Back to the previous chapter: Fires

First Draft

Several hours passed as the Rising Wave sailed west. The sun was sinking into the sea ahead of the ship, lighting the entire sky in a stunning display of oranges and pinks. Eric stood near the middle of the main deck, looking about at the colors. He leaned over a hatch that led into the merchant ship's hold.

"Bilbus, you should come up here and look at this. I have never seen such a beautiful sunset."

Bilbus's quivering voice echoed from the hold. "The tentacles will come over the railing and drag us under. The frog men are waiting."

"Bilbus, you've been saying that for hours now, and nothing has happened. Those refugees in there will think you're insane, if they don't already."

"Just wait, Eric," Bilbus warned. "It'll happen."

"Bilbus, if you miss this sunset and your monsters attack, you will regret it. Just look."

Bilbus reluctantly poked his head out of the hold, glancing to both sides of the ship for any sign of an expected assault before glancing skywards. "Wow." He stared at the sky in silence for a minute before looking around the ship. Breanna was sitting on the aft deck of the ship, her legs crossed under her skirt as she meditated in the technique Eric had taught her. Breanna's mother stood on the front deck of the ship, watching the setting sun.

Bilbus spoke quietly. "I talked to Bree's mom a bit, but this is probably the best chance you'll have to talk to her before we reach Londoun. Things need to be straightened out between Mori and Bree. Mori may not stay with us in Londoun." Cryptically, he added, "Our kids aren't married yet. I want things fixed, first. Damn, my goddess is having fun."

Eric looked at Bilbus, puzzled, as Bilbus disappeared into the hold.

Eric strolled to the front of the ship. The sea parting below the bow made a calming roar, almost like the sounds of waves breaking on the shore. The Azirian leaned against the rail next to Morianna. The older woman glanced over her shoulder at him.

"This is an incredible sunset," she said simply before staring once more at the brilliant orange of the sky ahead of her.

Eric nodded quietly. "You were gone a long time. Nearly twenty years. Was it worth it?"

Morianna kept watching the sunset. "I don't have the Codex."

Eric pressed on. "How will you deal with your daughter? You two have barely spoken."

Morianna sighed. "I don't know." She turned to face Eric, leaning against the rail as she met his gaze with a steely expression. "How can I trust her? Or the rest of you? Your friend carries a drow sword. The Caledonian has a drow bow, as do you. Drow don't just hand those out to anyone. I've seen a drow slit a man's throat for bumping into his bow. I saw your friend weave Heka. I saw my daughter weave Heka. The Kellts I remember would as likely as not lynch a Heka user who wasn't a priest."

"Bilbus got his dagger and sword from men who earned them as favors from a drow baroness. He took them from their dead hands. Rishala's bow came from a drow in Londoun whom we killed, at the very same place where Eclavdra ordered the Codex to be taken. Mine came from a drow we killed later. None of these arms were given to us freely, and the drow would likely try to slit our throats, as well, if they could get close to us." Eric added, "Your daughter is a priestess. She took the vows when we were on our way to seal the Dark One's prison. Bilbus is no priest, but he was raised in a Church orphanage in Brallian, for what that's worth. He insists that he learned magicks from books in the Church library."

Morianna's expression had not changed, so Eric continued to speak. "Lady Morianna, life is precious, and family is important. What we have been doing, and what you have been doing, is dangerous. I know this, as does Breanna. That is why we married a year and a half before the wedding ceremony. She conducted a hand-fasting ceremony, with Bilbus and Adria witnessing, because we both feared we would not live long enough for the formal, noble ritual in Armagh."

Morianna's gaze softened. "She conducted the ceremony?"

"Yes. You should talk to her, Lady Morianna. You two may not have many chances to do so in the days ahead, and there is much you two need to say."

Before Morianna could reply, Eric quietly walked away. Morianna watched him leave, then turned back to face the sun. The last of the orb was sinking away, below the horizon. With a flash, it was gone.

Eric walked to the back deck of the Rising Wave. Breanna still sat cross-legged on the deck. She glanced up at Eric and smiled.

"Bree, did you leave your father on good terms? Did you talk to him, or did you just leave a letter?"

Breanna's smile faded. "I told him 'bye'. I left him a letter the next day."

"Do you hear from him?"

"Just the usual stuff. He complains about the cattle business. He tells me how well things are going. The usual."

"Did you ever ask him how he met your mother?"

Breanna shook her head. "No. He hurt too much when she died… I mean, when she left. We never asked."

Eric glanced over his shoulder towards Morianna. She was still on the front rail of the ship, staring off to the west. "Did you ask your mother why she left?"

Breanna's voice turned bitter. "She left to get the Codex."

Ignoring her anger, Eric asked, "Did you ask her why she didn't return?"

The anger in her voice was gone. "No."

"Bree, you realize that the last chance to ask her ends when we get to Londoun. She is going to vanish to get the Codex. Maybe we will go with her, but we don't know that, do we? Do you remember why we did the hand-fasting? Do you really want to wait to ask her until later?"

Breanna was staring at her hands on her lap.

Eric added, "It's going to get cold on deck. She would probably like some hot cocoa. There's some in the galley."

Breanna stood up. Smiling weakly at Eric, she said quietly, "I hate it when you're right." She walked past him, climbed down to the main deck, and went through one of the doors.

Breanna stopped outside the door to the galley. She could hear Bilbus's and Rishala's voices through the thin door.

"Bilbus, I dinna kin how you think sometimes," Rishala groaned.

"I just said that I've slept with both Bree and Bree's mom," Bilbus said jovially. "I didn't say I slept with them. Just sleeping. Hands off. Well, other than Mori cuddling up to me like she did."

"What is it with ye and attractive women?"

"My goddess has a cruel sense of humor. What do you expect, Rishala?"

"Speaking of women…" A cruelly amused twinge crept into Rishala's voice. "So, who's more attractive? Your goddess, or your wife?"

"Are you crazy, Rishala? That's no comparison."

"Sure it is, Bilbus. Ye can have your goddess show up as a blonde, and choose who's prettier."

"If I say 'Adria', Edain cuts her down. If I say 'Edain', Adria cuts me down. I lose either way. Here, try this."

"What is it?"

"The orcs call it a ta'kiko. It's a corn flatbread wrapped around spiced meats. It's good. Better with dwarf jerky, of course."

Breanna opened the door. Neither Bilbus nor Rishala seemed surprised to see her. She noticed right away that there was a small pot on the galley's stove. Rishala ladled some hot cocoa into a mug and handed it to Breanna. He prepared a second mug.

Breanna shook her head. They were waiting for me. "Do you ever have the feeling that the whole world is plotting against you?"

Bilbus looked towards the roof of the galley. "Every day."

"Have a nice talk," Rishala wished Breanna as she left with the two mugs of cocoa.

Breanna stopped by her room to grab her healer's bag. If nothing else, she could organize her herbs and roots and poultices. No sense making this a waste of time, after all.

When she reached the main deck, the sky was a dark blue, fading quickly to black. Eric was on the rear deck, wearing armor and practicing with his sword.

Maybe he wants a sparring partner? she wondered to herself. No, Bree, you should talk to your mother. He's right. You won't have another chance.

Morianna was still leaning against the railing on the foredeck. She and Ingaborgen were talking about something while looking towards the tops of the masts. Breanna approached them. Morianna's arms were crossed tightly. Breanna realized that the air had cooled drastically since sunset.

"Would you like something for the chill?" Breanna asked.

"It is getting cold. Yes, something would be nice," Morianna agreed.

Breanna offered Morianna one of the mugs. "I'll be back." Breanna set the other mug on the deck. She then dropped her healer's kit next to the mug and hurried back below decks. She returned a minute later with a cloak that Morianna gratefully wrapped around her shoulders.

"I think I'm going to turn in," Ingaborgen said. "See you in the morning." The blonde Javik walked away, leaving mother and daughter alone on the foredeck.

Breanna sat down, crossing her legs under her skirt, and opened her healer's bag. The pouches were neatly organized and labeled, with contents embroidered on each one. Breanna dumped the bag and started rummaging through the pile, checking the contents of each small bag with its label.

"It's dark out here. We're close to the new moon," Morianna observed.

"Yeah. I'm used to it," Breanna said tersely.

The young noble felt a small weave of Heka coming from her mother. She glanced up at Morianna. Morianna held one hand out, and a magickal glow cast light on Breanna's improvised workspace. Breanna returned to checking her healer's bag's contents.

"Thank you," Breanna said quietly. "How did you meet Father?"

There was a long pause. "It was an arranged marriage."

Breanna looked up. "That's it?"

Morianna nodded. "My family had some land that wasn't good for crops and was lying fallow, his family had lots of cattle. It turns out that I really did like him, once I got to know him. That just made it easier and harder. He was easy to live with, despite his temper, but it was harder to leave."

"How did you become involved with the Circle?"

"I was recruited. Mother Caneeda, the priestess who faked my death, told me tales of the old days, when magick was common. She told me about the mages who created the Dark One's Prison. She told me about the wizards of old. I loved those stories.

"One day, she told me about the Codex, the book used to create the prison. The mages who used it separated it to hide it from those who would do evil with it, but it ended up being lost over the generations. Mother Caneeda told me that there were people trying to recover it to this day, to make the Codex safely hidden once more."

Breanna had forgotten about the mess in front of her. "That makes sense," she admitted.

"I was young, and it sounded like a grand adventure. I told her that I thought it would be exciting. She told me how to get in touch with the Circle. She had been a member of the Circle, but she decided she wanted to settle down and have a normal life."

Breanna giggled. "Isn't it funny how easy it is to want to do something other than what's planned for you?"

"It is," Morianna agreed. "It seems like everything I've done has been something that wasn't what I was supposed to do." Morianna looked up towards the masts. "Have you ever seen the Jarl's Beard?"

"The what?" Breanna looked over her shoulder. Ghostly lights danced across the top masts of the ship, looking like lightning.

"Ingaborgen was telling me her people call it 'the Jarl's Beard'. Javik consider it a good portent when it's seen at the outset of a journey, and they say that a ship with the Jarl's Beard is protected from harm."

"I hadn't heard that," Breanna stated.

Rishala and Bilbus had joined Eric on the rear deck of the ship.

"I told you she'd just organize her healer's bag again," Bilbus groaned.

Eric kept practicing, slowly and precisely moving his sword from position to position. "They have been talking," he said without breaking his motion.

"Who recruited her?" Bilbus wondered. "I assumed it was the Sword of the Church..."

"There is no Sword of the Church," Rishala interrupted.

"What if the bad guys recruited her, and she just thinks she's working for the good guys?" Bilbus asked.

"Breanna," Morianna asked quietly. "Where did your husband get that drow bow?"

"It came from a drow who was trying to kill us," Breanna replied guardedly.

"You've run into many drow?"

Breanna smiled ruefully. "We fought drow for over a year. When I first joined Eric and my friends on their travels, they were investigating an attack on a merchant caravan between Armagh and Londoun. They had just returned from Saltcliffs. They found a letter telling the highwaymen to report to Saltcliffs, and Eric wanted to find out what was going on. I was studying with Master Shipley, and he thought that he had nothing left to teach me. He suggested I travel to other apothecaries to learn more. Since Eric and his friends were heading to Hillsdale, and I was bored in Armagh, I used that as an excuse to go with them."

"I remember Saltcliffs," Morianna said absently. "It was such a sad town. There were ruins from long ago, when it was a larger city, before the Fall of Camelough. The town was dying, and everyone knew it. Ever since trade through Pubshill had dried up, there was little to keep Saltcliffs alive."

"We went from Armagh to Hillsdale in the southeastern part of the Dales. The orcs had taken over a mine there, and they had enslaved the town's smiths."

"Orcs are still scary," Morianna admitted. "I always stayed away from them. That was not too hard, since they did not tend to visit the herb shop in Suderpol, and I didn't have an excuse to wander the town. Those pig snouts and the dark skin…" Morianna shivered.

Breanna looked up at her mother quietly. Orcs still scare her? Okay, they still scare me, too, but she's lived around them for twenty years! "The mayor was dying from some sort of illness that I couldn't cure. He spoke about how it was never too late to come back to the light. He was helping the orcs, and he realized he had done his town wrong. On his deathbed, he was trying to repent. We traveled towards the mines, and we found an abandoned tower. We thought it was abandoned. When Sturm and Kasey checked, they found a witch in there, and a Portal. There was also a Shadow Kindred."

"I've heard of those. The darkblades were originally for them."

"They're terrifying. Orcs are nothing compared to a Shadow Kindred. They… It's hard to describe them. Sturm got cut by the Shadow Kindred, and the wound would not heal. We had heard rumors that there was a cure for the darkblade's cut. The centaurs knew about it. Once we rescued the miners and smiths from the orcs, we set out for Londoun to catch a ship to the Steppes."

Morianna was watching Breanna closely. You've fought orcs, drow, and Shadow Kindred. And you seem calm about it.

"We got to Londoun, and the Aquasition was in the harbor. Bilbus had claimed the smugglers' ship in Saltcliffs and renamed it the Aquasition. We took it to the Steppes, except that the slavers had taken it back while we were away. I woke up one morning and there were orcs aboard the ship. They dragged me out of bed, and they put us all in cages and took us to Suderpol."

"You were slaves?"

"Bilbus could have escaped, and Sturm did avoid capture, but Eric wanted to see what they were going to do with us, so he didn't let Bilbus break us out. We got to Suderpol, and Lady Edralve threw us into the caves below Griffon's Beak."

"You are lucky she didn't send you to the Forges."

"I know. I don't know why she didn't send us there. Bilbus found a way to get out, using Heka. I was realizing by that time that I needed to learn more. I had learned a little, but I did not realize I was crafting dweomers. I thought I was just using the natural healing powers of herbs. Bilbus really opened my eyes, and I knew that I needed to learn more in order to survive. We escaped Suderpol and retook the Aquasition. Bilbus captained it to Kieta, on the Steppes. The problem was none of us really knew how to sail a ship. We were lucky to get there, and we ran aground. We met centaurs, Sturm won a drinking contest, and we went to a centaur village.

"They refused to help us, since we were not part of the tribe. I had to save Sturm, so I asked them how we could join the tribe. They told me I had to prove my worth to the centaurs. I didn't know what to do, but one of the younger centaurs told me to tell a story. I told them about what we had done, fighting orcs and saving the town. I recited it in elven."

"Elven? I remember that there was a family of elves in Armagh."

Bree nodded, smiling a bit at the memory of the afternoons she had spent with Aria and her family. "They taught me their language after you left. It's so lyrical. The centaurs thought so, too. They accepted me into their clan and branded me as their own."

"What?" Morianna sputtered.

Breanna slid the sleeve of her dress down her arm, exposing an ornate marking on her upper arm. "I am a member of the Clan Brezhou, of the Tribe of the Far Gallopers."

"I wondered why you were so close to the centaurs we were traveling with. I thought they were not that keen on people."

"They weren't, but they had a reason."

"Oh?"

"I can't talk about it. I swore an oath." The centaurs told her why they knew the cure for the darkblade: they had created the vile weapons to begin with. And they made her swear to keep their secret if she wanted to learn the cure.

"But they had a cure for the darkblades."

Breanna nodded. "With the teaching of my seconf mother and the other healers of the tribe, I was able to heal Sturm."

Breanna continued her narration, including the difficult travels through the dwarven kingdom, the visit to Caledonia, seeing a dragon, traveling to Hellenas and al-Rhayidh, the shadow-world of the vampire Vladdomani, the battle on the sands of the Wasted Lands, ending with Sturm's epiphany and sacrifice to seal the Dark One's prison for a while, until the prison could be sealed once and for all.

Morianna listened to Breanna's story, occasionally interjecting questions or comments. When Breanna finished speaking, Morianna was quiet for a few minutes.

"You've certainly lived a more exciting life than I could have imagined," Morianna admitted. "I had yearned for adventure. I think that's why I was so intrigued by Mother Caneeda's stories about the Codex. Armagh is a little dull, and she told this story of a magickal book so powerful it could change everything. I thought it would be the adventure of a lifetime, chasing after a magickal book and hiding it before the evil ones could take it and destroy the world. I pestered her until she told me why she knew so much about the Codex and the Circle of Mages. She had been one of the Circle, or still was, technically. She had tired of the life of adventure, and she had chosen to live as a priestess in Armagh. The Circle still wanted her to help, or to find a replacement, and I fell for it.

"She arranged for me to meet with another member of the Circle in Londoun. There was a wine bar that had a very private meeting room upstairs. I spoke with the man. He never gave me his name, but he told me that they had strong leads that part of the Codex was in Francian hands. They thought they knew where, but they needed someone to find out if the story was true, and exactly where it was hidden."

"Didn't Father notice you missing for a few days?"

Morianna nodded. "He did, but I told him that I needed to go to Londoun to get some herbs. It wasn't a lie - I did bring back a lot of them. The shops in Londoun are incredible." Morianna shrugged. "On the way back to Armagh, I concocted the plan to leave. Mother Caneeda would help me fake a pregnancy, and I would 'die' during delivery. It made it easier to leave, since no one would be looking for me, and I didn't have to tell anyone good bye. It was hard. You can't imagine."

"My mother died when I was a child, and Father never remarried. You think it was hard?"

Morianna looked hurt. "Sorry, Breanna. You're right. I shouldn't have done it. Reality is never the same as stupid romantic fairy tales of high adventure."

Breanna smiled wistfully. "No, the adventures are never quite like the stories. The stories don't tell you about the cold, or the terror, or the long, boring quiet between the terrors."

"No, they don't. I didn't learn that until too late. The Circle arranged for me to be captured by the Suderpol slavers and taken to their hidden valley. The Forges were not working too fast at the time, and I was good with herbs, so the herbalist bought me. After a few foolish tries to have his way with me, he learned that he best let me do my job. I must have saved that shop. He couldn't manage it without someone who knew what she was doing. Maybe that's why he stopped trying to force himself on me. He realized that his shop was making more than enough money for him to spend time at the brothels instead."

Morianna took a deep breath. "I found out, over the years, that Lady Edralve did indeed have a part of the Codex. She kept it in safekeeping for some reason, and the drow knew she had it. I found out that she had it in a safe in her room, hidden behind her bed. It took years to learn all of this. It's funny what some people will say when you've been around so long that they forget you're just a slave. I learned everything I needed to know, but there were two problems. First of all, there was no way I could go to Griffon's Beak to get the Codex."

"And second?" Breanna prompted.

"I couldn't leave the town. My master would have noticed me missing, or someone in town would have noticed the shop empty. I couldn't get off the island. Even if I could, it would have been two days' walking to get to Noyonne, and I still would have to find a ship that could take me away. No one leaves Suderpol, unless they're going to the drow city."

Breanna shivered. Erelhei Cinlu had been terrifying beyond belief. She could not believe anyone would willingly move there.

"Life in Suderpol got worse in the last few months. Lady Edralve took all the slaves that arrived for herself, to send them to the Forges. She then started taking those of us in town. I must have been among the last of the slaves in Suderpol. The herbalist had a lot of money, and he spent it to bribe guards to leave me alone. But Edralve became very insistent, and I was taken about a day before you rescued us."

Breanna had pushed the pouches of herbs occasionally during her story and her mother's story, but she had not really done much to them over the course of their talk.

"It's getting late," Morianna said. "Are you going to finish organizing your herbs?"

Breanna looked at her pile of pouches. She started putting them back in the bag. "They'll keep. It's getting cold." Within a minute, the pouches were once more in her bag.

She and Morianna returned below decks, Breanna to the room she shared with Eric, Morianna to the hold with the other refugees.

Rishala and Eric watched the two women head below decks.

"Should we post a watch?" Rishala wondered.

"The crew is on watch. They will tell us if anything amiss happens."

The two men retired for the evening.

Rishala strolled along a familiar road. It took him but a moment to place it. It was one of the busy avenues near the endless docks of Londoun, a road full of shops specializing in overseas trade. The sun shone warmly overhead,

I must be dreaming. This street is never empty in daylight.

One of the storefronts caught Rishala's eye. The sign above the broad window read "Stalgraf Imports". It was the building where Rishala and his friends fought their first drow, as well as a demon summoned from one of the Nine Hells. The building was little changed from that night three years ago, when the party had confronted the drow Lord Silverthorn and that servant of the Dark One, Franz Stalgraf.

Curious about the significance of the dream, Rishala paused to look inside the open door of the trade office. Several people sat at the desks, each with an open ledger. Each of them had an iron band around his neck. A chain attached to each iron band led to a single large iron ring held loosely by a bored drow woman in the back of the office.

The people spoke in a dreamlike monotone:

"Goods overdue from Londoun to Noyonne."

"Personnel transfer from Suderpol to the Dales."

"Operations in the Italic Duchies on track."

"Shipment overdue in Erelhei Cinlu."

"Scouts locating missing pieces."

The trance-like speech continued for minutes as Rishala listened, so he was surprised when another, quaint, precise voice spoke.

"They return to Londoun. They will visit Stalgraf Imports. The others escort their ship, and we will not be able to slow them. We will need to take drastic action in Londoun."

Standing in the corner of the room were three figures wrapped in pastel silk robes and matching headscarves. For some reason, Rishala had looked right past them earlier. One of the Merchants from Leng stood in front of, and between, the other two. He realized that Rishala was looking at them.

"He sees us. He has a better grasp of dreaming than we thought. He must wake now."

Rishala bolted awake, shouting, the image of the Merchants from Leng still vivid in his mind. He jumped from his hammock and stumbled across the dark hold to where Bilbus slept peacefully. Rishala grabbed the front of Bilbus's shirt with both hands and shook his sleeping friend violently.

"This is nae good!" Rishala shouted as Bilbus woke.

"Dreaming about Sturm chewing me out is never good," Bilbus moaned. "Neither is being awakened in the middle of the night."

"It's close to dawn," Rishala said dismissively. "What do ye mean about Sturm?"

"You woke me up. What do you mean 'this is not good'?"

Rishala let go of Bilbus's shirt. He glanced around the hold. Most of the refugees were sleeping, but a few stirred from the noise. Rishala dragged Bilbus up to the deck, where there were just a few crew.

"Stalgraf Imports," Rishala said significantly. "Where we killed that big demon thing. It's coming back."

"We killed them."

"Nae, it's in business again."

Bilbus rubbed his eyes. "How? We left Stalgraf Imports in the hands of the Church, remember?"

"Not any more. They know we're coming, and they're going to take drastic action."

"How do you know?" Bilbus asked skeptically.

"I had a dream."

"I had a dream, too. Only it had Sturm in it." Bilbus took a deep breath of the cool sea air. "Okay. Let's ask one more person. If they had a dream too, maybe we need to figure this out."

Bilbus led Rishala back below decks to Breanna and Eric's room. He balled his fist and hammered on the door.

Through the shut door, he heard Breanna mumble semi-consciously, "Kill whoever is at the door."

"Ok, dear," Eric replied from within the cabin.

Bilbus stepped aside and pushed Rishala up to the door. Eric's voice came through the door, "I am supposed to kill whoever is at the door."

"What?" Rishala asked.

Bilbus spoke loudly. "We're taking a middle of the night survey. Did you have a dream?" Lowering his voice to a normal pitch, he added, "Rishala, talk to them."

"What?" Rishala asked his friend. Eric had opened the door a crack. "Eric, did ye have a weird dream this evening?"

"What? A weird dream? I did."

"I did too," Breanna added from within the room.

"We're going to the galley," Bilbus announced.

"No," Eric countermanded. "Give us a moment to put on robes. We should talk about this in here, not where the crew and the other people can hear it."

"Fine," Bilbus said. "I'll fetch Mori."

"Go ahead. I'll start some tea," Eric said. He shut the door.

Bilbus rapped on the door to the room Morianna had claimed. After a quiet moment, the door opened a crack.

"I thought you were married," she said.

Bilbus stammered, "Rishala needs to talk to you. In Eric and Bree's room."

"Let me get dressed," Morianna said playfully. She shut the door, and then emerged a couple of minutes later.

Bilbus led her to Eric's room.

Eric had a pot of hot water, and several mugs held tea leaves steeping already.

Once Bilbus shut the door, Eric stated, "Rishala says you had a dream, too?"

Bilbus took one of the tea mugs. "I was in black al-Rhayidhian robes - remember the ones I had made when we were there? I was in an al-Rhayidhian garden, walking along a path, when I saw Sturm. He had his sword, and he nearly chopped my head off. I said 'hi', and he asked me if I had switched sides." Bilbus sipped from the mug. The tea needed some more time to steep. "He looks bad. He looks much older than when he died. He said that if he ever loses a fight with the Dark One, the prison will fail. I think he's starting to lose. He told me we need the Codex, that we have to get the Codex and give it to my son - which I don't have yet - so he can save the world. He told me, 'Don't screw this up, Bilbus.'"

"Were there evil merchants there?" Breanna abruptly asked.

"No," Bilbus said. "Do you remember that dream I had about the Caliph dying by the Caliph's blood? Did I tell you that dream?" He scanned the puzzled faces in the room. "Oh. I guess not. See, I think Edain set up this house of cards. She wanted it to fall in a certain way, and we're here to make sure it does."

Rishala turned to Breanna. "Why did you ask about the merchants?"

Breanna sipped from her mug and took a deep breath. "I was having this dream. We were back home, in Armagh. It was spring time. I was talking to this woman. She was short, and she had brown hair, and a dress, and bare feet. I thought it was weird that she had bare feet. We were in a pasture." She sipped again. "These merchants appeared. The Merchants from Leng. Those short things with the pastel robes." Breanna shivered. "I was upset, but the woman told me that it was my dream, and I could make them leave. So I did. I shouted 'Leave!' and they were gone." Breanna furrowed her eyebrows. "I couldn't remember what we were talking about, this woman and I. It was important, and she was important."

"I have one question," Bilbus said. "It's very important. Was she more attractive or less attractive than Adria?"

"What?" Breanna asked. "I don't know who she even was. What does this have to do with anything?" She looked at the odd expression Rishala had. "Who was she?"

"Welcome to the club," Rishala said. "Me, Bilbus, now you."

"Oh," Breanna said. "Oh!" She set her mug down for a second. "Edain?" Rishala and Bilbus both nodded.

"Aye," Rishala said. "The reason I ask: they know we're coming. They were in my dream, and they knew that we were going to Stalgraf Imports. I dreamed I was in Londoun, outside Stalgraf Imports. There were people working in there, but they seemed like they were in a trance. They were chained to a drow, and they were talking about shipments coming and going, ships over due, that sort of thing. Then I saw the Merchants from Leng in the office, talking about how we're going to Stalgraf Imports, and they couldn't stop us, so they would need to take drastic action. Then they saw me, and they said that I had a better grasp of the dream than they thought. Then I woke up."

"I wonder," Eric said. "Can we use that to our own advantage? Can we tap into their dreams?"

"Maybe your dream answers this question?" Bilbus asked.

"No. I had a dream about evil in the water. Evil things that want to finish what they started, but they can't, because the Rising Wave is being protected."

"Protected?" Breanna asked.

"The evil things tricked the Sun King into killing off the kelpies. The kelpies want to set the balance right again, so they are protecting us to make sure we make it to Londoun."

"Okay," Bilbus said. "So you're saying that the evil demon-horses are protecting us from some other equally evil something?"

Eric nodded.

"Right," Bilbus said. "The next step is that we need to get into Stalgraf Imports when we get to Londoun and stop their agents."

"Perhaps we can sneak in from underground," Eric suggested.

From somewhere on deck, a sailor's voice shouted, "Ship ho!"

Eric exchanged concerned glances with Rishala. The Azirian reached for his armor, which was laid out neatly on a chair.

"Aye," Rishala said. He set down his tea and left to get dressed.

As his friends left to make ready to head for the main deck, Bilbus protested, "Wait, I want to finish this tea." Breanna shooed him from her room so she could get into armor.

Bilbus joined his friends on deck a few minutes later, still carrying his mug of tea. "Who's out there?"

Eric lowered his spy glass. "It's a Black Galley on the horizon. It looks like it's following us."

"Shall we fly out to attack it?" Bilbus asked.

Rishala leaned over the railing. "Any kelpies down there? There's a Black Galley following us! Can you get rid of it?"

Breanna leaned over the railing as well. "I can try a casting that might help us talk to them."

"We could reel out a launch with a magickal trap," Bilbus suggested.

"The galley is too far away," Eric noted. "Besides, by the time they got close enough to trigger a trap, they will be close enough to attack us."

"We could turn around and ram them," Bilbus advised.

"We're on this ship," Breanna protested.

"That is a down side to the plan," Bilbus admitted. He sipped from his tea mug. "I'm out of ideas. You come up with something."

Eric nodded. "We'll wait and see what they do."

"I hate waiting," Bilbus groused.

Eric looked through his spyglass, watching the galley for a while. The dark ship was directly behind the Rising Wave, several miles away, keeping pace with the sailing ship. At this distance, Eric could see the rows of synchronized oars beating a steady pace in the water.

"I don't think they're trying to catch us," he noted. "They should be able to overtake us easily. Bree, can you make a breeze to make us go faster? Maybe we can wear them out by making them row harder."

"I think I can," Breanna said.

"Can you give them a headwind, as well? The harder they have to work to chase us, the better it will be for us."

"Perhaps I can use a weaving that will open an extra-dimensional portal," Rishala suggested. "It's big enough to catch part of their ship. If their bow vanishes, it'll be hard for them to stay afloat."

"Can you hit their ship from here?" Eric asked, interested.

"No," Rishala admitted. "But I could put the casting on something that we can float back to them, with a trigger when it hits their ship."

"We would have to be lucky to hit their ship. They are at least four or five miles away."

"Aye. I could try to affect their luck. They could get unlucky and hit the trigger."

"What will you use for a trigger?" Eric asked. "You don't want them to see it and avoid it."

"True. A cork is small and innocuous. I don't need something big to hold the dweomer."

Breanna interjected, "But what if you miss? That cork will float out there, and someone else could hit it."

"We'll have to make sure we don't miss," Rishala stated.

"I can steer it," Bilbus reminded his Caledonian friend. "I can use some Heka to push it so it hits their ship."

Breanna drew Heka towards the Rising Wave, pushing the magickal strands into a sustained wind that filled the sails. With a second shaping of energies, she created a wind that blew behind the ship, towards the Black Galley. The waves behind the Rising Wave became rough, with white tips that sprayed towards the galley. Rishala completed a complex sequence of magickal bindings into a cork he salvaged from the galley.

"Aye, well, here goes." Rishala tossed the cork of the back of the ship. He then created a weaving that would allow him to watch the cork and the Black Galley from a safe vantage point.

Bilbus kept sipping at his tea while he pushed magickal strands into the cork, steering it towards the distant galley. He glanced over at Eric, who still watched the galley through his spy glass.

"Hey, Eric. How about some more tea?" Bilbus suggested.

Eric lowered his spy glass to scowl briefly at Bilbus before heading below decks. He returned with his teapot to fill Bilbus's mug.

"What am I thinking," Breanna blurted. "Silly girl."

The magickal winds behind the ship dissipated.

"What are you doing?" Rishala asked.

"I learned how to make small items go somewhere else instantly. I could take the cork and drop it on their deck. That way, we don't have to worry about it missing, and we don't have to wait to see if it works."

"Good idea," Rishala stated. He focused on his clairvoyant orb, flying it quickly across the sea to the galley. "Go ahead."

Now that the winds had died out, Breanna could see the cork bobbing on the surface of the sea. Breanna focused on the cork. She weaved strands of Heka around it while forming a mental picture of the front deck of the galley that pursued her. With a quiet "pop", the cork disappeared.

Rishala shouted. "The whole front of the Black Galley vanished! It's sinking. Sinking fast," he relayed. "I can see those big frog things below decks, in the oar room. They're melting when the water hits them."

The galley took just minutes to sink below the waves.

"Well, I guess we don't need to wait and see what they're doing," Eric noted. "I'm going to get some breakfast."

Baroness Eclavdra scowled at the interruption. She had been lost in thought in her ballroom, pondering what further actions she needed to order to ensure that her supply of darkblades increased. The foolish mortal had made excuses for weeks about why there were never enough blades in the shipments, and the Lady Baroness's patience was nearly expended. Now, the mortal and her drow overseer were in the ballroom.

The overseer curtsied deeply to the baroness. "My Baroness, I bear bad news."

Eclavdra's violet eyes flared in anger.

The overseer stood straight, her head bowed in subservience. "We were forced to flee Suderpol."

"Flee?" Eclavdra snarled. She glared at the human Edralve. The mortal was in another of her thin silk dresses, arms crossed over her abdomen, looking like she wished she were elsewhere. As well she should.

"There was a massive surge of Heka, my Baroness. It was an elemental school, and I think Heka lensing was involved. Shortly thereafter, the ground shook violently. To ensure that the Lady Edralve could report this personally, I took her with me into the Portals. I ordered the men-drow who guarded the Island to investigate after a suitable time to determine the extent of the damage to the Forges."

Lady Edralve watched the two drow women talking, the menace in their voices increasing as the advisor spoke. Once again, Edralve wished she understood the drow tongue. No drow had shown an interest in teaching her. The chill in the ballroom was worse than Edralve remembered, and she wished she had been given the chance to at least grab a cloak before leaving Suderpol.

"What have you to say, Lady Edralve?" the baroness demanded in Francian.

"It was a temporary setback, my Baroness. Someone must have attempted to sabotage our operations."

"How did they get close to the Forges?"

"I know not, my Baroness," Edralve admitted. "My husband was in charge of security. He followed your desires and posted more guards at the entrance to the valley. They were to inspect all arrivals and only allow those who had proper papers. Only slave caravans should have come in. Please, let me return to my city, and I will get our affairs in order once more. I will redouble my efforts to keep slaves arriving for the Forges."

There was a sharp rap at the door to the ballroom. One of the orc guards standing by the entrance opened the door. A male drow in armor entered. He approached the three women in the center of the ballroom and bowed deeply towards the baroness.

Still bowing, he stated in the drow tongue, "My Baroness, I bring news of the Forges."

"Rise," the baroness ordered. "Speak, man-drow."

"There is bad news to report, my Baroness."

The baroness sneered. "Speak your report so the mortal understands."

"As you command, my Baroness," the drow said in his native tongue. Using a small weave of Heka, he continued his report in the Francian tongue. "My squad waited as ordered by the Lady Advisor. I opened the Portal to the Forges, and a dark, molten rock poured in. I was unable to pass through the Portal, for it is entirely submerged in this liquid rock, so I was unable to conduct a reconnaissance of the valley. I believe, however, that the mountain beneath the Forges exploded. I have heard tell of such tales…"

"We do not need to hear your tales," the baroness snapped.

"Of course, my Baroness. One other thing to report, and it may be more important."

"More important than losing the Forges, our best heka forgers, and our most accessible source of adamantine on Oerth?"

"My Baroness, when I released the weaving on the Portal and it closed, I noticed a crack in the Portal."

Eclavdra switched to the drow tongue. "A crack? You are sure?"

Following her lead, the drow soldier switched to his native tongue as well. "Yes, my Baroness. One of my subordinates noticed a small crack stretching away from the Portal as well, on the surface of the Island. As we watched, it spread slowly. I believe the molten stone has damaged the Portal system."

"Not possible," Eclavdra insisted.

"I believed so as well, my Baroness. I would be honored to escort you to the Island to view this, if you so desire."

Eclavdra's eyes narrowed as she fixed her glare on Lady Edralve. Switching back to the Francian tongue, she asked, "How do you propose that We punish you, Lady Edralve?"

"P-punish? Baroness Eclavdra, this is but a small setback. Surely your soldier is mistaken about a crack. The molten stone can be cleared away, and I will return to Suderpol to get our operations underway once more."

"Suderpol is no more, mortal," the baroness stated coldly.

"Perhaps I can bring the Forges back on line?" Grasping for anything to mollify the drow, Edralve suggested, "Perhaps I can move the operations to the dwarven kingdom? They have access to adamantine. The Forges can be moved there, and your smiths can alter the magicks to use dwarves. There are plenty…"

"The dwarven adamantine is far from a Portal. It will take weeks to transport blades to the Portals, and if the dwarves or their allies intercept the caravans, we will lose those blades to our enemies."

"The Codex fragment was shipped to Londoun, as you ordered. The bugbears you wanted to use for security for your ally have sailed. It is not a total loss, my Baroness. I beg you…" Edralve sobbed.

"You have failed Us too many times, mortal. We do not accept failure upon failure."

Edralve's voice was wracked with sobs. "But I was to rule the Francian lands in your glory."

"You have wasted enough of Our time." In a rapid motion, Baroness Eclavdra drew an adamantine dagger and deftly slashed Edralve's throat.

The copper-haired woman fell to her knees, eyes wide in panic as she tried to cover the deep cut with her hands. Her blood ran down her chest, soaking her dress and spattering on the ancient tiles of the ballroom floor, as the life drained away from her. The baroness watched dispassionately.

When Edralve no longer moved, the baroness turned to the overseer. "Have this mess cleaned. Then, you will oversee the plan to reclaim the second Middle Ranges Portal. I want that plan accelerated. If the Portals are damaged, we must move with great haste to ensure that we can remove the mortals' town. We can repay the favor they have exacted on Suderpol."

"Of course, my Baroness," the overseer said, curtsying deeply.

The crew of the Sea Pox tied her to the pier that jutted out into the Vasmar, opposite her sister ship, the Sea Wraith. Crew of the latter ship busily loaded supplies, making ready to sail in short order.

The village of Pubshill, just in shore, was a quiet village. Few people walked the streets, and no children ran about. Pubshill was always a worrisome place to visit, and the crew hoped they would not spend too much time in port. No one wanted shore leave in Pubshill.

The cargo of the Sea Pox, half a dozen gigantic bear-like monstrosities, climbed onto the deck. The captain of the Sea Pox bowed to the bugbears and gestured broadly towards the gangplank. Getting the angry beasts off of his ship had been a priority ever since he had been ordered to take them directly here from Noyonne.

The lead bugbear growled at its subordinates, and the six beasts clanked off of the ship, their metal armor creating a percussive tempo as they stomped. They organized into a small formation, marching towards the large mansion that stood on a hill overlooking the small Pubshill harbor.

At the front door of the mansion, the lead bugbear pounded incessantly.

When a servant worriedly opened the door, the bugbear snarled, "Barr de'barto'o."

The servant bowed and gestured for the bugbears to step inside. The six tall beasts stood in the atrium of the house as the servant scurried away. Moments later, the servant returned, leading Baron Rufors del Bartholo.

"I am Baron del Bartholo," the baron stated to the bugbears.

"Barr de'barto'o," the bugbear repeated.

"Yes," the baron replied, nodding.

The bugbear thrust out a large hand. It held a folded, crumpled sheet of paper. Baron del Bartholo took the paper, unfolded it, and read the message.

"Lady Edralve wants you to provide security."

The bugbear stared at him.

"Do you even understand me?"

The bugbear stared.

"No matter. We sail tonight to wake the Great One. I certainly won't take you with me." To his cowering servant, Baron del Bartholo ordered, "Put them up in the guest rooms."

The servant nodded. He gestured towards the bugbears until they followed him down a hallway. Once they were gone, the baron walked down another corridor, returning to his room.

"Our friends worry that we will fail, my wife," the Baron said. "They have sent guards to protect us."

His wife sat upon the bed, her damp green skin reflecting the dim light that peeked through the curtains. She made a croaking sound.

"It is no matter. We will sail tonight. Our son will travel with me, to greet the Great One personally to thank Him for His blessings of an early blessing. Soon enough, we shall all dance as the Great One feasts."

She croaked again.

"The others who show His blessing will sail with us as well. The crew of the ship will make for enough sacrifices. We won't need to waste hold space with any one but the blessed. I must check on the preparations for the ship."

The Baron left, leaving his batrachian wife alone in the chamber.

The harbor of Londoun was crowded, Eric noted as the Rising Wave dropped anchor. Numerous ships were at anchor, and all of the docks looked full, as well. Skiffs and harbor boats rushed too and fro, shuttling supplies out to the ships and cargos to shore. Eric looked at one of the nearby merchant ships. On the deck were dozens of short, stout people. With a quick snap of his wrist, Eric drew his spy glass and peered at the passengers.

"There are dwarves on that ship," he stated to his friends. A quick survey of other ships confirmed, "There are dwarves on a lot of these ships. This must be part of the refugee fleet."

The captain of the Rising Wave approached the party. "The harbor boats are busy. We can use our boats to take you to shore."

"Thank you, Captain McAilic," Eric said. "Where are you headed next?"

"I was thinking of heading to Portsdale, since we're pointed that direction anyway. I'm hoping we can pick up some of their apples for a trip to the Steppes. The centaurs love apples, and fermented apples cider, as well. It should make for a profitable trip."

Bilbus disappeared below decks for a few minutes. He returned with a folded, wax-sealed letter. "If you run into a Captain Pete, give him this letter. Trust me."

Captain McAilic took the letter and tucked it into his jacket. "Have a good travel, and I hope your next ship has better luck than the last one."

"So do I," Eric agreed.

Once the party had been shuttled to shore, Rishala asked, "What now? Do we go to Stalgraf Imports?"

"We should check in with the Church," Eric said. "We need to find out if they know Stalgraf Imports has been compromised."

"Maybe the Church is running it," Bilbus thought aloud. "It could be a trap for the bad guys."

"Maybe," Eric allowed as he led the party towards Cathedral Treasa.

As they got close to the cathedral, Bilbus realized, "The ships are from the dwarven kingdom, right? Does that mean Kasey and Meridaun are in town?"

"Kasey!" Breanna exclaimed delightedly.

Once the party was in the office of the Father of the Cathedral, Eric updated the priest on what had transpired since the party left. He ended his briefing with, "Stalgraf Imports is active. I thought the Church shut it down."

"We did," the priest confirmed. "However, there was no reason to leave guards at the building, and that would have drawn attention to it, anyway. It could be that they are squatting in the building, since we left it boarded up."

"We could use some help," Rishala said. "We want to keep an eye on Stalgraf Imports. We should have someone watching it at all hours."

"I can get a few knights to help. Is there anything else you need?"

"A warm bath," Breanna said. "But I can get that when we get back to our apartment."

Rishala made arrangements to meet with the Church Knights the following morning. Breanna, Ingaborgen, Morianna, and Eric left for the Ithell apartment, while Bilbus stayed behind to wait for Rishala.

"On the way back to my flat, I want to get word out to my network that I'm back in town. They may know what's going on," Bilbus explained as the two men walked.

Bilbus made a couple of stops at taverns along the way, leaving messages with barkeepers he knew to get the word out that Bilbus was back in town.

It was an hour later, in the apartment he was using for the wedding he skipped, that Bilbus's network got in touch with him.

After a dull rap at the door, Twitchy the Rat stepped in, dressed in fineries befitting a minor noble. "Baron Bilbus del Cartach, at your service," Twitchy said while bowing deeply. When he stood again, he had a broad smile that quickly faded. "And if you ever want me to cover for you at a royal wedding again, forget it. I could not get drunk enough fast enough to handle those pompous nobles."

Bilbus tsked. "Twitchy, the idea is that you get drunk first, and then you go to the wedding."

"Oh," Twitchy replied. "Well, since I'm here: the wedding was incredibly dull. No one noticed that Baron Bilbus del Cartach looked different than he did at the first reception. They were too busy worrying about your orc friend in his Karasimian robes. Your friend, Lord del Rosen, was very helpful in keeping up airs of me being Bilbus. I don't know what you owe him for his help, but it was worth it."

Twitchy provided Bilbus a summary of the week-long wedding festivities. He confirmed that there had been no unusual events, and no kidnappings that fit the patterns that had been taking shape in Londoun prior to the party's arrival. With his meeting done, Twitchy took his leave to disappear into the Londoun underbelly once more.

Caught up on the goings-on in town, Bilbus suggested to Rishala that they head for the Ithell's apartment, making stops at taverns along the way so that he could check for any other reports from his network of spies.

They arrived at the Ithell's apartment thoroughly drunk with no new information a short while after sunset. After staggering into the main room of the apartment, Bilbus stumbled and fell onto a couch. Rishala fell to the floor, his head near the central low table.

Bilbus gesticulated towards the table. "Rishala," he slurred, "there are rocks under the table. I put a casting on them. Touch one, and tell it to take you to bed, and it will walk you to one of the guest beds."

Rishala groped around under the table until he grabbed one of the stones. "Take me to bed," he intoned. "Take me to bed," he insisted. "Bilbus, it doesn't work."

"Maybe I forgot to put the Heka in them," Bilbus considered. He stood up and unsteadily walked towards the hallway leading to the sleeping chambers. He leaned against the wall, mumbling to himself, while trying to reach one of the closed doors along the hallway.

Morianna came out of the first shut door. She looked at Bilbus piteously, and she helped him into the first room. She dropped him onto the bed.

"See, Rishala, it works," Bilbus exclaimed.

Morianna left Bilbus in the room. She took a seat on a couch in the main room, looking at the snoring Rishala half-hidden under the table.

Breanna and Eric showed up a few minutes later, wrapped in heavy robes.

"What was that noise?" Breanna asked.

"Why is Rishala under the table?" Eric wondered.

"The noise was Bilbus. He is drunk," Morianna answered. "I don't know why Rishala is under the table."

Eric kneeled so he could look under the table. "Why does he have a rock? And why are there four other rocks piled under the table?"

"I don't know," Morianna admitted. "They were talking when they got here, but I wasn't paying attention. Is saving the world always like this?"

Eric took a seat on another couch. "Yes. We take the highs with the lows."

One of his servants entered the room. "M'lord, you wanted an update after you and the Lady finished your baths. Is now acceptable?"

"Yes, please," Eric said.

"M'lord, the staff report that you were not missed at the wedding festivities. The crowds were such that no one individual was noticed present or absent, other than your friend Baron del Cartach. His orc guard drew attention wherever he went."

"Good. What about the meeting with the king? Were there repercussions to my being absent?"

"The King sent a delegate to meet with you. He was a baron, Baron Balch, whom the king chose to represent him, since the baron was a guest at your wedding."

Eric moaned and wiped his face with a hand. "And?"

"The baron did not seem particularly interested in any negotiations. He was rather insulted by his treatment in Armagh, and he stated plainly that he was not interested in negotiating, particularly with 'lackeys'. Your staff responded by pointing out that the king had invited you to negotiate with him directly, not with a delegate, and that if the king were not interested in personal negotiations, then neither were you."

Eric smiled thinly. "That may have repercussions. But it is the right sentiment."

"The baron was very insulting afterwards, both towards the staff as well as towards you. The staff sent a letter to the king about the baron's rudeness."

Eric thought aloud. "Perhaps we should return this apartment. It was a wedding gift."

"That would be wrong," Breanna initially protested. "That would be quite a snub, considering how important the baron thought this gift was. Then again, the baron was being abusive."

Eric ordered his servant, "Have a letter drafted informing the king that I was very disappointed by our treatment. Being unwilling to personally oversee the negotiations and sending an abusive subordinate instead were both insulting. We are returning our wedding gift, since the king is clearly not interested in doing business with us."

"Very good, m'lord." The servant left to prepare the letter.

Once the servant was gone, Eric looked at Breanna. "Perhaps this would be a good time to go investigate Stalgraf Imports."

"Rishala and Bilbus aren't in any condition to go," Brenna surmised.

"They don't need to," Eric said. "I just want to see if there's any activity going on over there. I'll leave notes with both of them, in case we're not here when they wake up."

"I'll leave some headache powder with them, too."

To Morianna, Eric said, "You are welcome to come with us."

"I'm not really equipped for adventuring," Morianna protested.

Breanna smiled. "Londoun is a city that never completely sleeps. We can find something on the way." To Eric, she said, "Let's get changed."

After a couple of stops to get some dark leather armor for Morianna, Eric, Breanna, and Morianna found themselves on the road that led by Stalgraf Imports. There was a café across the road and several shops up that advertised al-Rhayidhian coffee and exotic teas. The café was closed, but the awning over the front of it provided a well-shadowed vantage point to watch Stalgraf Imports.

The three-story building was dark. Shutters on all three floors were closed. The large shutters on the ground floor hid bay windows, while the smaller ones on the upper floors hid normal windows. The door on the front of the office was closed as well. After twenty minutes of surveillance, nothing had happened.

"Let's try the back door," Eric whispered. "Perhaps they are running the shop from the alley, so that it draws less attention at night."

The three walked quietly across the road to a nearby alley between two buildings. They followed it to the dingy alley behind the buildings, which they cautiously followed to the back of the Stalgraf Imports building. There had been no traffic in the alley, and little sign of anyone else being awake in the area. The town watch had walked by on the road once, the rattle of their maille armor echoing through the alleyway, but the watchmen were not interested in searching for anyone in alleys.

At the back door of Stalgraf Imports, Eric cautiously tried the door latch. It did not budge. "Locked," he noted.

"I can open it," Breanna offered. She took a pin from her hair and juggled it inside the lock. With a quiet ping, the pin broke. Breanna muttered a quiet curse. "Or I can do it like Bilbus does." With a careful shaping of Heka inside the lock mechanism, Breanna unlocked the door.

Eric tried the latch again. It gave this time. He opened the door and padded inside, with Breanna and Morianna following. In the darkness of the back office, they could see nothing. After quietly waiting for any noise and hearing none, Eric felt his way towards the door that led to the front, public office. He listened at the door for a minute before opening it. The front room was dark.

"I don't think they're down here," he whispered.

Morianna weaved some Heka into a small globe, casting dim light in the back office. The shelves of the room were empty. She moved the globe into the front office. There was nothing on the six desks, and nothing on the shelves, either.

"It doesn't look like anyone's here," Morianna noted.

"There's no dust on the floor, nor on the desks," Eric observed. "Maybe there's something upstairs." He led the two women to the back office, to the stairs that led up to the apartment that was above the shop.

Morianna extinguished the glowing orb of light as she followed Eric and Breanna up the stairs. Eric padded along the hallway stopping at each door to listen, before he asked for light. Another quiet search under the cool glow of the Heka globe yielded no one.

"They don't use this floor," Eric related. "There's dust on the floor. See our tracks?"

"I can cover them up when we leave," Breanna offered. "A gust of wind will stir everything up and hide our tracks when the dust settles."

"Let's check upstairs first," Eric suggested.

He led the women up the stairs. The upper floor of the apartment had been converted to a single room by Franz Stalgraf to hide his summoning circle and nefarious tomes. After the party had raided the shop, they had turned the building over to the Church of Kells. The Church had destroyed the summoning circle and confiscated the books. When Eric looked around the room, he saw the scars in the wooden plank flooring where the circle had been, and the thick layer of dust on everything.

"Empty as well. No one has been here. Let's go."

On the way down, Breanna weaved Heka flows to create brief winds that stirred the dust, hiding the footprints that the visitors had created.

"We'll return in the morning with Rishala and Bilbus," Eric decided.

The three people returned to the Ithell's apartment for some sleep.

The following morning, with the recuperating Bilbus and Rishala, the party returned to the café. They took a pair of tables on the front patio of the café from which they could watch Stalgraf Imports while they had a morning meal. The import office was open. The shutters on the ground floor had been folded aside, and the front door was open. A few people sat at the desks, poring over ledgers. After fifteen minutes, Eric noticed that none of them had written anything, nor had they turned pages.

"They aren't doing anything," he related to his friends. "They're acting like they're busy, but they haven't written anything, and they haven't even turned any pages."

Four men walked out of the front door of the shop. One had a large satchel slung over his shoulder. They walked away from the party.

"Oh, no," Eric groaned.

"Is that who I think it is?" Breanna asked.

"Yes," Eric said. "It's the Company of Unusual Headgear."

"Ians' Recovery Agency," Rishala corrected. "Aye, it is them."

"Now what?" Bilbus asked. "It can't be coincidence that they're leaving Stalgraf Imports."

"We should split up," Eric said. "We need someone to watch the back door to make sure no one escapes. The rest of us will stop the Ians."

Bilbus rubbed his temples. The headache powder was working, but it was not working completely. "I will watch the back door," he offered.

"I will go with you," Morianna offered. "I can show you where it is."

Bilbus grabbed his mug of al-Rhayidhian coffee and a couple of sweetrolls and hopped over the small fence that blocked off the café's porch. Morianna followed him.

"You didn't pay for those," she hissed.

"Right," Bilbus said as he took a bite of the sweetroll.

Eric led the rest of the party up an alleyway. "We don't want them to see us following. We can overtake them in the alleyway."

After a few twists and turns, Eric stopped the party in an alley that emptied back onto the main road. They could hear the Ians talking as they approached.

"This is the easiest job we've had in a long time," Ian the Boss commented. "We just need to deliver this to the Dales."

"Maybe we should see what's in it," Ian the Planner suggested. "Remember the letter we didn't read when we went to the wedding in Armagh. That blonde woman wanted to kill us."

"But she didn't," Ian the Boss retorted. "That's why I asked the lady in Stalgraf Imports whether it was safe to deliver. She thought that was a funny question."

"She did laugh," Ian the Muscle recalled.

"But the lady who had us deliver the letter didn't tell us it was safe," Ian the Planner reminded the Boss.

"Yeah, but we didn't know to ask back then," Ian the Boss replied. "Besides, she did not give us an argument over our standard rates, and she paid the two gold coins up front without protest."

After the Ians passed, Eric led the party onto the road.

Quietly, Rishala suggested, "We should stop them."

The Ians turned onto another road. One of them glanced over his shoulder and noticed the party. "Awwwww," he groaned.

The other Ians stopped and looked. Ian the Boss put his hands up in protest. "Leave us alone. We're not after you this time. We just have to deliver this moldy book," he hefted the satchel, "to some collector in the Dales."

"Shhh!" Ian the Planner shushed. "Client confidentiality."

Ian the Boss looked chagrined. He dropped the satchel back onto its shoulder strap. "Not that any of that is your business." He scowled at Ingaborgen. "And you! You violated Paragraph 23, Section b, Items 1, 2, 5, and 6 of the 'Early Voluntary Separation' clauses. You have forfeited your pay and your shares of the company stock."

"Sorry," Ingaborgen said, not meaning it.

"Hmph," Ian the Boss snorted.

"Let's have the satchel, Ian," Eric demanded.

Ian studied the party.

"Boss, we can take them," Ian the Muscle insisted.

Ian the Boss shook his head. He had had too many run-ins with the party to misjudge his odds. He held the satchel out to Eric.

Eric took the satchel and unbuckled the straps.

"At least we got the deposit," Ian the Planner said. "Not bad for ten minutes' work."

Rishala felt the hair on his arms stand up as Eric hefted the wrapped bundle out of the satchel. The chill was unmistakable. He glanced over at Breanna and read the expression on her face. She looked at him.

"You feel it, too?" she asked.

"Aye."

The bundle was tied shut with twine. A letter had been tucked roughly under the twine. Eric removed the letter and set the bundle back in the satchel.

He read the letter aloud. "You are to deliver the contents of this satchel to Baron Rufors del Bartholo, Pubshill, the Dales, immediately. You will be paid the rest of the amount due upon delivery. Signed, Lady Edralve, Griffon's Beak."

Eric felt a chill on his chest. The small pouch that he wore, tied to a leather strap around his neck, had become cold. He looked around, alarmed.

Bilbus was on his way back to the alleyway. He had fabricated an excuse to leave Morianna for a few minutes so he could return to the café and pay for what he had taken. He was crossing the road when he saw eight men run out of Stalgraf Imports, followed by a pitch black woman with silver hair and pointed ears. They had turned away from him, heading down the road towards the rest of the party and the Ians.

Eric had snapped his head towards the charging people. In a flash, he had drawn and strung his bow. An arrow darted towards the drow. When it struck her, Eric staggered back a step.

With a surge of Heka, Bilbus formed a bolt of energy that he aimed at the drow. It struck her and vanished, but Bilbus felt like he had been struck.

He stumbled back a step as the drow turned to face him. She smirked as she raised a one-handed crossbow, leveled it at Bilbus's head, and fired. The dart struck the magickal protections Bilbus wore, but he realized with a start that he could not move.

The drow turned her attentions back towards the rest of the party. A surge of dark Heka flowed through her, engulfing Bilbus's friends. Shortly thereafter, a ball of fire erupted around her, singeing Bilbus as well.

Eric could no longer see. It was as if a deep, dark night had fallen upon him. Forming a mental image of where the charging men were, Eric loosed an arrow, then another, and another, adjusting his aim slightly to account for the movement he remembered. He heard Rishala gasp in surprise. The Caledonian must have used a magickal attack on the drow and had it reflected back on him, as well. Eric loosed another arrow into the darkness.

"Eric, d'ye know where the drow is?" Rishala's voice shouted.

As long as she hasn't moved, Eric thought. "Yes," he told Rishala.

"When I say so, fire on her. I will disjoin her protections." There was a brief lull. "Aye, now, Eric!"

Bilbus noticed arrows streaking towards the drow again. A grimace showed on her face just before the first arrow struck. The second and third found their mark as well, and she collapsed to the ground. The dark cloud surrounding the party vanished shortly thereafter. Stupid, Bilbus snarled to himself. With a surge of Heka, he unwound the magickal bindings that held him still.

The men who had been charging the party slowed to a halt. They heard the gurgle of the drow collapsing, and the dark cloud that had concealed their quarry was gone. They dropped their weapons and raised hands in surrender.

A number of people looked around in confusion at the aftermath of the short, violent fight. The party and the Ians quickly returned to the men who had surrendered.

"What do we do with them?" Breanna asked.

"Leave. Get out of here, and don't let me see you again," Eric ordered them. When one of them reached down to collect his sword, Eric added, "The swords stay. Hurry up, before I change my mind."

The eight men scattered into the crowds.

Ian the Planner looked at Eric. "Are you… Are you doing anything with the swords?"

Eric shook his head. "No. But we get half."

"Deal." He ordered his fellow Ians to collect the swords. They quickly disappeared into the crowds as well.

"This is odd," Breanna said as she kneeled next to the drow. "There's wood grain on this drow's breastplate." She tapped on it. "It's wooden."

"Take it. Maybe we can figure out what it is," Eric suggested.

There was a thunderclap to the north.

"What the Hells?" Bilbus wondered. He looked up at the cloudless morning sky.

There were shouts coming from the docks to the north.

"That wasn't natural thunder," Rishala noted. "I felt the Heka."

"Hells," Eric cursed. "The Black Galleys? Let's go."

He ran towards the docks. The rest of the party followed him.

As they could see the shoreline, they saw dozens of the frog-like Deep Ones rushing ashore. A number of dwarves swung battle axes, cleaving the batrachian beasts, but the Deep Ones were rushing inshore, towards the party. The crackle of a column of lightning striking the middle of a group of Deep Ones was followed closely by a loud boom of thunder.

Bilbus set his mug of al-Rhayidhian coffee on a nearby piling post. He took the spear from its carrier on his back, spun it around so the head faced the charging Deep Ones, and he charged. He surged Heka through himself, and the world slowed down.

The party stole the spear Rhongomyant from under the nose of the drow baroness in her estate in the cave-city of Erelhei Cinlu. The Sun King, Uther Paendroeg, had wielded that spear in battle the day Camelough fell to the orc hordes. It held ancient magicks that made the wielder stronger as he slew enemies, but the enhancements would fade with the setting of the sun. When the sun set on that fateful battle of Camelough, the Sun King collapsed, unable to fight any longer. Bilbus had carried the spear since then, but he had never before used it in battle in daylight.

The first Deep One fell quickly to a pair of rapid thrusts. Bilbus felt a small surge of strength as the frog-beast died, and he saw that the next wound the spear made was larger. A second Deep One fell soon to his attacks. Bilbus saw arrows flying through the heads of nearby Deep Ones. A glance over his shoulder showed Eric moving normally, but everyone else was still slow. Eric and Rishala both loosed arrows into the wave of attackers. A third Deep One fell to Rhogomyant as a fourth Deep One fell to an arrow. Lightning blazed from above, and dwarves slowly swung axes into the Deep Ones.

The battle soon died down. The Deep Ones turned to flee below the waves, unable to overwhelm the defenders of Londoun. As the frog-beasts swam away, Bilbus waded after them a few paces. A lone arrow from a longbow floated in the waves. Bilbus picked it up and jogged back to his friends.

Eric had lowered his longbow. He still had an arrow resting on the bowstring, but his quivers were empty.

"You missed," Bilbus said, holding up the arrow he had collected.

"I was on my last arrow," Eric said, "of sixty."

"Meridaun is over there," Rishala said, pointing. "I saw her calling lightning."

Bilbus put his spear back in its carrier before strolling over to his mug. He then joined his friends as they went to greet Meridaun.

"They're fleeing," Rishala noted.

"Yes, we beat them," Bilbus retorted.

"No, the Black Galleys."

"What Black Galleys?"

Rishala pointed out to sea. Two Black Galleys that had been loitering beyond the harbor's breakwater were rapidly accelerating to the west.

The party reached Meridaun. She smiled as she greeted them. "I should have expected to see you here," she said. "Those things weren't attacking us. They were trying to get past us."

Bilbus flexed his arms. He could feel the enhanced strength in them. Meridaun rolled her eyes.

"Yes, well, we never shy from a fight," Bilbus boasted.

Behind Bilbus, Morianna muttered to her daughter, "Are his muscles bulging?"

Breanna looked at Morianna. The older woman was way too attentive of Bilbus. "Yes. Come on. There are wounded to attend to." Breanna started to walk away, but she realized that Morianna was not following her. She grabbed her mother's arm and led her away.

"It's good to see you," Eric said to Meridaun. "Is Kasey here, too?"

Meridaun's eyes misted. "He's in Clemendeev somewhere. The orcs were sending scouting parties towards Fool's Mine, where the refugees were. Kasey took the other knights and some dwarven volunteers to slow them down. I'm not sure where he is."

Bilbus looked around. The dwarves had started organizing a work detail to build up some obstacles on the shore, in case of another attack. "Well, no sense letting this go to waste," Bilbus announced, flexing his arms. "The dwarves will need some muscle." He held his mug out to Meridaun. "Can you hold this?"

"What is it?" she asked suspiciously.

"Al-Rhayidhian coffee, with some milk and spices."

Meridaun took the mug and sipped from it. She smiled as Bilbus walked away. "I didn't realize he had any taste," she muttered bemusedly.

Eric watched the galleys vanishing towards the horizon. "We need to get to del Bartholo. The Deep Ones may warn him that we're coming. How can we get there before the galleys do? They're faster than any ships we have." Eric pondered for a moment. "Bree was able to teleport that cork. Could she do that with us?"

Rishala thought about it. "She doesn't know the destination, so it would be dangerous. I think that casting is only good for inanimate objects, besides. She couldn't affect us."

"What about flying carpets? Bree has hers."

"Bilbus brought his," Rishala added. "And the carpets are fast. They may even be faster than the Black Galleys. But they only seat two apiece. That means leaving Morianna behind."

"She won't stay," Eric said. "Not now that we have this." He patted the satchel. "Besides, I'd like Meri to come with us." To her, he added, "If you're interested."

"Saving the world again?" she asked. "Getting attacked by Deep Ones, and who knows what else. I'm game." She grinned.

"Which means we'd also have to leave Ingaborgen," Eric concluded.

"What if we can find another carpet?" Rishala wondered.

"Where would we find it?" Eric asked.

"There are al-Rhayidhian merchants in Londoun, and the Kellts are learning to accept magicks. Maybe we can find a merchant with a carpet."

Eric and Rishala collected the rest of the party. They set out to find an al-Rhayidhian merchant. Rishala negotiated with the merchant in the al-Rhayidhian tongue for several minutes before translating for his friends.

"He has a carpet. It's large. It can seat four. But it is also what he calls a 'learner's carpet'."

"What's that?" Eric asked.

"It's a slower carpet, to make it safe for someone to learn to control it."

"Hmmm," Eric pondered. "Bree and I can take her carpet. Bilbus and you can take the other one. Ingaborgen, Meridaun, and Morianna can take the slow one and catch up?"

"Do we really want to leave Meridaun behind if things get ugly in Pubshill?" Bilbus asked.

"Good point. Who do we leave on the slow carpet?"

"Why not leave no one behind?" Rishala suggested. "Bilbus, Bree, and I know the weaving for flight. If Meri doesn't know it, she can learn it. It's easy. We could use Heka to make the carpet move faster. We could take turns flying it and using the flight weaving to speed it up."

"Okay," Eric decided. "Let's buy the carpet, gather our gear, and go."

A short time later, the party had gathered outside Eric's apartment. Eric had signed the letter returning the apartment to the king, and his staff had removed his belongings. Bilbus offered to let them keep everything in his apartment until he was ready to go home.

The party sat down on the carpets. The people on the street exclaimed as the carpets rose into the afternoon sky and started flying southwest over the city. Breanna, Bilbus, and Rishala climbed the carpets to a dizzying height, just in case anyone below panicked and tried to shoot down the carpets.

Bilbus had the satchel with the Codex fragment. Morianna had insisted on riding on his carpet - "I've been tracking that piece of the Codex for twenty years. I am not about to let it get away from me now," she informed them.

The city of Londoun soon passed behind the party, and the carpets flew out over the Vasmar on a direct route for Pubshill, in the Dales.

Back to the previous chapter: Fires

Continue to the next chapter: Shores

Back to the Book V Index.

Back to the Dark Mysteries Campaign Chapter Index.

Original Draft 14 March 2006

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