I disembark as everyone just goes off in their own direction, the cat man glaring at me and not moving when I go to check on Hatchet, -- but she already left. Didn't say goodbye or nothin. -- and he's still there. Considering everyone else is gone, this might legit be his boat. I go to my bank, fish out the weird moonfish I caught when I was with Crimson Star, and set that just inside the room as payment for the awkward catch before taking my leave. I can always come back and fish. He sits up, eyes target locked, and I get the fuck out before he scares me into scaring him, and I get my ass kicked.
[Wind Walk Successful]
[Successful Uses 2/100]
[Qi -10]
[Karma +100]
[Current Condensed Qi: 1831174/23764546]
[Current Qi: 252282/957945100]
[Current Karma: 95058187/107275977]
[Max Will: 9579451]
[Mortal Wallet: 10E,27K,180P,154R,179Da,175De,105k]
[Spirit Wallet: 0Dr,0Ph,0Th,1199Di,126Co,10506St]
Okay, so I get a notification for Wind Walk after I travel a few steps off the ground. Does that mean air distance matters or effort matters?
"Hello."
I scream, everything clenching and the world turning into a rainbow that spins towards sickly before I reabsorb my fear spew when I see Trinity staring at me, wide-eyed and unmoving. What bothers me is that he stands there looking relaxed except for his eyes, and I jumped and screamed like a bitch. How's that fair? He relaxes and I feel slightly better knowing that he wasn't chill. And he's waiting for me~! Aw! He wants to gossip and walk me home! I tease him and he snorts before slowly turning and walking away.
I tell him that there was a mutation on the farm, and they think it was created, a group of people I thought were guards from the city came out and asked me to go with them, I did, and he's staring at me like he can't believe I thought it was okay to take candy from strangers. How do you even have both eyes open wide and one eye is opened wider. It's like he's trying to look at me with his eyes narrowed and stare at me in surprise or horror at the same time. Or he's having a stroke.
"Are you okay?" Might as well ask.
-The adventurer's city doesn't have guards,- he says slowly. Breaking it to me gently, I see. -The guilds, companies, and clans are self-policing.-
-That sounds like a terrible idea!- I practically fold in half I cringe so hard at the idea of everyone covering their asses and pretending nothing's wrong. No wonder the little experiment got loose so near this self-policing town!
-It is better on paper than in practice,- Trinity gives a little shrug. -But if any one organization goes too far then the rest rally to stomp them out and split the resources.-
-Still sounds like someone can do something awful then make someone the scapegoat and still profit,- I chirp back brightly, getting another open, open-er side-eyed look. -What's that look for? You act like everyone gets along and doesn't do anything to rock the boat for fear of discovery.-
He turns away, lips pursed and eventually giving a wobbly little nod, head bouncing from side to side instead of up and down. Before I can say anything he starts shaking his head slowly.
-It is not a perfect system, but it is what we have. And it works,- he continues. -The different organizations keep one another in check, making sure one doesn't grow too strong or there's no alliance too big. Better than a large city where whoever pays the most enslaves everyone else.
-Or do you disagree...?- he gives me a side-eye that's a little too sly. I don't like what he's implying.
Pretty sure if I knew what it was I'd like it less. I'm not all powerful, I'm good with elemental stuff. Thousand Valleys isn't all powerful, they apparently used to be hot shit, but now they're just a long standing, fallen noble family. The emperor? He might be all powerful but he has to suck it in or the country might get exploded. No point in getting upset about something I don't understand. I shrug it off and ask him if he eats meat, fruits and or veggies, and if he prefers them raw or cooked. He explains that he likes meats, cooked or otherwise, fruits, juices and wines, but he has to watch his sugar intake.
That gets us into fruits, and meats, like birds, and I have a chance to ask about which of all are good for eating and if he knows which ones are the easiest to maintain. He laughs, telling me he's not a farmer, then going on to mention if I wanted chickens I could just buy chickens. They're almost always a safe bet unless one developed into a vengeful spirit or a phoenix. Now I feel like an idiot for almost slipping that I have no idea what he's talking about, but I do. 'Cause people I ate did.
There are legends and stories of creatures attaining great heights through lesser cultivation. Simple fish leaping over towering falls to become dragons becoming so true that they've turned into alliterations about reaching for great heights and achieving great things. Birds fighting fiercely, falling, then rising again and burning brighter as phoenixes. Wise men attaining great power through insight and study, ascending to great heights and being acknowledged by the gods and added to the pantheon. That's just cultivating to godhood. Hells, the emperor's past that level and sitting on it until he can dominate once he reaches the heavens.
We've fallen into a comfortable silence, Trinity pointing out different plants to avoid and things that hunans usually request. Trinity starts making me uncomfortable as we continue through the woods, avoiding the roads. I'm trusting him to lead me true, although I can probably get back on my own, but he won't stop side-eyeing me. He sniffs at a pale yellow mushroom, something Silent Howl knows is deadly, telling me not to eat it. So I snatch it up in passing, look at him when he looks at me, then pop it into my mouth.
"Dude," I gag and he frowns down his nose at me. "It tastes like rotten pumpkins." I swallow and shudder, pick a few more to bank and cook later. "Might taste better prepared."
I unbank my wine, swish, gargle and chug to clear the taste out of my mouth, then rebank it when he holds his hand out for a sip.
"Black Blood Wine," I shrug and he gags. "Tastes like sweet black tea to me."
"That is --," he tenses, narrowing his eyes and settling into a fighting stance as he stares at me. "Why aren't you foaming at the mouth? You should be dying soon."
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
"I'm immune to most poisons, and miasma," I remind him. "It's why my scales are so toxic. I can shed off all the elements at one time and they mix."
"That is horrifying," he says, calmly backing away from me.
"That's what the light show is if my wings are closed," I point out. "If my wings are open it might just be light bouncing off of them."
He huffs, pulling his hands out of his sleeves and casually leaping into a nearby tree. He plucks a trio of small bird eggs from the nest then jumps back down, cracking the eggs into his mouth, alternating lapping at the air and chewing as he guzzles them down. Once he's finished, I shrug, tell him I don't know if I have any drinks that are safe for him, other than water, and he accepts my offer of water. I bow, shift to my void, find a waterskin labeled as containing water, then come back out.
"I'm not sure if this is just water or water essence," I admit. "And I probably shouldn't drink from it to test it."
He sips, telling me it is Qi enhanced water, then I have to ask about essence affinities and conflicting elements. While he's talking I get conflicting inputs from my memories. Here? In Qi rich places with elemental essence found everywhere everyone develops the ability to shield themselves, those who can't tend to not last long. In Qi deprived areas having an elemental affinity tends to be more of a handicap, the body and spirit lacking something essential, and their cores tend to develop poorly, needing much more effort to develop. As far as Trinity is concerned, nothing can survive long in the desolation of a low Qi area, and, as far as Silent Howl is concerned, not everyone can survive in a high Qi area, people starting in lower areas and developing resistances over time to push towards higher areas, passing on those genes and abilities until someone down the line attains immortality.
We make it back to the guild by travelling through the trees, taking a long winding road where we both graze. Trinity catches birds, eating them after ripping their heads off, and eating eggs he fetches straight from the nests. He cleans up before we leave the trees, calm and composed as we cross over to the mission office. Whoops. Guess they can handle stuff in the administration office, but it's better to do it in the proper facility. Freckles greets us, telling us that Running River turned in the quest and I should be credited. Trinity wanders off, reassuring me he's still willing to teach me how to do something other than house pet. I pick up a stick and throw it at him, it bouncing off of his back as he placidly walks away. I explain to Freckles when I catch him staring at me in shock, then threaten to throw a rock at him if he dares to laugh.
"Our group has a personal apartment in town that we all share if you'd like to come, although Singing Swallow and Grass Skirt also have private apartments, they hang out at the group apartment as well." When I ask what's the point of a group apartment over a private apartment when we can all just meet at the guild hall he points out that it builds more trust for them to have a shared space. "If I wanted to be away from everyone I could just go to my family house. I'm actually from around here."
So it's back to town, Freckles telling me about the time he and Bubbles helped destroy a troop of mercenaries who'd been brought in by a guild of outsiders who thought they could take over the town, i.e. nudge nudge, wink wink, I better mind my manners. I retaliate by telling him about my first cocoon, devouring the wards and then the army of hunans I'd eaten on orders. He laughs, telling me that I'm a great storyteller and that he'd seen my chibi form, refusing to believe that I was made miniature by the emperor because it was cute.
"What ruler would spend time and effort on such nonsense when their country is falling apart?" he scoffs, shaking his head and leading me to a building similar to the brick structures I'd seen trying to get to Golden Rivers.
This building is only two stories tall on the outside, expanding into a reception area three stories tall with a small pond with a ribbon and lanterned festooned tree in the center, the branches spreading out to cover the first floor seating area, but trimmed so that the seventh and eight floors aren't blocked off. I've memories that say the place looks more brothel than inn, with hostesses and call girls serving a variety of foods and entertainment, but I'm stuck on how big it is. And how many people are running around. I try to ask Freckles how it works and end up quietly demanding he explain, looking around like a stunned tourist at everything on display.
He explains the red and gold aren't whoring colors, they're for prosperity, and most of the buildings in Green Rivers were spatial structures that remained modest on the outside. The Eager Heart, the complex we're in, is over 20 stories tall and several acres wide, a city in itself. If I don't find it at the guild hall it's better to explore shops rather than come straight here. The convenience charge for adventurers and outsiders nearly makes it prohibitively expensive.
"Then why are we stationed in a tourist trap?" I hiss in frustration. Lets live where a bunch of people passing through get ripped of, and, if they get angry and wreck the place, oh, well?
"Playing security also pays reputation," he grins at me before heading to the stairs.
We're not far up, -- seven floors in a scenic village using only stairs isn't far up? -- and there are transfer circles, -- then why the hell are we taking the stairs?! -- but there are fees for their use. I notice a moving platform, gesture to it, and he just says fees before I can say a word. I glare at him, catching his cocky grin. When any of the workers, mostly women, try to approach me, a simple, pointed, polite smile from Freckles has them veering off and doing anything else. I want to try foods? Better to wait and see what's in the apartment or head back out. I glare at him as he finally stops at a room, pulling out a chunky key from around his neck, holding it to the door but not actually inserting it into anything. The door doesn't open, it glows.
"Come on in," Freckles says warmly, looking at me over his shoulder while disappearing into the light.
What the fuck? I press my hand into the light feeling, light resistance. I cringe at the unintended pun before screaming when something wraps around my hand and yanks me in. Freckles easily ducks my panicked swings, laughing along with Joe and Hatchet until they start coughing and breaking out in hives. I glare at them, pull the spilled essence out, wondering when my scales turned from scales to solidified essence, -- they've looked like light and glass for a while, but I thought I was just glowing, -- and gesture for them to open the door so I can get the stuff that spilled out on the other end. Luckily it was just a large mix of essences instead of straight miasma, the Qi in the area more controlled and helping to keep the elemental essence under control. I blink, grateful that I know stuff now, even if it takes me a minute to recall it.
The room has a table with multiple tea services and a utensil jar in the center. There's another more private seating area with a desk below windows, seating cushions along the walls. Now I wonder if I can make pocket rooms in my void that people need to have permissions to access. I'd be able to decorate however I wanted without worrying about getting robbed, and, if I do get robbed, it'll lower the suspect pool down. I don't know that it was only Woodcock who robbed me. I just know he's very liberal about sharing other people's stuff.
Freckles snatches my attention by walking across the room with a plate of hot food, setting it on the table. He gestures for me to sit down, but before I can he gets admonished for trying to feed a wimble, even a mutated wimble with a hunan form, hunan foods. I snort, sitting down and pulling a pair of chopsticks from the utensil pot, sit down, and immediately tuck in. There's surprise and alarm as I eat, reaching out to turn one of the cups upside down on one of the services right side up, pouring from the pot and drinking what turns out to be a very light tea. I make a sound of appreciation and continue eating as Freckles brings me a series of side dishes although I'm nearly finished with the meal. It's fine, I'll still eat it.