Mayor Jeffries was not happy. He had seen the remains of the core fiend for himself. They were nasty pieces of work, and uniquely suited to killing cultivators. “Please tell me you know how it got into the city.”
Cerdo shifted uncomfortably. “We don't know for sure, but we found an old smuggling tunnel in the warehouse that burned down. Perhaps it crawled in through that?”
The Mayor let out a grunt of frustration. People were always poking holes in the walls or tunneling under them to earn a profit. Then things like this happened and suddenly everyone was reminded why the city needed walls in the first place
Core fiends were cultivators who consumed too much essence without stopping to purge their impurities. Eventually the toxins built up and corrupted them. It was a rare occurrence, but not unheard of.
“Please tell me that you dealt with the tunnel already.” Jeffries gave his subordinate a searching look.
“Of course, sir.” Cerdo confirmed, leaving out the part about how the tunnel had already collapsed when they “discovered” it.
“And I hope this is the last of them,” Jeffries said with a shudder.
“Me too sir, me too.”
“And what of the rogue cultivator in red who destroyed the beast? Do we have any idea who they might be?” Jeffries asked.
“Unfortunately, no. But a few weeks ago some members of the Rock Mountain Mollusk sect came through asking about a rogue cultivator. They were looking for a man in red robes wearing a dragon mask who ‘moved like lightning’ and killed mercilessly.”
Cerdo was reasonably certain the cultivators had found their target, and paid the price for it. “The sect members claimed that the rogue cultivator slew Lord Grasa's son while he was on safari,” he said.
“Oh hells,” Jeffries swore. This was just what he needed, lords from the lowlands bringing their troubles to his city. They thought the mountain was their personal hunting preserve. “Don't they know this place is dangerous?”
“I suspect they do now,” Cerdo observed dryly. He didn't like the lowland lords. They tried to game the system and had no respect for the natural order. They were almost as bad as the sects.
Jeffries decided against informing Lord Grasa that his rogue cultivator had surfaced. It wasn't worth the inevitable collateral damage. “And what of the woman the fiend attacked?” he asked.
Cerdo decided to tread delicately. Witnesses said Zane had shown up and carried her off. The Captain gave it even odds that she was in a void stalker’s stomach by now.
“She is recuperating with the young chef you had me investigate,” he said.
“Oh? Is he a healer of some kind?” Jeffries asked with a raised eyebrow, “That was not in your report.”
“I can only report what was observed,” Cerdo replied stiffly, “She was last seen with them. There have been no sightings since.”
“In that case, please make sure the young lady in question is alright.” Jeffries had noted how his subordinate grew stiff whenever the chef was mentioned. He suspected there was more to young Zane than met the eye.
The Captain knew his behavior was suspicious. Avoiding interactions with the chef would only cause his boss’s curiosity to grow. Cerdo decided to roll the dice and see what happened. “I hesitate to bother the chef, I suspect he may be a hidden master.”
That seemed to get Jeffries’ attention. “Truly?”
He's certainly a hidden monster, Cerdo thought. “Zane is pleasant, but he gives the impression of one with great power and poise.”
A flash of inspiration came to the Captain as he spoke. “I apologize for keeping this information from you, but I did not want to risk the secret spreading. We all know what happened in Crater City.”
Jeffries grew pale. “Yes, of course. Let's keep this between us. But let me know when the young lady resurfaces. She may have information on our mysterious rogue cultivator.”
Captain Cerdo felt a wave of relief. He wouldn't have to visit the chef again. “Yes, sir. I will keep you informed on any future developments.”
***
Lily wasn't sure what to make of the couple. They had been incredibly generous to someone who was a total stranger. But the way they kept looking at her and talking in hushed voices made the cultivator wonder if they were plotting something.
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Finally, Pinky pulled her aside and asked a series of questions about the sect and Lily’s plans for the future. The cultivator answered honestly, “I had hoped to gather resources and then move on. Why do you ask?”
The pink haired woman looked at Lily as if sizing her up. She seemed to be trying to decide something. Finally, Pinky spoke. “Well, it's no secret that we dislike the sects. Both Zane and I have our own reasons for that animosity.”
“And I am a former member,” Lily pointed out.
“Yes, and a cultivator,” Pinky shifted uncomfortably on her cushion as she spoke, “But you seem nice enough, and we find ourselves in need of extra hands to expand the business. Would you be open to working with us?”
“You want to hire me?” Lily asked, surprised at the offer, “Doing what? I don't know how to cook, or do much else for that matter. I've spent most of my adult life with the sect.”
“True, but you do know how to gather cultivation resources.” A sour expression crossed the woman’s face. “Let me show you what Zane brought back the last time he went out foraging.”
Pinky brought the cultivator to a back room and opened the door. Lily peeked inside and gasped. There was a shiny brass and steel skeleton meticulously labeling glass containers.
Groucho raised an eyebrow as he looked up from his work. “Who’s the chick?”
Lily pulled the door shut and had a minor panic attack. Pinky watched with sympathy as the woman stuttered out nonsense.
“That's a temple guardian, and you have it labeling jars?” the cultivator asked accusingly when she finally managed to get ahold of herself, “How the fuck did that happen?”
“Zane found him,” Pinky replied, as if that were enough explanation, “His name is Groucho.”
Lily tried not to scream in frustration. “That's a treasure from before the conquest, a wonder the world hasn't seen in millennia. And you have it tucked away in a room making labels?”
Pinky laughed, “Oh, it gets so much worse. Come on, let me introduce you to the rest of the family.”
The cultivator wasn't sure if there was anything that could top a tame temple guardian. But she followed her hostess out of pure morbid curiosity. They entered the stable to find an incredibly large brown and white draft horse. A kitten was curled up asleep on its back.
The horse looked at her with curiosity. Then it gave a wolfish smile, revealing rows of sharp white teeth. “Hello. How was your rest?” the creature asked as it released the technique that masked its essence signature.
Lily felt all the color drain from her face. That was a spirit beast, and a powerful one at that. Pure malevolent hunger radiated from the creature. “I am much better, thank you,” she said with a bow. What was going on here?
“Good, good,” Daisy inclined her head to the cultivator before giving a questioning look to Pinky.
The woman shrugged. “This is Lily. She's on the run from the Rock Mountain Mollusks. Zane and I thought she might be able to help us gather resources.”
The horse seemed to like that news. She clopped her hooves on the stone floor with excitement. “Yes! This is most excellent! Having a fellow disciple to help me gather light and help the Awakener ascend will be quite helpful.”
Daisy craned her neck to look at the kitten. “Isn't that right, Dumpling?”
The cat yawned and stretched before fixing its full attention on Lily. The woman watched in horror as Dumpling's yellow eyes split down the center, they flowed and multiplied, dividing again until there were eight in total.
“HELLO LILY,” the void stalker said, “WE ARE PLEASED TO SEE THAT YOU HAVE CHOSEN TO SERVE THE AWAKENER. WELCOME.”
Lily barely managed to stutter out a thank you before she fainted. Pinky caught her and lowered the unconscious woman to the ground.
The kitsune looked at Daisy. “Honestly, that went better than I thought it would,” she said.
The horse cracked her neck from side to side. “I cannot help but wonder what you thought to gain from revealing us to her. I would be happy to have someone to help gather resources, but her reaction to Dumpling concerns me.”
Pinky sighed, “Lily saw Zane fight, and she's a former member of the sect that is hunting him. I can't imagine it would take much for her to connect the dots. I'd prefer to have her on our side, rather than working against us.”
“But why leave her alive? Why heal her if she poses such a risk?” Daisy asked, “Why not kill her and be done with it? Why recruit her at all?”
Dumpling yawned, showing teeth that were much too long to fit in her mouth. “WE ARE BUT A SMALL GROUP. ALLIES AND ALLIANCES WILL BE A VITAL PART OF OUR SUCCESS MOVING FORWARD. LILY IS A BUILDING BLOCK, A BRICK UPON WHICH THE FOUNDATION OF OUR GREATNESS WILL STAND.”
“I still think we should eat her,” Daisy said, “She knows of us, and poses a risk to the Master.”
Dumpling looked at the horse with annoyance. “YOU CANNOT SIMPLY CONSUME ALL THAT LEARN OF OUR EXISTENCE.”
Daisy met her gaze without blinking. “You underestimate my hunger.”
The standoff was broken when Zane entered the stable. “I see our guest was overwhelmed by our hospitality,” he observed.
Pinky filled him in on how the introductions had gone. “I'm pretty sure she's not going to play along when she wakes up. We might have to kill her.”
The rogue cultivator shook his head. He wasn't opposed to killing, or even murder. The truth was, he had saved Lily because she reminded him of his sister. It had been sentimental, and probably foolish, but he had saved her and now that decision needed to be seen through to its conclusion.
His class had also warned him that to harm a guest would have karmic repercussions. This was a world of gods and magic. Breaking the laws of hospitality was a taboo worse than murder.
Zane weighed his options and reached a decision. It felt strange to have finally found a line he wouldn't cross, but it was a relief as well. It reminded him he was just a man trying to get by, not a monster.
He scooped up Lily and gently placed her in the cart. Zane would take her outside the city then have a frank and honest conversation with the cultivator when she woke. It would be up to her what happened after that.