Eight 5.3: Mission's Aftermath

Fala watched over me from the rafters as I thoroughly searched Sulwa’s body. The only item of interest was a gold bracelet with a single charm, the image of an eagle stamped on it. Nothing about the bracelet seemed interesting, except I’d learned about something similar from Mumu. Back when we’d first come through Bashruuta, the Maltran saboteurs we’d killed had also worn bracelets like this one. The charms were what had let them disguise their talents and power levels.

I felt a temptation to try it out, then grinned wryly at myself. I’d also seen a cursed gold chain not that long ago. I’ll wait until I can get this thing checked out first.

I cut open Sulwa’s chest to remove his light. The dark and silver nugget was as dense as I’d expected. Just in case, I also checked his shoulders and hips, which confirmed that he didn’t have extra cores.

The ghosts of the two lads stood nearby looking forlorn. Their bodies had begun to leak in the aftermath of their deaths, and I did my best to ignore the smell as I moved carefully around them, searching the desk and cabinets for anything interesting.

Everything I found appeared to be ordinary: contracts, shipping manifests, correspondence with clients, and the like. All the papers went into the Hoarder’s Pocket anyway. I wouldn’t have the time and resources to chase down any secrets hidden in the records, but Silasenei, the grandmaster of the Hunter’s Lodge and Knight Ithia’s spymaster, surely would. I couldn’t imagine anything getting in the way of her investigation.

After making sure I hadn’t missed anything, I pushed the bodies away from the secret compartment in the floor using a spear I’d purchased on our arrival in town. The weapon wasn’t anything special, but it’d do until I could find a replacement.

A visual inspection didn’t reveal any cuts or punctures on the bodies. I didn’t think it was a gas that had killed them either, otherwise Sulwa wouldn’t have approached the area so casually. A magic trap of some kind? I thought.

‘Unknown,’ Fala replied. ‘At the least, there was an alarm.’

Right, Sulwa knew the compartment had been breached. But only after… I knelt to examine the painted stones that had been placed around the compartment. They were rounded and smooth, like they’d come from a fast-flowing river, and were no longer in circle around the opening. Using the butt of my spear again, I shifted the out-of-alignment ones back into place, but nothing seemed to happen as a result. I hadn’t sensed any magic before and also didn’t after.

Neither of the lads had had any magic-related talents, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t have known a spell or two. It was either that, or the stones were a one-time consumable. When it seemed like there was nothing else to learn from them, I put them in the pocket too, as well as the lads’ rucksack and the assorted tools inside it.

I didn’t know anything about picking locks or dismantling traps, but a few of the pieces—the rasp and the needle-nose pliers, in particular—looked like they’d be useful additions to my woodworking tools. On second thought… There’d been a long, thin rod among the thieves’ tools; it looked like it’d be immediately helpful, so I stored the spear and brought the rod back out instead.

I went to Sulwa’s body. There, I was met by the extension of Yuki that had been inside Dugo. I picked up the lichen and felt them join the main body residing within me. In another five or so days, we’d have another spare extension to use. Yuki could grow a new one every thirteen days now that they were on the Path of the Hidden Mind.

I opened the pouch from the compartment using the rod. The inside was full of antaak, at least thirty of the small gold coins, which I added to the Hoarder’s Pocket. That done, I was finally able to turn my attention to Sulwa’s book.

Yuki floated an idea: ‘Maybe we also store it for Silasenei examination later? It’s going to end up in her hands ultimately anyway.’

Are you telling me you’re not curious about what’s inside? I asked.

‘We are!’ They protested. ‘But…’

I quirked my head, a habit I’d picked up from Fala when her avatar had still been an otter. If the book is trapped, we can use the tools to open it and manipulate the pages. Unless it’s something else that’s bothering you?

Yuki’s qi blew through me like a sigh. ‘Once we know what’s in the book, we’ll likely have to do something about it. As things stand now, we can hand it over to Silasenei. Ithia and she will then be the ones to deal with the contents.’

The Maltrans made this personal when they invaded the Glen, I thought. It’s not some abstract or faraway political issue. Besides, we can’t expect Albei’s leadership to make things right for us. They’re going to have their own priorities.

‘More than that,’ Fala added. ‘Now that it’s known our Eight is silvered, they will target him specifically once the fighting between Maltra and the Three-City Alliance starts in earnest. A strategic asset like him won’t be allowed to remain alive.’

And if what we saw in Dugo’s mind is any indication, I thought, they’ll use any means necessary, including going after the families of their targets.

‘Right,’ Yuki said, flipping through my memories of the documentaries I’d helped produce about Earth’s wars.

I felt them linger on the footage of the allied forces landing at Omaha Beach. There’d been a moment caught on camera that had affected me deeply over the years: a sandy-haired and freckle-faced young man turning to smile at the camera as his attack craft rushed toward shore. It had been such an innocent and unburdened thing, that smile.

I’d sat with that scene in the editing bay for a good long while, and I came back to it often, revisiting it during the worst of Helen’s struggles with cancer.

‘To fear death is to fear life,’ Yuki whispered.

Sometimes, a foolish kind of bravery is needed to do the impossible. I picked up the book and felt its heft. The cover was made of leather, and a brass clasp held the pages closed. Fala would hopefully be able to pick the lock. If not, then we’d find some other way to open it. But not here and not now, I thought. Let’s go back at the inn, so there’s less chance of being interrupted.

Fala dropped down from the rafters to put the bodies in the Hoarder’s Pocket and wash away the blood they’d left behind. While she did that, I straightened up in the office and used the thieves’ tools to close up the compartment. By the time we were both done, there was no sign left of the violence that had taken place.

Only the ghosts were left, and when I turned my attention to them, the air began to mist. The water had an ethereal quality to it—soft, luminous, and seemingly coming from nowhere. The lingering spirits vanished at its touch, and I felt their connections to the material world go with them. I didn’t have to do anything special to trigger the exorcism; all it’d taken was the barest touch of my will.

The same thing had happened with the ghosts of my enemies inside Old Baxteiyel’s pyramid. In the discussion about it afterward, Fala, Yuki, and I had decided that it was likely a result of an interaction between my Path of Water Saint, Spirit Walker talent, and God Touched soul mark.

Our best guess was that it was the soul mark doing the heavy lifting. The tooltip read:

God Touched

A god intervenes and repercussions follow. To be God Touched is to be an agent of change, whether you intend to be or not. A balance must be maintained, however. Even gods cannot escape the strictures set down at creation’s dawn.

This soul mark acts as a compromise between two worlds: accommodating Earth’s systems within Diaksha’s. It is a filter-adapter-translator to allow aspects of knowledge, skill development, talents, and magic to work where they might not.

At the core of God Touched is a fragment of the World Spirit’s authority in order to ensure the integrity of the soul mark’s functions.

Essentially, the System had understood that I should be able to exorcise spirits based on my experiences on Earth, and so I’d been able to do that on Diaksha. But then I’d become a Water Saint, and a more effective way had opened up, thanks to my new authority to enhance water.

The result had been the creation of a magical mechanism to better fill the gap between what was respectively possible on Earth and Diaksha. That had been the idea, anyway, and it’d seemed plausible to the three of us.

The process of exorcizing the ghosts felt as natural as breathing. It was on my to-do list to explore how to actually control the ability, since there might be times when I wouldn’t want a visual indicator of it happening. But that was something for later.

Time to head out, I thought. Our task here is accomplished.

###

We stopped by the dump to get rid of the bodies, using the same spot where Skara had gone over the cliff side. No one gave us a second look going out and coming back, since there were lots of people still clearing away debris after the hurricane. All we’d needed was confiscate a couple of large bags from the warehouse and stuff them with junk to make us look legitimate.

While out there, we also held an abbreviated ceremony, so that Fala could absorb the over-four-thousand-points’ worth of silverlight we’d gathered. Just about another nine thousand more, and she’d hit Level 14.

Later, we ate breakfast in the inn’s common room: a big bowl of wild rice topped with smoked, shredded duck and grilled onions. Fala kept a bottle of nutritious sap we’d harvested from a spider-ant skull tree in her pack, and she used it liberally as a condiment. It was good stuff, making the decent food better.

The entertainment on stage was a singer with a lonely, plaintive voice. I considered it an odd choice for so early in the day, but the music seemed to resonate with the rest of the audience, so who was I to judge?

After breakfast, we climbed the stairs to our room. The Deer God emerged from his place in the herd as soon as we went through the door, taking a spot under the window and tucking his legs underneath him. Fala headed for the bed to sit with her legs crossed; the act of doing so with human legs was a source of joy for her.

I put Sulwa’s book on top of the storage chest at the base of the bed for the time being. Before examining it in earnest, I needed to check in with Mumu. Yuki would’ve kept her apprised of the events at the warehouse, but it wasn’t the same as talking directly.

We’re safe and back in our room, I thought.

‘Well done,’ Mumu replied, and I got the sense she was in one of the ritual rooms under the Albei Hunter’s Lodge. The presence of Haol was nearby, but Tegen and Teila were missing…

‘They’re with Aslishtei and the nieces, still dealing with the aftermath of the hierophant’s death,’ Yuki explained.

Ugh, I thought. How’s that going?

‘About as you’d expect,’ Mumu answered. ‘There’ve already been two assassination attempts on our ally Iseld, but she’s using this as an opportunity to climb the pyramid. They don’t call her the Stone-Horned Ox for nothing.’

But Weni and Anya are safe? I asked.

The sense of Mumu shifting to a more comfortable position came through the connection. ‘Their aunt’s position in the land soldiers protects them. No one would risk her wrath. Otherwise, things here are as they were. The effort to recover from the storm is ongoing, with Ithia and Silasenei preoccupied until the city is in a better state, although…’

Yes?

‘I believe our Silasenei suspects us of mischief beyond the killing of the hierophant,’ Mumu sent. ‘Her gaze has been quite pointed of late.’

I grunted in reply. Like I’d told Yuki earlier, the Maltrans had made things personal, and I wanted the first stab at uncovering their intentions. It was the revenge I allowed myself before turning things over to the authorities.

We’re almost done here, I thought. Once we check out Sulwa’s stuff, we’ll hand them over to the hunters’ grandmaster.

‘Yuki tells me that you haven’t opened the book yet,’ Mumu sent.

That’s next, I replied.

Fala had been content to listen at first, but now she entered into the conversation. ‘I’ll begin my examination shortly.’

‘What do you request in exchange?’ Mumu asked.

But Fala shook her head in reply, and the feeling of it carried over into the conversation. ‘Our Eight has already fulfilled my needs. Nothing further is required of Voorhei or its Hunter’s Lodge at this time.’

‘You have my gratitude, then, Honored Ikfael.’ Mumu wasn’t usually formal with Fala, but I understood that the moment required it.

“What do you need from me?” I asked aloud.

But Fala shook her head once more and reached over to bring the book onto her lap. “Just time.”

“Then I’ll let you work.”

I know Fala heard me, because she nodded, but her focus had quickly shifted to the puzzle in her lap. There was the lock to deal with and maybe a magical trap too. I hadn’t sensed anything earlier, but her experience with magic ran a lot deeper than mine.

‘Honored Eight…’ Mumu began.

I blinked a moment. Um, yes? Why the formality? Did something happen?

‘While our Ikfael is occupied,’ Mumu continued, ‘I have another matter needing your attention. As your lodge master, I have received a petition to address a problem with your behavior.’

Well, that’s daring. Is it the world speakers? One of the other expeditions?

‘It’s your family,’ Mumu sent. ‘Specifically, their request is to get you to—and here I quote their message—"tell us what the hell is going.” ’

Normally, something like that would inspire snickers from those around me, but the connection remained quiet. I had kept my family in the dark about so many things that had happened in Old Baxteiyel, and the others hadn’t approved of my silence.

I felt an abashed awkwardness at my own… was it cowardice? Uncertainty?

I just didn’t know what to tell my family. All the rumors floating around were working in our favor. They created confusion among our enemies and befuddled their responses to us. Well, we ourselves were also confused about some things, too.

The witnesses to the Deer God’s participation in the battle with the hierophant were all dead now, but a handful had lived long enough to share the story of it. Though, he was actually an earth spirit, not a spirit of the land, but they didn’t know the difference. Hells, none of us did, including the Deer God himself.

Having any kind of physical existence was an entirely new experience for him. My impression from our connection was that he was still figuring things out.

Fala had offered him the portion of Yuki within her, so that he could communicate with us more clearly, but he’d turned her down. He’d get an extension eventually, but my suspicion was that he wanted the excuse to sort out his thoughts first.

I sighed and realized that I’d begun pacing, as well as putting off answering Mumu about the “petition.”

‘It’s okay to be afraid,’ Yuki said.

I’m Level 14 now, I thought privately. So are you, and Fala’s only a stone’s throw away from it. The four of us will draw beasts more powerful than any village can defend itself against.

‘You’re talking about leaving our family behind.’ Yuki’s own sadness at the prospect colored the connection between us.

We should’ve had years, I thought. That’s what the calculations showed based on our rate of growth. We’d see Bihei married. The kids too, and the longhouse filled with the sound of babies. They’d all be well and settled before we left on our adventures. Instead, the timeline advanced far too quickly.

The problem was, even Albei might not work if we wanted to delay our departure. Our presence would double the number of silvered in the city, and we’d have to join the land soldiers to make things work.

There was also the added complication that my family and friends wouldn’t leave Voorhei. Every option I’d considered began with that as the starting point.

During the expedition to Old Baxteiyel, Mumu had gathered enough light to reach Level 8, yet she’d stayed Level 7 and saved the excess for Haol instead. Partly, that was to help fuel his growth, but it was also because no one above Level 7 could reside in a village. That was the law, because it was too dangerous otherwise. In other words, Mumu had prioritized living in Voorhei over advancing her level.

I knew my teammates and understood they’d all make the same decision if and when the opportunity came to gather that much light again. Every one of them was rooted in the village, where they were so intimately connected to every facet of its life.

The same was true for my immediate family. Bihei had lived in the village all her life, so had Teila to whom both Aluali and Billisha were affianced. All of them were buildings their lives on the foundation Voorhei provided.

There was no turning back from Level 14 for me. I’d made the decision to accept a share of Amleila’s light, and I didn’t regret it. There were consequences, however. Many good, but also some unhappy.

In my daydreams, I’d imagined that I would become powerful enough to do anything I wanted, including protecting my family. Yet, reality continued to prove itself crueler than that, because such a thing couldn’t exist. There would always be someone bigger and badder out in the world. Even Amleila, who had been high silvered, had ended up enslaved within the pyramid at Old Baxteiyel.

‘Eight?’ Mumu gently prodded.

My family and I had spoken regularly through Yuki after the events in Old Baxteiyel, yet I’d avoided all the hard topics during those conversations. That wasn’t right. They deserved answers to their questions.

I sighed again and replied, I’ll call them now.