blueteamnovel WM [68] Reprimand
WM [68] Reprimand
WM [68] Reprimand
Tanisha woke up early in the morning long before the sun could crest the mountains. She wanted to continue the journey the sooner they could cross the Chaos Lands the sooner they would hopefully find Joha. She wouldn’t let her training slip either so she performed her breathing and stretching exercises. During one of her standing leg stretches, Aurelius descended from the near vertical mountain side next to her.
“Woah, sorry didn’t know anyone else was awake.” Aurelius said. “That is impressive flexibility and balance.”
Tanisha lowered her leg. “Thanks I would hope so by this point. My teacher had me doing this every morning for the past few months now.”
“Your teacher? I am assuming it was your combat instructor and not a dance team.” Aurelius said.
Tanisha snorted a laugh and then remembered that during the farewell party with the Jackrabbits Joha did look graceful with the woman he was dancing with.
“You know what, maybe when we find him we can form a dance group.” Tanisha chuckled to herself. “It might attract some customers, but yes it is a part of a combat technique.”
“Ah, when we find him. The person we are out here looking for is the one that taught you.” Aurelius said. “Well hopefully you got some rest. I know the storm was a setback so we can make up for lost ground.”
“I slept well, but did you sleep at all? We didn’t go over guard shifts or anything and Fuyumi.” She looked over to the Ghostborn woman still in the same spot she drunkenly fell asleep in. “I don’t think she was fit to help out with that.”
“Oh, don’t worry about me. I can go weeks without sleep in the Chaos Lands.” Aurelius said with a wave of his hand. “And the Ghostborn can control that drunkenness. If something happened she would sober herself up pretty much instantly. I am confused why you wanted a bodyguard when you have someone like that here. Honestly, while I appreciate the work I feel kind of redundant.”
Tanisha didn’t want to tell him that it wasn’t her choice and that she probably wouldn’t have hired him because of his monstrous aura. It still left her feeling unsettled even though he seemed to be nice. She had always been taught that she would be able to tell a lot about a person by their aura. Of course until recently she had Bjorn she only had the most basic ability to sense aura. Now with her magic under her control she could pick up the finer details of a person by their aura alone.
Aurelius had an aura unlike anything she had ever felt. It was almost as if she were in the presence of the Jeweled Winged Monarch again. A chaotic recreation of the power of a mage through the body of a being that was alien in all aspects. No, it wasn’t fair to compare him to that thing. His magic while similar to that of monsters was categorically different. It had form, and even those parts that seemed chaotic had an ebb and flow.
“Well,” she said, keeping her tone light, “it’s safer to travel with more people, right? Besides, you both seem to know your way around. How do you even navigate this place? If the terrain changes overnight, maps must be useless.”
“True enough,” Aurelius replied. “The Ghostborn have an innate sense for it, from what I’ve seen. Me? I stick to the sun and stars. Even the Chaos Lands can’t blot those out entirely.”
Tanisha nodded thoughtfully. She heard about people using the stars to travel. Mat mentioned that many people from the Force Isles had navigation tools like that because the different floating isles didn’t have landmarks between them. She filed that information away to ask about later but it made her head hurt just thinking of trying to figure out stars for navigation when paper maps were already her bane.
“Makes sense.” She said her focus shifted back to her exercise. “We’ll get started soon. Just let me finish up first.”
She leaned back with her belly in the air until she could finally reach to grab her own ankles. Aurelius watched her for a few more moments utterly bewildered at the level of flexibility she had. His eyes flicked down briefly, his gaze catching on her tail as it flicked idly in the cool morning air. His expression was unreadable, but Tanisha didn’t miss the way his focus lingered.
After a beat, he cleared his throat and stepped back. “Right. I’ll get back to keeping watch,” he said, his voice steady but a little more formal than before. “Just call if you need anything, Tanisha, I will be over there.”
***
Tanisha nodded. “Got it. Let’s keep moving. Bjorn and I will follow your lead.” She hesitated for a moment, then added, “Also... are you okay, Fuyumi?”
Fuyumi tilted her head slightly, her translucent edges shimmering faintly. “Hmm? Yes, why?”
“She’s talking about how you’re, uh... kind of see-through,” Aurelius interjected, gesturing vaguely around her.
Fuyumi blinked, then chuckled softly. “Oh, that. It’s nothing to worry about. I’m simply relaxing my form. In warmer climates, I have to maintain full corporeality, which takes quite a bit of effort. But here? It’s still warm for me, but much better. I can let go a little.”
With that, Fuyumi turned and led the way, her pace a brisk but steady jog. The others followed, their footsteps muffled by the soft forest floor. The landscape was a paradox that Tanisha still struggled to comprehend. The temperature hovered dangerously low, at least twenty degrees below freezing, yet the plants remained vibrant and lush. Leaves glistened as though perspiring, their surfaces cold to the touch but stubbornly unfrozen.
***
The first day ended as the group arrived at a river shimmering under the fading light. At first glance, Tanisha assumed it was water, but as she approached, her keen eyes picked up the unmistakable gleam of something far more valuable: liquid hydrargyrum. It was odd that the substance was liquid in the freezing temperature but nothing else made sense so she didn’t think too hard about that. The silver stream snaked through the jungle with an almost hypnotic flow, its surface reflecting through the break in the dense canopy.
Fuyumi and Aurelius immediately covered their mouths with cloth and began scanning the riverbank, searching for a safe way to cross. Tanisha, however, stopped dead in her tracks, her expression shifting from curiosity to delight.
She turned to Bjorn, her tone sharp but excited. “Stay back from that, Big Man.”
As Bjorn obediently moved away, Tanisha’s grin widened. Hydrargyrum, she couldn’t believe their luck. The liquid metal was a death sentence for most creatures—its vapors could poison the lungs, and even skin contact was enough to cause organ failure in some species. Her mind flashed back to a halfling student at Dorsehal Academy who had made that near fatal mistake. The halfling student was using it in a compound for an assignment. A small amount got on her skin and she had to be rushed to a healer before her kidneys shut down.
The thing was, wendigo did not have that problem at all. Hydrargyrum was harmless to her kind. If anything, it was a treasure. Its unique properties made it a crucial component in alchemy and enchantments. The most important of which is a powerful magical conduit for making artificial magical stones. If she found osmium, she would have a real chance at creating her own magic stone which she could infuse with seiðr. She reached her hands into the flowing liquid metal to the absolute shock and dismay of Fuyumi and Aurelius.
Without hesitation, Tanisha knelt by the riverbank, her hands plunging into the liquid metal. It was cool to the touch, flowing like molten silk over her skin. Fuyumi and Aurelius froze, their faces painted with alarm.
“What are you—” Aurelius began, his voice tight with disbelief.
The moment Tanisha withdrew her hands, the liquid metal solidified into gleaming chunks, which she promptly stored in her inventory with a satisfied smirk. She reached for the river again, but before she could touch it, a ghostly hand seized her wrist and yanked her back. Fuyumi stood behind her, spectral energy flickering around her like an icy veil, her expression a mix of shock and reprimand.
“What in the world are you doing?” Fuyumi’s voice was sharp, her usual calm replaced by rare agitation. “Quicksilver is highly toxic! You are going to get yourself killed! Don’t breathe in that vapor, we might have to take you back to a healer before the...”
Tanisha held up a hand, cutting them off. “Relax,” she said, brushing off her cloak. “My people aren’t affected by hydrargyrum. We can bathe in the stuff if we want. In fact I think some people do... that's beside the point, I am fine.” Both Fuyumi and Aurelius stared at her, clearly unconvinced. She sighed, “It’s true. Our biology makes us immune to most toxic metals. Hydrargyrum, lead, arsenic—none of it fazes us.”
“You could’ve mentioned before you started reaching your hand into it.” Fuyumi slowly let go, her ghostly hand fading as she stepped back. “Please remember that we have to stay vigilant out here. There could be monsters beneath the surface of that stuff for all we know.”
Tanisha opened her mouth to retort from the chastisement but they were right. It isn’t like she didn’t know that most people knew the stuff was toxic and she didn’t even consider monsters. Surely there would be some type of monster that would find a home in such a place. She nodded and only went to gather more after they gave her permission and could watch out for threats.