Depthless Hunger

Chapter 242: Negotiating an Elven Alliance

As much as Kai was interested in Ceryyn's offer, he wasn't about to stumble into Rosemount politics when he was still an outsider. So after getting the basics, he signaled to the others to meet in the jungle. Thankfully, Zae Zin Nim said there was no sign of her pursuers and Omilaena seemed ready to move on.

They waited together on the southern edge of the jungle for Ceryyn to contact them. It hadn't been all that long since they'd been separated, but as soon as they were reunited, Kai realized how much he'd missed them. It seemed like they'd all made their own incremental progress without any major breakthroughs.

"I suppose slow advancement is to be expected," Kai eventually said. "We tried to put everything on the table at the battle for Yulthens, so we need to build up again before we'll be taking any new leaps."

"I am still approaching the Earth Soul stage," Zae Zin Nim said. "But proper cultivation requires time."

"You took a new leap, though." Omilaena spoke up next, but there was something strange...

"Wait, what language are you speaking now?" Kai asked. "I understood you fine, but I barely noticed. I guess that could actually be a weakness, if I can't notice the details of what language people are speaking."

"Nah, powers like the Alltongue Fruit are common enough for world travelers." Omilaena seemed to have switched languages again as she shook her head with a smile. "Damn, this one is better than I thought. Maybe they really have grasped some of their Insanity over in the Flaeren Dominion."

"Wait, an Insanity? Nobody told me about that."

"The Glorious Tree." Zae Zin Nim spoke up as if it was familiar to her. "It's one of the three Insanities on Rosemount. Allegedly a single tree grows with fruit that should grant power, but it's so intense that everyone who has ever tried to taste it has died."

Omilaena nodded along and then jumped in. "Of course their leaders always claim to have eaten it, but as far as I know it's always a lie. They've tried to plant the seeds or study the tree, with mixed success. I was being a little facetious about the Alltongue Fruit, but it's true that their natural power has improved since I was here."

Another Insanity. An object of unfathomable power that was a legend to most people, but for the three of them was just a symbol of a higher world. Kai was certain that the god-like beings who fought in the Frontier could eat the fruit, and for all he knew had been eating it since birth.

Before they could wander too far off topic, Ceryyn arrived. She wasn't radiating her aura at the moment, but she still looked astonishingly beautiful and moved with unnatural grace. Both his companions noticed and realized immediately, though they reacted differently: Zae Zin Nim shifted back uncomfortably and Omilaena licked her lips.

For his part, Kai wished that he could completely nullify the reaction and just see people for who they were. He was still better at intellectual analysis than the emotional chakra defenses. There was an instinct telling him that Ceryyn made the other two women look drab by comparison that his mind flatly refused to accept. Of course, they were here to talk politics and it would be best if he could get rid of all such thoughts.

"I didn't think you'd have such strong friends!" Ceryyn said cheerfully. "We need the help, but I can't say we trust them as much as you. Will you vouch for them?"

"With my life," Kai said. Ceryyn seemed a little surprised at his immediate reaction, but nodded and continued.

"Let me begin with what's commonly known. The Commonwealth's newest owners are an immensely powerful demon and his followers. They aren't plundering the Commonwealth itself, but they are pushing against its neighbors more than in the past. There was open war on the border with the Coiled Empire, a while back."

"Do you have a map?" Omilaena asked. "Here, let me help our barbarian friend."

She unrolled a map, which Ceryyn accepted graciously and somehow made hover in the air between them. Now Kai could see the nation of Crescilor curving along the western side of the continent, as well as the Commonwealth and other regions he knew. There were a surprising number of small nations, including lots of kingdoms, but he ignored those so as not to confuse the issue.

It looked like the Commonwealth sat near the center west of the continent, lined by a vast mountain range to the north and east. That mountain range spanning the continent separated the Commonwealth of Traebor, the Elven Wilds, and the Flaeren Dominion, with the Coiled Empire dominating a southern peninsula. Every other kingdom was clearly carving out space in the shadow of those giants.

"The Council of Elders wasn't particularly concerned by local squabbles, until the demons started preying on trade routes." Ceryyn tapped a finger on the mountain range between the Commonwealth and the Elven Wilds. "We like to think of ourselves as self-sufficient, but of course we appreciate trade from across Rosemount. Normally such trade is allowed to pass unmolested, but in this case..."

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"Demonic cultivators wouldn't care about that." Zae Zin Nim nodded as if this was expected. "They'll take what they want, and if it comes to war they can't fight, they'll just leave."

"Exactly. Now, the Council wasn't too worried, because the elves can protect their own. But recently the demons have begun making use of strange devices that inhibit elven glamours. You can imagine how much this weakens our agents, and if they're just testing new technology, they could potentially use the finished weapon to invade the Elven Wilds."

Kai could definitely see how that was a problem, since the elves relied on their glamours as a base power no matter what else they used. People like Ceryyn were no doubt used to others resisting or disrupting their glamour, but lesser warriors like those who might guard trade could be completely disabled. As he put together the political situation, Ceryyn confirmed his suspicions.

"Normally we stick to ourselves, saying that there are enough tribes of elves to tackle any situation." Ceryyn sighed and waved her hand across the Elven Wilds. "And we do have some groups that don't use glamours, but using them would look like an act of war, and they'd be spread thin anyway. So some of our lords and ladies, like me, have been sent to try to find allies."

"And what do you expect us to do against demons?" Omilaena asked.

"Of course we wouldn't throw you against them. The Council is planning to build a great school with the strongest potential allies from across the continent. You'd be given training and chakra to strengthen yourselves, while also being prepared to act as our agents against the demons. It would be-"

"Definitely not."

The hard refusal made Ceryyn blink in surprise, then she deployed a weaponized pout. Kai felt something tug at his heart, as if it was wrong of him to deny her anything. Omilaena folded her arms and stared back, not giving an inch even though she wasn't immune to the glamour.

"This school might be good for your Council," she said, "but we don't have time for it. You've seen our strength, haven't you? We have too many of our own priorities to let ourselves become vassals in your new program."

"This is a great honor!" Ceryyn objected. "We wouldn't be exploiting you, you'd be given benefits that few outsiders ever receive. If you distinguished yourselves, you could even receive a boon from the Council itself."

"What kind of boon?" Zae Zin Nim asked. "If I wanted to cultivate at the Sapphire Wind Oasis, would that be allowed?"

Ceryyn blinked in surprise, but nodded. "I cannot say that everything in the Elven Wilds would be open to you, but it's possible. The qi there is very pure, and it does slowly renew itself. It would be in our best interest to strengthen our allies, after all."

Omilaena was still shaking her head. "I won't deny the benefits, but you'd be making us enemies of the Commonwealth. What you don't know is that we have multiple reasons we need to travel there. The Elven Wilds contain great riches, yes, but not everything we need."

That seemed to be a bit insulting to Ceryyn, but Kai thought she didn't understand their ambition. They needed to find the perfect sources of power from the entire continent, not to mention a way to deal with the Brightwind cultivators still pursuing them. Of course it would be a mistake to reveal anything about that, since it was a weakness that could be exploited.

"Is there anything else we could do to help?" Kai asked. "For example a more secretive mission. The three of us as a team can manage more than you think."

"I suppose it can be considered." Ceryyn looked over the three of them and then took several steps back. "I will speak to my seniors. But if you want us to invest in you as a team, you need to make your decision about what you can offer."

She retreated some distance away and pulled something from her spatial bangle that she spoke into. The words were tantalizingly understandable to Kai, but he recognized that he shouldn't eavesdrop. Besides, it seemed like the three of them had their own issues to debate.

"I'm surprised you're willing to consider this school offer," Omilaena said. "A school is an open environment where your qi would be noticed and analyzed. Your father's minions would eventually hear about you, even if you'd completely hidden your power."

"And I need to advance to fight them," Zae Zin Nim said. "We can't waste any more time on the coast, not when they could arrive at any time. This oasis is one of the best possible sources for qi. We can get access to it and then leave."

"You don't want to upset the elves - they have long memories. We shouldn't do this unless we're really committed to it. I don't think we should get involved at all."

"Is that your real analysis, or do you just intend to go to the Commonwealth and get everything you want there?"

"You're talking like it's a scheme, but I've always made that clear. We can't work toward all our objectives at once." Omilaena turned away in irritation, and then to Kai's surprise, Zae Zin Nim did too. They weren't fuming, they were both looking toward him.

Were they depending on him to break the tie? Up to this point, their goals had been closely aligned from Krysal through the Blood Current. They'd never really established how more complex decisions would work. He supposed that voting was at least a fair way to handle things. Yet it seemed like more than that... these two actually respected him and were willing to listen.

"I do think we should work with the elves," Kai said slowly. "Because there's something else I haven't told you: Ceryyn told me about a place called the Inverted Oasis that sounds just like the Frontier. I can't pass up that opportunity to learn more."

"A wise choice." Zae Zin Nim nodded, but he wasn't finished.

"But I agree that we don't want to get involved with their school and their war. Surely we can take on a single task without ruining our chances in the Commonwealth? I think it's worth the risk, for what they could pay us."

The compromise didn't exactly satisfy either of them, but they both seemed to accept his logic. Ceryyn hovered not far away and it seemed she had been listening, because she spoke up as soon as they went silent.

"We're willing to offer you a more dangerous mission," she told them. "There's a target that elven cultivators can't touch. If you go, you'd be going without support, and we'd deny all involvement if you're captured. But if you succeed, each one of you would be granted a boon."

So the Council of Elders was throwing them into a dangerous situation to maintain plausible deniability. It was a callous move, but at least honest. If they could manage to pull off the mission, those boons could potentially change their fortunes on Rosemount: a breakthrough for Zae Zin Nim, something for Omilaena, and he could finally learn more about the Frontier...

They glanced at one another, then they nodded. Time to commit.

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