Chapter 93: Chapter 93 – Debrief 1/4

Major Steele peered back as his eyes held a fleeting glance to Calum.

Are they related in some way? Or is it that he cares about us? Astrid thought.

There seemed to be something between them but she wasn’t sure. She didn’t know a lot about the lower noble families, and Calum was included in that.

She was aware that Major Steele was a laid back man and that he cared deeply for his troops, but it was surprising to see it first hand. Or maybe not.

Astrid thought back to Daniel and the others. Even after killing so many people, they still remained warm and caring inside. She could tell that even under her father’s command, they cared for her. No one would give up their lives protecting her with a smile on their faces otherwise.

Astrid dipped her head at the sudden remembrance of the first dungeon. It was too close, far too close. She could practically smell the stench of death, or maybe that was just Rob’s skin bubbling away at the intense explosion of light. Her shoulders trembled at the remembrance.

But it gave her hope that she wouldn’t lose her humanity from the constant fighting and bloodshed. No, it only made her want to return even more than before. To see the smiles of her friends and loved ones.

The rubbing of her hair from Tennyson, the strict but loving gaze from her father, the kindness and love of her mother. Then the strange, but gentle smile of her cousin, Freya. And the friendly banter and friends that were willing to sacrifice themselves for her.

Astrid took a breath and nodded.

Major Steele let the healers take away the injured.

“That means you as well, Calum,” Major Steele said.

Calum stood his slouched body straight. “I understand Major, but I ran away once. The least I can do is say how they died with my own words. I’ll never…” A ferocity flashed within his eyes.

He continued with a deep, pained breath, “I want to do it, please grant me my request.”

“Alright then,” Major Steele said. “Just don’t go fainting on us when the top brass are breathing down our necks. Astrid, keep him standing. The pressure might get to him.”

Astrid said, “No problem, I’ll even make him into my puppet if needs be.”

“I don’t doubt it for a second, Sinwen.” Major Steel chortled before his face turned serious once more. “Follow me.”

Before they left, Astrid had a thought. She placed her hand in her pocket and activated Void Storage. She pinched out the highest quality void-jewel she had and dropped it into her pocket.

She had a plan.

They all followed the major into the Wayfaring headquarters. It seemed like they had managed to gather some spare forces for different scavenging missions as Wayfarers were busy gathering their equipment.

Some were tending to their boats, looking it over and repairing anything that had to be fixed before they readied it for an expedition. And others were doing a count of their armour and weapons, making sure they were in tip top condition.

It was something even the highest levelled Wayfers had to do themselves. They would never let others inspect their equipment. Their equipment and travel was their own responsibility. Although the Wayfaring division on Rebirth had engineers and mechanics to do the more advanced repairs. They still had to test it in the end to make sure.

They continued through the hangar, past the enormous lift that travelled up to the surface and instead of going straight ahead where the quartermaster, barracks, and the mess hall was located, they walked to the left. Where four armed guards guarded.

It was a much larger entrance compared to the quartermasters. Two stone pillars stood at either side with a kindling brazier perched on top. There were no signs that indicated what the room was for, but given the ancient engravings, the guards, and the strange stone that was used for the pillars, it was anything but normal.

They entered, and Astrid could feel the raw age coming from the stone pillars. It clearly didn’t belong within the ship, so someone must have taken it from down below and placed it here.

She was never allowed in the Wayfaring headquarters when she was younger. Her father told her that an age old demon lurked within. At first, she didn’t care and it didn't stop her from wanting to poke and prod the ancient demon to relieve her curiosity.

But that changed when she approached the headquarters from outside. On that day, when she could barely reach for a door handle, an ancient growl was heard. It was human, but demonic at the same time.

It was as if someones vocal cords had rotted away, yet they still shouted all the same.

Astrid wryly shook her head, she was stronger now. Besides, it must have been an old engine starting up. Sound travelled strangely surrounded by metal, after all.

She shook her head from her thoughts and followed the major up the long, steep stairwell. Astrid glanced back and noticed Calum struggling as he held the wall for stability.

Tony was on the other side of him with his hand under the young man’s armpit to prop him up.

Astrid spared a fraction of her mental image to lift his body slightly.

Calum widened his eyes in surprise. He put all his weight onto his legs and found that he could walk on his own despite the injuries. He nodded to Tony as his helper let go, then his nod was directed to Astrid.

Just a couple of minutes later, they walked into a wide hall that was lit up by numerous candle lights. A staleness to the room made her sniffle her nose. It was as if someone had refused to sweep the floors of the dust for centuries, it reminded her of a damned crypt.

She wasn’t sure if it was for show, or it held some sort of historical value. It was hard to tell with old people, and by the decor, it was definitely archaic.

The hall had a pit gouged into the middle and four steps surrounded it leading in. To the left, at the back of the room, In front of the pit, was a raised platform built into the side of the wall with high satin seats that loomed above.

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It reminded her of the auction hall, just darker, and more solemn.

“Stand in the pit and wait there until the top brass arrives,” Major Steele said. “Shouldn’t be long.”

“Yeah, doubt it.” Astrid smirked.

It wasn’t because she thought less of the nobles, no, she knew a lot of good people that were nobles, and had even forged friendships with some. She glanced at Froderick and Gloria, even Calum and Tony. There were also plenty of other good, older nobles she had met and treated them as if they were family. Like Raphaelle and Rumaisa, well, she was still undecided on the latter one. But also the common nobles that lived up on the surface that she had helped repair their homes. They were friendly and eternally grateful.

No, it was because they often had a lot on their plate. Managing their people, territory, or other things that she didn’t know about. Dropping everything for something else was a lot easier said than done.

In the end, they had to wait for an hour for the first person to arrive. First it was the sound of their feet striking against the hard tiled floor up above. The sound was sharp, and it crackled now and then. Then, the top of his head was displayed as all the younger Wayfarers eyes opened in shock and awe.

Well, all except Astrid. Instead, a smile crept up onto her lips.

As the man’s visage walked forward into full view, the air surrounding him crackled from an insane amount of electricity that surged from his staggering magical container.

Astrid opened her Psych Domain and gazed at the container within. She had attempted it before, but now with his mana activated, it sent a shock-wave into her mind. It was as if the electricity transferred itself into her mind, and buzzed.

Then it was as if someone had flicked a switch inside. The raw, primal strength of the electricity turned into a slight tickle.

Her father’s eyes stopped on her for a second before he opened his mouth to talk.

“We’ll have to wait for the others to arrive,” Lord Sinwen said.

There was no apology for having them wait, or a semblance of emotion on his steely face. He was a stalwart defender of humanity, and his aura displayed that with might.

It wasn’t overly long before others soon arrived. Most of them were a lot older than Lord Sinwen. The common trait of the top brass was silver hair, or wrinkles.

Lord Sinwen looked out of place being surrounded by an older generation. Yet his aura was more vibrant, and overpowered the rest of the older men and women to his left and right.

The time was quickly dragging on. Astrid looked up and there was still one seat available. Someone was late, and judging by the faces of the other top level nobles, they weren’t best pleased.

An enormous man with long, brown hair to the side of Lord Sinwen tapped his finger on the arm of his chair. A vein threatened to burst out of his forehead. His name was Vihaan, and he was in charge of keeping the pirates at bay on the open seas.

He was known for his fearsome reputation and lack of temper control. That along with a strict lack of compassion against his enemies meant he was a scary man to be around.

Astrid had encountered the wild man a few times during home visits when she was younger. As a military man that held a lot of sway as the primary defense against the pirates, he had built up a friendship with her father. Often he would arrive at the manor to debrief about the pirate's activities, although it was always cut short when he met with Astrid.

His serious talks always ended up in vicious wrestling. His excuse was that he was strengthening her, but he really just wanted to play. He had a childishness about him that contrasted vividly against his violence.

Astrid smiled and had already joined him as her foot tapped the ground in annoyance.

“Where is Faris,” Vihaan said. “I’m a string breadth away from squashing him into a bloody pulp when he arrives.”

“When he arrives,” Heath said with a pleasant smile. “Goddess only knows when that man decides to show his face. Besides, you wouldn't dare risk getting rid of your precious booze supplier, would you, Vihaan?”

Heath was a gentleman. From what Astrid knew of him, he was always kind and treated others with respect no matter where they were from.

“Aye, that’s true,” Vihaan said. “But a little bit of pain never hurt no one.”

“Tell that to your enemies,” Heath continued. “I’m sure they would be more than happy to agree–if they were alive–that is.”

“Ah,” Vihaan spat. “If Astrid, when she was a puny little brat could handle a rough hand, then it just means that they were too weak. Isn’t that right, little Astrid.” He finished and looked down straight at Astrid.

Astrid laughed. She connected to the matter within her body and strengthened the matter in her arms to the maximum. She slammed her fist against her palm and a powerful smack filled the hall.

“A little stronger now, uncle Vihaan,” she said.

Vihaan chortled with a smile when the door to his back was slammed open. The smile vanished as everyone gazed at the untimely newcomer.

The man was drunk to the point he could no longer stand up properly, yet his eyes displayed a shocking amount of intelligence as they practically shone. His three piece suit was disorderly and it was missing half of the buttons that were meant to keep it together. An overpowering odour of high tiered alcohol wafted from his pores as the stench pervaded the room like the result of a forest fire.

He was the Grandmaster brewer who Astrid had never seen before. It was Charlotte's idol.

His name was Faris.