Sword and Snow

Avuri

"No?"

My mind immediately began sprinting in the opposite direction. Thinking about the best way for us to move everyone and slowly limp our way out of the city was pointless if they weren't going to just let us go.

So, was it a fight? Surely the guard wasn't about to force us into a full-on slaughter of the people in the road here. He was the only Sky Realm Cultivator in attendance, and he could surely recognize that Emery was easily overpowering his Domain, allowing his to extend as far as it did at the moment out of politeness for his station.

The other option I had in my head was more likely. And just as likely to cause a fight with us.

"No." The guard reiterated. "Resin has a strong anti-demon policy, in case you were unaware. The people," he said as he spread his arms to indicate the crowd, "are unlikely to let demon-touched trash go free."

When the crowd cheered in support, I couldn't help but sigh. I wasn't about to let them do anything to the people we were protecting, but I could feel Emery getting more frustrated with each passing second. She did not take well to threats, especially from people trying to punch well above their weight for no reason.

"If you and your friend there want to leave, you are perfectly free to do so." The guard continued. "But you'll be leaving that trash for us to deal with."

I wasn't sure if he had really expected us to just leave the people we promised to protect for the crowd to deal with or if they had some other plan, but I also wasn't exactly sure it mattered. There was no way that Emery or I would abandon them.

I glanced back to Risha and Fal while still cradling the injured Briar in my arms to reassure them that we wouldn't leave them behind, but it didn't seem like they were worried about it. Rather than the pleading I expected to see in their eyes, they held some trust there. And disgust for the people surrounding all of us.

"We won't be doing that." Emery said flatly. "And, to be frank, I'm not sure you could stop us leaving. It's simply a matter of how messy this gets. Just let us leave."

Emery's voice was still controlled, but she was also clearly fighting her desire to simply punch the problem.

"It's okay." I said quietly, trying to gather the children closer to me so I could protect them if things went poorly. "We will not leave you. I promise. Just stay close."

Enrik and Karn nodded, shuffling closer, while Kord barely reacted to what I said, alternating between looking at the people surrounding us with worry and Briar, holding tightly to the girl's hand.

The guard didn't respond at first, allowing the crowd to shout and hurl insults instead. Unfortunately for us, the crowd was gathering more people as well, as passerbys came to see why a crowd had gathered. And almost all of them proceeded to stay and join the angry mob of people.

"The people here really hate demons." I sent, mentally calling Emery's attention to the growing crowd. I still wasn't sure if it mattered, given almost everyone among the crowd had no Domain.

Despite her clearly preparing for a fight, Emery's response came back sounding calm. "What do you think? We could cut our way out of here, but I'm not sure how much damage we would cause. Being this outnumbered, even without Sky Realms on that side, we could be forced into moves we don't like."

I looked out over the crowd, trying to figure out what to do. Even if these people were foul, I wasn't looking to butcher an entire crowd. My eyes landed on the guard in the center, who now had his arms crossed and was looking down his nose at us. As if he felt superior for hating on small children and captives.

I felt my blood boil at that expression. It took a lot to rile me up. Even with all the hate and vitriol being slung at us, I could put it aside as a combination of group mentality and peer pressure. For better or worse, it was hard to tell in a group that size who was going along with it because they believed in the hate, or because they just felt like they should follow the majority. Or, perhaps, they felt they had to to continue living here.

It didn't matter what their reasoning was in the end, because they were all just excuses either way. But it still was a detail that allowed me to keep hate out of my decisions and retain a cool head throughout this awful situation. If anything, I mostly felt pity for them.

But the expression on the guard's face was something else entirely. He knew exactly what he was doing, and was enjoying it. There was sick pleasure in his eyes as he looked at our group. It made me sick.

"The people in the crowd are weak, and the guard is our only real concern." I sent, finally giving up on trying to get out of this situation without a fight. "We should suppress him and leave."

"He clearly thinks we'd be hesitant to attack a city guard." Emery sent, a little bit of satisfaction in her voice. "I suppose we won't be returning here again after this."

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"I wouldn't want to come back here after this anyway."

"Quite right. Are you ready?"

"I'll deal with the crowd on your signal."

I felt Emery's agreement with that come through without an actual message.

"Just let us leave." Emery repeated, having received no response beyond the guard watching imperiously while the crowd carried on.

This time, the guard sighed, making the action overdramatic, complete with a forward lean. "I already said that you and your friend are free to go. You have my permission. Now, please, be on your way. The closest city gate is that way." The condescension in his tone was palpable, as if he were talking to a child, while pointing east.

If we hadn't basically already made the decision to fight, I was pretty sure that that remark would've sealed the deal anyway. But, he continued anyway. "I'm sure you don't want to create more problems for yourselves, so off you go."

As he more or less confirmed the idea that he thought the city's backing would be enough to make us leave so he could torture the children, Emery had finally had enough. She had been, up until then, in a crouched stance, prepared to intercept any further attacks. Now, she sighed and stood up straighter, to her full but admittedly unintimidating height.

The crowd continued their shouting unchanged, but sudden change in her demeanor seemed to put the guard a little on edge. Her apparent sudden lack of care was clearly not the reaction he expected. And, in addition, I took her standing like that as my cue to begin moving. I let my Domain seep out from me, covering the entire road with it, including some of the nearby buildings and alleyways.

Without any intent included with it for the moment, it was likely that, at most, people may have felt a light, cooling breeze at most.

On the other hand, the guard, who was entirely surrounded and encaged by Emery's Domain, likely couldn't even tell I had let mine loose, let alone feel the breadth of it.

When Emery felt that I had positioned myself for our attack, she shook her head as a disappointed follow-up to her sigh. "I just want you to know. You all," she said, meeting a few peoples' eyes in the crowd, "had four chances to let us go before it came to this." Then her eyes fell back on the guard, the light gray of the irises no doubt shining like polished steel in the sun given the way he suddenly went ashen.

"Also. She's not my friend. She's my wife."

I nearly sputtered out a laugh at what could only be her signal. It took a bit of my focus to keep my face serious as I forced Qi and intent into my Domain. In an instant, the entire street was covered in ice, with water condensing into snow in the air that slowly drifted to the ground. A frigid wind blew through the street, strong enough to whip loose clothing about and even knock a few people over.

In the same moment, Emery flexed her Qi. She didn't even physically need to move, as all of the jagged, ugly shards of metal that she had hastily formed before rocketed toward the guard. Mid-flight, the jagged edges were remade, all of the previously nondescript shards shaping into sharpened, double-edge knives. They hung in the air, now pristine, having stopped millimeters away from the guard, as if outlining his entire body.

Directly in front of his face, the point just about touching the tip of his nose, Emery had called together one of her masterworks. It was a sturdy jian, beautifully and lovingly crafted. The blade glinted in the light, with an inlaid carving of a tiger near the hilt. The hilt itself was made of simple materials, but intricately carved with a phoenix on one side, and a tortoise on the other. The handle was carved similarly well, inlaid with jade. And finally, the pommel featured a carved dragon.

Truly, the weapon was a work of art.

Before the guard could make a greater fool of himself, Emery slammed her Domain down on him, forcing his to retreat to a few centimeters from his body. He looked stunned as the blood drained from his face in response to how easily Emery had overwhelmed him.

"If I have to choose between letting you abuse innocent children or getting in a fight with the city guard," Emery growled quietly as she walked up to face the guard, just behind her blades, "I'll choose getting in the fight. Every. Time."

I smiled at her words as I pushed with my own Qi once again, forcing a second frigid blast of air to rush down the street. This time, I put more effort into it, actively trying to push the people in the crowd over and make them lose their footing on the icy ground. Most of them did, slipping and fighting to regain their footing, while the ones that weren't pushed over by the breeze were knocked over by the ones that were trying to scramble for support.

I took the moment to heft Briar in my arms. While she was still unconscious for the moment, her injury was mostly healed. I situated her the best I could into one arm; her weight wasn't as much of a problem as the fact she was dead weight. I had to be careful she didn't lean too far to one side or tumble out of my grasp.

With my other hand, I snatched up Kord, who was much easier to carry as he actively held on.

Emery was going about doing the same thing with Karn and Enrik, each one of them taking a spot in one of her arms as well. Then, finally, we moved over to the two adults. A pair of floating blades removed their bindings at Emery's behest, and we offered our backs to them. Emery crouched in front of Risha, so the smaller woman could hopefully find purchase and ride piggy-back. I did the same for Fal, as the taller of the two of us.

I had no doubt that we looked strange, carrying the rest of our party out from the crowd, but for the moment, it was the simplest option until we could get to a point where they could walk on their own. Risha and Fal, at least, would need a bit of time for me to heal them, and we didn't want to invite more nonsense while in the city.

As we passed the guard, still encased in sharp knives, Emery muttered an absolutely venomous "Asshole." She regularly sounded angry or indignant when she got into scraps like this, given what I had seen in the last couple years. But there was a level of hate and vitriol in her tone that I rarely saw her use outside of when we confronted demonic Cultivators. While I watched the guard impossibly drain of more color, I also felt a shiver go down my spine at her tone. It was downright dangerous, threatening, and…well….

As we walked, I kept my Domain actively whipping around us to deter any curiosity. Anyone with any real sense would stay away from the cold, uninviting air. I hoped. As I kept my concentration forward, I also wondered whether Emery would leave the guard alive after his transgressions. I wasn't sure I wanted to know, so as we were nearing the edges of her Domain's reach, I pulled my senses away. I wasn't sure I wanted to feel the potential execution.

It was several minutes of us trudging down the street before we made it to the nearest gate. While there were guards stationed there, eagerly preparing to come inspect us before we left, another pulse of angry Qi through my Domain was enough to deter them from getting close.

I could feel one fairly strong Cultivator among them, who was probably as powerful as Emery or I were individually. It wasn't one we had spoken to before, and there were a few weaker guards talking to them as we approached the gate itself. When our gazes met, they offered a miniscule nod of acknowledgement before waving the other guards off.

As we left the city, I felt at least a little bit better knowing that not everyone in this city was a heartless monster.