Rune Seeker

Hiral looked down at the wing-like thing extending the length of this arm and connecting down his chest, leg, and finally finishing at his ankle. More of the strange fabric ran up the inside of his legs, connecting there as well. It was kind of like a large insect wing, the material surprisingly smooth between his fingers. Oh, and it was as big as he was.

“So, this will let me fly?” Hiral said to his instructor—in the loosest possible use of the word.

“Glide, not fly,” the man, Nivian, said. “Your platform can fly”—he pointed to the unloaded Platform of Movement—“but we don’t have those.”

“Like the kite, then?”

The man gave a huffing laugh, then shrugged and nodded. “Something like that. I’ve told you how to control your direction in the air, and how to deploy the ‘chute when it’s time to slow down. No time to practice, but do you have any questions?”

Hiral ran his hand along the cord that would apparently release some kind of—what did Nivian call it?—parachute to slow him down when they got close to their destination. Assuming they didn’t rig it to fail and keep their secret about the dungeons safe. No, Seena didn’t seem like that kind of person; she’d looked genuinely thankful Hiral had saved Favela. That, and Arty still knew. If something happened to Hiral… Well, if he was being honest with himself, Arty would probably keep the secret anyway.

“No questions,” Hiral finally said. “I’m ready to go when you are.”

“You putting on a brave front, or you actually ready to do this?” Nivian said, his own wingsuit getting checked by another member of Seena’s party.

“Would you think less of me if I said both?” Hiral asked. “Last time I jumped, well, I didn’t exactly think before doing it. Now that I’ve had an hour to consider how far the ground actually is, yeah, I’m a bit nervous.”

“Being nervous is fine. Lots can go wrong on a jump, but hold your body rigid like I told you—you seem to have the stats for it—and you’ll do just fine. We put your weapons in that narrow pack along your back. Can’t risk them creating drag in the air, but you sure you need to take them? Any added weight creates more risk.”

“You said the surface is dangerous,” Hiral said, and waited for the man to nod. “And from what I’ve seen, you’re carrying weapons down with you too. I want to do my part when we get down there, and these are what I’ve got.”

“Are you any good in a fight?” Nivian asked seriously.

Hiral looked at the three Shapers on the platform. “Nothing like them, if that’s what you’re asking.”

Nivian huffed again, but this one wasn’t a laugh. More like a dismissive grunt. “Good. People with power like them; they don’t know how to work as a party. Only think about themselves and don’t have anybody’s back.”

“I’ve got your back, if you’ll let me,” Hiral said. What… what would it be like to actually be needed? To be wanted? To be part of something like a party?

Nivian shook his head. “Seena might trust you for what you did, but that doesn’t mean the rest of us do. I don’t agree with you coming down, not one bit, but she’s the party leader, and I’ll follow her instructions. You just keep out of our way, and hopefully, we’ll all make it back in one piece.”

“Ah, right. I won’t get in your way,” Hiral said.

Who was he kidding? He wasn’t part of the group. He was a tag-along. Well, whatever—if it got him his class, it would be worth it. And, no matter what Nivian said, Hiral would do what he could to watch their backs.

“Enough flirting, boys,” Seena said as she walked over, moving naturally in her own wingsuit despite the extra fabric. “Last chance to drop out,” she said to Hiral, then seemed to think about the words. “Maybe not the best expression, considering what we’re about to do.”

“No, I’m in, no matter what happens,” Hiral responded.

Seena tapped her foot, looking from Hiral to the rest of her party spread out behind him. If they had any further opinions about him accompanying them, they kept it to themselves. “Alright. It’s go-time. We’re already behind schedule, so we’re heading to the Greenvine landing zone.”

“Greenvine?” Nivian asked. “That’s… not an easy landing zone. Even for regular jumpers.”

Seena looked at Hiral, though she answered Nivian. “It’s our only chance if we want to make it back in time. Let’s go.” She turned and strode over to the edge of the island.

“Hiral, don’t come back dead,” Arty said from where he stood with Caaven. “I really don’t want to have to explain that to your parents. This is going to be bad enough.”

“Sorry to leave that to you, Arty. I’ll be back as soon as I can.” Hiral pulled on some round goggles Seena had provided for him, then walked over to join her at the edge of the island.

“You know the agreement. Keep up or get left behind,” she said as the other four members of her party joined them.

“I know,” Hiral said. “And no matter what happens, I hope you find your sister.”

“We’ll find her—you can count on that,” Seena said, the breeze swirling around them again like it had when it had lifted Favela off the side.

Looking down, wow, the ground was a long way away, and Hiral’s stomach did a flip just at the thought of stepping off the island. Way easier to do when he wasn’t thinking about it. Maybe he should just…

Hiral leapt forward, like he was diving into the water headfirst, before his brain could try and talk him out of what he was doing. Faint voices shouted in surprise behind him, but it was all he could do to strain to remember what Nivian had explained to him.

Arms and legs wide out, rigid… That was what Nivian had said, and Hiral extended his arms and legs spread-eagle. The fabric out to his sides billowed immediately, threatening to pull his arms back in their sockets, but it wasn’t anything he couldn’t handle with his stats, and he kept his limbs spread. More tension built between his ankles, and he could only assume the fabric was catching the air like it was supposed to. He sure didn’t seem to be falling quite as fast as he had the first time.

So, where am I supposed to go now? Maaaaaybe I shouldn’t have jumped first…

Movement to his right, and Hiral turned his head, pushing out a breath of relief despite the wind pressure. Seena had caught up to him, and even with the goggles on her face, he could make out a look of disbelief. Or maybe it was annoyance.

Likely both.

She shook her head at him slightly as four other bodies plummeted past them, their arms and legs tight to their bodies. The same way he’d chased Favela. Seena looked at the four pulling away from them, back to Hiral, then tucked her arms and legs in and leaned forward, quickly speeding away from Hiral.

She had said they needed to hurry, so Hiral followed her lead and brought his arms against his body and put his legs together. Leaning forward, the wind built against his skin and flapped his hair around madly. Away from the island, he noticed something he hadn’t when he was diving after Favela: the air was noticeably colder, and it was even a bit harder to catch his breath.

Without at least solid E-Rank stats, it would be quite uncomfortable—maybe even enough to make a person pass out. Without the time spent in the Training Room, Hiral wouldn’t have been in any shape to keep up with the others.

But, even without his class, he did manage to stay on their tails, changing the position of his body as those ahead of him did. Int and Wisstat increases from learning the Time Trial paid off as he quickly copied how the people ahead of him moved and shifted. Arms came out to change his trajectory, then tucked back in to pick up speed again, and they continued their controlled fall.

And, since he wasn’t trying to catch Favela—or, kind of, not die like last time—he had the chance to really take in the scenery below as it rushed up to meet him. They seemed to be aiming for a slightly rocky area on one side of the woods that nestled up against the EnSath River. Imposing cliffs flanked where the river had long ago carved out the land, its vast and rushing waters whitecapped as it tumbled between the stone.

How many millions of gallons of water is that?I wonder if anybody has ever measured it? The speed. The volume… The… And that right there is why Gauto thinks I should be an Academic.

Far to his right, but not as far as he’d like, the numerous peaks of the Needle Mountains reached toward the sky, while the river charged between them. That was the path Fallen Reach would take, and just from looking, Hiral spotted what had to be the last spot where it would be possible to make the jump to one of the Nomads’ islands as it passed.

The thick mountain, so different from the Needle Peaks, was easily as tall as the mountain range, but wide and rugged, where the Needles were little more than smooth, towering spikes. The near side looked possible to climb; maybe that was even a path up—or it could just be his imagination—and then there was a flat plateau in the perfect place to make the jump over the river.

It was miles ahead of where Hiral was, maybe halfway to the storm-wall. Fifteen or twenty hours were all they had before the islands passed over it.

Which meant he didn’t have time to be sightseeing!

Just as he turned his attention back to the five people falling beneath him, they gently extended their arms and legs, letting the air catch in the fabric wings. Hiral followed suit. No sooner had he done that than the smallest of the group—Seena, probably—extended her arms a little further, creating more drag and allowing Hiral to catch up to her.

Pulling up beside him, she turned her head to look at him, then looked pointedly at the rocky area, which was now much closer. After his best attempt at nodding, she clenched her fist and pointed one finger at his chest.

What could she…? Ah, the rope for the parachute. It must almost be time.

He did his best to nod again, and she opened her hand so he could clearly see all her fingers. Then she pulled her thumb in. A second passed and she pulled another finger in. Another second, a third finger…

A countdown!

One more nod.

She held up two fingers and changed the angle of her body so she drifted away from him, then she only had one finger left.

Hiral’s hand opened and closed, a little numb from the cold but still working. He brought his arm in to grab the rope as Seena made a fist again. The drag created by the air resisted his movement, but his Str was more than up to the task, and he yanked on the rope barely a second after Seena did.

Something happened on his back, and there was a jerk on his shoulders that kicked his legs out under him and pulled him into an upright position. Looking quickly over at Seena, he saw her grab a pair of dangling ropes from the compact parachute above her, then found his own and grabbed on.

Below them, four more green parachutes had been deployed. All at once, they curved to the left. Off to his right, Seena pulled down on her left rope, and she tilted and dipped after the others.

Makes sense. Pull left to go left.

Hiral did just that, though it took a little more finesse to pull the right amount. Still, with only a few quick adjustments, he had the parachute under control, and followed the other five as they angled in toward a small clearing on top of the rocky area.

Suddenly, the ground was so very close, racing by beneath his feet. Uneven rocks made for treacherous footing, but the first of the group touched down with a kind of hopping run, keeping them ahead of the others who also landed. Hiral, not quite as familiar with the process, watched closely but still soared past the back two people as he struggled to balance speed against height.

As he passed the third person without his feet touching the ground, he very quickly noticed the end of their landing area.

The solid rock wall.