The alcohol tasted clear. That was the best way to put it. Unlike the harsh burn of whiskey or the sweet-tangy taste of wine, the alcohol of Yukihasa had a certain silkiness to it that practically glided down the throat. Levi inhaled it all in a single gulp before setting down the empty porcelain saucer. Only then did he see Terminus staring at him with an amused look on his face.
“You’re not supposed to take it like a shot,” Terminus said. “Sake is meant for savoring.” He demonstrated by taking a slow, prolonged sip, humming in satisfaction. “This way, you can appreciate the full sophistication of the notes.”
“Is that so?” Levi’s lips quirked. “My apologies, I was unaware.”
They were sitting around a round table inside the tavern. After a tentative truce was established, the Resistance members had retaken their spots as the tavern’s workers, cleaning up the mess and serving drinks. Now they eyed them warily from where they hovered at a respectable distance, but they seemed to trust Terminus’s ability to handle the situation. Which said something, considering how he probably wasn’t in their official chain of command.
“It’s quite alright, you can make up for it by joining me for another round,” Terminus said, reaching over and pouring Levi another cup. He glanced over at Selene and Anastasia. “You two are certain you don’t want any?”
“Thank you, but no,” said Anastasia. “I don’t drink.”
“I’ll have to decline as well,” said Selene. “Alcohol on that level does not affect me.”
Terminus paused. “Err… Isn’t that a good thing? This way, you won’t get drunk…”
Selene tilted her head. “What is the point of imbibing if intoxication doesn’t follow?”
Levi, Anastasia, and Terminus all stared at her for a long moment.
“I… see,” Terminus said. He shrugged. “Suit yourself.” He held up his saucer. “Cheers.”
Terminus was right, Levi reflected as he sipped at his drink. It did taste better if he savored it. Not for the first time, he wished Qorbin was here. Though he made a mental note to keep Selene away from him. He wasn’t sure who would corrupt whom, and he didn’t think he wanted to find out.
“So,” Terminus said, setting down his saucer with an audible clink. He leaned forward, steepling his fingers. “Let’s have an exchange.” Without any warning, a barrier materialized around them. Levi tensed up for a moment before he realized it was merely a sound canceling barrier. “You say the three of you are from Luminarche? How did you manage to avoid getting detected by the Curtain? I don’t recall hearing about any intruder alerts recently – and I source my information directly from the Huntsmen’s headquarters.”
Oh? That was invaluable information to know. That meant that the Three Pillars had yet to report Levi’s presence to the government; they’d been acting entirely off the books. Which worked out for Levi.
“Spatial manipulation,” Levi said. “I left the barrier alone while expanding the spatial plane it’s painted on.”
Terminus didn’t respond for several long moments. He just stared at Levi with such intensity that Levi shifted slightly in his seat. “Interesting,” he finally said, undisguised calculation in his tone. “And impressive. I didn’t know that was even possible.”
Levi shrugged. “The more you know.”
“Indeed… Even I have to go through the whole song and dance of evading Huntsmen whenever I cross the border. You know, to this day, I only know one other person who's capable of bypassing the Curtain. He’s a coworker of mine, actually. Maybe I’ll introduce you to him some day.”
“I look forward to it,” Levi said diplomatically. Then, he paused. “You have a source in the Huntsmen’s headquarters?”
“Ah, in a manner of speaking,” Terminus said. He coughed, looking a little sheepish. “It’s, err, a cat.”
There was a moment of silence.
“What,” said Levi.
“I implanted a listening device into a stray cat,” Terminus said. “Then I released it into the Huntsmen’s headquarters. I was a bit worried that they’d find the listening device – or worse, use it for their training – but it seems someone in there warmed up to it, because it’s living quite the nice, pampered life. With the bonus effect of allowing me to hear everything it hears.”
They stared at him.
“You are a monster,” said Anastasia.
“Guilty,” Terminus said, inclining his head. “Though, speaking of monsters…” He looked over at the Huntsman who was chained to the tavern’s wall. The Resistance members had insisted on restraining him. Why there were already prebuilt hooks for the chains, Levi didn’t want to know… “What’s the deal with that guy?”
“Oh, we just took him prisoner after a minor altercation. The other two in his squad are dead. He’s been kind enough to act as our tour guide for the past few days.”
“Has he now?” Terminus asked, raising an eyebrow. “That is somewhat surprising. Most Huntsmen would rather bite off their own tongue and choke to death on their blood than willingly cooperate with the enemy.” He nudged the Huntsman with his foot. “Something defective with his programming, perhaps?”
Levi shrugged. “I don’t know. He’s been cooperative so far, at the very least.” His gaze sharpened. “However, according to him, his squad was supposed to report back to central command in two days. Once they miss the check-in, then the imperial government will know something’s wrong. Forgive the haste, but we’re on a bit of a timeline here. Can you tell us where the System Source is?”
“I can,” Terminus said. “But I’m afraid I will need something in return.”
Levi nodded, having expected it. “Name your price.”
Terminus held up a single finger. “One mission. That’s all I ask for. Help me with this one mission, and in return I’ll lead you directly to the Source. No questions asked.”
“What mission, exactly?” Levi asked. “There are limits to what we are willing to do. If it's anything that will result in major collateral damage or the loss of innocent lives, then that’s out of the question.”
Terminus laughed. “No, it’s nothing of the sort. It’s simple, really.” He smiled. “I need you to help me disable the Dragon’s Leyline.”
A stunned silence followed his declaration.
“What?” Anastasia blurted out, staring at him in horror. “Are you out of your mind? Disable the Dragon’s Leyline? That's one of the largest magical ley lines in all of Koxus. A vein filled with the ambient magic of the world itself. Ignoring for a moment the sheer difficulty of such a task, have you any idea of the repercussions that’d follow if you somehow did succeed?”
“Of course,” said Terminus easily. “If we disable the Dragon’s Leyline, then numerous runic arrays all over Yukihasa will immediately lose power. The ward schema that props up the Curtain, the ward schema that sustains the impenetrable barrier around the imperial capital, the ward schema that automatically liquefies all unauthorized intruders, the ward schema that creates an unbelievable mana reservoir…” His eyes glinted. “I can go on and on. To condense it a little: if we can disable the Dragon’s Leyline, then the imperial forces will lose over eighty percent of their defensive capabilities, thus granting us the perfect opportunity to win the war.”
“At the cost of inducing countless natural disasters, though,” Levi said, his voice quiet and grim. “If you cut off a magical leyline, then the very world will tremble and protest. Earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes that rage without rhyme or reason… You’ll unleash catastrophe upon this entire country.”
“Ah, that is why I said disable and not destroy,” Terminus said. “If my calculations are correct, then we’ll have roughly four days before magical integrity collapses and the disasters you speak of spring forth. Four days to end the war.” He smiled. “Should be plenty of time. After that, we can reactivate the leyline and avoid the worst of the repercussions. Sure, there might be a couple of typhoons here and there, but… I think it’s a worthy tradeoff for ending the Emperor’s reign of terror. Don’t you?”
Levi’s expression was contemplative as he ran his own mental calculations.
…
He grabbed a napkin, conjured some ink to his index finger, and began scribbling down numbers.
His mental arithmetic had never been his strongest suit.
Anastasia, Selene, and Terminus waited for him to finish in silence. At one point, Terminus craned his head, as if he couldn’t believe Levi was actually numerically fact-checking him at the table. Finally, Levi circled the answer, nodded, then set the napkin on fire. That last part was a little more satisfying than it probably should’ve been.
“It checks out,” Levi said. “Due to the saturation of ambient mana in the ocean – water is a half-decent conductor and storage – there’ll be a ninety-two-hour grace period for the ambient mana to reach calamitous drought levels. So long as you reactivate the Dragon’s Leyline before that grace period is up, then you should be able to avoid the worst of the consequences.”
“See, what did I tell you?” Terminus said. He stretched out his hand. “So, Veli Maplewood. Deal, or no deal?”
Levi regarded him for several moments. “Deal,” he said, reaching out and shaking his hand. Terminus’s hand was unexpectedly soft, not even calloused. “Though,” he added, “you have to direct us to the Source first. We’ll help you disable the leyline afterward.”
Terminus hummed. “Very well. This plan has been in the making for the past two years; it won’t hurt to wait another few days.”
“Excellent,” Levi said. “Then, tell me: Where is the Source?”
“... I don’t know.”
A beat.
Levi, Anastasia, and Selene all narrowed their eyes.
“Excuse me?” Levi said dangerously. “You said you knew where it was–”
“I said I technically knew where it was,” Terminus corrected. He coughed. “And by that, I mean I know someone who does… He’s the coworker I mentioned, actually.”
“I see,” Levi said. “And is he here in the room with us?”
“Not at the moment, though I can summon him here,” Terminus said. “He should be here by tomorrow morning.” He gave a nervous laugh. “Why don’t you guys get a good night’s rest first?”
Levi squinted at him, but Terminus seemed like he was telling the truth. Well, whatever. Waiting another night shouldn’t affect things too much.
“Alright.”
They spent the night in one of the Resistance members’ homes. Apparently, the Resistance had planted multiple deep-cover operatives in the village over the past two years. This particular operative had done pretty well for himself; his bedroom, while not massive, was comfortably spacious.
Levi, as usual, took the floor. He snuggled up against the wall, pulling a blanket over himself and effortlessly tuning out Selene and Anastasia’s argument over who got the bed.
It wasn’t his problem. He was too tired for this, his body too sore from the magical overburn. He quickly passed out.
The sound of birdsong woke him up. Still half-asleep, he stood up and stretched, wincing slightly at the twinges his muscles gave off. The early morning sunlight streamed in through the bedroom window, landing on–
Levi paused at the sight before him.
Anastasia and Selene were both fast asleep, on the bed together, entangled in a mess of limbs. There was a pillow at the edge of the bed; presumably, it was supposed to serve as a barrier separating the two, but it had shifted somehow throughout the night. Levi stared at the two for several seconds before deciding that he really didn’t want to deal with it.
Shutting the door behind him, he left the house to take a walk. Despite the early hour, the village was already waking up. Merchants set up their wares, street vendors began heating up their woks, and children ran around. The people here seemed much happier than in Oroppo. Levi had expected at least a small portion of the villagers to remain loyal to the imperial government and resent the Resistance rule, but no, everyone seemed to prefer them by far.
A rich savory aroma caught his nose, and he found himself automatically walking in the direction it drifted from. That was when he came across Terminus standing in front of a food stall, a coin purse in hand.
“Oh, perfect timing,” Terminus said, catching sight of Levi. He turned back to the vendor. “Actually, make it two, please.”
He handed over the appropriate amount of silver coins, and the vendor handed him two crisp flatbreads still steaming with heat, dotted with diced green scallions.
“Scallion pancakes,” Terminus said, offering one to Levi. “Eat it while it’s still hot, it’s delicious. My treat.”
Levi accepted it with a nod. After casting several poison detection charms to ensure it was safe to eat, he bit into it with a delectable crunch. It was the perfect texture, and before he knew it, half of it was gone.
Terminus was watching him with a curious smile. “It’s good, right?”
“It is,” said Levi. “Thank you.”
“I’m glad you enjoyed it. The poison was my own special blend – I bet you didn’t detect it at all with those charms of yours.”
Levi choked, and he was halfway through forcing himself to vomit before he saw Terminus laughing.
“Oh, the look on your face,” Terminus chuckled. “I jest, I jest. Apologies, but I couldn’t help myself after seeing you cast those inspection skills.”
“That was a low blow,” Levi said. “Next time, I’ll projectile vomit on you.”
“Terrifying. Oh, by the way, my coworker is here. He’s at the tavern right now.”
Levi blinked and looked up at the sun above. “At seven in the morning?”
“He’s had a long night,” Terminus said. “Well. Long day – I don’t think he slept yet. Shall we go meet him?”
Levi nodded. “Lead the way.”
They made their way back to the tavern.
“So you and your coworker… You’re both part of the same organization?” Levi asked curiously. “What made you decide to work together with the Resistance?”
Terminus looked at him. “Have you seen the state of this country?”
“Point,” Levi conceded.
“It’s evil,” Terminus said. “In the purest, vilest sense of the word. Oppression, starvation, execution, corruption…” He shook his head. “In a way, I feel responsible for it all. But that’s also why I must be the one to put an end to it. This is my sin, after all.”
“Huh, how so?”
Terminus didn’t respond for several moments. Then:
“The Huntsman you took prisoner… He was one of the ones tasked with guarding the Luminarche-Yukihasa border, wasn’t he?”
Levi furrowed his brow. “How do you know?”
“I recognized him, of course,” Terminus said. “I’ve evaded him and his squad many times over the years. I recognize nearly all the border Huntsmen by now. Initially, when I saw him, I thought that he was sent after you because the Curtain detected your presence. However, after I remembered that the Huntsmen headquarters had sent out no warning alerts, I realized that he must’ve gotten into an altercation with you over something else. Tell me, Veli Maplewood. Did the refugees make it out safely this time?”
Levi froze. “What?”
“I wasn’t able to join them on the journey because of a sudden emergency,” Terminus said quietly. “But… I provided them with a horse and a cart. Was it enough to get them to the other side? Or were they all cut down?”
Levi stared at him.
Terminus was the one who helped the refugees escape Yukihasa? He was the one who gave them the horse and wooden cart?
…
“They made it past the red line.”
Terminus closed his eyes, and it looked like a massive weight was lifted off him. “Thank goodness,” he breathed. “I’m glad.”
“Why did you help them?” Levi asked. “Did you know any of them?”
“No,” Terminus said as they resumed walking. “They were strangers to me. But they were people all the same. They deserved better lives than what they were cursed with. I don’t often have the time to smuggle people over the border – I’m only one man, in the end — but I do what I can, when I can.”
Levi’s opinion of the strange man rose by several degrees. Whatever he’d expected, it wasn’t this.
As they neared the tavern, Levi asked, “Anything I should know about your coworker?”
“Just be polite, and things should be fine,” Terminus said. “Oh, and please don’t take it personally if he acts a little grumpy. Normally, he’s super bright and cheerful, but lately, he’s been in a bit of a foul mood.”
“Why’s that? Because of the Huntsmen?”
“No, he got his arm cut off,” Terminus said as they reached the door. He chuckled as he reached for the door knob. “Please don’t take it personally if he says a few politically incorrect remarks. Apparently, some kid in Luminarche was responsible.”
Levi blinked. “Wait. Wait, what did you just say–?!”
Terminus swung open the tavern door to reveal Phantasm of the Crucible sitting at the bar, nursing a drink with his one remaining hand.
“Yo, Phantasm!” he called cheerfully, strolling inside. “This is the adventurer I told you about.”
Phantasm turned to them. “Hey, it’s nice to meet you–” He froze as his gaze fell on Levi. “Terminus?” he said slowly.
“Yes?”
“Fuck you.”______Hey, sorry for the delay. I've been dealing with some irl stuff lately that makes it very hard to write. Thankfully, it should be over relatively soon. Thank you all so much for your patience and understanding. I hope you enjoyed the chapter, thanks for reading!