The day after our narrow escape, we received a surprise, a rather unexpected surprise.
Alistar had gone out delving by himself; despite the wounds, he wanted to be alone.
Roana’s leg would take a while to heal. The same could be said for Faruq’s wounds, and Harlow was busy repairing armor, creating weapons and ammo.
I was together with Nova and Loki; we had fed a Dark Crystal to Nova’s ready to upgrade Skill, Hidden Blade.
I tried Tracing it both with my Skills and the Tracer, and the results were the following:
> Shade Blade Skill Construct (Dagger Form)
>
> Durability: 87%
>
> Bonuses: Strength + 15
>
> Shade Capacity: 87%
>
>
>
> Strengths: Cold-inducing, Shade Construct
>
> Weaknesses: Flow
>
>
This Shade Blade was conjured by Nova Nightfold. It can offer a good and stable source of damage. Although very standard in terms of damage, it regenerates itself with the use of Shade. It’s chilly to the touch.
Hidden Blade - Focus
(Eligible for Promotion)
★ Summon a weak Shade blade
Your Shade blade power is also boosted by Strength
Focus + 3
I had helped her train it for the whole morning, and the results were terrific.
> Flow Blade Skill Construct (Shortsword Form)
>
> Durability: 100%
>
> Bonuses: Strength + 30
>
> Flow Capacity: 100%
>
>
>
> Strengths: Fire-inducing, Flow Construct
>
> Weaknesses: Shade
>
>
>
> This Flow Blade was conjured by Nova Nightfold. It can offer a nice and stable source of damage. Although not surprising in terms of damage, it regenerates itself with the use of Flow. It can ignite things on fire.
>
>
☆☆ Flow Blades - Focus
(Eligible for Promotion)
☆ Summon Flow blades
Your Flow blades’ power is also boosted by Strength
Strength + 6;
Focus + 6
Nova had lost the ability to summon a Shade blade but could now summon a Flow blade; no, blades. She could conjure two of them at the same time now, and thanks to the Promotion, their power was twice that of the previous blade.
With the Promotion, the blade wasn’t only longer, now roughly the size of a short sword, but it also looked denser and glowed intensely with solar energy.
It looked rather incredible seeing her wield a shortsword made of Flow in one hand and a dagger in the other; she looked… angelic; nun Vinny would have said.
In her Perk’s selection, she had chosen the best possible outcome yet had come out with another unexpected phrase that she didn’t really care to explain.
“The Moon said those are the best choices too.”
I was about to ask her what she meant by that when Loki, resting by the tree, got up, turning his attention at the distant valley.
Somebody was coming, and I could already say who that somebody precisely was.
The Flow-cart heading our way was one of those fancy ones used only by Sundoor’s elite.
Soon later, I could see Aisha walking through the passage in the net I had taught her; she waved energetically.
“Nova!” She called as she left the electrified trap.
Nova smiled and went to hug her.
They had built a nice sisterly relationship. Well, Nova was easy to love.
Aisha had often come to visit during these last three months. However, this time it had been unexpected.
She had always sent a clock-sparrow messenger to deliver news of her arrival, yet she hadn’t this time.
It felt weird, even a little hurried. I could read it in her steps.
I didn’t even give her time to say hi. “What happened?” I had to admit to myself, I was still entirely on edge for what happened the previous day.
“Hello to you too, Loke. I see you’ve forgotten an arm?”
“One of these days, I’m going to forget my head on the dresser.”
“That’s Loki! Did he evolve!? He looks so fluffy!”
“They all call him fluffy,” I shook my head, “he should look like a furious conqueror borrowing the power of the Sun. Instead, he looks like a stuffed animal; poor thing.” I addressed him then, scratching his head, “But don’t worry, that takes nothing away from your might. Right buddy?”
He did not really understand that concept, but he sat up proudly.
“That’s my boy. Anyway, Aisha, what brings you here?”
She sighed, “How can I say this… Do you recall that nomad tribe that fed the Sand-Wyrm with Cyclopses?”
“Of course, I do. What about it?”
“I don’t recall it,” Nova said.
“You weren’t there, sweety. You couldn’t know. Anyway, it seems despite the Inquisition’s… suggestions, they are at it again.”
“The Inquisition’s suggestions failing? That’s new.”
“Well, that is what it is, Loke. You can’t try to change the ways of an entire organization without falling into some… unexpected quid pro quo.”
“Well, master Thermomancer, why have you come here? You sure don’t need our help in this, do you? I mean, you remember the exact reason why we were about to have an inner fight to decide what to do about those nomads?”
I wasn’t about to fight with Alistar or Roana to help Aisha buy herself away in the Inquisition’s grace, even considering that she had saved our asses.
Alistar wouldn’t stand with us in forcing those people to leave, while Roana wanted to free the Cyclopses. We had decided on simply walking away and let Aisha solve it. But as it turned out, she didn’t.
“I’m not asking you to take any drastic measures. I want to bring you guys with me for counseling. You should know how to handle this situation; you can sympathize with the nomads, I hope.”
“Sympathize, uh? If that’s the only thing you’ll need, it should not be a problem… However, I should speak about this with the others.”
“Why? They can come as well,” she said.
“Oh, I doubt anyone will be coming. We’ve had… troubles ourselves. Come say hi,” I said, bringing her to Roana’s bed.
----------------------------------------
“Hello, Miss Harlow, you look… bandaged. Did you guys have a collective incident or something?” She asked as she saw Harlow work on her projects.
“Lady Aisha,” she slightly bowed, “Something like that. We delved. As much as my Loke will tell you, we did better than it was expected of us. We’ve just run into a few troubles. That’s it.”
“Well, I’m happy you are all fine and all, but when you say that you delved, you surely don’t mean in the Fallen Kingdom’s Dungeon, right?”
I chuckled, “Where else?”
“You’re crazy…” she said, half-mouthed. “Oh, I’m sorry, it’s just that. The Fallen Kingdom is for Ultimate Classes… you are… Advanced Classes, I mean…”
“Oh, we didn’t even reach the median ring; we are not that crazy. The Dungeon rebelled; it sent us a few dozens of its drones simultaneously. So, we didn’t really delve, not yet at least.”
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
“Still… anyway; I hope you just got flesh wounds.”
“Nothing serious. Roana upstairs is the one who is hurt the most, but she’s recovering quickly, thanks to sis.”
When we got to see Roana, she was elusive with Aisha, as she always was. I had yet to understand if it was just jealousy or something else. At times it almost felt like deep hatred.
Her behavior made me wonder about Roana’s true origins all the time.
Still, when we introduced her to the problem at hand, she immediately sat up on the bed, “Loke, you have to do something! I wanted to help those Cyclopses last time as well; see what happened!? You should have listened to me.”
“It’s not that easy, Ro. But at least, with Aisha here, we might hope to mediate some of the tension. I don’t really have an idea about what to do, but we’ll surely find something out.”
“Alright, just… just don’t take decisions that will make me hate myself for not having come with you…”
That was… harsh. But I nodded, “I shall try my best.”
On our way out, Harlow took me aside.
“Loke, are you running away?”
“What? No, I’m not. What does that even mean?”
“You are avoiding Alistar, and he’s avoiding you. Aren’t you a little bit too big to act like kids?” I couldn’t understand if she was serious or not, given her expression.
“I thought we had cleared up that what happened yesterday was not your fault. We are not your responsibilities, Loke. So why are you running away now? Let the Inquisition deal with their problems.”
I couldn’t believe Harlow was scolding me. Yeah, she was older than me, but she had never acted like that.
“Listen, I don’t know what is going on, but seriously. It’s not what you think. I’m just trying to build a nice relationship. I want to get Nova into that City, and you know it. Don’t you?”
“So you are not leaving without waiting to speak for Alistar because you don’t know how to face him, right?”
“No. No, I’m not.” Or… was I?
“Alright, cool, I guess. Then watch out for the Sunguards. They are elitists, and you better get ready for some unhealthy confrontation.”
“Yeah, got it, thank you. I’m going then.” I had to admit I was still confused about it.
“Loke?”
“Yeah?”
“You’ve still got only one arm, and you’ve got no boots and weapons on, you know?”
I looked at my feet.
Damn, she was right.
Yeah, I might have been trying to get away from that place.
----------------------------------------
“You are not coming, no sir!” I said to Nova.
“Why!? You promised I would not stay home anymore!”
“This is not Dungeon delving!”
“Loke, you know… Nova’s presence would actually be beneficial,” Aisha said.
Incredulous, I turned to stare at her, “Nova, could you give us a moment, please.”
She trudged away furiously.
“What are you doing?” I asked her.
“I’m not trying to do anything. But, you know what you asked me about? Right. Don’t you think we should start introducing you and your sister to some of the citizens of the place you want to join?”
That was a fair point.
“What about the Sunguard? Did you take a good look at her? Won’t those bastards try something funny with her? She’s still a child, Aisha.”
“Your sister is almost of age, Loke. You should start considering her as a girl, not as a child anymore. Besides, only because you’ve met a few degenerates doesn’t make all the Sunguards bad guys. Many people want to do nothing else but sincerely fight for their City and protect it. And if that’s not enough, you’ve got me. I’m a General’s daughter; you’ll be by my side all the time.”
I grunted; I didn’t really know how to answer that.
“You’ve got to get yourself some proper life experience that does not require killing things, Loke. Starting to understand a mentality different than yours could only help you.”
“Alright, alright. Let’s just go.”
----------------------------------------
> MoonSteel Clock-arm
>
> Durability: 100%
>
> Bonus: Strength + 45, Constitution + 65
>
> Shade Capacity: 100%
>
>
>
> Strengths: Mobile fingers
>
> Weaknesses: None
>
>
>
> This Clock-arm has been built by a Clock-technician. It is meant to be an arm adaptable to every circumstance. It offers the best bonuses Moonsteel alloy can offer. It has been covered in darkened leather to offer defense around scratches and for the looks.
>
>
I was staring at my new fantastic arm.
It looked exactly like one of Harlow’s; the only difference was in the fingers; hers were, even more, mobile, capable of splitting into smaller appendages to operate on more delicate parts. Also, hers were made in LunarTungsten. Almost indestructible.
It wasn’t easy to get LunarTungsten; actually, it was even harder than finding SolarTitanium.
Although the Wastelands were rich in Titanium for some reason, the transformation into SolarTitanium was done inside the City. Everything else was imported from nearby regions.
Anyway, I was staring at my clock-arm for one simple reason.
I did not want to gawk at Aisha’s Flow-cart insides.
Not only was it a massive cart, easily two times the size of the one Harlow had built.
Even Loki, with his big frame, could easily take the third row of seats in the back and sprawl on them freely.
Yeah, seats, there were proper seats in the Flow-cart. Also, it had a massive roof. It was nothing like the one we used. This looked more like an engine for war, and although it sported no guns, I guessed that its frame could easily resist Flow-gunshots.
The interiors were wonderfully developed, and there were all the possible accessories one might need in a long trip... there was even a small toilet somewhere, or so Aisha had said, I could not see it.
Anyway, this was a real luxury, of the likes only a true citizen of Sundoor could have.
I didn’t want to gawk because Nova was doing it for us both.
“Loke! Those are mirrors! Proper mirrors! I can’t believe it! And look how they are placed! It’s for seeing behind us! That’s so smart!”
I sighed, yet Aisha couldn’t help but chuckle, but her laugh was genuine.
There was only her in the Flow-cart, she drove it herself, and there were no escorts or conductors. That was to say how much the General trusted her or maybe in Logan.
Given their past, I could say that he really trusted Logan at least that much.
If there was something in which this enormous Flow-cart was inferior to Harlow’s, was its speed. It could not get as fast as hers. My Harlow had really outdone herself in building that excellent piece of clock-tech and all by her lonesome.
I did not want to bring up the acquiring citizenship project in front of Nova, not wanting to get her hopes up too much if it went wrong. However, I could make small talk.
“So, how is the situation looking? Are you taking those dreadful steps toward absolute power?”
“Loke, come on! You make it look like I want to become the Emperor.”
“Would you?” Nova asked out of the blue.
“What? No!” Aisha chuckled in response, “of course I would not. It’s already hard being a General’s daughter. I don’t even want to think about what my father has to deal with; imagine caring about an entire empire. I would never be able to do it.”
“I don’t know; you look capable to me,” Nova said.
“The Moon said it too,” she added.
Again with this Moon thing?
“What’s going on with you and this Moon? Did you properly heal your head? Why don’t you give it another round?”
She just laughed in response.
“It’s hard, Nova, really. Since I’ve come back, I’ve done nothing but build up other people’s trust in me, talking, speaking in Agorà’s reunions… I’m spent. Just look at my Politician’s level and see what I’m talking about,” she added, turning toward me.
Of course I did.
> Aisha Mustafa, Thermomancer Level 35 (255.693/360.000), Politician Level 40 (258.699/400.000)
>
> Health: 100%
>
> Stamina: 91%
>
> Flow Capacity: 100%
>
>
>
> Agility: 10
>
> Constitution: 10
>
> Strength: 10
>
> Focus: 40
>
> Perception: 12
>
> Willpower: 32
>
>
>
> Strengths: Focus, Willpower
>
> Weaknesses: Agility, Strength
>
>
>
> Class Skills: Thermal Resistance III (Constitution), Thermodynamics II (Focus), Feel the Flow (Perception), Flow Control (Willpower),
>
> Sub-Class Skills: Bolster III (Focus), Interpretation III (Perception), Speech III (Willpower), Luck of the Draw (Fortune)
>
>
>
> Race: Half-Human, Half-Elf
>
> Sex: Female
>
> Height: 169 cm
>
> Weight: 58 kg
>
> Age: 20
>
> Origins: Sundoor
>
> Family: Cyrus Mustafa, Aryawin Szariella
>
>
Damn… How could I not notice the difference? She had not only increased by six levels in her Politician’s Class level, but she had also greatly upgraded her Skills.
She must have used at least ten Dark Crystals to get to that point.
“Well, congratulations, and I hope you had a happy birthday.”
“You noticed?” She asked, surprised.
“How could I not?”
“Well, you are actually the first one to notice. My birthday was last week, but… well, everybody forgot, even my father and my mother,” she sighed, “It shows how much we are giving our all for the City, doesn’t it?”
She was having it tough if her parents forgot about her birthday.
Even in paradise, there were troubles.
“Loke always forgets his own,” Nova added. “I don’t understand how he doesn’t forget mine, though, since they are only one week apart.”
“That’s because he loves you more than anything. It’s pretty clear to me,” answered Aisha.
Nova smiled but didn’t answer back.
“You’ve trained your Speech too much,” I told Aisha, getting a chuckle out of them.
----------------------------------------
Our objective was to reach the western Drylands, the massive Sundoorian Sand-crawler was waiting by a natural rock formation in the middle of the desert.
They had likely parked the Sand-crawler there to protect it from Earth-Dragons, which we now knew were nothing else but Sand-Wyrms.
Still, the one we had seen was massive, and facing such a massive beast in case it went berserk only with the help of Skills would... unlikely work.
However, using the Sand-crawler’s Flow-cannons… let’s just say that it became a manageable task.
I had already seen them up-close once, Sand-Crawlers, yet I hadn’t got Tracing back then. Now I did.
That was why once we neared the Sand-Crawler, I was peeking my head out of Aisha’s Flow-cart’s mobile roof to take a look at those massive guns.
> Sand-Crawler’s Flow-Cannon
>
> Cooldown: 28 Seconds
>
> Durability: 99%
>
> Flow Capacity: 100%
>
> Flow Density: 5612
>
>
>
> Strengths: Massive blasting power
>
> Weaknesses: Dependant from the presence of the Sun, Slow recharge
>
>
>
> This Flow-Cannon is an original Sundoor’s product. It can only be found mounted on top of Sand-Crawlers or on Sundoor’s city walls.
>
> Its power is such that each attack would require one thousand Crystals per blast; for that reason, it can only shoot during the day. However, it can store up to five blasts worth of Flow.
>
>
—Massive power.
Ten times more powerful than an Avian repeating cannon. However, I would choose an Avian repeater ten out of ten times.
It could shoot many, many... blasts before it went into overheating, used one-tenth of its required Crystals, yet was less mobile.
These cannons could instead be oriented pretty much anywhere.
“So, we are going there, into the Sand-Crawler?”
“Yeah.”
“To find your father’s assistant and a Sundoor’s captain…”
“Yes? Are you having second thoughts?”
“No, I’m just a little on edge… anyway; what about Loki?”
“He can come with, of course. There is always at least one Tamer on board a Sand-Crawler.”
“And how did you say I could justify his… rank?”
“You’ll say that you found it in the forest. By the way, you were not the only one who did. I think somebody has taken one of those Titan hatchlings you told me about. They likely found it during the scavenging of the Titan’s corpse and took him with them. The gator has become some sort of a celebrity in Sundoor; you should see it,” she said, chuckling.
There was another Titan hatchling we hatched, and it was in the City? And there, I thought they had died.
Damn.