- Joseph Babbot -

He was surprised to see the three boys walk into his office. He remembered two of them from the recruitment cycle, but not the third. He supposed it would come to him eventually. They were such adorable children, even if they were getting older. He thought it was a terrible shame that they would soon be adults in the world of cultivators, and have to deal with the soul-killing paperwork that came with it. Of course there was the violence, and politics, as well, but honestly he preferred that. Which is why he had so expertly delegated the majority of his work to Junior Antony. The man had proven himself quite capable with such menial tasks. He wondered how he did it.

He returned his attention to the boys. They bowed, as was expected, before greeting him, "Greetings Elder Babbot, we were ordered to report to you, sir." Then they raised their heads at the same time. He was impressed by their choreography. "Ah yes, hello children, would you like some candy?"

He reached into a drawer and pulled out some blue rock candy. They politely accepted, and he delighted in their smiles. "So, what can I do for you, boys?"

"Due to certain circumstances, sir, I need to register with the sect recruitment office," the unfamiliar boy said, before handing over a jade slip. He read through the report it contained. "Hmmm... I see. Well this is all very interesting, but I don't handle that sort of thing. Here, take these forms to Antony Hall. He'll take care of it." He then discreetly made a copy of the report, which he handed back to the boy, along with the paperwork, before quietly pocketing the original jade slip.

The boys bowed, then left, and he departed shortly after them.

Within a few minutes, he was standing in front of the door to the Sect Leader's office. An intern opened the door for him. When he entered he was greeted by the sight of a dozen men and women buried in piles of paperwork, jade slips, and other miscellaneous offerings to the machine of bureaucracy. At the back of the room was the Sect Leader's desk, which was similarly covered in piles of work. He walked over and peeked behind the desk, where he saw a severely aged woman, with a hunched back, brown skin wrinklier than a dried fruit, thin gray hair, kept in short braids, and wearing glasses with inch thick lenses. He suspected she didn't need the glasses, but wore them to look more officious when dealing with her junior bureaucrats. He dared not guess her age, but he secretly wondered if she'd been around when Coyote gave fire to the first people.

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"Greeting Sect Leader," he said, as he bowed. When she didn't reply, he looked up. Then he realized she hadn't moved, either. He chuckled to himself, before carefully whispering to her, "Esmerelda, wake up, please." She jumped slightly in her seat, then wiped drool off her chin, before looking over at him, "hah? Oh, Joseph, what is it?"

"I have something interesting to discuss with you. Perhaps we can step outside?"

"Interesting? Hmmm... how interesting?"

"Perhaps interesting enough to share that flask you're hiding in your desk," he said.

She grinned, and quickly tucked something into her robes. "Alright, let's talk outside. Heheheh," her laugh turned into a cough, then she excused herself, telling her secretary that she didn't feel well, and would be retiring for the evening.

He knew her tricks, so he waited politely, then met her in a gazebo that was set up within leaping distance of Administrative Peak. It was a floating gazebo that was kept stationary in the air with a series of complicated wind, and spatial arrays. It also had a mess of privacy protection arrays, so that the Sect Leader could speak freely with whomever she pleased.

When he arrived, she was already drinking from her flask. She offered it to him, and he took a sip as well. The fruity flavor of the wine went down nicely. "Tell me, Joseph. What's so interesting that you woke me up from my nap?"

He handed her the jade slip. "I assume you've already been given a more detailed report by the security office, but I also assume it's buried somewhere in a pile on one of those desks in there," he said, pointing his thumb back at her office. She only took a moment to look through it, then said, "hmmm.. I'll have someone bring me the full report. You're right. This could be interesting." She grinned, as she pulled a piece of paper out of her robe. She scribbled a short message on it, before folding it into a triangle, and flicking it back toward her office. It flew with speed and precision, in an impossible circuit before entering a door, and disappearing from sight. He didn't envy the head of the person that would stop its trajectory.

They made small talk for a while, taking sips from her flask, while they waited for a response. Even at the speed of executive privilege, the wheels of bureaucracy turned slowly. Finally, someone brought a report to the gazebo, and they both looked over it. "What do you think, Joseph?"

"Well, they're just children. They seem innocent enough. You should've seen their faces when I gave them some of my rock candy!"

"Oh, Joseph, you're never too old to enjoy candy, but I see your point."

"Do you think this is personal?"

"I'm not sure, but regardless of the intent, I assume you know what this means, since you brought this to my attention."

"Yes, I'm afraid so. What would you like me to do?"

"Do nothing for now. Just do your job, and report to me if anything else comes up. I'll redirect the relevant reports to come directly to me. I might even have to make a trip of my own soon. Thank you for bringing this to me. It'll be a lovely excuse to avoid work for a few years! Hahahahaha!" She passed him the flask, and he laughed with her.