by B T Litell
...Elsewhere…
“Cap’n, we have contact north and east, a few knots off!” a sailor called from the crow’s nest.
Captain Randall, the Ruthless, the Commanding Officer of Queller felt a stone forming in his stomach. Men did not sail this close to Drendil without good reason, and the ship was still undergoing repairs.
“What is the contact?” the Captain replied, fearing what the barrelman said next.
“A beast, sir. He is large and moving toward us quickly!”
“Damn this voyage,” Randall said to himself under his breath. The bosun, at the helm of the ship, chuckled to himself before catching a menacing look from his captain. “Get the priest topside. Now!”
A sailor ran down below the main deck and came back shortly with Joshua, his hood still draped over his shoulders. As much as Randall disliked the priests, this one had adapted to the life of a sailing man. He wore no shoes and seemed to be measuring his steps as he ran to quarterdeck. Randall gave him no time to ask questions before barking information at him.
“What kind of beast is it?” Joshua asked, a grave look on his face.
“It looked like a sea serpent, but it moved too fast to get a good look, m’lord,” the barrelman said.
“Damn.” Joshua looked more worried now. “What defenses do you have aboard?”
“We have sixteen guns each side, but if it’s a serpent we stand little chance against it unless the ship is mobile.” Randall replied. Damn this whole fucking voyage.
The ship began rocking as waves from the serpent finally reached the boat. It was still a few kilometers off, based on the waves
“Captain, I can dispel the beast, but I need time to concentrate.” Joshua offered.
“No. I will not have Magic being cast from my ship. It’s bad enough I have a priest on board.”
“This is the only way we will survive, and you and I both know that’s the only way you are getting your promotion to Commodore,” Joshua countered.
Randall went silent at that. How does he know about that?
“Fine! Do whatever you need to do.”
Michael came topside as Joshua started climbing the rope ladder to the crow’s nest. Once up in the nest, Joshua knelt down and held his hands in front of his chest, fingertips touching. Gazing out, he saw waves forming as the serpent approached quickly. He took a deep breath and began chanting a few spells. Dark, unnaturally thick clouds formed, darkening the sunset and the stars that had already started showing through the evening sky. The clouds circled above the ship as if they were a soup in a giant cauldron being stirred by an equally giant spoon. Lightning streaked through the clouds and provided the only source of light besides a couple oil lamps down on the main decks of the Queller. Joshua stood, still chanting spells; he reached his hands forward, palms toward the roiling sky. A bolt of lightning shot down from the cloud, filled his hands and formed an orb between his hands. As the orb grew, he separated his hands, now forming a second orb of lightning. One hand he brought back close to his ear and looked for the serpent, something that was hard to do now with less light. Lightning streaked from the sky to the water, illuminating the deep ocean, and revealing the snake for the priest.
The sea serpent jumped from the water, and Joshua threw his hand forward. He released the first orb of lightning, which shot from his hand in what seemed a stream of liquid. One bolt caught the snake’s stomach, tracing across its scales toward the water. Scales shot from the snake’s skin, the heat from the lightning rupturing its hide. The beast shrieked and dove back into the water as the last of the first lightning orb left Joshua’s hand. The second orb was now ready, waiting to be thrown at the snake if it came back above the water. Joshua had lost sight of the snake when it dove into the water. He hoped it had retreated but stayed ready in case.
He summoned another orb of lightning, getting ready for the snake. After a quick glance, he spotted the snake again, approaching the surface quickly and at an angle that would allow it to reach Queller faster. Both orbs of lightning jumped toward the surface of the water, approaching the snake quickly. The beast emerged from the water and caught the streams of electricity as it did. The snake wriggled and shrieked, smoke rising off its scaly form, before it fell still, splashing back into the water and floating at the surface. With the beast slain, Joshua relaxed, and nearly fell over, supported only by the railing on the crow’s nest. After a few minutes of rest, he started climbing down the ladder before ending once more on the main decks of the ship, leaning against the mast to catch his breath.
Michael stood nearby as he stared, unsure of what had happened. Randall and several sailors were at the port side of the ship inspecting the serpent to ensure it was truly dead before stripping some scales from its thick hide. Clearly the trinkets were valuable to them and perhaps other seafaring folks. After he caught his breath, Joshua walked to the side of the ship to also inspect his work. Michael still stood where he had been, his legs feeling fused to the deck of the ship suddenly. What was that? How did he learn to do that? What was that!
“I have some explaining to do, Michael,” Joshua said, approaching his ward. “Let’s go to our hammocks and talk. You look quite distressed.”
“I don’t understand what I just watched.” It was the only reply he could think of.
“Randall dislikes Magic and anything to do with it. This is why he dislikes priests, and especially hates having one aboard his precious ship,” Joshua explained, once back in the quarters area. He sat on the deck with Michael, his legs folded underneath him. “A little more than four hundred years ago, seven stars fell from the sky. The first star, discovered by an Elf who later became a powerful wizard, revealed Magic to the world. Years later, the Elves opened a school for those who wanted to study and use Magic; they called this school the Sorcerer’s College, and for a long time it was only for Elves. Then humanity discovered another one of the stars, and themselves found Magic through the star. This meant they no longer needed the Elves to teach them the ways of Magic. After this, the Elves, with a deep desire to control the practice of Magic, allowed humans to attend their College. Then Dark Magic was discovered by some devious humans and Elves, and began to experiment, creating terrible creatures and abominations. Goblins, Minotaur, the Phoenix, and several others were created as a result of these experiments. Not all of the creations were created with malice, but enough of them were that the Elves banished humanity from the College and banned the practice of Dark Magic.
“The ban never stopped anyone from studying Dark Magic, which is what the Elves had intended. Instead wizards and sorcerers studied on their own, creating even worse monsters. Portals to other dimensions were opened in the hope of gaining more powers than these groups of wizards already had. This worked until monsters that came from one of the portals killed the men that had opened the portals. Elves, having known about the experiments, slew the monsters and anyone who knew about their existence. This sparked a war between humanity and Elves over the rights to practice all Magic. Millions of lives were lost during the forty-five years the war raged on. Goblins were nearly wiped from the face of the world. Imagine an entire race that had done nothing wrong, but was simply the result of experiments, nearly extinct because of their origins. Goblins have turned feral since then, and their numbers are now stronger than they were during the war, and there are many cases of them now attacking anything they see. This is the Elves’ doing. By not killing all the Goblins, they have instead made a feral species of what had once been Elves that volunteered for these experiments.
“At the end of the Mages’ War, men and Elves decided unanimously to outlaw the practice, study, and use of Dark Magic to prevent any further genocide from being anywhere close to considered necessary. By agreeing to these terms, the Elves felt humanity deserved another chance at formally learning Magic and allowed men to once more return to the College they had established. The Dark Magic ban, again, was not enough. Underground sects of Mages formed their own college of so
rts specifically for the study of Dark Magic. Knowledge of the existence of these groups spread like wildfire through the College, though the groups themselves somehow avoided formal discovery by the College’s Council, who sought to punish the groups. They met and practiced somewhere unreachable by those who ignored an entire spectrum of Magic. To find and eliminate these sects, the Elves lifted their ban on Dark Magic, understanding this was their only option for cleansing Magic.
“Humanity did not agree with this decision and withdrew from the Sorcerer’s College entirely, refusing to attend until Elves were no longer practicing Dark Magic. Then the Madness, which initially afflicted the world through the dimensional portals, began to spread starting with the Sorcerer’s College. Monsters once more roamed the world, this time tainted by that very Madness the Elves had fought to eradicate through the first Mages’ War. This sparked a second war between men and Elves,” Joshua said, pausing to let Michael absorb the information.
“The Second Mages’ War ended with Drendil collapsing into Madness. Humanity fled the continent and found other places to live, such as our homeland of Prikea. Because of the Madness, each of the new continents where humanity finally ended up exiled anyone going to the land of madness, not wanting the sickness to spread. Prikea and the other new lands established the priesthood as a line of defense against Dark Magic and the Madness it brings. This is a fact few outside the priesthood knows. Every priest is a sorcerer or wizard who serve their Kings and Queens as defenders of their lands. There are differences between those, but they are too complex to really discuss here and now. That is how we knew about your dreams, a form of Magic on their own, and could sense what you were dreaming. We had to get you close to us to actually know for sure, but that is why I was sent to find you. Premonitions like yours show either what events will happen or how they will happen. They aren’t always perfect in their prediction, but that’s because it is a lower form of Magic than casting a spell,” Joshua explained.
“So, there is a chance that I could learn to be a wizard?” Michael asked, after several moments.
“It’s hard to say. There are some who experience touches of Magic, like yourself, and there are others who are in touch with Magic like a wizard or priest. If you would like, once we arrive in Drendil, we can do the tests required to determine Magic use,” Joshua replied. “I can’t promise you anything will come from the test.”
One of the sailors came down to the quarters a few moments later, telling Joshua and Michael that Randall wanted to speak with them both. His message carried urgency…
Chapter Seven
Ihave only charted the eastern coast of Drendil through my various voyages. There were maps that existed decades ago, but the King at the time ordered them to be destroyed. Captains are not permitted to keep such maps, as a way to deter people from defecting to there or venturing too close to the madness. Also, those maps, as old as they were, would be difficult to trust, as it’s hard to tell what has changed on the continent since the exodus. I had planned to take you to the closest part of the continent, here,” Randall said as he pointed to an area of the map. A peninsula that jutted out into the water and was covered in trees. “However, that area is known as the Goblin Coast. It’s extremely infested with the bastards, and I wouldn’t want you to get to land only to die fighting the wretched monsters. The King wouldn’t take too kindly to that, you see.”
“What options do we have? Is there somewhere else we could go ashore?” Joshua asked.
“There is only one coastal city, and it’s my understanding that they have held off the madness successfully since humans left Drendil all those years ago. Supposedly, one of the local ‘lords’ has claimed the land immediately outside the city but hasn’t been able to push through the city’s walls. He has taxes and tolls set against anyone entering or leaving ‘his’ land. Erith, that’s the coastal city, is a good place to land, but you’ll have to get some money to get through Lord Dennison’s land. The man is not an easy one to work with, I’ve heard.”
“What kind of city is Erith?” Michael asked, curious of his first impression of Drendil.
“How do you know so much about Drendil if you haven’t been there?” Joshua inquired out of curiosity.
“The city isn’t an easy one. Hard around the edges out of necessity but soft in the middle. Like an aged brie. I have stopped in Erith Bay a few times to take on supplies for continued voyages. It is as close to stepping foot on Drendil soil as the King permits. I never leave the ship, though. The harbormaster comes to see me and has the supplies brought in. He’s a talkative man who shares far more than I have ever wished him to, though now it seems to have been to our benefit,” Randall explained. For the first time during the voyage, he seemed
“How long will it take to get to Erith?” Joshua inquired as he examined the map rolled out on the tabletop in front of Randall.
“This time of year, the winds push north and west so it shouldn’t take more than a few days. We’re already a day’s voyage from the Goblin Coast as it is. Going up to Erith would add a day, maybe two depending on the wind and tides. Erith Bay is shallower at low tide than Queller can comfortably sail through. At high tide the bay is a lot deeper than we need. We just have to time our arrival for high tide and leave before the tide goes out. There is a chance that while we have the anchor dropped, we could end up on a sand barge. Once we finish repairs, at least. We should be fit to sail tomorrow morning. Any thoughts?”
“According to the books I’ve read on the matter, sea serpents are rarely, if ever, alone. Should we expect to encounter another?” Joshua asked.
“There could be more of those things?” Michael protested.
Randall inhaled sharply before answering. “It’s certainly a possibility. The water here is deep and warm which makes a perfect environment for them to breed and spawn. That serpent could have been a scout and the others might avoid us since it never returned. Or, they could attack the ship out of revenge, if a snake feels that emotion. It’s hard to say.”
It took Randall several moments to clean up his table. He spoke again. His tone was calmer than most of the other meetings the three had together previously. “The only thing I’m worried about is making sure the two of you get to Erith without issue. We have a small boat I will give you that will let you dock at the harbor. The market shouldn’t be far from there, but I can’t say for sure since I’ve never been there.”
“Is there anything we can do to help get the ship sailing sooner? Then at least we won’t be a target for more serpents,” Joshua suggested.
“The only thing left is to repair the holes in the main-sails. The crew has been working on that and they should be done in the morning. I’ll have to replace the yard arms when I get back to port, unless…are you able to mend wood, priest?”
“You want me to use Magic to repair your ship, Captain?” Joshua asked, a wry smile curling the edges of his mouth.
“It would make my life easier, as much as I hate Magic. Is it possible?”
“There are a couple different ways that I could propel the ship. I can either cast a spell that creates a gust of wind for the sails or I can manipulate the water to create waves that will push Queller through the water. Before I decide I will have to inspect the yard arms to see if they are sturdy enough to support the gale I would create…”
***
Erith. Freedom. A new life where anything could happen. An escape from the life of a wanted criminal. Freedom from having to constantly look over their shoulders. Freedom from Lord Dennison. All of that was within sight.
Týr and Iona both squinted through gaps in the side slats of the wagon they hid inside. The ride had been bumpy and uncomfortable, but it had also been faster and stealthier than walking the whole distance across the open plains that stretched before Erith, broken only by the woods they had escaped from a few days before. And the merchant whose wagon they climbed in was ok with them hitching a ride, even if that was purely because he had no reason to
suspect there were two criminals riding among the shipment of fruits he was carrying to the city. It was perfect, until…
The road ahead was closed for one reason or another. Týr could see guards ahead, three on his side of the street. Iona motioned with her hands that she could also see three on her side of the road. The guards’ armor shimmered in the midday sunlight, and their lances glinted as the sunlight danced off the polished surfaces of the lances. The guards walked from wagon to wagon and there happened to be many more wagons than Týr anticipated. As the guards moved between wagons, they removed the canvas covers and inspected the goods within the wagons. Perhaps this is for Lord Dennison’s merchant tax, and they’re just verifying the goods being transported, Týr thought to himself as his hands started to tremble.
Inside the wagon, Týr and Iona had made a sort of compartment underneath a few crates of fruit. They had climbed into the wagon while the merchant was asleep, which had been an easy feat in the darkness of night, rearranging a few of the crates to make room for them. They had taken a chance on the wagon actually heading to Erith and not another city. No matter where the wagon went, they would have left Dennison’s territory, and could start their life over. Erith was simply closer and offered the best chance for them. Shemont, with the King’s castle, would have been harder for two seasoned thieves to thrive without constantly running into issues with the guards. And there were many guards in that city. There had to be. They protected the King. Besides, they had always heard that Erith was a hard city. Perhaps the rumors were true.
If the guards looked inside the wagon, unless they were looking closely, they should look right over Týr and Iona, and based on how quickly they were moving from one wagon to the next, the inspections were less than thorough. They flipped the canvas cover back, took a few quick glances at the crates or sacks of food, metals, or whatever other goods happened to fill the wagons, and snapped the canvas back into place. Týr’s hands trembled more as the guards grew closer. Only one wagon stood between the guards and the fugitives. At this distance, the passengers could hear what the guards were asking the merchants.
