Tarragon

Chapter Fourteen: Ascension

-Net

We had been traveling through the tunnels for three days now. We had to be close- unless Gaea had faltered during it, and left us stranded with a false sense of hope. And yet, the river was still flowing. We had to be close.

Amnoia and I entered a large vertical room.

"No flowers this time. That's a relief," I joked. Amnoia didn't laugh, but just ran their claws over where the burn had been.

Suddenly, something shined into the room from above us. It was brighter than anything either of us had seen in months. It was almost blinding.

We launched ourselves off the floor, like a dragon launching itself off the floor. We moved faster, and faster, and faster, until...

We landed on a ledge. In front of us was a small tunnel, and at the end was a blue sky. The sun was behind the clouds. It was a sight we hadn't seen in months.

We ran out of the SDZ, finally free. I didn't know how long it had been, or where Mantis would be-

"Net. The first thing we need to is to make a deal with our Parasites. See what Ankhele has to say." Amnoia grounded me.

"Perfect Strength Relic, roughly 490 thousand Keterams." Ankhele told me immediately.

"Refined Strength Relic, I can get it to you significantly faster than a perfect one." I tried bargaining with him.

"Nope, not bargaining. Perfect or no deal."

I turned to Amnoia in horror. They had the same reaction.

"We both need perfect relics. Great. No way we can both afford them." they sighed.

"We could rob Thorn." I offered. They were taken aback by the idea.

"I- no- that's- actually... not a bad idea. You know where the money is?" they asked me, switching tones.

"Thorn's main wealth is hidden in a chest beneath her tent. A single Aerim, worth about 900 thousand Keterams. That would be more than enough to purchase both of our relics." I explained, "We get in, take the Aerim, get out."

"We can't fly with it- it's too heavy. Have you seen how massive those things are?" Amnoia was not open to the idea, "And even if we can get it, we'd have to find Pyrrekhus to trade it for the Keterams. He's not the most reachable Titan."

"We'll find a way. The Aerim is our best shot at getting the Relics, and it'll put a dent in Thorn's empire." I finished. Amnoia conceded. However, they had some ifs and buts to add onto the plan. We would prepare for a week, getting weapons, armor, a plan, escapes, worst-case-scenario plans, and so on.

The first order of business was to get a weapon. We couldn't use magic, so we had to take a more physical approach. I used my knowledge of the underground to get in contact with a seller. I got two cases of 9 poisoned throwing knives, clawtips (metal, extremely sharp points to put on your claws to make them cut and pierce through scales better, and four air disruptors (special items used to disrupt the air, to make wind magic, and flight impossible.)

All this cost me about 40 Keterams, or $4,000 USD. Nothing compared to what I was going to get, though. I met up with Amnoia, who had acquired a special cloak. It wasn't exactly what I had asked for, but it made a stealth route much more possible.

I realized how hungry I was, now. I hadn't eaten a full meal in a few days, at this point. Amnoia and I made a trip to the Western Forest Gateway. I now had a full sense of direction- I had seen this place before.

After all this time, I was actually free. We got a full meal for 12 Inas ($24 USD, 1/50th of a Keteram) and sat in a booth at the restaurant. We were on polished wood stumps, which were nice to sit on.