Wavebound Reign by Kris Schnee

Author:Kris Schnee [Schnee, Kris]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: UNKNOWN
Published: 2021-01-21T22:00:00+00:00

6. Enhancement and Ambition

With the underwater base now fully abandoned, Ruyo and the others surfaced at last. Virid and the crew rushed to the ship's railing to call down to them. "What'd you find?"

"Hold on!" groused Magus, and helped everybody get back up on deck.

They dried off and recuperated while telling their story. Ruyo worried about the crew knowing too much, but Zol seemed to trust them. They mentioned a group of gators swimming away in the distance.

They sailed back to Starshore and made it to land. Ruyo took her parents out to lunch at a good fish restaurant but had to save the news for when they were in private, back in the shop. For a little while it was like old times except that she was the one paying. They talked about the war, trade, anything but the godhood thing.

Back in the shop afterwards, she filled her parents in. "So, nothing immediately useful to the city, but Zol and others might find a use for it all."

Her father said, "An agent came from Averell. They're starting to get worried, more than I told you over lunch. Also they're sick of doing this relay race where they pick up batches of enchanted sticks from far away."

"I'm not good at blasting things. No better than a professional like Magus or Zol, and a lot less experienced."

"The agent strongly hinted that the city wants you to get more involved somehow."

She sighed. "Time to head back and figure something out. I need to get in contact with the Inheritors" -- her "pet cult" -- "and feed them more ancient lore to keep them happy. Maybe they'll come up with something. And I'll invite the Brotherhood monks to check the place out."

Her mother said, "And you'll want to set up a reliable messaging system with the shrines."

"Priest Miras wants to stay here and tend the Starshore church for me. That'll get him some income too, either from a city stipend or charging per message. The city authorities are going to work out how they want to handle the magic postal system. I'm happy to let them run that, especially if they cut me in for a percent or two."

Her mother fiddled with an expensive perfume bottle. "So. Are you going off to war?"

"I don't think so. I'll find a better enchantment system or something." She pictured the northern horde sweeping south, or worse yet, unlocking the true power of the stolen tapestry of the Night God. Her fists clenched. "It's important that we win."

Her mother studied Ruyo's face. "There's something else going on, isn't there?"

"A couple of things, yeah. I wish it were safe to tell you. They're both time-sensitive, but I don't know how long we have before they get bad. Or which is more urgent."

"Something's more urgent than people randomly trying to kill you?" asked her father. "There must be some detail you can share."

Ruyo answered carefully. "One problem involves an ongoing threat that'll get horrible someday if it's not stopped.

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