by D N Meinster
“Why not shift?” Aros growled as he put his hands on the lowest rung. “It’s cold as ice.”
“Do you think this ship was trapped in ice for hundreds of years?” Doren asked Rikki, following Aros up.
Rikki was the last to start climbing. “Possibly, but that would only explain so much.”
“Ow!” Aros hollered. “Splinter!” As he reached for the next rung with one hand, he lost his bearing and slipped from the ladder.
As Aros plummeted toward Doren, Doren flipped his shield off his back and held it out for his friend to land on. But after Aros’ feet crashed onto the bronze, Doren began to fall down as well.
Rikki turned sideways, holding onto the ladder with one hand and one foot. With her staff in the other, she used her magic to catch Doren so both stayed in place despite neither of them holding onto the ship.
“Grab on!” Rikki yelled.
Aros pulled himself back onto the ladder, finally stepping off Doren’s shield.
Doren floated in the air as he returned his shield to his back, and subsequently reached out and pulled himself onto the ladder.
Rikki could feel her heart pounding as her friends resumed their climb. “Too close,” she said. Maybe it would have been better to shift. They weren’t even halfway up yet. They could turn back.
“We should stop,” she called out to her friends.
Both heeded her words.
“Why?” Doren asked, looking down on her.
“I thought shifting up would be unpredictable. This is worse.”
“Is it?” Doren asked. “You caught us.”
“This time,” she replied.
“I’ll be more careful,” Aros promised, continuing up.
Rikki sighed, excreting a white cloud from her lips. She followed her friends, though the staff in her hand kept her several feet behind.
True to his word, Aros never slipped again. And Doren kept steady the entire time as well. They both made it off and onto the main deck of the ship while Rikki was still climbing.
She worried as they remained out of sight, but eventually Doren’s hands were reaching down over the side. Rikki gave him her staff and then pulled herself up the rest of the way.
There was no hole or trap waiting for them. There were no urchins or any other sign of life. If the Mayor was here, he must have been below deck.
“Some spots are slippery,” Aros warned.
Rikki took a minute to appreciate where she was. The planks of wood, though faded and embedded with ice crystals, had lasted for hundreds of years. The captain’s cabin at the back of the ship was closed up, as if the captain could be sleeping within its walls. Rope hung from the masts, and though it was rough to the touch, it didn’t break when she pulled on it.
“Should we be stealthy or loud?” Doren asked, his shield at the ready.
“The Mayor doesn’t know us,” Rikki replied. “Let’s not scare him away.”
“Assuming he’s here,” Aros added. “And alive.”
Rikki frowned at Aros, though he had a legitimate point.
“We’ll assume,” Doren stated, brushing snowflakes from his hair as they began to fall again.
Rikki carefully stepped closer to the captain’s quarters, the wood creaking each time she planted a foot. “We should be able to get below deck from over there.”
Doren and Aros followed her, and the three of them agitated the wood to such a degree that if anyone else was on board, they would undoubtedly be able to hear them.
“So much for stealth,” Doren commented.
Rikki stood outside the cabin, reluctant to step inside despite the relief it might provide from the worsening storm. Something was waiting for them within this ship, and she wasn’t sure it was the Mayor.
“Something wrong?” Doren asked.
Rikki shook her head, and with the flick of her staff, the door swung open.
The trio stepped inside the cabin, finding it nearly as empty as the deck. There was a bed, a desk with a book atop it, and not much else.
“Empty,” Aros called out after examining the bed.
“Why would you look?” Doren asked.
Aros shrugged.
Doren made for the hatch built into the floor while Rikki crept toward the desk. Though the green binding had seen better days, the type on the cover of the book was clear: Captain G. Ladovi, Logs.
Rikki laid her staff on the desk and tenderly placed her hands on the logbook. Within it could be the answers she and hundreds of historians throughout the years had wanted. She didn’t know what happened to a book after it was exposed to such harsh conditions for hundreds of years, but she was going to find out.
Determined to do it, she flipped the book open to the first page. It was blank. The next page was blank as well. The entire logbook was missing text.
“Dammit,” Rikki said, shutting the book and snatching up her staff.
Captain Ladovi had never transcribed a word into it. Had havoc reached them merely a day after setting out? Or was the captain negligent in his record-keeping?
“Rikki?” Doren called out. He and Aros were waiting by the stairwell beneath the hatch.
Rikki was so disappointed that she took off down the stairs without any regard for what may be lurking below.
The second deck was dark, with not a hint of light breaking through the hull or coming from above. When Rikki’s channeling crystal proved insufficient at lighting the area, she summoned balls of light from her staff and lit up the entire corridor.
“Is this better or worse than the sewers?” Doren wondered aloud, recalling the last time Rikki had used her magic in such a way.
“Depends if there are rattipedes,” Aros responded.
The lights hovered in place as the trio made their way from the stairs. There was an odd scent hanging in the air that they didn’t catch from the top deck.
“Do you smell that?” Rikki asked.
“Hundred-year-old corpses?” Aros suggested.
“I don’t think so,” she said, recalling what the mausoleum in Kytheras had smelled like.
“Decaying wood?” Doren put forth his own thought.
“Do you see any decay?” she asked.
Rikki swung her staff into the first door they crossed, exposing a room filled with netting but little else.
The next room they came across was completely empty.
“Didn’t they pack this ship with supplies?” Aros asked, sticking his head into the hollow room.
“They might’ve lived long enough to consume them,” Doren proposed.
“But never make a note in the logs?” Rikki asked. It didn’t seem plausible.
“How many floors are there?” Aros asked as they moved on.
“At least six,” Doren stated.
“Great,” Aros groaned as they gathered around the next door.
“You could always ask the Goddess,” Rikki said as she burst through.
This room was wider than the others and almost as bare. Only one of the corners appeared to be occupied by what looked to be a couple of rocks.
Rikki cautiously approached the objects, eventually bending down to get a better look. It was a couple of stones, but they had been sculpted into specific shapes. Rikki picked one up in her hands, tracing the etched lines with her finger until she realized what exactly she was holding.
The stone was in the shape of a human hand.
“Do these look familiar?” Rikki stood back up and held it out to her friends.
Doren and Aros both lowered their heads to inspect the rock.
“It’s a hand,” Doren stated.
Rikki began to tremble as she kept her arm extended.
“Didn’t one of the Roamers have stone hands?” Aros asked.
“Zeniri,” Rikki replied, remembering the red-cloaked Roamer they’d met in Faunli.
“Are you saying these are his hands?” Doren asked.
Aros took the stone from Rikki and held it closer to the face. “If these are his h
ands, where is the rest of him?”
The stench Rikki had noticed was getting worse.
“But wouldn’t his cloak be here as well?” Doren added.
An audible creaked alerted the trio to turn their heads to the doorway.
Two enormous red eyes stared back from the threshold.
Chapter Six
Frost Urchins
Though its eyes were red, its entire body was a deep shade of blue. It had the appearance of a humanoid, yet walked on all four limbs. The spikes on its back lay flat, giving the impression of an uneven cape. The barbs on its face and head, however, stood on edge. But they didn’t appear nearly as sharp as its teeth, which hung out of its gaping mouth like it’d been born with too many.
It had four fingers, each protected by claws at least as sharp as Aros’ blade. But it walked with precision, careful not to scratch the wood beneath it.
There was no tail to speak of, nor nose, nor ears. It had nostrils, and slits on the sides of its head that must’ve been for hearing. It also lacked a voice, though its feral snarl was noticeable as it got closer.
“This is a trap,” Rikki stated, goosebumps forming on her skin as the temperature in the room seemed to drop.
The spikes on the frost urchin’s back began to rise, likely indicating its hostile inclinations. Its undersides were revealed to be silver as the barbs became fully upright. Each ended in a point that would easily pierce the skin. And they were all covered in them.
As the first urchin neared, the rest followed, their quills going vertical on approach.
Aros and Doren already had their weapons drawn, though these were unlike any opponents they’d ever faced. They weren’t human, but they had some sort of intelligence that allowed them to set an ambush.
“I think we know what happened to Zeniri,” Doren groaned.
“What?” Aros asked. “Did they eat him?”
As if to answer, the urchin dove headfirst at Aros.
Aros’ crossed his blades and held them out, allowing the barbs on the urchin’s face to collide into them. It snarled as it tried to push forward, but Aros held it at bay while the spikes dug into the Ligold.
Another frost urchin made a direct attack on Doren. But as it pounced, Doren slammed his shield into its face with such force that it bent its barbs backwards as it fell unconscious to the floor.
While the first urchin was still trying to get at Aros, Rikki intervened, touching her staff to its leg and transforming the limb to stone.
It scrambled back when it realized what had happened, regrouping with the dozen urchins that were occupying the other side of the room.
Rikki didn’t wait for them to decide to scatter. She targeted them with her staff and sent a green fireball across the room.
As it neared the gaggle of creatures, the fireball appeared to shrink. It was barely the size of a pebble when it made impact, and it didn’t seem to have any effect.
“What the…” Rikki didn’t understand how they could’ve mitigated her attack when they didn’t seem to even make a move.
“Let’s try this,” Doren said, and he slid a finger down his arm and lit up his armor. He pressed his hand down onto the firing spot and let loose a white beam from his arm directly at the urchins.
The Bellish weapon made a direct hit, pummeling the urchins it touched and causing the rest to scatter.
“Bet you wished you’d kept your armor,” he said to Aros as he let loose another beam.
The urchins didn’t just bolt out of the room to avoid the attack. They climbed up the walls and onto the ceiling.
“That’s not fair,” Aros said, tossing a clawblade at one that was hanging upside down. The blade knocked into several spikes before falling back to the ground.
Rikki returned the loose blade to Aros and turned her attention to the urchin above. With a yank of her staff, the wooden boards it clung to fell from their position, bringing the urchin down with it.
Doren followed up with a luminous beam, sending it sprawling onto the floor.
The frost urchins dragged the wounded from the room as they abandoned their attack. The trio was soon left alone, having seemingly defeated the creatures.
“Do we chase them?” Aros asked, proposing a more offensive approach.
“We’re not here to fight urchins,” Doren replied.
Rikki wasn’t sure that was accurate. “Maybe we are. But we should find the map first.”
“It could be in one of their stomachs, along with the Mayor.” Aros crunched his face into a disgusted look.
“I hate it when Aros has a point,” Doren murmured. There was no trace of Zeniri’s body. They could’ve eaten him whole, so why not the Mayor?
“Don’t be jealous of my intellect,” Aros stated, and the entire trio broke out into laughter.
Before they could catch their breath, the adjacent wall splintered as a frost urchin penetrated it and launched itself at Rikki.
Aros and Doren didn’t have time to react as more urchins fell down from the ceiling, expanding the hole Rikki had created.
Several claws broke through the wall behind them, each blindly reaching out for the trio before they could make it beyond the wood.
More came through the doorway. All of them had their spikes at full attention and their eyes locked onto the apparent interlopers.
Rikki shoved her staff into the first attacker, pushing it back while she considered what to do with it. Memories of her time in Kytheras’ sewers flashed into her eyes, and she recalled melting a rattipede’s flesh from its bone.
The channeling crystal on her staff flickered as it recognized her intentions, and the barbs on the attached creature began to melt like ice in the hot sun.
“Together,” Doren said to Aros, and they both charged ahead with weapons high.
Aros sliced the nearest urchin with both blades, while Doren swung out his shield and smacked multiple urchins in the head, sending them back into the growing throng.
They stood back-to-back as they were quickly surrounded, but continued their assault from a stationary position. Aros lashed out with his blades, alternating between left and right as he jabbed them out and stuck the urchins in whatever exposed area he could. He got one in the eye, another in the arm, but eventually got a clawblade caught on one of their spikes.
Doren thrust his shield out as the urchins dove at him. They refused to relent, not giving him the time or space to reach the trigger on his arm. So he was left to swat at each of their claws as they made to grab him.
The skeletal remains of one of their brethren did not scare the urchins away from Rikki. They scratched at her silver cloak, only to howl when they realized it was impenetrable.
Rikki tried conjuring up a barrier, but before it could fully materialize, an urchin dove through it and tackled her to the ground.
The frost urchin bit down on her silver staff as she held it horizontally in front of her face. As it got closer, she could feel the heat resonating from the creature’s head. How could it be so hot when everything else was freezing?
If Aros hadn’t been wearing a Roamer’s cloak, he’d be covered in fresh scratches. There were too many attacking him to be able to block everyone. He was acting defensively now, trying to prevent them from mangling his face.
Doren was also at a disadvantage. Although his armor protected his body, they were somehow able to damage the Bellish metal.
He bashed his shield into an urchin that was biting down on his encased leg. That left an opening for one to dive at his side and tackle him to the ground.
Aros twisted as he realized his friend had fallen, but the urchin had a layer of spikes that would easily negate his blade. So Aros leapt at the urchin and rolled it off Doren. Though its barbs dug into his cloak, he could barely feel them.
Doren got back on his feet and sent out a beam from his arm. The attack temporarily drove them back, but they weren’t retreating this time.
Instead, they tried sneaking around him and getting to
him while his back was turned.
Doren rotated as he fired, knowing that he was leaving himself potentially vulnerable. He didn’t lift his hand from his arm, continuing the ray for minutes and targeting an urchin with every turn.
And then, without warning, the beam let up. Doren tapped the spot on his armor, but nothing happened. Had it run out?
The frost urchins climbed over their wounded brethren as they regrouped and readied another onslaught.
Aros managed to plunge both clawblades into the urchin he was struggling with. As he finally rose back up, he realized dozens of urchins had placed themselves between him and his friends.
While he had both clawblades at the ready, an urchin fell on him from above, cutting into his neck and bringing him back to the wooden floor.
“Aros!” Doren called out as he saw his friend collapse beneath the weight of an urchin. But he could not intercede, as he was simultaneously attacked on all sides.
Doren swept his shield low and tripped up several of the creatures. He kicked out and knocked a couple backwards. Then he arched his shield and pounded it into an oncoming urchin.
He was readying another attack when two urchins grabbed onto his arm with their teeth, and another two bit down onto the bronze disc in his hand. They snarled and yanked as more rapidly overwhelmed him.
Rikki’s rod cut through the head of the urchin clamped down onto it like it was a sword. But she was unable to rise from her position as the urchins all began leaning their arms and legs on her.
The only way out was down. The wood around Rikki seemed to turn to mud and she sank into it, falling through the floor and onto the next level of the ship.
Rikki landed on her feet and gazed up. One urchin had already leapt through and more would likely follow. With a wave of her staff, the wood solidified, trapping one urchin before it had made it down.
The one that was with her growled as it eyed her, waiting for an opportunity to make its move.
Rikki wouldn’t give it a chance. A bolt of lightning escaped her staff and struck the urchin. It went stiff as it flew back and crashed into a wall.
After taking a second to compose herself, Rikki shifted back into the fray.
Doren and Aros were both curled up on the floor, trying to protect themselves as the urchin’s lashed out. Their weapons were in the possession of the enemy.