The First World Sphere

Chapter 138

Chapter 138

The Principality ships were extremely slow. We only had about 1200 miles to reach the capital city of Malaise but we were headed into a strong headwind in the Sphere. The Night Jewel was also struggling and needed to land after half a day to recharge the dual crystals I had transferred to her from the Maelstrom. Our escorts landed with us and Captain Volantis came to talk with me.

“Storme, if you wish I can station one of my wind mages on board the Night Jewel. I could see she was struggling with the wind,” he said with a friendly smile. Even though his ships relied on the wind, they had a much longer operation time than the Night Jewel since the just had to power their anti-gravity runes with their aether crystal. They could have made it all the way to their capital relying on their winds mages, albeit slowly.

I was not certain about having a foreigner on board but slowly nodded, “If it gets us there quicker, the I agree. If you do not mind I would like to talk with the wind mage you assign to the ship. I am not familiar air magic and would be curious what spells they imprinted for their task.”

“Certainly. The mage will be Jemma. She is my niece and quite skilled with her spellcraft. I will be sending two soldiers with her if that is okay?” the Captain noted. His disposition told me the soldiers would be required for his niece’s assistance.

“Agreed,” I confirmed.

And an hour later, a woman in a spotless uniform and slick back black hair tied into a neat ponytail found me below deck of the Sky Wraith. She was a head shorter than me and walked stiffly, like her clothes kept her erect.

She formally addressed me at attention, “Captain Storme Hardlight, I am Gemma Hellvein. I have been assigned to assist the Night Jewel, but was told to report to you for questioning.”

I paused my examination and taking notes on the aether disruptor cannon. “I was curious about how wind mages develop their spells to help airships fly the skies. There are rare where I am from.” The truth was all the islands of Skyholme were just a few hundred miles apart, so there was not a need to travel great distances and conserve aether.

Gemma stood at attention while she talked, her dark green uniform with white piping fitting snuggly, “The tier two spell, gust of wind, needs to be leveled with at least five specific evolutions. Or the tier three spell, gale, just needs the proper duration enhancement when imprinted. I have both spells imprinted.” I was confused about why she had wasted spell slots on the same spell. She answered, “The lesser gust of wind spell gives me more fine control as lesser speed. Gale is for traveling long distances at best speed. Will that be all?”

“Ah, yes. Thank you. Wait, do you have the flight spell?” I asked.

“No, just the tier one spell glide,” she replied smartly.

“Glide?” I inquired about the unfamiliar spell.

“It is an easy spell to learn and found in one of our local dungeons in the Principality. It turns your body into a sail to control your...unintended departure from a skyship. It takes very little aether to maintain, so it is popular.” She smirked, breaking her facade. “And fun.” She regained herself, “The lowest tier flying spell is tier three, and using four slots on it is not appealing to most Navy mages.”

I nodded, and seeing I was done with questions, she left. We were grounded for fourteen hours outside a small village in the Principality. The two medium Navy ships remained with us as our guards. I didn’t sense any malicious intent but still told Pakkam and the others to be on the lookout. Their response was that they always were ready. The small town had nothing of value to trade, but I focused on stripping the Night Jewel of everything of value. The bounty reward was for just the ship. I was unsure if I could also take the two crystals I had replaced, but they were worth nearly twenty-five thousand gold. If I could take them, I would.

I made good progress on designing my cannons for the Maelstrom. I would incorporate two cannons, one a standard aether cannon for range and damage, and the other would be an aether disruptor cannon for disabling ships. I was going to need adamantine to downsize both cannons and contain the large amounts of aether. I also had not figured out targeting yet. The Wolfsguard remained on the ships while we were grounded, but everyone else had fun in the strange village. They were as welcoming of our coin as the halflings had been. We were well rested when our fleet of five skyships took to the skies.

Gemma was working...well, yelling at the riggers and Wolfsguard on the sails. Her calm demeanor was now gone as she cursed their slowness to obey her commands. She was a taskmaster and impressive as she worked her spells and commanded the men. I think she was trying to prove herself to the other windmages on the Navy ships as she pushed the Night Jewel’s speed. This was good, as the faster we got there, the better.

The capital city of Malaise was on an inlet of an ocean. The ocean was larger than anything I had seen so far, thousands of miles across. I could only see the other side as the interior of the Sphere curved upward. It was an impressive city spawl on the ocean and their were more sea-going ships than I had ever seen. Hundreds dotted the harbor and nearby sea. This was obviously a massive trading hub.

Our two Navy escorts handed us off to four smaller skyships about the size of the Maelstrom. Each of these had just a single mast and guided us to a calm inlet to land. As soon as our three ships had landed, Gemma was off the Night Jewel and boarding one of the escort ships. She was probably returning to her own ship.

Two dozen soldiers met me when I descended the ramp. A man in official-looking red robes greeted, “Captain Storme Hardlight, I am Judge Lotus Damon. Captain Volantis messaged ahead about your arrival and said you were in a rush. I am here to inspect the Night Jewel and report to the Adventurer’s Guild regarding the seven-year-old contract.”

“The ship is yours to inspect. Can I keep the aether core crystals on board?” I asked as he looked eager to start.

He stumbled slightly, “Um, let me check.” He pulled out a contract and quickly skimmed it. He looked up, “The contract states the bounty of one hundred thousand gold as long as the ship is air worthy.” He looked up at the ship, “It looks in excellent condition. Normally liberated ships are quite damaged when returned.” He paused, “I will talk with the Prince. Maybe something can be worked out after my inspection.”

One of the soldiers stepped forward, “Captain Storme Highguard, the Prince has prepared a meal and is expecting you.”

I motioned for Bleiz to come with me and talked briefly with Pakkam, Talia, and Leda before leaving. We would keep the comm stones handy in case something arose. The cats were not happy about being left behind again. I told them when they were bigger and perfectly behaved, they could accompany me. The white one, Kiara, sat immediately and wrapped her tentacles. I think she was telling me that she was already well-behaved. Adrial looked confused but eventually mimicked her sister.

I laughed, “Okay, you are both behaved but still not big enough.” I gave each a pet and had Sammie and Lana watch them.

An advisor whispered again in his ear, “The portal network does not extend to Skyholme?”

“Prince, it is being reactivated. I am not sure when it will be usable, but free trade begins in fifteen days, and I expect the pirates to use it as a means to get their ships close to Skyholme.” I pleaded a little this time. He seemed interested in the islands, at least.

He had a private conversation with two advisors to his left and right. After addressing me, “Your situation is unfortunate. I will not press you further on the Sky Wraith. The ninety-five thousand will not be subject to the tax,” he nodded to the Guildmaster. “Neither will any bounties paid in my city.” He waited till the Guildmaster nodded in acknowledgment.

The Prince then stood and left. No chance to thank him. Over half the table followed him. Bleiz leaned into me, “He is planning something. I guess he is either secretly allied with the pirates or might be thinking or aiding you. You should have formally requested aide.”

“I do not think he is allied with the pirates,” I surmised. “He definitely is planning something, though. Either he plans to help, or maybe he plans to take the Sky Wraith by force—but that feels unlikely.” I watched the Prince and his Enterouge leave.

The Guildmaster approached me and bowed, “Guildmaster Morcas Merit, at your service, Captain Hardlight. If you will follow me back to the Guild Hall, we can take care of the paperwork and see you on your way. Though you may want to wait for permission from the Prince to leave,” he winked.

We were escorted out of the palace by guards and were soon in the streets. There were dozens of unfamiliar and familiar smells. The city was definitely bustling with people and commerce. The Guild Hall was far down the street; he let us be sightseers as we moved through the crowds. When we entered the blackwood building, fifty men and women looked up and greeted Guildmaster Morcas. We went into his office and sat down.

He sighed long, “I have not eaten that much in ages.” He rubbed his belly. “The Prince is known to set the best table within five thousand miles. That was the only reason why I could think you were returning the Night Jewel,” he laughed.

I chuckled but did not feel it since I had gotten such a poor deal. I asked, “As for the Sky Wraith, will the bounty be canceled?”

The Guildmaster nodded, “Yes, and anyone who made copies of it will find their sheets now blank. As long as there is not a dumb captain out there, you should be able to fly unmolested.” He paused and thought, “Well, when the Black Mauraders find out the ship was taken, they will probably take exception to your ownership.”

“The Sky Wraith will probably find a home in the Islands and not be flying the Sphere. Can you confirm it can not be tracked?” I asked.

His left eyebrow rose in thought, “I think so. That was one of the reasons the bounty was high. All divination efforts had failed to locate it.” That was a relief. Not that it mattered, as the Black Mauraders were already planning to assault Skyholme under the direction of the Bricios.

“I will take care of it right after we handle your individual bounties.” He banged on the wall, and a thin elf with long, silvery gold hair came rushing in. The Guildmaster addressed him, “Keoth, these men are picking up the chest coming from the Prince. They are also presenting bounties,” he looked expectantly at me. I did the gruesome task of removing the heads from my storage.

Keoth was some type of divination mage, and it took a few minutes to confirm the identities of the dead and that the head was genuine. I did not understand the magic but waited patiently. The bounty sums were pretty generous. The Wraith was five thousand gold alone, and his crew doubled that. Then another thousand for Maggie’s head.

“As the Prince said, you are quite young and impressive. I will stamp your Adventurer’s card if you wish.” He said. I handed it to him. He recorded the number of stamps, nine total of gold, but they just counted on my copper card as nine. It was a magic pick that he tapped with an artificed hammer. Nothing spectacular. I now had nine of five hundred holes punched on my Adventurer’s card. Three for Maggie’s ship and six for the Wraith’s ship and crew.

“How will you want your coin?” The Guildmaster asked when he was done with the process.

“Large gold coins,” I said. The Guildmaster had Keoth fetch the coin.

“Will you be seeking any new bounties here?” The Guildmaster asked expectantly.

“No, we will be leaving as soon as the gold is delivered. We hope to return in two days to Skyholme and warn them of the attack.” I said.

“They don’t know? Do you have an Adventurer’s Guild? I can send a message for you.” He leaned forward, expecting a yes. I should have known this was possible. The Adventurer’s Guild had a vast network for exchanging information in the Sphere.

“Please do. Thank you,” I said with relief, “Charge?” I inquired, prepared to pay.

“Not for the message, no. But I expect the Prince is not quite done with you. I suggest you wait a day or two. You may be surprised. I have seen that look on him before. He senses an opportunity. I know he had his heart set on the Sky Wraith, but he will not take it by force of deception,” the Guildmaster was hiding a smile.

I returned to my ship to find the dual aether core stones already removed and packed in a crate for me from the Night Jewel. The chest of one hundred and six thousand large coins was delivered, and the Prince left six of his palace guards near our ships. They were not preventing us from leaving, just remaining as sentries due to the gold. The chest was secured inside my dimensional closet with all the other coins we had collected from the pirate horde. Now the question was, do we wait for the Prince to come to a decision as the Guildmaster advised?