Nobody said anything as they allowed the currents of the river to carry them along. The stress of the attack had taken a serious toll on the vessel, and the ship creaked and groaned under the strain as water seeped in through cracks and breaches in the hull.
Realising the urgency of the situation, the exhausted Priestess Flows-In-Streams cast several spells that gave them favourable winds and speed to propel them along to safety.
“Finally…” Sephy muttered as the gradually-sinking boat slowly drifted around a band in the rapidly-widening river, the thick treeline of the Forest of Fangs thinning to open up into a large clearing with a natural bay and a rocky beach. In the distance, Jack could just about spot a lonely wooden dock jutting out.
“I think that’s our stop up ahead,” He whispered to the others, as Nika raised her sniper rifle and looked down the magnified scope.
“Yeah, I’m pretty sure I see the Corvin markings…” The Kizun replied tentatively after a few moments, moving her gun as she scoped out their destination.
I can’t wait to be off this accursed boat! Chiyo grumbled. Those River Giants downplayed everything and we almost paid the price alongside them!
“At least we get to leave the boat alive,” Alora snapped back her retort with a grim expression.
“But we’ve gotta go back that way, right?” Sephy tentatively spoke up. “Once we’re done here and the boat gets repaired?”
“We can cross that bridge when we get there,” Jack reasoned, focusing past his emotions. “Either way, this boat is fucked with most of the crew gone so we can’t go back right now even if the boat does get fixed.”
“So we deal with what we can.” Nika shrugged. “Right now that means trying to beach this fucking thing before it sinks!”
“Easier said than done,” Jack grumbled as he sprinted to the port side of the boat and grabbed a rope that was too unwieldy for him to try and throw to the bank. “Guys?” He yelled out, hoping that at least some of the remaining River Giants were lucid enough to respond. “If you want to save what’s left of your boat, I could use a hand over here! Move your arses!”
“Do…as he says!” The Priestess panted out. “Prepare for an emergency beaching, as close to the dock as you can!”
“Aye, Priestess!” A voice tentatively called out, barely echoed by a scarce few others who worked in unison, falling back to their training as if on autopilot, manipulating ropes and unfurling the sails to steer towards a shallow spot Jack pointed to near the trading dock that would be an ideal place to land and effect repairs.
The riverboat lurched and swayed dangerously as they recklessly navigated the local waters, the damaged hull protesting with every impact as it knocked against underwater boulders in the shallows as the crew tried to obtain maximum speed, until with a violent lurch that knocked Alora off her feet, the boat slammed into the rocky sand, its momentum sending almost two-thirds of the bulk up the slope of the beach until they were finally moored in place with a final jolt.
Quickly, anchors and lines were thrown out by the tired crew, using everything at their disposal to hold the riverboat firmly in place and prevent it from sliding back into deeper waters, with two of the River Giants quickly jumping off and driving stakes into the ground. Only when it was clear that the ship wasn’t going anywhere and that they had all escaped the danger from the forest did anyone allow themselves to relax.
“By Illis…” Flows-In-Streams finally gasped as she placed a hand on the tarnished railing. “I have never seen such evil as what we just faced. Lady of the Currents, show us mercy, and ferry the souls of the departed past the Final Estuary…” She gave a quick prayer, closing her eyes out of respect.
“I’m sorry for what happened…” Alora tried to comfort the Priestess, who shook her head to stop the Eladrie from continuing.
“Thank you for your words, however you have nothing to apologise for.” The River Giant sighed. “We’ve made this route before without issue, and had no way of knowing that things had changed as bad as they have. Something terrible is occurring here, and if it were not for you we would all likely have perished! I don’t know why you have travelled here, but if it has anything to do with the nightmare we just escaped, I only hope you will somehow avenge our fallen brothers and sisters!”
“We shall certainly do our best.” Alora nodded respectfully, keeping the true reason they had come here to themselves.
“However, I do not know if we can take you back in the state we are in, especially not the way we came,” the Priestess continued. “This ship will need to be repaired and our crew has been decimated. It is likely that we shall need to shelter in place until we can send word to our tribe, unless remaining is even more dangerous than attempting to return.”
“We’ll think of something.” Alora gave her best fake reassuring smile, before turning to the others with a look. “However, we had best head to the Corvin trading outpost and find out what is going on.”
“Go on ahead, we’ll be right behind you.” The Priestess nodded tiredly. “I would have thought they’d come talk to us by now.”
“Yeeaahh….” Nika spoke up, turning from where she was looking at the outpost with her scope, to give Alora a concerned look. Recognising this, the Eladrie politely gave her goodbyes, and led the group to the side out of earshot.
“We have a problem,” Nika bluntly told everyone. “Something’s wrong, I don’t see anyone over there. There’s no smoke or lights on at all, and the gate is wide open.”
“Oh fucking perfect.” Sephy groaned. “Today just gets better and better…”
We knew this might be a possibility based on what our client told us, Chiyo reminded them. Still, we need to investigate this.
“I’ll take point.” Jack sighed as he brought his plasma rifle up. “No point standing around.”
As the group walked the quarter-mile along the beach, they could more clearly see the solitary dock with rotted planks of wood that extended from the beach into the bay. Though the length of it would have been suitable for latching on several trading vessels at once, there were unfortunately no boats docked for them to commandeer for the return journey.
“Either we’ve got a lazy-ass workcrew here or this place has been deserted for a while,” Sephy pointed out as she idly kicked a frayed bit of rope that had likely once been used to securely latch boats to the dock. “Even if everything else is falling apart, the dock is the one thing you actually need working for a place like this. “
I sense no lifesigns, Chiyo informed the others, as she bent down and picked at a wicker basket laying in the unkempt grass before tossing it to the side. This place appears deserted.
“Are you okay with your powers now?” Jack asked the Ilithii. “You were having some difficulties earlier when we were attacked.”
Better now that we’re away from those creatures, Chiyo admitted. I don’t know how, but they were somehow able to cloud my abilities. It’s still foggy around here though, my range could be better.
“Then we shouldn’t rely on them for the time being,” Nika told them bluntly as she curiously examined the sandy ground near the lonely dock. “Check this out, we’ve got tracks but they look kinda weird…”
“How so?” Jack asked as he walked up to the Kizun, following her claw to the faded trail in the dirt as he understood her confusion.
Bending down to take a closer look at the ground, the tracks appeared to him as an odd mix of animal footprints, with something distinctly off about them. At first, he couldn’t place what felt so bizarre to him, before he realised that the shape and size of the prints seemed to change ever so slightly with every step.
“Surely it’s more than one set…” He muttered under his breath, looking around for where certain tracks entered or left the path of footsteps they were looking at, but was unconvinced as Nika nodded slowly at him encouragingly, walking parallel to the prints while trying to make sense of it. Though the difference in prints logically indicated multiple entities having travelled along this path, the way they were spaced out suggested a single entity travelled this way, though with an irregularity that suggested a strange, loping stride unlike the steady, rhythmic pattern Jack would have expected of a typical animal.
“I don’t know. It looks weird, but outside of the tracking I did with the Scouts, I’m kinda out of my element here,” Jack admitted after voicing his findings, shaking with a sigh, disappointed that he couldn’t get his head around what he was looking at.
“So am I,” Nika admitted. “I don’t know what could do this kind of thing, but the depth of the prints varies, like it’s off balance or shifting its weight around.”
“Guys?” Alora called from where she was examining the dock more closely. “Might need your help over here, bring the rope!”
“What’s up?” Sephy asked, turning around from where she and Dante were keeping watch, joining the others as the Eladrie waved them over.
“I’m pretty sure that’s a boat underwater,” Alora told them, pointing at a spot. “Obviously it’s not ideal, but from what I can see it looks intact…”
“Just a mild problem of it being sunk, Alora!” Sephy quipped, which caused several chuckles to break out.
“I know that!” Alora sighed with a smirk. “But if we can get it out and fix it up…”
We have a potential way back, Chiyo reasoned. Though it does look a bit small…
“Can’t hurt.” Jack shrugged as he walked up to the shore. “I can dive in and fish it out.”
“Jack, are you sure?” Alora asked. “I was going to suggest trying to latch onto it with a rope and pull it. You’ll catch a chill if you go in there!”
“And you’ve already lost your clothes from the fight with The Redeemer!” Sephy added, before grinning mischievously. “Heh, sounds like a fun plot for a porno though!”
“By the gods!” Alora groaned, quickly covering her poor ears with her hands at the Skritta’s suggestion. “What is wrong with you Sephy!?”
“Oh don’t be such a prude!” Sephy cackled. “I’ve seen your soppy romance novels!”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Alora snapped back red-faced, a little too quickly to convince anybody of the lie.
Chuckling under his breath, Jack held out his hand and envisioned his intentions in his mind as he whispered “Rope.” Sure enough, a thick bundle of polyester rope appeared in his arms, and he quickly tied one end off to a nearby post that looked stable enough despite its half-rotten state obscuring what it was once for. He gave the rope a quick tug before carrying the slack to the water’s edge, rethinking what he was planning for a moment before turning around and looking to Chiyo, who looked back at him with a smirk as they both simultaneously worked out a better solution.
“On second thought, maybe I won’t go swimming today!” He grinned, tying it into a loop and holding it up. “Would you mind, Chiyo?”
Easily done!” The Ilithii smirked back as she telekinetically guided the loop under water and latched it around the prow before Jack gave the rope a tug, with the others quickly moving to assist him as they carefully dragged it to shore.
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
“Well that’s what sunk it.” Nika nodded at the single large gash on the bottom of the rowboat. “Still, it shouldn't be too hard to patch up, though it won’t fit all of us comfortably.”
“Uncomfortable and alive works for me.” Alora nodded. “Though perhaps we could attach rafts if we need to. Would that work?”
“Maybe, but it would be slow going,” Jack reasoned. “Not to mention the danger.”
Speaking of danger…Chiyo began, inspecting the gash. Look, this hole was punctured from the inside! Maybe by a claw or something?
“That’s not a good sign.” Sephy pointed out the obvious. “Definitely deliberate, there aren’t any other holes in the thing.”
“This is worrying, but we won’t accomplish much by staying here,” Alora told them, indicating the beginning of a dirt path in the grassy dune at the top of the backshore. “Let’s check out the outpost proper and find out what we can.”
Climbing up the slope, the group quickly headed along the path towards the small cluster of buildings arranged in a protective circular formation, surrounded by a shallow ditch that ran all around, filled with what must have once been sharp, wooden stakes at one point, which now simply lay in a heap, likely knocked about by past wind and rain. However, as the group cautiously crossed the dirt bridge to get past the ditch, it looked as if efforts had been made to create a palisade fence to fully enclose the buildings, though it only looked about a quarter of the way complete, focused on the far side from the dock.
“Hello?” Jack called out, knowing that they hadn’t exactly been stealthy in their approach. “Anyone here?”
There was no response. The entire outpost was dead quiet, with not even an animal stirring.
“Well, it was worth a try!” He rolled his eyes, hiding his slight embarrassment as four girls and one ‘dog’ looked at him with incredulous expressions. “Who knows? Maybe some dude’s asleep or something? It totally could have worked!”
“We should clear the buildings while we’re here,” Nika pointed out. “Especially if we want to come back this way once we’re done.”
“Agreed.” Alora nodded. “Our client did raise concerns that he was unable to contact the people here as well as at the shrine, which means they should have a means of communicating long range.”
“They’d keep it in the main building, likely in the quarters of whoever was in charge,” Sephy told them as she quickly knelt down and fumbled in her bag, taking out one of her drones, and setting it to fly above them for some overwatch. “But it would need a power source, along with the rest of this place.”
Any logs or records they have might give us an idea of what is going on, Chiyo added.
“Yeah…” Jack added. “I can’t believe I’m getting worried that there aren’t any bodies yet…”
Deciding to check the largest rectangular building to their left upon entering the outpost, Jack took point at the large, simple double doors closest to the dock. Constructed of mud brick walls, he noted that there didn’t seem to be any windows, but there was a pungent smell lingering in the air around it. Deciding not to waste any time, Jack carefully prodded at one of the doors which easily creaked open without any resistance. Quickly stepping back and out of the fatal funnel, Jack scanned the large room for threats, finding none as he pushed in, heading down a short flight of steps as he was followed by the others.
At the bottom of the steps was a large, darkened area with a stone floor, lit only by the daylight coming through the door thay had just entered through. The temperature was cool and the stench of what Jack realised was rotting food was particularly pungent amidst the warehouse, which lacked any interior walls except for a few short partitions to separate different piles of crates and barrels, though plenty of debris and refuse was strewn about the floor, squelching under their feet at the members of the group spread out and cleared the room, careful not to go too far from one another.
“Most of this is rotted away, but some of the containers still look fully sealed,” Sephy whispered over their shared comms. “Might be useful if we’re here longer than expected. Shame we can’t take something this big with us, but the River Giants at least might appreciate the extra provisions while they repair their boat.”
Agreed, a shame we haven’t been able to get a dimensional storage of our own, Chiyo lamented as she cleared another partitioned section. Still, we might be able to buy one after this job for next time.
“Cut the chatter,” Nika abruptly told them as they made it to the back wall of the warehouse from the right, spotting Jack doing the same thing on the left. “I think I hear something.”
“Moving up,” Sephy whispered, with similar sentiments coming from the others. “What do you hear?”
Jack listened out as well, and realised he could just about hear something as well, sounding like the ticking of crickets which got ever louder as he pushed up, just as the decayed stench of the room got even worse, causing him to scrunch up his nose. “Something’s not right here,” he agreed, taking note of where the others were as he prepared to shoot.
“I think it’s coming from the partition over there,” Alora pointed with her wand over the low fencing, towards an area at the back, with a mound of some kind that seemed to seep over the surrounding partitions.
“Agreed.” Nika nodded as she pushed forward, Jack doing the same on the opposite side as they got a closer look. “Yuck, it’s a pile of grain, looks like it’s been here a while, but what’s causing that-”
Without warning, a small shape burst from the pile, their wings beating furiously as they darted straight towards Jack. The sudden movement triggered the rest of the nest, and soon a small swarm of the screeching creatures began to form, their cries echoed off the wooden walls barely a nanosecond before Jack opened fire, easily dropping the first creature which crashed against the wall next to him before he aimed for the nest, spotting several wriggling forms struggling to escape as Nika and Sephy dispatched several others flying in the sky, before following suit, quickly melting the nest and cooking anything still in it with plasma fire.
“Pyrallis!” Alora called out as her firesnake zipped through the air and quickly dropped many of the creatures, using her Ring of Fire Absorption to make sure the flames didn’t spread beyond what was necessary, while Dante zapped another one with his electricity, and Chiyo used her telekinetic power to dispatch the rest, grabbing the small creatures out of the air and smashing them against the nearest hard surface. “Any more?” She called out.
“Looks like that’s it,” Jack confirmed as he looked at the dead creature on the ground by his feet. It was a small, bat-like creature the size of a cat with a bloated abdomen and thin leathery wings and an elongated, needle-like proboscises, almost like an overgrown mosquito, with a dry, cracked shell and two bulging, bug-like eyes. “What the hell were these things?” He asked.
Stirges, Chiyo explained. They normally like marshland and settle around bogs, but abandoned places like this work too. Insects with no real minds to speak of, so I couldn’t detect them.
“Well, it all worked out.” Jack nodded, feeling strangely at ease from their success against the creatures. “This place has definitely been abandoned for a while.”
“Did anyone see any bodies?” Alora asked, only for the others to shake their heads.
“Large buildings like this would be hard to defend,” Nika reasoned. “But there’s still a lot of stuff here.”
“Alright, next building?” Sephy proposed and the group nodded, returning back the way they came from, heading up the stairs back to the daylight. “At least this one has windows.” She pointed to another large single-storey building on the opposite side of the dirt path.
Jack quickly moved up to take a careful look at the window, planting himself against the wall as he took a peek. “Looks like a mess hall,” he told them. “Can’t see anything bad. There’s a couple of tables, and a back door, probably leading to the kitchen area.”
“Very well, stack up and get ready to clear this quickly,” Alora told them all as she took position behind Jack, with Nika, Sephy and Chiyo on the opposite side of the door. Nika led the way, opening the door quietly and making entry, covering her angles as the rest followed.
“Clear!” The Kizun whispered to them as she edged her way around the side wall to check behind the counter, finding nothing as she waved the others to come join her, having found a kitchen door. They all stacked up again and quickly cleared the kitchen, finding nothing bad or of any value to them, even after checking the cupboards. There was also a door leading outside behind the building where it looks like kitchen scraps and other rubbish was disposed of in the nearby ditch.
More rotten food and no bodies, Chiyo noted as they returned to the main dining area, giving the place a more thorough check now it had been cleared of bad guys. But check out the plates on the tables here, it’s like people were halfway through their meal or something, though it’s hard to see now that it’s gone bad.
“Yeah, and nothing spilled either,” Jack noted, seeing the cutlery either already on the dish or placed neatly to the side of it. “A bunch of these tables aren’t used, could this have been a night shift that ate here?”
“Probably just kept them there unused until they get guests.” Sephy shrugged. “I doubt I’d bother with packing them up if you have the space.
“Regardless, there’s nothing here.” Alora sighed. “Next building.”
Returning outside back the way they came, the group continued up the path, passing a lone wheeled cart with nothing on it as they passed the edge of the first two buildings they had already cleared, which opened up onto a small open area with a well in the centre, which an intact plastic bucket and a rope. To their left was a completed portion of the palisade wall with another dirt bridge that opened out to the wilderness, flanked on either side by a bare wooden gazebo, likely for the purposes of acting as a guest area for visitors or for conducting business relatively safely. On the other side was another long building, and tucked away behind it were the remaining buildings - a small shed, a few outhouses precariously located next to the ditch, and a two-storey building protected by the palisade wall.
“That shed probably has the generator,” Sephy spoke up, pointing to the wires stapled along the palisade wall, which seemed to curve along to both the two-storey building and the long building. “Which do we clear first?”
“Take the long building first,” Nika requested. “Have your drone scan the two-storey while we do.”
“Sure,” Sephy agreed, mentally commanding her drone while stacking up on one of the two doors of the long, rectangular building.
The windows have blinds down. Chiyo noted as she floated up to take a look. I don’t sense anything.
“Alright, let’s see what we’ve got!” Sephy grinned, with a nod from Nika on the other door as they all made entry, immediately spotting several rows of bunk beds and recognising the building as a barracks or living quarters.
“Clear!” Alora called as she checked the beds in her sector, as the others confirmed everything was clear on their ends too.
“Still no bodies or any sign of what’s going on here!” Jack exclaimed.
“I agree, this doesn’t bode well.” Alora nodded. “Let’s check the shed and the house. If there’s anything around here that’ll tell us what’s going on I suspect it’ll be the latter.”
“Drone isn’t detecting anything there.” Sephy pointed out as she rummaged through one of the bedside tables, pocketing the credsticks as she did. “A lot of personal belongings here as well. Once we’ve cleared everything else and confirmed we won’t get any angry Corvin employees objecting to it, we’re totally coming back here for the loot.”
“Answers first.” Alora sternly retorted before smirking slightly. “But also yes.”
“Shed’s clear!” Nika confirmed as she peered around with the gun. “What about with you?”
“Nobody died on the shitter at least!” Jack called back with a dry chuckle as he cleared the outhouses with Chiyo, carefully sliding down the ditch to check the last one which had been blown over by the wind. “All clear here!”
“Awesome, come back to us,” Nika told them. “You’re gonna want to see this.”
The contents of the maintenance shed looked practical but unremarkable, especially when considering Jack’s gauntlets. Still, the assortment of tools looked well kept and maintained, with a few that even looked big enough for the River Giants to use. At the very least the spare planks, nails and barrels of tar would help. However, it was at the back where the group was directing their attention, as the outpost generator was smashed to pieces, with several of the nearby shelves knocked over, and a large hole in the wall broken from the outside.
There is no doubt in my mind that this was deliberate sabotage, Chiyo told the others grimly. An animal would cause more destruction or leave a trace.
“I agree.” Nika nodded. “Let’s clear the main building now.”
Clearing the main doors and pushing in, the group found a foyer leading to a large chamber that looked like some kind of reception area, and looking up they could see that the space was open to the second floor, with two flights of stairs leading to a gallery overlooking the floor. Several doors at the sides of the reception were quickly checked and the rooms cleared, being several small private offices and personal living quarters for different middle managers with simple, modest furniture, using what looked to Jack like analogue typewriters and paper rather than any terminals, and though there were charging points for electronic devices, they didn’t spot any.
“No communication equipment here, let’s clear the second floor,” Alora ordered, carefully leading the way while the others kept their eyes open for any movement from the gallery above, though fortunately none came. As they got to the top of the stairs they immediately made a beeline past the open-plan meeting area for the single room at the back, ignoring the relatively bare gallery which only had a few benches, leading Jack to question the practical use of the two-storey building outside of stroking an ego.
“Making entry,” he announced after they all stacked up on him. Quickly opening the door and slicing the pie for any threats, he moved in and cleared the corners of the lavish-looking office, before checking the room behind it, which were just some personal quarters.
“Found the communications suite,” Sephy announced.
Pointing to a corner of the room, the large, chunky monstrosity of levers and dials had clearly suffered the same fate as the generator, having been smashed to bits in much the same way.
“Artifex” Jack whispered, hovering his hand over the device while his gauntlet’s magic did its trick. “Yeah it’s fucked, but if the River Giants have the right tools and a power source they might be able to send out a distress signal.”
“We’ll let them know when they get here,” Alora nodded. “Something bad clearly happened here, but what, we don’t know.
Well, if it has anything to do with why we’ve been sent here, Chiyo retorted grimly, I suspect we’ll soon find out.