The samuran is silent for a long moment, but finally she responds.
If that is how my sisters sought to protect us, then I support them in it, the Path-walker says loyally, though the doubt in her aura is enough to prove to me that she’s not as content with the method of protection as she’d like me to believe.
“Even if it has actually called another doom upon your head?”
Confusion fills the Pathwalker’s aura.
How so?
“The group sent to kidnap Kalanthia’s cub failed in one big aspect: they left Kalanthia alive. For the crime of kidnapping her cub, Kalanthia would have sought blood. When her cub returned, permanently changed, she desired to kill every last one of your village. Does that seem like a good method of protection now?”
The lizard-kin is silent for a long moment.
She…they…I’m sure they did not expect such a response from the Great Predator.
“They should have,” I tell her grimly. “I do not believe that Kalanthia is known for her mercy.”
Then perhaps they had a plan to defend us against the Great Predator, the samuran snaps. You should ask them, not me – I don’t know!
“Oh, believe me,” I tell her, my anger finally leaking into my words. “I will.” Then, closing my eyes, I take a moment to rein back my fury. It has no place here. “Fortunately for you, your village had a spokesperson.”
Confusion once more leaks into the space around us.
What? Who?
“The lizard-kin you call ‘traitor,’” I hiss at her, unable to allow a bit of vindication into my voice. I saw how River flinched at the word, how it had hurt him to be rejected by the people he had only ever tried to protect. “River, Runs-with-the-river, agreed to help me because he believed both in the vengeance which Kalanthia would bring to bear for the loss of her cub, and because he believed that I could protect your village myself. He sold himself to me to protect you. And when Kalanthia spoke of genocide, he offered up his own life in an attempt to placate her.”
My emotions rising once more inside me, I can’t help but shove the memory of River kneeling before Kalanthia at the Pathwalker in front of me. I don’t know how it works considering there is no Bond between us – not yet – but perhaps it's because we’re touching souls. Either way, I know my attempt is successful.
The Pathwalker’s aura betrays her uncertainty after she’s viewed the memory, and I don’t hesitate to hammer it further in.
“Thanks to his demonstration of regret and my own request to spare you for his sake, Kalanthia has agreed to let your village live; on one condition.”
Which is what? the Pathwalker asks a moment later, her voice faint.
“That I rule your village.” The lizard-kin is silent. “So you see that the Bond is inevitable, and this is the opportunity to ask for something in exchange for your cooperation. Unless you prefer death, of course,” I say in an afterthought. If that genuinely would be someone’s preference, I won’t stand in their way or force them to Bond with me.
The Pathwalker is silent for several long moments. I wait patiently, pushing my anger, my impatience, my restlessness away. Interestingly, the space isn’t showing any sign of shattering, nor am I tiring from holding it. Perhaps it’s because Dominate has increased in level? Or because my Willpower is higher? Or perhaps because the differences between our Willpower stats are small.
Eventually the lizard-woman answers.
I do not wish to die, she admits in a small voice.
“Then you accept that a Bond is the only other alternative?” I ask levelly.
I wish for power, she says, instead of answering me properly. Give that to me, and I will offer you cooperation.
“Magical power? Advancement to the next tier? Power over other lizard-folk?” I check.
The first two. She gives off a feeling that I reckon would be a head toss if she could move. I care little about power over others of my kin. The first two will give me the third, anyway, she admits. I nod slowly.
“Being part of my group, a proper part, means cooperating with each other, and seeking each other’s safety and benefit. In that way, we all benefit, we all rise. One of my Bound has already evolved into the next Tier while Bound with me, and others are approaching that time. Three are also heading for Tier three, like you. If you can accept that, then I will agree to your desire for power.”
There’s a long pause, then a sense of acceptance emanates from her. It’s not a whole-hearted agreement, not like Fenrir who had practically thrown himself at me emotionally when I made the same offer. But at the same time, it’s not a begrudging or plotting agreement which might indicate she’s planning on making trouble later. I’ll take it.
I move my hand back towards her head from where I had withdrawn it earlier.
“Then join us, Shouts-joyfully.”
Surprise emanates from her, even as my fingers touch her skin and the world shatters around us, a new Bond thrumming into place.
The world comes into colour around me and I breathe deeply for what feels like the first time in a while. I’m still staring at the samuran in the pit below; her eyes continue to flutter, the poison almost having done its job in pulling her to sleep.
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
How do you know that name? she demands, her voice thin and exhausted. I haven’t used it in many cycles. Not many know it and those who do don’t use it.
“I know many things,” I tell her, a grin curling the corner of my lips. “River, Catch, help Joy out of the pit, would you?”
They immediately snap to, eagerness evident in the quick movements of their limbs. Briefly brushing the Bonds between us, I sense triumph mingled with relief, welcome mixed with a hidden sense of fear. Knowing both of them as I do, I suspect that I know why each emotion is there.
Relief that I can indeed overcome at least one of the leaders of their village. Triumph that we have succeeded in our task. Welcome for another of their people joining us. Yet fear that perhaps now a higher Tier samuran is present, that they will be relegated to the outskirts once more. Not that I will ever let that happen.
River has been at my side through thick and thin ever since our own Battle; loyalty like that is only to be rewarded, not punished by being cast aside. Though I’ll need to make sure he understands that when I release his Bond it’s not because I don’t want him now I have a more powerful member of his species Bound to me.
Catch decided to Bind himself to me out of gratitude and so far has done everything I could have reasonably wished him to do. That’s worth far more than someone who’s only really accepted the Bond because she hopes for power through it. Even if she’s a Pathwalker. Hopefully, they’ll see that with time – actions will probably speak louder than words at this point.
Joy definitely needs the help of both River and Catch leaning down and grabbing onto her to get out of the pit – her limbs are too weak right now to hold onto a rope by herself. It makes me concerned about the others in there, especially the Unevolved who succumbed much more quickly.
I wasn’t expecting it to have that much effect – maybe I underestimated either how much each would absorb, or how powerful I made the venom….
“Trinity,” I call quietly, and the massive three-horned beast lumbers over to me. “Could you help River and Catch get the samurans out of the trap, please.” She sends over a good-natured feeling of assent – apparently now we’ve become her ‘family’, she’s perfectly willing to help us in whatever way we’d like.
My two Tier one samurans seem about to launch themselves down into the pit, but I tell them to wait.
“Here, let me wrap these around your feet,” I say, pulling a few hides out of my Inventory. Filling them with my mana will take too long, but the two lizard-men don’t need perfectly tailored shoes; they just need something that will keep them from accidentally absorbing the venom themselves. Wrapping the hides around their feet and then using some bark cord to tie them on offers them serviceable, if probably uncomfortable, footwear.
With that, it’s only a matter of minutes before they’re jumping down into the pit, a rope tied around Trinity’s tail. While they cooperate to tie the unconscious samurans one by one to the rope and get them hauled up to the top, then untied, I turn to Joy.
“I’m just going to clear the venom from your system,” I tell her as I reach towards her. Unease comes across the Bond, but she submits to my touch, perhaps picking up for herself from the Bond that I mean no harm.
Diving into her body, I focus on searching out the venom and pulling it out of her. It’s not hard: since the venom was previously soaked with my mana, it seems to reaccept it easily. Most of the work is actually in repairing the small amount of damage it’s caused to her system.
While doing that, I find myself comparing her body to River’s and Catch’s. It’s…surprisingly different. Not only are there a number of organs present which are clearly linked to reproduction of which there is no sign in River or Catch, but there’s also some sort of network which I can almost see. It’s like looking at faint stars in the night sky: I can see them in my peripheral vision, but if I look at them directly, they vanish.
I’m intrigued, but put that aside for now: I need to clear Joy’s body as quickly as possible so I can then get started on dealing with the rest of the samurans.
“Feel better?” I ask as I return to myself and open my eyes: even if I’ve managed to learn how to heal myself with my eyes open, I’m not yet confident enough in doing it to someone else like that.
I do, Joy responds, sounding…strange.
“What?” I ask with a frown. “If something doesn’t feel right, tell me. If you leave it, it could have bad consequences.”
No, it is all well, she hurries to assure me.
“Then what is it?”
You…I did not expect you to be so powerful, she admits.
“Powerful?” I can’t help but ask, the question slipping out without my permission.
I felt your magic inside me, invading me. I sensed that if you had intended me harm, I wouldn’t have been able to resist it.
That’s probably more to do with the Bond than my own personal power, but I don’t tell her that. Honestly, it’s probably better for her to be in awe than contemptuous, especially when it seems like power is the only thing she wants – and will respect.
“Well, as long as you work with me and my group, as we discussed, I won’t need to harm you,” I say neutrally instead. “On that note, what will happen if we wake up your companions here with you Bound to me, but them not?”
She hesitates.
I am unsure, she admits. I frown again.
“I thought that you Pathwalkers were the leaders of the village?”
We are, she quickly responds, sounding slightly offended at my doubt. But the Warriors are sworn to protect the village. If they feel that my actions are not in keeping with that, they might choose to disobey my orders. And if that happened, I am unsure who the Unevolved would obey. I raise an eyebrow.
“So in fact it’s the Warriors who control the village, really.” Surprisingly, she doesn’t become offended again.
The Pathwalkers offer the direction, the Warriors, the support. Yet they will not choose to support a direction which appears to lead to destruction for the People. However, without direction, they would be vulnerable to the changing challenges which threaten the village. We are in balance with each other, as it should be.
Interesting…but not particularly helpful. Apparently my hope that by converting the Pathwalker of the group to my side she’d be able to keep everyone in check, was unfounded.
“Alright. You’re a weaver, right?” I ask, changing the subject. She tilts her head briefly upwards to affirm what I said. “What can you weave?”
Plant fibres, strips of animal hide and sinew. Branches. Plant roots. Anything physical, she answers with the sense of a shrug.
“Good,” I say, thoughts coming together. “I’m going to cleanse each of your hunting group members now, and I’d like you to bind their limbs so they are unable to get up and attack me or any of my Bound when they regain consciousness. Can you do that?”
Of course! she replies, her tone indignant. That was what I was sent for. Then she stops abruptly, a sense of alarm coming across the bond like she felt she said too much.
“Expand on that,” I order her with a steely gaze. She turns her head away and says nothing. “Don’t make me force you,” I threaten. A sense of irritation mingled with frustrated helplessness comes across the Bond.
We were sent to find Runs-with-the-river – and the prey beast he freed from the cage and allowed to kill one of our sisters. You. I was to bind him, and you if you still lived, so that you could be taken back to the village for punishment.
“Lovely,” I sigh, staring at the canopy above. Ah well, not much more than I’d already learned from the insults she threw at River earlier. “Clearly that’s going well for you,” I can’t help but prod at the lizard-kin. I hear the sound of her snapping her teeth in irritation, but she doesn’t respond. “Alright, let’s get going with dealing with your friends here.”
Pushing myself to my feet, I go over to the first samuran, aiming for an Unevolved one since they seem to be the most vulnerable. I pretend not to hear the question that drifts over almost unintentionally from Joy.
What is ‘friends’?