Chương 46: Remnants

Dancer on the Broken River felt worried as she walked behind her father, one of several of the sect's inner disciples. She let none of it show outwards, but it still gnawed at her as they were making their way to the main gathering hall of their underground compound. She had expected Grand Elder White to rebuke or punish her for her failure. He had instead just received her report in silence when she had returned to their hidden compound, sending her off to meditate on what had transpired.

This had left her ill at ease, as earlier failures had often been dissected and corrected immediately. Her feelings had not been alleviated as she had then, after two days in isolated meditation, been called to accompany him to the meeting of the elders, along with more of the inner disciples. Her father didn't usually bring much of an entourage.

As their group pushed open the doors to the lavish hall, they were met with the sound of irritated or angry voices, their tone as sharp as many of the auras flickering ominously in the room. River could see all of the different paths within the sect represented, along with their allies from the Red Table and church of Undeath. The angry tones and auras were a bit chaotic, and as many were of higher rank than River, even her aura-tempering had trouble keeping her from feeling a bit ill from the tense atmosphere.

She kept her rigid posture as best as she could however, and remained behind her father as he took his seat. The few times River had visited this room, the white paper screens at the slightly raised stage had always been dimmed and silent. Now, there was a steady light from behind them revealing the shadowy silhouette of what she thought to be a woman decked in layers of rich robes where she sat, a long, thin pipe held loosely in one hand.

Not long after their arrival, a half-whispered, echoing voice resounded through the room.

"May this war council begin. Grand elder White, approach." the voice commanded, even as her tone sounded more amused than imperious. River felt no aura even as she had somehow silenced the room with her words. Her father strode up to the raised section, and knelt before it, the action dispelling any doubts River might have as to the identity of the woman casting the silhouette. The sect leader. River knew little about her, only the little her father had told her.

According to him, she was apparently the sole reason that the sect wasn't annihilated when it was first attacked by the other sects a decade ago, although the methods of her performing the feat were unclear.

"Report."

"Sect leader, we have initiated the counter-offensive against the alliance formed against us. In the initial clashes, I personally slew a grand elder of the Descending Star sect while we lost one of our own grand elders, one of the twins. She did manage to severely injure one of the opposing grand elders, but not slay her. The Knight of Blood also fell in battle.

The diversion with the monster horde did not play out to our satisfaction as it seemed to have found more substantial resistance than expected from the adventurers operating deeper in our territory. While we have no remaining sentient witnesses, nearby scouts reported a silver rank aura being projected in the area, which leads us to conclude that our enemies had another silver-ranker we were yet unaware of.

Our branch following the path of lies initiated the operation against the enemy sects as planned, and we will see it pay dividends soon enough. Overall, the battle lines have stabilized somewhat, especially as the number of silver rankers in play are now equal if the wounded grand elder of our enemies recover. Even without the screen of the monsters, plans for new assaults are being made as we look to seize the upper hand and control of the conflict."

"Thank you, Grand Elder White." the sect leader spoke, voice carrying the same languid tone as before.

"I open the floor for others to voice their opinions." She had barely spoken the words before the male twin of Duality of Mortal Folly leapt from where he had been seated. While the pair usually wore no clothes at all as often as they could get away with it, he had at least donned a loose, half open robe for this occasion as his aura and powers might otherwise be interpreted as an attack on the others gathered. But in contrast to the haughty lust often shown by the twins, the lone man was more irate and haggard.

"You speak as if everything is going well, grand elder white. But we've already suffered more high-ranked losses than our foe, my sister among them. And that one is on you, White. I bet it was a setup and that you picked out the easiest foe for yourself."

"I would refrain from questioning the competence of your betters, grand elder Folly." White answered as the pair of auras crashed against each other.

"Need I remind you which of our paths has proved the most competent in the recent clashes?"

"I for one will not tolerate how no one has so far seen fit to explain why our side has incurred the most losses. I am here at the behest of my church, but I start to question the solidarity in the pact we have entered." Collector of Anima, high priestess of the church of Undeath spoke from where she sat, projecting her voice to carry over the room from one of the spirits which always seemed to flicker around her. This was the first time River had laid eyes on the woman who led their ally.

She had to admit that she had suspected a more corpse-like appearance from a worshiper of undeath, but aside from the skin pale as milk, the woman looked hale, with the beauty of an otherworldly lotus. She remained seated, a shimmering fan obscuring most of her face except the amethyst eyes which matched her hair.

Around her, a few semi-corporeal spirits fussed over her, constantly straightening the fold of her voluminous robes and even holding a beautiful parasol over her even though they were in an underground hall without windows.

"I would agree with the priestess." said Gardaram Krunei, the runic silver-ranker and only remaining representative from the Red Table.

"We will expect some sort of compensation for this early lack of competence, else we might-" he began, words lost as more angry voices were raised and the room descended into a torrent of upset voices and clashing auras as the different underlings joined in as well. River was surprised at how long the sect leader allowed it to continue before once more speaking, silencing the rest with her words.

"If any of you take issue with the overall plan, I would urge you to solve it amongst yourselves. The clash of paths is an excellent tool, which should allow you to resolve your differences instead of putting on such an unseemly performance. But do refrain from killing or maiming one another. The battle will not wait for you." The angry voices sank to a murmur as glances were exchanged between the parties, challenges already being prepared before the silver-rankers would once more be sent out into the field.

Power was the ultimate measure of a person, after all. And those with power made the decisions. River had kept quiet and observed throughout the conflict, as taught by her father. She wondered if she had imagined the slight shift along the shadowed cheeks of the sect leader as the different parties started leaving the chamber. Had… had the sect leader smiled?

"-and the fronts seem to have stabilized, with no more decisive moves by the fallen sect for the last two days." Rupert's aide summarized, indicating some areas on the animated sand replica of the surrounding areas.

"We have to assume that this is not the extent of their plans, even though Fortune and War seems to have smiled upon us in regards to the monster horde. The scout platoon must have put up one hell of a fight from what the extracted wounded we happened upon indicated. Have the rest of the platoon been brought back here?" Rupert asked, idly tapping his claws against the table.

"Yes, the last of them should be arriving as we speak. Our relief party met them a few hours ago, which means that they could start portalling back as often as the portal became available. Force and the relief party will then make their way back the normal way, but as you chose those with traveling powers we should have them back in a day, maybe a day and a half as they won't need to be as cautious with a silver-ranker around."

"Good. Have them rest up and then arrange a debrief with me personally as long as I am still at base camp."

"Do you expect to be anywhere else, deputy director?" the aide asked, confused.

"You never know in regards to war. But I was thinking more about my… other meeting today." he said with a sigh.

"Ah, the sects. From what I heard, the allegation sounds rather serious. Do you expect trouble?" the aide asked as she realized what Rupert was referring to.

"I always do. The more pertinent question would be if it is the headache-inducing kind or the cracked-head-inducing kind." Rupert grumbled.

"But such is the burden of command. I can only imagine Jarvan's grin when he heard what he dodged by being considered 'operationally vital personnel'. But on the other hand, I received the pleasure to fight other silver-rankers while he did not." he finished with a small, satisfied smirk. As the drape closed behind him and its sound-blocking formation came to life, Kite could almost hear the drum of his own heart in his ears from the sudden silence and isolation.

He looked around the small room he had been assigned for the day; a square stone chamber with a small slit as a window which let in some of the daylight outside along with a hammock for resting. It was one of many such rooms assigned to adventurers returning from the field and in need of rest and meditation but not other medical care. After removing his armor and cleansing himself somewhat through a simple ritual, Kite could finally settle down to center himself and his mind.

It was the first time since the defense against the monster horde that Kite got the chance to properly meditate, and he gratefully let his mind descend into the familiar practice as his path was visualized before his mind's eye. Kite could scarcely believe he was back, even though their march had been rather uneventful.

The constant tension had still been there as they traveled closer to the base camp through forests which once had felt so familiar but now hinted at the possibility of hidden enemies behind every tree. As he settled down, Kite started sorting through his mind in the way he had been taught, as he mentally went through the last few days and did his best to sort the often intense experiences and put them in their proper place. The tension, the violence, the victories, the defeat.

Where he was proud and where he had found himself lacking. And most of all, around the unknown fate of Uncle Walker. He took his time with each and all of them as he had been taught by all of his mentors in different ways, and took extra care not to avoid touching even the painful subjects even as his heart clenched when he thought of the stoic smile Uncle Walker had given him as he retreated into the portal.

The process was by no means a perfect one and there was still plenty of turmoil inside him when he decided that there was little else he could do at them moment, but remembering one of Auntie Crow's proverbs; 'If you make a splash, the ripples will live on longer than you might think' he tried mustering patience in the matter. And now that he was back, once he rested up, there was something that he could do in the matter.

After laying at least a part of his worries to an uneasy rest, Kite moved on to another, more well known factor which awaited him.

"These seem to come more often nowadays." he thought with a small smile as he allowed the power inside him to be released up to his surface, partially guided by his meditations. Before long, the familiar gray light shone from inside him as he saw that the streams of bronze suffusing it were even more prominent than before. WWWJS: Congratulations! Your ability [Disrupting strike] has reached Bronze 0. [Disrupting strike] has received additional effects. Disrupting strike Special attack.

Cost: Low mana Cooldown: 2s Current rank: Bronze 0 Effect - Iron: Strike an opponent to attempt to cancel an ongoing magical effect and deal disruptive force damage. The latter is increased if an ability or effect was affected. Some ongoing or very powerful effects might not be able to be negated entirely, and will instead be suppressed or reduced for a short duration. Effect - bronze: Dispelled effects suffer an increase in cooldown in proportion to their cost and original cooldown.

The minimum final cooldown for such an effect is 10s. Congratulations! Your ability [Pattern-shattering counter] has reached Bronze 0. [Pattern-shattering counter] has received additional effects. Pattern-shattering counter Special attack (Mana drain, stamina drain). Cost: Varies Cooldown: Current rank: Bronze 0 Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Effect - Iron: Strike an opponent's active attack or magical effects in an attempt to negate it and drain an additional amount of mana and/or stamina, depending on which energy that was fueling the attack. Some ongoing or very powerful effects might not be able to be negated entirely, and will instead be suppressed or reduced for a short duration. Cost increases with the cost of negated attack. Effect - bronze: Dispelled effects suffer an increase in cooldown in proportion to their cost and original cooldown.

The minimum final cooldown for such an effect is 10s. Following his uncle's teachings, Kite tried to focus on the gains he had made even as other things still troubled him. Having not one, but two of his abilities advance to bronze at the same time felt like a large gain, even if he wasn't too surprised that this particular pair took the step together. They had always felt as two sides of a coin, or maybe the inside and outside of a mask. Action and reaction, although similar at their core.

And this was further reflected in that their effect from ranking up was identical in that it further delayed the activation of the ability or spell which had been canceled, with more spectacular effects suffering longer additional delays.

"Another tool for me through which to control the flow of battle." he thought with satisfaction.

"I do have to live up to Auntie Crow's prophecy of becoming as annoying as possible." Finally, he directed his mind to his evolved racial gift, the one who's timely evolution had allowed him to protect Serene. Now that… that was an ability he would need time to properly unpack. The potential felt enormous but the prospect of mastering it was equally daunting. But striking even at a range, intent overcoming even distance itself…

Kite produced a lesser spirit coin which he threw into the air while he swept his other hand upward as the katar appeared, the small room not allowing for longer weapons. Once more, the strike was carried through the void, but the ripple in space missed the small target as he misjudged its trajectory, even though his instinctual knowledge of the ability ensured that he at least wasn't too far off. But Kite knew that he would need a bigger training area and assistance to properly try it out and test its limits.

An hour later, he rose from the meditation and considered the hammock, but realized that he would not be able to get proper rest unless he got something done beforehand. Kite was even impressed he had been able to get some meditation done at all, but Master Force had more or less ordered them to do it as they left through the portal. And maybe he had also dreaded what would come of it, he admitted to himself.

Kite left his small room and made his way back through the stone fort and upward a few floors until he reached the well-defended logistics and administrations part of the base camp. During his walk, he was stopped several times and had to present his Adventure Society badge which was matched to his aura by devices carried by the guards. But finally, he reached a reception hall where a couple of desks received the inquiries of adventurers.

After waiting a while behind a couple of other adventurers who, after a clerk returned to them and showed them something, left with crestfallen expressions.

"How can I help you?" the young man asked Kite when he approached.

"I- I would like to know the status of an adventurer. Brave Walker of Paths. We… lost track of each other during our last war-contract." Kite said, trying to keep his voice steady.

"Of course. One moment please." the man said, with a tone indicating that he had received this request often as of late. As often done during large expeditions, a copy of the tracking stones for the participants was brought with the Adventure Society staff to the base camp. These tracking stones were linked to the aura imprints of their wielders, and barring major, rare changes to a person's aura, they could help guide one to the bearer of the badge. The stone could also indicate if the adventurer was still alive.

The clerk was smiling when he returned, Kite's mind frantically trying to interpret if the smile was one of condolence or one of good news.

"Brave Walker of Paths seems to still be alive, the stone indicating no major change to his aura." Kite's heart almost stopped in relief as his shoulders slumped, and only managed to nod at the clerk's question if Kite wanted a copy of the tracking stone. It would cost a small sum and require him to be verified as a member of Walker's group during this expedition. Kite paid and handed over his badge only semi-conscious.

Uncle Walker was alive, and as the stone he got actually indicated his direction with a small dot indicating west, odds were that he wasn't captured and suppressed either. The stone in hand, Kite suddenly found himself back in his small room. It was only late afternoon, but he still easily fell asleep in the hammock as tension left his body. Uncle Walker wasn't safe, but as Force had said; if there was anyone who would thrive out in those forests, it was Brave Walker of Paths.

And while he still harbored worry and frustration, the knowledge was enough to allow him to at least relax. Kite had every intention of doing what he could to see his uncle Safe, but he would at least consult his friends and Master Force before rushing off. As he finally drifted off, head leaning against the cool, smooth scales of Glint, he sighed contentedly and dreamt of home where a young boy was training under the watchful eye of his uncle.

-and I will once more appeal to the expedition leader to punish these spineless dogs for making such baseless accusations. They have clearly fabricated this to besmirch our honor. The Descending Star sect will not stand for it!" grand elder Meridian of the Sky stated, voice-half raised but not quite a shout.

The runic woman held her place in the meeting hall of the war council located in the upper reaches of the Adventure Society's spire, her silvery tattoos seeming to glow from within in accordance with her rising temper. The other occupants of the room were the other silver-rankers of the expedition and their small entourages and aides. Rupert was presiding over the meeting, and had to admit that it had been long since he had been surprised in a way such as this.

It was grand elder Unerring Sight of the Victorious Sunset sect, still at the end of her convalescence from her brush with death in their enemies counterattack, who had laid forth a request for an investigation as her sect brought the remains of attackers who had been dressed in the uniforms of their rival sect as well as lower ranked witnesses of the attack. What left Rupert baffled was that she had only wished for an investigation without directing any formal accusation at the Descending Star sect.

The remaining grand elder of that very sect had assumed as such, however, hence the tirade they had now hopefully reached the end of. While Rupert had sensed the temper of grand elder Lark rising during the tirade, he had kept his composure where he stood next to his fellow elder.

"Grand elder Meridian. I must point out that no formal or informal accusation was levied against your organization. As such, I will not take any action against anyone at the moment, but would like to hear more from grand elder Sight as to your reasoning in regards to this attack." Rupert said, literally silencing the unbidden angry retort from grand elder Meridian by not letting the sound reach beyond a few centimeters of her body. He would not let this rare and precious opportunity go to waste.

"The Victorious Sunset sect want to go to the bottom of this occurrence, rather than fall to bickering and conflict. We would not have expected such a deed from our allies, and would therefore want to know why this attack took place." grand elder Sight spoke, voice steady now that she was nearing full recovery.

"We would open our gates to neutral investigators from the Adventure Society in hopes that our fellow sect will do the same." Apparently, Rupert's time had come. He thought he had died in his sleep somehow, maybe through assassins, and ended up in some glorious afterlife where people were reasonable. The illusion was quickly broken however, as he found himself forced to lift the silencing effect from grand elder Meridian.

"And why would our proud institution agree to such an act? Our heritage is the foundation for our members, and not something outsiders are worthy of partaking of. If you think that we would just give them access to our-""We do think that, grand elder." Lark snarled from where he stood, interrupting the runic woman.

"Since it would be most suspicious if you refused. And I do not think any of us want such uncertainties to lie between us in the days to come." The threat was obvious, and while Rupert agreed with his words, the tone would only make things worse.

"I better bring out the metaphorical carrot." he thought before he spoke; "I do understand the inconvenience, grand elders. As the Adventure Society representative on this expedition, I declare favor to this suggestion, and will offer a boon as compensation in the form of 5% increase in both sect's total contribution should you comply, as well as binding contracts of secrecy in regards to all that does not pertain to this particular investigation."

Rupert spoke with a neutral authority, but quickly enough to get to the ameliorating parts. Grand elder Meridian seemed to stew over it with thinned eyes before looking back at Rupert.

"Very well. The Descending Star sect will acquiesce. But we expect your Adventure Society's neutrality to be absolute, deputy director." she stated curtly. Nodding in response, Rupert turned once more to address the whole room.

"Then you know the general plans. Expect the war-contracts to start arriving soon. We have to push for some more initiative. I expect the best from all of you." As the participants left, Rupert nodded to himself. One needed to take a win when they could.

"Oooooh I'm so relieved!" Dragonfly exclaimed as she threw her arms around Kite in a fierce hug. He had just delivered the news of Uncle Walker being alive to his group and Master Force as they were walking towards their debrief with the deputy director.

"So, when do we go save him? Heroes must act with decisive initiative in order to save the day!" Will said, his usual fierce determination having returned to its usual luster after a night's rest.

"You don't and probably me neither." Force stated calmly, looking back over her shoulder from where she led the way through the fortress.

"What?!" Dragonfly and Will exclaimed in union.

"Walker is the best wayfinder I've ever known, probably the best in this whole region if he remains within his element. Us looking for him would probably draw more attention to him and risk revealing him rather than provide actual assistance. He is probably already on his way back, and if not there is probably a good reason for it." Kite wanted to join in with his companion's protests, but also knew Force's words to be true.

"Part of me is in rebellion against the fact, but she is right. He will find us when he can." he said, trusting the words more than ever before after his uncle had come through for them even in that dire circumstance while also escaping with his life.

"See, Dragonfly. Keeping one's composure may help one reach conclusions one would not by simply acting," Force said sagely to her student, whose response was to stick out her tongue at both her master and Kite. Once they had arrived at their destination, they were quickly led into a stone meeting chamber where the deputy director awaited them, spending the next half an hour to receive their report and take them through the events.

"So…" Rupert said while leaning back into his chair which he still filled to overflowing with this leonid frame even though he would be considered small for his species.

"Your efforts have indeed been quite the boon for our venture. Having to handle that monster horde in addition to what else the fallen sect have in store for us would have put too much strain on our iron- and bronze-rankers, thinning them out in other vital locations. And traversing the area to act as reinforcements would have been a pain. You and the families of the fallen will all be compensated accordingly. The society will not forget their own.

In your case, you will receive a bonus in total contribution as well as extra days off contract duty should you wish for it." After looking at each member in his group, Kite nodded to them all before turning to Grim.

"If our group leader approves, I believe we shall return to contract duty right away." he said, Rupert nodding approval. Kite still felt a bit emotionally raw, but also felt that doing more work might be a better way to spend the time rather than fretting. He needed to trust in his uncle and continue to do his best for the war effort.

"I won't lie and say that we can't use you, but the scout platoon will not be deployed as deeply within enemy territory at the moment. Instead, we will deploy you via Grim's portal as flanking support and rapid response. You will find your contracts waiting for you down in the deployment hall. But remember that if you need additional time for recovery, you need but ask as long as it is within reason." the leonid said, before rising.

"Now if you'll excuse me, there is an investigation to plan." The group's mood and morale had gained a significant boost after the full night of rest and meditation along with the news of Walker being alive. This had them chatting happily as they entered the large hall on the ground floor of the spire, only Serene picking up that they were receiving some additional attention.

"We have company inbound." she said softly, having the words appear near the ears of her group as to not give away her noticing.

"It feels like trouble."

"Then we'd best avoid it if we can." Kite said, sighing.

"Grim, might I suggest that you go and retrieve our orders while the rest of us make for the exit right away? See if we can't avoid whatever trouble is heading our way?"

"A most pertinent suggestion, Kite." the manservant nodded in approval.

"I shall rejoin you all outside." The group changed course and strode for the large exit, almost reaching it before a few iron-rankers in blue and silver robes walked out to block their path.

"What is the meaning of this?" Will asked as he strode to the fore of their group, putting on a bit of the haughty tone of nobility he sometimes used more like a social bludgeon rather than actual sentiment.

"We are sorry, young master, but disciple Mist wants a word with one of your group." one of the young women said while bowing and indicating another group of identically clad iron-rankers who were walking briskly toward them. The young man in the lead stopped a few meters away before speaking directly to Kite, apparently being well familiar with his looks.

"Kite Flown in on Winds of Fortune! To uphold the honor of our sect's initiates and disciples which you have tarnished through your unworthy path, I, Resplendent Evening Mist, challenge you to a clash of paths. When I win, you shall publicly admit your inferiority before each and every one of those you have shamed through your treachery as well as pay them back what you took from them."

"This is not the time or the place for matters of hurt pride." Kite stated with a neutral tone.

"My group has a task we need to get to in order to contribute to this expedition." He really did not care for such an interruption to both their business and his earlier pleasant mood. Kite was normally a rather harmonious person, but the worry and frustration of the last days still had remnants left in the currents of his mind, small cracks which had begun healing, but had not yet completed the process.

"So you admit to being a base coward?" disciple Mist asked loudly.

"From people such as you, words are wind, disciple. Prove yourself through your work and we shall revisit this again after the expedition." Kite said, voice slightly lower and having gained a bit of an edge, before turning on the group and started making his way back toward the exit.

"What good could your contract even do? I heard that you even lost your bronze-ranker on the last one. How incompetent could he have been to have already died just days into the expedition? But such is the fate of trash, I suppose." the disciple taunted. Kite stopped. He knew what this was. He had seen their gazes flickering toward Will, and they had apparently done their research beforehand to know of Uncle Walker.

Kite knew that this wasn't really about him, but an attempt to curry favor and show their capabilites. The Resplendent family was ever ambitious after all. But even as he knew this, the taunt still got to him, to the lingering frustration and fear. The healing cracks in his nerves and temper had been shaken, like the scab of a wound torn and clawed at too early. As Kite turned, he could see the grin on disciple Mist's face as he had finally gotten a response from his target.

"Very well, Resplendent Evening Mist. I, Kite brought in on Winds of Fortune, accept your terms. Should I win, you will provide me with one essence and two awakening stones, as well as loudly proclaim your inferiority to me anytime you see me." he answered. What had earlier been smoldering remnants blazed with a cold fury clearly heard in his voice. As the words left his mouth, it almost felt like they had left an oily film on his tongue as part of his mind knew that he had now stooped to their level.

He needed neither the essence or the stones, but knew that they were valued political currency inside the sects to use as payment and rewards for loyal initiates who still hadn't completed their set. But the remnants of frustration in him reveled to just be let free for once. All of the gathered knew that what Kite asked for was a steep price indeed, but disciple Mist was not about to back down.

"Excellent. This will be over soon then. Let us take this outside."