Ways of Power 1: Power Rises (21 page)

36

"What the hell was that about between you and Garbrah?" Rancoth asked as the
Dancing Seahorse
moved out of sight.

"We'rre frrom differrent levels o' the Dwalish empirre. She is suppose to subserrviate herrself to me. It's all a bunch o' hierrarrchal trrash!" Dorbin stamped his feet for emphasis, sending mud splashing everywhere. "And!" he exclaimed, turning to scowl up at Rancoth. "If the next captain is a woman, keep yourr eyes to yourrself. Especially if she's got an idiot son still atached by the umbilical corrd!" Dorbin turned and stomped ahead, not waiting for Rancoth's response.

Rancoth smiled sheepishly, adjusted his backpack, and picked up his bags and his staff. He followed after the little waddling man, carrying bags of his own.

The once blessed rain was now twice cursed as it relentlessly poured down. The sheets of water were so thick they could only see a few yards ahead. Their sopping luggage became increasingly heavier, and the slick mud frequently shifted underfoot, often causing them to slip and fall.

Dorbin growled and cursed as he picked himself up out of the muck for the third time. Rancoth slid to a stop next to him and helped him up as best he could, while still keeping his own footing as steady as possible. They had been walking for almost an hour, and the only sign that they were getting any closer to their destination was the distinct smell of salt in the air.

It had been faint at first, but the further south they went the more it began to overtake the scent of the rain. It was now clearly noticeable, and they were certain it wouldn't be long before the port city of Orlian was in view. Once there they would have to find an inn with a warm fire to dry their supplies as they began the task of finding whomever Grecrum had hired to transport them across the Mother's Boot.

As soon as Dorbin was on his feet both men paused and looked into the distance.

"Was that a scream?" Rancoth asked.

Dorbin shrugged his shoulders. The sky lit up, thunder boomed and rain continued to fall. As the rumble of the latest thunderhead died out, the whispering echo of a scream could be heard once more.

Not stopping to think, Rancoth dropped everything but his staff and started running. "Kujos, come!" He darted past the familiar black smoke that appeared, and Dorbin did his best to keep up. When the huge two-headed dog appeared, it saw its master running in the distance. One of the heads howled, and the demon took off after him.

In only a few bounds the creature caught up with him. Without skipping stride, one of the heads muzzled its way underneath Rancoth's backside, and flipped him up on its back.
Follow the river
, he silently communicated to his swift minion.

"Wait!" Dorbin shouted, but Rancoth and the demon were already gone. Rancoth was heedless of the wet twigs and leaves that slapped him in the face as Kujos raced south. After the second scream the desperate voice had gone silent, and he feared he might be too late.
Faster
, he thought, and the demon dog's muscles bunched as the beast burst forward, eager to please its master.

The landscape was nothing more than a blur as the wind whipped through Rancoth's hair. His fingers dug into Kujos' fur as he held on in an effort to keep from toppling over backwards. Eventually Rancoth could hear the din of several voices around the next bend in the river, and he finally allowed Kujos to slow a little.

The fan, and stern of the
Dancing Seahorse
came into view, and the combined shouts of its crew could now clearly be heard over the thundering storm. "No…" Rancoth whispered as he and Kujos came around to the other side of the riverboat.

Titch stood planted firmly in the muddy shore. His gray brow furrowed in concentration as he used his power to hold a huge river dragon aloft in the air. The green scaly creature was at least thirty feet long. The three-inch talons on its massive claws raked the air at the onslaught of people throwing stones and jabbing at it with anything on hand. Its long powerful tail slashed through the air, knocking several of the
Dancing Seahorse's
crewmen to the ground. 

A threatening rumble issued from its broad head and narrow pointed snout, and a limp red-haired person hung from its mouth; one leg clasped firmly in its jagged toothed maw.

"GET BACK! EVERYONE PLEASE I NEED YOU TO MOVE!" Rancoth shouted. But the mass hysteria had blinded the crew from his approach, and the deafening thunder was more than his voice could conquer.

AAAHHHHRRRRROOOWWWWWWWWW

Two otherworldly howls cut through the storm —the twin voices of Kujos— and it gave pause to all but Captain Lylith. As the rest of her crew scrambled over each other to get out of the way, she continued to assault the immense reptile that held her son.

Titch must have been tired, because the creature slowly began to lower toward the ground. "Titch, keep it in the air!" Rancoth shouted. At Rancoth's command, he found new strength, and the river dragon was held aloft once more.

A sharp fetid claw swiped at Lylith’s face, and she ducked just in time before ramming her staff into the animal's stomach.

"That'll have to do," Rancoth said. To his demon dog, he sent another command through his thoughts as he slid off the beast’s back:
Kill the dragon, but save the boy and his mother
.

Kujos leapt the few yards to the dragon. The demon ducked one head under the scaly monster and clamped down hard on its soft yellow throat. With a firm hold, Kujos then began to wildly shake and growl as its other head almost gently tugged on Elija's shirt.

As the demon's unholy sharp teeth and powerful jaws shred away at the dragon's vulnerable neck, it released its hold on the boy. Kujos tossed the limp body at Lylith. When mother and son made contact Kujos, kicked them several feet back with its hind foot. Lylith landed half in the water of the river, and half on the bank, and Elija dropped on top of her his arms a tangled mess with her legs.

Rancoth shook his head in wonder, wishing that all his demons followed his commands so succinctly. He briefly watched the flurry of fur and scales before joining the rest of the crew attending their captain and her son.

Elija was unconscious but alive. Lylith was cradling him in her arms, stroking his pale forehead and cheek with her hand as her tears flowed freely. "It'll be okay, I'm so sorry baby, it'll be okay…"

Most of the crew simply stood around in a large circle, helplessly looking to one another. Soon the rain began to slacken, and then it finally stopped.

The corpulent cook fell to her knees in the blood soaked-mud, examining the boy's wounds. "I needs some clean water and cloth, and some rope or a belt!" she instructed to no one in particular. "Oh child, Momma can't fix dis.” She looked at the captain. “We gots to get the boy to Orlian." Lylith paid her no mind as she crooned and rocked her son.

"You!" Momma pointed at Rancoth. "Give me your belt, and find me a good solid stick."

Rancoth untied the leather strap he used as a belt and handed it to the woman before running to pick up a part of Lylith's staff that had snapped off during the battle with the monster.

One of the crew came running from the boat carrying some clean shirts and a length of rope. Momma set them aside and set about straightening Elija's right leg.

His foot flopped on the end of his mangled leg, attached only by some tendons just above the ankle. The reptile's teeth had completely sliced through his skin and muscle, while its powerful jaws had crushed his shin bone into nothing. Above the boy's knee, his flesh was splayed open, the red meat and blood mixed sickeningly with the yellow and green pus of the monster’s disease-ridden saliva. The exposed thigh bone bore the marks of the monster's teeth, but remained intact.

Momma tied Rancoth's belt around Elija's leg about halfway between the upper wound and his crotch. She then slid the piece of the staff under the belt and began to twist. The leather bit deeply into the boy's thigh, cutting off the blood flow to the wounds at the large artery that ran down the inside of the leg.

Another crewman arrived with a tankard of fresh water and handed it to the large woman. Momma carefully cleaned both wounds, and then wrapped them in the clean cloths. She secured them tightly with the rope, to help keep the wounds clean and assist with stopping the blood flow. Satisfied with the bandages, Momma eased how tightly the tourniquet was twisted, and then secured it in place. As the large woman struggled to get to her feet, Rancoth stepped in and helped her up.

"Thank you, child," she said. "Titch, get the cap and her son on the boat."

The kineticist quickly levitated Lylith and Elija on the boat and into the captain's quarters.

"Let's go, child," Momma said, holding firmly to Rancoth's hand. He allowed himself to be led by the woman back towards the boat. After only a few steps however she faltered and let go of his hand.

"It won't hurt you," Rancoth said reassuringly, at the woman's sharp intake of breath.

Kujos approached and whined softly, blood and saliva dripping from both its maws. Inky black ooze slowly pumped from three parallel gashes in the demon's side where the dragon had managed to strike back before being defeated. The gargantuan reptile's body lay to the side, its head all but severed.

"You did well," Rancoth said, patting the demon. "Go, return to your realm and rest."

Kujos licked Rancoth's face before vanishing in a puff of smoke.

Momma had one hand on her chest and the other in front of her mouth. "You not what I expected, that’s fo' sure."

Rancoth chuckled. "Is anyone ever what we expect them to be?"

Momma shook her head, and they both made their way up the ramp onto the
Dancing Seahorse
with the rest of the crew.

"Wait, don’t forget about me!" Dorbin came floating around the bend in a shallow canoe being paddled by an old green-skinned Elfkin man. The angry Dwalish man sat atop the mound of his and Rancoth's possessions piled in the bottom of the little boat.

Once everyone and everything was back on board the riverboat, both wind dancers began their chant in front of the funnel. With their combined efforts, the boat literally skipped down the river, barreling its way towards the large southern port city.

After arriving in Orlian, Titch helped Lylith take Elija to a gray eyed Magi healer who reputably specialized in all forms of dragon wounds. Rancoth, Dorbin, and Momma all followed to help and support the captain in any way that they could. Though filled with sorrow, the rest of the crew went about their normal duties.

"What happened?" Rancoth finally asked, as they all sat in a room the healer had offered them to wait in, demanding privacy to concentrate.

The room was small, but comfortable with lots of plush furnishings. Lylith had taken a chair next to one of the open windows. Sunlight streamed in and lit Lylith's face and hair, providing a glow to her features that contrasted with her mournful look.

"We were arguing," Lylith said. Her voice was barely a whisper. "Right after we left you and Dorbin on the river bank, I decided that Elija had overreacted. And I was too quick to support him. I hadn't really thought everything through, and had given the order to stop and wait for the two of you to catch up.

"Elija argued with my orders in front of the crew. Ever since his father died a few years ago, he's tried to keep me from getting the attention of other men. He denies that his father ever existed rather than accept his death." She wiped her nose with sleeve and shook her head before continuing.

"I've foolishly encouraged him thinking it was his way of coping. Not to mention the fact that in my line of work, most men who would show any interest have less then honorable intentions. So it hasn't ever really hurt anything--but you never tried anything but to be a friend to me and my son. You did your best to become a helpful member of the crew over the last few weeks. I had gotten so used to being aloof, and alone. I was scared and confused by my own attraction towards you."

Rancoth blushed slightly at the compliment. He had been aware that he had an effect on the woman, but wasn't aware of the other complexities that were occurring.

Lylith continued, eyes still turned out the window. "So when Elija reacted the way he did I saw it as an easy out. I was wrong for that--I'm sorry."

"It's all rright, lass. We'rre all morrtal," Dorbin said.

Lylith looked at the little man and nodded once before looking back out the window. "Anyway, the argument continued. I wasn't about to let him undermine my orders, especially not on
my
boat in front of
my
crew. Eventually the argument came to blows. Elija was knocked from the ship--I wasn't thinking about how far south we were, and I didn't know the river dragon had been waiting under the surface for some unsuspecting prey to approach the river."

"There ain't no way you would have known, child. None of us saw it," Momma said patting her on the arm.

"I should have known!" Lylith spat. "We've been in their territory for several days now. I was too angry, at him, at myself. I'm the captain and his mother. I don't have the luxury of not knowing."

"What happened next?" Rancoth asked, trying to ease the sudden rising tension in the room, and wanting the rest of the story.