It was a new morning Friedrich and Marina walked down the hill towards the gate leading into Akatfall Bay. After reading and re-reading the baker’s diary they followed the trail to Galvus, which led them straight back to where they were the previous day. It was a minor frustration in the grand scheme of things, considering they were confident that they were on the right path.
Friedrich opened the diary to the final page again and read it aloud to Marina. “I met old Galvus trying to peddle his fish outside my shop again. When I tried to shoo him away, he said that the Butcher was back and this time he would not stop. There was something about blood rituals to be fulfilled, but it did made little sense to me. What prompted him to say such a thing in the middle of the street, I do not know, but I will be wary of him in the future. I’ve always thought of him as a raving madman, but never someone nefarious.”
“We’ll need to watch ourselves around him,” said Marina, twirling her staff in her hands.
“Stop spinning that around!” Friedrich scolded her. “You’ve seen what you can do with just a simple lightning bolt now that it’s powered up by the amethyst.”
“I know, I know,” said Marina, ceasing the spinning and holding her magical implement steady.
“I hope this diary isn’t a load of nonsense,” said Friedrich, looking longingly towards the ships he could see resting in the water ahead. This
Marina looked more confident than Friedrich and shook her head. “Thomas being told something about The Butcher and then becoming a target seems to piece together well. Perhaps Galvus is at risk next?”
“Perhaps he is The Butcher,” said Friedrich. “We need to find out. I can’t lose to Blackjack!”
“And risk letting innocents die, of course.”
“That too.”
The two walked underneath he archway and the bay opened up before them. There was a large sandy beach running around the edge of the water to their left and, to their right, was where the bay opened up and led the way to the sea. Before them stood the pier where three large boats sat waiting for their chance to take to the open waters once again. Friedrich could see a crew from the largest of the boats unloading crates onto the wooden walkway.
Friedrich and Marina walked up to the pier and towards a middle-aged man with red hair in a long grey coat with a sabre hanging from his belt. He was directing his men, telling them which crates should be stacked in which pile.
“Come on now, gents!” he grumbled, having just ordered two of his crewmen to fix a mistake they made.
“Excuse me,” said Friedrich, approaching the captain.
“Eh?” he said, turning towards them. “Oh. What do you want, young’uns, I’m a little busy keeping these hellions in line.”
“We’re looking for a fisherman named Galvus,” said Friedrich. “You don’t by any chance know where he would be, do you?”
The captain silently looked at the two for a moment and then laughed uproariously. “Ol’ Galvus? What could you possibly want with him?”
“Why’s it’ funny that we’re looking for him?”
“The man’s a loon,” said the captain, reaching out his hand to both Friedrich and Marina. “Name’s Captain Alden. How about the pair of you?”
“Friedrich.”
“Marina.”
“Well, Friedrich and Marina,” said Captain Alden. “If I were you, I’d give Galvus a wide berth. He’s a bit of a wildcard to put it mildly. Says a lot of things that aren’t true, but gets…well, he gets upset if you ever dare accuse him of being a liar. He’s taken a swing or two at me in my time.”
“We believe he knows something about The Butcher of the Bay,” said Friedrich, wiping the smile from Captain Alden’s face.
“You don’t say? Well, considering he spends all of his time either here in the bay area of town, I wouldn’t be too surprised. That said, you need to take whatever he says with a pinch of salt.”
“Please, Captain Alden,” said Marina. “Can you tell us where to find him?”
“Only if the pair of you promise to watch yourselves. No good can come for youngsters seeking out dangerous killers. Wouldn’t want you getting hurt.”
“We promise,” said Friedrich and Marina in unison.
“I don’t believe you, but I’ll tell you anyway,” said the captain, turning and pointing towards a small hut at the far side of the bay. “That’s Galvus’s cabin. Not sure if he’s in, he may be out in his little boat, but you can give his door a knock and see.”
“Thank you, Captain Alden,” said Marina.
“Yes, thank you,” said Friedrich, looking past the captain towards his boat. “You’re a sailor, Captain. Where did you come journey from?”
“Lots of place,” said the captain with a hearty guffaw. “Most recently, we came from western Corobath, but we’ll be heading off to Kai’roh in a few days.”
Friedrich and Marina looked at each other. “Kai’roh?” Friedrich said.
“That’s what I said, lad, wasn’t it?”
“How much would it cost us for passageway when you set sail?”
“You want to go to Kai’roh? You asked your mummy and daddy?”
Friedrich scowled. “Never mind.”
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“I’m just pulling your leg, son. Thirty kupons apiece and it’s a deal. As long as you don’t mind sleeping on a couple of old hammocks.”
“We’ll take you up on that, Captain,” said Friedrich. “But we need to see what we can find out about The Butcher first.”
“Alright,” said Captain Alden as Friedrich and Marina departed. “Watch yourselves, young’uns.”
Friedrich and Marina gleefully talked about securing cheap passage to Kai’roh, but neither wanted to simply abandon their mission to capture The Butcher. They had no idea how easy it would be to make money in Kai’roh and needed to have enough to keep them going until they had fulfilled Kitt’s request.
The two walked around the edge of the bay, following the shore until they reached a small boat that lay on the sand, hidden by a rock that it was tied to. It sat a mere fifty feet away from Galvus’s house, and the two eagerly hurried up to the fisherman’s cabin.
“What?” called a gruff voice as Friedrich raised a fist to knock on the cabin door. He and Marina looked at each other in surprise.
“Excuse me, but are you Galvus?” he asked, taken aback.
“What of it?”
“My name is Friedrich, and this is Marina.”
“Hello,” said Marina.
“We believe you were talking to Thomas the baker before he died?”
The door suddenly swung wide open and, in the doorway, stood Galvus. He was a scrawny man with long, oily grey hair that hung slick and limp. His face was turned into an unpleasant sneer, as though he was constantly smelling some foul odour. Perhaps it was his own fishy odour that he was smelling, so strong and pungent as it was.
“What do you know about Thomas?” growled Galvus.
Friedrich pulled out the diary and read the final entry to Galvus.
“Tried to sell my fish on the street and the man has a bad reaction. I didn’t do anything wrong.”
“We’re not worried about that part,” said Friedrich, closing the diary and stashing it away again. “It’s what he said you said about The Butcher of the Bay. You said that he’s back again and this time he wouldn’t stop. What does that mean?”
Galvus looked past Friedrich and Marina, as though trying to make sure they were alone. He then pushed past them and beckoned them to follow as he approached the water.
“Need to make sure nobody is lurking in the shadows and can overhear,” said Galvus in a hushed voice. “Can’t be too careful these days, children.”
Friedrich bit his tongue, not wanting to antagonise the man who may be able to help him in the hunt for The Butcher.
Galvus sat down on the rock that he had tied his boat to and looked around once more. His eyes fixated on Captain Alden and his crew for a short while before nodding slowly. “I think we’re safe,” he said. “You two want to know about The Butcher?”
“Yes,” said Friedrich.
“We’re going to stop him,” added Marina.
“Heh,” laughed Galvus. “You two are in over your heads. Ain’t nobody stopping The Butcher this time. Got himself an allegiance with demons this time, and that’s something even the city guards will be overwhelmed by if The Butcher gets his way.”
“Galvus, can you please tell us what you know?” asked Friedrich.
“Course I can,” said Galvus, lowering his gaze. “I can even tell you who The Butcher of the Bay is, did you know?”
The two young Mercians stood before Galvus, holding their breaths in anticipation as they waited for the old man to speak.
“About twenty years ago, there was a series of murders throughout town. Each and every one of them happened around the bay, and each one of them was done in the exact same way. The victim’s head was cut from his body and the rest of the body was mutilated beyond recognition. Many thought it was the workings of a simple madman, but I knew better. Dug around a little, so I did. Me and an old friend of mine, Luthrus Buckstone, thought we would be heroes and catch the criminal in the act. Of course, it was not so simple.
“We spent many a night skulking around the streets, keeping ourselves out of sight, but constantly on the move. We were determined to catch the big fish and make a name for ourselves…well, I would make a name for myself and Luthrus would solidify himself as a true lord of the city when it was his turn to take over from his father, Lord Buckstone.
“One night, I waited for Luthrus, but he never showed up. I thought perhaps one of the servants of the castle had caught him sneaking out for our little bout of vigilantism. I decided I would go on the hunt by myself but, as usual, I found not a sight and heard not a peep…until I got home.”
“What did you find?” asked Marina, but Friedrich already knew the answer.
“I found my friend Luthrus, dead in front of my house. His body was spread across the street and his head sat on the top step, watching over the streets of the bay area. I was more determined than ever to catch the predator, but my wife was terrified for our safety. She left me and took the children, moving themselves far away from Akatfall, but I could not stop.
“Would you believe that shortly after that, I had a stroke of luck? I caught the murderer in the act as he butchered a jeweller. When I was twenty years younger, I could put up a much better fight than I can now. I managed to wrestle the Butcher’s dagger from him, but he escaped into the night.
“Now this dagger was the key to everything. It was what told me the Butcher’s plan, it was what told me who the Butcher was, but the loss of this dagger was what made the Butcher stop. I felt an evil presence coming from within the dagger, so I took it to the Mages Guild. They took one look at my scraggly self and didn’t want to even let me through the doorway, but a kind mage took pity on me.
“This mage listened to my tale and took the dagger, performing all manner of rituals on it. He was able to discern that it was a dagger from Blackfire, but it was not simply a demonic weapon; it was much more. It was a funnel that sapped the life from its victims and gave it to a greater demon. The killings were not the work of a madman, but someone who desired power.”
“Who?” asked Friedrich.
“Baron Pelagius,” said Galvus quietly.
Marina gave him a look of confusion; she did not know this name. Much to Friedrich’s surprise, it was a name he had heard in his old life. He knew the name as an associate of his father, but knew little about the man himself.
“Baron Pelagius is a rich and powerful man, no doubt, being a baron,” said Friedrich slowly, “but he was not the one we saw at Thomas’s house.”
“And that is why this time around, he is more dangerous,” said Galvus. “He is no longer killing on behalf of demons for his own ends, he is in allegiance with demons much more directly and that makes him a much greater threat. But rest assured, he will have to make the final killing himself for him to be bestowed the unholy blessings of the foul, wretched beasts of Blackfire.”
“You are certain that it’s Baron Pelagius?” asked Marina. “It has been twenty years.”
“I am certain alright,” said Galvus, looking around once more, “because the dagger was stolen from the Mages Guild two months ago. He has it and he will use it to make the final killing himself.”
“And who does he intend to kill?” asked Friedrich.
“Who is one of the most powerful men in the city, barring the king himself.”
“Lord Buckstone,” said Friedrich.
“Yes,” said Galvus. “The father of my dearly departed friend, Luthrus, Lord Albert Buckstone. He has made twelve kills, and Lord Buckstone will be his next target. I suspect it will be tomorrow at the lord’s ball. The thirteenth kill will complete his pact with the demons, exactly as the mage told me many years ago.”
“Twelve kills? We heard it was three kills, and then Thomas makes a fourth.”
“And who do you think is ensuring the Butcher’s involvement is being covered up in many of these killings? Baron Pelagius has great sway over what gets reported on.”
Marina looked aghast. “Twelve murders? What happens when he kills Lord Buckstone?”
“My best guess? He has been promised the position of the next Lord of Akatfall. And I bet he’s left me alive out of spite. Should the baron become the lord, then I have no doubt I will be murdered in my sleep.”
“Is there nothing we can do to stop him?” asked Friedrich.
“Not unless you have an invitation to the ball,” said Galvus, waving his hand dismissively. “If you don’t have one, you would need to sneak in.”
Friedrich looked to Marina. “Would you like to go shopping?” he asked her.
“Shopping?” she replied with a raised eyebrow.
“Yes. If we’re going to the ball, we need to look the part, don’t we?”