Kanin Fyre: Chapter 11 - Side Quest

Heeding Aquenno’s request (or desperate pleas for rationality), we don’t head back to the tournament. Now that I know Yua Tin isn’t a threat to us, I want to meet the god even more; and learning that the champions aren’t able to Check me makes it even less likely they’d discover who I am. But Aquenno is probably right that it’s an unnecessary risk, and now that I know I’ll be able to speak with Blair again soon, I’m willing to be more patient. Maybe then she can explain what’s going on with the Contact function she supposedly unlocked.

“The comment Aquenno made about the System,” Zyneth ventures as we head back toward our inn. The streets rapidly thin of people the farther we get from the tournament grounds. “It seems odd to me he doesn’t know about it. Do you think he was lying?”

“I don’t,” I say. “I Checked him, and he didn’t react. And like you, he also doesn’t have a Role. So far, only Blair and I have Roles, and only Blair and I have System access, so the two are probably related. But that wasn’t the only odd thing about him.” 

“What do you mean?” Zyneth asks. 

I shake my head. “It could be nothing, but his level was pretty low. I mean, it was still forty-six, ten levels higher than you, but only ten. Zetaru was level eighty-one. That’s a huge difference. Even Yedzaquib was in the sixties, and he wasn’t even a champion. Doesn’t that seem weird?”

“Perhaps,” Zyneth agrees, frowning thoughtfully. “Maybe he’s a new champion—given all the Gods’ Tournaments, that could certainly be likely.”

“Maybe,” I agree. “Do you recall if Blair held a Gods’ Tournament over the last couple months?”

Zyneth slowly shakes his head. “No… Her name wasn’t among the participating gods.”

“Her name isn’t even among the pantheon,” I point out. “Maybe she’s hiding her true name… But Aquenno also referred to her as Blair.”

“That’s the part that bothers me the most.” Zyneth’s breath puffs out in a brief white cloud when he sighs. “Is she even who she says she is? The meeting she wants to schedule…”

“Do you think it’s a trap?” I ask. 

“That always remains a possibility.”

“But you don’t think it is.”

He shakes his head. “I think if she wanted to capture us, she already would have. But it all remains strange, nevertheless. Why send her champion to find us instead of communicating this herself? Why tell us to meet at a specific time and place? Is this because she’s trying to avoid other gods discovering her actions?”

“It could be,” I say. “All we really know is that her movements are more restricted than I originally thought; she’s working around something, be it rules or detection.”

“You intend to meet her, then?” Zyneth asks. 

I nod. “I can’t pass up this opportunity. I have more I need to ask her, but I’m also interested in meeting this other Traveler she mentioned.” 

And saying I’m interested is an understatement. I’m desperate to find more—to know that they’re okay. To find if there’s any way I can help them—and especially, if there’s any way I can help the ones who the gods have already captured. 

“The date is still four weeks away,” Zyneth remarks. “It’s only a few days away by airship. What do you intend to do in the meantime?”

He knows as well as I do that I’m far too restless to just sit around and wait for the day to arrive. “Is there somewhere around here we can pull the address from that letter Caesius gave me?”

“Ah.” We reach the doors of our inn and Zyneth pulls one open, a gust of air puffing out to meet us. He gives a content sigh when he steps inside—it must be warm. “You’re interested in tracking down that void expert, I take it?”

“This seems like a good time to try,” I admit. “If I can’t find him, there’s always the Academy I can go back to. But we’re in Dunmora now, and we have a few weeks to kill.” 

Zyneth heads to the tavern instead of making for our room, probably in search of a warm meal. “That sounds like a fine plan to me. I can take a look at the letter, but I’m sure someone at the Post will be able to read it for us. The only problem is—Hello, yes. Do you have any more of the stew?” Zyneth pauses to request a meal from the bartender, then we both take a seat at one of the tables nearest the fireplace. I’ve never seen a tavern so deserted before.

“The problem,” Zyneth continues, “is that we don’t even know if this professor of yours is still there. He could have moved, or he could have dropped the letter off in that city, but lives elsewhere.”

“A Location spell should help with that, right?” I ask. “Since he wrote the letter, the spell will probably point to his location, not where the paper and ink was made.”

Zyneth rubs his chin. “Probably.”

“Well, it can’t hurt to try,” I say. “I’ve got nothing else to do for the next four weeks.” 

Zyneth’s meal is brought over, so while he’s eating, I remove a slate and some chalk from my bag. Using Echo to bring up the spell circle and instructions for the Location spell I know, I take my time drawing the design out over the slate. It’s been a while since I last used this spell, and I’m pleased to realize I can read more of the runes and understand the reason behind the placement and angles of lines than I’d been able to before. Guess all that studying with Caesius is paying off. 

Once I’m done, I place the letter on the spell circle and activate it. Light bubbles up from the letter, like a gurgling fountain, spitting a few inches into the air. Then light wobbles around uncertainly, before angling slightly off to my right. It’s not nearly as strong as when I used the spell before with my soul to find my body—but a soul and body have a stronger association with one another than a letter written years ago would have with the person who wrote it. 

I point in the direction the spell is weakly indicating. “Spell says he’s that way.” 

Zyneth glances in that direction, then looks about the room as if to gauge his orientation. “That’s east, I think,” he says. “Let’s compare it to what the Post Master says and go from there.” 

“Sounds good,” I agree. “If you want to do that, I can go check the departing airship schedules. Think if we leave now, we can beat the crowds when the tournament has finished?”

Zyneth chuckles. “I doubt many will be departing before then, but you can certainly try.”

#

Zyneth’s right—because he always is—and though I spend an hour or two wandering around the air docks, nothing departs until tonight. Zyneth meets me there with a city’s name in hand, and I reserve passage for one (I’ll accompany Zyneth as a homunculus, and so won’t need a ticket [yes this is probably cheating and no I don’t care because I’m poor and if I can’t take advantage of my form for this, then what’s the point,]) then we had back to the inn so Zyneth can gather this things. Since I have some time to kill, I use it to write a letter for Noli, as promised. This time I don’t need Zyneth to write for me. I can do it, my handwriting just sucks and I have to go really slow. At least we have a few hours before we need to be anywhere. 

When I’ve finished, we check out of the inn, drop the letter off at a wyvern delivery service, and make for our airship. By now, the tournament has concluded, and a flood of people have begun to pour through the streets. Zyneth inquires about the winner, but even when we learn their name, it doesn’t mean anything to me. I feel a little disappointed at having missed it—both for the recreational aspect, but also because I missed my chance to Check Yua Tin—but I try to dismiss the feeling. I’ll be meeting with Blair again soon, and that will be safer, and more likely to get me some answers. In the meantime, I have my void abilities to focus on. 

While Ink is intrigued by the idea of learning new void spells, it’s irritated that we’ll be traveling via airship again. We only had one day back on the ground—only one day to stretch its limbs and explore the area! The airships are so small and cramped. It becomes boring far too quickly. Can’t we travel by foot?

That would take forever, I tell it. And they don’t have telepads here. Besides, it won’t be so bad. We can do some more sparing and stealth sessions with Zyneth. 

That seems to do the trick. Ink immediately checks the position of the sun, and remarks that it will be night soon. 

That’s because it’s winter, I object. And we’re further north. That doesn’t mean you get extra hours for night lurking time!

Ink points out that I already get more than half the hours in a day, and when it was summer, Ink was given less free time. 

I dislike that it has a point. I have been monopolizing most of the time. But it is my soul, and my body, so I think I’m justified in demanding a bit more autonomy. 

You’ll get time when everyone’s asleep and it’s safe for you to be out, I tell it. And we’ll have plenty of time to play around with our powers once we find Siqi and get some guidance on our void abilities. I don’t add, “Assuming we can even find the guy in the first place.” 

“Ready, Kanin?” Zyneth asks, hoisting his bag up over his shoulder. “Looks like we’re boarding.” 

Sporadic flecks of snow drift lazily through the air, peppering his hair and melting on his skin. He seems so colorful and warm against the desaturated backdrop of snow and an overcast sky. His very presence feels colorful and warm. 

Abruptly, I find myself suspended in this moment, keenly aware of myself, my past, and my place in this world. Like looking at myself from the outside. A human who’s no longer human. A strange man from a different world who makes me feel more at home than I ever had on Earth. A primordial entity in my soul that is learning what it means to live. 

And how normal this all seems. How content I feel to be here. How eager I am to see what happens next, even in the face of such danger and uncertainty. 

“All set,” I reply, grabbing my own bag—the one Noli made for me, a small ink-bottle design pressed into its leather. I step up to Zyneth’s side, looking up the boardwalk at the airship that’s rocking in the winter breeze. “Ready for another adventure?”

He smiles—it’s a familiar, subtle expression, made more with his eyes than his mouth—and it warms my soul.  “Always.” 

#

Kanin's Letter:

Noli,

Good news: Not planning on leaving the planet in the next month. Haha. Okay, that seemed funnier before I wrote it.

(Sorry for my handwriting, by the way. I’ll try to keep this brief, because it’s already taking way too long to write.)

We attended the Tournament, but left before Yua Tin showed up. Nothing exciting happened that I can share. Now we’re headed to Eldwoods to look for this void professor. The airships here are way better than the one we used to get to the Drifting Isles. And not just because no one here has hit on Zyneth; the ships are much bigger, which means far less terrifying. Okay, you would probably find it boring, like Zyneth did, but even Rezira could manage this, I think. 

Ink has discovered a new favorite game to play with Zyneth: hide and seek. It might enjoy this more than sparring. Nevermind, it just told me it doesn’t. It wants me to tell you that the hiding game is an acceptable alternative, but fighting you and Zyneth is more fun. It wants you to rejoin us soon so it can fight you some more. Thanks, Ink. Great addition. 

In a couple weeks, I’m going to have the opportunity to meet someone else like me. I’m excited, but also a bit worried. Who knows what they’ll think of me?

Whatever the outcome, we’ll probably be back in Valenia in a month or so. I’ll catch up with you then.

Best, 

- K.

(P.S. Zyneth wishes you and Rezira well)

(P.P.S. Even though I told Ink this isn’t in the spirit of Post Scripts, it wants to let you know we’re going to win our next rematch.)