Depthless Hunger

Chapter 246: The Boons of the Elves

For a while they all just stood there in the endless sand. After the intense battle, hearing nothing but the sound of wind should have been relaxing. Yet the fact that they were in the middle of nowhere didn't bode well.

"These are the Elven Wilds," Omilaena said eventually. "Probably somewhere on the western side, which is heavily sandy due to the rain shadow and the rest of the continent. Other than that, I'm not sure."

"Didn't you inspect the totem beforehand?" Zae Zin Nim took the stone fragments, which were now devoid of chakra, then threw them down in disgust.

"I confirmed it was real and wouldn't do anything fatal, but I don't know how to check if they'll send us to a random location."

"They wouldn't really do that, would they?" Kai asked. "That wouldn't make any sense, even if they were planning to betray us."

The others didn't really have an answer to that. It seemed obvious that, since nothing was happening in this random patch of desert, they should move to another one, but there was no real way to decide. They could head south toward the mountains, he supposed.

Abruptly something burst out of the sand several paces away. Kai readied his aching body for a fight, but it was only Ceryyn, wearing voluminous sand-colored robes.

"You're early!" she proclaimed. "Did something go wrong?"

"We got the thing." Omilaena lifted the top of the obelisk and Ceryyn immediately winced back.

Between the two of them, they took guesses at how the obelisk worked until Omilaena severed something on the side. Abruptly the chakra within shifted in a way Kai struggled to put his finger on: more like a magical stone than a crystal carrying active qi. In any case, the effect seemed to have been interrupted, because Ceryyn looked as lovely as usual as she approached.

"You have no idea how much this will help us." She smiled brightly at all three of them. "We'll still be going forward with our school program, but our allies won't be ready for a mission like this for months at least. Broad weapons like this obelisk almost always sacrifice something to achieve such a strong effect, so we just need to find the weaknesses and we'll gain an edge against the demons."

"Why are we out in the desert?" Zae Zin Nim asked.

"In part because it's easiest to get a totem that will take you back here. But you've all clearly worked hard, don't you want to get the boons we promised you?"

"I wanted to go back to Roseport. We need to retrieve our ship and set a false trail."

"Well, we can work on all that afterward. We'll throw in some teleportation for free." Ceryyn skipped backward, wagging a finger. "But like I said, you're early! Please wait just a little longer and then we'll show you in."

She hopped up into the air, then plunged into an area of sand that was apparently identical to all the rest. Whatever it was, she disappeared into it with just a slight ripple of sand. Kai hadn't heard about elven glamours involving actual illusions like this, but it did seem implicit in the word. While he knelt down and tried to figure it out, the others already seemed to have moved on.

"We're going to be meeting a lot of them, aren't we?" Zae Zin Nim asked. "Elders, I mean."

"These aren't the Elders elders," Omilaena said. "Not the Council that rules the Elven Wilds, I mean."

"But they'll be soul cultivators of a similar level, won't they? Is there anything that can be done about those glamours?"

"It's tricky, because such a large part of it is changing themselves in a way that's appealing, not direct mental manipulation. But there are options..." Omilaena went on to explain how some cultivation exercises could be useful, and she seemed to be injecting herself with a dark liquid. Since she didn't have any suggestions for Kai, he decided that he'd stick with what had worked so far.

They didn't have to wait terribly long before they heard a grinding sound underneath the sand and something trembled. Soon one of the dunes began to tumble and Kai realized that something underneath was shifting. As they shifted away from the movement for the sake of caution, they ended up putting themselves in a good position to see the entrance open.

A vast circle opened in the desert, revealing a stone staircase spiraling into darkness. It should have been overwhelmed by sand, but all the grains he saw were whisked away in an unnatural wind. Even before the process was complete, Ceryyn bounced up the stairs waving a hand.

"You can come down now! We're all ready to greet you!"

They followed her into the staircase, which spiraled tightly for a time before opening up into a broader cavern. Kai had expected to be claustrophobic, but the chamber was surprisingly high and brightly lit. He recognized a few magical torches that he'd seen in the elven village, but the elves in the jungle only had one or two, whereas dozens lined these halls.

There were passages leading in many directions, some of which sounded much more occupied, but Ceryyn took them past all those through a larger door. They only saw a handful of other elves and got a sense of a larger city beneath the sands before she took them down another stair to a massive hall. This one ended in a large door that had to be their destination.

"See you there!" Ceryyn ran forward and somehow made ducking into a side entrance look graceful. They continued down the hallway, wondering whether or not to follow. Once they got close, the large doors rumbled open and they stepped into an even larger chamber.

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Sunlight shone down and he could see a circle of sky above, but his attention was drawn to the sandfall. Huge volumes of sand poured over one half of the hole above, producing a great curving wall of sand. The sunlight struck it just right so that it glowed golden, while wind magic whisked stray grains away and kept the chamber grandiose instead of a sandstorm.

The door led them across a raised walkway to the broad dais sitting just in front of the sand waterfall. Five elves sat on five thrones, looking as grand is if they had been born there. They were so striking that it took Kai a while to realized that the one on the far left was Ceryyn. She was wearing a fancy golden robe now, but otherwise she hadn't changed.

All five leaders must be lords and ladies, which meant they were Earth Glamour cultivators. Kai's mind insisted that he should be swept away by how glorious they were, but he managed to focus on the raw power there. Assuming they could do more than look pretty, this group was a pretty close match to the Earth Soul cultivators chasing Zae Zin Nim.

And the Council of Elders was supposed to be even more powerful...

"Welcome to Sandflower City," the central elf said. He was a handsome man of indeterminate age with the strongest jaw Kai had ever seen on an elf. "You have done our people a great service."

"I'm glad our alliance has been fruitful." Omilaena set the obelisk down in front of them, then retreated with an elaborate bow. It must have been an elven gesture, because several of the leaders inclined their heads in response.

"For completing this service, each of you may ask one boon of us. Do not mistake our generosity: this is not a greater boon that would command all our powers. But we know a little of your paths, and you may ask anything reasonable of us."

The three of them glanced at one another without any of them stepping forward. In theory this was the moment that would determine whether or not it was all worth it. After the silence stretched, Ceryyn cleared her throat and leaned forward.

"Kai Clanless, why do you not start?" She was trying to speak as formally as the others and not getting it quite right, but her glamour made it seem charming. Since she was pushing things along, Kai stepped forward to address the five elders.

"I want to visit the Inverted Oasis and learn everything you know of it," Kai said. The elders stared back at him as if surprised, so he put his hands together in supplication and lowered his head. "My home faces similar monster incursions that threaten to destroy us. I need to learn your solutions."

"The request is reasonable and perhaps even admirable." The leader of the five shifted in his seat, leaning his head against a fist. "But the Inverted Guard is independent and answers to no council. We can make a request, with no promises of a response. This would be an unworthy boon. What else do you desire?"

That had been all Kai wanted and the entire reason he'd argued for them to fight for the elves. Asking for something like money or chakra potions would just seem stupid. Kai glanced at Ceryyn, who gave an imperceptible shrug, and then back at his allies. When he saw Zae Zin Nim's discomfort, abruptly he realized this might be an opportunity to solve another one of their problems.

"What about a spatial storage item?" he asked.

"It could be done." One of the council members who hadn't spoken up yet, an older elf woman, finally raised her voice. "What kind?"

"Something appropriate for combat. Beyond that... an item worthy of our task and your generosity." Kai wasn't completely sure how this polite game was played, but that seemed like the right thing to say. The elders all nodded solemnly, so it seemed to be done.

Before Ceryyn could nudge them along again, Zae Zin Nim stepped forward. She bowed in the Cloudspire fashion and then spoke clearly.

"I desire access to the Sapphire Wind Oasis, to cultivate until I achieve a breakthrough."

"To attain the Earth Soul stage?" The man who spoke up looked even younger than Ceryyn, though it was hard to tell with elves. "Never let it be said that we are miserly. You will have your choice of any source of qi within the Elven Wilds until you achieve the next stage."

Zae Zin Nim bowed her thanks and stepped back. She looked completely serious until she moved back to where he was standing, and when their eyes met he thought he caught a hint of a smile. Her frustration with how the elves were handling things was definitely gone.

Now it was Omilaena's turn, so she strolled forward to greet the elders. She rolled her hips unnecessarily as she walked, as if trying to exude her own aura of sexuality, and the bizarre thing was that it almost seemed to work. Even Kai's animal brain thought she looked just as good as all the elves with their glamours.

"For my boon," Omilaena said grandly, "I would like a garment woven by the Primal Loom."

Her request caused immediate consternation amongst the elves. The eldest, a man with a long white beard but an unlined face, leaned forward to speak. "And how do you know of this?"

"Come now, I've heard you boast about you've made your own Insanity. I'm skeptical, but I'd love to see for myself."

"That is not an appropriate boon." The leader of the five made a rough gesture for silence. "The Primal Loom is one of our most valuable artifacts, weaving the threads of fate into objects of great power. You have done us a favor, not earned a life debt. Ask for something else."

"I'm sorry I asked too much." Omilaena shook her head slowly. "But I understand. May I have an Ethereal Lotus, then?"

Once again, her request seemed to throw the elves back, though a few discussed this one in lower voices. Again the leader cut them off. "Only a few lotuses bloom every year," he said. "This is too grandiose a request. Ask again. Ask wisely."

"Oh, very well. May I have some pure manticore venom?"

"For your Heart of Poison?" Ceryyn asked. "We can get you more than just that! Never let it be said that we're not generous. We will gladly help you with poisons, if you use them in our defense."

"I couldn't ask for more." Omilaena smiled broadly and swept another bow.

"All of your boons will be prepared shortly," the leader told them with a wave of his hand. "Until then, you are welcome in Sandflower City. Perhaps in the future we will be able to work together again."

That was a clear dismissal, so they retreated back out through the great doors, which closed behind them. Back in the hall, Omilaena stretched her arms over her head cheerfully while Zae Zin Nim frowned.

"I got what I wanted," she said, "but I hope it doesn't come with strings attached. Clearly they want us to keep working with them."

"I don't mind," Omilaena grinned as she spoke, "if they keep giving us more boons."

"Were those first two requests bluffs?" Kai asked.

"Absolutely. Don't get me wrong, I'd have been overjoyed if they actually gave me something from the Primal Loom, since it allegedly creates the strongest clothes on the continent. But the actual plan was to make them more generous when I asked for poisons."

Zae Zin Nim shifted nervously. "We shouldn't let them make us wait too long. We need to get back to Roseport and wrap up everything there."

"I wouldn't be too worried. With teleportation, we can get through even if the Brightwind sect has arrived."

If that was true, then they had finally achieved their first major objective. Technically they still needed to find a way to hide Zae Zin Nim's qi completely, but that seemed entirely possible now that they had more allies. All of the loose ends they were chasing, all the possibilities for power, all the challenges that still faced them...

The continent of Rosemount had finally opened up for them.