Crossroads 04 - The Dragon Isles

by Sullivan, Stephen D (v1. 1)

  “The Order will determine that,” Lady Kell replied.

  A tall, similarly dressed, auburn-haired man joined Lady Kell at the rail. In his left hand, he held a long lance the color of pale orange coral. “We don’t want to use force,” he said, “but we will, if necessary. All intruders must be taken to Berann to judge their worthiness.”

  Shimmer stepped forward. “Will you judge me also, Ben- thor Kell?” he said, his deep voice echoing over the water.

  Benthor and Misa Kell exchanged a wary glance.

  “Forgive us, Shimanloreth,” Lady Kell said, bowing slightly. “We did not recognize you at first. The report of our scout was ... incomplete.”

  “Of course we don’t presume to judge you,” Lord Kell continued. “You are free to go your own way. However— by the rules of the Order of Brass—your companions must come with us.”

  “And if I refuse to let you take them?” Shimmer asked.

  “Our escort, Tanalish, is not far off,” Lady Kell replied. “She will help us enforce the law if need be.”

  “Surely that will not be necessary, Shimanloreth,” Lord Kell added. “You know that these laws are vital for the safety of the Isles. You may come or go as you please. The rest, however, must accompany us.”

  As he said it, two dozen brass-armored warriors appeared at the gunwale. They stood with their swords at the ready, though none threatened Shimmer or the others directly.

  Mik glanced at Trip and Karista. “It seems we have no choice,” he whispered.

  “They appear genteel enough,” Karista said. “The elf and her friend may have been lying to us. We should go with this Order of Brass.”

  “My goals and yours,” Mik replied, “are not entirely the same here. Nevertheless . ..”

  He turned to lord and lady Kell and bowed slightly. “My companions and I,” he said, indicating Trip and Karista, “will do as you request.”

  “No!” Ula hissed at him.

  Shimmer put a gentle hand on her shoulder. “There is no other way,” he whispered.

  “We are shipwrecked travelers, of no threat to anyone,” Mik continued, “and look forward to your hospitality.”

  “Our recent fortunes have been grave,” Karista added. “We hope that meeting you may reverse our bad luck.”

  “Flattery will gain you nothing,” Lord Kell replied. “The law sees through such shams. However, I welcome you aboard and will treat you fairly during our journey to Berann.”

  “Come alongside the reef!” Lady Kell called to her helmswoman. A drumchanter beside the tiller began to chant and the banks of oars dipped into the water once more. The galley executed a graceful turn and stopped only a few yards from the reef.

  The warriors put a long boarding plank into the water and Mik, Trip, and Karista walked up it onto the deck of the brass boat.

  “Well, Landwalker?” Lady Kell called. “Will you board as well, or shall we summon Tanalish?”

  Ula glanced from Lady Kell to Shimmer, and then to Mik standing near the dragonship’s rail. Fire burned in the sea elf s green eyes.

  “We’ll come aboard,” Ula said.

  She and Shimmer walked up the plank onto the galley’s deck.

  As Lady Kell escorted the prisoners to the bow and set guards around them—all save Shimanloreth. Lord Kell gave orders to the helm and oarsmen. A fine mist sprang up around them as the sleek dragonship cut through the water once more.

  They sped quickly over the placid ocean, passing the small nearby keys and heading northwest toward a large wooded island crowned with snowcapped peaks.

  “You should hide the artifact and the parchment with the Prophecy, or they may confiscate them,” Ula hissed at Mik.

  “I’ll do what I can with the diamond,” he said. “As to the Prophecy, it’s already hidden in the best place of all.”

  “Where?” she asked.

  In reply, he merely tapped his skull and smiled.

  She nodded in return and whispered, “If you still want to try for that fortune, support me when I make my play.”

  “Have you figured a way out of here?” he asked.

  “Maybe,” she replied. “I can’t fight the whole Order of Brass, but...”

  Mik looked puzzled, but she said no more.

  “Where are we going?” Trip asked their brass-armored captors. He hopped to the rail and leaned out over the gunwale so far that he nearly toppled into the drink.

  “Berann,” Lady Kell replied. “Home of the Order of Brass and our lord Thrakdar.”

  “A bag of wind,” Shimmer grumbled. “Both him and his uncle Thracktil.”

  Misa Kell’s eyes narrowed, but she did not react to what the bronze knight said. Instead, she turned to the others and said, “Turn over your weapons. We will return them to you after judgment”

  “And if we’re judged unworthy?” Mik asked, his hand resting on the pommel of his scimitar.

  “Then they will he returned when you are cast adrift beyond the Veil,” Lady Kell replied.

  Ula rose from where she had been sitting, her spear clenched tightly in her fist. “I am no common prisoner,” she said. “I will not give up my weapons.”

  “It is the law, Ula Landwalker,” Lady Kell said.

  “You apply your laws capriciously, Misa Kell,” Ula replied. “They do not hind me. I am a Drakenvaal. I will not submit to you, or your order, or your laws. I am hound by the customs of my people—the Dargonesti. We roamed the seas when your people were but babes. Only the Dargonesti can deprive me of arms; only they can judge me. I demand that you take me to Darthalla.”

  Mik glanced at Ula, and saw cunning in her eyes. He nodded that he was with her.

  “Those were the old ways, Landwalker,” Lady Kell said. “Things are different since the gods of good and their dragon consorts left Krynn. Things have changed in the isles, and order must be maintained.”

  “Has honor changed as well, then?” Ula asked.

  Misa Kell looked offended. “How could the laws of honor change?” she said haughtily.

  A sly smile broke over Ula’s beautiful face. “Then I demand honorable justice,” she said.

  “What do you mean?” Lady Kell asked.

  “I demand trial by combat.”

  Nineteen

  Duel on the Deck

  Trip elbowed Mik. “What’s she up to?” the kender asked.

  “Trying to keep us out of prison,” Mik replied, though he wished that he felt more sure of the sea elf s impromptu plan.

  Lord Kell strode from the bridge to where Ula and the rest stood in the bow of the dragonship. In his left hand he held his long coral lance clutched tight. He took up a defensive posture beside his sister.

  Misa Kell’s gaze narrowed, and her brow furrowed with anger. She stared unblinking into the sea elf s green eyes.

  “This is absurd,” Benthor Kell said. “The law is clear, Ula Drakenvaal. You—and the rest—must accompany us to Berann.”

  “The Code of Honor is older than your order’s laws,” Ula said, never taking her eyes off Misa. “If you’ve abandoned it, say so.”

  Benthor Kell’s rugged jaw tightened, and he frowned. “We would no more abandon honor than we would the law.”

  “Then I demand my rights,” Ula said.

  “Very well,” Lord Kell replied, hefting his lance. “Clear the decks!” he called. “We will give this elf her trial.”

  “No, Benthor,” Misa said. “It is I who was challenged— and I who will accept.”

  “But, sister—” Lord Kell began.

  “Ula challenged your sister, not you,” Mik improvised. “Only the challenged can accept. To do otherwise is to forfeit the challenge.”

  Lord Kell glared at Mik, and then at the sea elf. Mik smiled, knowing the lord was trapped.

  “If I win,” Ula said, “you will release the castaways to me and take us to Darthalla. There my people will judge our worthiness to stay in the Dragon Isles.”

  “And if you lose?” Mik whispered.

/>   Ula winked at him. “Then we all go to Berann and stand before the Order.” She turned to Lady Kell and in a louder voice said. “Do you accept the terms of the challenge?”

  Karista Meinor looked from Ula to Lady Kell. She seemed to be weighing her options, but said nothing. Trip clapped gleefully in anticipation of the fight.

  “I accept,” Misa Kell replied through gritted teeth. “Clear the deck and we’ll settle this.” She loosened her brass-handled sword from its scabbard and tossed the sheath toward the stem deck.

  The crew moved away from the center of the trireme’s midship platform, leaving the women plenty of room to fight. Ula glanced at Mik. “Have Shimmer make sure they play fair,” she said loudly.

  Mikal Vardan nodded, as did bronze knight. Ula turned back to her opponent, spear at the ready.

  With a snarl of rage, Misa charged forward. She swung at Ula’s head, but the sea elf ducked out of the way.

  Ula flipped her spear and clouted the brass-armored woman in the lower back. Misa staggered and barely ducked aside in time to avoid Ula’s follow-up thrust. Lady Kell brought her sword up against the spear’s haft and turned the weapon aside.

  “You fight well,” Misa snarled, “for someone dressed like a camp follower.”

  Ula laughed. “So do you.”

  Misa chopped at Ula’s midsection, but the sea elf stepped back, her bare feet moving gracefully over the ship’s smooth wooden deck. She pirouetted, spun her weapon, and clouted Lady Kell on the side of the head with the spear’s butt. Misa reeled from the impact.

  “She’s fast!” Trip whispered, admiring Ula’s grace.

  “She’s used to fighting in the pressure of the deep,” Mik whispered back. “Above water, she’s much quicker than any of us. Stronger, too, probably.”

  “Stronger than Lady Kell, I hope,” Trip replied.

  Misa Kell waved her sword before her as she staggered back. The brass weapon turned aside two of the sea elf s thrusts—more by luck than design. Ula stabbed at her again, and this time the blow got through, tracing a long cut down Misa’s pale ribs.

  “That scanty armor is just slowing you down,” Ula noted. “You should design your next set for protection rather than show.”

  “Elf witch!” Misa snarled. “Stand still and fight!” She lunged forward suddenly and got her sword under Ula’s guard. Ula turned Misa’s blade aside, but they crashed together and the two of them fell to the deck in a heap.

  Their arms and legs tangled as they wrestled across the deck, each trying to position her weapon for a telling blow. Misa smashed the pommel of her sword into Ula’s hip. The sea elf grunted and clouted the brass lady on the chin with her fist.

  Blood spurted from Misa’s mouth. She tried to grab Ula’s arm, but only ended up with a handful of jewelry from the sea elf s sparse clothing. A few tiny gems rolled across the planking and briefly settled onto the deck before finding their way into Trip’s pockets.

  Ula rammed her knee into Lady Kell’s exposed gut. The air rushed out of Misa’s lungs and Ula rolled out from under her. The Dargonesti quickly scrambled to her feet. Bloody-faced, Lady Kell did the same.

  Panting, the two women regarded each other across the blood spattered deck.

  “Slippery as a scavenger eel,” Misa growled.

  “And with twice the bite,” Ula countered. “Submit. You’re outmatched.”

  “Never!”

  Ula lunged forward, stabbing at Lady Kell’s midsection.

  Misa parried, but that was exactly what Ula wanted.

  The sea elf allowed the shaft of her spear to skid up Misa’s sword blade. Ula heaved hard, pushing the sword to the left, then thrust right.

  She drove the spear point up, into the unprotected flesh just below Misa’s shoulder guard. Lady Kell gasped. Her eyes grew wide, and her sword went limp in her hand. Ula gave her spear a final twist and thrust her opponent to the floor.

  Lady Kell slumped to her knees. Ula pulled her spear out of her opponent’s shoulder and stepped away. Misa gasped once and then collapsed on the deck, unconscious and bleeding.

  Mik knelt down, tore off the sleeve of his shirt, and pressed it over Misa’s wound. “Get a healer,” he said, glancing up at Ula. The satisfied smile on her face sent a shiver down his spine.

  “Get away from her, freebooter,” Lord Kell said, pushing Mik out of the way. A woman dressed in white stepped forward and knelt beside her lord and lady. She began to minister to Misa Kell’s wound.

  “The wound is deep, my lord,” the white-robed woman said. “It will take all my skill to stop the bleeding.”

  Fire blazed in Benthor Kell’s gray eyes. “There was no need for you to wound her thus,” he said, glaring at Ula.

  “Ula gave her the chance to withdraw,” Mik said.

  “This was no game she and you entered into,” Ula said, her green eyes flashing. “If you two weren’t prepared to pay the price, you shouldn’t have challenged my rights.”

  Lord Kell stood and drew his sword. Ula took a step back and aimed the bloody point of her spear at his chest. The two of them glowered at each other across the crimson stained deck.

  “I should gut you where you stand,” Lord Kell hissed through clenched teeth.

  “Is this how you honor the laws of combat?” Ula asked. Shimmer took up a position behind her.

  “It was a fair fight,” Mik said, stepping between Kell and Ula.

  Kell lowered his sword. “I will honor our word,” he said tersely. “You and your friends have won the right to be judged by the Dargonesti.” He turned toward the white- robed woman, “How is my sister?”

  “Her injury is grave,” the healer replied. “My power is not what it was before the gods departed. It will take a long time to heal.”

  “Take Lady Kell to her cabin and tend her there,” Lord Kell said. He pointed to several brass-armored warriors and said, “Help the healer carry my sister.”

  The warriors nodded and assisted the healer in taking Misa Kell below deck. They moved slowly and deliberately so as not to aggravate the lady’s wound. Lord Kell, his manner stem and formal, turned back to Ula.

  “We sail for Darthalla,” he said. “The others will go with you, all save the kender.”

  “Unacceptable,” said Mik.

  Ula shot him a stem glance.

  Kell ignored the sailor and addressed Ula directly. “You know the laws concerning his kind. The code of your people is no different than ours. He must be taken to kendertown on the isle of Alarl.”

  “My people can take him to the city of Perch as easily as yours,” Ula said.

  “I think not,” Kell replied. “Besides, we both know kender are slippery and hard to hold onto. Better he should stay with me—unless you’d care to dispute my claim . . . ?” He arched one auburn eyebrow and smiled wickedly.

  Mik stepped forward, but Ula held him back. “Don’t,” she whispered.

  “I’m not going to let him take Trip,” Mik replied.

  “You can’t defeat him,” Ula said. “We’re both tired now. Kell would best either of us easily—which is exactly what he wants. Don’t give in to him.”

  Mik glanced at Trip, then at Kell. The lord practically glowed with eagerness to fight. Mik felt the weariness within his own bones. He had barely slept in two days. Ula was right; Kell would win easily.

  “We don’t find the treasure without him,” Mik whispered to Ula.

  She nodded. “If you insist,” she said. “We can pick him up later—after we’ve escaped Kell’s clutches.”

  Ula turned back to Lord Kell and smiled. “As you say, Lord Kell, there’s no point in fighting over a kender.”

  Trip jumped up and kicked Ula in the shin. “Hey!” he said. “I was rooting for you!”

  Mik stepped forward and grabbed Trip by the shoulder as the kender reached for his daggers. “Belay that!” Mik whispered. “Hold your weapons! I’ll explain later.”

  The captain reassured the kender with a look, and Trip stopped stru
ggling.

  Ula rubbed her leg and laughed. “He’s given me better than the lady of the ship,” she said with a wry smile. “You keep him, Kell. He’s more trouble than he’s worth.”

  Mik kept his hand firmly on Trip’s shoulder. “I won’t have you mistreating him,” he said to Kell.

  “Even kender are treated fairly by the Order of Brass,” Kell replied haughtily.

  “I’ll take that on your honor,” Mik said. “We’ve had a long and difficult journey. We’re all tired and hungry. Any help you could give in that regard would be welcome.”

  Kell turned to a deck hand and said. “Bring them food and drink.”

  “I could use a clean bandage for my leg,” Trip said. “Please.”

  “Have our healer tend the kender’s leg when she has a spare moment,” Kell added. “As to accommodations, you may sleep on the deck with the rest of the crew. We will, however, provide blankets.” He nodded at the deck hand, who had stood awaiting the end of Kell’s orders.

  The hand nodded in reply and left to fetch provisions for Mik and the rest.

  Lord Kell went to the ship’s rear platform and gave their new heading to the helmsman. The ship’s drum- chanter set the beat and began the rhythmic singing that Mik and his friends had first heard when Kell’s galley emerged from the fog.

  Kell took up his seat in the triarch’s chair at the boat’s stem. He made a tent of his fingers and glowered at Mik, Ula, and the rest.

  The deck hand soon returned with five skins of water, a small flask of weak wine, some dried meat and bread, and a few light blankets. Shimmer declined to eat anything, though he drank some of the water.

  Mik, Trip, Ula, and Karista ate as though they had not eaten for days. They savored each drop and morsel, and soon began feel themselves once more.

  Solemnly, Mik offered a toast to their d$ad comrades. Even Ula joined in as they passed the wine and everyone told a brief story of Bok, Marlian, or some other lost crewmate.

  Mik raised the wine flask again. “To the death of the dragon who caused all this!” he said.

  Trip, Ula, and Karista murmured their assent and drank.

  “I’ll share that toast,” Shimmer said. Mik handed him the skin and the bronze knight said, “To the end of Tempest and those who follow her!” He drank, then handed the flask back to Mik.