Eight 4

Our Haol was a quiet man generally, but he knew his way around the complicated terrain of people’s hearts. Once he saw Anya and Weni contemplating the advice that had been shared with them, he turned his attention to the question that had bugged me during the fight.

“At higher levels,” he explained, “it’s nearly impossible for the land soldiers to provide justice, so the law lets those who’ve been wronged to seek it directly. In our case, an investigation is required afterward, but the town leadership will find that we acted rightly.”

“But why didn’t the silvered help?” I asked. “They’re the ones best equipped to deal with high-level threats.”

Haol nodded. “You recall how the World Spirit can grant people authority? Every dark or silvered gets a portion, and an even greater amount if it’s appropriate to their path.”

“Like I have authority over the weather,” I said.

“Yes,” Haol gestured. Then aloud, he said, “The issue is that authorities are invisible for the most part, and when they clash, it often isn’t obvious which is higher. That’s why the silvered didn’t intervene.”

“But then anyone can claim the authority to do anything,” I complained.

Haol shook his head. “The world speakers review all cases involving authority, and they brutally punish anyone who misuses it or intervenes when they have no right to. The silvered knew they only had to wait for the truth to be revealed.”

“Meanwhile people die, while others watch from the sidelines.”

“That happens, yes, but this is a world of striving,” Haol said. “The Path to Perfection is a harsh one.”

I chewed on that and didn’t like the taste. The reality, though, was there was no easy answer to the problem of high-leveled combatants fighting, especially when some had the direct permission of the World Spirit to do so.

Any kind of institution created to ensure the peace could as easily cause as much suffering as the problem it was designed to address. Maybe more, since it’d have society’s blessing to act.

“Hey,” I blurted out. “The Maltrans couldn’t have had authority to bomb us or to attack the Glen. That doesn’t make any sense.”

Haol went quiet to think, then said, “No, they surely wouldn’t, but the honored silvered didn’t know what we knew. They didn’t have the proof of your spirit eyes.”

“So they chose to stay out of it?” I asked.

“Most would,” Teila said, chiming in. “Why buy trouble at the market, when it comes free every morning?”

I couldn’t help wrinkling my nose at the Diakshan proverb. Not everyone was a busybody like me, but… “They could’ve contained both the Maltrans and us, and then figured out who was in the right,” I said.

“Could they?” Haol asked.

The question was meant for me, but Anya roused from her thoughts to answer. “Hypothetically yes, but in a situation where you don’t know the people involved—don’t know their talents and capabilities—the risk is enormous. Not even the silvered are safe, as we demonstrated by killing two of them.”

“There is also the potential harm from obstructing authority,” Weni added.

“So, people simply fight?” I asked.

“They do,” Weni said, “and afterward the law sorts between the blessed, legal, and illegal.”

Haol gestured to say that she had the right of it.

Well, that at least gave me something to think about while we waited. My Status clock told me it was 11:02 am, and Tegen had kept the team updated on the status of the investigation. I knew things were going all right; it was just taking time.

Dooli was apparently singing like a bird. The story was that he worked as a guide for those wanting to travel through the pass, while on the side he reported to the Maltrans about who and what he saw along the way. He’d taken over the job from his mother after she’d died of the shakes about a decade back. He’d apparently found her kit while going through her things.

She’d been the real spy, and he’d never really thought about the consequences of filling her role. It was a way to keep the extra income flowing.

There’d also been the magic items found on Theloc and Issa—a pair of bracelets that Yuki showed me through Tegen’s eyes. Each had four little brass faces stamped into them that, when activated, changed how a person appeared, as well as how their talents displayed on a spirit map.

In addition, there was the basket that had been carried by Eswelo. It contained three sizeable chunks of silverlight. Except that, even as they sat on the table along with the rest of the evidence, the silver flaked away to reveal an ugly mass of darklight underneath.

The assassin had been headed toward the hierophant and Tethdlen with the basket. Xefwen didn’t attend any part of the investigation, so we didn’t know his reaction to that. He had to be gratefully, though, yeah? It should let us off the hook for effectively starting a shootout in the town’s plaza. Maybe we’d even get a reward?

###

The hierophant rolled out of Bashruuta in his stone “carriage” with about a dozen porters and guards following after him.

‘He’ll preside over the race from Fort Olana,’ Tegen sent.

‘We’ll be able to leave soon too,’ Mumu added. ‘I’m almost done with this damned paperwork.’

‘Oh, the report doesn’t look that burdensome,’ Tegen thought, a touch gloating. ‘Unfortunately, it requires the actual lodge master to complete it.’

What followed was some foul language from Mumu, cut off by Yuki. That won a smile from me, the first of the day. And why not? The Maltran saboteurs were dead, and we’d soon be able to start our expedition without fear of them trailing us.

Eventually, Mumu and Tegen were escorted back by a member of the inn’s staff carrying a basket. From it, he unceremoniously distributed seven of the feathers we’d seen earlier.

“A gesture of the honored hierophant’s goodwill,” Mumu explained. “We’re allowed to continue in the race.”

How good of him, I thought sarcastically. After we did him the favor of protecting him from turning dark.

‘Eight,’ Teila cautioned. ‘Don’t say anything rude.’

I’ll be good, I promise.

And you know what? It was fine. We weren’t in the race to win. Starting late only meant that we’d have to rough it before reaching Fort Olana for two nights instead of one. According to the forecast, we’d get rained on, but the worst of the storm appeared to be stalled at sea, so we’d manage.

Plus, I got to hold a beautiful feather glowing with the light of a twilight summer’s day. When I brought it close to my nose, a warm breeze tickled me. The inn staff with the basket snickered, but I didn’t care.

What’s cool is cool, I thought.

‘And the feather is cool!’ Yuki added.

I looked over at Anya whose eyes had turned silver as she gazed at her own feather. Okay, that’s even cooler. Freaky too, but I can dig it.

She came over to examine each of our feathers, and at the end slumped a little from exhaustion. Our Anya had burned through most of her mana during the fight with the Maltrans, so she was now tapped out.

“They are free of enchantments,” she said.

“Really?” Mumu asked, surprised.

I was similarly boggled. “Like, even if the feathers are meant to serve a purpose dictated by the hierophant’s divinations, they could’ve also done double duty by keeping track of the racers.”

“That would be a good use for them,” Weni said, her own brows furrowing.

“He doesn’t care,” Haol said, shrugging. “All that matters is the race’s results.”

Around the circle, the rest of us nodded one by one as we each came to the same conclusion.

“That means we can get started,” Anya said, perking up.

“Yes, we’re finally done with this place.” Mumu gestured to the inn staff and received a bundle in return.

I knew what was inside from the way it captured my attention—the Maltrans’ light. My throat swallowed without me. “Is there anything else? We’re all good on our payments to the other expeditions?”

“We didn’t have enough money with us, so arrangements were made to have it delivered to their lodges,” Tegen said.

“And what about?” I nodded toward the bundle now in Mumu’s pack.

“Field rules apply,” Mumu said, her eyes narrowed. “We’ll need our strength, so there’ll be no fasting today, and this evening we’ll hold an abbreviated ceremony. The Maltrans meant to cut short our expedition. Instead, they’ll help to serve it.”

Anya raised her fist. “Yes!” Then put it down when she realized she’d been the only one.

Our hunters were polite, though. They hid their smiles behind their eyes. And truly, our thoughts were already on the road ahead.

We checked our gear to ensure it was in good order, the feathers safely tucked out of sight. Then, we walked toward and through the south gate under the watchful eyes of the town’s land soldiers.

On the other side, we picked up the pace. There were six hours until sunset, and we could cover a lot of ground before then.

Bashruuta had been an interesting place. It might be fun to one day bring the family there to see the shows at the Wholesome Ox—but maybe not for a good long while.

###

Flashes of lightning lit the peaks to the east, the thunder rolling down the mountains’ sides, but the forecast held. Down where we were, all we got were showers and the winds swirling around us, sometimes picking up speed to snap our cloaks and other times stilling to almost nothing.

We stuck to the road for the first part of the journey, the same one we’d taken to get to Bashruuta, but halfway to the shrine to Nurus, we turned south toward Arvooren—about two hours altogether to get there.

The village was tiny, about half the size of Voorhei, but it overlooked a lake and had lots of boats in the water. We stopped briefly to check for news, but the only gossip was about the race and the other expeditions who’d passed through earlier in the day.

There was the distinct smell of fish in the air, and the people seemed healthy enough. The pyramid was the smallest I’d seen yet—about the size of a two-story house. The serpent decorations were nicely done, though. The details and line work were especially fine.

We each quickly drank some hot soup, and then we continued on, anxious to cover as much ground before dark as we could.

There were no roads south of Arvooren, only a wide expanse of forest dotted with lakes. None of us had been here before, so we entered the trees warily. Yet, within minutes we found ourselves laughing. Even Weni and Anya couldn’t help themselves.

There turned out to be an advantage to letting all the other expeditions go first—they blazed a trail so obvious, even a non-hunter could follow it. Broken branches, the corn husks that had wrapped their meals, and so on—the way was littered with evidence of their passage. Like, seriously, some of these people had never spent any time outside of a city.

One fellow—with a notch in the heel of his left boot—seemed to go out of his way to find places where he could leave the clearest footprints possible. Even with the rain working to wash them away! His Survival skills seemed so bad, I wondered if it was a trap or decoy of some kind, but neither Mumu nor Snow turned up anything when they went looking. Whoever he was, his trail discipline was that awful.

As we hiked through the trees, another advantage became evident—the way had been cleared of dangerous creatures.

Most wildlife knew to skedaddle in the face of a high-leveled mob. A few creatures, though, were naturally ornery, and we found evidence of skirmishes—the signs pointing to the expeditions’ clear, unequivocal victories.

As we moved farther away from Arvooren, a few creatures appeared out of the rain to check us out. Yet, every single one retreated as soon as they got a good look at us. Unbelievably, even a water-affinity kalihchi bear turned and fled. Who would’ve ever thought that was possible?

The only reasonable explanation was that she was skittish from encountering the other expeditions first—that and the threat of the approaching hurricane looming over us. The wildlife seemed to be hunkering down, even the deadliest of them.

###

Once we were well and away from Arvooren, Ikfael came out of her figurine to stretch her legs, eat, and take care of her other needs.

You’d think that all those biological processes would pause while one was merged with stone, but that apparently wasn’t the case. They slowed down but didn’t stop completely. Otherwise, a being might effectively become immortal by residing within their element and never coming back out. Well, spirits of the land were already immortal, unless their avatars died, but the effect on mortal beings carried over to affect them too.

She was in a spirited mood, our Ikfael—unbothered for having spent so long within her figurine and, like us, excited to finally be on the road to Old Baxteiyel. She patted each of us to express her thanks for killing the people who’d attacked the Glen. Nothing more than that, though, since there hadn’t been an exchange made beforehand specific to it.

Still, her gratitude was enough for me, and the two of us chatted while we walked. Well, I walked. Ikfael’s legs were too short to keep up, so she rode atop my pack.

###

About an hour before sunset, we started looking for a defensible position in which to spend the night. The showers had come and gone and come back again, so there was water pooled and muddy ground everywhere. Veering into the hills helped a bit, but no convenient caves appeared along the way. Fortunately, we had Ikfael who was One with Water and Stone.

As we trekked south, she kept watch for a spot that would be structurally sound. A couple of times, she hopped down from my pack to dive into the local stone, but it wasn’t until the third reconnaissance that Ikfael was satisfied with what she saw. She led us toward a vertical section of limestone.

“Will that hold?” I asked.

“Yes,” she signed and began to carve out a shallow area for us to shelter under—a long overhang that would keep the rain off while we slept. Then, she built a low wall from the unused stone, being mindful to create holes at the base, so that the rain wouldn’t pool. Next came a hooded pit to hide our campfire.

The exchange we’d made back in Albei included Ikfael’s support for the expedition, so nothing extra was required on our part. The same held true for whisking away the water soaking us and our gear, as well as the firewood she’d stored in her Hoarder’s Pocket.

She made it so easy, our Ikfael—such a talented and thoughtful travel companion. Each of us expressed our gratitude to her, otherwise we would’ve had to spend a lot more time and effort to find a decent place to camp.

I gave her extra portions from our supper, including some stew from my own bowl, as did the others including Weni and Anya. The sisters were a bit uncertain at first, but they relaxed when Ikfael simply accepted and ate their gifts.

Afterward, I looked over at Mumu to see if she was ready to distribute the Maltrans’ light.

“We’ve made better time than expected,” she said.

“Does that mean we’ll reach Fort Olana by tomorrow?” Anya asked, excited.

Mumu shook her head. “If there was a road to follow, maybe, but with the woods so thick and the ground so wet—it won’t be possible.”

Weni asked, “We’re slowing you down, aren’t we?”

Mumu waggled her hand in a yes-no gesture. “We don’t expect you to be hunters, so there’s no reason to consider it a problem. We are who we are and we do what we can do. That’s all there is to it.”

Almost as if to punctuate her words, the rocks in a nearby scree shifted. We all turned to look, as if we could peer through the stone.

“It’s okay,” Ikfael signed. “The rock above will hold.” Then, the sky suddenly opened up—a deluge falling. “That, though, I can’t do anything about.”

At which point, everyone looked toward me, so I closed my eyes to become one with the sky and felt the incredible heaviness of the water. There was too much suffusing the clouds above; it was impossible to hold it all. It must simply slip free to the ground below.

Coming back to my body, I understood that I could ease the rain falling on our little section of the hill, but I’d likely have to burn through a good chunk of my body power to do it. And for no reason—Ikfael’s camp kept us dry, and the deluge would be short lived, another twenty minutes or so.

“It’s not worth the energy,” I said.

Technically, something might use the downpour to sneak up on us, but the odds of that happening were slim. None of the creatures we’d come across over the past few hours had wanted to spend time in the rain either.

To make a point of it, I turned to look out over the wall that Ikfael had built and couldn’t see a damn thing past ten feet. Not even my spirit eyes helped, so I became one with the land and felt the overwhelming rain seeping into every corner of the forest. The small things hid, and the ground drank deep of the everyday miracle that was water.

The trees bore the weight—their limbs providing shelter and their roots gripping the earth. One in particular, though, seemed unhappy. Another, closer to the camp, soon joined it. Then a third, this time even closer, joined in.

My hands moved to warn, “Possible danger approaching.”

In the background, Yuki shared the details with my team. Not that I paid attention. One with the land and sky, I pled with the spirits of the air to temporarily ease the rain over us, and a couple of minutes later the view cleared enough for me to look out onto the nearby woods. All there was, though, was the rain continuing to fall.

“I don’t see anything,” Haol said.

“Same for my spirit eyes,” I said.

“My—” Mumu paused to concentrate. “My Wild Sense tells me danger is approaching. More than one…”

Neither Owl’s Ears nor White-Tail’s Senses revealed anything, even after I asked the wind to carry any scents toward me. The spirits of the trees were upset, however—several of them in a cone. A group of something was converging on our location.

Immersing myself deeper into the land, I felt the trees’ roots disturbed. “Underground!”

Instantly, Ikfael dropped into the earth, while the rest of us quickly evacuated the shelter to limit the possible attack vectors. My spear in hand, I kept my spirit eyes on the trees downslope.

“West?” I asked.

“That is what my Wild Sense is telling me.” Mumu glanced around. “Tegen, that oak five saqilm to our right.”

The older hunter nodded and escorted Anya and Weni to the tree about fifteen yards away. He’d also help them up into the branches and guard their position once they were there.

Mumu continued, “Haol and Teila, you too. Shoot from the adjacent trees, one to each side.”

They nodded and took off with their bows. Their Dog’s Agility spells were already running, so they were up in the branches well ahead of Aslishtei’s nieces.

“Where do you want me?” I asked.

“On the ground with me,” Mumu said.

I flashed an, “Okay, okay.”

And not a second later, the ground thumped downslope. Mumu and I waited, yet all became quiet again—all we heard was the sound of the rain falling.

Another thump came, and this time the ground split to eject a black-carapaced ant the size of a terrier. It had the long legs of a spider—the two in front thick while the others were thinner.

The spider ant was dead before I could use my Status camera, though. Two arrows speared through it as soon as it had become visible.

“Coordinate!” Mumu yelled. Followed by the thought, ‘Don’t waste arrows!’

A moment later, the ground launched another of the ants out and up. This time I was ready with my camera.

“A spider ant, but what kind?” Mumu asked.

“Skull tree,” I replied, “with a talent for burrowing.”

‘Snow, scout for their tree,’ Mumu sent, along with a mental image of what to look for—a tree transformed into a living addition to an ants’ nest. In this case, the shape would vaguely resemble a human skull.

The blynx sent an acknowledgement and disappeared into the woods. Meanwhile, another of the ants popped up for the benefit of our snipers.

“We need a spell for sensing things underground,” I complained.

“Hush. We’re hunting,” Mumu replied. “And yes, if only.”

Tegen sent, ‘Do we want support from the sisters?’

‘Not yet,’ Mumu replied. ‘Tell them to conserve their energies for now.’ Then she said aloud, “Not you, Eight. Be ready to bring down the lightning. Once Snow finds the tree, the two of us will go.”

“Understood,” I said, applying my will to the weather around us. The spirits were only too happy to oblige. They had wanted to pour down in the first place.

For the next couple of minutes, my friends shot at the ants as if it was a shooting gallery. Up one would pop, then down it would die. Rinse by the rain and repeat until nearly a dozen of the creatures lay twitching on the ground. Neither Mumu or I approached them, though. Not until we heard from Snow that she’d found their nest.