“So she presides over all water?” The question sounded genuine enough, but Drake couldn’t forget the woman was loyal to Volmar, and he very much doubted Rin would be happy if he gave away all her secrets.
“Not all water. Her powers stretch to most large bodies, at least those connected to the sea in some way, but they’re strongest here around the isles. This is her domain. Her portion of the world.”
“And it just so happens that this is where you pirates built a home for yourselves. Also happens to be pretty close to the main trade routes running from Sarth to the Five Kingdoms. Not to mention, any ships from the Dragon Empire have to come close too, or trade only with Acanthia.”
“You think that’s a coincidence?” Drake snorted. “Your god does like to keep you in the dark. They’re only as powerful as the people worshipping them. Rin came to the isles because there have always been people here, living off the sea. Maybe once they weren’t even pirates, just fishers and traders. She made them believe, made them worship her. Now there ain’t a seaman worth his salt around the isles that don’t make regular tributes in her name to keep himself safe in her waters.”
“Your god would punish you for not giving her tributes? She sounds…”
“Harsh? Vengeful? Capricious?” Drake let out a laugh. “Aye, she is all of those things. Not quite your benevolent, forgiving god, eh? Though Rin never ordered her worshippers to wipe out an entire race, or enslave another, or burn folk alive.”
“Careful, Drake.”
“Just making a point.” Drake held up his hand to placate the angry Arbiter. After a few moments of silence he decided it was best to change the subject.
“So what are we doing hiding in this cave?”
“Waiting for you to wake up. After a while I wasn’t sure if you would, so I put a sleepless charm on you. The magic out there is… old, and strong. I couldn’t see the source of it. I don’t think it came from the ants; they were just capitalising on its effect.”
“Is it natural magic?”
“Is there such a thing?” Beck sounded unsure of whether Drake was spinning more tales.
“Not in your world, Arbiter. Your Inquisition spent most of its early years removing it. But here, out in the places where folk don’t usually tread, all sorts of old magic and beasties can be found.”
Beck was silent for a long time. “I think we should wait here until morning. It’s dark out there, and we could easily get lost or split up.”
Drake lay back down on the rock. It was uncomfortable at best, but he’d rested on far worse in his time. The Drurr did not treat their prisoners kindly.
“Didn’t think to bring any food, did you?” he asked without much hope.
“No.”
“Guess we’re gonna have a hungry night then.”
Chapter 26 - The Phoenix
The boats were already in the water by the time Keelin woke to find the first rays of daylight forcing themselves upon him. He’d personally sat two watches during the night – his and Smithe’s, for lack of trust in the man. Inadequate sleep, along with the anticipation of the day ahead, had the unfortunate effect of putting him in a mood which could only be described as grumpy. A boatload of folk were being shipped over from the Fortune and, just a few strokes behind them, another from The Phoenix. The Man of War floated in its anchorage, dwarfing both the other ships and making the bay look more than a little crowded. Keelin was still staring out towards the Sarth vessel, taking a much needed piss into the sea, when someone tapped him on the shoulder.
“Lost a man durin’ the night,” one of Drake’s pirates said. “Nilly stepped out fer a piss, just like ya doin’ now, an’ didn’t come back.”
“Any sign of him?” Keelin finished up and tucked himself back into his britches.
“Blood on the sand a little bit that way.” The man pointed down the beach, and Keelin thought he could just about make out some discoloured sand. “Looks like his hat too, but no one wanted ta get close enough ta check. Whatever got him might still be there. ’Neath the sand.”
“Then we best find out,” Keelin said sternly. “Get a team together and comb the sand around the blood. Kill anything under the surface and try to find Nilly.”
The pirate looked uncomfortable, and on the verge of arguing. He evidently decided against it. “Aye, Cap’n,” he said with a grimace, and set off towards the fire where his crewmates were gathered.
By the time the boats arrived, Keelin had found the cook pot and was busy eating a cold bowl of last night’s left over stew. Kebble Salt had found him, and the two were busy eating in companionable silence when Princess jumped from the front of his skiff and made his way up the short stretch of beach to the makeshift camp.
“Drake didn’t show up then?” Princess sat down opposite Keelin, brushing a few lank, wet strands of hair away from his face.
Keelin shook his head and spooned another mouthful of stew. “You don’t sound concerned.”
Princess laughed. “Hear we lost a man during the dark. One of ours or yours?”
“Yours,” Keelin replied solemnly. “He wandered off to take a piss, didn’t come back.”
“Nilly, was it? Poor bugger never could piss with an audience. The Cap’n will be sad. He always liked Nilly.”
“I want you to send the boats back and get every able man and woman down on this beach.”
“That so?” Princess didn’t sound too certain about the order.
“We’re starting again. Combing the beach over.”
“What?” Princess snorted. “Took us most of yesterday to do as much as we did, and ya want us to start over?”
“Yes.”
“Mind sharing ya thinking?”
“Your man was killed close to the camp, an area we’d already combed. That makes me think the sand monsters move around during the dark. Can’t be certain those areas we checked yesterday are still safe. So we start again.”
Princess thought about it as Kebble handed him a bowl of underwhelming stew. “Aye, sounds solid reasoning.”
“I also want any man or woman with real carpentry experience reporting directly to me by the time this pot of food is empty. And I want preparations drawn up to beach the Man of War as soon as we’re confident we’ve killed most of the sand monsters.”
“Outfitting?”
“Repurposing. That ship burned down two towns. Now its bones are going to be the foundation of a new one.”
Chapter 27 - Fortune
No sooner had light begun to creep in through the forest canopy than Drake and Beck struck out of the cave and resumed their hunt for the creature in the forest. Both of them were hungry, and that had led to a sullen couple of hours cooped up together, surrounded by rock. When the opportunity had presented itself to escape, Drake had leapt upon the chance. There was no shortage of berries, leaves, and shrooms in the forest, all of which could possibly be eaten, and all of which could potentially be fatal. Drake wasn’t about to risk death by fungi just to quell the rumbling of his stomach.
He walked like a man who knew where he was going, even though that was far from the truth. They were lost, pure and simple. The encounter with the ants and the sleeping magic had had a greater impact than the implicit peril. Thinking back, Drake couldn’t remember much of the time leading up to the moment when they both collapsed. He couldn’t remember how long they’d been walking, or in which direction. They could have got turned around any number of times and not been any the wiser. With that in mind, Drake had done the only thing that had seemed sensible; he’d turned his feet to the sun and walked east. Beck followed.
A sharp pain in Drake’s neck made him wince, and he slapped at it. His hand came away bloody, with a squashed insect the size of a large coin. Already Drake could feel his neck beginning to itch where the pain had been, and it wasn’t the only place he wanted to scratch. The sooner they got out of the damned forest and back onto the ships, the better. He may be intending to settle the island and turn it into a stronghold for his people, but that didn’t mean he wanted to spend any time here.