'But with Silus it's as if he has a sixth sense when it comes to the sea. Even if it takes three more weeks of persuasion I still think it's going to be worth having him on our crew. Speaking of recruiting I see that you've been doing some yourself.'
'Ah yes, I'd forgotten that you had yet to meet our new colleagues.'
'Let me be the first to say, Kelos, that it is an honour to be working with a mage of such power.' The man who rose from his seat to thrust a bejewelled hand at Kelos staggered slightly, as though he had been on the flummox for quite some time. Kelos was bemused to be referred to as 'powerful' but also somewhat flattered. He had, after all, recently defeated a Shadowmage.
'The gentleman with the jewels is Father Maylan, an old friend of mine.' Dunsany said.
' Father Maylan? Father?'
'Relax Kelos, Maylan has little affection for the faith he purportedly represents.'
'Indeed,' said Maylan, sitting back down and eyeing the contents of the flummox bottle. 'I'm the Faith's token priest on Sarcre. Their only priest in fact. The church has very little real interest in the islands, but they can't be seen to be lax, so they 'converted' me and set me up as their Eminence here. Once a year I have to go to Scholten to maintain face, but it's all just a show. Not that Makennon knows that of course.'
'I met Maylan back when I was plying the trade route between here and Allantia. In those days he was head Diviner of the Many Paths.' Dunsany said.
'And to most of the locals I still am. But the crossed circle of the Faith is my mask now.'
'No offence Maylan but do we really need a priest on board?' Kelos said.
'Actually, you'll find that Father Maylan has already proven himself invaluable. It was through him that I was introduced to the three gentlemen you see on your right.'
The three gentlemen in question had the look of men who spent much of their time being blasted by the elements. Sun tanned to the point of burnt, with large, scarred and calloused hands, it was clear that they all shared the same profession. They squinted at Kelos through the smoke from thin, mean cheroots. He noticed that the same tattoo was inked upon the back of each of their left hands.
'Prison tattoos,' Maylan said. 'My friends here have spent time at the pleasure of Vos due to the nature of their export and import business.'
'They're smugglers?' Kelos said.
'We prefer free traders,' said the man in the middle of the group. 'I'm Jacquinto. The man on my right is Ignacio, my brother, and on my left is Ioannis.'
'They bring me a certain spice that is essential to divination.' Maylan said.
'That and it gets you high as a woodrene.' Ioannis grinned.
'The important thing is that they know how to handle themselves at sea.' Dunsany said.
'Three smugglers and a priest.' Kelos poured himself a glass of flummox. 'Okay Dunsany, I'm sure you know what you're doing. Just give me a little more time with Silus.'
'Excellent! Then we're most of the way there.' Dunsany rose to his feet. 'Gentlemen, charge your glasses. I propose a toast. To adventure and new horizons!'
Dunsany's grin fell as a thin, reedy voice came at them out of a dark corner of the room.
'They will walk beneath the waves and no man shall halt their march. Already their god stirs and from the dark night of infinity he shall come.'
Jacquinto and his comrades were on their feet, blades in hands. Dunsany was just in time to stop the downward swing of Ioannis's attack.
'No!' The knife skittered across the room and Ioannis turned an angry glare on Dunsany. 'No. It's okay. This is Emuel. He's with us.'
'My Gods Dunsany, what is he?' Father Maylan said, eyeing the tattoos and elvish script that covered almost every inch of the eunuch.
'Emuel is the ship's eunuch. It is his song that empowers the Llothriall.'
'Dunsany, something's not right,' Kelos said. 'Look at his eyes.'
Now that Emuel was fully revealed by the lamplight they could all see that his eyes were a deep violet. Kelos leaned in to take a closer look. Peering into the eunuch's eyes was like looking into the heart of a storm. Threads of energy sparked from his pupils and played across his eyelids.
'The Great Flood is coming.'
'Kelos, snap him out of it!' Dunsany shouted.
Kelos gripped Emuel's arms and was shocked by how cold he felt. Ignoring his babble for a moment he felt for a way to break through the glamour. Looking deep into Emuel's eyes he spoke words of power, but they had no effect whatsoever and the magic that had taken him was starting to fill Kelos's head, making his skull ache.
'Nurn will fall. The half-breed will be theirs.'
Kelos abandoned his attempt at magical defence and made to slap Emuel, but before the blow could connect the light faded from the eunuch's eyes and he dropped to the floor.
Kelos felt for a pulse. 'He's alright. It seems to have left him now.'
'What the hell was that about?' Ioannis said, retrieving his knife.
'It looked like possession to me.' Kelos said.
'He said that Nurn will fall.' Dunsany said, helping Kelos move Emuel to a chair. 'Isn't that where Silus lives?
'Yes,' Kelos said. 'It is.'
Silus had been thinking about his meeting with Kelos at The Necromancer's Barge all day and, that night, the strange man had even found his way into his Silus's dreams.
He had dreamt that Kelos had led him down to the harbour where a magnificent vessel was berthed. The ship shimmered with the light of Kerberos, the great azure orb seeming to lend its glow to every part of the vessel.
And then Silus was aboard and they were leaving the shore behind, though the prow of the ship pointed not towards the horizon, but towards Kerberos itself.
Soon they were flying above an endless sea of clouds and Silus leaned hard against the rail, trying to peer into the depth of Kerberos, only for a hard shove to send him spinning into the storm.
Katya had shaken him awake. 'Silus, Silus stop it, you're screaming. What's the matter?'
After he had towelled the sweat from his body and calmed down, Silus told Katya about his meeting with Kelos. She had laughed over the implausibility of the venture that the man had proposed and, as the soft light of dawn crept into their room, Silus had to admit that it did now all seem somewhat fanciful.
Nevertheless, later that day, Silus stopped in at The Necromancer's Barge to see if the man had put in a reappearance. But there was just the usual crowd; drinkers coming in off night shifts or workers fortifying themselves for the day ahead.
Silus had stood in the Ocean Lily for a while then, reluctant to cast off into the fierce wind, knowing that today's catch would probably be worse than the last and that he and Katya would be eating seacrake again for supper. But the sea was a part of him, just as it had been a part of his father and his father before that. There would be hard times and bad days, but that was true of anything and when he and Katya's son or daughter came into the world, Silus wanted to have a trade that he could pass on.
The song of the waves, the gulls wheeling above, the whisper of the wind were all calling to him and so Silus played out the rope, swung the boom and faced the sea once more.
The Ocean Lily protested against every pitch and yawl and twice Silus swore as the rope cut too quickly through his hands. The sails screeched with the force of the wind on them and he feared that the fabric would tear, leaving him unable to return to shore.
Eventually, though, he found the edge of the squall and the boat glided out onto calmer waters. He checked his nets and then made to drop anchor.
As soon as the weight left his hands and plunged into the water he knew that something was wrong. Silus had no time to react, however, as he was pitched over the side, his right foot having become caught up in the rapidly uncoiling rope.
He managed to resist the urge to gasp as the cold water hit him and he followed the anchor into the depths.
Silus could see nothing but a stream of bubbles and debris as he fought against the pull of the rope. There was a sudden tug and he found himself arcing over a rock surface. He struggled to grab handholds, trying to bring a
