Trapped On A Death World - Chapter 28

Winds with the bite of winter hounds nipped at my wing tips. If I paused for too long between wing beats they’d start weighing me down. The cold tugged at my body hungrily trying to draw weakness out. Too long between wing beats and I’d slow but too fast and I’d break too far ahead. That left me with the uncomfortable feeling of frost growing around my joints before breaking it off with hard flap. Each wing beat was enhanced by my aura giving me enhanced lift and speed. If I’d focused solely on my own strength to fly, I’d have fallen frozen to death by the frost.

Doppel didn’t have that problem, she shielded herself while she flew beside me. The frost ignored her shield, and she flew through the cold winds unimpeded. I remembered her ability to turn gore into ice. There was a chance that power bled over into flying in cold winds. She might have also equalized the temperature within the shield with the cold wind. That seemed to be the easiest solution. By Occam’s razor it became the most likely choice.

We’d already flown for ten minutes. Our foe’s lead wasn’t an issue.

Elena lvl15 Fallen Moon

Lineage: Darkling

Rank: Knight

That information hadn’t shocked me. I’d expected her to be strong. As a fellow darkling it was likely she was a slave to Tyrannus or someone in Tyrannus’s party. She was strong and well-armed with magic. Besides her clothes, I sensed no other items on her.

“When we land don’t speak unless spoken to. Act only at my behest or from my mental commands. It is considered incredibly rude to invade the mind of another’s Ling. I wouldn’t put it past them. I’m considered a new lineage.”

Elena quickly turned around and landed. The white aura around her body faded when we landed. I waited for a command from Doppel to act.

A tall mind flayer with golden tassels on his face tentacles and wearing a great red cloak placed his hands together and bowed.

“Greetings, I am Rudalpho of the noble house Clematis my dear could you give us the honor of your name.” Doppel focused quickly and ran through a long list of names that would fit with a noble lineage and sharing it with me. My own sorting system quickly caught on to her parameters.

One quickly came to mind while I remained stationary. I was a tool not a person. Why would I react to customs? Doppel bowed to the noble standard using memories she’d inherited from Gwen.

I felt the air shift while she tested her telekinetic control. “My name is Doppel of the noble house Aster.” Doppel said.

My eyes focused on the mind flayer standing behind Elena. I could sense greater power radiating from this guy than Rudalpho. Tyrannus made my back tingle with a sense of danger. It wasn’t just his power to enslave lings. There was something else. This Mind Flayer was dangerous.

The noble rose from his bow in a flourish of fabric. “Ah, I’ve heard that house Aster fell on hard times. Its good to see that it was only a rumor. You have a fine darkling. May I inspect him?” That sent a red flag way up.

Doppel rose as well keeping herself ready to fight. “Be my guest Lord Rudalpho. Who is your companion with the white darkling? I’ve never seen anything quite like it.” Doppel said.

“My lady this is Tyrannus my soon to be brother in law. He is a masterful trainer perhaps you can share a battle together and show off the splendor of your training.” Rudalpho said.

“You must excuse my brother in law. He is of an up and coming family. They are darkling breeders. The creature Elena is one of their finest dames. Does that interest you Lady Doppel, the breeding of beasts?” Rudalpho asked.

Doppel gave me a prompt. I drew my blade and struck for Rudalpho’s neck. The command to stop almost came too late.” The noble stared at the blade at the edge of his neck. A small purple barrier flashed to life just before the blade would have killed him.

Diabla floated beside me hands on her elbows. Her eyes screwed up in annoyance. “I know the plan, but he’d dishonored me by blocking. I don’t like the superior look in his eyes. Those scrawny arms have never wielded a blade. We should kill him when this is over.” Diabla said.

His tentacles wiggled about, and a look of absolute envy filled his eyes. “Magnificent control my lady. He didn’t even touch my barrier. I’ve never seen such great control. Why arm him?” He asked.

“He is her one and only Ling. She seems to have taken pride in her tool. Is he your first?” Tyrannus asked curiously.

Doppel gave the command and I put my blade back. “He is, and it is thanks to him that was able to reach this form.” She said.

I couldn’t agree more with the sword spirit. The noble looked unimpressive. That could be an faade but I doubted it. Tyrannus seemed to be the real power here. Why was the noble without guards?

Rudalpho walked around me and slapped my junk. It took all of my will not to clap my hands over the squid man’s head and crush him into paste. “Lower,” commanded the noble. The noble spread my lips to see my teeth. I wasn’t a horse. Unless Rudalpho changed his attitude, I’d kill him if he didn’t leave. The noble took a step back.

Rudalpho’s eyes widened and something clicked. “He defeated the Blessed Ancestor. Even stunted that feat should have been impossible. Where are your lingballs?” Rudalpho asked.

I felt discomfort roll off of Doppel in waves. Maybe this would have been easier if I’d gone in alone. Then again maybe killing Rudalpho would be even more fun now. I needed a proper quest to kill him.

Ping!

Quest: Kill Rudalpho

Reward: +1 AGL

It wasn’t a lot, but it would help. This was basically an assassination that I could carry out at any time. Despite Elena’s close proximity Rudalpho wouldn’t be hard to kill.

“They were destroyed with the rest of her team I’d imagine. You paid a hefty price for that form. We are on a diplomatic mission to negotiate the release of a hostage. Someone who knows how to make sacrifices could be useful. Would you like to join us?” Tyrannus asked.

“That depends, who will know that I helped you? What price are you willing to pay for my help?” Doppel asked.

“My lady you are alone in the wild outskirts. You lack the tools of a trainer. We have a spare gear and some lingballs. If you’ll help us, they’re yours.” Tyrannus said.

Tyrannus waved to Elena and me. “The two of you can scout ahead while we register Lady Doppel.” I looked to Doppel. She sent me a command to go scout ahead.

What was Tyrannus’s game? It was either to out an enemy or confirm an ally. Doppel was an imposter, so I’d have to fix that. Gear’s didn’t seem too complicated. Much less storage than Black Apples. They were more like smartphones.

Registering could go wrong. Doppel’s flesh was originally that of a gobling. What was she thinking? This could go wrong in so many ways. I slipped into what they called a gear and found it was connected to a large web of information. Suddenly, information about ling evolutions entered my database.

There was so much information. It was more than I thought possible. Mysteries I never knew existed filled out while I dug into the wider network of gears. It was a tiny device connected to so many others with so much information. It was a like a drug, anything I wanted was just a search away. I was walking away. With a force of effort, I ensured all Doppel’s information would check out and filled authentication programs with viruses. She’d register as Doppel Aster.

Once out of earshot Elena rammed into me and kissed me. Her lips were hot, soft, and full of hunger. I pushed her to arm’s length. She looked so human. Her eyes shined like golden pools of amber. Elena pulled a pin binding her hair. I let my hand slip between her curls, they were soft as satin and spun from moonlight and curled at her shoulders. My other hand roamed her her back, her skin was softer than satin, smoother than polished marble, and stronger than steel.

I took hold of her and her bones didn’t creak. She was strong enough to swap blows with me. Beneath her skin I could feel the strength to crush boulders into powder. We slipped slowly onto a dirty old tarp. She peeled off her form fitting black body suit and exposed her pale breasts to the cold air. Her own hands moved up to squeeze her breast. A coy smile flashed across her face.

Wait, this was his plan? Tyrannus wasn’t trying to out Doppel. He was trying to steal my sperm.