Jack sat for what must have been a solid minute before his brain caught up to speed with the situation. A minute, that evidently made Rou impatient.

  "Will you keep me waiting, beast? I tire of looking at your malformed face and would rather attend to my companions."

  Now, Jack wasn't above throwing hands; he'd done it in the past and knew he'd do so again. The issue, however, was that those were school-yard bullies, not supernatural ones with swords, not to mention his nonexistent combat experience. So, doing the only logical thing, Jack answered.

  "I-"

  "I accept on his behalf!"

  Jack slowly turned to his new buddy, soon to be fish food, friend Sarhou, standing next to him, a defiant grin plastered on his face. He knew the guy was kind of an idiot, but going by Mei's expression, this took the cake.

  "Oh? And why should I care if you accept?"

  Sarhou slammed his fist against his chest, pride swelling in his heart.

  "I swore to take him in as my junior brother! His battles are my battles!"

  Well, the guy was dedicated; he had to give him that much, and if he was willing to stand up for a near total stranger, he might just be worth hanging around.

  "I bet we could take each of you on in a fight!"

  Never mind, he'd kill him after they did."

  Houdan had an evil smile as he gestured for another of his henchmen to come forward, a large man with a deep scar across his uncovered chest.

  "If you truly seek to fight together, then I would happily accommodate you. This is Huang, in his village, he slew three demon beasts before beginning his training as a sage. He shall fight your tribe pet monkey prince."

  That name tickled something in the back of Jack's head, but he couldn't quite figure out why. Still, strange feelings aside, he was being paired against a massive dude that supposedly killed magic animals, he didn't know what level of fucked he was.

  "If I am done wasting my breath with you two fools, I would like to win so I can return to my camp. We are having spirit herb essence, not that you know what that's like."

  Small murmurs were heard from the audience; guess it's a special soup or something.

  Getting into a boxer's stance like his brother taught him, Jack started to psych himself out and analyze his opponent. Large, bald, and muscled, but with very soft-looking carotid arteries, somehow, actually that may be a tumor now that he's getting a good look at it. One of Houdan's men decided to play referee and gave a sharp whistle as a puff of smoke came from their hands. Immediately, Sarhou lashed out with a now-revealed staff while Houdan met him with a straight sword, with each insulting the other at each collision and move. Jack refocused on his opponent, who was slowly approaching, large mallet in hand, in a high position.

  Circulating the fortress, Jack barely felt the heavy overhead blow from the piece of solid metal as it crashed into his arm, using the motion to swipe it away like it was described by the technique. Using the opening, Jack jumped onto the man, leveraging his lighter weight and size to twist around and lock him into a choke hold, using as much force as he could exert to compress the man's neck. Thankfully, or maybe not, the amount of power he was able to put into this was enough to cause the large man to start gasping for air, even falling to the ground with Jack keeping hold.

  Hoping to make it go by quicker, Jack started to punch the man's chest and stomach, trying to force whatever breath Huang had to leave him. But all this did was make the man fight back harder as he started scratching and kicking, and his gasps were slowly growing more desperate. Jack was winning his fight, but a look at Sarhou's showed that it wouldn't matter, battered and beaten, Houdan might as well have been playing with his new friend/idiot rather than having a serious battle. And as by a miracle, that was exactly the moment Sarhou lost, the guy falling and his staff being shattered over Houdan's knee. Looking at Jack and Huang, he all but teleported over to Jack and struck his chest, losing his breath and crashing into a tree.

  "An interesting move, but it simply displays why such a man does not belong in our presence. Such moves are distasteful, not to mention the positioning is humiliating to a true fighter."

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  He could feel the pain in his sternum as he wheezed on his knees, barely paying attention to the douche. But thanks to the adrenaline running through his veins and the intense amount of spite he was feeling, Jack had just enough energy for one last comment.

  "Bitch say what."

  "WHAT!"

  Jack laughed as he passed out, it wasn't a good comeback to getting launched into a tree, nor the broken ribs he doubtlessly had, but it felt really good to see that smug motherfucker's angry face. The last thing he remembered was another sharp pain in his skull, then nothing once again.

  He stood at the precipice of it all, a scaled hand holding a mighty sword over a defeated foe, the blade crackling with the storm's power, and the heat of the mountain's heart. He could feel the raw, awesome power he could wield, a flick of his wrist, and mountains became valleys, a swish of his tail, and seas were swept away. Nothing could stop him as he swung his sword through Houdan's neck as he-

  Suddenly woke up, groaning as he felt a deep pain in his chest and head, worse than a thousand hangovers. Looking around, he was in a large tent where he could see other recovering people in cots. He felt an arm on his shoulder, turning to see Mei standing with a bowl of water and a cloth.

  "Mei? Where are we? How did I get-"

  She held both of his shoulders as she looked right into his eyes, her piercing gaze stopping him mid-sentence.

  "You need to calm down, Jack. You were brought here after your 'duel' with Houdan Rou. It took some serious work from me to get both of you to some health."

  "You healed me? Where is Sarhou? What happened-"

  She held a finger to his lips, silencing him again.

  "You ask many questions for someone whose head I had to sew back together. He was released earlier this morning and is back with our stuff. Try to relax."

  The loud sound of people and animals could be heard from the outside, blegh, along with the smells of people and animals. Mei noticed his look and drew him back to her.

  "We've reached White Wheat village, one of the dozen or so attached to Emberglass City. Our caravan is taking in more people from the village, their tribute, from what I hear."

  "How long have I been out?"

  She frowned.

  "Out?"

  "Ah, asleep, sorry."

  "Not counting today or that night, about two weeks that you've been 'out'."

  Damn, two whole weeks?!

  "Are we in trouble with anyone? Am I going to be forced out of the caravan?"

  "From what I hear, the idea was presented by Houdan, but the caravan master denied him at every turn. The belief is that your injuries were punishment enough."

  "And my stuff?"

  "I kept them safe, I must say, though your book is rather odd, the writing is unlike anything I've seen."

  "Ah, eh, it's gibberish, something I keep with me when I get bored."

  She didn't look any more convinced than he was, but she could tell he wanted to drop the topic and return to the issue of the matter.

  "Hm, if you say so."

  "How long will I be in here? I like doing nothing, but I got stuff I'd like to do before we get closer, and I don't know when I'll have time to do it again."

  She waved her hand over his body, pausing at different points with a glowing hand. With each pause, he could feel the pain slowly recede as the sensation of 'fullness' replaced the broad pain he was in. Eventually, she passed over him enough times so that he felt almost as good as new, still bad in some places, though.

  "Just this second, now, go deal with Sarhou while I clean up and finish my meditation."

  Shooing him out of the tent, he was met by a big hustle and bustle between people and animals, magical creatures following their masters while strange livestock were pulled by theirs. When he left, he could feel the looks he was getting from the sages of the group, harsh and judging eyes easy to make out. But he ignored them and instead headed towards the waving hand of his new friend Sarhou, standing between two servants hastily setting up new tents.

  "Junior Ja'ck-"

  "It's pronounced Jack."

  "-I am overjoyed you're ok! But also appalled, if I had known you were lacking in fighting skill, I would never have let him challenge you so rudely!"

  "Yeah, thanks for that, but I think he was going to do it no matter what I might or might not know."

  "Perhaps, but we are still alive and well, mostly, and now know how much more we need to train. Would you like to join my training? I have asked for several kuon of hay for us to practice on, along with a quiet place we can cultivate once Mei returns."

  Jack nodded. It might be the best time to crack open his book before they get closer.

  "Sure."

  "Amazing! Almost as much as the view!"

  "What view?"

  "What view, he asks, why, that one!"

  Turning around, Jack could see towering on the horizon a stretch of the biggest mountains he's ever seen. It was awe-inspiring to behold, snow-capped peaks with the unmistakable sight of massive buildings littering the mountainside, each partially covered by low clouds and ice. Feeling a breeze blow around him, he felt the distinct feeling of spirit, cold and refreshing, much like a breeze. Opening his senses to the world around him, away from the flickering, distant signals he was getting from those around him, was an ocean of spirit flowing out of the mountain, and into the surrounding area. The amount was so tremendous that despite how knew he was to it, he felt like he should have felt it before it was pointed out. But a stray thought caught him short.

  "Sarhou, how far is the Sect?"

  "About another two weeks, a week and a half once you reach the city."

  Jack would need to accelerate his progress, and soon. Especially if he wanted to avoid being beaten that quickly again.

  "We should grab Mei right now, I think I want to take up that training sooner than I thought."

  He gave a monkeyish smile as they headed back to the healer's tent. Perhaps a new life here wouldn't be so bad.