Chapter Seven - Savouring Strength

“So,” the limpet said. “We’re going to bring the dead guy back to his sect? What about his letter?”

I hummed and rubbed at my jawbone. “Letters are private things. I wouldn't read one without permission. Curiosity is one thing, civility another. In most cases, the latter ought to be considered before the former.”

The limpet gave me a bit of a shrug. She didn’t seem to care all that much about things, one way or the other.

Our carriage had made it past the rather lax security at the entrance of the very small city of Lava Fist. It was another place named after the sect that was set next to it. A little uncreative, but from the looks of it, the city’s economy mostly relied on the sect.

The walls around the city were tall and well-maintained, with guardsmen patrolling the top with long pikes by their sides that could reach all the way to the ground, and the part of the city adjacent to the coast had an open port currently empty of boats.

Those boats were out to sea, nets being cast and pulled up with bounties of writhing fish.

A lively city, for all that its surroundings were barren and rough. There were dusty winds pushing up dunes against the walls, but they were even now being brushed aside by a crew of young men.

I would have expected more scrutiny on entering, but the guards took one look into the carriage, saw our new mantis friend, and blanched before letting us pass.

“You seem quite popular,” I said to the mantis.

“Stupid humans around here know that they can become food if they get handsy and stupid,” the mantis said. She hissed, in a way that I suspected was laughter.

I chuckled as we continued to move into the city. The streets were dusty, and the people I saw wore plain cloth, but things seemed well-maintained, and the people had a bit of fat to them under their undyed clothes. Not a prosperous city, but not a poor one either.

The carriage slowed a little, and Alex poked his head in. “Papa, where do you want us to go?”

I considered the question for a moment. “I think we should head over to the local sect. We have a body to deliver. And a letter, I suppose.”

“Understood, papa,” Alex said. “Rem, limpet, are you well? Do you need food?”

“I don’t need your food, stupid maid,” the mantis hissed. “But if you have some, give it to me.”

Alex nodded sagely. “In that case, when we arrive somewhere calm, I’ll prepare something quick.” With that said, he hopped back, closed the door, and soon the carriage was taking off again.

“What can you tell me about the Lava Fist sect?” I asked the limpet.

The girl tapped her chin, much in the way I did when thinking. “They’re alright. Probably one of the nicer sects I was kicked out of. They only accept people who can break this thick plank by punching it. When I broke my knuckles, one of the sect elders made some ice with some sort of skill and reset my fingers for me before throwing me out.”

“How generous,” I said.

To be completely honest, it was generous to a degree. I could well remember some academies and magical schools in my youth having some rather challenging tests. Both of a mage’s character, and of their knowledge and skills. If this sect wanted people capable of punching things hard, then maybe it only made sense that that was the metric by which they judged potential disciples.

It was a foolish metric, but at least it made some sense.

We rolled across the city for a little while, the limpet yawning a bit, and the mantis growing increasingly restless until, finally, we slowed to a stop.

Alex opened the door for us and smiled. “We’ve arrived. I made sandwiches.”

The mantis was the first one out, scrambling in a way that was quite a bit shy of polite until she was standing next to Alex and bugging him for food.

Bugging.

“Oh hohohoho,” I chuckled as I stepped out.

The Lava Fist sect had an impressive building. A large pagoda-style edifice. Perhaps three floors tall, but with a huge footprint. Flags hung from the front, great heavy banners with a symbol of a flaming fist on them.

“How generic,” I muttered.

“What was that, Master?” the limpet asked as she hopped down.

Alex handed her a sandwich with one hand, while keeping the mantis off with the other.

I stretched my old bones and then eyed the young men approaching us. The sect’s uniform seemed to be a pair of baggy pants and a tight armband. That was it. The men were shirtless and seemed quite proud of their physiques as they strutted over.

“Yo,” the one in the lead said. He had two cloth bands around his arm, both a striking red. “Can we help you old fella? You got a broken wheel or something? We know a guy that can fix that? Or are you lost? Know the city like the back of my hand.”

“No, neither of those,” I said. His parlance was a bit crude, but he was surprisingly kind. “We found someone from what I presume to be an allied sect on the road. We thought we ought to return him.”

Alex let go of the mantis, the limpet having given the leftovers of her meal to her dog, despite the mantis’ protests and threats. Alex jumped up to the roof of the carriage, picked up a large, wrapped bundle, then landed next to me. “This is yours,” he said as he deposited the body next to me.

“Ah man,” the greeter said. “He’s dead.”

“He’s only mostly dead,” I said. “A talented enough healer ought to be able to help him.”

One of the young men knelt next to the dead man and pressed a hand to his neck, then bent forwards and brought his ear close to his chest. “He’s still alive,” he said.

The one I presumed was the leader of the little band nodded. “You two bring him in. Get him to the infirmary. Quick, he’ll only be mostly dead for a while.” He watched his companions grab the mostly dead man and haul him off before turning to me. ‘Thanks, yeah. Looks like a fella from Flame’s Heart. They’ve got those silly clothes.”

“It wasn’t any issue,” I said. “I have this letter as well. The man seemed to believe that it was important.”

“Hmm,” he said. He eyed the scroll I raised and then looked at my companions. “You lot are pretty strong, yeah?” He seemed to pay particular attention to our mantis in her butler outfit.

“I think so, yes,” I agreed.

“Yeah, then the elders will wanna see you.”

I considered it. I didn’t mind losing a little bit of time, and perhaps I’d have better experiences with this sect than the others I’d come across. I also had some questions. The mantis seemed to be a known quantity here, yet she was woefully uninformed about anything.

Also, if I ever wanted to see the limpet prosper in any way, she would need to see some political work in action, as distasteful as it may be.

“Please lead the way,” I said.

“Yeah, come on.”

We pressed through the front entrance of the great pavilion, and arrived in a rather plainly decorated interior. The floor were made of softly padded material, and there were quite a few pillars filling the space. Many had weapons of one sort of another hanging off them rather carelessly. Trophies?

The reason for the sect building’s size became apparent as we moved deeper in and came to a courtyard set in the centre. It was a large, landscaped garden. Few plants, but plenty of artfully placed stone pillars and racked pebbles.

Younger members of the sect, with no armbands at all, were punching at the air before them, all striking out in time with their comrades with echoing grunts.

I noticed the limpet staring until her face reddened. Fortunately, the mantis girl snapped her out of it. “I bet they taste stringy. Too muscle-y. If you’re going to eat one, stupid limpet girl, then find a fat one. Lots of juice on the fat ones.”

“What?” the limpet squeaked.

Our guide led us across the gardens and towards balconied pavilion at the back. There, five men sat around a brazier, wearing about one garment between the lot of them. By their sides, they had large metal mugs in hand or resting on little tables next to their seats.

The five of them had bands around their arms, legs and even their foreheads, most fixed in place thanks to the bulbing muscle beneath.

Had I found a congregation of barbarians?

“Yo, old guys,” our guide said to what I presumed were the sect elders. “This fella just saved some Flame’s Heart guy, and he’s got this letter to deliver too.”

“To be entirely accurate,” I said. “The man whom we found on the road here asked us to deliver this scroll to you. He seemed to believe it was important.”

The biggest man in the lot shifted forward, elbow on his knee and looked at me with hard, flinty eyes. “You wanna fight?” he asked.

“No thank you,” I said.

He huffed. “You feel like someone strong. And you have one of the children of the Goddess with you as a servant. Means you’re strong.”

“Perhaps,” I agreed. “But my strength lies more in magic and knowledge than martial ability. I don’t think you’d find a fight between us very enjoyable. Though... my apprentice here is very weak. Perhaps you have some equally weak students she could train with while we talk? She certainly seemed to give your apprentices here a keen look.”

The limper shot me a look of absolute betrayal.

“Sure,” the large man said. He snapped his fingers, and a young man ran up to him and was given some simple instructions.

I turned to the limpet and pat her head consolingly. “Don’t kill anyone. Consider it good practice. And if you die I’ll bring you back, don’t worry.”

She pouted, but nodded. “Yes Master,” she said before trudging off. A man that I could only assume was a teacher asked her a few questions, then she faced off against a boy of about her age. I only watched for as long as it took her to get punched one before turning back.

She’d learn that magic had its disadvantages. Or she’d learn to cast fast rough to negate those. Either way, a useful lesson.

“This is the scroll. I must admit I’m curious about what it says.”

The man took it. “My folk call me Saka,” he said.

“I’m called Harold,” I replied.

Sake nodded and popped the scroll open. He glared at it, slowly reading the text before looking up to me. Then he passed it on to the man next to him. “Said your name was Harold?” he asked.

“Yes,” I said.

“Letter warns of a real dangerous guy called the herald. Going around with a maid.” He turned to Alex and the mantis.

“It could be a coincidence. I’m certain that Harold is a common name.”

“You’re the first I’ve met,” Saka said.

I shrugged. “There are first times for everything. What does the letter say about the herald and his maid?”

“Says that no matter what we do, we can’t let him get to the Flaming Heart sect.”

I tapped my chin. “Are you beholden to them? I’m afraid I’m not familiar with the politics in the region.”

“Nah. Don’t much care for what they say. If they wanted us to listen, they’d’ve sent someone to tell us. Someone strong.”

“I see. Well then, Saka, would you mind if I asked you a few questions? I happen to be very curious about a few things.”

“Might have a few of my own,” Saka said.

“I’m sure this will be a wonderful exchange then.”

***