The Castle High
The trip to the Dead Zone took several hours. The crew spent that time readying the ship for possible battle. Penelope practiced her swordplay, and Hiro flipped back and forth through his spell catalog, which he had taped back together. Anne stood at the bow pondering the quest riddle for any clues they might have missed. Who might be waiting for them at the castle? Could it be the Lady of Glass? What gift of power did Anne have to give her? And how would any of that free the world?
In the late afternoon, Hiro and Penelope joined Anne.
“So, what do you think?” asked Penelope, keeping her voice low.
“About what?” asked Anne.
“About any of this. It can’t be a coincidence that some long-forgotten quest medallion owned by an ancestor of the Darkflame family gets brought to Saint Lupin’s, where his great-great-whatever-grandson just happens to be attending school. Not to mention it’s the third medallion we’ve encountered that bears the Sign of Zarala.”
Hiro nodded. “I agree. I’ve studied my family history, but all I remember about Hieronymus Darkflame is that he died before he turned thirty. There’s no mention in any of the books about a quest medallion or a notable part he played in any battle, and believe me, if there was, my family would be the first to make a big deal of it.”
“Or maybe they wouldn’t,” said Anne. “Maybe it was supposed to be a secret. The plaque on the display case said the medallion and the other artifacts were acquired after his death in the Battle of the Great Rift, whatever that is. That means he must have had those items in his possession when he died, which at the very least would suggest there were pirates at the battle.”
“What makes you think pirates took the medallion?” asked Penelope.
“How else did they end up in a pirate museum?” said Anne. “So, what we know so far is this: One hundred and fifty years ago, Hiro’s ancestor took part in some great battle involving pirates. He was carrying several items that were gifts from someone known as the Lady of Glass. Either just before the battle or during it, he presumably activated the gold medallion. And not long after that he was killed.”
“You’re leaving out one important detail,” said Hiro.
Anne frowned. “What detail?”
“The gold medallion was activated by your gauntlet. How was it that my ancestor had your gauntlet in his possession, and how did it end up at Saint Lupin’s and not at the museum along with everything else?”
Anne nodded. “That’s a good point. And the answer is we don’t know yet. Jocelyn was the one who brought it to Saint Lupin’s, but she didn’t say where it was before that. Only that her parents gave it to her so she could then give it to me. One thing I do know, though: There’s more going on here than a simple treasure hunt.”
“You think Marri is lying?” asked Penelope.
Anne checked to make sure no one else was listening. “I honestly don’t know what to think. I believe that she didn’t expect the quest to reactivate, but she’s not telling us the whole story, that’s for sure. For one, who exactly is Octo-Horse Pirate, and why did he send her to steal the medallion in the first place?”
Before Penelope or Hiro could respond, a call came from the crow’s nest. Everyone who wasn’t busy with a specific task rushed to the bow of the airship, so they had to cut their conversation short.
Anne had been so focused on their discussion that she hadn’t noticed the sky getting unnaturally darker. She turned her attention to the direction they were heading. Miles of dark gray tiers stretched ahead of them, fading into the late-afternoon mist and blocking out the sunlight. The tiers appeared devoid of all life. Not so much as a mosquito buzzed.
“Welcome to the Dead Zone,” said Locke.
Anne surveyed the scene before them. “Are those dead tiers?”
“Yes.”
“How did they get here?” asked Penelope.
“No one has been able to explain it,” said Marri. “For some reason dead tiers tend to drift into this area all on their own. They come here from all over the Hierarchy. Some of them take years, even decades, to reach here. Pretty much everyone avoids this place, including pirates. I certainly don’t relish the idea of taking the Blue Daisy in there.”
“Wouldn’t at least some of the tiers be filled with treasure, though?” asked Penelope.
“Probably. But the Dead Zone tends to attract all manner of strange creatures and monsters, and it isn’t worth risking my ship and my crew for only the possibility of treasure. There’s plenty to be had elsewhere.”
“D-did you say monsters?” stammered Hiro.
Marri’s expression turned grim. “Airship killers.”
As the ship entered the zone, the air filled with a dark gray dust, and the crew members pulled out handkerchiefs and strips of cloth to tie around their mouths and noses. Anne, Penelope, and Hiro ripped strips from their cloaks and covered their faces as well. Marri ordered the crew to furl half the sails to slow the ship down. Even with the clock on the quest ticking, she was obviously going to proceed cautiously, and Anne couldn’t blame her.
As they glided between the shadowy chunks of floating rock, no one said a word. The lack of any noise from the tiers whatsoever, either animal or otherwise, was eerie. Anne kept scanning the horizon, hoping to see something to indicate where they should be headed.
“Movement to port,” said one of the crew in a low tone, breaking the silence. “Three flying squids. Ten to twelve feet long.”
“Have they spotted us?” asked Marri.
“No, Captain.”
Anne looked off the port side and strained to see where the sailor was pointing. In the distance, she could just barely make out three dots gliding on the air currents. She never would have spotted them had someone else not pointed them out first.
“Adjust course five degrees to starboard,” said Marri.
“Aye, Captain,” said Locke. He muttered something to the helmsman that Anne couldn’t hear, and a moment later the airship altered course.
Another crew member called down from the crow’s nest. “Two groups to starboard. A group of three is moving away from us, and a group of four is flying on a parallel course.”
“Adjust course back two degrees to port, and keep an eye on that group of four,” said Marri. “If it changes course in the slightest, I want to know immediately.”
They continued like that for well over an hour, spotting groups of flying squids and making course corrections, or sometimes even coming to a complete stop to avoid making contact.
The air was oppressive. Anne didn’t know if it was a trick of this place or if the gray dust was having an effect on them. Everyone’s mood darkened, and even the sunlight seemed dimmer and farther away. Anne understood why people avoided this place; she had no desire to stay any longer than necessary.
Eventually the mist cleared a little, and the ship approached a thick cluster of tiers.
“Full stop,” said Marri.
“Full stop,” repeated Locke.
The Blue Daisy came to a rest between two relatively small tiers. They sat there for five minutes in total silence, straining to hear even the slightest sound or hint as to what lay ahead. Anne looked over the railing, but the mist below was still thick, and she could barely make out the dim glow of the BGFM.
“Thoughts, Captain?” inquired Locke.
“I don’t like it,” said Marri. “It’s too quiet, especially considering we’re almost at our destination. I would have expected there to be more squid patrols, not fewer.”
“Unless something else is keeping them away?”
“Exactly.”
They waited a few more minutes, until it became clear they were going to have to proceed without any more information than they currently had.
“Orders, Captain?” asked Locke.
Marri frowned. “Ahead slow, but tell everyone to keep a sharp eye out.”
That order was probably unnecessary. The tension among the crew was palpable. Ever
yone had been on high alert since they had entered the Dead Zone, and Anne couldn’t imagine anyone letting their attention drift.
The airship eased forward, even more slowly than before. They left the shelter of the two tiers and moved into an open area ahead of the tier cluster. This was the most exposed the ship had been since leaving Saint Lupin’s. If anything was lurking in the shadows waiting to attack, now would be the perfect time.
“Hey, there’s the castle!” cried Penelope.
“I see it, too!” said Hiro.
They were pointing in different directions. Anne studied the two tiers. Both contained castles. Moreover, both castles looked exactly the same. In fact, even the tiers themselves looked the same. Anne blinked several times. Was it some trick of the light? As the ship moved closer to the cluster of tiers, it soon became apparent that all the tiers looked identical and contained identical castles. There were dozens of tiers, maybe even hundreds.
“But—but which one is the correct castle?” asked Anne.
“This is definitely going to make it harder,” said Marri. “Jeffery, did the legend say anything about—”
“Giant squid!” a voice shouted. “Giant squid! Giant squid! Giant urk—”
The shouts abruptly cut off.
Anne looked up and saw a huge tentacle curling over the ship. It had snatched a pirate out of the crow’s nest and was thrashing him about. As the tentacle whipped back and forth, Anne could see that it was segmented. Its skin had a metallic sheen. That was all they needed: to be attacked by a giant metal squid. Anne flashed back to her fight with a giant metal dragon queen several months earlier. That had been a harrowing experience, but at least she had had her own suit of armor, one of the Old World power suits. She sorely wished she had it now.
“To arms! To arms!” shouted Marri. “Archers on deck! Blades into the rigging!” Her voice was raised but not panicked. Her tone was firm as she issued commands. The crew, as always, obeyed instantly.
Another large tentacle appeared and wrapped itself around the bow, and then the body of the giant squid peeked above the railing. Its two bulging eyes were as large as doors, and its body nearly the length of the Blue Daisy itself. Its other shorter arms flailed about, grasping at whatever came near.
Several crew members quickly strung bows and began pelting the monster with arrows. The shafts bounced off the metal plating of the tentacles without leaving so much as a scratch. The archers fired volley after volley, to no avail. There was a brief moment of hope when one of the arrows lodged itself between two of the armored plates, but the tentacle twisted and shattered the arrow into pieces with ease.
More than a dozen of the crew headed up the rigging, blades held firmly between their teeth. As soon as they could reach any part of the monster, they began hacking away. One pirate leapt from the rigging onto the tentacle. The tentacle snapped back and forth, and the pirate lost her grip. She tumbled away, down through the mist and into the BGFM far below.
As the giant squid continued to squeeze the ship, the planks of the deck began to creak and groan in protest. The ship would not be able to withstand such an assault for very long. Marri urged the pirate crew to redouble their efforts and even threw herself into fray, thrusting her sword at any part of the squid’s legs she could reach. Penelope leapt into the middle of the throng as well, swinging wildly. Hiro tried an ice spell, but all he managed to do was freeze his own arm to the starboard railing.
The airship bucked and rocked, and Anne was about to summon the Three-Handed Sword when suddenly a deep booming voice sounded above the din of the battle.
“Hold!”
The tone was so commanding that everyone paused, including the giant metal squid. Anne looked around for the source of the voice. A creature descended out of the sky, bright orange flames shooting from two circular objects on its back. The creature landed on the Blue Daisy with a heavy thud. The flames cut out but left two smoldering scorch marks on the deck. It took Anne a moment to figure out what exactly it was she was looking at.
The creature appeared to be made entirely of metal, not unlike the giant squid. The creature’s body, though—if it could be called a body—was not at all squid-shaped. It had the torso of a man, with two arms. The helmet it wore, however, was shaped like a horse’s head, and instead of two human-looking legs there were eight octopus-like tentacles. Also, there was a brightly colored parrot sitting on his shoulder.
“That must be Octo-Horse Pirate,” whispered Penelope.
Anne had to agree. Who else could it possibly be? But the real question was, how had he found them?
An awed murmur rippled through the crew. As much as they seemed to fear Octo-Horse Pirate, they seemed to have a great deal of respect for him as well. Many of the crew had even lowered their weapons in his presence.
Octo-Horse Pirate held up an arm in greeting. “Welcome to the High Castle,” he said in a voice that echoed strangely inside his helmet, giving it an eerie metallic quality. “I’ve been expecting you.”
He walked over and stood in front of Marri.
“Hello, Marri,” he said.
Marri sighed and sheathed her sword.
“Hello, Father,” she replied.
THE COMPLETELY TRUE ORIGINS OF OCTO-HORSE PIRATE
Born as a foal on the first full moon in the year of the Exploding Rubber Pineapple, raised by a family of superintelligent beavers, nourished on the sap of the deadly purple cactus, this promising young hero first made a name for himself when, as a member of a trapeze group known as the Flying Equestrians, he rescued twenty-three audience members from a burning circus tent. His career nearly came to an early end, however, when a stunt involving a windmill, a humpback whale, and a giant slingshot went tragically wrong.
To treat the foal’s grievous wounds, a doctor used an experimental serum made from an extract of octopus venom. The serum cured him, but as a side effect it caused eight tentacles to grow where his legs used to be. Deciding to put circus life behind him, he went in search of a greater meaning for his life. The search only took five minutes because he was right around the corner from a quest academy. The instructors promised to train him in the ancient fighting arts, teach him to commune with nature, and instill within him a respect for all life.
That sounded like way too much work, so instead he renamed himself Octo-Horse Pirate and became a bandit of the high seas.
The Rose That Never Bloomed
He’s your dad?!” shouted Penelope.
“Pen, calm down,” said Anne.
“No, I will not calm down! What is it with this group? Does every quest have to involve a new student with a secret identity and a weird family trying to kill us all?”
“My parents aren’t trying to kill us,” said Hiro.
“Your parents are assassins!” yelled Penelope.
“No, they’re not. They’re secret agents.”
“Who sometimes assassinate people!”
“Only the really bad ones,” mumbled Hiro.
Octo-Horse Pirate slithered over to them, his eight tentacles carrying him swiftly across the deck. Anne wondered how such a creature came to be: the head of a horse, the body of a man, and the legs (or rather, tentacles) of an octopus. As he approached, she realized that her first impression had been wrong. He wasn’t made of metal, but rather he was wearing a metal suit of armor. It somewhat resembled the iron knights. There was even a crystal in the center of the chest plate. Was it a dragon stone? Could this be a different type of Old World power suit?
“Polly want a kraken?” said the parrot on his shoulder.
“If everyone is finished with their little outbursts, perhaps we could move on to more pressing matters,” said Octo-Horse Pirate. He turned to Marri. “Captain Blackwood, surrender your vessel and tell your crew to stand down.”
Marri took a deep breath. “Father, I can explai—”
“Silence!” Octo-Horse Pirate scuttled sideways until he stood directly in front of her. “You’re in quite enough t
rouble as it is, young lady. I instructed Marvin to go easy on your crew, but he could crush this ship and everyone on it, so I strongly suggest you obey my orders. Also, I am the supreme leader of the pirates, and when we are conducting pirate-related business, you will address me as such.”
A look of shock passed over Marri’s face, but she quickly recovered. “As you wish… Supreme Leader.”
She nodded to Locke, who shouted orders, and the crew put away their weapons. They formed into ranks and stood silently at attention.
Octo-Horse Pirate gave the crew a cursory glance and turned his attention back to his daughter. “Marvin will tow you in. We’ll talk further once you’ve docked and joined me in the castle.”
Marri opened her mouth to speak, but before she could get even a single word out, two jets of flame shot out of the cylinders on Octo-Horse Pirate’s back and he rocketed into the sky. If it was indeed a power suit he was wearing, it was a step up from the ones Anne had encountered.
The giant squid—or Marvin, as Octo-Horse Pirate had called him—dragged the Blue Daisy to the cluster of tiers and through a narrow passage. The path was tight and had many twists and turns, but Marvin didn’t seem overly concerned about either their comfort or safety. The airship crashed into one tier after another, its planks groaning in protest. Most of the crew ended up either sprawling on the deck or hanging from any piece of equipment within arm’s reach. With each sharp turn, bodies slammed against railings, masts, and even one another. After ten harrowing minutes, they entered a small clearing and headed for a tier near the bottom of the cluster. The tier in question was identical to all the others, and how the giant squid could distinguish it Anne had no idea.
They had dropped beneath the mist. The BGFM lay far below, with its waves of magick crashing together and sending up geysers of colorful energy.
The Adventurer's Guide to Treasure (and How to Steal It) Page 10
