The next morning, he went outside and stared at the sun as it rose above the trees. He was dissatisfied with wasting his time. He decided to simply wait until he found favorable opportunities. In the meantime he dedicated himself to gathering energy and working on his tapestry projects.

As time passed he grew stronger and better at fighting. People came and went, some going out on journeys for the sect, for themselves, and some left because they had received a good offer from a larger sect. He continued to study, in order to truly understand the information he had in his head. While also taking lots of time for himself in his mental palace. In this way, five years passed and the twelve year anniversary came and went.

Dahe was sitting in a comfortable upholstered chair, reading a book with a pipe in his hand. His smoking jacket was a gentle purple and his cravat was blue in a diamond pattern. Interrupting this serene moment was a telephone ringing.

Dahe started at the noise, half-remembered instincts caused him to start looking around for the phone. He began to realize he didn’t have one, just as he saw it. A candlestick telephone, made of gold with artistic flourishes. He carefully picked it up, held the ear piece to his ear and put the receiver in front of his mouth. “Hello?” he asked, holding the phone a distance from his mouth, just in case.

“Hello! How are you?” A woman’s voice answered. Dahe looked at the telephone with a questioning look, finally he held the phone closer to his mouth. “Goddess?” he said softly. “Yes, it’s me. I have an assignment for you.” Dahe sighed quietly, then returned to the phone. “What’s the job?”

“You have to move a branch into a certain spot. That’s it.” Dahe pulled back, giving the phone a quizzical look. “Are you sure? That seems simple.” The goddess agreed, “it is simple. But I can’t work by myself down there, so it’s your job. Remember, this is what I hired you for.” Dahe shook his head, “What does it matter if a branch is moved?” He could hear the goddess’ heavy sigh. “Many large events turn on the smallest of occurrences. For instance, the First World War, and Archduke Franz Ferdinand? This is similar. I can’t tell you now. Wait until you’re done and I’ll explain.”

“Where is it?” Dahe asked after pausing for a moment. “Don’t worry, I’ll guide you. I just need to make sure you’re heading in the right direction, and in barely a week you’ll be there.”

“A week?”

“Barely.”

“Well, I’ll need to let the sect know I’m going.”

“Of course. Look, I just need you to get certain things done, at a certain time. After that, how you do it is up to you. As long as you’re not causing a mess with widespread ramifications.”

“I’ll try not to,” Dahe said, his hesitation clear in his voice. But he hung up the phone, put it back on the side table, and left his mental space.

Walking into the office of the Vice-Sect Leader was easy, as well as telling her he was going on a trip for “inspiration”. He had to be forceful that he was going alone though, as she wanted to give him a guide/protector. If it got around that he traveled for a week to move a branch, he wouldn’t be able to explain himself. He might as well turn the lie into truth and see what he could see. His works had been earning him a steady amount of money, and he was pretty sure he was rich now. His Princess Bride series had been the largest of them all, causing a bidding war. The story had apparently been turned into a story told by traveling bards, after he had modified it to fit a Xianxia world.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

At the Task Office he was able to exchange some of his gold ducks for the lower denominations, some silver livery and antimony pratai. However the Task Office didn’t have any Rhodium Crowned Boks.

Heading out of the same pathway he entered through twelve years ago, he began to trot in a direction pointed out by the goddess. She had installed a magical compass in his mind, and he used that to run to his objective.

The trees blurred past, and many animals were left puzzled by the passing blur. Finally the day began to grow dark, and so he lay down to rest. The next day, he began to run again. This state of affairs continued for a week. The goddess told him to slow and he did, finally coming to a stop.

The trees were thin and spread out. He was supposed to move a branch, which branch? The goddess directed him. The branch was of a small tree, hanging off the side. The tree had tall grass growing around it. He was supposed to take the branch and bury it in the soil, so that it would turn into a tripline. When he had finished, after adjusting it according to her very specific specifications, he asked again.

“So why did I just do that?” The goddess was now willing to fill him in. “Below you, is actually the remains of a lost kingdom, there is a thin area of soil directly in front of the branch. When someone comes running from a certain direction and trips, he will break through the thin layer and fall into this pit. Once there, he will explore and find an amazingly powerful weapon. This will help him until he gets stronger.”

“That sounds like you know what’s going to happen. Do you?”

“I do, in a general way. I am able to predict people’s movements and patterns with a very good percentage rate of success. I know that certain people are likely to do certain things. If they are impacted by a situation it can change their actions. So, at the end of these chains of action and reaction, I place an advantage for those who would make the world a better place. That’s why I can’t really tell you everything about what you’re doing and why you’re doing it. Because your ignorance is factored into my plans. And if you made a decision on your own, even with good intent, it might screw up my plans.”

“Huh.” Dahe took a deep breath, then exhaled slowly. “Ok, I get it. If that’s the requirement, I’ll go along with it. This is my job after all, and you are trying to make this a better world. So now what?”

“Now, you’re on your own again, you’re finally strong enough I can finally start to send you out on missions. So I will call you from time to time, but the rest of the time is your own. I will try to give you a heads up though, to give you time to be in a certain area at the appropriate time.”

“Hey hold on! I had some questions!”

“Oh? What are they?”

Dahe accessed his mental list of questions to ask. The first one, “can I spread a bit of my entertainment? Such as shows and games?”

“As long as it’s not advancing technology I'll allow it.”

“Are there other gods? How did this world come to be?”

“Well, generally speaking, worlds happen naturally. But gods will massage a world until it is what they want. So yes, there are gods. Plenty of people become gods, it just takes time, and not dying. But by the time they do, they’ve seen most of this world, so they move on to another world.”

“What is this world called?”

“Well, the name has actually changed from time to time. When I was a mortal, it was called something like ‘bloodbath’. However, I simply call it mine.”

“Do floating castles exist?”

“Hmm. not as such. Floating boats or small houses, yes. But a castle would simply be too large.”

“Oh, thanks.”

“Is that all?”

“Ah yes, that’s all the questions I had.”

“In that case, I will call again when I need you. Have fun!”

Dahe felt the connection being ended. He was really on his own. Having passed a few towns on his way here, he decided to take his time getting back. It was finally time for him to explore this world, to expand his horizons before going through his second transformation.