Chương 65: 13 Nocturne Repose

"Over here!" My eyes fluttered. Something shifted off me. Hands brushed my neck, pulling me from a pile of skeletal corpses.

"Tony, are you okay?" a voice asked. A woman.

"Ingred?" I blinked, forcing heavy lids open.

"Naomi," she corrected, cradling my neck as Corin swept me for blood.

"Here." She extended a health potion—clear blue Paradise make. I turned away. Paradise potions rewrote scars. I had one scar I kept on purpose.

"Tony, what happened?" Naomi asked. A sickly sharp pressure throbbed in my nose. Blood crusted my lips. I fished out a Bloodwake potion and uncorked it.

"Ambush," I rasped.

"It was the Undertide. This whole thing was a trap." She glanced around at the carnage with no sign of a single enemy.

"The Undertide? Here?" I drank the potion, then coughed as I wiped my lips.

"It sailed on land, Naomi. We couldn't touch it." Wounds and aches pulsed with a hot tingle. I reached up and wrenched my nose back into place. I convulsed, but the fresh flash of pain dulled under the healing effects of the potion.

"Prince Lucian just surfaced," Corin announced, glancing at the Vampire as he limped onto the battlefield. Lucian turned in a slow circle, eyes wide. Scratches marred his armor, and his breastplate was dented on one side.

"Message Bianca again," Naomi said. I jerked upright.

"Bianca!"

"Easy!" Naomi said.

"What is it?"

"She's gone." Naomi's fingers drifted to her lips.

"You mean?"

"Pinged her," Corin said.

"She's alive, moving south fast." Grunting, I picked myself up. The world swayed, and I sank back to one knee, fist planted on the ground.

"You… you can track her?"

"User," he reminded me.

"So long as she's under the sky. I'll lose her if she goes underground."

"So why isn't she answering messages?" Naomi asked. Corin didn't have an answer.

"Father!" Prince Lucian called.

"Over here, sire!" a Feykin ranger called. I rose on unsteady legs, then stooped to collect the Bane Thesis. Wading through shattered bones and battered breastplates, we found Lord Bloodshackle lying on his back, eyes closed, chest rising and falling slowly. The wraith hovered over him like a guard dog, tatters of black cloth flapping in the wind. My eyes went to the charred stub where Bloodshackle's right hand had been. A human necromancer knelt at Lord Bloodshackle's head, fingers to his temples.

"Father!" Lucian dropped to his knees beside the unconscious lord.

"They ganged up on him," I said, grabbing my brow to combat the swelling pressure behind my eyes.

"Captain Vale struck him with a holy blade," the necromancer said, gesturing to the amputation.

"He's been smitten."

"Then the radiance will spread," Lucian said, gauntlets tightening.

"Nay, Sire," the necromancer croaked.

"I've administered the Nocturne Repose. He's in stasis."

"What does that mean?" Naomi demanded. The necromancer's head tilted up to her.

"He'll recover, princess. Only slowly. I could wake him, but the divine energy would spread." A group message winked in my terminal. Naomi read quickly, then relayed its contents.

"My mother says we just lost contact with three towns on the southeastern side of the island." She glanced over at her stepbrother.

"Ghouls."

"Well, at least we know where they went," I said.

"A black harvest," Prince Lucian said.

"If they're attacking towns, then it's a killing spree. They're trying to bolster their numbers."

"A ghost ship that can sail on land, and a massing horde," Corin murmured, wiping dirt from his goggle lenses.

"You have to hand it to Bloodwake. They know how to keep us busy."

"But they still haven't gone for the crypt," Naomi noted. She pursed her lips.

"This tells us they fear my mother. So long as she's there, the crypt is likely secure."

"Until they build a Ghoul horde large enough to overwhelm her and the crypt guard," Corin said. He stepped back to allow a trio of Rangers to jog past.

"She's trapped," Lucian said. He glanced up at the stars.

"A prisoner. Yes, the crypt is secure, but with my father indisposed, who's going to challenge them when they rampage across the island?"

"We are," Naomi said. I turned to her. Had she always looked so much like her mother? She folded her arms.

"They struck a blow. They forced us into a corner, but we're not exactly helpless."

"The Bloodwake is here too," I added.

"We encountered a ghast-shaman below—""Thashkor." Lucian nodded.

"One of King Marrowrend's lieutenants."

"He mentioned something about a giant." I pivoted to Prince Lucian.

"Have you heard anything about that?" He shook his head.

"It's new to me."

"This explains how the Ghouls got Drake guns," Corin noted. He glanced up.

"What do we do now?"

"Where's the Capitano Generale?" Lucian asked.

"He'll lock down our territories."

"Yeah, Greymark's dead," I said.

"He took an artillery round to the face." Lucian's jaw tensed.

"Then we've been dealt a tremendous blow."

"We need to go," I said, rolling my shoulder.

"The longer we wait, the further Bianca gets." Prince Lucian studied me doubtfully.

"You're hardly in any shape to fight." He turned, taking the others in.

"None of you are." Naomi glanced at me.

"We need to lock down Grimton. Reinforce the cities." She grimaced.

"I'm sorry, Tony. But if Bianca's alive now, chances are they'll keep her that way." I fell back a step, her words stinging like a physical blow.

"What?"

"I can't lose you, too," she said.

"We need to consolidate losses, reassess."

"Bianca needs us," I said, voice climbing.

"Fel Rock needs us," she said.

"If we make personal decisions right now, we'll be playing right into the Bloodwake's hands."

"Personal decision?" I echoed, head throbbing as my lips pressed into a tight line.

"She's party." Naomi's face tightened, fatigue showing in the bags under her eyes.

"And what would you know about that?" My mouth clamped shut.

"I'm sorry."

"I understand," I said, voice deadly flat.

"Princess before Cousin." Her left eye twitched.

"Tony, our duty is to our quest."

"And to each other." She grimaced.

"We'll save her. I promise. But first, we need to stop the Bloodwake."

"My sister is correct, of course," Lucian said, interrupting.

"We can worry about the hostages once we've averted the crisis." My fingers tingled.

"Yeah. You're right." I dropped the argument completely. Corin's head tilted, and he frowned. His eyes searched me. A message winked into existence in my terminal. <<Naomi: Tony, I'm sorry. I can't leave Grimton. >> Her eyes continued the conversation we now conducted internally. I just shrugged. <<Naomi: I need you to understand. It's not just the Bloodwake or the Burrow King. I'm worried about Lucian. >> My neck straightened slightly. What?

<<Naomi: With my mother confined at the crypt, and his father helpless, I'm the only foil to a grab for power. We can not afford a coup right now. >> I chewed the inside of my cheek for a moment. <<Tony: How do you know he'd try? >> This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. She shifted away from me and spent the mana to cast mind link. Her voice pressed directly into my mind.

"Because it's what I was trained to do. This is how the Fel Court works."

"It's Bianca." A few rangers triaged the injured, a Vampire sergeant barking out orders to a few heavily damaged bone warriors.

"I know," she sent back.

"I need to be on the same page with my brother. I have to play by their rules." I swallowed, finally nodding. Of course, she didn't want to abandon Bianca; that would be the last thing she chose—assuming she had a choice. She continued, speaking over the mind link.

"It's a good thing I have an unruly subordinate who never obeys orders." I froze, slowly looking her way.

"Make it fast. Don't let Lucian see you leave. He can't see me weakened."

"Naomi—" I sent.

"Thank you."

"Go!" she thought.

"I'll drop off a bundle of potions behind that tree." In my vision, a luminescent outline flashed around a withered sapling. That was a new trick.

"I left my men in a pit," I said out loud.

"I should go fish them out." I excused myself, scanning the shattered bones that littered the field. I'd never seen so much carnage seeped in dust rather than blood. Casting a final glance at the survivors, I slipped away. After rounding a shallow draw in the hills, footsteps sounded behind me. I turned. Corin followed, Primord-yellow skin smeared with dirt.

"What?" I demanded. He sighed.

"I'm the one who can find her, remember?" My shoulders loosened.

"Naomi sent you."

"No," he said.

"But I feel like I've got a pretty good read on you, Antonio." I snorted.

"I know there's no way you'd abandon her, and you'd resist if we tried to stop you." He splayed empty hands.

"So let's make this quick. We'll get her back, then stop the Bloodwake." I watched him for a long moment.

"Thank you." He shook his head.

"As I said before. You're not the only one who's lost friends. Let's get her."

"If Lucian notices we're both missing, he might make a play for Naomi."

"Queen Myrkrath is messaging Naomi privately. She's got what's left of the Ranger Corps tasked with protecting her."

"Good," I said. Then I started.

"Wait, you said the Queen's messaging Naomi privately?" He grinned mischievously.

"You're reading an Aunt's messages." He pointed to himself.

"I'm telling you, User levels are grossly underestimated." He reconsidered.

"And no, I'm not reading Aunt Myrkrath's mail; I'm reading Naomi's." Intercepting communications, tracking, and manipulating the terminal… He was built to challenge other Users.

"You know," I said.

"If you ever want to go Exploit hunting, I could really use someone with your talents."

"Let's go," he said.

"Bianca's getting further away." I retraced my steps to the pit we'd blasted in the throne room's ceiling. A metal tapping sounded from within. I bent over the edge, the corners of the rim crumbling inwards. Needles glanced up. He sat in a harness, halfway up the wall, driving pitons and anchors into the stone.

"Hey," I called. They turned to us.

"Need a hand?" Corin, of course, had a full rope ladder in his massive inventory. We secured it to a boulder, and he sent it tumbling into the cavern. A short while later, we had the whole crew back on the surface, huddled up around me as I briefed them on the attack.

"So they're just—gone?" Roland asked, shaking his head.

"The Undertide," Corporal De La Cruz murmured in disbelief. I nodded slowly. Of all the others, the news struck Serevian the hardest.

"In fact, it's probably a good thing you stayed underground."

"Then the Queen needs my help," Serevian said, shifting his mostly empty quiver. I nodded.

"Naomi will need your help." I turned to Roland and Corporal De La Cruz.

"You'd best find Captain Stormsong." None of them moved.

"What?" I asked.

"You're trying to get rid of us," Roland said.

"Why?"

"What? No."

"You're going after her, aren't you?" Serevian asked. I exhaled, long and hard.

"Look, I'm not trying to get you guys in trouble. Report to your respective chains of command. We never had this conversation."

"Right," Roland said, adjusting his sword belt.

"Tony, we're coming too."

"Sergeant!" Corporal De La Cruz exclaimed.

"We can't go AWOL."

"We're not." Roland shrugged.

"We were assigned to aid Bianca. As far as I see it, that's exactly what we're doing." I turned to Serevian.

"I really hope Lucian wasn't the one who sent you to spy on me." He sighed resignedly.

"No, it was the Queen." I nodded.

"Then go help Naomi."

"Queen Myrkrath sent me to see what kind of man you were," he said idly, stroking the string on his bow.

"You know what I see?" He glanced up.

"The kind of Cousin who wouldn't sacrifice his party for the mission. That's exactly who the Queen wants fighting with her daughter." His bow lowered to his side.

"Let's go get the shifter. It's time to reunite Winter. The way I see it, getting her back is the best way to strengthen Naomi." I nodded, clearing my throat forcefully to cover the lump that was forming there. He nodded.

"I'm ready." Needles folded his arms, sniffing indignantly.

"I'll go back." I snorted, glancing from him to Drogo to Othess.

"Fat chance, you three are stuck with me." I shifted back to Serevian.

"What are the odds Lucian makes a play for the throne?" The Shad considered.

"Under the current circumstances, low. If the Bloodwake approaches him with a deal, that increases dramatically."

"Then we'd better hurry. Needles, there's a tree over that ridge; there should be a potion belt behind it. Think you can swipe it without being seen?" He tugged his hood over his head and snorted with derision.

"Thought so."

"So how do we track her?" Drogo asked, the countdown on his poisoned debuff drawing near the end. Corin's eyes flashed with system light.

"She's heading southeast. Looks like there's a village over there."

"Above or below the river?" Serevian asked.

"Above."

"Inksprings," Serevian said.

"I know old game trails that can get us there in a hurry." Othess glanced mournfully at his empty Bane-Seven Repeater.

"Resupply," I ordered.

"But be quiet about it. I want us all ready to move in ten." Needles returned, gripping a belt loaded with Paradise potions. Serevian restocked his arrows from the corpse of a fallen ranger. Corin topped off his potion belt. At length, the crew regathered. Othess and Drogo each carried a Pyrecoil MB-Forty-Four, stripped from Ghouls, bandoleers of shells crossing their shoulders. Over a burrow, a Vampire barked orders as the survivors consolidated. Corporal De La Cruz cast an anxious glance in that direction.

"Go," I said.

"You don't want to be here; run back to Elara." He glanced at Roland, his lips tightened, and he shook his head.

"I'm with you, Mongoose."

"Good," I said.

"What are the rules of engagement?" The young corporal asked.

"The monsters have forgotten why they fear Paradise," I said.

"We're going to remind them." Drogo grinned, head bobbing.

"Ghouls spread through slaughter," I continued.

"They're not just savages; they're pathogens." I narrowed my eyes down the path.

"Stop the spread." We struck off, Serevian leading the way. He moved through hidden paths with practiced familiarity. My mana crept upward as we marched. We passed through the burrows and into the wooded lowlands. Three hours into the trek, Serevian waved us down. A roving herd of zombies passed. One stopped, turning its decayed face towards our hiding place, but at Serevian's will, the shadows seemed to coalesce, enveloping us in obscurity. It moaned, shifting back and migrating with the others.

We took a break, letting the herd pass while we chewed through dried field rations. Corin handed out chilled fruit.

"How'd you do that?" I whispered, rolling a cold grape between my fingers. He shrugged.

"I have three cold inventory slots." I'd never call User a useless class again. My eyelids grew heavy, but my energy climbed after a little sugar. We continued the trek, passing through a low canyon. Needles grumbled in frustration, struggling to keep up with his short legs, and Drogo swept him up, allowing him to ride on his shoulders. I nodded in approval. They panted at the forced march, but no one complained. Drogo wiped sweat away, but even he was already looking thinner. Time passed.

I stopped keeping track; the regular cadence of my footsteps blurred with the hours. We crested a rocky saddle, and Serevian signaled us to take cover. I heard it moments later. A sea chanty. The Undertide swooped across the valley, glowing faintly with ghostly jade light. We ducked lower, watching the ghost ship prowl. It moved quickly, spanning the gap and passing from view in under five minutes.

"What's it doing?" Corporal De La Cruz whispered, practically choking on his words. My answer was simple.

"Hunting." Corin sent a location ping to Naomi and the Queen, marking the ship's current location on the map. We marched into the valley. We paused when we spotted a pair of Ghoul sentries, each gripping a Draconic rifle.

"Still no sign of the Bloodwake," I whispered as I nocked an arrow.

"But we're now in Ghoul territory," Serevian responded, drawing his string. We aimed. Trajectory paths appeared as the bows flexed, spotlighting our targets. Strings thrummed, arrows hissed, and the Ghouls dropped. We dragged their corpses from the open, half-burying them under wilted pine needles. The sun rose. That meant very little to Fel Rock. Grey, oppressive cloud cover rolled in, vigorously keeping the island of emptiness depressing.

I adjusted the strap on my goggles, the pressure of the retention band causing a sharp ache behind my eyes. We climbed a steep hill that overlooked the town, then crawled on our bellies to get a proper look. Smoke drifted from two buildings. Doors twisted on splintered hinges. Shattered glass yawned in broken frames. Ghouls moved in the street. Corin opened a spyglass and held it to his eye.

"You have something for everything, don't you?" I whispered, genuinely impressed. He shrugged.

"Big inventory." He handed the glass over. I held it to my eye. Bodies lay strewn across the street, already stripped of meat. Tissue and membranes wrapped them, undulating with the first signs of conversion.

"There's going to be thousands of them," I whispered.

"The entire town," Serevian said. I swept my telescope across the town square, stopping at a disturbance. Ghouls crowded around Thashkor; the Ghast-shaman turned to another figure, arms upraised. The air rushed from me. Bianca stood on a dais, jerking on a chain and snapping at any Ghoul who wandered too close. Her arms were elongated, ending in Ghoul talons, and tusk-like fangs jutted from her lower lip. She snarled and raged. A wolf caught in a trap.

For a heartbeat, her eyes lifted toward the ridge where we remained concealed—lucidity breaking through. Then the madness returned.

"Looks like Thashkor is making another abomination," Corin murmured. My stomach twisted. <<Tony: Bianca, we're here. >> She flinched, then she slashed the empty air—exactly where the message notification would have appeared.

"Umm, she might not recognize us as friends when we get to her," Corin said.

"There," Serevian said, requiring no magnification to make out details.

"On her head. I think that's a cursed item." I focused the lens. A bone crown with teeth sank into her skull. She clawed at it.

"It's too far to scan with the system," I said, heartbeat picking up.

"Here," Corin took the glass back.

"The Carrion Crown. It's a greater cursed object."

"You can scan it from here?" I asked.

"I'm telling you. Invest in User." We shimmied away from the ledge.

"Everyone gather up," I said in a low voice. Two Cousins, two marines, two mercenaries, a convict, and a Shad ranger all clustered together.

"Bianca's down there," I said, "she's not herself. She might not recognize you." I glanced around, trying to banish the fatigue from my eyes.

"Leave her to Corin and me. Your job is to kill Ghouls. All of them."

"I've got my eye on Thashkor," Serevian stipulated.

"Hopefully, he doesn't have another cheap trick tucked away for me."

"Kill them all?" Needles tossed up a hand with a scoff.

"There's got to be hundreds down there. I brought knives, not bombs."

"Is that what you'd prefer?" Corin asked. Then three crates winked into existence in front of Needles. One bore red sticks, fuses flopping out like candles; another, clay balls; and clockwork charges peeked from the top of the third one.

"Okay." Needles grinned, reaching in and plucking a clockwork charge.

"I can work with this." <<Time to Seal Collapse: 02: 00: 05: 11: 22: 11>>