Sirsir strode into the darkened chamber and peered over the edge into the black abyss below. He huffed, golden plasma puffing from his nostrils like a dragon snorting flame. Without a care, he stepped off the top of the stairs and fell. Just before he hit the ground, he flared his thrusters. Raw plasmic thrust roared from vents on his back, feet, and hands as he landed into a crouch. The momentary burst of light also helped to illuminate the dark.

He’d spotted a freaky-looking woman with more eyes than she had a right to owning. She chuckled as she looked him over the same way he studied her. A silent standoff settled in between them. Shifting uncomfortably he blinked first as a courtesy. Didn’t want to go pissing off a goddess or anything.

“So uh, here I am. As requested.”

“So you are.” the goddess said with a pleased smile. He noted the fangs at the edges of her smile. “Can I be honest with you?”

He shrugged, “Sure. Why not?”

“I usually only take this form to make mortals feel less ill at ease. You know… the whole spider thing doesn’t exactly sell well. Especially with women. But I personally find my natural form more comfortable. Would you mind terribly if I shifted back?”

“Lady, this is your house. I’m not here to tell ya how to dress.”

“You may regret those words shortly.” Her voice mused with mirth as she faded into the darkness of the large stone chamber.

He felt something shift. Like an oncoming storm changing directions. A switch in pressure. Multiple long hairy spider legs crept forward from the dark, and a large set of fangs quivered in front of him, crowned by a ring of jet-black eyes. Large scaled wings unfurled behind the spider bat lady’s body, and Sirsir suddenly felt tiny.

“Gods damn… we sure as shit could have used you on Hidros.”

A deep rumbling laugh issued from the massive creature that shook the walls and ceiling. The pressure from her aura alone was enough to almost bring him to his knees, but he was strong. He could take it.

“I suspect you could have. But my sister’s spell gave you all exactly the right tools you needed to handle the task. And now, here you are. About to recieve yet more tools so that you might act as arbiters of will. My Hand of Fate. My weapons of prophecy.”

“That sounds amazing and all. And I’m sure the others were very curious about all of… that.” He said, waving his hand in a broad gesture to her words. “But I’m really only interested in kicking those shacklers scaley asses. Got anything for that?”

Another deep rumbling laugh issued from the spider bat goddess. Hells she was huge. “I’m beginning to understand how you process such horrors as the battlefield in stride so easily.”

“Sayin’ I’m stupid or something?”

“Never. Merely that you are a man of focus on the things that matter most. Which, ironically, are very few. You’re not one for details and nonsense. You leave that to more capable and interested minds. Freeing your own up for the necessities. It’s a very reductive perspective, but an effective one in the light of so much chaos.”

Sirsir squinted at her response, still unsure if she’d insulted or complimented him or not. “Mhm. So how about we take me and my reductive perspective and get this show on the road? I’ve got assholes to kick.”

“Indeed you do.”

One of the long thick tarantula looking legs reached out and ever so gently touched the chest of his spell armor. As she did, raw magic poured into him like an uncorked dam. Fire raged within him. More than just magic, it was fusing with his soul. He was more for the experience now.

System Info: You have gained Magic Infusion: Greater Fire Magic. To prepare you for the battles to come, you’ve gifted two Fire Magic infusions enabled greater fire magic. Gain +6 AP and +6 Fire resistance.

When the flow of magic slowed to a trickle before finally ceasing. Sirsir fell to his knees, gasping. He felt like he’d just taken a bath in the middle of a ship’s exhaust. And yet, the heat didn’t bother him. Not like he’d expected it to. Slowly, he pushed himself back up to his feet. The effort was less than it would have been previously. He unslung his machine gun and let off a controlled burst. Softball sized orbs of explosive fire poured from the muzzle like a firehose on full blast.

He lit the large chamber in shades of red and orange as his stream of explosive firebolts splashed against the far stone wall. His attacks did nothing, as though the wall had been tempered against his magic. That was good. He could push himself hard without worrying about being disrespectful. Satisfied with the demo of his power, he slung the spell machinegun back over his shoulder and turned back to the spider bat lady.

“You’re alright. Wasn’t sure what to expect, but you definitely didn’t fit the bill of stuffy god expecting worship.”

“Times like these, I’ve learned that being non-traditional is what is best served. Often, what is old doesn’t serve the new. My time as an active agent of the light had long come to a close. But I can empower others to do so in my stead.”

Sirsir folded his arms. A no bullshit approach that kept the big picture clear. He liked that. “You leave the bullshit for more interested minds, too. I respect that.”

He held his fist and out the Spider bat lady actually fist bumped him. Yeah, she was alright. It turned its body to face up the stairs. His time was up. He gave her an understanding nod.

This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

‎ “Time to go. It was nice chattin’ with ya spider bat lady.”

The Goddess’ rumbling laugh shook the chamber and he had to channel his newly aquired fire magic into his limbs to keep himself from trembling to the ground before he hit the stairs.

“You as well Mortal. Upon your exit, your means of conveyance shall make itself known.”

“Good lookin out.”

He turned to face the climb of stairs ahead of him and grinned. Good thing he wasn’t a chump that skipped on PT. With an eager vigor, he raced up the steps. Of the entire squad, he’d been in the best shape until the LT started working out with him. Now it was more a matter of his rough brawn canceling out the LT’s rough speed. They made a good pair in combat. The thought of how well the fuzzies had progressed and grown gave him a proud smile. Some of that had been his own handiwork, after all.

Granted, he’d only pulled the best bits they already possessed forward and gave them definition. Blew some of the dust out of the cracks and made a good foundation for them to build on. But even the strongest house fell to a weak foundation. Something he didn’t want to see happen to the LT or Amara. His heart rate rose to a steady rhythm, matching his strides as he took the stairs two and three at a time. Finally, at the top, he slowed down and let himself catch his breath, which didn’t take as long as he’d expected.

“Not bad.” he said to himself. “This new magic is pretty solid shit.”

Sure, he could have channeled his light magic to repair the damage and ease his exhaustion, but that felt like cheating if he wasn’t pushing iron. He was an old-fashioned guy. Big man shit only came from good hard effort. He strode into the chamber at the top of the stairs the others stood on.

“Sgt.” Morwen greeted him.

“Sirsir.” Akamori said.

Amara said nothing, simply giving him a wave. It was gods damned good to see the gang again. Spider bat lady was cool, but she had that creepy oppressive aura thing going. And the darkness. Way too much darkness. He glanced around, noting there was a distinct lack of anything ship like.

“So uh, not to interrupt, but has anyone else noticed we’re short a ship?”

Akamori turned and nodded with a broody frown. His time with those elves at the war college did not do well for him. The LT was still the same guy, but something had changed. He could tell. It was in the way he looked at everyone. Like he had the eyes of a hawk. Sizing everyone up for a fight. Something about that unsettled him deep down. Could he still trust the LT?

“Yeah, we were just discussing that lightly. We’ve managed to get ourselves here, but the way back seems to be obscured for now.”

“We were just about to take bets on how we’re sent back. My money is on a portal of some type.” Amara said.

“Ship.” Akamori said.

“I’m for portal as well.” Morwen said.

Sirsir folded his armored arms for a moment, thinking about it. They were in a pretty large chamber. Large enough to fit a starship of reasonable size. A corvette could squeeze in here easily. “My credits are on a ship, too.”

“Great. So now we just wait I guess.” Akamori said. Sirsir caught the toe of his boot, tapping impatiently on the stone floor. That was just like him, always on the move, in action. Couldn’t blame Akamori, really. He wanted to get out there and smash some heads, too.

They waited in relative quiet for some time until the double doors opened behind them and Arjun stumbled through looking equal parts confused and awed. He pointed back into the darkness and then towards the space behind them. His mouth worked, but no words came out. Sirsir sighed.

“Out with it already.”

“Sashlu said I should direct your attention to the space behind you. I didn’t understand why at first, but well… I guess now I do.”

Sirsir studied the dark-skinned man. Arjun’s eyes locked on something, and Sirsir turned to follow where he was looking. Sure enough, behind them sat a large ship sitting on the stone floor. It was long and sleek, with sweeping curves and smooth design language.

There were no markings on the hull to designate it. And it sure didn’t look like it belonged to any of the major powers in the sector. Whoever built it did so out of system or long ago. Possibly both for all the squad knew.

Sirsir whistled, impressed at the foreboding armaments. The ship sported 4 spell cannons. The Cadaver Crasher was a threat, as it was. Having three more cannons meant this little ship could punch well above its weight class.

“Oh, hells yeah. I cannot wait to see what kinda spells we can hurl from this thing.”

The LT’s jaw fell to the floor until Amara elbowed him. Sirsir took a few steps forward to stand at the crimson-haired spell warrior’s shoulder. “Whatcha think, sir?”

“I wish we had this at Hidros.” Akamori said, awestruck.

“Yeah. Me too. Woulda meant a lot of those marines didn’t have to die.”

“Yes. As well as the wounded naval vessels.” Morwen said. Her gaze was dark with reverie.

He clapped a comforting hand on Morwen’s shoulder. The Captain always wore loss hard. The LT too. That was part of why he’d been so comfortable putting the man up for the job. He cared, and he used his head. This wasn’t a stat padding gig for him. He was in it to win it.

When Arjun rejoined the group, everyone exchanged what they’d gained from Sashlu. That was the spider bat lady’s name, apparently. He supposed he probably should have asked for that in retrospect. His mama always said his manners could get a little slack sometimes. He just wasn’t very interested in a lot of this social nicety bullshit. Too much slap ass, and not enough ass kicking for his tastes.

Once everyone shared, they approached the ship as a group. Akamori linked up with the ship and lowered the boarding ramp. As the ramp drew down from the skin of the ship, Everyone drew weapons hesitantly but him. He had so much damn power now he was his own weapon.

“I am so ready to flex on some stupid, scaley bastards.”

‎