Advent of Eternity - Chapter 74 (Patreon)

“You sure?” Cyll asked, raising an eyebrow. “She looks tasty. I could probably get a few good meals out of her. Have you ever tried eating people that are at high levels? They’re quite nutritious. Great for getting stronger.”

Stix gagged. “You can’t be serious.”

“He isn’t,” Knell said, pressing his lips together. “Now stop wasting time. Throw the woman off the deck and get to helping the boat move. We don’t know how long it will be until the other pirates wake up. Our fear factor will only last so long.”

His crew sprung into motion. The ship helped of its own volition, flickers of ghostly pirates fading in and out as they helped take the ship further away from Mount Bloodwater. Knell leaned against the mast, weariness threatening to overcome him.

He slumped down with a groan, the exhaustion of the day catching up with him. He’d gone far too much overboard, but it would be worth it. Hopefully. His eyes fluttered, and then he was asleep.

Knell jerked awake with a snort. The sun had shifted through the sky above them. He cursed under his breath.

“Finally awake?” Cyll asked, his face appearing above Knell and causing his beard to poke his captain. Knell batted it away and sat up with a groan.

“How long?”

“Just an hour or so,” Cyll replied cheerfully. “The ship doesn’t seem to be doing too well, though. I think it’s losing power. It’s doing less and less to help us. You sure it’ll be seafaring when this is all over? I’d hate to sink in the middle of the ocean.”

“What did Maud say?”

“The skeleton said we’d be fine.”

“Then listen to the skeleton. It has no reason to lie. What about tails? Are any pirates following us?”

“No,” Cyll replied, shaking his head. “Nobody. Looks like we got away with it. Damn surprising. I honestly would have thought they’d chase us for the ship.”

“We must have been intimidating enough when we sank Sorfina,” Knell said with a relieved sigh. “Good. That was the only part I was concerned over.”

“The only one?” Stix asked, emerging from below deck and walking to join them. “I overheard you talking, sorry. But you can’t tell me you had all of that planned. Only half of it was in the plan we went over before we got on the island.”

“That’s about how much I had planned,” Knell replied. “But that’s the important part of a strategy of this size. There was no way to predict every single thing that the pirates would do. There were too many factors. Too many things out of my reach. I didn’t have enough information to work something truly intricate, so I instead focused on major points. The main thing I was unsure of is how they would react after we took care of Sorfina or escaped.”

“Knowing the boat would be one of the treasures and that the pirates would already have some sort of treachery amongst themselves were the main things you counted on, right?” Stix guessed.

“And that Sorfina would be furious if we made a fool of her. It was the only realistic way I’d get her mad enough to make a mistake bad enough to let me kill her,” Knell said. “We had two ultimate goals today. The first was to get this ship. The second was to kill Sorfina. The fame we’ll get for offing a pirate captain in the middle of a swarm of pirates is enormous. It will do much to help us in the future.”

“And putting the traitorous crabapple in her place certainly felt good too,” Cyll said, baring his teeth. “I didn’t eat her, by the way.”

“I know you didn’t,” Knell said wearily. “You aren’t a cannibal. You’re just deranged.”

“Aw, thanks.”

Knell grimaced. He was still exhausted. He looked up at the sky, watching the clouds track overhead. For the first time in years, he actually wanted to sleep. To rest. Knell crushed the feeling, not permitting it to work any farther. He couldn’t afford it, not when so much was at stake.

“Knell?” Stix asked.

He blinked. “What?”

“You were zoned out. Are you okay?”

“I – yeah. I’m fine,” Knell said. “Help me to my feet. There’s more we need to deal with. I have to figure out what our next steps will be.”

Stix studied him. Then she shook her head. “No.”

“What?”

“No. You’re exhausted. We just got away with something huge. You need to take a break, Knell.”

“I believe I just gave you an order,” Knell said.

He started to rise, but Cyll put a hand on his shoulder and pushed him back down. “She’s right, Cap. We won the day. Relax, at least for a little.”

“There is no time to relax. There is always more to do.”

“Then it can wait,” Cyll growled. “Stay down, Captain. Do you want to know how many good men I saw burn themselves to a crisp as they reached for the heavens? Too goddamn many. You’ve got potential, but it means nothing if you die in a few years. For a strategist, you know nothing of pacing. This isn’t a sprint, idiot. It’s a continent-long run.”

Knell’s chest twisted. Cyll’s words rang true, and he hated every second of it. “But… how can I do that? The gods are still there. If I’m not working against them, they are widening the gap between us.”

“That’s what every other idiot that I worked with in my rebellion said,” Cyll said. “And you know what happened to them? They’re dead. I watched them die. I watched them kill themselves, one rushed action at a time. I know it feels like you’re racing against the gods, but you don’t have their stamina. Pace yourself, or I’ll watch another chance to kill the gods slip between my fingers.”

Passion and fury burned in the older man’s eyes. Knell drew a breath and let it out slowly.

“Perhaps you’re right.”

Cyll blinked, as if her were surprised that Knell agreed with him. “Really?”

“Your words have some merit,” Knell said. “I cannot rest long, but it would not hurt to take a small break. It would be bad if I broke myself, even though I hate the idea of stopping for any period of time.”

“Huh. I didn’t think that would work,” Stix said. “But I’m glad it did. Where should we go?”

“Find a town about half a week’s travel away,” Knell replied. “That will be far enough that we won’t have to worry about immediately getting attacked. We’ll progress from there.”

“We’ll handle it,” Cyll promised. “You can just rest.”

Knell pursed his lips and nodded. He leaned his head against the mast, this time allowing himself to slip off into much needed sleep without resisting its call.