Chapter 334: Intercepting the Exchange

(One year ago today I began posting Depthless Hunger. In that time I have posted 334 chapters here (298 on Royalroad). I have taken a few days of hiatus, and I had to switch from seven chapters per week to five, but otherwise I think I have kept to my schedule. 

I hope this has been worthwhile to someone.

As a reminder, what I promised readers is that I would finish the third arc. I intend to keep that promise, which will mean several more months of chapters at minimum. However, I will need to take a hiatus next week. Normal chapter schedule this week, then one week off.)

For the first week, their travel went exactly as smoothly as the first time. Zae Zin Nim grumbled that they had to walk or catch rides, but they couldn't justify drawing attention to themselves and needed to save the diamond star for emergencies. Even in its modified form, it might still be remembered by one of their many enemies.

Until they acquired the lizardkin queen egg, they needed to keep as low a profile as possible. Zae Zin Nim had strongly pushed for them to reach the Kama Altar early, but it simply wasn't possible to make it work given the distances they needed to cross. Instead they spent the time investigating the region again.

The Commonwealth wasn't quite as peaceful as it had been before, with fewer merchants and far less foreign trade. What worried him more were the new fortresses that seemed to be run by freshly-created demonic arts users. Unlike the true demons, who didn't care about most people, these new predators were happy to prey on the civilians around them. It frustrated Kai to ignore so many injustices and he had to remind himself staying secret was his only way to make a difference.

By the time of the supposed exchange, they were in range and had a strong sense for the region. At least there was no question of the exact location: the queen's egg was being exchanged under the guise of a normal mercantile transaction, so they could see it being set up. If he hadn't heard from the elven spies, he never would have known anything strange was going on.

Well, maybe there was too much security. The exchange was happening in a small town, yet both sides had armored flying wagons. One was dressed entirely in white and gold Commonwealth armor that didn't fit exactly right - presumably the buyers.

On the other side he saw a group of demons, demonic arts users, and merchants from the CTG. He thought none of them were particularly strong or dangerous until he saw Anaelina among them. Damn, he just couldn't get away from her. Kai considered trying to target her if it came to a fight, but he wasn't sure if she'd prepared anything new to use against him.

Meanwhile, Omilaena had been examining the buyers more carefully. Eventually she whispered "Damn" and lowered her goggles.

"What is it?" he asked.

"The ones posing as soldiers? They're a faction from the Flaeren Dominion, or doing an amazing impression."

"How can you tell?"

"They're wearing Commonwealth armor, but they have specialized Flaeren armor in their souls. It's not just like cheap equipment you could steal, it's an ability they build up over time." Omilaena waved the question aside. "That doesn't matter. What's worrying is that they shouldn't be here buying the egg. Either they want to use it against the lizardkin or, worse, they want to defect from the Dominion and join them. Either would be just cause more chaos."

"But what we need to do doesn't change either way, right?" Kai asked. "We grab the egg and run."

"Right, but wait until you know for sure where it is. The demons have a hundred identical spatial rings and I'm betting they're all traps except the real one. The plan should work, but we need to hit at the last possible second. I'll go get ready."

Despite all the spycraft and preparation that had led them to this moment, the actual plan wasn't complex. Basically smash and grab thuggery, just at a very high level. As soon as they had the spatial ring, they'd escape into the Commonwealth and lead everyone after them. That should definitely spread chaos, especially as both sides learned more about what happened.

Ideally they were supposed to get the lizardkin queen's egg back to her, but Kai didn't think the elves actually cared about that as much. That was just grim politics, he guessed.

Zae Zin Nim prepared the diamond star at a safe distance while Omilaena sneaked through the perimeter to plant her trap. Kai didn't have another role in the preparations, so he watched closely as the two sides came together.

From a distance he couldn't hear what they said, but they seemed to be negotiating. The Dominion side started by putting forth a large number of Crests, then increased the number several times before placing them back in a spatial ring. That apparently wasn't enough, because they added some chakra fruit and other items before the deal was finally struck.

One of the many spatial rings on the other side was brought forward and a large egg removed from it. The Dominion side seemed very excited and used some sort of identification ability before returning it to the ring. That meant the deal was almost done and Kai worried that Omilaena had been too late.

Then one of the wagons crashed to the ground, acid burning through its outer layer. Both sides jumped and accusations began flying between them. In the center, the negotiators started to withdraw the spatial rings to hide them amongst the decoys.

Kai exploded over the ground at the maximum speed of Thunderbird's Wings. He didn't stop, he just opened his mouth and chomped down as he passed through. His mouth was immediately filled with hands and rings and he had to concentrate to avoid swallowing the metal. But that wasn't his biggest problem.

There were armed warriors all around, and even as fast as he was going, they could react and began moving to intercept. That was where the others came in.

The diamond star broke over the trees just after him, Omilaena piloting and Zae Zin Nim gathering herself. She had been concentrating her qi for a phased attack and now launched scattered qi techniques: not hundreds of bolts, thousands. They rained down over the exchange, killing a few instantly and sending others flying.

Still in the grip of Thunderbird's Wings, Kai burst off the ground so they'd meet at a point on the other side of the merchants. That part worked perfectly and Omilaena grabbed him out of the sky to pull him into the diamond star. Zae Zin Nim continued to provide covering fire and they quickly put the meeting point behind them.

As they escaped Kai caught a glimpse of Anaelina, who stared at him with bright silver eyes. She seemed to be least prepared to give chase, however, so she soon disappeared.

The only ones to react fast enough were a group of demonic arts users who jumped onto strips of cloth that raced after them at high speed. Kai wasn't sure what they were: they just looked like wide ribbons to him. Whatever they were, they moved pretty fast, and the fighters atop them weren't weak. Lots of them had more than 500 Power and couldn't be stopped easily.

So instead Kai focused on the strips of cloth and activated Void Gaze.

All their pursuers pitched over their suddenly stationary vehicles and Zae Zin Nim pelted them with more qi attacks as they fell. When the enemy had entirely disappeared over the horizon, their group finally breathed sighed of relief. Once they reached an unoccupied region they landed to regroup and plan their next step.

"Did we get it?" Zae Zin Nim asked. "I will be cross if we were tricked somehow."

"I think," Kai said, then spat out the spatial rings into his hand.

"Not so fast." Omilaena swept up beside them, swinging the elven cloaks over their heads. "Before anything else, we hide ourselves. I'm not sure we actually lost them, but we have to try."

Once they were all cloaked and hidden in the nearest group of trees, it was time to investigate what they'd stolen. Kai pushed his spirit into the more important spatial ring first and found it mostly filled with soft and warm materials, some sort of support that allowed the egg to survive. When he pulled it out, Omilaena whistled.

"That's our target, all right." She ran her hand over the shell and then pushed it back toward him. "No reason to piss off the lizardkin, so you keep that safe."

"What about the other one?" Zae Zin Nim asked.

"Let me see..." Kai looked into it and discovered a more ordinary spatial chamber. "It looks like about two million Crests... I don't suppose we can take those?"

"Why not?"

"Since it was used to pay for a crime, someone will probably want to claim it," Omilaena said. "That's not to say we can't steal it, though. What about the rest? The really valuable stuff probably won't be money."

Kai began pulling out objects, mostly chakra fruits that were immediately dismissed. There was a whole set of roots and powders that Omilaena said were vitality-enhancers. Some sort of mortar and pestle that had been thoroughly imbued with chakra and went with the rest. There was a qi pill that Zae Zin Nim claimed automatically and some sort of poison that interested Omilaena. But nothing impressed his companions until he showed them a glass of golden liquid.

It just looked like a potion to him, albeit one in a fancy curved flask with an unusually strong seal. But both of the others stared at it immediately.

"What is that?" Zae Zin Nim asked.

"It's called the Ape Titan's Ambrosia." Omilaena took the flask almost reverentially. "Chakra, qi, and mana in perfect balance. It can expand the soul beyond the 999 Power barrier, but what's exceptional is that it's not limited - it can help anyone break through."

"If we stole something that valuable," Kai said as he put everything into his own spatial ring, "then we should get moving."

They ditched the unnecessary rings in one direction and began walking due west, trying to put distance between themselves and the theft without drawing attention. Yet it seemed obvious that his companions hadn't moved beyond thoughts of what they'd stolen. Both of them were still in the 800s, but they had to be thinking about the next steps. Given some of the major jumps they had ahead of them, the 999 Power barrier might be coming sooner than they thought.

"I'm closer," Zae Zin Nim argued. "It only makes sense for me to take it."

"Only with your Heavenly Sash, and I don't think that counts," Omilaena said.

"But we're in the middle of Rosemount, with chakra on all sides. Where else am I going to find intense enough qi to break the barrier?"

"Let's not fight now," Kai told them. "Neither of you need it immediately, so can't we wait?"

Zae Zin Nim regarded him thoughtfully. "I suppose there's an argument that you should take it. Both of us know sources of chakra or qi that can break the barrier - they're rare, but they exist. Whereas we don't know what you need. This might be your best chance."

Kai considered the argument carefully and looked at the golden flask in his spatial ring. But in the end he shook his head. "My human side is still a long way from the barrier. If we can't find this sort of thing more easily by the time I reach that point, we're not advancing fast enough. We'll save this for whichever of you needs it more."

Neither seemed happy with that compromise - apparently their cooperation reached its limits before it came to extraordinarily rare advancement materials. Kai hoped that they'd be able to find more resources or come up with a better solution by the time it became relevant.

For a day it seemed like they'd gotten away with their theft and had free rein in the Commonwealth. But then Zae Zin Nim sensed a pursuer on the horizon and their concerns focused down to their grim situation again.

"I think I sense Anaelina with them," Zae Zin Nim said. "Could she still have a link to you, Kai?"

"I severed that in Rayakan," he argued, "and she never tracked me again. What are the chances that they're just spreading out to look everywhere?"

"I doubt it," Omilaena said from behind her goggles. "They followed us - not our original path, not the decoy rings. I don't see how they could have a tracker in anything we stole, but we have to assume they're able to track us somehow."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Zae Zin Nim had summoned the diamond star again and was already leaping into it. "No choice but to escape."

They began to fly again, low to the ground and zigzagging in case their opponents hadn't really identified them, but their pursuers kept pace. Eventually they had no choice but to push straight west as fast as they could... and the demons were still gaining on them.

Of course it couldn't be that easy. Kai grinned as he realized the elves were going to get way more chaos than they had asked for.