Chapter Three Hundred and Forty-Eight - Onto the River and Through the Woods

Chapter Three Hundred and Forty-Eight - Onto the River and Through the Woods

Chapter Three Hundred and Forty-Eight - Onto the River and Through the Woods

With Admiral Oranges assent, Caprica and I figured out a formation that our fleet could take as we travelled. The Beaver Cleaver as the fleets flagship, got to sit pretty in the middle of the formation, with the slightly-faster Featherfall ahead, and the Lunch Box behind. The idea was that we could create an area with less pressure for the Lunch Box to keep pace with us.

The two sylph frigates kept pace on either side of the formation. They were the best-armed ships in our fleet and could outpace even the Featherfall when they pushed themselves a little.

The Royal Pride split from the formation relatively early on. It was going to head west, then circle north and wait for Capricas signal to fly past the place where we suspected the pirates to be. That was our big decoy.

As for us, our heading was north-northwest which had us fighting a cool wind from the northeast.

The first day of the trip was simple enough. After a few hours of figuring out optimal speeds and getting used to flying in a formation, we made good progress towards our ultimate destination.

As night fell, the air grew colder and I found myself switching out from behind the wheel to let Clive have a turn, though I made sure to bring him a warm blanket because I didnt need him catching a cold.

When it became too dark to see, we slowed down, descended, and came to a stop above an area barren of any sort of grass or shrubbery.

According to Calamity, that was because of the Greenstone. We werent in the area of its effect, but we were close enough that there wasnt anything growing here. It was safe to stay, but not for a long time.

I was a little worried about that, so I kept my Cleaning aura up to make sure the ship stayed clean. It was surprisingly hard to do that though, and after asking around, Amaryllis conducted a test with some spells that showed that the mana in the area was much, much lower than it should have been.

Maybe that explained why nothing was alive around here?

It didnt really matter. The next morning saw us pulling up our anchors and taking to the skies once more under Grand Admiral Oranges careful watch. If everything went well, we would be reaching the Snowlands a few hours before nightfall, hopefully a good ways east of where the pirates were located.

Thats when I got a pleasant surprise.

Congratulations! Through repeated actions your Captaining skill has improved and is now eligible for rank up!

Rank D is a Free Rank!

That was a heck of a boost! I wouldnt say no to it, especially not now that we were working with so many other ships.

It gave me a bit of pep to my step to know that I was improving, and I worked extra hard to keep everything in tip-top condition. It wasnt too hard though. The sylph troops aboard the Beaver were already on their best behaviour since they were sharing a ship with a princess and a paladin.

The day passed surprisingly quickly. There was a million-and-one things to take care of, but I still had a few moments to take in the scenery as we continued flying on. There was something nice about the smell of spent fuel in the crisp-cold air. The world below was spread out far and wide, huge plains eventually giving way to old-growth forests.

The biggest change though, happened when we reached a sheer cliff-side. It was like the whole world was split apart, with a sheer wall of stone rising up a hundred metres off the ground. Above that rise was another forest, but this one was different to the one below.

The trees were much larger around, and significantly taller. They reminded me of maple trees on a scale that dwarfed even a redwood, and I ended up ordering us to climb a bit higher to avoid brushing too close to their tops, even if that meant dealing with slightly thinner air.

It was colder here too. Some of the trees further north had brushes of snow on their topmost leaves, and the ground I could spy between them was covered in a white blanket protected from the sun by the canopy formed by the trees.

The pirates should be to the west of here, Caprica said. She had a clipboard out, with a map of the region on it. If they have as many ships as we think, then theyll need a place to dock them, and the only place like that nearby is the Lightning Watch.

What is that? I asked.

Its an old Snowlander keep. From what I remember of their history, they used to live to the north of here, but they moved into these woods at some point. Then, for some reason, they moved westward and settled their capital near the Bay of Storms.

But we didnt see anything.

Not even a squirrel or a wild bird.

In fact, now that I was paying attention, the forest was eerily quiet once we were far enough from the river that the murmuring of the water was far enough back that I couldnt hear it anymore.

Where are all the little beasties? I asked.

Hibernating? Awen suggested.

I shook my head. Not cold enough for that.

Itll get even colder? Awen asked, aghast.

Broccolis right, theres nothing but plant life around. And insects, Amaryllis said. She swatted a few little bugs away with a sweep of her wings. Nothing bigger than a beetle.

Could it be that Greenstone thing? I asked.

Calamity, who was in the group right behind us, spoke up. I doubt it. The Greenstones effect doesnt go that far, nor in this direction, I dont think.

Do you know this area? I asked.

Nah, sorry. If I knew nyad drag us here Id have asked around a bit more. Heard some stories, but mostly about how the forest is filled with monsters and ancient dungeons.

Oh, I said.

Monsters and ancient dungeons. Neither sounded good at the moment. We didnt have time to go exploring a dungeon. Especially not an older one, which would undoubtedly have more floors and more dangerous challenges.

I imagined that a dungeon in a forest like this, so far from anything, might have gone unchallenged for a very, very long time.

My ears twitched around, and I felt the fine hairs on the back of my neck rising. Was something watching us? I looked around, and noticed some of the soldiers doing the same.

At the very front, Bastion raised a hand and made a few quick gestures.

Quiet, Caprica muttered for our benefit.

The soldiers carefully shifted, hands casually alighting on hilts and shield arms moving as if to make sure they were limber and ready to move. Any chatter down the line, which wasnt much to begin with because they were professionals, died down to nothing at all.

We didnt stop moving though, not until something stumbled out ahead of us and we came to a stop without anyone communicating that we should.

One of the scouts returned, covered in sweat, with a gash on his forehead and his wings buzzing loudly in the quiet as he came for a hard landing before the group. Sir, he gasped.

Report, Bastion ordered.

Spiders, sir. Big ones.

***