The bear of a man was so big, he blocked the doorway entirely and didn’t leave any room for Rieren to get away. Not that she could have under the current circumstances. She did feel the impulse quite acutely, though.
Her immediate impulse was to wonder how he had managed to secure himself such a high position here after he had been the one responsible for destroying the entire city of Falstrom. But then, he had been forced to do it. Maybe they had talked it out and come to an understanding, or were pushing aside differences to work together as the time called.
Rieren had been there to see the tail end of the battle that had culminated in such a catastrophic event. In fact, she’d been there to make sure it hadn’t turned several times worse.
“These are my brother’s companions who have been assisting with the reinforcement missions,” Merolk said by way of an introduction. “What do you have to report, Malloh?”
Malloh. Silomene had been with another Lord Malloh when she and Rieren had first met. This web of connections was deeper than Rieren had at first thought.
Gorint Malloh pulled his eyes off Rieren to focus on Merolk with a click of his tongue. Combined with his robes of brown fur, his shaggy hair and beard made him look even more unkempt than he had been in the previous timeline.
“Clanmaster,” he said. “Your father is demanding another audience tomorrow evening.”
“Another one? I do not have time to waste on every little demand of his.”
Even as he said so, he sounded as much resigned as he did annoyed. Rieren wondered why he couldn’t simply refuse. He was the Clanmaster now, not beholden to anyone. It seemed the old Clanmaster still had a strong hold on Merolk for him to cater to his predecessor’s wishes to such a degree.
“What is it about this time?” Merolk asked.
“Something about the Stannerig causing some commotion in the southern docks,” Gorint said.
“Stannerig this, Stannerig that.” Merolk ceased his mutters, realizing that he had an audience and thus had to keep up appearances. “Tell my dear father that I will meet him tomorrow evening and we can discuss his latest grievances. Is there anything else, Malloh?”
“Yes, Clanmaster. May I be informed what was discussed here?”
“Hmm, yes. We are considering potential paths to take if the Abyssals can no longer be pushed back. We decided to try something called Deathpulse Confetti, courtesy of some information Lady Rieren here provided. Mercion here will be attempting to see how well that might work. We will revisit the issue after the attempt has been made.”
“Would you like some suggestions?”
“Go on.”
Gorint Malloh once more surveyed the room, clicking his tongue again as his eyes landed on Rieren once more. Her heart started beating faster, but he didn’t end up saying anything to implicate her. Not yet, at least.
“There is a similar process we can follow, if we’re looking to secure the highest amount of Essence in the shortest possible time. Something called an Auraling tree. We must retrieve seeds of these plants from the depths of water bodies, and then grow them on the surface. They have the unique ability to greatly amplify any Essence channelling occurring in their vicinity.”
Rieren remembered those plants. Once she refined her body to need less oxygen at a later stage of cultivation, she would be able to enhance her own Essence channelling by diving under water to make use of their ambience. But they weren’t a viable solution to their current problem.
They tended to grow anywhere between a quarter to two-thirds of a league beneath the surface and pulling the plants themselves out tended to kill them.
One could bring up their inedible fruits and plant the seeds, but that would be too time-consuming. Even if they got growing accelerants and special fertilizers to increase the rate of plant growth, the Auraling trees would still need the minimum of a season to rise tall enough to spread their Essence-enhancing auras by a good degree.
Mercion thankfully voiced a protest to it so that Rieren didn’t have to. “We cannot obtain the Auraling seeds easily enough to make that a viable plan.”
“Do you forget my power, my lord?” Gorint asked.
Mercion frowned. They were all frowning at him. But it clicked in Rieren’s head soon enough.
Gorint Malloh had a unique Domain that could make mirrors out of anything in a certain range. Rieren wasn’t aware of the exact specifics, but now that she thought about it, he could potentially create a mirror of water bodies and all that lay within them.
Including, apparently, Auraling plants.
“And what about the growth times?” Mercion asked, not convinced. “Even if you can obtain the plants through your mirroring, you cannot make them survive.”
“Actually, I can. I can mirror their condition and keep things contained there. It will be a bit complicated, and I will need some time to construct it properly, but it’ll certainly be a lot less than growing our own Auralings.”
“Then it sounds settled,” the Clanmaster said. There was a stronger hint of impatience in his voice than before, as though he really wanted this business dealt with. “Is there anything else from any of you?”
For yet another moment, Rieren froze as Gorint’s eyes landed right on her. At this rate, the others in the room were catching on that there might be something between her and him.
She wished she hadn’t met the man in the previous timeline, but that couldn’t be helped now. The problem would be that he could potentially alert them that she had been involved in Falstrom’s destruction before. And then the freedom she had enjoyed, albeit under Mercion, would come crashing down.
In the previous timeline, Rieren had already acquired her Enlightenments by the time she had come to Shatterlands. Her only objective in the region had been to secure the legendary swords here. Getting tied up in the conflicts raging across it would have taken too much time. She’d been so bent on vengeance, altruistic thoughts of saving the Shatterlands had been far from her mind.
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Unfortunately, she had been forced to step in, right at the tail end of her journey in the region and after it had been more or less destroyed. An incident that had been spotted by a few, including Gorint Malloh.
An incident that had him convinced she could have turned the tide if she’d joined them.
Rieren had no wish to go through the past, nor did she want to debate the rights and wrongs of the past. Things would be different this time. Best to keep her head down. After all, she intended to help the land survive, at least until she had gone through the Enlightened realm.
It still sounded mercenary, but her goal was supposed to be to take down the root of the problem, not every single instance of it. Fighting every symptom of the disease wouldn’t let her cure it in time. The source of this rotten apocalypse grew more and more entrenched and powerful the longer she waited. Rieren couldn’t allow it to go on forever.
The gods had decided they wouldn’t let her wait. So why should she?
But in practical terms, that meant ensuring Malloh didn’t ruin her plans here. She hadn’t counted on him being present in such proximity. Otherwise, she would have handled the issue beforehand.
Distantly, Rieren recognized she shouldn’t be giving in to her paranoia. What was the worst that could happen if the truth about her was revealed? They couldn’t discard the power she had with her, not in their current circumstances, especially not when they had done nothing to Gorint Malloh.
But complications. Rieren had no wish to deal with more complications than she was already a part of.
“One last thing, Clanmaster,” Rieren said.
“What is it now?”
“Well, I wanted to ask if you had any intentions regarding the non-monstrous threats.”
“The what threats?”
“During my travels here, I witnessed a Masked Avatar from the imperial court apprehending some poor woman. I do not even know what became of her. I have gone on to hear rumours of how the Avatars are undermining the efforts in the Shatterlands with a direct, heavy hand. As such, I wanted to know if there is something being done to stop them.”
“Why does it concern you?”
“That is the question, is it not? Does it concern me? What proof do I have that it does not?”
Her words were bold, challenges thrown in the face of the most powerful man in the Shatterlands. One didn’t normally do such a thing. In fact, Merolk seemed to have no regard for giving her the same grace as he had done to his brother. His face was growing thunderously angry.
“It is an issue plaguing the lands and our frayed communication with the imperial court is not helping matters,” the Clanmaster said gruffly. “However, it is an issue we are looking into resolving as soon as possible. If the Avatars have apprehended anyone, then there must be good reason for it.”
Rieren wasn’t discouraged by the angry tone. “Perhaps. But what would you do if one of them were to apprehend someone directly under you, my lord?”
“Then I would confront the Avatar and demand a proper reasoning for their action.”
“But you would still let them go?”
The Clanmaster had his lips and teeth pressed tightly together. Rieren had caught him. He had already admitted that his goal was rekindling a “proper” relationship with the imperial court. That meant that he couldn’t truly impede the Avatars, who ostensibly worked with the Forborne Emperor’s own authority. It would be tantamount to opposing the Emperor himself.
One didn’t do that if one wished to remain in the living world.
On the other hand, there was one of those undesirables being hunted down by the Avatars standing at the doorway. Gorint Malloh had gone on to oppose the empire and much of the Elderlands after the fall of Falstrom and the Shatterlands. He might have failed eventually, but his endeavour had been well chronicled.
In fact, Rieren had proof that he was one of the targets. Appraiser himself had told her so, right before he had tried to end her life.
A sharp click of a tongue preceded the answer Rieren received.
“You do not speak with such impunity at the Clanmaster.” Surprisingly, it was Malloh who had spoken, his voice heavy with the same rage that Merolk Ordorian had etched upon his face. “He is doing his utmost for the benefit of all those who reside in the Shatterlands, and here you are, throwing accusations and made-up scenarios to undermine his authority?”
Rieren kept her face fixed on Merolk. She let nothing of the sudden thrum of her heart show in her expression. Another unexpected turn. Wasn’t Gorint Malloh supposed to be on her side in this? He couldn’t be stupid enough to think that he wasn’t in danger from the Avatars.
“You have not answered me, Clanmaster,” Rieren said. “What would be your answer, your decision, if such a scenario came to pass?”
“How dare you.” This time, Gorint actually took a step into the room, his heavy footfall making the whole office shake just a bit. “I will not allow this shameless, disgraceful act—”
“Oh, Merolk!”
The call of the Clanmaster’s name made them all freeze. That voice was unexpected, and apparently not at all unknown. While Rieren didn’t recognize it, she knew there could only be one other person who sounded young and could get away with calling the Clanmaster by his first name.
With a swish of a sky-blue robes and the grace of someone stepping on thin air, a pretty woman walked into the room and ignored everyone else. Her eyes were fixed squarely upon her husband with a look that was strangely both imperious and loving.
“Dear,” she said. She placed the back of one hand against her forehead and affected a posture that made her look like she was about to faint. “Oh, dear. I may have overdone it this time, Merolk.”
Rieren turned back to the Clanmaster and received an even greater shock. The look on his face had changed. Where before it had been businesslike and impatient, verging on actual anger at times, now his expression had… melted.
Merolk looked like he was now in the presence of his personal deity. His eyes were large and shining, his lips quivered with adoration and reverence. “Have you been trying to help the warden again, dear?”
“I was simply doing my wifely duties. I never knew it would be so difficult—”
At that, the scion of the Stannerig clan really did faint.
Of course, she didn’t fall. While many of them reacted quickly to catch her, no one was faster than the Clanmaster himself. With the speed of a blink, he was next to his wife, propping her up against his side while still holding her gently.
“Careful Avathene,” he said. He cradled her face with delicate precision, as though he was handling the finest ceramic. “You must adhere to your limits.”
Avathene’s voice really was faint. “Even if my limits will not let me do the barest minimum of what I ought to be doing?”
“Yes. Even then. You must take care of yourself. Your life, health, and happiness come before anything else.”
“What if my happiness lies in how I may best serve you and our people?”
“Now is not the time to argue, dear.” Merolk gently picked up and cradled his wife in his arms, and Avathene dug her head into his shoulder. “Come. I will get you to bed where you can rest. The rest of you, you are all dismissed.”
Merolk didn’t wait for any of their responses. Rieren stared at his departing back. He had one goal in mind—seeing to it that his wife was kept safe and that she got the proper rest—and the rest of them might not as well exist. She had thought the union between the Archnoble clans might have been a political match to help with the circumstances, but it seemed she was wrong.
Apparently, Merolk and Avathene, the scions of the Ordorian and the Stannerig clans, were indeed in love.
Once they were gone, Mercion stood up and beckoned Rieren and Silomene to follow. “It was good to see you again, Gorint.”
Gorint Malloh nodded but his eyes once again fell on Rieren. “Likewise, my lord. Shall I be seeing you again soon?”
“No idea. But if we do, I promise it won’t be as… heated as it was today.”
Mercion didn’t glance back at Rieren, but she was certain he meant her, even if he himself had been rather forceful about his idea.
“Your brother was a delight, Lord Malloh,” Silomene said as she passed by, giving him a little smile. “Please thank him for me.”
Malloh didn’t return the smile, but he did nod graciously. “I will do so, young lady.”
Before Rieren could follow and leave with the others, Malloh’s whisper made her pause for just a moment. I will be at the docks next evening. Before my next meeting with the Clanmaster, that is.”
Rieren paused for just a moment at the doorway. Some things needed to be cleared up before any of this went any further.
She didn’t look back, and her words were low and whispered, but she was certain they carried to Malloh’s ears. “I will be there.”
Rieren felt the tension fleeing her shoulders. She hadn’t realized how long she had been wound up like a bowstring. But now that outright disaster had been averted, she could relax just a tiny bit.
She was going to have to thank Avathene at some point.