“It’s their job to defend this place,” Logan said, his voice harsh and deep.
Several of them turned, surprised to hear him step up and volunteer the information.
“I was warned it might be guarded,” Aidan said, supporting the man.
“You know who they are?” Dexter asked.
Logan nodded. “An old and rare race, the Perryn. Mostly they live in the mountains, but it is said that some tribes live in old places. They guard them from men, fearful of the ancient secrets that might be released unto the world.”
“Captain, what are your orders here?” Dexter asked, turning to the soldier.
Aidan stared at him for a long minute, deciding what to tell. He looked around at his soldiers and then at Dexter’s crew. The shared blood made him relent.
He took a deep breath and let it go before speaking. “We are to penetrate into the center of this ruin. There is an old temple and within it a magical weapon that we can use to turn aside our foes. It will end the war in days instead of months, saving many lives.”
“The lives of Lord Falson’s faithful, that is,” Dexter said sarcastically.
Aidan did not deny the statement.
“What is the weapon?” Dexter asked him.
Aidan shrugged. “I do not know. Some magic or other.”
Dexter studied him for a moment then nodded. He believed the man. “What about these… Perryn?”
“I was told it would be guarded, but we didn’t know about them,” he said.
“Well, you’ve got one with you, I suggest you ask him,” Dexter said.
“As for us, as soon as we can fix the ‘Hawk and figure out a way to get past those damned mist-devils, we’ll be heading back.”
Aidan opened his mouth but then closed it and nodded. He wanted them to stay and help, or at least offer them a ride back. It was not his place to ask though, and he had his own problems to worry about. He was down nearly a quarter of his men already, and with the savage defenders waiting for them, he knew it would be a bloody job getting to the temple.
“Double the watch,” Dexter said to his crew. “Captain, can you add some of your men’s eyes to it as well? I don’t like this place.”
Aidan nodded and issued the order to assist the Voidhawk’s crew however possible. Dexter could not help but like the man, even though they seemed to have very different paths and goals in life.
“Rosh, think you can help me figure out how to fix some of the damage? Bekka, when you’re able, can you mend the sails?”
Bekka nodded.
“Captain, can I help?”
Dexter turned to Willa “I expect everybody to help,” Dexter said. “Do what you can.”
She nodded and looked to Rosh, who was busy peering over the edge at some of the damage done by the crash to the hull and landing struts. He sighed and shook his head, then glanced over at Dexter. He shrugged at his knowledge of what to do to fix the ship, but headed for the stairs to check the hold and see if they had been breached anywhere.
Dexter nodded after the man left. He may not know what to do, and he might be complicated and difficult at times, but given a task he would do everything he could to figure it out. Rosh might be short on wit and education, but he could figure things out and had a stubborn streak that would see him through to the end of a given task.
“Captain, my men and I will be departing,” Aidan said, calling up to Dexter from where he stood on the main deck.
Dexter finished retying a damaged rope to the light ballista on the front of the ship, then stood and moved to the rail. “Get what you need from your captive?”
Aidan sighed. “It died.”
Dexter’s expression clouded over. He understood the need for interrogation but did not approve of torture. Sure, sometimes things had to happen, he understood that, but still…
“It died before we could ask it anything,” Aidan clarified, seeing Dexter’s impending scowl. “We’re going to push for it, would you like me to leave a few men here to help you defend, in case we fail?”
Dexter shook his head. “You’ll be needing them more than I will,” he said. “Just don’t fail.”
Aidan laughed and nodded. “Better words have yet to be spoken. I hope to see you again, Captain. Good luck!”
Dexter waved to him. “You as well, may your Gods watch over you.”
Aidan returned the salute and turned to order his men to throw down the ropes and scale back down them. They assembled at the side of the Voidhawk and moved off in squads. Aidan had reorganized them slightly, taking their losses into account. They now moved as two heavy squads, supporting one another and leapfrogging through the ruins to minimize the threat of an ambush.
They made it without incident out of the sight of the Voidhawk. It was even quiet for a few moments as everyone looked and listened for some sign of them after they had disappeared into the broken remnants of buildings near the center of the ruins. They were rewarded with a whistle and then a sound that was not unlike a thousand cats hissing. The angry cries of men countered, and though they could not see it, they knew a battle had been joined.
“Let’s hurry,” Dexter said. “While they’re busy, over the side and fix what we can.”
Rosh nodded and let Dexter slide down a rope first. When he landed beside the Captain, Dexter was surprised to see Willa clinging to his back with one arm wrapped around his neck.
“What’s this?” Dexter asked. “Not safe for you down here, especially if you can’t get back up quick-like.”
“Cap, we can use her,” Rosh interrupted. “You should see some of the things she done. Er, well, she told me how to do ‘em, but still, you ought to see them.”
Dexter frowned, then nodded towards one of the struts that had been damaged in the landing. It broke off by the rock wall that surrounded the ruins, causing the Voidhawk to list. Chance favored them; a pile of rubble that had once been a fountain served to hold up the battered strut.
Willa moved to it, seeming to ignore everything else. She ran her hand over the wood and frowned, as though something about it caused her to be uncomfortable. “It doesn’t work,” she muttered. “It’s broken.”
Dexter looked to Rosh and rolled his eyes dramatically. He kept glancing around to the ruins as well, expecting the worst at any moment. They could hear the fighting, but it had moved a little further away. That, or the number of combatants had been reduced significantly.
“It needs a lot of work to fix it,” Willa said, turning to look at Rosh and then Dexter. “Something else needs to hold the ship up.”
“We got no dry dock to set up in,” Dexter pointed out. “And we can’t land on flat ground like this. I’m thinking that we just fasten some extra boards to make a temporary strut for when we get back to the army. From there were we can spend the time to fix it proper.”
“It won’t hold,” Willa said, shaking her head and looking at it. She glanced at Dexter and blushed. “Sorry, Sir, but I just know it won’t.”
“Cap, believe her, she’s got a way with this,” Rosh encouraged.
Dexter glanced up at the ship wondering what sort of a spectacle they were making. He saw Logan and Kragor staring down at them, with the priest oblivious to the ghostly dwarf that stood beside him. Kragor stared past Dexter at the strut and shook his head, then turned and walked away.
“Alright, how do we fix it?” Dexter asked, still thinking he was crazy to put his faith in the vision of his dead friend.
“Captain!”
Dexter looked up, alarmed by Bekka’s harsh cry. It had only been a few hours since she had been injured in the crash, he wondered what could have roused her from her private misery.
“There’s something wrong here!” She said urgently. “I can feel it… something… evil.”
Xander appeared next at the edge of the ship. Dexter looked from her, seeing the concern on her face overpowering the migraine of a headache she surely had. “Wizard?” Dexter asked, his voice curt.
