Elec then drew out his journal and retold his tale, beginning with the storm on his island threatening his parents’ ranch. The shipwreck and the survivor. Recovered artifacts include the pendant, the compass, and the dagger. The mysterious symbol. His father’s suggestion that he alone take this adventure. The smugglers and their dealings. The journey on the Sea Sprinter and the encounter with the raiders. Locating the shipwreck with the compass. The sea serpents. And finally, his visitations with the local fishermen and sailor they found on the rowboat in the bay.
“He is one of the crew members from the Silver Drake and confirmed their captain was attempting to restore the seal keeping these ‘shadows’ at bay. He confirmed that this pendant,” Elec said, pointing to the pendant resting on the map, “is one of the two items required to restore the seal. The other is the signet ring that Captain Lira possesses. The sailor is still stable and not wholly conscious, but unless the crew of the Waveshear interrupted her actions, or were unsuccessful in their aid, I do not know why the captain could not restore the seal. There might be a missing piece or something, the sailor said, but it was not clear. According to the ramblings, she is possibly still out there on the reef, alive and captive to these powers, with the other item we need to put an end to this. Now, having said all this, and I apologize for putting you two on the spot, but you two mentioned being as entrenched in this regarding the mysteries of the bay that most likely brought our paths together. I would like to hear more. The Silver Drake’s captain may have been missing something, and you two may know what.”
As Elec finished retelling his tale, the room fell silent save for the creak of chairs or the stirring of feet. Roderick and Seraphine exchanged glances, their expressions shifting from curiosity to concern as the details of Elec’s story unfolded. The stoic Captain Jorn listened intently, his sharp eyes fixed on Elec, who revealed the story of storms, shipwrecks, Silent Ones on a silent ship, sea serpents, and the mysterious forces at play. After a long moment, he cleared his throat, his voice grave but steady.
“A lot to digest, lad,” Jorn said, his gaze now focused on the pendant that rested on the map. “But rest assured, you’re not walking this road alone.”
*
Seraphine stepped closer to the table. As the warrior drew closer and examined the artifacts, his thoughtful expression hardened at the sight of the dagger. The bard felt a chill run through her as she saw the runes inscribed on its blade and hilt. The Rava’kin…no, the Mirithar, had been carrying a cursed artifact like the two Roderick and she now possessed. This dagger, however, was still intact, and its dark gray etched blade spoke of evils to those careless enough to feel its edge. She tapped the warrior on the shoulder, and he nodded as she dug into his pack and produced the parcel. Unwrapping the cloth, she set the cleft crown and ruined lantern next to the dagger. The runes of each matched and reacted instantly. The gathered company drew closer to the table to examine the new artifacts. There were a couple of gasps and murmurs from the gathered crowd behind them.
“You’ll have to bear with me because this is still a hard thing to talk about,” Seraphine began. “Our tale began over four years ago. I had set out with a musical troupe to compete in the Lyre’s Crown, a musician competition in Eldmar. Brigands waylaid us halfway there. I escaped the violence, but not after losing my father’s lute. The rest of the caravan was not so lucky. I had never seen death or…rape before that day and vowed to avenge them against the bandits somehow. I followed them at a great distance as they made their way south. That’s when I met Roderick.”
“I had accepted a contract from the Additha family, displaced out of Larkinth, Peollenia region, around five hundred miles southeast of here,” Roderick said. “A great gathering of reaver bands had solidified under a ruler to become an army laying waste to city after city in the regions far from the frontier lands. I was promised a talent of gold should we successfully repel the warlord and his army from the city. The mercenaries I traveled with immediately accepted, and we all followed the bannerman. Along the way, we fought various bandit groups until we found a large encampment bearing this sigil,” Roderick said, flipping through Elec’s journal until he found the sketch he had mentioned before. “We thought little of it at the time, but it kept popping up over the years. We razed the camp and burned their bodies, but not before finding Seraphine waiting in the brush. I reunited her with her lost lute and offered protection if she’d accompany us to the next town over, Alegnola.”
“I had planned to leave once I arrived at the town safely, but there were so many refugees. Hurt. Mamed. Disheartened. Defiled. I began to play the songs my father had taught me. Songs to heal. To bring comfort. To restore the spirit. I saw the good I could do, but I could not help but think of everyone in the caravan who were defiled and subsequently butchered. I wanted to help put an end to it. So I asked to join Roderick and his group. They didn’t even bother to try to talk me out of it.”
“We needed everyone with every talent we could muster. We had swordsmen, mages, thieves, priests, and everything in between. The march was long, and we had to pierce the siege to gain the Larkinth city walls. Once inside, we held the city for…” Roderick continued, pausing briefly.
“About a month.” Seraphine supplied.
“The first three or so weeks were quiet, only light skirmishes against the defenses. Then there were one or two battles in which we successfully repelled the invaders. The victories we had won bolstered our commitment. We felt that the defenses and numbers were in our favor. That was until the warlord arrived.”
*
The crowd shifted as their story continued. Elec listened intently, his eyes going between Roderick and Seraphine. While he had respected them as seasoned adventurers, he saw them now for what they truly were. Heroes. Tried and true. Both felt a calling to defend people in need. His doubts about them vanished, yet his self-doubt intensified. Now he worried whether he could even keep up with them. Whether he could measure up to their expectations.
Seraphine began again, “According to what I found out later, Drelk was a barbarian of one of the Drolcir tribes from eastern Amadiya. A tribe of cult-like raiders killed almost every man, woman, and child of his people. He spent his youth trying to find the men responsible, only to fall into their hands. The tales became fuzzy here. Some say he defeated their leader, while others say he was captured, but regardless, the leader of the group crafted him a crown of blackened metal and carved it with runes of a language of forgotten titans or gods. The crown granted him greater knowledge and uncanny charisma with those seeking evil intent. Regardless, when his small band arrived, it sent a ripple through the rest of his bannermen. Suddenly they became deft. Focused.”
“Drelk’s army began fighting with the strategy and tactics of timeless generals. Their feeble attacks became precision strikes,” Roderick continued. “They began to systematically weaken our defenses and strike at our morale. Their wizards and assassins struck at our clerics and mages. Day after day they bled numbers to cut our might until they were able to begin breaching our walls.”
Seraphine’s breath caught at this. A wave of powerful emotion washed over him, and Elec could not help but catch a glimpse of her thoughts: a young man impaled by over a dozen spears, demanding she run back to the inner defences. The rapier she carried tied his life. Elec’s heart sank with hers, feeling the moment relived in Roderick’s words.
“The nobles let us know of the secret tunnels underneath the city. Smuggler routes were used for contraband or as a means of escape if necessary. Many of the others had already used them to escape. Seraphine proposed a wild plan. We took the tunnels, but instead of fleeing, we took the one heading towards Drelk’s personal camp. Just the two of us. There we would kill him or, at the very least, put up a dramatic fight to the end when the rest of his bannermen fell upon us.”
“It was a ridiculous move. We had lost…friends. Fellow warriors.” Seraphine continued, her eyes glistening. “The tunnels were half flooded…Roderick nearly drowned. We crept along so slowly that we worried the city had fallen by the time we made surface again. They discovered us immediately in the end. I minced words with our captors and was able to get us before the warlord. And no tale could tell of a mightier mortal than he. Even without the crown, Roderick stood chest-high to him and half as broad. The sword he wielded would require any one of us two hands just to lift, yet he used only one to wield it.”
“I challenged him to a one-on-one duel, playing into the gray of my hair and raggedy appearance, hiding my true age. Seraphine played her songs to keep me on my feet and improve my focus. She managed my bruises and cuts during the duel. I fought with every ounce of my strength. My skill. My being. In the end, it was not enough,” Roderick said, pausing for an exceptionally long time before he continued, “Enchanted sword or no, I was no match. I fell, knocked onto my back, and he was still strong, unphased, and fresh. Seraphine played a different song, one of deception against him. She sang of his bannermen turning against him and his advisors lying. He turned and laughed at her. It was only a brief moment, but it was all I needed to take my sword and bury it halfway through his skull. The crown fell away, but it was another couple of minutes of staggering before he fell too. His bannermen stood speechless.”
“Larkinth fell regardless, but the horde did not rape, pillage, or plunder,” Seraphine said. “It was a confusing affair. Their forces entered the city, but lost all will to take or occupy it. The defenses fell, but the onslaught never really came forward. Everyone simply milled about in a daze. It was as if the reavers under his command had been under some sort of spell the whole time. The entire conquest ceased at that moment. I patched Roderick up, and we hobbled back to the city, but everyone was leaving. Raiders and defenders alike.”
“Drelk’s power came directly from the crown, but we did not have any means of finding out where it came from. There have been a couple more leads over the last three years, but they did not pan out. A haunted underground temple and some red-obsessed assassins. We helped out where we could here and there, but we did not come across any more traces until just a few days ago, when a group of bandits was brandishing this lantern bearing similar runes, flying this same symbol as their insignia, and word of a captain out of this port knowing its origin.” Roderick concluded, motioning to their relics.
“You’re right to ask about the stories and tales,” she said, her eyes locked on the pendant. “There have been whispers among some of the older scholars and historians further east about an ancient guardian tied to the bay. It’s a bit cryptic, but it speaks of ‘things awakening from the depths’, ‘shadows that were sealed away in ages past’. These ‘Silent Ones’ are mentioned in the oldest texts I’ve found, though their exact nature is unclear. From what I could gather, there was a similar disturbance many centuries ago. What we do know is that they’re tied to the balance of the bay’s waters, and that any disturbance to that balance, like the destruction of the Waveshear or the breaking of this mysterious seal, might’ve caused them to rise again.”
She glanced at Roderick, who nodded in agreement.
“What we don’t know, though, is why the captain of the Silver Drake couldn’t finish the restoration. You’re right to be concerned about that. The seal should’ve held long enough for her to complete her work… but it sounds like something interrupted her efforts. Whatever it was, it’s likely tied to the growing darkness in these waters.”
Roderick shifted his stance, his voice low but determined.
“And it sounds like you’re all already neck-deep in it. If we’re planning to head out there, on that reef, to face what waits, then we’ll need to move quickly. The more time we waste, the greater the risk of things getting worse.”
“This still leaves us with the matter of what went wrong.” Captain Jorn said, “If Lira and Varrow had the relics, but the seal was broken, what were they missing?”
“Unfortunately, the sailor only witnessed as much as he could from the deck of the Silver Drake. Neither he nor the one on my island saw the seal itself, its location, nor what manner of ritual was used to enact it. There is more information we need in order to complete and restore the seal.” Elec said, running a hand through the fur atop his head and scratching behind his ear.
“The library here in Pelavora has no books pertaining to any of the mysteries present or past,” Seraphine said. “While the compass might lead us to the Silver Drake as it had before…unless Captain Lira is still alive, we may not be able to locate the seal to even restore it.”
Roderick looked over the Mariner’s map for a while, flipping through the pages of Elec’s journal.
“You have marked several areas in the bay. Most of them look like reefs,” The warrior said, tracing the various notes with his finger. “What is this one here? The one further inland with the symbol drawn next to it.”
“A curious one.” Elec said, “I found it amongst the documents in the recent sailor’s rowboat. I am certain he was dispatched to find the location and whatever was there right before the ship was attacked.”
“Then it might be the location of the missing piece. A third relic or information tied to completing the seal.” Seraphine said.
“I firmly believe so. I say we venture to the spot and find out while Captain Jorn and the crew make ready. How long will it take to refit the Sea Sprinter for battle? Ballista and all?”
Captain Jorn looked over the map and the notes as well. He stroked his beard thoughtfully.
“Had to write all your notes in Elvish, lad, didn’t you?” The man said, in between mouthing the syllables as he read. “That spot is about a two-day hike at a casual pace. I don’t know what is up in those hills, but you should be cautious, nonetheless. It will take about three to four days to get the Sea Sprinter refitted and the crew ready. Far enough time for you three to investigate.”
“I agree, if the survivor had been trying to make for this inland location, it would’ve made sense to find his rowboat in the bay halfway to Pelavora. Maybe this is the key we are looking for. If Lira and Varrow met up in this bay, they may have been en route here and simply ran out of time.”
“Then we need to pick up where they left off and complete this before the darkness spreads further,” Seraphine said, gathering up the crown and the lantern.
“Agreed. Let us round up any additional supplies we should need and meet up at the Salty Gull. We’ll have a meal and set out immediately.” Elec said, beginning to pack up his things.
“You’ve got the right instinct, Elec,” Jorn said with a gruff tone. “If the shadows are tied to the sea, then the land could hold answers that the sea doesn’t. It’s bold, but it makes sense. And you’re right. If we’re to deal with this, we need to be prepared for anything. Those serpents are just the beginning. Whatever’s still out there, waiting, it won’t be merciful. Silent Ones, or worse. I’ll make sure the crew’s ready. We’ll get the Sea Sprinter prepped for the journey, and I’ll have the ballista installed and ready. We won’t be caught unawares again.”
*
The walk was short, but Elec could not tell whether his hands shook from anxiety or anticipation. Today was going to be his first real adventure with two seasoned heroes. Veterans. He wrung them, trying to get control over the trembling as the familiar surroundings of the tavern greeted him. The smell of ale and braised chicken. The low-burning hearth. Elec noted the absence of patrons as he entered, Tilda leaning on a broom as he approached. She waved and gestured for him to take a seat wherever he wished.
“Strike of the bell, Elec. You seem to be the only one from Jorn’s crew still on their feet. I’m quite impressed by the way you lot got on before heading over to the Seafarer. What can I get you?” She said.
“Whatever you have for lunch. For three.” Elec said, “We’re heading inland to try to find some secrets as to what’s going on in the bay.”
“Inland, eh? That’s a strange notion. I overheard the mercenaries talking of chartering one of the guild vessels to hunt for a shipwreck. If you’re heading south, word is of some ruins nestled up in the hills. Ancient stuff, from what I heard, but I’ve never met anyone who actually went up there.”
“Is it dangerous? Any clues or suggestions for traveling there?”
“Not a one, love. Like I said, I’ve only heard stories, but not from anyone who’s actually been out there. Maybe you can fill me in over a pint once you get back.” She said, bumping his shoulder with hers as she headed off in the kitchen’s direction, her hips swaying a little more as she walked away.
Elec watched her go, his eyes following her hips until she disappeared into the kitchen. He shook his head to regain his focus. No wonder my father kept saying, ‘Never fall in love with the first woman you meet’, Elec thought. He probably had swathes of girlfriends before Mother claimed him. He meant to ask him about that once he returned to Hinterson’s Vale. Hopefully, with his new friends in tow.
Roderick and Seraphine arrived a short time later. Both wore their full complement of armor and gear. Tilda set the table with good portions and good ale, and the two adventurers tucked in. Elec couldn’t believe how efficiently they ate. He struggled to finish his own meal by the time they rose from the table.
“Wait a moment,” Elec said as the two adventurers walked towards the door. “We haven’t done our toast.”
Roderick and Seraphine looked at each other briefly. Seraphine’s smile broadened as she returned to the table and picked up her mug. Roderick did likewise after a moment.
Elec stood, raising his glass, saying, “I have never raised a toast before, but here’s to a safe journey and tales to share in the years to come.”
Roderick and Seraphine both paused, their expressions softening at Elec’s raised glass. Seraphine was the first to respond, her lips curling into a warm smile as she lifted her glass.
“A fine sentiment, Elec,” she said, her voice light and genuine. “Here’s to a journey worth remembering, and the stories that will follow.”
Roderick, ever the serious one, gave a faint nod of approval and raised his glass as well.
“To a safe journey,” He said, “And to ensure we find the answers we’re seeking.”
The three clinked their mugs together, the sound a little flat in the quiet bustle of the room. As they emptied the glasses and set them back down, Seraphine chuckled softly, her eyes glinting with a mix of amusement and excitement.
Roderick adjusted the strap of his pack as he turned.
“Let’s not waste any more time.”
Chapter 21 – Trial by Combat
