Where Loyalties Lie

Chapter 25 - Fortune

Drake’s eyes snapped open to reveal the concerned face of Arbiter Beck staring down at him. It was dark, the sort of dark one gets in a cage locked deep underground. The memory was more than a little disturbing, so Drake shook it away and focused on the woman watching him. There was rock behind her and the rhythmic sound of dripping water; it didn’t take long for Drake to realise they were in a cave.

Opening his mouth to speak, Drake found his throat as dry as sun-baked sand and ended up coughing instead. A water skin appeared in front of him, and he reached for it instinctively. Beck moved away, leaving Drake staring at dark rock.

As he sipped at the water, Drake scoured his memory for how they could have ended up in a cave. The last thing he remembered was… ants. Ants and the thought of Beck naked. It seemed a strange combination of memories.

“Thank you,” Beck said from somewhere in the darkness.

“Eh?” Drake barely managed to mumble between swallows of water.

“You saved us both.”

Drake struggled into a sitting position and took note of all the aches and pains the movement caused; it seemed there wasn’t much of his body not currently bruised or battered. He could just about see a small figure sitting alone in the darkness, and he guessed it was Beck.

“Don’t remember saving anyone,” he protested, though a part of him disagreed and claimed that it must be true despite how unlikely it seemed. Drake Morrass never passed up credit for any feat.

“You managed to bring me out of my slumber long enough to realise it was magic causing us to sleep.” She sounded subdued. “Luckily the Inquisition teaches us counters to all sorts of things.” She waved her wrist in the darkness, and Drake thought he saw a bandage wrapped around it. He looked down at his own wrist and saw a similar strip of cloth. He held it up for closer inspection.

“As long as you’re wearing that you won’t be able to sleep,” Beck said. “I would not advise taking it off; I don’t have any others right now, and I’ve no way to fashion any more until we get back to the boat.”

Beck fell silent for a while. “I should have noticed it sooner. Too damned distracted. I…” She trailed off.

“What’s your name?” Drake asked the woman sitting in the darkness.

There was a significant silence before the answer came. “Beck.”

“Oh, I got that. Arbiter Beck, to use your full title, I’m sure. But that’s only one name. Strikes me I should know the other one.”

“I don’t have another name,” Beck said quickly. “I used to, I think, but I don’t remember it. Did you know the potential is passed down family lines, from parent to child? Though not all children are guaranteed to inherit it.”

“Aye,” Drake said, remembering his own mother. “I happen to know a little about that myself.” There was a moment of silence before Beck spoke again. Drake thanked Rin his little slip hadn’t piqued her curiosity.

“Well, it appears the potential can also show up in families who have no history of it. I started showing signs at maybe five years old. I don’t remember much from back then, but I know my parents were happy about it.”

“Happy about sending off one of their children to be a witch hunter? Feared and despised the world over? Seems unlikely.”

Beck let out a bitter laugh and leaned forwards. Drake could just about see the outline of her face in the darkness of the cave. Her eyes looked like dark voids.

“Careful, pirate,” she spat. “What we do in the service of Vol… our god is righteous. He knows the best course for this world, and we carry out his will. We are his eyes, ears, and left hand, and…”

“Spare me the zeal, Arbiter. I’d rather not get into another bout of ‘my god’s better than your god’. I ain’t saying I don’t believe in him, just that I don’t trust him.”

“Well, anyway. You might not believe it, but it’s a great honour for a noble family of Sarth to provide children to be trained as Arbiters. The Beck family is one of the oldest and noblest. Before me they had never had the chance to give a child to the Inquisition. When I was given, the instructors called me Beck, and the name stuck. I honestly cannot remember what my full name was before.

“What about you – is your real name Drake Morrass?”

Drake felt her compulsion wash over him; it was almost becoming comforting now. “Aye.”

“Really?”

“Aye. My ma named me. Said a special man needed a special name.”

Beck snorted in the darkness. “She called you a special man?”

“Of course she did. She had a gift, my ma. She could…” Drake stopped. It was common knowledge in the Inquisition that Hironous Vance’s mother had been a witch possessed of the sight. It was not, however, common knowledge that Drake’s mother was the very same witch, and it was something both he and Hironous wanted no one else to know.

“What type of gift?”

Drake had long ago learned that the best way to hide a lie was within the truth. Actually, his first lesson had been that the best way to hide a lie was with silence, but he had a feeling that if he fell silent, so would Beck, and he was enjoying listening to her.

“She could talk to Rin,” Drake said. “Actually, she was the one taught me to do it. Don’t know where she learned it from, but then there’s plenty most folk don’t know about their parents. When I popped out between her legs she used her own fluids to contact Rin, and asked her what my name should be.”

Beck laughed. “You’re really trying to sell me the story that you were named by a sea goddess?”

“Certainly seems that way, doesn’t it.” Drake laughed along with her, deciding some truths were too hard to swallow. He wondered if the woman would believe him if he told her that he and Hironous were brothers.

“I never realised you pirates were so religious.”

“Most pirates ain’t. There’s a big difference between religious and superstitious, Arbiter. Most pirates wouldn’t know a protective sign” – Drake held his right hand in the hook of Rin and crossed it from the left side of his chest to the right – “from a useless waving of the hand.”

“I thought you weren’t supposed to make those signs on land,” Beck said, her voice a challenge.

“Well…” Drake shrugged. “I can get away with all sorts. Besides, we’re surrounded by rock on all sides here. She can’t see us. Can’t help us.”

“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.”