299. Sword’s End

You’re up, Lux, Dallion thought. Nice and easy.

The firebird emerged, then flew to the rear of the ship, just as they had practices with Agnii. Blue flames covered the entire section of the ship, after which the vessel propelled forward like the cork of a champagne bottle.

Dallion felt his stomach cave as if he were on a violent roller-coaster. The sensation was made worse by the boat splashing rocking up and down along the water. There was no way he could endure a few hours of this, which was why he had no intention of trying.

Lux, lift us up, Dallion thought.

Chirp? The firebird sounded confused.

Just a few inches above the surface.

Finally, after all this time, Dallion had found a practical use of knowing about resistance. As long as the boat wasn’t in the water, there would be no shaking. Instead, it was going to be like a speeding bullet. What was better, being above the surface, meant that the sea cracklings wouldn’t sense it until it was too late, making it possible for Lux to gradually increase the speed without anyone noticing.

“You’re wild, you know that?” The gorgon laughed. It was inevitable she’d notice what Dallion was doing. Most likely so had everyone else, but it would take them a while to get out from below, that is if they even wanted to risk it while the ship was moving. “Another thing I love about you.”

It didn’t take long for the water to change color. At first only the occasional black patch appeared. With time, though, they grew. After about a minute, Dallion turned around to look back at Lastport. The city wasn’t visible, and neither was most of the land. Only a few mountain peaks remained on the horizon.

“Things are getting sticky,” Euryale shouted, which was code for Dallion to pay more attention to what was ahead.

Lux, move up a bit more! he thought.

The seawater ahead had become black and tar-like like a living nightmare. If all the cracklings in the area combined in one, they could easily form a kraken so large that it could smash Nerosal with one tentacle. Maybe at one point the creature had done just that? In theory, it was the guardian’s job to protect the realm, but even they would eventually become helpless against such brute force.

“Any sign of land?” Dallion shouted.

“Not yet. But it’s difficult to say with all that muck!”

Higher, Lux.

The firebird obeyed, lifting the ship several feet above the surface. This proved to be a tad challenging. Despite its strength, the firebird wasn’t used to carrying so much weight for so long. Determined not to let Dallion down, the familiar persevered, giving its all.

“Anything?” Dallion asked.

“Muck upon muck,” came the reply.

This was getting concerning. The ship was supposed to have crossed the ocean by now. By Dallion’s rough estimations, they had passed half a dozen times the distance from the starting temple to the port, at least. And yet, there was nothing but an endless horizon of tar in all directions.

Lux, can you keep it up for a little while longer, buddy? Dallion asked.

Chirp!

Okay, but if you feel you can’t but the boat back in the water… Gently.

“Clear patch!” Euryale shouted, pointing slightly to the right.

“Nice!”

Dallion wasn’t even able to see it, but the fact that it existed meant that they were on the right track. Maybe the local inhabitants across the ocean had taken care of the crackling problem on their side. Either that, or it was the fourth guardian’s doing. Either way it was a big win.

“And another one,” the gorgon shouted.

“Big enough for the ship?”

“Not yet, but I think there’ll be more.”

Thankfully, she was right. The number of clear patches consistently increased. Soon, there was enough clear water for Lux to slow down and lower the ship into the ocean once more. The firebird was almost completely exhausted, but the effort was worth it.

“We’ve passed the crackling zone,” Dallion shouted. “I know you can hear me down there. Better get ready to descend unless you want to miss the fight.”

He laughed, feeling light as a feather. All fear, doubt, and other dark thoughts had vanished, replaced by a sense of euphoria. There was a deep sense of achievement. Logically, there was no reason for him to feel this way. The trip had taken less than ten minutes, there had been no battles, and at no point did Dallion feel remotely threatened. If anything, Lux was supposed to get the prize for doing the actual work.

You can rest a bit, Lux, Dallion thought. Gather your strength. You need to look your best when the party goes on deck.

Flattery worked miracles. The speed of the ship decreased, but didn’t stop. Meanwhile, Dallion felt he could remove the safety rope and go next to Euryale. As he did, the gorgon didn’t stop him.

Don’t get overconfident, Nil warned. Just because the water is clear doesn’t mean that there isn’t something lurking beneath the surface.

Nox, do you sense anything? Dallion asked.

The crackling mewed negatively.

Well, even so, better be on your guard, Nil grumbled. Overconfidence is a poor adviser.

“You’re drifting again,” Euryale said.

“Just talking with my familiars and Nil,” Dallion replied, putting his arm round Eury’s shoulders. “We did it.”

“Still no sign of land.”

“It’ll be there… along with another fierce battle I’ll have to observe on the sidelines.”

“Not the worst place to be. At least there’s no danger here. If you get to be a hunter, you’ll do the same for the first few years.”

That much was true. Fights in the real world came with actual danger. Here, one only had to be careful not to stumble upon chainlings or something that could inflict permanent effect wounds.

“So, you think I’m ready?”

“No chance.” The gorgon’s snakes moved about. Dallion almost swore he heard them laughing, though more likely it was the sound of splashing. “You might be good enough to join in the crackling fights here, but that’s it.”

“Not even fight minions?” Dallion asked in mock outrage.

“Not even a minion. With reflexes so slow, you’ll only—"

Sword’s End

(Mind +5)

Through cleverness and persistence, you’ve reached the end of the world! Not an easy task. Many have tried, few have succeeded. Now that you’re done with this world, you better start thinking what to do with the next.

Dallion stared at the blue rectangle. His mind refused to accept what his eyes were seeing. There was no way this could be the end of the world, not the ocean. March had been adamant that there were ten temples. Surely there had to be some mistake. Thinking back, it was possible that Lux had veered off course slightly taking the ship to the side of the world. It wasn’t like the firebird came with its own gyroscope.

There’s no mistake, Gen said from Dallion’s realm in a dark voice. The achievement is real. You got the points. Maxed out your mind stat, if that’s any consolation.

It wasn’t. Looking slightly to the side, Dallion saw that Euryale had also received the same achievement. The gorgon spent a few more seconds looking at hers, after which she smashed the rectangle with her fist. One didn’t need to have magic skills to know that she wasn’t happy, either.

Stop pushing, Lux, Dallion thought. Rest a bit.

It didn’t take long for the rest of the party to appear on the deck. They too had reached the achievement, and knew perfectly well what it meant.

Vend was the first to emerge once the door was unbarred. He was pale as a sheet, walking slowly, as if struggling not to collapse after each step. Whatever he had been through the last real time week had been a lot. The rest of the party appeared no different. The pain and fatigue they had been keeping at bay with the sole goal of reaching the other side of the ocean were now back with a vengeance.

“March,” Dallion began as he saw the captain walking towards him. “It seemed like we were getting there, when—"

Without a word, the woman walked past him, then drew her sword and did a line-strike. The attack flew towards the horizon, visible as a line in the sky. For several seconds it went further and further until it disappeared altogether. March, however, didn’t quit. The sword disappeared, replaced by what could only be described as a large harpoon. On any given day, it would be enough to sink entire forts or pierce a hole through a fortress wall. Today, March walked to the edge of the deck, then shot straight down. Nothing followed.

“There’s no point, March,” Agnii whispered. “There’s nothing.”

Dallion could see everyone’s internal conflict. His music skills allowed him to visualize the disappointment, the regret, the outright pain that some were going through. So many expeditions, probably decades, spent in this realm, fighting guardians, minions, cracklings, and what else not only to find that the final seven temples could never be reached.

“The Star wanted to enter this world,” March said. “That’s no coincidence.”

Dallion felt sick. One word from him and March would be vindicated. All he needed to do was to tell everyone about the ring he had found in Lastport, as well as its properties, and everything would become clear. However, a voice deep inside told him that he couldn’t. He needed the ring. More than that, he needed it to remain a secret from the world. If he showed it now, rumors would spread and in a best-case scenario, it would be taken away.

Any advice would be welcome, Nil, Dallion thought.

Such advice is not mine to give, the echo replied. Personally, I see merit in both approaches, but you must make the choice. Save the expedition, or keep the key and keep it from the Star. Neither choice guarantees success. The only certain thing is that you can’t do both.

“Do you think the cracklings destroyed the rest of the world?” Dallion asked. “With this many in one place, maybe they destroyed the cities?”

Everyone except March looked at him.

“There had to be more cities,” Dallion continued. “Someone must have used the weapons in the plains, and—"

“Dal,” March interrupted. “It’s alright. Not every expedition ends as we expect. We have learned everything there is and now it’s time to go back. There won’t be more world expeditions this week.” The captain turned to the rest of the party. “I’ll tell the guildmaster what happened. It’s up to him to decide what to do with the sword.”

Not a favorable outcome by any stretch of the imagination, but the people understood what March was saying. There was a long moment of silence broken by Eury, who in typical fashion asked whether she’d still get paid. That proved enough to get everyone to snap out of their dark state. Several people made a few bad jokes, even more laughed at them, or at least pretended to. Bit by bit, things returned to normal.

The ship was left floating at the end of the world. It didn’t have an anchor on it, and no one wanted to let Lux propel them back to the port. The only thing left was to exit there and then.

A moment later, everyone was back in the sword room at the Icepicker guild hall.

Taking a while to readjust to the real world, Dallion stared at the sword. Despite the rusk, decay, and damage covering large parts of it, there was no doubt that it was whole.

How is this possible? Dallion wondered.

There are many secrets lost in time, Nil replied. This is one of them. It shouldn’t be possible for the realm to exist, not in that state, and yet it does.

Do you think it has to do with the eighth Moon?

That's a question you’d be wise not to ask in future. Danger aside, I think it’s entirely possible. After all, who knows? Maybe the Moons themselves decided to flood the realm? It’s in their power. At least you have what the Star was after. Now all you have to do is learn how to use it.