Chapter Fifty-Nine

Ambrose Severen cursed, jerking his arm to a stop before he cleaved Andrea in half. A tempest raged in his chest; the grip on his axe was vice-like, his whole body quivering with the need to end the man Andrea had thrown herself in front of.

“Move,” Ambrose growled between clenched teeth.

She swallowed, her eyes shone with fear as her face drained of color and she licked her lips.

“No. You’re clearly not thinking. We need to know why he’s here, and if you kill him, we lose that. And...”

She took a deep breath, face flushed,

"He isn't offering us violence. You can't just kill him in cold blood."

“She has a point, Sir Knight,” Vivienne murmured beside him.

“I DON’T CARE! NOW MOVE SO I CAN KILL THE BASTARD!” Ambrose roared, and the island responded to his fury, shaking like a sudden earthquake.

Ambrose’s chest rose and fell like bellows. A fire roared around him.

And a child’s cry pierced the air.

Little Jenny was clinging to her father’s leg, looking at him with wide, terrified eyes, bottom lip quivering. Darren stared at him as if ready to face a threat he knew he wouldn’t survive. Andrea had closed her eyes in the face of the anger that radiated from him like a living thing.

“Killing him will not help you defeat Eric, Sir Knight,” Vivienne said calmly.

Ambrose closed his eye, taking a long, deep breath before letting it go. His heart's thundering beat slowed. Jenny’s terrified face filled his mind's eye, and with it, came shame. It was a shame that he had terrified a child, so it was a shame that he had very nearly lost control.

His body stopped shaking, his heart regained its steady beat, and the air of tangible wrath around him retreated. He blew out a breath, opening his eye.

“Andrea, please move. I’m not going to harm him.”

Andrea eyed him, slowly bringing her arms back down to her sides. Folding her bottom lip under her teeth, she moved out of the way. The man behind her looked…bored. He was completely unphased by the situation.

That almost sent Ambrose into another frenzied rage of killing intent, but he crushed the urge with an effort of will.

“What is your name, for starters?” Ambrose asked; every word he spoke was like chips of ice being broken off a glacier in the heart of the deepest winter.

“Dannill. I’m a ranger.”

“Why were you sent here?” Andrea asked.

Ambrose shot her a heated glare. She held up her hands, backing away.

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“Whoa there, hotshot. Okay, you’re the boss. Message received.”

Dannill scratched his chin, then yawned.

“Oh man, I’m tired. Look, man, I just came to tell you that Eric is planning a raid on this place with a large orc army, that’s all.”

Silence descended on the group. Dannill yawned again.

“And why would you tell us this?’ Ambrose said slowly.

Dannill shrugged,

“Well, it was a drag, so I didn’t want to. But Eric is crazy, you know? Some of the townsfolk, they started going missing and I found myself wondering about that.” His eyes glittered, showing a hidden edge Ambrose had not noticed was there before.

“Some of those people weren’t drags. They were friends. I discovered that Eric had been taking them and selling them in a town some hours away. Not cool, man, not cool at all. So when I found out he had enemies here, what he wanted to do? Well, math was simple for me, man.”

Ambrose wasn’t sure he was buying it,

“How do we know you aren’t just a spy or here filling some other agenda?”

Dannill scratched his cheek.

“Guess you don’t. Either way, man, in a couple of weeks? You’re about to be swimming in green-skinned, thick monsters. That’s gonna be a major drag for you. Eric? He wants you, man. Wants you bad and not in the good way.”

“What does he mean by that, Daddy?” Jenny piped up.

Darren shushed her with a muttered,

“When you’re older.”

He glared at the ranger, dark eyes glinting like polished obsidian.

Dannill did not care in the least.

Ambrose was inclined to believe him. Eric tended to hide his true nature, and Dannill finding it out and having a problem with it wasn’t a shock, especially in how his eyes reacted after he spoke.

“I believe you,” Ambrose said.

Darren shot him a look, folding his arms across his chest.

“What? Just like that. A moment ago, you were ready to murder him.”

Ambrose nodded,

“I was, and still am if it turns out he’s lying. I’m good at spotting liars. He isn’t. That means we have a couple of weeks to prepare. Vivienne, what are the island’s defenses like?”

The Lady of the Lake shook her head,

“Not much, Sir Knight. The Tree lacks enough power. You would need three more people of sufficient enough evil persuasion to power those defenses. Maybe we may have had enough if you had not requested information about Eirc.”

Ambrose scowled.

Then he turned to Andrea and the others.

“How quickly can we get defenses built?”

Darren rubbed his chin, eyes going upward in thought.

“We could get a wall up, maybe a trench along the beach with spikes. Those are just physical, though. It won’t hold up to an assault from skill-based attacks.”

“Why not just buy System stuff, man?” Dannill offered, looking at the tip of his finger.

Ambrose arched a brow at Andrea, flicking his eyes to Troy, who had sat rocking back and forth on the ground.

“Good question. Why can’t we do that?”

Troy looked up at him,

“The lady here said you all don’t have SC. Can’t get anything without SC.”

Ambrose already knew that the island had none stored, either.

“Oh hoh! I might have the answer to that, Sonny!”

Ambrose cast his gaze outward to see Thom trotting up to them, a big smile on his face.

In his weathered hands, he held a gleaming crystal. He slowed as he made his way up to the group, proudly holding up a crystal.

“It’s a mana crystal,” Vivienne murmured, “From the mines below.”

Thom beamed,

“Yes, Ma’am, uh huh! My profession lets me sense them. Do you know what these puppies are for?”

“Enlighten us,” Ambrose replied.

Thom beamed a toothy grin at them.

“They’re essential for smithing powerful weapons, armor, and items! Enchanters use them, too! Oh, and they act like mana batteries, powering wards and the like. Not to mention the use they have in alchemy. You have a whole mine filled with these babies. Up to A-Grade!”

Thom looked like he had just delivered the best news any group could receive. His chest was puffed up, and his face was stretched wide, his eyes glimmering with excitement.

“I can’t mine the A-Grade ones yet, but I’m sure these have value. Gotta have.”

Troy nodded, an avaricious light kindling in his eyes—the first real emotion other than hopelessness showing in him.

“They sure do. That’s like striking gold. You mine me up a bunch of these, and you’ll be rolling in SC.”

Ambrose looked at Thom.

“Congratulations, Thom. You’ve been promoted to our resident mining foreman. Grab who you need, and get to work.”