Voidhawk: The Elder Race

by Jason Halstead

  He snacked on a spiced bread filled with salted meats Jodyne baked, then headed up to the deck. Rosh drilled with Willa, the clash of steel echoing across the wood planks. The rest of the crew either tended their posts, or watched the spirited sparring. Zhirt alone stood idle, staring off the bow.

  Dexter did a double take. Kragor stood on the forecastle, surveying them all and smiling wistfully. Dexter nodded to the ghost of his former first mate, returning his smile. He wished the others could see the ghost as well.

  “Gather round, it’s planning time,” Dexter called. Rosh and Willa stopped last, and only when Logan bounced a tossed belaying pin off Rosh’s thigh.

  Once they’d all come close, Dexter looked to each of them, nodding, smiling, or showing some other sign of approval. “Bekka’s bringing us in at tactical speed, maybe they won’t be seeing us that way.”

  “Zhirt, once we get in you need to be our guide. You’ll be with me. Jenna’s taking the lead and-“

  “You’re letting me go?” She blurted out, surprised.

  Dexter scowled a little at her interruption, but nodded. “You speak elvish and might get us out of a tight spot if need be.”

  She nodded and tried to adopt a serious attitude. She couldn’t entirely hide her smile, in spite of the peril of their mission.

  “Jodyne and Bekka will hold the ‘Hawk,” he continued, looking around. “Keshira, you’ll be staying with them.”

  “Cap, we can use her!” Rosh protested.

  “Aye, we could,” he admitted. “I can use her here more.”

  “I’m happy to serve, Captain,” Keshira said, bowing her head and smiling beautifully.

  “See, why can’t you be more like that?” Dexter asked Rosh.

  The others chuckled while the large man gaped, then scowled and shut his mouth. Willa chose the tension relieving moment to add, “Oh, he does what he’s told just fine.”

  The redness on Rosh’s face only made his expression even funnier as he glared at the rest of the crew, daring them to make a comment. As it was there were a few barely restrained chuckles. The mirth faded all too quickly as the thought of what awaited them sobered them up. Dexter looked to them all again. “Might be it wasn’t right of me to take this work without asking. At least not this time.”

  He took a breath and continued. “Ain’t nothing to be done now but the job. We’re running against stronger ships and tougher numbers. We got to be quick and quiet. If we’re found out, we run. Nobody plays the hero, got it?”

  “A choice would’ve been nice,” Rosh grumbled. This drew a stare of surprise from Willa beside him.

  “What?” Rosh challenged. “Saving elves from other elves? I ain’t risking my hide for no elf unless the pay’s good.”

  “Captain,” Jenna said, drawing their attention away from the growing fight between Rosh and Willa, and perhaps a few others as well. “These were once my people. I have more in common with them than I do with any of you.” She paused, then looked at Dexter and smiled. “I’ve chosen the right side.”

  Willa’s voice burst out, as though afraid she might not have a chance to say her piece if she waited. “I’m with you, Captain – this is the right thing to do!” She ignored the glare Rosh gave her.

  “The right thing?” Rosh asked. “You ask any one of the elves we run into if they’d give you the time o’ day to save your ass if it were in a bind?”

  “Doesn’t matter, I’ve been a slave. Nobody should be living like that,” she said, glaring at him. “Oh, and Rosh?” She asked, her manner changing as her voice became unnaturally sweet. “Somebody did save my ass. I couldn’t have done what you done to save me, that mean you shouldn’t have done it?”

  Rosh looked at her and then threw his hands up in the air. “Alright, fine, I’m helping. No hero stuff though, Captain’s orders.”

  She smiled at him and returned her attention to Dexter.

  Seeing the dissent quelled, Dexter moved on. “Rosh, you and Bailynn got the back. Willa, Logan, and Xander behind me. You three and Zhirt’ll be doing the babysitting once we find his people.”

  Willa nodded. Zhirt looked uncomfortable, but said nothing.

  “We ought to be there in another four hours, do what needs doing. Pray, rest, practice, or whatever you feel the need for,” Dexter said, signaling the casual meeting was at an end.

  The others broke away slowly at first, then more quickly when they figured out what they needed to do for themselves. Dexter pulled Jenna off to the side for a quick talk and then, with a grin, he told Rosh that the big man was in charge. Rosh looked to Willa, who only shrugged, and he scowled at the back of the Captain as he and Jenna walked below deck to head for their room.

  * * * *

  As the deadline approached people began to reappear on the deck. A distant but steadily growing light was their target: Fort Prudence.

  “Bekka’s bringing us in below the Fort,” Dexter told them. “If Zhirt’s schedule is on, we ought to be clear for an hour or two.”

  “Dex, we know this,” Jenna reminded him.

  He shrugged. “Never hurts to be too careful.”

  “No pistols,” he said to Rosh, who looked at him and frowned. “You gather ‘em up and make sure they stay on the ‘Hawk.”

  Grumbling, Rosh did as he was told. One by one holstered pistols were given over. Even Dexter felt suddenly vulnerable when he handed his to the smirking Arms Master.

  “Take your posts,” Jenna said. They had an hour, perhaps, but it would go quickly with the tension and all that they had to do. She felt it in her stomach herself, and marveled briefly that it wasn’t paralyzing her with worry. A return to not only her people, but as an invader and a rebel.

  “Jenna.”

  Jenna turned as the others filed away. Bailynn remained, looking at her hand with a troubled expression. “Still worried?”

  Bailynn started a little, then nodded. “I, um… would you do something for me?”

  Jenna looked at her, wondering what the girl wanted. Bailynn had once been sent to kill her. They’d reconciled any differences but it was still unusual for Bailynn to seek her out. Jenna didn’t know if that was embarrassment or fear. Jenna was more than just an elf, she was once royalty among the elves.

  “Would you hold this for me,” she asked, yanking the ring off her finger and thrusting out quickly to Jenna.

  Jenna took it from her and stared at it, a moment passing before she realized what it was. “Your control ring!” She said, eyes wide. “When did you get this? How did you get it?”

  Bailynn took a deep breath, her eyes on the ring in Jenna’s palm. “The Captain gave it to me yesterday,” she said.

  Jenna nodded, it made sense. Dexter hadn’t told her much of his talk with Bailynn. Given how the young girl’s spirits had improved, she assumed he’d once again earned his title of Captain.

  “Why do you want me to have it?”

  “I… I trust you,” Bailynn stammered.

  Jenna nodded and closed her fingers around it.

  “Besides, you’d be the last one they’d expect to have it,” she added.

  Jenna nodded again, smiling. “If they knew only half of our story…”

  They shared a rare smile and then the First Mate reassured her, “I’ll keep it safe, Bailynn, you have my word.”

  “I know you will,” Bailynn said encouragingly, then walked past her to get back to work as they closed on the most dangerous leg of their journey.

  Other than orders given to tighten or shift sails and secure ropes, nobody spoke. The oddly shaped object off the bow became more distinct as they closed with it. Fort Prudence was massive but still many times smaller than a moon. Details grew clearer as the distance lessened. The odd coloring, a shadowed greenish brown, they recognized as dirt. Throughout this odd substance massive roots broke free, sometimes curling to sink back in and at others poking into the void. What those roots rose above to form was a mystery to which Jenna offered no clues.

  Each pa
ssing second had the bitter taste of a lifetime of regret as the distance closed. Contrary to the passing of each hushed breath, the Voidhawk slowed to a crawl to avoid smashing itself against the stretching roots that had broken free.

  The hook on the end of the line Rosh tossed caught on the second try. He pulled himself up, having to reorient himself halfway across as the gravity of Fort Prudence asserted itself. He reached the root and pulled himself on, then crawled until he found a narrow opening.

  The rest of the liberation party followed, one at a time. Xander, the last one up the rope, worked it free of the thick root and, with a longing glance at the relative safety of the Voidhawk’s deck, he tossed it back. Keshira hauled it in and then hurried to the sails while Bekka, Jodyne, and herself backed the ship away.

  The tunnel Rosh found was so narrow that their shoulders brushed moist dirt and moister roots. Eventually they pulled themselves free of it, emerging into a winding passage they could stand in. The floor, walls, and ceiling of the passage were far from uniform, and were likewise likely to be made of dirt or wood at any given step.

  Once in the passage they squeezed past one another until they had their marching order arranged. Then, with a few feet of distance between them, they moved forward, Zhirt led them though he did not look as confident as Dexter hoped he might be.

  They walked for nearly three minutes through the passage without any sign of trouble. The ambient light in the tunnel was enough for them to see, but distances greater than twenty feet faded into obscurity for all of them except Jenna and Bailynn. Thus it was a surprise for most of them when they emerged into a wider tunnel that ran up, to their left, and down to their right.

  “Hold here,” Dexter said, his voice carrying in spite of how quietly he spoke.

  “Jenna, Bailynn, Xander,” he said, picking out the three of them. “Good luck.”

  “What’s going on?” Rosh muttered, confused as the three of them turned and headed up the larger tunnel. “Where they going?”

  “Hedging my bet,” Dexter answer, then motioned for Zhirt to continue.

  Rosh opened his mouth to protest again, his cheeks flushing red with anger. Willa silenced him with a glance, then looked around meaningfully. Reminded of their circumstances, Rosh shut his mouth but let his nostrils flare.

  Zhirt led them down the tunnel, heading deeper into the belly of the flying fort. The passage was evened out to something regular as they walked. Other tunnels branching out from it resembled the one they had emerged from.

  “What’s he mean, hedging his bet?” Rosh growled to Logan, who was walking next in line ahead of him.

  Dexter saw Logan glanced back and shrug. The priest returned his attention in front. Dexter stared hard at Rosh’s back, wondering if it was time to take the man aside and have a talk when they were done. He’d let too many comments slide from the warrior.

  Dexter was distracted to see that the tunnel was growing brighter. Their visibility had been increasing and ahead of them they could see the passage they were on ending in some sort of a room.

  The room that Zhirt led them into was large and circular, with a domed ceiling. The floor dropped away in a gentle grade into a bowl. Within the bowl awaited a copse of lush vegetation. Vines and trees appeared to have exploded from the ground, complete with brilliant flowers of seemingly random colors. It seemed unplanned and chaotic, yet it was a brilliant display of life.

  “This is the Garden of Life,” Zhirt whispered, his face paling.

  “Where are your people?” Dexter asked, looking around. The edge of the room was used as a passage, allowing them to walk around it if they chose. The Garden itself was too thick for anyone to walk into or through. Other larger tunnels, like the one they’d arrived on, branched out and away from the circular room at regular intervals. Dexter could only assume they continued around behind the garden, though he could not see the far side of it through the lush vegetation.

  “I…I don’t know,” their guide side, sounding uncertain.

  “You don’t know?” Dexter asked, clapping his hand on his shoulder.

  Zhirt tried to pull away but found he could not. He stammered nervously. “They were to serve the Garden of Life! I was told… I mean… they’re supposed to be…”

  “We’re trapped!” Rosh hissed, looking behind him to see a group of a half dozen elves coming down the passage behind them. From the other passages around the garden other squads of well armed elves emerged as well.

  “Aye,” Dexter said with far less concern than Rosh felt he should have had.

  “You knew about this?” Asked the large man.

  “Had a notion,” Dexter confirmed.

  “When was you gonna share your notion?” Rosh’s tone showed he was getting more and more riled up.

  “Well done!” The loud praise came from behind Rosh.

  Dexter spun around, losing his grip on Zhirt, and stared at the elf leading the way down the tunnel behind them. He looked to be the leader of the elves that had them trapped. The only option for escape was the garden itself. Dexter looked at it, squinting as though he were weighing the odds.

  “My family? Where are they?” Zhirt asked, panic in his voice.

  The elf who had spoken grinned widely. “They are safe. Protected within the Garden, as promised.”

  Zhirt turned and looked. A path had opened into the underground vegetation.

  “Go to them,” the elf urged.

  Zhirt nodded and hurried down the slope and into the small forest.

  “Throw down your arms,” The elf said to them once Zhirt had disappeared into the garden.

  “Go to Hell!” Rosh hissed.

  “Rosh, do it,” Dexter snapped, drawing and dropping his own sword.

  “That don’t sound none too smart,” Rosh growled.

  “Can’t be the first time,” Dexter hissed at him flippantly.

  “Rosh, trust him!” Willa urged, dropping her own short sword. Logan followed suit, tossing his weapon to the growing pile.

  “They ain’t going to throw us in a brig,” Rosh warned. “I ain’t dying without a f-“

  Rosh was cut off abruptly. He stiffened and then slumped to the ground. One of the elves behind the one that had spoken smirked and put away whatever magical contraption he had used to silence the man.

  Willa gasped and dropped down to check the open-eyed man. Finding him still alive, she relaxed a little but looked up at Dexter, clearly worried.

  “So now what,” Dexter asked the elf.

  “Now we have a nice chat about things.”

  The elven wizard drew something from a pouch and whispered some magical words. He threw the magical components in his hand towards the crew of the Voidhawk and they found their bodies reacting similarly to Rosh’s.

  Still, aware of his surroundings, Dexter felt himself being picked up roughly. The others that were in his field of vision were being treated the same. He mentally winced when he saw one of the elves carrying Logan lose his grip and drop the man on his side. Dexter was spun around and soon stared at the tunic and breeches of the elf that had thrown him over his shoulder like a sack of grain.

  With no sense of space or time, and a growing fear of what the diet of an elf could cause by way of flatulence, Dexter was relieved to find himself dumped painfully onto the floor of a small room. He lay there, staring at a dirt wall, until a strange tingling began to take his fingers and toes, then start to work its way up his limbs. He felt his heart racing as he visualized rats chewing on the tasty bits of flesh. With a gasp he managed to flop around enough to stare at one arm. He saw no rats nor anything else amiss, yet the tingling continued to spread throughout his body. As it spread control and movement returned.

  * * * *

  The thick leaf-like structure that made up the door shifted aside to allow the elf that had spoken to them enter.. He stepped inside and stared down at Logan, who was only beginning to pick himself up.

  “Where are the others?” He asked without ceremony or
preamble.

  Logan looked at him blankly. “Others?” He asked, feigning surprise.

  “I know there are six more of your crew. Where are they?”

  Stretching out the natural stiffness that his magical incapacitation had caused, Logan chose his words carefully before answering. “They stayed on the ship.”

  The elf frowned briefly, then glanced away. “You are a priest?” He asked, turning to look back at him.

  Logan nodded.

  “You pathetic humans and your savage religions. What morals do your Gods have if they condone deceit among their chosen?”

  Logan bristled, angered by the elf’s words. He knew the elf was trying to provoke him, but knowing it didn’t stop the words from stinging. “My faith has no stipulations on how I am to conduct myself in the presence of those who would imprison and torture me for their own gain.”

  “So arrogant and sure of yourself. Why is it wrong that I imprison you? You trespass upon our territory.”

  Logan shut his mouth, realizing he would gain no more by talking. The elf didn’t want a debate, nor did he desire to discuss truth. He wanted to provoke Logan and to drive him into divulging information. With a near physical lurch he realized that they were only alive until the elf found out what he wanted to know.

  “So where are the other three that left your ship and invaded my city?” The elf pressed.

  The priest’s silence only infuriated the elf. He nodded after a moment. “Pray I do not return, human, or you will wish you had told me!”

  He turned and exited the cell, the organic door sealing itself shut behind him. Logan rubbed his wrists and looked around the small room, wondering how he might find a means of freeing himself. No furniture, no windows, and only the strange door made of a green substance that sealed itself securely in the entryway. He stood up slowly, working the kinks of out his legs, and frowned.

  Head bowed, Logan began to pray for guidance.