The Earthen Sky sect’s home base was not what I had expected, though that was certainly a flaw in my expectations, rather than anything else. Despite Loneth’s description of the place as a stone sheathed pit diving deep into the earth, I had still expected to see a mountain balancing on its point and widening into the sky when I heard, ‘inverted mountain’. But while what we found on our arrival was not that, nor was it a hole in the ground, but rather a lichen covered wall that stretched for hundreds of feet into the air and running in a wide, wide circle.

“I don’t see a door.”

“Why don’t you jump on it, that worked out well last time.”

“Hey, you didn’t think to walk around the place either, Dee.”

“It was suggested; it’s not our fault you decided to try the hard way first.”

“With regretful consideration, it is truly a wonder the Blood Guard did not attack you for accessing their roof, even if the defences had been disabled by the presence of Badan Tain.”

“You said it would be fine!”

“In mild correction, I believe I said you were unlikely to die.”

“You guys suck.”

“In firm interruption, while I do not know how my brother and Darina are generating negative pressure in this instance, this is perhaps not the most convenient time for this conversation. I can see nobody upon the walls, but that does not mean they are not aware of us. We should check the perimeter.”

“Riffa is correct; they likely know we’re here. They will not know our intention, of course, we should see if they have a gate as a first priority.”

“Yeah, you’re both right. It’s not like I could jump that high anyway, I’m pretty sure. Left, or right?”

Darina started heading to our right and the rest of us glanced at each other before shrugging and following after.

Before our arrival, we had each taken out some of our old clothing, whatever looked the most damaged and donned it in order to add some authenticity to our story about fleeing another sect. Turning up in my pristine, shiny black outfit from another world might not have given the game away, but it was better safe than sorry, though I was usually less of the former and more in the latter camp...

As we made our way around the massive wall, we kept our distance, not wanting to approach from an angle that could be interpreted as any threat. I wore my robe with the missing arm and various holes and gashes from the jungle, and it was both a little nostalgic, and a little strange to be wearing the very different fabric after so much time in my black outfit. Since I’d received the second suit from DUK3, I had been mostly lucky, as in not having it ruined, so I hoped putting the old clothes back on did not signal a return to grievous injury, especially now that I was on something of a more normal scale when it came to healing.

Even moving as fast as we were, it took more than an hour to circumnavigate the wall, as it did indeed seem to be large enough to represent the base of a mountain. There was, however, no trace of a gate anywhere along its looping length. Stopping roughly where we had the first time, we stood facing the wide edifice, still unable to see anybody atop it.

“Jumping on it is starting to seem less dumb. Maybe it’s some sort of test?”

“In firm dismissal, it would take at least a Foundation stage cultivator, or an individual that specialises in either jumping or building to reach the top. Perhaps you could also make it, Hunter. But for the majority of the world, such a feat would not be possible. Many sects are selective, but that would be too limiting for an initial test, I feel.”

“It is also possible they specialize in either flying, or climbing in some way. Perhaps to them, this is no obstacle at all.”

Reff offered Toria a nod of acknowledgment, and spoke again.

“In partial agreement, this is true, Toria. However, the same limitations apply. There are relatively few who can fly at will.”

“It’s possible they only actively recruit; perhaps they only find their recruits by seeking them?”

“Dee’s got a point, nothing says they have to wait for people to come find them, and they might not be welcome even if they did. Not everyone likes people turning up at their door. Or... lack of door.”

“I suspect that Loneth would’ve told us if visitors were not welcome at all, when we were asking about the Earthen Sky sect.”

“In ponderous recollection, I do not believe we mentioned our intention to visit the sect.”

“... Right. We didn’t want it getting out. I guess that makes sense? Caution, right?”

“Caution did not stop you leaping onto the Blood Guard headquarters.”

I ignored Darina’s verbal poke, glad to be back to more regular ribbing; I did not even get an itch to slap the healer’s apprentice, which was a nice change.

“With cautious suggestion, should we perhaps approach the wall? There seems to be little alternative, other than simply leaving.”

I looked around, but nobody seemed to have a better plan, and nobody seemed particularly keen on heading back to the city early, with its omnipresent field of murderous stupidity.

We started our approach to the wall, keeping our pace much closer to that of a standard human than when we had been looking for an entrance; we did not want to risk any watcher seeing us running at them, and thinking it was some kind of ill-advised attack.

The five of us came to a stop about a dozen feet from the base of the wall; it was impressive, and would have probably been awe inspiring if I had not already seen the colossal, sky-piercing greatness of the Blacksand Citadel. As we stood staring up at it, I began to wonder if they did actually have lookouts, or if the place had been abandoned, but just as I was about to give my thoughts voice, there was a sharp crack, like a fracturing rock. Before us, two lines appeared on the otherwise featureless surface of the wall, running up in parallel about thirty feet apart.

The space between the lines began to move, pushing towards us at an angle and forcing us to step back, or be pushed back. We chose to keep pace as we moved back, but I was getting no warning from my Instinctive Precognition, so I did not consider it an attack.

When the wall had extended about forty feet, it finally stopped moving and yet more lines appeared on its sloping surface. These lines formed steps as the wall slid back into itself with loud shunks, forming a staircase that led to the top of the wall, if a very steep one.

“Do we... just go up?”

“With curious appraisal, there does not seem to be anybody coming down. This is a curious mechanism, I wonder if it is mechanical, array based, or whether they have a stone manipulator.”

“In interested agreement, the steps are quite steep, so it may involve a limitation in control or a lack of growth; I think an array is most likely, as a purely mechanical approach would be unlikely to create the stairs directly in front of us. Are you able to interact with it, brother?”

“With hesitant appraisal, I would prefer not to test it, as if it is being manipulated by a cultivator, it would be at best rude to attempt control, and at worst an attack.”

“I agree; we should refrain from antagonizing them. But this is clearly an invite; as... Hunter says, should we go up?”

With what sounded like an annoyed snort, Darina walked forward and began to ascend the steep steps without waiting for anybody else to say anything. In all fairness to the diminutive healer, I appreciated the move, as I had been starting to consider that we might be overreacting to our experiences in Ouhl and actually being over-cautious, which was pretty new for us.

With a shrug and a grin, I followed after her – carefully – up the still mostly vertical staircase. I heard the others following after but quickly switched my concentration to the task at hand when I over-stepped and found myself almost falling off.

When I reached the top of the wall, I found Darina stood a short distance away, facing a group of the pale-gold-clad goat-people I had seen back in the square in Ouhl, before the Blood Guard’s intervention. I did not see the flower-mantled leader anywhere, but just like the others, these all had wooden or stone horns, which seemed to be natural, rather than ornamentation. There were ten of them, some armed and some wearing armour, but spread out in a wide semi-circle facing the stairs. The top of the wall seemed to be a mostly flat surface, from the sharp drop behind me to what seemed to be a shallow slope on the inside that led down into what I could only assume to be the actual pit of the Inverted Mountain.

I stepped up to join Darina, and felt the others reach the top and do the same a couple of seconds later. The Earthen Sky sect members did not react to us standing in front of them; they seemed oddly passive for what was supposedly one of the most powerful sects in the region. I had been expecting a show of force, for them to do the whole, ‘booming voice and giant warrior’ thing, but it seemed my expectations were off, at least for this particular example.

Our two groups stood facing each other awkwardly for several minutes, everyone on our side apparently waiting for theirs to make a move, and the other side simply refusing. With a light sigh, I stepped forward, hands held to the side, facing them.

“Uh, hi. Honoured members of the Earthen Sky sect. We’re fleeing the destruction of our former sect, many months of travel from here, and heard... rumours of your great strength. If possible, we would like to... attempt... to join your ranks.”

I thought I was laying it on a bit thick, but from what I knew, the sects – and clans – were typically bastions of the older form extreme dickery that characterised people like the Psycho Siblings I had met at the Steel Splinter in Everwood City, or Kestin. Fortunately for me, it seems that the goat-people did not pick up on my relatively hammy performance.

At the centre of the Earthen Sky’s formation, what appeared to be a man stepped forward, his arms draped in a strange covering of wooden link, looking as though they had attempted – and perhaps even succeeded, given the strange nature of materials on my new home – to create chainmail from wood. The man in the wooden mail stepped forward, his hooves clicking sharply on the stone of the wall top.

“You have come a long way to join us, human. Did none on your journey inform you that we are fairly selective, in those we allow into our sect?”

Toneth had mentioned this; the Earthen Sky sect were a group that mostly took in their own kind; they were not a race I was familiar with. When I had been browsing my choices on whatever weird space-station Xiournal used as a base, I had seen both the elven race of the Sigil world, as well as the Devourers, but I was not provided the opportunity to be either a risi – like Reff and Riffa – or one of these goat-people. I did not know the reason for this, as I had browsed, many, many races before settling on the ren, hoping they would give me a leg up over my competition. Maybe if I ever did get to speak to the tricksome dragon-lady again, I would be able to ask about the seemingly arbitrary nature of the options provided. I probably would not have gone for the strangely horned race, unless the benefits were particularly fantastic, but it did make me wonder why they hadn’t been on my list.

Dismissing my musings, I bowed shallowly, keeping my eyes on the speaker to let them know that I considered them a threat, before speaking, taking care to keep my usually less than deferential tone under control.

“Honoured Member, we were told that you accepted only those that excelled, however we are all at top of our stages, able to escape the cowardly ambush that ended our previous homes. While we know that you would of course – rightly – show preference to those who align with you, we feel we can add strength to your sect.”

I added another bow to drive my words home, again slightly concerned that he speaker would see right through my – to my ears – ridiculously formal words.

“It is good to know your place; you may not be a part of the superior Do’orn race, but - if your words are not exaggeration – it is good to know when your skill sets you apart. False modesty is a sign of nothing but undue pride and deception. We will test each of you, and if you show as much skill as you suggest, we may consider accepting you into our great ranks.”

Awesome...