The Ashen Ring by Barnett H.M

Author:Barnett, H.M.
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: fantasy, futuristic, epic, SF, elves, samurai, magic
Publisher: Synthetic Minds Press
Published: 2023-09-25T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 8 - Fool Me Once

The next few days passed by without incident. Even so, Tokihide kept the ship on high alert, the defences raised and cannons loaded. If by chance whatever had destroyed those ships came back, they were sure as hell going to get a volley off first.

After speaking with Garron and pulling a little bit of rank over the chef, Tokihide had arranged for his meals to be brought to his room, along with regular refills of tea to keep him awake while he continued to work through the song.

The whole thing was becoming increasingly frustrating. Even as he translated it line by line there was little to no sense to be found in the pages. Were it not for the regular references to a circle, or a ring, depending on which translation he went with, he would have likely given up after the first day.

The most promising, though also worrying couplets so far described Astrila, the main character of the song, pulling death from the other realm through a circle of fire so that they could use it against Korgorith, their enemy. Neither of those names meant anything to him outside of this book, but death was described as a brilliant tower of burning light with three lancing beams that cut through the living, reducing all to dust and ash.

It was too similar to his dreams of the destruction of the city, and the three headed beast, that Tokihide was certain there had to be something of value in here, he just didn’t know what it was, or even if he was approaching it in the right way. He still had no idea how to even begin trying to translate the symbols on the title page, and everything about this was beginning to irritate him as much as it intrigued him.

A voice echoed down the corridor outside his room as Serra used the coms to broadcast. “All hands to your posts, we are to be boarded for inspection by dwarven council guards.”

“What in the world are they doing?” Tokihide asked aloud, putting the book and his notes back in the concealed section of the wall.

With the dwarves already on their way he didn’t bother to change into something more formal from his working robes, but he did stop to retrieve his icon of office, just in case a complete jobsworth was coming aboard and he needed some clout to go over their heads. Serra still had Tennohi up on the bridge as an additional early warning detector. Though the sword had been inactive since his dream the other night, it was one more precaution he was glad to have taken. Better safe than sorry was a mindset that had kept him alive for the last fifty years.

When ready, he returned to the bridge where he found Serra engaged in conversation with the captain of the approaching ship. The dwarve’s face rippled as his projected image turned to look at Tokihide when he arrived. For some reason the dwarf frowned as they looked him over.

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