Grimoire Bound

by Jeff Sproul

The state of the ship's hull was still in flux since Keldara wasn't cooperating, so Verun focused his attention on enhancements for the weaponry on board: balista, mage-cannons, net-cannons, and a long-range mortar.

  Despite the small size of the ship in comparison to that of the merchant vessel that Chaxin had been on previously, Nessa's ship, the Macidna, was loaded for war. Or at least, survival.

  Onboard, Chaxin learned of a woman who was both a leatherworker and a tinkerer. Her name was Nathi, and she was an almost frail looking woman, but had an intense gaze in her eyes. She had dirty blonde hair to her shoulders, and her arms and clothes were almost always covered in soot. Unlike most of the crew, she spent most of her time on perfecting armor, repairing armor, or messing around with mechanical constructs and contraptions. It was her and Kem's know-how that managed to construct the bindlet device that they used on missions to signal each other.

  Now that Chaxin had a set of weapons he was comfortable with, he paid the leatherworking woman a visit. Through a trade involving one of the soul crystals he'd acquired, she crafted him a belt along with a scabbard for the saber. On the belt, she placed a metal hook for him to securely hang the mage-caster. She also made him a pouch and gave him an initial supplement of bullets for his saber.

  As part of his training with Tamos, he'd learned that the magic required to fire the gun-mechanism on the saber cost a little more mana than it would to encase a bolt with fire, but the result was more damaging, even if it was louder. With the two weapons and the gear he had acquired, he was going to be able to deal with far more situations than what he had to work with when he was in Kamber.

  The last thing Chaxin asked for was his own leather armor. Tamos was willing to let him borrow some to train with, but wasn't going to let him take it off the ship. It cost another of his soul crystals, but Nathi hooked him up with some dark leather armor that provided decent resistance to attacks, both melee and ranged. It wasn't going to stop many arrows or bolts, but it was far better than mere cloth. The main benefit, as Nathi described it, was that the dark leather material was made of a strong creature from Jari, and that it was easily enchanted with stronger magics.

  All in all, Chaxin replaced his cloth pants with dark brown leather ones and traded his tunic for one that was between gray and black. His leather chest armor fit over it. He had the quiver from before, as well as the new belt that Nathi had made for him. The boots he'd found were good enough to keep as well.

  Chaxin stood in front of a smudged mirror in Nathi's quarters. He turned from side to side and checked himself out, unable to keep from smiling.

  Nathi was at one of her desks, staring at him with a lifted brow. "Alright, alright, you've looked long enough. Now git. I got work to do. Go get pummeled by Tamos some more. He says it's the most fun he's had in weeks."

  Thus, Chaxin's training continued as the days at sea went on.

  Between training with Tamos, working with Nathi to get his gear made, and conversing with the crew to learn everything he could so much that there wasn't time to ask when he'd been alive before, the days slipped by.

  When the continent of Kajura—home to Kamber and Grittin—was finally spotted, Chaxin had reached level fifteen. According to Tamos, most new faces reached twenty in about a month. Usually, a new arrival would team with a group of more seasoned adventurers and take things safe, occasionally scoring hits or dealing with lesser monsters. Chaxin had been given a faster-paced crash course in the five days it took them to reach the shores just beyond Kamber. Chaxin had wanted to hit level twenty to better round off his stats, but Tamos insisted that hitting fifteen in five days of nonstop training was a feat all on its own.

  As the Macidna drew closer to the shore and prepared to lay anchor off the coast, Chaxin checked his stats in the grimoire one last time.

  -

  Chaxin

  Human

  Level: 15

  Health: 100%

  Mana: 100%

  Stamina: 90%

  Delirium: 3%

  -

  Strength: 1

  Dexterity: 7

  Mind: 3

  Toughness: 4

  Resistances: None

  -

  After a cursory glance, everything looked good. He was level fifteen, which was a step up from when he'd been in Kamber before. According to Tamos, level twenty-five was where it became more difficult to gain experience, so most of the populace were somewhere between twenty-five and fifty, since if you didn't continue to build your skills and use them every day, your experience would regress.

  Chaxin had been hoping to grow his dexterity to ten, or at least get toughness to five, but… something appeared off about the layout of his stats.

  Upon taking a second look, he noticed that there was something new.

  "Delirium?" he whispered. "At three percent?" He stared at the word, then looked over his shoulder. There was no one directly around to ask about it, and everyone was busy preparing for their departure.

  His gaze returned to the word. He stared at it a few moments. How long had it been there? Had he missed seeing it since he'd been on the ship? That old man back in Kamber hadn't mentioned anything about it.

  Admittedly, since he'd been alive again, he'd only looked quickly at the level and then the stats below.

  Well, it was only at three percent. Whatever it was, it surely wasn't serious. He'd have to question someone about it later, when things quieted down.

  Chapter 26: The Return

  Once more, Chaxin found himself standing on the beach just beyond the abandoned village. He'd been the last one off the rowboat, and he'd felt apprehensive once they landed.

  "So that's what became of the Scalli," Nessa murmured to herself as she looked at the dilapidated ship, which appeared even more rundown than when Chaxin had last glimpsed it. There were multiple cracks and holes in the side, as if people had broken through to plunder whatever might've been left of its contents. "We'll have to check it on our way back to see if there's anything worthwhile still in there. No rush right now."

  Verun stretched his arms. On his belt, he had a contraption connected with chains, holding the tome of spells he'd looted from his friend's home back in Trillin.

  Nessa scanned the abandoned village, nostrils flaring.

  "What is that smell?" Tamos murmured as his face scrunched.

  "Didn't smell like this before," said Chaxin. The strange odor was as if death and disease were all around them, but nothing looked out of the ordinary. "When was the last time any of you were here?" he wondered, as he hadn't realized until now that none of them might've even stepped foot on these shores.

  "Was supposed to be here almost ten years ago," said Nessa. "But I've never come ashore."

  "Neither have I," said Tamos.

  "Same," said a man whose name was Grigor. He was covered head to toe in leather armor and cloth. His face was wrapped in a turban, and only his eyes could be seen. According to Tamos, the man suffered from a malady known as gray-touched, short for 'Graymos-touched.' His skin had darkened to a strange grayish pallor, and it only got worse if he was in the direct light coming down from the Graymos. Apparently, days like today, where the sky was covered in clouds, weren’t so bad. Only at nighttime did he ever take off his turban. If left unchecked, his flesh would fully succumb to a necrotizing effect and he would lose his sanity as the pain wracked his mind. Why such a man would be a crewmember on the Macidna, or even on their current expedition, Chaxin wasn't sure. He could only guess that the man missed being active. The disease that afflicted him hadn't been prevalent his whole life, and had only sprung up the last few years. Apparently, it was rare, but lately, more and more were becoming afflicted.

  "I haven't been to this shore, but I've been to Grittin briefly," said Verun.

  "Looks like you're the guide," said Nessa. "Wish we had some horses, but I'm sure it's not a long walk to Kamber, right? We'll see if they have any goods we can trade for. If you don't find anything worth staying for, we
'd be happy to welcome you to the crew if you pull your weight." She cleared her throat and spit on the sand. "But for now, let's get off this awful beach."

  Nessa, Tamos, and Grigor began walking for the abandoned village.

  Chaxin turned his attention in the direction of the mausoleum he'd first appeared in. He couldn't see it too well due to the angle it had been constructed into the rocks. He wanted to check and see if it had been further demolished by Lord Karnith's actions, but he supposed it didn't matter. He and Kaiz had ensured that there was no power left in it.

  He joined Verun's side and followed the others.

  In the corner of Chaxin's eye, he spotted movement. He glanced to the side, and at first, he wasn't sure what he was seeing. Deep shadows moved in rapidly, as if clouds were rolling in swiftly to obscure the daylight of the Graymos.

  But there was already full cloud cover overhead.

  Chaxin tilted his head, and simultaneously, the rest of the group looked up as well, as they'd all noticed the rapidly encroaching shadows.

  A massive form moved above the clouds. Easily the size of a village or city.

  "What is that?" asked Grigor gruffly. "A storm?"

  "A storm above the clouds? Moving that fast?" asked Tamos.

  "I don't have a good feeling about this," said Verun.

  The form above the clouds seemed to shift and writhe on the outskirts of its shape. The darkness reached their group of five, and they were cast in darkness, as if night was almost upon them. More and more of the dark encompassed the surrounding region, making it increasingly hard to see.

  "Get to the village," said Nessa. "Run!"

  Without complaint, Tamos and Grigor began running, with Chaxin and Verun on their heels. Nessa was at the center of the group as they dashed for the nearest buildings.

  "Why are we running?" asked Chaxin. "Do you know what that is up there? Are we in danger?"

  Nessa's arms pumped as her boots crunched in the sand. "If it's a storm, we should find shelter! If it's not a storm, then we definitely need to find shelter!"

  "What about the ship?" asked Grigor.

  "The ship is probably safer than we are right now!" said Nessa. "Just run! Get to the closest hovel with a roof!"

  Despite their urgency, it took a couple minutes to reach the nearest and most intact structure, which still looked as though it might fall apart around them.

  Tamos was the first to rush through the already open doorway. The door itself was nowhere to be found. Nessa and Grigor followed after, with Chaxin and Verun right behind.

  Their chests pumped as they quickly took account of their surroundings in the even more dismal hovel in the abandoned village. The wood was mold-ridden, rotten, bug infested. The stench of decay was even more prevalent inside. But it provided a roof over their heads.

  Tamos kept to the wall near the doorway and peered up and out, looking to the sky.

  Grigor moved to one of the broken windows and looked up as well.

  The shape above the clouds was covering the entire region in darkness, blocking out most of the light from the Graymos.

  It was then that Tamos squinted, looking far into the distance. "I can see the edge of it. It's like it's, I don't know, writhing or moving in place. But it's not progressing further, as far as I can tell. It's as if it's stopped above the region."

  "Stopped?" asked Nessa, looking to him.

  "That's what it looks like," said Tamos. "Unless my eyes are playing tricks on me."

  "Doesn't seem to be leaving," said Grigor. His hands rested on the matte wood of the window sill. "Damndest storm I've ever seen."

  Chaxin looked between the members of the crew, then glanced to Verun.

  Verun's eyes were wide and his hands grasped the sides of his head, his gaze trembling as he stared at the doorway.

  "Verun?" Chaxin asked in a low tone.

  Nessa crept to the other side of the doorway so she could watch the strange above-the-clouds form.

  Chaxin stepped closer to Verun, who hadn't responded to his name. "Verun? Are you alright?"

  "Which is it?" Verun whispered. "There are so many. Which has come?"

  "Which what?" asked Chaxin, keeping his voice low. "What are you talking about? The thing above?"

  Verun didn't appear to be listening to Chaxin. "Nameth'na?" Verun uttered the word ever so softly, as if he was afraid to even speak it. "Or something else? Why has it come? What does it want? What's its purpose?"

  Chaxin grabbed Verun's shoulders and shook them. "Verun!" he said in a hushed but urgent tone.

  The physical jostling broke Verun from his enigmatic stupor. He blinked rapidly and looked to Chaxin. "Chaxin?" he spoke, as if he didn't recognize him, or that he was confused to see him.

  "Yeah, it's me," said Chaxin, giving the older man a strange look. "What the hell is up with you?"

  Verun took in a deep breath and shook his head. "I'm sorry, I seem to have… lost a bit of control over my faculties. I… I'm better, apologies."

  Now Chaxin was the one with wide eyes, as he had no idea what had been happening to Verun. "Do you know what's above us? You were talking about it, weren't you?"

  Verun glanced up to the ceiling, then down to Chaxin. "I do not," he said. "I don't think it's a storm. But I don't think we're in any danger."

  Chaxin shook his head. "You were practically in a panic a moment ago!"

  Verun held a hand up to give Chaxin pause. "I lost my grip, but I'm better. We are in no danger from what's above. Regardless of what it is, it has no concern for us. Of that much I'm certain."

  "You're talking as if you know what's up there, and that it's something that has intelligence," said Chaxin.

  "Verun looked into Chaxin's eyes. "Of a fashion," he answered.

  "What are you two mumbling about?" asked Nessa, her attention now drawn to them, but their hushed voices made it difficult for her to discern what was being discussed.

  "Nothing, nothing," said Verun, who stepped away and walked towards the doorway.

  "Looks like it's getting lighter outside," said Grigor. "The outskirts of the shape seem to be getting smaller. Is it disappearing?"

  "Maybe it's shrinking, and it really was a storm? A strange moving storm," said Tamos.

  Verun cleared his throat. "Or it's returning up into the Graymos."

  Nessa looked to Verun and lifted an eyebrow. "As in… back to the Graymos? Like, it's from there?"

  "Perhaps," said Verun. "I can't be certain, as I can't see it through the clouds. That's all I can—"

  "Agh!" came a gurgling cry from Grigor's side of the room.

  Everyone turned in time to see two segmented chitinous legs impaling Grigor's torso. They bent at the ends, and as Grigor grabbed for his sword, he was hoisted up out of the window.

  "Grigor!" Nessa shouted, pulling her augmented saber from its sheath. She rushed to the window and looked out. Her head whipped around, but she didn't see anything. Then, she tilted and looked up, just in time to see Grigor's feet disappearing into a window on the second floor. She turned to the others. "Second floor!"

  "It looked like Keldara's spider legs!" said Chaxin.

  "I know! But there's no way she got free!" said Nessa.

  "There's no stairs!" Tamos yelled, looking all around, not seeing even a ladder.

  "Check outside!" Nessa yelled.

  "Lightning magic, lightning magic," Verun muttered as he grabbed his tome of spells and flipped through it rapidly, having seen how effective lightning had been on Keldara.

  Tamos had just reached the doorway when a creak and groan of wood sounded from above them.

  There was a muffled yell from above, and then the sound of cracking wood as the ceiling beneath the second floor collapsed.

  The center of the ceiling caved in, smashing against the floor and covering it with dust and debris. Grigor's body fell through the rotting wood, followed by a chitinous creature that closely resembled some sort of arachnid. It was as tall as any of them and had a glis
tening black exoskeleton and four flaps for a maw, with a single fang at the end of each. The arachnid's limbs still pierced Grigor's body. The monster faced the others of the group and let out a shrill hiss. Even though it had no discernable eyes, it seemed to know where they were.

  Three more arachnids fell from the upper floor and landed amongst them. Without warning, their front set of legs rose and jabbed at their nearest targets.

  Nessa, being at the window, was assailed by one of the creatures. But she'd been quick to pull her saber and with a swing, deflected the incoming strikes, sending the stabbing appendages into the nearby wood. With a flick of her wrist and a tight grip, she lined up the barrel at the hilt of her saber and fired off a loud shot, right in the open maw of the attacking creature.

  The monster shrieked and recoiled, flailing side to side with ichor pouring from a smoldering hole in its mouth.

  One of the other arachnids assailed Tamos. Its limbs swiped at him rapidly. He managed to dodge back to avoid a few, but all the dust and debris in the air was making it hard to see and even breathe. One of the sharp legs cut his arm, causing it to bleed profusely. He grunted and hissed from the pain, but managed to grab his own saber and strike at the monster, only for it to rear back and avoid it.

  The last spider went right for Verun. He hadn't had the time he needed to find an appropriate spell and looked up in horror as the large spider came at him with raised legs.

  A flicker of burning flame shot through the air, and a fiery bolt smacked into the man-sized section just behind the spider's face.

  The spider's attack was abated, causing it to twist and turn and swipe at its face to knock the burning bolt away.

  In the next moment, the sound of another gunshot pierced the air, and a blazing bullet seared the spider's body. It shrieked and hissed, its sharp legs clacking and cracking the wood further. In its frenzy, it backed up and smacked into the arachnid attacking Tamos.

  The momentary respite of the flailing arachnids allowed Tamos to gain his bearings and better ready his saber.

  Chaxin loaded another bolt and dropped another bullet into the barrel of the chamber on the saber. With his recent training, he was better prepared to pull off more rune magic triggers on his mage-caster and saber, but he knew he still had to manage his mana carefully.