Chương 132: Chapter One-Hundred-and-Thirty-Two

The hull upgrade to the Creaking Madam seemed to be the same as what they'd gotten from Captain Drew during Adam's fourth loop, and he remembered how much stronger it'd made their airship back then, allowing Maalia and the others to travel far despite serious damage to the ship. So far, no one seems to have mutiny in mind, Adam mused in relief.

They had taken a bit longer to get back to the airship because Jabari had reminded them all about their patron quests, so they'd just barely set foot in the forest only to turn around and head back to the settlement. They had gone around and asked the various people inside Morgan's Rest, though nobody except Lasse had any luck.

One of the Golden Fortress pirates inside had known about someone who referred to themselves as ' The Judge', and he apparently headed a band of unaffiliated pirates that roamed to the north.

"How am I even supposed to find the Half Mimic?" Jabari wondered as they finally stepped back onto their airship.

"He'd be able to blend in anywhere, right? Mimics can do that after all, so I'm sure he'd have that power too."

"You should hear whispers if we get close," Adam said. Before anyone could ask how he knew that, he added, "Someone in my last group heard whispers right before we were attacked by a mimic."

"So that's what they were…" Jabari realised.

"I heard them twice, once before the mimic appeared and the other time when we got to the ritual room with my quest object inside."

"I can't believe how upset they got when I asked about my quest," Ellen commented. She'd been complaining about it the entire return trip through the forest, and Adam could tell from her melody that she was genuinely frustrated. He'd been keeping his mouth shut until a look from Julie made him realise she was going to do something if he didn't.

"It sounds like your patron wants you to summon a monster," Adam said.

"They're rightfully scared of that."

"How bad could it be?" she asked. I wonder if she'll still be saying that after we run into a dragon. No one had known about the Noxious Slug Dragon that was the object of Cathy's quest, since she worshipped the Guardian, but Adam was pretty sure it was only because all the Drakes had already left the settlement. If I bring the egg to Mast-Chewer, then we should be able to make friends with the Drakes' captain, and he would probably be able to help her find the dragon and befriend it.

It would also be a good chance to show Ellen what a danger the parasites pose, since he had that Feral Slug Dragon quest involving a Slugwhale that was infected and evolved. But first we should do the nearby step for the main objective, and then the cook's quest. I'm not quite sure how I'll convince everyone to go east, but I could say that it's because of a special quest or something. We ought to head eastward to reach Windtop Cove anyway.

Adam was somewhat limited by what he could do in the Stage, since he needed everyone on board if he was to keep them safe. And he really didn't want a repeat of last time. With everyone on the ship and the earnings from selling their looted valuables safely tucked away inside the captain's quarters, Adam and his crew released the anchors to the wooden dock and slowly coasted their airship out onto the Floating Sea.

As they flew towards their destination, the others took turns adjusting the sails, while Lasse stuck to the crow's nest and Adam helmed the wheel. Julie stayed by Adam's side whenever she wasn't on sail duty, and Jabari and Cathy worked together so they could take breaks at the same time. When Ellen wasn't working, she crawled up the crow's nest to bother Lasse, who seemed to tolerate her company.

Adam kept his senses piqued for any change in the melodies that flowed out from his crew and into his glass hand, but the one who worried him most was Julie, since her melody unsettled him. I wonder if I'm being tested or if this is the type of adherent the Flayed Lady prefers… She didn't say much, but she kept watching him, and sometimes when their eyes met, she'd put her hand against her cheek where Adam had injected his blood into her.

The way she smiled troubled him and he was surprised to find that he considered her a bigger threat than Ellen, because despite her outwardly-sour personality, Ellen's melody was scared and anxious, just like Cathy's. Even Jabari's melody had an undercurrent of fear, while Lasse's was the only one that was truly composed. Julie's melody was full of joy and excitement. It was not the feelings of a sane person thrust into the Trials, that much was certain.

After all, even Beck's melody had been slightly troubled, and he'd been through the Stages once already. Adam didn't have a lot of opportunities to take a break, but he really wanted to check out the Golden Map with the Navigator's Telescope, so he briefly traded spots with Julie as he brought the two Relics out and combined them. When he looked through the map affixed to the end of the telescope, Adam saw the golden trail weaving through the air on a ponderous route. It led east.

This is how I'll convince them to go to Mast-Chewer's Nest, he realised.

"What do you have there?" Lasse asked, having apparently hopped from the crow's nest on the foremast to the ratlines attached to the main mast.

"Have a look," Adam replied and went over to hand him the telescope. With one hand on the rigging and the other on the scope, Lasse panned about before locking in on the golden trail in the air.

"This is pointing east," he said, returning the telescope to Adam.

"How did you get it? And what's it for?" Adam handed it to Ellen who'd come over to check what was going on.

"I found the telescope in the last Stage, and the Golden Map was a secret in the Forbidden Altar," Adam explained.

"I'm not sure what it leads to, but I'm guessing some kind of treasure."

"If it required items from two different Stages, then the reward must be special," Ellen remarked as she too gazed east where the trail led. Adam took back the telescope and put it into his bag after separating it from the map.

"We should go investigate after we've done the cook's quest and found the mechanism he was telling us about." They both seemed to agree to that plan though neither said so outright. Adam went on.

"The stronghold of the Drakes is also in that direction, and I heard one of the pirates talk about how they love Slug Dragons," he lied.

"They might help Cathy with her quest." This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work.

"Perhaps they'll know about mine too," Ellen guessed. You have no idea, Adam thought but didn't say.

"Are the other factions even friendly outside of the settlements?" Lasse asked.

"I wouldn't bet on it," Adam replied.

"It's the open seas and all that." Adam returned to the wheel, though Julie seemed to enjoy steering the airship. She's kept us on course. That's reassuring. I was worried she'd take the opportunity to crash us into the nearest island. As the others returned to their duties, Adam continued heading them for Anchor Hole. This time, Julie lingered much closer than before, close enough that she could reach out and touch him.

Adam hardened his skin beneath his clothes as a precaution, since he knew how easily a blood mage could kill someone. And I've gotta keep in mind that she has the Blood Speaker evolution, which means she requires much less blood to overtake someone. Given that she's unable to get rid of my glob of blood floating around in her head, I don't think I'd be able to defend myself against her blood if she managed to get it into my veins…

After about forty minutes of sailing, they finally reached Anchor Hole island, but like the map had shown, it was inaccessible because it floated 20 metres below the floating point of most islands, and, more importantly, their airship. Everyone went to the front of the Creaking Madam to look down at the island below.

It was shaped like a primitive arrow symbol, but the triangular tip wasn't actually a part of the island, rather it was a massive temple structure made of dark-green bricks and its sides hung over the edge of the landmass precariously. The construction style seemed like a mix of Ancient Roman and Mayan.

"How are we meant to get down there?" Jabari wondered.

"Adam can fly," Lasse said, nudging Adam in the arm. He paused for a moment though, confused at what he'd felt. I forgot my skin is still hard as rock… Adam realised, returning his body composition to its normal state. Or well, as normal as possible given the enhancements he'd made to himself and the tail wrapped around his abdomen like a belt.

"Are you going down there alone?" Ellen asked. Her melody indicated that she was worried about that, for some reason.

"We can all go down there together," Adam said. He looked to Julie.

"I need your help for this. Everyone else, go to the helm, it may get a bit bumpy." Julie grinned.

"What are you planning?" she asked after the others had retreated. Adam didn't reply, but instead brought out the blood that he'd stored below the figurehead and moved it up towards her.

"You can control three spells like me, so I'll need you to take control of this blood and coat the back of the ship. I will handle the front and the middle. Try not to let the others see what you're doing, they'll just ask questions."

"Once we've coated the ship, we'll push it down?" she asked for confirmation. Her melody told him she was quite eager.

"That's right, but if we let go of the ship before we can properly fasten our anchors, then it'll toss everyone high into the air, so I need you to concentrate." Julie put her hands into two of the three balls of blood Adam had brought up to the deck. She instantly took control of them, which was an uncomfortable sensation to him. In an instant the melody emanating from the blood changed into hers and it was as though Adam had lost something of himself.

Even as she retracted her hands and went for the last ball, she moved the two under her control off the side of the ship and out of sight. Once she controlled the last one, she sent it over the side as well. She's very proficient with the blood control, he noted. She stopped and looked Adam directly in the eyes. They were red marbles like his and had black lines through the middle.

"You can trust me, Adam," she said. Then she walked back towards the helm. Adam watched her go for a moment, hoping he wasn't wrong to trust her with that much raw spell material. At least it doesn't seem like she has any special Relics from the Flayed Lady, besides her armour, so even if she scares me, I don't think there's anything she could do that I wouldn't be expecting. But I can't let my guard down.

Once she was spreading her blood along the back of the ship, which Adam could sense since it altered and grew the melody of her song, he reached out and took control of the flesh and remaining blood he'd secured to the front of the airship. Then he spread it across the bottom, front, and broadsides of the hull, thinning it out like an actual layer of skin over the wooden exterior of the Creaking Madam.

He shaped the side of the flesh and blood that touched the wooden hull so that it had small hooks, securing it to the airship like Velcro, and while each individual anchor point was weak, combined they would have quite a lot of strength, hopefully allowing him to pull the vessel down. In truth, he didn't think he needed Julie's help, but it served him better if the others weren't terrified of his power, and single-handedly moving the ship with his magic was quite an awe-striking display, he thought.

"Are you ready!?" Adam yelled back towards the helm. Given his manipulation range of 22 metres, he couldn't go too far or he'd be unable to affect his control on all of the flesh. He heard the change in Julie's melody and instinctively started to push down with his control sigil, without waiting for a verbal confirmation.

As he'd predicted, she had immediately started pushing as well, and within mere seconds, the Creaking Madam was making it clear how she'd earnt her name, as it seemed that every wooden board protested under the drag of their magic and the pull of the Floating Sea. But she began to sink, slowly at first, and then at a decent pace. The others held on to the railing of the helm, looking over the side at the island they were moving down towards.

"It's working!" Jabari exclaimed excitedly. Adam continued pushing the airship down as he walked closer to the edge of the deck so that he could see where they were going. He had to apply a bit of forwards momentum since they were drifting away from the island as they sunk, but after a couple of minutes they were close enough to the edge of the landmass that they could jump directly from the deck.

Where the large triangular temple didn't cover the island of Anchor Hole, a forest of palm trees and aloe vera shrubbery dotted out of a porous sandy soil.

"Attach the anchors!" Adam shouted back to the others.

"Hurry!" Lasse quickly ran down to the bow near Adam and pulled the anchor hook out from the hatch in the deck between the two turrets at the front. Then he jumped over the edge and landed on the island with a thump, before running the hook and line around several of the nearby palm trees. I don't think those trees will hold us, Adam thought to himself. Jabari mimicked Lasse, though he didn't jump over the railing, but rather took a ladder on the side just by the stairs up to the helm.

Cathy brought the third and final anchor from the portside hatch of the helm, and together with Jabari it too was fastened to several trees. There's no way this will go well… Adam considered as he watched the work they'd done. While it was possible that the Creaking Madam had something that kept it from turning upside-down, a strong enough upwards pull from the Floating Sea might flip the ship anyway.

"Keep your magic going!" Adam yelled to Julie. Once again she didn't respond, but he could tell it was still active as he changed the shape of the flesh that coated the underside of the ship. As its grip lessened, the entire airship jerked half a metre up with a loud groan. Ellen yelped and jumped down onto the island. Shit. Adam hurriedly reshaped the flesh and blood into a long tentacle that he ran up the underside and portside hull with one limb, gripping it to the main deck with powerful suction cups.

He attached the other end to the island by driving it deep into the soil from the side. As he relaxed his control of the giant limb he'd made by leveraging all three of his spell slots in concert, the airship only creaked slightly and didn't try to pull away. So far so good. Adam walked back to where Julie stood.

"You can let go now," he told her. The ship jerked slightly and creaked a lot when she pulled the blood away from the hull, but it stayed put.

"I'm surprised it worked," Julie said with a grin.

"Were you looking forward to getting thrown into the air and off the side of the ship?" he asked.

"I was. I know you would've saved me." Adam didn't respond and hopped over the side of the ship, landing next to Ellen.

"There has to be a better way than that to get down here," Ellen commented from where she knelt in the sand.

"This way was faster," Adam told her, helping her to her feet. The moment he let go of her hand, he felt Julie's melody change behind him. It took on a discordant and dangerous tone. Adam immediately whirled around and squeezed his left hand as he looked up at her standing on the railing of the ship's helm. The three orbs of blood she'd been preparing to shape into spears immediately fell away as Adam's little glob of blood in her brain paused in its circulation for a second and made her pass out.

As the balls of blood left her control and splattered along the side of the airship, Julie fell towards the island head-first. Adam stepped forward and caught her in his arms. The moment he sat her down on the ground, she returned to consciousness. She looked up at Adam standing over her, and, for just a moment, she feared him.