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Retribution Part II
Pieces of a Lost Prophecy
Pieces of a Lost Prophecy
The dark fortress proved nothing more than a hub of darkness and dread.
There were few answers there, but many questions.
The creatures they faced there would at least no longer plague these lands.
They lay buried now under the ruined heap of the fort.
The stranger, consumed by darkness, was slain, and what guidance they may have provided was lost.
Yet the ship, the dark ship, carried them on with an unspoken purpose.
After defeating the stranger who had led them this far, whatever foul presence that had lingered within the ship had vanished. This allowed room for courage to prevail, and adventurers with torches and sword ventured in. Despite whatever victory they had gained, the ship still seemed to act on its own accord. Wind that was not grasped her tattered sails, and current that should intervene had no hold on her hull. It moved as it wished. No hands tended her. And that dark that followed it, neither did it flee.
Erën remained on the deck, he and several others. He watched cautiously as the ship sailed on, then idly he walked along to the bow. He came to it, and his eyes lifted high. Before them, rushing down the river was a great wave stretching high above the ship, threatening to engulf it in a matter of only seconds.
Erën turned to shout.
Water reached high above, darkened what little light the night offered, and then plunged them all into darkness.
Atoll of No Tales
The Atoll of No Tales was not a place to dwell very long. The men were swindlers and murderers, and the women were as crafty and they were tempting. But still, this was a place of neutrality, and if you were looking to have a good time there was no place that could get any easier. Such was the case for Captain Cedric Sabre the Defiant, and the crew of the Serpent's Cry. While moored here they'd ventured into the settlement, and took it upon themselves to drink themselves into an argument with a few of the locals.
"Well t'hell with the lot of ya then, we'll be takin our patronage elsewhere."
"Not without payin' yer tab ye won't."
After the hesitancy of a following quiet, the sudden rasp of steel was enough to send the entire establishment into a frenzy. Conflicts that had nothing to do with the initial argument broke out, and everyone descended into a mindlessly loud and violent brawl. It was well enough to allow Cedric and his men to slip out relatively unscathed, and start on their way back to the ship.
"Bunch a' twits eh capt'n, got no respect."
"We'll find better business when we head south to Teth... or maybe we'll have to go somewhere else with what we got."
"Yea... well, I'll be happy when you get it gone, damn thing gives me the creeps, capt'n."
Only a short time after the bar was left in a state of violent unrest, Cedric and his men returned to the ship.
"Capt'n, we'll be some time before we're ready to set off..."
"Nonsense, I'm sure you'll have the ship all set in no time!" Cedric interjected, with his usual show of jovial enthusiasm. He slapped a hand down on his crewman's shoulder before moving on to head up toward the helm.
But, even after quite some time, the ship had not yet set sail.
There was light. He could feel its warmth on his face.
His eyes opened, and burned from the intensity of the of the midday sun. He covered his face, and rolled onto his side, and then slowly made his way to his feet. After a short time of adjustment, he found his bearings. He was still aboard the ship, only now it was daytime. And now he was no longer traveling down a wide river, but he was without any doubt far out at sea. The air had changed, and it had become cool. There was a northern chill that gripped him, and he realized he was drenched. He looked around, and there where others there too, other adventurers who were with him before. No doubt the ones that had gone below deck were in a similar condition, and likewise unsure of what had just taken place. Erën could say for certain that he was at a loss, but was relieved to find that neither he nor any of the others were in any immediate peril, or maimed through the course of whatever had just happened.
After a moment of surveying, Erën again moved to the bow and looked ahead. The ship moved toward a settlement, and though they were distant from it yet, any could see quite clearly with what rose into the sky.
This settlement burned, but the dock was still intact, and they would be upon it soon.
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