The Heavens Shall Fall

The administrative office of House Vardek was located on the far side of the Old Wine Market, inside a tall brick building that was squeezed between a guildhall and a merchant bank.

“Here,” Seloryn said, slowing at the base of the steps leading up to the front door that was waist-high above the streets. “That's House Vardek's crest.”

While she was explaining, Siu couldn't help but look back across the crowded market, but the feeling of being watched was gone.

“He is still nearby,” Arya whispered, "I can't sense him either, but... I don't think someone like that would be gone that easily."

Agreeing with her sister, Marly nodded from his other shoulder, her head constantly swiveling around, but their talk was interrupted when the doors to House Vardek’s office opened. A young clerk stepped out, took one look at their robes and sashes, and nearly stumbled down the stairs in his hurry.

“Honored disciples,” he said, catching himself against the iron railing. “We have been waiting for your arrival! Please, please, enter. Lord Vardek has already been informed of your arrival!”

“Lord Vardek?” Joren repeated quietly, "The head honcho is here himself, huh?"

"That should be expected," Ruben adjusted his umbrella, looking at his half-brother, “Dealing with us is great prestige, so who would delegate it down to a servant?”

They followed the clerk inside, who remained silent while they were talking, only smiling and bowing, leading them all in. The building’s interior was surprisingly warm, heated by tiled stoves set against the walls. The entrance hall had a patterned stone floor and dark wooden paneling with maps of Mirebell’s canals and river channels, framed certificates, trade licenses, and formal agreements bearing the seals of other noble houses, guilds, and one that was clearly a royal decree.

However, what interested Siu more was the presence of cultivators, much stronger than any he had met before. There weren't many, and none that he would fear facing, but... clearly, the ones this Lord Vardek was employing were expensive. A few moments later, the clerk opened a pair of polished doors, ushering them into an opulantly decorated office.

“My lord, the honored disciples of Hollow Song have arrived!”

The man waiting inside rose immediately from behind a massive, polished wooden table. He appeared to be in his early forties, but Siu could immediately clock that the man was a high-level Blood Resonance cultivator, the first he felt was someone who could qualify as being a proper one. Which also meant that his age was most likely more than how he looked. His hair was dark blond, neatly combed backward, and his beard was trimmed to stay short. He wore a deep burgundy coat over a white shirt with a high collar, an embroidered waistcoat, and dark knee-length trousers, stockings, and polished black shoes. It was a perfect display of a noble if Siu had to guess how they all dressed. At the same time, a narrow sword hung from his hip, probably for decorative reasons rather than anything else, considering that several thick rings decorated his fingers, which would be in the way of holding the hilt properly.

“It is my greatest honor to greet the representatives of the Hollow Song.” He came around the desk with a broad smile and cupped his hands, “It is our first time meeting, so let me introduce myself! My name is Erhard Vardek, at your service. Being the head of House Vardek means little before people on the path of ascendance, so please, feel free to call me by my name.”

"Well met, Erhard." Seloryn returned his greeting, also smiling, “My name is Seloryn Veyra. These are my disciple brothers, Ruben, Joren, and Siu, who is the leading figure of this mission.”

Hearing that, Lord Erhard’s eyes moved immediately to Siu, doing a quick recalculation, probably sensing the faint disparity between their individual powers, but not questioning the whys behind it.

“Disciple Siu.” Erhard bowed his head. “Then it is an honor to conduct business with you.”

“The honor is ours,” Siu replied, mimicking Seloryn's tone, making Erhard’s smile grow. Finally, the man's attention moved to Arya and Marly, and although the nobleman had enough control not to stare, Siu noticed his growing curiosity.

“I must say,” Erhard continued, “you arrived at an excellent time. The final preservation cycle was completed and placed on the cargo just yesterday evening. Everything is sealed, cataloged, and ready for your inspection.”

“The mission request mentioned ten eggs,” Siu said, making him nod at once.

“All ten are accounted for.” Erhard raised a finger. “We have preserved them individually, and sealed them inside two reinforced cases. Five to each case, filled with enough moss to keep them safe and dampen the rough roads. The nurturing materials are also stored separately to avoid any type of contamination.”

"It is good to work with capable people." Siu nodded, acting as if he understood everything he was saying.

“Isn't it?" He chuckled, "Well then! I shall show you everything personally.” Erhard gestured toward the door. “A carriage has been prepared... Unless you would prefer to walk?”

“We will walk,” Siu said, aiming to use the time to search for the one who was tailing them, curious if he would still do it, with a noble leading them.

"..." Erhard blinked once, then accepted it without complaint. “As you wish.”

The nobleman collected a fur-lined coat from a servant and led them from the office himself, as he did not seem embarrassed to walk. If anything, he appeared pleased by the opportunity to guide Hollow Song disciples through his territory, showing it off to everyone noticing them. He even took it as goodwill from Siu, being very much happy with the arrangement.

As they crossed the Old Wine Market, Erhard spoke enthusiastically about his family’s business. As per his biased words, House Vardek had supplied the sect for nearly three generations by now. Their Mirebell operation employed hundreds of laborers directly and supported even more through their expanding industries across four regions of the kingdom. His family held several villages outside the city; in fact, that was the reason they were given a hereditary title granted by the king two hundred years ago.

“My grandfather believed the family needed a cultivator at its head,” he explained as they crossed a narrow stone bridge over one of Mirebell’s canals, “Not necessarily to fight, of course. It is easier to negotiate with cultivators when one understands essence personally and can stand up to certain... intimidation tactics.”

“And easier to protect your warehouses,” Ruben remarked.

"Yes, yes," Erhard smiled. “There is that, too.”

Siu listened only partly, because his attention remained on the surrounding streets... yet there was no sign of anyone following or scanning them. Their route followed the canal toward the river, passing through one of the interior gates separating Mirebell’s districts. The guards recognized Erhard and moved them through quickly as they entered the Riverworks district. No matter how hard he looked, Siu couldn't see anyone trying to follow them or stop them by the guards... maybe the man had given up?

Returning his senses to what was before them, he saw that warehouses dominated the riverfront, built from brick with iron gates that were large enough for entire carts to be fitted through. Massive cranes turned above the docks as chains attached to them rattled, lifting cargo from boats. House Vardek’s depot stood right next to four such cranes, behind an iron fence where guards stood by, wearing burgundy-and-black coats.

“This is our main Mirebell depot,” Erhard looked at them proudly. “We move about 15-20% of the cargo that goes through the river here per year.”

Inside, the compound contained three major warehouses, several covered yards, and a row of specialized cold chambers, as evidenced by their frosted walls. Workers paused briefly when they noticed their boss arriving in person, leading robed figures, before hurrying back to their tasks after some supervisors shouted at them.

Erhard led them toward the largest warehouse while speaking, and it was then that Siu felt it again. The gaze had returned just when they walked in, and it was even closer this time. He did not react immediately, although his heart leaped in his chest. While walking, he sent out his essence and allowed his perception to spread, doing his best to ignore the many mortal and other weak presences, letting them melt into the background noise. He only had to focus on those that reached a proper threshold... and then...

"Gotcha..." He thought when the unfamiliar presence finally got caught in his net, standing beyond the depot's fence. As if noticing the ping Siu made, it quickly shifted, retreating, but he managed to follow it without any difficulty. When his eyes landed on the spot where the fast-moving figure was heading towards, he caught the blurry view of a hat and a coat. “Arya.”

“Yes, Master! I see him! We have him now...”

“He feels... bubbly,” Marly added. “Master, I think he is hurt.”

"Probably from that fight," Siu’s eyes narrowed slightly, doing his best not to look directly at the figure, now hiding atop one of the warehouse roofs much further back.

While Erhard led them deeper inside, showing them the cargo, Ruben and Joren inspecting the crates, Siu followed absentmindedly, as his attention remained on the one watching them.

“What is wrong?” Seloryn asked softly, and instead of complaining, she also began scanning the place herself.

“Someone has been observing us since entering the city,” Siu whispered, acting as if he was examining the crates himself.

"Hm..." Seloryn did not turn around, but began 'examining' the goods. “A cultivator?”

“Yes. Arya noticed too, and now we have him locked down.”

“Where?” She asked, her voice even more serious now, probably annoyed by the fact she didn't pick up on it.

“Across the channel. He is watching us from a warehouse there. The one with the broken blue shutter.”

Seloryn’s fingers shifted towards her flute, moving around the boxes in a way she could take a look without having to turn around excessively.

“Got him." She said after coming around, "Damn Siu, that would have been useful to mention earlier.”

“I wasn’t sure.”

"I wouldn't have taken you lightly," Seloryn gave him the smallest smile, then Siu felt a thin fluctuation of essence leaving her mouth. The next moment, Ruben also began shuffling around the crates, as though mildly curious, but Siu noticed his gaze moving toward the warehouse, scanning the same point. It turns out that Seloryn had already informed the others.

Of course, Erhard noticed nothing, or, if he did, he had the smarts not to ask questions. At the end of the tour and the inspection of the goods, none of them were paying attention to Erhard anymore. All of them were more interested in who was being so brazen as to tail disciples from the Hollow Song.

"Everything is up to your satisfaction, honored Disciples?" Erhard asked in the end, making Siu smile.

"I have no complaints at all, Erhard."

"It is my pleasure to hear such praise!" He smiled, rubbing his hands, "Should we start moving them, then?"

"Can you handle it?" Seloryn asked, “If it is not a chore, as we have another matter to attend to and we are on a tight schedule.”

"Um..." Erhard glanced between them, finally sensing something was off, “Is there some difficulty?”

“Nothing related to the shipment,” Seloryn said with an easy smile. “A minor sect concern that we have to deal with. We will return before loading is complete, though.”

"I see." He dropped the question at once after hearing the reason, and cupped his hands. “Then I shall make certain everything is ready.”

They thanked him and left the compound leisurely, not trying to show how much of a hurry they were in. However, by then, their target across the channel had already moved away.

“He is backing off,” Siu said in a whisper.

“I know,” Seloryn replied, glancing at him with one eye, "You will have to learn how to send voice transmissions."

"Yeah, it's especially useful in situations like this," Ruben sighed, holding his umbrella at his side like it was a sheathed sword. “Then you could have told us way earlier, without tipping off our uninvited curious companion.”

To anyone watching, they were simply returning to the city while House Vardek prepared their cargo. However, all of their senses were sweeping their surroundings, while Siu was following Arya's instructions as she was still locked onto their target.

“He is behind us." Siu said suddenly, "Roughly seventy steps.”

Joren resisted the urge to turn, asking, his voice almost drowned out by the city's noise.

“You found him?”

“Arya caught him making a sharp U-turn.”

“He is hiding his essence well,” Ruben added. “I am surprised you picked up on him before us all... You are better at sensing others than a Paragon, huh?”

"Is this our mystery cultivator?" Joren asked again. “From the logging site?”

“Almost certainly,” Seloryn said. “If we are to fight, we have to capture him alive. Got it?”

“He will not get far.” Ruben chuckled. They continued for another hundred paces when he stopped beside a wine seller. “Oh,” he said loudly. “I just remembered something.”

"Really...?" Joren looked at him with a very convincing irritation, which may have been real, but he naturally picked up on the clue at once. “What now?”

“Nothing you need concern yourself with, little brother.”

Ruben opened his umbrella, and at the same moment, Seloryn lifted her flute as though adjusting it at her waist. Neither of the two released a dramatic wave of power, but their movements were so synced that it wasn't by accident. The two Paragons were working together... Then, a cart rolled between them and their following 'guest,' just as a group of porters crossed the street, obscuring the four of them. When the view cleared, both Seloryn and Ruben were gone, surprising even Siu. Yes, he had known they were stronger and more experienced than him; he even fought against Seloryn, but... this was different.

"He's running!" Arya announced at once, and both Joren and Siu dropped all pretenses, snapping towards their target.

"After him!" Siu grunted as they began running too, watching as the man was like a cat that got its tail stepped on, fleeing and almost disappearing... but he didn't go far, because the alleyway he chose was already closed off.

Entering it, Seloryn stood right before him, her flute raised to her lips. Trying to go upwards, Ruben looked down at him from above, his umbrella spinning in the air without anyone holding it, casting a shadow on the man. Just then, Siu and Joren had also caught up, and the man now stood completely surrounded. For a moment, his right hand twitched beneath his coat, while Siu readied himself, taking up the Snake's Form, already gathering energy to strike. If he was the lightning-based cultivator... Siu knew that he needed to be as fast as possible to have a chance of hitting him. Then, to all four disciples’ surprise, the man slowly relaxed and then raised both arms.

“I surrender.” Speaking, his voice was hoarse, and Siu blinked his eyes in surprise, almost suffering a backlash. Surrender? Huh? Despite the shock, none of them really relaxed, still watching him carefully. “Before you decide what to do with me,” he said, seeing them do nothing, struggling to keep his breathing even, “I formally request asylum.” Now that... actually made Joren tumble, while Siu began straightening up, sensing that the man was speaking the truth. “I repeat... I request asylum, under the authority of the Hollow Song Sect.”

"That's a bad idea." A new, deeper voice joined the discourse, making everyone flinch, because no one had sensed the new arrival. Glancing towards the source, on the opposite roof of Ruben, stood a stocky but wide man and a tall, metallic... armor. Or someone wearing armor; Siu couldn't really tell from just one glance. Measuring the group, the stocky man spoke up again, his fingers constantly balling up into a fist and then relaxing, "I don't think the honored Hollow Song would protect a dangerous fugitive, one that is known to have killed one of his elders."