25. Introducing a Complication

Mumu led us along a different path than before—to circle around and approach the Butchery from a different angle. We ran southeast until the adults’ Camouflage spells ran out, then shifted to striding briskly with our hoods down, exactly like everyone else on the street.

The increasingly bad weather didn’t deter people from doing business; it just sped them to their destinations. Even the thick, brooding clouds overhead weren’t a deterrent. Our determination, our hurriedness, and even our tiredness—they all fit in, and no one gave us any trouble.

The wind and rain began to pound as we approached the border between the Geista and Taakta districts, and we switched tactics to once more split the team into our pretend groupings: Haol and Mumu, Tegen and me, and finally Teila in Camouflage.

We were all flagging, but the storm and the desire to see the day end kept us moving.

The architectural styles changed over the course of a couple of blocks, and the buildings’ footprints grew. Money showed in their decorations, in the reliefs carved into the exterior walls, the gilt around their doors, and the quality of the glass in their windows.

I even saw walls around individual homes for the first time—practically manors, except they kept the Mesoamerican aesthetic in their decorative features. Gardens peeked through their gates, and I spotted statues among the greenery. The subjects were people, all of them looking important.

Our raggedy group didn’t fit in, but there were enough people passing through that we weren’t too out of place. I was just noting how many of them appeared to be heading in the same direction as us when a couple of notifications popped up on my Status:

City Survival has increased from 0 to 5.

City Survival has increased from 5 to 6.

My heart warmed to see a new skill and the numbers going up; that feeling never got old. A brief glance showed my survival skills looking nicely robust.

Caves 3

City 6

Forest 10

Ocean 3

Stealth 11

Afterward, my mind wandered a bit—thinking about money and the options for buying a better house for the kids—when I started to catch glimpses of Albei’s pyramid through the gaps between buildings. The bits I saw were tantalizing.

We appeared to be heading in that direction, and the buildings grew taller and closer together again, like the crowd around a celebrity jostling for a view. The traffic on the street increased, as did the number of street-level shops. All of them were still open, their wares lit by the warm glow of candle stones.

Then, suddenly our street ended and dumped us onto the Albeitsoot. More surprising, as I panned right, I was presented with a wide-open plaza dominated by a monster of a pyramid—bulky and burly—like the people of Albei had built their own mountain.

Brightly painted murals of animals, both normal and gigantic, covered the pyramid. Each of the facings was supposed to have its own primary color—red, black, white, and yellow, and we were approaching from the white side. Each of the facings also had entrances embedded halfway up with lit candle stones along their paths. People of all kinds entered and exited, from the richly dressed to the freshly-bloodied.

If the pyramid wasn’t enough to stop me in my tracks, there was also a massive fortress to the east, its proud walls rising high enough to block the interior from view. The same stone was used as in the city walls, and looked almost as thick.

Both of the structures were beasts, and while the fortress appeared the more practical of the two— unadorned and plain—it was just as muscular. Incongruously, a swath of parkland lay behind it.

Like in the Butchery, the plaza was etched in swirling, abstract designs, but I didn’t sense any mana. Only rainwater flowed through them for now.

Tegen gently pulled me along to get me walking again. “Another time,” he said, “when we have fewer worries.”

“Yes, I’m sorry. You’re right, but it’s just so—”

Tegen smiled wearily to see me caught so off guard. “It is, isn’t it? Just so.”

The pyramid was located in the city’s center, so getting to the Butchery was just a matter of circling around the plaza, and then heading west-ish. I kept looking behind me, though, searching for gaps in the buildings so that I could see the pyramid again.

I eventually had to slap myself to stop. We weren’t out of danger yet—not until we figured out the identity of the person or people who sent the assassin after me and then did something about it.

###

The Hunter’s Lodge greeted us with the scents of wet leather and blood, the murmurs of hunters passing the time as they waited for the weather to clear, and the warmth of bodies together in an enclosed space. Our cloaks spilled water all over the entryway, but someone had gone to the trouble to laying down a layer of gravel so that no one slipped. When I crunched over it, though, a group of nearby hunters laughed.

“This is the boy’s first time,” Tegen yelled in their direction. “He doesn’t know better.”

A hunter yelled back: “Then it’s his mentors who didn’t prepare him and need to pay.”

Tegen sighed in response. Then, he pulled a taak from his pouch, and tossed it into an empty gourd that’d been placed out of view of the door. “Next time, if you see dirt, gravel, or fallen leaves on the ground while inside the lodge building, walk silently over them. If you don’t, then you’ll owe a taak to the hunters’ drinking fund.”

“I don’t know that last word,” I said.

“It means a collection of money used for a shared purpose.”

“Ah, okay. And that’s a rule?

“A tradition,” Tegen said, shaking his head, “and one highly prized by certain people. It’s a ridiculous thing to do after a day like we’ve had, but—” he shrugged “—it gives people joy. That’s enough to keep the tradition going.”

No one else on my team gave a taak to the fund, so it was just me who’d made noise. I was tempted to cross back over to do it properly, but I was too-gods-damn tired. Besides, I spotted Susu’s team waiting for us. They’d taken over one of the room’s corners with their stuff, and Susu herself looked annoyed. She sported a black eye to boot.

“Before anything else,” Mumu said, striding up to her, “Borba’s dead.”

That took the gas right out of Susu's hunters, and Mumu told the rest of the story straight and without any embellishments, covering everything from the tough fight with Borba to the deaths among the peltwei. The hunters listened with hard eyes at first, and then concern when she described the encounter with Brother Ekthei and his assessment of the damage to her and Tegen’s meridians.

“We’re fresh,” Susu said, “so we can go now to the Alchemist’s Lodge on your behalf. Or should that be Kila?”

“Kila first,” Mumu said, nodding. “He’ll know how to get the best deal from the alchemists. Before you go, though, tell me what happened with the grandmaster.”

“She had us wait,” Susu complained, “while she considered things. We haven’t left the lodge once, except for Ahlrein who went to get our packs. If not for that, we’d have had nothing to do all day.”

“Not nothing.” Mumu gestured toward the black eye.

Susu grimaced. “That was my temper getting away from me. We... ah... ran into some old friends: Banan and Kuros.”

“The hunters who helped with the King of the Forest?”

“The hunters who ran, you mean.”

Mumu sighed, and rubbed her eyes. “You didn’t.”

“Yes, I did,” Susu said, puffing up. “As if I’d let cowards be.”

“You have to be careful. The two of them are dawn, and who knows about the rest of their team.”

“That’s the thing: there was no one else.” Susu leaned in as if sharing a secret. “Word is, they’ve had a run of bad luck since coming back to Albei—their hunts coming up empty. The gods must be unhappy with them, and because of that no one’s been willing to step into Otwei’s old spot. I hear they’ve been hiring mercenaries instead, running through them like I run through taak.”

“So it was just Banan and Kuros?”

“We caught them early this morning as they were leaving the lodge. Get this—they were the ones being hired this time, by a mercenary crew who needed extra scouts for an escort job. The bastards looked so smug, especially that Kuros. As if mercenary work was anything to be proud of.”

“You—” Mumu started.

“Sucker punched him.”

I’d been listening with interest, having had my own run ins with Banan and Kuros, but— “Wait, you just attacked him out of nowhere?”

Susu blinked at me. “Hunters ambush—that’s what we do—otherwise I’d never have landed a blow on the slippery bastard.”

Oh yes, of course. Silly me, I thought, and heard Yuki snickering in the background.

Mumu asked, “What punishment were you given? Do I need to talk to the grandmaster?”

Susu grabbed her arm, and kept her from leaving. “It’s fine. It's fine. I got talked at is all.”

“I don’t believe that.”

“And you’d be right not to,” Ahlrein said, grumbling.

“Show me,” Mumu said, then had to repeat herself when Susu turned mulish.

Susu opened her jacket and lifted her shirt to reveal a blue-purplish mass of bruises over her belly and chest. “Kuros must’ve swung five times for every one of mine.”

“She's not allowed to get it healed either,” Ahlrein said. “That’s part of the punishment.”

“You shut up now.” Susu glared at him, but he gestured rudely back at her.

“All right, all right, that’s enough,” Mumu said. “Is there anything else we should know?”

“Just that we haven’t heard from Dura’s team yet, but they’re due soon. That’s it, I think.”

“Then I’ll report to the grandmaster, and let her know about the hunt’s results.” Mumu stood up, but this time no one stopped her. Nine pairs of eyes looked on with sympathy as she tiredly walked deeper into the lodge.

Susu sighed and gestured for her team to gather their things. “All right, you children, it’s about time we were of use.” She winced getting up herself, and gave us each a nod as they all left.

Nothing happened for a long while after. I kept myself busy people watching, and occasionally folks came over to chat with Tegen and Haol. Then, I must’ve nodded off because Dura and his team were there reporting that they hadn’t had any luck tracking down Salu’s necklace.

Haol started to the story of Borba’s death, Miri came over to check on Teila, and I was out again.

###

Haol shook me awake. “I’m sorry, Eight. All’s safe, but you'd said that you have to cook Ikfael a meal every night.”

“Wha? What time is it?” I forced myself upright.

“About three hours past sunset,” he said.

Behind him, Tegen talked through a doorway to someone out of view. We were back in our room at the inn, with Teila asleep beside me.

Around 8 then? I thought, and confirmed the time with my Status clock: 7:42 pm.

Haol looked apologetic. “We weren’t sure what you needed for preparations, so we talked to the innkeepers and arranged the use of the kitchen.”

I rubbed my eyes, and a little goose of Dog’s Agility from Yuki helped bring my thoughts up to speed. “They won’t mind me in the kitchen while they’re still serving?” I asked, then, I noticed: “Where’s Mumu?”

“We told the innkeepers you just need a fire, and paid for the privilege. Mumu’s still at the lodge; she told us not to expect her until late.”

“I hope everything’s okay.”

“That peltwei family... they were important.”

“Borba’s family will be sold into slavery for sure, then.”

Haol sighed. “It’s worse than that. There’s no way the worth of the two families can compare. It’s likely the survivors will seek to redress the imbalance.”

“By going after our lodge?”

Haol nodded. “The lodge is another family, after all.”

“But Dwilla would never agree—”

“We’re in Albei,” Haol said softly. “The decision belongs to the officials here, maybe even the land knight herself.”

“The family was that important?”

“The family head, Thikilei, was Wind-Touched.”

“Ouch.”

“As were three others of the family, all dead now.”

I gasped. “Oh my gods.”

“Indeed,” Haol said.

“Aslishtei didn’t mention any word of this.”

“No, she didn’t. Mumu learned about the family’s reputation from the grandmaster.”

“Well, damn.” My mind began to race, wondering at what game Aslishtei was playing. It was useless, however, since I didn’t know enough about her or the situation.

Her spirit had been difficult to see through, but what little I’d glimpsed wasn’t confrontational. There’d been stirrings of grief, which was to be expected, and something else... a desire to carry on maybe?

“Be easy, our Eight,” Haol said, patting my shoulder. “Trust in Mumu. She’s young, but wily. She’s found us a path every time we’ve needed her to, and she’ll do it again.”

“Oh, I have faith in Mumu and my hunt brothers and sisters,” I said. “It’s everyone else I’m worried about.”

###

The kitchen was busy, but the staff respectful, even in the middle of what was clearly a late dinner rush. At first, I thought it was our taak that eased the way, but once they started asking questions about Ikfael, I knew it was because the meal was for a spirit of the land.

She and I had both been through a lot over the past few days, and I wanted to make us something special. And besides, cooking was a good way to get my mind off my worries—to quiet my uselessly spiraling thoughts. A woodworking shop would’ve been better, but the kitchen would do.

The inn’s pantry was well stocked with a variety of vegetables, dried herbs, and spices, but nothing I hadn’t seen in the area before. Then, the staff handed my five squab as a gift for Ikfael, which got me thinking... I picked out some yellow squash, dried tomatoes, wild onions, masa, a tub of butter, a jar of cream, and a pitcher of milk.

The dish was simple enough—I cut up the squab and pan fried them first to build up some color, then added the rest of the ingredients, along with some salt and ground chilis. The masa and butter I held back, though, and while the meat cooked through, I combined them to make dumplings. The trick was to indent each one with your thumb, so that they looked like little saucers; doing so would help the dumplings to hold onto the sauce. Once they were ready, I added them to the pan, and soon enough my chocohoytes with squab in cream soup was done.

Yuki wanted a taste, so we quickly merged consciousnesses, and... Yes, so delicious, warm, and comforting. We smiled in pleasure, and separated so that I could finish up.

I poured the soup into a serving bowl, and made my way out, thanking the staff as I went. I politely ignored them gathering around the pan afterward for a taste of their own.

Cooking has increased from 6 to 7.

Two skill gains in one day? It’d been a while since that happened last.

###

Ikfael licked her bowl clean—her third one. I still had a bit left in mine, so I handed it to her. Without even looking, she grabbed the bowl and slurped up the contents.

“You like that, do you?”

Ikfael nodded with her head still inside. Then, when the last of the soup was truly gone, she let the bowl go, and fell back onto a cushion. Man, it was a great feeling to see your food enjoyed like that. Ikfael had always been an appreciative eater; it was such a pleasure to cook for her.

She and I had the room to ourselves, the other hunters doubling up so that she could stay outside the statue all night. It was a kindness both she and I appreciated. As were the couple of guards standing outside the door to ensure our privacy and safety.

Physically, Ikfael was looking okay, but her spirit was still uncomfortably dim. The soup helped a touch, but what she really needed were more exchanges and more gifts. The plan for the next day was to follow up on a treatment for Mumu and Tegen, but I resolved to do some shopping too. There were bound to be things Ikfael would want in a city like Albei.

I had an antaak with me, and would also be due a share of the golden slumber’s sale when that went through. Plus, I thought, I can take up a collection among the other hunters. I’m sure they’d be willing to support her wellbeing.

First, though: “So this healer named Brother Ekthei then said that Mumu’s and Tegen’s meridians were perforated. He refused to treat them too, because of the nonsense with the Healing Water spell, and the two of them won’t even think about Yuki, which leaves us with the alchemists. So that’s what we’ll be doing tomorrow—visiting their lodge. You wouldn’t happen to know any spells or rituals for fixing meridians, do you?”

Ikfael stretched to crack her back. Once she’d collapsed back into a heap, she signed, “I don’t. If the problem was a pollution or poisoning of the meridians, I could cleanse them, but it sounds like Yuki already took care of that.”

“What about examining them? You could at least confirm the healer’s diagnosis.”

Ikfael nodded. “Yes, that’s doable.”

“What would you want in exchange? This is important, so feel free to make it expensive.”

The otter eyed me, then sighed. She rubbed her face, reluctant-considering-surrendering. “Their spears. I’ll take their spears in exchange... and... they’ll have to come to the Glen’s defense at least once.”

“That will help?” I asked.

“You can never have too many spears,” she said. “Or allies when in need.”

“That’s not what I meant, and you know it.”

Ikfael sniffed. “That’s the answer you’ll get. If you want more, you’ll have to exchange for it.”

I perked up. “Can I? Can I get more information about how exchanges work for spirits of the land.”

Her paws hesitated, then signed. “No. Not at all. I misspoke.”

That was a lie—clear as day, I saw it in her spirit—but the fact that she didn’t even want to tell me about the possibility meant that the cost would be prohibitive, either for her or me. Which was fine. I’d let it be. For now.

As the food coma set in, I filled her in on the rest of our adventures, and then turned the conversation to lighter matters. There was only so much worry and heaviness a person could stand.

Then, later, Ikfael listened to my side of the conversation when I called my kids. Yuki was in Aluali at the time, and he relayed the conversation on that side of the connection. The mood turned mixed again—there was relief that none of the hunters had died, but also anxiety about the injured and the looming troubles for the lodge.

I tried to lift the mood with a couple of puns, but my lack of vocabulary in Diaksh undermined the effort. That was why no one laughed. I was sure.

After that, we checked in with Snow, and she let us know that she’d killed a lone coyote snooping around the area. Otherwise, it’d been quiet. The only real trouble was that Felix and Oscar had discovered the shrine, and kept sneaking off to explore the construction site.

The little devils.

###

Mumu got back at around 2 in the morning. I was asleep at the time, but woke up when she looked in on Ikfael and me. I used the opportunity to let her know about Ikfael’s proposed exchange, but she was too wiped to even think about. I’d never seen her eyes so dead.

“Tomorrow,” I said. “You don’t have to decide anything tonight.”

She just nodded in reply. Then, after she’d taken a step: “Ah, I almost forgot. Kila sent word. He’ll meet us downstairs two hours after dawn.”

“Good. Now go to bed. There’s nothing else you need to do tonight.”

“All the hunters will meet before then,” she said, lingering. “For a meal and to plan ahead—”

“Mumu, as much as I’d love to know the outcome of your discussions with the grandmaster, it can wait. Go. To. Bed.” Then, I muttered, “Haol’s probably pining for you.”

That won me a small smile. “He probably is, isn’t he?”

“Most assuredly.”

Mumu came back to pat me on the head. “Our Eight, ever a blessing.”

“Rest well, our lodge master, you deserve it.”

“We all do,” she said.

###

And that was that. Ikfael planned to stay up, but for me the night was truly well and done. Any more worries, any other troubles would just have to wait until the next day. Er... later in the day... in the morning, which wasn’t that long from now.

I sighed, and that was the last thing I remembered.