A fine mist of rain fell about us as we ran cross-country, the sharp red grasses rushing towards us and then vanishing behind us as we headed in what was hopefully the right direction, our destination being the so-called ‘Inverted Mountain’ of the Earthen Sky sect.

The day before, Loneth had actually been very helpful in gaining directions and identifying sects; apparently this was all common knowledge throughout Ouhl, but of course I had tried my best to be circumspect, as I did not want another visit from what was apparently the Bleak Shadow sect.

I had rolled my eyes when the inn owner had told me to whom the black and red colours belonged; edginess was apparently a universal concept. Still, it at least made it easier to know who were explicitly ‘bad guys’.

We had decided to wait until the day after as I had still been below full power, but with the rest of the intervening time spent on a concerted effort to absorb Experience, I was finally back in fighting shape. I was getting a little antsy to dive back into my research; the multiple days of downtime whenever I had to go all out was proving to be a huge detriment, and with the way things were going, I did not think I was always going to get a chance to take those breaks. Even in the slightly less than twenty-four hours since we had visited the Blood Guard, the altercations in the city had picked up, with more than a dozen reportedly taking place over that period. That was in contrast to the handful the day before. If things kept going the way they were, Ouhl would be in a state of all-out war by the end of the week.

Hopefully what would happen at the Inverted Mountain is that we would locate a member of the Risen Thone, notify the Earthen Sky, get rewarded, interrogate the provocateur and then return to the City of the Red Grasses in time to save the day.

Okay, that might have been slightly optimistic of me. Maybe. A man can hope, right?

I saw a line appear ahead of us in the grass, a border that ran to either side of us and out towards the gently rolling horizon; as we approached it, I felt myself grow excited and my pace picked up without conscious prompting. It was, of course, the point at which the blood-drenched carpet of grass once more reverted to its more common emeraldine hues.

As we passed out of the red zone, the five of us came to a slow halt as one, without anybody having said a word. The weight of the city had settled onto our shoulders, and even if it was not something we had strictly speaking become used to, it was a burden we had started to walk easier under. Stepping over the border was like shrugging that burden off, and inside of an instant I felt my mind clear and my emotions steady, as if I was truly awake for the first time in days.

“Wow, that’s refreshing. To hell with Thousand-Year Pina Coladas, can we bottle that?”

“No, we can’t bottle it, Hunter. It does feel good though, so at least in this instance I’ll agree with your nonsense; I wish we could bottle it.”

“In luxuriant relaxation, it feels good to be myself again. I can see why so few risi have chosen to live within Ouhl.”

“With effusive agreement, my brother is correct. I did not see a single risi in the city, and I do not think any would choose to live there. I certainly would not.”

“I wouldn’t want to live there either; Tain must be nuts. The entire population must be nuts.”

“I wonder at the benefits; while it seemed to increase recovery rates slightly, that would not last. Eventually, the aura would become normal to us. At that point, why choose to live there?”

“I guess house prices must be pretty cheap?”

“With flat amusement, I do not think that is reason enough, Hunter.”

“Should we... find out? It has to be a pretty good reason.”

“How about we just take care of our actual problems first, and leave researching mysterious rage fields and their benefits for later? I think we have enough problems.”

“... Right. Good point. Speaking of problems, what’s our actual plan here? We were just going to turn up at their gates and... sneak in?”

“With concerned recollection, that did seem to be the gist of it.”

I looked up at Reff and then around at everyone else.

“Not a great plan, is it?”

“It was your plan... Hunter.”

And it had been; I remembered going over it with the others the day before, and how it had seemed like a pretty good plan, though at the time I could have actually preferred just storming in, but thankfully my caution had won out on that one. Still...

“I didn’t hear you guys coming up with a plan.”

“I suggested dressing in the robes you retrieved from the Bleak Shadow and infiltrating them first, I was... outvoted.”

I recalled something along those lines coming from Toria, but for some reason we had been really focused on the Earthen Sky sect, and away from the effects of the city, I could admit that somewhere in the back of my mind, I had wanted to go with this option because it was more likely to result in a fight.

“Well, I think that’s probably a slightly better idea, now I have... room... to think about it. I... don’t suppose anybody knows where the Bleak Shadows are based?”

“No, we did not ask where the sect we were not planning on visiting was.”

“In comfortable resignation, it seems like we will need to complete our investigation of the Inverted Mountain, regardless of the quality of our current plan. Re-entering the scope of the red grass may not be the most conducive method for establishing a more robust approach.”

“Riffa’s right, if we go back in now, we’re just going to make more stupid decisions. So, we have plan A – sneaking in and hoping for the best. Anybody got a B? I don’t suppose we could fake our way in as a diplomatic mission from the Blacksand Citadel, or...” I gestured vaguely at Toria “Whatever your order is called?”

Toria raised an eyebrow at me, but did not seem to be too offended; she had definitely mellowed out a little since she and her fellow apprentice had been giving everyone the evil eye back when they arrived.

“While we are technically on a mission on behalf of the Paladin, that mission was to prevent the escape of the Multiplicious Self – a task at which we failed. This excursion is not included, and while it may well be worthy of my Order's attention, I do not have the authority to make that call.”

“I was mostly talking about, you know, lying, but I guess that’s not on the table. Reff, Riffa?”

I saw the siblings share a look, and Riffa offer her brother a small shrug, prompting my large friend to speak.

“With appropriate humility, while it is possible that a sect in this far-off land may have heard of the Citadel, it would not be... usual... to send a delegation to a sect, especially one so remote from ourselves. We maintain relationships with those nations and empires close to our home, and in many ways have more recognition than we would otherwise, due to our brother’s status, but the world is wide, Hunter.”

“We could say we wanted to join, ask for a tour? They have no reason to know who we are specifically, and while they may test us to confirm our worth, we should be able to pass most tests.”

I turned to face Darina as she spoke, blinking in quiet surprise; sometimes, amidst all the insults and punching, I forgot that the healer’s apprentice could be a pretty smart person.

“That’s actually a good idea.”

“Why do you sound surprised?”

“... No reason, probably just lingering haze from the city. Anyway, all in favour of masquerading as potential... sect people?”

I raised my hand, careful not to look at Darina; we might be outside of the city’s influence, but I did not think that would stop her if she got it in her head to attack me again. I saw her roll her eyes from the corner of mine, but at least she raised her own hand alongside mine.

“I’m not... entirely comfortable with the untruth, however, since it does not involve my order, and may be towards a just purpose, I agree to this course of action.”

Toria added her hand to those that were raised, and a moment later both of the risi did too, making it unanimous.

“Alright, new plan A! So, what do we say, our sect was... destroyed? Kicked us out?”

“In calm contemplation, it would probably be for the best if we said we were members of a small sect that was destroyed while we were absent on a mission. Being kicked out does not make a person seem like a good candidate for inclusion.”

“In considerate interest, my sister is correct. We should say we come from a sect many months of travel away; perhaps we fled until we were sure we were beyond the power of the sect which destroyed our own? We will need the name of both hypothetical sects.

“How about the Dancing Silence and Devouring Storm? Devouring Storm sound like a classic, ‘murder everyone’ sect.”

Every looked at me, and for a moment I thought I had said something stupid, maybe suggested the name of some really famous sects, or broken some weird taboo about evil naming conventions. Nope.

“Those are good names. Perhaps, one day – after you have chosen your own name – you should form a sect of your own.”

“He could call it the, ‘Witless Idiot’ sect.” Darina turned back to me, hands on hips and directed her next comment at me. “Have you actually thought about that at all? The Earthen Sky is probably going to ask about it, since you’re a Path stage.”

“Uh, not really. I’ve had more important things on my mind. I’ve got lightning, time and speed,” I thought back to Earth for a moment and hoped no copyright lawyers got reborn on my new home. “So, how about-”

“In quick interruption, it may be better for each of us to only show a single aspect, and to hold our cultivation names in reserve. Some sects will not take member that have stepped upon their Path unless their Path lies in the same direction as their themes. While many sects will allow a Focus or Path to deviate, they rarely allow both, and we do not know the specialization of this Earthen Sky sect.”

“You mean, like... I don’t remember their names. The fire sect that attacked Everwood, the one Walker wiped out. They’d were mostly about fire, so they’d want everyone to be somewhat about fire?”

“With pleased confirmation, exactly. The Living Flame sect specialized in controlling fire; Toria and Myself would be taken in, but they would not take those of us without fire-related abilities.”

“So, I’ll stick with lightning for now. I guess it gives me more time to think about my name. I’m just trying to avoid the word, ‘flash’...”

“Why? That seems like it would work well. A flash is fast, and lightning flashes.”

“... It’s personal. No flash though.”

“Whatever you say. It’s your cultivation name to mess up.”

I ignore the last from Darina; this whole cultivation nickname was not something I had grown up with, or had years to consider, so I was going to take my time. It could, after all, be with me for a long time.

“So, we’re from the now destroyed Dancing Silence sect, it specialized in... surprise attacks? And ironically, was surprise attacked by a bigger sect that wiped them out. We ran, it was months away near... a place called...”

“... Tidehollow.”

“Tidehollow. Thanks, Toria. Everybody got that?”

“Do you? Your memory is probably the worst among us.”

“I’ll be fine, Dee. Okay, if everyone is set, let’s get moving; it should only be another hour or so away. I hope.”