Chapter 28
Twenty-Eight
Isure wasn’t going to get my deposit back on the rowboats.
The two we had arrived in had not only received a great many bullet holes, but one of the mercenaries had hit them with some kind of purple caustic spell that scorched and crumbled big parts throughout.
However, the single rowboat brought by the previous group of less fortunate adventurers had only been shot a dozen or so times below the waterline.
We set about cannibalizing our boats and used the wood and nails we salvaged for some hasty repairs.
We didn’t have any proper tools, but an axe that can chop people can also chop wood, and the steel butt cap of a bargemaster’s pistol makes a decent hammer. Just make sure it’s empty first.
With the sun going down, we’d loaded our wounded aboard, crowded in after them, and then set out upon the bay, only to immediately begin taking on water because our repairs weren’t nearly as good as we’d thought they were. We used the pot Bognar had worn as a helmet to continually bail us out.
We could have put in more time and done more thorough repairs, but the big bulbous eyes that kept popping out of the water all along the beach—waiting for it to get dark so they could attack—had been an excellent motivator to get a move on.
It was very crowded in the boat—which had been shoddy before it’d been shot—to the point I was worried we would capsize. We’d lost two passengers and gained one, but that one was very small, so we managed to fit in the one boat, barely.
After a few minutes upon the water, I got so frustrated at the leak soaking my legs that I tried to use Danny’s wand to plug it…
the idea being that if that hole was frozen solid, no more water would come in.
Except Danny’s spell was one I’d not had the chance to practice much, and all I managed to do was turn the water that was already in the boat with us into an even colder slush.
Thankfully, the mutants didn’t come after us. They scrambled up the beach, rushing to check on the safety of their eggs. The last thing I could make out before we got too far away was the monsters feasting on the corpses we’d left behind.
Sifuso remained unconscious, but Trax had probably been right about how lizardmen hearts worked, because he didn’t appear to be getting any worse.
Bognar, on the other hand, wasn’t doing well at all.
He was in a great deal of pain, and his skin had become paler than mine, and I’d come from a land without direct sunlight.
If he got to Rade’s complexion, he’d be dead soon afterward.
“I saw a church to the saint of fishermen not too far from the docks,” I told everyone. “I don’t know if they’ll have a healer there, but it’s Bognar’s and Sifuso’s best chance.”
Azarin agreed. “Most healing magic is Life-based, but there’s some water spells that heal too. Surely a saint of the sea will have someone who knows one of those. We’ll carry them there fast as we can.”
“That’ll work, if they have healing at all and if we can afford to pay them,” Rade said. “Olga is the saint of mercy, so her healers work cheaply compared to others, but even the Olgaites charge more than we can afford at the best of times. What will a sailor’s saint charge to save these two?”
“It doesn’t matter. We’ll persuade them somehow.
” This was profoundly frustrating. We’d gone adventuring to earn our keep, and instead, we were going to end up in greater debt.
But we’d already lost two students today—one to stupidity, and one to treachery—and I’d be damned if we were going to lose two more if I could help it.
We rowed as fast as we could toward the distant lights of the city. Tiny Morton was useless with an oar, so he was manning the bailing pot.
“This is all my fault. I waited for Ms. Walker, but I was unaware that I was being watched by those ruffians. As soon as she arrived, I told her our tale, but then we were set upon by surprise and taken prisoner.”
“Too bad she didn’t use her shadow magic to kill them all. It was nasty to fight against in the arena.”
“She tried, but there were too many and it was too bright out. Gerzog struck her down, took her charms, then tied us up and gagged us and carried us aboard their craft. The entire time, they made cruel jokes about throwing me overboard, wondering aloud if gnomes float.”
Krachma frowned. “Do you?”
“The answer is no. No, we do not.”
More than anything else right then, I wanted Gerzog dead. That hate motivated me to row harder. “Did they say anything about where they’d go afterwards?”
Morton chucked another potful of water over the side.
“Alas, no. All I can tell you is that the Tooth and Claw are a mean and degenerate lot, motivated entirely by greed, who rejoice in spite, not just against their victims, but to each other as well. Even during our short journey, I saw several of them get into fights with each other, and the only thing staying their hands from murder was the threats of their captain. From what I could discern, most were new hires from the city’s lowest pits of scum, recently recruited by Gerzog’s company. ”
That explained why only some of them had possessed magical defenses.
Protective charms were expensive. Gerzog hadn’t had any loyalty to his longer serving, more capable men either, because he’d abandoned wounded Aziz to his fate, and that mage obviously hadn’t been some new recruit.
I had bruises everywhere from getting slammed about by that spectral hand, and it was only Krachma’s lucky leg break that saved my life.
I assumed they hadn’t been lying when Aziz claimed to be a rank two.
“Gerzog fled and didn’t even bother trying to save his wounded.
” The rocking of boat was making me ill, but I was too cold to vomit, which was a bizarre and uncomfortable combination.
At least talking helped me to focus my mind on something other than the discomfort.
“He mentioned selling the lamp to the Council or the Tempus cult, but in a gang of cutthroats like that, surely he’s got to tread carefully to not get robbed or betrayed first. We might be able to use that to our advantage somehow. ”
“You’re thinking of going after the lamp again?” Rade was incredulous. “We were lucky to survive that fight. We’ll be lucky to not sink and drown now.”
“I’m mad too, but we’re in no shape to take on an entire mercenary company,” Azarin said.
You knew it was bad when the impulsive one was the voice of reason. “He can’t get away with this.”
“Just tell Carcalla what happened and let him send his goons after Gerzog. Carcalla’s got an army.”
She had a point. We’d done as Carcalla commanded.
Surely our efforts would be satisfactory enough to avoid eviction.
It wasn’t our fault we’d gotten screwed over.
We were student wizards, not adventurers.
Maybe it was time to go home and lick our wounds.
That would be the sensible thing to do. I followed Saint Persistence, so the idea of giving up galled me, but I needed to put the wellbeing of the Academy first. It might be the worst academy in the Core, but Gaul Haddar had left me in charge of it, and I couldn’t let my temper get us all killed.
“Besides,” Azarin continued. “If Dathka is who she claims to be, then Carcalla is going to move heaven and hell to get her back. Do you want to get in the way of that?”
“You’re probably right.”
“Of course I’m right. Kidnapping and ransoms are a normal part of doing business in Stormwolk. All the important families have been through it. I’m something of an expert.”
“On doing the kidnapping, or being kidnapped?”
“Both,” Azarin said proudly.
“Hello.” Trax’s fin broke the surface besides us.
Morton saw the fin, screamed, “Shark!” and reflexively tried to hit it with his pot, which he promptly lost and dropped into the ocean.
“Relax. It’s just Trax.”
It was ironic that the presence of a sleek carnivorous killing machine would cause us all to breathe a sigh of relief, but such is the odd nature of friendship. A big grey hand rose from the water to hand the pot back. Embarrassed, Morton took it.
“Would you like for me to assist you? You are very slow and bad at this.”
Rade was already throwing the end of the rope overboard. “We’re glad to see you, Mr. Bloodtrail.”
The rope snapped taut, and Trax immediately began pulling us toward shore. “I observed where the orc made landfall.” He sent me a mind picture of an unfamiliar part of the bay where many large ships were docked. “Should I go directly there?”
“No. Take us to the place we launched from. There’s a church near there. We need a healer before we need vengeance.”
It was good and dark by the time Trax got us back to civilization.
There were a couple of locals sitting on the end of the dock with fishing poles, only they got up and ran away when they saw us approaching.
Probably to tell the fisherman I’d got the boats from that we’d lost his property.
I didn’t look forward to being yelled at.
My hip hurt, I was covered in bruises, and my back and arms burned from the continual rowing.
Lava was preferable to the ocean, and levitating barges were far superior to floating boats, and right then I’d have punched out anyone who dared disagree.
We tied up at the dock and wearily climbed up. It took a lot of effort to get hefty and delirious Bognar onto dry land, but Krachma and Trax were very strong.
A bunch of light charms were headed our way. That was a far larger reception than we deserved. The numbers made me alert and suspicious. I thought hard at Trax, Jump back in the water and hide.
“A fine idea.” Trax slipped off the edge of the dock and vanished into the dark water below.
Rade saw them coming and slowly moved one hand to his sword. “Why is there a mob waiting for us?”
Mob was a bit of an overstatement, but it was still a dozen toughs. I died inside when I saw it was Cutter Joran at the head of the approaching group.
“Good evening, Mr. Carnavon.” He tipped his hat toward us. “Lady Garzade. Krachma the Killer. Mr. Prescott.”
Rade frowned at the use of his birthname rather than the one he’d claimed for himself. “It’s Tartaros.”
“Sure. You’re a nobleman the same way I’m the Lord High Emperor of Norto Molto and this is my royal guard.
” When Joran said that, his thugs laughed.
“We’re here to welcome you home, triumphant adventurers, for the whole city saw that great beam of light leap into the sky from somewhere upon the bay earlier.
Hell, the real nobles probably even saw it way up in the Pallentine, and what else could that have been but a great and ancient treasure revealed? So where is it?”
“It got stolen.”
“Oh?” Joran was suspicious, but didn’t seem too surprised. “That’s a development. By whom was it stolen?”
I was too weary to put up with Joran’s threatening trogshit right now. “As you can see, we’ve got wounded. I’ll tell you all about what happened out there, but please let my people carry these two to a healer first.”
Joran scowled as he looked over our group. “Your headcount seems to be short a few.”
“Some of us didn’t make it.”
He nodded, real slow. “Or you’re a diversion, and they landed secretly elsewhere with the precious lamp.”
“We’re not thieves,” I stated, flat and offended.
Rade coughed. “Well, some of us might have dabbled in such behaviors in the past, but that’s not the case this time. As you can see, we were attacked.”
“I shall not sob myself to sleep at night over the loss of any Outcasts, as there’s too many high and mighty mages in the world as it is, to coddle the aspiring ones. However, my heart bleeds for every member of the Latrocinium… Where’s Dathka?”
“She’s been abducted by an orc named Gerzog.”
I’d seen Joran aggressive and menacing before, but it had always been real contained. This was the first time I saw him become genuinely angry. His manner changed, nothing really perceptible, but the subtle shift was enough to make me in fear of my life.
“What did you say?”
“Gerzog the Marauder. Big fellow. Green. Tusks. A bit of a prick. I’m sure Carcalla will be getting the ransom demand soon.
He’s got the lamp too. The Tooth and Claw mercenary company jumped us after we fought our way through the monsters and defeated all the traps.
They killed some of us, and these two are going to die if we don’t get them help…
” I gestured toward where Sifuso and Bognar were lying on the dock. “So please let them through.”
“Where did he take her?”
Joran was one dangerous son of a bitch and he didn’t care if my friends lived or died. Too bad for him, I did, and my Fogo temperament was showing through. “I’ll tell you as soon as you let them pass, or let’s fucking get this over with and it’ll be more than these two needing a healer.”
He surely thought about just killing me right there for my impudence, and it got real tense on that dock. I recognized two of the band with him as the higher-ranking mages he’d had with him the first time. With them fresh, and us in our current sorry and soggy condition, we wouldn’t stand a chance.
Thankfully, even while angry, Joran remained sensible. “Fine. Let them through. Everyone but Carnavon. As spokesman for this band of rejects, me and him have got some business to discuss.”
I looked toward Azarin. “Get them taken care of.”
“I will,” she promised.
Krachma picked up Big Bognar in his arms like a baby, while Rade and Azarin together struggled to lift Sifuso. Morton couldn’t really do much to help, but he was quick to attach himself to that group rather than volunteer to stay with me.
Joran waved toward half his men. “Don’t just stand there.
Help carry their wounded… Then keep them company and make sure none of them run off until we get this mess sorted out.
The rest of you remain with me.” Then Joran raised his voice.
“And as for you, Squalo. Don’t forget I can understand your picture language.
I already heard you, so I know you’re out there skulking about in the waves.
I assume you’re the reason Carnavon knows where these thieves have taken my employee. You can come out now.”
“I do not think that is a good idea.”
“Suit yourself.” Joran walked across the dock, stopped right in front of me, and leaned in, uncomfortably close. “As for you, boy, best start talking, or I’ll start slicing.”