Dao 3 Chapter 16

Before Dar could strategize much around what to negotiate for with The Prince, the man himself stormed in and plopped himself down on the couch opposite of Dar.

He didn’t say a word, simply staring at Dar as servants came in and deposited a number of platters on the table between them.

The servants all shuffled out, and as soon as the door closed, the Prince jumped on the food like a starving animal. “You have no idea how hungry I was up there. But it isn’t proper to eat during court.”

“Looks like pretty fucking hungry.” Dar said dryly as he took a block of cheese and scooted a pile of crackers onto a plate for himself before The Prince got everything.

Neko watched Dar and mimicked him, shoving what she wanted onto a plate and taking it with her as she leaned back on the couch.

The Prince resurfaced from stuffing his face after just a minute. “Can’t waste time or food. Too much to do and too little food. So, what do you want in return for clearing out the devils?”

“I don’t think you realize how monumental of a task it is to actually clear them out.” Dar started. “The chances I go in there and clear them out in one go is impossible.”

Tami jumped in. “What he’s saying is true. Even my father wouldn’t be able to do such a thing.”

“Then what are you proposing?” The Prince was suddenly far less cordial.

“I’m uniquely qualified to go in and remove the insect devils’ ability to continue to amass an army. It will also cut off the increase in trolls and gremlins. My hope is that those two things will create a situation in which the two can fight and dwindle each other down.”

“You said the insects were going to win.” The Prince pointed with a sausage, seeming to give up all semblance of etiquette.

“They will win because they have a queen that is able to breed endlessly.” Dar noticed that Tami tried to explain the issue without needing to talk about the Mo. “Darius believes he can stop that, and though I’ve never heard of what he claims he can do, he has certain credentials that I would be very hesitant to doubt.”

The Prince leaned forward, interested once again. “So you propose being able to cut off their ability to continue to amass an army?”

“Yes. Once I cut off that ability, the trolls and insects that are still alive will still both need the same scarce resources. They should still fight. The only difference is their losses won’t recover, or at least not anywhere near the extent they are recovering today.” Dar put forward his idea. There was no way in hell he was going to fight both armies of devils at the same time.

Although Dar wasn’t sure if he’d be able to after he killed the Mo and absorbed its power, he could hope. He could only assume he’d get another nice boost of power and rapidly grow stronger. By the time the devils settled down from their in-fighting, he might be in a position to help further.

“And what do you want for this?” The Prince asked. “Would you like what you sent your maid for previously?”

Dar was at least thankful he had the tact to not say that he’d sent for Tami’s brother’s dao book in front of her. “No. This is worth far more than that. What I want is simple. I want my village, Hearthway, to not be considered part of Kindrake. You have no stake in it, so the kingdom can expect nothing of us beyond trade, as you would a foreign kingdom.”

The Prince choked on the food he’d been eating. “I could make you Duke of Bellhaven if you wanted. Why would you want to be separate from Kindrake?”

“Why be a duke under the thumb of your people? No, I want Hearthway to be officially separate. In return for me doing this, you’ll recognize my family as the rulers of the kingdom.” Dar wasn’t going to budge. He knew his terms, and he knew The Prince was in a difficult position.

“Absolutely not.” The Prince put down the food and crossed his arms.

Tami looked confused. “Why is it a problem?” She tried to help Dar’s cause.

“Because that is a lot of land.” The Prince shook his head. “Plus, the location… no.”

“We will sign and certify that we won’t interrupt trade along the Bell River. I know how important a trade route is for Kindrake.” Dar tried to reassure him.

That made The Prince a little happier, but he still waffled his head back and forth in thought. “No, still can’t. I could demand that you and your village deal with this problem.”

Dar stood, nearly knocking over the table, and grabbed The Prince by his lapel, lifting him up into the air. “You could. And I could kill you. But I don’t, because that’s not what reasonable people do.” Dar let that sink in, placing the man back on the floor. “If you demand we serve the Kingdom, then we’ll rebel. One hundred angry demons and spirits raiding up and down the Bell River, maybe even sacking the farming villages outside Kindrake itself. I’m sure that would go over wonderfully come spring, don’t you think?”

Dar knew Kindrake couldn’t afford to split their focus or have a weaker harvest come spring.

The Prince’s face was red with fury. “I’ll draft something up acknowledging your… Hearthway as a kingdom outside Kindrake. But you’ve made enemies today.”

“I don’t think you can play politics without making enemies. While I may not be your favorite, you now understand me as your equal.” Dar smiled, letting go of The Prince.

“You must swear oaths to complete the task and to the provisions of not touching trade on the Bell River.” The Prince fell back to the couch as he talked.

“No.” Dar wasn’t about to tangle himself up in any of their oaths. “No king would swear such oaths to another. Are you saying that Kindrake is concerned about our little village?”

That rankled The Prince. “Then you have to take Tami with you. She’ll certify that the job is done. You ask for too much; I at least must have absolute confidence that the job is complete.”

Dar looked over at Tami. “Agreed, as long as you clear her of any existing oaths to you before we head out.”

The Prince’s mouth flopped like a fish before he spat out. “Fine.”

He knew the Prince had secondary plans, maybe even to get them both killed to avoid giving away a chunk of the kingdom. He wasn’t about to go into the belly of the beast with someone under oath to him.

Tami gave Dar a concerned look. She likely thought he’d gotten himself into waters deeper than he could handle. But at this point, it was the clearest way to protect Hearthway. Being separate from Kindrake and untangling themselves from the war that was coming in the spring was the best option.

Dar had thought about becoming something within Kindrake and elevating himself to a noble house, but what did that really do? He would likely waste his time arguing with people who wouldn’t change their minds or listen to him, anyway.

Dar felt confident in the path he’d chosen. They’d disentangle themselves from Kindrake while still making sure bigger threats to the area were removed.

“Tami, you are dismissed of any oaths from me.” The Prince stated. “You’ll be back here tomorrow morning to pick up the necessary documents, and I expect them to stay in your possession until he completes the task.”

“Understood.” Tami nodded.

“As for you.” The Prince glared at Dar. “You’ll leave tomorrow and deal with this problem as soon as possible.”

Dar didn’t like The Prince once again, trying to issue orders towards him. “I was already planning on heading out tomorrow. This city doesn’t exactly give me the warm fuzzies.”

The Prince grumbled and stood. “I have things to work on. See yourselves out.” Without bothering to give Dar any more attention, he stormed out.

“He did not like that.” Neko said as soon as they were alone.

“You think?” Tami rolled her eyes. “He was positively livid.”

Dar sighed. “That’s just his type. They can loan you a piece of anything, but to take something from them… you might as well be taking a pound of flesh.”

“Well, it seems you got what you wanted.” Tami added.

Dar grinned from ear to ear. “That I did. I also protected my village from being involved in a war next spring.”

Surprise turned into a thoughtful smile on Tami’s lips. “Was that what you were trying to accomplish with that?”

“No, at least not just that. What I wanted was independence. If it wasn’t this war, it would be a famine, or another war. We’ve been able to live quietly while the devils kept everybody holed up in cities, but when we remove the problem, Bellhaven is going to stretch back out its influence.”

Dar grabbed his plate, working to finish his food so he could get back.

“Was it wise to pick him up? I think you bruised his ego, and possibly his neck.” Tami dug into the leafy snack she’d picked out for herself.

“Oh, that was a terrible idea. But it felt good, and I think he’ll have his hands too busy to focus on me. If push comes to shove, I can always follow through on my own threat, but I’d just come down to Bellhaven and sack it.” Dar laughed. “If Frost’s Fang isn’t going to protect him, I could easily lead my village down here through the gates and strip the nobles from the city.”

Tami’s face drained of blood at his statement.

Neko, however, had a feral grin. “Then we’d have ALL the goats!”

“Yes, then we’d have all the goats we could ever want. We could make you a bath out of their milk.”

The cat girl's eyes were so wide that they threatened to pop out. “Too bad that would make me a bad Neko.”

“Yes, it would.” Dar patted her on the shoulder, relieved that she’d come to that conclusion on her own.

Tami shook her head in disbelief at the conversation before her. “I’ll be ready tomorrow at dawn. The hills are going to be a whole day’s walk for you.”

“Then I better go get rested.” Dar pushed off the couch, and Neko rose with him, never leaving his side. “I’ll see you back at your place Tami.” He didn’t wait for her to finish, heading out on his own. It was clear to him that Tami needed some time to think.

And Dar needed to settle in for the night, rest up while he continued cultivating the bright dao. Unlike the others, he had no dao companionship connection to this dao, nor was the little dao tree connected to it.

This one was going to take longer than the others, so he couldn’t waste any time.

He went straight back to the room in Tami’s home and made himself comfortable, settling down into meditation.

***

“Milord, it is time to get up.” Amber shook Dar gently from his sleep.

He had spent a few hours trying to carve the dao of bright into his body, but once again, he had been met with mixed success. Learning a new dao without the benefit of a dao companion or the little dao tree was difficult.

Of course, he knew that if he complained about that to Sasha, she might just slap him. Most demons and spirits took years to learn a new dao. This one might actually take him a week, and that he considered it ‘slow’ would infuriate her.

“I’m up.” Dar groaned, pushing off the bed and letting his covers fall off of him. Neko was curled up against his side.

Neko stretched out, closing and opening her hands as she yawned. “Too early.”

“If you’d like to go to my inner world now, then you can keep sleeping.”

Neko cracked an eye and gave him a smile before nuzzling up against him. “Dar is the best.”

He chuckled, bringing her into his inner world. He needed to get the maids in there as well. Now that they had brought food with them, they’d be able to survive for several days. And even if they hadn’t, soon some of the trees that Cherry was nurturing might even bear fruit.

He might even have his own little ecosystem soon.

“Food, Milord. You need to get going soon.” Marcie pushed a plate into his hand.

“Thank you both. I don’t know what I’d do without you two.”

They both beamed at his praise. Dar was resistant to having the two girls wait on him, but he had to admit, it was pretty comfortable.

“Milord. We have our supplies.” Amber pulled an overstuffed sack from the corner of the room over, and Dar brought it into his inner world.

But then she surprised him, bringing in two more baskets and another more reasonably full sack.

“How long are you guys planning to be in there?” He asked.

“We thought it best not only to prepare for this time, but future times as well.”

Dar hoped they wouldn’t be cooped up in his inner world that much, but it made sense. “Sounds good. Does that mean you are ready to join Neko?”

“Yes, Milord.” Amber bowed and held Marcie’s hand before he drew them into his inner world.

Right after they entered, there was a knock on his door.

“Come in.” He called.

Tami cracked the door and peered inside. “I thought you were talking to someone.” She frowned. “Where are the maids?”

“They come and go.” He shrugged.

Her eyes wandered to the bedsheet draped over his waist. “Maybe I should come back.”

Dar pulled back the sheet, and she averted her eyes before looking back and seeing that he was wearing pants. He smiled, enjoying messing with her. “Let me eat this meal and then get a shirt on. I’ll be ready to go with you here shortly. How was The Prince after I left?”

“Irate.” Tami sighed, taking a seat. “He made the documents. I have them on the table.”

“Did you look them over? Any problems?”

“None. He did as you asked, if minimally. The royal family giving up a piece of their kingdom, no matter how small, is a big move. Are you sure this is what you wanted? You have made an enemy out of The Prince. He will look like a fool to his father.” She cautioned him.

Dar shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. The Prince isn’t the kind of friend I want. And I was bound to defy an order sooner or later. With this, I’ll be able to protect Hearthway.”

“You go to great lengths for them.” Tami sounded almost a little jealous.

“Of course. I’d go to the ends of the world for my family.” Dar said without hesitation.

Focusing back on his food, Dar devoured it with a gusto. He barely even tasted it as he gobbled it down. His shirt was wrinkled, but it wasn’t like a nicely pressed shirt saved him from a devil’s attack. He didn’t much care how he looked while he was in the forest.

“All done. Let’s head out.” Dar looked around the room, making sure that all of his belongings were safely transported into his inner world.

“Don’t you need… things?” Tami looked back over his shoulder into his room with a frown.

“They come and go.” He chuckled, enjoying not satisfying her curiosity.

“Sure.” Tami said, confused. She grabbed her bag and a cylindrical metal tube that no doubt contained the documents that the Prince had prepared.

Dar took it with thanks and stored it in his inner world the first second Tami’s back was turned. He knew she was supposed to keep it until the job was done, but he’d rather have it safely tucked away.

It was risky, potentially revealing his inner world, but he was also becoming less cautious as he grew stronger. It would soon be hard for others to tear him down without a fight.

He had two greater dao, and he was closing in on his third. With the third, he’d have the ability to form a grand dao.

But he couldn’t dwell on that too much. That would take some time, and the next step was to deal with the Mo.

Tami turned back around, noticing that the canister was gone. “Where’d it go?” She looked at his hands.

“Things come and go a lot around me.” Dar smiled. “It’s safe though.”

She frowned but decided not to press for answers. Instead, she belted on her own pack and hung a few filled water skins from her shoulder before thinking better of it. “Do you think you could make these water skins go and come back when we need them?” She arched an eyebrow.

“Let me see.” He took them and held them in his hand for a moment. Tami wasn’t turning back around.

Dar decided to wait, slinging them over his shoulder. “Are we going?”

“What about the water skins?”

“I’ll carry them for now.” He smiled back and as she went to open the door, he made them disappear into his inner world. She whipped back around, her eyes growing wide as they couldn’t find the skins.

“How?”

“Dunno.” Dar played dumb. “Things just come and go.”

Tami snorted. “Fine, keep your secrets. We have a full day's trip ahead of us, and it won’t be easy. I hope you are feeling better than yesterday.”

He knew she wouldn’t believe it, but he was feeling much better. Not quite a hundred percent, but above ninety. With the time it would take them to reach their destination, he had confidence he’d be fully healed.

“Have any more secrets I should know about?” Tami pressed as they walked out of her home and down the street.

“Not sure.” Dar said honestly. “But I might still have a few more surprises. Hopefully, we won’t need them.”

Tami waved to the guards as they approached the wall. Dar always braced when coming and going from the city, expecting trouble, but the guards waved them through without fanfare.

Tami eyed him. “Just don’t surprise me too much. Now, are you up for a run?”

Dar looked out of the city gates toward the flat plane. It looked like the forest had been cut back in that area. “Yeah. Might as well speed this up if we can. At least until we get to the forest, I can keep jogging.”

Dar knew he had the strength and the power to do many things in this world, but the stamina to run for hours? That just might test his limits. Although he wouldn’t know until he tried.