Kanin Fyre: Chapter 10 - Champion of Wards

Before Ink can rip the stranger’s head off, I give him a Check.

[Name: Aquenno]

[Title: Champion]

[Species: Nereid]

[Class: Hallowed Guard]

[Level: 46]

[HP: 150/150]

[Mana: 2125/2200]

[Allegiance: Blair]

I take in several realizations in the span of a second. The train of thought goes something like:

He’s a champion. Blair’s champion—probably an ally. Level 46: that’s higher than Zyneth and I, but still feels surprisingly low. Much lower than Zetaru’s level.

Also, he’s a nereid. Ink’s mind is immediately thrown back to Gillow, and it wants to kill him.

I grab our void before it has a chance to leap at the champion, and Ink thrashes angrily in my grasp. Externally, the only tell of this internal battle is a ripple that passes through our void—though even that is disguised by my illusion.

Dammit, I say, wrestling with Ink’s will. That isn’t Gillow! Every single nereid we come across isn’t going to be Gillow. I don’t have time to deal with this racist shit.

Ink knows it’s not Gillow. Obviously. Gillow was blue, and this nereid is green.

Then why the fuck—

He snuck up on us. Plus, there’s something wrong with him. It doesn’t understand what. It makes Ink feel… unsettled.

Noted, I think. But we can’t find out what that is if you kill him.

“I’m afraid you have the wrong men,” Zyneth says. He can’t Check the champion—Aquenno—like I can, but from his faked, neutral tone, and the way his hand has come to rest on the hilt of one of his blades, he certainly understands the threat.

“I’m quite sure I don’t,” Aquenno replies, his grip tightening on our shoulders. “Now, I’d love to speak without causing a scene. If you two could come with me?”

Ink is still a hair's breadth away from stabbing some void through this man’s hand, but I manage to get it to back off with the promise that if Aquenno tries to hurt us, Ink has permission to use our abilities to their full potential.

Zyneth looks at me for confirmation, and I nod.

“It’s alright,” I say, turning in a direction that causes his hand to be shrugged off my shoulder. “We’ll come with.”

Aquenno fractionally nods. “Much appreciated.” Despite his words, his tone sounds tight. We’re all a little tense at the moment.

Aquenno leads the way out of the crowd, putting his back to us; I’m not sure if we should be insulted. But it gives me the opportunity to speak privately with Zyneth.

“He’s Blair’s champion,” I sign to him.

Zyneth frowns, glancing toward Aquenno’s back. I’m sure he’s thinking the same thing I am: this guy doesn’t look like a champion. Zetaru has a commanding presence: she seems to be overflowing with light. Blair had also looked similar, and unearthly aura around her. Aquenno looks like any other nereid: a head shorter than Zyneth, aquamarine scales, and ridges of fins and frills that run from his head down his back. He wouldn’t seem imposing if I didn’t know his level and title.

“You sure?” Zyneth signs back.

“Yes.”

“Can we trust him?”

That’s the question, isn’t it? Knowing he’s Blair’s champion makes me feel infinitely better than if he’d been working for someone else. But his tone didn’t exactly exude “best friend” energy. All I can do is hold up my hands in uncertainty.

Aquenno weaves through the boardwalks until we’ve left the crowds behind and have moved back into the city. The streets are unsettlingly empty here; probably everyone is at the tournament. The champion stops in an alley off the main street, glancing both ways. Then he traces out the shape of a spell circle in the air before him, and an opalescent dome appears overhead, draping down to the street and sealing all three of us inside. The sound of the crowd dulls to a faint hum in the background.

[Cloaking dome activated,] Echo says. [Your voices will be contained within the prescribed volume.]

Aquenno rounds on me. “I know you lack a brain, but this is something else.”

“Uh.”

Zyneth appears caught off guard too.

“Going to a God’s Tournament?” Aquenno continues, practically spitting out the words. “What were you thinking? What if the god showed up and found you?”

“Er.” I exchange a look with Zyneth. “We thought Yua Tin wasn’t likely to wish us any harm.”

Aquenno exhales angrily through his nose. Despite being shorter, his barely contained rage seems to fill the dome and loom over us. “That’s—that’s beside the point.”

“So they would have been on our side?” Zyneth confirms.

“Beside the point!” Aquenno snaps. “What if it was someone else? Are you trying to get caught?” He starts pacing before either of us can respond. “Do you know how long I’ve been trying to track you down? Do you know how many leads I’ve chased? And of course you’re wearing this ridiculous disguise, just to make my life more difficult. It’s a good thing you drag this cambion around everywhere you go or I might have missed you.”

Zyneth raises his eyebrows.

Aquenno jabs a finger at me. “Blair’s sticking her neck out for you, you know. You can’t go around being this reckless!”

So, this is a lot to process. Since the jig is up, and we appear to be in some sort of anti-eavesdropping space, I disable my disguise to save its charge. Aquenno doesn’t even blink.

“This was the only God’s Tournament we went to,” I tell him. “I have been trying to keep a lower profile.”

Aquenno keeps his glare trained on me, though he doesn’t seem to know exactly where to look to maintain eye contact. After a moment, he lets out an annoyed sigh, the tension in his shoulders slumping slightly.

“Well, praise the gods for small miracles,” he says. “You haven’t had any other encounters with gods or champions?”

“Not until you,” I say. Once more, I Check the champion and am presented with his stats. He doesn’t react. When Blair Checked me, Echo notified me that I was being Checked. Does he really not have a System Interface, then? Weird. You’d think gods would at least grant that ability to their champions; it would sure help with tracking people down. I attempt to add Aquenno to my Contact List, but just like with everyone else I’ve tried it with, Echo doesn’t react.

Aquenno seems to be calming down a little. “Did Zetaru see you?”

“No,” I say. “And I would know if she did.”

The champion grunts. Despite this being the news he seems to want, he also appears a bit annoyed by the response. As the hostility in his body language slowly seeps away, Ink also relaxes—fractionally, anyway.

“Good,” he grumbles, still glaring at the two of us.

There’s a beat of awkward silence. “Is there a reason you were tracking us down?” Zyneth finally asks.

Aquenno crosses his arms. “Yes, in fact. I’m to deliver you a message from Blair.”

“Blair?” I double check my Contact list. She hasn’t sent me anything. “Why didn’t she just message me?”

Aquenno scoffs. “How would she do that? I didn’t even know where you were.”

Weird. Does he not ever know about the Contact list? But that still wouldn’t explain why Blair hasn’t reached out. Out of curiosity, I think of sending her a message, and the words appear in the interface.

[Kanin: Hey, your champion is here]

But just as soon as the words appear, they vanish, replaced with [Message failed to deliver.]

Well that might explain why Blair sent her champion instead. Echo, why can’t I send a message in my Contact list? I ask.

[Contact function currently off line,] Echo replies.

Why’s—

“Kanin,” Aquenno snaps. “Are you even listening?”

“Defintiely,” I say, closing the Contact window. Definitely not.

He narrows his eyes. “You can’t possibly have more important things to be thinking about right now. But now that I have reclaimed your attention—” He sniffs, wrinkling a nose at Zyneth. “This message is meant for Kanin only.”

“I’m going to tell him whatever you have to say regardless,” I admit. “Might as well say it with him here.”

“Impetuous,” Aquenno mutters under his breath. “Fine. I was sent to give you a time and place. Blair has confirmed one of the other Travelers would be open to meeting you. She will have a narrow window in which to introduce you both. If you’re still interested, meet at Yua Tin’s temple in Twilit City—noon, four weeks from today. If you’re not there when she arrives, you’ll miss your opportunity, and she can’t guarantee you’ll have another. Understood?”

My soul flutters with excitement. I had started to think she hadn’t meant it when she said she’d arrange a meeting with another Traveler—or I’d worried the Traveler had said no. Do they know who I am? Do they understand I’m the reason why they’re here?

I worry what they will think of me. But I’m eager to meet them. Speak with them.

Tell them I’m sorry.

“Understood,” I say, committing the time and date to memory. I have no idea where that is, but I’m sure Zyneth can help me out on that front. “But just to clarify—Yua Tin’s temple? Isn’t that dangerous if we’re supposed to be avoiding gods and champions?”

Aquenno visibly simmers with irritation.

“...Unless she’s an ally—”

“You got lucky!” Aquenno snaps.

Zyneth’s mouth twitches in a hint of a smile that he quickly conceals.

“We did actually do some research,” I say.

“But you could just as well have gotten unlucky,” the champion continues, ignoring me. “If you do get caught, Blair will not be able to vouch for you. Got it?”

“Sure—but wait a moment,” I say. I can tell in his tone that he’s trying to wrap this conversation up, even though we’ve barely been talking for two minutes. What’s the hurry? “Can you tell us which gods we should be avoiding? And who might be on our side? If you don’t want me to get caught, that would be a significant help.”

Aquenno eyes me suspiciously. “I can’t divulge names. That would be dangerous. It could implicate Blair.” He pauses. “But… I could speak in general terms.”

No idea what that means, but at this point, I’ll take anything.

“Be wary of the minor gods,” he says. “Most aren’t powerful or brave enough to defy Lorata’s orders.”

I guess that’s something. I can work with Zyneth later to make a list of who those might be. “And those who might help us?” I ask.

Aquenno shakes his head. “I cannot use names.”

“But you could indicate some other way?” Zyneth cuts in. “What about war?”

Aquenno doesn’t respond, watching Zyneth with an expressionless face.

“Mist?” Zyneth says next.

Aquenno inclines his head slightly.

I’m not entirely sure what’s going on here, but I’m not about to stop Zyneth.

“Starlight, of course,” he continues. “Moonlight? No. Stone?”

He continues like this with a few other domains, receiving either no reaction or a faintly affirmative nod. Then he says, “Chaos.”

Aquenno hesitates. “Avoid, if possible.”

Zyneth frowns. “Is that a no?”

The champion grumbles to himself and rubs his chin, seemingly torn by how he should respond. Finally, he lands on a wording he likes. “He doesn't want the Travelers to be apprehended.”

“It sounds like that one’s on our side, then,” I say.

“I don’t think he’s on anyone’s side but his own,” Aquenno says, a little more direct this time. “He’s aligned himself with my lord for now, but we suspect he has an ulterior goal. What that goal is, and when he will reveal it, is anyone’s guess. As I said; be careful.”

I’m not sure what to make of this. Confirming some of the people on our list is very helpful. It’s less encouraging to know a majority of the gods probably don’t share the same philosophy as Blair. And the god of chaos—Shirasil, if I remember my notes correctly… I guess for now it’s enough to know he won’t turn us in if he finds us.

“Thank you,” I say. “I appreciate the help. Both from you, and Blair.”

The champion sighs, all his previous frustration bled away. When he looks at me, he abruptly appears older than I had initially pegged him. “I hope my lord knows what she’s doing. I can’t pretend to understand everything that’s transpiring in the heavens, but I hope it turns out well for you all.”

“I’ll try not to let her down.” As the champion raises a hand to dispel the barrier, I once again stop him. “Before you go, I have a few more questions, if you’re willing to answer them for me.”

He grimaces. “Alright. But be quick. I must return to my lord soon.”

“It’s about the System,” I say. “Anything you can tell me. What are these Roles for? Why is there a Sanity Stat? Are these Levels artificial, or do they have some meaning?”

Aquenno stares at me for a moment, a curious look on his face. He shakes his head. “Sorry. I’m not sure what you’re talking about.”

I rock back on my heels. Is he lying? No—he seems perplexed more than anything. Do champions not even know about the System? Wouldn’t their gods tell them about that? What’s going on here?

“If that’s all, I need to be off,” Aquenno says once more. “You remember the time and date?”

“Yes,” I say, still recovering from this revelation. “We’ll be there.”

Aquenno nods, and the dome dissolves around us. Sounds from the crowd abruptly assault us once more. “A final word of advice,” he says, nodding back toward the tournament grounds. “You might be safe with this one, but events like these can draw the attention of other champions. They still don’t know what you look like, but it’s better not to risk it.”

He’s probably right about that. Although, now that I know champions can’t Check me, like their gods can, I feel a little less exposed. “We’ll leave,” I promise.

He nods. “Good.” And with that, he steps out of view.

Literally. Though we were in the alley still, he took one step to the side, and slipped out of sight, as if stepping behind a wall.

Zyneth and I stare at the spot the champion had been only a moment before.

I turn to Zyneth. “So, that was weird, right?”

Zyneth wearily drags a hand down his face. “I don’t know what weird means, anymore.”