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First Draft

17th Tinne 2044

Just below the lip of the tunnel, Bilbus stopped. He cautiously poked his head above ground level, turning slowly back and forth, his eyes barely above the lip of the tunnel. The opening of the spider's tunnel was in a clearing in a dense forest. The clearing was about 15 paces in diameter, covered with thick grass and a few dark rocks. The trees surrounding the clearing were all older, none shorter than fifteen paces tall. The sky above was bright blue, clear of clouds save for a wispy column of smoke just visible above the trees.

Bilbus watched carefully for a minute, looking for any signs of humans or orcs around the clearing. Satisfied that there was none, Bilbus climbed out of the tunnel onto the cool grassy carpet covering the ground. As Eric started to climb out of the tunnel, Bilbus suddenly froze in place.

"Eric, do you see that?"

Eric looked at Bilbus, then looked where Bilbus was staring. "Yes."

Bilbus and Eric were looking at a huge spider web spanning the four-pace wide distance between two of the trees at the edge of the clearing. The silvery strands were each as large as the strands that were in the chimney below them.

Bilbus kept his eyes fixed on the web. "Do you think there are more of them here?"

"That's a possibility. We'll have to keep our eyes open."

Eric finished climbing out of the tunnel, making way for the rest of his companions. When they were all on the surface, they sat quietly for a minute or two, looking about for giant spiders or guards.

Finally satisfied that there was no immediate danger, Eric addressed his friends. "We're out of the tunnel. I am willing to bet that we're still on the island, however. We need to find a way to get off of the island. It would be nice if we had some clothing and weapons."

Adria snorted. "I'd be happy with a bow right about now."

"So would I," Eric admitted. "Mine is probably floating in the hold of the Sea Ghost right now, though. A more pressing concern is getting out of here and making it to Kieta."

Bilbus nodded, still looking around at the forest. "We're going to have to be quiet. We can't be too far from that walled town, and I'd be willing to bet that there are patrols in the forest. Certainly they aren't so cocky that they really think that cave system is escape proof."

Breanna looked at the large web between the trees. "Unless the spiders keep the guards out of the forest."

Bilbus glanced at the web. "Still, they may patrol the edge of the forest, just to be sure. We're about a mile or two from the shore of the lake just about any direction we want to go. I don't think they would expect anyone to actually try swimming away, but it would be easy to catch anyone trying to sneak out if there are patrols."

"Agreed," Eric said. "We need to worry about food, too. I think I spotted a rabbit when I crawled out of the tunnel. We might be able to set some snares."

Breanna pointed to a bush near the clearing. "There are edible berries. There should be some tubers around here we can eat, too."

Eric nodded. "Good. We won't starve getting out of here. We may be able to get to the lakeside to get some water."

Kasey stood and started walking slowly around the clearing. Eric stopped to watch him as the Church Knight stood on his toes, looking first one direction, then another. When Kasey finally joined everyone else once more, he looked satisfied.

Eric asked, "What do you see, Kasey?"

"We're on the south side of the island, maybe about the middle of it." He pointed in one direction. "The smoking mountain is over there," then pointed another direction, left of the first one. "I can see the tops of the towers of the town over there."

Rishala looked at Eric. "Didn't Virona say our clothes were in a warehouse by the docks?"

"Yes."

"The docks are on the other side of the island, past the town."

"Yes. We're going to have to find a way past the town to reach the warehouse and the docks. We may need to sneak into town to get some clothes so we're less conspicuous."

Bilbus looked at Eric. "I'll go."

"Are you sure, Bilbus?"

"Eric, I'm probably the only one who can get into that town and out again. Part of my job is sneaking."

Rishala looked at the spider web. "I wonder where we will run into more of those things."

Bilbus looked at Rishala. "Not in Londoun. I plan on getting back there as soon as I can."

Rishala smiled. "I have to agree with you on that, Bilbus the Great."

Eric stood. "Let's set up a camp, somewhere away from there." He pointed at the spider's tunnel they had used to escape.

Eric and Kasey led the rest through the forest, moving northeast towards the smoking cone of the volcano. A couple hundred paces from the clearing, they found another, smaller clearing.

Eric looked around the clearing at the dense trees. "This should be a good enough cover. We need some wood for a small fire and something to eat."

Breanna looked at Adria. "We can find some wood, and pick some of those berries."

Adria simply nodded and followed Breanna into the trees.

Kasey started inspecting saplings around the clearing, looking for suitable components for rabbit snares.

Bilbus looked at Eric. "If I'm not back by sun-up, I probably won't be back."

"Be careful, Bilbus."

Bilbus smiled grimly. "It's a little late for careful."

Bilbus walked into the forest, stepping carefully, avoiding the twigs and leaves underfoot as he made his way west, towards the walled town on a plateau above the forest.

When the trees ahead of Bilbus started thinning precipitously, he stopped. The walled town of Suderpol was a mere hundred paces away and twenty paces above him. The plateau upon which the town rested was level, extending from the slopes of the small volcano to the edge of the island, where the cliffs ended abruptly twenty paces above the smooth surface of the hidden lake.

Crouching next to a large cottonwood tree, Bilbus watched the top of the town walls. Pairs of guards walked slowly, inattentively, along the wall, silhouetted by the bright blue sky behind them. Each guard carried a bow of some flavor -- most with bulky crossbows, but a few with conventional bows that seemed delicate in comparison to their mechanical brethren.

Each guard wore chain maille armor that covered from shoulders to crotch. Each also wore simple steel helmets that were little more than caps covering the scalp. Most wore a belt with a sword on the left side and a quiver bristling with arrows on the right. A few eschewed the sword entirely.

None seemed to pay attention to the forest below and to the south of them, and more than a few were more intent on boisterous conversation with their fellow guards than on even maintaining an illusion of guarding the town. This may be too easy. If only I had a rope.

Bilbus watched the guards for the better part of half of an hour. As he watched a pair of fat, lazy pigeons fly overhead towards the town, he started to smile. Of course, I could do without the rope... He stopped to concentrate, mentally grabbing at the Heka he could feel within him. It was a struggle to even touch the energy, much less force it into any useful weaves. I'll need some rest. The escape nearly drained me.

He settled against the large tree, his back against the rough bark and the town beyond. He closed his eyes and started breathing slowly, trying to feel the natural flow of Heka around him, hoping to tap some of the energies to replenish his own reserves of Heka.

The sun had dipped below the horizon when Bilbus once again became aware of his surroundings. He stood slowly and stretched, then turned around, putting his hands against the trunk of the tree while he looked around the trunk towards the town. The fast-fading light above painted a deep blue above the black shadows of the town wall. Guards still walked along the wall, their faces and shoulders lit by the glows of numerous street-lanterns within the town.

Concentrating on the Heka within him, Bilbus shaped it into a complex weave. Although there was no visible component to the magick, he had often imagined that the casting weaved the Heka into a set of bird-like wings. Bilbus had tried the casting a number of times in the past, but had never succeeded. The complexity of the shaping had been beyond his ability as long as he could remember, but the recent liberal use of magick had boosted Bilbus's confidence.

The shaping of the Heka completed, Bilbus looked skyward, through the thinning canopy of leaves towards the nearly-black sky beyond. Here goes nothing... Bilbus concentrated on moving up, past the leaves into the night beyond. He realized his feet were no longer on the ground. With a gasp, Bilbus shot out past the leaves. He barely noticed the scratches on his arms and face from the branches he grazed on the way.

Fifty feet above the trees, Bilbus stopped climbing. He looked about, amazed and pleased, as the novelty of the dweomer set in. With a start, Bilbus realized he was falling again. He stopped abruptly when he started concentrating on staying in one place. This may take some getting used to.

From his vantage point above the trees, Bilbus watched the town for another minute before he started flying towards the town.

The town approached at a dizzying speed. Bilbus realized with dismay that two of the guards were looking directly at him. He could hear their shouts even at this distance: "Man flying! Man overhead!"

Bilbus concentrated, feeling a net of Heka forming around him as he tried to keep thinking about moving forward as well. The first guards fired their crossbows at him, the bolts from the weapons stopping short as the net of magickal energy absorbed their momentum. The quarrel fell away. That was too close. The protective net was weak. Bilbus could feel the weave fading, most of its energy already spent stopping two crossbow bolts.

Now past the walls, Bilbus dove down to near ground level, taking random turns in the streets and alleys of the town, hoping to evade the guards on the wall tracking him.

He flew between two startled city watchmen, his head and body even with their shoulders. Before they could turn around to see him, Bilbus had already darted around a corner into another of the many alleyways of the town.

After randomly turning down alleys and streets for several minutes, Bilbus stopped in a dead-end alleyway. To either side, Bilbus saw the darkened single-story backs of shops closed for the night. To Bilbus's back was a two-story building. Bilbus waited quietly in the alleyway for a moment as the rattle of maille-clad guards echoed in the streets. The sour stench of refuse in the alley was almost enough to cause Bilbus to gag. Quietly, Bilbus flew up ten feet, placing himself next to an open window. Red curtains, lit irregularly from within, had been drawn across the window, but the panes of glass were wide open. Bilbus could just barely see over the rooftops of the adjacent shops, and he could see the movement of people in the streets beyond.

Noises came from the open window next to Bilbus. Low moans of a man and the occasional giggles of a woman came from behind the curtains. Other sounds followed as well, including repeated creaks. Bilbus covered his mouth with one hand, suppressing a laugh, when he heard rattling maille from nearby. A voice called out from the streets nearby.

"I'm sure I saw him somewhere over here. He may be hiding in one of the buildings nearby!"

Bilbus looked again at the open window. He concentrated, channeling Heka into a compact weave that waited like a trap ready to spring. Taking one last glance at the alleyway below him, Bilbus turned and darted through the curtains.

Just below the window, a dark-haired woman sat upright as Bilbus pushed through the curtains. Bilbus quickly touched her bare shoulder, watching her collapse back on top of a man. Her pale, bare back heaved slowly in a deep slumber as the man underneath her tried to push her aside. Before the man could yell, Bilbus once more channeled Heka into a sleep casting. He slapped the man's arm, wrapped around the woman's slender waist, and the man also collapsed asleep.

Muffled noises in the hallway alerted Bilbus that he needed to hurry. He rolled the nude woman off of the man, then dragged the man from the bed. The man was also naked. Bilbus grabbed the man's undershirt, discarded in a pile with the rest of his clothes on the dark red rug covering the floor, and used it to gag him. Bilbus then grabbed the man's under shorts and used them to bind the man's wrists together.

Bilbus jumped as a door nearby crashed open. He glanced quickly at the door to this room, surrounded by gaudy pink walls. He shook his head and pushed the bound and gagged man under the bed. There was barely enough room for the man to fit in the narrow space, so Bilbus grabbed the bed covers and jerked at them, drawing them partially off of the bed to cover the unconscious man.

Hearing a door just outside his crash open, Bilbus jumped into the bed, whipping his undershirt off and tossing it onto the other man's pile of clothes. He pulled the covers up to his abdomen and rolled the sleeping woman over, partially on top of him. He held her close, his right arm across her back, and started brushing the black locks of her hair from his face.

The door to the room crashed open. A gruff city watchman, framed by the doorway, stared into the room. His face glistened from the exertion of running across town, and his left hand was tight on the grip of the sword hanging from his belt. Bilbus, still brushing the prostitute's hair from his face, froze, his left hand almost cupping her ear as she slept peacefully against him. The watchman took two steps into the room, allowing Bilbus to notice a second guard still in the hallway.

Bilbus looked at the watchman, glaring. "Yes?"

In the Franchon tongue, the man asked, "Did someone come in here through that window?"

Switching to Franchon, Bilbus replied, "No." He lifted his left hand and pointed at the woman's head. "Really, do you mind?"

The watchman looked at the woman, a half smile on his face, then turned. The other watchman had stepped into the room, standing on his toes to leer at the nude figure sleeping on the bed. The first watchman slapped the second's chest, and they both left the room. The watchman shut the door behind him.

Bilbus rolled the woman off of him and quietly padded to the door. He put his ear against it carefully, listening as the guards continued their rude entries into the rooms of the brothel. Satisfied that the guards were not returning soon, Bilbus grabbed his shirt from the pile on the rug and pulled it on.

He then lifted the man's trousers from the pile on the floor. They were a coarse brownish-gray material, a little short, but they were close enough in fit. Bilbus pulled the trousers on and tied the drawstring. He picked up the man's over shirt, a soiled off-white linen, and tossed it aside. The blue jacket still on the floor would fit, poorly. Well, I don't have to fasten it.

Bilbus shrugged into the jacket, then picked up a long leather belt that had been hidden beneath the jacket. Bilbus laughed and looked towards the sleeping man, his head just visible from Bilbus's vantage. What, you think she wouldn't know to look there if she were robbing you? He wrapped the belt around him and cinched it. A warm grin crossed his face when he heard the jangle of coins in the purse on the belt.

Bilbus opened the purse and reached in. He pulled out the coins within, holding them in his left hand as he inspected them. There were four silver coins, two copper, and two bronze. All had the same horrific tentacled visage on one side, but each type of metal had a different design on the other. What is this thing, and why is it on all these coins? Bilbus dropped the coins back into the purse and tied it shut.

Bilbus looked around the room for the man's shoes. They were left next to the door, the only thing placed neatly. The woman's linen and lace smallclothes had been placed neatly on a small table next to the door. They, too, were red and pink. Ugh. Can't these people come up with something better for colors?

Bilbus pulled the low boots on, wincing at the poor fit. His toes felt like they had been folded in two, and the leather across the high instep of his foot felt like it might split if Bilbus put too much weight on the balls of his feet.

The woman on the bed moaned quietly and rolled over, stretching one arm across the bed and exposing her back once more. Bilbus looked at her for a moment, worried that the sleep casting on her was wearing off prematurely.

Now dressed, Bilbus walked carefully back to the door. He pressed his ear against it again, listening for the watchmen. He decided he was safe -- as safe as he could be -- and opened the door.

He stuck his head out the door, looking both directions. The hallway, stretching off to both his left and right, was lit by numerous small lanterns. More of the unpleasant pink paint covered the plaster walls, giving Bilbus cause to cringe once more. Immodest, indecent, and downright lewd paintings adorned the walls between each of the doors of the hallway. Bilbus noticed the banister of a stairway to his left, so he straightened, stepped into the hallway, and closed the door.

The stairway descended to the ground floor, emptying into a sizable atrium. Several chairs and chaises lounge lined the walls of the room -- mercifully, not pink-walled, but dark stained wood. Several suggestive paintings were placed on the walls, and a statuette of an improbably-proportioned mermaid filled a small pedestal in the center of the room.

At the base of the stairway stood a young woman behind a small podium. Her long, blonde hair covered an exposed back, but she wore lacy smallclothes that covered some of her body. She looked up at Bilbus and smiled as he reached the bottom of the stairs. Gods, she's young!

Bilbus returned the smile and reached into his coin purse. He grabbed the first coin he could -- silver, it turned out -- and flipped it to the young woman. Sticking to Franchon, Bilbus spoke. "Everything was wonderful. She's worth the extra tip."

The girl continued to smile. "Which girl was she?"

Bilbus frowned briefly. "Love, I was so busy watching her, I didn't catch her name."

The girl looked at Bilbus, her face twisted in consternation. Bilbus winked at her and continued towards the door on the far side of the room. He smiled as she called out behind him, "We hope to see you again soon!"

I sure as hells hope not! Bilbus pulled the door open and stepped onto the paving stones of the street beyond.

The street was well-lit by numerous lanterns hanging from poles along the street. Bilbus jumped when he realized the town wall was directly across the street. I really got disoriented when I was evading the watch. Bilbus turned right and started walking.

At the end of the block, Bilbus noticed a pair of watchmen ahead on the road, detaining a solitary man. One of the watchmen held a piece of paper. Uh-oh. Bilbus started patting his jacket, searching for a pocket. He heard the crumpling of paper above his breast. He reached into the jacket, finding the interior pocket. Fishing in the pocket with his fingers, Bilbus produced a folded page.

Looking again at the guards, Bilbus decided to follow the side street. Twenty paces down the road, he stopped under a lantern and looked at the page. Across the top, it read "Suderpol Day Pass" in elegantly-written Franchon. Bilbus grunted. Below the title, the page read "Issued to Arl Studyes, dock worker of Suderpol Shores."

"Hmph." Bilbus grunted. He folded the paper and continued to walk along the empty street.

Near the middle of the block, to his left, Bilbus spotted a cobbler's shop, still open for business. The man within didn't notice Bilbus, intent on gathering shoes and boots and putting them into a back room. This town closes up early, doesn't it?

At the end of the block, past the cross street and to the right, Bilbus spotted a tailor's shop. The merchant within was clearly getting ready to close for the day. Bilbus sped to a trot, rushing through the doorway.

The tailor looked at Bilbus, his closely-placed eyes narrowing as he sized the thief. Bilbus smiled, looking around the shop.

Finally, Bilbus looked at the tailor. Sticking with the Franchon tongue, he spoke. "I'm seeking clothes for my ... servants."

The man "harumphed" and started walking slowly -- Bilbus noticed the limp -- towards a small barrel filled with plain, coarsely-woven clothes. Bilbus heard the man muttering under his breath: "Servants. Pah! Not even able to call the slaves like they are. What? Afraid of hurting their feelings?"

Bilbus cleared his throat loudly. "Yes, well, my wife insists on calling them servants. They do tend the household, after all. I'm still new at this. I'm not from around here."

The man coughed once. Still speaking under his breath, he said, "Well, I can tell by your accent." He fished into the barrel, pulling out assorted garments in bright colors. "I'm sure your wife wants the slaves ... servants gaily dressed, too. How many do you need?"

Bilbus stopped and counted. "I need two for large men." He held his hand above his head, indicating height. "I need one ... two for a man about my height. And I need two for some women, one a little shorter than I, the other about the same height. Oh, and one for a boy, about this big." Bilbus held his hand about chest height.

The tailor grabbed shirts and pantaloons, stopping to inspect each before tossing several aside. He continued to mumble the entire time, mumbling about slaves, wives, and customers who wait until the last moment to purchase. When his rambling monologue finished, the tailor held a bundle of rough clothes, all in subdued oranges, purples, and reds.

"Excellent, good Master!" Bilbus beamed. "How much do I owe you for these wares?"

"Mmmm. Seven Shekal."

Bilbus thought for a moment, then fished out some coins. He counted the three silver coins and the four other, less valuable coins. "How about four Shekal and change?"

"I see three."

That's what I thought. Shekal are the silver coins. Bilbus quickly weaved another Heka casting into his purse and reached into it with his fingers. He withdrew another silver coin, identical in appearance, weight, and feel to the others, but formed from tightly-woven Heka. "Here's the fourth."

The man looked at the coins. "I want to close. I'll take what you have."

The man held out his hand. Bilbus poured the seven real coins and the false one into the man's hand, then took the offered bundle of clothes. Bilbus quickly walked out of the tailor's shop, tracing his route back to the cobbler. The weave that created the ringer would last only a few minutes -- perhaps as many as fifteen -- and Bilbus didn't want to be near the tailor's shop if the man noticed one of his silver coins dissipating into thin air.

The cobbler had just grabbed the shutters on his shop's ground floor window. Thinking quickly, Bilbus tore his coin purse from his belt, leaving a ragged thong of leather. He tucked the coin purse into the loose jacket and jogged towards the cobbler, who was pulling the shutters on the front of the shop closed.

Bilbus waved to him as he jogged towards the shop. "Hold, good Master! Please! I need to get boots before I return home, or my wife shall have my hide before the sun rises!"

The cobbler stopped, staring at Bilbus as the thief reached the still-open windows. "Please, Master?"

The man released the shutters. In a gravelly voice, he replied, "Very well. Come in here."

"Oh, thank you, Master." Bilbus walked into the shop, looking around at the several pairs of boots still on a table.

The cobbler looked at Bilbus's feet, running one hand through his oily salt-and-pepper hair. "I may have something to fit you already."

"It's not for me, Master. I need them for my ... slaves."

"You understand that these may not fit them too well. It would be a shame damaging that kind of investment with poorly-fit shoes."

"Oh, yes, I know. But, they don't have any footwear now." He held out the bundle of colorful shirt and pants. "They didn't even have proper garb for housework. Anything we get is better than nothing. It would be a travesty if they come up lame because they step on sharp rocks, no?"

"Well. How large are your slaves' feet?"

Bilbus scratched his head and dropped the bundle of clothes onto a well-sanded wooden bench placed against the wall. He placed his hands just over a foot apart. "Two of them are maybe this big."

The cobbler hunted around his small shop, finally producing a pair of low boots with hard soles and an adjustment strap across the bridge. Bilbus continued guessing at the sizes of his companions' feet until he had a pile of boots for the men and women and a pair of sandals for Merek.

"Wonderful, Master cobbler. How much do I owe you for these boots?"

The cobbler looked at the boots on the bench next to Bilbus. "I think ten Shekal will be enough. These are fine, long-wearing boots."

Bilbus reached to his belt, then opened his mouth. "I can't believe it!"

"What?" The cobbler looked around the shop, then settled his eyes on Bilbus once more.

"That man cut my purse!" He pulled the ragged thong from his belt, holding it towards the shopkeeper. "I thought he was just drunk." Bilbus ran to the window, leaning out and looking both directions. He pulled his head back in to look at the cobbler.

"You were robbed in this town?"

"It's hard to believe. He's right over here, though! Do you recognize him?" Bilbus stuck his head back out the window. He heard the shuffle of the cobbler as the man crossed the shop to stand next to the thief. The cobbler stuck his head out the window, looking in the same direction as Bilbus.

"I see no one..."

Bilbus put his hand on the cobbler's shoulder. After a brief surge of Heka, the man froze in place. Bilbus pulled the paralyzed man into the shop, then took one last glance onto the street. Seeing no one, Bilbus pulled the shutters closed, then quickly shut the front door of the store.

He carefully lifted the man, wrapping his arms around the man's chest, below his armpits. Bilbus dragged the man into the back room, then spotted the stairway to the upper floor. Grunting, Bilbus hauled the man upstairs and deposited him on the modest bed in the upstairs room. He carefully tied the man's hands and feet, then ran back down the stairs.

Bilbus grabbed a large cloth sack from the back room of the shop and took it into the front room. He dumped the shoes and clothes into the sack and tied the top of the sack closed. He then ran back to a small table near the doorway to the back room. On top of the table was a small wooden box. Bilbus opened the box. Inside were ten Shekal. Bilbus grabbed the coins and dumped them into his jacket's inner pocket. He then picked up his bundle and walked out the front door.

Bilbus walked along the street, quickly passing the tailor's now-dark shop, looking about for any sort of landmark to help him find a way out of town.

He stopped in the middle of a wide road. To his right he could see the round amphitheater he had seen when Virona escorted him and his friends to the dungeons. The wide road was familiar -- Bilbus saw now-closed shops three blocks towards the amphitheater. He turned towards the round building and continued walking, the sack slung over his left shoulder.

As he passed the amphitheater, Bilbus noticed an column of armed men walking slowly ahead of him. In the middle of the column Bilbus saw a palanquin carried by four very large men. Bilbus picked up his pace, closing on the unsuspecting column of guards and whoever it was in the palanquin they protected.

The column reached the wall gatehouse. The guards within the gatehouse -- different ones from when Bilbus last passed through -- stopped the column. One of the guards walked to the side of the palanquin and spoke to the person within. The passenger handed a page to the guard, who then inspected the page in the dim lighting from the nearby lanterns. The guard handed the page back to the passenger, then gestured towards the open doors out of town before stepping away from the palanquin.

The column walked out of the town just as Bilbus caught up to the end of them. He tried to walk along behind the guards, ignoring the gatehouse men. One of them walked towards him and put a hand on Bilbus's chest.

"I need to see your papers."

Bilbus pointed at the last guard passing out of town. "I'm with them."

"Fine. Show me your papers."

"Come on. I'm late as it is. I gotta get back."

The guard leveled a stare at Bilbus. Bilbus looked at the other three guards, still standing several paces away. He then channeled once again, feeling the oily tinge as he grabbed Heka and directed it into the guard next to him.

Bilbus clapped his hand on the man's shoulder. "Hey, do me a favor, pal? It's been a long day. Don't you remember me? I know it's been a while, but is this any way to treat a friend?"

The man looked at Bilbus, his head slightly cocked and his eyebrows furrowed. He started to shake his head.

"Sure you do. Remember that show we saw at the tavern? Those women -- gods, who could forget those beauties?"

The man nodded, confusion still on his face.

"Remember that red-head? I swear she would have carried you upstairs if you would have bought her that drink."

Still confused, the man finally spoke. "Oh, yeah... I think I remember. How long ago was that?"

"It seems like a long time. Hey, how about that ale? I could live on that. Almost better than any woman I've known..."

The man smiled. "Yeah. That was a great night. We have got to get together again. Where was that tavern?"

"You don't remember?"

The man shook his head slowly.

Bilbus whistled, low and soft. "Maybe you did have too much ale. You said you were alright, but I thought you may have over done it that night."

The guard shrugged. "Hey, with ale like that, you never can tell..."

"Look, do me a favor." Bilbus produced his pass. "I am really late getting out tonight. I was told that Edralve has a special shipment coming in tonight. I was told I have to go meet it at the docks and haul it back in here. There's some really good Caledonian brandy. I think I can slip you one, ya know?"

The man smiled. "Won't you get in trouble if there's a cask missing?"

"Hey, I am the one who counts how many she received? Maybe I only find fourteen casks, not fifteen..."

The man looked around. "Don't get in trouble on my account."

Bilbus smiled, grabbing the man's shoulders. "Hey, after everything we've been through, it'd be worth it. I owe you, pal!"

Bilbus pulled the man to him, patting him on the back once. The man smiled, surprised, and nodded. "Well, be careful anyway. You better get down to the docks."

Bilbus waved a hand towards the guard and started jogging out of the town. The guard walked back to the other gatehouse guards and looked at them.

One of them spoke. "Who was that?"

The guard scratched his head. "He's an old pal of mine. We go back a long ways... I... I don't remember his name." He rubbed his temples as a headache started to creep in on his consciousness. "Ow. My head is killing me."

Bilbus followed the road away from the city walls. He patted the pocket of his vest, hearing the jingle of the coins in the pocket as well as the crinkle of the guard's identification paper. The guard had been so befuddled by the dweomer Bilbus used that he never noticed Bilbus switch passes with him.

I can't believe this place isn't a den of thieves. These people are too easy.

The road reached a fork. The right branch continued across the island to the other plateau, where the two walled keeps loomed dark and ominous in the moonless night. The left branch descended towards some fields and the docks, just visible in the ghostly illumination coming from a pair of buildings next to the shore. The procession with the palanquin was heading down the left fork.

That Virona said our possessions were in the warehouse by the docks. Maybe I can get those back, too? Bilbus started down the left branch, walking quickly as the road sloped towards the shore.

Bilbus readily overtook the column of guards. He passed to their left, giving them wide berth. Looking at the darkened palanquin, Bilbus fought an urge to sneer. What kind of arrogance does it take to have men carry you like this? The epitome of the noble!

Bilbus fixed his eyes on the lead palanquin bearer on his side. With a quick, tangled casting of Heka, the man stumbled, falling. The palanquin crashed to the ground as the other three bearers tried without success to accommodate the falling man.

A corpulent man tumbled out of the palanquin. His rich silk clothes looked more like a continuation of the padded pillows that were now jumbled about him, garish colors visible in the feeble lantern light of one of the guards.

The rotund passenger picked himself up from the ground and started kicking the poor man who had stumbled. Bilbus continued on, listening to foul curses in Franchon as he hurried towards the docks.

The dock region of the island contained two piers, each with a single boat, and a pair of buildings. The small building was lit from within and had several open windows. Bilbus could see only one room within, with some tables and a few crates. A lone man sat within the building, hunched over some documents piled on a table. The large building had no windows, but it did have several pairs of large barn-style doors, all closed.

Bilbus slowed his pace. He counted four pairs of men walking in the area, each clearly armed with a sword and covered with maille. One of the pairs had stopped next to one of the closed doors of the warehouse. Bilbus steered towards them.

One of the guards finally looked up at Bilbus. Bilbus raised his hand in greeting. "Good evening, sirs!"

One of the guards was leaning against the wall of the warehouse. "You're with Jacques?"

Bilbus pointed his hand at his chest. "Me? No."

The other guard, standing away from the building, laughed. "I wouldn't admit it if I were, either. The man is a pig."

The first guard nodded. "You just left town with Jacques."

Bilbus stopped, two paces from the guards. "Hey, when I'm told to go fetch the latest acquisitions, I get them. Edralve wants me to bring up some possessions we got off of a group of people yesterday, and she decided she wants them tonight."

The first guard straightened and walked towards Bilbus. "You know the routine. We have to see your papers."

Bilbus handed the guard the pass he had stolen from, the gate guard. The warehouse guard opened it and inspected it. "Hells, I can't read it in the dark." He carried the pass towards the office building. Bilbus followed.

The guard finished inspecting the pass and returned it to Bilbus. "Okay, Doryo. It looks like it's okay. You'll probably want a light so you can see inside the warehouse."

"Can I take a lantern out of the office?"

"Sure. Let the supervisor know you why you need it."

Bilbus returned to the warehouse a minute later with a glowing lantern. The procession with the palanquin had finally reached the docks. The guards had unlocked a door to the warehouse and opened it. Bilbus stepped through the pitch black doorway and looked around. "Where are the newer things?"

The guard pointed at a long, low wooden box. "That's it."

Bilbus looked around. He spotted a pry bar leaning against the unfinished interior wall of the warehouse. He picked it up and pushed the end of it underneath one of the corners of the top of the box. Straining and groaning, Bilbus stepped back and looked at the guard. Bilbus held the pry bar out towards the man. "Can you help me out?"

The man pried the top of effortlessly and handed the pry bar back to Bilbus, looking at the thief in puzzlement.

The other guard walked through the doorway, chortling quietly to himself. "Looks like Jacques didn't get any this time."

Bilbus looked at him. "Any? Any what?"

The first guard looked at Bilbus. "Jacques has a penchant for Kelltic women. No one has ever figured out just what he does with them, but he is in town every time there's an auction, hoping to get one or two more. He pays obscenely for them. I was told that he actually drove the price up over a Klal apiece last month."

Bilbus whistled. "Then again, I'd bet they're worth every bit."

The second guard laughed. "Yeah, but us poor grunts don't make that kind of coin."

Bilbus nodded sympathetically. He looked into the now-open crate, holding his lantern close over the edge of the box. He reached in and drew out Kasey's dagger of office.

The first guard looked at the six-sided knot pattern on the pommel of the long knife, his eyes open so wide they looked like they could fall out of his head. "By the First Bloody Hell! I didn't know she got a Knight of Kells!"

Bilbus smiled. "That ain't all." He put the dagger back into the crate and lifted Sturm's hand-and-a-half sword. "These were some really tough people. Edralve's boys were lucky to take them in once piece." He put the sword back and fitted the lid on top of crate. "It looks like everything is here. I'm not about to carry this all the way back up the hill. Do we have any handcarts down here?"

The first guard nodded. "There's one by the office. You can borrow it when you take the lantern back."

Bilbus dragged the crate out of the warehouse, leaving it by the door while he returned the lantern and found the handcart. Against the wall of the office was a wheelbarrow. Good enough. Bilbus pulled it behind him as he returned for the crate.

When the guards were not watching, Bilbus readily lifted the crate onto the wheelbarrow. Starting slowly up the rough dirt road towards the town, Bilbus looked over his shoulder one last time at the palanquin. It was on the ground at the foot of one of the docks. The very obese Jacques was just climbing onto a boat, with his guards already kneeling on the deck. Bilbus turned back to the road ahead.

He reached the fork in the road after fifteen minutes, fighting with the imbalanced crate and the one-wheeled barrow the entire way. Finally, he stopped and looked around. The walled town was close to his right. The keeps were to his left. The forest was ahead and downhill.

Bilbus picked the crate up, slung his bag of clothes over his shoulder, and started walking downhill towards the trees, leaving the wheelbarrow in the middle of the road.

He wound his way through the forest, trying to be silent even though he could not see the dried foliage on the ground. After an eternity, he heard a voice to his left speak softly.

"Who is there?" the voice asked in Kelltic.

Bilbus smiled and spoke up dramatically. "I am Bilbus the Great. Perhaps you've heard of me?"

The bushes beside Bilbus moved. Kasey stood, his beaming face visible even in the poor light. Speaking at his normal volume, Kasey replied, "Of course I have heard of you." Looking at the crate, Kasey added "Is that our stuff?"

Kasey reached for the crate, which Bilbus gratefully released. Kasey led Bilbus through the trees a little farther, back to the clearing they had claimed. A small cook fire burned in the middle of the clearing, with a couple of spits holding skinned rabbits. The rest of Bilbus's companions were sitting around the fire, huddled for warmth.

Bilbus smiled. "I'm back, with presents."

Kasey dropped the crate near the fire. Bilbus lifted the lid off. He pulled out the sword and held it towards Kasey.

Across the fire, Sturm said, "Bilbus, that's my sword."

Bilbus turned and handed the sword to the Sun Knight. He continued handing clothes and weapons out of the box, then looked at his companions.

Adria and Breanna still had nothing more than their shifts. Kasey and Sturm both had most of their clothes. Eric and Rishala were likewise only partially dressed. Bilbus unwrapped the bundle and tossed shirts and trousers to both women, then emptied the rest of the clothes and boots onto the ground.

"I hope something here fits. There was not much of a selection. Most of what was available off-the-rack was slaves' clothes." Bilbus looked at the two rabbits cooking over the fire. "Are those ready?"

Kasey grabbed one of the spits and gave it to Bilbus. "I think you've earned it."

Bilbus started eating quickly, realizing that he hadn't eaten for at least a day. The rabbit was succulent. This has got to be the best rabbit I've ever had! He was disappointed when he realized that he had finished the meal, but his disappointment faded quickly as he realized how unbearably exhausted he was.

Taking one of the unclaimed shirts from the pile, Bilbus rolled it into a makeshift pillow and laid down to sleep.

18th Tinne 2044

Bilbus awoke well after sunrise the next morning. He sat up slowly, still feeling a chill from the night. Everyone else in the camp was awake, sharing branches of berries and looking about.

Kasey greeted Bilbus first. "Good morning, Bilbus! Sleep well? We decided that you'd earned a night off from pulling watch."

"Thanks, Kasey. I appreciate it." Bilbus yawned and stretched.

Eric sat down next to Bilbus, his damaged silk undershirt discarded with the slaves' clothes but his other clothes now in place. "Are you alright, Bilbus? That couldn't have been easy."

Bilbus finished stretching. "It wasn't that bad, Eric. If you want bad, ask me about the time I broke into the Royal Tower in Londoun."

"The Royal Tower? You mean some tavern, not the King's treasury, right?"

Bilbus smiled and put his hands behind his head. "Yeah, Eric. That must be what I meant."

Eric looked at his friend and shook his head. Finally, he sighed. "Well, I'd love to hear that one, but we have got to get off this island. Did you learn anything that would help us?"

Bilbus dropped his hands to his side. He started pulling absently at some blades of grass. "No, not really. There were two boats at the docks when I got there, but one was getting ready to leave carrying someone named Jacques. He evidently likes buying Kelltic women." Bilbus stopped when he noticed Adria blanch. He added hastily, "But he's long gone by now."

Eric glanced at Adria before returning his attention to Bilbus. "Well, there may still be that other boat. How can we get to it?"

Bilbus smiled. "I can think of one way." He pulled out the folded pass. "I am an agent working for Edralve. I'm heading to the coast to pick up some special goods for her. I'll have a couple of orcs as escorts." Bilbus looked at the two knights. "And some slaves for labor."

Eric thought for a moment. "That might work. It certainly beats trying to swim to the other side of this lake..."

Rishala interrupted. "I can't swim!"

Bilbus looked evilly at the storyteller. "So we would leave you behind." He then laughed.

Breanna interjected, "Bilbus, that's not nice!"

Eric stood up. "I can't think of anything better than you have, Bilbus, as much as I'd like to."

Bilbus looked at Breanna. "Bree, are you up to making some more orcs?"

Breanna looked at Bilbus doubtfully. "I can try. I don't have any of my usual supplies or reagents."

Bilbus stood. "Well, we're losing time. Let's get going."

He then walked in front of Kasey and channeled. Kasey grew over a foot taller. Bilbus then repeated the casting with Sturm. Walking back across the clearing to the crate, Bilbus pulled out his leather armor and rapier. He quickly dressed, ignoring the women in the clearing as he pulled on the warm, comfortable leather jacket and trousers.

When Bilbus finished dressing, he saw that Breanna was working on altering Kasey's appearance. She struggled with the casting, trying several times unsuccessfully before she was able to change Kasey's fair skin to the mottled grayish-green of an orc's skin. She continued for minutes, trying and failing several times before she finally had completed transforming both Kasey and Sturm into orcs.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I can't concentrate. This wasn't that hard to do in Hillsdale. It's been so cold, and I haven't had a good meal or a night's sleep in I don't know how long." She stopped and started sobbing.

Adria walked over to Breanna and put an arm around her shoulders. She started talking quietly, her voice lowered so no one else could hear her. Finally, Breanna straightened and looked over her shoulder at her companions. She wiped her face with one of the rough orange sleeves of the slave's shirt she wore, then turned to face the other travellers.

"I'm sorry. I'm okay now."

Eric looked at Breanna. "It's alright, Bree ... Breanna. We've all been through a lot these last few days. We're not out of the woods yet." He stopped and looked around at the forest and winced. "You know what I mean. But, we are out of the dungeons. Edralve left us for dead, but we escaped. She thinks we're dead. We should be able to get off this accursed island, now."

The cracking of several small saplings intruded on the quiet of the clearing. Eric looked towards the noise and spotted one of the converted orcs breaking parts off of a sapling to turn it into a cudgel. The orc looked at Eric and smiled -- even as an orc, Kasey's grin was unmistakable. He walked back into the clearing and handed one of the cudgels to orc-Sturm.

Rishala looked at the two orcs. "Kasey, Sturm? I really don't know if orcs should walk around wearing shoes like those. They look too much like human construction. Why don't you take those rabbit skins and cover your boots?"

Orc-Kasey smiled. "That's a pretty good idea, Rishala. These are really going to stink. They haven't been tanned. But, that's okay for an orc." He lashed the messy skins around his boots, hiding the un-orc-like shoes from casual observation.

After Kasey stood again, Rishala looked at the Church dagger on Kasey's belt. "Kasey, that dagger stands out. You might want to hide it."

Kasey nodded. He removed his belt and slid the sheath off of it. He offered the dagger in its sheath to Rishala. "Hide it in that bundle of clothes for me, please?"

Rishala took the dagger and wrapped it in a shirt. He stuffed the shirt into the bag Bilbus had brought.

The preparations continued for a while longer. Finally, everyone was ready. Bilbus wore his dark leathers with the black sword and dagger at his side. Eric and Rishala had put on slave clothing, hiding their own recovered clothes in a large bundle. Merek stood close to Rishala, almost clinging to the older man as he watched the two "orcs" walking around the camp. Breanna and Adria also wore the rough slave clothes, shirts and breeches. Adria walked around with her arms crossed and a scowl on her face.

Bilbus looked at everyone else. "Are we ready to go?" He looked at Sturm. The Sun Knight wore his bastard sword at his hip. "One other thing, Sturm." Bilbus cast a simple magick on the knight. "Say something."

Sturm opened his mouth. A cruel, deep, growling voice sounded, not Sturm's normal voice.

Bilbus smiled. "Perfect. Now, at least one of the orcs can speak orcish. Kasey, please don't say anything."

"Okay."

Eric looked around at the forest. "Let's go. The sooner we're away from this island, the happier I'll be."

Bilbus led through the trees towards the town. When the party reached the edge of the forest, Bilbus realized that the town guards were watching them with some interest. He turned back to the rest of the party. "Slaves, gather some kindling. Make it look good."

Adria scowled at Bilbus as Eric, Breanna, and Merek started grabbing branches from the ground. Rishala stood, still holding the bag of clothes. After Eric and Breanna each had a good armful of branches, Bilbus called out, "That's enough. Let's go!"

The party walked up the hill to the fork in the road. Bilbus noted with satisfaction that the wheelbarrow was gone. He glanced towards the town's open gates. The guards were not the same men who had been there the previous night. Bilbus continued down the road towards the docks. There was still one boat at the docks. Good. We might make it yet.

When they reached the dock, Bilbus ordered everyone else to wait as he walked out to the boat. The man on board looked at him. "Yes?" he asked in the Franchon tongue.

Bilbus straightened. "I am on official business. I need to take these slaves and guards across the lake."

"Fine. It's four Shekal."

"Four Shekal? Are you deaf? This is official business, man!"

"The prices are what was ordered by the Lady Edralve. If she does not like paying the price, she can take her own boat."

Bilbus fished out four of the silver coins he had stolen from the cobbler and handed them to the boat master. He turned back to his companions and gestured to them. Orc-Kasey pushed gently at Breanna's shoulder and made some grunting noises as the rest of them filed down the dock and onto the boat.

As Rishala started to climb aboard, Bilbus put a hand on the storyteller's chest. "You. Sit in the middle of the boat. I don't want that bundle damaged by water." And, it rocks less, so it shouldn't bother you as much.

Kneeling in the boat, Breanna leaned over and muttered something to Adria. Orc-Kasey stood and pointed at her. "No tar keeng!"

Bilbus saw Kasey wink at the auburn-haired woman. She smiled, covering her mouth with one hand and hiding her face from the boat master at the back of the boat. The boat pitched unpleasantly as the wind picked up. It bobbed across the wave tops towards the distant shore of the lake.

Adria weaved woozily. Breanna again leaned over to her and said something. Kasey leaned close to her and said, "No tar keeng!"

Breanna snorted. She whispered fiercely to the disguised knight. "Stop it, Kasey! I'm supposed to be a slave, and you're supposed to be a guard. You aren't supposed to be making me laugh!"

Kasey looked remorseful for a moment, then straightened again in the boat, unmindful of its pitching. "No tar keeng!"

It took an hour to cross the lake. Rishala was almost green by the time the boat was lashed securely to the single pier jutting over the lake. Bilbus was amazed that Adria didn't seem ill. She still had her arms crossed, and she still glared at Bilbus.

While Bilbus helped Rishala off the boat, Kasey strode onto shore. He suddenly unfastened his trousers and started urinating on the shore. Gods, Kasey! Bilbus thought. You have this orc act down too well! Several dock workers who had been watching this entourage climb off the boat lost interest in watching when the large orc started peeing on the boardwalk.

The dockside town was small. There were only a handful of houses, and there were no real businesses. Bilbus saw the dockworkers milling around a modest warehouse, but the only other business was a modest corral with an attached small barn.

Around the town was barren -- barely any grasses grew on this side of the lake. The ground sloped sharply upwards, and the road climbing away from the lake began a long series of switchbacks just a furlong from town that climbed several hundred feet towards the cleft in the circular valley that hid the lake.

From here, Bilbus could see that there was a gatehouse in the cleft. The entire valley was effectively a castle, surrounded by a natural wall of intimidating proportions, and that cleft was the drawbridge that let traffic across the treacherous walls.

Bilbus continued up the road to the corral. A small man stood to one side of the barn, watching them expectantly. He walked towards Bilbus, hands clasped.

Switching again to Franchon, Bilbus said, "We need animals for the trip out."

"You are buying? Or just hiring?"

Bilbus hefted the nearly-empty coin purse at his side. "Hiring. We'll only be gone for a few days. Straight out to the coast, and back after a day."

"I only have two horses. Will donkeys suffice for your slaves?"

Bilbus looked at the two mangy horses. "Yes. I'll take both horses and three donkeys."

The man bobbed his head. "Good, good. Five Shekal should cover the rental."

Bilbus looked at the man, then at the horses. "Five? For these pitiful animals? I won't even have to worry about those orcs," he pointed at Sturm and Kasey, "eating these pathetic wretches. Three. No more."

The man looked at Bilbus, then glanced towards the orcs. Kasey grinned at that moment, exposing a row of sharp teeth. The man stepped back a pace. "Three? I ... I will accept three Shekal."

Bilbus nodded as if he expected no other answer, then fished three silver coins from his purse. Three left. Not too good.

Bilbus, Eric, and the man saddled the horses and three donkeys. Bilbus insisted that Rishala and Merek ride one of the horses, and Bilbus climbed onto the other. He led the column up the road, with the other horse behind him, the donkeys lined up behind the horse, and the two orcs walking in back.

Even with the many switchbacks, the rode was steep. Bilbus halfway expected his horse to come up lame before they even reached the gatehouse. He spent his time looking around the valley to keep from worrying about the horse.

The valley was at least three miles in diameter, almost circular. The sides of the valley were very steep on the inner side, almost vertical cliffs. The lake filled the valley, almost as wide as the valley itself. The island with the walled town was almost in the center of the lake. The smoking volcanic caldera on the island seemed small, but Bilbus started to wonder about the similarity between it and the large round valley around it.

After the last sharp turn of the climb, the road leveled and curved gently towards the imposing stone gatehouse. At the bottom of a seventy-pace-deep cleft, the gatehouse seemed small in comparison. Placed against a castle, however, the gatehouse was practically a small keep in its own right. Bilbus could count at least two dozen guards, from the contingent in the actual gatehouse pass way, between the heavy, raised portcullises of each end, to the group of men standing atop each of the four round towers that formed the corners of the gatehouse. The towers each had a large crossbow, the arms of the bow wider than a man was tall. This is not a place I would want to attack. Of course, that's why they built it here.

Bilbus continued to lead the column towards the building. He started looking around, trying to figure where they could run if he couldn't talk their way through the guards. Nowhere. There is no cover for at least fifty paces if we back track. Those giant crossbows would kill us easily, if they used them. They probably have smaller crossbows, too.

Hiding the jitter he felt course through him, Bilbus turned to survey his convoy. Both orcs had spread apart, bracketing the last donkey -- the one with Adria. Eric and Breanna were riding side by side. Rishala rode just behind Bilbus, Merek in front of him and actually holding the reins.

Facing front again, Bilbus realized with a start that he had entered the gatehouse. The breezeway through the building was thirty paces long -- as deep as the cleft was -- with side doors only at the bases of the four towers. Now that he could actually see the interior of the breezeway, Bilbus realized that the side walls were carved from the cleft. The only artificial construction was at each end -- where a heavy portcullis was held between two towers. There appeared to be a tunnel carved between the tower tops on each side. Along the breezeway Bilbus could see openings -- arrow slits -- every several paces, ten paces above the level of the main passage.

The guards within the breezeway watched Bilbus and the others, but none of them seemed inclined to react to the odd group of people passing them. Bilbus faced forward, looking at the tantalizing open gateway ahead of him and ignoring the hardened faces to his sides.

At long last, Bilbus passed the second pair of gates and the last portcullis. The road turned sharply, starting a series of switches downwards, far less steep than before. Bilbus looked around. The valley from which they emerged was the top of a wide, gently sloped mountain. The mountain itself was imposing for its girth, but not much taller than any of the other mountains surrounding it. Some of the mountains still had dusty white patches of snow, and a few distant peaks were hidden in the soft white of clouds.

The valley ahead of them was thickly forested, a sea of dark green pine trees. Bilbus could see a small lake several miles away, at the head of a stream that flowed towards the northeast. Looking that direction, Bilbus thought he could see a darker blue of the Vasmar in the hazy distance.

Once he was sure he and his friends were well out of earshot of the gatehouse, he turned in his saddle and smiled. "Well, that went well enough. Next stop, the Vasmar."

Eric smiled back, and Breanna laughed. Kasey glared at her and said "No tar keeng," but he laughed as soon as he did. Sturm almost smiled, still sweeping his eyes back and forth. Rishala looked over his shoulder, then mussed Merek's hair. The boy shook his head and craned to look back at Rishala. Adria even managed to stop scowling for a moment.

Virona escorted a captain of the guards into Edralve's receiving chambers. The man held his helmet in front of his chest, as if the extra steel would protect him from the tempest he expected to face.

Edralve looked up from her desk and the stack of papers upon it. "Yes, Virona?"

"Mistress, the captain wishes to report a theft."

Edralve set down the paper she was holding. "Theft? In my town? Speak, man!"

The captain shifted on his feet. He kept his eyes fixed on one of the stones in the floor halfway to Edralve's desk. "Lady, a crate containing the possessions of the people delivered to you recently is missing from the dock warehouse. One of the guards said someone visited last night with full access papers. He claimed to be under your orders to deliver the crate to Suderpol last night."

"I gave no such orders." Edralve said coldly.

"I know that ... now. We do not know where the crate or the man went."

"Leave us, captain."

The man straightened and turned briskly. He marched out of the room as quickly as he could, his back straight.

As soon as the captain of the guard was out of the room, Edralve spoke again. "Virona, question the dock guards and supervisor. Find out who the man was who took my crate. Have him executed. Then, have the dock guards and supervisor from last night's shift executed, as well." She glanced down at the letter on the top of the stack at her desk. "On second thought, send them to the Forges. Baroness Eclavdra needs more darkblades."

"As you command, Mistress." Virona wheeled about and left the room.

The escapees continued along the road. Sturm and Kasey both had returned to their normal appearances, the orc disguises no longer needed. The switchbacks of the road had long ago given way to a forest. The sun had started to touch the mountains forming the western wall of the valley before the travellers stopped.

Bilbus slid off of his horse. He took the reins and tied them to a small tree nearby. "I think we'd better set camp now, while we have a little light. Kasey, can you set some snares again? Bree, see if you can find some more berries or something. I'm going to see if there is a stream around here somewhere that we can use for water."

Everyone busied themselves, clearing some ground to sleep upon, gathering wood, and searching for food. The sun was well below the horizon before they travellers ate.

After the modest meal of berries was completed, Bilbus looked at his companions. "There is a stream about thirty paces away, over there." He pointed. It's too small for fish, but we've got water, at least."

The distinctive sound of a horse approaching on the road caused Bilbus to pause. He quietly drew the black metal sword and tensed. Eric extended his spy glass and looked north, along the road.

"I can barely see it." He paused. "That's odd. There's no rider."

Kasey stood and started walking towards the road.

Bilbus hissed after him. "Kasey! What are you doing?"

Eric lowered his spy glass. "It's all right, Bilbus. It's Farran."

Merek jumped up and ran towards the large horse, now a dark wraith on the very edge of the fire light. The boy stopped under the horse's head and threw his arms around its large neck. Farran stopped, suffering through the indignity of a public display of affection.

Kasey stopped next to his horse. He ran his hands along the destrier's legs, feeling for injuries. Finally satisfied, he slapped the horse on its back. Farran turned his head and leveled a glare at the Church Knight.

Sturm spoke up. "I'm glad you made it, Farran. I wasn't sure you were still alive after I saw those orcs you had fought."

The horse made a dismissive grunt, then walked around the camp towards the stream.

Kasey returned to the warmth of the fire. "He's not hurt. He must have charged the orcs, surprised them, and kept running before they could fire. I don't know. He's back now." Kasey stretched. "I'm exhausted. I'll see you in the morning." He curled up near the fire. He was snoring within a minute.

19th Tinne 2044

The following morning the party continued on the journey. The road continued gently winding its way down the valley out of the higher forest and into some dry grasses. The grasses gave way to large bunches of trees, and a small forest, before midday.

Shortly after midday, the forest thinned. The green, lush coastal valley of Noyonne was ahead of the travellers. Five miles away, beyond the sheep ranches and cattle farms, the village of Noyonne hugged the coast of the Vasmar. Bilbus, in the lead, halted his horse. The other horses and donkeys behind him stopped, and everyone spent several minutes watching the village, lost in his or her own emotions of the capture almost a week earlier.

Eric slid off of his donkey and walked up to stand between Bilbus's horse and Farran. "Well, I guess we need to decide what to do next."

Bilbus looked down at Eric, then dismounted his horse. "The first question is, are there any ships in port? If there aren't, we may as well start walking north. It's pointless to walk into that town if we aren't going to get anything useful from it."

Bilbus's horse started nibbling at a clump of grass in front of it. Bilbus looked at the horse with an annoyed expression, then turned back to Eric.

Eric drew his spyglass and directed it towards town. "I see a single mast at the docks."

Bilbus squinted and looked towards Noyonne. "That'd be the Sea Ghost."

"It's upright. I think they've got the ship afloat again. I wonder if it's seaworthy."

Kasey, still astride his destrier, put a hand above his eyes, as if to shield them from a glare overhead. He, too, squinted towards the town. "If the Sea Ghost is still at the docks ..." He stopped shielding his eyes and scratched his temple for a moment. "... that means that de Peltier is still in town." Kasey paused significantly. He then spoke as if he had just reached the conclusion of an arduous process of reasoning. "De Peltier's in town. We can find him and kill him."

Eric lowered the spyglass and looked at the Church Knight. "That won't help us get out of here, Kasey."

Kasey looked at the Azirian noble. "He betrayed us." He stated it as if it were a conclusion by itself.

Eric nodded. "Yes, he did. Of course, we may be able to retake the Sea Ghost while we're at it. I would also like to acquire a bow."

Bilbus smirked and looked at Eric. "'Acquire'? That's not a particularly noble attitude, is it?"

Eric glanced at Bilbus, then continued to observe the town. "No, Bilbus. This is different. These are not my people."

Bilbus continued to look at Eric, his head slightly cocked to one side. "I don't understand, Eric. What difference does that make?"

Eric sighed and continued to look at Noyonne. "I can explain it some other time Bilbus."

Sturm walked up from somewhere in the back of the travellers to stand on the opposite side of Bilbus's horse, scanning the valley. "It would be useful to have a reconnaissance of the town before we all walk into it. I would rather not see if Edralve is 'merciful' with us twice."

Eric shook his head. "Nor would I. However, if de Peltier's in town, his crew probably is, too. Any of them would recognize us, and they would probably cause us a lot of trouble."

Sturm looked past Bilbus at Eric. "Can Breanna disguise a couple of us? She can do something with her magick other than simply turning people into orcs, right?"

Bilbus grinned. "Yes, she can. A couple of us go in there, check some things out, and get out of town. De Peltier and the orcs will be none the wiser."

Breanna and Adria walked up to Farran's left to look at Noyonne. Breanna shivered briefly as she watched the people in the distant town going about their business. "How can they act so normal?"

Kasey looked down at the auburn-haired woman. "Some people are bad."

Eric looked at Bilbus. "I think you and Adria should go into town and check it out. You both work well while disguised."

Adria almost snarled in response. "I'm not working with him."

Eric took a few steps forward so he could see the blonde noble on the other side of Farran. "Adria, you two are probably the two of us who can pull this whole thing off."

"I am not working with Bilbus."

Eric rolled his eyes and turned to Bilbus. "I guess I'll go into town with you." He then turned to look past the warhorse at Breanna. "Breanna, we need you to help disguise Bilbus and me so we can investigate the village."

Breanna smiled at him.

Bilbus turned around and walked several paces behind the horses. "Yes, Bree. Make me a blond." He glared at the back of Adria's head. "I want to know what it's like to simply dismiss people outright, like they don't exist."

Breanna walked behind the horses to stand next to Bilbus. She smiled, a wicked spark in her eye. Bilbus grinned back to her. He felt the chill as Breanna started shaping magick around and through him. When the chill subsided, he reached up to touch his hair.

"That's a little longer than I thought about," he said as he pulled the long, nearly platinum blond hair on the top of his head down in front of his eyes. He grabbed the hair covering the back of his neck with one hand, pulling the end of it around the side of his head so he could see it.

Breanna looked at the hair. "Your skin is too dark for a blonde. Let's adjust it a little bit."

Bilbus gasped as Breanna again started directing Heka into him. He felt the shape of his body change, as parts of his armored leather jacket and pants tightened, and other parts loosened.

When the chill subsided, Bilbus glanced down to so he could find the adjustment straps on his heavy leather pants. Finding his view partially blocked, Bilbus unfastened his jacket. He pulled the neck of his shirt open and looked in. His chest was much more curved than it had been.

He glared up at Breanna. "No wonder nothing fits right!"

He heard the sharp bark of Adria laughing behind him. "Bilbus, do you need to borrow something from my wardrobe?"

Bilbus felt his pulse quickening. He looked back at Breanna. This is only temporary. He started loosening some of the straps on the leather pants, giving his hips more room.

Glaring again at Breanna, Bilbus felt his face redden as she started laughing. "Bree, what do you find so funny?"

"Oh, nothing, my Lady Bilbus."

Bilbus continued to stare at her, then smiled and laughed. "Of course! This is a great idea!"

Bilbus turned to face away from his companions. He quickly removed his jacket. He dropped it on the ground and quickly removed his shirt. Someone behind him whistled, and Bilbus could hear Breanna giggling. Bilbus ignored them and stooped to pick up the jacket.

As he stood, he heard a strangled noise in front of him. Rishala had just walked around his horse and spotted Bilbus, shirt off, with prominent breasts. Rishala found his voice, and gasped, "My gods, Bilbus! What happened to you?!?"

Bilbus smiled and pulled his jacket on. He strapped it closed part way, and cinched the straps around his ribs. Rishala continued to stare, his mouth open. Behind Bilbus, Adria started laughing uncontrollably.

Bilbus turned to face the rest of his companions. The jacket had been cinched tight, but left open at the top, creating a generous view of cleavage.

When Bilbus spoke again, his voice was strongly accented with the lyrical Brythokelltic that he grew up speaking in Eiresud. The language diverged from the Kelltic tongue spoken in the northern Kelltic nations because of the contact with distant nations and the secretive enclave of Elves living in the Elven Forest on the western extents of Eiresud. "You can just call me Jezz."

Rishala walked up next to Bilbus and slapped him on the rear. "Hey, Jezz. How about we go find us a nice, quiet bush to rustle in for a while?"

Bilbus slapped Rishala roughly on the shoulder and dropped the higher, lyrical accent he had been using. "Keep it up, Rishala, and you're going to be an ex-P. R. agent."

Rishala continued walking past Jezz/Bilbus to join the rest of his companions. "Anyone else have any secrets they've been keeping?"

Adria laughed. "Jezz, aren't the men here wonderful?"

Slipping again into the Brythokelltic accent, Jezz/Bilbus smiled at the other blonde woman. "Why, yes. They are all so dashing and handsome, especially that Bilbus fellow. Now, where ever did he go?"

Breanna burst out laughing. Adria snorted and turned back to watch Noyonne.

Dropping the accent again, Bilbus looked at Breanna. "Okay. Nice disguise, Bree. We need to change Eric, too. Lose his Azirian eyes and give him lighter skin. Maybe some brown hair, too." Breanna stood staring at Bilbus. "Bree? Are you okay?"

"I'm sorry, Bilbus. Your voice coming from that body just doesn't ... it's wrong."

Jezz smiled. Again the lyrical accent crept into her speech. "Is this better, Lady Breanna?"

Breanna smiled and turned around. She walked up to Eric and started channeling Heka. Minutes later, Eric had lost his olive complexion, almond eyes, and black hair. Instead, he had a fair complexion, dark, round eyes, and pale brown hair.

Jezz looked at Eric. "Ready, Eric?"

Eric looked at Jezz. "I guess so. You better do the talking. I can't disguise my voice like you can."

Jezz winked. "Well, my dear escort. Let us away upon the horses." She walked to her horse and climbed on.

Jezz reined the horse about and walked it back to Rishala's horse. Eric climbed onto Rishala's horse, and the two rode towards Noyonne.

As the two approached town, Jezz said, "We should stop at the tavern, first. If I were crewmen waiting to sail, that's where I would be."

"What if they're still repairing the Sea Ghost? Or they're still pumping water from the hold?"

"They have to have some time off. De Peltier would have a mutiny if he tried working them day and night."

"I suppose you're right."

The tavern was a building close to the docks. It was the only tavern in town, a run-down affair with a boardwalk in front of it that looked like it would collapse from rot at any instant. Green moss grew on the damp front walls of the building, facing north towards the Vasmar. The dock was a modest pier jutting straight out into the fresh-water sea. The Sea Ghost was tied along the pier, afloat once more. There was a pile of wooden bed frames, bed covers, and mattresses piled at the end of the pier, and several footlockers next to them.

Jezz stopped her horse in front of the tavern and jumped down from as Eric tied the reins of the two horses to a hitching post. Jezz pulled gently on the sleeve of his shirt and pointed subtly across the street. "Do you see that man, Eric?"

Eric looked across the street. The crewman from the Sea Ghost who perpetually smelled of sour milk was quickly walking along the road, heading towards the Sea Ghost. He wore a bright blue silk vest over his dingy clothes. The vest was unlaced, and it didn't seem to fit quite right in any case.

Eric looked at the blue vest. "Where did he get that vest?"

Jezz continued to watch the man as he walked along the pier towards the Sea Ghost. "That's not a vest. That's Adria's favorite bodice." Muttering under her breath, she added, "Mine, too, for that matter." Returning to her normal voice, Jezz continued. "She is going to kill him, and not in a pleasant way."

Eric looked at Jezz. "Is there a pleasant way to kill someone?"

Dropping the accent, Bilbus growled quietly, "You know what I mean."

Jezz walked over to the pile of bedding and footlockers on the pier. She looked at the several closed boxes, recognizing hers in the jumble. She leaned over to look at it closely. The lock appeared intact. For that matter, none of the chests had been damaged, other than the water logging on all of them.

Jezz heard a man clear his voice on the deck of the Sea Ghost. She looked up to see Captain de Peltier leaning against the railing of the main deck, his eyes fixed on her.

Jezz smiled at the captain. Well, well, captain. You're much more interested in me now, aren't you? "Hello there, good master. I couldn't help but notice all of these things piled on the dock. Were these in the ship?"

The captain smiled. "M'lady, that they were. We had a minor ... accident ... and had to get them out of the hold to repair the ship."

"They look waterlogged. Is your boat all right?"

De Peltier's smile widened. "My ship will be ready to sail in the morning. We're heading to Londoun to start trading again."

"Londoun? Why, that's where I need to go. Isn't that just an opportunity?" Jezz glanced to one side and noticed that some of the sturdier bed frames had been stacked atop one another. The stack was about waist height. She walked behind the frames and leaned forward against them, propping herself with her elbows on the frames. She smiled coyly at the Captain. "Start trading again, you say?"

The captain's eyes widened as he saw her lean forward. He stared at her chest as she took several deep breaths. De Peltier shook his head. "The Sea Ghost usually runs goods for the Lady between here and points west. The ship had disappeared for a couple of weeks. The old captain lost his job, and the ship is now mine. You're going to Londoun?"

"Yes I am. Actually, I may have some companions who need to go as well. Let me go back up the valley and talk to them. Shall we meet at the tavern tonight, say about sunset?"

The captain straightened. "Sunset? That will be fine. I hope your passengers are as charming as you are, lady ... ?"

"Jezz. And you are?"

"I am Captain de Peltier. Please, call me Francis."

"Francis..." Jezz let the name roll from her mouth. She then looked at the sword hanging from de Peltier's belt. He has the gall to wear Kasey's sword?!? "Captain, that is a very impressive sword you have there. It is very big..."

De Peltier ran the fingers of his left hand along the grip. "I acquired it recently. It's a very nice sword, if I must say so myself."

"Well, it is suiting for a man of your ... stature." Jezz looked back towards the tavern. Eric stood outside it, trying not to watch the exchange. Jezz straightened. "Well, captain. I must be off. I need to get something more suitable to wear tonight. Say, Francis. Could I take a couple of these chests? They would make it so much easier for my companions and me."

"Go ahead, Jezz. My men were just going to empty them anyway."

"Thank you so much, Francis. I'll send my servant to get them." She winked at him, then turned and walked back to the tavern, swaying her hips.

Eric had already untied both horses when Jezz returned. He handed her one of the reins. "That was impressive, Bil ... Jezz. You had him wrapped around your finger so quickly, I could have sworn you've done this before."

Jezz shook her head. "Once you've been around enough women, you know how to play these games. Go get a couple of those footlockers. The one on the end is mine. Grab it and another, and let's get the hells out of town. I'll need to come back down here to get some clothes to disguise all of us, but I think I know how to get us on the Sea Ghost. Don't just stand there, get the chests."

Eric trotted to the docks and grabbed two of the chests. He dragged them back to the horses, then handed one up to Jezz. Jezz held it in front of her saddle, against the horse's neck. Eric climbed onto his horse, holding the chest by one of the handles on the ends of it. They both left town to return to the edge of the forest, where their comrades waited.

Kasey ran out to greet Jezz as she arrived at the temporary encampment her friends had prepared. They had occupied an abandoned shepherd's hut near the edge of the forest. Farran was wandering the fields near hut, lazily grazing. The donkeys were tied to the back of the hut.

Kasey took the chest from Jezz and set it on the ground. He turned back to help Jezz from the horse, Jezz dropped down before he could grab her. Jezz/Bilbus growled "Kasey, I can still get off of a horse!"

Eric climbed from his horse as well, then dropped his chest on the ground. "Well, now what, Bilbus? I really couldn't hear most of what you two said."

Bilbus dropped the accent. "I'm going to meet our dear Captain at sunset in the tavern. I'm going to talk him into offering us poor women and our escorts a trip to Londoun in exchange from some ... favors."

Breanna leveled a glare at Bilbus. "I don't think so. Maybe your barmaids think nothing of that sort of thing, but I won't do it."

"Whoah! Bree, I didn't say we were going to actually do anything. Let him think what he wants. We'll get aboard, get the crew drunk and distracted, and kill them."

Breanna paled at the cold bluntness with which Bilbus finished his sentence. "All of them?"

"Who do you think handed us to the orcs when we got here? Who decided we could be turned over to those monsters, who stuffed us into boxes too small for a dog? They didn't even have the decency to treat us as humans!"

Breanna sat down on a rough split-log bench against the outside wall of the hut. She folded her hands in her lap and stared at them, shaking a little.

Bilbus softened his voice. "Bree, I don't care for killing, in spite of what you may think. We haven't escaped these people. They are evil. You didn't even get the chance to talk to them like I did while we were trying to get off of that island. They think nothing of enslaving others. I don't know what we've run across, but it is definitely wrong. That's coming from me. You know I'm a thief, but this goes beyond anything I would do or anything I would approve."

Adria looked at Bilbus. "You said 'us poor women'? You and I and Breanna?"

Bilbus nodded. "And Eric... Erica."

Eric looked at Bilbus in shock. "Me?"

"Yes. The more of us who look like defenseless little women, the quicker we can distract them and deal with them."

Rishala spoke up. "What about me?"

Bilbus laughed. "Oh, we aren't going to change you, too. You'll be our musician at this little party. With your boy assistant," Bilbus nodded towards Merek, "and our two orc guards." Bilbus looked at Kasey and Sturm.

Eric sighed. "Well, I guess you have it fairly well thought out. What's the next step?"

Bilbus sat down. "First, I need Bree to check the castings she's put on me. I don't want them to unravel at an inopportune time. Second, Adria needs a new hairdo so she can come back into town and help me get dresses for all of us. We can't go to a party dressed like this." He waved his hand at Adria and Breanna, who were still in their slave outfits.

Rishala looked at the chests. "Are these ours?"

Bilbus stood again and walked towards one of them. "This one is mine. I don't know whose the other one is." He kneeled next to the chest and unlatched it. He opened the door and looked inside. Some water had seeped in, but not an excessive amount. Bilbus was actually surprised the chest had repelled water as well as it did.

Rishala opened the other chest and smiled. "Thank you, Bilbus!" He quickly removed his shirt and grabbed the first one from the top of the pile. It was still damp, but it smelled far better than the shirt he had just discarded.

Bilbus walked to Breanna. Breanna was still sitting on the bench. "Bree, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Bilbus." She looked at him for a moment, then laughed mirthlessly. "It's funny. When I was young, I remember when Eric started travelling with his parents. My brother and I would make up these wonderful stories about the adventures he must have had." She looked at Eric, who was talking to Rishala next to the chest several paces away. "They were always heroic adventures, like the bards tell." She looked back at Bilbus. "They never tell you about these parts of the adventure, though, do they? The parts about being cold, or miserable, or scared."

One end of Bilbus's lips curled upwards. "They wouldn't be very fun stories if they were about all the misery, would they?"

"No, I guess not." Breanna straightened, the resolve returning to her. "Let me check those weaves."

A short while later, Jezz and a brunette Adria climbed onto a pair of horses and rode to town to purchase dresses for that evening. Most of the party stayed near the hut, but Kasey and Sturm disappeared into the trees to check snares they had set earlier in the day.

It was an hour before sunset when Jezz and Adria returned to the hut. Jezz had a large bundle tied behind her saddle. After she hopped off of the horse, she untied the bundle. "These aren't going to be too badly wrinkled, I hope."

In the bundle were four dresses and a smaller bundle wrapped in cloth. She set the bundle on the split-log bench, then held one of the dresses up. "Adria picked the sizes. I think she got pretty close on all of them. She also picked up a brush and some makeup to help with the disguises."

Breanna looked at Adria, who was standing a few feet away, arms crossed and a ferocious scowl on her face. Breanna walked gingerly towards Adria. "Is everything okay? You two didn't fight, did you?"

Adria continued glaring, then seemed to notice Breanna. "He's the first one to die."

"Adria, you've got to stop threatening to kill Bilbus!"

Adria laughed. "No. Not Bilbus, not this time. One of the crew from the ship was wearing my blue bodice. He was wearing it like a vest."

"Which man?"

"The one who smelled bad."

Breanna laughed. "I thought they all smelled bad."

"The one who always smelled like two week old milk?"

Breanna shuddered. "Oh. Him. Ewww."

Bilbus/Jezz called to them. "Ladies, we need to get ready, and we need to get Erica ready. It's getting late, and we don't want to keep our dear captain waiting!"

Adria, Breanna, Bilbus, and Eric took turns going into the shepherd's hut to change clothes. When Bilbus came out of the single-room hut, he looked at Breanna. "Can you help me lace this bodice? It's in the back."

Before Breanna could answer, Adria walked over. "I'll help you, Jezz." She grabbed the stout laces and drew them tight. Bilbus winced painfully as Adria continued pulling.

Gasping, Bilbus barely managed to speak. "Thank you, Lady. I may manage to get another breath tonight, in spite of you."

Adria pouted and said in a mocking voice, "Oh, did I overtighten your bodice, Jezz? I'm so sorry. Maybe we're almost even now for all those times you've spent messing with my bodice?"

"What are you talking about? I don't mess with your bodice."

"Oh, my! You're so right!" Adria's voice dropped to a growl. "You only drop things into it and use it as your convenient smuggling compartment."

Adria turned and walked away. Bilbus looked at Eric. Breanna had transformed Eric while Adria and Bilbus had changed into their dresses, but Bilbus didn't have a chance to look at the changes. Eric still had strong Azirian features, but his figure was almost delicate. Breanna had also lengthened his hair substantially.

Eric was still looking at the laces on his bodice. "How does this work?"

Bilbus walked up to him. "Haven't you ever taken one off, Eric?"

Eric looked at him. "No."

Bilbus turned and walked back to Adria, shaking his head. As he passed her, he muttered, "Bree's going to have fun breaking that one in."

As Bilbus walked away from Eric, Kasey walked over to him. "I'll get it for you, Eric. We need to adjust that dress a little, anyway. Adria, thank you for getting the thread and needle."

Eric started walking towards Kasey. Bilbus burst out laughing. Eric looked at him. "What is so funny, Bilbus?"

"Look at the way you're walking, Eric!"

"What's wrong with it? I am walking just like I always do."

"That's the problem, Eric. You are walking like a man. Don't you ever watch women?" He pointed at Breanna. "She doesn't move the same way you do. Breanna, walk towards me."

Breanna looked at Eric, then walked towards Bilbus. "See that? Look at the way her hips are moving."

Eric nodded, eyes transfixed on Breanna's hips, as a red blush crept up his neck.

Bilbus rolled his eyes. "Bree, can you help him? He's got to at least look passable as a woman. If he goes stomping onto the ship like that, the crew may be leery. We want them to want to go into a nice, secluded place with Erica."

Breanna laughed and turned to walk back to Eric. She started showing Eric how to carry himself as a noblewoman, moving gracefully and walking steadily. Kasey started fidgeting with Eric's dress, loosening parts of it and taking in slack in others parts.

Breanna continued her lessons for a few more minutes, then took a brush Adria had purchased to Eric's long, black, silky hair. Eric winced several times, shouted twice, and squirmed as Breanna brushed the hair out and started styling it as best she could with the meager supplies available.

After she finished, Eric turned to look at her. "Gods, Breanna! Were you trying to pull this hair out?"

Breanna looked hurt. "I'm sorry, Eric! I was as gentle as I could be."

Eric put one leg on the split-log bench to adjust the boot, revealing a long, shapely leg under the skirt.

Bilbus walked around the corner of the hut. Coining the Brythokelltic accent again, he chimed, "My, Erica! Do all women in Karasimi look that good? We simply must go visit!"

Eric looked up at Bilbus. "Huh?"

Shaking his head, Bilbus dropped the accent. "Never mind."

After Kasey made adjustments to the four dresses, Adria and Breanna started applying makeup to the two disguised men. The sun was touching the horizon as they finished.

Bilbus looked at the rest of his companions. "I'm heading to town now. We mustn't keep de Peltier waiting. The rest of you, catch up as soon as you can. Eric, there are a few daggers still in my travelling chest. You might want to take one with you. Ask Adria how to carry it under the dress."

Eric reached up to rub his nose. Adria saw him and shouted, "Don't touch your face!"

Eric stopped his hand for a moment, then scratched anyway. "It itches! What did you put on my face, anyway?"

Adria growled quietly as Bilbus/Jezz climbed onto one of the horses and left for town at a trot.

Jezz walked into the shore side tavern alone. There were three people in the tavern: the barkeeper, Captain de Peltier, and a particularly unkempt shepherd. All three turned and stared as Jezz walked through the door.

Jezz smiled broadly and walked directly towards Captain de Peltier. "Captain, it's so good to see you again!"

De Peltier turned around on the stool and returned Jezz's smile. "You are looking wonderful, Jezz. Are your friends going to be here soon?"

"Why, yes they are. They were finishing getting dressed for the trip."

"Why were you heading to Londoun?"

"Oh. Edralve thought that we could use our talents ..." Jezz batted her eyes. "To help gather information."

De Peltier smiled. "I would not want to try to hide anything from you, Jezz..."

"I was thinking, captain. Perhaps we can have a bit of a hoolie on the ship? We can give your crew a good night before sailing in the morning, and give my girls a chance to get to know them."

"'Hoolie'? What's that?"

Jezz giggled. "It's a little word we use in Eiresud. It means a get together with men and women. Socializing..."

The captain smiled. "I have been pretty rough on my men the last few days getting the Sea Ghost ready to sail. They could use a little fun. How soon will the ladies be here?"

The door to the tavern swung open. A scowling orc with a large sword hanging on his hip walked in. Behind him, three women -- two Avillonian and one Azirian -- walked in. Breanna had taken the time to change Adria's hair and complexion as well as her own before leaving for town.

Jezz looked at de Peltier. "That would be the girls."

Captain de Peltier clapped his hands. "Well! Let's get this ... hoolie? ... going."

Jezz put her hand on de Peltier's shoulder. "Captain, maybe a cask or two of something good will help?"

The captain laughed. "Of course." He turned to the barkeeper. "Barkeep! Two casks of something good!" He tossed several silver coins onto the bar.

The orcs carried the two casks to the Sea Ghost while Captain de Peltier escorted Jezz and the ladies to the ship. Jezz introduced Rishala as "Willem", a musician and story teller. She didn't bother introducing Merek.

The women set up in the hold, which was empty. It still smelled damp, even after a day of drying. Crewmen brought several lanterns into the hold, and the orcs set the two casks on crates they brought in from the debris on the pier. "Willem" sat in a corner of the hold, blowing experimentally into a whistle.

Soon the crew were drunk. Erica and Breanna would occasionally lead men into another room, then Breanna would return a few minutes later alone. Erica would return a little later, her dress ruffled.

Adria spent several hours with the sour-milk crewman, flirting and talking to him. He still wore her blue bodice. Eventually, she coaxed him into the bosun's cabin, on the hold deck below the captain's room. There were soon only two crewmen left other than de Peltier.

Jezz leaned close to the captain. "Dear Francis, it would seem your crewmen are having much more fun than you are. That hardly seems fair to me. Would you like to show me your cabin?"

De Peltier smiled and put an arm around Jezz's waist. "I have something else you might like to see. Follow me."

De Peltier grabbed one of the lanterns and led Jezz back to the main deck. He opened the door to the cabin adjacent to his -- the one in which Breanna and Adria had resided during the trip to Noyonne. He walked inside and turned around to face her. "Come here, lady."

Jezz walked into the cabin, shutting the door behind her. De Peltier set the lantern on a table in the room, then walked to an armoire secured to the inner wall of the room. De Peltier opened the armoire dramatically, revealing Adria's and Breanna's dresses. He beamed as he turned to Jezz. "Do you see anything you like, Jezz? You can take your pick."

Jezz stood next to de Peltier, surveying the many fine dresses. Oh, captain. Be so very glad that Adria didn't decide to take you out herself. I will be far more merciful. "Certainly this isn't your room, captain?"

"Of course not." De Peltier reached around the side of the armoire. There was a click, and a section of the wall moved slightly. De Peltier pushed the panel open, revealing the captain's cabin. Jezz smiled to herself as de Peltier looked into his dark cabin.

Jezz walked behind the captain, pressing her chest against his back and wrapping her arms around his waist. She fought a gag reaction and tried not to think about what she was doing. "Captain, your sword is in the way. It keeps hitting my arm."

He reached down to unfasten the belt, but Jezz had already started. She removed the sword belt and threw it against the women's cabin door.

Outside the door, orc-Kasey stood impatiently. He whispered, a raspy growl. "Come on, Bilbus. Scream. You're supposed to scream when de Peltier doesn't have my sword."

Adria glided next to him, a ghostly image in her light-colored dress. "What's the matter, Kasey?"

Fidgeting, orc-Kasey looked at her. "I'm waiting for Bilbus to scream."

Adria's smile twisted cruelly. "Oh, I think Jezz will be just fine. Why don't you let her be for a while?"

Orc-Kasey whined. "No. I want my sword back."

A scream sounded from within the room. Kasey threw the door open. He grabbed the grip of his hand-and-a-half sword, drawing it from its scabbard in a smooth action. On the far side of the room, Jezz had dropped to the ground and grabbed de Peltier's shins. De Peltier had turned to face the noise of the door flying open. In two large bounds, Kasey crossed the room and swung his large sword.

De Peltier never had a chance to scream as the blade cut him nearly in two. His body collapsed messily to the deck, blood pooling around it. Jezz stood up, wiping blood from her bare forearms.

"Bloody Hell, Kasey. Did you have to make it that messy? This dress is ruined."

Adria barked. "Ha! Jezz, you are enjoying being a woman entirely too much." Footsteps thumped across the main deck as other members of their party arrived. Adria turned to see Breanna and Erica. "Breanna, would you undo what you did to the boys and us?"

Breanna unraveled the castings. Eric quickly started untying his bodice as it cut into his abdomen. Bilbus had already untied his. He stripped out of the dress and quickly ran into de Peltier's room wearing nothing but his small clothes. Kasey wiped his blade on a dry spot of de Peltier's corpse, then opened the large aft window. He pushed the corpse through the window, listening to the splash of the body as it hit the water.

Kasey and Sturm walked down the darkened gangplank. They carried the discarded chests and bedding back onto the main deck. They had completed hauling everything on board by the time Bilbus emerged from the captain's cabin, wearing some of de Peltier's clothes.

He stopped and put his hands on his hips. "Just call me Captain the Great!"

Adria rolled her eyes and walked into her cabin. She cursed loudly as she surveyed the bloody mess below the aft windows.

Eric emerged from the hold a few minutes later, changed into some of his clothing. "Well, Bilbus. We have two of the crewmen still alive. They know how to handle the rigging, but that's not enough crew to sail this ship."

Bilbus nodded. "I watched them for a while on the way out. I think I can figure it out. We're all going to have to share duty."

Eric grunted. "You think you can sail this ship?"

Bilbus shrugged. "I don't think we have a choice. We don't have enough horses to make it to Kieta without leaving some of us behind. Do you really want to get recaptured?"

Kasey stopped next to the two. "I can man the tiller. I've done it on Javik raiding ships. I can show Sturm how to use it, too. That way, we can have it manned day and night."

Bilbus looked at the blond knight, then smiled. "Well then, helmsman Kasey. Man the tiller. Prepare to cast off."

Breanna looked at Kasey. "What about Farran? He's still on shore."

Kasey cupped his hands around his mouth and made an inhuman sound. His cry sounded like a challenging whinny from a stallion. Everyone looked at the knight in disbelief as the thundering of hooves echoed through the town of Noyonne. Other noises followed the galloping horse, noises of orcs shouting in alarm.

Bilbus shouted into the hold. "Crewmen, if you want to see the sun rise another time, you had best get into the riggings and get this ship underway! The orcs are coming, and they are mad!"

There was a scramble as the men raced up the ladder from the hold. They rushed up the rope ladder to the upper crossbeam on the mast. Bilbus nodded in satisfaction and looked at Eric. "Cut the front ropes. I'll get the rear ropes. Kasey, man the tiller."

Farran ran along the dock and up the gangplank, cracking it several times. Breanna and Adria pulled the plank onboard as the first orcs appeared at the edge of the village.

One of the orcs took several steps forward and waved his hand at the ship now that it was freed of the pier. "No say reeng!" it bellowed.

On the rear of the poopdeck, Bilbus stood from where he had cut the mooring rope free. He raised a fist into the night, extending one finger. "Good riddance, you mangy orc!"

Kasey leaned against the long tiller arm, steering the ship away from the pier as the sails unfurled. They caught the breeze, and the ship slowly started pulling away from shore.

When they were over a hundred paces from shore, everyone cheered. Bilbus strutted along the front railing of the poopdeck, surveying his friends on the main deck and the crewmen in the rigging.

"As captain of this ship, I will maintain strict discipline!" he said.

Sturm muttered, "Yeah, whatever."

Bilbus pointed at him. "You are now assigned tiller duty, day shift, Mr. Sunblade... Mr. Ithell!"

Eric looked at Bilbus levelly.

"Mr. Ithell, you are first mate. You are in charge of day shift. Kasey and I will maintain night shift."

"Merek can take watch in the crow's nest during the day," Kasey offered.

Bilbus turned around to the Church Knight. "Kasey, he's a mute. How is he going to warn us of anything?"

"Give him a bag of rocks. He can throw them at the tiller man."

"Where are we going to get rocks?"

"Look in the ballast below decks."

Bilbus shrugged. "Okay, then. I suggest those of you on day watch had best retire now." He pointed at the pile of bedding, bed frames, and travel chests on the deck. "Get some of that below decks, too." Bilbus then called out to the two crewmen in the rigging. "Hey! One of you gets day watch. I don't care which one, but you'd best hit the racks! We're heading north!"

Bilbus then looked at Eric, down on the main deck. "Eric, can you figure out where we are? And, where we're heading?"

Eric looked back up at Bilbus. "I think so. There is a sextant aboard, right?"

"It's in the captain's cabin, along with charts."

"I'll get on it before I go to bed." He pointed towards one of the brighter stars overhead. "That way's north. Kasey, steer towards that star for now, until I can fix our location."

20th Tinne 2044

Eric met Bilbus on the poopdeck shortly after sunrise the next morning. Bilbus leaned against the deck railing, dark rings under his eyes. Eric looked at the deep blue ocean around them. The rough coast of the Vasmar was several miles to the east of the Sea Ghost.

Eric looked at Bilbus. "We made it, Bilbus. Good plan. I figured out where we are. The town wasn't on any of the charts, but it is on the extreme eastern end of the Low Country. Kieta is almost due north from here, on the coast. We can get there in four days, weather willing."

Bilbus nodded. He continued to watch Kasey instructing Sturm on the correct use of the ship's tiller. Finally, the Church Knight was satisfied that the Sun Knight understood how to man the tiller. He walked up to Bilbus.

"Bilbus, I'm going to scoop some seaweed for Farran. He probably won't care for it too much, but the provisions wouldn't last too long if he gets into them, and the food I brought for him is probably not too tasty after soaking for a few days."

"Okay, Kasey." Bilbus stifled a yawn. "Make sure you get some rest, though. We've got a few days to go before we reach Kieta."

"Don't worry, Bilbus. I'm fine."

The knight walked away, a spring in his step. Bilbus shook his head in wonder and asked, to no one in particular, "How does he stay that cheerful, after everything that has happened the last few days?"

22nd Tinne 2044

Two mornings later, Eric was late arriving on the poopdeck. A haggard Bilbus surveyed the horizons. A gloomy bank of clouds filled the sky with a menacing gray cast. The sea was a darker gray sprinkled with white wave tops agitated by the gusting winds.

Eric pulled his jacket tighter around him. "This weather does not bode well, Bilbus."

Bilbus looked around at the whitecaps. "No, it doesn't. I think we're in for a storm."

Breanna walked out of her and Adria's cabin below the main deck. She glanced up at the two men at the railing -- Bilbus saw the smile on her face when she looked at Eric -- and looked at the threatening clouds.

Eric looked to his right, at the shore just visible to the east. "We're still a ways from shore, at least, if the storm blows in too quickly..."

She turned to look up at Bilbus and Eric, worry on her face. "We should get closer, right? Drop anchor close to shore and ride the storm?"

Eric looked at her and shook his head slowly. "No, Bree. If the waves are strong enough, it could cause the anchor to slip. We'd get dashed on the rocks."

Breanna pulled her cloak over her shoulders as a stronger gust blew across the ship.

Bilbus looked at Eric. "Think we should move farther from shore and play a sea anchor?"

Eric nodded. "That would probably be best. We may get lucky ..." The wind gusted strongly. The sails snapped loudly in the wind, and Eric thought he heard the mast creak. "... but we'd better plan for a rough storm."

"Does this ship even have a sea anchor?"

"I'm sure it does. Nobody in their right mind would sail without a sea anchor."

Bilbus looked at the crewman in the riggings above. "Hey, up there! Where is the sea anchor on this ship?"

The man stopped and looked down at the people on the poop deck. Hanging from a rope, he scratched his head. "The what?"

"Sea anchor! Big," he stretched his arms wide, "canvas thing, ropes attached to it? You throw it off the poopdeck in a storm so you can ride it out while at sea!"

"We never did that! We would get close to the shore and drop anchor."

Bilbus looked at Eric, shaking his head. "Well, we don't have a sea anchor."

Eric stared towards the horizon thoughtfully. "We can make one. This thing does have some canvas in the stores. We also have plenty of rope."

Bilbus thought for a moment, his eyelids already weighing heavily after several nights of hard work. "You and Bree go get the canvas and rope. I'll rouse Kasey and have him help stitch the canvas."

"Right." Eric trotted towards the ladder to the main deck. Breanna met him at the base, and the two walked quickly to the front of the main deck. They disappeared through one of the doors below the forecastle.

Bilbus walked slowly to the ladder and climbed down to the main deck. He walked the few short paces to the main hold hatch, still open after these two days at sea. He climbed down the steep stairs to the hold. Kasey was snoring, sprawled on a bundle of bedding salvaged from the docks of Noyonne.

Bilbus stepped softly across the wooden planks of the hold. He stopped at the foot of the unconscious knight's bedding. "Kasey? Kasey, wake up." Bilbus kicked Kasey's bare foot. "Come on, Kasey. We need you for some sewing."

The blond giant stirred a little, waving one hand as if he were trying to shoo the thief. He mumbled something incomprehensible.

Bilbus walked around to the side of Kasey's pile of bedding. He kneeled next to the knight and shook his shoulder. "Wake up, Kasey. We need your help."

The knight rolled over and opened his eyes. He stared at Bilbus for a minute as his eyes focused. "I just went to sleep, Bilbus."

"I know. I'm sorry, Kasey. The winds we had last night are getting worse. We're going to be having one or two hells of a storm today, and we need to make a sea anchor."

"Why don't we use the one on board?"

Bilbus shook his head. "There isn't one on board, Kasey."

Kasey sat up. "I'm not even a sailor and I know you need to keep a sea anchor on board." He looked at Bilbus. "We have canvas? And rope?"

Bilbus nodded. "We have everything we need. We just need to hurry and get it all put together."

Bilbus stood up and offered a hand to the knight. Kasey grabbed it and pulled, nearly pulling Bilbus over. The two walked back on deck in time to see Breanna and Eric wrestling with a huge bundle of white canvas at the front of the main deck.

Now awake, Kasey rushed across the deck to take Breanna's end of the bundle. He and Eric unwrapped the canvas, flattening out the sections of it. Kasey started giving orders to Eric, Breanna, and Bilbus as Kasey started pacing off sections of the canvas.

Shortly before midday, Kasey shouted over the howling winds, "I think that's going to be as good as we are going to get."

Bilbus stood up, holding onto the main mast for balance. "I think you're right! Let's get it to the poopdeck!"

A wave crashed over the prow of the ship, throwing stinging sea-spray over the ship. Bilbus looked up into the rigging. The seamen had played in the sails over an hour ago, leaving the large canvas sail tightly lashed to the crossbeam. Both seamen and Merek had left the rigging shortly thereafter, when the Sea Ghost had rolled from a large wave crashing against the side.

Bilbus, Eric, and Kasey lifted the bulky canvas and rope sea anchor and shuffled across the pitching, wet deck of the Sea Ghost towards the short ladder to the poopdeck. Breanna gathered the tools still on the deck, chasing some of them as they rolled about. She threw all the tools into a large sack, then ran to the foredeck. She opened the first door she reached and threw the sack into the galley.

She ran back across the deck as the rain started to fall. The strong winds whipped her hair in front of her face, and the large drops of water felt like stones on her back.

She ran to Eric and shouted. "Can I help you with the anchor?"

"No! Check on Adria! Make sure she isn't going to get hurt when the ship starts pitching!"

Breanna ran past them to the door to her and Adria's room. She opened the door and entered as quickly as she could. She had to lean against the door to shut it against the winds. She turned and looked about the room. Some clothes she had set out had blown across her bed. A puddle of water two paces wide had formed around the door. One of the doors of the armoire was swinging open and shut as the ship pitched in the waves. Adria was curled on her bed, back against the outer hull.

Breanna walked towards the back of the room, towards the beds. She kept one hand on the inner wall and moved slowly, trying not to fall over. When she reached the back of the room, Breanna leaned over Adria.

"Adria? Is there anything I can get you?"

Adria lifted her head from between her arms. "The bucket spilled."

Breanna looked down and realized with dismay she was standing in a puddle of vomit. The bucket rolled on the deck beneath Adria's bed. "That's okay, Adria. I can clean it after the storm. I have a little more ginger root; it may help you."

Adria barked a short laugh. "I don't think I can keep it down long enough to really make a difference." She stopped and looked up at her roommate. "If you really want to help ..."

"Yes, Adria?"

"Tell ... ask Bilbus to come down here and make me sleep through this storm. I don't think I can stand being awake for it."

Breanna looked at the younger woman for a few seconds. "Okay. I'll send him down as soon as he gets the sea anchor tied to the ship. Is there anything else?"

Adria curled tighter as the ship pitched rapidly again. "I don't think there's anything else you can do, unless you know how to get rid of this storm."

Breanna smiled. "I don't know any castings like that. Even if I did, I'm not that good using Heka."

Breanna left her friend in the cabin, walking back into the gale above deck and climbing the ladder to the poopdeck. While she was holding on to the steep wooden ladder, she realized with dismay that the ladder was right next to the railing of the main deck, only a foot from the edge of the ship. Why did they place it here? All it takes is one good wave, and I'm lost to sea.

She reached the top of the ladder and saw the four men on the deck.

Sturm was at the helm, fighting single handedly to keep the bow of the ship pointed into the wind. He had taken a length of rope and tied himself to the long arm of the tiller. Kasey, Bilbus, and Eric were tying the large bundle of canvas to the ship, running the rope around sturdy posts in the railing, as well as to anchors for the ship's rigging.

Breanna reached Bilbus just as he finished tying his ropes to the ship. He looked at her, his face obscured by the whipping collar of his jacket. "Bilbus! Adria wants you to put her to sleep! This storm is really hurting her."

Breanna watched concern wash across the thief's face. He stood and put his head close to Breanna's. "I'll be there as soon as I can. I have to help them throw the sea anchor over the railing."

Breanna reached towards Bilbus but stopped herself. "Thank you, Bilbus. I'm going to check on Rishala and Merek. They're still in the hold, right?"

Bilbus nodded his head. "Yes! Last I was told they are."

Breanna carefully climbed back down to the main deck as Bilbus walked to the rear of the poopdeck, using the tiller to steady himself as he went. He helped Eric and Kasey push the large canvas sea anchor over the rear railing. The three men gathered along the tiller next to Sturm, standing close together so they could hear one another over the howling winds.

Kasey unwound a length of rope he had wrapped around his waist. He started tying it to the tiller. "Sturm is going to need my help with the tiller! You two should go forward and watch for damage!"

Eric looked at Bilbus. "Ready?"

Bilbus nodded. Eric led Bilbus along the tiller to the front of the poopdeck. He grabbed the railing, holding tightly as he sidestepped towards the ladder.

When he and Bilbus reached the main deck, Bilbus shouted, "I need to check on Adria. She doesn't need to sit through this storm. I'll catch up in a minute, after I put her to sleep."

"All right! I'll be at the main mast!"

Bilbus opened the door to Breanna and Adria's room. He almost fell through the door as the deck pitched towards him unexpectedly, then slammed the door shut as Eric started crawling across the main deck, past the lattice hold cover, towards the mast.

The sun shined brightly beneath the clouds near the western horizon. The winds had died down almost a half an hour earlier, and the rains had stopped shortly before then. Waves still pitched the Sea Ghost, but they were no worse than they had been the previous evening. The sun was touching the horizon, a bright blaze surrounded by orange skies, with the dark ocean below and the gray clouds above.

Kasey and Sturm had untied themselves from the tiller. Both moved stiffly, their muscles aching from half a day of unrelenting labor. Kasey held one hand against his ribs, wincing every time he moved too quickly. Sturm was pulling the sea anchor back onto the ship, hauling the one rope that had remained intact through the storm.

Eric and Bilbus were on the forecastle, inspecting damage to the rigging at the front of the ship. Rishala stood at the base of the main mast, head craned back as he watched the two crewmen inspecting the crossbeam and the rigging. Merek remained below, staying with Farran in the hold. Breanna had just emerged from her room after tending to some new bruises Adria had gained during the tempest.

A while after the sun had dropped below the horizon, everyone except Adria had gathered at the main mast. The smoking lantern hung from its hook on the mast, casting a bright circle of light over the crowd.

Eric leaned against the mast. He was afraid that he might fall over if he didn't. "It looks like we survived the storm. There was a bit of damage to the mast, but we have enough stores to fix it. The hole Farran kicked in the side of the ship when we were captured is leaking again. We should be able to cover it with pitch to keep it from being a problem, as long as we don't get caught in another storm like that one." He stopped for a moment, trying to remember what he was going to say. "We don't know how far off course we are. We aren't near land, so I don't think that's a danger right now."

Bilbus yawned loudly. "As tired as we are, I don't think I really care if we do run aground."

Eric smiled wanly. "I wish I had the energy to argue with you about that, Bilbus. You're right, though. Considering you and Kasey haven't slept in over a day, I'm surprised either of you are still able to stand without help after that storm."

Kasey straightened briefly before wincing again. "I'm fine, Eric."

Breanna scowled at the knight. "You're hurt, Kasey. Let me take a look at your side."

Kasey stepped back from her. "It's a bruise. Save your healing for someone who is in dire need."

Breanna shook her head in frustration.

Eric looked at Bilbus. "Captain, I'd suggest we just not worry about anything until morning. We're far enough from shore that I don't think we'll run aground. As exhausted as we all are, we wouldn't do any good keeping watch tonight in any case."

Bilbus nodded. "I agree. If anyone has the energy to worry about it, they can keep watch for the rest of us. I am heading to my room." He walked away from the gathering, his feet dragging as he passed the hold cover and opened the door to his room.

Everyone else retired to their chambers -- the other main deck cabin for Breanna, the crew's cabin below decks for the two crewmen, and the hold for the rest of the men.

After two arduous days of repairs and drifting at sea, the Sea Ghost once again made sail towards Kieta. Everyone aboard had plenty of aches and pains. Breanna was kept busy helping with splinters, bruises, sprains, scrapes, and a myriad of other injuries during those brief times she was not actually assisting the rest of her companions with repairs.

The Sea Ghost sailed east of north, guided by Eric's skill navigating and Sturm and Kasey's brawn. The misery of the long hours, the layers of bruises, the chilly nights, and the poorly stocked galley took its toll on the travellers.

25th Tinne 2044

At long last, late on a cool morning nearly a week after leaving Noyonne, Merek started throwing pebbles from the crow's nest. Eric stood on the poopdeck, near the forward railing, barely awake. Two of the rocks bounced off his head before he looked up at the child waving from the large wooden basket high atop the main mast.

Merek dropped the bag of rocks and pointed ahead of the ship. He made several gestures, but Eric made no sense of them. Eric drew his spyglass and scanned the horizon ahead. The Sea Ghost had been following the shore at a distance for the last half day, but Eric realized that the shore ahead was different.

Under the leaden gray clouds ahead, Eric could see regular, angular shapes on the horizon. Columns of smoke that barely contrasted with the gray sky above projected above most of the shapes. Eric smiled. His course had been dead-on. Kieta lay ahead.

Eric called out to Breanna, who was kneeling at the base of the mast with her pack of herbs spread in front of her. "Breanna! Would you fetch Bilbus? Kieta is ahead!"

Breanna looked up and grinned. She walked quickly back to the captain's cabin and banged loudly on the door. Waiting a breath's time, she threw the door open and walked in. Eric smiled to himself when he heard some startled curses from the room. Breanna walked back out of the cabin and shut the door behind her.

She turned around and looked up at Eric. "He'll be along shortly, Eric." Still smiling, she walked back to the mast and continued cutting herbs.

Bilbus stumbled out of the cabin a few minutes later, glaring at the young woman as he crossed the rear of the main deck to the ladder. He climbed up to the poopdeck and walked up to Eric. He continued to adjust his belt as he stopped walking.

"Good morning, Captain Bilbus!" Eric barked in greeting as a grin he was trying to hide escaped.

"You told her to do that, didn't you?" It was an accusation, not a question.

Eric's smiled continued to grow. "Why, captain! I merely asked crewman ... crewwoman Breanna to inform the captain that our destination lies ahead. Any technique she used to inform the captain was done on her own initiative."

Bilbus looked at Breanna, still kneeling at the base of the mast. She looked up and burst out laughing, trying to cover her mouth with one hand. She spilled a pouch of something onto the deck and hurriedly started gathering it, still laughing.

Bilbus grumbled to himself as he finally managed to get his belt adjusted correctly. He stopped and looked at Eric. "Kieta is ahead? Let me see!"

Eric offered the spyglass to Bilbus. Bilbus looked ahead at the town, now easily visible on the horizon. "We're still quite a ways from town. It's going to take at least an hour to get there."

Eric nodded. "Which gives you at least an hour to figure out how we dock."

Bilbus looked at Eric. "I thought they," he jerked a thumb towards the two crewmen in the riggings, "knew how to do that stuff."

Eric looked up at the men as they busied themselves lashing some ropes on the main mast, ten feet above the deck. "Have you asked them?"

Bilbus turned towards the two men. "Hey! Do either of you know how to bring this ship to port?"

The two stopped and looked at each other. They turned together to face Bilbus, each shaking his head.

Bilbus groaned. "I thought you were crewmen on this ship."

One of them shouted back. "We are. We're not helmsmen!"

Under his breath, Bilbus muttered, "Great. This is wonderful." Speaking louder, he said, "Very well. Carry on!"

The two crewmen returned to their ropes.

Over an hour later, Bilbus paced the poopdeck. Every now and again he stopped pacing and looked at Kieta. The town was not large, but it was spread across a rocky coastal field. A small river ran through the north end of town, emptying into the Vasmar. Several colorful tents were clustered on the far, eastern end of town, rising above the low buildings on a hill. Five piers jutted from the shore. None of them were presently occupied.

Bilbus looked over his shoulder at Sturm, who manned the tiller. "Sturm? Steer us towards that pier." Bilbus pointed. "The one on the far left."

Sturm pushed on the tiller, changing the ship's heading by a few degrees. Kieta was now close enough that Bilbus could see some of the signs on the buildings, and the birds on the dock. The Sea Ghost was now close to the town.

Sturm, holding the tiller steady, looked at the shore, closing far too quickly. He looked at Bilbus, who was standing with his hands on the front railing of the poop deck.

"Oh, Captain Bilbus?" he asked, sarcasm creeping into his voice. "Don't you think we should be slowing down now?"

Bilbus turned, tugging at the front of his captain's jacket. "Perhaps we should, Mr. Sturm." He faced forward again. Looking up to the two crewmen in the rigging above, Bilbus cupped his hands. "Furl the sails! Prepare for docking!"

The two men scrambled through the rigging, hauling ropes and tying them off. The main sail was soon lashed against the crossbeam.

The Sea Ghost hardly slowed.

As the ship passed the end of the pier, Bilbus looked again at the shore, still closing far too quickly. "All hands, rig for collision!" He grabbed the railing in front of him.

Behind him, Sturm muttered, "Oh, hells..."

The Sea Ghost lurched, and a horrible grinding shook the entire hull. The bow started climbing out of the water as it ran along the pebbled beach. The dock hands on the pier ran for shore as the ship slid along, shaking and creating a bow wake of water and smoothly-worn pebbles.

When the Sea Ghost stopped sliding onto the beach, the shoreline was even with the rear of the forecastle. Several dockworkers stood outside a warehouse, looking at the beached ship with mixed expressions of puzzlement and amusement.

Bilbus straightened again, surveying the ship. He turned around to face Sturm, who still held the tiller -- more for support than control, now. "That wasn't too bad for my first time, wouldn't you say?"

Sturm scowled at the thief.

Bilbus turned back towards the bow. With a groan, the ship tilted to the left, settling twenty degrees from vertical. Unprepared for the shift, Bilbus fell to the deck. He picked himself up, dusted his jacket off, and grabbed onto the railing once more.

The door below Bilbus flew open. Adria staggered onto the main deck, one hand on her stomach. "Thank the gods! We're on shore!"

Bilbus climbed down the ladder from the poopdeck to the main deck. He strode across the main deck, passing wide of the open cargo hold and the angry whinnies coming from within. He climbed the ladder to the forecastle, striding across the front deck, past the large wheel of the anchor chain. He finally stopped at the front of the deck, by the tilted railing, and stood, legs about shoulder's width apart, hands touching in the small of his back, the captain's jacket open and flapping slightly in the chilly breeze.

He stood, surveying the low, hardy buildings of Kieta. His eyes lingered on the largest building in town, a two-story, stout stone building with several smoking chimneys poking from the roof and windows along both floors. Nearly a dozen people had ran out of the wide double-doors on the front face of the building, looking in wonder at the beached ship. Even at this distance, Bilbus could read the sign above the door, written in the trade tongue. It said "Inn".

Closer to the Sea Ghost, at least thirty people had arrived on the rocky beach, looking at the ship as if it were a beached whale. Bilbus surveyed them all, still standing at parade rest.

Bilbus heard steps approach from behind. The person stopped at his right side, about a pace behind Bilbus. He glanced over his shoulder to see Eric, mimicking his pose.

Bilbus looked up at the gray clouds far above as another chill wind blew from the north. He once again looked at the crowd. Still facing forward, he said, "Very good then, Mr. Ithell. Dismiss the crew."

Bilbus turned and walked smartly back to the captain's cabin, below the poopdeck on the aft of the ship. Inside, he removed the captain's jacket and put on his own worn and comfortable leather armor. In the chill air outside, it would be far more comfortable, and Bilbus didn't expect to be sailing again anytime soon.

When he returned to the main deck, he saw that Eric had thrown a rope ladder over the railing on the bow. He saw Rishala scrambling down the ladder, almost falling in his haste to get off of the ship. Breanna and Adria were already crossing the forecastle towards the ladder, Adria's pale greenish tint already faded away. Kasey had lowered the hoist into the hold, and was calling directions down to Merek and Farran.

A murmur had arisen from the crowd, laughs interspersed, as people started watching the line of people forming at the bow to climb off the ship.

Bilbus crossed the deck to stand by the front railing, looking again at the town of Kieta, as he waited his turn at the ladder.

Back to the previous chapter: Smokes

An aside to Breanna and Eric's second Late Night Rendezvous

Continue to the next chapter: Steppes

Back to the Book II Index.

Back to the Dark Mysteries Campaign Chapter Index.

Original Draft 11 February 2001

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