The First Legendary Beast Master

Chapter 1935 Hidden In Plain Sight

Karl turned to address the Captains. "Now, I will bring out our Supreme Ranked Runesmith, and I hope that you can get your upgrades sorted out quickly so that you're not late for your next stop."

That made the Elves laugh. Karl had bought everything, their next stop was not in any particular rush, as they had no idea how wonderful the goods that were coming to them were going to be.

Rue came out with a veil hiding the lower half of her face, and nondescript robes in the half white, half black pattern of the Darklight Host.

That would not hide her power level as a Supreme, but what she was hoping to hide was...

"Lady Rue? The War God of Gathuzan is your other Supreme?" The Captain gasped.

"I would appreciate it if you didn't make a fuss about it. We don't want anyone to know that she is here, but we did agree to make you Supreme Ranked upgrades to your ship, and she is the only one present who can do it for us today."

The Captains put their hand over their heart and nodded. "On our honour, we will not reveal that the Lady Rue has become a pillar of the Darklight Host."

That was as good as Karl could hope for. But most places didn't allow the Blue Elves to hang around and gossip, so the chances that they spread the news before he was ready were slim.

And if they did, people should remember that Rue was not a pushover.

The city was guarded far beyond most Clan compounds, and certainly at a higher level than it had been the day that it fell. But more than that, the members of the Darklight Host were incredibly capable in combat.

Few would dare to openly come after Rue, no matter their grudges.

Rue nodded to the Captains, and gestured toward the docks, "We can go do the work now, while Karl introduces the young ones to their new homes. I'm certain that they will settle in quickly, and I will set up a specific training area for them, so they don't get homesick."

With her assurances, the Captains were absolutely certain that there was not going to be any issue with the trainees adjusting to their new homes.

Rue examined the ships with great interest as she stepped off the docks. There were dozens of layers of Elven magic on them, built up over generations of users. Some of it was dormant, forgotten. Other layers were suspended, waiting for the moment they needed to be used.

The propulsion magic was one of them, the combination of wind and water magic that would calm a spot in the ocean around them and increase the wind so they could travel more quickly without needing protective barriers on the ship.

She made mental notes of everything so that she could integrate it into future designs.

They might not have the natural elegance of the Elves, but dragons knew about things that went fast. So, she would create ships for the Darklight Host, and enchant them to a level that would impress even the Elves.

Though, she would probably have Tian do it instead, as nobody could afford a Supreme Ranked Epic Grade merchant vessel

That was just a ridiculous thought.

But Tian could make thin alloys, form a durable metal ship, and imbue it with enough runic magic to sell it to merchants with the promise of being more resistant to cannon fire than a wooden one.

At least, after the barriers on both failed.

Rue was mentally planning the design that she was going to have Tian make the new ship in, she was also laying out the runes on the interior walls and floor of the hold.

She didn't put them on the hull, as it was the most likely to be damaged in combat, and they couldn't afford to have the spell damaged during battle and slowing down the ship with a sudden influx of weight.

"Is there a reason that the runes are in those specific locations?" The Captain asked curiously as Rue worked.

"Actually, yes. These areas are the least likely to ever be replaced. Since they're not major wear points, and there are multiple bulkheads and barriers between them and the outer hull, even if the ship is scuttled, the separate space should remain intact.

If nobody knows about it, even the divers won't recover the true treasure from a sunken ship."

The Captains shared an excited smile. There was no better news than that. Even if they lost everything, including their ships, they just had to escape with their lives, and there was a good chance that they could come back and recover their treasures in the future.

As long as the ship wasn't lost in waters too deep to dive.

Magic could take you to the deepest depths of the oceans. But it could not always protect you from what you would find when you got there.

It only took Rue a few minutes to finish the hold, and then she linked the spell to the Captain of this vessel before activating it.

"I had considered giving you a token to grant access. But that's too easy to steal. So, I linked it directly to you, and I can link your First Mate if it pleases you. Otherwise, nobody can enter without your express permission."

The Captain shook his head. "No, this will be perfect. If anyone enters this hold on a normal day, they need to get the access token from me. So, nothing will change, and I can still control the access with a token, which will keep outsiders from getting suspicious."

The other Captain nodded his agreement. "Keeping the hold under lock and key is the natural way of things, and needing to both access the regular hold, and then the interior secondary hold, will keep most intruders from suspecting that there is anything off."

Rue considered that, and added a bit more to the runes.

"I added a Soul Trap to the main hold as part of the inscription. Those who enter and see the runes will think that the trap is part of it. If they enter with the intentions to steal, or without permission, it will cause immense spiritual pain.

Even thinking about stealing while in the hold will trigger it to a lesser extent.

And that can be used to convince your crew that the upgrades are to protect the hold, instead of having to make up a story for them. If they know an answer that can be told to the public, even a truth spell won't work to get the secret."