The Long Road of Adventure- Blue Storms and Black Sand

by Ian Rodgers

  “Blade Wave!” Gaelin roared. He flung the shockwave at Bolos, but the blow was countered effortlessly.

  “Hmm. Not bad for a rookie,” Bolos sneered as he cut the attack in half with his sword. “But not good enough. You don’t have enough skill with that spell to use its full power without the entire chant yet. I, however, do have that skill! Lightning Bolt!”

  Obeying his command, the energy that had been coiling around his blade leapt forth, aimed at Gaelin. The halberdier jumped aside again, but the spell curved unnaturally as it approached, making his attempt at dodging useless.

  “Magic Edge!” the brown-haired adventurer shouted desperately, and the halberd lit up with a silvery glow as his mana filled it. The Lightning Bolt spell struck him, but did no damage as the attack was negated by the magic already coursing through the polearm.

  “What?!” Bolos cried. He was thrown onto the defensive as Gaelin lunged forward, trying to cleave the pirate captain in twain. He simply flew to the side to avoid the attack, and then waved his hand, sending the four Dancing Daggers flying at Gaelin’s back.

  “I’ll admit, that was surprising. I didn’t know it was possible to block a spell with another spell like that!” Bolos exclaimed as he watched in cruel amusement as the halberdier tried to fight off the four spinning and darting weapons.

  Yet they couldn’t strike him. He fended them off with his halberd, and Reinforced his body to superhuman heights in order to move fast enough to dodge the smaller, more nimble and agile weapons. Gaelin could feel his bones creaking and his muscles burning in protest as he pushed himself further than his frame could tolerate. But he had no choice! If he let up for even a moment, he’d die!

  “But I’m done playing around. I’m taking my ship back from you, as well as that half-elf merchant!”

  “I won’t let you!” Gaelin snarled. “You’re working with the World Rebellion! I refuse to let you defeat me!”

  He spun aside, a Dancing Dagger scraping past his cheek as the banter caused his concentration to flicker for a brief moment.

  At Gaelin’s accusation, Bolos winced, and his attacks faltered. “Hmm. He told you that, I see. You’re right. I was perhaps a little hasty in my youth to agree to Lord Blade’s deal. Still, what’s done is done, and they’ve given me everything I’ve asked for! So what if the world ends! I’ll be living it up like a king till it all comes crumbling down!”

  He pointed a finger at Gaelin, a cruel smile splitting his face as one of the blades cut deep into the D-ranker’s shoulder. Gaelin yelped in surprise and stepped back, giving the red-stained knife a wide berth.

  “Blood calls to blood. Flesh is weakened. Let suffering prevail! Total Agony!”

  The blood on the edge of the blade began to glow, and Gaelin let out a scream as his nerves erupted with fiery pain. The curse tore through his body and he fell to his knees, unable to stand, or even think through the onslaught of agony.

  “Ha ha! Yes, that’s it! Squirm, scream, and suffer!” Bolos cackled. He floated over to Gaelin and raised his cutlass over his head, ready to sever the adventurer’s head from his neck.

  “Now, die!”

  “Wind Burst!”

  A compressed bullet of air slammed into Bolos’ side, and sent the pirate captain tumbling head over heels through the sky. He righted himself before he flew completely off the airship, and glared daggers at the intruders who had interrupted him. Gaelin slumped to the ground, winded by the sudden absence of pain rippling through him.

  “You think a Druid and a muscled-brained beast can defeat me?” Bolos cried. The four Dancing Daggers turned towards the duo who had appeared on the deck to fight alongside Gaelin.

  Vala merely smirked. “Yup. And here’s how.”

  She tossed a small sack over to Bigg Guy who caught, before winding up his arm for a throw.

  “Catch!” he shouted, and hurled the pouch at Bolos. He snorted, and waved his hand dismissively. One of the enchanted blades shot forth and sliced the bag open, causing a number of seeds to fall out.

  Bolos’ eyes widened, and he pointed his cutlass at the earth elf, lightning shooting forth at her, but Bigg Guy jumped in front of Vala, taking the shot while she prepared her chant.

  “Grow, spread, and blossom! Nature’s Gift!”

  The seeds exploded, for lack of a better word. Vines and roots erupted forth, entangling three of the daggers. Bound by the magic infused plant matter, they struggled for a bit before collapsing helplessly to the deck.

  Bolos quickly recalled his final dagger, which still had Gaelin’s blood on it, to his left hand and snarled. It was just one thing after another with these brats!

  “You won’t win! I refuse to be defeated by children!”

  He grabbed the blood-stained dagger and began to mutter foul words under his breath. Again, the red stain pulsed with light and Gaelin screamed as the pain assailed him once more.

  Only this time, cuts tore themselves open all along his body. Old wounds reappeared, as fresh as if they’d never healed. Vala screamed in terror, seeing the blood pouring like a waterfall from her friend.

  Bolos laughed. Suddenly a rune flickered to life on the hilt of the dagger, and the entire weapon started to glow. His laughter cut off as he stared in confusion at the item in his hand.

  .

  Rongold sighed softly to himself, grunting in pain as he dragged his ruined body towards the gore-slicked ritual circle in the corner of his workshop.

  For years he had created abominations. Weapons, infused with the souls of people? His master would have killed him himself for bringing shame to the name of smiths around the world!

  Yet he had done so because he was a coward. Terrified of pain, terrified of more abuse… yet it did not excuse his actions.

  A few minutes ago an explosion had rocked the fortress. Even locked up in the basement he had heard the sound of cannon fire, and then the wild clanging of alarms. The time had come. The slaves were on the run. He prayed to Gaea and Kazum, mother and father of the dwarves, that he could find a measure of absolution by helping them escape.

  And so, limbs aching as he crawled from his anvil, Rongold entered the ritual circle, and looked down at the half-formed knife in his hands. It was still hot from the forge he had plucked it from, and the heat burned his hand. But he did not let go. Instead, he clutched it tighter, and stared at the rune he had carved into it. A rune that was identical to the countless others he had secretly added to the damned cursed daggers Bolos had made him craft.

  Without hesitation, the dwarf plunged the fiery shard of metal into his chest. His soul ignited, and the magic within the fake Dancing Daggers the world over crackled and spat. And then, the power broke.

  A torrent of energy gushed forth as the trapped souls were released. In stores the world over, the Dancing Daggers exploded, sending shrapnel and haunted cries of jubilation through the building. Many of those who owned a Dancing Dagger of their own were wounded as it turned into a magical grenade, and a few even lost their lives due to the suddenness of the explosions.

  Rongold didn’t care. It was his duty to see his monstrosities disposed of. He had made them. Now, he unmade them.

  The ritual circle beneath him pulsed violently, and the other Dancing Daggers stored in the fortress for later sale erupted. The overflow of energy caused the magical forge in the workshop to sunder and spill its enchanted flames everywhere.

  Fire gushed forth from the basement, the iron door of the hidden smithy no match for raw, unbridled magic.

  Pillars of flame tore through the wood and stone of the fortress, and Rongold’s final act was to smile before he was naught but ash.

  .

  Bolos howled in shock and fury mounting pain as his dagger exploded, severing his hand at the wrist and sending shards of steaming metal whizzing through the air. Bigg Guy covered Vala, wincing as the steel splinters peppered his back.

  By some miracle, none of them touched Gaelin. He lay on the ground, panting as if he’d just run mu
ltiple marathons. His eyes were fixed on Bolos, and a vindictive glee filled the adventurer as he watched the pirate flail around with blood spurting out of the stump that used to be his left hand.

  Bolos was temporarily distracted, however, as he watched a plume of fire and smoke burst from his fortress in the distance. It was like a volcano had suddenly been birthed beneath the island as fire and ash rained upon the hidden base.

  Bolos felt his control slipping.

  “No, no, no! My ship! My hand! MY FORTRESS!!” he cried, staring uncomprehendingly at the ruins of his years of work. One of the towers on his fort collapsed as flames devoured it. He wept hot tears of rage as a shifting of the winds threw the scent of cinders and smoke into his face.

  Down below on the deck, a hole had been torn through the wooden planks where the three vine-wrapped weapons had lain. The explosion of the shattered daggers had revealed the lower levels, and a certain red-head looked up in surprise from where she’d been trying to drag one of the harpoon-launching ballista up to the deck.

  She looked up, and her jaw dropped as she clearly saw Bolos through the hole.

  A smile spilled across Lily’s face as a plan formed in her mind, and she quickly reoriented the oversized crossbow so it pointed up through the new opening.

  “For the Blue Wave and her crew!” Lily shouted as she fired the artillery piece.

  Despite the crippling amount of pain running through Bolos’ body, he still retained enough consciousness that his instincts screamed at him to dodge. His cape billowed, and he slid backwards through the air in a desperate bid to avoid the large, barbed metal spear flying at him.

  Unfortunately for him, he didn’t move far enough away.

  A scream tore from his throat as his right leg was impaled by the harpoon. With a grinding of gears, Lily quickly retracted the harpoon, dragging the pirate captain forward.

  On the deck, Gaelin staggered to his feet. Mana flooded his body. He needed to Reinforce his limbs to even stand after the abuse he’d been put through, but his soul cried out for justice. He hefted his halberd, and it gleamed silver as flickering mercurial flames dancing along the blade.

  He swung the blade as Bolos hurtled back at him.

  A squelch as flesh met divinely infused metal at high speeds.

  A headless corpse landed at Lily’s feet even as the head it had once worn on its shoulders rolled off the edge of the ship.

  Behind them, a roar of approval at their victory rose up from the sailors who’d watched with bated breath, and Gaelin raised a fist into the air, a corona of cascading silver around his body.

  Victory. Freedom. Justice.

  He then proceeded to pass out due to pain and multiple types of exhaustion.

  Chapter 18: Ever onwards

  “Gaelin? Are you awake?”

  A loud grumble was the only response Lily received as she peered through the darkness of the hospital room.

  Three days ago, the Storm Caller had drifted into the airspace of Riggs. The only reason the Free City had not tried to shoot the infamous pirate ship out of the sky was because the skull and crossbones emblem had been sloppily painted over.

  It had taken them an entire week to pilot the airship back to Orria. It should have taken only half as long, but due to the make-shift crew’s lack of familiarity with the vessel their time at seas at been extended slightly.

  Still, there was much rejoicing and praise heaped upon them when they returned, the freed slaves overjoyed to be home again. Not to mention the reward money for bringing in Bolos’ body. Five hundred gold for the quartet to share was nothing to sneeze at, though some of it did have to go to Gaelin and Bigg Guy’s medical fees.

  After a few wishful moments Gaelin rolled over in his bed to stare bleary eyed at his friend.

  “Mrg?”

  “No, Gaelin, it’s not morning, in fact it’s lunch time.”

  “Erg.”

  “Like Hells I am going to smuggle you some food! I don’t care if hospital gruel tastes foul, I am not getting scolded by that nurse! She has muscles that put half the sailors in the city to shame, so forgive me for not getting on her bad side!”

  “Urg.”

  “Suck it up. Also, try talking normally, please. I know you’re tired, but I need to have a conversation with you,” Lily said as she strode confidently over to the window and threw the curtains open, letting in natural light.

  Gaelin hissed and recoiled as the sunlight fell upon him, doing a passable impression of a vampire. Lily merely rolled her eyes in exasperation.

  “Enough of that. Here, I have some non-edible things to give you.”

  With a grunt of annoyance Gaelin hauled himself into an upright position as Lily sat down on the end of his bed.

  “First off, here’s the stuff we got from the Adventurer’s Guild,” Lily said, passing over a shiny silver badge with the crossed sword and staff sigil on the front. She then held up another one and waved it in front of his face.

  “Congratulations! We’re now both C-rank!”

  “Promoted because we killed a pirate captain and saved an island of slaves?” Gaelin inquired, rubbing the sleep from his eyes as he held the silver badge.

  “Among other things. Thanks to my - and I’m quoting the secretary of the Rigg’s branch here - ‘nigh fanatical devotion to completing as many jobs as humanly possible,’ we’re able to advance to C-rank fairly quickly,” Lily said, making sarcastic air quotes as she relayed the words from the Adventurer’s Guild.

  “I mean, I knew it would happen quickly due to our numerous quests, but apparently we’re some of the fastest rising stars of the Guild. Not many people can claim to have gone from D to C-rank in less than a year. Although, compared to this one newcomer mage, who helped take down a freaking Urdrai to earn his C-rank promotion, we’re pretty tame in terms of wacky adventures.”

  “Yeah, ‘cause pirate lords, murder cultists, and the gods damned World Rebellion are just another day for us,” Gaelin snorted. He immediately regretted that as Lily slapped his shoulder, resulting in numerous twinges across his body as recently healed wounds tingled.

  “Anything else?” he asked after recovering, and from a round of apologies from the princess-in-hiding.

  “Gelt wanted to give his thanks to you,” Lily said, tossing a pouch of gold onto the bed. “He’s heading to Sanc Aldet to report to Guildmaster Revel, and gave us this as payment for our services, as well as for some of the dirt on some unscrupulous merchants who were buying Bolos’ fake Dancing weapons. He suggested using the money to buy yourself some new armor.”

  The halberdier nodded seriously at that. His old leather armor was now useful only for rags. After being stabbed, electrocuted, sliced, and all around thrown through a whirlwind of devastation, it was a miracle it had survived as long as it had.

  “Speaking of armor, we’ve been authorized to keep Bolos’ equipment as spoils of war. We don’t really have a use for most of it, so I sold his Lightning enchanted sword, and his uniform. I did keep this, however.”

  She pulled out the dark purple cape, folded neatly into a bundle.

  “Apparently, this is a rare Shapeless Raiment, a magical artifact from Distant Qwan that allows whoever wears it to fly, and manipulate the fabric as if it were part of their own body! I figured you could use it to soar the air and attack all the birds you want,” the red-head said with a teasing look. Gaelin laughed in astonishment as he took the purple cape.

  It unfolded at his touch, and he could feel the magic within the silk trying to bond with his own mana.

  “This, this is amazing! Are you sure you’re alright with letting me have it?” he asked. When she nodded he quickly allowed the artifact to connect with him, and felt a rush of power. For a moment he felt a bit of vertigo as new sensations flooded his mind, and he grasped the basics of how to use the cloak.

  “Oh, and there’s more good news!” the red-head said after a moment of watching the brown-hair adventurer play with his new piece of equipment. G
aelin looked at her expectantly.

  “Captain Joshua and some of the crew of the Blue Wave survived!” Lily exclaimed happily, and Gaelin grinned widely at that.

  “Truly? Ah, praise Cynthia they made it!” he said in relief. A concerned look appeared as a thought struck him. “What about Jenner?”

  “He, he didn’t make it,” Lily said sorrowfully, shaking her head. She sighed and ran a hand over her face.

  “When I saw the captain and some of the other crew down near the docks, I just… I couldn’t help but break down into tears,” she admitted. “They were glad we survived as well, and proud that we brought in that bastard’s corpse and ruined everything he coveted.”

  An amused smile crept up onto Lily’s face. “I did pay them the rest of the money we owed them for the ride. After all, we’d only paid half up front. You should have seen their faces!”

  “I bet they were flabbergasted, and touched by your integrity,” Gaelin chuckled. He then gained a serious expression.

  “What else did you want to discuss, Lily? I’m sure this isn’t all of it.”

  “Do you remember how I acted, back in Bolos’ quarters, when I discovered what exactly Lord Blade had given him in exchange for Gelt?”

  “You seemed rather shocked,” he said, thinking back to her reaction.

  “Yeah. Because of this.” She pulled out the tiny notebook she’d ‘acquired’ and used to store the information stolen from Bolos. At the very end was a set of diagrams and runic script.

  “And that is?”

  “Something that will elevate us to the realm of legends,” Lily said seriously. She then tore out the pages and set them aflame with a jolt of magic.

  “What are you…!”

  “Don’t worry, I memorized it,” she said soothingly. “But I cannot afford it to fall into anyone’s hands. I’m already a target thanks to all the dirt in this book. However, that blueprint Bolos was given was a treasure map. A treasure map leading to the greatest prize for any adventurer.”

  She leaned in, breath tickling his face.

  “It was a map to Hero-King Gregor Roan’s secret treasure vault, the place he hid a majority of his wealth and loot gained over decades as a wandering hero. And now, its location is ours!”