Forsaken

by Cebelius

  It was possible that Lygi would bring hirelings to help her, but he doubted it. She seemed paranoid about his identity being revealed, and it certainly would be if she didn't come after him alone. Given the evidence he'd left behind, he rather doubted she would believe him capable of standing up to her.

  His fingers were still too raw to allow him to take out the gag in his mouth, but he didn't need to speak to cast the spell he intended to use. He also wasn't inclined to give her any warning, or make any speeches.

  He'd read the Evil Overlord's List.

  Time passed. More time passed. Abram found himself nodding and clenched his hands to send pain coursing up his arms. His fingers were now limber enough to cast his spell, but the damage was still far from completely healed. The pain was more than sufficient to wake him up, and he gritted his teeth and filled his mind with thoughts of revenge. Lygi would die. He would then find a way to reunite with Angie and Sif, and they would cross the sea that stood between him and the dwarvish outpost.

  There he would recruit an army, return to Svartheim, and depose the Mor. Hopefully, he could capture her alive. Then he could learn the fine art of torture, and make her suffer while he rebuilt the dungeon into a proper lair.

  His idle planning kept him occupied until he noticed a dot appear at the edge of his mini-map. He watched it, confirmed it was moving in a fairly straight line right down the middle of the exposed portion of the map, and smiled grimly.

  His breathing slowed, and he heard his heartbeat thundering in his ears as he watched that dot move. An experiment occurred to him, but he couldn't attempt it with the gag in his mouth. Filing it away for later, he focused all his attention on that dot. It was down to sixty feet, and he knew whoever it was could see the tree against which he was concealed.

  Fifty feet. Forty. Thirty. She was moving slowly, but steadily, and a dim luminescence began to encroach on his awareness. Though dwarves had dark sight as well, she would have the same problem he did when it came to actually following the trail. He didn't know if it was overconfidence or desperation that led her to use the lantern, but suspected it was a bit of both, and his smile broadened.

  Twenty feet ... ten.

  He took a deep breath and held it as his vision washed out, then returned in color. There she was. The lantern was a bullseye style, which would hide her from anyone looking directly at it, but as soon as she appeared he was behind her, and saw her clearly. She had her eyes on the ground and was dutifully following his trail.

  He lifted his hands and took down his hood. He wanted her to see his face as she died.

  Then, without any hesitation, he raised a single hand, took deliberate aim, and bit down so hard on the gag in his mouth that his teeth ached as he sent a spiderweb of purple lightning arching into her body.

  She howled in agony, dropping the lantern as she whirled, her mace rising even as his power coruscated over her body. Abram's eyes were wide with hatred, his lips peeled back from the gag in a rictus of fury as he stepped toward her, unafraid. Even with healing from the village below, he knew she had a maximum of forty-eight hit points.

  He deliberately used only one hand to make it last.

  Four seconds, bitch. Enjoy them.

  Lygi hit her knees as he saw the realization, the fear of death in her eyes. He laughed around his gag, not minding in the least that it was both muffled and disturbingly manic. That was, after all, his schtick. Her eyes went glassy just before she face-planted.

  Abram stopped, then raised both his now completely healed hands to work the gag out of his mouth. He dropped it aside, rolled his lower jaw, then pointed at her and said, "Target."

  Nothing appeared over her body. No mana was expended. A few seconds later her dot faded off his mini-map.

  "One down," Abram murmured. He then righted the discarded lantern before it could start a fire and began going through the dwarf's belongings, looking for anything he could use as he kept a wary eye on his mini-map.

  He was bone weary, but knew he wouldn't be getting any sleep anytime soon. He had to find a safe place.

  Only then would he rest.

  He was just opening her pack when he caught sight of more dots appearing on the mini-map.

  Are you fucking kidding me?

  Five dots, then six, and they were moving rapidly.

  He didn't know who they were, but guessed that Lygi had either bragged, or the village down there was just that kind of town and a lone dwarf was a ripe target. Either way, he was alone and didn't have any reason to stick around for a fight that would grant no experience.

  Abram snagged the pack, tossed it over his shoulder and spread his palm toward the path as he said, "Tentacular rune," before moving away at a cautious trot until his dark sight kicked in again. He had no need of a lantern, and left it behind to draw the pursuit.

  Just as his vision faded back to black and white, he heard the screams start up behind him and grinned.

  18

  Catch Me If You Can

  "He isn't in the village. He's that way."

  Angrboda pointed, and Sif shook her head wearily as she looked into the woods. They had found a road and followed it for most of the dark hours. Now, with light only an hour or so away, they had reached a low rise overlooking what Angrboda had called the Sea of Two. Below them a small cluster of buildings supporting a gigantic pier for an enormous barge was visible.

  There was no light coming from the crystal above them, and most of the distance between where they stood and the town below was completely black, but there were lanterns hung from the barge and the eaves of each building which roughly described the shape of the outpost below.

  Angrboda had said that barge was the only safe way to cross the sea, and that even then, 'safe' was relative.

  Not for the first time, Sif commented, "I still don't understand how Lygi could overpower him and escape without waking either of us."

  Angrboda frowned, lips compressed, then grudgingly admitted, "I think he probably fell asleep."

  "Truly?" Sif was genuinely astonished. The thought that he could be so blatantly irresponsible was one that had never occurred to her. Yet, it did match the circumstances.

  "I warned you that Abram wasn't ... entirely stable. It is ultimately my fault. I should never have allowed him to sit the watch with Lygi. I should have taken it myself."

  Sif nodded, then looked down at the village again as she said, "But why would he be in the forest? If Lygi wants to cross to Sidastrgeil, doesn't she have to use the barge down there to do it?"

  Angrboda was looking toward the woods, but at Sif's question she turned to regard the bergsrå. "I don't know. All I can tell you is that he definitely isn't there. He holds my proxy's leash, so to speak. I can always tell what direction he's in, and roughly how far away he is. Right now he's about ten miles off that way, and getting farther away by the moment."

  "Once the light returns, we will need to be under cover," Sif pointed out. "Even if we catch up to him now, we'll be exposed before we can return here. How far away from him can you be before your proxy dies?"

  "I truly don't know. We haven't tested it. Normally, my range is about twenty miles, but I think it’s farther now. Just how much farther is an open question."

  Sif inwardly cringed. If Angrboda's proxy died, she would be exposed to more than the danger of the crystal's killing light. She had very little ability to protect herself away from her mountain.

  Yet they also had no clothing that would allow them to travel in the light.

  Angrboda's thoughts mirrored her own as she said, "We will have to risk a day in the village. At least we can see if Lygi stopped there, and get protective clothing."

  "Shouldn't we just buy the clothes and keep going?" Sif asked.

  "If I begin to feel as though my limits are being stretched we will have to, but I would prefer not to come upon Lygi exhausted. We pushed hard to catch up as much as we did. Abram is not moving particularly fast right now, and he will have to sleep too."<
br />
  Sif nodded, and the two of them descended the switchback trail that led into the small cluster of buildings.

  There were no more than ten, and though their construction seemed at first glance to be haphazard, the roof of each structure was baked clay tile and those at least seemed assiduously cared for. The walls were wooden, but built in such a fashion that there were two layers to each wall. Slats in the outermost layer were backed by another offset wall that let air in, but not light. There were no windows at all.

  Boardwalks connected all the buildings, built directly atop the pale sand that ringed the sea. The boardwalk slats were loosely fit and worn smooth by the passage of many feet.

  As they reached the edge of the town and stepped up onto the boardwalk they aroused curious glances from denizens which Sif recognized as troglodytes, though she had never seen their like before.

  They walked upright, though they were neckless creatures covered in scales that ran the gamut from cerulean blue and dark green to black. Some individuals seemed to be uniform in color while others had spots or stripes. Their heads were flat and triangular in shape, with eyes set beneath brow ridges to either side. Some possessed crests atop their heads while others were smooth-scaled, and their teeth were triangular, sharp, and numerous.

  The lantern light played with their shapes, making them seem menacing as they watched the two pass, though none moved to stop or challenge them.

  Sif stayed close behind Angrboda, who strode down the boardwalk as though she owned it, heading for the jetty that ran alongside the barge.

  It looked huge from atop the cliff, its shape outlined by the lanterns hung from its many eaves, but it was even larger up close.

  At least fifty feet tall from the waterline, the barge was constructed in multiple stories, each with its own balcony and roof. Wide, exposed decks ran fore and aft, and there were heavy cages stacked high on both sides. As far as Sif could tell, those cages were empty, yet she failed to guess their purpose.

  There were several gangways that bridged the gap between the jetty and the barge it attended, though the first few were blocked by piles of crates and barrels covered with tarps and netting.

  The farthest gangway — jutting from the very end of the pier — had a tarp suspended on high poles that would shade the space. Under this was a broad table covered with paperwork, several sets of scales, and a tremendous looking tome that lay open to a page roughly halfway through its length.

  No one sat at the table though. Instead, the attendant reclined in a hammock, smoking a long-stemmed churchman's pipe full of something that smelled skunky and foul. Lanterns hung from the four corners of the tarpaulin illuminated the space and by the time they reached it, the lone occupant had taken notice of them. He took the pipe from his mouth as he said, "Ya! Lookin' ta book passage, are ya?"

  "Perhaps," Angrboda said after glancing back to Sif, who nodded to indicate the giant should take the lead here. "I have a few questions though, if you don't mind."

  "Sure. Ask away."

  The trog's eyes were black and reflected the light cast upon them by the lanterns, giving little away. Yet his voice was friendly enough, and Sif resisted the urge to wrinkle her nose as a wisp of the rancid smoke wafted by.

  "We are looking for a dwarf."

  "Lygi?" the trog asked.

  Angrboda nodded. "So she was here?"

  "Yestern she were here, she dead now."

  Angrboda blinked, then glanced at Sif, who asked "Did the villagers kill her?"

  "Nawp. She were killt outen' the wood."

  The trog smiled, revealing a mouthful of rotten teeth as he said, "Bammy sen' after her. She flashed gems an' he wanted 'em what she didn' spend. Six wen ou', two came back, tellen stories. Scared shitless. Tentacles, dark lightnen, an' other such-like. Lygi though? Dead fer sure. They'n found her an no a mark on 'er body. Still warm so they said."

  "And you say she paid for passage?"

  "Aye. Her'n a prisoner, so she say'n. Think 'er capture gotten one over on'er, but I ain't seen 'im. Figure he did for Bammy's lads, but hain't come in. Smartish move. He's hoppin' mad bout 'is missin' boyos."

  "Thanks."

  "Don' mention it. Pretty girls kin ask me anythin' anytime. Theyn left'er body outen the wood. Shouldn' be hard t' find."

  "Can we buy cloaks here?"

  "No here. Back up the quay, third hut on the left. Tell'em Blackeye sentcha."

  Sif and Angrboda turned and strode back down the dock. Once out of hearing of the trog, Angrboda said simply, "Abram got free."

  "Yes, but he's still exposed, and the light will return in just a few hours. I suppose the people sent after him explain why he didn't come in himself."

  Angrboda nodded. "He's too smart for that. He'll have to have guessed the people down here aren't to be trusted after dealing with Lygi. We should buy cloaks before the light starts, then move out."

  "You don't want to stay here anymore?" Sif asked.

  "No. We'll be paying with the same sort of gems Lygi used."

  Sif winced. She hadn't thought of that.

  "Once word gets back to whoever this 'Bammy' is that we have the same kind of currency-"

  "They'll be after us too," Angrboda finished. "We can't stay. We'll just have to hope we can get enough of a head start that they won't choose to chase us."

  "How are we going to cross the sea then?" Sif asked.

  Angrboda shrugged.

  "One problem at a time. First, we have to get our wayward template back."

  Your wayward template, Sif thought, but did not say. She still couldn't believe he'd gone to sleep on watch. She didn't understand how anyone could possibly be that irresponsible, or careless for their own safety.

  "Can we go around?" Sif asked, choosing not to pursue the topic of Abram at the moment.

  "Well, we can," the giant proxy replied. "But whether we will be allowed to is another question. The Sea of Two is called that because it's ruled over by two very powerful eldritch, and their lairs are opposite one another at the edges of this cavern. On one side is an old dragon named Peloton. She actually passed through Svartheim on her way down here, centuries ago, and we spoke. She lost her hoard to another dragon, but her proxy survived. Going deep was the only way she could escape pursuit. We're on somewhat friendly terms, because I killed two of the proxies the dragon chasing her sent in an effort to finish her off. I heard later that she'd taken up residence here and rebuilt her body, but now she's trapped by her own size and can't escape. Her new body is adapted to the water in any case, and as far as I know she now considers this home. If Abram were headed in her direction I think we'd be all right."

  Angrboda glanced around, focusing at last into the middle distance. Sif supposed she was looking toward where Abram was. She gently prodded, "He's not?"

  "No ... I don't think he is," the giant said absently.

  "So who's the other eldritch?" Sif asked.

  Angrboda shook herself, and said, "She's not so easily defined. Yara's met her, but even she couldn't really tell me much. The only thing I know about her really is that she claims to be older than the Powers, and her name is Sube."

  Abram opened his eyes, then breathed a sigh of relief to find himself undisturbed.

  He had taken shelter during the 'day' in what amounted to an animal burrow of some kind that had been dug out under the roots of one of the forest's massive trees. There'd been no evidence it was occupied, and he had put a series of tentacular runes in place along the ten feet or so of the burrow's only entrance.

  Those runes remained untriggered, and it was apparent that nothing had tried to come in after him.

  Nevertheless, he found himself wishing he had some way of rigging up a real world alarm in case something happened around him while he was logged out. After a moment, he mentally typed, Is there some way we can rig an app in my computer that will sound an alarm if there's something going on that I need to know about while I'm offline?

  'I can do that,' came the
prompt reply. 'Whether you respond to it and wake up in time is entirely on you.'

  Duh. Do you need admin privs?

  The reply took a bit longer this time.

  'No, you gave me those when you installed the program in the first place.'

  Abram blinked, then tried to remember the installation process and drew a blank. He frowned, then mentally shrugged, deciding he'd look into it later. He was usually more careful about machine account privileges on his home rig.

  He dismissed the runes in sequence, then crawled out of the burrow as he asked, When did the light fade?

  'Roughly half an hour ago.'

  Abram glanced around, then set out, using the cleared area on his mini-map to ensure he was moving in the right direction. The sea should be somewhere off to his right. He'd decided to keep going until he hit the cave wall, then turn and see if he could move around the edge of the sea. He had no idea how big an area the water actually covered, but he knew that trying to cross on the barge would be a non-starter. He'd thought about heading back toward the cave they'd started in, but it was entirely possible he'd miss Sif and Angie even if he did, given he had no idea where exactly the cave entrance was. The only sure way to be reunited with them now was to go on to Sidastrgeil, and meet up with them there.

  As he moved his stomach growled, and he frowned and asked Hantu to adjust his Mystic Radar ability again, this time to detect anything over half a pound.

  A gratifying number of small animals and critters were revealed, and in short order he killed a beetle the size of a labrador.

  Another spell swap as he gathered a pile of wood let him start a fire, and he spent some time carefully cracking open the carapace. He used one of the curving shell sections as a makeshift bowl and roasted the meat he found, along with the legs, in their own juices.