The Heavens Shall Fall

Within three days of Orzimar opening the compound to them, signs that people were actually living inside began to appear, especially from the half-empty cups left on tables. Of course, when someone tried to find the responsible owner, there was, miraculously, nobody to claim ownership. Siu didn't really care about it because his mind was occupied with furnishing the rooms. When it came to actually claiming a room, Ruben picked first for some reason, choosing one of the rooms overlooking the front gardens. It had the largest balcony among the available choices, tall colored windows, and a view straight toward the bridge.

“I need somewhere suitable for guests.” He said when Joren asked why he got that room, when he was not even the leader of the Wardens.

“You're choosing a bedroom, not a lovenest,” his brother argued. “So... Who are you expecting to entertain? When they can't even get inside?”

"There has to be a guest invitation rule in that formation," Ruben said, smiling. "No?"

However, because he got no answer... his smile soon turned very forced.

The second who got herself a place was Seloryn. She selected a room facing the inner courtyard. It had a smaller balcony, but unlike Ruben, she explicitly stated that he expected zero visitors, including the other Wardens. Nokoh chose next, claiming one room near the outer end of the western side, where Cho'Wa could reach the gardens quickly without walking through the entire building.

The one who was hesitating the most was Joren, as he did not choose anything. For now, he still lived close to the Resting Reed, and unlike the rest of them, he could not simply disappear from there. So, initially, one of the rooms he was eyeing, the one with a view of the pool in the inner garden, went to Siu.

Being surprisingly patient, Toban was fine with selecting one of the least remarkable rooms available, as it faced neither the garden nor the courtyard. It just sat along a quieter corridor near the rear of the building, probably not even intended as a bedroom in the first place.

When almost everyone had claimed a spot, some of them were left untouched for Joren if he joined later. It was then that it came to Vael's turn, and he was the last person who expected to be included at all. He actually found out about it when Siu asked him directly which one he would choose.

“Can I actually stay here?” Vael asked, muttering, rubbing the back of his head.

“Well, the sect didn't stop you from coming with us, and I think Orzimar made it possible. He did fight you, too, so yeah. I think this is all allowed. Plus, tell me if I'm wrong, but you spend most of your time around us.”

"..." Vael narrowed his eyes after being reminded of that. “That sounds unhealthy when you say it like that.”

“And?” Siu chuckled, making Vael shake his head.

"Nothing." He smiled as his room ended up on the eastern side, close enough to the stairs that he could leave without passing through most of the residence, right above Quillian's, well, 'room.'

Quillian, unlike everyone else, did not actually have a proper room; instead, he took over an entire section of the first floor on the eastern wing. The old man had chosen two connected halls overlooking one side of the inner courtyard, plus several adjoining rooms, and by the end of the second day, all the shelves from the Red Leaf began appearing in them. It was followed by massive boxes as books flew onto the shelves in strict order. When Siu tried offering help, he was chased away, as apparently this was something Quillian had to do all alone.

In just one day, the first room was already transformed into a library-like bookshop. With more space than in the Red Leaf, the shelves were spaced out much more, with ample space to navigate around. However, they still covered the walls from floor to ceiling. What was a big improvement, though, was that all the reading tables doubled in number and were arranged closer to the windows, making them much more appealing to use. The second big change was that Quillian, with the extra space available, separated his collection. On the third day, the adjoining chamber was also filled, and it now contained all his maps, scroll tubes, old records that needed rework, his own and collected notebooks, and all his expensive or restricted locked cabinets. It was pretty much a workshop now, where he or any future warden could make copies and study texts that weren't verified yet. Siu wasn't even surprised that Toban had appeared in there one day, spending all day just browsing and talking with Quillian, gaining special access to it.

As for the third room the old man had claimed, it had become Quillian's private workspace and also where he would sleep.

“You're really moving here?” Siu asked, standing in the doorway, watching Quillian set up a worktable with multiple magnifying glasses attached to it on extendable arms.

“Naturally.”

“What about the Red Leaf?”

“I had already put it up for sale.”

"..." Siu nearly dropped his jaw on the floor. “You what? Why?”

"Huh?" Quillian looked at him as if he had missed something obvious. “I put it up for sale because I had already emptied it, and I don't need it anymore.”

“But..." Siu muttered, "You lived there for years, and you said that you rebuilt half of it yourself.”

“And now I'm selling it,” Quillian said without any hesitation as he adjusted the tools on his desk. “The Red Leaf served its purpose, and this is better." Then, he slowly pulled off his glasses, turning directly towards Siu. "When I die, my collection will belong to nobody. The sect would have reclaimed the Leaf, and upon resale, all these books would belong to the buyer of the building. What would they do with it? I don't know, and I don't want to think about it. This way..." he stopped for a moment, finally smiling a little. "Even if I'm gone, it will have a use. I just hope even after that moment, it won't stop growing."

"No..." Siu muttered, cupping his hands. "It won't, Senior."

Quillian just kept up his smile, returning the gesture, and by the fourth day, a wooden plaque appeared beside the entrance of the joined rooms.

[WARDEN ARCHIVES]

And someone had added another smaller sign beneath it by the end of the day...

[ASK QUlLLIAN BEFORE TOUCHING ANYTHING]

Then another appeared next morning.

[YES, THIS MEANS YOU, ARYA]

...

....

......

The rest of the headquarters developed almost organically in the coming days as one of the big first-floor rooms became their formal meeting room. A long dark-wood table arrived two days later, wide enough to seat more members than they currently possessed. High-backed, comfortable chairs surrounded it, although Siu refused Ruben's suggestion that his chair at the head should be noticeably larger. He didn't need that type of distinction. After it was furnished, the room also received a large wall map from Quillian's collection, depicting the Hollow Song and its territories, along with several writing boards, a proper shelf for their future association records, and enough free wall space to eventually display future accomplishments they wanted to remember.

However, the strangest development occurred outside their headquarters when Joren made a deal with Toban. Siu actually learned about it after the fact.

“You did what?” He asked in surprise while Joren sat across from Toban inside one of the garden gazebos.

“We came to an arrangement,” Toban said with a smile. "I thought it was best if you heard it from us."

“I am buying out the others.” Joren nodded, being surprisingly calm. “He is helping arrange the contracts. In exchange, once I own the Reed completely, I employ people he recommends.”

“So the Resting Reed becomes one of your information points.” Siu shrugged, glancing at Toban, "Remind me of that if we ever go there to relax a little."

“It already is one,” Toban said suddenly.

"Huh?!" Joren nearly choked on his tea when hearing that. “What?!”

“You have people there already?” Siu asked at once, watching as he raised his cup,

“Not inside. I didn't want to be rude to you and your friends, but I do have regulars there who report back to me.”

"No wonder you knew so much about us..." Siu grunted, rubbing his face.

“Whatever!" Joren put his hands up, shrugging. "As long as I own it.”

“And when that's done?” Siu asked.

“I'll hire his people to run it and get myself more free time so I can also move here.”

“You work fast,” Siu admitted, forming a small smile that Toban quickly returned, nodding.

“Thank you.”

...

....

......

When life had settled down for the current members, they finally got to use their conference room, for real this time around.

“Everyone here?” Siu asked as he looked around the long table while sitting at the head. “All right. Let's see... First, Seloryn had tallied up our current CC reserves. Thanks to Quillian sponsoring us, our finances are stable, but we are obliged to pay him back, so we need to get working on bringing in money and resources. And to do that... We need people.”

“We don't want everyone, though,” Nokoh said, looking at the others, "Agreed?"

“Yes.” They all nodded.

The old Crown Jewel had failed because its standards eventually became impossible to meet. Still, the opposite extreme was also dangerous, and Siu had experienced it while establishing the Wardens amongst the outers.

“What are we actually looking for?” Joren asked, looking at Siu.

“Useful people,” Arya answered as everyone looked at her. “What? I am right.”

“She is technically correct,” Quillian nodded, smiling a little.

"We need those disciples who have the potential," Seloryn spoke up. "I know many of those are scooped up by larger associations, but there are always people who are either stubborn or fell through the cracks."

“The headquarters itself is already an advantage if we begin recruiting,” Siu continued. “We will have to specify what we have, and what we will offer in the future. I think we have to be clear about being a still-developing group, and make sure to advertise the fact that those who join now will have much more advantage than those who come late.”

"And people need to warm up to the monthly fees." Toban interjected, "The Inner Disciples weren't going to like it, but only because they aren't used to being asked to pay for joining a group. However, if it is explained that the other groups are doing the same, only they take resources from you without stating it openly... That will help."

"And THAT will make some enemies for us, from the get-go," Ruben warned, but he didn't seem to be actually bothered by the idea.

"True," Toban nodded, "But I'll warn you who those are."

"Also," Seloryn leaned back in her chair, “An Inner Disciple deciding between another association and us will ask simple questions.” She listed them one by one as she began counting them: “Who is there? What can they offer? What have they accomplished? And whether joining them will improve their own standing.”

“I don't think anyone has a place like us,” Joren spoke up, and it was true, but it wasn't enough.

“Golden Scroll could spread selected information." Toban offered, "Put your name and achievements out there, including the backing of a mysterious, high-ranking Elder."

“That is manipulative,” Nokoh muttered quietly.

“But it isn't a lie,” Toban argued.

"In my home," Vael spoke up just then, "We held open trials. If someone wanted capable members, they made them prove it.”

“By combat?” Siu asked.

“Not necessarily," he answered as he looked around the table. “Give them a problem, and let them try to solve it. That exposes more than just who can fight better.”

"That's a good idea," Quillian said, nodding. “That has more merit than just punching and kicking.”

"And it's good for your name." Toban leaned forward. “Really good publicity.”

“We could do both." Siu hummed, tapping his finger on the table. "Applications first, then trials when we have enough of them.”

“You are all thinking too much.” Seloryn leaned forward suddenly, resting both elbows on the table, crossing her fingers before her mouth as she looked at the others. "The Spirit Wardens already have the best advertisement available. Us.” She said with a smile, pointing at herself, then at Ruben and Nokoh. "Eighty-eight, ninety-nine, and one hundred. Three Paragons are already enough news, and nothing spreads through the Inner Disciple ranks faster than movement on that list.”

"I don't like where this is going." Ruben folded his arms, turning serious. “What exactly are you suggesting?”

“We announce ourselves by raising our ranks on the list. We don't need to jump forward by any big means. Make it simple! We challenge someone above us and take their place. Doing it at once will be enough of a shock for everyone."

"Oh..." Nokoh began grinning at that, licking his lip. "That's... Ambitious."

“You want all three Wardens on the Paragon List to advance at once,” Ruben asked, licking his lips. "You know that isn't guaranteed.”

“Not with that attitude.” She shot back, "Choose someone you feel you can defeat. Every time some movement appears on the list, it's news for a whole week... If we all move at the same time, and they realize we are in the same group...? That will make our entry something that won't be quickly forgotten. Especially if..."

"If?" Siu asked, because Seloryn began looking at him.

"If when the noise is about to die down... a new name appears on the list, also belonging to the Wardens. I would call that..." She smiled, her eyes flashing. "A double dip."