Trial of a Gyesanja (An illustrated Quest)

Chapter 2: Trade

Kavouri was in more pain than he had ever felt in his centuries of life. The destruction of his body had been quick and relatively painless. The reconstruction was similarly so. The fine weaving of earth essence into his soul by the herald was anything but. Kavouri had developed a high tolerance of pain over his many years and brushes with death, but it simply did not matter. Every moment was agony, every second redefined his definition of pain. Kavouri had heard that others sometimes grafted new elements into their soul, but he could not imagine doing so. In a way he was thankful that the herald was doing the hard part for him. Kavouri merely had to endure the pain

Kavouri endured for what felt like years as the earth essence was brought into his soul. When the pain finally ceased Kavouri was afraid to move. Worried that the herald was merely taking a break. Slowly he opened his eyes and found himself in the middle of a courtyard. Each corner adorned with a monument to the great Lyakor. For a brief moment Kavouri was tempted to observe the changes that his body had undergone, but he quickly dismissed the notion. He could do that later, more importantly the herald may view it as Kavouri not trusting his work and take insult.

So he began to move around in his search for the herald, noting in the back of his mind that his body felt much heavier and more solid than it once had. Yet upon his observation he found the altar and its surroundings to be empty. The barren, cracked stone of the courtyard mirrored the wasteland that was the canyon. Yet something about that struck Kavouri as strange. It did not take long for him to realize that the courtyard of the altar should not be cracked so. Was that not an affront to the great Lyakor?

He looked more closely upon the cracks in the ground and found that liquid shadow seemed to flow like water through the fractured stone. Kavouri only had a moment to do a double take before a dozen eyes smaller than ants stared back at him, "Why stay?" it intoned lazily.

Kavouri paused for a moment to think, "I do not know how to get to the human world." He half-stated, half-asked.

"We send you when you feel ready." The herald whispered back.

Kavouri almost demanded to be sent immediately before he paused. If the herald had believed him to be ready he would have likely sent him already. As he was thinking Kavouri noticed the eyes begin to close one by one, sensing his approaching dismissal Kavouri rushed to speak, "What do I need to do?"

"Prepare." It almost yawned as its last eye closed.

Then Kavouri felt the altar begin to awaken. It only then struck him that he hadn't felt the gnawing weight of the Altars aura upon his mind. The aura had only begun to reappear, yet so close to the center Kavouri already felt his mind beginning to succumb to the over powering aura. Immediately he began to flee as quickly as he could, cursing at the new heaviness of his body as he tried to take great leaps from the growing aura. As he ran Kavouri noted that when he leapt from the ground he actually… could feel his strength begin to weaken. It did not help that earth essence he had taken into his being made him more solid and lessened the effect from his shadow form. He felt lighter sure, but not near as much as he used to. Curious he tried to run sideways like he hadn't since he had gained his shadow powers and was surprised to find himself slowly gaining even more strength as he felt energy rush from the earth into his body.

Momentarily shocked at the change Kavouri almost forgot about the cloud of aura racing behind him. Instead he was focused on the changes that had been made to his body. His normally completely black body now glowed faintly green in places, the flesh beneath giving off a strange green light. Curious Kavouri used his mind to look through his body and found that his body now contained two different kinds of energy. One was dark and almost fluid, the shadow energy that had been with him as long as he could remember. The other felt gritty and hard, yet the earth energy felt just as natural as the shadow energy in his body. The fluid and the solid striking a strange harmony as they coursed throughout him.

Kavouri felt the aura of the altar begin to fade way as its expansion slowed down. So he took a moment to appreciate how natural the earth energy felt in his body as he ran when a thought struck him. Curious he weaved the earth energy in the pattern he did for his shadow form…

And immediately went tumbling as his body began to petrify. He quickly undid the ability and felt the petrification begin to become undone. Shaken out of his experimentation by the accident Kavouri did note that he seemed completely unharmed by his tumble. However that was his most immediate concern at the moment. He could experiment later, for now he needed to figure out how to prepare for his mission. He definitely should go back to his home to grab his treasures, the herald had specifically mentioned that only his treasures powers would work in the human world after all.

With a new goal in mind Kavouri turned and headed in his best guess of where his home was.

_



Thankfully, the journey home was relatively uneventful. He did pause for a moment to eat a newly born bull servant on his way home. He ended up wishing he had toyed with it some more however since its flesh was far too tight and corded with muscle to be truly enjoyable. However he had returned home not long afterwards.

His home was a small dead-end cave deep within the earth. He felt at home within the absolute darkness that pervaded the caves and was also pleased to find out that the new earth aspected part of him liked being so far beneath the surface as well.

It was pleasing to be back inside of his cave. It was a fairly simple home, a stretch of clear ground to sleep on in his shell, a small hole he had dug out to put food to snack on later and another hole he had dug and covered up to keep his treasures in. His homes used to be far fancier and indeed some of the other high servants had very fancy homes, demanding their lesser to wait on them hand and foot. Kavouri used to live that way however he was glad he had snapped out of it.

The impetus had been that Kavouri had realized that none of the high servants who lived that way had ever made it to herald. More than that, they all invariably died sooner or later. One can only live in luxury for so long before their instincts and skills, if not their power, begins to fail them. After that it usually wasn't long before they become food for some ambitious servant or deadly rival. It was only after one of Kavouri's own rivals, a raven name Kettle, was consumed by his servants that Kavouri had realized he too would share that fate if he didn't change something. So he went back to the way he had been living before he had realized his own strength. His allies, or perhaps more accurately business partners, had informed him that he did not need to make so drastic a change, but he was happy with his decision. Life was simpler this way and look where it had got him anyways!

Not for the first time, Kavouri marveled at his luck in gaining the opportunity to become a herald. He had given up hope on that long ago yet now the opportunity was presented to him seemingly out of nowhere. However, he could marvel on his luck some other time. Just because the herald did not give him an explicit time limit did not mean there was not one. He had dealt with many heralds in his life and they often were impatient. So he grabbed his treasures and left his cave to go meet one of his old business partners.

_



Among the many planes and dimensions of existence there were, of course, a very wide variety of worlds. However, there was none so orderly and…cluttered as the planes in which the servants of Undettu made their home. Nor was there any other plane whose inhabitants Kavouri hated more, besides perhaps humans.

"No, I know nothing about how to grow wheat." A monkey asked Kavouri as the giant crab carefully tried to walk through a mess of books without impaling any.

Kavouri, not for the first time, chirped angrily, "Do I LOOK like I grow plants?" If he were anywhere else he would have tortured and eaten the monkey already. However, the followers of Undettu were best place to buy information bar none. If Kavouri killed this monkey without good reason then at best he would be forced to pay a fine, one of his treasures and kicked out of the dimension. At worst… It was impossible to run or hide from a herald of Undettu.

The worst part was that the servants of Undettu knew it too, "Who knows man. Your claws look like they would be good for digging." The monkey said as he ate a bug off of Kavouri's shell. He paused considering something before continuing, "Know how to make flour then?"

"I do not know what that is." Kavouri wanted to ask the monkey why he wanted to know, but it was never wise to ask a follower of Undettu a question one did not want an answer to. For one, they could try and charge you for it. Two, many of them would talk for HOURS if given the chance.

The monkey paused again, before turning and giving Kavouri a remarkably shit-eating grin, "Why if you're so curious, I'm trying to make cookies. You see I read about them in a book one time and they sound positively delightful. Recently I found a recipe on how to make them but I'm struggling to make the wheat or the flour. However, the absolute variety of cookies is absolutely astounding! Why one might thi-." Kavouri cursed in his head as he took the long way around a zebra with a lions head who was scribbling on an absolute mess of papers. The damn monkey could read his mind, or at least was privy to his curiosities.

Half an hour later the monkey was still chattering on about cookies, something about macadamia, and Kavouri was seriously considering eating him then and there. So when dual four winged shadows flew overhead he let out a chirp of relief.

"Joffrey, if you don't shut up, then our friend here is liable to eat you." Your partner, Azulle, said with no small amusement, "not that I'd blame him."

Joffrey blinked as he stopped his monologue, before laughing awkwardly and jumping away, somehow managing to not rustle even a page on the massive piles of books and trinkets around them.

"Thank you." Kavouri sighed, "Will there ever be a time when I make it to you unmolested?"

"Unlikely, the young ones are ever fonts of curiosity." he said as he led Kavouri through the piles of books.

Kavouri didn't like many servants, but Azulle was one of them. He had maimed, scared and even eaten several followers of Undettu before he met the relatively professional bird. He had the good sense to not badger Kavouri with endless questions and tirades, not that he didn't push it sometimes.

"So, I have come to understand that you have finally had your lucky break. You looking forward to hunting down your human?" Azelle asked as the last of the books faded away, replaced by lush green grass. The high servants of Undettu did not need mundane parchment to hold their knowledge.

"I look forward to the hunt, yes. Though I do admit my curiosity about what makes their world so special." He said as they approached Azulle's tree and its nest which held several interesting treasures.

The bird landed next to his nest, "I know you do and while I would love to chat about such interesting topics; you are not the only Servant I am meeting today." The bird said as he regarded the giant crab calmly.

Kavouri was surprised, this was even more brusque than usual," I need information about my target. I am willing to pay any one of these treasures," Kavouri said as his possessions emerged from his shadow as though coming to float in water.

Azulle did not even glance at them as his eyes glinted, "You will pay two." He stated

Anger rose in Kavouri quickly, "That's outrageous! Two treasures for info on a single human?!" he said as he snapped his claws angrily.

Azulle's gaze did not waver for a moment, "Yes, two treasures for a single human. A single human whom if you kill you will get to become a herald. Valuable information for a valuable prize."

Anger overwhelmed Kavouri for a moment and he lashed out at the tree, however there was a spark of blue light and his claw bounced back, "I need those to succeed on my mission."

"I know. However this information is highly valuable right now. I would be a fool to not leverage my advantage, but do not worry, I am demanding the same price from the others." Azulle said calmly.

Kavouri stilled at that. Others. Other servants who want information about the human. Immediately Kavouri's anger calmed as the implications hit him, "I will pay your price."

Only then did Azulle look at Kavouri's treasures pooled in shadow. He let out a thoughtful chirp before he waved his wing and suddenly his nest was full of treasures of his own. Strange curiosities from a skull, a book and even a strange set of teeth, "You will give me two items for the information. Beyond that I am willing to exchange these items for your treasures."

"What do they do?" Kavouri asked.

Azulle shook his head, "I will only tell you that they are likely to be useful for your mission."



A/N: Hey there. hope you enjoyed this chapter and thanks to the amazing wistways for her art! There is a two hour moratorium on this vote. Plan votes only.


Treasure in this quest grant specific abilities to the holder as well as serve as components for powerful Technique's.

Your Treasures to trade (Must choose at least two):

[] The Jaw of a Wendigo: Grants Kavouri the ability to alter his size, either shrinking to half his size or growing half his size.
[] Eye of a Witch: One time use. Will give Kavouri a vision of his death, allowing him to avoid it once.
[] The Antlers of a white stag: Allows Kavouri to automatically regenerate hp both in and outside of battle with no energy cost. When depleted will turn to dust. (Heals 5% of Kavouri's hp per round and deducts 5% of this items stamina). 45% item stamina.
[] A werewolf Fang: Grants a small bonus to combat ability.
[] The tongue of a liar: Grants a small bonus to deception rolls.
[] Jar of whispers: Allows Kavouri to whisper into the minds of others.

Azulle's Treasures (May pick one for every item of yours you choose past 2):
[] A strange Skull
[] A jar with a snake in it
[] A book bound by a chain
[] A strange metal ball
[] A cup
[] Dentures
[] A necklace
[] A set of keys
[] A Kaleidoscope

One misconception i'd like to clear is that all of the items the Azulle is offering will be useful on your quest. The effects may not be what you expect but they are all useful for you. Ex: you arent going to get bs effect like the dentures just giving you clean teeth.

Also the reason he isnt willing to tell what the items do/are for is because that information itself will give you an advantage over your competitors and azulle intends to remain unbiased. If you do not buy an item, be aware that your competitors might and whatever it does might get used against you. So there is an aspect of trading treasures for an advantage that you would not mind your competitors possibly getting a hold of.

Also feel free to ask questions to azulle. I will treat them as kavouri asking them and respond as though i am azulle.