Chapter III.XXIV (3.24) - Ice Blade

  Due to Ione’s parents’ status, she was welcomed in the capital without a second glance. In fact, she was far more welcome than Kizu. After the Emperor’s death, members of the nobility avoided him like a stench clung to him.

  “People want to get on my mother’s good side,” she explained after one of Aoi’s older cousins bowed and kissed Ione’s hand. “She works alongside the parliament to pass new laws. Plus, people don’t know the difference between me and Sene, so they always treat me like her just in case.”

  “It’s a pretty obvious difference,” Kizu commented.

  “Thank you! I know, right? But these guys have rocks for brains and can’t see anything other than a person’s face.”

  They descended down a spiral staircase onto a lower floor of Aoi’s family’s palace. It diverged from the stairs leading to the baths. Kizu had only been down here once before, a couple days ago. But it was where Aoi spent the majority of her time now. It was a western style dungeon cell built below the extremely traditional Hon palace. Kizu suspected it might be built from the ruins like the other World Dungeon entrances, but he wanted to remain blissfully unaware of dungeon access for as long as possible so he never asked.

  A layer of slimy moisture coated the stone walls and the air tasted of wet mildew. They passed through an archway that led into an open room where Aoi was crouched on the floor, papers strewn about all around her. Pain-riddled moans rattled out from a metal door behind the princess.

  Kizu recognized the paper she read from as a page from the grimoire found in the necromancer cloning laboratory. She kept looking between it and a Gnomish dictionary while muttering to herself, obviously attempting to translate something. Kizu and Ione remained patient as she focused on the paper for a minute longer before finding a stopping point and looking up at them.

  “Ione? What are you doing here?”

  “Oh, you know. Just casually saving the day, as per usual. Kizu wanted to run off into the Hon Basin alone and get himself killed.”

  “I’ve noticed that’s a habit of his.”

  “Hey, that’s not fair. When did I do that with you?”

  Aoi arched an eyebrow. Then she lifted the page she’d been studying, showing it off as evidence.

  “And when I found this? I had to practically beg you to let me join when you went down into mines.”

  “That’s hyperbolic.”

  “Not to mention how we met. You were being chased around on Owl’s Respite by a group of skeletons.”

  “He tried going into the World Dungeon without me,” Ione said. “Twice.”

  “I told you that you could come with me this time,” Kizu said, exasperated. “It’s just a brief trip into the jungle to go visit some old contacts of the crone. Maybe uncover a bit of information for the Elite’s investigation.”

  “Yeah, you should probably go make sure he doesn’t get killed,” Aoi agreed. “I’d go myself, but I need to make sure nobody sneaks down here and tries to assassinate my brother.”

  “Is that a serious risk?” Ione asked.

  Aoi stood and walked over to the metal door. She pressed a palm against it and it went translucent, showing a decrypt Shoroi inside. The prince had lost his humanity. His hair had fallen out in clumps and large red circles of burned skin dotted his face and other stretches of bare skin seen under his ripped plaid kimono. Torn flesh at his lips created a permanent sneer. His sunken eyes darted around while he twitched on the floor, body jerking in stiff movements. Occasionally, he opened his mouth and let out moans of pain. Kizu noticed several of his teeth on the ground nearby, in a clump of black blood. He wondered if they’d fallen out, or if the ghoul had torn them out.

  Aoi closed the viewing.

  “It’s a real risk,” she said. “I’ve been down here since yesterday when my other brother came down here and tried to snuff him out with a noxious gas elemental spell. Thankfully he was immune.

  “Several of my family members want to put him out of his misery, while the majority of the parliament want to snuff him out as a statement against the new emperor’s attempt to legalize necromancy. Nevermind the fact that I think I might be on the verge of a breakthrough. Sophia met with me a few hours ago. She still has to fight urges, but her soul is nearly completely repaired. I took some blood from her and am trying to see if maybe there’s a link I can use to undo the damage to Shiroi. There must be something.”

  “Are you…sleeping down here?” Kizu gestured at a pile of rags in the corner next to some dirty plates.

  “Not a great spot,” Ione commented, looking around the room. “Drafty. Chilly. Moist.”

  “An Elite promised to bring me down a cot tonight.” Aoi sat back down in the middle of her papers. “I wish I could trust them more. I want to go with you and see the witch covens and necromancers.”

  That gave Kizu an idea.

  “You know, it’s not ingrained into the enchantments of our scrying orbs, but I could probably cast a two sided scry so we could communicate.”

  “Could you really?” Aoi perked up. “I’ve got Kyuu in my bag over there.”

  “Seems a bit ironic that scrying is not part of the package,” Ione said.

  Kizu ignored Ione and fetched a leather satchel in the room’s corner. He removed the orb and examined it. A crack marred the otherwise nice, glassy, black ball. Then he took out his own from his bag and compared them. He’d seen the crone connect scrying devices in the past. He was fairly confident he knew enough about the divination spell she used to get this to work.

  He sat down. He tried and failed to cast the divination spell a few times before he thought he got it to work.

  He tossed Aoi her orb and then walked a dozen paces away. Then he activated the spell. Nothing.

  “Aoi, try channeling into your orb at the same time as me.”

  This time, his orb shifted colors, showing him a slightly smudged version of Aoi’s face looking down at him.

  “Okay, so it’s not ideal, but if we activate it at the same time, we can talk to one another. I have to be the initiator though, since the basin is shielded against incoming scrys.”

  “So a schedule. What time should we set aside to contact each other?” Aoi asked, meeting his eyes and speaking through the glassy orb despite them only a stone’s throw apart from one another.

  “Let’s plan for nine at night,” Kizu agreed. “We’ll be in weird places sometimes, so don’t expect it to work every night. But this should give us some sort of communication method with you.”

  “My punctuality will not be a concern.” A smile touched the edges of lips. “Do try to get in contact with some necromancers for me.”

  “That’s the idea.” Then he turned to Ione. “Now that I’ve shown you where Aoi is, I need to go down into town and take care of a few errands before we leave tomorrow morning.”

  “You’re not going to run off alone the moment we lose sight of you?” Ione asked.

  Kizu rolled his eyes, not bothering to respond to that, and exited the palace’s dungeon.

  —

  Kizu wanted to bring Mort with him into the Hon Basin. It wouldn’t be fair to the monkey to leave him behind while he returned to their home. But that left the question of Anata.

  He entered the inn where Kumiho was staying. He’d stopped by a few times over the last few days. It was a nice traditional inn, not that different from the haunted one up in the hot springs town. Though it lacked that clientele. This one instead was packed with tourists, mostly from across Hon. They wore traditional kimonos and all chatted while smoking from pipes.

  Kumiho and her children stood out in the crowd. Their red hair and fox ears completely set them apart from the others. Next to them, Anata looked almost normal. If no one looked too closely. The monkey on her shoulder and eyepatch probably made her stick out a smidge more than an average person.

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  He sat down at a table with them. The girls were playing a game on a small board with tiles and black and white polished stones. It looked like the idea was to place as many stones as possible down while keeping to the required pattern. Anata was thoroughly trouncing Mae, almost the entire board being covered in white stones with only a few random black spots.

  Mae never looked up from the board at him. Her face was set and she chewed on her lip as she focused every shred of brainpower on the game in front of her. Anata perked up though. Kumiho, who sat on the other side of the table, beside Mae, gave him a strained smile. Kon, as per usual, greeted him with his customary growl from his spot down at Mae’s feet.

  “Good, you’ve returned,” Kumiho greeted him. “Now you can take away this horrible mammal rodent hybrid.”

  Kizu had to sooth Mort through their bond to stop the monkey from leaping over onto the Kitsune’s face. But that irritation with her bled back at him

  “He’s a monkey,” Kizu said through gritted teeth.

  “He’s a familiar,” Kumiho said, narrowing her eyes at the monkey. “Which is something I don’t like near my son and daughter.”

  “What’s your problem with familiars?”

  “That is a topic not lightly discussed.” Kumiho’s eyes flickered around at the other people in the room. “They’re extremely dangerous.”

  “Well, good news for you. I’m planning to take him with me. We’re going on an expedition into the Hon Basin.”

  “Trying to talk to the witch covens?”

  “Yes,” Kizu said bluntly.

  “You’re aware they’re not likely to speak to you?”

  “I was raised by one of the witches in the Hon Basin. They know who I am.”

  The Kitsune’s eyebrows raised and she looked him up and down, as if searching for something she’d never seen there before.

  “Interesting. And Anata?”

  Anata looked at him with her one uncovered eye wide, listening closely.

  “Well. What do you think I should do? I won’t be leaving Mort behind, so it will be harder for me to keep track of her. But I could probably set up a divination enchantment somewhere. I just finished doing something similar with the princess up at the palace. Would you be willing to watch over her?”

  “If that’s what you choose. We will never abandon family in need. And we are planning to stay for a few more weeks. The coronation ceremony will be a unique event and w already extended our reservation here to witness it.”

  Then Kizu met Anata’s gaze.

  “What do you want?” he asked her. “Do you want to stay here with your cousin?”

  Anata immediately pointed at his chest. He closed his eyes and weighed the risks involved. Anata acted rashly when left alone. But was that more dangerous than entering the Hon Basin with her? He and Mort knew the area and the natural risks. The greatest unknown was the witch coven members. He didn’t know how they would react to meeting the half-Blood Lord girl. If they found out, it wasn’t an impossibility that they’d try to eat her. Or worse.

  There was also her blood which he had to take into consideration. When he went more than a couple days, he became irritable. Those effects had lessened after he’d had his blood diluted by the blood transfusion. But the itch was there in the back of his mind. And he couldn’t deny its usefulness. Especially with his spells not performing at their maximum potential for the next week.

  In the end, he decided it would be better to let her join. It was selfish, but the deciding factor was honestly that he simply wanted her along. He had missed spending time with her over the last few days.

  “If that’s what you want,” he folded to her.

  She beamed at him. Mae finally looked up from the gameboard.

  “Wait, you’re leaving? Can I come too?”

  “No,” Kumiho said succinctly.

  “What? Why? I’ve been practicing my transformations like you told me.”

  “A transformation won’t keep you safe where they’re going,” Kumiho said. “My mother told me about the witches of the Hon Basin. The Hon covens were the most brutal in the world. They used to be more widespread across the country, but I suspect they cannibalized their numbers down to whatever’s in the basin now.”

  That was actually more accurate to the history the crone had told him than what Krimpt had said on the first day of classes. Literally. The witches often ate apprentices they found subpar or displeased them.

  Mae pouted and tried insisting, but Kumiho stood firm on the subject. Kizu couldn’t help but envy the control she exerted over her daughter. She wasn’t a dictator like the crone, but Mae still listened when she put her foot down on a decision.

  Eventually the conversation turned back to the game of stones as Kumiho deftly reflected her daughter’s attention to her losing plight and began reviewing different strategies she could have employed against Anata.

  Kizu decided to leave and do a bit of shopping. He didn’t have a ton of money, but Taroe had promised to give him all the basic supplies for the journey. And thankfully he’d found decent outfits for both himself and Anata in his closet.

  What Kizu really wanted were new enchanted gadgets. And, lucky for him, he knew where to look. Roku’s shop was open and several nobles were perusing the shelves. The young mage sat behind the counter, staring blankly out at nothing.

  “Roku,” Kizu greeted him, approaching the front counter. Kizu repeated the greeting three more times before the ice mage finally broke out of his trance and heard him.

  “Kaga Kizu. Do you need something?”

  “I want to buy a few things, but I need advice more than anything else,” Kizu said. “I’m going to try to track down the assassin. I have a lead and the Elites are sending me out to the Hon Basin. They’re sending me with the basics, but what other sort of supplies would you recommend I take? I’m on a bit of a tight personal budget.”

  “You have lead?” Roku repeated. His eyes flickered around the shop. “You said it’s taking you to the Hon Basin though? The witch covens?”

  “Yes,” Kizu said. “But I can’t say much more than that without getting into trouble with the Elites. They’re trying to keep things under wraps.”

  It was one thing to tell Ione everything about the situation’s details. That had been the right decision. He knew her and she would be traveling alongside him, it was only fair for her to know the danger. But he’d only interacted with Roku for a few hours before. He liked the ice mage, but he still didn’t truly know Roku.

  “You need to be careful,” Roku said. “Are your clothes enchanted to keep enchanted insects away? There are some that carry extremely dangerous strains of disease. I would make that your first priority.”

  Kizu was familiar with the bugs he talked about. He’d not only used them in many potions, but also been force fed brews by the crone soon after his arrival in the basin that would keep him permanently toxic to the most dangerous of those insects. They would need to be utterly suicidal to even touch his skin. But it was an interesting point for Anata and Ione. He wondered if he could recreate those brews. But enchanted clothing like Roku suggested would probably be easier. He needed to check on what enchantments their gear had in place already.

  “There are also a lot of pit traps. There’s a common magical creature that looks like an oversized mole crossed with a spider that likes to create elaborate tunnel systems to trap prey in underground labyrinths. I’d recommend both a means in which to climb out of said traps as well as a divination spell to keep your bearings.”

  “I know about goroles,” Kizu said. “I can use force platforms to climb out. Will my school scrying orbs be able to keep track of my location? Can it map out the areas I’ve been?”

  Roku nodded slowly. “Yes. It won’t automatically know the area like at the academy, but it should allow you to retrace your steps accurately. But only if you have it activated.”

  “I know most of the common dangers of the Hon Basin. I’m more asking if you know of specific gear you’d recommend.”

  “Normally, your scrying orb will allow you to send messages to other students and Shinzou Academy faculty. It’s a valuable tool. But it’s not as useful in a place like the Hon Basin or the World Dungeon. It’s not designed for it. You might still manage to send out messages, but it will be sporadically useful. Communication failure is the number one cause of death to delvers.”

  There was a pause in the conversation. Kizu didn’t know if he was supposed to have said something, but Roku stared over Kizu’s shoulder, once again lost in thought. Then he snapped back.

  “I have something for you,” he said suddenly. He pulled a ring off his hand and thrust it at Kizu’s chest.

  “I can’t just take that,” Kizu said, startled.

  “You’re working to track down Shiroi’s killer? Then this is yours. I don’t need it anyways. I only keep it around for sentimental reasons.”

  The ring was cold to the touch. It took Kizu a second to realize it was made from ice.

  “What is this?” Kizu asked.

  “It’s a sword. You’ve seen the ones I like to use. It’s similar, though it requires no spell to activate. Just flick your wrist quickly and it will appear. It was my first artifact I uncovered in the World Dungeon. My father brought me down when I was a child, far sooner than he should have, and we discovered it in an ice cavern.”

  “I’ll bring it back when I return,” Kizu promised.

  “Don’t.” Then he paused again, this time looking a bit embarrassed. “I actually intended to give it to your sister.”

  That…was a revelation Kizu did not know how to process. He wondered if the ice mage knew about Anata. Kizu made a note to himself not to bring his niece by the shop anytime soon.

  Kizu slid the ring on and took a step back. Then he flicked his wrist. Nothing happened.

  “You need to do it faster and fully roll your hand around,” Roku instructed. Then he demonstrated, creating his own blade of ice through a spell.

  Kizu mimicked the motion and this time a blade of ice longer than his arm grew out from the ring. Several of the store’s other patrons turned their attention towards them. But he ignored them as he examined the blade. He tilted it and the brilliant crystal blue ice reflected in the light. Just looking at it he expected it to be heavier than it really was. Its hilt comfortably rested in his palm, though it was still connected to the ring.

  “Tap the ring twice with your other hand to disconnect it from the blade. There are times when having the sword stuck to your hand via the ring might be valuable, but others when it can be a detriment in a battle.”

  Kizu tapped the ring and felt the sword break from the ring.

  “How do I dismiss it?”

  Roku tilted his head slightly to the side. “You just did.”

  Kizu looked back at the massive sword in his hand then resisted a sigh. It looked like he’d be littering ice swords across every battlefield in future fights.

  Ten Blood Curse Academia chapters (5 weeks) ahead of Royal Road.