It had been about 20 minutes since she had first left to find the antidote–a long time for any battle–but as she approached the shopping square she could still clearly hear the sounds of combat. The crashing and clang of weapons were much more subdued now as compared to the beginning of the fight, but she had no doubt that taking a glancing blow from these elite fighters would still be plenty deadly to her. She checked her qi pool and found that she had 34 points available, so she activated [Translucence] for some added safety and peace of mind.
Once she got a visual on the situation, she could tell that things were very bad for the City Lord. The square was utterly decimated. Deep slashes that cut through the ground and surrounding buildings overlapped with craters that had blown away swaths of cobbled roads, and there were remnants of element-based attack arts that clung to every surface. Icicles hung down from burning eaves of storefronts while unnaturally shaped walls of stone and earth blocked once-open doorways. There were corpses and body parts strewn haphazardly throughout the area, and nearly all were in such bad condition that she couldn’t tell which side the cultivator had been originally fighting on. Only a handful of surviving combatants remained.
The scene that drew her attention most was the battle between the Ruler and Lord Braxand. The City Lord’s now-bloodied armor was riddled with dents and cuts and his slightly sluggish movements were showing signs of heavy fatigue, but his expression was almost joyous. What a fearsome enemy he must be, Samantha thought, that even as death clutched at his ankles he embraced the carnage with delight. In contrast, his three opponents were not as heavily injured, but showed only intense concentration on their faces instead of mirth.
Lord Braxand–who had changed into full battle regalia since she last saw him–and two of his Mid Bronze subordinates circled the Ruler like wolves. The three were coordinating their attacks similarly to how Silas, Samantha, and Tiny had fought the firestorm bear earlier. One fighter would hold the Ruler’s attention while the other two snuck in quick, wounding strikes whenever there was an opening. At one point hidden enchantments on the Ruler’s armor lit up like stars in the night sky, and she could see Lord Braxand scowl in response. Their battle was a tenuous balancing act that could be tipped by even the slightest mistake.
The Lord’s spirit beast companion, the large tortoise, had been subdued and was currently being restrained by two of the Palace Guardsmen not far from her current position. The two Mid Bronze men were struggling to hold the powerful beast down without being struck by the angrily whipping mace-like tail, or snapped at by the animal’s sharp beak. The guardsman pressing down on the front half of the tortoise’s shell was the same man she had first run into when she initially tried to approach the Ruler. All three appeared to be wounded and bleeding from multiple injuries.
Samantha pulled the precious antidote vial from her armor and began to stealthily make her way over to where the tortoise was pinned down. If things went well, she could administer the cure without being noticed and then leave the area.
As she drew closer to her goal, she suddenly felt as if she were passing through some sort of barrier or bubble. It pushed against her with a resistance so mild that she almost didn’t notice it, but in this high stakes scenario every oddity stood out to her like an alarm bell. Not seeing another way to approach the tortoise, she ignored the barrier and pushed through to the other side. Then, once she had fully passed through, [Translucence] unexpectedly deactivated.
You have been affected by Bond Ability [Destabilizing Barrier] (Selected Category of Effect: Concealment)! All arts or abilities that conceal will have a chance to fail while within 100 feet of the user, with the chance to fail increasing the greater the difference in rank between the user and target (User: Peak Bronze).
Her sudden appearance caused a brief lull in the battle, as all combatants took in her arrival and assessed her threat level. The two palace guards holding the tortoise looked at her with distrust, obviously wary of her intentions. Samantha could tell that if she approached without at least informing the two of her intentions, they would prioritize cutting her down quickly over restraining the tortoise. The Ruler looked at her with curiosity, perhaps interested in why she had come back after narrowly escaping death the first time. Lord Braxand stared at her openly with contempt and hatred.
This is going to suck.
Samantha kept her eye on Lord Braxand and his subordinates as she gingerly held up the vial and declared, “I brought the antidote for the enraging powder.”
In the next second after her announcement, several things happened at once. The Ruler bellowed a gleeful laugh and attacked Lord Braxand with renewed vigor. Lord Braxand yelled out the command, “Splinter, One!”, and went into full defense as he desperately struggled to stay ahead of the Ruler’s powerful, sweeping blows. One of Lord Braxand’s agents split off from their three pronged strike and sprinted directly towards Samantha. The two palace guard’s eyes widened with sudden hope, and they urgently signaled for her to come to them.
The agent who was sent to attack her was even faster than Alex had been, practically blurring as he covered the distance between them. Samantha put 10 points into [Swift] and turned on her sphere of dominion just to perceive his movements, but it was barely enough. Even with 42 points of Agility, she was only slightly faster than he was. She suspected that he had chosen an Agility Focused core, and was utilizing some speed enhancing art as well.
With only around three seconds until she ran out of qi and was no longer able to keep up, she decided to beat a fighting retreat towards the tortoise. As she [Cloud Step]ped, dodged, and weaved, it became clear that her enemy’s goal was to thoroughly obliterate her. He was wielding the appropriate weapon for the task–a two handed club that was thicker than her arm and covered in metal studs–and was using some sort of art that made the air warp with the speed of the blows. Each missed swing left a wave of force in its wake that would impact the nearby ground with thunderous sound.
She could tell that he was straining to keep both his speed and attack enhancing arts active, and was rapidly running out of qi to fuel his onslaught. The problem was, she was burning through her reserves just as quickly. She leaned back as a horizontal strike missed taking her face off her skull by a hair's breadth, then felt all of her speed and power leave her at once. She stumbled as her body was overcome with exhaustion and she landed on her backside, completely vulnerable. Her enemy lifted the club above his head in preparation for a downwards finishing blow, and Samantha feebly held up her spear across her body in an vain attempt to block the inevitable.
She really wasn’t looking forward to dying again so soon.
As the club descended, a hand snatched at the collar of her lamellar and threw her backwards. The unfamiliar guardsman stepped into her place and deflected the attack with a sweep from his halberd, but was still knocked back from the wave of force the strike carried with it.
Samantha tumbled head over heels as she painfully bounced across the broken cobbles. She lost her spear in the fall, but refused to let go of the vial even if it killed her. As soon as her movement had settled, she attempted to get her bearings. Then, a deafening ‘snap’ boomed mere inches from her left ear. She jerked back and came face to face with the enraged tortoise, whose neck had extended five feet from its shell in an attempt to pluck her head from her body. It opened its gaping maw for another bite when it was jerked backwards a couple of feet by the other guardsman, who was pulling on its tail.
“Hurry up and cure her! I can’t hold her for lo–”
The mace-like tail lifted the man into the air briefly before smashing him into the ground. His plate armor dented inwards and he coughed blood, but his grip on the tail didn’t waver. Irritated with the man clinging to it, the tortoise turned its attention away from her and extended its long neck towards the Mid-Bronze instead, snatching his armored thigh between its sharp beak.
The guardsman screamed as the tortoise crunched down on the leg, and he finally released the creature’s tail in a bid to attack the spirit beast’s face and free himself. Samantha spotted a prominent cut about halfway down the tortoise’s neck, and she figured this was the best chance that she would get since it was somewhat distracted.
With all the speed of an exhausted mortal, Samantha forced herself to stumble towards the enraged beast. She popped the cork of the vial with her teeth, latched onto the Tortoise’s shell with her left hand for support, then poured a liberal amount of the antidote into the wound. Before she had a chance to reseal the vial, her hairs stood on end as she sensed danger. In the next moment, [Prey’s Awareness] picked up on the movement of the tortoise’s tail swinging towards her back. She was too exhausted to completely avoid the strike, but was able to turn her body slightly so that she would be struck on the left arm instead of her backbone.
The mace-like appendage smashed into her with bone-breaking force, and she felt her upper arm and some of her ribs give way as she was flung into a nearby wall. As she flopped to the ground, all she could do was groan in pain. She was completely spent.
Samantha turned her head slightly to see if she was about to get trampled or snapped in half by the tortoise, but was glad to see that the antidote was already working. The spirit beast was no longer actively attacking anyone. It had released the guard’s leg and was standing in place and shaking its head from side to side, as if trying to brush off its disorientation.
As she looked to where the other guard and Lord Braxand’s agent had been fighting, she caught sight of the end of their struggle as well. The agent lay on the ground, bloodied and disarmed of his weapon. He held his hands up above him as if asking for mercy, but the guard brought down his halberd atop the man’s head without hesitation. The agent’s arms fell limply to his side as he died.
The guard, now free to assist someone else, assessed the situation with the City Lord and the tortoise in one glance. After a split second, he nodded to the other guard and ran off to help the Ruler. Samantha, feeling both immensely tired and relieved, let out a sigh and closed her eyes for a moment to enjoy the brief respite. She had done everything she could.
----------------------------------------
Samantha was startled awake when she felt a warm, wet object drag across her cheek. She must’ve fallen asleep or passed out.
As she opened her eyes, she was greeted with the sight of a gigantic, open beak. She jerked back from the spirit beast instinctively, and regretted the quick motion almost immediately when pain flared in her twisted arm and cracked ribs. The tortoise, equally started by her reaction, pulled back its head into its shell.
“Don’t worry, kid. Daisy’s feeling like herself again. She was just coming over to apologize.” the guard said, still laying on the ground a distance away. “She feels bad about hurting us, and has stuck around to protect us while the Ruler chases down Lord Braxand. The coward ran off when he saw the tides of battle were turning against him, but he won’t get far. He’s fast, but the Ruler is faster.”
“Is it all over then?” Samantha asked hopefully.
“Far from it, but it’s only a matter of time now. It was good you came to inform the Ruler of Lord Braxand’s plans. Thanks to your warning, he was able to activate the enchantments on his armor in time to mitigate the effects from mental attacks. If he hadn’t known from the start what to expect, this fight could’ve gone much differently.”
“I’m just glad I could help.” Samantha said honestly.
“Do you have any healing items to fix your arm? I’m afraid I’ve used the last of mine to get my leg working again. It’d be beneficial if we both could get out of here so Daisy can help out elsewhere.”
At the mention of healing items, she suddenly recalled Silas’s enraged condition and the antidote that she no longer held in her hand. She searched around nearby until she found the vial, and was disappointed to see that most of the remaining liquid had spilled out when it had fallen. There were only a few drops of the milky antidote left clinging to the inner edges of the glass, but she took it with her anyway. Silas was small and he had poison resistance already, so this miniscule amount might still be enough to cure him of the powder’s effects. It wouldn’t hurt, in any case.
“I’m well enough to go now, though I’m not in any shape to fight. Do you need help getting somewhere safer?” she offered.
He considered her for a moment, “If you help me into any intact building nearby, that should be secure enough.”
Samantha obliged, letting the man use her for support as she assisted him into a shop that had somehow avoided destruction. She then fetched him his halberd so he wouldn’t be left unarmed. By the time she returned to get her own weapon, Daisy had left.
Samantha spent the next several hours looking for her bonded companion. The fuzziness of their connection made tracking him exceedingly difficult, and it felt like every time she got close he would dart off into a different direction. It was only when she was practically standing on top of where her binding thread told her that he should be that she realized she was looking in all the wrong places. He was nowhere in sight, which meant he had to be traveling through the waterways.
She located the nearest manhole that would give her access to the maze of tunnels below, and began her search anew.
Unlike the last time she had visited these winding passageways with Silas, they were far from empty. Enraged, bug-like spirit beasts skittered and crawled along the floors, walls, and ceilings, and Samantha had a difficult time fighting them off in the tight confines of the waterways. Despite her Rebirth Core mending her broken bones over the last hours, she was still physically and mentally exhausted. Not to mention that she was often unable to perform swinging attacks with her spear and was limited to accurate, stabbing blows. Given the impressive volume of the low-ranked pests, being only able to slay one or two at a time significantly slowed her down. The only upside to this situation was the near treasure trove of Rank 1 beast cores she was able to collect as she traveled. Even when she only prioritized harvesting cores from the most powerful beasts she encountered, she still quickly ran out of storage space on her person and had to leave most of the spoils behind.
After an hour of fighting through the swarms of footlong beetles and centipedes, Samantha found the first signs of her bond. A Matron Rock Beetle was impaled to the tunnel wall by a large antler spear, and its core had clearly been dug out of its exoskeleton. The horn was only slightly degraded, which was encouraging to her–this meant that Silas had to have killed this spirit beast recently.
She picked up her pace and followed the pull of her binding thread in Silas’s general direction. After a few minutes of navigating through the twisting water channels, she ran into a dead end. Further progress down the passage was sealed behind a solid stone wall, with only a small, circular drainage pipe around a foot in diameter leading deeper into the maze. She checked the inside of the slimy pipe and could clearly see one of Silas’s paw prints in the sludge. Even if she took off all of her armor and left everything behind, it was impossible to follow him this way.
She spent another two hours trying unsuccessfully to approach her companion. Each time she got near, he would expertly find some way down a path that she could not follow. Other than finding several more of his harvested kills, the occasional tuft of green fur, or paw prints, she never actually got close enough to see Silas. By this point, she was truly worn down and worn out, and her combat was getting dangerously sloppy. More than once she had let herself get bitten by one of the many bugs in the area, and received some unfortunate corrosive poison resistance training in the process. This wasn’t going to work.
Clearly, Silas was not affected by the enraging powder in exactly the same way as the other spirit beasts were. He had fled into the waterways after being affected rather than staying in the city, and he was still actively avoiding her. This led her to believe that he was doing his best to fight the poison and trying to protect both her and other humans from his enraged state in the process. She reluctantly decided to leave the waterways for the time being and recover her strength.
She made her way back up to the surface and found that it was already well into the afternoon and nearing evening. The general atmosphere of Yivesh had changed significantly while she had been focusing on finding Silas. While previously there was a sense of fear and chaos, it now nearly felt like a festival was being prepared for. Yiveshians–mortals and cultivators alike–were out in full force either scavenging the remains of slain beasts or setting up patrols to go hunting. She could only imagine the vast wealth that had come into the city in the form of fresh spirit beast materials and cores. Her family would probably have quite a boom in business soon.
Despite her outwardly disheveled and bloody state, she was continually approached by grateful mortals who congratulated her on the successful defense of the city. She was also greeted by fellow cultivators who wanted her help with their hunts, but she politely declined the offers.
Once she reached the Southern Business District, she was pleased to find that it was mostly intact. A few storefronts had broken windows and had been apparently looted, but it seemed like the incursion didn’t reach this far. Cray’s Creations was in the exact same condition as when she and her parents had left it. She suspected the tall, imposing, High Copper woman guarding the front door had a little something to do with that.
When Tiny spotted Samantha, the older woman waved excitedly at her, “Samantha! You’re back!”
Samantha returned the wave, “How’s Felix?”
“That healing pill you gave him was amazing! He’s almost back to fighting shape already. He’s been sleeping inside on the floor–he said he didn’t want to get your bed dirty, stubborn man that he is–but asked me to wake him up when you got back. Let me go get him.” Tiny responded happily.
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“No need, I’m awake now.” Felix said, coming out of the shop shortly after Tiny finished speaking.
He was completely hairless on one side of his face, but the skin looked pink and healthy. His voice had also returned to normal.
“I’m glad to see you both are healthy, but to be honest I am completely drained. I really need a bath and some sleep.” Samantha said, gesturing vaguely to herself.
Felix nodded once, “Very well. We’ll watch over you and the shop while you rest. When you awake, we can discuss the life-debt I owe you.”
“We owe you.” Tiny correctly gently.
Too tired to argue the point, Samantha simply nodded and went inside. After cleaning up, changing into a set of pajamas, and switching her mindset to [Sage’s Rumination], she laid down in her bed and immediately fell asleep.
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Samantha was jarred awake by a series of notifications.
Congratulations, your spirit bond has increased in rank (Rank 4 High -> Rank 5 Low)
Silas has received +1 to all stats. You have received +1 Bond Ability Point.
Active Bloodline [Mongrel] Detected! A new evolution has emerged! Silas has evolved (Lunar Jackalope-> Lunar Wolpertinger). Silas has received +2 to Strength and Resilience, and +4 to Agility and Endurance. You have received +1 Bond Ability Point.
A new ability has emerged! Silas has received the ability [Savage Bite].
Despite their relatively small size, a Wolpertinger’s bite is far from insignificant. Using their incredible jaw strength in combination with their sharp, tough teeth, their bite has been known to penetrate straight through metal armors and crush the bones beneath.
You have gained access to a new bond ability, [Piercing Strike]. Changes have been made to your status page.
“A… wolpertinger?” Samantha asked no one in particular. She had never heard of a spirit beast like that before.
Curious, Samantha opened Silas’s profile page and found the sections that had been changed.
Silas - Lunar Jackalope => Lunar Wolpertinger
Rank 4 - High => Rank 5 - Low
Attributes:
Aptitude (Approximate Max Value):
Strength: 5 => 6 => 8
Average (14 => 16)
Agility: 15 => 16 => 20
Exceptional (24 => 28)
Endurance: 7 => 8 => 12
Average (14 => 16)
Resilience: 7 => 8 => 10
Average (14 => 16)
Active Abilities:
Passive Abilities:
Thump
Cooldown: 27 Seconds
Herb Hunter
Leap
Cooldown: 9 Seconds
Poison Connoisseur
Swift
Cooldown: Variable
Prey’s Perception
Translucence
Cooldown: Variable
Iron Gut
Antler Genesis
Cooldown: Variable
Transfer Vitality
Savage Bite
Cooldown: 54 Seconds
Offered Bond Abilities:
Bond Ability Points (BP) Remaining: 3
Swift (Rank 2)
[2 BP]
For every 0.5 qi points spent per second, gain +2 Agility. After ability ends, effects will linger for a short time before returning to original levels. While active, your steps gain perfect traction.
Herb Hunter
[1 BP]
Like the Lunar Hare, you have the uncanny ability for finding the best quality herbs around.
Translucence (Rank 2)
[2 BP]
For every 1 qi point spent, you will become mostly transparent for 60 seconds. All other signs of your presence will be partially muted (sound, smell, aura, etc). Remaining motionless while translucent will make you exceedingly difficult to spot.
Antler Genesis
[1 BP]
You can spend at least 1 qi point to grow an antler from any bone. Size and shape of the antler can be affected by increasing qi investment during creation. Once disconnected from the body, the antler will continue to exist for 1 minute or until consciously dismissed.
Jackalope of all Trades (Rank 2)
[2 BP]
*Mongrel Bloodline
Effect 1: You and your bond will gain the ability to instantly swap places or transport to the other’s location while within 500 feet of each other so long as movement to the other party is not impeded (qi cost increases with distance).
Effect 2: If your bond suffers a killing blow and their body isn’t completely destroyed, their spirit will reside in your dantian for up to a month and their physical form will be put in stasis. If their body is not restored to a survivable condition within that time, your binding thread will be dissolved and your bond will truly die.
Effect 3: You will gain a 20% overall increase to qi pool and regeneration and your bond will have 20% faster cooldowns.
Piercing Strike
[1 BP]
*Mongrel Bloodline
Spend 1 qi point to coat and reinforce a small area with piercing energy and increase the damage of the next attack by half. Qi coating will last for 5 seconds or until a target is struck.
Samantha was glad to see most of Silas’s attributes breaking into the double digits with his new evolution. She had been unable to convince her somewhat lazy companion to do his own training while she worked with the sadist, so his progress had stagnated. As her attributes increased, she worried that his strength would leave him lagging behind and vulnerable.
She felt the bond between them strengthen slightly, and she tried once more to contact him. Due to his jump in power and Resilience, it was possible that he would shake off the poison even faster.
“Silas! Are you there?” she asked.
She received only an indistinct impression of pain and anger in response.
Based on how Lord Braxand had been talking with Valena about the enraging powder, the effects likely lasted days if left untreated. Otherwise, his agents would have a difficult time dosing herds repeatedly to lead them towards Yivesh. She had no idea how long it would take Silas to fully return to his senses, and though it seemed like he was slowly making progress towards curing himself she feared it wouldn’t be fast enough. Her deadline was only three days away. Thankfully, there was an easy solution to this problem, and she had just received the bond ability points to make it possible.
Samantha purchased the next rank of Jackalope of all Trades.
Bond ability Jackalope of All Trades (Rank 2) purchased! Changes have been made to your status page.
This upgrade brought up her qi pool capacity from 96.8 to 104.5, and her base qi regeneration from +3.1 qi/hour to +3.4 qi/hour. Curious what Rank 3 of the skill entailed, she looked at the new description in the bond ability section.
[Mongrel] Jackalope of All Trades (Rank 3 - 0/3 Bond Ability Points Invested):
Always Close [1 BP] - You and your bond will gain the ability to instantly swap places or transport to the other’s location so long as movement to the other party is not impeded (qi cost increases with distance).
Moonlight Step [2 BP] - You gain the ability to set two waypoints (5 qi reserved per waypoint). So long as you stand under the light of a true or artificial celestial body, you can spend half of your overall qi pool to instantly transport yourself and your bond (as long as you are within 5 feet of each other) to a waypoint.
Spectral Projection [1 BP] - You gain the ability to temporarily project your consciousness outside of your body. You can maintain the projection for the cost of 1 qi per minute, and upon canceling the ability or running out of qi your consciousness will be returned to your body.
Duplicate [1 BP] - Your bond gains the ability to manifest and control a second body formed from qi, which can be dispersed at will. Each body can use their abilities independently, but cooldowns take twice as long.
Abundant Spring [2 BP] - You and your bond’s qi pool and regeneration combine into one (40 + 50 = 90 base + 24 from meridians = 114 * 2 * 1.2 = 273.6 qi pool, 10 + 10 = 20 base * 2 * 1.2 = 48 qi regen/hour). Your bond’s cooldowns will be significantly reduced in exchange for a small consumption of qi per ability use.
As Samantha read through the powerful selection of abilities, her excitement grew. Almost everything seemed to be a lesser version of the abilities she could’ve initially chosen when unlocking a bloodline! Her heart sank quickly, though, as she came to the realization that she wouldn’t be able to get all of them. Looking at the skill description, it seemed like once she had spent a total of three points purchasing some of the available abilities, she would be locked out from purchasing whatever remained.
At a glance, the synergy between [Duplicate] and [Abundant Spring] was incredibly appealing. Two Silases that could independently attack would be helpful, and an increased qi pool and regeneration rate was never a bad thing. The best part was that the shorter cooldowns for Silas from [Abundant Spring] would counteract the increased cooldowns when he had a duplicate active. The only downside she could see was that Silas’s ability usage could possibly cut into her own resources, and she didn’t know how much his skills cost to use.
[Moonlight Step] seemed very similar to [Moonlight Gate]–one of the abilities she had lamented needing to pass up earlier. Unfortunately, she doubted that she could gain another bond ability point before she needed to ascend, so she wouldn’t have access to it on this floor. That wasn’t to say it wouldn’t be useful in the future, but it did sting to have the hope of coming back to the first floor snatched away a second time.
[Always Close] could potentially act as a ‘poor mans’ [Moonlight Step], but instead of waypoints she could utilize her bond to move to new locations. Even more so if Silas’s duplicate would count as a valid target for her and Silas to transport to. They could send the duplicate to scout ahead or stay behind, then transport to the copy when necessary. She just didn’t know how expensive the conversion rate of qi cost to distance would be.
[Spectral Projection] was also very interesting. The description was somewhat vague, but she got the impression that she could essentially move through the world as an incorporeal spirit. She couldn’t be sure, but she suspected this meant she could pass through solid objects, and perhaps even use some arts while in this form–such as [Inspect]–to scout out enemies safely before she encountered them. Being able to see the strengths and weaknesses of opponents before she engaged them could be a lifesaver on the second floor.
Samantha closed her profile and got ready for the day. She had a lot to consider for the future.
The dim, golden light coming through her window let her know that the sun was just rising over the mountains. The quiet sounds of conversation and the smell of breakfast let her know that her parents had returned from the shelter while she had been asleep, and that Tiny and Felix were still here. Samantha gathered her slightly tattered lamellar armor–which she had cleaned to the best of her ability the night before–and hoped that her parents could make some quick patches to the worst areas. Since she would be returning to the waterways soon, she didn’t want to leave any part of her more exposed to attack than necessary.
“--can’t thank you both enough. Really! I insist you have some breakfast with us.” she heard her father say.
“Oh Felix, just grab a plate! We wanted to speak with Samantha anyway, and it’d look odd if we were the only ones not eating.” Tiny chided.
“Is there enough for a very hungry cultivator?” Samantha asked lightheartedly, peeking her head around the corner to see the four of them gathered in the kitchen. Advancing in cultivation, combined with infusing her body with qi, left Samantha needing less water, food, and sleep than most people. Still, after the lack of sustenance the past couple of days and the heavy physical activity she engaged in, she was positively famished.
“I already set out a full plate for you, dear.” her mother said, pointing to a very tall pile of food on the table.
Samantha set down her armor in a neat pile nearby and started digging in without further comment.
Felix sighed, “Alright. A small amount then, if you’d please.”
Samantha noted that Felix had shaved off the rest of his hair so that he looked a bit more normal. He still only had one eyebrow currently, but it was a definite improvement.
Tiny, Felix, and her parents got their food and sat down to eat as well while Samantha was stuffing her face. They all engaged in a bit of small talk to fill the silence, which Samantha mostly ignored until she heard her mother mention House Braxand.
“Hwaju sae?” Samantha mumbled indistinctly.
“Don’t speak with your mouth full, Sam. It’s rude.” Her father lectured.
“I was saying that I heard in the shelter that Lord Braxand was behind this whole mess. He admitted it himself! It’s shocking, isn’t it? He seemed like such a nice host when we met him.” her mother commented.
“Obviously not that nice, if he caused an incursion in the city.” her father replied flatly.
“Well, regardless!” her mother continued, “I heard the Ruler captured him and is holding a trial today. They’re just gathering some key witnesses first. I wonder what the punishment will be.”
Felix scoffed, “Trial is not an accurate description. That would imply justice being carried out. I already know what the outcome will be–he’ll be exiled to the second floor, and his family will probably get off with a slap on the wrist and a slight demotion in power.”
Samantha sputtered and started coughing, and Tiny slapped her on the back a couple of times to free up her airway.
When she could speak again, she questioned, “They captured him? I thought that the City Lord would have slain Lord Braxand in battle!”
Felix shook his head, “His family has too much influence. They produce a lot of cultivators that end up working as Enforcers, Guards, or in our Military. If he outright killed their family head there could be an uprising, which would be bad on its own but would be devastating in the wake of an incursion. This way, everyone gets to save face. The family can denounce their ex-leader, they can keep most of their influence, and the City gets to keep running as usual. Not to mention the vast reparations that will be paid by the Braxands. So… the long and short of it is politics, power, and money will see him exiled rather than executed.”
Samantha knew at that moment that her family would never be safe in this city again, and she would have a mortal enemy once Lord Braxand joined her on the second floor.
This is bad. This is so, so bad.
Her mind raced trying to find a solution to this new and horrible problem. She had to come clean to her family and let them know how much danger they were in. House Braxand would never forgive, or forget, the Crays.
“Tiny, Felix… I really need your help. I need a huge favor from you both.” she began.
The two looked at her with unfaltering confidence. Tiny spoke first, “Anything that is within our power to do for you, we will.”
Samantha nodded, “First I need to explain to all of you exactly how I am involved in this whole mess…”
Samantha proceeded to fill them in on the full truth. She told them about her encounter with the Braxand brothers, her resultant stint in the Gutter, the hidden quest she discovered, and everything that happened after her duel with Eileen in the Coliseum. The only thing she chose to leave out was that Alex had killed her, wanting to spare her parents from that particular knowledge.
“...and that’s why you need to leave Yivesh. The shop should be worth a good sum right now, since it’s completely intact and in an undamaged district. Sell it, the inventory, gather up whoever is willing to come with you–I’d go to Thomas first–and get ready to go to another city. Tiny and Felix, please escort my family to somewhere far away. Someplace where the Braxand name holds no sway. Once you help them establish their new lives, you can consider your life-debt to me paid in full.”
Tiny agreed without hesitation, “It would be our honor. And, you’re in luck! I have visited many cities in my lifetime, and I have the perfect place in mind already. It’s–”
Samantha held up her hand to stop her from saying anything more, “Please, keep it a secret. I trust your judgment.”
“Hold on a moment, don’t we get a say in any of this?” her father protested, “You can’t just dump all of that on us and then expect us to drop everything and leave! We won’t even have a chance to properly say goodbye to you, and we… we might never…”
His words trailed off as his voice tightened, and the hint of tears welled up in the corner of his eyes.
A loud, persistent knocking on the door drew everyone’s attention downstairs. Samantha was planning on ignoring it, but when a qi-enhanced voice rang through the shop, she didn’t have any choice but to answer the door.
“Samantha Cray, you have been summoned by the City Lord to testify in the trial of Lord Braxand! Come out at once!”