Ruinous Return

Chapter 62

There were shouts from outside the tent. Panicked shouts. Lyn jolted upright alongside Naila. She willed her armor to manifest and cover her body as she bolted outside. Ari were moving off of the beach, clearing out of their domiciles, and evacuating inland.

"What's going on?!" Naila shouted as she exited the tent and pulled on her shirt.

One of the Ari running further down the beach pointed to the East, "Invaders!"

Lyn looked at Naila, "These settlers from the Archipelago?"

She shook her head, and confusion was writ across her face. "No. They were scared off." She ran after the Ari down the beach, and Lyn followed. "What were they sailing!"

"One of the high sides!"

Lyn instantly knew the ship design. She vividly recalled seeing them coming and going from Kor's Hold in Khrelardia's wharf and dock district. Why are Free City traders invading? She put her hand on Naila's arm. "Gather the elders and find a defensive position. I'll figure out what's going on."

The Ari sailor looked at Lyn and nodded curtly, "Yes, Destroyer."

Lyn used the water tension spell from the day of travel prior, pulled Cataclysm out of its hip socket, and fit an arrow as she pulled back and let fly. Tapping her foot, she counted down until the perfect moment before teleporting away.

She stood on the waves off the eastern coast of Arin Isle. Peering at the horizon line, she could barely make out the tips of sails. Taking one more shot, she fired, teleported, and closed the distance to within five-hundred feet. There were three caravel-style ships, each with several ballistae mounted atop their decks.

Right. Amplifying my voice. "Athano i arn en-haw / bo nin / a bo nin / a i cair I cen / an leithio nin ind / a cario en-van sui rauth." She saw the air ripple in front of her as she increased the density of the air between her and the ships. She switched her tone to the draconic one and shouted in Khrelardian. "Hold! This land is under the protection of Lady Rivers, the Destroyer! Come closer, and you will suffer!"

She saw movement on the decks of the ships, and her ears picked up their language. It was Shereldian, the language of Valagonia. They were issuing orders to prepare for battle. I'll give them a moment; she thought as she crossed her arms. She shouted the same instructions in their language, to ensure there wasn't any confusion.

Ten seconds later, she spotted one of the ballistae cocking back before it was loosed at her position. She walked out of the way, and the bolt splashed into the waves next to her. "Last chance. Leave or suffer the consequences." Another two bolts launched her direction, and she sidestepped those as well. "Very well, you chose death." She pulled the string of Cataclysm's bow form back, and an arrow of lava manifested in her grip. She let loose, aiming at the ship's sails.

The lava cascaded forth and splashed against the sails, instantly catching them alight. The sound of screaming and panic hit her ears, and she started walking closer. It'll burn the ships, and they shouldn't be able to- She saw a flash of blue light and felt a jabbing pain in her side as a bolt of lightning arced from the deck of a ship. The armor did nothing against it, but thanks to the Joltlime body enhancement, she was only slightly burned. She focused her vision, and zoomed in, spotting a robed figure on the deck of the ship.

In that moment, Lyn was torn. On one hand, she didn't want to kill all these people. She just wanted to scare them off. She didn't even know what they were doing here. But on the other hand, she was also proving to the Ari that she was a force to be reckoned with and could protect them.

Plus, she had just been hit by a spell. If she didn't retaliate, what type of message would that spread? "Alright!" she shouted. "You asked for ruin and destruction. You will receive it." She pulled a regular, wooden arrow from the storage, loosed it at the ship with the robed figure, and used the Archer-hero teleportation spell.

The Duskari woman with the weird scales and horns vanished. Vinic held his breath as he incanted a spell. "En ethiel an le / thalion min / cario glam en-galu / min nin mîn / a delo na / i tharn an thio." A bolt of lightning appeared in his palm, and he held it, scanning for the woman.

"Hey," a voice said behind him. A pleasant, charming, female voice. He turned and saw the Duskari woman standing there, with an enormous sword, blazing with blue lava that dripped and began to set the deck alight. The sailors all around stopped fighting the fire, jaws wide open in shock. Vinic pointed at her and willed the spell to release. It splashed against her chest, and her vivid, snow-white hair stood on end from the static release. But she appeared unphased by the spell. "Now…tell me; why do you sail for the Arin Isle?"

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Vinic backed away slowly, whispering the same spell as he drew up his lingering mana for another lightning bolt. I only have enough mana for one more, he thought.

The captain ran over, swinging a cutlass, and the Duskari woman sliced him in half with a flick of her wrist. His top half went careening forward, and the bottom half slid to a stop in front of her. Another of the sailors also let out a war cry as he charged the woman. She didn't even bother with the sword – she stabbed her clawed hand through his torso, impaling him, before throwing the body to the side.

That scared the men enough to flee. Some dove over the edge, some made for the lifeboat at the rear of the vessel, and a few cowered in fear before their mates dragged them one way or the other. Vinic let loose the spell, right at her face. It impacted her head, and it knocked her head to a slight, backward tilt. She looked at him, and he felt her withering glare. "Stay back!" he shouted as he backed up against the rail of the ship.

She walked forward, a specter of death and mayhem. "You don't have any more mana, do you?" she asked. "Well, since you're defenseless…answer my question. Why are you heading to the Arin Isle?"

Vinic saw his life flash before his eyes as death came for him. His childhood in Shereld as the child of a prominent knight, the purges under Princess Cecily's rule, the wave of fanaticism that swept through the youth. He gulped as his mouth went dry. "We…we…"

She grabbed his shoulder and squeezed. He felt the bone pop out of place and let out a yelp of pain. "Continue."

"Ari ears," he said through clenched teeth. "Proof you killed one. 10 Silver Kestrels per pair."

The woman nodded, "I expected as much."

Vinic gulped and whimpered as he felt the sheer strength behind her simple grasp. "Are…are you going to kill me?"

The woman smirked, "I need some survivors to share word of my glory and power. Let me ask, you're a lordling? Child of a knight?"

How does she know that? Vinic nodded.

"The way you spoke gave it away," she said as if reading his mind. Something in his face must have affirmed her determination. "Good. You have some pull with nobility if I let you live." She grabbed his arm by the shoulder, "Hold out your hand." He did so and felt himself lose control of his bladder as he pissed himself.

"Please don't maim me," he begged.

A weird emotion crossed her face. She looked…like she was sorry for what she was about to do. "I have to deliver a message. You will carry that message for me." She brought the sword down on his wrist, and he screamed from the pain. The stump was seared shut by the lava blade, and he felt his grip on consciousness fading. Vinic felt himself lifted, and then moved. He heard her voice once more as the boat thudded under him. "Take him back to Cecily. Tell her the Ari are off limits. Tell her Lady Rivers is protecting them now."

The world faded to black.

Lyn put the unconscious man into the lifeboat with the other Shereldian sailors. "Do not let him die. Ensure you clean the wound. And make sure you pass along that message." Then, she lowered her voice to the draconic growl. "You are lucky I let you live." She walked on the water, away from the sailors who began to pull against the oars to flee towards the Archipelago.

Next ship, she thought as she picked up her pace to a jog and got alongside the vessel. She planted Cataclysm's edge into the ship, and where the lava-blade touched, the wet wood smoked before igniting. She ran alongside the vessel, carving an enormous, gaping slash before running to the next ship and doing the same.

Within a few minutes, both ships took on enough water on those sides to capsize. She stood atop the waves, slightly bobbing up and down, as the men fled the sinking ships. I only need one group of survivors to carry back word of my power. A warning. She shifted Cataclysm to its bow form and shot each of the fleeing sailors – save for the group with that minor knight.

Every sailor within sight was killed. Those who were fleeing on the ships, obliterated with arrows made of lava. The lifeboats were all burned, and she stopped only when the lapping of the sea against the debris was the only movement she saw. All save one – a child who was clinging to a chunk of wood and crying. Lyn walked over to him, and the boy's face was wrought with terror at the specter of death approaching him.

"I can't swim," he cried.

"Sounds like you picked a shitty profession," Lyn replied as she put Cataclysm into the hip socket.

The boy's body trembled, and he shook his head, "I…I had to run away!"

Lyn felt her heart tremble as she saw the same hollow look in the boy's eyes that she saw in the mirror when she was abused back on Earth. The emptiness and fading will to live. She leaned down and gripped him by the collar. "Why did you run away from home?"

The boy shook his head, "She…hurt me."

"Fuck," Lyn muttered in English. Great. Just what I need. She looked around and saw the two large vessels continue their descent into the waters below. She stared after them, weighing her options. She switched back to Shereldian and addressed the boy, "Right. Do you know who I am?"

"Destroyer?" he asked as his fear was overcome with curiosity at the fact that he wasn't dead.

"Yes. I am Lady Rivers." She put him under her arm and began the walk back to Arin Isle. She couldn't take others with her when she used the Archer-teleport spell, and so it would be the long way back. "What did she do to you?" The boy went quiet. Lyn sighed, "Look, kid. I got some shitty treatment growing up also. Talking about it will help. I know you don't think it will…but it will."

"She…" the boy muttered. "She poked me with hot metal."

There was a sensation that went through her she hadn't experienced much of before. Empathy. Out of the heroes, she was the only one who was abused to the extent she would consider 'severe'. The others had neglectful families like Misty, or an overbearing father like Kory, or some stable home life. She truly felt the plight this boy had gone through. "You won't be harmed anymore," she stated bluntly. "You have my word. I'll make sure you have a good home."

The boy went quiet, and Lyn walked in silence over the waves.