by Dante King
“Fate seems to have a sense of humor, does it not?” Yono’s voice echoed inside my head.
“Maybe,” I admitted. “But Tolin has a habit of turning up when things get interesting. I don’t think he made the monks vanish, but it still seems strange that it’s the last place that they were charged to visit.”
“Perhaps the old fool sent them onward to find another shrine to bless,” Nydarth said.
“Is he dangerous?” Choshi asked.
“He’s ancient,” Nydarth said.
“As old as Xilarion or the monks?” I asked.
“Ancient,” Nydarth replied, as though that were somehow a sufficient answer. “To survive in the Seven Realms for so long implies more than simple good health and longevity. Perhaps to his enemies, he is dangerous. But I agree with our Master. I doubt he has any ill-intent toward us, or the ascetics of the monastery.”
We reached the base of the mountain path two hours later. The merciless morning sun had hit Kumi the hardest, and her face brightened as we left gravel and slate behind in favor of green grass and trickling mountain streams. She grinned as she dipped her toes into the water, and an almost-indecent moan escaped from her throat.
“Care to wash the sweat from your limbs with me?” Kumi asked us.
Faryn unlaced the ties of her rough-spun dress, and it dropped around her ankles with her belt and satchel a moment later. Kumi stripped out of her own clothes, as easily as a snake shedding its skin, and the two women dived into the center of a bubbling stream. The water coursed over their naked bodies, caught their hair, and streamed it out behind them like exotic strands of energy. I enjoyed the view as I gathered up their clothes and stashed them into my rucksack.
“Come and join us, husband!” Kumi called out.
I raised their gear in way of answer. “Someone’s got to be a beast of burden!”
Faryn emerged from the water, leaned back, and let her hands trail through the rushing stream. Her breasts bobbed invitingly in the current. Kumi brushed a braid of hair from her face, met my gaze with a salacious smile, and imitated Faryn’s movement. Nydarth’s laughter echoed in my head as I dropped my rucksack by the bank.
“They desire you, Master,” she whispered. “Surely you’ll not be so rude as to keep them waiting, will you?”
“I don’t think I have a choice,” I replied with a chuckle.
“Kumi has waited long to receive your attentions,” Yono said. “Look at her. Look at the way her eyes wash over you, how the water drips from her shoulders and skin. The way—”
“Gods, you’re so hungry, aren’t you?” Choshi told the others.
“The prowess of the Master pleases us,” Nydarth said slyly. “To relive his experiences through his memories, to feel his pleasure? It’s positively heavenly, little one.”
We were on a mission, and we didn’t have a lot of time, but I figured a quick dip with the two women wasn’t out of order.
I unbuckled the harness, kicked off my sandals, and unfastened my belt. Kumi and Faryn grinned appreciatively as I stripped naked and stepped off the bank. The water rippled as I dived into it. The water chased away the fatigue and heat of the day. I swam quickly to keep up with the others but never went far from my weapons or clothing.
Kumi glided through the water in that undulating stroke of hers. Faryn sighed softly as we came to a halt in a small basin at a bend in the river. I leaned back against the bank, spread my arms wide, and relaxed.
“I’m glad you thought of this,” Faryn said to Kumi. “It’s so refreshing.”
She swam to my side, laid a head against my arm, and slipped a thigh over my right leg. Kumi swam to my left and settled into a similar posture on the other side. Their skin brushed against mine under the water, and their rich scents filled my senses. Faryn’s heady, flowery smell wafted from her wet hair as it tickled my shoulder. She leaned in close to me, kissed my cheek, and traced a line over my bare chest.
“Thank you for choosing to bring us with you, Ethan,” Kumi whispered. “It’s been so long since we’ve been able to spend quality time together.”
“I must admit, I’ve not had my fair share of him of late,” Faryn said.
Her hand closed around my length. My breath caught in my chest as she started to stroke me gently under the water. Kumi giggled into my shoulder and traced kisses over my neck to my jaw. Her hand joined Faryn’s, and I relaxed a little further into the bank as the two of them worked me over.
Kumi vanished from my shoulder, slid underwater, and I hissed softly as her tongue lapped against me. Faryn’s hand raced back up my chest, found my face, and pulled me in to kiss her. My head spun as I tried to take in the sensations. Kumi’s breasts brushed against my thighs as she engulfed me with her warm, wet mouth. Faryn’s tongue danced around mine. Her sensuous legs curled around my bare chest as she pulled herself closer to me and ground into my ribs. Spasms of pleasure raced up my legs when I felt Kumi guide me inside her.
I slipped my fingers into Faryn and caught hold of Kumi’s ass with the other hand.
Faryn’s breathing hitched, and from there, I lost track of time. But there was plenty of skin against skin and magically charged pleasure.
The women giggled as they climbed out of the river, deeply satisfied, and I was loathe to leave the place behind.
But we had monks to track down.
Chapter Fourteen
Water streamed off my skin and caught the midday breeze from the mountains with a chilling bite. I channeled fire in my Physical pathways and flame rippled out from my pool of Vigor, steam hissing off my skin. Faryn’s eyes widened as I rapidly dried myself with Augmentation.
“I’m almost envious,” she said with a laugh. “That’s a rather useful talent.”
“Stand still,” I instructed her.
Faryn crossed her arms over her chest with a smile. I summoned a Flame Shield into being between us and fed it with a constant supply of heat. I curved it around Faryn in a concave shape but ensured there wasn’t enough Vigor to cause her any harm. I had her bone-dry in a few seconds.
“Well, let it never be said that you’re not creative.” Kumi laughed as she dressed again into her peasant’s clothing.
“Looking for a blow-dry?” I asked her.
“I like to stay wet for as long as I can,” Kumi replied innocently.
She fastened her butterfly daggers to her belt, scooped up her carrying satchel, and tossed Faryn’s clothes to her. Faryn dressed quickly, shooting me a glance of gratitude before she buckled her sword to her hip. After I dressed and strapped on the Immense Blades, I followed the women as they set off along the edge of the river.
“You have done well, Master,” Yono murmured. “They both seek to please you, and you made space for the two of them in the best of places.”
“Your technique was impressive,” Nydarth said, “but the choice of location was rather poor. Water is an insidious element. Lethal in too much, and lethal in too little.”
“Is fire any different?” Yono asked.
“Would you prefer, Nydarth, if I took one of them in a volcano?” I asked.
“Well, it would indeed be a passionate and burning affair,” she said, “if a short-lived one. But in a river, Master? Truly?”
“He wanted to treat Kumi,” Yono said defensively. “The poor girl has joined Ethan in adventure after adventure, in places far from home or any proper source of life. She chose him over a probable century of servitude to her people as a priestess, and in return, he sees fit to reward her suitably. I, for one, am proud to serve such a thoughtful man. Are you not?”
“I am,” Choshi said quietly.
Nydarth muttered something about cooking squid, and I let the three of them fall into the back of my head to continue their little grudge match. It was difficult to manage the bickering of the three Immense Blades sometimes, but their guidance and raw power more than made up for it.
I caught up to Faryn and Kumi as they followed the beaten track away from the rive
r. A steep road led up to the first rice field carved into the hill.
The Unwashed Temple rose up from a small plateau ahead of us, reminding me of my first few months in the Seven Realms. There, Tolin had first taught me to open my pathways, and the basics of Augmentation. Painting, cleaning, and practicing weapon arts under Tolin’s sharp eye had just been the icing on the cake after that.
“Do you think that Tolin is involved with the monks, Faryn?” I asked.
“That’s a difficult question to answer. You know him well, Ethan. He doesn’t care to give wanton answers. But if you were to press me on the matter, I’d be inclined to say no. Tolin guards his independence jealously, except when it suits him.”
“How did the two of you meet?” Kumi asked the other woman.
“I owe Tolin a great deal,” Faryn said. “When I left my home after the attack, he took me in. I was clanless and had no one else to turn to, yet he was there. Like a father. He nurtured my interest in herbs, showed me the wonders of Danibo Forest. When I’d finally recovered, he interceded for me with Radiant Dragon and Guildmaster Xilarion.”
“He found you a job at the guild?” Kumi asked.
“After some time. Xilarion wasn’t Guildmaster back then, and the previous master was a man above reproach and zealous for the fire element. Xilarion’s grandfather, actually. He wouldn’t have accepted someone like me, who knows not the pathways of fire.
“After his last campaign with the Emperor, Xilarion decided that he’d had enough of war and sought to heal his spirit through teaching. By then, my knowledge of the flora in Flametongue Valley was such that I could heal the wounded, alleviate the afflictions of the sick, and teach others the ways of my people.” Faryn smiled fondly at the memory. “I owe Tolin my life, truly. But to answer your question, Ethan, he never once mentioned the monks. As I’ve said, their disappearance was long before the campaigns against the upstart clans at the borders of the Empire.”
I smiled at her and thought back to my own meeting with the old man. Tolin had always struck me as ancient and knowledgeable, and the old hermit did his best to cultivate an uncaring and ragged exterior. But, much like Faryn, he had taken me in when I had no one else to turn to. And he’d sent me onward with a letter to the Radiant Dragon Guild, much like he’d done for Faryn.
“The old man is hardly the picture of nobility,” Nydarth said inside my mind. “He’s a decrepit old wreck. Powerful, perhaps, hiding knowledge, yes, but—”
“Doesn’t that perfectly describe you, Nydarth?” Choshi interrupted with a trembling laugh. “Old, proud, convinced of her own superiority? Didn’t that lead to your imprisonment?”
“You impetuous little—”
Yono’s laugh rang through my mind. “Children, behave.”
“I bear the name of his clan,” I reminded Nydarth. “Lo Pashat. He did exactly the same for me as he did for Faryn when I first arrived here. Without him, I never would have been reunited with you in the Ember Cavern.”
“It sounds like this Tolin is a man above reproach,” Choshi said.
I laughed. “Nah, he’s still a cranky old git who doesn’t bathe enough. But there’s no denying that he’s helped us before. I just hope he’s willing to help us again. If anyone knows anything about why the monks appeared, and where they went missing, it’ll be him.”
Faryn trailed her fingers through the ears of rice. A blissful smile crossed Kumi’s face as she splashed through the water puddled on the ground beneath the crops. She caught me watching her and offered a shy smile.
“I suppose you think I’m being childish.” She giggled.
“You look like you’re enjoying yourself,” I said. “Does it remind you of home?”
“Oh, yes. The air’s different here, but still, you can’t quite chase away the feeling of water meeting earth to bring forth life.” A sunny smile stretched across her face and alighted her features.
We ascended the hill, combed through the fields of rice, and found the main road that led up to the plateau to the Unwashed Temple. The curling pagoda roof caught the rays of the afternoon sun. The architecture was identical to that of the monastery, from the faded colors to the stone dragons, but the Unwashed Temple looked as if it had been abandoned for years. All the months I’d spent tending to the structure had cleaned it up a little, but now, it had fallen back into a state of disrepair.
Just seeing the place again strengthened my suspicions that, at some point or another, Tolin had been involved with the monks. The last of the paint that I’d brushed across the walls still held strong, but dust stood out on the ancient statues at the front of the temple’s entrance. Dirt caked the small stone balcony above our heads, and I grimaced at just how unkempt the place had become in my absence.
“What is it?” Faryn asked.
“The place is filthy,” I said.
“Isn’t that the whole point?” Kumi asked. “It is the Unwashed Temple, after all.”
I smiled at her. “You’d think the old man would have had the sense to keep it a little cleaner, at least.”
A small black shadow appeared at the front door, cast by a familiar feline. The cat slinked toward us before sitting at the top of the temple steps.
“Master Southpaw,” I said with a smile.
The cat examined us with narrow green eyes. I smiled at him as I ascended the stairs and held out a hand for him to sniff. He hissed, his hackles rose, and he bolted inside. Kumi stifled a laugh, and Faryn put a hand on my shoulder. The trembling in her shoulders told me that she was trying not to laugh, too.
“Master Softpaw obviously isn’t in the mood for affection,” Faryn said.
“Maybe he’s disappointed I haven’t come to visit before now.”
We climbed the steps, ducked under the lintel of the temple’s front door, and went inside. Dusty floorboards creaked underfoot as we moved into the depths of the shrine. I caught a whiff of incense from a side altar. I strode into the small room Tolin liked to retreat to and saw him prostrated on the floor. In front of him was a statue with a wide mouth full of shark-like teeth.
Was he praying? I’d lived with the guy for months, but I’d never seen him pray.
His tattered garb hung off him like a bedsheet off a scarecrow. His filthy white beard twisted its way down his thin chest, and his face was one of serene calm. He gave no indication that he’d noticed me enter.
“This place is a wreck,” I said from behind him. “No temple assistants to clean your halls for you?”
He didn’t move from his position on the floor. “Not since the last one left Flametongue Valley to destabilize dictators, kill cultists, and inflate their own egos to a bursting point. It’s funny what travel can do for the mind. They say it extends your horizons, but I think it’s just added to your self-importance.”
“Tolin, it’s lovely to see you!” Faryn brushed past me.
She dropped to his side and wrapped her arms around him in an affectionate hug. Tolin coughed at the contact, but she squeezed him a little tighter before letting go and ruffling his hair affectionately.
“I didn’t take you for the praying type,” I said with a nod to the shrine. “Sure, you meditated, but I never saw you prostrate yourself before a single one of these statues.”
“I am the caretaker of the Temple,” Tolin answered. “I do as I please.”
“Are you praying for a new set of robes? Or a maid?”
“I have budding Swordslingers to fetch those for me.”
I grinned. “I don’t see any jumping to help you.”
“The gods may very well provide.” He stood up with a groan, cursed his creaking bones, and turned to glare at us. “Princess Kumi of the Qihin. I don’t believe we’ve been properly introduced, but it’s good to see that you’ve taken up with my insolent pupil. Someone has to keep him in line.” Tolin lowered his voice so that only I could hear him. “And ensure he doesn’t polish the temple lamp too hard.”
I raised an eyebrow at him, and the barest hint of a sm
ile tugged at the corner of his mouth. Tolin was pleased to see me, despite his typical asshole behavior. He limped forward and beckoned for us to follow him into the temple’s main living area.
Kumi, Faryn and I sat across from Tolin at a low table as Master Softpaw dropped from the rafters to join us. A swell of warmth filled my stomach. I’d begun my journey in Augmentation here, and now, the journey had returned me to where it had all started.
“So, what do you want?” Tolin asked as he brewed a pot of tea.
“We were sent by the Archpriest of the Dying Sun to follow up on some missing monks,” I explained. “Apparently, this was supposed to be their last stop before they returned home.”
“You mean those bowing and scraping baldies in the red robes? They arrived two night ago. Secretive, subtle types who love to pour honey in your ear, each and every one of them.” He stroked Master Softpaw’s ears idly. “Let me guess. They requested you personally once they decided they’d had enough of hiding.”
I nodded. “They’ve been teaching us Physical Augmentation.”
“It’s nice to hear they’re being useful once again.” Tolin grunted. “Those who visited here didn’t stay long. I decided I’d had enough of their damned chanting and singing at my door.”
“I’m sure it was a polite encounter,” Faryn said, “and their departure had nothing to do with your sparkling personality.”
Tolin harrumphed good-naturedly. “They take almost any objection to their presence as heresy, or an affront to the gods. Monks are wont to do that. We’ve never seen eye-to-eye. They’ve always been happy in their temple on top of the mountains. When the wars began and people needed help, they hid themselves away. Oh, they’re powerful enough, but their oh-so-sacred knowledge is only to be shared with the most deserving.”