Chapter 240 - Trade Relations

Nate stood on the foredeck of his flying ship as it sailed slowly over the sea of trees below them. He could feel that the mana gems powering the ship were slowly being drained, the mana gathering arrays they were attached to it unable to keep up with the mana cost now that they were back in the Wild Realm. The ambient mana was simply too much, empowering the Concept of Gravity to levels that required more from the runes Nate had created. It would mean the ship couldn’t sail endlessly through the skies here and they would need to land on occasion to maintain the mana stores. The other option was cycling mana gems, but since the mana gathering arrays were already pulling in everything they could near the ship, the stockpile of mana gems would need to have been prepared ahead of time. It didn’t seem like it would be an issue soon as Nate estimated that they could remain aloft for over a day before they would need to land. 

Kiri sat nearby on the deck inside of one of the Calikex tents with the Elders Ra’Paki and Jin’Kahn. After their meeting outside of the Dungeon had concluded, the Elders had invited Nate and Kiri back to their nearby city of Pinoreth, a name that meant the ‘City of Memory’. At first Nate had thought they were meant to leave right away to present themselves before Death’s Shadow. Instead the Elder’s had made it clear that while there was an expectation for them to do so, they should not leave until they were ‘called’. Whatever that meant. 

In the meantime, Ra’Paki had offered to have them stay with him. That was when Nate suggested that he fly them to this city of theirs. There had been some arguments, especially from Elder Rok’Nohn, mostly focused on the issue that the ship couldn’t ferry the entirety of the Calikex forces. In the end, with two Elders against one, the Calikex forces had divided. Now, Nate had around sixty Calikex on his ship and below deck. He had intentionally left out that he could have ferried them all if he let them enter his spatial zone. Ignoring his own concern about letting strangers into his private abode, Reciprocity had twinged at the very thought, informing him that they would’ve needed to give him something for doing so. Ferrying a fraction of the Calikex did not come with the same issue, as he was keen to see this city of theirs, and, as such, balance was achieved by giving them a lift, since it would mean he got to their destination faster.

Kiri seemed to be discussing trading opportunities along with learning a little about their culture. Eight Deep Guardians, a group apparently trained specifically to protect Elders, watched over the exchange. Nate felt a little guilty for not involving himself in the discussion, even if he was using his sphere of awareness and one of his mental focuses to pay attention. Kiri had of course made excuses for him standing separately, even if his sister only suspected what he was doing rather than knowing for a fact what he was up to.

Within his spatial zone, five mental focuses continuously carved new sigils into pieces of wood before filling them with mana to see if he could elicit a response. It had been a long time since Nate had tried to brute force learning a new Sigil and the problem was the esoteric nature of the Sigils he was hoping for. The first time he had done so for a Fire Sigil. However, Fire was incredibly common and likely used by most sapient species. Most, because anything that lived underwater probably wouldn’t bother. Leaning back on his University lessons, since Sigils were driven by the perception of sapient species, likely something to do with soul energy he acknowledged, that had meant Fire Sigils were very common. Especially weaker tier ones, like the Initiate-tier one he had originally produced. 

This time he was aiming for something as endemic to sapient cultures but perhaps less considered or thought about. Two Sigils, actually. The Concepts of Art and Paint were important for both his immediate and future plans. More importantly, they were both intrinsic to his Path, yet he lacked Sigils for both. For now he was focusing on a Sigil for Art, since he expected Paint to be even harder to figure out, but all he needed was to get a single working Sigil for them. Even if that Sigil was at the Initiate-tier, with Conceptual Insight he could quickly raise it to a Grandmaster version. He’d get no Divine Energy for doing so, but time was more important to him at the moment than milking every drop of Divine Energy that he could. He would, of course, then need to raise Conceptual Insight to level eighty so that he could get a new Divine effect for the Skill, specifically one that could raise a Grandmaster Sigil to a Divine one. With the Skill already at level sixty-four it would take at least another sixteen Divine Energy to raise, but that was a cost Nate was willing to pay.

He continued to flick through Sigil-esque images at a quick rate, giving each one a minute of attention to sense if he felt anything from them before moving onto the next one. With five mental focuses devoted to the task it meant that he was going through fifty variations every ten minutes. At this rate he was confident he could manage the task within a couple of days. The Sigil for Paint might take longer, but as far as he could tell, the only requirements left to meet the minimum standard set by Arikanvil was for Nate to craft them some gear and gain another four levels. With only a third of their time used, he was confident he had enough time remaining in the Wild Realm to handle everything and exceed the necessary developments to give he and Kiri a fighting chance in the Heartlands.

As he worked, he paid attention to the conversation Kiri was having with the Elders.

“I understand The Guide puts demands on Ascendants, but surely there should be no need for an exchange when I offer to have you stay within my home? It is a gift, I assure you, Ascendant Kiri,” grumbled Elder Ra’Paki.

“And I receive the offer on behalf of my brother and I in the spirit with which it was given, but I can feel that the scales would not be balanced if we were to accept. Surely there is something we can provide that would be of benefit to you or your people. It can be a small request,” replied Kiri diplomatically.

Nate wasn’t sure why she cared, since they could just stay in the house he’d been building for them, but then, he was more than willing to admit that he was barely passable when it came to diplomacy with other humans. The Calikex were humanoid, but clearly different with their black and red striated skin and totemic Paths. Better to leave Kiri to it.

“Must you stay together?” interjected Elder Jin’Kahn. “I would be happy to have your brother stay at my residence. His method of Ascendance is of interest to me and I would be happy to pay him for both his time and knowledge.”

Nate intentionally ignored the quick glance Kiri shot at him, laden with meaning as it was as the older, clearly female, Elder of the Calikex attempted to get him alone. Kiri was never going to let that one slide and Nate immediately started thinking up counters to the teasing she was undoubtedly going to unleash upon him later.

“I cannot speak for my brother in terms of sharing knowledge. You may broach that request with him later, but I imagine the cost would be steep since it is clear you desire it greatly. As for the offer of shelter, we would prefer to stay together,” Kiri answered.

“What about sparring?” asked Elder Ra’Paki. “As payment for shelter. Some sparring with our Deep Guardians would help sharpen their Skills and would be of little cost, assuming you did not make use of your Ascendant capabilities. Would that be acceptable?”

Nate smirked a little at the eager glint in his sister's eyes.

“Acceptable. Shelter and food beneath your roof, Elder Ra’Paki, and I will spar with your Deep Guardians to help them improve their Skills.”

“But not your brother, Ascendant Nate?” replied Ra’Paki dubiously.

“Depends on how you want them challenged. My brother’s Path is…adaptable. Once he sees how your Deep Guardians do battle he would simply come up with a method that perfectly counters them. Though, if you wanted him to pressure your Deep Guardians in different ways, we could discuss a price for such training,” explained Kiri.

The Elder’s looked confused for a moment, exchanging glances with each other.

“What do you mean by adaptable, Ascendant Kiri?” asked Elder Jin’Kahn.

Kiri looked to Nate who nodded subtly, giving her permission, even as he felt that familiar twinge of Reciprocity. Thankfully, it seemed Kiri did as well.

“What will you offer for an answer?” countered Kiri.

Elder Jin’Kahn looked thoughtful for a moment before she produced a shiny black pearl. 

“An Unending Black Pearl,” offered Jin’Kahn even as Ra’Paki raised his eyebrows in surprise.

If Nate had seen the mythic-tier material before the Mythic Dungeon he would’ve struggled, at least for a little while, with recognising the Concept embedded within the pearl. Now though it was clear to him that it resonated with the Concept of Depth. Depth was an interesting Concept to him as it clearly had multiple interpretations, much like Life. It also felt like it could be used in conjunction with most Concepts making it a force multiplier, or in this case, a crafting multiplier. Nate gave another nod to Kiri.

“Acceptable. To explain, I will ask Nate to answer himself.”

Nate moved to join them, taking a seat beneath the billowing tent that kept the worst of the sun's rays off them.

Sitting across from them he drew an additional mental focus onto the conversation so he could follow both their reactions.

“Most Paths I have encountered focus on a limited number of Concepts,” he began his explanation. “Elder Ra’Paki, you focus on the Concepts of Wind, Soaring, and Precision.”

The Elder’s eyes widened at having his secret outed but Nate had been able to sense the Concept in the way the Elder moved. Every movement was precise with no wasted effort.

“Elder Jin’Kahn, you focus on the Concepts of Lurking, Water, and Tentacles,” he continued.

While Elder Ra’Paki had been surprised at the revelation, Elder Jin’Kahn looked riveted, staring at Nate intently as though she was drinking in his every word.

“This is true even for my sister, who only focuses on two Concepts.”

He left unsaid what those Concepts were.

“You could make an argument that I focus on the Concept of Space as half of my Path, but the other half focuses on the idea of Concepts themselves and how to apply them. Gravity, Fire, Water, Wind and many others. I combine these Concepts into runic creations, both physical and mana creations, to influence these Concepts. That is why my sister calls me adaptable. Once I have seen the extent of your Deep Guardians Concepts and capabilities, I could create new runes that utilised Concepts that countered them.”

“How would you counter me?” asked Jin’Kahn curiously, offering the Deep Pearl as Nate was calling it to him.

“Light and Recall to reveal you. Fluid and Control to restrain your Water. Gravity and Deep to crush you where you considered yourself safest…hiding in the depths.”

Jin’Kahn tilted her head, not insulted at all before nodding, “That could work. The Shimmering Spears have successfully used Light to reveal my Disciples in the past. Contesting my control of water would, I hope, be more challenging. As for Gravity, the Deep Guardians are protectors of the Elders for a reason. Was that an intentional choice?”

“I suspected. I did not know,” answered Nate as he finished looking over the Deep Pearl, adding it to his crafting materials collection with a small application of Conceptual Spatial Manipulation and Spatial Doors.

“You would accept offerings to train our Deep Guardians, Ascendant Nate?” asked Ra’Paki. 

“Or others of worth,” quickly added Jin’Kahn.

Nate paused, giving the request some thought. His immediate consideration was more materials. While he could make his own, it was undoubtedly quicker to be given them. Especially since he could craft or work on his Skills at the same time as teaching or pressuring the Deep Guardians of the Calikex or anyone else they decided was worth his time.

“I would. More materials for crafting would be acceptable.”

“We shall see what can be arranged then,” replied a satisfied Elder Ra’Paki.

“Yes, it seems there is much we can learn from each other and much that can be exchanged. We hope that you enjoy your time among The People,” intoned Elder Jin’Kahn.

“Will Elder Rok’Nohn be a problem?” asked Kiri, her blue-eyed gaze serious.

“Even if he was foolish enough to attack a Heavens Blessed, which I admit he might be, he would never throw his life away against an Ascendant. There are none among the Jungle Stalkers. It is more likely he will try to turn public opinion against you. The Jungle Stalkers are the largest faction within Pinoreth and so his words will carry weight, but that just means he and his people will miss out on the rewards of cooperation. At the next Steps of Ascension games his faction will lose much face when the Sky Wardens and Depths Walkers beat them into the mud,” replied Elder Jin’Kahn, her smile vicious.

“Not the Deep Guardians?” asked Nate.

“The Deep Guardians Temple does not compete. Their temple does not reside in Pinoreth. They have their own temple far to the West. Their Disciples are traded to other factions to protect the Elders in return for gifts. They take only the best and they scoop them up while they are young. It is a great honour to be selected by the Deep Guardian Temple,” explained Ra’Paki.

Nate had glanced at their Classes and noted that like Jin’Kahn, two of the eight had achieved a Mythic Class.

“They retain their artifact, don’t they?” Nate commented idly, not particularly concerned with confirming his suspicions.

“They do,” answered Jin’Kahn carefully.

Nate nodded, “If the Depths Walkers also retain theirs, why do the Jungle Stalkers usually win this competition of yours?”

“More disciples means more resources that they can funnel to their best. The Depths Walkers is a small faction,” admitted Jin’Kahn. “It takes a certain temperament and disposition to be comfortable walking the oceans depths. Below the waves is often more dangerous than above.”

At her words even Ra’Paki seemed to nod in agreement as Jin’Kahn continued to speak.

“But enough of that. It is time for you to see our city. Come and let me show you the beauty of Pinoreth, the City of Memory.”

Carefully the Elder guided Nate and Kiri to the foredeck so that they could see the city in the distance. Sprawled across a protected bay stretched a city half on land and half on sea like a gem reflecting the sun and ocean in a sparkling display of blue and yellow. Nate smiled at the sight. A new painting had just been born.