Black Hart

Gradsul by Twilight

Chapter 16 - Terror from the Deep

It was well over half an hour, perhaps even closer to an hour, and Adder was getting chilly. It wasn't a cold night, but he had been sitting still for so long that he was beginning to feel what little chill there was. When Akhan reappeared at the gates, Adder said a brief thanks to whatever Gods were looking down that night.
With that he directed a short high-pitched whistle in Akhans direction to draw his attention, then removed himself from the shadows and began to slowly walk forward towards the half elf.
Akhan's good eye narrowed as the swordsman approached. "What does this pin-cushion want?" he thought irritably. Little enough chance of him simply being a ridiculously over-armed bandit, lurking as he did outside the Mareschal's domain. Still, he might be one of the Nyrondese sent to track Kyros down; Akhan wanted as little as possible to do with any of them.
There was no avoiding the fellow now that he had made such an obvious approach, though. He stood where he was, resting his hand on the pommel of Kagnstir and regarding this stranger with a non-commital air. What with the Brotherhood plot and now this Halstus bugger, Akhan felt there was more than one fish being fried in this city; and he felt resigned to his suspicion that this was yet another cook looking to stick his nose in the frying pan.
Adder approached within a daggers short throw of the half elf.
"You're a soul that's hard to get a hold of," Adder said flatly, "which is probably good considering the circumstances." He gazed around to ensure no one was observing them. "I suppose I should introduce myself. I'm known as Adder by most, and I've recently come from Cryllor at the behest of a mutual acquaintance."
Akhan stood silent, apparently waiting for him to say more. Then he cocked his head, seeming to listen to the night air.
Adder heard nothing at first - then a few faint sounds. From far away on the chill night air he could hear shouting - and screaming! It seemed far away, further down the docks. It was not the noise of a few men, but of many, and as he listened intently he thought he could hear the clash of swords.
Turning slightly to the side, he noticed a bright glow from the docks, over the buildings which blocked his view. He took a deep breath as the smell of smoke reached his nostrils.
Akhan's smile lit up his face as suddenly as one of Aranon's light spells used to light up a darkened room. "How nice to meet you Adder!" he said briskly, making the briefest and sketchiest of bows. "Vesic Ommeriaij at your service."
Akhan was desperate to find out what was going on down at the docks. It did not sound good. And if Eloi had been as fortuitous as Kyros seemed to have been this evening, Akhan could imagine only too well that the mad bastard could have stirred up a hornet's nest. The problem was what to do with this figure in front of him now. So far he didn't seem hostile, but mention of Akhan's acquaintances was not a ringing endorsement. Akhan had many acquaintances and a he'd be quite glad if he never set eyes on a large proportion of them ever again.
It was tempting to fob this Adder off and hoof it down towards the docks. Something about his demeanour told Akhan he was unlikely to be put off quite so easily though. "Sods, buggers and molly boys!" Akhan swore inwardly, frustrated by all the complications. Well, if he couldn't give this Adder the slip he certainly wasn't going to make it easy for him either. Fatigue and spite made him determined to let this man prove his credentials without very much help.
"Aah, a religious carnival of some sort. Wonderful." Akhan beamed at Adder. "I love festivals, but I didn't know there was to be one tonight. Us poor merchants are always busy you know. Never enough hours in the day. I think I'll join the fun!" he said as if the thought had just occured to him. His arm shot out beckoning Adder to join him.
Waggling his hand impatiently he said, "Come, come. You can tell me about this mutual friend while we walk down to the celebrations." Not waiting more than a fraction of a second, he strode off down the  street, more than a little anxious to know what this fracas was all about.
Adder quickly followed the lead of the half-elf.
"It seems," he continued, "that a member of your team, the priest of Olidamarra, has unwelcome company waiting for him in town. These fellows know at least of your existence as well."
Akhan winced. Did everyone in this town know about Eloi's mission? "My, my, Master Adder. There must be many merchants in Gradsul who know of Vesic Ommeriaij," Akhan lied happily. "My wares are sought after throught the Kingdom..."
He was smiling blandly at Adder but suddenly the combined irritation of all the day's mishaps got to him. Experience told him not to give this mystery man the slightest bit of encouragement until he proved exactly who he was. For all Akhan knew this was an enemy agent sent to determine exactly how much he knew. Good gods, he didn't know which rock this Adder had crawled out from under. There was every possibility that this was one of Major Halstus' men sent to confirm that he was indeed Kyros's accomplice. But Akhan was by no means the perfect intelligence agent. And if this man was yet another enemy, Akhan wanted to know right now, without having to dance around him until he revealed how he knew what he did.
Akhan stopped in mid-stride and whirled angrily to face Adder. "Look, just who are you, eh?" His eyebrows narrowed into a frown and he darted a quick look up and down the street to see if there was anybody lurking around who could overhear. "If you've got business with me then you better provide me with some sort of surety. It's been a very long day and I don't feel like fencing with you all night."
Adder appeared slightly surprised at the half-elf's abrupt change in demeanor, but he quickly resumed his serious hawk-like stare.
"Fair enough," he replied. "I've been sent here by Thoggin to assist the team headed by one Eloi Brandt in the matter of ascertaining the true identity and nature of a certain personage. Since being in town only recently, I have kept tabs on your groups whereabouts as best as possible. I have attempted to ask other parties about what is known about your group, but either little is known or people aren't telling, which is good. Unfortunately, I have appeared to stumble on some complications. After taking care of a madman who apparently thought he was some servant of the Hopping Prophet, and had it out for you and Eloi, I overheard a group of people in the Golden Anchor..."
Adder's eyes rolled slightly upward, "...unfortunately the names escape me. This group apparently has some past grudge with the priest and apparently intends to capture him and extradite him to one of the Ulek states or perhaps the Wild Coast."
Adder glanced past Akhan towards the harbour, and Akhan instinctively looked back, seeing the man lumbering towards them, undoubtedly drunk. He turned back again with an expectant look on his face, awaiting an answer, but Adder seemed more concerned with the approaching drunk.
Suddenly a look of horror came over Adder's face, and his hand went to the long sword at his side. Akhan too reached for his sword, fearing treachery for an instant before realising that Adder's reaction was to something behind him.
Turning, he drew the sword as he saw another two also lumbering towards them, men behind the first. As he drew the sword to bathe the immediate area in a dull blue glow he noticed a fourth man, climbing from the harbour, apparently coming out of the water or from a boat hidden from sight at the water's edge.
Akhan's face now twisted in horror at the sight before him, made worse as ever by Kagnstir's blue light. The lead 'man' was massive, a bloated form of discoloured flesh which seemed to hang from the bones as though soaked for an eternity in the sea's murky depths, filling his sailor's attire to the point of bursting. His empty eye sockets filled the lifeless and grotesque visage, and his bloated tongue hung from between blackened lips. In his right hand the man held a sailor's gaff, and as he lurched towards them Akhan had the feeling it was inscribed with his name.

Eloi cursed, "I'll bet someone's fecking set fire to O'Shad's ship! I guess we should forget our vigil here and go and see what all the commotion is about."
Eloi quickly left their vantage point and started to head towards the docks and the source of the smoke. Smokelight shrugged, thinking that anything had to be better than hanging around doorways all night. With a yawn, he walked off alongside Eloi towards the docks.
As they got near to the docks, they heard first one alarm bell, then another, then another, ringing out danger until there were several filling the night sky. About a street away, a man ran at them, then past, screaming, horror on his face and sprinted, as though for his very soul, away form the docks.
Over the din of the bells, as they neared the docks they could hear shouting, screaming and the noise of fighting.
In a minute they were onto the docks, and almost with relief Eloi saw the Shelliak - not burning, although it was almost sunk. The fire was coming from further up the docks, where one large ship appeared to have rammed two others that were moored there - the first ship was on fire, which was quickly spreading across to the other two.
From the  burning ship they saw men disembark - huge, misshapen men with clubs and gaffs and hooks, who were cutting down all they came across on their way to the main docks. There were over twenty in all, and the closest was but a hundred yards from them. Some men fought with them, others ran screaming.
"The dead are back to haunt us!" screamed one man as he ran past them, away from the nearest creature who was lumbering their way.
Both men were aghast at the horrible shape that lumbered towards them - it was bloated as a man who has lain dead in water for many weeks, the flesh hanging from its horredous carcass. It had no eyes, black sockets in their place, and a thick black tongue bulged from a twisted mouth. In its hand it held some sort of club.
Suddenly a woman stopped before it, yelling to it in keening tones.
"Yasmair, Yasmair! You are back, my son!" she yelled, throwing her arms out as if to embrace this monstrosity.
In response, the beast pulled back its arm, about to bring the club down on her head.
"No!" Smokelight broke out into a run, sprinting to get between the woman and the sea zombie that was about to strike her. He pushed her away from the zombie, and with his other hand swung his staff at the walking corpse's bloated head.
"This isn't going to be pretty," Smokelight thought.
As Eloi gawped, Smokelight displayed an amazing turn of speed, reaching the beast before his blow landed, sending the woman flying to the ground. All he could do with the staff was to block the blow which the beast rained down upon him instead.
Eloi cursed and drew his flail. He looked around the docks in search of any of the others and stepped towards one who was pulling himself from the water onto the dockfront. The thing was so horrible even Eloi could safely say he had never bedded one so rank and disgusting as this, and that was some claim.
As he approached, the creature lowered its club, and to all intents and purposes appeared to Eloi to be casting a spell! With a burst of speed, he lunged towards it, swinging his flail.
But the blow never landed - Eloi's frustration reached boiling point as, in an instant, he was motionless. He could see, and could still hear the sound of his breathing - but somehow, for some reason, he could not move! The eyeless expression on the monster's face seemed mocking as it lumbered towards him, mouth wide open.
Smokelight reeled as the sea zombie landed its next crushing blow on him before he could react.  With a word, lightning sprung from the end of his staff and wracked the drowned one's body horribly, probably enhanced by its sodden condition. What remained of its hair was now singed and added to the dreadful stink, and its bloated features were blackened from the blast.
He could hear the woman sobbing where she lay a few feet away from him, and out of the corner of his eye he caught sight of Eloi. He was motionless in a strange posture, an almost comical living statue of a half-orc in mid-attack - then he saw the drowned one, just emerged from the harbour's waters, lurching towards him with an obvious intent.
"Drat and obfuscation!" Smokelight exclaimed, seeing Eloi's plight.
"Run!" the wizard yelled over his shoulder to the sobbing old woman.

"Welcome to our happy band, Adder."
Akhan gestured with the tip of his sword at the monstrosities lumbering towards them. "Don't tell me, Thoggin's sent some of his drinking buddies down here too." Ash was not trained as a war dog for nothing however, and Akhan's attempt at humour was hampered by the need to keep the hound on its leash.
"Heel, Ash!" he barked irritably.
"Look, unless you're about to tell me that these four are easy meat, I suggest we enlist the Mareschal's aid." So saying, Akhan retraced his steps quickly, hoping to rouse out the King's men. If Veshper was half as efficient as he looked, there ought to be a few guards posted with weapons to hand.
Akhan set about the door he had left through only a matter of minutes ago with the pommel of Kagnstir. "Guards! Rouse yourselves! Call out the guard!" He pounded on the door a few more times, then stepped back to observe the approach of this horrific jetsom.
"Why don't we put this lot out of their misery, Adder?" Akhan asked. There didn't seem to be much point in waiting for his shipmates to join him, so Akhan gave his blade a couple of practice swipes and stepped up to engage the first of the group.
Adder might have laughed at the fact of two glowing blue swords, but that was for another time. Hopefully, Akhan's sword would serve him as well as Krakenshroud served Adder.
"As Fate would have it, minions of The Reaper have decide to join our conversation," Adder muttered. Adder  wisely decided to use the time it would take for the lumbering dead to close to invoke a power from his blade. It wasn't the four of these figures that worried him, but rather those that he didn't see
Without a further word, Akhan saw Adder's form shift slightly, and then it was as if he were five times as sodden drunk as ever before - five perfect images of his new acquaintance appeared out of thin air.
Suddenly, as the creature lumbered closer, Akhan felt the overwhelming desire to vomit as the putrid smell of decaying flesh filled his nostrils, and he now saw fully the horrible wretch that lurched before him. A whimper from about his feet and the brush of fur on his once good breeks told Akhan that Ash was similarly unamused by the stench.
With a satisfying squelch, Akhan embedded his magical shortsword into the foul monstrosity with all his might, but he was less impressed by the horrendous smelling liquids that poured from its shoulder where he had cut it. As it clumsily swung the heavy gaff at him Akhan thought it was almost childsplay to fight such a creature, his duck to avoid it needing so little effort as to be almost laughable.
They could hear an alarm bell, then another, ringing off further down the harbour front.
Fighting back the bile he could feel rising in his throat, Akhan set about the human compost heap in front of him. He was damned if he was going to retch up again, so soon after yesterday's misfortune.This situation was rapidly reaching new depths in weirdness though. He scuffed his eye patch up, hoping this might return the appearance of five of these Adders into something more natural. But the imminent onslaught of the other beasts concentrated his attention. He'd ask about the multiple copies after they'd dealt with this grisly crew.
The creature's strange timing put Akhan off his next blow,so he had little time to do more than loosen some of its putrid innards to the summer wind before stepping aside and letting the hook whistle harmlessly past.
As Adder drew his dagger, the lumbering creatures attacked two of his mirrors, and they disappeared into nothingness. Feeling somewhat more alone, he hacked at the nearest one for its efforts, and was disgusted as the creature's left arm fell to the ground, the stench about them growing steadily worse.
With a surprising turn of speed, the creature lashed out with its remaining arm, and Adder barely ducked in time, feeling the wind as it passed by his head. Even Krakenshroud's magic could not make his next blow land as he overextended his balance in dodging that blow, but his off-hand dagger, trailing as he side-stepped and tried to regain his balance, cut deep into the monster's belly.
Akhan faired better, landing a solid blow on his opponent, but as Adder watched in horror he saw a crushing blow coming down on the foppish elf's unprotected head - as his mouth opened to shout a warning, Akhan sprang sidewards at astonishing speed, but the blow landed firmly on his shoulder.
Surprisingly, it glanced off, tearing Akhan's fine jacket, and the rogue barely seemed to notice as he prepared to strike the monster again.
Suddenly the whole scene was a mix of colours and pain shot through Adder's entire body. In an instant, as he rolled and tumbled away from the blow, he recovered, realising that the fourth monster had struck him from behind with a heavy club.
The remaining monster had also done away with another of Adder's mirror images.
The tear in his jacket was the last straw! A cold rage stole over Akhan and his good eye glittered just as fiercely as its polished gemstone counterpart. It was time for some payback. He plied Kagnstir with renewed vigour, more determined then ever to chop these mouldering sacks of shit into little pieces and let them float back down the gutters to the harbour below. With a side-step he avoided the next blow, and easily thrust Kagnstir deep into the sea zombie's chest  - it was like besting one of Dekkro's fencing dummies. As he withdrew his blade it tumbled to the ground, not merely lifeless now but also motionless.
Adder's moves seemed almost choreographed as he darted between the blows of the two monsters who attacked him clumsily. Still, they were proving less easy to hit than he would have imagined, and it was only with great effort that he dealt a final blow to one opponent.
No sooner had he done so than another stepped in to take its place, sending him reeling back with an almighty blow from a cutlass. Akhan had seen the blow landing but had been unable to do anything about it. A quick glance showed there were no other drowned ones nearby, and without another thought he waded in to help his alleged comrade.
Recovering, Adder slashed wildly as he passed the new assailant, striking it hard with both sword and dagger, and he grinned just as wildly as it too crumpled to the ground, leaving Akhan just one target.
As the sea zombie came at him Akhan lunged deep and long, but over-extended his balance and was lucky to avoid its next strike. The crashing sound of its club striking off the cobbled street made him doubly glad for the burst of speed that let him avoid that collision.
In a minute of flashing blades, this creature also lay dead at their feet. It was then that they realised the bells along the docks were ringing out wildly, although whether to signify an attack or the fire they could see the glow of above the nearby buildings they did not know.
There was a commotion behind them, and they turned to see several armed men, marines of the Thalassic Legion, running from within the Umberdtine building towards the harbour.
One of them asked if they were alright, but was quickly brushed aside by an obviously annoyed Akhan, who pawed at the tear in his shirt as though it were a gaping wound. Beneath the shirt Adder saw a mail vest that could only be of Olven make.
Akhan brandished the ragged hole in his apparel at Adder with a disgusted look on his face. "This was new a few days ago and now look at it." he said. His shoulders slumped and he looked decidedly sorry for himself. Then, looking down at what was left of the carcasses, a vindictive grimace played over his face and he took a large squelching kick at the nearest corpse.
Partly satisfied, he turned back to Adder and said, "You alright?"
He had seen the man had take some shrewd knocks from these zombies, but someone who carried that number of blades around was no doubt used totaking care of themself. So, he used the tip of his sword to poke around in the remains of the creatures for anything unusual before sheathing his sword.
"Let's see if we can't join the party down there," Akhan said, starting off down the street where the marines had just headed.

Eloi stood frozen between Smokelight and the sea zombie, so abandoning his own safety the mage turned his back on the monster attacking him and ran to get a clearer shot. His vision blurred for a moment as he was struck from behind, feeling the pain spread thickly from his left shoulder blade
As he looked again, the zombie attacking Eloi had gouged a deep gash into the half-orc's chest with a wicked-looking hook. A quick mental calculation ran unconsciously through his mind and he swung the staff out to gain the angle he desired - the air hissed and crackled as the electricity surged from the end, ripping through the night, barely catching the sea zombie, but missing Eloi completely.
"Burn em to ashes, then burn the ashes..." the mage cried out, almost manically as the creature juddered for a moment, the current rending through its water-soaked body, then, with a muffled pop, exploding in a stinking burst of rotten flesh, covering Eloi from head to toe in sickening gunge. Although paralysed completely, Eloi could feel and smell the creature's remains, nauseating before, unbearable now, and he wanted to do nothing so much as vomit.
Suddenly another man ran, screaming, past Eloi. Then another, and another - out of the corner of his eye, Eloi saw what Smokelight beheld in full horror. As well as the monster behind him, three more were lumbering their way along the dockfront towards them, as the dockers who had been fighting them ran for their lives.
Eloi could only look on in horror as the sea zombies lumbered on.
"Fer feck sake!" he thought. "Must get some feeling back in me legs.'
The pain from the wound in his chest was fierce. He wanted to scream out in pain, but his mouth wouldn't let him.

As they turned the corner into the street, an awesome sight lay before them.
A burning ship lay ablaze in the harbour, having obviously rammed two docked ships of similar size which were now catching fire also. Along the dockfront were small bands of people fighting sea zombies who appeared to be coming from in and about the burning ship. Many others were running from the area, many screaming at the top of their voice.
Nearest to them were the Legionnaires they had just seen, who had surrounded one of the drowned ones. Of their number only six remained, hacking away at the beast - one lay on the cobbled street, another three stood frozen before it, paralysed in some manner.
Further down the dockfront their attention was drawn as a crackling noise accompanied a burst of blue electricity, undoubtedly from some mage's efforts, but they could not see anything other than a distant figure.
Reluctant as he was to get involved in sideshows, what with Scarlet Brotherhood agents swanning around the city, Akhan had the feeling this was one 'diversion' he couldn't ignore. He drew his sword again and peered intently at the possible mage. But it was too far away to tell if it was Smokelight.
"First things first," he said to Adder and his two identical twins in a resigned tone. "We can't leave these poor buggers."
So saying, he tried to scuttle around the outside of the melee in attempt to stick Kagnstir in the zombie's unprotected back. He didn't much care if the thing saw him or not. He was determined it was going to pay for its complicity in the ruining of his good jacket. Smokelight would just have to hang on for a few more minutes. Besides, the magical dung heap shared more than a little responsibility for the parlous state his clothes were now in.

Smokelight span back around, and the sea zombie almost walked onto the end of his staff. With a word he sent it back to the nether worlds in a blue flash and a puff of foul-smelling smoke. As it dropped to the ground, he turned to face the oncoming monsters.
With a smile he viewed their proximity to each other and their distance from any friendly targets. A mental picture formed in his head of the destruction a fireball would reek upon them all.
Smokelight pulled forth a dried piece of bat guano, which he'd gotten from a crevasse in the Lortmils. Actually it was guano mixed with sulfur.
"Mmmmm...Bat guano," the old magician said, holding the now odorless lump between his thumb and index finger, which he pointed towards the center of the zombies. He spoke several syllables of magical power, gestured a pattern, and mentally directed the bright, glowing bead which shot forth from his hand to stop in the center of the advancing zombies.
As it roared forward, the fireball blossomed with large and bright, then exploded with a searing heat that burst upon the approaching monsters. There was an unusual bursting cloud of steam that surrounded the creatures, and for a moment Smokelight could not see his foes. Then, through the dense cloud, all three monsters lurched towards him - slightly worse off for the burning he had sent their way, but Smokelight quickly realised that their sodden condition had saved them from the worst of his fireball.
Eloi was sure that the sweat was dripping from his brow - he had seen a flash, but could see nothing of Smokelight and the monsters now, and found that guessing his fate was indeed worse than knowing it. He shivered as he thought again of the Axewood Road and his encounter with the Shadow Dragon - then he could move but not see, now he could see but not move. Suddenly he realised how much worse off he was in his current predicament.

By the time Akhan and Adder had reached the crowd of marines, the creature had been hacked to pieces. They then gave quick concern to their injured, one of whom seemed to have been magically paralysed, before turning to look down the dockfront for other foes.
Hearing the noise of booted feet behind him, Akhan turned and noticed more marines headed their way. As he looked back he saw a bright flash of lightning, then another smaller one, coming from the same place as before. He nudged Adder, and as they watched a ball of fire erupted just in front of the mage as three figures slowly lumbered towards him. A cloud of steam erupted about the distant figures and both men could see no more.
Along the dockfront in isolated pockets the drowned ones were engaging the marines - they were taking their toll, but the marines seemed to be slowly winning the fight by force of numbers, although they were paying a heavy price. Only a handful of sea zombies remained on the dock now.
To their right, the two ships that had been rammed were now well ablaze. A thought came to Akhan's mind and he looked over to where the Shelliak had been, past the cloud-covered mage - it was still there, but he could see that it was almost sunk from whatever damage had made it list earlier. He reckoned that it would not be long before it was lying at the bottom of the harbour.

As the monsters lumbered towards him, Smokelight quickly gauged how much time he had.
"Alright, lad, work with me - concentrate on letting the magic work!" he said to Eloi as he began casting spellwords towards the hapless half-orc, trying desperately to dispel the paralysing effects with a sideways glance at the advancing corpses from the sea.
The moment's silence from behind was torture for Eloi - he had no idea of what was happening, and his fate lay in Smokelight's trembling hands. His only view was of the harbour, where of all things he saw the Shelliak, bobbing sluggishly at its moorings, all but ready to drop to the bottom of the harbour with a final glug.
Before Smokelight could react, the sea zombies were upon him and he was ducking and dodging for his life. First a wicked-looking gaff, then a club, then another, whizzed past his head as he tried at best to avoid them. With the final swing he almost forgot the arcane words that he hoped would restore Eloi to the fray, but finally spoke them into the night air.
Without waiting to see whether his work on Eloi had any effect, Smokelight swung his staff about him wildly, speaking the command words as he attacked with the glowing, sizzling iron shod tip.

Akhan chewed thoughtfully on his lip. This was all a bit wild.
"Adder. Let's see who the pyro mage was down there. I've got a feeling I'm familiar with his handiwork."
So saying, Akhan strode off through the isolated pockets of hacking and slaying, lit by the nightmarish flickering light of the burning ships. There was a slight chance that Eloi might be with Smokelight; if indeed this was Smokelight.
Adder wasn't too eager to engage the lumbering undead anyway, and was careful to stay to the shadows as much as possible. Feeling worse for the wear, he found it hard to empathise with someone who lamented rips in his clothing more than holes in his flesh. He slowly moved through the carnage, trying to get a better view of whoever was letting loose with the lightning and flame. He whispered a prayer to Our Lady of Fate that he wouldn't find himself on the wrong end of such magicks - he'd been there before and had no desire to go through that again.

Suddenly Eloi lurched into life, shouting in disgust at the zombie filth that covered him, and turning to see the three sea zombies setting about his magical saviour. Eloi flexed after his release. He turned an looked towards the battling Smokelight and proceeded to charge towards the nearest Zombie with his flail swinging.
With a sharp prod, the electricity discharged from Smokelight's staff, the monster's body doing an almost comical jig as it sizzled its way through it.
As it dropped, the blue light remained and Smokelight suddenly saw Akhan, the dull glow coming from his drawn shortsword, running with unbelievable haste towards another of his attackers. As his swing came to an end, this sea zombie also fell beside its companion. From the other side Smokelight was relieved to see Eloi, apparently unscathed aside from one gaping wound, strike the third zombie with his flail, although it seemed to do little damage.
In an instant the situation had turned from desperation to almost certain success, and Smokelight smiled as he side-stepped the creature's feeble swing. Seeming to sense its forthcoming demise, the creature turned to deflect what he could of the coming attacks. Akhan's darting lunge was parried before Smokelight cracked its head with a mighty swing, again sending lightning surging through it - it survived for a split-second before Eloi battered its cranium with his flail and it too fell lifeless onto the cobbled dockside street.
Catching their breath, the trio stood for a second viewing the mayhem about them as the people of Gradsul dealt with the remaining few sea zombies, reinforcements arriving by the second. To the side, a few yards from them, a howling woman wept over the body of one of the monsters.
Akhan stared at the wailing woman, momentarily puzzled as to why anyone would be as mad as to weep over one of those forsaken creatures. The realisation dawned though, that these zombies must have been men of this port once upon a time.
Eloi barely glanced down at his wounds as he quickly walked over to Akhan and Smokelight.
"Gents, I think it is time we made our exit. I don't want to be answering too many questions about this or raise anybody's suspicions. We'll wait and see what happens then return to the inn. The others should hopefully have made their way back there by now. We should also try to find out some info about the ship that the sea zombies arrived on."
Eloi turned to Akhan. "And you my friend? Weren't you supposed to be following O'Shad's brother? What news?"
Looking behind him, Akhan jerked his head in invitation for Adder to join them. Then, ignoring Eloi's questions about himself for the moment, he set about introducing the thickly set man.
"Zeb, this is Adder. He's been sent by our boss to assist us." Akhan turned to Adder and gestured in the half-orc's direction. "Adder, this is our illustrious team leader. You are truly in the presence of a noble spirit," Akhan said in a hushed voice full of false reverence and a malicious smirk.
The man that Akhan was introducing walked over to Eloi as he stood amidst the carnage. This 'Adder' was carefully stepping  among the fallen corpses. Significantly shorter than Eloi, he was nonetheless very well built, and his leathery tan yellow skin belied a measure of wear and experience. Sheathing his longsword, he adjusted his red bandana.
With a flat smirk he said, "Evening, Your Prominence. Beautiful night tonight isn't it? Name's Adder Pelgrin, by the way. A mutual acquaintance from Cryllor sends his well-wishings. Of course, I must assume he wishes it went slightly more…well. I see a member of your team is conspicuously absent. Perhaps I am too late…"
"Hmmmpphh!" Eloi retorted, altogether none too sure of what was going on now. It was late, almost midnight, his team were down to three men plus this stranger, and he was standing on a crowded dock covered in sea zombie gook. No that this bothered him much - he was not in his Baronial role so for now his filthy state would only do his cover credence. Still, he smelled terrible, far worse than usual, and he would not be putting off a bath any longer than need be.
Aware that they shouldn't loiter too long, Akhan pressed on.
"As for me, I was obliged to hot foot it out of the arena when I was discovered." Akhan paused and grimaced. "There are a damn sight more of these buggers than we originally thought - I saw them all arriving there. As for our religious friend," Akhan tsk-ed disapprovingly. "He's banged up in the Mareschal's cells awaiting an extradition hearing. It's a bit of a long story." Akhan shrugged. "Basically an old enemy's caught up with him. He was obliged to spill the beans about our little caper here to the Mareschal to try and convince him that he shouldn't be handed over. Luckily the Mareschal - Olff Veshper - seems a capable sort. He's prepared to help us if we come up with some more convincing proof than we've got at the moment. As for the hearing, I've said I'll speak up for him and his lawyer reckons they've got some arcane procedure which will prove his past crimes have been atoned for."
Akhan's face betrayed a slight cynicism, although it wasn't obvious if this was for lawyers or the procedure in question.
"What about you two, where'd the other crate get to?"
Eloi seemed irritated and from his glances was all-too-aware of the others about on the dockfront.
"Back to the inn," he said, and started to walk off.
"Zeb!" Akhan hissed at the piqued Baron. "The Shelliak's sinking. I'm going to have a last rifle through the damn thing. It's our last chance to recover anything before it's all immersed."
Akhan's fingers were itching. He and Kyros hadn't found anything substantial in their earlier search and it still bugged him. With the Shelliak sinking it was no longer necessary to use any finesse at all. Akhan wished he had his crow bar with him right at this moment. He'd tear down all the internal wooden walls he could pry open.
"Come on, we can tear the thing apart thoroughly. If there is anything in there we'll find it." Akhan had caught up with Eloi and raised his eyebrows with an encouraging grin. "Besides, I don't think we should go back to the Anchor just yet - Adder tells me that the crew that got 'Smiler' banged up know we use it and it was them that were asking around for us. Let's all have a rummage around!" Akhan said, hoping Smokelight and Adder would lend a hand.
Eloi looked sceptically at Akhan, ignoring Adder.
"I really don't see the point. The items important to our mission are hidden in the city."
He pointed to the growing group of people at the dockside.
"Anyways its going to look mighty suspicious if we jump onboard the boat. How you going to explain it to the town Mareschal's when they ask why you are onboard a boat which doesn't belong to you? The docks are too busy. It is too
dangerous!" He shrugged, walking towards the Golden Anchor. "Still if you wish to persist then go ahead. I won't stop you. There is an ale and a bit of ass back at the Golden Anchor with my name on it."
As if by an afterthought he added, "As for our religious friend, a night in the cells won't do him any harm. We'll go get him out in the morning. I am sure Olff can be persuaded by this". He patted the money bag fixed to his belt. "If not, then this." Eloi patted his dagger then turned his back on them, walking off to the Golden Anchor.
"Be careful," Smokelight said to Eloi as he was leaving.
The mage had been quietly trying to console the weeping woman as the others talked. He attempted to lead her by her elbow away from the scene of the carnage. "Please, ma'am, get away from this area. Go back to your house. It's not safe here. I'm sorry about the disgrace to your son's corpse." Smokelight rejoined the others, and heard the bit about the Shelliak sinking. "What are we waiting for? Let's go!" he said to Akhan.
Akhan had paused briefly when Eloi began to speak, but as he realised the bedraggled and cut-up rogue was in no mood to follow him, he carried on towards the Shelliak. He could hear him fussing about the Mareschal's men apprehending them but didn't pay much attention. Looking around at all the dead and undead bodies, Akhan rather doubted anybody would be too worried about stopping him stepping onto a sinking boat. He didn't look behind him to see who else was coming with him though. If they wanted to sit on their arses in that festering pit of an inn they were welcome.

Eloi returned to the Golden Anchor. His chest hurt from the wounds that the sea zombie had inflicted and he felt weary. The last two day's events had troubled and taxed him more than he could imagine. He wasn't used to being in charge of anyone but himself. Akhan knew this and Eloi was aware that the half-elf took great delight in his discomfort.
As he entered the Inn his spirits rose. This was the environment that he was most happy in. He walked over to the bar and ordered himself an ale. His thoughts turned to Kyros. What trouble had the priest got himself into now? Whatever it was Eloi needed it like a hole in the head. When the party turned up at the local Gaol questions might be asked. Why on earth would such a ratbag collection of misfits be together? You wouldn't have to be too smart to figure out no good!
The inn was less busy than before, although there was certainly a buzz about the place. Men gathered to show wounds and exchange long tales of the encounter of the night. Eloi yawned - he hadn't realised it before but it must be late. As he sat down at the bar Barad placed a shot of cheap whisky before him.
"A man's been snooping about after yer," he said.
Eloi looked up at him, questioningly.
"Gave me this to pass on," he said, passing a rolled parchment to Eloi. "Short, Oeridian mainly, stocky build with a bandanna. Took a room upstairs and asked me not to tell yer."
Barad moved away to allow Eloi to read the parchment, although, of course, he could not. The handwriting seemed fancy, and the brief note thereon was signed with what roughly looked like a snake entwined around a sword.
Eloi placed it within his tunic to be read later.He drank his whisky and tossed Barad a Rittern. "Let me know if there is any movement from my friend above. I am going to bed. It has been a long and tiring day.
With that he arose and left the inn, walking back towards Madam Byellok's place and a long overdue sleep.

Akhan stepped onboard, followed closely, albeit cautiously, by Adder then Smokelight. He walked over quietly to the twin doors, then peered inside the boat's galley for the second time that day.
He gestured around this first compartment. "We've searched this already. There were some coded papers which we left behind when we got gassed." Akhan decided to say nothing more about that little accident. "I'm going to have another quick scan of this room. Spread out through the ship. Be warned though.This place reeks of magic and we're not sure what it's supposed to be for."
He looked at Smokleight and flashed him a smile. "I guess ignorance is bliss sometimes but I'd rather not have my ass fried by some magical trap, thank you very much. We found the crates of fake coins in the hold on our first search, but that hold seemed mighty queer and I can't guarantee there isn't some nasty trap left waiting for us. We should try the other compartment first and leave the hold 'til last."
Akhan kicked the oil barrel - he was determined to tip that damn barrel over on his way out. But, he didn't want to do it at the moment while there was still the possibility of attracting unwanted attention to their presence here on the ship.
"Good luck," he whispered and scuttled over to the bureau to give it another rifle. He just couldn't believe there wasn't something interesting hidden inside.
Smokelight grimaced at Akhan's mention of the episode where he'd been gassed by Smokelight's own Stinking Cloud, and nodded as the half-elf mentioned the possibility of magical traps. Producing the Lesser Eye of Boccob and peering through it as if it were a monocle, the old mage began moving to the hold, cautiously scanning back and forth for any traces of dweomer.
He lifted the monocle to his eye, and immediately thrust it away from himself, screwing that eye up as though someone had shone a bright light on him.
"Strangeness!" Smokelight muttered. "Every inch of the ship radiates faint magic."
Akhan screwed his face up slightly, appearing somewhat sheepish.
"I guess I should have told you that, I checked last night and so did the errant Cinion and we found the same."
Akhan gave the bureau his best search, but apart from the crumpled and slightly soggy coded papers they had left behind, he found nothing of interest. He looked over at the two barrels beside the galley, the water one to the right which they had earlier emptied, and the full oil barrel. He looked wistfully at the oil barrel.
Tipping this one was no doubt a bad idea. He didn't relish the thought of floundering around in a bath of oil. Instead, a slow smile spread over his face and he drew Kagnstir from its scabbard and swung the blade in a controlled blow, low at the bottom of the barrel's staves. It could drain more slowly with a small hole and the oil would probably leak through the scuppers on one side what with the list the ship had acquired.
Seeing Akhan whack the barrel of oil, Adder made a slightly puzzled look which turned to resignation.
"Although I possess some talents in trap finding, I'll defer to you masters of the arcane. I'll be waiting outside if you find something" Adder said. And with that he exited the sinking wreck the way he has come. Perhaps there was new activity on the docks which would be of more interest, but he doubted it.
Akhan struck the barrel, but found it was made of sturdy wood and did not yield on the first blow. As Adder made his way outside, he continued to pound the bottom of the barrel until it split and the oil started spluttering out.
Akhan looked down and saw that the oil was draining out of the barrel nicely, trickling off to the scuppers on the same side. It was a few minutes before it had drained completely, but when it had, Akhan peered in and a surprised look came over his face - at the bottom of the barrel, below the floor level was a small circular 'well' where some of the oil had pooled, perhaps about three inches in diameter. It was hard to tell in the strange blue light but it looked to Akhan as though there was a small object hidden within this well.
Akhan hugged himself in delighted self-congratulation.
"Smokelight!" he hissed. "Look at this."
He hopped from foot to foot while he stared into the false-seeming bottom of the barrel. Then he lay his sword down on the edge of the barrel so that its light still shone down into it and searched the galley for something to use as a torch.
"Hey, you don't have any light source spells do you?" Akhan twirled his wrists incomically poor imitation of casting magic. "Only, I want a better look at whatever's down there. Then I can use one of these pots to scoop the last of that oil out of there." Now that they were getting somewhere he decided it wouldn't do any harm to have Adder along with them too. Thoggin must have sent him along for some reason.
"Besides, if this is a booby trap then I'm damned if I'm going to be the only one coughing his lungs up on the dockside again!" he thought to himself rather maliciously.
Stepping over to the entrance he looked out, quickly seeing Adder who was standing to the aft, staring out towards the dockfront. "Hsst! Adder, we've found something interesting inside the barrel. Come back in," Akhan beckoned. However, he was too curious about what was hidden in the bottom of this barrel to wait to see if he was going to join them or not and he scurried back inside.
Looking at Smokelight, he asked "Any ideas for what this might be?"
Akhan was rather anxious to get stuck in, especially as this damn ship was in the process of sinking under them.
Smokelight peered in at Akhan's request. Whatever it was, the item was small, no bigger than a plum stone, and it was hidden mostly within a well at the bottom of the barrel which seemed to go slightly below the galley floor. Of course the bottom of the barrel was covered in oil, which made it difficult to see anything clearly.
Smokelight produced a small round pebble of rock quartz that already glowed with magical light, and held it forth to examine the hole punctured in the oil barrel.
"I have no idea what that depression is for, or what is inside of it," he murmured.
Seeing their new companion re-enter the galley, he said, "Adder, see if you can notice any traps in here."
Adder peered over the barrel, but as Smokelight held the pebble close to the hole he could not see anything that signified a trap to him - not that it meant anything, as the inside of the barrel was covered in oil and could have been concealing a multitude of sins.
Obviously not content with what he could see, Adder peered more closely at the 'well', but with the poor light and oil covering he still could see nothing within the barrel that suggested a trap of any sort. He examined the barrel - it was well made and although it would be possible to split it, he would need to force off the iron rings that bound it together before doing so. He gave it a push and a pull, but found that it was fixed to the floor, unlike the identical water barrel that Akhan and Kyros had toppled so easily that morning.
Adder stood back, chisel in hand, and took a deep breath, looking at the barrel and wondering what to do.
Akhan grinned conspiratorially at Adder.
"Nothing?" he asked anxiously. But, thinking about it further he said, "Let's face it - we don't have much time here and if chopping a hole in the barrel doesn't set a trap off then what will?"
He looked sharply at the other men.
"I don't expect an answer to that one by the way."
"Look..." Akhan said as he rested his hands on the rim of the barrel.
Before his sentence could continue, there was a strange slowing of time that was all-too-familiar to the three adventurers. Smokelight, more observant of these things, saw the the ripple of magical energy flow from Akhan's hands, pulsing into the centre of the barrel where it formed a glowing rune in mid-air.
Akhan's eyes widened but, unlike Smokelight who automatically turned away in anticipation, he was blissfully unaware of the fire glyph's meaning until it burst up at him, burning with a searing flame.
Adder, reaching for his wire cutters, saw the flash of fire, and realising the potential of burning oil everywhere over the place, he quickly moved out of the way.
"Let's get out of here!" Smokelight yelled, backing up quickly, moving to exit the ship.
As his companions ran for the double galley doors, Akhan let out a startled hiss of pain and fury. Clapping furiously at his burning clothes he extinguished the flames and was left smouldering by the barrel. Without stopping he glared into the depths of the barrel - now that he had been so badly burned on his first attempt he was determined not to leave empty-handed!
The rush of air from outside, as Adder then Smokelight burst out, fanned the smouldering flames within the barrel, causing them to flare up - somehow Akhan doubted that his eyebrows had survived intact.
Ignoring the heat, he flipped up the eyepatch and began to concentrate on the oil-covered item - with ease he plucked it through the air, and it spun, burning, in front of him. Covering his hand with his sleeve, he grabbed the pebble-like object, extinguishing its flame. A quick glance revealed that it looked like nothing more than a mere pebble, although he could not be sure as it was covered in filthy oil soot.
There was a strange noise coming from beneath Akhan's feet, below-decks.

Smokelight almost sent Adder flying as he pushed out of the galley, onto the deck. Adder quickly regained his footing and stumbled out into the night again.
Both men glanced about and saw that Akhan had not, for whatever reason, followed them. In that instant's pause, they heard a strange rumbling, like a dog's growl, from beneath their feet. As the men stood there, they suddenly noticed wispy tendrils of smoke rising up through the wooden boards of the floor - a strange precursor to a sinking ship!
There was a horrible noise like an old drunk clearing his throat, but a thousand times louder, from below decks and then suddenly Akhan, looking somewhat fire-damaged, burst through the galley doors onto the aft deck. Almost instantly both men saw a small ball of fire burst behind him. Then, as he cleared the doors, their eyes widened in horror as the entire ship behind Akhan became engulfed in flames, bursting up through the decks with almighty force.
From the calm, 'just-got-away -with-that-one' grin on Akhan's one-eyed face he was totally oblivious to the situation behind him!
Not breaking stride, Akhan totally ignored his companions' horror-stricken fizzogs and powered his way towards the dockside. Smokelight, with deftness belying his age and shape, took several steps and leapt towards the docks nearby as Adder turned to follow suit. Akhan sprinted to them, but somehow knew he was not going to make it as the fire breathed down his neck like a half-orc whore with a bellyful of Mad Crow moonshine.
Adder had his foot on the gangplank, Smokelight stumbling just behind him, when the fire enveloped them with a loud bang...

Akhan was still running as the flames enveloped him - he saw Smokelight and Adder reach the gangplank, and just beyond them Ash was standing on the pier, his jaws snapping as though yelling a silent warning to his master, but Akhan heard no sound.
The wood beneath his feet crumbled and splintered, then erupted into raging fire, but there was no panic in Akhan's mind - it was all so simple, he was going to die now! But he had no worries of the fiery floor, for he was hurling through the air, tumbling head over heels, spinning towards the harbour's deep, dark waters without any control whatsoever.
Pain seared through every inch of his body as the burning seized him, but he knew it would soon be over. The cold of the water was welcome but shocking at the same time as he plunged into the harbour. Akhan desperately fought to stay conscious and to find his way to the surface...

Cursing his extra weight as Adder made it to the gangplank before him, as the fire wrapped itself about them both Smokelight took the risk and jumped for the pier. An instant later, as the explosion hit him, he was hurled upwards, flying over Akhan's hound towards the pier.
Adder's next step found nothing but air and he too was thrown through the burning sky as the explosion caught them. He had no sense of where he was, or what had happened to his companions. Suddenly the pier loomed up at him and he was tumbling and bouncing along until he came to a halt, perhaps twenty feet from where the boat had been. His vision blurred for a moment, then came back into focus.
As the smoke cleared, he heard a noise behind him, and turned  to see Smokelight lying on the pier, checking himself over for injury. Acknowledging his companion, as he stood to his feet, Adder also made sure he was not in a desperate condition before reaching over and helping the mage to stand up. It was then he noticed Akhan's wardog, on the other side of the pier, swimming towards the docks. The Shelliak was gone - blasted into a million pieces there was barely a flickering ember in the water, although splinters of wood and other wreckage were strewn across the pier. There was a splash from near to where the boat had last been, and Akhan suddenly broke surface, gasping for air.
From behind them there was a clamour and they turned to see men running towards them from the dock. Adder was beginning to get fed up with this continual abuse. He was getting to old for exploding boats.
"Ahh, what I wouldn't do for some of those harem girls from Sefmur," he thought, "along with a visit to the House of Kismet." He quickly came back to reality. "I hope you're happy now!" he yelled, pointing accusingly at the half elf swimming in the distance.
Akhan spat copiously, but the air he dragged hungrily into his lungs smelt just as noisome as the dock-water he'd just got rid of.
In response to Adder's accusations, he croaked a quick, "Hee-ulp," in a mockery of his normal tones. The vile water was still clogging his throat and although his flapping hands and legs were keeping him afloat so far, it was only a matter of time before he was going to be sinking again. As he began to sink and the water crept over his firmly clamped mouth, fear galvanised Akhan into another burst of flapping strokes. Lifting his head further up he croaked, "Ak-sh!", hoping vainly that the war-dog would recognise his plight immediately, even if his friends didn't.
Recognising Akhan seemed to be in trouble, Adder raced down the dock to the rescue, all the while wondering why someone who seemed he couldn't swim would be messing around at the harbour. Smokelight likewise returned to the edge of the pier to lend a hand. He stood on the edge, ready to help the others out of the water, nervously aware of the commotion behind them.
Adder paused only to ditch the heaviest of his gear, into the care of the ambling Smokelight, before plunging head-first after the aquatic Akhan, who had disappeared below the surface with a finalistic 'glub'!
"Hurry up, gents!" Smokelight hissed. "Exploding boats can't attract anything but negative attention on our part! We've got to high tail it out of here!" Smokelight briefly imagined the wise Eloi, sitting on his haunches, reposing with lager and wench before the hearth fire of a warm inn...
"Why could I not have been made with a better wisdom," he grumbled, "and less useless weight around the waist?!"
There was a pensive minute's waiting for the mage before the duo reappeared, Akhan floundering for a moment, lashing out until Adder regained his breath and charged him, with a few expletives, to stay still. The pair only went under once more before Adder guided them through the Shelliak's debris to a ladder leading up to the pier. By the time they had climbed back up a number of concerned citizens had joined Smokelight and were busy indulging their curiosity in quizzing the mage over what had happened.
Akhan appeared concerned for a moment, then relaxed as he saw a very wet Ash trotting towards them down the pier, from the docks. He stood on the dockside, for the second time in a matter of hours, completely nauseated. He wasn't physically chucking up this time maybe, but he wasn't far off it. All he could do for the moment was to stare fixedly down at the cobbles. He hacked and coughed again, then looked up at his companions, beginning to be aware of the crowd they were attracting. He gave them a wild-eyed stare along with an attempt at a smile.
"Woops!" he said, then broke into a fit of coughs.
Recovering finally, he said, "I think I'll meet up with you guys in the morning. Thanks for pulling me out of the drink." He tried to clapAdder firmly on the shoulder but merely managed to flap his arm vaguely in his direction. "I won't forget it."
Akhan started to walk off and then remembered he ought to fix where andwhen they were meeting.
"Seeing as how our fat friend is so fond of it, let's all meet up at the Anchor. I've got to catch up with laughing boy in the clink and bring him some new clothes..." Akhan stared down in a horrified but almost resigned look at his own gear. "But I guess I'll need some myself.
"As Fate wills," Adder replied. "I shall talk to both of you on the morrow, and perhaps persuade His Flatulence to not take a heavy hand in these matters with the priest."
With that Adder headed off in the general direction of the Golden Anchor and a bed that was long overdue. Smokelight mumbled assent to the others' comments. The old mage clearly looked tired and worse for the wear.
"At the Anchor, then, tomorrow," he grumbled before heading back to the guest house through the gathering crowds of puzzled dockers.

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