The walk back towards the dock through the village was just as eerily silent as it had been on the way to the house. Or that was the case until they were about five minutes away when there was a deafening boom from ahead of them that echoed across the landscape. The four of them looked at each other, their pace increasing quickly as they ran as fast as Captain Caldwell's injuries would allow.

'What was that?' Captain Caldwell shouted as he tried to keep up.

'I have no idea,' Emily said.

From their vantage point, they could see hurried movement in the docks as their group and the crew scattered briefly. A faint whisp of white smoke drifted up from where the ship was moored. 'I hope that wasn't the alchemical supplies,' Clara said, overtaking Emily.

'Do you think they heard us in the village?' Emily said.

'I think so, look,' Edward said.

Emily glanced over her shoulder. In the distance, she could see a handful of people gathered on the hillside, looking down in their direction. With the exception of finding out that Edward and Captain Caldwell were in fact alive, everything that could have gone against them so far had. 'I hope our luck turns around soon,' she muttered, Captain Caldwell nodding in agreement.

'What happened?' Clara demanded as she looked around at the stunned faces.

'My fault,' one of the crew members said sheepishly, holding up a hand slowly. 'One of the vials rolled off the crate and broke on the floor.'

'It's okay, it was only one of the concussive vials; it didn't do any damage to anything else,' Robyn said from where she crouched, examining the other vials.

'Everyone in the village and possibly beyond knows we're here now, so we need to move fast,' Thomas said. 'Edward, Captain Caldwell, it's a welcome surprise to see you both.'

'Have you got anything that can help with a wound?' Captain Caldwell asked, lifting his shirt to reveal his bruised and scarred abdomen. In the light of day, it looked far worse than it had by firelight in Ikore's house.

'I don't know how much good it will do, but I've got some of the healing balm we used to use at the tower,' Olivia said, producing a bottle of clear liquid.

'I'll give it a try,' he shrugged. 'Edward did a great job saving me, but it hurts like hell.'

'Where's Ikore?' Thomas asked, turning his attention to Emily and Clara.

'I don't know; they said he went into the ruins a couple of days ago and hasn't come back since,' Clara said.

'Whatever Tristan has done, there are bodies of dead people walking the city doing his bidding. We've got no idea how many there are out there though,' Emily said.

'I'm not surprised he's already begun trying to reform his legions of undead known as the Anguished Skull,' Thomas said. 'Not only did he have an abundance of precursors to fight alongside him in the last war, but he had what seemed to be an endless army of undead soldiers. We need to get moving before he can increase his numbers, especially if people in the village are aware that we're here now.'

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'Did you sort out who is going where?' Emily asked.

'I did for the most part, although Edward and Captain Caldwell joining us and Ikore not does change things a little,' he said.

'We saw where they took Lewis,' Edward said. 'We'll take you there; we owe Lewis that much after we failed to protect him.' At his side, Captain Caldwell nodded in agreement while Olivia applied the healing balm.

'Alright. In that case, Olivia and Achak, you two join the group heading to the palace; if there are undead out there, then they could use a couple of extra fighters. Clara, can you lead them to the palace as Ikore isn't here?'

'I've got a couple of ideas on how we can get there without being seen,' she said, moving over to Arthur's side, where the majority of the party was gathered.

'Good,' Thomas said. 'That leaves myself, Emily, Edward, Captain Caldwell and Lillian to break into the prison. 'There are stories from long ago that there are tunnels connecting the palace and the prison, but we don't know if they're true or not. If you find them, you find them, but don't go looking for them. We'll try to rescue Lewis. For the rest of you, your priority is destroying the archway in the palace at whatever cost. Anything or anyone who gets in your way should be considered an asset to Tristan. Do whatever is necessary, and then get out and get back to the docks.'

He turned to Jaric and said, 'I know how dangerous it might be for you to linger here. If we haven't returned by sunrise, leave. The same goes for if it gets too dangerous for you and your crew to stay here.'

'We'll be here at sunrise; you have no worry about that; we've been fighting pirates and other smugglers for years. What's a few dead bodies?' Jaric said, clapping his first mate, Ador, a muscular man with tanned skin, a goatee, and a deep scar that stretched from the corner of his mouth to his left ear who was a good foot taller than Emily, on the back.

Ador laughed, his throaty chuckle reverberating around the dock. 'They're already dead so most of the job is already done for us.'

'Remember, light and fire are good deterrents against them and any other dark creature Tristan may have unleashed in the city,' Thomas said. 'Good luck to you all.'

Arthur and Clara both stopped for a moment to give her a tight hug before they turned away. Emily watched as the majority of the group, led by Clara and Arthur, set off along the muddy track they had taken towards the village. Where she and Clara had continued left and up the hill, they went right in the direction of the ruins of Arcadia. She exhaled deeply, watching them disappear from sight.

'I guess this is it—the precipice again,' Lillian said quietly. Emily struggled to remember that Lillian had already lived through one war with Tristan, and now she was going to have to do it again. Was this what it felt like last time? After today, there would be no going back; Tristan would certainly know of their intentions, assuming they survived.

'Here, before you go,' Jaric said, appearing behind them with a bottle of light brown liquid in one hand. He held it out to Thomas, who took it gladly, swigging from the bottle before passing it to Lillian.

'Ember Rum from the Twilheim Archipelago, a fine choice,' he said with an approving nod.

'We can't have you going into battle without the finest to send you off,' Jaric said. 'There are two barrels on the ship; when you return and we set sail, we will celebrate in style. The crew and myself will show you how we do it while travelling the oceans.'

Emily accepted the bottle from Edward. The rum left a warm trail down her throat, settling like burning embers in her stomach and filling her with warmth. She felt a renewed sense of hope and courage rising within her. Taking a second quick sip, she passed the bottle to Captain Caldwell, who took a long drink from the now half-empty bottle. 'To rescuing Lewis and not dying,' he said, raising the bottle before passing it back to Jaric.

Edward and Thomas nodded along with him. 'That should have given the others a bit of time to get ahead of us. Let's get going.' Thomas said, grabbing a leather satchel that clinked with glass vials as he set off.

Since their rescue mission had become a two-pronged assault, they had tinkered with their plan. Finally, they settled on the group attacking the archway striking first in the hopes that it would draw attention away from the prison, especially that of Tristan. Hopefully, he would be none the wiser that they were coming or that they even knew where Lewis was. Time would tell, Emily thought, desperate to see Lewis again and get back to the boat.