"He fought with it at Norwatch," offered Jack. "It was quite a fight."
Alric pushed down his panic. "Yes," he added picking up on the conversation, "this sword's been most useful to me."
Brida gripped his arm tightly, "You have marvellous definition in your arm, Highness, you must practice constantly."
"Not as often as I'd like, Brida. Now please stop calling me Highness. We're both nobles, just call me Alric."
Somehow she managed to blush, "Very well, Alric." She bit her lip slightly, overwhelming Alric with unbridled emotions. "Oh dear," she said suddenly. "My necklace seems to be caught in my hair. Would you help, please?"
She turned her back to him, pulling up her braid to reveal her slender neck. He fumbled with the chain but saw no sign of impediment. She wheeled about quite unexpectedly to come face to face with Alric, their noses almost touching. He looked directly into her eyes, a conflict of sensations coursing through him. There was no denying that she was a beautiful woman and yet something was 'wrong' about her, though he couldn't put his finger on it.
She turned her head to the side. "Oh look," she cried, "swans. Can we go over and watch them?"
He nodded his agreement, too afraid to speak lest he reveal his inner turmoil. She grabbed him by the hand, dragging him towards the river, where Alric saw ugly white birds. He had never had an interest in animals outside of horses. Birds were game creatures in his mind, suitable only for hunting. Brida had released his hand to kneel at the water's edge. She cast her eyes over her shoulder at him and smiled. He saw the barest flash of her teeth and knew she was attractive, but now, with some distance between them, he felt different. Without her heavy, intoxicating scent, he could look at her dispassionately. She was still an attractive young woman, but he saw her actions as manipulative and highly calculated. He played along, smiling back, but inside his head, he was determined to test his theory.
* * *
They found a tavern that catered to the upper classes and sat outside eating a pleasant meal. Brida ate sparingly and drank little. She asked Alric all about the capital, so he indulged her with tales from court. He tried to find out more about the Clans and her life there, but every time he brought the subject up, she would carefully manoeuvre the conversation to a different topic. By the time the meal was done, he concluded that she merely agreed with everything he said. No matter what the topic she responded with words like 'fascinating' and 'it must be wonderful, tell me more.' He longed to have a real conversation like he did with Anna.
They went riding in the afternoon, to the east of the city. She proved to be an exceptional horsewoman as they raced across the fields.
"I envy you," she said, pulling back on the reins.
"How's that?" he asked, now on the alert for her tactics.
"You have a lot of freedom for a prince. Everything I do is carefully orchestrated and controlled. You have two older brothers; the throne is not your concern."
"I've never seen it that way," he conceded. "I've always struggled to find my place at court. I used to try to keep busy, to find something to occupy my time."
"I feel the same way, sometimes," she commiserated. "Perhaps we could go riding again tomorrow?"
"Of course," he promised. "I'd be delighted. Shall I meet you at the manor at noon?"
"Or earlier, if you like," she gushed.
Alric caught her inflection, but declined to take the bait. "I'm afraid I have some pressing details to see to. I am, after all, a Prince of the Realm, I wouldn't want to ignore my official duties."
"Of course not," she said, smiling once again.
They rode back to the city, but each time she tried to engage him in conversation, he would race forward, daring her to catch him. By the time they arrived back at the manor house, the horses were heavily lathered, and the stable master gave Alric a look of silent reprimand over the condition of their mounts. The young prince ignored the man. Ordinarily, he would show concern, but now other things weighed heavily on his mind.
His duty to Princess Brida complete, he called for a carriage and climbed inside, accompanied by Jack. "The Citadel," he called to the driver, and the carriage rolled forward.
"The Citadel?" said Jack. "Why there? Isn't it time to get some sleep?"
"I want to talk to the princess," said Alric. "I need to see how she's getting along."
"I hear," offered Jack, "that the old man is still missing."
"Gerald? How do you know that?"
"A maid told me," offered the cavalier. "He's probably lying in an alley somewhere or floating in the river. He was an interesting chap, but old. He's likely not in his full wits."
"I have to disagree, Jack. Gerald Matheson is old, it's true, but I've found him to be very clear headed."
"It makes no difference to me, Highness. But I still say he's blind drunk somewhere."
They rode in silence for a while. The Citadel, with its great towers, loomed closer.
"What do you make of the princess?" asked Jack.
"She's nice," replied Alric, "for a Clanswoman."
"That's not the princess I was referring to," said Jack.
"You mean Anna?"
"Of course I mean Anna. What do you think of her?"
"She's entertaining," he admitted. "She challenges me, and I find that quite pleasant. I've come to know her quite well over the last few months."
"Yes," said Jack, "and..."
"And what? What is it your trying to say, Jack?"
"Do you like her?"
"I do, Jack, but what does that have to do with anything? I'm only looking out for her because that's my duty."
"Mmm," muttered Jack.
Alric was turning red in the face. He tapped the side of the carriage. "Driver? Never mind the Citadel, get me back to the mansion." He looked back across at Jack, but all the cavalier was doing was smiling at him. "You can be infuriating at times, Jack."
"Yes, Your Highness," he admitted, "that's what I'm here for."
Twenty-Six
The Ship
Autumn 960 MC
"There must be more somewhere," said Anna.
"There is," said Revi, pointing towards the bar. "There's a whole lot more ale over there."
"That's not what I meant, Master Mage," she retorted. They were sitting at a tavern, partaking of a meal. They made a large group, including the knights. The lot of them were tightly packed into the relatively small confines of the place.
"I mean I still think there's more victims, somewhere," the princess repeated.
"But where?" pondered Aubrey.
"I saw something like this mud in a shop," offered Revi. "It was in a jar, floating in some water."
"Water," remembered Hayley. "I saw something similar. Lily and I went aboard a ship called the Swift. They were cleaning something like that off of the anchor. Do you think they're connected?"
"Yes," said Revi, "something brought this creature here, perhaps by accident. I suspect it was a boat."
"But the city lines the river," complained Arnim, "it could be anywhere."
Anna suddenly spoke, "It's south of the Citadel."
"How do you know that?" asked Arnim.
"Something tried to tell me, a wolf," she commented.
"With all due respect, Highness, you're imagining things. No one else saw this wolf you speak of."
"Tempus did, he barked and wagged his tail. It was Gerald, I know it was."
"Why would Gerald look like a wolf?" asked Revi.
"Remember the Greatwood?" asked Anna. "The Orcs took us on a spirit journey. Gerald collapsed when we were sitting around the fire. He told me he was in the body of a wolf."
"I've never heard of such a thing," said Arnim.
"I have," said Revi. "It's a common belief amongst some races. Both the Orcs and Elves are said to believe in such things."
"South of the Citadel still means a lot of water to search," complained Arnim.
"There was an abandoned ship in that area," offered Aubrey.
"Don't you remember, Hayley? I was drawing a picture of it."
"Yes," agreed the ranger. "We even commented on it, at the time. We thought it strange there were no people aboard."
"That must be it," exclaimed Anna. "We must get to the river!"
Everyone stood in a rush of activity, buckling on swords and gauntlets. Lady Aubrey had been put in charge of the Royal Purse and paid out the grateful tavern keeper while the rest made their way outside.
"Where do we begin?" asked Beverly. "It's starting to get dark. If we don't find it soon, we'll have to put it off till morning."
"We're close," offered Anna, "I can feel it. We'll head to the docks directly. Aubrey, do you remember the name of the ship you sketched?"
"Yes," the young mage replied, "it was the 'Sentinel'. I remember thinking it was a strange name at the time."
"And you say it was just south of the Citadel?"
"Yes, that's right. It was anchored in the confluence, where the two rivers meet."
"We'll need to get across to the north shore, then," offered Arnim.
"No," refuted Hayley, "it would be quicker to head directly to the river's edge. We'll hire a boat to take us out, that should save us some time."
"Lead on, ranger," commanded Anna, and they headed west.
The docks on this side of the river were rather convoluted. The piers crisscrossed each other and the Mercerians, not used to the ways of boats, found it to be very confusing. It was starting to get dark, and their group was spread out along the shoreline, searching the river for the boat in question.
Anna heard a noise, as did Tempus, whose ears immediately picked up. "Did you hear that?" she asked.
"Hear what?" asked Hayley.
"It sounded like a baying," she replied.
"Didn't hear a thing," grumbled Arnim.
"There it is again, it's coming from that dock," she was pointing toward a ramshackle wooden structure that looked like it might collapse at any moment.
Tempus barked and suddenly Anna sprang into action, "I see the wolf!" she exclaimed.
Arnim strained his eyes but saw naught of what she spoke. Anna was running down the pier, shouting for the others. She came up short at the end, staring out into the river.
Beverly ran up beside her only to see, revealed by the setting sun, the abandoned ship for which they searched.
"We need a boat," she called.
It was Hayley who surprised them all. She strung her bow and let an arrow fly. It sailed over the water, to strike a ship lying at anchor nearby, eliciting a cry of alarm. Shortly after, a man appeared at the railing.
Hayley waved her hand in the air, "We need a boat," she called, "and we have coin!"
The man at the railing waved back, and soon there was a flurry of activity aboard the vessel.
"What are you doing, Hayley?" asked Beverly.
"It's the Swift. The captain there's a decent enough fellow. I'm sure he'll have a boat for us to use."
"How much is that going to cost us?" asked Arnim.
"It doesn't matter," said Anna, "no cost is too high."
A rowboat was soon seen moving around the end of the Swift. It had been tied up on the opposite side to them and now came into view, its captain urging on the oarsmen.
"We need to organize who's going," suggested Arnim. "We won't all fit in the longboat."
Anna nodded, "Tempus will obviously have to stay here, he won't be able to climb up the side of the ship. We'll take Beverly, Hayley, Arnim..." she was looking around the group as she spoke, "Revi and myself. That's about all that'll fit into the boat."
"You have to stay here, Princess," said Arnim. "It's too dangerous."
"If you think I'm staying here, you've got the wrong idea," she bristled.
The boat was soon alongside the dock, so they climbed aboard.
"We need to get to that derelict out there," Hayley said to Captain Runell. "Can you get us there?"
"Of course," he replied, "but we're not armed."
"The fighting you can leave to us," confirmed Beverly. "We've tracked down a creature that's been preying on people."
"Then let's get you there as quickly as possible," the captain said.
The rowing seemed to take forever, and for quite some time it appeared as if the derelict wasn't getting any closer. With the setting of the sun, the whole river took on an eerie glow, illuminated as it was by only the lights of the city.
Revi cast a spell; his globe of light sailing across the water, guiding them. Suddenly, they were closer than expected and the target loomed out of the darkness. The rowers used their oars to prevent the tiny boat from hitting the derelict, and then came the difficult task of boarding the vessel.
"Wait here," said Hayley, grasping the anchor line. "I'll climb up and find some rope."
The ranger ascended quickly, disappearing over the railing. A moment later came some noise from above, and then a rope splashed down beside them. Beverly went first. The small rowboat was bouncing around in the waves and made for an unsteady footing. She jumped slightly, grasping the line higher up, and then swung onto the side of the ship, her feet finding purchase, and she hauled herself, hand over hand, up the hull. Soon, she was over the railing, standing on the deck, the ranger beside her. She called down to the rowboat for Arnim to began the trip. Revi came next, and then Beverly had Anna tie the rope around her waist, pulling her up with minimal effort. They were soon all aboard, save for the rowboat's crew. The captain tied off the rowboat, waiting for the adventurous party's return.
The deck spread out before them, with a hatch amidships and a raised cabin at the aft end, but the foredeck was flush and offered no entrance. Starting at the bow, they spread out and began moving toward the stern, walking in a line running perpendicular to the beam, their weapons drawn. Knowing the creature was almost impossible to see, they swung their swords in front of them, hoping to hit the unseen target, but there were no signs of life.
Soon, they were over the hatch in the centre of the deck and stopped while Arnim took a look. The grating was of a heavy wooden construction, yet they could see no way to lift it.
"It must be hoisted off with a block and tackle," offered Revi. "I saw the masons using something similar when they rebuilt the north gate in Wincaster."
Hayley looked up, "There's plenty of places they could run the rope, the whole ships a mass of the stuff."
"Do you think the creature would be able to escape through this hatch?" asked Anna.
"Unlikely, I should think," offered Revi, "this grate looks exceedingly heavy. It would have to be, or it would come loose at the first sign of a heavy wave."
"Head for the back," said Anna, "that should lead us below."
The back of the ship was raised and housed what looked like a small cabin. The door was easy enough to open and looked into a short corridor, barely long enough for a tall man to lie down in, and ended in a door. To either side was an alcove, each with a hatch in the floor. Beverly lifted one to peer into the darkness.
"Bring your light over here, Revi. Let's see what's below."
The mage did as he was bidden and the small globe descended into the blackness. Beverly saw sacks stacked along the side of the hull along with wooden crates.
"What do you see?" asked Arnim.
"There's a ladder here," the knight responded, "but I don't see any sign of the creature. I'm going down." She scabbarded her sword and began the descent. "It's a low ceiling," she commented as her head disappeared below the level of the main deck.
Reaching the bottom of the deck, she drew her sword, "It's wet down here, there's a finger's length of water loose on the bottom."
Hayley followed, "Keep your eye's peeled, Bev, I wouldn't like to be surprised by that creature."
Beverly poked a sack with the tip of her sword. "Looks like these sacks are filled with flour. It stinks down here, I suspect something is rotting."
Arnim was next to lower himself down the ladder. "I know that smell, it's rotting gra
in."
"So we have sacks of grain and flour?" queried Hayley. "It doesn't seem very scary so far."
They began moving forward slowly, examining the area as carefully as they could in the gloom.
"Can you cast more of those orbs?" asked Anna, who had been the last to descend.
"I'm afraid not, Highness," he replied. "I can only control one at a time, but I shall move it forward to illuminate the way."
The shadows stretched as the tiny globe moved ahead. They all saw more crates; some broken open while small urns and shards of clay lay littering the deck.
"There are more of those cocoons," observed the mage. "About half a dozen or so of them, from what I can see."
The crates appeared to be stacked in the middle haphazardly, but there were two clear paths, one to either side of them. On the outside, the paths were lined with sacks, though as they drew closer, they spotted some more smaller cocoons mixed in among them.
"The children!" exclaimed Anna. "What a terrible fate."
Hayley began moving down the left-hand pathway while Beverly took the right. The rest were strung out along behind them, moving slowly, lest they slip in the water. A sudden commotion to the left had the ranger crying out as she was smashed into some crates. For just a moment Beverly feared the whole centre mass might collapse, burying them all.
"It's here," cried Arnim, quite unnecessarily. He jabbed into the darkness, the sound of steel hitting stone ringing out.
Beverly ran forward, trying to move closer to the action, her combat senses alert. Finding a gap in the centre of the crates, she moved through, coming out, she hoped, behind the creature. She saw Arnim backing up, but his image was twisted and distorted. It was then she realized she must be seeing through the creature. She thrust her sword forward, feeling a jarring impact, but it merely scraped across the creature's skin and then struck a wooden crate.
She stepped back slightly, striking with an overhead blow, but it stopped mid-swing, hitting a hard surface; the creature had blocked her attack. She had no choice but to back up, giving her the space she needed to use her weapon effectively.
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