Book 4, chapter 16

Having her grandpa around was both a blessing and a curse. On the first day of his arrival, whilst the ship was getting repaired, Julian was approached by an official and offered a residence in the upper district.

It was the former estate of the patriarch's cousin, who Zee had personally helped smuggle out of the dominion. This show of hospitality was of course all in an effort to convince Julian to stick around a while.

Zee wasn't sure if her grandpa's presence would actually deter the undead from invading Verdant, but the authorities seemed to think so.

It was bizarre. They were treating Julian, an enemy of the blood gorgers, and the Kelvish dominion by proxy as royalty. That of course meant that Zee and the rest of her team were dragged along to stay in the fancy mansion.

Staying in a mansion was a lot nicer than the little inn they were in before, but Zee wasn't sure if it was worth it. Now they were all being watched, as if the authorities were scared they would sneak away in the night.

It was too bad for them, that Zee was an expert at sneaking around in the dark. It felt like old times when she slipped out of the mansion and into the streets.

Wearing a cloak to mask her features, she boarded a gondola. The rower navigated the canals with expert precision, dropping her off in the lower quarter.

She then boarded another gondola, this one with peeling paint, and well-worn wooden seats.

"Where to?" the rower asked.

"The stacks, to the blind spider," Zee replied.

The gruff-looking human nodded and pushed off the pier. He hummed a jaunty tune, navigating the murky waterway like it was the back of his hand.

When she arrived a half hour later, the tavern was in full swing, music blaring and raucous laughter echoing through the outer doors. The upper quarter might be asleep, but the dark was when the stacks came alive.

Stepping off the gondola, Zee tossed the man a sac of Dara, walking towards the bar. The stench of stale alcohol and sweat filled her nose as she stopped at the front step, making her blanch. Even still, she pushed the door open, entering the bar.

The bar was dimly lit, filled with smoke, a variety of humans, allevark, and the occasional arachnid. The only thing that blended the odd assortment of species together was their relatively low ranks with the highest at mid-E grade and the ragged state of their clothing.

It was clear to anyone who had eyes that these people were of the working class, with little money or power to their names, no doubt mostly non-combat classes.

Taking this all in at a glance, she crossed the room with purpose, sitting at the bar.

"What'll you have?" asked the bartender, a short, stout allevark with a few chipped teeth.

"I'm here for a pickup," Zee said placing a small token on the scuffed and stained wood of the bar.

The bartender snatched it up, tucking it away in his apron. He reached under the bar and pulled out a beer-stained envelope. She took the envelope and left the bar. Once on the street outside, she used her wayward walk skill to teleport onto a neighboring building.

Zee used her movement skill several more times, once she determined she was alone she cracked the seal and read the contents. It was the address of a warehouse and instructions on how to get there.

Following the directions by the light of the stars took longer than she expected, but she eventually found the warehouse she was looking for.

The side of the poorly built building had a faded sign designating it 103. The run-down building was protected by a few arrays, though not to keep anyone out. It was to keep the smell and nasty energy inside.

Not needing a key, she slipped inside through one wall, scanning the inside of the warehouse. A smile tugged at her lips as she spotted her prize.

About fifty rotting corpses lay in a pile at the center of the warehouse. They were monsters corpses of varying variety and strengths, just what she needed.

While she was confined to her bed, injured, she had sent a message to Rin, asking if he could get her some fresh monster corpses with their splinters intact.

It cost her a pile of ether crystals, but hopefully, it was worth the cost. Judging by the wicked claws, and fierce auras exuded even in death, these were not weak monsters. Hopefully, their souls were still intact.

Well, time to get started. She needed to hurry and get this done before her grandpa realized she was gone. Zee was not going to just sit around and hope her grandpa could solve all of her problems. Besides, Grandpa Julian was vehemently against her using the taboo rituals, so Zee would have to do this on her own.

Steeling her resolve, Zee walked through the outer edges of the arrays surrounding the corpses, picking out a large bloated bird-like creature. She grimaced as a wall of stench hit her, the scent of so much death nauseating. Zee had seen a lot of death over the last two years, but this many rotting corpses in one place was still a shock to her senses.

This was the price cultivators paid for their enhanced senses. The rank-up process, namely the body potency, improved everything about her body, including her sense of smell.

In this case, her ninety percent potency to her body was not a good thing. Inhaling through her mouth, Zee conjured Dern's suit of armor.

With a mental tug, the suit of armor lumbered over, grasping the corpse and dragging it from the pile. The monster had to weigh at least a ton, and yet Dern's suit of armor was able to move it without much effort.

The monster's brown and black feathers were matted to its skin, leaving a trail of blood and guts in its wake. It was pretty disgusting, and the smell didn't help either.

Pulling out a leather book from her spatial storage, Zee flipped to a marked page. The soul-siphoning ritual was far too complex for her to memorize after only performing it a few times so she used the book as a reference. It was better safe than sorry.

Her aura expanded to encompass the corpse, and streamers of energy fanned out around her, creating a complex ritual diagram connecting both Dern's armour, and the corpse.

It took a few minutes to form, but before long the ritual snapped taught. With a mental tug, the ritual activated, melting into the monster's corpse.

After a few seconds, the corpse turned to ash, and an ethereal copy of the dead monster appeared, a ferocious bird with a long beak and wild eyes. The ethereal bird thrashed at the air, but the ritual bound its soul tightly.

Expending some mental energy, she directed the captured soul toward the suit of armor. It put up a futile struggle, its movements panicked as it was dragged forwards. Unbidden, A vortex darker than the void appeared where Dern's head should be and the captured soul was mercilessly dragged inside.

The vortex slammed shut Dern's armor groaning happily. The first ritual was done, but Dern wasn't even close to sated yet. That was okay, she still had about fifty corpses, which hopefully would be enough. Zee steadied herself, and continued, gesturing for the suit of armor to drag another corpse over.

Time passed in a blur, as she performed one ritual after another. She started with the weakest monsters, slowly working her way up to the strongest in the pile.

A few hours in, she was feeling mentally drained. Even still, Zee prompted the suit of armor to drag another corpse over, a tentacled ape-like monster that made most of her nightmares seem tame.

She had no idea where Rin's people got it, much less how they killed it, but it was at least Peak E grade, maybe even half step D grade. After this one, she needed a break.

The ritual diagram blossomed around her, linking Dern's armor, and the dead ape thing. As before, the ritual snapped taught after a few minutes, and she activated it. The soul of the monster was dragged from its body. Furious, the ethereal monster let out a soundless roar, thrashing at the ritual binding it.

Zee suddenly felt cold sweat roll down her back, her mind straining to keep the monster in check. Her well of mental energy began draining at an absurd rate, as the half-step breast king shattered two of the ten ethereal chains holding it.

Blood trickled from her nose, and her vision blurred as the backlash hit her. One chain after another snapped, each time sending a backlash that made her reel.

"Take it, Dern, It's going to escape." Zee wheezed, struggling to contain it.

Zee had no idea what would happen if the monster's soul escaped from the ritual, but it couldn't be a good thing. Even while thrashing about, it was staring at her with manic hatred, frothing at the mouth to get at her.

Sadly for the monster, Dern's armor moved on its own. He leaped forwards, a vortex appearing above his head as he slammed his glaive into the monster's chest.

The strike created a massive wound that dripped ethereal ichor along the monster's side. It let out a soundless wail, lashing out at Dern with air-shattering force. Dern endured the attacks, swinging his glaive in a ferocious arc, lodging the blade of his glaive into the monster's skull. After the barrage, the monster's soul was heavily wounded and it could no longer resist the pull.

It was sucked inside that swirling vortex, disappearing, giving Zee one last hateful glare before it vanished forever. Gasping for breath, Zee let out a tired sigh collapsing to her knees on the hard stone.

"It's about time, what took you so long?" Zee asked wiping blood from her nose.

Dern's suit of armor turned on its own, his breastplate covered in spiderweb cracks from the short yet intense battle.

"I haven't been around for months, and the first thing you do is blame me?" Dern asked, indignantly.

Zee couldn't help but grin as his voice entered her head, her mind suddenly bombarded with a flood of emotions.

"Dern! You are back?" Zee asked excitedly.

Dern's conjured form shrugged.

"Not thanks to my summoner, you sure took your dear sweet time," Dern said, his words accusing yet she knew he was only joking.

"Hey! Learning rituals is hard. You are so ungrateful. I worked my but off to feed you, and this is the thanks I get?" Zee asked with feigned outrage.

"I just saved you from a rabid beast who was going to tear your soul apart," Dern pointed out.

"Well, thanks for that," Zee said.

"You welcome," Dern replied.

"Now your turn," Zee said.

Dern simply stood there, his conjured form looking like a statue. The silence dragged on, and after what felt like a minute he muttered "Thank you,"

"See, was that so hard?" Zee asked, beaming.

"It was, made me want to wretch. It's almost as bad as when you and Bastion kiss," Dern said, with a mental shudder.

"If you don't like it, then don't watch," Zee retorted.

"It's not like I want to, I have been stuck in your head. After the last couple months of you being lovey dovey with Bastion I think I need therapy," Dern said.

Zee couldn't help but laugh. It was good to have him back.

"Hey, this is not a laughing matter, I have been scarred for life. Where do I lodge a formal complaint?" Dern asked.

"You will have to refer to the manager, oh wait, that's me, tough luck," Zee said.

"This is so unfair," Dern mutter.

After some amused laughter, she adopted a more serious expression. "Jokes aside, how are you doing?" Zee asked.

"I'm still hungry, and injured, but I should fully recover if you keep feeding me more souls," Dern replied.

She gestured towards the corpse pile in the center of the warehouse.

"Will those be enough?" Zee asked.

"Enough for a light snack. These monster souls are not very filling, much of the energy has already dissipated, they need to be fresh," Dern said.

"How does that make sense? The soul is either there, or it's not," Zee replied.

"Really? Since when did you become an expert on the soul?" Dern asked.

"I am not an expert, I am just making an observation," Zee said, folding her arms, sitting on the stone flooring of the warehouse, trying to steady herself after the recent scare.

Dern sent her a mental grin. "Well, I guess it's not completely wrong, though it's not right either. Souls do cling to a corpse for a while, though the threads binding them to a physical shell slowly dissipate, and the soul gradually loses solidity before it returns to the world river," Dern said.

"So, the soul lives on in the world river after death?" Zee asked curiously.

"I have no idea, I just use them as sustenance," Dern said unhelpfully.

"Aren't you curious?" Zee asked.

"Are you curious about where your food goes after you eat it?" Dern retorted.

"I see your point. So, are you going to help me with the rituals, or are you just going to stand there all night?" Zee asked.

"I just got back, and you are already putting me to work?" Dern asked, affronted.

"Yes, you have been slacking off for months, it's about time you start pulling your own weight again," Zee said.

"Slave driver," Dern muttered.

Despite his complaints, Dern set to work, and with both of them working in tandem, the process was sped up significantly. It only took them a few hours longer to process all the monster corpses.

Unbeknownst to Zee and Dern, two figures hid in a fold of space nearby, watching. "Those are some very interesting rituals, where did she learn them?" Sendredie asked.

Julian's expression turned sour, "I don't know, maybe that Ashary taught them to her," Julian said unhappily.

"Don't be so grumpy, this is good for her, she is independent, on her own path," Sendredie said.

"But, what about the taboo, she will be branded as a heretic," Julian said.

"That's okay, I am a heretic, and it's worked out well enough for me," Sendredie said.

"You are a criminal, wanted by hundreds of different clans, sects, and at least two dozen empires." Julian pointed out.

"You say that like it's a bad thing," Sendredie countered.

"That is not something to be proud of," Julian said, frustrated.

"I beg to differ. You should let me take your granddaughter, I will personally train her," Sendredie said.

"No, absolutely not," Julian refused.

"Why not?" Sendredie asked, her tone hurt.

"Because her parents will have my hide if I let you take her," Julian retorted.

Undeterred, Sendredie pointed towards Zee as her ritual tore a struggling soul from its corpse.

"Just look at her Julain, she is a natural. Her talent will be wasted back on the farm, if you let me have her for a few years I could toughen her up a bit, turning her into a true monster," Sendredie said.

Julian hesitated, as he watched the macabre rituals take place one after another. With a full-scale war on the horizon, was it really a good idea to bring her home? Julian wasn't even sure how the emperor would react to him starting a war.

He wasn't too worried, given the fact that the blood gorgers were getting their asses kicked by the Terlashar and the purgatory church.

Even still, the emperor might be a little pissed off, especially since he no doubt heard of who Julian was with. Sendredie truly was a master at pissing people off.

After some thought, Julian made up his mind, "Thanks for the offer Sen, but I will pass. I was thinking about sending Zee and her friends to the imperial academy in Lorocos." Julian said.

"Bah, that stuffy old place? She would just die of boredom there. All they do is study books and listen to lectures. The odds of dying there so low it might as well be nonexistent," Sendredie scowled.

"Exactly, she has had enough adventuring for a while. I think some safety and schooling amidst piers would do her some good." Julian retorted.

Sendredie rolled her eyes. "The academy's stuffy rules and lack of danger will stifle her growth. She needs to fight and risk her life or she will never amount to anything," Sendredie said.

Julian raised a hand. "We are not debating this any further. You can teach her as much as you like on our way back, but that is all. I will be sending her to the academy, and that is final," Julian said.

"Such a spoilsport," Sendredie grumbled.

***

Having finished processing all of the corpses, Zee slipped out of the warehouse, making her way back to the estate they were staying in.

She was mentally exhausted, and so was Dern. It didn't make her very talkative on the gondola as the driver paddled them up the canal, which was finer as the driver didn't seem to be talkative either.

By the time she arrived back at the estate In the uppermost quarter of the city, Zee was exhausted. She was looking forward to a solid twenty hours of rest, and a shower, though not in that order.

Thankfully, it was still dark out, and it didn't appear that anyone was awake inside the mansion. Sneaking back inside the outer wall was easy as pie, as she simply phased through the wall.

Rounding the building towards the back, she crossed the manicured lawn, passed a stone fountain, and paused next to a sculpted hedge.

Her brows furrowed, as her senses picked up something, or the lack of something. Everyone was inside the mansion, in their beds, except a certain someone. Zee had a sinking feeling. Well, crap. Grandpa was not in his bed, which meant only one thing.

"You can come out not grandpa," Zee said.

Nothing happened for a few seconds until two people suddenly appeared about ten feet away. It was incredibly faint, but she felt it, a slight fluctuation of spatial energy,

"How did you know I was following you?" Julian asked.

Zee didn't reply, giving the woman he was with a once-over. She was tall, with extremely short pink hair, and a nasty scar cutting from her forehead to her chin.

The woman held a crystalline black staff in her left hand like a walking stick, her black robes clinging tightly to her athletic frame. When Zee didn't answer, her grandpa glanced at the woman next to him, who simply shrugged.

"That kind of sloppy ness is unlike you. Are you getting rusty in your old age?" the woman asked.

"I wasn't being sloppy, she shouldn't be able to detect us at all in a spatial fold," Julian snorted.

"So you say? Maybe you aren't as good as you think," the woman said.

Not wanting to stick around Zee cleared her throat, "I didn't sense you at all grandpa. I can however sense his empty bed," Zee said, butting in.

Julian raised an eyebrow. "That's a pretty good sensory skill. What else can it do," Julian asked.

"What are you two doing up so late at night?" Zee deflected.

Julian narrowed his eyes at her. "I was following you, to make sure you didn't cause me any more trouble," Julian said.

"You followed me the whole time?" Zee asked, nervously.

"Yes…." Julian replied.

"So, uh, I should probably go get some rest, you two have a good night," Zee said, walking past them.

"Hold on," Julian said, holding out an arm to block her path.

"Yes?" Zee asked, knowing she was in trouble.

"Tell me about that ritual you were performing, where did you learn it?" Julian asked.

" I found it in a library," Zee said evasively. She yawned for effect. "Ohh, look at the time. Sorry Grandpa, I am really tired, let's talk about this some other time," Zee said.

"Fine, but this conversation is not over," Julian said. Zee slipped past and fled to her room. She had no intention of actually telling him where she learned but he didn't need to know that.

Walking away, Zee picked up snippets of the conversation.

"Julian, why are you being such a hard ass? It's only going to push her away," Sendredie said.

Julian let out a soft sigh. " I know, but I can't help it. It's just hard to see her put herself in danger," Julian replied.

"If you don't want her to not die there is a simple solution, just let me train her," Sendredie said.

"No, I told you, that's not happening," Julian replied.

That was the last thing Zee heard before their presence simply vanished. Her grandpa must have reactivated that skill that was hiding them before.

Zee shook her head. Well, no point in worrying about it, time for some rest.