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| By Karen aka Kalidris Alcyon |
Chapter 14. Gamble |
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The mesa rose some hundreds of feet, its rugged face inscribed with the runes of the ancients. Dale paused behind the ghosts of the fallen Elonian heroes, her eyes adjusting to the brilliance of the crystal. At her side, Serul panted in the noonday sun. She felt an energy fall over her and a sound like the dreaming hum of bees filled her ears. Guided by spirit as much as thought, she strode forward and walked the destined path towards the mesa. Golden light dripped from her vision as she entered a round chamber. An enchantment or a dream she thought as she lifted her bow. Demen expected her to die, but what was there to defend herself against? For many moments she did not see anyone, but from darkness itself and glowing with cold flame, a familiar figure stepped from the shadows. “Oh…Melandru.” Dale watched hypnotized as the figure lifted a dark recurve bow to sight upon her. At that moment Serul gripped her boot and pulled her violently away. Two arrows filled the space where her head had been. Swiftly she ran behind a wall as the dark silent figure began to move. ‘I will get her attention…then you can slay her.’ The wolf thought clearly. ‘I have been here before…I do not fear.’ She watched stupefied as Serul lunged out into the open, his silvery figure pausing only when arrows sunk deep into his body. Dale winced but steeled herself as she leapt out of hiding. Her double had drawn a glowing axe and was now hacking away at Serul’s nimble form. Blinking from sympathetic pain, she released a quick volley of arrows. Her double was not made of human flesh and did not falter at the impact. The axe sliced into Serul and he cried out as fur, bone and flesh burned on the blade. Angrily, she stepped closer to the creature, drawing and holding for a moment, watching for the perfect opening as the figure swung and hacked at Serul’s staggering form. Now she saw it open up its chest to make another mighty swing. Dale released the arrow and saw the brilliant fletching shudder as the tip found home in the heart of the doppelganger. For a moment there was silence. The axe hit its target one last time and evaporated in a whoosh of flame. The creature made no sound as it vanished as abruptly as it had appeared. An overwhelming agony swept over Dale and she faltered, her senses overwhelmed. “Serul!” She could barely focus on anything around her. She had won, but she feared the cost had been terrible. The golden light filled her eyes and for a long while it seemed that she dreamed. There was a voice in the mists, as harsh as stone yet soft and yearning. It seemed that she fought along side others for a great many hours. Yet when she tried to recall their names and who they were, she had no recollection. The only solid thing was her worry for Serul; in her grief she blindly did what was asked of her, performing like an automaton. What she remembered sharply was a dragon within a chamber of crystal, as terrible and brilliant as her worst nightmares. The dragon spoke to them at the end of the quest. At the end, when she came to herself and the gold of the enchantment fell away, she was laying on the sand at Augury. “Where is Serul?” “Who?” “Oh gods…Serul!” Dale felt hot tears in her eyes as she tried to find the link to her friend and found her familiar sense of him empty. “No!” Someone tried to hold her down as she struggled to her feet, slapping them away. Her bleary eyes focused and she recognized Daneska. The mesmer was shaking her shoulders. “Dale, you hit me again and I swear I will give you a headache you won’t forget!” “Where is he?” “I think she means her wolf.” Kail finally guessed. “I haven’t seen him. I don’t think she was supposed to bring him in there…” “He didn’t ask…he just came with me.” Dale sobbed. “He was so hurt, why does he care about me? I’m terrible using him like this…” Daneska hugged Dale close to comfort her. “We’ll find him, I promise.” “We should go down to the oasis. When I did my challenge…I remember finding a wounded man down there…I healed him.” Kail stood and dusted himself off. Dale found she needed Daneska’s shoulder as they descended towards the oasis. The priest at the gate merely nodded at them as they entered. Again, she stood beneath the mesa, closing her eyes she finally did feel the faintest of feelings. It was a deep knot of pain and of awareness fading in the damp shadows. Dale ran towards the water and along the shore. She saw him then, a dark from laying half in the water, a rust colored stain on the sandy shore. “Kail!” The monk hurried to her side and they reached Serul together. Kail frowned as he probed a yawning wound on Serul’s side. ‘I knew you would come back.’ Serul thought dully. “I love you Serul don’t you leave me alone.” Dale embraced his bloody form, smothered her face in his thick ruff. “I could not bear it.” ‘I will not leave you.’ The wolf twitched as Kail’s prayers sought to knit together his extensive wounds. Finally, Serul managed to roll to his chest in the shallows. Dale used some of her own energies to steady him and then helped him into the shade of the palms where he collapsed panting from exertion. “So you made it Daneska?” Dale said when Serul had settled into a deep healing sleep. “Yes…barely. Kail had to heal me when I came back from the journey.” She laughed softly. “But I feel so different…” “I don’t know what I feel…I guess Serul not being there hurt too much…it was like a bad dream…it was like I was reaching for him the entire time.” “Its different for everyone.” Kail commented. “Why don’t you make a fire for us, Dale? I don’t think we are going to get Serul to move and the day is ending.” “Where are the others?” “Well you took two days coming back to us…Arn convinced Hebek that you were defeated so the others returned to Amnoon while I looked after Daneska. If we can get a move on tomorrow morning we can meet them and board the Black Lion together.” “I am not sure I want to meet Hebek again.” “There’s one ship and it only comes once a month…I am sure we can get separate cabins…or throw that wretched woman overboard. Honestly…I used to have some kind of understanding of her, but now I question myself.” Dale gathered a few pieces of pithy palm wood and fronds. She found the flint and steel in her pack and deftly lit the dry vegetation. They talked long into the night about ascension, the way of dragons and the path of the bright desert stars. In the morning the little group left Augury Rock, moving rapidly past the now familiar pitfalls of the desert. It was a delight to travel with Serul lively at her side and Dale found herself laughing, even when combat beckoned. She felt suddenly confident, all of her concentration and skills honed to a final sharp edge; for the first time in battle she did not doubt victory. On the second morning they strode into Amnoon Oasis to see the masts of the Black Lion at the dock. They paused at the ghostly merchant to purchase supplies. Dale was surprised to discover that their adventures in the desert had netted her a good sum of money. It was certainly nothing on the order of what Tanglewood seemed fit to place on her head, but enough to repair some of her armor and buy supplies for the voyage. They finally approached the docks and saw Arn, Hebek and Demen lounging; the tide was low and slack and the Black Lion’s sailors were repairing the sails. Arn smiled when he saw them, but Hebek and Demen were much less warm. They settled on some empty crates. A flask of palm wine was passed among them and Dale savored the crisp sweetness in the rising heat of the day. There were a few moments of uncomfortable silence. “Dale, would you like to visit Red Claw?” Daneska asked. “Maybe we can talk to our guild leader…he knows a lot of people…Twistwood gets a monthly tithe from us…we are tired of them.” “You so willingly bring a dagger to your own throat…” Hebek snorted. “Fine by me, mesmer…just as long as your leader survives long enough to send me the money.” “He’ll meet us at the Battle Isles and you will get your money, Hebek.” There was a sharpness in Daneska’s voice that Dale had not heard before. The mesmer’s expression suggested she was about to lose her usually even temper. “Do you think by betraying Dale that the Twistwood will not destroy you as well? Do not trust them, Hebek.” “I never said I would betray her.” “I heard you talk about the blood price.” “It’s a big amount of money, of course I talked about it.” The necromancer waved her hands frantically. “But I have not betrayed anyone…and we all need to get on the ship…so why does it matter?” “Because I was hoping you had noticed…the other passengers.” Daneska nodded towards a small group of six people that had gathered at the shore. In the sipping of the heady wine and intense discussion they hadn’t seen them. They had familiar red cloaks. Dale recognized the warrior and mesmer that had bullied her at Thirsty River among them. They had their gear stacked next to them and were talking to Black Lion’s quartermaster. Dale sighed as she watched money being counted and the petty officer nodded. The quartermaster called to his troupe of sailors who were rolling barrels of water to the ship. “Oh gods.” Arn sighed as the barrels rumbled past them and into the hold of the ship. Arn waved to the quartermaster and paid their passage money as well. When the sailor left them, the warrior rubbed his face in his hands. “How in hell are we going to keep a secret?” “Well she still looks like a boy.” Daneska offered. “It’s a long voyage.” Hebek was smiling slightly, a vision that made Dale’s guts ache. “We will just have to hope our luck holds.” Presently Dale noticed that the tide was starting to rise again. One of the mates on the ship started shouting for the passengers. The Twistwood group trotted up the dock and the companions were content to let them pass. Dale saw the warrior glance at her and then at the wolf. Dale felt Daneska squeeze her arm and a puff of breath on her ear. “The wolf is mine if anyone asks, right? Sometimes other people have animals as guardians.” Daneska whispered before releasing her arm. “Yes.” Dale knew the wolf understood and she could not suppress a smile as the ragged old wolf drew itself up to Daneska’s elegant figure and licked her hand, ears flat in a vision of fawning affection. Daneska spread the word of the deception around the group and once all agreed; they followed the Twistwood to board the Black Lion. They were not given a cabin this time, since the Twistwood boarded first. They found themselves on the cargo deck among bales of wool, bolts of cloth and bags of grain. Serul immediately amused himself by hunting for rats; Dale shielded her mind from his lustfully hungry thoughts – he clearly regarded shipboard rats as delicious. The sailors grudgingly cleared a space for them and hung up hammocks. “Gah. This is pleasant.” Daneska sighed as she tried to get into a hammock and failed as the ship rolled on a swell. The tense little group broke into snickers as the rapidly returning tide made it all but impossible for them to use the hammocks. They sat against the bulkheads and waited while the sails were finally set and the sea smoothed itself beneath the keel. Once at sail, they settled in and chatted among themselves. At some point they realized that they would need to leave the safety of the hold. Certainly there were bodily needs, but also the humidity and darkness was oppressive; they simply did not have the lamp oil to keep it lit all the time. They migrated to the afterdeck after dark when the Twistwood appeared to have gone to sleep. The captain cursed at them ‘cluttering up the place’, but they leaned on the rail and took in the cool fresh air. It was a moment of peace and as Dale watched the glowing foam at the prow of the old ship, thoughts of the enemy sharing the ship with them were far away. At some point she noticed at Hebek was not with them. Leaning back slightly she saw Demen loitering by the hatch, she caught the glint of his eye and turned back to watching the ocean. She sent a small warning to Serul and carefully noted that Arn had gone back below as well, while Daneska and Kail were dosing together on a stack of disrepaired sails. The wolf’s head popped up from the sails near the mesmer; he was keeping up the act well. ‘Hebek.’ She thought and the wolf’s ears twitched. In a moment she heard voices in the companionway; it was Hebek chatting and laughing and responded to by others. It wasn’t Arn. Dale tensed as three figures in addition to Hebek burst on to the small area allowed to the passengers. She suppressed a smirk at an outburst of swearing from the captain up in the wheelhouse. Dale watched Hebek put an arm over the shoulder of one of the Twistwood men and kiss his cheek. She could smell palm wine heavy on the air; perhaps the necromancer was doing nothing more than carousing. The pair of them pressed against a mast and continued kissing while the other two continued swigging from full flasks. Dale gathered from the embraces that they were familiar with each other from past encounters. She sidestepped along the rail to deeper shadows as Hebek started laughing and joking with the men. The familiar warrior pulled out a barrel while another put out a pair of bone dice. “Terel, come out here and play dice.” Hebek shouted. “Come here…” “I don’t gamble.” “Oh, I say you do.” The necromancer said with an emphasis that was not lost on Dale. She crept out of hiding to the harsh lantern light over the barrel. She could feel herself shaking a little as the three Twistwood men took their turns. Hebek rolled a pair of fours and handed the dice to her. She tossed them and watched the dice bounce against the rim of the barrel. Two pips stared back at her. “Ah you lost! Two swigs of wine…” Hebek shoved the flask at her. As the others watched, Dale took two large drinks from it. She set the flask down and gave the dice to the man on her right. She winced as he put a hand on her back and slapped her hard before he rolled. Dale coughed from the heavy blow. “Can’t take your drink little boy?” “Sure I can.” Dale said as she regained her composure, watching as the dice made the rounds back to her. Hebek’s drunken watery eyes met hers as she rolled. Again the dice spun and leapt and a pair of twos faced her. “Low again! Drink little monkey!” The warrior on her right gave her the bottle. Dale made a face as she drank, when she took only a sip on the other one, the warrior handed the bottle right back to her. Her head buzzed with the scent of wine as she pushed it away. Dale shuddered miserably at the unaccustomed drink as the shouting around the barrel continued. This time one of the Twistwood men drank. “Heh, enough of the drinking…monkey…let’s see if you guildless scum have any money.” The warrior announced, putting down a bar of silver. Hebek laughed and produced matching platinum. “You are on! Hey come on Terel….” “I have half that…and I cannot gamble that…all I got.” She waved her hands at the barrel and backed away to leave. Hebek put down another bar and snagged Dale’s arm. “Hey I’ll cover you kid, you can have what you win, alright, Deeer-el? Stay and play with me.” The grip intensified and Dale pulled away with a snarl. “Alright…just leave my arm on!” Looking across the deck she could see Serul sitting up and Daneska watching the proceedings. The mesmer’s expression was of barely concealed horror as Dale picked up the dice and rolled. Under the haze of palm wine Dale was vaguely relieved to see an eleven appear and then a ten to the cheer of Hebek, followed by a four. This was apparently a good thing since four bars of platinum came to her part of the barrel. “Can I go then?” “Not advisable.” The warrior hissed. “Three rounds is considered fair…otherwise its like you are a coward eh? Have a drink, master monkey.” Dale took the offered bottle and pretended a deep drink until the warrior gave her a slap and she ended up choking down a mouthful, though half off it went down her chest. She was certain now it was the warrior from Thirsty River and he had at least recognized the ranger who had smashed a pot on his face. She sincerely hoped he had not guessed more. “Look…I am sorry what I did to your face…I was scared.” She could see a little notched scar above his nose as he turned to regard her. “Yeah, I am sure you were. I would be more scared now if I were you. Not many places to go on a ship.” Their conversation was hardly remarked through the shouts and curses directed at the game of dice. Dale pondered if it meant he knew or just that the warrior just liked threats. The dice came back to her and she rolled another eleven to the vast annoyance of the men at the table. Dale glanced at Hebek who was sitting back and grinning. She rolled a ten and then a four. The table fell silent. “What are the chances of that? You use magic, boy?” “No…I don’t even know the rules!” “You know its bad form to use magic at a game…” “If I was going to cheat I wouldn’t do the same thing twice.” Dale reasoned. “Honestly, I have been called a bit dim…but not like that…” “You know he’s right.” The warrior admitted, slapping her on the rump. “Even a ranger is not that dumb. Beginner’s luck. Monkey…three swigs for being the luckiest little monkey on the ship.” Under the warrior’s hawkish eye she took three swallows of the wine. She now detested the flavor and could barely keep her feet. Hebek had to steady her against the biggest of the swells as the game continued. Dale lost two platinum on the bet and was somewhat relieved. As far as she was concerned it was three rounds, her head hurt and she wanted to leave. She put one bar into Hebek’s pile and scooped the rest into her purse. The warrior next to her shifted and whispered into her ear. “How much are you worth?” “I won six.” “I thought it was ten.” The warrior put an arm around her waist and squeezed her as he continued whispering. “What a little waist you have…you know I had my thoughts this morning when I saw you…and a wolf in the party.” “I’ll give you the winnings if that is what you want, if that is fair recompense for your face.” She responded, ignoring all references to her gender or the price on her head. “Oh leave the boy alone, Leth!” She saw the Twistwood mesmer emerge from the companionway, followed by a rather rumpled looking female monk. Dale took the moment to flee to where Serul and Daneska were watching. The ship’s captain was again cursing about too many people on the deck and the general drunkenness. Kail crawled up beside her and waved his hand at the cloying scent of the palm wine. “Pah! You are going to be really sick if the seas pick up.” “Leth, the Twistwood warrior, knows who I am…” Dale said softly. “He was touching me the whole time…I saw him look at the wolf this morning.” “Damn.” Kail said as they watched the gathering disperse. Hebek stretched languidly and slumped towards them. “Don’t say I never did you no favors…got you all set for money.” The necromancer giggled foolishly under the influence of wine. “You always look so serious Dale…lighten up!” “You cheated the dice for me, didn’t you?” “Yeah…well if I can raise the dead…I can certainly move a couple bits of bone around.” Hebek chuckled uproariously at the thought. “Com’on figured I owed you a bit after all the hard feelings…forgive me…Arn would kill me if I hurt you…eh?”
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