Beers and Beards-Chapter 80Book 4, : Afterparty

Later that evening, I found myself alone in a dark corner of the [Shaman] camp, nursing a bottle of mead while the sounds of merrymaking and the roar of fires flickered through the hills. Tonight everyone was going to party like it was 7999, and yet I sat in a knot of quiet with a dimming campfire.

For now the tribes seemed more than happy to lick their wounds and celebrate their victory. The Western Alliance was fleeing over the plains with their proverbial tails between their legs, and tomorrow would decide if the remnants of the tribes would try to chase them down. Truly, today had been a rollercoaster of emotions, and it wasn’t even done yet. I could hear wailing amongst the cheers and laughter as the plainsfolk mourned those who’d died in battle.

Isen and Alba were in that mix somewhere, using their Abilities to help ease people’s burdens and help connect the dragons with their new tribes. Isen was down an arm, but pleased as punch to live to see the emancipation of his people. I was hoping to chat with him, but I could understand that he was a bit busy at the moment.

I stared at the notification that’d been calling for attention in my vision for a while, scarcely able to believe it.

Quest Complete: A Beastly Battle

You have my personal thanks for your help. Solen is pissed though, so step carefully.

Obtained 1 x [Karmic Reversal]

I swept the notification aside with a huff. Great, just what I needed, an angry God.

There was a groan to my left, and I swept a look of annoyance over the reason for my forced solitude – a morose Yi sitting slumped on a stump next to the fire.

Yi’s voice slurred as he complained. “I’ve spent nearly seven years trying to whip those lazy lizards into shape. All for naught. I could cough blood.”

“Mmm,” I remarked noncommittally. Was he going to hang onto me for the rest of the day? It was incredibly uncomfortable, especially since the other dragons clearly didn’t like him much.

Gods, had it been almost seven years!? It didn’t feel that long!

“Truly, I had eyes but could not see Mount Tai. Instead of trying to ascend, I should’ve just cultivated herbs, or tea, instead of dancing to the tune of the Gods. Like you.” He took another sip of the last of my personal soju. I watched him drain it down to the last drop with a heavy heart. My stock was running low, and it would be a while before I had the time to make more.

“I’m not so sure,” I replied with a sigh. “I started brewin’ ‘cause I wanted to save poor Erdian beer from the sorry state it was in, but in the end that was what the Gods wanted. Well, one of ‘em anyways.”

Yi snorted. “Your purpose as a Chosen Catalyst was to brew alcohol? What a noble goal.”

“Hey, you’re drinking that alcohol. And it really did have a big impact on dwarven society. We had a revolution over it, technically.”

“I was drinking your alcohol.” He took another swig from the onggi, then held it upside down and morosely watched the last drops dribble down to the ground. He made to throw it in the fire, then paused, gave it a caress like a lonely lover, and passed it over to me.

“Are you still moping, Yi? I would’ve thought you’d be out there thumping heads by now.” Annabeth said, emerging from the darkness and plopping down onto the ground beside us. She was significantly more unkempt than when I’d first seen her, and smelled strongly of beastfolk and alcohol. She stretched languidly, putting her clawed feet up against the fire. A red scaled tail snaked out from beneath her skirt and twitched back and forth. “Mmm, do you have more to drink, mortal?”

“My name’s Pete,” I muttered offhandedly as I pulled a bottle of mead out of a bucket beside me.

Annabeth took a swig, then rubbed her lips with her frilly sleeve. “Ah! That hits the spot! Over a year to cross that damn ocean, getting lost, swept up in storms, distracted with enchantments and monsters, and eating nothing but fish! I’m amazed they didn’t rebel earlier Yi.”

“So Darkanen said at length, before he ran off to handle the last stragglers. We’ll have less than a dozen when it’s all said and done, I suspect.” Yi said, looking out over camp. “Most are staying with their chosen tribe.”

“Was your job from Solen to conquer the world?” I asked, hesitantly. “I can’t imagine what you needed that many dragons for.”

Yi snorted. “Solen never told me to do anything.”

“Wise…” Annabeth snickered, taking another swig of mead.

Yi sighed and leaned back, his black mane of hair streaming down over his shoulders to pool on the ground. “In my old world, which we called Murim, I was known as the Sword God.”

If I could’ve done a spit take, I would’ve, but these two scaly butts were drinking all my supply. “You were a God!?”

“Not as you would think of it. Gods in Murim were different. Any mortal could ascend to their level through cultivation of chi and proper study of the dao. I was the mortal most in tune with the dao of the sword, and closest to ascending to become the next God.”

Like Kung Fu Panda or something? I wasn’t really on the up and up when it came to mysticism. “So how’d you end up here, then?” I asked, gesturing to take everything in.

“He choked on a shrimp!” Annabeth shouted with a shriek of laughter. “The mighty Sword God, brought down by a lowly piece of seafood!”

Yi snapped his fingers and that blue aura sword sprang between them again. Annabeth instantly shut up and resumed drinking her mead while humming and staring off into the fire.

“My death was… unfortunate. And no doubt brought the Demon God and the Saber God great joy when they learned of it,” Yi continued, “And so I found myself on Drakken, surrounded by mountains and naught much else.”

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“Ooh! Are we hearing Yi’s backstory!” A voice called from my elbow, and I flinched.

“Dammit Val! Don’t do that!” I snapped, reaching out to slap the bright young man in the back of the head. He dodged, and lay on the ground next to Yi with his feet facing the fire.

“I feel cheated.” Val said, reaching out and patting Yi on the knee. “I told you my story, but you didn’t tell me anything. And now you’re telling Pete?? You just met him!”

Yi smirked, and continued. “I spent the first year trying to cultivate to my old level. This world didn’t make it easy.”

“Not easy? You mean impossible. None of us’ve managed a drop of chi since we started,” Annabeth whinged.

“I managed just fine,” Yi retorted. “You just haven’t properly connected your dantians and your miridians. I tell you, I can see them.”

“And you tried to fill them too, and nothing.” Annabeth shot back. “Anyways, Darkanen and I were out hunting when we found this crazyperson chopping mountains in half, and we decided we wanted some of that. All our truly powerful magical techniques were lost when the Gods smote our ancestors, and here was someone nonchalantly destroying the landscape!”

“I still don’t know what foolishness came over me when I agreed to take you two as my disciples,” Yi muttered, reaching for the bottle of mead. Annabeth looked like she was considering keeping it, then demurely passed it over.

“Because I’m so cute. And you were lonely, master. We dragged him back to meet with the elders, and then there was a fight and old Golian… died. So then there was a blood feud, and some more fighting. And after a couple years Yi was ordering around everyone who survived!"

“You must understand that the dragons were utterly timid creatures when I found them. Imagine, all this raw power.” Yi flexed his hand, his claws somehow making a cartoonish *shing* sound. “And doing nothing with it. It was an insult.”

“So he told everyone he was going to lead us back to West Erden and retake our birthright as the rulers of Erd. Or at least get as much food, wine, and wealth as our hearts desired.”

“Waste of my time…” Yi growled, chugging my mead. “I should’ve guessed it would be pointless after all that wasted time spent on the scale hardening technique.”

“Oh, the scale hardening wasn’t that bad. Remember the first time you made Darkanen practice breathing techniques underwater? Aha!” Annabeth giggled again.

Val paused in his subtle shifting closer to Yi to ask, “What’ll you do now, then? Do you need a place to stay? I’m happy to show you around!”

“I… don’t know. And I don’t like that I don’t know.” Yi scowled. “I’m not used to not knowing. I feel adrift. Is this how peasants feel all the time?”

Annabeth interjected, “Hey! You still have me and Darkanen, master. We’ll figure something out! Maybe we can start that sect you wanted, take over a smaller town, something secluded, and just cultivate for a few centuries? The humans would probably be willing to bring us all the food and drink we want in return for not torching them!”

“You keep mentioning cultivation, what is it?” I asked, jumping in to change the topic off that!

“It’s the control of chi within the body, molding it within your dantian and sending it through the meridians. Through careful cultivation, your dantian becomes a pebble, then a stone, then a lake, and then a formless mist. You temper it through the study of a specific dao, which allows your chi to take form in the world. As the Sword God, I understood the dao of the sword greater than any other cultivator, and my chi could become a blade that cut even that which could not be cut.” He gestured with his fingers, and that blue blade flickered into being again, before he dismissed it. “Through cultivation, one gains great strength, a long life, greater memory, and eventually, godhood.”

“A long life?” I murmured, thinking about Mirelda’s little longevity problem. “Can… everyone learn cultivation?”

“Hah! Not ANYone!” Annabeth laughed. “I’ve only seen Yi do it. We were able to form our dantians, but not a drop of chi. I’d say it isn’t possible, but Yi seems to handle it just fine.”

“That’s odd.” I stroked my beard. “Do you have an Ability that helps you with cultivation? I got some unique ones based on my world.”

“No.” Yi shook his head.

“Hmmm… Since it’s a cross-worlds thing, do you have a [Deific Revelation] available? Just ask the Gods why it isn’t working.”

“I have one use of it. But I don’t need the help of the Gods,” Yi began hotly.

“Wait a second! Yi! You could’ve asked the Gods at any time why our cultivation wasn’t working!? And you didn’t!?” Annabeth shouted, her nostrils flaring as specks of fire flickered out of them.

“I distinctly remember my apprentices saying they didn’t want the Gods involved at all,” Yi replied tartly.

“That was before I spent six years uselessly trying to cultivate!” Annabeth was practically thrumming with excitement. “And the Gods already have their grubby fingers all over this. Ask! Ask!” 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Yi frowned at me. “Why do you want to know?”

“I have a person I’m seeing,” I hesitantly began, “and we’ve been looking for a way to extend her life. If this cultivation would allow her to live longer, it could be worth exploring, but not if it won’t work. I’ll pay for it! She could even be the first new student of your new – whatchamacallit – sect!”

Yi considered, his brows creasing. “A long life is commonly a strong motivation for learning cultivation. Perhaps that was something missing from these immortal lizards. Very well, I’ll ask the Gods about chi, if only to humour my talentless apprentice. You dwarf, will pay me in soju and rice in return for teaching your woman basic cultivation.”

I grinned. “Really? Sure! Though, uh, I wouldn’t call her that to her face.”

“You have to ask for more than that, Yi!” Val interrupted. “Pete’s very wealthy. He owns an entire dungeon, and he’s best friends with one of the biggest business tycoons on Erd. He could probably bankroll your entire life here in West Erden.”

“Vaaaall,” I whined. The annoyingly handsome bastard stuck his tongue out at me and sidled closer to Yi.

Yi brushed him off. “No. Just soju and rice. Do you know how to make sweet potato soju?”

I nodded. “Sure. Sweet potatoes are a standard soju starch. It was used as a replacement fer rice during shortages in my old world. In fact, some of tha most popular brands were made with a mix of rice and sweet potato. I’ve done it a few times meself, so it shouldn’t be a problem so long as I can find the ingredients.”

“Then it’s a deal.” Yi said, dipping his chin. “On my honour.”

I paused halfway to spitting in my beard and shaking and bowed instead. “Uh, yeah. On me honour.”

Yi closed his eyes and intoned. “Gods. Tell us what you know of chi.”

A moment later, the fire before us began to twist into letters. The crackling red tongues twisting and turning until they became a burning script easily read within the roar of the flames.

“Cultivation doesn’t work for native Erdians, but Otherworlders can learn.”

You could’ve heard a pin drop. At least until Annabeth exploded. She knew a lot of colourful swear words.

“About that Soju…” Yi groaned.

“I’ll get right on it.” I hastily promised. “And then I’m going on a LONG trip. After all this… I really need it.”