Ch13: A Way Out

Copyright © 2013 by P.A. Lackey

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Chapter Thirteen: A Way Out

The town sat silently upon the shore of the island, where the ocean whispered the sound of its steady waves from the darkness that concealed it. There were no lights in that place as the place was dead. Only toward the center of town could light be seen, for the leather soldiers had decided to make camp there as long as they were upon the island. Arius was dismayed about the amount of hostiles that had moved to the island.

The raping of a hanging sign against a chain-link fence sounded to their right due to the wind. Arius imagined a dark creature to leap out from the darkness as soon as they passed by the ally, but all remained still. Brockumus was ahead of him, and surveyed the area for their destination. The beach was just around the corner, for he could see a sudden blackness in the distance. Docks were consumed into the abyss.

Around the building, they made way toward an old boat house sitting off of the water. Jayvolni was supposed to be inside as they had communicated through the wheel upon arrival to town. This would be tense, for he would have to work with those who thought him a traitor.

The door to the boat house creaked open, and Brockumus led the way in, glancing to the left and the right. A boat sat in the middle of the room where ocean water calmly swept back and forth bobbing the boat up and down. A large door sat in front of the boat closing it off to the vaster ocean beyond.  At first the place seemed empty, but then Arius felt someone lurking in the far shadows across the room.

“Were you followed here?” Jayvolni asked, uncloaking himself from the shadows.

“No,” replied Brockumus. “Where are Dueson and Ruekrow?”

“Gathering essential supplies. We can leave as soon as we have them.”

“So the boat is good to go?”

“I patched it up, but it needs fuel. Hopefully the brothers will be able to locate some.”

“What about everyone else,” Arius chimed in. “We won’t leave without them.”

“The others will be here,” replied Brockumus. “Thorim is shortly behind us. It’s Rie and Grem I’m unsure about.”

Brockumus had contacted Rie shortly before arriving to town in order to persuade them to meet at the docks. The two mercenaries were reluctant to cooperate however as they had decided to take matters into their own hands. Apparently their ship’s beacon had been washed ashore, but the leather clad soldiers had seized it before they could. Rie and Grem planned to steal it back, but that meant waiting upon the island even longer.

“I heard over the wheel,” said Jayvolni. “They think they can retrieve the beacon.”

“It’s dangerous, but without it I’m afraid we would be stranded here forever.”

“I must say, I doubted the reality of finding it,” said Jayvolni. “But even so, we can’t stay here for long. If they don’t make it back by morning, then I’m afraid we have no choice but to leave.”

“That’s a lot of ground for them to cover,” said Arius. “Is there any way we can pick them up.”

“I have a feeling that as soon as we get into the ocean, we’ll want to get as far away from here as possible. I don’t want to leave anyone behind, but the two decided to go on their own, and thus far don’t seem in want of aid.”

“To be fair,” began Brockumus. “It was you that first broke up the group.”

“We needed a way off of this island before things got too dangerous, and now look at where you are.”

“I suppose they will be saying the same if they get back with the beacon.”

“If,” emphasized Jayvolni.

Brockumus let out a deep sigh before asking, “what can we do to help?”

Jayvolni turned his eyes down as if perplexed by the question, but staring them back in the eyes he replied, “Find out where Dueson and Ruekrow are at, and help them bring back supplies. What we need more than anything is fuel, so that is the real chore.”

“Sounds good,” Brockumus glanced toward Arius.

The two left the boat house where Arius moved his gaze to the distant moon which now glistened over the ocean waters. Before the clouds had masked its glow, but now it was left bare. Arius gripped his rifle, and wondered how much they would sacrifice just to save their own lives. Would they leave some behind, or would they pull through as a team? These were mercenary men however, and they knew little about teams. 

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