Omilaena realized that she was a hypocrite. Oh, she gleefully accepted her hypocrisy in many contexts, but this one had sneaked up on her and it rankled just a bit.
She had been persuading the other two that they needed to diversify their strength and take on new avenues, only to fail to do so herself. She still relied on Heart of Poison and Lethal Artisan, both skills she'd learned on her home continent. For all the poisons and reagents that she'd gained on Deadwaste, she still wasn't using mana or qi as a primary source of power.
In theory, she wanted to wait until she was ready, but the problem was that she would never be ready. There was just too much they still didn't know about the world, so they had to forge some paths themselves. Kai and Zae Zin Nim were actually doing more to break new ground than she was, which was good for her experiments and bad for her ego.
All of that would change if she could just reach the Great Library of Traebor. She was stronger than before and she'd done so much research, now she could truly use the forbidden resources. And just when she gained the capability, politics got in the way.
She'd actually spent a significant portion of time checking on old contacts to better understand the situation. Unfortunately, the Commonwealth of Traebor was truly dangerous now, especially for people like them. Running in with fists swinging would be utterly foolish at their current strength. Which meant yet another barrier put up in front of her, another hurdle on her impossible path...
Where was Zae Zin Nim, anyway? Omilaena began spinning a needle around her fingers, burning off nervous energy. Too many thoughts, not enough actions.
There were other secondary goals she could hit on her way to the Great Library. Now that she had more experience, she wanted to visit the Insanities found on the continent. Maybe not the Slumbering Colossus, but the First Crest was a mystery no one had cracked. Just making the attempt might give her enough information to break through somewhere.
By far the riskiest of her goals would be to confront the great powers of Rosemount. Four allegedly unstoppable forces, likely four different god abilities she needed to understand. The problem was that every single one of those powers was by definition a huge threat. The Windlord, the Empress, the Elven Elders, and now this new demon cultivator... she couldn't come up with any vaguely plausible plans that would allow her to get close to them. It seemed like pure suicide.
"I am ready," Zae Zin Nim said as she arrived. "But I hope this theft does not bring too much trouble."
"I was being a bit hyperbolic. Come on, I'll explain on the way." Omilaena gestured over her shoulder and they headed out of Roseport.
"So what is a forge tree?" the other woman asked.
"It's an unnatural plant that only grows on Rosemount. When the tree blossoms, it emits flames in all directions, intense enough to kill most warriors. The blossoms themselves are made of something called rose steel, which is stronger than anything I can access."
"So we go through the fire to get them? And we're stealing from whoever owns the tree?"
"Not exactly." Omilaena touched Zae Zin Nim's shoulder to guide her down a side street and noted how the other woman twitched strangely. "There's another twist: the forge tree burns hottest when it first blossoms, then slowly cools down. As it does, the rose steel hardens and gains more impurities."
"Thus it's best to take them when it's most dangerous. I understand, but you still haven't answered the question."
"The completely cool rose steel is taken by the owner of the orchard. Before that point, there's a tradition that anyone who can brave the flames can take what they can carry. We're just going to take advantage of that tradition."
Zae Zin Nim nodded. "That's an acceptable risk. When did the tree blossom?"
"Just today. This is the purest the rose steel will ever be." Omilaena lowered her voice and didn't tease, since her advancement was in the other woman's hands. "I admit I don't have any solution that will allow someone to survive the forge tree. I'm relying on your coldfire for this."
"I see."
Since Cloudspire cultivators almost all behaved the same, no doubt the other woman was thinking about how this was an advantage for her. Well, this alliance would never work without some give and take. Omilaena explained a few of the other details as they left the city, but soon enough they had reached the orchard.
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It was filled with glorious trees... and a blackened circle at the end of the row. The forge tree looked like a massive jujube with flames where a normal tree would have had leaves. Even from the other side of the orchard they could feel the heat, and by the time they got to the region of dying grass it felt like they were sticking their faces directly in a bonfire.
"So the rose steel is those little gleaming buds?" Zae Zin Nim asked. She extended a hand and pulled it back with a frown. "There's pressure from both heat and chakra. If I have to go in slowly, I may not be able to endure."
"Don't worry, I'm not asking you to do this alone." Omilaena manifested a syringe filled with her special qi mixture - at least she'd developed a few useful tricks on Deadwaste. "This should massively boost your mana temporarily. I think you can do it, but if you feel otherwise, I won't force it."
For a while they just stood in front of the blast furnace, staring at the forge tree. Many techniques had been tried to knock away one of the rose steel buds, but the power of the tree was so intense that the tricks didn't work until later, when many warriors could survive. Omilaena had thought about options for a while and still thought this was their best choice.
After some time, Zae Zin Nim seemed to nod to herself. She'd made her decision, which meant she was in. That was more of a relief than Omilaena had expected.
"I will accept the injection," Zae Zin Nim said, "but it will likely still be difficult. Do you have any other plans?"
"I do actually have an anti-fire cream." Omilaena whipped the dark jar out of her bag, but then smirked. "But I'd have to apply it all over your body. Would you like to do that? You look like you could relax a little..."
"Don't be absurd." Zae Zin Nim was flushing and looking away, which just made her look more vulnerable.
"Are you only interested in men? Or do you just hate me in particular? You're going to make me lose confidence in my charms, and I don't think my ego co-"
"Enough!" Zae Zin Nim huffed and turned further away, but she was far too flushed for a little embarrassment. Omilaena was pretty sure she was looking at a woman who had never really thought through her sexuality.
Still, better not to tease her too much. She'd have to abandon all her joke ideas about whether Zae Zin Nim would prefer to receive an injection from Kai instead. Instead she finished their preparations, in particular a cable around the other woman's waist that could be used to pull her back if she collapsed. Finally she raised the syringe and took care to get Zae Zin Nim's permission before injecting the mana into her back, just beside her spine and into her heart.
To her credit, the cultivator didn't cry out at the pain and then immediately threw herself into the blaze. She only ran three steps before the heat of the forge tree brought her up short, reducing her to slow, painful steps. The flames were licking over her body, more spiritual than physical, and they would have given her horrible burns if the blue flames hadn't lit up to protect her.
As Zae Zin Nim staggered on, Omilaena watched her with more worry than she'd expected. It had been a long time since she really cared about someone as more than a tool. If it came to the worst, she'd throw herself in to get Zae Zin Nim back out.
Until then, she had no choice but to watch. Each step was an ordeal of willpower for Zae Zin Nim, but for Omilaena it was just a calculation. She knew how long her injection would last and she had strong estimates for the other woman's mana reservoirs. Would it be enough? It might be interesting if qi could be exchanged for mana, as chakra could sometimes imitate other energy, but the idea came far too late and there was no time, anyway.
When Zae Zin Nim reached the tree trunk, she swayed on her feet in the flames for a moment, then seemed to draw up her last strength. She reached up and began severing the buds with qi, then catching them in her hands. The rose gold would have burned through her flesh if more flames hadn't lit up, cradling them over her cupped palms.
Then she was stumbling back, this time moving with the blasting heat of the forge tree. When she stumbled Omilaena acted faster, pulling on the cable and jerking her aright. Finally Zae Zin Nim fell out of the burned zone, the rose steel falling from her hands.
Omilaena had planned to catch that first but found herself catching the exhausted woman instead. When she had Zae Zin Nim secure in one arm, Omilaena extended her other hand to snap up all the hissing rose steel. It had barely gained any impurities in the time in the air, and the coldfire gambit had let them be harvested well before their usual time.
They were still lethally hot, but that meant nothing to Omilaena. She drew in the chakra-forged metal with her skills as a Lethal Artisan, absorbing the fundamental design of the pure rose steel. It wouldn't be easy to create any of it herself, but she had a good supply and the design could be a foundation for so much future advancement.
"Was that... adequate?" Zae Zin Nim asked wearily.
"It was, you did brilliantly." Omilaena smiled down at her, not smirking this time. "I'll get you back to the inn and draw you a hot bath."
"No. Cool."
"Ha, I suppose so."
"Wait." Zae Zin Nim reached up and gripped the front of her dress with surprising strength despite her exhaustion. "Can you give me Physique injections like you did Kai? It would need to match my Blackblood technique. I... don't know if I can advance enough alone."
It was just begging for teasing, but Omilaena was touched by the vulnerable request. "I was just waiting for you to ask. We can start working on it once you're better."
Zae Zin Nim nodded, then seemed to frown. She struggled as if to get out of Omilaena's arms, then slumped back with a sigh. "Did you do all this to tease me? Did you... do something to make me compliant?"
"Not at all." Omilaena brushed some of her hair out of her face. "You've been purifying all traces of chakra before they reach your spirit, but now you got so much exposure you'll need to recover. So all you're feeling is exhaustion from a job well done."
"Hmph. You'd better not... take advantage..."
Omilaena smiled again, but it was too late, the other woman was asleep.