Chương 57: Chapter 56 - Suspicious Ceilings.

"Halt, what real threat?" No response, not even an acknowledgement. He just stared off the side of the ship.

"HALT!" she yelled at his face.

"Yes?"

"What real threat?"

"Nothing you should need to worry about, something long since passed" Old people and cryptic answers, I wonder if his stone skin can stand up to a point blank Aether Culverin? The ships undocked and drifted under sail-power towards Grandport, the Drift Fins being the only thing that kept them from sliding on the air. The early-Everon seas were peaceful on the southern coast of Myrraval, not a storm in sight. The flux sung and twirled gleefully, as if God's Wrath had vented all its pent up stress.

As if in protest of the peace, a gigantic glimmeringly-red crustacean broke the water a kilometer off their starboard side. This is new. Nythera brought her [Precision-Sight] into focus and scanned over the beast. I bet that- yup. It's Kravin. The lobster-shaped monstrosity had two scissor-like pincers and a third house-sized pincer attached to a tail that swung above it like a scorpion. Anchorbreakers hounded the plated crustacean from the side while its claws clung to a beautiful emerald-blue serpent.

That thing is triple the size of the one I saw last time, I think I'll stay uninvolved in this affair. Her gaze flickered, struggling to latch onto a single target in the fray. Repeatedly latching onto the lobster and the serpent, the zoom-effect constantly changed. Why is he so fucking tiny? I am going to get sick if I keep this up. Bile rose in her stomach. She yanked the gaze upward and away from the battle beneath. It immediately locked onto a new target.

A man with a black cloaking and white-streaked hair, staring down at the mess. Her vision snapped off him as he drifted to the side. And then he was gone. The creepy percentages guy? Why is he here? Perhaps there is some connection? I need information. As the lobster monstrosity pulled the battle back beneath the waves, Rowen and Nythera slowly increased the Jet Force on their vessels, going from a brisk clip to rocketing forth in minutes.

Stormbridge estate disappeared in a blink of an eye, but she kept her hand on the Jet Force and well beneath the maximums. Turning at these speeds is awful, the Drift Fin's barely do shit. Flux whipped past her head so fast she couldn't identify it, but higher up above, the faster air currents lay exposed to her eye. From the deck of the ship, the seas in all their vastness lay open. I want to understand all that I see, every swell in the air, every lull in the breeze.

Every movement of the ship exposed the very nature of the air around it. Nythera, without even opening her status, pushed the upgrade token into the [Flux-Sight] skill. Show me the gaps. Flux Sight (lvl 10) (2/2 tokens) Flux can be seen, type distinction, distance and intensity scale rapidly with level. Flux Sight (lvl 10 > 12) The energy snapped into clarity, small wisps no longer merely appeared smaller, but each one carried its own signature of strength.

The gale to her starboard was slick and fast but thin, the flux rapidly petering out, the lull to her port was a lie, the flux was building and would soon turn into a mini-tempest of its own. Her ship rocketed forth without a change in Jet Force, she left Rowen far behind. HOW DID I JUST DO THAT? An upgrade token gave a qualitative skill upgrade? Intensity was not there before! Her trance broken, the ship hit a lull and slowed Grandport appeared on the horizon, rapidly growing in size. Shit shit shit.

She cranked Jet Force down and was thrown over the panel and nearly off the poopdeck. Workers milled about on the docks, significant progress on several vessels visible even from the sky, though she lay only a dozen meters up. Hey! My ship! The Sea Queen was the sole ship resting in the water, workers mending her many gouges. You served me well, but this ship is now my flag ship… The Sea Empress! Or would Sea Queen 2 be more appropriate?

As Rowen finally caught up, Nythera guided them both over the town, keeping the stabilization height well above the rooftops. Heh, this is going to be fun. Calls and shouts from below caught her ear as they drifted toward the plaza at a relaxing clip. The ship slid to a stop directly over the plaza, and then started towards the marina with a gentle thrust, Rowen in tow. She waved from the deck.

"You're over doing it, Child" Talvik's voice smashed through her fun. She winced, glancing up at the mast where Talvik perched. Fun-killer, I'll remember this one. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. She lowered the stabilization height and allowed the ship to hit the water gently. They slammed into the sea, waves rising in response around the ship. Shit shit- Water ran on deck as the ship shook side to side. She began to sink. What the Hel?

Why are we sinking? Nythera's eyes darted over the control console with the speed of necessity. She adjusted the Stabilization Height up a bit. Water began pouring over the deck, as if the ship was forcing itself to sink No No No NO NO NO. WHY IS IT SINKING ITSELF? Oh She turned Stabilization Height Off and the ship bounced up, riding with the waves. Never use the Aetherium crystal while in water, got it.

Tacking the ship against the wind, she brought her new water-laden flagship into one of the many open docks, Rowen following her lead into an adjacent one. Ah, ok if I turn on "Auto-Bilge" the water problem should take care of itself.

"Tie her off to the docks please, no one is allowed to board either ship without my express permission" She said, jumping off the deck. Practically the entire dockyard and a quarter of the town had amassed before them, it wasn't every day you saw flying ships. Lance and Noah awaited at the forefront.

"By the blazes, where did you get these and can we talk about price?" Noah asked. A sharky grin flashed on her face for a brief moment.

"No, but I would be happy to give you a report followed by my demands" she said.

"Go get us a table, the tavern will be fine" Noah whispered to one of his subordinates.

"Nah" she said.

"What? Is there a problem with a quick meeting?" Noah asked incredulously.

"This meeting should be done in private, lets use the townhall""Very well" he nodded. As they walked to the town hall, Noah didn't quit.

"But in all seriousness, can we talk about the price of those? Even just renting them? They would be fantastic for transporting materials and goods. Why a single ship loaded with Mistvale pine could have our fleets rebuilt in a month" Noah said with a gleam in his eye.

"Absolutely not, but perhaps we can come to an agreement in the future, for appropriate concessions" She said, not even meeting his eye.

"What concessions?" desperation reached his voice.

"Another time" she answered. Lance chuckled "Better luck next time Noah, you ain't getting those ships" … The council hall filled with its usual crowd of mayors, but on such short notice Aldric was entirely absent and Felix had a deputy substituting for his place. With Aldric absent I can probably afford a bit more honesty. What the Hel is up with Rustreach? I should go find another iron-source and put them out of business. She scowled.

"So, found some fancy ships, did ya? That's our Queen" Ollie elbowed Noah in the side.

"Where did you find them? Are there more? Amplewood would be interested in buying several of those vessels" The deputy spoke up. She snorted "As if you can acquire them, let alone afford any of them. You'll have to wait."

He grit his teeth "Now you just wait here a minute, Milady, you might be the Queen but on Myrraval we respect our-""We shall now deliver our report to the council, but first, although it has only been a few days, Milady would like a report on the status of Waketown" Rowen cut in, standing behind her as if an attendant.

"It is doing fine, the center of town is already cleared and the woodmancers should have moved onto the farmlands by now, Fluxspawn have been manageable thus far and the first barges are headed up with supplies" Noah replied.

"The way I see it, we have more than enough land, and too few farmers, too few clearers, too few everything. Myrraval needs a lot more labor." Felix said.

"Aye, that's true, I could use another two hundred workers" Noah said, stroking his chin thoughtfully "The land is so prosperous even before our Queen's yield bonuses, feeding more people isn't a major issue, food prices are already very low."

"Enough with that, tell us about your fancy toys out there" Ollie said, sitting up straight.

"Well, we went to the shipyard and found two ships, but there are restrictions on who can pilot them, so they are effectively unstealable. I am designating the two we brought back as the Queen's Navy" Nythera reported.

"What restrictions? How are they decided?" Noah asked.

"Only people designated by me can pilot the ships, you need my express permission" Nythera lied through her teeth.

"Interesting…" Ollie muttered.

"These are gonna be real expensive to rent aren't they?" Noah asked to no one. She grinned. I'll need to include financing options so they can afford it in the future.

"Furthermore…" She looked toward the deputy.

"I need this room cleared of all non-mayor, non-lance, and non-Rowen personnel right now. Please secure the doors and ensure no one can hear into this room" Nythera commanded.

"Alright, time to clear out" Ollie shooed the guards out.

"You too" Noah said. He slammed his hands on the table "What? I am the rightful representative of Amplewoods, you cannot kick me out of this meeting, I have–""Get out" Noah stared at him calmly.

"I will not stand-""Get. Out. If Felix wants to hear this can come himself" Noah repeated. Noah gestured at one of the guards "Get the Silencer and have him coat the building, I'll give him a Flux-potion later for it" Doors slammed, silence settled. Nythera began as a whisper "We discovered some important details in that facility, namely the route back to Vathrial""Vathrial? We can go back to that retched land?" Ollie spat, "No thanks". Noah sat frozen, face warping between shock and disgust.

Lance leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling.

"The route back is where I will be going next, to assess its validity and to take stock of the situation in Vathrial. Whether we like it or not, the events of the world can affect us" Nythera's gaze searched for dissent in both Noah and Ollie.

"Aye, that's true I suppose" Noah slumped back in his chair "Sea-scoured have increased by triple in the last week" he sighed. Triple? Are they tossing that many people off the fucking cliffs? Maybe we can leverage the political situation in Greymere to our advantage.

"What do these sea-scoured report of happenings in Greymere? Do they integrate well?" Rowen asked as if he could read her mind.

"They're good workers, most of them have to sit in shock for a week though" Ollie said, twiddling with a piece of grain.

"Shock? Why?" She asked.

"Our lands are too abundant, too peaceful, too… happy compared to where they come from" Noah answered.

"They make great workers, they till the land twice as hard as the native-born" Ollie added.

"They do work hard, the news from Greymere is that the new Duke or Orechester has taken on the role of his ancestors and begun throwing hundreds off the cliffs again. An inquisition to clean the impure, entire towns have disappeared off the map already" Noah said. Again? This might be something we can exploit.

"I will journey to Vathrial and confirm the situation, perhaps there is something we can exploit, trade or information, while keeping Myrraval secret" Nythera said. She stood up and began to pace around the table slowly "Halt will be staying behind to train new delvers and create functioning squads so we can defend Mirrorwake better. He is an extremely experienced combat mentor, but in exchange I need supplies prepared as fast as possible."

Lance finally spoke "You'll get your supplies, but no sailors, can't risk any leaks. Who is going?"

"Me, Rowen, Talvik of course, and that should be enough. Just a quick scouting trip" CRASHHHHHHHHHHH