Advent of Eternity - Chapter 69 (Patreon)

Greasy screamed, his pitch an octave higher than it had been before. Stix’s hand blurred and a dagger flew through the air, catching the man in the throat and cutting his cry in a gargling choke.

The other man’s eyes widened, but he barely had chance to ready his sword before Cyll’s axe whooshed through the air and planted itself in his head. The two guards crumpled to the ground.

“Well done,” Knell said, concealing his features once more. “And on we march. Drag these two idiots behind the doors. Chances are, most of the other pirates won’t try getting past that X on the floor anyway.”

They made quick work of the pirates and headed through the doors. The cave beyond them was much nicer. Gray cobble lined the ground, and there were far fewer pathways branching off the main hall. A faint breeze came from the far end of the path.

“What’s the plan when we actually run into someone? You didn’t give much detail there,” Cyll whispered.

“Depends who we meet,” Knell replied. “Just stick to the main points I told you and follow my lead in everything else. There’s a lot of tension between the pirates. It shouldn’t be too difficult for us to take advantage of that.”

They continued through the hall, heading deeper into the crypt. As they grew deeper, signs of battle started to show up along the walls and floor. Small patches of blood stained the ground, surrounded by shattered stone statues.

A stone clicked beneath Cyll’s foot and a prone statue missing one of its arms let out a creak. It drew upright, its eyes lighting a cherry red. There was a loud crash as Cyll brought his axe down on its head, smashing it to bits. The statue collapsed to the ground.

“What?” Cyll asked when Knell looked at him. “It was red. That means its evil.”

“Can’t argue there,” Knell muttered. “Just… try to do it more silently.”

They’d kept a slow enough pace that Knell was pretty confident they were still a ways behind the captains, but he didn’t want to test his luck. The three paused for a few seconds, listening to see if anyone would come, but there was no further noise. Without further ado, they continued.

A little under an hour later, they curved a bend. Another set of doors stood before them. They were ocean blue, with glimmering gold waves inscribed upon them. As they grew closer, Knell realized the doors’ blue color was actually thousands of miniature gemstones.

“That’s one expensive door,” Cyll said, eyeing it. “Think we can steal it?”

“Only if we want to die,” Knell replied. “There’s no way a place like this wouldn’t have something this valuable defended. The captains would have taken it if it were safe. The only reason we’ve had such an easy time is because all the problems have been cleared for us already.”

Cyll sighed. Knell examined the doors for a few moments before slowly pulling one of them open with the base of his staff. Nothing happened, so the three poked their heads through. The pathway before them was only wide enough for two people to stand shoulder-to-shoulder.

Cobblestone had been replaced with shimmering obsidian tiles, illuminated by faint purple torches that lined the walls. Lying on the ground just beyond the doors was the remains of an enormous statue. A man’s body laid beneath it, crushed.

“I think we’re almost there,” Knell whispered. “It won’t be long until we run into someone. I think the mostly likely candidate would be Hawk – which should do us quite well. He was the one told to watch for interlopers, and he doesn’t like Thunder.  If we can pit the two against each other, we should be able to do a fair bit of damage. Stix, you’re going to be the one in charge of grabbing our treasure. I’ll boost your speed, but I won’t be able to Anchor you. You’ll get pulled back to where you were a minute ago when it ends, and we’ll need to be gone long before a minute.”

Stix swallowed and nodded. “Okay. And not the biggest thing, right?”

“I’ll tell you what, but absolutely not the biggest one,” Knell confirmed. “That’ll get every pirate in Blackfoot Bay on our tails. Don’t worry, Blackfoot should have left more than enough for us to take our share and escape with the plan I laid out on the boat.”

As they passed the statue, faint conversation echoed down the hall. All three of them froze, straining to hear it. Knell couldn’t make out the exact words, but the person speaking didn’t sound happy.

They crept forward and Knell peeked down a curve. Hawk stood, his back to them, talking with who looked to be his subordinate.

“Bastards just making me wait here,” Hawk growled. “As if anyone would be stupid enough to try and follow the twelve strongest pirates in Blackfoot Bay and Dread herself. They’re just keeping the best stuff for themselves.”

“They wouldn’t dare skimp you, Captain,” the other man said. “We’ve got the largest fleet of all of all the crews. I’m sure they’ll keep to their promise and save you something.”

Knell pulled back, the gears in his head whirring. A tiny grin tugged at his lips. He wiped a hand across his brow, miming exhaustion, before jerking his chin toward the two. It took Cyll and Stix a moment to understand, but they both caught on and nodded. Knell extended his hand, pointing at one of Stix’s daggers. She handed it to him with a confused frown.

Without an ounce of hesitation, Knell made several cuts in his jacket and drew another line across his forehead. The wound wasn’t bad, but it bled profusely and it wasn’t long before he resembled a man that had just escaped a fight.

Knell staggered into the hall, panting. “Captain! Captain!”

Both men spun toward him.

“What in the Sixteen Seas are you doing here?” Hawk asked, drawing his sword. “You aren’t wearing the insignia of any of the other Captains.”

“I’m here to warn you,” Knell said, doubling over and gasping for air. “Betrayal!”

“What?” Hawk asked, frowning. “What are you on about?”

“My crew and I were exploring. We went a bit far and got the point we weren’t supposed to pass. Some guys were there, talking about Captain Sorfina. Said she and Thunder were plotting to take some big thing. Not sure what it was. We got spotted, had to fight to live. Ran here right after to warn you.”