by Jeff Sabean
“I like to call this one, ‘Shut up and eat, I no longer wish to hear your nonsense. In G minor.’” the bard snickered as he answered.
“Yer lucky ye’re a good distraction,” Abugraic stated, still keeping his back toward the rest of the group, “or meself’d stick a dagger in yer spine while ye slept.”
“All hail Abugraic Emberspine, killer of sleeping halflings,” the bard’s singsong tone floated across, lifting the mood of even the dour rogue. Soon all were laughing and discussing the treasures they had recently acquired.
“Speaking of which,” Aki said, lifting his voice to be heard, “Who do you suppose that gold belonged to? We encountered no trouble other than the single shadow, so either someone thought it was unfindable or that no one would be stupid enough to steal it.”
“Or,” added Zatus, nodding his head, “someone simply put too much trust in the ability of the shadow to defend the loot.”
“Fair enough, Chief,” Aki replied, “but the question still remains: who did it belong to before we acquired it?”
“Most likely pirates,” Hankish explained, continuing to strum his lute. “Considering the tunnel opened to a cave on the beach, it is not a far stretch that pirates found that cave and have been storing their loot down there for quite some time. That was not a single treasure stash but collected over some time.”
“Aye, but we sure cleaned it out in a single night,” Zatus giggled, setting the group laughing again.
“Should we be moving along in case said pirates return?” Aki asked. “It has been centuries since real pirates have been a problem in my world, so I have to admit my only knowledge of them comes from books and movies.”
“Movies?” asked Bendiac. “You have used this word several times now, what is it?”
“Ahh, it would be hard to explain, but it would be moving pictures on a screen, that you can watch any time you want,” Aki stuttered a bit, never having considered he might have to explain what a movie was.
“Fair enough,” was all the dwarf responded.
“Master Aki is right,” Ja’ade interjected, drawing all eyes to herself. “We do not know how long it has been since the pirates have been here, but we can safely assume that the treasure was not simply left there and forgotten. I fear no pirates but have no desire to kill any this day. Let us move along.”
With that, the eight companions stood and began walking north again. They had not gone far when they saw smoke coming from the trees along the right side of the road. Each readied his or her weapons as they drew closer, then relaxed as they realized it was their camp from the previous night.
“That’s a big hole,” muttered Abugraic, summing up what everyone was thinking as they stared into the cavern.
“Don’t ye be getting' too close, now,” Bendiac warned as the group slowly drifted toward the edge. “I ain’t fer jumpin’ down to them sharks again to save any o’ ye.”
A chuckle rippled around the companions as they backed up again from the edge.
Aki looked around what was left of the clearing, orc and goblin bodies strewn around the edge of the wood line where he had employed the claymore mines. He peered over the edge of the sink hole again, wondering how many more bodies had followed them into the lake, feeding the sharks below.
“I hate to admit it, but I think the ground disappearing beneath us saved our lives,” Aki stated, still looking at the battlefield. “Do you see how many of them the mines took out? If I had to guess I would think there were far more than that coming at us. We’re good, but we’re not THAT good...”
“Speak for yerself, human,” Bendiac rumbled, a small smile playing at the edges of his mouth, mostly hidden beneath his beard.
“Fair enough. My point being, let’s move as quickly as we can, I don’t think I savor the idea of being on the side of this road again tonight.”
Nodding in agreement, the group started off again, but Zatus did not let it drop so easily.
“Remember what Shenroc told us about that Sgel the Nasty character?” he asked as they walked. “He said the orcs were sending an army to Harmonui, and he also said they could feel the vibrations in the stone of the tunnels of an army marching.”
“Yeah, I remember that too. What’s your point, Chief?”
“My point, my old and relatively senile friend, is that your musing might have been more accurate than you thought. Orcs typically do not come out in the daylight, so we are safe for now, but when night falls, we will want to be safe inside the walls of Eskanda,” he finished, staring at the trees as if an orc army would come rushing toward them at any moment.
“Once again, you football-sized annoyance, you can’t call me old now that I know you are twice my age,” Aki answered, also staring at the trees as he walked.
“Old habits die hard,” he replied, giggling to himself as he never took his eyes from the trees.
◆◆◆
After several hours of walking, the final approach to the city came into view. It was still a long walk, but the road was well maintained this close to the city and being away from the beach where pirates could appear on one side and orcs from the trees on the other had a lifting effect on the moods of all present. With the gates of the city just visible, they stopped for a quick snack.
“Let’s just make haste for town,” Hankish complained. “Why would I eat rat jerky when I could eat a hot stew with a cold ale?”
“Wait, what kind of jerky?” Aki asked, the meat halfway to his mouth.
“Rat. You are eating rat, ignorant human. And you were complementing the seasoning this morning. There, can we go now?” a clearly frustrated Hankish nearly screamed at the man.
“Huh, tastes kinda like chicken,” Aki joked with Zatus as he took a large bite of the jerky.
“ZATUS,” Hankish whined, clearly perplexed, “YOU said telling him it was a rat would disgust him and make him stop eating it!”
“This guy would eat anything,” the gnome stated, almost falling over because he was laughing so hard. “I just said that because I knew it would be funny to see the look on your face when it did not work!”
“You have a strange sense of humor,” the angry bard replied, stomping his feet as he chastised the friends, who were now howling with laughter as his face turned redder and redder.
“The look on your face is priceless,” Aki replied, tears streaming down his cheeks as he attempted to reign in his laughter. “You thought a little rat would upset my stomach?”
“I hoped you would prefer a good hot meal and a pint of ale after a hot bath followed by a soft bed to eating dehydrated rat on the side of the road and swallowing it down with tepid water,” Hankish replied, eyeing the human warily. “But I suppose I cannot reason with such uncultured swine.”
“Swine? Me? Oh, please tell me you have some bacon or some sausage to go with this tasty rat!” Aki replied, bursting into laughter again.
“I am going to town now, with or without you heathens,” Hankish stated, stomping to the road and turning toward town. “You may come with me, or you may try to find me when you get there. I do not care, but I will not wait a moment longer.”
“We have been properly rebuked, I see,” Zatus stated, a falsely somber look on his face. “I do suppose we cannot let him run off on his own, you never know what kind of trouble he might get himself into!”
The sun was getting lower in the sky, but the group still had several hours of daylight left as they followed the disgruntled halfling toward the city. As they drew closer, Aki could see the layout was similar to that of Terminus, with a massive front gate leading to thick walls that wrapped around into the ocean behind the city. Considering the size of the place, he assumed it would be a simple task to find a ship headed for Harmonui, which his companions had described as the largest city in the area.
“What are the, uh, demographics of Eskanda?” Aki asked hesitantly as they walked.
“You’re trying to ask how many humans there are without sounding racist, aren’t y
ou?” Zatus asked, laughing internally at his friend’s embarrassment.
“Well, yeah, I guess that’s it. I’m still new to having to wonder if I will be allowed into a city based on my heritage or not, but didn’t want to offend anyone by asking,” he answered, shuffling his feet a bit at the attention the question drew from the rest of the group.
“To answer what you are actually asking, Terminus is one of the more diverse cities around,” Hankish interjected. “It doesn’t matter what your lineage is, you will be hated equally in Terminus unless you have gold in your pocket.
“I have only visited Eskanda once, and I honestly would not be coming back if not for the promise of more riches if I stick with you. It is a city run by humans, and they tend to look down on others, I suppose literally in my case. They will allow craftsmen into the city to sell their goods, such as our esteemed Brewdigger brothers here, and they would never overtly ask someone to leave for not being human, but that is about the long and short of it, as they say.”
“Sounds about right,” Aki muttered, thinking how some things don’t change no matter what world you are in.
To lighten the mood, Hankish slid his lute from his back and began plucking the strings as he walked. Soon he had a lively toon about a bar maid who tried too hard to find a husband rolling from his lips, much to the enjoyment of his companions. The thoughts of rejection and possible abuse disappeared from their minds, and the promise of a hot meal, a warm bath, and a clean bed propelled them down the road toward Eskanda.
Chapter 12 – Eskanda
The road wrapped around and brought the group to the front gates of Eskanda, which were still wide open, even as the sun was descending in the sky at their approach. Expecting to be stopped by sentries, especially with non-humans in the group, Aki took the lead the closer they came to the gate and asked Hankish to put away the lute. He was surprised at the lack of security as he walked across the bridge and through the massive city gates unmolested.
Pausing in the entrance, the entire party stared slack-jawed at the empty streets and guard towers, wondering where all the people were. To complete the scene, an actual tumbleweed blew across the road a few buildings away as Aki watched.
“Where are the people?” Aki asked, breaking the silence.
“How would we know, ye durn fool,” Bendiac scolded, still staring at the empty streets himself. “We been with you the whole time.”
“Rhetorical question,” Aki started to explain, then just gave up and continued staring blankly at the empty streets like everyone else.
“So much for a hot meal,” Hankish complained. “Although I believe I can find the Inn where I stayed last time, if there is still food at least we can cook it ourselves. It’s better than rat anyway...”
“Aye, we won’t be learnin’ nothin’ standin’ around strokin’ our beards anyway,” Abugraic stated. “Well, us who kin grow one anyway,” he added looking at Zatus.
“Agreed. Hankish, if you would be so kind as to lead us to this Inn, we can find some food and a place to sleep tonight, then first thing in the morning we can attempt to discover what has happened here and whether or not we will be able to purchase passage on a ship to Harmonui,” Aki decided, to the agreement of everyone.
They crept silently down the deserted street, following the halfling as he picked his way around debris that littered what appeared to have been once spotless roads. Trash and fecal matter were piled along the buildings facing the road, and the further they walked the more deserted the city became. Windows and doors were boarded shut, and the deeper they moved into the city they began to see traces of blood on the streets and buildings.
“What do you imagine happened here?” Hankish asked breathlessly, putting into words what everyone else was thinking.
“Some type of attack, obviously, although it is hard to tell what exactly happened,” Aki mused. “If the orcs had attacked, I would assume the front gate would be closed, and there would be evidence of a siege. But the gates are wide open, implying the threat either came from the water or from within.”
“Pirates?” Thrazzoun tossed out as an idea.
“Could be, and I am clearly not the expert on defensive positions in your world, but would the front gate not be closed immediately if an attack started at the docks? I know that is the first thing I would do, to ensure it was not a two-pronged attack: a distraction at the docks and a main assault on the gate.”
“The further we get from the gate, the more carnage we see,” Zatus added. “This was an internal attack, originating deep within the city. Keep your eyes open for manhole covers that could lead to the sewer: I do not relish the thought of entering another sewer any time soon, either to attack an enemy or to escape from one. However, I also do not wish to be surprised by an enemy emerging from a sewer...again.”
“None of us have forgotten the attacks from the sewers, Master Gnome,” Ja’ade replied, causing her sister to giggle a bit. “Believe me, none of us have a desire to enter such a place again...unless there is gold to be found, in which case a few gold pieces will purchase a bath to wash off the sewer.”
Gawking at the fiery red head, Zatus could hardly contain himself.
“A few gold pieces? A bath? Have you forgotten we have a king’s treasure stashed away between the eight of us, woman? There is not enough gold in the world to make me climb back into a sewer willingly in this century.”
“If that is how you feel, then so be it, Master Gnome,” Mialin replied, grinning from ear to ear. “More gold for the rest of us, if the situation should arise.”
“More--” he began to reply, then changed his mind. “I can never tell if you ladies are serious or not. Let us just hope the situation does not arise.”
“There is no such thing as ‘enough gold,’ Master Gnome,” Ja’ade replied with a wink, then turned back toward the deserted street to watch for trouble.
◆◆◆
Luckily the banter had only been a distraction as to the destruction around the group as they weaved their way through the destroyed city. Senses sharp to the possibility of an attack, each one maintained a sharp eye and a heightened state of readiness, waiting for what would come next.
Whether fortunate or unfortunate, Aki could not decide which, they reached the inn with no incidents. The front door and windows on either side were boarded up, and the whole street reeked of a blown-out port-a-john, he thought as they looked for a safe entry to the building.
“I don’t suppose we could just knock,” Hankish asked, and none could tell if he was serious or not.
“I believe a stealthy entry would be in our best interest,” Aki replied, as he noticed a window on the second story of the building that was not boarded. “We could boost someone up to the window to look around, and if it seems safe, we can climb through there.”
All eyes turned to Zatus.
“Oh, I get it, toss the gnome through the window. Like I’ve never heard that before,” he muttered, stepping to the side of the building and waiting to be boosted up.
“Don’t get yer panties in a bunch, littlun,” Bendiac scolded. “Ye think ye’re the first one to be tossed through a window by a larger race? At least this window’s open...”
“Oh, just get on with it,” an unenthused Zatus said, preparing to be tossed.
“At least I’m not going to punt you,” grinned Aki as he picked up his friend and lifted him to the window.
“Very funny,” the group heard as the gnome disappeared into the window, then all was silent.
A minute ticked past.
Then two.
“He is perfectly capable of taking care of himself,” Aki thought to himself, as he began to worry about his friend.
A noise at the front door startled them in the silence that had descended on the street after Zatus had disappeared. The door opened a crack on the other side of the boards, and Aki could just see his friend’s face beaming through the hole, holding a pint of ale and sipping it as he stared at the seven stil
l on the street.
“Now, before I go up and lower a rope down to you, I would like everyone to admit that they could not get into this place without me,” Zatus nearly sang through the opening.
“Could not get in?” a flabbergasted Hankish retorted. “I might kill that one soon...”
With that, he reached inside his jacket and pulled out a round, black object that looked like a melted frisbee to Aki. With a snort, he tossed the melted frisbee against the wall next to the door, and immediately a hole about three feet wide appeared in the wall, showing a rather shocked Zatus standing on the other side.
“Ladies first,” the dashing bard announced, waiving the Xyrstiina sisters through the hole.
“Portable hole?” Aki asked, beginning to understand the usefulness of such an item.
“No self-respecting thief would be without one,” Hankish replied with a wink as he dove through the hole and tackled Zatus, spilling the mug of ale everywhere. The two wrestled back and forth as the rest of the group climbed through the hole and Abugraic pulled it from the wall behind them, returning the wall to its original solid state.
“Watch this,” he said, nudging Aki as he tossed the hole on the ground in front of where Hankish and Zatus were rolling. The hole appeared as it connected with the ground, and the two fell through it into the basement, a chorus of expletives echoing back up to the laughing dwarf as he retrieved the hole.
“Oops. Ain’t knowed there were a basement,” was all the apology offered as the two bolted up a stairwell beside the bar and into the main room.
“Enough of the nonsense,” Aki said, stopping the two from attacking Abugraic. “I don’t need his leg getting injured again, I have a feeling we will need him at his best, and as long as he lets it heal tonight, I think the crutch will be unnecessary tomorrow.”
“Fair enough,” Hankish seethed, staring at his brother. “But this is not over.”
“Enough,” Aki warned again, losing his patience. “Now, Chief, did you see any evidence of people upstairs or,” and he couldn’t help but smirk a bit, “in the basement?”
