Shielded by Seals [Chapter 16] (Patreon)

Turns out, I ended up taking Friday off and posting Monday.

ToC: https://www.patreon.com/posts/132353583

I woke up with a headache.

A giant hog snout huffed out a hot breath into my mouth.

“Bah!” I yelped and rolled backward. 

Toad blinked at me and then gave me a reproachful look for interrupting his rest. He rolled away and made himself more comfortable against the wall.

I scowled at him for a second, then looked around. The wood of the container rumbled and bumped beneath my hand. The space had only a few light sources, peering through cracks in the wood. A small window at the far end allowed a little cut of light to illuminate the space. I lay on some rags, with more piled beneath Toad. I still wore my blanket toga. I shifted and flopped onto my face.

Wincing, I straightened. Still a little groggy…

With my two-year-old form, I crawled over to the side of the container. It took me a few more wobbly minutes before I could straighten and press my eyes against the small opening. If I was worried before, what I saw through the window quashed my nascent optimism.

Two literal ninjas helmed the cart. One held a strange device, which released a constant aurora of emerald light. Beyond them, a hooded horse pulled the cart forward into the aura of light while the other manipulated the energy into seals. I blinked several times. Beyond the seals-

My head spun. We are out among the Corrupted monsters?

Where the hellion are they taking me!?

A particular big bump upset my balance and I collapsed backward. The movement unleashed a cloud of dust and I sneezed. Annoyed, I waved a hand and unleashed Clean. The dust and debris vanished under my hand.

Sitting up, I rubbed my eyes. “Still… I’ve escaped from Argyle, right? So-”

In half a year when he returns, what will he do?

An old memory resurfaced: Argyle’s disinterested look as his darkness tore out Kinslet’s throat. The horrific sense of impact as she collapsed and I bounced against the floor. I shivered and pushed his vengeful streak from my mind.

“I hope this is worth it,” The captor releasing the energy muttered. “With how slow my drip is-”

“For the Family, anything is worth it,” The other chided.

The first captor just grunted.

I rubbed my cheeks. From one surly captor to another. Yet while I had been kidnapped by these two… when I looked at the energy they released, I didn’t feel that horrible sense of oppression, as though I would be swallowed if I stared too deeply at the power. My heart rate calmed. 

To help calm myself the rest of the way down, I spent my time shooting Silk Shot and then Cleaning it up. Toad complained loudly every time, but I ignored him. In my heart, I began to give myself a frank examination. If it came to a fight… would I have a chance, even with my Skills? 

Also, why kidnap me?

I peeked out the small window again. My captors were wearing the same symbol as the lady who visited the manor. I tried to puzzle out the timeline. She had spoken to me, sneered… then waited until Father had left and kidnapped him? My mother’s family… seemed almost as crazy as Argyle…

But if this is about leverage against Argyle, they won’t harm me. I reflected.

Despite the strange environment, an empty Mana Pool dragged me into slumber. The amount of naps I could take in a day steadily decreased, but for now, I still found oblivion when I needed it. And by the time I was awake, the rumbling movement had ceased.

I scrambled to my feet, happy to find that the wooziness no longer affected me. When I peered through the opening, I could see that passed the two drivers of the carriage was another man in armor. They were speaking; their voices probably what woke me up.

“Anything to declare?” The armored figure asked.

Before my captors could respond, I shouted. “Help! I’ve been kidnapped.”

A moment passed. The armored guard did not reach for a weapon or shout an alarm. If anything… he just gave my kidnappers a reproachful look.

One kidnapper shrugged. “A Fang Family bastard.”

“Be quick about it then,” The guard sighed. He took a step away from my vision, but I heard his voice. “Let them in!”

Is this common? I was dumbfounded. Or is this area controlled by the Fang Family? We’ve only been traveling by cart, outside the sealwall, so we can’t have gone far, but…

A new implication struck me. Exactly how big a deal is my Mother’s family? Rich enough to have gifted Argyle all those bottles and also control a sealwall?

Further thoughts were interrupted by the back hatch of our little container swinging open. One of the captors leaned through the opening. “Now listen, child. You’ve spent your youth idle, but you owe a great debt to- oof!”

Toad, startled awake by the sudden opening, huffed and rushed forward. His entire bulk slammed into the man’s face and sent them both sprawling. I scrambled out the small door, but by the time I looked down, the man’s palm glowed with green energy. He slapped Toad’s side and the hog took a few staggering steps before collapsing.

…and beginning to snore.

The man pushed himself up on his elbows. The wind had been clearly knocked out of his body, but he gestured for me to come down. I blinked and swung my legs over to drop to the ground. Rather than waiting for him to recover, I scoped out the surroundings and considered my options.

Right behind us was a closing gate, where several guards watched the developments with a bemused expression. There was only a short wooden gate, but that’s really all the physical defense the area needed. Clouds hung low overhead and the air was frigid, but the signature glowing patterns of the seal wall revealed that we had just left the outer lands, the areas infested with hellspawn.

So that direction is a no. I pivoted. In front of the cart was the other kidnapper, just watching me with dark brown eyes. Beyond that individual was a road covered with a light dusting of snow and then the beginnings of a town. Especially considering the low temperature… escape didn’t seem feasible.

Especially as an almost three-year-old.

I pivoted back to the man, who leveraged himself up to his feet. 

“I am Keekri,” The man said. As though now was the time for polite introductions. “Child, any further misbehavior from you will not be tolerated. Should you continue to transgress, I will be forced to resort to violent means.”

Just as I felt a tremor of fear, the other kidnapper spoke up. “Keekri, you cannot. Should it be discovered a hand such as you touched a direct descendant of the Fang Family-”

“Quiet!” Keekri interrupted. He glared at me and wagged a gloved finger. “You know not the depths of my wrath. Follow quietly to the Fang Compound, or choke on regret.”

All bark, no bite, eh? After two or so years with Argyle, this reassurance was enough for me to relax, despite my current predicament. I resisted the urge to fill the man’s mouth with Silk Shot to vent my stress. The threads of the blanket wrapped around me suddenly felt extremely thin as a wind brushed my legs.

“Also, handle your tamed companion.” Keekri pointed at Toad.

I kept my expression blank. “How? You put him to sleep.”

What followed was Keekri promising thunderous pain if I continued to be obstinate, and then him caving and shaking Toad awake. Obviously, the foolish hog was easily startled by the strange man, so my tamed beast flailed and smashed into him again. This time Keekri only staggered backward and utilized his Skill more quickly. Once more Toad fell into a pleasant slumber.

He looked at me. I turned away: what did you expect me to do?

Occasionally, there are advantages to being a youth.

In the end, the two kidnappers had to work together to haul the bulk of Toad into the cart once more. To my alarm, they snapped the cage shut and left me on the ground. Keekri gave me a satisfied smile and we set off, making for the town.

I narrowed my eyes, but followed silently. 

In the cold, the walk felt miserable. Plus, the speed of my legs meant we weren’t covering much ground. Gusts of frosted wind kept making me pause to keep my blanket wrapped tight around me. Yet I kept my mouth clenched shut. Keekri was trying to break me, but this physical exertion was nothing compared to the existential dread of sharing a home with Argyle and his merry band of corpses.

As we moved, we saw several individuals joining up from dirt paths to the main road, toward out buildings arranged in the bare plain around us. None approached, but I saw the emerald spider on almost every person.

Some had a brooch, others had it stitched into cuffs, but each deepened the shadow of the Feng Family.

Due to resisting a harsh environment for a period of time, Proficiency of Mana Adjusted Physique +5%.

Oh? So Traits can improve like this,  I thought.

Luckily, the town wasn’t far. My leg length just made it seem so. The silhouette of buildings gradually resolved themselves. Homesteads gave way to houses, then the cluster of a few stores along a main thoroughfare that led to what was probably the Town Hall.

As soon as we rolled through to the interior space of the town, the viciousness of the wind died. I released a sigh of relief and shuffled my feet more quickly. Despite the cold, the town was busy. Craftspeople hauled wood, a man with a sled dragged two felled deer toward an inn-looking building, and a woman used a mallet to knock ice off her fence. They paused and looked at us as we entered, especially my small, toga’d form, but soon returned to their work.

My eyes narrowed. Probably… our destination is that big building. Are they really making me walk all the way…?

It seemed, indeed, they would. What I thought was Town Hall was actually an entire compound of sturdy wooden buildings. A gated little cloister that loomed ever higher as we moved through the chilly streets all the way to the entrance. By the time we arrived, I was shivering and had earned two more percentage points for Mana-Adjusted Physique. 

Which was a nice upside, but I would have preferred a fine coat.

Four guards waited at the entrance to the compound, standing beneath the stone walls supporting banners of the emerald spider that spanned their entire five-meter height. I twitched: this symbol… was it the Fang Family symbol, or the symbol of their Prime?

“Who approaches?” The head of the guards said. Her eyes flicked to me, then back to Keekri.

Keekri bowed. “A prodigal son, to be tested. Hopefully, the blood of the holy one is thick in him.”

“We shall see,” The woman replied, but she gestured and the heavy iron doors swung wide.

Not just their Prime… is it possible… they are descended from the Prime? I wondered. My expression became strange. From a spider?

My thoughts stuttered to a stop as I stepped into the interior of the compound, because instantly the temperature warmed by twenty degrees. I released a breath of surprise and relief. With my suffering eased, I could examine the compound. Obviously, the time was still just shortly before dusk, but the gloomy tundra had transformed into a cheery forest. 

Once I knew where to look, I saw flickers of emerald seal symbols along the walls.

Beyond the gate was bustling. Between a few awnings, the area was filled with individuals of all ages, in dark forest green robes. Several children hauled a wicker basket out from the treeline. A few old women stood over nearby fields and peered down at the winter growth. Pairs of armored guards with the Fang Family emblem observed with folded arms.

Sealwalls aren’t just defensive, I noted.

Keekri gestured and we continued. We passed through the forest and I tried to do my best to memorize our route, as we reached forks in the path. Now I understood why they needed such a large compound. I began mapping out a possible escape, until the cart slightly cut a corner of the road at one of the branches and I briefly saw a flare of seals along the edge of the path. My expression tightened. 

Until I understood the limits of seals, I had to just assume that any escape attempts would be doomed.

My feet ached by the time we finally broke through the treeline. I looked up and saw several thick stone pillars, rock hewn to the point they seemed to be natural. My eyes widened; the top half of the pillars… was absolutely frothed in dense webs of silk. 

Keekri gestured beneath them. “Welcome. This is one of the outer areas of the Fang Family, the Gloom. You will remain here until you have been tested. After… your fate will be gleamed in the purity of your blood.”