Orphan At The Edge Of The World 107 Crawling Chaos 5

Mr. Wei came from the office and said, "If the local boys catch you flirting with my niece, they may cause you grief."

Blandly, Orison said, "Please enlighten an ignorant guest as to what part of my interaction could be misconstrued as flirting so I never do it again."

Refusing to acknowledge her uncle's comment in any way, the young woman walked off as if she hadn't heard anything.

Mr. Wei gestured to his back room and explained, "Politeness isn't just an act of courtesy, Orison. It is also a way of showing distance. A man being rude to a lady signifies familiarity. This isn't something unique to us."

Orison chewed on the flavors of truth in the statement as he followed Mr. Wei down into an underground tunnel. "Am I under or overdressed for whatever this is? I was under the impression that a person who enjoys traversing the rivers and lakes wanted to speak to me."

Mr. Wei stopped walking and turned to look at Orison. "My I see what she has sent you."

Orison handed over the receipt. A few moments later, the older man laughed and placed the receipt in his pocket.

Mr. Wei began leading the way again as he said, "I fear that she was intentionally being misleading to encourage your hasty arrival. She is known to answer 'gazing at the reflections on the water's surface'. I believe that was supposed to be a qilin looking at it's own distorted reflection and the hunter who has invited misfortune on himself for injuring it."

Orison muttered to himself, "Dusting her with her own sneak attack is hardly injuring her."

At the end of the tunnel was a large bronze door. Emblazoned upon it was a fierce dragon whose mouth held a metal knocker the size of a wine barrel ring.

Mr. Wei raised and lowered the knocker in an irregular pattern a few times before he turned to Orison and said, "This is as far as I can go. I've often wondered what lied beyond the veil of darkness on the other side."

The young mage said, "Likely more darkness, just of a different kind."

Mr. Wei s.h.i.+vered as if he had caught a chill and said, "I hope more than that. Those who call this place their own are all that stand between us and the end of all things."

Orison thought to himself. "That's a tall order of bull c.r.a.p at face value. Then again, Mr. Wei's 'us' might be very selective."

While the young mage batted around how much of the game he found himself playing in was he willing to endure before walking away, the bronze door opened to darkness. As Orison peered through it with spirit sight, an instinctual feeling told him that the darkness was dangerous, just not to him. It was a feeling that rose up from his marrow and vibrated through his being subtly.

Orison sighed and muttered to himself, "So that's what Rithus meant when he was always going on about the shadow in his bones. What an unsettling feeling."

Shaking his head, Orison walked through the cold, damp, lightless veil. Once he was through the other side, there was an elderly gentleman holding out a blanket to him. To keep the poor man from hurting himself, Orison took the blanket from the man's arms and tried to thank the old man before realizing that the elderly gentleman didn't speak the language his boundary baptism provided. It was the first time that Orison was even consciously aware that boundary crossings did such a thing and it made him wonder what else got 'added in' during such events.

The old man may not have been able to understand Orison's words but wasn't clueless to the possible meaning and smiled encouragingly. Lacking any better way, Orison draped the blanket over his arm and gave the old man the bow for elders. For some reason Orison was stopped but the old man's smile turned up several watts.

An imperious man's voice said, "That was a taste of the veil between us and the great enemy. Do well to-"

As the well dressed and groomed middle aged eastern man came into the room and noticed that Orison seemed to be none the worse for wear, the man stopped whatever speech he had readied.

After a faint pause, the man said, "You can leave the blanket on the bench to your right. Since you don't need time to recover, follow me."

Folding the blanket neatly, Orison laid it on the stone bench and cupped his hands to the old man before turning to follow the new arrival. Something about the middle age man rubbed Orison the wrong way. The well groomed Asian man seemed to project that all who stood in his presence should automatically respect and pay homage to him.

As much as the young mage hoped he was wrong, such people tended to measure others in their value of use only. It reminded him of Emir. That made him wary and distrustful. Thankfully, they didn't have far to go and the other figures in the room remained hidden in shadows for the most part. Once the man Orison had taken an instinctual disliking to had joined the rest, a beam of light illuminated a bowling ball sized pearl resting on a cus.h.i.+oned pedestal.

The voice of the arrogant acting man said, "Step forward and touch the pearl. Have a care not to move it or press too hard. The consequences would be dire."

Not moving from the spot he stood, Orison asked, "Why?"

The man's voice said, "You need not know, just do as you are told."

Eyes shaking from a shot of adrenaline, Orison managed to hold his tongue. The training and meditative guidance Pelenel had given granted him that much but the core of rage was still there, only more tightly controlled.

Orison projected an icy lack of emotion he far from felt as he said, "On the contrary. I do need to know or I will not do as I am told."

The imperious man's voice boomed from the shadows, "Then leave the way you've come! We are done here."

Without thinking twice, Orison sharply spun on his heels and walked out.

An older woman's voice that was no less demanding said, "Wait!"

The young mage continued as if he hadn't heard her. Oddly, no one stopped him as he made his way back to the dark veil of a doorway. The 'shadow in his bones' told him that the way back would be discomforting but still not dangerous. It suddenly made some sense why they might not have sent someone after him, relying on the veil to either deter, punish or maybe even kill him for all he could really guess.

The slight pause at the veil was enough time for Orison to notice the look of sad longing on the old man's face. It wasn't directed at him but the veil. On an impulse he had a difficult time understanding, Orison wrapped the man in his hooded cloak and wrapped his aura around them both. With the additional burden, he could feel that the veil would become something more than discomforting but chose to do it anyway.

With one last look at the old man's face to make sure he wasn't doing something against the elderly gentleman's will, finding only grim resolution, the young mage knelt down so the man could latch onto his back in as much of a dignified manner available. As Orison stepped through the veil, there was a gasp of shock coming from further behind him. What the person's reason was for being there would remain a mystery because Orison faced a pain not much less intense than his boundary baptism but he was required to walk which made it just as unbearable.

Though it was only a few dozen steps, the only thing that kept Orison on his feet towards the end was the sure knowledge that if he fell or even staggered roughly, the old man on his back would be exposed to the veil and die. Once he had made it to the other side, he knelt back down as slowly as he could but even relieved of the weight on his back, Orison's knees gave out and they hit the floor with a jarring thud. Eyes blurry and shaking like a leaf, palsied hands trying vainly to lift him back up gave him the resolution to collect his thoughts enough to access a bit of stored essence in his body.

Relying on the gnarled fingers gripping his arm, Orison let the old man lead him back down the tunnel. Close to the end of which, a set of stronger hands took over and guided him the rest of the way. The stairs were a form of torture themselves but the velvet couch cus.h.i.+ons that he was lead to afterwards made the extra effort worth it. The last thing he remembered before pa.s.sing out was the ominous growl of Nibbles and the deep baritone voice of Herne issuing a warning Orison wasn't cognizant enough to understand.

Snapping back to consciousness a few minutes later, the young mage began a.s.sessing what had affected him so deeply. His body was sickly pale with a faint grayish hue. Within his s.p.a.ce, dense compact granules of black crystal peppered the larger one that filled the entirety of his s.p.a.ce's unoccupied area. There was a subtle sense that his s.p.a.ce would have ruptured if not for the intensity of the uniform pressure that had forced the inert spirit essence into him while he was in the veil. It very likely still would rupture if he didn't get Herne and Nibbles back into the dangerously tested boundary of his mini plane.

The young mage said, "Herne, you and Nibbles need to head back. I can't take in any more junk essence or I'm going to split open."

When he looked around him, Orison saw that aside from Mr. Wei and his niece there was also two others. One man looked friendly enough but the other looked openly hostile and ready to attack at the slightest reason.

The hostile one said, "He may seem to be fine but one look can attest that he has lost too much vitality. He could transform into one of the lost at any moment. There is no need to take risks for an outsider."

Orison said, "Only the surface has. My core vitality has been damaged but I'm far from death's door. If I can meditate without having to worry about someone trying to poke holes in me, I'll recover from corpse to cholera survivor in about an hour."

Mr. Wei spoke up to keep the hostile man from spewing any more vitriol. "I'll verify his claim, second brother," After examining Orison a bit, he added, "It's true. I don't exactly know how but the majority of exposure to the shadow tide was kept to the surface. Without any treatment, he could easily live to see thirty."

Instead of reducing the 'second brother's hostility, the only thing that kept the man from attacking Orison was the other man that was with him.

"Release me, third brother! This menace is no friend to the Tong. After surviving, he'll only grow stronger and become a greater threat," The man said, redness showing through his tawny skin.

Anger poking through dull and sluggish senses, Orison said, "Why? Because I wouldn't kiss your leaders' collective a.s.ses? I'm not an employee, subordinate or family member. By what right does your tong possess the authority to demand blind obedience from me? I only asked why I needed to touch the pearl and I would have done what I was asked after being offered an explanation."

The man nearly exploded in rage. "You were offered an honor that no Westerner has been given since the founding of the tongs and you spit on that honor. You deserve death for your disrespect!"

Orison retorted, "I didn't even know why the h.e.l.l I had been called for. No one even asked me if I wanted to join. Or did you just a.s.sume that I would jump at the chance? Let me save you some trouble. I'm not interested in offering anyone blind obedience...ANYONE!

"I'll tell you what. Bow down before me and fondle my pearls. I'll let you join the f***ing Lollipop Guild. What? You won't do it? You deserve death for your disrespect... See how f***ing ludicrous that sounds? Probably not, you brainwashed puppet."

Using some telekinesis, Orison rose to his feet and ignored the swirl of dizziness, allowing his sub-mind to handle technicalities. "I apologize for bringing this chaos into your home, Mr. Wei. Should I be worried for the safety of the old man I brought back?"

Before Mr. Wei could say anything, the hostile man said, "No need to concern yourself over our family's affairs, white dev-"

The man who had been holding him back until that moment finally had something to say and he did it with a fist. 'Second Brother' had been knocked out.

The familiar voice of 'river and lake' said, "The man you brought back with you is our father. He had been stuck on the other side of the gate playing steward for the last twenty years due to no one being willing or able to help him return. I and First Brother are deeply grateful for his return."

Unwilling to stick around Orison said, "Despite my small tiff, I'm still willing to be a helpful visitor as long as the Tong doesn't treat me as an enemy."

'Jianghu' replied, "That will be no problem. The Long family members are custodians of another gate far from here and I am the discipline elder of ours... Far from being offended, the leader of our gate was impressed by your willful act and bravery... He may not be willing to offer a hand of friends.h.i.+p yet but he's willing to extend some acceptance.

With sub-mind offering minute corrects, Orison started making his way to the door with moderate dignity.

As if suddenly knocked from personal thought's Mr. Wei said, "Let me see you out, Orison."

Once out of eye and ear shot of anyone observable, Mr. Wei handed Orison a rosewood box. "It's far short of making up for what you lost but there is so little vitality restoratives left in the world."

Orison took a quick peek in the box before closing it quickly and using precious magic reserves to seal and lock it. Among the mundane selection and high end dredge ingredients inside were a fine clipping of whisker-like ginseng roots that were well preserved. The small peek he took had made them lose a noticeable portion of their potent, if meager in volume, vital essence.

Orison said, "I recognize how generous of a gift this is. So much so that I would reject it if my need for items of their nature wasn't far beyond a simple healing of the damage to my longevity. If you have some ten year or higher preserved ginger, royal jelly and some virgin beeswax, I'll try my best to return a spring for the drop of water you're giving me now. I'll need some time, though."

Mr. Wei said, "You... A cold dan recipe!? What are your chances of success?... Sorry, sorry... I was only fl.u.s.tered for a moment... I only would need a day at most for the ginger, the other two I can get now."

Orison unconsciously wobbled a little. "If there's a reliable driver you know, I have one additional small favor. I don't think it's such a good idea for me to take myself home and Detective Neil needs to be picked up tomorrow morning. They could use the car for any personal needs until they return it with the ginger tomorrow evening."

The middle aged man nodded and walked with purpose back to his shop as Orison poured himself into the pa.s.senger side of his own car after a grueling walk. Unwilling to trust his environment, until he was home, Orison planned on staving off resting trance. When a familiar argumentative young woman sat in the driver's seat and asked him for his keys, Orison simply handed them over with a mumbled 'thank you'.

Somewhere along the way back to the apartment, Orison managed to relay the address of where Neil was but didn't remember much after that. The next morning, his sub-mind informed him that once his reserves. .h.i.t the point where regeneration would begin slowing down, it had canceled telekinesis and relied on the young woman to get them the rest of the way to bed. Flashes of being princess carried by her didn't affect him much but the sub-mind's reluctant flash of how he had called her mom in his delirium had him vainly hope they'd never meet again.

After running through a round of meditation and blending up a medicinal smoothie for himself and the detective, Orison left a note for Neil and headed back for bed. Broken from his second round of half trance meditation by Neil's return, Orison attempted to reestablish his empty mind state when there was a knock on his hallway door. When he opened it, he saw the last person he wanted to see at the moment.

Maintaining a neutral face, Orison said, "I hope the reflection in the water reveals some aged ginger."

The young woman smiled and said, "Don't worry. I, your mother, am a reliable person. Detective, car and goods are delivered in the condition which they were received."

Wanting to cut off the burning ears that betrayed his poker face, Orison kept in mind what Mr. Wei had said about rudeness indicating familiarity. "Thank you Ms. Wei. Here is some cab fare and reasonable compensation for your efforts on my behalf. Do you require a cab called? I can provide some refreshments while you wait as well."

The young woman gave a saucy smirk at Orison's attempts to blow off her comment.

Taking the offered money, she said, "No need, my son. I have other business in the area."

Taking a deep breath through his nose, Orison said, "Please give my regards to your uncle. If that's all, since I'm unwell, I won't see you out."

Finished, Orison closed the door with measured, polite speed.

Evil glee in her voice, the young woman said through the door, "Drink plenty of fluids and get your rest, unfilial brat."

Simmering, Orison sat on his bed and muttered, "You win round two but you better hope there's not a round three. It will be one h.e.l.l of a tie breaker. I promise."