City of Fallen Souls: A LitRPG Adventure (UnderVerse Book 3) by Jez Cajiao (fb2 epub reader .txt) 📕

I pointed the bow back towards the city, cursing at the other ship but praying that they’d make it.

It shifted from one side to the other ominously; then the front engines flared bright, the second through to the fourth on each side dimming as the bow lifted ponderously, then all the engines flared, as the sails on the right side crashed and tore through a particularly high tree. The impact twisted the ship momentarily before it righted itself and climbed again.

“Thank fuck,” I muttered, freezing in place as I looked across at Hellenica, who stared at me in fear.

“You’ve been cursed by the Gods…” she whispered in horror. “And I’m sworn to serve you. We were safer serving the Skyking!” Her panicked voice rose to a low moan, and I snapped back at her.

“Bullshit! I’ve been called an apostate by that prick, Nimon; that’s all…” The thunder rumbled, and I glared up at the heavy rainclouds overhead. “I don’t serve him, and never will, so it makes fuck-all difference!”

“Jax! Don’t…” I heard Jenae’s voice clearly, and I bit back on my temper, swallowing my pride and forcing the words out through gritted teeth, as a cold shudder crawled up my neck, I was acutely aware that Nimon was watching me. “I would have not attacked the ‘Dark God’ intentionally, but his people have decided an accident is going to start this off, so that’s out of my control…” I muttered, feeling pressure mounting all around us and hearing Hellenica gasp in pain. I looked over to her and found her shaking her head, eyes closed, as another prompt appeared.

Nimon has personally intervened to declare Jax the Apostate as an Enemy of the Church.

All sanctified soldiers of the Church will receive +3 to Strength, Agility, and Endurance when facing the forces of the Apostate. Killing any member of those forces will make this Buff permanent. Furthermore, this Buff will increase by +1 for every additional kill those soldiers make… Kill on, Holy Warriors!

“Well, that’s just peachy!” I growled as I felt Nimon’s presence disappear, swearing under my breath as we cleared the wall of the city. Angling the ship around, I headed for the Shipyard District, the other ship following along behind me.

***

“What the hell just happened?!” Mal swore as the prompt faded, turning to Soween.

“How would I know, Mal? I’ve been here with you,” she replied evenly. He grunted, peering out of the wagon at the gates of the Stockpile as they passed through, nodding to Jay and the others as they waved them on.

“Now, what’s that goddamn idiot done?” Mal went on, not really expecting an answer. “I leave him for what, an hour. Two? He’s declared a holy war! All he had to do with fight some creature and keep his head down, that was it, but noooo…”

Soween ignored him, occasionally interjecting a response by rote, ‘Yes Mal’ or ‘Times are hard…’ as she often did, while concentrating more on controlling the oxen that pulled the wagons and watching for the guards, hoping and praying they could make it across the bridges before the alarms were raised.

Her amulet shook suddenly, and she reached up, pressing the silvery crystal embedded in her glove to the symbol on the amulet, and Josh’s voice filled her ears.

“What happened?”

“What makes you think I know dear?” she replied.

“Oh, right… of course, I just…”

“I know.”

“How’s Mal taking it?”

“About as well as you’d expect… He’s complaining, but he’ll get over it; he likes the kid,” she said, injecting the mental equivalent of an eyeroll and a snort in one.

“He’s got balls, I’ll give him that…” Josh replied, the sense of disbelief carrying through to her.

“Maybe not for long, if he does anything else; tonight was going to be hard enough as it was. I’ve got to go, was there something?”

“Not really, just wanted to talk. Love you.”

“I know, love you too, honey.”

She pulled her palm from the amulet and let a rare smile cross her lips. For all that Josh was about as sensible as sitting on a spike, he had a good heart, and the years with him by her side had been good. If they could actually get a ship and get away from all of this, she knew they’d only get better.

“What’s that damn fool done now?” growled Jay, pulling himself up the side of the wagon and looking in. Soween glared at him for breaking character as Mal started to speak.

“I know, right…? I mean, all he had to do…”

“Jay, you’re supposed to be on the last wagon. What the hell are you doing up here?” she snapped, and he looked at her in surprise.

“Yeah, but I mean, with that message…” Jay started to respond, and she cut him off quickly.

“Jay, why do you think we told you to ride that wagon?” she asked in as calm a voice as she could manage.

“I dunno; you don’t like them that’s driving it normally, and yer didn’t let them carry anything really valuable, just some…”

“And why would we tell you to keep an eye on them, if we didn’t trust them normally?” She asked through gritted teeth.

“Uh, maybe to keep ‘em in line?” he guessed, before leaning back out as he heard something.

“Hey!” He shouted, then he leaned back in and pointed back at the wagons behind them. “They’ve turned off! They’re headed off somewhere else!”

“Jay, you goddamn…!” Mal snarled at him, and Soween shook her head, glancing at the narrow bridge they were clattering onto already.

“Ain’t no time for that, Mal,” she said, cutting him off. “Too late to turn around and get them as well; better just to let them go, and we’ll sort it out another day.”

“But they’re stealing our stuff!” Jay said, leaning back out and drawing in a deep breath. “I’ll get you, Covan! I know it’s you, yer little…” he bellowed into the falling rain, the glowing lights of the wagon soon vanishing as it turned down an alleyway out of sight.

“Shut it, you