LOST!
Suddenly there was an immense screech of psychic noise and Querilous's hands jolted as his flesh began to burn. He tried to pull away from the voices and images that crowded his mind but the maelstrom of sensations held him in its grip. He could feel the creature in the chair thrashing against its restraints and there was a peculiar smell. It reminded him of the sea but there was also an odour of burning to it. Querilous suddenly found himself blind and he gritted his teeth as he forced his mind against the barrier that had been thrown up against it.
Suddenly he was free, and he reeled across the interrogation room, he palms throbbing with pain.
Once his surroundings had stopped spinning Querilous looked down at his hands. They were blistered and peeling, as though they had been plunged into a pot of boiling water. The odour that he had smelt earlier was stronger now and he realised that it was coming from the prisoner.
Looking over at the thing in the chair he could see steam rising from its skull.
Querilous cautiously approached and was appalled to see two gaping holes in the Chadassa's head where he had hurriedly torn his hands free.
Querilous may have found a lead to their fugitives, he considered, but how was he going to tell Makennon that he had killed one of their most valuable prisoners?
Chapter Seven
Silus marvelled at the beauty of the Sarcre archipelago as they glided over the crystal blue water. He had never seen the sea so calm. The formation of the islands here broke apart the angry water that surrounded Sarcre, channelling it into the clear cool channels that separated the islands. Silus looked over the side of the boat and could see all the way to the seabed. The water glittered with life. If he and Katya lived here, he considered, they could make a very comfortable living. He wouldn't even need a net; he could just reach over the side of the boat and pick the fish from the sea.
At the oars Dunsany sweated in a heat that was even more intense than it had been that morning. The rest of them sat crowded into the boat; Emuel looking forlornly into the distance as though searching for a lost love, Jacquinto and his compatriots steadily drinking from hip flasks, Father Maylan beaming a smile as though he were rather enjoying every moment, Kelos looking eagerly ahead to the approaching island and Katya, sitting with her arms folded, her look a warning to anyone on whom it happened to settle.
The quietly smoking cone of a volcano dominated the small island towards which they were heading and Silus watched its approach with some concern.
"I don't suppose that there's any risk of that thing blowing its top is there?" He said.
"Oh, you mean Maladrak's Cauldron?" Kelos said. "Well, of course there's a risk but it hasn't erupted in living memory. So I wouldn't worry too much."
"Well that's reassuring," Katya said.
As they drew closer Silus recognised the regularly shaped standing stones that ringed the island a short distance from the shore. He'd noticed similar monoliths surrounding several of the other islands in the archipelago, though he'd never seen any of them up-close before.
Dunsany took the oars out of their loops as they drifted to a halt on the pebbles of the beach, while Kelos leapt out to secure the boat.
As Silus stepped ashore he could hear a strange low buzzing, as though a vast colony of bees were somewhere nearby. He turned to look at the rest of the crew but none of them seemed to have noticed anything out of place.
"Can you hear that?" He asked Katya.
"What am I listening for?"
"I don't know. It's sort of a weird buzzing."
"I don't hear it."
Trying to shake his head clear Silus followed the rest of the crew. As he drew closer to the standing stones, a pressure began to build up behind his eyes and a sharp pain gripped his head. Feeling nauseous and dizzy, he reached for Katya's hand.
"Silus, what's wrong?"
Ahead of him the stones swam as though in a heat haze. Gentle whispers filled his head and the monoliths began to glow.
"Silus?"
He staggered past the line of stones and fell to his knees, splattering the ground with vomit. Silus took deep breaths and, slowly, his head began to clear. He looked back and the stones stood silent, the air around them untroubled.
"What happened?" Katya said, kneeling beside him.
"I don't know. The stones, they filled my head with this awful noise."
"Are you alright old chap?" Dunsany offered his hand and helped Silus to his feet.
"I'm fine, I think. Those stones, what are they for?"
"No one knows," Kelos said, joining them. "But from what I have noted of the markings they probably held some religious significance for the early islanders. The minerals from which these rocks are carved are fascinating. I haven't seen anything like them elsewhere. They may even be unique to Sarcre. Why do you ask?"
"I seem to have an adverse reaction to them. Or maybe it's just the heat?"
Kelos looked at him with some concern, before Dunsany linked his arm in his and marched with his friend towards the volcano.
"Onwards team," Dunsany said.
"Where exactly is this ship of yours anchored?" Jacquinto said. "This is a pretty small island and I can't see this mighty vessel that you've been enthusing about."
"Ah, but the
Llothriall
isn't anchored at
this
island." Dunsany said, leading them to the foot of the volcano, where a cave opened up in the dark rock.
"Come on Dunsany, this is ridiculous!" Silus said. "You're leading us on some sort of merry chase now."
"Actually, this
is
the right way to the
Llothriall
." Kelos said. "It may seem strange but you'll understand the reasoning behind it soon."
"He's quite the showman," said Father Maylan. "Dunsany, I don't suppose you've ever considered the priesthood have you? I'm sure that a man with a flair for the dramatic such as yourself would fit right in."
"Funnily enough," Dunsany said. "It's not a vocation that I have ever considered," and he led them into the side of the volcano.
As the darkness closed around them Kelos summoned a light to his palm. It burned with a steady glow that revealed their surroundings perfectly.
They had to stoop as the roof of the cave angled down, but the tunnel soon widened as it turned sharply to the right and descended. There was a powerful smell of sulphur and steam rose from fissures in the walls, coating them in moisture and making their clothes cling clammily to their limbs. Silus felt for Katya's hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze as they followed the crew. He was wondering how much more of the stifling heat they could take when the tunnel levelled out and the temperature dropped.
The stone that surrounded them now gave off a pleasant coolness and the smell of the sea permeated the passage. The crash and susurrus of waves echoed around them and Silus wondered what kind of harbour they were being led to, so far beneath the ground.
It was hard to measure the passage of time as they walked along the tunnel, but Silus thought that at least half an hour had passed before Kelos extinguished his light. It took Silus a moment to understand where the new source of illumination was coming from, but then he noticed that the dark rock of the walls had given way to pale stone and it was through this that a soft marine glow filtered into the passage. Ahead of them the light increased and, as they continued, Silus was no longer looking at the walls, he was looking
through
them.
Dunsany and Kelos glanced back at the crew expectantly, trying to gauge their reactions to this new marvel.
"We're underwater. How are we underwater?" Katya said.
"Incredible isn't it?" Dunsany said. "And, I must add, completely safe."
"I confess that it's making me rather dizzy." Father Maylan said.
The rock of the tunnel walls was now completely transparent and Silus fought a nauseous feeling of vertigo as he stood, staring at the ocean that surrounded them. The seabed lay twenty feet below their boots and the surface was twice that distance above, shafts of brilliant sunlight cutting through the churn of the waves. Deep blue water flanked them on both sides as far as the eye could see and Silus gazed into the depths in wonder. Shoals of beautiful fish - the likes of which he had never seen- played through the tall fronds of emerald weeds. A fish the size of a dinner plate, covered in scintillant diamond markings, swam close alongside and Silus put his hand to the wall that separated them. The piscine eye followed the movement of his fingers for a moment before the creature darted away. Along the seabed below scuttled crustaceans the size and shape of large boulders, their bulk somehow supported on dozens of spindly legs. Eyes dotted the craggy surfaces of their shells at seemingly random points and long, many-jointed arms reached into narrow crevices in rocks to retrieve lime green worms, which they fed into dark openings in their chitinous sides.
"Believe it or not," Dunsany said. "There are yet more wonders to behold. Not far now and you will see the
Llothriall
herself."
Silus and the rest of the crew stared at Dunsany for a while, looks of wonder obvious on all their faces. Silus gazed back at the view of the ocean for a moment, reluctant to leave behind the breathtaking panorama, but then he followed. After a short while, the dark rock of the tunnel returned and they started to ascend.
The thunder of breakers greeted them as they stepped out of the tunnel and onto a pebble beach. They blinked in the intense sunlight for a few moments before the scene in front of them resolved itself. Sheer cliff faces flanked them on two sides, covered in screeching gulls and heavy with the stink of guano, while in front of them churned the angry sea. Silus could just see across it to the northern tip of the Sarcre archipelago. The water that separated the northernmost province of Twilight from where they now stood was wine dark and violent.
"And this," Dunsany said. "Is why Makennon's lot will find it impossible to discover our hiding place. No regular ship can cross that stretch without being destroyed. For the
Llothriall
though, the angry churn out there is nothing."
Dunsany led them through a narrow gap in the cliffs and Silus saw that the centre of the island opened out into a wide, deep lagoon. In this natural harbour sat the most beautiful ship he had ever seen.
Dunsany led them to a launch and, with the aid of this, they boarded the
Llothriall
.
The two fugitives from the Faith had clearly done a great deal of work since hiding the ship and it seemed to be stocked with all that they would need for a substantial voyage. On deck everything gleamed and not just with newness, some of the shine that emanated from the wood was due to the magic that gave the
Llothriall
its power. Silus looked up at the masts that towered above him and wondered at the strength of the sails that were furled there. He had a difficult enough time on his own small fishing vessel fighting the wind with a bit of canvas. Silus dreaded to think how the vast sheets above them would fair against the fierce winds on the Twilight seas. Surely they would be torn from the masts within seconds of being unfurled?
"Have you noticed the sheen on the material?" Kelos said, following his gaze.
"Sheen? No."
"Well the silk that makes up those sails came from the X'cotl."
"And what are the X'cotl?" Katya said.
"A sort of giant spider. They're said to exist in our reality only some of the time."
"So you guys must have a lot in common."
Kelos chuckled. "Hoist by my own petard. You mock Katya, but I just know that you're warming to the charms of this beauty of the sea."
And the
Llothriall
was both charming and beautiful. Below the main deck the ship was opulently attired. Each cabin was comfortably equipped and Silus reckoned that the sleeping quarters would be more than adequate for a high ranking officer in the Vos navy, never mind the ragtag band of thieves and renegades currently on board. There was also a vast dining room, a well equipped and impressively stocked galley, a hold big enough to contain the largest of treasures and an array of gleaming canons, well oiled and with a ready supply of ammunition.
"There is a lot more to the
Llothriall
that you can't see. The elf magic has been seamlessly integrated into the design of the vessel. This empowers many of the ship's unique abilities; its ability to negotiate the angriest of maelstroms, or its ability to sail beneath the sea, for example." Dunsany said. "And talking of elf magic..."
Emuel had joined them and Dunsany put a hand on his shoulder, smiling. The tattooed eunuch returned the mage's expression with a weak smile of his own.
"Emuel, would you like to show us to the gem room?"
Emuel nodded and led them down a short flight of steps and into a room buzzing with magical energy. The hairs on the back of Silus's neck rose as he entered and there was a sour taste in his mouth.
The stone sat in its housing in the centre of the room, veins of power rippling across its surface. The slightly cowed expression on Emuel's face was replaced by a look of affection as he ran his hand over the surface of the gem, almost as though he were stroking a much-loved pet.
"And this is why we need Emuel," Kelos said. "It is his song that unlocks the power within the stone and enables the
Llothriall
to handle the roughest of seas. This power will enable us to sail through the Storm Wall unharmed. Entire elf fleets used to venture forth in ships such as this. Unfortunately we have found no record of what they discovered."
"A good reason why we should set out on a voyage of discovery ourselves." Father Maylan said. "Why, we could map anything we find and sell copies to the highest bidder on our return. We could become very wealthy men."
"Ah, but this voyage is not just about money, Father." Dunsany said.
"Speak for yourself," said Ignacio.
"We are going to be paid, right?" Jacquinto said, his hand dangerously close to his dagger.
"Gentlemen, of course you will be paid." Dunsany said. "Have I not already given you a little taster? But, trust me, you will gain so much more from this than a full purse."