Dexter chuckled and Jenna glanced at him. Her jaw was clenched tight enough to turn her cheeks white. “I’ve enough trouble with a ship; I’m hardly needing a world to run!”
Her expression gave way to one of confusion, then returned to annoyance. She went back to barking out orders to the crew while Dexter returned to his thoughts of capitalizing on their finding.
His hopes were dashed when they circled the planet and made out a fair sized city. Details were impossible to make out from their altitude, even though the world seemed to not be pestered with such silly things as clouds. With no guide to take them in, Dexter ordered them to find their own way down. With recent experience sailing the winds of a world, they had little trouble dipping into the atmosphere and circling down towards the lone city.
Carved into the top of a small plateau, a large harbor rested on the edge of man-made lake with dry docs dotting the remaining area. Dexter opted for a water landing, trusting that the hull was better supported thusly.
The spacious town was well designed and the keep had a low wall connecting five towers. The palatial grounds gave way to a four story mansion containing enough rooms for dozens of people to live comfortably. It was no proper castle, by any means, but still large enough to clearly be the residence of the ruling lord of the city.
The town’s inhabitants crowded the shore and stared at the Voidhawk is pulled up to the dock, scrambling around to help tie off the lines. Dexter, Rosh, and Xander walked down the plank to the dock and cheering erupted. The three looked to one another and then back at the ship before continuing.
A man stepped forward, grinning ear to ear, and welcomed them. “Well met, we’ve been waiting for the next visitors from the skies.”
Dexter took his offered hand and let him shake it, vigorously. Rosh stood nearby, glowering threateningly at anyone that came too close.
“I am Constable Lorren, welcome to Deepingdale,” he said.
“Captain Silvercloud,” Dexter responded. “This is my Arms Master Rosh and my ship’s wizard Xander.”
“Tell me Constable, why is it I could not find Deepingdale on any of my charts?” Dexter asked. He turned and looked at the port. While largely vacant, it still harbored seven other ships.
Constable Lorren smiled and shrugged. “It is not mine to say, Captain. Perhaps your charts are out of date? Perhaps we are not on any trade routes. This is a small world, with Deepingdale being the only city.”
“It is our paradise, I admit,” he added, and glanced over his shoulder at the many others gathered here. “But we have little to trade aside from camaraderie.”
Dexter nodded, thoughtful. Something seemed amiss, but he could not place it.
Xander cleared his throat and asked, “You mentioned you’ve been waiting for visitors?”
The Constable nodded and some of the nearby townsfolk whispered excitedly, drawing a concerned glare from Rosh. “It is rare that we get visitors. As wondrous as it is here, we yearn for the tales you bring.”
He leaned in closer and said, “We’ve many fine young ladies here that yearn for some fresh blood from the skies as well, if you know what I mean.”
Rosh brightened a little, his glower fading. He cleared his throat and mumbled, “Seems like a fine enough port to me, Captain.”
Dexter rolled his eyes, but kept his rebuke to himself.
“Indeed, Captain, it is a fine place we have here. I am the Constable but I’ve not seen a crime committed in two years — and then it was young troublemakers that drank too much of our wine,” the Constable offered.
Dexter turned and glanced at the other ships; he could see no one standing watch on them. That gave both credence to the man’s words but also nagged at the back of his mind.
“We’ve some items to trade, if you’re interested, Constable,” Dexter said. “We come bearing simple supplies, arms and equipment mostly — if you’re truly an uncharted peaceful world, I suspect you’ve great need of steel.”
Lorren’s eyes flashed. “We’ve little need of weapons here,” he said. “Some may find interest in it though. Mostly we trade in our market in town, but for such a load I’ll grant you pass to set up shop here on the shore.”
Dexter nodded. “If you’ll clear some room for us, we’d be happy to oblige.”
Constable Lorren smiled and turned, waving his hands in a shooing motion and telling people to go back to their business. Grumbling, people began to disburse. Lorren turned back after many had gone and said to Dexter, “You and your crew are invited to join us tonight. It’s the Festival of Lords you’ve come upon, a grand time to be had by all!”
“Festival of Lords?” Dexter asked, glancing at Xander and Rosh, both of whom looked blankly back at him.
“Sure enough,” he said, nodding excitedly. “Our Lord serves as Governor of Deepingdale as long as they deem fit, then when they wish to step down, a festival is called. There are tests and trials anyone interested must go through. The winner becomes the new Lord of Deepingdale.”
Without looking, Dexter knew Rosh’s eyes were wide. He found it a bit odd himself, but then shrugged. The people of Deepingdale were clearly a different sort.
“Some merriment would do us well,” Dexter said, thinking of how he could use a bit of a chance to relax himself. “But that’s for later. We’ve work to be done now.”
“Of course!” The Constable said. “By all means, do as you must. Send for me should you have any troubles, I’m sure there will be plenty of people about pretending to not be interested.”
Dexter chuckled and nodded, then turned and headed back up the plank to the Voidhawk. He saw most of the crew gathered and waiting on the deck. Only Keshira remained at her post. With a sigh, he called her over then turned to address them all.
“I reckon you heard the man, we’re to set up our goods over there. Not our way normally, but gold is gold. As for the festival, we’ll be drawing lots to see who gets left behind.”
“Captain, he said it was safe here,” Bailynn said, surprising Dexter.
He turned to look at her and smiled. “That’s what I’d tell someone whose ship I planned on stealing.”
She nodded and kept her mouth shut, but he could see the troubled look in her eyes. He suspected she was worried she would be forced to stay behind on the boat.
Their wares sold quickly. The coins they received for them were dated, but their weight was true and Dexter made no trouble with accepting them. They now mingled with the townsfolk at the festival. Bekka remained behind at the ship; she had drew the short straw but had shown no concern about it.
The Festival of Lords consisted of some unusual but excellent food for the crew of the Voidhawk. The drink, also unusual, was equally palatable. Entertainment was fleeting, they found, but the reason behind it was soon apparent. The games were to be the entertainment. Games that the crew was invited to participate in.
The games were taxing, and segued from one to another with more and more people eliminated each step of the way. Some of them focused on thinking and logic, while others were geared toward the more physical aspects that made Rosh and Dexter more comfortable. It was not until near the end of the contests that Rosh and Dexter found themselves both eliminated. Jenna and Logan were the sole representatives from the Voidhawk still in the running. At the end of the final challenge Jenna remained and all the others had been eliminated.
Rosh and Dexter exchanged a surprised look while she stood bathed in light that came from a circle of flameless torches surrounding her. Every source of light they had seen thus far had been magical. Even the food was cooked without fire upon magical plates not so different from the heatstone Jodyne used.
Jenna shrugged and looked embarrassed as she stared back at them. Willa giggled, her small frame easily affected by the alcohol of the festival. Not only that, but aside from a stolen sip here and there, it was the only alcohol she had ever had.
Willa snickered again when the cheering stopped. She silenced herself quickly when she noticed that she was receiving some strange looks. The townsfolk had not only stopped cheering, but they had fallen to one knee. Constable Lorren hurried up to her side and offered her a beautiful golden pendant with a softly glowing ruby set in the middle of it.
“Captain,” Keshira said from where she sat. The pleasure golem reacted when spoken to, but had otherwise done little more than to glance around disinterestedly. This was her first signs of showing initiative.
“Yes?” He turned, surprised at her near outburst.
“The pendant Jenna is putting on is filled with powerful magic,” she stated calmly.
