3.18. An Unfair World

The morning was chilly and damp, with heavy clouds moving quickly across the sky. It wasn’t raining, but the cobbled street in front of the inn was wet from an earlier shower. The city’s residents seemed to think it’d likely rain again—they walked past the inn wearing cloaks and their carts were covered in oiled cloth.

From the second floor, I watched as Dura’s and Susu’s teams headed out in opposite directions. My team was still inside, looking out from the meeting room’s windows—one opened onto the main thoroughfare in front and another, an alley.

“It doesn’t look like anyone’s following either team,” I said.

“What about people hiding?” Mumu asked.

“Nothing,” I said, after checking both views.

The members of my team also looked, and we all agreed that the coast seemed to be clear, so we cast our Camouflage spells and headed out the alley window. The idea had been Susu’s, and she’d promised it’d be an easy climb—apparently speaking from experience—and she was right. There were plenty of handholds on the way down, and my team gathered in the alley afterward.

From there, we quickly moved deeper in; back behind the inn; past the next building, which was some kind of mercantile selling furs; carefully across the street, so that we didn’t bump into anyone; and into the next alley.

We held there for a couple of minutes to check our backtrail. I let my spirit eyes rove, but didn’t spot anyone in hiding—not on the street and not on the rooftops.

“I’m about to lose Camouflage,” Haol whispered.

“Eight?” Mumu asked.

“Looks clear.”

“All right, as we planned, then. Everyone drop your spells, except for Teila and Eight. We’ll go down this alley until we reach the next street. From there, Tegen will walk out first, followed by Teila and Eight, and then Haol and me after, arm-in-arm.”

We weren’t planning to split the team; we’d still travel as a group for safety’s sake, but the idea was not to be obvious about it. Any assassins sent by the Healer’s Lodge would be looking for a team of five hunters, right? So, we’d foil them by breaking up our profile.

Teila could maintain a near-indefinite Camouflage thanks to her Wood-Wise talent, so she’d stay out of sight the whole time. As for me, I could keep the spell running for forty minutes with Yuki’s help, but I didn’t want to empty myself of qi in case we ended up fighting later. The plan was for me to pop out of hiding once we put some distance between us and the inn.

Teila and I signaled we were ready, and the three adults became visible again. Haol immediately wrapped an arm around Mumu’s waist, while Tegen set off briskly like a man with someplace to be. Teila and I followed him under cover of our spells, after which the ‘couple’ then began their stroll.

The alley provided a good opportunity to practice our roles, especially when a young boy stepped out into the alley from one of the adjacent buildings. He barely glanced at Tegen, more concerned with dumping the contents of a chamber pot down grate set into the alley. Mumu and Haol did get a second look, but the boy dismissed them easily enough, even after Haol gave him a wink.

The alley crooked, and the next street came into view. Tegen was already stepping out, which caused Teila and I to rush to keep up. The street was busy with people, so we held hands in order to not lose each other in the crowd. Between the two of us and Yuki, we had enough eyes to keep out of people’s way too.

The strategy wasn’t one we’d ever practiced before. The only person on the team who’d had any sense of what it should look like was me, and that was from the heist and spy movies I’d seen in my previous life. It was no surprise, then, that we messed up a few times—things like Haol winking and Tegen outpacing Mumu and Haol.

Fortunately, the merchants and artisans in the area were in the process of opening their stores. The boards in front of their shops came down, and the merchants set out their wares to be displayed on top. That gave Tegen the chance to recover our spacing whenever he realized he was going too fast. He’d pause to look at what was offered, before starting to walk again.

Honestly, his behavior was sketchy enough that the shopkeepers kept wary eyes on him, completely ignoring Mumu and Haol when it was their time to pass by. Well, the couple wasn’t exactly convincing either. They were affectionate enough, but with all their weapons and gear, they didn’t exactly look like they were on a date.

The behavior of all three hunters was weird, which turned out to be... fine, actually. The city was visited by all sorts of people. Weirdness was the norm. I mean, the tension was thick between Teila and I as we watched our team in action. We gripped each other's hands tightly, and held our breaths, but the rest of the team somehow managed to avoid trouble.

And then Tegen almost got into a fight.

It was so stupid and so classic: a rando with a sword at his side bumped into him and demanded an apology, which, with Tegen being a sensible fellow, he did. Then, sword-rando demanded monetary compensation, at which point Tegen lost all patience, cast Bear’s Strength, and grabbed the rando by the throat.

Words were whispered—very intense words if Tegen’s expression was any indicator—to which rando suddenly and repeatedly nodded. At which point, the rando was let go to stumble away, and Tegen went back to briskly walking.

I’d heard Teila gasp, and a thrill of alarm had run through me, but no one on the street took notice of the scuffle. People walked by uninterested, and the merchants continued to hawk their wares.

It occurred to me then that Tegen had reacted appropriately. If he’d let himself be humiliated, then he’d have drawn more attention—people would’ve stopped what they were doing to watch the show.

Being sneaky didn’t always mean being sneaky. The important thing was to match the surroundings. Sometimes that meant being Camouflaged or hiding in the shadows, however there were also times when you had to stand out, but only just enough to not stand out. Maybe that was an obvious insight, but it clicked for me in a new way.

Stealth increased from 10 to 11.

I acknowledged the notification, and pulled Teila along to get us moving again. We continued following Tegen, and nothing else eventful happened as the team navigated Albei’s Nathta district.

Eventually, the steady drain of the Camouflage spell emptied Yuki’s and my qi tanks by about half, so I gave Teila’s hand a squeeze to signal that I was dropping out. Then, I ran ahead to the nearest alley, and when it seemed that the coast was clear, I let my Camouflage drop, ran back towards Tegen, and held onto his hand like he was my uncle and the two of us were out on an errand.

I smiled at him—pretending to be a happy, innocent child—and under my breath whispered, “What’d you say to that guy?”

Tegen smiled sweetly, and whispered back, “That I’d tear out his throat if he got in my way.”

I chuckled, and swung my free arm like a little kid. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Mumu and Haol keeping pace, and the rest of the street was clear of anyone in hiding besides Teila. At the rate we were going, we’d soon be back to where I’d last sensed Borba’s trail.

###

The place where I’d been shot was at the intersection of three small streets forming a skewed Y. Wooden three and four-story buildings rose up on all sides, and the first floors were given over to artisan workshops with either blankets, clothing, or baskets on display, while the upper floors appeared to be residences.

My team had hung back a street while I’d scouted ahead under cover of Camouflage, and I found a good hiding spot under a shop’s outdoor table. Above me were baskets woven with sun and sea motifs, and the imagery carried over to the wood underneath, to what would be displayed at night when the table was raised to close the shop.

It wasn’t a great feeling being back in the place where I’d been shot, and I felt my mouth go dry as I spotted Aslishtei, her foot tapping as she waited. A little red songbird sat on her shoulder, and the two of them drew looks from the passersby, although people gave her plenty of room as they walked past. No one seemed willing to risk accidentally bumping into her.

Also, there were—I counted—four different people in hiding on the nearby rooftops. My first thought was that they were some kind of protection detail, but the longer I looked, the more it became clear that they weren’t coordinated. There were none of the bits of spirit being exchanged like I saw between team members.

I supposed they could’ve been an ad hoc team assembled in hurry, but the odds of that didn’t seem high. And speculating was useless, when I had concrete ways to gather more information.

Come on, Ollie, get it together. Focus.

Going around clockwise, I used my Status camera.

Hutwa the Solemn (Human, Dawn)

Talents: Anatomic Precision, Knows Where to Cut, Uncanny Insight

Krees Bladesdotter (Human)

Talents: Natural Knife Fighter, Willful, Reluctant Scout

Nokla the Idle (Human, Dawn)

Talents: Natural Archer, Regenerative Sleep, Eyes of the Hunter

Rulus of Dezenata (Human)

Talents: Muscle Brain, Well Trained, Trained Some More

Damn, it really looks like we kicked the beehive, doesn’t it?

Yuki’s qi blipped in agreement, then they merged us together so that we could quickly share what our eyes had seen through the Status camera, before we separated again. They said, Hutwa looks like he’s from the Healer’s Lodge.

With those talents? Yes. And Nokla from the Hunter’s Lodge. Probably. Maybe?

We recognize Krees from Sonda’s entourage, Yuki said.

That’s right, she was one of his scouts, I replied.

The leaves Rulus as an unknown party.

Well, they’re all unknown until we can confirm their affiliations.

You know what we mean, Yuki said.

Which was true, but I was feeling anxious because of the people hunting for me. Just because I was determined to face this life’s challenges, it didn’t mean it’d be easy or I’d be unfeeling about it. Sometimes that manifested as me stating the obvious.

I bit my lip, and considered my options. Of course, I’d head back to alert my team to what I’d found, but what should I recommend we do? We needed access to the intersection to follow Borba’s trail. Or should we give on the intersection and hope that Dura’s team turned up a lead at one of the pawn shops in the Geista district?

The bird, Yuki said.

Hmm? I let the uekisheile focus my attention, and noticed how the songbird chirped in Aslishtei’s ear and how she would nod at what she heard. When I’d been interrogated by her, there’d been a blue songbird, ostensibly part of the spell to force the truth out of me. What did the red one do?

I had the qi to spare, so I lingered long enough to see Aslishtei glance towards where the people surveilling the intersection were hidden, and towards me too but only fleetingly.

She knows we’re here, I thought.

Yuki did the qi equivalent of a nod. But she’s not calling us out.

Or sending us away.

She’s letting us decide what to do? Yuki asked.

Us or Mumu, I said. She’d know that with me here, Mumu and the others will be close by.

Yuki wondered, Are we going to be bait again?

That’s not my first choice, I said, rubbing at where the crossbow bolt had pierced my chest. But if we’re with Aslishtei, it might be okay. Her rank among the land soldiers is high, and I doubt these people would try any funny business with her around.

We don’t know that, Yuki pointed out.

No, but Mumu might. Let’s report in.

I eased my way out from under my hiding spot, and crept back towards the alley where my team waited. What I found was Tegen casually leaning against a wall at the exit while keeping watch. Teila crouched beside him, still Camouflaged. She was also watching the area, but kept glancing back, deeper into the alley, to where Mumu and Haol were clutching each other, their lips locked. They were... making out.

They weren’t pretending either, or maybe only a quarter pretending. Real passion flowed between the two, carried on streams of spirit energy. Sure, Mumu was engaged to join Haol’s family, but they clearly needed to get a room. And a better sense of timing. There were assassins about, gods damn it.

The sight must've thrown me and caused me to slip up on my approach, because Tegen’s attention zeroed in on me, before he let it diffuse to continue watching the area once more.

“Don’t judge them too harshly,” he said, as if talking to himself. “It is a release—the return of life to where sorrow once held sway.”

My annoyance didn’t budge. Mumu and Haol were sensible people; they knew better than to lose track of their surroundings like this. Their timing was just terrible—danger lay in wait literally around the corner—but then again, it’d been a long while since I was that age.

It was easy to sometimes forgot the wash of hormones and desire that accompanied youth. And it looked like Tegen and Teila were keeping a proper look out. We’d already checked to make sure no one had followed us, and it was now obvious why: all the interested parties already knew where to go to find us—the intersection where I’d been shot.

I sighed, and focused on something within my control. “How’d you know I was here?” I asked, whispering. “What gave me away?”

Tegen’s eyes flicked towards me. He sniffed, and tapped the side of his nose.

Ah, I’d forgone using Scentless Hunter, wanting to save my mana in case I needed multiple casts of Healing Water again.

“How long do you think those two are going to be? They don’t plan on... you know... going farther, are they?”

Teila’s spirit jumped, but Tegen just coolly glanced back at the lovers before turning around to shake his head. “Just a few more minutes reprieve, if you will. They need this.”

Well, it wasn’t like I didn’t understand love, and my anxiety could wait. And that little bit of jealousy I felt for what they had... it wasn’t worth paying attention to.

###

Eventually, the lip lock ended, and as did the blushing and the apologies afterward. All it took was for me to describe the situation at the intersection for the hunters to return to all-business.

“We should pass this area by,” Tegen said. “It’s too dangerous, and there’s a good chance the trail is cold, even to our Eight’s keen senses.”

“We don’t know that,” Haol said.

“It’s been hours,” Tegen said, “and it rained overnight.”

“The talent is Uncanny,” Haol protested. “There’s always going to be a chance it might work.”

Mumu listened to the two of them argue, but I saw from her spirit how she struggled with herself—how her need to chase after Borba warred with her commitment to protect her hunters.

“That’s enough,” she said, coming to a decision. “Haol, Tegen, and I will go see what Aslishtei wants. Then, when I signal, Teila will join us while still Camouflaged, and Eight will see what the hidden watchers do.”

Wait, what? Camouflage wasn’t perfect. The hidden watchers would likely notice someone approaching under the spell’s effects—a child-sized blur in Teila’s case—and they’d assume it to be me.

In other words, Mumu intended Teila to be the bait, and the other hunters stilled when they came to the same realization.

“If anyone looks like they will attack,” Mumu said, continuing, “then Eight will signal a warning, and Teila will dive for cover under Tegen.”

Hold on. Under—

Tegen let out a long breath before saying. “Yes, of course.”

Mumu clasped his shoulder. “Needless to say, if there’s something better, use that. But if not, then her wellbeing is your sturdy care, my friend.”

He nodded in response, but I had a hard time catching up to what they were saying, hung up on how she was asking him to become a pin cushion in order to protect Teila. To protect me.

“No, no, no,” I said. “There has to be another way.”

“Be easy,” Tegen said. “This has always been my place on our team.”

“And hopefully it won’t be necessary,” Mumu added. “From what I’ve heard, Aslishtei is well regarded by Knight Ithia. The hidden watchers will invite the land knight’s wrath if they act presumptuously.”

“So you’re gambling,” I said.

“Every hunt is a gamble,” Mumu replied.

“But we do our best to tilt the odds in our favor. That doesn’t seem to be the case this time.”

“Then what would you have us do?”

“I’ll go out there—” I started, but Mumu cut me off with a gesture.

“No.”

“Then what about sneaking up on the watchers?” I suggested. “Disabling them?”

“Can you guarantee they’d go down silently and unnoticed by the others? If not, then we’d trigger a fight we could’ve otherwise avoided by relying on Aslishtei’s reputation.”

“We’d only need to take out two—it should be safe to leave the watchers from the Hunter’s Lodge and the land soldiers untouched.”

“We’d still be escalating the conflict with the others,” Mumu said.

“The Healer’s Lodge tried to have me killed,” I said, gritting my teeth.

“Yes, but we don’t know about the one with the multiple training talents. Should we attack him without knowing his allegiance?”

“What if I gave Teila Ikfael’s statue to carry—”

“Eight!” Mumu said, her patience running thin. “The spirit of the land isn’t a servant or a tool. You should know that better than anyone.”

“Yes, but—”

“There are no buts—”

“It’s all right,” Teila said. She’d come closer to whisper, and I felt her breath tickle against my ear. “I appreciate what you’re trying to do, Eight, but Mumu is right. I protect you, and Tegen protects me. That’s the way of things.”

“And if Tegen gets hurt,” Haol said, “both Mumu and I will be there to heal him. Right?”

“Yes,” Mumu said. “We watch out for each other.”

“But some of us get more watched after than others,” I said. “That’s unfair.”

“It is fair.” Mumu leaned back against the wall, and looked out onto the street at the people passing by. “Let me ask you question, Little Pot. When the Long Dark comes this winter, who will save more lives, you or Tegen?”

“Well, that’s not really—”

“What about the year after? Or in five years from now? Ten?”

I hesitated. The answer was obvious, but I didn’t like it. A man’s worth shouldn’t be measured by his talents. To think otherwise rubbed me the wrong way, and yet I couldn’t say that Mumu was wrong.

Yuki?

We don’t know either.

I took a breath, held it, and let it go. I’d done a lot to survive this world—pushed myself, stood back up every time it knocked me down, and faced the challenges it threw at me. At the same time, I’d also sought joy in friends, family, and yes, even in some of the challenges too. Yet, even with all that, there were times when I really hated this world.