Chapter 484 - Hunted

All caught up. Thanks for the patience last week.

The monsters fell like rain around Hump, their cries lost in the howling storm. With their formation broken and momentum shattered by his spell, they became little more than flailing targets. Celaine killed many of them, her arrows of shadows streaking through the shadow of the storm, dozens of them at a time. Nishari flew at Hump’s side, intercepting creature’s that tried to directly attack him. While any of the creatures that managed to make it past and land on the deck were swiftly dispatched by the defenders waiting there.

From above, Hump could see it clearly how different this world’s approach to combat was. The altari fought with strength and discipline, but their power didn’t come from technique and spell mastery like practitioners. Instead, they relied on their weapons for that, imbueing them with their essence and souls. It worked, certainly, but to Hump’s eyes it was a pale imitation. Borrowed power, rather than internal.

Though that was not to say they lacked skill. Acalin wielded spear and shield like an immovable wall, the bronze shield withstanding any creature that approached, while the spear found their necks, the altari’s long reach making him particularly devastating. Karo’s staff sent out a variety of spells, the relevant rune illuminating in advance to orchestrate his power—balls of fire, bolts of lightning, fierce gales and walls of wind. He appeared like a competent Rank 4 wizard, though from what Hump understand, he lacked Soul Manifestation. Meli tended the wounded with her artifact kit, though was largely lacking in combat capabilities. Tamira fought with two wolf-like creatures at her side, while she herself carried a weapon that changed shape from bow to twin daggers. Yoltze reminded Hump of General Korteg, with a giant sword and a berserker attitude. Though he was only at bronze rank, his sword cleaved through limbs with ease, each of the runes on the blade seeming to manipulate the weight of the weapon.

There were other competent pathfinders amongst them of similar skill, but one stood out above the rest—Captain Hadbur. The man moved through the sky like a force of nature. His sabre sliced through the air in crescent arcs of condensed water, each strike clean and deliberate. Hump knew the moment the altari invoked his soul—the weight of it stirred the air. His body shimmered, blue scales traced his limbs, jewels glinted along his arms and brow, and a serpentine tail coiled behind him. His eyes became those of a beast, shining with deep blue essence.

He bore not one, but three artifacts. His sabre was the first, and it alone would have made him formidable. The second, a silver cuff on his wrist, glowed with a pale, frosted light—conjuring blades of ice or barriers that solidified midair. But it was his boots that were most striking. Shining with bronze essence, they like him glide across the battlefield like a windrunner ship, weaving through monsters with the ease of a leaf on the wind. His speed rivalled Celaine’s, though even with this, he was lacking compared to Emilia.

For all Hadbur’s skill, Hump couldn’t ignore that it was the weapons that enabled his strength. His soul was powerful, but if this was an example of a famed silver ranker, then this world was lacking compared to Hump’s own.

Bud stalked the deck like a juggernaut, sword flashing in wide arcs as he cleaved through anything that dared come close. Wyverns dove, claws outstretched, only to be met by Emilia’s rapier or Bud’s Frostfire. The two of them fought with perfect rhythm, a deadly duo, Bud drawing the enemies’ attention while Emilia sowed disarray amongst them. No monster could withstand them. Not of this level.

As powerful and large as a monster swarm might be, they were just monsters. Frenzied, but nothing like demons. Nothing like warlocks, and lich’s, and devils.

Hump felt at ease as the last of the swarm finally overpowered the frenzy that held them and retreated. He descended slowly, the winds around him easing as Dylan retracted his vines. The moment his boots touched the wooden deck, silence spread in his wake. Dozens of altari eyes turned to him and his party, their expressions ranging from awe to unease. Hump recognised the look in their eyes—as if they knew they didn’t belong. For a heartbeat, Hump feared his illusion had failed, but a glance at Celaine and the others confirmed it was intact. They still looked like altari. This wasn’t about appearance.

It was about power. The kind of power they weren’t used to seeing. The kind of power that didn’t follow their rules, and that was as foreign to this world as humans themselves.

The stares ended with a shout from Captain Hadbur. The deck returned to life with movement. Crewmembers and pathfinders moved between the corpses of the fallen monsters, hacking limbs free, collecting valuable parts, and prying out glimmering essence stones. The stench of scorched flesh and blood lingered in the air. Above, only wisps of the storm cloud remained now that Hump will had faded from it.

Only Acalin’s party remained with them, that same shock in their faces, though it was more controlled. “I knew you were powerful, but I did not guess it was to that extent. You called a storm to you. And your arrows, Celaine, filled the sky. Emilia, I have never seen someone so fast, and Bud, I saw you kill that griffin in one blow but I did not know you had the stamina to fight so fiercely for so long.”

“I can’t help but notice a lack of mention of me,” Dylan said.

Hump clasped Dylan’s shoulder. “You did a fantastic job of holding me up. Don’t worry. I appreciate you.”

Dylan narrowed his eyes at him. “Thanks.”

“How did you do it?” Tamira asked suddenly, irritation in her voice. “What you did is not possible.”

“We have been over this,” Hump said. “The magic of our world is very different. My party are stronger than most, but we are a long way from the strongest.”

“I do not believe it.”

“Tamira,” Meli said. “You must let this rest. We saw it.”

“You believe them? You believe their stories?”

“I do.” Meli looked at Hump nervously. “Step into the door with me.”

Both parties followed her, still on deck, but away from prying eyes and ears.

“You should know,” Meli continued, “that was no ordinary monster swarm. I’ve travelled these skies all my life and been attacked on skyships more times than I would like. This had purpose. They came for the deck, not the hull, and only at the end did they think to run.”

“I agree. The monsters reminded me of the Red Fog,” Emilia said. “That berserker state—complete disregard for their own lives. To affect such a large swarm would require a very powerful person.”

“Do you think you were being targeted?” Hump asked. “Like with the griffin attack.”

Acalin shook his head. “No. Not us. Perhaps Captain Hadbur, or…”

“Or us,” Hump concluded.

He glanced outside toward the gathered remains, as Nishari tore into a wyvern corpse. She seemed even happier than when she’d been hunting before. The blood and gore only encouraged her. Hump tried not to let his human principles intrude on his thoughts too much, as he didn’t want to upset her. Covered in blood and flesh with a toothy grin on her face, she looked sort of cute.

She looked at him with pure bliss and Hump forced a smile. Yes. Very cute.

His eyes passed over her, searching the rest of the deck. If they were being targeted by a swarm like this, they would need a way to follow them. To know where they were. A person on the skyship was possible.

“You notice anyone watching us while we’re on the ship, Celaine?” Hump asked.

“Yes, though nothing out of the ordinary.” She shrugged. “Nisha’s with us, our mannerisms are odd for altari, and we don’t talk around people. We’re a bit weird.”

“And you’re sure this couldn’t be aimed at you?” Hump asked Acalin.

“Almost certainly,” Acalin said. “I know I gave you the impression that I am somewhat important in Urandel, but not like this. To offend Captain Hadbur to get to me would be the most foolish of strategy.”

“We should speak with the captain,” Dylan said.

“I don’t know if it will matter,” Hump said. “Powerful people attract powerful enemies. Even if he says it’s possible, it doesn’t help us.”

“But who would even know we’re here?” Bud asked.

“We travelled for a week as humans before assuming these disguises,” Hump said. “It’s possible someone saw us, especially if they are watching for surges in essence. Either the rift or Loften’s descent could have been detected.”

“But how would they know we’re aboard this ship?” Bud asked.

“We may have been followed,” Dylan said.

Celaine shook her head. “I’d have spotted someone tracking us, especially for such a long time.”

“Scrying magic,” Dylan suggested. “Would you have noticed, Hump?”

“Probably not,”he admitted. “Especially if it was subtle or something unfamiliar. Or a blessing similar to those of the Chosen of Vesta, like Marian’s. It would all be difficult to detect without a spell already in place.”

“Then I like your idea,” Dylan said. “Technology in this realm is more advanced. We’ve seen glimpses of it. It’s entirely possible they possess tools to detect planar disturbances-rifts, sudden shifts in essence, that sort of thing.”

“That’s quite niche,” Bud said. “I can’t imagine anyone bothering to look.”

“We don’t know how often such phenomena manifests in this world,” Emilia said.

“Not rifts,” Karo said, stroking his short beard in a particularly wizardly way. Hump was pleased to see the gesture surpassed the boundaries of both worlds and species. “There is a system designed to detect new dungeons. Another to identify essence storms. Both have the capability of detecting and mapping sudden surges in essence. Such a system could be repurposed to locate rifts or even gods, like you suggested, or a similar system may exist elsewhere.”

“Ah, of course,” Dylan said. “We have similar things in place in Alveron. While rather rudimentary, they can detect the emergence of new dungeons within an area.”

“We can locate them to a region,” Karo said. “And then use scrying artifacts to search the islands from a distance to locate the dungeon itself.”

“Someone would only need to have looked our way,” Emilia said.

Hump frowned. “If we’ve already been discovered, that complicates things. Have you ever heard of visitors from other realms? Humans, demons, or other things that are summoned?”

“There are some with spirit companions like myself,” Tamira said. “It is theorised that they come from another realm. And evil doers that make deals with evil beings.”

“That sounds like demons,” Dylan said.

Bud clenched his fists. “Gods, if this world has warlocks too… I’m so sick of them all. Warlocks, demons, and everything in between.”

Footsteps approached. Captain Hadbur stopped on the deck before them, a leather pouch in one hand. He looked over each of them in turn.

“You were not joking when you spoke of your power,” he said in Alveronian now. “I can see why the Maker might choose you for a quest. I have seen depictions of such magic before.”

“You have?” Hump asked.

He nodded. “Ancient places. Dungeons always find themselves in places that were once important. Temples, homes, palaces, prisons—you name it. Anywhere a person might have an emotional attachment can become one. And in a few of them, there were carvings that showed powers such as yours. We believed them to be of the gods. Now… I think they may simply have been glimpses into the world before the Shattering.” The captain clasped his hands together. “I owe you an apology. My bluntness when you first boarded was not befitting of your position. I thank you for not forcing your hand, or causing any trouble at dinner last night. Priest Ukbar would have deserved as much, not that he will apologise. The man is arrogant, but he has the will of the Maker on his side, or so he thinks.”

“That’s alright,” Hump said. “As I told you before. We don’t want any trouble. Unfortunately, trouble has a habit of finding us.”

He offered the pouch to Hump. “Your share of the harvest. If not for you all, the ship would have been lost.”

Hump opened it to see essence stones inside. He accepted it with a nod of thanks.

“Captain Hadbur, can you think of any reason that someone might target your ship?” Acalin asked.

“You noticed it too?” the captain asked. “I have rivals and enemies that might try to kill me, but not like this. None that could muster a swarm of such a size.” His eyes fell on Hump and his party once more. “The only reason I can think is you.” His face split into a grin. “But do not worry. I will see you to Urandel and make sure you meet the High Priest. If you are here for the Maker’s purpose, then we shall see it done.”