You saw a girl

Chi stopped herself from looking at him. Only the subtle jerk of her chin in his direction gave her away and she clasped her hand briefly in her lap, looking out of the window opposite her. Its frame bore more yellow inscriptions that enhanced their view of the scenery as the carriage started moving again.

“Only Dark elves?” The mixed blood glanced sideways at his human companion.

“That's right. It seems like it's worse now but apparently this has been going on for years,” he replied.

“First their homeland gets struck by that freak soul-ma accident and now they're vanishing one by one” The furred traveller shook his head. “Nature seems to have it in for those poor elves.”

“Maybe nature doesn't have anything to do with it.”

Lingshi focused on the green fields, carefully erected stone walls, and maintained hedges that rolled by instead of the twinge deep in his stomach. He had worked out that the absence of his own kind was related to more than just the near complete destruction of Muzai or their love for solitude. But something about the human's tone stoked a sense of foreboding in the ashes of a fear he thought he had doused long ago.

“What do you mean?” asked the wolf-human, adjusting a pair of spectacles upon the bridge of his muzzle.

The young man scanned the carriage, then leaned sideways and covered his lips with a hand. His companion lowered his head accordingly, his grey ear fluttering against the latter's breath.

“The Dark elves aren't the only ones suffering losses,” whispered the human. “I've heard talk of dragon deaths all over Shi-Kai.”

“Dragons?” growled his companion, baring the tip of his fangs.

“That's right. The Wardens have been finding bodies during their patrols but no one can work out what's killing them.” He paused dramatically. “Or who.”

“Who the howl could kill a dragon?” The mixed blood sounded both afraid and in awe.

Lingshi could appreciate the depth of his question. He, too, had already heard whispers of the same sinister story. Each realm had a Warden unit associated with it consisting of mainly members of the five guardian races as well as several humans who were skilled enough to keep up with them and educate them about their cultural differences.

Even with all of their training, a single unit would struggle to take down the average dragon. Unless it also contained a dragon that was as old as those that were found dead, or one that had enough soul-magic wielding experience to bridge the difference in ability.

Or a giant or an elf with the same qualities.

“I don't know.” The young man shrugged. “Maybe a giant? Or another dragon?”

“Why would any of the guardian bloods do that though?” murmured the wolf-human ponderously. “They've been working together to keep your kind safe for centuries.”

“I'm not sure. I'm just saying what I heard.” He shook his head. “All I know is that if they start a war amongst themselves, us humans won't last long at all.”

“The whole of Shi-Kai will probably come to an end,” agreed the other with a grave nod.

They're both right. A war between the guardian races would cause unprecedented destruction, and the humans would be both the first and the worst affected by the fallout.

A frustrated frown tightened Chi's expression but Lingshi had a feeling she would have looked even worse if she could hear what they were saying.

*

The Huoi-Kin was only a single segment of the long road that ran around the world in a clockwise direction. Since it was the inner road, it usually took travellers less time to get from one region to the next. It was longer than the roads that led to Shi-Kai's central region but not as long as the outer ring that ran counter-clockwise and parallel to it. Even so, it usually took between two to three days to get from one border to the next.

Lingshi sat with his hands tucked into his sleeves, eyes half-closed, and tried not to let the gentle vibrations of the carriage lure him into a dreamscape. As spacious as the inside was, he knew any form of cultivation would draw attention so he chose to recite his carefully selected words internally.

Hear me, o body of mine. Eternal life flows through your vessels, strength through your fibres, and growth through your pain. Power and weakness both belong to you. O mind of mine, relentless potential runs through your vessels, strength through your choices, and growth through your endurance. Power and weakness both belong to you –

The carriage stopped moving all of a sudden, jolting most of its passengers back into complete consciousness. Beside him, Chi sat up straight, her eyes darting first to the driver's seat that was only partially visible due to the inscribed latticework and paper-screen in between them.

“Someone else might be boarding,” he murmured as she looked at him, alert instead of drowsy.

But they haven't been stopping this suddenly all day and she knows that too.

She nodded but tilted her head, trying to hear the muffled voices from outside the carriage.

“– on behalf of the governor,” said a gruff male person. “His daughter has gone missing so we've been ordered to check every carriage going in and out of Kinshu.”

Governor? Daughter? Could it be –?

Chi jumped as the passenger door slid open and leant back in the seat quickly, hiding as best as she could behind his body.

“Apologies, folks, for the sudden stop,” said the dwarf as he climbed into the body of the carriage. “It seems like the Wardens have been asked to keep an eye out for someone important to the governor. Do you have a picture of her by any chance?”

As the dwarf turned to face someone, his small body silhouetted against the deep golden, late afternoon sky, Lingshi placed his hand on top of Chi's.

“Take this,” he said quietly as her startled eyes snapped up towards his. “And don't let go of it.”

She nodded and turned her palm to retrieve a spell-page marked with the words alter and appearance amongst others. He shifted a little further from her as her fingers closed around it.

“Activate,” he whispered and a silver-blue ripple passed over her like a wave.

“Has anyone seen this child?” asked the dwarf, holding up a parchment with the portrait of a girl.

It was no masterpiece but it clearly depicted a long-haired Chi wearing a dress as well as a bored flatness to her expression. The human and hybrid wolf blinked at the picture, then at each other, before looking straight at Chi as did several other passengers. Fortunately the only person they saw was a hunchbacked goblin wearing a tattered red tunic and puffy brown trousers with cuffs.

“Saw someone like that,” rumbled the giant on Chi's other side. “Sat next to me. Don't know when she went though.”

“You saw a girl who looked like this one?” prompted the dwarf, his beady eyes narrowing further. “Here in this carriage?”

“Think so. She was –” The giant's speech faltered as he glanced at Lingshi. “– here earlier, I think.”

“It doesn't look like she is any more,” announced the driver's guard. “Thank you, kind sir. We'll –”

“Wait, are you just going to leave it like that?” demanded someone behind him, most likely the captain of the Kinshu Wardens.

“What more would you like me to do, sir?” questioned the dwarf, handing the rolled up parchment back to him.

“If she was here, you would have seen her hopping on and off, wouldn't you?” The speaker waited for him to nod, albeit uncertainly. “So can't you remember seeing her?”

“With all due respect, sir, do you know how many passengers I see every day?”

“Still you're a dwarf. You're known for your memory –”

“About a hundred,” he said firmly. “Maybe even more, depending on the day. Do you really think I can remember each and every face with the clarity you need from me?”

In the ensuing silence, the rapid heartbeats of those around Lingshi stood out even more. Like raindrops landing upon cheap metal as opposed to quality word. As if bothered by the noise, Yokanna squeaked softly in her sleep before curling up into a tighter ball within the deep blue nest of his hair. Chi's heart was racing but she kept her face relatively straight.

“If you do a soul-ma scan, I'd be more than happy to let you continue your journey” said the barely visible stranger as if he could sense the passengers' slowly growing agitation. “Just a single sweep, that's all I ask. Then I'll be able to inform the governor that we did all we could to find her.”

“Yes, sir,” said the dwarf after an intense pause. “I'll do that then.”

He pulled off a pair of thick brown gloves and tucked them into his belt.

“My apologies once again, folks,” he called out. “But you heard the captain. I'm going to do a quick search of the carriage and then we'll be on our way again. Can I ask you to stay where you are and grant us a few more minutes of your time?”