Lenn, Braag, and lodious Edelweiss profited most from the loot distribution. Additionally, Fortune received a necklace granting a solid boost to her INT, leaving her with a broad grin on her face.
Finally, the players were ready to move on. Scholar Feng was standing at the side of the Graceful Swan, constantly urging them:
“Why are you still not hurrying up? The ship will leave without you!”
lodious Edelweiss already felt a bit anxious. She took the lead, heading for the pier. But Liam quickly stopped her:
“Wait. We can’t leave yet. We still have sothing to do.”
“But… how do we get off the island then?”
“Haha, no need to worry. No matter how much that scholar threatens us, this is still part of the quest, and the ship won’t leave without us.”
“Oh… ok.”
Throwing a worried look at the ship lodious Edelweiss decided to trust Liam and walked back to the group. Everyone looked at their expert.
“Ok then, expert. What are we doing now?”
“We’re heading for another island.”
Fortune was quite puzzled, looking around the harbour as she asked Liam:
“How? There is only the Graceful Sawn here. You don’t expect us to swim, do you?”
Hearing this, the others felt their chests tighten. The Six Demon Islands were not far apart. From the main island they were on, one could clearly see all the others. It was not too far-fetched that Liam expected them to swim. But this still wasn’t without danger. Especially for Lenn in his heavy armor.
But luckily Liam had sothing else mind:
“No, we won’t swim.”
At least not for now…
Hiding his amusent the veteran pointed towards the far right of the harbour where two wooden rowing boats were swaying with the waves.
The others looked between the boats and Liam, letting out resigned sighs.
“At least it’s better than swimming.”, murmured Braag.
The group approached the two boats. Getting a closer look at the boats those didn’t seem that bad. They were rather large and stable, with four paddles per boat.
“Not too bad. Looks like they can carry us safely.”, analysed Fortune. Liam nodded at her, saying:
“Of course. The two orcs used them to reach the island. There is no need to worry about safety.”
“Oh, I don’t know about that. Lenn is quite heavy…”
“You think you are any less heavy Braag?! If it weren’t for my armor, I wouldn’t even be half your weight. I have to say your belly has been growing consistently since you got together with your wife.”
“You’re just jealous because you’re still single.”
Suddenly both dwarfs flinched. They felt piercing glares coming from all sides. They quickly shut up, afraid that the group would simply leave them behind.
“Guys, let’s set off! And make sure those two don’t sit in the sa boat!”
“I agree.”
“Mhm.”
A minute later two small boats left the harbour. In one sat Liam, Fortune, and Lenn, while the other was assigned to Quickstep, Braag, and lodious Edelweiss.
Two people per boat rowed, braving the sea. The water was still turbulent from the fight. Strong flows and chaotic waves made the voyage quite exhausting. If Cyclone were here, she would be emptying her stomach by now but fortunately the six players all endured it.
The rocky ride took only ten minutes but for the group it felt like hours. Finally, they reached a small sandy beach. The waves pushed them ashore, allowing the boats to safely co to a stop. Imdiately everyone got off, taking deep breaths, glad to have solid ground below their feet.
Two people looked completely unperturbed though. No one was surprised that Liam remained indifferent, but everyone stared at lodious Edelweiss’s calm face as if they had seen a ghost.
“Edelweiss, aren’t your legs shaking?”, asked Fortune after stabilizing herself.
“It’s not that bad…”
“You call this ‘not that bad’? Damn, what are you doing in your free ti?”
“Well, my parents have a company that constructs scaffoldings. I have co along so tis. Standing on the twentieth floor with the wind blowing all around you is definitely worse than a boat ride.”
“Woah, sounds like Radiant Shield’s worst nightmare…”
Imagining the scene everyone gulped. Even if they weren’t afraid of heights, it took a lot of courage to run around at such heights. Fortune shook her head to get rid of the image when she noticed sothing else from what Edelweiss said:
“Scaffoldings you say? Doesn’t this an your parents are working with Colville Constructions a lot?”
Imdiately lodious Edelweiss looked troubled. She waved her hands, clarifying:
“Yes, but that’s not why I wanted to join the guild! I… I only joined because I saw the opportunity to grow as a person!”
Seeing the young woman worried like that, the others felt bad. They hastily reassured Edelweiss, praising her as a great addition to the guild. And they weren’t exaggerating. lodious Edelweiss had proved her importance in the last fight. Without her the difficulty would have increased by multiple levels.
While the group was still talking Liam finally led them away from the beach. He summoned his mount Reen, reminding the others to do the sa.
Next to the five mythical basilisks Lenn summoned a chanical bull painted in black whose red eyes looked as if it wouldn’t hesitate to destroy every obstacle blocking its charge.
The group rode through an open plain, ignoring all monsters trying to attack them. They soon reached a few lush fields bordering a large village.
At this point the group couldn’t escape attacks. Cultists spotted them and fights instantly broke out. But the cultists in this area weren’t powerful, posing no threat to the players.
After a short scuffle the group rode into the village. The inhabitants didn’t seem to care much about the defeat of the cultists. They went about their lives, selling fruits at the market, going out to work the fields, or baking so bread. All in all, their lives didn’t seem to be bad.
“Is this our destination? What are we looking for?”, asked Fortune sceptically. To her this village appeared just like any other, without anything special.
“We are here for him.”
Everyone followed Liam’s finger pointing towards the small forest outside the village. There, they spotted a tall man. His bare upper body was brimming with muscles, almost inhuman. Yet his face hadn’t lost its youthfulness yet. From a rough estimate the man had barely reached adulthood.
A few other n stood so distance away from him their eyes showing admiration but also fear. The youth smiled kindly, not minding them. He raised the extrely heavy axe in his hand and swung it at a tree.
To everyone’s horror the wood splintered apart as the axe passed right through the trunk as if nothing could stop it. The tree began to sway and slowly fall in the youth’s direction.
The woodchopper didn’t panic in the slightest, putting his large paw on the tree and pushing with all his might. As his muscles bulged the tree was pushed away and fell towards another direction.
Boom!
The tall tree landed, causing the ground to quake, spraying dust and dirt. The older n were frozen in place. Only when the youth strolled away did they dare to get closer and began processing the tree.
The players didn’t have such apprehensions. They swiftly approached the young man sitting on a rock, with his heavy axe laying on the ground.
“Oh, adventurers in our small village? Great, I hoped you would co.”
Liam smiled at the young man, whose simple na ‘Harry’ was displayed above his head. Judging from the first look Harry gave off a sowhat simple impression. But his eyes flickered with intelligence as if he saw right through one’s heart.
Nodding at the kindly smiling man Liam led the conversation:
“Hello. You were waiting for us?”
“Yes, adventurers. I need your help. You see, ever since I was a little child I never quite seed to fit in with the village. I grew faster than others and developed these muscles without doing much. The villagers shunned but I’m not mad at them. Their fear stems from the unknown.
Yet this doesn’t an that I don’t long for a place to belong. As I grew older this feeling intensified, but I also felt sothing else. A calling from deep within !”
Lenn was already rolling his eyes, waiting for the man to co to the point.
“Over the last few months, I have explored this calling and finally detected its sources. It is within the mountain on the central island. But this place is occupied by the cultists. I can’t get in there.”
“You want us to fight through the cultists?”
Fortune sceptically raised a brow. They had just made it out alive and now they were about to go back?
“No no, not at all. I discovered another way. It might sound strange, but the Six God Islands are connected by massive chains below the water. These chains go into the central island, ending sowhere inside the mountain. But every ti I co close, I feel sothing suppressing and I lose most of my strength, barely able to save myself.
That’s why I need your help. To bring along to enter the central island from below!”
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