Fiona heard a clap of thunder, tipped her face to the sky, and felt the first few drops of rain splash against her.
Fetch began to hoot.
"Blessed rain," Maldred pronounced. "Been far too long since it rained in these mountains." He looked skyward, stood, and stretched his good arm out to the side to catch more of the rain, opened his mouth wide to drink it in.
Fiona started toward Rig, but a second clap of thunder stopped her. It was followed by another, this once coming from beneath her feet. It was the mountain rumbling again, and she nearly lost her balance. The horses neighed nervously and the wagon creaked as the tremor intensified. Overhead, the lightning danced between the clouds, and the rain fell harder.
"It's the lightning one has to fear, not the thunder," Maldred said, lowering his head and catching Fiona's gaze again. He bent his knees to help keep his balance as the mountain continued to shake. Concern was etched on the big man's brow. "The earthquakes are different, Lady Knight. Another matter entirely. There've always been quakes in these mountains. Was a big one a few days ago. There's been quite a bit more rumbling lately than I'm used to. Bothers even me."
The ground stilled for just a moment, then it rumbled again, faintly at first, then growing stronger. Fiona lost her balance and fell against Maldred, who was quick to wrap his arm around her. The tremor lasted a few more minutes, then dissipated. She continued to stare into Maldred's enigmatic eyes, then berated herself for being so slow to extricate herself from his arms.
Across the camp, Rig gaped at her. Dhamon brushed by the mariner, Rikali and Fetch on his heels. Dhamon opened an empty waterskin and held it out to catch the rain as he headed toward the wagon, intending to camp underneath it. "Fiona, I told Rig you're welcome to share our camp tonight."
She stepped in front of him, eyes bright, blocking his path.
"You're not taking me back to Ironspike." His head was still a little muddied by the alcohol, but his words were coming clearer and quicker.
"Not my plan."
"You're not taking me anywhere else to ‘atone' for my crimes. I won't let you."
"I wouldn't think of it."
Dhamon tipped back his head and chuckled. "And you're not going to change my ways, dearest Fiona. I've been through this with Rig. No redemption. I rather enjoy the way I've turned out."
She took a step closer until the stink of his sweat and the alcohol on his breath stung her eyes. "I don't want to redeem you, Dhamon Grimwulf. I want to join you."
CHAPTER SEVEN
Grim Kedar's
"You're crazy! Join him?" The mariner's eyes were wide, mouth working soundlessly as he tried to figure out what else to say to Fiona.
"Join me?" Dhamon, too, was momentarily stunned. Then his face quickly slipped into its stoic mask and his eyes grew hard. His teeth clicked lightly together and he alternately clenched and relaxed his fingers as he waited for Fiona to explain herself.
"Join a band of brigands? I'd say that's hardly the Solamnic thing to do. Might tarnish your shinin' plate mail." Rikali sidled up close to the Knight. "Besides, Fee-ohn-a, we don't want you to join us. The four of us do just fine by ourselves. The two of you wouldn't fit in. And wouldn't be welcome."
Fiona none-too-gently nudged the half-elf away, causing Rikali to puff out her chest, thrust her chin up, and make a defiant fist. Maldred put a hand on the half-elf's shoulder, keeping her from taking a swing at the Knight.
"I need coins, Dhamon. Gems, jewels, lots of them. I need them quickly. Immediately. And you seem to know how to get them."
Rig slapped the heel of his hand against his forehead. Softly, he said, "It won't work, Fiona. You can't make a deal with evil. I can't believe you're considering this. By all the vanished gods, I had no idea this was going through your head." The mariner watched the Knight, a myriad of emotions playing on his face-above all, annoyance.
The Solamnic had everyone's attention. "My brother is one of several Solamnic Knights held captive in Shrentak," Fiona began. "He's been there for nearly two months. And I mean to see him free."
"Shrentak, the heart of the swamp," Rikali whispered. "Now that's a right foul place to find yourself in." The half-elf wrinkled her nose and leaned against Dhamon, who in turn leaned more heavily on his cane.
"Sable, the black dragon overlord, holds them-and others-in her lair. And I intend to free my brother and as many other Knights as I can. I'll have to use plenty of coin to ransom them."
Dhamon stood silent for several moments, the rain and her words sobering him. His dark hair was plastered against the sides of his head, the grime on his face and hands slowly vanishing under the constant torrent. The fire behind him was out, plunging the camp into darkness. Still, there was just enough light from the lightning that danced overhead to register his grim expression. A touch of anger burned in his eyes, the skin on his face was taut like a drum.
"You should listen to Rig," Dhamon told her. "Ransoming them, making a deal with a dragon, that's foolishness indeed. You should know better."
"I've no choice."
"Contact your mighty Solamnic Council. Doubtless they ordered the Knights into the swamp in the first place. They can send more Knights to rescue them."
She shook her head. "Yes, the council sent my brother and the other men. For what purpose is a mystery. And yes, the council has tried to rescue them. Twice garrisons have gone in. And twice, no one has returned."
"Send another." His words sounded hard and brittle. "It would be an honorable cause."
Rikali thrust out her bottom lip and nodded agreement.
"The council refuses," Fiona practically hissed. "In all its infinite wisdom it has decreed that no more lives will be… ‘thrown away, were the words."
"Then hire mercenaries." This from Maldred.
"We've tried," Rig added. "But no amount of coin, it seems, will lure people into Sable's swamp."
"Smart people," the half-elf cut in.
"But coin will get my brother out," Fiona continued. "One of the dragon's minions recently contacted the council and said Sable would ransom the men for enough coin and gems. Dragons horde treasure."
"But you can't trust a dragon." Dhamon's words were ice.
So I've told her, Rig mouthed.
"I don't have any choice," she repeated firmly. "He's my brother."
Dhamon shook his head. "And he's probably dead. Or for his sake you should hope he is."
"I don't believe that. I'd know if he were dead. Somehow I'd know."
Dhamon let out a breath between his clenched teeth and cocked his head to catch a glimpse of a long fork of lightning. He squinted through the rain. "And the council, Fiona, what did they contribute for this ransom?"
Thunder rocked the camp and the lightning overhead intensified, jagged fingers bouncing from cloud to cloud.
The rain was drumming down even faster now.
"Nothing," she finally said. "Not a single piece of steel. They said they would have no part of this, didn't believe the minion's offer to ransom the men. They've written off the Knights, the council has, considering all of them lost. Dead."
"Then why…" Dhamon began.
"I'm doing this on my own. And I'm risking my standing as a Solamnic Knight." She crossed her arms, looking more defiant than Dhamon ever recalled seeing her. "I don't care how I get this treasure, Dhamon Grimwulf. I'll rob hospitals with you. Merchant wagons. I'll do whatever it takes short of killing. I'll…"