With a way home more or less learned of, Xing Lei could now focus on understanding the calling that pulled at him to delve deeper into the sprawling city. Still, just to be safe, he visited other ale houses to triple check the information he'd gained. What he learned gave him pause. Before reaching home he had to head to the central hub, the City of Arches. If luck was on his side, he would find a portal to take him back to his plane. If he was not... he could end up elsewhere as it seemed there were multiple exit points on what was considered the Prime Material plane... if he were really unlucky he might end up on a different world altogether.
Planar travel was not something one did on whim or accident. For an outlander like him who was essentially lost? Along with advice, most gave him their pity.
Undeterred Xing Lei headed out, opening himself to his spiritual sense, sensing the pull urging him to travel deeper into Rime's interior. While the outer districts were for slums and merchants, the kobold soon found himself traveling the residential districts. Here mostly those sub races who adapted to extreme cold had settled. Ice orcs, frost elves, mountain dwarves and ice giants were the travelers here. Most looked at the dark scaled kobold with fascination as their own pigmentation was an icy white or a pale blue.
The structures also became taller, most buildings here used an icy brick for their main component but also stretched three or four stories in height. Most curious to Xing Lei was each level had a door like the builders fully expected lower levels to at one point or another, be buried in ice and snow. Perhaps this was a precaution put in place before the city barrier existed and would make sense if the original residents built downwards rather than up. Still the odd architecture made the kobold pause and really drink in the fact he was on an alien plane with its own rules.
There was that call though, it was stronger now and the cold air trembled with the sheer amount of qi and mana that seemed as prevalent as the very air. The rest of the plane the undercurrents of power had been thin, almost choked by the sheer amount of ice and snow, yet here amongst strange buildings both qi and mana practically pulsed with each passing moment. The problem, however, was the type of qi that hung thick in the freezing air.
It was all yin aligned, not that strange being a frozen ice plane, but while he used it to restore his dwindling reserves, he dared not cultivate with it. On one hand those that typically cultivated yin techniques were women or effeminate men... the latter of which he had no intention of joining! No, at best he could could treat it as a pool fed from the ocean, saltwater was not drinkable without being boiled first. Thus it was what he would do with the qi, draw it in and refine it from yin aligned qi to yang. The process would be inefficient and time consuming, so better he just find his way home!
Still as he walked this source of yin qi was only growing stronger, he had long since left the city behind him and entered a forested area, he was still within the protective walls but whoever had designed the city had wanted to ensure, were it required, the city could become self sufficient relying on the foliage and fauna of this wooded area. The source of the qi now and then peeked through the thick canopy of leaves, it would seem it was a lone keep hidden off by its lonesome, forgotten in this tangled wooded land.
Approaching the imposing keep, his eyes drifted over the icy stone bricks that comprised its makeup, the thick yin qi was like a fog bank, wrapped around the haunted looking structure like a tattered shawl. As he breathed in and out his every breath formed ice crystals that fell about his feet. Xing Lei actually had to call upon his alchemy flame to ward away the penetrating cold that seemed to curl around his body like some monstrous claw, the thick presence of yin qi made him feel as if he were drowning in a deep pool, not merely stood before an ancient ruin.
Shrugging off the stifling feeling Xing Lei reached out towards the tall metallic gates that stood shut before the walled keep, the icy metal bit at his scaled hands but he still brought his inhuman levels of strength to force the gate inwards, the metal screeching in protest and shattering the cold silence with an agonized scream of protest. These gates had obviously not been used in a very long time, so long that not only had rust formed but thick ice had covered them and now fell as the gates were forced inwards.
The keeps courtyard looked like a garden originally, perhaps in a time before the cold had invaded lush plant life would have been abundant, but now dead frozen plants stretched across the area, the paths were overgrown with dead frozen weeds, but still allowed Xing Lei to navigate across the courtyard to the slippery steps that lead upwards to the main door. The dark wood of the door stood open, the threshold covered in a small mound of ice and snow.
Carefully he ascended the steps, his clawed toes finding purchase where no booted foot would, were he still human, Xing Lei likely expected the steps would have seen him sliding all over the place. As he reached the door, Xing Lei tilted his head to look inside, eyes narrowing in the gloomy open floor. What had once been a majestic meeting hall had fallen to ruin, a long table shattered mid way was surrounded by half a dozen piles of frozen kindling. It would seem someone, or something, was not fond of hosting guests. Quietly, Xing Lei crept through the hall, his eyes sweeping the dark walls until he found an arch that contained a tight staircase leading upwards, the frozen wood of the stairs was badly scratched and torn but was still whole enough to support his ascent.
The second level was much as the first, empty rooms aside from those with splintered furniture, it would seem from first glance the ancient keep in some past age, had been sacked. Still Xing Lei felt that familiar pull drawing him upwards, past the third and fourth floors, it was the fifth where he felt that tug strongest of all. This floor seemed to hold but a pair of rooms, unlike the ones below both had a shut door that were neither torn down nor broken open. Approaching one, Xing Lei laid his hand on the frozen wood feeling a pulse from beyond it, this, this was the place.
Pushing firmly the kobold made the wood groan in protest, ice thick upon its face cracked and fell loudly to the stone floor as the portal was violently pushed inward. The room beyond had at one point been a lavish bedroom, likely belonging to the lord of the keep, and in truth still served that function. Across from the door had once stood a balcony window facing the lands behind the keep, from where Xing Lei stood he could see the rail of the balcony, barely there. Several sections were missing and the parts of the stone rail that still stood were covered in cracks and gouges.
More importantly, occupying the space just before the balcony was a large nest! As Xing Lei stared at the icy circle that stretched from the balcony window to just before the door he realized he was not alone. A slender neck lifted upon a bright blue body, icy wings of pale bluish white unfurled as the nests occupant raised its slender head and cast a withering look upon the intruder, quite put out by the kobold's rude invasion of its rest. The slender beak parted a a great screech rang out, buffering him under waves of pressure, the strong cry brought with it a tide of ice that shot across the floor towards his feet, every moment saw sharp spines of ice erupting along the icy path...
Diving to the side, Xing Lei rolled across frozen stone turning his head as he watched the mystical wave shatter the door he entered from. Long spears of ice criss crossed across the damaged doorway sealing him in the room with the angry avian. Rushing to his feet, he darted to the side as a casual wave of a wing saw a vicious shard of ice, easily as long as he was tall, whistle towards where he had been crouched. The ice shattered in a spray of shards that somehow easily sliced his trailing tail, covering the leathery appendage in numerous, shallow but bleeding wounds.
Xing Lei had to gape a bit as the large bird like creature reorient itself. The fact the ice so easily lacerated his flesh meant dodging had been the correct move. Typically he'd have struck against the projectile to stun his foe but something about these icy attacks made his sixth sense scream in deadly alarm. Seeing the blood dripping from his tail he could now fully grasp why, the creature's attacks could ignore his tempered, mid-grade cultivator body and wound him as easily as any mortal!
Continuing to move as the bird turned, its wings flapping back and forth, a hail of screaming ice sears chasing the darting and rolling kobold as he circled the room one way then retreated back the other. The creature was only becoming more incensed as it twisted and turned sending a storm of icy attacks after the intruder of its nest, its angry cry echoed around the frozen room, its rage building as each strike came close to skewering the vile little beast that had invaded its home!
Reversing his direction had been one part planning, but also one part need. While doubling back seemed silly, had he continued his course Xing Lei would have found himself trapped between the rooms corner and the large nest, however going back would eventually see the same thing no? On one of his rolls he had noticed the furniture of the room was still present over there, if he reached the large bed he could use it for some cover!
Clawed feet dug at the frozen floor as the kobold lunged back through the trailing storm of projectiles, the large bird like creature was rather caught off guard by his recklessness. The kobold had easily made the side of the large four poster, his hands reaching out to grab the warm, almost new frame. That alone made him hesitate. Why was the wood of the bed frame warm? In fact, looking again, Xing Lei noted the bed looked as if it were new, freshly made with thick sheets and blankets, and surprisingly, not empty!
Reaching out to pull the thick quilt off the occupant the kobold stepped back as both he and the bird shouted out in unison... "ALUSTRIEA!"
The woman in the bed sat up, the thick quilts falling back from a ghostly pale form. Rubbing sleep from her eyes, the gaze went to the bird first mumbling half awake, her voice sounding like she was at the bottom of a well not beside him in the bed, "Wha? Stavros... is Osilliaice attacking again? That can't be, it's but mid morning! She doesn't start her assaults until noon..."
Her voice trailed off as she noted that the large bird was not looking at her, turning her head she blinked and rubbed her eyes again, "Xing Lei?"
The kobold chuckled and nodded at the elf, his gaze turning to look at the large bird who was glaring at the kobold, "Good to see you my wife... and Stavros was it? I'm going to ask you what you've been doing with her and if I don't like what I hear, I'm gonna pluck your feathered ass, unlike back in the city we're here together now, so spit it out you overgrown feather duster."