100: Cave Patrol (Patreon)

Vir’s eyes narrowed, and he leveled a stare at the blonde girl.

“You always make damning statements like that offhand?” he asked, not letting his gaze betray anything.

Tia grinned. “Sorry, bad habit. You’d be amazed at the number of people who give up their secrets all because of an errant comment.” She fell silent for a moment. “It’s your look. The way you act, looking at everyone. The first thing you do is scan their weapons and armor. You’re sizing up their threat level. And I feel like you could tell me the position of every guard in this caravan.”

“That’s just the basics, isn’t it?”

“Is it? I don’t know that it’s normal. The only ones I’ve ever come across who act like that are all veterans. People who’ve been burned too many times to allow anything to chance. I don’t feel like people start out that way. If they do, then…, well, that’s quite sad, don’t you think?”

“Perhaps. But whether or not I’ve killed, it’s my business. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t pry into my matters like that.”

Tia shot him a guilty freckled smile. “Promise I won’t. Sorry.”

The trees grew denser, and the road pitched upward at the base of the Legion mountains, winding its way up switchbacks.

“Surely he doesn’t hope to make the pass by nightfall,” Vir said, looking at the saddle between peaks that towered above them.

“Nah, look,” Tia said, pointing to a series of ledges just above them. It looked small from down here, but the fact they could see it at all meant there was a sizeable flat area there.

“These mountains are notorious for their caves. None of them are very deep, but they offer incredible protection from the elements… and from anyone who’d seek to do us harm. It’s a very defensible position, so I asked Aryan to halt the caravan there for the night.”

Sure enough, the upward slope evened out a half hour later, revealing a large plateau wide enough to park three wagons abreast. At one end of the plateau were sweeping views of the forested road and Zorin in the distance. If Vir really squinted, he could make out the shimmer of the Runean ocean, all the way at the horizon.

The other side of the plateau backed up into the mountain, where dozens of caves pockmarked the rock, looking like the air pockets in bread.

Aryan brought the caravan to a halt.

“Make camp!” the irritable leader shouted, prompting a flurry of activity as caves were chosen, fire rings made, and tents pitched.

Vir maintained his own camp in a small cave of his own, a short distance away from the others, keeping watch alone with Neel. That was, until Tia marched up and dragged them both over to the Spear’s Edge camp, where they had a roaring fire going at the mouth of a larger cave.

The moment Tia sandwiched Vir between herself and Haymi, Vason was sticking a deliciously scented vegetable skewer at him.

“Eat up!”

“Thanks,” Vir replied, awkwardly taking the stick. It felt odd to him that the party would be so generous and gracious to someone they’d only just met. Either they had hearts of gold, or…

“Well, it’s not an apology for earlier, but it’s basically an apology for earlier,” Tia said, clapping his back.

“Then I graciously accept,” he said, sliding a roasted bell pepper off the skewer. Cooked to perfection and dripping in a delicious savory sauce, it tasted heavenly. “So, uh, how did you all come up with your party name? Spear’s Edge?”

Vason, who’d been conversing with Tia, went dead silent, causing Vir to panic.

“I’m sorry, if it’s a sensitive—”

Then all three burst out laughing.

Wow, these people really love to joke around…

“Sorry. Spend any time with us and you’ll realize we’re more like a bunch of kids in adult bodies,” Vason said after he got his laughter under control.

“It’s stupid,” Haymi said. “The name. Our glorious leader over there wanted it to be Spear’s Tip.”

What a generic name, Vir thought.

“But I argued against it,” said Vason, sliding some veggies off his skewer and mixing it in a bowl of brown rice. “Told her it was too generic.”

“Still think it sounded nice,” Tia mumbled, pouting.

“So, how about yourself?” Vason asked. “Ever thought of joining up with a party?”

Vir shook his head. Not only hadn’t there been an opportunity, the idea of traveling and fighting with friends seemed so foreign to him. The most he could envision was fighting alongside Maiya.

“You oughta try it sometime. There’s that saying, yeah? Once you find your destined party, there’s no going back.”

“I doubt I’ll be joining one anytime soon. It’s just me, Neel, and Bumpy for now.”

Vir considered hiding Neel's name, out of fear it might lead back to him, but for one, Neel wasn't trained to go by any other name, so he was bound to reveal the truth eventually. Also, Neel was a fairly common name. Just because there was a bounty out for an assassin by that name, that didn't mean people would suspect a Bandy by the same name.

“You and your bandy look close,” Tia said. “Known each other a while?”

Vir scratched his trusty companion’s back. “Ever since he was a pup. He’s been with me through thick and thin.”

Aroo! Neel cried, suddenly noticing he was the center of attention—a position he adored. Never one to waste an opportunity, Neel sauntered over to Tia and Vason, who petted him furiously.

“Bumpy’s more recent. He’s a good boy, even with his bum leg. We get along pretty well.”

“I was going to ask about that,” Haymi said. “You seem attached to the beast; have you never considered fixing his leg?”

“Is that even possible?” Vir asked. He’d figured Riyan would have restored the injured animal if it were.

“It should be, if you take him to any sufficiently advanced Life mejai. For a price, of course.”

Ah. So that’s why Riyan never healed Bumpy…

The man very much liked to do everything himself. The moment he realized Bumpy was beyond his healing skills, Riyan must’ve written the animal off as incurable. It was something he’d have to look into. Of course, a strong Life Affinity mejai would cost him an arm and a leg, but the hardworking Ash’va had earned it.

The conversation petered out, and Vir found himself reflecting on their earlier conversation.

A party, huh? Even if he did find a suitable party, what would even be the point? He understood parties augmented each others’ strengths, but he’d never really thought about the details.

“Say, how does your party work? Is it that three heads are better than one? Or is there more to it than that?”

To his surprise, it was the quiet Haymi who spoke.

“There is far, far more than mere numbers. A good party considers its members’ quirks and maximizes each member’s strengths while minimizing their weakness. Usually via roles.”

“I’m not sure I understand,” Vir replied. “I know a Life mejai would be uniquely suited to a back-line role, but aren’t Tia and Vason basically the same as Talent wielders?”

“It may appear that way at first glance, but their roles differ greatly. Vason, for example, has several defense-oriented Talents, which, along with his physique and his tower shield makes him well suited for occupying our enemies’ attention.”

Vason pounded his chest. “Any big baddie that comes our way? I make sure their attention’s focused on me, and not on the gals. I can take hits all day long.”

Similar to the Balar Rank Exam proctor, then? Vir thought, recalling the man’s Bulwark Talent. He suspected Vason had something similar. Then again, the proctor had a slew of abilities that gave him an edge offensively as well. Vason sounded more specialized in the art of defense above all else.

“Tia, on the other hand,” Haymi continued, “is more of an attacker. While she’s armored, her Talents skew more toward dishing out damage. It’s what she likes, anyway.”

“You got that, right!” Tia said, punching a fist into the night sky. “Nothing better than laying into monsters, am I right?”

Haymi gave Vir a wry smile. “As you can see, they complement each other well.”

“And you’re the mejai who hurls spells at her enemies?” Vir asked, eyeing the orbs that were strapped to her waist.

“Yes, and no. I do leverage my attack spells, but usually only to get Tia or Vason out of sticky situations. Most people seem to think of mejai as individual magic casters, raining destruction upon their enemies. While some certainly do take that approach, I’m more conservative. I mainly use my magic to augment my teammates. With my support magic, Tia’s blade can become thrice as sharp or as fast. Attacks that would kill Vason can be shrugged off entirely.”

“She can easily double our collective Balar Rank,” Vason said. “It’s quite something to experience.”

“That’s… incredible.” Vir realized he’d never considered that aspect of a mejai. All those slotted orb weapons and armor he’d seen at the armorer’s shop started to make sense.

“The worst part is when the magic wears off. Then you’re normal again, and it feels so horrible. It’s like waking from a dream where you’d turned into the most powerful warrior in the land.”

If that was true, Vir was missing out. No doubt, having a mejai boost him would be an enormous asset, but it wasn’t like mejai were so easy to come across. Again, his thoughts drifted to Maiya. If she learned to power magic in his armor and weapons…

Vir couldn’t wait for that day.

“What about warriors with both offensive and defensive capabilities? Wouldn’t that mean they couldn’t use their powers to the fullest in a party?”

“Actually, that’s kinda the ultimate,” Tia replied. “If you have a party of generalists, people can step in for each other if someone’s injured or if you’re up against multiple opponents and need multiple tanks or damage dealers. Rare to ever come across such a well-dialed party like that, though.”

“Plus, isn’t it lonely?” Vason said, staring into the crackling fire. “I know when I was out by myself, the nights always felt a lot longer and colder. A good party’s like a group of traveling friends. Life’s better in good company, don’t you think?”

Vir chuckled. “I imagine it is.”

Vason and Haymi went to bed, while Tia, Vir, and Neel were assigned to the first watch.

“We aren’t getting paid enough to do night watches,” Tia grumbled as the pair walked the perimeter of the ledge. From up here, anyone traveling the road from below was visible for miles. It truly made for an excellent vantage.

“Might as well make our jobs as easy as we can, eh?” she said, grinning at Vir. He had to agree.

“So,” Tia said after a half hour of uneventful patrols. Only Neel seemed to enjoy the outing, his tail swishing left and right the entire time.

“So,” Vir replied.

“What’s your dream?” she asked.

“My dream, huh?”

Vir fell into thought. For so long, he’d been driven more by goals and less by dreams. Reunite with Maiya was more of a goal. Learning about the Ashen Realm, and possibly entering it, was also a goal. He certainly wasn’t excited about it.

If he had a dream…

“I guess I just want to fit in. I’ve… always kinda done my own thing. It’d be nice to have some friends for once. Maybe settle down somewhere. That kind of thing.”

“Huh. Can’t say I expected that. Thought you’d say I wanna conquer all the Ash Beasts in the Known World, or something. I dunno, you just give me that vibe.”

Vir laughed. “So? What about you?”

“Altani Magical Academy,” she said immediately.

Come to think of it, Maiya wanted to go there too.

“But you’re not a mejai?”

Tia pursed her lips. “I mean, I am. I have a lesser affinity for Fire magic. But I’m pretty average at it. My talents are far stronger.”

“Won’t that impact your chances of admission?”

“Nah,” she replied cooly. “Even Talent wielders get accepted. You just have to be strong. I’ve been to a lot of places, Param, but the Altani cities take the cake. Especially Alt Ashani, their capital. There really isn’t anywhere else like it.”

“Seems like everyone who’s ever seen their cities swoons over them,” Vir replied.

“You will too, if you ever go there. I was always skeptical when they said Alt Ashani was built by the gods… but half the city floats, Param. Like a Vimana. No power in this Age can pull off something like that. And it’s everything else too. You should see the…”

Tia went on for another hour until their shift ended, narrating stories of the Altani that seemed too fantastical to believe. Waterfalls that flowed up instead of down, perfectly manicured gardens—all open to the public for free—free transportation across the city, and more.

She did such a good job of selling the city that he genuinely wanted to visit it someday.

Vir returned to his own cave with Neel, but sleep wasn’t forthcoming, so his mind turned to Prana Blade once again.

He’d been mulling over how to make progress on that ability, but thus far, nothing had worked. Getting up, he retrieved his iron katar. Thanks to his effort expanding his blood pathways, he could now channel prana from the ground all the way up through his arm. That was necessary for Empower. But whether he used ground prana or his own body’s prana, the question was how to control it after it left his body.

Vir took a deep breath and sucked blood from his feet up into his legs, creating a suction that drew in Ash prana from the ground. Guiding the prana up his body had become second nature at this point, and soon, the supersaturated blood was at his arm.

Normally, he kept his body’s prana under tight control. This, too, had become a subconscious act, and he did it even while asleep. Without it, his prana would leak into the air, and he’d be as prana starved and weak as he was back at Brij.

Relaxing his control slightly, he allowed his prana to escape, but only through a tiny hole on his palm. The prana—normally bound to his blood—rushed out of his body into the air.

Or at least, that was the hope. He’d made the ‘hole’ smaller this time, trying to direct the prana flow, but it was of no avail. The prana simply dissipated in all directions the moment it left his body. Perhaps useful if he had access to a deluge of Ash prana—maybe he could’ve used it as an extreme short-range attack—but with the density being what it was, he doubted anyone would even feel it.

He was close. He knew it. But the final piece of the puzzle still eluded him. Did he need a way of guiding the prana once it left his body? Or was the solution internal? Could he do something while it was still in his body to get it to stick to his blade?

Neel lifted his head and whined.

“I know, I’m coming to bed. Sorry for waking you, buddy,” Vir said, scratching the Bandy’s neck.

When Vir finally retired, his dreams were filled with floating cities, prana, and Janak’s voice, beckoning him to the Ashen Realm.

Little did he know that it wasn’t the Ashen Realm he’d need to worry about—it was the mountain pass they’d cross the very next day.

- -

NOTE: I've decided to release an extra ten chapters - we haven't quite met my 1k/month milestone, but I'm sitting on these extra chaps & felt that it made sense to let you have them :-P All tiers will get more chaps, with the $10 tier getting an extra ten.

The way this will work is, starting next week, we'll shift to a 6x/week cadence until the $10 tier is 35 chapters ahead. Then, the other tiers will get more chapters appropriately (8 chapters total for the $3 tier, and 20 chapters for the $5 tier)