hcmills

Chapter 49: The Power of Words

With the back of his hand, Rylan wiped away the warm, salty liquid running down his philtrum, the taste of copper on his lips.

His nose didn’t feel broken, and either way, Ethereon was already soothing the sting, though not his pride.

Soren’s spirit was still emerald green, but Rylan had no doubt his friend had made his own gains over the past seasons. Either way, seeing the young noble stand tall in front of Tamina, willing to fight on Rylan’s behalf, filled him with warmth...

Chapter 48: Girl Trouble

Seeing his father’s squared back appear in front of him, Rylan felt his heart plummet. “No!” he cried, grabbing onto Artoran’s shoulder, knowing deep down that it was too late, the javelin was already flying, shining like a miniature sun from all the—

A blue glow came flying in from the side of Rylan’s vision. Suddenly, a figure clad in the Thistlethorn crimson and blue was there, slamming down her glowing spear on the projectile mere feet in front of them.

The javelin...

Chapter 47: Impact

As the whistling rapidly crescendoed, Rylan instinctively turned to look over his shoulder.

Something smashed into the attacking warship’s deck. The impact rocked the entire vessel, sending out a wave of pressure that momentarily cleared the smoke as soldiers were sent flying like ragdolls amidst a rain of bamboo splinters.

Some of the casualties landed in the whirling dance hosted by Artoran, who kept singing and playing without a hitch even as he ducked one of the falling sold...

Chapter 46: Precious, Precious Time

Rylan’s stomach sank as he watched the tip of the massive harpoon slowly shift to face them.

Harpooning another vessel to pull them closer was a staple of naval combat, and while he’d long dreamed of witnessing or even participating in such an event, Rylan had somehow never pictured himself on the receiving end.

“What do we do?” Leahna called out frantically.

“Not much we can do,” Nazyr grunted. “Better cut the cable quickly if they hit, ’fore they p...

Chapter 45: Bait and Switch

A drop of condensed fog still from down in the tubes dripped down from Rylan’s hair onto his nose. He ignored it, his gaze firmly focused on the solid bamboo railing he was squatting behind. Or rather, on the two blobs of blue approaching from the other side. Two. It seemed like Tamina had reached the Sapphire-Grade.

On the one hand, he was happy for her and moreover, relieved that her Mana Shell would be sturdier for it. On the other hand, it only made their odds of escaping here low...

Chapter 44: Flagging

“Nice one, Dad!” Leahna cheered as his barrels left the Talons’ men in disarray. She followed the statement up by picking off another soldier with a well-aimed arrow.

Rylan followed suit, two more of his knives finding flesh in quick succession.

While the soldiers’ sprint had been aborted and their path partially obstructed, they were quickly rallying and putting up their shields towards the ship again.

At the front, men were scrambling to their feet and pushing away...

Chapter 43: Barrel Forth

Rylan did his best not to think about the expanse below him as he transferred all of his weight to his arms and pulled himself up out of the fog inlet.

He opted to climb using only his arms, not willing to test the harpoon’s grip by bracing his legs against the stone of the cliff. Between the floaty fog and his 3 in Strength, it was easy enough.

The last few feet up to the docks would be the most challenging, but he figured he could—

[Hold on, Boss, a couple of soldiers ...

Chapter 42: Just Keep Holding On

Nazyr managed to detach the wheel in record time, causing Rylan to wonder how often the man had taken wheels off of carts before.

He imagined they could fetch a decent price on the black market. The spokes might be made of bamboo, but the rim was solid steel.

Lowering the rather heavy wheel down into the hole beneath the stone cover was a bit of an endeavour, but it thankfully did fit.

Standing at the bottom of said hole, Rylan turned towards the huge fogtube that ran along ...

Chapter 41: Window of Opportunity

Rylan took in the scene in the kitchen, keeping his face blank. The squad’s commander was leaning back in his father’s comfortable chair, one leg folded over the other, seeming entirely unconcerned about the deaths of his subordinates. Meanwhile, Artoran was on his knees, the woman behind him holding him up with a fist in his shaggy dark hair, and pressing a dagger to his throat.

Rylan glanced at the closed shutters on the street side. ‘Arphin,’ he sent along their tether. ‘Te...

Chapter 40: Where there's smoke...

As the skirmish outside moved further down the street, Nazyr led the party out the back door into a dirty alleyway. Up ahead, a man quickly darted through a doorway, slamming it shut behind him, seeming spooked by their sudden appearance.

Rylan paid the man no heed as he jogged after the former pirates. While he’d lived in Cliffport for over two seasons, he hadn’t gotten around to much exploring, so he had little idea where they currently were.

Even as they cautiously crossed ...

Chapter 39: Footprints in the Dark

The crawl through the long tunnel was tense, the occasional thundering boom shaking the stone around them even down here.

Rylan tried very hard not to imagine being buried by a cave-in, and just kept crawling.

When they at last exited through Kher’s secret door into the larger caves, he sighed with relief. To be honest, he had no idea whether this place was actually any safer than the cramped tunnel, but it definitely felt that way.

Unfortunately, he didn’t spot...

Chapter 38: Hazardous Precipitation

Tense as things were, there was little Rylan could do to speed up the cloudcrank from his position on one of the wings, and they still had a ways to go. Restless, he decided to check his new Skill—and his mana reserves—as it might very well come in handy.

“Blessed Ethereon,” he mumbled into the wind. “Please show me my Status and Stealth Skill Windows.”

Status

Mana
Pool: 14/14
Shell: 4.2/6

Attributes
2025-09-15 17:25:52 +0000 UTC View Post