Embers in the Sand

As the door to the captain's quarters swung closed, Rue caught it with the toe of her boot and ushered Blank and Oda inside.

Blank was so curious she could barely contain her questions. She almost changed her mind when she saw the glare Guy was leveling at them, stopping her in her tracks.

“Okay, wait, wait, you had a Zandeer girlfriend?” Rue's smirk was wicked, completely unfazed.

“Yeah, spill the beans!” Oda demanded.

Guy shot Rue a baleful look. “She’s not Zandeer. Just… friendly with them when it suits her purposes.”

She was looking far too smug with this new information. “Sure.”

He heaved a sigh. “After the war, she was there to help me through a dark time. I… don’t really want to talk about it.”

Blank shifted on her feet and tried a less accusatory approach. “Why was she following us? Surely she didn’t know your ship from that far.”

“An assassin on Zandeer’s payroll? They’re trying to protect something. And I wasn’t about to sit and chat long enough to find out what.”

“How long has it been?” Rue asked, breezing past Blank’s attempt at subtlety.

“Not long enough.” He huffed, then looked contemplative, almost distant. “She’s probably… two hundred and sixty now?”

“Oh she's old,” Oda blurted.

Guy bristled. “As if today wasn’t enough salt in the wound,” he muttered. “Well, Oda? May as well take my arm too while you’re in here.”

“No thanks, I don’t need it.”

“Good.” His mood was getting darker by the minute. “Now get out of my sight.”

As they cleared the room, Rue reassured them, “Don’t mind him, he’ll be fine... eventually. Just gotta let him stew for a while.”

Eridin brushed past them and knocked on the door. He was called in a moment later. The three of them exchanged a glance and of one accord, pressed their ears to the thick wooden door.

“-not doing this again!” Guy shouted, and though Eridin’s reply was muffled, there was audible disinterest.

Blank strained to hear any snatch of the conversation.

“Pendra… none but herself… bridge burned.”

“Motives…?”

“... can’t say… control…”

The exchange became completely inaudible as their voices dipped lower and tenser.

Then Eridin’s voice came clear and close. “Trust goes both ways.”

The girls scattered as the door yanked open and Eridin reemerged, the hard expression on his face unaltered. He passed without a glance at any of them, presumably off in pursuit of a drink.

Blank crossed over to Rue, who was trying to appear as though she wasn’t just plastered against the captain’s door. “So, what now?”

“I guess we lay low until Guy has a plan,” she shrugged. “He’ll let us know as soon as he does.”

Laying low was easier said than done. Blank was anxious for the next two days, feeling caged in by the vastness of the sea around her. Everyone else had adjusted to sea life, and were off doing their own thing. All she could think to do was stay in her room or go above to let Pina feel the air in her wings. She was sick of the glare of the sun, and save for the incessant creaking of the ship, the cabin was too quiet. The days were mercilessly slow, and as the sun began its daily descent, she made her now familiar way above decks to watch it set in orange splendor.

She found a spot that kept her out of the way of the crew, but still afforded her a clear view of the deck. Ides was up there as well, running through basic weapons training by himself, and commanding a wide berth from those around him. Oda was exploring the rigging, Blank could hear her chatting to herself somewhere high above her head. Rue and Eridin were nowhere to be seen.

Not long after, Guy emerged from his quarters with a few of his most trusted crew. He waved Blank and Ides over, and Eridin appeared a moment later, rationed bottle in hand.

“We have a way in,” he said. “There’s a beach not far above Gullwing where we can land, and if our information is correct, we’ll be clear of patrols. After that, on to the city.”

Blank nodded, more nervous than ever. Pina landed on her shoulder, wrapping her tail around her arm. Blank reached up to scratch under the dragon’s chin. Although the prospect of spying on the most dangerous people she could think of made her more seasick than the ship’s rocking, it was the right thing to do.

Guy gave them all a once over. “Make yourselves useful and take another watch tonight, will you?”

“I’ll take the first with Guy!” Oda called from the tangle of lines and canvas above them.

Not a chance. He'd finally stopped glowering a people. “I’ll watch with you, Oda,” Blank stepped up.

“Same here,” Rue joined in, slithering down a rope from where she too was hiding among the sails. Blank nodded gratefully. Keeping Oda from pestering Guy would be a job all its own.

Eridin had that distant, glassy look in his eyes. “Pendra’s in Gullwing already. Do you think she really bought the changing course idea?”

Blank had seen Eridin’s hawk land high in the Bloodcrest’s rigging, but she hadn’t imagined they could stay magically connected from that great a distance. Then again, what did she know? She could do the same with Pina, but had never tested the extent of that ability.

“That’s a risk we’re going to have to take.” Guy said.

The evening wore on, and as the gloom closed in around the Dawn, an island appeared, dark in the distance. Guy took the helm and the girls settled in for the watch.

It was a quiet evening, Blank and Rue falling into shifts of keeping a lookout and engaging Oda in conversation, and the shore drew ever closer.

They had taken an exaggerated northern route to avoid any possible patrols, and now the ship drew parallel with the shore, easing them south. Blank stood portside, on the lookout for any signs of life on the fringes of the jungle. She chewed on her lip, watching the stars wink out one by one under the hulking blackness of the island. Rue came up alongside her, resting her elbows on the rail. Oda was occupied for the time being, polishing her rapier and humming to herself.

Rue tapped Blank's shoulder with the back of her hand and pointed out across the water. A fire burned on the beach some distance away. She turned to get Guy’s attention at the helm and Blank leaned precariously over the rail to get a better view. There were eight figures outlined in the light of the fire. She squinted. They were too far away to make out anything else.

Guy was there a moment later, then disappeared to alert Ides and Eridin. With reluctance, Blank left Pina on the Dawn, unwilling to put the small dragon in danger if it could be avoided. She wouldn’t be able to forgive herself if something happened. Closing the door to the cabin with a snick, she tried to ignore Pina scratching at the wood in a frenzy. Thane was left in charge and not ten minutes later, they were in two little boats heading for shore.

The girls were once again together, and as they drew nearer, Blank could better see the beach over the bobbing waves. She could feel the magic at her fingertips building in anticipation. Her nerves lurched with the boat as it scraped up against the sand.

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Rue guided the dinghy through the breakers, expertly beaching it just beyond the reach of the firelight. Half kneeling in the boat, she inspected the scene before her. Blank had reported eight figures of various races, five of which were sprawled out on the sand. Drunk, asleep, dead, she couldn’t be sure. The remaining three sat in various states of alertness, staring into the fire, completely unaware of the two boats. She could just make out the symbol scattered across their clothing: Zandeer.

Her stomach knotted. This was not going to end well.

There wasn’t much of a plan, and before she could convene with the others, Oda’s shortbow twanged, striking the man nearest the water.

Cursing, Rue slung her bow off her shoulder and in the blink of an eye was fully drawn.

You’re making sure they can’t escape. she justified herself as she sent two arrows flying, You’re not here to kill.

The man closest to the jungle yelped as her first arrow struck, and the second landed harmlessly in the sand.

Oda snorted as she drew again. “I saw that.”

Rue slid an arrow on the string, eyeing her target as he struggled to his feet. “You didn’t see anything.”

“I did, ‘cause I’ve been here this whole time.”

The second dinghy landed just to their left. Eridin pointed at one of the men sitting confused at the fire, and the distant sound of a bell rang out. Guy jumped out and ran to attack the same man who was reeling from the spell.

Blank, still crouched behind Rue and Oda sent a spell whistling into the group of men, hitting two and, unfortunately, waking them up. There were now five men awake and reaching for weapons to engage their assailants from the sea.

Oda’s next shot went high, and Rue felt a sick rush of satisfaction as her two arrows hit home, causing the man to stagger. His cry of pain snapped her out of it. He was not her enemy. Her enemies were standing right next to her.

Ides rushed from the dinghy to engage one of the men, but tripped over a sleeping form. He managed to take his opponent down with him and a scuffle began in the sand. Guy was fighting closer to the fire, and Eridin was still at the boat, pointing to another man as the same sound of a bell was drowned out in shouting and the clash of metal. The man on the ground with Ides picked up a shield and tried bashing the leonin’s head in with the sharp edge, but Blank’s magic slammed into his torso and he flinched backwards. It was chaos, and Rue was out of clear targets. She drew her sword and stepped out of the dinghy.

Another man rushed the dinghy, swinging a flail and hitting Rue before she could react. Instantly, her vision went black, and her limbs moved of their own volition. A second later, she was herself again… and attacking Oda, who dodged out of the way to take a shot at the man with the flail. Rue jerked back and looked around wildly. Blank was at the bottom of the boat, writhing in pain, an ugly wound in her arm, and Oda wore a wide-eyed expression of anger and shock. Energy exploded behind her, and she whirled just in time for her assailant’s head to burst open like a melon and scatter brains across her face. Guy’s metal hand zipped back to him like a boomerang, leaving the body to crumple at Rue’s feet.

She gagged, swiping at her nose and mouth. Time slowed to a heartbeat as she tried to reorient herself. Ides killed the man in the sand, taking a spear to the side as another ran up behind him. Guy was holding his own, and Eridin and Blank were casting crackling spells that lit up the beach beyond the firelight. Oda was somewhere behind her, arrows flying with abandon. Zandeer men fell one by one.

Drawing herself upright, Rue pulled from her small reserve of magic. She didn’t care who got hurt, she just wanted it to stop. She threw out a spell of shattering intensity, and everyone winced as a high-pitched shriek tore into their minds. Another pirate fell dead.

Ides impaled one of the sleepers, the man too drunk to even stir at the noise around him. The last man standing braced himself in front of the fire when Blank’s bright darts of magic caught him in the chest and he stumbled backwards into the flames.

There was one man left, still half-asleep and groggy. She ran forward to put herself between him and the murderous look in Ides’s eyes. She couldn’t let them kill a helpless man, Zandeer or not.

“Wait,” she said, talking fast. “Leave him alive, he might be good for questioning.”

“Questioning for what?” Eridin asked darkly, but Blank interjected.

“I agree. We need to know what we’re walking into here.”

Rue skipped back a step as Ides came stalking up to her. “Don’t kill him, not yet,” she pleaded. She was on treacherous ice, but she could not stand by without trying to save this man. If she was going to be Zandeer, she couldn’t have all these men’s blood on her conscience.

“Fine,” he growled. “Make it quick.”

She turned to where Blank and Oda were tying the man’s hands behind his back.

“What were you doing out here?” She asked, crouching down and grasping at the first question that came to mind.

The man, finding himself in an altogether surprising situation, was sobering quickly, but she could still see the haze of drink in his eye. “Getting drunk,” he drawled, “Why else would we be out here?”

“Give us one good reason not to kill you now.” Ides rumbled. Rue glared at him over her shoulder.

Blank, who was usually too quiet to be intimidating, stepped up beside her, a menacing aura radiating from the teifling. “Why did you attack Tralco?”

He shrank back. “It was Riffian’s call.” He looked around frantically. “Riffian Wide-Eye? He calls all the shots here. We didn’t have a say in the matter.”

“I believe you,” Eridin said quietly, and with a sudden jerk, stabbed the man.

The party yelled in surprise, but none louder than the man himself, who squealed like a stuck pig.

“What the hells?” Blank yanked Eridin back before he could lunge again.

“I promise!” The man yelled, “That’s all I know!”

Eridin twisted out of Blank’s grasp and started for the man, knife still in hand.

A thunderclap rattled the stars, and everything froze.

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Thanks for reading part nine of my ongoing series! It chronicles the adventures of a long-running D&D campaign I’ve been participating in for over two years. I'm hoping to upload a new part every Friday night, we'll see how it goes!

Start here -> Part One

ICYMI -> Part Eight

Next part -> Part Ten