Advent of Eternity - Chapter 137 (Patreon)

Knell stood in the captain’s quarters of the galleon, before the beautifully carved wooden desk in the center of the room. Behind it was an elegant wooden chair with bulging red velvet cushions and a tall, curved back.

It looked more fit for a minor noble than a ship captain. The rest of the quarters weren’t nearly as well decorated. Tall bookshelves lined the walls between large windows that overlooked the ocean beneath them. Several drawers were scattered amongst them, and the desk had two beneath it that had been locked.

A small stack of papers rested in the center of the desk, where Knell had collected them after making a pass through the room. To his annoyance, there wasn’t anything of any real value amongst them. The majority of the papers were just ship’s logs and expenses. None of them contained any identifying information on who the ship had sailed for or why they’d gone after the Withered Rose.

As far as Knell could tell, they had no association with either pirates or the Adventurer’s Guild. Still, he wasn’t too concerned. Any documents of true worth would be stored within the locked cabinets or otherwise hidden. They wouldn’t just be sitting around in plain sight. He was confident he’d find the information he needed when he got into the locked cabinets, but he wasn’t in a rush – the key was likely on the body of the Scion that Maya had killed.

A small smile flitted across Knell’s face at the thought of the fight. Maya had finally gotten her legs back out from under her. She still had a ways to go to improve, but he suspected the fight had done wonders for her confidence.

His attention was pulled away as a throaty croak came from the door. Something thudded against the bottom of the door. Knell limped over to it, shifting his staff out of the way and pulling it open.

Coal peered up at Knell, blinking his large eyes and clutching a dirty shirt in his beak. Knell raised an eyebrow and hooked the shirt with the end of his staff, lifting it up to eye level. He let it fall out and hang freely, then turned it around. There was a bloodied hole in the center of it, right in front of where the heart would have been.

A small smile tugged at Knell’s lips. “Thank you, Coal. Do you think you could take this back to where you found it for me?”

Knell tossed the shirt back down to Coal, who caught it in his beak and hopped away, heading below deck and dragging the shirt with him.

“Well done, Cyll,” Knell murmured, turning back to the cabin and continuing his search.

***

Knell’s work was interrupted again as the door clicked open. Cyll and Stix entered the cabin, grim expressions on their faces. Knell looked up at them, rising out of the chair and raising an eyebrow.

“What did you find?”

“These,” Cyll replied, holding out a glimmering cluster of clear blue crystals. “Quite a few of them. Several crates worth.”

“The same as the ones from Silver Ridge,” Knell said, taking the crystal from Cyll and turning it over in his hand. “Then there’s a good chance that they’re either bandits or associated with them.”

“Didn’t Joseph say that the bandits we tangled with held a grudge?” Cyll asked. “Didn’t think he meant they’d actually send people after us, though.”

“Neither did I,” Knell admitted with a frown. He slipped the crystal into his travel pouch and pushed himself out of the chair, leaning on his staff with a grimace. “Is there anything else below deck that I should know about?”

“Just the crystals,” Cyll replied. “We did a double check in case something had been buried under the boards or hidden in the hull walls, but there was nothing.”

“I also found this,” Maya said, stepping into view through the doorway. They all turned to face Maya as she walked into the cabin and held out a large, silver key. “It was on the Scion’s body. I got his Boon as well.”

“Well done.” Knell took the key from Maya and slipped it into the lock below the desk, opening the drawer with a click. He pulled it open, revealing a leatherbound notebook.

“What should we do with the Boon?” Maya asked.

“You earned it,” Knell replied, taking the book out of its place and setting it on the desk before him with a thump. “I don’t have an urgent need for any right now. You can either use it, save it for an artifact, or donate it to the ship. I know Maud is always looking for more Boons.”

“I’ll donate it to the ship. I don’t think I’ve got the capacity to deal with another artifact right now, and using it just to gain levels is a waste,” Maya said promptly.

“Or you could give it to me. Can’t have too many artifacts,” Cyll offered. Lassie trembled on his back. Cyll cleared his throat and patted the blade’s hilt. “Never mind. I no longer want it.”

Knell flipped the book open. His expression tightened as he flipped through its pages. His crew all leaned forward, peering down to see what was written inside it.

“I can’t read upside down,” Stix complained. “What’s in it, Knell?”

“It’s a fishing log,” Cyll said confidently. “The captain was a big fisherman and was very interested in recording the sizes of fish he caught.”

“It’s a journal,” Knell said, not looking away from the pages. “There are no entries about fish that I’ve read so far.”

Cyll grunted when Cyll glanced at him out of the corner of her eyes. “It’s hard to read upside-down. I had to fill in the blanks between a few words. You sure there’s nothing in there about fish, Cap? I’m pretty sure I saw at least one mention of tuna.”

“No fish, but there’s a list of cities here,” Knell said, coming to a stop near the end of the journal. He ran a finger down the list, his eyes growing stormy. “It includes Silver Ridge.”

“Mining locations for the crystals?” Stix guessed.

“Could be,” Knell said with a nod. He flipped back and forward a few pages to get some more context about the list, but the journal felt more like a collection of random thoughts than a cohesive collection. There was little correlation between one entry and the next, and whoever had authored it hadn’t done a good job at trying to make it readable for others.

Knell supposed faulting him for that would have been unfair. Most people didn’t plan to have their personal journals read. Knell closed the Journal and rose to his feet. “I’ll study this further once we’re moving again. Our original plans haven’t changed, but we may have to take a side trip to take care of these bandits. Cyll, Stix, can you get the crates of crystal onto the Withered Rose, along with anything else that could be of use?”

“Sure thing, Cap,” Cyll said, giving him a mock salute. He and Stix headed out of the cabin. “Stix, you go carry the boxes. I’ll be the manager and tell you what to do.”

“We already have one of those, and he’s called the Captain,” Stix replied as the two of them headed down the stairs. Their voices faded below deck. Knell and Maya exchanged a glance and Maya hid a smile.

“You did well.” Knell slid the book into his now-overpacked travel pouch and walked around the desk, leaning heavily on his staff. “Especially for someone that still doesn’t have a Path. Perhaps well doesn’t even suffice. Someone who can defeat a Scion without a Path of their own is dangerous indeed.”

Maya looked out the window at the gentle sea below. “Thank you. I… it’s not enough yet, but it’s progress. I need to get stronger. Cyll could have killed that Scion in half the time that it took me.”

“You’ll have more than sufficient opportunity to grow stronger soon,” Knell said. He gave one last cursory sweep of the office, then grabbed the stack of papers he’d gathered and tucked them under his other arm. “That’s why we’re going to be looking for dungeons, after all. Drive is important, but don’t forget how far you’ve come. For a woman with one arm, I’d say you’re quite impressive.”

Maya’s cheeks reddened and she inclined her head. Knell stepped out of the cabin, his staff thumping against the galleon’s deck. Maya caught up to him quickly and they walked to the edge of the galleon, where the Withered Rose floated alongside it.

Maud stared up at them from the deck, his skeletal eyes burning with green light and his skull hanging open in a grin. “You were successful I see, Captain. Did you slay the Scion of this vessel?”

“Here,” Maya said, pulling a blue Boon out of her bag and tossing it over the railing. Maud extended a hand and snatched it from the air. As soon as the Boon touched his boney fingers, it vanished.

The green glow coming off the planks of the Withered Rose brightened for several moments. Maud’s body shimmered with energy and wisps of green smoke swirled around him. They faded and the ship returned to its normal appearance.

“Many thanks,” Maud said, inclining his head. “Your donation is appreciated.”

“It should be,” Knell said dryly. “I’m expecting some benefits for the amount of power I’m wasting on you.”

“Wasting? By no means,” Maud said. His teeth clacked together and he straightened, pressing a hand to his ribcage. “The Withered Rose is the greatest ship on the seas – or at least, she will be. We serve you faithfully.”

“So long as you are provided with Boons.”

“With that caveat, yes,” Maud agreed. “A fair price for the power she wields.”

Knell let out a noncommittal hum. “We shall see. I expect to be given results equivalent to the payment you have taken.”

“You will receive that and more,” Maud swore.

Stix and Cyll emerged from below deck, each carrying a crate in their hands. They dumped them on the ground beside Knell, then headed back down to collect more.

“Can you get these onto the Withered Rose?” Knell called to Maud.

“I cannot leave the deck of the Withered Rose,” Maud replied. “But you can drop them over the ship’s deck. They will land safely.”

Knell nodded to Maya. She knelt, hooking her arm around one of the crates and bracing it against her chest. She lifted it with a grunt, then pitched it over the side of the galleon. It plummeted down onto the Withered Rose’s deck – and vanished, passing clear through the glowing wood.

“Stored safely,” Maud said with a wide grin.

Knell and Maya pushed the second crate over the edge. Cyll and Stix rejoined them on the deck a minute later, carrying two more crates. They followed the first two over the edge of the ship and vanished into the Withered Rose.

After one more run to get another two crates from the galleon, the four of them returned to the Withered Rose. Stix hopped down, landing with a roll and rising to her feet with the grace of a cat. Cyll pitched over the railing, landing headfirst beside her with a crunch.He rolled over, snapping his neck back into place, and gave Knell a thumbs up.

“I can take you down,” Maya offered Knell.

Knell, who had been about to cast Exhume on himself, blinked, then nodded. “That would be much preferrable to letting Cyll take me.”

Maya drew her sword and her hand trembled slightly as it vibrated at her touch. The blade calmed and she nodded to Knell, who looped his arms around her neck. Maya flicked her blade, cutting a section of the railing back, and jabbed her blade into the ship’s deck.

She slid over the edge of the deck, bracing her feet against the side of the ship. Her sword slid through the hull like butter and they slipped down the side of the galleon, using it to slow their descent.

They landed on the deck of the Withered Rose so gently that Knell barely felt it. He released Maya and stepped back, giving her an appreciative nod as she pulled her sword free and returned it to its sheath.

“Much smoother than using Cyll,” Knell said. “Thank you.”

“I don’t think that’s much of a compliment considering we just saw his landing, but thank you,” Maya said.

“Get us moving again,” Knell told Maud. “Make for land.”

“With pleasure, Captain,” the skeleton said, giving him a ghastly grin. The Withered Rose shuddered, catching the wind as its sails expanded and it slipped away from the galleon, leaving it floating, unmanned, in the sea behind them.