Land. Blessed, beautiful land. Adam didn't weep when they saw Lanport, but it was a close thing. Deciding discretion was the better part of valor, they had gone for the shortest possible crossing of the open ocean, deemed as the best way to avoid 'pirates' with suspiciously-Laskarian ships trying to attack them on their retreat. They would hug the coast the rest of the way to Verilia.

As they approached, ripples started up in the ambient mana. Or Adam, on edge from their adventures, started to be able to feel them.

"Oh," Martin looked up at the same time. "Auspicious timing. Let's stay and wait for it."

"Wait for what?" Adam asked.

"Can you feel the ambient mana getting excited?" He continued after Adam's confirming nod. "The Core is evolving. I do believe Lanport has finally had all of its major mana flows anchored. That feeling was the birth of a Town."

"I would have thought they'd be done by now," Adam said.

It was Devon who answered this time. "The local cultivators aren't quite strong enough. Laurel did Verilia all at once because she could handle it. And she's insane. For someone at Madam Skycrest's level it would be dangerous to do more than one a month. Longer for the defensive measures that get the most power flooded in all at once."

The Tide's Defiance coasted to a stop so smoothly Adam only noticed when the city stopped getting closer. They were well within sight now but no glowing dome emerged or anything else overtly magical.

"Well?"

"Focus on the center of the city, the mansion. That's where it will be." Martin said.

Adam did as instructed. There. A flickering light was hovering above the governor's mansion. As he watched, it shifted through a rainbow of colors, breaking apart and recombining in a kaleidoscope of patterns. They observed for half an hour before the light faded, along with the disruption in the ambient mana.

"What do you think Devon? Look like home?" Martin said.

He got a snort for his troubles. "I think I'd prefer the mountains if the Meristans don't mind. Closer to the mines. Farther from the bustle of so many coming and going."

"I'm sure they'll take what they can get at this point. Especially with the news we're bringing."

That brought the mood down considerably and Martin restarted the mana manipulation that pulled them through the water, this time angling north for the last leg of their journey.

Adam settled back in with his book, next to where Devon was doing something with the legacy stone. Maybe just cuddling it for comfort.

"You know," Martin said, interrupting them both, "I've actually gotten used to having you around Devon. It will be weird to be back without you lurking around the city."

"Aww, look you're all grown up and talking about your feelings," was Devon's cutting reply.

Martin made a rather obscene gesture in response. "I take it back. Fuck off to the mountains and stay there, asshole."

"I'm sure we'll have people going back and forth all the time," Devon said, this time more serious. "And I don't know if my nerves can take spending too much time in a city where Laurel might pop out from behind every corner.

"At some point," Adam cut in, "I need to hear what actually happened at this mythical tournament between you and Laurel."

"Then I suggest you take up mana-infused brewing or something similar, because that is not a story we are touching on sober, I can guarantee you that," Devon said.

They bickered and joked late into the night, until Adam called it quits to head below and into his hammock. The others stayed on deck as they had each night since leaving Laskar. Martin burning himself at both ends to keep them moving and Devon keeping watch and company in equal measure. Just a few more days and they would be home.

********

They arrived, gliding back into the same lagoon they had left from. Adam felt like he'd aged about ten years in the months they were gone, but everything here was exactly the same. Or not quite exactly. When they left there hadn't been a dangerous woman with an unhealthy obsession with lightning lounging on the beach, but that was gentrification for you.

He could feel the grin splitting his face, only getting bigger with Devon's put-upon sigh. That was until the deck disappeared from beneath him. He had time to swear once before a gentle breeze caught him and carried him to shore, depositing him right next to Laurel on the sand. Her strong arms came around him in a tight hug, while he watched Martin stroll across the water like it was a solid road. Devon fared the worst, boots getting wet before he could pull out his own hovering device.

Martin was pulled into his own hug when he arrived. Devon too, the enchanter looking decidedly uncomfortable the entire time.

"Welcome home," she finally said.

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Adam felt so much tension leave him at the simple phrase that he almost fell over, catching himself before he could be embarrassed.

"Wasn't expecting you to meet us," Martin said.

By unspoken agreement they all started off on the long trek back to the city. Laurel, he knew, could cover the distance far faster in the air. Devon and Martin were almost as quick with their own movement techniques. But they seemed to all have news to share that was best done before they had so many listening ears.

"It's been everything all at once here," Laurel was saying. "Mana aspects, and guild issues, and trying to win people over. Bad actors influencing public opinion, visits from new friends. Threats from old enemies. Politics. Teaching. The politics of teaching. And we're in the process of organizing a festival for next month. So if someone asks about traditional cultivator practices you need to tell them we always do some sort of fall exposition to celebrate the end of the harvest and all the exciting things we've done that year. Make up a reason, it doesn't matter what."

That was too much information all at once and Adam decided he had damn well earned a day to just smile and nod along. So that's what he did. It would all filter in over the next few days, he was sure. But all he could think about was one of Esther's masterpieces and his own bed.

"Laskar City's Core is fully evolved," Martin said. No hedging around anything. "And their other population centers are close. We fought Dariella Zaelos. Put a name on the bad guys. 'Order of Decorra', pretentious twats. They're bringing back suppression collars, and forcing people into them if they step out of line. It's a mess."

"Too much to hope that you would come back having triumphantly destroyed our enemies I guess."

Martin laughed like it was an old joke.

"I suppose we live in interesting times," Laurel said. "Good lessons to be careful what you wish for when you're young. The universe just might deliver."

They arrived at the Via Merista to find a steam carriage waiting. Or no, there was no boiler poking out from anywhere. They boarded the odd conveyance, Adam noting the army insignia on the side.

"They're like the planes," Laurel satisfied his curiosity. Apparently those instincts were not so suppressed after all. "New, but they let me borrow one today."

"How'd you get Mansfeln to agree to that?"

"Well I agreed to some extra lessons for the military. You're not the only ones coming back with bad news. Also I didn't ask."

Martin laughed and Adam leaned back and shut his eyes. Honestly, anger from folks on their side wasn't even registering after months of life or death concerns. He spared a thought as he fell asleep to realize this must be for his benefits, the others more than capable of traversing the distance on their own without any effort.

The next thing he knew they were disembarking at the sect house. He stumbled inside, following his nose to the dining room. A silence spread out from his entrance like ripples in a pond. Then cheers. It hit him like a physical blow, the realization that there were dozens of people that knew who he was. That cared about him and his return. Leander even leapt up and gave him a hug. That started a cascade of the others swarming him. He briefly lamented the loss of his beard and the ability to hide. Then he was sinking into safety, home, and the love of a family he'd chosen for himself.

**********

"I literally cannot Martin."

"Sure you can, I'll tell you everything that happened and you tell Mansfeln and the others. Easy."

"Absolutely not. You do this or every time you try and sit down for the next year you'll be getting a shock."

"Fine. But I'm doing it all at once. None of this preliminary with one group, then the rest, then the king when it turns out to actually be important," Martin conceded with ill grace.

"Perfect. You'll go tomorrow. Over and done with. What's next?" Laurel asked Annette, who consulted the list.

"Shouldn't we wait for Adam?" Martin asked. Yes he was stalling. No he didn't care. There was a certain settling in process after an adventure like the one they'd just had. It took some time, and being difficult was part of it.

"He looked done last night. I figured we could let him sleep and go over his parts later," Laurel said.

That was… actually a good point. He would curb his own instincts in this one specific case.

"Was it that bad?"

He turned to see Annette looking at him with a rare break in the cool front she liked to put up while working. A long sigh gave him some time to formulate the right answer.

"It was pretty disheartening. We're losing a race that we very much need to win. It was dangerous and being on your guard for that long is tiring on its own. We got the Legacy Stone. And a lot of information. So it wasn't all bad. Far from the worst outing I've had since taking missions for the sect.

"But I've also done this for decades. It was definitely rough for a first outing. He had to kill people, and watch others die, and that's not something you get over. You just grow yourself in new shapes that can accommodate that truth instead."

He watched as the concern ratcheted up with every word he spoke. Laurel was accepting, but then again, Laurel had done almost all the same missions he had. She was likely expecting Adam to come back with some baggage and would be ready to help him through it. Their intrepid city-born-and-raised Quartermaster not so much.

"He'll get through it. We'll help him through it," Laurel corrected herself immediately. "Part of that is doing more of the busy work while he eases his way back into the rhythms of the sect."

Assured that being back on topic was the best way to help, Annette dove into the list with the zeal of the newly evangelized. "Next thing is special invites for the festival. The usual crew, I'd presume. The kids already reached out to a lot of the locals that you pinged as cultivating."

"Make sure any members of the guild get invites as well. Even if only a few of them come it will probably help. Leander made a friend recently, he might want to deliver that one if he's still in the city. Rex something or other," Laurel said.

"Good. The palace is handling advertisements, and most of the logistics. We need to set up the showcases ourselves though. I've made a list here with Sabrina."

She passed Martin a sheet that contained a longer accounting of local trades than he'd expected. Along with a truly impressive amount he and Laurel were expected to do. He glanced up to see Laurel looking resigned. He couldn't blame her. They already knew they were moving slowly on advancing the Core. But confirmation from Laskar that they had multiple Cities already was quite a blow to their sect. Neither he nor his best friend were used to being the underdog and it was not somewhere he intended to stay.

"What about an exhibition match?" he asked when he got to the end of the sheet.

"Hmm?"

"A match. Laurel and I could spar. Lots of very impressive magic. It'd be fun to watch."

"Oh yes, we haven't really gone all out in a spar in ages." Laurel was on board. The gleam in her eye said she was already thinking of new tricks to throw at him.

"I'm not sure the palace will go for that." Annette tried to throw a bucket of water over his idea but he was already too invested.

"They will. Spin it as a way of people knowing more about the city defenders. 'Look at what stands between you and the monsters' kind of a thing."

"That, that might actually work," Annette said. She made a note as they continued to brainstorm contests they could spin as nominally related to the festival.

"We should do a physical tournament as well, no techniques, just martial skill," Laurel added. "The kids need more practice, especially the ones that haven't really done much person to person fighting yet. Let some of the special forces soldiers join in, it will remind them the importance of long practice. Maria will love it."

"You should see if you can do the obstacle course with the floating pieces again, like you did for the girl's contest." Annette said, now fully on board. "That was quite impressive visually."

"How did that ever end up?" Martin asked. When he left Rebecca and Gabrielle had been swiping at each other like alley cats, but dinner the previous evening was pleasant enough, no animosity that he could see.

"It actually worked," Laurel said. "I mean I suggested the duels because of a similar situation in one of the previous Sectmaster journals. But it was crazy how similar the patterns were. I'm pretty sure now they're just keeping lists of other things they can fight over. They started hanging out just to plan new contests."

"I guess teenagers don't really change," she tacked on after.

"Stars above that's a relief. I'm actually looking forward to getting back into lessons. Did not want to deal with those two interrupting every five minutes."

They eventually made their way back to the festival preparations. Martin could see the to-do lists piling up in his mind's eye the more they discussed. Adam wandered in when they were about two thirds of the way through Annette's list, out of sorts but eager for something to keep busy with.

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