EG Monster Island Chapter 18

*** AUTHOR'S NOTE *****

Okay, so, I didn't quite get to where I wanted to be earlier this week. However, I had a great weekend of writing, so I'm going to promise a mid-week post next week. Chapter 18 is today, and then on Wednesday expect Chapter 19! That'll leave me still one and a half chapters ahead, so even if I get sick or things come up I should be able to get next Sunday's chapter as well. Hope you enjoy this one!

*** AUTHOR'S NOTE ****

“That was an excellent way of controlling the battlefield,” Librarian Narwan said. ‘You were lucky, though, that the two protectors did not notice the Ice. That technique is easily blocked. We will work more on projection techniques before the next event. Now, rest and gather.”

I nodded, then nervously looked over at the flashing blasts occurring two arenas away. The first arena was too far, with too many things in the way, for me to see how Aleks was doing. They’ll be fine. They are all strong, capable fighters, and the counselors watching them are capable of stopping any lethal blow. The healers are excellent. It will be okay. It will.

After worrying for a minute, I forced myself to gather, refilling the minor amount of Aether I’d used in the last fight quickly, then slowly pushing at the edges of my center. I grit my teeth, each minor improvement feeling like my chest was being ripped apart. I refused to give up, though, pushing to reach the goal of five doublings, or thirty two times my original size. The first few were fairly easy, though they still felt pretty uncomfortable. Each additional doubling and every bit in between was excruciating. Each doubling from your original size allowed you to progress farther along the journey of gathering.

I was working on the last and longest one, and I could stop at any point and still reach Librarian Narwan’s level, but I refused to stop before perfection. I would advance to meet and exceed his capability. I would become the strongest that ever was, to save this world from what is coming. I hoped.

I stopped gathering, and looked up at Librarian Narwan. “Uh, sir, um.” I hesitated.

“I know about your idiotic bet,” he said. “Why did you want a slave?” I hesitated again, and he gestured. All sound ceased. “Talk freely, none may hear.”

“One of the slaves on the galleon is like me,” I said. “I want to free her.”

“Her? You already have three girlfriends,” Librarian Narwan laughed.

“Um, you mean two?” I asked, confused.

He blinked at me, “You are serious? Ahahahaha,” he collapsed into laughter.

“Aleks does not think of me that way,” I complained. “Does she?” He just laughed louder, and the silencing technique vanished.

“Aiden, why is Librarian Narwan laughing so hard he cannot breathe?” Jon asked.

“Because he is a dirty old man,” I grumbled. “Look, Princess Aleksandra and her team are returning.”

“Based on their smiles, I would say they won,” Vaya said, smiling.

Cheers erupted around the next arena, where two Ashkhas stood victorious over the groaning bodies of their two compatriots and four Topraki. More cheers and I saw Jamila fighting against the last Volk. Everyone else had been pulled off the arena already, except Ming who was watching nervously. It looked like Jamila had asked him to back off so she could fight. She ducked under a punch, then vaulted on her staff over a sweep before rotating in midair to slug him across the back of the head. Her staff rippled into a spear, the head solid Wood, and she stabbed him in the butt as he stumbled. I screamed in delight when he fell and she brandished her weapon. The Volk surrendered, and Jamila won for her team.

“Aleks, how’d your team do?” I yelled out.

“We won!” She jumped into the air. “It was intense and awesome, but we won.”

“Princess Aleksandra will not tell you, but she almost won entirely by herself,” Milena said, her voice silky but with an undertone of sulking. “The three of us only kept them off her while she finished her Divine Thunderstorm Technique and defeated them all.”

“Milena, you know that we are a team. Without you holding them off, I could never complete my technique. And you were instrumental in the first fight,” Aleks said forcefully.

“I know Aleks,” Milena laughed. “But you get all huffy each time I say it!”

The rest of us laughed as Aleks pouted. “Well, all three of us won all three of our battles!” I said excitedly. I turned to Librarian Narwan, “Did anyone else do that?”

“One Ashkhas team,” he answered. “Now hush.”

I looked to the center to see Sultah Aleahil. “And thus ends the second round of the Tournament! We have four teams that were undefeated, and they all will receive extra awards. Over all three fights, (Ashkhas team) won with the fastest time and most team members still standing at the end of each fight. In second place overall was Princess Aleksandra of Craesti and her team, followed by Lo Ming and his team in third and Knight Aiden of Craesti and his in fourth for this event. Finally, for the most entertaining fight, Knight Aiden will receive an additional reward from the Council of Merchants!”

“Mostly because you made them a ton of money by winning,” Knight Kaminski said with a laugh. “Almost everyone bet against you.”

“What about you?” I asked.

“Ok, I won ten gold betting on you,” she laughed. “Ten to one odds was excellent when I knew you would win.”

“Well, I am glad to know you bet on me,” I shook my head at her.

“Aiden, come over here,” Librarian Narwan said. I looked over to see him standing with the Illyrian elder who was close to him in strength. He was furious, but was holding it in strongly. “Your bet must be honored today. (Name) will take you to their compound so you may choose which slave you wish.”

“Your ship,” I said, glaring. “I want one that was on your ship when I boarded it at sea.”

“Fine,” the Illyrian ground out. It gestured and an Air platform formed in front of me. “Get on. You will be safe, on the honor of the Illyrian Empire.”

“And knowing that if you do not return him, the Askhas and I will destroy you utterly,” Librarian Narwan growled. He turned to me, “Find your reward quickly and return.”

“I will,” I said, then stepped onto the platform. (Name) grumbled at my refusal to give them respect, but we shot into the sky and were whisked to the galley sitting at the end of a pier. There were three ships connected to that specific dock, all of the same design. There must be hundreds of slaves on these ships, I thought, disgusted. We sped down to the farthest ship, which was still missing one mast.

“All the slaves that were on this ship are still here. Since you somehow saw one, you may choose,” (Name) growled at me. “Dahbashi, take this thing below and give him the control to one slave it chooses.” It pointed to an Illyrian with a bright green sash that was ordering around a few other Illyrians who were all wearing collars.

“Aye,” Dahbashi responded forcefully, crossing both arms over its chest. It turned to me and barked, “Follow, unworthy one.”

I stepped beside it as it led me to a hatch down. “Unworthy one?” I asked.

“You have no scales, soft teeth, no claws. You cannot mate with the Malekeh Jahaan, so you are unworthy,” it responded.

“Why do you take slaves?” I tried to continue the conversation. It ignored me. I tried a few other questions as we descended towards the bottom of the boat, but no answers were forthcoming. The first level down was a workshop, fighting deck, and cafeteria combined. When we reached the second one, I started to reach out with my Aether senses, looking and feeling to see what the defenses of the ship were like. I could feel the Inscriptions that covered the sides of the ship, but they were patchy and weak in many places. This was especially true near the waterline. There were some that felt dangerous, but the gaps in the Aether made me think I could raid it somewhat easily.

Finally, we reached a section full of cots, upon which dozens of Ilyrian, Topraki, and Craesti slaves sat dejectedly. At least, until Dahbashi stepped into the door. “Humans, step forward,” it commanded. Nineteen people stepped forward. My heart broke, as I realized I could only take one.

I looked over them all and found her twelfth in line. “Her,” I pointed.

“Come here,” it ordered, and she obeyed. Fear lined her face, though she was controlling it well. Another Illyrian soldier moved forward and unchained her just as she reached the end of her movement. She very obviously controlled a flinch away from the guard. I doubt the Illyrians can tell our expressions enough to know she’s terrified, I thought. They must punish all those who react strongly. Dahbashi turned to me. “Give me your hand.”

I reached up, and he directed my fingers to her collar. The lizard’s claws slashed my index finger open. Blood welled up, and then it smeared my blood over the collar. A small pulse of Aether shot into my hand from the Illyrian, and then the collar glowed slightly. I felt the connection. “Now, activate the collar,” Dahbashi growled. “Once established, you will own her. Then you will leave.”

“Gladly,” I said as I mimicked the small pulse of Aether that the slaver used, and the connection strengthened. “Come on,” I said, then directed her to the stairway up. She hurriedly followed directions, and I felt that disgusting collar pulse somehow. Her steps didn’t change at all, though. No idea what that was. I’ll have to get that collar off her as soon as I can. “Sia, can you meet me in a few minutes? I could use a ride to the inn with the girl the Illyrians captured.”

“What happened?” He asked back. I got the feeling of taking off from him, letting me know he was on the way. I explained the bet and the result. “Be there shortly.”

“Thanks,” I sent. I followed the girl out of the ship, then walked her down the gangway.

“One day, we will capture you,” Dahbashi said just after I stepped off the ship. “You will regret angering the Illyrian Empire when we do.”

I snorted, “One day, I will smash the walls of your queen’s residence and destroy the last vestige of resistance, freeing all your slaves and breaking your empire. This is but the start.” I turned away, grabbing the girl’s arm and guiding her towards land.

Right after we got off the dock I turned to her. “May I?” I asked, reaching for her collar.

“Yes, master,” she responded, her eyes closing. She was trembling lightly, holding her emotions tightly but I could feel she was very close to freaking out.

I sighed, then grabbed the collar. I felt over it with my hands and my Aether, and after a few seconds found the latch. It required Aether and physical manipulation at the same time, and then a click sounded. “I am not your master. No one is. If you’d like, I can take you to a place with friends. You can get cleaned up and changed. One of the girl’s clothes will fit you, I’m sure.”

She’d frozen at the sound of the collar coming undone. Slowly, her hands reached up to her neck, and she felt around for a second. She met my eyes for the first time, her expression full of shock. A second passed, and then her smile was blinding. She threw her arms around my neck. “Thank you, thank you, thank you,” she cried into my chest.

I looked around to see some Askhas nearby, who nodded at me. I hugged the girl back, knowing she needed comforting, and said, “Come on. We need to meet my friend.”

With a whoosh of displacing air, Sia landed in front of me in all his fiery glory. With a shriek, the girl fell behind me. “No, no, this is my friend, Sia. Sia, this is,” I paused. “Oh, uh, sorry. What is your name?” I asked, resisting the urge to facepalm.

“Samantha,” she said, staring at Sia. “He’s beautiful.”

“Yes, he is,” I said, focusing on speaking in English.

She turned to me fast enough to nearly fall down again, “You. You know my language?”

“We can talk more later. Just know, right now, my first priority is to get you to somewhere safe. We can talk about how and why we are here and what happened to you when you are safe. Sia is going to take us to the inn where I am staying with my friends and my mentors. Librarian Narwan, my mentor, is one of the most powerful people on the planet, so you will be safe,” I said, reaching out for her hand.

She nodded shakily, too many changes too quickly. She grabbed my hand, and Sia crouched. I helped her up onto his shoulders, and directed her on grabbing some feathers. I carefully set up an Aether attachment to her and Sia, then explained when she looked at me. “Just in case,” I winked then grabbed on. “Take us home,” I sent to Sia.

He cawed loudly, then leapt into the air. Samantha screamed, fear and excitement mixed like a child going on their first roller coaster. Sia flapped a few times, banking to the side gently. There were a dozen other Beasts flying, and a couple of Core level gatherers soaring through the air on their own power. Sia fell in behind another bird Beast, winging across the city towards the inn.

“I’m fairly tempted to sing A Whole New World right now,” I said.

She started laughing, which devolved into crying. She turned to look at me, “How did you free me?”

“I’m part of the team from the human kingdom, called Craesti, that is competing in the Tournament. My last fight was against an Illyrian team, and I bet that we would win. We did, and my reward was you,” I said. “Light showed me that you were there, so I knew I had to free you.”

“Why me?” She asked.

“You are special, but I want to free everyone. Though,” I paused. “Will everyone want to be freed?”

“Of course,” she said, but then she paused. “Or maybe not. Uh, I don’t know.”

“You’ll have time to think. I believe I could break into the ship and rescue people, but there are many Illyrians who could kill me without trying. We will need to plan before anything happens,” I assured her. “And if we can’t, I’ll make more bets and free them all that way.”

“You must be really strong,” she said, looking at me in a way that made me slightly uncomfortable.

“I’d like to think so. Aleks is probably stronger than I am,” I said. “Uh, I mean Princess Aleksandra of Craesti. Oh look, we’re here.” Sia flared his wings as we landed. “Thanks Sia.” I helped Samantha off and then stroked his shoulder.

“You are welcome, Aiden. Now, tell Jon to give Zim a few gathering powders. With a bit of work, I think I can get him to level five within the week. Kami and Lampart are a bit behind, but making progress smoothly. They will advance before we return home,” Sia sent to me.

“That’s amazing! I’ll make some powders for all of them. Do you need anything?” I asked.

“Remind Master Narwan about the Affinity powders. Last we spoke, he was close, but it has been two weeks,” Sia responded.

“Will do, my friend,” I patted his shoulder again. He butted his head into my chest, and I wrapped his neck with my arms. After a second, I released him and he leapt into the air. “Come on, Samantha,” I said.

“Please call me Sam,” she said, grabbing my arm. “Anyone who rescues me from slavery can call me Sam.”

“Okay Sam,” I smiled at her. “Let’s go meet my friends. Be warned, you’re about to get ridiculously mothered.” I escorted her in, and found Vaya, Jamila, and Hanna waiting in the front. I heard just about everyone else in the dining room, but the healers were waiting for us.

“Aiden,” Jamila said, stepping forward to grab my arm. “You are okay?”

“I am,” I smiled at her.

Sam let go of my arm quickly, “I’m sorry,” she said.

“Do not be,” Vaya said. “My boyfriend is no doubt more concerned with making you comfortable than in being comfortable himself.”

“Your boyfriend?” Sam asked, looking between her and Jamila.

“Yes, mine and Jamila’s. May I examine you?” Vaya asked. “Well, can we. We are all healers, and want to make sure that you are okay.”

“I’m definitely not okay, but I was healed only last week,” she said. “The lizards wanted us healthy enough to function. (Name) was even bragging to me that I got to advance because he did, and he needed a better source of Aether.” She shivered. “That meant I got to …” her voice cracked, and she stopped.

Vaya collected her into her arms, “You are safe now.” I felt the Aether flow through her, and Sam relaxed. The tension that consumed her vanished, and I realized that she was tiny. She was maybe one and a half meters tall, and fifty kilos soaking wet. She just collapsed into Vaya’s arms, shuddering with sobs. Vaya smiled at me, and I knew she approved.

Hanna walked over and stroked her hair. “You are safe. Come on, the rest of us have pooled together some clothing. Let us see if we can find something to replace these rags. There is a wonderful sauna, and then we will have a marvelous dinner to celebrate your arrival.”

I looked down at Jamila, who was wrapped around my chest. “Thank you,” I said, then looked up at Vaya before repeating it.

“We are doing this for her, not you,” she said. “But you need hugs too.”

“There were eighteen more humans there. Dozens of Topraki and Volk. Even a few Ashkhas. Stuck, enslaved. How can we allow that?” I asked, my voice cracking as the pain of leaving all the other people behind reached me.

“You freed her,” Jamila said. “You gave up extra rewards for yourself and your team to free her. You are a good man. The best man I know.” She reached up and pulled me into a kiss. “I do not know how, but I know you will save them. You make everyone around you better.” She squeezed me tighter, and I realized she’d taken on healing me, healing my emotions and mind, as her task just like Vaya and Hanna had taken on healing Samantha as their task. The other girls had already whisked her away, down the hall where the Aether Saunas were.

“Thank you,” I hugged her tighter.

“Come on, everyone else is waiting on you for dinner,” Jamila said, easily transitioning from a hug to holding my hand.

“What did I ever do to deserve you?” I asked as she pulled me to the dining hall.

“No idea, but it must have been something,” she laughed. She squeezed my hand and then let go so I could sit. “Eat. I am going to go assist Vaya and Hanna.”

My stomach growled loudly, and then everyone around burst out laughing. “Okay, guess I need to eat,” I laughed. Jamila smiled then hurried off. The rest of my friends took turns congratulating me, and I dug into the food.