Monster Jousting Book 3 - Chapter 24 (Patreon)

The woman standing tall in gilded armour, the radiant sun gleaming off of its illustrious plates. But Noah saw the experiences of a warrior gouged out of the armour. Yet, there wasn’t a single spot of blood to be seen. 

She takes care of her armour, Noah thought. It was the same for the troops glaring at him as if he was a piece of meat to be butchered. Not one of them looked hungry, their armour was well maintained, and the people behind them–the civilians–looked well cared after. Noah even spotted a few of the children from Earth playing in the castle’s courtyard. 

If she was the leader here, then she appeared to be a good one. One that cared for her subordinates.

“My name is Yidos,” She uttered, her voice loud and clear, “Commander of the Dune Guardians, Warden of the forgotten jungles. You must be Noah? Declan has told me a bit about you.”

“Only good things, I hope?” Noah asked, smiling. 

“Of course,” she said. “Declan has told me you are a man of considerable strength. Strength that is welcome here. Come in and relax, but don’t get too comfortable, I have something to ask of you later.”

“If I can help in any way, then I’d be happy to.”

Pillow and Thraz finally caught up. Thraz pointed ahead, “Noah, the little scaleless children are alive! I am so glad.”

Noah nodded, but he only saw 2 or 3. It was a lot less than normal. His heart sank.

“All the children made it,” Declan said, relieving his worries. “Malo, Karina, and Lilo decided to stay because of Samira.”

“That’s good,” Noah said with a relieved sigh. “Samira decided to stay?” Noah asked.

“A lot of us did,” Replied Declan. “Apparently it’s safe in Namuris–where these people come from–so we wanted to stay here a little longer and fight and grow stronger before heading inland.  Would say that I’m surprised to see you alive, but I’ve grown accustomed to you living through everything.”

“What can I say, I have the constitution of a cockroach,” Noah said, laughing. 

He glanced at the numerous crates that lined the insides of the castle's walls. Construction of all kinds were being built; small tent homes, a blacksmith, a tannery, to name a few. People with dark skin were roaming around, busy with whatever tasks they had. Most would stop to look ahead because of the commotion. Their gazes told Noah that they knew who he was, but was that normal? From what Noah knew, he, and the other chosen were the first to arrive. But the way they looked at him told him that that these people weren’t exactly unaccustomed to otherworlders.

“I also have a few questions of my own,” Noah said, hopping off of Gluttony. Dark green and black smoke billowed around Gluttony as he shook himself in an attempt to get rid of the buzzing flies. The Dune Guardian’s raised their weapons in response.

“Your mount has been plagued with the Hallowed?” Yidos frowned, her hands twitched, one second away from drawing an arrow..

“Ah, don’t worry,” Noah said, standing in front of Gluttony just in case. “The Hallowed isn’t a problem anymore. I kinda stopped it.”

“You… stopped it?” Yidos asked in shock. 

Noah replied with a nod.

She continued, “Okai, I’m going to need you to tell me everything that happened on the Anchorage isles. Please follow me, if you don’t mind.”

Noah smiled. “Not at all.”

***

Noah sat in a large tent in the centre of the courtyard. There was a large table made out of the wood from the jungle trees. Red satin covered the chairs made of the same wood, and the candlelights were adorned with a shimmering jewel of white light.

It appeared that the people of Namuris were wealthy.

3 hours had passed since Noah entered the tent. He told Yidos everything that had happened on the island–apart from the fact that he had gained the king’s powers, that was. 

The reasoning he gave for Gluttony having the powers of the Hallowed was that he ate a strange gem. Of course, that wasn’t telling a lie–it was the truth.

He had to reason to hide the information he had. Truthfully, Noah wanted to tell them. His standing would only rise with these people if they knew he was the one responsible for stopping the Hallowed undead. He didn’t want wealth, okay, maybe he did a little, but what he wanted more was the freedom to move. 

Noah knew all too well from his past life on Earth that one needed a powerful passport if they wanted to move freely. 

Other than that, Noah also kept it hidden that he had a System built home on these so-called Anchorage isles. 

And after telling Yidos all she wanted to know, it was Noah’s turn to acquire some information. He asked a lot of questions ranging from what the Anchorage Isles were, and what kind of place this jungle was, and what there was to do in Namuris. Yidos was happy to explain.

First of all, the Anchorage Isles was once a teaming hub for merchants and travellers looking to avoid the stormy weather. The King was once a well respected man who treated his own people as if they were an extension of himself. His Queen was revered. She was named the Beacon of the Seas. A goddess in human form.

But that all changed when the void attacked. His people slaughtered, his Queen murdered, the King lost his mind. He descended into madness, casting a prohibited, ancient magic that consumed the land, and casted its plague outward once a week. This had gone on for over 100 years. Most had forgotten the man who was once a loving husband and a great ruler. All they remembered was a man that had slaughtered thousands–the scourge of the oceans.

Namuris was a desert. Various monsters roamed the land, and Yidos was one of the warriors with her very own mount–a sand worm. Only the strongest of the Dune Warriors had one under their command, and they treated each one as a sworn companion. When one of their mounts died, they would hold grand funerals that spanned days, and cost thousands of gold coins.

The main city where Yidos was born and trained within, was called Mirajeh. It was a supernatural land where a literal god resided within. Noah was hesitant to believe that there was such a thing casually relaxing in a city. But the way Yidos spoke with reverence, being a strong warrior herself, made him think otherwise.

Could god-like beings just roam in this world? What if they decided to just start up and kill everyone? There must be a restriction in place, Noah thought to himself.

This jungle, on the other hand, was a mysterious place that until recently–was impenetrable. The jungle was named Imprexis, and was once the capital of Namuris. Just like with what happened to the King and his Isles, Imprexis was also assaulted. They resorted to using a wild magic that engulfed the void’s forces. After that, Imprexis was lost forever. 

And finally, his last question was how they were so comfortable with knowing that he, Declan and the others, were from another world.

The answer was simple. It had been happening for a long time. Travellers from around the universe would stop by here on their way to other worlds. Because of course they would. Apparently the gods of each continent would closely keep an eye on these people. And that meant he was being watched not just by the System, but ancient beings not far from where he stood. Awesome.

And that led onto Yidos’s request for help.

“Scouting the Imprexis jungle was only the first step of my mission,” she said with arms crossed. “Before long, every country in the world will be sending its forces in an attempt to uncover the ancient magic of this place. To stop that from happening, it is my duty to find the city before anyone else.

This is where I will need your help. The tree’s and rocks here are naturally abundant with mana, because of that, most of my men are required to defend the caravans back to Namuris. I’m pulled thin. I need all the help I can get.”

“So,” Noah said,” You want my help in finding this hidden city. Which is most likely defended by countless monsters of varying strength. My life will be on the line, but for what? You get the ancient magic, but what does that leave me?”

 “Relics,” Yidos said as Noah raised his brows. “It would be better to just show you.”

Yidos unsheathed a dagger from her hip. It was black and curved and etched with beautiful markings–like the waves of an ocean. Each marking held a breathtaking blue hue.

Noah used Identify on it the moment it appeared.

Blade of Deep Waves (Level 75 - Epic)–

Yidos quickly returned it to her waist. “It was given to me, passed down by generations. It was an item from Imprexis.”

“So,” Noah said with a knowing smile. “My rewards are the relics I can get my hands on?”

“Exactly.”

“I’m in.”