This is an adventure detailing how Antonius' mother joined the Bronze Demons. It ended up growing to about 8000 words. Hopefully it ended up well. Feedback is always welcome.
@occipitallobe could this be added to my Fate for this turn if possible?
Eleanora
An AEE Omake
Nights start cold and dark
Long and difficult journeys
But they end in dawn
It was a familiar routine before a mission. The last rays of sunlight were falling and the three of us were sitting around a map as we were given the instructions from the boss.
"This is our target." The refined man with a jian attached to his belt and an ever-present smile was our Dage. None of us used our real names. Since he recruited us and was our only connection with our real boss, he'd taken to the term "Older Brother".
You glanced at the location. "That's a village in Bronze Demon territory. So far we've only gone after the Blood Cannibals, why the sudden switch?" You'd taken the name Arrow after your choice of weapon. You had a quiver at your belt, though your bow wasn't as immediately obvious.
Dage smiled apologetically. "It's not like he tells me all of his plans," He told you. "All I know is that we'll get paid if we take care of the Bronze Demon stationed there."
Hmm. The Bronze Demons had quite a breadth as far as skills went. "Do we have any information on their skills and tactics?" You glanced at the map and considered your options. Could you draw the cultivator out from the village? Unlikely if she was meant to be guarding it. This would be tricky if you wanted it done without hurting any villagers.
"Close combat with a spear," He replies, answering your question. "She's about my level of strength but her skill is probably better. If she's even half as good as they say she is then I'd have a hard time against her in melee."
You considered that as you idly traced the arrows on your quiver. Dage was stronger than you in terms of cultivation. Enough that you'd need prepared ground and you still might have to use resources you'd rather not. "So we'll need to get the drop on her somehow."
"Why don't we just go with the usual plan?" The third member of your group spoke up. Snake was casually sitting with his back to a tree. He hadn't even glanced at the map. Like his name suggested, he used poison though he used salamander venom from his bonded pet. It was wrapped around his neck and you suppressed the involuntary shudder that it always caused.
"That was necessary for the Blood Cannibals," You replied. "We don't need that here." Though technically the weakest of you, he was undoubtedly the most dangerous. His salamander could create venoms with specific properties to target different cultivators. Typically, he spread it as a mist which affected everyone without an antidote. It had been horribly effective against the blood path and made you incredibly wary around him.
"It'll still work," Snake said, shrugging. "Cover of night, she'd never see it coming. Sure, it might kill a few mortals but it's what happens when you are fighting demons."
"These aren't blood-path," You replied. "The point is not to hurt the villagers. Couldn't we deliver the poison using your darts?"
"I have darts like I have daggers," He answers. "Have you ever seen me use them?"
"About that," Dage added, cutting in. "That's the trickiest bit. Besides her skill, she's also known to have a defence against projectiles. It's almost certainly something she specifically trained for."
You frowned. "So an archer against someone specifically good against arrows?" Your clan had trained for experts who could counter archers but most of that training was reserved for higher cultivation levels. You never got the chance to learn that. "That complicates things."
"So poison mist then," Snake said, smirking. "Why mess with what works?"
"I didn't sign up for killing mortals," You replied, grimacing. Cultivators are meant to protect, not to hurt the weak.
Snake just smirked at you. "You didn't have that response against the Blood Cannibals."
"The Blood Cannibals were proper blood-path," You fired back. "Some of those times we didn't have a choice."
"You think these villagers have it any better?" He countered. "They've lived under a demon clan for generations. Some of them might even thank us for letting them die."
"The Golden Devils aren't blood-path," You repeated, realising that this wouldn't go anywhere."We've seen them fight for months now. Nothing we've seen shows that they mistreat their subjects."
Snake just laughed at that. "They are a Demonic Sect. Why would they be if they weren't demons?"
You grit your teeth but there isn't anything you could think to say to that. "We have no proof that they are as bad," You finally said, but it didn't matter. Snake had already taken your earlier silence as victory.
You glance at Dage and he just shrugs. "Do you have any better ideas?" He asks you and you force yourself to think. You'd gone along with the plan before, but only because sometimes it was only the genuinely best way. You didn't want that to be your first response.
Some arrows are more precious than others, but every arrow has it's worth.
Were these mortals worth risking your own neck? You took a deep breath. "Let me challenge her to a duel," You replied. It'd be tough, but you could maybe win even if it would leave you vulnerable. "You can keep watch and use the information to refine the mist even if I fail."
Snake just shrugs, probably already discounting your chances. Dage was looking more interested however.
"You're confident about this?" He asks, raising an eyebrow. You knew he suspected you had a trump card. It was one the reasons you were confident neither would attack you. You tried not to think of what would happen if you survived this thing. "What's your plan?"
Well, you know how you
might win if everything goes perfectly, but how do you convert that into a viable plan? "I have a technique that I'm confident would kill her," You finally say, thinking of the best way to deliver said technique. "I just need her in front of me."
"Interesting," Dage said, thinking it over. "While I have no doubt on your skills, aren't you most effective at a distance?" You didn't need to answer, you both knew it was true. "A better idea would be that
I challenge her to a duel and give you an opening to attack."
You frowned. That would actually be ideal. Hitting her without hitting him would be complicated but not anymore than hitting someone running up at you.You were still worried that it was him that suggested it. "Do you want me to attack her during a duel?" You ask him carefully.
"It's that or the poison mist." He replies, shrugging. You wondered if he actually thought you were worried about honor. Snake seemed to think so, given his eye-roll.
The question was: Why was he willing to challenge a cultivator he admits might be stronger than him while also putting himself in your line of sight? "Okay," You agree with trepidation. "How about we challenge her at dawn?"
"Why dawn?"
"It'll be dark enough to hide but bright enough to shoot," Plus, the villagers should be inside. You didn't want them getting caught up in the whole thing.
He nods and glances at Snake who shrugs. "I'll have enough time to prepare for the night."
As you begin to think about what you need to prepare, you also try to think of how to get out of the other complications your latest plan would cause.
|__________________________________________|
Moving at dawn gave you time to examine the village. You were trained to hide and to use your third eye so there wasn't any risk of getting caught. What you found was heartening to say the least. As far as you could tell, the mortals were quite well off. You were still in the same amount of trouble, but It made your decision seem more worth it.
The sun was starting to rise and you had secured a hiding place on a roof that would be shadowed for at least an hour after the duel started while still falling on the wide ground Dage had decided to use for his duel. There were houses beside it but you were certain their occupants were mostly asleep and were unlikely to come out for a battle between two experts.
You stretched your senses, feeling Dage's ki as it flared to draw in your quarry. You could feel the Bronze Demon expert make her way to meet him. As she approached, you made your preparations.
Many archers chose to eschew physical arrows and concentrate on arrows of pure qi whether through artifacts or techniques. It was easier to manage with increasing cultivation and material requirements. Your clan had embraced the opposite.
Channeling qi through special materials allowed you to bring out their inherent abilities. The variety of effects made up for the material problems. It was why you never seemed to carry a bow. Bangles of Imperial Jade adorned each of your hands and by simply focusing your qi, you could transform them into bows perfect for your needs.
You drew three arrows at once and held them between the closed knuckles of your shooting hand. You had trained from birth and at this point you could shoot all three instinctually. It was fast enough that it was as if you shot three arrows at once.
As the golden devil approached, Dage also prepared. He had drawn his jian and his smile turned into a cocky smirk. He pointed his sword at the enemy - a woman with red hair dressed in armor and armed with a spear - and then uttered a line you could
swear you had heard before. He was really getting into his character.
"Golden Devil villain!" He began with pomposity worthy of a young master. "Your extortion of this village ends now! I challenge you to a duel for your life and property! Refuse and what honor and Karma your wretched soul has is forfeit!"
"This village is under my protection and this territory is of my clan," The golden devil answers, taking a lunging stance with her spear at the ready. "Whatever game you want to play, do so elsewhere or suffer the consequences." Now that you were this close, you were certain. The devil was definitely stronger than Dage in raw power. Not enough to clearly give her victory but enough that the scales were weighed in her favor. With her rumoured skills on the other hand...
The chance of you ever winning a duel was sounding highly unlikely. You held your bow ready and lined up a shot as you observed her trying to convince him to leave here and while he replied in various insults. Dage was ensuring that she was in your line of sight but you weren't sure you were ready to shoot yet.
"So you shall not leave us be then?" The golden devil finally asks and you wait for the moment of her attack. She shakes her head and clenches her spear tighter. You ready yourself as well. You were taught to shoot as soon as your enemy moved in order to obscure your ki with their focus in the moment. "So be it then, face the wrath of Ariadne Taurus."
As soon as the words left her mouth, she moved. It was incredibly sudden and even your mind's eye lost her for a moment, leaving you blinking at the dust kicked up where she should have been. You cursed as you heard the clash of weapons and you felt the surge of ki that indicated Dage's defence. You had missed your chance.
Your eyes turned to the devil. She had bounded forward with the spear outstretched, landing on one leg with her body leaned forward to deliver a killing blow. Dage had somehow managed to stop that with the flat of his Jian but despite his confident smirk, you could sense the shock in his ki. He had underestimated her.
He pushed the spear aside with his off-hand and his Jian began to glow as he swung it towards her. The devil kicked off from the ground, twisting her body in the air to push the speartip forward while still dodging the strike. He was forced to move aside to dodge it and his blade swung harmlessly by. A slash of ki extended from it to but she was gone. His Thousand-Li Strike would have cut her if she had simply retreated.
The devil landed on her off-hand and redirected her momentum to jump back to her feet. You could see why it would be hard to hit her. Her movements were too agile and hard to predict. She shifted so quickly that it was hard to keep track of what she would do. You couldn't have hit her if it wasn't for Dage distracting her. You simply observed the battle as the two fought, waiting for an opening.
While the devil was definitely better, both were beginning to get used to each other's attacks and it was settling into that portion of the fight where a single moment could decide the victor. She was able to attack from far enough with her spear that Dage couldn't strike her with his blade yet she was also too agile to be hit by his qi attacks. Worse was that you were certain she was beginning to understand the limits of even that range and was relying on foot techniques to dance outside it after each attack.
Dage himself had a strong defence that she couldn't bypass without overcommitting to the strike. If it came down to who could last the longest, the devil would have been the likeliest to win. Dage's major advantage was your own presence, if you could somehow make an opening.
It didn't need to be a killing blow at this point, you realised. Just a distraction would be enough to cause major damage among the fighters. With that in mind, you decided to use a normal ki-charged arrow rather than your alpha-strike. The speed you could muster would be far more useful in this situation.
But then the battlefield changed. A battlecry rang out as a third fighter joined the melee and for a moment, you were bewildered. Even as your hands kept working from long training, your mind raced. Did she also have someone hiding away? You'd checked for allies.
Then you got a good look at the attacker and you realised what you were missing. You
had sensed him. You had just dismissed him because you didn't think a mortal would enter a duel between experts. You glanced at the other two fighters and though her face remained impassive, you felt the same horror you felt ripple across the spear-woman's qi.
It was the first time in the fight she had shown any emotion and you knew Dage had picked up on that too. You could feel the sense of victory that filled him in the moment his focus shifted to attack. Even as the mortal boy continued to run towards the duel unaware of the changes he had caused, Dage swung his sword to attack.
The golden devil moved to intercept, but you knew she'd be too slow. She had a moment to intercept but she'd wasted it in her shock. At this moment, she was slower than Dage's qi. They were the most vulnerable they had ever been in the duel, and you had only a second to make your decision.
Even as ki arced from Dage's Jian, you know what you needed to do. Three arrows fly from your bow one after another. The first is conductive silver. It strikes the wave of ki still leaving the sword and draws it into its path, grounding it harmlessly. The second arrow is tempered bronze to shatter the jian before it could cause another strike. The third arrow is cold iron meant to disrupt the flow of qi in a cultivator's body and to ensure the job is done.
But the third arrow doesn't hit. It catches on something in the air and shatters, it's qi discharging harmlessly with it's shards. Shock fills the battlefield as all of its occupants react to what happened. The village-boy finally stops his charge with the attack but the cultivators are already searching for you.
Dage's eyes find you first and for once you see no smile in that face. You can feel the rage quivering in his qi with a touch of fear and the rising promise of vengeance. Then a plume of smoke fills the street and you feel him vanish. An escape talisman?
Even as you process what happened, you feel the spearwoman take to the air as she rushes towards you. Your hands have already drawn the arrows you needed to hopefully disable her. But as you take aim, she spreads her hands like wings and stops her ascent. Then she pushes herself in a completely different direction and your arrows fly by harmlessly.
She soars over your head, her spear poised to strike as you bring your bow up to meet her. But you know that at this distance you'd be too late and you can only watch as she somehow activates a foot technique in mid-air and rushes towards you. The last thing you see is the butt of her spear moving towards your face.
|__________________________________________|
The first thing you noticed was the conspicuous lack of the Jade Bangles on your arms. From long practise, your mind reached for the connection between you and them. You sensed them just a distance away - possibly a few metres?
You opened your eyes and saw nothing. You could tell that wherever you were was bright, but you were blindfolded. While light made it to your eyes, you couldn't make out anything more. You tried to move but something stopped you from moving too much. You could move your head and adjust your body but your hands and legs were bound.
"I wouldn't do that if I was you," A female voice interrupted your thoughts. "I tried to be as gentle as possible with my threads, but they can still cut if you try to move with them."
Your mind then caught up to the events that had occurred and you realised you had been captured. A part of you noted that you had
failed to kill Dage but the rest of you pushed that aside for the moment.
You instead focused on yourself and noted that you weren't injured save for a headache. The condition of your qi told you that you were out for a few hours. The air was still and warm, so were you in a closed room? All of your weapons were also gone. They were probably with your Bangles, in another room?
You sighed and adjusted yourself to a seating position. Your head turned to where it would have if you were looking at Golden Devil. Though she had made no sound, you could sense her aura even suppressed. You couldn't tell what she was thinking but that made sense when you could barely read her in battle.
Still, with time to focus and your eyes blinded, you could follow the flow of her qi and at least make out her general posture. She was on what you think was a chair across from you while based on touch and elevation, you were in a bed. She had something else in her hands but her spear was still close, leaning on her chair. Her qi flowed into it even if she wasn't touching it - a more primitive version of your own bond with your bangles.
"If you are looking for your equipment, don't worry about them," The woman said, continuing when you didn't answer. "They're safe and secure. If you answer my questions, I will return them to you at a later point."
You considered your situation. Getting tied up and ending up in this situation wasn't exactly ideal but with Dage already against you, did you have any reason to keep quiet? "What do you know?" You ask her. "I'll tell you what I can."
"It's good that you're cooperative," She replied and you heard the sound of ink on paper. She was writing this down? "Why were you and your comrade attacking the town?"
So she did realise you had been trying to kill her. You'd had a faint hope that you could convince her otherwise, but with you being in the ideal position to snipe her that was probably hoping for too much.
"We weren't targeting the town, we were targeting you," You corrected her. "There are three of us - me the archer, Dage the swordsmen and Snake the poisoner. Now here's the part that's the most important. They are planning a second attack right after dark. Snake can create a poison mist and now that they know they can, they will almost certainly target the villagers to draw you out."
The cultivator froze and you noted her growing surprise with a little satisfaction. "Why-" She paused for a moment and you heard a breath. Her qi became hard to read again as she calmed down. "Why would I be targeted?"
"I have no idea," You admitted. You tried to shrug but the threads binding you caught your motion, preventing you. "Only Dage knew who the boss was and we never really knew his reasons."
"And you are certain I was the target?"
"Yes," You answered. Could you get in a question? "Is that surprising?"
A pause. "There are several reasons I specifically might be a target," She finally admitted. "Some worse than others. Only this 'Dage' knew who hired you?"
You nod, glad that the thread at least doesn't restrict your neck. "Are you prepared for the attack? You'll need to evacuate the townspeople at least."
"That will be taken care of," She replied, her voice distracted alongside the sound of ink on paper. "Are you willing to give me any information about your allies?"
"Former allies," You corrected her. You weren't sure if he knew you were alive but Dage would kill you if he found you. You sighed.
"Yes, that man seemed furious." She noted. "Why did you attack him? A falling out between you two?"
"Something like that, yeah." You didn't quite feel like going into the whole villagers mess with a stranger from a Demonic Sect.
There was an expectant pause but when you didn't answer she continued."Tell me about your allies then?"
"You've fought Dage. He's a good swordsman but he thinks he's cleverer than he is. There isn't really anything else to say about him. Snake is the one to watch out for. He's only as strong as me but he's a poisoner with a bonded Salamander. Envenomed mist and potentially weapons." You hesitated for a moment because you weren't sure how to phrase it. "He tends to design venoms specifically to target his opponents. So while there is no need to tell me, you should keep any specific weaknesses he could target in mind."
There is another pause as she considers your question. "I don't actually have any weaknesses like that. At least, I don't think so."
"What about standard defences against poison?" You asked, taking a different track. Your warning was given and she would hopefully keep it in mind.
"I have a few ways to make sure I don't ingest the poison," She answered. You thought back to your own battles with him and winced.
"It's a mist," You tell her. "Did you account for skin exposure?"
Another pause. "No, I didn't." There was the sound of her writing again. "Do you have any other suggestions?"
"Nothing directly useful," You try to think back to your own tactical considerations in case you needed to fight them. "Snake prefers to hide in his mist. Dage might go either way. Oh. While Snake
might have an antidote on him, Dage definitely will. Probably with extras."
"That's very useful, thank you." You heard the sound of her writing and you waited until she finished. This time it took a while and finally you broke the silence.
"I could help you," You told her hopefully. "If you untie me and give me my weapons, I can handle Snake myself."
The writing stopped and you waited until she replied. "I'm sorry but no," She finally answered. "You have been very helpful but you yourself admitted that you were a part of them. I couldn't trust you in battle."
You sighed. She sounded genuinely apologetic but that didn't help your situation. "I'll be targeted as well if they realise I'm alive," You inform her. "That way I could at least defend myself. Plus, you don't even know if you'll be even able to protect the villagers against two cultivators alone."
She sighed as well. "If you want me to consider working with you, I'll need to trust you. You'll need to at least tell me
why you had a falling out."
You grimace. "Fine. It was because they were willing to attack villagers to get to you and I wasn't okay with that."
"So you moved to save the boy who jumped into the fight?" She asked, surprised.
"I'd decided to attack him from the start," You told her. "But the boy was one of the reasons I chose to attack
then."
"Hmm." You weren't sure that she believed you but you had no idea what you could to convince her.
"Is he alright?" You finally asked her. He'd better be given the amount of trouble he put you in.
"He's fine," She replied. "Nothing worse than a bruised ego."
You blinked and then realised she probably couldn't see that. "Did you scold him?" You asked, smiling.
"Yes, and so did several of the villagers." You could hear the smile in her voice.
"I'm glad he's okay."
"I am too."
Ah. You hadn't meant to say that out loud. "Now will you let me help?" You asked her.
"Maybe," You heard her say and you held back a sigh. "I'll need more from you though. Have you seen the use of this snake's mist against mortals before?"
"We used it against the Blood Cannibal Sect," You replied, wondering where she was going with this. "We had no choice those times though."
"But you didn't protest then?" She pressed you. "You seem dedicated to this ideal but the kind of mist you speak of doesn't sound like one you can use in the middle of battle. It must have been something you planned."
Ah shit. "Yes, it was planned." You replied, frowning. "But it was necessary then and it isn't now."
There is a pause and she sighs. "It does sound like it was necessary then," She told you. "But I can't take the risk if you decided it would be necessary again."
"You are saying you can't trust me then." Your voice sounded resigned.
"I truly sympathise with your situation and I do believe you," She replies and you believe her from the way her qi quivers. That still doesn't help you much. "But I can't take the risk that you would hurt my charges. I have a responsibility to them."
"And what if you fail?" You ask her. "What happens if you die?"
"I have already sent for reinforcements," She answered. "I doubt they will arrive before the battle you claim will happen but they should secure both you and the villagers. I will leave them with a note personally vouching for you and detailing everything you said should the worse happen."
"And what if they defeat and move on to the villagers? I doubt any mortal evacuation will be fast enough to escape them."
"They will evacuate to here," She told you and you realised she meant the place you were currently in. "This village was once the home of a cultivator of our clan. He is gone now but he left this hiding place behind. They will never find you here unless they already know it's there."
You nod at that. It was well thought out, that much you could admit at least. "I suppose I have no choice but to wait here then."
"I am sorry about that," She replied. You sensed her get up but she didn't leave. Instead she just stood there for a moment. Then you sensed her hand reach towards your face and you forced yourself not to react to it as you felt her reach behind your head and free your blindfold.
The first thing you saw was locks of red hair devour your view as a woman with a strong face leaned close to you. As she pulled back, you got a look at the room itself. It was small and functional with walls of grey stone. There was a bed, a chair and a table. You were on the bed and right next to you stood the bronze devil.
"Are you letting me go?"
She shook her head. "At the very least, I think I can give you a bit more freedom." You watched curiously as she turned and left, grabbing her spear on the way out. Then she stopped once she was right outside the door. There was a room on the other side as well and you realised it was a corridor of rooms.
"What are you doing?" You ask her.
She stops there and turns back to you. Then she holds her fist towards you, her spear parallel to her hand and does a pulling motion with it. You feel your bindings loose and now that you know that they are there you can sense the subtle flow of qi that show the strings at her command.
You feel them spread and cling to the walls and door instead of you and you are sure now that you are trapped in the room rather than just the bed. "As long as you don't leave the room, you are free to do as you wish. My bindings may fail at some point if I die and if no one comes, you can leave." She frowned as she paused for a second. "What is your name?"
"Call me Arrow." You tell her, giving her the name you've gone by recently.
"I am Ariadne," She replied. "Best of luck to you, Arrow."
"You too, Ariadne."
She nods once and then leaves.
|__________________________________________|
As she leaves, you strain your senses to track her way out. She walks until she is near to your weapons and pauses for a moment likely checking on your things. Then she walks a bit more and
ascends until she disappears.
That was an important piece of information. You were underground and either due to depth or arrays, your sense of qi was dampened. If this place could block you, it would do the same to Dage and Snake. Still, you didn't intend to stay here as a prisoner.
You get up from the bed and take a moment to stretch your body. Moving again felt good and you took a moment to enjoy that before deciding how to proceed. The first thing you do is try to extend your hand through the door. Instead, you are forced to retract it as a small cut appears on your finger.
Right, you wouldn't be just walking out then. You extended your hand to around just where you were cut and you closed your eyes. You took a breath to focus and let your qi flow out of your body. It pooled at your fingertips and extended outwards.
Ariadne's threads were hard to sense unless she was actively manipulating them. You were fairly sure that they were what let her move as she did and the way she defended against ranged attacks. That was what must have stopped your arrow when you shot Dage.
Now that you had a chance to let your qi flow through them, you began to understand more of it. You were experienced with a variety of materials and you knew right away that it was some form of metal. It wasn't anything you had encountered before. Incredibly flexible, highly conductive to qi and highly responsive to her will. Even after she had left, it responded to her wish to keep you inside the room.
You had studied qi infusion since before you could remember. This would have stopped anyone else but subverting an impromptu array like this was second nature. With your weapons near-by and a breachable prison, you were confident you could be out of here in an hour at most. Your only worry was that the wire might break without you having a chance to study it.
But it takes more than an hour.
Her will is woven through the threads frustratingly well. You haven't actually seen anything with this strong of a connection to a cultivator. Your own bond with your Jade Bangles were similar but you had a train a long time to create that connection. This was just some string that she left behind.
Still, the time spent on subverting it helped you think and plan your next move. Though you didn't see them, periodically you sensed a group of individuals entering the hiding place. It was probably the villagers being hidden away from the coming battle. You didn't sense Ariadne herself and that made you wonder what she was setting up.
If she could set up this array to keep you bound, you wouldn't be surprised if she could win with the time she had to prepare. Still, Snake was always the wild card. What kind of venom had he made? At the very least, you were reasonably confident that the villagers would be safe and her reinforcements would likely scare Dage and Snake off of you even if they escaped. So your plan would be simple. Escape, retrieve your weapons and then just leave. Easy. You'd be gone before anyone noticed.
Finally, you were able to take control of the array keeping you inside and you were able to force the strings to wrap themselves into a ball. With them concentrated, you could finally see the bronze color it gained in the light. It was interesting and incredibly flexible. You would still prefer your Jade, but it could be a worthy replacement in a pinch. You hide the thread in your clothes and make your way out.
The outside is the hallway as you thought and you can see a ladder going up on one end. That must be the way out, you think to yourself. You could sense people in the other rooms and a part of you wished to check on them but you didn't know where you were and how much time you had. The first priority was securing your weapons.
The room right next to yours was exactly the same as yours had been. Your weapons lay on the table there and first you extended your senses to make sure that the room wasn't trapped. After you were sure that it wasn't, you cautiously entered.
The first thing you did was re-attach your Jade Bangles and transform it into a bow. It was relaxing to finally have it on you. You couldn't remember the last time you were separated from it. Then you added your Everlasting Quiver to your hip making sure that the arrows you had stored within it was present. Then you hid your dagger back into your clothes. You weren't very skilled with it, but it was a last resort. Finally, you turned your attention to the exit and started climbing your way back to the surface.
At the end of the ladder was a steel door with a locking mechanism. You took a deep breath and then cautiously opened it. There wasn't even a hint of poison mist. Good. You think you were still in the village, just in a hut though you didn't know which part.
You cautiously drew out an arrow and waved it through the air as you walked out. There - you felt the resistance of one of the threads you were now becoming familiar with.
She would have set up a trap near the entrance just in case.
You stepped into the hut proper while carefully avoiding any wires. Once you were finally out you closed the door behind you and you watched it blend into the floor. That was interesting. Finally you closed your eyes and surveyed the situation.
There it was. The tell-tale clash of qi that indicated a battle. You could sense the diffuse waves of poison and the flashes of qi that indicated melee techniques in use. You had taken too long and the battle had already begun.
You needed to get out of here. You drew an arrow of silver and extended it to one of the threads surrounding you. You had a better idea of how they worked and with silver to aid in drawing out their qi, manipulating them would be far easier.
As your own will extended through the metal, you encountered something you hadn't expected. The threads were as you had expected them but they had an additional source of qi that you hadn't expected. A chill went down your spine as you realised what had happened.
This was Snake's countermeasure. He had somehow managed to create a venom that infected the threads themselves and had turned them into a vector of infection. The only reason you weren't affected as well was because you remembered the threads were there and used your arrows to interact with them.
You gulped and extended your qi through the threads, carefully working around the poisonous qi infused into it. Your will extended and-
- Retreat, draw him into a trap. Let the threads do the work to limit the spread of poison. He has the antidote - just kill him and -
You were pushed out and then rather than a torrent of thoughts and images, you were greeted by a clear but distracted voice.
Who? You- How did you do that? It doesn't matter. Have you escaped?
You blink for a second, processing everything that just happened. Your technique somehow interacted with her own? What just happened? But she was right, it didn't matter.
I have. Do you need help? You were sure you would handle Snake if he wasn't expecting you.
Yes please. She replied.
Anything would be appreciated.
I'll take out the poisoner. Can you let me pass a roof within sight of your battle?
Done.
The threads around you shifted and you felt them be cut off from her will. As they began to loosen, you took the opportunity to twist them into coils for later use. They were poisoned so it wasn't ideal, but even that has its own use.
Then you walked out cautiously, avoiding any remaining threads and found that they were guiding you to the roof of the house you were in. They were that close? You could work with that.
|__________________________________________|
The town was empty of qi signatures this time and night had fallen. The darkness provided you with good cover to observe the situation before you decided what to do. The mist was heavy and covering the ground but that left the roofs you preferred free besides the rare poisoned string.
Do I want to run? You thought to yourself. That was the original plan but being caught up in the battle, it would be better to finish them off. You could always leave after the battle. You didn't think she'd be in any shape to stop you.
With that decided, you surveyed the situation. The mist worked to obscure your vision just as you in turn took cover in the darkness. Unfortunately for Snake, that wasn't an obstacle for you. Perhaps if he had prepared for you, he might have adjusted his mist better but as it was the inside of the mist was no different to your Mind's Eye than the outside.
You focused and you could sense Snake at the centre of the mist. You could sense Dage and Aridne clashing as well. It was clear that Ariadne was hampered by the poisons while Dage with his antidote could face her with impunity. The battle was definitely going in his favor. Snake was busy maintaining the mist but you knew that in a pinch he could be used to create a finishing blow. That was his back-up plan and it was your job to remove that advantage.
As you breathed in and focused your mind, you held a piece of your Jade Bangle and pulled. As you did, it transformed and extended into a full bow with you holding the string. You held the three arrows between your knuckles and attached one of them to the bow. You took a breath.
Release.
Three arrows flew towards your target, then you finished your breath and then your hand was filled once more. You had been hoping that he wouldn't sense your attack but you doubted you would have that luxury. So you made do with the rate of fire.
As expected, he sensed them and dodged them on instinct. But your Everlasting Quiver ensured that you had a vast supply of arrows. With the element of surprise gone, it would only take him just a little bit of breathing room to identify your direction and know where you were.
You had to defeat him in an instant while he was still moving. You closed your eyes, so as to focus your mind's eye upon him. You felt his movements as he dodged your first arrow and then the others and then more.
You had fought with him before. You knew how he moved and you could see his trajectory based on how he chose to dodge your attacks. You knew far better than he did in that moment where your arrows would land and based on his reaction you could predict where he would be most vulnerable.
There it was. Your hands didn't grasp for an arrow. Instead you drew upon the second bangle on your shooting arm and shaped it into what you needed.
You had studied many materials and what use they would have in battle. Silver was one of your favorites. It was more of a tool rather than a weapon. Cold Iron was also quite dangerous. It was useful against any warrior in Qi Condensation though its ability to disrupt qi became less useful once you gained the protection of a Dao.
But above them all your family prized Imperial Jade. It wasn't a conductor like silver nor a disrupter like iron. The Immortal Killer was hungry for qi and even a single touch caused it to drain chunks out of a cultivator's soul. You had worn your bangles since before you could walk. They were a part of you as much as your own hands. The very source of your technique came from the pain-staking effort required to work with a material that might kill you if you were to falter.
In times of need, you could use the Jade and qi it had drained from you to create a Jade Arrow that could hit with a force far greater than you were capable of alone. It could be replaced, but not any time soon. So when you decided to use a jade arrow, it had to be when you felt it was worth it. As you released the immortal-slaying arrow infused with your qi, you decided that it was. This wasn't a bad place to use it.
As you expected, the arrow was powerful. It's very release ensured that everyone in the battlefield would feel it. You were trained to see through it and you could sense both Snake and Dage turning to react to it. If either of them were hit, they would almost certainly be dead.
It was just the opening Ariadne needed. Even as you felt her prepare for a finishing strike, you felt a flash of power from Snake and you sensed his Salamander jump to the air. A life-saving treasure? You didn't know he had one, but it was no matter. You still had two more arrows in your hand.
The arc of the jade arrow was clear in your mind as you shot the first of your three arrows. It was iron, the disruptor and it hit not your enemy but the jade arrow itself. The Jade Arrow shattered as it's integrity was compromised. Hundreds of shards of Jade filled the battlefield and the qi contained in them spread as well. It was a technique meant to divide the power and strike multiple opponents.
As the power was spread among many tiny pieces of jade, the Salamander found itself stuck in it's previous arc. Then you drew your final arrow. Silver to give the qi a new path. Your third arrow flew between those shards, drawing them together into a second strike. Even as you sensed Ariadne deliver her finishing strike, you delivered yours.
|__________________________________________|
Somehow despite being poisoned and outnumbered, Ariadne still had the presence of mind to capture Dage alive. He was bound in her threads as she took shelter from the slowly fading mist at what you considered your rooftop. You noted that she hadn't mentioned your escape or tried to recapture you. You realised you didn't feel the need to get away either.
"You are quite a bit more powerful than you seem," Ariadne complemented you as she drank an antidote and passed you one as well. "I think you might have managed to kill me if you had truly decided to."
You glanced at the antidote for a moment before swallowing it. Better safe than sorry. "It was a one time thing. I probably won't be able to do that again for a while." If ever. Imperial Jade wasn't the most common material to find.
"Thank you for that then." She replied and for a moment you both looked at the sky. "What are you planning to do next?"
"I don't know," You told her. "I'll probably just keep wandering."
"I'll vouch for you with my clan if you want to stay in the area. Just don't attack any of our villages."
You shrug. "I won't. I only did that to survive. I don't think I want to do something like that anymore."
"We hire auxiliaries at our clan - people who aren't of our clan but still work with us," She told you. "You would be welcome here for as long as you wish."
"Maybe," That did sound appealing. Not having to go from job to job and having a place to rest. "Ariadne. That's what you said your name was, right?"
"Ariadne Taurus," She replied. "That last one is my family name."
"My name isn't really Arrow," You told her. "That's just a name I went by with that particular group."
"Then what is your real name then?" You thought back to your clan. It had been so long since you had used your real name. It felt like a lifetime ago.
You look up at the rising sun as you recall it. It felt like you hadn't used it in ages. "My mother named me Mingmei," You tell her. "There is more of course. My clan was very particular about their lineage but that doesn't seem to matter anymore."
"Hello, Mingmei." She told you and you looked at her. She was smiling. "It is nice to finally meet you."
You sigh. "It doesn't seem mine anymore. It's the name of someone from another life."
"How about a new name then?" You looked at her and she shrugged. "We chose our names in my family. I named myself after our greatest ancestor."
"I wouldn't know where to start."
"Think of something that you like. It can be anything. You can then pick a name that reminds you of that."
You glanced at the sky and noticed the sun peeking out. The way its rays broke the night was beautiful. "What about something to do with the sun?"
She followed your gaze and took a moment to think. "What about Eleanora? It means sun rays in the language of my people."
"Eleanora." You said out loud, trying it out. You didn't like it. "I guess that's as good as any other."
"Then welcome to the Optimatoi, Eleanora." Ariadne added. "We're glad to have you."
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