It was near twilight when Vaughn first heard the snaps and creaks of delicate twigs lying on the forest floor, but he was far too gone in a trance to offer the noise any attention. Keubroc, when he reached the clearing Lord Vaughn had set up for their camp, said not a word as mild breezes made their way through the openings and joints of his light armor. The subtle chill of late warm tide was just barely eking its way through the woods in the darkness.
Vaughn hummed quietly. He had since removed his plate armor and underlying tunic leaving his hairy chest bare while he sat on his knees in a near trance. Before him lay two twigs and some earth collected in a pile. Focused in on these objects, he then removed a vial of a silvery purple, noxious liquid which he poured over the dirt. With his bare finders, he kneaded the liquid into the dirt, forming a pasty dough of mud. Only the slightest twitches from his furrowed brows indicated to Keubroc that the man was starting to feel uncomfortable. Sweat began to bead at his bare forehead and his breathing became labored and heavy.
Vaughn's substantial hands then took a clump of the mud and pressed it into his sternum. Keubroc looked in closely as he smeared it up to his collarbone, then his neck underneath his grizzled beard. By now, his hum had turned into a desperate sounding groan and Keubroc took a subconscious step back when the man crumpled to the ground.
"My lord!" he cautiously made his way over the stones and moss to the prone man but when he saw his naked chest rising and falling he relaxed in urgency. He fell to his knees and tried to rouse the Yibouhese lord, shaking the man's shoulders. In a few moments, Vaughn's eye's flew open.
Coughing loudly, he muttered, "This is work better suited to a bei. Damn them for not giving me another one."
"Lord Vaughn?" Keubroc asked.
Vaughn grunted in approval. The City Enforcer was curious, but never lost his spirit as a soldier as to question him outright.
"Help me up." and Keubroc complied, pulling the now sweaty middle aged man to his feet. The bei'thal blinked once and Keubroc was certain that he saw a glint of purple flash through the man's eyes. "The tracks are hers, of that we can be sure."
"My lord?"
"You cannot see it, but I have augmented the soil to reveal who has touched it, and if that person is our prey. I have done this by weakening the properties of the soil, forging it against the fire of my will, to melt it and shape it to my desires. And through this, it tells me that it it was her body that passed through the woods. There is no other sending us to alternate ends while she makes her escape.
"This is the art of the bei."
"The compromised?"
"Exactly. Because no change anyone can impact comes without a cost. For every action, for every product, the raw material that goes into it must be forever altered.
"Consider the iron ore that once was used to forge your sword. It served a purpose at one point. Perhaps not purposes of our design, but it was perfect for holding up a mountain, or marking a trail. And though now you have gotten a new use for this iron ore, it isn't suitable for its previous tasks. Can you slice a man with a lump of rock? Can a sword make up the foundations of a building."
"No sir." Keubroc admitted.
"And so we lose something when we enact the compromise. This soil will never again host tree or brush in our lifetimes. It may even poison a field.
"Draining too, this is." he sighed in exhaustion, "I do not think I can repeat it again for days. A measure of purple oshieph was my stove; without it my will would do little more than warm the air around me. But the fires of the bei'thal are never meant to burn too hotly. We exist to reign in these raw powers. Now, a bei would have an easier time of it, as they have already been forged to hone their focus. The bei'thal direct them how to use it."
"A keeper of the compromised, and the compromised. Then there are those who have been reforged, changed from one thing to another?"
"Yes. People are the iron ore that make up the bei. They become bei. And for their sacrifice, they learn how to shape other people and objects to meet the needs of the Empire."
Keubroc stood impassively with this new information, questions being satisfied yet not completely. If a person is forged into bei, do they still remain a person? But this was not the time to ask. "Then I suppose there is a reason why I am learning all of this?"
"Indeed Nüdwuob Keubroc. We have been watching your progress at the Augur over the past few minor moons. Your skills in battle and in tracking. The way you handled the interviews with the nobles after the explosion at the Archne Estate. You've clearly outshined even your superiors, particularly Wuob Corheab. His incompetence likely tipped off the former Lady Archne, giving her some sense that the Augur, and maybe even the Empire was casting new scrutiny to their actions. We might have avoided this whole mess if that man hadn't the brains of a frightened rein."
Keubroc nodded silently, his face cast in stone.
"But you can do something Keubroc. You have the skills we need to keep peace in the land while advancing ourselves as a civilization. We would like to train you in the art of the bei, help you learn how to manipulate and control the power that the hordes of the Keepers leak into our world."
"To leave the Augur then?" answered Keubroc curtly, as was his fashion.
"For the time being. For training. To have a permanent bei'thal stationed at the Augur would be immeasurably useful. A permanent bei too; we get in trouble when we cart bei around the world. And I think I have in my mind the perfect candidate for you. Hopefully she is being trained as a bei even as we speak." Vaughn mused, half to the nüdwuob, half to himself. "If you love your country, if you honor your Empress, if you want to see peace throughout the land, you will consider this offer strongly. As I have said, the bei'thal can accomplish what swords and shields often cannot."
"You offer me much. Yet I would not be doing proper respect to the position if I did not consider my options carefully before making an answer." replied Keubroc, rubbing the black stubble of his face while trying to stifle a yawn. The stars had already made their appearance a few hours prior.
"It is careful planning and mature forethought that we treasure among the bei'thal. Please, sleep on it. We can discuss this more tomorrow night. I will need and answer before our mission is through of course, but please use me as a resource to help you make your decision.
"I will see you in the morning," Vaughn pulled aside the top layer of his bedroll, "I suspect we are near our quarry."
"Thank you Lord Vaughn," Keubroc caught himself, "Vaughn bei'thal. You have given me much to think on."
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