Osmal had been enjoying his few days off. Apparently, a little rest and relaxation were too much to ask for.
It had taken them long enough, but several bigwigs from the Blue Springs Sect had finally arrived. Elder Fu and Elder Milan, along with their disciples.
As far as Osmal was concerned, that was not a good thing.
Duke Wastroll's youngest son seemed to share that sentiment. Osmal had only caught a glimpse of their meeting, but the man hadn't looked pleased.
Osmal should have known it spelled trouble. An elder's presence was never a good sign.
He was on his way to the tavern when a soldier jogged up to him, carrying a scroll.
"You are Osmal, right?" the woman asked.
"Who's asking?" Osmal replied warily.
"Elder Fu wishes to meet at your earliest convenience."
Osmal frowned.
In other words, he was being summoned. And should go immediately..
It was regrettable, but he didn't have much choice. He cast a longing glance toward the nearby tavern before turning away.
The elders had, of course, each claimed an entire building in the central fort.
A full two-story building—about the same size as the tavern. After a few seconds to steady himself at the front door Osmal stepped inside, feeling several wards slide over his skin. The sensation was distinctly unpleasant.
Yet the moment he passed through them, it was like stepping into a warm summer breeze.
His body stirred as soothing waves of energy seeped through his pores. It felt like a tonic for both body and core, a direct benefit of the incense sticks burning on the kitchen table.
Plush rugs muffled his footsteps. Paintings and ornate carvings lined the walls.
Osmal took it all in before his gaze settled on a spindly old man sitting on a cot, lazily smoking a pipe.
The elder exhaled a plume of sweet smelling smoke and gave him a dismissive once-over.
Osmal bowed respectfully, as befitted his station.
"You called for me, Elder," Osmal said, doing his best to sound respectful.
Elder Fu grunted.
"I heard you were part of the failed expedition to the Samatran ruins."
"Yes, I was," Osmal replied carefully.
"Could you elaborate? Wastroll's brat made it sound like nothing but a few piles of stone remained," Elder Fu replied.
"It is not my place to deny the duke's son," Osmal replied smoothly.
Elder Fu tossed a small pouch toward him.
Osmal caught it, quickly peeking inside before slipping it into his sleeve. A hefty sum of Crowns.
"As I was saying," Osmal continued calmly, "I wouldn't dare contradict a high noble. Perhaps I struck my head, but I could swear several buildings still had active wards. And that was only the outskirts of the ruins."
He paused.
"Not to mention the rare herbs that were harvested on the slopes," Osmal said pointedly.
The elder hummed thoughtfully.
"Interesting. That's certainly different from the story I heard," Elder Fu said. "Fortunately, Lina must have struck her head as well. She told the same tale."
Osmal kept his expression carefully neutral. So it was a trap. Good thing he had been mostly truthful.
Elder Fu waved his pipe through the lingering smoke.
"That brat is playing dumb, but I suspect he'll send another expedition," the elder said. "My disciple will be going…" He paused, giving Osmal a pointed glance,".If there truly is a sky beast guarding the ruins, she could use some backup."
"I'm sure you can find willing participants," Osmal replied, dismissively.
Elder Fu smiled.
"You know, I have been looking for a commander for a penal unit. Someone to scout deep into the mountains and assess the lead elements of the beast tide."
Osmal swore under his breath.
"I suppose I could assist your disciple," Osmal said quickly. "It wouldn't be much of an inconvenience."
"I'm not unreasonable," Elder Fu replied. "If you assist my disciple in retrieving the holy relic from the main cathedral in the ruins, I will provide the other half of this technique,"
He pulled a scroll from his robes and tossed it over.
Osmal caught it, his heart thumping as he unfurled the parchment.
It was the first half of a sky-tier body-tempering manual.
Rustling in the Treetops.
If he could obtain the necessary resources to cultivate it, he could push his body to the next stage—laying the proper foundation to elevate his core.
Tucking the scroll back up his sleeves, Osmal licked his lips.
"How do you know a holy relic is in these ruins?" Osmal asked hesitantly.
"The Samatran empire was quite the place in it's time. There are numerous remaining texts even all this time later. Judging by its placement, the ruins you found are the former city of Lymantria. Supposedly, their holy knights kept their orders sacred artifacts inside the main cathedral there. There is no way to be certain, but if the wards are still active on the outskirts of the city, my hopes are high," Elder Fu replied.
"I'm assuming that's the reason Duke Wastroll's son is interested as well?" Osmal asked.
"Most likely. He's arrogant, not stupid," Elder Fu replied.
"And what exactly is this relic we are trying to acquire?" Osmal asked.
Elder Fu gave him a tight smile. "Leave that up to Kathrine,"
Typical. Give the impression of importance while leaving out the fine details. Judging from experience, the so called holy relic could be a trap, maybe not even the intended target. Or maybe it was a cursed object. Or equally as unpleasant, it could be guarded by immensely deadly wards.
Osmal wanted to push for more, but decided against it. Knowing too much could get you vanished. He left the viper's lair after proffering a respectful bow.
He was both excited and leery. This manual was the kind of thing that could get him stabbed in his sleep. Sure, the cost to practice the manual was steep, the benefits were far superior to his own.
Not only that, it would help him lay a solid foundation to pass the bottleneck.
That alone made him suspicious. Why was Elder Fu being so generous? He had just received a Manuel of equivalent value of a hundred merits. Double what he had made since he arrived.
He hurriedly made his way back to his small chamber in the barracks, erecting his iron web technique. Once he was sure he wasn't being spied on he unfurled the manual.
Each stance, the breathing patterns and resources to absorb were carefully laid out. Jade dust to temper his bones, Umbric bark to temper his channels, and cane killer extract to temper his muscles.
Osmal grimaced at the required materials. The jade dust was expensive. He hadn't even heard of the bark before, but assumed it would break his bank all the same.
The last one made him perk up. Cane killer extract was a combination of the wasp's venom, nectar and their honey.
The only reason he knew this was because he had done some digging after Ash had sold him the location of some Magnolia orchids. Turns out they were guarded by aggressive cane killer wasps. There was a reason that information only cost him a few crowns.
He grimaced. Supposedly their sting was incredibly painful, not to mention deadly if you were stung enough times. Considering their hives could host thousands of bees, it was risky.
Maybe it wasn't that expensive. A thought that was dashed sometime later. His stomach lurched as he stared at the merit exchange. The extract, for one bottle, went for a staggering twenty five merits.
The price made him sick, and that wasn't even counting the price of the other two ingredients. His mind raced as he sorted through his options. Getting stung is starting to look not so bad.
This price was just too much. If he could acquire the resources from the wasps, and then use his recently gained merit to buy the bark, he might be able to get his hands on the jade dust with crowns.
His mind raced. He would be flat broke after, and all for one cultivation session with his new body tempering manual. Still, the power boost would be worth it. He only had a day or so left until he was going back to that death trap. Not a lot of time to prepare before going back into that meat grinder.