Hiring him was probably not the.... wisest... of moves... but if the man is as good as the story tells, he'll be worth parting with one of the treasures Nor has collected over the ages. Still, Nor questions the man's sanity at times. He's still not sure what this mercenary wants with an original edition of a book.
Other than this insane marksman, Nor also tried to contact an organization with a woman named Morgan who, if his divination spell is correct, possesses a remarkable ability that could be useful, but the time is fast approaching. He can only hope that his request reaches Morgan before it's too late.
Nor chuckled... what would his old master say if he knows the company that Nor keeps today? Reprimand him, probably, and not just for hiring mercenaries, but also for turning to a different teaching. Still, Nor has made up his mind, and this is the path he chose. He can return to his peaceful days of contemplating the path humanity is taking from the sidelines once this threat has been taken care of.
Nor's thoughts turns to his enemy once again. He's convinced that what he felt back then was a creature that is not bound by the chains of Karma. What was it then?
=========
Somewhere in the middle of the sea
A scene of serene calm, with nothing but the endless blue ocean. Then suddenly, a ship appears over the horizon. Then another one, and another, until a whole fleet comes into view, blocking the horizon as far as the eye can see. All of the ships have various flags flying on them, but each and every one has one flag in common: the drawing of an eye. The view zooms in towards the lead ship.
"Captain, our navigators believe that we are one week away from arriving at our target"
Inside the captain's cabin, two figures can be seen. Well, one of them clearly at least. One figure currently has his back turned from the other one. The smaller figure finished his report, and awaited the larger one's reply.
"Exactly as planned. And what of the other Sea Lords?"
"8 of the 13 are currently in the joint fleet, with the other 5 enroute."
Even as he finished saying it, the smaller man wiped away the beads of sweat trickling down his forehead. The larger man noticed it, even when he wasn't looking.
"You seem nervous, what worries you?"
"Oh, well, no, it's just that... I've heard rumors about the target of our fleet. The crew has been saying- not all of them, captain- that a god is keeping constant watch over this particular town. And, well, the reputation of this city's guards precedes it, and they say it's proof that the god will appear in the flesh should the city have need of him."
With that, the captain laughed at his subordinate's worries.
"We've ransacked plenty of Godfearing towns, and they've turned into a new religion, so to speak. The ones that we left alive, at least. None of their gods came to help them. As for the guards, what possible power in this world can stand against the might of the 13 strongest pirates in the world? Hell, even IF this god of theirs shows up, it won't matter."
The pirate captain looked back to the largest ship in their fleet through his window, a ship easily 50 times as large as the other ships.
"After all, we have a god of our own."
=========
Reid's military base
Chaos. That's the only thing that can describe the scene, Walker thought. Shortly after Project War Mind said he fixed the particle accelerator, he suddenly vanished. Soldiers and scientists are scattering around like headless chicken. Dammit, what the hell just happened?
"I want someone who can explain what the hell happened just then, NOW!"
A scientist hurriedly came up to him, but his face betrayed his desire to be anywhere else but here.
CONTINUED NEXT POST
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