by F. P. Spirit
Rochino winked at the halfling. “We thought of that, too. All we really need is some extra muscle to turn the winch.”
Lloyd stepped forward, proudly flexing his muscles. “And that’s where I come in.”
Seth eyed the pair as if they were crazy.
Rochino grinned. “Oh, don’t get me wrong, lad. We’ll have to compensate a bit for the extra weight when we steer the ship, but it ain’t nothing my Endurance can’t handle.” He reached over and affectionately patted the ship’s rail.
Seth shrugged. “Fine with me—as long as we don’t have to pay for a broken anchor chain.”
“Okay then,” Aksel declared, “here goes nothing.”
He walked to the railing and gazed back down the dock to where the golem waited. Sailors and townsfolk alike stood around the huge, still form, staring up at it. Aksel held out the hand wearing the golem’s ring. He closed his eyes, an expression of deep concentration crossing his face. After a few moments, his eyes snapped back open. “That should do it.”
Glo watched as the golem began to move. People scurried out of its way as it walked down past the docks to the water’s edge. The creature slowly walked out into the water, submersing itself in the deep river. They all now peered over the railing, into the clear waters below. The water was quite deep, though, making it hard to see the bottom. After about five minutes, the ship began to sway. It rocked toward the dock, then away from it. It finally abated, the Endurance growing still once more.
“Looks like we’re good to go,” Lloyd declared.
“Now comes the real test.” Rochino opened his mouth wide and boomed out a command to the crew. “Get ready to weigh anchor!”
“That’s my cue,” Lloyd said.
He joined about half a dozen sailors who gathered at the winch. On the Captain’s mark, they began to heave. It was slow going, all of them straining with each rotation of the winch. Miraculously, the crank held, and in a few minutes, the anchor, along with the Boulder, had been hoisted up from the river bottom. Lloyd stepped back from the winch and wiped the sweat from his brow.
Aksel gazed over the side. The golem stood quite comfortably on the raised anchor. Aksel appeared amazed. “It actually worked.”
“Of course it did!” Rochino cried with a broad grin. “You need to have a little more faith, lad.”
Glo raised an eyebrow, and Seth snickered. Aksel’s mouth hung open, caught off guard by the remark. It was not every day a cleric was told he needed more faith. Rochino did not wait for a response, though. Instead, the he spun around and strode across the deck, bellowing orders to get underway.
Cape Marlin
What kind of noble went barefoot at the beach, hiding among the rocks?
The Endurance followed the northern coast of Merchant’s Bay, never losing sight of land. The day was bright and sunny, the crystal blue waters of the bay clear and calm. In this fair weather, it was hard to imagine the raging storms that sank the Lucky Coin a few nights ago. Lloyd stood at the prow of the Endurance, staring out at the waters ahead. Aksel had gone below deck for a nap. Martan went in the opposite direction, nestled high above in the crow’s nest. Seth, as usual, was nowhere to be seen.
Glo found himself fascinated by the large sailing ship. He took the opportunity to roam around the deck and investigate every inch of the vessel. The structure of the Endurance was purely functional—its wide frame designed for carrying large amounts of cargo, yet its hull stretched out to compensate. The front deck also did not rise as high as the rear. This was to decrease wind resistance. Three thick masts stood at equal distances along the ship’s length. The two front masts carried the main sails. These ran across the ship and were what pulled it forward. The aft mast stood shorter than the others. Its sails were aligned with the ship and helped steer the vessel. The ship’s main steering mechanism was the large wheel firmly attached to the rear deck. It connected to a rudder, a large wooden fin at the back of the ship below the water line. Overall, it was actually quite an ingenious design.
With the wind behind them, the ship’s white sails were now completely unfurled. They bowed out in front of them like enormous kites against a backdrop of the deep blue sky. It was a breathtaking sight. There was a beauty to sailing beyond measure. Between that and the allure of the sea itself, it was no wonder that sailors never stayed long on land. Glo had wandered the entire deck of the Endurance and now found himself at the prow. Lloyd stood there by himself staring out at the empty waters in front of them. Glo strode up beside him and leaned against the rail.
“I forgot how peaceful the sea is,” Lloyd said, his tone wistful.
“There is a certain appeal to it.”
“My father never seems to get enough of it. Sometimes I think the only thing that brings him back to shore is my mother—or the school.”
“School?”
“The Stealle Academy of the Sword,” Lloyd explained with a certain measure of pride in his voice. “My father formed it after the victory over the Pirate Warlord Eboneye some twenty years ago. He’s been training Penwick soldiers and townsfolk there ever since.”
Glo found that interesting—a school owned and run by Lloyd’s father. It made sense, though. The entire city had been overrun by pirate hordes, and many lives were lost reclaiming it. Afterwards, they would have had to train a whole new generation of warriors. Who better to do so than Kratos Stealle, the best swordsman in all of Penwick?
“Is that where you studied to be a Spiritblade?”
“Mostly, although we do have a separate training area set up in one of the barns at the ranch.”
A training area in a barn? It sounded like Kratos took sword work very seriously. It made Glo think of his own father, Amrod. Glo’s father was a wizard by trade, one of the best in Cairthrellon. He also took his craft very seriously, so much so that Glo rarely saw him. However, that all changed when he became Amrod’s apprentice. Unfortunately, they didn’t see eye to eye on anything. From magic to politics, their viewpoints were completely opposite. It was the main reason Glo had left home. Now, nearly two months later, Glo actually found himself missing the old man. Experience had shown him that Amrod was not wrong about everything. Still, Glo was not ready to reconcile with his father just yet. “So you spent a lot of time with your dad?”
A frown formed across Lloyd’s brow. “I guess—if you consider training with the sword spending time.”
Glo felt a wave of compassion for his friend. It was another thing they had in common. Kratos seemed very much like Amrod in that respect. Both only had time for their sons when it came to teaching them their trade. Be it the sword or magic, it was still the same. Glo knew exactly how Lloyd felt. “My father was also that way. We only saw each other during my magic studies. Otherwise, he was holed up in his lab or at a council meeting.”
Lloyd nodded slowly. “Between the Navy, the Penwick Council and the school, my father does not exactly have a lot of free time.”
“Still, he was a proponent of you becoming a Spiritblade.”
Lloyd appeared surprised, as if he had never even considered the alternative. “Yes, of course. Dad taught all of us: me, Pallas, and even Thea.”
“Is Thea your sister?”
“Yes. Althea is my older sister by two years—but if you call her by that name you are likely to receive a punch in the arm.” Lloyd finished with a wink.
Glo eyed Lloyd curiously. From what little he had told them, Glo had assumed Lloyd’s sister was a cleric. Yet that description just now didn’t sound very divine-natured. “I thought you said your sister was a healer?”
“She is. She’s an Auric Priestess of Arenor,” Lloyd said with obvious pride.
An Auric Priestess of Arenor—that was impressive. They were devoted servants of Arenor, the God of Sun and Light. A noble calling, it was also about as far away as you could get from b
eing a warrior. Glo felt even more puzzled. “If she was studying to be a spiritblade, what made her join the clergy?”
“Well...” Lloyd’s voice faltered. His skin paled and his eyes took on a faraway look. When he finally spoke, it was barely above a whisper. “She kind of died.”
Glo’s eyes went wide and he felt the blood drain from his face. Death was not something to be taken lightly, even with magic that could bring back the dead. First, “Resurrect Dead” spells were costly, and not everyone could afford them. Second, if the body was not intact or too decomposed, the spell would not work. Third, the spirit had to be willing to return from the dead. Sometimes a soul was finished with life and wanted to move on. In that case, either the spell would fail, or worse, a malevolent spirit would take its place. Finally, even if the spell worked, death changed people. They were never quite the same after such a traumatic experience. For these reasons, laws had been crafted to prevent someone who had died from holding any position of power. When Glo found his voice again, his tone was hushed. “Lloyd, I’m so sorry. How did it happen? That is, if you don’t mind talking about it.”
Lloyd took a deep breath. “No. It’s okay. It was about seven years ago. Thea was far more adventurous back then. She had this weird obsession with pirates, particularly Eboneye.” A slight smile crossed his lips at the thought.
Glo smiled sympathetically in turn. This was obviously a hard topic for the young man.
“There were rumors that he had a hidden treasure hoard somewhere in the city. Thea was determined to find it. She and her friends spent all their free time searching for clues to its whereabouts.”
Lloyd let out a deep sigh. “Then they got the bright idea to check out the old abandoned fort on Thorn Isle. No one knows exactly what happened, but somehow, they were all killed...” Lloyd stopped talking altogether, his face taking on a pained expression.
Glo had no idea what to say. He stood beside his friend in silence until Lloyd resumed the story.
“That is where it gets strange. The priests claimed it was the work of Alaric—that the kids were rescued by a storm dragon. The dragon brought their bodies to the Temple along with enough treasure to pay for their resurrections and more.”
Glo arched an eyebrow. A storm dragon? Alaric was the God of Storms. Storm dragons were his servants. Yet as far as he knew, no one had seen a storm dragon in over a hundred years. “Do storm dragons still exist?”
Lloyd shook his head. “Your guess is as good as mine. All we know is what the priests told us—but I do remember there being a bad storm that night. Strangely, Thea and her friends remember nothing of what happened to them. They claimed there was another girl with them, but they never found any sign of her.” The young man paused and shrugged his shoulders. “Anyway, Thea was never the same after that. She stopped treasure hunting, as well as her spiritblade training. Instead, she enrolled in the priesthood. When asked, she would say, “It is the will of Arenor.”
Glo let out a soft whistle. “That’s some story.” He had read of this—life-changing events coupled with visitations from the gods. An incident like that left a mark on an individual. If Lloyd’s sister had been touched by Arenor, then it is no wonder that she joined the priesthood.
Lloyd interrupted his musings. “What about you? Didn’t your father want you to become a wizard?”
A wry smile crossed Glo’s lips. “Want is not exactly the word I would use. More like require or demand.”
“What do you mean?”
“I had to begin my studies with my father when I was eighty—”
Lloyd’s eyes went wide, causing Glo to stop in mid-sentence. Right. Lloyd probably didn’t know about elven ages. “Sorry, I forget myself sometimes. While elves are longed-lived, it also takes us longer to mature. So an elf at eighty would be the equivalent of a human at twelve.”
Lloyd gulped but said nothing, so Glo just smiled and went on with his story. “For the last forty years or so, my father set both the curriculum and pace of my studies. Everything had to be repeated over and over until it was perfect. I was not allowed to move on to the next lesson until he was absolutely satisfied.” Glo felt a tinge of frustration as he finished describing this to Lloyd. Maybe he didn’t miss his old man that much after all.
Lloyd still appeared to be struggling with what Glo had just told him. The young man finally found his voice. “So how old are you now?”
“One hundred and twenty.”
One hundred and twenty, Lloyd mouthed the words. He was still obviously wrestling with the concept. Glo decided not to interrupt him. When Lloyd finally spoke, his voice was quiet. “Does that make you an adult then?”
A broad smile crossed Glo’s lips. “Yes, a young adult. Think of me as eighteen, if it helps.”
Lloyd considered that for a few moments, until a grin broke out across his face. “Then we’re basically the same age!”
Glo laughed aloud this time. “Yes, indeed. You could say that.”
The two friends, still smiling, fell silent. They stood together and watched the ship plow through the waters ahead. After a short while, Lloyd spoke up again. “Sorry your father was so difficult.”
That caught Glo by surprise. He gazed at Lloyd but the young man was still staring at the waters ahead. Lloyd never ceased to amaze him. It was a simple statement. Still that small phrase meant more to Glo than he could ever put into words. Swallowing hard, he responded in kind. “Sorry for what you went through with your sister.”
“Thanks.”
The duo stood silently after that, watching the sleek vessel knife through the tranquil blue waters ahead.
The Endurance made it to Cape Marlin in just over two hours. As they rounded the Cape, the lighthouse came into view. The tall, white cylindrical structure stood alone on a little isle a few hundred yards off shore. The shoreline itself appeared clear and pristine. A wide expanse of brilliant white sand glistened in the afternoon sun. The beach stretched maybe thirty yards from the water’s edge before backing up against a high cliff face. The cliffs themselves rose at a steep angle, to a height of nearly two hundred feet. The top of the bluffs was covered with dense woods that ran as far north as the eye could see. Rochino had been here before. He used his spyglass to point out a trail up the cliff face to the forest above. Once the party made shore, Seth and Martan would climb the trail and head north in search of the “second lighthouse.”
The ship weighed anchor a few hundred yards offshore. Once they were stopped, Aksel ordered the Boulder to head to the beach. The Endurance wobbled once again as the heavy creature let go of the anchor. When the ship settled, a rowboat was dropped and the companions climbed aboard. Lloyd and Martan manned the oars and began rowing them slowly to shore. They had only gone about a hundred yards when the Endurance unfurled her sails. With all the strange events in these waters, Rochino was not going to wait here overnight. He would return and pick them up in the morning. The companions watched as the Endurance’s huge white sails billowed out with the wind. The tall ship leapt forward and quickly made the wide turn around the cape and headed south, back into the bay. She was soon out of sight.
Glo now turned his attention to the shoreline. He scanned it up and down until his gaze fell upon a rocky area to the north. A sudden movement caught his eye. Is that a figure on the beach? He nudged Seth. “What do you make of that?”
Seth stared intently in the direction he was pointing, his eyes squinting for a better look. “Looks like a small figure—I’d say about half a mile up the beach.”
“That’s what I thought.”
“Didn’t Rochino say there was no one out here?” Aksel called back to them. The little cleric was perched comfortably in the bow of the rowboat.
“The nearest town would be Gelcliff,” Martan answered, grunting as he pulled on the oar. “That’s about ten miles north of here.”
; “Whoever it is, they picked a good place to hide out,” Seth added. “Those rocks provide excellent cover. We wouldn’t have seen them at all if they hadn’t stepped out in the open for a few moments.”
Glo’s eyes flickered back up the beach. The figure had in fact disappeared from view. “I’ll send Raven to take a look.”
His familiar had already gone ahead to shore. Her tiny black form spiraled over the trees directly west of them. Glo concentrated for a few moments until he made contact with her mind. He formed a mental picture of where he wanted her to go. It only took a few seconds for Raven to understand. Moments later, the tiny black speck banked and headed north, up the shore.
A little while later, the small company reached the beach. They disembarked into the surf, then Lloyd and Martan dragged the boat out of the surf and onto the beach. With his first step onto the sand, Glo felt a warm sensation in the pit of his stomach. It slowly spread across his entire body. He halted mid-step, trying to determine the origin of the feeling. It abruptly dawned on him—the emotion had come from Raven. The bird was in a state of utter joy, as if she had met an old friend, but whom would she know out here? With the exception of Elladan, everyone they knew was here with Glo. It couldn’t be someone from Cairthrellon—could it?
“What’s the matter?” Aksel asked.
The little cleric stood beside Glo, his expression one of concern.
“I’m getting the strangest feeling from Raven.”
“Strange bad?” Lloyd’s voice rang out from the water’s edge.
“No, strange good actually.”
Seth cocked his head to the side. “Strange good? You sure all this sun and salt air hasn’t gone to your head?”
Glo gave the halfling a dark look. “I’m fine, thank you.” He turned back to Aksel. “It’s almost as if Raven knows whoever it is.”
Aksel’s hand went to his chin. “How is that possible? Didn’t you say your people don’t travel around?”
