The Forgotten Faithful: A LitRPG Adventure (UnderVerse Book 2) by Cajiao, Jez (best reads txt) 📗

ye know whut I mean?” He grunted and I closed my eyes, rubbing at the bridge of my nose as I tried to banish the sight I’d just been exposed to. I suspected I’d be waking years from now, screaming in the middle of the night with the memory.

“So, you’ve nicked his pants…anything useful?” I asked heavily.

“Oh, aye laddie, tons! The full set be givin’ bonuses to ma foresight, ma handlin’ ability, even to the ship over all! It be five percent faster, gunners be ten percent more accurate, and the entire crew gets a bonus o’ plus one to luck!” He grinned at me as he gestured each item, and then to the overcoat on the deck. “As long as it do be close by, I still get the set bonus; now all I need to find is the boots!”

“Ah, crap, yeah. Good point!” I said and pulled them out of my bag, chucking them over to him after examining them quickly.

Captain’s Boots

Further Description Yes/No

Details:

These Boots grant +2 to Agility and improve traction on slippery surfaces. These boots are part of the ‘Himnel Airship Captain’ set, and grant bonuses when worn as a full set.

Rarity

Magical

Durability

Charge:

Uncommon

Yes

86/100

34/100

I shrugged as I looked over the notification. They were all right, and yeah, the plus two to agility was good, but my boots were damn comfortable, and my armor fit over them, so I wouldn’t have swapped them out anyway. Giving Oren the full set, though… he pulled them on as quick as he could, thumping down on his ass to yank them on. Despite grumbling about how tight they were, he was grinning ear to ear as he stood.

“Ye know how long I wanted a set o’ these?” he queried, pulling the gloves on tighter and wiggling his fingers in the air. “Years, laddie! The bonuses alone do be worth it, ten times over! No to mention, the wife loves a man in uniform, iff’n ye know what I mean!” He gave me a wink while catching the ring I threw back to him.

“I really didn’t need that image in my mind, dude; thanks for that,” I grumbled, but I couldn’t help grinning at him. He looked slightly ludicrous in the gear, especially as it was tight in all the wrong places and clearly meant for someone else. The thing was, though, he also really suited it, like I was seeing him in his natural habitat. I checked the notification I’d received and blinked.

Congratulations!

You have received the following bonuses due to being part of the ship’s crew of the Agamemnon’s Wrath:

+2 to Luck

+2 to Agility

+1 to Stamina

“Hell, that’s a great bonus.” I said, then turned to Jory. “Why didn’t the old captain have this on when you arrived at the Tower?”

“Well, m’lord, he said it enough around us so we all knew it, ‘Why should I give you slackers anything?’ That’s what he used to say, said we should work harder, and then we’d earn the bonuses. Don’ get me wrong, he wore it when we went into battle, ‘cause ‘e was too cowardly not to, but the rest o’ the time, nay.” The old helmsman took a few steps to the right and spat over the side of the ship, returning to catch the wheel before it could move more than an inch or two.

“Fair enough; so, he was a prick and deserved to die. I’m fine with that.” I scowled down at the four men in the cages.

“I wouldn’t,” I heard Oren warn, and I frowned at him questioningly.

“All I’m sayin’, laddie, is that ye promised to set ‘em free. Givin’ ‘em the freedom o’ the cloud’s, while damn well deserved, will no make ye more popular wit’ the crew, an’ word will get around.”

The entire time, Oren had been staring forward, but I knew he’d been watching me out of the corner of his eye, and Jory was silent as they both waited.

“Dammit,” I muttered, shaking my head. I wanted to open the cages and have Bob throw them out. Hell, I wanted to do it myself, but I needed to master my emotions. I’d learned control hard over the years, fighting again and again when my smart mouth got me into trouble, or someone annoyed me too much. I could do it again. I had to. As to those fucktards, though…

“I don’t think anyone’s going to miss them, so how about we use them instead?” I suggested, getting a questioning raised eyebrow in response.

“We need to know what happened down there, so let’s use them. Send them down first to have a look.”

“Use them like they be rats? See iff’n somethin’ bites?” Oren clarified, and I nodded.

“Yeah, why not?” He shrugged, and I got the feeling that he wasn’t liking the idea, but he didn’t want them around either, so… “Okay, what can you see?” I asked him, and his eyes changed again.

“The ship looks to be in fairly good nick; engines appear intact, so she probably jus’ needs restartin’, an’ the engineers can do tha’. I can see where th’ crew made repairs an’ all. It be them I be worried aboot.”

“Yeah, me too,” I said, nodding. “Get us over there, and we can take a look. Once we’ve checked out the ship, we’ll follow that trail as far as we can. Keep us back a bit on the first pass, so we’re out of range if there’s something hiding, but don’t look like you’re keeping your distance.”

“How do I do tha’?” Oren asked, looking at me like I was mad.

“I don’t know, fly casual!” I snapped at him, walking down onto the deck below. Something about the conversation had triggered a memory, but I couldn’t figure out what it was. I shrugged and dismissed it; either it’d come back to me, or it wouldn’t.

I strode forward, Lydia quickly meeting me halfway down the deck. “We’re going to follow the trail, and we’re going to have help,” I told her, nodding towards the cages.

“Yer settin’