B2 Chapter 47: The Raincoat Commands Respect

“Hold, my children,” said a hidden deep voice to the monkeys to try and stay their hand. It echoed around the massive chamber, but the monkeys were screeching so loudly that they drowned it out. Instead, they continued towards the stairs. Ready to climb up and tear us apart.

Next to us on either end were two large braziers burning gently. I wondered about using the fire to fend off the angry primates when Sebastian stepped forward. He moved to the edge of the stairs with his axe in one hand and a hatchet in the other. The monkeys were gathering their forces below, outraged that we’d enter their sacred space.

When the first group reached the bottom step, Sebastian slammed his hatchet blade against his axe. On contact, a hot, white light burst out of his main weapon, blinding the whole room.

The monkeys howled in pain and shielded their eyes, all to no avail.

I didn’t blame them. I was doing the same until I felt Sebastian grab my arm.

“Come on. We gotta go!” he yelled.

I forced my eyes open. My vision was still hazy and dancing with stars, but even I could see that escape wasn’t an option.

“And go where?” I asked. “They’re surrounding the only exit. Also, maybe warn me the next time you’re going to flashbang my retinas.”

Sebastian took it as a compliment and grinned. “It’s pretty great, isn’t it? I got it from the challenge room. It’s called Sun Strike. I’m surprised how big it was though. I guess it's probably stronger when it's used indoors.”

Gee, you think?

I bit back a scathing retort and swallowed my anger. We had bigger problems to deal with.

The blinding effect was starting to wear off with the gorillas who were moving through the crowd of wailing Shanker monkeys. They wanted to be the first to kill us.

“I said enough!” the deep voice boomed.

A column of fire shot upwards out of the braziers as a warning to obey.

The monkeys and gorillas were awed by the fire. They immediately fell to their knees and placed their heads on the ground in supplication to the voice.

So the temple wasn’t just for show. These Shanker had some kind of god that they worshipped. Well they hadn’t ordered our deaths yet. Hopefully, they’re more amenable than the Sea King was. I just had to think of our way that we could talk ourselves out of this place. I mean, it’s not our fault there’s a slide that leads directly into their sacred space. If anything, they should expect intrusions with a thing like that installed in their temple.

Just when I thought things couldn’t get stranger, Hugo hopped out from behind the brazier wearing his orange raincoat. The contrasting fire made his coat shine and there was some small black device attached to the front of his neck.

“All who enter my temple must kneel,” Hugo boomed in the same deep voice.

Inwardly, I sighed. Of course. I should’ve known. But on the bright side, this was a far better outcome than dealing with another enemy.

I kneeled first to get this over with, but when I saw Sebastian had remained standing, I gave him a look that told him to play along. He scowled and then reluctantly followed suit.

“Excellent,” said Hugo. “The time draws near my children. But first I must confer with the new arrivals in my private chambers.”

The monkeys and gorillas did not respond and remained kneeling. I was never very clear on how intelligent these creatures were, but I was surprised that a little fire and a fake deep voice were all it took to get their devotion.

Hugo put the voice changer back in his inventory and leaned closer to me. “Psst, this way,” he whispered and gestured with his wing for us to follow.

Hidden behind a pillar was a doorway that led to what looked like a bedroom. That struck me as odd. Did that mean there was another god living here before that got killed or did the System always plan for a Tower climber to come here and fill the role of one?

I was relieved to see that Hugo was alright, but I had a million questions. Once we were alone, I asked “what happened and why are you wearing your raincoat?”

“You mean my ceremonial garment?” Hugo asked sounding impressed with himself.

“You look like a traffic cone,” Sebastian said.

Hugo glared at him. “I could have you executed for that insolence. This coat commands great respect. It saved my life, and it’s what caused the Shanker tribe to identify me as their god.”

Sebastian snorted. “An ugly raincoat did all that?”

“Yes, it makes me look like their sun god. A great shining bird that carries the sun in its talons and flies across the sky with it. When the Shanker found me, I was next to a fire trying to dry off from the rain. In a fair fight I could’ve fought them off, but they caught me by surprise before I could give em the business. Instead of killing me though, they carried me back to this temple. At first, I thought they were going to eat me until they started kneeling and pointing to the mural on one of the walls.”

“There are murals?” asked Sebastian.

Angry at being interrupted, Hugo turned to me. “Lucas, who is this person who keeps interrupting me?”

Sebastian exploded. “What?! We’ve sailed together. You were there when Lucas recruited me in that tavern!”

“Hmm, it’s not ringing any bells,” said Hugo. “I guess you didn’t leave much of an impression.”

Sebastian took a step forward, still holding his axe. “Listen here, you little—”

Archer silently appeared like a ghost behind him and put a knife to his throat. Sebastian froze.

“That’s enough,” I said. “Hugo, you’ve had your fun. Sebastian, chill the fuck out and put your axe away.”

There was a moment where both of them considered pressing the issue. But the moment passed and cooler heads prevailed. Archer dissipated into mist and he put the axe away.

“At least I’ll know who to call on if we’re ever short on lumber,” Hugo muttered as a parting shot to get the last word in.

I shot him a dark look, and he shut up.

“So what about the Shrikon that were hunting you?” I asked the bird. “What happened to them?”

“Oh, a gorilla took care of them for me before we came back here. I haven’t seen any since. Though my damn collar still hasn’t come off.”

I looked more closely and could see that underneath some of his feathers was an incredibly thin disk of metal.

“Apparently the collars don’t come off until the owner of them is killed,” I explained. “My guess is that title belongs to the Captain of the Sea King’s guard. Once we leave this place, we’ll need to find some item or power that lets us breathe underwater. Then we figure out where their lair is located, swim to it, and kill the Captain so we’re released from the hunt.”

“Yeah, we don’t need to do any of that,” said Hugo dismissively.

“What?”

“Yeah, I got that part covered. The Captain’s not underwater somewhere. He’s on this island. The Shrikon have an outpost here. Me and my monkey followers were planning to attack it soon. Apparently, there’s a lot of friction between the Shanker and the Shrikon.”

“Yeah, I’ve noticed they’re not good at making friends. So when does this attack go down?”

Hugo shrugged. “Whenever I say it does. Though sooner would be better. As you can see, they’re already pretty bloodthirsty.”

He hopped up onto my shoulder and we both got a new message.

[Advanced Animal Companion Pact Activated]

*DING!* You have gained [Animal Sight Ability] – With the other’s consent, you may activate this ability to look through the eyes of your companion and share their senses.

Though I imagine Hugo’s got more of the description I’d read earlier about it.

Even without using Animal Sight, the pact had changed both of us permanently. I immediately felt my connection to Hugo strengthen and when I closed my eyes, I could still sense his presence. It was like seeing a beacon of light that pulsed in time with his heartbeat.

I’d now always know where to find him, and vice versa. This wasn’t some big, flashy attack with lots of combat utility like Sun Strike, but I found myself feeling grateful for the connection.

“Woah, this feels weird,” he said.

“It should help us avoid getting separated for too long.”

Hugo nodded, seemingly as happy with the development as I was.

“Quick, let’s use Human Sight,” he said.

“It’s called Animal Sight for me, but fine. Let’s test it out now while we’re in a safe place.”

We both activated it and a prompt came up asking if we each accepted our requests. The System took the consent part of the ability seriously. As soon as I said yes, I was transported into Hugo’s body. I couldn’t control it, but I could see and feel everything he felt.

“Woah, everything’s so small now,” said Hugo.

I felt the same way but in reverse, while wondering why the crow wasn’t constantly being blown away by a stiff breeze. His body felt so light and delicate. Everything around him was so much bigger and taller. No wonder he always preferred to be on my shoulder. You could see so little from his position on the ground.

“How are you so tall?” he asked.

“God given genetics,” I replied.

“Pfft, why would I make you super tall? It just makes it harder for me to reach your shoulder to perch on.”

I shook my head. “You’ve been in this temple for too long.”

We turned off the Sight and then Hugo made another pleased sound.

“I just got a new ability from my god.”

I frowned. Roan had given him a new ability? That was concerning. I opened my menu and looked through Hugo’s stats until I found it.

*DING!* You have gained [Irascible Dirge (Rare)] – This is a clarion call designed for use on battlefields. It is a temporary mass-summoning of the dead to aid you in the fight. Note: those who are summoned using the Dirge cannot be stored in your Spiritbox and cannot be summoned again. Once arisen, these spirits will be angry that they have been brought back from the grave. If they are not provided with a fight immediately after summoning, then they will turn on the one who called them.

“Aww, this could’ve been my shortcut to truly getting an army,” Hugo complained. “Though I guess I should be grateful to get anything at all. So far I’d thought he’d been ignoring me.”

“His timing is impeccable,” I said.

I guess it’s also confirmation that he’s watching us right now. I didn’t want to tell Hugo, but that ability sounds like something you use as a last resort if you’re losing the battle. Does this mean Roan doesn’t think the Shanker can win on their own?

While I was looking at Hugo’s abilities, I got curious but I couldn’t find what I was l looking for.

“Hey, how did you manage to do the fire thing?” I asked him. “You don’t seem to have any abilities that could pull something like that off.”

Hugo patted my cheek with his wing. “Oh, Lucas. Sometimes the simplest answer is the right one. I just had Norris hide behind the brazier and chuck gunpowder in when no one was looking.”

I was impressed. Hugo, while being completely alone and hunted by dangerous creatures, had managed to con his way into becoming the leader of one tribe and gain an army in the process. This wasn’t even something I’d have thought could be possible. I wouldn’t have even attempted such a thing. Yakeshi hadn’t been wrong before when he’d said that Hugo was capable of climbing the Tower on his own.

Hugo shook his wings out like he stretching off some nervous energy. “I guess it's time to rally the troops. Lucas, you can be my Pope and have the honor of holding me during my speech. Just try not to fidget or move around too much unless I give the command.”

He then glanced at Sebastian. “Lumberjack, if you can wait back here until it's over, that’d be great.”

“The power’s gone to his head. Help,” I pleaded to Sebastian as we walked past.

He bowed to me. “Your holiness.”

Hugo put his voice changer back on. “Okay, it’s showtime!”