"Fuck! It's just one thing after another!" I growled in universal standard as we walked back to the barracks. We were being lead back to the barracks by the detachment of warriors that arrested us earlier. We had to be escorted thanks to the mobs of angry villagers that was outside the tower. They were not happy to see the people they were told was responsible for the attack on the village walking out without any repercussions but thankfully after the elders explained that it wad all a misunderstanding and that everything would be explained once the real culprit of the attack was apprehended, everything calmed down a touch.
"For once I agree with Chase." Iris said with sigh. Jane and Iris were walking in front of me with Astrid and Baset thing up the rear.
"How about you all complain after we're certain that a old and very dear friend of mine's life isn't hanging in the balance!" Baset snapped.
Jane, Iris, and I all shared a look as we turned a corner. The barracks came into view along with collection of Tolapo warriors standing outside looking confused, worried, and completely unorganized.
"They all look so lost. Is this because Geryo is missing?" Jane asked Baset. Baset nodded and sighed.
"Geryo is the Warden of the village, making him the highest ranking warrior and currently the most experienced." Baset explained. "A lot of the warriors from the previous generation have had to step down because of age, only a few have kept on. That's why most of the warriors you see are around your ages."
"That makes sense." I said then looked at the warriors leading us and switched to Torapos. "Did Geryo have a office or personal barracks?"
"Both, on the top floor of the barracks. I'd expect someone would have been through them already." The seasoned warrior replied dismissively.
"And that someone could be responsible for his disappearance." I said. The warriors all shared a look amongst themselves but kept walking. When we reached the barracks, the collection of warriors that was standing around aimlessly all converged on our group and yelled accusations at us. Luckily our warrior escort explained everything to the collection and calmed them down.
The seasoned warrior took charge in Geryo's steed and assigned the collection jobs according to the elders instructions before we left, and even sent the members of his detachment off with orders. After everyone left t was just Jane, Iris, Astrid, Baset, and I alone with the seasoned warrior.
"Can you show us Geryo's office?" Baset asked the warrior. He nodded and lead the way as we walked inside the barracks. He lead us up the stairs of the barracks to the top floor. This floor was obviously once the attic of the barracks and had been converted to office slash bedroom space.
One end of the room sat a full sized bed and a night stand while the other side of the room sat a very small of office desks surrounded by bookshelves, stalls of random papers and lots of dirty dishes.
I walked over to the desk and eyed the mess. It was obvious that since the attacks started happening on the village Geryo started taking his meals in his office while he tried to come up with a solution. Baset stood beside me and started looking through the papers while the girls started looking around hos bedroom. I spotted a blank notepad and a pencil sitting on the edge of the desk and quickly snagged that.
After writing a modified version lf the translation spell sigil I wrote earlier I ripped the paper from the pad and channeled some mana into it. A axiom spell sigil floated several inches above the palm of my hand then a white beam shot of light shot me straight in the forehead. It didn't hurt at all and from there three strings made of pure energy shot from my head and connected to Iris, Jane and Astrid. I felt light headed for a second but quickly shook it off.
"What did you just do?!" Astrid demanded in Torapos as she rubbed the spot where the beam hit her.
"I modified the translation spell I used earlier. It's should be a little more versatile." I said in Torapos.
"What do you mean by more versatile?" Jane asked in Torapos.
"I don't think it did anything Star child." Iris said also speaking Torapos. Baset looked up from Geryo's papers and looked at the girls shocked.
"They don't realize they're speaking Torapos." She said.
"The spell I just cast imparts the linguistic knowledge of the caster onto others. Any language I understand, they also understand." I explained in Torapos.
"Wait so we've been speaking Torapos?!" Iris exclaimed. Baset and I both nodded but the look in her eye told me Iris wasn't convinced. She turned to the seasoned warrior who was still standing by the steps.
"You! What's you're name?" She demanded. The seasoned warrior frowned at her and crossed his arms.
"Don't you find it rude to demand one's name like that outsider while traipsing though my superior's things?" He asked. "I'm not sure how it is done where you all come from but here we offer our names before demanding another's."
"Ra's breath…I actually understood him!" Iris gasped not registering what he had said. Not wanting to have anymore bad blood between us now that the warriors knew we were on their side I spoke up.
"That's Iris Stone, the one next to her is Jane Yearwood, the grouchy one across from her is Astrid Folders." I said. The seasoned warrior looked at each of the girls then sighed.
"My name is Dakarai." He said curtly then looked away.
'Okay…maybe I freaked him out a little too much with the grabbing the fire sword trick…' I thought.
"Chase can you look at this?" Baset asked thrusting a piece of paper in my hands. I looked down at the sheet of paper and frowned. It was a note written in the Runic language. While I couldn't understand all of the note as some very advance runes were used I could get the gist of it.
"Traitor hide in…sight? Warn…Firecracker?" I said unsure of my translation. "Some of these runes are beyond me right now but I think that is what the ones I can translate say."
"Are you sure you can't translate any more?" Baset asked.
"Hey I've only been studying this language for around a week, you're lucky I know this much." I defended. Baset sighed and took the paper from me.
"It's written in Geryo's hand writing but it doesn't make sense…." Baset growled in frustration.
"Probably because a third of the note I can't translate." I said.
"You can take it to one of the village scribers and have them translate it for you." Dakarai spoke up. I turned to look at him and saw him sizing me up. "I am surprised though, I've heard tells of Lulu'nala's brilliance with scribing and reading the language of the ancients, if she is your grandmother how come she didn't pass this knowledge onto you?"
"I don't know." I shrugged. "I only found out my grandmother was member of the tribe four days ago and just found out a few hours ago that she could scribe and read the Runic language. Though if I had to guess why she didn't teach me it was probably to protect me."
"Protect you?" Dakarai arched a brow and crossed his arms, looking confused and obviously intrigued.
"The country Chase was born in hates splicers. It's actually illegal to do anything remotely magical in that country." Jane explained. Dakarai frowned and looked to me for confirmation.
"That's true…" I said sorrowfully. "I'm actually kind of jealous of my grandma, being raised in a place that didn't hate me for existing…I can't tell you how many times I thought about getting revenge against the…"
I trailed off from what I was saying as a thought entered my mind.
'Wait…could that be it…?' I thought.
"Chase…?" Iris asked when I trailed off. I groaned and slapped my forehead in frustration.
"Idiot! Why didn't you figure that out sooner!" I growled at myself. All eyes turned to me.
"Figure what out?" Baset asked. "How to find Geryo?"
"Indirectly yes." I said then looked to Dakarai. "Who is the one person in the village that you absolutely think the worst of?"
Dakarai looked puzzled by my question as did everyone else.
"What do you mean?" He asked.
"This is a village which is basically a small town so obviously there are expectations and traditions that all of you are supposed to uphold. Who here in the village doesn't fit the mold of what you would call a model tribesmen?"
"If anyone was to fit that description I would have to say Tarrika." Dakarai said.
"Why him?" I asked.
"He's kind of…um well useless actually. He was born with well below average mana, not good at spell craft or casting, he's small and kind of sickly all the time. He's kind of a burden on the village. The only thing he has remotely talent in is splicing but even that is subpar, the only thing he can splice are…" Dakarai's eyes grew wide as realization hit him.
"What? What can he splice?" Astrid demanded.
"It's sonic vipers, isn't it?" I asked. Dakarai nodded then scoffed.
"I understand what you are suggesting star keeper but its impossible. Tarrika can't be the one responsible for the attacks. He's nowhere near strong or talented enough to control more than a handful of sonic vipers fifteen at the most."
"Fifteen!" Astrid exclaimed. "I don't think I could control more than three of those things at once."
"He wouldn't need to control all of the sonic vipers just the ascended that's the boss of all the Sonic Vipers." Jane said. Dakarai shook hos head adamantly.
"No! Still impossible" He insisted.
"Why?" Baset asked. "If he is the one behind the attack then it's possible that he knows something about Geryo's disappearance."
"Because he is not talented! You can ask elder Luna'lana if you don't believe me. He is of her generation." Dakarai insisted.
"Wait so this is a guy that is in his seventies that has had literal decades to perfect and hone his craft and he's not a suspect because you deemed he did not have enough talent to do this?" I chuckled incredulously.
"Chase you might not understand this because of your background but to a splicer talent means a lot. You can only go so far with hard work and dedication. You can't build something from nothing." Jane said.
"Still Geryo might have been on the same track. That note Lind of alludes to him thinking the Traitor is someone we least suspect." I said.
"That's a bit of a stretch Star child." Iris said.
"Can you at least humor me Tri-clops. In the short time that we've known each other how often have I been wrong about something?"
Iris opened her mouth to say something then frowned and groaned.
"Fuck…"
"Baset can I at least go and talk to this Tarrika guy myself?" I asked turning to her. Baset was silent for a moment then sighed and nodded.
"I'll allow it but don't go alone, Astrid go with him." Baset said.
"Why me? Can't you send him with one of his teammates?" Astrid huffed.
"Because the two of you together managed to defeat a entire swarm of sonic vipers and a ascended sonic viper. Let's just say that I'm hoping this streak you two have going continues on." Baset replied.