“If you’re wondering, we’re not going back,” Richard said. “We’re coming with you.”
“Why would you follow me?” I couldn’t think of a good reason why the squires would want to chase the knights with me. They would risk their positions aboard the Stalwart, and possibly worse.
“We agreed to follow them before the Rutheni showed up, and we’re not backing out,” Nathan added.
“Tell Nick the truth,” Richard said to his brother before meeting my eyes. “You’re our friend, Nick. We’re not gonna let you go alone.”
My body buzzed with emotions, and I didn’t know how to respond. I never had time to make friends besides Alice. She’d died because of me, and I feared I’d also be responsible for these squires coming to harm. Unfortunately, I could see the determination in their faces, and there’d be no convincing them otherwise.
I gave them a nod. “Alright. But if I’m wrong, you could all be in serious trouble.”
“We know,” Nathan said. “It’s not like our lives can get shittier. The Stalwart is the worst ship in the RTF, after all. Getting kicked off it wouldn’t exactly ruin our careers.”
“And something tells me you’re onto something.” Neville met my eyes, and I got the feeling he was doing a lot of hard thinking. The nobleman paused for a bit before speaking again. “Sorry about threatening you on the ship, Nick. I haven’t been myself for the last year. All I’ve been doing is moping around because I was so angry about my assignment to the Stalwart. Bitterness ate me up and turned me into a bit of a dick.”
“A bit?” Richard mocked.
“Don’t worry about it,” I said as I ignored the twin and shook Neville’s hand.
“You two gonna kiss or something?” Nathan said with a playful grin.
Neville whipped him over the rump with the flat-end of his blade, and we burst out laughing.
“Ow! How about an apology for that?” the twin asked with an over exaggerated moan of pain.
Neville smirked as he tucked the rapier into his prot-belt, and we all walked over to the portal.
The artillerymen left, and then the jump mage entered the portal. Zac remained behind as the magical blue doorway to the Stalwart closed.
“You’re coming, too?” I asked the artilleryman as he approached.
“I’m not gonna miss out on all the fun,” Zac said as he checked over his rifle. “I told the other artillerymen we’re staying planetside. They weren’t happy about it, but I outrank them. I gave them something to tell Captain Cross. I don’t know if he’ll believe it, but we’ve got a little time.”
“Captain Cross is going to know something is wrong with us, and I’m assuming he’ll know we are looking into his knights,” I said. “We need to find out what we can before he sends others after us.”
“Then why are we waiting around here?” Nathan asked. “The knights left five minutes ago. They’re gonna be moving fast on those hoverbikes, and we don’t know where they went either.”
Zac grinned. “You’re wrong. I know exactly where they’ve gone, and I have the perfect way to get us there. Tachion used to be my playground before I joined the RTF.”
Chapter 22
We traveled through the city on foot for over an hour until we reached the seedier streets of Salenum. I was worried we’d lose the knights, but Zac assured me this was the only place we’d find a skiff fast enough to catch up to them. I kept my hand on my rapier’s hilt the whole time, but besides a few insistent hawkers, we didn’t encounter any trouble.
The artilleryman led us to a two-story ramshackle tavern nestled between three multi-level buildings. Flashing signs offering the kinds of pleasures I’d only heard whispers about at the Academy decorated the exterior of the skyscrapers, and five women lounging on the front porches whistled to us as we approached the tavern.
“What do you suppose they want?” Nathan asked as he stared at the scantily-clad women and smirked.
“Your currency,” Neville said.
“Well, I do have quite a bit of that. Zac, how long do you think you’ll be speaking with the tavern keeper about a skiff?”
“Bad idea.” Zac pulled Nathan away from a blonde woman with mountainous breasts who’d stalked toward us like a hungry apex predator. “Only reason you take a naked romp with a Salenum girl is if you’re looking to catch something.”
“She didn’t look too bad,” Nathan muttered as we entered the tavern’s double-doors.
“The worst ones never do. Trust me,” the artillerymen advised with a note of finality.
The squire cast a forlorn look over his shoulder as the tavern doors closed.
The ground floor contained a dozen circular tables with six chairs surrounding each of them. Most of the tables were filled with patrons who were more than likely criminals of various shades. I was surprised to see the tavern so full early in the morning, but I figured these people were probably still drinking from the night before.
Women clad in sheer robes fluttered from table to table, scanning currency chips on their customers’ wrists in exchange for mugs of beer, sometimes earning a slap on the ass for their troubles. I wondered whether any of the women in this part of the city owned clothing that wasn’t transparent.
Zac marched through the tables towards the bar along the far wall. As I trailed behind him, I had to stop breathing through my nostrils to avoid the stench of stale beer and unwashed bodies. I considered triggering my visor so I could breathe recycled air, but I was getting enough dirty looks just in my armor; wearing a full helmet would probably make the shady patrons even more uneasy.
“Zachary!” a rotund man called from behind the bar. He was wearing a waistcoat that glowed neon from the runes embroidered into the garment. It was Runetech equipment, and the tavern’s owner complete disregard of the local laws made me a bit uneasy.
“Hirsch,” Zac said as he approached the bar.
“It’s been some time since you were a patron of my fine establishment.” As if on cue, the light above the tavern keeper flickered before going out. “Well, maybe it was fine once. Now, I’d say it’s average.”
“I need a skiff,” Zac said. “Something really fast.”
“You and your friends look thirsty,” Hirsch said as though he hadn’t heard Zac. “Let me fetch you a drink.” The tubby man grabbed a mug and held it beneath the tap. He pulled on it but stopped halfway. “You do have currency, don’t you?”
“Yes,” Zac confirmed, “but we really need the ship. We don’t have time to--”
“Nonsense,” Hirsch said with a wave of his hand. “There’s always time for a drink. Besides, this is my best brew.”
The tavern keeper dispersed a round of mugs filled with a pale liquid to Zac and the squires. I drank a mouthful of the watered-down beer and tried not to show my disgust. The flat liquid tasted rancid and smelled like urine. I wouldn’t have put it past the snivelling owner to recycle from the bathroom stalls.
“So,” the owner said as he ran his hands through oily hair the color of rust, “you want one of my skiffs?”
“Yes,” Zac said. “And I need it now. We don’t have much time.”
“Why the hurry? Now that you’re part of RTF you don’t have time for your old buddy? Wasn’t long ago I was--”
“Please, Hirsch,” Zac interrupted with a sigh. “A skiff.”
“I suppose I can give you a deal,” the man offered as he dried his hands on a towel and flipped it over his shoulder. “But it’ll cost you.”
“Sure,” Zac said. “I got KPs. Some Tachion currency, too.”
“Nuh uh,” Hirsch said with a shake of his grubby finger. “Can’t have this one on the books. You’ll do a trade.” The tavern keeper set his beady eyes on us. “One piece of gear from each of you. Squire class or above, and I’ll trade you a Common piece from my stores in the back.”
“That’s not exactly reasonable,” Zac said.
Hirsch ignored Zac’s comment and thrust his finger at the gun hanging from the artil
leryman’s shoulder. “I’ll take your rifle.”
The artilleryman turned to me. “There are a few other folks in this district who won’t rob us of our equipment. Their ships won’t be as fast, but they’ll--”
“We don’t have time,” I said, feeling a little guilty about cutting him off. But the knights might already be at their destination by now, and we couldn’t guarantee they’d stay there for long. I turned to my companions. “I don’t expect you guys to hand over your equipment for my mission. You want to pull out now, that’s fine by me. I’ll go after the knights by myself.”
I would probably have to hand over lots of my equipment to Hirsch in exchange for a skiff, but it was necessary. My mission to the Queen was more important than any of my gear.
Nathan, Richard, and Neville shared a quiet conversation while Hirsch drummed his fingers on the bench.
“We said we’d go with you,” Richard said after they’d finished talking. “And we’re not exactly broke. We might have been assigned to the Stalwart, but we have plenty of currency to buy some new stuff from the point clerk.”
“You fellas finished flapping your gums?” Hirsch asked. “So, what’ll it be, Zaccy Boy, gonna take my deal? It’s a onetime offer.”
I removed the ring from my belt pouch, unclipped the Rutheni knight’s prot-belt from my waist, and then released the poleaxe from my magnetons. I placed all three items on the table beside me, and then added Emeric’s two-handed axe to the pile.
Hirsch’s eyes widened, and his mouth dropped a little with surprise.
“I’m not giving these up just yet,” I cautioned the tavern keeper, and he frowned in disappointment. I turned to the squires. “I’m gonna scan these now and see whether any of them are worth trading over my existing equipment.”
I owned a Squire class cuirass, hammer, and prot-belt, but they were all essential to my current gear set, so I preferred to trade one of the items I’d looted from the knights.
I didn’t want to use my prot-belt’s holographic menu since it would mean broadcasting the items’ stats to Hirsch. I figured if one of them was particularly valuable, the tavern keeper might get a bout of envy and demand it from me.
And any attempt to steal from me would lead to bloodshed we didn’t have time for.
So I pressed my helmet, and my visor closed over my face. I scanned the ring first.
Item type: Vampiric Band
Runes inscribed: Siphon
Rune class: Knight ([unknown])
Rune effect: Grants the use of the siphon spell.
Siphon (spell) - leeches life essence from enemy. Life essence can be used to enhance runes.
The rune class said the specialist role was unknown, but I now knew it belonged to the class of lich knights. This item explained how Emeric had summoned the powerful Lightning Sprites and healed himself so quickly without a medkit. He must have siphoned energy from the Rutheni knight he’d killed.
I was wondering how Emeric stored the energy, but I got my answer when I scanned the prot-belt.
Item type: Reliquary Belt
Power class: Knight (any specialist)
Item effect: Contains 2x runic batteries for the storage of life essences.
So the belt’s runic batteries allowed Emeric to store the essence he drained from his enemies. It was a powerful weapon that synergized well with both the two-handed axe and the ring. I shouldn’t have been surprised a specialist knight would be equipped with synergizing gear. The power level of these items was so far beyond anything I’d ever held in my hands.
There was no way I was handing these over to Hirsch. Even if the lich role was banned in the RTF, I could still find a use for them. Maybe after today was done, I’d get enough KPs after selling them so Mom could move to a nicer apartment. She’d still be in the tenements, but at least she could get a place above the smog.
That only left Emeric’s axe, the Rutheni knight’s polearm, or the obsidian necklace to exchange with the tavern keeper.
I already knew the stats for the axe, so I scanned the polearm while the other squires inspected the items they’d looted today.
Weapon type: The Eidolon’s Bardiche
Additional damage: None
Power class: Knight (Summoner)
Weapon effect: Damage dealt with weapon increased by 10% if a summoned creature has struck the enemy first.
Runes inscribed: Offering
Rune class: Knight (Summoner)
Rune effects: Offering increases the strength and vitality of a summoned creature by 15% while the weapon is in use.
After reading the poleaxe’s rune effect, I immediately attached it to my magnetons. It was one weapon I wouldn’t give up, especially since I was getting a feel for summoning. I’d seen the combat style’s effectiveness first hand on this planet. Although the summoner role had gone out of vogue lately, that didn’t mean I couldn’t find a knight to teach me one day.
Plus, Emeric’s ring, axe, and prot-belt were far too intriguing for me to hand over to Hirsch willingly.
The other squires had already finished scanning their newly acquired equipment, so their eyes were on me as I removed the necklace from my belt pouch.
The tavern seemed to darken in the same manner as when I’d picked up the piece of jewelry in the king’s armory. A tingling sensation traveled down my spine while the obsidian jewel spun in my right hand.
“Whoa,” Nathan said, and it seemed like the rest of the men shared his awe.
Hirsch licked his lips greedily as I entered the item in my prot-belt.
Item type: Overlord’s Heart
Runes inscribed: Mastery (+2)
Rune class: Uncapped
Rune effect: Wearer can use any item 2 levels above their class for a duration of 30 seconds. Requires repairing after a single usage.
The text bore a metallic hue, which meant the item was unique. I was holding in my hand the only version known to mankind.
Overlord’s Heart allowed me to wield the two-handed axe, the Bardiche, or Emeric’s prot-belt. The effect was incredibly limited, and the rune would be expensive to repair, but it would be worth it.
I blinked a few times out of disbelief, expecting the text on my visor to fade and the item description to become something less powerful. But that didn’t happen. My hand was shaking as I fastened the amulet around my neck and slipped it beneath my tunic. The jewel felt warm against my skin, and the lights in the tavern brightened once more.
I couldn’t give up any of the equipment I’d gained on Tachion, they would be worth too many Kingdom Points, and I needed to get promoted as soon as possible. I would have to give up another item.
The hammer was useful for summoning, and the Rutheni knight’s poleaxe would strengthen my lightning sprites. Without my prot-belt, I couldn’t generate a prot-field, and then a bullet would become deadly to me.
The only item left was my cuirass.
The chest piece granted me a standard absorption rating, and its Enhance rune increased my prot-field’s recharge rate by 15%. Those were excellent stats, but I could live with whatever piece of armor Hirsch would trade me. Besides, I didn’t see myself getting into any more fights today, and any of the items I wanted to hold onto would generate enough KPs to buy a better chest piece later.
I unclipped my cuirass and slammed it onto the table, spilling three mugs of the vile beer onto the brick floor.
“Now, now, there’s no need to be rude about it.” Hirsch’s giant grin suggested he wasn’t offended at all by what I’d done. He scooped up my armor for inspection, and he shuddered a little with gleeful pleasure.
Nathan then placed his helmet onto the table, Richard his shield, and then Neville added a necklace to the pile.
In all, they were probably worth more than 5,000 KPs. But the gear we’d looted from the knights was far more valuable.
“Get these fellas some replacement equipment,” Hirsch said to a barman.
“I’ll take a pair of boots if you’ve got them
.” Nathan grinned as he pointed at the boot the bear’s blood had seared a hole through.
Hirsch nodded to the barman, and the man went into the back room.
He returned with a replacement chestpiece, helmet, shield, and boots. They were all Common class, the lowest rank of Runetech equipment, and not one piece bore a single rune.
“I need a gun,” Zac said to the barman. “This is meant to be a trade, isn’t it?”
The barman grunted, lifted a pistol from beneath his waistline, and tossed the weapon to Zac.
“Are you sure this thing works?” the artilleryman said as he inspected the firearm.
“Last I checked,” the attendant replied with a shrug.
“You have the ship until tomorrow,” Hirsch said as he held out a keycard. “Any damage and you’re paying for the whole thing. It’s in the garage at the end of the block. You’ll know it when you see it.”
Zac snatched the keycard from the tavern keeper and stormed out from the fetid building.
“Sorry about that,” Zac said to us as we struggled to keep up with him. “Hirsch can be a real tight-ass. I would have gone elsewhere had I known he’d swindle us like that.”
“Thanks for giving up your rifle,” I said, and then I turned to the squires walking alongside me. “Thanks to you all, we’re on our way to find the knights.”
I was convinced now that my friends were on my side because they’d so readily sacrificed their gear to get us transport.
“Enough of that sappy stuff,” Nathan said, and he pointed in front of us. “I think that’s our aircraft.”
Inside an open-air garage was a polished black racing skiff. The craft was about seven meters long and three meters wide. The only weaponry was a mounted cannon, and I figured its presence was more for aesthetics than utility. I couldn’t tell what kind of weapon it was because it blended seamlessly with the sleek, angular lines of the rest of the aircraft.
“Told you Hirsch would come through.” Zac laughed as he scanned the keycard and the skiff’s door hissed open.
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