Isle of Wysteria: Throne of Chains

by Aaron Lee Yeager

  “Someone who has wronged you,” a female voice said sadly.

  “Setsuna?”

  “Yes, please keep your voice down,” she whispered, pulling out her lock pick tools.

  “How did you get in here?”

  “What, are you kidding? This is me we’re talking about here. I smuggled myself in with the groceries. No sweat.”

  “That’s amazing.”

  “Don’t worry, I’ll give you the bill for my services later.”

  She grabbed his shackles and got to work.

  “Why are you doing this?”

  She chuckled. “Well, you know, you did run away and leave the front door open. The house got pretty trashed because of you. It just wouldn’t be right to let someone else punish you. That honor belongs to me.”

  Dwale furrowed his brow. “So, you came all this way just to punish me?”

  “Of course I did. Why else would I be here? I’m a busy woman, you know. My services are in high demand. Do you have any idea how many offers I get each and every week? You should be honored that I put them all off until I make you pay for what you did. Oh, this strict Senndaisian honor code I live by. I swear, it’s more trouble than it’s worth sometimes…”

  “You don’t have to lie to me.”

  She paused her work, and became silent for a time.

  “Why are you really here, Setsuna?”

  He heard a drop of water hit the floor.

  Her voice was soft. “Because you once made me feel like I had a family. No one ever made me feel that way before.”

  Her own sincerity surprised her, and she began to feel a little uneasy. “So, when I saw your broadcast, I started looking for a way in.”

  There was a rusted click of metal, and one of his lacerated wrists fell free.

  “What are you doing?”

  “I’m busting you out, of course.”

  “You can’t.”

  “The trell I can’t.”

  “If I disappear, they’ll begin punishing the others. They’ll think they freed me.”

  “Well, what do you want me to do? Leave a note admitting to the crime?”

  “No, we’ve got to free everyone.”

  “Are you crazy?”

  “You have a plan to get me out, take the rest with you.”

  “The gateway in this purse is strained to the breaking point as it is. It can get you and me out, but there’s no way it can get everyone. It’s not going to work.”

  “You can find a way, I know you can.”

  “Look, I was kind of expecting you to thank me, not try to boss me into setting up a jailbreak.”

  “We have to. Look, Setsuna, this is bigger than you or me or anyone. If that tower is completed, everyone in the world will die.”

  “So, what else is new?”

  “I’m serious.”

  “So am I. Look, you’re a cute guy, but right now you’re blind and chained to the wall. You don’t exactly have any leverage here.”

  “I’ll scream. I’ll alert the guards.”

  “Pffft. No, you won’t. Don’t be…”

  Dwale breathed in deep. “GUAR…!”

  Setsuna clamped her hand over his mouth in panic, silencing him.

  “Geez! Are you crazy? You’re so stubborn when you need to be, do you know that?”

  Dwale fidgeted beneath her grip, gradually relaxing.

  “Okay, I’m going to remove my hand. You’re not going to scream again, okay?”

  His face was defiant, but when she removed her hand, he didn’t scream.

  “Setsuna, you said you have wronged me, and you were right. You stole me from my matron, you made me break my vow to Milia, you robbed me of my honor.”

  “This again? Seriously?”

  “My honor was all I had! All right? It was everything to me.”

  Setsuna lowered her eyes sadly. “I just wanted to help you.”

  “If you want to help me, find a way to free the others. Do that, and I will forgive you…of everything.”

  It was such a strange thing to hear. Her mind reminded her that she could care less about such things. After a lifetime of piracy, blood, and a laundry list of other crimes, the very idea of being forgiven was ludicrous. Yet, her heart longed at the very mention of it. Though her mind balked, with each passing moment, her heart hungered more for it, and she found herself relenting.

  “A-all right,” she said softly. “I’ll do it.”

  There was a rustle outside, and footsteps began to approach.

  “Quickly!”

  Reluctantly, Setsuna grabbed his freed shackle and clamped it back down onto his bloody wrist. As the footsteps drew nearer, she cupped Dwale’s cheeks with her hands.

  “You should know, it’s really unfair for you to manipulate me like this,” she whispered.

  Setsuna leaned in and kissed him on the lips. It so surprised him, he froze in place until she pulled away.

  “Did…did you just…?”

  “No, I didn’t.”

  She tore open the air beside her and jumped through.

  * * *

  “Incoming!”

  Captain Evere hit the deck just in time, a spray of shrapnel and splinters turning the binnacle into something that vaguely resembled a porcupine.

  Two more sorcerous cannonballs zipped by, leaving crackling trails of fire as they clipped the edge of the main sail, before corkscrewing around in the air and coming back for another pass.

  Talliun spun the tumbler in her arm and punched, releasing a concussive blast that shattered one of the balls to pieces. Privet and Alder threw up a net, catching the other before it could hit Deutzia. Then, with the help of a few sailors, they pulled it, kicking and shrieking to the deck. Ryin’s tattoos glowed red hot and he touched the steaming surface. There was a spark and a puff of smoke, and the weapon grew still.

  Mina helped her husband to his feet. Behind them was a sleek and deadly interceptor, its three sets of sails furled out like a great triangle.

  “Alter course again, head west by southwest!”

  Margaret’s poor little arms trembled as she coaxed the winds around them.

  “Every time we tack like this we lose time,” Andolf warned.

  “We have to keep them guessing. If we make a beeline for Ferrus they’ll figure out where we’re going and alert the authorities there.”

  Athel grabbed onto the shrouds to get a glance behind them. While this one interceptor was drawing near, the others in the distance were growing smaller on the horizon.

  “How in the world is this one gaining on us?”

  Margaret wiped the sweat from her face. “They must have a Stormcaller on board. The winds are fighting me.”

  “And I’m guessing he’s better than the one we’ve got,” Privet surmised.

  “I can’t imagine one worse,” Captain Evere snipped.

  “Hey!”

  Ryin and Rachael managed to rig up a gun to point directly aft. “Shall we return fire?”

  Athel hesitated to respond.

  “These are just honest sailors following orders,” Mina noted. “They’ve been sent to hunt us down. They’re just doing their job.”

  Another shot rang out from the interceptor, clipping one of Deutzia’s greater branches. The large Nallorn tree squealed in pain, barely managing to keep hold of the sails.

  Athel balled her fists. “And if they succeed in their duty, we lose everything. Return fire, take out their sails.”

  “Aye!”

  Ryin loaded a canister shot and fired with a crack like thunder. The gun strained against the makeshift ropes that held it in place as it sprayed out a storm of remorseless metal at their pursuers. The crew ducked for cover as the storm washed over them, peppering the sails with holes and shredding the wood of
the deck. But their alchemist, either through inexperience or lack of attention, had left his table of chemicals exposed. The beakers and vials of glowing liquid shattered, spilling everywhere and combining in ways never expected nor intended.

  The crew of the Dreadnaught was thrown back as a massive shockwave rolled over them from behind. The ship listed to one side, Odger barely recovered in time to keep the crew from spilling overboard. They picked themselves up to see their pursuer engulfed in flame, the whole ship sinking toward the boiling seas below.

  “Cripes, boy, what the crap did you hit them with?” Evere marveled.

  “If I could do that on purpose do you think I’d wait till now? That was just a basic canister shot.”

  Mina and the others looked on in horror as the interceptor crew fought to douse the fires. Their ship slowed to a halt, its descent increasing in speed.

  “What happened?”

  “We must have ignited their powder magazine. The stone core has been damaged.”

  Mina grabbed her husband by the arm. “They’ll fall into the sea!”

  Captain Evere looked on at the panicked and screaming sailors.

  “No good sailor should die that way,” he whispered.

  Alder ran over. “Athi, we’ve got to help them.”

  Mina and Evere turned to her, and she knew they wanted to, despite the danger. Among all sailors, regardless of race or allegiance, there was no greater fear than death by sea.

  Athel turned to Andolf. “How many ships are in pursuit of us?”

  Andolf closed his old eyes and stroked his purple whiskers. In his mind, he rose up high above his body, until the Dreadnaught was just a little toy at his feet. He circled his gaze, the ghostly voices of the spirits in the distance like beacons of light on the horizon to him.

  “I see a dozen two miles behind the crippled ship, and another forty behind them.”

  “Milia’s throne, it’s a whole fleet after us,” Talliun realized.

  “There’s also a pair of interceptors directly north of us, trying to cut us off,” Rachael reported, collapsing her spyglass.

  All eyes turned to Athel.

  “What do we do?”

  Athel turned away, her eyes growing darker.

  “Maintain course.”

  Mina reached her hand out. “But…”

  “If we turn around, we’ll be caught,” Athel snapped. “If their compatriots have any decency at all they’ll stop and rescue them before they hit the water.”

  A dark air seemed to settle over the crew of the Dreadnaught as the stricken interceptor grew smaller behind them. They watched, anxious to see the something. They waited for the other ships in pursuit to break off and luff up alongside the sinking vessel. Captain Evere watched through his spyglass, searching for any sign of grapnel or boarding plank.

  But none ever appeared.

  The other ships ignored the cries for help from the sinking interceptor, passing right by it in their chase after the Dreadnaught. When the dying ship finally hit the thirsting waters, even the most hardened sailors on board the Dreadnaught had to look away.

  Bunni Bubbles grabbed onto Alder’s pant-leg. “Why aren’t we helping them?” she asked, her little clay eyes quivering.

  “Don’t look,” Alder bade, turning her around. “Just look away.”

  Only Athel watched as the interceptor and her crew were dragged beneath the writhing seas, her eyes hard as stone.

  “That was a cold thing to do, lass,” Evere whispered.

  “I did what I had to.”

  “You weren’t like this before,” Mina observed. “You always looked for a third option, an alternative that wouldn’t call on sacrificing your enemies. You had a line and you never crossed it.”

  Athel turned away, her eyes darkening further.

  “That’s exactly why I lost.”

  * * *

  Nana Colenat set down her tea cup onto the ornate platter. Dobsworth had set out their finest place settings, their most precious platinum candles, and poured the finest vintage from their stores. It was a somber meal and they barely nibbled at the food. Not because they weren’t hungry, but because they all knew it might very well be their last.

  With her aged eyes, she looked up at Jeni. Nana had more or less come to terms with her own death long ago. At her age, every stumble and cold had the potential to be her last. But it was her youngest daughter that truly brought the tears. There were so many things she would never do. She would never fall in love, never have children of her own. Never apprentice under the Master of Snowcap, never place her heart offering on the Alter of Maltua. She was the greatest prodigy their family had seen in three generations, and she would never have the chance to craft her masterpiece. She would, like everything else, soon disappear beneath the wicked seas that daily crept up the sides of the cliffs, threatening their entire valley. It could happen any day now, and when it did, there would be no trace that she ever existed.

  Jeni looked up, unable to put her own fears into words, so she just said what came naturally. “Are you okay, Ohma?”

  Nana wiped her cheek. “Yes, I am fine, daughter. Enjoy your eggs, we have precious few left.”

  “I’ll try.”

  Dobsworth came in and set down a fresh platter of salmon, even though the previous one had gone untouched.

  “Thank you, Dobsworth.”

  “I’ve placed more guards on the south fence. We shouldn’t have any more trouble with looters.”

  “Thank you. How are our stores?”

  “It’s been some time since we have been able to replenish our supplies. The shopping district in a complete loss, I’m afraid. The constables have retreated to their own homes, all the shops are stripped bare. Everyone is looking out for themselves at this point. Even the royal family has gone into seclusion. Without the brigade to stop them, the fires have consumed the entire south quarter. We should have enough to last us…”

  He looked down, unable to finish.

  “…until the end,” she added sadly. “Dobsworth, you’ve been a good butler, yet I’ve never once had you sit at my table, have I? Would you like to join us?”

  She pulled back an empty chair. The old man hesitated for a moment, then placed his hand across his chest.

  “I would be honored, Madam Colenat.”

  He sat down, and the three of them ate in somber silence while the last of their candles burned themselves out.

  While Jeni joylessly choked down her eggs, they were all disturbed by a knock at the door.

  Nana looked up. It was most unexpected for guests to arrive during afternoon tea, even more so unannounced.

  With a wrinkled hand she tucked a lock of white hair behind her ear as the golden knocker of the front door clacked again, more forcefully than before.

  Out of curiosity, she gathered up her gown and came to investigate. The doorman was already unlatching the silver lock as she glided into the entryway.

  The door burst open, and she found herself staring down a rifle barrel.

  “Don’t say a word!” Athel yelled, stepping in past the doorman. “Raise the alarm and you’ll hit the floor before you know what happened.”

  Nana Colenat was too surprised to speak as armed sailors flooded into her mansion. Beyond, she could see more tying up her guards and dragging them through the servant’s entrance.

  “Secure the upper floors; make sure no one slips out the back!” Athel ordered, keeping her rifle leveled at the old woman. More grungy sailors filtered into the mansion.

  Talliun stepped in, so surprised at the opulence of the mansion that she lowered her weapon. “Wow, Colenat. This is your house? You never told us you were rich.”

  “I’m not. My parents are rich.”

  Nana blinked, staring at the tanned young man. “Ryin? Is that you?”

  Ryin wi
nced. “Hi Nana.”

  Despite the weapons pointed at her, Nana slapped him square across the face.

  “Ouch!”

  “You disappear for half a decade, and THIS is how you come back to us? Leading a band of robbers?”

  “We’re not here to rob you,” Captain Evere clarified.

  “Aren’t you?”

  Evere glanced at the solid gold candelabra burning in the hall. “Well, maybe a little.”

  Alder stepped in, wheeling Privet in his chair. “Athel, this is going too far.”

  Athel stepped closer. “We can’t have anyone know we are here. A single rumor slips out and we’ll have a thousand ships on top of us. You know what we had to do just to get this far?”

  Nana looked her over. “You’re her, aren’t you? The one everyone is looking for. The Traitor Queen.”

  “I’m afraid so.”

  Nana gave Ryin a steely-eyed gaze that made him shrink. “Is this how we raised you? To associate with such riff-raff?”

  “We’re here to hire you,” Athel explained. “We need a weapon forged.”

  “Whatever for? You appear to have plenty.”

  “To save the world. We need a blade unlike any other that has ever been made. One that can sever shackles forged by the combined powers of dozens of gods. Shackles that currently hold the deities JaArian and Veritus, imprisoned at the bottom of the sea.”

  There was a scuffle from the dining hall, and Jeni was led in by a pair of sailors.

  “What is wrong with you? Let me go! Don’t you know who I am?!”

  When she saw Ryin, she froze in place. “Ryin?!”

  “Hey, Jeni.”

  “What is my worthless brother doing here?”

  “Robbing you, apparently.”

  “I told you, we’re not thieves.” Athel reached inside her jacket and threw down a bag of gemstones. Nana sneered to look at them.

  “It doesn’t matter how much blood money you toss at my feet. What you are asking is pure fantasy. The only thing that could even possibly do what you require would be…”

  Captain Evere and Privet dumped a sack full of bones onto the floor.

  Jeni’s eyes went wide. “Is that…dragon bone?”

  “We’ve got an entire hold filled with them.”