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”When we reach our destination, we might want to make a relatively hasty exit and leave the ship behind as soon as possible," Karna warned Anaire as the two prepared to disembark the merchant's airship.

“Why?” Anaire wasn’t questioning whether Karna was right or not, she simply wanted to know the reason. She could venture a guess though.

“Well, let’s put it this way. Normally the people who can make items attuned to different worlds are mages around the eighth rank. No one wants to pick a fight with one of those, especially a spatial mage of that rank. They can be horrendous enemies in a battle as they are often the people that keep small powers and nations afloat. When someone is skilled enough to make those items before reaching a high rank, they usually don’t wander around the different areas without protection, unlike us. Now, how long would you wager it takes before someone tries to capture us in an attempt to force us to work for them, once the word about us spreads? How long do you think it will take before word about us does spread?” Karna questioned.

“Not very long. The captain might owe us, but she has her loyalties and likely will report us as soon as we reach our destination, if not before. How big of a danger are we in? And if it is really dangerous, then why would you trade the attuned item with the captain in the first place? We could’ve worked out another deal since they owed us one for the fight beforehand.” Anaire’s mind whirred as she went through all the implications in her head.

“That depends on what kind of world we're going to. Some worlds are very safe and we’ll be fine. On most worlds, only criminal organizations would make the sort of attempt we’re talking about. On certain worlds, however, there's going to be real issues. We can mostly defend ourselves against those that would make the attempt, but there are limits. As for why I paid with the item, it was the easiest way to ensure the captain's cooperation. The item really only has value for a trader like her because others don’t travel to that world. Our other goods can be used to barter a passage with a much wider range of parties. The captain might also be hesitant to mention us to the authorities because she'll likely lose the item.” Karna explained. “And we don’t need a lot of time to leave. Even a short hesitation would be enough.”

“Still a bit of a risk.” Anaire pointed out.

“Yes, you’re right. On the other hand, it’s not like we have no cards to play should someone try something against us.” Karna nodded in slight agreement. The problem was that they had only so many ways to secure passage on ships that could travel between worlds. Earning your keep with a nomadic tribe with her crafting skills was very different from paying a trader. She had certain goods in her storage ring, but most of those she wasn't really willing to trade away. She’d have to create something to trade, and that would take time. She had already made some things in preparation, but bartering with such items was always a matter of supply and demand. And depending on where they ended up, the demand might not be there.

The duo was already waiting on the deck of the ship as they suddenly dropped off the spatial passage. Karna had seriously considered just taking flight from the deck right away, except that she could immediately tell that they had arrived on a relatively major world and all arriving ships would need to go through an inspection to be allowed out of the isolated area they had arrived in. The spatial path had deposited them into a mountain valley and the valley was surrounded by several layers of wards and magical protective fields to prevent anyone from slipping through. As usual, most worlds took their dimensional security seriously.

The officials that boarded the ship for the inspection were also Naga surrounded by Khenra guards, which was a little odd as a combination. Karna had wondered about it even when it came to the captain and the two Khenra on the ship. The two races weren’t usually very symbiotic. Naga commonly inhabited moist terrain, preferably near oceans and major rivers, while Khenra usually liked more arid terrain. They both did like warmer climates, so there was that.

The Naga wore the attire of officials, strict and clean uniforms made of light silks, while the Khenra were armed and armored, though often keeping their torso bare. Even female Khenra wore rather minimalistic pieces on top. That somewhat implied that the Naga were in a higher position in the society, but it might be a bit hasty to make such determinations with such little evidence.

The captain handled the inspection procedures, and all seemed to go well, except by the time they landed, the ship was quickly surrounded by three dozen Khenra soldiers, while a very large male Naga approached the two girls as they stepped off the ship. “Pasha Belik requests your presence offworlders.” The three meters tall Naga clad in ornamental armor stated in a voice that made it clear that this wasn’t actually a request.

“And what does the Pasha want?” Karna asked rather directly, her tone implying impatience.

“I’m not at liberty to say.” The Naga stated, his mouth tightening into a line.

“In that case, relay my apologies to the Pasha. We are on a tight schedule.” Karna was testing the resolve of the Naga officer.

“I’m afraid I must insist.” The Naga said in a voice that was still relatively polite, while still being firm.

“Must you though? Because unless I’m mistaken, your Pasha has an offer for us, and it wouldn’t exactly bode well for any negotiations to start like this.” Karna pointed out.

“I have my orders.” The Naga said with a firm tone.

“Do you? And how far do your orders extend? Should we choose to resist, do your orders extend to using violence? Because that would make us prisoners and enemies of your Pasha, and if that is the case, then I wouldn’t feel all that bad resisting. And I’m quite confident we would win.” Karna wasn’t actually throwing down the gauntlet for a fight just yet. She’d gotten a glimpse of the city, and knew it likely had enough military power to make things difficult for her. Especially with Anaire along to make escape difficult. But she did need to know where they stood.

“I would prefer if you did not make things difficult, but I have my orders.” The Naga kept his tone polite.

"No," Karna said firmly, before turning to Anaire. "See, this is something you will have to learn. If the local ruler has ill will towards us, then it is a very bad idea to go along. If they want to make a move against us, it is preferable for us to force them to do it in public like this. If we follow them then they will take us to a place where we can disappear without any word about it getting out. On the other hand, if the Pasha wants to capture us in the middle of a busy port without any explanation, then a word about it will get out. Such captures are quite bad for business. Especially when they fail.”

Karna turned back to the Naga. "Now here's what's going to happen. I'm going to walk out those doors. If you try to stop us or stand in our way, then I'm going to take that as an act of aggression and will strike back with no mercy. You will not survive that."

Karna and Anaire took several steps towards the exit and the Naga guard was about to make his move when a voice called out. “Stand down Hebi.” A much smaller male Naga slithered through the doors. He was clad in opulent clothing and was flanked by four Khenra warriors that Karna could sense to be quite strong.

“Yes, Pasha.” The big Naga made a small deferential bow.

The smaller Naga turned towards Karna. “If the mountain won’t come to me…” He quoted an old saying.

“I’ve actually met a moving mountain.” Karna smiled, remembering an older life fondly.

“Well, be that as it may, I have a proposition for you Tuner.” The Pasha used an archaic term for people who could facilitate travel between worlds and locations. “I would’ve preferred to have this discussion in my palace, but here we are.” He waved his hand and the guards around him made sure no one suspicious was within earshot.

“Here we are.” Karna agreed simply. “I’m assuming you need to get somewhere. Somewhere you can’t get to without some very specific help.”

“Quite. It always makes things easier to negotiate with someone smart. I need to be able to get a ship through a spatial channel and into a pocket dimension. The channel still exists, but it is so badly deteriorated that navigating through it is impossible after a certain point.”

Karna frowned a bit. This was an interesting problem. And one that did require some very specific skills indeed. “So you need a Tuner that can help your ship Shift beyond the deteriorated parts of the spatial channel?”

“Preferably straight to the pocket, yes.” The Pasha nodded.

“Any defenses?” Karna asked.

“More than likely, though it is hard to say without actually getting closer.” The Pasha admitted freely.

"Then you need a very skilled Tuner and not just an average one. And what would be my reward? I do not work under duress, and the presence of your four guards has not changed the mathematics about the result of a fight between our two groups." Karna got to the point.

“Judging by your race, you likely seek passage to other worlds. I assume it’s because you were stranded due to the recent events. I can arrange that. Quickly as well.” The Pasha didn’t blink an eye at Karna’s implied threat.

That was an offer she’d have to consider at least. She also needed more information before agreeing. “I would need to…” She suddenly looked up and after letting her senses roam around a bit, a grin split her face. "I see this discussion has become moot. We no longer require your help, Pasha."

The Pasha’s face fell. “I had hoped we could come to an amicable solution, but…”

“I would really suggest that you don’t finish that sentence, snake.” An angry female voice suddenly seemed to cut through all the other noise in the area while a heavy weight settled on every armed person aside from Karna and Anaire.

“Master. Nice timing. Did you wait until now to make a proper entrance, or…” Karna grinned as Tsumi slowly floated down from the sky above.

“Of course I waited for the perfect moment. As my student, you should know better than to even ask such silly questions. Making a proper entrance and first impressions is paramount.” Tsumi stated shamelessly. Her powers had spread across the entire area, pressing all the guards and the two Naga to the ground like a physical weight, and everyone could feel that she was at the ninth rank.

“Naturally. So are we going to have this discussion here while you keep suppressing the ruler of the city and the entire guard with just your presence, or should we take it somewhere else?” Karna couldn’t help but be amused by the antics of her master.

“I don’t know. This current situation does have its benefits.” Tsumi joked. “Although, we might as well go. We might have to speak about rather sensitive subjects and I don’t want to kill everyone here just to keep them quiet.”

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“It’s good that you’re ok. Not that I was really worried, but you can never be certain with the Scourge presence.” Tsumi gave her student a hug as soon as she’d created a portal back to her ship resting in a mountain valley not far from the city.

“How bad is the situation?” Karna asked, curious about the extent of the damage.

“Pretty bad but not yet what I’d classify as dire. Several worlds have been attacked, but most are fending off the attacks relatively well. It’s not a major invasion, just some scattered parties slipping through the cracks. The problem is that with the paths between the worlds being disrupted and somewhat risky at the moment, travel is quite limited, and sending reinforcements to worlds that can't hack it on their own is challenging." Tsumi gave a brief explanation.

“What about-?” Anaire asked hastily, before swallowing her words, not wanting to appear rude and because she wasn’t sure who to ask about first. Tsumi was someone that could rival her mother, and being rude to such a person could be a death sentence. Karna had mentioned her master during the time they’d spent together, but that didn’t mean everything Karna said applied to Anaire as well.

“Your brother is fine, and so is your family. The crew of the ship you were on less so. Our world wasn’t really affected aside from disrupted trade and the ships that got lost. Benefits of being one of the major worlds and housing an Emissary. The Scourges keep away from us when they can.” Tsumi turned back towards Karna. “Most of your group has been found, although the situation with Shaheera seems to be odd. I’m not sure of the details yet because I haven’t been back and have to rely on jumbled messages. The spatial disturbances aren’t doing wonders for communication either. Duskclaw was found, but she’s seriously hurt. Nothing life-threatening as the healers got to her in time and she’ll recover, but it’s going to take months I’m afraid. Maybe even years.”

Karna grimaced. She had hoped that everyone was fine, but it had been a bit too much to ask. She felt bad for Duskclaw, but in some ways, her step-mother was a better target for getting injured than her friends. Her friends were still in the middle of the most important growth spurt in their lives while Duskclaw wouldn’t suffer too badly if she lost a couple of years to recover. It would still be a loss and she wouldn’t wish it for anyone of course. Well, anyone she cared about at least. “You said most?”

“We still haven’t been able to locate Mayumi. The problem is that unlike you, she didn’t bring along the Academy uniform. I can’t locate her as easily. I might have even visited the world she’s on already, but I just didn’t know she was there.” Tsumi explained while spreading her hands in a helpless gesture.

“Master…” Karna said with a frown.

“I know. You don’t want to leave her behind. I get that. I know she looks up to you and I’m not sure if I could abandon her either. That’s why I came here with a ship of my own. I’m coming with you. While you’re strong and resourceful, having someone with my power along will simplify many things and open many doors. Going back home would take weeks that Mayumi might not have, sorry princess, so we’ll have to skip that, but we’ll at least need to inform Arjuna that you’re ok. He’ll tear half the Plane apart if we don’t.” Tsumi knew what Karna was thinking.

“Thank you, master. What about the Academy though?” Karna asked with a small frown.

“I left the vice-headmaster in charge. They can manage for a time without me. I’ll need to pop back eventually and can’t stay away from my duties forever, but I’m actually quite happy to dump most of my duties on the vice in the current situation.” Tsumi grinned.

“Why am I not surprised?” Karna asked sarcastically.

“So what’s this about you being a Tuner?” Tsumi asked suddenly.

“After all this time together, you’re surprised?” Karna shot back with a raised eyebrow.

“Not really if I’m being honest. Just didn’t think of it before. It does make travel a lot easier though. I assume you can also guide the ship through some dicier spatial pathways? Because some of the worlds I haven’t visited so far are really hard to reach at the moment. While Mayumi could theoretically be on the worlds I’ve already visited, I did at least make an effort to gather information and got no word of her.” Tsumi confirmed just in case.

“I know how to pilot a ship, yes. That doesn’t mean I can navigate the disturbed space at my current level without risk. Though with that said, there is an option that would make things easier. I’m not too far from my next Awakening, and I could rush it as my foundations so far are beyond solid. I’d need to compensate a bit later on, but it wouldn’t be too bad. And if I were to Awaken the right kind of bloodline…” Karna suggested.

“Ah yes, that weird ability of yours to Awaken bloodlines that you don’t actually have. I never understood your explanation on it.” On purpose, as Karna had made up the whole explanation and made it extremely convoluted just for this very reason. “Wouldn’t you need a special place for it though?”

“Well, if I want to Awaken a bloodline tied to spatial forces, then what better place than the space between worlds where those energies are abundant? That said, there are certain…issues that we’ll need to discuss later. Before that, Anaire, what’s your take on the situation?” Karna turned to the elven princess.

“I’m worried about my family, but knowing they’re ok allays that somewhat. I’d like to see them, but I realize you don’t have the time to waste when your friend could be in all kinds of danger. I’ll go with you, as long as we can get a word back. Besides, I’ve learned a lot in the time I’ve spent with you. I think I’ll learn a lot more if I stick around.” Anaire had found that Karna was a great source to emulate and learn from. Another potential idol of sorts.

“Speaking of, do you have a way to contact Arjuna? I can contact Queen Amaranthine as she’s the one coordinating the rescue efforts, but not with Arjuna specifically.” Tsumi asked.

“I can probably whip something up if you have the materials. We’ll need to buy some though if you don’t have what we need.” Karna shrugged.

“Um, as we are on the subject of making purchases, could I also get some proper clothes? Wearing Karna’s hand-me-downs is still making me feel…inadequate.” Anaire grimaced.