Chapter 7- The Roads to Sohouta

After colluding their business at the Carnival, they elected to stay the night at a local inn. Their posse could hardly find respite from the eyes of townspeople. “Those are the ones who got into that fight at the carnival.” “The one in the hood transformed into a giant monster!” They’d hear whispered by passersby. On the other hand, none of the meek townspeople had the gaul to deny these strangers access to the inn. There seemed to be some discontentedness, but Yhora assured them that they would set out on the morrow. 

The inn’s room was of far lesser quality than those of the Albatross, but it would have to do for the night. Yhora and Gane, and their newly found mercenaires agreed to discuss the details of their arrangement in the morning. Gane didn’t have the energy to mourn the passing of his notebook that night, the fight had taken a lot out of him, even if he barely participated. Everyone in their group seemed to have had some form of combat training besides him. Is it going to be this dangerous for the rest of his journey? Gane considered asking Kayseri to train him, he had thought about asking Yhora for the same thing earlier, but had so far been apprehensive. Gane didn’t want to be dead weight on their group. It’s settled, Gane told himself, if Kayseri agrees to set off with them tomorrow, he’d ask to be trained. 

Gane removed his shirt as he got ready for bed, the Smokeheart still hung around his neck. He had hid it under his shirt so as not to arouse suspicion, and in the process had completely forgotten about it during the fight earlier. He held the small black gem in his hand, looking closer now at it than he had previously. It was brilliantly cut, but not made from a solid black onyx as he had assumed when he first saw it, it looked more like a clear translucent gem with a black swirling energy inside. He thought about clutching it in his hand and trying out its power again, but the smoke would surely fill the room and seep out from under the door, he didn’t want to deal with any more excitement tonight. Gane placed the Smokeheart on the drawer next to his bed and drifted off for the night. 

Faraways back in the deep woods of Kellylin, Sajazar limped forward through the maze-like night. This whole damnable forest was devoid of any directions, he had been walking for the past two days. After things broke down with the slinking cowards that were the Jaarekins, Sajazar had left in the night. Apparently, they had tracked him as he wandered through the woods, because they had ambushed him only a few hours earlier. They were no match for him, but one managed to leave a nasty wound on his arm. He felt assaulted on all ends from this forest, the little monsters that inhabited it would whisper to each other and scamper about as he walked. Saj heard a quick sound from the tree next to him, he raised his leg and kicked into it as hard as he could. Several opossums came running out of its interior and away into the darkness. He resumed pace and kept his wits about him, this place was a death trap. A chilly breeze blew past him. Sajazar shivered in his armor. 

Was coming out here a mistake? Would he be warmer back in Blistle? Allying the Jaarekins was certainly a mistake. They were killers, and worse, magic worshipers. They danced around fires and begged for their humanity to be sucked away by that arcane drug. Sajazar pulled out the map that he had stolen from them, useless, all it had was the locations of their bases and settlements. He certainly wasn’t going to be finding respite there, and he didn’t think he had the strength to take a whole settlement on his own right now. Wait, it seemed like there was one location that wasn’t theirs on this map. It was the little trade station that he had found Gane in before, the one shaped like the boat. Gane might have returned there after the fight. Sajazar didn’t want to face Gane again after putting a stop to his little mission to save the blighted magic. Saj felt bad for Gane, he seemed to take the mission to be his destiny. Whatever, Sajazar had been merciful and given Gane the chance to abandon the quest with him, it wasn’t his fault that Gane didn’t learn his lesson the first time. As Saj stepped forward he felt his leg buckle beneath his weight, he caught himself on the way down. He was going to have to stop at this trade station or die in the woods. So be it, if Gane was still there when he arrived, he’d try to make amends. 

Hours of meekly walking and star navigation later, Saj arrived at the trade station a beleaguered wreck. These people had seen him before during their siege, he would have to hide the armor. Sajazar removed his mask and balled up his cape into a satchel that he carried. The swords and breastplate would have to go too, he left all of these things behind a tree several yards away from the trade station. Draped some leaves over his stash and limped over. 

It was hard not to look suspicious approaching this place, they didn’t have the sense to build any roads, and so everyone slinked out of the woods, at least he wouldn’t stick out. As Sajazar approached and entered he came face to face with a large, wide set Ronic man. Saj clung to his straight face as this man sized him up.

“First time to the Wreck of the Albatross son? Whadda ya lookin for?A  bed, a bite, somethin for that cut on you?” He demanded.

“No, I’m actually looking for a person who should be staying here now. I’m a friend of his. Is there a Gane Halaney here?

This wasn’t a good move, the guy narrowed his eyes and stared right into Sajazar’s intentions. He spoke again carefully.
“What’s your name, stranger?”

Was it safe to say his real name? Had Gane told anyone out here his real name? Why did this guy need his name? Wasn’t he the one out front fighting off the Jaarekins? Saj panicked and made something up.

“Talas...Ilora.” He mumbled. Talas was the name of the infamous cat of Blistle’s blacksmith, and Ilora was the name of the medicine they would take for headaches, though it was spelled ill-aura. The large Ronic man didn’t look like he bought it. 

“So is Gane Halaney staying here?” Saj asked again.

“Never had one by that name here.” The Large Roni man said, as he walked off back into the kitchen.

Saj ordered food to silence his empty belly, he wasn’t sure where to go or what to do. After receiving his food he ate with his head hung lower to avoid the stares of certain people from around the room. He racked his brain for what to do next, where to go, when a dim headed Cavaulian Moongazer approached him. The man looked like he’d done nothing but use magic to turn his brain to soup for the past four years.

“I don’t have any magic on me, move along.” He growled at the man.

“That’s not what I’m here for, I heard what you said.”

He waited for Sajazar to respond but he didn’t.

“I know where you can find Gane Halaney.”

“Where might that be?”

“I’m gonna need to see some money.”

“I only brought enough for food, the rest of my money is in my camp.” Sajazar lied. He barely had enough money for this meal, and he certainly didn’t have a camp.

“Well then you better go get it if you want to know where he is.”

Sajazar finished up his food quickly and left, taking the man with him. This moongazer seemed out of it, he stared forward and blinked incredibly slowly, going on about how he overheard that Gane and someone else had left for somewhere and how he would tell for top esser. Sajazar brought him out to where he kept his armor and pretended to rummage through it for a moment while he stealthily picked his sword out of the pile. The man didn’t seem to notice, he didn’t seem to notice that they were clearly not at a camp either. Sajazar swung around and swept the man’s legs out from under him and pointed his sword down at the man’s face.

“Where is Gane Halaney?!”

“Okay okay man calm down I’ll tell you.” The man began to blubber.

“Now!”

“Gane and the cook’s niece left the other day! They went to a town called Req’su, a little place along the river on the way to Sohouta! I swear it’s true, don't hurt me!”

Gane left in the wrong direction. He left with some Roni woman to Sohouta, to continue the mission?! Not only had he been replaced, Gane intends to continue with the Restoration. What right did he have to keep the blight of magic on the world. No...NO! Sajazar had to do something about this, he had to stop him, to find the Gourd of Nestra first and destroy it! Sajzar let out a yell of rage and stabbed the moonhead man in the chest. The man had long ago diluted his soul to the arcane. Sajazar began reapplying all of his armor, he tore a piece of the dead man’s shirt and wrapped it around his arm, and dug through the guy’s bag. As he thought, the guy was a merchant, and had a better map of the region. Sajazar took the map and found Req’su. Without so much as hiding the body, Sajazar took off towards Req’su.

Gane woke early the next morning to the sound of Yhora knocking on his door. Gane dressed quickly and strode downstairs to a small booth in the lobby of their inn. They were promised a breakfast by the innkeeper which amounted to one stale piece of bread each. Gane gnawed on his breakfast and sat down next to Yhora in the booth. They counted out their available money while they waited for Kayseri and Zoll to arrive. Oswain had left them with 500 esser. They had spent 4 in the carnival last night, and were going to give another 10 for the rooms here, but hotel prices and supplies were going to get far more expensive when they got to Sohouta, and they didn’t know how long they would have to stay there. Eventually they landed on 60 per mercenary for service until they found what they needed in Sohouta, from there the contract was either off or to be renegotiated. They would need to put some bartering skills into use to get this price however, they decided that Yhora would low ball it, and Gane would offer their real price as a compromise. As they finalized their plan, Kayseri and Zoll sat down on the other side of the booth. Kayseri looked just as well groomed as he had the previous night, and smelled faintly of vanilla. Zoll had again covered himself in his hood to avoid the prying eyes of the townspeople. 

Yhora spoke first. “We can only go as high as 40es per person, until the job is completed.” She stated.

“Ha!” Kayseri laughed. “You will not buy our loyalty so simply.” Gane cleared his throat to make their real offer, but Kayseri continued “Lesser men may be content to take any quest or case given, so long as the pay is great enough, but not I. You see I do not fancy myself a mercenary per say, I am a Knight of Savac! We Knights of Savac have a code that we must always live by. That code forbids offering warrior services for money, which is why I will not be accepting any pay. And I will only join you on condition that I find your quest to be noble and virtuous.”

“Well,” Gane stumbled off script. “Our quest is very noble, we wish to preserve magic in the world.” 

“But why do you wish to preserve it?” Kayseri questioned with one eyebrow raised.

Gane and Yhora looked at each other speechless. They looked at Kayseri half expecting him to have been messing with them. No, he was serious. Zoll was staring humorlessly at them too. In absence of other options Gane decided to pull out the ol’ reliable. The Truth.

“Because magic is essential to the natural world, and the natural world is the source of all beauty and inspiration that has ever existed.” He confessed. Gane spoke in grand terms, and he believed what he said, but he was ashamed to admit to himself that he would have done basically anything so long as it was sufficiently grand. Before this quest, nothing had really been asked of him. 

Yhora had a different answer, she appealed to simpler ideals. “The world runs on magic, if it were to fade away our society would be rocked to its core. Nobody in their right mind would want it to go away.”

Kayseri mused on their answers for a moment. “You both seem noble enough in your intentions, though I would like to reserve my right to sever my contract, should my code ever come into conflict with your actions.”

“And in exchange you won’t be asking for any money?” Yhora questioned.

“That is correct. However you will have to pay my friend Zoll here the going rate of 80es.” Kayseri explained.

“Then it’s a deal.” Yhora agreed. 

With the terms of their alliance adequately established, the newly formed squad set out from Req’su. They returned to the carriage hitched up near the entrance to town. Kayseri climbed in the back seat, and Gane decided to follow. As Zoll began to step in as well, he realized that with the Yhora and Gane’s supplies in the back cart as well, there was not enough room for him to sit. At least not in this form. He sat up front in the first cart with Yhora and they set off. The jug of magic gurgled again as the legs to the carriage lifted out of the muddy street and began crawling out the way they had come. Yhora waved to the guards out in front of the village and they waved back. They had faces of silent joy that their little town was rid of such excitement. Yhora felt a little bad for disturbing the natural order of this town, but at least they would have quite the story to tell. 

Gane stirred, trying to come up with some way to start conversation with Kayseri, he watched as Kayseri reclined into the wooden seat of the carriage and put one arm behind his back to protect him from the rigid discomfort. Kayseri reached into a pocket beneath his robe and pulled out a small book. This book was bound in white and red, clearly a rare and valuable item. Kayseri flipped his little book open with his free hand and began reading through it. 

Seeing his chance, Gane piped up. “What’s that you’re reading?”

Kayseri turned to look at him. “This is the Savac Code. They are the words that I have lived by for my whole life. This book contains the details and history of my Order, as well as our most sacred rules, goals and morals. This book is the most important thing that I own.”

“That’s interesting,” Gane said, trying to relate. “I had a very important book as well once. Unfortunately I lost mine.”

“Oh I plan on losing this as well.’ Kayseri mused.

“What do you mean?” Gane asked.

“The words and ideas of this book are the guiding force in my life, but the book itself is only a manifestation of my mortal weakness. I work everyday to memorize every letter of this book, and when I do, I will destroy the book itself.” Kayseri explained.

“But why not just keep it?” Gane questioned, confused.
“Because it is the only worldly possession that I cannot live without. When I no longer need it, I will become an agent of pure actions, and will be immune from having my judgement skewed.”

Gane thought about this for a second, he supposed it was a noble goal, but objects weren’t the only thing that could influence your decisions. “What about people?” He asked. “To have a truly clear judgment you must cut ties with all people as well.”

“You misunderstand, the Savac Code teaches me to lay down my life for anyone just or innocent. I would have done so for you last night, I would have done so for any of those villagers.” Kayseri claimed. 

This was certainly a bold claim; Ganed inquired further. “If that’s true, how have you not died yet?”

“A healthy mix of dumb luck, and adiquate training as a Savac Knight.” Kayseri reassured with a smile. 

They rounded out of sight from Req’su and continued down the riverside for several hours. Driving in the front, Yhora considered their options. They could stay under the open sky nearer to the riverside or retreat deeper into the trees and pass through thicker trees. Yhora kept in the open, it is generally more dangerous to stay out in the open in this stretch of Kellylin, but that was slightly mitigated by the broad daylight. Moving amongst the trees would slow them down a bit but give better cover. Yhora had chosen to stick with the riverside in order to make better time, they had set out very early that day, and if they made near perfect pace, they could just barely get to Sohouta by nightfall. If they could manage that, then they wouldn’t have to camp in this stretch of the woods for the night. 

Their carriage scuttled soundly, its thin poles of legs lifting effortlessly in and out of the muddy countryside. The fickle and irritable rivers of the region were often the adversary of those who resided around them. They had not been tamed by dams or rocky shores, often the rivers seeped over into the grass and over the roots of trees. As such, the Roni had never bothered with them, preferring to cultivate from fallen trees and travel with their natural sense of direction. As it happens, the Aggano River was in a characteristically ornery mood, this combined with a graying sky and dull taste in the air loudly warned of rain. Their carriage had no roof, and was thus defenceless against this coming storm. Yhora warned all to don their coats and cover their paper, she herself didn’t mind rain, the forest hadn’t gotten nearly cold enough yet to render it an inconvenience for her.

Zoll was beside her, sitting quietly hidden beneath his hood. His disposition had remained unchanged, even as the rain began coming down harder on him. His cloak was beginning to get soaked, it did not seem to bother him. They were going to be traveling with each other for a little while, she might as well try to start a little conversation. 

“That was pretty impressive what you did back there. Are you a magician?” Yhora asked.

“No.” Zoll responded curtly.

“Well then, where did you learn to do things like that?” Yhora asked, grasping at straws.

“I am Zoll.” He droned again.

“Oh…” Yhora awkwardly nodded. It was going to be a long trip.

“Zoll is not a name. It is a species.” He continued.

“Oh!? Well then do you have a name that you’d like us to call you by?” Yhora asked, flustered and confused.

“I am Zoll.” He said again.

Lightning erupted across the sky. Like shining dyes of all colors running through the cracks of a stone wall the lightning bolts shattered and reached out. Back near the entrance to Req’su, Sajazar looked up into the beating rain with contempt. The very sky itself was flaunting its ruinous magic at him. Lightning was the bastardous result of magic particles making their way into the clouds. Those that were blind to magic’s atrocities gawked and awed at it, but Sajazar knew the truth, magic in all its forms brought suffering. 

As he looked up, water began to pool on his mask and drip in his eyes. In annoyance, he pulled it off and jammed it in his stachel. He let his grizzled brown hair down around his head. Seething and damp, he pulled his cape around his chest as he trudged towards the small settlement. His armor was not very warm or rain-proof. Even his hunting boots, those which he had thought to be most adapted to Kellylin, sunk deeply into the poorly built roads of this sad little village.

Man packed poles and folded tents into large carts and dragged them through the wretched mud. They yelled out to their superiors as carts slowed to a drag in the flooded roads. Ankle deep, some attempted to heave their banners, which had to weigh nearly twice as much in the soaking downpour. Some gave up on their property, those at the head of this group roared at the others to haul as much as possible into the carts. Sajazar kept his pace past them, Gane and the Roni hadn’t given up on their mission to uphold magic’s infernal grip on the world. Apparently severing their only directions wasn’t enough, Sajazar resolved that he would not take any chances. He would not give up his chase until that stupid relic they were looking for was destroyed. 

He trudged to a stop at the entrance to this town. Sajazar kept his hands close to the hints of his swords. If this town was controlled by those Jaarekins he would be in trouble. The Jaarekins suckled at dark magic like a litter of bleating swine, he was glad to be rid of them, even if they wanted his head for going back on their alliance. Alliances with mage-scum were made to be broken he told himself as guards opened the gate and let him inside. 

The inner part of town was no prettier than the mud soaked periphery. The streets were still flooded, townspeople were struggling to shut their windows and gather all their inventory from the sils of their kiosks before taking cover indoors. Sajazar watched as some dozen came across the street and stood anxiously as the door to the tree-temple in the center of town slid open. They all poured inside with their valuables as the sheets of rain continued to beat down outside. The rain had come on fast, had this town not been located on a slight hill from the rest of the riverside, Saj would have been concerned for his safety. He donned the mask again, he needed to have it on in populated areas. Sajazar watched as a lone woman struggled to close up her kiosk in the rain. He approached her from behind. 

“Have you seen two outsiders in town recently, a Niern Male and a Nohanja Clan Female?” He spoke broadly to be heard over the storm.

She turned around and jumped at his appearance, struggling harder to lock up her stock and get indoors. “Uh...I don’t know!” Rain beat around her face and wind blew hard on the both of them. “There was a carnival in town and apparently there was some commotion!” She shouted over the noise around them. 

“Where are they now?” Sajazar asked. 

“There’s only one inn in town! Try there!” She returned as she locked up the final box. She hurried to the door of a large building beside the kiosk and was let in through the door. Sajazar looked around and realized that he was the only one still outside. The streets bubbled up halfway to his knees and the massive blue leafed tree in the center of town shook in the high winds. He stood alone in the swirling storm. Sajazar trudged forward through the storm until he reached the inn. Slamming open the door he let in a wave of the elements as he clomped inside. The innkeeper called for him to shut the door quickly. Saj did so. A crowd of people was huddled in the lobby of this inn. They wore blankets and all stared at him with a tangible fear of his appearance. Sajazar leaned back comfortably on their fear. He stepped forward leaving full footprints of mud, approaching the innkeeper. 

“Has a Niern man named Gane Halaney passed through here?”

The roaring of the river had finally gotten too loud to think over. Gane yelled up to Yhora. “We should probably stop and find cover soon!” They had been crawling through this rain for hours. It was past noon and the clouds spilling over the sky gave a grim image of how much daylight they’d have left. Gane and Kayseri had spent the past hour or so failing to keep their food rations from being ruined by the rain. Gane looked as if he had climbed out of a lake, his clothes weighed twenty extra pounds and yet he kept them on out of fear of them being washed away. Kayseri had somehow managed to keep his heavy armor on the whole time without collapsing of exhaustion. His once kempt hair hung out down to his shoulders. He seemed in much better spirits than anyone else despite this. 

“Worry not my friends! I’ve never met a tempest alive that can stand against the will of righteous men!” He called out. 

Yhora turned around and gave him a look. 

“And righteous woman of course!” He corrected. 

“I’m afraid we’re not gonna find much cover out here. The carriage is adapted to this terrain and I think we can still make it to Sohouta by nightfall.” She called back.

Gane looked up at the raging storm that screamed above them to check if he had somehow misconstrued it. Nope, this was the same storm that nobody in their right mind would trudge six more hours through. She would have to be crazy if she wanted to continue through this. Gane got up and stepped carefully from the back cart into the front, nearly slipping on the soaking wood. He plopped down next to Zoll and Yhora, and scanned the side of the river for any sort of shelter for them to stop at. Clay cliff sides and jutting rocks along the river bank pointed and shooed at them. There were dangling noose roots from trees and collapsed piles of dirt that once fell off from the main cliff. No wonder nobody lived out here, this whole riverbed hissed and bared its fangs anyone looking to stop and find shelter. Wait, a cave, Gane spotted a small cave drilled into the clay.

“There! Yhora we have to stop there, getting to Sohouta by tonight is hopeless.” 

“But if we just push on a little further we can-”

“Yhora we have to stop here, this may be our last chance for shelter out here!”

Yhora let out a sigh of disappointment and turned the reins to the right, their carriage peeled off from the riverside and over a patch of bumpy pebbles, pulling up to the oddly placed carven. It was large and conspicuous, with a mangle pile of leaves and vines on the ground near its entrance. The water from above the cave poured down hard, creating a thin waterfall-door that sealed the cave. They pulled inside and stopped after the end of the carriage was just barely within. Zoll slithered off the carriage and began looking about, putting his hands on the clay covered walls. The rest dismounted as well and sat down on the cavern floor, their matches and kindling were soaked, most of the rations were spoiled or washed away, they would have to just sit tight and wait out the rain. The cave itself was barely an improvement, the winds had blown in enough water in here to soak the floors. Kayseri removed his code-book from his pocket, it was drenched and dripping. Yhora apologised to him for it. 

“I’m sorry about your book Kayseri, I shouldn’t have tried to push us so far.”

“Tis not a problem. I admire your dedication to the mission.”

“I can try to find you another copy when we get to Sohouta.”

“Please, this is not the first time my code has been put through harsh circumstances. I’ll simply let it dry very delicately, besides, there is no way you’ll find another copy of this.”

“Are you sure? Sohouta is a very cosmopolitan city.”

“Positive.”

Gane looked back to the end of the cave again. Zoll was still there feeling the walls. He got up to ask Zoll what he was doing. Gane stepped forwards and splashed a bit of murky cave water onto his ankles, not that they could get any more wet at this point. 

“Hey Zoll, what are you d-”

“This cave is not of natural origins.”

Gane’s mind wandered immediately. Had they just stepped into the unholy domain of a dreaded gopher demon?

“What do you mean?”

“It is man made.”

“Man made for what? Who would want to have a carriage sized cave halfway between Req’su and Sohouta?”

“I don’t know. But I don’t like the looks of it.”

Gane shared his sentiments, and decided to help him scope the place out. It was dank and cold, with only a few large rocks in the back. The walls were clay and dripped murky water onto their heads. Gane stared at the thin waterfall that acted as a window to the outside. This was hardly a place for bandits to ambush travelers, they were off the beaten path and the line of sight was slim. Gane’s gaze turned down, he saw the foliage on the ground again, only on further inspection it appeared suspicious. Gane lifted it off of the ground. The leaves were attached to long strands of string. This must have been a camouflage for the cave entrance before being knocked down by the rain. Gane explained this to Zoll and the others. 

“We shouldn’t stay here any longer than we have to, we should rest for now while there’s nothing else to do.” Yhora suggested.

“You all rest, I’ll take the first watch in case whoever carved this cave decides to return.” Kayseri announced. 

The others all agreed. Yhora was exhausted after waking so early and driving the carriage the entire day. She laid down in the front cart and tried to sleep as long as she could. Gane had other plans, he was going to use this time to ask Kayseri to train him without the prying ears of others to listen. He would pretend to fall asleep and get up once he knew all the others were asleep. As Gane and Zoll both started up to sit in the second cart, Gane immediately tried to back down.

“Don’t worry about it Zoll, you can have this cart and I’ll sleep on the floor.”

Zoll gave him a I-know-something-you-don’t smile.

“That won’t be a problem.”

Kayseri laughed from below. “Ha! You don’t know how he sleeps yet, do you?

Gane stood still in confusion as Zoll’s arm extended up and into the bag, he removed a small glass jar and retracted his arm back to normal size. Zoll set the jar on the floor and then carefully hung up his cloak before contracting and shrinking his body down as he stepped inside the jar. His liquid-like body filled the jar to its brim, leaving an opaque Zoll-colored liquid inside. Kayseri twisted the top of the jar.

“Is he gonna be trapped inside now?”

“Of course not, he can undo the top from inside.” Kayseri grinned at Gane’s bewilderment. 

“Get some rest Gane. We’ve still got a little ways to go.”

Gane climbed inside the second cart, and lied in wait for the others to drift off. He sat silently and anxiously for an hour or so until he heard the sounds of sleeping from the first cart. He wasn’t sure how to tell when Zoll was sleeping, he was going to have to risk it. Gane poked his head out from over the side of the cart. Zoll was still in his jar, and Kayseri was meditating. As Gane crawled out of the cart, Kayseri spoke without opening his eyes.

“Are you having trouble sleeping Gane?”

“No, I was actually hoping to ask you something, I was a little embarrassed to ask around the others.”

“I’m flattered, but we Savac Knights must take an oath of celibacy.”

“No, not like that kind of question.” Gane responded flustered. He leaned in a little closer and whispered. “You see, I’m not so good on the battlefield and I was wondering if you could train me. Would you be interested in that?”

Kayseri’s eyes shot open. “I would be delighted to train you my friend!” He gave a broad smile as half yell of a voice echoed off the cavern walls. Gane swore you could hear this man from the next town over, but this was good news. 

No good, Sajazar thought as he sat down in the lobby of this scrawny town’s only inn. He had searched the place over and asked everyone around, the story was the same. A Niern guy had come into town the previous day and gotten into a fight with some of the carnival workers, but had left today. A fight? That wasn’t like Gane, maybe the magic is already getting to him. Sajazar looked around, creaking wooden walls with the patter of rain hanging over him, everyone else in here whispered quietly to themselves, he sat alone in a booth, he was a sight to behold for many of the villagers here. He felt trapped, Gane was gone, it was no use staying here anymore, he had to get to him, and stop him, whatever that entailed. But the rain was too strong, there was no choice but to hunker down in this hut and bide his time while magic inched ever closer to guaranteeing its reign for another thousand years. Its reign… of tyranny and cruelty. What kind of a force would let the things that had happened to him happen without being a malevolent one? Sajazar jerked his head back and forth, these people practically oozed the stuff. He watched a man pinch the stem of a candle with powdered magic on his fingers, the candle lit up and let its maniacal light burn. He watched a mother rub a glob of magic onto her son’s scratched knee, how could you do that!? How could you take away the humanity of a child!? The walls were closing in and Sajazar’s rage was building, he stood up suddenly, all eyes went on him. He scowled back through his mask and sulked outside into the rain, slamming the door behind him. He let the rain cool him down, what little progress he had made drying himself was lost, he could not stay the night here, was he going to have to spend another night walking through the woods to Sohouta?

After several minutes, the steady conversation of the rain was interrupted by the sound of a child calling out. Saj looked up to see a farm boy running through the streets, struggling to move through the mud. He was calling out for help. Saj looked to his left and right, nobody else was out here, the kid was calling to him. He rose and approached the farm boy. 

“Please help-” The boy recoiled a bit seeing Sajazar’s masked face and metal covered body. “Please help, my family’s farm is caught in the flood and my sister is still in the house!”

Saj didn’t waste any time, he followed the child out of the city and down the hill. As they hurried down the hill, he looked out to see that the river had flooded over, water was pouring up into the farmhouses and the surrounding forest, the water was rife with mud and tree trunks were picked up and carried as massive weapons of the flood, knocking over barns and silos. Saj stopped the kid as they ran.

“You have to get more help! Go to the inn and the temple, that’s where everyone is staying! Point out your house and I’ll help your sister!” He yelled over the flood.

The farm boy pointed to a house right beside the river, it was already being beaten by the waves and only had minutes before the shotty foundation gave way. Saj nodded to the boy and tore off towards the farm house. His soaking cape clapped behind him and his footsteps splashed dirty water on him, but Saj did not slow his pace he looked upriver, the worst was to come, if that clog of earth broke the water would spill over the entire low area, taking out all the houses. There was crashing and crumbling from the sky above as the clouds went black as oblivion. Saj bounded forward to the door of the boy’s house. He bashed the door down with his shoulder, and looked in as it crumpled to the floor. It floated on the thin pool of water already inside. There was a Roni man and woman inside, they were trying to move aside the wreckage of a staircase which had collapsed. They turned to him in fear as he entered, he assured them that he was there to help, and that their son had asked him. They told him that their daughter was on the second floor, and insisted on helping, until Sajazar ordered them to leave. 

“Leave before I cut you down! I’ll see to it your daughter is safe!”

They fled the house as another wave of water flooded inside, the river was rising fast. He dug through the wreckage of the stairs, scooping up chunks of splintered wood. Finally he heaved through and climbed up the ruins of the house to a small intact bed with a Roni girl curled up onto. Her eyes were shut tightly and tears were streaming down her face. She looked up and screamed, covering her eyes at Sajazar’s image. Saj stood still for a second, he looked down as the water climbed up to them. 

“I’m not a monster, I’m here to help you!”

No use, the kid probably can’t even speak Niern yet. He heard the sounds of crashing outside the walls and felt the frame of the house rock back and forth. Saj ripped the mask off his face, and revealed his normal Niern image. The girl looked cautiously towards him and approached, Saj lifted her up and kicked the wall out from the side of the house. The water outside beat on the house, raging almost all the way up to the second floor. He climbed to the slanted rooftop and assessed his options. The water surrounded them like a sea, it flowed far too fast to swim through. A massive tree barreled towards them, longer than the house was wide, Saj looked back and forth, he might survive, but the girl wouldn’t, she was in his arm, terrified. Saj took a breath and cleared his mind, the tree swept forward, the girl screamed again. Saj opened his floodgates, with his free arm he let the blight in his blood take over, a bolt of blue lightning ignited from his hand, the tree exploded into splinters, pattering against the side of the farmhouse, for a moment the storm itself was silent. Saj heard a cheer from a group of villagers, they watched from the hillside and carried ropes and rafts to help. Several villagers threw out the rope, which dangled in the flooding waters, Saj reeled back, ran forward and lept from the roof with the girl still in his arm. Saj grabbed the end of the rope as he landed in the water, he held the girl’s hand and kept her from being swept away in the waters. The villagers pulled them both back to the hillside, and to land. The girl ran to her parents and brother, and Sajazar reapplied his mask. He watched as the farmhouse was felled by another large wave, the farmer family approached him to give thanks, but Sajazar glared at them to back off. The storm spoke up again with a crash of thunder. Sajazar had already given in to his blight again for the second time since his revenge, in utter fury he used it again. Firing branches of lightning into the sky, mangling the storm and twisting it until it submitted and finally ceased. The villagers looked now afraid again of Sajazar, as they should be, he had promised he’d never use it again, but here he was.

Earlier, while the rains still poured, Kayseri was keeping watch. He was alerted by the noise approaching their cave, something was rolling in. He drew his sword and stood up, putting his back to the wall and peeking outside, the river was trembling, shaking as if it was ready to burst forth. But there was more, there were people approaching, three with a mule, the mule pulled a small covered wagon with four legs like theirs. These three strangers were drenched from the downpour, and seemed to be hurrying away from the riverside. Despite its out-of-the-way position, they were moving intently towards the clay cavern. They wore hoods and… Kayseri looked closer, masks! These people dressed in the trappings of bandits, Kayseri responded in the most sensible way he could think of.

As these bandits approached the cave, huddled together against the cold of the night, Kayseri lept forth from the cave’s entrance and yelled out to them. 

“Beware you sorrowful scoundrels! You looketh upon Kayseri Allaki, a knight of Savac! Unlike you who have crumbled to your base urges of plunder and thievery, I stand stalwart in defense of my companions! I do not wish to do you harm, which is why I have revealed myself thusly, but should you not turn back and retreat to whatever vile hole you crawled from, I would have no choice but to employ my skills!”

Kayseri paced back and forth and gesticulated wildly as he spoke, the “bandits” stood frozen, nearly toppling backwards in surprise at this large man who had jumped forth and was yelling at them. The rest of the crew inside the cave awoke from the commotion and groggily came outside to see what was up. Gane, Yhora, and Zoll stared out at an odd sight, Kayseri looking back at them, out in the pouring rain, with a group of trembling hooded figures standing before him. 

“What say you for yourselves?!”

The tallest of the hooded people stood up.

“Please, we mean you no harm. We aren’t bandits, my family and I just need passage through here.”

Kayseri looked immediately embarrassed, and told them as much. 

“I’m so sorry, forgive my boldness, I assumed by your trappings and the circumstances…”

“It’s quite alright, may we have shelter?”

Kayseri helped them pull their wagon in, between the now seven of them and the multiple vehicles it was beginning to get very cramped in the cavern. Kayseri offered them food as an apology, which they gladly accepted. The hooded people removed their masks, one man, one woman, and a teenaged son, all Moridin. Physically they stood out for their second pair of eyes, slightly up and to the side of the first, and their hard skin, so tough that a dog’s bite could not break it. The Moridin were an uncommon sight throughout the entire Southwest, they came from over the mountains, in a homeland they used to call Inmoridia, which was a proud and prosperous empire, enough to rival the Great Old Neirn, the Praedians, or the Northern Roni, until roughly four hundred years ago, when the rivers stopped flowing, and the crops died off in their homeland. The Moridians had fled in all directions in search of a new homeland, with only the most spiritually inclined remaining in the original. Due to their precarious position, Moridians were forced into the work of travelers, and seldom settled down. According to the three that sat before them, Itrar, Quella, and Paro respectively, they had attempted to find permanent homes in the Kellean city of Namho, but fell on hard times.

“We’re debtors,” Itrar explained. “The Clans of Namho gave us no quarter, and we were forced to flee in the night, we took all the belongings we could carry and set out several days ago. We’re headed for Sohouta, heard tell that there’s jobs aplenty.”

“You’re welcome to stay here with us until it’s safe to set out again.” Yhora told them. 

They sat quietly and waited for several minutes longer until the noises from outside surged again. Thunder roared across the sky, and the banks of the Aggano river began to sink, floodwaters from upstream crashed forward. Their cave was too low to the river level, water poured in through the entrance, grabbing at the feet of everyone inside and yanking them to the ground. As flood water filled the cave and clawed at them, Zoll wrapped his right arm around a stalagmite at the back of the cave, he sprouted five more arms on his left side and grabbed hold of everyone else, holding them back from being swept away. Yhora’s carriage was large enough to only screech forward and rock back and forth, however the Moridins’ wagon and mule were picked up and carried out of the cave and down the raging river. They heard it collide with a tree and likely smash to bits. Zoll’s grip was slipping, he could barely hold himself together, when the flood water began to lower again, outside were the sounds of thunder and lightning, as if the storm was strangling itself to death, until it went silent, and the sky began to clear. Everyone emerged from the cave to see a deadly calm night sky. Debris and puddles of water were scattered everywhere. They could not find the Moridins’ wagon, or their mule. It seemed all their belongings were lost. They held each other and sobbed quietly. Gane and crew watched with pity. 

“What should we do?” Yhora asked.

“We have to help them, they just lost everything.” Gane pleaded.

“We can help them get to the city, but where are they gonna stay without any money? We can’t afford to pay for three more people.” Yhora stated.

“This is a prime example of my Code coming before my contract.” Kayseri began to say. “We will help them get to the city, and we will help them until they find jobs in the city. If this is unacceptable, then I’m afraid I will have to void my agreement.” He looked at them with a dead seriousness for the first time.

“As will I, we’re a packaged deal.” Zoll added.

Yhora looked to Gane, who nodded, and then back to Kayseri.

“Okay, we’ll make it work.”

“Marvelous!” Kayseri turned around and trotted outside to the Moridins. “Fret not my new travel companions! You’ve a knight of Savac in your service, and I will not let you go hungry. Stay with us tonight and we’ll take you to the city, I shall personally guarantee you my support until you are stable again!”

As everyone laid down on the soggy cave floor to get in what sleep they could find, Gane got to thinking again. This quest, it’d been a hell of a ride already. What would his Grandfather Rojon think of these strange new people he associated with? He thought again about Sajazar’s offer, to abandon the quest, where would he be if he had decided to take that offer?

Under the battered trunk of an oak tree, Sajazar sulked, he hadn’t tried to stay the night in the little Roni village, he’d just set out again into the woods for another night. He looked at his hands, he had done it again given into the arcane corruption inside of him, he clasped his hands hard and promised again to never use it. Sajazar looked around, there was nothing for him here. Gane had probably already made it to Sohouta, and there was no telling how long it’d be until he found what he needed there. Determined to let this rot remain inside of him, inside the world. Sajazar stood up, he was wasting time trying to sleep, he needed to press on to Sohouta.

In the morning Gane and crew awoke, it had been a rather terrible night’s sleep, but they hadn’t expected much. They let the Moridins ride in the carriage while Yhora drove keeping a snail’s pace to let the others walk. Zoll decided to sleep in and remain in his jar, so Gane and Kayseri were afforded some time to begin Gane’s training as they walked alongside the carriage. 

Kayseri opened his Code, which was only slightly worse for wear after the previous night, and read off the beginning to Gane. he insisted it was essential groundworks to any aspiring fighter, and would “Strengthen his moral character”.

“The Savac code is not just a code of ethics and morals, it is a way of life, it is a process through which a student of the Savac Order may perceive and react to the world. It all begins from the five essential virtues. Patience, Prudence, Discipline, Wholeness, and Honor…” Kayseri read on for hours as they walked. Gane listened as attentively as he could, trying to keep mental track off all that he needed, apparently it took much more than strength to learn to fight.

Around Noon they slowed in pace, Kayseri paused his lesson, and Yhora called out for all to look. Ahead of them, beside a great green mountain and where the Aggano river poured into the magnificent sparkling Lake Sey’chey, stood a powerful city. Gane remembered the excitement he had been keeping locked up in the back of his mind, he figured it was a good time to let it flow again, before them lay the city of Sohouta.