As far as he could see, the man named Salter Blume was annoyingly plain. Lucian Ward, the recently returned hero of Garamus, wanted to slap the smaller man silly. There was just something off with Salter, specifically in the way Lucian’s eyes wanted to slide off the other man, or how his mind couldn’t quite remember if the other’s eyes were brown or black. Only the badge the man presented was clear. The seven silver dots arrayed around a mountain peak, and at the base, labelled Uaran. The man was one of the Uaran Primus’ primary agents, hence, had the qualifications to speak with him.

“What do you want?” Lucian asked, barely able to keep the annoyance from his voice. From how Salter Blume’s eyelid twitched, he hadn’t been successful. But, he supposed it didn't really matter.

“The government of Uaran requests aid. Forces from the unknown have surfaced near the city and with our armies deployed, we are having trouble keeping them back.”

“What forces?” Lucian grunted, “Imperials?”

“Among other things, yes. But not in this particular instance. The… I hesitate to describe the gruesome creatures, but they are like the victims of the Grunders in Zarek. They aren’t made of granite, but of dead flesh and bone reanimated by fell power. They are assaulting the city…”

“And? We all have our troubles.” Lucian cut in ruthlessly.

Uaran City had always ascribed more importance to its matters than all the other cities combined. Just because they have the one and only Chaos Channel, and that they were the ones with the connection to their historical sponsors.

“Their numbers are unending,” Salter protested. “We’ve already lost many of our home guard.”

“Dead?”

“Wounded. But they are afflicted with a festering illness.”

“And what would you ask of me?” Lucian gestured towards the window. Even now, his people were moving supplies to wagons, each one also easily moved from wagon bed to backpack should the need require. The path to Synkrasia was long and twisting, and the very first step was from Garamus, then up to the Zarek Valley. From there to the ancient outpost of Gamad. That journey wasn’t the easiest, with the greater part of it climbing steadily from the coastal region to the mountain plateau, then down into the lower valley, and then up into the central valley. The outpost was there, as was the entrance to the tunnels that eventually led to the underground city as well as the treasure trove of relics. Knowledge too, but he left that for the academics in Ekelus. All Garamus wanted were the weapons, armour, and the secrets hidden within each piece.

Having returned less than half a year ago, laden with dozens of loot, he had been elevated by the King and given enough treasures to raise his bindings near the limit. All he needed now was a bit of insight to touch into an Ennoia, albeit that was the hardest part. He could try to advance without one, but the likely result would be his bound spirits growing too strong to control, and his Animus could be thrown into a ruinous feedback loop that would eventually kill him.

Master Spirit Binders were called such for a reason, and this mastery had something to do with touching upon the secrets of the World. Rumours about the Imperial Path said that their Master Binder equivalents, Knight-Captains, didn’t need to touch an Ennoia to reach that point, and they can do so without any drawbacks. He didn’t know if he could believe that, but as he hadn’t fought or seen any Knight-Captains fight, he couldn’t be sure. Anyway, advancing to the next level with an Ennoia only gave advantages anyway, even if the one used is a lesser one. The more profound, complex, and all-reaching an Ennoia was, the better it helped. Of course, a higher-tier Ennoia was also harder to grasp.

He absently caressed a leather-bound tome laid out on his desk. Salter glanced at it then smirked. The book’s title was Mysteries of Nature, A Compendium of Ennoias. Lesser Ennoias, mostly, secrets gathered and compiled by untold generations. This book was one of the few in Garamus and he had until tomorrow to return it to the treasury. It had also been his reward, and he was close to deciphering the Ennoia of the Martial Fist.

The book had a hundred lesser Ennoias and a single middle-tier Ennoia. He couldn’t even decipher the patterns on that one, hence, he had no idea what it was. It was the same for any Ennoia that he didn’t feel an affinity with. And…he well knew that learning an Ennoia using this method meant that he would have to linger in the Master Binder level for far longer as he worked to understand the mystery and change it into his own understanding. But it was better to be a Master Binder than an Adept Binder, even despite the shortcomings of this path.

Now if only this buffoon would leave him alone so he could focus.

“We require the new armour and weapons developed by the research regarding the new relics.”

Lucian snorted, “I’ve turned over all of it to my king. I have not received any of the new weapons and armour.”

Salter arched an eyebrow and gestured towards a manikin. On it was a leather armour relic set, with a cuirass, bracers, and greaves.

“My spoils,” Lucian said coldly, “my property. I hope you don’t intend to demand I surrender my gear to you?”

“No, not at all,” Salter backpedalled, “but I would like to examine the runescript weaving inside it.”

“Others have been given to the academies. You can look for them there.”

“Very well.” Salter sighed. “However, I know the new gear will be sent to your men. A second expedition into the depths is of interest to all the cities. I hope each of us is represented?”

“No. Most of my men are from my city.”

“I see. Then I petition that you let me bring some of Uaran’s adventurers to join you.”

Lucian snorted, thinking, ‘What about the others then? Hypocrite. So the enemy at your gates isn’t that urgent after all? If you can afford to send manpower here.’ Out loud, he said, “As long as they submit to my authority as expedition commander.”

Salter raised an eyebrow in amusement. “I hardly think that is appropriate. I intend to join.”

Lucian sucked in a sharp breath. Salter Blume didn’t feel like a normal Adept, though he didn’t give any indications of being a Master either.

“What do you intend to accomplish?”

Salter shrugged. “Do you even need to ask? Knowledge and treasure, what else? And, your report said that there was a portal in the city. Perhaps you don’t realise how rare and magical portals are?”

“Uh...”

“Heh. I thought not.” Salter shrugged. “I shall leave you to your study for now. Endeavour to reach the next level as soon as you can. I suspect that the Empire’s Golden Terror roams the land, and we haven’t had any news since she entered the desert. Who knows where she may strike? We’ve lost contact with our Chaos Lord allies…I suspect that they’ve been banished back to the Sea.”

Lucian frowned. Chaos Lords. What foolishness his King and the other leaders had decided. Why would they invite those ravenous beasts within the Federation’s inner circle? King Garamus had looked ill of late, had he been influenced and been corrupted? Still, he was only one man.

He couldn’t believe that even those big brains in Ekelus agreed to this! What use is winning the plane only to lose it to those pests? And…

He strove to keep his face emotionless as Blume made his goodbyes.

Far be it for him to question his liege, but if the king and the other leaders were unduly influenced by the Chaos Courts, then it was up to him and others like him to put a stop to it. Even if it meant working with the enemy.

___________

Saki handed Yuriko a small black box, around six inches long and two inches wide. It looked as if it were made of ebony but when she took it in her hand, the box felt more like stone or maybe bone. Along the side, in ornate calligraphy, were gold letters that read Bliss.

“Young mistress, you might want to eat those in private, and,” Saki smirked, “better in the baths, probably.”

Yuriko eyed her attendant doubtfully. “Oh, why?”

Saki’s smile widened. “Those are luxurious goods. I heard that they elicit exactly what the label says.”

“Oh.” Yuriko shrugged.

Chocolates were wonderfully tasty, and she had to resist the urge to open the box and devour them immediately. The lid was secure though, and she saw tiny runescript weaving that indicated she’d need to invest Animus into to dispel the preservation and locking function. Smaller letters in another corner said, three chocolate truffles.

Hmm, perhaps she should share this with Gwendith and Desire?

Hmmm, maybe.

She stored the box in her backpack and the two of them returned to the encampment where she met with her friends to discuss what needed to be done. Once they were settled, Saki brought out a…cubic contraption.

It was about as long and wide as Yuriko’s hand was coloured grey, and had a green crystal prism in the centre of each face. There were depressions along one face, and there were numerous hinged openings on the opposite side.

“What is this?” Gwendith asked, while Asami frowned at it.

“His Highness, Prince Finan, lends this portable ration bar fabricator to the young mistress’ cause,” Saki said grandly, though with a wry twist in her mouth.

“Why…that solves our supply problem!” Braden exclaimed. “What’s its production capacity?”

“Its maximum rated capacity is twelve bars an hour,” Saki explained, “but that’s only if we feed it optimised materials.”

“Meaning?”

“Meat, vegetables, and fruit are ideal. Grains, too,” Saki answered easily, “but if not, then production can go as low as one a day.”

“The gap’s so big?”

“That’s only if we feed the fabricator sand,” Saki said.

“Oh.”

“It draws in ambient Chaos and needs to be fed Animus, too. Twenty lumens per bar. But if we leave it to draw ambient Chaos, at one iarvesh, it will take the entire hour to produce one bar. Distilled Chaos is needed to reach the optimum speed.”

Braden grunted. “Not that ideal after all. How much do we need to even produce one ration bar?”

Saki shrugged. “I’m not sure. For anything already edible, I think it’s close to a one-to-one ratio.”

“Yeah, but why would we want to convert fresh food to ration bars?” Heron snarked.

“If we have too much?” Yuriko shrugged. “I remember the problem we had in the north,” Yuriko nodded to Gwendith. “An entire elk is more than enough to feed a group of seven. We spent too much time smoking the carcass to make jerky…” Her eyes widened. “Oh, will this convert bones and offal to ration bars, too?”

“Yes.”

“Ancestors! No wonder they taste so bland, if not bad,” Asami muttered.

“Well, nothing wasted.” Saki grinned, “I think we’re better off using this to convert something that isn’t really edible to rations.”

“That sounds like a lovely idea,” Gwendith said. “Well, since the order of business now is to find a path to your dream vacation?” She grinned at Yuriko.

“Yeah.” Yuriko sniffed. “I will go, Saki too?” Her attendant nodded. “Ah, not together. The mountains ahead look nearly impassable, we’ll need a few teams to look for a path. Mark areas you think we can use to advance, preferably without having to lift the wagons.”

“Any reason we don’t just swing south and enter the…er, valley, that way?” Orrin asked.

“We’ll have to go south for several weeks in that case,” Yuriko disagreed. “And we’ll likely encounter Federation troops. I think we can make do, and Gwen? Do you remember the ritual to call the Avos?”

“I thought you said we don’t have the shards to pay?” her bosom friend asked.

“Yes, but I realise it might be better to ask anyway.”

“Tomorrow morning?”

“Yes.”

Unfortunately, even with the ritual of calling going strong, there was no answer. They wasted a few hours over that, but at least one path had been explored. That was how, by noon, Yuriko found herself climbing up a steep cliff, which eventually led to a small plateau a third of the way up.

It wasn’t empty.