Chapter 26
“Alex, do you think we’ll make it?”
Alex took a deep breath, calming his tense features as he continued to stride up the main arterial thoroughfare through the city.
They had left the academy with surprisingly heavy purses and heavier hearts.
Because the look on Sun La’s face when they had presented her with the Ice-speckled prizes was that of a woman finally seeing a life raft bobbing high above her, just seconds after she had already succumbed to the deep.
“Thank you, honored delvers. Though it’s not a pristine core of Ice or Water, the Ice within these priceless treasures will be an incredible boon to hold for future needs,” Sun La had declared, before gently explaining that when properly used in various Silver-tier formations, even a shattered core as large as the one they had claimed with such a high percentage of Ice could both sustain a good portion of the caldera croplands for at least a season and keep the emergency water cisterns filled with enough water to take care of the drinking needs of the entire city for at least two months.
She had then been about to honor them with a generous number of school credits, but upon catching sight of both Rachel and Linnea, her eyes had filled with actual tears.
“Come, darlings. For such a find as this… there are other treasures that I think will serve you even better than credits.” She had then proceeded to hand them a fortune in actual gold crowns and platinum phoenix.
Rachel had looked awed, Linnea troubled. Nili had chosen that moment to reveal herself, without revealing herself at all. “Is the hour really so late, then?”
Sun La had frozen as her husband solemnly handed them the fortune they had earned.
“The bells have been rung. Our sacred fall sputters and spurts its final drops of water. The Red Prince has won.” Sun La choked off a sob.
“I pray your shadows can keep all of our Ruidian friends safe, my lady. Because if rumors are anything to go by, any city that flies the Red Prince’s banner is very quickly purged of anyone with any trace of red in their hair, any green in their eyes, or any sign of the Fox about them. ”
The entire party halted for a perilous moment, exchanging anxious looks.
Even the normally gregarious and cheerful Lao Tie, who had as close to classic Han features as one might see in the desert caldera cities, was too dismayed to say a word before they were gently ushered out of Ren La’s office.
“Now go. As soon as Sunlay’s hand is claimed by whichever crimson scion in the Red Prince’s favor is given the honor of sealing the ritual site with their freshly claimed Bronze Water core—”
“The city will be flooded with red, and everyone will soon be feeling the weight of Dongfang Hong’s jackboots upon their neck,” A disguised Alex had said with a curse, ignoring Nili’s glare, forgetting in the heat of the moment that Tong was supposed to be mute.
Fortunately, no one who had actually witnessed Tong’s duels in the palace was around to hear him.
Regardless, Sun La regretfully dipped her head.
“Yes, brave delver. I fear it is so. Now, best you and your wife take full advantage of your friend’s grace.
Caravans will once more be permitted to leave the city in celebration of its new status as a protectorate of the Red Prince, and I suggest you take advantage of any that are heading north.
The caldera cities there should still be free. ”
“For now,” Linnea whispered. “Who knows how long that will last?”
Sun La gave her a sympathetic smile. “Who knows, indeed? I pray your well-earned fortune will stand you and your companions in good stead in starting life anew somewhere safe… and far from here.”
Shortly after that, their party had broken up, Kuaisu declaring Alex, Linnea, and Rachel battle brothers and sisters and promising that one day they would adventure again, in better times than these.
They had left her with a Silver-tier healer who swore to do his best for the brave woman who had so risked herself retrieving those precious cores, even if the healer himself wore the haunted mien of someone who knew he’d be forced to treat countless souls who would run afoul of a power-mad tyrant in the very near future.
Wu Xien and Tang had split off shortly thereafter, both bowing before their obvious young master, and in Tang’s case, bowing just as low to Alex.
“My family will always be grateful to you, hero,” Tang said with a bemused smile for Alex’s disguise. “And how my little Li Li will enjoy hearing of our adventure, to know that both our lives were touched by a figure out of legend.”
Alex winced at that. “Here’s to hoping we can pull a happy ending at the end of it all,” he said as he exchanged final farewells with the pair of men who looked equally worried and grateful to be getting home.
Both of them would be readying their families for a quick exit that would seem perfectly reasonable, given Tang’s caravan master experience, should the Red Prince’s flag end up flying over the palace in the days to come.
Nili chuckled softly. “And how strange it is that I, too, have hope. Because as mad as you and your desert princess’s plan is, Alex, it’s the only one we have.”
Linnea pouted. “Why does Ya Ling get to be the desert princess?”
“Because she’s the one who’s attuned to both Wind and Sand, and the only one who can fly besides Alex?” Rachel noted.
Linnea sighed. “That’s true. But at least I’ll get to be with Lao Tie and Nili. If the party link works as we hope it will, then Alex will know what to expect when he attempts his absolutely insane last-ditch effort to save us!” she said with an oddly cheerful smile.
Lini gazed worriedly at her mother. “Mom, what if Xien Su and Lord Guo figure out what’s going on? Or what if they refuse to take the bait, and stay?”
Nili’s expression became strained. “Then I will do my best to ensure that the royal family escapes Lord Guo and his pawns.”
“But you saw how deadly Xien Su was when he fought Alex, Mother. Honesty, I doubt anyone else in Wanshi would have a chance against him, and I don’t see any other reincarnated disciples coming to our city’s aid.”
“Hush, child!” her mother snapped, even as Lao Tie smiled, stealing a thoughtful glance at a somewhat discomfited Alex.
“All jesting aside, you definitely performed a feat worthy of the storybooks, friend Alex,” Lao Tie half teased.
Alex chuckled softly. “I just did what needed doing. And I know it can’t be an easy thing, letting me hold on to the most priceless object in all of Wanshi, right now.” He dipped his head. “Thank you for your trust in me.”
The anxious weight behind Lao Tie’s smile faded.
“It is I who should be thanking you, Alex. I know damn well that we’d all have perished with that first ambush, had it not been for you.
Because the Winter delve proved to be absolutely nothing like the gentle progression of peril and reward like every other delve I ever dared, before today. ”
“Before the final dying gasp of a fading core, holding tight to its grandest prize,” Rachel said softly, eyes lighting up with wonder.
“It really does feel like we’re living in a story, doesn’t it?
” She shivered, even as the air rang with the sound of bells presaging a fate that none of them were looking forward to.
“Only I think I’d be okay with, well, leaving the story a bit early and going home? ”
Linnea sighed. “Yup. Earning levels, improving my Jewel Mastery, and enhancing the sweet, sweet power of my Fire Wards and Crimson Corkscrew are nice, but for the first time in a long time, I wouldn’t mind spending a season or a few years safe in my boring commune…
so long as I had a certain someone to keep me warm and happy through chilly desert nights. ”
Alex chuckled while a certain kitsune girl’s eyes twinkled, and Nili gave Linnea an exasperated look.
“Thank you for being willing to serve as my eyes and ears, Linnea,” Alex said.
Linnea gave him a quick hug before waving as she seemed to fade into the shadows. Alex squinted as a stray shaft of light caught his eye, and suddenly it was just him, Ya Ling, and Rachel making their way through the city under Lini’s guidance and subtle ability to hide in a crowd.
Alex took a deep breath of air redolent with hot summer sands and the perfume of countless caldera blossoms from the rich fecund valley below.
His eyes drifted to the stately buildings faced in pearlescent stone, with the slatted roof catchers so emblematic of desert cities.
They were still in the nicer part of the city, so most of the buildings housed rooftop gardens or gazebos giving wonderful views of the city and the desert sands visible far beyond the caldera’s rim.
The air resonated with the sounds of flutes and zithers from street musicians, with cheerful men and women selling figs, nuts, and honeyed treats eagerly consumed by well-to-do passersby.
Yet as they continued their journey across the city, the buildings once more lost their glossy veneer and the street vendors hawked salted flatbread and tea, with similar fare to be found at a number of open-air cantinas, along with fermented barley drinks and fried meats, if Alex’s nostrils weren’t mistaken.
The buildings were all still made of sturdy brownstone, though rooftop gazebos had been walled and converted into additional homes, along with adjoining huts of reed and softwood now projecting a short ways into the boulevard, though thankfully the roads were still wide enough and the area clean enough to avoid disease, free of any smell or germs that weren’t killed by the bright desert sun overhead.
“There, Alex. Do you see it?”
Lini’s excited voice washed over them all, her left hand pointing to the caldera ledge just ahead, providing a certain degree of shade for the larger houses abutting the natural stone at the literal end of the road.