Limitless Seas 2, Chapter 16.

Chapter 16.

With a wounded crewman being dragged along, the swim back was more of a slog. Larson took the wounded man from Ibn, his naga body much better able to manage swimming and hauling extra dead weight around. There was a new concern now, everyone was wounded in some way, and blood was leaking into the water around them as they swam. Larson could taste it as his lungs filled with water once more, and if he could taste it, the makon surely could. It was a bit awkward, keeping his head below the water to get the full benefit of Sense Disturbance while holding the wounded man up high enough so he could breathe.

“There goes your portal, you shouldn’t have anything to worry about for a while now,” Narbos said, the former prisoner was having little trouble keeping up with the rest of them, despite the wounds on his body. Back on the island, the glow of the portal that had leaked through the tunnel was gone, and with it, the portal itself if Narbos could be believed.

“Good, we just have to reach the others and make our exit from this place,” Larson said.

This time, he didn’t detect anything else swimming in the lake. Maybe the disturbance he had felt on their way to the island was due to the makon that were now feasting inside the cavern chamber. He was more than happy to have them eating troggs rather than have them harrying their retreat. Focusing more on his ability, Larson found he could channel some of his limited mana pool into it, giving him a better understanding of the sea around him. With the mana enhancement, smells became more distinct, like trails of color in the water. He could taste trace minerals in the lake and feel every splash his men were making while swimming.

After making sure the makon weren’t trailing them, Larson cut off the mana flow. He wanted to have enough for an emergency use of Imbue Weapon, and it would take time for him to recharge even the limited amount he had just spent. Right before the mana cut off, he sensed something else, something that took a minute for his mind to process. It was Narbos, he was different than the others somehow. His wounds didn’t have the tinge of freshly spilled blood, instead he almost had no smell, only the faint hint of something off. Then it hit him, with the crew being so close, his mana enhanced sense could even feel their heartbeats, but Narbos’ heart made no sound, it was still in his chest. He wasn’t human, he was something different.

“Ibn, take the wounded crewman, I need to do something,” Larson ordered. Ibn didn’t question him, grabbing the wounded marine and continuing toward the far shore where the sounds of fighting were now heard. Larson held Narbos back, the man was already at the rear of the formation, and he wanted more distance between him and the others in case this confrontation went wrong. He didn’t know if Narbos was a threat to them or not, but it was better to confront him here, in the deeper waters of the lake, where Larson held the advantage. Summoning his spear, Larson pointed it at Narbos, wishing he had the mana to imbue the weapon.

“Captain Larson, what seems to be the problem?” Narbos asked, treading water just out of reach of Larson.

“I’ll tell you what the problem is, Narbos, I’m at home here in the water, my senses are dialed into everything around me. I can even hear the heartbeats of my crew when we’re close, and that is the problem, Narbos, you don’t have a heartbeat. Care to explain why?” Larson asked.

“I had hoped you wouldn’t notice that, and I could go my own way without any trouble. Something tells me you’re going to want a full explanation if I’m going to make it to shore in one piece,” Narbos replied.

“A full explanation is exactly what I want, spill it,” Larson demanded.

“I was alive, a normal breathing human when the imps caught me. We were at war with them, well, at least with the clan you just tangled with. There are plenty of them running around down here, the world under the surface is just as vast, and the struggle for power is even more violent. I made a bad choice, invaded my neighboring zone with assistance from these imps. They brought me an army, and it wasn’t until things were almost too late that I realized they planned to usurp my rule. Before I continue, shouldn’t we be heading toward the shore? I don’t want to miss our ride out of here,” Narbos asked, looking nervously toward the sounds of distant battle.

“Don’t worry about that, just give me the quick take, I don’t need your whole life story,” Larson replied.

“Fine, here’s the quick version. I switched sides, aiding my former enemy, and they assisted me in driving the Zisilerpicazant forces, that’s the name of the clan we’re fighting, out of my zone. The battle was almost complete, but when the last of the enemy retreated underground, an elite force broke into my tent, slew my guards, and used magic to portal me down here. I was strapped to the machine and my life force used to power their portal to the surface,” Narbos said, gathering his thoughts.

“I don’t’ know how long I was strapped to that thing, and at some point, I died. But as you can see, I didn’t stay dead. I lost my previous class, most of my levels, but I gained something else, the ability to withstand that infernal machine. It drew power from me, but it couldn’t finish me off. The imps could have, I die for good when I receive enough damage, just like any other being, but it’s much harder to do that now, even with losing my Overlord class. So, to answer your question, yes, I’m undead, and no, I don’t intend you or yours any harm. If anything, I’m in debt to you for saving me,” Narbos said, finishing his tale.

Larson didn’t have much time to sort things out, he needed to get back before Wrend decided to leave without him. It was a risk, keeping the undead Narbos with them, but it didn’t seem to him that the man had any nefarious plans for Larson and his crew. The fact that he was undead didn’t change anything, Narbos could think for himself and wasn’t some blood-crazed vampire or a mindless zombie. He’d take the risk, confident that he or his crew could finish Narbos if he did turn out to be more monster than man.

“Come on, then, we need to get moving if we’re going to make it back to shore,” Larson said.

“If it speeds things up, you can haul me back if you want, it’s not like I can drown. Thank you for trusting me and helping me out of this hell hole. I’ll return that trust and let you see what I am,” Narbos said. Larson didn’t take Narbos up on his offer to drag him back, the others weren’t moving all that fast, and they should catch up just before they made it to the shore. Touching an undead creature wasn’t something on his to-do list, so Narbos could swim on his own. He did accept the offer to share his system information.

Narbos offers to reveal limited information about himself to you. Do you wish to view this information, Y/N?

Narbos: Level 5 Revenant Necromancer.

A Revenant is a type of intelligent undead that retains full control over their mind and retains much of the personality they held when still a living being. Not much is known about conditions needed to create a revenant as they are rare, but they do typically come from classes that required high willpower when still living. Previous classes and levels are wiped clean in the creation process, and a new class fitting to their status will be assigned randomly.

Class Information, Necromancer. A necromancer is a powerful mage that can create and control the undead. Offensive spells and summoned minions make them formidable opponents, but they lack some of the utility that other mage classes offer. As an undead being himself, Narbos’ magic will be more powerful than his level would suggest.

“It sounds like you didn’t have much choice in the matter, I’ll not hold that against you unless you prove to be a threat to my ships or crew. Make yourself a threat to my ship or crew, and I’ll end you without a second thought,” Larson said.

“As I said, I’m grateful for the rescue and won’t do anything to harm you or your crew. In fact, I’ll help you in any way I can. My undead form is masked from those without enhanced senses, so I should be able to blend in without causing too much of a fuss aboard your ship. Of course, first, we must get out the Hypogean Realm and back to the surface,” Narbos replied.

They caught up with the rest of the crew as they reached the shore. Wrend’s troops had been pushed back to the tunnel mouth, and if they fell back any further, they would be out of the tunnel and the enemy could swarm them over. Near the shore, Shada was casting healing spells over several wounded soldiers that were groaning on the ground in pain.

Near the tunnel mouth, Bug Bartholomew stood, giant axe in one hand as he aimed the ballista on his arm over the line of defending soldiers to shoot at something in the distance. The ogre had started the battle with two quivers of ballista bolts, holding nearly fifty of the missiles, but now, he had only a handful left. Wrend was fighting on the line, but one of the newly healed wounded took his place once he saw Larson’s team returning.

“Did you do it, Larson?” Wrend asked, gasping for breath. His armor was bloody and dents and scratches were covering it, but it looked like most of the blood was from his foes, not from the sergeant.

“Aye, we’ve shut it down. There’s nothing to prevent them from restarting one, but from what one of their prisoners told us, the process would take them months,” Larson answered.

“That will work, I don’t think this lot has months left to live. Their clan was being pushed out by their enemies and taking some land on the surface was their last-ditch effort to survive. Good riddance as far as I’m concerned. Now, gather your men around, I’m going to open the portal. We have to move fast and get everyone through so I can close it before the enemy follows us through,” Wrend said.

“Then stop talking and do it, I want out of this place,” Larson said. Wrend blew four blasts on his whistle, a signal to his troops that the portal was about to be opened. He pulled the runestone from his pouch and touched several of the markings while saying something in the dwarf language. The stone glowed brighter and Wrend dropped it on the ground. A portal of bright blue grew from the stone, a perfect circle around eight feet in diameter.

“Go, now!” Wrend ordered. Larson pushed his sailors through, each of them dragging a wounded soldier as they passed through. Bug Bartholomew fired a final bolt and stomped his way over even as the soldiers began to step back, still killing troggs as they moved toward safety. Once the ogre had squeezed his way through, not an easy task for a being that size, Larson followed.

The dim light of the Hypogean realm was replaced by bright sunlight, blinding Larson for a moment as he stepped through. His eyes adjusted quickly, and he could see a detail of sailors, armed with bows and spears, watching over the portal as the soldiers started to emerge. The wounded man that had been left behind at Shada’s orders held the rune for this side of the portal and when the soldiers started coming through he placed it on the ground and held up a rock to smash it, which Larson figured was how they closed the thing.

“Last man, close it!” Wrend shouted as he backed his way through. A pair of troggs followed him, but they were dropped by several arrows from Larson’s shore detail.

The wounded soldier started to swing his rock at the runestone when a blast of energy slammed into him, tossing the soldier back and burning a hole through his armor. An imp, already casting another spell moved from the portal entrance as more troggs poured in. Larson moved toward the runestone, it needed to be destroyed before they were overrun. A blast of black energy fired from Narbos’ hand and slammed into the runestone, shattering it and causing the portal to disappear.

Bug Bartholomew roared out of both his mouths and laid into the remaining troggs with his axe, cleaving through them two at a time. The soldiers responded as well making short work of the enemies that had managed to make it through the portal. Larson charged the imp, moving to stop him before he could finish casting another spell. His mana had recharged enough to imbue his spear, and when the weapon pierced the diminutive imp’s back, the slashing damage cut the fiend in half.

“That’s the last, let’s see to any injured and get back aboard,” Larson said, taking the imp’s head, along with some of the heads of several troggs to place in his void storage. He needed evidence of the threat if he wanted a payday from the sea lords of Stratwall Harbor when they returned.

“Oy, you didn’t think I’d miss your ugly mug, did you?” Wrend asked. He had walked up to Narbos after the battle and now had his sword at the man’s throat.

“Woah, hold on there, Wrend, that was a prisoner we rescued and he’s even the one that closed the portal after your soldier was killed,” Larson argued.

“Prisoner, he says? No, I think he’s likely their leader, after all, they were on his side for most of the war,” Wrend said.

“Hold on, yes, I’m Narbos that led Bharga’s Crossing, but that part of my life is done. I had nothing to do with the portal, and was, in fact, abducted by these imps to get revenge for helping you push them from the surface,” Narbos said.

“I believe him, Wrend, they were doing some horrible things to him down there. Let him go, he just wants a ride back to civilization,” Larson added.

“Sir, we’re officially at peace with Bharga’s Crossing,” of the soldiers added. Wrend looked angry and ready to kill, but he gathered himself and lowered the blade.

“Fine, we’ll leave him be. Make no mistake, Narbos, we find out that you had a hand in this, and me and the boys will track you down,” Wrend threatened before sheathing his sword and pushing Narbos away.

“Good, let’s get back aboard and be on our way, I’m sure you’d like to head home, and my crew will want to get back to port and finish up their leave,” Larson said. As they ferried the crew and surviving soldiers back to the ships, Larson told Wrend about the chest they had found. Once aboard they would open it together with his officers and divvy up the spoils. Hopefully, there was something inside to make this adventure worth it for the crew. It was already worth it for Larson, as a notification blinked in the corner of his vision telling him that he had reached level four.