Chapter Three hundred twelve

The bright lights of the yumi fields shone down as Kaz allowed his wet paws to dry naturally, rather than using red ki to hurry the process along. He and Li had spent the last hour or so slowly wandering through the fields, watching as gatherers cut down the stalks and pulled thick roots from the shallow water. Most of them were kobolds, but there were a few husede as well. The majority were working hard, but a few chatted with their neighbors, while others sat beside the pool, peeling stalks of yumi to chew on.

Li had remained with Kaz for quite a while, though the ceilings here were more than high enough for her to fly, even at her largest size. They had been looking for puppies, after all, not lingering to watch the gatherers, so they had to pass through the long, wide tunnels that connected the fields.

Neither of them had realized just how many of those fields there were, however. And some of them held only a few gatherers, working alone and in silence, separating plants and cutting only the stalks that were growing in such a way that they interfered with others.

Kaz had wondered how it was that there was enough yumi for all the purposes to which it was put, and this was it. There were dozens of fields, and they were probably harvested in a cycle, much like the way gatherers covered different parts of a tribe’s territory on different days. This allowed the plants to regrow in between cycles, and when the cycle was too short or the tribe too large, they knew it was time to move on or expand their territory.

Eventually, Kaz slowed, and Li flew off above him. There were no stalactites here at all, since the ceilings and a good part of the walls were completely covered in the complex patterns of ki-stones. This meant that unlike in the rest of the mountain, this space was completely safe. No tense guards stood or paced, watching the ceiling for the brief moment of warning when a lopo’s jaws split open, or the tunnels and crevices for janjio, woshi, yanchong, binyi, or any of the other dangers that lived just out of the reach of the light. Even fuergar could snatch a small enough pup and drag it away, if given a chance.

Now that the people here were no longer being forced to stay and work, this was…a good place. Kaz had finally come to a stop in the middle of one of the growing fields, enjoying the gentle light and the feeling of growing things all around him.

Yumi didn’t have ki, for the most part, though there was sometimes a little Wood or Water in the larger roots, but they did have a surprising amount of mana. The soft glow of it made the stalks shimmer in Kaz’s vision, and with Li swooping against the glittering ceiling, it was a beautiful sight that he suspected could be found nowhere else in the world.

Of course, even in that place, Kaz wasn’t truly alone, and one of the few gatherers working in the field came over to see if he was lost. This was an older brown puppy, with a very short muzzle, sad green eyes, and drooping ears, and he spoke in the gentlest voice Kaz had ever heard from another kobold who wasn’t a member of his family.

“The fields are confusing at first,” he said softly. “But you’ll learn the way soon. Or are you visiting someone?” He seemed almost anxious, watching Kaz as if ready to drop his gathering bag and run at the slightest unexpected movement.

Kaz’s eyes caught on the heavy scar around his throat; a sign that, for all his youth, this pup had been here for a very long time. He must have been captured before the Bronzearms did whatever they did to anger Zhangwo, causing him to release the fulan on the mid-levels. How had he come here, and why did he seem so afraid?

“Yes,” Kaz said, finding that his own voice had gentled almost without deciding to do so. “I’m looking for Dax, Eld, or Nogz. Or, perhaps, a male named Vakhus?”

It was obvious that the young kobold - who was perhaps only a year or two younger than Kaz, and likely would have been sent on his Spirit Hunt soon - recognized all of the names, but he shrank back a bit at the last one. This worried Kaz, until the pup said, “Why do you want Vakhus?” and for the first time, there was a hint of a rumble in his voice. He was protective of the other male, not frightened of him.

Kaz’s tail wagged. It was a good sign that at least some of the other kobolds liked Vakhus, and presumably didn’t mind that he was taking care of the mosui pups. He kept his own tone soft and non-threatening as he said, “I heard he’s watching over the little mosui. I’d like to help, if I can.”

The brown-furred pup relaxed a little, though his eyes remained wary beneath the heavy folds of skin that sagged over them. Kaz had never seen a kobold quite like him, and wondered what tribe he’d come from. Those eyes considered Kaz, weighing his honesty, and then the pup turned, splashing out of the pool onto the narrow strip of dry stone surrounding the yumi. There, he dropped his sling full of roots, though he kept the viciously curved knife the gatherers used.

“I’ll show you the way,” he said, still in that quiet tone. “He lives past the dead pools.”

Kaz blinked, and from above, Li, who had been watching and listening through him, asked, <The dead pools?> Kaz repeated the question, and the brown pup nodded, already trotting away toward a distant tunnel.

“There was a cave-in at some point,” he said, already starting to breathe hard. For the first time, Kaz could tell that he was limping slightly, though he couldn’t see an injury or scarring on the leg. “The crystal pattern broke, and the yumi in those fields died. The water is still there, though.” Glancing back at Kaz, he added, “It’s not like everything is actually dead, though, just the yumi.”

He turned back so he could watch where he was going as he entered the tunnel, which was only dimly lit by a few well-placed red crystals. Li swooped down to settle on Kaz’s shoulder, immediately vanishing beneath her camouflage. Kaz sent her a feeling of approval. This young kobold was skittish, and there was no telling what his reaction would be to the sudden appearance of an unknown creature.

They passed through several more of the growing fields, with Kaz’s guide waving to one or two of the other kobolds working there, while ignoring - and being ignored - by the others. Kaz began to notice that these relatively solitary individuals were all damaged in some way, and every one had the wide, furless scars around their necks that showed they had been here for a long time. Only one also had a necklace, in spite of the fact that some were Kaz’s age or a little older.

As for the brown-furred male leading Kaz, his breathing grew more and more ragged, until every breath was a whistle torn through his throat. He leaned against a wall until it evened out again, avoiding Kaz’s eyes as he did so.

It was obvious that he didn’t want Kaz’s sympathy, so Kaz didn’t offer it, though he was already searching for a way to help. Unfortunately, because the pup only had the very small, constantly fluctuating amount of mana found in other male kobolds, there was no ki or cycle to examine, and Kaz would have to touch him in order to ‘see’ more.

When he could breathe clearly again, the pup took off again, moving just as quickly as before, in spite of the fact that it obviously made the problem worse. He was limping more, too, and Kaz finally realized that his left leg was actually shorter than the other. There was no sign the difference was a result of an injury, so Kaz suspected he must have been born that way.

That probably explained how he had ended up here so young, as well as why he hadn’t tried to return to his original tribe. Oda hadn’t allowed the Broken Knives to have puppies, insisting that Katri’s would be the first, but Rega had taught Kaz about birthing and some of the things that could go wrong. It was rare, but possible, for a puppy to be born deformed.

What happened then depended on the tribe, but in order for this pup to be here now, he must have been one of the lucky ones. The leg might not even have been noticed at first, and when it was, he could still gather and do other things around the den, though it was unlikely he’d ever get a mate. But when the breathing issue became apparent, he’d probably been abandoned, and fallen into a mosui trap. He might not even remember his original tribe, or who his parents were, and if he did…well, they hadn’t wanted him then, so why would they now?

They had to stop two more times, at shorter intervals each time, to allow the pup to catch his breath. He neither looked at Kaz, nor offered an apology or explanation, so Kaz remained silent, turning his own head away as he watched through Li’s eyes.

<His nostrils are too small,> Kaz said thoughfully, and Li sent agreement.

<His muzzle is really very short. It looks like someone stepped on him when he was little,> Li noted.

Kaz nodded. He was almost certain that was the heart of the problem, but there was nothing he could do about it. Honestly, what could he do to help with small nostrils? The pup spent most of his time panting heavily anyway, bypassing the nose entirely. No, there was more going on.

Then they reached the first of the dead pools, but as the pup had said, they were far from dead. There were only a few functional ki-crystals still scattered around, but light was provided by a profusion of life. The thickest mass of glow-worms Kaz had ever seen covered the ceiling, making it resemble a night sky filled with even more stars than the real one. Luminescent mosses and lichens coated the walls, including things like zhitong, which only grew in high-moisture environments. And there was so much tanuo that Kaz felt his mouth begin to water. It was too sweet for him now in its cooked form, but fresh it was perfect, with a soft chew that lasted a surprisingly long time.

Staring around, Kaz asked, “How could anyone call this place dead?” To his eyes it teemed with life, even in the darkest shadows. Ki gathered in many of the plants, especially near the few remaining ki-crystals, and Kaz thought he could spend days here, trying to figure out what everything was based on nothing more than Rega’s descriptions or Ghazt’s drawings.

His guide was scooping water from the pool and drinking it quickly. Without all of the yumi, it was clear all the way to the bottom, and Kaz could actually see small creatures moving there. One darted toward the pup’s hand, and Kaz reached out, yanking him back. Deep water was usually where the danger lurked, but any unknown animal could be deadly here.

The pup laughed softly, freeing himself before scooping the glowing thing from the water. He held it out to Kaz. “It’s a guang. They live in all the yumi pools, but in the other caverns, it’s too bright to see them.”

Kaz leaned forward, urging more ki into his eyes until he could see the tiny insect. Its legs were flattened slightly, allowing it to swim, but it also had a long tail that it held tightly coiled until it used it to produce a sudden spurt of speed. It did this now, and shot off the side of the pup’s palm and back into the pool, where it swam away.

“They’re harmless,” the pup said. “We keep anything dangerous out of here, so nothing eats them, either.”

Kaz straightened as the other kobold did. “We?” he asked.

The pup ducked his head, showing the back of his neck. “I live here, too. I don’t…fit in with the others, but Vakhus doesn’t mind.” His voice suddenly grew deep, and Kaz had the impression he was mimicking someone else. “What do I care? You can live anywhere you want now. Just don’t bother the round-pups.” It could have sounded harsh, but there was an edge of humor to it that spoke of affection.

“Round pups?” he asked.

The pup’s drooping ears twitched. “That’s what Vakhus calls the mosui. He says they’re kobolds, now, since the other mosui don’t want them.”

Vakhus was more right than he knew. The mosui were indeed kobolds, created as part of Qiangde’s research, and used as servants for centuries, just as much as Kaz’s people and the xiyi. But round-pups?

And then they entered the cavern where the puppies lived, and he saw them playing. There was no doubt that ‘round-pup’ was a perfectly accurate description, especially for the smallest ones. They were little more than a ball of fluff, with flat pink paws paddling at the air as they played with the kobolds. Even the squirming tentacles surrounding their noses were almost cute at this size, and Kaz couldn’t see their tiny eyes within their fur, so it was difficult to tell which end was up until the feet or nose came into view.

There were so many puppies. Kobolds and mosui alike, tumbling and playing together, though the kobolds had a tendency to treat the miniature mosui like squeaking toys, which is what they looked and sounded like. Pups gently pounced on the little round balls of fluff, which squealed shrilly in response. At first Kaz was worried, but then one little mosui after another wriggled from beneath a too-light paw and ran off, giving something that sounded like nothing more than an extraordinarily high-pitched giggle.

His guide ran off, moving with greater confidence now that he’d reached his den, and Kaz could hear him yipping for someone. Kaz, however, was fixed in place, watching the scene. The only thing missing were xiyi young. What would they look like? Would they, like Li, slowly develop their horns and spikes as they grew, but have smooth scales and adorable faces as hatchlings?

<You don’t think I’m adorable now?> demanded Li, lifting a now-visible wing to block his sight. When she shrank herself down, she retained her current shape, including the crown of ruby horns and the spikes growing down her back, rather than changing back to her youthful form.

Kaz hesitated. Honestly, he did, but he had a feeling this was a dangerous question to answer, so he walked as carefully as he would through a fuergar nest, wary of sections of stone that might collapse beneath his paws.

<I think you’re beautiful now,> he told her, offering his whole-hearted admiration through their bond. It was true that she wasn’t as sleek and cuddly as she’d once been, but there was no doubt of the deadly grace contained within her new shape.

Li stared at him, her eyes wide, then blinked and looked back at the puppies. A few of them had noticed the strangers now, and some were slinking away, while others stood in front of smaller, younger friends and looked fierce. The littlest kobold was more than double the size of the largest mosui, and the little round-pups were far less inclined to aggression than their kobold counterparts. Several kobold pups began to howl, giving the howl for aid, and Kaz held still, waiting to see what would happen.

Suddenly, little dragons seemed to appear in between the other young. They were faint, and several looked remarkably like a younger Li, but they breathed tiny gouts of flame in protection of the others. <They’re missing xiyi and dragons,> Li said, sounding slightly breathless but very proud. The puppies looked startled, and even some of the larger ones seemed frightened, but the image disappeared as quickly as it had come.

A sharp bark settled the pups down again, and then they broke and ran in what looked like a single mass of fur toward the paws of an adult male kobold with deep orange fur. He stared down at them with a look Kaz had seen on the faces of several den-mothers now. Were all of his charges safe and accounted for?

“Well,” he said, growling voice remarkably similar to the brown puppy’s earlier imitation. “Kaz, is it? Dugo says you’re looking for me.”