The trial had been in progress for hours now, but Lord Braxand had hardly looked away from her the entire time. His stare was filled with pure malice, and she could only imagine the horrible things he would try and do to her if he were given the opportunity.
As Felix had suspected, the word ‘trial’ was misleading since the City Lord acted as the final judge on this matter and he was already certain of the man’s guilt from the start. She, and a few other individuals, were called in as key witnesses to give their accounts of what crimes Lord Braxand had committed or had them commit on his behalf. Each new offense was recorded in detail by a scribe into a large tome, which would eventually be placed into the city archives.
Several times throughout her testimony, members of the audience shouted out their own accusations and demanded justice for her part in his plans. Each time, the City Lord silenced them with a blast of his aura and would simply declare, “The witnesses are not on trial, today.”
By the end of the proceedings, Samantha was a nervous wreck. She was desperately hoping that things would go differently than Felix predicted.
“I’ve heard enough to make a judgment.” the Ruler said, and the room fell to anticipatory silence. “Lord Godric Braxand, Fifth of your name. You have been found guilty of high treason, murder, theft, intimidation…”
As each crime was listed off, and acted as an additional nail in his coffin, Samantha’s stomach twisted itself into knots.
“... I hereby sentence you to death. Do you have any last words or final requests?”
Samantha felt a wave of relief pass over her when the verdict was announced. She turned to look at Lord Braxand to see what his reaction would be, but was disturbed to see that he was smiling at her.
“I do. I humbly request that I instead be allowed to ascend with the other members of my family who have been exiled. They were originally planning to depart in three weeks time, but considering the circumstances, we will leave when you command.”
Samantha’s eyes darted to the Ruler, who looked to be considering the proposition. If she didn’t suspect that this outcome had likely been agreed upon by the two men beforehand, she would’ve been quite convinced.
“I accept your proposal,” the Ruler said, “I will decide your ascension date and announce it by the end of the day.”
Lord Braxand bowed his head in respect, “My thanks.”
The City Lord stood and clapped his hands three times, “This concludes the proceedings! My appreciation to all in attendance for arriving on short notice.”
The Ruler turned in Samantha’s direction and met her gaze. He subtly gestured for her to follow him, and then whispered something to a Palace Guard he passed upon exiting the room. The guard approached her as the rest of the attendees and witnesses filtered out and led her to a separate room where the Ruler was waiting for her. On a table in front of the City Lord was a familiar looking alchemy vial.
“Tell me, is this the second elixir Harold made, or has Lord Braxand lied to me?” he said without preamble.
“I believe so, though I admit it feels more potent than when I had stolen it.” she confessed.
He nodded, then pocketed the elixir, “With my Head Alchemist dead and Harold Greene missing, I just needed someone else to confirm. Speaking of which, do you know what happened to those two? You retrieved the antidote for Daisy, so you must know something.”
Samantha felt that unknown chill pass through her again–the same as when she had told him about Lord Braxand’s plans in the shopping square. Based on his words at the time, it must be some sort of art that would alert the Peak Bronze if she was being untruthful. So, she had a decision to make. Did she tell the Ruler the whole truth? Or did she just tell him what was technically true?
She had told Harold that she would protect him until they reached the second floor, and as much as she disliked and distrusted the man, he had kept his end of their bargain. She got the sense that the Ruler would not treat Harold kindly if he found him, and so decided to keep the full details of her interactions with Harold to herself. “Head alchemist Valena was dead when I arrived. Harold was alive, but unconscious, and appeared to be the only other person present in the lab. I woke Harold and had his help with identifying the antidote, but then I left. I don’t know where he went afterwards.”
Omitting the fact that Harold had gained a Vortex Mark from killing Valena hopefully wouldn’t count as a lie, and saying she didn’t know where Harold went afterwards was a bit of a stretch, but she thought it would still ring true. She had given him a recommendation of where to go, but that didn’t mean that he listened to her.
The feeling of the mysterious art vanished when she finished speaking, “Very well. You speak the truth. Now, onto your part in all of this…”
Samantha suddenly stopped worrying about Harold and started worrying about herself.
“...As the City Lord, my opinion of your actions are ambivalent. You confessed your role in Lord Braxand’s plans yourself in the trial earlier, but in the end you were also instrumental in his downfall. As a fellow cultivator, however, you have my gratitude. You saved my bond, and helped me overcome my foe in battle. As a bonus, I received a version of the elixir I wanted, though it is not as potent as the original.” he gave her a sideways look at that last sentence.
He continued, “However the public will not be so kind. Your family name will be tarnished with your actions, not to mention gaining the ire of House Braxand. The Crays will not be welcome in this city, fair or not, but I am not unsympathetic. For your contributions to the successful curbing of the spirit beast incursion and for helping me, I have seen fit to offer you a small boon.”
“Is there any way for you to delay Lord Braxand’s exile? I am planning on ascending in the next day or two, and he will be out for my blood. A head start would be most welcome.” she requested immediately.
“You’re also allowing your family to disown you by ascending? That’s not a bad strategy to protect them from public opinion, but it won’t be enough to dissuade house Braxand from seeking revenge.” he said thoughtfully, and Samantha didn’t see fit to correct him on her true reasons. “That is done easily enough, I will just have him and his family members ascend in three weeks as they originally planned. However, I do not consider that to be a boon. Ask for something else.”
Samantha considered asking for something to further help her family, but she believed that they would be in good hands with Tiny and Felix escorting them. With them selling their shop and her handing over her gold and the spirit pearls she had collected, they should be well off financially as well. So, that left asking for something for herself. There were many things that would be helpful before she ascended, but there was one thing that was much harder for her to get than others.
“Do you have a high quality Low Bronze cultivation technique that I could learn? I’m still using a Mid Copper technique.” she asked.
At these words the Ruler looked almost affronted, “Mid Copper at your rank? That’s… yes a Low Bronze technique is certainly within my power to give you. I should warn you though that the best quality patterns are strictly protected by the families that use them. I can use my authority to force them to loosen their grip slightly, but you will still likely need to go to their estate in person to read the manual. They would also require you to submit to a [Geas] so that you can’t pass the knowledge you gain to anyone else before ascending. Is that agreeable to you?”
“Yes, that’s very reasonable.”
“Good. Would you prefer a technique that focuses more on qi pool size, qi regeneration, or balance?”
“Do you have a recommendation? I don’t know what to expect with a Low Bronze technique.”
He looked her over once, then tapped his chin a few times before answering, “If you had plenty of time to rest between fights, I would always recommend a qi pool focused technique. Unless you’re out in the wilderness often, or fighting a war, that’s the best option for most cultivators on the first floor. For the second floor, we have no idea what the conditions will be like. In that case, high qi regeneration might save your life if you are caught in an extended battle, or need to engage in multiple battles over a short period of time. That would be my choice.”
Samantha’s current technique focused on qi pool size, since it came with knowledge about [Sage’s Rumination] to offset the low regeneration rate. It had served her well thus far, but after taking an entire night to rest and still not waking with a full qi pool she could see his point. She also recalled how limited she had felt after helping Daisy and then fighting in the tunnels shortly afterwards because her qi reserves were so low.
“I will take your advice. High qi regeneration sounds good.” she answered.
“Excellent choice! I’ll send word to Lady Tarlock that you’ll be stopping by soon. If you plan to go today, wait an hour or two before heading over so my messenger has time to inform her and she can prepare for your arrival.”
Samantha raised her eyebrows when hearing the family name. Of the Big Three, the Tarlocks were the only family she hadn’t had any interaction with yet.
Seeing her reaction, the Ruler laughed lightly, “Don’t worry, Lady Tarlock is much friendlier than Lord Braxand, and less manipulative. Not to mention she owes me a favor, so she’ll treat you fairly–mostly. Read through the terms of the [Geas] carefully, and don’t let them intimidate you into an unreasonable agreement. You are there as my guest, and this favor is owed to me, not you.”
The City Lord turned to leave, and a question slipped out of Samantha’s mouth before her brain could stop it, “Will I get to use the real Registrar’s Hall before I ascend, to complete the core quest?”
The Ruler paused his gait, then faced her again with a calculating expression, “Now, who told you about that?”
Samantha didn’t reply.
“No matter… I suppose knowledge of the original Hall’s existence isn’t possible to suppress completely. To answer your question, yes. It is a prerequisite for going through the obelisk. However, once your core quest is updated I will have someone ensure that you immediately ascend so you can’t communicate what you’ve learned. This is a matter of city security, you understand. I suggest you say your goodbyes before you register, because you will not get another chance to see your loved ones after you do.”
“Why prevent cultivators from completing their core quest, or learning about it?”
He smiled wryly at her, “You’ve already chosen your boon, and I won’t give you another. Oh, and before I forget… Good luck on the next floor, Samantha Cray. If you manage to return to Yivesh someday, or send any useful information back to us, you and your family will be richly rewarded.”
----------------------------------------
Samantha briefly returned to Cray’s Creations to fetch her equipment. The shop was bustling with activity because her parents had taken her advice and were frantically making sales on anything that wasn’t nailed down. Even things like the shelving or display racks were up for grabs, if the price was right.
She pushed her way through the crowded entryway and donned her armor, which she was happy to see had been patched up during her absence. She set a box containing the gifts she purchased for her family in a prominent spot on her bed, along with a note on top so they would know it was for them. Then, she grabbed her spear on the way down the stairs. Upon exiting the shop was stopped by a very angry Thomas.
“I can’t believe you’ve done this to our family, Sam. You’ve ruined us.” he accused.
Samantha tried to move past him, “I don’t have time to talk about this now, but I’ll be back to say goodbye to everyone tonight at the Western Gate.”
Thomas grabbed her by the upper arm, “No. I’m not waiting that long. I warned you at the start that getting involved with that mortal wasn’t worth the risk or the effort, and you refused to listen to me. Now look at what’s happened.”
Samantha snatched her arm out of his grip, a little surprised by the ease at which she was able to do so, “Don’t try to use my interactions with Aiden to fuel your jaded perspective. If you want to really blame someone, blame the three Braxand brothers who attacked me and tried to steal Silas before I had even become a proper cultivator. Blame Lord Braxand, who’s greed for power resulted in the deaths of who knows how many good people.”
Thomas’s lip curled in irritation, “Jaded perspective? It’s called reality, Sam. You had no right to meddle in other people’s affairs when you weren’t even strong enough to protect yourself.”
“So I should just wait until I’m… what… Silver before I attempt to help anyone or care about anything? Is that what you’ve been trying to do? There’s always going to be someone stronger! I used to think that your distance from the family after becoming a cultivator was born out of practicality, but now I understand that it was just fear. I bet you even slowed down on your cultivation progression because you were afraid of somehow offending or overshadowing others.”
Her words seemed to have hit a sore spot with him then, because he attempted to hit her. Samantha saw the punch coming and smoothly leaned out of the path of his blow. Wanting to get some distance and prevent this from becoming an all out brawl in the street, Samantha put a point into [Swift] then pushed him backwards with both hands.
She must’ve pushed a bit harder than she planned.
Thomas stumbled backwards before falling on his rear nearly 10 feet away. He crossed his arms but remained sitting on the cobbles, “A couple of weeks ago I would’ve been able to land that punch, no problem. Your advancement speed is unfair.”
Seeing an opportunity to defuse the situation, Samantha responded, “Maybe you just taught me too well?”
Thomas sighed, then picked himself up and brushed the dirt from his clothes, “I know it’s not really your fault, and I shouldn’t have blamed you for everything that’s happened. I just… I had a good thing going here you know? My life was easy. The ladies loved me. I was starting to make connections with powerful people. Now that’s all gone.”
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“I’ve heard from Tiny that Yivesh is a small city in comparison to others. Will you be going with the rest of the family to resettle elsewhere, or will you try and rebuild things here? I bet you’d do even better in a larger city.”
“I’m leaving with everyone. It’s never a bad thing to have another cultivator around when traversing the wilderness, and we might be on the road for quite a while. They’ll need all the help they can get. Maybe I’ll even pick up a few tricks from that Low Bronze.” Thomas said somewhat dejectedly.
“Knowing you’ll be going along puts my mind at ease, thank you.”
Thomas looked at her, then up towards the blue sky and blinked rapidly a few times, “I’m really going to miss you. I was so excited when you became a cultivator like me, and I could show you the ropes. I had all these plans to introduce you to my friends, take you to the best parties… but I guess this is really it. I’m sorry you never really got to enjoy your life as a cultivator before you got pulled into all the scheming and backstabbing.”
Samantha crossed the distance to pull him into a warm embrace, “I’ll miss you too, Thomas. Like I said, I’ll see you all at the Western Gate tonight.”
Thomas returned her hug, and they stayed like that for a few moments before he pulled away, “Try to find a way back to us, if you can–even just sending us a message that you’re okay is fine.”
“I’ll do my best.” she promised.
----------------------------------------
Samantha had once again begun tracking Silas through the city with their binding thread. Since she wasn’t interested in wasting time trying to navigate the waterways, she was following him above ground until the right conditions presented themselves. This time, it didn’t take too long until she found what she needed.
The binding thread told her that Silas was directly below her, and there was a storm drain nearby that was just large enough for her to squeeze through. Once she removed the cover from the drain, she attempted to transport herself beside Silas with [Jackalope of All Trades]. After investing 10 qi into the art, she felt the world around her crawl to a standstill and the binding thread twisted and shifted to find a suitable path of travel. After a moment, the binding thread locked into place and pulled her through the hole in the ground.
Samantha was whipped through the waterways at incomprehensible speed. She got the vague sense of changing elevations a few times and making several turns, but everything around her was a blur of motion that passed too quickly to register with her senses. As abruptly as it began, it ended, and Samantha was left standing slightly disoriented in a large, mostly dry, tunnel. She scanned the area and found Silas lying down a few feet away. He appeared to be asleep.
At a glance, she could tell that he was covered in small injuries but otherwise looked close to the same as before. The main difference was his body seemed larger. Upon closer inspection, she found that wasn’t exactly correct. His body looked to be the same size, but there was now a notable addition to his frame–a set of brown and green feathered wings that emerged from his back. The wings were wrapped around his sleeping form like a blanket, and that was what made it seem like he had grown larger.
Wanting to give him the antidote quickly and quietly, Samantha pulled out what remained of the precious liquid and snuck over to him with [Cloud Step] so as not to make any noise. When she hovered above him, she poured the few drops that remained into an open wound that had not yet healed, and he immediately spasmed awake. In seconds she felt the fuzziness that still lingered in their binding thread fade away, and it became as clear as it had ever been.
“Ow! That stings.” Silas complained.
“Glad to have you back, buddy! I see you’ve changed a lot in the short time we’ve been apart.” Samantha joked, relieved to have her companion back to his normal self.
“Changed? I do feel… different. Is there something in my mouth? It feels funny.”
Silas proceeded to open his mouth as wide as he could to give Samantha a better look inside, which was strangely horrifying. While his mouth was closed, it seemed to Samantha that other than a more powerful looking jaw not much had changed. When it was open, it was a completely different story.
Silas could now open his mouth almost a full 180 degrees, which left Samantha looking into an intimidatingly toothy maw. She noticed that his incisors had grown in length and looked even sharper than before–like freshly honed chisels. Next to his incisors were the addition of large canine teeth that would’ve looked much more at home on a wolf, and they were almost as long as his incisors. The rest of his teeth appeared to be much the same as they were before his evolution, and appeared more geared for grinding up plant matter than rending flesh.
“Yeah… your teeth have definitely changed. I expect that if you bite someone now they’re going to really be hurting afterwards. But I wasn’t referring to that, I was talking about those.” Samantha said, pointing to Silas’s wings.
Silas turned his head, caught sight of the feathery appendages, and growled. It was not the growl of a cute bunny anymore, but a low, deep rumble that reverberated in her chest.
The wings flapped a couple of times experimentally, then Silas stopped growling, “Oh. It’s not a bird! It’s me. Does this mean I can fly?”
The flapping intensified and Silas rose a couple of feet off the ground. His flight lasted for a few seconds before he lost stability and landed flat on his back with his legs flailing in the air.
Now that she could clearly see his paws, she noted that those had also changed slightly. While before his claws were always extended, now they were retractable and more talon-like. He also had grown a sort of clawed ‘thumb’ appendage on the side of his paws that would make gripping things with his talons easier. She had seen something similar on a domesticated pet once–the owner had said it was ‘polydactyl’. She watched in fascination as the sharp, curved hooks appeared and disappeared from his feet repeatedly, until he finally righted himself and tucked his wings away along his back.
“Did you see that? I can fly!” he exclaimed proudly.
“That was great!” she encouraged, “With a bit more practice, I’m sure that will be useful. By the way, where is your vest?”
Silas looked down at himself, “I’m not sure. I could find it eventually if I searched, though.”
She sighed and shook her head, “We don’t have a lot of time. You probably tore it off when you were changing since it was in the way of your wings.
“Sorry, Samantha. You had that made just for me.”
“It’s alright. It served its purpose well while we had it, and it wouldn’t have fit you anymore anyway. Maybe we can buy some materials to put something together. I was planning on doing a bit of shopping today, so I’ll just look for something to fit your new form at the same time.”
Silas and Samantha walked through the waterways until they found a suitable exit, killing and harvesting a few more spirit beasts on the way. From her understanding, these bug-like beasts bred and replicated quickly, and she wouldn’t be surprised if Yivesh struggled to get rid of the creatures for a long time. On the bright side, having a continuous source of low grade spirit pearls would probably help the economy if they could keep the infestation under control.
The first place Samantha visited was a Scribing Center, where cultivators like herself could pay to have their understanding of an art infused into a one-time use Combat Art Manual. The process went quickly due to her mind meridian retaining all the relevant information the scribe needed. After demonstrating [Indomitable Body], the scribe used a special utility art to capture the pattern she was cycling and seal that insight into the pages of the book.
After that errand was completed, Samantha went and purchased a few additional supplies for Harold with her new spirit pearls, along with a mundane sack to hold everything. She also was able to find a couple small belts with pouches attached that–with a little alteration–would serve as a temporary replacement for Silas’s vest. It wouldn’t hold nearly as much, but it would be better than nothing. Then, she restocked her healing items and herb supplies to store in the belt, though she couldn’t afford the best quality with the limited cores she had on her person.
Shopping done, Samantha made her way to the Tarlock residence, where she initially received a warm welcome. As the Ruler had said, Lady Tarlock was approachable and friendly, but the mood soured somewhat when Samantha did not immediately agree to the terms of the [Geas]. The Tarlock family had written up the terms of the [Geas] in a paper contract which included a stipulation that would require her to keep the secret of the cultivation technique for the rest of her life. Samantha insisted that the [Geas] would be fulfilled once she ascended, and the Tarlocks begrudgingly made her desired changes to the contract. Once Samantha was satisfied with the terms, she accepted the [Geas] to ‘Abide by the terms of the Tarlock’s written contract signed by Samantha Cray’, and was allowed access to the relevant tome.
Despite the somewhat rough start, things went much more smoothly than she expected. Lady Tarlock went above and beyond to help her learn the technique in a single day, personally helping Samantha understand some of the finer intricacies. Whereas before Samantha had to learn everything mostly by trial and error, having a true expert guide her through the difficult sections made all the difference. It only took her a few hours to fully grasp and begin integrating the pattern.
Although it typically took time for a cultivation system to acclimate to a completely new pattern she could already see the effects in her updated stats. She couldn’t believe how drastic the changes were. The art alone would’ve given her a pool size of 50 and a qi regeneration rate of +10 qi/ hour. Taking into account the +24 to qi pool from her cleared meridians, her qi saturated body, and the 20% overall qi pool and regen increase from Rank 2 of [Jackalope of All Trades], the potency of the Low Bronze cultivation technique was unreal. The Peerless Tempest pattern ended up giving her a qi pool of 177.6 and +24 qi/hour (or +48 qi/hour with [Sage’s Rumination]). If Samantha had [Sage’s Rumination] active, she could refill her entire qi pool from empty in less than four hours now. It was a huge improvement over the near 16 hour refill time of the Vital Wellspring technique she had been using.
By the time she left the Tarlock’s estate it was getting dark outside. Her time frame for meeting with her family was coming up soon, so she rushed over to the Courier’s Center to take care of one final task. In case Jacob hadn’t already heard the news of Lord Braxand’s trial and subsequent sentenced ascension, she wanted to make sure he knew that some measure of justice for Aiden’s death had been served. Originally she feared that telling Jacob anything about Lord Braxand’s involvement would be as good as offering herself and her family up for slaughter, but the trial changed things. It was only a matter of time before word got around about Lord Braxand’s actions–and that included her own involvement in his schemes.
Though she wanted to give him the news directly, she feared she would soon be viewed as a pariah. If she was seen associating with Jacob by any of the numerous parties that likely wished her harm, it could cause him trouble. A letter would have to suffice. She penned the following note and paid to have it delivered to Jacob’s shop:
Jacob,
As I mentioned to you, the time for my ascension draws near. I will be departing the floor by the end of today, so this will be our last communication.
You may have already heard news of Lord Braxand’s trial, but if not, he was the one ultimately responsible for Aiden’s death. He has been sentenced to ascension, and his family is being heavily fined by Yivesh for the damages he’s caused. The alchemist Harold Greene–who hired us for the fateful job and delayed my rescue of Aiden–has also been punished and will likely be ascending soon as well. I’ve done all I could to bring those responsible to justice, and I hope this brings you some measure of peace.
Live well,
Samantha Cray
After handing the note over to a clerk, she hurried over to the Western Gate in hopes she would beat her parents there and could have a few extra minutes saying goodbye. When she arrived and saw they were already waiting for her. Apparently, she wasn’t the only person with that mindset.
Her parents were seated on a covered wagon which was hitched to two large, mundane draft horses, and parked just beyond the outside of the city walls. She could see Tiny and Felix having a conversation about 50 feet away, likely doing their best to give the Crays some privacy. She saw some of her extended family also packed for the journey, but most of them pointedly ignored her arrival. Clearly they were not happy with her or this turn of events.
Upon spotting her, her parents rushed over to greet her. They hugged and cried for several minutes, doing nothing except enjoying each other’s presence before the inevitable separation. Once they regained some of their composure and could speak to each other properly, her parents led her over to the wagon where they had stashed her backpack.
“We added a few things to remember us by, as well as a small money pouch. We also packed fresh food supplies and already filled your canteen with water–it took two people to lift this into the cart, by the way.” her father said with some laughter.
For fun, Samantha went over to the overstuffed bag and lifted it with one arm. Admittedly, it was heavy, but she played it off like it didn’t take any effort at all, “Oh, it’s not as bad as I thought.” She winked at her parents. “By the way, did you see the box I left on my bed for you both?”
“We did… we haven’t opened it yet though. It’s securely packed in the wagon right now.” her mother said with a sad smile.
Samantha nodded, swallowing to try and clear the tightness from her throat, “I got you and dad some parting gifts as well. Just a few small things. I had been trying to find a good time to give them to you, but… it looks like this is it, now. I also wrote some letters for you to read! I know it won’t be the same as being with you…”
Her parents hugged her tightly again, “We’ll cherish them every day.”
This entire time, Silas had been strutting around the area while puffing his new feathers and flexing his wings. He even jumped a few times just so he could glide and land on the ground–a feat that seemed much easier for him to control than actually flying.
Finally taking notice of his antics, her mother wiped her eyes and cooed at him, “Oh, and look at you Silas! Don’t you look so handsome with your new wings!”
In reply, Silas opened his mouth and displayed all of his teeth proudly.
“W-Wow! So… imposing!” Martha stuttered.
“Cut it out Silas, you’re scaring them.” She said aloud for the benefit of her parents. “Why don’t you go and…” Samantha quickly scanned the area and saw Thomas had just arrived with his parents, “...show your new wings to Thomas!”
Silas snorted at her and jumped high into the air, proceeding to glide off in Thomas’s direction.
Samantha turned her attention back to her parents and tried to return to a less emotionally charged topic, “Where did you guys get the wagon and the horses?”
Aldon smiled conspiratorially, “We made so much money today! Because of the incursion, everyone and their brother was in the market for weapons and armor. We were one of the few shops open and in good shape, we sold out our entire stock before the day was over. Then, once word got around that we were selling the location, we had multiple bids on the building. Two shop owners who had lost their businesses in one of the wealthy districts got into a bidding war, and we ended up getting much more than the shop was actually worth as a result. I might even retire once we get to the new city!”
Martha slapped him playfully on the shoulder, “No you won’t! You’ll be bored within a week and bothering me all the while!”
Her parents bickered back and forth for a bit, and Samantha’s heart ached at the familiar sight. She hugged them again, wanting to remember the sensation of their warmth.
They spent several more minutes fussing over Samantha, telling her to be careful and safe, and all other things that loving parents typically said when seeing their children off. All too quickly their window of time together closed, and she eventually had to pull herself away. She went around the area to try and at least say a few parting words to everyone there, but not everyone had kind words for her. Her uncle, Thomas’s father, actually called her a blight on the Cray name and said she caused nothing but trouble. This nearly caused a fist fight between him and Aldon.
After that, she said her final goodbyes to Thomas, and he attempted to give the Vital Wellspring Cultivation manual back to her. She informed him that he could keep it, since she had acquired a Low Bronze technique and it would serve him better than her now. She also gifted him the freshly scribed [Indomitable Body] manual, and the unused elixir that went along with it. She told him that if he decided to open his skin meridian he would receive a boost to the art’s efficiency, but trusted that he would make the choice that was best for him.
She went over to Tiny and Felix to thank them and wish them well, and ended her farewells with her parents at the wagon again. As she hoisted the heavy pack over her shoulders, and carried the extra bag that she had made for Harold Greene, she took one last look at her departing family. With all ‘I love you’s and ‘I’ll miss you’s having been exchanged and repeated, lingering would only make separation hurt more.
She turned her back on everyone she loved and made her way to the Lord’s Palace. It was time to complete her core quest and register at the true hall before ascending.