Chapter 8: The Locals

The sun was low now, approximately an hour from sunset. The shadows cast by the trees across the road stretched longer than they had earlier in the day. Arthur's Dissonance had dropped down to 350 points as they continued walking; slow but steady improvement. Another hour, or less, and Arthur would likely be back in the safe zone. At that point he could move more comfortably and wouldn’t run the risk of damaging his Cadence further.

Merchant Hua spoke again. There was a questioning quality to his tone. Arthur glanced at the merchant and produced a non-committal sound. Merchant Hua smiled, seemingly content with Arthur’s response, and began to walk again.

The young boy had been observing Arthur's facial expressions since they set off. Not constantly, nor obviously. However, the boy's attention returned to Arthur every few seconds. Watching him. Studying him.

Arthur recognized the mannerisms of the boy as similar to his own when he was that age (he was twelve when he first Attuned to Ember Harmonic). The hunger to learn, the desire to study. Arthur spent many hours studying his teachers at the Academy when he was a student. He watched how they moved, how they gestured, and attempted to extract every bit of knowledge he could from observation.

The boy was doing the same thing. The boy could not ask questions due to the language barrier; he could not receive verbal instructions. So, he was learning through observation, cataloging Arthur’s techniques, attempting to determine how they functioned.

That type of thinking was intelligent; it was disciplined; it was the type of mind that did not take surface-level answers but instead delved deeper to find the underlying principles beneath the surface.

Arthur found that type of thinking admirable. He appreciated it. A curious mind was valuable regardless of the age of the individual possessing it.

The boy made a small gesture. He raised one hand very slowly, palm facing outward, fingers spread apart. He then closed his fist, then opened it again. The action was purposeful; deliberate; not aggressive.

Arthur observed the boy, but he did not respond. Arthur had no idea what the gesture indicated. Was it a greeting? A question? A test to see whether Arthur understood local customs?

The boy repeated the gesture. This time he nodded toward Arthur’s hand expectantly.

Arthur understood. The boy wanted Arthur to mimic the gesture. Some sort of hand signal. The boy was attempting to develop a non-verbal language system.

That was clever.

Arthur raised his own hand and duplicated the gesture. Open palm. Closed fist. Open palm.

Something in the boy's demeanor relaxed slightly. The boy nodded once. Then he performed a different gesture. He pointed at himself, twice, tapped his chest, then pointed at Arthur expectantly.

Introduction. The boy was identifying himself and asking for Arthur’s name.

Arthur pointed at himself and said “Arthur” clearly. Then pointed at the boy expectantly.

The child replied immediately. “Tao.” He tapped his chest again. “Tao.”

Arthur nodded. “Tao.” He had the boy’s name now. That was a step forward.

Merchant Hua had noticed the exchange. He began speaking again. More rapidly. Gesturing between Arthur and the boy. Probably explaining where they were headed or something.

Arthur still had no idea what he was saying.

He made another sound of acknowledgement. Merchant Hua smiled enthusiastically and continued talking.

For another thirty minutes, they walked. The forest grew thinner. The road expanded and the surface of the road improved. Gravel had recently been laid down in sections of the road. Ditches had been dug along each side of the road to drain the surface. Someone was spending money to maintain this section of road.

Structures began appearing in the distance. First, small structures such as storage sheds or guard houses. Then larger structures. Houses. Finally, walls.

The town or possibly city, was surrounded by a wall. The wall was constructed of stone and stood approximately twenty feet tall. Guard towers were placed at regular intervals throughout the wall. Arthur could see individuals patrolling the top of the wall. Guards. This town or city obviously prioritized safety.

If spirit beasts like the ones they had encountered earlier were frequent threats, walls would be sufficient to protect against them. Spirit beasts would require tools or strategies beyond pure physical strength to breach a well-fortified defensive structure.

The road led directly to large wooden gates which were currently open. Guards were standing on either side of the entrance. Six of them, all wearing the same style of leather armor reinforced with metal plating, covering their torso and shoulder areas. Each guard held a spear at rest. Each guard exhibited professional demeanor.

One of the guards called out something in the incomprehensible language.

Merchant Hua answered him in the same incomprehensible language.

The guards examined the condition of their party: Arthur’s tattered and bloodied clothes, the merchant’s dusty attire, the salvaged goods. Questions would be asked. Answers would be required.

Arthur’s Dissonance levels had fallen to approximately 310 points. Good enough. It was time to end the charade of the clueless foreigner.

Arthur reached for Prismatic Harmonic and opened his Cadence carefully. The link came easily due to the heavy presence of Harmonics in this area. Standard Synchronization. Reliable and stable. Arthur crafted the Resonant Comprehension technique, generating the precise frequency pattern necessary to align his comprehension with the underlying semantic structures of the language.

There was a cost associated with the Dissonance generated by the technique: approximately thirty points to activate the initial technique and then five points per hour to sustain it. Well worth the cost for functional communication.

Arthur focused on the guard who was continuing to converse with Merchant Hua. The unintelligible syllables changed, evolved into understandable words as the technique established itself.

“—a lot of damage? Where’s the wagon? And what happened to your cargo?”

"Spirit beasts! Three of them!” Merchant Hua gestured broadly. “We were attacked on the road. The wagon was destroyed. The cargo survived but—"

“Spirit beasts!” The guard looked skeptical. “What level of cultivation do you think they were at?”

“The two smaller ones were Qi Condensation,” the merchant quickly said. “But the third one, honorable guard, the third one was Foundation Establishment! Peak phase! It would’ve killed us all if not for—”

The merchant gestured at Arthur and the boy.

Both guards directed their attention at them with renewed interest. One of the guards — the one who’d been listening — studied Arthur’s torn robes and injuries. “You killed a peak Foundation Establishment beast?”

Arthur understood the question perfectly. The technique was functioning flawlessly. He could hear the guard’s original language, and simultaneously, he could perceive the intended meaning as if it were being communicated in his native tongue.

When Arthur spoke, the technique would allow his words to convey resonance that would enable listeners to comprehend his message, regardless of their language.

The difficulty was not to react too obviously. Arthur had been pretending to be an ignorant foreigner for over an hour. To suddenly become capable of understanding everything that was being said would likely raise more questions than Arthur cared to answer.

So, he remained silent and allowed the merchant to continue talking.

Arthur would gather information first, establish communication later when he had a better feel for the social dynamic at play. And how being a “powerful cultivator” translated to practical applications here.

The guard was still waiting for a reply.

Merchant Hua jumped in again. “The boy fought the two younger beasts. This honored senior — ” he gestured at Arthur, “ — killed the Foundation Establishment beast. I saw it myself! He used powerful techniques, fired from a distance with techniques I’ve never witnessed before. Fire and water and earth and wind. All of these were used one after another!”

The guards exchanged a look. They seemed unconvinced. It seemed that whatever Peak Foundation Establishment was, it was certainly formidable.

“Which sect do you belong to?” the guard asked Arthur directly.

Arthur remained impassive, looking at the guard as if he did not understand the question.

The guard scowled.

“He can’t understand us,” Merchant Hua explained. “I have been trying to communicate with him since the attack. He communicates through gestures but does not understand the language.”

The guard’s skepticism increased.

“A powerful cultivator who cannot speak any known languages? That is unusual.”

“Every aspect of this honored senior is unique,” the merchant said. He was becoming increasingly enthusiastic in recounting his tale. “His techniques were unlike anything I have ever experienced. And his storage container! He put all three of the spirits’ bodies into a small pouch! Three full-size spirits, vanished as if they had never existed!”

Both guards were interested in the storage container now.

Even in Arthur’s world, storage containers were expensive. Rare. The type of item that indicated that the user was truly a high-level cultivator.

“Can we see this storage container?” the guard asked politely.

The merchant gestured to him, trying to explain that the guard was asking to see the container.

Arthur thought about declining. However, they were at a town gate, and drawing unnecessary attention would create additional complications. Arthur reached into his robes and retrieved the storage pouch, displaying it for the guards to examine.

Both guards stared at the container. They could likely sense the Void Resonance emanating from the anchor; the faint distortion of space-distance that denoted the container as authentic rather than a forgery.

One of the guards produced a respectful gesture. “We apologize, honorable senior. Enter the town freely. Should you require accommodations, the Jade Phoenix Inn provides the best lodging within Rising Stone Town.”

Arthur nodded once. The guard stepped aside and waved for them to pass through the gate.

As they passed through the gate into the town, Arthur allowed himself a small moment of satisfaction. The translation technique was functioning perfectly. Arthur could understand every word being spoken around him. Vendors hawking their wares. Children playing in the streets. Locals gossiping about other locals.

Part of Arthur’s mind was beginning to catalog the details he was observing about the town’s layout. The social patterns. The distribution of that internal cultivation energy among the population. The vast majority of the people possessed no detectable power at all. Mortals. A small minority of the population displayed some degree of internal energy, but the majority of that energy was poorly controlled. Possibly one in fifty people in this town demonstrated a significant amount of refined power.

So, magical practice in this world must be rare or difficult or both.

That was important to know.

Merchant Hua was leading them towards the inn the guard referred to. The boy was walking silently behind Arthur, maintaining that measured distance from him. Still staring at Arthur with those old eyes of his.

Arthur could hear the boy’s thoughts, not literally, but through the same analytical processes he had developed from teaching resistant students. The boy wanted training. Wanted knowledge. Wanted to learn techniques that would improve his abilities.

The question was whether Arthur wanted a student.

He would decide that later. Right now, Arthur had more pressing concerns.

Rest. Healing. Safety. Research. Then more research.

And eventually, hopefully, a means of going home.

But first, Arthur needed to stop walking before his exhausted body collapsed completely.

The inn couldn’t come fast enough.