Kanin Fyre: Chapter 32 – Calm

Noli is still a ways down the street, but her face is lit up with that familiar, bubbly happiness. She’s walking my way, which will take an awkwardly long stretch of time to reach me, and she seems to realize this, too, as she soon breaks into a jog.

Ink balloons with delight at the sight of her. Part of our pack has returned! Quick, we must greet her—

I’m not sure it even realizes what it’s suggesting, but I’m in complete agreement. I open my arms, and she soon collides into us with a hug.

I lift her up with a squeeze, and Noli laughs.

“What are you doing here?” I ask once I’ve set her back down. “How did you get up here?”

“Your letters,” Noli signs, patting a pocket. “When you told me you were in a floating city, I just had to see it myself! I found an airship willing to take me. I wasn’t expecting it to be the Drifting Isles, though! So much has changed.”

“There’s a lot I need to fill you in on,” I agree. I glance over her shoulder and down the street, but she appears to be alone. “Where’s Rezira?”

Noli chuckles. “You know how she is about heights. She decided to sit this one out and stay in Simora. She found some work at the Academy’s healing ward to help out with.” Her gaze shifts to my side. “And who’s this?”

Aquenno is lingering behind me, passively watching our reunion.

“Oh, him?” I wave a dismissive hand. “That’s Aquenno, Blair’s champion. He’s annoyingly clingy, but you can ignore him.”

Aquenno narrows his eyes, then responds in sign language himself. “I’m fluent, I hope you realize.”

Whoops. No, I did not realize. Guess I should stop assuming this is like Earth and most people wouldn’t know signs.

Noli’s eyes go wide at the introduction. I think I detect a flicker of fear—or at least, wariness—in her expression, but it quickly vanishes behind her signature friendly smile. She steps around me and offers a hand. When Aquenno clasps it, she shakes it with two hands—a form of respect, I think. I’ve seen the gesture a couple times, but haven’t thought much about it.

“Pleased to meet you,” Noli signs. “I’ve heard much about your lord. She sounds kind and just.”

Lay it on thick, why don’t you.

But Aquenno appears impressed by her respect. “She is. It’s refreshing to meet someone who appreciates her nobility.” He glances at me out of the corner of his eye.

Noli chuckles. “You’ll have to forgive him. He isn’t yet familiar with all of our etiquettes. But he’s working on it!” She raises an eyebrow at me.

“What are you saying? I am the pinnacle of etiquette,” I sign.

A smile pulls at Aquenno’s lips. Hey, what do you know, he’s not a total stick in the mud.

Maybe I should actually give the guy a chance. He did start to open up during our sparring matches. It’s just kinda hard to completely trust someone whose loyalty is to a god that could lock you up forever if she changes her mind about Ink.

Another reason the Inventory option could be a literal Get Out of Jail Free card, I think.

Ink just bristles and doesn’t reply.

“Come on.” I gesture our group up the road. “You can drop your bags off in my room until you have your own place. Actually, you can just take Zyneth’s bed if you want.”

She tips her head as we set off. “Does Zyneth not need it?”

I feel a small sting of loneliness at the reminder—but not as bad as it had been before. It’s nice to see Noli again.

“He had to leave for a job,” I sign.

“And you didn’t go with?” she asks.

I mentally grimace. “He insisted I should stay. I’ve got stuff to work on, here.” I pointedly don’t elaborate with Aquenno right there.

“Don’t worry.” Noli squeezes my arm. “I’m sure he’ll be fine.”

How in the world can she see straight through me like that? I mean, okay—I am literally transparent—but the point stands.

I shake my head. “It’s going to be dangerous with just the two of us here.”

She gives me a questioning look.

“Neither of us have the responsible partner around,” I elaborate. “Who knows what sort of misadventures we’ll get ourselves into without them holding us back?”

Noli laughs, warm and loud, and the sound goes straight to my soul.

It’s late enough that we’ve missed the dinner rush, so Aquenno and Noli grab a small bite to eat before retiring for the night. Noli’s been on quite a journey, and I suspect Aquenno is more tired than he’s letting on. That night, I can’t wait for the sun to rise again.

The next morning, ss I’d been provided in previous weeks, I give Noli a tour of the city and palace. She’s the best possible guest to host, as she gushes over any new thing I show her. I act as an interpreter whenever we encounter someone who doesn’t sign; it seems like a lot of the native Fyrethians aren’t familiar with the language, but most of the visiting scholars and tourists do, which is a pleasant surprise.

“And this is Ollie,” I sign as we step out onto the dragon’s pavilion. “He’s one of the Lost Souls I’ve been looking for.”

Ollie swings his head around to greet us, blearily blinking at the three of us. “GOOD MORNING,” his translator says, despite it being closer to lunch by now. He yawns, providing a too-close-for-comfort view of his gullet. He lifts his nose toward Noli. “I LIKE YOUR HAIR.”

Noli giggles at this when I pass the message on, tucking a braid behind her ear. “Thank you! My wife helps me braid it. Kanin, did you introduce me, yet? I’m Noli, Kanin’s best friend!”

I’m a bit flustered and flattered at the title, but stop signing two words in.

“HE DOESN’T HAVE TO,” Ollie replies. “I CAN UNDERSTAND YOU. I WISH I COULD TALK THAT WAY!” He taps his talons against the stone. “MY FINGERS CAN’T MOVE LIKE THAT NOW.”

I again interpret. “His Echo allows him to understand any language,” I add. “Also, I should probably mention he’s only seven years old.”

“Oh my goodness.” Noli reaches a hand up, and he nudges it with his nose. “What a big, strong boy you are!”

He rumbles happily. “YES, I AM!”

Noli indulges him in conversation about all the treasures he’s collected, and a long, meandering story about how he and Meritis—his harpy friend, I gather—were on a mission to collect all the best rocks for the Dungeon Core to eat. Seashells were its favorite.

I’m not sure Noli has enough context to follow most of it, but she enthusiastically engages with him nevertheless.

“COME BACK SOON,” Ollie says as we finally pull ourselves away. His gaze turns to me. “I LIKE YOUR FRIENDS.”

I chuckle. “Me, too.”

When we make our way into the dining hall that afternoon, Mirzayael and Fyre are already seated in their meal circle, so I take Noli (and Aquenno, by default) to sit with them.

Fyre is delighted to meet her. “So you’re the one I’ve heard so much about! Kanin thinks highly of you.”

Noli glances toward me to interpret. I begin to sign, and Fyre’s eyes widen with realization.

“Oh!” Fyre says, immediately patting her pockets down. “Wait—I have a—one moment. Now where did I put…”

Mirzayael reaches around to pull a green emerald on a chain out of her own bag, passing it over to Fyre. “You had me hold onto it because your pockets were too small, remember?”

“Thank you, dear.” Fyre slips the necklace over her head. “What would I do without you?”

“Carry your own bag, probably,” Mirzayael teases.

Fyre taps the gem resting on her chest, and the jewel lights up as the spells within it activates.

“Is this working?” she asks. “I saw one in use and I just had to—Oh! Amazing.”

Green light spills out of the stone, projecting a pair of ghostly hands into the air in front of her, which begin signing what Fyre is saying.

Noli’s eyes light up. “It does indeed work. Oh, but, now she can’t understand me.”

Fyre shakes her head, tapping her temple. “I’ve got a translator of my own up here, so I can understand you just fine.”

“She’s also a Traveler,” I explain to Noli.

“So many!” she exclaims. She shakes my knee out of excitement. “I’m so happy you’ve been able to meet some.”

Yeah. Me, too.

“And you helped facilitate this meeting, didn’t you?” Noli asks, turning to Aquenno.

The nereid seems caught off guard to have been included in the conversation. I guess we have kind of been ignoring him. Only Fyre occasionally attempts to chat with him, but even those instances feel forced.

“Yes, I suppose,” Aquenno signs. “Lord Blair had me track Kanin down to deliver the time and date of the arranged meeting. I found him at a Gods’ Tournament if you can believe it. Ridiculously rash.”

Noli laughs. “Yes, he does tend to make, ah, bold decisions, doesn’t he?”

“Hey,” I object. No, she’s right.

Noli gives a helpless shrug, and Aquenno grunts in a way that might be mistaken for a laugh. I’m amazed at how easily Noli can make anyone feel welcome.

“Actually, I’d been meaning to ask about that,” Fyre says.

Aquenno gives her a skeptical glance. “The Gods’ Tournament?”

“The delivery method,” Fyre clarifies. “Why didn’t Fyre send a message to Kanin and I directly?”

She’s talking about the Contact system that Blair unlocked. It’s a good question—why give us a communication network and then not use it?

Aquenno shrugs. “She told me it was the only way to get the message to you. She was clear that it needed to be delivered in-person.”

Odd. She wouldn’t have lied to Aquenno, would she? Once again, I try to send a message to Blair, and once again, I receive a “Failed to Deliver” notification. Maybe she really can’t send a message to us right now. But what’s stopping her?

“Who needs messages when you can have a champion personally hunt you down and insult you?” I say, trying to turn the conversation back toward levity.

“Oh, no,” Noli laughs, looking at Aquenno. “What did you say?”

“Nothing that wasn’t deserved.” Aquenn gives me a pointed look, but it’s more of a smirk than a glare. “He should have known better than to be anywhere near a Gods’ Tournament.”

“Hey, you told me that Yua Tin is friends with Blair,” I object.

“After the fact.”

I throw my hands in the air. “So there was nothing to worry about!”

“A friend of Yua Tin?” Noli repeats, considering. “Lord Blair must be a kind soul. But it’s odd—I don’t think I know the name.”

Aquenno glances away with a noncommittal grunt. “My lord prefers her privacy.”

An awkward silence hangs about the meal circle for a moment. So much for my attempt to get Aquenno to loosen up and maybe divulge a bit more information.

“So what field of magic is barriers, anyway?” I ask after a moment. “I haven’t read about it in any of my arcana research.”

“It’s not really a specific field, is it?” Noli asks. “I’ve seen a few different kinds used here and there.”

Aquenno nods, relaxing fractionally. “No more than ‘attacks’ are a field of magic. Many different arcana types can be used to create barriers of different kinds—it depends on what kind of barriers you’re talking about, but it ultimately comes down to strengthening your magic—making the material as dense as possible. It’s very difficult as it requires an intimate understanding of your affinity.”

“Oh, yeah, that makes sense,” I say, thinking of the discussion Siqi and Zyneth had with me back at his tower. “To use magic without a spell circle you need a more intuitive understanding. And Caesius had been working with me on developing a deeper understanding of the structure of glass, too.” Maybe someday I’ll be able to achieve Durability in my glass without needing a spell circle.

Fyre squints at Aquenno. “Yours is storm magic,” she says. “How does one use water, air, and lightning to create a barrier?”

Aquenno raises a suspicious eyebrow at her. “It would be more accurate to say my affinity is atmospheric magic. How did you know?”

Undoubtedly doing what Fyre just did, I also Check Aquenno for his affinity. Sure enough, Storm magic appears to be his. I’m not sure if I’ve seen anyone with such a broad affinity before. Trenevalt was a null mage, I suppose, but most of the ones I see working at telepads specifically have an affinity for summoning, one of the three main categories of null magic (in addition to mind and void).

“I saw a bit of your sparring match with Kanin yesterday,” Fyre replies to Aquenno—a little too quickly.

He narrows his eyes fractionally, but doesn’t question it. “Yes. In that case, I created barriers by effectively holding an Attuned volume of air and precipitation firmly in place; not allowing any movement. This tends to cause light to refract through it, giving it a visible, prismatic effect.”

I wonder if I could make a barrier from my glass, too. Probably. But it would require a whole lot of glass, and a whole lot of Sculpting, and a ridiculously strong Durability spell, all applied within a manner of seconds. I’m not sure my abilities are quite there yet.

“How does it work with something less physical?” I ask. “Yedzaquib had mind magic, right? But in his library, he had these barriers between floors that wouldn’t let you ascend unless you had access.”

Fyre brightens. “A library? Where’s this?”

I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear her question.

“It wasn’t mind magic,” Aquenno says. “His library used a dozen different types of arcanum, which he could afford to have designed and crafted by artificers, and powered by arcana crystals. However,” he adds, “theoretically, mind magic could be used to create barriers, of a sort. You could potentially trick a mind into thinking a wall is present, and their hand can’t pass through when they tried to press on it. Of course, the spell is really restricting their hand, not creating a wall, and if someone else threw them through, for instance, they would pass through unhindered—save for, perhaps, a shock to the mind.”

That’s a lovely thought. But it’s giving me some interesting new ideas for playing with glass and void magic.

Fyre and Mirzayael, meanwhile, have exchanged a glance, and from the way they’re both remaining silent and still, I suspect they’re having some internal conversation of their own. Fyre has mind magic. I wonder what she’s planning?

Successfully turned away from the subject of the gods and into magical theory, the conversation becomes more casual, and Aquenno even joins in from time to time. As much as I originally pegged him as some kind of stuffy disciple for Blair, he actually seems to be a sharp and competent mage, especially knowledgeable within his affinity. I guess it makes sense that Blair wouldn’t have pulled just any random guy off the street. Not to mention, I’ve noticed that an individual’s level tends to be roughly reflective of their age, up to a certain point; the exceptions being that those with high magical ability tend to be disproportionally higher level, like with Siqi and Yedzaquib. Aquenno is level 46, but he only appears to be slightly older than me.

Of course, he’s also a champion, and I’m not sure how that might affect one’s level. Regardless, it’s clear I need to stop underestimating the guy.

Just as the meal is winding down and we begin to stack up plates to take back to the kitchen—Mirzayael and Fyre don’t seem to have any servants dedicated to the task—something in the System tugs at my attention. My Contacts list has a new notification. Did Blair respond?

I mentally open the menu and find I have a new message from L.

It’s brief and to the point:

Map’s been updated. Six days.

I open the Map of The Sanctum next. Sure enough, there’s a new mark on the map; a simple, innocuous black dot on one of the cubes labeled Monitoring.

Fyre looks over at me, her face grim. I guess she got the same message.

Six days until Shirasil opens a portal to the Heavens for us—unless I get there first myself.

One way or another, by the end of the week I’ll have freed some of the gods’ prisoners—or I’ll have joined them.