Rosh hurried up onto the deck, strapping his sword around his waist. Dexter glanced at him and his eyes twinkled. “Not this time, Bekka’s coming with me; you get to mind the helm.”
Rosh’s eye bulged. His lips parted but other than a quickly strangled grunt, he said nothing.
“Jodyne, Willa, Jenna, Xander, and Bekka with me. Logan, Rosh, and Keshira keep a candle in the window,” Dexter decided. Without any further conversation, he stepped onto the plank and started down.
The base metal of the inter-connected port city was solid and strange. Dexter knelt to have a better look at it and found he was clueless as to just what it was. Beneath a thick layer of dust the metal was a polished and gleaming silver. He tried to scrape it with a dagger and found his dagger blunted before the metal showed a scratch. Marveling at it, he straightened and looked at the others that gathered around him.
“Starsilver,” Jenna explained. “It is a rare metal forged from the metals found in the cores of some asteroids. Elves prize it for its strength and beauty.”
“Not so rare,” Dexter observed, looking around at the sheer enormity of the city.
“It is exceedingly rare,” Xander corrected. “Perhaps not among elves but-“
“Dwarves make it,” Jodyne interrupted. “We just don’t be giving it to anyone that is thinking they needs themselves something shiny and special.”
Xander stared at her, surprised. “I didn’t know that,” he admitted.
“There’s more here than I’ve ever heard of,” Jenna finished, ignoring the interruptions.
“You find anything small enough to take with us, be sure and grab it,” Dexter said, then turned and headed down the dock towards the elven town.
They passed, warily, a statue formed of the same metal. It was taller than any of them, but only by inches rather than feet. Humanoid, it resembled a broad-chested warrior clad in full plate mail. Instead of a sword or lance one arm ended in double headed axe blade and the other was a tube not so dissimilar from the barrel of a pistol. Dexter examined it closely, though he took care to neither touch it nor get directly in front of it. He relaxed when he saw that it was solid, not hollow as the barrel of a pistol would be.
As they wandered through the docks they saw other statues of similar design placed in positions that seemed, in some cases, unusual or awkward. With a simple glance Dexter could tell his crew shared his feelings of unease about them.
“Captain, there’s no lumber to be found,” Willa said after she and Bekka returned from searching through several buildings large enough to store supplies. “There are sheets of this metal and tools for using it, but none of us got the knowing of how to work it.”
Dexter grunted, momentarily taken with the thought of plating the Voidhawk with starsilver. He grinned ruefully, as if he didn’t have troubles enough. A ship that valuable would be plagued with foes. “We keep looking. Jodyne, anything worth eating around here?”
She snorted and shook her head. It was worse than a long shot and Dexter knew it, but he figured restocking their larder wouldn’t be a bad idea. They had food, but being chased by elves could make their next safe port a long haul off.
The group pressed on, moving from building to building and finding that their guard was dropping with the continued lack of a threat. Even the armed statues began to fade into the background clutter, becoming just another oddity. The one thing they did make note of as they explored was that the starsilver, clearly the dominant material of the base, was far from the only metal present. Gold, silver, platinum, brass, bronze, even tin and copper were found in abundance. What amazed Dexter, and the others as well, was the lack of seams. Everything was connected. The metal flowed from silver to gold and then back to something else with no visible sign of joining.
Hours later, or for all they knew it could have been days, Dexter called them to a halt and gathered them around a fountain. No water flowed from the beautifully sculpted designs;, though what those designs were none of them could hazard a guess to.
“Well, we’ve gotten ourselves nowhere in a hurry,” Dexter told them. “This place is dead and worthless. Stripped clean maybe, or maybe there was nothing here to start with.”
“We should keep going,” Xander said. Bekka nodded enthusiastically and even Jenna showed she was interested in the idea.
“Keep going? You know what’s after us, right? You know we been walking around for hours without nothing but a dream of finding something shiny we can pick up?”
They all nodded. Only Jenna felt comfortable enough to speak up. “Dex, this is… this is something nobody knows about. If we can find one thing, just one thing, it’ll mean we didn’t waste our time.”
He blinked at her, clearly lost. “You think we can sell one thing we find here?”
She grimaced. “No, that’s not what I meant. Look, this is history… history so old it’s just a legend. I know my people aren’t thought of kindly – I don’t think of them kindly! But if I could find something to prove we were different once…well, maybe… maybe we could be different again?”
Jodyne snorted derisively but the rest ignored her. Bekka was nodding again, showing support for Jenna’s hopes.
“You much for caring about the elves?” Dexter asked Xander.
Xander blushed. “No…er, I mean yes, as much as anyone should,” he quickly explained. “The more I see and study, the more I learn here. Even without words, just seeing what they’ve done…. I am an artificer at heart; my true joy is in creating magical things. Not mere spells that pass in moments, but something that lasts beyond that. It’s art as much as anything, and this place is a work of art.”
Dexter grunted. He closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose to hide his thoughts. ‘Keshira… am I doing this right?’
‘Yes Captain, I hear and obey,’ she responded in his head almost instantly via their special bond.
He grimaced a little, and felt something that he thought was amusement from her. ‘Keep an eye on things… especially Rosh. We’re to push deeper. Come quick if I call or…um… if you lose contact with me.’
‘Yes Captain,’ she responded.
“So let’s find something worth stealing,” Dexter muttered, looking at the landing party around him. ‘Jenna, reckon you can find their palace or whatever they called it?”
Jenna pursed her lips for a moment. Dexter thought for a moment she might be upset at him for trying to steal from her ancient ancestors, but as soon as she spoke he knew he’d thought wrongly of her. “It’ll be on the highest level. Let’s find some stairs and start climbing.”
“Some back this way,” Willa said, pointing down a dust covered metal road that had passed by a few minutes ago.
Dexter gestured with a flourish and let Jenna take the lead. She led them unerringly to the stairs, then faltered as she cast about looking for a proper direction. Moments before Dexter spoke up, she made up her mind and headed off again, crossing over an elaborate bridge that spanned an opening to the void. The bridge caused them quite a stir a third of the way up it when they found themselves twisting around it. Up became down with each passing step, and before the midpoint they found that the strange port city was now above their heads instead of beneath their feet. By the time they reached the far edge of it they had rotated back and felt their nausea relieved as the ground was beneath them once again.
“This is amazing,” Xander breathed in awe. Dexter paused to see the wizard staring in open mouthed admiration of the bridge. He smirked and shook his head, then gave an admonition for them to keep moving. “But Captain, a gravity well within a gravity well… it’s… well, it’s so difficult it’s unthinkable!”
“We’re almost there,” Jenna said, distracting them all. She pointed ahead at a beautiful wrought courtyard complete with another fountain and statues wrought of metal in the shape of trees and creatures from dozens of worlds. On the far side of the courtyard a grand staircase rose to the final level of the port. At the head of the staircase a
phalanx of the warrior statues stood as mute guardians.
“Let’s go,” Dexter pressed, starting forward at once. The others followed behind and even Xander’s attention was quickly riveted to the sculptures in the courtyard.
Wary of the statues, whose purpose seemed blatantly clear, Jenna and Dexter stepped between them and stopped before a small column of starsilver that was wrought with veins of gold and platinum in intricate patterns. Resting atop the column, and seeming buried half within it, was a diamond so large it could be fired from a small catapult. Dexter stared at it, awed yet again by the wealth contained, yet unavailable, in his strange city. Behind it less than a pace lay a set of double doors massive enough to allow someone twice the height of a man through without stooping.
“Do we knock?” Dexter asked.
Jenna reached forward hesitantly and placed her hand on the diamond. As soon as she touched it, it erupted in a kaleidoscope of brilliant colors that blinded them all. Dexter tried to grab her and pull her away from the brilliant gemstone, but she stood frozen, her hand unwilling and unable to pull away from it.
“Jenna!” He screamed, though the light that threatened to burn though his eyelids was soundless.
‘Captain! Do you need me?’ Dexter heard Keshira’s cry in his head, though he paid it no attention as he tried again to pull the elven girl away from the diamond.
Jenna’s hand gently seized his wrist, pulling softly but insistently at it. She didn’t speak or look at him. Holding tightly to her waist with his other hand, he let her guide his left arm away and, he realized too late, towards the diamond. His palm touched it and he jerked, trying to tear his hand away, but only for the briefest of moments before he was taken away by it.
* * * *
“What’s wrong with her?” Rosh grunted, nodding toward Keshira.
Logan glanced up from the drawing he was doing on a scrap piece of wood he’d smoothed and watched the construct. Keshira stood in an awkward position. She had paused just as she started to lift her left foot to take a step, a coil of rope hanging from one arm. She stared off into the distance, towards the port city that Logan had been sketching. The priest rose up and walked towards her.
“Keshira, are you all right?” He asked as he approached.
She settled back down and turned to face him. Gone was the faint smile that so often graced her beautiful face. Instead she looked worried. “The Captain… he’s… gone.”
Logan’s eyes widened. “Gone? What do you mean?”
“I… I am uncertain. He exists, but I cannot contact him,” she explained. She pointed towards the port, as though that might help explain.
“Well don’t that beat all,” Rosh grumbled, “Damned elves. Them fools went off without protection and got themselves captured, I bet.”
“No,” Keshira said, shaking her head. “He was well and now he’s just… absent.”
Logan frowned. “Magic?”
She nodded. “A kind I do not know.”
Rosh cursed and threw his arms up. He turned and stormed away, heading below deck.
“Keshira, do you know anything about the others?” Logan asked, figuring Rosh was doing whatever it was that Rosh needed to do.
“My bond is only with my Captain,” she said. Her eyes followed Rosh as he disappeared down the stairs. “Where is Rosh going?”
Logan glanced at the now empty deck and shrugged. “One thing I’ve learned since I joined the Voidhawk is that as simple a man as Rosh appears to be, there’s no knowing what’s on his mind.”
No sooner had Logan stopped talking than Rosh emerged from the aft stairwell carrying extra weapons. He grunted as he joined them and waited for them to take them. Logan looked at them and shook his head, patting the heavy mace that hung from his hip. “Then at least take a couple in case I need a backup!” Rosh grumbled, pushing two pistols against his chest. Reluctantly, Logan took them and tied them about his waist and legs.
“Keshira,” Rosh said, “You too.”
She looked at him, not moving to take the two pistols he pressed against her chest. “I don’t need these,” she explained.
“Maybe I do,” Rosh growled. “Look, any other time I’d give up a month’s wages to touch your chest, but right now I ain’t got time, not if them’s in trouble!”
Keshira stared at him curious a moment longer, then nodded.
“Right, and with him and Jenna gone, that makes this my boat,” He said, turning to make sure everyone hear him.
Logan’s eyes widened in alarm. He knew Rosh had always wanted a ship of his own. He’d been resistant to Dexter’s orders from time to time too, even occasionally mumbling about how he’d do things his way one day. Logan wondered, was this that day? Would Rosh make a play for the ship? Would anyone follow him if he did?
“And I says we get our asses in that city and find them,” he spat out, turning to look at Logan.
Logan nodded, feeling relieved. Maybe someday Rosh would make that play, but today wasn’t the day. When Rosh turned back to Keshira he glanced up to the sky, offering up a silent prayer of thanks. The prayer stumbled on his lips, even unspoken as it was, as he saw movement above them.
“Rosh! They’re back,” Logan hissed, pointing up.
Rosh spun then followed Logan’s hand. ‘They’ was the elves. He squinted at the ships above, then cursed again. “Come on,” he ordered gruffly. “We gots to join up with them. Three of us can’t hold this ship nor fly it fast enough.”
“You’re giving up the ‘Hawk?” Logan asked him.
“I ain’t giving up nothing!” Rosh yelled at the priest. He turned back to Keshira and continued shouting. “Take these damned guns and strap ‘em on or I’m going to shove ‘em somewhere they ain’t gonna be so easy to get back out from!”
Keshira took them, her eyes now pointed upwards as well. She seemed to be ignoring Rosh’s anger, which did nothing to calm his mood. “We must hurry, there are many of them,” she said with a sudden tone of urgency.
Rosh watched her hurry to the plank, his mouth open in shocked outrage. He turned to Logan, who only shrugged, and then hurried after her himself. “Keshira, I’m in charge, you got that?”
“Dexter is my Captain,” she informed him.
“Yeah, but the chain of command says that when him and Jenna ain’t here, I’m running the show! It’s the chain of command!”
“Chain of command?” She asked without slowing.
He cursed again and used a line that was one of his personal favorites. “Yeah, it’s the chain I go get and beat you with until you do what I tells you, got it?”
“I do not believe you could beat me,” she replied calmly.
Rosh cursed more vehemently but before he could act Logan slipped ahead of him. “Keshira, you obey Jenna as though her orders were Dexter’s, right?”
“Yes,” she said, turning away from the dock they had walked off and heading in the direction she knew the landing party had taken. “She is Dexter’s mate. He trusts her and cares for her like no other.”
“Rosh has the next position of authority after Jenna. That means, when Dexter and Jenna are not around, Dexter trusts Rosh to handle the ship and crew – so long as Rosh’s orders do not counter Dexter’s or Jenna’s.”
Keshira hesitated, slowing down. She nodded. “I understand.”
“You taking us to them?” Rosh asked her.
“Yes, I can sense the direction to my Captain,” she said.
“Show me,” he grumbled, then followed as her pace quickened so much that even the tall warrior needed to break into a jog to keep up with her.
Glances to the sky showed the quickly approaching elven ships. Breathing hard from the long jog Keshira led, Logan saw only a couple of the elven scouts were coming. Three warships joined them as they made their way toward the docks. Each showed signs of damage, but given the distance and the distraction of following the pleasure golem, he couldn’t be certain how badly. Further review was broken up as they began to run acros
s the bridge.
Rosh gasped and threw himself to the bridge, holding on tightly with his arms as he found himself suddenly upside down, though his senses told him he was right-side up. He looked around, breathing hard and scared, then realized that he was not falling after all. Cheeks burning red he pulled himself to his feet warily, then scowled at Logan, who was stopped behind him and failing to fight off a laugh at his expense.
“Damned elves and their magic bridges,” Rosh growled under his breath, then realized he needed to step on it if he wanted to catch up the Keshira. Logan pounded along behind him, breathing no less easily.
They entered the courtyard on Keshira’s heels and both men slid to a halt. They were taken with the sculptures. So lifelike, yet clearly not flesh and blood, it was eerie. And, when dragged their eyes from them and looked they saw the stairs and the brilliant light that was streaming out from something on top of it.
“Keshira! Wait,” Rosh called out to her. She halted in three steps, coming to a rest smoothly and showing no signs of the heavy breathing or exhaustion that the two men felt. Rosh shook his head and scowled as he walked up to her and then started up the stairs. He had to squint more with each passing step, until he was finally forced to look down at his feet.
“Rosh! Logan, Keshira… you left the ‘Hawk?” Called a voice down to them.
Rosh tried to look up but could not make out the face that belonged to it. He knew the voice though, knew it and felt relief wash over him to hear it. “Willa, you’re alright!”
“Aye, but the Captain and Jenna are frozen to something they touched,” she said.
“The elves are coming too,” Logan called up to them, shielding his own eyes with his hand as he did so.
“What’s with all this damned light?” Rosh asked, turning away from it so he could see the outline of Willa.
“It came from that diamond Jenna and Dexter touched. They’re stuck to it, we can’t get them free.”
Voidhawk: The Elder Race Page 8