The Serpent Cult (Heroes of Ravenford Book 2)

by F. P. Spirit

  “So it’s just as we thought,” Lloyd commented in-between bites. “The Serpent Cult is behind this as well.”

  Aksel nodded. “All things considered, I think it best that we break camp immediately after breakfast and get an early start on the salvage operation. There’s no telling how long before those goblins show up.”

  “You want me to wait for them?” Lloyd offered. To be honest, the challenge of facing an army of goblins intrigued him. “I could keep them busy for a bit. Maybe even kill a few here and there. Just signal me when you are done, and I’ll jump into the surf.”

  Aksel raised an eyebrow. “Thanks, but getting away might not be quite that easy. We’ll just leave The Boulder here on the shore. He can keep the goblins busy for a while.”

  Lloyd sighed. Aksel was probably right. The goblins were sure to have archers with them. There were also those black mages, and the demon.

  Aksel smiled at him. “Cheer up, Lloyd. We’re going to need you and Martan to help bring cargo up from the wrecks. I have a spell that will allow the two of you to breathe underwater.”

  A grin broke out across Lloyd’s face, the goblin army now completely forgotten. “Really? That sounds cool.”

  “Oh it is!” Maya squealed with delight. “Wait until you see the reef. It’s beautiful! All the colors and all the fish—you’ll love it!”

  Martan did not seem so enthusiastic. “Anything we need to be worried about down there? Like sharks, for instance?”

  Lloyd eyed the archer curiously. He started to say something but then reconsidered. With everything Martan had been through, Lloyd couldn’t blame him for being reluctant.

  “The dolphins will keep them away,” Ves reassured him. “We will ask them to set up a perimeter around the wrecks.”

  “Thanks,” Martan replied, smiling sheepishly at her.

  Aksel turned to Glo. “Can you man the boat while the rest of them dive?”

  “Sure, but what are you and Seth going to be doing?”

  “We want to take a little side trip,” Seth interjected, “to the lighthouse, now that it’s stopped burning, that is.”

  Glo glared at the halfling, but finally sighed. “Let me guess. You want to be dropped off on the way to the reef?”

  Instead of answering Glo directly, Seth turned toward Ves. “I was hoping maybe we could borrow a pair of dolphins?”

  “I suppose that could be arranged.” There was a trace of a smile on her lips.

  “Yes!” Seth cried, pumping his fist. “Dolphin ride.”

  Aksel gave Seth a sidelong glance. He seemed far less enthusiastic. Aksel turned toward Ves. “Thank you. Please don’t go to any trouble on our accounts.”

  “It’s really no trouble at all. The dolphins seem to like you anyway.”

  “They do! They do!” Maya agreed. The little girl had gotten up and spun around in circles on the sand, trying her best to make herself dizzy.

  “Okay,” Aksel agreed, still sounding uncertain. “Then let’s break camp.”

  The sea was calm out by the reef. The jagged ridge of rock, coral, and sand was visible ten feet below the water line. Lloyd sat in the rowboat with Martan and Glo. The Greymantles had guided them here. The sisters were now underwater, searching for the sunken ships. Once they found them, Lloyd and Martan would help recover any cargo they found. The rowboat sat about 200 yards off shore. Directly south stood what was left of the Cape Marlin Lighthouse. Aksel and Seth were currently on that island, searching through the wreckage.

  Glo broke the silence. “The Endurance should be here soon. With any luck, we’ll be done with the salvage operation before those goblins show up.”

  Martan scanned the shoreline. “The cliff still looks clear.”

  Lloyd followed his gaze. He could just make out The Boulder’s large form standing on the beach. There was no sign of movement on the cliff above. A sudden splash made him turn around. A small head popped up out of the water by the side of the boat. It was Maya.

  “I found one! I found one!” the young girl cried with excitement.

  “Which one is it?” Glo called.

  “The Zep-hyr,” Maya shouted back not realizing the “ph” made an “f ” sound.

  “The Zephyr,” Glo corrected her. “That’s definitely one of them. Good job, Maya.”

  The young girl beamed and spun around in the water. A few moments later, another of the sisters popped up next to her. It was Ves.

  “I found two ship wrecks, fairly close together. By the looks of them, they must have sunk recently.”

  “Could you see the names?” Lloyd asked curiously.

  “One was the Gale Runner, and the other was the Sydion.”

  Glo nodded. “Yep, that’s two of the others. Now all we need is to find the Lucky Coin.”

  “Done!” A voice cried from the other side of the boat. All three of them turned around to see Ruka floating effortlessly on the water. “A bit up the reef from here, but I found it.”

  “That’s all four!” Lloyd shouted with excitement. “Let’s get to it.”

  Lloyd and Martan stripped down to their trunks. At the same moment, a group of dolphins swam up and circled the boat. Ves spoke with them. When she was done, the dolphins shot away in different directions. “I sent them out to patrol the area, so we should not be disturbed,”

  “Thank you.” Martan half smiled, clearly embarrassed.

  Ves smiled gently in return. “Ready whenever you are, gentlemen.”

  “Let’s go, Martan.” Lloyd launched himself off the boat and executed a perfect swan dive out into the water. He cut the surface like a knife and went straight down to the reef below. The sun shone down from above, lighting up the vibrant colors of the ridge. It was breathtaking. Abruptly, he realized he was breathing underwater. Aksel’s spell had worked. Lloyd quickly surfaced to rejoin the others.

  “Sorry about that,” he apologized. “I got sidetracked down there. It is beautiful.”

  “Told you so!” Maya still spun gaily in the water.

  “How do we want to do this?” Ves asked.

  Lloyd thought it over. “Let’s start with the two wrecks you found together. That might be easier. Then we can split up and hit the last two in separate teams.”

  “Sounds good,” Ves agreed. “I’ll lead. Follow me.” With that, the young woman dove beneath the surface.

  “See you in a bit.” Lloyd waved to Glo and then dove in after Ves.

  Glo sat alone in the rowboat. He gazed over at shore, but there were still no signs of the goblin army. He turned toward the lighthouse isle—the remains of the structure had stopped smoldering. Glo felt a momentary twinge at how he had destroyed the building. He let out a heavy sigh. When they got back, he would have to tell the Baron what he had done.

  Something bright caught his eye beyond the burnt-out tower. It was the tall white sails of a ship. It’s the Endurance. The vessel was rounding Cape Marlin Point. Glo watched the vessel sail around the lighthouse and head north. Fifteen minutes later, it dropped anchor about two hundred yards farther out from him, a nice safe distance from the reef. A rowboat dropped from the side of the ship and quickly filled with crew. Rochino was sending help to cart cargo back to the ship. Now they just needed to find it.

  Lloyd followed Ves down the side of the reef. He had a hard time keeping up. She can really move underwater! Two figures suddenly shot by him—Maya and Ruka. Lloyd felt extremely slow all of a sudden. The girls stopped every once in a while, and waited for him and Martan to catch up.

  The area around the reef teemed with life. There were all sorts of strange-looking plants of many different colors. Vibrant reds, deep greens, and electric blues—it was like an underwater rainbow. Even the fish were colorful. Lloyd saw one that was yellow, blue, and purple. A school of green and blue fish swam by,
dispersing as the swimmers passed. He even caught sight of a dolphin at one point. It came up to the girls, nuzzled Maya, and then swam on. The divers continued downward until they were just above the sea bottom. The yellow sand of the sea floor stretched out below them, away from the reef.

  Lloyd glanced up and caught his breath. The rays of the sun shone down from above, fanning out like a shower of light in all directions. The sight had him mesmerized. A sudden tap on his shoulder broke him out of his reverie. Maya floated in front of him, a wide grin across her diminutive face. She hung there a moment, then motioned for him to follow.

  The girls headed north along the reef. They swam for quite a while, passing by myriads of multicolored plants and sea life. Finally, Lloyd caught sight of the sunken ship. It appeared as a dark, fuzzy mass at first, nearby the reef in the distance. As they drew closer, the mass grew in size and was easier to see. It was a galleon, just like the Endurance. The sunken ship lay partially on its side, its tall masts jutting out at an angle away from the reef. One of the masts had broken off and lay on the sea floor.

  As they drew closer, Lloyd saw a huge gash in the front of the hull. The ship must have slammed straight into the reef, causing the entire bow to split open. Just behind the tear, he could clearly see the ship’s name written on the hull. It read the Gale Runner.

  The vessel was surrounded by sea life, many swimming in and out of the sunken ship. As soon as the divers approached, the fish swam out of the way. The girls slipped through the hole in the ship’s hull. Lloyd and Martan followed. It was dark inside, but the area suddenly lit up. A group of bright spherical glowing lights had appeared out of nowhere.

  Lloyd immediately recognized them as a spell. His mother used it all the time. One of the girls must have cast it. These sisters were full of surprises. Lloyd’s eyes swept around the area. They were in a large open area—the ship’s cargo hold. There were boxes strewn all over, many smashed open. They must have been knocked around when the ship hit the reef.

  The divers split up and checked the crates for anything marked “Ravenford”. A few minutes later, he felt a tap on his shoulder. Spinning around, he saw Maya floating there. The little girl had an uncharacteristically serious look on her face. She waved for him to follow. Lloyd swam behind her, over to where Ruka waited. The two girls stood there over a number of smashed crates. Ves and Martan soon joined them.

  Ruka lifted up a piece of crate and pointed to it. There was writing on it. It read R-a-v. Maya had picked up another piece. She held it up next to Ruka’s. The letters on it spelled f-o-r-d.

  Ravenford! They had found the lost cargo. Lloyd bent down and rummaged around. There was nothing inside the broken crate. There should have been at least some sign of what had been stored inside. The divers exchanged hand signals and then all fanned out. After a brief search, the remains of four more Ravenford crates were found. However, there was still no sign of cargo—no food, materials, or anything.

  What could have happened to it all? Lloyd was completely baffled. Unless...a chilling thought came to him. What if the Serpent Cult had already been here? It certainly made sense. It would explain why they could find no trace of any cargo, but if that were the case, were they just wasting their time down here?

  Lloyd immediately dismissed the thought. They were here to do a job, and they would do it. They would check every wreck on the chance there was still salvageable cargo. Lloyd signaled the others to move on. Ves and Ruka nodded their agreement.

  The girls led the way out through the tear in the hull. When they were all outside, Ves motioned for them to stop. After another flurry of hand signals, Ruka and Maya swam off away from the reef. Ves motioned for Martan and Lloyd to follow her. She took off in the direction they had originally come.

  As they swam, Lloyd peered in the direction the other girls were headed. Off in the distance, he could just make out the outline of a second wreck. So Ves had sent Ruka and Maya off to check out the nearby Sydion. Meanwhile, the rest of them would move on to the next wreck. Lloyd turned his attention back toward Ves and continued to follow her through the deep. Silently, he hoped they would find some cargo still untouched.

  Flying Blind

  Without warning the main mast burst into flames

  Over on the island, Seth and Aksel poked through the ruins of the lighthouse. The remains of the tower were still hot, even though it had stopped burning early in the morning. What remained was mostly junk, but they had found a ruby ring and a silver scimitar. As the duo made one more pass, Seth nudged Aksel.

  “What?” Aksel cried, sounding a bit more annoyed than he intended. Seth merely smirked as he pointed toward the shore. Aksel glanced in that direction and arched an eyebrow. The cliff top was covered with dozens of tiny dots. The goblin army had finally arrived.

  “Guess we should ask The Boulder to go greet our friends,” Aksel stated calmly.

  He reached inside his robe and gingerly pulled out the golem’s ring. Aksel put the ring on and concentrated. He thought in his mind repeatedly, Climb the cliff. Defend yourself. Climb the cliff. Defend yourself. He figured those commands were simple enough. You couldn’t be too complicated with golems. They weren’t very bright. Finally, he felt a tingling sensation from the ring. That meant the golem was taking action.

  “There,” he said with a deep sigh.

  “Did it work?” Seth asked curiously.

  Aksel nodded toward the shore. “Look for yourself.”

  Over on the beach, a large grey figure lumbered across the sand. It reached the cliff and started winding its way up the trail that led to the top.

  “This is going to be epic!”

  “Yes,” Aksel agreed, trying to sound equally enthusiastic. Secretly, he worried about The Boulder. The stony creature was tough, and it was immune to magic, but there were a hundred goblins up there on that cliff, not to mention that demon. “Anyway, I think we’re done here. We should probably go join the others.”

  “Sounds good,” Seth agreed. “Any excuse to ride a dolphin.”

  Aksel smiled wanly. Although it was nice to see Seth so happy, riding dolphin back was just not his cup of tea. He had to admit, it did come in handy. Oh, well, no use looking a gift horse, or dolphin, in the mouth. Putting away the golem ring, Aksel followed Seth down to the dock and their aquatic mounts.

  Glo nearly fell out of his seat. The rowboat had begun moving on its own, and he caught himself just in time. Otherwise, he would have tumbled over and into the water. He spun around and saw two fins sticking out of the water. A pair of dolphins was pushing him along. Glo raised an eyebrow then spun back around. They were headed due north, paralleling the reef. They traveled about a mile before the dolphins finally veered off.

  Glo grabbed the oars and slowed the boat to a stop. He peered over his shoulder and saw the other rowboat far in the distance. It was still headed in this direction, but had been left far behind.

  It’s no match for dolphin power.

  Abruptly, three divers surfaced around him. It was Ves, Lloyd, and Martan. Strangely, they were empty handed.

  “Where’s the cargo?” Glo called out.

  “Gone!” Lloyd cried.

  “Gone? What do you mean gone?”

  Lloyd, Ves, and Martan all swam closer. They quickly explained what they had found or, more accurately, had not found, in the shipwreck down the coast.

  Glo frowned. “That’s not a good sign. Hopefully we’ll have better luck in the other wrecks.”

  His musings were interrupted by Martan. “Glolindir, I think that’s your bird.”

  Glo tilted his head up and saw Raven circling above them. The black bird glided her way down and finally landed on his arm.

  “Nir’ goblins no’ cabed,” Raven squawked.

  “What’s going on?” Lloyd asked.

  “Looks like the goblins have arri
ved,” Ves answered for him, nodding toward the shore. Indeed, dozens of tiny dots moved around at the top of the cliff.

  “Good thing we’re out of bow range,” Martan noted, sounding awed at the sight of so many goblins.

  Glo had to agree, their sheer numbers were daunting.

  “We really should get back down there,” Ves reminded everyone. “Ruka and Maya are already headed to the last wreck,” she added. With that, the young woman dove back underwater, disappearing from sight.

  “Be back soon!” Lloyd cried. He dove in after Ves.

  Martan nodded and then disappeared below the waves as well, leaving Glo alone once more.

  Aksel hung on to the dolphin’s fin for dear life as they plowed through the water. The sea sprayed up all around him, drenching his clothes. Chancing a quick look over his shoulder, he saw Seth hanging on to his dolphin with one hand. The halfling pumped his other hand into the air and screamed, “Yahoo!”

  Despite his own discomfort, Aksel could not help smiling. Suddenly, he felt his hand slip! Aksel whirled his head forward and grasped the dorsal fin as tight as he could.

  “Phew,” he sighed. He resolved to keep his eyes fixed solidly ahead of him for the rest of the ride. The large hull of the Endurance went whizzing by them, then a rowboat full of sailors. A short while later, a second rowboat came into view. In it sat a solitary figure with long flaxen hair and garbed in purple robes.

  “Yo, Glo!” Seth cried as they drew within shouting distance.

  “It’s about time!” the elf cried back. “What took you so long?”

  “We were having too much fun riding dolphins!” Seth yelled.

  Yeah, some fun, Aksel thought. The entire ride had him feeling sick to his stomach. Thankfully, the dolphins had slowed down. The duo pulled up next to the rowboat and climbed aboard. Seth leapt over easily, while Aksel gratefully accepted Glo’s outstretched arm. Once he was safely seated onboard, Aksel began to feel better. He faced Glo. “What are we doing all the way out here?”