Jack closed his eyes and reached out to the Silent Mermaid. The ship was no longer in its disguised form. But he'd had Reina make sure no other people, other than his crew, had seen it.
The ghost ship was not just a vessel. It was a part of his power. A summoned entity. He felt the tether between his soul and the vessel. With a sharp mental tug, he severed the physical manifestation.
The ship slowly transformed and disappeared. It folded in on itself, the masts leaning inward and the hull turning transparent before vanishing into a spray of sea-salt. Where a large ghost sloop had been anchored seconds ago, there was now only empty water.
"That's quite creepy to watch." Leon whispered. Shivering.
"It's a ghost ship after all." Jack replied calmly. He turned toward the jagged hills that led inland. "Let's go! We have a long walk ahead of us."
The trek began in silence. They moved away from the town of Copperbean. Heading into the desolate heart of Barrentree Island. The ground was uneven. A constant maze of sharp rocks and loose shale. There was no path. Only the general direction to the central mountains.
Jack could simply placed everyone in his crew to his Mirror Mansion. And then he could use his [Steamrune Hoverboard] or [Lightning Hoverbike] to get to the destination quickly. He could. But he wouldn't do it.
This would be the first treasure hunting adventure involving the whole crew. They needed to experience the whole journey. He didn't want to spoon-feed them forever.
As they walked, Jack kept his eyes moving. He wasn't just looking for physical threats. His senses were on high alert. This island felt heavy. It wasn't just the weight of the stone. It was the weight of secrets buried too deep for too long.
Rune hovered ahead of them. Acting as a scout. Her glow was a pale yellow now. Signifying caution.
The wind picked up. Carrying the scent of dust and ancient, stagnant air. Somewhere in the distance behind them, the town groaned as the internal mining shifts began.
Jack ignored it. He didn't care about the iron, copper, or coal mined in this island. He wanted to see the ruin. He wanted to see the remains of the Rockmen's civilization.
They marched on. Leaving the 'civilized world' of the human town behind. Disappearing into the silent expanse of the stone in front of them. The expedition had truly begun.
...
The trek across Barrentree Island was a monotonous stretch of grey rock and stunted, dry scrub.
For a group of normal humans, the journey would have been a grueling three-day ordeal. They would have struggled with the uneven terrain and the lack of shade. And also with the terrible dust that kicked up with every step.
Jack's group was not a group of normal humans though.
Every member of the expedition, even the child Aella, was a transcendent being. Their strides were longer. Their endurance was greater. And their pace was relentless. Even when they had to adjust their speed to the slowest among them, it was still much faster than normal.
Jack led the way in his human form. His boots were clicking rhythmically against the rocky ground. Beside him, Reina moved with a grace that made the ground look like a ballroom floor.
Behind them, the rest of the crew followed. Maintaining a tight formation. Leon Drake and Argust Osprey brought were positioned at the very back. Following the others with their steady, experienced gaits.
Rune flitted ahead. Her body pulsed with a cautious pale yellow light. Occasionally shifting to a pale amber when the path became particularly treacherous.
Jack kept moving with constant speed. His sharp senses perceived everything around him perfectly. He didn't need to look back to know how his crew was holding up. He had set the pace while considering the weakest among them.
They only needed to camp once in the way. By the late morning of the second day, they had reached their destination.
..
In the center of Barrentree Island, lay a sprawling encampment. A chaotic sprawl of tents, old mining equipment, and makeshift barricades. In the center of the vertical mountain face to the north stood an enormous gate that defied the surrounding view.
It was a massive slab of star-iron. Dark and metallic. Shimmering with faint, residual runic energy. The head of a three-eyed great lion, a creature of snarling and dominating presence, was carved into the center of the slab. Its three eyes were hollow and... waiting.
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Jack looked at the dozens of tents that were pitched on the flat sections of the surrounding locations. Smoke from campfires curled into the air. And the sound of iron hitting stone echoed through the valley.
"More people than I expected." Reina said in low voice. She didn't sound worried. Just observant.
"Greed is a powerful motivator, Love." Jack replied. He adjusted his coat. "Let’s see what we're dealing with."
They descended and approached the main excavation site. Jack activated his [Eyes of Judgement].
The world in his vision shifted. Information panels began to materialize over the people milling about. Jack scanned them. Most showed information of common adventurers. Normal people or low-level transcendent beings. And most of these people had both neutral karma and low threat levels.
However, Jack kept scanning the crowd. When his sight was directed to the people near the massive metal gate embedded in the mountain wall, three alarming panels appeared. It was different, and not in a good way.
First, Jack's gaze landed on a man leaning against a rock about fifty paces from the gate. He was handsome in a sharp, predatory way. With lean muscles and a relaxed posture.
[Name: Scorpion]
[Race: Transcendent Human]
[Age: 39]
[Affiliation: Glorious Pirates]
[Karma: Negative]
[Power Level: Low]
[Power Class: Primal Sorcerer]
[Power Traits: Poisonous Scorpion Tail]
[Personalities: Charming, Cunning]
[Crimes: Murders (76), Thefts (143), Rapes (32)...]
[Note: Possesses a Demon Seed. Currently dormant.]
Jack noted the black karma. This man was a standard evil pirate. Not exactly that strong. However, the Demon Seed was a concern. It meant that simply killing him would create more trouble. He needed to find a way to incapacitate him without killing before doing a 'surgery' to extract the demon seed from his heart.
Next, Jack looked toward a group of scholars huddled around a pile of rubrics. A young woman stood among them. Her face was strikingly beautiful. To the naked eye, she looked like a charming, twenty-year-old mystic. To Jack's eyes, she was a horror.
[Name: Carana Calvadier]
[Race: Transcendent Human]
[Age: 284]
[Affiliation: Undeath Sect]
[Karma: Extremely Negative]
[Power Level: Moderate]
[Power Class: Eldritch Witch]
[Power Traits: Undead Bat Summoning]
[Personalities: Lustful, Envious]
[Crimes: Murders (728), Tortures (532), Rapes (186), Betrayals (528)...]
[Note: Sustains youth by devouring the life force and souls of young women.]
The panel flickered. Seemingly affected with the sheer weight of her age. She was a parasite. An eldritch witch that had outlived her natural span by more than a century. She was far more dangerous than the pirate spy.
However, for one as old as she was, her power level wasn't that great. Jack was sure most of his crew members would be able to handle her quite easily. This witch seemed to be one of those that leaned on trickeries and deceptions more compared to pure transcendent power.
Finally, Jack checked the man standing closest to the door. He was dressed in common, dark leather armor. Looking like a veteran mercenary who had seen too many battles. He was tall, broad-shouldered, and had a calm air about him.
[Name: Duke Starlight]
[Race: Transcendent Human]
[Age: 47]
[Affiliation: Night Salvation Association]
[Karma: Extremely Negative]
[Power Level: Very High]
[Power Class: Arcane Thief]
[Power Traits: Disguise Master, Invisibility, Telekinesis, Spatial Manipulation]
[Personalities: Curious, Reckless]
[Crimes: Accidental Murders (1023), Theft (378)]
[Note: Seeks the thrill of the find. Responsible for the release of several sealed 'Catastrophe' class artifacts during previous thefts.]
Jack frowned. He had seen the man before, in Sapphire City. Just before the incident involving the cultists and the ghost ship, Lonely Queen.
Reina had given him the information about the man. Duke Starlight wasn't necessarily evil in the way the Eldritch Witch was. But his recklessness made him just as lethal. Or even more lethal.
He was a man who would burn down a house just to find out what object inside could survive the fire. He was not someone to be ignored. Reina had told Jack, the duke was the reason a quarter of Oakroot Town was destroyed... by unsealing a forbidden artifact that was locked in the town hall's hidden vault.
...
Jack turned his attention to the obstacle that had stopped all these people in their tracks. The gate.
It was a massive slab of star-iron. A dark, heavy metal that shimmered with a faint violet hue under the sun. Carved into its center was a beast. A stylized head of three-eyed lion-like creature typical of Rockmen architecture. The carved creature's eyes seemed to be hollow sockets.
The rest of the gate was covered in dense, interlocking runic circles and mechanical gears. Ones that looked like they hadn't moved in a millennium.
Several 'experts' were currently poking at the door with chisels and magnifying glasses. One man was trying to pour essence-infused oil into the lower gears. While another was chanting a ritual to try and phase through the metal.
None of it was working. The star-iron absorbed the essence like a sponge. And the runes remained cold.
Jack focused his [Eyes of Judgement] on the gate itself...
[Object Name: The Gate of Three Suns]
[Type: Runic Mechanical Gate, Runic Power Generator]
[Affiliation: Ancient Rockman Tribe]
[Material: High-Grade Star-Iron]
[Mechanism: Solar-Refraction Lock]
[Solution: The ancient rockmen worshipped not just the earth, but also the sun. The lock is the manifestation of their belief. Direct sunlight must be focused through specialized high-refraction lenses into the three eye-sockets of the central carving simultaneously at high noon. The focused solar energy acts as the primary power source for the runic mechanism. It doesn't just activate the gate. It activates the whole facilities inside.]
Jack let out a short, dry breath. The solution was elegant and simple. Provided that one knew the ancient rockmen worshipped the sun as much as they did the earth.
All these people were trying to pick the lock or break the door. But the door wasn't just locked. And it wasn't just a door. It was an 'unplugged' power station. Without the solar energy jump-starting the internal mechanism, no amount of force or common magic would move it.
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