Chương 47: Chapter 46 - Fluxfall's Descent.

Legs left the ground as she was sent reeling back, her arms pinwheeling. The energy shell splintered through the woods, sheering off a chunk from a tree, and crashed into the triabit. An explosion of viscera and guts accompanied the impact. Not bad, but I think I'll need to tie rocks to my legs in the future. She sighed and wiped the dirt off her cloak.

"So your new primary is a hand cannon?" Rowen asked, snickering at his own joke. She glared back, turned her arm and aimed straight at him.

"Woah woah, remember I taught you about etiquette! Remember your lessons!" he shouted, backing off. Nythera snickered and dropped her arm. They made good time towards Fogtown, following the river and her map as best they could. As they approached fishing boats out on the river, half-obscured in mist, became a common sight. The sun had long since hidden behind the fog, a slightly brighter mist was all the compensation they got in its absence.

"Remember Nythera, be polite to these people. They might be grounded, but you just took the Domain core of Mistvale, so they might be a little apprehensive." Rowen cautioned. These people better be grateful! They get all the benefits of my domain skills. She huffed "I'm not an idiot Rowen, I can handle things diplomatically when I need to." He eyed her with obvious disbelief.

"Just remember, we don't have an actual diplomat here, so if you fuck it up, I'm going to have to clean up your mess." he replied. Slowly, they passed by rudimentary buildings and log cabins, forest floor turning to dirt path.

"Does it snow here?" she asked.

"Yes, but not much, it's mostly just cold and dreary. Most of the ice-related flux gets sent to another island. The mountains in the interior are said to get considerable snowfall however." Rowen answered. She nodded in response. As they pulled into the east side of town they made way to the bridge, which crossed the great river. Constructed of pine, it stretched across the expanse, a tiny construct built against nature. As she walked by people, they looked up at her, first with confusion, then surprise.

Some became hostile quickly, but none interrupted their passage. Yeah, just as expected, everyone knows now. Nythera took point, leading them through the streets as they approached the mayor's home. Rowen backed off, recognizing the importance of her first impression as ruler. She knocked on the great wood door before here and pushed it open.

"Greetings! I have returned" she declared to a mostly empty building. The mayor sat at the other end of the room, basking in the warmth of the hearth fire. Her face went beet red. Shit. Approaching the hearth, she found the mayor to be sleeping. She cleared her throat with a cough.

"Excuse me.".

"Ah yes? What is it deary?" he asked, waking from his slumber.

"I have taken Mistvale's core." She declared proudly.

"I know, please take good care of my people and uphold the agreement. I look forward to seeing what you accomplish." His eyes closed and he dozed off in seconds. Rowen and Nythera saw themselves out, gently closing the door.

"What now? Shelly won't be back for another two days at least." She asked.

"We need to practice your etiquette and mapping, that was pathetic." Rowen said dryly. How about no.

"You know, I could just order you to stop etiquette lessons." she suggested coyly. He stared straight at her.

"Try that and we will be back to Myrraval on the next ship." Never mind.

"Shall we go find an inn then?" she turned.

"No, let's use the sleeping rolls. This is a good chance for you to study some of your domain's ecology. You have hardly spent enough time here." He replied. They made their way back across the bridge to the sparser side of town, houses here often came with pens for livestock or small, feeble gardens. The mist seems to choke out most of the life here, foliage can't grow well with so little sunlight. There's no bird song either, it's dead silent.

As they approached the outskirts along the coast, they came to a short sea cliff with a clearing and a few scattered pine trees.

"This will do nicely, we will wait here for the others to return and you will study your new domain" Rowen commanded. Nythera settled in, attempting to map the shoreline as best she could. Parts of the map she wasn't sure she had actually seen seemed to fill themselves in, a rocky outcrop here, a river bend there.

"Rowen, do you know if there are any of those strange monoliths here? Any ruins?" She asked absentmindedly.

"Mistvales interior is even less known than Myrravals, due to the endless fog exploring the interior and keeping a sense of direction is near impossible. You would know this if you actually paid attention to any of your studies." He chided. Could he be any more irritating if he tried? I should be responsible and use this time effectively. A voracious grin crossed her face. Pulling on the power of Cannon Arm she aimed at a nearby tree.

"Fire" she commanded, heat welling up within her arm. An instant before launch she dug her feet into the ground, bracing herself. The shot rocketed forward and smashed through the pine, straight into the dirt.. Cracking sounds echoed as the tree collapsed. Not bad, but not good enough. I got one upgrade token left… not enough to spend recklessly.

"I told you to study the island, not blow it up." A chop from Rowen landed on her head. Nythera spent hours staring out into the sea, watching the flux through the drifting fog. Over the hours, the flux receded like the tide, ever so slowly decreasing.

"Rowen, did you ever notice that the flux around her is actually decreasing?" She asked, mesmerized by the flows.

"There's a reason Fluxfall is called Fluxfall, it's receding for now, it'll all be back in a day or two." he said, brows furrowed as he looked over the sea. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Hours later they snuck into their bedrolls, trying to hold heat within as they slept on the hard, cold ground. She stared up at the night sky. And couldn't see anything through the fog. I hate this place. … At day break they made their way back to Fogtown with haste.

Nythera noted that flux was nearly entirely absent from the flux-sea. The docks bustled with sailors, most of which were hauling boats out of the water and onto shore, tying them off to boulders and trees. Wrath is… this bad?

"Hopefully we don't lose half the fleet this year." one sailor grumbled, pulling yet another of the dozen lines from a ship.

"As if, do you even remember last year? The Anchorbreaker that came ashore with that wave? Ripped through four ships on its own." Another muttered in reply. Stacks and stacks of prepared wood logs were ready further up from the shore. Rowen pointed to them "And those are for rebuilding the docks after Wrath, there will be no dock left after Wrath." he said. As if predicting her next question "Only Karaveth has a permanent marina, they built the entire thing from stone, or so I hear."

Before long, the Sea Queen pulled into the now empty marina. Shelly waved from the deck. Nythera, with Rowen's assistance, jumped up the side of the ship, pulling herself on deck.

"How was your trip? We noticed the moment you got the core, was the mapping successful?" Shelly asked, excitement beaming out of her.

"It was… ok, we found the core without much issue and I was able to make some interior maps but the fog obscures everything. How about your mission to the islets?" Nythera replied.

"We managed to chart a fair number of them, half a dozen islands lay off the western side. The waters near Mistvale proper… were too dangerous to venture into. We also this, you might be interested in it." Shelly answered, handing over a sketch. On it lay a familiar sight, an ovaloid stone, shaped like many she had seen before. A depot stone! Wait…. Why are the trees in the background so small?

"Hey Shelly, what's up with the trees in this, why did you draw them so small?" she inquired.

"I didn't" A grin broke out on her face "it's that big, the top of that stone reached the treetops themselves, there was even a door built into one side" she explained quickly. Talvik's voice came echoing "That is no mere depot." She shot a raised eyebrow at him, but he seemed content to add no further.

"Rowen, plot a course for this islet immediately." She commanded. I can't miss this opportunity.

"Absoutely not." Rowen said "We will get caught dead in the middle of God's Wrath if we attempt to venture there. By my estimation it is a mere two days away." he snorted "I am not letting you kill us all."

"If I use Synchronized Thunder, we can make it! It adds over 30% more to the vessel's speed." She countered.

"The water will recede in twelve hours, at that point the Islets will become completely unnavigable." Halt's voice appeared directly behind her.

"But, but I need to go there now!" Nythera pouted. Halt's hand landed on her shoulder.

"Come with me, apprentice." he asked. They walked to the bow of the ship, looking over the calm sea before them.

"Why do you need to go to this place?" Halt asked "Is it necessary? If you simply wait out the storms in Grandport, you can be back in thirty days." he added.

"This could be the single biggest acquisition I have ever gotten." she began.

"This monument could catapult me straight to strata two, and I need to gain power as fast as possible." She turned to look straight at him.

"What do you know of the Tianshiang inquisitors?". Explaining her story and leaving little out, including the Aurendorian runes and legacy, she detailed how she ended up in the flux-sea with Talvik. His voice echoed between the two.

"Good, Halt knew much of this before, but from you the explanation carries far more meaning. Now perhaps it is time for Halt to explain the next part." Talvik beckoned. Halt nodded in assent.

"I am a teacher but a teacher of what? Do you know why we spend so much time reviewing the basics of your status?" he asked. She shook her head.

"I teach titles to Aurendorian Royalty, specifically" he said.

"Titles? Title acquisition methods? Like what the nobility keep…" she trailed off, realization dawning on her face.

"Just how many titles?" she murmured.

"Many, more than you can learn, now that your a strata one not all will work. However you seem to have far exceeded what my strata one titles would have given you regardless." Halt said. Finally! I can get more attunement if I grab some of the better titles!

"So when do we start?" She asked, trying not to sound too excited.

"Shellia, turn the ship towards the islets of Mistvale, please" Halt's voice boomed across the deck. He turned toward her, his ever-stony face grinning, "We start now". … Shellia and Halt argued for the third time, he had long since taken the steering wheel directly and was leading them around the island.

"Your nuts, Mr rockyface you might be fine but when Wrath hits we will all be royally fluxxed!" She yelled.

"Silence girl, I do this for your queen, Nythera, if you have forgotten I would be happy to remind you." he said.

"What about the rest of us? Huh? When we are cast out on a huge wave?" she grumbled. Nythera looked towards the rest apologetically, tensions were high after Halt announced the change in direction and he refused to elaborate on the title she was to acquire. This cryptic asshole is going to get half of us killed… but Talvik said he knew what he was doing.

"Fear not child, Halt is capable of seeing you home to Grandport with … little injury. If only you were an avian this would be so much simpler." he said, trying to comfort her. The islets drew closer, the only sign being the occasional appearance of rocky outrcrops jutting out of the water.

"Say, Rowen, does the water level against the shoreline look much lower to you?" She said.

"Yes, that is the primary indicator that Wrath is just hours away. Maybe sooner, maybe later. The water level is the best tell for how bad the season will be." he said with a sigh.

"Last year, it fell about that far, just a meter." he turned to look straight at her.

"One third of Grandport was flooded and three Anchorbreakers were found in the fields by Halsbury." He said.

"Anchorbreakers in the Geldgrain fields?" she asked incredulously.

"Yes, they turned them into fertilizer and the farmers brought the teeth home to turn into knives. It somewhat made up for the damage to the fields." Rowen said.

"I hear you guys in Amplewoods have it so easy." Shelly jumped in.

"Isn't Amplewoods exposed to the sea on two sides?" she asked.

"Yes but these dummies." Shelly said, poking Rowen.

"Are Storm mages, the Stormbridge estate sits on the end of the peninsula and they use the power of Wrath to protect Amplewoods, or so people say." She said.

"It is the duty of the Stormbridges to protect Amplewoods, in exchange we receive resources, land, and labor." Rowen said, pride humming through his voice. Ahead, a tiny island with a few pines sticking out of it drifted by.

"We've reached the islets, it wont be long now" Shelly remarked.

"The water level on that islet, wasn't it about half the size when we passed by it yesterday." she murmured. Hours passed and big and smaller islets drifted by, the waterline on the rocks clearly revealed a 1. 5 meter drop.

"The island with the thingy is up here!" Shelly shouted back at Halt, pointing at an islet up ahead.

"Take the wheel, Rowen! Anchor the ship nearby." Halt said and walked down towards them, leaving Rowen to scramble up to the unmanned wheel.

"Are you crazy?" He huffed, trying to steer the ship away from rocks. He grabbed Nythera's cloak.

"We go, now". The deck of the ship beneath her disappeared, she was faced with the ship growing smaller and smaller, air rushing past her. Thats strange. And suddenly, she was falling, down onto one of the bigger islets.

"AAAAAEEEEEE" she screamed. Her legs collapsed as she hit the ground, slumping over. Halt stood beside her "Time to go, if we dally, everyone on the ship will die. This year's Wrath appears to be a bigger one, Grandport has almost certainly surrounded the town with earthen walls by now." Halt said, walking up towards the center of the island. Pulling herself to her feet, she rushed to catch up.

"Is the title here? Are we going to do something to get me a title on this island?" She asked.

"No, we are not, that will be after." Halt replied. After a few minutes of trudging uphill, they arrived before the monument. A gargantuan structure of black stone, in the same ovaloid shape as the depots, except this one towered into the sky, competing with the tree tops for dominance over the canopy. A door, rectangular in shape, lay embedded in one side, devoid of any markings save the lock itself.

"Mistvale Central Depot" The runes read. She approached, the alien monument looming over her. Putting her hand on the door, the familiar prick of her thumb brought some comfort. The doors swung open to reveal a pitch black hall.

"This is one of your major legacies, claiming this may help you survive what is to come." Talvik said, flapping off her shoulder and landing on Halt's head.

"This time I cannot enter with you, I and Halt shall guard the door. Go, with haste, for every hour inside is an hour closer to Wrath." he said. Darkness encircled her, the thought of treasure guiding her footsteps.