Thieves of Blood

CHAPTER TWELVE

“I think we’re coming out of it.”

Yvka looked drained, as if keeping the elemental active during the storm had taken a great deal of energy out of her. She was pale, her face drawn, and Ghaji feared she might pass out any moment.

Diran’s suggestion had worked. By going southeast, they’d escaped the storm’s fury, and the waters they now sailed were calmer, and the rain fell more gently. The wind was still blowing strong but nothing like the gales they’d experienced before. Diran and Ghaji stood next to the mast where they’d ridden out most of the storm, prepared to make any needed adjustments in the sails.

Ghaji leaned close to Diran and whispered, “Do you think she’s going to be all right?”

Diran glanced back over his shoulder at Yvka.

“It’s difficult to say. She claimed the magic that controlled the elemental was embedded in the pilot’s chair and the containment ring, but our journey has obviously taken a toll on her. Perhaps it’s simply fatigue.”

Without waiting for Ghaji to reply, Diran headed back toward the pilot’s chair.

“The wind’s strong enough,” he said in a gentle voice. “Perhaps it’s time we gave the elemental a rest.”

Yvka looked at Diran with half-lidded eyes. “The elemental doesn’t need…” She broke off and gave Diran a tired smile. “I see. I am weary,” she admitted. “I don’t need more than an hour’s meditation, two at the most. I am an elf, after all.”

“Of course,” Diran said. “Ghaji and I can sail the Zephyr while you rest. We’ll call you if anything happens.”

Yvka looked at Diran for a moment, and Ghaji thought she might change her mind about resting, but finally she nodded and lifted her hand off the chair arm. As soon as she did, the glow in the elemental ring faded, and the wind that had been issuing forth from it died away. Yvka flexed her fingers, the joints making soft popping sounds as she did. She then removed her other hand from the tiller and rose from the pilot’s seat. Diran then sat and took hold of the tiller.

The rain had tapered off to a mild drizzle now, and Yvka removed her sodden cloak and hung it over the guardrail to dry. She then headed toward the cabin just as the clouds broke, revealing a hint of dawn. When she drew near Ghaji, she paused.

“There’s both water and food in the cabin. Feel free to come in and get it. If you want it, that is.” She smiled then continued on into the cabin.

Ghaji watched her go, admiring the smooth, languid way she moved even tired as she was. When she closed the cabin door, after giving him a last meaningful look, the half-orc turned to Diran. Diran smiled and waggled his eyebrows. Ghaji sighed.

“Diran?”

“Hmm?”

“What’s this stuff? It looks like seaweed, but it’s thicker and it’s all around us.”

“Seaweed?”

There was something about Ghaji’s words that set off a warning bell in the back of Diran’s mind, though he wasn’t sure why. He locked the tiller into its current position, rose from the pilot’s chair, and moved toward the starboard bow where Ghaji stood looking over the guardrail.

The stormclouds were long behind them now, and the late morning sky was a rich, clear blue. The rain was a memory as well, and the breeze had done much to dry the deck, as well as their cloaks, which hung on the railing next to Yvka’s. The elf-woman was still resting, though she’d been in the cabin longer than the two hours she’d claimed was all she needed. Ghaji had entered the cabin once, on the pretext of fetching them some breakfast, and he’d struggled to hide his disappointment was he returned and announced that Yvka was still meditating. Diran, to his credit, had managed not to laugh.

He joined Ghaji at the guardrail and looked down at the water. Just beneath the surface was a thready mass of greenery that indeed looked something like seaweed, and as Ghaji had said, it seemed to surround the starboard side of the Zephyr, stretching off into the distance.

“It’s like this in front and on the other side, too,” Ghaji said. “I checked.”

“It doesn’t appear to be slowing us down.” Even without the elemental’s aid, they were making good time, but Diran couldn’t shake the feeling that this situation was familiar somehow. A mass of seaweed covering the water for miles… ships sailing right through it with ease, almost as if it parted to allow them passage…

“By the Flame!” Diran whispered as sudden realization struck him. “We’re in the Mire!”

“The what?” Ghaji asked.

Instead of answering, Diran said, “Go get Yvka.”

Ghaji scowled, but rather than questioning Diran further, he walked to the cabin. A few moments later he returned with Yvka at his side, the elf-woman looking rested and restored.

“Imagine my disappointment when Ghaji told something about a lot of seaweed in the water. Not to be rude, but where else is seaweed supposed to be?”

“I’m afraid we’ve blundered into the Mire,” Diran said.

Yvka just looked at him for a moment, as if he’d just told the first part of a joke and she was waiting for him to deliver the punchline. When none was forthcoming, she said, “The Mire is nothing but an old sailor’s legend.”

Diran gestured toward the guardrail. “See for yourself.”

Yvka walked over to the railing and peered out across the water. She stood there for several seconds before returning to them. “There’s seaweed out there close to the surface, and a lot of it, but that doesn’t mean this is the Mire.”

Despite the elf-woman’s words, her tone wasn’t as confident as it had been a moment before.

“Whether we’re in it or not, would either of you mind telling me exactly what this Mire is?” Ghaji asked, exasperated.

“My father used to tell me stories about the Mire-stories that he swore were true.”

“With all due respect,” Yvka said, “fathers tell their children spooky stories all the time, and they claim them to be true to make them even scarier, but that doesn’t make them true.”

“That still doesn’t tell me what the Mire is,” Ghaji complained.

Diran turned to his friend. “The Mire is a huge expanse of seaweed rumored to be thousands of square miles wide. According to the tales, ships have no trouble sailing into the Mire, but once inside, they become trapped and can never win free.”

“It’s just a fable,” Yvka insisted, “a story told to explain ships that most likely went missing due to storms or other natural causes.”

Ghaji glanced toward the starboard bow and pointed. “You mean ships like that one?”

Diran and Yvka looked in the direction Ghaji indicated. Off in the distance was a shape that appeared to be the partially submerged remains of a ship larger than the Zephyr-a two-master, perhaps, though it was difficult to tell since so much of it lay below the water’s surface.

“Yes,” Diran said dryly. “Precisely like that. Does it strike either of you as odd that we’re heading directly for it, almost as if we’re being guided there?”

Ghaji stretched out his arms then did a couple of torso twists to limber up. “Best get our weapons, eh?”

The half-orc didn’t sound displeased at the prospect that they might be approaching danger.

Ghaji was probably getting restless, Diran thought. It had been nearly an entire day since he’d had the opportunity to fight someone.

“Should I activate the elemental?” Yvka asked. “If we’re going toward the vessel anyway, perhaps we shouldn’t waste any time.”

The elf-woman’s meditation had restored her energy, and she was now wide awake and alert. Diran had no doubt she could summon and direct the elemental’s power, but he wasn’t certain it was a good idea.

“We don’t know how thick the seaweed truly is. It’s possible that the soarwood runners will be able to cut through the substance of the Mire without any difficulty, but it’s also possible that by sailing at our top speed, we might end up entangling ourselves. We’re making good progress at our current speed; I suggest saving the elemental for when we might truly need it.”

Yvka considered Diran’s words for a moment before nodding agreement. She returned to the tiller, and Diran and Ghaji armed themselves. The priest donned his cloak, though it was still damp from the rain, and retrieved his bow and arrows. Ghaji got his axe as well as a grappling hook. The points were sharp, and the rope looked strong.

The Zephyr continued sailing toward the half-submerged vessel, and before long they were within shouting distance of the derelict. Yvka locked the tiller once more and was about to prepare to put down anchor, when the wind died and the sloop began to slow down on her own. Diran peered over the side and saw that the seaweed was much thicker here, and instead of giving way before them, it now seemed to be pressing against the Zephyr’s hull, as if purposefully retarding the vessel’s progress.

When they’d come within a half dozen yards of the other ship, the Zephyr came to a halt.

This close, they could see that the partially submerged vessel was indeed a two-master, though the ship was tilted back so far the bow pointed skyward and the tip of the second mast barely extended past the water’s surface. The sails were still up, though the fabric was sodden and torn in numerous places, as if someone had repeatedly slashed it with a sword. There were no visible signs of damage on the hull, at least not from their vantage point, and the vessel’s name was clearly visible on the port bow, painted in faded black letters: Proud Pelican. The seaweed around the ship was so thick it resembled solid earth covered with wet green grass and a thin layer of water. It looked almost as if the plants were holding the Proud Pelican in place, and that the vessel would slip completely beneath the waves if they were to release her.

Evidently Ghaji was having similar thoughts, for he said, “Looks almost solid enough to stand on.”

“Be my guest,” Yvka said. “I’m not setting foot on that muck!”

“I don’t blame you, lady!”

Startled, the three of them turned toward the direction the new voice came from. Perched atop the tip of the bow, straddling it as if he were astride a horse, was a halfling. Diran judged him to be three feet tall, an average height for his kind. He had an athletic build, ruddy skin, dark eyes-brown, Diran guessed, though it was hard to tell from such a distance-and straight black hair tied into a ponytail. As was common for halflings, he had pointed ears, though not so sharply pointed as Yvka’s. He wore sailor’s garb: brown leggings, bare feet, an orange sash around his trim waist, a white shirt with billowy sleeves, and a red scarf covering the top of his head as protection against the sun. Tucked beneath the halfling’s sash was a long knife that, in his small hands, would look like a sword, and Diran guessed he wielded it as such. Though Diran had never spent a great deal of time around halflings, he judged this one to be a young adult in his early to mid-twenties.

“I guess we don’t have to hail the ship now,” Ghaji said.

“The name’s Hinto,” the halfling called, “and you can bet I’m glad to see you three! Tell me something, is your ship really made out of soarwood, or have I been alone too long and am starting to imagine things?” An alarmed looked came over the halfling’s face. “Maybe I’m imagining this whole thing! The ship and you three!”

“Calm yourself,” Diran said before the halfling could get too worked up. “We’re real enough, though I fear we’ve wandered into the same trap that ensnared your vessel. You said you’re alone, so I assume there are no other survivors.”

“That’s right, I’m the last one. That’s because I know how to hide. When I put my mind to it, I can hide so good I can’t even find myself!” Hinto chuckled at his own joke, then sobered. His eyes darted back and forth nervously, as if he were expecting to be attacked any moment from any direction. “I’ve been alone for days now, or maybe it’s been weeks.” He looked at them and smiled apologetically. “I’ve track of time out here.”

“I don’t think that’s the only thing he’s lost,” Ghaji muttered, then he let out an oof! as Yvka elbowed him in the side.

“I’m Diran Bastiaan, priest of the Silver Flame. These are my companions, Ghaji and Yvka. Can you tell us what happened to your vessel and crew?”. “You mean can I tell you what’s going to happen to you,” the halfling said, an hysterical edge to his voice.

Diran was beginning to think Ghaji had been right: Hinto’s mind was somewhat the worse for wear after being trapped alone in the Mire.

“It’s this place…” Hinto began. “The Mire… though it’s not really the Mire, not like the stories say it is. Oh, it looks like a mess of seaweed, but that’s what it wants you to think. It’s something else, something worse. Something… hungry.”

Diran, Ghaji, and Yvka looked down at the seaweed between the Zephyr and Proud Pelican.

The half-orc shrugged. “Still looks like seaweed to me.”

“Of course it does!” Hinto said. “Haven’t you been listening to me? Don’t you get it?”

Ghaji gripped his axe and bared his lower incisors.

Diran lay a hand on his friend’s arm to calm him. “Can you throw that grappling hook so it catches on the Pelicans bow?”

“I think so,” Ghaji said.

Diran turned back to Hinto and explained their plan.

“Why don’t I just climb over there?” Hinto asked. “Not that it’s going to make any difference since you’re all going to die.”

“I’m afraid you may be too weak to hold onto the rope after being trapped here for so long.” This was true enough, but Diran was also worried that Hinto’s mental state made him so unpredictable that the halfling might well let go of the rope of his own accord for some reason before he reached the Zephyr.

“I appreciate the thought,” Hinto said, “but I wouldn’t try coming over if I were you. It won’t like it, if you know what I mean.”

“No, we don’t know what you mean!” Ghaji shouted. “You don’t make any sense! Now get out of the way unless you want me to bounce this thing off your head.”

Hinto rose from his perch on the bow and scampered out of sight.

Diran and Yvka stepped back to give Ghaji room. The half-orc held the grappling hook in his right hand and the rope it was tied to in his left. He took a moment to gauge the distance and the direction of the wind, then he drew back his arm and threw the hook. The barbed metal object soared through the air, the rope trailing out behind it. The hook passed over the upraised bow of the Pelican and landed on the other side with a thunk against the ship’s hull. Ghaji slowly pulled the rope until the hook caught on something. From the angle at which the Pelican was jutting out of the water, they couldn’t see what the hook had taken hold of and whether that hold was strong.

“Hinto!” Diran called. “Can you check the hook to make sure it’s holding fast?”

There was no reply for a moment, and Diran started to wonder if the mysterious // of which the halfling had spoken had snatched him when he was out of their view. Then Hinto, from wherever he was hiding, shouted, “It’s caught tight against the bow roller! It’s not going anywhere!”

The bow roller was the fitting over which the chain of the forward anchor ran. Good enough.

Ghaji tied the other end of the rope to the Zephyr’s guardrail. He then turned to Diran. “Which one of us goes first?”

“Of the two of us, you are the stronger.”

“Where’s Yvka?”

The two companions looked at the rope line that now stretched between the two vessels. Yvka was walking across, hands held out to her sides for balance.

“She’s a juggler and acrobat, remember?” Diran said.

“I’ve been thinking of her as a spy for so long, I’d almost forgotten.”

Hinto’s head poked up over the edge of the Pelican’s bow. “Be careful,” the halfling said. “It’s been awhile since It ate the last of my friends, and it’s bound to be awfully hungry by now.”

Yvka didn’t respond to Hinto’s warning, and she didn’t look down at the surface of the Mire as she carefully made her way along the rope.

Diran and Ghaji, however, did look down, and they didn’t like what they saw. Four holes opened in the thick seaweed, and from each a sinuous gray creature slithered. The serpent-like things had no features, save for openings on their rounded ends that resembled puckered mouths. The mouths gaped open to reveal circular rows of tiny sharp teeth.

“Watch out, Yvka!” Ghaji warned, then to Diran he said, “What are those things? Some kind of eel?”

“Eels can’t raise up out the water like that, and their mouths look more like those of lampreys.”

The four creatures, whatever they were, possessed no obvious sensory organs, but the lack didn’t seem to impair them as they lunged toward Yvka, ringed mouths opening even wider. Diran reached for a pair of daggers, but fast as he was, the lamprey-like things were faster.

Just as they were about to fasten their hungry mouths on Yvka’s legs, the elf-woman crouched down, bent her knees, and launched herself into the air in a forward roll. She tucked her chin to her chest and kept her arms held out straight as she spun around and landed lightly on her feet. The rope bowed beneath her weight and shimmied from side to side, but Yvka managed to keep from falling off.

The lamprey-things waved about in confusion at the sudden relocation of their prey, but Diran knew it wouldn’t take long for them to attack again. He had only seconds to take advantage of their confusion. He drew two daggers and hurled them at a pair of the creatures, and before those daggers had time to strike their targets, he drew and released two more. All four daggers found their marks, but the rubbery gray hides of the creatures were so thick that the needle-sharp tips of the knives barely penetrated the flesh. The lamprey-things shook the daggers off, and the blades fell to the seaweed-covered surface of the water. Three of the four daggers landed on their side, but one fell point-first and embedded itself in the thick layer of plant material. The seaweed, dense as it was, wasn’t as resilient as the lamprey-things’ hides, and the blade sank up to the hilt. The seaweed surrounding the blade shuddered and the dagger popped upward, as if violently thrust by something below. The knife landed on its side this time, and its steel surface was coated with a viscous dark-green slime.

“Did you see that?” Ghaji asked.

“I did,” Diran replied, but he had no time to consider the implications. He’d managed to distract the lamprey-things long enough for Yvka to keep walking across the rope, and she’d nearly reached the Proud Pelican. The creatures, as if sensing their meal was close to escaping them, turned in Yvka’s direction and stretched for her.

Diran reached into his cloak for another pair of daggers, but these weren’t like the others he’d tried-these had been specially prepared. The blades struck their targets with the same result as before, sinking into the creatures’ hides only an inch of so, and just as they had before, the lamprey-things paused to shake off the blades before resuming their attack. This time instead of lunging toward Yvka again, they stiffened, the tiny wounds made by Diran’s daggers rapidly swelling and turning an ugly black. Thick grayish-green ooze began bubbling out of the creatures’ tooth-ringed maws, and their snake-like bodies shrank in on themselves as their hides grew wrinkled, dry, and leathery. Twitching feebly, the four desiccated creatures withdrew back into the holes they’d emerged from, and the seaweed filled in after them.

Yvka made it the rest of the way to the Pelican and crouched upon its upturned bow. Once more, Hinto was nowhere in sight.

“Hinto?” she called. “Are you hurt?”

At first there was no reply, and Diran feared that the halfling had been taken by other lamprey-things while hidden from view. Then Hinto called out, “I’m fine,” and crawled into view.

Diran looked down at the surface of the Mire and saw that, while all four of the special daggers he’d thrown had landed on their sides, the seaweed around them had turned black.

“Interesting…”

Ghaji groaned. “I hate it when you say that. It often means we’re in worse trouble than we thought.”

Diran turned to his friend and smiled. “Aren’t we usually?”

The half-orc smiled back. “I guess. Why should this situation be any different, eh?”

Diran glanced once more at the black patches of seaweed and noted they were slowly widening. He wasn’t sure, but he thought the greenery surrounding the black patches was quivering, as if in pain.

Diran’s smile fell away. “I’m afraid things are different this time… and if what I suspect is true, the situation is far deadlier than anything we’ve ever faced before.”

“Worse than-”

“Yes.”

“How about-”

“Not even close.”

Ghaji looked over at the Pelican and sighed. “Now I really wish Yvka hadn’t been meditating when I went into her cabin.”