Wang Ben sat at the small table in his room the next morning and spread a sheet of paper beside the inkstone. Before he went to see where he would be working, he wanted to write to his grandmother.
He began with the news she was waiting for. He and Elder Hongwei had reached Azure Dragon Fortress the previous afternoon. The keeper had shown him to a room, and he had spent the night there.
Wang Ben dipped his brush again and asked how his grandfather was feeling. Before signing, he added a few words asking his grandmother to look after herself too.
Wang Ben signed the letter. When the ink was dry, he folded it and tucked it inside his robe. He still needed someone to carry it home.
Hongwei was waiting outside when Wang Ben came out. He closed the door and joined the elder. From here, the buildings hid the gate, and Wang Ben paused to look along the passage between them.
"Do we go back the way we came?"
"Let's find Commander Han first," Hongwei said.
The cultivator who had shown them to their rooms was crossing the yard. He was at late-stage qi condensation. Wang Ben raised a hand, and the man stopped.
"May I ask your name?"
"Deng Yu, Young Master Wang."
"Thank you for your help yesterday," Wang Ben said. "Do you know where Commander Han is?"
Deng Yu pointed between two buildings. "By the gate, Young Master Wang. You can go through there."
Wang Ben thanked him. As they passed the corner, he looked back at the building they had left. Yesterday he had followed Deng Yu with little attention to the way. He would need to find his own room again when the day's work was done.
A man came toward them carrying one end of a bench, with another man at the far end. Wang Ben stepped aside to let them pass. Hongwei waited beside him until the passage was clear, then they went on. Wang Ben could hear voices from the yard ahead, and beyond the roofs he saw the wall.
"Will you be staying with me this morning?" he asked.
"I'll come in with you," Hongwei said. "After that, you'll have work to do."
Wang Ben nodded. He had spent much of the journey beside the elder, and had followed him into the fortress and to their rooms. He was glad Hongwei would be there when he met the man he was to help. He wondered what would be waiting for him in the workroom.
The folded paper shifted against his chest as he walked. Wang Ben adjusted it through his robe.
"I wrote to Grandmother," he said. "I thought Commander Han might know someone who could take it back to Redstone City."
"Ask him when we find him."
They came out where Wang Ben could see the gate. He recognized the bench where he had sat the previous afternoon. Commander Han was standing nearby, speaking to a guard. Wang Ben and Hongwei walked over and waited a little way from them. The guard bowed and left, and Commander Han turned toward them.
"Master Wang. Wang Ben. Ready to see where you'll be working?"
"Yes, Commander," Wang Ben said. "Could I ask you something first?"
Commander Han gave Wang Ben a questioning look. Wang Ben drew the folded letter from his robe.
"I promised to write to my grandmother when we arrived. How can I get this letter delivered?"
Commander Han held out his hand.
"Leave it with me. I'll arrange for someone to take it."
Wang Ben passed him the letter. Commander Han tucked it away without unfolding it.
"Thank you, Commander."
"Come along. I'll take you over now."
Commander Han led them back across the yard. Wang Ben walked beside Hongwei.
Commander Han brought Wang Ben and Hongwei to a room where a man stood reading a sheet at a worktable. Small formation flags for warning arrays lay in two groups before him, each with its cloth spread over its own repair sheet. These were the inscribed flags set around an area so the array could warn its controller when someone crossed the boundary. As they entered, he moved one flag and its sheet to the farther group.
"Master Qiao," Commander Han said. "This is Master Wang Hongwei, and Wang Ben."
The man put down the piece he had just picked up and cupped his hands toward Hongwei.
"Master Wang. Welcome."
Hongwei cupped his hands. "Master Qiao."
Commander Han turned to Wang Ben. "This is Master Qiao Mingshan. You'll be helping him here."
Wang Ben bowed with his hands cupped. "Master Qiao."
Master Qiao nodded to him, then stepped aside so he could approach the table.
"Then we'll leave you to it," Commander Han said.
Hongwei gave Wang Ben a nod and followed the commander out. Wang Ben watched them go before moving to the place Master Qiao had made for him. A shallow tray held more loose formation flags. Beside it lay a cloth, a brush and an inkstone, with blank sheets stacked farther along the table.
Master Qiao pulled out a stool.
"Sit here. Count these and wipe off the loose dirt. Leave the inscriptions alone."
Wang Ben sat as Master Qiao brought the tray closer. The shafts nearest him were scuffed, but he could make out the inscribed lines on the cloth.
"The repair entries need copying as well," Master Qiao said. "Keep each paper with its formation flag. Start with the ones nearest you while I finish sorting."
"Have these been repaired already?"
"Yes. All of them."
Wang Ben took a blank sheet from the stack. He had wanted to see a formation at work, with more before him than a few separate pieces.
"Master Qiao, I'd like to learn how larger formations work while I'm here. Could I watch when you work on a complete array?"
Master Qiao looked up from the paper he was holding.
"I have these to finish this morning. Help me with the entries first."
He laid the paper down with its flag and reached for another. Wang Ben set his blank sheet beside the nearest repair entry. He had hoped for more, but there was plenty on the table he wanted to understand.
Master Qiao lifted a piece from the tray, read its paper and placed it with the nearer group. Wang Ben followed the lines on its cloth. The pattern looked like the one on a flag at the far end of the table. He looked between them, trying to see why they had been put apart.
Perhaps there was a small difference in the inscriptions. Wang Ben waited until Master Qiao's hand was clear, then compared them again. The lines turned inward from the edges and met in the same places.
Compare the visible inscription patterns on those two formation flags.
[ANALYSIS: The visible inscription patterns match.]
Wang Ben looked down at the papers. On the sheet nearest him, writing had been added below the first repair entry, with a small hooked mark beside it. The next sheet had the same sign. He could see no hook on the paper beneath the farther flag.
"Master Qiao, what does this mark mean?"
He pointed beside the added writing. Master Qiao leaned over to see.
"That one has come back for repair more than once."
Wang Ben glanced toward the group at the far end. "Is that why you've put these apart?"
"Yes. Keep the groups separate when you count them."
Master Qiao tapped the hooked mark before returning to the tray. Wang Ben read the added entry. It was cramped against the earlier writing, and the last few words ran close to the edge. He drew the blank sheet nearer.
"Do I put the hook beside the same entry in the copy?"
"Yes. Leave room for it."
Wang Ben dipped his brush. He copied the first entry, checking each line against the original before going on. Then he left a space and began the added writing. Without the crowded lines, it was easier to see where one repair account ended and the next began. He put the hooked mark beside the later entry and read the whole copy through.
Across the table, Master Qiao was still sorting. Wang Ben set down the brush and waited for him to put down the piece he was holding.
"Could you check this one before I do the others?"
Master Qiao held out his hand. Wang Ben passed him the copy, then slid the original farther out from beneath its flag so he could see both.
Master Qiao read down the original, then compared the lines on Wang Ben's copy. His finger moved down the added entry and stopped beside the hook.
"This will do. Copy the others the same way."
He handed the new sheet back. Wang Ben laid it beside the original, leaving both with their formation flag, and took another blank page. He could hear Master Qiao moving the next piece as he began the second copy.