Advent of Eternity - Chapter 72 (Patreon)

“That’s why I’m running,” Cyll replied with a grunt. His long legs covered the ground at incredible speed for an unenhanced mortal. He was practically bounding. Stix darted alongside them, her dexterity allowing her to keep up.

“Won’t they chase us?” Stix asked.

“Most of them won’t. Dread said there was a traitor, even though she probably meant me. That should have them fooled, but Sorfina won’t be. If she escapes, she’ll be after us.”

“That sounds like a bad thing.”

“We’ll see,” Knell replied.

And so they ran. Knell allowed himself to relax slightly. His head felt like it was nearly about to split, and if he didn’t get at least a little rest, he wasn’t confident they’d be able to execute the escape properly if anything went wrong.

His eyes fluttered. When they opened again, cold water was soaking his clothes. He groaned, blinking. Cyll was swimming through the water toward their ship. They reached it and Cyll climbed aboard, dumping Knell on the deck.

“Damn, that was actually a little tiring,” Cyll said. “You all good, Cap?”

“I’ll be fine,” Knell said, pushing himself upright with a grimace. “Where’s my staff?”

“I’ve got it,” Stix said, hopping aboard and shaking herself off. She handed Knell the staff and the boat in a bottle. “I hope this was worth it.”

“Start getting the boat moving,” Knell said, examining the bottle. The ship within it shimmered with green light. It looked like a galleon, but large chunks were missing from the model. It looked like it had been run aground time and time again. The figurehead was completely missing and the damage to its bottom meant it would sink as soon as it touched the water.

Despite that, the bottle hummed in Knell’s hands. It didn’t feel familiar, but it felt… right. He turned the bottle over in his hands, trying to pinpoint what it was. A tiny wisp of green light rose off it, sparking against his skin.

“Time magic,” Knell muttered. “That’s what it is.”

“Not the time to be looking at toys,” Cyll said, grunting as he prepared the sails. “We’re about to be under attack.”

“No. This is the perfect time to do it,” Knell muttered. “This feels right.”

Faint whispers touched his mind. Knell recoiled, instantly throwing up every trick for mental defense he knew, but he paused. They didn’t feel malicious. Again, it was almost comforting. Like something that was meant to be. The ship was calling to him, and it wanted freedom.

The boat slid forward as Cyll and Stix raised the anchor. They started to sail away from the island as pirates poured out of Mount Bloodwater. Among them, Knell spotted Sorfina and Maya’s furious faces. The island into a bloodbath as the crews of the captains leapt from their boats and joined in.

“I don’t think we’re going to be able to outpace all of them,” Cyll said.

“We won’t have to,” Stix exclaimed as they pulled away. “Look! Most of them are just killing each other.”

“Not all,” Knell said, squinting. Sorfina and Maya had met with their crew, who were holding off the other pirates as they retreated to their ship. It was a large galleon with blue colors, and magical energy glimmered all over it. There were almost certainly enchantments on the ship, and Knell suspected she had someone with a Path that would accelerate how fast it moved.

It only took a few minutes for Sorfina’s ship to slip away from port. Evidently, they’d been prepared for a quick retreat. A grin tugged at Knell’s lips. Perhaps she’d been planning to betray them all along.

“What do we do?” Cyll asked. “Your plan ended us with running away.”

“I was expecting the other pirates to kill Sorfina,” Knell admitted. “But this is fine. It might actually work better for our purposes anyway. Stop the ship.”

“What?” Cyll did a double take. “They’ll catch us in minutes.”

“Just do it,” Knell said. “I’m confident.”

“Whatever you say, Cap,” Cyll said with a shrug. He and Stix ran over and started to take care of the sails.

Meanwhile, Knell walked up to the edge of the ship. He examined the bottle in his hand, the whispers still tickling the back of his head. Then he flicked the cork off. The bottle cracked and Knell dropped it into the sea below them.

“Well, now you’ve gone and lost the damn thing we just spent so much effort getting,” Cyll drawled. Knell glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, and Cyll smirked. He clearly didn’t believe a single word coming out of his own mouth.

“Whatever you’re doing, I hope it’s fast,” Stix said. “Do you want me to run onto their ship and try to slow them to buy you time?”

“No,” Knell said, shaking his head. The whispers in his head were growing stronger. He could feel the boat beneath them. “Just get ready to jump when I say to.”

Stix blinked, then nodded. “Okay.”

They stared into the water. Waves lapped against the hull of their stolen ship. Then, from beneath the depths, bubbles started to rise. They popped as they reached the surface, growing in number and speed as a large area before them started to turn white. The whispers reached a crescendo in Knell’s mind.

“Now!” Knell barked.

Cyll grabbed Knell and leapt over the edge of the ship. Stix jumped after them, and the ocean surged to meet them. Water split apart as green wood burst from the sea and the deck of a ship breached the waves.

They only fell for a few feet before the ship rose up to meet them, lifting them all into the air above the little sloop. Wood creaked and groaned beneath their feet and Cyll shifted his weight, trying to keep himself and Knell upright.

The scent of rotted wood hung low in the air around them. Ropes whipped around overhead, pulling themselves into position as a tattered black sail fell from the mast above. Large holes in the deck around them revealed two decks below. The damage to the ship was painfully extensive, and water was already rushing in.

Knell drew in a breath and pressed his hand to the planks. This was going to hurt. He steeled his nerves and cast Exhume. As he expected, a wall of resistance rose to bar his path. It was one of the strongest ones he’d felt yet. The ship was massive, and on top of that, it was seeped in magic.