Dao Divinity 2 Chapter 20 (Patreon)

“Milord.” Amber caught up to him. “I hear there’s a boat.”

“There is. You’re welcome to come with me, but do hold the Milord while we talk to them. I would like to stay relaxed.”

“Yes Mi-Dar,” she stopped herself.

“Better, but try not to have to correct yourself.” Dar teased.

Amber nodded. “I’ll not to have to correct myself again.”

“Have you had a chance to get used to the changes?” He asked, curious how it would change for everyone else.

She cupped her chest. “I like the changes.”

Dar stared at the swell of her chest. “Are they larger?”

“Yes.” She beamed. “Though not overly so, I mostly evened them out. I also didn’t get tired at all today helping the men in the field move barrels!”

“Good. Now, let’s see what we are dealing with?” Dar stepped through the last of the trees and spotted the river. “I was told they are coming from the north.”

Dar eyed the river. It was running faster than he’d seen before. He hoped the boat wasn’t making such good time that he’d miss them.

Pulling on his dao of heavy, he stepped out into the river far enough to see around the trees and upstream.

“Careful, you’ll get swept away.” Amber cautioned.

“No need.” Dar smiled at her concern. But he was like a rock in the middle of rapids. The river wasn’t going to move him.

Looking down the river, he spotted the boat still coming their way. But it looked different from the merchant boats he’d seen previously.

As the boat moved closer, it became clear it was not a merchant vessel. Men in bronze helmets and chain mail walked the bow. There were enough of them that Dar assumed it was largely a vessel to carry men, not goods.

“Amber, it might be best that you step back into the forest. The boat is full of armed men.”

Her eyes were wide. “Do they look like trouble?”

“No. If I had to guess, they are coming down from Kindrake to support Bellhaven. But we won’t know until I can talk to them. So I’d feel better if they don’t know there is a village with girls as lovely as you in it.”

She gave him a wry grin. “Thank you. I’ll go hide so I don’t temp these men like a siren.”

Dar shook his head with a wry smile. “Exactly what I’m worried about; they’ll be jealous I have such a beautiful maid.”

As she moved away, Dar took an extra moment to look for the subtle changes she’d made to her body as part of becoming an immortal. Her hourglass frame definitely seemed more accentuated. She’d been beautiful before, but Dar couldn’t blame her for enhancing her beauty further. She had definitely become exceptionally enticing to any man.

But she also walked with a little more grace that spoke of changes that went further than skin deep. He didn’t doubt that she spent a large portion of her effort on becoming stronger.

As she crossed into the treeline, Dar looked back towards the boat. Standing there in the river, anchored down by his heavy Dao, all Dar could do was wait.

But it didn’t take long for someone at the bow to spot him, and the boat slowed as it approached. A heavy splash indicated someone might have dropped an anchor off the back.

“Hello, is there a village here? It isn’t on the maps.”

“A small one; we mostly keep to ourselves.” Dar said, looking the man over. His armor seemed a notch above the others on the boat. “I’m Dar. I can speak for the village. Our hunters saw you further up the river, and we wanted to know what a group such as yours was doing.”

He snorted. “Commander Carlson. Heading down to support Bellhaven. I don’t suppose you have the latest news on what we can expect to find?”

“Probably not anything more recent than you have. Another merchant vessel came from Bellhaven four days or so ago. They told us the city survived the latest attack, but there was a big ass troll that was part of it.”

The commanded nodded. “Yes, we met them two days ago; got their full story. It was much of the same warning we’ve been getting the whole way down. We also learned that Bellhaven has quite the food shortage.”

At that, two other occupants came up to the commander’s sides. One was a younger man in armor with gold trim, the other a demon with a rack of antlers.

The younger man looked down the boat at Dar. “We should requisition your villages food stores for our trip. For the soldiers, and to bolster Bellhaven.”

Dar scowled. “I’m afraid we are quite the small village. It wouldn’t be worth your time.”

The commander cleared his throat. “This is Prince Gregor and my second, Rack.”

Rack was staring straight at Dar, his eyes wide and puzzled.

Dar realized belatedly that the demon had sensed his use of mana. He hoped the demon would assume like many other when they met Dar for the first time, thought he was just a demon with a less obvious animal aspect. And Dar hoped this was just a passing conversation. And he’d never see these people again.

“I would suggest you don’t antagonize the man.” Rack spoke up to Gregor. “Winter is almost here, and they might not have time to get more food before it comes.”

Gregor snorted. “Bring your food here.”

“I’m sorry, Sir. I wish we could. But our village is quite small, and many of our townspeople are spread out working to prepare for winter. You’d have to wait half the day for us to get enough men to bring the food here.” Dar was already regretting conversing with the boat.

The commander spoke back up, once again being a voice of reason. “We can’t waste that amount of time. Bellhaven needs you to step up since the death of the duke, Sir.”

Dar tried to school his reaction. The duke was dead? No wonder the prince was coming down the river. He must be taking over the city for the time being.

“The duke is dead? That’s a shame. He was a fair leader.” Dar shook his head.

“You knew him?” The prince asked, sounding surprised.

Dar backpedaled, realizing his mistake. “No, just of him. It is a loss for the area.”

The prince nodded. “Given that there is so much danger in the area, we should hold here and bring these people to Bellhaven. Why have you not already left your small village like the others? There are reports of large groups of devils wandering the area.”

Dar smiled. “Ettercaps in the woods. They stick to the woods south of here and for now we believe they are blocking any other devils from getting through there.”

The commander was interested in that fact. “There must be a lot of them if they are that much of a barrier.”

“Thousands in the woods.” Dar clarified. “I’ve seen their webbed fortress. But they keep to the woods, so for now, they aren’t much more than a mountain that we or others can’t pass.”

“Even more reason for you to come aboard, and we’ll sail down to safety.” The prince still pushed. “And bring your food.”

There it was.

“No thank you. Bellhaven isn’t a very welcoming place lately.” Dar started to back out of the river.

“Interesting. I thought you were blocked off from Bellhaven by the ettercaps.” The prince stated, narrowed his eyes.

Rack spoke up again. “Sirs, I think it best we go, before you upset this man.”

The prince dismissed the comment, but the commander turned wide eyed to his second. “Truly?”

“Yes, Sir.”

The commander looked over at Dar once more with more interest as he said, “Then we should get going. I apologize for any insult we might have incurred.” The commander went so far as to bow his head slightly.

“What’s going on here?” The prince glared at the commander.

The older man glowered back at the prince. “Are you going to demand we stay?”

Dar ignored them, fixing Rack with a stare. “I thank you for moving along. Though, if there is a chance to help with the ettercaps in the near future, we’d appreciate it.”

The prince had settled down by that point and was staring intently at Dar, his eye raking over him. “Are you among the ancients that fled Bellhaven recently?”

“If you know about that incident, then you’d understand why there are some in our village that would be against heading to Bellhaven.”

“You all should be there fighting for Bellhaven. It is because of your cowardice that the city is in dire straits!” The prince spat.

Dar was done. The commander seemed reasonable enough to deal with, but the prince didn’t seem worth talking to.

Stepping back out of the river, Dar started walking away, making his stance clear.

“Men, bring him here.” The prince shouted.

At his order, several men looked like they were about to jump out of the boat.

Dar let out a heavy sigh. Either way, they were going to see what he was capable of. He might as well make an impression and hope it might spare him showing all of his secrets.

Turning back, Dar took several running steps. The water offered barely any resistance to him as he launched himself upwards onto the bow of the boat, activating his daos of hard and strength as he landed to crack the planks beneath him.

“No need to get out. Here I am. Now what did you need?” Dar stood staring the prince down.

The soldiers blinked in shock at Dar’s jump. The commander and Rack backed up, pulling the prince with them.

“What the.” The prince stuttered, seeing Dar up close.

Dar dwarfed the prince as he stood tall and beckoned the soldiers forward. “I don’t have all day.”

They charged, but they didn’t draw their swords. They clearly didn’t want to fight him to the death. And he couldn’t blame them. Their bodies and fists crashed into his, but bounced off like waves against a cliff.

Dar didn’t budge an inch, using his dao of heavy to root himself on the creaking planks. He grabbed two of the men, tossing them back into the others.

They tumbled over each other, and the sudden shift caused the river boat to rock dangerously to the side.

“Are we done yet?” Dar knew he was walking a thin line. He needed to not make complete enemies of these soldiers, but he also needed them to be wary of messing with his village.

“Stop. Go back to your duties.” The commander barked.

Dar stepped up to the young prince. “I recommend when you get to Bellhaven that you work to get the real story about what’s been happening there. You might want to make some adjustments before The White hears of it and it ends up like Toldove.”

All three men winced.

“That was not what we heard.” The commander bowed his head in apology. Meanwhile, the prince stepped back, physically distancing himself from the conflict he’d started. Dar met his eyes and held them.

“We will investigate the matter.” The prince promised.

Nodding, Dar looked between them as he continued. “You should also know that prior to our departure from the city, several noble houses were making attempts at the duke’s life. At that point in time, the duke was all that stood between the ancient races and an unfortunate ending. I’m not sure what you will find, but know that it will not be good.”

They both grimaced, but neither seemed surprised. They clearly knew more about how the duke had died than their previous conversation had implied.

“We… understand. Thank you for sparing our men. We will endeavor to check out this Ettercap issue as well.” Rack stepped forward, bowing to Dar.

“Thank you. They are just south of here, about four miles from the river deep in the forest. You can’t miss it. And I had no interest in your men’s blood. I’ll be leaving now.” He stepped back, giving them a chance for a final question.

When nothing came, he jumped off the boat and let his dao of heavy sink him to the bottom of the river, where he waited for the boat to pass.

In response, their anchor came up swiftly, and the boat moved on in a hurry that made Dar smirk.

He wasn’t a particularly vindictive man, but he did hope that Mark and his wife would suffer for what they started back in Bellhaven. Though he couldn’t help a worry tickling the back of his mind. If Mark had taken over, would the prince be able to restore order?

Dar had his doubts that Mark would be quite so willing to part with the power he fought so hard to obtain. Maybe he needed to head down to Bellhaven after the boat was finished, if nothing else than to check on the situation.

When he surfaced, Amber rushed out of the woods. “Milord, I was worried.”

Dar ruffled her hair, getting it wet in the process. “No worries. But just think, one day soon you might be able to accomplish something like that.”

Her eyes went wide. “I’d never go confront the prince and his commander like that.”

Shrugging, Dar decided she could do what she wanted with the strength that came with being an immortal when she had it. However, he knew that this level of strength was changing him.

He was finding it a lot harder to tolerate anybody abusing their power when he had even more he could do about it. He’d felt that way before, but it was always a guess if he’d win the battle. Now that he was more confident, he couldn’t help but push back.

That came with power and responsibility to protect those he held dear. Bellhaven was something he could solve if he needed to.

“Then you just keep being you. We’ll see where it goes.” Dar picked at his wet clothes before taking a step back and letting his dao of heat blossom and steam himself dry.

Amber nodded. “I’ll keep being here to support you, Milord.”

“Thank you for that.” Dar nodded, starting his way back towards the village.

As he got back, he noticed that the top of the log had been cleared and it was a flat surface that would become the top of the boat, but they were still chipping slowly through the tree.

“Excuse me. Do you all plan to chip through the whole boat?” He asked, trying not to startle them. It would appear that Bart and Frank hadn’t communicated the use of coals to the men.

One of the men looked up from his work, his eyes widening when he saw it was Dar. “Is there and easier way to get this done?”

“An easier way to clear the rough stuff, sure. Hold on a moment.” Dar went over to the central hearth and picked out an armful of hot coals before coming back.

“Make way.”

The men hurried out of Dar’s way before he pitched his load over the edge of the future boat and hauled himself up to spread them out.

Hot coals noticeably started burning through the wood beneath them. “Now you just need a few guys to fan them to keep them going, and to put some kindling over them to keep them cooking.”

“I hadn’t thought about doing it this way, but I guess it works?” The man said, still watching the coals burn.

Dar shrugged; their options had been limited. “This’ll be far easier than chipping it all out.”

“Dar!” Neko shouted, walking up with Sasha and thrusting an ax into his hands.

“Thank you Neko.” Dar used the ax to shave off just a bit of wood. The tool was sharp as hell. “Here. Split the crew between men working the top and men shaping the sides.” They still needed to rough out the hull and smooth the bottom.

The man took the ax with a look of reverence as he tested the ax on a small bit of the tree, a smile blossoming on his face as it slid like butter through the wood. “Yes, Lord. I’d just like to say, thank you for providing us with enchantments. It makes a world of difference.”

“Enjoy those as much as you can today. I’m afraid the woodcutters will be after them in the morning for their own use tomorrow.”

The man held the ax close, already a little defensive of it. “Yes, Sir.”

The men rearranged themselves, and Dar got off the boat as Sasha and Neko handed out the rest of their enchanted axes.

“Neko, are you getting the hang of enchanting objects?” Dar prodded the woman.

Sasha snorted. “She just gives me the characters and helps me point out where to start the conditional work.”

Dar nodded, a little disappointed but not surprised. He was hoping Neko could soon do her own enchantments without help. Pausing, Dar realized he didn’t know exactly what Neko’s dao was for sure.

Turning, he asked her. “Neko, what dao is it you have?”

Neko tilted her head slightly making her ears flop. “Sharp.” She raised her hand, and Dar could feel mana ripple around her hand like little blades.

He blinked and looked at Sasha, who just shrugged. “Dao paths are infinite and full of potential. This one is definitely very useful. Unlike sticky.” Sasha made a face at the mention of the dao.

Dar had to agree. It was also already proving versatile.

“Impressive Neko.”

She smiled so wide that her eyes squeezed closed. “Neko, best.”

Dar gave in and rubbed between her ears, eliciting a purr from the catgirl.

“You better make sure the men know to be careful with these axes. They could do a lot of damage to themselves with the wrong swing.” Sasha finished handing out the remaining axes.

Neko had pulled her mana back in and was snuggling up against Dar’s arm, rubbing her face into his shoulder as she purred. Dar laughed, scooping her up as he walked off. She kicked her feet as she let him carry her like a princess and smile at anyone they passed.