Chapter 6: Search

On the other side of the mountain, Synto and company rested amidst the carnage. It wasn’t easy to get sleep with the sounds of fighting and monsters nearby, but they had found a defensible nook in the side of the mountain after Hessius had fallen and caused a landslide. That was the last they’d seen of Adriana, probably for good.

Someone had yet to accept it.

“We have to go back for her,” Davos insisted. It was about an hour before dawn, and they’d all caught a couple hours of sleep while one kept watch. No man or monster came close to their nook, but tension remained.

“It’s pointless,” Synto said. He remained looking down over the battlefield. There were still many fires and skirmishes left, hours after the main battle ended. After the Maw killed Hessius, she vanished, taking with her half her creations. The remaining humans spent the night culling the beasts, before they too regrouped to leave.

“How is it pointless? She could still be alive. We need to find her, she’s my responsibility.” Davos’ leg jiggled up and down nervously.

“She’s probably dead, Davos,” Synto said, then added a bit of sympathy to his voice. “No matter how fierce and fiery she was, no one survives having a mountain fall on top of them. Put her out of your mind. There’s still plenty of loot to be had after this.”

“Not everyone cares only about loot,” Davos muttered, but he didn’t put up any more fight.

That was for the best. Synto wasn’t the most patient man, and he was grateful to be rid of Adriana. Sure, she could fight and was willing to brave things most others wouldn’t. She’d proven that much in the past couple of jobs. None of that mattered when she didn’t obey, talked back, and was so overwhelmingly full of herself. It served the stupid child right to die after she refused to listen.

Of course, they’d been swept up in Hessius’ Aura at the time. It had helped them fight and defeat fierce monsters that otherwise might’ve overwhelmed them, but then it got Adriana killed. Win/win. Synto chuckled and returned his focus to the battlefield.

He’d known something was going to go down, he just hadn’t known how big it would be. Dahkres Island was a nothing stretch of mountains on the southern side of the archipelago with no real arable land. There was no reason to be there, except to fight. His information had proven right, and they had one source of pure Divinity claimed, and several instances of Bestia to sell.

There were no telling how many empowered humans fought the night before, or how many died. Synto would put good coin on most of them abandoning their comrades and fleeing when Hessius fell. That meant it would be a big day for scavengers like them. A little more Divinity spread around and they could take on better paying jobs. Maybe even reach hero level.

Mykos stirred, and Synto was alert immediately before he calmed himself. Since he was at the first level of ascension, his hearing had been enhanced past average human levels, and he was attuned to those around him. Yet another reason he made decisions for the group. They were weaker than him and didn’t notice half as much.

“Good, you’re awake. We’ll eat and then go down to the beach to collect what we can. Afterwards, we’ll head back to the boat and find a safe place to offload all the Bestia. Unless one of you two fancies rolling the dice and seeing if you can retain your humanity.”

Davos shot him a dirty look, but Mykos was in the process of sitting up. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and nodded without giving him any shit. An improvement. Adriana had been the worst when it came to listening, but Mykos wasn’t much better. When she was around, he was prone to misbehave more, all to try to impress him. It would be amusing if it wasn’t sad.

“Got it? Good. Be ready to move in fifteen minutes.” The leader reached into his pack and pulled out some hard cheese, smoked fish, and dried berries. It wasn’t a hot meal, but if you wanted to eat well, you went to the cities. Out here in the wilderness, it was better to stay lean and on the move.

The sky started to lighten by the time they were done eating, pissing, and breaking camp. Davos took the lead as usual, scouting ahead and checking their paths. For a moment, Synto wondered if the light-footed rogue would run off without them and go look for his friend. His divine gift, the Mystery of Vulnerability, said nothing to him.

It usually only worked when there was an active choice to be made, but every now and then it whispered an impulse in him, a warning of danger or betrayal. He’d had more divine powers once, in a different life. Now this was his only ability, and it served Synto far better than any before.

The way to the beach where the battle had been fought was a windy, twisty trail down the mountain and through a path of thorny overgrowth. The entire time they pushed past thick fronds and skirted stinging brush, they kept their eyes out for ambushes. Davos led them safely through, and to the beach itself.

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“The warrior we’re searching for is still there,” said Mykos, pointing to an outcropping of rocks in the distance. “But it’s weird. My sense of him is coming and going.”

“Then he’s dying,” said Synto. “Good news for us. Lead on.” He motioned with his hand for Davos to go in that direction.

The beach itself was a wasteland of bodies and blood. Bestia lay scattered on the sand, as did the bodies of monsters who died without releasing their bounty. Most of the human bodies had weapons or shredded armor, but no open Divinity. Far away, they could see a few other people moving amidst the chaos, but Synto wasn’t worried about them yet.

The warrior lay underneath a ten foot long, recently dead lizard with eight legs. Its mouth was buried into the warrior’s guts, and the man breathed shallowly. He was pale and shaking. Davos got there first and frowned. He knelt and offered the man his waterskin.

“What’s the point, Davos? A bit of water’s not going to save his life, now is it?” Synto stood over the dying man and his henchman and smirked. “Are there any more of you around here, or are you going to be the only bounty we find today?”

The warrior looked at him with weak eyes. His face twisted with a grimace. Rather than saying anything, he just spat blood on Synto’s boots.

“Well, we can’t have that, can we?” Synto kicked the warrior in the face. Again, and again, until he stopped moving and a silvery orb emerged from his mouth. Then, with trembling hands, Synto picked it up.

The orb pulsed in his hand, and he could almost hear whispering from it, goading him on to consume it and gain its power. Gods, he wanted to. As far as power went, this one was potent. Not the most he’d felt from Divinity, but it would bring him to the next level of ascension. At least.

“Was that necessary?” Davos’ voice shook him from his thoughts.

“Hmm?” Synto looked up from the Divinity. The fleet-footed man glared at him with disgust.

“Killing him like that? Was the cruelty necessary?” Davos didn’t sound angry so much as tired and fed up. His time among their crew would come to an end if he wasn’t careful.

“Why do you care? Was he your friend? You going to spend some precious time mourning him?” Mykos sneered.

“Would anyone mourn you if I ran you through?” Davos returned. His arms were crossed over his chest, but he was faster than Mykos, and his sword had better reach. “No? Then shut up.”

“Boys, boys,” Synto said, raising up. “There’s no need to fight when we have a good option here in front of us. Now Davos, I know things haven’t gone entirely your way.” An understatement, but his Mystery screamed to act now. His entire brain itched with the need to act.

“But with Adriana no longer with us, it seems to me that you’re next in line for this share of the loot. You’re a good fighter, an even better scout, and the best sailor. You want to be a better fighter, and absorb your friend’s loot?”

Mykos looked hungrily at the Divinity, but he had his. If he grew too strong too soon, he might get ideas. Davos, on the other hand, had more Divinity than he let on, Synto knew it. Maybe…

Davos shook his head. “I’m doing fine with what I have. Keep it, and we’ll save it for Adriana when we find her.”

“We’re not going to waste time looking for a corpse!” Synto snapped. Another twinge in his mind, and he acted immediately on the impulse. “Then I guess I’ll take it.”

Before anyone could say otherwise, Synto brought the silver orb to his mouth and ate it. Pain flooded him, but that was nothing new. With it came a flood of new senses, information, and the feeling that his body was being remade. It always felt like waking up from a dream after. When he did, he could feel the power resting inside him.

Fourteen percent Divinity now, at the second level of ascension. Synto stretched, feeling the differences in his body. With double the Divinity, he was stronger than before, faster, and now his roughest features had been smoothed over. He probably wasn’t handsome, but he had a magnetism to his appearance now.

More than that, he knew what he could do. Not everyone instantly knew their ability. Some had to use it, and others had to use it often to make sense of things. Synto had always been fortunate to have a knack for knowing. He had the Warrior’s Reflexes now, and it would go well with his Mystery of Vulnerability. There’d be plenty of times to test it later, but for now, he sighed contentedly.

“She’s not dead,” Mykos said.

“What?” Synto asked, just as Davos echoed the sentiment.

Mykos pointed to the jungle separating them from the base of the mountain. “She’s alive, and I can sense her moving.”

Davos shot him another dirty look, and Synto longed to bring his club out and wipe it off his face. “When we find her, I’ll assume you’re going to give her that power you just picked up. You know, since you took the last two she was promised.”

Synto would sooner die than give up his new gift. “Of course,” he said. “Then our next task is to catch up with her. Collect any Bestia or Divinity you see on the way. And when we find Adriana, if she’s still healthy and herself, I’ll use my share of the loot to buy her whatever Divinity she wants. And then we’ll all go back to town and celebrate, and laugh over this misunderstanding.”

Davos didn’t seem fully convinced, but it was good enough for him to relent. For now. “Fine. Just so long as she is okay, and gets her share of the loot and power. Fair is fair.”

“Sure,” lied Synto. “Fair is fair. Mykos, if you would?”

The teenager took point this time. They journeyed across the beach filled with the dead and dying and towards their fallen teammate who had apparently survived a mountain and God falling on top of her.

Adriana might have had the luck of the Gods, but it was going to run out if she expected him to give up power. Either she’d fall in line and he’d eventually throw her a scrap or two to keep her loyal…or he’d cut her and Davos both down, take the boat, and split the loot two ways.

Whenever he got that itch in his brain telling him to act, it would be the end for them.