Advent of Eternity - Chapter 117 (Patreon)

Knell’s senses, even as vague as they were, were more than enough to guide them until they were close enough to smell the scent of blood in the air. As the group crested a hill and looked down into the valley below, a scene of carnage unfolded before them.

Dozens of men laid dead, blood splattered across the dirt and rocks around them. Their limbs jutted out in odd positions, as if all of them had been tossed and broken like dolls. Of what had originally been around two dozen, just three remained standing.

Two of the survivors were men. One wore a torn-up blue uniform and carried two polished swords. Both of them dripped with blood, and he was favoring one of his legs heavily. Wisps of wind danced around him, helping him stay upright.

The other man was burly and tall. He wore no shirt, but his back was so covered with hair that he could have been a crossbreed between a human and a bear. The man leaned on a huge wooden club. Both of them registered to Knell’s senses as a Scion.

Across from the two was Nyra, the woman from the wanted poster. The artist had done a great job at recreating her, but they still hadn’t quite done her justice. Her long hair hung down past her shoulders in thick, wavy strands that were completely indistinguishable from a bundle of black seaweed.

Blood pooled at her feet, dripping from her hands. She stood with her back to a large rock, facing off against the two men. They were all breathing heavily, but judging by the way neither of the men pressed what should have been an advantage, she was probably the one that had caused all the carnage.

Stix sent a querying glance toward Knell as she unstrapped her miniature ballista. Her eyes flicked toward the men in clear question.

Knell pointed at the larger one. Stix inclined her head and knelt, preparing to slot the bolt into place. The weapon was far from quiet, so the moment she did, there was a possibility the Scions would notice them.

After a moment of consideration, Knell drew his flintlock. He slipped one of the glowing blue crystal bullets into it, then pointed at the thinner Scion, gesturing for Cyll and Maya to target him if the shot failed to kill the man. Both of them drew their weapons, and all of Knell’s crew waited.

Knell wasn’t a fan of waiting any longer then necessary.

The large Scion said something, but Knell was too far away to make out what it was. He raised his weapon and took a step toward Nyra. Knell cocked the hammer of his flintlock and took aim at the thin man.

Then he fired.

A loud crack split the air as a bolt of blue light split through the air and slammed right into the left side of the Scion’s chest. The man staggered, dropping one of his swords and clutching the hole that had suddenly appeared. Cyll and Maya charged down the hill, Cyll at the lead.

Stix’s bow clicked as she loaded her bolt. The large Scion spun toward them, a snarl crossing his face as he raised his club. The bolt whumped, hurtling from the bow. Rock erupted from the Scion’s palm, forming a shield on one of his arms. Stix’s bolt slammed into it, punching into the stone and spinning him.

Knell clicked his tongue in displeasure and slotted another one of the crystal bullets into his flintlock. “Shoot him again.”

“Working on it,” Stix replied through gritted teeth as she strained to load another bolt into the weapon.

The large Scion threw the shield to the side and roared, charging toward them like a stampeding bull. He made it three steps before a black blur shot from Nyra and punched through him.

He stumbled, blood splattering from a huge hole in his stomach and mixing with the already muddy dirty. The Scion’s eyes rose to meet Knell’s and he bared his teeth. Blood dripped from his mouth and he took one more step toward them.

She’ll get you next, he mouthed. A blur shot past the man, and his head rolled off his body. He crumpled to the ground with a thud.

Cyll’s loping stride put him ahead of Maya, and he reached the other Scion several moments before she did. The Scion managed to raise his sword in time to meet Cyll’s swing, but it did nothing to help him.

The massive spiked blade knocked the Scion’s meagre defense to the side and continued onward, biting deep into his chest with enough force to slam him to the ground. He screamed in pain, but Maya caught up a moment later and silenced him forever.

Cyll tugged on his sword, lifting the man into the air in the process. Blood wound down the fangs protruding from its blade, slithering into the weapon’s hilt. Cyll shook it again and it ripped free with a squelch, dropping the Scion’s corpse to the ground.

“Oh. That was easy,” Stix said, moving to remove the bolt from her weapon.

“Stop,” Knell said, his eyes focused on Nyra. “Keep that knocked.”

Stix blinked. “Okay. You want me to shoot her?”

“Not yet. Only if she tries anything.”

Nyra had seen Knell shoot the other Scions, so the element of surprise his flintlock gave him was gone. He didn’t bother hiding it as he slipped another crystal bullet into its chamber and tucked the weapon into his belt, limping down the hill to join his crew at the bottom.

“More Scions, come to kill each other for me?” Nyra asked, wiping blood from her mouth with the back of a sleeve. “First time I’ve seen you lot kill each other before attacking. Not very smart.”

“We have no interest in you,” Knell replied. “Beyond you being a very good magnet for Scions, that is.”

Nyra let out a barking laugh. “Is that so? Altrustic, are you? Never met a Scion that didn’t care about themselves more than anyone else. Perhaps you’re just trying to buy yourself some more time, eh?”

Knell nodded over his shoulder to Stix. “If I wanted to, she’d already have put a bolt through you.”

“And if I wanted to, I’d have already cut your head off.”

“You’re welcome to try,” Cyll said, walking to join Knell. “I like foreplay.”

“Don’t try to make the situation worse,” Knell said flatly. “Nyra, I’m anything but altruistic. You’re free to leave. We’re just here for the Boons.”

Nyra’s one visible eye locked with Knell’s. It was a deep blue, almost bordering on purple. A second passed. Then a small smirk played across her lips. “You think you can just walk up and take my prey? I did all the work to kill these idiots. Why would I give you two Boons for finishing them off? I could just kill you and take your Boon as well.”

“If you thought you could handle four more opponents, you would have already attacked, and I would have already killed you,” Knell replied. He grimaced, adjusting his stance to take some pressure off his lame leg. “If you still had strength to fight, these two idiots wouldn’t have had you cornered.”

“I was biding my time,” Nyra growled. “I will not be leaving without reaping the rewards of my work. Try me and find out just how tired I am.”

“I can’t be bothered,” Knell said. “We’ll be taking the Boons from the men we killed. You can keep the rest. Fair?”

Nyra’s fingers twitched at her sides. She watched Knell for several moments, then cocked her head to the side. “Fine. Take the men and leave.”

“Pleasure doing business with you,” Cyll said cheerfully. He strode past her and grabbed the large Scion by his hair, lifting the corpse into the air. “Oh, I found his Boon! Lucky me.”

Cyll slung Lassie over his shoulder and reached into the hole in the man’s chest, pulling out a small gray marble. He dropped the corpse to the ground and tossed the Boon to Knell.

Maya found the Boon in the other man, though it took her a little longer to locate it. She also pocketed his coin pouch. She offered the Boon to Knell, who tossed it into his bag with the other one.

“Fantastic. Be seeing you,” Knell said, turning and starting up the hill. His eyes lit golden once his back was to the woman, scanning the immediate future to make sure she didn’t try to attack.

Heading up the hill was a considerably more difficult labor than going down it, and it took more strength than Knell cared to admit to get to the top without cursing. Stix still stood where he had left her, ballista trained on Nyra.

She stood as the crew passed her, keeping it pointed at the woman until they crested the hill and she was no longer in sight. Knell only let his foresight drop after a minute of walking back in the direction of Apton.

“Thoughts?” Cyll asked.

“There were at least a few more Scions in the group of people she’d already killed. She’s strong, but nobody can fight that many people on their own without tiring themselves out. I’d have liked to figure out exactly how much she had left in her, but it wasn’t worth the risk,” Knell said. “We got what we came for. There was no reason to push any further.”

“She moved really fast when she attacked the big Scion,” Stix added. “I’m still not sure what actually killed him, but I didn’t even register it until he was dead. I think Knell made the right call. That isn’t someone I want to fight.”

Maya poked through the bag she’d taken off the Scion and sighed. “Yeah. I agree, though it would have been pretty nice. Fifteen thousand gold… oh well. Like Knell said, it’s probably better to let her keep the Adventurer’s Guild attention. I just wish the guy we got had more money on him.”

“We’ve got enough money. We’ll get more when we need it,” Knell said. “For now, I’m more than satisfied with our efforts. Two boons in less than a few hours of work is a very good deal, and I doubt this will be the last time we can exploit this particular issue.”

“Are we just going to hang around Nyra and kill off the Scions going for her?” Cyll asked with a chuckle. “That’s great. Like a bunch of cleaner fish swimming around a shark. Can I get a Boon-enhanced codpiece?”

“I highly doubt we’re going to be able to do this more than one or two more times,” Knell said, shaking his head. “And you’ve gotten your toys. Maya and Stix are both next, as am I. Now, enough dallying. I believe there’s an Artificer that owes us a new sword.”