Rainhorn: Chapters 10-12 (The Weirkey Chronicles) (Patreon)

Before the chapters, one minor note. Right now the top Amazon review of Street Cultivation 3 is from someone who sprinted through the series and didn't enjoy it. Please take a look at the reviews and upvote any that represent your experience with the series:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08NFJWWBF 

Meanwhile, new chapters. I believe this is the first Fiyu POV I've shown here. I hope people enjoy it.

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Chapter 10

Though the Archcrafter from the Armeau family might have second tier cantae more intense than any of theirs, his soulhome was a simple building. After examining it with Nauda, Theo suspected that he had one room for strength and another for a lethal technique. No matter how nice the silvery stone that formed the building might be, it didn't have much room for other techniques.

So when they followed after him into the forest, he stood no chance of piercing Fiyu's stealth technique. Theo remained alert for allies at first, then relaxed as it became clear that this was a lesser noble, assigned to harvesting duty. When he reached a large pile of fallen wood, he began to pull it into the wagon, grumbling to himself.

"He's here to harvest sublime materials?" Nauda watched him with a continually more skeptical expression. "He didn't need to take the villagers' wagon for that."

"Is this a wild forest?" Fiyu asked. "Can we gather materials as well?"

Theo shook his head. "Based on how everyone else has stayed out of it, I'm guessing that this forest belongs to the Armeau family. If they're in control of the city court, they're powerful enough that they don't need to build a wall or guard it too carefully: the threat of punishment will keep out everyone else."

Nauda looked like she'd need some time to swallow that, but Fiyu nodded as if she understood and continued examining the environment. "It does not seem like a very fertile region."

"No, I think it's just well-harvested. They probably send people like him out to gather up anything that's useful, then store it in the Armeau family vault. That makes sense for his soulhome: strong enough to go unchallenged, but unimportant enough to be given an errand like this."

"If we are taking materials from a wealthy and unkind family, then I propose we steal." Fiyu apparently took to theft faster than he'd expected, but her sudden enthusiasm pulled Nauda out of her sour mood. Staying together within Fiyu's stealth technique, they set to work.

First, they determined that the fallen wood the noble was gathering wasn't valuable enough to be worth stealing. Though technically a sublime material, it had no advantage over the hearthtree wood that they had in abundance from Tatian.

Deeper within the forest, however, they might find more valuable materials. So they soon left the Archcrafter to his menial labor and ventured to take what they could. Though the vast majority of the trees weren't made of sublime wood, and many beds of plants showed signs of heavy harvesting, it seemed certain that there would be more that had been overlooked.

Their work was disappointing for some time, the only sublime materials available a few sticks that must have fallen during previous harvests. They did stumble across a tree with bright golden apples hanging from its boughs, but they were clearly unripe. At their peak, he thought they would have been a solid sublime food, but at the moment taking them would be nothing but sabotage.

"Oh!" Fiyu gasped and moved forward, forcing all of them to scramble to stay inside her shadowy bubble. Theo couldn't tell what she'd seen using his eyes, but he immediately reached out with his soulcrafter senses and realized that one tree was not like the others.

Amid the sea of silvery trunks and leaves, one tree shimmered with the same colors... because its trunk reflected like a mirror. As they got closer, he could tell that the leaves were actually duller than the others, but the bark shone like the clearest mirror he'd ever seen. More importantly, the reflective bark felt extremely potent, not for generating cantae but for resisting it. Given that, he could see how it might escape harvesting, as only Fiyu's observation technique allowed her to identify it from so far away.

"Can we take this, Jake?" Fiyu raised her fingers almost to the surface and looked back at him hopefully. "I believe that this would be valuable for me. Perhaps for you as well!"

Nauda frowned and peered at the trunk herself. "I'm not feeling much cantae from it, but..." She extended a hand and emitted a very small bolt of cantae, which promptly reflected off the tree without leaving a scratch. "Ah, I understand."

"Yes, you see its value. It could be used to reinforce buildings, and might resist weaker cantae, but I believe it could be far more effective within my soulhome."

"I think we can risk taking it," Theo said, "but be careful. We can't make too much noise while we're here or leave evidence that could be tied back to us."

"Yes, Jake. I will be careful."

Harvesting the mirror-like bark - which Theo strongly suspected would be translated as mirrorbark in his mind - proved to be more difficult than it looked. It reflected all weak cantae, and though Fiyu was able to overcome it with her bladed knife, the mirror blackened and curled away from her hand. In the end they resorted to brute force, which came down to Nauda using her staff to break the surface enough to peel the bark away.

There wasn't much room to work, so Theo stayed away, on the lookout for guards or other sublime materials. He was a bit disappointed so far, though not really surprised. Deuxan had a strong grip on all of its sublime materials in the habitable regions, which prompted a pang of nostalgia as he thought about material hunting with Brigana.

"Why do we hate that tree?" Senka popped up beside him without warning, tugging at his pants. "Is it a fumpet?"

"Do you know what sublime materials are?"

"Senka doesn't know!"

"Well, they're... is it worth explaining?" He regarded her irritably, knowing that he was mostly frustrated by the lack of results and not caring. "Actually, how old are you?"

"Senka is sporping old!"

"I guess it was too much to hope you'd give a number. We're looking for special materials like that tree bark. Just stay quiet and don't attract any attention."

"Shiny rocks? Senka can find shiny rocks!" She promptly skipped to the tree and tried to put one of the smaller shards in her mouth. Nauda hastened to stop her, a step too slow, but Senka spat it out a moment later and began to wander off, passing outside the bubble of Fiyu's technique.

Theo grumbled under his breath and went in pursuit - though the chance of anyone seeing them was low, there was no sense taking unnecessary risks. The little brat moved over the ground with surprising speed, snuffling like an animal. Before he could manage to grab her, she suddenly headbutted the ground.

"Here! Here! Senka smells a shiny rock!"

Part of him nearly grabbed her by the mouth and took her back, but that was the old man in him. Theo examined the ground, which appeared ordinary enough, and decided that he had nothing to lose. As he began to dig into the soft soil with his hands, he eyed Senka, wondering if this was some sort of childish trick. She did seem to be watching him, but then his hands touched something much harder.

Working quickly, Theo uncovered a small lump. Once he got it out, it proved to be a mushroom, though it was much heavier than any normal mushroom and cobalt blue once he brushed the dirt off. Most of all, he could feel the cantae flowing from it in considerable quantities for a simple sublime food. Not as warm as flamefruit, but it had a-

Without warning, Senka snatched it from his hand and bit into it. For a moment he feared that she was going to suck the whole thing into her soulhome, but there was absolutely no soulcrafting movement from within her: she really did just bite into it with teeth alone.

A moment later Senka declared "This tastes blooky!" and dropped it back onto the ground. Though Theo wasn't inclined to eat that one now that it had her slobber all over it, he found himself looking at the little creature again. Perhaps she had some sort of natural sense for cantae, or simply an excellent sense of smell...

"Senka, is this the shiny rock you were talking about!"

"Yup! But it's blook."

"You, uh, realize that this isn't a rock."

She gave him an odd stare. "Shiny."

Rubbing his eyes with one hand, Theo decided to just roll with it. "Can you help us find more shiny rocks like this?"

"Okay! Senka will help!"

With that, she scurried off into the woods, though she took a curving path around the tree where the others worked. Soon enough, she identified another point for him to dig, and he wasn't surprised to find another sublime mushroom. They seemed to be somewhat rare, and he couldn't ever guess their locations by vision or cantae senses, but Senka sniffed them out with little difficulty.

It was the first non-annoying thing she'd done, so perhaps his good deed saving her hadn't been repaid with misery after all. Though he still disliked how she ran about dog-like, he reflected that her antics hadn't actually gotten them into any major trouble. During the fight with the demons she'd stayed out of the way, and she'd shut up during the confrontation with the Archcrafter. Perhaps she had some sort of animal survival instinct.

By the time Fiyu and Nauda had finished with the tree, he'd uncovered several dozen of the mushrooms. When he returned to the others, he distributed them evenly and they promptly ate the evidence of their theft - the mushrooms weren't bad at all, even a bit dirty, but he could imagine their use in fine cuisine.

Meanwhile, Fiyu had shattered a significant amount of mirrorbark into herself but left some pieces for him. It might have been invaluable to his old light-based soulhome blueprint, but he took it anyway because he could probably think of something. Nauda didn't think it could be useful for her, so they divided the rest between them.

When they finished, the tree had been utterly stripped of bark, looking oddly pale in the metallic forest. They retraced their steps, removing evidence of their passage wherever they could. Within his soulhome, Theo threw all the sticks and other junk materials into the singularity in his central chamber, consuming them forever.

Just as they were about to leave, Nauda took a deep breath, staring at something behind him. Fiyu had gone utterly still, almost as if she'd seen a predator, but hadn't tried to use any cantae. Since they gave him no indication, Theo turned very slowly to look.

A creature resembling a deer stood between the trees, staring at them with unnatural stillness. The fact that it could see through Fiyu's shroud proved that it was a sublime beast, if the rainbow shimmer of its antlers wasn't enough. His eyes cataloged the delicate body and dappled gray coat, but it was the antlers that kept drawing his attention, clearly flowing with powerful cantae.

None of them moved after he turned, he barely even breathed, but suddenly the deer turned and darted away, vanishing into the forest without a sound. Once it was gone, he heard exhalations from the other two.

"It looked like a prey animal," Fiyu said softly, "but the horns were very sharp."

Theo could only nod. "You remember the Archcrafter talking about a special hunt? I have a feeling I know what they were hunting."

"Should we go after it?" Nauda asked. "It runs fast, but if we set a trap..."

"I... think we'd better not. What we've taken so far will probably go unnoticed, and I doubt the Armeau family really cares about it. But that beast... I have a feeling they'd punish anyone who dared to touch them. We could probably sell the antlers in another world, but it's not worth the risk."

"I believe we have enough." Fiyu came to stand beside them and renewed the shroud. "I think the city of Anguedan might be a difficult place, but perhaps we have put off our visit for long enough?"

He just nodded, which was answer enough. They left the Armeau family forest with new treasures in tow, but he had a feeling they wouldn't find any other sublime materials so easily.

-

Chapter 11

If he hadn't known better, Theo might have thought that no time at all had passed since he walked the streets of a Deuxan city. Though Anguedan was a bit different than the cities he remembered, that was true of every city. As an outsider from another world, he was constantly encountering details that were new to him - it was part of the joy of being in the Nine Worlds. So the differences of time were dwarfed by the differences in region, culture, and fashion.

Still, some details stuck out to him. Many of the men and women walking the streets alongside him shielded themselves from the sun via ivory white umbrellas that emanated shade and cool; those had been expensive and rare before, not seen on every street. The shielding flagstones in front of major buildings were larger and stronger than those in Brigana's family home, so the technology must have advanced.

How much time that had taken, he couldn't be sure. Many parts of the Nine seemed mired in time compared to the rapid advancement of Earth, but they still evolved. He would have an answer before he met up with the others again.

They had entered the main gate of Anguedan at separate times to avoid being recorded as a group, but gathered together without incident. Though he hadn't fully grasped all the rules of the local court, this was a fairly relaxed city, without any obvious fatal traps. Duels couldn't even be to the death without special permits, though he supposed that could be local leniency or societal advancement. In any case, the city was safe enough that they split up again to accomplish as much as possible.

While the others had more conventional errands such as acquiring food and local money, what he needed was to check his knowledge. Everything he knew about Deuxan might be far out of date, and in any case he knew nothing about the local region. If he was going to be worth anything as a leader, he needed to get a lot of questions answered.

At the moment he headed to a bloodhouse, because he was fairly certain that was one thing that wouldn't change, no matter where or when he was on Deuxan. Though he spotted several buildings with the familiar icon of a silver blood drop, he avoided the ones that looked seedy.

Instead he found the best bloodhouse that he thought would let him in: it had many young nobles moving through it, but relatively few soulcrafters. That would be the best source of information without potentially being overheard or getting drawn into any local conflicts.

"Wait a sec." The doorman was finely dressed, but his scars suggested he could serve as a bouncer as well. After a moment examining him, the doorman grunted. "Yer a foreigner after all. This place isn't for you. You know it would kill you, right?"

"Oh, I don't intend to partake." Theo brought his best Deuxan smile out of storage, a flat expression that suggested he had never had a political thought in his life. "Are bloodhouses no longer the right place to exchange information?"

"Ah. Then yer in the right place after all." That settled, the doorman stepped back, examining the street again.

Once inside, Theo found that the bloodhouse was roughly the quality he'd expected. A few Deuxans lay semi-conscious with needles clutched in their hands, but most laughed with one another in circular booths, a bowl of needles resting in the middle of the table. Occasionally someone pricked their skin with one and gave a little shiver, but it was just light amusement, not addiction.

If he put too much of that in his veins, he'd die. As far as he knew, the ability to draw strange substances into their blood was a unique feature of Deuxan biology, one that Brigana hadn't ever explained. For that reason, they'd developed very few drugs of any kind, and outsiders wanting to try "Deuxan intoxicants" got a rude awakening.

Most of the locals didn't care about him, and if they did, they only noted him as an ignorant foreigner. They all wore their tunics, hats, and badges extremely carefully, each difference indicating many details about their allegiances and interests. Long ago, there had been a very awkward interaction with Brigana in which he'd learned that a badge on the left lapel meant looking for a fight while a badge on the right meant you were looking for romance.

All of those indicators changed utterly from court to court, so there was no point trying to pretend he knew about them. Theo blundered straight in as a strange foreigner, instead scanning for elements of human nature that might be true even here.

He spotted an old woman seated in the corner with a pot of tea that appeared cool and a bowl of needles extended outward. Yes, that was who he wanted. She was exchanging information in a low voice with a young man, but when he departed, she beckoned to him.

"Well, a foreigner, hmm? And from quite far away, unless I miss my guess. Hmm, what's your name, lad?"

"I would happily exchange that information for other similarly simple facts." Theo slid down into the seat opposite her, letting the guise of a rube fall away. He might not know every local detail, but he also didn't care: he needed her to take him seriously enough to deliver reliable facts.

"If this is about court politics or the Armeau family, I don't get involved."

"Oh, my questions will be far simpler. All my information about Deuxan comes from the writings of a deceased master in my family. That information is likely horribly out of date, so my questions will be those of a child. I believe I have news enough to afford such questions."

She examined him critically, and as an information-broker she was obviously no fool, but Theo had thought through his cover story. He would look ignorant no matter who he asked, but this premise would match Deuxan views of outsider ignorance. Hopefully his questions would slip from her mind as soon as he departed and he could be better prepared for Deuxan at large.

"Very well, lad. What do you know, hmm?"

"I've just come from the Tatian gate, specifically the city of Nlukoko. I've no doubt that you've heard some of the recent happenings, but I survived them."

Though the old woman played off the information as irrelevant and Tatian a backwater, he saw her interest. She asked sharp questions about subtle matters of trade that he hadn't expected, but he had no need to lie about those. When it came to the Landguard and the demon attack on the city, he'd carefully prepared the answers that any traveler might have.

When they finished, the old woman sat back and nodded in satisfaction. "You pay closer attention then most, lad. I'm curious about these questions of yours."

"Very good." Though Theo kept his face neutral, he could feel his heartbeat speed up. At last, he was finally going to get the answers he hadn't been able to find in a timeless world like Tatian. "For a start, I need to know the local dueling laws in detail, in particular the penalties for actions against those of lower rank."

"Planning on offending someone, are you?" The broker chuckled and waved the question away. "I'll give that information to you later for nothing, and something free besides: if you come with a vendetta, I do not suggest bringing it against the Armeau family. But surely you have more interesting questions."

"First... the historical document I have is out of date. What year is it?"

"Year 87 of the Ditchdigger's Era."

Theo paused, for the first time truly thrown off. He'd thought his cover story was perfect, only to be given a year that meant absolutely nothing to him. There was no choice but to admit ignorance... "Forgive me, but the document I read referred to year 741 of the Silverbraided Court."

The broker raised her eyebrows, but not as far as he'd feared. "That's the old calendar... I guess your source got out just before things started going bad, hmm? Your information is, hmm, roughly 108 years out of date. Closer to 109 now, not that it makes much difference."

"Ah, that's a pity." He pretended to be mildly disappointed while the bottom dropped out of his stomach. Though he had more questions prepared, Theo still found himself hesitating as he absorbed the realization that he'd been gone for over a century.

That meant nearly everyone he had known before was likely dead, even aside from the disaster at the end. Some species on Aathal had extraordinarily long lives, and immortality or something close to it was possible through soulcrafting, though he didn't know enough about that. All the knowledge in the world did him no good now that all his allies, all his friends...

To avoid the worst of the thoughts, Theo instead refocused on something he could more easily understand. All his years in the Nine Worlds during the first visit had been contained within three months in a coma on Earth, but he hadn't been certain if he could extrapolate from that. Time ran smoothly between all the Nine, so it was something about the gap to Earth. Unfortunately, this didn't match the former ratio, so he had no way of knowing if the time ratio was changing or even completely random, frustrating as that might be.

"I'll have to look up the Ditchdigger's Era, but I won't trouble you for that." Theo's mouth began working automatically, since a long pause would give the wrong impression. He caught up to his words and chose his next question. "Can you tell me about this region? I think the manuscript spoke of an entirely different part of Deuxan."

Though it was absurdly basic for her, the information broker seemed amused enough by him that she gave the information gladly. As he'd feared, he was on a continent that he'd never even visited before, in a court far from any centers of civilization. Unlike the local nobles, she didn't pretend that Anguedan was any more important than it actually was.

"If you're here for soulcrafting, the only truly exceptional material we have here are the rainhorns." The old woman shook her head and stirred her cup of tea with a needle, though she'd never taken a drink from it while he was present. "That hunt is our claim to fame, but I'm sure you've heard of it."

"I've heard rumors, but I'm sure that you could assist my ignorance."

"Oh, but that's the most valued information in the city at the moment, with the hunt so close. I can't give that away so easily, I'm sure you understand, hmm?"

"Of course." Since it would likely involve soulcrafter business, he could probably learn more about the hunt from others anyway. Theo adjusted to his next priority. "What can you tell me about the families of the local court?"

"That's relatively simple." Though the information broker rattled off a series of names that he dutifully committed to memory, it sounded as though Nauda's information had been correct. Few of them were actually important and the Armeau family had a strong grip on the region.

"Thank you. What of the Tatian family? Would they be open to accepting new members, or willing to provide compensation for those who might help them?"

"Possibly, but I wouldn't recommend it. Most of them want to leave their history behind and be accepted as Deuxan, so they'll keep their distance from anyone who smells new."

"I understand."

The information broker ran a finger around the edge of her cup, regarding him thoughtfully. "I've given you information because you're less dull than the young nobles going on about trivial court matters, but I think I've been more than fair, so we're nearly done. Any minor questions you can't keep bottled up?"

"Well, if you're being so generous..." He didn't expect to get a real answer, but he couldn't stop himself from trying to ask about Brigana's family. "There was a family mentioned in the manuscript... do you know anything about the Teraeves family?"

"Hmm..." The old woman hesitated as she gave the matter thought, then she shrugged. "I'm sorry, lad, but that one doesn't even sound familiar. Many of the old families perished when things got bad, when the Silverbraided Court started falling apart. If you want to know about that, you'll need to afford a library."

"No trouble at all. Thank you." Theo gave her a polite smile and departed the bloodhouse, disappointed in the truths he'd discovered, but at least far more confident in his knowledge of Deuxan.

There was no hope of any massive advantage from allies or leftover supplies, but that had always been an extremely low chance given the sheer scope of the Nine Worlds. He was separated from his experience on Deuxan by over a century, but the world hadn't changed so radically that his experience was useless. Though he had no interest in getting invested in petty local court politics, he could quickly figure it out well enough to handle himself.

The question, then, was how best to spend their time in the city of Anguedan. This hunt event would be their best chance only if they had managed to avoid any undue attention, otherwise simple jobs that allowed them to continue soulcrafting would be the optimal path. He headed toward the central fountain where they'd agreed to meet, hopeful that the others had learned more as well.

He never made it to the fountain. While Theo was still walking through the streets, he noticed a crowd and realized that they were gathering around a dueling circle... where Fiyu stood opposite a soulcrafter, surrounded by jeering Deuxans.

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Chapter 12

Fiyu was doing her best to give Deuxan the benefit of the doubt, but it was still a blinding hellscape during the day.

The sun itself was abominable, though not as bad as the one on Tatian and rendered tolerable by Companion Theo's shielding chamber. What truly offended her was the way every surface was constructed from such bright materials, all of which conspired to redirect the sunlight directly into her eyes. Fiyu readjusted her mask and pulled the curtain within her soulhome tight, but it was always going to be miserably bright.

What frustrated her more was that the city was clearly ruled by complex social rules and no one would explain them to her. Tatians were simple: they would smile too much and surround you and try to touch you. It was distressing but not particularly malicious. But here on Deuxan, every detail of clothing and stance held great meaning and they seemed offended if someone didn't understand.

As Companion Nauda negotiated trades with others in the market, Fiyu managed to unravel a few details. The Deuxans wore their clothing as carefully as anyone on Ichil, with heavy badges positioned to indicate different positions in society. Fiyu was uncertain about the meaning of the colors, which appeared hazy through her mask, but she thought she understood the beginnings of the system. She had also come to comprehend that they used physical stances differently: she saw embraces that looked appropriate only for family, but both sides held their core muscles stiff, as if engaged in a conflict.

"You truly won't accept any assistance?" Companion Nauda had been attempting to negotiate work with a representative of one of the local groups, who now shook his head.

"The Evigne family cannot afford to look weak now, of all times. Our offer is not open to outsiders."

"But if you truly need to hire rangers, then you need the help more than ever." Though Companion Nauda kept her facial muscles fixed in a smile, Fiyu had come to realize that the back of her neck tightened as she grew frustrated. "We have significant experience at such ranging, and it would benefit us both."

"Your generosity is most welcome, but the Evigne family is not in a position to grant even one side of a deal to outsiders. If you are confused about court politics, there are many books available for you to edify yourself."

Companion Nauda's neck tightened further and her smile broadened. "Even granting your knowledge on fumbling outsiders is generosity I would not expect from such a noble family. Thank you for setting me straight."

Fiyu looked back and forth between them, hoping that she understood the truth beneath their words. Though she occasionally heard the words of others in different inflections, she understood that this was a translation in her soul and their languages were troublingly free of inflectional classes. On Ichil, rudeness was performed with clear linguistic signs, but on Deuxan it appeared they preferred to cast dire insults in the form of kind words. It was subtly different from the odd "lyingwit" that Companions Nauda and Theo used at times, and she thought more maliciously intended.

"Let's go, Fiyu." As she turned back, Companion Nauda's hand moved toward her and shifted mid-motion, instead waving for her to follow. Fiyu took hold of Nauda's sleeve to calm her and spoke in a low voice as they walked from the market.

"You are upset. They were insulting in their refusal?"

"It isn't that, it's how every one of these families is focused on themselves above all." Once they got a short distance away, Companion Nauda rubbed her forehead with one hand. "It's my fault, for assuming that their ideas about community or family would be anything like normal. They don't care about anything else."

"Is that so upsetting?" Fiyu tilted her head to the side, shifting her perception to analyze Companion Nauda's signals better. "It is good to help others, but I would risk my life for you or Theo, and I would not go to the same extent for strangers. You are traveling companions, so you deserve more."

"Oh, it's my fault for making assumptions. Wait, where did Senka get to?"

"I... do not know. I attempted to keep her nearby in the market, but she wandered into a crowd."

After a brief pause, Nauda unclenched her shoulders and some of the tension passed from her. "Well, she'll have to take care of herself, if she wants to wander off. Let's go find out if they have any suitable vehicles available."

While they traveled to the next market, Fiyu puzzled over how she should best help Companion Nauda after the angering encounter. An Ichili would need distance and peace, but Fiyu thought that Tatians desired community and warmth. Fiyu considered raising a hand to touch her arm, like Companion Theo did so easily, but she knew that her attempt would be artificial and might make things more uncomfortable.

Fortunately, the vehicle market proved to be a better environment for them both. Though it seemed that the noble families sponsored and favored various workshops that built them, they were not present in great numbers, so Nauda was able to relax. The density of people was still too high for Fiyu, but here she finally found a reasonable market.

On Tatian and even at the earlier markets, everyone yelled about prices, uttering words that should have started wars just to negotiate a slightly lower price. Based on how Companion Nauda had relaxed, it was only another verbal game, but Fiyu would never been comfortable with the process. In addition to that, Tatian had a confusing quantity of different coins.

Here, each of the vehicles was labeled with a clear price on a small card, almost like a good Ichili market. This struck Fiyu as very honest, because otherwise the merchant could tell one price to one person and another price to another, which wasn't fair at all. Here, not only was the price of everything known in a simple currency called Silver Crowns, many of the vehicles were familiar to her, so she eagerly set about understanding the local market.

Though most sold wagons and carts, Fiyu passed by those as inadequate for their purposes. The minimally adequate sledge that could travel on rough Tatian ground cost roughly fifty Silver Crowns, depending on the exact style. Some were cheaply made and others covered in fanciful golden embossing, but she found well-crafted sledges for that price.

However, she thought that her companions wanted a vehicle that could carry them at speed, and without a beast of burden that would require food and care. The very smallest variety she discovered was a toboggan made with sublime materials that would hover, which cost over a thousand Silver Crowns. It was so small they would have to bunch together unacceptably close.

Beyond that, Deuxan seemed to favor more elaborate sleighs, which made her wonder if they could have snow in such a warm place. A floating sleigh with enough room for all of them would cost at least two thousand, with others that had offensive or shielding armaments available for up to five thousand. Fiyu discovered steadily more elaborate and expensive sleighs, but though the prices mounted from then thousand Silver Crowns to twenty five thousand and even higher, she didn't understand why anyone would spend so much for no functional improvement.

"I suppose they're a status symbol here," Companion Nauda said as they looked at a particularly expensive sleigh. "Only a noble family could afford something this expensive."

Fiyu shook her head. "I do not understand why they would. They could purchase an equivalent vehicle of similar quality for a far smaller price."

"It's about proving their wealth, not function. You would never do something like this on Tatian, but they still have games of status. The quality sleighs are already too expensive for most, but those who can afford it want to prove even tiny differences between them."

"But we do not need to do that. I think that we could purchase an adequate sleigh for 2000 Silver Crowns. Do we have enough?"

Nauda gave her a strange look, then only some of her facial muscles shifted in an unusual smile. "Fiyu... even after selling what we don't need, we have about seven Silver Crowns. That's enough for food and lodging, not anything like this."

"Oh, I see." Though Fiyu was deeply disappointed, she struggled to find a smile to encourage Companion Nauda. "Now I understand why you have been seeking work at every location. Surely we could find employment as guards or demon hunters."

"We could do at least as well as other first tier soulcrafters, but everything is tied to community politics here. Some of the dangerous jobs require an Archcrafter and wouldn't even consider us. We would have more options if I ascended, but I don't want to risk destroying sublime materials in a failed attempt..."

"How long do you think it would take us to earn enough money by working normal jobs?"

"Half a year? Even more? Too long. Everyone seems to be talking about an upcoming hunt as a way to win money, but I don't know about the rules and it seems tied to these noble families. We might be able to earn more, but it could also draw us into further problems."

"Let us find a place to rest." Fiyu caught the edge of Companion Nauda's sleeve and this time pulled her into the terrible crowd. "We can restore ourselves, find Theo, and do some soulcrafting. Perhaps a better solution will become clear from a new vantage point."

Though Nauda's head shifted after her oddly, she responded with warm thanks and followed her. They left the sledge market and entered another one of the horribly packed streets, but at that moment Fiyu felt a gap in the density of the city. She sought it out and the space became clearer in her senses: a small circle of grass set apart from the rest of the city, with a bench for resting and even a tree for shade. Since it was unoccupied, she guided them toward it.

Fiyu was uncertain why all of the Deuxans were ignoring the empty bench, but they seemed very serious and determined to reach their next destinations. The important thing was that Companion Nauda sat down and the tense muscles in her body began to relax. It was also pleasantly shaded beneath the tree, but Fiyu would have braved even the Tatian sun if it helped her.

Before they could speak again, a small form moved toward them at high speed. Fiyu experienced a brief moment of alarm before the exact dimensions proved it to be Child Senka. The small being ran up to them carrying something, only to trip and fall directly on her face.

"Fenka ftho-" Child Senka spat out a cobblestone and triumphantly raised a filthy sack. "Senka found something!"

"What's this?" Companion Nauda took the cloth gingerly, but her distaste vanished when she began counting the rings of silver within. "This is... almost twenty five Silver Crowns. Where did you find this?"

"Senka found it in the city, silly gurfoop!"

"What I mean is: did you 'find' it in someone's pockets?"

Child Senka stared at them, utterly uncomprehending. It was possible that she had indeed stolen the coins, but Fiyu couldn't find it in herself to incriminate the child. Whatever world she came from, she radiated an aura of cheerful innocence that Fiyu found calming. For some reason, Companion Theo disliked her, but other than occasional noisiness, Fiyu enjoyed her presence.

"Do you think we need to do something about this?" Companion Nauda glanced over at Fiyu with a sour expression, already hiding the money in the cloth again. "Everyone takes offense so easily here, I could see this getting us into trouble."

"I do not think Senka has any great skill with theft," Fiyu said, "so perhaps she found coins that had fallen on the street."

"Senka did her best!"

No one appeared to be chasing her and the small space remained peaceful, so they eventually accepted the good fortune. Child Senka crawled onto one side of the bench and curled up to sleep, so Fiyu reached over to stroke her hair. It was said that children needed an unnatural amount of touch in their early years, so whatever her origin, perhaps she still required it.

Though Child Senka seemed to enjoy the touch, Fiyu noticed that she almost never embraced back. It made the childcare far less draining for her, but she wondered if something had happened in Child Senka's past to make her afraid of others. Occasionally when Fiyu's back was turned, she felt Senka's muscles shift to an uneasy wariness.

At the moment, however, everyone was at peace. Fiyu had been thinking about her soulhome during all their travels, so she drifted inside to continue her work. The only brute force work that remained was refining the exterior of the tower, so what she truly needed was insight to improve her inner chambers. She thought that she had a new...

She felt heavy footsteps of soulcrafters and left her soulhome immediately, ready to attack.

A group of eleven walked toward them: three Archcrafters, six first-tier soulcrafters, and two others. All wore Deuxan robes, though she noted visually that one appeared to be Tatian. The man who walked at the head of the group had a pair of gauntlets hanging around his neck, heavy enough to be an armament. Many of the others carried weapons, some at their side and some merely hard elements hidden within their clothes.

Though Fiyu did not consider herself an expert with expressions, she was fairly certain they were unhappy. One of the Archcrafters, a muscular man who shadowed the apparent leader, took a step toward them and struck the base of his pike on the ground.

"Are you seeking death? Why insult the Armeau family like this?"

Immediately Fiyu went completely still, only just preventing herself from slipping into her stealth technique. She was uncertain what the insult could possibly have been, but recognized that they had stumbled into a dangerous social situation. With no experience in this environment, she froze and hoped that Companion Nauda could guide them through.

"We meant no offense." Nauda rose to her feet, placed her staff in a nonchalant position, but her fingers remained tense, ready to wield it as a weapon. "I'm afraid I don't even understand what we've done to insult your family."

"You think a bench is just set in the middle of the city for anyone to sit on?"

Companion Nauda hesitated for just a moment, and Fiyu surmised that she had thought that too, since it seemed senseless to leave a resource unused. Though Companion Nauda was usually much swifter than Fiyu with such things, her moment of confusion was instantly set upon by the group, and it looked as though they would descend and tear her to social pieces.

Before they could, the leader of the group made a calming gesture. Unlike all of the others, his body was completely relaxed, with no outrage real or feigned in his muscles. "I'll forgive them this time, Delarde," Stranger Leader said. "They look like they're far from home, no doubt confused and weary. The Armeau family has enough surplus to be generous."

"You're fortunate." Stranger Delarde stepped back and returned his pike to his side, while Stranger Leader gave them an odd smile. Before he could say more, however, the one Tatian woman stepped up beside him.

"Being foreigners doesn't give them the right to take anything they want. My family would never have done such a thing, not even in our first days here." She focused on Companion Nauda, the muscles in her legs set to advance. "Be cautious, Esaire. If you don't watch them, Tatians will take everything."

"I'll remember your warning, but I don't think they mean any harm." Stranger Leader Esaire gave an expansive shrug that felt like a clearly practiced motion, though Fiyu was just happy that he seemed unlikely to initiate violence. "My father spent time on Ichil, and he said their dark world has little time for our niceties. No doubt the Ichili lady is simply very tired."

Fiyu nodded, but to her surprise Stranger Delarde growled at her. "So exhausted that she can't even hear?"

"I am tired, but not s-" Fiyu cut off as Companion Nauda tugged on her sleeve, pulling her up. Once on her feet, Fiyu felt the slight easing of tension and realized that they must have wanted her to get off the bench. She didn't think it was at all fair of them to have expected her to understand that, but remained silent.

"We've just arrived in your city," Companion Nauda said, "and we are still finding our way. Thank you for your understanding."

"It's no trouble at all. If Armeau isn't strong enough to welcome strangers, who is?" Stranger Leader Esaire gave them another smile, and there was some sort of tension, but Fiyu wasn't sure she understood it. "The two of you seem to be soulcrafters, so perhaps you might even join us in s-"

"That's her!" Abruptly the last Archcrafter in the group shoved a finger toward Nauda. "That's the Tatian who tried to stop me from completing my assignment!"

Fiyu flinched as she finally recognized him, remembering his anger on the road. Companion Nauda set her feet differently and several in the group of strangers shifted in response, but once again Stranger Leader Esaire raised a hand to hold them back. This time, it seemed that Stranger Delarde actively seethed at the command.

"No doubt only another misunderstanding, and as you said, they didn't stand in your way. Perhaps we should formally introduce ourselves and move past such problems." The leader gave a sweeping bow that sent the half-cape on his shoulder flaring. "My name is Esaire ai Armeau. And you are?"

Companion Nauda remained silent, but Fiyu felt certain that she understood this formula, so she spoke up. "My name is Fiyu ai Ichil. I did not mean to steal your bench."

"No trouble at all. And your companion?"

This time when Companion Nauda smiled, Fiyu felt the tiny ripples of smaller muscles moving as well. "My name is Nauda ai Tatian, and I-"

"Liar!" With that cry, the Tatian woman lashed out, flinging a wooden sphere directly at them. Companion Nauda knocked it aside with her staff, all relaxation vanishing, but they only stared at her as she fumed. "You have nothing to do with our family, and no right to claim otherwise!"

"I meant no offense, I only thought..."

"You knew exactly what you were doing, claiming to be part of our family. Just who sent you? They think they can undermine us after so long?"

Though forbearing tension had been building up in Companion Nauda's body, she now released some by stamping one sandal against the ground. "I don't know anything about your family! I may have misspoken, but I-"

"Hold." Stranger Leader Esaire raise a hand, immediately cutting off both of them. "Hauloe, is this really a matter of your honor? A duel is your right, if you want one, but this is your countrywoman... don't you have a more Tatian way of resolving your differences?"

Some of the others in the group laughed inexplicably. Stranger Hauloe immediately shifted her weight, though Fiyu thought that it was an affectation. She stepped beside Companion Nauda and swung her hip against the other woman, sliding an arm around her waist.

"I suppose we could. You said your name was Nauda? Perhaps you wanted to actually join our family?" She spoke with an excessively personal tone and many of the others laughed, despite a lack of apparent humor.

As Companion Nauda stiffened, Fiyu stared and wished that she could be certain how to act. Was this appropriate behavior? In her experience Tatians touched one another an alarming amount for all manner of reasons and this might be merely another case. She was already troubled and confused by the conversation and didn't want to make things any worse with further misunderstandings.

Yet other details couldn't allow her to relax. Though Companion Theo often touched Companion Nauda's back, when he did so, her muscles eased slightly, but now, her entire posture stiffened. There was also a sexual element to the touch that had never been present before, and though Fiyu was still young and the subject baffled her, she had very strong feelings about unwanted touch.

"Let go of her." Fiyu stepped forward, letting her hands fall to her sides.

"This has nothing to do with you, outsider." Adversary Hauloe sneered at her, but Companion Nauda took the moment to step out of her grip. The other Tatian woman cracked the knuckles of one hand and drew cantae from her soulhome. "If you feel so strongly about it, then I'll challenge you."

"Ha!" Adversary Delarde seemed to find the entire thing very funny and clapped his hands together vigorously. "Not the duel I expected, but I'll take it! Enough talking, let's settle this like civilized soulcrafters."

Fiyu took a deep breath and began to gather cantae, despite the odds, but to her surprise the whole group shifted to herd her in another direction. She had heard the word "duel" but still assumed that they would set upon them using their superior numbers. As they walked across the city, she remembered what Companion Theo had told them about concepts of honor on Deuxan.

It struck her as a strange tactic. Though Fiyu lacked Companion Nauda's ability to peer deeper into soulhomes, she thought herself an adequate judge at a glance. The Archcrafter they had confronted previously had a poorly-crafted soulhome, along with several of the others, but the Tatian woman and the other two Archcrafters felt formidable. Stranger Leader Esaire in particular possessed a soulhome with two full floors built from shining silver, an unbeatable opponent for any of them.

As they walked, Companion Nauda came up beside her, but Fiyu spoke first. "I am sorry, Nauda. I did not intend to cause offense and lead us to problems."

"It's not you, Fiyu. They came here looking for a fight and they just needed a justification. This Hauloe especially has something she needs to prove."

"This is to be... a duel? Like at Myufuru?"

"I'm not sure." Companion Nauda chewed her lower lip and looked around them as if desiring to escape the Deuxan group. "I wish Jake had gotten back first. He said that he needed to learn more about how duels work here. I guess we could have used that lesson too."

The use of Companion Theo's travel name reminded Fiyu that they had more than a simple fight at stake. Though their mysterious enemy no longer seemed to be looking for them, she knew that she needed to be careful. Use of her primary skill could cause damage that might offend the Deuxans further, so perhaps the best strategy would be to force her opponent from the ring.

Though the group of Deuxans laughed and jested on their journey, they didn't attempt to talk to Fiyu. She looked for allies, but only spotted Child Senka, who had hidden herself remarkably well on their arrival and now followed at a distance. It seemed that she would need to bear the burden of this duel alone.

Before Fiyu could grow comfortable with that idea, they arrived at their destination: another empty courtyard, this one marked by a circle inscribed on the ground. Because Adversary Hauloe moved to walk into the circle, Fiyu presumed that their duel would take place there. She followed but hesitated at the edge, looking to everyone watching.

"Does the duel end when one of us leaves the circle?"

She had hoped for Stranger Leader Esaire to answer, but Stranger Delarde laughed and spoke first. "Maybe on Ichil, but not here! No ring-outs."

On the other side of the circle, Adversary Hauloe cracked her knuckles again, gathering more cantae. "This isn't going to end until I feed you your own teeth."

Then the duel was to the death? Fiyu frowned at the abrupt brutality, but the jeering Deuxans around her forced her to step into the circle. If this was their custom, then she would obey it, even if it was cruel. After one more look at Companion Nauda, troubled and anxious, Fiyu resolved herself and focused on Enemy Hauloe.

Others had gathered around them, but Fiyu withdrew her senses, remaining alert only for attacks or major movements. This duel would require different tactics than she had first anticipated. Her opponent used cantae like a physical fighter, but she had shockingly little awareness of her surroundings, even compared to her non-Ichili companions.

"Come on!" Enemy Hauloe dropped into a fighting stance. "I'll let you have the first hit and then I'll-"

Fiyu spread her veil over herself, vanishing from sight and briefly shocking the audience. Enemy Hauloe jumped back in alarm, eyes darting over the ground to look for evidence of her movement, but the veil of stealth covered the ground beneath her feet as well and it would be over before she understood.

Stepping beside her enemy, Fiyu released the briefest burst of light she could manage. Her enemy's soulhome fortified her enough to endure the blast, but she flinched back. While she stumbled, Fiyu tackled her to the ground, driving a hand against her neck and drawing back her other hand, preparing a blade of cantae to finish the fight.

Several sensations struck Fiyu in succession. First, she heard a low whistle from home, warning her to stop immediately. Second, her expanding senses identified Companion Theo, standing in the crowd with his body tense with worry. Third, she saw that he was crossing his wrists, urging her not to strike. Fourth, her cantae faltered as she reconsidered her understanding.

The next moment, a fist collided with her jaw and Fiyu slid across the ground. She tasted blood in her mouth, though her teeth remained intact. Enemy Hauloe scrambled back to her feet, mostly unharmed but furious, raising her fists.

"Hold." Adversary Leader Esaire raised his hand again. "This is your win, Hauloe. She had a few nice tricks, but when it came down to it, she didn't have the taste for battle."

How could it be over? Fiyu stared in confusion at the Deuxan faces all around her, some laughing and mocking while a few looked puzzled.

"I expected that to be more interesting," Adversary Delarde said, unnecessarily loudly. "She had a real killer's stance at the beginning, didn't she? Almost like it was a barbarian fight to the death!"

His meaning was obvious and Fiyu whimpered as she fully understood. Their terrible words still troubled her, but it seemed that somehow they had never intended a duel to the death. She didn't understand why anyone would begin a fight and say cruel things if they didn't intend to kill, yet it seemed that this was only another layer of this awful society.

If not for Companion Theo, she would have killed a human being and potentially drawn down greater hatred upon them. That revelation, combined with the loud jeering around her, made Fiyu draw her legs closer to herself miserably. As soon as they noticed, the Deuxans laughed louder, and no matter how she tried to block them out, their laughter was too loud, and the city was too bright, and...

Companion Theo stepped in front of her.