The shouts from the harbor grew louder, along with smoke plumes, and pirates took off in that direction in a horde, while Kaden clung to the mast. “That was the signal. Stay here until I send word, then cut Ashi out of her cage while I distract the King.” Kaden had places to be. He flung himself off the cage and drewn the [Eldritch Shield] to [Shield Smash] the ship’s prow behind the throne.

You have inflicted 800 points damage.

The prow shattered, and Kaden grabbed Cutter’s corpse as he engaged [Stealth Aura]. The ship wasn’t empty, and guards rushed toward the throne as Kaden clung from the shattered prow.

“Check the prisoners!” the head guard said.

Kaden clambered up onto the next level of the deck and sprinted after the man, who drew a key ring and unlocked a double door that led down into the ship. He took three steps down and stopped. “No one’s down here, they’re on the deck!”

With every ounce of concentration he had, Kaden held himself perfectly still, flat, against the door of the ship’s hold, two inches from the guard. He didn’t even breathe as the man turned and walked back up the stairs.

The door swung shut, trapping them in darkness. And so many voiced cried out in terror. The hold was nearly pitch black, only dim fairy lights let Kaden see the rows upon rows of motivational chambers. He dropped Cutter’s corpse from Inventory and drew one of Trella’s potions, dribbling it into her lips. This was the [Resurrection] potion.

It sank into the corpse. The body crackled like old leather and then twisted—and took an agonizing breath like it was reverse-dying. And then another. And another. Kaden drained the last drop of a healing potion onto her lips from a flask he’d call empty any other day. “Cutter.”

One eye wasn’t healed well enough to open, but the other did, dim and milky. Her cheeks split as her jaw opened wider. “Shit.”

“Yeah. Trella’s resurrection potion doesn’t heal.” Kaden wiped healing salve on her eyes and lips and picked her up. “We have to find Eve.”

“Down.” The one word took most of Cutter’s strength and an entire breath. “All. Noble. Prisoners.”

Kaden summoned Vip. “Find Eve. If there are guards, be super fast and come back to me. I need your help to rescue her.”

*Super Fast!* Vip tore off into the hold as Kaden tried to follow, taking turns and stairs ever deeper. The cry of voices begging for help became a din of screaming, weeping, pounding. Then, in the darkness, crackles of elecriticty betrayed Vip’s arrival as she sprinted up stairs. *Come!*

Kaden chased her, carrying Cutter over his shoulder like a bag of flour, down to where rotten water sat ankle deep. He sprinted after Vip, who slid to a halt in front of the most narrow motivational chamber Kaden had seen. Eve’s hands jutted through the bars, and she’d been chained with demon manacles.

“This is going to hurt, but it’s the only way to get you loose,” Kaden said. He had a hunch about Eve, about her healing. And with the Levicon blade, he cut deep into her hands, even when she screamed, even as she tried to jerk away.

When the blade cut free, he folded her hand through the manacle. And cut the other until at last it slipped free. Eve jolted upright and when her eyes opened, a dim red light glowed in them as her mana surged. Unlike with Trella or Sara, Eve’s hands unfolded , the skin knitting itself as the blood rushed upward, back into her.

Kaden sliced through the cell lock and opened it. “Cutter’s alive but barely.”

Eve began to laugh even as she wept.

Blood boiled from Cutter’s eyes as her skin plumped and her body straightened. Kaden set her on her feet and handed Eve her Blood Moon staff and jewelry. “When we emerge, there’s going to be guards. So many guards. Also, probably the Pirate King. Rey’s loose but most of Cutter’s men are in the mines.”

Cutter jerked her head to the side, cracking her neck. “We start here. I almost killed that son of a bitch the last time. This time, we do it together. He’s multiclassed more than I can tell you, and I swear to you, I killed him, and then he was instantly back.”

Trella’s [Rescue Reset] coin had similar abilities. Kaden drew the ritualist knife he’d taken. “This you can have.”

Then he held out the Levicon Blade. “This, you have to swear an oath you’ll give back.”

“Done. I swear it before the System.”

Circe Karn has sworn an oath to return the Levicon Blade at your asking.

Cutter took both, looking at each. “Yes. This will do. This will do nicely.”

Eve wasn’t looking at any of them. She stood down the hallway, grasping a stone embedded in the wood. When she spoke, her voice echoed everywhere. “Quiet, everyone. Listen to me. We are leaving this place, and we are leaving no one here. Do not panic. Do not fight. Do not attempt to push your way past us, or you will be alone before the Pirate King.”

Her words held a melodic quality that Kaden couldn’t ignore. He’d felt something like this, only a thousand times more powerful, from Princess Pear.

“When we pass, you will offer your hand through the bars. Each of you will be cut, and your cell opened. Those we do not pass will open others. If you can fight, you fight. If you don’t have a weapon, rush a guard. Today you earn your liberty. With blood.” Eve turned to Cutter. “There’s one more thing I can offer, but it comes at a price. I am the high priestess of Nurav. Her blessing will raise your strength, your agility, your speed, and all your attacks will cause [Bleed]. But from the moment I give you it, your health will begin to drop. You will die. Any healing will delay your death, but it won’t stop it. Until that moment, however, you will be the hand of the goddess herself.”

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“I’m laying on my level floor,” Cutter said. “I want it. I want it so badly. One buff I get makes me regenerate, another gives me more health.”

“No thanks,” Kaden said. “[Resilient Constitution] doesn’t help against constant drain damage.”

“So be it.” Eve drew her personal dagger and pricked the end of her finger. “Let The Blood Flow.”

Cutter opened her mouth and accepted the single drop. She screamed and gripped her head, then fell to one knee—and stood, eyes dripping blood. “Yes! Let it flow.”

Kaden could barely keep up as she sprinted up the stairs, knicking the outstretched hands. Eve had opened the first two cell doors but now rushed to follow, channeling Life Endowment as she followed.

They reached the top door and Cutter glowed an unearthly red as she burst through the door, ripping apart the frame. The guard just beyond didn’t move fast enough, and Cutter nicked him just before Kaden slammed into the man, picking him up.

You have gained a Flesh Ram. (Ewww).

Your damage with Flesh Ram is greatly increased (Double Ewww).

Kaden charged forward, slamming into a pair of guards and throwing them—and the one he’d picked up—off the edge of the ship.

“Kill her! Kill her!” The Pirate King Harrigan shouted as Cutter wove her way through his men—then he caught sight of Kaden, and swore. “[Beast Master!] You’re the reason the beasts are attacking my fleet.”

Kaden bowed. “Let me explain—”

He had only an instant before pirates swarmed him. Thunder rolled above him and lightning crackled through the sky as hail pelted down.

You have been affected by [Speeding Wind] (Sara Scylla).

Your agility and movement are increased.

[Harvest Wind] blows upon your enemies. Mana and Health regen are greatly reduced.

An [Agony Cloud] burst on one side of the deck and another blocked the ramp.

*Kaden, leave the pirates to us. Trella has Eve, but Harrigan’s going to kill us all if he gets the chance.* Sara’s [Mindspeech] was perfectly clear. She’d been practicing.

Cutter—Cutter was gone. She leaped over the side of the ship, leaving Kaden weaving through a storm of blades.

“Back!” Harrigan shouted. “Back, all of you. The [Beast Master] is mine to kill. I challenge you to a duel! No attacks from your godsdamned party. You and I.”

Kaden considered it. “Do we get to use skills or is this just me chopping you to pieces?”

“Of course. All Class abilities. Your party doesn’t attack me, my crew doesn’t dismember you.”

Kaden braced himself as he pulled Skully into his soul, taking [Dense] and [Painless]. Both were a function of Skully’s core and would operate even if his body was destroyed. “Agreed. You. Me.” Kaden drew Remembrance as a wall of [Pirates] formed around them.

You have entered a duel with Pirate King Harrigan.

Any attacks by your party will result in compounding Karmic Penalties.

Harrigan shed his jacket and shook, as a suit of gems covered his body, each a different color. “You’re level thirty. Tell me, how do you think this ends?”

You have been affected by [Aura of Truth]. Your answers must be truthful.

Kaden couldn’t stop the words from bursting out. “You were dead the moment you agreed to fight me.”

For the slightest moment, Harrigan paused. “What makes you think you can kill me?”

“History.” Before Harrigan could ask anything else, Kaden banished Remembrance and drew Thorncaster. His arrow missed the pirate’s neck by a hair as Harrigan activated a skill that let him ghost sideways and hurl a dagger straight at Kaden—who took it into Inventory, then looked around wildly as though he didn’t know where the dagger had gone. “You think this is funny?”

He drew Thorn Caster again and fired an arrow that crackled with black energy straight at Harrigan—and again snatched the dagger Harrigan threw with Inventory. “How are you doing that?”

“I’m twenty levels higher. I have skills you haven’t imagined,” Harrigan answered, drawing a spear and trident. “Now, let’s take care of that hammer.”

Even knowing that Harrigan was coming, his extra agility left Kaden scrambling to trigger [Moment of Speed] and [Split Second]—except the pirate was toying with Kaden, testing his reflexes and range. Twenty points was a lot of points, but even worse was the tier multiplier. This had to be fought with intelligence.

But Remembrance buzzed in his hands, eager for this battle. And Kaden, too, was eager, as Thorn Caster’s after effects triggered, slamming into Harrigan’s chest.

You have inflicted poison x3.

The only positive was that Kaden hadn’t expected a pause, he was ready for the onslaught, dodging Harrigan’s spear and swinging Remembrance in a way meant to catch the Trident.

“And—Twist!” Harrigan shouted as he pivoted to disarm Kaden.

Who had already banished Remembrance. [Destruction Aura] flared out as Kaden grappled. He couldn’t overcome Harrigan’s strength, but he didn’t want to—instead, he let the Pirate throw him, and then held on to slam the man down into the deck—and an instant of [Wrath of the Furnace] that took two hundred mana.

Pirate King Harrigan has used Ageless Escape.

Ageless Escape timer resets to: 29 days, 23 hours, 59 minutes.

Kaden dove to the side as [Split Second] activated. There was no battle of banter, the smug self assurance that had wrapped Harrigan was gone like the charred deck which burned around Kaden, whose [FireProof] let him ignore it. Except that he wasn’t ignoring it, instead pressing his attack even as pirates screamed, burnt by the fire that had nearly incinerated their King.

“I’m going to kill you,” Harrigan snarled as he drew a pair of wands.

Every flick of his wrist was a cast spell, every moment, changing elements.

There was no attacking during this, only surviving. Kaden let the [Eldritch Shield] drink in an arc of lightning, but it groaned and shattered as a boulder exploded, throwing him across the ring. [Moment of Speed] let Kaden draw Thorn Caster and loose an arrow which Harrigan deflected with a ring on his finger.

Pirate King Harrigan has used Deathly Deflection.

Deathly Deflection timer resets to 2 hours and 59 minutes.

Every finger of the man’s hands held a ring, and bracelets. The pirate king was a fancy man, that much was sure, but Kaden followed up with arrow after arrow, even as Harrigan laughed and used his ghosting skill.

His laughter died as Kaden activated [Mana Drain] and ripped thirty points of mana from the man. Pulling mana from a higher tier adventurer was like sucking clots through a straw. The effort to get started was vast, the effort to keep draining was minimal.

Harrigan charged, drawning serrated shields from Inventory and weilding them with [Shield Bash], which would stun, but this put Kaden on equal footing. He met [Shield Bash] with [Shield Bash], an in a [Moment of Speed] stood behind Harrigan to [Back Smash!]

Brutal Blows has inflicted a crippling injury.

Harrigan stumbled forward, groaning in agony—and activated a necklace. Green healing energy rippled out across him, and he spun—then triggered the necklace again—and again.

“[Harvest Wind].” Kaden spoke it as a death sentence. “No healing. No mana regeneration.”

Meanwhile, his own health ticked upward, along with mana. And Kaden recognized the desperation in the Pirate King’s eyes.

“[Unending Strike]!” Harrigan shouted as he drew a spear. Time blurred together as Kaden dodged a spear jab, only to find another spear jab already coming, one he deflected—and another. One spear couldn’t possibly be in all these places. It couldn’t—ram straight through Kaden and into the deck.

Kaden hung, pinned to the deck, every nerve screaming as he failed to draw breath. And Harrigan drew a sword, eager to finish what he’d started.