Back to the previous chapter: Reunions

First Draft

After a twenty minute stroll through the waking city of Londoun, the party was at its vast harbor.

"What now?" Breanna asked.

"We find the slaver's ship," Bilbus replied.

"Aye," Rishala smarted, "and how do we do that, Bilbus?" He gestured broadly towards the harbor.

There were numerous ships on the piers that lined the Vasmar and the broad River Llwelyn. Easily fifty more were in the harbor beyond.

"How do you suggest we sniff around for a slaver's ship?" Rishala asked.

Ingaborgen sniffed noisily. "I smell no slaves."

Breanna offered, "The Harbor Master would be a good place to start."

Bilbus smiled. "Of course. I can approach him, speaking with a Francian accent, and demand that he take me to the ship. A harbor boat will shuttle us out to it."

Eric surveyed the ships. "Do you see a Francian ship? Or one that looks like the Aquasition?"

Bilbus glanced out at the harbor. "Nope."

Rishala rolled his eye. "Assuming that the slaver was the only Francian in the harbor. Still, I think we should go talk to the harbor master."

"I don't like this," Bilbus said.

"What? Going to the harbor master?" Rishala asked.

"No. We've found new darkblades. They are taking many slaves. Why? They must be gearing up for a war. The Dark One was just the first battle, not the entire war." Bilbus paused pensively. "Let's find the harbor master."

The party readily found the harbor master's office. As they approached the door to the office, they heard a man shouting.

"What in the Nine Hells were you doing last night? A Francian ship left harbor an hour after the bells chimed Latins? We don't send ships out to sea in the dark. There are too many ships at anchor!"

Eric noted quietly to his friends, "The ship left three hours ago."

Another man in the room replied, "Harbor Master Demna, the ship's captain stole one of our harbor boats and rowed himself out to his ship. He left the boat adrift and left. We did not know about it until he had already put to sail."

The first man snarled, "Get out of here! I don't want to see you again today."

The second man let himself out of the office, slamming the door behind himself. He turned and ran right into Eric. "Sorry, m'Lord," he said, bobbing his head. "If you do not have pressing business, I would not go in there. The harbor master is very unhappy."

After the man walked away, Bilbus looked at his friends. "Do we still need to talk to him? I think we have a good idea who the mystery captain was who left in such a hurry."

"He must have panicked when his frog men never showed up," Eric suggested. "He put to sea in the dark, since he assumed someone found him out." He looked at the harbor master's door. "Maybe we don't need to talk to him. But we need to catch that ship. They may have other slaves on board."

Rishala looked at the ships in harbor again. "I think we can catch him."

"Oh?" Eric prompted.

"There's a Church corvette in harbor. If the slaver's ship is like the Aquasition, we can catch it easily."

"There's still the wedding," Breanna reminded her friends.

"True," Eric said. "But this is more important. Is there anything we're overlooking?"

"Other than your meeting with the king?" Breanna asked.

"That will be a problem. I can make arrangements with my people to take care of that." Eric looked towards the rising sun. "We are already three hours behind. We need to make ready for the trip. Let's get back to our apartments."

Bilbus stopped briefly at his apartment to gather some clothes. He then went to Baronet del Giero's neighboring apartment. The baronet answered the door quickly.

"Baron del Cartach, I expected to see you this morning."

"Oh?"

"I heard that you were meeting with your friends - the ones who helped you stop the Dark One. I can't help but think that there's something going on, and you're involved. I also heard stories that a patrol was attacked in this district last night, and a number of people fought off some sort of monsters to save the patrol."

"Well, there was that," Bilbus admitted.

"So, unless I miss my guess, there's something important that needs to be done."

Bilbus nodded. "Yes. There are slavers taking people from Londoun. We think we can catch them and put a stop to it, but..."

"But you have to make appearances for the Dales at this wedding. Does the king know you personally?"

"No."

"Then I'll tell him I'm the emissary. I'll call myself a baron."

"What about Lord del Rozen?" Bilbus asked. "He was sent along by d'Acetorix's faction to keep you in check."

"Don't worry about him. He'll keep quiet."

"Why?"

Baronet del Giero smiled. "He was a little indiscreet last night with a local common whore. In an alleyway. I saw him, and he knows I did. He won't dare do anything that would give me a reason to talk about that. Go save the world, or whatever it is you're going to do."

Bilbus smiled. I think he'll be a closer ally than I thought. I got the idea that he wasn't a blind follower of the games in the Dales Council.

"Until I return, then," Bilbus said.

Bilbus returned to his room, where he left instructions with his servant. He instructed Sultz to stay, as well. While Bilbus may be easy to forget, everyone would notice if the orc in Karasimian robes disappeared. Bilbus gathered his traveling gear, packed one formal outfit with it, and set out for Eric's apartment.

Eric was finishing a meeting with his staff, providing them with instructions for how to deflect any attempts to meet with the King. Once he was satisfied that they could handle the King's demands, he packed for the trip.

As they were making ready to leave, Breanna blurted, "Bilbus? Where is my wedding ring?"

Bilbus reached into a hidden pocket in his leather armored jacket. "Oh, here it is."

Breanna reached for it, but she paused. "On second thought, keep it. It's safer there."

"Do you need to collect anything before the trip?" Bilbus asked.

"Yes," Breanna replied as she dumped her herbalist's bag on the floor of the apartment.

"Where shall we meet, then?"

Without glancing up from her assorted pouches of herbs, she replied, "It wouldn't be appropriate around here, not the way we're dressed. Not that we haven't done it before. How about at the docks? Near the harbor master's office?"

Bilbus nodded. "Okay. We'll see you there." He turned to Ingaborgen. "You might as well come with me, unless you need to make some purchases for the trip."

"I think I'm ready to go," she said.

"Good," Bilbus said. "Grab your stuff. We're heading for the docks."

Eric hefted his large travel bag. "Rishala and I are heading to the Church. We'll meet you at the docks once we're ready to go."

"Off we go, on another adventure," Breanna said cheerily as she braided her hair.

Eric and Rishala spent little time waiting to speak to the head father of Cathedral Treasa, Londoun's main Kelltic church. After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Eric explained to the priest what he needed.

"There is a slaver ship we need to catch. It has perhaps a four hour lead on us. We need troops to board it, as well."

"I see, General Ithell," the priest said, commenting on Eric's role stopping the Dark One. "Slavers? Are they the reason people have been disappearing in Londoun?"

"We believe so," Eric confirmed. "We stopped some creatures that were helping the kidnappers, but the ship sailed before dawn."

The head father thought for a minute. "Very well. It will take an hour to make all of the arrangements. Do you want to wait here?"

"Yes, father," Eric agreed. "We'll wait. Thank you."

Bilbus leaned against a warehouse, smoking a tabac stick. Ingaborgen had spent the last fifteen minutes trying to explain to Bilbus traditional Javik foods, while one of Eric's servant waited with a cart containing some bags for the trip.

"See?" Ingaborgen said. He had not understood her description, so she resorted to pulling some food out of her travel kit. "You take a flatbread, like this one." She held up a round, flat bread. "You put the meat and vegetables on it, then you wrap the bread like this. You can eat it without making a mess."

"And how is that different than a Hellenic sandwich?" Bilbus asked after taking a slow drag from his tabac stick.

"I don't know what a Hellenic sandwich is," Ingaborgen said. She took a bite of her flatbread wrap.

Bilbus looked past her. "About time Eric got here." He walked towards his Karasimian friend, who led Rishala and ten other men.

Eric held up a sheet of paper that had a wax seal on it. "The high father gave us a writ for the harbor master. The harbor master will have to give our ship priority in leaving the harbor."

"And the high father gave us some knights, I see," Bilbus said.

"Yes. The corvette has a minimal crew on board, and if we're going to take out some slavers, we're going to need as many fighters as we can get." He looked around. "Is Bree here yet?"

"Not yet," Bilbus answered.

"I'll have the knights shuttled out first. I'll need to go, as well, to meet with the captain. Wait here for Bree."

"Yes, your generalship," Bilbus smirked.

Eric went to the harbor master's office. He disappeared into the building for ten minutes before coming back outside with a harbor pilot. Eric stopped briefly to order the knights to wait for a boat on one of the piers. He then went with the harbor pilot to a small sailboat, which set out for the church corvette that waited in the harbor.

By the time the knights had been taken to the ship, Breanna had arrived. Bilbus, Breanna, Rishala, and Ingaborgen boarded the boat, and they found themselves on the Church's corvette, the West Wind a short time later. As the captain of the corvette got the ship underway, Eric reviewed what he had learned from the harbor master.

"The ship we're after is the Sea Wight. From the description I was given, it sounds like it's a twin to the Aquasition."

"Which was the Sea Ghost when we took it," Bilbus pointed out. "You would think these guys would choose some names that weren't so similar. Do you think anyone wouldn't be able to figure out that the two ships were related? Similar names, same hulls. If we start notifying the authorities in the larger ports about these ships, it'd be easy to shut down their shipping network."

Eric nodded. "We should do that when we get back. I could not find anything else about the ship. It never came to one of the docks. The captain was the only crewman who came ashore. He was Francian, with rough clothes. It sounded like he was the same one we saw outside my apartment. He never shuttled anything out to the ship but provisions."

"How did they get the slaves to the ship?" Breanna wondered. "Or did they?"

"Maybe the Deep Ones swam them out," Rishala speculated. "They were running freely through the sewers, and there are drains out to the harbor. It would be easy enough."

The party set about checking their equipment or watching the shoreline sliding by as the corvette caught a strong wind and leaped forward, into the sea. The Londoun skyline fell behind, and soon there was nothing but wilderness on the shore.

A number of hours passed before the distant shoreline to the south of the ship showed any changes. Ahead, in the haze of distance, the rolling hills and clusters of trees yielded to the regular edges of buildings. As the West Wind got closer, the buildings showed themselves to be collapsed and overgrown. Ahead, a hilltop punctuated by two towers marked the far end of the abandoned city.

"Camelough," Rishala said. "The center of the Sun King's empire. Attacked and destroyed these two millennia ago, and never settled since."

"Unless you count the orcs who were there last time we visited," Bilbus reminded his friend. "Or the Church Knights who guard that Portal in the throne room."

Rishala sighed. "And you wonder why I don't tell stories?"

"It was all of the Phaeree stories, Rishala," Bilbus retorted.

"I showed you the gate to Phaeree. You met some of the fey folk yourself after Eric and Bree's wedding."

"Yes, but that was after you had bored me to tears telling all of those stories." Quickly changing the subject, Bilbus pointed out, "Hey, we're near Kasey's place. It's just a few miles south of the ruins of Camelough."

"Is he there?" Breanna wondered.

"Probably not," Bilbus said. "He's still doing something for the Church." He yawned loudly. "It's been a long day. Maybe I should take a nap before we catch the Sea Wight."

Bilbus climbed onto the foredeck of the ship. He talked to a few crew members. One of the crew brought Bilbus a rolled length of ropes. He unrolled it, tying the ends to the railings on the left and right sides of the ship near the prow, and he climbed onto the hammock in the center of the ropes. He soon snored softly as the hammock rocked back and forth with the rolling of the ship.

Breanna tracked down the sailing master. "I would like some nails," she said.

The sailing master grabbed a crewman and instructed him to show Breanna the ship's stores. A few minutes later, she returned with some nails, which she used for protective casting. Satisfied that the defensive spell was adequate for the time being, Breanna found an empty spot of the deck that would serve for a nap.

The party rested throughout the afternoon as the West Wind raced onwards. Late in the afternoon, a crew man in the crow's nest called out, "Sail ahead!"

The captain of the ship awakened Eric and relayed the news. Eric took a spyglass and studied the square sail in the distance.

"It looks right, Captain," Eric decided. "If we can get closer, I can tell for sure. I only see a single sail, which is right for the Sea Wight."

The captain ordered the West Wind to close with the ship. Once the corvette was closer, Eric checked again. He still could not make out enough detail, so he woke Rishala.

"Rishala, we're closing with a ship. I think it's the slavers, but we are not close enough yet for me to be sure."

Rishala looked at the ship. "I'll check."

Rishala shut his eyes and weaved Heka. Mentally, he could see an image of the West Wind, as if he were a bird flying near the top of the corvette's mast. He concentrated on the vision, and the viewpoint changed. He was flying towards the other ship, closing with it rapidly. He soon could see the familiar shape of Sea Wight, a near twin of the Aquasition. The name across the stern of the ship confirmed it.

"That's the ship," Rishala said distantly. He circled the ship, surveying the crew. "They know we're back here. The crew have crossbows handy, even though we are out of range. I see no heavier weapons. No ballistae or catapults."

"What about the hold?" Eric asked.

Rishala steered his remote vision through the deck of the ship. "There are about twenty people in the hold. They are all in cages."

Bilbus had awakened, and he joined his friends.

"What's going on?" Bilbus asked.

"We're catching the Sea Wight," Eric said. He pointed towards the other ship, now four miles away. "Rishala is checking the hold."

"We can't sneak up on them," Bilbus said. "They know the penalty for kidnapping and slavery. They will kill the slaves before we get in range." He looked at Eric. "I can fly over to the ship, invisibly, and sneak into the hold. I'll free the slaves and keep the crew from killing them."

"You alone? What if they rush the hold?"

Bilbus looked around. Eric was too valuable as an archer to take. Rishala and Breanna both were adept with magickal arts, and Breanna was a healer, but they would be useful on the corvette. The knights Eric brought were all expert archers. He gazed at Ingaborgen, who was just waking up. "I'll take Ingaborgen. She's the only one we can spare." Bilbus went to brief the Javik woman on the plan.

The captain of the ship approached the impromptu planning conference. "General Ithell, do you have a target preference as we get in range?"

"Mages first," Eric replied. "Then archers."

The captain nodded. He relayed the orders to the ten knights who were aboard to serve as marines. He then instructed his first officer to take the helm.

Once the West Wind had closed to less than a mile from the Sea Wight, the captain stood at the bow of his ship. There was a surge of magickal energies, and a glowing bolt streaked from the captain's fingers towards the slavers' ship.

Rishala concentrated on his clairvoyant weave. "He dropped a crossbow man," the Caledonian reported. "We're in spell range now."

Rishala wove a convoluted mesh of Heka, putting a protective envelope over the West Wind.

"I guess that means Ingaborgen and I need to go," Bilbus said. "Rishala, make us invisible."

Bilbus wrapped an arm around Ingaborgen's waist. "Hang on. This is going to be fun."

After another rush of Heka from Rishala, Bilbus invoked a casting of flight. Holding Ingaborgen tightly, he flew towards the Sea Wight, circling wide to keep out of the direct route between the two ships. Several crossbowmen on the slave ship had panicked, and bolts shot ineffectively towards the West Wind, plunging into the sea well short of the corvette.

As Rishala cast another spell, Breanna studied the flows of Heka. "What does that one do?" she asked.

"It allows me to see Bilbus and Ingaborgen, so I don't do anything that will affect them."

"Oh," Breanna said. "I think I saw what you did." After a few seconds of concentration, she looked out to sea. "I see them!"

Breanna watched Bilbus approach the Sea Wight from one side. He landed near the door to the forward stairwell.

On the Sea Wight, Bilbus released his hold on Ingaborgen.

"This is the best raiding party ever," she said quietly.

"Stay close," he said. "They can't see us, but we can't see each other, either." He felt Ingaborgen feel around until she found his back. She kept her hand there as Bilbus opened the door to the stairs and slipped inside.

Down the stairs, around a corner in a narrow hallway, Bilbus found the door to the hold. He mentally sliced the invisibility weave around him.

"I can see you," Ingaborgen whispered from nearby.

"I know. I don't want to scare the prisoners. Come on, and keep you eyes open for bad guys."

Bilbus led Ingaborgen into the hold. Two dozen cramped upright cages filled the hold, with ample space between each cage. Most of the cages were occupied by unkempt men and women. Several of them looked up despairingly at Bilbus.

"I'm from the Church corvette West Wind," Bilbus whispered. "We're here to rescue you."

When one of the men opened his mouth, Bilbus hastily added, "The slavers don't know I'm here. Keep quiet, so they don't find out."

Bilbus pulled his lockpicks from their pocket underneath the metal vambraces that protected his forearms, and he set about unlocking the first of the cages.

Several minutes passed quietly as Bilbus worked to free the prisoners. The creaking of one of the doors to the hold interrupted Bilbus's mission.

Two crewmen stepped into the hold, panic-stricken even before they realized that some of the slaves were freed. One of the men shouted in pain as Ingaborgen appeared behind him, a dagger thrust into the man's back.

Bilbus closed quickly with the men as they turned to face their assailant. Several fast spear thrusts dispatched the two men.

"The West Wind must be close," Bilbus determined. "We better get to the captain's room and make sure he doesn't destroy anything we need."

He grabbed a ring of keys from one of the dead slavers. He tossed the ring at the nearest of the freed prisoners. "Finish setting everyone loose. If anyone knows how to wield a cutlass, there's two here now."

Bilbus led Ingaborgen up the aft stairs to the main deck. He cracked the door open and looked out. Most of the crew of the ship lay dead on the deck, magickal burns prevalent on them. The West Wind had pulled alongside, and grappling hooks had been cast at the Sea Wight.

Bilbus rushed into the captain's cabin. The Francian whom Bilbus had seen the previous night was shoving some books into a fire that was flickering to life in a sea chest. Bilbus threw the man aside so he could extinguish the fire. Ingaborgen tackled the captain and quickly bound him with a short length of rope.

Bilbus peeled the jacket from the captain. "Nice knots, Ingaborgen," he complimented his comrade as he shrugged into the jacket.

Bilbus drew a tabac stick, lit it magickally, and walked onto the deck.

The fight was over. The slavers had been annihilated by an onslaught of magick from Rishala, Breanna, and the West Wind's captain.

"I claim this ship for the Fleet of Portsdale," Bilbus announced to his friends on the other ship.

With the ships lashed together, the crew of the West Wind quickly lowered sails on both ships, letting them drift together. Rishala, Eric, and Breanna boarded the captive ship, as crew members helped escort the former prisoners to the church ship.

Rishala dragged the singed locker onto the deck and started going through the notes and logs.

"This is good," he commented as he thumbed through the logbook. "There are notes about destinations and dates. It's sketchy on what the cargoes are, but I think we can guess on some of them." A folded note fell out of the log book. "What's this?" He read through the note. "It's a letter from Josacal the Younger, ordering the captain to keep to schedule at all costs. Since some of their ships have disappeared, they're assuming anyone who doesn't make port on time has fallen into enemy hands."

"When is this ship expected back?" Eric asked.

Rishala flipped through the log book. "About a week and a half. We can just make it if we get underway soon."

Bilbus suggested, "We can get a skeleton crew from the corvette and sail in. If we pretend like we're the slavers, we should be able to get into port.

"I'm going to talk to the captain," Rishala told his friends.

While Rishala was in the captain's room, Eric and Bilbus kept talking.

"We could take the Church Knights to pose as slaves," Eric said. "The extra swords will be handy."

"The women will have to be slaves, too," Bilbus observed. "The crews of all of these ships have been all male. No women crews."

"What do we do when we get to Noyonne?" Eric asked. "They'll want to take the slaves to Suderpol. Do we let them take the slaves?"

"No," Bilbus answered. "Maybe we can go with them. Noyonne wasn't much of a town, and surely the captain and crew of the ship get some leave. If we go with the slave convoy, we can keep an eye to make sure everyone is safe. It also means we can spring them when the convoy stops for the night. As I remember, it was a two day journey for the caravan we were in."

The captain of the West Wind boarded the captive ship. "General, what are you planning to do with this ship?"

Eric thought for a moment. "The slavers are still operating. We freed these people, but there are other ships, as well. Can you spare a prize crew? We want to take this ship to the slavers' town and shut them down."

The captain nodded. "I have enough crew to give you a skeleton crew. You're taking the knights, as well?"

"Yes. I have a feeling we'll need them before all is said and done."

Bilbus interrupted, "General Commander Eric-type person, do you think we should send a message back?"

"I'll write a note to let the Church know what's going on," Eric said. "Bilbus, get our equipment moved over here and let the knights know they're coming with us."

Eric went to the captain's room to fetch pen, ink, and paper. Rishala had finished his interrogation, and he was now taking the captain out to turn him over to the Church.

Baroness Eclavdra scowled into the darkness beyond the grand windows of her ballroom. The creatures that lived on the cavern walls were sparse, but one peculiar slug slithered up the wall, leaving a nauseating glowing lilac trail in its wake.

Eclavdra heard one of the doors to the ballroom open and shut. Shuffling feet crossed the intricate marble flooring, one of the many imports from her home on Phaeree. On close inspection, the patterns in the marble looked like spider webs.

A human servant, a girl of perhaps seventeen, bowed deeply in front of the baroness. Her pale skin and dark hair held Eclavdra's attention for an idle moment. Pretty, for a human.

"My Baroness." The girl's voice wavered.

"Speak," Eclavdra commanded.

Standing, but keeping her eyes directed floorward, the girl said, "Fists-General Bi'zak Ragneesh has arrived, My Baroness." She struggled with pronouncing the alien name.

"Send him in."

Eclavdra turned to watch the servant scurry to the door. Despite the fearful demeanor, Eclavdra found the girl interesting. Perhaps I shall make her a personal chambermaid.

The girl slipped out of one of the towering doors of the ballroom, being careful not to get too close to either of the porcine orcs who guarded the entrance. The orcs scowled at the human, their beady black eyes shining in the magickal light from the chandelier above.

Two tall creatures stepped through the doors, holding them open for a third. The tall bipeds - the shortest was three paces tall - wore black armor like the orcs who stood against the wall, but where orcs had the face of a pig, these creatures had the face of a bear. Angry snarls were permanently etched into the faces. Wiry dark fur was visible on any of the few places of the beasts where armor did not hide flesh. Large swords, swords that a drow would require both hands to wield, hung from the hips of each of the monsters.

Once the third creature was through the door, the other two shut the double doors and stood against them, blocking the entrance. The orcs sneered at the new arrivals, but the new monsters ignored the smaller guards.

The lone monster approached the baroness, whose mouth twisted into a cruel smile.

The monster stopped three paces away from her and beat the breastplate of his adamantine armor with a gauntleted fist. "I report as ordered, my Mistress," he growled in a close approximation of the drow tongue.

"Excellent, Fists-General Ragneesh. We are glad the Queen has finally released troopsto support Our project on Oerth."

"Queen Lialoth sends her regards, Baroness Eclavdra. She believes a few fists of bugbears will provide the muscle you need to finish your task."

"We will welcome your fists. Our Deep Dwarf slaves are preparing quarters in the great cavern even now. We have barracks for one fist ready. The others will need to wait on Phaeree until We have room for them."

"Of course, Baroness. What is our mission?"

"The surfacers have been unreliable allies. They have made repeated mistakes and allowed others to foil Our grand designs. We grow tired of waiting in the shadows. If the surfacers can not finish the plan We have, We will need the full might of the Unseelie Court to eradicate the surfacers."

"I understand that this world is less magickal than the homeland. My warriors will need time to adjust to these differences, and I would like to send some advance troops to the surface to get experience."

"Of course, Fists-General. We have two surface locations under Our control, although one of them requires stealth. You may send men to Our occupied city of Suderpol. There, your troops do not need to worry about hiding from surfacers. We will send some Dark Cave Tribe scouts to escort them through the Tunnels."

"Excellent, Baroness Eclavdra. I shall order my advance scouts through first." He saluted again. "With your leave, Baroness."

"You may go," Eclavdra said.

Fists-General Ragneesh turned and stomped towards the entrance to the ballroom. His two fellow bugbears opened the doors. Once he was through, they followed him out, slamming the doors on their way.

The coastal town of Noyonne lay ahead of the Sea Wight. The captured ship had sailed quickly for the town as the Church's skeleton crew struggled to keep the ship from missing its deadline.

Bilbus and Eric stood on the bow of the ship, surveying the town. Another ship was leaving the pier in Noyonne, two miles away. Both men looked at the ship through spyglasses.

"It's a Black Galley, Eric. We can't let it go," Bilbus argued.

"We are close to shore Bilbus. If we attack, the slavers on shore will know something is wrong, and our plan fails before it starts."

"I know," Bilbus growled. "But we can't... They're looking at us. The merchants are on the deck, looking at us."

"So what? We're looking at them."

The dark-hulled galley sped away, as its perfectly synchronized oars moved faster and faster, at an impossible speed. Three strange men stood on the deck, one in front of and between the other two, watching the Sea Wight as it approached Noyonne. Their pastel robes and matching head covers fluttered in the wind that blew across the deck of the Black Galley as it rowed northwards.

Rishala approached the men. "Might I remind you both that the former captain of this ship says that the port master in Noyonne knows each captain personally. We're almost to the pier. If we want this plan to work, we need someone to look like the captain."

"And since this is my ship, that will be me," Bilbus pronounced. "Bree, let's get my disguise going."

Breanna used a mixture of pigments and Heka to alter Bilbus's appearance until he looked like the Francian captain of the ship.

"Now, Eric, lock them up," Bilbus said with a thick Francian accent.

"I don't like this," Breanna moaned.

"It's okay, Bree," Eric assured her. "You and Ingaborgen and the knights will ride in these cages. Rishala and I will act as crew, so we can get you out quickly if we need to."

Bilbus left Eric to locking up the phony slaves. He returned to the aft deck of the ship, near the steering tiller, to watch as the crew brought the ship to the pier. Bilbus scanned the village one more time. A few orcs moved through the town, on an obvious patrol. To his surprise, Bilbus spotted a group of four drow standing in the shadow of one of the buildings. Drow here? This can't be a good sign.

Once the ship was tied to the pier, the port master boarded the ship with a pair of orcs. Bilbus wove one last casting, one that would allow him to speak and comprehend the local tongue, and then he climbed down to the main deck to greet him. He bluffed his way through the greeting, and told the port master that the Deep Ones had done a poor job finding captives, that his hold was half empty.

"That is still twelve more than we had," the port master observed. "It is still early enough in the day that the wagons can get to the campsite before it gets late. I'll get the wagons over here, and we can get the convoy underway shortly."

"I wish to go with them," Bilbus said in his magickally-provided Francian.

"You are welcome to go. The whole crew could stand for some shore time, I think," the port master offered.

"No. I will take two of my officers, but the rest of the crew need to make ready. We had a poor haul this time, but I don't want the next one to go badly. It would not reflect well on me if we don't return with a full hold."

"From what I hear of the Lady Edralve, that is a good idea. I suspect she would be willing to take the crew if they displease her." The port master shuffled off to oversee some paperwork.

Bilbus watched the unloading of the ship. The shoremen dropped the occupied cages roughly onto wagons, stacking them two deep. Bilbus carefully kept from wincing at the painful protests of his friends and the knights who were pretending to be captives. Once the wagons were loaded, he led Rishala and Eric down to the wagons.

"Where do we ride?" he asked the lead wagon master.

"Third wagon, away from the slaves. In case they try anything."

Bilbus climbed onto the back of the third wagon. He helped his friends aboard, and then he settled down for the ride. He looked around at the men on the wagons, as well as more who were on horseback. Several orcs joined the convoy, and two drow climbed onto the lead wagon.

"Why such a large escort for helpless slaves?" Bilbus asked loudly.

"Suderpol warned us that we may have to deal with ambushes."

Eric muttered to Bilbus, "From whom? Us?"

The wagons lurched into motion, following the only road out of the village, up the valley towards the distant mountain valley that hid Suderpol.

As the wagons rolled along, Bilbus, Eric, and Rishala planned their next action.

"It'll be easiest to do something while the guards are setting up or taking down camp," Bilbus observed. "What we could do is get the guards to let us take Bree and Ingaborgen out into the bushes for some fun. That way, we get them free. Once they're out, I can use the bedlam casting to cause some confusion while we pick apart the guards."

Eric shook his head. "I have a bad feeling about this plan, Bilbus."

Bilbus scowled at his friend. "Or, we ride to Suderpol, and they take your wife. The next time we see her, she's in a sword."

Rishala thought about the plan. "If we wait until the camp is set, there will be fewer people about. While all hells breaks loose, we can free some of the Church Knights as well."

They rode on in silence, watching the lush valley of Noyonne give way to the rougher pine forest of the mountains. Shortly after the sun had dropped below the western foothills, the wagons came to a halt.

From the twilight, the lead wagon handler called out, "Orcs, post watch. Men, get the cookfires started."

Bilbus and his comrades help set up the camp, building a cook fire of their own. As they had a modest meal of travel rolls and salted meats, they watched the camp.

The camp was in a large clearing in the trees. The road to Suderpol ran through one side of the clearing, while the encampment occupied the other, larger region. The two drow had taken a post across the road, away from the men and orcs. The orcs had one raging fire, where they heated a stew of some variety. The men were circled around two other fires, with pots of their own heating their meals. A few men and orcs were scattered about in a loose perimeter, but it was clear from the slouches and conversations that none of the guards were particularly attentive, despite the convoy master's warning earlier in the day. A pair of men guarded the wagons, where the slave cages were still stacked.

Eric studied the layout of the camp. "If we go over to the wagons, we'll have the two men at the wagons, plus the drow, plus four other men behind us. Most of the camp will be in front of us."

"If we do something to disrupt the camp, we may be able to make this work," Bilbus said.

"I can do something to the camp," Rishala said. "I can put them to sleep."

"Let's get going," Bilbus said. He stood up and stretched before sauntering over to the slave wagons. He heard Rishala and Eric following him.

One of the guards looked over at him as he approached.

"Good evening," Bilbus said in Francian. He glanced over at the nearby cages. Breanna was right next to him, lying uncomfortably on her back in the steel-rod cage. "I was wondering. My men and I were at sea for a long time, watching these women. We couldn't do anything while we were sailing, since I would have to share with the crew. However, now..." Bilbus smiled. "We'd like to have a little fun with them before we give them to Lady Edralve. I'd be happy to share them with you, too. What do you say?"

"We're not supposed to let them out," the guard dully replied. "They may escape."

"They can't run far if we hold them down. A little privacy, over in those bushes, maybe?" Bilbus nodded towards the bushes on the far side of the camp from most of the men. "No one needs to know. We'll gag them and tie them up, so they can't draw any attention and they can't run away." He leered at Breanna, who scowled back at him, unable to understand what he was saying. "This one with the almost red hair looks particularly fun. I'll even let you have her first."

"Well... Okay."

"Help me unlock their cages."

An unearthly whoop echoed through the camp, followed by the distinctive twangs of arrows being fired in the dark. Several of the posted guards fell quickly to arrow fire.

"What the Hells?" the guard next to Bilbus yelped.

Bilbus quickly drew his sword and delivered a deadly cut to the man's throat. He felt a surge of Heka from Rishala, followed shortly by a shimmering in the ground around the camp as a silvery fog boiled out of the dirt. Half of the men collapsed to the ground in a magickal sleep.

Eric drew his longbow and loosed an arrow at the drow. Bilbus shot a bolt of Heka at the drow, who collapsed after a second arrow punched through the drow's head.

The campsite quickly devolved into confusion, as Rishala, Bilbus, and Eric picked off guards that the attackers in the trees missed. Breanna and several knights took advantage of the confusion to weave spells into their cages' locks to free themselves. After several seconds, another whoop echoed through the camp, followed by the thundering of hooves in the trees.

"Surrender, Two-Legs!" demanded a man's voice from the trees. "Surrender to justice!"

Bursting through the underbrush, several centaurs charged through the camp, slaying any bipeds who resisted. They surrounded the party, who remained near the wagons.

"Drop your weapons!" one of the centaurs demanded.

Another of the centaurs, a woman, stepped forward. "Breanna, of Clan Ithell and of Clan Brezhou! Is that you? Did these men capture you?"

Breanna stepped forward. "Dumita? No, they did not capture me. Don't you recognize them?" She looked back at her friends. "Bilbus, drop the disguise."

With a wave of his hand, and a weave of Heka, Bilbus disjoined his magickal disguise.

"Ah, I see now," Dumita the centaur said. "Why are you with the evil men?"

"We want to sneak into their city and stop the Forges."

"As do we," Dumita said.

"You know her?" Ingaborgen blurted to Breanna.

"She's my mother," Breanna said.

"Your mother is a centaur? Where are your hooves, my Lady?"

Breanna shook her head. "My adopted mother. They helped me save Sturm, but I had to join their family, first."

"This is confusing," Ingaborgen concluded.

"Wait," Bilbus said, taking a step forward. "You are here to stop the Forges? Why?"

Dumita sighed. "It is a shame of the centaurs, one we have kept for many generations. Long ago, the centaurs discovered a horrible magic that could create weapons that would always kill their victims. These cruel weapons required a blood sacrifice, but we centaurs did not care. We were angered at the Two-Legs who kept moving into our lands.

"When other Two-Legs came to us and offered to stop the invaders, we agreed to let them learn the rituals of the dark blades. We entered into a pact with them, that they could create the dark blades if they helped us. But the pact was a deception, and it put a binding on the centaur people so that we could not come to their forges to stop them. We could not come near this place."

"You're here now," Rishala noted.

"Yes, Two-Leg," Dumita agreed. "The rituals were changed, and the bindings on our people unraveled. Now, we are going to atone for our sin. There will be no more dark blades. But we must get close to the forges to destroy them, and the city is in a well-defended valley."

"How many centaurs are there?" Eric asked.

"Two hundred," another centaur said.

"Nikolas!" Breanna exclaimed, recognizing the new speaker as he stepped forward. "Second-father!"

"Yes, second daughter. I am here, as is your second-sister, Mouzhina. She waits in the trees."

Bilbus described the party's plan. "We were going to sneak into two as slavers, with these knights acting as slaves. We could disguise some of you as orcs, maybe?"

Rishala inquired, "Why do we need to keep the slave plan? Don't you have that letter."

Bilbus slapped his forehead. "Of course. Adria's dad was invited here. I could pass as Lord del Quintin." He chuckled. "I even have his signet ring. Adria gave it to me after she killed him." He looked at his friends. "Bree and Ingaborgen could be my mistresses. Eric... What about you?"

"An advisor," Eric replied.

"Why?"

"Because I'm too dumb to think of something else."

"Well, that works." Bilbus turned to Nikolas. "How many centaurs need to get into Suderpol?"

"Just one," Nikolas said. "We will use a casting that will destroy the forges with an earthquake."

"Wait," Bilbus said. "The Forges are in a volcano. What happens when an earthquake happens in a volcano? Won't it erupt?"

"Exactly," Nikolas said.

Eric interjected, "We can't destroy the city. We must evacuate it."

"Why?" Nikolas demanded. "This city has killed thousands of innocents to create the dark blades."

"What about the innocents in the city?"

"Those who stayed in that city, knowing what was being done in the Forges, are not innocents."

Eric mulled over the response. He wanted to argue the point, but perhaps Nikolas was right.

Bilbus smiled. "Your daughter can create the earthquake?"

"Yes. If you can make her a Two-Legs, she could go in with you."

Bilbus giggled. "I get to have three mistresses. Good thing Adria's not here to kill me."

The party and the centaurs cleared the dead from the camp. They settled in to sleep, while centaur patrols formed a picket around the clearing. Soon, the camp was immersed in silence as weary travelers caught up on sleep.

The following morning, the party had porridge for breakfast. The centaurs had packed supplies for their long overland journey, and they freely shared their meal with the travelers. After breakfast, Bilbus changed into the formal outfit he had packed.

"Bree, you need to make me old," he announced once he was dressed.

Eric offered, "I can get a razor to make you bald."

"No."

Breanna prepared a poultice that silvered Bilbus's hair while the rest of the party prepared two of the wagons for travel, leaving the slave cages behind.

"The knights will be good as escorts. A noble like Lord del Quintin would surely never travel without escorts," Bilbus decided.

"What am I?" Rishala asked. "You're del Quintin, the women are your consorts, and Eric is your advisor."

"You could be my story teller."

Breanna suggested, "You could be his scribe."

"Excellent," Rishala said.

"Not 'brilliant'?" Bilbus asked.

"I'm nae using 'brilliant' to describe you, Bilbus."

With disguises for Bilbus and the centaur Mouzhina completed, the party and their knightly escorts loaded onto the two wagons. The centaurs melded into the forest to keep an eye out for dangers, and the wagons creaked southwards, towards the hidden city.

The forest soon gave way to the last part of the approach to Suderpol. The road became rougher as it switched back and forth on a steep section of the mountain. It eventually straightened out, pointing towards a cave-like tunnel in the face of the mountain. The circular valley beyond, with its hidden lake, housed the town of Suderpol on an isolated island. The entrance through the valley wall was old, with carvings adorning the opening so that it appeared to be a city's gatehouse.

Eric drove the lead wagon, with Bilbus riding next to him on the driver's bench, and the rest of the party riding in the back of the wagon. The knights were all on the second wagon.

As the wagons got close to the entrance, the party looked at the guards. Several men were there, watching the wagons approach with utter boredom. Four orcs stood there as well, sneering at the other gate guards: two tall, bear-faced monsters in adamantine plate armor.

"What in the Nine Hells are those?" Bilbus whispered loudly. "They aren't orcs."

Rishala leaned past Bilbus to look at the creatures. "Ursine faces, nine or ten feet tall. Those must be bugbears, although I have nae seen one before."

"Bugbears?" Breanna gulped.

Bilbus turned to Breanna and put a finger to his mouth. "No tar king."

Breanna grinned nervously.

Two of the humans strolled out to block the tunnel. Eric dutifully stopped the wagon.

Donning a thick Karasimian accent, Eric announced, "The Lord Duran del Quintin arrives to meet with Josacal the Younger, Clomon of Griffon's Beak."

Haughtily, Bilbus sneered, "What is the delay? We have been on the wretched wagon for two days now."

"What business do you have?" one of the men asked.

"What business does a commoner have asking a Lord's business?" Bilbus sniped back. "Shall We have one of my men explain to you what the title 'Lord' means?"

The guard shrunk back. "We must inspect the wagons," he said lamely. He gestured at the orcs, who circled the wagons, looking into the beds and peering at the undercarriages. The bugbears snarled at the orcs, unimpressed with the lackadaisical search. Once the orcs stepped away from the wagons and shrugged, the human guards stepped aside.

As Eric got the wagon rolling into the fifty pace long tunnel, Bilbus demanded, "Send word that We are here."

Back to the previous chapter: Reunions

Continue to the next chapter: Fires

Back to the Book V Index.

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Original Draft 7 December 2005

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