Chương 60: Decatour Tea House

Rowan Old Hesser waved at Rowan as the three of them passed him.

"Do we want to have tea at the Decatour Teahouse before we go to the pill shop?" Ash asked. Lavinia nodded.

"I haven't been in a while. I heard they had a new shipment of cherry blossom petals from the blooms near Platform City."

"Is there no other place where we can have tea?" complained Rowan sourly. The last thing he wanted to do was give Damion Decatour's family his business. Also, if someone caught him there and reported it back to Damion, Rowan would never hear the end of it. Couldn't resist my house's establishment, could you, Helsing? Of course, even you know we're the best of the best. Damion's arrogant chuckling echoed in his mind. Ash frowned at Rowan.

"I'm only going to be in the city for a few weeks. I would like to visit my maternal uncle." Rowan sighed.

"Fine." Decatour Teahouse was an understated establishment that rose two stories high and had many windows. The deep, red bricks were elegant and the pottery roof was a tasteful dark brown. A spire pointed into the sky, next to which the flag of Righteous Mountain flew gleefully in the wind. Its door was propped open, and a waist-heigh sign showed today's special blend. The inside of the teahouse was dark and cool, and the scent of sandalwood permeated the air.

"Welcome to Decatour Teahouse," said the hostess with a polite smile.

"Do you know where you would like to be seated?" Rowan was about to open his mouth to suggest a table next to a window, just in case he needed to jump out of it in case he saw Damion Decatour, but Ash gave the hostess a wide, sparkling grin and spoke first.

"One of the Black Dragon Rooms will suffice." The hostess's smile widened imperceptibly.

"Of course, right this way… Young Master Ash." She led the three of them up a series of stairs to one of the Black Dragon rooms. The tea room was small - almost cramped - and hexagonal. The walls were painted a deep, dark brown, and the finishings were brushed with gold. There was a chute embedded in the table. Rowan could hear the hum of mechanisms working inside the walls - wheels turning against each other, things buzzing and whirring, and levers releasing with the hissing of steam.

They took their seats, and the hostess passed them a set of menus.

"Order whatever you want," whispered Ash loudly.

"It's on the house. Anything you can get from the tasting menu, at least."

"The Decatour Teahouse places utmost priority on discretion," said the hostess with a practiced smile.

"The walls are soundproof, and the door can only be opened from the inside. Our waiters will perform this knock to let you know we are outside." She demonstrated the series of knocks to the group. With that, she gently closed the door to the room. Lavinia was the first to select what she wanted from the menu.

"A cherry blossom oolong tea!" decided Lavinia immediately.

"With spun-sugar cubes on the side, flavored in three ways. Cherry and honeysuckle and lemon marzipan." Rowan balked at how sweet that sounded. After skimming the menu, he decided not to hit Ash in the pockets too hard.

"I'll get this spring's green tea. Jasmine." Ash nodded.

"Actually, Lavinia's order sounds pretty good. I'll take one of those as well." Rowan stared at him from over his menu. When a waitress performed the series of knocks on the door, Ash leaned over Lavinia's lap to unlock the room door. An older woman with a notepad stood at the threshold, her eyes sparkling with joy. Her hair was long and black except for a single white streak, and she wore a large, lacy hat with a taxidermied bright blue kingfisher pinned across it, the wings stretched out to mimic flight.

"Aunt Olympia!" Ash cried out. He stumbled to his feet, pushing his chair out of the way to embrace her. Rowan forced a smile. This was Damion's mother. Unfortunately, she had never been anything but polite to him. Rowan and Lavinia both stood up, greeting her properly as well.

"I was hoping you would come to see us, Ash."

"Aunt Olympia!" mumbled Ash, into the woman's shoulder.

"It's been so many years." Ash had always been the favorite of all of the elders. Everyone was always so happy to see him.

"You've brought young Rowan with you, and-" She looked at the girl.

"Lavinia Bruschard, ma'am," said Lavinia with a curtsy. Olympia Decatour turned to Rowan with upturned eyes.

"Is that lazy bum Mikael Maulkin preparing you and Damion well for the conference, Rowan?" she asked.

"My son has been so closed-lipped about it all." There were some words in their language that could be used to describe Damion Decatour, but 'closed-lipped' certainly wasn't one of them.

"He's been teaching us quite a lot, my lady," said Rowan. In truth, it hadn't been that much teaching, but at least Senior Brother Mikael was spending a lot of time around them. More than expected, if he were to be honest.

"Helping us hone our techniques and instructing us on practical applications rather than lecturing us on theory and making us memorize passages." Lady Olympia nodded sagely.

"I was never much for cultivation myself, but the best cultivators I've known of, like my older sister Ourania, have always delighted in theory." While the woman spoke humbly about herself, she was still at the peak of Qi Condensation. Equivalent to individuals like Uncle Bael, Baudelain Fross, and the core disciples of Righteous Mountain Sect. Ourania Decatour, however, was another animal entirely. She had been like Pyrus Helsing, Rowan's father - a prodigy.

All Rowan knew was that Lady Ourania now lived at Where Rivers Meet, and if the rumors were accurate, had become the Dao Companion of one of the empire's princes. The Decatour's main line had produced three daughters. Ourania Decatour, the prodigy. Olympia Decatour, the talented wife of the family head. And finally, Odessa Decatour, Ash's mother, who had never made it past the early-stage of Qi Condensation, and married into House Helsing as Uncle Bael's first concubine.

There was an old wound here that no one wanted to bring up. Pyrus Helsing was supposed to have married Ourania Decatour once upon a time. But Rowan didn't know anything about the details. And if he did, he would have pretended not to.

"Why don't you kids tell me what you want? I'll bring your orders to the tea master," said Lady Olympia.

"Two pots of cherry blossom oolong," Ash said immediately, ordering for Lavinia as well. The girl glared at him, and he added, "With cherry and honeysuckle and lemon marzipan too." If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

"The continental sweetener sample is a wonderful choice!" said Lady Olympia.

"We've spent months perfecting our lemon marzipan sugar cubes. I do hope you enjoy my recipe."

"This spring's jasmine green," said Rowan.

"Cold if you have it." Lady Olympia feigned an insulted glare.

"Of course we have it. Would you like it with ice cubes or chilled?"

"Chilled," said Rowan. The woman smiled.

"Your tea will arrive at the first possible convenience. Do please continue perusing the menu." She left with a final smile and a dip of her head at Ash. The door shut.

"Have either of you been in a Black Dragon Room before?" asked Ash, after Lady Olympia left. Neither of them had. Ash grinned.

"Take a look at your menus again." Rowan looked back down at the booklet in his hands. All the tea and snack options had vanished, and in their place were new things to purchase. Information.

Issues of the Day Twin Dragons Empire: Imperial News Continental Trade Dao Court & The Exchequer Righteous Mountain: Righteous Mountain Sect News Conference of Earthly Harmony Four Noble Houses City Legislation & Administrative Offices Golden Incense Caravan and Expo Prominent Families of Note Shipping Timetables Business Weather & Astrological Signs Daily Local Divination Chart Marriage Market & New Prospects (Free!) *Other information available on request He flipped through the menu book.

Each page elaborated on the items from the index - just enough to get patrons interested in buying more.

"It seems that the tax on qi fruits is in fact going through," said Lavinia, with a touch of worry.

"The High Chancellor's pushed it through the tripartisan filibuster. More details priced in taels. Do either of you care enough to buy this information or just me? How do you buy information anyway?"

"It's really simple. Observe the table," said Ash, with a dramatic tap of his finger on the solid cedar. There was an almost hollow echo to it.

"These tables are specially designed so that they will carry your messages to someone who can process them. Decatour Teahouse is the premiere information broker across the entirety of the Twin Dragons Empire." Ash slid a panel that Rowan hadn't even noticed open. A little brass scroll case popped out, as if on a spring.

"You write your message down and you put it in the scroll case, and then you drop it into the chute." Ash pointed at a well-hidden chute on the table. Rowan had noticed it before, but now he knew what it was.

"Where do we write the messages?" Rowan asked.

"If you wish to be traditional, with tea and napkins," said Ash.

"But there's also some paper and quills somewhere around here. Let me check." Ash began pressing various panels in the table, popping them open. Some of them had things for tea, like sachets of Five-Winged Wood Wasp Honey or powdered Bicorn Goat's Milk. Others had strange items like a woman's hairpin, or a resin for a string instrument. Sometimes, Ash would close one panel and then pop it open again and the item inside would be different.

As he fiddled with the table, someone knocked the password on the door, and Rowan let them inside. The hostess from earlier carried in a tea set with two steaming pots of tea on it and one larger cup where the porcelain was frosted over with bits of ice clinging to the surface. She put the tray down on the table and left with a bow. Finally, a drawer popped open with a quill and a block of ink with a deep depression in the center.

Ash poured a sip's worth of tea into the valley in the ink block and it immediately wet into a thick, dark ink.

"We'll just make do with napkins," Ash said, placing the ink block on the table.

"Who wants to go first?" They paused.

"How much does information about tax policy normally cost?" Lavinia asked. Ash shrugged.

"I have no idea. A few taels, most likely. You can put the payment into the tubes, or they'll add it onto the bill at the end."

"And how much does something more personal cost?" Lavinia wondered, playing with a napkin. Ash shook his head.

"Different for each case. The more privileged the information the more it'll cost. Of course, there are some people that the Teahouse won't give you information about at all. Imagine trying to get information about Cousin Damion from the Righteous Mountain Teahouse or something like that. That would just never happen."

"Okay… I have a question," decided Lavinia. She jotted down something quickly on one of the napkins, folded it, rolled it up and stuffed it into the brass scroll case. The cylindrical object was fed into the chute. She pulled the lever, and it shot downwards with a hiss. In a few moments, the case clattered back up, and Lavinia grabbed it with relish. She opened it and frowned.

"It says I have insufficient funds."

"That means you're asking for classified information. We either need to pay up more, or give up equivalent information," said Ash.

"What were you asking for?" Lavinia blushed.

"I asked about Rowan." Rowan stared at her flatly.

"Don't you want to know what they think of you?" she pressed. There was an awkward pause.

"I'm going to use the powder room," said Lavinia, standing up to leave.

"I'll be right back." The door closed with a click.

"They really do make 'em better in Righteous Mountain, huh?" whispered Ash.

"She's one of the prettiest girls I've ever seen. I totally get why you killed her fiance for the right to her hand."

"It didn't happen like that," Rowan said, who had no idea where Ash had heard that.

"Besides, I have no interest in Lavinia." Ash looked at him like he was insane.

"Why ever not?"" Way too much trouble," he muttered. After all, he hadn't even been interested in Lavinia, and he almost died in a duel with an inner disciple over her.

"If you like her so much, why don't you ask to court her?" The man spluttered.

"Not in a million years. Look, she's pretty, but she's so loud," complained Ash.

"Who could stand someone like that yapping in their ear all the time?"

"What, someone like you?" Ash scoffed.

"I'm not that bad." Rowan decidedly chose not to mention that at least Lavinia didn't subconsciously mumble poetry under her breath. Suddenly, Ash's eyes lit up.

"Hey, want to ask the teahouse about that mysterious girl you met in Deepwhale Pier? You seemed to like her well enough." A lightning bolt of anxiety went through Rowan. He couldn't possibly think of a worse idea. Mentioning the name Bellacanicus would have the Dao Court at his door before noon. He looked away, tamping down his spiking heart rate.

"I can't be bothered with romance right now," he said.

"And there's no point. The family will find someone suitable for me." At least, he hoped so. He would have trusted Patriarch Yarrow to make the decision, but the old man was in closed door cultivation. If the choice was in Uncle Bael's hands, or the hands of his older uncles…

"Yeah. You got a city-wide parade thrown for you. You're a hot ticket item. I bet…" Ash flipped through the menu, before pointing triumphantly.

"I knew it. I was right. Look. You're listed as number one in the Marriage Market & New Prospects section." Rowan ripped the menu away from him, unable to believe his eyes. At the very top was Rowan of House Helsing. He'd even beaten out core disciples like Mikael Maulkin and the Decatour's own inheriting son, Damion. He wondered how uncouth it would be to rip this page out of the menu and frame it in his room. A few weeks ago, Rowan might not have even made this list. Now he was at the very top.

Not just at the top - number one. The most eligible bachelor of Righteous Mountain.

"Anyway," said Ash.

"What do you want to ask about, Rowan? Something about the tournament? A suspicious figure in your life?" Rowan thought for a second before an idea struck him.