Chapter 15 #5
Nili gave him a long look. “Alex, we’re in the middle of a desert.
And the warehouse is a long way from the lush valley in the heart of the caldera.
And to be quite frank, Alex, we barely have enough water for the crops and our own thirsty throats.
Our people are naturally frugal, and one can keep quite clean with a single pail of water and a wash rag before using that same water for laundry, but proper baths are not a luxury that many of us can afford. ”
Alex winked. “I’ll handle that element of things.
All I need is the paperwork ensuring that no smarmy-faced merchant can come knocking, declaring that the property and all the assets within are now his, and think he’ll be permitted to cut down my trees without me cutting off his head.
And you damn well better believe that his corpse will be feeding my grove. ”
Nili smirked. “That would be rather inconvenient if we’re trying to get you to blend in, dear one.
” She flashed him a surprisingly fond smile, patting his hand.
“But you devoting yourself to the care of a garden might be just the healthy sort of hobby a wild boy like you needs to settle down and relax. Enjoy peaceful days until you find your beloved and no doubt start a caravan, exploring all the wonders and beauties that the desert holds.”
Alex smirked. “Next thing I know, you’ll be trying to set me up with some caravanner’s daughter.”
Nili chuckled throatily. “I wouldn’t dream of it.
But there are far worse things than feeling light and free, blowing in and out of countless welcoming cities with fortunes earned and revelries savored, dear one, with life’s troubles touching you as lightly as a desert breeze.
Why grow roots if they can be torn away?
Far better to be a peaceful cloud floating above life’s troubles, eternally riding on currents blowing contentedly above us all. ”
Alex chuckled at that. “Certainly there are worse lives… and wait, I recognize that girl!” he said as they emerged from their peaceful stroll about the garden, now finding themselves falling in line with the other guests.
He couldn’t help but smile with warmth when a certain dusky-skinned Ruidian girl spun around, her curls bobbing delightfully, done up in silk ribbons the same shade of pink as her flowery cheongsam, Alex noted, as she smiled.
“You’re the Ruidian boy who helped me save the caravan!” squealed the excited girl, impulsively darting over to clasp his hand, gazing up into his eyes and blushing most adorably.
“Rachel, right?” Alex asked, earning a pleased nod in turn.
“Oh, how sweet. I was hoping you would remember me! Lin, look who it is. Our hero!”
Lin, the caravan merchant that Alex and his companions had last seen after Sunlay had made certain he would receive a handsome profit for his wares, was all delighted smiles for Alex and Nili both.
He, too, was dressed in what Alex suspected were his finest linens, though his simple cap and the emphasis on black and white hues was a contrast to the finery that most of the others were wearing.
“Oh, how delightful to see the heroes of our journey! Are you here for commendations too? But of course you are. Fear not, I made sure to give a complete account of your marvelous rescue of our imperiled caravan. Without your noble intervention, along with dear Rachel and Timon holding off those miscreants for as long as they had, I fear our bones would be bleaching in the desert sands this very moment!”
The man shivered with his own declaration.
“Fortunately, we all survived the ordeal and are stronger for it,” Nili said, her soothing words and gentle smile visibly easing the high-strung merchant as Rachel continued to gaze around the garden they were still at the periphery of with awe.
“Isn’t this beautiful, Alex? So like the gardens favored by our clans!”
Alex couldn’t help smiling back at the bubbly, effervescent girl reminding him so much of Linnea at that moment. “It certainly is beautiful, and few things are more soothing than a well-tended grove or garden.”
“Exactly!” She impulsively clasped his hand and gave it a squeeze.
“Isn’t this exciting? We’re going to get a commendation, and then we’ll be given top-tier delving privileges within the academy!
” She frowned at Alex’s startled look. “All things considered, I think they’d give almost anyone unlimited delving privileges, but we won’t talk about that,” she said with a soft whisper and a wink, and Alex couldn’t help but grin, because at least she had thought to modulate her voice, insistently yanking his powerfully muscled arm to get on her tippy-toes and whisper in his ear.
“And Alex?”
“Yes, Rachel?”
“Have you grown taller?”
Alex stood up straight once more and winked. “Maybe just a little.”
Her eyes widened with awed delight. “You leveled up!”
“Pretty much, yeah. But it was only about an inch. Hardly the two that Nili claims.”
“Exactly two,” Nili sniped by his side, voice turning firm. “Now quiet, both of you. Try to look proper. We’re about to be invited inside.”
And indeed it was so, a somewhat bored-looking guard waving a group of excited-seeming guests through the massive arching gates of the palace, and before long they too were walking along marbled floors polished to a glistening shine, the merchant and Rachel both staring with awe at the spectacular display of art and wealth in the form of gold-plated statues of historic figures and scores of magnificent paintings of ancient forests, stormy seas, and endless fields of sun-ripened crops.
Pictures that Alex was certain had to have been thousands of years old, preserved by arts he couldn’t even guess at.
And then in a dizzying moment of shadow and light, Alex’s group had somehow taken an odd turn, now in what looked to be a servant’s passage, free of the arching roof and ornamentation, Nili’s piercing gaze hushing them all to silence.
“Sometimes discretion truly is the better part of valor,” Nili said, her fingers gently brushing Alex’s cheeks, before she glared at the suddenly trembling Ruidian girl and the confused-looking merchant.
“Now listen well. The hero of your caravan was no blond-haired, blue-eyed Ruidian boy. It was a skilled mercenary named Tong, master of spear and guandao. A failed half-step Silver, he proved the worth of his combat skills and valor defending your caravan just as he has a handful of times before,” Nili explained, cold eyes pinning both their companions down until a sheepish pair of nods bade her continue.
“Good. As to any questions given to your worthy servant, you will apologize and say that Tong, regrettably, lost his ability to speak with his failed attempt at an ascension. A sad end to his tale, and far more common than most cultivators wish to admit, crippled by the scars so many of us suffer, daring to rise too far above our station in life.” She flashed a bitter smile.
“Tong. Loyal guard. A half-step Silver and a truly elite warrior, however much his former employers failed to appreciate him. My band came only in time to clean up. The credit is all your own, Lin. Is that clear?”
The pale-faced and visibly sweating merchant jerked a nod and hasty bow. “Yes, it is, my lady. It most certainly is.”
“Excellent. Come, I know a shortcut.”
In very short order, after slipping through a handful of corridors that left Alex increasingly certain that his kitsune friends were able to use Shadow in ways that went far beyond stealth, they emerged from a side corridor just in time to blend with the extended retinue of dinner guests.
Alex’s eyes widened upon catching sight of the vast ballroom-sized chamber filled with grand dining tables, soft music, and glittering chandeliers, the low murmur not disturbed at all when Nili led them with purpose toward a table filled with men and women wearing an eclectic assortment of attire, including everything from spirit beast hide armor to shirts of steel mail to polished suits of lamellar, though no weapons were presently visible at what was, after all, a royal gathering.
Alex’s eyes widened when he realized that everyone at that table were skilled cultivators of Mid or even Deep Bronze, and all of them clearly followed a warrior’s path or some variant on the Path of Peril, if the hardness of their eyes and the pressure of their foundations was anything to go by.
Alex couldn’t help smiling in approval as he caught sight of a pair of Ruidians devouring roasted meat and tasty-looking stews before his eye was caught by that of a powerfully built man radiating a Silver’s potency.
It was clear that this table truly was for the martial elites, not the nobility.
Men and women who had proven their prowess in battle, and perhaps, as a group, were to be honored…
even if they had none of the status and clout of those wearing the far more elegant and fashionable attire to be seen in abundance at the other tables closer to that of the elevated table of the royal family, Alex noted, taking it all in with Qi Perception and a quick glance.
The merchant, Lin, was led by Nili to another table filled with men radiating first-generation wealth, and the excited chatter and sheer energy radiating from those men and women spoke of present and future movers and shakers.
Yet they clearly lacked the calculated smiles and cool confidence of those of more rarified air at other tables.
“So, you’re the pair of mercenaries that kept Lin in one piece?
” queried the rumbling baritone voice of the Silver Giant seated beside Alex, a good half-foot taller than the other guests at the table.
Yet despite his size, he still had the grace and common sense to keep his voice down, assuring that it wouldn’t drown out any other table’s conversations.