Chapter 51 – Floor 6: Part 4
Mathew leaned over the ship's railing and let the ocean breeze wash away some of the irritation he felt over some crewmates on board.
The Prince of Talrand was an insufferable drunk and blowhard whom Mathew wanted to toss overboard with every passing minute. Borgoth and his fellow Mages were opinionated and prejudiced against everyone who wasn’t a Mage of their Spire or from Talrand to the point where Mathew tried to avoid them as much as possible.
Lucky for him, the ship was monstrously large. Whoever had built it was skilled, but it was nothing like the old, wet, and rotting wooden ships of Mathew’s studied history. No, these were built with magic, meaning their hulls were sound, the interior well-lit, warm, dry, and incredibly spacious.
Mathew wasn’t sure what spell they used to increase the deck's size and the ship's interior, but he felt like he was on a cruise ship from his Earth. If he didn’t want to interact with anyone, there were plenty of out-of-the-way areas where he could catch a moment’s peace.
He scratched at the stiff, inflexible collar of his new clothing with irritation. Apparently, his outfit offended the Talrandian nobility's senses, requiring Bargoth to supply him with a set of robes befitting his station as a Champion.
Made of a navy blue material and engraved with the symbol of their goddess, Serene Reconciliation, it featured a pair of hands grasping each other in friendship in gold thread. With a high collar and strange, flaring and stiff shoulder pads, Mathew felt like some kind of evil vizier out of a movie.
He would have turned it down if it hadn’t been for the notification from his silver wristband when he had been presented with the clothing.
Garments of the Champion of the goddess Serene Reconciliation. Wearing them will enable a boon of additional Aether upon completion of the Floor.
The thought of more Aether had been enticing then, but now that he was wearing it, Mathew didn’t know if the additional rewards were worth it, especially when it was so itchy!
Frustrated, Mathew banged his head against the wooden rail of the ship. He would rather be back in the Pit or fighting Goblins in Averatha than on this ship and being forced to listen to one more….
“There you are, Champion. I have been tasked with bringing you to a recital. The Prince is most keen to hear your thoughts on poetry.” Amberlith stated, coming up to him with a smirk on her face.
Barogth’s apprentice was aware of how much he disliked the Prince, but she took great pleasure in forcing him to attend annoying parties or events like poetry readings and the performance from the Prince's many entertainers.
“I’ll save you the trouble. I know nothing about poetry aside from the fact that words need to rhyme.” Mathew muttered, not raising his head from where it rested on the wooden railing. It was pleasant to feel the ocean wind, and he found the ship's movement on the waves soothing.
“But you’re a Champion! Surely, you are above all other men in all things. Poetry, combat, magic, nothing is beyond your divine skills.” Amerlith replied, and her tone dripped with sarcasm.
“Listen, you can cut the shit. You and I both know that no part of me is ‘divine.’ My job is to make sure that pompous ass in his royal cabin marries whoever it is that’s waiting for us on Center Island.” Mathew said, standing upright and staring at the apprentice.
Stolen novel; please report.
“Your job is to be what the Prince demands you to be, Champion.” Amberlith stated coldly, and Mathew snorted with laughter at the comment.
“I didn’t know your Prince was the goddess of Serene Reconciliation. I thought she would be prettier.” Mathew retorted, and the Apprentice finally lost her composure. Her face flushed red, and Mathew knew she was about to begin shouting, so he cut her off.
“Look, I get it. You don’t like me because you think I’m nothing special. That all I did was receive these Blessings from the gods, that I didn’t ‘earn’ my power while you were stuck studying in the Spire, buried deeply in books and having to serve as an Apprentice to an old man like Bargoth.” Mathew explained, and Amberlith shut her open mouth with a ‘click.’
The Apprentice nodded at his words.
“You don’t know anything about me.” Mathew continued.
“I’ve spent the last six months travelling between one horrible world to the next, each one worse than the last. I’ve had every manner of monster and creature trying to kill me, I’ve seen people I’ve cared about die, and I’ve fought tooth and nail for my Blessings.”
“I wasn’t ‘chosen’ by the gods. I’ve been forced to do their bidding in exchange for the opportunity to get stronger. To find someone I care about and help her achieve her wish.”
“So, no, I won’t be attending the Prince’s poetry recital. My job is to make sure he gets married, and that’s what I’m going to do. Even if I have to cut my way through everyone on this ship, tuck the little Princeling in a sack and swim to Center Island with him on my back.” Mathew growled.
Turning away from the stunned Amberlith, Mathew returned to leaning on the railing and staring out over the Azure Sea. There was a flock of seagulls in the distance, little specks of white against the blue that were moving in the same direction as the ship.
“You can leave now.” Mathew said, shooing her away with his hand. Amberlith hesitated, not moving as she stared at him for a moment before speaking.
“You’re right, and I’m sorry. There wasn’t any poetry reading, or maybe there is, but I haven’t heard anything about it. I just wanted to make things difficult for you.” She said, taking a deep breath.
“I’ve spent my entire life in the Spire. I am studying, preparing for this moment to finally go out into the world and prove to everyone that I deserve to be here. And I was jealous that you just showed up, a Champion, and everyone has to show you the respect that is normally reserved for a Magus. I didn’t know that you had to do anything to earn it.” Amberlith confessed.
Mathew shrugged at the words.
“It’s alright.” He paused, thinking, before asking. “Do you know anything about the Tower of Avarice?”
Amberlith joined him on the railing, leaning over and staring out over the water.
“Just what has been written in the records from the words of arriving Champions. A grand Tower that stretched into the sky, where they are gifted the opportunity to achieve their dreams.” Amberlith stated, a bit of awe, wonder and even more jealousy in her tone.
“One hundred floors. Once we go in, we can’t go home until we reach the top. Or we die.” Mathew stated indifferently.
“Floors…” Amberlith said. “Which floor are you on now?”
“Six.”
“You’ve been in the Tower for half a year, and you’ve only reached the sixth floor? You’ll be an old man by the time you reach the top.” The Apprentice said in wonder, and Mathew shook his head.
“Apparently, we don’t age inside the tower. We can even get younger as we progress. Time is pretty meaningless, I guess. Otherwise, I would be more upset about the length of this trip.” Mathew replied.
It would take them nearly three months to sail to the Center Island and then an unknown amount of time once they landed for the marriage ceremony to begin.
After his trip to the fourth and fifth Floors, Mathew knew that time was trivial inside the Tower. For all he knew, not even a second had passed on the outside since he entered. Or maybe it has been centuries. As Einstein said, time was relative.
Greg had told him that he had been with a caravan for nearly a year while Mathew had spent a month on the second floor, but Greg had gotten to the Third Floor before him.
He wasn’t about to drive himself crazy trying to figure things out. As long as he could reach Emily and help her, that was all he cared about.
And surviving. It would was nice being alive, after all.
Mathew and Amberlith spent another few hours discussing their respective lives, her time in the Spire and his on Earth. The Spire was similar to a Wizard’s Tower from fairy tales. Only there were thousands of mages where Amberlith studied.
He also learned more about their magic, and how they also had something similar to levels, But theirs could be obtained with study and time, while his magic could only be purchased with Aether.
Overall, it was a pleasant conversation and for the first time, Mathew didn’t feel like the trip would be quite that bad.
He should have known it wouldn’t last.