In which the plot doesn't advance that much, but we all have fun anyway.
Disclaimer: I don't own Kubera
Chapter 12: Oath Fulfilled
Yama filled the bucket with water from a clear stream. He checked to make sure there was nothing disgusting in it before walking back to camp. He walked over to where Athol, Caile, and Rodrick were snoring away the morning.
"Up and at 'em, you louts. This is your last warning." he said in a loud and clear voice. There was no response. Yama shrugged.
"Suit yourselves." he said, and tossed the water over them. They came awake quite abruptly, in varying degrees of shock and hostility. Yama felt certain that only Rodrick's violent flailing kept Caile from trying to rend him limb from limb.
"Brigand! You dare attack me for a second time?!" Athol spluttered, staggering to his feet.
"Shut up, O glorious leader, and let's get this show on the road. I'm not bringing all these people back to Thanciel by myself." Yama said. He tossed the Staff of Mass Transport to the magician and walked off.
"Someday I'll make you pay for everything you've done to me, Brigand!" Athol screeched, fumbling for a grip on the Staff. Yama paused. He faced Athol and grinned maliciously.
"Believe me, windbag," he assured Athol, "nothing would please me more than to see you try." He continued walking, kicking awake the refugees that hadn't already been woken by the magicians' squalling.
About ten minutes later, everyone was up and ready, and Athol took up the Staff. Yama broke out into a cold sweat from the memories of the last time he'd been swept up in its magic.
"Windbag! Where are you going to put this lot down?" he asked Athol.
"I was thinking of just in front of the checkpoint. Why?"
"Well, there might be people already there who might not like suddenly merging with other people. I'll go ahead and clear the area." Yama said, and vanished before the man could argue with him. He zipped over to the checkpoint and looked around. Fortunately, there weren't that many people, and were easily shooed off.
"You know, you could have called ahead. You didn't need to come all the way here and clear everyone out yourself." Yama jumped and whirled to find Chaya leaning on the wall of the city.
"Don't you need to be inside the city to maintain the Barrier?" Yama asked accusingly. Chaya flapped a hand at him.
"Tane's managed to pull himself away from his other duties long enough to cover for me. Don't be such a stiff." She causally, but obviously, observed the area in front of them.
"You know, you promised to bring back my refugees without a hair harmed. Yet, not only are they not here with you, but you seemed to have misplaced my magicians as well. This is because…?" she trailed off, raising an eyebrow.
"They'll be here soon." Yama said. "The windbag is using the Staff of Mass Transport – ."
"Ah. Say no more. I hope they get here sometime within the next week." Chaya said. At that, an enormous roar ripped through the air, and a massive gust blasted from in front of them, clearing to reveal the magicians and refugees.
"See? All there, Chaya-nim." Yama said.
"Excellent work!" Chaya said, hugging him around the shoulders. "Come on, let go check them out." She dragged Yama over to the refugees.
Once they caught sight of her, all the refugees began cheering. Some of them were crying, and they hugged Chaya, the other magicians whom Yama spotted, and most uncomfortably, him.
"Stop it – let go – I mean it – get off of me – OW!" Yama began fighting a toddler who had crawled up his back for possession of his hair, while Chaya, uncaring about the dignity of her office, laughed until she couldn't breathe. Yama finally gained the upper hand and pulled the child off his head, sorely tempted to send the little demon the way of the Sura.
"Keep control of your child." he snarled as he shoved the toddler into the arms of his mother. He began stalking back to the city before anything else could happen.
"Oh, no you don't!" Chaya cried, and tackled him, pinning him to the ground with one arm twisted behind his back. "You're not going to escape that easily."
"Get off of me, you crazy bitch!" Yama yelled, flailing with his free arm. He really was going to dust this human!
"You were drafted because we needed you to show that you were willing to fight for Thanciel, and so that you could show your solidarity and camaraderie with your fellow magicians." Chaya explained in sugary sweet tones. "That means more than just fighting. It means PR."
"WHAT?!" Yama shrieked. "That's bullshit! You said that you needed me for mmphmrmmphmm!" Chaya had shifted her position on top of Yama, allowing her to place her knee directly on top of Yama's head, and kneel it directly into the dirt.
"What did we discuss before, about the screaming of panic inducing information in public areas?" Chaya asked. She lifted her knee off of Yama's head. He gasped and spat out a wad of grass.
"That I shouldn't do it, because mass panic is counter-productive to survival." he replied sullenly.
"Very good. Now get up, Gloomy. I need you and Athol to be seen looking friendly." she said, rolling off of him. She offered him a hand. He took it with some grumbling. Chaya pulled him over to the other magicians.
She pulled up short as she saw Ernest's body, wrapped in a cleanish blanket, for the first time.
"I'm sorry I couldn't save him as well," Yama said softly, "but I could sense that his time was close anyway."
"Yes." Chaya said. "I could too. I would have sent someone else, but there wasn't anyone –." She broke off, shaking her head. She knelt down beside the body. "If it wasn't this, it would have been something else. I hope he at least died quickly."
"Yes. He died almost instantly." Yama said.
"You can't possibly know that, but thanks for saying it anyway." Chaya said. She touched the area where Ernest's hand would have been briefly, and stood up. "Where are the other magicians, the ones that were already with the refugees?" she asked.
"The refugees said they went into the forest to scout the area, but when I used Hoti Surya, nothing came up but Sura in there. They were probably eaten in the initial rush." Rodrick reported.
"Damn. That's not good." Chaya said. She rubbed her forehead. "We can't afford to be low on man power at a time like this."
"Cheer up, Chaya-nim!" Caile reassured her. "We still have Cheonjae, and he's just as good, if not better, than all the magicians we've lost put together!"
"Really?" Chaya asked, casting a glance at Yama.
"As much as I hate to compliment him about anything, the brigand has unparalleled destructive capabilities." Athol said. "He was able to destroy every single Sura charging us in a single attack. Which begs the question, why didn't he do it earlier?"
"You're asking why I didn't use a magic that drained all my vigor when all the Sura in the surrounding area weren't attacking us, allowing those still alive to walk over and eat us once I was down for the count?" Yama countered. Athol sneered at him, but said nothing.
"I put them on a team in hopes that they would get along better." Chaya muttered.
"Believe me, Chaya-nim, it worked. They're actually being quite civil." Caile whispered. Chaya sighed.
"Shake hands you two." she ordered. Yama and Athol opened their mouths to protest.
"Save it." Chaya cut in. "You two are the heros of the day: Cheonjae for killing mass quantities of Sura, and Sirles for getting everyone home in one piece. The people need to see that their most able protectors are standing united. Now do your duty and pretend to like each other for five minutes." Yama and Athol glared at each other. Yama forced a smile on his face and stuck out his hand. Athol did the same. For the next hour, the four magicians that had gone out to rescue were fawned over, while Chaya and other Temple Magicians that had started to filter out of the city check the refugee's identifications and examined the Halfs, to ensure that no heretics or Nastika snuck inside the city.
"Good work, team!" Chaya said when they finally finished, drawing all the magicians into a group hug that almost strangled Rodrick and Yama, who were on the outer layer of the hug. "Now come on! Let's get these folks into the city." Chaya commandeered two of the refugees to carry Ernest, and the five magicians began herding the humans through the checkpoint and behind Thanciel's walls.
While they headed into the city, Yama found Chaya walking next to him again.
"Thank you, Cheonjae." Chaya said. "You kept both your promises: you brought everyone home safely, and you have proved that you are, in fact, a better magician than Athol. At least when it comes to killing things. I'm pleasantly surprised that you've turned out to be so dependable, even though you're a stranger to Thanciel. Not to mention we kind of coerced you into helping us." Yama waved away her compliments.
"I made a promise. And anyway, when I set out to do something, I damn well do it right. While I'm here, your city will be safe, so don't worry." Chaya studied him for a moment. Then she smiled.
"Thank you, Cheonjae. That's a weight off my shoulders." She stood up on her tiptoes and kissed him in the cheek. Yama started spluttering.
"Wha –? What the hell are you doing?" he cried. Chaya giggled and ran off.
"I you react like that, you're only going to make it worse. You'll only encourage her." Caile muttered at him as she past by him.
"Lucky bastard." Rodrick muttered.
"Brigand. Stay away from someone as exalted as the priestess. She shouldn't be corrupted by someone like you." Athol grumbled.
"What the hell are you guys going about – DON'T IGNORE ME!"
