Shirtaloon
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Chapter 909: Sometimes We Need Scars
🕑 Added 2024-06-17 23:00:03 +0000 UTCWhen she’d been young — well, younger — Jennifer Landry had loved having visiting adventurers stay at her boarding house. All those powerful and attractive young people, politely calling her ‘Madam Landry.’ As years went on, the desire for excitement slowly gave way to a desire for reliability. Rather than cater to out-of-towners who were often interesting but frequently volatile, she shifted to catering to locals.
She didn’t aim for the top-shelf adventurers, which they actually had now in Greenstone. The training program set up by the Geller and Remore families were producing better adventurers, especially now that Adventure Society assessments were being conducted legitimately.
Madam Landry found that the second-tier adventurers were the perfect clientele. Long-term tenants, they had the money to pay but the humility of not being the cocks of the roost. It was an unconventional bit of excitement, then, when one of her adventurers came bursting to the lobby, almost taking the door off the hinges.
“Dean Tuckell, if you take that door off, you’re the one paying for a new one,” she scolded.
“Sorry, Madam Landry, but I just heard something incredible at the Adventure Society. Is Jerrick here?”
“He’s in the bath house, dear, but I…”
Dean shot off without listening.
“…don’t think he’s alone.”
***
Gold-rankers were figures of legend in a low-magic town like Greenstone, making Emir’s visit all those years ago a real event. Jason remembered his cloud ship sailing up to the private Adventure Society dock in grandiose fashion. But he had also known that Emir had been in the city for days before, in secret.
Jason followed this model, quietly reaching the city with several of his friends, days before his official arrival. His goal was to reacquaint himself with the city, indulging in the nostalgia of his early days as an adventurer. Jason, Belinda and Estella Warnock portalled to an old spirit coin transport waystation, not too far from the city. It had been abandoned years ago, after the local Magic Society director and a local crime boss had an adventurer tortured in the storeroom.
Emerging from the portal, The trio immediately staggered.
“It’s like trying to breathe when the air’s too thin,” Belinda gasped. “What’s happening?”
-------
You have entered a region of low magical density. High ranking individuals will suffer deleterious effects without supplemental magic.
Stamina recovery reduced by 50%.
Health Recovery reduced by 75%.
Mana recovery reduced by 99%.
Consuming a spirit coin of your rank or ten spirit coins of one rank lower will restore your recovery rates to normal for eight hours. This duration is reduced by using active magic abilities.
Rituals and summoning abilities require spirit coins to enact, in addition to any spirit coin cost they already have. Rituals will be unable to function without artificially enhancing the density of local ambient magic.
Summoned familiars will need to consume a spirit coin of their rank or ten coins of one rank lower to sustain their vessels. Consumption of spirit coins will allow them to maintain their vessels outside of the summoner for one day before requiring additional coins. This duration is reduced by using active magic abilities.
-------
“Oh,” Belinda said, reading the system message.
She pulled out her summoned familiars, an astral lantern that orbited droopily around her, and an echo spirit that looked like a blurry version of her. She plucked a handful of spirit coins from her storage space, pushed one into the lantern and handed the others to Gemini, the echo spirit, and Estella. She ate one herself as Jason declined the one she held out to him.
“I think I can compensate by drawing magic from my astral kingdom,” he said. He was half crouched, hands on his knees. “I’m still figuring out what I can and can’t do with this body. Just give me a few minutes.”
While Jason concentrated, occasionally making sounds like he was having trouble using the toilet, Estella and Belinda looked around. They were in an area between the sprawling river delta and the bone-dry desert. The waystation itself was an area of magically flattened stone, largely covered in windswept sand. There was a security booth, the glass in the windows long gone, and a large storage bunker. Of the bunker’s double doors, one was missing and the other dangled precariously from the remaining hinge. Beyond, stairs led down.
“How is this a memorable enough place to portal to?” Estella asked. “You haven’t been to this city in a couple of decades, right?”
“Yeah,” Jason croaked.
Belinda looked around, ending with her gaze fixed on the broken door.
“Jason, is this…?”
“Yeah,” he confirmed.
“Why would you bring us here?”
“Like Stella said, it’s memorable. You can still feel a little of my aura imprinted down there, if you look closely. Some things linger. Oh, bugger this, I’ll try again later.”
Jason took out a spirit coin and ate it, making a distasteful face as it melted on his tongue. Shade and Gordon appeared. Shade took a coin from his own storage space and consumed it while Jason tossed another into the nebulous void that was Gordon. He held his palm out and a leech crawled out through his skin. Jason held out a spirit coin for the leech to eat, but it turned it’s tooth-ringed maw away.
“Come on, Colin.”
The leech let out an alien screech of rejection.
“If you don’t eat this, you won’t be able to come out and eat anything else.”
While Jason was coaxing Colin into eating something that wasn’t at least recently alive, Belinda and Estella made their way to the door.
“That’s a good boy,” Jason said, scratching the top of the leech after it finally ate the coin. As Colin retreated back under Jason’s skin, Jason moved to join the others as they looked down the stairs.
“Shade and Gordon weren’t with me when this happened,” he said. “We’d just fought a water tyrant. Silver rank. It destroyed both of their vessels and left me with what, to this day, remains my largest scar. Colin was with me for this, though. Wouldn’t have made it through without him.”
“Made it through what?” Estella asked.
Instead of answering, Jason walked around them and went down the stairs.
“Jason,” Belinda called after him. “Are you sure you want to go down there?”
***
Elspeth Arella was not happy. Being director of Greenstone’s Adventure Society branch was always intended to be a stepping stone. The first stage in a career that would lead her out of the magical and literal desert that was Greenstone. Then came the disastrous expedition. The aftermath of that failure, and the investigation that followed, undid everything she had worked for.
Her backroom dealings were dragged into the light, as was her status as daughter of an Old City crime lord. She barely held on to her position, which went from the first step in a storied career to a purgatory she could not escape. Twenty years later, nothing had changed. Even her father had risen, from last man standing of the Big Three crime lords to legitimate mayor of Old City. They were both important members of Greenstone Society, now, but where he felt elevated, she felt trapped.
Leaning against the desk in her office, Elspeth rubbed her temples as she stared at a spot on the floor. Twenty years ago, she had used her powers to lift some jumped up iron-ranker by the throat, dropping him on that very spot. Now, that same speck of nothing was scheduled to arrive in just a few days, to great fanfare.
Twenty years on, things were very different. He was a gold-ranker, well-trained and battle hardened, with countless accolades to his name. She was a core-using silver-rank bureaucrat with a dead-end career. She’d heard the stories, even across the world. Running around with diamond rankers, coming back from the dead. Driving off the Builder, which was even more nonsensical than the rest. It all sounded like fanciful nonsense. But she’d seen the missives from the Adventure Society, and they weren’t treating it like nonsense. There was an actual standing order to put a branch on low alert if he entered its jurisdiction.
She had been much happier when Asano was dead the first time. Giving his life to save the city made him a useful figure of noble sacrifice, but martyrs were awkward if they didn’t stay dead. There was even a statue of him somewhere on the campus grounds. She’d had a bush grown in front of it after he came back to life.
She doubted he would forget that she tried to teach him a lesson that didn’t take. Two ranks higher than him, her power wrapped around his throat. She didn’t even remember what it was about. What she didn’t forget was the defiant eyes that would rather let her choke him out than yield to her authority.
Would he kill her on this very spot, where it happened? The Adventure Society would give him a slap on the wrist, if that. They wouldn’t chastise their interdimensional golden boy over a dead bureaucrat with a dead-end career. Not after everything he’d gotten away with already.
She sighed and pushed herself off her desk. There were a lot more feathers than hers to unruffle before Asano arrived, so she might as well get to it, on the off chance that she survived his visit.
***
Jason reached the basement storage area. The dry climate had preserved the interior enough that it hadn’t completely degraded, but it showed the years of abandonment. A little sand had blown down the stairs, although not so much as to cover the bloodstain spread out like a carpet. The blood pool spread out through the large storage room, too much to have come from one person under normal circumstances. Jason’s self-healing had replenished him over and over as he bled out, but only Colin’s help sustained him. His own regenerative power had been insufficient to last him through the ordeal.
The chains were still there, seized and rusty now. They lay on the floor where he’d yanked them from the ceiling in his escape. When he was last in the room, there had been a pile of tiny star seed fragments, pushed out of his body and leaving many small scars behind in the process. Those were long gone, no doubt claimed by the magic Society. Those were the early days of the Builder cult becoming active, making the fragments prime materials for study.
Belinda and Estella followed Jason down the stairs. They didn’t share Jason’s ability to see perfectly through the dark, so Belinda tossed out a floating glow stone to reveal the macabre scene.
“What is this?” Estella asked. “Is that your blood?”
“Yeah.”
“All of it?”
“It was a rough day.”
“What happened here?”
“This is where I found out who I am,” Jason said. “When you strip away everything until there’s nothing left to take. I don’t recommend the experience.”
His gaze didn’t shift from the blood stain. The two women shared a side glance, then looked at Jason still facing the other way.
“This seems like a bad place to forge a personal identity,” Estella said.
Jason laughed, the sound incongruous in the grim remnants of the torture chamber.
“Yeah,” he said. “It very much is. But sometimes, you don’t get to choose.”
“You said you found yourself down here,” Estella said. “That’s a little concerning, if I’m being honest. Who did you find out you were?”
“Don’t encourage him,” Belinda hissed. “We don’t want him going all dark and broody again.”
Jason turned and gave her a smile.
“It’s fine, Lindy. Sometimes we need scars to remind us that we can heal. Yes, the worst experience of my life happened in this room. But a lot of who I am, good and bad, began right here. If I can’t face that, I’ll be stuck in this room my whole life. And as for your question, Stella, I was put here by a conspiracy of forces that included a church, a cult, a crime lord, a corrupt Magic Society director and a great astral being. I was iron rank. Ambushed by a silver ranker and chained up, naked but for a suppression collar.”
“How does that explain who you are?” Estella asked.
“Lindy, do you remember what I was doing when you all arrived and found me?”
“You were upstairs, adjusting the cuff links on your suit like you’d just walked out of the theatre.”
“That’s who I am, Estella. The guy who wins. It doesn’t matter who or what you are. How many people or how much power you have. You might kill me, you might scour my soul, but I’ll come back stronger, and I still won. That’s who I am.”
He walked past them and back up the stairs.
“That,” Estella said, “is the single most arrogant thing I have ever heard in my life. And I spend a lot of my time spying on aristocrats.”
“Well, sure,” Belinda said, “but we’re all shaped by our experiences. I’ve seen Jason fight a god, but I’ve never seen him lose.”
Estella looked at the blood stain again.
“Did all that really happen?” Estella asked. “The crime boss, the church, everything.”
“It was the Church of Purity, before people started to realise they were going bad. We actually killed the archbishop not that long after this.”
“And Jason just walked away?”
“Oh, gods, no. That thing with the cuff links? It was basically the last vestiges of his mind doing what he does, which is put on a smug façade to hid that he’s half a step from losing his mind. What he didn’t mention was the months of catatonia and intensive therapy that followed. Not many people manage to throw off a star seed implantation, so they called in a mental specialist and a soul specialist. The best the church of the Healer had. It still took them months to stitch a functional person back together.”
“So, the cult and the corrupt official and whatever else. What did an iron ranker do to get that many people going after him?”
Belinda looked up the stairs.
“You remember Jory?”
Her face took on an uncomfortable expression.
“Yes.”
“Me and Soph were in a real bad spot. And I mean it started bad and had been getting worse for months, like fermenting a turd.”
“Lindy…”
“Sorry. But the whole city was hunting us. Duke’s guards, adventurers, everyone. Even the crime boss that was meant to be protecting us was getting ready to sell us out. Jason and Clive were the ones that caught us. Jory wanted to help, but how could he? He’d have to go up against some of the most powerful people in the city.”
“Which sounds like exactly what Jason would do.”
“Now you’re getting it.”
“But he was the one that caught you?”
“Clive caught me. Didn’t think the Magic Society had anyone that smart. Jason caught Sophie; messed her up bad in the process. Those afflictions of his, you know? Caught up to her being healed by Jory, and that’s where things get interesting. He found out that Jory wanted to help us, and Jory was his friend, so he did. Just like that. No questions, no hesitation. Went up against the Director’s of the Adventure Society and the Magic Society, for two thieves he only knew from the time one of them kicked him in the face. We all thought he was crazy.”
“But he wasn’t.”
“Yes, he was! The guy’s a lunatic. Make those sorts of enemies and you’ll find yourself chained up in a hole somewhere, being bled out.”
Estella turned back to look at the blood stain and the rusty chains. Belinda leaned against the taller woman, slipping an arm around her.
“He saved Sophie and me when everyone else couldn’t or wouldn’t,” she said. “He went up against powerful people to make that happen, but he won. This was the price he paid.”
“Is he going to be alright, coming back here?
“I don’t think he would have, if he wasn’t. It’s kind of his thing. One time, we were out on a road contract, and he took us to a place where a cult tried to sacrifice him to summon a blood monster.”
“Is that the same cult involved in all this?” Estella asked, gesturing at the blood pool.
“No, it was a different cult.”
“And different to that Order of Redeeming Light Purity cult back in Rimaros? The one Sophie’s mum belonged to?”
“Yeah. Also different to the Order of the Reaper, which Sophie’s mum also belonged to, and the Cult of the Reaper, which Sophie’s mum’s boyfriend belongs to.”
“Why does he keep getting involved with cults?”
“I stopped asking questions like that a long time ago. You just have to go with it.”
***
Dean didn’t notice the sounds coming from inside the bath house as he tossed aside the ‘occupied’ sign in front the door, which he flung open and rushed through. There was an immediate splashing and yelling.
A few moments later, Dean had his back turned and his arm over his eyes for good measure. His teammate was in the bath, half-standing to shield the elf lady sharing the bath and using him as a privacy screen.
“I’m charging an extra half if he’s going to watch,” she said.
“Dean,” Jerrick growled. “What in the Healer’s bag of smoking herbs inspired you to come in here like that?”
Dean moved to turn around in his excitement but managed to stop himself.
“I heard something at the Adventure Society,” he said.
“You’d have heard something inside this bathhouse if you weren’t fired up like a bog lurker in heat. What’s got you so—”
“He’s coming back! Jason Asano is coming back to Greenstone!”
“When?”
“I don’t know. I just heard it and rushed straight over.”
“Well, we need to find out more.”
“Yeah!”
Jerrick lurched out of the bath and started rubbing himself dry with a towel.
“Sorry, Lucy, I have to go. Feel free to charge me for the whole hour.”
“Damn straight, I’m charging you for the whole hour. I don’t care how big your—”
“Jerrick, are you coming or what?” Dean called from outside.
***
Jason parted ways with Belinda and Estella, after several reassurances to Belinda that he was fine. Once she accepted that he wasn’t lying too much, she took off with Estella for the city, in a Shade-produced land skimmer.
Jason looked to the nearby delta edge, a shift from desert to verdant growth so neat it could only be magic. The Mistrun River carried water dense with life and water energy, making for the rich and swampy delta. Greenstone rice and tea from further upriver were both local specialties, although a small slice of trade compared to spirit coin export.
Back before he had a team, Jason would blow off steam by heading into the delta on foot. He’d roam the tall embankment roads that ran between mangrove swamps and paddy fields, moving from village to village. He developed a gliding-running style that used his cloak to reduce his weight. It allowed him to travel at relatively swift speeds without exhausting his mana or stamina.
It was a technique he had long ago left behind. Before Shade, before he had a team around him. Before the Builder’s star seed was put inside him, setting him on a course to fight angels, gods and monsters with the fate of worlds on the line.
He had used the technique to roam the delta for a week or more at a time, taking trips alone to clear his head. He’d roam the towns and villages of the delta, healing the sick and clearing off contracts from their adventure boards. He looked back at the storage room door, then back at the delta. He laughed to himself, conjured his cloak and set off.
Almost immediately, he stumbled and landed face first in the sand.
He laughed again as Shade emerged from his shadow.
“Mr Asano, what are you doing?”
“An old trick. I seem to have lost the knack.”
Comments
TRidge Tew
What's this about Jason only having picked up the gliding foot thing now? I'm pretty sure you picked it up multiple times throughout the story
oibe
Is there confirmation of core usage? I remember in a previous book she said she wanted to take her time getting to gold not use cores.
True
I guess that confirms Estella got her hands on enough cores to go gold. Also. Since she's the only core user of the group, I'm assuming the rest of team biscuit just handed them over as her cut of the loot
Ryan Hentrich
All that was there was a mention of getting portal-ed in ch809
Lukas Schumann
Tftc. Have I overread Nik the Bunny? Or hasnt He reapered yet?
Maria Klein
Good chapter overall!
Marion
I was just thinking that she’d probably get along with Anna, lol
ItWasIDIO!!
True payback is to have Elspeth come to Earth & work for him to help set up his JL *ahem*(Adventurer Society)*ahem* & it'll work out for her cause she'll be moving finally
Kconraw
Thx for the chapter
Ethan
This was such a good chapter, really happy they’re back in greenstone
Joseph Kuhr
This chapter is missing the next link at the bottom.
Icaimas
I can´t believe how long it´s been since Jason arrived in Greenstone... So much has happened. Really been a ride!
JoeyRed
...smug façade to hid that... ->smug façade to hide that.
N8rtotPlayz
Remember, Jason has a cult of former priests that venerate him. 😂
Andrew Tobin
It’s interesting that no one has found the purity artefact still.
Shirtaloon
All the silver rankers who are in Greenstone full time are core users. Others, like the Geller training instructors, Thalia and Cassandra Mercer, etc, only spend part of their time there. Also, most Adventure Society officials are core users. They are bureaucrats, not adventurers, although a good number of society staff are also non-core adventurers themselves. They tend to have more active and less bureaucratic roles, like Princess Liara Rimaros.
BloodStorm
We were told when we first met her. Her grandfather I think mentioned it. She was a core user focused on scouting. She didn’t like combat. Once Jason gets the purity artifact it will be taken care of
deadly chibi
I'm just blown away that elspeth is a core user
Cryfdwr
Agreed. I seem to recall Taika saying that there were some people in that group Jason might know who were trying not to be noticed.
Justin Wilson
Very curious who's in the group of outworlders from earth living in Palli for 15 or so years.
Vincent Ciavone
Amazing chapter, seeing Jason get to look back at the past and reminisce, i feel like this is exactly what Jason’s wanted/imagined adventuring would be, sadly he’s had to shoulder the weight of two worlds to enjoy it
Douglas Davis
Remind me. What was that?
EmmericH.
Jason/Elspeth reunion will be so lovely especially after what she said to him the last time they talked to each other 🙂
Ligeia
And I remember the weird outworlder chihuahua-headed guy used some odd idioms referring to his skinny rear or some such. I'm drawing a blank on his name, even though I just reread the book he was in last week! There are a LOT of small characters to remember in these books ...
Alexander Dupree
Paranoid would imply that there wasn’t justification
Cryfdwr
Dammit, now I want to go back to book 1 to verify her name, but that’s just gonna lead to re-reading all the books . For what? The 5th time? 6th?
Katherine Matthews
Mrs. Landry had a secret sister named Jennifer and they swapped places intermittently pretending to be one person, Jessica. She’s like a parent trap version of Bert.
Thomas Froehling
I for one enjoyed this small part of one sentence: 'an actual standing order [of the global Adventure Society] to put a branch on low alert if he [Jason] entered its jurisdiction.' No, they' re not paranoid, they are just careful...
Ariel
I bet she asks about Clives wife... Jason was sleeping with her back then after all
Philipp Battenberg
I love the Pallimustan? (what's the adjective of Pallimustus?) idioms thrown in there. "What in the Healer’s bag of smoking herbs" "fired up like a bog lurker in heat" Those small touches are quite underappreciated even though they bring a nice bit of immersion.
William Beegle IV
Glad I wasn't alone in thinking that.
Justin Fralin
So much nostalgia... damn good chapter Shirt.
Jacob Goodrich
Those are characters from much earlier but dean and Jerrick had a bad interactions with Jason in the adventurer square a few books ago and Jerrick was the guy that told the people he was being tortured by the builder in the basement that was in the chapter
Ligeia
Last time it was mentioned he used it was in Rimaros when he was meeting his team +Taika & Travis etc. But remember, that was something like 20 years ago, and I wouldn't be surprised if he forgot the knack in the interval.
Bent Sommer
Who are Madam Landry, Dean and Jerrick? Do we need to know them?
Ligeia
I want to see his reunion with Hiram and his grandkids, especially the one who got the essence he looted from the shab Hiram killed!
Morgan Amacosmos
I'm pretty sure that Jason used the gliding technique at some point after reaching silver. Seems weird that he could lose the knack for such a basic movement technique after carrying it with him all the way to silver rank and having silver/gold memory and *extensive* practice with his cloak
JustTheLad
I genuinely can't wait for him to see Dean and Jerrick, they were who I thought of immediately when shirt first mentioned a timeskip and returning to greenstone.
ShowBizGAL 1996
Uh, Shirt, I coulda sworn Madam Landry's first name was Jessica...?
Anthony Moreno
This has to be the full circle. Tyftc
Mantiqore
Jason's not the only one nostalgic, huh?
Kasey Lindenmayer
Madam Landry!! Can’t wait to see if Jason catches up with her!
Flojoe
Hope he visits the Villiage with the Warerfall.
Dharma Blurton
Tyftc! I've been waiting for years to see this arc! So excited.
KollegvomMirgan
Tftc
Preston Stokes
Love it!! Tyftc
JonO
I think he should visit her in her kitchen late at night in her underwear
Diviknight
Boy, you’re gonna carry that weight. Tyftc
Darthnarciss
I look at it as an improper use of a Gold ranked ability that tripped him up.
Kalanaere
Estelle is starting to notice the patern of Jason and Cults. I also love that Arella us afraid of what's going to happen to her.
Ken Sevier
Amazing
Joanna
If the landlady is supposed to be the same gal from the first books and not a relative running a similar establishment, in book one Jason calls her Jessica, not Jennifer
Havics Child
Nope rimmaros is the location, they are heading to pick up the outworlders from Jason's world and are following the originally planned route from 20 years ago visiting a bunch of places.
Justin
Amazing chapter, I’m so glad he’s back in greenstone. Perfect start to the chapter by the way! TYFTC!
Havics Child
I really think he's going to do a big old forgive a forget with Arella, she was the one who really drove home to him that power is everything and anyone with more might try to cheat you. Though he moved past things like that, it helped him understand his new world a bit better.
Jordan Brennan
Tyftc!
Joanna
Or perhaps he goes to visit and...absolutely nothing out of the ordinary happens, because wouldn't that be the most unexpected result at this point?
ReadingObsessed
I'd wear that on a shirt 👕
Charles Nichols
Please tell me Greenstone or somewhere near it will be the location for this end of the bridge. Maybe the Vane estate.
Maximus
That's a very good point. It helps explain the wealth of gold rankers..
Havics Child
He owes one of them and essentially saved the other, they'll get along great, Jason coming back is awesome for them, I look forward to that conversation.
Havics Child
Jason has moved on, he's fully immortal and has been aiming for diamond rank babes for a while now, Cassy might still be pining for him, but he wouldn't get between his friend and an old girlfriend either way. His brothers stunt kinda makes him hate that kind of thing, there should be a couple long chats likely off screen. They might hook up for a 1 night stand, but I doubt it.
BloodStorm
I’m still in a hurry for the earth return but I’m excited about the greenstone reunion. I guess we are going to have a tour around Pallimustus before we go back.
Havics Child
Just started rereading the series not long ago, only at the beginning of book 4 so seeing everyone again when I finished book 3 yesterday is great. Emir spent how many months in Greenstone? Between all the gold rankers who were there they must have sucked down more gold coins than the dang city is worth over those months if they were eating 2-3 gold coins daily. Emir, Arabella, Gabriel, Callum, and Carlos count total between them as 7-8 months, minimum 2 day your looking at 420 to 720 gold coin between them. That's about 150 times more money than the cash Jason gave Jory that changed his entire life.
Notye Penyar
One of the first people to meet Clive’s wife. I hope that comes up.
Eleeyah
Jason faceplanting is funny, but I'm not sure it's believable, considering his gold-rank agility.^^
Lona Eclipse
Hoping for Waterfall Village part 3. 2 pivotal events already. Need to round out the trifecta
Michael Lloyd Kelley
Thank you for that chapter. I needed that.
Mike Zebill
Great now that you are bring back all these characters I will need to reread the series to reaquaintmyself with them.......darn.
Ira White
Oh I can't wait for the Jason meeting up with the Mersers. Oh and the reunion with Cassy that's going to be hilarious seeing Jason both help and humiliate Neil to get her to forgive him. Watching the Arella squirm as he goes around town reunioning and hobnobning with everyone. Only for him to walk into the adventure society say hi to Bert and Rufus's ex with the outrageous mustache then leave with out even acknowledging her with more then his aura. Or he could have this big build up by scaring the living hell out of her with scary Jason aura pin pointed on her the entire time he's walking to the adventure society only for him to walk in with him eating a sandwich in an absurd shirt shorts and flip flops and say hey Arella long time no see then walk past her to go register with Bert. Or shade could be funny and pop out of her shadow and pretend like he's been there since before he left greenstone lmao
Jonathan Crandall
Agreed. Kinda beating a dead horse at this point
Terry Bell
"Oh yeah that's the stuff!" Said in Clive's voice. Great Chapter Shirt!
Doodlyboy15
Cute, thanks
Tommy S
Guess we'll see the Neil, Cassandra and Jason love triangle faster than we thought.
Chad .
Jason will forgive.....but Sophie?
Chad .
But it's also closer to the spirit coin farm which is supposed to be desolate
Maximus
I know it helps the reader to reiterate things from earlier books, but surely Estella had heard that story over and over. I enjoyed the chapter, I just felt like it was interesting that Belinda had to tell her everything.
Wheelhouse
Kinda curious how many "recruits" get added to the team 🤔
Mike Zebill
I don't think it was recent. I know there was mention of it when he did the bronze rank skill books. He was surprised to find the method in there that he had self developed at iron rank.
Snugglebadger
Yes! Back to Greenstone! Excited for all the reunions.
Blake N.
I may be misremembering, but I thought there was a mention at some point somewhat recently about him redeveloping his old movement technique
Agent P.
Yay Greenstone. Also a real answer to why Gold rankers don't stick around or visit often
Walter Kimberly
Absolutely beautiful! I spent half the time laughing and the other fighting tears of remembrance. 👏 just beautiful Shirt.
Ceasarty
Surely Clive should be the one looking for her, even if it’s just to divorce her for sleeping with Jason that one time
Scott McCarthy
Elspeth worried about Jason, and does not remember what it was about. She should remember itnwas about Sophie, and she is more likely to be made at her.
Nick
I want him to go back to the village he saved so bad I can taste it. I've been waiting for the greenstone reunion for a year at least! Thanks for the chapter shirt!
Scott Way
I'd be ok spending longer than that lol
Harbby
Finally, we're back at greenstone. So far it's better than I hoped
Ligeia
That coin had to be ten times the size of a single leech! Why didn't Jason ask Colin to appear in his VotW capacity, when a coin would be so much easier for him to eat?
Daniel Wills
Sure! Dean Tuckle was the guy who summoned a big bearish thing for Thadwick in the lumber mill land grab scheme. Jerrick was the guy that Jason humiliated during said scheme, and turned over to the adventure society. Jerrick was also the guy that ran off to tell the team where Jason was being implanted with a star seed.
Bilal Williams
This chapter make me want to start my six month re-run of the series early
Ligeia
Read a few posts upthread. They're both described well enough you should remember them if you read book 1.
Hunter
Can someone remind me who dean and jerrick are?
Pierce
Have SO been waiting for greenstone!! Let’s spend two weeks here!!
Razeel Nightfall
Does Greenstone still claim Jason as their own?
Sanguinar
Omg Berts
Jlee1014
Alright. I'm here for this.
Jlee1014
Dean summons the furgax and jerrik is the bad fellow who gets the crap kicked out of him in the thadwick land grab attempt.
Steve Shelden
This’ll be cool. He put them both on the right track with some decency and good advice, and other than Jerrick’s visits with Ladies of the Night (no judgment, oldest profession, etc) they seem to be good Greenstone citizens, and it’s because of his mercy. I said it already elsewhere, but I’m a big fan of the Greenstone return.
John Durrett
That’s one shot glass even if Jason didnt say it himself, even though it’s kinda his thing. ;)
Steve Shelden
I think I disagree. To overuse a phrase, the character has developed. There’s no honor to be gained in punching down, which is why her bullying him was so shitty. The honor is in being the bigger person, so while she’s expecting to get murdered for abusing him, he’ll instead give her a wry smile, offer her some tea, and thank her for the lesson/forgive her preemptively.
Inneedofducks
YAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSS
Baeros
Oh, nostalgia....
Sena
Jason is going to be so proud of Dean and Jerrick if they're the adventurers we think they are.
Gb
We need the Burts, we need the Burts, We need the Burts!
JonO
Most likely. Especially since that was a very relevant conversation between her and her father that never really got addressed again.
René Blaser
I so love these interactions with shade, colin and Gordon. It's just so much fun. And poor colin having to eat a spirit coin. :-)
sgt_turtle
Was Madam Landry a charecter in the first 3 books? Can't remember for the life of me.... This arc is the perfect excuse to do some re-reading
Josh Vanderpool
I loved every sentence of this.
Bobby Baxter
I love this so much
David Odle
Tftc! I hope we get to see Rufus’s academy thriving, even with him on Earth.
Hemlock
The group has always been pretty good at letting each other's secrets be their secrets to tell
#savegarytheleonid
lol
Kenneth Mølbæk
so we will finally get to know if Elspeth Arella helped Cole Silver and Lucian Lampre make a connection.......
McCainOffensive
Excuse me, his name is Vladwick.
N8rtotPlayz
Oh, heck yeah! Good stuff!! I’ve been waiting for this since Jason died…. the first time. I’m surprised Stella never heard about any of this since joining the group. TYFTC
David Cooper
"smug façade to hid that he’s half a step from losing his mind." Should be hide.
Poseidon4G
*Squints* You’re not a person… you’re a dragon!
Jordan Rogers
Yay! So excited for Wednesday!
JonO
No they already said it'll be in rimaros several chapters back.
Omigusrage
We can stay in greenstone for at least 50 chapters please. So much to catch up on and enjoy. I like how there was discussion to not interfere with Jason as he traveled and it seems like even though they didn’t agree with that Messenger they still followed that train of thought.
Jonathan Rojas
I noticed this but not sure if its a typo in the sentence "It was basically the last vestiges of his mind doing what he does, which is put on a smug façade to hid that he’s half a step from losing his mind." seems like it should be hide. Also love this chapter.
JonO
Gilbert is already with him. He was brought to yaresh. Though I'm looking forward to the wardrobe refresh that better come.
Mist Sparrow
Finally meeting that guy's grandchildren
Nathan Orenstein
Madam Landry!!!! She must be protected at all costs
Mist Sparrow
I feel like it'll be something Jason just has to accept from other people
Steve Shelden
I’ve been looking forward to his Greenstone return since Rimaros. Elspeth still being there in a dead end job is just (chef’s kiss) perfect.
Sanguinar
Duper happy to see Jarrick and Dean again. I hope it's a heart felt reunion for them all.
Mist Sparrow
I hope at the very least Aurela gets her very own force choked monolog returned to her
JonO
I'm ecstatic to see how he disappoints everyone who thinks he's going to create a massacre only to have someone else be the cause. They'll bring it in themselves if Jason has to act, I'm sure of it. Also, I think most of the rescued clergy are still in greenstone.... so veneration commences in full now? Lol they tried back in rexion(?). But can it be stopped here?
Hemlock
I hope greenstone sticks around for a minute. Maybe even as the bridge???
Jacob Conway
Gilbert is gonna so excited to see his favorite customer!
Grayvisc
I’ll admit to not remembering Dean and Jerrick at all? 😂
Tyler Dideriksen
When Jason was chained up and fighting off the star seed, jerrick was the guy who went and alerted all Jason's friends where he was.
Benjamin Grant
Biscuits
Mr. J
A wonderful bit of nostalgia.
brian phillips
Tyftc
Timothy
Is Jason in Greenstone to find the ever elusive Clive's wife??
Julia
okay i cant for the life of me remember who dean and jerrick are? also colin is the sweetest little guy ever, this coming from a girlie with a major leech phobia
Joseph Jenkins
We're finally back. Ive been waiting since he got back from Earth the first time
Mike Wizowski
Kinda been looking forward to Jason returning to greenstone more than a lot of other things. Kinda hoping he runs into the guy he fell out of the waterfall with
Bingus McCready
Oh my god, absolutely precious. Madam Landry is going to LOSE IT 😭😭😭. TFTC!!!
Aaron Schwartz
Oh this is gonna be fun. I’m almost certain thadcula isn’t actually going to show up… but I kinda want him too
mhaj58
Awesome chapter, I hope Shirty milks Greenstone for all its worth. I particularly enjoyed Arellas POV.
Jake
Thx
ONEsie
Alright, let's go.
Connor
I'm so hyped! I've been waiting for Jason to go back to Greenstone since book 4.
Darkdragon
Biscuits
