“Had?”
“I got caught, but then I had a great idea.”
Sift waved his hands. “No need to explain, then. I can piece the rest together myself. In fact, I can see the smoke plume from here.” His face grew serious. “You should have called for help.”
Ruwen pushed himself away from the edge, stood, and backed another ten feet away. “I didn’t have time. Things got—”
Messy, Rami said.
“Hi, Rami,” Sift said. “Was his plan any good?”
I honestly thought I was going to die, Rami replied.
“That’s how I always feel,” Sift said.
“Will you two stop,” Ruwen said. “We still have work to do.”
“You didn’t get the oil?” Sift asked.
“I got the oil. But we have over twelve hours before anyone expects us back, and I have—” Ruwen stopped and searched for a word other than idea. “A suggestion on how we can spend it. A couple, actually.”
“You’re just full of ideas today,” Sift said.
“The good news is you get to stay with Shelly and use that Spirit I just gave you. Hopefully, Copper to Silver will involve less bleeding.”
Sift narrowed his eyes. “What will you be doing?”
Ruwen smiled. “I’m hoping to meet some old friend from the Spirit Realm.”
It took an hour to find the Cultivator camp Tremine and Bliz had talked about, and Sift landed Shelly fifty miles away. Ruwen used Scrub to clean himself as best he could, and dressed in the brown Worker clothes Bliz had given him on his Ascendancy Day. He left the Baton of a Thousand Uses and the Fastidious Blade in his Void Band, not wanting the Cultivators to think he came to fight. Riding Whiskers, he traveled quickly toward the camp.
As soon as Survey and Stone Echo displayed a white dot on his map, Ruwen stopped and slid off Whisker’s saddle. He instructed Whiskers to stay put and strode forward alone. When he passed the initial sentry, he made no effort to find them.
By the time the Cultivator camp came into view, over ten people surrounded Ruwen, all out of sight. At least fifty people had gathered to meet him. Three people stood apart from the crowd, waiting at the camp’s boundary, and he stopped fifteen feet from them.
All three wore loose fitting Cultivator garments similar to Sift’s. The clothes would allow energy to pass through them and offered no physical protection. The tallest of the three, a grey-haired man with wrinkles from a lifetime of smiles, stood a little ahead. The man on the right looked like every meal was his favorite, which contrasted with the woman to the left who looked lean and a little severe.
Ruwen held out a fist, placed his palm over it, and bowed. The greeting, assuming they didn’t already know from his movements, marked him as a student of the Steps. “My name is Ruwen Starfield, and I am honored to meet you.”
The heavy man gasped and stepped forward, but the grey-haired man held out his arm and stopped him. The woman frowned as multiple shouts emerged from the crowd as Ruwen’s name traveled through the gathering. Why was his name having such an affect here?
The grey-haired man returned the bow. “Pleased we are to greet you, Ruwen Starfield. I am called Phoenix.” Phoenix pointed to the heavy man. “This is Willow.” Turning to the woman he continued. “This is Thistle.”
The other two bowed and Ruwen bowed to each of them. His Perception had seen enough to provide some data. Interestingly, his Perception only provided estimates. Cultivators, it seemed, weren’t as easy to quantify as the Ascended.
Name: Phoenix
Deity: One True God
Class Type: Cultivator - Diamond
Level: 72
Health: 1,100
Mana: 0
Energy: 1,500
Spirit: 800,000
Armor Class: 1,900
Name: Willow
Deity: One True God
Class Type: Cultivator - Topaz
Level: 59
Health: 600
Mana: 0
Energy: 700
Spirit: 1,300,000
Armor Class: 950
Name: Thistle
Deity: One True God
Class Type: Cultivator - Sapphire
Level: 65
Health: 900
Mana: 0
Energy: 1,200
Spirit: 3,100,000
Armor Class: 1,350
Ruwen had found two people he knew from the Spirit Realm, although he couldn’t let them know he knew them or that he wore the Scarecrow Aspect. Willow had been the judge for the battle with Phoenix and had hoped Blapy’s coin would provide him the information to break into Sapphire. He remained a Topaz, but it had only been a few days since he’d received the coin.
Phoenix looked nothing like Ruwen had imagined. It had taken all Ruwen’s abilities and tricks to keep from being melted by Phoenix’s attacks. If Ruwen’s Perception was accurate, Phoenix’s Spirit pool had suffered from those attacks. He was the only one under a million Spirit.
“Please stop your vibration magic,” Thistle said. “You feel like a toddler stomping your feet.”
Ruwen hid his surprise that they had detected Stone Echo’s vibrations. But it made sense. The ability Stone Echo was just a combination of Essences, and Thistle had reached Sapphire, which meant she had far greater expertise than Ruwen at combining them. She likely recognized and could create hundreds of spells. He turned off Stone Echo and bowed to Thistle. “My apologies.”
“What brings you here, Child of Uru?” Phoenix asked.
Ruwen didn’t waste any time. “War.”
Phoenix nodded. “Unfortunately, we are aware of your conflict.”
“I am truly sorry for its impact on your Clans,” Ruwen said. “Our people are victims as well.”
“Hardly,” Thistle said. “It is the nature of your gods to war.”
Ruwen locked eyes with Thistle. “I can’t speak for the past. But we did not provoke this conflict.”
“Why are you here?” Phoenix asked again.
Ruwen faced Phoenix. “To offer a new start.”
“Start of what?” Phoenix asked.
“Friendship, partnership, and mutual protection,” Ruwen said.
Thistle turned to Phoenix. “I told you they would come begging.”
Ruwen took a step forward and everyone tensed. “I do not beg. I come to offer you something valuable.”
“What could you possibly provide us?” Thistle asked.
“A home,” Ruwen said.
The crowd’s murmuring grew louder, and Willow turned and slashed his hand through the air to quiet them.
“The world is our home,” Phoenix replied.
Ruwen nodded. “A home to us all. And yet a tree must put down roots to thrive.”
Thistle took a step toward him. “A home? You will use us as
