Search for Sef

Shui was slightly surprised by Fatty's decision, but seeing as he was eager and the task wouldn't be difficult, he agreed to his request. Fatty stepped forward and took Shui's place to face the receptionist.

"We've decided to stop in this region on our way back to the capital out of curiosity. Could you inform me of the latest happenings?"

When Fatty spoke, he sounded surprisingly sophisticated. Serina gasped in wonder, but Shui already knew that Fatty didn't come from a humble background. The receptionist also didn't appear flustered and responded without being intimidated or confused.

"If you haven't registered with the Workers' Association, that information will cost one silver."

The price for information was also dependent on the simple laws of supply and demand. The rarer the information and the more people wanted it, the more it would cost. Still, since the recent information sold to outsiders by the Workers' Association was always publicly known, so the cost was relatively stable.

"Very well." 

After Fatty took out a silver coin, the receptionist reached under the counter and exchanged it with a dull jade slip. This was made with old jade deliberately refined in such a way so that it could only be used once. This reduced the cost of making it and helped reduce the chance of reselling, so it was like hitting two birds with one stone. Once he accepted the jade slip, Fatty thanked the young man and then they left together. 

Shui was wary of pursuers, but it seemed that these workers were more law-binding than those in Cyrus, so that worry appeared unnecessary. Shui took the jade slip from Fatty and read it with his spiritual sense. It crumbled to dust as he examined its contents with his brows slightly furrowed. There was nothing recorded in the jade slip that came as a complete surprise, but the finer details made Shui think that their timing could have been better.

"It looks like the Darino Gang won't be the only thing to worry about. We'll stay in the city for the rest of the day for some more information gathering and then move out tomorrow. Next, we should,"

Shui was about to declare their next destination, but then he suddenly stopped in place and his eyes narrowed as he looked towards the tall mountains in the distance. Fatty and Serina also stopped and watched him with concern and befuddlement. After a few seconds they started wondering if they should call out to him, but he returned his gaze to them before that.

"Change of plans. We leave immediately."

"Huh?"

"Did something happen?"

Shui intended to answer at first, but a much quicker explanation began so he chose to wait. It started as a slight tremor that only the unstable goods sold by peddlers felt, but that was enough of a signal for the natives. Those with fragile wares quickly closed shop, while others entered buildings and closed doors. Some cultivators stood as they were with slight confusion, but those with experience braced themselves. Fatty seemed to realize something as the tremors increased in intensity, but Serina was without a clue until the moment the phenomenon was announced throughout the city through intent communication.

"A wave is coming. All should be prepared for impact."

Before the announcement could finish, the tremors suddenly jumped, in a literal sense. The slight shaking became a rumble that knocked the unprepared off their feet. Shui and Fatty had some understanding about what was happening, but Serina had only heard about this sort of disaster so she was the most frightened.

"Wah!"

Earthquakes were sometimes feared even more than hurricanes and hailstorms because of their sheer unpredictability. A city could be in complete peace one moment, only to have all of its buildings tumbled and its citizens crushed under the rubble the next. Of course, for Soul Realm cultivators like themselves, regular earthquakes only presented a minor danger, and could be almost ignored by those in the Earth Realm who could utilize flight artifacts. Nevertheless, being abruptly caught up in an earthquake wasn't doing any favours for Serina's heart.

The quake barely lasted a minute, and fortunately there were only complaints about broken items and how inconvenient it was after it was over. However, that was only because this city, like many others in Stonefield, were well prepared for these earthquakes, which they called 'waves' due to their frequency. 

"That was a sudden one. Do you think it's already rumble season, Boss?" Fatty asked while calmly looking around at the locals' reactions.

"That's right, it was included in the information from the Workers' Association. There's no official range for it so I was hoping we would be lucky, but I guess not."

"Wait you two! Could you please explain what you're talking about?"

Serina was usually more reserved, especially around Shui, but after feeling her heart drop, her impatience shone through more than her courtesy. Shui took no offense and kindly answered her.

"Yes, I suppose that should come first. You see, in addition to its plentiful ore deposits and earth elemental energy, Stonefield has one other feature that's well-known. It's because of this feature why not a lot of forces settle in Stonefield despite the good environment. For a period ranging from one to three months every year, Stonefield has what's called a rumble season where earthquakes, which they call 'waves', occur at a rate of one every two or three days. They vary in intensity and length for the most part, but there have been times when cities and mountain ranges split apart and a wave lasts for an entire week. With such a volatile land, there's no way any common array master would be able to build a long-lasting array that's normally used by most forces."

After hearing Shui's explanation, Serina began to calm down. It was still a frightening matter, but since it wasn't a mystery all she needed was time to understand it. However, right as her heart was about to return to peace, a terrible thought grasped her attention.

"Wait! Won't my brother be affected by this?"

Shui hadn't said where exactly Sef was, but since he had come in search of ore, it wasn't hard to guess that he was in one of the rocky mountain ranges searching for it. In the well-built cities of the Stonefield region, there was little to fear from most of these waves, but in the mountain ranges a small tremor might be enough to trigger an avalanche of stone that could crush any mortal alive.

With a solemn expression, Shui nodded, "That's right. That's why we need to hurry. I have my means of monitoring his condition so I'm sure he's not dead, but that doesn't mean he's not in danger."

Colour quickly faded from Serina's face. The urge to dash off in search of her brother was almost overpowering, but Shui's assurance that he was alive and her own ignorance of his location left her hesitantly stuck in place. Shui also didn't think this was the time to take a break so after another look at Sef's line of fate, he led them towards the exit of the city. Sef seemed to be deep within a mountain range closer to the center of the region, but while the straight line distance between them could be covered in two days, traversing on a mountain could never be that simple.

'Sef, I'll need you to hold a little longer. For both of your sakes.'