The Vengeful Tide-Ch. 25 (Patreon)

Hahahaha.

And you thought I wasn't gonna make it. Shame on all of you!

Anyway, hello everyone. I hope you've all had a wonderful October and we'll be getting into November in a few short days. I just wanted to continue to say thank you so much for supporting me. I also thank you for helping me make these stories better for you and for me.

Now then, here is chapter 25, a full 51 pages of grueling work! Enjoy!

-WttW

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In the darkness of my mind, I stood alone. When I moved even slightly, ripples like those of water pushed out and away from me. I stared at my reflection, pondering the hole through the right side of my chest. Strangely, I felt no pain, but I found it hard to breathe.

I looked all around me, standing on top of a sea of nothingness. No matter where I looked, all I saw was the black void that was my mind. Perhaps that was how I saw myself currently. I had nothing. I saw nothing. I stood on top of nothing. I breathed nothing.

When I looked down, I stiffened. In this vast void of nothingness, Boreli’s body laid at my feet. His eye-less face mocking me while his lips curved up in some kind of sick smile, letting me know that he had escaped me.

When had everything turned to utter shit around me?

I had no answers to that question. Like a piece of snow rolling down the side of a mountain, my inability to handle the piling problems before me continued to rear its bastard head. It wasn’t supposed to fucking be this way!

It… it wasn’t supposed to be this way.

Pain flourished within me. I could no longer keep my eyes open. As my eyes closed, I fell back, wondering what I should do next.

After a moment, I felt something wet on top of my head. Never again did I think I would question whether I was in the underworld or not. I wondered if I would meet Hades or if I would find myself judged in one of the ten circles. At this point, I’d prefer it to the shame I felt right now.

When I opened my eyes, I saw a large wooden ceiling. I smelled the stench of old, dusty books filled with mildew and leather. The sound of a cracking fire over hot candle wax moved through my ears.

“Sir, you’re awake! Thank the spirits! Some thought you dead.”

With great discomfort, I turned my head, my blurry gaze barely making out Aesteal. Her eyes showed great concern for me. Her beautiful silver hair gleamed in the flickering light of the many candles around us. She touched the side of my face, her touch rather comforting.

I tried to speak, but when I inhaled, a surge of pain ripped through my body. It felt only a touch lesser than when An’raie nearly tore my body to pieces after I tied her soul to mine. Every breath I took was utter agony.

It was only when Aesteal placed a gentle hand on my chest to steady my breathing did the pain stop. “Easy, Sir. You’ve been severely hurt. You had a high fever and you almost died at least twice. Now’s not the time for you to be moving,” she said.

“What… happened?” I asked raspily and painfully.

I took note of the unease on Aesteal’s face. She seemed uncertain of where to begin, but she soon found her words.

“It is… difficult to explain, Sir. After you went down into the dome, we all observed you. Ellen and most of the crew walked to the other side of the area, but we waited for you to finish your task. We were worried when you kept walking around in circles. You walked out of the long grass and bones, and stared at the wall for a moment. You then started walking backwards with your head down. Knowing you, most thought this was some… method you knew about to go to your target. However, I could feel the unease and horror rising within your spirit. You kept spinning in circles, scared as if something was behind you. Eventually, you made it to the man. Only then did we all realise something was wrong when we saw his corpse. Then, one of the figures struck you. We rushed to save you,” she said.

I thought on her words. Given the blow that had been dealt to me, I found it highly unlikely that I could have survived such a thing. Even I realized that. I should not have escaped the hand of death that time.

“How… am I… alive?” I asked.

Aesteal bit her lower lip. “It took some work, but we managed to retrieve you. From there, An’raie took over. With what strength she had, she took over your body. She restored your mana with a potion. She then led us to this hidden library where the Alchemist studied, all while blood dripped from your body. Some of the healers did what they could, but… your wound was too severe. We thought we would lose you, but once again some type of fortune must be upon you. You owe your survival to her,” Aesteal pointed to my other side.

I slowly turned around and shivered when I saw Nei sleeping next to me in a small bowl of water. This little thing healed me from near death? An’raie never told me that the fairmaids had such grand healing abilities.

“She’s never left your side since we set you here a day ago. Unfortunately, it wasn’t without a heavy cost, Sir. The blow completely shattered one of your lungs. Somehow, while healing you, Nei managed to remove it or convert its mass into mana to heal you, but… it couldn’t be recovered,” Aesteal said.

I laid down, slightly stunned by what I heard.

As if to convince me, Aesteal grabbed the covers which laid over me and lifted them up. I was then shown my torso. It was wrapped in white cloth, spots of blood laying in some parts like I’d been struck with drops of red rain. I smelled the stench of medicinal herbs around my chest. Each heave of my torso made the bandages rise and fall, making it known to me that I was not dreaming. This was my fate, my reward for my ego and recklessness. Boreli had escaped me and it was my own fault.

I shut my eyes. I didn’t want to see this pitiful state any longer. I felt like my mind was crumbling into pieces. The thought that my life despite all my boasts and proud convictions turned out like this was more than I could bear.

Once I’d seen enough, Aesteal pulled the covers back over me. I leaned my head back, resisting the urge to just take my pistol, open my mouth, and rid myself of this vile feeling welling deep within myself.

There wasn’t any way to sugarcoat it. I had lost my nerve. Like a spoiled brat, so fucking into himself, I placed not only myself, but also my crew at risk. These poor bastards did not join this ship for vengeance or for my personal gain. They joined because they had no other option. I was to be the one to lead them out to sea. I was the one who needed to return them home with pockets and bags filled with gold and precious coin. They were all the runt of the litter, one pegleg away from keeling over against the suffocating might of Draegnar.

What sort of captain drags his temporary men into his own worthless circumstances? It was too pitiful to even move upon the lips of a bard for his tale.

“Has anyone but you seen me like this?” I asked.

“Your mother. She has grown very concerned while you rested. I could fetch for Ellen if you’d…”

I shook my head before she could finish. Even though I turned my head away, I knew Aesteal would sense my aura. Even for one such as myself, shame was never far from me. I seemed to be lining them up as I crossed this voyage.

First, my mother. Now, Ellen.

The look on Sothshore’s face, the hurt that a woman like her who never easily expressed herself bore was too great for me. There was nothing I could say that might make this right.

“Just leave me alone, Aesteal. Tell everyone to get ready to move. We’ll be going in about an hour or so,” I replied.

Despite her concerns, Aesteal merely nodded. She collected her things and stood to her feet.

“A leader who is aware of his mistakes is a thousand times more reliable than a leader who blindly charges forward. If you falter here, there will be no one for us to rely on, Sir. I’m sorry if I speak out of turn, but… that is the burden you chose to take upon yourself. Just as the spirits lend many their blessings, they also lend many their wrath, their influence felt by all. If you wish to die here, I shall stay right here with you, allowing for the spirits to claim our souls and guide us into endless rest. However, I shall wonder if I made a mistake, letting myself become taken by such a wayward man.”

Then, just like that, her chastisement done, Aesteal left me alone. I continued to stare at the ceiling, oddly unsettled by her tone. Never had I heard Aesteal speak with such depth and clarity. Once again, I’m reminded that she was still a mighty warrior. Though she had her moments of erotic displays with me, she was still a fierce elven woman trained by her sisterhood. One like her doesn’t get to such a powerful point without the hardships to back them up. Even now, I wonder how many mistakes she made and trials she’d been tested against to arrive at this point, a powerful elven warrior turned former prisoner turned lover of a pirate.

I sighed. In my head, the idea seemed pretty simple. Gather up my old crew, replay the events that led up to their betrayal, and then sink the fuckers into the depths of Hades. However, I should have known that such a thing was absurdly impossible. I had already changed too much. Even if I didn’t, it seemed things changed without my interference. I had no other explanation for why Delverhold would be different from my memories to now.

I sucked my teeth, all the thinking made my head ache. I noticed a cup of water next to me. Angry, I smacked it away, watching it clatter along the ground as its contents spilled on the floor. I groaned in torment, angry at myself, and no one to help me through it.

After a couple of minutes, I slowly stood up. Just moving my body had me gritting my teeth in agony. It felt hard to breathe sometimes and I couldn’t even stand up straight without bashing into a bookcase. The floor was cold and each step nearly brought me back to my knees. Yet, I tried not to fall. I feared that if I fell, I might not get up again.

I tried to take steady breaths, the curing magic inside me healing the injuries done to me. I noticed my captain’s coat on a desk along with my bloodied, white shirt. I carefully stepped over Nei and walked to them.

I picked up my shirt. I noticed the massive hole buried within it. I clenched it, remembering the scene from a day ago, remembering my folly. I then placed it on. Like a shamed war veteran, this was to be my badge of dishonor with no way to hide it. Not even my coat helped. I couldn’t put it on. The pain was too intense.

I could only watch it slide off my left shoulder and onto the floor. I just stared at it, wondering if this was how my return to glory was truly supposed to start. No, that was the wrong thought. This was how I let it start. My own arrogance led me to now. Before I was a strong man in a brat’s body, ready to tackle anything and everything that laid before me.

Now, I was just a man in a brat’s body that couldn’t even put on his own clothes. I was sure there was some kind of cruel irony here that I was missing.

As I stared at my coat, I noticed an arm reach out for it. It was picked up slowly. “I could have gotten it,” I said feebly as I turned my head and noticed my mother standing next to me. I had not seen her yet, so I was surprised when I saw the number of blood-dried bandages wrapped around her arms and legs.

“You’d sound more convincing if you weren’t acting like you were Pete’s age,” she replied as she slowly helped me put on my coat. I groaned in slight pain, but my mother didn’t seem to notice.

Once my coat was placed on, she stood in front of me, giving me an uninterrupted look at what I had caused. My mother had also gotten hurt because of me. I could have lost my mother for a second time and it would have been my fault.

Once my mother was finished straightening me up, she patted me down. “There. Feel better?” she asked.

“Yeah,” I replied.

“Good.”

A torrent of pain washed over me as I doubled over from a fist being buried in my stomach. The air in my single lung expelled out my mouth. I crashed to the floor, writhing in agony and anguish, turning over on the wooden floor. I grit my teeth and hissed, my eyes shut so hard I saw spots. Between having a missing lung, my injuries, and the blow I’d just taken, it felt like every breath I took threatened to break my body into a thousand pieces.

Once the pain stopped, I rolled on my side. “A-A-Aye, I… deserved… that,” I wheezed, still trying to catch my breath through the pain.

“Oh, you deserve a lot more than that, you piece of shit! That you’re talking already, I clearly didn’t hit you hard enough. You’re lucky I aimed for your stomach! I wanted to aim for your face,” I somehow heard her through the ringing in my ears.

I tried to get to my feet again, my body completely disorganized from the blow I’d been given. At this moment, I regretted giving my mother that medicine. I don’t think she would have hit me as hard if she was back in her sickly state.

When I finally clawed myself back up to my feet, I leaned a stone wall. I tried to catch my breath, a few lasting surges of pain moving their way up and down my body. I then noticed my mother standing in front of me.

“You dumb Gllorian fuck! Are you really going to make me bury my own son?” she asked, her voice cracked. Never in this life or my last had my mother’s voice ever cracked.

For once, I was at a loss for words. “I…”

“Just shut the hell up,” she said as she grabbed a hold of me. She leaned her chin on my shoulder. At the risk of getting my ass pummeled again, I decided against telling her how much her weight was hurting me. I just held her, moving my hands through her long, auburn hair.

“I ain’t got much, Eric. All my money went into our fucked up house. I threw in the towel, instilling in you all the shit I knew to survive without me. You’re the one who raised me up from nothing, turning a cock-sucking bitch into a pirate again. You said this is your body, well I ain’t got nothing if you’re gone. I can’t lose you too dammit. I’m not strong enough to say I won’t fall back into that damnable rut if you’re not with me. I’m just not that strong,” she replied softly.

I frowned, pulling her closer to me despite the pain. “I’m sorry,” I said, holding her in my arms.

After a moment, my mother pushed away from me. “Alright, that’s enough of the sappy shit I can dish out today. Fucking shit,” she said before she looked me over.

“You look like shit though,” she then said as I chuckled, her words helping my mood a little.

“Aye, well you best feel like shit after you make shit decisions. Especially when they lead to you missing parts of your innards. Anyway, thanks for the help. I feel like a bright pouch of fucking gold coins. Now, go help Aesteal round up the crew. We have to leave and we’ve only got maybe a day and a half left since I’ve been out. If we don’t hurry, this whole cave system’s gonna be flooded with water,” I said.

“Good fucking thing I know how to swim then,” she replied as she turned around. I watched her head for the door only to stop. A suck of her teeth, she turned around, approached me, and kissed me greedily.

“You do that again and you’ll wish you actually died,” she said, punching my arm before she left.

As a man, I kept a straight face and pretended that punch didn’t hurt, which it really fucking did!

Anyway, with my mother gone, I heard the sounds of something slapping the floor. When I turned my head, I noticed Nei was awake. She must have woken up after I crashed to the floor when my mother punched me. Her tail slapped the floor repeatedly. She seemed pleased to see me awake.

“I guess I owe you my life. I’ll have to find a suitable reward for you,” I said as I scooped her up. Nei then proceeded to pound my chest with her tiny fists over and over. Something told me this was also my punishment for what I had done.

“Aye, you too, huh? Well, I deserve this too,” I said before her tail swiped from her cup into my face. Well, I did deserve that too.

After Nei’s tirade was finished, she settled down in one of my shirt pockets. I left her bed and walked, no stumbled, my way to the door. I heard the sounds of people talking behind it and exhaled. Usually, I wasn’t one to care about what people thought of me, but that wasn’t the case right now. As of this moment, I would have liked nothing more than to stay in this room and waste my life away.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t allowed such an easy fate. If I stayed here, we’d all die. I couldn’t allow that. Liara didn’t bring me back to this point in my life just to die even sooner than my last one.

I opened the door and walked through it.

As I left the room I’d been recuperating it, I was greeted with an entire lower floor of silence. I saw some of the mages continuously casting healing on some of my crewmates. All of them looked at me. Some in relief. Others in anger. A few neither.

It wasn’t hard to spot Ellen. She was the only one who didn’t look at me. She was placing some kind of ointment on her arm, the one that bled when I pushed her.

“Well, look what Hades spat out,” someone growled.

I noticed it was a man with his entire left arm covered in bandages. He was bald and his head was lined with scars. Judging by the deep indents of those scars, those looked like they’d been there all the man’s life.

I disregarded the comment and made my way to the stairs. The only sound heard was my boots against the wood. I walked down a flight of stairs, my pride in shambles when one of my legs gave out. That sent me crashing into the wall, my breath shortening.

Aesteal quickly ran to help me while I heard someone else chuckle spitefully. “Fucker ain’t even got his sea legs. Dammit, we’re gonna die down here!” someone else said as Aesteal helped me down the stairs.

Once I was down, I stood in front of everyone, trying not to fall over. My eyes were a little blurry and I felt like I’d gotten drunk at Ellen’s tavern. I don’t know how I kept from vomiting on the floor, but I did. I could tell my next words would have to be said carefully.

Aesteal still tried to help me, but I stopped her with a hand. Thankfully, she stood back as I looked at the others.

“Thank you, you fucking bastards and bitches. Thank you for saving your shitty captain’s life. I ain’t gonna give you an excuse, cause I ain’t got shit to give. Aye, it’s my fault we’re in this predicament. Won’t twist and turn shit about it. Yell at me later or curse me in your thoughts now for all I care, but we still have to get to the fourth island. Even if you don’t consider me your captain, I’m still the only one who can get you lot out of here. If you want to return with what you’ve got, then I’ll need you to put up with me a little more,” I said, staring at them all.

“Heh.”

Everyone heard a chuckle and I turned my head to a man about four or five years older than me, a scowl on his face. “Let me get me ears straight cause I can’t believe what I be hearing. You nearly got us killed trying to save your ass because you just had to go rescue the fucker that you hate, and now you tell us to follow your ass into the dark with thousands of other creatures that can kill us?! I know I ain’t gone to no fancy, Hera-blessed school of magic, but I know a shit deal when I see one. You can’t even stand on yer own two feet without shaking. Sorry, but I’d rather take my chances. At least if I die, it’ll be on my own terms. Hell, only reason I stayed here was because it was the safest place at the time. Now that I’m rested up, I ain’t staying around a cursed man like you,” the man said, grabbing his things.

As he headed for a dark corridor, he turned to me. “By the way, I noticed the ‘Son of Poseidon’ seems to be lacking in water these days,” he said next. He then left, his steps getting smaller and smaller.

I watched others, about ten to twelve people, stand to their feet as well. “You a damn fine adventurer, boy, but you got a lot to learn about being a captain. Unfortunately, I won’t be watching you learn those lessons. These hands were once good at cutting logs. If we make for the surface, I bet there will be fine timber to craft a raft. We got more than enough food,” another man, about ten years over my adult age, said.

I watched people who became friends, laughing aboard my ship, pull each other to either stay or go. Truon, the Rogue, successfully managed to convince some woman he fancied to stay. Others weren’t so easy to persuade. In the end, over half the group left which left me with about fifteen to twenty or so men and women.

As for those who stayed, I faced them.

One of them looked at me. “One don’t just stop being a captain. Aye, this be a shit situation, but I ain’t forgotten all the times ya pulled us through to get here. Also, if I trusted myself with important shit, I wouldn’t have to be here on this voyage. Just promise me you ain’t gonna fly off the fucking handle like that again. There be some things in a man’s life he ain’t meant to face. That was one for me,” he said.

Everyone else looked at me firmly. They would follow me despite every reason telling them not to. I never expected such loyalty from people of a lowdown nation like Draegnar. Then again, maybe for most of them it was simply because I still knew the way to go. They might not like me, but they still felt safest knowing I was around.

I nodded. “Aye. Then all of you rest up a little longer and pack your things. We’ll be leaving in an hour. We’ll grab what treasures we can and move on to the portal.”

“Aye!” they all said.

I then heard a slammed door only to realize that Ellen was gone. I made no comment about it. I already knew things between us would be that way for a little while.

After my decision was made, I returned back to what were my sleeping quarters. I made sure my pistols were reloaded. Nei watched me with rapt attention, touching one of the guns every so often. It didn’t take me very long to hear someone’s scream in the distance. I shook my head, trying to drown out the sounds. For their sakes, I hoped everyone else did the same.

The time passed by rather quickly, and I found myself meeting with Raven’s Shadow. “Stay prepared. We will meet with Ỳrmïndle soon. The walls grow colder the further down we go. Make sure you have all your preparations in place,” I urged.

“Like you had preparations when we had to save your ass?” Daen mumbled which got a harsh nudge from Hannath.

“We’ll be fine. You should worry about yourself. You don’t look like you’ll be hunting trolls with that beaten up body of yours,” Rieth said.

A bit irritated, whether at the comment or myself, I snorted. “I’ll manage,” I said as I turned around and continued my own business.

Finally, the hour was over and everyone was gathered. I tried speaking to An’raie, but she remained silent. I remembered that Aesteal said the Lonely Wail strained herself to use my body to lead us somewhere safe. It seemed she still hadn’t recuperated. I decided to leave her alone. It seemed I would not have her protection like last time. I was on my own.

Everyone gathered around me. I had sealed up the contents in the library to be read another time. No, I wasn’t gonna leave those behind. There could be something important in them. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the luxury to read leisurely. We had to go.

Aesteal led us to the entrance. Just like with the room filled with gold on the second island, this door had an open archway. I could see the illusioned magic around it, preventing any creature from noticing it without the help of An’raie. I stared into the open doorway, the void welcoming us to once again enter its unsafe passages.

I felt my hands shake. However, this wasn’t from pain. I was shaken. My near-death experience left me without much confidence. For once, I fully recognized the severity of my situation. It had been a long time since I felt the sense of danger, angst, and wariness.

I stepped out the door and my feet touched the ground, gravel moving from my steps. Nei peeked out one of my shirt pockets. That reminded me to briefly check on the others. Luckily, all three were in the urn, quietly swimming hoping to not make too much noise.

With it being safe, I fully walked out and so did everyone else. The magic surrounding the entrance activated and it was replaced with a solid stone wall. Thus, it removed any thought that it’d been disturbed.

I stared into the tunnels. Without An’raie, I couldn’t see too well in the dark. We’d have to be even more careful than before. Yet, it was strange. Though I’d never been through this part of the tunnels, they still seemed familiar to me. Perhaps it was because An’raie had done the moving for me that some part of my mind recognized the way to go. At the very least, we wouldn’t be circling back to those scarecrows.

I headed to the left, the rest of my group following after me. Like always, we heard the sounds of beasts. Though I ain’t the praying type, I did in the hopes that my wounds wouldn’t reopen. If they did, I feared what would smell my blood and maul us.

Once again, I lost track of the time. Hell, I figured I should stop caring at this point. The perception of such a thing hardly has its place down here. I just preoccupied myself with scouting out for danger and reminiscing about the list of things I’ve come to regret in my life.

We all slid down a steep slope of mud, or what I hoped was mud, and jumped down a small cliff. I noticed Ellen stumble but she rebuffed my attempt to help her, shoving past me and making me wince in pain. I dropped to one knee, the loss of a lung affecting me more than I thought.

I could barely make out Ellen’s form and struggled to speak. “Aye, you’re pissed off at me, but don’t head too far. If you get lost, I won’t be able to find you,” I whispered.

Ellen must have heard me because she didn’t stray too far. Instead, she just kept to the edge of the darkness while Aesteal helped me up. “Are you alright, Sir?” she asked.

To be honest, I wasn’t. I felt like I was about to puke… again.  “Aye, thanks. Let’s keep moving,” I said, stumbling as I did so. I was thankful for the dark. The less people saw me acting like this the better. Of course, I knew I had no one else to blame but myself for this predicament.

The group continued onward. During our travel, we lost one person. It happened so quickly. I was leading everyone through another dark hall that seemed even darker than the last. Aye, don’t even ask me how that was possible. Anyway, we’d been walking when I heard a scream behind me. It could have happened to any of us. The scream sounded near to us and then it sounded far off, like the victim had been dragged into the furthest reaches of the void. We then heard something drop to the ground. I assumed it to be the sloppy remains of whatever had taken him.

Though none of us knew who it was, we offered silent prayers to the fucker who got taken. I hoped he was granted a swift death. Anything less, I’d only wish upon my former crew.

Despite my earlier misfortunes, luck still seemed to be with me, for whatever it was worth at this point. On our way down, we found a total of six treasure room stashes. We collected from every single one. Unfortunately, we didn’t hunt too many animals. At this point, it was all but impossible. The few that we got would still make quite the fucking fortune regardless. Ellen must have stayed true to her lessons with Racaell because she and Aesteal took one down with a wind bullet and fire arrow.

Naturally, we encountered a few troublesome spells and cursed items, but I still had my knowledge from Liara with me. I could easily decipher or lift the curses of most items. Others I just handled extremely carefully. Hell, one of these curses made it so that every time the host was aroused, they’d feel excruciating pain in their cock or cunt until they died. Probably not the best curse for someone like me.

Through this time, Ellen kept our relationship entirely business-oriented. I asked her to give the count of the treasures and she did so. I asked for a count of the scrolls and she did that. Aside from that, she spent no more time next to me than needed. When I looked at those bandages, I remembered what I’d done, but not how I’d done it. I desired to apologize for my actions. Aye, a pirate apologizing can make any man laugh, but any man worth his shit knows when to acknowledge that he’s wrong.

Aesteal and my mother tried to encourage me. My mother had a rather odd way of doing that.

“Stop being a worried bitch and talk to the cunt. If she doesn't forgive you, then that be her own problem. I didn’t raise some timid fucker!” she exclaimed, patting me on the back which got a not so pleasant groan out of me. She laughed at my suffering, told me it builds character.

We left and continued on our way. We sometimes stayed quiet for minutes as monsters I’d rather not name passed us by. We sometimes ran like our lives depended on it, which they did, as dark caves with monstrous teeth and wailing screams followed behind us.

Then there was the magic. Seas, there was the fucking magic. Illusion spells, elemental spells, trap spells, sensory spells, and so much more. Even now, having dealt with all of this before, I wondered if I was dealing with someone more insane than before. Some of these stumped even me. If not for Liara’s knowledge within me, I would have been bested too many times that I cared to admit.

Either way, I noticed how cold it had gotten. It got so cold that I took the fairmaids out of the urn and handed each of them to my mother, Aesteal, and myself. This was to keep them warm for what was to come. I warned Nei to keep her head down and stay out of trouble. For once, she seemed to listen to me, stunning me with a nuzzle of my chin before she slipped next to my chest. I’d have to get this done quickly. I’d rather not find out how Nei fared against the cold.

“Alright, you lot. Prepare yourselves. It’s gonna get cold, real cold,” I said breathlessly, the cold nearly chilling my very bones. I heard everyone behind me shiver. I was once again headed into the territory of Ỳrmïndle.

“Ready yourselves, Raven Shadow. You’ll meet your destiny soon enough,” I spoke quickly and quietly. I heard a few whispers behind me. We all continued walking. The air around us got even colder.

Before long, we could all see each other as we stepped out from a cavern too small to be the massive dungeon-like maze we’d been navigating. The crunch of snow and the blasting of wind against our faces all told us that we were not in the same place as before.

“By the Frozen Seas! This ain’t possible!” someone said as we all stared into the frozen valley set before us. Even now, Aesteal and I looked at each other, remembering what happened and how we got here.

Unfortunately, we had not the luxury of time to take in the ambience. I knew Ỳrmïndle would upon us soon enough. We could hear the distant growls of an unholy beast far over the snowy hills.

I face everyone. “Alright, reach into your pouches and take this,” I said, pulling out one of the grey pills I’d crafted back in the ship. “This’ll keep you warm and refill your mana while you trudge this frozen wasteland.”

I popped one of the pills into my mouth, a bit of unease moved through me, but I toughened through it. Everyone else soon followed after me, each sighing with joy at having their mana restored. I then turned to Ellen. She looked at me and I stared back.

I pointed her to a place in the distance. “That way, there will be a castle. Take the men there and wait for a signal. If we’ve dealt with Ỳrmïndle, then you’ll know it when the explosions stop. If we haven’t, then you’ll know it when the explosions stop and Ỳrmïndle’s fucking roaring at the top of his damn lungs,” I said.

“And why should I fucking listen to you? I ain’t your Quartermaster and you ain’t my captain,” she answered.

My eyes narrowed. “Sothshore, I won’t repeat myself. Aye, I fucked up. Fine, but that ain’t here nor there. These guys aren’t gonna survive without you, and you’re the only one I can trust to make sure they make it. You’re the only non-mage I can send. If you want to live to get off Delverhold, and continue not being a part of my crew, then I suggest you stop making my damned job difficult. I don’t think there be enough gold in the whole damned world of D’orn to make ya trust me again. It’ll just be another on the long list of fucking regrets I’ve got. Now, are you gonna leave, or should I just knock you out and have the men drag you?” I asked.

Sothshore continued to glare at me for a moment or two. She then turned around to the others. “Alright, you shits. Let’s get moving. I ain’t about to freeze my ass off cause you fucks are too slow,” she said.

“GROOOOAAAOAOAOAR!”

As if to reaffirm what we already knew, we all heard the bellow of Ỳrmïndle. His voice shook the mountain ranges, causing severe avalanches just like before. Creatures scattered into the forests for what solace they could find. However, it wasn’t long for a part of the forest to become gripped in snow. Everyone watched as the trees were toppled over, crashing to the ground, killing anything in their way.

Brant, his knees deep in snow, stepped forward. He then looked back at me. I slowly nodded, the frost making my face shiver. Aye, as I said before, Raven’s Shadow would not hunt no mere frost troll. This was the realm of Ỳrmïndle.

“Alright guys, just like we planned. The shadow of the Raven falls upon all prey…” he said while Hannath stepped forward.

“...and all prey shall be caught within its mighty talons!” she said as she grabbed her enchanted bow.

One by one, the members of Raven’s Shadow physically and mentally prepared themselves. Magic swirled around those who wielded it. I observed Rieth for a time, wondering what kind of magic she would showcase.

“Ellen, take the fairmaids with you. They ain’t suited to this cold. There should be a room near the top of the castle with enough heat to keep them warm until we get back,” I said.

Sothshore scowled. “Why do I gotta take the little fucking…”

She didn’t get to finish before I pulled Nei out and quickly gave her to my former Quartermaster. “Cause they like ya oh so much. Now, stop complaining. With this cold weather, they shouldn’t be too active. Now, off with ya,” I said.

Ellen grumbled some more, but it wasn’t long before my mother, Aesteal, Raven’s Shadow, and I were all that was left on the snowy hillsides. We listened to the roars of Ỳrmïndle, watching as pillars of ice sharps crashed in the distance from his mighty club.

“You really weren’t fucking with us, were you?” Truon asked.

“The lad’s got brains after all. Who would have thought?” I said before I hissed from the cold.

The Rogue sucked his teeth before Racaell spoke. “Alright, now how do we get this guy’s attention? We must be like ants to him. How’s he gonna see us?” the Gun-Sorcerer asked.

I grinned. “Oh, he’ll know it’s us. Fucker won’t be able to resist himself,” I said as I grabbed my rapier, the frost chilling my fingers. With a pained growl, I stabbed my blade into the snow-covered ground at my feet. Mana left me as I pushed the frozen magic into the earth beneath us.

Suddenly, the terrain trembled like the mightiest earthquake. “Cast whatever spells ya know of now. Ya might not get the chance to do so again without a rain of mountainous hail falling down on top of you!” I warned as everyone watched a large dragon of frost explode from the mountainous hill we were on. Its mighty head soared into the sky. It then opened its maw and a blast of pure ice magic fired through the horizon until it met with its target.

“Holy shit!” Daen shouted as a kingdom of ice crystal conquered the land where the blast had been fired.

“NGHROOOOAUGUUGH!”

Like the beast he was, I heard Ỳrmïndle roar in pain before a series of earthquakes that were his steps hastened toward us. “Now, we got his attention! Best we get started lest we be chilled to the bone,” I said.

Raven’s Shadow looked up in awe as Ỳrmïndle’s face appeared through the blizzard in front of us. His white fur and red eyes glared down upon all of us. I absently heard the sounds of my mother’s whip. Ỳrmïndle giant teeth seethed with animalistic rage.

“The last matter won’t be repeated, Ỳrmïndle!” I said as I grabbed my rapier and pointed it at the god of the third island. Though I was injured, I would make the great troll kneel like so many others!

I touched my mother and Aesteal’s shoulders. “Saén,” I chanted, mana leaving me once again.

Aesteal didn’t have to wait for an order. She just sped off, kicking up a flurry of snow behind her. Ỳrmïndle roared and flung his club at all of us.

“For greater fame and glory!” Brant shouted.

“For greater fame and glory, we fight!” The others hollered.

My mother wrapped my arm around her shoulder and helped me run away, wind blasting in my face before Ỳrmïndle’s domain erupted in the sounds of combat.

The troll slammed his club into the ground, the earth rupturing beneath my feet as I heard the sounds of battle behind my mother and I. The vicious sounds of frost magic filled my ears and so did the war cries of Raven Shadow and Aesteal.

Once we were far enough away, my mother released me. “You really shouldn’t be fighting lest you meet a grim fate once again,” she said.

“The lot don’t trust me as it is. How are they gonna continue to follow me if I turn on my ass and run towards more safety? Fucked up though I am, and shattered though is my pride, I still be a man. Worry not, I still have a few tricks of my own. Now, go help them. Time to truly test out this new body of mine that I’ve made for you,” I said.

My mother laughed. “Boy’s got me fucking fighting hellish creatures and monsters. And here I thought I fucking saw it all,” she said as she grabbed her whip and snapped it in the air. She then gently punched my arm, running off back to the others.

From my place, I watched the battle.

Ỳrmïndle roared angrily at everyone as Hannath and Racaell fired flaming arrows and fire-laden bullet spells at the might beast. As the troll brought his hammer down, Brant and Daen crossed their arms to their chest. Blood poured from their lips when Ỳrmïndle’s club crashed against their bodies. They flew through the blizzard air, the latter grabbed his pair of twin axes while the former grabbed a large broadsword.

“Craestanarum!” Gurok slammed his hands together and shouted. A green glow casted itself over Brant and Daen, healing them both from the blow they’d been dealt. The two landed on the ground, scowling at Ỳrmïndle before the sky turned into a bright orange.

Standing together, Hannath pulled back her bow and fired a stream of bright flames towards the snow beast. As the arrow sailed through the skies, Racaell shot it in two. From that arrow, two mighty pillars of flames crashed into the body of the giant. Ỳrmïndle screamed, his breath strong enough to be mistaken for a second-tier wind spell.

He bashed his club into the side of the mountain, the rock coming down upon everyone. Ỳrmïndle then raised his club into the air, swirling it around like a shepherd does with stone and sling. The winds blew even faster. Lightning struck the ground around them as my mother joined the fray. I was left captivated by her agility as she struck the ancient whip against the giant troll’s white skin, it’s dragon leather leaving the cursed runes on his body.

Somehow, he seemed to know it as he turned to my mother, his eyes following her every move. I grabbed my rapier. No, Ỳrmïndle. None were allowed to touch my mother aside from me.

Feeling the mana drained from my body again, I swung my blade, ignoring the pain it caused. An arch of ice magic crashed right into his face. Everyone’s eyes landed on me for only a moment before they turned back to the battle. I grabbed my rapier with both hands and exhaled. “Floarian Niu Cnhia!” I cast, pointing my blade at the sky.

From the clouds, chains of ice wrapped around Ỳrmïndle’s arms just before he had the opportunity to swing at my mother. I could feel his rage increasing even from this range. The members of Raven’s Shadow shook, but they persevered. Brant and Daen jumped into the air. That was when Rieth came in.

I watched her stand behind Gurok, the monk constantly casting defensive magic for his two warriors. She then bit her thumb. Blood oozed from her wound. Due to the cold, it seemed to be in danger of solidifying. She wasted no time firing it into the air. However, I noticed that she didn’t send it for the bound Ỳrmïndle. Instead, she struck the two warriors of her party.

The blood crawled over their armor, empowering them before a blood array appeared at her feet. “Ổunűl: Hanal Bae Nal!” she said. Strands of blood then pierced through the snow, each of them covering the other members of the party.

“Fall before the might of Raven’s Shadow, Foul Beast!” Brant hollered as he slammed his two axes into Ỳrmïndle’s face. I didn’t expect that to do much damage, but the large slash of blood that tore through the troll’s face and its screams surprised me. Ỳrmïndle stammered back, smashing his club into the ground, pulling up mounds of ice and raining down hail.

“Han Ir!” I cast as I dug my sword through the snow and ripped it up. The snow quickly formed into a large slope of ice that covered everyone from the falling hail and ice.

“Good shit, Captain!” Daen shouted as he stabbed his broadsword into Ỳrmïndle’s skin, making the beast bleed. When he swung his club, Aesteal jumped on top of it.

“Aesteal, remember last time! The weapon is laced with pure ice magic. It’ll freeze you if ya stay in contact with it for too long!” I warned.

“Understood, Sir!” She fired back as she pulled back her dragon bow. Her fingers pulled back and her mana formed a lightning arrow. She fired it into the sky over Ỳrmïndle’s head. A large spray of white streaks rolled through the sky, ready to strike the trolle down. However, our eyes widened as small spikes of ice erupted from the club she stood on. They fired upon her and my Bonded Elf barely had time to cover herself before thousands of sharp needles bled through her skin and tore her clothes.

“Falora Lill Mhe!!” Gurok chanted. I saw Aesteal float down into the snow. My breath eased, but that moment didn’t last too long.

Ỳrmïndle’s piercing roar moved once again and he raised his club. He then slammed it on the ground and we were all nearly blown away. The ground beneath our feet ruptured like a damned active volcano. I heard Hannath and Racaell scream and I quickly swept a sheet of ice magic beneath their feet to keep them from falling into the chasm Ỳrmïndle prepared for them.

Rieth groaned as a sliver of blood fell down the side of her lip while Brant and Daen slid back. I frantically searched for my mother and found her quite literally. She crashed on top of me, burying the both of us in the snow. “S-S-Sorry. Fuck that hurt,” She groaned as she shook her head free of snow.

My ears ringing, and sweat falling down my face despite the cold and the pain, I looked up and saw nearly all of us wiped out. When Ỳrmïndle readied himself for another swing, Hannath and Aesteal quickly grabbed their bows.

“Lanshura!”

“Fiel Te Me Oh Yul!”

Both shouted as they fired a wind and fire arrow that exploded the sky and flashed the troll’s red eyes. “GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!” he screamed as he stumbled back as the flames crashed against his skin. Unfortunately, they wouldn’t last for long in this harsh, cold wind.

I was proven right when the flames quickly vanished. While the others got to their feet, I noticed Ỳrmïndle ready to crush them like the feeble humans we all were. Instead of such a fate, I applied the haste spell to myself and charged, biting my lip through the sheer pain I was putting my one lung through.

“Eric!” My mother shouted after me as Ỳrmïndle brought his club down. I appeared in front of everyone and clashed my rapier with his club. The snow around us exploded as the magic from his weapon refilled my mana, barely giving me the strength to withstand his godly strength. Without this blade, in my state, I would have been crushed easily.

“Galgalai! Freljarit! Haelbaerd!” I chanted and everyone gasped as four large walls of snow appeared around the troll. I slammed my hands together. Out of the walls jutted an innumerable row of spikes strong enough to pierce through even the Great Troll’s skin. I pushed them together like a box, my body growing cold from the ice magic flowing through it. I felt like I was being given frostbite from the inside out.

“T-Truon, have you found the weak points yet?” I asked, struggling, gritting my cold teeth to keep the rage that was Ỳrmïndle contained.

“How did you… No, my skills are best suited to ordinary monsters! Not god-like entities! Maybe he isn’t destined to fall,” the Rogue said.

I scowled. Of course, what men could try and find the weakness in such a monster? I doubted even some of D’orn best Rogue’s could do it. “Fine. Then we’ll just make his whole damn body a weakness. Rain hell on the fucker!” I said.

Aesteal didn’t need to be told twice. Neither did Hannath nor Racaell. The latter loaded her cartridges. She pulled the trigger and a wind array appeared in front of the barrels of her guns. “Guiniuir!” The Gun-Sorcerer cast as she pulled the trigger. The array cracked a powerful wind spell shot through the air.

“Ho He Gunahrie Flamraeruim Evngraen Luminos!” Aesteal chanted as she formed a fire arrow.

“Salapranet!” Hannath said and pulled her string back.

Both archers fired their flaming shots into the wind bullet. Once again, the sky grew orange like the setting or rising sun. A swirling mass of fire like that of a great serpent flew into the air. It then crashed down right into the center of the four pillars where Ỳrmïndle laid. The beast’s roars were unlike any I had heard before.

Even my mother struck the flames with her whip, allowing the ancient runes of the Wizened Owl to infect the flames  and turn their orange hue into a dark purple. Brant, Daen, Truon, and Gurok exhausted every spell in their elemental scrolls. All I could do was keep the walls up, hearing the troll scream and bash trying to get out. I couldn’t even see what Rieth was doing.

The spells continued until my body gave out. My eyes rolled into the back of my head, staggered from trying to contain so many spells with an equally taxing ice spell.

Finally, what I can only describe as the boom of a million cannons exploded right in our faces. My walls of ice blasted away and snow covered our bodies. I wouldn’t have been surprised if the whole island shook from the explosion. All I knew was that I crawled through mounds of snow, my body in sheer agony and my breathing hot, trying to find warmth wherever I could.

I made it to the surface. Ferocious winds and cracking lightning greeted me. I stared into the landscape, slightly in awe of the sheer destruction we’d caused. Entire forests were drowned beneath a sea of snow and ice, avalanches moved from one mountain to the next. All of it done by us and by Ỳrmïndle.

“You mad fuck. How did you create such a beast?” I wondered as I heard the intense, rage-filled bellows of the god of this frozen domain. Even with all of that, he hadn’t toppled over. Now, I wondered if he could even be without my powers.

I quickly looked for the others. My mother, Aesteal, Raven’s Shadow, I saw none of them. Whether they escaped, or were buried beneath piles of snow, I didn’t know. All I knew was that I was alone, staring at red, beady eyes, and smelling charred fur.

Ỳrmïndle stood before me, glaring down with beastial anger. I barely had the strength to stand and the beast god knew it. The only thing that saved me from the blow that nearly knocked me unconscious was the sixth-tier defensive spell I casted.

“D-Defenaria,” I chanted before my body felt the unshakeable strength of the giant troll’s club. This defensive spell was perfect in cushioning this body. The spell sapped the strength of the attacker and deflected the majority of it back to them. The defender suffered the recoil and, by the fucking sea gods, it was some damn strong recoil!

The frozen domain spun around in circles, or was I the one flying through the air? It was hard to tell, but I crashed through the snow and into the side of a mountain. A stream of blood falling down my face. “As expected of Seventh-tier magic. Even I can only use it once,” I thought as I picked my ass out of the rubble. This definitely didn’t happen in my first life. I never imagined it would happen in my second either.

As I stood up, I saw my right hand was frozen in a block of ice. No doubt this was the side effect of touching Ỳrmïndle’s club. I grabbed my rapier and touched the ice with it. The magic in the ice quickly flowed from my blade and into my body, filling my reserves once again. Unfortunately, I couldn’t enjoy the feeling because I noticed ice shards the size of mountains making their way towards me.

I held up my rapier and made a circle with it. “Telethori,” I cast.

Immediately a large portal of ice appeared. As if to defy all common sense, the ice spikes flew one by one into the portal before I casted the spell again. The ice portal appeared right over Ỳrmïndle, crashing down into his body, burying the beast until even I couldn’t see him.

I leaned back against the cold stone behind me. My breathing was painful as I remembered I was down a damned lung for my folly. When I stepped out of my little hermit’s shelter, I turned to see the sky darkening. Mighty clouds and dangerous lightning struck the ground. Then one bolt, larger than the others struck where Ỳrmïndle laid. His charred fur, like the perfect conduit, raged like a divine lightning beast.

I actually felt a shiver roll through my spine, both from unease and disappointment. I would have loved to fight this creature if I was at my full potential. How would Liara and I look combating such a monster with nearly boundless limits of magic, all created by one man.

The lightning coursed through his icy club. He stood to his feet. The beast held his club in the air, a flurry of the elements raged around him. Violent winds and turbulent hailstorms surrounded me. I truly wondered how lucky I was to have never encountered such a creature before.

I exhaled. Never did I think I’d have to entertain the idea of using eighth-tier ice magic. Firotirian Ganglium Nandalvalum, the Frozen Lands of Nadal’s Kingdom, a spell that forcibly converts every source of ice magic into pure ice like the lands of the Frozen King, Nandal. From Liara’s memories, I knew that rumors were that if the caster had not the proper preparations, even they could be turned to nothing but a block of pure ice. It was once theorized that pure ice could even douse the flames of the phoenix and give birth to an ice phoenix. Nothing in Liara’s memories told me if this was true or not. What I did know was that, not even the hide of Ỳrmïndle would stand against it.

The only question was, would I?

Unfortunately, I didn’t have much time to think. I just slammed my hands together, replaying Liara’s ancient words on my tongue. Freezing cold ice runes, cold enough to burn my arms, legs, and chest. I thought about my mother, Aesteal, Liara, Diane, and Ellen for only a moment. It seemed the latter would be rid of me faster than we both thought.

Ỳrmïndle advanced upon me, his club swirling with the elements.

I was on my last incantation before Ỳrmïndle and I, man and beast, stared into each other’s eyes. His horrid breath stung my nose. I gathered up all the mana I could as he raised his club in the air. The legendary weapon raised high in the air.

I watched and waited.

I waited and waited, but the blow never came. Instead, Ỳrmïndle dropped the weapon. It crashed hard enough to make me stumble, thus breaking my concentration and the spell. The great giant beast, like a massive, towering tree, swayed back and forth. I noticed the lifeless look in his eyes. Stunned, I could only watch as the weather returned to normal, almost like it had never happened in the first place.

Then, in a boom that could have rocked the entire frozen domain, Ỳrmïndle crashed into the ice and snowy ground, dead. I stood there, completely fucking perplexed by the sight I’d just seen. Ỳrmïndle and I were ready to clash, me wondering how my mother would kick my ass when she revived me from hell. Now, I was alive and the best was dead.

I panted, dropping to my knees while my rapier clanged on the mountain’s stone. Well, at least I wouldn’t need to turn into a damned C’ula frozen delight. That said, once I caught my breath, I quickly cast a wind spell and descended down the mountain. I had to look for my mother and the others.

Thankfully, I didn’t need to search for long.

I saw blood surge out of Ỳrmïndle’s body. Like tiny strands of a bastard’s dick hair, they wiggled together and mixed with each other. The strings formed a large pool and fired off to the west, towards a faraway hill. There, I noticed why I couldn’t find Aesteal despite our bond. She’d intentionally suppressed it.

“Gaele Gavollium!” I chanted with what little of my mana wasn’t composed of ice. This spell granted me enhanced sight over long distances. On the top of a hill, I saw the members of Raven’s Shadow, Aesteal, and my mother all in some kind of magic array. The blood from Ỳrmïndle was sailing into Rieth, the Forsaken Priest’s body.

I noticed she had changed slightly. Her skin was much darker, even darker than Nz’ia’s. It was black like oil. White tattoos littered her skin. Her clothing had been torn, revealing a woman I could only describe as more demonic than human. I saw her hands and feet turn into hairy claws like Ỳrmïndle. Even her jaw started to become like his.

The blood continued to swirl into the pores on her skin. Whatever she was doing, I hoped she wouldn’t take all of the blood. That was a great alchemic material as well. In fact, I hoped to use some to form pills that would increase my crew’s resistance to harsh, cold climates. There was another place we’d be going in the future that we’d need such body enhancements. In fact, I’d need that blood for another purpose.

To strengthen my own body.

Thankfully, Rieth didn’t take all the troll’s blood. I didn’t know how much she took, but she must have taken enough because the process stopped. I floated my way over to the group just in time to see them all drop the spell and notice me.

“Couldn’t think to let me in on this plan of yours, could you?” I asked, a little irritated.

“You’re the one who wasn’t around for the planning we had, Captain! We informed Ira and Aesteal while you were unconscious,” Truon said with a smirk while I glared at him.

I looked at my mother and Aesteal. At least they had the nerve to look at me sheepishly. “I’ll deal with you two later,” I said before I turned to Raven’s Shadow.

“Right, I’ll take the fall for that one then. Don’t make a habit out of it,” I chastised, which the group seemed to take seriously. I noticed Rieth had fallen unconscious. Gurok picked her up and began casting healing magics on her.

I exhaled, my body exhausted, but knowing that there was no time to lose. Ỳrmïndle was the best catch I could get in the time I had, but unfortunately there were others I’d have to, begrudgingly, give up. That was my own fault again.

I turned to Rieth. “Will she be alright?” I asked.

“Yeah, she’ll be fine. She’s just not used to using her magic against such a creature. She’ll be out for a little while, but her life’s not in danger. Given what she does, you’d think she would be though,” Hannath said with a chuckle.

I didn’t share much of the humor, but I decided to leave it alone. Instead, I turned back to Ỳrmïndle’s body. “Then take her to rest at the castle. I’ll be quickly dismantling the troll. I wish we had time to properly digest the fact that we took down one of the strongest creatures on this island, but that ain’t the case. Get what rest you can. Also, tell Ellen to prepare everyone to go. We’ll continue heading down,” I said.

“What about you?” Aesteal asked.

“I’ve rested enough,” I said as I turned around and walked back to the troll. I could already see a few lesser beasts starting to take tempting bites at the fallen god. No doubt they could all sense the trove of treasures that he was as well. I couldn’t afford to let that happen.

I limped to Ỳrmïndle’s carcass and drove off the wolves, bears, and other predators just waiting to devour his body. It didn’t take much. One slash of ice wind from my rapier was enough to send them away.

Anyway, I stared at the mountain that was Ỳrmïndle’s body. For once, I held out my hand and touched him. His body was warm. All this carpet covering him, he’d better be.

As I grabbed his fur, I sighed. Despite things going my way, they also seemed to not as well. Now my crew formed their battle plans without me. Naturally, I was aware I indeed said those words to Raven’s Shadow. However, I was unnerved by the thought that they didn’t even mention a part of it to me. Then again, maybe I didn’t deserve to know.

“Some captain I am,” I thought to myself before I turned back to my prize. Somehow, I wondered if I could even call it that.

“Glacaria Incarthian,” I chanted as I held my rapier into the air. From the skies, a large frozen frozen sickle came down and severed Ỳrmïndle’s head from the rest of his body. Acting quickly, I unsealed several large jars and filled them all with the troll’s blood. I wanted to hurry before the intense cold froze the liquid. It was still relatively hot from being inside his body and I was thankful to Rieth. She had left me over fifteen gallons of Ỳrmïndle’s blood. More than enough for me to do what I wanted. Hell, it was more than I’d ever need.

I needed a separate scroll entirely for Ỳrmïndle’s head while I worked on the rest of his body, cutting it up and down. I sectioned off everything. It took more time than I cared to admit to strip him of all his damned fur. Then there was his heart, lungs, and other disgusting parts that I think only the rich and well-off bothered to eat. I ain’t one to figure out the palette of the wealthy though.

Overall, this entire process took me two or three hours. To be honest, it could have been one hour or ten. I wasn’t counting. All I knew was that once I was done, my scrolls were basically filled up. Only a little bit of space remained in all of them, about enough to fill up a room or two.

...and I haven’t even touched the bastard’s weapon yet!

I thought about what to do with the club. I wanted all of it. Just this alone would shake the world of D’orn. If the end of the world really did come about because of me, this would be a good instrument in aiding me.

I thought and thought until a conclusion came to me. I didn’t prefer this, but it was the only option available to me. Well, that wasn’t exactly true. There were at least ten other options, but I hated all of them.

I wrote some protection runes on the club while trying to be careful to not touch it for too long. Though it’s wielder was dead, it still held potent ice magic that could free a fucker in seconds if they were unprepared.

Once all the arrangements were done, I sealed the club with a large teleportation array. As long as that array stuck on the club, no matter where in the world I was I could retrieve it. The only problem with this method was, with such a large object, the transportation would be very heavy on my mana. Aye, I could ask Liara for help in that regard, but I dare not ask too much of her. Besides, once I finished all my preparations and truly delved into the alchemist way, such a task wouldn’t be difficult for me.

With that, I turned around and left, every piece of Ỳrmïndle in my grasp and his club for me to retrieve later. Even if these islands sank to the ends of the earth, I could still retrieve this club when I needed it. I just had to make sure no one was around to challenge me for it. While I could deal with it, I’d rather not deal with the hassle.

With my bond to Aesteal reestablished, it was fairly easy to track her and the others down. Using my rapier, I crafted a bridge of ice and gently floated my way towards the others. At this point, I didn’t want to walk. I wasn’t sure I’d make it otherwise.

It didn’t take me long to find the castle. I had quite the favorable viewpoint. I then realized just how much of it was destroyed when Aesteal and I fought Ỳrmïndle the first time. I hoped the group managed to get some places of warmth. Perhaps they all crowded into the fire room that I discovered before. Either way, they all seemed alive. They also seemed to have collected some things while I was away. They were discussing amongst themselves some things I hadn’t seen.

It didn’t take them all long to spot me. I slid down to them and landed in front of them all. “Captain, where be the mighty beast?! Raven Shadow’s lips remain more tightly closed than a woman’s legs! We all feared for our lives when a wave of snow crashed against the castle. Thought it’d topple down on top of us. Never saw something so damn big in all me life!” one of them said.

I glanced at the man. I then reached into my pouch for the scroll I had carefully marked. When I pulled it out, I turned to Brant. “Well, they don’t have to keep their mouth’s shut anymore. There’s the head as promised,” I said, tossing it to the leader of the group.

Brant caught the scroll. The group, minus Rieth, looked at it curiously. It didn’t seem to fully register that they’d managed to take down such a powerful figure. However, they clearly underestimated themselves. With just the changes they’d gone through on Delverhold, they were no longer some mere C-rank adventurer’s group. I bet they’d even give a few A-ranked groups some difficulties.

“That whole beast fits into that scroll?” another asked.

“No. Just the head. Trust me, you don’t want me to unseal the rest of it. Anyway, for sticking with me, I’ll make sure you enjoy the fruits of this beast as well before the voyage is over. Anyway, I hope you’ve all rested enough. We’re leaving now,” I said.

“But, Sir, you haven’t rested yet,” Aesteal said.

“I’ll be fine, Aesteal. Let’s keep moving. Fortunately, I have a method to know where to go this time,” I said as I placed my hand on the ground. Thankfully, because of my rapier, I received the best way to lead us out of this frozen hell.

“Glacia Dalgorania,” I said as I felt my consciousness spread over the miles of snow in every direction. This was truly a perfect spell to use without the threat of danger and for traveling long distances.

For five minutes, I searched at rapid speeds until I finally found what looked like an hole in the ground. It was hard to spread my consciousness down it, but it indeed seemed to continue down from Ỳrmïndle’s domain. I tried to spread myself through the rest of the land, but I saw nothing else that would seem like an exit. The hole was also in a rather inconspicuous spot, it didn’t seem like a place where most would go without it being intentional or accidental.

It was a shame that An’raie wasn’t awake. I could have used her scouting skills, but there was also something else I could use. It was also ice-based.

“Glacinum Gaoelm,” I cast and everyone watched a snow golem raise from the ground. It then walked off in the direction of the hole. Thankfully, that didn’t take too much time. This type of golem also worked well for many ice mages because when it dispelled, it could transfer knowledge back to its wielder.

In many of the frozen towns and kingdoms, ice mages were widely paid for due to their durable ice golems. The golems patrol the inner and outer borders. If they were destroyed then it was almost impossible for an ice mage to not know about it.

Anyway, I was allowed my moments of rest while we all waited. Someone offered to heal me and I accepted. Though the healing worked on my internal injuries, it didn’t do much with my shortness of breath.

I looked at Ellen. She leaned against the castle walls, inspecting them for potential value.

I watched her for a little while, feeling the guilt from my hubris. Whether she knew it or not, Ellen sometimes rubbed her arm, scratching the bandages on it. I rubbed the back of my head. I’d never been put in this kind of position before. Aye, I dealt with the pissed off woman every once in a while, but it was never for something like this. My bedroom activities, while rather extreme at times I’ll admit, were still things I tried not to leave lasting damage. It was believed that a man treats his women just like he treats his own ship. Without them, he cannot hope to cross the world on his own.

Despite all she’d done to my mother and I, and the strife I led because of it, I still owe Ellen for turning me into the man I became today. In fact, I think our earlier encounters were my way of somehow venting our past frustrations for each other. Over the voyage, I truly came to value her more than even I’d thought. A woman I once thought with a heart blacker than my own, I was used to laying in my arms, both of us without a care.

At my age, it was quite the embarrassment to admit, but I fancy her a lot. Her sass kept me sharp and her wit stung worse than any blade. The thought of any man getting to know her intimately drove me wild with anger. I remembered that smile as we ran along the tides. I wanted to grant her that smile until the end of time. Only now I wondered if I even had the right to.

Heh, how ironic of a pirate to talk about what he had the right to and not to do.

“Aye, the pursuit of women has led many a great man astray, hasn’t it Captain? Still, ain’t nothing gonna change should you sit here and sulk,” a middle-aged man, with a rotund belly said, sitting next to me.

“I ain’t sulking,” I replied lamely.

The man laughed. “Aye, the man’s pride is hard to break sometimes. It be alright, Captain! You ain’t the first man, and ya won’t be the last. It’s a part of growing up! Hair on yer chest grows as ya learn how much of a fuck up ya actually are! Now, quit staring at her like ya want to turn her into stone! Get your business done so we can get out of this land of frozen death!” he said, shoving me forward.

I didn’t know the fucker’s name, but I was sure he meant well. That said, the hard slap to my back threw the wind out of my lung. I groaned painfully, but found myself walking over to her. I couldn’t say my approach was stealthy because of the snow. My unfocused footsteps crunched at every turn. There was no way she didn’t hear me.

When I stood next to her, I didn’t even get a moment to speak before she spoke first. “What do you want, Sir?” she asked.

I quickly noticed the dismissal in her tone. Clearly, I was the last person she wanted to talk to. Unfortunately, I wasn’t the best with shit like this. I rubbed the back of my head, wiping shards of snow from my hair. “I… erm… how’s your arm doing?” I asked.

Aye, truly I be the smoothest son of a bitch this side of D’orn!

“Hurts like a bitch because of someone! Can you just get us the hell out of here before the cold freezes it off?” she asked.

I opened and closed my mouth for a moment. “Aye, we should be getting out soon. It should be a straight shot down to the fourth island. We still have some time to find a few more treasure caches. So long as we’re careful with the void worms, we’ll be fine,” I answered.

She snorted. “Well, glad you’ve got that figured out. We done talking yet? I’m resisting the urge to blow your brains out,” she replied as if it was as simple as breathing.

I sighed. Well, I couldn’t much blame the sentiment she had at the moment. “Aye, you’d be right to,” I laughed a little.

Ellen didn’t laugh with me.

I slowly stopped and faced her.  “Listen, Ellen. I ain’t a man to make excuses. I fucked up. Whatever piece of shit label ya got for me, then it fits me. Even after putting my life, the lives of my crew, on the line to retrieve Boreli, I ain’t got shit to show for it. I’m currently walking like Death’s about to take me for a fucking second time. All of it because of my own damned pride and arrogance. I’m sorry for what I did to you. I shall not let it happen again,” I said.

There came a bit of silence next. I became aware of how cold my feet were from the way my boots dug into the snow. I also became aware of just how exhausted I was from all the work I’d done. Nevertheless, I kept standing to face Ellen. My eyes darted between her face and the bandage on her arm.

I think I was dizzier than I thought because I suddenly found Ellen’s gun under my chin. She stared at me angrily. “I am sick and tired of fucking sorries! I’m sick and tired of that damned phrase, ‘I shall never let it happen again.’ Upon the blood that I’ve spilled, clawing my way up to where I am now, I swore never to let any fucker turn his hand against me! Now, I’ll fucking admit that shit bet we made didn’t count. Though it pisses me off, I’ll admit I lost that one. But, don’t you dare think I’m some cunt that’ll cry just from a damned sorry! I don’t need your fucking sorry!” Ellen screamed as she pulled the trigger.

The both of us froze as a magic barrier teleported Ellen’s bullet from beneath my chin and into the ground somewhere else. The gunshot quickly alerted everyone else, causing them to look over at us, startled. This wouldn’t have surprised me so much if I’d prepared that spell in advance. Except, I never remembered casting a spell on myself that would do that. I’d have gotten my brains blown out and almost not realized it.

However, despite how shocked I was, I noticed Ellen was even more shocked than I was. “Fucking dammit!” She shouted as she threw her gun into the snow. She put her head in her hands.

“Ellen…”

I couldn’t speak more because the air was blown out of my lung when Sothshore buried her fist in my stomach. I fell into the snow, it’s cold embrace burning my skin while I clutched my stomach. My ears rang and my vision grew blurry again. I barely had enough sense to hear something hard. I then heard Ellen’s voice.

When I leaned up, I saw Sothshore in the snow, clutching her face while my mother had her fist extended. Aesteal stayed at my side, tending to me while my mother grabbed Ellen by her collar and hoisted her into the air.

“Oh, well look at… the slut who finally rose from the position of Island Cocksucker to Tough Bitch! Guess you don’t need to make money on the side anymore!” Ellen half-laughed and half-snarled while my mother fired back.

“Ayyy, the position’s looking to be filled! I’ll bet the fuckers will love you with no damned teeth!” My mother returned.

With Aesteal’s help, I shakingly stood to my feet. “Mom, it’s alright. Let her go. What man be I that I can’t take a punch or two? I’ll live,” I quickly said

My mother looked back at me. She then sucked her teeth and shoved Sothshore out of her hands. Ellen stumbled back and rubbed the side of her face. “You can fuck off with your damn sorry! Just get us the fuck out of here!” Ellen exclaimed as she marched through the snow away from the rest of the group.

“Are you alright, Sir?” Aesteal asked.

No, I wasn’t. Yet, I didn’t have the will to speak those words. I decided to just let my aura do the talking for me. Thankfully, Aesteal seemed to understand and she began tending to me.

With the mood of the group thoroughly destroyed, the golems dispelled after a couple more minutes. Indeed, that inconspicuous hole was a way out of the troll’s domain. I spoke on this with the crew and we all, Ellen included, began our trek out of the frozen tundra. Aside from the wind, we all heard nothing. None of us spoke a word and I was left wondering how I could fix all this shit that I’d fucked up.

Through snow, ice, and hail, we made it to the hole. I jumped down and landed in the familiar dark tunnels. One by one, everyone did the same. I did a quick roll call. Once everyone was accounted for we started moving. We soon left the icy domain behind us, the tunnels getting warmer and warmer as we did so.

As usual, the tunnel’s uerantite continued to drain our mana. I noticed that the walls got a little colder. This was most likely because the shiny stones in the walls were feeding off the ice mana in my body.

The further we went down, the hotter it got. We crawled through a particularly tight passway, the sounds of something heavy stomped over us. Our ears picked up on sizzling earth and decaying blood. The tunnels rumbled as massive beasts fired off spells at each other. I knew not what was happening above us and, at this point, I really didn’t care. We all just kept moving.

Luckily our trip downward still bore fruit. I had found a sleeping fire serpent. It was like a snake with a body of ruby scales. Had it been awake, those rubies scales would have ignited producing a beast with a body just waiting to burn alive anything it coiled around.

I had just enough ice magic to deal with the fucker. With a touch of my hand, while my crew observed, I instantly froze it’s body, killing it immediately. Due to the limited space in my scroll, I had my mother seal it up.

Unfortunately, that prize came at a price. Flame Serpents, when they die, release a fragrant scent that is irresistible to the monsters down here. We had to run and we had to run for our fucking lives as fast as we could. Unfortunately, I was the odd one out. I couldn’t run too fast, but Aesteal dared not leave me behind. Despite my words of protest, she stayed by my side while my mother covered us with a rain of gunfire. I was sure the bullets did nothing but piss off the creatures behind us, but they worked well enough. Everyone was screaming at the top of their lungs as Aesteal and I quickly recognized where we ran to.

My crew screamed as we fell into the massive hole Aesteal and I encountered when we were transported here for the first time. The roars of the creatures told me they were falling even faster than we were. Acting quickly, I grabbed Aesteal’s hand. Between the both of us, there was just enough mana to cast an ice spell that formed a hill down to the bottom. One by one we slide into one of the cavern holes at the bottom of the abyss narrowly avoiding a group of void worms hanging from the tops of the ceilings.

I couldn’t say the same for the monsters that fell with us. Those were left to the void worms laying around the tunnels. We slid down a long tunnel, smooth ice turned into rough dirt and mud.

Between the wind from our speed blasting in my face and the screams of some kind of beast. Something sharp struck my head, but we kept falling down.

“‘Twould be best that thee escape from this pit. What lays within the abyss shall swallow you whole, your body digested and your consciousness forced to suffer through every waking moment of it even after thine flesh hath dissolved.”

Despite the shock at hearing the Lonely Wail’s voice again, her words of our demise quickly spurred me into action. I thought about what to do. However, I had no mana for another spell. I, and the rest of my crew, just kept falling further and further down until we crashed into something hard.

One by one, Ellen, Aesteal, and my mother crashed into me. Normally, I’d be happy to have my lasses on top of me, but that wasn’t the case for today. I just groaned and so did the others.

“Can you ladies remove yourselves from me before ya crush the one lung I have left?!” I questioned urgently.

“Sorry, sir!” Aesteal said as they all rolled off me.

When I stood up, I noticed we’d been saved by a stone bridge, wide enough to accommodate all of us. That certainly didn’t happen in my last life.

I quickly noticed An’raie was silent once again. I tried calling out to her, but I received no response. After a handful of times, it seemed I wouldn’t be speaking to her again for a little while.

Instead, I heard the sound of a giant monster beneath us. I knew it was big because wind, and the foulest stench I’d ever smelled since Ỳrmïndle fucking breath, blew from beneath us. The gust was so strong, it thought it was going to lift us off the ground.

“Captain, you’ve led us into the belly of monsters! I ain’t complaining, but I still got a broad back home waiting to see me wrapped in fancy king’s garments! I’d rather she not see my intestines flowing up Blood River!” someone behind me screamed as we all held onto the ledge.

“Lass mustn’t be that fucking precious to ya. I can count the number of things ya ain’t stuffed yer cock into on one hand while we’ve sailed to this cursed land!” another hollered.

Once the shouting of the beast below settled, we all got up. I could feel the presence of great magic coming from the path in front of us. “Walk in front of you. Take care that you don’t fall off. Grab someone’s shirt if you got to!” I ordered.

Everyone quickly agreed and we began to walk. Unfortunately, we didn’t get very far before I heard Ellen scream in pain behind me.

“What the fuck was that?” Truon asked.

“My fucking leg’s broken, dickshit! You think I’d fucking scream at nothing?” Ellen asked.

“Can anyone heal her?” Aesteal asked.

“Not with the current reserves we’ve got. Your little pet can’t help her?” another asked.

“I don’t believe so,” My bonded elf replied.

We all braced against the bridge as another roar came. Something must have struck the walls because what sounded like falling stones struck the bridge, making it shake. When it stopped, I quickly turned around.

“Pull Ellen up here. I’ll support her while we go,” I ordered.

“I don’t need your fucking-”

“Aye, bitch at me later! No one behind me is gonna support you. If you slip and fall, your ass’ll be sending the lot of us with you. You don’t wanna join me? Fine. However, I’m still your damned captain while we navigate this shithole, so get your act together and fucking get up here!” I ordered.

No one said a word following my outburst. All I heard was the shuffling of feet until Sothshore wrapped one arm around my neck. I grabbed her arm to support her further. We then limped towards the bottomless pit’s exit. Thankfully, we made it without incident.

The tunnel curved to an upward slope. The roars of the giant creature continued to shake the lower areas of the tunnels, but we continued onwards. Due to the mud from the fall, it was a little hard to scale the slope, but my rapier provided us with enough traction when I stabbed it into the ground for leverage. If it had a soul like some mystical weapons do, then I hoped it didn’t mind being used as a crutch.

Neither Ellen nor I spoke a word to each other, her uncomfortable grunts reminding me of her predicament. Nevertheless, we continued onward. The sounds in the tunnels grew ever distant.

Once we were far enough away, I turned around. “We’ll stop here for a moment. I want you all to feel around your bodies. I don’t care how you do it, but make sure there are no void worms upon you. You’ll be in for a terrible experience of there are,” I said.

“And what manner of creature be void worms?” someone asked as I heard the various shufflings of clothes behind me.

So, I briefly regaled my crew with the horrors of void worms. The shuffling of clothes got even faster along with harsh slaps of skin. It seemed I wasn’t the only one who was lucky. No one seemed to be infested with them so we continued onwards.

“I never thought these words would be uttered from my lips, but I think me bag and will are filled with enough adventure for one voyage! Seen enough death to not desire the blood of a man on my blade anymore. I’d rather go shark-hunting,” someone, a man said.

“Ya won’t have much of a career if the captain decides to not move on. He’s been catching them all and I think we see how he’s been fucking doing it,” another said.

Well, unless my powers come back, I doubted I’d be much of a Shark Hunter anymore.

“Ngggh!”

I stiffened when I felt Ellen’s weight shift, nearly knocking me off balance and making us fall. Luckily, I managed to keep her up as she hopped on her one good luck.

“You ain’t much for support if you can’t even keep me fucking upright,” she snarled to me.

If we could see, I was sure I’d be seeing her glaring hatefully at me. However, I was used to her anger. “Well, maybe ya need to lay off the krill and boar’s meat. You might have gotten heftier for a man with one lung,” I replied.

“Oh, Captain, noooooooo!” someone drawled while I heard the click of a gun.

“Speak one more word and the next bullet won’t miss!” she exclaimed while I stopped walking. “You threaten me with a good time that I don’t deserve, Ellen. Then we best try other measures,” I said.

“The fuck are you talking ab… Hey! What the fuck!”

As best I could, I picked up Ellen’s entire body into my arms, effectively taking her off the ground. Naturally, she started kicking and threatening me with every Draegnarian curse word that I could find.

“This be easier. Calm down, you’ll be rid of me soon enough,” I replied as we all continued walking.

My former Quartermaster slowly stopped kicking and, from the way she shuffled, I assumed she had folded her arms. “Fucking bastard, I heard her mumble.

As we passed by a multiple of corridors, the sound of no monsters near us relaxed us a little. I also noticed that the walls started to turn from damp rock to molded, constructed stone. Despite holding Ellen, and the strain it put on me, I breathed a sigh of relief. We had no need to fear anything else. It seemed we’d fallen down a level below the portal which meant that we no longer had to fear any creatures. To protect his research, the alchemist place a powerful barrier capable of repelling any creature, even Ỳrmïndle. No doubt the upward slope was a way to get to that level.

After so much travel, our journey finally bore fruit in the form of a domed structure not so dissimilar to the room on the second island. It was lit with candles, their shimmering gaze nearly blinding us from having been in the dark for so long.

“You’ve been eating for the last two days! Don’t you ever fucking rest?”

A voice that I knew all too well pierced the dome walls. We entered the structure. Seeing as I had been here before and my eyes quickly honed in on a large pile of beast carcasses. Each of them was stripped of their flesh and meat. Sat over them, like an alpha predator establishing his dominance, was Nz’ia. I took notice of his brown skin and fierce eyes. He picked up a bone and crushed it in his hands. The Xhaluter then used one of the sharp pieces to clean his teeth.

Sat next to the Xhaluter’s pile of bones was Burnwood. Her body was laden with vicious claw marks, scratches, dried blood, and bruised skin. Yet, never had I seen her more happy than now. The candles surrounding the dome lit up her smile like something I’d never seen. She kept twirling the trigger of her gun through one of her fingers, seemingly amused for the moment.

I found it a rather cruel sense of irony that I, and the others were coming off this island exhausted to all hell, and these two were having the time of their life. Then again, that’s what I expected when I sent them off to fight to their hearts’ content.

I then took the time to observe the dome we were all in. Having been here before, I recognize the dome's theater-like appearance. There were rows of stone seats lined around the dome and pillars of marble as high as the ceiling. It seemed like a place the alchemist used to entertain people. Unfortunately, I couldn’t hazard a guess as to who he’d do this for. Maybe his isolation drove him even insaner than Th’am could contain. I was quickly reminded of that summoning circle back in the castle in Ỳrmïndle’s domain.

No. The fucker wouldn’t be that crazy, would he?

I didn’t want to think he would, but for a man so starved for knowledge that he’d create a place like this, I couldn’t be so sure. He wouldn’t think to entertain demons, would he?

I decided to take my mind off that matter as we walked down the theater steps. It didn’t take long for Nz’ia to hear us. He looked at me with those sharp eyes. With us getting close, Diane then picked up on our noise as well.

She turned around and spotted us. “Well, look what the tunnels shat out. I was beginning to think we’d have to go back and find you guys. What the fuck messed you all up so much?” she asked while Nz’ia stepped off his kingdom of bones.

“Aye, we faced many a great and terrifying creature! Barely escaped with skin on our bones did we! Captain, led us to much treasure and much danger! Unfortunately, not all of us made it,” someone at the back said while Ellen pushed herself out of my arms.

She limped her way to one of the stone seats and began tending to her leg.

Diane noticed this. “Fuck’s wrong with her?” she asked.

“Long damn story,” my mother replied.

“How long?” Burnwood returned.

“Well, Sir’s down a lung. So there’s that,” Aesteal answered.

Shocked, Diane looked at me and I wondered if I kept the fucking guilt off my face. Something told me I didn’t succeed. That said, I didn’t feel like being flooded with questions. My eyes darted across the area and I spotted a door at the far end of the room. My eyes hardened. Finally, I’d be able to retrieve the artifact behind that door that would make all our lives much easier.

I turned back to the others. More specifically, to Diane and Nz’ia. Both had grown stronger since I last saw them a few days ago. No doubt feasting on the wondrous materials all these creatures were made of toughened them up considerably. Even before now, Burnwood was a powerful woman. I wondered who might stand against her once we left Delverhold.

I quickly stood in front of the group, Nei now occupying my shoulder. “Alright, start getting comfortable. Count what you’ve collected later. You’ll be going through the portal and into the fourth island. So long as you ain’t touching mystical tomes or reading what you shouldn’t, you’ll be fine,” I stated.

That seemed to be a delight for the ears of the crew until someone raised their voice. “You ain’t joining us, captain?” they asked.

I turned back to the door. “I shall join you shortly. Right now, I have somewhere else to go. The whole reason I even sailed to C’ula was to get behind that door,” I pointed to the very end of the room.

“More treasure?!” Someone asked.

“None that you’d think to sell for coin. Now move on,” I said as I stepped near the portal. The magic matrices on the ground quickly lit up and the way to the next island showed itself.

Some were more excited than I gave credit for. They jumped through the portal with gusto while others took a more leisurely pace. Others glared at me, namely Raven’s Shadow, Ellen, My mother, Aesteal, Nz’ia, and Diane, and about ten or so men and women. I sighed.

“You’re all too damn curious for your own good,” I thought to myself.

“And why are you all still here?” I asked, already knowing the answer. I merely desired to hear it for myself.

Brant stepped forward. “Don’t take us for fools, Captain. You didn’t sail us from Draegnar to C’ula to buy a water god’s urn for nothing. No doubt you’ve incurred its wrath as well. Whatever’s behind that door’s gotta be valuable, even if it can’t be measured with money! Whatever it is, you decided to make an enemy of C’ula for it!” the leader of the group said.

I looked at them all. Everyone seemed eager to discover what was behind the door just like I was. Clearly, they must have known that even if I, who wasn’t in any condition to go, still wanted to press onward, then they’d want to as well.

“Don’t regret it later,” I said as Nei pulled at my cheeks in a way that annoyed me, but amused her. I wondered why I couldn’t get one like Aesteal’s. Her fairmaid just sat on her shoulder, enjoying the quiet.

As if reading my thoughts, Nei smiled at me slyly. I could almost read her thoughts.

“Good luck trying to get rid of me, motherfucker!”

I exhaled and turned to Nz’ia, I placed a hand on his head. “Pick up the urn. We’ll head there now. It should be enough for us to search it and for the portal to recover,” I said as I began dismantling the makeshift home I’d made for the fairmaids. I handed one to Diane, another to my mother, and the last to Ellen, the latter of whom took it begrudgingly.

Given that we were in no danger, Brant helped Ellen this time. I don’t think she would have accepted my help even if I offered it.

Anyway, with his incredible strength, Nz’ia brought the urn with us. The closer we got to the door, the more detailed features I made out. For one, unlike the rest of the theater, this door wasn’t anything impressive. It was made of wood for one, completely out of place with the rest of the area. However, I noticed the wood was very beautiful, not a single imperfection laid on it. It was perfectly preserved. On its face laid the iron symbol of some kind of demonic creature. Liara’s memories told me that this was Ybdarin, The Corrupter of Life Blood.

Before we stood in front of it, I stopped everyone. They all looked at me.

“Alright, try not to piss yourself when at the sight of your own blood. Now, follow my lead,” I said before communicating with Nz’ia again. He nodded and placed the urn just a few feet away from the door.

I then took a knife and slit my palm. I hovered my hand over the urn and everyone watched my blood drop inside.

“I ain’t too much into the occult, captain! This be necessary? We ain’t gonna spawn some horrid demon that’ll feast on the great-great-great-grandchildren of our children for what we undertake upon this cursed ground, are we?” someone asked.

I snorted. “What kind of captain do you think I be?” I then asked.

“One wrought with the sins of devilry and trouble!” Hannath answered.

Well, I certainly couldn’t argue that logic. It was because of such a nature that I was even in this predicament. “Shut up and pour your blood into the urn with me!” I shouted as everyone joined me.

“No offense, Captain, but when ya screech like that ya sound like Pete sittin’ upon his chair,” another jested.

…Was I just called old?! I still be a great man of middle age!

Everyone stood around the urn and slit their palms. We poured the blood inside the urn. Unfortunately, with a group of about fifteen people, it didn’t get high. However, it was more than enough.

I quickly reached into my pockets. I pulled out the jar of the water Ellen, my mother, and Raven’s Shadow had used to increase their mana reserves. I poured a little of it inside. I watched Nei make a curious swipe at it a few times. For a creature so used to being in the water, she seemed particularly fascinated by this water in the jar I had.

Nz’ia didn’t have that same fascination. As soon as water spilled, he stood a couple steps back, growling at the liquid every now and then. Once the water hit the blood, our eyes squinted when we saw a bright, red light shine from the urn. The blood mixed with the mystifying waters, slowly filling until it got about half way filled.

After that, I quickly reached into my pouch again. I pulled out some of the leaves and herbs I gathered from the first island. I then crunched them with my teeth. Next, I put a wooden stick on my mouth and twirled the crushed leaves around. The others grimaced at me, but it had to be done this way.

The leaves quickly turned into some kind of paste on my tongue. Contrary to the method, it actually tasted fairly good. It tasted sweet with a hint of mint flavor.

I wrapped the paste around the stick and pulled it out of my mouth. I then placed it in the urn, twirling the paste with the mystified blood. The light got even stronger, turning into a deep scarlet color. With the help of the paste, the urn was quickly filled to the brim with rich blood. I tossed the stick in next.

Following that, I threw in a few more materials. I threw in some of the bark from the trees on the first island, stems from the flowers and shoots I’d collected in the safe zone, and some grass roots from the second island.

Once the preparations were made, Gurok and Nz’ia pushed the urn further to the door. “Alright, whatever you do, make no visible movements. We’re in unknown territory. Even I don’t know what’s gonna happen,” I said.

That didn’t seem to be what everyone wanted to hear, but it was too late. The two pushed the urn in front of the door. The demon’s eyes then lit up. A massive array appeared beneath us. With my current reserves, I had no chance of breaking it. Thankfully, this would be the very last time I’d ever experience this feeling again.

We all stiffened when the demon in the door tore itself out. It slowly got bigger and bigger, it’s arms even longer and wider than the entire theater’s walls. It towered over us, it’s uneven face scraped some kind of fleshy substance that I could say resembled worms off its face.

Despite its grotesque appearance and the way it glared down at us, it’s maw opening to the tongue made out of human sinew.

The beast spoke, “Since time immemorial, the lifeblood flows through the very course of the wicked plains. For mine gaze hath corrupted the great rivers which move from the Rising of the Sun to the Casting Downs Within The Shadows. So is mine design, I have corrupted the many and tortured the few. To gain that which thine desires which cannot become corrupted, bring forth that which is the highest form unto me. Shouldest thou fail, I shall take the greatest joy in suffering your souls as I corrupt thee for ten thousand years!”

None of us moved. The demon then looked down at the urn. It spoke not a word more. The human sinew tongue struck into the urn. It drank the fruits within slowly. He drank and drank and drank. Kavtha’s Urn proved its worth as the liquid Ybdarin drank seemed to go on for forever. In fact, I dare say it drank more than we’d put in there.

However, that was only a part of the power of Kavtha’s Urn. What most didn’t realize was that along with turning liquid into its highest quality form, the urn also held the power to continuously craft the liquid until the user was satisfied. That said, it did have a limit, but that limit was not something most mortals, demons, or gods could reach easily. In fact, within my mind and Liara’s, I could only think of one or two beings that could actually break the water golem’s urn through simple usage.

After about two minutes, The Corrupter of Life Blood tore its tongue from the urn. It spoke not a word. Instead, it screamed in pain, making us cover our ears as its arms lashed at the theater areas. The entire structure was brought to the ground. The demon screamed before he was sucked back into the door. The door then opened, marking this as the time that I finally got to go beyond that area.

Even now, I remembered when I first came here. I remembered how many people Ybdarin took from me to satisfy his crazed lust for blood. I remembered the massacre of limbs since we’d failed the test. We managed to make it through the portal before it devoured all of us. I remembered their screams as Ybdarin ate them like skewers. Now, I watched that same demon scream in agony, his hell under the Alchemist to suffer as a door for all eternity.

I wondered what would become of it when this place drowned.

The seal at our feet vanished and we were allowed to move again.

“Dealing with demons and the like for the sake of an old fucker’s treasure, me life has taken quite the turn!” someone behind me said.

“To follow a life rich with purpose ought to be the will of every being under the stars. Though I can do without so many demonic manifestations,” Aesteal said.

I patted her shoulder. “Then, you might rest easy. Aside from the one who took Maeloson, the worst of the isles should be behind us. Once we rescue Maeloson and retrieve Liara, we’ll finish up the islands. Besides, I look forward to testing the fruits of our labors against the sea outside. Now, let’s enter through this door. I've waited a long time for this!” I exclaimed.

“Yes, sir!” she replied. My bonded elf then helped me towards the door as we all filed inside. I decided to take the urn with us. While I didn’t think anyone would take it, I was also aware we weren’t the only ones on the island. I’d rather not risk it.

Just like before, we were surrounded by darkness. I thought about lighting our way, but the danger of uncertain creatures still lurked. I hadn’t been here before in my previous life. I knew not what lay beyond the void. None of us did.

Thankfully, the cave wasn’t long. We reached our destination after about five or six minutes. I could tell because I heard the sound of dripping water. I assumed we’d made it an underground lake of sorts. I urged everyone to proceed cautiously as we stepped through the wide, open entrance.

My guess was proven right. When we stepped through the entrance, stones on the ceiling lit up, revealing several sparkling pits of water, each of them clearer than the last. I noticed thirty large stone pillars, each of them curved to match the shape of the dome. Jutting out from each was a column of iron spikes.

I turned my attention back to the lake ponds in front of me. Each of them rippled from something small striking them from the ceiling. I looked up and I saw sharp pointed stalactites on the ceiling. From them dropped something red. It dropped over and over, only a minute or so between each of them upon each pond.

I looked out further and I saw the large statue of a nude woman jutting out from the pond furthest to the back. The woman had large horns on her forehead and large bat-like wings.

“This is what we came here for? Some ponds and lakes for a possible bath? Kind of a letdown,” someone behind me said.

I didn’t hold the same belief. There was no way the alchemist went through all this trouble, especially having a demon guard the door for there to be nothing. I felt an odd magical energy that emanated from the lakes.

I could also tell something was here because Nei was losing her fucking mind. She kept bouncing and tugging at my hair, acting like she’d just overdosed on some good shit from Draegnar.

“Aye, alright. Let’s see what’s got your fins in a fucking twist,” I thought as I turned to the others.

“I’m gonna go down and take a look. Watch my back,” I said as I descended down to the pools.

When I arrived, I stared down into one of them. Aside from the ripples caused by the red drops, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. In fact, I could see all the way to the bottom. Nothing seemed particularly appealing. It just looked like any other type of water one would see. Still, Nei seemed fucking ecstatic about it. Her fin slapped the top of my head repeatedly.

I picked up a wayward stone and threw it into the water. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting. Maybe I wanted to prove to everyone that it was dangerous mana-corrupting shit, but nothing happened. I just watched the stone sink to the bottom.

I shrugged, I grabbed Nei and held her over the lake. She didn’t waste a fucking second. She dove off my hand and into the water. I watched her swim around for a little while, her natural mermaid lineage shining through.

It was only when she resurfaced that I was stunned. Nei had changed. Around her face were strange markings, not so dissimilar to what I saw certain elven tribesmen wore per their tradition. Her hair also kept changing colors. It went from red, to white, to blue, to green and to black almost seven times before it settled on black. Her hair was very sleek and shiny for being such a small creature. Her skin was also some of the most beautiful I’d ever seen. Her eyes were also very mystifying. I felt like I was losing all of my senses just looking at her. Strange thing was, she seemed to realize it as well, winking at me and smiling seductively.

I successfully pulled my eyes away. I wondered how the hell an adult fairmaid, which had only had her first sexual experience a day or two ago, knew to entice me. I quickly turned back to the others. “Bring the other fairmaids here!” I ordered.

The group quickly came over to me. It seemed Aesteal’s fairmaid was excited as well. Her wings kept beating in the air before she jumped in. The other three followed as well.

“What’s going on?” Aesteal asked.

“I have no idea. I sure as hell know the fairmaids fucking like it. I think Nei was trying to fucking seduce me,” I returned.

“I guess not even nearly dying can stop your fucking cock,” Diane said which got a small chuckle out of me.

I stared at the ponds for a little while before going to occupy an empty one. I touched the water with my hand. It felt very warm. In fact, it felt like it was sticking to my skin in some areas. That said, it felt good. Very good.

I waited a moment, but nothing happened to me. I then decided to take off my clothes. My mother didn’t agree with my course of action however.

“What the hell are you doing?!” my mother asked as I threw off my shirt.

“Jumping in, mother. Ain’t it obvious?” I asked, slowly unwrapping the bandages from my chest and arms. In my experience, wet bandages are a fucking hassle.

When I unwrapped them, I saw the large scare just below my chest. I rubbed it slowly. I’d have to move slowly. I noticed a few drops of blood on my fingers.

“You don’t even know what this shit does!” she exclaimed.

I smiled. “Where be the sense of adventure if you knew everything about everything?” I asked as I jumped into the water.

Just like the pond on the second island, the water felt wonderful around my skin. The pores around my skin opened, absorbing the essence within this pond. It felt strange. A good kind of strange actually. In fact, I nearly felt my consciousness slip.

The water stuck to every corner of my body. It filled my mouth and my lungs yet I found no desire to head up for air. So much of it filled me up that I thought even my bones were tickled.

I sank further and further down, fighting to keep myself awake as I turned myself over. The water continued to cling to me, but I ignored it. I tried to look to see if there was anything even remotely worth entering this liquid for.

I looked around as long as I could, but other than feeling a slight tingling sensation, I didn’t notice anything specific. The stickiness of the water did concern me a little. It was more like I was swimming through some type of slime substance. I didn’t think much of it. I’d swam through something similar in my old life.

With my search for anything profitable turning up nill, my frustration rose. This couldn’t be all there was. There had to be something I was missing. When I reached the bottom, I dug through the dirt and gravel. I thought there might be some grass roots, shiny alchemy stones, or anything that might make my trip to C’ula worth all this effort.

Unfortunately, as I became quite aware, nothing in my life seemed to be going right at the moment. My nails bled in the water as I searched until I learned that there was nothing here. Before I moved to the surface, I tried one more thing. I had enough mana to quickly sweep inside the water. From inside, I could get the whole area as opposed to doing it from above.

My results came back with not much. Either the spell required to learn what this water was wasn’t accessible to me from Liara, or… it was just another freak failure by the alchemist. It didn’t matter. In the end, I had to resurface.

I pulled myself out of the water, my hair completely soaked along with my pants. I noticed my mother, Aesteal, Diane, and even Ellen looking at me strangely. I didn’t think much of it. I was too pissed off anyway.

“Find anything?” my mother asked breathlessly.

“No. Give me a moment,” I said as I walked over to the statue of the large demonic woman. I looked it over until I found what looked like a book embedded in the middle of her forehead. As I climbed the statue, I suddenly felt something warm being directed at me. I turned my head and I noticed my ladies and the others looking at me with lust-filled eyes. While the sentiment was appreciated, I didn’t recall ever being able to sense anything like that. Then again, I could have just been going crazy. Even I’ll admit that to be a possibility considering it’s me.

When I reached the top of the statue. I grabbed the book and carefully took it out of the bitch’s head. I then opened its contents.

“Day 20576, I see. I finally see the results of my studies. It was true. It was always true. That… that is the key to eternity! It’s all thanks to her! HER! That is the key to the divine realm. F-FInally. FINALLY! FInally the voices will stop! Finally, I shall challenge the very shores of the realms! N-Not this lifespan! NOT THIS LIFESPAN! I need another. ANOTHER! Y-Yes, the final research, the final research lies there. Countless nights and failed experiments make sense! There is only one place left! LEFT! Yes, there! C-C-Charon’s Landing! May this monument show the Great Provider of Eternal Knowledge my allegiance. Praise be to Vilinlith!”

I read over the first page of the book. I knew not anyone named Vilinlith, especially not a woman like the one depicted on the statue.I noticed a few more ripped pages, wondering why the book had been stuck here if it’d been torn. However, my eyes honed in on the mentioning of a place.

Charon’s Landing.

I vaguely recall the name of such a place but I’d never been there before. The name didn’t inspire much confidence in what kind of place it was. I knew of Charon, The God of Decay, or who people worship as the God of Spiritual Decay. He was an evil god that worked on siphoning the spiritual energy from people his followers supposedly kidnapped. The stronger the faith, the more satisfying the meal. Unfortunately, forcefully siphoning the spiritual ‘faith’ of people left them as physically dried husks, just waiting for death.

Just what the hell was this fucker experimenting with?

I dusted off the book and stuffed it in my pocket. Behind the book laid some type of symbol etched into the statue. It looked like a depiction of a spear with five snakes wrapped around it with some type of swirl around it. I didn’t know what it meant and I didn’t care, but it did look somewhat… similar. I thought I’d seen it somewhere before, but I couldn’t ascertain where. That said, it led me to another place I’d been unaware of.

Once I was finished with Lady Knight and Nz’ia stuff, I’d head to Charon’s Landing! Clearly, something there was worth looking into!

I returned to the others. They continued to stare at me. I even saw Diane bite her lower lip. Ellen had her arms folded, staring off to the side in anger. I wasn’t sure what made her angry, but she refused to look at me. My mother and Aesteal were a bit more obvious. The latter kept licking her lips.

I also noticed it wasn’t just them. Hannath, Racaell, and even the females, and some males, members of my ship were looking at me in fascination. Thanks to my bond with Aesteal, when I properly focused on it now, I saw just how much lust she was exploding in front of me. It actually made me take a step back. Never had I felt such unhinged desire from any woman before. How the hell could she keep a straight face with all that?

I turned back to the lake ponds and stared at my reflection. I didn’t seem to change much. Like Nei, my face was a little sleeker. My hair also had more of a sheen to it. Other than that, I wasn’t sure what would make them all act like this.

“S-So you didn’t find anything?” Diane asked, a shiver in her voice.

“Ya be more than welcome to take a dip in the slimy water if you want. Other than a quick bath, it didn’t seem to fucking do much for me. However, after we’re done with this little deal with Alteria, I have our next destination in mind. We’ll be heading to Charon’s Landing,” I said, getting dressed.

Diane frowned. “Charon’s Landing. Charon’s Landing. I’ve heard of a place like that before, but I can’t fucking remember. I can’t keep shit up with how many places Lady Liara takes me to,” the guard to the witch said while I turned around.

“Figure it out later if you must. It’s time that we go,” I said.

The others agreed. I scooped up Nei into my hand while Aesteal and my mother took the rest. As soon as Nei settled herself, she quickly began pecking me with her lips. She placed a kiss here, a kiss there, and I thought nothing of it as we walked away. However, I quickly came to realize something within her changed. She stopped the small kisses and then began to lick and lather my cheek with her tongue. For such a small female mythical creature, I wondered where the heat from her tongue was coming from.

Nei then slowly bit my cheek, not hard, but in that playful way lovers do from time to time. It got to the point where I pulled her off and stared at her. “Careful lass, don’t think that just cause you’re tiny that I can’t mess with you as well. What’s gotten into ya?” I asked, holding her in my palms.

Nei flashed her eyes at me, smiling seductively at me. She then swirled her finger over my palm. The feeling was unusual, but not unpleasant. This sense of touch was heightened when we entered back into the dark caves. I couldn’t see what she was doing now, but I knew she was still in my hands. I felt something wet against my palm. Then I felt something sharp on my forefinger. Her fin flopped against me excitedly.

I wasn’t sure what she was doing, but clearly my body found it pleasurable. I could feel my cock lifting into the air against my pants, making me forget about my frustration from before. Her tongue slid over my entire palm. She planted soft kisses anywhere she could. I thought about dropping her in my pocket to make her stop, but the feeling was so nice I decided to let her continue. At least, I thought I decided to do so.

For the entire time that we all walked in the darkness, I was at the mercy of Nei. Her awkward, yet oddly stimulating touches made my breath short. She rubbed her body against my fingers, moaning and writhing like a tiny succubus. She slipped through each one, kissing and caressing them. The cold air of the caves felt wonderful to my stiff cock and Nei’s movements only added to my pleasure.

By the time we exited the tunnels, I was in quite the mood to fuck any of the women behind me. My fairmaid then stopped her performance, winking at me again before she slipped off my hand. She slid down into my pocket, waving at me as she did so. Strangely enough, I could see the strong, lustful energy. That energy was slowly being absorbed by my body, making me stumble for a moment. For such a small woman, it was so strong. In fact, it felt vaguely similar to the aphrodisiac that I made back on the ship. However, this was much stronger than that. Every brush against my cock was a wonderful sensation that nearly left me without sense. The pleasure quickly started to overtake the pain from inhaling through one lung.

Then suddenly, a mass of lust energy crashed into my body from behind. He grabbed the side of the wall and stumbled to the ground in shock and pleasure. Precum fell from my slit, every brush and tug against my cock making it sensitive.

“A-A-Are you alright, Sir?” Aesteal asked, rushing to my side. When she grabbed my arm, I faced her. Her cheeks were red and her eyes were half-lidded.

Having been intimate with Aesteal over the voyage, I could quickly tell when she was aroused. She was short of breath, her hands kept caressing my right palm, and she bit her lower lip just like Diane. I tried to stand, ignoring the pleasure.

“I’m fine. Let’s just go through the portal before it’s too late,” I said.

“Y-Yeah, that sounds like a good idea,” I heard my mother say, her just as breathless as Aesteal. I turned back to everyone else and they all looked like the very definition of fucking horny. One of my female crew members was giving one of the male ones a fucking handjob through his pants. It seemed they were trying not to get spotted, but they were obviously doing a piss poor job of that.

It seemed the entire group had given way to some form of lust ever since we passed through the tunnels the first time. All of their lust was pouring into me. However, unlike the mixture I used on the ship, this one made me feel great. It was like strength was being poured into me so fast that my body couldn’t handle it all. My cock certainly couldn’t. I just wanted to grab Aesteal’s head and force her mouth around my cock.

Just the thought of my cock appearing and disappearing into her mouth nearly drove me to make the fantasy a reality.

Unfortunately, we were all snapped out of her lust, at least somewhat, when we felt the island shake. A few piles of dust from the ceiling fell on top of us. I frowned.

“Let’s hurry up!” I said.

Everyone agreed and we walked back to the portal. Thankfully, the time we were gone was enough for it to turn on again when we got close. We all stepped through and left the third island behind.

As we appeared on the fourth island, I barely had time to take in the fact that we were outside, under the night sky, in a forest. I barely had time to even take a step forward before I was pushed against one of the trees, slowly wincing in some discomfort. I noticed Diane was the one who pinned me there.

She then kissed me in front of everyone. Her tongue fired into my mouth, her lust exploding around the both of us. I shivered when she moved her hand down to my cock and stroked it, intensifying the feelings already present within me.

Her lust poured into my body, an odd sense of wonderful strength welling within me. Her tongue caressed mine. Her hand touched my cheek and the shock nearly made me lose control to her. However, I quickly found my strength and managed to kiss her back. “Mmmmmnh! Yes! Fuck yes! I can’t take it! Just looking at you’s fucking driving me insane!” she said, not caring of the others watching.

I saw the lust exploding out of her body before she kissed me again. Her lust seeped into my body just like before. She lifted one of her legs and eagerly stroked my cock. As I was now, just the feeling of her thigh was nigh orgasmic. She took one of my hands and placed it on her shirt-covered breast, moaning openly and wantonly.

“Oooh fuck, that’s hot!” someone, a woman I think, said.

Diane’s actions seemed to kick off everyone else’s, even mine. I had just enough sense left to search for any dangers. There didn’t seem to be any. I couldn’t exactly concentrate with Aesteal nibbling on my left ear.

“Ugggh!” I groaned when I felt my cock meet the cold air before a warm, wet mouth engulfed it. I noticed it was my mother, bobbing her back and forth with reckless abandon. She groaned and sighed, lost to her own lust that was exploding from her body.

“Ooooh shit!” I heard and I noticed one of my male crew members leaning against another tree as a woman sucked him off. He grabbed her hair and shoved her down to the base of his pelvis. Her hands tickled his nutsack.

I then heard the sounds of armor and clothes being discarded. My eyes turned to see Brant tearing off his shirt, casting it off to the side. He laid his head between Raccaell’s legs. He quickly licked her cunt, releasing a series of joyous moans from her mouth before she was kissed by Hannath.

“Mmmmmmmngh!” The archer squealed as Daen pulled down her pants. He then spat on his cock and lodged it inside her in one go. The four members of Raven’s Shadow became their own orgy of lust and ecstasy as I heard the sounds of the second warrior’s hips against Hannath.

Truon seemed to be on his own, enjoying the woman that he’d bonded with over the course of the voyage. I didn’t see Nz’ia, Gurok, Rieth, nor Ellen. I wondered where they went.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t allowed to wonder for very long. My mind became clouded by a thick haze of lust. It almost seemed to stick to my brain just like the water from the pools did to my body. I was overcome with strength, lust, and desire, grabbing Diane’s face and dominating her lips.

“Mmmmmm, fuck yes!” she sighed before we parted with a smack. I then turned over to Aesteal and kissed her as well. Her lithe fingers brushed over my tongue face as my mother continued to work her magic over me.

It seemed no one in the area was immune to the lust that suddenly affected all of us, not even the fairmaids. Nei had jumped out of my pocket and rejoined her sisters. Even Aesteal’s joined them. The two quickly began teaching the other three what they’d missed when she and the other were with Aesteal and I.

My cock met cold air for a moment along with the swift jerks of my mother’s hand. Her tongue slid over the underside of it until she popped one of my balls into her mouth. The sensation was divine. Her hot breath and slippery tongue coating it in warm saliva. The amazing embrace of her soft hands made me close my eyes as Aesteal and I continued to massage each other’s tongue.

“Hmmmm. Oooooh, Sir!” my Bonded Elf panted while Diane nibbled on my earlobe, my hands filled with her breasts. I pinched one of her nipples.

“Nnnnngh! Oooooh yeah! Move over, let me get some of that fucking thing!” the guard said before she slid down next to my mother.

“Wait, your fucking turn! I had a hand in making this damn thing. I’ll enjoy it!” My mother fired back before I rested my hand on their heads.

I caressed them both. “No fighting, you horny sluts. I’ll fuck all three of you before the night’s passed. You’re both gonna suck my cock and prepare me to fuck Aesteal,” I said without room for negotiation.

Both moaned. “Yes, sir!” They said as my mother made room for Diane. I then felt the wondrous ecstasy of two lasses kissing and sucking both sides of my cock. My hands moved through their hair, guiding them to the spots that felt the best.

Soon, the night forest became washed in sex. I discreetly heard Hannath and Racaell screaming to each other as Brant and Daen fucked them from behind. The two kissed each other, former kissing and suckling on the latter’s breasts.

That gave me my idea. I took one of my hands and grabbed Aesteal’s shirt. Getting the idea, she pulled it over her head, letting those beautiful elven orbs jiggle in front of me. I quickly leaned over, with some discomfort, and latched my mouth onto Aesteal’s tit.

“Oooooooh spirits! Ingaaaail, Sir! It feels so good! I love your tongue!” Aesteal moaned, rubbing my hair, pulling me further into her embrace. She threw her hair back, completely enamored with our embrace.

All the lust was flowing into my body, renewing me in ways I hadn’t thought possible. Just trying to intake it all with only one lung was excruciating. However, the pleasure was more than enough to make me enjoy it despite this setback.

I quickly pulled away from my mother and Diane’s lips. Without even giving Aesteal a warning, I lifted her leg and thrust my cock inside her. “Nnnnnnnnngh!” she cried before she bit into my shoulder. I felt the slimy walls of her body clench my cock with such a massaging force that I just came right then and there. Aesteal wasn’t far behind me.

We both groaned in delight while Diane lapped up the juices falling from our groins. I held one of Aesteal’s legs on my shoulder, struggling to catch my breath. As we settled for a moment, I looked into her eyes. She stared at me with great love and affection. I’d laugh at the absurdity of it, an elf falling completely in love with a pirate. One might find it rather poetic actually.

I wanted to go slow, to feel the stimulating smoothness of her insides massaging my girth, but I was too aroused. I think she was too. Whatever was infecting us had hit all of us with great passion. Our only desire was to fuck and fuck hard.

So that was what I did. The forest came alive with Aesteal’s voice. The wet smack of my flesh against hers sent ripples through the swaying trees. Among the groans and moans of other men and women, hers was the one I kept track of the most. Her body shook and writhed, glorious sweat left a sheen to her face. We kissed passionately, lustfully, without a care in the world.

“You be mine,” I said.

“Yes, sir!” she answered.

“All mine!”

“A-Always as the spirits allow.”

We kissed again, my hips pushing my cock in and out of her. Her pussy made wonderful, squishing noises. My mother and Diane quickly got involved. The former kissed me while the latter kissed my elf.

“How does his big cock feel, you slutty elf?” Diane asked.

“Wonderful! Ooooooh, I’m surprised I’m not carrying his descendants yet!” she claimed.

“You wanna fucking make me an old bitch already? I can barely handle one bastard, let alone anyone who spawns from him,” My mother chuckled before she leaned over and bit Aesteal’s nipples.

“Hnnnnngh! Yessssss!” she hissed and Diane then followed suit.

Such an erotic display was too much for me and I pulled out of Aesteal’s pussy and fired my cum over her face and chest. My mother and Diane quickly licked it up as we heard the sounds of male and female coitus around us.

Luckily for them, I was running on some kind of power that I’d never felt before. A power that just drove me to continue. I had no explanation for how I came to acquire this lust-siphoning magic essence, but it got me hard all the same.

“Aye, now mother, Diane. I’m gonna lay down here and the both of you fine sluts are gonna slide up and down my cock at the same time. The one who does it best I’ll fuck next. Get to it,” I said as I laid on the wonderfully soft grass.

“Cocky prick,” Burnwood mumbled as she and my mother sat on their hands, their cunts pushed against my cock.

“MMmmmm!” My mother exhaled as they started rubbing their cunts up and down my shaft. I was already fairly glistened from fucking Aesteal, but my mother and Diane added another layer of nectar to my cock that aroused me fruther. Again, the lust energy within me swirled about violently. It seemed like I could do something with it, but I decided against it. I was having too much fun to try anyway.

The two lasses moved their hips up and down, groaning and moaning for a little while before I finally settled on the one who worked the hardest. “Come here Diane. I’m gonna fuck my mother!” I said.

“Dammit,” Burnwood said, sucking her teeth while my mother smirked.

“Mother knows fucking best, bitch! Now move! Nearly getting killed on this islands really tenses the fucking nerves!” my mother said before she grabbed my cock and stroked it a few times. She then sat on it and slid my cock into her slippery cunt just as she had so many times before.

“Gnnnnnngh! Fuck this feels so damn good. I’ve been wanting this every since we got off that damned island,” she said, grinning at me.

I grabbed her hips. “Then I shall not make the lass wait anymore,” I replied back, thrusting my hips violently. My cock pistoned through her fleshy walls, her body working my girth through our forbidden affair.

“Oooooh yes! Oooooh my god! Fuck, Eric! Fuck me hard, you son of a bitch! Haaaaaaaaa!” She said, submitting to my animalistic movements, no grace found within them. She then leaned over and kissed me. That allowed me to grab her bountiful ass and start pushing my hips upward.

My mother screamed, her voice a wonderful chorus with the rest of the moaning men and women around us. I never thought that in this situation we would all succumb to such powerful lust so easily. I wondered if it had something to do with the waters that I dove into, but I couldn’t hazard a guess to why.

I scanned the water, I swam in it, and it just did nothing. Aside from changing Nei’s hair color and making my body a bit more sleek, I noticed nothing. What I did notice was the way my mother looked at me, shaking her hips and grabbing my neck.

“Mmmmmmnnngh! Fuuuuuck! Yeah, stuff that big cock inside me, Eric! Nnnnnnngh, it feels so fucking good!” My mother panted while Diane came up behind her.

“You Drakclaws are fucking sick, and I can’t say I don’t love it! Come on, Captain, really give to the bitch! Drive that thick piece of man meat right through her!” Burnwood encouraged me while she fondled my mother’s breasts. My mother sighed and leaned back to give Diane a hot kiss that the guard reciprocated.

I watched them for a little while before Aesteal came over to me and licked one of my nipples. The delight of all soon got me cumming before I could even stop myself. “Oooooooooh!” My mother cried, shuddering as she rubbed her clit with her fingers. I slowed my pace a little, but I didn’t entirely stop as my cum flooded my mother’s womb again.

Wanting to still continue, I picked my mother up and pinned her against the soft grass. Her legs wrapped around my waist and I continued my motions. Chest to chest, she sighed and panted into my ear. Her fingers moved through my hair. Her nipples crashed against mine and we stared into each other’s eyes, cumming again at the same time.

I think I had a strong preference for my mother because we went at least one more time before I finally pulled out of her. My cock gleamed in the night air while my mother panted. “F-F-Fuck,” she groaned while I turned to Diane.

“Finally, it’s my turn! Watching you two was driving me crazy!” she said before I stopped her.

“Aye, it’s your turn, but before we start, I wanna feel my cock against those tits of yours. I’ve dreamed of this moment many nights,” I returned.

I think I saw Burnwood roll her eyes, but she pushed up her chest with her arms. “Oh yeah? You thought about stuffing that fat cock between my breasts? Good, I still haven’t forgotten how strong you were when we fought. Don’t weaken on me now!” she said.

Feeling a little slighted, I raised my hand to playfully smack her across the face, but… my hand froze. Ellen’s angry, betrayed face stared back at me, her arm bleeding and likely broken, all because I lost control of myself.

I pulled down my hand and thumbed her chin, kissing her before biting her lower lip.

“You’re getting a bit too rowdy lately. I might be a little short of breath from outside circumstances, but I’ve still got the pace to deal with you,” I said while she panted lustfully.

She placed her breasts around my cock. “Mmmmm, rough today. Yes, Sir!” she said before I started thrusting my hips against the wonderful flesh of her tits. Diane grunted, watching my cock poke in and out of the open slit between her sex mound. She licked the tip a few times, her nipples rubbing along the side of my shaft.

“Fuck, it’s so hot and hard. Maybe your mother and Lady Liara were right, I bet your mother fucked a damn incubus didn’t she?” Burnwood asked.

“If she did, then that’ll be the least of a good thing I got from him,” I said, as I looked at the short-haired woman.

The pressure started to become too great so I slowed down. I pulled Diane up, turned her around, and jammed my cock inside her as she leaned against the tree for leverage. “Hnnnnnnnnnngh! Yeah! Been waiting all this time for that fucking thing! Rough me up! Make me fucking submit to your fuckiiing cooooock!” she wailed, making those around us hoot and holler.

To not ruin her pleasure, I didn’t mention that doing this actually made my chest hurt. The air being pumped into my body made this moment a little painful again. However, I could persevere because, oddly enough, the lust energy I was somehow siphoning off kept me well enough to persevere!

And persevere, I fucking did. My eyes watched the hypnotic way Diane’s ass bounced from each smack of my hips. I grabbed a fistful of her hair, reveling in her gasps. “Oooooooo fuck! Fuck yeah! Come on! Give it to me harder, Sir! Ram that damn cock right i-inside me!” she demanded, her cunt gripping me like a damn vice to prove her point.

I chuckled as the feeling in my legs gave out for a moment. There was too much lust in my body from the, I admit, orgy going on. I decided that, since I couldn’t very well give this energy back to the people, I’d just give it to An’raie. For a woman who’d been deprived of pleasure for so many years, I figured this would be a good time to grant her more.

It must have worked because it didn’t take long for her to reply.

“What art thou doing?! S-S-Stop these sensations a-a-a-at once!” she groaned while I smiled.

“I be fulfilling my half of the bargain. Just enjoy yourself with me!” I answered back.

I gave the Lonely Wail no time to reply to me before I ravaged Diane and sent the excess energy to her. One by one, everyone finished too exhausted to continue, yet amazed that my mother, Aesteal, Diane, and I were still going strong.

I pulled on Diane’s neck and kissed her, her chest pumping every now and then as she caressed my cheek. I then pulled out of her and plunged into Aesteal for a few moments. Then, I was back inside of Burnwood again.

As Burnwood wished, I fucked her. I fucked her good until she absolutely drenched my cock. Unsurprisingly, I actually thought I was pleasuring both her and An’raie at the same time. Yet, I couldn’t escape this suspicion that there was someone else enjoying this as well. Every now and then, I heard some type of giggle, but assumed it to just be either my mother or Aesteal.

Finally, I pulled back, releasing my load upon Burnwood’s beautiful face. I fell to the ground, chuckling when I heard the incoherent mumbles from An’raie.

Aesteal, my mother, and Diane came to me and snuggled with me, the latter licking the last vestiges of my cum from her face.

As I leaned back, I thought about getting to discover where the others had gone, but everyone seemed comfortable. Lasses on my arms, peaceful wind, the sound of moving trees, no danger, this would have been the perfect place to sleep and rest for the continued journey.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t to be. The rest of our time was effectively destroyed when the fourth island began to shake violently. We all opened our eyes. The rocking got so bad we couldn’t even stand on our feet.I fell into the grass and so did the others.

“What the fuck was that?!” Hannath asked.

It seemed no one had to answer. We all felt a massive burst of mana so strong that it tore the trees from their planted roots. I barely had time to grab Aesteal, my mother, and Diane. All of us were thrown across the ground, scrambling to get our clothes or anything we could hold on to.

Then came a loud blasting noise, the same sound that a wave makes when it crashes against the mainland. As we landed, tumbling across the ground I noticed the demon I had connected with Liara started to bite my wrist even harder than before. Then, the night sky was blown away as a pillar of violet light, enough to cover a whole island, flew into the sky, piercing the clouds. At least five or six giant magic arrays were produced, the violet light crashing through each one of them.

Then, we all watched as five dragon heads, each as black as onyx, descended from the clouds and blew fire over the islands.

“What’s happening?!” Aesteal asked while I felt An’raie in me stir with rage, her pleasure forgotten.

“Betrayer! Betrayer! Betrayer! BETRAYER!” she hissed. Her magic grew with such strength that if not for the enhancements to my body, I would have died.

It didn’t take me long to get the hint. Either Liara was in the process of combating the man who used Maeloson to attack me on the second island, or… this was very, very, very bad.