Chapter 10

  Yin stood fully pressed up against Zeurel, both squeezed into a wall by Duong. The rest of the cockpit was taken up by Montai’s prodigious cranium. ‘’And that’s how I got this scar across my nose.’’ Yin said loudly to combat the sound dampening effect of Zeurels fur.

  ‘’That’s fucked bro.’’ Montai said solemnly in english. ‘’But, yeah, I kind of also see the other side here, even if trying to kill you was a total overreaction.’’

  Sighing Yin batted away Zeurels hand that was trying to stroke his head again. ‘’No, if she wanted to kill me that knife would have been in my brain. I’m just trying to paint a picture of why she’s the worst for you guys.’’

  ‘’Yeah, cutting you for being annoying is extreme.’’ Duong said, having calmed down since the encounter. ‘’But why did you keep testing her when you knew that was how she reacted?’’

  ‘’It was a stressful time.’’

  ‘’Are you stupid?’’

  ‘’I was poorly equipped to handle stress at the time and it made me a little bit stupid, yes.’’

  ‘’Congrats by the way.’’ Montai said non sequentially. Elaborating when he got confused looks. ‘’You guys getting together.’’ He nodded his beak at Yin and Zeurel.

  ‘’Thank you.’’ Zeurel made a peace sign.

  ‘’It’s wonderful, but let’s get back to the Ten situation.’’ Yin demanded, giving up and simply allowing his girlfriend to stroke his hair as she wished.

  Duong looked from Montai to Zeurel and then down at Yin. ‘’I don’t think there’s really a ‘Ten situation’. Like, she’s an actual fighter unlike me and Zeurel, so.. yeah.’’

  Yin sighed as the others nodded along, Montai most vigorously, threatening to hurt someone with his beak. ‘’I’m not trusting her to have my back, that’s your position Montai, please help me not die when we get there!’’

  ‘’Sure thing bro!’’

  ‘’Wonderful. Does anyone else have anything they want to talk about or can we get out of my cockpit?’’ Senseless mumbling, followed by Duong helping Montai out of the doorframe by kicking him. Montai cawed as he stood and his head hit the thorny branches over them.

  ‘’Are you going to be alright?’’ Zeurel asked, pulling him back before he could go. ‘’This seems like kind of a big thing for you.’’

  Yin debated on what he wanted to say, but eventually landed on nothing. He put his arms around her waist and stayed there for a while.

  —

  When a sacred artist advances into the lord stage they unlock a so-called ‘soul space’. An underlord typically had enough room to squeeze in something they truly valued, because it was, in a sense, a vault that could only be forced open upon the death of the artist.

  Honorable Grandfather, because he still hadn’t given an actual name, pulled out a simple tea set from his. Yin and Zeurel sat on one side of a forged madra tea-table, Grandfather, Ten and Ti Li on the other. Ten proved to be a surprisingly deft hand at pouring the hot liquid for everyone.

  It smelled somewhat sour but tasted a lot like chocolate with a vague earthy hint. Yin felt like he was back on earth tasting wine and pretending he got any of the notes the server had told him should be there.

  ‘’And you mean to tell me you don’t know the name of the place you grew up in?’’ Grandfather asked, seemingly enjoying his brew more than anyone.

  ‘’I’m honestly not sure if anyone ever bothered to name it. It was just ‘Home’ or ‘The Village’ anytime anyone there spoke of it.’’ Yin responded, Ten nodded minutely. Zeurel shifted around the table to do something with Ti Li.

  ‘’But you know where it is?’’

  Yin mentally traced his path, taking a long vague crescent around the cage holding Tiger. Then Emriss had just teleported him to Titan’s Grove, so his only frames of reference were the cage and the general area Emriss had beamed into his head.

  Yin nodded at Ten. Grandfather turned to her as well. Ten noticed their gazes. ‘’What?’’ Was she not listening?

  ‘’You know where the village is? Like on a map?’’ Yin asked her, slightly distracted as Zeurel and Ti Li started to pull out odd baubles to compare and trade.

  Ten looked vacant for a moment, the knife blade goldsigns along her cheeks grew slightly wider. Yin cycled pure madra, ready to use his cloak if she decided to give him a cut for having the audacity to question her. ‘’I do not.. know how to navigate by maps.’’

  Grandfather sipped his tea and said nothing, simply being a disapproving presence as Yin thought things through. Ten silently refilled his cup of tea when he finished it.

  ‘’Alright,’’ Yin said reluctantly. ‘’When we get to the general area we can hit the nearby villages and ask around for directions.’’

  ‘’I find it.. Unusual, that you’d be sent so ill prepared. Or is that perhaps part of the ‘exercise’?’’ Grandfather had a way with words, Yin could see the finger quotes even though the man kept both hands on his cup.

  ‘’Yup.’’ Said Yin, refusing to even slightly think that maaaayybee Emriss had been a bit stressed out when she decided to give them the task.

  Zeurel picked a pure white scale out of Ti Li’s hands and slid it over the table to Yin. Confused he took it and felt around in his pockets, the scale he’d made in the early morning wasn’t there. The child thief smiled lazily at him, arrayed in front of her were things she’d stolen from other people.

  ‘’How?’’

  Ti Li didn’t answer.

  —

  The region seen from above was a verdant paradise, wide rivers snaked their way from one horizon to the other.

  The only blemishes were the civilized pockets, where vegetation had been cut and burned back to make space. They hovered over a particularly egregious one, but that was because the place was in shambles. The buildings had already burned down, only some wrecks still gave off any smoke.

  It looked a lot like a dreadbeast attack, someone must have shot a stray fireball. From the sky there was nothing to see, not even any colorful remnants were out and about. More proof of dreadbeasts.

  Zeurel went down, riding on Montai to do a quick sweep for survivors, there were none.

  They flew further on, finding more small villages, at most having thirty to fifty occupants. All in similar states.

  ‘’It can’t have been dreadbeasts.’’ Zeurel said with conviction when she returned from her third sweep. ‘’There would be beast carcases. Bones! And all the fires, it doesn’t add up!’’

  She paced, golden hooves soundless on the cloud, hands holding onto her horns. Yin had never seen her so worked up.

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  ‘’Emriss wouldn’t send us on a dreadbeast extermination mission Yin. These are people doing it, maybe a group of bandits?’’ Duong reasoned.

  ‘’Maybe it’s a warlord type. All the people might be alive, for now.’’ Montai added his own two scales to the pile.

  Yin sighed, wondering why these three fully grown humans were waiting for his say on what to do. He had sort of projected an authoritative persona, but that was just how he did things. Being unreasonably demanding was fun, as long as he was the one doing it.

  Scanning the land he could see around the great Tiger cage Yin started to feel the territory was familiar, they were closing in. ‘’We’re going to head east along the wall, there should be a bigger town there, maybe. If it’s still intact we can see someone and ask questions.’’

  Duong quickly took his place at the ‘wheel’ and the ship zoomed over the land.

  ‘’Marsavvi.’’ Ten said from the side, still sitting with Grandfather at his table. ‘’That was the only big place around. Won’t it be troublesome for you to go there?’’

  Yin groaned until his lungs ran out of air. Zeurel and Montai bored their gazes into him hard enough that he was starting to feel the burn. ‘’I might have some relatives, that might be sort of local nobility, who might not be all that okay with me being alive. I don’t actually know that last part, but Chen’en talked about it once or twice when she was drunk.’’

  He tried to ward them off but Zeurel and Montai enveloped him entirely in hugs.

  For the rest of the trip he had the two of them hanging over him, literally. Thankfully they had the sense to not ask endless questions. Despite how they sometimes acted they were very much capable of being adults about some things.

  After two more burned down little homesteads they found Marsavvi. It was much more intact than everything else they’d seen so far, only one quarter of the buildings off to the eastern side were ruined.

  Yin used Duongs spyglass and saw more madra blobs than he cared to spend the time counting. His scan was only to establish two things, no dreadbeasts and no cultivators over gold.

  ‘’Okay.. Who are we taking down? Everyone but Gramps?’’ Montai asked, peering down carelessly. Being a bird probably completely killed any fear of heights.

  ‘’We can’t bring Ti Li!’’ Ten yelled, very offended by the suggestion, and backed by Zeurel on the matter.

  Yin looked over to the little lazy looking girl, she had one of Duongs little trinkets in her hands, looking it over. He knew the boy would not have handed it over willingly to someone he didn’t know.

  ‘’Why not?’’ Yin endured the glares, one merely offended the other with murderous intent. ‘’I’m pretty sure we’re not going into enemy territory here, whatever hit them they’ve driven off.’’

  …

  ‘’Me and Montai can go down first and scout to put you guys at ease.’’

  —

  Montai had no problem with heights.

  Yin had a very big problem with heights that would kill him even if he used his cloaks to dampen the impact.

  When they landed Montai complained. ‘’Augh, man, my fucking feathers man. I need those.’’

  ‘’Sorry.’’

  ‘’Look man, it wasn’t that fast, I was pretty much pumping the breaks the whole way down.’’

  ‘’Sorry.’’

  The bird tried to turn his head enough to see his own back and failed several times. ‘’I hope that doesn’t look bad now.’’

  ‘’I thought I was gonna die.’’ Yin straightened out, finally feeling like he wouldn’t vomit anymore and looked over the village from a massive tree branch. Idly shaking the feathers out of his hands. ‘’Zeurel can probably help you regrow those, quit being a baby.’’

  ‘’Oh ho? Not so sorry anymore?’’ Yin pushed the bird's beak away from his face and scanned the visible structures.

  ‘’I see the Tulaigo compound, that pagoda looking place.’’ Yin pointed out the intact stronghold that took up a large section of the central real estate. ‘’I can’t remember the other clans that were based out here. I think Ten’s family might be from some offshoot of a clan.’’

  ‘’Well she never talked much about herself when I was with her. Adorable when her ‘lil sis did something new and she’d start gushing though. What? What’s that look?’’

  Yin turned his glare back on the city. ‘’It doesn’t look like they were hit too hard. They must have fended off the raid right from the get go. In other words we’re about to meet with some tense locals.’’ He looked at Montai and the bird stared right back at him.

  ‘’Okay?’’

  ‘’So let’s go back up and get the others.’’

  ‘’Oh! Yeah for sure, you’re not going up with me though, see you in a bit.’’ Montai disappeared in a sudden shady breeze.

  Yin sighed and hoped he would make sure to bring Ti Li along, that little girl with the sticky fingers might prove useful. No use hanging around though, he used his pure cloak and leapt from branch to branch. Making his way around to the west side of the village. Hopefully they’d use Duongs scope and land by him over there.

  —

  Duong looked around shiftily, tugging at his clothes and fiddling with trinkets that were liable to blow up for all Yin knew. ‘’I can’t say I’m much of a fan of this.’’

  Zeurel snickered and held Ti Li by one hand, Ten had the other and they swung the little girl between them. Despite her lacking expressiveness the young thief seemed to enjoy it a lot.

  ‘’Do you have anything other than soulsmithing that you do like?’’ Yin asked as they were spotted by guards at the western watch towers. Shouts rang out and were answered further into the town, more artists poured out.

  ‘’I like movies.’’

  ‘’Oh my GOD we’ve never had a movie night!’’ Zeurel was so shocked she dropped Ti Li and the kid swung into her older sister's legs. ‘’Yin! Yin Yin Yin!- ‘’ ‘’That’s me.’’ ‘’When we get back we’re watching this romance I found about-’’

  ‘’Halt!’’ A guard commanded, from the forefront of a group of well armored gold artists. Yin noted that the man was quite obviously a Tulaigo. The hair gave him away.

  And the brownish green spikes of madra that grew from his head.

  ‘’What business do you strangers have here?’’ He demanded warily, Yin relaxed his eyes into copper sight and noted their souls seemed sort of dim. They must have all pitched in for the defense then.

  Yin took a few steps closer, making sure not to cycle any madra despite the guards obviously doing so. ‘’Hello uncle!’’ He loudly called to the man up front, who seemed to recognize him. ‘’My name is Yin Tulaigo! Can we come in and talk? We’re here on a mission from the Benevolent Monarch to help resolve the troubles out here!’’

  ‘’There is no such person in my clan, stranger!’’ He shouted back. He must have been exhausted because he wasn’t the slightest bit convincing.

  ‘’I’m the son of Chen’en Tulaigo and Yeng clanless.’’ Yin realized he probably should have told his friends about that first, as now they were whispering to each other about it.

  The head guard slowly approached Yin, his madra visibly preparing a technique. It shot into the ground and from the soil rose a golem of stone and roots, bound together by and animated by madra. The construct rounded him and stood guard behind Yin to give the man a slight barrier between him and Yin’s companions.

  He looked Yin over closely, eyes lingering on the scar over his nose. ‘’You have her face, boy. Are you truthful, you are the child of Chen?’’ Yin only nodded solemnly, not liking to ever acknowledge his biological parents in this life. ‘’Then how did you disappear? Chen’en returned to our clan quite some time ago, saying nothing was left of her life in Amau.’’

  Amau, so that’s what it was called. Literally no one out there had ever said that.

  ‘’In a dreadbeast attack that took many of our villagers, Ten, Ti Li and I were separated and cast deep into the forest. By the grace of the Benevolent Monarch we are alive today and returned to put an end to threats in this region.’’ Yin bullshitted like he’d only done back in highschool. Hopefully Ten would be able to play along. Better yet hopefully she’d keep quiet the whole time.

  The silence was tense as the guard deliberated.

  ‘’Yin, I invite you to see Chen’en and she will confirm your identity. As for your companions..’’

  ‘’Aaah excuse me uncle, I forgot to introduce them!’’ Yin pointed to his friends who looked sort of awkward, having been left out of the conversation for so long. ‘’This is Duong, a valued soulsmith! His works are desired even by Lords in Titan’s Grove.’’

  ‘’This is Zeurel, a healer, a thousand men and women owe their good health to her expertise!’’

  ‘’And this is Montai. He is a Sacred Bird.’’

  ‘’Brother c’mon now..’’ Montai somehow carried his whispered words on the wind to Yin’s ears.

  ‘’Montai has received extensive training with his Honorable Lord Grandfather. He is mighty indeed.’’

  Yin’s bombastic manners seemed to rope in the crowd of lesser guards, but his potential Uncle remained stoic. ‘’They must remain here under supervision.’’ He gestured for Yin to follow, doling out commands to his men the whole way back through the gates.

  Yin looked back, seeing his friends and Ten get surrounded by artists. Zeurel met his eyes and nodded.

  Sighing Yin prepared himself for a very uncomfortable reunion.