Mik refused. He clung tight, even as he plunged into the fires of the volcano and his bones turned to charcoal.
“I will not give up!” he thought.
Then suddenly he found himself sitting back in the golden chair.
The yellow gemstone eye hovered before him, staring into his soul. “Beware!” said the voice in his head. “The path you walk is perilous! Know yourself and you will know the consequences of your actions.”
The world spun again. Lightning flashed through Mik’s body. He struggled to breathe.
The mosaic floor of the viewing room rushed up to meet him. He smashed his head against the tiles and lights flashed inside his skull.
Instantly, Shimmer appeared at his side and helped him to sit.
“Are you all right?” the knight asked. “What happened? Did you learn anything? Did you see anything?”
Mik blinked, faying to fight down the aches in his muscles and the fire in his head. The opal artifact in his hand shone brightly. He took a deep breath, but things didn’t become much clearer. “How long was I up there?”
“Only a few moments. What did you see?”
“I saw the isles,” Mik gasped, his voice dry. “I saw them form from the sea. I saw the dragons claim the isles as their own. 1 saw the creation of the Veil.”
Shimmer nodded grimly.
“A temple was at the center of it—a temple filled with diamonds.”
“Our destination,” Shimmer said, offering him a skin of water.
Mik drank. “Yes. I have some idea where it is, now.” He stood and stretched, a faint smile parting his lips. “... Which I will share at the appropriate time.”
Shimmer nodded. “I’m sure that Ula will be glad to hear it.” He gave Mik a hand up.
“Let’s find her,” the sailor said.
Shimmer nodded again, and they left, winding back down the way they’d come. When they reached the city, they had little trouble locating Ula and Trip, who had never quite made it to the ship the kender was bragging about. Ula had, however, extricated their diminutive companion from a close call with the local authorities.
Mik was both surprised and glad to see Trip in Aurialastican. The kender and the sea elf were happy to discover that Mik had obtained the opal key.
“Three down, one to go,” Trip said, beaming.
“Aye,” Mik said. “Now let’s find that ship.”
Chapter Thirty
Jerick the Red
Jerick the Red prowled the deck of his galleon like an angry wolf, barking orders to his crew. His men swung supplies onto the quarterdeck with heavy ropes and pulleys, then secured the reserves below. His ship, Red Wake, seemed in fine shape, with newer sails and rigging, a fresh coat of red and blue paint on the trim, and the barnacles recently scraped from its hull. From the way Red ordered his crew about, though, you’d have thought the ship was on the verge of disaster.
“It’s a wonder,” Mik called up to him from the dock, “that you can get anyone to sign aboard, with you prowling around like a mother cat.”
Jerick turned, an angry retort on his bearded lips. Then he recognized Mik and broke into a broad smile. “Mik Vardan! While I live and breathe,” he said. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”
“Nor did I,” Mik replied. “I thought you were dead.”
“That’s quite a story, me lad,” Jerick said. “Perhaps I’ll tell it to you later. You know, someone was just asking me about you. Said he wanted to go find you in Darthalla or some such rubbish.”
“That was me!” piped Trip, throwing back the hood of his sea serpent cloak. Ula, who was standing next to him, winced from the sudden odor. Mik and Shimmer kept upwind.
The red-bearded captain leaned on the rail and peered down at the four of them. “So it was,” he said, nodding. Turning to Mik he added, “I’d have thought that consorting with kender would be bad for the salvage business—no offense, little master. I approve of your shapely companion, though.” He bowed toward Ula, who nodded curtly in acknowledgment. “And one can never have enough warriors,” he said, looking at Shimmer.
“Trip’s a fine diver,” Mik replied. “And he has a positive knack for finding treasure.”
“I should say so,” Jerick said. “He paid me with a very strange assortment of coin.” He frowned. “I suppose you’ll be wanting your money back now, master kender.”
“Oh, no,” Trip said buoyantly. “We want to hire you for an even bigger job.”
Jerick raised his bushy eyebrows. “Well, in that case, you’d best come aboard.”
They walked up the gangplank, and Jerick showed them into his cabin—a roomy chamber in the stem, just off the quarterdeck. His cabin boy brought them all mm, and they settled in around the table in the center of the room. Shimmer stood by the door.
“Excuse the mess,” Jerick said, indicating the room’s general state of untidiness, “hut it’s the maid’s day off.” He grinned, showing off a large golden tooth right in front.
“You have a maid?” Trip said. “Sleek. You should get a maid, Mik. Next time you have a ship, I mean.”
“So,” Jerick said, “you’re between ships, are you?”
Mik’s jaw tightened. “Aye. At the moment.”
“A dragon sank our last ship,” Trip added.
“Did it, now?” Jerick said. “Not one of ‘ours,’ I hope.” “No,” Trip said. “It was a big old sea dragon named Tempest. Scuttled us outside the Veil, but Shimmer found us and took us in. He and Ula are old friends.”
“That’s the gist of the story, anyway,” Mik said.
“Most outsiders arrive here in a similar manner,” Jerick said. “Only a few are good enough—or lucky enough—to find the way on their own.”
“Which were you?” Ula asked, arching one platinum eyebrow.
Jerick smiled at her. “Neither. I was a pirate—as Mik here could tell you—plying my trade in the waters beyond the Veil. Well, as it happened, I shared a common enemy with one of the lords of the isles. Sinking the blighter damaged my ship severely, but put me in good with the dragon. That earned me a spot as one of the isles’ privateers. Been waylaying scoundrels for lord and realm ever since. Haven’t been beyond the Veil lately, though. That sea dragon is a menace to shipping.”
“As we found out,” Mik said.
“Aye,” Jerick replied. “I hope you didn’t lose much that was dear to you.”
“Only shipmates,” Mik replied.
“Aye. I know how that is,” Jerick said. He raised his mug. “Here’s to ’em—and to the death of that dragon!”
They all raised their mugs in salute and drank, even Shimmer.
Jerick leaned back in his chair. “So,” he said, “what kind of job is it you’re needing me for?”
“We’re going to find a temple full of treasure,” Trip blurted. “If we can figure out where it is.”
“I think Mik should do the talking from now on,” Ula said, staring dangerously into Trip’s hazel eyes. “Understand?” Trip nodded.
“Fiery, isn’t she?” Jerick said, winking at Trip. Ula frowned, but the red-bearded captain only laughed. “Of course, I like ’em that way.” Turning back to Mik, he asked, “How much of what the kender said is true?”
“The general outline of it,” Mik replied. “We’ve come a long way on prophecy and prayer, and recovered three out of the four keys we need to reach our goal.”
“The last one came from the Dragonheights!” Trip put in. Jerick’s eyes widened. “You came back from the Dragonheights? How? There’s a spell on the heights that won’t be lifted ’til the good dragons return—if it’s ever lifted at all. Those that venture atop the cliffs don’t usually come back.” “Shimanloreth and I didn’t have too much trouble,” Mik averred.
“Shim . . .” Jerick began. His blue eyes widened. “I’ve heard of him. Then your pretty friend must be Ula Landwalker. I didn’t make the connection before. Doubly pleased to make your acquaintance, miss. We ‘black dolphins’ need to swim to
gether, you know. Glad to meet you, too, sir.” He bobbed his head deferentially at Shimmer. “So, how long will you be needing me boat for?”
“A week or two,” Mik said. “Perhaps less if the haul is not so good as we believe.”
The red-bearded captain raised his bushy eyebrows. “Is that so? One or two days I might have done for friendship’s sake, but shirking my ‘patrols’ for a week or two . . .” He shook his head. “That’ll cost more than a fair bucket of steel.” “We have money,” Trip put in, emptying his pockets on the table.
Jerick eyed the assortment of coins, rocks, strips of leather thong, buttons, and other oddments. He looked at Mik. “I might have missed it, Mik, old boy, but I didn’t see a coin pouch on you when you came in.”
Mik shook his head. “We’re cash poor at the moment, unless ...” He looked hopefully at Shimmer.
The bronze knight shook his head. “My reserves are nearly depleted as well.”
“I’m afraid we’re pretty tapped out,” Mik said.
The privateer captain nodded knowingly. “Aye. You’ve already admitted that your ship’s been lost,” he said. “As I see it, there’s no way you can pay the bill you’d run up on this venture—not if this lovely stripped off every bit of jewelry right down to her blue skin. I agreed to take one kender to Darthalla—an expensive idea in itself—not three people on a fishing expedition.”
“Four,” Trip corrected.
Jerick patted the kender’s tawny head. “In any case, Mik, my old friend, I don’t think you can afford me or my ship.” He leaned back in his chair.
For a moment, only the creak of the Red Wake as it gently swayed in the water broke the room’s silence.
Ula stood. “Come on. We’ll look elsewhere.”
“Now hold on there, missy,” Jerick said. “I said you couldn’t afford me. I didn’t say I wouldn’t do it.”
“So what is it you want?” Mik asked.
The red-bearded man smiled. “A slice of the action, of course.”
Ula frowned. “How big a slice?”
“I’d say six shares out of ten—in my favor, naturally.” Mikal Vardan threw back his head and laughed. “Without our expedition,” he said, “you have no slice at all. We’re supplying the goal, the location, and the recovery team. We can put four people—expert treasure finders—into the deep if need be. How many can you dive?” Without waiting for an answer, he continued. “I suspected as much. I think that one share in ten would be a reasonable fee.”
“But I bear the majority of the risks as well as most of die costs,” Jerick countered. “The ship is mine, the crew is mine. If we run into trouble, I’m far more likely to suffer losses. Five shares in ten would seem a reasonable cut.”
Ula and Trip shrugged at each other and kept out of the dickering. Shimmer remained silent.
“We both know that it’s experts that get shares on a voyage,” Mik said. “The harpooner gets abetter cut than the deck hand. That only makes sense. You have one expert, yourself, and perhaps two more—assuming your mates are any good. The rest are mostly ballast. I think two and a half shares out of ten is a good deal.”
“Ha!” Jerick said. “Maybe if you’ve been raised in Khur, far from the sea! I’m tired of haggling, lad, so here’s my final offer. Six shares out of ten, but you and your friends get the six.”
“And you’ll refund Trip’s money?” Mik said.
Jerick frowned. “That seems a bit unreasonable. You’ll pay your share of equipment costs?”
“Done,” said Mik.
The two reached over the table and shook hands.
The privateer captain stood and stretched. “I think that calls for another drink,” he said, whistling for the cabin boy once more. He went to his sea chest, cleared away the junk on top of it, and fetched out the fee that Trip had paid him.
He handed the purse to the kender and said to all of them, “I’ll let you know how much the expenses are.”
Mik nodded. “When do we leave?”
Jerick smiled. “We sail with the morning tide.”
PART III
THE LOST TEMPLE
Thirty-One
Tbe Chase
Trip leaned on Red Wake’s rail and gazed out over the clear blue sea. To the south, the wooded hills of Alarl rose from the gently surging waves. Trip imagined the thriving settlement of kender on the other side of the pastoral isle. He pictured meeting old friends, some of whom he hadn’t seen for years. Of course, there was no evidence that any kender he knew lived there. Nevertheless, he couldn’t help sighing wistfully.
“Anything the matter, Trip?” Mik asked.
“Just wishing I could go to Perch and find the treasure,” Trip said.
“I’m sure you’ll have a chance to visit the island some day,” Mik said, “after we find the diamond.” He closed his eyes and rubbed his temples and saw the blue-white gem once more.
Shimmer, working on the deck nearby, looked up. “Anything wrong?” the bronze knight asked.
“Just a headache,” Mik replied. “Nothing to worry about”
“Fast flee the isle of thieves, if I remember right,” Ula said, appearing from behind him.
“Fast quit the isle of thieves, actually,” Mik corrected her. “Past furthest spits of sand, As soul, not mind, believes, Forsake at last the land. And here, we quit the main archipelago and sail into the outer reaches.”
“To the island of the temple and the treasure?” Ula asked.
“Hopefully,” Mik replied.
“Do you trust Red not to double-cross us?” Ula asked.
“I trust him as much as I trust any former pirate who’s an old friend. I should check with him on our progress, I suppose.”
“I’ll go with you,” Ula said. Then, with a devilish smile, she added, “Your friend seems easy prey for my charms.”
“What man isn’t?” replied Mik. “Trip, Shimmer . . . coming?”
The bronze knight shook his head.
“I’m having too much fun sightseeing,” Trip replied.
The sailor and the sea elf turned and headed for the bridge.
Shimmer went forward and stood in the bow. The sea breeze tugging at his brazen hair made him look like a young god returning to his kingdom. His eyes, though, remained cool and distant.
Trip joined the knight, and leaned over the rail to snatch at the tiny rainbows in the spray kicked up by the ship’s passing.
*****
Mog clung to Red Wake's keel, his muscles aching from the tedium of the journey. Occasionally, he transformed into a shark and prowled the nearby seas for food. The effort of catching the ship again, though, almost wasn’t worth it Mog might have given up this tedious chore were it not for the presence of Tempest in the back of his mind. The tiny Turbidus leech attached to his spine wriggled at the thought of its dark mistress. Mog felt a tingling in his body and knew that the sea dragon sensed his thoughts as well. He muttered obeisance to her obscene majesty and turned his thoughts back to his task.
Tempest had other spies inside the Veil, handfuls of minion fish who had broken through the rupture when she assaulted the harrier, as well as others. Mog, though, remained her most faithful, reliable servant. None of the rest, not even the ravenous sharks, shared the dark mistress’ soul.
Bridle as he might upon occasion, Tempest had created the spawn with her own scales and blood. She imbued him with the power to change his shape. She gave him free rein to murder and feast as he chose, so long as he obeyed her.
If he failed her, though, she would destroy him utterly.
Mog clambered from the keel to the side of the ship, lurking just below the waterline. His steely claws bit deep into the wood, securing him against the rushing water.
Peering up out of the churning sea, he saw the kender leaning over the side.
“How simple,” Mog thought, “to snatch the little pest and drag him under.” Images of the kender’s warm blood running down his throat flashed through his reptilian mind.
Mog waited, confident his time drew near.
* * * * *
A day later, Jerick paced the bridge, his big boots making a clomping sound like the drums of distant giants. “I don’t mind telling you,” he said to Mik and Ula. “I’m beginning to think this is a fool’s venture. If I turn hack now, I might be able to recover me costs from what little cash you have on you.” He glanced at the jewelry entwined around Ula’s slender body.
“Turn back for what?” Mik asked. “Another day searching for wandering pirates? Or were you thinking of sailing beyond the Veil? Better booty out there, I hear.”
The red-bearded privateer scowled at his old friend. “With that dragon lurking about? Not likely.”
“Perhaps you should petition the Order of Brass to take care of Tempest,” Ula suggested.
“I’ve no love for them, either,” Jerick growled. “You think I haven’t seen their patrols overflying us, high up in the sky? They’re looking for something. I hope it’s not you lot they’re looking for.” He clomped around the deck again.
“We’ve sailed according to the Prophecy,” Mik said, reassuringly. “Where light anew is bom, To battle divine hound, Before the second mom, Know the last torch is found. We’ve sailed east past the main archipelago, as it says, and sighted the War Hound constellation.”
“So, we’ve got to find this torch, whatever that is, within two days,” Jerick said.
“The torch is an isolated isle near the edge of the Veil, Ula thinks—the Isle of Fire,” Mik replied.
“Ula thinks, you think!” Jerick fumed. “The trouble is I haven’t been doing enough thinking. If I had, I’d never have taken this errand with you misfits. If we find that isle, and this supposed temple, how do I even know there’s treasure there?”
Crossroads 04 - The Dragon Isles Page 20