EG Monster Island Chapter 4

**** AUTHORS NOTE ***
Craesti City is out now for purchase on Amazon! Please go and leave a review even if you don't purchase (since you already got it here)! Also, the Omnibus is in dire need of reviews, so please take a moment and go review it if you've looked it over.

Also, if you've listened to the Audible, can you give it a review? That'll help it get more traction, and once it's paid for itself I'm going to commision Condensation in ACX. 

Thanks!

**** AUTHORS NOTE****

We flew over the Illyrian ship, and I looked closely at it. It looked fairly similar to Svik’s ship, with spots for two masts to hold sails. Only one was still whole, the other cracked and broken. The top half was floating in the ocean next to the ship. There were a dozen spots where small fires either burned or had been recently extinguished. What looked like the remains of a catapult was being picked at by two Illyrians and a human. While I watched, one lizard started to berate the human, then slapped him to the ground. “Do not interfere,” Librarian Narwan said, clenching his teeth. “We cannot afford to alienate the Ashkhas. We will free all the slaves, someday.”

“I’ll hold you to that, Master Narwan,” I said, then stepped onto the deck of the Muhit Zahra. “Is anyone injured? I have some healing powders.” I looked up at him.

“No, not here anyway. Vaya, Jamila, and Hanna stayed on the (Other Ship Name) to heal, along with Knight Kaminski. Come, I want to speak with you all in privacy,” he gestured towards the stairs down. I looked over at my friends and noticed how many of them had bloody clothing or visible injuries

“Ming, do you want a healing powder? Same question for you Milenna,” I pulled out a bottle from my fancy belt.

“I have already taken one and will be fine,” Ming said.
Milenna nodded though, so I handed the powder to her and she threw it back like a shot. After shuddering for a second, she perked up and handed back the jar. “Thank you,” she said, her melodious voice shaking slightly.

“My pleasure,” I said, then joined the herd of students following Librarian Narwan down the stairs. I hope Jamila and Vaya are okay.  We filed into one of the work rooms, filling the space. Xiao, Ming, Milenna, and Bridget sat in the chairs, while the rest of us leaned against the walls.

“I did not expect the Illyrians to send Khazganci,” Librarian Narwan stated. “He has done more to attack our kingdom than any other leader of the Illyrians. Luckily, he has grown overconfident, and I have advanced past him. I will be looking to use your tournament as an excuse to destroy him. To that end, I will be giving you all more resources than I originally planned. This has become personal for me. Khazganci is the one who killed my Bond. Assist me in my revenge, and I will reward you. Now, go, rest and recover.” He vanished, and I relaxed.

Light, his anger was palpable enough to put me on edge! I thought, shivering. “Okay, shower, meditate, refill.” I helped Xiao off the chair and we all stumbled back to our rooms. I quickly grabbed a change of clothes, towel, and toiletries and hurried to scrub the blood off my skin. Feeling somewhat refreshed after changing, I sat on my bed and contemplated the last hour.

Ming plopped a Core into the Formation in the center of the room, then limped over to his bed and sat down. “Your master is scary when he is angry,” he sighed. “However, he is also one of the greatest Alchemists known. We probably cannot imagine the types of rewards he can provide.”

“Either way,” I shrugged at him, “it doesn’t really matter. We were planning on winning the tournament anyway. Now I have an additional goal of freeing all the slaves the Illyrians are holding. Hopefully one of them is a gambler, or we might have to figure out how to assault their compound and steal them away.”

“Be careful, you do not want to be removed from the tournament, nor do you want to start a diplomatic incident,” Ming cautioned, then winced.

“Not yet, at least,” I said grimly. “Though I think war is going to come soon. We’ll need to be ready.”

“Starting with gathering,” Ming smiled at me, then closed his eyes.

Yup, gotta process that Essence too, I thought while diving into my center. I spent the next hour hosing down my Aether Pool, gritting my teeth through the acid reflux like pain the entire time, and then smoothing out the bumps using Librarian Narwan’s technique after running out of Essence. I stared into my pool, then looked up to the ceiling and noticed that they were growing disproportionate. Huh, that might not be good. Gonna find Librarian Narwan and ask about it.

I pulled myself back into awareness of the real world to find Jon’s legs dangling in front of my face. I rolled my eyes while going around them, then shook my head at his slumped form. He’d fallen asleep right after gathering and was lying half-on the railing of his bed. Xiao and Ming were absent from the room. I collected my crafting bag and headed to find Librarian Narwan.

Upon entering the galley, though, I found Madfiei Majnun and Ambassador Saf’Ir speaking quietly. Ambassador Saf’Ir looked up at me, “Ah, Aiden. You and yours did a fantastic job keeping the traders safe. The presence of Ambassador Jash’e with Padan Khazganci is troubling. I had thought a different Ambassador had been sent to the Illyrians. Captain Alborz has agreed with Captain Svik to escort them to Monster Island. We will be assisting them with repairs now that the Illyrian’s have slunk off like the cowardly Sand Hyenas they are.”

“Young Xiao used a shielding Inscription to block three attacks in a row before he was injured,” Madfiei Majnun blurted out. “Do you know what it was?”

“Uh, yes, sir,” I said, then pulled mine out. “We all have one. Librarian Narwan and my parents came up with the design and taught me how to make them.”

“Where did you get that blue crystal? I have never seen its like,” Ambassador Saf’Ir said.

“I have some, if you would like to trade for them,” I replied. “I even have the materials to make a dozen of the Inscriptions. They are reusable.”

Madfiei Majnun gave kitten eyes to Ambassador Saf’Ir, and I struggled to keep my face still. “I know you still want more of the tattoos to increase your strength before the tournament. I can prepare a few tattoo options for you in exchange for two of those Inscriptions.”

“How about I give you a dozen Inscriptions and a dozen of the crystals, and you give each one of us another tattoo?” I rebutted.

He thought for a second, “I am agreeable to that, though it will reduce your options slightly on what tattoo you can get.”

“How many more can a person get?” I asked.

“In general, you can get one per limb, two on the front and back of the torso, and one on the head without repercussions,” he explained. “Though that can depend on what exactly you get. Your tattoo is large, and thus you can only get a tiny tattoo if you wished to add another to your back.”

“Can I trade another two crystals of a different type to get another tattoo for myself?” I asked.

“Yes, since you are being generous and assisting your entire delegation, I will allow that trade. Give me a day to decide what tattoos I am willing to give and design them,” Ambassador Saf’Ir said. “Librarian Narwan, Captain Alborz, and Captain Svik are on the poop deck if you wish to speak with them.”

“Thank you, Ambassador Saf’Ir. Especially thank you for assisting us in saving my friend,” I bowed low to him.

“Shoo, before you somehow talk me out of more concessions,” he said, somehow smirking with his leonine face.

I walked off, excited for the new tattoos. I wonder what I’ll get this time? Maybe something to help with fighting? Ooh, maybe he can increase my Affinity to something? I daydreamed possible options while climbing the stairs. I ran into Xiao and Milenna on the gun deck. I greeted them and then told them of the bargain.

“Thank you,” Milenna said, “but why did you bargain off your own goods for us?”

“We all need to get stronger. I want us to take the top three spots in the tournament, and even beyond that I see war with Illyria sooner than anyone would like. You are all my friends, so if I can spend some of my newfound wealth to make it less likely that you will be injured, I will.”

“He has done this several times before,” Xiao told her. “I have learned to just go with it. Though, I will look through our belongings to see if we have something shareable.”

“Thanks Xiao,” I said. “I’m going to go see Librarian Narwan now.”

“Good. You will be ready for the party this evening?” At my confused glance, he said, “Captain Svik is going to provide food for a feast this evening. It will be on the poop deck for the officers and us, with more food on the main deck for the rest of the crew.”

“Ah, cool,” I said.

“Yes, it will be cool this evening. You should dress warmly,” Milenna said, confused.

I laughed and shook my head. “See you all this evening.”

I hurried up to the main deck and found dozens of crew, both human and Ashkha, running around carrying equipment and supplies. A small crane had been assembled and was being used to pull crates out of the hold through a large opening I’d never realized was there. Wow, Svik’s ship is tiny compared to this one! I guess that's why they are holding the party here. I saw Librarian Narwan near the top of the stairs and rushed over to him.

“Uh, sir, I have a question. Is it bad if my Aether Pool is getting larger than the area above it?” I asked.

“Yes, but that…” he paused, “Ah yes, your extra ability. You should see if a similar effect occurs above your pool, on the walls of your center. You want to keep them relatively close in size, or you can have issues at the end of Core.”

“Okay,” I nodded. “I am out of ...,” I looked around, “Essence right now, but next time I get some I’ll experiment with it. I negotiated an additional tattoo for everyone from Ambassador Saf’Ir in exchange for most of my crystals. I will be working on the shield Inscription you taught me with half of them.”

“Good. I have some gifts I will give out at the party tonight. As does Captain Svik. Use this to grow stronger. I am glad you are my disciple. Now, go work on your trade,” he shooed me away.

“Yes Master,” I said with a bow, then hurried back to my cabin. Jon was still asleep when I got there, and Ming was lying in bed reading a book. I quietly dug into one of my bags and found where I’d stored the crystals and my Inscribing equipment, waved at Ming’s curious gaze, and then walked to the closest workshop. Lea was there, sitting hunched over a bench while working on an Inscription.

I moved to the other side of the room and quietly set my equipment up. Dipping my quill pen into the special ink, I slowly drew the first of three dozen runes. I knew I could make it, but I only had enough of the ink to make a dozen, so I couldn’t make any mistakes. I’ll have to get a couple amulets or metal sheets or something, I thought as I held the first Inscription paper up. Need something to hold the Inscription and the gem.

“That was impressive,” Lea said from behind me. I didn’t jump, no I didn’t.

“Thank you,” I said unsteadily. “I need to get faster at this one. Ambassador Saf’Ir is trading a dozen of these Inscriptions for a tattoo for each of us.”

“You do not need to patronize all of us,” she said sharply, glaring at me. “I worked my tail off to get this far, and I am not someone to be bought.”

“What, no, I,” I stammered.

She just shook her head and stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

I stared at the door, flabbergasted at how quickly that went south. “I, uh, Light!” Oh well, uh, glad she’s not on my team? I wonder why she snapped like that. I’m not trying to buy anyone. I just want everyone on all of our teams stronger. We need to beat the Illyrians, and show our capabilities to the other nations. If we can prove we are mighty, hopefully we can get them to ally with us against the Illyrians, and then against whatever calamity is coming. Nothing I can do about it now. Let’s just place this Inscription on one of the last few metal badges I got.

I pulled out the item and carefully applied the Inscription. After it set into the metal, I took out a Blue Star and placed it in the center of the runes for storage and transference. With a careful application of Metal Aether, I smoothed the badge’s surface apart and bonded the crystal into the slot for it. I was sweating at this point, after spending nearly an hour focused on my work.

The second one took nearly the same amount of time. After setting the gem into its spot, I ran my Aether through the Inscription. The expected shield popped up over me, then fizzled out after less than a second. “Yeah, these Blue Stars don’t have much charge in them,” I whispered to myself. “I wonder why?”

“I drained the Aether from them to test how the crystals behaved,” Librarian Narwan said from behind me.

“What did you discover, sir?” I asked.

“They developed very minor discontinuities in the crystalline structure when fully drained. Refilling them with Aether did not fix it. I would take someone with extensive capabilities with Metal and Earth Aether to fix the gems. However, the minor damage will not become detrimental to the working of the Inscription for at least a thousand cycles. Still, that is better than almost every Formation I know,” he answered.

I thought for a second. They’re kinda like rechargeable batteries, then. Each use damages them further, but still better than normal ones. At least for a while. “If you don’t drain them fully, do they still get damaged?”

“Yes,” he said simply. After a second, he continued, “The act of storing Aether and then draining it causes microscopic damage to the structure of the crystal. It is fascinating. I kept one crystal just to charge and discharge to see how long it’ll take to totally destroy it.”

“That’s awesome, Master,” I said, smiling to see him geeking out. We talked for a little bit longer about crystals and how they formed.

He abruptly changed the subject. “Have you taken the Jungle Affinity Pill you made yet?”

“Uh, no sir,” I answered. “You told me not too until we reached a place with a fairly high Wood Aether density.”

“Good, you listened. You will need the extra Affinity, though. Here,” he tossed me a bag that appeared from nowhere. I looked inside and gasped.

“Level six Wood Core? Master, you’re just giving this to me?”

“Collect your team and use this to create an area of high Wood Aether. Take the pills you created. You have two hours until the party, and it will take at least an hour to process the pill Go. Now,” he directed imperiously, then vanished. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes, then left to find Jon, Vaya, and Bridget.

We packed into mine and Jon’s room. Ming and Xiao were doing some training with their team, using the poop deck to run drills. “Everyone got your pill?” I asked while Vaya sat down on my bed.

“Yup,” Jon said proudly, holding out a small glass jar.

“Okay. Librarian Narwan gave me this,” I pulled the Core out.

Vaya gasped and seemed to instinctively reach for it. “Light, level six?” she asked.

I nodded. “This will let the ambient Aether become almost entirely Wood, giving us the most benefit out of taking the Jungle Affinity Pill. Hopefully it’ll push all of us up one tier in Affinity.”

“Are you sure it will not overload the Formation in the room?” Vaya asked.

“It should be fine. I’m assuming Librarian Narwan wouldn’t give me this if it would endanger us,” I said. I think at least. I dropped the Core into the slight recess, and sent a tiny surge of Aether into the mechanism to start it working. Immediately, a river of Aether flowed out of it, bringing the density to a significantly higher level.

“Pills,” Vaya said urgently, throwing hers into her mouth as soon as she spoke.

The Aether shoved down on me, not quite as hard as the dungeon, but enough to be very uncomfortable. I gulped down my pill and dove into my center. The pill dissolved into a burst of green, brown, and blue Aether that shot into my center through the meridians from my stomach and blood vessels. It immediately soaked into my pool, changing the color to green and absorbing into the walls. It felt like vines growing in my chest, expanding and digging through my flesh until the Aether exploded up my life meridian into my brain.

Immediately, I found myself in darkness. A twinge of pain below me was followed with a feeling of expansion and growth. My body grew as ages passed, and I became a mighty tree. Surrounding my trunk was a riot of green plants and other, smaller trees. Vines and bugs were everywhere, the humidity and heat promoting rapid growth, while Aether poured off my body to be absorbed by the children I’d spawned. My vision leapt upward as I grew, towering over every living thing around.

Clouds rolled in suddenly, and a massive whirlpool of Air and Ice Aether formed in the center. Friction between the chilled water particles built up a static charge that only grew faster as the storm raged on. Finally, a massive bolt of Lightning shot into the tree that I was, and broke it in two. My vision moved to one of the branches, and a single seed was blown in the storm, far from the location the first tree died.

This second one grew in a forest, rather than a jungle, and lighting sparked Fire this time, burning it to a crisp. From the ashes grew more trees, though, and while they all died eventually, they also spawned yet more. The circle of life shown in plants had me humming the song from the Lion King movie when the visions finally ceased.

I opened my eyes to find Librarian Narwan six inches from my face. “Good, you have processed it well. Tell me, what did you see?” He stared unblinkingly at my face.

I quickly summarized, and he nodded. “Here,” he handed me a basketball sized sphere of glass. “Insert your Aether into it.”

I hurriedly followed directions to find it was an Affinity testing sphere. It glowed like the sun first as my Lightning Affinity had grown with my level, then Fire, Air, and Metal filled the thing with their respective colors. Earth had reached the same tier as Metal, though at the lower end of it, and then Wood popped in at High, and a high High at that! Water and Ice were still Mediums, but they were approaching the boundary.

“Excellent result from the pill. I knew using it in a high-density, Wood Affinity area would increase the effects,” he said, congratulating himself on my accomplishment. Jon started stirring next, so he moved over to him and repeated the process. Finally, all of my teammates had woken up and tested themselves. Jon and Bridget had both reached High in their Wood Affinities, and Bridget reported a gain in her Earth Affinity as well.

“I am Outstanding in Wood!” Vaya said, nearly dropping the testing crystal as she leapt to her feet. Its first color was a deep green that filled the entire sphere, and she started to dance around. “You are not the only one with an Outstanding Affinity,” she pointed at me with a giant smile on my face.

“Nope, and hopefully we’ll be able to get everyone else to that level as well,” I said. “Just need to get more ingredients.”

“Yes, yes, good job,” Librarian Narwan said. “Now, though, it is time for the feast Captain Svik is holding. Get up top, no need to dress up.”

I nodded and we all headed to the poop deck.