Steelforged Legacy 4 - Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The sheer ridiculousness of the situation would have sent Casey through a loop, but this wasn’t the strangest thing to happen to him yet.

Still, being led to a section of soft earth beneath a collection of four trees by a cougar the size of an elephant was strange enough of an experience that it at least registered on Casey’s ‘weird-meter,’ though when you added in the snide comments from Magnus it was hard to freak out.

The Gale Cat settled down in the middle of the little clearing with a thump, a tail as thick around as a fire-hydrant thumping to the ground behind it. The graceless flop was the first time that the animal made noise in the several minute walk, and that reminded Casey of Magnus’ penchant for passing without making noise.

Except when he wants to make noise, like when laying his stink-bombs, Casey thought wryly as his group came to a stop opposite the Gale Cat.

“Take a load off, cubs,” the giant animal said as he made himself comfortable on the dirt. “Normally, one of my children would take care of this, but since I’m asking you a favor I will.”

“Perhaps you should let us know what it is that you need help with, first?” Vibeke ventured, leaning back into the gnarled trunk of the tree nearest to her and allowing her spear to fall onto her shoulder. “The way you arrived tells me that it is somewhat urgent.”

“Not so urgent that I can’t do my duty, but I would appreciate it if you would carry word back to Runa as quickly as possible when you leave. This is something that needs to be investigated as soon as possible,” the Gale Cat countered, giving a massive, tongue-curling yawn that exposed fangs like sabers before it regarded the three of them regally.

It might have just been Casey’s imagination, but he swore that the animal’s eyes lingered on him longer than the other two, but he brushed off that impression as just his imagination.

Hell, wouldn’t be surprised if it can sense Maude like most of the powerful spirits I’ve run into can, Casey thought while he waited for Magnus to figure out where he wanted to sit.

The Gladewalker Elk stood over a patch of grass and pawed at it for a moment before turning in a circle a few times, then flopping down with a huff through his nose. Casey noted that the dull green grass around where the Gladewalker Elk lay immediately began to shift to a brighter, healthier color.

Is that related to Magnus’ nature? Like how the bramble in his horns can grow without roots or soil? Casey wondered as he took a knee first before leaning into the big elk’s side. Magnus gave a contented grunt but didn’t react otherwise.

Einar was the last to sit, having to peel Aiden off his shoulder when the little Tinderfox didn’t want to let go. It finally took Einar promising him some jerky before the little creature would climb down willingly and curl up in Einar’s lap when he sat near to Casey.

“So, little one,” rumbled the Gale Cat as it turned its attention to Vibeke. “Tell me of your visions from within the earth, and your goals for the future.”

Vibeke took a moment to think before she launched into a more elaborate description of her time in the trial than either of them had heard so far. While she talked, Einar produced the promised jerky and held it for Aiden while the Tinderfox began to gnaw away busily.

“You think he’s going to be able to carry your big ass anytime soon?” Casey asked quietly, leaning closer to Einar while watching the Gale Cat studying Vibeke.

“Aiden will do just fine, he’s a strong lad already and growing by the day,” Einar replied with a proud smile. The Tinderfox, clearly understanding them, bounced his tail a few times while he gnawed away at the dried meat. Casey noted that the little creature kept his eyes warily fixed on the Gale Cat Monarch.

“You might want to lay off some of the mead, though,” Casey teased, getting a reproachful look from both Einar and Aiden.

“Never,” Einar asserted firmly, and Aidan gave a little disproving snort as well before returning his attention to the jerky and the Gale Cat.

Good to know the two of them have their priorities right, though it’s surprising to see a spirit beast already aware of alcohol, Maude murmured in his mind and Casey felt the sensation of someone draping themselves over his shoulders.

I doubt it’s that. I’d put better money on the fact that Aiden recognizes Einar likes it, and is backing his partner, Casey sent back to her.

It will be rather amusing to see them working together. Tinderfox don’t get to be as large as our boy Magnus, but they are strong. I don’t think they’ll have a problem working together. Though Einar might look a bit ridiculous riding on Aiden when he’s fully grown, Maude sent him along with a gentle laugh.

Casey just nodded without speaking, turning his attention back to the massive animal in front of him.

His earlier thoughts considering how it was that he didn’t feel fear for this massive, deadly predator in front of him came back once more.

It just doesn’t make sense, Casey thought. This thing should be terrifying to me. It’s so far above me that I wouldn’t even be able to stop it. Hell, it showed up before any of us even noticed.

It doesn’t have a reason to attack you, Casey. If you’d shown up not wearing the clan markings, then it might have threatened you. But a spirit beast at the rank of Monarch is so far above everything that it is like Queen Runa, there’s no reason for it to attack us unless we threaten it back, Maude told him gently.

He turned that thought over again and understood what Maude was saying, but he also felt like there should be more. Casey had a feeling that it was more to do with the encounters he’d had revolving around her family. After all, this creature was dangerous but the feeling of danger he’d gotten from Angrboda had been far greater, and that giant of a woman had been jovial and friendly for the most part.

“So I was faced with a choice,” Vibeke was saying when Casey tuned back into the specifics of the conversation between her and the great spirit beast. “I witnessed two factions of spirit beasts that observed me, but it was your kin who actually approached and welcomed me, while the Steel Eagle simply watched from afar.

“That is the nature of their kind, to study, watch, and observe,” answered the Gale Cat Monarch. “I wouldn’t discount them as an option on that alone, little cub. But your heart drew you here, why?”

Vibeke darted a glance towards Casey and Einar, but Casey was sure that her eyes lingered on his friend longer. Einar was distracted trying to pick grass and small twigs out of Aiden’s tail while the Tinderfox was distracted with the jerky, so he missed it.

“I would prefer to be close to my friends, to work with them and protect them,” Vibeke said after a moment, looking back at the Gale Cat Monarch. “I know that I could keep watch over them with a Steel Eagle as well, but my way of fighting is up close and personal. Also, I can feel a resonance from my Legacy towards your kin.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, young cub?” the massive spirit beast said after a moment’s pause, and Vibeke waved a hand dismissively to indicate she didn’t mind talking about it.

“My Legacy is the Legacy of the Stooping Hawk. I have learned to strike in specific locations to maximize my damage and avoid my opponent’s return strikes while training with my spear for most of my life in preparation of taking it up,” Vibeke explained, and the great cat nodded its large head thoughtfully.

“And you would want to bond with a Gale Cat rather than one of the winged brethren that gave their name to your very Legacy?” the Gale Cat asked seriously and Vibeke nodded again.

“I would argue that the same values—striking at precise targets and avoiding the return strikes—are also tenants that one sees in a feline. But rather than a stooping hawk that makes a single critical strike or does not commit at all, a feline can bleed a far larger opponent with a number of powerful blows while still maintaining flexibility,” Vibeke countered.

The Gale Cat’s nostrils flared thoughtfully and it regarded her for a long moment. The animal’s long tail flicked occasionally, stirring up the dry grass and thumping against the ground intermittently. Each time the tail moved, the sudden rush of color pulled Casey’s attention towards it.

“I’m kind of glad that I didn’t have this kind of interrogation,” Einar murmured under his breath while leaning towards Casey.

“Well you probably would have if you’d tripped on the Tinderfox Monarch,” Casey replied with raised eyebrows. “Then again, you helped save Aiden before, and debts like that hold power.”

“Like the life-debts that Vibeke owes you?” Einar asked pointedly, and Casey turned his attention to the big man.

Einar’s face was unusually unreadable as he traded looks with Casey for a long moment before Casey shrugged.

“I did what I believed needed to be done. I refuse to accept a life-debt from Vibeke, she’s a friend and feels like the sister I never had,” Casey replied, keeping his voice low as the Gale Cat began quizzing Vibeke on her weapon training and whether she had skills with other weapons besides her spear.

“I just had to ask, since you mentioned debts,” Einar replied after a moment of staring, his stoic expression breaking into a broad smile.

“You hurt my sister, and I’ll beat the sense into you and then out once more. I don’t care if she’s not a blood-relative,” Casey countered, and Einar’s grin only grew broader.

“You two have spilled blood together, both others and your own, that makes you as good as siblings anyway. So it is expected and I respect you more for it,” Einar countered. Aiden gave a yip of agreement from Einar’s lap, like the little Tinderfox was adding his two cents to the conversation.

The noise drew the attention of the Gale Cat and Vibeke, and Casey saw the gentle smile on Vibeke’s lips as she studied Einar with his little charge.

“You are already forming a close connection with that little one,” the spirit beast rumbled in amusement before glancing towards Magnus, who was giving the far larger predator an arch look. “And I don’t need to say anything about you. Though I would recommend you be more humble in the future, Gladewalker. Your kind are far too sure of themselves.”

Magnus didn’t respond beyond a quiet huff through his nostrils.

The Gale Cat’s attention fell onto Casey then, studying him intently for several long moments and now ignoring Vibeke entirely with the same idle disdain that cats seemed to have trademarked at this point. The spirit beast spoke again a moment later, jumping tracks once more from its interview of Vibeke.

“I need you to carry word back to Queen Runa of disturbances in my territory.”

“What sort of disturbances?” Casey asked immediately, locking eyes with the glowing yellow orbs of the spirit beast. “And what could they be that something as powerful as you couldn’t handle them?”

He couldn’t help but worry if this was somehow related to the dreams he’d been having of the Fomori threat. Again, the terrain of this area looked similar to what he’d seen in the vision, but it wasn’t an exact match.

The Gale Cat Monarch gave a derisive snort at that, its tail drumming the ground hard several times before it responded.

“It’s not that I cannot handle the problem, it is that the disturbance isn’t something that I can simply devour, Casey.”

Casey stiffened at that, he hadn’t given the spirit beast his name earlier and it hadn’t seemed interested in such introductions.

How does it know? Casey wondered frantically as his mind whirled, but the Gale Cat Monarch didn’t give him time to think. Instead, it continued to speak.

“There have been disturbances across my territory. All across it. Which leads me to believe that there are likely disturbances in the other Monarch’s territory. I know that Runa is bonded with my peer who oversees the Earth Drakes, so if the same problems are troubling his lands then she’ll know. But it is still important that word be passed along.”

“What would you like me to tell her then?” Casey asked, stealing a glance towards Vibeke.

The spearwoman was chewing her bottom lip thoughtfully, glancing between Casey and the Gale Cat Monarch now. He could tell that she was wondering what had happened during her impromptu interview.

“Tell Queen Runa of the Roaring Mountain that the elementals on my land are restless. They wander the land away from their hidden settlements and are more aggressive than normal. The last time this happened, a great earthquake shook our valley and several new lava pools opened up to the east, but this time it is not just the fire elementals stirred up,” the Gale Cat said pointedly. “Something is happening, and we only have a limited amount of time to figure out what it is and prepare.”

That made Casey’s gut clench with worry, but he nodded in understanding. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw both Einar and Vibeke doing the same, while even little Aiden had calmed his playful wiggling and was watching the elder spirit beast solemnly.

The silent moment was interrupted by a loud miaow sound from the tree behind Vibeke. The spearwoman jumped and whirled, her spear coming to her grip only to be pushed aside when a fuzzy blur dropped out of the tree and onto her, bowling the woman over onto her bottom.

When she landed with an oof on the ground, a gangly Gale Cat cub roughly twice the size of a housecat sat on her chest while its long tail flicked happily behind it.

“That was not polite to do to your potential bondmate, granddaughter,” chuffed the elder spirit beast.

The smaller cat perched on Vibeke let out another chirping miaow sound before flopping down on Vibeke’s chest to rub its face and neck into hers while the animal's big paws draped over her shoulders. A rumbling happy purr came from the spirit beast when Vibeke tentatively started petting it.

“I appreciate you not harming my foolish granddaughter,” sighed the Gale Cat Monarch. “She was just so excited listening to your stories that she couldn’t help wanting to show off a bit. She insists that you will need her help to keep ‘all these boys’ in line.”

Maude’s smothered snickers in Casey’s mind told him of the weapon-woman’s opinion of that statement, but he felt Magnus huffing in amusement behind him as well.

“Granddaughter?” Vibeke asked, her question muffled by the large paws the young Gale Cat had draped over her face to hold her in place while it nuzzled into her.

“Well, she is more my great-great-great-great granddaughter, but I don’t feel like counting the generations so any besides my own cubs are ‘granddaughter’ or ‘grandson,’ ” chuffed the amused Gale Cat Monarch. “I called her over to listen while we spoke and she was impressed enough that she has decided to come with you. There is no guarantee that she will bond, but I have a good feeling if you treat her well.”

“Pffh,” Vibeke shook her head free and blew fur out of her mouth. “I’ll do my best, honored elde—ack!”

Vibeke’s sentence was cut off as the kitten on her chest gave her a chin-to-eyebrow lick with its broad tongue before smacking both paws over Vibeke’s face again.

“Suddenly, I’m glad that Aiden is so much better behaved…” Einar murmured, and Aiden yipped in agreement from Einar’s lap.

The Tinderfox kit snatched the last strip of jerky from Einar’s hand and leaped out of the bigger man’s lap. Before Einar could catch him, Aiden scampered over to where Vibeke was still wrestling with the larger kitten. Holding the strip of meat high, Aiden gave a muffled yip that pulled the Gale Cat’s attention away and to the food.

Spotting not only food, but also a playmate, the Gale Cat kitten launched herself off of Vibeke’s chest and gave chase, yowling happily as Aiden turned tail and fled, still holding the strip of meat high.

“It is good to see her playing with other spirit beasts,” chuckled the Gale Cat Monarch while Vibeke continued to spit and rub at her face to remove the dirt and spit that her potential partner had smeared on her. “It will stand her well for training amongst the Roaring Mountain if you treat her well, and your group is already an eclectic mix.”

“I appreciate the confidence, elder,” Vibeke said, spitting out a tuft of fur with a wrinkled forehead as the two spirit beasts scampered past, Aiden vaulting up and over Magnus’ back while the Gale Cat skidded to a stop in front of Casey and the big animal, distracted by this new sight.

“I’m trusting you to take care of her, and also to ensure my message is passed along,” the elder spirit beast said sternly as the elk and the cat shared sniffs for a moment before another yip from Aiden got the cat moving again in chase.

“I’ll do what I can, but I cannot guarantee anyone will listen to us,” Casey promised with a nod of his head. “We are just recently inducted aspirants, after all. Why not pass word to one of the patrols with a flying longship, though?”

The Gale Cat studied him for a long moment, ignoring the question at the end of Casey’s statement. He was reminded of the fact that, somehow, the elder spirit beast knew his name without him having given it.

Did Einar or Vibeke call me Casey and I’m just not remembering it? Casey wondered. Am I overreacting? Maude would normally have said something… right?

A moment later, the answer to his questioning thoughts arrived but not from the direction that Casey expected.

The land speaks of you favorably already, Casey the Sullivan, came the voice of the Gale Cat Monarch, but Casey knew it was coming into his mind directly rather than through his ears. Those who dwell close to the spirit of the land know you and thank you for the respect you offer to them. It is that respect that gives me confidence you will do what is needed to ensure this message is passed along. I cannot risk leaving my lands to carry it myself, as this unrest may be a sign of something I must guard against.

Gods! Maude swore in his mind a moment later, telling him that she had heard it as well.

Rather than respond to his companion aloud, Casey just gave the massive spirit beast a nod of understanding, which the massive creature returned.

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Less than an hour later, they were on their way once more. With the important message to be conveyed back to the elders at the Roaring Mountain, Casey didn’t want to linger for long. They waited long enough for the two young spirit beasts to tire themselves out before packing up and turning back towards the Roaring Mountain.

The Gale Cat Monarch had sent them off with a reminder to relay his message to Queen Runa specifically and not spread it around to any others. Vibeke and Einar had expressed confusion about that after they had made it a mile or two away from the meeting place, wondering whether it was good to keep such information to themselves.

Casey had urged them to listen, since the spirit beast wouldn’t have specifically asked for them to keep the information quiet without a reason. He already had a good theory as to why the Gale Cat wanted it quiet, and he could understand and agreed.

I’m sure that the Gale Cat doesn’t want a flood of drengr coming to his land that hope to hunt the restless elementals. I wouldn’t be surprised if doing something like that further upsets whatever imbalance has them unhappy, Casey thought, his lip curling at the thought of the elementals being hunted by drengr hungry for power.

I don’t know if the Roaring Mountain has the same problem with as vicious a hunt for elementals as other clans do, Maude said with a thoughtful sigh, this was the third time she’d repeated it so Casey could tell she was getting exasperated with him. But it is wise to keep quiet and make all speed. Runa might know more about what is going on, especially if this isn’t constrained to just the Gale Cat’s domain.

Here’s hoping, Casey thought, his eyes drifting to the reasons why his friends had been so easy to accept the request for secrecy.

Aiden and the newly named Blair were curled up on top of Magnus’ saddle, with the smaller Tinderfox draped on top of the larger Gale Cat in an exhausted pile after their playful running.

‘Uncle’ Magnus was grumbling quietly under his mental breath to Casey, but it wasn’t hard to see how carefully the Gladewalker Elk stepped to avoid jostling his little riders despite moving at a trot to keep up with the three jogging drengr.

Smiling at the sight, Casey turned his attention back to the path in front of him. Ahead, Vibeke and Einar chatted excitedly about what they’d need to do to help deepen their bonds with the two new spirit beasts, and their hopes for the future.

He could see the attraction crackling between the two in the shy glances and way that they’d bump into each other occasionally, and it was a cute thing.

Ultimately, though, his mind fell back to the worries about what he’d heard and where it might go. He doubted that Runa would spark off a massive elemental-hunt, as the woman hadn’t struck him as that kind of person.

During the trip out, he’d either buried, left out, or thrown into a body of water all of the elemental cores that he’d bought from the storehouse. It’d been difficult doing it without being spotted, but Casey refused to consume the elemental cores despite it being widely accepted. Each time that he’d been able to check back, the cores were always gone with small offerings left in their place. He had a small number of polished pearls, bits of petrified wood, or rough semi-precious stones now in his storage belt, along with another four of the fae-honey candies that had come with them.

Despite Maude doing her best to distract him, Casey continued to worry about the implications of the message that he carried. His mind drifted backwards over the elementals that he’d met so far: the trio he’d saved from the Fomori, the one that had led him up the mountain, the cherry-tree spirit, and the one who had hidden inside the plum tree as well, plus whatever ones that he’d spotted out of the corner of his eye while traveling.

I have to trust that Runa will know what it means, Casey kept reminding himself, but the worries continued.