Chương 38

If you have to fight, get low, get close. Distance can be dodged. It took the rest of his tattered linen shirt, but Harker cleaned himself up as best he could using dew from some of the nearby plants. When Adhira had returned to awareness, Harker was ready and waiting.

"Finished?" he asked. He'd noticed the glow of Water had long since faded from her limbs.

"Yes." She stood up from the flat ground in one smooth motion. She flexed her hands, as if testing them.

"For now. My Current has picked up a bit more of the Sea, but that can be refined at our next stop." He followed her back to their original camp. Her pack and bedroll remained, though compared to Harker's oversized bag it was a paltry thing. She sorted it all quickly, and as she did so Harker paid attention.

"Sovereign Sight," he whispered. Already he could see improvements to her movements—a stability to her legs and a fluidity to her joints that hadn't been there before. Bits of extraneous detail he would have missed without his Talent.

"What was that?" And improved hearing too. He cleared his throat.

"I'm tired. It's been a long night." Adhira knuckled the small of her back as if it pained her, though Harker saw nothing in her stance to suggest that was true.

"It has. Refining in these circumstances is less than ideal."

"I don't follow."

"Oh?" She blinked.

"I just mean—there aren't many resources to aid our development, and the closest alchemist is likely on the other side of this mountain."

"I'm sure there's a few below it."

"Hm? You're right. The Sunken City, was it?" She scrunched her nose.

"A bit of a squalid place, yeah?"

"So I've heard."

"Definitely not on our tour map in any case. Even if they had soulsage." Adhira hesitated.

"There's no chance they have soulsage, right?" Harker snorted.

"I severely doubt anyone has legendary refinement pills on Phaar Isle." She hauled her pack over her shoulders.

"Worth a shot. We'll keep heading overland then. C'mon. We're burning daylight." Adhira set off at a steady trot, forcing Harker to jog a bit to keep up. Soon he was sweating as his thighs protested the steep climb, but she wasn't even breathing hard. She had clearly succeeded in refining a bit more of her body, a process that could take anywhere from weeks to years to complete. It all depended on your Current and how much Water you could pull into your reservoir each day.

I'd say she's about complete with her skin, muscles, and tendons. He wondered, briefly, if she'd bothered going deeper. Could his Talent see refinement? Harker couldn't help but be curious. Won't know for sure until I can break through her defenses, though. Hours passed with Adhira leading the way, followed by a puffing Harker, and a slogging Eidhrin as far behind as he could. Sweat stained Stillwater's clothes and he breathed a steady chain of inaudible curses. For his part, Harker chewed on another kaffa Sprout.

He only had three left now and knew he should ration them, but he needed the energy. Without it, each step was more exhausting than the last.

"What you really need is sleep, human," Stillwater muttered from behind.

"If you die from some leaf before I can square my debt, I think I'll strangle your ghost." Harker raised an eyebrow. Noted. He would never admit it aloud, but the Gilken was right. His heart raced and his pulse was a small thunder at his temple and neck, while his stomach was twisted and sour. Likely because he hadn't eaten enough either. What Harker truly needed was sleep; it just wasn't an option for the next ten hours. I'll sleep when we camp. He eyed the sun. I can last that long. Adhira remained mostly silent.

Harker wasn't sure if it was the mounting heat or her lies being exposed the night before, but the girl was uncomfortable. Harker, however, had put it in the past and was too busy riding high from what he'd done. Carving his tributaries and opening his primary Locks was an accomplishment he'd never hoped to achieve. It put him on par with an average eight-year-old back in Vale, but progress was progress. The trail was quiet. The wind whistled through the trees and the heat slowly mounted as Spring began in earnest.

Without conversation or hazards to distract himself, Harker focused on his Talent. Thankfully, the ache and wear was no longer focused solely in his left tributary. At first there was no pain at all as the Water could spread across every tributary, but as dawn stretched toward midday, he began to feel it as a strain across his limbs. His unrefined Water was still building impurities up within him and its caustic flow was stressing every thorned bend. It didn't come close to how he used to be, however.

Open tributaries also reduced the cost of his Talent. A full manifestation normally used up his entire reservoir in one go, but now Harker could activate Sovereign Sight three full times before he had to wait for the Vestige's overflow. This was largely because the Water found all the more space in his tributaries, rather than any growth of his reservoir. Pulsing his Talent was still the cheapest option, and now it was by a large margin. As a result, it no longer reduced the excess pressure from his reservoir.

It worried Harker. When his reservoir filled up and he started puking Water everywhere, Adhira was bound to ask questions he didn't want to answer. If he could somehow close his connection to the Sea that would be one thing, but the Vestige had taken that option away from him. That just means more practicing, he told himself. Keep going. The further he increased the radius, the more Water would use, but going further than three feet was still beyond him. Managing the three-foot circle was easier than ever now.

He could see what entered, processing the sensory details of each step, even track the stones that tumbled down from Adhira's heels. Annoyingly, he still couldn't keep track of everything. A great many sensory details were packed into that three foot radius, and they threatened to overwhelm him if he focused on them. Yet so long as he maintained focus, Harker was able to avoid the worst of the dizziness and didn't black out even once. It was all about the small wins.

Over the course of the morning, Harker did the math. Every fifteen minutes or so he had to fully manifest Sovereign Sight or else he would reflux. The full manifestation was preferable, as the alternative was holding it consistently for a time—but Harker could only do so for five minutes before he lost grip of it. It used far less Water that way, and would replenish in only a few short minutes, bringing a whole slew of impurities along for the ride.

Salt and silt will be a problem, even if I manage to get a Current. Cleansing his tributaries would be his next big priority. His stomach fluttered nervously, uncertain of the future, but the fact that he could keep planning meant there was hope. Slowly but surely, he found improvement. He continued to practice pushing Sovereign Sight out in a line too. Being able to release it from any limb was a huge benefit, allowing for a significant increase in flexibility.

After only a few hours, and with far less fatigue and ache, he'd managed to push the distance up to just shy of a foot. Every few steps, he flared his Talent again, aiming it at passing trees, boulders and even a few insects that buzzed close by. The last was a mistake. Little horror beasts. Harker shuddered. Being able to see such creatures so closely to taste them was knowledge not meant for humanity. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

Other animals were far less obscene. Chipmunks, mice, and one toddling hedgehog all swept into the edge of his range. They fled soon after, but his Talent was quick. In the blink of an eye, he was able to peer into the animals' chests. He spotted their hearts, the rush of their blood and the gurgle of their small organs before they scampered away. As exciting as honing his Talent was, eventually Harker found boredom, even in a task he would once consider miraculous.

So as he walked he started adding more to his Talent practice. He would flare it out in a line, catching the floating seeds of nearby trees and he would swing his knife. The passage of his arm would stir the wind, which cast the seeds into wild eddies that were impossible to track—and at first his Talent couldn't keep track. The gusting breeze, the tiny seeds, even the steel of his knives all jumped together. With practice though, he started batting them with his blades. Then he unsheathed his blue dagger.

While the knives weren't sharp enough to slice, the dagger was. The blue blade cut into seed pods and spinning helicopters with ease, bisecting them as if he were driving a heated knife through butter.

"Have you practiced the blade long?" Adhira asked. The moment she spoke, Harker fouled his swing. He frowned at the dagger, as if it were to blame.

"Most of my life."

"I'm surprised. Dagger fighting is a brutal specialty. Most Talented go for something that gives them a bit of distance."

"Distance can be dodged."

"You're not wrong." She gave him a funny look.

"Have you seen a lot of combat?"

"Real combat?" Harker stepped over a slab of stone, one of many on the steep trail.

"Some. Mostly practice."

"Who was your teacher?"

"My mother." Adhira planted her ax, using it to hop onto a slanted boulder. She turned, putting a hand out to Harker.

"Allow me." He grasped her forearm and held on tightly as he was hauled up, like a sack of meal.

"... I appreciate it." Adhira smiled, bright as sunlight.

"Happy to help. But, uh.. You said your mother taught you."

"Hmmm," he grunted. Thin poplars spread around them as the trail bent. The edge of it extended for only about ten feet before it dropped away further down the mountain. They were truly on the Gnarl now.

"What about you," he asked.

"Where did you learn?" He gestured generally towards her everything.

"My mother didn't teach me much of anything. Except maybe how to hold grudges." Adhira shrugged, her tone light.

"The axe…that was mostly my father's doing."

"You're very good with it."

"It's a good axe." She lifted it up. It whistled through the air as it rose. Its triple heads were just as insane as they were the first time he'd seen them.

"It's infused, right?"

"It is." Adhira held it out, twisting the half to show off the carvings. Harker spotted the reservoir, a tidal gem the size of his thumb.

"Twice, in fact." Harker whistled.

"That's some father." Her smile softened.

"He was." Harker didn't miss the word choice.

"I'm sorry." Her smile vanished, and silence overtook them. Soon there was only the call of birds and the rare insect buzzing from between the grasses.

"My mother died too." The words seemed to take Adhira by surprise because she stopped.

"I see. Recently?" Harker gave a single nod.

"It can be tough at first. When my father—it messed me up for a while." She gave a soft laugh.

"It certainly fouled my scores at the Hold. The governesses weren't pleased."

"Ah." A small warmth tugged at him. He hated pity, but she hadn't given him an ounce.

"I can't imagine Sejal took that well."

"To hear her talk of it, she survived wars less brutal, but then she's the dramatic sort." Harker chuckled. He couldn't imagine the stoic Sejal he'd only briefly glimpsed as anything approaching dramatic.

"Back on topic," Adhira said, clearing her throat.

"That dagger is a fine weapon too." Harker adjusted his grip on the blue-bladed dagger. His fingers nestled between the wires of its handle and the open circle of its pommel caught the mid-morning light.

"It has a keen edge, true enough."

"More than that, I imagine."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I hadn't noticed in the den, but that blade was clearly infused at some point. You can tell by the markings on the hilt." She pointed just above where Harker's fingers were. He had taken them for scratches in the metal, but the closer he looked, the more he saw of half-finished angular imprints across the hilt and wire grip. They were small originally, as if intended to go unnoticed, but age or damage had marred most of them beyond recognition. He bit back the urge to use his Talent on the blade.

He couldn't, not with Adhira standing so close, so he twisted it about tracing the lines as they led back toward the pommel.

"The reservoir was most likely there in that empty circle of the pommel," she said.

"Must have been broken off in the battle that killed its owner. But I believe it can be fixed. A skilled thaumist could put it to rights with a little effort and the right amount of coin."

"Know any?" he asked, tone light.

"No on this island. But there's loads at the Academy, not to mention the city surrounding it. I'm not surprised the blade is still sharp. I'm not sure of the material, but it clearly holds an edge better than common steel." Harker hefted the weapon again, gaining new appreciation for it before he sheathed it at his hip.

"If you don't mind me asking: what's your axe made of?"

"Obstinite."

"I've never heard of that."

"It's an annoying alloy, frankly. I don't know much about smithing. It's never been my particular expertise. What I'm told is that it costs a fortune, doesn't take to shaping very well, but it holds an edge like little else."

"And it's also infused."

"It is. Sejal calls it a crutch, but it's awfully useful."

"What does it do?"

"Ah, ah," Adhira shook her finger.

"Telling isn't fun. How about I show you next time we get the chance?"

"All right." Harker had to admit to being a bit annoyed that she wouldn't divulge the heirloom artifacts' power, but he wasn't surprised. Keeping things close to the chest only made sense. Still, cataloging its infusions would give him a better chance at facing the girl down at some point, if that were necessary. You never knew who would one day be your enemy.

"Wait!" He grabbed her shoulder, and she dragged him a full two steps before noticing him hanging on.

"What is it?"

"Ripperweed." Harker pointed at the ground between slabs of stone. It was covered in red and blue petals, and beneath it, Crooked vines.

"So we just step over it."

"Not a good move." He backed up, lifting a loose stone the size of his palm.

"Better stand back." Disbelieving or not, Adhira listened and retreated to stand at his side. She watched as Harker soaked his rock with a spray of water, before lobbing it over the flowers. The moment it crossed overhead, the petals convulsed, and the vines whipped upward. The stone was caught, faster than a spring trap. The vines yanked it down in the same motion, tightening, grinding the stone against the blue flowers, which now clung like little leeches to its bottom.

"I see," Adhira said." Ripperweed. What a fitting name."

"Its main prey are Sea-Touched beasts and lower types of Aberrants. That's why it responds to Water." Harker pointed at the petals.

"Those aren't flowers, but the questing organs of the creature. It absorbs the Water through them, and when it gets full—" The red flowers erupted in a sudden spray of stinking liquid. It sizzled against the stone, sinking into tiny pock marks that had clearly been carved by many such explosions. Harker threw a piece of dried fruit into the nearest puddle, and it dissolved with a hiss "It converts the captured Water into an acid."

"A Talented plant," Adhira softly exclaimed.

"Remarkable."

"They're amazing," Harker agreed.

"Useful, too, especially in trapmaking. The acid burns through woods, skin, even stone, if it goes on long enough.

"Hard to collect it, though. Most people that find a ripperweed end up eaten."

"Trapped and soaked in acid. What a horrible way to die." Adhira shuddered.

"I don't think I like the countryside, Harker." He laughed.

"It isn't so bad if you know what you're looking for." She appraised him, eyes flicking from boot to chin.

"And you do." He inclined his head.

"Remarkable indeed." Heat, prickled at his cheeks and shoulders. Harker looked away.

"Normally I want to burn the weed out, but we don't have time for that. I suggest hopping off trail and—" Adhira swung her axe scoring a line immediately next to the ripperweed.

"Bulwark!" Earth burst upward, tearing the weed out at the root, even as its vines clung tenaciously to the manifested Talent. Parts of the earthen wall crumbled, sucked clean of his Water, but it wasn't enough to keep the plant in place. Over half of it was torn free, and parts immediately began to wither. Downhill, however, was a different story. The earth broke open, stones shaking beneath their boots, as the vines and leaves at the edge started fluttering wildly Adhira lifted her axe.

"What is happening?"

"This is why I prefer to burn it," Harker said through his teeth, pulling free his dagger, just as one of the trees down slope ripped itself from the earth and started lumbering toward the pair of them.