Recognizing poisonous plants was easy enough. Specifically, ones that would be dangerous if you brushed up against them. Alva had no intention to attempt to consume anything from the Garden. Those juicy berries full of natural energy might provide a boost to cultivation… or they might explode inside her, shattering her from the inside. Everheart could even have plants like here that weren’t traps but had a purpose- like feeding them to others. Or training some forbidden technique.

Slightly more difficult was recognizing which plants were mobile or aggressive in some way. Plants that were full of large pools of tempting water were fairly obvious, as were the wide open leaves with scythelike blades around the edge- made to snap closed on anyone who stepped within. The trailing vines on the ground that were made to grab ankles were a bit more subtle when strewn in among the others that didn’t act in the same way, but discerning the way the energy flowed through and around them let her pick some out. And others… Vari walked into.

… that wasn’t Alva’s fault. Vari had declared that since she was the one suited for melee, she should walk ahead. Alva directed her around anything she noticed. But sometimes there were trees whose leaves had dustings of deadly powder that shook off with the slightest disturbance.

Vari hacked and coughed as she breathed in a lungful of something awful. “Are you-” some blood came up with the next coughing fit, “-Are you alright, lady Alva?”

Alva snatched the strand of energy that came towards her and tucked it away. She wasn’t sure whether she should make use of it. It wasn’t clear if it was ethical or safe- and she needed it to at least be the latter. “I’m alright,” Alva said. “Perhaps you should move out of the area?”

“I need to-” this time she hacked up black gunk, which quivered like gelatin on the ground, “-learn to overcome this.”

“You know you’re supposed to start with small doses, right?” Alva asked. “Anyway, we’re heading thataway,” she gestured. Her declaration that she was going to move also directed Vari away from the floating dust and spores. That was the one thing the woman’s barriers weren’t great against.

They were excellent against claws though. There were some lizards that seemed to balance on just two legs, though they used the claws on all of their legs to attack. Some were only about the size of a person, and those came in packs. Their scales were as hard as… well, diamonds weren’t relevant to Life Transformation cultivators, let alone her. They were hard though. Maybe she could get someone to make armor out of them.

“Incoming,” Alva said blandly as a dozen raptors leapt to attack them. Only eight or nine could reasonably fit around Vari, so the rest came for Alva. She took them out first, calmly shooting arrows into their open mouths or into their nostrils. She could move, running about to give herself distance, but she had some decent power to rely on.

Vari actually did very well when swarmed by attacks. Her barrier was tough, but if she simply sat there taking hits it would be torn through in a second or two. With a sweep of her leg, Vari knocked over several of them, grabbing one claw that was coming straight for her and swinging it into another. Fighting unarmed left her with little in the way of reach and finishing power, but she could disrupt enemies wondrously.

After taking the enemies threatening herself, Alva moved on to the ones around Vari. Killing distracted enemies was another step easier, though they didn’t always point the same weak spots towards her.

Soon enough, they all lay dead. Vari pulled out an enchanted knife and began dismantling the creatures to collect what the two perceived as the most valuable parts. The meat was awful, though not poisonous, and the bones didn’t seem worth much… but teeth, claws, and scales could certainly be used as materials.

“So,” Alva asked casually, “Is there a saint of grappling?”

“No,” Vari shook her head sadly. “I’ve been hoping to join up as an auxiliary member of one of the other spires, but none have been interested. I’m strong enough though! I don’t understand it.”

“I wouldn’t know,” Alva shrugged. “So is there a saint of archery?”

“Of course, I already spoke of Saint Tassaiades, the Bow Saint. Did you forget?”

“... of course not. I just wanted to see if you remembered.” How could she forget if she hadn’t been listening in the first place. “So what are they like?”

Vari closed her eyes, breathing deeply as she tried to recall… something. It made Alva uncomfortable the way her breath was ragged, her lungs still damaged from the earlier poison. That was not a safe way to live. Vari nodded to herself. “It is said that she is a great beauty, young and powerful. She can slay a man from a hundred kilometers away with her bow.”

“A hundred, huh?” Alva frowned. “That’s pretty…”

“Amazing, isn’t it?” Vari said with her face beaming.

“... standard,” Alva finished.

“What?” Vari tilted her head. “But that’s… you can’t even shoot that far, can you? And your archery is amazing!”

“Well, sure, but range isn’t my specialty. It’s mounted combat.”

“Why don’t you have a mount then?” Vari asked. Then she shrunk away as Alva glared at her. “So about the range… even if you can eventually match it, is one hundred kilometers not amazing?”

“My grandfather has been able to do that forever,” Alva said. “And his master.”

“Amazing!” Vari’s jaw dropped. “Is it possible to meet your esteemed grandfather?”

“No,” Alva said flatly. They could probably never meet again… so even if he was still alive, it still hurt.

“Oh…” Vari lowered her head. “I’m sorry. What about… his master?”

“Well, yeah. I guess she ascended. I don’t know if she’ll be able to meet up here or not. But eventually, maybe.” Except Vari wouldn’t be coming with her.

“That would be excellent,” Vari’s face lit up.

“Uh huh. Now we’re going this-” Alva stopped her gesture halfway. “That way!” as she pointed somewhere else.

“May I inquire why we are not going the first direction, Lady Alva? I assume you sensed some dangers?”

“There’s wolves there,” Alva said. “I don’t want to fight wolves.”

“I see. They must be quite dangerous for us to be avoiding them,” Vari nodded. “Thank you for your guidance.”

Perhaps Vari wouldn’t be thanking her when she learned they were going into the middle of a horrible swamp. But Alva preferred that over the other option right now.

-----

Though things were going slowly with the negotiations, they were progressing at least. Most of the negotiations involved extending the lengths of time over which reparations had to be made. This ultimately came with a larger value that would be collected, but it was less punishing. Which was sort of the point of taking as many resources at once. On the other hand, since it was more likely to actually be followed through on to some extent instead of just leading to a larger more serious war, it was better to go along with it.

Ultimately the goal was to have everyone from the world cooperating instead of vying for power. A lofty and perhaps unattainable goal, but they had to at least try. Though Anton was of the opinion that much of the Exalted Archipelago was not of Ceretos. They just lived here before moving on to what they considered their true home. It was the people acting upon the orders from the upper realms- direct or indirect- that were the problem. Though many of the problems were dead now.

-----

“There is it,” Catarina waved her hand, gesturing to the horizon in front of them. Just peeking above it was a roofline that slowly expanded outward to fill the entirety of their vision. At the current moment the two of them were on one of the few stretches of truly open and bare terrain. It had little in the way of formations, and barely any air to breathe. Catarina and Timothy found it wasn’t completely necessary to have air, but it was still easier to have their bodies function normally.

“That’s the Great Hall, huh…” Timothy said. “It’s possibly the biggest thing I’ve ever seen. Larger than the greatest cities… but it’s completely unpopulated.”

“Not completely,” Catarina pointed out. “There are monsters. And other cultivators like us.”

“Speaking of which, seems like we have some friends incoming,” Timothy was in a relaxed posture, but he was ready to spring into action at any point. Immediately, Catarina was wandering around, carving into the dirt. That didn’t mean they were going to fight, but if they did they would be ready. “Is that the Harmonious Citadel?” Timothy asked, just trying to confirm what he felt.

“I do believe so,” Catarina nodded. “Where should we declare we are from?”

Timothy pondered as he waited for the approaching sources of energy. “I doubt they’ll be dissuaded by telling them we’re part of the Silver Sea Coalition. Even if they cared, they’d just kill us and destroy the evidence anyway. Or rather, try to.”

“You don’t know that,” Catarina said as she began placing tiny stones that would be easily overlooked all around her. “They might try to influence us to join their cult.”

“I feel like we aren’t the typical target for that. We’re a bit too… set in our ways. Not young and impressionable.”

“We are young, though,” Catarina pointed out. “By the standards here, early hundreds at our cultivation… it’s still not bad.”

“Hmm, swords,” Timothy commented. “That’s pretty… homogenous. Didn’t they have a bunch of saints or whatever?”

“We’ll have to ask Alva when she gets here.”

The incoming group was led by a trio- one man, with a man and a woman on either side. There were six more following along behind them, but only the first three were Integration cultivators.

The leading male had a false smile on his face, his bare sword lazily resting upon his shoulder. “Greetings, fellow explorers. Have any luck with the Tomb?”

Catarina seemed quite focused on something in her bag, so it seemed to be Timothy who was going to have to respond. “Just death traps and monsters. Standard fare, really. No luck with the rewards.”

The trio was quite rudely searching over the two, and attempting to peer into their storage bags. Clearly, they thought they were in a dominant position. Maybe they were, in terms of cultivation. Catarina and Timothy were still at the very beginning of Integration… but Timothy was still confident. In his own abilities, sure, but also Catarina’s.

The man continued, “Seems the two of you make use of swords as well. We’ve actually got some good ones. We’re open to trade, if you found something worthwhile.” He gestured, and the six others with them- their cultivations ranging throughout Life Transformation- walked forward, swords held out on their palms.

The blades they offered seemed better than the ones at their belts, which either meant their leaders were assholes, or it was a trap. Maybe both. Timothy still stepped forward, offering an interested glance at the blades, his hand wandering away from his sword. “Interesting. They do look quite decent.” He couldn’t tell for sure without examining them more closely, since the materials were unfamiliar. But the enchantments were strong, a level usually only felt in the upper realms. Though some weapons of significant power had been obtained during the invasion. “The rapier is intriguing. Catarina?”

“Hmm?” she looked up. “Oh, yeah. It looks pretty good.” She reached into her storage bag, “How about for this halberd? There are spear users among the Harmonious Citadel, right?”

“Of course,” the man said, he and the trio stepping slightly closer. “We pride ourselves in making use of all manner of weaponry. May I see it?”

“Help yourself,” Catarina handed it to him handle first.

He took it and twirled it around. Then with a sudden movement it came crashing down towards her, but she didn’t move. Timothy wasn’t completely certain if she was trusting in her formation or him, but he was the one who blocked it. He didn’t just negate the momentum, of course. The weapon flew out of the man’s hand and into one of the weaker six behind him.

“We didn’t want cursed weapons anyway,” Catarina said.

The woman among the trio tilted her head in confusion, even as they were all swinging weapons. “They’re not cursed though?”

“Tell me that again in five minutes,” Catarina said, as the blades tore themselves out of the hands of the remaining five Life Transformation cultivators, while the trio found themselves wrestling with their weapons but keeping a grip on them.