Chapter 50: Chapter 50 Divine Upbringing

The next morning a guard stopped by to check in with Nathan, and make sure he hadn’t suddenly unleashed a soul-eating monster that had been hiding within him for the past few days. The Heirs assured him that he was doing no more soul-eating than usual, and Nathan went on with his day.

That afternoon, Kia beckoned him over along with Khachi. Kadid was also there, and threw up his arms in an ‘oh come on’ motion. Nathan shrugged apologetically, but he wasn’t about to pass up a time to talk to Kia.

Today she was wearing something closer to full plate, but without a gorget, thigh or shoulder pieces. Nathan just bet that those were waiting in the slim fanny pack resting below the enormous greatsword. The fiery-haired Adventurer was still intimidating as hell, but Nathan had interacted with her enough to know that she wasn’t crazy. Just… zealous. Committed, not insane.

Nathan followed her and Khachi to an obscure corner of Gemore, where the traffic died away. As they walked, she spoke, turning her head to look at him. “Faline’s in town again. She’s taken an interest in you, Nathan Lark. She has said she won’t try to remove you from the other Heirs’ company, but you will be entangled in her plots going forward.” She grimaced. “None else can play politics in Giantsrest and return unscathed, and she is an invaluable source of information on their doings.” She sighed and turned to address Nathan directly.

“But I mislike her ways. They are brutal, and she slits throats without a pause for thought. There are depths to her that none can gauge, least of all me. And I am used to being able to judge what lies in the hearts of others.”

I honestly don’t see a problem with that, if she slits Giantsrest throats. They can rot in hell as far as I’m concerned.

“Thank you for the warning. She told me to level up before I could help her.”

Kia’s brows furrowed. “Then I suggest you take that advice. The more powerful you become, the more likely you are to survive whatever her plots entail. It is another thing for me to consider in my decision on this Insight you ask for.”

They had arrived at Kia’s home. It was a rather ramshackle home tucked against the side of the stone wave that arched over the upper regions of Gemore.

Not far away was a small stone fortress, built into the side of the ridge. Nathan knew it was a shelter, a bunker for civilians to hide when Gemore was seriously threatened.

Kia pushed through the door, which wasn’t locked. The home was bare-bones, with only a few rooms. The furniture was rough, bulky and cheap. Through the door Nathan saw a large area had been cut out of the rock of the ridge, forming a large open area not unlike the practice chamber under Kullal and Dalo’s mansion, though with a much higher ceiling.

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Kia waved Nathan to a seat at the rough table. “You ask after the Insight that allows me to walk upon air as if it were solid ground. To confirm the lay of things, you have a free Talent slot and wish to use this Talent for yourself? You do not wish to trade it to others?”

Nathan nodded. “If I can use your Talent I think it will make me much more effective at Adventuring, and especially at fighting Mages. I’m very willing to swear to never pass it on to another. I just want to be as capable as I can be.”

Kia pursed her lips. “Yes, I can see your reasoning. Do you not worry it will provide you no benefit inside a building? Or underground? Most dungeons are enclosed, and the monsters that Adventurers must kill are often found in underground lairs.”

Nathan spread his hands wide. “I think its value is hard to overstate. From what I saw, you are able to use the Talent to push even when in the middle of another motion, to exert force and reorient in midair. With practice, it seems like it could enable running faster than is possible without the Talent, and dodging attacks even while in the middle of another motion.”

Kia pointed at him with a gauntleted hand. “Yes. Not many who ask understand the benefits to normal motion. And the fact that you do speaks that you would use this Talent for its full potential. I am glad you understand the value of the thing you ask for, and I also believe you are one of the few who could survive gaining this Talent. So. We come to the question of what Insight you would trade to me in return. I have all of the Talents and Skills I wish for, I appreciate you saving the Heirs’ lives, but it is expected to do so for the members of your team. Unless you have something of great worth to offer Khachi or the other Heirs, then an agreement is unlikely.”

Nathan had a response to that. “I may have some useful Insights to offer Khachi, but I don’t think they’d balance the scale. However, I have been teaching Stella Insights that I believe will allow her to master lightning, and light. If you owe Dalo or Kullal any favors worth your Insight, they may call them in if I succeed in helping Stella get light and lightning mana without Davrar’s assistance.”

Kia’s eyebrows had arched in mild disbelief, but Nathan plowed on.

“Furthermore, I am attempting to build a new kind of weapon that I believe will be of great interest to Sarah and Stanel. I believe it very likely they have never seen anything like it before. It is possible that they would believe it worth an Insight as well.”

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