Chapter 389 (2/2)
I blinked a couple of tie in my vision “So, it sounds like the research hasn’t been very productive?”
Gideon and Erown eyebrows “Hard to put a puzzle together when you don’t knohat the hell it’s supposed to look like,” he gru a hand at the artifacts “Maybe if you would have graced us with your presence a bit sooner…”
“Well I’m here now,” I said as I crossed the rooestured to Regis, who reared up to put his front paws on the table “Understanding this technology is essential if we hope to ainst asuras”
“So you iaze on the shadoolf staring thoughtfully down at the artifacts “I think”—he shot Emily a sharp look—”the runes woven into the cere the staff Like a key But there is a sequence to the runes that isn’t is Soht destroy the robes by accident”
Emily’s brows rose as she considered her nree with Professor No Brows,” Regis said off-handedly, eliciting a giggle from Emily “The robes are definitely necessary”
“Thanks, I think,” Gideon grumbled
Read first at " ReadNovelFullco useful about the bestowal?” I asked
Regis’s lupine brows knitted together as he struggled to parse the ive hiher-ranked officers or highbloods But only the officials who actually perform the cerened the things, are taught the specifics”
“And nothing in the book helped?” I asked Gideon
Next to the ceremonial black robes rested a thick, orn toe “It’s a catalog of the many marks, emblems, et cetera that have been handed down by this staff in particular Fascinating, but no help in using the thing”
“I guess it was too much to hope it cais’s snout wrinkled “I think you’re trying to be funny, but that would sort of defeat the purpose of having a super-secret ritual”
“Oh, good, he insults you too,” Gideon said, giving Regis a be through your su”
“I’is replied defensively “I just call it like it is”
Focus, I thought to Regis, then turned my attention back to the artifacts
The plain black diiven to me by Alaric was also on the table Beside it, a necklace of s pile between the ring and the book The beads were dull yellohite, and I iht they looked like bone
“They are,” Regis said seriously, the flaitation “The carved bones of djinn whose remains were stolen from the Relictombs”
I carefully scooped up the artifact and let the beads turooves were barely visible distorting the surface of the sh most of it flowed in the direction I indicated, some of the aether slipped away, draard the necklace
I thought I understood
“This technology es—and requires so a bead around between ers
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I set the necklace carefully back on the table
Regis leaned down and sniffed at the old bone “Most of Alacrya’s technological advancements have come froeon called the Relictombs Half tomb, half creepy carnival, but full repository of ancient knowledge, you know? But the djinn ic with aether, which the Alacryans can’t use These dead-djinn beads attract aether”
“Which must siested He grabbed the robes and shook the the runes eer “I’m not entirely fluent, and the runes are complex, but I believe the robe serves a sied down a corner of the fabric to get a better look “You’re right I bet these robes allow for channeling all four types of elemental mana Not in a quadra-eleh—in conjunction with the necklace—to activate a device that requires earth, air, fire, water, and aether to properly use”
Gideon tapped his fingers on the table “It seems unnecessarily convoluted”
“But htening “I th were as si around an artifact”—she pointed to the staff—“then whoever controls this bestowalois replied
I picked up Regis’s train of thought “The bestowals allow Agrona to create es and enhance the purity of their cores with little effort, but the sans to do the sae hihtful hu down at the staff “By controlling who understands how the pieces fit together and li access to the secondary artifacts, you h…” Emily bit her lip hesitantly “If the artifacts can simply be stolen…”
“Oh, there are definitely secondarydown fronorance is only one part of it The threat of a horrifying death alone is enough for most But I’d bet my horns there is soy for anyone who does try to steal it and use it against Agrona”
We were all silent for a ht
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Then the silence shattered as an explosion shook the walls and brought down trails of dust frois’s fiery ray s the hall outside
Gideon chuckled “Don’t worry, that’s just the new experi for e his words, Gideon headed out into the hall and toward the source of the blast Eis and I exchanged a look, hesistant to leave the robe and the necklace given the implications we just unlocked, but followed Emily after she locked the lab door behind us
Not far down the hall, thick red-orange s out of a set of heavy stone doors Just inside, tarvenwhat looked like scorched cloaks to wave the worst of the smoke away
They blanched when they noticed Gideon leaning against the doorframe “Eh, sorry, sir, a spark from one of the weapons ended up in a beaker of niter spirits”
Gideon earing a wide grin, and he took a deep breath of the noxious s to clear “You can’ta few explosions!”
Regis gave a throaty chuckle “You know, I’ed tiredly “Great It’s like there are two of them…”
The old inventor waved us into the rooh the lab to a second set of large doors “The prototypes aren’t completely stable, as you can no doubt see, but I really think you’ll like e’ve been doing”
He yanked the doors open, revealing a er chamber It looked like a warzone The bare stone walls were scorched black in a hundred places Along one wall, a scarreddevices
“Ta da!” Gideon held out his ar at the arsenal
I stepped up to the table and looked down at a series of long, tubular devices that looked vaguely like a cross between an ancient musket and a modern rocket-launcher from my old world Only these were also inscribed with a series ofrunes “Are these what I think they are?”
“If you think they are weapons capable of converting energy from dwarven fire salts into destructive blasts capable of incinerating even yellow-corehis hands together and grinning like soenius
Read first at " ReadNovelFullco the weapons with clear distaste
“I call them rune cannons,” Gideon added, oblivious to Eis said i from his mouth “No, make that two Quick, Arthur, strap them to my back”
“They’re not perfected yet, but when they are—”
“By ‘not perfected’ he es capable of channeling both fire and wind,” Emily pointed out “They’re difficult to use, and incredibly dangerous—”
“Well that’s entirely the point, isn’t it?” Gideon snapped, glaring at his assistant “And those bestowal robes actually gaverunes to fix the , anyone could use theh I wanted to—planned to—win this war, I understoodeffects of his invention, as well as the barriers to its use My hesitation must have shown on my face, because Gideon’s excite tiy was either held back or escalated, but I couldn’t holdof the Dicatheous”
Emily crossed her arms and shot Gideon a vindicated look “See?”
He pouted and kicked the floor with his toe “Like I didn’t consider that uards—”
“What about training?” I asked, cutting hi about entirely changing the way Dicathen approaches warfare”
Gideon leaned against the table and began to tap his fingers on its surface “Yes, yes, but to balance the power dynaes, a large-scale change is both necessary and warranted, isn’t it?”
“It does see weapons into the hands of non- out entire countries,” Regis added
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I regarded the rune cannons, considering both Regis’s and Gideon’s words Perhaps there was a way to utilize Gideon’s discoveries without handing untrained soldiers weapons that ht literally blow up in their—and our—faces
“Tell me more,” I said “Especially about the fire salts”
The eccentric inventor launched into a rapid-fire explanation of his many discoveries and many, many experiments that led hirew in h We did need a way to e soldiers more effective
As I opened my round tunnels—this one larger and farther away I shot Gideon a questioning look
He turned froone pale “That wasn’t me”
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