Chapter 193 - No Ordinary Girl

Finn smiled congenially, bowing slightly to the long haired girl. This teenage girl did not have a particularly special aura about her, and in fact appeared quite thin and even frail. Of course, appearances were deceiving in the Exalted world. He made no assumptions, but politely introduced himself.

“Good evening, Yuzu.” He said, “My name is-“

“Officer Finn Mckenzie.” Yuzu replied before turning her head toward his companion, “And you are joined by Officer Minnie Kim. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

Finn and Minnie glanced at each other, momentarily at a loss for words.

The edge of Yuzu’s lips curled up subtly as she folded her hands calmly in front of her navel and maintained a reverent posture.

“On behalf of the White Maiden, I would like to thank you for your part in the preventing Prince Deka’s reincarnation.” Yuzu said calmly, “And for assisting Char Char Zhao and returning her safely.”

“We were only performing our duty.” Finn said, bowing once more, “Furthermore, we are here tonight on behalf of Lord Noga to express our gratitude for the White Maiden’s assistance in and around the city. We have been told to pass on the message that Lord Noga extends his full support to the White Maiden.”

“Very well-“ Yuzu wasted no time, resting her eyes on Minnie Kim. “Officer Kim, I have need of your abilities.”

“Y-yes?” Minnie suddenly had a bad feeling as the teenage girl rested her eyes on her. There was something about the girl that made the older officer uneasy. It wasn’t anything that Minnie could sense with her spiritual intuition, but there was something about the calmness and decisiveness in the girl’s demeanor that gave off a mysterious, commanding aura.

“There is a temple deep within the mountains to the north east. Will you take me there?”

“It depends-“ Minnie hesitated, shooting a glance toward Finn, who was quietly observing Yuzu with a neutral expression, “It depends how far it is, and if there’s any interference. If it’s too far it might take several steps-“

“You misunderstand me.” Yuzu frowned, “I didn’t ask if you could do it, I asked if you were willing to.”

“I suppose I could-“ She looked again at Finn for support, “Finn?”

Finn had been observing the conversation without comment, carefully evaluating the situation. From Minnie’s reaction, he could tell that his partner was convinced that the girl in front of them was a representative of the White Maiden. It was the logical conclusion, especially given Yuzu’s confidence and knowledge of their identities.

However, Chief Yun had always told him that the Exalted world is full of tricks and deception. Never take anything at face value. Never assume that things are as they seem.

Furthermore, aside from the brief visions of floating hair that initially prompted them to come to this place, the White Maiden hadn’t directly contacted either him or Minnie.

As Minnie turned to him for guidance, Finn and Yuzu locked eyes with each other, and instantly Finn thought - This is no ordinary girl. Though she held the humble posture fitting of a shrine maiden or priest, there was a fierce intelligence to her eyes that betrayed her outward demeanor.

As soon as they locked eyes he knew that the pressure that Minnie felt was not coincidental. It was incited by Yuzu - Purposefully and skillfully. As Finn prepared his answer he was well aware that she was watching him, looking for his next move, planning her response.

“What’s the significance of the temple?” Finn asked, keeping a cool attitude. Minnie had already lost the psychological battle, placing herself in the conversation as Yuzu’s inferior. However, in Finn’s opinion he and Yuzu were equals. Both representatives of their respective lords and dieties, here to bargain.

“There is a monk there who has critical information on the plans of the forces opposing Noga.” Yuzu said, “He has reached out to the White Maiden, but is unable to come to Her shrine. Therefore, She has arranged for me to go to him.”

Arranged. The word stood out in Finn’s mind. In his debriefing with Chief Gwynn, she had told him that the White Maiden represented the Godly Domain of Fate. Her flippant attitude that was prevalent throughout their entire conversation suddenly turned serious when the topic turned to Fate.

“Fate is subtle and impalpable.” She’d said quietly, “Powerful, yet fleeting, and extremely, exceedingly rare. A diety of fate showing up here and now has implications that stretch beyond our city, beyond our country. ”

“What do you mean?” Finn had asked.

“It means we have to be very, very careful. We can’t afford to go against Her, but on the other hand, perhaps we don’t have a choice.” Gwynn said with a sigh. Her voice turned low as she said, “Here is the million crown question - did She arrive at the perfect time to save Noga, or was it from Her desire that Noga need to be saved in the first place?”

“No, forget all of that, I already said too much.” Gwynn paused and grimaced before shaking her head, “You hear me? That’s an order.”

Reflecting on the words, Finn felt a pit form in his stomach. Yuzu wasn’t requesting their help - she wasn’t even demanding it.

Their arrival, their meeting, their cooperation.

Had all of these been preordained by the White Maiden?

Finn frowned, his gaze hardening as he looked at Yuzu, “Like Minnie said, it depends on the exact location of the temple in question. Can you give us more details?”

“Follow me.” Yuzu turned and walked out of the room through the fabric covered doorway that she had entered from.

The chill night air brushed against their cheeks as they stepped outside and followed Yuzu around the building. She led the way across the quiet grassy plateau, leaving the light of the small ‘town’ around the shrine. Above them, a crescent moon shone amongst a brilliant starry backdrop. The supernatural tear in the atmosphere had cleared up leaving behind a crystal clear night sky.

Yuzu walked up to the edge of the northern cliff that overlooked the dark, overgrown jungle. The black silhouettes of the Yonge mountain range dominated the horizon in the distance. She raised her arm and pointed to a point in the distance.

“There.” She said.

Finn frowned, “I don’t-“

He was interrupted as an image of a darkened mountain top bubbled up in his mind. A number of ancient crumbling structures rose out of the rock, forming a small village, long abandoned by time. A narrow cobble stone path wound through the village, whose rocky, uneven terrain was devoid of trees and plants. Around all of the buildings, upright stone slabs of various shapes and sizes stuck out of the ground, covering all the available space.

Finn barely had time to consciously acknowledge the vision before it ended. At the moment it ended his eyes were drawn to a point on the horizon in the direction that Yuzu was pointing in. It wasn’t just that he knew the direction of that mysterious ruins, he felt an intuitive connection to a specific spot in the distance that was obscured from vision. He shivered involuntarily as a cold creeping sensation took over him.

“You did that?” Finn managed to keep his voice from trembling. There was something deeply disturbing about the location that he had seen, though he didn’t know what.

“Yes.” Yuzu lowered her hand and turned around, looking at Minnie, “Will you take me there?”

“I… I can.” Minnie croaked, her voice dry and uncomfortable. She had clearly been granted the vision as well. “It’s quite far away…”

“If it’s far, we should wait until daylight.” Finn said, “I can call in reinforcements to make the journey easier.”

“Reinforcements aren’t needed.” Yuzu countered, “If we use the sapphire.”

“How did you know—“ Minnie subconsciously touched the coat pocket where she kept the small blue SpaceTime attuned crystal.

“We only have one, for return to the city. We cannot part with it.” Finn said resolutely, “Furthermore, we can use it for the trip to the temple, but what about the return trip?”

Finn set his jaw, standing firm as the teenage girl looked at him with an ice cold expression. She was clearly not happy that he was resisting her will, and even a part of himself wondered why he was opposing her so insistently. Chief Gwynn had commanded him to provide whatever assistance the White Maiden required. If she was here, he was nearly certain she would grant the request immediately.

As Yuzu stared Finn down wordlessly, he even thought it wasn’t too late to apologize and give in to the request.

“Er-“ Minnie shifted uncomfortably beside him. At present she was unable to take the tension and blurted out, “It’s fine. We can make the return trip with several jumps. I’ll take her…”

She trailed off as Yuzu and Finn didn’t break eye contact, each one refusing to back down.

Fate. The corner of Finn’s lip twitched in irritation as he grumbled inwardly to himself. What’s so good about that?

Across from him, Yuzu’s teeth ground together imperceptibly. The incredibly subtle reaction wasn’t missed by Finn’s sharp eyes.

That’s right. Finn uttered the challenge in his mind. If you want my approval to go to the temple so badly… Make me!