Kaz looked away as soon as he realized what he’d done, but found his eyes dropping to Zyle’s gnarled hands instead, looking for the injury he knew had to be there. He didn’t see anything, but he was distracted enough that it took Ilto nudging him to remind him that he should greet the elder male. Pressing his hand against his chest, Kaz tilted his chin down. It was far less than he should have done, but he just couldn’t force himself to pretend respect when he felt so betrayed.
The other males spoke briefly, Zyle asking each about what supplies they had packed, and reminding them to listen to the humans, but watch over each other. Brief formalities exchanged, the old kobold unbuckled his warrior’s pack and opened it.
Reaching inside, he pulled out a long metal knife. It looked like bronze, which was an alloy, meaning it had to be made in and brought up from the Deep. To an upper-mountain tribe it was a treasure in itself, but Zyle handed it to Ilto without hesitation, telling him, “That should get you a good mate, young one, so when several females offer for you, make sure you ask for the one who’ll treat you well.”
Ilto, who currently had a copper blade not much longer than those used by gatherers, accepted the new weapon with trembling hands. The top third of the blade was dull, so when he slid it between his belt and his heavy leather loincloth, it didn’t cut through the belt.
“Thank you, den-father,” the young warrior said, sniffling. Zyle’s gray tail wagged once, and he patted Ilto between his fuzzy ears.
Kaz watched as Regz was given a matching weapon and similar advice, but he was pondering the meaning of that word, ‘den-father’. The primary caretaker for pups was always a female, because even the most rambunctious pup knew to obey a female’s command, but also because a female could use her shield to protect the pups in case of an emergency. When male pups neared adulthood, they began training with the warriors, and there was always one male assigned to teach them, but he wasn’t a ‘den-father’.
Turning to Civ, Zyle removed a bright red piece of cloth from the pack. It was woven from some kind of thick fur, possibly niu, and was rough compared to the supple smoothness of the fuulong silk the humans wore, or even the beautiful handkerchiefs that were their primary trade items. Still, though Kaz had become used to something far finer, the other kobolds drew in shocked breaths.
Zyle held up the cloth, revealing a loincloth decorated with pure white stones and bleached teeth. “This has been passed down among my mate’s family for generations. Some of the decorations were coming loose, so I took it so I could repair it for little Nuji to wear-” He coughed, and Kaz remembered that Ilto had said Zyle’s daughter, the chief, had wanted Civ to be her own daughter’s mate.
“Things may not have gone as Tekdu wished,” Zyle said roughly, “but your mate was meant to wear this. I hope it will please her.”
Civ accepted it, pressing it to his heart and bowing deeply.
Removing another knife from the bag, Zyle handed it to his grandson. This one had a fine leather sheath, and when Pils pulled it out slightly, they could see that the blade was also bronze, but the edge was deathly keen all the way to the hilt. To Kaz’s shock, it also held a faint hint of the wavy lines that marked his own blade.
Zyle pointed to it. “The greatest tribes of the Deep have weapons made like this, though the material is something far more precious than bronze. It’s folded over and over as it’s forged, which burns away the impurities and creates these marks. Weapons made like this will hold their edge better and rarely break.”
Pils was nodding, and Kaz thought that the information wasn’t new to him. Perhaps Zyle had said it for Kaz’s benefit, not that of his grandson? But why? What did the elderly male have to gain from sharing his knowledge?
Pils carefully unbuckled one end of his belt, sliding it through the loop on the back side of the sheath. After settling his new weapon into place, he buckled the belt again and, apparently without shame, threw his arms around Zyle. Zyle, in turn, hugged the younger male tightly, stroking his thick ruff of dark brown fur. With obvious reluctance, Pils withdrew from the embrace when his grandfather patted his back firmly, and Zyle turned to Kaz.
“I’m out of treasures, pup, but I saw that you don’t wear a blade at your side, and something is generally better than nothing.” He took one last knife out of his pack and then slung the bag back out of his way before handing the weapon to Kaz.
Kaz took it, noting the battered sheath and the loose leather strips wrapping the hilt, as Zyle said, “Metal blades will rust unless you care for them, but if you rub it with jiao each time it’s used, it’ll serve you better. The hilt needs to be rewrapped, and the sheath has seen better days, but remember that while a simple appearance may make people believe a thing is worthless, its value lies in the use to which it’s put.”
Kaz frowned, sensing a strange weight behind these last words, but nodded and repeated Pils’ actions, attaching the sheath to his own belt without even looking at the blade. He suspected there might be more to the old kobold’s gift than readily met the eye, and he didn’t want to reveal more than necessary to the others.
With a deep sigh, Zyle settled his pack more firmly, though he didn’t reattach the three buckles that usually held it in place. Instead he looked at all of them, meeting each of their eyes. When Kaz’s turn came, he couldn’t interpret the complex mixture of emotions in the brown depths. Then Zyle pressed his fist to his heart and bowed as deeply as a pup would to the leader of his tribe’s warriors.
“Keep them safe,” he said. His voice shook slightly, but when he straightened the twinkle was back in his eyes. “And get out of here. Gaoda is going to knock down our gate if you don’t leave soon.”
=+=+=+=
Things weren’t quite that bad, but only because Lianhua had been dragging her feet while getting ready. When she saw the five kobolds enter the temporary den, the look of relief on her face was almost enough to make Kaz laugh. She immediately set down the plate of food she had been eating before pressing a hand to her stomach and turning to Chi Yincang.
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“I won’t need that third serving after all,” she told him firmly. “I suddenly feel quite sated.”
Chi Yincang bowed without comment, and a moment later all of the food and dishes had vanished back into his pouch. Kaz looked around, seeing that everyone else seemed to be ready. Gaoda was doing a poor job of masking his impatience, while Raff slid the sword he had been idly and unnecessarily cleaning back into its sheath.
Since Gaoda couldn’t growl at Lianhua, he turned his irritation on Kaz. “It’s about time. I said I wanted to leave first thing. Most of us were ready nearly an hour ago.”
Kaz gritted his teeth but said, “I’m sorry. Zyle needed to speak to us.” It was always better to blame someone who wasn’t there, especially if no consequences would come to them as a result.
Lianhua stood hastily, though she looked a little green as she did so. Looking at Pils, she said, “That’s right. He’s your grandfather, isn’t he? I’m sure this must be difficult for him. I’m my grandfather’s favorite, and he was very reluctant to allow me to leave. It was only Gaoda Xiang’s promise that he would keep me safe that finally convinced him.”
Gaoda suddenly looked as if he’d gotten a mouth full of poisonous duyu when he’d been expecting the sweetness of yumao. “Ah, yes,” he muttered, “and I also promised I’d bring you home as quickly as possible. We’re already several weeks later than we expected to start back.”
Lianhua pressed her hands together, bowing slightly. “Yes, thank you, Gaoda Xiang. When Grandfather receives my message, I’m sure he will be reassured by your continued presence. As am I.”
The gold-furred male looked like he wasn’t sure whether to be pleased at this or not, since Lianhua’s tone didn’t match the pleasantness of her words, so he did what he usually did in such situations and began shouting orders. “Raff, you and Gray here in front, like usual. Cousin, you and I will take the center position, with the new kobolds in the rear. Chi Yincang, scout and protect.”
Kaz didn’t like that. Many of the creatures in the mountain were ambush predators, and preferred to take the rearmost member of a group, sometimes so silently that no one noticed until they looked behind them. The four warriors would be together, at least, and Kaz was sure they would watch out for each other, just as Zyle had instructed.
The four kobolds bowed slightly in acknowledgment, the movement so perfectly synchronized that it looked like they had practiced it. Even Ilto somehow managed to look serious and grown up for once.
The group moved out as Gaoda had instructed, though Civ had to come up to help Kaz get back to the main tunnel, something that made Gaoda glower unhappily. Kaz hadn’t been conscious when they arrived, though, and while he knew which direction he needed to go, he didn’t know the fastest way to get there.
Raff didn’t relax enough to start up his muttered monologue until they had been walking for nearly a mile. It took another mile for Gaoda to demand to know how much longer it would be until they reached the stairs. The tunnel widened out at about the same time Kaz recognized a flowstone formation with a section that looked a bit like a kobold chasing a fuergar, and he was finally able to answer Gaoda’s next demand with, “Not much farther now.”
Civ, seeing that Kaz had finally figured out where they were, gave him a small nod and dropped back to join the other kobolds. That left Raff and Kaz in front, and Kaz knew how the large warrior worked.
Glancing to the side, Kaz said, “This tunnel will take us straight to the stairs. There are a few branches, but we just keep going straight. When we see totems, we’ll know we’re close, but it’s only a mile or so ahead.”
Raff grinned and flicked his fingers near his forehead, which Kaz had seen him do several times. It seemed to indicate understanding or acceptance, and as Kaz had expected, the human soon pulled ahead, his longer legs able to carry him far more quickly than any of the others. He wouldn’t go too far, but he seemed to prefer being further ahead of the group than he could when he had to wait for Kaz to tell him which way to go.
When Raff began moving faster, Gaoda did too. It was almost like the other male couldn’t bear to fall behind, and the action was as predictable as it seemed to be unconscious. Meanwhile, Kaz fell back slightly, and Gaoda soon passed him, smirking slightly as he did so.
Before long, Kaz found himself walking alongside Lianhua, and he held up his hand in front of them, tracing the shape of a rune on his palm. Lianhua’s eyebrows rose, and she traced the same rune on her own hand, pushing ki into it as soon as it was complete. The rune was the one that made sound fuzzy, rather than the one that blocked it entirely, but Kaz just didn’t want the kobolds behind them to overhear what he was about to say. Chi Yincang would probably notice what they were up to soon, if he hadn’t already, but Kaz wasn’t as worried about the male spilling his secrets as he had been.
“What did you find out?” Lianhua demanded eagerly, as soon as the power fell around them.
“Not much,” Kaz admitted. “They definitely know more about what’s going on in the rest of the mid-levels than they’re admitting, and it’s something they think might make us decide not to go, or at least not take those four with us. There’s also something about the stairs the Redmanes control, or maybe where their den is, but I can’t figure out what it is.”
Actually, he had an idea, but it was so horrifying that he didn’t even want to voice it. He liked the Sharpjaws, and if he was right, they were wasting his group’s time at the very least, and endangering their lives at the worst.
Lianhua looked disappointed. “Nothing about any ruins? Or a city?”
Kaz shook his head. “Ilto was the only one who would really talk to me, and he’s too young to know anything. Whenever I asked anyone else questions, they found somewhere else to be.”
“What about Zyle? Surely he’s heard some rumors at least?”
Kaz snorted. “I wouldn’t know. Somehow, he was never around when I was, at least not until it was time to leave.”
The female sighed, but flicked her eyes back toward the four males who trailed behind them. “Well, we have a little while longer, at least, and once we reach the Redmane den, we can ask Etle and the kobolds there as well.”
“Just be careful,” Kaz said. “In the upper levels, the tribes are relatively easy-going. Here, everything has a price, and it may not be one you want to pay. Be sure you know exactly how much your information will cost before you accept the trade.”
She smiled. “I still have more than a dozen handkerchiefs, and-”
A muffled sound reached them, and Kaz looked up, realizing that for some reason, Gaoda had fallen back as well. His mouth moved, though the words were strangely blurry, and Lianhua rubbed her hands together briskly, flicking away the ki she had been using.
“Oh, cousin!” she said brightly. “I was just asking Kaz how the tribes on these levels are different from those above. The great sage Song Jun studied the kobolds of the Deep, you know, but no one has really spent any time on how their societal norms shift when-”
Gaoda rolled his eyes, saying, “All well and good, cousin, but Raff says he found a totem. He needs your little pet kobold to identify it.”
“Is it a bloody stone knife stuck in the skull of a woshi?” Surprisingly, it was Civ who spoke up, his rough growl making the three of them pause to look back at him.
Gaoda shrugged. “Perhaps? It’s certainly a knife in a skull.”
Civ hesitated, his fingers absently curling around the hilt of his knife. “The Bronzearms have taken the stairs,” he said.