Eight 5.14: Network Testing and Random Encounters

We met that night in my dreams in the main room of Ikfael’s shrine. Yuki had placed a garland of marigolds around the statue’s neck, and ripe plums sat in the offering bowls before it.

We began the session by enjoying a coffee cake with blueberry drizzle, along with some hot earl gray tea. Yuki’s share had been miniaturized, the tiny tea cup delicately held in their hands.

This was the night we planned to test the hidden mind’s capacity to safely disconnect someone from the dream space, and we were waiting for the guards on watch in the waking world to drift farther away from where we were sleeping in case we needed to cast a healing spell.

A screen hovered in the air to show the waking world around us, the picture based on Yuki’s perception of qi. It was something like sonar or a bat’s echolocation, except entirely passive. The sound coming through was clear, though, since was based on their ability to pick up vibrations.

At the moment, Melwei and Wilaeina were sitting at the cave’s exit. They faced out toward the night and signed to each other. The motions would normally be impossible to see from where we lay, but Yuki’s ability to sense qi was comprehensive.

“So what do you think of our clients?” Melwei asked.

“They know their way in the wilderness that’s for sure,” she replied.

“To be expected of a traveling merchant,” he signed. “And that John’s stamina isn’t bad either. He must’ve assigned every free attribute point to his Constitution. It’s not unheard of in a farmer or laborer, but a merchant? Most would invest in a mixture of Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charm.”

“His Charm is average for certain, but I wouldn’t say he’s neglected Wisdom and Intelligence unless those are a result of natural gifts or talents.” Wilaeina paused to drink from her water skin before continuing. “More than that, someone’s taught him how to fight.”

“Why do you say that?” Melwei asked.

“He knows where to look” was the reply. “Just watch whenever there’s the potential for danger. His eyes will scan and track like he was a hunter born. It’s not something they teach the militias.”

“The man did say he was willing to learn from anyone and everyone, and his guard Fala is certainly as skilled as anyone I’ve ever met. He’s got a good teacher in her.”

“Maybe that’s it,” Wilaeina signed.

“Or more likely,” Melwei continued, “they’re spies.”

“Which was my wondering.” She sighed. “Whether it’s Maltra or the Alliance, though, I don’t know.”

He took a turn at the water skin. “Would it matter?”

“I’m beginning to think it might,” she answered.

“The wilderness is expansive, but there’s surprisingly little room for people like us who pick sides,” Melwei cautioned. “Both Tru and Butrus are closing the distance on becoming dark. To get them the help they need to transition safely, we’ll need taak and lots of it.”

“I know, I know,” Wilaeina replied, “but something about this job has me worried.”

“A truth,” he signed. “My own instincts are urging caution, though I don’t understand why. Our clients may be trained, but they’re only… what? Level 6 or 7?”

“Maybe it’s not them,” Wilaeina signed. “What if it’s what’s waiting for them on the other side?”

“Hmm,” Melwei said, and then went quiet.

Wilaeina took that as her cue to look at the stars for a time, then she got up to make her rounds. Shortly thereafter, Melwei stood and went in the other direction.

Back in Ikfael’s shrine, Fala and I turned to each other in quiet disappointment and amusement. Some spies we turned out to be—we’d been identified by the second day. Though, truth be told, the blame lay with me. Fortunately, Melwei and his team were uncertain about our identities. And they didn’t seem to particularly care if we were spies or not, which probably meant that they’d escorted more than a few across the wilderness in the past.

Still, I’d have to find a way to pay attention when there’s danger without looking like I was. “How do I even do that?” I asked aloud.

“We’ll work on it together,” Fala answered, “but later. For now, we should take advantage of our guides’ absence to do our experiment.”

“We’re ready when you are,” Yuki said.

“Is there anything we can do to improve the chance of success?” I wasn’t worried, just a little anxious.

The fairy shook their head. “All the care in the world has gone into this. We won’t let anything happen to our Fala.”

“Then let’s go,” my beloved said, and a moment later she blipped out of existence.

Looking through the dream screen, I saw her sleeping form shift. She wriggled in discomfort, and I could’ve sworn she frowned too. Through our connection, I felt a… a… headache?

The waterskin beside Fala’s bedroll had been left unplugged, and working together, Yuki and I arranged a surreptitious application of Healing Water that eased my beloved’s pain.

“There was some inflammation,” Yuki said, “but it’s diminishing now. Her temperature is rising, and I expect that to drop shortly too.”

“Any scarring or potential for long-term damage?” I asked.

Yuki didn’t respond at first. The fairy went still as they turned their complete attention toward the extension of themselves inside Fala’s body. Then a sigh went through them. “No, everything went to plan. We were able to safely separate the relevant connections to her nervous system.”

I also sighed in relief. Like I said, I hadn’t been worried, but I hadn’t been at ease either. Now, a huge smile spread across my face.

Yuki cut me off before I could talk, though. “Before you get too excited, we need to run a couple more tests: to make sure we can reconnect Fala safely and the same experiment on someone else to make sure it’s replicable.”

“Yes, yes,” I said, “but you have to admit this is incredibly promising.”

The fairy caved in to the excitement, giggling and spinning in a circle before saying, “Of course it is!”

###

By morning, Fala’s fever had completely disappeared, and she felt as right as rain. The only real drawback was that she missed a night’s worth of training.

‘I didn’t get to finish my coffee cake and tea,’ she sent.

Don’t worry, Yuki and I made sure it didn’t go to waste, I replied.

The two of us were in the process of getting our gear in order before heading out, and we ate as worked, picking at cold leftovers from the previous dinner.

‘Tonight, our Yuki will reconnect me to the dream space,’ Fala said.

‘And if that goes well,’ the hidden mind added, ‘Haol has already volunteered to test out the process.’

Fala will have to take her Stone Otter shape, I thought.

‘Whenever others are visiting, yes,’ she sent.

Wait, I thought. Haol is volunteering?

‘The others have finally drilled it into Tegen’s head that he can’t be the one risking himself all the time,’ Yuki said. ‘He’s a full mana-and-qi magician now, as well as the deputy lodge master. Between the two men, Haol is now the more expendable.’

I paused a moment, my pack in hand. Oh, I don’t like that word, expendable.

‘Hunters are practical people,’ Yuki said. ‘We told them the connection was most assuredly safe, but this kind of thing is practically a religion to them. They won’t let Teila near the process until everyone else has gone first.’

‘Hunters mix boldness and caution together,’ Fala sent. ‘That is their way.’

Yuki gave the qi-equivalent of a shrug. ‘True enough, and the delay won’t be that long. She’ll join eventually, and once everyone is integrated, we’ll have a party to celebrate.’

Oh, that’s a good idea, I thought.

Melwei came over to check on Fala and me, but we’d finished our preparations by then. All our gear was in order, and the enchantments on our magic items had been refreshed.

“We might see some rain later,” he said. “The clouds are darkening to the north, so keep those cloaks and hoods ready.”

We nodded and followed him out of the cave. It was blustery outside, and the sky to the north was thick with rain clouds, just like Melwei had said. There also seemed to be a hint of a rainbow in the distance.

Is that good luck on Diaksha? I thought to Fala.

‘It’s a portent, but the luck can be either good or bad,’ she replied.

###

We’d traveled with Melwei’s team for almost two full days now and had gotten used to the rhythm with which they did things. The hours began to roll by. Throughout, I kept an eye on the rain clouds to the north, but didn’t glean any insights other than the wind up there looked like it was running east to west for the time being.

Our own path also continued west and would do so for nearly the remainder of the journey. We hiked at the base of the foothills lining the mountains south of us, and we came across streams aplenty, flush from their sources higher up. There were also a handful of long, narrow lakes to the north; we saw them whenever our meandering path forced us to climb in elevation.

While the journey was slow and painstaking at times, no one struggled with the physicality of it. All of us had pushed past the boundaries of what was typically human. I thought about that during the quiet moments, just chewing on the reality that none of us were “normal” anymore.

I also chatted with Fala and Yuki, as well as my family back in Voorhei too. The tannery had finally been fully repaired after the flood and was back in business today. Yuki relayed an image from Billisha counting a stack of skins as tall as she was ready to be tanned.

Then, about an hour after our lunch break, the feeling of the woods changed. From one moment to the next, like a boundary crossed, the place became much wilder. There was a reckless, edgy vitality in the air threatening untold dangers.

Fala and I looked at each other, recognizing that we’d crossed into a spirit of the land’s territory. We’d finally left Heletia’s territory behind.

Melwei dropped back to talk to us. “We’ll move even slowly from here onward. Pay attention to the instructions you hear from us, and if you have to run, head toward the mountains. Find a safe hole to hide in, and we’ll come find you after we’ve dealt with the danger.”

“We hear you,” I said.

He delayed a moment to make sure I truly had been listening, and then moved back to the front of his team’s formation. Whistles came from both Butrus and Wilaeina from their outrider positions, and the journey resumed.

Two hours later, the whole expedition sought shelter in a grove tucked between the hills. Something absolutely massive moved to the west of us, and the ground trembled slightly with each of its steps.

We didn’t know what it was; none of us was willing to take a look. One thing was certain, though: the creature possessed enough light dampen everything else’s nearby, including ours.

“Is this typical?” I asked.

Melwei shook his head and signed, “Not this close to Bashtotwei. The true monstrosities don’t usually approach the boundaries to civilized lands. Something must’ve drawn this one closer.”

In the distance, I felt the Deer God’s interest sharpen. He’d apparently seen something curious-amazing-intriguing.

I anxiously sent a warning his way, but his response was… chastisement. Or something like it. The elder didn’t need the baby to tell him fire was hot. He seemed to settle in then, as if to watch a show.

We ended up camping in the grove that evening. The creature didn’t leave the area until well past midnight. The one good thing was that Fala was able to join the dream space again without any issues. Yuki declared all the signs were good, and Haol was cleared to join us the next night.

###

The woods were muted in the morning, with many of its residents sticking close to their dens and nests. As for us, we traveled while taking the utmost caution. We knew the colossus had gone from the lack of its presence, but a primal fear lingered, as if a misstep would somehow draw it back to the area.

At the same time, my curiosity hummed. I kept my spirit open for signs of the creature’s passage until—

“What’s that over there?” I asked, pointing to where a cluster of trees stood askew. To my spirit eyes, they were grieving.

The team immediately halted. Camouflage spells triggered, while those who didn’t have access to the spell moved into hiding. Carefully, Melwei came over to learn what I’d seen.

“Danger?” he asked.

“The trees look broken,” I signed.

“They do,” he signed after a moment’s inspection. “Would you like a closer look? Is that it?”

“If possible,” I replied.

Which apparently it was, because he whistled softly to gather the team and point us that way.

The trees were about a dozen pines growing together like a family. Four of them had their trunks snapped, the upper halves severed completely and left on the ground in the wake of the creature’s passing. I noted nests among the upper branches, now empty, their former occupants having fled.

Beside the severed trunks was a footprint about eight-feet long and five-feet wide. The ground at the front furrowed outward where the claws extended; another three feet it looked like.

A colossal kalesk, I thought, and Fala nodded in agreement. From the track’s direction, it appeared to be heading north. My Uncanny Tracker talent prickled at the assumption, though. It fed my intuition, and my intuition hinted that the creature was female and north wasn’t quite right. Perhaps to the northwest instead. There was supposed to be a decent-sized lake that way, big enough to show up on our maps.

Do kalesks fish? I wondered, but no one on the network had a definitive answer.

‘If we find her guano, we’ll be able to tell for sure,’ Fala eventually sent.

Looking at the worried expressions on Melwei’s team, though, I knew the odds of that happening were slim. They’d want to move off of the colossal kalesk’s trail, which was probably for the best, at least for now.

I hushed the curiosity whispering in my mind and kept my mouth shut, letting us continue the journey.

###

Melwei’s team moved faster afterward, though Fala noted how their woodcraft didn’t suffer too much as a result. Even Mumu didn’t have many critiques when I described the situation to her. She posited that we’d spent our taak well.

I’d called Haol and her again to coordinate for later that evening. Both seemed confident and excited on the surface, but I read the nervousness underneath. That was natural—what we were doing was unheard of as far as any of us knew.

Yuki was a unique and precious existence. And they were in the process of creating a miracle, assuming everything worked as intended. Which it should; Fala had already proven it, and tonight was just confirmation.

###

At about 3 PM, Melwei’s team was called away to deal with a silvered, giant javelina. Along with the beast came a sounder of his offspring, all them dawn or dusk, so the fight ended up being a hard one—challenging enough for them call for Melwei’s help.

The team leader ran off with an apology and strict instructions not to move unless we had to.

“Should we set up an ambush?” I asked Fala after he’d gone. “Just in case.”

“That seems wise,” she replied, gesturing to the branches of a nearby oak tree.

“Ah, a classic,” I signed. “Death from above.”

“We’ll see,” she responded. “I don’t expect we’ll need to.”

And she turned out to be right. Approximately fifteen minutes later, we climbed back down from the oak’s branches to greet the returning guides. Everyone was present and accounted for, though I noted the wounds spread between them.

Tru wore a stoic expression. Her spirit was an angry red from the pain radiating from inside her, a sure sign of internal injuries. Blood seeped from a wound on Wilaeina’s left thigh. A gash cut across Kana’s forehead, and he held his ribs like he’d hurt them again. A sickly yellowish purplish spread across his torso from a spot high up in his ribcage. Brutus’s face and arms were scraped raw, like he’d been dragged across the forest floor.

The scent of Nature’s Spring was strong on the three of them; they were already working to heal the damage. Tru didn’t know the spell, so she’d simply been soldiering on.

Salves and bandages were hurriedly retrieved from packs and applied, then they all needed the Bloodbath spell cast on them before we could move on.

We hiked a good couple of miles before we stopped to rest. The previously applied first aid was starting to unravel by then, so the team reapplied salves and bandages to the wounds, this time properly. Afterward, the guides sat in a circle to apply Nature’s Spring to each other. Since Tru didn’t know the spell, she was the chain’s terminus.

After an hour, we moved again to put more distance between us and the fight, then we found a campsite so that the team could continue recovering. It meant an early end to the day, though the business of meditation and healing spells would go on for a while yet.

Fala and I figured it would be all right to reveal our capacities for qi-magic, offering to supplement their efforts with our own Nature’s Spring spells, but Melwei politely declined.

His excuse was that he didn’t want to trouble his clients with such work. In his spirit, though, I saw that the reason was that he didn’t want to risk us claiming a portion of the light harvested from the javelinas.

To lighten the mood around our cold camp, Melwei told the story about how he’d once been picked up by a giant eagle and dropped from a great height, only to break his fall by using the branches of a tree and suffering many injuries and broken bones along the way.

His teammates at the time had drained their qi for a week to help him recover, and he’d still ended up in bed for another week afterward, the injuries taking that long to heal. From what I gathered, though… he’d truly been badly injured, yet it hadn’t been a giant eagle or fall that did it.

The story was only partially untrue.

###

Fala was in her Stone Otter shape in preparation for Haol joining the dream space that night. She and I watched in amusement as Yuki flew past, excitedly checking on the preparations.

We’d created an archery field for him, with a sitting area over by the shooting line. A couple of tables were there, laden with some his favorite things to eat and drink: skewers of barbecued goose, a bean and squash casserole, and a pitcher of kislas, a hard liquor made from potatoes and herbs.

Everything looked fine to me, but Yuki was insistent that everything had to be perfect.

“How are things on Haol’s side?” I asked. “Is he all set to come over?”

“He’s asleep and already dreaming. We’re just running a couple of checks before we bring him over.” Yuki dipped a finger in the kislas to taste it and shuddered at the flavor

“It’s an acquired taste,” I observed.

“Clearly,” the pink fairy replied. Then they went still as their focus shifted completely to Haol.

I poured myself a cup of the kislas and grimaced after taking a sip. “How he drinks this stuff is a mystery to me.”

Suddenly, I heard him laughing behind me. “It’s because Dena and Mumu hate it too. If they didn’t, there wouldn’t be anything left for me.”

Turning, I saw him grinning, and he closed the distance for a hand clasp and a hug. “Good, good. It’s only been a few days, but I’m happy to find you well. Even when we talk every day, I can’t rest easy until I see you.”

“It’s been an interesting journey so far,” I replied, hugging him back.

“So you’ve said.” Haol let go and turned to bow to Stone Otter. “My gratitude as always, Honored Ikfael.”

“Welcome to our Eight’s playground,” she replied. Her stone-gray eyes narrowed as she smiled.

Haol looked at the space we created for him, then he grabbed a skewer and took it over to the shooting line.

I’d recreated his bow for him, but he let it be for now, instead choosing to walk the space between the shooting line and the targets. “This is remarkable,” he said as he stuck the now-empty skewer into the target. “I can feel this is a dream, but everything is so… not real no but… is stable the right word? In my dreams, I’m always running and the world slops around me like a corn porridge.”

“Our Yuki is a wonder,” I said. “This is all possible thanks to their talents.”

“A truth,” Haol said, shaking his head in amazement.

“You’re welcome to come over whenever you’d like,” Yuki said, pleased. “Either to visit or to train. We can set you up in your own private area if need be—a sort of pocket dream.”

“A wonder,” Haol said. “A wonder and blessing truly.”

I was happy to see a good thing appreciated and smiled, then laughed because Haol strode back toward the shooting line to ignore the food and pick up the bow instead.

Well, I thought, since he’s at it, I might as well join in too.

‘I, as well,’ Fala sent, and the two of us joined him at the shooting line. I conjured Princess Lilly and shot arrows, while Stone Otter conjured javelins and fired them at the targets.

For five hours. Straight. Casting hundreds and hundreds of arrows and javelins downrange.

If there ever was a man who loved the bow, it was Haol.

###

Melwei’s team was slow to get up the next morning, their battered bodies still recovering from the previous day’s fight. For a while, it looked like we might delay the journey a day to give them more time to heal, but Tru in particular was adamant that she could keep going.

In her words: “It hurts more to sit still.”

Everyone knew she was more injured than she was letting on, since she and Kana hadn’t had sex after the fight. Still, they convinced her to a compromise, with the plan to break camp in the mid-morning and the team using the extra time to drain half their qi for more Nature’s Spring spells.

None of them had been in good enough shape to distribute the light from the javelinas, so they did that too. No one gained a level, but both Tru and Butrus said that they were closing in on becoming dark. Another two or three big fights and they’d be at the cusp.

At that point, they’d have to hold off on absorbing more light until they could get to Dolbec’s Rock, unless they were willing to risk transitioning while out in the wilds, which didn’t seem like a good idea based on the conversations Fala and I had overheard.

Interestingly, Butrus looked forward to Level 10, while the normally exuberant Tru faced it with trepidation. But, then, she’d likely had much more experience with people becoming dark than he had.

I silently wished them both well. Neither had any intentions to betray us, and it cost me nothing to do so.

###

We didn’t break camp until almost noon, choosing to eat an early lunch before heading out. At least, the threat of rain had gone. The clouds to the north had transformed overnight into feathered white patches. The trek proceeded smoothly, with our guides taking extra precautions to avoid even the most routine encounters.

Along the way, we passed signs of people having once attempted to establish a foothold in the woods here—the stumps of trees cut by saws, the remains of rock walls to demarcate farm land, and the most telling evidence, an abandoned redoubt built into a hill and with about a dozen tumbled longhouses scattered around it.

As established as the place seemed to be, I counted only three ghosts among the ruins.

“Does this place have a name?” Fala asked.

“Not anymore,” Melwei replied. “They wanted to be called Bashkwentu, but most of the outpost’s fighters died during a hunt gone bad, and the rest fled before the Long Dark came.”

I signed to indicate I had a question too. “What happened to the fighters?”

Kana beside me shuddered, but it was Melwei who answered once again. “We don’t know what killed them, only where. There’s a field to the northwest that’s… haunted.”

“An eerie place, it is,” Kana said.

My eyebrows lifted in surprise. “Even with Tenna’s Gift?”

The god’s blessing protected the living from the dead, so this was the first time I’d heard anyone freaking out about a haunting.

But Kana nodded. “They say… whatever killed the people, it also tore the barrier between life and death.”

“Trees won’t grow and beasts don’t tread upon that land,” Tru said, chiming in.

“We’ve… ah… retreated there a handful of times to avoid pursuit,” Melwei signed, then he turned thoughtful. “We might even go there on this trip, since it would be a good place to camp. The delay from earlier will keep us from making our usual site before dark.”

Kana shuddered again, but he didn’t say anything to argue against the idea.

“I don’t suppose there’s a name attached to that place?” I asked.

“There is,” Melwei signed. “We guides call it Slaughter’s Hollow.”