Chapter 7
Ipaused after a while, glancing at Nyx, who nodded.
"They've left us," she confirmed, her serpents flitting back and forth, doing their best to sense anyone approaching us.
"Good. Now, to answer your questions," I said, most of my focus being on Venthra, "they're clearly far weaker than they should be.
I said they shouldn't be afraid of me, or really anyone in the area, which means either the demons dealt with those who were going to become powerful or stripped away their opportunities. Either way, our next step is clear."
Merlin glanced at me and nodded. "Their strength will return if we remove the demons."
I was happy she was on the same page. "We can't make up for their lost strength, but we can at least stop it from continuing to stagnate.
Given that we put eyes over here, if the demons do come to learn of us through the tribes, we can be sure they'll use that area as a lure.
We need to get a better assessment of these initiates from the big cities. "
My focus shifted over to Venthra. "And I think you'd be particularly good at slipping in and doing at least some basic reconnaissance.
" I handed her a talisman. "This is to alter how they inspect you.
We can't have someone with a Borrson name running around, or it's going to cause too many questions. "
She wrinkled her nose. "I suppose that makes sense. Also, don’t think you slid it past me that you already had this ready." She took it and pulled back some of the leathers covering her chest before slapping it to the underside of her breasts.
"I suppose that's one way to hide it." Nyx chuckled. "Also, you nearly flashed Bran. I wonder if that was on purpose?" the Medusaic archer asked with a cocked eyebrow, only for Venthra to frown, as if it hadn't even occurred to her.
"Not a chance. He's lucky I don't kill him in his sleep," she said.
While I laughed, no one else did, causing me to snap my mouth closed. “Anyway, Venthra can investigate the city. I think the three of us should return to the First Garden and see what we can arrange with Eve. You've got a rockie-talkie, Venthra?"
She nodded, holding out not one but two, handing me the other.
"I'll keep you updated on what I find and their movements. Your suspicion is that the cities are infected with demons?"
"Likely." I handed her another stack of talismans. "These are single-use, but they can get quite hot if there's a demon within five to ten feet."
Venthra thumbed through the stack of talisman papers. "Should be easy enough to isolate any suspects and check." They disappeared into her spatial ring. "And then I just poison them?"
I grinned at her. "Make sure you hide your poison abilities, and practice with the bow a little."
She scowled, and I could see that she was inspecting herself. "Damn it, couldn't you have made me a rogue or something?”
“Too close. Too much to do with poisons.
If you start assassinating demons, everyone is going to look at the new rogue.
Besides, I think the bow would suit you.
If you need pointers, I'm sure Nyx could give you a few.
" I hooked a thumb over my shoulder. I’d had to keep her in the agility field; she just moved like she leaned heavily that way.
The Medusaic archer shrugged. "Not sure if I'd actually be that helpful. It all comes rather naturally to me." Her words caused Venthra to scowl.
"I'll get to work. You three get back to that Garden of Sin, and I'll let you know when I have more information." I nodded to her.
The reality was that if demons were so embedded in the area, they had to have some source of human hosts.
Those living in the city sounded like they might be the more populous group and more segmented, allowing the demons to come and go, while both the sect and the tribes would be far more wary of outsiders and far harder to invade.
"Work your way up the hierarchy. Merlin, if you would?" I held out a hand, and she grabbed it, before she put another hand on Nyx's shoulder.
"See you later," Merlin said, and shadows devoured us, although I could have sworn I heard Venthra cursing before we left.
"Ah, there you are." Eve seemed to materialize out of the foliage as soon as we appeared.
"I thought you had left without saying a word, though I see one of you stayed behind.
" She leaned against a pillar, her hip cocked out to the side, posed almost as if that verdant green leaf bikini was going to fall right off her voluptuous frame.
She knew exactly what she was doing based on the way she smirked.
"We went to survey the area and bumped into one of the tribes. I tested the waters to see at least how strong they thought they might be, and the result was very wanting." I shook my head.
"I told you. They're not that big of a concern." Eve smirked. "Who are they most concerned with?"
"The people from the city," I said, and Eve nodded.
"There's a bit of contention there. Several people from the city attempted to scorch the rainforest, under the argument that finding instances would be far easier if the land was cleared.
For some reason, the forest has a significantly higher number of instances spawning in it than in the cities. "
“There have been some hypotheses on the patterns for instance spawning. Though it’s clear that it is random on some level, and they almost want to be cleared,” I murmured to myself.
Even in my past life, no one really was able to collect enough data to make sense of instance spawns.
Things just weren’t clean enough to have that good of a view on the populace and the computations required.
Though, I had a few of my own theories.
Eve shrugged. "It matters not why, just the fact that it's occurring. Anyway, the tribes and the people of the cities have been in conflict because of that situation. Once again, the two find themselves diametrically opposed in the hunt for resources."
Merlin shook her head. "Humanity will always fight for bread. It matters not who they are or where they are; the matter of resources will always lead to contention."
"Well said." Eve flashed her smile. "Given you guys pulled yourselves from the shadows, I can only assume it's your doing that gets Bran around so quickly, and I can't help but notice that you left with four people, and you've only arrived as three." She narrowed her eyes.
"Given the tribe's response, I decided it was best to understand those in the city, and one amongst us was best suited for that mission," I said.
Eve narrowed her eyes. "So you bring a woman capable of flitting through the shadows and a spy. Here I thought you were coming to take care of demons for me?" Skepticism practically glowed in her eyes.
"I am," I promised. "However, going about aimlessly would be useless. Understanding the factions and the landscape is basic tactics before any battle."
Eve still seemed suspicious but did not press any further. "I'll take your word for it. I've never been much of a tactician myself."
"Well, that's a shame, because you are leading a good number of people. You'd think you'd make sure you knew how to use them well." I put as much humor into my baritone as I could into the statement.
"Well, Bran"—Eve slid up next to me, running a polished fingernail along my clavicle, causing goosebumps to trail behind it—"maybe I need a brilliant mind like yours to aid me.
After all, I'm just a woman managing a large number of children in this beautiful paradise.
" She stepped away and twirled around, that leaf brassiere of hers ruffling with the movement.
"Unless, of course, you have other ideas? " she asked.
"Yours are as good as mine. As I said before, I'd love to catch the demons in a trap of their own making.
Should you and your sect attempt to try another high-level instance, we'd happily be there to protect your sect.
" I could only shake my head. Pushing her too hard was going to backfire.
Given her suspicions, I needed to let her plan some of the steps.
Eve paused and tapped at her ruby red lips, glancing at me out of the corner of her eye.
"You want me to go after one, rather than just finding one yourself, because you believe there is a spy in my sect.
" She continued to tap at her lips. "Which also means you have some way of detecting them," she asked with a lifted eyebrow, and I pulled out a stack of talismans that would look just like what I had given Venthra.
"If these are five to ten feet from someone and they begin to heat, then you have a demon in your midst. Please, only use one at a time."
Eve grinned, plucked them out of my hands, and held them up so that she could examine the talismans. "Oh, I was deeply curious. Pray tell, who is your enchanter? These are marvelous works. I'd love to hire them for myself. Of course, if you were willing to share." She grinned.
I could only smile back, mine perhaps a touch too wide, bordering on the predatory. "Why? I made those myself. If you'd like me to make something for you, all you have to do is ask."
The smile she gave me in turn was transcendent. "Well, in that case," she said, coming up and tapping me on the sternum with a nail, "I think you and I should have some private affairs to discuss," she purred.
I grabbed her hand and held it tight, staring deep into her eyes. "I'd love to have a discussion about inscriptions. After all, I consider myself very proficient."
She grinned, but there was a slight hint of trepidation, as if waiting for the "but." And, of course, it did come.
"But my goal here is to purge the demons. While I'm happy to work on some inscriptions, it must remain a secondary goal," I warned.
"Of course. After all, your time here is limited," she said knowingly.
"That is fine, though I'm sure almost every sect would welcome you with open arms if you revealed your mastery over inscriptions at the beginning.
While powerful initiates can be found by the dozens, master inscriptionists are far too rare.
Foremost, it's something done in the absence of strength.
" She looked me up and down. "For you to be simply so multi-talented is, dare I say, impressive.
The Heros Clan has done well; I was unaware their pedigree was so fantastic. "
I chuckled. "Well, I had to hide from the Heros Clan, because my father's a Borrson, and my mother is one of the Heros."
Eve gave a good-natured laugh. "Caught between the two, I can only imagine the horror.
Well then, perhaps that explains your talents.
I shall get several people to begin selecting a group for another higher-tiered instance.
Of course, for your plan to work, I must be forced to remain behind to defend the sect.
Understand, those I send with you are my precious disciples, and I would ask that you ensure not a single one of them is lost to me, or else you might find my hospitality grow cold. "
I smiled. There was nothing wrong with a sect leader being defensive of her people. In fact, I thought it was a remarkable quality. "Of course. You are placing a lot of trust in me. I will do my utmost to ensure it is not misplaced."
"Good," she said quickly. "While I'm busy getting these groups organized, there are a few inscriptions around my palace that have been waning.
I would be ever so grateful if you were able to look them over and provide some possible solutions.
You've noticed our sect largely relies on the environment to hide ourselves, and while that is good against some defenses, I would deeply love to have more. "
"People already know where your sect is," I replied. "It isn't as if you're going to be able to hide from those."
She shook her head. "You misunderstand. I do not wish to hide; I wish to defend. If my sect even had a barrier that could last for half an hour, I would have suffered much less at the hands of demonic trickery, while they try to pull me in multiple directions at once."
That gave me a greater understanding of what she wanted. "That seems feasible, and I'll even throw in a bonus. I won't do anything with heat or fire."
Eve chuckled. "Strike lightning from your list, too. I would like to preserve the rainforest that hides me as best as I can. In fact, you should use that as a guiding principle when making any adjustments."
"And if I start entirely from scratch?" I asked, and she shrugged.
"If it's effective, I don't care if it's yours or any combination that you've cobbled together from the trash.” She waved a hand through the air.
I nodded in understanding. "Then take care, and please do let me know when we'll head out."
"Tomorrow, after breakfast," Eve answered.
"There's already an instance of interest; I just got word of it while you were gone.
" She smiled. By bringing that up at the very end, I got the sense that this had all gone perfectly to her plan.
And it might have. In the end, her next goals aligned with mine, and for the moment, it was best if she believed she was getting her way.