Limitless Seas 2, Chapter 38.

Here's the last chapter and Epilogue for Limitless Seas Book 2.

Chapter 38.

Instead of the continuation of a dark tunnel, Larson found the other side of the portal to be something else entirely. Hot, humid air assaulted him, the contrast between it and the cool ocean air he was used to was shocking. Something nudged him from behind as Ibn followed in his footsteps. Realizing his mistake, Larson moved out the way of the portal just in time, as Bug Bartholomew stepped through.

“No, too hot and sticky here. I don’t like this place,” Bartholomew complained.

“Let’s get the job done and you can go back to the cool air,” Larson pointed out. Narbos was next, then Shada. Silas Crow entered and then the glowing portal disappeared.

“That’s unfortunate, I had hoped we’d be able to bring more with us, which means there’s someone else already in here,” Narbos pointed out. Getting their bearings, Larson looked over this strange place they had found themselves in. They were at the top of a mountain, no not a mountain, the top of an inactive volcano from the looks of it. The entire area around them was covered in jungle vegetation, the place a riot of brightly colored plants and noisy insects. A pathway was carved through the growth, winding its way down into the bowl of the volcano, where a stone temple stood. The temple was the mirror image of the one they had just entered, only this one was in pristine condition.

“Allow me to lead, sir, I believe I have the best chance at detecting any traps or unwelcome visitors,” Ibn said. Larson was glad to let the man lead the way, taking the next spot in line, followed by Crow, Shada, Narbos, and the far too loud Bug Bartholomew bringing up the rear. The pathway only allowed for a single file journey down the volcano, not the most advantageous way for them to meet any hostile lizardfolk or lost pirates.

Nothing disturbed them on the way down, but there were signs of fighting in a few places. Two dead pirates and several slain lizardfolk were clumped together in a narrow part of the pathway. The lizardfolk bodies were much smaller creatures than the monster he had fought in town. Maybe the ones in town were the warriors, and these smaller ones, slender and just under the height of an average man, were some kind of workers for their tribe.

“How much you want to bet that the heart of this dungeon is sitting right where the portal is in the other place,” Silas Crow offered. He was probably right; whatever intelligence designed this place had copied the ruined temple turned pirate stronghold. Instead of a portal, they’d likely find whatever monster was king of this jungle.

They continued to face no opposition on the way down, save for being startled when a lizard, the regular kind, not one of the giant humanoids, crossed their path. Other than looking at them with annoyance for disturbing its day, the cat-sized lizard didn’t respond to their presence. Bartholomew tried to catch it, but the critter was way too fast for the lumbering ogre. More signs of battle were seen, more dead lizardfolk and three more pirates were found before they reached the end of the pathway. Once on the floor of the volcano, they could see the gates of the temple stood open. These were no simple doors banded in iron like they had knocked over with their cannon, these gates were intricately carved from stone, with images depicting the lizardfolk defeating and consuming various prey.

As they suspected, their path led them into the depths of the temple where this time, handy sconces were placed every few yards holding bright torches and giving them plenty of light to work with. When they neared the final path to what had been the portal room in the ruined temple, the sounds of combat greeted them. Human shouts were met with a croaking roar that shook the passageway.

“Ready your weapons, whatever’s in there, we hit it hard and fast. Shada stays back to provide healing and Narbos, cover her as best you can,” Larson ordered. Once everyone had their weapons ready, Larson led the way, slithering the last few yards toward the battle that awaited them.

Inside the portal chamber was chaos. Where the portal was supposed to be was a massive throne carved from stone. Sitting atop the throne was a huge lizardfolk, bloated with fat and looking as much like a toad as a lizard. Stubby legs dangled from the throne, far too small to support the monster’s bulbous body, while strong arms held carved stone totems that it thrust toward the pirates at the other end of the chamber. The thing croaked again, shaking the chamber as the monster on the throne activated the magic of the totems. Slime spewed from each totem, landing near the pirates. Inside the slime, shapes took form, erupting from the disgusting ooze to reveal lizards and toads the size of dogs. The newly formed monsters charged the small group of pirates, who were already trying to fend off more of the summoned creatures.

The pirates fighting for their lives didn’t notice Larson’s party enter the chamber, both sides of the battle oblivious to anything but the foe in front of them. Five pirates still survived, one of them was a mage that sent a stream of magical fire at the throne-bound monster. The beast shrieked in pain and lashed out with an impossibly long tongue, snatching up the pirate mage and reeling him back toward its mouth. Burn marks showed on various parts of the monster’s body, as well as several sword wounds and arrows that barely penetrated the monster’s thick hide.

“Kill the monster, we’ll deal with the pirates after, if any of them are still alive,” Larson ordered. In the corner of his vision, information displayed as he aimed his pistols at the monster on the throne, the system giving him an idea of what he faced.

Tamkul’pa, the Overking. Tamkul’pa has reigned over this dungeon world since the dawn of time. His lizardfolk have defeated all that stood against him and now he seeks to expand his kingdom to the world above, where the delights of fresh prey await.

“Take this, Tookie-paw,” Bartholomew shouted as he fired the 4-pounder mounted to his arm at the Overking. The cannon was deafening in the stone chamber, but Larson had anticipated it and was already lining up both his pistols at the monster in front of him. He imbued the shot loaded in each pistol with magic, one with piercing damage, and one with slashing. Not holding anything back, he also activated Rapid Fire for the first time.

Each gun bucked twice in his hand, and the Rapid-Fire ability turned out to have an added benefit, it copied not just the round he had fired, but also the enchantment Larson had placed upon it. Right next to the spot where Bug Bartholomew’s cannonball hit, Larson’s shots slammed home. The rounds disappeared in the bulk of the creature’s body, but given the high-pitched screams coming from the monster, they had done some serious damage. The attack was enough to turn its attention from the pirates to the Larson’s crew. It slurped down the pirate mage it had captured with its tongue and hurled the appendage directly at Larson.

He raised his shield to deflect the slimy tongue, but the monster was somehow able to angle its attack to miss the shield and latch onto Larson’s body. Pain radiated out as the tongue tightened around him, wrapping up both his lower arms. A sickening crack was heard as his arms snapped like twigs, pain shooting through his limbs as the overking jerked Larson toward it. Larson tried to ignore the pain and stabbed at the tongue repeatedly with his rapier. The overking ignored the blows and drew Larson into its oversized maw.

The world around him went dark and a sharp pain was felt as the monster’s teeth severed the last foot of his tail. Released by the tongue, Larson activated his void storage, placing the shield inside and grabbing a healing potion. He could feel his energy ebb as blood pumped from the stump of his tail. One after another he sucked down the two healing potions he had in storage. They weren’t especially powerful ones, but the healing magic the potions contained was enough to stop the bleeding and pop his arms back into place, ending the immediate threat.

The immediate threat was over, but the problems for Larson were just beginning. Light and heat burst next to him as he landed with a splash in the monster’s belly. The pirate mage was trying to conjure fire and burn the monster from the inside out, but the stomach acid was already doing its work, and the flesh on the mage’s hands was sloughing off in patches, causing him to fumble the spell. Already, Larson could feel the stomach juices eating away at his skin, the burning even overcoming the protective scales on his lower body.

“You’re a fool Overking, you’ve brought me to the exact spot that I can do the most damage to you,” Larson taunted as he activated Serpent’s Scales to buy him some more time.

Larson added slashing damage to his rapier and attacked the stomach lining of the monster while activating his Pincushion ability. The wall of the stomach was shredded by the five hits from the magical rapier. Once that initial damage was done, Larson called up Serpent’s Strike, Cassia’s ghostly serpent’s head appeared and struck the wounds Larson had already created. The bite pieced deep, but even worse for the Overking, the wound was pumped full of venom. He could feel the monster convulse as the venom began to rot away the inside of the monster, Larson added to its misery by spraying an additional stream of venom from his fangs into the growing wound.

The walls of the stomach started to contract, the monster attempting to crush Larson before he could inflict more damage. Summoning his spear and a pair of daggers from his inventory, Larson armed each of his hands and began to cut and stab at the Overking’s, rotting insides. Pressure built as the monster squeezed Larson back into his gullet, trying to spew him out, but he wasn’t having any of it, using his spear to anchor himself, Larson continued his attack, trying desperately to ignore the burning pain that enveloped him as Serpent’s Scales ended and the stomach acid started to eat as his flesh once more.

With a popping and tearing sound, Larson felt something give way and he found himself spilling out of the Overking’s belly and onto the stone floor of the throne chamber. He used Create Water to splash his body in fresh water, desperately trying to wash away the acid that still ate at him. The soothing coolness of the water was joined by a hand on his back, and he felt the familiar tingle of a healing spell being cast on him.

You have defeated Tamkul’pa the Overking. The threat this being created is over, for now, but remain wary lest the Overking rise to power once more and attempt to conquer the lands above. A suitable reward has been chosen for you, use it well.

“What happened?” Larson said, trying to gain his bearings.

“We won, or I should say, you won. That monster was giving us a hard time until it started twitching and then you came spilling out of like a giant baby snake covered in goo,” Narbos said. Looking around, Larson could see the pirates were all down and the last of the summoned lizards and toads dropped to the ground as the magic binding them to this world died with the Overking. The pirates had all been dealt with as well, their bodies surrounded the remains of the Overking’s minions.

“I founds this,” Bartholomew said, grinning as he hefted a large chest from behind the throne. The chest gave the satisfying sound of coins rattling inside when the ogre shook it.

“Yes, and I believe we’ve all had an individual reward from this dungeon, a rather nice one at that. Perhaps there’s more to this adventuring thing than I had previously believed,” Bug added.

“The threat is over, and we’ve even been compensated for our time. Shall we leave?” Narbos asked, his question triggering a system prompt.

Do you wish to exit the dungeon? Y/N.

Larson had no desire to remain here and wanted nothing more than to take a long bath to wash the filth from his body. As soon as he thought about leaving a light flashed and he found himself back in the portal room. The once brightly glowing portal now only gave off a slight glow in the darkness, indicating that its power had been depleted, at least for the time being.

Silas Crow led them out, the group were all very happy with the rewards they had received, but not exactly willing to share what they were. Narbos believed they had received better than normal rewards in the dungeon due to it had been so long since someone had defeated it. Should a group enter it now, the challenges inside would be much reduced, as would the prizes to be found. A team of marines waited for them in the portal room, the men relieved that their vigil was over. Time had passed strangely inside the temple, it hadn’t seemed that long to Larson, maybe an hour or two at the most, but back to the real world, it was now morning.

They made the long trek down to the ruined village near the docks. Tarley and Lord Buxton had organized work details and it looked like they were already making progress on repairing some of the structures. He called an officer’s meeting with his team and Lord Buxton in his cabin aboard the Sea Venom. Lucian’s family and the others that had been staying inside were glad to be off the ship, giving Larson his space back. Before the meeting got started, Larson received another system message, and given the glazed look in the eyes of the others in the room, they were seeing it as well.

The Free Isles have accepted Lord Mox as the rightful ruler of Stratwall Harbor. As a result, your status as a privateer is suspended and your letter of marque is hereby revoked. You have been declared to be a pirate by the Free Isles. Your class has changed from Privateer Captain to Pirate Captain. Beware, you are now a hunted man, with a prize of 100 ducats on his head. Any representatives of the legitimate governments of the Free Isles will consider you a pirate and summarily execute you on sight.

“Well, whether through threat or bribe, it appears that Lord Mox has finagled his way into the good graces of the Free Isles. My titles and lands are apparently forfeit, and I am no longer a lord,” Buxton said.

“How can they do this?” Shada asked.

“Why, my dear, that is the way of things. I had hoped the other nations of the Isles would see Mox for the threat he is, but with an entire pirate fleet as his command, they must fear that he’ll do to them what he did to Stratwall Harbor. The fools will regret their decision, Mox is not going to be satisfied with one city under his control, he’ll want them all,” Buxton answered.

“They’ve made a mistake, they feared Lord Mox, but in trying to placate him, they’ve made themselves a much more powerful enemy. If they wish to call us pirates, I say we embrace that role,” Larson said to shocked looks from the others.

“Do you mean that?” Tarley asked.

“Aye, it’s time these fools who call themselves ‘Lords of the Isles’ find out what a true pirate is like. I’m not some jumped-up nobleman playing pirate to further some political goal. We’re in a fight for our lives and if they want to try and hunt us down and execute us, I’ll respond in kind. I’ll cut a bloody swath through these isles and not a ship or town will be safe from my reach. They’ve given us their base, they’ve kindly donated all these ships as prizes to us, and to top things off, we’ve developed the most powerful weapons ever to be seen on ship or shore. Let’s put everyone to work. When all is said and done, these Lords of the Isles will be no more and the waters for a thousand miles around here will be ours. Who’s with me?” Larson asked.

Whether through loyalty to Larson or by virtue of not having any other valid option available to them, all pledged their support. He would see that everyone here was rewarded, titles restored in the case of Buxton, and islands of their own for the others. In his old world, he had started with nothing a built up an empire of commerce. Here, would rule not through business deals and commerce, but through firepower and cold steel.

Epilogue.

Sally’s wings caught the rising heat from the burning goblin village, using it to add lift to her flight. She’d come a long way since stumbling out of the egg when she had first started this Limitless Lands game, and she could finally admit that she enjoyed throwing the troubles of the day behind her as she became a dragon. Not a violent person by nature, Sally had nevertheless quickly learned to defend herself and she enjoyed using her newfound power to strike back at the goblins that had terrorized the area.

Lauren, the young girl from the hospital, had helped her through some early struggles and still gave good advice when it came to leveling her character and choosing traits and abilities in a way that maximized her chances of surviving the various threats out there. As much fun as she was having burning evil goblins, it was time to make her evening visit to the hospital to see her brother. As far as she knew, her brother had no idea that she was visiting, but she still felt compelled to do so.

Sally logged out of the game, leaving her gaming pod and calling up a self-driving car before leaving the hotel she had been staying at. The hospital didn’t have set visiting hours, so she could see her brother at any time. She preferred the quiet of the place late at night, and despite the late hour, one of the nurses was kind enough to give her a rundown of her brother’s condition. The nanobots and medication were making progress in repairing the physical damage, but it was slow going and her brother would be out of it for some time still.

Craig still thought the game was real, though the doctors and Qualitranos felt it wouldn’t be too long before he could withstand the shock of what had happened to him. It apparently could be problematic when reactivating memories, and there was too much danger in doing so before the repairs to his mind were complete and he was physically stronger.

“Well, big brother, I suppose we’ll see each other at least once more in this life,” Sally said. Craig Larson’s chances were good that he would pull through, according to the doctor.

“What I’ll do when I meet you, I have no idea. Will I slap you across the face or give you a hug?” Sally thought to herself. Her brother had been a monster to her and her husband over the years, but how long do you hold onto that before forgiving someone who’s wronged you? It would be easy enough to give him the hug rather than a slap across the face if Craig at least showed some remorse for his actions. Maybe that was the key, her reaction would depend upon Craig. Should he apologize and want to reconcile the relationship with his sister, she would be open to it. If not, well, she hoped it didn’t come to that, but she would cut off all contact and live the rest of her life guilt-free.

According to the last update that her contact at Qualitranos had given, Craig was becoming quite the handful. He was now a pirate, a monster whose actions just might match the monstrous body he possessed inside the game. Of course, inside the Limitless Lands, Sally was also a monster, and a dragon beat a snake man every time. It might be cathartic to burn him and his merry band of pirates in a wave of dragon fire.

She’d made up her mind to give Craig the time to reconcile when he was awake once more, but in-game…in the game he was toast.