[Hlaeth] Ch 38 - A Rude Interruption

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            The last of the rote people were done. Diseases were gone, injuries taken care of, aches and pains soothed.

            The people needing Regeneration were seated on the benches I’d Shaped up in a circle, two ranks of them. Most were minor things, like teeth or eyes or ears or fingers, but a few were missing hands or feet, or further parts of their arms or legs.

            It was fine. Mass Regeneration would take care of them all.

            There wasn’t a lot of muss or fuss as I spent the Valence for Regeneration, and my Burned Valences took care of the Mass side of things. Golden light went out and encompassed them all, swallowing them in gentle Healing magic, and sighs of wonder and comfort left all their lips as the power tingled over and through them, spurring the start of the process.

            It only took a minute, and the light faded. Blinking in some confusion, the recipients touched eyes and stumps and mouths.

            “Patience. This is not an instant magic, like merely Healing an injury or banishing a disease. This is about regrowing a part of you.

            “Also, you are going to find yourself very hungry, as you must eat to feed the return of your body parts. Hostler Gemwa!” I called out to the tavernkeeper on the side, who almost jumped in place before stepping forward and bowing. “You will provide free meals for all these people here until what they have lost is regrown, as long as they eat it all in your establishment. Most of them will be done within a day. Little Trinada will take three days to regain her leg, and will be VERY hungry. Make sure her meals are very filling.

            “Master Kord will reimburse you out of the donated funds from the others.”

            “Yes, Master Aelryinth!” the barman agreed hurriedly, even as Kepper, a farmhand with a vicious hoof scar across his face from being kicked by a horse, groaned and slapped his hand to the sunken crater where his eye had been. “If you would all follow me, I put on a good hearty venison stew for you all!”

            He wasn’t going to lose any money, which cheered him immensely.

            A boom echoed across the town, followed by two more.

            Heads turned towards the sky, wondering where the thunder had come from, while I whipped my head around.

            The first cannonball round slammed down at the end of the road and came bouncing right for the crowd here.

            The second one slammed into a shop at the side of the road. Wood and splinters flew into the air as it blew through the building and slammed into the residence next door.

            The last one was arcing right for the plaza here.

            Reach reached out and grabbed. The ball of iron bouncing down the road at killing velocity stopped instantly.

            Featherweight grabbed the last one as it came down, and a dark streak slowed instantly into a melon-sized sphere of mottled iron drifting down towards the ground.

            “There’s a ship in the harbor!” swore Kord, staring in shock, and my Mask came down to give me some eyes.

            Three-master, four decks, a galleon of some size and excellent manufacture… and it had rows of cannons yawning open, although only three forward mounted ones had fired, the ship turning even now to bring the rest of them to bear.

            “Southern slavers!” Kon Blakaxe swore, and I didn’t have to look at them to know he was glaring at me, thinking I’d brought them here after I’d gathered enough targets in, even restoring them to health to make more money from them.

            “They must have taken out the watchpost on the mountainside!” I looked up to an elevated tower and small keep at the turn of the inlet there, where probably a sentry stood, looking for signs of invaders, at Kord’s growl.

            The signal fire they were supposed to light was naturally not showing, nor had any warning horn sounded across the waters.

            So, technologically advanced, and magic-savvy.

            “Get any survivors out of that building,” I stated grimly, staring at the distant ship, still a half-mile out. Excellent range on the cannons, too. Shooting eighteen-pounders, using alchemical accelerants, maybe minor Range Extenders?

            Well, why didn’t I just turn that against them?

            With just an effort of will, as I was striding very quickly down towards the shore, but not flying, I Cast a very powerful Major Curse on myself, effectively operating at IX+1.

            All Missiles will seek you out.

            I saw the smoke plume up. My Mask of Clarity could see the dark streaks rising up from the top deck, then the second, then the third level fired, belching black smoke tinged with too much red. I could see the men milling on the deck, and then the thunderous sound of the volleys firing off came rolling in, and the townsfolk began to scream.

            All of the shots came together gradually, impelled by magic, converging on a single target, coming down out of the sky. Hano saw it and shouted a warning to me, but there was no time to do anything as all of the cannon shots came down upon me.

            It sounded like a dozen hammers striking a great iron bell, then again, and again. The nearest townsfolk fell down, clapping their hands to their ears, while several windows broke around me.

            Reverse Missile at effectively IX+1, my nominal Duskstopped spell, could handle anything up to major howitzer fire easily.

            Missiles that strike you return to their launcher for double damage.

            Normally it was a round/Caster level spell, good only for a few minutes, but in that time period could easily take out whole companies of archers that thought they were raining doom down on an arrogant wizard.

            Three flights of iron balls went streaking back at half-again the speed they’d come in at, and with rather more accuracy owing to the higher Valence at which I’d Cast the spell.

            My accuracy, actually.

            The whole side of that galleon blew apart in explosions of wood and metal, and then sparks and ignition pads spread flames to shattered powder stores. Secondary explosions of fire and decks-blasting force blew through the ship, tearing the side wide open and heaving it over to starboard.

            “What is this flag?” I asked, my pace not stopping as Kord, Hano, and even the shocked Kon and Pounder were racing after me. The red on black lion, all trimmed in yellow, fluttered up to my side in Holo.

            “Rhonidor Imperial Navy!” Kord spat instantly. “Slave raiders! They’ve probably got a second and third ship waiting around the bend of the harbor to take on spoils!”

            “Is that so.” Even the disbelieving Kon paled at the tone of my voice. “You can’t see them, but there’s three landing craft invisible and cutting through the waves under Water Elemental propulsion, they are almost to the shore. Anyone who is going to fight, come down to the harbor shore to join me. Leave your missile weapons behind, you won’t need them in this fight! Make haste! You’ve only got a couple minutes!”

            Yes, I could take out this entire force by myself. No, I wasn’t going to do that.

            However, I could totally make sure this force of natives could take out the raiders. That ship burning out there in the harbor wasn’t going to be out of my range any time in the next century, its sails ripped to shreds and decks blown out and burning eagerly as the screams of men drifted across the waters.

            I could see the captain up on the quarterdeck, saber out and giving orders, her teeth grit and plainly quite angry at whoever had messed up her vessel like this.

            She didn’t have a clue.

            By the time I reached the breakwall, a good forty men and women had gathered, a bunch of them Children, but humans still the most represented. Almost none had any real armor on, and the boats were almost to the shore below.

            “Weapons up if you’re fighting.” I lifted up Mortus Dius, gleaming with Light, knowing I was making a target of myself, not caring. There were at least two men out there with long rifles who promptly sighted down on me, still thinking themselves invisible and me a sweet target as the Elementals pushing their boats forward smoothed out the waters around them and gave them a sweet gliding ride to shoot from.

            Long rifles banged with supersonic shots, and both men became visible, standing on the air. Wasps zipped in, a bell rang ping-ping fast, I ignored it, and an eyeblink later both men were falling backwards in the air as their brains sprayed out the back of their heads.

            The people lifting their weapons gaped at the strange sight.

            Their weapons jerked free of their hands, everything from staves and daggers to Hano’s greatsword. Arcane Fusion flashed, a Fastcast Triadspell joined it, and the Weapons flashed back to their hands.

            All of them were now brimming with +V Greater Weapon. Divine Favor delivered a polite +III Sacred bonus to hit and damage to them.

            Mass Force Armor and Mass +V Barkskin joined them, flaring over their skins like translucent armor, and making their skins golden in hue.

            “A song for the free!” I said, pointing, and the halvyr Minstrel promptly rang out with his own Heartsong…

            “Oh swift sons and daughters of the North, free and true.

            The chains of tyrants far away have come these shores to rue…” he began, and hearts lit up, fires lit within.

            “I call upon Truth, Hope, and Valor!” the air echoed with Thunder, “Give these slavers their due!”

            And I led the charge down at them.

            With a roar “FOR THE NORTH!”, they followed, hearts ablaze, beyond all fear, as the boats surged ashore on a sudden wave, and the men within rose, some pulling forth pistols, others piling out to draw up a battle line.

            They were aiming in all directions, but I was still Cursed.

            There was the snapping roar of over a dozen pistols. Iron ricocheted on a silver bell, and the shooting men jerked, falling or spinning around as their shots came back to them twice as strong as they’d gone out.

            The officer in charge, a plume on his helm and his breastplate Armor magical, roared out, “Stop shooting! They are ricocheting our fire!”

            We were coming down for them when the waters behind the boats heaved up and forward, rising, gathering into a giant form of a humanoid made of the blue-green seas, with a somewhat overlarge nose and hugely muscular build, bearing a cocksure and ready smile as great scimitars longer than a human was tall flowed out of his hands and froze into icy crystalline blades in his grip.

            To the complete surprise of the gathering line of invaders, our charge didn’t slow in the slightest, while I just turned my head and looked into the creature’s eyes.

            A marid.

            A genie of the waters.

            An Elemental Creature.

            His eyes met my gaze, and there was just an instant of recognition there.

            He saw the deaths of dozens of his kind at my hands. He saw a great Pasha obliterated. He saw the spirits of marids annihilated and Fed to the Land.

            He saw a Father Ocean rising up and paying heed to my words.

            He saw a bloody surf retreating from my path, and the things which had fed and formed it Burning in the surf as The Land devoured them.

            He felt a demon king of the deepest seas raging in the darkness, its enmity clear upon my soul… and it did not dare to face me.

            The great marid, a haughty and arrogant prince among geniekind, mightiest of the fourfold Elemental race, threw himself upon his face so quickly it was like it was a dance move. “SPARE YOUR MOST UNWORTHY SERVANT AND ADMIRER, GREAT MASTER!!!” he wailed in one of the most absolute displays of obsequious begging I had ever had the opportunity to behold.

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