perizou
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Chapter 256 - New party member
🕑 Added 2021-06-07 13:00:08 +0000 UTCIt took some time before Hera and Blue could talk about what happened inside the nest. But when they calmed down, they discussed how the place looked and about the juvenile griffon they fought. For some reason that Hera couldn't understand, Blue stopped her from mentioning anything about the egg. It was strange because the egg wasn't with the controller anymore.
"Why didn't you even wait to see the Sky Ruler up close?" Sevaris asked.
"The thing looked like it was a flying mountain, and it controlled the entire sky. So I didn't want to take any chances," Hera explained.
"Same. I didn't see the ruler, but the strength of the lightning was something else. Not to mention that Hera's panicked expression was enough to tell me what I needed to know," Blue added.
"Right, and this?" Naka kicked the juvenile griffon's head.
"That is the monster we killed," Hera replied.
"Why isn't it dissolving?" Sevaris scratched his head.
"That only happens with monsters inside a dungeon. Outside, the creatures die and leave their bodies, just like everyone else," Blue explained.
"And why did you bring that?" Naka had a weird expression while she stared at the head. It was cold, but her eyes had a glint of joy.
"I figured you never had a chance of study one of them," Hera turned to Pyrrick, "That's something we humans do. We use their bodies to learn what each monster can do, and even as materials to make other things."
"Such as?" Ogryn asked.
"Well. Birds usually have powerful beaks. Those might be weapons or armor sometimes. The skin can be used to make something defensive. Let's consider the rest of the organs. Eyeballs can be used to enchant things, or some people actually eat that, even the brain if I'm not crazy."
"STOP!" Blue gasped, "I have nothing in my stomach, don't make me throw up."
"I was just explaining!"
"Be less graphic!"
Hera huffed and went back to reporting everything that happened inside the nest. She did her best to not miss any details, but the recounting didn't take long. In reality, they were gone for just a few minutes, so there wasn't that much to tell. After explaining everything they could, the group just took a break there before heading back out.
As they talked, Blue seemed a bit weird. She kept looking in a random direction where nothing seemed to be around. However, she wasn't the only one with odd behaviors. Naka didn't take her eyes off of the griffon's head. She kept swapping between a smirk and a frown while looking at it. Lastly, Silah was more affectionate than usual. She was by Hera's side, holding her hand. It didn't seem like much, but she always avoided physical contact when around other people. Even if it was just Blue. Hera wanted to give her a kiss but held herself back. She didn't want to push her paramour too far.
"Naka, can you please stop with that routine? It's getting annoying," Ogryn sighed.
"What routine?"
"That thing you are doing with your face. Pick an expression and stick with it."
"You know why I'm like that," Naka stared at the mage.
"Ok, what are you talking about? It's really irritating to hear you two talking about a secret like that," Blue said.
"I agree," Silah nodded.
"Do not pry into my personal life. There is a reason Ogryn is the only one who knows what happened," Naka stared the group down before getting up, "Now I'm heading back. I expect you all to follow. If not, you can spend the night in here until people start coming in to work. Then you'll have to explain to the king why you were here."
All the dwarves nodded and got up. They didn't like the idea of having to explain themselves to the king. Hera and Blue found that a bit odd. It was more than likely that Rutigan would be happy to learn they came up here, but they didn't say anything. Naka seemed very upset, and they just wanted to go home. Despite not getting hurt, the ordeal was exhausting.
"I don't think you ever told me. What happened after I came out of there?" Hera turned to Blue while they were walking down the path.
"Right," Blue glanced towards her right, "I can't say for sure, but the lightning didn't attack me directly. It kept closing me off, but that was it. At one point, I just dashed through, and the attacks kind of stopped."
"Just like that?" Hera asked.
Blue stared her dead in the eye, "Yes. Just like that. You don't have to be weird about it," she glanced to her right once more, almost like she wanted to show Hera something.
Hera picked her tablet and wrote a message to Blue, asking if she had to talk privately. Unfortunately, there wasn't a network here, but the tablets could send short-range messages. It only worked in very close proximity. If each of them was in their rooms back in the house, it would already be too far for the text to go through.
Blue noticed the text, but seeing the sender made her sad. For a slight moment, she thought she had a signal here again. After brushing that feeling aside, she replied that they had to talk, just Hera and her.
About halfway through the path, Ogryn got too tired. The mage asked to be carried, and after some time of complaining from the captain, he created a floating stone chair to take him the rest of the way. Another 15 minutes passed before they finally reached the mines. With that, everyone went back to their homes. Hera asked Silah to give her and Blue some time so they could take a shower and rest before anything else.
"Sure, do you mind if I eat too? I'm kind of hungry," Silah asked.
"Not at all. I'm starving," Hera said.
"Ok, but leave room for dessert. I'll bring something," Silah smiled.
Hera leaned over and whispered, "Well, I hoped you would be the dessert."
Silah got red, but just nodded in response before splitting from her. Her house was nearby, unlike Hera's, that was on the other side of the city. They all headed back to their homes, except for Naka and Ogryn, who went towards the palace. They were going to tell the king about what happened. The captain wanted to bring Hera and Blue as well, but Ogryn convinced her they deserved a night of rest. Hera felt glad about that and even happier that she didn't have to carry that griffon's head anymore. Ogryn made a container to hide it from sight until reaching the king. After that, he would take it to his lab to study it. If they got any information, they would share with Hera. That way, her [Hunt] bonus could be even greater.
When all the dwarves were gone, Blue rushed Hera back to their place. She was almost running and dragging the explorer along.
"Blue, what the hell? Stop pulling my arm," Hera complained.
"We need to hurry. I have to tell you something."
"What can possibly be so important?"
Blue pushed Hera inside their home, closing the door behind them, "This! Can't you see it?" she pointed to her right.
"See what? There is nothing there."
"Can't you become visible?" Blue asked the air. After a small pause, she continued, "And how do I do that?" there was another pause, "Ok, hang on."
Blue closed her eyes and focused on something. Little by little, a small white cloud appeared in the air. It spun around a couple of times, leaving a small trail behind it.
"Is that a new spell?" Hera asked.
"No! It's the egg. Or part of it at least."
"What do you mean the egg?"
"The egg turned into the cloud!"
Hera took a deep breath, "Blue, I'm trying to understand, but you have to help me out here. What happened?"
"Ok, right. Sorry. I'm just really excited, and worried, and afraid, and thirsty, and hungry. Can we talk while we eat?"
"Sure, just reel it in a bit, ok?" Hera walked over to the kitchen, and Blue kept talking.
"Right, after I picked up the egg, the lightning kept avoiding me. The sky ruler, or whatever was controlling it, used that to block my path but never to hit me directly. I got scared at first, and that's why it took me longer. After I realized that the attacks wouldn't hit me, I just ran towards the tunnel. I was really close when I tripped and landed on top of the egg, breaking it."
"So that's where the egg went. But why all the secrecy? What's the matter if you broke the egg?"
"That's not all. When the egg broke, whatever was inside turned into smoke and wrapped itself around me. Then a notification appeared saying 'Legacy Piece acquired.'"
"That was a legacy?" Hera gasped.
"Yeah, it's called Storm Cloud Legacy, and then this little guy started appearing," Blue pointed at the cloud that was still spinning in circles.
"So that's what the legacy does? Well, it makes sense with the name. But who were you talking to?"
"With him! Can't you see it?" Blue asked.
"I see the cloud, yeah, but that's it."
"Can't you talk to her?" Blue turned to the cloud, "Really? That's lame," she turned back to Hera, "Ok, so this guy here is called a legacy herald. So basically, he… she… they, yeah, they are like a conscious part of the legacy that can help me figure out how it works. But I'm the only one who can hear them."
"That's amazing, Blue! Next time we go there, you can neutralize the clouds, and we won't have to worry about the lightning."
Blue turned to the cloud, and after getting a reply from the cloud, she answered, "No, that won't work. This is just a piece of the legacy. There are a lot of things I can't do, and the herald doesn't know a lot of things."
Hera nodded, "Well, it's just a piece of the legacy, so I guess it makes sense. I'm assuming that the rest of the pieces are in the nest."
"Probably… And the last piece is with the Sky Ruler. Of course," Blue rolled her eyes with the new information.
"What would happen if I'm the one who finds the next piece?"
After a moment, Blue replied, "So, the herald says that it wouldn't matter. Since I'm the one who got the first piece, even if you find it, it will come to me if I'm around. If not, it will just stay there until I come to pick it up, or I die, and my fragment goes back to there."
"Back where?"
"They don't know."
"Ok… what do they know? Like, is there anything that can help us out?"
Blue stared at the cloud and started blinking, "Ok, they are saying a lot of things. Like I can shape the clouds, use them as armor… Ok, yeah, clouds are made of water… I know about the cycle of water. You can skip that… No, no, not that part. How does the mana turn into a cloud?… Ok, time out. I need a drink."
They finished making a meal and started eating. All the while, the Storm Cloud Herald kept talking about different aspects of the legacy. Despite saying they didn't know too much about it, there was still much information it could tell them. The most interesting point that the herald said was that the legacy created the cloud barriers. The sky ruler made that as a protection for its children, and the control it had over the legacy was so strong that it even seeped into the dungeon. It also created the barrier around the nest. However, the barrier had a massive restriction. It would only work against the dwarves. Anything else wouldn't trigger it. To top it all off, it also meant that the legacy was being used solely for that. The Sky Ruler couldn't use a drop of power from the legacy to do anything else. Even the clouds that attacked them were controlled by the Sky Ruler's magic and not by the legacy. The herald explained that the reason it had so much information about that barrier was that when Blue passed through it; they were already there, giving them a chance to analyze it.
"That is a lot of good information!" Hera gasped. She even checked her hunter's catalogue and all types of sky rulers had an extra 10% for the bonus damage. If she could share that with Ganek, his pinpoint spell would help a lot during the dungeons, "By the way, why did you hide this?"
"Well… I'm not sure what the dwarves would say if they know. I mean, it's a legacy! What if Naka thinks I stole it from them?" Blue replied.
"I don't know if they would feel that way, but at the same time, I can't say for sure. So maybe we can probe a bit and try to figure out."
"Yeah, I'll try talking to them some more to figure out what I can do now, too. I just have to be careful about showing things to the team."
"Maybe you can say that the nest inspired you, and you came up with a bunch of spells. I mean, they already don't understand the code you use. Or we can just hide that, but it feels like a waste."
"True, anyway, let's finish eating. You still have a date tonight, and I don't want you to be late," Blue winked at Hera.
"Crap, you're right… Say, do you have a razor? I haven't shaved my legs since we got here."
"Don't mention it. My legs are itching like crazy. Not to mention I really need some blue dye. My roots are a mess already."
"Well… I'll ask Silah about that stuff later. Let me eat quickly so I can at least take a shower," Hera sighed.
The two finished eating. Hera went to the bathroom to get ready for her date, while Blue went to her room to test more things with the help of the herald. She hoped to get a skill or spell that would allow her to improve their time in the dungeons. Either way, tomorrow, they would have some new insight when trying to level up.
##### Author's Note #####
Yes, Ogryn made an elevator
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Comments
Perizou
Thanks for the corrections! I rewrote that question so many times only to forget the question mark.
Aldous Russell
Thanks! "Why you didn't even" should be "Why didn't you even". "a break here" should be "there". "However. she wasn't" should be a comma. "Naka didn't take her eyes out of the griffon's head" should be "off of". "what are you talking about" should have a question mark. "Do not pry in my personal life" should be "into". "I picked the egg" should be "picked up". "feel it that way" should be "feel that way" or "feel that way about it".
