“So, you’ve come from Prand then?”
“Aye, we have, and we won’t be going back for a while, no bloody way, not with how things are back there.”
“I’m guessing this has something to do with the Church of Light,” I said dryly.
“Damn right it does! That Elandriel’s a real bastard, he is!” Captain Thegramm said, scowling. “He’s got every bloody port in Prand in lockdown. It’s almost like he’s expecting an invasion from the sea or some bloody thing. Every ship that comes within a mile of Prand has to wait in the open water and be inspected by Church of Light officials. They’ve got hundreds of ballistae set up around every port, and plenty of eagle-eyed snipers to man ‘em. One signal from a Church official that anything’s suspicious about a ship and the bastards sink it.”
“So, there’s no way to get onto the Prandish continent without getting past the Church of Light officials?” I asked.
Captain Thegramm shook his head grimly. “They’ve got every port sealed up tight. Nobody leaves or enters without the permission of the Church. They’ve even set up ballistae squads by our secret pirate coves! I don’t know how they found out where they were, I suppose those landlubber whoresons tortured the information out of some pirates they captured. Either way, we won’t be going back to Prand any time soon. There’s nothing for us there … and, dare I say, nothing for you either, God of Death, from what I’ve heard about what’s going on further inland.”
I frowned. “What do you mean by that?”
“Well, I’m sure you must know how popular the Temple of Necrosis has become back in Prand,” he said. “After all, it’s you they bloody worship, isn’t it?” He paused here to let out a boomy belly laugh.
“I’ve felt my power growing from my many worshipers, yes,” I said.
“And that’s something old Elandriel has not been happy about, not at all!” Thegramm exclaimed. “He’s doing his bloody best to purge the Temple of Necrosis from Prand completely. That rotten eel, he’s made it a crime punishable by death to worship at the Temple of Necrosis, and all the priests of the Temple have been arrested. Rumor was that he intended to burn down Brakith, which is the main stronghold of the temple in all of Prand, as I’m sure you’re aware.”
“Yes, seeing as I’m the Lord of Brakith,” I muttered.
“I hope you’ve got a mighty force of defenders there, then, God of Death,” Thegramm said, “because I heard that a massive Church army was marching there with express orders to raze the city. Elandriel has conscripted soldiers from all over Prand to swell the ranks of the Church army. By all accounts that have reached these here jug handles,” he continued, tapping his hairy ears, “the Church of Light army is bigger than it’s ever been. And I don’t know if Elandriel’s losing his damn mind, or if he’s lost it already, but there’s been talk of strange things happening in Luminescent Spires. People disappearing, murders taking place every night, corpses found in back alleys drained of blood. As far as I’m concerned, the whole of Prand is about to go up in flames. The entire cursed continent is about to become a bloodbath, and I’m not taking any chances by being anywhere near anything like that, no bloody way!”
“Bloodbath is definitely the right word to use, all things considered,” I muttered darkly.
“What do you mean?”
“Never mind. What else can you tell me about the current state of Prand?”
He laughed loudly, slapping his barrel-sized paunch. “Haven’t you heard enough, God of Death? Prand’s gone down the latrine, and Elandriel and his Church of light army are shitting all over it as we speak. I’ve heard tales of your mighty powers, don’t get me wrong, but nothing short of a bloody miracle can save Prand now.”
“Fair enough. I have one more thing to ask you before I go,” I said.
“You’ve given us enough gold to sit and wag our jaws for the next few days without stopping, so go right ahead and ask whatever questions you want!”
“If you absolutely had to get yourself onto Prandish soil right now, how would you go about getting past all the blockades and traps the Church has set up along the coast.”
Thegramm flashed me a sly, yellow-toothed smile. “Ah, so despite everything I’ve told you, you’re still going to try, aren’t you? Well, as it so happens, there is a way to get back into Prand that I’m bloody sure Elandriel doesn’t know about … and even if he does, he’s not likely to have posted any guards there, given the fact that they’d all get eaten if they stuck around after dark.”
“Go on…”
“Don’t get your hopes up, God of Death. Many smugglers and outlaws have tried the Black Passage, but only one pirate—one of the greatest sea captains in the history of the high seas, Captain Redbard—ever made it through the passage alive.”
“That sounds like exactly the sort of challenge I’d dive right into,” I said, grinning.
Captain Thegramm chuckled. “Dive is the right term to use, God of Death. You see, around fifty miles up the coast north of Lough Harbor there’s a network of underwater caves. You’ll know exactly where to find ‘em, because there’s a small island there. It’s nothing more than a lifeless jumble of boulders really, about the size of an average castle, jutting out of the water two miles from land. In fact, that’s what it’s called: Castle Island, because it bloody well looks like one. There’s a cave on the island, and if you go down into it, you’ll find that it branches out into a maze of underground tunnels and caverns. This is the Black Passage. There are three challenges involved in getting into the black passage and coming out the other side
