PreCursive

  The air on the beach grew quiet and still in the wake of Shacklock’s threat. A feeling began to sweep through the gathered cssers and officers of the Order of Solstice’s Fme. Where before they were mistrustful of roup, now there was a sense of active hostility. The strange Kawamaran samurai even seemed to have been caught up in the frontation, his grip on his katana strengthening in the wake of Shacklock’s threat. Dozens of narrowed eyes peered at roup as hands began to creep towards and tighten on ons.

  And not just among the Solstice members.

  Well used t in roup by now, Renauld had slowly moved to the rear of our formation. If a fight broke out, it was standard procedure for Healers like him to keep behind the front lio better tend to our wounds from a distance. Meanwhile, Azarus had squared up to my right while Bel did the same on my left. spicuously, her of them had drawn their respective ons, ahere was a tenseness in their frames that spoke for the capacity of violence. Just behind me, I could sehat Liora had angled her way into my shadow. She wasn’t ht invisible, but she had lowered her profile for potential bat in a way I khey had taught in the Noe Division.

  In trast, only three people on this beach hadn’t reacted to the Grandmaster’s agitations.

  Venix, for one, hadn’t shifted an inch. The Antium samurai was unmoved and unphased, still standing with all four of his arms folded. His chitinous eyes remained fixed on the man who had just threateo kill me.

  I…was one of those people as well.

  After all I had been through, and the soul-shuddering potenight I had been in the presence of ba Elderwyck?

  I could tell that Shacklock’s words rang hollow. There was a ck of i behind his provocation that seemed obvious to me. It was almost like the old monster was needling for a rea.

  In my experience…when these eously powerful old relics were spoiling for a fight, they didn’t bother with words.

  That was when the Mantles came out.

  His iions only appeared more apparent when he hadn’t moved or said anything else since his threat.

  I crossed my arms a his eyes. “No, not really,” I said mildly, in plete trast to the atmosphere. “I’m looking for something else. We’re heading further innd, towards Mt. Gorenzan. We have busihere.”

  I caught a slight fsh of mingled disappoi and amusement in Shacklock’s beady bck eyes before he huffed. “Well alright then,” He said easily.

  The tension in the air popped like a bubble. There was a mingled sense of fusion, exasperation, and realization among the gathered Solstice members. I saw more than one of them roll their eyes, and thehering began to break up and wander away. The officers stuck around, including Captairom and the opposing samurai, but I guess the others had seen all they o know.

  The show was over.

  Venix slowly shook his head, his antennae swaying with the movement. “You haven’t ged, I see.”

  “And I never will,” Shacklock said, his eyes lingering on me in curiosity. They switched over to Venix after a moment, and he smirked. “You babysittin’ this lot for that bastard then? Maybe hopin’ to get a few levels for the geion?”

  Venix shrugged one shoulder. “That is only a side . It is as I said earlier. We seek something at the mountain. You are a side as well, old monster. What are you doing on this nd? If the throne knew of your presence, a punitive campaign would be called to root you out.”

  “Is that a threat, bugman?” The samurai they had called Kazuma said, wandering up. I noticed that out of the rest of the gathered crowd, he had yet to release his grip on his on. Nor had the suspi vanished from his gaze.

  For the first time, I think Venix fully noticed the other samurai, taking in his appearance. His brow furrowed and a frown crossed his lips. I noticed that his gaze lingered on the robe that ‘Kazuma’ wore. “That crest…it ’t be…”

  That made me curious, so I took a closer look at the Kawamaran man. Pinned on his right breast was an emblem that my eyes had initially gzed over, which Venix had to be speaking of. It detailed a stylized humaon hung protectively around an impeccably detailed spider lily, not so different than what was dispyed promily around it. The bones of the guardian were cast from silver, while the flower itself was golden.

  Kazuma frowned deeper at Venix. “And what if it is?” He said defensively.

  For a moment Venix almost looked…lost, as he gazed at the other man. “I…I thought you were all lost,” He breathed.

  I looked over at Venix curiously at his words. I was shocked at the near desperation I saw in his eyes.

  The samurai shook his head slowly. “No,” He said shortly. “The Higanashi live on.”

  The strange versatioweewo of them was broken up then by Shacklock g his hands together, reminding the two of them that he was still there. “And this fine young d is gonna help me and my boys cim this spit of dirt,” He said loudly, before wagging a fi Venix almost scoldingly. “I don’t care a whit if the wet chair has a problem with us bein’ here. Why, I bet they’ll even thaer we deal with their little worm problem.”

  That caught my attention. Hell, it caught everyone else’s attention as well.

  Including Venix.

  His gaze snapped away from Kazuma to rest on Shacklock, his arms falling from their crossed position in shock.

  At ard, the old man smirked at us with a crazed glint in his wild bck eyes. “Food.”

  Silence desded on the beace more, as we all took in Shacklock’s pronou. I noticed that Kazuma had directed an almost irritated look at the old man, which he didn’t aowledge at all.

  “You’re hunting Tatsugan?” I asked ftly. “That’s what you’re doing here?”

  Bel raised an eyebrow to my left. “Ahink ye deal with him ‘fer good’, eh?”

  “I know I , baby,” Shacklock firmed with a grin and a wink at her. Bel made a face at the old man, which didn’t seem to daunt him.

  I shook my head at this…crazed geezer’s antid spoke up. “Sure, that’s…nice. But are you and yoing to try and stop us on the isnd?”

  Shacklock looked back over at me and quirked an eyebrow at my bluntness. He shrugged. “Nah, you do what you gotta,” He said easily, waving a hand over to the jungle beyond the beach. “Try not to get ripped apart by the Oni. Wouldn’t want ol’ Grey to cry about it, eh? Or…maybe we would! Abloo bloo bloo!” He cackled mogly, before suddenly appearing to lose i. Without another word, the old man hobbled away towards one of the bigger tents on the beach.

  Talking about sudden mood whipshes. Did that old relic even have the barest glimmer of sanity left in that skull of his?

  His departure left us aloh the officers and Kazuma of, apparently, Higanashi. Whatever that was.

  Captairom frow us suspiciously for a moment. “As the Grandmaster says, you have permission to wahe isnd,” He said relutly, ign the fact that we were the only people who actually had permission to be here. “Just stay out of our way. We have our own is in Mt. Gorenzan.” He gestured, and he and the other officers followed after Shacklock, Lieutenant Salzman with him. Kazuma lingered for a moment, eyes still trag Venix with a degree of hostility before he did the same.

  When they were gone, I jerked my head behind us, and roup verged on the lifeboat into a huddle. “What was that all about?” I asked in a whisper, before looking over at Venix. “They shouldn’t be here, right?”

  The Antium samurai nodded slightly. “They ot. The River Throne would never allow such a sizable host as this to inhabit the Garden without representatives of their own in attendahe only reason we do not have one, is the small size of our ti.”

  Liora eyed him for a moment. “And that man, the other samurai,” She said quietly. “He ot be an Imperial representative?”

  Venix was quiet for a moment. “No,” He said finally. “Even the fact that the Higanashi still exist…it is shog to me. The Emperor would never allow that to guard this isle. Not after…” He abruptly cut himself off, shaking his head. “I do not know what Shacklock is after on Goryuen, but we must assume they will interfere in our pns to a degree.”

  “Ain’t this a good thing?” Azarus asked abruptly, drawing attention. “If the Solstice guys are pi’ a fight with the dragon, then don’t that mean it’ll be easier fer us to search fer the door?”

  That…was a good point.

  “Tatsugan is not a dragon,” Venix said automatically, before frowning. “But I do not know. It is…possible, in theory. However, it's just as likely to send the wyrm into an untrolble rage. We shall have to see. Stopping Shacklock...it is beyond us, even if we so wished to.”

  “Well, no point in talking about it all day,” I said standing up and breaking the huddle. “Let’s get back to the ship a Captain Satoru know there’s no issue. We get our supplies then, and then e bad set up a base camp of our own. Away from the Order of Solstice’s Fme.”

  Everyone agreed, and then piled ba the boat. Venix shoved the lifeboat back out to sea, and then in moments, we were rowing back to the Kaminari Maru.

  ………………………………

  Upon our return, Captain Satoru and his crew were visibly relieved to hear that they weren’t in danger of being sunk by the opposing Order. Still, he remained uneasy about something and couldn’t be reassured fully. Strangely, I didn’t see his first mate anywhere among the gathered crew. Usually, the man stuck to his Captain’s side like glue.

  I didn’t have time to question any of that, because my panions and I were gathering our supplies for the expedition across the isnd. The crew of the Kaminari Maru were still wary of going ashore within eyesight of the Order, so Captain Satoru directed the ship some distance downwind of the encampment. There, he dropped all of us off, along with the rge packs and crates of supplies we had brought with us.

  Whe of his crewmen were ba the ship, it seemed as if it was only moments before the ship that had taken us to the isnd had orieself away and was sailing off into the horizon. I watched them go with a frown, puzzled at the odd behavior of the Captaiood with me watg him go.

  “Mighty quick ta get goin’, that man,” She said with a frown.

  I nodded along with her, as Azarus got to work setting up the rge unal tent we’d bought this expedition. We’d deemed it better for everyoo sleep in the same walls for safety's sake, so we’d just goh the one. “He’s supposed to be ba a month for us. But I would have expected the man to try and replenish his fish stocks around here before leaving. I mean, just look at those waters,” I said, waving a hand at the crystal clear, blue-green waters that surrounded Goryuen. Even just off shore, I could see that they were dht teeming with sea life. "Free rations, right there for the taking."

  Liora joined us. The Gnoll woman was frowning as she watched the retreating ship. “He goes to inform the Kawamaran authorities of the Order of Solstice’s Fme’s presen the isle,” She said simply, drawing our attention.

  I let out a slow sigh and nodded. “You’re probably right,” I said in aowledgment. “Which meater be doh finding that door by then. Because when the Kaminari Maru es back for us…”

  “There’ll be a host of warships in her wake,” Bel finished for me. “And this pce is gonna bee a warzone when they find them Order people.” She grinned and then punched me in the arm. I just looked at her ftly, resisting the urge to rub the afflicted spot. “Ain’t ever simple with ye, is it Nate?”

  I rolled my eyes aed the weary impulse to agree.

  It really wasn’t.

  Instead, I ged the subject. “I’m going to scout the surroundings, maybe hunt up something fresh and bloody for dinner,” I said, turning away and raising the hood of my new cloak. “I won’t be gone soo ready, though, because tomorrow we make for the mountain.”

  The girls nodded and I wandered away towards the jungle on the far side of the beach. As I passed our burgeoning campsite, Renauld looked up from the campfire he utting together. “Try not to get eaten by an Oni,” He said smugly.

  In response, I drew one of my daggers and triggered a seldom-used entment I had built into the on at the f.

  A small sizzle of fme shed out of the tip ahe campfire alight, sending the Gnoll scurrying back with a flurry of curses. Mostly at me.

  I smirked under my hood, and as I reached the tree liriggered Thorn Cloak. My ented cloak ripped and grew crimson thorns.

  And I disappeared into the jungle.