Chapter Five Hundred and Sixty-Four — Doesn't Look Like Much
Chapter Five Hundred and Sixty-Four — Doesn't Look Like Much It was a bit past noon when Sally the Scallywag called out from across the deck. "Land ho!""We're flying over land, you blockhead!" Joe shouted back."You know what I meant, and you're the blockhead for not catching onto my context clues... squarehead!" Sally sniped back.I held back a giggle, because while it was funny, and I didn't sense that they were actually upset with each other, it was hard to insult someone without sounding kinda mean. "What did you spot?" I asked Sally as I left the wheel and started across the deck.Sally grinned, making sure to show off some of her smugness to Joe who was cording some rope nearby before she turned and pointed down and gestured with a spyglass. "There's a town up ahead, Captain Bunch!" she said. "Small one, looks like it might be what we're searching for."I reached the rails next to the starboard figurehead and leaned out and over the void. Squinting, I could make out what Sally had seen. We were soaring along the coast (so really, Joe was only partly right) and this part of the coastline was mostly straight except for a few natural beaches and large cliff faces that jutted out over the sea. There was a town up ahead. It was right there, along the coast, small and unobtrusive.The town wasn't much to see, even when Sally passed me the spyglass. I could only make out maybe a dozen faint trails of smoke and only the barest signs that there were any buildings."Nice catch," I told Sally. "Keep an eye on it, just in case. Joe, want to go around and alert the crew? Let Amaryllis know first, and maybe the rest of the away team?"That was the main group of my friends who tended to be the ones to jump into trouble when the need arose. Or just because it seemed fun.I got back to the helm. It probably wasn't wise to leave it unbunned for too long. There was a lock on the wheel, but having someone there was still the best move, even if the weather was pretty nice. The warm air around here contrasted nicely with the cooler winds at our altitude, though I could have used a bit less humidity. It was making my ears fluff up something fierce.We had lunch while the town slowly grew closer. Calamity and Desiree came out with bowls filled with reheated leftovers and we chowed down on lentils and stew while moving ahead at a good clip.When the town became a little more visible, and after I confirmed with Amaryllis that this was probably Blackwatch according to the maps we had, I cut down on the throttle and eased off on the gravity engine, slowly bringing the Beaver lower and slowing us down a fair bit.Steve picked up a set of semaphore flags took a position at the starboard bow, ready to signal to the town that we were going to land. It was pretty clear as we approached that they didn't have much air traffic here. The closest they had to a landing zone for airships was an empty field not far from the edge of town.It was that, or we tried to hook onto the town's little belltower, and I was worried that it wouldn't like an encounter with the Beaver's mass, so I brought us around and settled over the field. At least it didn't look like it was being used for anything at the moment.Maybe it was a grazing field being left fallow? The grass there looked like it was almost hip-high.We dropped anchor, and then reeled them in even as the ship was lowered until our keel was hovering just over the tallest grass. Then we dropped two more, smaller, anchors for stability. We'd stake those down later."Looks like some of the locals are eyeing us up," Calamity said.I covered my eyes and squinted, and yeah, there were some folk off by the edge of the field. A few farmers, it looked like. They had pitchforks and straw hats and looked like they weren't sure what to think of us."Hmm, maybe I should go say hi, before the whole crew hops off?" I said.I didn't want to come out and just say it, but I'd felt like maybe the people of Southerfell weren't as... cosmopolitan... about different species as we'd gotten used to. Having all of my friends jump out of the Beaver might worry the locals.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.So, I asked Awen and Calamity to accompany me over, while Amaryllis, Desiree, Caprica, and Bastion prepped for a short mission away from the ship.We tossed a rope ladder off the side, then hustled down to the ground, landing in the grass and the slightly muddy earth beneath. "Nice place," Calamity said."Really?" Awen asked.It was always kind of jarring, going from the Beaver to ground level. I went from being able to see leagues away, to being able to see across the field and not much else. I shook that feeling off. "It's probably for farm animals to graze," I said."Probably full of ticks," Calamity said.I wrinkled my nose at that. Would Cleaning magic work on those?"Hello!" I called out with a wave towards the nearest farmers. They were still staying on their side of the fence, but at least most of the pitchforks had been spun around, tines poking into the earth instead of pointing at us. My friends and I waded across the long grass. I might have been able to hop past it all, but I didn't want to spook anyone.One of the farmers raised a hand in greeting. "Hello?" he replied.I grinned. Contact! That was as good as shaking hands sometimes. "Sorry for bothering everyone," I said as I came closer. "Who does this field belong to? I wasn't able to ask for permission from the air, but it's better late than never, right? We can afford to rent the field for a while, it that's what it takes."The farmers looked between each other, then one of them, a shorter, older fellow, was pushed forwards. "Well, missy, this here's grazing land, mostly. No one really owns it, though we use it for a few things.""When we set out sheep to sell 'em, this is where we hold them," another one said."Oh! Well, that's nice. Maybe I can make a donation to the town, then?" I asked. "Just something to say 'thank you' and to keep any hard feelings at bay?"The farmer rubbed his nose. "I suppose that'd be fair? What're a buncha city folk doing here?" I couldn't help but notice the looks they were giving Calamity and my ears. They definitely found us a little weird. But that was okay! They might find us weird, but at least they didn't seem hostile."We're from a little further out than Southerfell," I said with what I hoped was a nice smile. "We're mostly chasing rumours! Actually, we were hoping to find something here? Or maybe someone to help us?""Rumours?" the old farmer asked. He traded a look with his friends. "About the dungeon?""No? But it might have something to do with that," I said. "We're Explorers. Um, we're looking for anything connected to the Black Avatars!"The men all shifted, and I knew I'd struck something. Maybe a nerve, or maybe paydirt. It was hard to tell. "Don't know much about that," the old man said. "This is Blackwatch, the name's probably just a coincidence.""It is?" I asked. "Darn. We heard a story that there used to be a big fortress around here, but one day it up and left.""Buildings don't just take off and fly, young missy," he said.I stared at him. Then I slowly turned to glance at the building-sized ship parked behind me. "Um, I mean, I guess they don't, most of the time?""Maybe you ought to talk to the village head," he said. "He'd know more about that.""Sure!" I said. "We're also really good at fixing dungeon-related problems, you know? That's kind of what the Exploration Guild does, and we have half a dozen members here. Has there been a local dungeon that's been acting up?""Only a few small breakout-" the man was cut off when a second farmer kicked him in the shin. "-I mean, nothing we can't handle. Don't need no help.""If a dungeon is releasing monsters, then it's on the edge of becoming a real problem," Calamity said. "Ny'all don't want to see something like that escalate. Especially close to your fine lil' town."I nodded along. "You'll need more than a few pitchforks to take care of something like that. And Southerfell, and reinforcements, are a ways away. We might be able to help, and we're free!"
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Chapter Five Hundred and Sixty-Five — Local News
Chapter Five Hundred and Sixty-Five — Local News "To be clear, we are absolutely not free," Amaryllis said. She had her wings crossed and beak turned upwards. The fact that Amaryllis was taller than the village head probably made her all the more intimidating.We had relocated from the field the Beaver had landed in to the village head's house, right in the middle of town. Well, not so much his house as his front porch.The village head was an older gentleman, a farmer by the name of Eikon Saddleson that looked like he had spent most of his life in the fields and was now happily retired from that kind of backbreaking work. He was a bit wrinkly and his skin was suntanned, but he had greeted us with a smile, serving some very tasty and refreshing lemonade from a big porcelain jug.I had to send Calamity out to go fetch Amaryllis after a moment, though, because it was becoming clear that we would have to maybe charge a little bit for this, and Amaryllis had explicitly forbidden me from handling our money."Amaryllis," I said, crossing my own arms. "You can't just walk up to someone and say that. You have to say hello first.""Oh, I'll be polite in a moment, but first I need to undo whatever you've done," Amaryllis said to me. She turned back to the old village head, who seemed undecided between being intimidated and amused. "Forgive me. But our fine captain here has a habit of letting her emotions and feelings get in the way of good business sense. If I left it up to her, we'd be walking all over in our underthings because she'd give all the rest away.""I'm not that bad."Amaryllis pursed her beak. "See," she said. "I'm Amaryllis Albatross. First mate aboard the Port Royal registered Exploration Guild vessel, the Beaver Cleaver. A pleasure to meet you, sir.""Oh, um, the pleasure's all mine, young miss," he said. "Never seen your like before. Would I be mistaken in guessing that you're a harpy folk?""I am, yes," Amaryllis replied tersely. "Now, what has Broccoli said?"The village head chuckled. "Nothing too bad, don't worry your... feathered... pretty... head? Hm. Ah, but where was I... yes, the dungeon. I've been keeping the news mostly to myself, but it has been worrying me.""And why is that?" Amaryllis asked."Maybe I ought to start from the beginning, eh?" the village head said. He gestured to Amaryllis. "Sit, sit. There's juice! We have a nice vineyard here for citrus, makes an excellent lemonade. Do you have that, up in your harpy mountains?""No," Amaryllis said. "It's likely too cold for citrus trees to grow. In any case, before we can move on to business, I'd like to know more about the situation at talon. What kind of dungeon are we dealing with here; what's the issue with it?"The village head rubbed at his chin for a moment before speaking. "Well, if you're gonna help... About six, maybe seven years ago, a dungeon popped up in the old Black Crater.""The Black Crater?" I repeated.He nodded along. "Oh yes. There's a large crater, just a ways out of town, towards the shore. I suppose I'll show it to you in a few. In any case, the crater's always been a curious place.""I think it's why we're here," I said. "We're looking for the Black Avatars.""Ah," he said. "You wouldn't be the first to come asking... hmm, most of the time, I send folks off, like the last headman used to. It's all a little before my time, in any case. But I suppose if you help, a few stories might do as payment?""We'll see about that," Amaryllis said. "And we're going off-topic. The crater, the dungeon, what happened?""Heh. Young ones, so impatient. Well, some six, seven years back, a few of the children were out causing a ruckus, and discovered that there was an entrance at the bottom of the crater. Some of them went in, and came out quite spooked. They said that they encountered some knights in there.""Knights?" I asked."Mhm! Big men, in shiny armour. Now, we looked into it, of course, and discovered a little dungeon had appeared. A blessing from the World. We didn't make too much of a fuss about it, of course. Didn't need people from the city trampling all over our fields and getting up in our business. A few of us tried to clear it, ah, but when we lost a few boys to the dungeon, we called it off-limits."Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site."And there haven't been issues since?" Amaryllis asked."Oh, a few? Sometimes a rumour spreads around, that there are knights patrolling the crater, but I've never seen them with my own two eyes. Mostly, it's far enough from town that I always thought that leaving it well enough alone would keep it calm.""I suppose," Amaryllis muttered. "But I take it that that has changed?""Just recently, yes," he said.I perked up. "Have you noticed any weird roots around?""Roots?""Like, from a tree or something, only way, way bigger," I said. I waved my arms around, to help with visualization. "We've been encountering some like that at different dungeons, often just before they start acting weird. It's a problem.""Hoh, no, I can't say I've noticed anything like that. Right now, the dungeon's just a little annoyed, I think?"I blinked. Dungeons could be annoyed? "How is it being annoyed?" I asked."Well, I don't know. You'd be the experts. You don't ask a blacksmith how to mend a dress, do you?" He shrugged a bit, thin shoulders shifting beneath his shirt. "It's more that I feel like it's feeling that way.""Are monsters... regularly leaving the dungeon?" Amaryllis asked."Yup. A few knights are almost always patrolling the crater now.""Interesting," I said. "What kind of class does the dungeon give? Or does no one know?""Dunno, sorry, missy.""That's okay, I guess we'll find out for ourselves."Amaryllis huffed. "Sure. And lose a day or two in the finding. Though I can't say that it's all bad. A fresh dungeon might be a good way to sharpen our talons. But it's not what we're here for. We're looking for information. It's why we stopped by Blackwatch in the first place."I clapped. "Right! Do you know anything about the Black Avatars?""Hm, I might know a thing or two," the village head said. "Mostly stories. They left here when I was just a lad, you see.""So you knew them!""Well, maybe," he said with a dismissive little wave. He shifted forward in his seat and poured himself another cup of juice. "If you're willing to help with our dungeon, even just going down and seeing if anything's wrong, then I'm sure that'll help jog my old memory a little.""Tsk," Amaryllis muttered. "Our expertise isn't that cheap.""I thought as much, but I don't know what a little village like ours can offer you, Miss Adventurer. The lot of you I've seen so far have more gold in equipment on your backs than we make in a year."I glanced to my friends, and... hmm, he might have had a point? Amaryllis was dressed in fine exploration clothes, I had armour on, Awen had her nice coat and lots of tools, and Calamity had that fancy bow on his back. We'd been picking up things here and there, and when we bought clothes, it was stuff that was meant to last a while, and we tended to buy from nicer shops in the bigger cities.Compared to the locals, who seemed to go around in wool clothes probably made right here, mostly dyed in the same colours and sewn up in simple patterns... yeah, we probably did look a little bit rich. And we hadn't even brought out Caprica and Bastion."He has a point," I said to Amaryllis."They could at least off to help a little," Amaryllis said. "Food and board for a few days couldn't hurt, could it?""I suppose," the old man said. "If you don't mind mutton and the local herbs and what we grow in our gardens year round?""Of course not!" I said. "Homecooked food sounds tasty!""Hm! Well, I'll send some boys down to the shore to fish something up as well. As for board, we have a few barns that aren't full up that we could let you sleep in. Maybe a few spare rooms?""We'll be fine for board," Amaryllis said quickly. I think she'd rather sleep in the Beaver than on a heap of old hay. "Now, where is this Black Crater of yours, exactly?""Ah, well, follow me, then! It's not too far that I can't escort you over for a quick look-see."
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