Advent of Eternity - Chapter 121 (Patreon)

Several minutes later, there was a soft knock on the door. It opened a moment later and Maya stepped inside, her eyebrows rising as she saw Nyra in the tub.

“Did I come at a bad time?”

Knell gave her a flat stare. “No. Is Cyll getting himself new clothes?”

“Yeah. He took Stix with him, and I figured it would be smarter if I hung around for when something goes wrong. Ah, how much can I say about… anything?”

Nyra squinted at her. “What do you mean by that?”

“Nothing,” Knell replied. “She’s got information that I think could prove mildly useful, so we’ll be keeping her alive for the near future unless I find reason not to.”

Nyra rolled her eyes. “What’s the point of talking tough? You already got me to agree to what you wanted. You can always drop the act.”

Maya’s brow furrowed. “She doesn’t know you very well, does she?”

“I don’t expect every mongrel that Cyll drags out from the back of street alleys to know me. In fact, I would certainly hope they don’t,” Knell said. He glanced down at Nyra, then released her. She sank into the water with a yelp, then grabbed the edges of the tub and pulled her head up.

“What was that for?”

“You had enough strength to move again. Do I look like a backrest to you?”

“Is he unstable enough to try to attack me if I say yes?” Nyra asked Maya.

“No, but you’ll probably end up regretting it later.”

Nyra grunted. Her gaze lowered to Maya’s missing arm and a knowing grin flickered across her lips. “Ah. That’s why you’re here. I thought you were looking for the artifact to fix your ugly ass face, but it’s actually for her arm, isn’t it?”

“There’s something here that can do that?” Maya asked, her eyes widening.

“That does match up with the information we were given,” Knell said noncommittally. “It sounds like you have more intimate knowledge of it, though.”

“There’s a Path Change stone in the dungeon in this area. I saw it a long time ago, and as far as I can tell, it’s still there. I just haven’t been able to get all the damned Scions off my ass for long enough to get it.”

“Why didn’t you get it the last time you were here?” Knell asked.

“I wasn’t strong enough. I barely made it out with my life. It’s different this time around.”

“I’m sure,” Knell drawled. “And what else is in this dungeon? Something more valuable than a Path Change stone, obviously. You wouldn’t have been so willing to give it up if there wasn’t another prize.”

Nyra smirked. “There’s an artifact that I’m after. I think it’s a fair trade. There should be a good bit of treasure waiting around in a hidden dungeon like this, so we can split that. You lot get the stone, and I get the artifact. Equal exchange, eh?”

“We shall see.” Knell pushed himself to his feet and shook the water off his hands. “Speaking of Scions – how many more of them are after you?”

“How am I supposed to know that?”

“You are remarkably useless,” Knell said. He limped over to the window and peered through it with a frown. “Maya, please stand behind the door.”

Maya quickly moved to follow his orders. Her hand went to the sword at her side, but she froze before she could pull it from the sheathe. With a grimace, she just lowered into a fighting stance. “What is it?”

“Some visitors, though it doesn’t seem that they know where their target is,” Knell replied. He glanced at Nyra. “How long have they been on your tail?”

“At least a few weeks. I lost count.”

“Then they have a tracker of some sort. Fantastic,” Knell said. He drew his flintlock and slipped a blue crystal into it before returning the gun to his belt. “I suppose this is one way to do things. Not the one I would have chosen, though. Nyra, they want you for your knowledge, yes?”

“Yep. And the bounty.”

“Fantastic,” Knell said. “Get out of the bathtub. We’re going to go greet our friends.”

“What? I can’t fight yet,” Nyra said. “I need more time to recover.”

“Excuse me, your highness,” Knell said, his eyes darkening. “I was unaware that I had been contracted to wait on your every need. Let me rephrase things. Get out of the bathtub, or I’ll drag your unconscious body down the stairs. If you want my protection, you follow my orders.”

Nyra stepped out of the tub, crossing her arms. “Sure, sure. Let’s hear your genius plan, then. Two cripples and a half dead woman against – how many Scions, exactly?”

“There are about ten people outside, so there are likely at least as many inside.”

“Twenty men, then. And your strongest game piece isn’t even here. You sent him out to buy a shirt. I can’t see why we wouldn’t just wait for him.”

“Because that would be a waste of time,” Knell replied. “And I hate wasting time. Look lively. We’re going downstairs.”

Nyra squinted at Knell, then spat on the ground and cursed. “Fine. I won’t be any more dead up here than down there, but you better have a plan or be a lot stronger than you look.”

Knell pulled the door open and gestured for the women to go before him. He followed the two through the hall and toward the stairwell. Coal remained perched on his shoulder, eyes half closed.

“What’s the plan?” Maya asked in a low tone. “Don’t forget that I really can’t do much right now. I can’t use my sword.”

“You haven’t been able to do much at any point,” Knell replied. Maya flinched and he waved his hand dismissively. “That wasn’t an insult. You’re just down a sword hand. What swordsman would be useful without one? I kept you on the crew as an investment, not an immediate bonus.”

“Got a real way with women, don’t you?” Nyra asked with a snort as Maya nodded her understanding.

“Down,” Knell said, pointing at the stairwell. “Don’t get too far ahead, though. Maya, watch our backs.”

“That’s my official role. Back watcher,” Maya grumbled as they descended the stairs, Nyra at the lead. The three of them stepped into the inn’s common room.

About a dozen men stood at the counter across from Furgus. Many of them had their weapons drawn, and Knell could feel the telltale energy of a Scion in the group – probably the tracker, if he had to venture a guess. A fair number of normal patrons sat at the tables around the inn, all watching the men warily.

“I already told you,” Furgus said, his tone clipped, “The last time I saw the woman was when she initially passed through the town. She didn’t stay long, and she didn’t have a bounty out at the time. I don’t know what else you want from me.”

“There’s only so far Apton’s laws will go to protect you,” a man in green travel clothes said, slamming a dagger into the counter. “Refusing to comply with the Adventurer’s Guild is a criminal offense.”

“And you’ve yet to give me any proof that you’re part of the Guild,” Furgus said. “The law is very clear that I am within my rights to request proof of membership – which you have failed to do.”

“Our word is more than enough,” another man said in a drunken slur. “And the girl’s here. I smell ‘er.”

“And I smell you, good sir,” Furgus said, grabbing a bottle of alcohol from the shelf and pouring a glass. He pushed it across the table to the man in the green cloak. “Your drink. Please finish it and leave.”

“I don’t know why you’re trying to protect the heretic. Did she pay you off?” the man asked, ignoring the drink. He wrenched his dagger out from the counter and pointed it at Furgus. “If she’s here and we find you intentionally helped, I swear that I’ll–”

A loud crack split the air, and a blue streak carved through the room. It slammed into the drunk man’s head, right between his eyes. Blood splattered across the floor as he crumpled, his hand catching the glass and knocking it to the floor with a loud crash.

“Was that the Scion?” Knell asked, smoke rising from the barrel of his flintlock. His eyes shone brilliant gold, lighting up the room like two lighthouses. “I sure hope it was.”

Everyone’s eyes snapped toward him, then over to Nyra.

“I knew it, you lying bastard,” the green-cloaked man snarled. He lunged for Furgus, but he never made it. A bolt of green light leapt from Knell’s staff and slammed into him, slowing him to a crawl.

Knell slotted a normal bullet into his flintlock and fired once more. Another body crashed to the ground.

“The gods really do employ exclusively idiots,” Knell said. “I kill one of your men, and your first thought is to attack the barkeep?”

A man went to raise a crossbow and Knell turned the barrel of his flintlock toward him. “Pull that out and you join your friends.”

“What in the Seas is your problem?” the man asked, freezing. He glanced at one of the others – probably another crossbow user.

“My problem is that my night has been interrupted.”

“You’re harboring a dangerous criminal,” the guildsman said, swallowing heavily. “She should be weakened. If you turn her in, we can ensure the Gods would reward you.”

“But they already have,” Knell replied, waving his gun at the two dead men on the ground. “They brought me you. The only question is how many more I will harvest. Tell me, how many seconds of my time do you think your life is worth?”

A woman near the back of the group went for her crossbow, trying to hide the motion behind the back of one of the other adventures. That did little to fool Knell’s eyes. He flicked his hand to the side and pulled the trigger. Coal cawed in amusement as she crumpled, clutching her breast as blood poured out from the wound.

“Wrong answer,” Knell said. “Nine more chances to get it right. I’m sure a few of you are thinking about the numbers advantage, and it might work if you just rush me, yes? Please, feel free. As for those of you that want to live, walk out the door.”

“You think you can protect her?” one of the adventurers asked. “Even if we leave now, you can’t fight the Guild.”

“Protect her?” Knell asked, cocking his head to the side. He tapped Nyra with his staff, casting Anchor on her before slowing her to mask the flash of green light. Knell waited just long enough for it to become apparent that she’d been slowed to twist his staff apart. He pulled the blade free and ran it along her throat in a smooth motion. At the same time, he set his mental clock to count out fifty-nine seconds.

Her eyes widened and her hands shot up to try to stem the blood, but it was too deep. She dropped to her knees, glaring accusatorily at Knell before falling to the ground at his feet.

“I simply hadn’t gotten around to killing her yet,” Knell said. “I’d say she was worth ten seconds. Since none of you figured it out yet – I’ll put the price on each of your lives at five seconds. Together with her, that adds up to twenty five seconds. You’ve already wasted thirty. Eight of you may leave.”

The adventurers glanced at each other, their confidence slowly being replaced by fear in the face of Knell’s sheer confidence. One of them started to back toward the door, then spun and sprinted out of it, letting it slam shut behind him.

Their ranks broke, all charging for the door. Knell loaded his flintlock one last time and aimed at the last of them to leave, putting a stone bullet between their shoulder blades just before door swung shut behind them.

Silence reigned over the inn. Not a single person dared to move from their seats as Knell shook the smoke from his flintlock and tucked it back into his belt.

“It appears I have caused a mess,” Knell said, sheathing his staff’s blade and limping over to the dead men. He dug through their pockets for a while, coming back up with several bags of gold. He tossed one of them onto the counter. “That should cover it.”

“This is far too much for the cleanup. You might be better served keeping this for yourself,” Furgus said softly. “The Guild will come after you. You should run.”

“Evidently, the rumors haven’t reached Apton yet,” Knell said, mostly to himself. “And we all heard it – these weren’t adventurers. They were far too weak, and they didn’t have any identification. I just killed a bunch of ruffians.”

“It’s still too much,” Furgus said.

“Consider the rest payment for what we did to our room,” Knell said with a grimace. His mental clock rang. He pointed at Nyra. “Get up. I’ve decided I prefer you alive.”