Sarah Davis
Stories
10
Chapters
3,751
Words
1.8 M
Comments
0
Reading
6 d, 3 h
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Kai next met Zae Zin Nim on the day they were paid. They hadn't planned it exactly, but apparently for security reasons the payments were disbursed by multiple merchants on the same day. After stopping by the Crystallier Headquarters, Kai found himself carrying another bag of gold. Even considering the fat Eagles and a crystal-studded coin worth even more, it was a hefty bag. On his way out, he was surprised to see Ailag and Naellia sauntering out with payments of their own. Naellia looked irritated at…-
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Returning to the luxury of Romastir only put Kai more on the edge, but the training lulled him into a false sense of security. The harder he worked, both on his shroud and his cultivation, the easier it was to avoid thinking about the deeper problems. He knew how to gain power, so in a way working hard was easier than trying to understand the problems of Krysal. After getting worried about how to explain what happened to Lord Unklian, his meeting with the merchant had been a non-event. Kai had decided to…
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Kai dropped the merchant to the floor and struck the paper wall, tearing it with surprising ease. Immediately he found himself face to face with Omilaena the Maneater, the woman who had conquered New Laeneria. He was first relieved that she wasn't Anaelina in disguise, which shouldn't have been a relief given everything this woman had done, not least just poisoning them. Omilaena was a slender woman wearing a decidedly non-Krysali dress. It was slit up the side, and since she sat so calmly in her chair,…
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In the moment the ambush appeared, Kai very nearly attacked. It would have been so easy to unleash a Tyrant's Claw that would have probably destroyed half the street. What stopped him wasn't the fact that he'd reveal himself, since the locals might not even be able to tell the difference, it was all the workers in the caravan with him. He'd gotten to know them reasonably well on the trip and he didn't want to see them riddled with arrows. That hesitation gave him time to think a little more. If the bandit…
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Kai sprinted through the wastes, chasing down the scent of blood. He could feel it before he could see it, almost like he could see on the other side of the rocks. Instead of going around he leapt directly to the top and found himself staring down at what the locals called a Diresnake. It was a serpent as thick around as his waist and considerably longer than a person, lurking on the other side of the stones, waiting in ambush. Kai raised a hand, ready to tear it apart with a claw. The Diresnake turned,…
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Meeting Zae Zin Nim had fired Kai up, and not in the obvious way. Now that he viewed their time in Romastir as a temporary part of his training, he was motivated to try to extract every single iota of power he could from it. Maybe he wasn't making much progress investigating the Krysal City States, but he could definitely become stronger. Now that he was accustomed to his work guarding the crystals, it barely took any of his attention and he was able to focus on training. His cultivation was advancing…
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When Kai had first met Zae Zin Nim, she'd been bleeding profusely and hacking up her lungs. The harm to her body had been so severe that it left her stick thin, more skeleton than woman. He had known that she had returned to health after breaking through the Body Refinement stage, but he had mostly managed to avoid thinking about it while they were traveling together. That ended when she arrived then. Unlike the others, Zae Zin Nim wasn't baring any skin below the neck, but it didn't matter. She wore…
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Physical training helped Kai work off some of the unease and when it was time for the feast he felt mostly prepared. Still like he was walking directly into a battle he didn't fully understand, but mentally ready for the ambush. Krainuun and several young women who worked for the merchant attempted to help dress him and he had to fight to do things himself. Instead of giving him Krysali robes, which looked like a pain to wrap properly, they brought him an ornate tunic more in the style of Goralia. It had…
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The man who had purchased Kai's services turned out to be a local merchant named Unklian, an enormously wealthy man who owned a major crystal mine, or a stake in one, or something technical like that. He was concerned about bandits attempting to attack the crystal shipments and wanted raw muscle to ward them off. That sounded like a job Kai could do. Despite the fact that they treated this job like a hazardous position, Kai was offered fine quarters in one of the merchant's mansions. The quarters, not to…
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Could all of this have really been prepared for them? Kai tried not to gawk like the rube they apparently thought he was as he looked around the arena. His attention had been immediately drawn by the small army, but they were mostly weak and likely just part of the evaluation. The real threats sat higher. Though there were stands all around the marble circle at the center of the arena, most of them were empty. Most of those he saw watching looked like merchants or nobles, not warriors. The exception was a…
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