Michellin

Wanderers

“Yes, like this enchantment. I imagine putting an illusion on something this big would be tremendous work.” Kire crouched as they hid, lightly touching the mud. “Would the enchantment be enough to confuse our other senses, like smell and touch? I could feel the traces around here, but it’s strongest around that place. If I get up close enough to the warehouse, I might be able to tell if there is a protective illusion around it.” But there was, of course, the matter of the tall sentry.

“Half-Kartaian?” Kire looked at Ruli, brows raised. “Huh. So they don’t have the sun weakness as pureblooded ones. Does that mean they have Shadow-Walking and the touch thing? How would one of them end up here?” Kire knew that Ruli probably didn’t have the answers, but she figured it wouldn’t hurt to try. She couldn’t see a weapon on him, though perhaps he may have a small enough blade that he could hide under the rags. None of the terrible blades the Kartaians had, at least. “Hm.”

Kire ducked behind the shack again, thinking over their options. “So. Do you distract him, while I jump in there and check inside the warehouse? Or can you Walk us there then get away before he makes a move? Or wait till he goes away?” She tapped her cheek as she thought it over. “Two against one, we might be able to take him, if it came down to it—oh. We really need to get you a weapon or something.”

Wanderers

Kire shook her head, not knowing what to answer. “There’s something off about the place, but I can’t put my finger on it.” She touched the ground, trying to see if that would sharpen the sensations she’d been feeling. “Hmm. Casting a glamour on yourself is one thing, putting it on a whole other place is another. I’m not sure if that’s what’s confusing me right now.” Kire frowned in thought. “Maybe we could—” She looked up sharply, towards the dilapidated warehouse. She pulled his sleeve, retreating with him away towards some of the nearby shacks. “Someone’s coming.”

She had been sure there was nobody in the warehouse. From the gaps in the walls, it seemed empty of people, but now she could see two figures emerge. In the distance, she observed the two men who came out, apparently from out of nowhere. One of them looked to be an older man, but he didn’t interest her so much as the tall man beside him, dressed in rags. He seemed human, except that his skin looked strangely pale—no, not just pale. There was a bluish tinge, like he was too cold, which made his short dark hair look all the more black. Though they were too far away to ascertain what they were talking about, Kire got the impression that the older man was berating the tall one, or talking down to him about something. The older man was gesturing around them, and the tall one didn’t respond, merely nodding along after every other word. Then, after looking about, perhaps to see if anybody was around, the older man walked away, taking a different direction from where Ruli and Kire were. The tall man stayed behind. Standing watch?

“Where did they come from?” she finally said, whispering to Ruli. “Do you think there’s a way in there for some underground hideout?” That seemed to be the most likely explanation, given that they were watching the place carefully and would have heard them before this point.

Wanderers

“We’ll find it,” Kire stressed. She hoped Ysaryn would be willing to talk to them more about the details, or at least ask her help to vouch for them to her people. Maybe there were others who had a brush with danger like her, or knew somebody who had been taken. Given what the elf had already told her, no doubt there would be many who would fall under the latter. “No matter how secretive they might be, something of that scale is bound to leave traces behind, especially if they’re attempting any sort of blood magic, too.”

She listened to his explanation about Zeke and the likeness, and like Ruli she noted the change in the air, as well as the more decrepit homes the further they went from the center of festivities. “Me?” She raised a brow at him then. “Between the two of us, you might be ahead on the list of people he currently dislikes. If you had made me look like you, he’d probably throw more of a fit.” She felt the chill in the air as they walked, silently berating herself for again forgetting to dress properly for the cooler seaside city. She glanced at her companion, guessing that he was probably having a worse time, being more used to heat.

The slums into which they had walked reminded Kire that there were, sadly, so many things Amria had in common with this world. She wondered if there were humans who lived here that would mingle with other outcasts like the elves, or if the prejudices extended to the outskirts, too. She nodded when he gestured at the tracks; she would need more to go on to know this was the right direction, but nevertheless she kept her hand on her sword-hilt. As they made their way forward, following the tracks, Kire felt the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. “We’re going the right way,” she said, looking around them for more signs. The feeling was faint, but it did remind her of the presence she felt in the city the other day.

Following the tracks and the traces she was sensing, they came to a place where even the slums began to thin out. The ground looked like it had been disturbed by a lot of activity recently. “We’re close,” she murmured. Ahead of them, there appeared to be a ramshackle building that looked to be partway through being dismantled. She straightened up, looked to Ruli and nodded. “Gemini magic,” she growled. The traces were still faint, like it hadn’t been activated for a while, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t any danger present. Rather than walk straight towards the building, Kire paced around it, looking at the ground, their surroundings, trying to find traces of runes like the one she had seen on the Kartaian corpse, or any sign of a trap. She wondered vaguely if her nose would bleed from being so close to a Gemini site, though something was different about the way this particular one felt. Back home, though of course the aura of each Gemini was unique, there would be a similar undercurrent, a same feeling or smell, which had helped her identify that fleeting sensation in Cordon. But now that she was exposed to it longer, the ‘signature’ was slightly different, too.

Now for the building. “Hmm.” The closer she stepped towards the building, the more peculiar she felt. She stopped, her eyes on the ground, tapping her foot on it. Something was off about the grounds around the building.

Wanderers

Kire nodded. “It’s a good place to start. Let’s just be back here to see this parade later. Maybe we’ll finally see Itallo or his Gemini ward.” She pursed her lips, thinking over the leads they had gotten. “Do you think it’s in the general direction of the wetlands? How far or near do you think it is from where Ysaryn’s people live?” As they made their way down the street, it occurred to her what a sharp contrast their task was to the increasingly celebratory atmosphere around them. “If Ysaryn had been able to escape, maybe they’ve moved the location, too, or found a way to hide their tracks, unless they’re that confident that retaliation from the elves wouldn’t be a problem.”

Her thoughts went back to his earlier question, though. “Men who aren’t satisfied with their station, I suppose. People who lust after a throne are after the power and influence. Noblemen who serve under somebody else. Some prince a few places removed from the throne. And there are kings who wish to be king forever, heirs be damned.” She shrugged. “I don’t know necessarily if it’s an easy life they want, because sitting on a throne has its own set of problems. I don’t know how things work here, but that’s usually how it goes back where I’m from.”

Do you want the throne back? This time, Kire heard the question in her own voice. She rubbed her face as if to wipe the inevitable frown away. “So why did you make my new face something that would piss off Zekiel?” she asked, glancing at him, her brow raised.

Wanderers

“Hm. Will keep that in mind,” Kire said, noting the direction Ruli was looking at. “Been hearing talk about other strange things happening around here, other dangers besides the elves. Know anything about that? It would be a shame to have our visit ruined by any trouble.”
The man looked at Kire, clearly doubting that these two were the type to avoid trouble, but the promise of liquor smoothed over any apprehensions. “Eh, not any more than your average port city, I wager. Unless you’re an elf. The good lord’s plannin’ on driving the whole lot outta Cordon for good. Got big plans, that, talk’s been goin’ around for months. Maybe settlin’ down’s got him thinkin’ of expanding Cordon’s power.”
“Mm. As any lord usually does.” Kire paused, remembering something. “Does he own any mines? For gems and such?”
“Yep. Why’d you think he’s so rich? Good looks can only get ya so far. Now, where’s my drink?”

Kire kept her frown, thinking the information over as they left the man to his liquor. A man with resources like Itallo, rich on minerals and slave trade, would make for a formidable lord, indeed. “Expansion,” she murmured. That would fit into the plans to exploit and eradicate the elves. “More flesh for his trade, and more land to sink his claws into.” And with a Gemini by his side? “Maybe this man’s trying to be a king. That’s usually what lords with ambition aim for. When a leader like that takes on a large-scale endeavor, and making a big deal out of a marriage, that’s usually the first step towards claiming some sort of throne or higher status.”

Wanderers

“No, Bolym wouldn’t be helping them warm up to us at all,” Kire conceded. She didn’t know, though, how willing Ysaryn would be to come back here for this particular purpose. It was one thing to be helping the Ziad refugees with supply runs—a task she hadn’t particularly relished—it was quite another to ask her to be involved in tracking down the men who had taken her. “If the other elves are terrifying in the same manner as Ysaryn, perhaps more, then I agree. And I imagine we could make a better case for cooperation with them if we have more to give than just my abysmal hunches.”

She scanned the crowd, already looking for people they could possibly get information from. Some of them, she noticed, had what looked like paper orchids. For the bride, apparently. As they moved away from the busier parts of the city, Kire paid attention to the vagrants and peddlers. Those who would have an ear for gossip, and for the other outcasts of Cordon. With her usual face, Kire knew it would be hard to take on a feigned innocence, but with the disguise Ruli had made for her, it made pretending to be a clueless visitor easier. Not that she already wasn’t one by default.

As expected of gossip, there was conflicting information, and some that were outlandish. One even suggested the Lord Itallo’s mines were manned by living corpses. But Ruli’s belief in a kernel of truth in myths also held true, or truer at least to Kire, where gossip was concerned. There were strange happenings in the outskirts of the city, and in the seaside crags, where the water often crashed against the shore so violently that people rarely visited. “There is a man with the Lord Itallo. Green eyes? Young-looking. Who is he?” she asked one vagabond after plying him with some drink.

“Oh, him? Gavin Gemini? Or is it ‘the Gemini’? Foreigner, y’see. Strange name. Not bad-lookin’, but looks dead inside, y’know?”
“What’s he to the Lord Itallo?”
“His ward. Best man. Met him, oh, right around this mysterious beauty tha’s ‘bout to marry the lord. Ya gonna stick around to get a look at her? Itallo’s a lady’s man; she musta been really pretty to snag that dog, heh.”
“Mm. I see.” Ward. “He must be quite young, then, if he’s Itallo’s ward.”
“Right. Foreigner woman. Anyways, ya got any more of this?” The man grinned, shaking the wine bottle. Kire raised her brows, not really expecting him to finish the whole lot in one sitting.

Wanderers

Kire shook her head in response. “I haven’t pressed her for details just yet. And we didn’t exactly leave our last conversation on a good note.” She rubbed her nape, sighing. “The window would be brief, I imagine. But while we’re here, it would be useful to know when this Gemini had come here, too, while we’re at it.” She looked about, observing the crowds, as if she would expect to see green eyes looking back. Where are you? It was terrible enough to worry about finding Ikegai and Akuma; throwing a Gemini into the mix just sounded like the perfect storm.

At Ruli’s observation about Ysaryn, Kire smiled, if only briefly. “She is, isn’t she? I see what you mean,” she said, without looking terrified at all. “A rather intense woman, that.” Her smile disappeared, though, as she pondered on what he had just told her. “If the Gemini is thinking of opening a gate, a whole community of elves that these humans don’t care about would make for a perfect blood sacrifice. Maybe the dormant magic in elf blood would feed more power into the ritual. But at this point I’m just guessing. When these blood mages are involved, my mind just assumes the worst.” She shook her head. “That means I need to find them before this happens. Gods be damned.”

She grunted, not liking any of this at all. “Alright. Find the elves first. Let’s start with your suggestion. Vagabonds, children, anyone in the margins. Not anywhere around here, I’d assume?” Despite herself, she was relieved that Ruli didn’t refuse to help with the task. “Outskirts of the city sound like a good place to start?”

Wanderers

Kire snorted when Ruli pointed out just how little of a lead her description was. “Hm. A little coin could go a long way to finding some loose lips,” she said. “Even just rumors of such a place should exist and go around by word of mouth, especially if this had just started happening within the past six months.” She observed the houses, looked around at the festivities, and listened to Ruli tell her about the Gemini. Not too old? “Strange. That sounds too young. How did a Gemini without the years of experience even get here? Though that might explain the crudeness of the doll-making, if Ysaryn managed to escape.”

Around them, women with flowers in their hair and pinned to their dresses talked excitedly about the wedding, and the arrival of the bride. Apparently, there will be a parade through the streets as Lord Itallo’s betrothed makes her way to the lord’s mansions along with her entourage. Talk around town was, from what Kire could gather at least, that the parade will happen in the late afternoon. “Maybe the bastard would show up then, if he’s confident enough to walk around out in the open like yesterday, and if he’s somehow in the city’s payroll,” Kire said. “We could get the supply run done first, maybe get some seafood again as a bit of peace offering for Ysaryn. Then this parade, if you want to stick around. Or if you want to leave me to it, I can snoop around while the parade’s happening, and you go watch your sunset,” she said, gesturing at the general direction of the sea. “I know I just assumed your involvement in this.”

Wanderers

“Afraid it is.” Kire raised an eyebrow at him, her mouth almost twitching into a smirk. Can’t say I blame him. “One cup of coffee for the grump,” she said, going to the kitchen and coming back with two cups. She handed one to Ruli, the other she kept for herself. She was quiet as she drank her coffee and waited for him to wake fully, her mind still occupied by her conversation with Ysaryn. Even after Ruli finally was ready to leave, Kire remained silent. Kire, do you even want your throne back? Janes’s last question to her before coming back here came to her then. She couldn’t tell whether her cousin was angry, or simply needing answers, when she said that. Jan knew her better than many people, sometimes even better than herself, but Kire had pushed the question aside just as she had pushed Ysaryn’s question away earlier. Now both women’s questions weighed heavily on her, two sides of the same sentiment that Kire wouldn’t acknowledge.

The moment they emerged, she could tell things were much busier than ever. The streets were even more decorated with flowers and banners, and she remembered the brief encounter between Itallo’s men and the botanist yesterday. The heady smells of flowers, perfumes, and food were dizzying. But still, on the other side of the wall, there was squalor and rot, and Ysaryn’s memory of being taken by the Gemini came back to her. “They took her to a place very near the water,” Kire remarked as they made their way to the city proper. Her eyes scanned the busy streets of Cordon, wondering if she would see that Gemini again today. “The man you saw yesterday, did he look old or young? Though if he’s using any sort of glamour on himself that might not matter.”

Wanderers

Kire smirked at her remark about bad deeds made with good intentions. “You are not the first to warn me about that,” she said, before looking up at Ysaryn, her cheeks reddening when the elf dressed in front of her. Looking up at her, Kire fought both the distraction of Ysaryn’s nakedness and the hard stubbornness welling up inside her, resisting the choice. “It’s not that simple,” Kire said. “I can’t just abandon one for the other. I have many tribes before. I can add one more.” She sat, silent for a while, appraising Ysaryn’s mood. Then, with a huff, she stood up. “I understand what you’re telling me. The sooner I hunt down my enemy, the better. I know that better than anyone.” She tried not to have too hard an edge to her voice.

She turned towards the caverns, about to head back. “Don’t think too badly of me. As Chieftess, I don’t do too well when I’m the one being given ultimatums.” She gave the elf a small smile, before heading back inside, leaving Ysaryn to finish drying off. Once inside, she slipped the silver ring back on before looking for Ruli.