Two Necromancers, a Dwarf Kingdom, and a Sky City

by L. G. Estrella

  Timmy stared at the man for a long moment. There were a dozen or so men behind him, enough to pose a threat to most people. Like their leader, they carried an assortment of weapons, mostly clubs or the occasional knife. Timmy was not most people, to say nothing of the rest of them. At Avraniel’s feet, Spot bristled. A smart man would have taken one look at the large, winged reptile with the very big teeth before apologising and finding a different group to harass. None of these men were smart men.

  “All right.” Timmy nodded at the man in front of him. “I’m assuming you’re the leader.” A crowd had gathered. Appearances were important, so Amanda knew exactly what he was going to do. The man bared his teeth and nodded back. He was big, much bigger than Timmy, and the club he held in his right hand probably weighed as much as Katie did. “Okay. I might as well get this over with.”

  Timmy hit him with his shovel.

  It happened so quickly that only a skilled warrior or someone with inhumanly keen senses would have been able to avoid the strike. He caught the ruffian across the side of the head with the flat of his shovel, and there was absolute silence as the huge man slowly toppled back. Timmy watched him fall and then prodded him with his boot. He didn’t get back up.

  “So… does anyone else have anything to say?” Timmy leaned on his shovel, all but radiating nonchalance. “Because I’m a busy man. I’d like to get this over with as quickly as possible.”

  Alas, the men did not do the smart thing. They did not grab their unconscious leader and beat a hasty retreat. Instead, they decided to attack him together. Rather than retreat, Timmy stepped forward to meet them, shovel in hand, and he got to work with the calm, methodical air of a man weeding a particularly unruly garden. His use of a shovel often led people to forget that he’d been trained by one of the finest swordsmen in Everton’s history – at least while he was sober. Timmy was not that good. Few people in history were. But Timmy was still very, very, very good with a shovel. Only a truly elite swordsman would have a chance against him, and these ruffians weren’t even close. They had knives, clubs, and several had pulled out knuckledusters. It didn’t matter. In the span of a few seconds, two more of them were down, and Old Man stepped in to even the odds. He didn’t bother to draw his weapon. Instead, he used the sheathed weapon as a club, whacking people over the head. To his credit, Gerald wasn’t far behind Old Man. His terror had given the bureaucrat’s eyes a crazed gleam, and his heavy breathing and shouting could easily be mistaken for a berserker rage instead of mind-numbing fear.

  “Stay back!” Gerald cried, bashing a thug over the head with his frying pan. The resounding clang the makeshift weapon made had the others backing away, and Gerald unleashed another wild swing that threw him off balance and somehow managed to clip an oncoming opponent squarely in the jaw. That made two for Gerald, an impressive tally, all things considered.

  Soon enough, it was over. Amanda watched in amusement as Timmy stared into the crowd. In places like this, it was common for newcomers – who were often referred to as fresh meat – to be tested. Anyone who failed was in for a world of trouble, but anyone who proved tough enough would most likely be left alone. Unfortunately, more men had arrived, shipmates of the ones they’d defeated, but a firm hand on the shoulder of the leader of the new arrivals stopped him in his tracks.

  “You don’t want to do that.” It was Jake. The captain’s voice was as cold as winter, and although he wasn’t the tallest man, he was whipcord lean, the sort of wiry that an experienced sailor knew not to mess with. Naturally, the other man didn’t hesitate to take a swing at him. Jake ducked under the haymaker and drove his fist into his opponent’s gut. He doubled over, and the captain grabbed the back of his head and yanked his head down to meet his knee. “Fine!” Jake bellowed. He waved at the members of his crew who’d accompanied him. “That’s how you want it? Fine! It’s on! Get stuck into them!”

  Jake’s crew rushed forward, and it wasn’t long before the entire dock had turned into one giant brawl as people used the fight as an excuse to settle old grudges or to simply hit someone who’d looked at them funny. It was, Amanda thought, quite nostalgic. She’d been to this island once in the past, and that trip had gone much the same. In fact, her husband, Alfred, had even done a bit of fighting himself.

  “No, Spot.” Amanda grabbed the dragon by his tail. “You can’t eat anyone.”

  The dragon huffed and strained to get free. There was a fight going on, and he wasn’t in it! That just wouldn’t do. But –

  “This a brawl. Eating people is going too far.” The dragon tugged against her grip as Avraniel punched one man in the face before kicking another through a stack of barrels. Not far away, Chomp had planted himself squarely in front of Katie and Calista. Anyone who even looked in their direction received a glare and an ominous growl. Naturally, even the drunkards involved in the scuffle opted to give the huge dog a very wide berth.

  No eating then! The dragon was desperate to join in the fun.

  “No clawing or biting either,” Amanda warned. “Non-lethal attacks only, Spot.”

  The dragon chirped his agreement and then launched himself into the fray, ramming people or shoving them over with his wings. Even without his claws and teeth, Spot’s sheer strength was enough to send people flying. A simple head butt could easily shatter ribs, and his wings had no problems breaking limbs. At the heart of the melee, Amanda saw Jake and Timmy fighting back to back. The two men were pummelling their opponents with brutal efficiency, and it was clear both men had fought in many a wild brawl over the years. Old Man was with Gerald, and the bureaucrat had set his frying pan aside in favour of a spray of some kind that sent people to the ground, clawing at their faces. One person did take a swing at her, but she stepped neatly to one side and stuck out her foot. He tripped spectacularly and Spot’s head caught him square in the chest as the dragon vaulted into him with punishing force.

  It did not escape her notice that the rats weren’t fighting. Instead, they were keeping a close eye on the crowd while also watching over Lord Tarrick. This would be a perfect opportunity for an assassin or kidnapper to strike. However, a few of them were rummaging through the pockets of downed fighters. She smiled. They were very practical. She’d give them that. A happy squeak drew her eye. Well, that was quite a heavy pouch of coins. The rats would be sure to put it to good use.

  As the brawl began to wind down, she and the others made their escape. The authorities here – what few there were – didn’t care about the brawl, but they did care about extorting bribes out of anyone unlucky enough to get caught. They made their way from one part of the port to another where Jake’s dreadnought was ready and waiting for them.

  “How thrilling!” Calista cried. “Lady Amanda…” She had taken to calling Amanda that after realising she was nobility. “Did you get a chance to hit anyone? I was so looking forward to getting a punch or a kick in, but Chomp was quite insistent on us staying behind him.”

  “He was right to insist, Your Highness.” Amanda favoured the girl with a warm smile. “You have fighting spirit, but you lack both size and proper technique. Lacking one might be manageable, but lacking both will make things quite difficult. I can’t say I hit anyone, but I did trip someone.”

  Calista looked at Gerald in awe. The bureaucrat still had a frazzled air about him, and his hair was a mess. He looked like an escapee from a lunatic asylum. “You were so heroic, Gerald! Beating those thugs with your frying pan and using that… that…”

  “Pepper spray,” Gerald said. He laughed nervously. “And you know, it’s not like I could just stay back and do nothing. We’re a group, right? It didn’t seem right letting Timmy fight them all although he probably would have been fine even without his magic.”

  “You did well,” Timmy said. “But let’s get going. The less time we spend here, the better. Do you have any other business to complete here, Jake?”

  Jake shook his head. “No, we took care of our other business before you arrived. We’re
ready to set sail.” He gestured proudly at his vessel. “We finally got around to completing all of the repairs and refits. She’s as good as new – better even.” He threw one arm around Timmy’s shoulders. “You’ve done right by us, Timmy, so you can rest assured we’ll continue to do right by you.”

  “I appreciate it.” Timmy grinned at the princess. “What do you think about Jake’s ship?”

  The princess’s eyes grew wide, and she let loose an ear-piercing squeal. “Is this an imperial dreadnought? I’ve never seen one from so close before!”

  Jake smirked. “It was an imperial dreadnought – once.”

  “Oh!” Calista hurried up the gangplank. “Can I have a tour? We’ve got dreadnoughts in the Shimmering Isles, but the imperial style has several key differences.” She leaned over the side of the deck. “It has three rows of cannons!”

  “Welcome aboard,” Jake said, laughing. “Don’t worry. We’ll give you a tour later. In the meantime, everybody come aboard. We’re ready to set sail, so let’s not waste any time.”

  “That would be for the best. The quicker we get her back to her father, the better.” Timmy glanced behind them. Amanda shook her head. She’d used several drops of blood from downed fighters to cast scrying magic. They weren’t being followed, and she’d also layered a handful of illusions on the area to discourage any surveillance she had missed.

  Jake stretched to work some kinks out of his shoulder. “You live an interesting life, Timmy.”

  “I’d settle for a boring one, but fate seems to have other ideas.” Timmy did some stretching of his own. “Did you see that big guy with the metal hand? I swear he had a head full of rocks. Hitting him with my shovel was like whacking a pillar.”

  Jake nodded. “I saw that. He wasn’t the only one with a head full of rocks. I almost broke my hand hitting that big man with the thick beard and a scar over his eye.”

  “I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone who looked more like a stereotypical port-dwelling thug than that guy.” Timmy chuckled. “Well, we won.”

  “That we did.”

  As the ship got underway and moved out to sea, Amanda kept a close eye on the crew as she let her magic and vampiric powers skim over their thoughts and emotions. These people were a family, bonded by years of suffering and hardship. Jake was their leader, and he’d led them out of the fire and into a place of relative safety under Everton’s flag. They were completely loyal, and she doubted there was anything short of mind-controlling magic that could ever cause one of them to turn traitor.

  As Jake showed Calista around the dreadnought, his pride in the ship and his crew was obvious, and the princess’s well-informed questions only added to his delight. From Amanda’s experience, there were few things a captain enjoyed more than the chance to show off their ship. It was only later, as the princess and the others went to enjoy a light lunch – or, in the case of Spot, a big lunch – that Jake approached her.

  “This is some fine trouble you lot have brought onto my ship, my lady.”

  Amanda smiled faintly. He worked for Timmy, but he knew she was the politician. “I think you can handle it, captain.”

  He lowered his voice. “So… she really is a princess then? And a crown princess at that?”

  “She is.” Amanda shifted slightly to savour the wind. It was a familiar, pleasing sensation. “And by all accounts, her father dotes on her. There shouldn’t be any trouble. Timmy planned our escape well, and I doubt anyone wants to take on a dreadnought. If they do, you’re not alone. You’ve got all of us with you as well. Let Avraniel deal with any troublemakers. I’m sure she’ll be glad to give her new bow a try.”

  “I saw that,” Jake said. He knew better than most how powerful the elf was. “How strong is it?”

  “Very strong. It focuses and concentrates her magic, and it allows her to attack from even greater range.”

  He visibly shuddered. “It sounds terrifying. I’m glad she’s on our side.” He shook his head. “It’s a nasty business, kidnapping. Even when I was a privateer for the empire, it was one of the things I wouldn’t do. Taking someone from their family – it’s not right.” He must have been thinking of what he would do if someone kidnapped his daughter. Amanda pitied whoever was foolish enough to try it. Jake might not have much in the way of magic, but he was highly resourceful and incredibly determined. “How do you think her father will take it?”

  “The king of the Shimmering Isles spent much of his youth in the navy,” Amanda said. “And the navy informs his way of thinking. However, Calista is his only child and heir. Kidnapping her would doubtless have enraged him, but it would also have left him powerless to act. Once we provide proof that the Eternal Empire arranged her kidnapping, he will be spoiling for a fight. Thankfully, however, he is not known for being stupid.”

  “He knows that sailing over there to pick a fight is not going to end well,” Jake mused. “The Shimmering Isles may have some of the finest sailors in the world, but the empire’s navy isn’t bad, and they have more ships.”

  “Exactly. The Eternal Empire has the largest navy in the world, and quantity is a quality all of its own. This is where Everton comes in.” Amanda caught the flash of concern in his eyes. “Rest assured, captain, I understand how manipulative we’re being. We are taking advantage of the situation to get the king on our side. It may not be pleasant, but it is necessary. However, it wouldn’t be possible in the first place if the empire had not overplayed their hand. War is coming, one way or another, and the Shimmering Isles will have to choose a side. I hope they choose us not only because it would help our cause but also because I doubt the Eternal Empire will be content to stop with Everton if they win.”

  Jake nodded grimly. “If Everton falls, there won’t be anyone to stop them. It might be a while, but they’ll keep expanding. To think they’d be willing to kidnap a princess. If they’d taken my daughter…”

  Amanda patted him on the arm. Jake would do whatever it took to keep his daughter safe. “You don’t have to worry about your daughter. She is currently under the patronage of the Supreme Cleric. Anyone foolish enough to attack her will soon find themselves extremely dead.”

  He chuckled. “That does make me feel better. I haven’t seen the Supreme Cleric fight, but I’m told she is the most powerful member of the Council in combat. Timmy says he wouldn’t stand a chance against her – even with his zombies – and I’ve seen what he can do… and what he can make.”

  “The Supreme Cleric is one of the most formidable people I’ve ever met,” Amanda said. “In terms of combat power, she may well be the most powerful person her family has ever produced, which is impressive given the luminaries they’ve managed to field over the years.”

  Jake peered back toward the port. “I’ve instructed my crew to keep a stout watch and to stay alert even after we hit open water. Are we expecting trouble?”

  “It would be unlikely. We have Lord Tarrick in custody, and we all but obliterated his forces during our retreat. The empire will doubtless want to get her back, but they have few – if any – assets in this area, and we have been mindful of not giving them too easy a trail to follow. By the time they hear of our arrival on the island, we will be long gone.”

  “What about the brawl on the docks?”

  “Hardly an uncommon occurrence,” Amanda replied. “And even if we were spotted, who could catch us on the open sea? A small ship perhaps, but Avraniel could see them coming and sink them from miles away. If they aim to pursue us by air, they’ll find nothing.” Amanda took a moment to place several additional illusions over the ship. “I’ve already layered several illusions over the ship. It would take some incredibly bad luck and some incredibly skilled mages for them to notice us. Anyone looking our way will see nothing other than empty sea.”

  “You have my thanks for that,” Jake said. “A dreadnought is a mighty vessel, but fighting fliers can be tricky without an escort.”

  “Indeed.” Dreadnoughts were designed to devastate ot
her ships and to level fortifications. They could fight fliers if they had to, but it was generally better to counter flying troops with other flying troops. If worse came to worst, they had Avraniel and Spot, as well as some of Timmy’s zombies. The elf could shoot down almost anything, and the young dragon was amazingly quick and deadly in the air. Amanda and Katie could both fly as well, but neither of them was as comfortable in the air as Spot. “Even so, tell your crew to remain vigilant. We aren’t that far from the edge of the Shimmering Isles’ territory. We’ve contacted the Supreme Cleric, and she has contacted the king on our behalf. He will be expecting us, and I imagine there will be a full escort waiting for us at the border to ensure our safe arrival. It would not do to get careless when safety is so close.”

  “A full escort?” Jake rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “That should be interesting. My crew and I have bad memories about the last time we were surrounded by other ships.”

  Amanda could tell he was reliving the terrible moment when the empire had turned on him and his fellow privateers. An image rose to the forefront of his mind: a harbour full of burning ships, the water thick with the dead and the shattered remnants of their vessels. “The king is known for being a just and honourable man, and we’ve done him a great service. There shouldn’t be any conflict.”

  “I know, but I’ll have to speak to some of my crew. I don’t want anyone getting twitchy.”

  Amanda nodded. She’d seen what a twitchy crew could do. One of the greatest disasters in the Eternal Empire’s naval history could be traced back to a twitchy crewman on a dreadnought who’d panicked and opened fire early, giving away the fleet’s location after it had managed to hide in a bank of fog. The ensuing debacle had been devastating with dozens of ships lost in the initial battle and dozens more lost in the harrowing, broken retreat that had followed. Her family had still been part of the empire at the time, and she’d been enraged at the sheer number of lives lost from such a silly mistake. “By all means, speak to them. If the princess’s words about her father are true, he will most likely be present aboard the royal flagship.”