Chapter 323: Final Breath Before the Training Plunge
Despite Gunjin's impatience, even he couldn't push them along that fast. Kai had time to say farewell to Tusquo, promising to return in time for the incursion and making the Irunian promise to actually introduce him to his wife next time. Technically there was nothing stopping them from visiting again while they were still on Deadwaste, but Kai wasn't sure they'd have time for that.
So, in the end, they left Tusquo in Irun and returned to the Frontier. Not an outpost or the exterior wall, the Frontier itself.
Once there, they met the largest group of Frontier elites Kai had ever seen in one place. Most he didn't recognize, but Talndim Bundrin was back and waved at them. He also saw Sheiri Kagskan, the one who had sent them into Krysal, and she seemed focused on him. One of the others puzzled him until he recognized Aeglien of Torleen, who he'd briefly met after the battle over the abyss. The others were a mix of Frontier nations except for a lamia who could only be from Rosemount.
"This is as close to quiet as we're likely to see," Gunjin told them all. "So the plan is to send the acolytes into training seclusion to take a major step upward before the next emergency. For those of you who are new, we don't really manage a school here; everyone seeks the training they need most. So talk and get our plans in order."
Kai wanted to talk to Gunjin directly, but his former mentor was busy conversing with the elites. He wasn't a leader by any means, but they seemed to respect his role as a coordinator. Everyone else was splitting up, going with different elites for different purposes.
The Tonjin brothers were apparently going away with the lamia, who stopped next to Omilaena first. "Strange to see someone else from Rosemount here. I'm Plinkesa!"
"Yeah, there aren't many of us here," Omilaena said.
"I was the runt of my nest, so I came to Deadwaste to grow, but I... sort of fell in love with the place." Plinkesa twitched her tail in what might have been shame or amusement. "And those incursions... they can get bad. Bad as anything on Rosemount."
"So I hear." Omilaena folded her arms and looked north. "Do you ever get news from home?"