(Second Book Complete!) Runeblade: A Delving & Skill Merging LitRPG

Blinking away the System notification and shock, Kaius snatched up the orb. It was weighty, denser than he expected, with a fine texture and densely patterned runes engraved on its surface. The name of it hung in his mind — an Arachnacine Landyacht.

The description was clear, as was Castellan’s explanation: it was an autonomous vessel, some kind of carriage, he was sure.

Kaius couldn’t help but grin. Of all the artefacts that could sometimes be found in old Empire caches, any form of still-functioning and controllable automata was heavily prized. Judging by the name and what he had seen elsewhere in this facility, no doubt their latest prize was many-limbed, a boon considering the significant advantages it would have over a common wagon’s wheels. Rough terrain would be no issue, and if they were lucky, the thing might be able to handle the sort of hazardous environments they encountered regularly as delvers.

He struggled to picture it. Perhaps it was a simple flat platform atop a squat torso of machinery. It would certainly be the simplest solution. Anything more, such as a true carriage enclosure, would drastically increase the size of the thing. Considering that the entire artefact was stored in a spatial bubble inside the steel ball in his hand, that would have been a grand extravagance. Any form of spatial artefact was a precious thing, and even if this one was highly specialised, the volume required to contain even a normal carriage was immense.

He did have one question, though.

“What in the gods’ grace is a yacht?” Kaius said, passing the artefact over to his friends.

The second he voiced his question, Kenva went from reaching for the ball with a look of curiosity on her face to her eyes widening in shock as she snapped her head to Kaius and back to the orb again. Lunging forwards, she grabbed the orb — her eyes going glassy as she analysed it.

That was odd. Did she know what it was?

Looking over, Kaius saw Ianmus also giving Kenva a confused look. Meeting his eyes, the mage shrugged.

“I can explain what a yacht is, at the very least,” Ianmus replied. “There’s plenty of them in Mystral. They’re pleasure craft, usually — a kind of boat. Some use them to tour the coastal settlements, others to simply enjoy time out on the sea. They can get quite fancy.”

Kaius nodded slowly. Perhaps the thing wouldn’t just be a platform with legs.

Blinking away her notification, Kenva let out a breath and passed over the orb to Ianmus so that he could look for himself.

“It is a landyacht.”

Was that awe he could hear in her voice? She must know what it was. Though perhaps that should not have been a surprise to him. She was, after all, from the Hiwiaan tribes. Nomadic as they were, their caravans were the backbone of life and livelihood in their home. Hells, the almost garish colours they decorated them with were enough of a sign that they were prized things.

After his own zoned inspection, Ianmus went contemplative. He set the orb down on the table, rubbing his chin as he stared at it.

“I think I’ve heard of these, but I never knew they had a specific name. It’s certainly a find, that’s for sure.”

“Well, explain what’s so fancy about the special ground boat then, because I haven’t the faintest clue what any of you are talking about,” Porkchop said with a disinterested grunt.

“To my people, they’re just about the most valuable thing in the world,” Kenva said. “Owning one is enough to elevate the prestige of an entire clan — the most powerful and prosperous only have a few. They can be anything from a walking carriage to a mobile fortress — but I’ve never heard of the latter examples on the steppe.”

Ianmus nodded. “One of the dukes in Greenseed has one of those. Although, from the rumours I’ve heard, it is not quite as large as a real fortress. Still, it is mobile, armed and armoured. Even lesser examples are extremely valuable. They’re just too damn rare.”

That seemed to pique Porkchop’s curiosity slightly. He leaned in, prodding the orb with a paw, before a ghostly hand controlled by his ear-stud snatched it up and turned it over in front of his eyes.

“Hopefully that means I will be able to fit.”

Kenva laughed. “They vary in size quite a bit, but I’ve never heard of one being small.”

She shook her head, staring at the orb that held their prize with a dazed look. “To think I might actually get to step foot in one, let alone own it. My father’s been trying to secure one for the clan for years. It’s almost impossible to find them on the open market, and there are plenty with far more resources than him who are just as interested.”

Well, that was quite something, wasn’t it? Kaius reached over and hefted the orb. It would make a fine addition to their team’s capabilities, and, he supposed, a good enough statement of their new station and abilities now that they had reached Silver. It would draw a certain amount of attention, but he wasn’t so concerned about people knowing they were wealthy and capable. Though perhaps it would be a good idea not to reveal the existence of such a thing around Deadacre, lest questions arise about what exactly they had found in this ruin.

One thing hung in his mind: what Ianmus had said about some landyachts being mobile fortresses. He hadn’t seen any specific mention of that in the artefact’s description. That didn’t mean it wasn’t possible. Many specifics were lost in the System’s brief overview.

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Hells, even if it lacked armaments, it would be good to know how sturdy its construction was. There was no doubt in his mind that if such a thing became so damaged that its self-repair enchantments could not recover it, there was no way they could get it fixed themselves.

“Is there anything you can add?” Kaius said, turning to the brass monstrosity that was standing in polite silence only a few steps away.

Like with most of their conversations, the Castellan gave no outward sign that it was even capable of movement, let alone that it had heard his question — and still answered him a moment later.

“It is a civilian model, designed for the comfort of a single captain and a small entourage. As such, it is on the smaller side and lacks in armaments. But I can confirm that it should be more than large enough for you and your party to all fit, my lord.”

In what Kaius could only assume was a deliberate move, the automaton nodded its head at Porkchop.

“It is, however, high quality, even among its ilk. It is swift on land, capable of traversing all terrain, with limited amphibious capabilities, and it is well armoured. It is, of course, incomparable to the custom units that many far more wealthy individuals have procured, or those designed with military use in mind. Unfortunately, in the current circumstances, I cannot offer you something more appropriate for your station, Lord Unterstern.”

Well now, he had to see what it looked like. Large enough for Porkchop, and, by the automaton’s own admission, a high-quality piece.

“Can I summon it here?” Kaius asked, looking around the room. The Head Researcher’s quarters were large, with the ceiling tall enough that even the Castellan could stand comfortably. Surely there would be enough room for a craft designed only for a captain and a small team.

“I would advise against it, my lord. Perhaps we may return to the hallway.”

Kaius arched his brow. That big? Regardless, he saw no problem with the idea. The fact of the matter was that, with loot in hand and a prosthetic attached to his leg, there was no more reason for them to stay in this ruin. They’d been gone from Deadacre for weeks now, and gods knew how long it would be before Ro herself came charging down to look for them. They needed to return to the Guild and tell her what they had found.

“Shall we?” he asked his team, seeing excited smiles on Kenva’s and Ianmus’s faces, while Porkchop only had eyes for his new leg.

“Try not to fall on your face!”

…

Kaius took a step and missed. It was an identical feeling to there being another stair that he hadn’t expected — except approximately fifty times worse. The prosthetic obeyed him totally. That was the damn problem.

With no physical feedback beyond the pressure of its binding against his stump, he kept expecting it to move like a peg — some rigid thing that he had to adjust to. Yet the unconscious compensations he made to walk in such a manner led to his new steel limb varying wildly between locking up dead straight and kicking out with far more force than he anticipated.

“Careful,” Porkchop said, quickly sidestepping so that Kaius bumped into his side rather than fall to the floor.

Kaius sank his fingers into his brother’s fur, grimacing. “Thanks. This thing’s far more unwieldy than I expected.”

Behind him, Ianmus snorted. “I’d say. I’ve seen babes taking their steps with more grace than you’ve got right now.”

“He’s like a foal. All wobbly,” Kenva agreed.

He rolled his eyes. Gods. He could practically hear their grins.

At the very least, they were almost out into the main hall. The Castellan was waiting in the doorway, its hand outstretched.

“It is a trifling matter, my lord. With your Dexterity and mental statistics, you’ll adjust quickly. It will never be as elegant as a natural limb, but you’ll be able to walk freely, at the very least.”

Kaius simply grunted. He was a sitting duck like this. As soon as they were back in Deadacre, he had to practise his sword-work — eighty percent of handling a blade started with the feet, and he wasn’t going to sit around and hope that nothing happened before his leg had regrown. Besides, it wouldn’t be a wasted effort. This wasn’t the first time he’d lost a body part, and no doubt it wouldn’t be the last. His practice would help just as much in the future as now.

Eyeing the Castellan’s hand of assistance, Kaius hesitated only for a moment before he grabbed it. It made him feel like a child, its cold metal palm engulfing his own.

Moments later, they were out of the residential unit, standing in a half-moon tunnel large enough that a full battalion could walk through it with ease.

“Well, what are you waiting for? Let’s see this ground-boat!”

“Landyacht!” Kenva corrected.

Porkchop let out a chuff of amusement — enough for Kaius to know that he’d misnamed their new prize on purpose.

Smiling at his team’s antics, Kaius held the orb before him, wobbling only a little as he adjusted to the balance of his new leg. Like was common for most minor artefacts, the landyacht required a minor binding, one that would link him to it by imprinting to his mana signature. Seeing no reason to wait, he weaved a thread and pushed it through.

Immediately, he could feel the ball tugging itself free of his hand. Letting it go, the artefact began to glow, its inscribed outer edges soaking in magic. Link by link, a chain threaded itself free, materialising like it was being pulled from the depths of its spatial storage. Floating down, it tied itself around his waist in a belt, dangling at his side. Shifting in surprise, Kaius felt the way it moved with him, almost intelligently rotating around his waist so as never to hamper his movement.

With the new connection came a sense of its interior. It was vague, but the simple sense of the size of what it contained shocked him — and incited a burn of curiosity deep in his chest.

Seeing no point in waiting, he summoned their landyacht.

It landed on the moulded stone floor with a crack, wind rolling over him as the air was displaced by the bulk of the artifice.

Kaius looked up at it in awe.

The main body was almond-shaped and easily twelve or more longstrides from tip to end. Seeing where the creations had got their name, it was shaped rather like a boat with a flat, railed deck shaded by an armoured canopy — though it could just as easily be described as a bunker.

Its belly hung low, more than a full storey in height, and out of the thick metal hull, eight spider-like legs jutted, keeping the landyacht perched high in the air.

It was imposing and imperious — a relic of time, just as alien as the Castellan itself.

He had to see inside.

Reacting to his will, the landyacht crouched — the joints on its limbs letting out a low whir as the artifice went to work. Invisible seams on the side of the hull revealed themselves as a door swung open, stairs placed on its interior surface to allow them in.

Kaius grinned. This was much cooler than their tent.