by M. J. Sewall
They descended quickly. Gordon's stomach felt like it made a sudden new home in his chest as the beast angled down. Very different than riding in an airship. I don't think I like it.
The fighting rings were in the center of the island, and Gordon's gaze went there. They landed on the sea, next to the shore, the giant Jhalgon rested on the water. Gordon looked around to the fin at his back. It towered above his head. To the rider Gordon said, “We need to head back to the rings. My mother and Aline are there.”
“Aline, yes,” said the rider, firing more arrows at any of the Loyce's men she spotted running along the beach. “Who do you think sent me to you? Your mother is with her. I tried to rescue them first, but they didn't need the help. They were felling many guards when I left them.”
“Of course they were,” said Gordon. Brenddel leapt from the beast with a splash. Without a word, Brenddel sprinted up the beach towards some buildings.
“Damn you, stop!” said the rider.
“Can't we go after him?” asked Gordon.
“Not yet, the Jhalgon needs to be in water at least a quarter hour before she can fly again.”
“I see.” Gordon splashed into the water. “Sorry,” he said as he ran after Brenddel.
The rider growled, “I just rescued you!” but Gordon was nearly out of earshot.
The buildings were simple wooden houses on stilts, connected by raised walkways. Everywhere was chaos, the Sea Lord's men running around, many headed to the far side of the island and their ships. Gamblers were scurrying away in all directions. Still other men were running to man defensive large arrow guns that surrounded the structures. They were mounted on poles in the sand, in front of the structures and platforms.
Two of Loyce's men were trying to aim them down the beach at the Jhalgon. They did not notice Brenddel as he jumped onto them. One tried to draw his longknife, but Brenddel's fist stopped him. Brenddel took the fallen man's knife and it slid into the man's gut. The man let out a scream, but only for a moment. The other man had drawn his shortknife, but Brenddel met every blow with a clang with his recently bloodied knife.
There were three large arrows sticking out of the ground waiting to be fired from the arrow gun. They were nearly as tall as Gordon, but he grabbed one and joined the fight, using it like a spear. As the man blocked Gordon, Brenddel cut him down easily, then used a knife to cut the arrow gun's tense bow string like it was twine. No one would be using it again.
Brenddel ran up the platform, and into the largest house. Running up the platform, Gordon turned his head and saw two guards cut down, falling from the landings.
“Mother! Aline!” yelled Gordon, changing course. Gordon and his mother ran to each other and embraced.
“You're both hurt!” said Gordon, seeing that blood covered them both.
Aline said, “Not our blood. Was that Brenddel?”
Gordon answered, “Yes. I don't know how he got here, but he lost his memory for a while. He's Brenddel again.”
“Then he must be hunting Loyce. Let's go,” said Ellice.
The three ran on the platform, following Brenddel into the large house. Aline and Ellice had weapons ready, but there were none of Loyce's men to fight. The rest must have fled.
The large room was full of weapons. It reminded Gordon of his time in Extatumm, when he was shown the rooms full of old things. In this room there were weapons, paintings, statues, and tapestries hanging everywhere. It looked like it belonged to a rich king.
Aline asked, “How wealthy is this Loyce?”
Brenddel was ripping the room apart. “I don't care. I just want the man. Where is he?”
There was no good place to hide in the large room, but Brenddel was looking behind every tapestry, and in every large trunk. They all searched, keeping one eye to the door for unwanted guests. They searched under the massive bed in the corner, everywhere a man might fit.
“Maybe he's already fled to his ship?” asked Ellice.
Brenddel replied, “And leave all this? No, the man I met was a bragging Sea Lord, and a greedy one. He rescued me from the sea, then gave me something to make me sleep. I woke up in a cell. He best hide from me, but he wouldn't leave without his treasure.”
Aline said, “Well, it's just this one large room, unless he could make himself flat and slip between those slats.”
“Here, this is strange,” said Gordon.
The table before Gordon had nothing on it. Every other surface in the room had some object or treasure. They all came to the table and Gordon pointed to a bit of rope tied around one leg of the table, “Look there,” Gordon said as he pushed the table away.
Brenddel came over and opened the trap door hiding under the table. As it opened, an arrow bolt shot straight up, missing Brenddel by an inch and sticking into the ceiling. Brenddel roared and pulled the man straight up by his hair. The man screamed like he was a small child, dropping his arrow gun.
Brenddel threw the man across the room. Gordon swallowed hard, thankful his fight with Brenddel had been interrupted. Loyce went sprawling across the room. He tried to stand, drawing a shortknife, but Brenddel was already on him. Brenddel's foot went down on Loyce's wrist and he let go of the knife.
Loyce screamed, “I'll give you whatever you want!”
Brenddel grabbed the man and made him stand. “Anything?”
“Yes!” cried Loyce.
Brenddel pulled him close. “I want all those people you made me kill brought back to life, coward. I want this island to burn. I want to sink it into the sea. But first I want this…”
Ellice yelled, “Wait, don't…”
Brenddel's knife went straight into Loyce's heart.
“Brenddel” Ellice said, “He could have led us to the other Sea Lords. Our airships could have ended them for good.”
Loyce lay on the floor, dead. “Sorry,” was all Brenddel said as he used the Sea Lord's cape to wipe the blood from his knife.
“Come on then, we have to leave,” said Ellice.
“Not before we get our weapons,” replied Aline, spotting her knives across the room. Gordon saw his curved blade. He couldn't miss it, since it was in the center of the room in a glass case. The case was locked, so he smashed the case on the floor. A piece of thick paper was next to his blade, written in a beautiful hand, the elegant swooping words read:
The longknife Atmoss, forged by the son of Salban, Dard god of the sea. Seen in his hand parting the sea on a panel of the Dard gates
Gordon stared, reading it again. He folded the paper and put it into his pocket. He picked the longknife up with a new respect and solemnly put the belt and knife sheath around his waist. He spotted his machine and supplies from Loren. I would have been in real trouble if I forgot those.
“Okay,” Aline asked, “How much of this stuff can we carry?”
Ellice said, “We take none of it. All of this was stolen from someone. We will send word as soon as we can to the kingdom. We'll seize it and get it back to the owners, if the Sea Lord's men haven't taken it off the island by then.”
Aline replied, “Well that's disappointing.”
“How do we get off the island?” asked Gordon.
“The Jhalgon rider will take us,” said Aline.
“To the Outlands?” asked Gordon.
Ellice replied, “No. Back to the Kingdom. This adventure is over,” she said, looking out the door, “Strange, it's almost deserted out there. You'd think Loyce's men would have defended their island more fiercely. I wonder what scared them.”
“Maybe a sixty-foot killer fish flying at them with giant teeth?” said Gordon.
“Quiet!” said Brenddel, tipping his head to the side. Then he rushed from the room and ran down the platform toward the beach.
“Why does he keep doing that?” said Gordon as they all followed.
In the distance they saw three airships, flying in triangle formation straight for them.
“Thank the gods,” said Ellice.
Aline said, “So
that's why the Sea Lords fled.”
“…I still think the Jhalgon helped.” insisted Gordon.
The beach was deserted, the gamblers and the Sea Lord's men undoubtedly heading for their ships, the bloody games over. The Jhalgon still rested in the water. Brenddel had reached the rider, and they appeared to be arguing.
As they all approached the two, they heard the rider say, “…If we get close to them, they will try to shoot us down.”
Brenddel replied, “Not if you approach them from above. They can't fire arrows up as easily as they can downward. By the time we get close enough, they will have seen this.” As he was talking, Brenddel removed a white piece of cloth. There were blood stains, but it was white enough that it would work as a signal proving they were friendly. “besides, the moment they see riders on these things, they will be too shocked to fire. By that time, they will have seen me.”
The rider said, “Fine. But first we must settle something.” The rider removed the helmet. Gordon's mouth fell open as Sandrell, Aline's mother, stood before them.
She used her right hand and punched Brenddel in the jaw. To Gordon's surprise, the powerful man fell to the sand. He looked as shocked as Gordon.
The Jhalgon rider said, “That was for my sister.”
Chapter 30: New Trouble
“War? Are you sure?” asked King Asa.
“I'm afraid so. The people are very angry,” Mantuan said. “They made it clear that there would be an attack. This man Rolem is determined to install the Council of the Thirteen to rule, by force.”
Stathen added, “They have started to get articles published in some of the daily news pamphlets. There are even small books being scattered among the people in many villages, supporting their ideas. But their influence seems to go only so far.”
“What do you mean?” asked Devver.
“Ours is a large kingdom,” Stathen explained, Communication is slow to the farmlands and beyond. The far coasts are almost like another kingdom of their own. They don't concern themselves with trouble here at the palace. This may be a more local problem. This council might not have the vast support they think they do.”
“They had a fair size people's army, regular folk, untrained. But if we fight them, we look like exactly what they accuse us of being,” said Mantuan, “monsters that would hurt our own people.”
Asa said, “Seeming as bad as Trunculin, you mean. Wait, Trunculin was in control of the Kingdom for around a hundred years. Wasn't there a civil war before? How did he stop it?”
Stathen shook his head, “We're still assembling a true history. Trunculin knew he could stay in power only if he destroyed the real history. When folks reached a certain age and noticed he was not aging, he started a program of both intimidation and reward. He gave the older folks coin when they could no longer work and threatened to take it away if they talked. They had to sign a secret oath after a certain age. Those that didn't… just disappeared.”
Asa was stunned by the idea. They had learned so much, but there seemed to be no bottom to the layers of evil Trunculin had begun.
Stathen continued, “We have been going through a vast number of real histories and journals secretly kept by everyday people. The civil war seems to have begun as Trunculin was coming to power. We're still not sure what it was all about. It's clear Trunculin fought on the winning side and became Firstcouncilor soon after the war. When the men that fought for him got old, he made them sign these oaths.”
“Why would they do that?” asked Asa.
“Some did so out of fear. Most wouldn't sign.” Stathen elaborated, “many tried to tear up their oaths, tell the truth about Trunculin. Trunculin made up a lie to the public, saying those men were part of a dangerous new sect that drank the blood of children.”
“And the people believed that?” asked Vance.
“Remember, he was very popular. And he controlled every way that people got their information. The lies seemed to be coming from history books and daily pamphlets, but it all truly flowed from him. In the end, Trunculin won. There were mass arrests and secret trials. Those that resisted him were all killed.”
Lozarian, came in, “Are you ready for my report, my king?”
Mantuan sighed, “Yes, Lozarian, we were wondering when you'd come with more good news.”
The acting secondman stood there uncomfortably. He was third in line after Brenddel and Tolan, but these had been hard days and every report was worse than the last.
King Asa said, “Sorry, Lozarian. That was unfair. Mantuan didn't mean to take it out on you.”
“Of course, my King, I wish I had better news to offer,” said Lozarian. “We have five thousand regular troops, and twenty-three thousand reserve. The problem is, the reserves come from the people. If it's a civil war, we don't know how many will actually come when called. We estimate we could recruit another ten thousand if a war starts, but again, these are just hopeful estimates.”
Mantuan said, “Of course, Lozarian. What about weapons stock?”
“We could hold out forever as far as arrows and airships supplies. If we have the trained men to fire them, that is. We have ten airships constantly patrolling our borders, rotating back to the airfields to account for gas loss. Three ships are with Tolan. That leaves fifteen more to fight.”
“Is that all?” asked Asa.
Lozarian answered, “Yes, my King. Many airships were destroyed at the battle over the haunted forest, one more with Brenddel by the Outlanders. We are building more, but it takes time. We can only capture so much gas from the ground.”
Asa nodded. “Thank you, Lozarian.” But the guard didn't leave.
“My King, it is normally not my place. But while Tolan is on mission, I think I must say that I'm worried. Tolan took three ships, all with the new weapon. Hopefully he'll return soon. We lost Brenddel… but I hear no worries from my men.”
Vance asked, “No worries? Isn't that good?”
“In one way, yes. In another, no,” said Lozarian. “Men grumble all the time among themselves. But I'm hearing no dissent about a potential war on their neighbors, regular folk. I'm concerned some of them have made up their minds to side with the people when the moment comes. I would never accuse my men of betrayal, but they are just men, and they've never faced a war at home like this. All men have doubts. I find it strange that none of them are saying anything out loud. They are not speaking out, but I fear they are whispering to each other.”
Mantuan asked, “Did you say Tolan took all the new weapons?”
“Yes.”
“He told me he was taking only one, for testing on his ship. Why would he lie about that?” said Mantuan, scratching at his patch.
Lozarian said, “Actually, he also took some of our best men. He assigned other men to new posts before he left, a lot of switching around. I'm sorry, it sounds like I doubt him. Of course I don't, I just want to make a full report.”
“Thanks Lozarian, you're doing great at such a hard time. You can go,” said Asa.
“Thank you, my King.” Lozarian left the room heavier with worry than when he arrived.
Asa asked, “Have we had any word from Tolan?”
Stathen answered, “Two messages by bird. He hasn't found anything yet. But testing the birds on airships has had mixed results. The birds are nervous around the rotators. Since they need a place to land that they know, like the palace birdary, we can't send a message back to Tolan, because he's always on the move. And we can't know if all of his messages are getting to us. During testing, only a third of our message birds ever returned.”
Mantuan said, “We have shrunk the world with the speed of our airships, but we can't get a damn message back and forth reliably.”
“We could have the mystic guild try. They are everywhere,” said Stathen.
Mantuan said, “I don't trust them. They helped Trunculin for most of his life.”
“They were on the right side at the end,” said Stathen.
“They always work for
their own secret reasons first,” said Mantuan, “then they help others if they feel like it.”
Stathen said, “Well, if you change your mind, I can contact them.”
Devver asked, “How go the plans to defend the palace, in case of attack?”
Mantuan said, “Tricky, but almost ready. We don't want to make the people angrier by looking like we are trying to hide behind our walls. But those walls must be protected, along with the king.”
Asa said, “Thanks Mantuan, but like we discussed, we leave the heavy weapons safely away from the palace until it looks like we need them.”
Mantuan smiled. “As we agreed, my King. They are close by, but hidden. Only a few trusted guards know where they are and how to assemble them.”
Lozarian ran back into the room, “My King…”
“Did you forget to report something?”
“No. No. I'm sorry, my King, I just got a new report from the gas fields. The airships… our fleet has been destroyed.”
Chapter 31: The Dragon
“Sister? You mean you're Sandrell's twin sister?” asked Gordon, as Brenddel rubbed his jaw and got up from the sand.
“Yes!” Aline hugged the woman, “this is my aunt, Ardrell.”
“I'm the oldest. By a few moments,” said the woman, her helmet tucked under her other arm.
Gordon asked, “Aline. Why didn't you tell us?”
“When I saw the rider from Harlow's ship, I knew it must be Aunt Ardrell. But I couldn't say anything. Every word we said on that ship was heard. Plus, I didn't know what she was planning.”
Ellice said, “That was wise, especially since Harlow wasn't truthful with us.”
Brenddel stood. “Now, I need you to get me to those airships.”
Ardrell began to argue, but Brenddel interrupted, “I know you hate me. Sandrell told me about you, of course, but this is not a time for old wars. I need to get up to those airships and tell them what is happening. Will you help us?”
