Chương 15: On the Horizon

It was a sunny day when the Iudex came to visit me, but that didn't exactly make me feel any happier about the unwanted visit. It wasn't that I disliked the man, indeed he seemed a nobler fellow than some of the nobles and local lords I'd had the displeasure of knowing back home, but really I just didn't want visitors at all if I could help it. I could also tell that old Ryuga was not the biggest fan of me either. I couldn't blame him, or anyone else, for disliking me. But he didn't even know the depth of my sins.

I'd been alerted by the sound of his cassowary's approach, talons clicking and clacking along the dirt track. His two guards followed behind, mounted on much less majestic looking birds. But at least theirs wore armour of some sort. I made my way to the gate and leaned upon it, watching the trio with narrowed eyes.

"Iudex," I greeted.

"I don't have much to offer you by way of refreshments. Maybe a touch of milk?" The old man arched a silver brow at me.

"No thank you," he replied calmly. He moved from the saddle with practised skill, and slipped his riding gloves into the sash of his tunic.

"I see you've done much with the land. I must admit, I am impressed. Forgive me for saying so but I expected you to have given up and moved on by now." Yes, I'm sure he had.

"I'm no amateur. I came prepared." I'd still need to buy more of that soil-rejuvenating solution from Brazio, there were stretches of land that still lacked in vitality and I wanted to have access to it all. Though that alchemical solution was hardly cheap, even if Brazio wasn't a shyster.

"I was... hoping to speak to you on an important matter," Ryuga said, stopping a few paces from the gate.

"About an incident that may or may not have happened in the village." I grunted, meeting his gaze.

"Nothing happened. Nothing that I'm aware of, at least."

"Of course, of course. You strike me as a... reasonable man, Master Amon." I was impressed that he managed to say that with a straight face.

"And I like to keep Tiode as a quiet, peaceful place. It would be unfortunate if you, or anyone else here, were to disrupt that peace." I turned, glancing in the direction of Mount Gruai.

"And people outside of Tiode causing trouble in the village? What do you reckon about people like that?" Tiode's defences really were a joke. A handful of bumpkins in hand-me-down armour that served as the Iudex's guards, along with peasants who would arm themselves with whatever they had to hand if it came down to an invasion. Novos would have taken the place as an afterthought.

"I realise that you are new to our land, and some of our ways may seem strange to you. But it is generally easier to deal with one troublemaker, than a fortified mountain packed with potential troublemakers. Why, if I had to get help to remove one bad seed, I would need to petition Low Moon and the lord there would be happy to send a gathering of soldiers to deal with them, cultivators included in their ranks.

But, hypothetically, nobody would want to risk the war that would spark from attempting to suppress or uproot an entire sect." You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

"Understandable." The little brats from the other week hadn't been anything special, but I was willing to bet that the seniors of the Snake Flower were on a different level entirely. Possibly on par with great wizards like Lanten Basque and his ilk. Not that I had any intention of finding out, of course. But, such was my luck, the answer would be foisted upon me anyway at some point.

"Look," I said, folding my arms across my chest, "I have no desire to pick fights or cause trouble. If, hypothetically, something were to happen... it would likely be only me defending myself." I wouldn't exactly rush to the aid of most people in Tiode, but... Mikan was different. You had to protect the people who were decent to you. In my experience, they were almost always in short supply.

"Hypothetically, of course," said Ryuga.

"Of course." The old man nodded, his expression flat.

"Very well. I suppose I am satisfied with that. You're an odd man but you don't strike me as a liar." I suppressed a chuckle. Oh, the lie I was living would make his fucking head spin if he knew.

"You should know, and this is a warning I am spreading around the village so they stay vigilant, there have been sights of a bandit group venturing southward of late. It's possible their path may take them to Tiode." He met my eyes unblinking as he spoke.

"And do you expect me to do something about it?" I asked. The old man offered me a small shrug.

"I never said that. Only that it is something that could have an effect on you, and you should be aware of it," Ryuga explained. His two guards exchanged an anxious glance behind him. We watched each other in silence for some time. I wasn't some guard dog for the village. If bandits came this way, it would only be my problem if they bothered me.

"Suppose I'll keep an eye out," I said. Inumi adjusted himself in the saddle of his horse, a chill breeze blowing at the grey cloak he wore over his leather riding gear. Ash fell from the sky in thick motes, coming to rest on the lacquered surface of his black wooden dog mask. Ahead of him loomed the burned remains of the Kyu Trading Post, the air rich with the stink of scorched wood and burning flesh.

His men picked through the remnants of the post's cargo, cracking crates open and loading anything of value into the company's saddlebags. Greedy as ever, that was their nature. But really what else could you expect from people who gleefully jumped at the chance to be brigands? At least they were good in a fight, and followed him without question. Inumi doubted there would be much, but he'd let them have their plunder. After all, he was interested in something much more valuable.

He chuckled to himself, reaching down and taking hold of a black jug tied to his waist. A talisman was stuck to the material, the painted characters translating into the word 'seal.' He popped the cork from it and held the gourd aloft. A miasma of garnet light briefly blossomed at the mouth of it, and the smoke rising from the scorched corpses began to writhe and twist. There was a sound on the wind, like a chorus of pained wails, and in the smoke there came the impression of anguished faces.

Strands of darkness, the pain and anguish of the dead, was sucked toward the gourd in one swirling miasma, rapidly filling it beyond what one would think a vessel of such size capable of holding. He popped the cork back in with his thumb and pressed it tight. Even then he could still feel the anguish within, and oh how he longed to drink it all down. Patience, he told himself. You'll get your fill when all is said and done.

"Ey, Inumi, you're always doing that... occult stuff whenever we've raided somewhere. What's all that about?" one of his ash-caked soldiers asked, glancing up from a satchel of stolen gin. He had dull, piggy eyes, but was perhaps the first man to give a shit about what Inumi was doing. Credit where it was due, he supposed. Inumi slid his gourd back into place, his other hand pressing his mask firmly into place.

"Never you mind," he said, his voice a low rasp.

"You have your treasure, and I have mine. Now pick up the pace. That damned huntress is still on our tails, and I'd like to conduct one more raid before we loop back around northward." There was always so much work to be done. But when you're in service to a king, what else is to be expected?