Published at 16th of February 2024 2:23 pm

Chapter 76. Epilogue

This chapter is updated by JustRead.pl

The Wedge had two cabins, crew quarters, and a large cargo hold spread across two of the three lower decks. The vessel rarely carried anything heavy besides the passengers’ luggage, furniture, and the occasional large package from the Oakheart Estate. It had three guns, one on each side and another at the bow, but they rarely saw use. Altogether, the Wedge carried little weight and rarely had more than four crew members and four passengers.

Things changed after Lord Oakheart gave his oldest daughter complete control of the vessel. Annabelle and Nox occupied one cabin while Kris took the other. Both had double beds, a desk, a dresser, and a nook for drinking tea and watching the cloud sea. The professor insisted the couple take the larger of the two rooms. The less room she had, the smaller mess she’d make and therefore spend minimal time cleaning. Meanwhile, the bigger room had enough room for Nox to set up his portable alchemy kit, and he liked the option of topping up Trap Foam or curative brews when necessary.

The second deck contained the kitchen, mana engine room, and crew quarters big enough to house eight people. The ship currently had five crew members, so Lillin and Wilson took the empty bunks. Meanwhile, the Beaufort siblings occupied the lowest deck. The cargo hold closest to the hull rarely saw use. It was perfect for their portable lab. It housed Ernest’s cot, feeding vats, and tabs, and kept them out of the crew’s view.

Kris failed to give the party a destination. She only told them they’d be flying north along the continent’s western coast. The Imperium occupied the continent’s heart and eastern sections, so they’d stay out of their lands. The Beaufort siblings refused to board without the assurance of the vessel staying out of all Imperian territories. Most wouldn’t recognize the pair, but the Inquisition knew their names and wouldn’t hesitate to pursue them.

Because of the ambiguity, Nox couldn’t help but wonder whether the woman knew where they were going. The Wedge flew over settlements with two or more rifts along their boundary. Kris ordered the party and captain to ignore them.

Nox spent his time on the vessel, taking a much-needed break from brewing and memorizing tomes full of arcane theory. Instead, he spent his time exchanging banter with his friends and in bed with Annabelle. When in the mood, he had Annabelle teach him the scripts she learned in Beginner Manipulation. Beginner Animation used the same collection of runes and spellforms but combined them to create spells of greater complexity, removing the need for intent. The library typically didn’t lend students books when they went away for the semester breaks. However, they had no such qualms about professors. Kris checked the books out for him, and he poured over them during sleepless nights or early mornings.

When Kris and the party indulged in evenings of liquor and merriment, Nox sat with them, but his mind drifted to thoughts related to Noxian Brews. He couldn’t wait to expand his business. Queen Mercer’s gift had proved more substantial than Nox initially assumed. The building was unreasonably large for a company as young as Nox’s. It had enough room for a huge workshop and shopfront. The planned staffing quarters were much too large for the number of workers he planned to hire, and the top floor felt much too grand for him and Lillin. Unless the shop took off in the first couple of months, he would struggle to pay the taxes and costs of running the building.

The contractor had proved compliant and treated Nox like he was still a prince. Exchanges with him always felt Nox feel spoiled and dirty. However, his plans and crew appeared worth whatever price Queen Mercer paid them. Nox delayed their departure for half a week to discuss goals and pick out designs. The initial work they did on the workshop and shopfront already left Nox impressed.

After some thought, he offered his friends the middle floor and a part of the top. Annabelle thought it too early for their relationship for them to cohabitate. Besides, her father wouldn’t tolerate her openly living with a man. Pudge’s work demanded frequent access to livestock, the research department, and the university’s stables. Moving off campus wasn’t an option for him. It was much of the same for the Beauforts. The research department had invested in her work on making weapons out of monster parts and had built several immovable installations in her primary laboratory.

Much to Nox’s surprise, the Woodson siblings had also enquired whether the offer extended to them. They were sick of living with their great-grandmother—more accurately, a great-aunt—and wanted a space away from her. They offered to pay rent of twenty gold coins per month for two rooms, a shared bathroom, and the staff kitchen. Nox had agreed but insisted they use the top-floor kitchen and dining room for him and Lillin.

Nox foresaw new money troubles in his future. Paying tuition would no longer be a challenge. Instead, he would need to run a business, pay staff, taxes, and titanic maintenance costs. He expected it to be a challenge but one more enjoyable than struggling to pay for his education.

It was the third morning of their voyage when Annabelle poked him awake. The first lights of dawn peeked through the porthole, and the gorgeous noblewoman lay next to Nox in the nude. They had fallen asleep with her arm and a leg draped over him.

“I’ve got a question, and I’d like the truth,” she said, staring into his eyes.

Given the look on her face, it looked like Annabelle had laid awake for a while, struggling to formulate whatever question she intended to ask. “What is it?” Nox asked, stifling a yawn.

“How did Victor die? Did you and Lillin have a hand in it?”

All remnants of slumber left Nox. He attempted to sit up, but Annabelle had a tight hold on him. The Sigil of Agility had moderately increased her strength, too.

Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

“Why are you asking me this now?”

“Just tell me. I want to know.”

“Yes. Lillin had her eyes on him for a while. I planned it and arranged the circumstances. We waited until Mistress Maraka was incapacitated. Then I released a sleeping draught to knock you out, and then she ate him.”

“Lillin ate my twin brother?”

“She’s a mimic. It’s what she does.”

“Does she eat often?”

“Lillin eats every six months as per our contract. However, if she gets the chance to consume a powerful magical entity like a Rift Lord, she’ll feast on them whenever she gets the opportunity.”

Annabelle’s head dropped on the pillow. “That’s why you abandoned me with Ernest.”

“Yes. That’s the reason why.”

“How long has Lillin been a mimic?” Her fingers traced the mana burn scars on his right arm

“Eighteen years,” Nox answered. “It happened the day my father died, and I got my scars.”

“So you’ve fed her at least thirty-six times?”

“That’s correct. I let my emotions get the best of me after I saw how Victor and Roque treated you. Usually, we only target mages with the blood of innocents on their hands. Sometimes, I make mistakes or give in to poor judgment. The guilt kept me awake one too many nights.”

“If it helps you feel any better, Victor and Roque were murderers, too.” Annabelle placed her head on Nox’s chest and pressed her ear over his heart. “Their victims were mostly servants and peasants. It was mostly women who got pregnant and refused treatment afterward. They didn’t want bastards making their lives complicated, and our uncle helped cover it all up.”

“So you’re not mad I killed your brother? Aren’t you afraid of us?”

“No. My magic assured me long ago that you and Lillin mean me no harm. In fact, it assures me only good things can happen as long as I’m with you. Victor’s death made my life infinitely better. I’m glad that twisted pig is gone. I don’t want to sound callous, but there are far too many people in this world who get away with murder, rape, and worse, because of their rank or insufficient evidence. Someone needs to step in when the authorities fail.” She paused. “Now that I think about it, Lillin’s core Manipulation magic is a lot like Victor’s polar attraction and repulsion.”

“It is. Unfortunately, she doesn’t use it often enough.”

“She really should.”

“So what does this mean for us, Annabelle?” Nox asked.

“Well—”

A knock at the cabin door interrupted their conversation.

“What is it?” Nox yelled.

“Come outside,” Kris said through the heavy wood. “Quickly. You won’t want to miss this.”

Nox and Annabelle glanced at one another. They quickly crawled out of bed, dressed, and rushed out of their quarters. The entire party, Michelle, and the crew had assembled on the bough. They watched the cloud sea and a mountain peak rising out of it.

“What is it?” Nox asked, quickly buttoning his shirt. The air bubble spell on the boat kept the wind away but did little to protect him from the altitude’s chill.

“Just watch,” Kris said.

Scanning the cloud sea failed to answer Nox’s question. He looked for Cloud Hunters or other aerial fauna but failed to spot anything. He was about to ask for a hint when the black stone rising through the clouds shifted.

“Did the mountain peak just move?” Annabelle asked.

“That’s no mountain peak,” Nox said as he finally understood what Kris hoped to find. He recalled the peak’s unique hooked shape from art in textbooks. “It’s the roving dungeon Terrastalia.” Thanks to Beginner Dungeon Theory, the information was still fresh in his mind. Terrastalia was an ancient giant tortoise with several millennia under his belt. A mountain grew out of his shell on Terrastalia’s back, and many ancient kingdoms had used it as their home. Now, a dungeon occupied the moving landscape. Nox turned to Kris, confused. “Why are we pursuing a low expert dungeon? We don’t have the clearance to enter it without a second mage of your rank.”

“Because something is horribly wrong with the tortoise,” Kris answered. “He usually avoids settlements and farmland, preferring to stick to the wilderness and coats.” The clouds had thinned underneath, giving the party a view of the world below. The professor directed everyone’s attention to the landscape. Besides the giant footsteps, blackness scarred it. Giant monsters covered in colorful mushroom caps roamed the land, and arcane spells flashed from the sparse settlements. “He is leaving blights and rifts in his wake. There are parties in the dungeon, trying to find the problem, but there aren’t enough delvers to sort out the chaos Terrastalia is leaving behind.”

“You want us to deal with the monsters?” Nox asked.

“No. I want the party to deal with the monsters and defend the ship.” Kris pulled Michelle over so she and Nox stood next to each other. “The pair of you will set up a mobile laboratory to devise a poison for the fungal horrors and find a cure for the blight. The settlements are plagued by Nurgle’s Pox and a bunch of other dungeon-born diseases. We’re going to need cures and a lot of urgent care.”

“What about materials?” Michelle enquired.

“The rest of the party and I will gather them,” Kris said. “These beasts should carry the cure. The people down there are desperate. I’m sure we’ll find individuals willing to gather and procure all the ingredients you need.”

Nox wanted to express disappointment. The break wouldn’t be filled with treasure hunting in dungeons and rifts or gaining power by feeding Lillin Rift Lords. He foresaw tedious weeks of repetitive brewing and occasionally fighting beasts. However, the people below needed his expertise. Nox had seen one too many settlements plagued by dungeon blights. It wasn’t a pretty sight.

“Alright,” Nox said. “We have enough ingredients from the Oakheart farms to start a few curative bases. Let's settle down somewhere safe, and we’ll get to work straight away.”

“I doubt your portable kit will be enough,” Michelle said. “If you’re willing, we can work out of my laboratory.”

“Good. There’s more to this war than destroying dungeons and killing gods.” Kris smiled, placing a hand on her apprentice’s shoulder. “We’re fighting this war to save humanity from tyranny, danger, and disease. That often involves throwing oneself into dangerous tasks no one else wants. You’ll come out on the other side a better alchemist and mage for it. If you’re lucky, acts like these might even make you famous.”

Share