“What did you think about the Memorial?” she asked abruptly.
The sudden switch in topic was a bit jarring, but Ren rolled with it. “It was very heartfelt. The solidarity of the Luminous Temple even in the face of adversity, was truly inspirational.”
“True,” she turned around to face him. “Our commitments to one another bind us to be better versions of ourselves. Just like you have. I see that you’ve broken through to Tier 1 Essence. Congratulations”
“Thanks to your generosity, Honored Diviner.”
“Alas,” she spread her arms. “Our scales remain unbalanced. On the one hand, I just read the report of the damage you did to the Cultivation Chamber. It would cost me 50 gold to fix the enchantments in that room.”
“...”
“On the other hand, I still haven’t been able to restore you completely as was my duty under Kringle’s Mercy. Lucky for both of us, the Fractured Realm of Grothluk’s Demise provides an opportunity to even the scales.”
Ah. Here it comes. Is this what she was being so coy about?
“Tier 1 Acolyte Ren,” she said, and Ren’s eyelids twitched at the presumption that he’d already joined the Temple. “I have secured one of the Temple spots in —”
“Yes!”
“Yes?” Estrid looked miffed at having her obviously rehearsed speech interrupted.
“Yes. I’ll go.”
“Oh,” she schooled her expression but Ren could see her excitement in the subtle glimmer of her eyes, when she spoke next. “That’s good. The essence concentration in the Fractured Realm is immense. For someone of your cultivation level, it is an invaluable location for cultivation and purity of the essence is ideal for refining your core.”
More importantly, to have any hope of healing you, I will need you to win the Grand High Priest’s challenge by bringing back the rarest Spirit Herbs you can find.” She pulled out a parchment and handed it to him. “Specifically, search for the Celestial Qi Ginseng. This is not public knowledge but if you get at least four stalks of that plant, the Grand High Priest would name you the winner on the spot!”
Ren collected the parchment and examined the plant it depicted. Estrid sure seemed to know a lot. Almost too much and he bet a lot of hands had been greased for her to acquire such vital information. The plant in question was made of leafy greens with white bulbous fruits. A successful harvesting required him to extract the plant with its root in its entirety, gently shaking off the loose soil it usually grew in to minimize damage to the delicate roots.
“I will also be collecting eighty percent of all the treasures you retrieve from the fractured Realm.”
Ren’s thoughts ground to a halt. “Eighty Percent? Isn’t that too much?”
“Alas Ren, that is non-negotiable,” she folded her hands behind her back. “As it is, that would just barely cover the cost of procuring the Token to the fractured realm. I would advise you to take this opportunity as it is your best shot at growing stronger and fixing the issues within your body.”
Well, when she put it like that, it was hard to argue. Still, Ren disliked being strong armed. “I wouldn’t dare refute the words of your holiness. But how am I to preserve the vitality of the Spirit Herb? Will you be giving me a Storage Ring?”
She raised a brow, staring at him wordlessly for a few breaths before responding. “No. The potency of the Herbs should remain the same until you leave the Grothluk’s Demise. And once you are back, we’ll be waiting to collect and preserve it.”
Oh, she was good. She obviously wanted to limit his opportunities of hiding any treasures on his return. Well, no matter. He’d just have to find a way to keep the choicest artifacts he found in there for himself. Besides, the opportunity to explore the fractured realm was reward in itself as far as he was concerned.
“As you say, Estrid,” he inclined his head and was internally gratified to see the frosty look she gave him. “Ah, I mean, Honored Diviner. Apologies, but my symptoms sometimes flare up.”
“It’s no matter.” She reached into her robes and tossed a wooden token towards him and Ren caught it by the lanyard. “That’s your token. Keep it with you at all times and you will need it to return once the connection to the realm destabilizes. The token is enchanted and is tied to a larger formation, which you will be seeing tomorrow. It will help pull you all back.”
“Thank you. If that is all, I best head back to my room to prepare for the morrow.”
“That will not be necessary.” Estrid walked up to a table with a parchment and a bejeweled pin. “I have arranged a room for you nearby. With current events, I refuse to have my chosen eliminated on the eve of the expedition to the Fractured Realm.”
She waved him over to join her by the table, as he frowned in protest. “Thanks Diviner, but I would rather go back to my personal room in the shared residence. You see, I have some items I would like to retrieve. Also, I would like to say my goodbyes to a few friends.”
“Xyla will handle that on your behalf.” She picked up the quill, dipped it into the inkwell beside the parchment and scrawled onto the document as she spoke. “After I dismiss you, she will lead you to a meditation room where you will spend the night. Feel free to send any messages you need through her.”
Stolen novel; please report.
Ren frowned. This seemed excessive and oddly reminiscent of the pre-mission lockdown Blackstone Inc. had imposed on him while he was still on Earth. He understood the reasoning, but it still left a bitter taste in his mouth.
“Thanks for the generosity,” he acquiesced. He remained silent for a few breaths as she wrote before voicing his thoughts. “Is that a letter you need me to deliver?”
“This? No,” she smiled sadly. “A long time ago, I thought to follow in the footsteps of … a childhood friend. Oath scrivening is a valued skillset that is sadly uncommon in this part of the world. It’s a beautiful art that requires skill and precise energy manipulation to invite the Heavens themself to enforce contracts.”
“Although I believe you wouldn’t be foolish enough to try and back out of our agreement, life has taught me that greed can find root in even the most devout soil.” Finished with writing the stipulations of their agreement, she carefully dried off the quill and placed it back on its seat. Next she took a pinch of crushed mana stones and sprinkled it over the parchment, which glowed briefly before returning back to its original state.
Holding the contract, her eyes roamed the contents for a few breaths before she passed it over to Ren. He scanned the document and noticed that it contained the core of their verbal agreement, including the 80-20 split in favor of Estrid, for the treasures he retrieved in Grothluk’s Demise. His brows rose in amusement at the flowery wording of the contract. Was Estrid a poet by heart?
“Let me know when you are done examining the contract,” she picked up the small pin, rolling it between her fingers. “Then we can both sign it by dropping a mana infused drop of blood on the parchment.”
“And it's binding for both of us?” Ren asked, curious. “Despite you being at the Qi stage and me being at the Essence stage?”
“Exactly. That’s the beauty of these kinds of contracts. It is enforced by the Heavens itself. Neither you nor I will be able to go against our agreed terms without serious retribution. Most likely death.”
“Interesting.”
He pulled out his golden knife and brought it towards his left thumb, pausing at the last moment. “Does the wording here exempt you from all responsibility if I do not retrieve enough valuable spirit herbs?”
Estrid leaned over to look at the section he was pointing to, and nodded. “Exactly. I think it is only fair to clarify that I wouldn’t be able to do much if you do not win the Grand High Priest’s competition.”
Ren thanked her and placed his knife on his thumb, but did not push it enough to draw blood. He began to circulate Essence through his body, but paused once more. “And this portion says you will receive 80% of all artifacts, treasures and Spirit Herbs I return with?”
“Exactly.” Diviner Estrid narrowed her eyes at him. “We already discussed this.”
“Of course, of course,” Ren hurriedly said. “Can we add an addendum to specify that I will hand over all ownerless artifacts, treasures and Spirit Herbs I retrieve?”
“And why is that?”
“Well, what happens if I trade some of my coins for supplies from another cultivator while we are in the Fractured Realm. As it stands, I will have to give that up to you once I get back.”
She paused, running it over in her mind before nodding and reaching for the parchment. She retrieved it, made the relevant changes and passed the document back to Ren. He again read through it for a few minutes, before looking up at the Diviner, embarrassment written all over his face. Before he even spoke, he could see how exasperated she was by the pulsing vein on her forehead. “What is it this time?”
“Apologies Diviner, there’s just one last thing,” he pointed to a section at the bottom of the sheet. “Here it says that I will be working on your behalf and will do everything in my power to support your interests.”
Estrid nodded.
“Well you see, Revered Diviner, in your bid to draft the contract, you must have overlooked that the sentence lacks the proper qualifiers. For one, there is no mention of the Fractured Realm. Also there is no end date for the duration of this stipulation so it is open-ended…”
Estrid’s eyes widened in surprise, and she snatched the contract from his hands to pore over it. “Good catch, Acolyte. I must ask for your forgiveness for this oversight on my part.”
She tore the faulty Contract to shreds, retrieved a new parchment and rewrote the Contract with all the changes that they’d agreed upon. Ren reviewed this version and analyzed its contents, searching for loopholes. Finding no more sinister omissions or unclear phrasing, he pricked his thumb and sent an essence infused drop onto the parchment.
Like water on hot stones, it hissed as the blood made contact, and Ren winced simultaneously, as his Cultivator’s core squeezed and pulsated in turn. The moment Estrid dropped her blood on the parchment, the feeling returned but this time much stronger. He watched in awe as the parchment disintegrated where it lay, but deep in his Cultivator's core, he felt an echo of the Contract floating and observing.
Wiping her hands with a silk cloth, the Diviner solemnly nodded at him. “With the formalities taken care of, I have some knowledge I think will be helpful for your foray into the Fractured Realm.” She yawned, but midway through, it turned into a whooping cough. She covered her mouth with the silk cloth but Ren’s sensitive nose picked up the familiar stench of blood.
Carefully cupping the silk cloth away from his view, she continued seamlessly with her advise. “First thing you have to know is that Grothluk’s Demise is very dangerous. And not just because of the creatures that call it home. Some of your fellow Chosen will have conflicting interests that might result in violence.”
Ren felt giddy hearing this, as she stared into his eyes. “Your best chance of survival is to attach yourself to fellow Acolytes of the Luminous Temple. Even then, within the Temple’s Chosen, there will be fierce competition. Feel free to mention that you are my chosen. That should buy you some leniency from most everyone.”
“I understand,” he responded.
“Good.” The Diviner gestured towards the room’s exit, walking with him. “But that advice only holds up if Greendale’s formation sends you all far away from the arrival point of other settlement’s chosen.
“Oh? Does that happen often?”
Estrid yawned once more, then waved his concern away. “It has happened on rare occasions so don’t worry about it. However, if your group is unfortunate enough to experience a deviation, it would do you good to assume any foreign cultivator is hostile until proven otherwise. As a Tier 1 Essence cultivator, I would advise you to avoid confrontation at all cost. Focus on your cultivation and retrieving treasures.”
“And the Spirit Herbs?” Ren asked.
"Ah, yes, of course," she responded, as though it had momentarily escaped her thoughts. "The spirit herbs, too."
She opened the door and Ren spied Xyla standing at attention just off to the side. “That’s all I have for you. Xyla, please lead Ren to the meditation room. He might have some correspondence that you will need to help him deliver.”
“As you wish, Honored Diviner,” Xyla bowed as she accepted the request.
Turning back to Ren, with sleepy eyes, Estrid bid him goodbye.
“Rest well because it might be your last full night of sleep. Tomorrow, you venture into the Fractured Realm of Grothluk’s Demise!”