SFS - Chapter 16 (Patreon)

Heizen led me to a half collapsed tower that stretched up above the rest of the city. It looked like it might’ve been a watchtower at some point, but now it was a broken marker sticking up over the village. When I checked the Record, I found Zeteoh had marked it on the map.

“Yip?” I looked up toward the tower and twisted my head. Are you sure this thing is safe? It looks like one particularly nasty breeze might blow it over…

“Caw!” Heizen thumped his chest and flapped his wings. In one smooth movement, he flew up toward the top of the tower and perched somewhere just beyond my sight.

Great… he can get up there easily, but what about me? Useless bird. I hesitantly phased through a wall and slipped into a set of stairs going toward the top. My tail dropped behind me. Of course it was stairs. It was always stairs. 

By the time I reached the top, my injured paw throbbed and a headache churned just behind my eyes. I pulled myself up one last step and flopped to a half collapsed platform while huffing for air.

”Kakakakaka,” Heizen croaked in the back of his throat and moved over to me. He casually patted my fluffy back with his stupid wings.

I glared at the crow for a moment, and his mirth faded. Eating him probably wouldn’t be worth the hassle. I shook my head and forced myself up to my paws to look around.

Wind howled across the tower, and the breath was stolen from my lungs. I thought the village was big, but up here I saw just how massive it truly was. The ridge the tower sat on was located to the north of the village center, and the entire northern half of the ridge where I’d been was the far fringes.

To the south, the village stretched out like a massive city in the valley between mountains. It stretched downward, and just before the center, the snow started to fade away in patches. White was replaced with muddy brown.

Right. Back at the Forlorn Temple, it’d been raining, hadn’t it? I climbed up into the snowy section of the mountain… that complicated things. My fur would be completely useless down there as camoflauge—worse, even. I’d stand out like a sore thumb against the muddy brown.

Movement drew my attention to a walled section of the village around the center. It looked like a central section was still fully inhabited by humans, with only the surrounding areas abandoned to the blight. If I wanted to escape, I’d have to get all the way down there and find someone with a plan to get out of here.

The wind left my sails, and I flopped to the ground once more. So much for this being easy… if I couldn’t rely on my natural camo, dodging the Ophidian would be so much more complicated too. My techniques and skill with Qi weren't nearly good enough to survive a trek that far south… I’d have to think this through way more. Not like a solution would just fall out of the sky.

I watched the village for a while longer and then settled in a crook formed by a half collapsed signal fire. The fire reeked of that oily scent Heizen used to mark the parchment trail The wind was mostly blocked, at least.

My tail draped over my nose. It wasn’t noon yet, so I had nothing but time on my hands until this supposed supply drop came in. I wasn’t even sure what I was looking for, to be honest. The drop part implied it’d be coming from the sky, but… well, maybe the humans had figured out how to fly?

That could all come later. It wasn’t as good of a perch as the plum blossom tree, but it was a good enough place to start reading once more. Heizen watched me for a few moments before flapping his wings and settling up on a broken beam supporting the tiled roof of the watchtower.

I flicked through the Record and pulled up today’s reading material. Most of the manuscripts were kinda useless since I was a fox and not human. Knowledge was knowledge, though, so I kept trudging through one page after another while I waited.

Sometime just before noon, the flapping of wings alerted me to the return of my subordinate. He dropped down to land right next to me on the half-collapsed platform. He pranced around and waved his wings excitedly at me.

My head tilted to the side, and my tail flopped away from where I’d been sleep—internally digesting the profound manuscripts. What is it, subordinate number one?

“Kraawww.” He flapped his wings widely again. Then, seeing that I didn’t understand, he dive bombed my tail and tugged on it sharply.

“Yow!” I slapped the bird over the head and my tail recoiled back to where it could be safe and sound with me. I carefully inspected the fluffy mass for any signs of damage. That bastard pulled out a whole three hairs! That’s it—I know where I’m getting fresh meat tonight!

“Grruk!” A strangled noise came from Heizen, and he backed away a few steps to put up some distance.

I activated Wraithwalk and used it to jump up to a higher beam. As soon as I turned visible once more, Heizen flew up beside me and looked me over like I might vanish. “Caw?”

I shook my head and dissapeared again—only to be tackled by the black bird. He flung himself at me desperately to search for me, and knocked the both of us to the edge of the beam. 

My invisible tail dangled off the side, and I tightly grabbed onto the beam with my claws. “Yip!”

Heizen froze and then dropped a wing onto my head. His eyes widened in disbelief, and he repeated the motion a dozen times in quick succession. I scampered to my paws and moved off to the side away from the rude little bird. Seriously, some creatures have no sense of respect.

“…” He lowered his head, and the triumphant expression dropped entirely. He almost looked… apologetic?

It’s fine. I took a few calming breaths. At the very least, that confirmed a suspicion of mine. I could still be interacted with while in Wraithwalk. It was a nice thing to know. I wouldn’t be able to just dodge attacks with it by phasing out of reality like I hoped. I expected as much after failing to walk through the door of the shrine, but at least I wouldn’t have to test it with my life on the line.

”Caw.” He repeated the motion from the other night.

”Yip?” The drop’s coming? Why didn’t you just say that, you birdbrain? I primly smoothed out my fur and stood up. I’d forgive him this time, but next time, I’d take a dozen feathers for every hair pulled. 

Heizen gave me a fish-eyed stare like I was the one being an idiot. The nerve, seriously. Heizen perked up and bounced around in front of me. He pointed a wing up toward the light clouds above. “Caw! Caw! Caw!”

For a few breaths, I couldn’t see anything but occasional flakes of snow and the dull grey horizon. Then the clouds parted, and a vast shadow emerged from the light grey mass.

A creature floated over just south of the village, and slowly approached—no, not a creature. A construct of some kind. A bulbous balloon, patchy in sections with green script scrawled across it, loomed through the clouds. Thick ropes dangled down and slung onto a massive boat. 

The boat was one fitted for the sky, though, not water. Heavy metal struts reinforced its frame, and steam stirred the clouds around the construct. Cylindrical attachments stuck out of its back, and fire billowed outward. Lanterns of blue fire clung to the hull like countless bird cages, and lit up the storm with pale light.

I stared at the construct with my ears raised high and rigid. The whole thing looked somehow master-crafted and slapped together at the same time. Definitely something humans built. 

“Caw!” Heizen cried and hopped around in place. He stretched out his wings like he was flying up there with that thing.

A ship… in the sky… of course! What else did I expect when I heard supply drop? Naturally, humanity had somehow managed to build something like that, and yet were still susceptible to a simple blight. Why didn’t Zeteoh mention there was something like this? It would’ve been nice to know!

As it drew closer, I made out more and more details across the complex construct. Crates lined the deck, and dangled from the sides of the giant ship. The flying boat moved toward Dragon Vein Village, and movement awoke across the entire place.

A heavy, throbbing murmur beat against my ears just under the howl of wind. It was slightly mechanical, and reminded me of the steam pipes scattered around the village.

Just as the ship reached the southern fringes, cargo crates were shoved off the side of the boat. Bundles tumbled free just above them, and then snapped open into canopies of cloth. The… sails? They caught the wind and slowed the crate’s descent to something a lot more controlled.

My tail straightened out behind me, and I greedily tracked the falling cargo crates. They were probably filled with useful things. Food, tools, and medicine probably. Maybe records, manuscripts, and answers though. A noble creature like myself naturally has a responsibility to investigate the suspicious airborne treasure. It’d be deeply irresponsible of me not to.

More and more crates fell by the minute. Most of them were blown around widely off track by the surging winds of the storm. One of them even got tangled up, and the sail tore in two. It collapsed and slammed down into the village. The storm was calmer now, but still ever present. No wonder they need runners to go out and fetch the supplies.

“Kekekek!” A—ahem—hinged, high-pitched giggle left me. Heizen looked at me weirdly, but I was too busy tracking the bundles of treasure. Most fell further south than I would’ve liked into the denser parts of the village. There was still hope as the ship continued to move north across the village though.

Just as I spotted a promising one, something else drew my eye. Something that was definitely not a crate. A dark shape dropped from the ship’s side much faster than the supplies before the sail snapped open. It was a smaller canopy, and legs dangled in the wind below. It wasn’t cargo—it was a person. An absolutely insane person, but still a person.

The sail moved northward, avoiding the obvious drop points and instead coming in my direction. They were aimed for the northern fringes, away from the places other humans would rush too.

”Caw?” Heizen crowed softly and followed my stare toward the person. He reached a wing out toward one of the supply drops—to the things he knew I was interested in.

My tail wagged around in irritation behind me. A human jumping into this cursed place was bad enough. Doing it away from the cargo was even more suspicious. Some kind of scout? A martial master? Idiot? Could be anything.

My first instinct demanded I chase the nearest bundle of treasure. Food and books could be hiding inside those crates. My mouth watered heavily. Maybe even preserved meat. My stomach and Record made very persuasive arguments to go after the supplies.

I squeezed my eyes shut and let out a groan. A crate would still be there after landing. A person, though, they moved. A person coming here would know things, too. Maybe they could explain this nightmare of a village—explain why it was worth dropping supplies into from the skies above like this. They wouldn’t be at their drop spot for long, and then I’d never be able to find them again.

Not to mention the person might get attacked by blighted before I could reach them. That would be less than ideal, yip. It’d be hard to get information out of a torn apart corpse.

I sighed and stood up straighter. Right, investigate the suspicious airborne human first. It’d be irresponsible of me not to. Then I could go for the supplies if they were still around. I came to my decision, and nodded to Heizen. “Yip! Yiii-yip yip. Kek…”

“Caw.” Heizen made a noise deep in the back of his throat and met my gaze. Then, he launched himself from the beam and started angling toward the falling person.

I sprang up and dropped down through the stairs to quickly descend the tower. I quickly lost the wind-sailing person behind the rooftops and snow, but Heizen didn’t. 

The bird flew high, circling just above me. Sharp caws called down to him to correct my path whenever I went the wrong direction. With him as my guide once more, I moved north through the village and away from the ridge.

The village changed as we moved further north. Buildings grew poorer, and the pipework faded once more. It was weird to be headed back out to the northern fringes, but some part of me was relieved by it. They were more predictable, almost. 

I jumped across a building and dove into a snowdrift to break my fall. Just as I landed—

Clang!

I dropped into the snow instantly and hid. Up above me, Heizen veered away and circled a bit lower above me. Nothing moved around me. I breathed slowly and tooled around.

A rattling scrape echoed from my side. A metal sign, torn loose with the wind, knocked sharply against the side of a building. It was just that. Not a human engaged in a fight somewhere. 

My pulse slowed down, and I ducked out of the snowdrift. My nerves were already frayed from how I rushed through the village, and strange noises definitely didn’t help that. I moved away from the drift and passed straight through the side of a building.

Heizen spotted me once I left the other side, and corrected my direction once more. “Caw! Caw! Caw!”

I moved along the wall, and passed a small plaza where a bundle of four supply crates had come down. The massive cloth wind-sails dangled on a nearby building. One crate had smashed open in the drop, revealing bundles of something delicious smelling. 

I slowed, and every greedy instinct in me forced me to look. The scent of bitter medicine mixed with the mouth watering aroma of dried meat, ink, and metal. They were all things the shrine lacked. Things I wanted dearly.

”Ca-ca-caw!” Heizen called from above, and forced me to look away from the treasure.

I know, I know. I wasn’t going down there. I glanced back toward the crates with longing. I was just… assessing. Right, I was assessing how valuable the supplies were. The human better be worth at least this much.

A low, guttural growl drifted out from an incredibly dark building across the square. I went rigid and froze. My fur raised on end, and my tail puffed up behind me. The sound didn’t repeat, which somehow made it all the more eerie.

I abandoned the crates without another glance. Right, the sound definitely drew the attention of the Ophidian. The human would likewise be in danger. I needed to hurry.

We moved a few blocks further north. My feathery guide slowed down and circled a tall building covered in snow. Eventually, he landed on a post just in front of me and stretched out a wing. I crouched down on an eave and looked up toward it. There.

Something dark snagged against the tiled roof of the building. Cloth. The wind-sail was tangled up against the tiles, and the lines connecting it to the figure dangled just behind the building. The person had come down there.

My tail wagged around me in excitement. My hunting instincts were rearing to go. Tracking this person throughout the village was like a shot of adrenaline straight into my brain. My ears twitched for a moment before I forced myself to hold still.

Between me and the landing site stretched open snow only broken by the walls of courtyards and an abandoned street. The wind blew sharply, carrying with it a thread of something uniquely human. It was fresh, and hopefully still alive.

Underneath that, though, I caught something sharper. Rot mixed with rancid scales. It permeated the air, and didn’t seem to have one clear source. They were here, though, lurking and waiting to strike

I glanced at the snagged wind-sail. I felt the warm tingle of Qi throughout my body. If the worst came to pass, and the human was already dead—or hostile—I could still vanish and head back to find a supply crate. 

I narrowed my eyes on the canopy of cloth and then slipped forward to the tall building.

— — —

AN: I’m working on book covers for SFS at the moment. I’ve got two different ones sketched out, and I’m about to have a third ready. Once it’s done, I’ll make a post about it. My brother suggested putting up all three to a vote to see what you guys liked best.