The emissaries from the Cold Steel clan knelt in front of Jessica and her leaders.

“Elder, we regret to inform you that we waited two days for a response. At the end of the two days, they said that one would be forthcoming and that we shouldn’t wait any longer. Something about they would send it through the usual means.”

Jessica held back her judgement. Heaven’s mountain wasn’t the only other Sect in the area, and it was probably time forher to make inroads with some of the others.

It was just that their deliberations were by committee, and she was used to that kind of life. She’d sat on a couple of meetings with somewell meaning people that didn’t end up going anywhere and it had sounded like she’d wasted her time.

She rubbed her temples. Grace would probably be able to handle the next part.

The two men, both bald probably because they thought it would make them run faster looked like they were telling her that her cat had died. And they knew how much she loved an intact American shorthair. Or perhaps they were used to Elders blowing up and blaming the messengers for things?

“This isn’t the end of the story. What you did was valuable, and thank you for running all the way there and back. Go grab some sleep. Then eat, and I’ll have another assignment for both of you, unless there is something else?”

The two bald runners looked at each other, then back to her and bowed deeply. She waved a hand to dismiss them.

She hated that some of the students waited on her like she was some sort of president of the country meets god, but she accepted that this was how they wanted to respect her.

“I need to know more about the other schools. We’ve been leaning on the support from the Heaven’s Mountain school for far too long.”

Her people, now that the audience was done settled into their normal spots, a circle with each of them on the edge.

“This one can speak of the other two schools.”

An-Yongs voice rose above the ground, solid and strong.

Jessica nodded for him to speak.

“Off to the west, and the school that would be least affected by this is the Lions Mane school. West and south of here. Those ones, they are the hunters that bond beasts in thier vast savannahs around their lands. Spirit beasts, the ones that can consent to a bond abound in those lands, and they have hundreds of cultivators that can…”

An-Yong could see the wheels turning in Jessicas head. In a world where people could carry boulders, perhaps pack animals would be less useful for cultivators, but a second set of eyes would be invaluable.

***

Everyone in the city was mundane as far as Ah Le could tell, and with their arrival they caused as stir. One older woman directed them to a hut in the center of the village that had a steady stream of smoke outside.

“You’re the ones that saved our town from those beasts, aren’t you?” She asked, as she hobbled next to them.

“Yes, well we saw that you were in trouble and,” Ah Le said.

“Hmmm.”

They walkeda bit further. The pathway was a little steep, but the woman kept pace with them.

“What is the name of your village?” Ah Le asked, trying to get something out of the woman.

“Oh, here? We call it Blessing, because, well there are many reasons, but we have the best hot springs around.”

Ah Le gulped.

The two scouts that had all of their supplies were busy trying to make trades in the local marketplace. Two shops sold general goods and one was a combination of a tavern and an store for cultivators, those brave adventurers that came this far north in search of solitude in which to practice the mystical arts.

None were in residence at the moment.

“A hot springs sounds wonderful at the moment,” Ki No said from behind the two. He was looking around, and Ah Le was pretty sure that he was working on a budding nascent soul from the frequent light touches she received.

“I’ll be certain to take you after your little meeting then,” the old woman replied,”I’m Kigali by the way, miss.”

“This one Ah Le, Senior Disciple of the Cold Steel Sect and that one is Ki No, also a Senior Disciple from my Sect.”

Ki No gave a slight bow to Kigali.

“Oh what lovely names, and we do so infrequently received guests from your Sect. More regularly, we have Cultivators from the Heaven’s Mountain Sect drop by since they aren’t so far. They love the amenities we offer here.”’

Ah Le held back her tongue, but she was thinking about how the heck she was going to convince all of these people to uproot their lives and leave when they reached the center of Blessing.

“Thank you for your hospitality, Kigali, and we will be certain to drop in on your hot springs after this.”

“Indeed, that would be most prudent, Ma’am.”

Kigali looked at the siblings.

“Why you both are so nice, you must come visit us again!” She exclaimed, then hobbled back down the hill at speed.

“This isn’t going to be easy, is it?” She said.

“This might be the hardest conversation we’ve ever had. Elder Jessica would do this a lot better than us.”

No guards sat in front of the large skin hut, so Ki No, opened the door for his sister, and they both went in.

Three village elders sat sipping tea around a large central furnace.

Instantly, Ah Le could tell that one was at least a first realm cultivator, perhaps as high as third. Many didn’t pass the third realm and eventually left a school to go pursue other interests in their new longer lives.

Ki No and Ah Le stood next to each other and bowed in a traditional greeting to open a dialogue.

One elder nodded for them to sit in the circle around the furnace. Logs circled it and they were instantly warmed as they sat down.

“Elders,” she said, but was met with a hand to silence her.

“First, tea. You warriors have traveled far, if your Sect badge is to be believed. We don’t just jump into business here, like those uncultured savages from the Heaven’s Mountain School.”

Ah Le nodded, then accepted a ceramic mug. If they thought that the Heaven’s Mountain school were savages, then she would represent her Sect to the best of her ability.

It wasn’t often that one came to upend an entire villages life, but when one had to do it, perhaps it would be useful to bring some tact to the table.

The five sat, sipping tea as Ah Le formulated what she had to say. She could begin as her family once did, by asking about the health of the elders families. That was a way, and she needed to try to adhere to custom as much as possible.

When the second mug of tea was finished, and the third poured, she began.

“Elders, this one would ask about the health of your families, and perhaps how all three of you are doing. This one presumes that the three of you are the head elders of the town,” She said, noting that all three were men.

All three nearly jumped over each other to tell her about how each of their grand children were doing and how their backs were.

It was going to be a long discussion before they got to the point.

***

“Better to act as if nothing ever happened…” The first Za servant said.

“That was an irreplaceable family vase! It’s been handed down for centuries!” The second servant said.

“Well, who brings priceless family vases onto airships?”

The second servant allowed the point. He was still up by nearly a thousand points in his mind.

“One of the servants back at the Sect can repair it we just need to not draw attention to it. They have never asked to inspect it, and we can just say that… er it’s being repaired for a while.”

“Brilliant!”

The two fifth realm cultivators, servants in the Za house looked out of the giant glass window. One of the only perks of being a Za employ was the times when the airship needed to make a trip. And this was one of those times.

Elder Za had decided to pay a visit to his son after hearing alarming reports of him staying away from the Heaven’s Mountain School for more than a month. Sure, it was nothing for the arrogant young master to study in seclusion for years, but if he was to go for a small vacation? Or try to annex another school? That raised some eyebrows.

Thus, Elders Za and Za, parents of Fa Za had decided to bring an entourage to look into their holdings. It had been a week long trip for them, moving between the continents and over countless glorious mountains and gorgeous bodies of water, and thankfully there were little demands from the Elders to these particular two servants.

To call them bodyguards would be a misnomer, they were more than just bodyguards. To call them janitors, would be more accurate. Every single inch of the airship High Fidelity had been scrubbed to shine before they left, and all but the outer hull had been continually worked on.

Their arms and hands would ache if they didn’t practice the path of the broom. Thankfully they did, and in cultivating a sense of cleanliness, they practiced their mystical arts.

They also fought with their brooms, to be clear, and they were deadly assassins when they needed to be.

But today, one single speck of dust had caused a calamity, and their probably downfall when it caused a shifting vase to break- through no fault of anyones, but let’s call it like it is, it was their fault.

“We’ll land tomorrow, and then we can at least finally sample some of the local fare.”

“You don’t even eat anything except for pills, brother so why would you care?”

“It… it just something to do over…. There…?”

Wide knowing eyes met and the two knew that something was up. Two spines stiffened.

“Elder Za! It is our utmost pleasure to serve you.”

Sweat drenched the first servant’s back.

“We’re about to land, and I would love to have someone attend to us with the..erm… appropriate refreshments. We’d like to start a bit early, so we can enjoy it longer.”

“Understood elder, we can take care of your request!”

“Because these humble servants never rest!”

The two servants ran off, to the lower deck.

Elder Za, lady of the airship, kicked the replica family vase. Oh well, good help was hard to find these days.

***

“Another pair of servants failed the broken vase test?” He was incredulous, “You have got to stop doing that to them. Perhaps they were too afraid to tell you, have you ever considered that?”

She hadn’t in fact considered it. The mere fact that there was someone on her airship- it was only his because it was passed down by his family and even then by title alone- that wouldn’t immediately report this kind of think bothered her.

Emily Za, seventh realm cultivator, the real power behind the Heaven’s Mountain Sect, honored wife of Ling Za, stared out over vast eastern ocean. The first stretch of land had appeared far on the horizon, and she was ready for her brunch.

“Husband, since they are fifth realm and only because of that fact, I will not remove them from our service, but if you’re going to insist that I can’t have fun while I’m on a jaunt of this sort, then perhaps you’re married the wrong woman.”

Ling Za, sixth realm cultivator on the path to immortality, cut a gorgeous figures with flowing jet black and the finest silks that fit his station. She’d picked them all oout herself, slowly replacing what he wore over time with gentler cuts that accentuated the things that she valued.

Namely, his strong shoulders, his arms and of course, his calves. When he got up to look at the land, she snuck a peek at her husband in silent admiration, and when he returned, she remembered for the tenth time today to pay his tailor more.

“It’s not that I’m married to the wrong woman, in so may ways, choosing you,” he said, fully knowing that she had chosen him, “was the best decision of my life.”

He didn’t have a choice in the matter, and he knew it. He’d come to accept it, and then love her. She made him see the error of his ways, long ago, and now she could let her freak flag fly.

“Do you think that the rumors are true?” She asked, getting up from her deck chair seating.

Her husband leaned against the outer railing, looking intently at the horizon.

She slid in placing her arms around him.

They shared a compationable silence for a second before Ling realized that he’d been asked a question.

“Even if not, the point remains that we haven’t traveled here in years. The Elders need to rough it in their harsh outer portion of the Sect from time to time.”

Both of them knew that they would be nowhere close to roughing it upon their arrival, and they would still have the immaculately clean airship for their duration as well.

“Do you think that Fa Za has learned anything since we left? Perhaps it is time for him to learn the dao of marriage? I could find… a suitable wife for him?” She said.

Ling Za gently squeezed her hands.

“That won’t be necessary. Perhaps there will already be a solution in front of us, in the form of some local political alliance we can exploit.”

She squeezed back. Theirs was not a political solution in any form, but she let that one go. She’d have to educate her husband and her son about the proper etiquette. Because men didn’t choose their wives, it was the other way around, at least if Emily Za had anything to say about it.