NOVEL NEXT 2.25: Alternatives
Knowing the fight behind him was over with, Ethan stared at the dead armored man as he maintained the flames around his forearm. The fire was helping with the wound he'd received. Already, the bone had disappeared below the freshly healed tissue and thankfully, [Child of Flames] was helping with the pain. But he could still sense something else lingering.
It must be the gray magic that had been around the axes. The third one's magic, he thought, casting [Detect Life] once more. Nothing showed, as expected, so he glanced back toward the others. They were crowding around the crumpled form of the once-winged man, and he was gratified to see he was still alive. Weapons were pointed at his neck and chest, and Amanda was standing in front of him, a few yards back, hands crossed. To her side, Audrey was warily eying her surroundings, likely thinking of the invisible, curse-magic user, and creeping around the bloodied man, Ember was circling, ears flattened.
Ethan had rarely seen her that murderous. He could practically feel the dark rage emanating out of the link they shared. She really was ready to tear into him.
Focusing on that connection, Ethan spoke to her.
"[Can you keep that one alive for a bit?]"
"[First Amanda. Now you. Why? We're not leaving this one alive. He's mine,]" said Ember, voice miffed.
Ethan blinked, a bit taken aback.
"[He must have really gotten under your skin, huh? Don't worry, he's going down. Just wait a bit so he can point us to their settlement. The curse bastard ran, I'm pretty sure.]"
Ember's answer came a few seconds later, tone a little softer. Though there was still plenty of anger there. "[Fine. Sorry. But I get to kill him when he's done talking.]"
Ethan had nothing to say to that. Instead, he frowned down at his arm. Unlike a venom or a poison, there were no physical symptoms he could sense aside from the dull, muted pain pulsing up his limb as his flesh knit itself back. But there was something else. Like a cold discomfort that wanted to creep itself up his shoulder and into the rest of him. It almost felt like a little nasty critter, trying to claw itself up to his ear to whisper into his mind and dig its claws into his back, but the flames kept it at bay, and with every second that went by, the cold influence burnt away.
A curse? Ember did mention curse magic earlier…
The hooded man must have been some sort of support mage. Someone who'd try to debuff and afflict his opponent, softening and weakening them for his comrades to finish. Whatever had been on those axes had likely been nasty, but just like the paralysis magic, it had failed to really take hold in Ethan. Maybe it was his high defensive stats and abilities. Maybe it was the scales that could weaken the magic that tried to latch on to him. Or maybe the magic needed more hits to really affect him. Either way, it hadn't worked.
Not expecting it to do much, he cast [Detect Life] again and got nothing. Ethan didn't know how useful it'd be to run around spamming the spell, trying to find the man. With his invisibility and stealth, he could already be miles away.
Or could he be waiting for us in the settlement? Ethan thought, frowning. "Wait… no." That was probably not possible, he realized, relieved. He had gotten an alert from the pylon for the intruders, and he'd bet it could still detect if someone had stealthed their way in. At least, he hoped. And if not, one of the upgrades to the pylon's modules should help with that.
I'll do some rounds with [Detect Life] in the town. Make sure no one's creeping about, he thought as his eyes fell back toward the dead man. Sighing, he approached and harvested the fragments. There was nothing else to pick up, unfortunately, so he turned and headed toward the others, bringing up his notifications as he walked.
You have defeated [Human (II) - Level 71]
You have reached Level 75. 1 stat point awarded.
Shardpurse: 234 fragments collected.
This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.
468 fragments transferred to New Dawn
Right. Should have plenty of fragments in the pylon to get at least one module upgraded. Plus, we did get access to two new ones that I should explore thanks to the tier upgrade. After that, a small nap, then I take care of my own stuff, he thought as he got in range to hear Amanda's voice.
The woman laughed, as if she'd been just told a joke. "Please, mister Warren. As you have said yourself, you've gambled, and you've lost. But this loss doesn't need to be so severe. Tell us what we need to know. No lies, this time. And we can look into… alternatives to what our feline friend here wants to do with you."
"He dies," growled Ember, baring her elongated teeth as an unsettling growl escaped her throat. Though through his link with her, he felt her anger had mellowed a bit. She was playing into the role, leaning into it so that Amanda could get the details out of the man.
"Or he answers our questions, stops lying, and offers reparations," repeated Amanda, giving Ember an annoyed look. All around, the others were a little spread out, watching their surroundings, just in case the mage popped back up.
The man, now seated but barely holding on, tilted his head up. "And what? You'll give me a second chance? You don't trust me. You'll never trust me," he spat, and for a moment, there was a deep, hateful rage in his flitted eyes, but then, the anger cracked, and he laughed, derisively.
Ethan couldn't tell if he was laughing at them or at himself.
From his angle of approach, Ethan noted the serene, confident expression of Amanda, and the glowing yellow stare she had fixed on the man. She looked so genuine it might sound like she was actually offering him a way out. But Ethan frankly doubted that. For more than one reason, which the seated, hunched man also pointed out, he laughed in a wheezy, halting manner.
"Alternatives…" he repeated. "Come on, little miss. We both knew that ain't happening. What? You're going to find me a cell and post guards to watch over me? I don't think you're stupid enough to take that kind of risk. There aren't prisons for people like us. Not yet, at least. I'm dead. And if she doesn't get me first, then you own little monster will. Hello, my good sir. How do you do?"
The man turned to him, smiling with bloodied teeth, and he grimaced from the gesture. His neck, face, and most of his body were covered with raw, glistening burns, and Ethan nearly winced himself, trying to imagine how painful that'd be.
But that's where his empathy ran out. The man had tried to kidnap Ember and Amanda. And when he was losing, he'd called on the help of the other two. As far as Ethan was concerned, just like Amanda had said, they gambled and lost. And now they had to take their losses.
"Doesn't look like he's got any intention of helping, so let's make this short," Ethan said, turning to Amanda. "Can you actually tell when someone's lying?"
Amanda blinked, and Ethan believed this was the first time he was seeing her slitted, yellow eyes.
I actually should look into that. Something that'd help against stealth and invisibility, he thought.
Amanda seemed to think his question through, and her brows furrowed, realizing he was going somewhere with his inquiry. But whether she figured it out or not, she gave him a nod. "I have my means. But yes, I believe I can."
Ethan gave her a nod, then his eyes flicked back to the man. "Then let's move on from here. I captured two hostiles from the Union. They're back in Wyldrock. Our new settlement. I bet they'd know where this one's people are."
A wheezing laugh burst out of the burnt and bleeding man. "And they call us bloodthirsty," he said, his face contorting with mirth and pain. "I wonder if this is the first official war of this new world. Your motley crew against the Union and the Brotherhood. Tell you what, I'll tell you all that you need to know. But I'd like to watch how your town burns to ashes. How about that for a deal?"
Ethan looked around at the others, ignoring the man's taunt. "I can finish here with Ember," he offered. While he'd seen his fair share of deaths, he felt the others might still struggle with such. But to their credit, no one budged. And none of their faces faltered.
"His spells could have killed any of us, if it wasn't for Audrey and Amanda," Amelie said, her dagger still in hand as she healed a nasty burn on her sister' shoulder and neck. Audrey looked like she was barely feeling it. Still, she threw her shield at the man's feet, and the gaping mess of twisted and torn metal could be seen at its edge.
"When he figured he couldn't win alone, he called for help. And that help did this," she said, kicking the edge of her shield. "Any of us could have died from this. And I barely deflected it. So I'm good."
Ember glanced around, looking if anybody else was going to intervene, then she looked up at Ethan as the man's wheezing, maddened laugh rang in the quiet, smoldering and churned stretch of street they were standing on, and Ethan nodded to her.
"[Make it quick,]" he told her.