Chapter 531: Separate Directions in Krysal

On the other side of the portal, Kai found himself... back at the coast of Krysal. He hesitated, not wanting to revealing his disorientation, then decided that there was no reason to try to act cool in front of his wives. Neither of them seemed surprised.

"What are we actually doing?" he asked. "What's our next objective?"

"We're skipping out on Irun for now," Omilaena said, without any teasing. "Good job playing along."

"Uh, right. Did I miss something?"

"No, you were not present when we made the decision." Zae Zin Nim folded her arms in her sleeves and nodded to him. "The enemy elite went directly to Irun, and it seems likely that he intends to put up obstacles to us and our work."

"That's right, some of the other elites dropped hints." Omilaena leaned against Zae Zin Nim casually and the other woman didn't shy away. "Basically, it seems likely that he's going to turn choosing our candidates into a game, and it doesn't sound like a fun one. Rather than take him head on, I figured we would get our orientation in Krysal first. Three months isn't long to work with, either, we can't spend two thirds of it in Irun."

Kai frowned as he considered the new information. "So we're giving him first pick of Irunians to train and taking whoever is left?"

"Presumably. I didn't make plans for getting over there, actually."

"Wait a minute, does that mean we don't actually have a plan for starting work in Irun?"

"We're counting on you to use a personal connection to Tusquo or someone." Omilaena gave him a wink. "That's right, I'm basing a plan on you being the overly friendly type."

"Tusquo is a reasonable man," Zae Zin Nim said with a slight frown. "If we explain the situation to him, I believe he will make arrangements for the good of his nation."

Presuming that he didn't have internal politics of his own to deal with. But since they had enough problems and were headed in the opposite direction, Kai kept his thoughts to himself. Omilaena's logic about getting started in Krysal was completely valid, and in most ways the situation in Krysal was more dire than in Irun.

First they went back to the seven trainees who had become his students and briefed them on what had been decided. Kai hadn't been able to negotiate teleportation for all of them individually, but the elites had agreed to take them along on other trips, so he intended to make sure all of them ended up in a position where they could grow.

For Krysal... he decided on Tori Quondan and Bonto Birtaegali, to start and continue crystal cultivation respectively. He asked Untariin if the Krysali wanted to visit back home and the man just shook his head grimly. Maybe they'd have more to talk about after Kai got the lay of the land.

After that, it was just the five of them waiting for the elites to transport them deeper - apparently they were going straight to Yulthens this time. Kai was eager to see the capital city, and more of Krysal in general. Technically he had visited during his return trip to Deadwaste, but he hadn't had time to really see old haunts or understand all the changes. It had been over five years since the revolution now and he had heard a great deal of contradictory news.

He wasn't sure what to feel about any of it. Of course he'd never been so naive to think that the revolution would immediately turn Krysal into a paradise, but hearing about some of the apparent failures still hurt. In the end, he decided that this was simply a matter of responsibility: he'd put Krysal in this state, so he needed to return to support it.

First Cragrila and Nirka joined them, fulfilling some sort of coordination plan. When an elite showed up - a Windborn woman who had been at the trial, though Kai hadn't caught her name - they were all taken through the portal. This trip didn't seem to tax the elite so much, since it was just across part of the nation, and she was gone an instant later.

Leaving them in Yulthens... with no time to look around, because there was already an official waiting to greet them.

"Welcome to Yulthens!" They were approached by a cute young woman, but Kai had hoped to see an old man. "Krainuun sent me to apologize that he couldn't meet you in person, and he wanted me to stress that he truly means that. If you'll accept our hospitality for a time, he'll arrange a proper meeting."

"I can imagine he's busy," Kai said with a shrug. "When you say hospitality...?"

"Please come this way and rest from your... well, I suppose there wasn't much of a journey. Please feel free to conduct business of your own while we get everything in order."

The aide led them away from the courtyard where they had arrived and Kai made sure to examine it on the way out. It was large and covered in dead vines, presumably a noble's garden that had been untended since the revolution. From there, they entered the broad streets he remembered, yet the city had clearly changed in his absence.

What he missed first were the highs and lows: there were no crystalliers flying about on crystals, but there also weren't peasants going about in rags. Well, he did see plenty of people wearing drab clothing, but none of them looked miserable. Then again, the life of the average city worker had been decent enough... Kai saw a man carrying a box of supplies and wondered just how much his life had actually changed.

Most people would probably miss all the crystal ornaments that had once covered the city, but Kai was more interested in the invisible things. How many people went hungry, how many had decent homes? Removing so many people from a life of abject slavery didn't necessarily mean that everyone's living conditions were better.

His estimate was that there were a lot more crystal vessels in the sky than before, they were just smaller and less fancy. Lots of them seemed to be delivering supplies, while others apparently moved along steady routes, picking up random citizens. That was certainly better than the previous system, and he assumed they had Krainuun to thank for that organization. On that note, he looked skyward for the great defensive crystals... all the ones he could see had been restored, and there were workers actively building around them.

"Don't like these crowds," Omilaena muttered.

"It may be positive for them," Zae Zin Nim responded, "but not for us."

Kai refocused - he'd noticed that they got some attention, but hadn't paid much mind to it: he was an unusually tall man, Nirka and Cragrila were local heroes, and his wives were attractive women, so getting some attention was normal. Now that he looked properly, he saw recognition in the people around them. All that had prevented them from getting mobbed earlier was awe and disbelief.

"This is your sort of thing." Omilaena dug an elbow into his ribs. "Give us an exit or Zin Nim will start slapping people's heads off."

"I will not," Zae Zin Nim said, "but you should still act."

"Alright." Kai stepped away from the women toward the nearest cluster, trying to figure out his approach. They might be afraid of him after his earlier display, or they might view him as a hero, but either way he didn't want to be ostentatious, so he just raised a hand. "Hello, everyone. Haven't been here in a while."

"Are you really Kai Clanless?" a middle-aged man asked. That set off an immediate flurry of whispers, shouts, and even a few cheers.

It was good to be back home: on Cloudspire, several people would have jumped in to loudly announce his name and ranks.

"Sorry, I'm here on business." Kai waved apologetically, examining the roofs around them and moving for a clear space. "We need to prepare for the incursion."

There were more cheers this time, along with shouts for him to stay or do something for them. Kai could only shake his head, then he leapt into the air to land on his target roof, leaving the crowds noisily disappointed behind him. His wives joined him a second later, but he realized he'd been too casual about the jump: Cragrila had followed on her own, but Nirka had been carried up by Zae Zin Nim gripping the back of her shirt.

"Can they get up here?" Omilaena asked idly, stepping to the side of the building. She stepped back when she got some more cheers.

"This is why we should never help anyone," Zae Zin Nim said sourly.

Meanwhile, Cragrila moved to stand beside him, her spear leaning over her shoulder. "I'm going to catch up with some people," she said quietly, "but let's meet again before you leave. We'll need to find out what I should do next."

"You didn't talk to the elites, did you?" Kai asked the question even as he knew the answer: Cragrila had been quiet, not engaging with them and sinking into the background. "Not interested?"

"I'll work with them, and with you, but Krysal is my home. It needs people dedicated to its future alone."

There could have been some sort of recrimination in a statement like that, yet he didn't sense it from Cragrila. In fact, she extended a hand to him, Goralian-style, and gripped his hand firmly when he shook it.

"I suspect we'll need multiple perspectives on this," Kai told her. "We'll talk again later once we all have more information."

She nodded, then she leapt off the side of the building to vanish into the city. That was good, but Kai tried to consider the matter delegated and stop thinking about it. Instead he found his gaze wandering to Nirka, who shifted uncomfortably near the edge of the roof.

They hadn't spoken much and he suspected she was avoiding him. There were a lot of people on the Clanless and problems on all sides, so it had been easy to forget about her... or, if he was honest, he had been avoiding the uncomfortable subject. Unlike Juray, who he could easily consider a friend, his relationship with Nirka loomed large in his mind.

But why leave that sort of thing in the air when he had so many other problems? Kai approached her with a smile that she almost returned before looking at him suspiciously.

"Going to send me off on a mission?" she asked.

"Only if you want one," Kai said. "I imagine you have people to see in Krysal, so I figured you could get back to it. We'll need you when the incursion starts, but you know where you can do the most good."

"Maybe. I'm stronger, but I'll need to catch up with others."

Kai glanced at her soul, which he normally would have done instinctively and now did very carefully to avoid any impression he was checking her out.

<

Name: Nirka of N District

Total Power: 205

Crystal Cultivation: 1922 (64)

Cultivation: Qi Condensation 3% (10)

Physique Level: E-9 (106)

Soul Level: 5 (25)

>

She'd risen to over 200 Power, which would have made her a crystallier in the old system, but wasn't enough for their new challenges. Strangely, seeing that number over her soul made Kai's old emotions seem petty. The time when he'd felt hurt and betrayed was so long ago, he thought about that version of himself as almost another person, a horny kid.

"Here, take these." Kai handed over one of Omilaena's Physique-boosters as well as several qi pills. "You're close to a Physique breakthrough, plus you shouldn't neglect your cultivation. I know I tend to do that."

"Thanks." Nirka hesitated briefly, then scooped up the gifts. "Listen, I know that we have a history and I don't want to get into-"

"Then we don't have to," Kai said simply. "The past is the past, right? I'm just glad we were able to get you safely back from Cloudspire. So no hard feelings?"

"Not as far as I'm concerned, but does your wife agree?"

Kai frowned and looked over, wondering which she meant before realizing that it had to be Zae Zin Nim in this case. "Why, did she threaten you?"

"Nothing like that, she just..." Nirka suddenly looked even more uncomfortable than before. "Never mind. You're right, the past is the past. Forget the emotional stuff. We fought for Krysal in the revolution, and we'll fight for it in the incursion, right?"

"Right, absolutely." They smiled at one another, but they didn't shake hands. Nirka quickly moved away and slipped from their roof to another, disappearing into the city as well.

With that taken care of, and only his wives left, Kai was feeling surprisingly light. When he turned back to them, however, he saw that they didn't feel the same way - they were examining a new group approaching them from across the rooftop.

This was no adoring crowd. At first Kai thought they wore miners' rags, yet the material was too fine. These people didn't fall into the old system, not as he understood it. But whoever they were, they were making a beeline directly toward him with purpose in their eyes.