The Tales of the Wanderer Volume One: A Book of Underrealm (The Underrealm Volumes 4) by Garrett Robinson (elon musk reading list TXT) 📕

and me to death along with her, and I knew it. “Then get up,” she said sharply to Yue. “And bring Dryleaf. The longer we wait, the more time we give Kun to recover and come looking for us.”

Our horses, as well as Dryleaf’s, were with the Guild wagon. Yue changed Dryleaf’s bandage—I was relieved to see the bleeding had slowed—and then helped him to the wagon, where he said his good-byes. All the lovers gave him gentle words and soft touches of farewell, especially Nikau and Orla.

“Again, we thank you,” said Mag. “You are eternally in the favor of the Uncut Lady, and if you ever require my help in any matter, it is yours.”

“And there is something more mundane I must ask of you now,” I told them. “Do you have any spare tents or bedrolls? We cannot fetch ours before we leave. We can pay you.”

“We have no tents,” said Nikau. “But there are plenty of bedrolls, and they are of good quality.”

“Here is something for them, and for any other more immediate needs you might have,” said Mag.

From her saddlebag, she pulled a fat purse, practically bursting with gold, and handed it over. I knew it was nearly everything she had left, but I held my tongue. This was a lighter penance than she wished to pay, I knew.

Nikau took it from her solemnly. “I feel you overestimate our deed. But thank you.” He nodded to her and then to me. “I hope we have the good fortune to meet you again.” Orla embraced us one by one, unable to summon words of her own.

Our good-byes said, we headed towards the south end of camp, walking and leading our horses by the reins. Only Dryleaf was mounted, hunched over his saddle horn, his shoulders drooping, and his head bowed.

“I feared I might find you here, but I hoped I would not.”

My head snapped up. Mag, Yue, and I ground to a halt.

Tou stood there. Beside him were Dibu, Li, Chausiku, and Jian. The four of them looked shocked, as though they could not believe their own eyes. But Tou’s face was one of snarling wrath, his eyes ready to kindle into a blaze.

“Lieutenant Shi,” said Mag. Her voice was almost too steady, as if she was trying to summon her battle-trance but could not quite manage it.

“Turn yourselves around,” said Tou. “Make for the north end of camp, where the captain’s tent stands. When he has finished mourning his nephew, I know he will want to pass judgement on the three of you.”

I closed my eyes. So Zhen had died. Dark take everything, I thought. He deserved better.

But Mag kept her gaze fixed on Tou. “You know we cannot do that, ser.”

“You told me,” said Tou, spitting the words. “You told me when you joined us that I would not regret your presence. And now you are deserting?”

His rage cut me to my heart. But that was not the worst of it. Far worse than Tou’s anger were the expressions of Chausiku, of Li, of Dibu. They were like children watching negligent parents walk out the door, not able to understand that they intended never to return. I searched for something to say, any words I could summon that would make them see, make them understand why we had to go.

I could find none.

“Please, ser,” said Mag. “Believe me when I say that I will regret my time here more than you can know, and not for my own sake. But I will not let you stop us from leaving.”

Now Tou did spit. “Then do it. Make your move, you dark-damned traitor.”

Mag stepped forwards. Tou unsheathed his blade. Dibu and Jian drew their swords a moment later, half-heartedly, torn. Li and Chausiku simply stood and stared.

As Tou advanced, Mag flipped her spear around and jammed the point into the ground. When Tou swung his blade at her, she ducked beneath it, darted up, and struck him under the chin with her fist.

A crack broke the air. Tou fell to the ground, senseless.

Everything was silent. Mag stared down at his fallen form. Dibu, Li, Jian, and Chausiku all watched her for a long, quiet moment. Finally, she looked up at them.

“Just step aside,” she pleaded.

One by one, they looked at each other. It was Jian who spoke first, stepping forwards to stand over Tou.

“No,” she said simply. “We cannot stop you from leaving, but I do not think we will give you the easy way out.”

One by one, Mag knocked them out cold. They fell to land in the mud, some of it still red with the blood of those slain by the Shades.

I stepped forwards. I knelt and lifted each of them, sliding their cloaks beneath them so they would not wake up lying soaked and freezing in the mud. After a moment, Yue bent to help me.

Then we mounted our horses and rode south from the camp as fast as we could.

You can imagine what was going through my mind as we fled into the night, cold, miserable, and alone. After all, I told you of how I was exiled from Tokana when I was close to your age.

But it may interest you to know that this was not Mag’s first time, either. She, too, had had to run from her friends after a fight she would rather have avoided. It is how she left Shuiniu, the town where she used to live before we met.

Several years had passed since her first scuffle with Ciaran. In that time, Mag had kept her head down and her fists still, happy to be a brewer under Duana. In truth, the fight with Ciaran meant little to her. It had been a petty dispute, and to her mind, it had been settled.

But Ciaran never forgot it. Nor did he ever forgive Mag for it. He was one of those petty, small-minded folk who hold tight to grudges, letting