Chapter Six Hundred and Five – Moving House

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Chapter Six Hundred and Five - Moving House

Ginger exploded.

The moment the last words were out of her mouth, the facsimile burst apart, Evil Roots shooting out in every direction.

I blasted Cleaning magic right back at her, and when it struck the flying bits of facsimile, it dissolved them. The wave of Cleaning magic continued, enveloping the main body of her, turning her to dust even as she laughed. "See you around, cutie!" she said before my Cleaning magic washed over her entirely and melted the rest of the monster away.

Ding! You have cleansed Plant Facsimile, level 3!

I lowered my hand, then spun around to look at the keep. The root monsters were falling out of the sky, even that massive one. I saw some blurs as a pair of Black Avatars leapt off the monster while its two halves literally came apart at the seam.

Ding! You have Participated in the destruction of Phayrpybara, Avatar of Roots, level 30!

Bing Bong! Congratulations, your Wonderlander class has reached level 8!

Mana +5

Flexibility +5

You have gained: One Class Point

You have gained: One Class Skill Slot

The battle was won.

But not in a clean way. The Keep was slowly, very slowly, sinking below us. I didn't think we were rising, not with our balloon only half repaired--the Black Avatar's Keep seemed to be losing altitude.

First things first.

"Clive! Bring us around to clear out the rest of the roots."

"Aye, Captain, bringing us around."

The Beaver slowly turned to circle around the Keep, and I took a moment to regather my strength.

Overhead, the rain began to taper off as the storm continued disintegrating, letting shafts of winter sunlight dance through the clouds.

Far beneath us, the hulks of the plant monsters smashed into the sea, kicking up huge fountains of white foam that glittered against the dark blue.

Amaryllis walked over. "We need to talk about whatever that thing was. And what it, she, said."

"...Yeah," I agreed, and I sounded a bit reluctant, even to myself. Conquering the planet? Treating people like weeds? That was... I didn't even want to think about it.

The first Evil Roots came into range, and I swept a Cleaning laser across them. Black ash drifted away in the wind. Amaryllis sighed. "But that can wait. I need to get my thoughts in order."

"Thanks."

A staccato chopping sound echoed out as we rounded the Keep. There was a massive gash in the stonework, and chips of root were arcing out of it, falling down toward the sea.

Those root bits were dead... right?

Well, nothing I could be done about it at this point. The Beaver came up alongside the gash and I flooded it with Cleaning magic.

When the pretty lights cleared up, I saw the Avatar with the axe standing amidst the ruble inside the gash, practically sparkling with cleanliness. She gave me a wave, then disappeared into the Keep.

There was a series of loud bangs.

Amaryllis and I glanced at one another.

A moment later, she reappeared, dragging a twisted mass of roots about as big as a car. Shards of metal and glass were embedded in it. I didn't need any instructions. I washed the whole thing down with Cleaning.

Quest Complete!

The world thanks you for your sacrifice!

Quest Update!

Pruning the Evil

Evil Roots Remain! Dungeons across Dirt are Infected! Destroy them!

"The quest updated," I said.

Amaryllis nodded.

"Clive, take us higher, give us a view of the whole Keep."

I waved goodbye to the axe... vatar? Fortunately, we ascended out of her sight before I could accidentally say that out loud.

"Is it just me," I said instead. "Or does it seem like the Keep is losing altitude?"

Amaryllis gave a hesitant nod. "I ... was thinking the same."

Avatars were starting to move all over the Keep. They did not seem relaxed.

"Clive!" I called out. "The Keep might be sinking, and we may need to help them evacuate!" As he acknowledged by order, I turned back to Amaryllis. "Prepare some chains and ropes. Maybe we can help the Keep stay afloat."

Pursing her lips, she responded, "I don't think we have the lift capability to even shift something half as heavy as the keep."

"But can we help, even a little?" I asked.

She tsked. "Well, I guess it can't hurt."

"Then we try," I replied. I needed some time to figure things out as well, but that could wait. The Beaver wheeled around. The crew up above patching our balloon came down, which meant that we now had spare people to take care of the large hole in the deck left behind by the seedpod. I looked down and winced. I could see into my bedroom and Caprica's room, as well as the corridor down below.

Fortunately, it had only hit the bedrooms. The other side of the ship had materials and fuel and all sorts of things that we didn't want damaged. Not that I wasn't a little upset at the moment. It's just that it could have been worse.

For now... I nodded as Steve and Oda grabbed small hatchets and started to cut up the edges of the hole while others brought planks over to cover the space.

I had a few minutes to check in on Calamity. He was able to move, but I think the effect of the toxins seemed to be lingering, even after cleaning -- thankfully he didn't seem to be getting worse, though. If that was the worst of the injuries amongst my friends, then maybe I could count myself lucky.

It didn't feel like a particularly lucky kind of day.

We came around above the keep, and then tossed some ropes down. The Black Avatars below caught on soon enough, and the Beaver was tied down to the keep itself. We were soon being dragged down, though it wasn't terribly quick. Still, I had Clive kick our gravity engine up to max power. It might be enough to help. At least, I hoped it would.

"Captain, we have someone asking to come aboard," Bastion said from off to the side.

I jogged over, then looked down. Tristain was below, standing with his head tilted back to see us. He raised an arm and waved. "Ah, come aboard!" I called down.

Tristain folded his legs, then leapt. I was pretty sure he didn't have a fighter class. He struck me as more of a scholar and maybe a wizard. I supposed after enough levels, it didn't matter so much, because his leap sent him zipping up to stand on the railing.

"Captain Bunch," he said with a grave nod.

"Tristain," I replied. "Is everyone alright?" I asked.

"No injuries that will last," he said. "I appreciate you asking. That was... a tougher fight than I had expected it to be. The enemy were somewhat intelligent, at least at first. But near the end, that intelligence vanished and the monsters reverted to berserk instinct, like they had been leashed, and the controller gave them free rein."

"Ah," I said. "That must have been Ginger."

"Ginger?" he asked.

I nodded, then gestured to the hole in the deck. "One of the root... things attacked. It created something called a facsimile? It started at level one and by the time I, ah, Cleaned it away, it hit level three. It could talk. I think it was remote-controlled."

"Remote-controlled?" Tristain asked. "Interesting. I presume from its ability to speak that it was intelligent?"

"Yup!" I said. "Her name was Ginger Root, and I got the sense that she was having fun? I don't think she was ever in any real danger. She seemed to know me? She knew that I was one of the people destroying her Evil Roots."

"Her Evil Roots?" he repeated with emphasis. "So, you believe that this Ginger woman is responsible?"

I nodded. "I think so? I didn't get much out of her as to why. She did same something about wanting to rule the world, and the Black Avatars being an obstace? Sorry? It wasn't a very long conversation. She did say that she was here to both talk to me and attack you. Two birds with one stone."

"Two birds with one stone," he mused. "An uncommon expression, that. I believe it's from the Trenten Flats. The Sylph say, 'Two harpy per spear.'"

Huh. It hadn't occurred to me that targeting multiple birds with a single stone might be a rare metaphor around here.

Wait. I glanced at the ropes straining to pull up the Keep. Language facts weren't really important right now. "Uh, is the Keep going to be okay?"

"Well, we had to disconnect the core," Tristain said matter-of-factly. "So, we're losing altitude. The levitation enchantments are winding down. The others are working on repairs, but at the same time, we're removing anything we don't want to lose and loading it onto our ships."

"You think the keep might crash?" I asked. The Dustbunnies! Not to mention this was the Black Avatar's home!

He hesitated, then nodded once. "There's no point in assuming otherwise. If we can reconnect the core, then that's for the best, but we should prepare for a sinking. I... would ask a favour."

"Sure," I said with a rapid nod. Anything to help!

"I don't know where you're heading next, but as long as its towards civilization, then we'd appreciate some transportation. The storm is no longer being fed mana, and it looks like it's calming already. At the current rate of descent, we have another two hours before things are too far gone."

"I see. Yeah, I mean! Of course. If you want to come aboard, or any of the other Black Avatars, then you're free to do so! We have plenty of room. As for where we're going next. Um... Amaryllis!"

Amaryllis looked up, then walked over. "Yes?" she asked.

"Where are we going next?" I asked. "Some of the Black Avatars might be coming with us, if we have to evacuate."

"I see," she said. "I suppose that makes some sense. The nearest city is... Hmm, it actually depends on how far we've travelled. I didn't exactly get time to aim at the stars last night, and the storm is misleading."

"Southerfell to the south," Tristain said. "To the east, it would be Elkensteel. North Port Salmon, and to the west Inkborough."

"Inkborough," I repeated. "Didn't we go there once?" I asked.

"No," Amaryllis said. "You're thinking of Inkwren, that's quite a ways inland. Which is closest?"

"Elkensteel," he said. "An independent city. It's where I would encourage you to go in any case, we have friends there, and some Black Avatars call the city home."

"I know of it," Amaryllis replied. "It's not too far north of Rosenbell."

I perked up at that. Rosenbell was where we went to that little tournament, and where we first met Rhawrexdee, and where I became a bun! "Is there anything we should know about Elkensteel?" I asked.

"It's the last port along the eastern shore of the Moonstruck Sea," Amaryllis said. "Goods from Pyrowalk and the Endless Swells often make their way there, eventually. They have barges along the rivers nearby that run all the way to Smoulderglen, then Walker's Rest. It's how the Nesting Kingdom receives some rare luxury goods from the west."

"I meant... other than the economy of the place?" I asked.

"Oh... in that case, I have little to say," she replied. "I don't know it that well."

Tristain chuckled. "I've been before. It's a moderately prosperous little city. Very independent. Mostly humans, but they have an interesting mix of other races living within their walls. A strong adventuring culture, a stronger maritime culture."

"That sounds nice," I said.

Amaryllis gave me a look. "You heard 'adventuring culture' and stopped listening."

"I heard the rest!" I protested. "Boats are nice."

Tristain smiled faintly. "Then Elkensteel should suit you well enough. Assuming, of course, we manage to reach it."

That sobered me up a little. I glanced over the railing. The keep was still sinking beneath us, so slowly that it was easy to pretend otherwise.

"Right," I said. "First we keep this place in the air as long as we can. Then we evacuate everyone we need to. Then Elkensteel."

And somewhere out there, Ginger was waiting.

***