Amara came back to the tavern they had picked half an hour after Rynn had “drunk himself to sleep.”
“I’m so terribly sorry. Thanks for waiting while I got my friend here to help him home,” Amara said to the barkeeper.
“Just git ‘im outta ‘ere,” the man said. Seemed the bartender had had a few too many himself today. The other cult member picked Rynn up and draped him over his shoulder. With a nod to the owner, he carted the ranger out the door and into a waiting wagon, in which he unceremoniously dumped the ranger.
The cart clattered through the streets. Rynn kept limp in the back, but tried his best to get a look around. Best he could tell, however, was that he had ended up somewhere in the south side of Laishtek. The seedier side of town. The other man stopped the car in an alleyway, where he then grabbed Rynn’s weapons and tossed them aside before grabbing the ranger and once again slinging him over his back.
Rynn was taken inside a building. Just inside there was a shrine of some kind, a multi-headed dragon adorning the altar. When the man dropped him on the ground, Amara let Rynn’s weapons fall with a clatter to the ground. They were on the other side of the room, but Rynn would be able to get them quickly enough in his state. The man hadn’t bothered to tie him up even. A curtain marked off the spot from the next room, and Amara and the other cult member disappeared behind it. After some muted speaking, which Rynn could not make out, they came back, followed by Belim. The dwarf smiled broadly.
“See! I told you,” said Amara. “He’s the one that led the raid on the butcher’s shop. Now he’s all trussed up for you. My gift to you, to demonstrate my devotion to the cause.” Amara was laying it on a little thick, Rynn thought. “Rynn Fowler.”
“We were lucky to have found you indeed that day, Amara,” came the dwarf’s voice. He knelt down next to Rynn. “And this was worth interrupting my other meeting.” He glanced up and down Rynn. “Now what are we going to do with you? Those crystals were to be my gift to the cause, but that’s no longer an option, eh?” With that, he struck Rynn viciously across the face with his gauntleted hand. The ranger grimaced, but didn’t cry out as his head rang from the blow. “We haven’t had anything to give to the cause for a long time! Cells from other cities have been great at supplying things, while we, at the center of trade this side of the continent, haven’t been making our quotas! Four skyship crystals was perfect! And you had to ruin it!” He sighed. “Well, I think that maybe I should just kill you for your trouble.”
“Sir,” said Amara, her voice suddenly sounding much closer, “is that really the best we can do with him? Just kill him?”
“Do you have another suggestion?”
“Master,” said the other man, “if the Adder Invictus is leaving soon for the Death Side, perhaps we could get him onboard. It’s not four skyship crystals, but it is another slave. They are desperate for manpower. He seems a fine strong lad.”
“Yes, perhaps that’s the best. We can get some of Gulnith’s men to come take him aboard.” He leaned in close. “That’s a more fitting punishment for you. I don’t know why they’re burning through slaves so fast, but I hope they work you to death long and slow!”
He stood. “How long should the drug last?”
“Oil of taggit?” Amara said. “At least another hour or so. But maybe less.”
“Then we’d best tie him up and gag him. I need to get back to my friend in the other room. Virgun, make sure this is all taken care of. Amara,” Rynn could almost hear him smile, “well done!” His footsteps faded away.
“I’ve got some rope in the cart. I’ll be right back.”
Amara dropped down by Rynn. “What do you want to do?” she whispered. “Shall I send Kirza to get the others?”
“Yes, send Kirza now,” the ranger answered quietly. “And grab me one of my daggers; I'll try to hide it near my hands so I can cut myself loose if needed. But let him be the one to tie me up so they don't suspect you.”
Amara whispered something to her bird, which flew out the slightly ajar door, then went to retrieve one of Rynn’s daggers. While she slid it out of its sheathe, a strange thought crossed Rynn’s mind as he pondered what he had just heard. They wanted to take him to the Death Side of the moon. I should let them take me, he thought. It was a strange thought, born of his current obsessions. He wanted to discover what was going on over there. Vampires. Death cults. Slavery.
Finding Juliet.
But then he thought of his new friends. He had made promises to Khaska and Jenika to help them—Jenika with Kaylee, and Khaska with his quest to redeem Tawru. This was not the time. If I’m to return to the Death Side, it will be on my own terms.
Amara handed him a dagger, which he quietly slipped under his legs, doing his best to hide it. Virgun re-entered the room, moving to tie Rynn up with the rope he had collected from the cart.
----------------------------------------
Khaska was about to tell Fan to hush. The bard was muttering the words to a Maha’i ditty under her breath, clearly antsy as they waited for word from inside that building. But, his manners asserted themselves, and he didn’t say anything, drawing strength instead from Jenika’s silent, unmoving presence a few feet away. Just then Kirza landed atop Khaska’s horns, squawking something unintelligible. With a start the cleric realized an error in their plans. Kirza only spoke elven.
None of them did!
He looked at all those with him, and they were all staring at the white raven with equally blank, confused stares. Fan smacked her head. “My mother always told me I should have learned elven.” Khaska looked up, well, as much as he could, at the bird perched atop his horns. The bird was clearly agitated, and flapped off, heading back to the dwelling, then circling back.
Khaska drew his scimitar and pointed ahead. “Let us go!” Knight Franmore led a few city watchmen to the front door, while the party and one other city watchman went to the back door.
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Virgun didn’t get very far in the process of tying up Rynn before the door burst open and Knight Franmore rushed in with her companions. Virgun stood up quickly, drawing his sword. “Stop, and drop your weapons. You are all under arrest!” Franmore ordered.
Seeing that he was clearly outnumbered, Virgun dropped his sword to the ground with a clang. Seeing this, Amara muttered something under her breath and darted into the next room, sweeping aside the curtain and blasting the room with a casting of Color Spray. A cry sounded from inside. “Sorry, Belim,” she said. Then she said something to him that Rynn couldn’t quite make out as he got to his feet. It sounded like draconic to him as he cut cleanly through the half-done cords that kept him tied. He jumped through the curtain just as Amara stumbled back into him, blood running down her face from a deep cut. Belim was on the other side of the room, making for an open door, a mace in his hand, almost tripping over the prone body of another man who looked like he had collapsed from where he had been sitting at a table.
“He’s going out the back door! Quick! Cut him off!” Rynn shouted.
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Khaska, Jenika, and Fan were standing outside the back door of the dwelling when it burst open and Belim came rushing out. He looked around them, startled, then darted through an opening between Jenika and Fan.
Lightning-quick, Jenika punched at the cleric, but her fist merely smacked against his armor, and just like that he was past them. However, Fan immediately began to sing a low, humming sort of song, and Belim stopped in his tracks, turned slowly, and looked at her. His mouth hung open, and his hands, still holding his mace, dropped to the ground. Her Hypnotism spell had worked.
Rynn burst out of the door, Ranna close behind him, arrow nocked and at the ready. But nothing needed to be done. The group quickly spread out and surrounded Belim, as a few of the city watchmen arrived, coming from the front of the building. Fan’s Hypnotism spell lasted long enough that, when it wore off, he was surrounded. He tensed up when he saw this, but staring at the seven people around him, he gave up, and dropped his mace to the ground with a clang. He was quickly taken into custody by the city watch.
“Amara was injured. Khaska, maybe you should go heal her,” said Rynn.
Fan actually was closest to the door, having not moved as she maintained the spell, and she entered the room first, Khaska following her.
Amara was standing across from the man who had previously been lying on the floor. Apparently he had recovered from Amara’s Color Spray spell. The sorceress’ hands were up, prepared to cast another spell if need be, but the man was quickly backing away, hands in the air in a gesture of surrender. He backed right into Knight Franmore as she came out into the room. The paladin immediately grabbed him and pulled him through the curtain. “Sergeant!” she could be heard saying. “Take this one too!”
“Why? I haven’t done anything wrong. I was just here paying Mister Sandgrin a visit! I’m just an old family friend.”
“Come with me, sir,” the sergeant said. “We’ll get it all sorted out.” It was obvious that the sergeant didn’t believe a word of it, his world-weariness clear from his tone of voice and his sarcasm.
“We have captured everybody, it would appear,” said Khaska. He sheathed his scimitar.
Then Fan piped up, pointing at a backpack in Amara’s hands. “Are the crystals in there? Did you find them?”
“In where?” asked Amara.
“In that backpack,” Fan indicated the backpack to the side of Amara. Amara glanced down at it, startled. “Oh, this.” She paused for a moment. “I hadn’t checked.”
Fan and Jenika, who had just entered, glanced at each other. Neither fully believed Amara.
“Well, are they in there?” Rynn asked. Khaska reached down to grab it, placing it on the table. He looked inside, pushing aside some pieces of paper that fell out and fluttered to the table. The Maha’i dug around for a moment, but then shook his head. “They are not in there.”
“Well, that’s disappointing,” said Amara, who then left the room, heading to the front of the dwelling.
Fan grabbed Jenika. “Can you come with me for a moment?” the bard asked. Jenika, puzzled, came with her outside.
Fan looked down sheepishly. “So, I overheard Amara say something. It was in draconic. Do you speak draconic?”
Jenika finally turned her full attention to Fan. “No.”
“She said ‘Gulnith sends her regards, you incompetent wyrmling.’ I think Amara’s here as part of an act. It almost sounds like she outranks Belim to me.”
Just then, the city watchmen came by with their three prisoners, all shackled. Belim shot them a dirty look, and who spat something venomous at Fan, and in draconic. The bard grimaced, and she looked angry. The word translated to roughly “a woman abused and discarded by a dragon” and in draconic it had extremely negative overtones. This dark cleric was quite incensed. Amara was following the group, and the sorceress clearly was shocked by the comment. However, it appeared the sorceress did not notice that Fan understood the insult. Virgun came next, two guards at his side holding his arms, despite his being shackled. Next came the man Amara had knocked out with her Color Spray spell. Well-dressed, he seemed out of place in the procession. Jenika gave a sharp intake of breath. She recognized that man!
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Khaska was putting the items back in the backpack. “We should give this to the officers. It might be evidence.” Rynn reached over to grab the slightly crumpled pieces of parchment that Khaska had first discarded in his search. Before he handed it to the cleric, however, he began to read it. Khaska noticed this, and leaned over, looking over Rynn’s shoulder. “What does it say?” the cleric asked, perfunctorily, before just reading it himself.
The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.
> Kaylee,
>
> I am grateful that you and your companions have accepted my invitation. Despite the assurances of my associates in this venture, I wanted to find independent bodyguards. You came very highly recommended, and I will pay you the sum of 1000 gold a month to be my bodyguards. As is customary for such arrangements, some of the pay will be given up front when I arrive. Our agreed upon initial price was 2000 gold, but I want to up that to 3000. Your pay will begin on November 1st and the remainder will be given you upon my safe return to Darkcrest.
>
> My initial offering is generous, because, unfortunately, I have been delayed and will be unable to meet until later than expected. Please be in the small village of Uptide, on the eastern side of Gallidus, South of Laishtek, on December 1st. I may even be later than that, depending on how easy it is to find transport for someone with my particular needs, and how easy it is to travel at night as winter approaches. I have included another note which should help you get to Uptide, where you will find a cell of the Cult of Skyrnyn, and which will aid your involvement with my future work with the Cult.
>
> Yours,
>
> Lady Loraine Maramos
There was another note.
> To all cell leaders of the Cult of Skyrnyn,
>
> The monk bearing this letter, along with her companions, is to be given full admittance to all activities. She and her companions will be acting as a bodyguard to Lady Loraine Maramos, of Darkcrest, who represents a faction with which we are doing serious business as we prepare for the Dark Times. Failure to comply with these instructions will result in your being stripped of your rights as cell leader and deportation to The Citadel.
>
> Rickas Yrthraz
> Supreme Wyrmhead
This was sealed with a stamp of red wax with the symbol used by the dragon worshippers, but with a small variation on it.
“I’ll bet that’s Jenika’s Kaylee,” Rynn said. Khaska nodded at him. “And ‘Lady Maramos,’ I’ll bet she’s related to Lord Maramos.”
“We have many enemies,” the cleric said. “And they work together, it seems. We must be careful.”
Just then, Jenika and Fan came back into the room from the back door. The monk was nearly frantic. “The man that Amara knocked out? I know him! He’s an associate of Kaylee’s, and they’re getting away right now!”
“Getting away?” Khaska was alarmed.
“Well, the Knights are leading the prisoners away.”
“Amara seemed pretty keen to get going, too. She’s headed off with them,” said Fan.
“Jenika, he’s still working with Kaylee,” said Rynn, handing the letters over. “Apparently as her go-between between some new clients.”
Jenika read, and as she did her eyes grew wide with surprise and then anger. Fan cleared her throat, and the monk waved her on. “Tell them what you told me.”
Fan told the others what she had overheard. Rynn’s face darkened. He had given Amara the benefit of the doubt, but now the doubts were piling up. “Gulnith seems to be related to the ship I heard about, the Adder Invictus. But it seems that Amara has double-crossed Belim.”
“Well, she’s on her way off with the Knights,” said Fan.
“Now we know where Kaylee will be!” Jenika was almost triumphant, interrupting the conversation.
“Not if she doesn’t get these letters,” said Khaska. “If they are never delivered, we will not know where she is, and she will not know of her new ‘contract’ with this Lady Maramos.”
“Maybe we should make copies of the letters,” said Rynn. “Like you did back in Hammerdine.” Jenika handed them over to Fan, who began to read.
“Not me,” said Rynn. “I’m sure I can’t do that well enough. Amara was confident in making forgeries. I was not.”
“Nor I,” said Khaska.
“Guys, if Amara is double crossing us, we need to keep an eye on her. Like, right now!” Fan was a little insistent on this. Then she snapped her mouth shut, realizing that perhaps she had been too forceful with her new friends.
“You are right, of course,” said Khaska. “But of all of us, you are the one to be able to watch her. She does not know who you are.”
“This draconic rune is different,” Fan said, pointing at it. “It indicates a superlative, so I would guess that this guy is the leader of this cult … wait! Me? You want me to tail her?” Fan gulped a little. “I dunno. It seems really dangerous. But then … if it would help the cause.” Her voice dropped into a low murmur as she studied the laces on her boots. “My mom would probably think it was pretty heroic and whatever …” She looked up, bit her lip, furrowed her brow, but said resolutely, “I’ll do it.”
“Tell Knight Franmore about our discovery, and that we intend to make forgeries. Ask perhaps if she knows someone who could do a better job than us,” said Jenika.
“We will catch up with you at the precinct,” said Rynn. “We’re going to poke around here and try to look for this ship first.” Fan nodded, and then ducked out the door. The group of Knights was just disappearing around a corner a few blocks down, and she was able to keep up with them.
Rynn turned around. “They probably left a guard or two. Let’s see if they want to help us out searching the place.” The ranger was right, two members of the city watch remained outside the front door. The ranger informed them of his desire to search the premises, and one of them came in with him.
Khaska was standing in the entry room in front of the altar, which he was seeing for the first time, having come in the back door. “The Dragon Queen,” he breathed.
“Who’s that?” asked Jenika.
“The evil dragon god. The sworn enemy of the Platinum Dragon, the good dragon god.”
“Amara did say she worshipped ‘the dragon god.’” said Rynn. “I wasn’t aware that there were two of them.”
The group searched the dwelling. It was Rynn that found a secret compartment under Belim’s bed. It contained a fine suit of armor made from dragon scales. “That means he’s a cleric of the Dragon Queen for sure,” Khaska said. “That’s the ceremonial garb for members of her church.” He held up three brooches. “He’s not very high ranking, though. Odd for such a low-ranking cleric to have a dragonscale chasuble. They would have to be very rare, what with so few dragons remaining.”
“Knight Franmore and the Captain were going to come back after the prisoners were locked away,” said the city watchman. “Should we keep this for them, or do they need to be told immediately?”
“I don’t know that it’s pressing,” said Khaska. “Just inform them when they arrive. More to interrogate Belim with, I would think. The Dragon Queen’s clerics are usually up to no good, like their master.”
In that same secret compartment was a chest with a lock on it, but when Rynn went to pull it out it became obvious that it was empty. Lifting it between himself and the city watchman, they shook it. There was nothing inside. There was nothing else in the house aside from various personal items of Belim’s.
“I think we should go look for the ship now,” said Rynn. “We know what its name is, and the name of one of its crew.”
“I wanted to go interrogate Kaylee’s friend,” Jenika said. The monk cracked her knuckles.
“He is not going anywhere,” Khaska said. “Let us first investigate, and then we will go to the precinct. The sun has long since set; I doubt they will be letting him out tonight.”
Anxious, Rynn set a fast pace to head toward the docks. This time it was merely a matter of looking for the ship, and even in the night there were plenty of torches and various people milling around. The docks, even at night, were busy.
Khaska was able to ask a dockmaster about a ship by that name. The man consulted a ledger, and then pointed them to a particular dock. And there, just a few boats from the end, was the Adder Invictus. It was a sleek ship, its hull made from some kind of dark wood, likely a kind of oak that Rynn knew grew on the Death Side of the moon. Its masthead was a snake’s head, forked tongue lolling out eternally, eyes facing forward at the head of the long ship. This was a much bigger boat than the skyship of the Glittersail brothers, or even most of the skyships from the skyship port. Even the large one captained by Teadric was about three-quarters the size of this one. There appeared to be nobody on aside from a single bored guard by the gangplank, but the group didn’t want to get close—Rynn especially, as he represented a known enemy of this group.
“We should go tell Knight Franmore,” said Jenika.
“I agree. Perhaps the crystals are aboard the ship,” said Khaska. Just then something caught his eye, and he glanced back at the ship. A white raven fluttered down and banked around to the back of the ship. The cleric squinted. “Was that … ?” He took a step forward. The bird had disappeared, but in a few moments it came back, flying away from the ship and back towards the city. Alerted to its presence this time, the cleric studied it. Rynn and Jenika both noticed what he was looking at, and followed it as well.
“I think it was,” said Rynn.
“Kirza,” muttered Jenika. “Good. Now we have to go back to Knight Franmore, so I can talk to that guy! Let’s go!”
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Fan followed the group of Knights and managed to catch up within a few blocks, though Amara was towards the back, and Fan didn’t want to rush ahead of the sorceress. So she merely followed at the very back, watching the entire time. The well-dressed man kept trying to talk his way out of the situation, but eventually one of the city watchmen gave him a hard enough cuff on the back of his head that he shut up, sullen. When they got back to the precinct, the men were quickly stripped of their armor and deposited in a cell somewhere in the back. Amara sat, impatiently, in the front, a guard at her side.
“If it’s quite alright,” the sorceress said when Knight Franmore came back, “I’d like to be going now. I think I’ve proved my sincerity, have I not? Must I stay here now or am I free to go?”
“Wait one moment,” the Knight said. Then she motioned for Fan to come over. The bard moved quickly and the two women went around a corner to talk away from Amara. “Where are your friends?” Fan quickly explained everything—Jenika, Kaylee, this well-dressed man, the letters.
“If he has done nothing illegal here in Laishtek, they may have to release him. But what should we do about Amara? I fear I have little reason to arrest her. She has been a great assistance to us in capturing these criminals.”
“Well, on that point, I have new information,” Fan said.
“Oh?”
The bard quickly explained what she had overheard Amara say to Belim back at his place, and the implications that Amara was double-crossing one of her own.
“Well, then we will at least keep her overnight. It is late, and I want to sort this all out in the morning. Even so, Amara has given us little reason to hold her. Even if she double crossed one of these cultists, it may be because he was doing things the cult itself did not approve of. We still know little about them.”
“Then perhaps we should ask them. My friends will be back shortly.” Fan bit her lip. “I think.”
----------------------------------------
“If Kirza is here, then perhaps the enemy has been alerted,” said Rynn. “You two should go back and report to the city watch. I’ll stay here to keep an eye on them.”
“Good. I’ll go back and make sure they haven’t released that man. He’s my one link to finding Kaylee,” said Jenika.
Rynn reached out to touch her on the shoulder. “Don’t be too hasty to see that guy. If that’s what you think is best, then fine. But be careful in what you choose—he’s our only lead for finding Kaylee.”
The ranger found a nearby place where he could observe more or less unobtrusively, and wished them well. Then he sat, rubbing Ranna’s head subconsciously, watching the Adder Invictus. There were still no signs of activity aside from the single guard.
----------------------------------------
Khaska and Jenika hurried back to the precinct. Fan was waiting for them out front, and filled them in. Knight Franmore had Amara kept in one of the cells overnight, but apart from Belim and Virgun, which seemed wise. The well-dressed man, an Azkabar Muldoon, was being held overnight, but as it was nearing midnight, Knight Franmore basically sent Fan away. It was late, and they had had a very busy day. Khaska insisted on entering the precinct and telling the captain about the location of the Adder Invictus, and the captain assured them they would have some men go watch it with Rynn. But then they were summarily dismissed. “Come back in the morning,” the man said. “Knight Franmore will be reporting to her superiors then, and we will interrogate them after she receives her instructions.”
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As soon as one of the city watch came by, and informed Rynn that they would be on patrol on this dock, specifically to watch the Adder Invictus, the ranger returned to the inn. There he found Jenika, Khaska, and Fan. They filled him in on the details, and all seemed to agree that it was late, and nothing more would be done tonight. The city watch were observing the ship, and Amara, Belim, Virgun, and Mr. Muldoon were all incarcerated.
“Rynn. Khaska. Jenika.” A voice came. The group turned around to see Akle standing there, with Godfrey. “I hear youse been busy. Been in town a few days and already helping those who need helping. Godfrey here filled me in on the details.”
“I regret that we have been unable to find the remaining crystals,” said Khaska. “But we are still looking. Tomorrow morning, I think, we will have them in hand.”
“Wonderful!” said Godfrey.
“And how do you two know each other?” asked Khaska.
“You know how much I wander,” said Akle. “I was looking for a ship to sail on, and was pointed to Godfrey here. Some of his crew have left him, and so I signed on.” Khaska was again reminded of his suspicions that Akle actually was the silver dragon who had saved them. He was still haunted by the gnome’s question—what does a silver dragon need hiding from? “We don’t really have any place to go, so I convinced the captain here to offer yous a deal.”
“Rynn, I dunno where your travels will take you, but for returning two of my crystals, I’m ever so grateful.” He straightened. “I’m prepared to offer you passage to anywhere on the moon you wish to go. My gift to you, for being such good friends.”
Khaska’s mind immediately jumped to Twilight. It was almost literally on the other side of the moon, and traveling there would take many months if by walking or by sailing ship. But with a skyship, the journey would be … maybe two months. There he could find the Tawruian Monastery. He took a shuddering breath. And maybe Kvanir, the long-lost scimitar of Tawru.
Rynn glanced at his friends. “That is a generous offer. I hope we can find the remaining crystals tomorrow, but we will have to discuss things further. I imagine we have quests that such transportation would be exceptionally useful for.”
“Well,” said Godfrey, “I’m just looking for trading work now, and that can be found most anywhere, so I’m willing to take you anywhere you want to go. You have free passage on the Skycutter any time you want. You know where to find me, Rynn.” The gnome took his hat off and swept it to the ground in a grand bow. “I am in your debt.” He put the hat back on. “To all of you, as I understand it.” He nodded at them all one at a time. “Mister Khaska. Jenika of Shinadoh. And Miss …”
“Fan,” said Fan. “I’ve recently joined with these adventurers.”
“Youse have joined good peoples,” said Akle. “I’s fought with them several times, and they are of good heart and strong will.”
“I hope I can be as they are, then,” replied Fan.
The two gnomes wished them goodnight, and then left the inn. Rynn, exhausted from the day’s activities, went to bed first. Fan wandered to a corner to play her Nyckelharpa, a short show that Jenika and Khaska listened to for a while before retiring. Fan played for a little while longer, and then retired to her own bed (having moved to this inn to be with her newfound friends).