PreCursive

  I took the offered materials, of course.

  What other choice did I have? It’s not like I was going to turn dowh to what I had actually been fih visiting Kawamara for.

  Of course, I wasn't stupid enough to promise anything to Masayuki, of course. All I told the surprisingly uanding official was that, if we had the means and the time, we would tentatively iigate on behalf of the court.

  I was…a little worried that my panions wouldn’t be ied in followio Goryuen, but not that much. I had already spoken to everyone, including Venix and Bel before she had left, about how I was looking for more of the bunkers. Everyone had agreed to help me search for one, in one way or another.

  That agreement hadn’t…quite involved followio the heart of the most dangerous isnd in Kawamara. But it’s not like they were obliged to follow me. Lord Ashiwara had only told me that my panions were permitted to follow me there, not required. If I o, I would be fih venturing onto the isnd by myself.

  But, uh.

  I really hoped they would e.

  ……………………………………………….

  I have worried.

  When I got back to the inn, I crashed in my rht away, without even looking over my new writ or the map. The m, I found my panions down in the dining room, sitting around the table that we normally did when everyone was in town. After greeting everyone, we all sat down to enjoy our breakfast together. It was only after Tarus had cleared the horizon and we were dohat I brought up the potential expedition.

  “Yeah, sure,” Azarus said immediately, not even looking up from his pte. It had taken the dwarf a while to get used to the lighter fare that the Kawamarans teo eat for breakfast, as well as their utensils. He hadn’t beeo the rgely pescatarian meals, apanied by rid soups. But eventually, eve-fingered dwarf had begun to enjoy it for what it was. “I’m up fer it.”

  Liora nodded pcidly my way, her mug of steaming green tea held closely to her lips. The Gnoll woman was, I’d found, even quieter in the ms than she normally was.

  Renauld seemed the most enthusiastic about the pn, surprisingly. His furry ears perked up, and he gri me with cheeks stuffed with rice. Hurriedly, he washed it down with his own tea and then nodded rapidly. “Hells yes, I’ll e. I already told you that I don’t want to leave just yet. This is just an excuse to keep kig around Kawamara, as far as I’m ed.”

  I blinked slowly at the immediate agreement I’d received from my panions. A small smile grew on my face, even as I felt lighter from their friendship. “It’s not likely to be easy,” I said teasingly. “This pce is supposed to be the most dangerous isle in the try.”

  Azarus looked up then and shrugged. “What else is new?” He asked, almost sounding bored. “Ain’t like any of us are strao danger.”

  Renauld looked like he wao cheer at the dwarf’s response, but wilted at the sharp look the proprietress sent him from across the dining room. Still, he rallied to hold out one furry palm for Azarus to sp.

  Said dwarf didn’t even look like he noticed, causing the Gnoll man to droop again.

  “If the region is such a danger,” Liora piped in uedly, voice still roughened from sleep. “Then we should wait for our other panions to return. We shall he might of Venix at the very least, if we are to brave this wilderness.”

  I furrowed my brow, but it was Renauld who spoke first. He tapped his thoughtfully for a moment. “Yeah, that’s reasonable. But…where is Bel?” He asked aloud. “She’s not normally gohis long. Shouldn’t she have been back st week?”

  I squirmed in my seat a little, hoping none of them noticed. But as, nothing much escaped Liora. Her lips quirked slightly. “Perhaps you should ask Nathan that question,” She asked teasingly.

  Renauld’s eyes locked on me, while Azarus looked up curiously from his meal. I shot Liora a dirty look which she ignored in favor of her tea. “Just a…small disagreement,” I said awkwardly. “Nothing to worry about. She’ll show up when she wants to. Anyway!” I said, desperately ging the subject. “I think Venix at the very least is getting back soon. We make some pns to depart before then, but Liora’s right. We’ll need him.”

  Azarus finally finished his oversized (dwarf-sized?) breakfast, and abruptly stood up from the floor table. At our curious looks, he shrugged. “I’m gonna go buy some more supplies,” He grunted. “Don’t need much, though. Ain’t like I’ve even unpacked from the hunt.”

  A fsh of guilt suddenly hit me, and I stood up to join him. “ut this off for a while if you guys want,” I said just loud enough for my friends to hear. I didn’t want to bother any of the other patrons. “Azarus is right…you guys just got back. You deserve a bit of rest.”

  I was a bit…surprised at he bnk, non-uanding looks I was fixed with by all of them. Even the normally taciturn Liora looked puzzled.

  Renauld tilted his head in his fusion. “I don’t get it,” He said bluntly, before looking over at Liora. She shrugged at his regard.

  Meanwhile, realization fshed over Azarus’s bearded face. He rolled his eyes at me. “Well, this ain’t happened in a while,” He said, a bit exasperated. He shook his head before log eyes with me. “Nate, don’t worry about it. This is one of those things ya don’t uand ‘cause you’re not from around here.”

  I almost wao wi the heavy emphasis he put on those words. As always, Azarus robably the worst person I k subterfuge of any kind. But…I…

  I think I uood what he meant.

  Judging by the looks that graced Renauld’s and Liora’s faces, I think they did too.

  Renauld chuckled and smirked at me. “Nate, if you have the ce to go out a some levels? You always take it.”

  “He is correct,” Liora said, nodding slightly. “While this ‘Goryuen’ might be dangerous, it presents an alluring opportunity. To deny su opportunity…it is almost unthinkable in our society.”

  “It doesn’t matter that we just got back,” Azarus said with finality. “If we go, we go. It’s especially what yer supposed ta do when yer young. Which we are.”

  He was right about that. I don’t think a this table was over the age of like, twe at the test.

  Practically infants in the text of the extended life of Magi and Cultivators.

  I rexed and held up my hands in surrender. “Okay, okay,” I chuckled. “I get the point. You’re all raring and ready to go. I surrender.”

  Azarus me as the other two started to gather themselves as well. “Alright then. Venix shouldn’t be gone fer much longer, and whes back, we’ll hit the road. As fer Bel?” The dwarf rolled his eyes. “Who knows when that woman will get bao reason ta wait up fer her.”

  I that, a little relieved despite myself.

  Sounded like a pn to me.

  ………………………………………………..

  We split up after that, each of us with our own particur preparations that o be done for another expedition. While Azarus was corre saying that Venix should be back ‘soon’, iy that meant ‘anytime in the week’. The tracts that the Antium man had been taking had him ranging far and wide across the breadth of the Kawamaran isles, and we had no way to track or tact him. I'd...had thoughts about recreating the essaging system of the Noe Division, and possibly even improving on it. But that wasn't going to happen anytime soon.

  For myself, there were a couple of things I had to do. I was low on both potions and the herbs o brew them, so I o pick up some more. I’d used up the st of what I had on my trip with the Oni Hunters. I’d get started on those potioonight, when I inteo make enough for both myself and all of my panions.

  I’d actually found Kawamaran Alchemy and herb lore to be refreshingly different. The disciplihat I’d learned under Grey had been distinctly Herztalian, and I was disc that was only one facet of the art. Ingredients were different here, the methodology was different here, and eveitude towards the process was different. Hell, even the end product was different.

  Here, liquid potions weren’t quite as on as pills were. Bottled potions like what I was used to were sidered an unfinished product. In the Kawamaran discipline, once you had brewed the actual potion itself, they used what they called a ‘pill furo dense and trate it down to a solid form. It was quite practical, really.

  However, in my own practice, I’d found it wasn’t without its drawbacks.

  What you gained in veniend portability, you lost in effeo matter how strong the base potion had been, the pill form would never be as potent as the liquid potion. The densation process teo essentially 'boil' off some of the po Aether of the desired effect. It was a trade-off, essentially.

  While I didn’t need many of the actual teiques, I’d long since found I could trahem into usage with Aetherial Melding. Certain ingredients iain quantities and at specific times still o be added to the astralized produ order to form the needed mix though. With a little experimentation, I’d discovered that I could replicate the densing effect of a pill furna order to produce my own pills.

  Thank God I'd dohose experiments outside of the inn, in a rented Alchemy b. Some of my failures had been...a bit explosive.

  These days, I liked t a mix of both pills and liquids with me. I’d brew up plenty of both ter that night.

  It didn’t take me long to pick up everything I needed, which gave me plenty of time for my sed errand of the day.

  This one, I was looking forward to much more than the brewing.

  Before long, I found myself standing at the open gates of a paratively small temple, deep into the heart of Hinaga. They were set at the entrao a meticulously tended garden valley, and painted in rich greens and natural golds. Far down ih, I could see the nearly rustic temple itself, its meager three stories and simple shingled roofs a far cry from the other temples that domihe skyline of Hinaga.

  This was actually the smallest one here iual temple district of the city. Surrounding the humble gates of my destination were many temples that were much, much rger, and much, much grahan my destination. Their roofs and arches rose up to fill the skylines, each of them graha, and each a representation of the Imperial court's favor. I’d been shocked to find that even the Gyreites had a temple here in Hinaga, structed in a local style, but still in the same golden Rori sandstone.

  But that wasn’t where I’d e.

  You see, I’d discovered something iing about the religious beliefs of the Kawamarans. While they aowledged the y of the Gyreites, they didn’t pray to the Gyre in much the way mainnders did.

  No, ihey revered the Great Spirits.

  The same ohat had aided me against Rhazal.

  And they were important.

  You see, the Kawamarans didn’t have Grey’s big fancy school to teach their Cssers how to beagi and Cultivators. What they had were the temples. It was the monks of the Spirit temples that taught Magid Cultivation to those who were ied. It wasn’t a perfect system, of course. There were only so many monks who were willing to teach prospective students, si was still a religious calling. Formal education in those disciplines was thus rare in the popuce, and those who were ied instead joihe priesthood. What this led to was a disproportionate amount of Cssers who leaned into their Status, only occasionally pig up Arts or Spells past the first breakpoint. They weren’t any less deadly for it, of course.

  But it had led to an almost Primalist revival in the try, after those Soul warriors Ely had told me about from before the Initialization. The refi of the Status, and the reje of Mind and Body in favor of the Soul, was viewed as more ‘pure’.

  Not me, though. I was all about learning some Magic.

  Which had led me to this specific temple, in this small er of the district.

  This…was the temple to Anima, the least favored of the Great Spirits in Kawamaran society.

  And where I had chosen to learn the basiagic.

  Srey.

  I had just been too excited.