Shuli Go Stories Vol. 1: Beyond the Mists

Part 2

"Ok. First of all, they only think that because you told them that. And second of all, if you don't at least cover me up with something in the next five seconds, the pain you're feeling in your head is just a much duller version of the pain I'm going to be applying to your testicles once I get out of here."

Jiang dropped his hands and stared at Lian.

"Don't stare!"

He shook his head, the motion once again causing him a great deal of discomfort, before he responded, "I'm not staring! It's just hard to think when my head feels like this."

"Cover me up right now!"

"I don't have anything to cover you with. All I have is my cloak," he tugged at the thick wool cover he wore. "If I cover you with that, then I'll be cold."

Lian closed her eyes and let the cold and frustration tremble her body in equal measures. "Jiang!" She shouted.

"Ok, ok," he finally relented, standing up and slowly removing his cloak before he fanned it over her and then deposited it on her form. It wasn't much warmer than the outside, but it provided a thick insulation under which she could work her Shuli Go magic.

"Huono neitu" she intoned in ancient Imperial, focusing her attention inwards, towards her heart, which began to beat faster and faster, until a faint glow of heat began to radiate out from it. Her blood carried the heat across her body, and within moments she was no longer frozen, merely cold. She held the spell for a minute, before the rapid beat of her heart began to affect her breathing. She was just short of comfortable when she allowed the magic to dissipate, and she returned her attention to Jiang, who was rubbing his arms to stay warm and staring straight ahead at nothing.

Lian took a deep breath before she decided to press Jiang for more information. "What the hell is going on here Jiang?"

The merchant, unaccustomed to any unpleasantness beyond the aforementioned hangover, seemed genuinely scared by the situation. "I swear I don't know. One of the Wamaians I'd met before. He'd traded me five gold a horse from a paddock where they weren't worth ten silver each. He'd sent word saying he had more need for my ability to find valuable...things. Something about their King had sent them. I stopped paying attention once I remembered the profit on those horses."

"Of course you did. So you have no idea what they want? What did you talk to them about last night?"

"Figures. They said they'd provide a hundred of their gold pieces before they even took delivery. An initial payment. Can you imagine that Zhao?" At the introduction of figures into the conversation, Jiang's headache disappeared. "Do you know how big their gold pieces are? Almost twice the size of Imperial coin. Two hundred gold for nothing!"

"Do you at least know where we are?"

"Heading into Wamai I think."

"You think?"

"I was still pretty drunk when they threw me in here," Jiang went back to rubbing his temples. "I don't even know how long we've been on the road."

"No, you missed my point. You? Think? Ha!" She shouted as loud as she could.

Jiang shook his head before burping involuntarily and holding his hand to his mouth, visibly trying to keep his insides inside. Lian figured he'd had enough for that particular moment.

"Alright, we're going to Wamai, which explains why it's so cold," she tried to analyze the situation, "and they haven't killed us. So they must need us, or at least one of us, for something. How good is your Wamaian? Do you think you can bargain with them if it comes down to it?"