Corvayne looked out of his balcony at green rolling waves. Flowers curled around the steel railing out his window, but only was a footnote in the ever present scent of mint the winds coming off the sea carried. The green color of the water was a sort of duckweed that had mixed with a mint plant monster. He could see wood boats out on the water, skirting the ruins of massive bright-red rusted oil rigs that clashed with the otherwise clean greens of land and water as well as the vibrant blue of the sky. They were skimming the weed to jar and export to lower floors. Having someone drop a jar of the weeds could raise their level to 5 at zero risk.

Hence, some enterprising folks years ago had taken over a small tower-folk safe zone and renamed it Greencarpet.

They were parked at the city for the time being because of four reasons. First, they needed to send a message to the other party, and after dropping some hard earned blue essence shards at library they determined it required constantly running up and down between 20 and 21 to get the courier guild as the 'interim floor'. (Fighting the 'Fire Fighter' robot the first time not knowing what it could do was thrilling. The tenth time with the full fire, electric, and poison resist gear sets? Not so much.)

Second and more importantly was that the needed to get info about the Cow-Tivators sprawling complex, ideally without letting anyone see that Corvayne output something like a hundred million gold worth of high end crafting materials every hour at rest and more when he was working out. Which meant they had to make actual money the hard way to pay an information broker.

Third was that Corvayne needed to break the weapon curse he had so that if he did have to fight a lightning fast kung-fu cowboy he wasn't 'shooting blanks'. It was unknown how much the curse interfered with his ability to fight, but he could see he and Lady Blood Claw were falling behind. Mostly because the curse of plants had continued to progress, even with him skimming some of it's power off.

They were doing their best to mitigate the risks of staying in one spot. First: the city was in the territory of a force known as 'The Three Kings' who supposedly were at war with 'Fistful of Dao.' Not an important city, and it was fairly deep in the territory.

Second, every member of the group now had anti-scrying gear on. Soul resist necklaces, passive stealth socks and gloves, and silver rings of serenity. Supposedly, the soul resist boosted the steath passives and all combined with silver rings reducing the chances 'trouble' would find them.

Third was staying low key. Different clothes and letting June act as the face of the group. The hotel they were at was letting them stay for fixing things up. Mend meant they could do a days work in about ten minutes. It was Corvayne's job today to hammer things occasionally so that the two or three actual staff members in the building heard them and didn't tear away the scaffolding in the halls to see that most of the work was done already.

Preshe was doing some actual work, setting up hooks into the stone walls around the balcony and getting planters into position. Lady Blood Claw was in charge of planting the various containers with seeds that Bell had infused with life. Corvayne had been given wood to carve and was working Lythandies, Gygax, and Falenti symbols into the wood, then using mend to smooth it out. It couldn't hurt to thank the three who had been helping them on their journey, and the tangible benefit to the group was refilling the favor they had spent keeping Lady Blood Claw from bleeding out on the long drive.

Lady Blood Claw was being stubborn, forcing herself to get out of bed and water and feed the planters already out on the balcony. She had even strapped on her burning two-handed sword while tending to plants, trimming and feeding them mulch. The theory that Corvayne and Spears came up with was that her curse might have something to do with saving plants. Or if it was the opposite, they could rent a boat and just have her drop her blade into the water and kill thousands of plants. They'd know if nurturing plants worked once they found a specialist.

"Sorry Preshe, we've been stuck doing chores."

She produced a water stone and set it to spray a thin line of water above the window. "I miss my friends a little, but it's not very bad, I mean, I expected to work my entire life. This is more like, hmm. Art." She sounded cheerful as she spoke. "I also came from a place where it was cold most of the time, and even summer was drab and rainy..."

"Oh. Sorry about Cascadia then."

Preshe groaned. "You make jokes at the weirdest times. Cmon, let's make sure LBC is doing well." She tugged his arm to the hallway. Usually she was very reserved, but since the painted world something had been lit in her and if Corvayne didn't know better he'd think she was try-

He did know better, didn't he? She was trying to get him together with Lady Blood Claw. A bit of anger soured his mood. Not at her, of course. They were a nebulous family unit, and she wanted the heads of the household to be closer. No, he was angry that he had worked for untold years, trying to learn and improve his self control, and now he felt like a fool when he noticed something else was jerking the wheel of his thoughts and feelings. Perhaps it was [[Understanding]] or maybe [[Unity]] letting him pick up on other people's thoughts that let him see himself.

That didn't change that Lady Blood Claw had her own problems, and the question of if there was something beyond the love of a friend and partner who just clicked, or something more... well, perhaps they had missed the timing.

Preshe knocked and entered the room before him. Lady Blood Claw was ostensibly working on cleaning and restoring an old ballroom. They had dragged an old velvet couch to an area near tarps they had set up to hide the fresh paint. A hole in the ceiling let in sunlight from above. The particular floor they were on didn't have nights per say, just an extended dusky glowing sky and slow sunrise that lasted eleven hours.

To synergize with their goal of breaking or weakening her curse, they tried to use plants for as much of the renovation as possible. Lythandies had a major theme of wood and growth in her portfolio, and so they intended to use her ability to 'mend' plants to help them grow as much as possible to restore the hotel and get LBC on her feet.

Lady Blood Claw herself didn't have much of a talent for mend, or wood shaping which was tedious bending, pulling, applying weights, and removing weights while trying to guide living wood into a certain shape. Her enchanting skills could help a little with someone else to guide the growth, but she needed help to walk and couldn't do the work alone. It had been difficult for Corvayne to be near her, because she was ashamed of her own state. Even now, she was breathing heavily on a coach they had pulled near the circle of light streaming in, laying on a velvet couch surrounded by potted trees and more then a few clay containers of duckweed. The substance seemed to contain some type of life essence that, combined with black crystals, was the key to turning the hotel into a living building.

They really could have just built a nice place, but once June came up with the idea everyone jumped on it.

"Finally." Lady Blood Claw sat up. "You ready to spar?"

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Instantly Preshe was upset, hands on hips. "You are NOT going to do that! Mosh said nothing more strenuous then walking and casting."

Lady Blood Claw gave her a stern look back. "You are decades too young to be scolding me." She coughed, and grabbed a lily white cloth (literally woven from Lilys) and coughed red fluid up. Blood mixed with the berries in her lungs, causing her to be short of breath. Under the loose red shirt she was wearing, Lady Blood Claw had been getting scars at an alarming rate from Bell and Spears and Mosh cutting her open, pulling weeds from her lungs, then using healing potions to patch her back up.

Preshe hesitated, and looked at Corvayne. He nodded at her, but stepped forward anyway and put a hand on Lady Blood Claw's shoulder.

"I miss our fights." He meant it. He missed her too. Not that he'd let it slip. Both because Preshe looked too eager, like Spears-Like-Water looked, and because Lady Blood Claw herself had been sour on it. Perhaps because she didn't want just a third of his attention.

The camo pattern grew a little, but she stubbornly stood rather then admit she was in pain. Even though Corvayne could both feel it on her bond and see it written in the texture of her skin.

“I will remedy that. Spar with me.”

“We can do forms, but you are not fit to fight.”

Her eyes watered. A bit of red camo flared around her. “I DONT want your PITY!”

Shouting brought a fit of coughing, the smell of strawberries a sweet contrast to the smell of pain and fear.

“She'll be ready, and if everything goes well, there will not be any fighting.” They were trying to see if the Fistful of Dao sect did their ransom dealing fairly. They would lose a large chunk of black crystals, but if they could resolve the kidnapping without risk...

Lady Blood Claw put a hand on the couch to steady herself, and gave him a look through her too-long hair. “You don't fucking believe that. She's too green for something like this.”

Corvayne folded his arms. “She's red and she's probably two hundred levels over me.”

Preshe couldn't help it and snorted at that. [[Unity]] told him LBC thought it was halfway funny, but it made her mad after that.

“You know what I mean.” More coughing, this time bad enough that Preshe caught her. “Fight me.”

Corvayne sighed. “Fine.”

Preshe pretty much dropped Lady Blood Claw on the couch. “You can't!”

“I have to respect her. As a warrior with pride. When she gets better, and out levels me, she'll beat me back.”

It was stupid as hell, but also it made sense. She needed a break from being coddled.

She had her blade, and he had his fists.

“No projectiles, explosions, or anything that would mess up the work we are doing.”

They expected some banging, and Corvayne didn't expect it to take long. That said, he was going to try to end it with a single punch to Lady Blood Claws face.

In the stories he read, something would happen where the supposedly helpless wounded warrior would show off something the hero needed to learn. In this case, Lady Blood Claw buffed herself up, held her sword in a stance where she could drop it on his head if he approached, then started moving towards him. Corvayne made to dash in and Lady Blood Claw was too tired or out of it to note it, her sword slamming down and demolishing a few tiles and knocking dust loose. A bird that had been roosting in the scaffolding flapped it's wings.

Corvayne moved forward and landed a solid right hook on her jaw, sending the wounded Lady Blood Claw flying.

Preshe sounded upset. “You hit her!” but he held a hand up to still her protest. He walked over to LBC and offered his hand. Teal sadness, brown with orange circles telling him she was hurt, wavering to camo for physical pain. Orange washing over everything. Annoyance at herself, the state she was in, how she had fucked up trying to confront the Magus. What her skin didn't say, [[Unity]] told him.

“We'll fight again tomorrow.” He did not want to fight her. He wanted her to be better. He stamped down feelings that she didn't want him to burden her with. “We'll keep going until you win again, then keep going after that. As many times as it takes.”

Ignoring the warm star of Preshe internally saying 'DAWWWWW' while keeping a somber expression, Corvayne helped Lady to her feet. She used his shoulder to steady themselves as he walked her to the circle of plants. Laying her down, he helped her take the stopper off a potion that they had made with the mint duckweed and that Preshe had flavored with chocolate syrup to make less minty. It was overpowering in smell but Lady downed it.

“Tell me the plan so far.” She insisted, taking her own water stone with a hand even while huffing to water her plants.

“Fine. When we find the couriers guild, it will be easier to reach. We send a message to... Zin Dusty Spur Sparkling Blur Barrel.” He gave Preshe a look when that elicited a giggle. “He's a diplomat and has arranged prisoner exchanges in the past. We negotiate with him at neutral ground.”

“Where?” Lady coughed, and Preshe heard a wet sound and rushed to turn her over to help her cough up a wad of fruit.

“That's something that we want to look into, as well as if any of these deals mysteriously go sour because the cultivators decide to strike.”

Preshe puffed herself up. “Between me and Gylwin, they will get more than we-”

LCB corrected her. “Than they.”

“Than they bargained for.”

Corvayne wasn't that confident. “Our growth has been rapid, but on floor 40 the expected level of monsters is, per library notes, between sixty to a hundred. They also are better organized then the groups we see on this floor.”

“If they send an elder we are fucked.” Lady Blood Claw muses.

“Perhaps we should have traded hostages.” Corvayne shrugged. “I think in my gut he would have gotten away, and harmed one of us in the process. We took his toys away, so if he can somehow keep tracking us, he'll have to find new gear and catch up to the truck.”

Right now the truck was taking a back in duckweed when it wasn't time to work on something in the workshop. It really needed a compact mode.

Lady took a deep breath. “What if they do send an elder?”

“That's where we hit a snag. A potential potion on Gylwin is what I'd use to counter it anything up to a level one thousand, but we can't buy a big ticket item like that without attracting attention.”

Preshe looked between them. “Can't we just out level them?”

Corvayne went with what Gylwin had told him, paraphrased. “It's like when we spar I can beat you despite levels. Supposedly, leveling up makes you live longer. Someone living on the 20th floor for a few thousand years is going to be difficult to catch up with in a reasonable time frame, and you are an inexperienced level 200 something and they have been fighting at that level for untold ages.”

“Other ideas.” Lady Blood Claw snapped.

“Stealth or Trickery. We extract Kirae. But that is risky, as we assume she's on Fistful mountain somewhere in the Ranch of Heavens.”

“Defenses?”

“Depending on the time of year, Snowfall where we leave tracks. Low cover to the walls. Tall walls, patrolled by both numerous weaker sect members and the big shots in ten gallon hats. They also will have a Ki barrier.”

Preshe started taking notes. Lady Blood Claw just circled her finger. “Outer defenses then. What are the options?”

“Walk backwards to the wall to make them look for someone who escaped. Burrow under. The shield we can crack in an unusual manner, just a matter of seeing if doing so triggers an alarm.”

“Bomb in one place, breach on the opposite side.” Preshe offered.

“No, because once they are on alert, you make it harder.” Lady Blood Claw tisked her, and Preshe frowned. “If you want to do that, it's as a last resort to make an escape.”

“I think if we attempt to rely on running after tripping an alarm, we lose. Those flying swords were fast and I bet they are not the best models the sect has.”

Lady Blood Claw nodded. “Expect any territory near theirs to either be completely under their thumb or under something else so strong it keeps them in check.”

“We heard it's a big plain around a mountain range, with huge lodges as sub-families.”

“Sub families... trickery or diplomacy?” Lady Blood Claw looked like she wanted to close her eyes.

“We need more info, but if we can divide and conquer? I'm all about that.”

“One other idea. Pacts.” LBC waved a finger and tried to fend Preshe putting a pillow under her silvery hair.

Corvayne nodded. “If push comes to shove... I'll explore less savory options.”

“They started it.” She said, half asleep.

Preshe looked at Corvayne. “Can you keep her company? I was going to work some more.”

It was obvious what the girl was up to, but Corvayne sat by his tall alien friend anyway as she fell into fitful sleep. It would give him time to think and plan, anyway.