Chapter 54

AN - some gaps in timing here as I’m publishing the edited version of TSR book 1 as an ebook now. More details can be viewed on my Patreon if you’re interested in supporting me! But rest assured I’ll be continuing to post here, just at a delay.

Denu drew us to a halt, staring at something, presumably some spoor of the group we were pursuing.

“They’re not far ahead now,” she advised us. “Eight in total, as we suspected. The warriors are in heavy armor in addition to their packs, I think. And our mystery sorcerer is very light.”

Her perceptiveness seemed to have sharpened along with her spirit, and I was grateful for that. If Denu said we were close, we could be stumbling into the enemy at any time.

“Scout ahead. Try to get any information you can about their disposition.” Myta said. “Above all else, try to avoid being seen. We need to catch them by surprise if we can.”

Denu nodded and scampered off, while the rest of us checked and rechecked our readiness before following. Ket accompanied Denu, presumably to keep her hidden. I didn’t worry myself over those details, Myta had it well in hand.

Without our pathfinder, we had to rely on our sense of Denu’s location. Myta was more proficient at that than I, their connection being closer, but I still used the opportunity to practice sensing my vasra. It was becoming faster, more intuitive for me, and I was also growing more proficient at sensing Denu’s state. And so I knew our quarry was setting camp, even before Ket informed us.

The spirit could not observe the group herself, as they were traveling under a ward, but Denu relayed the details through her. Two robed figures, those would be the known sorcerer and demon, as well as five soldiers. The last was a woman garbed in fine silks, who was apparently their reason for setting camp early. That would be our unknown sorcerer.

Their group set up camp in a small ravine, next to an equally small stream. It would be a terrible place for them if a storm hit, but the walls were tall enough to keep us from charging at them from the sides. Given the surroundings and short notice, it was liable to be the most secure position they could find.

Our plan was simple. Myta and I would circle around and attack them from the far side. With Kubek’s boon it would hopefully be simple to make that trip before nightfall. Denu would attempt to find a way up to the top of the natural walls, overlooking their camp. Giving her the best position for her bow.

Hati and Jito would attack from our current direction, but all three of our companions would only move in after they heard the sounds of combat. We would attack first, but they would remain too far back to see it, in order to stay outside the ward. In that way, the sorcerers wouldn’t detect their presence.

Myta and I made our way around, taking our time to avoid making too much noise. Neither of us were particularly stealthy, but the noises of the jungle covered our passage well enough. We had to climb down the wall of the ravine at a low point, and I had reason to be grateful for our increased agility and strength. The walls were composed of large rocks, bound together with roots and hard earth, covered in a layer of moss and other small plants.

It was treacherous to climb, to say the least. More than once I lost purchase on the rocks. By the time we reached the bottom my fingers were coated in a green slime, and no small amount of blood from my scraped fingertips as well.

Making our way back was a bit faster, although we had to be careful of stones turning under our steps. Many round pebbles littered the ravine floor, clearly worn and deposited there by regular flooding. By the time we reached the edge of the ward, it was closer to dusk than I liked.

My vas and I conferred silently, and then charged through the obfuscation. This ward was large, clearly made for an equally large group to travel under. That meant we had an unfortunately long distance to cover over uncertain ground. As we burst forward I stretched out my spiritual sense, trying to see what awaited us.

The Pure monk was strong, unsurprisingly, and aspected to earth. Not a great match for Myta, but not the worst. The demon was likewise strong, and much more stable that the others we’d encountered. This was likely the Pure’s most successful experiment.

The five warriors were a concern, a large one. They were wearing and wielding equipment that wasn’t just infused. Enchantments were layered into their great. Almost never did such equipment end up in the hands of mundane warriors, and they would be more than a match for our companions.

As we came into sight of the camp however, my senses swept over the unknown sorcerer, and my heart stilled in fear. I fell to the ground while trying to stop, to reverse course and escape, but it was already too late. A gentle presence brushed against me, soft and almost indiscernible. Like mist in the gloaming evening.

She stood up, turning towards me, her silhouette outlined by the fire at her back. Diaphanous silks did nothing to conceal the shape of her form, curvaceous yet fit. Her hair was a voluminous spread of curls, ending somewhere down her back. I couldn’t see her coloration, but I knew that her hair would be jet black and lustrous. Her skin flawless, and the color of almonds.

Her eyes were the only parts of her that could be seen clearly. They glowed from within, shimmering with rainbow like the sheen of oil on water. The same eyes as King Ramana.

I croaked, as Myta charged past me. My sudden fear caused her to draw up short, placing herself in front of me. Her presence blazed with anger, but I could feel her uncertainty as well. She didn’t understand the significance of what we faced. One of the apsaras, the daughters of King Ramana.

“Well now, what a prize.” The voice that spoke was oily. The monk stepped forward, throwing back the hood of his robe. When I could finally tear my face away from the princess, I thought he looked vaguely familiar.

“Entreyu’s old garbage, but so much stronger. How did you manage that?”

Myta didn’t respond, but the princess did. Her voice was musical, sticking in my mind like a knife, despite her petulant tone. “Just kill them, quickly. We must make for Punalit If we are to salvage anything from this mess.”

“Patience, princess. My master would be most pleased to have his wayward experiment returned. It might help to soften him toward our setbacks here.”

“As you will, come forward girl.” My fear eased as the apsara turned her attention to Myta, and my vas flinched as though struck. She trembled under the compulsion to obey.

“I. Said. Come. Here. Foolish girl, resisting will only make things harder for you in the end. Push me too far, and I’ll take my time killing that **** of yours. I can feel how fond of him you are. Yield, and perhaps I’ll let him go.” The woman had the voice of a goddess, but the arrogant tone of a snake.

I was angry now, that she would speak in that condescending tone to Myta, to my love. Calling to her as though calling a dog to heel. My building fury helped to clear my thoughts, as what the princess said caught up to me.

I had my spirit well veiled, my presence pulled in tightly around me. Myta, on the other hand, was radiating power. Her presence was thick and heavy. It was only natural for them to believe that she was the master, and I the ****. I was being disregarded, and that could serve us well.

*Myta, drop you weapon and go to them.* I kept my emotions as carefully in check as I could. Feeling my vas’ heart break at my instruction was agony, but I didn’t dare let her feel my hope. The princess was focused entirely on Myta, and had already shown her proficiency in reading our hearts.

Following my instructions, Myta let her glaive hit the ground. Despair and resolve filled her, as she accepted her presumed fate. It felt right to her, somehow proper, that I would abandon her now. Her root opened up, the foundation of her soul sickness welling up with poisoned mana, finally revealed. I drew it from her as fast as I could, tasting it finally, fully, for the first time.

It was shame, bitter and **** self hatred. Myta truly felt, deep inside her, that she deserved to be abandoned and betrayed. And now her devotion led her to sacrifice, like a willing lamb to slaughter. As pained and despairing as she was, she took a grim satisfaction in even the chance of saving me.

The monk’s eyes narrowed, and his smug expression was replaced with curiosity, and then confusion. He could surely feel the turmoil in Myta’s spirit, the roiling of her mana. I didn’t have much time to decide.

The monk was a powerful, but conventional fighter. I could see that he had aligned his meridians to double up on earth’s inherent strengths. He would be incredibly durable and strong, but relatively slow. The princess was a wildcard, but her spoiled and arrogant air made me think that she would likely fall apart when things didn’t go according to her expectations.

That left the demon. It was likely to be our greatest opponent, and I could see that it was connected to the monk by a bond, much like a **** tether. If they worked the same, killing the demon would injure the monk as well.

I waited until Myta was standing close to the group. I felt the monk fumbling at her spirit with a clumsy, greedy pressure. He was trying to steal the bond between us, probably trying to claim her by asserting his spirit’s strength over her. It would have killed me slowly. If he had any chance at all of succeeding.

*Now, my flame,* I sent to Myta, filling the command with every ounce of love and certainty I possessed. *I told you, you will be separated from me only by your choice. Kill the demon, and we will finish them together.*