Emily’s foot plunged into the water, sinking up to her ankle as it hit the bottom of the rocky shore. She’d sprung for the waterproof version and found herself grateful for that decision every day. After leaving the first peak Emily, Atticus, and Mist had ‘sailed’ to the next island with little trouble. At one point they thought another lake serpent was attempting to sneak up on them, but they were spared when the skies finally opened up and torrents of water covered their escape.
This led to another problem: the boat was beginning to fill up with water, and at this point, Emily was sitting in a canoe of mildly warm water as they tried to bail it out.
Atticus had even made a few holes in the side, but he couldn’t put them too far down, or he’d risk sinking them.
Sadly, neither of them were Shipwrights, so their knowledge of how buoyancy worked was limited. They found that by stopping at an island now and then, they could empty out the rainwater and keep going, though Mist was starting to stink something fierce.
The cloud cover proved to be another boon because it obscured the peaks, making traveling far safer, if not a lot more unpleasant.
“We should rest at the next Island, we don’t know how much longer our luck will last, and if you’re going to have to send me ‘flying’ again, I at least want some rest!” Atticus hollered over the storm.
Emily nodded and turned to look at the current island. They had managed to hop two islands in a day and this particular one was far smaller than all of the previous ones, with barely any trees or even cover from the rain.
There was still enough daylight trying to break through the clouds that one last trip could be made. Hopefully, the next one would be better.
Emily helped turn the craft over and tip out the stale water that had collected on their journey and then righten it in the water. Climbing back in she tried to find her bearings, Explorer was telling her that the next island was straight ahead but it was hard to make out through all this rain. she was relying on her title and the Cardinex to guide her through the storm. Atticus’s skill helped keep them on track but it didn’t help them navigate the waters as well.
All three of them were tired, even Mist who had done nothing more than huddle in the boat was felling it.
Emily was starting to reach her limits, and the source was getting harder and harder to pull in as she felt herself become faint.
“Alright, I have one more trip in me and then we have to rest, I’m not going to go into source exposure but it's better to be safe than sorry.”
Atticus shot her a thumbs up instead of answering and then pushed off from the island having been there for only five ten minutes.
Hopping back into the boat, Emily reengaged the lift spells and sent the boat forward into the storm. The choppy waters covered their escape as the island behind them grew smaller by the minute. It was only twenty minutes into their journey when the next island came into view, but that was not what surprised Emily.
It usually took about an hour for the islands to look like they were making any progress toward them, but this one seemed to creep up far faster than the others—and that was due to its massive size. While all the islands were large, this one was a cut above the rest, easily dwarfing any she’d seen so far. It was so enormous that it even had additional vegetation, not just the sparse trees near the waterline.
It looked like a jewel of green amongst the grey and blue.
Atticus’s gaze locked onto the island with worry etched across his features.
“What’s going on?” Emily had to scream over the pearls of thunder.
“The last time we passed through here we went around the outer edges, I thought we were doing that now, but we must have gone a little off course. Kael said to avoid the center if at all possible.”
Emily worked her jaw as she searched the horizon. There were no nearby islands other than the one they’d come from.
“Well we can’t go back now, so it’s either this one or find a much longer route around and I don’t have time for that.”
Emily stared at the veritable paradise on the horizon. She needed to get back to Alex as soon as possible because the longer she remained away from him the higher the chances he could be hurt or killed.
This was Emily’s bottom line, because if he died, so did her ticket in this world, and she was just getting used to it here.
We’re going!” Emily said, leaving no room for argument.
Atticus glanced back at Emily through the downpour.
“With a lack of a better option, I’m in agreement but staying there for a couple of hours should be more than enough, and then we leave, got it?”
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Emily nodded. If Kael wanted to stay away from the area then that was a good reason to do so.
They continued for another half an hour and the island's shore welcomed them.
Emily hopped out of the boat crashing into waist-deep water as she yanked the boat back with Atticus’s help. The island was so large that the shore was filled with flakes of charcoal-grey sand. Stepping into it Emily could see how each piece glittered in the light with sharp edges. It looked like a sea of glass and judging by how sharp the grit looked it was probably just as dangerous.
Both Emily and Atticus were already glancing along the shore for threats and potential hideouts. They hadn’t been on land for more than a minute when a sudden suffocating presence descended from the skies.
Emily’s hackles rose immediately and blood surrounded her as her gown splayed out around her, lifting her from the water.
Atticus dashed onto dry land and had his blades drawn and ready, even Mist vaulted from the boat and lowered his stance into a defensive one.
All three of them waited as they searched for the origin of the sensation. Emily had never felt anything so primal and raw, and she’d been through it all. Her nose tickled as the scent of burning wildlife coiled through her nose. It was then that Emil pinpointed the origin.
It was a Wyrm, but something was different about the scent. This sensation was far more powerful than anything she’d encountered so far, and she couldn’t even hear telltale wings on the wind.
Seconds stretched to minutes as they remained frozen in waiting, and yet nothing ever came. Only, the sensation got stronger as time went on and thunder shook the world above them.
Emily didn’t even dare blink as the rain caressed her face and ran down her neck.
She glanced at the peaks but couldn’t see anything moving up there, but then the thunder struck again.
Frowing to herself she felt something was off about the sound, then it happened again. Only this time closer and she knew what it was, it was an impact shaking the air.
Something was fighting in the air above them and it was so loud that they could hear it all the way from down here. Every hit mimicked the strike of thunder as it stretched across the island.
Emily stared up at the peak and squinted through the rain which let up just temporarily when a flash of black light shook the peak, followed shortly by a tremendous impact.
“Somethings going on up there, we need to find cover!” Emily growled at Atticus, who seemingly came to the same conclusion.
There was just one problem with that, the fear or pheromones leaking into the land was crippling.
The scent was so powerful it coated the back of Emily’s throat and almost made her gag at the sweetness.
Mist frothed at the mouth as he growled savagely. Emily tried to calm him down through their tenuous link, but the beast had long gone into flight or fight mode. Atticus attempted to grab Mist’s reins, but Emily got herself moving and yanked the man, pulling him back.
The Rime wolf felt something touch his flank and turned with red in his eyes, lunging with an open maw.
Emily battered him away with a whip of blood sending the frightened beast splashing into the water and making a break for it.
“Let’s go!” She said pointing to the tree line. Forgetting everything else.
Atticus saw that she wasn't even waiting for him and dashed after her.
The world shook with a roar that tore at the closing evening. Above, Emily could finally hear the sounds of beating wings amongst the clouds.
Then another flash of darkness descended and broke through the clouds, sending the single largest Wyrm Emily had ever seen hurtling toward the ground.
Which, granted, was only one—but this thing looked like a titan compared to the one she’d seen a couple of weeks ago. Its body was easily five to ten stories tall, and it could only stabilize itself mid-air because of its impressive wingspan.
Emily saw it hover there above them for what felt like an eternity, but then something else descended from the clouds. A speck on the horizon that could only be humanoid moved at a constant rate, floating there like a deity. When another Wyrm emerged from the clouds behind it, Emily’s eyes narrowed.
The nosedive was silent, but a sudden ray of dark light shot out from the speck, cleaving the Wyrm in two.
Granted it was a terrier compared to the great dane that had just fallen from the sky but still. Emily had been rearing to fight one of these things but she could happily say she felt no desire to tangle with this particular creature.
Just then they got to the treeline and Emily spotted a small group of elves cowering, not even looking up when the two of them came running through.
Had it been any other situation she would have happily taken advantage of their catatonic states, but she needed to find a place to lay low. She could still see the two entities through the treetops, staring off at one another.
Atticus moved quickly, spotting a particularly large tree with roots spread just wide enough for them to slip into the recess. He used some sort of skill, disappearing in a flash of heat and reappearing at the den opening, where he lowered himself inside. By the time Emily got there, he held out a hand to her, but something stopped her just short of the entrance. She glanced up into the sky.
The two figures had finished their standoff, and dark light began to gather around the flying speck. It was strange to watch—a brightness made of pure shadows, like staring into ultraviolet.
The Wyrm responded, drawing a deep breath into its enormous lungs before releasing a stream of white-hot flames toward the speck. The attacks collided, and the impact sent a visible tremor through the air. This was a battle between two powerful beings—one beast and, possibly, one human.
Emily stared up in awe, a deep longing resurfacing—a desire to reach that level once again.
“Emily! Get down here!” Atticus's voice was tight with urgency as he grabbed her arm, but she resisted, needing to see the outcome.
Light and shadow twisted together, scattering nearby clouds. Orange sunlight streamed through, and Emily could just make out the two figures against the sky. For a few moments, they seemed evenly matched. Then the dark light began to overpower the flame. The Wyrm reacted quickly, raising a claw and swiping down at the speck with deadly precision.
The airborne figure was clearly immobilized but managed one final counterattack—a beam of light tore through the Wyrm’s chest, though it came at a price. The Wyrm’s massive claw continued its descent, slamming into the speck and sending it hurtling into the mountainside with enough force to shatter the rock.
Emily’s eyes widened as both combatants plummeted from the sky, but now the shockwaves were too powerful to ignore. Destruction shook the island as rocks and vegetation were blown away near the point of impact. Emily staggered, struggling to stay upright, but Atticus yanked her down with him, pulling her into the grove.
The last thing she saw was the Wyrm’s colossal form tumbling down, dangerously close to their hiding spot.
Blood points: 184