The ice cold water was now up to their knees as it bobbed about in the rough seas. Steven frowned as he looked at where Colnus had dived into the water before looking at Farlin, who raised his hands helplessly.

“Don’t look at me, boss,” he said, as he stood on the driver’s bench in a futile attempt to stay dry. “You know I can’t swim.”

Steven glanced at Rol, who was trying to bring Kara back to her senses and sighed.

“Did our guy just go for a swim?” Someone shouted.

Steven whirled around to see the ketch bearing down on them and began gesturing with his arm. “No, don’t slow down, keep going in that direction.”

A man stood on the prow of the ketch while others crowded the side, watching on curiously. She was a tidy ship with clean lines and her name, the Fleeting Maiden, was freshly painted on her prow. Without hesitation, the man on the prow relayed the order and the onlookers rushed back to their oars.

“Boss?” Farlin asked worriedly.

“Throw the crane’s hook there,” Steven added, pointing at where Colnus had entered the water as the ketch sped past.

Steven checked the arc of the hook as it came sailing over the side of the vessel before making a running jump off the wagon. He struck the water at the same time as the hook, and both disappeared under the waves.

Rol watched the swiftly departing ketch before turning to Farlin. “Where’s everyone going?”

“Our guy jumped off,” Farlin replied.

The water was now at waist level, and Rol effortlessly lifted Kara in his arms to keep her head above the waves.

“Dunk her in the water to snap her out of it because I’ll be needing your help soon,” Farlin said worriedly as seawater lapped around his ankles.

“Says he’s the best helmsman in Athlos and he can’t even swim,” Rol snorted.

“Most sailors can’t swim!” Farlin shot back. “Better a swift death if your ship goes down.”

“Yea, and how’s that working out for you?” Rol smirked.

At that moment, a large wave washed over the wagon, drenching them in ice cold water. Kara spluttered as her eyes fluttered open. It only took her a moment to get her bearings.

“Set me down,” she snapped. As Rol did as she ordered, she looked around and asked. “Where’s my father and where’s Colnus?”

Rol cocked his head at the water. “They went for a swim.”

Kara’s face turned crimson. “And you didn’t follow after them?”

“I was trying to keep you from drowning,” the boy protested.

“And you can do the same for me!” Farlin exclaimed. “Get over here and help me!”

Rol reached over to a floating piece of floorboard that had been snapped off in the crash and tossed it at Farlin. “Just cling onto that until they come back for us.”

“Will you two stop bickering?” Kara snapped. “Why are they in the water?”

Rol shrugged. “Lord Colnus jumped in, and your father went after him.”

Kara’s eyes widened in surprise. Her feet could no longer touch the wagon’s floor and she began to tread water. “Why would he jump in?”

Rol shrugged and handed her a large piece of driftwood that was within easy reach. “I think he was trying to kill himself.”

Kara cursed. “That’s just perfect.”

“This is the third time I’ve been shipwrecked,” Farlin groaned as the wagon disappeared beneath the waves, leaving them clinging to whatever bits of wood they could find. “Hey, Rol, get over here.”

“It looks like they’ve caught something,” Rol observed, ignoring Farlin’s plight.

In the distance, Rol saw something breach the surface behind the ketch, being dragged along by the crane’s hook.

“There’s two of them,” Kara breathed with relief.

“Good, now they can come here and rescue us!” Farlin exclaimed as he waved at the ketch frantically. “Oi, we’re over here!”

“Careful now,” Rol warned as he steadied the rope ladder for Kara to climb.

“Hey, pull me over!” Farlin cried as he attempted to kick his way to them.

Rol watched the mousy man’s progress for a moment and smirked. After a moment’s thought, he reached out and pulled the man the remaining four feet to the ladder.

“Bless you,” Farlin spluttered gratefully as he reached out for the ladder.

However, Rol held him just out of reach for a moment and turned dead serious as he looked him in the eye. “You’re going to have to learn how to swim or you’re not going to survive your fourth shipwreck.”

“Will the two of you hurry it up!” a voice shouted down the ladder. “They are probably ships converging on us as we speak.”

The sails were unfurled before Rol reached the top of the ladder, and the vessel lurched as they caught the wind. Up on deck, he found Colnus’ heavy frame chained to the mainmast. A rail thin young man was crouched over him.

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

“How is he, Barney?” Rol asked as he wrapped a blanket around himself.

“Fine, all things considered,” Barnald Gelbury, the company cleric replied. He frowned as he lowered Colnus’ prison tunic. “Considering what you did, I’m surprised they didn’t torture you.”

“There isn’t a man in the kingdom who would dare torture the Sentinel, is there?” Steven remarked as he walked down from the quarterdeck.

“I am no longer worthy of that name,” Colnus said sharply, staring daggers at the gaunt faced man.

Barney frowned as he examined the abrasions around Colnus’ wrists. “Here, let me heal these wounds.”

“You are a cleric.” Colnus blinked in surprise when Barney began to chant. “Why are you working with the likes of them?”

“My, how embarrassing,” Steven remarked dryly. “We’re standing right here.”

Barney smiled wanly. “My father has a nasty gambling habit and borrowed money from the wrong people. When I went to the Order for help, they cast me out. Now, I work to pay his debts off.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Colnus said. “The Order can be rigid in its ways.”

“Not as sorry as I am,” Barney sniffed. He took up the chant again, and his hand became encased in a brilliant white light. When the chant was complete, he touched the old man’s wrist. Colnus flinched, and Barney frowned when his spell had no effect.

“The Creator has severed our connection,” Colnus said sadly. “I can no longer feel my link to Him, and His gifts no longer affect me.”

“That isn’t it,” Steven said as he pushed the old man’s greying hair aside to reveal an ugly red insignia that looked like it had been etched into the skin of his neck. “The Dark One branded you as punishment for slaying his Vessel.”

“Why have you brought me here?” Colnus demanded.

Steven dropped to his haunches and looked the old man in the eye. “A new Vessel has been chosen.”

The colour drained from Colnus’ face. “That’s impossible. He should have been banished for another two hundred years.”

“According to Order scholars, you killed the Princess before he could possess her,” Steven replied. “So all that did was set the timer back eighteen years. We were fortunate that the new Vessel was identified almost at once and has been taken into the Order’s protection.”

“Impossible…” Colnus’ shoulders shuddered. “So what do you want me to do, kill that one as well?”

Steven blinked. “No, I don’t think you’d live the eighteen years it will take for her to be mature enough for the ritual anyway.”

“So what is it then?” Colnus snapped. “What do you want from me?”

“We have a lead that could help us strike a blow against the Dark One,” Steven replied. “We need your help to investigate it.”

Colnus narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “Why me?”

“Believe it or not, I admire you,” Steven said. “My men and I were in Port Daralin when the Dark One’s army came and were pressed into service. We saw the horrors of the Silver Arch first hand.”

A cloud fell over Colnus’ face. “That was the first time we saw but a fraction of the Dark One’s power. It is when hope died…”

“If you hadn’t done what you did, I have no doubt that the city would have been overrun,” Steven continued. “You saved countless lives that day including those of my men and my daughter.”

Steven paused to look pointedly at Kara, who was leaning against a gunwale, listening intently. He turned back to Colnus and continued. “I want you to have a chance at redemption.”

Colnus smirked and shook his head. “I thought you looked familiar. Steven Ashcroft… Steven the Swindler, isn’t that what they call you over in Jettir’s Rock?”

Steven broke into a toothy grin. “Guilty as charged.”

“So, why me, Steven the Swindler?” Colnus asked. “What’s the real reason?”

Steven turned to a squat man who was standing nearby and winked. “Looks like I owe you three shillings, Jerry."

"Five, boss," the man beamed broadly and tugged on his shaggy mutton chops. “The bet was five shillings.”

Steven scowled. “Was it?”

“It was, boss,” Farlin sang from the quarterdeck. “Jerry bet you five shillings that Lord Colney would see right through your lie.”

“Fine,” Steven said with a wave of his hand. “I’ll pay you when we make landfall. This band of thieves would just nick it if I paid you now.”

“They wouldn’t dare, but that’s fine, boss,” Jerry laughed and pulled on the brim of his wool knit cap before turning to join Farlin on the quarterdeck.

He turned back to Colnus, who was looking at him expectantly. “You’ve been touched by the Dark One, and I’ve come to learn that it has granted you certain powers.”

Colnus narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “Have you now?”

“Barney?”

The atmosphere on the Fleeting Maiden grew heavy as the cleric reached into a small sack and produced a glass jar that contained a small amount of flour. Carefully, he handed it to Steven.

“You can see it, can’t you?” Steven asked as it held it up for Colnus to see. “The little beasty that lives within.”

Colnus’ face contorted in disgust. “Yes, what is this foul creature?”

“We only know that it is a demon,” Steven replied. “And not of our realm. Is it alive?”

When Colnus shook his head, Steven breathed a sigh of relief. “Good. Rol, stick that thing in a weighted chest and toss it overboard.”

“With pleasure, boss,” Rol sang jauntily. The box had already been prepared, and the crew looked like they couldn’t be happier to be rid of the jar’s contents.

“Wait, we promised to…” Barney’s protest was cut off by the sound of the chest hitting the water. The young man closed his eyes and swallowed a curse.

“Where did you find it?” Colnus asked.

“The clerics attending to the current Vessel discovered it quite by chance,” Steven explained. “I understand that capturing it was quite the ordeal. However, it means one thing.”

“The Dark One knows the location of the Vessel,” Colnus breathed.

“And in eighteen years, she will gather her forces to capture her, just as she did Princess Orhola,” Steven said. “Perhaps this time, she will be successful.”

“And if she isn’t, she can wait for the next one, or the next,” Barney continued. “One day, we may not be able to identify the Vessel before she turns eighteen. Then, the Dark One will be able to rampage through this plane once more.”

Colnus nodded gravely. “What do you propose?”

“To investigate,” Steven said. “With you, we can detect the Dark One’s spies and perhaps blind her, making her unable to discover the Vessel’s location when we move her. If we play our cards right, this one might even live to a ripe old age and die of natural causes.”

“Where do I come in?” Colnus ventured.

“As far as we can tell, you are the only one who can see those things, which is a start,” Steven shrugged.

Colnus narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “And what’s in it for you?”

“Peace in our time?” Steven offered innocently. Colnus gave the lanky man a baleful look.

Steven shrugged carelessly. “Money, what else?”

Colnus eyebrows shot up in disbelief. “The Order would never stoop to hiring the likes of you.”

“Their reputation took a beating after the siege of Port Daralin,” Steven grinned. “Their influence is slipping, and they need a win. I have a reputation for getting things done.”

The lanky man got to his feet and gestured at Rol. “Release our guest, would you?”

Rol raised an eyebrow but did as he was told, using a slender metal rod he had hidden up his sleeve to release the locks in the old man’s manacles.

“You did that quicker than a key,” Colnus remarked, sounding suitably impressed as he rubbed his sore wrists.

Rol felt his cheeks colour from his hero’s attention and lowered his head as he worked on the manacles around Colnus’ ankles.

“The boy has deft fingers,” Steven said. “It’s a pity he’s as big as he is, or he’d make an excellent burglar.”

“Are you sure you want to release me?” Colnus asked.

Steven shrugged. “I’ve said my piece. If you’re not on board, I won’t get in the way if you still want to end your life.”

Colnus got to his feet tenderly and walked towards the gunwale. When no one moved to block him, he smirked and turned into the wind, savouring the salt spray on his face. “Where are we going?”

“Across the Erengian Sea to a small town called Goldleaf,” Steven replied. He paused and grinned at Kara. “Does this mean you will be joining us?”

“I will need to hear more before I am able to make that decision.”