Chapter 187: The Sulfuric Lakes

The Red Spires remained quiet through the rest cycle. Soldiers moved with careful precision under the gold mark. The forges stayed lit. No one tested the new order.

Lucy claimed the largest bathing chamber and refused to leave it for a full hour. When she finally emerged, hair still damp, she looked almost civilized.

"I have decided clean water is a basic right," she announced. "Anyone who disagrees can fight me."

Isha's slime formed a small, dripping approximation of a soap bar. "I support this right. Also I may have accidentally dissolved one of the soap dishes. It was testing me."

Vespera sat near an open arch, living eyes half-closed as she let the residual heat of the Spires sink into her skin. "You two treat hygiene like a competitive sport."

Serakel did not look up from the updated route map she was refining. "It keeps them occupied. I consider that a public service."

The Reverend Mother Superior accepted a clean cloak from one of Saria's attendants and examined it for residual sulfur. "I will admit the Spires are better provisioned than the last three courts. I am adjusting my standards upward by a fraction."

Levi stood at the central table while Saria finished the last of the transfer reports. Gold light still pulsed quietly through the stone under his hand.

'One cycle of quiet. Enough. The Market has already received the news. Every extra hour we give them is an hour they spend preparing the wrong kind of welcome.'

He straightened. "We leave at the turn of the cycle. Travel light. The hybrid stays with us. Saria holds the Spires."

Lucy gave a mock salute with the hand that was not already checking her blade. "Aye, Master. One last free court and then I expect a parade. Or at least a nap."

Isha bounced on her toes. "I want the tribute chest they sent earlier. Research purposes. Very important research."

Vespera's voice was dry. "You want to see if anything inside bites."

"Yes," Isha said without shame.

Serakel rolled the final map and tucked it away. "Four cycles across the sulfur lake edges if we push. The air will be foul. The ground will be worse. The Market itself sits under the largest lake in a network of floating platforms and submerged halls."

The Reverend Mother Superior closed her eyes briefly. "Of course it does."

The group formed up in the main courtyard as the cycle turned. The pit-wyrm hybrid rose from its chosen resting place and shook itself like a mountain deciding to move. Commander Saria knelt once more as Levi passed.

"The Red Spires will not move without your word, Master."

Levi gave a short nod and kept walking. The eastern gate of the Spires opened onto the darker southwestern routes. Heat and sulfur met them immediately.

The road was a cracked ribbon of dark stone that skirted the edges of steaming yellow-green lakes. The air tasted of spoiled eggs and hot metal. Low vents occasionally spat gouts of pale vapor that the golden barrier of the Sovereign Domain pushed aside without effort.

Lucy walked with a cloth loosely covering the lower half of her face. "I take back every complaint I made about the volcanic glass. At least that only tried to cook us. This is trying to crawl up my nose and live there."

Isha's slime had formed a thin secondary membrane over her own nose and mouth. Her voice came out slightly muffled and extremely cheerful. "I am immune and I am still offended. That means the smell is cheating."

Vespera moved as if the stench did not exist, though her living eyes were narrower than usual. "The Market chose this location deliberately. Most armies refuse to campaign through it. Most merchants refuse to travel it without heavy payment."

Serakel's third eye stayed partially open, tracking the horizon. "They will have eyes on the outer vents. Expect contact before we reach the main lake."

The Reverend Mother Superior walked with the expression of someone enduring a necessary penance. "When this is finished I want a court that smells of nothing more dangerous than old paper and candle wax."

Levi set a steady pace along the broken stone. The hybrid followed, occasionally snorting in disgust when a particularly strong vent opened nearby. Gold light kept the worst of the fumes away from the group, but the land itself remained hostile.

'The last free court hides under poison and water. They believe the location is armor. They are wrong.'

By the end of the second cycle the sulfuric lakes grew larger and closer together. Floating platforms of dark, resin-sealed wood and bone appeared in the distance, connected by low bridges that rose and fell with the slow movement of the water. Pale lights burned on some of the platforms. Figures moved between them with the careful gait of people who had learned exactly which boards would hold their weight.

Lucy's eyes sharpened. "There they are."

Isha's slime perked up with interest. "I can already feel the haggling from here."

Vespera's voice was cool. "They will open with offers. Then veiled threats. Then something that involves the water."

Serakel nodded once. "Standard merchant-court pattern. Until someone decides the numbers no longer favor talking."

The Reverend Mother Superior looked at the nearest steaming lake and sighed. "I am going to hate the next part."

Levi kept walking until the first outer platform was clearly visible. Gold light spread ahead of the group in a wide, unmistakable tide. The figures on the distant bridges stopped moving.

…

The outer platforms of the Drowned Market floated on the sulfuric lake like a cluster of dark, resin-sealed islands. Pale lights burned in iron cages.

Figures in waterproof cloaks watched the approaching group in perfect silence. The air stank of rotten eggs and wet wood. Low bridges rose and fell with the slow breathing of the water.

Lucy wrinkled her nose. "I take back every nice thing I ever said about the Black Maw. At least that place only tried to burn us."

Isha's slime had formed a thin protective layer over her face. Her voice came out muffled but still cheerful. "I can taste the smell. That should not be possible."

Vespera's living eyes tracked the nearest bridge. "They are waiting for us to step onto the first platform. Multiple signatures under the water as well."

Serakel's third eye glowed. "They have already calculated the value of fighting versus the value of kneeling. The numbers are still moving."

The Reverend Mother Superior looked at the steaming yellow-green water and sighed. "I am going to need new boots after this. And possibly a new sense of smell."