The Price of Faith (30 page)

“Never seen a man swim to the Rest ‘fore. How’d you get here?”

Thanquil rolled over to see a tall, burly man with a face full of beard and a hand full of cutlass. In his other hand he held a lantern out in front of him and beyond that light Thanquil could see another three folk, similarly armed, all staring at him.

“Boat,” Thanquil managed through chattering teeth.

“Pirates threw you overboard, heh? Aye they do that to tourists from time to time. Bit of hazin’, nothing more.”

“Hazing…” Thanquil chattered rolling onto his front and pushing to his knees. “They tried to kill me.”

“Nah. You’re still alive. They wanted ya dead, I reckon ya would be.”

Thanquil let out a ragged sigh and determined not to argue with the man. “I need a fire and some food.”

“Well we got both of those here at the Rest but each’ll cost ya. Can ya pay?”

Thanquil nodded and his hand went to his belt only to find his purse was well and truly gone. He hadn’t felt anyone lift it from him which probably meant he had lost it in the swim. He groaned when he realised, while he had lost his purse, he hadn’t lost the demon blade; it clung to him and filled him with dread even now.

“I appear… to have… lost… my purse.”

“Well now. That makes for something of a problem then. See we don’t just give things away for free here…” One of the other men stepped forward and whispered in the speaker’s ear. “That right? You one of them witch hunters?”

Thanquil groaned. “Yes. I’m an Arbiter.”

A grin broke onto the man’s face. “Well that makes a whole world of difference. Been told one of you might be popping by some point. Never expected you to crawl up out of the drink though. Come on,” the man moved forward and took Thanquil under the arm, hauling him to his feet and supporting him as they walked. “We’ll get you warm and fed. Drake’s orders.”

It turned out the man’s name was Ianic and he was a pirate, or at least he had been up until a few years back. Drake had taken his ship and his crew, murdered the captain and given the others a choice; die or join Fortune’s Rest as a guard. All the guards were ex-pirates gone legit, according to Ianic and many of them fared well in their new roles.

Ianic had a wife, two children and a cabin aboard one of the larger boats; a galley by the name of
Defiant
. He was housed and clothed and paid well enough to provide and mostly his job entailed patrolling the Rest and making his presence known. Crime was a rare thing aboard Fortune’s Rest despite the criminal nature of the entire enterprise. Folk didn’t commit crimes because the punishments were somewhere beyond severe and many of the people who frequented were rich enough to consider traditional crime far below them.

It seemed Drake had set up his pleasure house to be a cut above the rest and discretion was the name of the game. Discretion and supply as, according to Ianic, almost any tastes could be catered for.

Ianic half supported half dragged Thanquil into the bowls of the ship he had pulled himself up onto and kicked open the door to the galley. The chef raised a giant metal spoon in complaint but soon quieted after a hissed word from Ianic. The pirate sat Thanquil down in front of the fire and wandered away to fetch some food.

Blood dripped from Thanquil’s fingers to the ground below, a steady rhythmic
drip drip
as it rolled down the channel on his arm, across his hand and down his digits. The wolves below yapped and growled and snatched at the dripping gore. They had long since given up worrying at his coat and now he regretted throwing it at them.

The spell controlling the wild canines worn off but they were already driven into a frenzy and the smell of blood only excited them more. Up in the tree Thanquil was safe from them, it was common knowledge wolves were terrible climbers but as long as he was up here he couldn’t get his arm seen to and there was only so much blood loss a man could take before it became as fatal as the beasts that prowled below.

“Woof,” Thanquil said to the beasts below, it was meant to be something of a shout but he was lacking the enthusiasm. The wolves were not so handicapped, they leapt into another flurry of activity, pacing, growling and jumping up at the tree.

Thanquil looked around for something he could use as a weapon and came up empty. His sword was long lost, still lodged firmly in the chest of the witch who had summoned the wolves. He must have been mad to summon so many; a pack of nearly twenty, Thanquil found it hard to be accurate in his counting as the creatures never ceased moving.

It had been a hard battle full of near misses but Thanquil had come out on top, closing the distance to the witch and planting his sword through the man’s torso even as he howled out his final breath. Not a few minutes after the witch’s death the wolves had arrived in force and they had given chase. Thanquil fled, threw down his coat to distract the beasts and jumped for the first tree of suitable height. Now he was stuck up here bleeding to death while the corpse of the witch whom he had been sent to capture was eaten by the same wolves he had summoned. It was strangely fitting in a gruesome sort of way.

He shifted his position in the branches, trying to get comfortable only to shift back when he realised comfortable was the last thing he needed right now. One of the wolves made a valiant attempt at jumping the ten feet up to him and hit the ground heavy, another snapped at it and they went back to prowling. White wolves with fur the colour of packed snow, some part of him was aware how rare it was to see such coloured wolves down in Sarth but another part of him didn’t care.

Rooting around in his pockets Thanquil found only a small chip of wood, the same chips the Inquisition used to create runes only this one was blank. He knew it was his only way out and knew what he had to do. Not many runes would be powerful enough to kill the whole pack and those that were would likely kill him too. There was one that would scare them away though he doubted it had ever been used for such. With no ink to speak of Thanquil had only one way to inscribe the needed runes onto the chip. He flexed his left hand, set his index finger to the chip and started drawing. One rune to store the power, he felt himself weakening as he wrote it, as it absorbed his energy. One rune to summon. One rune to bind. When it was done he let out a shuddering breath and without a thought of hesitation snapped the rune in half, dropping both sides to the leafy ground below.

The demon roared into existence in an explosion of noise and darkness. Usually they faded into and out of this world but this time it was almost as though the demon knew it needed to make a grand entrance.

The wolves scattered, whimpering and breaking from their frenzied stalking. One was foolish enough to snap at the demon. It made a quick and easy meal for the creature from the void and blood and wolf parts soon littered the ground. The other wolves had fled by then, long gone. Eventually the face of the demon turned up towards Thanquil and something that could have been a grin spread across the patch of darkness. Beady, flickering yellow eyes stared into his own and the mouth opened to speak…

“Arbiter,” Ianic said, shaking Thanquil gently.

Thanquil prised his eyes open, an act that took no small amount of effort. “I was dreaming,” he said dumbly.

The pirate nodded. “That’s a side effect of sleeping, so I’m told.”

“How long was I out?” Thanquil asked.

He felt his compulsion grip hold of Ianic even as he saw the other man frown. “Not long. An hour most.” The pirate shook his head and blinked rapidly. “Well that was unpleasant.”

“Sorry,” Thanquil said. “I didn’t mean to do it.”

“Aye. Well no harm done. All the same I’d rather it didn’t happen again if it’s all the same.”

“Of course.”

“Good,” Ianic said still frowning. “Cook whipped you up some stew. Not much meat in it sad to say, but it’s hot and tastes… well I’ve tasted worse.”

Thanquil took the proffered stew and the heel of stale bread and wolfed it down. It was during that meal he realised that he had asked Captain Stillwater questions back on
the Phoenix
. He hadn’t noticed at the time but his compulsion hadn’t taken hold. Whether from exhaustion or something else he couldn’t be sure, it certainly seemed to be working again now.

“I need to see Drake,” Thanquil said around a mouthful of bread and stew.

“Figured ya might say that so I had me an ask around while ya were out,” Ianic said setting down a cup of something that looked suspiciously alcoholic and then taking a deep swig out of a second mug. “He ain’t here.”

“And you don’t know where he is,” Thanquil finished.

“Can’t say I know Captain Morrass too well but he don’t seem like the sharing type, specially not to folk like me. Only met him the once.”

“But he was here. He let you know I’d be coming.”

“Seems that way,” Ianic took another swig from his mug and Thanquil followed suit. He couldn’t say he’d ever really acquired the taste for grog but right now the devilish mixture of beer and rum was just about the best thing he’d ever tasted. He felt a warmth spreading through his body as he swallowed it down.

“I need to get after him,” Thanquil said after the grog had slid into his system and was resting comfortably in his stomach. “There are ways off Fortune’s Rest. We must be near the mainland, near a port.”

“Not too far, not too close. The captain likes to keep his Rest off the beaten routes. Don’t like folk just stumbling upon us. A few days sailing’ll get you to Overlook though. Don’t know any folk heading that way but then I ain’t the dock master. Better to ask around.”

“I don’t know Overlook.”

“Big fort built looking over a bigger cliff. Town just sorta sprawled out below it. Owned by the Ferin family. Not much to see or do but it’s the nearest port. Don’t reckon Drake’ll have gone there though.”

Thanquil nodded, finishing the stew and then the grog. “I need paper and ink.”

Ianic looked blank. “Uhh.”

“Fabric will do,” Thanquil said quickly. Now he had a full belly he could feel sleep pulling at him, trying to drag him down into sweet oblivion. “Something like a bandage.”

“Reckon I can get some.”

“And ink.”

Ianic shrugged.

Thanquil sighed. He’d had a full inkwell in his pack but that he had abandoned to make the swim to Fortune’s Rest. His entire belongings currently consisted of his clothes, his coat, his weapons, a small tube of black powder thankfully stoppered to protect it from water, and Myorzo. “I’ll manage with just the bandage.”

Ianic put down his mug of grog and scampered off. Thanquil fought the urge to sleep, staring into the embers of the dying cook fire. Fire was never safe aboard a ship and especially one connected to hundreds of other ships but Thanquil wasn’t about to argue, he was simply happy of the warmth.

By the time Ianic came back Thanquil’s eyes were very nearly closed. The pirate shook his shoulder gently and proffered a handful of bandages of varying lengths. Thanquil selected one roughly twice the length of his hand and laid it out before him. He drew the knife from his belt and cut a slit from his index finger.

“Uh,” Ianic grunted. “What are you doing?”

Thanquil ignored the pirate. He sucked the excess blood from his finger and pumped it a few times to get the blood flowing again, then he placed it lightly on the bandage and drew a clumsy symbol. The sleepless charm wouldn’t be his most effective but as long as it lasted a day or two he would be happy with it. He doubted it would take more than that to earn enough money to get to the mainland; he was, after all, a thief surrounded by casinos, bars and a whole host of rich folk. He tied the bandage in a loop and bared his arm, pulling the makeshift charm up to his bicep he tightened the loop and let out a shuddering breath as the magic took effect. It might not keep him from being tired but it would stop him from falling asleep.

“You alright, Arbiter?” Ianic asked. “Ya look like ya could use some sleep.”

Thanquil laughed bitterly. “Believe me, sleep would bring me no rest. Filled with bad dreams. This is better.”

The pirate nodded slowly though he looked more than a little sceptical.

“I’d like to see the sights now, Ianic,” Thanquil said. “A gambling house would be best.”

“Sure. Whatever you say, Arbiter.” The pirate stood and Thanquil with him. “Reckon I know just the place.”

Each ship in Fortune’s Rest was more than just a ship, each and every one was a brothel or a gambling house or a fighting arena or an inn or drug den and each one was owned and operated by men and women loyal to Drake Morrass. Ianic claimed a person could sate any desire in the floating pleasure house and Thanquil could well believe it to be true.

He saw two women, one a southerner from the wilds with skin as black as the night and one with the pallor and pointed eyes of the Dragon Empire, sat outside a cabin on a ship, they were playing a game called
buiss
; it was a strategical game Thanquil had never managed to pick up despite Jez’s frequent attempts to teach him. The girls were placing chips on a board, on one side the chips were black and on the other white, depending on the placement one girl would capture the other’s pieces and flip them over, the winner would be the one with the most chips their colour at the end. When the women saw Thanquil and Ianic crossing from the previous ship to theirs they stopped playing and the southerner reached across the table, took the other girls breast in hand and licked at the nipple. Thanquil looked away. Ianic chuckled.

“They specialise on that sort of thing here on
Percy’s Ghost
. Never been in for it myself but I know a few lads who swear by it, one woman too.”

“That sort of thing,” Thanquil repeated.

“Yeah. Same sex stuff, two women one cock. Ain’t the weirdest thing the cap’n offers at the Rest but it’s one of the better earners, I hear.”

They crossed the deck of
Percy’s Ghost
and onto another wooden walkway connected to a ship called
Dragon’s Dare
. The deck of the new ship was deserted, no sailors, no guards, no customers and no workers. Thanquil looked at Ianic who was frowning and clearly a little uneasy.