Unspoken perhaps, but still present, was the additional factor of a fully tapped motivation to escape. Seeing that first Otrogon and hearing those terrible noises to the north of the ring had filled him with overwhelming adrenaline and enough fear to have outrun just about anything this side of possible.
“Having an Otrogon on our side to clear us a path through this bamboo sounds pretty good about now,” Boko said with a hum of consideration. “Melon, go back and grab us a couple, would you? Try to be quick.”
“I can’t just—that’s not funny,” Melon said and then shoved Boko forward in further protest. “You do it if it’s so easy.”
August cracked a smile at seeing her finally find her voice once more.
“Careful,” Boko said, laughing at the reaction. “August is going to get mad if I accidentally fall on him.”
“I’ll survive,” August said, “Feel free to beat him up, Melon; he’s been picking on you since before we even left.”
Melon took that as permission enough to give him another shove, and Boko let out a squawk as he was forced to catch himself with some of the nearby shoots.
“He has,” Melon said, sounding vindicated and embarrassed all at once. “I should beat you up.”
It was more than she’d said in quite a while, and that probably meant that Boko had found a lever that worked—and August didn’t mind being the fodder for a few jokes if it kept everything running smoothly. Melon squeezed past the still-reeling Boko, leaving him to fall back to the end of the group, but [Predator] told him that they were both smiling despite it all.
“August,” Kalter said, “How close are we?”
August came to a stop behind her and brought up the map—they hadn’t made it all that far, given how long it had taken them. He squinted at the lines, trying to figure out if it was halfway or not quite.
“We’re almost halfway there,” August said, leaning to the side in an attempt to see past her. “I just don’t understand why it’s growing this thick here; it’s almost as bad as it was around the ring.”
“There may be a source of water,” Boko offered. “Would that cause the change?”
“It might, but Mana continuously passing into an area has been known to accelerate plant growth,” Melon said, hesitating. “There might be an active flow in this area—although if that is the case, then there must be a system drawing on the local ambient mana.”
A system out here in the middle of all this bamboo—what would be the point? Then again, the ring had been out here, collecting dust, so maybe it wasn’t the only artifact of note in this forest.
“It’s not the ring,” August said at Kalter’s look. “We’re still an hour away at best.”
“Then it’s something else that they left behind, just like the ring,” Kalter said, “We’ll take it as well.”
“We don’t even know if there’s anything here yet,” August said, “Besides, we probably shouldn’t be going off mission, we’re on a timer, and we’re already falling behind.”
“If we’re not going to make the original meet-up time, then it might be worth settling for the detour,” Boko said, “If there’s anything out here, it could be more useful than a giant ring.”
It could just be a pond, he didn’t say, because two of them had clearly made up their minds already, and while he could probably get Melon to take his side, that would stalemate them at best.
“We’ll check it out, then head for the ring,” Kalter said, throwing another glance back. “If we’re fast, then there won’t be a problem.”
August just nodded at the words, giving his unspoken blessing, and then Kalter angled in the direction where the bamboo was denser. He let her get a few feet ahead of him to give her room to really let loose, and soon there was bamboo falling in every direction, each swing of the bone knife sheering through multiple shoots at a time. The occasional one would fall at an odd angle, coming back towards him, but it was easy enough to force it away from himself, and then Melon would deal with it by reaching above him.
For all of his desire to go straight for the ring, he was starting to get the feeling that they’d been right. The bamboo was getting so thick and tangled together that he’d have mistaken it for the area around the ring he’d fought his way through when he first woke up. Light spilled past Kalter, unfiltered by the strangling green for the first time in hours, and he was forced to shade his eyes against it in an effort to keep his sight intact. He could see a small sliver of something smooth and dark grey in the air above Kalter’s shoulder, something that might have been a massive structure towering above them all.
Kalter stepped through the gap she’d made and into the clearing, the bamboo abruptly ending in much the same way as it had surrounded the ring. August stepped through and then was forced to tilt his head up in alarm—a massive squarish box, built from smooth metal, struck out of the ground directly in front of him, only a few feet short of the surrounding bamboo. It was squat, angular, and made up of seamless planes of metal, the edges meeting without gaps, like it had been created out of a single piece of material. More than half of it was under the earth, and he couldn’t see any sign of a window, a door, or anything else to suggest what its purpose might have been.
“What is that?” August said, staring at the towering monstrosity half buried in the ground. “Is this supposed to be some kind of building?”
“It’s not a building,” Boko said as he stepped out from behind Melon. “It’s an Anemoi.”
“An Anemoi?” August said, “What the hell is that supposed to—[Analysis].”
Anemoi Model T7
A large flying vessel that is used for transporting goods across Hekaton.
“It’s a fucking airship?” August said, stunned. “Like the type that flies around in the sky—how the heck does it do that? It’s about as aerodynamic as a shoebox.”
The book one revision of Contention with the overhaul of the system is done, and it's sitting up on my Patreon in the 1$ tier; you can find it in the pinned master list post. It will stay up until it eventually becomes an ebook. It's only available in pdf for now. I'd appreciate any feedback on the new system/revised version if anyone wants to pay the gatekeeping fee to check it out.
Contention: Revised Edition - Book One.
Please remember to leave a rating and a review; it helps a lot with visibility!
If you like my writing and want to see more of it, you can find links to my original books on Elbowsnapper.com
If you want to show some support, get early access, or see my first drafts, go check out my Patreon
Love you guys, keep on keeping on!
Recent Releases:
Ameliorate: Intersect
Reroll: Falling & Shatter
Systematic Soul Sorting: Book 1 & Audiobook. Book 2(First Draft)
Seeker's Precept: The Dragon's Marble
Unspoken perhaps, but still present, was the additional factor of a fully tapped motivation to escape. Seeing that first Otrogon and hearing those terrible noises to the north of the ring had filled him with overwhelming adrenaline and enough fear to have outrun just about anything this side of possible.
“Having an Otrogon on our side to clear us a path through this bamboo sounds pretty good about now,” Boko said with a hum of consideration. “Melon, go back and grab us a couple, would you? Try to be quick.”
“I can’t just—that’s not funny,” Melon said and then shoved Boko forward in further protest. “You do it if it’s so easy.”
August cracked a smile at seeing her finally find her voice once more.
“Careful,” Boko said, laughing at the reaction. “August is going to get mad if I accidentally fall on him.”
“I’ll survive,” August said, “Feel free to beat him up, Melon; he’s been picking on you since before we even left.”
Melon took that as permission enough to give him another shove, and Boko let out a squawk as he was forced to catch himself with some of the nearby shoots.
“He has,” Melon said, sounding vindicated and embarrassed all at once. “I should beat you up.”
It was more than she’d said in quite a while, and that probably meant that Boko had found a lever that worked—and August didn’t mind being the fodder for a few jokes if it kept everything running smoothly. Melon squeezed past the still-reeling Boko, leaving him to fall back to the end of the group, but [Predator] told him that they were both smiling despite it all.
“August,” Kalter said, “How close are we?”
August came to a stop behind her and brought up the map—they hadn’t made it all that far, given how long it had taken them. He squinted at the lines, trying to figure out if it was halfway or not quite.
“We’re almost halfway there,” August said, leaning to the side in an attempt to see past her. “I just don’t understand why it’s growing this thick here; it’s almost as bad as it was around the ring.”
“There may be a source of water,” Boko offered. “Would that cause the change?”
“It might, but Mana continuously passing into an area has been known to accelerate plant growth,” Melon said, hesitating. “There might be an active flow in this area—although if that is the case, then there must be a system drawing on the local ambient mana.”
A system out here in the middle of all this bamboo—what would be the point? Then again, the ring had been out here, collecting dust, so maybe it wasn’t the only artifact of note in this forest.
“It’s not the ring,” August said at Kalter’s look. “We’re still an hour away at best.”
“Then it’s something else that they left behind, just like the ring,” Kalter said, “We’ll take it as well.”
“We don’t even know if there’s anything here yet,” August said, “Besides, we probably shouldn’t be going off mission, we’re on a timer, and we’re already falling behind.”
“If we’re not going to make the original meet-up time, then it might be worth settling for the detour,” Boko said, “If there’s anything out here, it could be more useful than a giant ring.”
It could just be a pond, he didn’t say, because two of them had clearly made up their minds already, and while he could probably get Melon to take his side, that would stalemate them at best.
“We’ll check it out, then head for the ring,” Kalter said, throwing another glance back. “If we’re fast, then there won’t be a problem.”
August just nodded at the words, giving his unspoken blessing, and then Kalter angled in the direction where the bamboo was denser. He let her get a few feet ahead of him to give her room to really let loose, and soon there was bamboo falling in every direction, each swing of the bone knife sheering through multiple shoots at a time. The occasional one would fall at an odd angle, coming back towards him, but it was easy enough to force it away from himself, and then Melon would deal with it by reaching above him.
For all of his desire to go straight for the ring, he was starting to get the feeling that they’d been right. The bamboo was getting so thick and tangled together that he’d have mistaken it for the area around the ring he’d fought his way through when he first woke up. Light spilled past Kalter, unfiltered by the strangling green for the first time in hours, and he was forced to shade his eyes against it in an effort to keep his sight intact. He could see a small sliver of something smooth and dark grey in the air above Kalter’s shoulder, something that might have been a massive structure towering above them all.
Kalter stepped through the gap she’d made and into the clearing, the bamboo abruptly ending in much the same way as it had surrounded the ring. August stepped through and then was forced to tilt his head up in alarm—a massive squarish box, built from smooth metal, struck out of the ground directly in front of him, only a few feet short of the surrounding bamboo. It was squat, angular, and made up of seamless planes of metal, the edges meeting without gaps, like it had been created out of a single piece of material. More than half of it was under the earth, and he couldn’t see any sign of a window, a door, or anything else to suggest what its purpose might have been.
“What is that?” August said, staring at the towering monstrosity half buried in the ground. “Is this supposed to be some kind of building?”
“It’s not a building,” Boko said as he stepped out from behind Melon. “It’s an Anemoi.”
“An Anemoi?” August said, “What the hell is that supposed to—[Analysis].”
Anemoi Model T7
A large flying vessel that is used for transporting goods across Hekaton.
“It’s a fucking airship?” August said, stunned. “Like the type that flies around in the sky—how the heck does it do that? It’s about as aerodynamic as a shoebox.”
The book one revision of Contention with the overhaul of the system is done, and it's sitting up on my Patreon in the 1$ tier; you can find it in the pinned master list post. It will stay up until it eventually becomes an ebook. It's only available in pdf for now. I'd appreciate any feedback on the new system/revised version if anyone wants to pay the gatekeeping fee to check it out.
Contention: Revised Edition - Book One.
Please remember to leave a rating and a review; it helps a lot with visibility!
If you like my writing and want to see more of it, you can find links to my original books on Elbowsnapper.com
If you want to show some support, get early access, or see my first drafts, go check out my Patreon
Love you guys, keep on keeping on!
Recent Releases:
Ameliorate: Intersect
Reroll: Falling & Shatter
Systematic Soul Sorting: Book 1 & Audiobook. Book 2(First Draft)
Seeker's Precept: The Dragon's Marble
