Ecdysis

Chapter 69. Why Does It Have to Be Snakes?

I let myself relax into a painfully familiar embrace as I watched Kirana and Huare slowly fill their balloon with hot air. The task was simple enough, so I allowed myself a moment of respite.

Irje harrumphed above my head. “You should’ve sent the message to us, rather than the twins. What am I supposed to think when you seek others to help with your troubles?”

“I didn’t call them here to help. I had no idea what Lita’af wanted, so they were nothing more than a contingency in case she would be annoying.” I nodded at the rising balloon. “I also had the perfect reason for it — we don’t want other Manors to think that I need to hide behind my courageous wives every time one of them gets too close, do we?”

“Did she really come to train with you or was all of that just an excuse?”

Anaise, who was busy observing the Kausar twins, glanced back at us. “Notice her oar — water and earth. Those are used for training. Have faith in our husband — he can withstand it.”

Irje bristled. “Are you taking her side?”

I patted her arm. “Be at ease, my vengeful wife, and let me savour this moment. Lita’af is irrelevant in the grand scheme of things and I’ve missed you, Irje. I’ve been missing all of us simply enjoying our peace for quite a while lately without even realising it. There is just too much going on and too much to do.”

We had a brief conversation about the spar but, apart from one unfortunate hiccup, there was little that I didn’t already expect. My skinsuit proved to be sturdy enough to withstand the environment of wermage spells and my twice-augmented limbs could rival her magical body in strength. As long as I kept some projectiles on me, I could fight back at long range and in close quarters. I didn’t even need the sling as I could throw them further and more precisely myself.

Lita’af did highlight an obvious issue with wermage telekinesis in the middle range. The range of every wermage control zone varied somewhat, but hers was certainly longer than the reach of my spear. Even if my ‘spear’ was technically a pike due to its length. I needed something either to close the distance or to keep wermages further afield. But I had options.

Just as Lita’af would undoubtedly send horse messengers west to Uureg and then south to Samat and likely thwart anything Roshanak Gulnaz planned to do in our absence with her new revelations, my Chirp would race straight across the desolate wastes of the Babr Mountains to relay the news to Aikerim and Yeva. Domina would be prepared for potential turmoil within the Kamshad Manor while my wife could assist me in solving the reach issue.

And then there was the hiccup.

The itch between my eyes was annoying but that was the price of getting blindsided by her attack. Just like the rest of my suit, my roots were sturdy enough to withstand her flame and boulders, but they weren’t invulnerable. Especially against my spear, thrown with immense power and aimed with lucky precision. There was little actual damage done and nothing that couldn’t be healed anyway, but those tendrils had many uses beyond mere grab and hold. And they had a lot of nerves within them.

It felt like she jammed a toothpick deep inside a broken tooth.

Not deadly by any means but extremely aggravating. It was distracting long enough that my body tried to do what it knew best — reaching out to Lif. Not to ask for safety or protection but to distribute my thought routines among multiple nodes and maintain appropriate levels of attention during a critical moment.

That was something that I had been trying to avoid for quite a while, despite the multitude of threats and attacks against me and mine. Lif was my final trump card and I had no intention of revealing her just to deal with some wermages during a training fight. Even Pillar wermages from one of the most influential Houses of Emanai. Lif was my trump card against the gods and the Forest of Tana. And a very conditional trump card at that, unfortunately.

I was quite sure that Lif could handle the Forest itself but she was rooted somewhere deep within and I had no idea what the so-called Creatures and Old Ones were capable of. Moreover, I had no place to park her, away from the gazes of the local gods. It would be disastrous if I managed to bring her over only for the Sky Castle to show up out of nowhere and ‘poof’ my tree-ship away. Lif was capable of many things, but she couldn’t stop time. If the Chasya twins could do it — I was more than sure their gods could do that as well. A millisecond in their ‘sky garden’ would be akin to an eternity. Even a monkey with a rock could do irreparable damage by then.

“How am I supposed to stay angry when you say things like that?” my cougar mumbled in a softer tone, combing my hair. “With this balloon, the twins wouldn’t mind giving us the tent from time to time so that you can come and spend the night.”

“How are you faring, by the way? How are the archers treating you?”

Irje grimaced. “Like a newcomer, I guess. Drills, drills, drills. But I get it — compared to them training with werbows since they were kids, we only found out that I could use one this year. Don’t worry about me — I know that they likely drill you just as hard, but I quarter with Anaise and not in a communal tent like you. Besides, many of the archers either fear the wrath of Kiymetl or want to get into Anaise Hilal’s good graces.

“Do you need-”

A finger got gently pressed to my lips. “No, Erf. This is my fight. I am not going to let a few side looks and remarks affect my path to freedom.”

I nodded silently and relaxed back into her hug, content in listening to her heartbeat.

Anaise shook her head without turning around this time. “With this balloon, the Kausar twins can do more than just vacate our tent from time to time. Say, Erf — are flame spells all that is required to make this thing fly?”

I glanced at her through my half-closed eyelids. “To be honest, you don’t need magic by itself. You need hot air. It could even work with normal fire if you can get it safe and portable enough. I was thinking about setting up a large bonfire but we have two wermages eager to fly, so…”

It also gave me a convenient excuse to label it as ‘wermage-only’. While my medicine stirred the murks of my finger, I mostly saw indifference from wer and some even grew indignant at it being comparable — or, Three Horns forbid, better — than the healing properties of Flow. At this point in time, I had no intention of wading through the swamp of murk-to-mage power dynamics.

Anaise walked back to us and leaned closer, surprisingly agitated. “Can it be powered with Flow oars?”

I glanced at her Flow oar. Now that I paid closer attention to it, the runework was unmistakable and quite deadly. “Maybe not with this one — the cloth is sturdy but it won’t stand a chance against a fireball launched into it.”

The mentioned oar bonked me on the head. “Because this is my first battle Flow oar, Erf. It is carved with an individual spell on each side — a fireball and a stream of fire. On the other hand, Lita’af Hikmat has a more general Flow oar that assists her in casting a wider range of similar spells. So do the Kausar twins.”

“So they aren’t person-specific?” I glanced around. “I thought they were like your spell-codices.”

Anaise sighed. “They are, but they are still runes. If a mage can only light their ass on fire, no fire or flame oar would help them aim or hold their spells better. They make spells quicker and easier to cast, especially when one needs to cast the same siege or combat spell again and again until a battle is won. Flow oars don’t replace skill.”

“Yes,” I nodded, mentally comparing the patterns on her Flow oar to the poems about spheres and rivers of fire in the Kiymetl spellbook, “I think that would be possible. Perhaps there is a ‘training’ flame pattern that we can carve in the blade part of the oar.”

“Face, Erf. Flow oars have faces that mages look into.”

“And carve it into the face part. Don’t even need the rest of the staff — it can be attached right under the balloon.” I nodded without pause. “It might be even better to use a wind spell instead. I know that some of your fanciest clothes have runes to keep them warm in winter and cool in summer — there should be a spell just to make the air hot.”

Anaise perked up her ears. “You have something in mind?”

“Not really — your spells and their creation are still Byzantine to me, while constant drills keep me too occupied to delve further. What I can do is take what already exists and adjust it to make it fit our needs. Possibly improve it slightly, but your runes tend to be quite polished as is.”

She hummed in thought. “We can use the runes we use to keep our tents warm, then.”

Irje tilted her head. “Are you planning something? Or do you want one for yourself?”

“From what I can tell, our Manor can make more with ease so there is no rush to get another one right now, especially when the amount of personal baggage we can have is limited. Besides, my father brought me to the Festivals of the Sky plenty of times but I am not particularly enamoured with the process.”

“A festival? But the twins said-”

“Cliffs and mountains still exist, Erf. And there are plenty of wermages that wish to soar like birds. So they carve wings for themselves and jump. Some tried to celebrate them in Samat and jump from the Pillars but too many Dominas complained about broken roofs and forced those celebrations outside of the city walls. I admit the flight can be fun but I don’t have the feet of my father to appreciate the landings.” Anaise grimaced. “I don’t like being stuck knee-deep in the ground with my feet stripped bare from the impact.”

I shook my head. “You free dive from cliffs and yet complain about my shenanigans.”

I got another bonk. “Now listen to me. A better balloon means more gratitude from the Kausar twins. It also means that they will be quickly promoted in the arm due to their increased usefulness. And you will not have to face Sophia Chasya alone. They might look energetic right now but they showed slight signs of depletion in the morning.”

Irje nodded along. “The Censor might keep us separated but she can’t ignore them. Not with the flying basket at their disposal.”

“And I am planning on giving them looking glasses if our esteemed General refuses to share for that exact reason. Your idea is equally great and we should use it, but there is no need to rush. No need to overwhelm our opponents here — they might get scared and do something stupid and harmful to everyone involved.”

Anaise frowned. “If we don’t implement it soon, either Huare or Kirana Kausar would do it themselves. If they haven’t thought about it already — I think I saw one of them glance at their Flow oars.”

I shrugged. “So let them.”

Irje snorted.

Anaise sighed. “Erf-”

“Anaise. Dear.” I smiled back at her, gently patting her tail. “Do you remember when I promised them this balloon?”

“During our travel north, two tendays ago. You built it rather quickly.”

“I didn’t. Yeva did with the help of your Manor and new looms. I simply stitched the pieces together. The reason why I promised them a balloon twenty days ago was that it was all I was confident in making quickly. Within days, your Manor will have the machinery necessary to make even better flying ships. They will be small and personal like this one but they could fly like soaring birds rather than hang in the air. And they will only rely on wermage strength rather than Flow.”

The steam engine was a game changer. The first among many. It wasn’t just the power it provided but the consistency of its speed. That meant smoother machining and better, more precise parts. My bio-printers could provide lightweight materials and Yeva knew how to create proper wings, but a human-powered aircraft wouldn’t work well unless gears could fit properly with each other. The power-to-weight ratio was still a challenge and I wasn’t sure if we could create one for murks, but the Kausar twins weren’t murks.

“Anaise. Two tendays is a very long time for your Manor now. You might as well call it the last century. There is no need to rush when walking carefully will get you ahead of everyone around you in no time.”

“Did something happen?” Irje loomed over me, intently checking my body, especially the areas with ripped clothes. “I know that you tend to be cautious, but you sound different from your usual self. Did Lita’af Hikmat say something to you? Hurt you?”

I rolled my eyes. “I sound grumpy because I managed to get some time with my wives and you spend it all on yet another planning session! Yes, I am contemplative and yes, it is because of Lita’af’s recent actions. Her actions weren’t dishonourable, however, and I could argue that she held herself back, especially in the beginning, to make sure that her attacks wouldn’t accidentally kill the murk me. And she stopped instantly once she saw my blood.”

“Are you disappointed that you lost?”

“I am not that arrogant. She is a warrior through and through, while I am not. She fought fiercely and quickly broke through, deflected, or avoided any tricks I threw her way. It didn’t matter to her that she had no idea about the strength of my brigandine — she knew it was strong so she went for other targets. It didn’t matter to her that my strength exceeded hers-”

Anaise’s eyes grew wide.

“-she simply avoided my grabs whenever possible or quickly twisted away when she was caught. Lita’af might not have expected that from me but she was prepared to eventually fight someone like that. A wermage in a heavily runed armour that she couldn’t punch through or a fellow member of Kamshad that could rival her in strength.

“The same can be said about the Manors of Emanai. They might not expect us to achieve certain things or obtain them this quickly but if we attack them in a manner they are familiar with — they will know how to react. It is not about acting cautiously, it is about acting where they do not expect me to. They prepare for me to stand at the centre and pronounce my might only to notice that I’ve gathered allies elsewhere rather than subjugating them. They prepare for me to pillage their wealth only for me to unearth a chest full of gold from a pile of dirt they all ignored and make them poor in comparison. I am not Aikerim Adal with her shrewdness and experience in Emanai politics. If Kamshad continues to pressure us, I will not fight them as a warrior that I am not — I will oppose them as a Navigator. I will not let them dictate how and where I should fight — I will fight where I am strong.”

Our conversation got cut short when the balloon finally lifted off the ground. With a sigh, I detached myself from Irje and walked over to the small crowd that gathered around the basket. Apart from the vibrating twins that were eager to listen to my final set of instructions, the First Spear was nearby rubbing her temples and a contemplative Lita’af was absentmindedly combing her silver tail.

I originally planned to ride along with Kirana or Huare first to show them the ropes, literally in this case — there was a rope to open a flap on the top of the balloon and vent the hot air out, but my knowledge was purely theoretical anyway. Moreover, just as Anaise reminded me about the wermage sturdiness, the Kausar twins were more concerned about who was going to jump first once they were up rather than the potential consequences of them landing too fast. From what I could see — the only thing I should be worrying about was the sturdiness of the basket and the rope. The basket was expendable and the rope was thick and strong so off they went into the sky with a strongly worded warning not to aim for my head if they did decide to jump.

The First Spear sighed. “I guess this means we will be meeting the General again. Perhaps you might get promoted out of my fingers, then.”

“The balloon belongs to the Enoch oars, First Spear. If anyone is getting promoted, it would be them.”

Hajar Kishava sniffed. “She is a General with great victories behind her. Do not belittle her skills.”

I shook my head. “Sophia Chasya knew of me long before either of us joined Kiannika. And of my capabilities. If she wanted me somewhere else — I would be there by now.”

Something that already happened before, no doubt. A messenger boy that had to report to the General from one of the least influential parts of the maniple? Overseen by a commander that had too much to lose by angering Sophia Chasya and too little to gain from taking my side? Coincidences had a limit.

“I wonder if our esteemed General is here because of you,” Lita’af mused as she walked closer to us. Her brother was nowhere to be seen anymore. “I heard that she was very interested in purchasing you before.”

The First Spear made an uncertain noise while pulling her ear.

“Lita’af Hikmat,” Anaise raised her eyebrow, “I hoped to hear from you a lot sooner. Especially after that inconsiderate meeting with the General. Your avoidance casts a shadow on your character.”

Irje’s frown was much more pronounced.

“Anaise Hilal, Irje… Kiymetl,” Lita’af bowed slightly, “I wished to meet you earlier as well. Alas, my sudden depletion had kept me… wary. I am certain you can understand my indecisiveness.”

“Your depletion!?” The three women glanced around warily. “Do you still feel it?”

“No, I was pleased to realise that it was merely caused by the match itself. Your husband is a formidable warrior and many wermages should be wary of challenging him rashly. I am saddened, however, at his inadequate training — I expected more from your sword master.”

“I believe my training as the future spear was quite sufficient.” I glanced at my commander who was busy gawking at Lita’af. “I managed to perform all my drills so far.”

Lita’af shook her head. “I am certain that he taught you well. I am calling it inadequate because what he should’ve taught you was how to fight in melee like a wer or a wermage. You have the strength to do so yet you were fighting like a murk.”

Anaise narrowed her eyes. “And you were depleted from that alone? From what Erf had told me, you didn’t use a lot of spells.”

“I am a Kamshad, Anaise Hilal. Once we shifted to melee, all my power went into my battle form. I was not going to disgrace our battle by treating him like a child.” She nodded at my spear. “Take a close look at your weapon. While the cross guard works well to stop an advancing enemy, it can be used for swiping attacks or drag-and-pull lunges. Either to bring your opponent closer or pull yourself toward them. Your swipe was well-timed but your control was off — with your murk hand placement you could have easily stopped it mid-swing and struck again.”

I gave her a slight nod. “I will keep that advice in mind. I wish I could offer something similar but there is little I can say that you do not know already. I do hope that Muramat Nishad enjoyed watching our battle.”

Lita’af smiled slightly, although the smile was somewhat stiff.

The First Spear finally shook herself from her previous stupor. “My duties call on me, noble Ladies of Emanai Pillars.”

“Of course, First Spear.” Anaise gave her a proper salute. “We understand that this was distracting but this will benefit our arm greatly.”

She gestured at the balloon looming over us with two Enoch wermages pointing in all directions. “No enemy will surprise us in battle with the eyes of Emanai above our maniples.”

Hajar Kishava returned her salute and stomped away, quietly muttering something about upcoming headaches, House politics that she didn’t belong in, and her cruel fate.

I made a mental note to get her some pain relief medicine just in case. She was often gruff but it never felt personal enough for me to take serious offence.

Lita’af watched her go. “Is that your power?”

“Annoying my superiors? Maybe.”

I got a bonk for that as well, but Irje snorted, so my cheek was successful.

The wolf lady sighed. “I am not asking how and why — your secrets are yours to keep. But I remember our first meeting before we reached Uureg. You said that it was your duty to empower your wife. A commendable task for a husband, yet now I think that you meant a lot more than that, Daimon of Kiymetl. You empower others just as you empower yourself.”

I pulled out the golden Gestr on my neck and twisted it in my hands. “I didn’t gain this for my status as the Alchemist of Kiymetl. I got it as a teacher from a grateful but extremely demanding student.”

I had to leave a whole codex of tricky questions and mathematical ideas for Virnan Shah to enjoy in my absence. Otherwise, the old fox would have insisted on coming here himself.

Anaise slapped her face.

Lita’af scratched her ear and glanced at my wife. “Is that another jest or does he speak the truth? There are few people who can just give away Gestri for Pillar teleport rooms. Kiymetl or not.”

“Yes, Lita’af.”

I nodded with pride. “An inclusive or! I am glad that you still remember my lectures about mathematical logic.”

“There is nothing inclusive about it, nor logical — you simply weave your jests into the truth whenever you want,” Anaise grumbled and faced the werwolf. “What do you seek here, Lita’af Hikmat? I respect you as a person but if your House tries to steal my daimon, we will fight back.”

She cast a glance upward. “In more ways than one. Your insights will not be enough.”

“I am aware, Anaise. I am here to find a way to resolve the current issue. And I believe that I know of one.”

“Oh?”

“Matriarchy. Specifically — the status of your mother as the next Matriarch of Kiymetl. At this moment, your Manor is still not considered as the Primary Manor and the rest of Emanai knows it, including my mother. A Pillar Matriarch’s son for a husband is a resplendent gift and we both know it — you would’ve declined the proposal without a second thought, otherwise. Likewise, my mother has no intention to appear weak and indecisive among the Seven by calling off the proposal because you said ‘no’. But there is little shame in understanding that future Matriarchs have other obligations first. And that is someone who you would undoubtedly become if Aikerim Adal takes the sash.”

Anaise swished her tail. “This isn’t something that is done even in a tenday, Lita’af. And certainly not when your mother is actively supporting my aunt as the next Matriarch. For the exact same reason, mind you.”

“Let us be honest among ourselves. Aikerim Adal already secured the alliance with Enoch despite my mother’s attempts and this skyship would only make it easier.”

“Then ask your mother to see reason,” Irje spoke up. “If Amanzhan Irada’s loss is inevitable in your eyes — what would your mother gain by continuing to side with a losing party?”

Lita’af observed her silently for a moment and then nodded. “A messenger will be sent out tonight. I will see what my mother says concerning the current events.”

My cougar tilted her head. “Then there is little to discuss until then, is there?”

“Indeed. Everything that had to be said has been said already and everything that had to be heard was heard. Anaise Hilal, Irje Kiymetl — it was a pleasure meeting you tonight and I hope that our next meeting will be even more fruitful. Erf — I hope that our fight was insightful. Do heed my words, however. You might be a good spear already but there is no reason to neglect your future progress. We should fight again. In a tenday or two, perhaps — I wish to see your progress.”

The werwolf swished her tail, turned around, and left as quietly as she had arrived. As if we didn’t just discuss the future of two Pillar Manors and merely talked about the weather for tomorrow.

Irje scratched her head. “I wasn’t expecting that. Was it something I said?”

Anaise shook her head. “You haven’t met her often enough. She might be quite decisive once her path is set, but rarely acts rashly and without a reason. Especially if she feels uncertain. Just as you said — there was little to discuss at this moment as it was not a decision she could make herself.”

“She is smart enough to know when to leave,” I murmured.

The foxy tail wrapped around my body. “And something tells me that you were planning exactly for that. Especially with your mentions about math and my great uncle. What did you say before? Two tendays might be a century?”

I smiled. “I am not planning on killing your friend next time we fight. I am giving her an opportunity to calm the ambitions of her Matriarch while we keep preparing in case she fails.”

“But you are planning on fighting her.”

“I don’t know yet. It depends on the situation we might find ourselves in twenty days.”

“Oh, but you absolutely should!” Albin leaned on his oar nearby, grinning.

“Who!?” Anaise jumped and turned around. “A-Azhar Mesud! How did you sneak up on us!?”

Irje gently elbowed my side. “Did you invite him?”

I shook my head, observing the runes of air on the face of his oar — Anaise did tell me that the Shebet were known for their wind magic. Even though I was still suspicious about the validity of such claims, his Flow oar seemed to be carved specifically for a wind mage.

“With all of you staring at the silk bubble in the sky? Quite easily.” He threw a handful of popcorn into his mouth. “That is not important. Erf, you need to fight her.”

“I don’t know… But now that you are here, I remember my previous plan of punching you in the face.”

“Erf!” Anaise hissed. “Remember his ‘family’ is here. Not now!”

“That is exactly why I want to smack him upside his head — he could’ve warned me a long time ago!”

Albin shrugged. “What for? You seemed to be prepared for someone of her status anyway. Do you want to grow reliant on my advice like some have grown overly reliant on yours?”

My wives bristled at his pointed look but he waved them off. “Besides, I wasn’t sure about it myself until we had arrived at Uureg and then I was busy getting myself promoted to a respectable position in Ulastai. I also interrupted the meeting and have kept her occupied since.”

I gently patted the shoulders of Irje and Anaise. “Let us leave your not-so-subtle goading aside for now. Despite your words to the contrary, you did come here with advice — why?”

“Because she is doing it for your sake. Small benefits aside, as we don’t expect the distant relative of Mansiya herself to be that narrow-minded, Lita’af Hikmat came here to extol your strength. Either in deed or in word. Strength of a daimon rather than a murk some still assume to be nothing but a companion slave that the Kiymetl Lady of the House cares a little bit too much about. Take her offer with gratitude.”

I frowned. “She came here to praise me?”

I had to admit — her words were full of it with but a slight touch of constructive criticism. But I didn’t consider her as a friend, merely as an acquaintance and her behaviour seemed to me to be centred on establishing better relations and, possibly, subtly encouraging me to request her training.

Anaise harrumphed. “You seem to be quite eager to speak for others, ‘Azhar Mesud’. There are plenty who could teach him without us asking for a favour from Kamshad.”

The eyes of blue flashed at her. “I didn’t get where I am with luck, Anaise Hilal. There are plenty of firebrands around, especially near the Kamshad. A commendation of a Kiymetl trainer, or even an Enoch one, wouldn’t stop them as they would expect customary words of praise among kin. But a word from Lita’af Hikmat would.”

I shook my head. “At the expense of Kamshad learning more and more about me. Lita’af Hikmat is a very perceptive warrior among her other qualities. And she did bring Muramat Nishad to watch our fight. I am willing to bet a lot of gold that his thoughts weren’t occupied by how awe-inspiring I was in that scuffle but where my weaknesses might be.”

“He is a Kamshad male, Erf. As long as Lita’af Hikmat orders him to stay put, he won’t dare to act. Unless he concludes that he just might win if he strikes precisely at your weakest point. Especially if you all but confirm it in his mind by refusing another match. Show them that you either can counteract their attacks or show them that you have the wisdom to ask others to train you. You might be worried about them striking you at night, but I am not. Do you know what I am worried about?”

I paused for a moment and then nodded in understanding. “You are worried that they will strike me at night.”

Albin flashed me a grin. “Precisely!”

Irje glanced at Anaise. “By the Three Horns, what are they talking about?”

“They are speaking in daimon tongues, ignore them.”

“I am worried that your husband will get attacked again, Anaise Hilal. And he will win. Decisively enough to end up with not just wermage but Pillar blood on his hands. Blood feuds are tricky enough as is without Pillars getting involved, and they are even more annoying when we are marching to reinforce Bayan Gol. While Sophia Chasya is leading the arms. I am sure that you understand my dilemma — some things are simply more important.”

“That…” Anaise scratched her ear in thought. “That is an honourable reason, ‘Azhar Mesud’. My House wishes to avoid blood feuds as well.”

“How very reasonable of you,” I drawled.

Albin wilted into a pout.

“Erf! Behave yourself! This is a serious matter!”

I hugged my scandalised wife. “Do not forget who is in front of us, dear. This man breathes conflict, even when he seems to avoid it.”

“Hey! I call that rapid growth in times of need! You are getting too efficient, Erf, despite looking like nothing has changed. I don’t want other Manors to sit idle in wonder while you do all the work only to shrug and accept their fate. I want them to struggle! How can they improve if they have no idea what they are competing against?”

“I am taking my thoughts back, you are as obnoxious as ever.”

Albin sniffed. “Says the matchmaker.”

What?

“What?”

“Al…Azhar!”

A loud thud interrupted us and a grinning Huare Kausar rose among the cloud of dust, effortlessly pulling her hooves from the ground. “That’s what I call fun! Listen, Erf — will it fall if I try climbing the rope? I want to jump again.”

XXX

The next day was rather rowdy. When the sun rose, I could hear from our tent that something was brewing on the wermage side of the camp and, by the time our arm was ready to march, a new monstrosity had shown itself to haunt my future dreams.

Someone managed to attach a third leg to the Kishava’s ‘siege arusak’ and now our resident chicken-legged hut was proudly holding the balloon as it lumbered forward. Needless to say, half of the arm had to wash their tunic bottoms. From excitement, no doubt. Judging from the frequent bodies that kept dropping from the basket and the never-ending chain of rope-climbers, it was very good for wermage morale.

The First Spear spent that march in wilful ignorance. She knew nothing, saw no balloon behind her and ‘nothing happened yesterday, no idea what you were talking about, shut up and keep moving’. The rest of the finger was eager to gossip but they were properly cowed by her withering gaze and I wasn’t in any hurry to repeat the tales about my helmet becoming a skillet. Not that I was bothered as much — my fight with Lita’af had rapidly adjusted my ‘power ranking’ among the finger and most were still uncertain how to act in front of the Mule Boy that could fight a war mage in melee.

I spent the march deep within my thoughts. Planning for the future, covertly analysing the vambrace that further reinforced my hypothesis about the Creature-Forest extremely close relationship, and mentally assembling a library of Flow oar runesets that my eyes managed to spot. Just Albin’s oar alone helped me create a decent ‘hot air’ rune circle and I was eager to ‘invent’ other designs.

But, most importantly, I was waiting. Waiting for Chirp to return from Samat with two slightly elongated eggs. And a hefty pouch of food — I needed a lot of nutrients in the near future.

“What are they?” Irje whispered behind me.

Anaise glanced as well but quickly returned to her study of my runic circle. Her ears remained pointed at us, however.

“It is my personal solution to wermage telekinesis. A predominantly non-lethal solution at that. Limbic Auxiliary System for Harald-augment. Some call them ‘jumper cables’ but I prefer ‘extension cords’ myself. Or simply lashes.”

It was much easier to request a short leave ‘for a Kiymetl affair’ out of my First Spear now and the Kausar twins still had their honeymoon period with the balloon so there was no one in the tent but us.

“Erf.”

I scratched my head. “Sorry about that. Remember how I ‘talked’ to the tree back at the greenhouse?”

Irje grimaced. “You used that arm snake.”

“Harald, yes. You can say that these will hatch into snakes too but they will grow a lot longer and remain separate from me. Lashes tend to remain inert most of the time, so anyone looking would only see two whips on my sash.”

“Whips, Erf?”

I shrugged. “We are entering the Forest, a whip feels like a Forest weapon.”

“Because whips are Forest weapons, Erf. Every Thing has at least two long tentacles near their mouths and they use them often. If you were planning to surprise Lita’af with an unusual weapon — you chose poorly,” Anaise murmured without looking.

“They look like whips, but they aren’t. Once they are in my hands, I can control them at will.”

“So are the tentacles.”

“They are Harald-augment. They are capable of ‘communicating’ with flesh on touch.”

Irje frowned. “This sounds like an even worse idea — are you planning on growing a black tree here!? Or turning your finger into-”

“That is out of the question.” I vehemently shook my head. “I am talking about something more basic, something simple but extremely potent nevertheless. Like tricking your skin to think that it is on fire.”

I looked at the two ladies staring at me and shrugged. “No damage, no wounds. No blood. Only pain and discomfort to keep my opponent away and the flexibility of a whip to grab and pull me closer. This isn’t about others knowing how to defend against them — this is about me using the tools I am most proficient with. Lita’af called me a master of flesh during our battle and struck at my roots directly. She knows about Chirp. The expansion of my menagerie wouldn’t surprise her in the slightest so I might as well do it.”

Anaise palmed her face. “I should've let you punch Albin.”