They made it back to the causeway with Bopau draped over Levi’s shoulders. The poor bastard had copped the tip of the drake’s tail straight to the solar plexus. He’d been heaving his guts up and struggling to breathe when Levi retrieved him from the scrub.
“How’re you going up there, mate?” Levi asked over his shoulder. Bopau groaned in response. Chuckling, Levi called out to Derek as they re-joined the party. The giant dutifully accepted his wounded charge, the smaller man looking like a child in his arms. When he was back in formation, spear in one hand, Bopau in the other, Levi turned back to Eric. The mage had the drake remains in his hands. At the start he had held the hunk at arm’s length, face screwed up in revulsion, but it had grown too heavy during the struggle back to the causeway and he now held it resting against his belly, unhappy resignation on his face.
“For what it’s worth, drakes are delicious,” Levi said.
“I bloody hope so,” Eric replied, approaching a porter and handing off the flesh. “Seen a fair few back home, but we never tried eating one. Easier meals to be had,” he said, crouching to rinse his hands in a puddle and then wiping them on his robe.
Levi scoffed. “You paleskins are soft.”
“You Mardukians are insane.”
They looked at each other and burst out laughing.
“I can’t say you’re wrong,” Levi said. “Ancestors, but I wish we had a few people like you in our tribe. It’d make hunting trivial, we’d eat like kings every day!”
“Well, I’m available for hire if you want. For the low, low price of one hundred silvers a day.”
“Piss off, White Bread. Are you sure you aren’t a used cart salesman?”
“Maybe in a previous life. Though, that’s your lots’ belief system, isn’t it?”
“Eh, not quite, but points for trying.”
They continued on in silence for a few minutes, slowly coming down from the rush of their encounter in the jungle. Eventually, Levi turned to Eric with a question on his lips, one he’d been meaning to ask for a while.
“So what’s in this swamp that’s so important?”
Eric’s brow furrowed, an uncharacteristic expression for the man. He silently sucked his teeth as he kept walking.
“Eric?” Levi prompted, startling the mage.
“Oh, sorry. Got lost a bit there. Truth be told, we don’t really know. A few months ago, some artefacts turned up in The Six Cities. Arrowheads, bowls, that sort of shit, all of it came from that swamp. What was interesting, though, was that they were ancient and undamaged. We’ve found evidence of this culture spread throughout the Continent, but everything north of the Continental Rift seemed damaged by some sort of cataclysmic event. We want to know why the peoples living here were spared. It may shed light on what exactly transpired elsewhere.”
“Any chance they came from Emrinth and got passed off as from here?”
Eric shook his head. “No chance. The weathering was consistent with thousands of years of submersion in this environment. It couldn’t be faked.”
“Alright, but why is this so significant if it’s just bowls and shit?”
Eric looked at Levi, chewing his lip.
“I know that look, Turtle Dove. You’re trying to figure out how far you need to dumb this down to get through to my simple brain, right?”
Eric chuckled. “I wouldn’t use those words, exactly…”
“I’ll spare you the dilemma. Dumb it down as far as physically possible.”
“Ha! Alright then. The Aetherial and Umbral Colleges, among our other duties, are the history keepers for The Six Cities. That includes, what we term, pre-history. The period before the colleges were founded. The culture that produced these artefacts is the earliest pre-historic civilisation known to us, which naturally makes piecing together what happened to them rather difficult.”
“How old are we talking here?”
“We believe this culture was at its peak approximately fifty thousand years ago, before they disappeared completely from the northern countries, almost overnight.”
Levi whistled, his eyebrows climbing his forehead.
“So, what you mean to tell me, is that my people, out of everyone north of the Rift, were tough enough to survive something that depopulated the rest of the continent?”
Eric smiled. “That’s one way to look at.”
“Mm hmm, damn right we are,” Levi said, pumping his fist in the air and then wincing when he realised it was his buggered arm. “Argh, bloody Pit.”
“You alright?” Eric asked, a frown on his face.
“Yeah, I’ll be fine. Dislocated my shoulder during the tussle with the drake.”
“Hold on, let me take a look.”
Eric grabbed his wrist with one hand and placed his other on Levi’s shoulder. He straightened the arm and rotated it through a few different positions.
“It doesn’t seem dislocated, though there’s definitely a lot of swelling at the joint.”
“Well of course it’s not dislocate now. I popped it back in during the fight.”
“You… popped it back in? By yourself? Did it hurt?”
“No, felt like the tender caresses of a harem of beautiful virgins.”
“You’re lying.”
“Of course I’m bloody lying!”
“You idiot, why didn’t you say something?”
“What’s done is done, isn’t it? Just got to give it time to heal.”
“You’re travelling with a light mage, you dolt. Gimme a sec. Oi! Adrian!” Eric called, waving as the Aetherial mage turned to see what the ruckus was about. “Levi needs some healing.”
As Adrian shuffled towards them, still struggling to stay on his feet, Levi leaned in close to Eric, whispering so as not to be overheard, though the driving rain probably meant they were safe. “Isn’t he your boss? That didn’t seem very… uh…”
“Deferential?”
“Yeah.”
Eric chuckled. “Adrian’s too bloody polite to say anything. Personally, I think he’s just glad when someone talks to him. He’s not exactly popular.”
“And Hamzir?”
“The opposite. He’s a miserable bastard no matter what I do, so why bother? There’s a reason the College chose those two to come all the way out here on this scavenger hunt.”
Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
“Right, right. But, if they’re the College’s social rejects, and you’re their apprentice, then that makes you?…”
“Even lower down the food chain,” Eric nodded. “But that’s fine by me. I don’t really fit the mould, anyway. Sometimes I think the Arch Mage wishes they’d never found me.”
Eric changed the subject as Adrian got closer. “He dislocated his shoulder in the jungle, but he popped it back in himself. Can you take a look?”
Adrian scowled and shuffled closer. “Put it back in himself? Ridiculous, you’ve probably caused even more damage. Give me your hand.”
Levi complied, and the light mage went through much the same routine as Eric before, muttering to himself and occasionally asking Levi about his pain. He was surprisingly gentle, though. If anything, he was overly conscious about hurting the Aluwai, who tried not to take the coddling personally.
He was still a tough as nails Mardukian hunter. He didn’t need to be ashamed about wincing through the ordeal.
Eventually, the light mage nodded and placed both his hands on the injured shoulder. A glow appeared beneath his hands, and Levi felt a warm feeling spread through his shoulder. It wasn’t painful, but neither was it pleasant, the sensation instead curling his toes and sending a shudder through his spine as the ligaments and cartilage moved and twisted below his skin. After a few seconds, Adrian removed his hands, a faint smile on his face.
“Try to move your arm, please.”
Levi gave it a few experimental swings, finding, to his surprise, that it was completely painless. If anything, it felt even stronger.
“I have to be honest, it hasn’t felt this good in years!”
Adrian’s smile grew wider. “Some of your pain points weren’t consistent with a dislocation. You’ve been wearing down the cartilage and straining the ligaments for some time now, I believe,” he said, starting the damn hand wringing again. “I took the liberty of fixing those as well.”
Looking into the genuine smile, Levi felt a twinge of guilt. The guy was insufferable, but it wasn’t his fault. He was just a well-meaning wierdo. “Thank you, light mage. Any chance you could give the other one the treatment?”
The mage laughed and nodded, moving to Levi’s other shoulder and placing his hands on it. The process was even quicker this time, the mage quickly stepping back with a beaming smile as Levi windmilled his arms, revelling in the lack of pain.
He looked up to see Hamzir storming towards them, a scowl contorting his features. He grabbed Adrian roughly by the arm and hauled him away, the light mage giving Levi a pained look, which Levi returned by touching a finger to his forehead in salute, even gracing him with a small smile.
“Who would have thought it?” Levi said to Eric, standing beside him. “Hamzir the Habitually Hospitable’s the jealous type.”
The mage harrumphed and folded his arms, shaking his head. “Like I said. He’s a miserable prick.”
Eric shoved his hands in his pockets and wandered off after the other two, whistling a tune that was quickly swallowed by the rain. Levi smiled at the receding figure, then resumed his place in the centre of the party, walking along with his spear resting on his shoulder. They had their food, Adrian had turned out to be a decent bloke, and, with Eric in tow, this was probably the safest Levi and his men had ever been in the untamed jungle.
Levi let the little ball of tension in the pit of his stomach unclench. Things were finally going well. He could save his people, after all.
*
A week later, Levi stood on the edge of a vast swamp, his eyes wandering over the slime covered vines and drooping trees that rose out of the black water. A mountain rose on the far side, and from this distance, he could barely make out the yawning cavern at its base. As he stared, an icy chill crawled up his spine, and he shuddered, looking away.
They had finally made it, and in better time than he initially feared. With Eric in tow, he had launched a few foraging expeditions, and though they hadn’t scored any more meat, they did have plenty of tubers to pad out their reserves. All in all, the expedition was shaping up to be a resounding success. Behind him, Hamzir the Harpy was giving orders to Eric and the attendants to set up camp, while he was supposedly going into the swamp with Adrian to look for artefacts. Probably because he didn’t want the hassle of pitching tents and gathering wood. Levi was tempted to let them go, but figured their pay might be docked if he let the expedition leaders die.
“Might want to hold off a minute there,” he called out to them as they passed him, approaching the brackish water.
Hamzir the Soon-To-Be-Ham Hock turned with a scowl. “You are the one who insists on a tight schedule, Mardukian. I suggest you let us work.”
Levi cocked an eyebrow and gave the Emrinthian a diplomatic smile. “Suit yourself.”
The dark mage turned and waded into the knee-deep water, but Adrian remained on the shore, fidgeting with his robe. “Um… Levi. What are your men doing?”
He pointed to Panusi and Derek, who were busy fashioning lengths of vine to long branches. They fixed some spoiled drake meat as bait and gave them a few experimental swings.
“Fishing,” Levi said, the corner of his mouth quirking up in a smile. Adrian looked at his expression, then back to Hamzir.
“I think we should wait, like Levi says.”
Hamzir turned again, mouth open to say something undoubtedly stupid, but he quickly shut it when he saw the Aluwai. He obediently returned to the shore, looking puzzled, to stand beside Adrian. Together, they watched Levi’s men working their way along the shore, slapping the surface of the water with the meat sticks every few meters. Nothing much happened for a few minutes, and Hamzir the Headache turned to Levi, no doubt to insult him further, when the roar of water split the air. A drake had breached the surface, snapping at the meat as Panusi snatched it away. He backed away from the water’s edge, occasionally slapping the beast on the snout with the bait, then yanking it away when the drake tried to grab it. The beast followed, an irritated hiss coming from its throat as it took in the surrounding tribesmen. It hesitated, sensing something was amiss, but another smack from Panusi finally brought it fully out of the water.
“Just a baby,” Eric said, coming up beside Levi. “Barely four metres long! Want me to handle it?”
“Na, my boys need to earn their pay somehow.”
As they watched, the Aluwai descended on the drake, jabbing it in the weakest parts of its armour. The drake thrashed and snapped, but the hunters moved in perfect sync. Wherever it turned, the hunters withdrew, their companions on the other side going on the offensive. Within seconds, the drake was bleeding heavily, but it kept on fighting. Far from weakening, its movements grew more frenzied and aggressive as it raged at the tiny mammals and their sharpened sticks. It lunged, Maba throwing himself onto his backside, narrowly avoiding losing a limb. The others redoubled their efforts, but the beast sensed weakness, and it started homing in on the hunter, snapping and swiping its tail to keep the rest of the party at bay. Maba jumped to his feet, spear out in front of him, and backed away, keeping steady eye contact.
“Levi, I don’t mean to tell you how to do your job, but this doesn’t seem to be working.”
“Wait for it.”
When Maba had retreated a few metres and it became clear the drake wouldn’t be dissuaded, Bopau broke and ran, feet pounding in the sucking mud as he sprinted to the nearest tree and climbed.
“Levi!”
“For a holy man, you have a startling lack of faith.”
Slowly, Maba inched back into the vegetation belt around the swamp, passing directly beneath the tree where Bopau crouched, waiting. The drake was oblivious, fixated on killing the man in front of him. It didn’t realise its mistake until Bopau dropped silently from the branch above it, spear tip down, letting the weight of his fall drive it through the hide at the base of the beast’s neck.
“About time you jumped straight!” Levi called out.
The jumper pulled a face at Levi as the drake’s legs gave out. Its head thrashed from side to side as Bopau worked the spear, burrowing it deeper and deeper, into and then out the other side of the drake’s throat. Blood gushed from the wound, staining the surrounding mud a dark reddish brown, and then it was done, a final, distorted hiss escaping around the spear haft as it died.
Eric gaped in shock as the hunters grabbed the drake’s tail and hauled it back to the water’s edge.
“It never stood a chance,” he finally said, “one of the most terrifying creatures in the world and your men made it look as routine as plucking roots.”
“Drakes are ambush predators. When the shoe’s on the other foot, they can be surprisingly vulnerable. The trick is goading them out of the water without them catching you. Hence the ‘fishing’ poles.”
“Remarkable,” Eric muttered, eyes still wide at the spectacle. His eyes refocussed, and he shook his head. “But what are they doing now?”
“Dumping the body on the shoreline. If there’s any other drakes in there, they’ll come along for a nibble by sundown. We’ll kill them as they arrive, less effort than slapping the meat sticks around the whole thing.”
“That seems… lazy,” Eric said, his usual sly smile creeping back onto his face.
“Work smarter, not harder, mate,” Levi said, slapping him on the back and walking towards where the attendants were erecting tents. “Come on, let’s help finish the setup.”
“Uh, no! No, that’s not necessary, Levi,” Eric exclaimed. Too loudly. Levi frowned and turned back to the mage. His eyes were wide, mouth hanging slightly ajar and turned down at the corners. He looked almost… panicked.
“It’s no problem,” Levi said, carefully. “I’m happy to help.”
“I can’t in good conscience let you, not after everything you’ve done to get us this far.” Eric’s amiable smile returned quickly to his face, but the tension around his eyes betrayed his unease. “Please, let us unpack.”
Without waiting for an answer, he hurried past Levi, giving a beaming smile that died as soon as he thought the Aluwai wouldn’t see. He stormed into the camp and started barking orders at the ‘attendants’ who redoubled their efforts.
Levi wasn’t sure what that was about, but he knew he didn’t like it.
“Isakoa!” he called over his shoulder, the greyhair ambling up the shoreline towards him.
“Yeah?”
“Set a double watch tonight, one on the drake’s corpse. The other on our guests.”
A knowing smile crept over the old man’s face. “You suspect something?”
“Maybe. I don’t know. Eric didn’t want me poking around their equipment for some reason. Whatever’s going on, I don’t want to get caught flat footed.”
Isakoa strolled back to where the others were talking and laughing around the dead beast while Levi remained where he was, staring at the camp. Halfway through carrying a bundle into a newly erected tent, Eric caught his eye and waved. Levi didn’t wave back.