Dottie had expected something other than a fall. Chanting Escape in conditions like this, when she couldn't move of her own volition, usually had strange effects. She had hoped for something strange. She had seen an opportunity, and though it had taken months of planning, she had arranged the dominoes just right. Everyone who had hurt her was getting what they deserved, thanks to her alpha, and she was finally free.

The fall should have ended with something surprising, but much safer than the concrete she had aimed for. Can this patch of burned-out ruins at the back of Lotus Pier handle her less-than-graceful landing?

It isn't comfortable, but neither she nor the ruins are harmed by the landing.

A head shoots up at the noise.  Wei Wuxian is on his feet in less time and with more grace than the burgeoning nest of wine jugs might lead one to expect.  He strides over and stealthily peeks around the charred wall that separates them.

It doesn't look like anywhere in America (that she's seen on TV). That doesn't say much.

Are there people who she can trust, would be the next question. Dottie needs to find someone soon, before the authorities figure out where she went.

No masking, then- she might need to tame an alpha.

Wei Wuxian watches for a few seconds while the stranger recovers from the fall.  They aren't undead and don't seem to be a cultivator, and have the features and clothing of a foreigner.  No sword, no attempt to move stealthily, confusion at the situation and their surroundings... Wei Wuxian concludes that they probably didn't break into Lotus Pier's territory on purpose.  He also determines that whatever did cause this to happen is likely to be fascinating and he wants to hear all about it.

"Hey there!  You look lost," he says, tone light and in the local language as he steps into view. 

Light tone, that's comforting. Only somewhat likely to be a cop, then, because Dottie has not been the type of criminal to attract cops who'd follow her...here?...and still play nice about it.

"Hello! I don't speak your language, I'm sorry."

The language won't be comprehensible, but the tone should be- and her pheromones are adding the additional signaling to complete the picture.

"I kind of figured you wouldn't speak our language," Wei Wuxian says.  He isn't going to not talk just because he can't be understood, and considers himself good enough at putting on a friendly face that he expects 'I'm being friendly and helpful' to translate anyway.

"It's a good thing you arrived in a cultivator stronghold if you were going to land so far away from wherever you came from.  We have translation talismans!  But I never got around to doing an in-depth study on that one, so we're going to have to go to the library.  Me to scribe a copy from the reference scroll, you to be there because Jiang Cheng would throw a fit if I left you unsupervised out here and there's no reason to subject you to him being all tetchy.  Come along." 

In his typical disregard for personal space, Wei Wuxian is going to try moving them to the non-burned parts of Lotus Pier by grabbing their lower arm.

Wei Wuxian can not pick up pheromones.  In turn, Wei Wuxian smells like rice wine, a lotus-scented soap, and the lingering trace of chili oil from a spicy breakfast, but not much of anything pheromone-wise.

Someone this friendly shouldn't be masking, unless they mask 24/7. And to cover that up with lotus-scented soap- this stranger is definitely making a point.

Dottie follows along, as docile and pliable as any good omega in an unknown environment.

Then Wei Wuxian's guest can be led out of the wreckage and towards Lotus Pier's interior.  The ruins are extensive - hundreds of houses had been burned.  The fire happened long enough ago that most of the smell has faded and plants have overtaken many of the foundations.  The wooden walkways fared better, at least around the path Wei Wuxian is taking them; a large percentage of Lotus Pier is covered in the shallow water of lotus ponds.  Many of the lotus' roots survived, safe beneath the water, and fresh spring leaves are popping up from under the surface in places even now.

The Wen Sect had not burned the very center buildings of Lotus Pier, the ones they were intending to keep for themselves as a supervisory office.  So they eventually come across fine, elaborately-ornamented buildings.

One of these buildings is the library.  A pair of older cultivators are inscribing talismans while their juniors copy damaged or borrowed scrolls, the process overflowing into an adjacent pavilion to make the most out of the sunlight and comfortable weather.

A few juniors stop what they're doing to stare, and Wei Wuxian waves their attention away with a quick, "Back to work with you!  Though ah, you, madam - keep an eye on him, would you?  This stranger teleported in from somewhere and doesn't speak our language so I'm here for a translation talisman." 

Wei Wuxian gestures for the stranger to sit beside a middle-aged woman before darting off.  Like all of the others she lacks detectable pheromones, though lotus-based soaps continue to be popular here.

Looks like they're all presenting as betas, then. It's enough to go on for now. She'll be careful, but won't mask now- it would be odd to do it suddenly.

Dottie sits.

No one nearby seems to mind.  With Wei Wuxian gone the ones who were staring look back up to examine the stranger, but will duck their heads and get back to work if noticed at it.

It takes a bit of searching (Lotus Pier's library had never been as well-organized as certain other sects' libraries even before everyone died and everything was ransacked) but he succeeds in finding the reference he needs.  He returns, but only to grab the nearest unoccupied table and start writing.  The talisman (technically two talismans - one for comprehension and one for being understood in turn) is enormously complex.  Wei Wuxian copies it, then blows on the crimson ink to dry it faster before rolling the papers up into two bead-like pieces and sliding them onto a necklace-length piece of cord. 

Now, Wei Wuxian gets to find out how much gesturing and miming it will take to convince his guest to put on the necklace so it activates.

This is - mildly confusing, but probably fine. Dottie can follow strange local customs if that's what it takes.

She puts on the necklace.

"Ah, very good.  You will be able to understand me now, so belated welcome to Lotus Pier!  I am Wei Ying, courtesy name Wuxian."

"-that's convenient. How did you pull that off? My name is Dottie Matson. Could you explain what a 'courtesy name' is? It sounds important to get right."

"Courtesy names are another name people go by other than their birth name.  Which name you call someone by depends on a number of factors.  I suppose I shouldn't overwhelm you with the whole list.  Lots of non-cultivators just refer to all cultivators as 'Cultivator', or you can call me 'Young Master Wei.'  Or 'Wei Wuxian' if talking about me to third parties and want to make absolutely sure they know who you're talking about, though there's not really anyone else with my family name around here anyone is likely to confuse me for.  Just make sure it's all good things and you point out how incredible I am."

"What should I be referring to you as?"

"And the translation is from the talisman you just put on!  Now that it's activated it'll last around a day, but we can keep making more copies as needed."  Wei Wuxian holds up the reference scroll and shakes it for emphasis.

Alternate universe where they developed an alternate method of co-casting? There can't be a group of people with a civilization like this who have managed to hide from everyone, not with modern technology allowing for unprecedented surveillance- but maybe with a completely different method of chanting, you could. Alternate universe or hidden society. If she's lucky.

"Call me Dottie- it's familiar, but not more familiar than I would be with most friendly strangers. Pleased to meet you. Is the talisman your work?"

"Only the copy you're wearing.  The design itself is a very old one."

While he doesn't care about the rule about taking references out of the library, he really doesn't want to be carrying it around all day.  Wei Wuxian sets it onto the pile of scrolls getting put back, then ushers Dottie out of the pavilion with a quick "Let's get out from underfoot before one of our esteemed scholars complains about the distraction."  And there's plenty of nice places to sit out of earshot.

"So Dottie, where did you come from and how did you get here?"

"I came from the United States of America, and I came here by chanting Escape.

Does any of that sound familiar?"

"No, though we don't deal much with people outside of the empire.  I have heard distant places do magic very differently.  You're a cultivator, then?  Or whatever your homeland has."

Close enough, she hopes.

"It's done differently in my homeland, yes. It requires the work of more than just the- cultivator. You work alone?"

"We have some formations that require multiple cultivators working together, but most of what we do is done alone. 

"Does yours require multiple people, or is it assistance from spirits or some sort of animal companion?  Or the dead?"  Not that Wei Wuxian isn't already interested, but he would especially love to learn more about other kinds of necromancy.

"Multiple people. Animals can't chant well enough, except for a few rare types of birds.

Are the dead here chatty?"

"Not especially, though there are a number of ways to question them and get answers.  On their own the normal thing they use their mouths for is trying to bite people."

That's a bit more enthusiastic than most people are about zombies. She hopes there aren't zombies.

"Is it common around here to raise the dead?"

"It is very rare.  I'm the only one well known for summoning up armies of fierce corpses around here!  Mostly it's just the normal kinds, rising by themselves."

Then, looking more closely at Dottie's expression, "Not to worry, though.  Us cultivators are experts at putting those back down.  Nothing will get you in Lotus Pier."

Okay, so zombies. Normal zombies, and also zombie armies. Great. Dottie will need an anti-zombie plan.

"Thank you for your hospitality. Is there anything you could use more- cultivators- for? I want to earn my keep."