Chương 179: 4.45 Jostle

How does one find a gathering of crows? That was something for them to ponder while Alice argued the semantics of 'murder' against 'conspiracy'. A pointless argument given her opponent was Waylan who was insisting on the latter just to be a contrarian. The rest of their group in the meantime thought about the logistics of finding said avians.

"If there is a gathering place of some kind, the birds still need to get there," Desir suggested.

"Have you seen any crows?" Elizabeth sighed.

"I have not, maybe because I wasn't paying attention before now. They presumably hide beneath the treetops for most of the day while we fly right by overhead."

"I am keeping our heading," Irwyn reminded them.

"We are not on a schedule about the crows, but you promised the bandits gone by nightfall."

"That as well as us returning," Desir nodded.

"I don't think they actually believed it to be more than a boast, so I want to see their faces when we do manage it. What proof are we thinking?"

"Heads?" Elizabeth shrugged.

"It doesn't matter much."

"It does if it makes Alice flinch and Waylan squirm," Desir shook his head.

"He hides it better, but neither has stomach for the actually macabre. We spared all those assassins but will slaughter these bandits, no questions asked? Why?"

"Suddenly you care?" Elizabeth frowned.

"Me? Not at all," Desir shook his head.

"I might not be as coldhearted as you, but comparisons could be made. But this needs to be brought up before it turns into a needless mess. This has clearly gone disturbingly unaddressed for longer than I have been with you. And besides giving Alice's ring more trauma to feast on, we also need to make sure there will be actual proof left. By that I mean Irwyn not burning everything to ash as our opening, including those supposed ruins."

"I wouldn't have done that," Irwyn said defensively.

"Probably not, but you can be thoughtless sometimes. It's better to point these things out to you than regret later."

"Aren't you very thorough," Elizabeth said sarcastically.

"Aren't you a little pissy that I am the one pointing these things out and not you, leader," Desir sneered in the heiress' face, surprising both her and Irwyn.

"And before you start, you have not been doing very well as the boss, have you? Have repeatedly made whimsical choices, not to mention forgot to inform the rest of us half the time. You take the lead without asking for second opinions, even when it should be obvious your own might not be the best one available - which has backfired a few times by now, hasn't it?"

"…" Elizabeth glowered silently, at a loss for words at the retorts.

"Tell me to shut up, and I will never bring it up again, then you can keep walking blind in this regard," Desir did not seem intimidated.

"Might not even kill any of us, given all the other advantages in play. But it had to be said, since you don't seem to notice it yourself and no one else had the guts or wit before. This group only still works because you have all had pre-existing trust and friendship before setting out."

"Despite what you might think, I have been taught to lead."

"Lead subordinates," he shot back without pause.

"Doesn't work that well for us. Making decisions and acting on them decisively is great if you are leading an army, or whatever it is you were expected to do. Being aloof and unquestionable is amazing for making those below you fall in rank. But it is not the right way for a small, friendly group like you have made. If you think like a general, you will miss things that a friend would not."

"So what are you trying to say?"

"If that isn't obvious that you weren't listening," Desir chuckled daringly.

"From everything I have seen, you should get into a different mindset before the next time you forget to not spontaneously torture strangers in front of a fragile kind girl that can literally only function because she dumps all the overwhelming trauma into a magical ring." Elizabeth gaped at that, opened her mouth, then paused without saying anything. There was definitely anger in there… but also thinking. A frown of self-reflection.

The latter gradually overtook the former as she drifted away from the two of them, not speaking again.

"Harsh," Irwyn noted.

"It takes a bit of jostling to make someone actually think over their bias, especially when they are usually confident. I am pretty sure by now that she is one of the people who can actually self reflect to moderate behavior," Desir smiled.

"Also, please give me a warning if I accidentally made her mad enough to kill me."

"She wasn't that angry," Irwyn assured.

"Seemed more like it had made her already start thinking things over."

"Good," the shapeshifter nodded.

"And I will help her if she asks, bring that up if she comes to you for advice. Our little group has good foundations, but the best friendly bonds can get chipped by the smallest details sometimes. If nothing else, I can pull my weight making sure it doesn't come to that."

"That thing you said about Alice…"

"A bit exaggerated, but I do worry if there are really no side effects," Desir nodded.

"Common aids that suppress trauma tend to just make it worse with overuse, but the ring seems to be different as far as I can tell. She has none of the signs of someone about to fall into the well they had carelessly dug, at least. Now if only I could convince the smug jewelry to communicate with me to make sure."

"You have been trying to talk with her ring?" Irwyn raised an eyebrow.

"Well, it's clearly intelligent in some way. Not exactly human train of thought, but there is still a mind there. And if there is a will, there is a way to manipulate it."

"I think you caught something from Waylan," Irwyn blanched, much to Desir's amusement.

"You have no idea," the shapeshifter laughed.

"Which does make it a lot funnier."

"Makes what funnier?" Irwyn frowned.

"See," Desir couldn't let go of a grin, gesturing at Irwyn's face as if that explained anything.

"You will probably figure out one day… or someone else will have to tell you, most likely."

"I think I see the place," Alice interrupted Irwyn's confusion with an exclamation, making him also gaze ahead. There, in the far distance, they were rapidly approaching a truly fascinating geological configuration. When Silvester - name miraculously remembered - had talked about an 'old ruin', Irwyn had imagined a fortress or castle of some sort. A construction of quarried stone, as that had the tendency to last for untold years while remaining whole enough to still be occupied recently.

As they drew closer, it became increasingly obvious that was not the case.

"Is that all flying?" Elizabeth asked with a frown. Her eyesight in daylight was worse than Irwyn's or Alice's, but they were approaching quite rapidly. It would be a stretch to even describe what Irwyn was seeing as a construction. Before them was not the ruin of an edifice, but rather something monumental that had been shattered into pieces.

Like a crystalline mountain had detonated into a rain of town-sized splinters, except a portion of the chunks had halted in time, turning into small deep blue flying islands of jagged stone. This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it As they were approaching under Void's veil, a creature jumped off one of the smaller islands, spreading wings and swiftly floating to another one.

Irwyn didn't catch exactly what it was since it had been in only his peripheral vision as he gaped.

"Gravity defying construction is difficult to maintain," Elizabeth commented.

"But this seems to stand in the middle of nowhere. Not so much as a village or good road beneath."

"I… think that isn't a construction," Alice said, squinting at the increasingly near structure.

"If I am not wrong, this is a partial corpse of something that used to hold several domains related to Time."

"A god," Waylan added confidently.

"You think it's crunchy?"

"The same way glass is," Irwyn snorted.

"Yum," Waylan smiled right back.

"Domain wielding creatures should not leave behind such distinct remnants," Elizabeth remained doubtful.

"Proper Echos are only created when Truth holders perish. This is on too grand a scale to be the remnants of a mere god."

"Broken corpus turned artifact," Desir suggested.

"I can just imagine it, some religion's deity dies and scatters into these fragments. But before all that mass can fade along with the hemorrhaging power, the remnants begin worshiping them again. I mean, the god presumably used to be a mountain, so the difference seems minimal enough to the ignorant eye. Might have even eventually been reborn as a new god if it kept being worshiped as such - though I don't see any congregation around."

"What sustains it now, then?" Elizabeth remained doubtful, if a lot less so.

"Legends spread by travelers. I have actually heard of this place before when I used to live North of here. Cannot remember what it's called since I thought they were made up stories and thus didn't care much, but a gathering of blue flying crystals stirs a memory."

"I didn't know they even got this physical," Irwyn backtracked a bit.

"The gods we had run into so far seemed pretty ethereal."

"They all have a body of some sort to project themselves from," Desir shook his head.

"Those that used to be people are simplest and usually still look mostly human. Others get esoteric. Like a mountain of crystal or whatever this one used to look like. I don't think that those that are not literal monuments like to appear in public, though."

"Where are our bandits then?" Irwyn looked down. Many of the crystals were actually scattered around as to form small steep hills. A few were also flying close enough to the ground to be potentially reachable with a leap or rope. But no matter where or how he looked he found no trace of who they were after.

"On top, didn't you see that one before?" Alice spoke up.

"Something flew between two of the sky islands," Desir noted.

"Did Silvester just neglect to mention his bandits can fly?"

"He did see us do the same," Irwyn said.

"So he knew we would have no trouble reaching them."

"They had wings," Alice added.

"No wonder no one has been able to deal with this group. Aerial superiority has to be even more important here than back home since firepower is generally worse."

"How come they all actually fly, tho?" Waylan questioned.

"Is there a secret bird people race?"

"Probably those mutations caused by these lands," Elizabeth suggested.

"Silvester implied that they could be directed in some way, much like honing. This group seems to have a method that allows for flight. Probably at a massive opportunity cost."

"We can have a closer look," Irwyn shrugged.

"Do you remember which island they flew to?"

"There," Alice pointed and Irwyn moved them that way. Remaining invisible within Elizabeth's veil meant that they were never noticed. The inside of the large island was surprisingly shaped a bit like a caldera, with tall crystalline walls obscuring an open inner section from sight - especially because it was one of the highest islands present. There the group beheld something resembling a village.

Houses were carved into jutted out crystals and probably went underground in a circle around a square of sorts with something resembling a feast ongoing. The bandits themselves were mostly humanoid and each bore wings of some kind, though what kind differed. Among the 20 or so Irwyn counted, two fifths had bird-like feathered growths stretching from their back. Just as many had more leathery wings not unlike bats.

The rest carried much less practical mutations that had no basis in nature, such as a pair built out of translucent crystal. The interest in their constitutions was mostly dimmed by the brutal display in the middle of their settlement, almost overlooking the festivities. Three tall growths of crystal had been carved into crosses, each accompanied by an attached corpse. Relatively fresh since Irwyn noted no traces of decay, the dead strangers had donned good but slightly bloodied clothes.

And it had clearly not been a peaceful way to go. The clearest sign of struggle were the ropes around their wrists which were bloodied from prolonged thrashing, scrapping off skin until it had bled.

"Pretty brutal, crucifixion," Desir commented clinically.

"Depending on how victims are put up, it could take hours or even days before they succumb to exhaustion and suffocate. Lot longer if they practiced honing. That is to say, I don't think we need to feel particularly guilty about a lot that can inflict that to haphazard strangers."

"Any objections?" Elizabeth turned towards them.

"I will go look around the other islands," Alice said, but merely nodded at the implication.

"Let me come along, better to have a Concept per group," Irwyn offered. He felt no mages among the bandits, but it was better not to take needless risks. Alice nodded, then Irwyn felt the familiar sensation of her mana flooding him before a teleportation. Elizabeth silently took over maintaining his platforms, though she was looking down at the little village. There was no doubt in Irwyn's mind that she would allow no survivors, though there might be room for interrogation… or worse depending on her mood.

"You are even heavier than you used to be," she grunted as they reappeared somewhere on solid ground. Irwyn did not respond as he struggled to reorient himself exactly for a moment until he felt Desir's mana in the distance which gave him a sense of direction.

"Did you turn me around?" he accused, realizing why he had been so confused. That and the strange landscape of mutually similar flying crystals.

"Maybe," she grinned, then pointed at a hole in a crystalline wall in front of them.

"This is where that person flew from earlier. There is definitely a stash of some sort I can feel, come on." They took their time a bit, examining the hideaway. Or perhaps 'vault' would be a more accurate term. It became quickly apparent that this was where the most choice prizes of raiding had been stored. Not necessarily the most expensive, but things bordering on trophies.

Accessories that looked a lot like family heirlooms, distinct artpieces that probably had some deeper meaning to someone, those kinds of things. There was even a stack of papers Irwyn guessed to be merchant charters after a brief inspection. In summary, seemingly just plundered mementos. But there was something of interest among them.

"Wow, this might actually be useful," Alice said, closely examining a… small piece of metal. Irwyn gave it a second look and found it just as ordinary as he had on the first.

"Slug of power, is it?"

"This is no slug, but a precisely manufactured piece of a mechanism," Alice said, still staring at it.

"It's a firing pin."

"I have no idea what that is."

"Part of a gun. One small piece," she nodded.

"But there is a tiny little engraving on the inner side, small to the point I can barely perceive it even when touching the thing. It says 'for the fated'."

"So you were fated to have one piece of a firearm," Irwyn mused.

"Yeah, maybe I have just a junk piece, but why would some merchant or whoever got robbed keep it with them? And then why would these bandits keep it among the trophies?"

"Their weapon broke and a piece got lodged in a pocket?" he guessed.

"Then the bandits thought it was funny and kept it."

"I have a better explanation, because I might have seen something familiar before," she beamed.

"There is a rare method to making artifacts that basically comes down to manufacturing a prophecy. Instead of creating a legend directly about a great magical item, you spread a legend about pieces of that item and how they will become powerful once combined. It generally improves the overall effect."

"You made it sound like it is not used much though," he asked with genuine interest, that was the first time hearing about such a thing.

"Well, the results of artifacts are always a bit unpredictable, so it's better to roll the die twice rather than spend the extra effort for one try that could end up a bit better," she admitted.

"Harder to enchant too, since you need to make sure the pieces will actually coexist once put together. More than three and it gets particularly complex."

"So this one is part of… how many?" Irwyn stared.

"A lot…" she admitted.

"Way too many to make any practical or strategic sense. To the point I think that whoever made this thing didn't know about the methodology and just made the prophetic bit up on a whim."

"Which might also imply there is no legend and thus no artifact to be gained."

"Waylan should be able to tell."

"So that you can gather pieces that could be scattered across several dozen nations or might have already been destroyed."

"Spoilsport," she harrumphed.

"Maybe someone has already gathered most of them or something."

"It's fine to collect something pointless. No need to be defensive about hobbies," Irwyn assured, only half mocking.

"Let's look for more holes like this," she turned away, maintaining her huff, as they left the stash without taking much. Then Irwyn flew them in an expanding circle around the gang's base of operation while Alice felt for suspiciously hollowed out spots among the islands. They found two more, but those only held some salted meat, hardtack, and water - or other simple supplies. About fifteen minutes into their search, Elizabeth found them with Desir and Waylan, done dealing with the bandits.

Whatever proof they had gathered was presumably stowed away in a spacial bag.

"So, has anyone puzzled out the crow problem?" Waylan asked as they turned to their way back.