You can Go on Living; They Sure Will

"Quickly moving," Noel said, pointing out a white galloping horse, its rider in an apparent hurry. Moonlight Guardian, who stood next to her, looking out a window, took note.

"K-Kickly moo-bing," Moonlight guardian attempted to repeat the words, but still found her tongue unable to tame the sounds. Noel didn't seem to mind, however.

Noel pointed out an old man plodding along with a cane. "Slowly moving."

"Swowee moo-bing." An outsider would likely hear the utterances of a child learning their first words; she remained blissfully unaware. It went without saying that her pronunciation left something to be desired. Still, her progress pleased her. She had come a long way in only a couple of moons.

"Okay, I think that's enough formal instruction for today," Noel said, turning to her with a satisfied smile. "Did you wish to accompany me today?" Though Moonlight Guardian didn't understand many of the words she spoke, but knew enough or could infer at least. She had been chagrined to learn of her prolonged unconsciousness and now insisted on earning her keep by offering her protective services; it was in her name after all. Noel had gone to great lengths to convey the hazardous nature of her work and initially refused her, or tried to. But Moonlight Guardian wouldn’t be deterred, and Noel had to acquiesce.

They departed the room that had served Moonlight Guardian since before regaining consciousness and made their way through the polished granite halls that twisted and turned for no particular reason. Only humans would construct a building where it was a chore to exit. You either wanted to be in a building or outside a building, not transitioning between the two; that should be minimized as much as possible, which shouldn’t prove a great effort.

"Noel!" A burly man beckoned with a deep, friendly voice. "You going to need protection today? I hear you got a meeting with the new bigwig in the city."

"No, I'm good, Groil. I got Amm Par, but I'll let you know how it goes." She passed, waving.

Groil's face fell, but he continued, "I-I know, but are you sure she will be enough?" He looked over at the slight Moonlight Guardian. Did he still doubt her skill, even after he had experienced them firsthand?

"I'll be fine. Don't worry." She kept walking.

Doubtless, he had seen her in a weakened state back when she first awoke and found herself impaired from injury and inactivity. If he used that standard, then she understood his confidence when he challenged her for the position of Noel's protector a moon-cycle later: a custom she found strange.

"Oh... Okay." His posture collapsed like he had taken a sword blow to the gut and turned to walk away. Noel continued, but her pace slowed, and pained creases crossed her face. Finally, pinching her eyes shut, let out a sharp exhale.

"Groil," She called out. He turned back, forlorn. "Do you have no other duties today?"

"Well... Nothing that can't be shifted around." He said, fidgeting with his fingers, a glow of hope returning to his eyes.

"I suppose..." Noel hesitated a moment, conflicted, she thought. "It wouldn't be a bad idea to have an extra man watching my back."

"Really?" Whatever stature he lost, he regained with extra growth. "I mean, of course! You can count on me!" He jogged over. Noel wore a tired expression, the kind a mother might have with a trying but lovable child.

Moonlight Guardian wasn't exactly an expert on intersex relations, let alone of the human variety, but she felt fairly certain Groil fancied Noel, though his courtship rituals were bizarre. She could understand him challenging her to a contest of combat prowess: a demonstration of competency—an important trait in what was, apparently, a very individualistic society. But again, that only served to weaken his position as she easily knocked him off balance without even needing to physically touch him. She even felt bad after he smashed his head on the stone ground and blood splattered across his hairless head, although the stone seemed to have taken the worst of the damage.

They made their way through gray streets and under gray skies, the usual color that painted the background in this place they called Southguard. Strange, they would give a name to a location. But then again, she had only recently realized that what she had thought of as merely references were actually names, though they still had that referencing quality out of necessity. Speaking of names, they were heading to a place called "Thomas and Tile." Well, probably anyway. Noel usually met with the shady people she dealt with there. “Shady” probably could have been omitted, though, as humans were shady by default. A point only reinforced in her mind after Durroum's betrayal, the second one, or maybe it was actually the first?

True to her speculation, they stopped under the flopping plank sign for "Thomas and Tile," as indicated by the symbols. Noel had informed her that these symbols correlate to the spoken sounds and had tried to teach her. She refused. In truth, she had initially refused to temporarily apprentice for spoken language, as well. However, she relented after learning of Durroum's... lie. If she wished to recover the children, she would need to navigate human society, a task made significantly easier if she could communicate with the population. She would just have to bear the indignity.

However, this human communication, which they called speech, was already alien enough. Now, Noel was trying to add this outlandish corollary? She couldn't even fathom why you would need another way of communicating. Was speech not enough? This sign had been what opened her mind—if only a little—to the practical value of written language. Mainly, it didn't require someone to speak it. The yutsuukitsuu had their own way of using symbols, but they were informalized, and you had to know the meaning beforehand—you couldn't convey something novel. So, the humans had them beat, on that front at least. Still, she couldn't imagine needing to converse with a sign, so she regarded it as of little use.

The air inside the tavern—Noel had called it that—was damp and smelled faintly of mold. A rough-looking place, compared to HQ, where she'd been staying. The floor staggered out of unadorned gray stone, though more blocky than the stone streets. The walls were of similar stock and gave the whole place an uninviting feel. Even with the wood paneling adorning the occasional wall and several windows, they couldn’t overcome the gloom, and most of the lighting came from hanging torches. The people here looked equally as unwelcoming, with closed postures and unapproachable expressions. Muscular men bore scarred faces, and the handful of women didn’t look much better. If she hadn't been here before, she would have assumed that all those assassins originated from here.

Noel declared this a great place to deal in secrets, as the building had many interior alcoves that lent privacy from prying ears, and the staff knew to leave well enough alone unless specifically beckoned. Moonlight Guardian had come to learn over her repeated trips here that the place existed with the implicit purpose of clandestine affairs. Of course, she only realized this once Noel had taken her to a more reputable establishment; apparently, she didn’t want her to get the wrong idea about human society.

Today, they would not be in one of the alcoves, but instead were ushered into a private room in the back, where six hulking figures stood surrounding a table. Though unarmed, they still looked imposing. A less imposing man, but most confident of all, sat steepling his fingers at the far end of the long table. An older man with a short white beard extending half a hand-span down his chin. His pale blue eyes were topped by eyebrows that winged out and nearly touched the brim of his tall, flat hat—Noel had called this a "top hat." Though she was no expert, Moonlight Guardian could recognize his garb as emblematic of a much higher station. He wore what she guessed was a black coat, atop a smaller gray vest, with a white shirt underneath. If not for the scar and accompanying eye patch on his left eye, you might find him a reputable man. The other six assembled wore more or less the same style of coat in various stages of wear and dirt, with only the white shirt beneath.

"Noel, so you finally arrive. I see you know how to keep an old man waiting." His tone implied something, but Moonlight Guardian lacked the skill to pick up on vocal changes that weren't overt.

"Well, you know how it is, Proska, very busy," Noel dismissed his comment. A lie she knew, and it still made her wince in disgust: Noel’s one major fault. But then again, it seemed humans expected to be lied to. In the present case, this Proska didn't seem to believe her in the least, but failed to display the warranted outrage. Only offering a grumble in protest.

Such a small thing to lie about, which, in a way, only made it worse. She had nearly killed Durroum when she learned about his lie, and that had seemed a much better reason. It had taken Noel almost a week to explain his egregious offense. During that time, he would pop in while she rehabilitated herself, much to her dismay—she would never forget what he did at the tower. But she figured he was trying to repay his debt to her. Not sure why she thought that now. Perhaps because getting herself functional again preoccupied her. However, after she found out, she had to be stopped from strangling Durroum to death, which had been the intent. Only the adamant pleas from Noel had kept her from breaking his neck. Later, she learned that if Noel had known her telekinetic abilities hadn't suffered from the trauma, she would have kept her brother far away from her, probably forever.

"Take a seat." Proska gestured to the chair on the opposite side of the table. Noel did so, with the professional smile that she always wore in such situations. Moonlight Guardian and Groil took up positions on either side. Proska's crew eyed them, sly sneers on several of their faces, surely thinking they would have the upper hand if things got out of control. An easy mistake to make.

"So, tell me what you are looking for." She interlaced her fingers, perching her chin atop.

"You know what I'm looking for." Hostility. Yes, Moonlight Guardian recognized hostility in his voice. She was getting good at this, though the meaning of his words still eluded her.

"Yes, well, they bear repeating, just to be clear about what you are looking for. You only want to pay for what you need, and not what you don't." She continued to smile. It seemed like she taunted the man. She did this sometimes, usually when they came with a number of unnecessary bodyguards.

The old man sighed, turning his head to the side as he rapped fingers on the table. For a moment, it appeared like one of his men was going to say something, a thick man with an equally thick beard, but Proska held up a hand.

"As you know, there was a big find down in the Vardent Valley, a massive ikour reserve the likes of which are hardly seen outside the Mystic Continent. Only, due to the ease of access, such a find is sure to be much more lucrative."

"Umm hmm, umm hmm," Noel nodded along.

"Yes. Well, undoubtedly some of that ikour will find its way here, but there is a problem. The Council of Princes has expressed concerns, and the emperor is in agreement. Such access to ikour will be a massive boon to the Alocast economy. Though the time of hostilities has long since ended between the two nations, old rivalries still hold. And though the windfall is inevitable at this point, they can still put a damper on it and take in additional revenue as well."

"Tariffs, you mean."

"Exactly. They are certain to be quite high, though the extent is not important." His hand made a dismissive gesture.

"But it would be better if they were higher." She leaned in.

"As I said, you already know what we are looking for." He returned an unamused look.

"Only the thing, not the reason for the thing." What a confusing statement, even though Moonlight Guardian knew all the words. They spoke in Common Praven, a different language from the Caster Noel was teaching her. Though the languages were similar, having a recent common origin, whatever that meant. On occasion, she would hear a statement in Common Praven and understand it, kind of.

"Well, I guess the question is then, can you deliver ‘the thing?'" He steepled his fingers.

"You mean ways to work around customs? I assume you wish to undercut the market by selling duty-free?" She asked, but it seemed a mere formality.

"That's the size of it," he said dryly.

"Who is your seller?"

"What?" The question had taken him aback. "I have no reason to answer that!"

"But of course you do." She teased, but not without purpose.

"Do I?" Sensing their master's anger, the six start to grow agitated.

"Yes, there are at least two reasons." She held up two fingers with the slightest hint of pretension on her lips. "One, these kinds of operations are not as segregated as you might imagine; they all work as a whole. For instance, if you are buying from a reputable trader in ikour, they will log the transaction. If amounts at the receiving port don't add up, it will be noted. As you pointed out, the Council of Princes will want to take their cut, and you are far from the first to consider smuggling. If you were dealing with an underground dealer, there would be different concerns."

"I... See." He furrowed his brows. "And what is the second reason?"

"Information is valuable. Do you want to pay market price or get a discount for information traded?"

"It sounds like you are threatening higher prices in order to coerce information that could be used against us." The big guy from before growled as he stepped forward, only Proska didn't stop him this time. However, he just hovered over her, trying to intimidate; it didn't work.

"Hardly.” Noel splayed her hands. "In fact, I'm trying to give you a better deal." Proska lifted an eyebrow. "Aside from covering some of the cost, it also ensures that information you give us is only used ethically, as befitting our transactions."

"Meaning?" His face pulled together.

"Meaning, we are going to find out regardless; it's what we do. But the information we gather on our own is ours to use as we see fit. Information you provide, however, has professional safeguards. You can rest assured that it will not be used to your detriment."

"Are you trying to blackmail the Southguard Protectorate?" The hovering thug grabbed Noel by the shirt and nearly lifted her off the ground. A bridge too far. A sudden impact to the face sent him staggering back, dropping Noel, and somehow losing his footing, causing him to backplant. General confusion filtered through the assembled street-toughs; no mystery to Moonlight Guardian or her two companions. She never balked at an opportunity to rough up a human. After the massacre of her home, she harbored a great deal of malice for humanity, and somehow, that had only increased an order of magnitude since she started her journey. Her discipline kept her in check, so she wouldn't attack a human purely out of spite for the species, but given a reason, she was more than happy to oblige.

After Noel had guilted her into sparing Durroum, she could barely contain her vitriol and had worked even harder to get herself to the point where she could roam the streets, which she did after only five days, to Noel's protest. Her official reason for the excursion was to find information on the children, which was sincere. But what drove her was the hope that a human would start something so she could justify beating them to within their last breath, and maybe beyond. However, to her dismay, almost everyone she encountered considered her a curiosity and had no ill will towards her.

While this proved disappointing, it was more disheartening after her anger cooled, and she realized she had no way—outside of a manual search—of finding the children. If they were not in the city, then she would have to search... The rest of the world? With this realization, Noel had finally convinced her that if she wanted to find the children, she would need to interact with human civilization, and that meant learning to speak.

She didn't realize just how much work it would take to learn this Caster. After a week, the truth sank in: this would be a full-blown apprenticeship. It would take a significant amount of time, not only on her part but also on Noel's. It was humiliating on multiple levels. Who ever heard of an adult taking on an apprenticeship? And to a human! But what could she do? Her quest would surely fail without the skill.

She didn't know how humans did apprenticeships. Doubtless, they were as bizarre as everything else they did. Still, it seemed self-evident that any apprenticeship should be a give-and-take relationship, only she didn't know what was expected of her in this situation. Despite her prodding, Noel asked for nothing. Still, she felt obligated to offer something in reciprocation. So she had started acting as Noel's bodyguard. This strangely turned out better than anticipated. Noel got into physical altercations on a somewhat frequent basis, more frequently than Moonlight Guardian could get to on her own.

So it pleased her when she got to pop this brawny human and send him sprawling. The five other men shuffled in place, confused and readying themselves for a fight, judging by their taut bodies. This would be a good day.

"That's enough!" Proska's voice rose above the clamor, garnering a reluctant quelling of the men. She couldn't help but radiate clear disappointment, which drew the attention of Noel and Groil, who both understood yutsuukitsuu nature by this point. Noel gave her an apologetic smile. The accosted man got up with a bloody nose, looking around, both angry and bewildered.

"A very deft use of sigilary, I couldn't even see it..." He looked at Noel with a begrudging respect. She returned a knowing smile. Moonlight Guardian still found it surprising that knowledge of her kind wasn’t widely known. She could get away with the stunt she just pulled, and, more times than not, they never suspected her. That had been the case with Groil at first.

They launched into negotiations after that in all sincerity. Of course, Moonlight Guardian couldn't tell you the details, or even why they were here in the first place, having understood essentially none of the conversation. Noel had tried to explain what she and her organization did, and from what she could tell, they sold secrets. She didn't know how you sold a secret, or why you would want one, but humans were strange.

However, she remained here because of one of these secrets. Although she had agreed to learn human speech to aid in the search, that alone wouldn't be enough to stay. For the first moon-cycle, it had been the recovery; she spent every day rehabilitating her body. After that, it had been Noel's promise. She said they would honor her brother’s promise and search out the secret of the children’s location.

After the lie she had been told by Durroum, she shouldn't have been inclined to believe her. From what she could tell, humans lied all the time, and that included Noel. Still, she believed in her honesty about this. Or perhaps the odds of getting a real lead on the children from her was better than finding them bumbling around on her own.

Still, she could only wait so long. Eventually, she would have to start out again, lead or not. Although the more speech she learned, the more she could pump the human population for information. That being the case, she could hold off, for now. Until either the secret came through, or she obtained a level of proficiency with the human communication. Whichever came first.