Chapter 53: Book 1: Chapter 21 (Part 1 of 3)

Marena’s Mercy sailed down the Grand River as we passed through downtown Grand Rapids. The mast and sail were low enough to pass under most of the bridges, apart from the foot bridges. It had been interesting to watch as the mast curved backwards like a sapling to pass under without clipping those obstacles.

Dusk was rapidly approaching, and the light had begun to fade. It would likely be full dark in about half an hour, which would coincide with us exiting the part of the river that passed directly through the city.

We’d observed plenty of evidence that the armed insurrection we witnessed earlier had not been an isolated incident. Although there had been no rhyme or reason to the different groups we had sight of, none that I cold discern at any rate.

They were a disparate mix of humans and new Darkwyrld species. All wearing different clothing, no official uniforms of any kind. And yet all signs pointed to a co-ordinated effort. The different groups were not battling one another, but establishing control under a single banner, so to speak.

More than a few of these ‘soldiers’ gawped at us as we sailed by and apart from a few yahoos having a pot-shot at us we weren’t troubled. I was desperate for more information but was reluctant to stop for any reason to gather it.

My instincts were telling me that whoever led this regime change wouldn’t be amenable to me and mine sailing away unmolested if we lingered. I was the big dog, but I was also smart enough to understand that many yapping little dogs could still drag me down if enough of them swarmed me.

Anastasia warned us that we were passing through a section of the river with several bridges and a few underwater impediments and that the ride would be a touch bumpier as we went through it.

“We’re almost at the historic Blue Bridge,” Shana called out. “It’s quite beautiful at night when they have the lights on, not that they will be with the power out,” she finished with a wistful sigh.

“Why do they call it Blue Bridge?” I asked.

“Umm, because the girders are painted blue,” Jackson answered hesitantly, concerned about pointing out my obvious lack of knowledge.

I chuckled to let him know not to sweat it.

The good humour was interrupted by Quixbix barking in my mind with alarm as we were a few metres from passing under the Blue Bridge. <Torin, there are a dozen of the armed forces lying down on the bridge above.>

Shana and Anastasia, having heard Quixbix, reacted as I did and prepared themselves. “Heads up, Jackson,” was all I had time to yell to the young sorcerer before we were under attack.

The dozen men up on the bridge jumped to their feet and fired whatever ranged weapons they had on them, down upon us. It was a mixture of bullets from assault rifles and arrow-fire.

Anastasia had anticipated their attack, though.

The crystalline sail, which wasn’t necessary for the ship’s propulsion, proved to be present for more than mere aesthetic purposes. The base of the sail smoothly detached from the mast, travelled upwards and flipped horizontal to the deck providing us with an effective shield.

“Stay under the sail and that should block whatever they have,” Anastasia suggested smugly. “Unless they’ve levelled substantially or got their grubby mitts on some superior gear,” she added with a shrug of her shoulders.

<Everything they have is basic. Torin, you can use me to slip into ‘Action Mode’ and analyse them from under the sail> Quixbix suggested.

“Good idea, Quix,” I said and took him up on the offer. I got a dozen returns most of which were what you’d expect. However, one of them was a little different and offered a bit more information.

Marco Di Vesta (Lionblood Human)
Ranger (U) 4
Potential: Moderate	Value: Low
Threat: Low	1,260 XP
Grand Rapids Syndicate Sergeant: This person is recognised by the despotic mayor of Grand Rapids as a Sergeant within his organisation. (Currently the lowest rank of the designated leadership caste.) He leads a group of thirty warriors. The groups threat rating is Moderate.

 

None of the other groups I’d managed to analyse earlier mentioned anything about the Grand Rapids syndicate.

The rest were foot-soldier types, a mix of Fighters, Thieves, and a Mage.

(Lionblood Human)
Fighter (W) 6
Potential: Low	Value: Low
Threat: Low	440 XP

 

(Human)
Thief (V) 6 You are reading story Corsairs & Cataclysms at novel35.com
Potential: Low	Value: Low
Threat: Low	550 XP

 

(Silverblood Elf)
Mage (W) 6
Potential: Low	Value: Low
Threat: Low	440 XP

 

Quixbix helpfully suppressed unneeded information like their names while I assessed the threat. Marco’s bio said he led a group of thirty, but there were only eleven up on the bridge with him.

“Quixbix, can you see the rest of his party?” I asked the imp.

<They aren’t within my twenty-five-metre range. But we are in the middle of the river, they may be behind the buildings on either side> he answered.

If we were lucky, they wouldn’t be nearby.

“I don’t suppose there is a quest in all of this?” I prodded him.

Quixbix chuckled in my mind. <I thought you’d never ask.>

Who’s the Boss? (R*)

You have been threatened by another group. You need to assert your authority and show them you are the boss.

Success: Defeat the party of Marco Di Vesta by any means necessary.

Rewards: 1,300 XP and +10 notoriety.

Failure: -10 notoriety and likely death.

“That reward is a bit naff. There could be thirty of them,” I grumbled.

<Unfortunately, the Moderate threat rating includes that possibility and R-grade is the highest I could make this quest. There are rules you know. If they get reinforcements we couldn’t factor in, the reward will be increased. There is an alternative if you’re interested?> he teased.

“Lay it on me,” I told him.

<The quest’s difficulty factors in both you and Shana, as one of your Soulbonded, participation, and both of you get the XP reward. There is a bit of cheat I’ve learned in my many years as an imp. I can exclude Shana from the calculation, and this would increase the quest’s difficulty up to an O-grade and therefore the reward you will receive would go up to 2100 XP. This does mean that Shana will not get any experience from the quest, though> Quixbix explained.

On the face of it this would be a tough decision to make. Doing this would result in our pairing as a whole getting less XP. 2100 instead of 2600, plus Shana got an extra ten percent on top so another 130 XP difference.

In reality, the new me made the choice quickly and easily. I needed to level and when I did, Anastasia’s avatar would level too. Also, I got more out of my levels than Shana.

“Do it Quix,” I ordered.

<Quest updated> he intoned formally.

Who’s the Boss? (O*)

You have been threatened by another group. You need to assert your authority and show them you are the boss.

Success: Defeat the party of Marco Di Vesta by any means necessary.

Rewards: 2,100 XP and +10 notoriety.

Failure: -10 notoriety and likely death.

“Okay, let’s do this,” I said, and exited Action Mode.

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