Fire (Buryoku Book 5)

by Aaron Oster

  “May…No,” he said, quickly. “I have no idea.”

  Though he wanted to press the Core for what he obviously knew, Roy was smart enough to know that it would be impossible. Geon never gave away any information he didn’t want to, and if he were pushed, Roy would be rewarded with insults, which he could do without.

  “Come on, Ferry, give him some room,” Aika said, dragging the nuzzling ferret away from him and giving Roy some breathing space.

  “No fair!” Ferry called out. “Aika got more time with Roy!”

  “I was trying to teach him something important,” Aika said, sounding annoyed. “You were just snuggling and licking him.”

  The two of them began to argue, and Roy tuned them out, focusing inward and shaking off the last of the sensations of seeing into Aika’s cultivation. Now that he’d seen exactly how she’d hidden her cultivation, doing it himself wasn’t difficult at all.

  He repeated the process he’d seen her perform, then opened his eyes and looked down. While his power didn’t feel diminished in the slightest, his Belt told a different story. Instead of a Base Blue-Belt, he now carried a 3rd Dan Yellow-Belt around his waist. It wasn’t perfect, but for now, it would do.

  “What do you think?” Roy asked, interrupting Ferry and Aika before their fight could become heated.

  “Ooh! Roy did it!” Ferry said excitedly, while Aika’s brows furrowed in confusion.

  “What is it?” Roy asked worriedly. “Did I do something wrong?”

  “No,” Aika said, “You didn’t make any mistakes. What’s bothering me is that I can see the Yellow-Belt as well, which should be impossible.”

  Roy was a bit surprised to hear that. While it was possible to fool those with a lower cultivation, doing so for anyone above you wasn’t.

  “That’s strange,” Roy said as Aika shook her head.

  “Maybe it has something to do with the way your Belt has been acting,” Aika said. “Regardless, that’s fine for a first try. If the average around here is what I’ve seen, then the two of us shouldn’t stick out too much. We’re going to have to go into how to more finely control what Belt you want to show at a later date.”

  Roy nodded, accepting that while he’d done an adequate job, it wasn’t perfect.

  “What about me?” Ferry asked, pointing at herself.

  “You’re going to have to stay here, I’m afraid,” Roy said, already mentally wincing at what was to come.

  “But…But…” Ferry began, her bottom lip quivering.

  “I’m sorry,” Roy said quickly, trying to soothe the oversized ferret. “But you just stand out too much. Everyone will notice you, which will defeat the purpose of trying to hide who we are.”

  “But Roy will be leaving me,” Ferry said as oversized tears began spilling from her eyes.

  It seemed that the separation anxiety was worse than he’d thought if she couldn’t bear to let him go for just a few hours.

  “It’s okay,” Roy said, walking over to stroke her on the back. “Here, how about this? You see where the sun is now?”

  Ferry sniffed, looking to the east, where the sun was hanging low in the sky.

  “Yes,” she said, her voice sounding choked.

  “If we’re not back by the time the sun is there,” he said, pointing to the center of the sky, “then you can come after us. Okay?”

  Ferry grabbed onto his arm, squeezing just a little too tightly. He could feel her shaking, which meant she wasn’t just anxious. She was terrified. He truly hadn’t realized how bad it was.

  “Let me try,” Geon said.

  Ferry went oddly still then, but her body relaxed somewhat after several silent moments, though the shaking didn’t stop.

  “Okay,” she said, releasing him. “But if Roy isn’t back when he said, I’m coming after you.”

  “We will be, I promise,” he repeated, patting her arm once again before turning back to face Aika.

  “You need to correct her when she speaks like that,” she said in an undertone as they began heading away from the still-crying ferret. “Otherwise, she’s going to develop bad habits.”

  “By all means,” Roy said, gesturing back. “Go correct a hysterical little girl with separation anxiety. We can work on her speech later when she’s calmer.”

  “I don’t know how little she really is,” Aika said. “She plays it up a lot more when she’s around you.”

  “And why would she do that?” Roy asked, wondering where all of this was coming from.

  He thought that Aika had worked out any issues she’d had with Ferry a long time ago.

  Aika bit her bottom lip, then sighed.

  “Never mind,” she muttered. “Let’s just get this over with. We can talk more about her later.”

  Roy wanted to ask more, but right now, he sensed that that would be a very bad idea. Just as he’d learned wisdom with Geon, he leaned on that experience and kept his mouth shut.

  Though Roy didn’t know it, he had just learned one of the most valuable lessons a man ever could.

  13

  Ferry stared after Roy’s retreating back, then slowly sank to the ground and curled in on herself. It was hard not to keep crying, but she fought back the tears that tried to force themselves from her eyes.

  Letting Roy go again was hard, harder than she’d ever thought it would be. Seeing him leave like that made her think about the first time she’d lost him – and the time before that, back when she’d still been in her bestial shape.

  It was hard. Not just because she was afraid he would leave her again, but because being away hurt her. It left a strange pain in her chest where her heart was, which had confused her up until Geon had spoken with her. She still didn’t understand why, though. Geon said it should have been impossible, and yet, here she was.

  She loved Roy, but less in the childish way of just a few weeks ago, and more in the way Aika did. She could smell it on Aika every time she got close or came into physical contact with Roy. Ferry’s earlier interruption had come as an impulsive reaction when the two had gotten too close. She’d interceded before Aika or Roy could do anything more.

  They smelled so strongly of it, of the thing Ferry felt herself — the longing desire to be closer than she and Roy had ever been.

  She was growing smarter, despite the front she still put on. She did it because it allowed her to keep acting freely around him. He let her hold his hand, let her snuggle close so that she could run his scent all over her, let her lick him, thinking it was all the actions of a child. It was still, in a certain sense, as the childish part of her brain was still somewhat present, but it was growing less and less so each day.

  Right now, her fears weren’t only that Roy wouldn’t return, but that something would happen between him and Aika while she was separated from them, thereby stopping any future chance she had at…at…at what?

  Ferry sighed, all of the new feelings she was experiencing confusing her in a way she’d never needed to even think about before. Her eyes flicked back to where the sun stood, barely above the horizon. Roy would be back soon. If he didn’t come, she would go after him. Until then, she was just going to lie here and wait.

  ***

  The ground beneath Roy’s feet became harder, packed down by generations of people constantly walking over its surface. The grass, abundant until now, vanished, replaced by damp, brown dirt. He and Aika weren’t the only ones on the road, but travelers were sparse this early in the morning, especially around a smaller town like Fireside.

  There was a slotted wooden fence that the Ferin hadn’t really kept up in place of any type of wall. It was broken in places, pieces missing and entire sections of the fence having long ago rotted away. But the houses and small shopping district were in good shape, so the city received funding from the main family branch to keep the town itself looking nice.

  There were no guards by the entrance to the town, as very little trouble ever happened here. And whatever did was generally handled by the shop owners
and townsfolk.

  “Wow, this place is so quaint,” Aika said, looking around the small town.

  To either side stretched two rows of houses, both facing the street. Further down to their right, the small shopping district could be seen, busy merchants and shop owners already hard at work preparing for the day. To their left were more private living areas for the younger couples and training areas for the children.

  “Maybe to you,” Roy said, looking around. “To the people here, this is pretty average.”

  Aika had lived in a fairly large city all her life, one under the control of her own Tonde clan. They had a fancy school, tall walls, and strong Martial Artists to guard their perimeter. But here in the Outer Edge, people were generally less extravagant, although the most powerful among them still enjoyed flaunting where they could.

  “So, how do we go about finding this elder?” Aika asked, her cheeks going a little pink.

  “We go ask around the market,” Roy replied. “But we’ll need to buy a few things before we’ll be able to get any of these people to talk. Which is fine, seeing as we’re running low on supplies and our clothes are a bit ragged.”

  “How are we going to buy anything?” Aika asked. “Neither of us have any money.”

  “But we have Cores,” Roy said with a smile.

  They’d only brought a few of the Beast Cores along with them – Hermit had the rest – but they had several that Roy felt comfortable trading away. He’d had to make sure to keep them under 2nd Dan Orange, and seeing as they had a few that were all but useless to them, he felt perfectly fine trading them away.

  “How much do you think we’ll get for them?” Aika asked as they began casually strolling toward the market area.

  “No idea,” Roy said with a shrug. “It’s been a while since I last sold Cores. For all I know, the prices have tripled.”

  The two of them wandered over to a stall, where a man wearing a 2nd Dan Yellow-Belt was busily moving about, setting up his shop for the day.

  “Good morning,” Roy said, as the two of them stopped before the stall.

  The man looked up, his eyes flicking to both their Belts, then stood and bowed respectfully.

  “Good morning to you as well. What can I help you with?”

  “We’re looking to sell a few Beast Cores,” Roy said, holding his hand out to Aika for the pack.

  “Of course, of course. Well, let’s see what you’ve got, and I’ll offer you the fairest price in Fireside.”

  Of that, Roy was extremely doubtful. Merchants didn’t make their money by being honest, but there was always a supply and demand of Water and Fire Cores in this area, so he pulled two of the latter and one of the former from the pack, carefully unwrapping the leather around them as he did.

  Back when he’d started on his Path, he’d carelessly allowed Cores to bump against one another, not even thinking of protecting them. Now, he knew better. If hit hard enough, a Core could rupture, unleashing all of the energy stored within. He’d actually used just such a tactic when going to free Aika from the clutches of the Itachi clan back when they’d first left the Crater.

  Roy set the Water Cores down. They were glassy, with uneven blobs extending from the middle to make up its strange, bumpy shape. The Fire Core, on the other hand, had spiky protrusions, like a ball of spines.

  “Oh, these are all very nice,” the merchant said, leaning in and examining them. “Two 3rd Dan Yellows and a single Base Orange.”

  The man pulled a small looking glass from his robes and looked closer, making sure it was real, before nodding in appreciation.

  “Water Cores are trading a bit higher this month due to some trouble with the Shah clan. I can pay three-hundred Ginka for the Yellow and eight for the Orange. For the Fire Core, I can pay two-fifty. So, altogether, it would be a total of one Kinka and three-hundred-and-fifty Ginka. Does that sound fair?”

  Roy honestly wasn’t sure. These Cores were a massive step up from the Base White Cores he’d sold over a year ago. It was obvious that more powerful Cores demanded a higher price, but seeing the difference between a 3rd Dan Yellow and Base Orange Core completely shocked him.

  Aika gave him a questioning look, not sure as to how much money this was – they didn’t use this form of currency outside the Waterwood – but thankfully, didn’t ask out loud.

  “We’ll take it,” Roy said.

  Even if they were being ripped off, Roy didn’t care. None of the Cores would do either of them any good, as they followed different Paths.

  “Very well,” the merchant said, clearly trying to hide his glee. “Then we have a bargain.”

  Reaching beneath the counter, the man pulled a single hexagonal, golden Kinka on the counter, followed by two small stacks of larger twenty-five-Ginka silver coins.

  “If that is all?” the merchant asked as Roy took the money.

  “That will be all,” Roy said.

  “Then I thank you for your patronage,” the man said, making the Cores disappear, not even bothering to hide the look of glee now.

  “Did we just get ripped off?” Aika asked as they headed away.

  “Probably,” Roy replied. “But an average person was making about fifty Ginka a week back when I was living here. A thousand Ginka makes up a single Kinka, so we should be able to get everything we need and more. And there’s also no need to skimp. I have a feeling that we won’t be visiting many more Waterwood towns after this.”

  “Oh, so you wouldn’t mind if I went and bought some gold-embroidered robes?” Aika asked with a playful smile.

  “I don’t know why you would want to do that,” Roy replied. “But sure, help yourself.”

  Aika snorted out a laugh, then swatted his arm in a gesture that would once have left him with a bruise and now just stung.

  The two of them headed over to a cloth merchant next, spending over a hundred Ginka on a few sets of armored robes that would hopefully hold together better than their current clothes. Aika also got herself a new pair of shoes, though Roy didn’t bother. His Path, for some odd reason, didn’t permit the wearing of shoes. Whenever he used any technique, his Essence would blow the soles right off. Besides, whenever he tried to wear a pair now, they just made him feel uncomfortable.

  Once they were done clothes shopping, the two of them grabbed some food from another stall, then spent time perusing and buying odd items that they’d probably never need. Roy did buy Ferry a few things, though, sure that she’d feel left out if he didn’t.

  They picked up a couple of new packs as well, and got enough new rations – and some fresher food – to last several weeks.

  When they were at last finished with their shopping spree, they had barely put a dent in their funds, having only spent around two-hundred or so Ginka.

  Even after paying someone a bribe to find out where the Elder lived – which they could apparently have found out from anyone – they still had a lot left over.

  “What are we supposed to do with this?” Roy asked, staring at the gleaming gold coin.

  Aika, who was chewing on some steaming flatbread, pointed to one of the only guarded shops.

  “How about we check that place out? It could be interesting.”

  Roy looked up to the sky, noting the position of the sun. They had perhaps two hours to noon, when they told Ferry they’d be back, and he had no idea how long it would take them at the Elder’s house.

  “How about this? We go to the elder first. Then, if we have enough time, we’ll go look for something else,” Roy suggested.

  “And if we only have a few minutes or no time at all?” Aika asked.

  “Then the coin is yours to do with as you wish,” Roy replied.

  Aika’s eyes all but gleamed at that, and Roy had to wonder what exactly she would be interested in buying. They’d picked up so many pointless things here that she had to be satisfied, right?

  “Wrong,” Geon said, as Aika grabbed his arm and started steering him toward the Elder’s house at a leisurely pace
.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” Roy asked.

  But the Dungeon Core had gone silent once again, refusing to answer.

  14

  Roy raised his hand a few minutes later and knocked on the door, hoping against hope that this man would be able to give him the information he wanted. However, when they heard a voice through the door just a moment later, he knew that they were going to be in for a hard time.

  “No one’s home. Go away!”

  The voice was old and frail, which told Roy that the chances this man had been here fifteen years ago were quite high.

  “If you wanted to make people think you weren’t home, you probably shouldn’t have said anything,” Roy replied. “Open up. We want to ask you some questions.”

  “No! No one’s home!” the voice said petulantly.

  Then, a moment later, they heard footsteps approaching the door, followed by more grouchy screaming.

  “Hey…Hey, what are you doing? Don’t you dare open that…DOOR!”

  The door opened on that last word, blasting Roy and Aika with the full volume of the old cranky man’s voice.

  A woman, perhaps in her early twenties, stood in the doorway, looking equal parts apologetic and annoyed. Behind her, Roy could see the shriveled form of an old man wrapped in so many blankets that he appeared to be more of a lump than anything else.

  “I do have to apologize for him,” the woman said, bowing at the waist. “Felrin Grendel has gotten a bit testy in his later years.”

  “I’m not testy!” the old man snapped, his voice carrying loudly. “Tell them to go away. I’m not home!”

  “Can we please come in?” Roy asked before the woman could say anything. “We’ve traveled a long way to be here, and we just have a few questions for the Elder.”

  The woman looked between the two of them, then back over her shoulder to the grouchy old man.

  “Tell you what,” she said, lowering her voice. “I haven’t had anything to eat yet today, so if you can stay here to babysit until I get back, he’s all yours.”