PreCursive
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Chapter 96 - Concerned Friends
🕑 Added 2023-10-23 17:00:06 +0000 UTCThankfully, the inside of the manor was just as tastefully decorated as the outside. I only had experience with manor decorations in the style of dwarven nobility, and this wasn’t anywhere near that. Rather than having gold everywhere, Grey’s pirate home seemed to be mostly wood and earth tones. He had plenty of nautical embellishments dotting the wall, though.
However, this place didn’t seem very lived in. Everything was covered in sheets, from the couches and chairs in the sitting room near the door, to the dining table we found. Those sheets were covered in dust, as well. I wonder why this place didn’t have a stasis enchantment on it like the room in the tavern? As it is, those of us with of a fleshy persuasion were sneezing constantly just being indoors, while our Sculpted friends were unbothered. Fade abandoned me only a few minutes into our explorations, racing out the front door to the gardens outside. I didn’t blame him.
Azarus and I got to work making at least one area livable, dusting the sitting room and opening a window. When we were done, I collapsed onto one of the couches with a sigh. Azarus had done the same, only he had claimed one of the other couches in order to get some sleep. My dwarven friend had passed out nearly immediately, and was snoring not far from where I was sitting. Aurum had wandered off somewhere. I think he was still curious about the manor, and was exploring it a bit more.
That left only Sylvia and I in the sitting room. Well, the only conscious ones, at least. I closed my eyes, and let my head roll back to rest on the head of the couch. I was…pretty tired. Not just physically, but emotionally as well. When I had woken up this morning, before we’d even gotten to Marrowmist, I don’t know what I was expecting. But it certainly hadn't been...
I sighed, my eyes still closed.
I was knocked out of my introspection by feeling someone sit beside me on the couch. Cracking an eye open, I saw that it was Sylvia.
She had a concerned look on her metallic face.
Lightly, as if she was afraid I would lash out, she lay a cool hand on my forearm. I twitched slightly, but didn’t move otherwise. “Nathan,” Sylvia said in a concerned tone. “Are you…all right?”
Fully opening my eyes, I turned away from her to stare off into space. I took a deep breath and held it for a moment, before letting it out slowly. “I don’t know,” I answered in a low tone.
“I see,” Sylvia said quietly. “Why don’t you start from the beginning? What possessed you to assault that warehouse?”
I continued staring out into space, not looking at her. I don’t know why I was so afraid of looking at her. It’s not like I was particularly interested in the ship wheel on the far wall. Maybe…I just didn’t want to see the pity on her face.
“One minute, I was fine,” I said slowly. “The next, I saw Pete being dragged out of a room with a collar around his neck. I…it was like something immediately hardened inside me. The world narrowed, and I suddenly didn’t care about anything but the fact there was a slave in front of me.” I stopped for a moment, before haltingly speaking again. “I didn’t care about the mission. I didn’t care about Azarus. I don’t even think I cared about myself anymore. In my mind, it was like I was back in Addersfield, and Magnus was taunting me again.” I nearly snarled his name, tensing up at just the mention of my former ‘owner’.
“Nathan…” I heard Sylvia say, concern thick in her voice. “Look at me.”
Reluctantly, I tore my eyes away from the wall to look at Sylvia. There wasn’t any pity on silver features. She just looked worried. Her hand drifted from my forearm to rest on top of my hand, while her other came around to cup the bottom of it. She met my eyes.
“I don’t mean to lecture you,” Sylvia began soothingly. “But…you understand that this cannot happen again, correct? You may have unusual abilities, but you’re still fairly low-leveled. What if the guards in that warehouse had been too much for you? I cannot imagine how that would have ended. I only found your location because of the noise that woman made destroying that wall, and I cannot promise I will always be there to assist.”
I took another deep breath and nodded. “I know. They kind of were too much for me,” I admitted quietly. “I’m pretty sure they were all stronger than I was. I just…got the drop on them.” I was telling the truth here. I was pretty sure that all three of the now dead pirate guards could have taken me in a straight fight, where I didn’t have any tricks up my sleeve. Thankfully, I had a few of those. But…
I couldn’t depend on those always being enough to save me.
We sat in silence for a moment before Sylvia spoke again. “I…cannot comprehend what you experienced, under the yoke of slavery. Unlike many of my brethren, I was spared that fate from the moment I became aware. But…that does not mean you must bear this burden alone, Nathan. I am here, if you wish to speak of it.”
I smiled at Sylvia, gazing into gemlike blue eyes, before shaking my head. “Not…yet. I don’t think I want to talk about…that. But thank you, I’ll keep that in mind.” I squeezed her hand, before forcing a smile on my face. “You’re surprisingly good at this. Was it Grey that taught you how to comfort other people?” I couldn’t keep a note of doubt from creeping into my voice. Grey had his virtues, but I don’t think that emotional understanding was one of them.
Sylvia obviously recognized the change in subject, but played along anyway. “Hmm, no. Father was not the one to teach me my…social graces, so to speak. Rather, it was one of the people that we seek to rescue from the prison. Lady Honoka.”
I raised my eyebrows in interest, hearing that name. “I never got an explanation about who that is, you know? Are you and Grey close to her?”
Sylvia laughed slightly, with a peculiar look on her face. “Lady Honoka is an old…friend,” She said the word ‘friend’ in a slightly doubtful tone of voice. “Of Fathers. They have a very strange relationship. Regardless, she remains the second in charge of the Academy, as well as the lead instructor of Cultivation. Father meanwhile heads up the Magecraft division.”
“And…she taught you?”
Sylvia nodded, smiling fondly. “Yes. I would say that I owe much of my socialization to Lady Honoka. Father is somewhat…absentminded at times. Not to say that he is neglectful of me or doesn’t care, no. More that he can easily become absorbed in his work, leading to long disappearances. Conversely, Lady Honoka’s door was always open to me. I spent a great deal of time with her,” Her face fell. “And now the Loyalists have locked her up in one of the harshest places in the Kingdom. I didn’t even know. She hadn’t been captured before I left on my hunt for Father.”
I reached over to lay my other hand on top of hers this time, in a mirror of her from earlier. I met Sylvia’s eyes again. “She won’t be in there much longer, Sylvia. We’re nearly there.”
Sylvia smiled slightly at my words. “Yes. We are, aren’t we,” She said softly.
Suddenly, I heard the front door of the manor bang open. From the entryway of the manor, I heard Grey’s voice. “We’re here! Everyone, if you could meet us in the sitting room!” He called out, unaware that most of us were already in there. His call must have been enough to wake up Azarus, because I heard him stop snoring and groan. At the same time that Azarus was sitting up on his couch, Grey appeared in the doorway of the sitting room. He was trailed by Venix, and stopped in momentary surprise at everyone’s presence within. Actually, he was staring at both Sylvia and I. He raised an eyebrow our way, with a curious look on his aged features. Venix was unphased, and merely passed Grey to slowly lower his massive frame into one of the available chairs. It creaked under his weight.
All of sudden, I remembered that Sylvia and I had essentially started holding hands during our conversation. I flushed, gently prying my hand out of hers, to her curious gaze. I…don’t think she was aware of the subtext of a man and a woman holding hands, even if that woman was a sort of magical robot. Grey’s other eyebrow rose as well at me.
I coughed into a closed fist. “So, uh, how did it go? Did Bella agree to transport us to Caer Drarrow?”
While Grey was staring at me, Aurum appeared in the doorway as well, edging past my mentor with a quick smile. He shuffled into the room, and sat in one of the unoccupied chairs. Curiously, Fade appeared as well, apparently drawn by Grey’s shout. He sauntered into the room and jumped up onto the couch I was sitting on, settling down at my side. I reflexively laid a hand on his back.
Grey blinked slowly at the scene. “Well,” He said slowly. “Yes, she did. But not without some concessions.”
Azarus yawned, stretching. It seemed like he was recovered from his drunkenness. “Yeah? What did she want?”
Grey wandered in, and with a shooing motion to make room, sat next to Azarus on his couch across from Sylvia and I. “For one, I had to promise her and her crew a position in a shipping company that I own to offset her exile. When the war is concluded, she is essentially to become a law-abiding citizen. At least, for a time.”
Sylvia hummed. “I am surprised that the Captain took such an offer. She did not strike me as a…peaceable woman.”
Grey smiled wryly at his daughter. “Oh, I assure you, she is not. However, she lost nearly the entirety of her wealth to the Neptaurian Prime. She needs time to rebuild her fortunes, as well as her fleet. It’s far easier to do so with legitimate employment, especially in the likely post-war environment. I imagine it’s going to be a very…difficult time, to be a pirate.”
“I’d think it would be easier, right?” I said, drawing Grey’s attention. “Wouldn’t the military, or the navy I guess, be occupied with mopping up whoever loses afterward?”
“Ah, but there is a factor you’re not considering, directly linked to the existence of the Neptaurian herd that attacked Isabella,” Grey said knowingly. “In the aftermath of large-scale conflicts such as this one, monsters are always stronger and appear more frequently. I believe that’s why this herd has appeared out of nearly thin air. They are only the start to the surge of monster attacks, and there hasn’t even been any pitched battles in months. Once the war is concluded, the Kingdom will be downright infested with beasts. While it is true the both the Herztalian military and navy will be occupied, it’s because they’ll be busy with monsters. The seas will not be safe for anyone not willing to battle them, which most pirates are not. Thus, piratry will also drop.”
I nodded at him to show I understood. Meanwhile, Aurum spoke up in a confused tone. “Neptaurian herd?”
Grey turned to face Aurum in surprise. “Ah, my apologies young Aurum. I forgot for a moment that you did not accompany us, and thus did not meet Captain Isabella,” He said in chagrin. He spent a few moments explaining things to Aurum, while I gazed at the Sculpted out of the corner of my eye. Yeah, probably for a damn good reason. The guy was made of solid fucking gold, for God’s sake. He would have been grabbed off of the streets in a heartbeat in this pirate town and probably melted down. Poor guy would have become the new gilding on a ship faster than you could blink. “As it so happens, the Neptaurians are involved in another of the concessions I had to make for Captain Isabella.”
I sighed. “Let me guess. She wants us to take care of them.”
Azarus snorted while Grey smiled at me wryly. “Are you perchance a prophet as well, Nathan? You are correct. Part of Isabella’s demands for her assistance involved culling the herd. She was quite unwilling to abandon vengeance for her lost ships and crew from their attack.”
Venix spoke up for the first time. “It is likely we were going to encounter this herd anyway,” He said flatly. “As the only ship leaving the port, these predators were inevitably going to attack.”
“As you say,” Grey nodded. “I agreed to Isabella’s demand. As we speak, she’s rallying her crew and procuring supplies for the expedition on my coin. Tomorrow morning, we’ll be setting sail to hunt the herd. After that, onwards to Caer Drarrow,” At the look on everyone’s faces, Grey smirked at us. “Oh, it won’t be so bad. A herd of Neptaurians will be good Aether for many of you. I imagine there will be plenty of levels to go around. Meanwhile, I’ll be dealing with the Prime myself. It’s likely beyond anyone else.”
I guess I was going to see what exactly a ‘Neptaurian’ was pretty soon.
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charles curtis
Has he yet again forgotten to check his status after a fight? Admittedly this time he is in a strange mental state.
