…
And Morksha’s band
United on those sands
To bring the world to peace once again
-Ending of Morksha’s Ballad
*=====*
“Likewise,” Mori returned, offering her hand to shake, “Mori Athanatos. Also, don’t be so formal, please; it can become kind of grating after a while.”
The man smiled a brilliant smile and nodded, taking her outstretched hand, “Very well. Mori, then?”
Mori nodded, “Eaner for you?”
“If it would please you,” he said, his smile retaining its radiance, “So, you are the lich people have been gossiping about?”
Mori smiled, “I never knew I was famous enough to be gossiped about. Mentions in passing, sure, but gossip…”
The man turned to the outer walls, “Some say that you speak for the gods themselves; is it true? Do you speak for the gods?”
Mori turned her head to the sands beyond the docks. Like she had suspected, there were two dozen skiffs damaged by the explosion from the metal-adorned madmen. The majority of them were the plain steel of the Green Oasis military, but a couple were wooden contraptions with obviously intricate runic work on them. The lich sighed, “No, I don’t speak for them. To them, yes. For them? No. Besides, they would prefer less piety from the world, if I understood them right.”
The man shrugged, “That is a fair enough assumption. Many hints from the Sa’rk system tell of the gods’ desire not to be worshiped…” he trailed off, staying silent for a few moments. Eventually, he turned and took notice of the fire undead Mori had raised as they slowly burned, “Those are some quite unique undead. If you do not mind, how did you make them?”
“It was pretty easy,” Mori began, “Just wrap some fire mana in some reanimation mana and you’re done. But use fire mana, not burn mana. Big difference.” As Mori spoke, she walked up to them and gave them her final command, watching them return to their original states, much more charred than before.
Eaner nodded thoughtfully, “I see… I was never one for the trains of thought required to be a necromancer. I always put more trust in personal power until I got interested in making mana golems,” he explained, throwing a thumb at the glass creature, “Though, it is quite mana-intensive for both my personal dynamo and the environment around it. Almost every mage in my fleet needs to work with their own personal stores to use when it is around…” he trailed off again, staring at the scrapped Clockwork husks.
Mori’s eyes shifted over to the two wooden skiffs that had been scrapped by the fires and explosion, “So, who do you think were the poor bastards to get their expensive skiffs blown to bits?” she asked, pointing to the wooden ones.
Eaner laughed with sardonic mirth, “You are looking at the ‘poor bastard.’ I happened to be coming to check up on some of my skiffs that could not be stored at my company’s headquarters and… well, they will need a bit of work.”
Mori looked over the skiffs once more, “That’s an understatement. You said you have a fleet of skiffs?”
“I do indeed. A grand total of six- well, four now. The Chiefs do not like the idea of more than four skiffs belonging to a single group in the inner walls at one time, no matter who they belong to,” Eaner explained, “Though… this may be a problem…” he muttered, obviously to himself
“Are you talking out loud in hopes that I’ll help you?” Mori asked humorously.
Eaner laughed, “Well, that was not my intention, but if you were, perchance, offering…”
“Fine,” she said, rolling her eye-flames, “Tell me and I’ll see what I can do.”
“Thank you. First, though, are you participating in the liberation of Aekan?” Mori nodded, “You see, I have a large number of skiffers in my fleet, and all of them are seeking retribution for the atrocities that were enacted upon Aekan. As such, with the loss of two skiffs, I am now in need of transport. I could likely have my normal crew share facilities, but there is another group that I have taken on that are… more complicated.”
“Oh? How many of these ‘complicated’ ones are looking to join the fight?” Mori asked.
“Roughly thirty. Can I assume that… you possess a skiff?” he asked, earning a laugh and nod from Mori, “I see… Could you take those extra thirty along for the trip? I can offer the supplies and other necessities for them, as well as pay, but I will be entrusting their safety to you.”
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
Mori shrugged, “Of course, I expected that. I do have a question, though.”
“Go ahead.”
“Are these ‘complicated’ crewmates affected by the presence of undead?” she asked, noticing for a moment the approaching form of Fara, “Actually, I believe it would be important to ask my friend.”
Fara caught Mori’s cue and stepped forward, “Mori? What are you doing this time?”
Mori grinned, leaning close to Fara’s ear, “This gentleman here, Eaner Ductur, is asking if we can bring some of his crewmates along with us to Aekan; their skiffs got wrecked in the chaos and he’s willing to pay,” she whispered.
Fara’s eyes widened, “Eaner Ductur? The famous merchant?”
“Dunno. Maybe?”
“Whatever,” she said, “How many?” Mori held up three fingers, “Three? Wait, Thirty?” Mori nodded, “We’ll have enough space if we move around some furniture. Do they mind the whole undead crew thing?”
“Again, dunno. I was trying to figure that one out. You in?” Mori asked.
Fara grinned, “Oh yeah. I’m in.”
Mori met Fara’s eyes and stood straight before Eaner, “We’re in, but we have to know if your ‘complicated’ crewmates are fine around undead. Not just the skeletons and ghosts, but some of the more gruesome ones.”
Eaner worked his jaw a bit, “Define ‘gruesome.’”
“Stretched and pulled bones and skin, blood mist, that sort of stuff.”
“Hmm… I do not know. Most in this business would need a day or so to become used to the presence of undead, but as I said, these crewmates are complicated. Perhaps you could meet them? Bring them aboard and see their reactions for yourself?”
Mori and Fara thought for a moment, “I think,” Mori began, “It would be for the best if I came along first, then we judge based on that.”
Eaner nodded, smiling, “I would have to agree,” he said, turning to his orcish companion, “This is Helga. She is the head of security for my fleet and has somewhat taken on the role of teacher for them in the last week and a half.”
The orcish woman nodded to them with respect, “Takes a fearless one to charge into a line of Crashers, lich. Good job.”
Mori laughed, “Die once and you learn how boring it can be.”
“Oh?” the orcish woman muttered, “You died once already? Wouldn’t the God of Death have taken your soul then?”
Mori gave a mysterious smile, “It was complicated, back then. Some stuff happened and I wasn’t in his grasp, so to say, as my soul floated. It was pretty much luck that I became a lich, truth be told.”
“What’s it like, dyin’?” she asked, “I don’t know your whole situation, but is it that different from normal?”
Mori shrugged, noticing Fara’s growing unease at the conversation, “Well, all I know is that dying hurts. A lot. I think it’d be like your entire body being ripped apart, chunk by chunk, while you just couldn’t pass out.”
A short silence reigned before the woman blew out a puff of air, “Damn… that must’ve smarted.”
Mori giggled, “Like you wouldn’t believe. The upside to it all is that all the pain in the world means nothing to me. It can be a bit boring, honestly.”
Helga let out a short, thoughtful noise as Eaner sighed, “It must have been traumatic, Mori. Are you alright?”
Mori turned to Fara, noticing her piercing silver eyes, and smiled, “I’m fine. I’ve had a friend to be with for the whole time. She’s helped me through it all; I’ll make it in the end. Don’t worry.” Fara gave Mori a touched look that she could only think made spilling her thoughts worth it in the end. They continued walking, something Mori failed to notice when they began, and wove through the streets of the city with ease. Eaner seemed to have an aura about him that made most others instinctively move out of his way, only recognizing him as he passed them by. With a start, Mori suddenly thought about the Clockworks, “Ah, I just remembered, who’s getting all those husks?”
Helga laughed as Eaner smiled, “Well, they hunt down anyone who helped and give them their fair share of the husks. I don’t think they’ll take long to find you; you’re pretty unforgettable.”
Mori debated whether or not she should have given a witty remark, but the moment passed before she came up with something to say. They continued on for a while before they came upon a massive manor near the southern edge of the city. It stood elevated over a river of sand that led to a gate, like the one in the eastern mod docks. Next to the elevated platforms sat four large skiffs, each packed to the brim with firepower. Tearing her attention away from the skiffs, she gazed upon the manor Eaner was using as a headquarters and could not imagine what kind of architecture led to its construction. It had a distinctly japanese feeling to it with its steeply inclining cobbled stone foundation and exaggerated roofs, but it also held aspects of what Mori could only remember as vaguely southeast asian with tall roofs that hung over open space.
‘Though, I don’t think I’m an expert on this sort of stuff. Greece was more my jam.’ Without skipping a beat, the trio in front of her strode into the building, a lavishly decorated front hall with enough space to fit hundreds, and made their way to one of the three wings Mori could see from the outside.
After another short walk, they stopped in front of a double door, “Alright, I think it is about time I tell you something, Mori. About the… complicated crewmates.”
Mori nodded, “Alright, go ahead, then.”
Eaner took a deep breath, meeting her gaze, “We found them from a tear. They came in an odd contraption that crashed in the desert north of here. They come from another dimension, if you did not know what a tear was. The world is called ‘Earth,’” he explained, a grave expression on his face.
Mori barely reacted, turning to Fara, who nodded. She turned back and sighed, “You see, I’m the same, Eaner. I’m from Earth as well.” A shocked expression exploded on the two peoples’ faces and Mori then noticed the door was slightly open, revealing a young woman with a narrow face, brown hair, and deep blue eyes staring at her with an expression mixed between terror and confusion, “Hey there,” she said as the woman slammed the door in her face, “Damn… I didn’t think I was that ugly…”