Amazon Apocalypse 6: Chapter 16

We would be making the trip to the capital by carriage. I feared it would be a multi-day ride, and I would have to excuse myself for the trip and leave Frank at the mercy of the Whores Guild again, but it turned out to be a rather short journey.

Frank was already in the wagon with our escort, the mayor of the place we’d just saved yesterday.

“I’m so glad you’re coming to the capital with me, mister hero!” the mayor said as she rubbed her chest against Frank’s side.

I had been quite surprised when I realized the scantily dressed woman I’d seen at the door was not just the city’s mayor, but also the guild master of the Whores Guild. It was no wonder they had enough influence to arrest anyone borrowing their uniform.

Frank’s eyes pleaded with me to save him, so I engaged the mayor in conversation. The long ride would be perfect for gathering a bit more information about our new rival shards.

“So, I keep hearing about these sages we’re going to meet. Can you tell us more about them?” I asked.

The mayor turned to me, wrapped one arm around Frank’s neck, then smiled and began what seemed like a lengthy tale.

“Sure. I forget you two are from another world entirely. Let me tell you the origin of my people. Long ago, there was a great calamity, and it brought with it war, destruction, and suffering for untold trillions. World after world cried out in untold agony, and the afterlife of our ancestors buckled under the weight of so many lost souls it shattered.

“This was a war of the sort never seen before or since as ancient and new powers clashed. Old gods battled new ones, and our ancestors saw there was nothing but suffering for common people. So they pooled what remained of their resources and built a series of great arks to ferry our people to safety.

“Records tell of other ships with us, though we only know of our ancestors’ own ship. It sailed through stars, chaos, and otherworldly rifts in space until it landed upon the world we used to know before the integration.

“Under the leadership of the Sages and the Warrior who became our first and only king, we built a paradise from the bones of our star ark, and from there saw many years of prosperity. Alas, good fortune does not last forever, and eventually, mortal hearts are doomed to fall to temptation and greed.

“In the past, the bones of our ark granted everyone the blessings of long life, good health, and great power. But the ark only had so much power to share, and even a long life is too short for some. When some sought more power for themselves, the killings began. This began the age of strife, which ended our age of prosperity.

“Only one man could restore order. The Warrior, our first king. The sages sought him out for his great skill in the war among the stars. Before growing weary of war, he was known far and wide as a warrior without equal. None at the same level could challenge him. The Sages asked for his aid, and with great reluctance, he granted it.

“One by one, he slew each of the power-hungry villains. Meanwhile, the sages walked into the bones of the ark and beseeched it to take away the power that had caused such chaos. From then on, it granted its blessings of long life and great power only to a select few.

“The Warrior died not long after, but before he did, he warned us that someday another age of strife would come for us and that he would return to guide us through it once more. Many believe this is the second age of strife from prophecy. The records certainly match. All that is missing is the return of our king, the Warrior.”

I was starting to put together the pieces now. This group of Architects fled from the war that collapsed their civilization to the frontier of known space. They’d tried to set up a colony where they could wait out the conflict, which based on what I’d heard, went on for many mortal generations.

Unfortunately, internal strife caused the colony to collapse, and their source of better technology and magic went with it. There was just one detail that I was curious about.

“This ark of your ancestors? You said it bestowed power?” I asked.

“Yes. It purified the power of the heavens and granted it to us mortals. Only the sages would know more than that. You will see the rib bones of the great ship when we arrive in the capital. Perhaps you can ask them for a more detailed accounting of events when we arrive,” the mayor said.

To me, that sounded less like the art of cultivation and more like leveling through the System. Suddenly, I found myself much more eager for this little trip.

***

The rest of the carriage ride saw me asking questions, Frank dodging kisses, and the mayor looking like she really wanted some alone time with Frank but was too polite to ask me to step outside and walk.

Eventually, we arrived at the city gates, which were tall, impressive, and held a certain regal aura. They were relics from a lost age. I’d never seen or heard of them before today, but even I could tell that at a glance. The mayor pointed to the distance, and sure enough, I could see great metal rings stretching into the sky and arcing to meet high over the city. They were rugged and aged, but reminded me most of Adamantium, my magical tungsten alloy.

“There, the ribs of the great ark. It was laid to rest upon this field. Its walls and heart were disassembled to power and build this city, and traces of it can be found all about the capital. Nowadays, each surviving piece is a monument to our history,” the mayor explained.

“Impressive craftsmanship. I imagine it was quite a sight when it was in one piece,” I said, and I meant it. It wasn’t the detail or technology so much as the sheer scale. From the major structural components I could see, when it flew, the ship had been roughly thirty miles long fully assembled. Given the Architect’s mastery of pocket spaces, that was probably a low estimate of the space it contained.

My mind went back to the rickety shuttle I’d flown over to Ladwick and crashed. Or the cultivator pagodas. Neither had been anywhere near as impressive as the bones of the ship before me. Even the heretic vessels I captured just before the final battle were just garbage compared to what this once might have been.

I had planned to study the heretic vessels when the Samhain Clan finally transported them back to Glacia, where I’d intended to use them to pay back Grandma Luthrin for the shuttle I’d rented in her name. But seeing this thing, I found myself losing all interest in those rust buckets. They were to this what a rubber dingy was to a battleship.

The mayor noticed my interest and pointed to the towering structures deep within the rib bones of the mighty ship.

“The sword lies there, in the center of it all. Every hero of the kingdom is given a chance to draw it. You might be allowed to do so, Frank,” the mayor leaned close and kissed Frank on the cheek.

“All hail the one true king, Frank! Hell, I might need to start using your full name if that happens.” I chuckled.

Eventually, we arrived at the city entrance. We were stopped by the guards, but they knew we were coming and after waiting for a few minutes we had a sizable escort. About a dozen armed guards in armor stood around us. They had a decent number of levels too, and I felt them scanning me with examine so I returned the favor.

Royal Guard (Level 89)

Royal Guard (Level 102)

Royal Guard (Level 108)

They weren’t quite on the level of the Dark Knights I’d fought, but they seemed like decent fighters. And looking at the crowds around me, this seemed like a decent-sized city. It sprawled wider than New Kyoto, though the buildings weren’t as tall. I would guess there had to be at least a hundred thousand people living here. Perhaps several times that, especially when counting places like the settlement Frank had I had just saved.

It was funny to think, but I was pretty sure Crownhill was now the smallest shard in population. Usually, superior numbers had been an advantage during earlier stages of the integration. Now, it seemed like we were punching well above our weight. I suspected the high levels our people sported compared to the other factions had something to do with it. Going forward, we’d be a quality-over-quantity faction.

Shortly after leaving our carriage, the guards dragged along our rides through the capital streets. Three horses appeared, two mares and a stallion. The stallion was probably intended for Frank.

“Uh... horses?” Frank asked skeptically. He and I shared a look.

“What’s wrong?” the mayor asked, elegantly hopping atop a horse and sitting sidesaddle as she grabbed the reins.

“Neither of us has any clue how to ride," I replied as Frank shrugged helplessly.

The mayor let out a long breath. “I suppose I should have foreseen that. It’s no surprise barbarian lands don’t teach essential skills. Hop up next to me, my hero.”

The mayor gestured to Frank, and he climbed up behind her, sharing her horse. Meanwhile, an angry-looking stallion stared me down eye to eye. The mayor tugged on her reins, sending both her and Frank through the city at a canter.

I didn’t want to be left behind, so I climbed atop the stallion Frank had abandoned. That turned out to be a mistake.

I wasn’t entirely ignorant of horses. I’d tried riding one once on that quest the System sent me through, where I’d met Eowyn and helped defeat a demon lord. But after sitting on one for a few minutes, I quickly realized I’d looked like a fool if people realized I didn’t know how to ride, so I avoided horses from then on.

Trying one here was once again a mistake. As soon as I was on the stallion’s back, it took off like a missile. It raced ahead of the guards of its own accord, and only peak B-Grade level leg strength kept me from flying off. To me, the whole experience felt closer to riding a bull than riding a horse.

One rough and entirely too fast ride through the city later, we passed through the great tarnished rings that made up the old ark and into the center of the city. As we traveled, I noticed the buildings shifting from wood to hand-hewn stone to something more. Deeper in the city, the older buildings were made of neat and evenly sliced blocks, like concrete but from natural stone. Deeper still, and the buildings grew taller, prouder, and more ancient.

Eventually, we arrived at what had to be a palace. This building was nearly as grand as God-King Ted’s palace, though the spire at the top here ended just before reaching the clouds, unlike Ted’s, which pierced the moon and served as his personal space elevator. It was made of the same weathered metal as the ribs of the ark, and I ran my fingers against the metal, examining it as best I could.

This was tough stuff to survive so long, and from the hammer marks on the edges of each panel, it looked to have been repurposed multiple times before ending up here. I’d been hoping for a loose piece of rust I could flake off and chemically examine back home, but I had no such luck.

The guards finally caught up to me then, along with Frank and the mayor, a short while later.

“Climb the steps. The sages await you, hero,” the mayor told Frank. Several guards nodded to him, pointing up the steps.

“Carter’s coming too, right?” Frank waved for me to follow, and before the guards or the mayor could protest, I was trailing along behind him. We bounded up the staircase, taking ten steps at a time, and given our level difference, the rest of them had no chance at following us if they wanted to stop me from tagging along.

“This is a damn big staircase!” Frank said, a little out of breath as we passed what was probably the ten thousandth step.

Meanwhile, I floated along beside him on ephemeral dragon wings, admiring the view and perfectly comfortable.

“I guess these sages really didn’t want to be bothered, huh? It doesn’t even look like they have any guards posted up there. The stairs are just so damn high up that anybody with ill intentions would have a few days to think things over before they reached the top.” I chuckled, leaned back, and flew backward as I followed Frank up the steps. He glared at me most of the way.

Eventually, we reached the top. Once there, we were greeted by a white-robed young woman who bowed in Frank’s direction.

“Apologies, hero. The sages thought they’d have a little more time to meditate before you reached the peak. Please come with me. We prepared a room for you to recover from your ordeal.”

“Oh, snacks. Nice.” Frank and I followed the woman to a small alcove off to the side. The room within was a simple bed chamber, bath, and dining room with a balcony that overlooked the sprawling city below. Several trays of fresh fruits and preserved meats were waiting for us, and Frank and I dug in.

There was a bath drawn and waiting for him, which Frank accepted and cooled off in. When done, there was a fresh set of clothes in the local style for him.

“You want it next? I’m afraid you’ll have to ask that girl back there for fresh water. I worked up a sweat on the way up here," Frank offered.

“No need, I’m fine. And I think flying suits me more than huffing and puffing up those steps.” I grinned at him, and he made a sour expression.

Truthfully, even if I had gone up the steps the hard way I would have been fine. Frank was only at early B-Grade while I could break through to A-Grade any day now, and there were a lot of levels in B-Grade that gave a lot of stat points. Despite being in the same grade, in raw stats, there was a bigger difference between me and him than there was between him and a random F-Grade.

“Oh, right. Your fancy charisma stat makes it so you never have to shower.” Frank shook his head in mock disgust.

I laughed. That was also true, though I seldom took advantage of that aspect of having high charisma. Dirt and grime simply didn’t cling to me anymore, but a nice morning shower was still relaxing.

The Sages Frank was meeting with took several hours to assemble themselves, but eventually, the knock came. We left and were led through a long hallway that ended at a sturdy throne. It was made of the same shining metal as the ship’s hull, but besides its size and the grandeur of its materials looked relatively simple.

In contrast, a whole ring of smaller thrones lined the rest of the dais beside it, each covered in gold and glittering gemstones. While the big throne in the middle was empty, the lesser thrones were all filled. Old men and women with calculating eyes looked Frank over. They weren’t shy about using examine either, so I made sure to cloak my levels. I didn’t make myself too weak, but made myself feel a bit lower leveled than Frank. That would leave me someone still worthy of respect but not much interest compared to him.

Eventually, an old woman at the head of the circle of sages addressed us.

“Welcome, hero Frank. And to your traveling companion as well. We, the Sages of Camlaan, keepers of the sacred knowledge and bearers of the great ark’s blessing, greet you.”

I examined the Sages, just as they had examined me. Sure enough, they were roughly as strong as the Dark Sorceress I’d captured, most at early B-Grade. Thirteen of them all together made them a sizable force, and it was no wonder they’d steamrolled their way through the early stages of the integration.

Sage of Camlaan (Level 268)

Most seemed to float somewhere near the early to mid B-Grade, with only the older woman who'd addressed us being firmly in the middle of B-Grade.

One thing felt different about them, though. One thing I’d felt from the Dark Sorceress that I didn’t sense at all from them. All their spiritual roots were completely dormant, revealing not a trace of cultivation.

These Sages must have bolstered their levels before the integration somehow, but however they’d done it, it was more akin to leveling than cultivating.

<Note>
I hadn't expected an adventure with Frank of all things, but seems like that's what we're getting. Don't worry, there will be more female companionship for most of the book. Things just seemed to work out this way.