Chapitre 8: Exploration of the "new" island
In the sky, a large airship made of pristine white bones can be seen flying through a misty wall made of clouds.
As the airship finally came out of the fully clouded area, Stan could already see the "newly" discovered island in the distance. Other members of the guild also noticed the island, and they were already cheering loudly that their journey by airship was finally over.
Most inhabitants of Skylarr dislike being on airships when it is sailing through the skies, because being on an airship makes them most vulnerable. If one were to fall off an airship for any reason, there is almost a hundred percent certainty that you would end up dead.
Though it is mostly adventures that explore the vast skies, traveling on airship, like the 'Radiant Light' guild. Even they, the elite members of the guild, find themselves most comfortable when their feet are touching the ground.
"Quiet down and listen up lads!"
Immediately upon hearing their guild leader Stan, all the guild members lined up and started listening with great care and focus. As for those that were cheering loudly, they knew when to shut up.
While Stan was giving his check-up speech about what the guild-members need to do when they finally arrive on the island, hidden behind the crowd Ian was having a discreet meeting with Greg, a member of the 'Seekers of Dao' guild.
"Does he suspect anything?"
Ian revealed a small sneer, "What do you think, of course he has no clue!"
Greg felt that Ian was not taking this mission quite as seriously as he did. So, Greg gave a cold look towards Ian, "You should take this matter more seriously Ian. The young master will not be pleased if you were to fail this mission."
At the mention of young master Chen, Ian's face hardened, "Although everything is going as planned, he might grow suspicious when the [Explorer pass] will not do anything."
"Tsk, you should know how much time and money young master Chen has invested in this operation Ian. So, you better make sure that everything goes as planned, otherwise you will have to face the wrath of the young master!"
Having said his piece, Greg calmly walked away while leaving a slightly pale-faced Ian behind. Greg noticed that Stan was nearing the end of his speech and did not want to give anything away by looking suspicious with Ian.
Nearing the end of what he wanted to say Stan searched the crowd in front of him for someone and when he found who he was looking for, a small smile appeared on his face while he ended his speech with some final words, "Alright, that is all for now. If any of you elites have a question, our Vice-guild leader Ian is standing at back ready to answer them."
When Stan was done speaking, he sprinted back towards his own chamber, not giving Ian a chance to rebuke him while he could prepare himself for the exploration of the new island ahead. But before that he sneakily looked back towards Ian and saw him with a slightly pale face looking angry towards his direction.
He couldn't help but chuckle, thinking that he was to blame for Ian's current predicament. Because right after Stan finished his speech, some of the elites did have questions they wanted to ask and went towards Ian for answers.
'This is the consequence of being the Vice-guild leader Ian.' With those last thoughts, Stan continued to walk toward his personal quarters for it won't be long before their ship will dock on the new island. And when they do, he wants to be prepared for it.
While Stan was donning his armor and sharpening his sword, the airship was steadily closing in on the "new" island. When the moment came where the airship was finally docked against the edge of the island, the captain of the airship from the Lightbringer guild, Tom, secured the airship in place so that it becomes impossible for others to use the airship.
Of course, the guild leader and the vice-guild leader could still overwrite everything and use the airship with their authorities but for others it would be neigh impossible.
All the elites began to slowly disembark from the airship in an orderly fashion, but they all remained vigilant of their surroundings. Nobody knows what to expect from a new island, though that is not the case for the island where Ian took his first step on.
Things were going well for Ian. Ever since the first moment he laid his eyes on Stan, Ian knew he had found the right person, the right person to exploit that is. To Ian, Stan was a gullible young man that puts too much trust in other people while still containing a bit of innocence even though the world has changed.
So, Ian decided to target Stan. Making friends with him, establishing a guild, becoming sworn brothers, and growing together while exploring the broad skies. During their journey Ian noticed that Stan was growing stronger in body and mind.
But Ian could not let that happen, so he introduced Stan to Cassie. She was a slave of his, and she is paying back her debt by pretending to be Stan's girlfriend while constantly drugging him to lower his situational awareness and overall intelligence.
And it worked brilliantly. Ian has been taking advantage of Stan by pocketing some of the guild funds they have acquired since the beginning. However things started to change, just as Stan became and behaved increasingly more like an idiot, Ian started pocketing more and more guild funds, not even bothering to hide it anymore.
Unfortunately, the good times did not last forever. After some time, it became known that Stan was not the leading and dependable figure he once was, and thereafter the guild's income started to decline sharply. The same was true for the funds that Ian was openly pocketing.
Luckily when things started getting unpleasant, Ian was approached by Greg to offer him a deal.
It was a very simple offer. He just needed to kill his cash cow Stan and merge the Lightbringer guild into the Seeker of Dao guild for all his troubles to disappear.
In the beginning Ian didn't want to let go of his cash cow, but when he started thinking about how the funds he can get have dwindling as of late and how he was also in heavy debt to some due to the extravagant lifestyle he became attached to. The decision was made pretty fast.
To avoid becoming a slave of some unsavory figure like Cassie, he was going to kill Stan and merge the guild. So he followed the plan that Greg gave him and today would be the day. The day he will kill Stan.
But when Ian saw Stan frowning while holding onto what looks like the [Explorer Permit], he suddenly felt a bit anxious.
"Is everything alright Stan? The men are awaiting your command." Although Ian spoke with a steady voice, there was cold sweat running behind his back.
After hearing Ian, Stan took a sidelong glance towards the guild-members that were awaiting his order. His frowning face slowly started to cease. "It's nothing, let's divide the elites and start combing through the forest ahead."
While Stan did say so, in his heart he felt that something was amiss. This wasn't the first time he felt like this, however he just couldn't pinpoint what that feeling of wrongness is.
This voyage included 34 people and it was already discussed how everyone will split up beforehand. It was decided that 10 men will stay behind and protect the ship from any threats that may arrive, Greg the representative from the Seeker of Dao guild will also be here. While the rest will spilt up in four groups of 6 men and explore the island for all its treasure.
So Stan didn't hold a long speech and all groups took a different direction into the forest's depts. With vigilance but excitement, Stan took a step to explore the island and find the core alongside Cassie, Ian, Tom, Dick and Harry.
There was a small smile on the face of Greg, as he was slowly losing sight of Stan's group that walked further and further into the forest. He couldn't help but think,
'Everything is going as the young master has planned.'
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone