The star of Morcyth ms-5

by Brian S. Pratt

The captain hollers to the men up in the rigging to drop sail. As the sail descends, the wind begins to fill them and they start moving away from the dock. As he gets the ship turned out to sea, Miko, Jiron and the others stand at the bow. The other ship is now far ahead of them and is almost lost upon the horizon.

  Once the ship clears the harbor, the captain has the crew in the riggings to drop full sails and the ship begins racing through the water as they work to maintain visual contact with their prey.

  When they come to take him from his pen, they remove everything from him but the clothes on his back. His slug belt, plus the entire contents of all his pockets were emptied into a sack before the manacles were put on his feet and hands.

  The effects of the drug they used on him have reduced to nothing, though he is still unable to concentrate adequately enough to summon the magic. Helpless to do otherwise, he remains still as they secure the metal around his feet and hands.

  Only able to shuffle due to the chain connecting his feet together, he moves as best he can up the stairs and then out of the castle. A crowd has gathered in the castle’s courtyard to see the Ambassador off and maybe to take one last look at the mage.

  He stands there amidst several guards while they wait for the appearance of the Ambassador and his retinue. When he at last makes his appearance, walking next to him is the man who paid him a visit earlier. That man comes to James and checks the integrity of his manacles before they start to leave the castle courtyard.

  As they walk along the docks, he sees Jiron and the others in the crowd. He shakes his head to prevent any ill fated rescue attempt. There are simply too many guards around for it to have any chance of success. Especially with his magic inoperable.

  He is then marched up the gangplank and then escorted by several of the Ambassador’s guards to the hold where his manacles are secured to the wall by a chain. Over in one corner, ten children sit in a cage looking scared.

  Once they are done with him, the guards leave the hold, leaving him there alone with the kids.

  He sits there in the gloom of the hold, only a very small amount of light filtering down through the hatch from above. It isn’t long before he begins to feel the unmistakable motion of the ship moving out to sea.

  One of the girls, a small child, is staring at him with her face pressed against the bars of the cage. He gives her a reassuring smile. She smiles back at him. “Are you Miko’s friend?” she asks.

  He couldn’t have been more stunned than if she started singing the Star Spangled Banner. “What?” he asks.

  “Are you Miko’s friend?” she repeats. One of the older girls in the cage with her perks up at that and joins her next to the bars.

  “Yes,” he replies. “I know Miko.”

  “He’s a nice man,” she says.

  “I’ve always thought so,” he says. How in the world does she know him? And how could she possibly have connected him to me?

  “We were helping to keep an eye on the Ambassador’s camp for him,” the older girl explains. “We got a little too close and they grabbed us.” After a brief pause, she asks, “What are they going to do with us?”

  “Nothing if I can help it,” he says. “Miko and the others with him know where we are and where we are going. They’ll not sit back and do nothing.”

  “I hope not,” the little one says. “I miss my sister.”

  “My name is James by the way,” he tells her.

  The older girl says, “I’m Gwynne and this here is Daria.”

  “That’s me,” the younger girl explains to him.

  “Nice to meet both of you,” he says. “I just wish it wasn’t here.”

  Just then the hatch opens and James looks up to see the man who visited him in the dungeon. The man gazes down at him for a brief moment before stepping aside to allow the Ambassador to step onto the stairs leading down into the hold of the ship.

  After the Ambassador has gone down a few steps, the man follows as does three guards, one of which has a crossbow.

  The girls move away from the bars of their cage as the men come down the stairs. When they reach the bottom, they come directly to James and stop several feet away. Far enough to keep him from reaching them should he make the attempt.

  “So this is the mage which has caused so much turmoil in the Empire?” questions the Ambassador. The guards flank him while the crossbowman keeps his crossbow aimed directly at James’ chest.

  “Yes milord,” the other man says.

  The Ambassador gives James a thorough once over before saying, “He doesn’t look like much.”

  “Right now his ability to use his power has been blocked,” the man tells him. “If he had his power I assure you your opinion would be different.”

  “Indeed,” the Ambassador says, unconvinced.

  After a few moments of silence while the Ambassador contemplates James, the other man says, “We should return to the deck milord. The air down here is most foul for your lordship.”

  Glancing to the other man, the Ambassador nods his head and says, “Perhaps you’re right.” Turning back to the stairs leading to the deck above, he moves away from James and the guards follow. As they ascend the stairs, the other man glances back to James just before exiting through the hatch.

  When the hatch closes, the hold is once more plunged into darkness.

  An hour or so later, he’s not sure exactly as time down in the hold is hard to measure, the hatch again opens and the three guards who accompanied the Ambassador earlier enter and come down the stairs.

  They approach James and in the hand of one is a small vial. When the man holding the vial stops near, he holds it out to him and commands, “Here, drink this.”

  Not about ready to willingly consume more of the drug, as that is what this must be, he crosses his arms across his chest and clamps his mouth tight.

  “As you will,” the guard says. Then he says something to his two companions who grab him. Once they have him tightly secured, the man with the vial comes to him and grabs his hair, pulling his head back.

  Keeping his jaws locked securely, James stares at him in defiance.

  The guard nods to one of the others who pinches James’ nose closed.

  Unable to breath but through clenched teeth, the need to draw in a breath becomes greater and greater. Finally, unable to stop himself, he opens his mouth and a piece of wood is inserted between his teeth to keep him from closing it again.

  Then he watches as the man opens the vial and brings it to his opened mouth. He upends the vial and James feels the liquid within begin filling his mouth. Keeping the back of his throat closed, he tries to prevent any of the liquid from going down. But the need to breathe becomes too strong and he starts choking as he takes in a breath and the liquid goes down.

  They continue holding him for several more minutes to ensure the liquid has in fact been consumed. Then the man nods to the two holding him who promptly releases him.

  James immediately bends over and puts his finger in the back of his throat and vomits out the contents of his stomach all over the hold’s floor.

  “That won’t do you any good,” the guard tells him. “It’s already in your system. The drug is very fast acting.”

  He looks up at the guards from where he’s doubled over and can tell the guard’s words are true as his mind begins clouding over. Not as bad as the other time, but bad enough to render him incapable of summoning the magic.

  As the guards leave, the drug begins taking its full effect. Though his mind is beginning to be fuzzy, he’s at least able to keep conscious. The effect of this drug feels like having a bad fever without the heat.

  When the guards have left and the hatch once again closes, the older of the two girls asks, “James, are you okay?”

  “Sort of,” he replies.

  “What did they do to you?” she asks.

  Not bothering to reply, he closes his eyes and leans his head against the side of the ship.

  Sometime later, the hatch again
opens and the man who was with the Ambassador descends down the stairs. From the diminished light coming in through the open hatch, James figures it to be near dusk.

  He notices that the man is carrying a sack in his hand as he comes nearer to him. Stopping several feet from him, he pulls a crate closer and sits down. Upending the sack on the crate next to him, James can see it contains the things which were taken from him.

  The man holds up the slug belt and says, “Why do you carry this?”

  James smiles and says, “I was given a sling by a friend and find that a handy way to keep the bullets for my sling.”

  He puts the belt down, nodding. The next thing he picks up, James almost can’t even see what it is. “And what is the purpose of this?”

  Squinting, he tries to make it out in the dim light of the hold. Then recognition hits him when he realizes the man is holding the little round hard object he made with his magic back in Cardri just before losing the ability to do magic.

  “Oh that’s a toy,” he says.

  “A toy?” the man replies. “I don’t think so. Tell me what it does.”

  “Would you like me to show you?” James asks, giggling slightly. The giggle surprises him, it must be the effect of the drug.

  “Yes,” the man replies, “I would.”

  “Very well,” agrees James. He then opens his mouth and says but one word, “Leech.”

  The round sphere pulses slightly and the man is about to say something when he suddenly gasps. “What?” he cries out as he drops the pulsating sphere as if it was a red hot coal.

  The confident expression on his face turns to puzzlement as he begins to sense something is not right. “What are you doing?” he asks.

  “Doing as you requested,” replies James. “Do you wish to see more?”

  Shaking his head, the man pulls out a knife and says, “Stop it now!”

  “Very well.” Looking to the sphere he says, “Leech by ten.”

  The man doubles over as if in pain, lines begin forming on his face as he starts to gasp. Raising his knife in one hand, he holds his middle with his other as he lurches toward James in an attempt to kill him.

  “Leech by a hundred,” James says.

  The sphere flashes brightly as the man drops to the floor of the hold and begins writhing. Moaning, he looks to James as his fingers lose their grip on the knife and it flops to the deck when his arm twitches. Shortly after that, he lies still.

  “Leech by zero,” he says and the sphere, now the size of a golf ball, stops its pulsing and becomes still. An amber glow comes from it, similar to crystals which contain stored magic.

  “Is he dead?” asks the older girl.

  He glances over to them and sees all the girls staring at him and the dead man with naked fear in their eyes. Nudging the man’s body with his foot, he nods, “I think so.”

  “What did you do?” she asks.

  James waves away the question as he takes his foot and snags the dead man’s body with his heel. Dragging him a little closer, he reaches out with his hands and pulls the dead body next to him.

  Searching the dead man’s clothes, he finds a set of keys and as luck would have it, one fits the locks of his manacles. He removes first his wrist restraints, then his feet. Glancing up to the open hatch, he fears that someone up there had heard the man’s death. But when no one comes to investigate, he reaches over and picks up the glowing sphere, putting it in his pocket. Taking the rest of his things, he places the slug belt once more around his hip and then gets up, making his way over to the girls in the cage.

  “Shhh!” he says, putting a finger to his lips. “We must be quiet.”

  “How are we going to get out of here?” one of the other girls asks.

  Turning the key in the lock, he says, “I don’t know. I wasn’t planning on being on board a ship.” Opening the door, he lets them out and has them move as far from the hatch as possible. They find a spot behind some barrels of tar to hide.

  “Stay there and don’t come out for anything,” he tells them.

  The girls just nod, fear on their faces.

  Turning back to the hatch, he moves until he’s once more by the cage. Unsure what to do, he stands there in indecision as he ponders his next course of action. His mind still fuzzy from the drug, it’s hard for him to think properly.

  He takes out the sphere and absentmindedly rolls it in his hand. When he had originally made the sphere he had only imbued it with a few simple commands. Leech was the first one, which would draw power from whoever it was near thereby infusing it with power for the other commands.

  It was intended to use magic in circumstances when he was unable to, such as now. He only put one offensive spell in it and had he known that he was going to be aboard a ship, he never would have used that one.

  Staggering slightly from the effects of the drug coursing through his system, he begins moving toward the stairs leading to the hatch. Suddenly from above, the light coming through the hatch is blocked as a guard begins descending down the stairs.

  James halts his forward movement and begins backing up as the man stops abruptly on the stairs when he sees him there. The guard does a quick scan and takes in the scene: James no longer in manacles, the cage empty with the door open and the dead body lying on the floor.

  The guard begins hollering up the stairs as he draws his sword. As the guard continues down the stairs, more guards come through the hatch.

  Holding the sphere before him, he calls forth the lone offensive spell by saying, “Incinerate!”

  The sphere pulses and he can almost feel the magic flow out of it toward the approaching guard. The guard’s clothes, hair and it seems his very skin ignites in a fireball. Screams of pain erupt out of the inferno as the man stumbles around until finally coming to rest on the deck. The nauseating odor of burnt hair and flesh permeates the hold. Within the sphere, the glow has been greatly reduced.

  James looks to the other guards who have paused on the stairs after seeing the fate of their comrade. They look to him in fear as they back up the stairs and return to the deck above. Voices can be heard arguing up there and though he can’t understand the words being said, he has a pretty good idea. The Ambassador wants the guards to come down and subdue him while they feel that’s a bad idea.

  Finally a decision is reached as the voices become quiet. James glances over to where the girls are hiding and can see their faces peering around and over the barrels they’re hiding behind. Turning his attention back to the hatch, he waits.

  The light coming through the hatch is suddenly blocked again by several men coming down the stairs quickly. Each is carrying a crossbow and as soon as they clear the hatch, quickly fire.

  When he realizes they are sending crossbowmen down, he says, “Shield.” The sphere pulses and a translucent, shimmering shield surrounds him. The glow within the sphere diminishes still further until there’s only a barely perceptible glow.

  The first bolt fired glances harmlessly off the shield surrounding him and he begins making his way toward the stairs. Two more bolts are fired in rapid succession and they too are deflected by the protective shield.

  “Leech by a hundred,” he says and the closest crossbowman falls to the stairs and suffers the same fate as had the man before. When the other two crossbowmen see their comrade fall, and him advancing they beat a hasty retreat up the stairs, slamming the hatch closed. “Leech by zero,” he says when the crossbowman at last lies still.

  At the base of the stairs, he glances back to the girls and says, “Stay down here. No matter what happens, stay down here.”

  An ‘okay’ comes from the girls and he begins making his way up the stairs. At the top, he finds the hatch has been secured to keep him from escaping the hold and gaining the ship’s deck.

  Leech, shield and incinerate as well as the degree to which it does those commands, i.e. by ten and by a hundred are the only commands which he had imbued the sphere with when he created it. And until he regains the ab
ility to do magic, those are all that he has at his command. If he ever gets out of here, he’ll work on creating something which he can carry that will be more flexible in differing circumstances.

  The sphere glows with stored power once again as he tries to figure out what to do. The longer he remains aboard this ship, the closer and possibly further into the Empire he will go. He has to act and act now.

  Holding the sphere before him, he gazes at the hatch and says, “Incinerate.” Nothing happens. He really didn’t think that would work, the spell had been intended for enemies, not inanimate objects.

  Coming close to the hatch, he tries to hear what’s happening on the other side, but other than muted voices in a language he doesn’t understand, he can’t tell.

  “Shield by zero,” he says and the shield surrounding him disappears.

  Returning down the stairs, he stares at the grisly sight of the burnt corpse and shudders. He hates what these people make him do. The girls have come out of their hiding place and are coming toward him. “Now what?” one of them asks.

  “I’m not sure,” he says. “But I’ll think of something. Try not to worry.” Looking around the hold, he sees many boxes and other paraphernalia which is useful on board a boat. A spare sail, some rope and a box full of tools! If only the A-Team were here! Laughing in spite of the gravity of the situation, he begins rummaging around the box of tools.

  He finally comes up with a small five pound sledgehammer and takes it with him back to the hatch.

  “What are you going to do with that?” one of the girls asks.

  “Smash through the hatch and see about getting us off this ship,” he explains.

  “What if they won’t let us?” Gwynne asks him.

  His expression turning grim, he says, “Then I’ll have to convince them.”

  “How?” Daria asks.

  James glances at her but doesn’t reply. Then he resumes moving toward the stairs and up to the hatch. The angle is awkward and his arms aren’t all that strong to begin with. Balancing himself as best he can, he swings the sledgehammer with all his might and strikes the hatch with a resounding thud. The other side of the hatch becomes quiet as he brings the sledgehammer back for another strike.