Crimsoncrest: Chapters 6-7

It's April, so we're returning to the normal schedule. FYI, I will be doing some traveling. I have prescheduled all the upcoming chapters, so you should receive them as normal, but if anything goes wrong it may take me longer to fix it, and that's why I might be slower with responses.

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Chapter 6

After the giant ghostworm, the rest of the journey seemed harmless by comparison. That was a dangerous illusion, and it frustrated Fiyu that the others allowed themselves to relax: smaller ghostworms and other threats could still cause trouble. One of the wagons even ran aground on a jagged splinter of ice due to carelessness, but the group as a whole seemed too pleased by their successful journey to care about the lapse.

Thanks in part to Fiyu's vigilance, they reached their destination without any further losses. All at once the journey and companions that she had taken on for a time were resolved, falling away like dead leaves, and she realized how much she wanted to return.

Yet she couldn't, not yet, because this was the reason she had done all of this.

She swallowed as she ventured deeper into the temporary city produced by the reunited Darkwheel Trader caravans. Though she had been surrounded by more people in the past, that had been in other worlds, whereas here on Ichil everyone treated her with the appropriate skepticism. It was a tense place, mostly reunited relatives watching her as an outsider, and she needed to negotiate with them.

Oh, if only she could have brought Friend Theo or Friend Nauda for this part. But they had their own tasks, so she needed to do this alone.

As she braved the caravan encampment, Fiyu was glad to see Associate Hitemo float down beside her. "The elders will see you now," he said. "Have you found what you wanted?"

"For the most part, but I will need to discuss the details with them." Fiyu bowed politely and shifted her path toward the largest of the carriages, rendered pitch black amid the encampment due to shadowlamps.

"I'm sure they'll be happy to negotiate with you. We've never gotten through the Illuminated Ice in such time with so few losses."

Fiyu could only hope his assessment was correct. One did not generally cheat strangers, because it contributed to a dangerous environment, but foreigners had little defense against the unscrupulous. She and her relatives had little presence here, nomads replaced by traders, and the Darkwheel Traders did have access to Strongholds across their entire domain.

Stepping into the darkness was a relief, so she relaxed marginally as she walked up the wooden steps to the grand carriage. Within, she could feel the Darkwheel elders seated in a circle, currently discussing business - she could feel their vocal cords moving, but all sound was suppressed. When she stepped inside, a dozen different senses immediately scrutinized her and she forced herself to remain calm.

"The Darkwheel Traders do not generally hire mercenaries," one of the elders said, "but in this case we are glad that we did. Hitemo and the others have spoken favorably about your work."

"Thank you." Fiyu bowed respectfully to the group and then straightened. "Now that it is time to discuss payment, I would like to forgo the craftgems in favor of sublime materials."

"We already let you see everything," an elderly woman said. "Our wares should be more than to the satisfaction of an Authority."

"You mean to say that you don't have any other types of sublime ice? Not even any crafted by your people, or from the northernmost reaches of your travels?"

Pressing them was definitely impolite, and potentially unwise. Authorities were relatively common among the Darkwheel Traders, which was one of the reasons she had never been involved with them before. But after the Deuxan convocation, and the politics of the Mercury Court or Salebrante, they no longer seemed impossibly far above her.

"We do not specialize in ice," one of the younger men said stiffly. "If you were not satisfied by what we presented, we may not have sublime ice to satisfy you."

A lie, or a manipulation? Fiyu felt stiff backs and tense arms all around the room, perhaps due to her impetuousness. But she had put a great deal of time and effort into this, so she could afford to be somewhat rude.

"I meant no offense," Fiyu said quietly. "I noticed that one item was not available: the shadowlamps that were used to protect the caravan."

"Of course we could offer those," another elder said. "They do not match any requirements you gave previously, but we construct them at Ruler and Authority tiers, so-"

"Forgive me, but I observed a Stronghold-tier shadowlamp in this camp. I would like to receive one of those."

Her words drew immediate disapproval, increasing the tension throughout the room. Fiyu wondered again if this was suicidal, but she would not back down in this negotiation. If she was away from her companions so long, while they did such important work, and returned with nothing to show for it...

"You may be ambitious, but you are yet an Authority..." One of the oldest elders spoke in a quavering voice, examining her with weakened senses. "You would not be able to properly use such a powerful shadowlamp, and few others have the expertise to fuel them."

"I am not seeking merely to ascend to Stronghold." Fiyu took a deep breath, then decided to take a risk. "I intend to travel in aeon-class lands."

It could easily have backfired, because the term "aeon-class" was not widespread. Many regions, even her relative, had only an abstract idea of soulcrafting tiers beyond Dominion. Yet the Darkwheel Traders were said to travel far and wide, which was the very reason she had come to work with them. If they were treating her as a fool from a backwater, she needed to do whatever she could to earn a real place at the negotiating table.

As it turned out, her fears were misplaced: some of the elders flinched, some stared in surprise, and only a few were confused.

"Of course we can provide you with a Stronghold-tier shadowlamp." One of the elders began rubbing his hands together strangely, smiling even though they barely knew one another. "We're grateful for your support. Generally acquiring a high-tier lamp is difficult, but since all caravans are meeting, one can be made redundant."

"Let us show you some of our affiliated merchants," another elder said. "They are not part of our community proper, but if they have anything you desire, we can make commercial arrangements."

Another nodded too quickly. "You also expressed interest in ghostworm materials, and though they are not generally sublime, we do have a few specialists..."

As they spoke, Fiyu realized that even here in her home world, she had misunderstood: the elders weren't scornful of her, they were fearful. From their perspective, she had been hired as a minor Authority, but she had outperformed all their own soulcrafters and taken down a legendary beast. Now she demanded Stronghold-tier materials and spoke of higher tiers, so they treated her as a soulcrafter who was rushing past them on a separate journey.

Strangest of all, perhaps they were right.

"I also require an Ichili weirkey," Fiyu said with new confidence. "I-"

She had intended to give more explanations, perhaps hinting that she might return to help again, but she wasn't given a chance.

"Of course, of course!" One of the elders reached into her own soulhome to find one. "Here, why don't you take this with our blessing?"

"Thank you." Fiyu accepted the key, rubbed the cool metal between her fingers, and for the first time in over a month really breathed.

~ ~ ~

Once all her negotiations were complete, Fiyu departed from the caravan meeting with new sublime materials in her storage rooms. Thankfully, despite the social awkwardness, none of the traders attempted to invite her to meals or other obligations, so she could simply depart.

It felt strange to hold her new Ichili weirkey in one hand and the Noveni key in the other. A properly dark world and the brightest she had yet encountered. Black and white, if there had been light to see them. But for now, all that mattered was that the combination would allow her to travel anywhere on Ichil.

That itself was a heady concept. She could visit any relative with a set location, close or far, or any city from her childhood journeys. In theory, there was absolutely nothing stopping her from traveling directly to the Jukkean Ice in the furthest north, except of course that no one ever came back. Nothing stopped children from wandering away from the community, but exploration was risky and best done with allies.

Instead she began more practically: taking herself back to the gate to Norro Yorthin. Even without a Fithan weirkey, she could now access that gate and return to House Blacksilver at will. Truthfully, it would be tempting to do so frequently, because she could always sleep in a familiar secure room.

Yet as she stood outside the fortress to the gate, Fiyu realized that this would be premature. She arced away from Ichil again, instead using her weirkey to find the nearest Biolumin Relay. Previously, visiting them to see if her relative had left a message would have been a foolish waste of time, but now there was no harm in checking in.

This Relay station was larger and more formal, not an isolated outpost, so the process was simple. Thankfully it was still relatively quiet, with many hollows around the central glowing relay allowing people to access messages in peace. When Fiyu gave her information at the desk, she was escorted to one without having to talk to anyone else.

There, she was pleased to discover that there was in fact a message waiting for her. She closed her eyes and listened to her relative's voice.

"Progress has been made, next step uncertain. Contact when free."

Terse, though not unexpectedly so given Relative Guchiro's tendencies. The fact that he contacted her at all, even told her about some of his own work, was very pleasing. Fiyu returned a message stating that she had finished her work, resisting the urge to add unnecessary details, and then departed the Biolumin Relay to find a suitably dark place.

The chance of Relative Guchiro being near a Relay was low, and a quick response was even less likely, but there was no harm in waiting. Now that she had completed her extended work with the Darkwheel Traders, her next highest priority was soulcrafting.

Within her soulhome, Fiyu looked over her storage chamber with satisfaction. She still held the ghostworm heart carefully isolated - she had no idea how it might be used for soulcrafting, but it seemed a rare and valuable material. Not far away sat her Stronghold-tier shadowlamp - not suitable for a soulhome, but immensely powerful on the physical plane and so a valuable reward. Those two, combined with her new weirkey, more than justified her journey.

Beyond those, the materials she collected had been slightly more disappointing. Even though they traveled through so much ice, the Darkwheel Traders had little that was strong enough and suited to her. As part of her payment she had accepted a multitude of lesser materials.

She picked up some of those and took them to the darkness chamber on her fourth floor, beginning to soulcraft supporting materials. None of the ice she had seen came close to the icegem that hovered nearby, which had been the result of no journey, simply handed to her by Associate Senka.

Fiyu supposed, after some rumination, that it was acceptable to have something from Associate Senka as part of her soulhome. Such materials were quite rare, after all, and she needed the best.

It took Fiyu several hours to complete her work, or at least as much as she could before her spiritual reserves started to ebb. Another chamber enhanced, another step toward Stronghold. She floated lower in her soulhome, looking not to her most powerful materials, but her spiritual tools.

One of the few materials that had some value was called vitalice, a type of ice that was filled with spiritual nutrients. She had purchased some that allegedly strengthened a soulhome's foundation, and she now took the ice out to her soulhome. When placed in the soil, it began to slowly melt, enriching her soul in the process.

Though the effects were not as impressive as the eggs from Noven, they were another step closer to her goal. Once she was satisfied that everything was set up perfectly, Fiyu went to her cleared space and began striking the barrier with the darkegg. Maybe she was making progress, maybe not, but the steady rhythm helped her attune to herself again after so long traveling with strangers.

When someone appeared in the air overhead by weirkey, Fiyu only examined them briefly: this was a Biolumin Relay, after all, so other Authorities would be using it as she did. The figure who had appeared, however... she knew it was Relative Guchiro even before she had finished detecting his mask, his scarf, or his muscled frame.

Though she rose to her feet quickly, her relative was even faster. He landed beside her without a sound, yet she felt almost as though the earth trembled when he landed. She ran to embrace him and closed her eyes happily as his dark cloak wrapped around her.

"Fiyu." Relative Guchiro spoke softly into her hair. "I am glad to see you well."

"I have completed a journey with the Darkwheel Traders," she told him with satisfaction. "Though I may not have performed optimally, I believe I-"

"Later." Her relative pulled back, senses fixing on her seriously. "I have urgent news of my own: we have uncovered further information about the corruption of the Biolumin Relays. There are more connections with the great powers of the Nine than I believed, but there is a key opportunity for advantage, and I would be glad to have your help investigating."

"Of course. Let us return to Norro Yorthin and my companions can j-"

"The Tatian and the outsider? This is an Ichili matter, so there is no need to involve them. Come, let us go and you can tell me of your travels on the way."

Happy as she was to see her relative, Fiyu felt the joy began to ebb away. "I promised that I would meet them," she said quietly. "There are serious matters afoot on Fithe, likely leading up to a war. I pledged to help Blacksilver defend themselves when it began."

There was no tension in Relative Guchiro's body, yet he went very still. "An organization with a few Authorities? Come now, ward, you've traveled far enough to know they aren't so large in the scale of the Nine Worlds."

"Nonetheless, I have pledged to help them. I cannot betray that trust."

"I see." Relative Guchiro placed a heavy hand on her shoulder. "I have an opportunity to acquire a rare material called divine ice that could help us both ascend. I believe it would be better to pursue it now, but there is still time. Eventually, however, you will have to choose."

Fantasies of taking Relative Guchiro back to approve of Friend Nauda evaporated. Fiyu longed for peaceful days sinking deeper into a family, yet it seemed that all of them were deeply entangled with affairs of dire import.

There might be no escape from those commitments, in the end, but she did not have to choose just yet.

Chapter 7

The interior of the Asplundat Movement wasn't entirely what Theo had expected. They used almost exclusively stark blocky architecture, but in their communities it wasn't as Brutalist as in their soulcrafting. Most of the people, as far as he could tell, were well-fed and happy enough, and it wasn't a totalitarian state.

He did his best to focus on that, but underneath he was constantly thinking about the massive stone tablet and how it could relate to all the other schemes.

Now that he had been officially permitted within the Asplundat Movement's domain, there wasn't any more trouble with being accosted. There was some sort of "Council of Ministers" that gave Nauda sanction, and some of the Authorities wanted him to go meet them, which Nauda seemed to think was a bad idea. Since it sounded like it would waste time, he was happy to dodge them and instead go north with Nauda and Homez.

"I don't know that we can convince the senior councils," Homez was saying as they flew. "The problem is that everyone is operating from different information, not even agreeing on the fundamental facts of the situation. To some people, it seems obvious that we have to ally with Tymetron. But others can construct just as good of arguments for why we should go it alone, or even ally with the Ruling Cities."

"What does your Dominion think?" Theo asked.

"Ah, but his opinion isn't the final word the way it would be in the Ruling Cities." Homez shook his head slowly. "I'm not asking you to win our politics, indeed any involvement would be seen as meddling. What I hope we can find is the fundamental truth."

Leaving unsaid that different truths might lead to different conclusions. Theo thought that Homez was a generally honorable man, but he truly believed in the Asplundat Movement, and if he came to believe that the Ruling Cities were a mortal threat to his home...

"So what is your actual plan?" Nauda asked. "We're here, but what can we do?"

"There are several pieces." Homez began to slow and fly closer to the city, which unfortunately meant stopping short of the strange mountain. "For one, some of our leaders are treating with certain rogue Houses, and I fear we lack the knowledge to know if they are working against us. But I also hope that, if we show signs of real cooperation, our leaders will be less likely to bow to these bullies trying to cow us with force."

"Mm." Nauda responded with only a murmur, distracted by something she saw below. Someone else might have interpreted it as lack of interest, but Theo could tell that her attention had been captured. He wasn't sure about the source and simply took over.

"This is the same as the Dustwind Plateaus as far as I'm concerned," Theo said. "Outside forces are trying to manipulate us into a pointless war, then they can mop up and take all the profit."

"Are you so sure of that?" Homez asked. "I believe the situation to be more complicated this time."

While they spoke, Nauda waited until Homez wasn't looking in her direction, then met Theo's gaze. Her eyes flickered down and it was clear that she wanted time, or perhaps a distraction. Either way, there was no point not giving it to her.

"I've been fighting for a long time," Nauda said, rubbing her forehead. "Is there a place I could refresh myself?"

"I intended to find guest quarters for you." Homez gestured toward the city, but when he saw her apparent weariness, he smiled gently. "But that can wait. There's a public house of rest on the corner there, you could take a moment for yourself there. I can show you th-"

"I have a few questions," Theo interrupted. "I'm sure Nauda can find her way to a street corner."

She nodded and moved away with only a single hooded glance in his direction. He might have misinterpreted it before, but now he read it as simple thanks. It didn't seem likely that she was going to do anything illegal or hugely problematic, but just in case Theo decided that he should keep attention on him.

"What exactly is that mountain?" he asked. There was no need to point.

"Yes, you haven't been able to look away from that since well before you should have been able to see it." Homez floated beside him and stared out toward the mountain - from this distance the massive tablet wasn't visible, but it could definitely be felt. "You want to take it, don't you?"

Theo realized abruptly that he risked causing new problems of his own, if he came off as greedy or power-hungry. Denying it outright would be foolish, so... "I won't pretend I'm not interested. But I'm not out to steal it: look me in the eyes and see if you believe me. What I'm feeling, more than anything, is pure curiosity."

Homez met his gaze and held it for a long moment before smiling ruefully. "Movement help me, I believe you. But if you want me to trust you, I beg that you stop asking for now. It is an object of some power and you will learn more in time, if the councils agree to trust you."

"If you insist. I've just never felt anything quite like it."

"Neither have I, nor anyone in this generation. But that's why it's a secret, or as much of a secret as anything that powerful can be."

They floated in silence for a time and Theo couldn't help but stare toward the mountain again. He still couldn't get a grip on the vast marble block, as if it wasn't fully formed. It seemed like a sublime material, however, and now that he was closer he could feel subtle connections to the mountain below, perhaps even the city. Presumably it was an incipient material, still taking form...

"Just what are we facing?" Homez stared north, not toward the mountain but toward continents over the horizon. "Tymetron seems so powerful... they can afford to send a Dominion just to threaten us, and their squadron of Strongholds has intimidated many on our side..."

"I won't lie, we're facing serious opposition." Theo folded his arms, forcibly refocusing, and stared in the same direction. "Tymetron is a dangerous empire, and Plutalgion is allegedly even stronger. But as Nauda told you, they're not strong enough to fight everyone at once."

"But do they want to fight everyone?" Homez finally shifted back to look at him. "I understand that they originally began threatening when someone in the Ruling Cities killed their representatives. If they offer us a truce, do you think they'll honor it?"

An alliance like that would be terrible for the Ruling Cities, but Theo hesitated in giving the obvious manipulative response. Homez was no fool, and he had more information about this than Theo did. Instead of trying for persuasion, Theo spoke directly.

"They could well treat with you honestly," he said. "You're right, their primary target is the Ruling Cities. It's rational for your people to argue you should just get out of the way, and that might be the safest path."

"So I thought." Homez smiled, and Theo realized that it had been another test. "I think their argument is sound, based on their understanding, but I still don't want to agree. Tymetron seems like a terrible empire to me, worse than the Ruling Cities."

"We can agree on that."

"Then why are they picking a fight on Norron? You seem to know more about this than you're telling, and you were there when the feud began... just what is going on?"

Answers immediately flowed into Theo's mind, ranging across everything he'd been thinking: Plutalgion and the Salebrante and Vistgil and Dave and a subtle war across all the Nine Worlds. But as he looked at Homez's earnest expression, he realized that was the wrong tactic. Such grandiose conflicts would sound fanciful at best and conspiratorial at worst. No, best to keep things simple.

"I don't have all the answers," Theo said, "but I know Tymetron is an empire. Empires have to grow to survive, the only question is which direction their hunger takes them."

"And so you think we should unify in order to fight them?" Homez asked.

"If we fight them now, we lose. We need to unify in order to create a chance for victory in the future."

~ ~ ~

As Nauda slipped away, she marveled at how easily she and Theo had worked together. He'd understood her immediately, even if he didn't see the reason, and immediately acted to put her in the right position. For that matter, he had stood down against the Asplundat Authorities even though he'd definitely wanted to test himself against them.

The Theo she had met years ago wouldn't have done either. Then again, she had changed too. She wasn't sure exactly when all the shifts had happened, yet now she found herself communicating with tiny implications and working together without a word spoken.

While the two of them spoke, Nauda slipped down to the "house of rest" to find privacy. It seemed to be a public institution for anyone, common enough on Tatian but the first she'd seen on Fithe. There were a few supplies being handed out and an area for safe beds, but she was mostly interested in getting away from the crowds. It was only a matter of time, even if she had lost track of him in the movement...

Moving into a deserted hallway didn't work, so Nauda stepped into some sort of private water chamber. It had a small pool and a mirror, so she bent down and splashed some water onto her face. After all the Fithan dust, it felt surprisingly refreshing.

When she looked up, she saw Tythes standing behind her. "Yo!"

"What is all this about?" Nauda demanded as she turned on him.

"I'm so touched that you came to meet me." Tythes put a hand to his heart with false tears in his eyes. "And earlier you picked up on all my subtle, genius-level signals to you."

"It wasn't that subtle."

"Really? I'm impressed that you decoded the alphabet I wove into the patterns on the front of my robe."

Nauda instinctively looked down to his robe, but it was the same as all the other Asplundat ministers. She looked back up and saw him smirk in time to realize that he had been playing with her both times. It seemed he was back to his usual purple skin now, though she was more focused on that smirk.

"This is a serious situation," Nauda said. "Tell me you're not just playing a game this time."

"I assure you, I am quite serious." And like that, all levity vanished as he stared down at her, his eyes unreadable. "When we last spoke, you told me to figure out what I really wanted and come up with a better scheme."

"I'm quite sure I didn't say 'scheme' - I wanted you to-"

"And so I've come up with a diabolical scheme, solely to make you proud."

Nauda sighed and went to rub her eyes with some of the water. "I assume you're talking to me because you want us to play a part in it. Alright, fine: what's this scheme?"

"Uh-uh-uh." Tythes wagged a finger at her. "You know, when I first saw the three of you, I thought you were the ones I'd been waiting for. Such drive and potential, and I was proved right: you're already Authorities beating down the door to Stronghold. But you rejected me quite cruelly, driving a stake through my heart, smashing my fragile dreams and-"

"Do you want our help or not?"

"I'm just offering context. I had such plans: to train you in the ways of wisdom, adopt you into House Crimson, lead you on a righteous path. But we haven't taken that path, have we?"

His words came out in a sing-song rhythm, but Nauda realized that he was deadly serious, even more so than when he had been speaking somberly. Tythes really had wanted something from them and, despite his mockery, she thought he was actually hurt that she'd rejected him. If there was real emotion behind this, that potentially made him more dangerous than usual.

"What are you doing here, Tythes?"

"The better question is: why is my father here?" Tythes shook his head. "I told you before that Wiltur has significant backing from inter-world powers, and it seems they led him here. As uproariously funny as I am, this is no laughing matter: there are immense forces watching right now."

"I know about how serious Plutalgion is."

"Oh, you think too small. There are multiple powerful organizations here, competing with one another by proxy. An inter-world organization called the Salebrante has funded House Crimson to treat with the Asplundat Movement. My sources tell me that at least two other organizations are meddling, I just don't know who they're using as tools. There's a group called the Orphic Cabal that someone really needs to investigate. And, when it really comes down to it, it would be foolish to believe that the Asplundat Movement itself isn't being manipulated."

Nauda swallowed. She had thought she was ahead of him at first, and she still had some information he didn't, but Tythes was clearly deep in the bowels of a conspiracy. If he was lying, she didn't see what he had to gain from it that he couldn't accomplish directly. More likely he was telling the truth and there really were inter-world organizations looming around them.

"Why are you telling us this?" Nauda asked.

"We may not be allies - since you spurned my love - but I think our interests are aligned. We don't want these alien powers manipulating us into a continent-spanning war, do we?" Tythes shook his head. "No, no, that would be a serious inconvenience for my lunch plans. You three did such a good job uncovering the truth before, and stopped one war... I'm hoping you can do it again."

"And you just want to stop a war for altruistic reasons?"

"Yes. Absolutely." Tythes smiled. "My motives are pure as the snow." His smile grew wider. "You can trust me with your life. With your soul. W-"

"Okay, okay." Nauda rubbed her eyes again as she considered. "I admit you're better than the alternatives-"

"You're too kind!"

"-and if you're telling the truth, we'll find out soon enough. I'm not saying we'll collaborate with you, but you may be right that we can work together."

"Excellent." Tythes stepped past her and began clambering into the pool, getting his robes soaked. "Now, please get out of my bathing chamber so that I can have a soak."

"One more thing, Tythes." Nauda gripped his shoulder, and now that they were the same tier she actually held him. "Tell me the truth or this is off. What exactly is so important that it has the attention of all these inter-world organizations?"

He looked back at her, and for the first time she thought she saw honesty in his eyes. "I don't know exactly, but whatever it is, it's important enough to draw the attention of the Nine Worlds."