She turned to face him, her vest hanging open in the front and allowing him to see her as she slid it from her arms. “Yes, Sir?” she asked softly.
“I thought about it,” he said quickly, forcing his eyes to stay on hers. “You can stay… matter of fact, I was never going to let you leave in the first place.”
She raised an eyebrow and laughed, then blew him a kiss as he turned and stepped out of her room. Dexter stood outside of it and shook his head, knowing he should not encourage her but also knowing that he enjoyed it so very much when he did. Whistling softly to himself, he started down the hall back towards the galley, then decided he might be better off to head up to the main deck.
Kragor grunted and moved through the dimly lit hold. His dwarven eyes made it easier to see in the poor light, but the shadows were still deep. He kicked aside a crate and made his way over to some barrels that were lashed together. He stumbled on his way and glanced back at whatever had tripped him. Curious, he bent low to examine it, wondering how a tree limb had made its way into the hold.
The limb moved, coiling up slowly and reminding him not of a tree limb anymore but more of a tentacle. He cursed and backpedaled quickly, trying to figure out what it was. He crashed into the barrels and fell on them, breaking apart a weakened one. He grabbed some of the wood and held it up, noting that he should be laying in a pile of salted meat. The wood showed signs of being worn down and eaten away, and the contents of the barrel were missing completely.
“Elf balls,” Kragor cursed, thinking up stories of what the tentacle might be. He tried to lunge to his feet but another tentacle lashed around his arm, yanking it out from under him.
The dwarf crashed again to the hull, air exploding from his lungs. Another tentacle wrapped around his chest and a third covered one leg. He pried at the one on his chest and gasped for air, trying to recover his breath. He smelled a musky odor that had not been there before, and noticed how much darker the hold seemed to be. A dark shape coalesced above him and moved towards him. He tried to hold his free arm up to ward it off, but his arm seemed so heavy he found he could not move it.
Jumbled thoughts and images crashed through his mind, trying desperately to put a name to the terror that came across him. He managed to cling to the tenaciously stubborn will that was his racial heritage and roll to his belly. Dragging the leaden tentacles behind him, he began to crawl towards the square of light that promised escape and freedom into the cargo bay above. Each hurried breath sucked in more of the musky odor, however, and each attempt at pulling himself closer to it made it seem farther and farther away.
Dexter watched Rosh and Keshira working on deck. They worked side by side to assist Bekka in the smooth sailing of the Voidhawk through the void, trimming the sales and tying off the rigging when necessary. Both possessed great strength, a necessary feat for running the ship with a skeleton crew, and endurance that was near legendary. The great difference between the two was that Rosh would eventually tire. Keshira worked endlessly.
Set on a new course after tacking, the work slowed down. Rosh finished coiling up a rope and tossed it into its place next to one of the wings of the Voidhawk. He turned and grinned at Keshira, then let his expression fade when she just stared at him blankly. From the forecastle Dexter sighed and wondered how long it would take until the pleasure golem started to show signs of thinking and acting for herself.
“Keshira, you ever going to figure out what a great team we make?” Rosh asked her, grinning anew in hopes of not being rebuffed as he usually was.
“What Rosh?” she asked him, clearly confused.
“You and me, we do good work together,” he said again, his grin fading.
“I could do it myself,” she said.
He chuckled and waved. “Sure you could, but you wouldn’t be so fast as us together.”
She paused and then nodded. “That is true.”
“So, we make a good team then?”
She hesitated a bit before saying, “Team… yes, we work faster together than apart.”
“Now we’re talking! We’re team mates, and that means we ought to-“
“Rosh, you seen Kragor?” Jodyne said, interrupting the large man as she climbed up the staircase onto the deck.
“What? No!” He snapped, scowling at her. “We’re busy here, can’t you see that?”
Ignoring the man, she turned to Keshira, “You seen him, Keshira?”
“I have not seen him for many hours, Jodyne,” the pleasure golem said.
Jodyne frowned then turned and looked about. She saw Dexter up on the forecastle and started towards him. Seeing her expression, Dexter figured he should move her way and save as much time as possible. He had more than enough experience at being on Jodyne’s angry side.
“What’ve you done with Kragor?” Jodyne asked, an unpleasant expression on her face.
“I’ve not seen him since I left your table,” Dexter explained defensively. Captain of the ‘Hawk or not, he still found himself intimidated by Jodyne when she was feeling feisty.
She frowned. “He ain’t off fixing something or other?”
Dexter shook his head. “’Fraid not. What’s he done wrong this time?”
Jodyne’s look melted Dexter’s mischievous grin from his face. “I sent him to fetch me up another barrel o’ meat but the damn fool’s been gone more than an hour now.”
Dexter frowned, his mood turning serious. Kragor had been known to dodge his wife before, but usually with Dexter and with the help of some ale to drown their troubles. Those times were long past, since they had reconditioned the Voidhawk and set sail on her. He nodded at length and glanced at Rosh and Keshira, who were both listening intently.
“Search the ship, Kragor’s missing,” he told them.
He turned to Jodyne and motioned for her to lead the way. With a firm set to her jaw she turned and headed back towards the spiral staircase that led below. Rosh and Keshira spread out but followed, looking as they went.
On the cargo deck Dexter and Jodyne waited while Rosh and Keshira both looked through the crew quarters that Xander and Rosh were sharing and the two staterooms. Finding nothing in the aft of the ship Dexter knocked on Jenna’s door next.
“Jenna, it’s Dexter,” he said, announcing his presence.
The door opened partway and Jenna said, “how many times do you need telling you’ve the run of the ship, you can… oh, what’s wrong?”
The seriousness of the situation helped Dexter keep from chuckling at her surprise. Jenna saw the small gathering behind him and excused herself for a moment. She returned a moment later, silk sash wrapped and tied around her body in such a way to provide enough modesty to frustrate the likes of Rosh, but to prevent much from being left to the imagination. She was buckling on her weapons belt as she shut the door behind her and joined them in the hallway.
“Any chance you’re hiding Kragor in there?” Rosh asked her, ogling what she had on display.
She rolled her eyes and turned to Dexter and Jodyne. “What happened? Can’t you find him?”
Jodyne shook her head but did not speak. Her jaw set tight with frustration and emotion she refused to show. Dexter shook his head as well, but spoke. “Nay, we’ve only looked up top and in the aft thus far, but Jodyne poked her head up front earlier, I’m guessing.”
The cook nodded her head. Dexter frowned. “He was supposed to be fetching a barrel from the stowage.”
“Fool dwarf probably tripped and hit his head,” Rosh muttered.
“You’re the fool,” Jodyne snapped at him.
“What, he runs into plenty of things,” the large man said defensively. He glanced nervously at Jodyne, knowing well her deadly accuracy with anything she chose to pick up and throw.
“Aye, but his skull’s too thick to put him down,” she said.
Rosh blinked and then chuckled a little. “Aye, you’ve the right of that.”
Dexter chuckled as well, but it was Jenna who spoke up. “Let’s check below decks then, seems that’s the next place to go.”
