Divine Apostasy Book 7 - Chapter 51

Chapter 51

Sift and Ruwen moved to stand in the back of Rung Four as the Adepts gathered for the Green Belt ceremony. It remained remarkably easy to see as the bright moon reflected off the ocean and the hills of bamboo glowed. The surf also grew bright every time a wave crashed as something in the water activated, and he scooped up a few gallons for Fractal.

“I’m going to kill that golem,” Sift hissed. “Do you know where Tarot is?”

Ruwen patted the top of his head to make sure. “No. I haven’t seen him since…” he trailed off, not sure how to finish that sentence.

“The poop incident?” Sift offered.

Ruwen turned to Sift. “What?”

Sift drew a circle around his face. “I pooped today. All over your face. Seems straight forward to me.”

“Everything that happened there, and you land on poop?”

“It was memorable. I need to find your golem before this ceremony starts.”

“Why now?”

“He took my orange belt again.”

“I told you to leave it in your bag. He’s fast.”

Sift looked at Ruwen, his face serious. “I did. I never took it out. Not once.”

Ruwen frowned. “You must have. I saw you put the belt away.”

“I think I would remember.”

Ruwen would have doubted Sift, but he looked genuinely upset. As Ruwen had recovered in the small chamber after the explosion, Blapy had been arguing with Tarot. She had said something about staying out of her Pyramid. He had thought it was just a general warning, like don’t come visit me, but now he wondered if she’d meant literally.

Sift owned a small dimensional belt that he stored his travel books and extra clothes. Like almost all dimensional Inventory, it linked back to the vaults under the Black Pyramid. If Tarot had stolen Sift’s orange belt, and Sift had never removed it here, it meant the golem had taken it from one of Blapy’s vaults. It also meant Tarot had a lot more power than just telling the future.

“Now I really want to talk to that golem, too,” Ruwen said.

Ruwen removed his orange belt and used Melt to separate the centipede scale from the belt fragment. The scale remained covered in lubricating oil and he guessed it would be virtually impossible to hold, so he let it drop into his Inventory.

The orange belt drooped sadly over Ruwen’s palm. He grabbed the frayed end and pulled the charred cloth apart, splitting the piece in two. Handing one to Sift, he smiled. “Aren’t we the pair.”

Sift returned the smile. “Thanks buddy.”

Sift’s formal attire looked awful, with burns and rips covering it, but at least he had most of it. And now he had a narrow two-foot section of orange belt. Ruwen only had the matching piece of belt, as his formal attire had vaporized in the lava lake. He stood self-consciously in a set of the black clothes he’d gotten on his first trip to the Black Pyramid.

The Adepts grew quiet and Ruwen turned his attention to the front. The Founders and Addas strode down the beach toward them, and to his surprise, the Quartermaster followed behind them.

The Adepts bowed, and the Founders and Grandmasters returned it.

“Never have so many Adepts stood on this beach,” Mist said.

“Tomorrow,” Thorn continued. “You begin the hidden trials. Tonight, though, we finish the third trial.”

“Rungs,” Mist said. “Present your crossing stones.”

Echo stepped forward. “For Rung One,” she said simply as she held her left hand out.

A three-foot dimensional opening appeared from a dull red pinky ring. Echo slowly stepped backward as a line of black rock fell out of her Inventory portal and onto the sand.

A lot of rock. It appeared while Ruwen had gathered enough to end the trial, Echo had searched for enough to win. He briefly considered dropping one of the giant Infernal Crossing Rings to secure a win for Rung Four. Gaining more Relics would aid their fight against Lalquinrial’s demon horde.

But common sense won out over Ruwen’s competitive nature. “For Rungs Two, Three, and Four,” he said, and created a second, smaller pile next to Echo’s.

Since Ruwen had clearly lost, he kept a few stones for Fractal.

Echo grinned at Ruwen in a very self-satisfied way, he thought.

“Well done, Adepts,” Dusk said. “This will help the Clan for many years.”

The ancient bald Quartermaster limped up to the Founders and bowed. With a flick of his wrist, the shoot of bamboo struck the sand. Ruwen, remembering from last time, activated Last Breath, hoping to catch the transition.

When the Quartermaster’s shoot struck the sand, the bamboo forest didn’t grow upward from the sand, or expand outward from the bamboo sliver. Instead, it just appeared, as if it had always been there, and the Quartermaster had merely revealed it.

Ruwen released Last Breath and wondered what that meant. He reached out and touched a nearby trunk. The sandy beach now had a layer of leaves and he glanced upward to make sure the moon remained in place, and they hadn’t moved. The moon remained, the bamboo radiating the light like the bamboo on the hillsides behind the village.

Ruwen could see the bamboo shoot the Quartermaster had thrown to the ground, and he concentrated on it, hoping his Perception might reveal some information.

Name: Phased Bamboo Shoot

Quality: Relic

Effect (Triggered): Grow – Contact with the ground synchronizes a bamboo forest with users current Realm and dimension.

Effect (Triggered): Gather – retrieving shoot collapses synchronization, returning the forest to its natural phase.

Description: A three-inch bamboo shoot dimensionally linked to a thriving bamboo forest.

That explained why the forest had just appeared. Ruwen wondered what other things surrounded him and if viewing these out-of-phase areas was possible somehow. They reminded him of small portable Realms.

The Quartermaster concentrated on the stone piles. The leaves that now covered the ground under the rocks rose together, as if connected, and lifted both mounds.

“The winner is Rung One,” the Quartermaster said as the piles floated across the ground and disappeared into the forest.

“Congratulations, Rung One,” Mist said. “You may collect your reward from the Quartermaster when we finish here.”

Dusk glanced at all the Adepts and then spoke. “Only by rising above the fog of doubt, uncertainty, and fear can one see their potential or ever hope of reaching it.” She paused a few seconds and then continued. “Doing so has risks unrelated to personal growth, which the Clan wishes to minimize.”

The Addas, already behind the Founders, moved closer to them. Padda held a mass of green belts and Madda gestured at Echo.

Echo strode forward and Thorn presented her with a new green belt. Madda pointed Echo to the Quartermaster who already had a new set of formal attire waiting.

The process repeated itself until it was Ruwen’s turn. He strode forward, carefully watching what happened to Sift with the orange belt fragment that mirrored Ruwen’s. No one appeared to hassle Sift about it, and Ruwen relaxed.

Dusk raised her eyebrows at Ruwen’s attire but handed him the green belt without comment. He bowed and stepped over to the Quartermaster, who handed Ruwen his new clothes with a shake of the head. Ruwen accepted the rebuke with a bow and opened the notification that had appeared as he hurried back to his spot.

The Bamboo Viper Clan has gifted you…

Name: Bamboo Jacket of Falling

Quality: Fine

Durability: 100 of 100

Weight: 2.6 lbs.

Effect (Passive): Snow Fall – falls greater than five feet slow the wearer to three feet per second.

Restriction:10-mile radius of Masters’ Village.

Description: Heavy cotton long jacket. The first Step is the hardest.

Name: Viper Pants of Floating

Quality: Fine

Durability: 100 of 100

Weight: 2.4 lbs.

Effect (Passive): Cresting Wave – Dizziness or unconsciousness increases buoyancy by 500% and creates a bubble of air around the wearer.

Effect (Passive): Riptide – Swimming +100.

Restriction:10-mile radius of Masters’ Village.

Description: Heavy cotton pants with reinforced seams. The first breath is the hardest.

The uniform’s effects gave Ruwen some ideas on where to focus his search for the three hidden trials. A search he planned to start immediately.