Re: Tales of the Rune-Tech Sage

CH657 Theolonium Trade Deal II

***

”Skr...”

Senu let out a low, rasping cry and gave an irritated flap of her wings, making her displeasure obvious.

Even so, she eventually gave a reluctant nod of acceptance.

Her body expanded slightly towards her full size—just enough for the two women to barely fit if they sat close together upon her back.

”Skr!”

She gave another short cry, sounding very much like a warning to hurry before she changed her mind.

”Thank you.”

Alex quickly stepped forward and stole a brief hug, gently comforting and appeasing her wounded pride.

He then took out a small scroll and handed it to Udara.

”Same as before. Once you get close to the village, place the scroll on the ground, and I’ll bring the rest of us there,” Alex instructed.

”Understood,” Udara replied with a nod.

Then she turned to the barbarian woman.

”Let’s go.”

Once both women were settled on Senu’s back, the great eagle launched into the sky without delay.

Alex stood still, watching as her figure gradually disappeared into the distant horizon, a faint smile resting on his face.

After a moment, he activated his Beta Bracer and reached out to Raven Horn.

”We’re done,” Alex informed him.

”What? Already?” Raven Horn’s shocked voice came through from the other side. ”How did you people finish so quickly? I thought that base was supposed to be holding a large number of Lost Heathen troops?”

”There were a lot of them,” Alex replied plainly, ”but they were weak.”

He then asked,

”Have you cleared the caravan?”

”Yes. They’re already rushing over to your position now. I was hoping they would be able to provide reinforcements, but it seems that won’t be necessary anymore,” Raven Horn replied.

”Thanks for the thought anyway,” Alex said.

”Oh, and by the way... it seems there’s going to be a change of plans,” he added.

”What change? I thought you captured the base exactly as planned,” Raven Horn asked.

”We received information on the location of one of Peyton’s gold mines—possibly even his most important one. I would go so far as to say the reason Drumvale allows him to throw their name around so confidently likely traces back to this resource,” Alex replied.

”Don’t leave me hanging. What is it?” Raven Horn pressed.

”Theolonium. Do you know it?” Alex said.

”Do I know it? Of course I know it! It’s one of the most valuable resources on the market. With enough of that stuff, you could slap a Temple Pope across the face, and he would still willingly kiss your arse afterwards,” Raven Horn replied.

Alex blinked.

”That is... an incredibly vivid image, old man. Don’t tell me you secretly dream of having a Pope kiss your arse.”

”No, they are all old men. Why would I want that?” Raven Horn scoffed. ”Though there is one I’ve occasionally dreamed about slapping.”

”Which Pope? Maybe I can help make that happen,” Alex teased.

”No thanks. I have no desire to receive divine smiting any time soon,” Raven Horn replied dryly.

Both men chuckled.

”So... you’re going after the mine?” Raven Horn asked.

”Yes. If we can secure it, it will significantly accelerate our plans,” Alex said.

”Alright. Send me the location and I’ll have people ready to secure it once you take control of it,” Raven Horn said.

”At the moment, I only have a general area. The mine is roughly a day’s ride due east on horseback. I’ll get you an exact location soon,” Alex explained.

”A full day? I hope this does not disrupt our timeline. You’ll be cutting things dangerously close,” Raven Horn warned.

”Don’t worry. We’ll make it back in time. I have my methods,” Alex replied confidently.

”I’m not the one who should be worried—you are,” Raven Horn said. ”You’ll have those old donkeys, that Drumvale fox, and possibly all of BloodIron’s sharks, ready to tear into you if this goes badly.

”Me? I’ll be somewhere else, calmly sipping wine in your remembrance.”

”What? You’re not even going to try to help? I’m wounded. I thought we had built a powerful brotherly bond,” Alex said dramatically.

”...”

Raven Horn fell silent.

Even through the communication device, Alex could practically imagine the look of utter disdain on the man’s face.

He chuckled.

”I’ll inform you once we have the exact location. I’ll leave the clean-up here to you.”

”Understood,” Raven Horn replied.

-

Elsewhere...

It was a completely new experience for Udara and the barbarian woman as they got their maiden flight on Senu’s back.

At first, they were understandably unsettled. However, thanks to her natural coordination and balance, Udara adapted quickly to riding on Senu’s back.

The barbarian woman was not nearly as gifted, so Udara had to keep a firm hold on her, pressing her low against Senu’s back to prevent any unfortunate accidents.

It did not help that Senu wanted to finish the task as quickly as possible.

Spatial Step!

She activated her short-distance ’blink’ ability repeatedly, using it to cover vast stretches of distance far faster than ordinary flight—on top of her already impressive aerial speed.

A journey that would have taken a full day on horseback was completed in under an hour.

The three ’ladies’ arrived roughly a kilometre away from the village before Senu finally descended to land.

She had been gradually lowering her altitude as they approached, but this was the closest she would be able to get without risking being spotted by the hostiles from the sky.

The moment she landed, she practically shook both Udara and the barbarian woman off her back.

To be fair, neither of them were eager to remain there any longer. While flying had certainly been... novel, both women strongly preferred keeping their feet firmly on solid ground.

Fortunately, their landing point also happened to be an ideal location for establishing the spatial gate.

Udara placed the scroll Alex had given her onto the ground and activated it using her internal energy.

The scroll burned away instantly, leaving nothing behind except a Greater Rune etched directly into the earth where it had rested.

Using the gemstone embedded within her glove, Udara activated OmniRune and sent the prompting signal to Alex.

Almost immediately afterwards, a spatial gate opened at the exact location of the inscribed Greater Rune, and the Fortuna Company stepped through.

Not only that—Fen arrived as well, bringing along his wolf pack, which now numbered several dozen wolves.

’Good thing the spell is connected to the Voidheart Core, allowing the mana and spatial energy cost to be drawn from its reserves instead of mine,’ Alex thought to himself.

The barbarian woman watched the entire process with a mixture of surprise, awe... and, if he were being honest, a fair amount of horror.

”Good work, ladies,” Alex said with a nod.

Then he turned his gaze towards the distant village.

”Let’s get to work,” he said to the party.

***