Depthless Hunger

Chapter 68: Arrival at Rayakan

As the water gates into Rayakan opened, Kai barely saw them. He caught brief glimpses of majestic architecture, a bustling port, and grand statues of hunters past, but they didn't matter. His attention was entirely focused on the woman lying lifelessly in his arms.

Ever since her final exertion, Zae Zin Nim had shown no signs of consciousness. If he hadn't caught her, she would have fallen into the river and drowned. Her condition was clearly worse than before, but she didn't even cough, just oozed black bile constantly. He'd been watching her carefully and her eyelids hadn't so much as fluttered.

It was a small comfort that they had made it to the city. With Barroguk knocked so far back and their opponents' method of flight damaged, the barge had made good progress. Everyone had been tense that they would face another threat at the gates, but when they came in sight of Rayakan, Razzagah had breathed a sigh of relief. Apparently his enemies wouldn't attack him in front of an audience.

"You did more than anyone could have asked of you."

The voice penetrated Kai's haze and he looked up. For a moment he didn't even recognize Razzagah Lantrian, then he shook himself. They had arrived at the city. His job was done and they were, in theory, safe.

"I know that you're worried about your friend," Razzagah went on, "but I need to pay you. The two hundred Eagles I promised, plus an extra hundred as hazard pay. If there's anything else I can do, I'd be happy to throw in a little more as a courtesy..."

"That's..." Kai wanted to tell him to go away, since the last thing he wanted to do was think about a Lantrian. But he had a lot of problems and not very many resources, so he didn't have much choice. "She needs some standard healing potions, as well as some Class potions. The kind that grant you a portion of mana in a different Class."

"Tricky order, but I'm sure I can arrange something. Is that all?"

"We need an inn. Somewhere close. And not affiliated with any of the clans."

"Done and done." Razzagah touched his shoulder gently. "I need to go now, Kai, but remember how grateful I am. Without you two, this shipment would have failed and I might be dead three times over. Follow my assistant and they'll help you with what you need."

One of the workers from the caravan guided Kai away from the docks to a tall inn only a short distance away. He barely saw it, mostly focused on ensuring that Zae Zin Nim didn't bump into anyone. With her hood fallen over her face, she looked almost like someone who was simply ill. They received a few strange glances, but he was in the company of a clan official, so everyone looked away and assumed it was clan business.

Soon he found himself with an entire inn room to himself, an impressive one with two beds. Kai asked for food and a tub of hot water from the innkeeper. Only once everyone else had left the room did he allow himself to sit down and rest.

His hand still ached, but the bloodstains were the only remnants of his injuries. The worse loss was his gauntlet, which he broke apart and even picked out of his flesh in a few places. It was too much to hope that the steel Tusquo had made so long ago could have stood up to such a powerful opponent, but he still felt the loss. Now his only weapon left was one gauntlet, and it wouldn't be good enough if he needed to face off with Barroguk again.

The Lantrian assistant returned first, bearing the potions as requested, then disappeared. Kai looked over the potions, noting that many of them seemed to have conventional Fighter Classes. Given that he had drunk his final Herbalist potion before entering the city, he would take whatever he could get.

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More importantly, there was a recovery potion among the others, and a rather expensive one. After staring at it for some time, Kai went to where Zae Zin Nim was lying and managed to dribble it into her mouth. She threatened to cough it up and he had to hold her jaw shut to make sure she swallowed. Her wounds continued to ooze, but at least there wasn't bile pouring from her ears.

Once she was sleeping peacefully, Kai considered the value of what they had been given. Three hundred Eagles in payment, plus the price of the potions, and the inn had been paid for. That was hundreds of Eagles worth of value thrown out as a bonus, practically as much as all his other work combined. If Zae Zin Nim didn't make it through, it wouldn't be worth it.

Instead he thought about Razzagah Lantrian. No doubt the man had made an obscene profit on his shipment, not to mention flouting rival clans. These were nothing but business expenses to him... but he could have left them as soon as he made his profits.

Finally the innkeeper returned with a huge tub of steaming water, one that required several servants to move. Kai realized that it was probably intended for two people, but that didn't matter. As soon as they were gone, he considered what he could actually do.

First, he removed Zae Zin Nim's bundle from her robes. The cloud-patterned silk robes had been partially stained by the black bile, but he set them aside. Most important was the box of pills, which rattled ominously as he picked it up. She had only a single condensed qi pill left and three of her medication. Even though she had been taking fewer lately, that was terribly few.

He wasn't sure about the water, but he hoped it could ease her physical pain. Kai scooped her up in his arms, marveling at how fragile she was. As he walked over to the tub, however, he hesitated. His first instinct had been to strip her. She was so skeletally thin that her body inspired only pity in him, but she might not feel the same way. To spare her feelings, he lowered her into the tub, robes and all.

She murmured something in her own language, incomprehensible but possibly positive. Actually waking seemed far off, but when he positioned her against the side of the tub, she remained with her head above water. He left her there to soak and went back to her pills.

It would be completely impossible to buy qi anywhere, even in such a large city, so this was all he had. Kai decided to leave the final qi pill in case she had a use for it, but took out one of the medicinal pills. In camp he'd once seen her crush one and dissolve it into her drink, so he got a mug of water and did the same. This time she was more receptive and didn't spit up any of it.

Surrounded by the steam, all her scars glistened, but they weren't oozing bile anymore. That might be all he could do for her. Kai started to think about what other business he could do before deciding that he needed to stay with her. She couldn't ward off two dangerous opponents only to drown in a bathtub.

As soon as he had nothing to do, the exhaustion hit him. Crippling waves of it, stronger each time he let himself relax even slightly. To keep himself alert, Kai focused on his own soul.

Name: Kai Clanless

Total Power: 74

Cultivation: Qi Condensation 10% (12)

Physique Level: F-8 (46)

Soul Level: 4 (16)

Monstrous Hunger - VI (zeta)

Direboar's Strength - III (gamma)

Aquagorgon's Health - III (gamma)

Isulfr's Bite - I (alpha)

Rockspider's Claw - II (beta)

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His Physique had improved, which was a petty consolation prize after the brutal fight. He was more interested in the fact that Rockspider's Claw had increased to beta rank. That strongly suggested that he had tapped into it during the fight, but he couldn't do it again. At least, he had failed during the fight, and he wasn't going to make any attempts that would destroy their room.

He tried to cultivate, but struggled to focus. Eventually the tub's water had cooled and Zae Zin Nim appeared more relaxed. Even though she was dripping wet, he gently lifted her out of the tub and set her down in one of the beds. As far as he could judge, she was as stable as she could be, given the circumstances.

Now he just needed to stay alert in case they were attacked by a clan. Kai sat down on the other bed to rest his eyes for just a moment and was unconscious almost immediately.