86 Returning with an Invitation

Yun was disoriented. She knew that there was some relation between her and this mysterious woman from the Hermit's past, but she didn't know how long ago this was. Her mind was reeling as she considered the implications of the information she just received.

She needed to talk to her father.

She needed to get more information.

She needed to think, relax.

Yun breathed slowly, calming herself, while everyone else waited for her.

After what felt like ages she finally relaxed enough to function. Anxiety was still present on her countenance, but she was able to suppress it enough to function. As she was now functional the Hermit spoke again.

"Now that you know what happened in the past, I'd like you to deliver the message for me. It's important for Tian Lei to come speak to me."

"Hermit," Yun answered, "this Yun will gladly deliver your message. What should we do about the knowledge of this place?"

"I would prefer you not reveal my location to anyone other than Tian'er. As he's an Elder, I understand that this may not be entirely possible."

After a period of rest and recovery they both prepared to leave and travel back. The Hermit gave them the appropriate instructions to travel through the cave system before they left, then sent them on their way.

During the journey through the cave Yun once again pulled up her maps and completed the section for the route they were traveling through. Once they reached the pond and swam out they stopped to talk about the plan before deciding what to do next. It had seemed a little suspicious in the first place that a Fire-Eater squad had been sent so far out to an area where there was no known activity to deal with.

"Wuying, can you think of any reason such a large group of Fire-Eaters would be out here? I'm a little suspicious."

"Not sure if there's any military action in this region to speak of. We were the first action in order to verify the safety of that outpost."

"Then I can only determine that somehow they were sent for us. Which means that there must be a traitor to give the information that we are here away."

Long Wuying was thoughtful, going through the entire situation in his head. Along the way they hadn't had any obstructions until just now, when a large group of Fire-Eaters showed up and knew exactly where to look. This really was too suspicious.

Yun looked up in thought before deciding the next course of action, "Wuying, let's go verify that cave is secure before we return and notify Master of our findings. He'll have a better grasp on what to do next."

"Agreed, let's move out then."

With that agreement they began to move west, heading towards the cave that Yun had located. Along the way they didn't really encounter any obstruction yet again, and they easily reached the cave they needed to investigate. With a short investigation they determined that it really hadn't been compromised, and they headed back to the east to get on the boat back to Myhrrwar.

Unfortunately, this wasn't meant to be. On the way back to the small town they landed at they were attacked again by the Fire-Eaters. Yun and Wuying were massively outnumbered and could only escape from the pursuit.

With fireballs lighting up the night around them they fled into the mountain north of them, seeking shelter from the colder heights of the slopes. Further and further they fled, chased by fireballs and smoke, into the snowy reaches of the mountain valleys. As they penetrated deeper into the valleys they finally found a good place to ascend rapidly. To their east there was a cliff face with many small ledges, perfect for a strong martial artist to leap upwards quickly with segmented vertical jumps.

Yun and Wuying looked at each other at the same time and began leaping up the cliff as fast and erratically as they could manage. Fireballs and spears rained down upon the cliff face around them, with both of them having to deflect at least a few on their journey up the kilometer high rock. Each fireball left a charred space on the rock face, breaking footholds close to the impact.

Finally they both reached a height where the Fire-Eaters could no longer continue attacking from a distance and simultaneously slowed their advance to conserve energy.

"Wuying, are you alright? A few of those spears were pretty close calls."

"Yes, I managed somehow. Those fireballs didn't pose any danger to you did they? Couldn't you have drained all their energy or something?"

"Hah! Wishful thinking. That sort of ability takes an incredibly amount of spiritual strength to support me just to keep going. There is no way this Yun could use it while climbing that cliff so desperately!"

"Oh does it now?"

The two bantered back and forth while climbing more leisurely. By the time they reached the top they believed the Fire-Eaters would be unable to pursue them due to the extreme weather, while Yun would be able to support them them with her Dragon Aura.

Eventually, after a great deal of what felt like interminable climbing, they reached a cave far up in the sky, where snow swirled in the air and ice formed on every surface. They were both exhausted from having to use their claws to get any purchase on the slick rocks this far in the sky, and thus they both quickly collapsed on the floor. Yun took out some light timber from her storage and quickly lit it on fire before taking a real rest.