Xing Lei watched as Osilliaice complied with his request, to be expected though she unleashed the full dose of her spiritual pressure in her initial attempt. This outcome was not surprising, even he himself in his youth had done the same thing. So had everyone, well mostly. There were a few prodigies that could do anything almost instantly on the first try. Thus he was not disappointed that the spiritual protection his mate enacted was exactly thus, sheet metal on a war elephant.
It looked impressive, with her qi streaming around her body like a violent tornado. The energy circulating over her body like a rushing tide that flickered and pulsed like an ethereal flame. Xing Lei said nothing watching a moment as Osilliaice tried to maintain it before the protection started to flicker before winking out and the lizardess sank to her knees breathing hard, were she human, she'd likely be sweating a river as well. Expending all your qi for any duration did a number on your body.
Popping another pill into her maw he moved behind pressing on her back as he used his own qi to guide the restorative energy through her body. His mate gave a hot sigh, one of those sounds the body makes after a long strenuous work out and its given a chance to unwind. Closing her eyes, Osilliaice had to fight the urge to simply slump over. She'd lost focus, pushing all her will into the strength of her protection rather than trying for an output she could sustain, the fact Xing Lei was not berating her foolishness made her realize he had expected no less, which hurt her pride twice as bad.
Xing Lei shook his head, "This is normal, getting the hang of spiritual manipulation is like any skill, it takes practice, select few come out with perfect aptitude from conception. When I first learnt it, it took me months of doing as you've just done before I started to make practical use of my qi. Expecting you to instantly achieve it is unreasonable, if not for a rushed time table I would let you explore it on your own to get a better grasp of your own path."
Osilliaice nodded, not feeling much better about it. While she understood it wasn't an easy skill to master, not being able to avoid what she was initially warned about doing made her scales itch. It was like being warned about a step between rooms, yet still stumbling over it. You knew about it, you could have avoided it but regardless you still tripped and looked like an idiot. It rankled Osilliaice to have such a situation happen, especially with her evolution so near, if she could fumble with a warning it made her worry about the uncertainty around her next form.
Xing Lei watched the lizardess fret for a bit before poking her in the ribs, Osilliaice jumped, torn from her spiralling thoughts. "Stop worrying and try again, even if you can't work it out we'll still set out. I have a higher technique we can use, just it would be easier if you can provide for yourself." He watched as her qi flared again and prepared another pill. Spiritual Pressure was the most common and easiest skill a cultivator learned, producing power through qi just took willpower.
To be labelled as a novice weilder you had to surround yourself in pressure and of course, not crush yourself. While he'd never seen the occurence, his old instructor had warned that a slip in concentration could, in those early lessons, see you turning yourself into a wet red stain through your own power. Xing Lei didn't really believe it, but it was an effective warning for the brash that just wanted to throw their abundant qi around.
To be declared an Adept you had to project the pressure away from yourself. Instead of centering the force using your own body as a focal point you projected the force on a different spot thus turning it from an area of repelling, it became a bomb like weapon to crush armies. To master the skill you had to shift the focal point to a different spot and compress only that target. You had mastered spiritual pressure when you could crush one, and only one, soldier in a gang of fifty or more.
To reach grandmaster... that required doing the opposite. This was what Xing Lei was in essence asking Osilliaice to do. Jump from Novice straight to Grandmaster. A foolish thought he was sure many of his old peers might have claimed but his mate had always shown she was a prodigy when it came to learning anything, he hoped that this would translate to qi use. However, at the moment, things were looking normal. A novice trying to manage qi shielding after just learning spiritual pressure may well be beyond her.
However he let her try. Each time she failed he fed her another qi restoration pill that made his heart bleed, he didn't have many of them remaining. Still, using the pill to recoup her lost qi was better than having her meditate for hours between each trial. He was honestly surprised though, perhaps it was her Prodigy title or she was just gifted but each effort saw her grasp over Spiritual Pressure leaping ahead like an unfettered horse, her skill in manipulating qi stampeded freely with each attempt, her last even tossing the pressure near by to crush one of the cots to dust.
As she recouped her energy Xing Lei looked outside, the falling snow choked the town in a dismal pall, in the distance he could see flames licking the sky. Narrowing his eyes the kobold sighed. The adventurers and mercenaries had finally clued into their rather hopeless situation, market street was already burning, the sounds of rioting warriors fighting over the meager scraps of the taverns and grocers echoed from the distance. It was futile.
Xing Lei knew well the towns setup, a good majority of the meals came from beasts hunted in the jungle, but with the snow storm most of those beasts had fled or died beneath a wintery jacket. Was there enough supplies stored in town to last however many weeks before a ship came? Of course not. How many of the prominent groups had realized this early and already looted the better stores? Would this rabble be able to steal any of it back? Hardly. This made their departure even more urgent, how many of the monstrous humanoids would be summarily butchered due to their animalistic traits when the mob got hungry?
Seeing Osilliaice rousing he focused his qi to protect her in close as he rushed her from the hospital, when the strong were looking for ways to sustain themselves, killing off the weak and injured stomaches would be one of their first moves, thus it was safer to seek the snow shrouded streets. With the snow and sleet swirling over his radiating qi he guided his mate carefully through the streets, always wary of meeting any roving groups, while he neither feared being attacked nor felt he'd be outnumbered, the risk was still too high of the unforeseen happening.
The streets and city itself, was a mad house. Streets over buildings were burning, sounds of fighting had broken out as the more numerous average city goers fought over every scrap they could. The groups with mages who could provide magical heat and food had retreated, securing themselves in fortified holds. Casters were kings in this situation, at least the ones prepared for anything were. The specialists who didn't bring anything other than killing spells or those that focused on ice spells were like the unaffiliated warriors, having no one but themselves to blame for being left hungry.
When Xing Lei saw the snowy lot where their house once stood he shook his head, the surrounding houses were already sacked or burning. Their first true home was gone. Even the wreckage was buried beneath the deeply piled snow drifts. Finding his spear and his extra stock of pills was easy, finding his mate's spear took the better part of an hour. Digging with qi was fast but not knowing the exact location of where it had fallen meant some trial and error.
Rearmed and resupplied the pair ignored the gate house of the wall, while it was likely unmanned by the city guard at this point, Xing Lei suspected a less savory element would likely hold it to extract tolls from those leaving the chaotic city. No, better they go over the abandoned wall and into the snow stained jungle. With Xing Lei leading, they made good time, they didn't even see a beast or any of the indigenous halflings which left the kobold wondering if they had fled inwards too or were they the white dragons minions and left when it did?
Either way, the jungle was a frozen wasteland. The once vibrant plant life stood lifeless, the quick cold snap killing the hardy plants that thrived in the hot and humid terrain as easy as smashing glass. The once thick canopy was now pulled to the floor of the wooded land, buried under the weight of ice and snow. All in all the jungle looked outright dead, the thick trees barren as they stretched high into the snowy skies. Xing Lei marvelled at how just the day before you'd want to wear as little as possible amongst these trees, yet now, any traveller would be bundled in the warmest furs they could find lest they die to exposure...
It did not take Xing Lei long to find the cavern, snow shrouded as the entrance was, the outcropping of rock stood out amongst the now dead jungle trees, a lonely tombstone amongst an honor guard that was even now heavy with it's own snow covering. Xing Lei pulled Osilliaice deep into the cave before letting his qi relax. While the passage was not warm, it did give some protection from the elements. Various smaller creatures lifted their heads at the passing of the lizardess and kobold, yet none rose to bar their passage.
With their ecosystem in disarray the wildlife seemed to have come to an unspoken accord in this shelter, seeking warmth in each others body heat where none would be found beyond either exit. Much like the city, the animal kingdom for the region was facing an extinction level event, but unlike the humanoids the beasts found survival amongst each other a far better option than rampaging and killing for minor, temporary gains. Xing Lei sighed watching the fuzzy piles shivering together, like the city, if the snow continued these creatures were doomed as well.
Putting it from his thoughts as he was no more equipped to handle the freak snow storm as was anyone else he focused on the passage ahead, the sounds of a biting winter wind once again whistled through the passage as the open tundra on the other side laid before the pair. Unlike the jungle, the tundra was merely windy, the snow stirred across the open landscape was close to the ground as a merciless sun mocked the frozen waste below with its radiance.
Glancing around Xing Lei hoped the envoy of Destorianaxe was close, if they were forced to wait, sharing the cavern with the beasts would eventually become troublesome as the predators lost themselves to hunger. The truce might continue for a bit, but a hungry beast would soon remember it had fang and claw. Glancing at Osilliaice who shivered further back he turned to help her once more, guiding his qi around them both to drive off the chill.
Unlike the whitescales, neither Osilliaice nor himself were built for this snowy climate. Most humans weren't either but as reptilians it was very easy for Lizardfolk and kobolds to succumb to colder temperatures and slip into a semi torpor when temps fell. Hence his insistence she learn qi manipulation quickly. As he once again shielded her, he wrapped an arm around her waist sharing his own maintained body heat with his mate. "Hopefully our wait will not be extensive or our fates will be no better than had we stayed in town."
Osilliaice gave a weak chuckle and smacked his back, "Ever looking on the bright side my mate."
Xing Lei looked to her and laughed, "You look to that more than all of us."
Osilliaice shrugged and hugged him closer, "Someone has to between your glowering and sisters depressions."
Xing Lei looked to the snowy tundra, "We'll get her back."
Osilliaice looked at him and laughed, "Yes, you will. Whatever is going on with sister you'll sort it out."
Xing Lei chuckled giving her hips a squeeze, "Assuming we don't freeze to death first."
Osilliaice laughed, "There's the blinding optimism of my mate." Still she pulled him closer laying her head atop his as they watched the frozen tundra outside, not a soul to be seen.
"Touching. Makes this one sick."
A shadowy form flipped down through the top of the exit. a kobold in a dark robe and thick furry cloak stood before the duo looking rather cold and considerably miffed, "Waited two days I have, cold awful days. Now have to guide two lovely divey idiots. Luck, mine sucks."
Xing Lei blinked watching the kobold kicking snow off his cloak all the while the short kobold glared at the pair. "Darks Lone Shadow as guide, now come. Wasted my time enough you have..." Without looking back the kobold peered out cautiously before like a shadow he slipped back out into the snow. Xing Lei and Osilliaice keeping pace with the rather grumpy guide as they trekked off into the tundra, leaving the cave, the doomed jungle and their temporary home, behind.