Advent of Eternity - Chapter 65 (Patreon)

After nearly a week at sea, Knell was pretty certain that the assassin wasn’t going to come after them again. He couldn’t afford to keep straining his eyes like he had been, so he finally pushed the incident to the side. He’d simply account for the possibility that the assassin would return in his plan, but based on how long it had been, he was nearly certain that their assailant was unlikely to interfere again in the near term.

Dealing with the pirates was a bigger problem. Knell chewed on his lower lip as he ran through the possibilities. The bounty was almost certainly still out on him. Cyll and Stix likely had theirs too, but they were less recognizable. He’d have to disguise himself somehow.

Still, that wasn’t his main concern. None of the pirates would think they’d be dumb enough to show up. They’d be watching for people that would try to sneak in, of course. The treasure in Mount Bloodwater was significant, so they wouldn’t want it stolen.

That was why they wouldn’t be sneaking in at all. A grin tugged at the edges of Knell’s lips. They wouldn’t expect that at all. It would be a simple matter to modify the name on their ship to get rid of any recognizable features. As long as they flew the black flag, the other pirates wouldn’t have any reason to assume he had ill intentions.

The most important thing would be to avoid Sorfina and her crew – at least, to start with. They were the ones most likely to recognize him. But, more than that, Knell planned to ensure that their next meeting would be their last.

Since he still wasn’t sure exactly what was hidden within Bloodwater, they’d need to blend in for a while. Once the true prizes were revealed, a well-placed distraction would buy him the time he needed to grab one of the lesser ones and make off with it. He doubted the pirates were particularly friendly with each other, so they’d probably all be suspecting betrayal to some degree. Knell could work with that.

He continued to develop his plan as much as he could, leaving gaps for when he had a better understanding of the situation and who he could work with amongst the pirate crews. A flew would show itself. They always did.

They arrived at Mount Bloodwater not too long later. Cyll docked the boat along the shore and came to the cabin to get Knell and Stix.

“So, what now?” Cyll asked. “It’s a big ass mountain, by the way.”

“I can tell,” Knell said as he got his first look at Mount Bloodwater. As Cyll had so eloquently put, it was indeed a big ass mountain. Its peak loomed past the clouds above them. The mountain was made of a reddish brown stone that strongly resembled blood, which Knell supposed was where it had gotten its name.

Craggy peaks covered the mountain, giving it a standoffish and unwelcoming appearance. Wind howled through them, the stone formations making it sound like distant wailing.

“That’s pretty creepy,” Stix muttered. “Is this place haunted?”

“We’ve already dealt with one ghost town,” Cyll said. “And they died just like men.”

“They were men.”

“Exactly.”

Knell studied their surroundings while Cyll and Stix spoke. A crescent moon shaped island wrapped around the base of Mount Bloodwater. It was mostly flat, but curved upward at the far end. There was enough cover to possibly hide a smaller ship on the far side, which Knell made note of.

“We need to get rid of any recognizable markings on the ship,” Knell said, interrupting his crew. “Before anyone gets here, can both of you take stones and scratch out the name? Make it look like we ran into something or the like.”

“Sure,” Cyll said with a shrug. “What’s your plan after that? We’re a pretty distinct lot, you know. The other pirates are going to recognize you pretty damn fast.”

“Let me worry about that,” Knell replied. “Just get the ship ready. Once it’s good, try to disguise yourself as much as you can. The less recognizable we are, the better.”

He headed back into the cabin. If he had to, he’d make a physical disguise to conceal his face. But there was one more possibility – one he’d been pushing off.

Knell closed the door to the cabin and sat down on his bed. The spells usually followed their wording pretty precisely, but Mordrigal’s gift had twisted his body beyond that of a normal human. There was only one way to know for sure, so Knell turned his magic against himself and cast Exhume.

Tingles raced across Knell’s face. He was pleasantly surprised to find the power draw of the spell to be incredibly low. Slowly, Knell raised a hand and touched the skin on his cheek. It was smooth and unblemished.

He tried expanding the spell to include his leg as well, but the amount of energy the magic was drawing spiked up and he immediately stopped. Evidently, restoring appearance was much less costly than fixing a crippled limb.

Knell touched his skin again, running his hands over his face. There were no jagged cracks or scars – just supple skin. He started to chuckle, and it turned to a full blown laugh. He doubled over his merriment ringing out over the ship.

“So easily your administrations are defeated, Mordrigal,” Knell said, finally getting control over himself. “Even if this is only temporary, I imagine you must be quite furious.”

Knell was nearly certain she hadn’t heard him, courtesy of the necklace hanging at his chest. That suited him just fine. The less the Shard of the death goddess knew, the better.