Choshi shared a concerned look with the other initiates. “Why not you as well, Master?” she asked. “It’s not that we don’t believe the Swordslinger is a great Augmenter, but wouldn’t you be better suited to teaching us earth techniques?”
“Training isn’t only about learning the techniques,” the lizardman replied. “It’s about learning to apply them in different ways against different foes. Who better to teach that than the Swordslinger? The Immense Blades aren’t his only strength.”
The initiates nodded before bowing their heads.
It was hard to argue with Tahlis’ logic.
Apparently, it was time for me to move on from being a student and become a teacher instead.
Chapter Eight
In the blazing heat of the midday sun, we headed down the mountain steps from the Sunstone Temple to the dried-up valley below. Choshi and I took the lead while the other students followed along behind. We carried our weapons as well as bedrolls, water, and enough food for a couple of days. Tahlis had been clear that he didn’t want us coming back until we had harvested plenty of cores and learned something about our abilities in the process.
As we walked, I started learning about my new pupils. If I was going to teach them, I needed to at least know their names and talents. If the lessons were to really sink in, I needed to establish a deeper connection.
First, there was Choshi, the default leader of the little band. Tall, gawky, and freckled, she seemed uncomfortable in her own body. But her desire to do the right thing drove her to speak up and take action no matter how difficult she found it.
Zedal, the lizardwoman, was the most competent fighter in the group. Like Tahlis, she was a Wild and had grown up with the struggles that came with it. She’d learned to fight out of necessity more than choice, yet she seemed to enjoy it. Her desire to master her own abilities reminded me of myself, and I was confident I could get through to her.
Fig, the shortest and most portly of the humans in the group, was another matter. He was good-humored and enthusiastic but didn’t take anything as seriously as the rest. Even as we headed out after lunch, he was constantly chewing on pieces of dried fruit from a pouch on his belt.
Fig spent a lot of time talking with Elorinelle, the elf, with whom he shared his supply of dried fruit treats. Elorinelle was the only one who carried a missile weapon, a traditional composite bow made from layers of horn, wood, and sinew. But while she was happy talking about archery, including her success in competitions, the thought of shooting people clearly made her uncomfortable.
Drek the dwarf had no such qualms. Of all the initiates, he was the most enthusiastic to get into action. His eyes lit up when we talked about returning to the city and taking on the cult. Now that he knew we would be hunting cores, I could barely keep him back from running ahead and getting started on his own. From what Choshi said, her interventions had been the only thing that kept him from tackling the Unswerving Shadows head on and getting himself killed back in Hyng’ohr.
Finally, there was Onvar. Average looking in almost every way, he only stood out because of his long, red hair and his constant squinting. He was precise in every detail, his robes immaculately arranged and his equipment spotless. If any of the others misspoke, he was the one to call them out on it.
As we walked down the steps, the initiates told me in more detail about what had happened in the city.
“It was the inner disciples who drove Tahlis out,” Choshi explained. “They were committed to the Steadfast Horn Guild, but they didn’t think he was doing things right.”
“They were frustrated,” Onvar chipped in. “You could see it every time they looked at him, all stiff and with their faces scrunched up.”
“He’s right,” Choshi said. “Though I didn’t understand it until after everything happened. They didn’t like Tahlis’ word games, his strange jokes, and his mischievous behavior. They were ready to turn against him already when the Unswerving Shadows started whispering in their ears.”
“What changed then?” I asked.
“They started confronting him,” Choshi said. “Mostly about how he wouldn’t teach them the proper ways of earth Augmentation, though they talked about training regimes as well, how the guild’s money was spent, what initiates did with their time. But even when they talked about us, it seemed like it was really about them.”
We reached the bottom of the steps and headed out along the road, toward the heart of the Vigorous Zone. Dust rose around us, and crows circled overhead. I spotted a hyena following from a safe distance, appearing to stare at us from time to time between sand dunes or rock pillars.
After a few miles, we reached the sand-sunken village where I had first encountered Tahlis. Seeing it in full daylight instead of the shortening dusk, I made out more details of the people who had once lived here, from the half-buried grain silos to the broken remnants of fences that had marked out the surrounding fields.
“This is where I grew up,” Fig said. “My whole family lived here before Saruqin and Mahrai ruined the valley.” He pointed to the desert behind the village. The dried branches of trees could just be seen protruding through the heaps of sand, their bark pale and knotted. In other places, the withered husks of palm leaves rattled in the hot wind.
“Those were our fruit trees. We grew palms, dates, grapes, even apples. The soil was so rich and varied, you could grow plants that never would have survived together anywhere else in the world. Every meal ended with something sweet and tasty. Now…”
He looked at the date he had been about to pop into his mouth, and his expression became sad. He put the dried fruit back into his pouch and
