CHAPTER 456: EXIT BARRIERS

Valera Ruby had problems.

Chief amongst them was that she was back on the Queen of Iron after getting waylaid while attempting to go on vacation.

"We need every Captain we can get," had been the excuse her boss, the one who held her contract, made, before she pushed him to double her allotment of spoils.

A day later, the Queen set sail with the rest of the fleet, bringing up the middle since her cargo was mercenaries and Syndicate thugs, with the odd sprinkling of skilled adventurers who got to stay in the guest suite.

She finally got them to settle down after killing the first one to cause trouble and tossing him over the side, promising the next time it would be every troublemaker involved in the next incident.

The fleet’s target was Chainsfree, for what she knew historically would be the eleventh time across two centuries. Only this time, they were coordinating with Araqlun and the army of Aaru. The timing needed to be perfect, or all they would do was smash their ships against Chainsfree’s defenders, some of whom were rumored to be millennium mages.

"Argot the Asher, Zassirinda Tamn, Mayvel Van Xuport, The Lady of the Lyre, Claes Ashford, Kamina the Drummer, Bardoulf the Breaker..." she said the names of those she had to fear like a mantra, the Seven Swords of Chainsfree, chewing on a claw as she contemplated their shore-hugging route.

We were supposed to sail far enough from shore so as not to be discovered. I guess we’re throwing stealth out the window...

She wanted to thrash whoever decided speed was more important with her naked claws. If they landed ahead of the army, it would only give flying mages the chance to burn down the most important ships - the troop carriers, like the one she commanded. If the fleet could be spotted from shore, that meant they could be ambushed well before even reaching the city.

It was suicide... Unless... it’s part of the plan.

If the Syndicate was looking to push Captains like herself into a land battle, then maybe they weren’t truly intent on taking the city... Maybe they just want to up their profits by culling us.

And if they did take the city, getting a large number of their own killed in the process meant they could demand more concessions from Aaru and Heaven, prove their loyalty to the latter, and keep more profits.

But they had to have a reason

for it, and she couldn’t figure it out at sea, away from Ironport.

Guess I’ll just have to live then. Captain Valera Ruby was nothing if not a survivor.

Maybe if I surrender to the Chainsfreers, I can get them to break my contract brand... She shook her head at the notion. With her reputation, she’d be lucky not to get executed on the spot. And with the minder the Syndicate sent along with her - who had displaced her lieutenants from their suite - choosing now to leave the Syndicate would be an impossible game without eliminating him first.

She added his name to the list. "Jonn the Lashist."

"You called; my fair Captain?" the smarmy human man was suddenly standing in her door.

"When did you get here?" she demanded.

"Why just a second ago. It warms my heart to know you think about me." He affected false adoration with his hands on his chest. "Of course, you’re always welcome to ask for my affections... Mmm..." he rubbed his thumb across the top of his whip in a mockery of sensuality.

"I would sooner make love to a kraken shark."

"Ouch. I’d be hurt if I didn’t already have so many vying for my attention. Your quartermaster, for example..."

"What did she do?" Val snapped, hiding her worry for the woman’s safety.

"Ugh, she made me wait behind those mercenary cretins. Told me some bullshit about ’First come first served.’ Mmm, I left her a few scars to remember me by, and from now on I’m sure I’ll always be first."

"Hopefully she’s learned her lesson then," Val hid her flexing claws under the table. She imagined scratching out his eyeballs for a moment before focusing on another problem. "I have questions about our route."

"Hmm? What about it?"

"We’re going to be spotted. Maybe ambushed." Val pointed. "Here, here, and here are the likely spots. If they don’t manage to sneak through Junland territory."

"Well, when that time comes we’ll just have a Heavenly reward waiting for them. I can tell you that now that we’re underway."

So that’s why they took all of our scrypens...

She almost missed Jonn’s gaze as he sized up her reaction.

"Anything else, Kitty?" Jonn asked.

"No. Thank you, Honored Handler."

"Don’t think that’ll make me forget your earlier, mmm, impertinence. Depending on my mood, I might just break you of it after the conquest."

Val held still as she watched the man leave. She didn’t expect the Syndicate to leave her alive, not if something greater was at stake. And Heaven’s presence only made their moves bigger and the results were more likely to get people below the middle of the organization killed.

I should have just left without telling anyone... Sure, I might’ve heard about it in Aaru, but at least there I could’ve found Ferro...

Taking a large breath, she whispered to the dark corners, "Wherever you are, Brother, I hope it’s not Chainsfree..."

*

Ferro would have rather been in Chainsfree.

Fighting their way up the dungeon, just to earn freedom in the City of Freedom, was more than taking its toll.

They’d barely been able to keep "Aiko’s" limb hidden, and that only by sticking together and arguing for a dimensional bag so it "wouldn’t get in the way during battle."

Now that they were out of sight of any adventurers, however, they were using the bag for its intended purpose.

"Pull the heartstone, quick, before it dissolves." Ferro panted at Anko.

"Here," Malz opened the bag, ready to receive the heartstone as Anko punched through the ribs of the shark-like monster and extracted the bloody gem.

As the only one with any cooking skills, it fell to Malz to handle their meal for the day. She still had some salt, and with Anko having finally figured out the settings on her flamethrower, she was no longer prone to turning meals into piles of ash.

"What floor do you think we’re on?" Anko asked cheerfully as her eyes glistened with firelight.

"I want to say twenty-eight," Malz replied.

"After we’re done eating, should I scout ahead?" Anko licked her lips as a smell like salted fish rose in the air, making Ferro’s stomach grumble from across the room.

Ferro, meanwhile, was poking around a little alcove, where there were daggers, short bows, four sets of light armor, and arrows, along with a handful of coins and potions, all scattered about in a haphazard fashion.

"Looks like someone got here before us," Ferro said. "But why would they leave their stuff?"

"I’ll take a look!" Anko said cheerfully, abandoning her task to rush on over. "Oh. I think I see the reason. Look at the bloodstains."

"Are you going to help me finish or what, Anko?" Malz called out irritably.

"Alright, I’m coming," Anko groused back.

Picking up the coins and storing them in his suit, Ferro dug around until he noticed that one piece of armor had a name on the inside.

"Tria..." he read aloud. They hadn’t encountered anyone inside the dungeon, so perhaps it was possible someone had gotten ahead of them, especially around the middle floors when the tower had grown more intricate. Deciding to cut the name off the armor, he grabbed a dagger and proceeded to do just that, stowing the sewn bit of leather in his dimensional storage.

"Ferro, I need you for the next part," Malz said.

"Just bring it here, there might be more spices in this pile," Ferro said as his worries caught hold of him.

Something was suspicious about this dungeon. It felt... too easy. Especially compared to the Duat.

As soon as Malz and Anko passed into the carveout, something they hadn’t noticed before slid into existence behind them.

"What the-"

"We’re trapped!" Anko finished for Malz, kicking the barrier experimentally.

Malz sighed. "Guess we might as well finish cooking," she gave over the wedge of shark to Ferro, who pulled a carving knife and pan from his storage and proceeded to cut the meat into thin slices, turning them about until he was sure he’d cut away any sign of corruption.

After another dig through the gear around them, all of which was mundane, they found a tiny pouch of Junland spice, adding it and lightly torching the sliced meat, they settled in to eat.

"Do you think eating monsters makes us stronger?" Anko asked as she ate, speaking with her mouth full.

"It was common practice in Heaven," Malz said. "That and eating spirits. Careful treatment was required, as far as I know, and people with aspected mana received more benefits from monsters and spirits who matched their aspects."

Shortly after the last shred of meat disappeared into Anko’s maw, Ferro noticed something strange. Ribbons of shadow were moving beyond the barrier, and almost as soon as he drew everyone’s attention to it, a dolphin slid out of the ceiling, its body clearly corrupted, only to be caught by the shadows.

The sounds of cracking bones filled the room, and the dolphin swelled in size, gaining legs and a musclebound gait before it fell forward onto clawed arms.

Anko made the first comment. "That thing looks pretty swol-"

Shrieeeeeeeeeek! The monster interrupted. Ferro was forced to cover his ears as the mutated creature turned and charged on all fours, trying to pound at the barrier only to find its attacks ineffective. It shrieked again, and Ferro cried out as Malz started to pull him up the ramp leading up.

Only once they all collapsed into the next floor did the monster stop its sonic attack.

"Gods I’m glad we didn’t have to fight that," Ferro tilted his ears about, trying to see if it would help his hearing, which right now consisted of a ringing sound.

"Maybe we just made this place a bit tougher," Malz guessed, having to repeat herself in order for Ferro to understand.

"Where do you think we are?" Anko asked as she looked about the room, and it was a room, with a sapphire staircase that led upward into a field of stars, and windows all around. Anko tried to poke her hand out a window, only to encounter an invisible wall.

"Knowing our luck, the middle," Malz said in a scathing tone.

Ferro clapped his hands together. "Let’s make camp. It’s been a while since we’ve found somewhere safe. Who knows, maybe this is the end and we can start working our way down."

He knew the barrier below did not bode well for returning, and as his eyes focused on the top of the staircase, he remembered one thing he’d learned in the Duat:

If it looks strange, it’s probably deadly.