blackened by fire.
“Don’t touch anything,” Dexter mumbled, moving forward cautiously and peering into each of the rooms as they passed them. Rosh shrugged and followed after, drawing his large sword and holding it in front of him.
Across a short stretch of sand from the wooden rooms a dais rose out of the sand, carved from pure marble. Atop it lay two tables with their corners touching to form a wide ‘V’. Upon each table was scattered various implements that looked to be arcane and mystical in nature.
“What in the-“
“I don’t know,” Dexter said, cutting Rosh off without meaning to. “Let it be, there be something unnatural about it all.”
Rosh nodded, the hair already standing up on the back of his neck. He turned and looked behind him, wondering just what it was that the small wooden rooms had contained.
“Captain,” Rosh said, “I’m itching for an honest fight, but there don’t seem to be none of that here, what say we head back?”
Dexter glanced at him then away without saying anything. He felt much the same. Still, the place deserved investigating…
Dexter stepped up on the marble platform and studied the arcane items on the tables. They seemed scattered rather haphazardly, a brazier here, incense there. An unrolled parchment with some gibberish scribbled on it within a dark fluid that Dexter suspected was blood. He reached down for an amulet and stopped, remembering what he had told Rosh about not touching anything.
They both felt more than heard a hum pulse through the room. Dexter turned to look at Rosh, who was likewise looking at him. They studied the room surrounding them and wondered what could have caused it.
“What’s going on?” Rosh asked.
“I’m for wondering the same,” Dexter admitted. “Time to be heading for the ‘Hawk.”
Rosh nodded and turned back to the staircase. Dexter glanced at the table again, his eyes falling upon a silver flute this time. He cocked his head curiously and found himself wondering what a flute would be doing there, especially one so small and shiny and, well, cute.
“Cap!”
Dexter shook his head and looked up, feeling as though he was waking from a dream. He turned to look at Rosh, who had not even taken a single step towards the staircase.
“You said don’t touch nothing!” Rosh said, pointing at him.
“I didn’t!” Dexter said defensively. His eyes fell to where Rosh was glaring and he saw the flute in his hand. “How’d this… I mean, I didn’t mean to!”
Rosh staggered backwards towards the marble dais as the sand under his feet shifted and rumbled. Something burst up from it, sending a spray of sand upwards that concealed the origin of the attack. It sank back into the sand just as quickly, moving away from them and leaving behind a disturbance in its wake.
Rosh jumped up onto the dais besides Dexter in time to avoid another of the strange assaults, though this time he caught a glimpse of a tooth filled maw snapping shut on the empty space his leg had occupied a heartbeat before.
They looked around at the room and saw several places where the sand shifted and roiled, disturbed under the surface by whatever the strange things were that could move through it as though they were fish in water. Or, more accurately, sharks.
“Now what?” Rosh asked.
Dexter looked at the flute in his hand and wondered the same thing. He shoved it in a pocket and drew his pistol. “Think we can make a run for it?”
Rosh chewed on his lip for a moment then looked back at the table and grabbed up a small silver goblet. He studied it for a brief moment, then shrugged and tossed it over a dozen feet towards the staircase. In less time than it took either of the two men to hold their breath awaiting a response the sand erupted around the cup, with ambiguous forms snatching at it. By the time the sand and dust settled the cup was nowhere to be seen.
“You first, Captain,” Rosh said, grinning.
Dexter scowled and turned to look at the table again, wondering if there was anything they could use there to help them.
“I’m thinking we’re in for a bit of a wait,” Rosh offered, clearing off a spot on the table and sitting on it casually. He leaned his sword against the table as well and watched the sand with a critical eye.
Dexter opened and closed his mouth. Rosh was right; they were trapped for the time being. He wondered how long it would take for Jenna or Kragor to get anxious and start looking for them. His eyes widened at his earlier premonition that the tower was a trap. He still felt it was, but wondered now if the trap was for the poor bastards like him and Rosh, or for the Voidhawk.
Jenna climbed up the ropes to the deck of the Voidhawk with ease. Once there she looked around and saw Bailynn working alongside Kragor, who seemed to have taken a liking to the girl recently as well. Keshira was securing the ropes controlling the mainsail and Bekka was on the helm, she presumed. Even Jodyne was helping out on the deck with the station keeping. Jenna sighed and went towards the aft crossbow, intent upon loading it in case Dexter’s suspicions were correct.
She felt the pulse of energy sweep through her as she ascended the steps to the stern castle. She looked about, knowing something was amiss instantly. She saw the others look up as well, their eyes searching the sky and then going to the small asteroid beneath them. The ship twisted a little, coming away from the broken tower on the rock and swiveling along its axis just slightly. Jenna hurried to the railing and looked over it, an icy feeling already rushing through her stomach.
“Damn him,” she muttered, speaking of Dexter and just knowing that he had gotten himself into something. She nearly turned away, ready to return to the ruins of the tower, when she caught sight of something emerging from the far side of the asteroid.
“To arms!” Jenna yelled, casting a quick final glance at it before hurrying to the heavy ballista and struggling to load the bolt into it. “Keshira, help me!”
In moments the pleasure golem was beside her, helping her seat the heavy ballista bolt into the industrial sized crossbow. They cranked it back in time to see the other ship come into view off their stern. It was not an easily recognized hull, but rather one was an amalgamation of a few different ships. A claw-like structure at the front served as a grappling ram, while an elongated aft structure resembled that of the Maiden’s Bane. The elevated fore and stern castles were reminiscent of those found aboard the Voidhawk. Below the deck, it possessed a bloated belly that looked like a swollen planet-bound galleon.
“Kragor!” Jenna yelled, aiming down the ballista at the large vessel looming above them.
“I see it!” He shouted back. “Full ahead and into the rocks, we’ll come back for the others after we be losing them.”
“Go,” Jenna said to Keshira, taking final aim and pulling the lever that sent that heavy bolt flying.
Jenna followed after Keshira, though she kept glancing back to watch the flight of her bolt. It sailed through the void between the ships and missed the forward mast she had been aiming for. It still tore a ragged hole in the sail, however, which made her feel as though it was not a total loss.
By the time she made it to the deck Keshira had already unfurled the main sail and was working rapidly at securing it. Jodyne manned one of the ‘Hawks wings and Bailynn worked the other, swiveling them out to collect the solar wind and get them moving as rapidly as possible.
Jenna realized she could do no good on the main deck, and with Kragor yelling at her in the background, she turned back to the stern where she could man the stern sails that also functioned in part as a rudder.
“Blast, girl!” Kragor bellowed. “Bailynn, head aft with Jenna, you’re not catching the wind right!”
The dwarf, surly in the moment of peril, hurried over to the wing she hastily abandoned and caught it in his callused hands. He twisted it and tied it off, securing it at a better angle to take advantage of the rays coming from the distant sun. The effect was negligible, but it did help to keep the Voidhawk from being twisted laterally as they tried to sail forward.
The girl came up hesitantly beside Jenna. The arms mistress glanced at her briefly, her gaze cold. “Hold this like so,” Jenna instructed her, gesturing with her head towards the guide pole she held in her hands.
Bailynn put her hands on it and set her feet, making sure she had it securely. Her eyes remained on it as well,
