The air on the beach grew quiet and still in the wake of Shacklock’s threat. A feeling began to sweep through the gathered classers and officers of the Order of Solstice’s Flame. Where before they were mistrustful of our group, now there was a sense of active hostility. The strange Kawamaran samurai even seemed to have been caught up in the confrontation, his grip on his katana strengthening in the wake of Shacklock’s threat. Dozens of narrowed eyes peered at our group as hands began to creep towards and tighten on weapons.
And not just among the Solstice members.
Well used to working in our group by now, Renauld had slowly moved to the rear of our formation. If a fight broke out, it was standard procedure for Healers like him to keep behind the front liners to better tend to our wounds from a distance. Meanwhile, Azarus had squared up to my right while Bella did the same on my left. Conspicuously, neither of them had drawn their respective weapons, and yet there was a tenseness in their frames that spoke for the capacity of violence. Just behind me, I could sense that Liora had angled her way into my shadow. She wasn’t outright invisible, but she had lowered her profile for potential combat in a way I knew they had taught in the Nocturne Division.
In contrast, only three people on this beach hadn’t reacted to the Grandmaster’s agitations.
Venix, for one, hadn’t shifted an inch. The Antium samurai was unmoved and unphased, still standing with all four of his arms folded. His chitinous eyes remained fixed on the man who had just threatened to kill me.
I…was one of those people as well.
After all I had been through, and the soul-shuddering potency of might I had been in the presence of back in Elderwyck?
I could tell that Shacklock’s words rang hollow. There was a lack of intent behind his provocation that seemed obvious to me. It was almost like the old monster was needling for a reaction.
In my experience…when these outrageously powerful old relics were spoiling for a fight, they didn’t bother with words.
That was when the Mantles came out.
His intentions only appeared more apparent when he hadn’t moved or said anything else since his threat.
I crossed my arms and met his eyes. “No, not really,” I said mildly, in complete contrast to the atmosphere. “I’m looking for something else. We’re heading further inland, towards Mt. Gorenzan. We have business there.”
I caught a slight flash of mingled disappointment and amusement in Shacklock’s beady black eyes before he huffed. “Well alright then,” He said easily.
The tension in the air popped like a bubble. There was a sense of confusion, exasperation, and realization among the gathered Solstice members. I saw more than one of them roll their eyes, and then the gathering began to break up and wander away. The officers stuck around, including Captain Wernstrom and the opposing samurai, but I guess the others had seen all they needed to know.
The show was over.
Venix slowly shook his head, his antennae swaying with the movement. “You haven’t changed, I see.”
“And I never will,” Shacklock said, his eyes lingering on me in curiosity. They switched over to Venix after a moment, and he smirked. “You babysittin’ this lot for that bastard then? Maybe hopin’ to get a few levels for the next generation?”
Venix shrugged one shoulder. “That is only a side concern. It is as I said earlier. We seek something at the mountain. You are a side concern as well, old monster. What are you doing on this land? If the throne knew of your presence, a punitive campaign would be called to root you out.”
“Is that a threat, bugman?” The samurai they had called Kazuma said, wandering up. I noticed that out of the rest of the gathered crowd, he had yet to release his grip on his weapon. Nor had the suspicion vanished from his gaze.
For the first time, I think Venix fully noticed the other samurai, taking in his appearance. His brow furrowed and a frown crossed his lips. I noticed that his gaze lingered on the robe that ‘Kazuma’ wore. “That crest…it can’t be…”
That made me curious, so I took a closer look at the Kawamaran man. Pinned on his right breast was an emblem that my eyes had initially glazed over, which Venix had to be speaking of. It detailed a stylized human skeleton hunching protectively around an impeccably detailed spider lily, not so different than what was displayed prominently around it. The bones of the guardian were cast from silver, while the flower itself was golden.
Kazuma frowned deeper at Venix. “And what if it is?” He said defensively.
For a moment Venix almost looked…lost, as he gazed at the other man. “I…I thought you were all lost,” He breathed.
I looked over at Venix curiously at his words. I was shocked at the near desperation I saw in his eyes.
The samurai shook his head slowly. “No,” He said shortly. “The Higanashi live on.”
The strange conversation between the two of them was broken up then by Shacklock clapping his hands together, reminding the two of them that he was still there. “And this fine young lad is gonna help me and my boys claim this spit of dirt,” He said loudly, before wagging a finger at Venix almost scoldingly. “I don’t care a whit if the wet chair has a problem with us bein’ here. Why, I bet they’ll even thank me after we deal with their little worm problem.”
The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
That caught my attention. Hell, it caught everyone else’s attention as well.
Including Venix.
His gaze snapped away from Kazuma to rest on Shacklock, his arms falling from their crossed position in shock.
At our regard, the old man smirked at us with a crazed glint in his wild black eyes. “For good.”
Silence descended on the beach once more, as we all took in Shacklock’s pronouncement. I noticed that Kazuma had directed an almost irritated look at the old man, which he didn’t acknowledge at all.
“You’re hunting Tatsugan?” I asked flatly. “That’s what you’re doing here?”
Bella raised an eyebrow to my left. “And ye think ye can deal with him ‘fer good’, eh?”
“I know I can, baby,” Shacklock confirmed with a grin and a wink at her. Bella made a face at the old man, which didn’t seem to daunt him.
I shook my head at this…crazed geezer’s antics and spoke up. “Sure, that’s…nice. But are you and yours going to try and stop us on the island?”
Shacklock looked back over at me and quirked an eyebrow at my bluntness. He shrugged. “Nah, you do what you gotta,” He said easily, waving a hand over to the jungle beyond the beach. “Try not to get ripped apart by the Oni. Wouldn’t want ol’ Greycton to cry about it, eh? Or…maybe we would! Abloo bloo bloo!” He cackled mockingly, before suddenly appearing to lose interest. Without another word, the old man hobbled away towards one of the bigger tents on the beach.
Talking about sudden mood whiplashes. Did that old relic even have the barest glimmer of sanity left in that skull of his?
His departure left us alone with the officers and Kazuma of, apparently, Clan Higanashi. Whatever that was.
Captain Wernstrom frowned at us suspiciously for a moment. “As the Grandmaster says, you have permission to wander the island,” He said reluctantly, ignoring the fact that we were the only people who actually had permission to be here. “Just stay out of our way. We have our own interests in Mt. Gorenzan.” He gestured, and he and the other officers followed after Shacklock, Lieutenant Salzman with him. Kazuma lingered for a moment, eyes still tracking Venix with a degree of hostility before he did the same.
When they were gone, I jerked my head behind us, and our group converged on the lifeboat into a huddle. “What was that all about?” I asked in a whisper, before looking over at Venix. “They shouldn’t be here, right?”
The Antium samurai nodded slightly. “They cannot. The River Throne would never allow such a sizable host as this to inhabit the Garden without representatives of their own in attendance. The only reason we do not have one is the small size of our contingent.”
Liora eyed him for a moment. “And that man, the other samurai,” She said quietly. “He cannot be an Imperial representative?”
Venix was quiet for a moment. “No,” He said finally. “Even the fact that the Higanashi still exist…it is shocking to me. The Emperor would never allow that Clan to guard this isle. Not after…” He abruptly cut himself off, shaking his head. “I do not know what Shacklock is after on Goryuen, but we must assume they will interfere in our plans to a degree.”
“Ain’t this a good thing?” Azarus asked abruptly, drawing attention. “If the Solstice guys are pickin’ a fight with the dragon, then don’t that mean it’ll be easier fer us to search fer the door?”
That…was a good point.
“Tatsugan is not a dragon,” Venix said automatically, before frowning. “But I do not know. It is…possible, in theory. However, it's just as likely to send the wyrm into an uncontrollable rage. We shall have to see. Stopping Shacklock...it is beyond us, even if we so wished to.”
“Well, no point in talking about it all day,” I said standing up and breaking the huddle. “Let’s get back to the ship and let Captain Satoru know there’s no issue. We can get our supplies then, and then come back and set up a base camp of our own. Away from the Order of Solstice’s Flame.”
Everyone agreed, and then piled back in the boat. Venix shoved the lifeboat back out to sea, and then in moments, we were rowing back to the Kaminari Maru.
………………………………
Upon our return, Captain Satoru and his crew were visibly relieved to hear that they weren’t in danger of being sunk by the opposing Order. Still, he remained uneasy about something and couldn’t be reassured fully. Strangely, I didn’t see his first mate anywhere among the gathered crew. Usually, the man stuck to his Captain’s side like glue.
I didn’t have time to question any of that, because my companions and I were gathering our supplies for the expedition across the island. The crew of the Kaminari Maru were still wary of going ashore within eyesight of the Order, so Captain Satoru directed the ship some distance downwind of the encampment. There, he dropped all of us off, along with the large packs and crates of supplies we had brought with us.
When the last of his crewmen were back on the ship, it seemed as if it was only moments before the ship that had taken us to the island had oriented itself away and was sailing off into the horizon. I watched them go with a frown, puzzled at the odd behavior of the Captain. Bella stood with me watching him go.
“Mighty quick ta get goin’, that man,” She said with a frown of her own.
I nodded along with her, as Azarus got to work setting up the large communal tent we’d bought this expedition. We’d deemed it better for everyone to sleep in the same walls for safety's sake, so we’d just gone with the one. “He’s supposed to be back in a month for us. But I would have expected the man to try and replenish his fish stocks around here before leaving. I mean, just look at those waters,” I said, waving a hand at the crystal clear, blue-green waters that surrounded Goryuen. Even just offshore, I could see that they were downright teeming with sea life. "Free rations, right there for the taking."
Liora joined us. The Gnoll woman was frowning as she watched the retreating ship. “He goes to inform the Kawamaran authorities of the Order of Solstice’s Flame’s presence on the isle,” She said simply, drawing our attention.
I let out a slow sigh and nodded. “You’re probably right,” I said in acknowledgment. “Which means we better be done with finding that door by then. Because when the Kaminari Maru comes back for us…”
“There’ll be a host of warships in her wake,” Bella finished for me. “And this place is gonna become a warzone when they find them Order people.” She grinned and then punched me in the arm. I just looked at her flatly, resisting the urge to rub the afflicted spot. “Ain’t ever simple with ye, is it Nate?”
I rolled my eyes and resisted the weary impulse to agree.
It really wasn’t.
Instead, I changed the subject. “I’m going to scout the surroundings, maybe hunt up something fresh and bloody for dinner,” I said, turning away and raising the hood of my new cloak. “I won’t be gone soon. Get ready, though, because tomorrow we make for the mountain.”
The girls nodded and I wandered away towards the jungle on the far side of the beach. As I passed our burgeoning campsite, Renauld looked up from the campfire he was putting together. “Try not to get eaten by an Oni,” He said smugly.
In response, I drew one of my daggers and triggered a seldom-used enchantment I had built into the weapon at the forging.
A small sizzle of flame lashed out of the tip and set the campfire alight, sending the Gnoll scurrying back with a flurry of curses. Mostly at me.
I smirked under my hood, and as I reached the tree line, triggered Thorn Cloak. My enchanted cloak ripped and grew crimson thorns.
And I disappeared into the jungle.