The man trudged over to the chair and slumped into the seat. The image transfixed his gaze before him; his expression shifted from a frown to disappointment as he noticed the hobgoblins and goblins hastily binding the burrower beasts with thick ropes.

"Well, this certainly isn't the Grand Bazaar, and those don't look like dock crews," he muttered to himself, studying the scene for a few more moments. He watched as the hobgoblins and goblins worked quickly and efficiently, securing the ropes that tethered the burrower beasts to the vessel, intent on dragging the ship to some unknown destination.

The man glanced at Kargan and then at G. His face fell with disappointment as he sighed at the sight of the open chest on the table and the cursed ring on G's hand. He shook his head, sighing. Despite his age, he seemed sharp and observant. He looked around at the strewn treasure heaped on one side of the room and coins, gold place settings, and other scattered items.

"I suppose I should introduce myself. I am Riclos the Forsaken, and that," he pointed at the softly glowing ring on G's finger, "is mine."

G tried to put on a friendly smile and a warm tone in his voice. "Forsaken? Forsaken from what exactly? You can have the ring as soon as I can get it off. We're looking for information. "G looked at the mirror, "No, that isn't a docking crew; that's a small army, and your ship is in the dark pathways."

Riclos nodded, his gaze lingering on the mirror as the ship rocked gently beneath their feet. "Dark pathways, huh? How in the world... Oh, never mind. " He stopped with a look of exasperation on his face, then decided to continue after Kargan moved his sword, "What information do you require? No, I don't know how to remove the ring, if that's your first question. I was planning on getting it identified and selling it at the Bazaar. The enchantments and spells woven into the item are too powerful for me to discern its capabilities."

G replied, "I identified it. The Ring is called the Ring of Perpetual Optimism and belonged to Guinidilda, the High Priestess of the Temple of Senses. It is cursed and will not come off."

Upon hearing its name, Riclos' face was overcome with a moment of panic and fear. "How do you know that name? Did Broznoc send you?"

G glanced at Kargan, who merely shrugged in response.

"No, I wasn't sent by anyone. We were chased and ended up in here." G gestured at the goblins who were now leaving the ship over the side. "We're trying to avoid having to fight a small army. We need information about the ship and perhaps on how to use it to leave this place and those goblins."

The tension in Riclos's face and shoulders eased a bit. "So you weren't sent. How long has this ship been here? It seemed only minutes ago I stepped into that stupid box. Can you explain what happened, and perhaps I can help?"

G looked at Kargan again. The hobgoblin seemed indifferent to what he was hearing, or perhaps he was just good at maintaining his stoic expression."We do not know how your ship came to be here. I thought it might have been related to the new portal that appeared a few hours from here. "

G wasn't going to mention that it might be related to a huge chunk of the earth being moved to the dark pathways tunnels.

"My companion here mentioned that the tunnels have changed from what his maps had. I don't think it crashed into here. It must have appeared because I don't see it going through solid rock. The rubble it was buried under was pinning it when we came in here. The goblins dug it out, and they intend to move it somewhere, and it is floating."

Riclos looked up at the scene in the mirror again, studying it. "I don't suppose you know if Captain Crustatian is still alive? Most folks just called him the Crab or Captain Crustacean. Unless you fancy saying his name in his language, it sounds like a high-pitched whine, which is very unpleasant. "

G looked at the image, "Nothing was alive when we came on board. The goblins uncovered a few beings, and one looked like it might have been a giant crab. It was on that high deck near that wheel and the instruments there."

Riclos responded, " We had a business arrangement and weren't exactly friends. He was a smuggler but always kept his word, a rare trait among scoundrels. Without him, we'll struggle as he was the captain and the only one who could pilot this ancient astral ship. It's older than anything I've ever seen and likely not built by the crustaceans. The power to operate it may have gone with him, and not many can pilot these ships as they're designed and flown by their builders. " Riclos pointed at the pile of gold and jewels on the side of the room. "Most of that was his payment to take me to the Grand Bazaar. I was but a passenger who appears to have become shipwrecked and soon to be captured by goblins. " Riclos's shoulders slumped as he put his elbows on the table and rested his head on his hands, sighing once again. "If I didn't have bad luck, I'd not have any luck at all, which is the life of one that is forsaken."

G asked, "So you are telling us you know nothing about how to operate this ship, and you can't help us?" He didn't think it was all as bad as this fellow sounded. The old man was still alive, right? That has to count for something.

"I didn't say that. I said I couldn't operate it. The captain used that helm and wheel. I saw him a few times. There are other things this ship can do that might help. Before we get to that, though, how about you tell me why those goblins are chasing you?" He looked at Kargan. He studied the hobgoblin for a few moments. "You're a commander if I understand what those earrings mean, or once you were, your torn ear, you fell out with your tribe." He looked back at G, "You are an Aardsylvian. How one of your kind came here must be quite the story." He gazed around the room again, "You weren't on this ship, or you'd not be asking me about it. So before I decide if it's better to help you or let you kill me here and now, why exactly would I help a hobgoblin and a clodhopper elf?"

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

There was a long silence after Riclos spoke. Something was tingling in G's mind; this old man was playing them. He was trying to set the tone of their negotiations for whatever services he was going to get or receive. He knew about hobgoblins and Aardsylvians. Had Kargan been a commander? That was a lot of information there. Was G a clodhopper? For an old man with little to offer, Riclos was trying to establish some sort of pecking order. He must have decided that wasn't going to happen, or he wasn't afraid of Kargan; he was bargaining.

G raised his voice slightly to ensure Riclos understood who was in charge. "Kargan is in my employ, and I hope you can assist us with knowledge of this ship and this ring. We all need to get away from that army out there. If anyone is sharing their story here, it's you. How about you start with why you're on this ship with all this gold to give away and, more importantly, tell me about this ring and the priestess who wore it?"

Riclos nodded, looking tired and dejected. He surveyed the room again before turning back to G. "I can share what I know about the ring. I'll even share what I know about the ship and how it might help us if the opportunity arises, but what exactly is in this for me?"

G replied, "Is this gold the dead captain's?" He pointed at the pile of treasure. "Since he's dead and it appears to be unowned, we can return some of that to you, and you have my word that we'll try to get you safely out of this mess when we leave. I can guarantee nothing beyond that, and unless you want to take your chances back in that box, I don't think you'll find a better offer." It was a take-it-or-leave-it deal for Riclos, but G had a feeling it was what the old man was looking for. The box would certainly be discovered if the dark elves had time to inspect the ship, and they would likely find this room.

Riclos considered the proposal for a few moments, "The ring is mine, and you'll need to accompany me to a magician with the power to remove it. As for the treasure, I doubt we'll be able to carry all of it out of here. As I said, I can't fly this ship, and I doubt the controls will even work, considering the captain's condition. If you can agree to this, then we have a deal."

G looked at Kargan, who nodded. He turned back to Riclos, "I think we can do that. The ring is yours once I can remove it safely. I believe I can handle moving the gold and other items. Now tell me about this ring first." G felt good about the whole arrangement, and even the idea of taking the gold now that he knew it was unclaimed didn't weigh on his conscience.

Riclos glanced at the mirror, which displayed the ship floating down the dark pathways, with goblins, hobgoblins, and dark elves marching in columns alongside it. "I suppose I should start at the beginning. Please put your sword away. I doubt an old man with a wooden foot poses much of a threat to either of you. You asked about 'forsaken' earlier. Let me start there," said Riclos.

"Where I'm from, several years ago, I was the head of a religious order in a city. I was the Hierophant of the order, and our god's influence spanned my people's empire." Riclos saw the puzzlement on G's face. "You should probably sit down. I see you don't understand. Do you know about gods and their ways?"

G moved over and took a seat as Kargan sheathed his sword. "No, I don't have much experience with that sort of thing," said G.

Riclos nodded, "There are several ranks of gods based on power and alignment with their particular magical focus. Life has the most gods and goddesses, Law also has many, Chaos has fewer, and the Void has almost none."

G still looked puzzled. "You do understand magic lore? The Four Brothers and their magical foci? Oh, I see. Do the elves teach you nothing?" Riclos took a deep breath, "There are Four Brothers. I won't speak their names to avoid attention but understand that each brother has a domain with its foci. Some might say the magical powers are divided unequally into sections: Life, Law, Chaos, and Void. Each of them has a particular type of mana. That mana flows back and forth to the higher plane each calls home. Once every few thousand years, the mana that flows across the many planes flows outward from the higher plane of each foci god for unknown reasons. For most, it's an unseen flow. For others, it's a time of great power and can throw a world into turmoil that can decimate it and its people. Understand there are many subdomains inside each domain, and I'm not going to touch on that. Each god has one domain and several subdomains they can also claim as powers. This is all based on the people who worship them, and I loosely use the term 'people'. Their worshipers give normal gods power, which is used to protect the people from other gods and beings of great magical strength. The Four Brothers and one other get power from the mana foci. The foci are poles of opposing magic in the universe," Riclos paused and looked intently at G and his hat.

G was certain he knew Tocai was in there or at least suspected something about it.

Riclos continued, "So each group of people has a god. Sometimes a faith will encompass several kingdoms of people, but usually, that's not the case. Gods cannot die as you and I do. They will survive just about any injury given enough time. Unless their people are converted or killed, if that happens, a god will dissipate or die."

He stopped for a moment to look up, "I was once a cleric to a god with many worshipers, and I had power through my faith. But now I don't. My god has abandoned his followers and me. This has never happened for as far back as we have records, and according to the many magical beings we summoned of every domain type, this cannot happen. But it has. When the gods of my people disappeared, I lost almost all my powers, and I am as you see me now—a broken old man with a wooden foot. If I had my powers, I could heal this lost appendage over time, but it would have been healed. Now I am powerless to do so. That's what 'forsaken' means. I am a man who no longer has the favor of the god he worshiped."

G thought he understood all of that. This fellow had been a cleric and a healer. "So, how did you get this ring and all this treasure if you're forsaken?"

Riclos smirked and shook his head slightly with the flicker of an exasperated man. "I was in my temple several months after being forsaken. The kingdom I lived in was in disarray with the absence of the gods. Many magical creatures were preying upon it. No one had come to the temple in weeks. Then in the front entrance walks a man with an odd hat with a feather in it, speaking with an accent I'd never heard before. Do you know of the god of Mischief? Breamas? Well, he came walking into the temple like he owned the place, right up to me and—"

G cut in, "Do you mean Ben Reamus? Doctor Ben Reamus? Puffy red silk pants with a cane?" His mind was racing with that news, back to his first encounter with Dr. Ben Reamus. The memory was still vivid, as if it had just happened.