[RSM] Chapter 113. Escape

Two days after the Blood Banquet of Kaorlia

"Sect Master Fox is missing." Deputy Sect Master Severian summoned the elders, Elly, Celestia, and the core disciples, and said words that they feared. He then unfurled the paper scroll that contained the exact details of his disappearance and his crimes. "He was last spotted in the Imperial City of Kaorlia, and has been marked as one of the wanted criminals by Prince Kaorl's faction." 

There was an audible gasp and shock throughout the room. Severian looked absolutely pale, but he did his best to maintain a veneer of calm. There were already whispers. 

"Now. I do not believe he is dead, as the spiritual connections to the defensive artifacts and formations remain unaffected. But it appears that Lord Fox is in hiding. The Prince's forces are still on the hunt for all the remaining alchemists."

The madness of Prince Kaorl didn't need to be explained, but it seemed that Prince Kaorl's argument stung. There were many, many cultivators who didn't like how alchemists charged an arm and a leg for their pills, so there were a surprisingly large cohort of cultivators that joined the anti-alchemist movement. 

Anyone with half a mind would also notice that the movement had also attracted the involvement of all sort of wild, fringe cultivators. Cultivators that eschewed all forms of medical pills and elixirs, puritans who didn't believe in the use of various pills and elixirs, or even more unusual folks that believed pills were poisons. 

Cultivators and fringe ideas were not unusual. After all, a unique idea is a fringe idea. But not all unique ideas are good ideas, and unfortunately, Deputy Sect Master Severian knew very well how difficult it was for cultivators to tell them apart.

Common sense, as the wise men once put it, was laughably absent in the world of cultivators. They were not common mortals, why should common sense apply to them?

"It is likely, that we would be under some pressure over the next few weeks and months, as some would try to take advantage of our Sect Master's absence."

"They'd be fools to try." The visiting Elder, Grayne Fallows, stated. There were additional defensive upgrades made to the Verdant Snow Sect after the attack by the spiritual beasts. "There are enough defensive artifacts in this city to hold off 8th realm cultivators." 

"Greed knows no bounds." Tia Truehaven countered. "The Ancient Titans have cultivators who are closer to god than men, and that has never stopped anyone from trying to rob us and our various offices."

"Your sects have many treasures. That is enough to tempt even the most rational of men." Grayne Fallows argued.

"Regardless." Severian interjected. "Whether there are fools or not, we should be prepared to face attempts against our sect. At the same time, we need to figure out some way to find, and make contact with Sect Master Fox, and extract him out of Kaorlia."

Elder Jashen shrugged. "It's not the first time Tundra's got stuck in some crazy thing, but if it involves Prince Kaorl's men, it'll be quite hard for us to help. They'll know that we are looking for Tundra, and they'll say we are accomplices."

Severian agreed. "Exactly. The only one who could possibly get in and out alive, at the moment, would be Elder Truehaven. Her position as an elder of the Ancient Titans should carry some weight."

Tia's face scowled. "I am not going to Kaorlia to extract your Sect Master."

"If Lord Fox is alive, I think we shouldn't rush into Kaorlia and put ourselves at risk. I would rather try to petition Princess Luharl to assist." Yavin Redaxe proposed, and looked at Elder Fallows.

"My Princess holds no sway over Prince Kaorl." 

"As this matter heavily affects the reputation of the Royal Family, it is likely that there will be an official announcement from the Emperor." Severian declared. "However, whether anyone actually obeys the words of a dying Emperor is another matter." 

"Prince Gomerl and Prince Yaorl should make a declaration." 

"Both Princes are offering to resettle affected alchemists, though no security guarantees are being made."

"Resettle?" Julia asked.

"Yes."

The word hung in the air for a while, and Severian noticed how everyone began to realize what this was. This felt like the start of war. 

The past few centuries have been peaceful. There were fights. There were skirmishes.

But not war. 

Not all out war.

"None of the Prince wants to overextend themselves with these alchemists, after all, they are mostly low-mid tier alchemists, so, they are not exactly committing any of their best men to protect these relatively 'low value' talents." Severian clarified. 

Julia placed her cup of tea on the table with a little more force than normal. Her hands trembled slightly, but Severian was pleased with her growth. As as fellow alchemist, it must've slighted her that alchemists like her are still treated as expendable. 

"As absurd as it sounds, the fate of the alchemists in Prince Kaorl's land is now in their own hands. Many are fleeing, but many more are fighting to protect their homes."

"We should offer to help." Celestia cut in. "I believe Sect Master Fox would've wanted us to."

"Which Tundra Fox, Lady Gale?" Severian asked, a little amused, and couldn't resist occasionally poking fun at his friend's change of heart. Even Severian still found it hard to grapple with his current personality, though he knew what caused it. "If it was Lord Fox from just seven years ago, he would be looking for opportunities to improve our own advantage."

As Tundra's deputy, it was quite simple to understand why Tundra changed tactics.

The old Tundra was a man contending with scarcity. The current Tundra was a man who made decisions from a position of abundance. An abundance of knowledge. 

"Well... the current Tundra would've wanted us to."

"I do agree." Severian said. "Lady Tia, would you be open to us making use of your flying ship, and offer to pick up any of these refugee alchemists?"

Tia Truehaven thought about it for a moment. "No. Not with my ship. I wouldn't want to unintentionally drag the Ancient Titans into a position where we are seen as defying a Prince's directive. The Great Sects have sat this conflict out, as long as Prince Kaorl's people do not attack the Great Sect's disciples and elders. For this reason, the Great Sects have also refused to shelter any previously unaffiliated alchemists or cultivators."

There was a collective eyeroll from the elders. Even Yavin gave Tia a frown. Everyone understood that the Great Sects did not want to position themselves against the Price, but it still felt dishonorable that they refused to provide safe haven.

Celestia sighed. "As expected, the Great Sects care only for their own."

"Then we have to use our own." Elder Jashen said. It was a wise choice for their Sect Master to charter a flight to Kaorlia. It is almost as if he suspected something was going to happen. "If we remove any identifiers, we can still cover our movements as if we are merchant ships." 

"Most Sect Masters will stand and fight. They would not give up their home so easily, even if a Prince declares them as outlaws. Their honor and duty would demand them to do so." Jon spoke suddenly. "We would be mainly evacuating young children, the weaker disciples, and likely just a few protectors. This means we won't be able to use those who were rescued to fight, if we are attacked." 

"So be it." Severian declared. "I agree with Lady Gale. We should help, and it would put us in closer to Sect Master Fox. Unfortunately, I'm not able to leave. The duty of defending our home falls on me, in our leader's absence."

Celestia thought for a moment, "Though my capabilities are lacking, I'd be willing to join the rescue team." 

"I'll go with her." Yavin declared.

Elder Jashen shrugged. "It wouldn't be a good idea to leave two new fifth realms to the task. I'll lead it, but you two can come along. We still stay out of Kaorlia and the regional areas, but will move in and out to pick up anyone who wants to get a ride out to somewhere safer, especially if we hear of anyone fleeing this conflict."

Severian concluded that part of the meeting. "I'll leave the details to the three of you. Take some protective artifacts with you, I'll be speaking to the rest of our allies to see what else we can do."

***

A few days later

Tundra sat in the depths of the treasure realm, when Taurfan walked over and sat next to him. It's been a total of seven days that he's been in the treasure realm, and they were almost ready.

Everyone was patched up, and they wanted to wait for a small gap in Kaorlia's defenses. As it is, the treasure realm could drop them on the edges of Kaorlia's territory, but there was still a big distance from Kaorlia's border to the rest of the world. 

"How are things out there?" Tundra asked.

"Chaos, as much as I expected it to be. Mid tier sects using Prince Kaorl's declaration as a blanket excuse to rob the alchemy clans, and the alchemy clans doing their best to fight back, or flee. You're a named criminal, Lord Fox."

Tundra smiled. This was a new experience for him. In his first life, he did his share of robberies, crimes and attacks on other sects, but an official criminal of the royal family wasn't one of them. 

"You look amused by it."

"What else can I do?" Tundra laughed.

"It seems your sect will be sending a small refugee mission to the edges of the outer regions. They departed just yesterday." 

"Ah. I suppose you won't deliver messages?"

"Normally, no. But in exceptional circumstances, everything is possible," Taurfan answered.

"Fine, fine. I won't ask you to be a glorified messenger." Tundra rose. "If you are ready, drop me at the edges of Kaorlia."

The alchemist group split up into three groups. Some of them, especially part of the ten alchemists that were heavily tortured by Prince Kaorlia, were still trying to recover their cultivation, even if their injuries were already healed. Since they were already denounced by their own sect, they decided it was wise to go with Tundra and wait out the storm somewhere far away. 

A second group wanted to head back to their homes to help out their home defense. Vasu Folk and Rasha Noela both led this group, though both of them were not at their full strength, they are still seventh realm cultivators and could still make a big difference against mid tier sects. 

A third group wanted to run far away, and decided that they were strong enough to risk it on their own. 

The second and third groups had already left, and Tundra wished them all the best. Many of them had a look of resignation that their fate was doomed. It was a feeling Tundra also felt in his gut, that he would be sending them away to their deaths. 

"Come."

***

The treasure realm had its own spatial gateway! Tundra stared at the door, puzzled. It was a point that the other alchemists noticed as well.

"How'd the creators overcome the nested spatial contradiction?" Tundra asked Taurfan. 

"The same way your spatial pouch doesn't explode when it enters another treasure realm, Lord Fox. It's folded twice, so that the outer layer blends to its surroundings." 

Tundra blinked at how simple that sounded, but folding spatial spaces for objects larger than a human body was magnitudes more difficult due to a phenomenon known within the higher realm cultivators as control limitation limit . "But at this scale."

"That's where it is a secret." Taurfan smiled and did not answer.

Tundra stared at it and struggled to understand as well.

However, one of the alchemists, a sixth realm alchemist named Gana Adan, proposed differently. He was once from the Grand Ironshell Sect, but due to his status as a Kaorlian Imperial Criminal, his sect revoked his position as an elder. "Perhaps we are all living in a compressed spatial realm. The flow of spatial threads around us all is irregular."

That made Tundra stop, and stare at the younger alchemist. At first he wanted to dismiss the suggestion, but once he got over the absurdity of the statement, he realized the young alchemist might have a point. If spatial contradictions unravel when they get too big, then just never let it get big in the first place by twisting everything else into the right size.

Taurfan ignored the statement. "Well, once you step through, you will find yourself close the Whistling Water Town. From there, it should be relatively quick to get yourself out of the range of the Kaorlian forces. But I believe your main enemies will be other cultivators. Cultivators who want that bounty."

Tundra thanked the man. "It is what it is, thank you for your assistance."

***

The treasure realm sent them to an area that is thoroughly ordinary, a place with gentle slopes, hills, and trees. There were no unique physical features to identify the place, and it is likely that it would look different in a few weeks, once the seasons changed. 

But alas, it seemed that they were already spotted.

"Prepare for combat." Tundra looked to the five other alchemists in his group, while focusing on the group of cultivators headed their way. 

Cultivators in the sixth and seventh realm are capable of detecting movements in a rather large vicinity, and in their case, there were also large scale surveillance formations placed throughout the area.

"It seems that the entire area has been rigged against us." 

"We should've left earlier, then." Gana Adan quipped, but quickly backtracked, as if afraid to offend him. "Though I suppose that is a tradeoff. Whether to be in the best of health and what they've set up."

Tundra shrugged, as he detected more information from the pursuing party. "They are likely just in the sixth realm, so I think we can outrun them." 

"Oh?" Gana Adan said. "Then let's run. I think if we fight, we're bound to attract the attention of more cultivators."

Tundra looked around and noticed the rest of them looking rather reluctant to fight. Alchemists were alchemists. They generally did not want to get involved in fighting, and if fighting broke up, alchemists usually were at a disadvantage. 

"There's more than one party." Tundra said, as he looked around. "We'll have to go south. It'll likely bring us closer to the territories of the Silent Mountain Great Sanctuary. That may not be a particularly pleasant place."

"But these cultivators won't act so arrogantly within the great sect's territory." One alchemist countered. "I say that's worth it."

"I wouldn't be so confident." Gana Adan answered back. "The Great Sect's rule over their fringe territories is tenuous at best."

"It's our best shot, if we want to avoid fighting. Let's go."

***