The Vengful Tide-Ch. 18 Teaser (Patreon)

“Alright, look for a stone tablet with strange archaic markings on its face. I don’t care what order the markings appear in, but write them down as best you can. However, you must write them backwards if you see them,” I told her.

She raised an eyebrow. “Why?” She questioned.

“Because the thing beyond that tablet doesn’t need to know we exist just yet. That said, I want ya to check because the things which happened on this island shouldn’t have happened yet. I ain’t letting more surprises mess with my ship nor its crew members,” I stated.

My mother quickly nodded. She then looked at me in a way that told me what her next question might be. I sighed and shook my head. She just silently wrote down my answer on her notepad. That was now over two days since I had touched that moonstone. The feeling was rather foreign to me now.

With those orders being directed, Liara took the time to ease my concerns.

“Worry not, dear Captain. As far as I can tell, there is nothing wrong with these delectable fruits. On the contrary, I dare say that will prove useful to those who would feast on them daily,” she uttered to me.

I looked at the various fruits and picked one up. “Is that right? Then we’ll store them for later. I don’t need Th’am’s madness seeping into the fruits its body created as well,” I said, and placed that fruit back in its barrel.

“Ah, yes. You did inform me that you would tell me of this…Th’am that you desired I not encounter,” Ilzahold reminded me.

I slowly nodded and ordered for someone to take the barrels into the storage room for the food. Once that was taken care of, we began rowing back to the island. I took notice that Diane, who had joined us, tried not to meet my gaze as the island grew larger in size.

Once we disembarked, I noticed that Ellen was nowhere to be seen. There were also less people on the shore than there had been last night. I noticed the various burnt out fire pits in the sand.

As usual, I saw Alteria practicing whatever Hæňgaramian exercises that fancy her interest. I also notice the men I assigned to her as punishment gasping for breath. I took note of their bruised bodies. Clearly, the Balamar knight held nothing back from training them.

“Captain!” someone called me.

I turned my head in the direction of the noise. A boy about a year younger than me came up to me.

“What is it?” I asked.

“Captain, Ellen Sothshore told me to tell you that she was taking some men and heading to another part of the island. Something about the trees and fine coin. She said not to worry about her,” he told me.

I half-chuckled and half-snoted. Well, at least that silent question in my head had been answered. I knew that ever since Alteria had mentioned the quality of the wood on this island, Ellen pondered the ways she could sell it to people who worked with her.

Well, I had already planned on doing that anyway. Sothshore merely sped it along. Plus, there wasn’t much I could do about stopping her now since she was already gone. I supposed I didn’t have to worry about her too much. Th’am was the biggest threat on this island and with it disposed of, I doubted I needed to worry about anything else. Besides, if anything did bother Ellen I need only follow the sound of gunshots to find her.

“Fine. You can go,” I said.

The young boy nodded and then ran off to whatever adventures laid before him.

I watched him go before I turned my attention to the others. “Alright, let’s go,” I said.

They agreed and I gave my mother a swift kiss before parting from her. Before we disappeared into the forest once again, the last thing I saw of her was her walking over to Alteria.

Liara, Diane, Maeloson, Aesteal, and I walked through the forest back to the tower. It was during this walk that I told the Witch of Draegnar of Th’am, the Maddened Reaver of Roots. The longer my tale went on, the more interested she became.

At the end of my story, all she gave me was, “I see.”

She didn’t dig deeper into my story. Maeloson and Aesteal even confirmed my words, but I saw that the witch was lost in her own thoughts about what I told her. It wasn’t until we reached the large tower that she regained her usual composure.

We entered the building and walked through the familiars halls. It wasn’t long before we came back into the study room. I noticed Goron barking orders to the two idiots that had been frozen in black crystal. They pulled books down from the shelves and stacked them in separate piles.

Once he took notice of us, Goron made his presence known. Not that such a feat was hard to begin with.

“Dear Goron, I see that you have been working them very hard,” Liara said.

The big lug bowed. “The captain has placed them in your servitude, Lady Liara. I shall make them have a use in some capacity for you,” he told her.

It was rather clear to see just how devoted Goron was to the Witch. Kings and Emperors would pay for that kind of loyalty.

“‘Tis much appreciated. However, do not work them too much. The passages contained within these books are invaluable to me. Besides, something tells me they will be needed for something more important than stacking books. Isn’t that right, dear Captain?” Liara asked, turning towards me.

I nodded. “Aye, something much more important,” I replied.

......

Once I had the time, I spoke. “Tell me, Aesteal, what do you know of Rune Keys?” I asked.

I turned my head back and noticed not only Aesteal’s pondering of my question but also Maeloson’s intense gaze. Perhaps he too was wondering about what I meant.

“Rune Keys. I have heard members of other races identify them that way. However, the Northern Elves call them by a different name,” Aesteal said.

“Ṣůħħran, The Breaths of Illhiem Souls,” Maeloson completed for Aesteal.

Confused, I spent some time scanning through Liara’s memories, but that didn’t seem to bring anything up for me. “Oh? And what’s that?” I asked.

My beautiful elf smiled. “Tales and elven texts state that when the first of the races came together, the spirits dwelled among them. From the soul of the earth, and from the breath of Creation, the Ṣůħħran were created to house the souls of Illhiem, the first minor spirits created by the Spirits of Water, Fire, Earth, and Air. The Illhiem were meant to reside with each race, blessing them and keeping them connected to the magic tethers of the Realms. The spirits blessed the races, and the races cared for the spirits,” she told as we continued walking.

“Many believe it was the spirits that changed the races to what they are now. Elves, Dwarves, Beastmen, Dragonkin, Humans, Mermaids, and so much more were the results of blessings of the Illhiem. The spirits were meant to bring unity to the lands, but…that is not how it turned out,” she said.

I felt her aura waver against mine. To ease her, my aura sought out hears and wrapped it once again. She sighed. “A spirit by the name of Ƒiaen tempted its guide with the power to control the will of others in exchange for the magics within its fellow spirits. The guide accepted, for the guide was a woman who sought to elevate herself to the realm of Gods and Divine entities. With her power, she sowed dissent between the races and the spirits. The Breaths of Illhiem were used to contain various spirits, their blessings used at the whim of those who caught them. The elder spirits punished that woman with the Thorn of Oura, a poison needle which can only be continuously cured by righteous acts,” Aesteal said.

“And your evil spirit?” Diane asked.

Maeloson took over. “For its wicked ways and disruption of the unity and balance between all things, Ƒiaen was sealed in a stone guarded in a place no one knows about by the spirits of Balance and Unity. Should it escape, legends state that it will return to finish what it started. However, the damage was done. The Illhiem were seen as powerful prizes to be won by those with the capability to capture them. Just like your Rune Keys,” he spoke.

....

“Aesteal,” I said slowly.

She must have heard the caution in my voice because she looked at me.

“Don’t. Move,” I told her.

Though concerned, Aesteal followed my orders. Thankful she must have been because we both heard the squeaking noise of the bug on her shoulder. Aesteal tried to turn her head to see it, but I vigorously shook my head. It was close enough to her. I desired not for it to be given a reason to go further.

“Raaaaaaaeeeeek!” that insect squealed as its limbless body slithered over my elf’s shoulders.

Beneath the glimmering lights, I made out some of the insect’s more defining features. It had no eyes. Its body crawled like that of a long earthworm. The front of its face was like the entrance to a barren cavern. It was a wide hole for a mouth with rows of sharp teeth on the top and bottom.

“Eaaaarreeeeek!” It creaked as it lifted its mouth near Aesteal’s long ears.

....

“What do you hear?” I asked.

“Snarling. I also hear trudging footsteps,” she replied.

…shit.

I grabbed Aesteal’s arm. “Aesteal, we gotta move. Now,” I told her.

I offered no explanation. Instead, I ran us through the snow. Flakes of the stuff stuck to my hair and burned my cheek, but I kept us moving. With such rough weather, it was hard to see in front of me, but I was able to make out a forest of trees. I already knew Aesteal had questions, but I think they were answered when we both heard a loud, distorted, almost demonic roar over the hills. I think Aesteal quickly got the idea after that.

The snow was heavy. It was hard to run through. Each step left an obvious trail, but I dared not stop. A trail soon to be covered by more snow and hail was the least of our worries. The howl in the distance made me chuckle. Aye, how could I have forgotten about that detestable beast?

Aesteal and I ran into the willows and heaths. I grabbed her and pulled her close to me. We laid against one of the tree barks. She looked at me. I placed a finger to my lips. She silently nodded.

“GRRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOAAAAAAAAWWAAAAAAARRRRUGGGRRH!”

....

“Glad to hear you too, mom,” I replied.

“You fucker! Are you alright? Where did you go? Everyone nearly panicked when you all disappeared. Can’t find hide nor hair of…,”

“Mother, later. Right now, you gotta let me know. Are you lost still on the first island?” I asked.

“What first island?! The damn thing sank to the fucking seabed!"