Silence - Chapter 19

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"Why'd you stick your neck out for me?" Felix asked as soon as they were on their way again. "The tension in there, you could cut it with a knife. Why mix in?"

"Allow me to ask you a question in turn, Felix," Bateo said as he poled them away from the central island. They were all three crowded into his small rowboat while Felix's sloop was carted off. Presumably to be repaired. "Could you have broken your restraints at any time?"

Felix nodded.

"Why didn't you?"

"You said it was important to make assurances," Felix shrugged, causing the rowboat to wobble. Pit fell into him and he secured the tenku around his neck and chest. "Whoa, sorry."

Bateo evened them out with another movement of his pole. He laughed nervously. "That you listened to me at all is telling, Felix. You could have killed me, I can tell. Just as I suspect those guards would have had a hard time putting you down. You allowed yourself to be bound, and every time you spoke you chose the path of lesser suffering, even when they wanted to take the Honored Tenku away from you."

They slid between islands, and it was clear it was the equivalent of evening time. People were out and about, but most were inside their homes. A few other craft similar to Bateo's were being pushed around, though the faster ones were piloted by decidedly younger Korvaa. Many of them wore colorful scarves that streamed behind them.

"The Conference spoke true," he continued. "That you have formed a mutual pact with an Honored Tenku speaks well of you and your true nature. Chimera are creatures of Harmony, after all."

They rode in silence for a while after that, both thinking their own thoughts. Felix's revolved around the number of revelations he'd had that day, namely that there were entire peoples that venerated chimeras. After spending so much time with Harn and Magda, he'd figured chimeras were universally reviled due to the defensive illusion on the Foglands. It made them look like abominations, even if they were just a big puppy.

Pit nestled closer, curling around Felix's legs as he tried to sleep again.

Echo's Reach and their rulers were strange. Clearly they were on guard against pirates and other violent creatures, and Felix couldn't blame them for their caution. After what he'd seen with the Ten Hands, if anything they weren't being cautious enough.

"What do the wards do?" Felix asked.

"The outer wards? They're a repulsion for voidbeasts."

"Voidbeasts? Like all of them?" Felix asked. Would it keep the Whalemaw out? They clearly did nothing for people.

"In general, but our main concern are Harrowings. They prey on our livestock and cause all manner of chaos," Bateo said. He poled beyond the last chained island and off into the greater dark. "You've likely encountered them, no?"

Felix nodded. "And the inner wards? They screen you from sight?"

"Something like that," Bateo said. "I can't say much on the inner defenses. We Rimfolk only take care of the outer wards, and even then it's typically left to the strongest of us. Which means me."

Strongest? At level 32? How low leveled are the rest of them? "Are the folks in the center stronger?" he asked.

"Some. The Conference Leaders, absolutely. In levels and core formation, they're head and crest feathers above anyone else." Bateo gave him a sideways look. "Why do you ask?"

Felix shrugged. "Like I said, I ran into the pirates. They were something else, entirely."

Deception is level 10!

"Aye, I believe you. We've stayed out of their sights for many centuries now, no matter the roving gang." Bateo made a circular gesture with a talon. "Hallah's grace that we remain so."

The blackness of the Void slipped past them, and Felix was left to his thoughts. Those thoughts lingered around strength, as had his words. Before they had left the Conference chambers, Felix had risked using his own Voracious Eye. What he got back was a smattering of details that didn't make much sense. The leaders all had levels in the forties true enough, but they felt weak in a way Felix couldn't put a finger on. Moreover, they all had zero Mana capacity, which as far as he understood was impossible. Willpower and Intelligence governed your maximum Mana, and he'd never met anyone with zero in those stats, let alone multiple people.

All in all, it left him a bit cold. There were too many things that didn't add up, and Felix couldn't be sure of where he stood. Wonderment, at the very least, seemed to like him.

I'll take what I can get.


* * *


After a while in the black, they came to a series of stone islands easily as large as the ones in the center of the settlement. There were only three, held together by those same chains that Felix recognized were made of braided voidleather. Atop the three islands were a series of odd structures, the largest of which looked remarkably like a farmhouse...albeit one on high stilts. The design and general aesthetic made Felix think of some sort of elaborate tree house.

Or was he just thinking that because they were bird people?

They landed in short order at the base of the farmhouse, and Felix quickly recognized pens and cages containing the shadowed forms of some sort of beast. Bateo was a farmer, but less produce and more livestock.

"Welcome Felix and Honored Tenku, to my home," the smallish Korvaa gestured and let his wings spread outward. "It is a small farm by the measure of such things, but it is enough for me."

There was a squeal of delight from up above. "Papa! Papa's home!"

The clatter of talons on bone stairs and a rapid, hummingbird style flapping of wings followed the voice, until a fuzzy lump tackled Bateo. A second and third soon followed, along with joyful screaming and a gaggle of giggles. Small birdlings clung to Bateo's body, their wings beating so fast they were a blur, while Bateo laughed in delight.

"Girls! Where in Avet's name—oh! Kili, Nell, Jain! You'll strangle your father like that!" A rounder Korvaa with similar hawk colorations as Bateo stepped out of a door on a higher level. "Dear me, you're finally home! And—with guests."

"Yes, beloved, the Conference Lords had questions for us both," Bateo said as he carefully set the three Korvaa children back down onto the ground. They clung to him like velcro, however, and merely wrapped around his legs instead of his arms and neck. Bateo sighed, happily. "It has been a long day."

"I would say so! You've not set foot on this farm since before cycle-break," the female Korvaa said in a tone that sat comfortably between annoyance and relief. She walked down the winding steps, one wing spread slightly to keep her balance as she hoisted two other children on her hip. Like the others, they all looked to be vaguely five or six years old, but Felix had no clue. "And here we are, end of cycle nearly in sight."

"Ah, beloved you know I'd have been home sooner if I could've," Bateo began, but his wife cut him off with a gentle hand on his cheek.

"When the lords call, we answer," she said before turning her delicate beak toward Felix. "And who is your guest?"

"Beloved, this is Felix Nevarre, a wanderer that has recently been lost in the Void. Felix, this is my wife, Estrid."

Felix extended his hand and the woman looked at it with a tilted head for a brief moment before grasping it. They shook. "Nice to meet you, Estrid. Your husband did me a solid, letting me stay here, and I promise not to be a burden."

"Stay? Bateo," his wife said with a gasp.

The farmer yelped and quickly gestured to Felix's side. "And this is Pit, an Honored Tenku and pactmate to Felix."

Estrid's gasp turned from annoyance to pure joy. "What? Oh my pinions, it's true."

Pit smacked his beak and blinked blearily at the woman, his bright golden eyes still sleepy. When Estrid's hand came out to touch him, he simply leaned into it and accepted the soft scratches along his crest.

"Bright day, but this is a blessing," she said. She looked up at Felix and her eyes glimmered with unshed tears. "How?"

"That, I think, is a story best told over dinner," Bateo said.

Felix smiled. "That's the best thing I've heard today."


* * *


Dinner was a long affair of shouting children and interrupted conversation. Felix had come to learn that folks that had Tempered their Body needed more food than usual, and both Estrid and Bateo said they were in the upper reaches of Apprentice Tier. Course after course were carried out from the kitchen, each one featuring meat, meat, and more meat. What little there was in the way of vegetables were mushroom-like fungi and anemic looking tubers. Bateo explained that they threw both the paroo and cnop on the third island, but yields were typically small. Unsurprising in a dimension without a sun or soil. Felix was amazed he was able to grow anything.

The meat, of course, was voidbeast meat. Unlike the pirates' gamey and tough preparation, this was extremely tender and flavored with various sauces. Unable to restrain his curiosity, he used his Voracious Eye and saw it wasn't Harrowing as the pirates had served, but Tenebril. Estrid noticed Felix's clear enjoyment and snorted at the snuffling sounds coming from Pit.

"I'm glad to see my food is appreciated," she said with a fond smile at the tenku. She looked back up to Felix. "The both of you eat like you've not seen a meal in years. What happened to you?"

Felix didn't entirely know how to answer that, so he started at the beginning. As always, he edited out being Unbound and Nym, as well as the more sensitive topics. He spoke of the Frost Giants, of the ruined city of the Geist, of the Labyrinth and...a heavily redacted version of what he found within. It ended with the same story he told the Conference, of an accident with an artifact. The Void and the pirates came next, along with hordes of voidbeasts that all wanted to eat him. And then his escape and fortunate encounter with Bateo.

"And that brings you up to date on my history," Felix said.

"You've lived a remarkable life for one so young," Estrid said. "Tragic that it ended with you here."

Felix couldn't help but agree, but he was working on fixing that. He shoved the last piece of meat into his mouth and couldn't help a pleased groan. "This is so good. I feel like it's bringing me back to life."

Estrid giggled. Bateo had left a minute or so ago to put the kids to bed. He'd already heard the more recent bits. "As well it should. That Mana marinade is a technique of my mother's."

"Mana—" Felix paused and looked at the thick juices still left on his bone plate. They shimmered faintly in the magelight above them.

Voracious Eye!

Name: Mana Reduction
Type: Food (enchanted)
Lore: A technique of those that live in the Void, it uses a creature's own Mana stores to flavor its cooked flesh.
Effect: Mana Regeneration +5%

Sure enough, his Mana was ticking up faster than before. Nowhere near his old capability while on the Continent, but still. "Wow. Mana Regeneration increased by five percent."

"It is the only way we can stay ahead of the Void's constant hunger for Mana. Eat the bladders of voidbeasts and take on the unfiltered Mana they've collected." Estrid raised a feathered eyebrow. "But you've an Analyze Skill? That's rare out here. So many have focused on Skills that keep them alive."

"I've found information has kept me alive more often than a better way to punch something," Felix said.

"Oh I don't mean offensive Skills. Those are mostly useless in the Void unless you're a Rim Hunter. No I mean Farming, Husbandry, or even Butchery. Things that keep a homestead alive through the lean times." Estrid shook her head and the feathers along her neck lifted in agitation. "Not that there is anything but lean times. And it grows leaner by the cycle."

"We will survive," Bateo said as he came back in. He put his hands on his wife's shoulders and gave her head a peck. "The hatchlings are tucked away, dreaming sweet dreams."

"If only we could share those dreams," Estrid said as she leaned into Bateo's taloned hand. "The Void is harsh, and it only grows more desolate. Dreams would be nice."

"We will survive," Bateo repeated. "Our farms provide food, the Hunters protect us, and the Conference looks continuously for a way home. As always."

"A way home?" Felix asked. That certainly perked his attention, and even Pit poked his curious head above the level of the table.

"The true purpose of the Conference is to look for the pathway that led us here, once upon a time." Bateo settled in his chair at the head of the table and his wings flexed, like a tired man stretching his arms. "An Age ago or more, our people traversed the Passages betwixt Realms in order to flee a terrible enemy. The enemy was wily however and used its eldritch might to curse us. The Passages failed us, and the Void took its due. None of those that fled our home still live, but the tale is passed down generation after generation so that we may never forget and never keep seeking a way back."

The Korvaa smiled, an expression that hinged open his beak and stretched just the corners of his mouth. "Who knows how much is true, but the Conference uses the knowledge of our ancestors to verify it. One day, we will all be free." Bateo slapped his knees and stood up again. "But until then, we've sleep to take. Tomorrow is a busy day, and I'll have you with me if you don't mind, Felix."

"Oh, no that's fine. Like I said, I plan to earn my keep." Felix stood up and thanked them both again for the excellent meal. Estrid waved off his words but her eyes were delighted. Bateo led him out of the main level, up several flights of stairs and into a small attic. It wasn't much bigger than his studio apartment back on Earth, but at least there was a nest of blankets and pillows on the floor and a large window along one triangular shaped wall.

"It's not much, but Estrid has given you what we could. Rest well. I will wake you just before the new cycle begins." Bateo nodded to him and significantly deeper to Pit, before turning to leave.

"Bateo?"

"Hm?"

"Thank you. From both of us."

The Korvaa ducked his head and scratched a shoulder. "You are...very welcome."