The Forgotten Faithful: A LitRPG Adventure (UnderVerse Book 2) by Cajiao, Jez (little red riding hood ebook TXT) 📕

“Aye, laddie; they also be worth a small fortune! They be th’ same as a hun’red gold each, so use ‘em well!”

“I will,” I said, tipping them back into the bag and putting it carefully in my pocket. I greeted the small group that wanted to join me and helped to lead them to the ship, finding myself escorting Ame to a seat on the deck as the ship readied to take off. I called to Oren to wait a few minutes, and Oracle and I prepared ourselves.

I needed these Mer, and I needed to make a good impression on them. As near as I could tell, Ame was the only one that couldn’t ‘see’ or ‘sense’ or whatever; the others had various other issues, arthritis mainly, as near as I could see, but I wasn’t having Ame’s first airship ride be taken in the dark with no idea of what was happening.

“I’m going to help you, Ame. Please relax as much as you can,” I said gently, and she responded in a surprisingly strong and vibrant voice.

“You are our new lord?” she asked, and I started to nod before catching myself.

“Yes, I’m Jax, Lord of Dravith and the Great Tower.” I said, and she nodded to herself.

“Then I stand ready to swear the Oath. I will try to instruct your people as best I can.” she said matter of factly. “Although I cannot feel the world around me anymore, I can still teach, and I will…Arghhhh!” She cut off with a loud gasp as Oracle and I released the spell we’d been building. We poured our entire mana pool into the spell; two hundred and forty mana was infused into the ‘Battlefield Triage’ spell, and it soaked into her like water into sand. She was lifted from her feet in the first seconds of the spell, suspended in midair as the spell went on, until at last it cut off with a sound like the ringing of bells. I closed my eyes against the bright flare of a mana migraine as I took deep breaths. When I could see again, I looked at Ame, seeing what I could only assume was shock. Her tendrils were out, waving around frantically, and the rest of the crew and I flinched as a low vibration washed over us. It made my teeth ache, but only lasted a second before dying away.

Ame stood there, her hands outstretched, shaking as she waved them about, then started reaching out and touching things; the deck of the ship, the people around her. She finally spun around to face me.

“You? You did this?” she demanded, reaching out and grabbing my arms.

“I did; well, we did,” I admitted and nodded to Oracle, who came to land on my shoulder. “And I’ll do the same for all of you in the coming days! It takes a lot of mana, so please, bear with me, but I’ll do it.” I said louder, speaking to the entire group. The air erupted with a barrage of low-level sonic vibrations as the group examined Ame minutely, and I tried to back away.

“No!” Ame snapped as I tried to pull my arms free. “Explain this; I must understand! Will this fade? Will I return to what I was?”

“I…I don’t think so…” I stammered, blinking at the ferocity of her questioning.

“You don’t think so? But you don’t know?” she asked, then shook her head. “I must know! I have been locked away from the world, locked away from my life! I will not return to that!” Ame snapped at me, releasing my arms as she stalked to the side of the ship, pushing others aside and gripping the railing as she muttered to herself. I turned to Flux, who shook his head as I opened my mouth.

“Don’t ask. I have never understood females, my friend, and that one least of all!” he said, eliciting a small chuckle from one of the crew who was nearby. I glanced over and saw him shaking his head. He froze when he realized I’d heard him and started to apologize, until I grinned at him.

“I’m the same; never understood a woman yet, and I don’t think species matters like that!”

“He should understand Ame by now!” Cheena chimed in from where she leaned against a nearby crate. “How long have you loved her for now, Flux?” she teased, and Flux gestured sharply at her.

“What, you think she doesn’t know?” she asked, a low burble escaping her, and I guessed it was her version of a laugh.

“She is the Runecrafter of the pod, she would never…”

“Bah! ‘She’ is no longer ‘of the pod’, and I’ve not been any use as a Runecrafter for years!” Ame snapped, not bothering to turn around. “’She’ will discuss this with you later, Flux, and you’d better not try to hide! Things have been put off too long.” The fierce Mer woman turned back to me and strode over, the other Mer jumping aside. It was move or be walked over, considering the determined way she went.

“Flux said you have offered skill training, memories, and more. You can heal us, but you have no idea if it is permanent… I will be your Runecrafter, but I will need access to items to do this. I have brought what I have, but I will need more soon, depending on what you expect of me. I will also teach my secrets to others you choose, though this will come at a cost,” she said firmly. “I have been cut off from the world entirely for too long. My Worldsense was lost first, then I began to lose the feeling in my body. I knew not what I touched or where, being left with only a hint of the sound’s others made. I had planned to let go, as soon as my apprentice learned enough that the pod would not be left without a Runecrafter, when she was almost killed by her experiment, and she quit. I