“Ye got balls o’ brass and brains o’ mince, ye know tha’?” Oren said and I smirked before walking off down the deck towards my waiting team.
“Damn right I do, mate! Damn right!”
I retrieved four swords from the ship’s stores and gave them to Lydia to hand out to the four in the cage once we were on land; then I gathered up Bob, the rest of the team, and our smelly, depressed bait, directing everyone to the ladder that one of the crew was preparing.
Chapter Eight
We gathered around the railing, watching as the wrecked airship grew closer. We slowly lowered until we were less than ten feet from the low waves that splashed about on the lake, quickly closing the distance to Decin’s ship.
I reveled in the warm sunlight on my back, the sight of the light reflected from the water below, and the beautiful view before us. Gnarled, ancient trees clustered everywhere. Some had fallen, creating bridges that led out into the water a hundred feet or more, and I imagined that this was what American settlers had felt when they first discovered the giant sequoias of the past. These trees looked alien, they were so tall and wide, but considering the giants that surrounded the Tower, I guessed these were just older versions of those that had been planted when the Tower was completed.
I leaned against the railing and closed my eyes for a second, drawing a deep lungful of the sweet air. I could taste the humidity of the lake, but the combination of the speed we flew at and the gentle breeze meant it was pleasant, rather than sweltering in the heat.
“We’re getting’ close, m’lord,” I heard Lydia whisper, and I opened my eyes almost regretfully. The shore was indeed closer, and I could make out the churned earth alongside the ship with my own eyes now. The toppled ship listed partially to the right, or starboard side, its stern facing the lake, and the bow of the ship pointed into the forest ahead. Large containers had been strewn about the ground nearby; some were broken open, either from falling from the ship, or by whatever had attacked.
As we grew closer and our ship began to slow, a sudden explosion of birds took off from nearby, and when I looked in that direction, I discovered they’d been feasting on a body. I searched the raised deck for Oren and waved to get his attention. He raised one hand in return to signal that he’d seen me, and I made a circular motion with one hand as the other gripped my naginata tighter.
Oren nodded and gestured to Jory, speaking a few words I was too far away to hear, before signaling me with a circular motion in return. Either that, or I’d just called his mother an unflattering name with a hand gesture, and he was returning the favor.
We slowly circled the crashed ship, finding that a significant portion had been fixed up. There was still a missing engine on one side, where I’d taken it out with a lucky throw, but the damage to the sails and decking where it had impacted Oren’s ship was mainly repaired.
We slowed further as we took a second lap, but we couldn’t see anything besides the one body that lay between a couple of large crates.
It was half crushed by one of them and had clearly been fed upon by the birds we’d seen earlier.
I waved at Oren again and pointed down, getting another nod, and he brought us in close, hovering a dozen feet off the ground. I turned to Lydia and spoke up loud enough so that all of the squad and our four guests could hear.
“Okay, everyone; after me, it’s Lydia. If she tells you to do something, you do it, no questions. Bob and I are going first, then you four, then Lydia and the rest.” I pinned my gaze to the foursome. “Lydia will give you weapons when you need them, but I don’t trust you, so I’ll make this clear: if you try to fuck with us, or hurt one of my people, so help me god, I will kill each and every one of you. And I’ll make sure your own mothers wouldn’t recognize what’s left of your bodies, understand?” Getting scared nods from each of them, I looked over the side at the ladder the crewman was lowering. I immediately realized that it would never hold Bob’s weight, and it was only a short distance to the ground. I ignored it and jumped, Bob following my lead.
I couldn’t help it; I did a superhero landing, one fist pressed to the ground, one knee down, the whole works. I probably looked amazing, until Bob landed right next to me and clanked straight off to search the surrounding area while I slowly straightened up.
Deadpool was right, it fucking killed my knee, and it was only a short distance. I was totally putting more points into Constitution before I tried that shit again. I hadn’t even rolled or tried to absorb the landing properly. I’d nearly smashed my goddamn kneecap.
I quickly cast a healing spell as I gingerly stood there, trying to hide the fact that I was doing anything while I looked about heroically.
It took a few seconds, but by the time the foursome and Lydia had descended, I figured I could walk without crying, and I tried to hide the limp as I moved over to the corpse. Lydia and the others spread out to surround me and keep watch, while Oren moved off to scout the area further, just as we’d discussed beforehand.
I moved cautiously to inspect the remains. Whatever it had been in life had at least worn a loincloth. There were long strips of torn flesh and gobbets of… bits… where the birds had been feeding, but they hadn’t been there long enough to strip the creature entirely. I couldn’t make
