Stormy Mountain Sect Chapter 12 (Patreon)

*** AUTHOR'S NOTE ***

I've received Legacy back from my editor, so my break is over! Hopefully will have the first round of edits on it done by this weekend! I've also clicked the pre-order button for Amazon to publish it! Legacy will be purchase only on Amazon until December 1st, which is also when it'll come down from here and go onto Kindle Unlimited. 

*** AUTHOR'S NOTE ***

I had a few minutes, and I let my heart rate drop while following the directions on my badge. I continued past Mackenzie Hall and then turned right at a fork in the road. Straight ahead was a series of small platforms, twenty feet in diameter. A stand waited on the side of the road, and piggy was waiting there. “I didn’t think you’d show,” he ground out, grinning at me. He was holding a maul, apparently going all in on the dumb brute look. “Don’t think a stick will let you beat me.”

I grinned, leaving my quiver behind my back, where he couldn’t see it.

“Are you his challenge partner?” An older disciple asked, sitting beside the stand.

“Yes, senior,” I said.

“Good, you are in arena seven. Inner Disciple Matilda will be officiating. I have the bet as twenty credits, with weapons, to surrender or incapacitation. Is this correct?” Her voice was bored,, and the way she phrased the question made me think answering no would turn out badly.

“Yes,” Stone Shark flunky said.

“Yes, senior,” I answered respectfully.

“Your badges,” she held out her hands.

I quickly handed her mine, as did my opponent. She tapped them both to a tablet, then handed them back. “You may proceed to your arena.”

“Thank you, senior,” I bowed to her just after piggy turned away.

She saw the quiver then, and then smirked at me, “Be careful. The Stone Sharks are powerful in the Outer Sect.”

“For now,” I said, “But I hate bullies.”

She grinned at that, shaking her head. I winked, then turned and jogged to the circle labeled seven. Pathetic bully number four was waiting on the closest side, so I ran around, keeping my quiver out of sight. A small crowd watched, but only a few were here for our match.

Two older Outer Disciples were beating on each other in the arena, their match apparently without weapons. The taller of the two suddenly flipped over, the shorter man having caught a punch and turned the deflection into a throw. A few punches dropped onto the guy’s head, and suddenly a young woman was there, intercepting his next attack. She exuded a similar pressure to what Elder Li Mei had, though nowhere near as strong.

I attempted to gauge her strength, and my Qi told me she was a massive oak, with deep roots and a powerful trunk. Okay, much, much stronger than me, I thought.

“You are the winner,” she said softly. “Release Disciple Matthew.”

“Yes, Senior Matilda,” he said quickly, opening his hand and stepping back. He was only able to do so because she released him just as he started to move.

She gestured, and a surge of Wood and Water Qi rammed the unconscious Outer Disciple. He stirred quickly, struggling to sit up. “Go to the healer on duty,” she told him. “You have lost. Think on your failure, and use it to spur yourself to greater heights.”

“He cheated,” Matthew growled.

“Do not question my judgement. Go, now,” she said simply, but Matthew paled, almost fainting again. She moved to the center of the arena, then checked her badge. “Marc and Cormac, please enter the arena.”

I hurried to move up the stairs nearest me, and saw Cormac rushing up his side as well.

“Good,” she said, glaring at Matthew, who slunk off as quickly as he could. She turned back to me. “Your fight is with weapons. Declare them to your opponent.”

“Basher, my maul, will crush you,” Cormac yelled, holding up the maul.

“Kinda pathetic to name a stick with a rock on it,” I told him, then strung my bow with a single motion. “Bow and arrows.”

“A bow! Coward,” piggy said. “Face me like a man.”

“That requires you act like one,” I told him. “But since you are acting the wild animal, I will treat you as such. Unless you wish to surrender right now?”

“Your match will begin on the count of three,” Inner Disciple Matilda said, ignoring our banter. “One. Two. Three.” Each count had about a second pause between them.

Right as she started to count, I strung an arrow, grabbing two others and holding them in my fingers. I didn’t draw it, though, fearing that would be too much before the count ended. Cormac glared at me, his maul placed on his shoulder. He set himself ready to sprint at me as soon as she reached three.

At three, I pulled the arrow back, then released it as soon as it reached my cheek. The idiot in front of me had sprinted straight at me, so I aimed and shot at his leading leg, just as it planted on the ground. My arrow slammed into the meat of his thigh, and his leg buckled. Cormac dropped into a roll, and I jogged off it the side before nocking another arrow.

Cormac rolled to his feet, glaring at me, before roaring and running at me again. He tried to run at me again, then jumped sideways when I pulled the arrow back. I simply waited for him to land, then sent another arrow into his other thigh. With a scream, he collapsed.

“Do you surrender?” I asked, glancing over at Inner Disciple Matilda, “Or are you incapacitated?”

Cormac just growled at me, forcing himself to his feet. He looked down at his legs, grimacing, only to yelp when my third arrow slammed into his right bicep. Basher fell to the ground when his hand reflexively opened.

“Are you going to surrender?” I asked calmly, drawing another three arrows out of my quiver.

He glared at me, then said, “Fine, I give up. You win.” He then snapped the shafts of every arrow in him, before stalking off towards the medical area.

“Congratulations, you have won,” Matilda said. She tapped her badge to her forehead. “It has been recorded.”

“Thank you, senior,” I said, bowing to her. “Have a good day.”

She smiled, her freckled face beaming for a second before she adopted her neutral face. “You as well, Outer Disciple Marc.”

I turned to leave the arena when I saw the brute who’d hit on Nuan, ineptly, glaring at me from the side. I winked at him, then ignored the jerk. Nuan and Feng were both watching. Feng’s emotions were not evident on his face, but he gave me a nod when he saw me looking. Nuan was beaming. “You made him pay,” she said.

“Yeah, but the next idiot they send to mess with me will be ready,” I said. “I’ve got to get stronger and learn a bit more how to fight as soon as I can.”

“That is true,” Fend said. “If that is the extent of your capabilities, I would be able to beat you in only a few exchanges.”

I looked at him, the way he held himself, and nodded, “I don’t doubt it. So, lunch time?”

“Sure,” Nuan said.

“This isn’t over!” Stone Shark jerk number one yelled, but I ignored him.

“You do know,” Feng said after we grabbed food and moved to a spot outside to sit and eat, “that they will keep coming at you until you kowtow to them?” There were hundreds of disciples around, the area around the Mess Hall crowded with friend groups and cliques sitting in circles. At least a dozen arguments were going on, the sounds of yelling barely audible over the susurrus of the crowd. Thankfully, it wasn’t too loud, and we were able to speak in fairly normal tones.

“I doubt even banging my head on the floor thrice will mollify his anger,” I said with a twisted frown. “I’ll just have to get strong enough, or important enough, that they leave me alone. Maybe by making Cormac bleed, the lower level followers of the Stone Sharks will leave me be for a few days. After that, I can work on avoiding them.”

“Or we can lure their dumber followers into matches and drain them of credits,” Nuan said. “Treat me like an object, humph.”

We chatted for a bit longer, then split up. Nuan and Feng were both headed to cultivate for a bit before their next lesson, while I had to run to get to Introduction to Herbology. I originally thought that the lesson would be in Mackenzie Hall, but the tablet took me well beyond it. The road continued with buildings on both sides before splitting in a fork. To the right, a wide shelf overlooked the valley below us, with two dozen smaller homes commanding pride of place. To my left, though, the road turned into a switchback leading higher on the mountainside.

I was directed right, and past the homes was a large area filled with raised garden beds. A quick set of breaths revealed the Qi in the air was significantly thicker here than at my domicile. Two dozen disciples congregated near the entrance to the interior of the garden, though I only vaguely recognized some in passing. I knew none of them.

Suddenly feeling a bit shy, I was tempted to just wait on the side until the lesson started, but firmly put that thought in its place. I’ve already made some good connections and bad connections, I thought. If I want to thrive here, I need more friends, acquaintances, and partners than I have now. I cannot rely only on Nuan, Feng, and my friends in the worker area. I studied the group of disciples.

The majority of the disciples waiting had gardening tools in hand, calmly having quiet discussions or looking thoughtfully over the garden.  Three others, two young women and a boy my age stood nervously. The girls were giving quick glances at everyone else, their faces so alike they had to be related, while the young man was studiously ignoring everyone, though he was bouncing back and forth between his feet while looking into the garden.

I walked over to the nervous boy. “Hi, I’m Marc,” I said. “I’m new here at the sect.”

He glanced at me, shocked that someone would speak to him, then looked down at the ground. “I’m Fionn o’Brien,” he said. “Uh, um, me too.”

“Why did you decide to attend this class?”

His aggrieved look that I kept talking to him forced a smile on my face. “I liked helping my mother in the garden. Senior Ming said it would be a good way to earn points too, though my Lightning affinity is not the best to grow with.”

“Lightning, that’s rare,” I said, impressed.

“My whole family has it,” he said, sounding embarrassed. “Oh, here’s the teacher.”

An older woman was walking sedately up the path, except every step took her a dozen feet forward. She moved to the front of our gaggle, and every voice hushed as she approached. “Good afternoon, class,” she said. “This is the first class for many of you. If you have attended here before, you have assigned tasks to accomplish. Go attend them. Those of you who are attending for the first time, follow me,” she turned and moved into the garden.

I hurried after her, Fionn following behind me. The twins and an older girl joined us as we entered the garden behind the instructor. I had to stop and stare as soon as I entered the gate. The area seemed to explode out, the visible extent of the garden extending to cover nearly a mile in each direction. Towards the valley, though, I couldn’t see that far, as the shield protecting the living area of the sect stopped. A sheet of water separated the closest half of the growing area from the far half.

A constant rain fell beyond the boundary, and the porous stone of the walkway shed the water. The raised garden beds must barely have any soil, I thought, amazed, else it’d have washed away already. This is amazing.

“Hurry,” the instructor’s voice came. I shook off my stupor, then ran after her. We arrived shortly, finding her standing in front of a garden bed holding two dozen Blood Ginseng plants. They were not yet putting out their flowers, the large leaves the only part that made me sure it was Blood Ginseng. They were slightly red-tinged and lacked the spikes of Jungle Ginseng.

“Who knows what this is?” The instructor asked.

“Blood Panax Ginseng,” I said, then noticed that Fionn and one of the twins had both put their hands into the air.

“Correct,” she answered. “Though impolite. I am Outer Elder Grainne, and I will be your instructor in Herbology if you continue to seek it. I will teach you to care for and grow a number of spirit herbs and plants that are used by the alchemists, inscriptionists, enchanters, and beast tamers of the sect, in addition to those that are consumed directly for various benefits. What is Blood Ginseng used for?” She looked directly at me with her question.

“Uh, when chewed it helps with stomach aches and recovery from illness,” I said. “And its effects are stronger if brewed into a tea. Plus the tea helps you feel better if you’ve been injured.”

“You are a farmer,” Elder Grainne stated. “Those are all correct. Young Blood Ginseng is a helpful tool to calm an aching stomach and increase your blood supply. Alchemists and tamers use it to strengthen the imbiber and it is especially useful for those like yourself in the Body Refining stage of cultivation. It is a key ingredient in the Blood Refining Pill, which is almost necessary for advancing from the Marrow Refining level to the Blood Refining level. Reach that level, and the sect will provide you with five Blood Refining Pills for fifty credits each. If you need more than six, they are five hundred credits.” She looked sternly at us.

“Now, this plant is not doing well,” she gestured to one at the end of the planter. “Why is that? You may not speak.” She pointed to me.

“There are weeds near it,” one of the twins answered.

“That is one reason,” Elder Grainne said. “Any others?”

I wanted to speak, but was directed not to. It got harder as the others looked on confusedly. Finally, I leaned into Fionn’s ear, “It needs blood meal fertilizer added,” I whispered in his ear.

He held up his hand. After Elder Grainne looked at me, she nodded, so he answered, “Uh, Marc says that it needs blood meal fertilizer added.”

“Yes, you can tell by the yellowing of the outer leaves,” she pointed. “That signifies it is missing one of the nutrients found in blood. I will be teaching you many of the signs that plants give when they are in need of specific nutrients, and how we can give them to them. We will discuss proper pruning procedures, water amounts required, and how to care for and protect spirit herbs long enough that they may be useful. Further lessons will incorporate your Qi, whether you have Water,” she gestured to the twins, “or Lightning. Though it will be easier for you, specifically, farmer. I do believe I’ve never felt a Qi like yours. Wood and … Life affinity?”

“Uh, the tester said Growth, Outer Elder Grainne,” I said with a bow.

“Hmm, Growth. Interesting,” she said. “Good. Now.” She turned sharply towards another raised bed. “The next five growing areas need weeding. Each of you take one, and carefully pull the weeds out before they can send more seeds throughout my garden.”

I nodded, then rushed off towards the last one, letting the others take the closer places. Fionn followed me, and split off at the second to last. I looked over the herbs in this planter. There were two different kinds, alternating across the raised bed. On my inspection, I noticed dozens of tiny buds growing out of the ground haphazardly. I nodded, then gently started to move the soil away from the closest weed. I carefully gripped the plant just below soil level, then quickly jerked it out of the ground.

The root extended down at least three inches. “Wow, this thing grew quickly,” I said aloud, shaking my head. I looked around, and then Elder Grainne was there.

“Here,” she said, handing me a small wooden bucket. “Place all weeds into here. When full, I will direct you to where you can empty the container.”

“Yes, Elder,” I said with a bow. She was gone by the time I rose from my genuflection. I grinned, amazed at her speed. Someday, that’ll be me, I thought with a grin. I’ll be the one annoying new sect members with menial tasks. I coughed, fighting a laugh, then got back to work.

Ten minutes later, I was done with the planter, having had to dig out only a few of the larger weeds. My bucket was nearly full, but I was able to shove everything in so it didn’t overhang the edge “Good,” Elder Grainne said, startling me.

“Ah, uh, thank you, Elder,” I said quickly to cover up my embarrassment.

She laughed, then gestured, “Here,” she said after I followed her for a minute. A large wooden square held open a hole into a composting pit. “Drop the weeds in here, then return and help out your fellow disciples.”

“Of course, Elder,” I said, then dumped the weeds in, expecting her to vanish.

She didn’t, just looking at me. “Impress me,” she said, “and it will lead to great things for you. I have a soft spot for former farmers.”

“I will do my best,” I said with a wry grin.

“Good, now shoo,” she gestured.

I laughed, then jogged back to find Fionn whacking at the soil with a spade, digging way too big a hole to get out a weed. “No, no, no, not like that,” I said. “May I assist?”

“Uh, sure,” he said shyly.

“Here, watch,” I said, then smoothed away the soil from the plant. “Grip here, then yank upwards with a twisting motion.” I pulled the weed out. I turned to him, then gestured. “You don’t want to damage the plants around the weeds, so avoid digging deeply around. See, here you cut one of the roots from, uh, that plant.”

“It’s a Gan Cao,” Fionn said. “Uh, licorice root in the common tongue.”

“So cutting the root is probably bad,” I said. “So, let’s be extra careful around this one.”

I spent the next fifteen minutes helping him through how to determine whether a weed can be pulled easily, or when you need to dig out the weed’s root to stop it from stealing nutrients from the plants we wanted to grow.

Once we finished up his planter and disposed of the weeds, we moved down the line to where the older girl was staring at a Fire-veined Storksbill, an annoying weed that liked to crowd out younger shoots. “You need to dig that one out,” I said, stepping next to her. “May I show you?”

She nodded, not looking at me, so I reached forward and said, “These plants develop really long tap roots, so you need to brush out the dirt near the top,” I demonstrated, “and then you might be able to pull it out with a twisting motion.” I tried, but it was still stuck and I knew if I pulled it too hard it’d just tear the root and let it regrow.

“Soon you will not have to worry about that,” Elder Grainne said from behind me. “Now, follow me.”