells, only this time, he wasn't staring at the beginner board anymore.

“Eighty Suns.” Joren rubbed his chin, pointing at one slip standing to his right. “Not good but not terrible either; I think that would be doable.”

"I don't know," Ruben leaned closer to read the floating text on it. “It says we would guard eighty mortal-owned wagons. We are too few to do that properly.”

“But it goes through a main region,” Joren countered, "I don't think we would be attacked by anyone in there. Who would be mad enough to poke us there?"

“I am less afraid of bandits," Ruben continued, finishing reading and leaning back, "It goes through a mountain pass, and as far as my studies go, in winter, in there, some beasts get really hungry.”

"Let's keep browsing," Siu spoke up as they didn't need to argue over the first choice; they had about a hundred other slips up on the wall they were staring at.

As for the board itself, the requests here weren't for one or two disciples to gather ingredients for an Elder or anything mundane like that; all postings were clearly aimed at groups and associations, expecting at least five disciples to undertake a single quest. Most of them were not even from within the Hollow Song, but coming from its subordinate territories. Some explicitly required registered associations with twenty or fifty members, so those were already out of the question for Siu and the rest. Which was annoying, because the pay was mouth-watering. Ruben suggested they ask Fire Ring and Burning Banner to join up, but then again... They wanted money, and splitting the rewards three- or two-ways would already go against the main reason they were here, looking for a task. With that idea shelved, they also had to pass on some juicy-looking ones, because they were requests for specific affinities or experience with formations, which also narrowed the list they could choose from.

"What about this?" Ruben pointed at another, and Siu touched the token to enlarge the text.

[Mission Type: Material Escort]

[Sponsor: Formation Hall & The Fabricator]

[Route: Northern Slateway, from Har'Aq Quarry to Third Mountain: Depot 44]

[Task: Escort four sealed wagons carrying formation-grade CC and adamantine ore from Har'Aq Quarry to the Hollow Song.]

[Estimated Duration: Eight to twelve days.]

[Required: Registered association team. Minimum four Inner Disciples.]

[Risk: Moderate with winter road conditions. WARNING: Prior 4 theft attempts reported in the past 10 years.]

[Reward: 55 Sun Crystals. Mission contribution awarded after completion.]

"Another escort?" Siu tilted his head, now being the one who began rubbing his chin.

“It does sound simple.” Ruben offered, "And requires fewer people than the other one."

“That's true,” Joren said, studying it, "I never heard of the Har'Aq region... Where's that?"

“No idea.” Ruben shrugged. "Does it matter?"

“Not really.” His brother answered, scanning the text again. “I'm just asking, because the last time we took a simple cargo mission, we came home with Vael, so who knows, maybe we get another runaway this time.”

"Hm." Ruben lifted one finger, tapping his lips. “Excellent point, my dear brother.”

"I don't expect picking up strays at every mission we take," Siu added while moving on, but he had to recognize that it was indeed a pattern. Arya? Marly? Vael? Could he really deny that somehow he always ended up somewhere where things were... happening? Not really.

While thinking, another token caught his attention, so he reached out and tapped it.

[Association Mission: Winter Herb Recovery]

[Sponsor: Medicine Hall]

[Location: Whiterlake Basin]

[Task: Recover a set of mature frostbell roots. Minimum requested quantity: 300 intact roots.]

[Estimated Duration: Five to eight days of travel. 1-month time limit to preserve ingredient quality.]

[Required: Three Inner Disciples minimum.]

[Warning: Mature frostbell roots grow underwater when the lakes freeze over.]

[Reward: 65 Sun Crystals base. Additional payment per intact root above quota.]

"That's easy." Joren nodded after reading it.

“That one's horrible.” Ruben shook his head. "Which of you will go swim in frozen water? Not me."

“For sixty-five Suns, we can make that doable. Just need some pills.” Joren countered, making his brother wag his finger at him.

“Ding-ding-ding! That is spending money, meaning we are lowering the reward. We call it opportunity cost, my dear brother; think of it when saying things like that. Nothing is free in this world!”

“Then we just go above the quote to balance it out." He shot back, not backing down.

"We do have the perfect people for it," Siu said, looking between them, smiling, making the brothers stop arguing and stare at him. "Okay, okay, let's keep looking!" He quickly turned around and moved to the next one before the family argument enveloped him too.

[Association Mission: Tithe Caravan Protection]

[Requesting Authority: Disciplinary Wing]

[Task: Escort annual tithe convoy from three regional collection points to the sect's eastern transfer station.]

[Convoy: Twenty-three wagons. Seventy-four mortal personnel. Six local cultivators.]

[Estimated Duration: Twelve to sixteen days.]

[Risk: Moderate. Bandit activity historically low. Primary concern is theft, weather, and loss of cargo.]

[Reward: 105 Sun Crystals.]

"Take it." Joren immediately nodded. “That's great.”

"We just may..." Siu muttered, but then there was a mention of requiring people who were nearing the Flesh Morphing stage. "Shit." He cursed, just at the same time as the other two.

"Why even put it in here then? Bullshit..." Joren and Ruben added, still cursing.

With a disappointed shrug, Siu continued looking and was about to move on to take a look at other boards when he noticed a token that looked slightly different. It hung near the edge of the association board, attached beneath another marker indicating that the request had been escalated through other boards before landing here, and that it was fresh.

"Huh..." He hummed as he reached for it.

[Border Territorial Request]

[Classification: Regional Plea]

[Requesting Region: Hilltop Reach]

[Location: Northwestern Hollow Song Border Territory]

[Task: Provide reinforcement to local forces suffering repeated armed raids across their territory. Investigate hostile groups, assist in civilian protection, and neutralize or drive out identified raiding forces.]

[Current Status: Local suppression attempts unsuccessful.]

[Reported Losses: Multiple trade caravans. Three villages. Two regional mortal guard detachments. Civilian casualties confirmed.]

[Estimated Duration: Uncertain. Recommended allocation: Two to four weeks.]

[Required: Registered association team. Minimum five Inner Disciples.]

[Risk: Pending.]

[Hostile Strength: Unconfirmed. Reports suggest possible presence of cultivators among mortal raiders.]

[Primary Directive: Determine origin and organization of raiders.]

[Secondary Directive: Stabilize region and prevent continued attacks if possible.]

[Reward: 200 Sun Crystals.]

[Additional sect contribution available for verified elimination or capture of hostile cultivators. Request for Elder Intervention in case of emergency is available.]

"..."

“What?” Joren asked, seeing Siu falling silent, squinting at the text.

“Ugh... No way...” Ruben grimaced, taking a look. "Missions like this are a headache and super dangerous."

"If it were that dangerous, they wouldn't have put it here, but sent an Elder to deal with it." Siu looked at him while speaking.

“You know how many similar requests come to us daily?” He answered him with a shrug, shaking his head, "Every time someone can't deal with some bandits, they go and try to get us to do something about it."

"Well, the Elders probably looked into it and decided it would be good training for us," Siu countered, still looking at the description.

“Please, Siu," Ruben tried again, tapping the token, "That is not a mission description! Let me translate it for you: ‘Please go there and figure out why everything is fucked.’ That's what it says.”

“Helpless locals awaiting salvation,” Joren muttered, placing his hands on his hips, smiling provocatively at his brother. “This is exactly the type of duty expected of a Paragon.”

"..." Ruben's face went flat at that, making his brother continue.

“You want people to write songs about you? This is your chance.”

“..."

"They may title it: The Hero Under His Umbrella!"

“That is actually excellent,” Ruben muttered, suddenly changing his tone. "You know what?" He glanced at Siu. "We should take it."

“It was mockery!” Joren added very quickly, because Ruben sounded convinced now. "Do we really want to go out and fight a bunch of random cultivators and mortals?"

"I do need a new way of training..." Siu muttered under his breath, "Plus, we can gather some knowledge of the place beforehand," He added, raising his voice. "Noticed the location? It is close to where Vael's sect is, and Elder Thane is currently in the region, too, as far as I know."

"I don't like the fact that it's that connected to you or us already," Joren whispered, because signs like this began making his stomach squirm.

“How long has this been happening?” Ruben asked, still thinking about becoming a hero.

“First recorded raid..." Siu began looking through the additional notes, "nearly two months ago. So it has been going on for a while. Probably why it got bumped up here for real.”

“And nobody dealt with it?” Joren grunted, "Bad omen."

"Let's go and check why," Siu said, taking the token off and bringing it to one of the servants to ask for clarification. Soon, a complete list of the request's history appeared before them as they began reading it.

“Apparently they tried dealing with it locally first,” Siu said as he expanded the incident history, "Started with a merchant caravan stripped clean... Then, raiding livestock from a village, moving onto homes, and apparently they even assaulted a militia outpost, taking the weapons and gear the mortals had there."

"So they kept building up from nothing, huh?" Ruben muttered, "Starting out as a bandit group, and ascending into a full-on raid party. Ouch. If they continue to evolve, this may actually turn into a regional rebellion."

"It says," Joren pointed at a later section, "That the local lords organized a response, but then the raiders disappeared. The moment they gave up searching, a week later, they returned, attacking the local detachment that was in the middle of disbanding... Ending in a total wipeout."

"Someone has a leader with a brain, huh?" Ruben joked, but he looked surprisingly serious. “Nowhere does it mention any cultivators, though.”

“Maybe because they don't know if they have any.” Joren reminded him, "So we have to think they do."

“Probably.” Siu agreed. "And as I said, it is close to where Vael is from. We can ask him if he knows anything."

"Even if they don't," Ruben hummed, considering the prospects, "We may end up fighting against a lot of mortal warriors. We may be cultivators, but if we face a thousand of them, we will still go down. We aren't at the Second Circle to fly away."

"So we don't want to get surrounded." Siu nodded, crossing his arms. "However, the mission says we are to discover what is happening and not to go and actually defeat them. That's only secondary. Plus, if we discover something we can't deal with, it says we can request the Elders to step in."

"That does sound reassuring," Joren gave up in the end, watching as Siu reserved the request for a day. "I just hope we aren't going to run into a surprise battle like in Mirebell."

"Aaaaand you jinxed it," Ruben said with a grin, making his brother's eye twitch. "Don't worry... We won't blame you for it. Until it happens, that is!"