A crowd of angry pirates surrounded the sinking sloop Kaden had stolen. The dock creaked as the ship sank lower and lower. Some were upset because Trella’s hard dock had crushed them between the dock and the ship and some seemed upset because it was a day that ended in y and also because they were pirates.
The harbormaster’s threat to cut their throats if they didn’t have a good explanation sat well with the crowd. He knew what would please them.
Trella sprinted to the edge of the ship and leaped, landing in the crowd. “You’re welcome to try, you fat, smelly tub of shit. I just worked a gods-damned miracle. Kaden, Sara, bring the healer, I need her. My hands are blistered to hell and back.”
“I don’t work for you,” Sara answered in an uncharateristically sullen tone—then stopped as every eye turned her way. “I mean, yes, captain.”
With Kaden’s help, they unloaded Eve and Ashi.
Trella stood five inches from the dockmaster, engaged in a heated argument.
“You’re not a captain. You may have saved the ship and you definitely saved those sea-biscuits, but that doesn’t make you captain of one of Harrigan’s ships.” The Harbor Master paused, looking at her hands. “But you did well. The Smoke Trail said there were no other survivors. What about the Ash Dawn?”
Trella didn’t answer for a moment. “There’s no ship named the Ash Dawn. Black Marie was in flames, with a fifteen foot skeleton monster killing everything. I thought for sure the Marie went down, wrapped in tentacles, but we were six inches from sinking, and if not for the current, we’d have gone on a salt-water drinking binge, too.”
“That damned Squid betrayed Dagger Dan and turned on us after four centuries. What of them?”
Trella glanced to Eve. “That one’s not a biscuit, she’s a healer with a taste for blood. If you want healing from her, you bring a knife. We picked up the [Bandit] in Norim, can’t sail but he’s got his uses where I’m concerned, the other two are gods-damned wastes of skin. You, Sara, tie a monkey’s fist.”
Sara shook her head. “I—I don’t know what that is.”
“See?” Trella pointed to all of them. “Fall in. Keep your mouths shut, keep your daggers away, you owe me your lives and I mean to collect. First stop, I need a drink. How long until we have my ship patched up?”
“Your ship.” The Harbor Master grinned. “That’d be for Harrigan to decide, but I like you. You’re too green to be a [Captain.] A real captain knows a healer’s always valuable and that every ship needs a cook and every crew servants. You’ll learn. Go on. Harrigan will have questions. When he does? Less sass.”
As Trella led them away from the docks, [Pirates] set to work raising the sloop and cutting loose the ruined mast. Kaden kept close to Ashi and Eve, with Sara on one side and Trella just ahead. No one so much as glanced their way as they made their way out of the harbor and into the town beyond.
Once they weren’t pits-deep in [Pirates], Trella looked to Sara. “Follow my lead here, we need information.”
She headed toward an obvious bar and stopped, bowing deep enough that her top fell open a little to a group of men. “Mind doing me a favor?”
Several of them grinned and reached—only to find Trella just beyond their grasp. “What do you want? I’ve got it, I’m sure.”
“If I have to repeat this one more time…someone’s going to bleed.” Trella looked to Sara. “Ask him. Food, drink, lodging.”
“I was told this would be explained when we reached port.” Sara said. “Kill the sailors, take the ship, get fed and a place to sleep where my snake friends won’t be so frightening to everyone.”
“Food, drink, you buy,” one pirate said. “Sleep on your ship or buy a bunk at the Bleached Whales. Do as your [Captain] says, don’t die. That’s all you ever need explained.”
Trella pointed ahead. “Keep moving, don’t ask stupid questions, don’t buy anything. Hands to yourself. Ladies, if someone touches you, take off a finger-tip but not one knuckle more.”
“I won’t be doing that.” Eve locked her gaze with one of the pirates. “Anyone who touches me catches [Plague]. You there, I need to make an example. Would you mind suffering a debilitating status effect that makes you weak and clumsy?”
The men stepped back, and Kaden would have taught them not to use such terms for women, but this was almost perfectly the right amount of conflict. Instead, he let Trella and the others move ahead and spoke to the [Pirates]. “Say I wanted something different. Some companionship?”
The men laughed and one of them spoke up. “Get it at sea, get it when you dock over in Norim, the company here will get you ten status effects in the first thirty seconds.”
“I think I’ll wait.” Kaden dipped his head to them and turned and headed toward Trella.
She punched him on the shoulder. “Keep up!”
*I’ve got that location for Portal,* Kaden replied in code.
Trella didn’t answer, but she gave him a quick nod. “There we go, that’s our kind of place. We’ve got few coins and fewer options and we need some privacy.” Trella steered them toward a bar that looked like it was about to fall in. “Kaden, if the bouncer gives us trouble, give him trouble.”
Kaden took the lead, pushing open the door so hard the wood crunched as a wide man tried—and failed to block it.
“Get out.” The bouncer growled.
Kaden turned on [Destruction Aura]. “I want to sit and drink quietly with my friends. Or I want to break a lot of people and maybe some things. Your call.”
“There.” The bouncer pointed to the corner. “If the Strikers come in, you go out. There’s thirty of them and six of you.”
Turning off the aura was just good sense, especially when it looked like the bar was two minutes from falling in already. Kaden sat and shuffled through Inventory. It wasn’t likely the businesses here would allow debts with the Adventurer’s Guild, which kept him from carrying all his gold. Kaden slapped down two silvers, more for the keeper to leave them alone.
Trella spoke loudly. “You all owe me. We were damned lucky to survive that disaster, and I’ll find another ship if I have to sling a sheet from a row-boat. For now, you need to convince me how it was worthwhile.”
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Sara waited until after the barkeep set down a pitcher of beer to unroll her map. Rey’s heartstone location flashed on it. “He’s very close. A block or two north at most?”
Trella studied the map closely. “I’d bet that’s a [Leecher]. They’re healers that thrive off of disease. Makes sense they’d stick the healers in together.”
“I want to go look for him,” Sara said.
“That’s not a good idea.” Trella glanced his way.
Kaden stood up and stretched, then limped over to the barkeep. “I feel like I might have come down with a Status effect from some company I kept. Where could I get cleansed?”
“Go see Pulchor. North two streets, then inward one street,” the barkeep said. “And stay away from the whores here. You’ll be stuck in the mines or logging if you can’t pull your weight on a ship.”
“Thanks. This itch just won’t stop.” Kaden shuffled back to the table. “Eve, can you [Plauge] me?”
“We don’t use that on friends…” Eve sighed. “This will be unpleasant.”
Kaden winced as his skin flushed and flies buzzed into existence, circling him. His agility dropped and the system flashed a warning.
You have acquired a status condition! Plauged.
Strength and Agility are reduced.
“That’ ll do.” He headed out of the bar.
Trella caught his hand as he walked away. *There’s a Sister of Shadows on this island. She left the usual rune-marks we use to notify each other. I’ll find her, we need all the help we can get.* The excitement in her body language was clear.
That was exactly the sort of thing Kaden expected from the [Shadow Blade] organization. Whether the Sister had been sent to infiltrate or gotten trapped here and survived, reporting in, it fit their mode of operation. *Be careful.*
Though Kaden would have expected a [Pirate] town to be filthy and falling apart, many of the stores here showed new construction and careful maintenance, and the streets had thin layers of pumic making it hard to slip. Wagons moved through the street drawn by ponies. That was a lot of cargo for a small town, but then again, when the illusion dropped, it let them see a chain of islands, and this was only one of them. Probably the largest, but every island could be entirely built out.
Three streets over, Kaden spotted the dimly lit mana-sign that said “Pulchorium.” Beneath the word was the symbol of a frog, which didn’t exactly scream health. Kaden pushed through the double doors and then through a second set—and flinched. The air inside was clean, medicinal, pure and smelled of alchemical reagents. Though the shop was made of wood, it was fine construction with polished counters and stone work basins, and an thin man with balding blond hair in seven tight braids hunched over a basin. His white coat carried pockets with dozens of frogs.
“Oy. Wait at the counter, wait your turn, you don’t smell like you’re dying, so you aren’t, but if you mess up this reaction, you may.” Pulchor leaned further over and fished in his pocket, pulling out a bright yellow frog, which he tossed into the sink.
The man didn’t even flinch as it exploded, throwing yellow dust up in a cloud that enveloped him. “There we are. Now, let’s get a look—oh, delicious!”
Pulchor’s eyes were a watered down blue, his face covered in wrinkles and spotless white teeth gleamed in his smile as he breathed in. “[Plague?] You have [Plague?] Oh you lucky man. I must have it.”
Below the counter, Kaden drew the [Levicon Blade] and braced himself, carving into his own thigh. “That and I had a disagreement with someone. I need a healing potion.”
“Bah. Waste of good potions and lords, boy, keep it in your pants if whoever did this can [Plague] and cut like that.” Pulchor put a hand on Kaden and breathed in deep. A ball of black energy collected in front of him, and he drew a vial from Inventory. “Now I have [Plague] too. What a fortuitous day. Let’s see about that cut.”
Kaden followed Pulchor through a set of curtains—and recoiled. Chained to the wall were half a dozen men and women.
“Don’t flinch, this is cheaper than a potion. Who’s up next?” Pulchor scanned the wall.
Rey hung from manacles on the end, his tan skin sallow, the marks on his wrists deep. But he locked his gaze on Kaden and stood. “It’s me. I’ve got mana. That wound is reinforced, though.”
Pulchor huffed. “That’s going to cost a silver, then.”
Kaden paid three. “I recognize him. How much for some time alone?”
The way Pulchor cackled made Kaden’s skin crawl. He pocketed the silver and took out a set of keys. “These come from Hell. Can’t be removed at all, so we have to unlock the wall.”
A moment later, Rey stumbled down—straight into Kaden’s fist. Kaden picked him up. “I’ll heal my own wound in exchange for this. Remember Vaya? I said we’d meet up again.”
Pulchor motioned to a door. “Don’t kill him or I’ll be coming after you, but take your time”
Inside, Kaden found a leather table with straps—and set Rey down, pulling potions “First, healing.”
Kaden took one swig and gave the rest to Rey. “Now, stamina. And here’s some goat skewers, sorry no ginger.”
Rey devoured each. “Tell me you’re here alone.”
Kaden shook his head. “Sara still had your heartstone. There’s an flotilla arranged by the Mercari coming this way. Where’s Cutter and the others?”
“Six of us are in the mines—if they’re still alive. Tolt—our hauler—was logging. Circe…” Rey began to weep.
Kaden slammed the wall with his fist to make it sound like he was getting his silver worth. “Where is she?”
“She almost killed Harrigan. The son of a bitch doesn’t fight fair, and she almost killed him. Her corpse is tied to the masthead above his throne. He’s level fifty and loves to make an example, but having to beg his crew to jump in to what was supposed to be a duel has the man on edge. She made him show weakness.” Rey swallowed and wiped away tears. “Don’t think you can make a deal with him. You shouldn’t have come. We’re in a Tidal Lock.”
“A bit late for that. I can’t take you with me yet, but we’re not leaving you, either. Are there FarPortals here?”
Rey shook his head. “Harrigan would never allow them. Too afraid of a flood of City Knights. He controls the local seas through the Tidal Lock. Ships can’t leave the island without his permission. I should know, Circe sent me to get help in a sloop.”
“I have to get back to the others to plan. But I’ll be back to get you. What level is Pulchor?”
“Forty. He deals status effects like thorns deal scratches. Tell Sara to run. Hide in the forests, or the old abandoned mine. You can’t get off this island, but you can do that. Circe still talks about what you did with the Torrods. She did.” Rey looked away. “You better bust me up or Pulchor’s never going to believe this.”
“No need.” Kaden cut the back of his arm and smeared blood all over Rey, then stepped outside and dug for another five coins. Pulchor tended the front, collecting disgusting puss from a [Pirate] who looked about to collapse. He slapped the coins down. “Rey and I have a lot of catching up to do. I want him in good shape and I’ll pay premium for more…healing.”
“He’s not going anywhere. I do hope to see you around, especially if you get more of that lovely [Plague].” Pulchor went back to extracting puss.
The moment he could, Kaden engaged [Stealth Aura]. The fewer conflicts, the better. But as he returned to the bar, the hair on his arm began to stand up. Pirates swarmed the bar where they’d been, and several human-sized cages rolled away.
The last one contained Trella, who’d dropped her illusion as a [Pirate]—and spoke to another [Shadow Blade]. Kaden had become an expert in Trella’s body language and right now, she brimmed with rage. “You will regret this, Arden. We thought you were dead—”
“I might as well be. Senior Sister had a new pet project. You. I was sent on missions meant to kill me, not train me. So how wonderful that [Fate] arranged for me to see you come sailing in. Harrigan himself wants to question you.” Arden paused, looking at the others. “The snake woman is your Party Leader. I have no idea who the other two are. Where’s your lover?”
“Kaden is hunting for people to kill,” Trella said. “He’s loose in your quaint town, finding all your secrets. Arranging to meet you in a dark alley. And you really don’t want to meet him.”
Arden nodded. “A lie. I was trained for this, you weren’t. So he’s here on the island?”
“Hunting you, right now,” Trella answered. “He’s right over by the street lamp. You just can’t see him.”
Trella had always known where he was, but Kaden almost ran. Only force of will kept him still as the traitous [Shadow Blade] looked his way. [Stealth Aura] would have to do.
The [Shadow Blade] studied the streets and the alleys for a moment. “You’re really not good at this. Keep your pulse steady. Keep your lies somewhat believable. Oh, and don’t try that with Harrigan. I’ll be there to laugh when you do.” Arden motioned to the wagons. “Go. Ragman, take everything to my quarters, Harrigan himself said it was mine. That Blood Moon staff is something different, I couldn’t even pick it up. Leave it in the inventory cube, we’ll have a [Hexist] look at it.”
Kaden watched the [Rogue] who’d looked at Arden when she spoke. Of course they’d take everything from his party. Step one would be getting all of that back.
No.
He began to follow Ragman, but that was not step one. Not at all. Kaden swallowed his pride, put away the [Levicon Blade], and summoned the [Falcrow]. Step one, he knew.