Heavenly Shae

77: "Curse Softly and Carry a Big Stick."

As Master Long had predicted, they passed out of the canyon's desolate landscape and onto sect land after just another hour of running. The density had risen throughout that hour then dropped suddenly just before densely growing wild grasses sprung up around them.

Shae had thought she had gawked at the mountain while they approached, yet now found herself even more distracted by the sudden change in landscape. A hundred paces past the edge of the grass, shrubs and saplings had taken root. Wildflowers and other plants as well, most so spread out as to hardly inconvenience the passing cultivators. Though, of the three, Shae was the only one that would truly be inconvenienced by the simple plant life.

"Can the plants not grow out there?" She gasped out between strides.

"Hmm?" Hon looked back. "Ah, no. I believe they could flourish. If the spirit beasts would let them grow for longer than a season or two."

She tried to glance back between long strides and almost lost her balance. "Ugh. Ah? Are there really that many?" She looked to either side instead, trying to gauge the border of the sect's land. "Herds of goats would be needed just to keep this edge from spreading."

"Heh. Sure, if they were mortal goats. Though, they wouldn't be mortal for long eating this grass, I think." He plucked a single blade of blue-green grass and stuck the end in his mouth.

She looked down at it and tried to puzzle out what he meant. She bent her knees low to bring her head close to the ground and sniffed the air. The sniff was more a natural reflex as she was really concentrating on her forehead. Bright scents and textures of wood and fresh cut grass flooded her mind. She stumbled through the next few steps to catch her stride again.

"Heh. Noticed it, now?" Hon chuckled. The tone in his voice shifted to serious and he cautioned, "Woah. Slow down a bit."

Her stumbling continued as she put the brakes on. She finally looked up from her feet when she had slowed down enough to be behind Hon again.

Long had stopped a handful of paces ahead of them, near a white marker stone twice as tall as he was.

They slowed to a stop and exchanged bows, Long just nodded. "We're not quite where I had hoped we'd be, yet this is as good a place." He glanced eastward and flashed a frown. "Wise Zhi Shae. As you have been invited to join the sect, all that stands in your way is the simple entrance trial."

Hon coughed and blurted out, "Here?" Then immediately straightened into a bow and marital salute, "Apologies, Master Long." He remained bowed.

The older cultivator took a deep breath, then nodded. "Rise. Your outburst isn't wholly inappropriate."

Hon tilted his head up slightly to look at the Master, then with only slight hesitation, rose up out of his bow.

"Normally, the entrance test is conducted at dawn, from the main gates." He looked east again, then tapped the stone, indicating a number carved into it. "Those are about six sets of li east of here." The number on the marker didn't seem to match the distance, as far as Shae could tell. "If we head that way, you'll have to wait until tomorrow morning to start the test, and I assumed you would rather have it out of the way. Since it is just a formality."

Shae looked east like she expected to see a set of large ornamental gates. She couldn't even spot another market stone in the waning light. "Is there any downside to starting so late? Some time limit perhaps, Master Long?"

Long shook his head. "The time limit, if you wish to call it that, is only how long you can survive on the land between here and the main administration building. That large not-purple one you saw on our approach." He smirked.

She looked between the two men. "And that's the whole deal? No other rules, guidelines, or speech about it?"

Hon coughed. "Sorry, Wise Shae, I may have interrupted Master Long earlier." He looked with wide eyes to the older cultivator. "May I?"

Long's mouth swished left then right, then he shrugged. "Make it quick, and be careful with your language."

Hon smiled and turned back to Shae. "When the sect was first founded a test of fate was introduced for entrants. History states it was to sprint from the bottom of the mountain to the edge of the sect's grounds near the peak, in under a day." He gestured from the canyon's wasteland behind her then back to the mountain. "As the sect lands and the mountain itself grew, that became harder to administer properly, and for some it was easier to accomplish. Some would say you have completed it already, just from our travels today."

Long cleared his throat to interject, "Though, being carried across canyons might disqualify you."

She smirked. "Was that a joke, Master Long?"

"Hmm? No. I mean it. According to the original rules, entrants may assist one another but not receive other outside assistance."

"Oh." She nodded and looked down.

"Nowadays," Hon continued, "the test is to travel from the sect boundary stones, to the administration building whereupon you will be entered as an outer court qi gatherer." He paused and looked at Long with a stammer, "Err."

Long nodded, "that is correct."

Shae scowled suspiciously. "But isn't that too easy? And I'm beyond qi gathering already?"

Long nodded silently.

"The journey is not without danger," Hon added. "It wouldn't be a test of fate without some risk. As to the other question-" he glanced at Long again, "-the sect operates on a merit system. Testing for higher stages is very formalized."

Long nodded again.

"And the other recruits from the caravan completed this already? How far behind am I?"

"They camped overnight and began the test this morning." Long supplied. "Most should be arriving tonight. Which means if you begin the test today, you'll be ranked among them for completion time."

She tilted her head and worked her jaw. "That's good? Right? I heard that the rankings weren't until the end of season tournament?"

Hon nodded excitedly. "High placements are rewarded, yet as a qi gatherer, low placements are not punished."

She squinted at him. "But I'm not a qi gatherer."

"You will-"

Long coughed, interrupting Hon's words.

He cleared his throat and tried again. "Most recruits pass the test, entering through the main administration building and attain a qi gathering rank amongst their peers."

"Right, meritocracy, yeah?" She slipped a bit of extra intent into the English word.

Hon looked confused and glanced at the older cultivator.

Long smirked, "Well said, Wise Shae."

She glanced up the mountain, then over at the setting sun. "How far is it? As the sword flies?" The common bird-related saying had been turned into one about flying swords, though Long's was the first she had actually ever seen.

The two men remained silent.

"Hmm. Long enough qi gatherers take all day, right." She glanced up the mountain. She started mumbling her thoughts out loud, "Not just gatherers, but children. Sixty to eighty li judging by the pace of the caravan. But that was flat, even ground. Uphill through brush and dense qi? Thirty?" She saw Hon's confused eyes. "Two or three sets of li at most, right?" She raised an eyebrow at him.

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He recovered smoothly and guarded his face with his sleeve to not give anything away.

She shook her head at the missed confirmation. Then patted her robes to find her empty waterskin. "I wouldn't mind my pack now?" She gave Long an inquisitive eyebrow. "It has my supplies in it."

Hon spoke up. "You may bring what you have. Though, reliance on spiritual tools may disqualify you. Forage as needed, though defacing sect property is discouraged."

She frowned. "So, a distinct advantage to the wealthy? Formality indeed." His wording tickled something in her memory. My meeting with Elder Ngoc, on Pilgrim's Rest Mountain, she said even scavenging is still their property. Her hands checked over what she had on her, while she looked back up at Long. "You really don't have my pack, Master Long? What if Senior Apollo is waiting by the gates with it?"

He shook his head. "Unlikely. A single step to this side of the gate isn't enough to change her limitations." She thought she saw a drop of pity through his stony mask.

She huffed out a long breath.

"I'll head that way and check," he continued, "she might have left someone for the job. Either way, I'll attempt to have it delivered to you outside the administration building."

Outside? She tilted her head. "Thank you." Her hands found her small knife.

At the same time, Hon gave Long a glance then pulled out his own waterskin. Long nodded and Hon turned back to her and tossed the waterskin. "Have a drink before you go."

She fumbled the catch with the knife in hand. The heavy waterskin was fuller than she expected. She took a quick swig, the water was still cool and fresh. "Mmhhm!" She looked at it with surprise.

Both men waited patiently.

She drank more, then hesitated before returning the waterskin. With a smirk, she threw her empty skin back instead. Hon caught it smoothly, returned the smirk, and nodded.

She exhaled with relief and looked behind her, back the way they came. "Walking stick would be nice." She strolled over to the nearest sapling that was about the right size and tried to cut it down with her knife. Two problems presented themselves immediately. First, the sapling wasn't anywhere near stiff enough for a walking stick. "Overgrown switch," she muttered. Secondly, her knife couldn't cut through it. Not before sunset, that was for sure.

She exhaled her frustration and looked around. Deadfall was out of the question without any large trees, but there's gotta be at least one dead sapling, right?

She almost heard what Hon muttered to Long but spotted a piece of dead wood at the same time and rushed for it. It stuck straight up out of the ground, yet bore no branches or leaves. She hesitated as she approached because it looked like someone had simply stuck a thick broom handle into the dirt.

"Uhh?" She gawked at it and scratched her hair. A single sprout of green near the tip eased her worry, but only barely. Stepping closer, she saw that it was more naturally shaped than her first impression suggested. Though, it did appear to have been stripped of bark.

A dried surface that was smooth and free of twigs or bends; it was the perfect walking stick. Except that it was too long and slightly too thick around. If she had been a pace taller and built like a bulldozer, only then would it have fit her perfectly.

"Uhm. Still, a great find. I think? More of a staff than a stick, but you'll do." She muttered and set one hand on the staff. It refused to budge. "How deep are you stuck in?" She strained a bit more, then changed her stance to set it wide and wrapped her right arm down along the length of the staff. Keeping her back straight, her legs pushed at the dirt. The staff didn't budge.

She gasped for breath after a few tries. "Blood of the nineteen hells! What the heck are you? I just want a walking stick to go up the mountain." She leaned over and dug at the dirt under it, following the narrow trunk down into the dirt. Unlike a tree the staff continued straight down without branching into roots.

"Huh, it's like..." She trailed off as she heard a pair of roots snapping and the staff tipped sideways freely, as though it wasn't anchored into the ground anymore.

She was stunned by the sudden movement and had to lunge to catch it before it hit the ground. Her fingers brushed it and she found it unstoppable, the length of wood pulling out of her hand easily and slamming into the wild grasses with a puff of dust and grass clippings.

"Ah! Sorry!?" She heard herself say. "Why am I apologizing to a stick?" She looked down at the stick again. "Why do I feel like I need to apologize to a stick? Err, sorry, a branch? No, you could almost be a giant's quarterstaff."

She grabbed the staff and hefted it up. Much like the rockwood bow-blank in Minlin city, this wood was heavier than it looked. "Ooh, got some weight to you, eh?" She pulsed her qi out of reflex and felt the branch shift in her hand. "Ah!" She nearly dropped it in surprise. "Shit, is that normal?"

The staff didn't respond to her question. Even after she stared through it with her most inquisitive glare. A thought struck her, and she leaned forwards to put her forehead near the piece of wood. "Hmmm, feels like earth qi? Shouldn't you be using wood qi? Is that why you're so heavy?" She rambled the questions off as they came to her.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. My qi would be bad for you, I'd bet. Although..." She withdrew one of her hairpins, pierced an acupoint on her right forearm, and only flinched a little at the pain. Then dropped to a seated position and set the staff across her legs.

A steady inhale brought her close enough to meditation to pull at the local earth and wood qi, drawing it towards the staff. She didn't sense anything peculiar, the staff didn't seem to react, even when she cycled her qi again. Huh, was that my imagination?

A shout cut through her half meditation. "Miss Shae? The sun doesn't wait." Long shouted. She blinked at the volume of his voice. He had shouted without sounding like he had strained his voice.

She blinked her eyes open, looked down at the staff and muttered, "Eh, was a bit of a stretch anyway." She frowned at the pin in her arm, her initial plan cut short.

Before she stood, her eye was caught by the dark end of the staff that had been stuck in the ground. She lightly brushed it off to find no roots, not even the fine-and-fuzzy kind. She quickly splashed water over the stuck dirt, then also over her hand and pin to wash the drop of blood away.

After cleaning herself, she frowned at the staff. The dirty end looked just as dry as before she had poured water on it. She hummed at it, then twisted her mouth sideways and glanced at the other end, where the single leaf flapped in the light breeze. "If you were growing, and without roots, then you're probably a thirsty hardwood. Heh heh heh." She took another drink from the waterskin, splashed the dirt and tried to wipe it off on the grass.

"Well, if we're lucky you'll save me from some quicksand or something silly. Then we can find you a lake or nice sunny spot to hang out in" She stood and walked back to the waiting cultivators. Hmmm, the weight doesn't seem as awkward as I expected.

Shae scanned the mountain with a frown as she walked. Tapered shadows stretched away from the sunset and cut black horizontal patches into the mountainside. Beyond the first few li the forest swelled and blurred the shadow's sharp edges. Beyond that, no buildings were actually visible from here.

"Can you point me in the correct starting direction?" She asked the sect cultivators. "What if I find the wrong building?"

Hon shook his head at first, then glanced at Long.

"We cannot give aid." Long stated. "You'll not find other buildings first. General administration is the lowest on the mountain and quite visible from ridges and higher vantage points. The next buildings up are the next most relevant for arrivals, and they can still help you if you arrive there instead."

"Uh, isn't that aid?" She asked with a pointed finger and glanced between the men.

Hon was staring at the leaf on the end of her staff with the start of a confused scrunch to his face.

Long shrugged. "It is a common question. That answer almost always puts recruits at ease to begin the trial." He motioned to the stone. "Ready?"

She took a deep breath and exhaled heavily. "Sure," she said and stepped forwards.

Long stepped back, quickly moving to the large marker stone and pressed his hand against it. Shae felt a slight pulse of qi and watched him step onto the boundary. There was no clearly marked line, it was just where she expected the invisible threshold to be. Long turned back, kept one palm pressed flat against the stone and outlined a doorway with his arm and body. He gestured through it.

"Uh, okay? Is there a forcefield- err... a wall or something?" She asked while ducking through. She didn't actually need to duck, she was almost a head shorter than where Long held his arm. Though, she did have to awkwardly maneuver the large staff through.

"Heh. Just alarms." Long chuckled lightly. "May fate favor you, Wise Shae."

"Ahm-" Hon startled and gave a martial salute. "And may the heavens light the way, Heavenly Shae."

She coughed into her sleeve, the first farewell that sprang to mind was Thanks for all the cryptic bullshit, fuckos.

"Uh. Thanks. You too?" She turned and stepped away as her neck burned with embarrassment. I gotta have something better than that... sad hulk music? Nah, that doesn't work.

Her ears perked up when Hon quietly asked, "Is that-?" only for him to get shushed by Long.

Whelp, now it's too late to look back. She set her eyes on the forest ahead and quietly muttered in English, "Ready or not, here I come... fuckos."