by Sarah Lin
"Go ahead." Companion Nauda smiled at her, though the muscles in her back remained very tense.
"Would it be possible for you to use your barrier skill to help defend us?"
"Not really. The problem with the skill is that it has to be affixed to something, generally something large. If we were on a large sailing seasled, or a big enough flying vessel, I might be able to use one there. But it's a limited skill, built for direct combat."
Fiyu bobbed her head to encourage further talking, since Companion Nauda relaxed slightly. "This is interesting to me. I take it you developed that skill for personal use?"
"Actually, it's not what you might expect. I was first employed as a barrier creator, which is how I got my start as a soulcrafter. That basis was what I developed into a useful skill, but I'm still lacking strong sublime materials that match it. So I have the training, but not a properly furnished chamber."
"I see. Perhaps you could acquire some from House Blacksilver?"
"Perhaps, Fiyu, perhaps." Companion Nauda smiled at her in a way that Fiyu didn't entirely understand, so Fiyu simply smiled back.
As another day elapsed, the attacks from below became more routine, though one that came through the clouds overhead was very alarming. After that, Associate Ruler requested that one of them move over into the other chariot, since the sleigh was extremely well protected between all of their efforts. In the end Fiyu was chosen, and as much as she did not want to be removed from her companions, she felt that she needed to agree for the sake of the journey.
The smaller chariot introduced her to several Fithans, who were friendly and did not attempt to touch her. She learned that their role would be to judge the adequacy of the materials they acquired, but that they would stay far away from their contacts. It was related to the conflict on Fithe, which Fiyu did not yet understand.
Listening to their conversation was not a great deal of help, as they made many assumptions about what she already knew and spoke too quickly for Fiyu to interrupt them. She desperately wished that Companion Nauda was present to control the conversation, or Companion Theo could have explained the matter to her in a more understandable way. Fiyu resolved to ask them when they next slept.
Presuming that she would be returned to the sleigh during the night. To ask her to sleep in the unfamiliar chariot would not have been reasonable.
The next morning, when the sun was just beginning to form a red wall on the horizon, Fiyu finally felt something new: a large body of liquid. She rushed to the front of the chariot to look with all her senses, and even her eyes provided useful information: there was a splotch of blue on the horizon that rapidly grew.
"Almost to mud Fithan territory." One of her Associate Fithans spat over the side of the chariot, his spittle caught in the whirlwind and immediately swept away. "Be careful, Fiyu. They probably won't cheat you, but if they offer you a special deal in their home, don't take it."
"In their home?" Fiyu knew she should turn to the Associate Fithan to be polite, but still wanted to examine the growing line of water.
A long time ago, Relative Guchiro had taken her to the Darkflow and she had laughed and waved her arms as she felt so much liquid beneath them. He had not allowed her to swim, as the waters were filled with many dangerous creatures. They had traveled along the edge of the Darkflow and she had gained great respect for the people who ranged on the floating pieces of ice over the endless deep.
This, however, was a shockingly blue expanse of water. The water Fiyu had drunk in other worlds had been nearly transparent, but this body of it struck her as richly colored. She wondered if it extended on and on, just as the dusty wasteland did behind them, but their vehicles shifted to the side along the coast instead of passing overhead.
"Yeah, mud Fithans don't live in cities." It had taken Associate Fithan so long to answer her that Fiyu had almost forgotten her question, so she politely turned back to him. "They have these spherical huts way down there."
"On the water?"
"Not on the water, under it. You have no idea... deep below the surface, water pressing on every side... I've heard some of them are so deep that there's no light at all. That's why you can't trust mud Fithans, not in the end. Living down there makes you go crazy."
"I see." Fiyu managed to constrain her smile, because she did not think that her Associate Fithans would like to hear that the cities below sounded wonderful to her. It was difficult to control every single facial muscle, but she had been making attempts with her companions so that she could better navigate social environments. "Are they likely to invite us down?"
"Naw, not likely. You hear stories about kidnappings, sometimes, but not usually. Besides, we have an arrangement with them. All of you do your jobs, and this deal should go just fine."
"Our jobs?" Fiyu tilted her head to the side, frowning before she realized what she was doing. "I have not studied negotiation. I was told that I would only be required to escort supplies."
"Oh, don't worry. You just need to stand for House Blacksilver and be non-Fithan."
Stand and be non-Fithan. Fiyu felt confident in her ability to do that.
Chapter 15
Though Theo might have taken the assignment due to a cynical calculation of benefits, Nauda had an entirely different reason: she wanted to see the water Fithans for herself. After having heard so much about them throughout the city, frequently in casual asides, she felt certain that there must be more to them. If Fithe was really divided between rock and water, that would make it the only world she knew that was split in half like Tatian.
She'd been impressed at first, when the water Fithans emerged from the depths in a vessel shaped like an arrowhead and leapt to shore. However, she'd immediately discovered that she wasn't able to understand a word they said: apparently understanding most of the languages in Norro Yorthin had exhausted her soul's flexibility.
So all she could do was look as the Blacksilver Ruler spoke to them. It was almost sickeningly picturesque: water Fithans standing in the shallows, land Fithan on rocky ground. Despite the differences of skin color and horns, they struck her as very much alike, even down to the style of their armor. She presumed they must have some organ that allowed them to breathe underwater, but couldn't spot anything that struck her as unusual.
Most people on the street spoke as if Fithe was mired in eternal war between the two sides, though she'd quickly gathered that it was more of a conceptual war. As far as she could determine, both sides were mostly at war with themselves.
According to some senior members of House Blacksilver, there were places on Fithe where true war raged, bloody and terrible. She believed it, given the hatred she saw in them... yet she wondered if the war could possibly be won. Would the water Fithans actually occupy land, and could the land Fithans even survive in the deep cities? If so, what would it gain them?
"Is it going well?" she asked Theo in a low voice. He wasn't soulcrafting, but twitched like he wanted to be, then answered from the side of his mouth.
"This is another stage in a longstanding deal between the two factions. They're trading insults now, but it's coded language testing that we're really House Blacksilver."
"Couldn't they bring some sort of identification?"
"The depths Fithans think the chances of it being stolen in battle are too high, if the House fell to another." Theo's eyes flickered between the sides, then he shrugged. "I'm not sure if they're just being obstinate or if this is actually a problem. We've been referenced several times, and they talked about you, since the depths Fithans hadn't seen a Tatian before."
Nauda sighed and did her best to look foreign. "Would you deign to talk to me about their politics, now that you have essentially nothing else to do?"
"Am I really that distracted? I guess I am, but you know why." Theo gave her a weak smile. "What were you going to ask?"
"I was just wondering about their supposed blood war. If both sides can have a permanent agreement like this, is it really taken that seriou
sly?"
"I'm not sure. When I met Fithans in other parts of the Nine Worlds, they really varied. Some of them considered the fight between the two sides to be... petty and provincial, I think. But others would go at each other's throats without hesitation. Most likely Fithe has a spectrum of everything."
That had been more or less what she suspected, since it was an entire world, after all. Some sort of agreement was reached and water Fithans began to emerge from the shallows carrying nets filled with blue stones. They glowed like a sublime material, something mundane instead of soulcrafter-grade products, so that must be what they'd come to acquire.
Since they still weren't required to do anything, Nauda looked past them, following the bodies as they walked up the shore from a vessel she could just barely see. "The other Fithans said that they have vast underwater cities encased in glass, guarded by swarms of monstrous fish. Think that's true?"
"I believe the underwater cities part, but I don't know about the fish," Theo said. "I've never been to one, but I've seen depths Fithans breathe in water on other worlds, and resist surprising pressures. From what they said, I got the impression that they didn't have much to do with sublime beasts underwater, but I could be wrong."
Nauda continued watching the shipment arrive, reflecting that Theo had changed somewhat in Fithe. He'd been constantly arrogant in Tatian, certain in his knowledge, but here he readily admitted when he didn't know something. In fact, she suspected that he enjoyed the discovery, though at the moment he just seemed annoyed to be distracted from his precious optimization.
Just when she was about to ask another question, loud shouting emerged from the shore. The Blacksilver Ruler turned back to them and Theo ran forward, calling out in the same language the others used. Though Nauda braced herself for a fight, it quickly became more of a shouting match. Whatever was happening, Theo seemed to be smoothing it over.
As that was resolved, the nature of the exchange shifted. The other members of House Blacksilver moved forward to start loading the blue stones into the net stretched between their vehicles. Others unloaded boxes she hadn't seen before and set them out on the shore, opening them to reveal a mix of sublime materials and various trinkets. More water Fithans emerged, these much less military, and some began looking through the supplies while others brought out wares of her own.
So it really was trade in multiple senses. Theo was still busy talking, so Nauda turned toward Fiyu, who smiled at her. "I am glad that there is no need for violence. It seems that this is a time for trade."
"I suppose that both sides have things the other needs?" Nauda asked.
"That is what our Fithan associates told me. Or... truthfully they said that mud Fithans needed to trade sublime materials from dangerous lands for the fruits of civilization."
"Of course they did." Since everyone seemed to have relaxed, Nauda decided that they no longer needed to stand as symbols and instead looked toward the market. "Would you like to see what they have?"
It was a select sort of market, with no food or common wares, only small items of higher value. Despite the prejudice of the land Fithans, Nauda noted many items that obviously required great skill to create, in particular devices made of glass. She lingered for a while in front of a cloth displayed by an old woman who made particularly beautiful twists, somehow imparting color to the glass. The result was spectacular, though Nauda had no idea what purpose they served.
A shout startled her, but it was only the old woman, smiling as she bellowed out the words. "I'm sorry," Nauda said, shaking her head. The old woman muttered to herself in her own language, then poked her in the chest.
"Archcrafter? Come, come." Her words sounded thickly accented, but they matched the language most often spoken in Norro Yorthin. Grateful that the old woman had poked her instead of Fiyu, Nauda let her lead them over to a different Fithan merchant.
As soon as they arrived, Nauda understood. A robed figure of indeterminate age or sex had set up an elaborate wooden case that opened with many different shelves. Clearly an experienced merchant, and the items they sold were of a much higher quality than the rest. Everything she saw was either a powerful sublime material or a well-crafted spiritual tool.
Nauda and Fiyu looked over the wares carefully, testing their nature with cantae, while the hooded merchant watched silently. Though Nauda was impressed by the overall quality, she didn't note anything that seemed particularly necessary for her. She already had her hands full soulcrafting the valuable Archcrafter materials that she'd stored for so long.
On the other hand, Fiyu seemed delighted, finding many materials with strong elements of darkness. The hooded merchant watched her, said something incomprehensible, and then unlocked an additional compartment. Nauda wasn't sure about the purpose of the glass shapes within, but Fiyu let out a gasp and looked through them.
Meanwhile, Nauda spotted something of note: not for her, but maybe for Theo. A dark sublime stone resonated with particularly powerful cantae, giving her a sense of pressure even though it didn't create any in the real world. Another unusual quality was that it looked like dark rock, yet had been cut into a precise shape as if it was a gemstone.
"Nauda..." Fiyu tugged on her sleeve, clutching a small sapphire rod in one hand. "This is an excellent tool for soulcrafting sublime glass. You must help me purchase it."
That might be easier said than done, judging from the watchful gaze of the hooded merchant. Nauda glanced over the rest of the market, noting how the Fithans were barking simple words and holding up fingers to negotiate deals. Perhaps they could do the same, presuming that the merchant was willing to bend for their custom.
"Can we buy this?" Nauda had Fiyu hold forward the sapphire rod.
In response, the merchant's hand fluttered through a series of numbers quickly, not in the order Nauda had expected.
"Uh... we might have to do this a simpler way." Nauda pulled out her sack of Fithan coins to just count them out, accepting that they might be robbed in the deal. If the tool was really so useful to Fiyu, perhaps it was worth the price, since they wouldn't get another chance like this.
Yet as soon as she pulled out the first coins, the hooded merchant made a derisive bark and reached to take the sapphire rod back. So they didn't like money from the city... as she looked to see what the others were using, Nauda saw Theo sitting beyond the market, soulcrafting.
She marched over to him and leaned down in front of his hazy body. "Come out, Theo. We need you to translate."
"Do they really have anything worthwhile here?" He reluctantly returned to the real world and slowly made his way to his feet. When he saw Fiyu anxiously waiting beside the merchant, however, his glower diminished. "Alright, I'll do what I can."
As soon as Theo arrived, he began an intense discussion with the hooded merchant in the other language. It struck Nauda as a sublime beast charging directly through a village, yet it seemed effective, as the merchant soon set down the sapphire rod and Theo turned back to them.
"I've negotiated a deal, but do you have the craftgems?"
"Of course." Nauda reached into her pouch for the sack. "But this isn't just for Fiyu, there was something I thought you might want to look at."
She directed his attention to the dark stone and was gratified to see Theo's eyes widen. He immediately began asking questions of the merchant, who responded slowly at first and then more animatedly. It seemed to be less negotiation than discussion of the material, though Theo's derisive tactics were obvious even through the language barrier.
Eventually they left the merchant, having purchased the sapphire rod and the dark stone in return for a shocking number of their craftgems, including those Theo had been carrying. As they left, Nauda tried to count those remaining, marveling that so much of their small fortune from Deuxan had been spent so quickly. Judging from Fiyu's beaming face, it was worth it to her, and Theo allowed himself a narrow smile once they got further away.
"Thank you, Nauda. This was a good find, and I wo
uld have missed it without you."
"Just what is it?" Nauda pulled his arm closer so she could poke the stone in his hand. "I get a sense of pressure from it, but only in a spiritual sense, not physically."
"He called it a trenchgem, and it's exactly what I didn't know I needed." Theo held up the gemstone between two fingers, gazing into it with his deeper senses. "It doesn't exert pressure, just resists it. Apparently these form at the bottom of the ocean, capable of surviving under intense pressures. Not only that, the pressure somehow squeezes it down into this cut shape."
"And all of that makes it a good fit for your soulhome?"
"A nearly perfect representation of one concept I need." His smile faded, because it always did, and Theo squeezed the trenchgem into his soulhome before turning back to the two of them. "I used more than my fair share of our funds to buy it, though, and that cuts into our monetary plans. Just based on our House salaries, we likely won't earn enough before the deadline to purchase anything as valuable as a Chasm Invitation."
Fiyu looked between them, her smile still lingering. "But... this was a successful assignment, was it not? Did you not say that we could exceed our expectations by finding such tasks?"
"It earns us 125 merits each, sure, but that's only part of the way to any meaningful goal."
"Wait." Nauda was willing to let him go on about his plans, but that was simply wrong. "We're getting 175 merits for this assignment."
Theo shrugged off her objection, barely hearing her at all. "Yes, but in the week of travel, we sacrificed the opportunity to earn other merits, which would have been fifty on average. So our net gain is only 125. Hmm... if we could acquire an assignment of this quality every month..."
He wandered back to his soulcrafting, muttering to himself about optimizations. Nauda rolled her eyes, but she also smiled.
Chapter 16
Five months.
Theo had taken an unexpected step forward, since Nauda had helped him find the trenchgem, but it had thrown off all his calculations. He still needed four more sublime materials and he now had limited money to acquire them, even considering his future budget. Though he'd thrown himself into soulcrafting one of his corner chambers on the second floor, he knew that he needed to find more alternate methods.
