Depthless Hunger

Chapter 65: Surprises Down the River

Kai made sure to keep his expression neutral and show no weaknesses, but his entire view of Razzagah shifted after the revelation of his clan. Not every Lantrian was corrupt. He knew that. That didn't mean he was going to accept the word of Razzagah Lantrian when he had absolutely no proof of what he said about the clan politics in the city.

As they continued along their way, Kai made sure to talk to the guards who had been hired earlier. Some of them resented him, but the majority were open to talking to him simply because they recognized his strength. Unfortunately, they seemed to have been drawn from neutral parties who didn't particularly care about the major clans. Other than confirming that the Corinin clan dominated trade in Rayakan, he didn't learn anything useful.

There was nothing he could do but wait until they reached the city. He might not have access to the Hunters Guild there, but he could still navigate the clans to some degree. Until then, he would just have to hope that he wasn't helping the wrong side.

"Are you sure you're being rational about this?" Zae Zin Nim asked him one night while they were cultivating. "If he was closely tied to the Lantrians who banished you, he would have recognized you and acted on the banishment."

"It could still be a trap, or he just needs us as guards." Kai squirmed as he spoke, however. It was true that Razzagah had been nothing but friendly toward them.

"Even if they're all corrupt, why are you so confident in the Corinin clan? Just because of one friend?"

"It's not just Inafay. Her family never stopped her from training with me even though they disapproved. They've always been the fairest of the major clans."

They stopped talking as some of the guards moved past them and the conversation never resumed. He accepted it as for the best, since their conversations were going in circles and they distracted from his training.

One benefit of traveling in wagons instead of walking was that they had more time to cultivate, a fact that Zae Zin Nim had emphasized in relation to Deadwaste in general. Being able to focus more fully had taken him to 10%, though he wasn't sure how much he would slow as the percentage increased.

He was glad for the time, given how relatively uneventful the trip was. They appeared to have arrived at the point of greatest crisis, so the occasional monsters they encountered afterwards didn't challenge them. Perhaps a few of the guards might have died during the fights. Few of them had to work, since Kai and Zae Zin Nim could defeat everything in their path with ease. It just left him a bit resentful that he couldn't eat the monsters.

That was an uncomfortable development. Even though they were eating better food than he ever had on a journey, part of him still wanted more. When they left the core-less corpses behind he found his gaze lingering. Just one monster would have hit the spot, but since there was no benefit to it, he restrained himself.

Perhaps even more uncomfortable was the fact that Razzagah continued to be so personable. Despite being a Lantrian, he seemed humble and cheerful. If it was an act, it was a damn good one. After feeling himself getting sucked in, Kai spent several days secretly examining the cargo to make sure that they weren't carrying anything illegal or dangerous. As far as he could tell, they really were just carrying new silks and other valuable goods.

"What are you going to do once we reach Rayakan?" the young merchant asked one day as they ate. "I'm going to be busy, especially if we arrive in time. Anything I can help you with?"

"Well..." Kai didn't want to give away their plans, but since it wasn't illegal... "We need access to a mana pool strong enough to awaken."

"Oh." Razzagah scratched his head. "I'm afraid the Lantrians don't have control of a pool, and the Hunters Guild isn't going to just open theirs. There are a few others in private hands, like the Corinin clan estate, but that's a gray market good and it would be expensive. Are you sure you don't want to just wait until the next Hunter Trials? It's only... what, a third of a year now?"

Had it really been so long? It felt like simultaneously a lifetime and not long enough. But it would still be a third of a year, and Zae Zin Nim couldn't wait that long. "We need one sooner," Kai said. "If you don't have a contact for it, that's okay."

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"I didn't say that! But there are so many variables, I think we'd better focus on getting all this cargo to the city. If that works, I'll be in a good mood and I'll try to help you if I can."

"How many days left?"

"That depends on the river!" Razzagah fumbled with a map in his lap and peered down at it. "If my numbers are right, we're almost out of the badlands. The plan is to switch to a barge, then sail straight in. That should get us there fastest and avoid any knotty permit problems."

If anything was underhanded, it had something to do with the permits that Razzagah occasionally mentioned. Since he wasn't sure of the truth, Kai stayed silent on the subject. Whatever was happening, better to begin by doing his job faithfully instead of breaking a contract.

Only two days later, they reached the river again. The land near it became a verdant explosion, more trees than Kai had ever seen before in his life. They actually had to cut them back instead of carefully preserving them. After traveling along the river for a little longer, they finally reached their penultimate destination.

A small set of buildings hung close to the river, dwarfed by the amount of activity around them. It was almost a port like Kai had only heard about existing on oceans, with ships, sailors, and cargo going in every direction. The majority appeared to be low barges that managed to carry a shocking amount of weight. Some only passed through, but more were waiting, apparently including their contact.

As soon as they arrived, Razzagah began nervously urging everyone to hurry. All his papers seemed to be in order when he spoke to the officials and Kai didn't see any bribes exchange hands. Yet he only grew more anxious, constantly glancing downriver. Since it appeared to be so important, Kai helped out by carrying as many boxes as he could. The sailors running the barges complained a bit and rearranged the containers he deposited, but he could carry a lot more than the guards and workers.

Despite all the tension, they left without any problems. The waypoint receded behind them and Kai realized that he had completely missed anything it might have contained. There had been a restaurant with interesting smells, plus the scent of unfamiliar monsters. Strangers traveled in both directions, even a few foreigners... but they were all vanishing into the distance.

A day down the river and it was almost like they were in a different world. Calmly drifting over the water with only farmland on either side, the farmers themselves appearing only rarely. This was definitely the heartland of Goralia, peacefully producing the food and other resources that supported the north and the Frontier.

Kai was beginning to believe that they might reach the city in safety when he smelled something odd. Not the sludge of the river, not the occasional monster on the banks... there were significant sources of human power ahead. His stomach churned as he realized they smelled delicious, but that wasn't the worst of it: they were clearly lying in wait.

"Are we expecting anyone ahead?" he asked aloud. Razzagah turned to stare at him.

"I mean, we aren't so far from the city, so we'll see the guards soon enough."

"No, there's someone hiding." Kai moved to the front, trying to identify the exact locations. His new sense of smell was rather imprecise, even though the scent was getting stronger and stronger. "Do you have problems with bandits?"

"Usually not this close," Razzagah said. "But... we'd better be cautious, just in case."

They drifted onward and Kai began to think that he'd raised a false alarm. No sign of anyone, though they could have been hiding in a cluster of trees ahead. Just as Kai thought it had been nothing, Zae Zin Nim jerked to her feet. A second later, mana exploded within the trees. One second after that, arrows rained down over the barges.

Some of the guards, on high alert, managed to duck behind shields. Kai grabbed the nearest two frozen in shock and threw them out of the way. Zae Zin Nim whirled in place, deflecting a substantial number of arrows and protecting half the barge, perhaps unintentionally.

"Bandits!" one of the sailors called. They began pushing away from the bank, but it was too late: Kai saw a large group of fighters pouring out of the trees. Some were preparing mana for attacks more dangerous than arrows and several leapt into the air to attack the barge.

Before he could analyze the group, Kai jumped to intercept. He caught one man around the waist and jerked him out of the air to the other bank. As soon as he landed, he hurled the fighter into the crowd, knocking over a woman who was preparing to launch flames at the barge. They all turned toward him in shock, as if they hadn't expected such resistance.

Now that he was thinking again, Kai wondered if he'd made a mistake. There were a dozen bandits nearby, but they were nothing like any bandits he'd seen before. The weakest of them had Power ratings in the 40s, and there were plenty in the 50s. He saw advanced Classes, high rank Physiques, and plenty of dangerous weapons. They had at least 600 total Power arrayed against him and he'd just isolated himself from the others.

No one attacked yet. Kai carefully set his feet, planning his fight. One bandit reached for a crossbow and froze when Kai glared at him. They remained there, trapped in the tension, until Kai realized that it was much worse than he had thought.

This group was much too prepared to be simple bandits. Regardless of whether or not he'd survive the fight, he'd just stumbled into something more complex than he'd realized.

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