They began their descent.
Once brief greetings had been exchanged, Darrok had news.
‘We’ve learnt something interesting from the defectors,’ he explained, ‘and I think it’ll give you some heart.’
‘So spit it out,’ Caldason said.
‘Vance is holding your friend Rukanis.’
‘I knew it!’ Serrah exclaimed. ‘How is he? Did they know?’
‘Being Vance’s prisoner’s never going to be a pleasant experience, and naturally he’s suffered some knocks. But he is alive.’
‘You don’t know what a relief that is.’
Pallidea, hand resting on the edge of her lover’s hovering dish, voiced caution. ‘Perhaps you shouldn’t get too excited. There’s more.’
‘Tell us.’
‘I said it would give you some heart,’ Darrok answered. ‘The not-so-good news is that Vance and his alliance think they can use Rukanis as a bargaining chip. To get us to give up the island.’
‘We’d never trade,’ Caldason said. ‘They must know that.’ He noticed the look on Serrah’s face. ‘Well, we wouldn’t. How could we? And Kinsel would be the first to understand that this whole venture’s worth more than the fate of one individual.’
‘Vance wouldn’t,’ Darrok told him. ‘Even if he did, what’s a man’s life to him? He’d see it as worth a try.’
‘What does he intend doing?’ Serrah asked.
‘We don’t have any details, but you can bet it’d be to the point, and brutal. Hand over the Diamond Isle or watch your friend burn to death in a cage hanging from a yardarm. That’s the way Vance operates.’
‘We’ve got to do something to get Kinsel out of this, Reeth.’
‘Yes.’
‘And soon. Right away. Before we set off on this voyage you’re planning.’
‘Of course. Though I’m not so sure about the we, Serrah.’
‘We’ve been through this. I’m going with you. You promised.’
‘It could be dangerous.’
‘Then why are you going in this thing?’ She jabbed a thumb at the brig. ‘If the journey’s dangerous you should be using a warship, and a bigger crew.’
‘I told you. It’s because-’
‘Good. That’s settled then.’
‘Serrah. If you thought about this for just a minute you’d see-’
Darrok cleared his throat loudly. ‘Don’t mind us. But some other time might be more appropriate for this, don’t you think? Besides, company’s arriving.’
A cart drew up at the end of the jetty. Phoenix was driving, with Kutch at his side. The boy scrambled down and sprinted to the others, leaving the magician to secure the horse.
Serrah met him with, ‘Guess what, Kutch? Kinsel’s alive.’
‘We heard. Great, isn’t it?’
‘It is if we can get him out of Vance’s clutches,’ Caldason said.
‘Can we?’
Phoenix caught up, panting slightly. ‘It’s a good question. Do we have a plan?’
‘We’ve only just found out,’ Caldason informed him.
‘I’ll call a special session of the Council for this afternoon,’ Darrok suggested. ‘We’ll get something thrashed out then.’
Caldason nodded. ‘All right. But let’s not turn this into a talking shop. We need to act quickly.’
‘There’ll be a decision today, I guarantee it. Meantime, don’t go doing anything on your own account. Understood?’
‘As if I would.’
‘He means it, Reeth,’ Serrah assured him sternly. ‘I’m all for rescuing Kinsel as soon as we can, but going off half-arsed isn’t the best way.’
‘I’ll do nothing on my own. But there’s a limit to how long I’ll hold to that. For Kinsel’s sake, and mine. I’ll not wait forever if it means delaying the voyage much longer.’
‘As we can’t decide anything about Rukanis’s fate for a couple of hours,’ Phoenix said, ‘we’d be best employed assessing the preparations for your expedition.’
‘That’s why we’re here,’ Darrok reminded them. ‘For my part I’ve scrounged enough provisions to last you about two weeks, Reeth. Though it was the devil’s own job getting the Council to part with them. And the victuals are nothing fancy. It’s iron rations, and you’ll have to stretch ’em. There’s an issue of warm clothing too, given you’ll be heading northward.’
‘What about the skipper?’ asked Caldason.
‘The same one who brought you out from Bhealfa; Rad Cheross.’
‘Good. And the crew?’
‘Mostly his own, and all volunteers. A little over a dozen, which I’m told is a bit tight but sufficient to run a vessel like this.’
‘Anything else I should know?’
‘Only that there’ll be a small consignment of gold on the ship. Not a fortune exactly, but it could be useful in case you have to bargain for…whatever it is you might find.’
‘Gold? I thought the Resistance’s coffers were empty.’
‘They are.’
‘This is your own money?’ Caldason raised his eyebrows.
‘I’ve never seen you look bashful before, Zahgadiah,’ Serrah told Darrok.
‘Shut up,’ he replied, his cheeks colouring.
‘It seems you’re growing more partial to the cause every day,’ Caldason said.
‘It’s on loan. I expect it back if you don’t use it.’
‘That’s generous. Thank you.’
‘Don’t go all mushy on me, Reeth, I couldn’t stand that. Just look after my damn gold.’
‘As far as the sorcerer fraternity’s concerned,’ Phoenix volunteered, ‘we’ll be supplying some magical protection, and a small armoury of munitions. Not a lot, but as much as we can spare.’
‘Appreciate it,’ Caldason responded. ‘Though I feel happier with a good length of tempered steel any day.’
‘You don’t know what you’re going to meet out there. You’re searching for Founder artefacts, remember, and we have no real idea what might be defending them. You need all the safeguards you can get.’
‘Who’s going to be on board to handle the magic?’
‘I’d like it to be me. Unfortunately that’s a little too much for the Council to swallow. They say I’m needed here to direct the island’s magical defences. The same goes for the other sorcerers we have, given how pitifully few our numbers are.’
‘So who, then?’
‘Kutch.’
‘Whoa. That’s a hell of a responsibility for the boy. No offence, Kutch.’
‘I can do it, Reeth,’ the apprentice protested. ‘Phoenix has been training me. You said I could go anyway, so I might as well make myself useful. I can help keep us out of trouble.’
‘And who’s going to keep trouble from bothering you?’
‘I will,’ Serrah stated. ‘I’ll keep an eye on Kutch; you concentrate on the search.’
‘Got it all worked out, haven’t you?’
‘Yes. You know how scarce resources are. It’s a miracle we got the Council to agree to this venture at all. The trade-off is that you’ve got to take what’s on offer, like you said about this ship.’
Caldason grinned. ‘Looks like I haven’t got much choice.’
‘Too right. Live with it.’
‘I hate to inject a note of hard reality into this,’ Phoenix interrupted, ‘but you do realise this is probably all
