They heard the bamboo bars being lifted away, and felt the mana drain from the scripts in the walls as if it were a change in air pressure. Sunwhisper and Janna stopped meditating in the same instant, and when a ladder was lowered into the pit, they climbed out without a word.

Kuei was waiting for them on the surface, her arms crossed over her chest and a sour look on her face.

"You are both very lucky," she said. "If I had my way, thieves like you would have their hands cut off and be left to beg in the streets."

"That would be a logistical nightmare," Sunwhisper replied conversationally. Wouldn’t beggars be a drain upon the whole society? A large city might be able to get away with keeping crippled thieves around as a warning, but Fringe Town was running on smaller margins.

Both women looked at him.

"Elder," Janna began, lowering her face out of politeness and deciding not to try to think too deeply about why Sunwhisper said the things he said, "I am sure your feelings are correct, but what is to become of us if we are not to be maimed?"

"This one’s cousin ran to the First Elder and worked something out." She rolled her shoulders, dismissing all of nepotism for all time. "I don’t know what it was, but you’re going to see them now."

"We have been granted an audience with the First Elder?" Janna asked, she seemed unable to decide whether this was a hopeful sign or a portent of how grave the consequences of her crime were going to be.

"Apparently." Kuei pushed them both ahead of her in the direction of the First Elder’s home. They were marched across town, suffering the glares and the jeers of all who saw them pass. Word of the theft, and the arrest, had spread with the mist of morning, and no one who lived in Fringe could respect a cultivator who had put their own fortunes above the fortunes of the town. Not one that had been caught, anyway.

They entered the vine-laden mansion of the First Elder with apprehension, and both were awed by the extravagant interior, rich both in artistry and valuable metals, very unlike the aesthetic surrounding the rest of the village. Kuei thrust them into a dim room occupied by a long table and two old men having tea.

"Do not sit," Makoto said.

The First Elder eyed them over a steaming cup, his sword-like eyebrows held at the ready.

"This is not a reprieve," Makoto spoke plainly, but his words carried the force of hammers. "That is something you must both understand."

"I understand," Sunwhisper bowed, and Kuei slapped him lightly on the back of his head.

"You were not permitted to speak," she hissed.

The eyebrows like twin swords rose and fell, communicating nothing.

"I have paid for the fruit that was not recovered," Makoto went on, "but of course, mere monetary compensation is not sufficient to regain the trust of the community, if ever it can be regained. You both will have to serve until you find honor again."

As they had not yet been asked to speak, the silence stretched on for long seconds until the First Elder set down his cup with a clink.

"It is good that you understand. Where you are going, there is no room for misunderstanding." He turned his head slightly, gazing up and out a window in the side of the room. Sunwhisper followed his eyes, but there was nothing there to see but the sky and a single vine with a single leaf struggling in a breeze until it fell away.

"Now and again,” the First Elder said, “some of the more accomplished cultivators of Fringe will organize beast hunts between Reapings for a chance at wealth and improvement, though they are as likely to achieve injury and shame as either of those. They do this for the good of the village, as whatever they win must be shared with our stores, and on occasion, the beasts they hunt may pose a threat to the people who make their lives here at the edge of the world."

"As you know," Makoto took up the narrative when the First Elder again took up his tea, "I guard the border of all Hollow where it meets the Tree of Heaven. Over the years, there have been visitors from beyond that either tricked their way past the flags or slipped by when the guardian was occupied. When this has happened, these demons often take up residence in the mountains of Jigoku, disrupting nature, and resulting in the rise of more dangerous beasts. It is these disruptions that pose a threat to Fringe, and must therefore be pursued."

The First Elder finished his cup and presented it to Makoto to be filled, which he did.

"There is one such demon that has troubled us for many years. We call it the Red Spider, and many cultivators have lost their lives hunting it. The demon has been so bold in the past as to approach the village, and though it was always repelled, it has never been captured."

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"You will both take part in the hunt, as representatives of my own house. Should you succeed in capturing or killing the Red Spider, then your debts shall be considered repaid. Should you die, then you will die with honor. Those are the only acceptable outcomes."

Kuei gave a satisfied snort. Then there was silence.

"You may speak," the First Elder said.

"We will do as you command," Janna said, putting her fists together in a gesture of respect and bowing nearly to her own feet.

Sunwhisper considered protesting his innocence, after all, he had not been the one to dig a tunnel, and as far as the elders knew, the two fruits he had eaten had been eaten by Janna. Makoto knew the truth, but wouldn't he support him if there was a way out? The fact that he had been in the woods during the time of the theft was circumstantial evidence at best.

"Grandmasters, I was not a part of Janna's scheme." This was a factual statement, and Janna nodded firmly when he said it. She had no reason to drag him down with her.

"I'm afraid it is too late for that," Makoto said, "as you already confessed your involvement to me."

Sunwhisper jerked up, why would Makoto betray him when their destruction was mutually assured? Of course, Sunwhisper could not reveal Makoto's lie without revealing who he was, so the elder could simply be gambling that he wouldn't do so even if he was pushed. If it was the word of the border guardian against his, that was no contest at all. He adjusted his strategy accordingly, though he intended to take this up privately with Makoto when he could.

"Grandmasters," Sunwhisper began again, "may I ask who else will be taking part in the hunt?"

"Three respected cultivators," Makoto said, his expression becoming one of satisfaction, "and one more criminal like you. You will know them when you meet them. Until then, you will both be given mana tattoos describing your sentence to ensure you do not think to run."

Such was the conclusion of their audience. Janna and Sunwhisper were brought into an adjoining room where a young woman with a mana-infused needle inscribed a long flow of script onto both of their left arms. They accepted this treatment without complaint, and Janna was actually relieved. There would be no further repercussions for her family, it seemed, and even a possibility of redemption for her.

They were released on their own recognizance, and Sunwhisper considered whether or not it was a good time to start over. He could have a new face, and no damning tattoos, in short order. With his spear and his spirit fruit and his new meditations, what was stopping him from setting out on his own?

He did worry that Janna would die. She had been a good, if inconsistent, sister to him, and he did not want her to be eaten by the Red Spider now that he knew she was a potentially useful person. Apart from that, he knew that cultivators harvested the cores of sacred beasts, and this adventure might provide him with more material to aid in his advancement. Joining a party of more experienced cultivators was a good way to meet challenges above his level and survive. If it seemed like they were taking on more than they could handle, he could always flee into the wilderness and take a new face then. Fringe Town, if not the Blessed Lands as a whole, seemed to put a lot of faith into a tattooing process he could largely ignore.

Before the journey began, he would be stuffing himself with spirit fruit. This would be a test of how far he could advance, and how quickly, without formal instruction. If they succeeded, and they were allowed to remain in Fringe Town, then Makoto might agree to train him.

The thought of working so closely with the border guardian hardened like a knot in his stomach, but he ignored it. It was the mission that mattered, not what Makoto had done. When he had seen the border guardian sitting with the First Elder, a part of him had wanted to throw over the table and attack him. The impulse had come from nowhere, an intrusive thought, and he hadn’t given it the benefit of reflection. He was a mechanoborg ne plus ultra, the final iteration in a long line of artificial life forms, and he would not be ruled by base impulses.

<<<>>>

Quest Alert --- The Red Spider

A demon from the Tree of Heaven has dwelled in the mountains of Jigoku for some years, troubling the village with its rapacity. You have been assigned as a member of the hunting party intended to end this threat once and for all. Should you succeed, your criminal record will be expunged.

<<<>>>

After the two youths had been escorted out, Makoto held back a sigh of relief. Cousin Yuyu was going to be in Fringe in a matter of days, and he didn’t want her asking questions about a relative she had never heard of with a broken core. If all went as he hoped, she would be gone by the time Sunwhisper returned, or didn’t return, as the case might be. Either way, sending the youth away had averted disaster.

"I expected better from your family," the First Elder said.

"He was not caught," Makoto replied, "she was."

"Still, he should have chosen his allies better." The First Elder took a sip of tea. "There are half a dozen ways for an up-and-coming cultivator to steal Soma from the village stores. Digging a tunnel, what madness. Three lives ruined, at least we can be rid of them now, rather than wasting resources on dead ends."

"They may yet succeed."

"Catch the Red Spider? That would be a miracle. I expect their mana will enrich the mountain, and that sacrifice will flow back down into the valley to help speed the next harvest."

"Perhaps, but I think my young cousin may surprise you."

The First Elder snorted. "More likely, Gomen Ji will kill him first. He still protests his innocence, and I can guess why. He worked with the boy and girl who so embarrassed his family."

"He will have to work with them again if he wishes to survive Jigoku."

"I give them the chances of a moth in a candle store."