Chương 38: Time to dip

Ethan pulled the oversized hoodie over his head and tossed it aside. It landed in a heap near the wall as he walked over to his pack. The farscribe book was still in his hand, its worn leather cover warm from where he had been gripping it the entire walk back. He sat down on the edge of the bed and opened it. Leah watched him for a moment before speaking.

"What are you doing? I thought we were leaving." Ethan nodded slightly as his eyes scanned the first lines.

"We will. But it's still chaotic out there. Best to wait a bit. Gives things time to settle." He flipped the page slowly.

"And I can check on the ex-prisoners. Hopefully that'll fulfill my oath." Leah frowned and moved closer before sitting beside him, leaning over to look at the open pages.

"What are you talking about? What oath?"

"It's a skill I got with my level twenty class upgrade," Ethan said.

"It lets me create an oath tied to an objective. I get boosted stats while pursuing it."

"That sounds amazing. How many can you have at once?" She paused mid-sentence as the words finally caught up to her. Her head snapped toward him.

"Wait, what? You're already level twenty?" Ethan gave her a crooked grin.

"You'll get there soon enough." He tapped the page absently.

"The skill only allows one oath at a time, from what I can tell. I was testing it during the march here. Maybe later I'll—" He stopped speaking. His eyes had locked onto the page and his grin vanished.

"…Fuck." He stood abruptly and began pacing the small room.

"How the hell does that work…" Leah blinked, watching him circle the room while his thoughts clearly ran somewhere far ahead of his words.

"What is it?" she asked. When he didn't answer immediately, she picked up the book he had abandoned on the bed and looked down at the open pages.

"Start operation Break Point," she read aloud. She looked up at him.

"What about it?" Ethan stopped pacing and turned toward her.

"That's not it. It's the response." Leah looked down again, scanning the lines beneath.

"Break Point underway. I've been taking failures who have no choice but to enter the mirage under-leveled." She continued reading.

"Then whoever has the other book responds: 'Good. Update me weekly.'" Her brow furrowed. She read the final line."'Yes, Father.'" Leah looked up again.

"What of it? I don't see anything strange. Other than the necromancer calling someone Father."

"Exactly," Ethan said quietly as he walked back to the bed and sat down beside her again. He took the book and stared at the lines once more.

"There's only one person I know who people call Father that isn't a priest." He took a slow breath.

"And he's the founder of the largest guild on the second floor." Leah's eyes widened.

"Shit." Ethan rubbed a hand down his face.

"Would it even be him?" she asked cautiously.

"Do you actually know the guy?" Ethan shook his head.

"Not personally. But everyone knows his reputation. His achievements." He exhaled slowly.

"I just… I don't know." He leaned back slightly, thinking it through out loud.

"It makes sense in a strange way. The Valkyries and the Broken Dawns are both rising guilds. Strong ones. Maybe he saw them as threats. Maybe they want to stay on top." He paused, frowning.

"But even that sounds hollow when I say it out loud." He flipped the page.

"Let's keep reading. Maybe there's something else. It might not be who I'm thinking about at all." They leaned closer to the book together. Most of the pages were filled with updates from the necromancer. Reports about experiments. Observations about people he had captured. Attempts at breaking their will before reanimating. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Apparently his abilities worked best when the human spirit fractured first.

If their mind broke before death, he could maintain far more of their original strength. It was a twisted way for him to level his skill. The descriptions were clinical, detached, and morbid. Ethan felt a flicker of irritation as he turned another page. He should have killed the bastard when he had the chance. After reading this, if Bella hadn't killed him, Ethan would. Most of the book followed the same pattern.

Updates about his work, information on how they were progressing with making the guilds fight, and other things equally as bad. The book itself wasn't even close to full. Less than a quarter of its pages had been used, so Ethan had no problems skimming the pages for now. It wasn't until he got to the final section that things got interesting again. Ethan had to slow down to read it. It was a passage about the necromancer being discovered. Specifically by Desmond.

But instead of fighting, they had apparently struck a bargain. In exchange for Desmond ignoring him, he would help elevate Desmond to guild master once a full war with the Broken Dawns began. It also went on to describe the Valkyries guild master as someone who wanted to expand and take over. From everything Ethan knew about the man, it made sense. It seemed both the guild master and vice master were power-hungry. The necromancer described it like a transaction.

They would start a war, he would get the bodies, and Desmond would become the boss of level one. The final entry ended with a short response. The Father praising him, saying he had done well. Ethan closed the book slowly. Leah sat beside him in stunned silence.

"Fuck," she whispered.

"You can say that again." She nodded slowly.

"Fuuuuck." Ethan glanced sideways at her.

"We need to get this to the Broken Dawns," he said. Leah shook her head.

"It makes sense. But my stuff is still at Mountford." Ethan leaned forward slightly, thinking through the options. By the contents of this book, it was exactly as he feared. The Valkyries wanted this war. They wanted to be the top guild on level one. The only way to put an end to it was to show everyone the level would be collapsing. But he didn't know how to do that, unless he could find a way to stall until the notifications arrived. He did some quick maths. That was still over three months away.

Then they would have another three to get to the second level. If Ethan delivered the book directly to the Broken Dawns, the Valkyries would likely still attack. Desmond could easily twist the narrative in his reports. And the cultists screaming "For the Broken Dawns" certainly didn't help the situation. The entire thing was engineered perfectly. Ethan stood and grabbed his pack. They had already been inside the house for more than half an hour.

"We need to warn them. The Valkyries are going to attack. This book confirmed it, and with everything that's happened here, it's just a matter of when. What do you have at Mountford?" Leah thought about it for a moment.

"Not too much. The only important thing is the journal you wrote." Ethan nodded slowly.

"Is it in a safe place? I could just write you another." Leah nodded.

"I doubt anyone will find it." Ethan thought about it for a moment. Mountford was only a day and a half away.

"Fuck it. Let's get your book. I don't want anyone getting their hands on it. Then we will go to Highrocks. It's quite far away so we will need to resupply anyway. I doubt we can do that here." Ethan cracked the door open and listened for a moment before stepping outside. The farscribe book rested securely in his pack now. Leah slipped out behind him, pulling the door shut quietly. The street was calmer than before. The chaos that had consumed the settlement earlier had largely burned itself out.

Voices still carried through the air, but they were lower, and mainly people talking in hissed whispers. People were moving again, drifting back toward their homes or cautiously peering around corners. A few Valkyries patrolled the streets, weapons still drawn but no longer raised for immediate combat. But signs of the clash remained everywhere. Dark stains of blood marked the sand in several places. A couple buildings looked damaged beyond repair, likely from a spell or two.

Near the monolith, a group of townsfolk were face down on the ground while Valkyries stood over them, blades angled downward in warning. Ethan scanned the area methodically, Leah keeping pace beside him. She glanced around.

"What the hell happened out here?"

"They tried to fight back and run. It failed." Near the edge of the gathering, he finally spotted the old man from the gorge. The man stood slightly apart from the Valkyries, while speaking quietly with the four survivors who had escaped alongside him. Ethan approached. The old man noticed him almost immediately and inclined his head in greeting.

"You made it through the mess," the old man said.

"So did you," Ethan replied. He nodded toward the others.

"What's the plan now?" The old man exchanged a look with the small group beside him before answering.

"We're sticking together," he said.

"The five of us are going to challenge the oasis." Leah's head tilted slightly at that.

"Are you leaving now?" she asked. The old man chuckled dryly.

"Not tonight. We'll stay here and prepare. But we don't have much longer to wait." His gaze drifted toward the distant dunes.

"Time isn't exactly on our side." Ethan understood. Even as it was, they would be pressed to clear the level before the symptoms started showing.

"Sounds reasonable," Ethan said.

"Good luck." The old man studied him for a moment before speaking again.

"Thank you," he said.

"For saving us back there. You've given us another chance." Ethan gave a small nod.

"Don't worry about it. Just clear the Mirage." With that, he turned to leave. A notification popped up. Oath complete. 24 hour cooldown active. Skill leveled [Oath Lv. 3] That was relieving. Ethan had wondered when his oath would be completed. Next time he would have to set clearer conditions. Leah followed him as they moved away from the monolith. Then Ethan stopped. Alice rounded a corner ahead of them. She looked furious. Even from a distance, Ethan could see the damage.

Dark bruising had already formed along the side of her face and jaw. One eye was slightly swollen, and she walked with the stiff, aggressive stride of someone actively searching for a problem to solve. Or someone to punch. Ethan reacted instantly. He grabbed Leah's arm and pulled her back behind the corner of the nearest building before Alice's gaze could sweep their direction. Leah blinked in surprise and looked up at him.

"What the hell did you do?" she whispered. Ethan grimaced.

"Nothing she didn't survive." Leah peeked around the corner and winced slightly.

"She looks black and blue."

"Yeah," he muttered.

"I'm not very good at the whole stealth thing. Let's just get out of here." They slipped back into the side streets, moving quietly toward the outer edge of the settlement and the endless stretch of dunes beyond.