‘Payment is overdue.’

I and the other four members of the Slayers stared him down, waiting for Corminar—the most familiar to the Red Thorn—to speak.

‘There are more important matters to contend with,’ my ranger friend finally said.

Elandor’s glare did not soften for a moment. ‘I assure you, nothing is more important to me—as the head of the Red Thorn in the Tundran region—than the respect that our organisation commands. By failing to deliver on your debt, you call our various attributes into question.’

Corminar considered the man before him, and all the rangers on the nearest ship. ‘Then you do not know.’

‘You would be a fool to assume so. I know who sails across this very sea, and I know of their destination. I know that Empress Amira seeks to add the Dawnwoods to her empire.’

It was so rare that I saw Corminar truly lost for words, but this was one of those moments. ‘And yet you consider a debt more important?’

‘I consider our image more important. If the Hero of Iranir thinks he may default on our debt, then who else might follow suit? It is easier to dam the stream than protect against the flood.’

‘But surely you understand why payment may be delayed? Why our hands have been forced? Why our attention has been diverted elsewhere?’

Elandor shook his head. ‘We cannot accept excuses. Even—’

‘Even the fall of our shared homelands?’ Corminar interrupted.

‘They are our homelands no more,’ Elandor replied, then turned to look at the nearest squadron of his employees, bows still nocked and ready to fire. ‘Look upon your fellow elves. We have been without the trees for long enough, now, that our fellow exiles have started families in these human realms. There are elves growing up today who will never think of the Dawnwoods as home, only the Gentle Tundras. And, too, their parents begin to think of the Tundras as home. We speak of debt—what debt do we owe the Dawnwoods, the land to which we can never return?’

Enough of this.

‘You don’t owe them anything,’ I shouted. ‘You do it because it is right. Because it’s what you should do.’

Elandor smirked. ‘You think we base such decisions on notions of “right” versus “wrong”? You know what we are, do you not?’

‘Criminals,’ I replied. ‘But you don’t have to be. You can be heroes instead.’

The head of the Red Thorn in the Tundran region no longer made any attempt to stem his laughter. ‘As though it were so simple.’

‘Why isn’t it? I did it! And if I can, surely the great Elandor can too?’

The elf’s smirk faded; I’d backed him into a corner here. Elandor glared back at me, eyes seeming to pierce into my very soul. ‘As I say… it is not so simple.’

‘Yes it bloody well—’ I started, but was cut off by Corminar gently grabbing my elbow, pulling me back.

The once Hero of Iranir stepped forward once more. ‘I understand if you have no notions of heroism; that is a stance that I, too, share. Or, rather’ — Corminar glanced to me — ‘shared. I do not quite know where I stand, today. But perhaps I can provide a different motivation.’

‘A motivation to allow you leave to pay your debt?’ Elandor asked.

‘No,’ Corminar clarified, ‘a motivation to sail to war.’

The two vessels went eerily quiet at this, and all I could hear was Val’s breathing, next to me, and the waves lapping up against the hull of the ship.

‘This would be quite the ask,’ Elandor finally replied.

‘You sail seeking payment?’ Corminar asked. ‘You wish for me to pay my debt? I can pay your debt a hundred times over, should you allow me to do so.’

‘Tell me.’

‘As payment, I will grant you all permission to return to the Dawnwoods.’ Corminar shouted loud enough for all Thorn employees on the other ship to hear, loud and clear. ‘All of you. This is worth far more to you than any depth raider, than any mala. I know this for certain.’

Elandor paused, considering. He might not have necessarily found this offer particularly appealing, but he had the other elves of the Red Thorn to think about. If his employees heard him turn down such an offer, then his leadership would be more in question than a single unpaid debt could ever cause. Corminar had played his hand well.

‘How can you make such assurances?’ the leader of the Tundran Thorn finally asked.

‘You said it earlier: I was—am—the Hero of Iranir. If I save the Dawnwoods again, the Red Thorn sailing at my side, the council will have no choice but to listen to me. You will regain your homeland. You will plant your birthseeds, and you will see them grown. A generation of exile will be over. This is my payment; do you accept these terms?’

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Even considering how neutral and stoic this elf’s face typically was, I could see that he was considering this from every side. What happened if he turned this down? With so many Thorn members having overheard this offer, there was no way he could avoid this information spreading. And if this news spread, then surely one member of his organisation would take offence. At least one. And that surely wouldn’t end well for him.

‘You give me your word?’ Elandor finally asked.

‘You have your exile ended, or you have my life,’ Corminar replied.

Elandor nodded, and the rangers lowered their bows. ‘I will summon all those under my command. You will have your army; be sure to deliver to them all that you promise.’

* * *

Seven ships sailed southeast, with more on the way, sailing as fast as they could, summoned by means of magical signals—a Worldbending magick that I hadn’t yet unlocked. Elandor’s expectation was that the other Red Thorn vessels would catch us up before we reached the Great Golden Canal Project, being that they were positioned further east and were faster than the slowest of our ships—the one that I and the rest of the Slayers had commandeered.

Tensions had settled, and in this temporary newfound state of “not feeling like we’re about to die”, I tracked down Val, to find her leaning against the railing at the bow of the ship.

I placed a hand on her back as she approached, and she flinched, having been so lost in thought. ‘How are you doing?’ I asked.

‘We ride for a war we’re probably not gonna win, and I’m about to face down the woman who ruined my life.’ It was a pretty eloquent response.

‘You’ve faced her once already,’ I pointed out.

‘That was different; this time, we’re going to kill her.’

I raised my eyebrows. ‘Fair enough.’ I joined Val in leaning on the railing, staring into the misty distance. There was nothing to see, not really—just the grey sky and the sea disappearing into the horizon. Yet at the same time it was captivating. Something about it made me calm, allowed me to block out all thoughts of the terror we were about to encounter. I closed my eyes, focusing on the sea air washing over me, and Val pressing herself into my side for feelings of comfort. Of safety.

‘I want to kill her,’ Val said, out of the blue.

‘Niamh?’

‘Who else? I want to kill her. I want to be the one to do it, to see the life fade from her eyes. I’m owed that.’

‘You’ve been spending too much time around the elves, I reckon. All that talk of who owes who what.’

‘I’m not joking, Styk. It needs to be me.’

I fiddled with the Sisyphus Artifact, forever on a chain around my neck—the artifact that had saved my life twice, and was powered by the deaths of the Players. ‘What about…’ I pulled the octahedron out of my shirt, gesturing to it.

‘There’s some things in life that are more important than progression. This is one of them. I know you want the experience buff, but…’ She turned to look at me, those dark brown eyes staring into mine. ‘I need this. After what she did to me, after everything that she took from me… I need to be the one to take something of equal value from her. Her life would do it, I think.’

I shook my head. ‘What does it matter, as long as we win? As long as we eliminate her? A hero wouldn’t—’

‘We’re not heroes, Styk,’ Val replied, her voice firm but her hands gently cradling my face. ‘We never will be. I think it’s time you faced up to that.’ Before I could reply, she pressed her lips to mine, and we held each other for a time, the warmth of each other’s bodies triumphing over the bitter sea air.

And then we released one another, not another word said, and looked back at the misty Iron Sea. Together with our newfound comrades, we sailed southeast, for the Great Golden Canal Project.

And war.

"Styk"

Level 16 Bladespinner

Base Stats:

Vitality — 44

Intelligence — 154

Dexterity — 101

Strength — 73

Wisdom — 57

Charisma — 33

Skills:

Worldbending — Level 43

Knifework — Level 36

Stealth — Level 19

Needlework — Level 12

Identification — Level 11

Abilities:

Stab III — Put your weight behind your wielded blade and force the tip through tougher hides and armour. Damage scales on [STR], increased by an additional 50%.

Execution II — Attack a target while undetected for +200% damage.

Closed Reach — Bend reality to narrow the gap between blade and target by up to 8 inches. Uses mana.

Mana-Fuelled — Passive. Optionally, use mana in place of stamina to activate Knifework abilities.

Knifestorm — Lash out at all surrounding enemies in a tornado of blades, using either one or two daggers. All enemies with arm’s reach receive physical damage worth weapon’s base damage and additional damage scaling on [STR].

Local Portal II — Create a portal to another location within current range of sight or within a ten yard radius. Uses mana/second.

Portal Slice — Passive. Portals can now be spawned within non-sentient objects. Doing so slices through all objects that are not reinforced by magic.

Tamed Portals — Passive. Increased efficiency of portal magicks means that your portal glow is reduced by 50%, making them less likely to be detected by enemies.

Ash Husk — Convert your flesh to ash, strengthening it against flame for ten minutes. Gain 50% resistance to fire attacks.

Shrill Perimeter — Create a perimeter wall of 20 foot radius, invisible to all but those adept in magicks. If an enemy crosses this perimeter, this spell releases the shriek of a banshee.

Warped Shield — Passive. If an enemy strikes you with a low-level melee weapon, Warp Shield automatically activates to open a portal that deflects this attack. You must not have any portals currently active. Uses mana on activation.

Pocket Worlds — Open and access pocket dimensions. Storage capacity of summoned pocket worlds scales with [INT] of creator.

Stealth Attack II — Passive. 80% boost to damage when unnoticed by enemy.

In Plain Sight — When activated, you have a heightened abilitiy to hide in plain sight, and are able to spot opportunities to break from combat at a higher rate. Scales on [WIS].

Stitch — Create a basic stitch in common fabrics. Ability scales on [CHA].

Cloth Armour — Craft a cloth armour of higher quality, dependent on materials, time and skill level.

Active Effects:

Legacy of Sisyphus:

XP gain increased by +900%