Chapter Seven - Repeated Vocalization

  51st Day of Spring - Year 1758 of the Golden Era

  Shorefarm, Yellowfield, Draya Calyrex

  A pair of young men were at the front of the little boat, and a second pair just like them were at the rear. The four pulled on oars in time with each other, each heave pushing the little boat slightly closer to shore.

  Sitting in the middle of the ship, with a shawl over her shoulder and a bubble of shimmering air around her head, was the young Magus woman who had been there when she first awakened.

  Magus Suffragus Nocthorn. It was good to have a name to go with the face, though she was quite certain that Suffragus was a title, not a proper name. Strange how that worked. The people onboard the ship slowly receding behind them seemed fond of those.

  "La la la," she said. "Ma ma ma."

  The woman sighed. "I would ask you to stop, but I can at least understand that there won't be a better time to practice your vocalizations than now. Just... keep it low. And perhaps don't interrupt as I instruct you."

  "Ye ye ye," Green said. If she could smile, she would.

  Speech! At long last, she could speak. The voice came from deep in her throat, at the base of it, and it spilled out of her wooden mouth with a strange, echoing tone, but it was speech all the same.

  Turning her attention back to the space ahead of them, she could make out a small town slowly being encompassed by a growing fog. Much of the shoreline had a thick wall of fog permeating it and rising far taller than even the ship they'd departed.

  As they came closer, they plunged into the fog until their visibility was cut short.

  "Hmm," the Magus said. "Well, now is as good a time as any," she said. "Pay attention, all three of you." The three of them did so, though Green noticed Red still scanning the fog. "Magus Maldrak's mission for you today is simple. Scout out the piers and docks we will be making landfall near, then your goal is to assess the lighthouse up on that hill."

  She pointed, and the three followed her gesture up the plateau slightly. There was a rise, and atop it a short, rather stubby tower made of local stone. It might have been part of the rise, were it not so straight cut.

  "If you encounter resistance, you may reply to it as you see fit. From what I understand, harnessing the essence of locals will empower you to some degree. I'd advise against killing any right-minded peasants, however. We are not a conquering army. For that reason... here."

  The woman reached into a satchel and pulled out three small purses. They were little bags, with leather straps about them. She gave one to each of them.

  "These contain a missive from the Magus, explaining who you are in case of any... disputes with civilized folk. There is also a compass linked with a guidestone within the Gentle Tidings. You should be able to find the ship from anywhere with that. I've also opted to include paper and quill, a small stopper of ink, and Artisan Artificer Preamagus Woodbone has lent you each a small tool set. For repairs and the like."

  Green accepted hers gladly. "T-t-taaa... ta ta ta ks."

  The young Magus stared at her, one eyebrow raised. "You're welcome," she said.

  The boat continued to move towards the shore, and soon the lapping of water became quite a bit louder.

  "Regardless of whether you complete your task or not, you are to summon us by nightfall. Use the light spell we so graciously gave you and wait here for retrieval. And if you have any downtime, though I imagine your day will be occupied, do practice your speech. You don't want to stutter a report to the Magus."

  "Ye ye yeeess," Green said.

  The men at the front murmured something and stopped rowing, and soon those at the rear stopped as well. They coasted through the fog and shadows until, finally, one of the sailors passed his oar onto another and reached a hand out to grab something.

  A pier stood above them, with the tide currently at a low point.

  "Good luck," Nocthorn said.

  Green stood up a little shakily and moved closer to the pier. She wasn't sure how she would climb up onto it, but Red showed her the way.

  The puppet moved to the edge of the pier then fell down onto it before moving her limbs up and around to push herself further up. It meant scraping her wooden front against the pier, but it worked well enough.

  Green followed suit, and she noticed Blue doing the same with some difficulty. Of the three, Blue was the one who was the clumsiest, though Green would never mention it aloud... now that she could.

  "Ba ba ba," she muttered as she climbed up onto the pier then straightened herself. The pier didn't wobble or shake. It was entirely stable. For some reason, that felt strange, and wrong. Still, she imagined she would be used to it eventually.

  Checking over herself, she made sure that the belt with her sheathed sword was by her hip and the satchel with the compass and equipment was still around her waist. Then she lowered herself down and grabbed Blue by the back and helped her up as well, before the puppet rolled into the water and sank away.

  Or perhaps they would float? She wasn't sure except that she knew she didn't want to find out.

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  There was a splash, and she turned to stare down at the boat that had brought them here as it pushed off the pier and the sailors started to row once more. Soon, faster than she would have expected, it was swallowed by the fog.

  The three puppets stood together on the pier, the fog curling around them like ghostly tendrils. Green adjusted the satchel at her side, the weight of its contents both reassuring and strange. She glanced at Red, who was already scanning their surroundings with her usual restless energy, and then at Blue, who was brushing off the front of her frame as though smoothing imaginary creases.

  "Greeee," she said. Almost! A few more minutes and she was sure she'd get the hang of speaking.

  "Shhh," Red replied. It wasn't a word, exactly, but the sentiment was clear.

  The water lapped gently at the posts of the pier, the sound muffled by the dense fog. No voices, no birds, no movement except the faint ripple of the tide. The silence felt like a heavy blanket.

  Red gestured forward. Without words, it was clear she was urging them to move. Green supposed that there was no point in standing on a pier, so when Red started to move, she followed. Blue came up behind, her movements deliberate and steady, though there was a slight hesitation in her gait.

  As they moved towards the town, the shapes of houses became more distinct, as did the skeletal forms of small ships moored along the piers.

  The houses were simple things. Wooden walls stained by salt water, thatched roofs, and a collection of wooden beams below where the water lapped and shifted, clogged with seaweed.

  The deeper parts of the town were a little better. The homes were made of old stone and some of the roofs looked to be covered in shingles.

  She couldn't count the number of houses, but there couldn't be more than two dozen here. Though, on closer inspection, the buildings nearest the water weren't homes but more like small shacks.

  She recalled Magus Nocthorn mentioning something about this town being divided in two parts. This wasn't actually Shorefarm. This was a fishing village a short walk away from the town.

  Green was about to point to some of the buildings to suggest that they explore them when she heard a noise. It was a faint shuffle, something shifting over gravel.

  Red made an indistinct noise, then carefully reached down and started to pull her sword from its sheath.

  Green did the same, with some difficulty. The sword didn't just slip out, she had to hold the sheath in place, and that meant gripping both it and the sword and pulling them apart, a task that was surprisingly complex.

  "Shh," Red said again as the shuffling grew closer. It was followed by some sniffing.

  And then Blue dropped her sword.

  The sound of Blue's sword clattering to the ground echoed in the muffled fog. Green winced internally and gripped her sword tighter. Her eyes clicked as they turned towards the source of the shuffling noise. It had stopped.

  Then there was running. Something growled and smacked against the gravel roadway with a quick beat that grew louder.

  Out of the fog came a large four-legged blur. A dog? It was emaciated, its fur hanging in patches, and its flanks revealed every one of its pointy bones. There were growths along its sides and back. Sharp little scales that poked out of it nearly at random.

  It locked eyes on the nearest of them and leapt.

  Red raised her sword to block, but the impact sent her stumbling backward. She tripped, and with a clatter crashed onto the road with the dog above her.

  Its teeth flashed, milky white things that ended in serrated tips. They grabbed onto Red's face and the dog shook its head violently from side to side while Red scrambled against its chest.

  Green froze for half a heartbeat before lunging forward, her sword aimed at the dog's exposed flank. It was the lunge that she'd been taught. Unlike in their short sparring sessions, the sword bit into flesh, a strange, wet sensation that had her flinching back.

  The wound she left was shallow, just an oozing cut in the dog's side. It didn't even flinch.

  Red struggled beneath it, and soon the dog clamped onto her arm instead. Green could see the wood being savaged as it growled and chewed.

  She jabbed at it again, then again, but her pokes were only leaving it with small, dirty cuts, and it wasn't backing off.

  Then Blue was there. Her movements were slow, deliberate, but she seemed to know what she was doing.

  Her hands moved towards the dog's face, and then there was light.

  The light flared directly into the dog's face. It yelped, its glowing green eyes squeezing shut as it recoiled, momentarily stunned. Red seized the opportunity, twisting her frame and driving her sword upward. The blade pierced through the creature's chest with a heavy crunch.

  The moment held for a moment, then the dog slumped off to the side and onto the ground.

  Green wanted to heave, to breathe hard, but... there was no need for that, was there.

  And then Red's chest opened, and her siphon slid out. "Ree," she said simply before she crawled onto the still fresh corpse.

  Right. The spoils of their fight was still there.

  ***