There’d been panels chiseled from the stone here too, but not much else was present besides a collection of old, bamboo supports that might have been scaffolds once, rocky debris scattered upon the ground, and a small stand next to the entrance with a bell on it.
The sun had only recently passed its zenith, so the surroundings were tightly wrapped in thin bands of dark shadow, none of which were large enough to provide relief from the heat. After standing outside for only a pair of breaths, Hong Fei felt his hair begin to slick with sweat and his robes stick to his body. Auntie Ling huffed, expressing her distaste for the heat.
The donkey-pulled cart rolled out from the entrance. The laborers who’d been held captive walked alongside it so that they could turn around toward the mine after coming outside. They bowed deeply, each person reciting a prayer of gratitude to the god of stone for his mercy in letting them free from his embrace. Only once that was done did the grandfathers and grandmothers among them climb aboard the cart. They sat away from the apparatus, giving wide berth to the device that had measured the heft of their fates.
Hong Fei had been told that this part of the Dragon’s Tail was nearly seven li north of Ruby Swift City, and that the journey ought to last the time it took for the sun to cross a handspan of the sky. The exact timing would depend, however, on whether their group got caught behind a stone-carrying wagon traveling along the Dragon’s Spine, the main road to which most of the quarries feeding the city were connected.
Their own road was also one of those tributaries, and the donkey seemed to know the way, walking until it reached a section of the path that had been washed out. Without pausing, the animal simply turned onto an adjacent path.
Hong Fei raised a questioning eyebrow at the Grandmother, and she shrugged in reply.
“That’s new,” she said. “The road was still good when I was a child.”
Hong Fei nodded, then patted the beast’s flank. “Lead the way, Master Donkey. We’ll trust you to know your business.”
The creature shied closer, its body bumping into him. Not due to a sudden welling of affection, however, but rather because Auntie Ling was on the other side of it. That the donkey didn’t run off in a panic was already a blessing. It spoke well of the beast’s stout heart.
“Easy now, just like that,” Hong Fei murmured. “Our stable master keeps a store of honeyed millet. I’ll be sure to get you your share once we arrive.”
The donkey’s pace was plodding but steady. The trail led them into the forest, taking them toward a cliff wall of layered, dark slate. They walked alongside that cliff for approximately half a li, and the forest thickened as they went until the path was wide enough for only the wagon. Hong Fei sent Auntie Ling into the trees to act as an outrider, while he walked ahead of the donkey.
The trail continued to lead upward. They had yet to encounter any game trails or other paths leading elsewhere.
“We should be above some of the other quarries,” the Grandmother called out.
The birds in the nearby branches took wing at the sudden noise. The donkey stopped, its ears turning to listen to the forest. Hand on the hilt of his sword, Hong Fei scanned the nearby bushes. He also checked the cliff above to make sure nothing there came to investigate.
After a long moment of waiting, Hong Fei glanced back at the Grandmother, who had the awareness to bow her head in apology for the noise she’d made. He tapped his lips to indicate his preference for quiet. Once they were on a proper road again, he’d tell her that speech at a moderate volume would be acceptable.
Hong Fei coaxed the donkey into resuming the trek. They walked about another half a li before they came upon a section of the cliff that’d given away, creating a scree. Here, the donkey turned to follow the boundary of the small, loose stones downward.
The path grew bumpy, and the cart’s wheels clattered as they passed over the rocky terrain. There also came the occasional sound of the nearby stones shifting. Each time, Hong Fei’s eyes darted toward the source of the noise.
At one such instance, he scanned the scree, looking for what had moved, and spotted a white 1 passing over the stones. The creature carrying the number was hidden beneath them, moving toward the line of people following the cart.
The rocks only shifted slightly as it passed under them. Either the creature was very small or it had some way of moving that didn’t overly disturb its surroundings.
Hong Fei drew his sword, then cast Tall-Enough Mountain. The spell reinforced his bones and muscles, and more importantly, it ensured he wouldn’t lose his balance or fall on the scree’s unstable surface.
He dashed toward where the white 1 lurked. The sound of his steps alerted the creature to his presence; it changed direction, aiming toward him instead. He circled to the left in order to draw it away from the others. The white 1 followed, then stopped.
Hong Fei readied himself, unsure of the reason for the creature’s pause. A moment later, a lizard the length of his arm appeared from between the many small rocks. It spit a ball of green glop at him, which he instinctively dodged.
The beast retreated under the scree immediately afterward. Hong Fei had gotten a look at it, however. The lizard had white and gray mottled skin, with faint moss-colored markings. Resting upon a rock, it’d blend in quite well.
The laborers cried out toward him:
“Warrior-mocking gecko!”
“Metal’s useless!”
“The skin’ll eat your sword.”
“Bash it with a rock, hero!”
The things being yelled out didn’t quite make sense, but Hong Fei was definitely being urged to sheathe his sword and use a rock instead.
Meanwhile, the white 1 had circled around Hong Fei. If he hadn’t been able to see the number, the gecko would’ve gotten behind him. As it was, he saw the beast emerge from between the rocks to spit again.
He slipped to the side and rushed the creature.
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
“Don’t touch it!” a voice yelled out. “Its skin is poisonous!”
Hong Fei stopped, his spell keeping him on his feet while the stones clattered under him.
Annoyed, he gave up on keeping quiet and called out, “Is there anything else I should know?”
“I’ve seen the poison kill a grown man in five breaths,” the Grandmother replied.
From the corner of his eye, he saw her encouraging the others to pick up rocks to use for their own defense. She also sent a pair of people to keep the donkey from running off.
Hong Fei continued to track the white 1 as it moved. He also sensed Auntie Ling’s rapid approach. She must’ve heard the commotion, and it seemed she’d come out of the bushes approximately ten zhang downhill from his position.
“Turn right,” he called out for her benefit, “and make your way around the cart so that you arrive above the creature’s location. It’s hiding under the scree, but I’m tracking it with my eyes. Don’t let it or its spit touch your flesh.”
Qi Gathering at a minimum, he thought. Maybe Qi Blossoming with the way it’s moving under the rocks without causing them to move. Either way, I want that Fate Point.
Hong Fei reached down to grab a rock, which he tossed to the side. The warrior-mocking devil spun that way, the white 1 indicating the position of its head. Then the number slowly turned in a circle. It’s looking for me.
He stepped to the side, and the sound of the rocks shifting under him alerted the creature to his location. A ball of spit shot at him from between a gap in the stones. There’d been no warning this time, and he instinctively cut with his sword as he dodged to the side.
The blade passed through the spit, and the glop continued past Hong Fei to land on the ground behind him. The tip of his sword, meanwhile, clattered onto the rocks. The metal sizzled where it’d contacted the spit. A good sword ruined, just like that. No wonder people say it mocks warriors. He looked for a stone he could use like a club or one with a sharp edge, yet he didn’t find anything to suit his needs.
Auntie Ling appeared out of the bushes approximately five zhang uphill from the cart. She spotted Hong Fei and was about to charge toward him, when he yelled, “Hold your position! The creature seems especially sensitive to sound caused by rocks moving, and I don’t want to scare it away.”
He ran toward her, and the white 1 followed him. The gecko didn’t spit, however; it seemed to have grown cautious. Thinking quickly, Hong Fei realized he may have a solution to the dilemma the beast posed.
“Get ready to use your claws,” he warned Auntie Ling, “and only your claws.”
The badger nodded. Her haunches tensed, ready to pounce.
Unwilling to ruin the sword further by sheathing it while the metal still sizzled, Hong Fei threw it onto the soft earth behind Auntie Ling. He reached down afterward to pick up two stones, then dashed toward the badger, as if fleeing from the scree.
The white 1’s motion seemed to stutter as if startled. The gecko then shot after Hong Fei, but then angled away when it approached the scree’s boundary. The creature moved left and right, like a fish in a pond.
“Ready now,” Hong Fei said. He moved aside so that Auntie Ling wasn’t in the line of fire, then clapped the stones in his hands together. “I’m right here, you little terror, and all I’ve got are a couple of rocks. Come get me.”
The warrior-mocking gecko’s head emerged from between the stones. The creature spit at Hong Fei, who dodged aside and prepared to rush the beast with the stones in his hands. That impulse stilled as the gecko’s head was severed from its body by Auntie Ling.
Hong Fei felt a cool energy flow into him, but he ignored the feeling to command Auntie Ling: “Hold! Keep that paw away from you until we can get it washed.” Then, to the people by the cart, he called out, “Bring us water!”
The large pot of water had been left behind to make room for passengers on the cart. The laborers had brought jugs and buckets, however, to counter the day’s heat. They rushed over to Hong Fei with the containers. Meanwhile Auntie Ling peered at Hong Fei, like he was making a fuss over nothing.
Still, he preferred to be careful of the poison, and he took care in washing her claws. Once that was done, he wrapped the warrior-mocking gecko’s remains in cloth, which he carried to the cart.
The laborers eyed the bundle with fear, trepidation, and greed. Among them, he realized was the older woman who’d had a white 1 over her head. She was now numberless. Her distorted fate of dying to the warrior-mocking gecko had apparently been resolved.
How would that have happened? Hong Fei wondered. She’d been a captive of the Tiger Masks. In the future, would the gecko have snuck into the mine to kill her? Or did her fate take my actions into account, placing the beast along our path? His breath caught as another thought came to him: The answer is yes to both questions. Fate would’ve done whatever was necessary until either she died or the source of the distortion was resolved.
He glanced at Auntie Ling, who was watching the surrounding forest. He tapped a finger against her flank to indicate he’d gained another Fate Point, and she turned to smile in reply. Her eyes narrowed in pleasure.
“Stay close for the rest of the journey,” he told her. “Not more than a zhang inside the forest.”
She nodded, then left to do as he’d commanded. After that, it was only a matter of getting the cart rolling again for the journey to resume. Hong Fei once more took a position at the front.
Later, about the time it takes one to drink a cup of tea, a man came forward. He held his hands grasped together and said, “Sir hero, I can show you a way to cleanse the poison from the gecko’s carcass in exchange for a share of its meat.”
Hong Fei looked toward the Grandmother, and she shrugged in reply. He took that to mean she didn’t know the fellow or the veracity of his claim. The others around her were observing the man with envy.
“Where did you learn this skill?” Hong Fei asked him.
“From my uncle, sir. He was a hunter and had once been hired to help a noble family’s expedition inland.”
“Was?” Hong Fei asked.
“He’s dead now, sir, and has been for three years. He shared what he knew with us family, though. These warrior-mocking geckos are common, and he thought the knowledge would be useful one day.” The man smiled ingratiatingly. “I didn’t think he’d be right, with me also surviving the beast too.”
“Not good,” a man’s voice called out from the back. “A life saved is a saved life.”
The smile worn by the Hunter’s Nephew became strained. “Don’t listen to him, sir. He’s not right in the head. What I’m offering is a fair exchange, and I’ll take any part of the animal: the claws, the eyes, the tongue… You decide.”
“Sill not good!” The man at the back yelled.
The laborers began to murmur amongst themselves.
“Quiet,” Hong Fei said, his voice stern, and the laborers shushed each other. “There was enough noise fighting the warrior-mocking gecko. We don’t need more to draw the forest’s other predators and spirit beasts.”
“Sorry, sir. What about my offer, sir?” the Hunter’s Nephew asked.
Hong Fei could likely consult an alchemist and have the poison neutralized that way, but this man was offering the method itself, or at least a method. That was inherently more valuable, assuming it wasn’t common knowledge.
The donkey clip clopped ahead, while Hong Fei paused to let the cart catch up to him. When the Grandmother was close by, he asked her, “If it was you, what would you exchange for what he’s offering?”
“I wouldn’t know, sir,” she replied, looking at the Hunter’s Nephew.
“If you had to choose…” Hong Fei pressed.
“We low-city folk stay out of each other’s business,” she replied. “It makes for smoother relations.”
“I don’t believe I was being clear,” Hong Fei said. “I’m telling you to choose.”
“Sir, yes, sir.” The Grandmother sighed. “I give him the tip of the tail, a portion smaller than half a pinky’s knuckle, in exchange for what he’s offering.”
The Hunter’s Nephew blanched. “The knowledge is worth more than that,” he protested. “It comes directly from my uncle.”
“And you’ll hear it shared elsewhere, especially around the quarries,” the Grandmother added. “The warrior-mocking geckos are why so many carry stone clubs and knives.”
“I see,” Hong Fei said. He turned to the Hunter’s Nephew. “You’re no longer welcome to walk with us. Return to the city on your own.”
“Sir? My offer is fair. It will save you from searching for the method.” The Hunter’s Nephew glanced at the other laborers for help, but they all looked away. He’d made a bid to profit from Hong Fei’s ignorance and failed. They wouldn’t dare associate with the man now.
“You’ll kill me,” the Hunter’s Nephew said. “Let me at least stay with you until the road.”
Hong Fei shook his head. “Use the skills your uncle taught you to survive. Now leave.”
The man didn’t dare to disobey, so he stepped aside to let the cart continue. His head dropped and his fists clenched.
Hong Fei didn’t spare him any more attention. “Who was it that protested earlier?” he asked the Grandmother.
She turned in the cart and gestured for the man to come forward.
Hong Fei saw the red number 3 approaching, and the Grandmother said, “They call him Rock Head, I believe.”
ten chapters ahead. :)