Chương 139: Chapter One-Hundred-and-Thirty-Nine

Ellen and Julie were both eerily silent on the return trip to Redbeard's airship. There hadn't been any rewards for slaying Rasal left behind in the mess of its corpse, which was probably for the best, since none of them wanted to stick around. Adam and Lasse had worked for about half an hour to eradicate the parasites left behind by the dragon's corpse, and they'd almost missed some, since a few had been quick to scurry away into the trees. Without Lasse's boons from Messimer, they might not have found them all.

The other two had returned to the airship on their own, seeming thoroughly out of it. Adam was surprised just how much they'd been affected by the encounter with Rasal, but understood that his own accumulated experience in the Trials had significantly inoculated him from the traumatising elements it featured. And Rasal had certainly been a step-up from any of the previous encounters, even accounting for the monstrosities in Alepheria's Tower.

When they returned to Jabari and Cathy, the pair gave them a worried look, but Adam could tell they were glad to have stayed behind. We were lucky that Lasse only sustained an injury. We could've easily lost someone.

"We have eliminated Rasal and all the parasites he carried," Adam told the Drakes' captain. Redbeard clapped Adam on the shoulder.

"Good work, lad! I am mighty glad I found you lot."

"If you wouldn't mind, can you bring us to the Golden Fortress' stronghold," Adam requested.

"Certainly, y'all just follow behind us in your ship and we'll take you there," Redbeard said.

"Also, I have some treasure that you are welcome to, as thanks for your aid." Drakes carrying two chests came up from the hold of Redbeard's ship. Like Morgan's reward, they were an Upgrade and a Relic Chest. The men carried them onto the Creaking Madam that floated alongside the medium-sized vessel, and Adam's party followed them across. [Since you completed your quest quickly, your rewards have gone up one Rarity level.] That seems a common trend with the quests for this Stage.

It's just a shame there are only two rewards, but at least no one is fighting about who gets what. Once the plank connecting the two ships was retracted back onto Redbeard's ship, they started to move east-southeast, and Adam quickly got behind the helm to follow after them. Cathy and Jabari handled the sails while Lasse, Ellen, and Julie remained on the deck of the helm. Adam gave the wheel to Lasse for a moment and went over to where Julie was hugging her own knees and Ellen leant against the railing.

"Use your rosary on her," Adam told Ellen.

"You can dispel her negative emotions."

"How do you know about that?" Ellen asked, having clearly used the Relic on herself in that way. Although, it hadn't fully worked, because her hands were shaking and her melody was jumpy and stressed.

"Just do it," he said. Ellen put her rosary to Julie's forehead, and Adam could track the way her melody changed in real-time, losing the cloud of despair and primal fear that'd taken hold of it. Then Julie's eyes shot open with distress and she jumped to her feet before leaning against the railing and vomiting loudly over the edge.

"I need everyone to have their head in the game," Adam told Ellen coldly.

"The way Julie froze during the fight with Rasal could've gotten us killed." Ellen nodded, understanding the request that was left unsaid.

"I'll make sure no one is consumed by their fear."

"Also, if you wouldn't mind, Lasse is complaining about pain in his arm," Adam said.

"I'll try and help him," she replied. Julie turned away from the railing and wiped her mouth with the back of her sigil-covered hand. Then she met his eyes.

"What happened back there?" he asked her.

"I don't want to talk about it," Julie replied. I wonder if she has a fear of worms or something. Despite the fear lessening in her melody, it wasn't entirely gone. Her usual excitement and weird sense of desire were, however. They had been replaced by a mix of determination, self-doubt, and sadness. It was like she had become a different person. Or, more like she has become 'normal', because that melody is similar to what the others express.

After following Redbeard's ship for about 40 minutes, they reached an enormous fortress island shaped like a triangle. From the way the interior of the island looked, it seemed to have once been a temple, just like the one on Anchor Hole island that'd housed the mechanism they were seeking. Most of the original temple's design was buried in new buildings, but at the very centre of the island was a raised structure, like a Mayan pyramid, with steps leading up to it.

The square building at the top was made of golden bricks. How do they live so close to such a massive source of gold without going insane? Adam wondered. Around the fortress island were large walls, and given the triangular design, it was impossible to come at the island from any angle and not be in the line of fire of several giant ballistae. Even now, despite being over half a kilometre away, several of those weapons were pointed straight at them.

There was a single opening leading through the wall and into the island, and it was a large portcullis gate in front of which was a dock made of wood and metal. I wonder how anyone would get in there without an introduction by the Drakes. Maybe dropping in from above could work, if we were able to lift our airship high up into the air to avoid getting shot down.

Although Emelia mentioned stealing a ship and using it to get past a stronghold's defences, though I'm not sure how it would work with this pattern involving the Fallen, since it seems that most factions are sticking together in large groups. Redbeard's ship pulled up alongside the Creaking Madam, and the captain stepped up onto the railing to call across to Adam's crew.

"I will go make introductions! Dock your ship near mine and then come join me at that golden building, since that's where Captain Hast resides." With that, his airship floated towards the stronghold with the three smaller vessels in tow. Adam and the others waited a moment to follow, since they wanted to split the quest rewards first. < < Relics Available > > < Golden Fortress Crossbow Bracer (Rare) — Launch a small crossbow projectile that explodes on impact.

2-minute cooldown > < Tome of the Acolyte (Epic) — Activate to split a spell in two, halving all of its stats. 30 Mana cost | Enemies you kill have a 1% chance to reanimate as a Mana Fiend > < Choice Ring (Epic) — Allows you to pick two options from a Stage reward. 1-Stage cooldown > < Heavy Belt (Rare) — Increases Player Defence by 50% | Reduces Movement Speed by 50% > Hmm, we must've seen all of the normal Epics available for the Stage if it's giving us the Choice Ring since that's from Stage Five.

Nobody was particularly excited about the options, so Adam ended up just picking the Choice Ring, since it would allow them to get more out of the next chest that came along. For the upgrade, that choice went to Lasse after he won a game of rock-paper-scissors against Ellen. He ended up selecting a Rare Draw Aim upgrade. That's his second win, Adam noted. I wonder if he's using his patron boon to figure out what others are going to pick.

With the rewards sorted, Adam flew their airship towards the stronghold's dock. It was similar to the one for Morgan's Rest, except there were workers waiting for them, who grabbed the anchoring tethers they threw across. Once they were secured, an extendable bridge was thrown from the dock to their ship and they all crossed over.

Adam took a moment to follow as he shifted the flesh coating the underside of their ship to the rudders, propellers, and fins, just in case something went down when they tried to get the mechanism from the Golden Fortress' captain. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it. They were escorted from the dock by four guards, all of whom wore golden breastplates over brown shirts.

They carried gold-embellished swords and had crossbow bracers mounted to each arm. Based on the melodies emanating from them, everyone in Adam's party was thinking the same thing when they saw the crossbows: Those were the weapons used to kill the pirates at Anchor Hole. They passed through the portcullis gate and stepped into the stronghold, their feet landing on the large dark-green bricks of the temple it had been built atop.

There were hills like those they'd seen at Anchor Hole rising out of the temple grounds, and atop of these were workshops, barracks, eateries, and other buildings that Adam couldn't distinguish. Most of the stronghold's men were stationed on the walls, but there were also groups of two marching across the temple grounds. Out of all the pirate factions that Adam had encountered thus far, the Golden Fortress were the most like a military.

The White Flags and Drakes had some semblance of order, but they still paled in comparison. The guards stopped at the foot of the steps leading up the pyramid and Adam's group climbed to the golden building at the top. Once they reached the top, two guards gestured for them to enter the golden building. Adam looked at the bricks it was made of, again wondering how it didn't trigger the gold curse since so much in one place was sure to be way beyond the threshold Emelia had mentioned.

Inside the square building stood two men, Redbeard and someone encased in a full suit of golden armour, making him look both absurd and dangerous. From his back hung a large hammer, the same weapon used to kill the Cloud Skimmer at the top of Anchor Hole's pyramid. In the back of the room was a stairwell leading down, and Adam wondered what secrets the pyramid had, though it had surely been raided already if the Golden Fortress had placed their stronghold on top of it.

"Speak of the Devil," Redbeard said and gestured at Adam's group.

"Here they are." Captain Hast, leader of the Golden Fortress, stepped forward and offered Adam a salute.

"I heard about your work taking down Rasal. He was a troublesome foe." Adam nodded.

"We made sure to clean up the parasites it left behind after its death. The island should be safe again." At his words, the others who'd been present had notes of disgust enter their melodies. Adam once again mused over his apparent resilience towards such things. Then again, it was hard to be disgusted about some defenceless worms when he'd seen the depths of Nwetrou's abyss, the abode of the Tome Keeper, and the garden of the Flayed Lady.

"Redbeard here also tells me that you are searching for an artefact that fell into my possession," Hast said. That's a very odd way of saying 'We killed a bunch of people to get it'… Even though Adam could hear the melody flowing through the captain's blood, there was nothing in it that told him much. It was a calm and steady tone that emanated from him, singular in its purpose.

"That's right," Adam said.

"We are seeking the Godstone."

"Then I believe our missions are aligned," Captain Hast said.

"We already know where the artefact belongs, but the Godstone Temple is deep within the Fallen's new territory. Not to mention, the door within the temple that the artefact unlocks is itself guarded by a powerful entity, if rumours are to be believed." That should be the boss that Emelia mentioned to me.

"Are you after the Godstone too?" Lasse asked. Captain Hast looked at him, a note of irritation passing through his melody, perhaps because he only considered Adam worth talking to.

"I would like to see it, but my true goal is a schematic hidden within the temple's treasure chamber. It speaks of a magical cannon strong enough to blast a hole through an island."

"Y'all ought to team up then," Redbeard said cheerfully.

"If you would have lent your dragon, it would not have been necessary… Alas…" Hast remarked with a disappointed sigh.

"But yes, given the circumstances, I believe cooperation is in both of our interests." < < Stage Objective Updated > > < Join the Golden Fortress in assaulting the Fallow's Fallen blockade of the Godstone Temple >"Give me a day to prepare my fleet," Captain Hast said.

"I will await you by Windtop Cove tomorrow at nightfall, and together we will break the Fallen and reach the temple." Adam nodded.

"It's a deal." I'm guessing that this route, while possibly safer, is not going to be quick enough to get the Speedrun bonus if that's only 24 hours. Getting that achievement is going to be tough, I think. They said goodbye to Redbeard and Hast before retracing their steps to the stronghold's dock. Adam had thought to maybe see if there were useful ship upgrades available from some of the workshops, but he figured that sticking with the Creaking Madam was a bad idea, and mentioned as much to his crew.

"How do you suggest we get a bigger ship?" Jabari asked as they reached the docks.

"We should just steal one," Adam said, though inside he was thinking about how to get them onto the track of the Golden Slug. Since the pattern this time around didn't involve the Whale Eaters hunting down Mast-Chewer, there wasn't an easy way for them to get introduced to it naturally. Hopefully Captain Drew's map at Windtop Cove will show us where Iffenguard is located.

"Where do we go from here?" Cathy asked.

"I think we should follow the trail of Adam's special map," Lasse said. Adam looked out across the Floating Sea. The clouds had lost some of their golden lustre.

"It may not be a bad idea," he agreed.

"It will turn night soon I think, so we should probably try to get a bit of rest."

"I'm actually exhausted," Ellen said.

"Glad it's not just me," Lasse replied.

"I actually wouldn't mind something to eat," Jabari said and Cathy nodded.

"Alright then, let's take a breather while we follow the treasure map's trail," Adam said. Night set on the Floating Sea as Adam sailed the Creaking Madam northeast-east to follow the golden trail that appeared in his Navigator's Telescope, after he'd attached the Golden Map to the front of it. Everyone had gone to sleep in the hold below deck after eating, though he could tell that Julie was still awake, based on her restless melody. Eventually she came up to join him by the wheel, but she was very quiet.

The Fallow's Fallen still roamed the sea, but he could easily spot their melodies from a long way away, since most other melodies slowed to a steady rhythm thanks to the denizens of the world going to sleep. As such, it was easy for him to steer the airship around them, and Adam kept the lights off on the top deck, so the Creaking Madam would be difficult for others to spot.

Adam was tracking the golden trail with the telescope as the airship coasted leisurely through the night-blue clouds, when he suddenly noticed it make a 90-degree turn upwards, without any warning beforehand. He quickly slowed the airship to a halt near where the trail went straight up and looked at where it led.

It was impossible to see anything with the naked eye, but using the telescope he was able to spot an island that was maybe a kilometre above, though the clouds constantly passing in front of it made it hard to see any clear details. Adam looked at Julie who was sitting on the deck of the helm with her back to the starboard railing and staring aimlessly at the floor. Why did she even come up here?

"Wanna go with me?" he asked her. Her eyes lit up, as though her mind had been somewhere far away, then she raised her head and met his eyes.

"To where?" she asked, her voice hoarse. He pointed up.

"I don't see anything," she said.

"Will it be dangerous?"

"I don't know. But there are no pirates within reach of our airship, and I think everyone deserves as much sleep as they can get, especially Lasse and Ellen. Since you're awake, you might as well come along," he said.

"You're just saying that because you don't want to leave me here. You're afraid of what I might do." He nodded.

"That's right."

"Okay."

"Okay what?"

"I'll go with you," she said. Adam brought out some of the flesh coating the underside of their ship and constructed a platform. Once Julie got on, he lifted it into the air while he flew next to it. He could tell by her melody that Adam's distrust of her made her sad, but he was sure that she was playing it up to make him lower his guard. Given the way she'd acted earlier, he didn't believe that she would suddenly change even if she'd experienced something traumatic like the encounter with the feral dragon.

But I would be glad to be proven wrong. They flew straight up for quite a while, and Adam made sure not to neglect his surveillance of the area surrounding the Creaking Madam, since he'd left the others there without warning. Apart from a cluster of Fallen he could sense far to the north, there was nothing troublesome in the area. Although I guess I can't rule out slug dragons, since I can't hear their melodies as they have no blood… That probably means I can't do shit against a Cloud Leviathan either.

If it had blood, it would be easy enough, but if it's like Rasal and has some core that must be destroyed, then it's hard to say if I could do it. After all, Rasal was weak because it was young and not fully formed, and it could've easily killed us all if we hadn't snuck up on it, based on how powerful its ranged attacks were. Something way bigger and much stronger, with potentially some kind of armour or protection, would be much harder to deal with.

And given that it was described as devouring islands and airships as it flies around the Stage, it has to be goddamn gigantic. They finally reached the island that the map led to, and Adam was surprised to find that it was just a small bit of grass-covered land with a pond in the middle. In front of the pond was a wooden chair and a round table, and atop the table was a horn made of ivory and gold. Julie stepped off the platform and onto the island as Adam landed next to the table.

He put his hand on the horn, knowing it was something special. < < Secret Relic Obtained > > < The Golden Horn (Legendary) — Summon a mount unique to your current location | If the mount is destroyed or slain, this Relic breaks > Woah. He lifted the horn up, turning it over in his hands. I'm glad that that whole chain of secrets were worth it. I had honestly prepared myself for a disappointment. While Adam stared at the Relic, Julie knelt by the pond and looked at her mirror image.

"What do you think happens when we die?" she asked. Adam was so surprised by the question that he almost dropped the horn. He collected himself and asked, "What do you mean?"

"The Gods we're worshipping," she said, as if to clarify.

"Do they even have an idea of an afterlife?"

"I don't know," he replied.

"When I saw the Lady's garden, I wondered if the creatures I saw were her reborn worshippers or just some servants." Adam sat down on the chair next to where Julie knelt.

"You should ask her after the Stage," he said.

"I'm sure she would answer your question." Julie didn't say anything for a moment.

"She told me I would be reunited with my son if I worshipped her well," she then said.

"The cube told me he's alive, but I know he's dead. The Seeing One devoured him along with everyone else who didn't participate in its game." Adam frowned. Despite his own reservations and doubts, he put a hand on her back as her tears dripped down into the pond, creating small ripples. Maybe she thought she might actually die when we encountered Rasal, and it might've triggered a fear in her that she wouldn't see her son again.

If she believes in the afterlife, then she might worry that her worship of the Flayed Lady will bring her to a different place than wherever she believes her son is, but at the same time the Flayed Lady promised her that she would see him again if she was a good adherent… I'm starting to understand why her mind is such a mess. But despite that, I just can't shake the feeling that she's trying to fool me. Adam lifted his hand away from her back and walked around to the other side of the pond.

Then he blew into the Golden Horn. A sound like a heavenly choir filled the air, and the blue-tinged clouds around him swirled and took on the shape of a large airship. Adam squeezed the horn in his hand. I'm glad I found this. Julie looked up from where she knelt and laid her eyes upon the airship that had formed out of the clouds. The sadness in her melody was replaced with wonder and excitement, and for once it didn't terrify Adam. He took a deep breath and gave her a smile.

"Come on," he said.