was obviously beyond any hope of defending itself.
She pounded it for another minute, stopping only when it tore in half. The gore of its entrails stained her and the hold. She looked at it and then turned to Rosh, who was shaking his head and holding on to the pile of lumber to keep from falling.
“Are you hurt?” she asked him.
Rosh shook his head, almost losing his balance as he did so. Speaking slowly and carefully he said, “No… sleepy.”
“Go back, I will get the others,” Keshira told him, turning already and gently picking up Dexter.
Keshira had to wait while Rosh struggled to climb back up the stairs. Jodyne, of all people, helped from above by pulling his arms once he made it to the stairs. Once Rosh collapsed on the deck and fought the effects of the cloud, Keshira deposited Dexter’s unconscious form before returning to bring up the others.
Kragor’s body was still and pale, with little warmth remaining in it. Jodyne collapsed next to it and felt desperately for breath and then a pulse in dwarf’s neck. She threw her arms around her husband and clung fiercely to him while her body shuddered with grief. There was no signs of life to be found.
With less than a skeleton crew to run the ship, Bekka let the ship float aimlessly in the void. She hurried down to lend her first aid skills, but was frustrated and unable to do much. Even Xander was pressed into service, but while his knowledge of arcane things was considerable, he had little to offer by means of restoring health. Necromancy, he asserted, was not an interest of his.
Rosh came back around first, being the least exposed to the noxious fumes the creature released. Still unsteady, he was nevertheless able to stand by the time that Dexter and Jenna began to awaken. Both were nauseas and had little in the way of a sense of balance for some time, but regardless of that, Dexter insisted almost immediately on learning of the fate of Kragor.
With Bekka’s help, he staggered to the hold where Kragor’s body lay still on the decking. Jodyne sat next to him, arranging his clothing and beard so that he would be looked upon respectfully in the afterlife. She looked up as Dexter came in then looked back, only her stubborn will keeping her grief stricken eyes from spilling tears that would not stop.
Dexter collapsed to his knees beside Kragor’s body and took his friend’s cold hand in his own. Tears ran from his own eyes, but he blinked them away mostly and bowed his head respectfully. Finally, after many minutes had passed, Dexter looked up into the dwarf’s face and nodded to him.
“Rest well, my friend,” he whispered. “We will miss you.”
Jodyne sniffed and Dexter rose unsteadily to his feet. He turned and staggered back to the door of the hold, where Jenna was watching with tears of her own streaming down her face. Keshira and Rosh were nearby as well, though everyone was respectfully silent.
“Why do you grieve?” Keshira asked, breaking the silence.
Jenna looked at the pleasure golem and smiled sadly. “We were elf and dwarf, so we bickered.”
She turned to Jodyne, who glanced at her and then looked away. “Kragor was loyal and skilled. He served the ship and crew well, and though we argued often, he was my friend. I think he would say the same of me, though I did not do him the justice of showing my nature.”
Jodyne looked up at her again and nodded, then had to look away to blink away fresh tears. Keshira remained silent as she pondered what Jenna had said.
“His spirit will always be with us,” Dexter said consolingly. “My heart is heavy now, but it is brighter for having known Kragor so well and so long.”
“Jodyne, what would you have us do with him?” Dexter asked her softly.
She shivered for a moment but quickly gained control of herself. “This ship was his home, Dexter, and having us together beside him made him happiest.”
She paused and took a deep breath, pausing only to brush an imaginary strand of hair from Kragor’s cheek. “He loved sailing the void, give his body to it, so he can sail forever.”
Dexter nodded and motioned for Keshira to pick him up. He did not trust his voice, so he was surprised when she correctly interpreted him and stepped forward to gather up the fallen dwarf in her arms. She was surprisingly gentle as she picked him up and then led them all out to the main deck.
Atop the stern castle she waited. The rest filed in and stood quietly. The collective mood was understandably somber. Dexter looked to Jodyne, wondering if she had any final words to share. She stared at her husband’s body mutely, however.
It was Xander who broke the silence. “Captain, I have a simple spell I could use to help preserve his body…”
Dexter’s eyes narrowed for a moment, then he looked to Jodyne. “I don’t ‘spect Kragor’d be wanting any magic put on him, thanks all the same.”
Jodyne nodded appreciatively and Xander stepped back. “It’s just a small spell,” he muttered to himself, though it was easily overhead by others nearby.
Dexter, if he heard the wizard, ignored him. He turned back to Jodyne. “Jodyne, is there anything you’d like to say or do?”
The dwarf took a deep breath and stroked her beard. She closed her eyes and let it out, then shook her head. Staring at Kragor’s body she whispered something in dwarven to him, then turned to Dexter. “Let him go, Dexter.”
The captain nodded and turned to Keshira. He opened his mouth but could not make the words come out. Keshira leaned over the railing anyhow, having received Dexter’s command through the bond she had with him. Kragor’s body dropped to the gravity plane of the Voidhawk and bobbed up and down a few times until it settled on it. Then it slowly drifted away from the ship, floating in the same way that the debris and space junk they came across did.
Kragor’s body slipped out of the bubble of air that surrounded the Voidhawk, his inertia continuing to move him away from the ship. They all watched as the dwarf’s body diminished from view and disappeared.
“Rosh, take the helm when Bekka’s shift is done,” Dexter said. “Everybody else back to their posts.”
They fell in, finding a sense of purpose in following his orders. Jenna alone looked at him for a long minute, something clearly on her mind. He caught her gaze and shook his head, letting her know that now was not the time for it, whatever it was. Instead Dexter followed Xander as the wizard returned to the crew quarters he shared with Rosh.
“Something you need, Captain Silvercloud?” Xander inquired rather stiffly when he realized that Dexter had followed him down the stairs and seemed to be interested in following him further.
Dexter nodded and gestured into the cabin lined with bunks, chests, and a couple of small tables. He turned and shut the door behind them after they entered. Then, surprising Xander immensely, Dexter grabbed him with both hands on his robes and threw him onto one of the tables.
“I’m a might curious why it is I’ve had nothing but trouble since running across you and your place,” Dexter said, his tone deadly serious. “First the pirates you happen to be captured by. Sure, there’s cause enough for that. But where’d that thing come from in my hold? Wasn’t there before. I don’t much care for coincidence.”
Xander stared up at him, his eyes displaying shock, surprise, and more than a little fear. He tried to stammer out a reply but failed miserably at making any intelligent or decipherable noises.
One hand holding the wizard down, Dexter reached down with his other and drew his pistol. He cocked the hammer back on it and placed it against Xander’s chest, poking him none-too-gently in the ribs. “Care to try again, or do you want your body to join Kragor’s floating through the void forever more?”
“I didn’t do anything!” Xander cried out desperately. “I don’t know what was in your hold either! Some kind of scavenger, I don’t know how it got there!”
“I’ve seen scavvers before, they aren’t looking like that thing,” Dexter growled. “Small things, snakes with wings… this was nothing like that.”
“Your construct demolished it before I could study it,” Xander said, his fear turning to anger in spite of the pistol in his side. “And I have nothing to gain from destroying your ship or crew.”
“I have nothing at all, save my life and my spell books, which you saved for me,” Xander reminded him. “My home, my research, my wealth… it’s all gone! And what’s worse is that I owe you my life, although I’m beginning to wonder if it’s worth it.
