Oil and Bone
- Location
- The Star Kingdom of Manticore
Future Days: Bone and Oil
Halfway up the outer sect mountain was a ravine. Spiders, from finger to human sized, crawled along the clefts and ridges in the ravine, their webs making a maze of ever increasing complexity. Past the spiders and past the silk maze lay a cleft in the rock. It was just large enough to squeeze through. That alone wasn't what made it interesting. No, what made the cleft interesting was the fact that it breathed. In and out. A mouth, or perhaps a nostril, of some slumbering beast. Dust, pebbles, and even small rodents lucky enough to avoid the spiders would disappear into the cleft when the wind breathed in. When wind left the cleft, nothing else did..
Stepping to the side, away from the eddies caused by shifting wind, Lin Huani shrugged off her pack and double checked her equipment. Pill case, check. Rope, check. Knife, check. Flammable oils, check. Food, check. Flint and steel, check. Water, check. Laying the pack to the side she peeled off her armor and double checked her formations.
It was her pride and joy. Boiled leather fashioned from black steel bear hide. It had taken six hunts hunting and haggling to gain enough hide. Once all the pieces were in her workshop came the real challenge. Making the leather into something more. Nights using heavy steel needles to punch through leather. Nights weaving string from bear sinew and dying them blue using crushed mountain poppy blurred in her memory. Yet, the work had paid off. The armor thrummed with power. Contained by her work. It was no masterpiece, like the ones on display from older disciples, but it was hers. And it was wonderful. Several fellow disciples even discussed commissions when, in a rare mood, she had shown off her work. Traditionally stationary formations being modified to work with armor was apparently worth such discussions.
It had taken long hours, and reams of paper, to turn those alarm formations into something useful. It had worked in the end, despite conditions. The armor had to be still for the formation to work, but then qi would move out in a ring around the armor. If the ring encountered anything living it would break, alerting the user. It gave a direction and since the qi only moved so fast, practice allowed the wearer to know where the ring was broken. Best used alone, she had never gotten it to ignore friends before the leather was ready, it was still the best formation she had created.
Once the leather was checked for stress, cracks, or anything else Lin Huani pulled it back on. She didn't know what was down in these caves, but she finally felt ready. Months of training had culminated in this. When the wind turned, withdrawing into the depths, Lin Huani followed. Into oily blackness.
The ball of qi floating above Lin Huani's hand attempted its best to push back the blackness of the cavern. Dim shapes crept into sight as Lin Huani walked along. Jagged tooth-like pillars rose from the floor and descended from the ceiling. They looked slick under the feeble light. Covered in oil or some black mucus. Her skin crawled when she approached them. They were wrong, how Lin Huani didn't know. Perhaps it was the way the pillars were more oil than stone, perhaps it was how they seemed to twist away from even the feeblest light. Whatever it was she resolved to try and stay away from them.
Lin Huani didn't know how long it was before she noticed. The pitch blackness around her oasis of light stole all sense of time. Had it been a minute? An hour? Longer? Yet, now when she took a step a faint sound echoed it. Skittering, soft and spider-like. She doused her light and triggered her armor's formation. Silence descended with the darkness. Her heart pounded and wind passed over her. Even the slight pressure of the breeze made her arm twitch. One second passed. Two seconds. Three seconds. Nothing. No alarm. No break in the qi. Was the noise just caused by wind moving back and forth in this cavern? Light flickered over her palm. Something skittered behind her. Close. Lin Huani looked over her shoulder. She screamed.
Perched atop one of the oily pillars was a nightmare. Covered by bone with six legs and two arms. Its spine curved unnaturally so above the waist it looked like a human, and below, where six legs twitched, bent flat, as a snake's. Its arms were short uneven stubs as if something had broken its forearms in half. Its face was carved. Elegant, graceful, womanly features ruined by black oily tears running from empty eyes. The nightmare even wore clothing, rich funeral wear, much like Lin Huani's mother had worn before being given to the spirits. Yet, the clothing was ragged. Torn and ripped. Stained black. Its face swiveled, staring straight at Lin Hauni. Its mouth opened, twice as far as a human's mouth could. Black oil dripped from the maw, staining clothes even more and adding oil to the pillar it balanced on. It screamed back. A horrible gurgling croaking sound that sprayed black oil.
Time froze. Each instant a frame that stuttered forward. Lin Hauni was grateful of training herself to the point of triggering Clockmaker's Repose with instinct. The art didn't actually freeze time, it just increased speed of thought so that the world looked frozen. Useful when working on formations, or getting ambushed. Left of her was an open area, at least hopefully. There were no pillars visible. More could be hiding in the darkness, but if this thing was using the pillars she wanted to fight it in a more open area. She would have liked more time to think, yet that was locked behind further levels of the art. This brief instant of thought would have to be enough.
Lin Hauni stumbled before turning and running. Behind her the creature abandoned all pretense of stealth and it skittered down the pillar. She should have realized the problem with her formations before. It expanded in a ring, it didn't expand in a sphere. Anything that flew or skittered above wouldn't be detected. She rolled sideways when she heard the skittering stop.
The creature slammed into the ground where she had been, its arms piercing the ground like spears. Dust erupted from the impact, buffeting Lin Hauni as she finished her roll by throwing a flask. The glass shattered, Lin Hauni twisted her arm and qi. Flames raced before her. The cavern lit up and the beast roared as flames licked oil, hungry and destructive. The visage of bone, now aflame, turned towards her, its roar overpowering the popping of flame and bone.
Lin Hauni threw her orb of light up and twisted her qi. The small battlefield now illuminated, by flame and light, and both hands free she studied the ground. No pillars were nearby for the creature to jump to. No pits that could be stumbled into. Smooth stone. As good as she would get. The monster lunged. Hands snapped into defensive posture. Bone wreathed spear batted away. Counter. Reset.
Lin Hauni shook her hand for a moment to get the pins and needles out. Even with Steel's Endurance active striking the beast stung. The creature circled warily. Cracks spread in spiderwebs from where she hit and flames began to crawl into the bones. If she could just endure the flames would eat away until she won. The monster screamed again, that same horrible gurgling sound. Cracks split further open and black oil seeped out. It spread over the creature extinguishing flames before it dripped down and pooled. Dust that plan. The hard way then.
Lin Hauni's feet twisted into a stance. The beast tilted its mockery of a head. Then it rushed high, spine popping as it lengthened. Bone spears glistened with oil above Lin Hauni in the light of her orb. Her skin darkened to dull iron. As the beast descended she shoulder checked it. Bones cracked and snapped as beasts screamed, enraged. While the beast folded over her, its bone spears pierced the ground behind her, nicking her heel. Lin Hauni bit back a scream. It burned. It burned in a way that she thought impossible. Like fire and maggots working together to eat her flesh.
Pain fueled her and she struck the beast again. Right where it had folded over her shoulder. A sickening break and more screams rewarded her. The monster twisted on her shoulder trying to gain leverage to use its spears, but Lin Huani shoved it off and jumped away. Metal flaked behind her as she cancelled her art. The landing was bad. Her heel flared with pain and twisted under her weight. A controlled roll turned into a skid. After she stopped, Lin Huani flipped onto her stomach to look at the creature.
It was pitiful now. Its clothing had burned away and its bones were cracked open. It was also only half a creature now. She had struck it three times in the same spot. Enough to break it in half. Its serpent half lay off to the side, still and lifeless. Crawling towards her, using its bone spears to pierce the ground and drag itself, was the human half. Yet, still it screamed.
"Please shut up." Lin Huani said as she stumbled to her feet. It took three steps to enter the range of the monster. It jabbed forward with one spear. She caught it in her arms. A twist and bone broke, fire having weakened it. The beast was helpless now. It tried to use its other spear to strike her, but that just caused it to fall down. A quick kick broke the other spear leaving it screaming into stone. From there Lin Huani stomped on it until the cavern descended into silence. Several more stomps just to make sure left Lin Huani's boot covered in black oil and shattered bones scattered around the clearing.
Once everything was still again, Lin Huani peeled away her other boot and looked at the wound the monster had left her. Already red and swollen, poking at it caused black oil to leak from the cut. She cursed. Had being struck by that beast caused that oil to get in her? Was that causing the terrible, painful, sensations in her heel? She grimaced before pressing the sides of the wound. Black oil mixed with blood spurted out of the cut creating a small pool next to her foot. It reeked, like rotting meat. Could the oil rot away flesh? She hoped not. She didn't have enough saved up for a visit to the medicine hall. Lin Huani kept pressing the wound, squeezing it through the pain, until only clean blood flowed out of it. Then she bandaged it and took some pills for stamina and qi. Hopefully that would be enough.
She looked over the scattered bones of the beast. What kind of creature was this? Nothing in the tales her great grandpa shared with her talked about anything like this. Some kind of wraith maybe? Would the sect even allow that? Letting the dead get restless enough to serve as a trial seemed a bit much. Lin Huani didn't consider herself over religious, but still. Dead things should stay dead. She shrugged off her pack, removed an empty flask and filled it with the oil substance the creature had secreted. Whatever this was, she had never seen it before. Perhaps it was useful. After putting the filled flask away, in a separate pouch to prevent any contamination, she studied the bones. A glint of light had caught her eye. Where was it? There!
On the bone were small characters. Smaller than any Lin Huani had seen before. She twisted it around. Yes. The characters would have been on the inside of the bone. Someone had opened up these bones, written characters on the inside and then somehow sealed them again. The characters were strange though. Nonsensical. Unless...
Lin Huani gathered several more bone pieces and brought her orb of light closer. They would have lined up like this. The cracks were unfortunate as they often removed characters. Yet, enough remained to get a clear picture. These were formations! This wasn't a creature after all. This was some kind of puppet. Here! These characters controlled the flow of energy. The rest of the characters were ruined or disjointed. But these were clearly meant to move energy around this part of the puppet.
Lin Huani dug out her notebook from her pack. Just these formations would make the trial worth it. It took almost thirty minutes to copy down the formations. She also copied down the more incomplete characters, just in case she could find a match in the archives. With these she could push the very limits of qi efficiency in her work. This saved her months of trial and error!
With lighter steps Lin Huani moved away from the battlefield and continued walking into the blackness.
Lin Huani didn't know how much time she had spent walking. Her mind was focused on the improvements she could make to her projects with the new formations. An iron door changed that. Covered in swirling formations it glowed a dull grey as Lin Huani approached. In the middle of the door was an indented hand print. She peered at the formations covering the door, but they were too small to make out. Making a couple of rubbings would have to do. Perhaps something could be gained from them later. A few rough strokes of charcoal got her a new scroll to study. Then, with a deep breath, Lin Huani put her hand on the door.
Stars. That was Lin Huani's first thought as the door split open. Above her white spots dangled. Stars though didn't pull black oil up to them, they didn't squirm as something inside tried to escape. The air reeked. Worse than a midden heap. Worse than breaking through to silver. She crouched by the opened door and dry heaved. This was a bit much, right? How could there even be so much oil and filth? A path stretched past the door, above a lake of oil. Congealed clumps of, something, floated in the lake. They bobbed with strange serenity. How many sacks were there? What was in them? Lin Huani didn't know if she wanted those answers. She pulsed her armor once. Nothing. Alright, then she just needed to keep her eyes up. Step by step she walked the path. Around her the lake popped and hissed, and something stirred the fluids below her. It was long, it took several seconds after the spikes breached the liquid for it to sink back down again. Each time it happened Lin Huani paused and held her breath. Whatever it was, it was far too much for her to handle. Best to avoid attention.
It took almost ten minutes of stuttered walking before the path changed. It split in two. One path went upwards, the other down. The path that went up glinted, coins laid abandoned. Specks of red looked like spirit stone fragments. Whatever laid on that path was going to be a treasure for sure. The thought settled heavy in Lin Huani's mind. Even a spirit stone or two would help. She really did need to start a health fund, spending stones as she got them wasn't the best plan. The downwards path though, Lin Huani shifted slightly away from it, that was where the screaming came from.
She had noticed the screaming about halfway in her walk. It started low, incomprehensible. Even now it was louder, but it had no words, it just sounded like the cries of some wild beast. No point in getting into unnecessary fights. There was treasure to be had! The first step on the upward path made Lin Huani pause. They had gotten clearer, was a message hidden in the screams? It still sounded like a wild beast, but meaning seemed to hover at the edge of the sound. A second step forward. The screams were algining into a message. The third step made it clear. The screams were distorted, beastly and wild, but it was clear someone was crying for help.
"Shit." Lin Huani said, before turning around and dashed. Thoughts of treasure, so heavy in her mind, vanished like summer fog. The lake of black oil hissed and popped furiously as she reached the fork in the path. Turning towards the screams caused her to skid towards the edge, but a twist of qi gave her traction on the stone and she hurdled downwards. In the corner of her vision a bone serpent rose from the now boiling lake. It dripped steaming black oil as it screamed at her. She ignored it. She wasn't going to let someone die. Not again.
The room she ran into was a large circle. The door was just big enough for her, so she didn't need to worry about the bone serpent outside, at least for now. The ground was a smooth black sand. But, the half finished sacks on the opposite side of the wall was what drew her attention. Three sacks laid half finished, the third sack however wasn't quite completed. Someone had been encased in silk. The man was dressed in an Argent Sect disciple's robe. His eyes widened as he saw her.
"Thank the spirits you heard me! Hurry! Before those beasts come back!"
"Any advice, if in theory, those beasts were already back?"
Two imposing figures stalked into the room. They looked like some horrific mixture of boars and man crafted from bone. Their head was set low, jutting out of their chest. Wicked serrated tusks curved away from their form. One held a shield with both hands. The other, a wooden staff capped with bronze.
The fellow Argent disciple tried to twist his head, but silk dragged his head back. "I managed to kill one by snapping their neck. Nothing else seemed to do anything to them."
Sound built around the creatures, or puppets, as they turned towards her. A staff ripped the air apart with its quick motions and the shield bashed into the face of their prisoner silencing him. As his head slumped forward, blood running down from a shattered nose, Lin Huani watched as the two arrayed themselves against her. Her mind whirred. She needed to end this fast, that was a serious blow to her fellow disciple. Each second she wasted with these things was a second his condition could get worse. She settled into her stance, skin darkening to iron, and her breathing slowed into a steady rhythm.
The staff wielder was the first target. Lin Huani burst forth, sand exploding behind her. The creatures were fast and the shield caught her fist. The bell-like gong from the strike had barely started by the time Lin Huani dropped into a leg sweep. A second gong resounded as the shield matched her speed. She twisted left, letting the bronze capped staff shower her with sand. Spinning away from the shield she tried to get her other foot past its bulk. The creature just shoved, sending her tumbling through the black sand.
Lin Huani spat out black specks of sand as she reset. "Plan B then." She dashed towards the shield bearing beast before skidding to a stop and hopping several paces back. The beast holding the staff had stepped forward to intercept. "Puppets then. Back to Plan A." Dashing towards the puppet holding the shield she twisted midway to meet the staff wielding puppet head on. Her forearm blocked the staff's first swing. She countered by grabbing one tusk with a stone covered fist. Then she slid under the puppet to avoid the charge from the other puppet. Cracks and pops echoed as she dragged the puppet's skull with her. Thankfully it seemed these puppets needed their heads. As the first puppet collapsed into the sand, Lin Huani reset again. "Alright. Not too hard." The remaining puppet paused before walking over to its fallen partner. It shifted its shield to one hand, reached down and picked up the staff. "Really? Shit."
The following fight was tough. Tougher than anything Lin Huani had done before. The puppet seemed to move twice as fast as before, and wielded its new weapon with as much skill as its first. Even when she managed to break through its guard and crack bone, sparking qi would leap about the puppet's body sealing any cracks. It was her rope that let her make progress. It fell out of the pack after a hit ripped it off her. It trailed behind her as she dashed away, and instead of pursuing, like it had done before, the puppet attacked the rope. A few more tests confirmed it. The puppet attacked the closest thing that moved. No matter how threatening, or non threatening. It only took a couple more engagements for Lin Huani to flank the puppet as it was busy smashing her poor rope. Jumping on its back and twisting the puppet's head finished the distracted beast off. Once the puppet fell still she moved toward her first goal.
The boy wasn't breathing. Lin Huani sliced the silk away and lowered the boy to the sand. Blood had stained the front of his robes, but that didn't stop her from tearing them open and listening for a beating heart. There wasn't one. No. She refused. She wouldn't let some else die. This boy wouldn't die because she wasn't good enough. He wouldn't. She tore open her pack and grabbed her pill case. It was stained black from the oils that leaked out of her broken flasks, but she didn't care about that now. Four pills gleamed under the sullen light of the cavern. One stamina pill, two qi replenishing pills, and one pill meant to repair wounds. Two months of hard work to get enough spirit stones for the pill. The merchant had promised her miracles when it was purchased. Being brought back from near death was one of those promised. Now she just hoped it was true.
Stuffing a qi, stamina, and her health pill into the boy's mouth she poured water in after and started to gently rub the throat. Lin Huani ignored the tears that fell. Ignored the creeping memories, Ignored how cold the boy felt, cold like her mother's hands. No, this time would be different. It had to be different. What was the point of being an immortal if people died around her? Even as her eyes blurred, Lin Huani kept rubbing the boy's throat, forcing pills down.
Lin Huani didn't know how long she knelt beside the boy. It didn't matter to her. Yet a hand on her shoulder drew her away from her vigil. Though tears casted the world into the depths of a river, Lin Huani recognized the person beside her. Elder Li, the elder that had welcomed new disciples months ago.
"I'm sorry Elder," Lin Huani croaked, "I wasn't good enough."
"You did fine." Elder Li responded. "I could have done this at any time, but I didn't think you would have liked the shock." She snapped her fingers. The boy's skin darkened to ivory, eyes disappeared, and the mouth closed. Now the boy resembled a large doll more than any living thing.
"Wha… What?"
"It was a puppet." Elder Li stood back up. "These puppets mimic human life and are useful for training certain medical arts."
Lin Huani remained kneeling beside the puppet. "So it was a waste then? Those pills I used?"
"Yes." Elder Li said. "Those pills had no effect and can't be reclaimed, but it is never a waste to care for fellow humans."
Lin Huani's knees shook as she stood up. "What do you mean?"
"You showed an impressive amount of concern for your fellow human. It is often difficult to find cultivators with virtues, so I am happy to have found you."
"I… I am honored to have the attention of an Elder."
"There is another test beyond this one, but I have seen enough and I think you have had your fill of trials today. Here." A silver disk flipped through the air before impacting Lin Huani's chest.
Lin Huani staggered backwards under the impact. Steadying herself she looked down at the disk. It shifted, as if currents of silver were winding their way through the disk.
"Show that to the medical hall tomorrow." Elder Li commanded. "Then you will have one month of training under me. And here." From the ceiling a puppet crept down a silk line. From its mandibles it spat out oil. Sand writhed where the oil landed, and a gleaming box of wood took shape from the twisting sands. "Consider this a gift. You gave up pills with no expectation of return, so here are some pills to make up for the loss. I will see you tomorrow." With that the elder twisted, vanishing into the air, leaving only a remnant of her presence, the silver disk, a pill case, and a lingering scent of blood.
Lin Huani staggered backwards before falling down onto the sand. Her hands shook as she held herself tight. Why had the Elder let her believe that an actual person, not some mimic doll, was in danger? Were all Elders so calloused like that? To just make her suffer? She took a shuddering breath. It didn't matter. She had impressed the elder. Somehow. She could just take what the elder offered. Improve her designs, improve her cultivation, and should she reach such heights one day, she would never be so callous. Yes. Learn from what was useful, get rid of the rest. That had taken her this far.
With her heart calming down, Lin Huani set about getting everything set. Her pack had been almost ruined. It had blocked several blows, but those blows had shattered her flasks and vials. Everything was covered in oils. It would take time to clean everything up. For now, she arranged the surviving pieces of her gear as best she could. Then she opened the pill case. What had the elder given her? The lingering smell of blood was crushed by the scent of lightning and steel. Nine pills were held by the case. Two qi restoration pills, two stamina pills, two health pills, and then three pills colored bronze ringed with bands of bright grey. Iron Peak pills, was what the note attached to the top of the case said, useful for those that pursued lightning and metal arts. They eased the flow of such qi as well as invigorated the body making physical cultivation easier. Yes, Lin Huani thought, she could work with these.
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A.N
@yrsillar Omake for the Omake throne.
Part of what I am trying to do during these times is become a better writer. This piece was my first foray into actually editing something. Any tips, tricks, or comments on how poorly I did that process would be helpful. Thank you for taking the time to read this piece!
Halfway up the outer sect mountain was a ravine. Spiders, from finger to human sized, crawled along the clefts and ridges in the ravine, their webs making a maze of ever increasing complexity. Past the spiders and past the silk maze lay a cleft in the rock. It was just large enough to squeeze through. That alone wasn't what made it interesting. No, what made the cleft interesting was the fact that it breathed. In and out. A mouth, or perhaps a nostril, of some slumbering beast. Dust, pebbles, and even small rodents lucky enough to avoid the spiders would disappear into the cleft when the wind breathed in. When wind left the cleft, nothing else did..
Stepping to the side, away from the eddies caused by shifting wind, Lin Huani shrugged off her pack and double checked her equipment. Pill case, check. Rope, check. Knife, check. Flammable oils, check. Food, check. Flint and steel, check. Water, check. Laying the pack to the side she peeled off her armor and double checked her formations.
It was her pride and joy. Boiled leather fashioned from black steel bear hide. It had taken six hunts hunting and haggling to gain enough hide. Once all the pieces were in her workshop came the real challenge. Making the leather into something more. Nights using heavy steel needles to punch through leather. Nights weaving string from bear sinew and dying them blue using crushed mountain poppy blurred in her memory. Yet, the work had paid off. The armor thrummed with power. Contained by her work. It was no masterpiece, like the ones on display from older disciples, but it was hers. And it was wonderful. Several fellow disciples even discussed commissions when, in a rare mood, she had shown off her work. Traditionally stationary formations being modified to work with armor was apparently worth such discussions.
It had taken long hours, and reams of paper, to turn those alarm formations into something useful. It had worked in the end, despite conditions. The armor had to be still for the formation to work, but then qi would move out in a ring around the armor. If the ring encountered anything living it would break, alerting the user. It gave a direction and since the qi only moved so fast, practice allowed the wearer to know where the ring was broken. Best used alone, she had never gotten it to ignore friends before the leather was ready, it was still the best formation she had created.
Once the leather was checked for stress, cracks, or anything else Lin Huani pulled it back on. She didn't know what was down in these caves, but she finally felt ready. Months of training had culminated in this. When the wind turned, withdrawing into the depths, Lin Huani followed. Into oily blackness.
The ball of qi floating above Lin Huani's hand attempted its best to push back the blackness of the cavern. Dim shapes crept into sight as Lin Huani walked along. Jagged tooth-like pillars rose from the floor and descended from the ceiling. They looked slick under the feeble light. Covered in oil or some black mucus. Her skin crawled when she approached them. They were wrong, how Lin Huani didn't know. Perhaps it was the way the pillars were more oil than stone, perhaps it was how they seemed to twist away from even the feeblest light. Whatever it was she resolved to try and stay away from them.
Lin Huani didn't know how long it was before she noticed. The pitch blackness around her oasis of light stole all sense of time. Had it been a minute? An hour? Longer? Yet, now when she took a step a faint sound echoed it. Skittering, soft and spider-like. She doused her light and triggered her armor's formation. Silence descended with the darkness. Her heart pounded and wind passed over her. Even the slight pressure of the breeze made her arm twitch. One second passed. Two seconds. Three seconds. Nothing. No alarm. No break in the qi. Was the noise just caused by wind moving back and forth in this cavern? Light flickered over her palm. Something skittered behind her. Close. Lin Huani looked over her shoulder. She screamed.
Perched atop one of the oily pillars was a nightmare. Covered by bone with six legs and two arms. Its spine curved unnaturally so above the waist it looked like a human, and below, where six legs twitched, bent flat, as a snake's. Its arms were short uneven stubs as if something had broken its forearms in half. Its face was carved. Elegant, graceful, womanly features ruined by black oily tears running from empty eyes. The nightmare even wore clothing, rich funeral wear, much like Lin Huani's mother had worn before being given to the spirits. Yet, the clothing was ragged. Torn and ripped. Stained black. Its face swiveled, staring straight at Lin Hauni. Its mouth opened, twice as far as a human's mouth could. Black oil dripped from the maw, staining clothes even more and adding oil to the pillar it balanced on. It screamed back. A horrible gurgling croaking sound that sprayed black oil.
Time froze. Each instant a frame that stuttered forward. Lin Hauni was grateful of training herself to the point of triggering Clockmaker's Repose with instinct. The art didn't actually freeze time, it just increased speed of thought so that the world looked frozen. Useful when working on formations, or getting ambushed. Left of her was an open area, at least hopefully. There were no pillars visible. More could be hiding in the darkness, but if this thing was using the pillars she wanted to fight it in a more open area. She would have liked more time to think, yet that was locked behind further levels of the art. This brief instant of thought would have to be enough.
Lin Hauni stumbled before turning and running. Behind her the creature abandoned all pretense of stealth and it skittered down the pillar. She should have realized the problem with her formations before. It expanded in a ring, it didn't expand in a sphere. Anything that flew or skittered above wouldn't be detected. She rolled sideways when she heard the skittering stop.
The creature slammed into the ground where she had been, its arms piercing the ground like spears. Dust erupted from the impact, buffeting Lin Hauni as she finished her roll by throwing a flask. The glass shattered, Lin Hauni twisted her arm and qi. Flames raced before her. The cavern lit up and the beast roared as flames licked oil, hungry and destructive. The visage of bone, now aflame, turned towards her, its roar overpowering the popping of flame and bone.
Lin Hauni threw her orb of light up and twisted her qi. The small battlefield now illuminated, by flame and light, and both hands free she studied the ground. No pillars were nearby for the creature to jump to. No pits that could be stumbled into. Smooth stone. As good as she would get. The monster lunged. Hands snapped into defensive posture. Bone wreathed spear batted away. Counter. Reset.
Lin Hauni shook her hand for a moment to get the pins and needles out. Even with Steel's Endurance active striking the beast stung. The creature circled warily. Cracks spread in spiderwebs from where she hit and flames began to crawl into the bones. If she could just endure the flames would eat away until she won. The monster screamed again, that same horrible gurgling sound. Cracks split further open and black oil seeped out. It spread over the creature extinguishing flames before it dripped down and pooled. Dust that plan. The hard way then.
Lin Hauni's feet twisted into a stance. The beast tilted its mockery of a head. Then it rushed high, spine popping as it lengthened. Bone spears glistened with oil above Lin Hauni in the light of her orb. Her skin darkened to dull iron. As the beast descended she shoulder checked it. Bones cracked and snapped as beasts screamed, enraged. While the beast folded over her, its bone spears pierced the ground behind her, nicking her heel. Lin Hauni bit back a scream. It burned. It burned in a way that she thought impossible. Like fire and maggots working together to eat her flesh.
Pain fueled her and she struck the beast again. Right where it had folded over her shoulder. A sickening break and more screams rewarded her. The monster twisted on her shoulder trying to gain leverage to use its spears, but Lin Huani shoved it off and jumped away. Metal flaked behind her as she cancelled her art. The landing was bad. Her heel flared with pain and twisted under her weight. A controlled roll turned into a skid. After she stopped, Lin Huani flipped onto her stomach to look at the creature.
It was pitiful now. Its clothing had burned away and its bones were cracked open. It was also only half a creature now. She had struck it three times in the same spot. Enough to break it in half. Its serpent half lay off to the side, still and lifeless. Crawling towards her, using its bone spears to pierce the ground and drag itself, was the human half. Yet, still it screamed.
"Please shut up." Lin Huani said as she stumbled to her feet. It took three steps to enter the range of the monster. It jabbed forward with one spear. She caught it in her arms. A twist and bone broke, fire having weakened it. The beast was helpless now. It tried to use its other spear to strike her, but that just caused it to fall down. A quick kick broke the other spear leaving it screaming into stone. From there Lin Huani stomped on it until the cavern descended into silence. Several more stomps just to make sure left Lin Huani's boot covered in black oil and shattered bones scattered around the clearing.
Once everything was still again, Lin Huani peeled away her other boot and looked at the wound the monster had left her. Already red and swollen, poking at it caused black oil to leak from the cut. She cursed. Had being struck by that beast caused that oil to get in her? Was that causing the terrible, painful, sensations in her heel? She grimaced before pressing the sides of the wound. Black oil mixed with blood spurted out of the cut creating a small pool next to her foot. It reeked, like rotting meat. Could the oil rot away flesh? She hoped not. She didn't have enough saved up for a visit to the medicine hall. Lin Huani kept pressing the wound, squeezing it through the pain, until only clean blood flowed out of it. Then she bandaged it and took some pills for stamina and qi. Hopefully that would be enough.
She looked over the scattered bones of the beast. What kind of creature was this? Nothing in the tales her great grandpa shared with her talked about anything like this. Some kind of wraith maybe? Would the sect even allow that? Letting the dead get restless enough to serve as a trial seemed a bit much. Lin Huani didn't consider herself over religious, but still. Dead things should stay dead. She shrugged off her pack, removed an empty flask and filled it with the oil substance the creature had secreted. Whatever this was, she had never seen it before. Perhaps it was useful. After putting the filled flask away, in a separate pouch to prevent any contamination, she studied the bones. A glint of light had caught her eye. Where was it? There!
On the bone were small characters. Smaller than any Lin Huani had seen before. She twisted it around. Yes. The characters would have been on the inside of the bone. Someone had opened up these bones, written characters on the inside and then somehow sealed them again. The characters were strange though. Nonsensical. Unless...
Lin Huani gathered several more bone pieces and brought her orb of light closer. They would have lined up like this. The cracks were unfortunate as they often removed characters. Yet, enough remained to get a clear picture. These were formations! This wasn't a creature after all. This was some kind of puppet. Here! These characters controlled the flow of energy. The rest of the characters were ruined or disjointed. But these were clearly meant to move energy around this part of the puppet.
Lin Huani dug out her notebook from her pack. Just these formations would make the trial worth it. It took almost thirty minutes to copy down the formations. She also copied down the more incomplete characters, just in case she could find a match in the archives. With these she could push the very limits of qi efficiency in her work. This saved her months of trial and error!
With lighter steps Lin Huani moved away from the battlefield and continued walking into the blackness.
Lin Huani didn't know how much time she had spent walking. Her mind was focused on the improvements she could make to her projects with the new formations. An iron door changed that. Covered in swirling formations it glowed a dull grey as Lin Huani approached. In the middle of the door was an indented hand print. She peered at the formations covering the door, but they were too small to make out. Making a couple of rubbings would have to do. Perhaps something could be gained from them later. A few rough strokes of charcoal got her a new scroll to study. Then, with a deep breath, Lin Huani put her hand on the door.
Stars. That was Lin Huani's first thought as the door split open. Above her white spots dangled. Stars though didn't pull black oil up to them, they didn't squirm as something inside tried to escape. The air reeked. Worse than a midden heap. Worse than breaking through to silver. She crouched by the opened door and dry heaved. This was a bit much, right? How could there even be so much oil and filth? A path stretched past the door, above a lake of oil. Congealed clumps of, something, floated in the lake. They bobbed with strange serenity. How many sacks were there? What was in them? Lin Huani didn't know if she wanted those answers. She pulsed her armor once. Nothing. Alright, then she just needed to keep her eyes up. Step by step she walked the path. Around her the lake popped and hissed, and something stirred the fluids below her. It was long, it took several seconds after the spikes breached the liquid for it to sink back down again. Each time it happened Lin Huani paused and held her breath. Whatever it was, it was far too much for her to handle. Best to avoid attention.
It took almost ten minutes of stuttered walking before the path changed. It split in two. One path went upwards, the other down. The path that went up glinted, coins laid abandoned. Specks of red looked like spirit stone fragments. Whatever laid on that path was going to be a treasure for sure. The thought settled heavy in Lin Huani's mind. Even a spirit stone or two would help. She really did need to start a health fund, spending stones as she got them wasn't the best plan. The downwards path though, Lin Huani shifted slightly away from it, that was where the screaming came from.
She had noticed the screaming about halfway in her walk. It started low, incomprehensible. Even now it was louder, but it had no words, it just sounded like the cries of some wild beast. No point in getting into unnecessary fights. There was treasure to be had! The first step on the upward path made Lin Huani pause. They had gotten clearer, was a message hidden in the screams? It still sounded like a wild beast, but meaning seemed to hover at the edge of the sound. A second step forward. The screams were algining into a message. The third step made it clear. The screams were distorted, beastly and wild, but it was clear someone was crying for help.
"Shit." Lin Huani said, before turning around and dashed. Thoughts of treasure, so heavy in her mind, vanished like summer fog. The lake of black oil hissed and popped furiously as she reached the fork in the path. Turning towards the screams caused her to skid towards the edge, but a twist of qi gave her traction on the stone and she hurdled downwards. In the corner of her vision a bone serpent rose from the now boiling lake. It dripped steaming black oil as it screamed at her. She ignored it. She wasn't going to let someone die. Not again.
The room she ran into was a large circle. The door was just big enough for her, so she didn't need to worry about the bone serpent outside, at least for now. The ground was a smooth black sand. But, the half finished sacks on the opposite side of the wall was what drew her attention. Three sacks laid half finished, the third sack however wasn't quite completed. Someone had been encased in silk. The man was dressed in an Argent Sect disciple's robe. His eyes widened as he saw her.
"Thank the spirits you heard me! Hurry! Before those beasts come back!"
"Any advice, if in theory, those beasts were already back?"
Two imposing figures stalked into the room. They looked like some horrific mixture of boars and man crafted from bone. Their head was set low, jutting out of their chest. Wicked serrated tusks curved away from their form. One held a shield with both hands. The other, a wooden staff capped with bronze.
The fellow Argent disciple tried to twist his head, but silk dragged his head back. "I managed to kill one by snapping their neck. Nothing else seemed to do anything to them."
Sound built around the creatures, or puppets, as they turned towards her. A staff ripped the air apart with its quick motions and the shield bashed into the face of their prisoner silencing him. As his head slumped forward, blood running down from a shattered nose, Lin Huani watched as the two arrayed themselves against her. Her mind whirred. She needed to end this fast, that was a serious blow to her fellow disciple. Each second she wasted with these things was a second his condition could get worse. She settled into her stance, skin darkening to iron, and her breathing slowed into a steady rhythm.
The staff wielder was the first target. Lin Huani burst forth, sand exploding behind her. The creatures were fast and the shield caught her fist. The bell-like gong from the strike had barely started by the time Lin Huani dropped into a leg sweep. A second gong resounded as the shield matched her speed. She twisted left, letting the bronze capped staff shower her with sand. Spinning away from the shield she tried to get her other foot past its bulk. The creature just shoved, sending her tumbling through the black sand.
Lin Huani spat out black specks of sand as she reset. "Plan B then." She dashed towards the shield bearing beast before skidding to a stop and hopping several paces back. The beast holding the staff had stepped forward to intercept. "Puppets then. Back to Plan A." Dashing towards the puppet holding the shield she twisted midway to meet the staff wielding puppet head on. Her forearm blocked the staff's first swing. She countered by grabbing one tusk with a stone covered fist. Then she slid under the puppet to avoid the charge from the other puppet. Cracks and pops echoed as she dragged the puppet's skull with her. Thankfully it seemed these puppets needed their heads. As the first puppet collapsed into the sand, Lin Huani reset again. "Alright. Not too hard." The remaining puppet paused before walking over to its fallen partner. It shifted its shield to one hand, reached down and picked up the staff. "Really? Shit."
The following fight was tough. Tougher than anything Lin Huani had done before. The puppet seemed to move twice as fast as before, and wielded its new weapon with as much skill as its first. Even when she managed to break through its guard and crack bone, sparking qi would leap about the puppet's body sealing any cracks. It was her rope that let her make progress. It fell out of the pack after a hit ripped it off her. It trailed behind her as she dashed away, and instead of pursuing, like it had done before, the puppet attacked the rope. A few more tests confirmed it. The puppet attacked the closest thing that moved. No matter how threatening, or non threatening. It only took a couple more engagements for Lin Huani to flank the puppet as it was busy smashing her poor rope. Jumping on its back and twisting the puppet's head finished the distracted beast off. Once the puppet fell still she moved toward her first goal.
The boy wasn't breathing. Lin Huani sliced the silk away and lowered the boy to the sand. Blood had stained the front of his robes, but that didn't stop her from tearing them open and listening for a beating heart. There wasn't one. No. She refused. She wouldn't let some else die. This boy wouldn't die because she wasn't good enough. He wouldn't. She tore open her pack and grabbed her pill case. It was stained black from the oils that leaked out of her broken flasks, but she didn't care about that now. Four pills gleamed under the sullen light of the cavern. One stamina pill, two qi replenishing pills, and one pill meant to repair wounds. Two months of hard work to get enough spirit stones for the pill. The merchant had promised her miracles when it was purchased. Being brought back from near death was one of those promised. Now she just hoped it was true.
Stuffing a qi, stamina, and her health pill into the boy's mouth she poured water in after and started to gently rub the throat. Lin Huani ignored the tears that fell. Ignored the creeping memories, Ignored how cold the boy felt, cold like her mother's hands. No, this time would be different. It had to be different. What was the point of being an immortal if people died around her? Even as her eyes blurred, Lin Huani kept rubbing the boy's throat, forcing pills down.
Lin Huani didn't know how long she knelt beside the boy. It didn't matter to her. Yet a hand on her shoulder drew her away from her vigil. Though tears casted the world into the depths of a river, Lin Huani recognized the person beside her. Elder Li, the elder that had welcomed new disciples months ago.
"I'm sorry Elder," Lin Huani croaked, "I wasn't good enough."
"You did fine." Elder Li responded. "I could have done this at any time, but I didn't think you would have liked the shock." She snapped her fingers. The boy's skin darkened to ivory, eyes disappeared, and the mouth closed. Now the boy resembled a large doll more than any living thing.
"Wha… What?"
"It was a puppet." Elder Li stood back up. "These puppets mimic human life and are useful for training certain medical arts."
Lin Huani remained kneeling beside the puppet. "So it was a waste then? Those pills I used?"
"Yes." Elder Li said. "Those pills had no effect and can't be reclaimed, but it is never a waste to care for fellow humans."
Lin Huani's knees shook as she stood up. "What do you mean?"
"You showed an impressive amount of concern for your fellow human. It is often difficult to find cultivators with virtues, so I am happy to have found you."
"I… I am honored to have the attention of an Elder."
"There is another test beyond this one, but I have seen enough and I think you have had your fill of trials today. Here." A silver disk flipped through the air before impacting Lin Huani's chest.
Lin Huani staggered backwards under the impact. Steadying herself she looked down at the disk. It shifted, as if currents of silver were winding their way through the disk.
"Show that to the medical hall tomorrow." Elder Li commanded. "Then you will have one month of training under me. And here." From the ceiling a puppet crept down a silk line. From its mandibles it spat out oil. Sand writhed where the oil landed, and a gleaming box of wood took shape from the twisting sands. "Consider this a gift. You gave up pills with no expectation of return, so here are some pills to make up for the loss. I will see you tomorrow." With that the elder twisted, vanishing into the air, leaving only a remnant of her presence, the silver disk, a pill case, and a lingering scent of blood.
Lin Huani staggered backwards before falling down onto the sand. Her hands shook as she held herself tight. Why had the Elder let her believe that an actual person, not some mimic doll, was in danger? Were all Elders so calloused like that? To just make her suffer? She took a shuddering breath. It didn't matter. She had impressed the elder. Somehow. She could just take what the elder offered. Improve her designs, improve her cultivation, and should she reach such heights one day, she would never be so callous. Yes. Learn from what was useful, get rid of the rest. That had taken her this far.
With her heart calming down, Lin Huani set about getting everything set. Her pack had been almost ruined. It had blocked several blows, but those blows had shattered her flasks and vials. Everything was covered in oils. It would take time to clean everything up. For now, she arranged the surviving pieces of her gear as best she could. Then she opened the pill case. What had the elder given her? The lingering smell of blood was crushed by the scent of lightning and steel. Nine pills were held by the case. Two qi restoration pills, two stamina pills, two health pills, and then three pills colored bronze ringed with bands of bright grey. Iron Peak pills, was what the note attached to the top of the case said, useful for those that pursued lightning and metal arts. They eased the flow of such qi as well as invigorated the body making physical cultivation easier. Yes, Lin Huani thought, she could work with these.
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A.N
@yrsillar Omake for the Omake throne.
Part of what I am trying to do during these times is become a better writer. This piece was my first foray into actually editing something. Any tips, tricks, or comments on how poorly I did that process would be helpful. Thank you for taking the time to read this piece!
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