Mistaken for a Returnee

Twenty minutes passed before Oladi and Zarud arrived and joined the rest of their team.

"Mornin everyone." Zarud yawned.

"Lir enarath venra. (Light awakens the day.)" Oladi said, glancing around at her allies with what she hoped was a refreshing smile on her face.

"Who pissed in yer ale, Oladi?" Derrik asked, showing genuine concern after seeing his friend's face-

"Varan shaelir." Oladi spat, the smile falling from her lips. She glared in Derrick's direction, but there was no real heat behind it.

Zarud snorted in amusement and muttered something under his breath.

"What was that?" Derrik asked, his tone equal parts confused and angry.

"Nothing. Nothing at all." Zarud didn't bother to hide the smirk on his face- which infuriated Derrik even more. But before they could start bickering, he noticed Max and the scouting team approaching.

Derrik clamped down on his emotions and took a deep breath to calm himself.

He could, and would, kick Zarud's ass later though.

"Okay," Max said, moving to stand in the center of the group.

"Mag Ársa, this is the third scouting team. I'm sure most of you are already familiar with each other, but for the two that aren't. The third scouting team is headed by Captain Reszu." He said and motioned to a short caitsith with onyx colored fur and light gray eyes.

Captain Reszu was wearing a dark green, hooded robe over a suit of leather armor. A wooden mallet hung from a loop on their belt and a wooden dirge was strapped to their back.

"If it's not immediately obvious by the attire, the captain is a druid." Max explained while looking at Aldritch and Faeyra.

"Aldritch of clan Blackshield. Pleasure to meet you, Captain." Aldritch replied, offering a friendly smile while holding out his hand in greetings.

"Yes, lovely to meet you, Captain. I'm Faeyra Silverowl. I'm an Alchemist." She said and copied Aldritch's greeting.

The Caitsith Captain grabbed both of their hands at the same time; Aldritch's in the right hand and Faeyra's in the left and shook them. "Excellent to meet you both!" She said, smiling wide for the both of them.

"Now," Max said, getting their attention once again. "The other members of the scouting team accompanying you today are; Aneko: Level fifteen Rogue, Fone: Level sixteen Ranger, Jarome Malek: Level eighteen Cleric, Harik Virqen: Level twenty-two Witch, Meira Faranna: Level twenty-five Ranger, and Ellie Underlake: Level twenty-one Wizard.

The rest of the third scouting team will assist with the reclamation project from here. Is that understood?"

"Understood." Aldritch nodded.

"Excellent. We'll take a thirty minute break to allow everyone to prepare themselves, then we'll leave. Feel free to chat amongst yourselves in the meantime… I've got to go talk with Joolbic about something." Max said, muttering the last bit under his breath.

He stalked over to Joolbic with his fists clenched and an angry gleam in his eye.

Aldritch watched him leave before turning his eyes on the scouting team.

Aneko and Fone were Caitsith twins; their fur was almost entirely white, save for a black circle around Aneko's right eye and the same circle around Fone's left eye- both twins had bright amber eyes that shined with excitement.

Aneko was a Rogue, and judging by the multiple toolbelts on her person, she was specialized for lockpicking and trap finding.

Fone was a Ranger; it wasn't immediately obvious what he specialized in, but most rangers tended to fall into one of two categories- tracking and pathfinding or long range assassinations. Well, Aldritch had two reasons to think he belonged to the former category.

One of which was the small crow sleeping inside Fone's hood, seemingly unconcerned about the people surrounding them.

The other was the presence of Meira Faranna, the other Ranger in the team.

She was a tall Solaren elf with ebon colored skin. Her long, bone-white hair was carefully braided and laid over her left shoulder.

She wore a suit of black leather armor over white pants, a cut off dark red hoodie that exposed her surprisingly defined abs, and leather thigh-high boots that had been dyed black to match her armor.

However, the true reason was not her appearance, it was the large crossbow strapped to her back.

The track that launched the bolt was almost three times as long as a normal crossbow, and there was a trio of ten inch long mounted 'legs' attached just beneath the track. She carried three canisters of crossbow bolts strapped to her back, each bolt was almost double the length and thickness of a normal crossbow bolt.

She was the long range type, which meant Fone must logically be the other.

Now, Harik Virqen was a short Lunaren elf. His pale skin looked even paler beneath the curtain of pitch-black hair that hung past his shoulders. He was wearing a dark suit beneath a purple cloak, thick leather shoes, and carried a six-foot tall staff in his right hand.

Harik was a Witch, which was a type of spellcaster who primarily worked with spirits- both elemental and otherwise.

Next was Ellie Underlake: the mousy Halfling woman Sulika saw a few days ago, during the original debriefing with Max. Ellie had short brown hair that ended just beneath her ears and gray eyes, and her class was Wizard - another variant of the spellcasting archetype.

A Wizard's magic came from the countless objects they imbued with spells. However, to imbue a spell required the Wizard to carve an intricate, and extremely temperamental, mana formation onto each object.

A single mistake could cause the spell to literally blow up in the Wizard's face. But in return, they could carry around as many 'spells' as they wanted.

And the final member of the third scouting team; Jarome Malek was a lanky male Kandis: He had short brown fur that laid flat against his body and black eyes.

Aldritch tapped Ralocan on the shoulder- surprising the elf, as he hadn't realized the giant was close enough to touch him.

"Yes?"

"Who is Yjun?" Aldritch asked, motioning to the Kandis to make sure Ralocan understood.

"Ah…" Ralocan looked towards the sky and tried to recall everything he knew about the dark god. "Are you asking for his history or just his domains?" He whispered.

"I'll learn his history later. For now, I'd just like to know about his domains and temperament."

"So, the basic stuff- got it. Let's see… Well, he's the God of Chance, Trickery, Thieves, and Revenge. He's also one of the thirteen dark gods, the mortal enemies of Cyndarr and his chosen allies. As for his clerics-" Ralocan suddenly went quiet, his eyes narrowed to slits, and he seemed to be glaring at something behind Aldritch.

"Is someone talking about me?" Jarome asked, stepping around Aldritch and placing himself between the two men. "Hi Ralocan, long time no see." He said, exposing his teeth in what usually passed for a lupin grin.

"Jarome." Ralocan replied, dipping his head in greeting. When the elf lifted his head, Aldritch noticed the two clerics refused to make eye contact with one another.

Was this because they both served different gods, or had something else happened between them?

Aldritch didn't think this was a case of two friends falling out.

Jarome seemed to be intentionally provoking Ralocan with how close he was standing to the other man. And Ralocan seemed to be doing everything in his power not to punch the shorter man.

"Greetings, you stand before Aldritch of clan Blackshield. Pleasure to meet you." Aldritch said, holding out his hand for the Kandis.

Yjon's cleric turned away from Ralocan to look at Aldritch; as if seeing the giant for the first time, Jarome's eyes widened and he took a step back.

"I feel bad for the woman who pushed you out." The cleric laughed awkwardly. He accepted Aldritch's greeting, albeit hesitantly, and let go just as quickly. "Jarome Malik; Deacon of Yjun's faithful and member of the third scouting team. You the new guildmaster we've been hearing about?"

"Presumably."

"I see, I see… So, uh, what's with you asking about my Lord?" He muttered and began circling Aldritch, looking upon him from every angle- as if he were a fine cut of meat or a cattle at auction.

"I'm certain everyone, even children, knows of the great Yjun. Yet you, a 'guildmaster' seem unaware. Why is that-"

Aldritch stopped his circling by placing a hand on the back of the cleric's neck and pulling him round to face him.

"It's rude not to look someone in the eye while you're speaking to them. Try again."

"I'm sorry? What did you just say-" The cleric whined as Aldritch slightly tightened his grip… And never once lost his smile.

Aldritch leaned forward and whispered in Jarome's ear, "You're a cleric; one of the many faces of your god. And this is how you behave in front of another god's servant? Do you have any pride for your station? Try again."

"F-Forgive me for my attitude. I-I-I k-know not what came over me." Jarome managed to squeak out.

Aldritch released him without another word, allowing him to fall to his knees. With his face obscured by the giant's shadow, Jarome scanned the crowd for any sign of aid- though he found many onlookers, none appeared willing to step in and help him. Instead they stood back and watched as his pride was shattered by the giant's grip.

"Thank you for the apology. It takes a special kind of person to admit their fault and apologize- you've done well." Aldritch said, still smiling at the Kandis.

"Whatever you say, man." Jarome replied, scrambling to his feet and fleeing to hide amongst the crowd of hunters.

Aldritch and Ralocan stood side by side for a few seconds after his departure. Neither saying anything, just observing the crowd together.

"Thank you." Ralocan muttered, his head bowed low. "But I fear you've made trouble for yourself. I don't believe Jarome will simply let this go after you embarrassed him. His temper is… Something to fear." His body shivered as he spoke.

"You think I should fear him?" Aldritch replied, looking into Ralocan's eyes for the truth.

"He serves the god of Revenge. And as far as worshipers go, Jarome is every bit the ideal follower- he exemplifies the traits Yjun looks for."

"Does he now?" Aldritch chuckled. "I thank you for the warning, sir Ralocan. Should he come for me, I'll give him the attention he deserves."

"I'm serious, Aldritch."

"As am I."

-------------------------------------

"Is everyone ready to go?" Max asked as soon as his 'friendly' conversation with Joolbic was over. "Per standard protocol, I'll be accompanying Mag Ársa to the island to ensure nothing goes wrong… And no one gets any dumb ideas." He finished while looking up at Aldritch. "Any problems with this arrangement?"

"If that's what you wish to do." Aldritch smiled slightly. "However, if you're coming with us, then you'll be going as a temporary member of Mag Ársa. You'll follow orders just like everyone else. If you cannot accept that, I'll insist you remain with the scouting team." He said while matching Max's gaze.

"You think I'll cause trouble?" Max asked, amused at the thought.

"You think I'll allow anything to go wrong?" Aldritch countered.

The two guild masters watched each other for a few more seconds before Aldritch reached out a hand for Max to shake- which he took a moment later. "This is your show, you run it the way you see fit. But I won't hesitate to step in if I feel it's necessary to save lives. I know you're strong, but great personal strength doesn't make you a good leader."

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

"So sayeth the child." Oakairo muttered in a tone filled with derision. "I love his confidence, and his pride has a rather robust flavor. But I can't help but see the humor in this situation."

"If such a situation occurs, I would gladly thank you for protecting my people... Just know that if I believe you, or anyone else, intentionally creates a situation to endanger my allies, then I'll be forced to take the matter into my own hands." He said, surprising everyone within earshot.

Had he just threatened Max?

Max couldn't help but smile. "I'd be disappointed if you did any less. Now, if you'll follow me, our ride has been patiently waiting for us since this morning. I fear if we keep her waiting any longer, we'll face her wrath." Max said, grinning from ear to ear.

Aldritch, Sulika, Faeyra, Derrik, Zarud, Oladi, and Ralocan followed closely behind Max and the third scouting team as they quickly moved through the docks.

Within minutes, they arrived at the largest shipping hole at the docks and stopped just beside the edge.

Max knelt beside the edge and placed his palms against the floor. He whispered something almost no one could understand, then stood up- A subtle flash of light preceded a deafening whoosh of air that as the barrier around the hole opened.

"I'm only saying this, so no one makes a mistake and attacks my friend." Max shouted to be heard over the rushing wind. "I've raised this creature since she was an egg. She knows me, and though she's the friendliest member of her species I've ever met, she is dangerous. Do not approach her alone. Is that understood?" He asked and got a series of nods and a "Yes." from Aldritch in return.

"Perfect. Well, then. Without wasting any more time, allow me to introduce you to-" Max's voice was cut off by an ear-shattering cry that was loud enough to shake the bones of any who heard it.

Thump

The ground shook violently.

Thud

The air trembled as something massive moved through it-

An impossibly long object shot through the hole and slammed into the ground a mere ten feet from the group.

"Calamari, anyone?" Oakairo laughed.

Aldritch stared at the hundred-foot-long violet tentacle that came through the hole and wrapped around one of the reinforced pillars that surrounded every hole across the dock.

That tentacle was almost immediately followed by nine more that were just as long as the first, each one grabbing onto a pillar and going taut as it applied pressure to it.

Within moments, a massive arrow shaped head rose through the hole.

The creature's entire body was a shade of purple, though its tentacles were a few shades darker than the rest of it.

Three pairs of black eyes passed through the hole and landed on the people waiting beside the hole- a wickedly sharp beak chittered a greeting that only Max seemed to understand.

Almost everyone who saw the creature reacted in a similar way. Those who'd never seen such a beast felt fear down to their very core, while those who knew what the creature was felt nervous at its presence in the city.

Sure, Max was vouching for it, but that didn't mean it couldn't decide to grab a snack for the trip…

Meanwhile, Aldritch and Oakairo were far more interested in Max now that they knew he could control such a creature.

Curious to confirm its identity, Aldritch pulled on his mana and cast the second spell in 'The Great Sage's Library'.

Encyclopedia of the Great Sage.

Aldritch read through the data while Max explained what was about to happen.

He thought the presence of a genetic mutation was fascinating: It was something he'd never encountered before.

He knew animals could mutate if they were exposed to miasma for prolonged periods of time but he had no idea the mutations could be passed on through the generations.

Most of the mutated animals he'd seen were either too mad to bother procreating and had to be put down, or were killed outright from the miasma before they could produce offspring.

He couldn't help but wonder at the Kraken's origins.

How did it come to be? Was its mutation a result of selective breeding, like Garr attempted with Synne, or was it a complete accident? Was it truly passed on from its parents, who had a similar mutation, or had it mutated while it was still inside its egg?

"I doubt the yappy dog is going to allow you to dissect his companion. If you want to answer those questions, we may have to catch one ourselves." Oakairo pointed out: He was also interested in the Kraken's presence… But his interest wasn't so much scientific and more along the lines of 'Squids are yummy'.

"Everyone, this is Sophia." Max said while motioning towards the Kraken. "On her back, just above her tentacle line, is a large compartment that seats ten people comfortably and twenty people if you don't mind standing.

There's no food or drinks allowed inside the compartment, and I didn't have the coin to have a bathroom installed. So, if you need to relieve yourselves, I suggest you do it now." He explained before leading everyone around the rear of the Kraken.

True to his word, a large bronze compartment with multiple glass windows awaited them: It sat between two iron triangles that braced either side of the compartment, forming a crude gyroscope that would allow it to swing back and forth, but shouldn't allow it to flip or tumble.

At twenty-five feet wide, ten feet long, and seven feet deep. The compartment was capable of fitting almost everyone comfortably. Aldritch, being just under seven feet tall, knew he would repeatedly hit his head if he stood inside that thing.

"I'll follow you." Aldritch announced while Max was guiding the scouting team into the compartment.

"I didn't know you were the type to be scared, Aldritch." Max said, grinning up at the much larger man.

"Scared?" Aldritch repeated. "Ah, no, I'm not afraid. I just know I'll be faster on my own, and you'll have more room inside without me."

"And-uh- just how do you plan to get there, Guild Master?" Ralocan whispered to him.

Aldritch stared at the cleric for a few seconds before it occurred to him: Only Sulika, Faeyra, and Max knew he could fly. And even they hadn't seen him do it, only heard about it from Garr's story.

"I apologize for any negative feelings you're about to experience. Just remember, I am your ally, and I won't eat you." Aldritch announced, injecting mana into his voice to make it easier for everyone to hear.

"Aldritch?" Sulika said, sending him a confused look.

Aldritch winked at her and started walking backwards, away from everyone. "O' mighty Oakairo; my king and guiding light, let my words reach you on dragon's wings. With my body as the vessel, bring your judgment down upon these pitiable creatures: Aspect of the Dragon - Wings."

"Permission granted. My wings are yours." Oakairo muttered, deep inside Aldritch's body, the Dragon God was grinning like a mad man.

A potent mana rushed out of Aldritch's body like a tidal wave. It hit the onlookers like a punch to the gut, driving most of them to their knees in fear.

Oakairo's wings appeared in the air behind him, starting as a faint silver light that exploded into six gigantic wings that sent tremors through the souls of onlookers- not even the Kraken was spared from the overwhelming fear.

It reacted instantly, its eyes locking onto Aldritch while its body trembled from resisting the urge to flee.

However, Aldritch was expecting things to get out of control and quickly reined in the divine mana. He pulled it back inside his body, transforming it from a tidal wave of power to little more than a current of static electricity in moments.

As Aldritch's mana receded, so too did the Kraken's fear. Eventually its natural intelligence and training kicked in, and it was able to return to a neutral state.

Aldritch grinned proudly at the creature. He admired anyone who could face their fear and still complete their duty.

While Aldritch was watching the Kraken, everyone else was captivated by the divine energy Aldritch exuded.

Sulika was no exception, but at least she and Faeyra were growing used to feeling this way.

Most people would go their entire lives without experiencing the raw, unfiltered mana of a God.

It was slow going, sure, but they were adapting to Oakairo's presence- underneath the gasps and awe-filled exclamations, Sulika heard rapid breathing coming from at least two directions at the same time and turned to investigate.

She found Ralocan, Jarome, and Harik rooted in place. Their eyes were all wide open, allowing Sulika a clear view of their irises and the expressions on their faces.

Ralocan's dark yellow eyes were as bright as a bonfire on a moonless night and glowing like the sun. He was staring at Aldritch with a look of intense interest, but the tightness in his jaw and lips was more in line with concern than awe.

Similarly, Jarome's black eyes were illuminated by a silvery glow that made his eyes look like crescent moons.

There was open hostility in his eyes that didn't match the character Sulika had known before today. Jarome was usually an easy-going guy, what was going through his head that made him look at Aldritch as if they were mortal enemies?

And Harik was displaying emotions so radically different from what he'd shown earlier, Sulika was having a hard time recognizing him as the same aloof witch she'd met previously. That was when she noticed something else that was different about Harik, or rather, it was his spirit who looked different.

His spirit took the form of a four-inch tall, human-shaped ruby that usually sat atop his left shoulder. The details on the ruby were phenomenal, and somehow managed to make a gem look like a living boy- complete with strands of hair that moved in an unfelt wind and eyes that could move.

Now that very same spirit's body shook as if he had hypothermia.

His eyes stared straight at Aldritch, and it was clear he was afraid. But unlike Harik, the ruby boy did not try to shrink away from Aldritch. Rather, he stood with his back straight and his hands were shoved out to either side, almost as if he was trying to make himself appear larger than he was.

Sulika wondered if the ruby boy was trying to protect Harik?

"Once again, I apologize if I frightened anyone." Aldritch said, pulling Sulika's attention back to him. "That wasn't my intention. Rather than try and explain it, I believed it would be easier to show you how I intended to follow Sofia." He said and motioned to the Kraken.

"Sorry to burst your bubble, Aldritch. But I'm fairly certain it'll take more than a few flamboyant wings to frighten us!" Zarud hollered, his words eliciting a round of nervous laughter from most of the scouting team.

"Aye!" Derrik yelled, nodding his agreement with Zarud. "Dwarves don't fear sparkly pixie wings, Aldritch. Come back when you 'ave upgraded to some real wings, then you might have a shot at at scarin me!" Derrik laughed.

"They're right. It'll take more than that to scare us, Aldritch. After all, we've all seen what Zarud looks like in the morning." Oladi replied, smirking at the half-orc.

Zarud reacted as she knew he would, and hurled a slew of curses her way- much to Derrik, Sulika, and Faeyra's amusement.

Their laughter allowed everyone to relax a little more.

A sense of humor goes a long way towards easing people's fears; Aldritch knew it, Max knew it, and whether or not Derrik and Zarud realized it, they'd just helped Aldritch overcome his first hurdle of the day.

"Alright. Everyone load up- We've wasted enough time as it is." Max yelled and started ushering people into the compartment; It took a few minutes to get everyone inside, and a couple more to show them how to fasten their seatbelts in case of emergency.

Once everyone was settled into their seats, Max sealed the compartment door behind them and activated the defensive wards: three paper-thin rectangular barriers appeared, one on top of the other, before merging into a single, more powerful barrier and fading from view.

Aldritch saw the capsule mentioned in the Encyclopedia of the Great Sage start to form in the air above the Kraken's head.

Though it started as something no larger than a bag of flour, it quickly swelled until it was the size of a small building- reaching its full size in only two minutes.

Once it was big enough, Sophia lifted her body off the dock with her tentacles, while mentally commanding the capsule to fall over the tip of her head. The capsule obeyed, dropping down and covering all of her body, save for her tentacles- which were simply too long to fit inside it with the rest of her.

With the capsule covering her body, and her passengers safely ensconced within the compartment, Sophia was finally ready to depart.

She lifted body a few into the air- then pulled on the pillars with all her might. She launched herself back through the hole she'd arrived through; much to the horror, and entertainment, of those riding inside the compartment.

Aldritch calmly walked over to the edge of the hole and looked down.

He easily spotted Sophia's huge body plummeting towards the ocean some twenty-thousand feet below; her tentacles flapping violently as she barreled through layer after layer of air resistance.

Aldritch was interested in the way each of her tentacles appeared to reflect the morning sunlight as she fell.

He stepped forward, moving his left foot over the edge and prepared to follow Sophia- But something caused him to hesitate; the tingling across his skin, the goosebumps spreading across his neck and down his arms.

He recognized that feeling anywhere.

"I feel it too; Some little rascal is attempting to call us out for that display earlier. And did you notice the clerics? How they responded to my mana?"

"I did. It looked like they were possessed by something."

"More like someone, and since they didn't die on the spot, I'm assuming they were possessed by the gods they serve… Aldritch, now that their attention is on us, we'll need to be more careful. We don't know what kind of beings we're dealing with; they might not be pleased with my presence in their world."

"How unfortunate." Following his instincts, Aldritch turned his head towards the city: After centuries of following his instincts, Aldritch was pretty good at spotting the people targeting him.

His eyes landed on the clock tower near the center of the city… and he smiled at the presence he sensed behind that broken clock-face.

Aldritch slightly dipped his head in greeting towards the watcher and stepped off the edge, falling through the hole and out of the opening.

No matter what they wanted, he would deal with it in his own time.