The Zephyr rounded a last bend in the passage, and Tresslar said, “That’s it. Grimwall.”
Ghaji, Diran, and Hinto stopped rowing for a moment and turned to look forward. In the dark, the cliff face rose from the ebon water like a wall of solid shadow. A long wooden dock stretched forth from a semicircular opening carved into the base of the cliff, and berthed at the dock were three galleons, all painted black. Ghaji needed no further proof that Tresslar hadn’t been lying to them than seeing the Black Fleet at anchor.
“Go easy,” Yvka said in a loud whisper from the stern. “I’ll take us in.”
Ghaji, Diran, and Hinto slowed the pace of their rowing, and Yvka guided the Zephyr toward a berth at the end of the dock. Smart move, Ghaji thought. In the event that they’d need to make a quick getaway, they’d have no obstacles in their way to slow them down when they departed.
“Stop rowing,” Yvka said.
Ghaji and Diran pulled their oars out of the water and hooked them into the oarlocks. The Zephyr then drifted slowly toward the dock and into a berth, the bow thumping into the wooden dock with the merest of impacts. Since Ghaji was no longer needed to row, he stood up and tapped Hinto on the shoulder.
“Come on, let’s go tie us down.”
Hinto gave the half-orc a smile, trying to be brave despite his fear, then rose and followed Ghaji. They vaulted over the starboard railing and landed lightly onto the dock. Diran and Tresslar tossed lines to each, and a moment later the Zephyr was lashed to the dock. They had no intention of dropping anchor here. It was too heavy and would make too loud a splash, and pulling it back up would slow them down if they needed to leave in a hurry. The rope lines would serve well enough.
Yvka locked the tiller then came forward to let the gangplank down. Ghaji caught the other end and made sure the plank made no sound as he lowered it to the dock. As Diran, Yvka, and Tresslar disembarked, Ghaji drew his new fire axe and looked around. Though there didn’t seem to be any guards stationed at the dock or on any of the elemental galleons, it paid to be cautious. In addition to his fire axe Ghaji carried his old axe tucked into his belt. Diran, as always, was fully armed, though he’d spent some time making certain the daggers hidden in his cloak would prove effective against vampires. Hinto had his long knife, and Tresslar carried his wand, which Diran had returned to him after they’d first sighted Orgalos. Yvka… well, Ghaji was confident she had one or two surprises in the bag of tricks hanging from her belt.
“Looks like no one’s about,” Yvka whispered, careful not to make any more noise than necessary.
“This cove is so well hidden that they don’t need to guard the dock,” Diran said. What he didn’t say, but which Ghaji knew he was thinking, was that there was a good chance the denizens of Grimwall were all inside preparing for tonight’s sacrifice.
Tresslar stood staring at the cliff face. In the dark, the artificer could make out few details, Ghaji guessed, but then the older man was probably remembering more than he was seeing.
“Tresslar,” Diran said, but the artificer didn’t reply at first, and Diran took hold of the man’s shoulder and shook him gently.
“Hmm?” The artificer turned to Diran with an apologetic smile. “Sorry, it’s just… been a long time. I never thought I’d be standing here again.” Tresslar’s tone was both wistful and frightened as memories of the past and fears about the present collided.
The five companions walked down the dock toward the entrance to Grimwall. As they passed the elemental galleons, Ghaji wished there was time to do a proper reconnaissance. Any number of raiders could be onboard any or all of the ships, ready to rush down the gangplanks and attack the intruders. If they were to have any chance of stopping Erdis Cai from sacrificing innocents, perhaps including Makala, they had to move swiftly and trust to luck. Diran, however, would say that they should trust in the power of the Silver Flame. That was all well and good, Ghaji supposed, but the half-orc warrior preferred to place his faith in a well-honed axe-blade.
They were three quarters of the way to the entrance when something splashed in the water off to their left.
“What is it?” Hinto said in a shaking voice. “Do you think it’s… them?”
“We’re leagues away from the Mire,” Diran said. “There’s nothing to fear from it.”
“What if it’s followed us?” Hinto said.
They stopped and listened, but the sound didn’t come again. They started walking once more, but there was a second splashing sound, this time followed by the soft scratching of something climbing up onto the dock behind them. They spun around to behold a squat dark shape the size of a large dog crouching on the dock. Whatever it was, Ghaji decided it was best to kill first and ask questions later, if at all. He stepped forward, willing his axe to activate. The dragonshard embedded in the weapon’s pommel glowed and the metal was wreathed in flame, though the haft remained cool to the touch.
The light revealed a mottled green-gray crab large as a mastiff. The sudden burst of illumination caused the creature to retreat several paces, its segmented legs making soft clack-clack-clack sounds as it scuttled back, large front claws waving back and forth in a defensive posture.
Ghaji was about to step forward and split the crab’s shell in two when Hinto stepped past him, long knife in hand. The halfling waved his long knife in the air as he advanced on the beast, and the crab leaned left, right, then back again as it tracked the movement of Hinto’s weapon. When the halfling was close enough, the crab lunged forward, ready to snap up the tasty morsel in its front claws. Hinto dodged to the side and smacked the flat of his blade hard against the one of the crab’s eyestalks. The creature let out a hissing noise, scuttled to the edge of the dock, and flung itself into the water with a loud splash.
As Hinto rejoined the rest of them, he said, “It’s just a dire crab, and a young one at that. They hate it when you hit their eyestalks. They’re timid enough, until they smell blood. Then they can be downright nasty.” Hinto chuckled. “Here I thought it was a monster.”
Diran and Ghaji exchanged looks. It seems there was no predicting what would set off the halfling’s panic.
“Right… the crabs,” Tresslar said. “I’d forgotten about them.”
Ghaji turned to the artificer. “Is there anything else you forgot? Sea dragons? Cannibalistic merfolk?” He concentrated and the flames flickering on the surface of this axe died out. “At least we know there’s no one watching us. The light from my fire axe would’ve alerted them.”
“Not to mention making us perfect targets for any archers,” Diran said.
“I’m just glad you didn’t set fire to the dock with that thing,” Yvka said.
Tresslar, recovered from Ghaji’s rebuke, sniffed. “Whoever attached the dragonshard to that weapon did a decent enough job, but if you want to see some serious flames…”
“I’ll let you know,” Ghaji said.
The five companions continued walking and reached the semicircular entrance to Grimwall without further trouble. The stone door was down, and there didn’t appear to be any method of opening it.
Tresslar stepped forward. “It’s been a while, but since I’m the one who constructed the locking mechanism on the door…” He leaned his face toward the stone surface of the door and pressed his lips against it. There came the sound of rock grating against rock, and the artificer quickly stepped back as the door began to rise. When the door had receded all the way and the entrance stood open, the others turned to look at Tresslar.
“It opens with a kiss?” Ghaji said.
“From one of the original crew of the Seastar, yes.” Tresslar shrugged, his face coloring in embarrassment. “I used to have something of a whimsical nature when I was young.”
The five companions paused at the threshold of Grimwall, as if something should be said. Good luck, perhaps, or as dangerous as their separate missions were, perhaps a tentative goodbye, but in the end they simply nodded to each other and went their separate ways.
CHAPTER
Tresslar touched his wand to the containment ring’s column, and the metal-painted black, of course-began to glow bluish-green. He could feel the vibrations as his device began absorbing the spells that other artificers had
