Chapter 225: Stragglers

Author’s note: Hi everyone.

Time really flies, another week almost behind us.

Enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 225: Stragglers - link: https://www.patreon.com/posts/124345305

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Chapter 225: Stragglers

Ashe scanned the faces around her, her tension easing when she saw no one familiar, no smirks, no laughter at her slip-up. Wouldn’t have shocked her. Their group thrived on banter, even Zander wasn’t spared. The jibes kept the edges sharp, the bonds tighter. Better to take a few jabs than let the weight of the life grind them down. If you couldn’t handle it - well, you wouldn’t last long.

Didn’t mean she swallowed it down easy when the jokes hit her. Screwing up and getting laughed at stung. But she had laughed plenty at others’ blunders, too. It all evened out in the end.

"Where in the depths are they?" she cursed, fumbling with the dagger. The statue at the center of the teleportation platform - that was the spot. Even a brainless monster could find it. Yet, as the sun dipped toward the horizon, she sat alone at the feet of Traiana, the patron of the local labyrinth.

'Did they all get caught? Unlikely.'

Sure, some of them were thick-headed - Zander, for one - but muscle and magic didn’t make them fools. The South didn’t let fools live long. They either ended up in graves or trapped in miserable jobs, toiling away for coins that barely kept them breathing, raising ungrateful whelps who would spit on your grave.

'Better to dive down into the depths and face the beasts.' Ashe's gaze flitted to the seekers on the platform, heading into and returning from the depths below her. Their numbers never dwindled, not even as dusk crept in. Not that it mattered - day or night held no meaning below. The labyrinth had its own rules, its own time, bent by magic.

Same for the weather.

You might step into morning’s golden breath, warm wind at your back, as well as find yourself at mercy of a midnight’s fury, hail lashing down like jagged glass.

'Ah, at last,' Ashe let out a slow breath as a familiar figure stepped into her domain. Yonas. A mage with a talent for air, spells as sharp and shifting as the wind. Just like his nature - drifting, untethered.

"Why the tears?" She waited for the labyrinth’s hold to loosen, then grinned. "Miss me that much?"

"Oh, sure - nothing like the sight of your ass to lift my spirits," he shot back, wiping his tears and studying them. "I like this one a lot more - don't feel like killing myself."

"Yeah," Ashe murmured, stepping closer and clapping a hand on his shoulder. "Glad someone made it."

He went still, eyes sharp as they met hers. "Just you? Thought Zander had you waiting for stragglers - or something."

"I wish."

"Shit. You think...?"

"Too soon to tell."

Right. Wouldn’t be shocked if Nebay and Zula turned up in the tavern. Seen plenty of them on the road. Or Shewit in some brothel."

"Nothing caught your eye?" Ashe smirked - she knew damn well that Yonas couldn’t say no to books on magic.

"Unlike those idiots, I know when to indulge and when to stay sharp. Anyway, the Shadowbreaker rumors seem true. They made a mess of the city, and now the guard’s twisting it to blame mind mages." Yonas scowled. "Makes no damn sense. Why protect a Seeker company that turned on them? And why pin it on the mind mages of all people?"

"It's easy," Ashe uttered without thinking, digging her thumb into his chest. "The fear is still in our hearts."

"So you think those gate checks are just there to keep the Wars fresh in people’s minds? A way to keep ‘em in line - figures. Still, that’s dark, even for those Sahal bastards."

"Never doubt how far they’ll go," Ashe snorted, then hesitated. "But that’s not their aim, not this time. At least, I think. I saw a mind-touched at the gate, Yonas."

Yonas studied her, waiting to laugh at her bad joke. "You sure it wasn’t just for show?"

"If it was, then they’ve got a mind mage working for them."

"Well..."

No need to speak it aloud - they both knew that the Sahal nobility Sahal’s nobility festered with greed and corruption. And it wasn’t just them. That kind of rot clung to humanity itself. Not even Ashe was immune to it.

Everything had a price. If the coin was right, she would cut Yonas’ throat. He would do the same, snuffing the breath from her lungs without a second thought. As for her and Zander...

'Better to never know.'

"Ashe, look - Birhane," Yonas said, snapping her from her thoughts, nodding toward the stairs leading to the labyrinth platform, where a short figure in a green cloak made his way down. Hood drawn low, scarf wound tight, his face was hidden, but there was no mistaking his gait. Quite an unusual sight. She was used to him in nothing but shorts.

"You think he'll ever get used to the cold here?" Yonas’ smirk matched hers.

They were born into the unrelenting heat of the south - days scorched by the sun, nights kept warm by sand and stone. Even Ashe found the temperatures here not suitable for the light clothing she wore in the south. Still, the number of her sigils, and then especially some of her weaves, made the change bearable. Pants and long sleeves were all it took.

"I’d put coins on him wearing a winter coat first," she said.

Yonas smirked. "Yeah. That stubborn bastard would rather have his balls freeze off than admit his weaves are useless."

Ashe chuckled under her breath.

"What’s so damn funny?" Birhane growled, barely stopping his teeth from chattering as he stomped up to them.

"Nothing," Yonas said, too amused for his own good. "Just thinking about your reaction to the statue." He jerked a thumb back at Traiana.

Birhane spat, the glob landing near the statue’s base. "That thing’s not getting in my head unless I’ve got no choice." His gaze sharpened. "Speaking of, they've been poking around in yours too? If I cross paths with that healer again, I’ll carve him open."

You’ve seen the guards, haven’t you?"

"So?"

"So maybe don’t make us their problem. Zander would tell you the same."

"Where is he anyway - and where's the rest?"

A knot twisted in Ashe's gut. The square was already illuminated by the light of magic lamps, but only three of the twenty-one were present. 'Something went terribly wrong.'

"See? Told you we wouldn’t be last," Zewdi’s voice cut through the stillness, her twin, Zeray, right next to her.

"Doesn’t change the fact that you could’ve bathed later."

"You didn’t seem to mind when you were busy chatting up that tit in the next tub."

"Had to do something while waiting - you took an age."

"Not my fault! Felt like the grime had crawled all the way up my - oh, hey, guys!" Zewdi threw a bright wave their way, but Ashe’s unease only deepened. And with each new arrival, it only got worse. By midnight, they were seventeen. Four still missing. Zander among them.

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Author’s note: Have a great weekend. :)

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