RavensDagger

  Chapter Twenty-Three - A Mission

  53rd Day of Spring - Year 1758 of the Golden EraShorefarm, Yellowfield, Draya Calyrex

  Maldrak watched the captain at work, though the entirety of the ship's officer roster was out and in the full swing of things. They were approaching the piers of Shorefarm at a crawl, but that was likely for the best. The bay that the small fishing port was in was more than wide enough to accommodate the Gentle Tidings, but they were only mostly sure it was deep enough. A check with barge poles was able to confirm that they wouldn't drag the ship's keel across the rocks below, even at the lowest tide, but it was a near thing.

  "We'll be tying her off to the docks in ten minutes, sir," the captain said, addressing him between barking instructions.

  "Take the time the process requires," Maldrak said.

  He could see the puppets, the young Magus Nocthorn and Woodbone's son, sitting by the shore while the sailors they'd sent out ahead lingered nearby. The young artificer had one of the puppets' head in his hands and was working on something within while the others watched.

  He dismissed that for the moment and looked over the town. The Gentle Tidings' quarter deck was just tall enough that he could make out most of the town from his vantage. Some thirty buildings in all, most of them single-story homes or small workspaces.

  Not exactly a treasure, but it would be the start of something.

  He remained standing there until the ship was tied to the docks and a gangpnk was lowered.

  "Captain," Maldrak said. "We're going to need some of your crew for duties on shore. But not all, and not repeatedly. The nd is blighted. Let any man who volunteers know that there is some hard work to do on nd, but they can only work there one day in three, with two days between each working day. One copper coin per day's work."

  "I see," the captain said. "Will there be any additional instructions?"

  "We're going to need good carpenters and any man with a passing knowledge of lumbering," Maldrak said. "There will be more instructions, with regards to cleansings and baths before reboarding the Gentle Tidings. But those can wait for the moment."

  "I see. I'll have my officers sort through the crew and see if we can't work out a proper rotation with the crew we have."

  "Thank you," Maldrak said.

  "I will need some crew to do some maintenance work on the Tidings," the captain said. "We have tar, and we ought to use it before the hull starts to leak any more than it already has. Some of our rigging needs, and seeing as how we have... some dock facilities. It might be a good time to do more complex maintenance, especially if we're to sit here for a while."

  Maldrak only considered it for a moment. "Do so. But don't undertake anything that wouldn't allow us to depart with under two days' advance warning. And if there's a material in particur you need, we may be able to retrieve it from shore."

  "Aye, yes sir," the captain said with a sharp nod. "I see that some of these sailing boats have good sails on them. We might grab some of those."

  Maldrak nodded to the captain, then walked over to the gangpnk, and down. He summoned a cane from his office into his hand as he walked.

  There was a moment's disorientation as he went from the gentle sway of a ship at sea to the firm certainty of nd, but this wasn't his first transition from one to the other, and he soon found that his cane was merely something to occupy his hands as he walked.

  "Artisan Artificer Preamagus Woodbone, Magus Suffragus Nocthorn," he said before nodding to the three puppets, even the one currently missing a head. "Lazur, Viridian, Carnel, I see that you were successful in your initial task."

  "Hello," Viridian said. "We were. The vilge is clear!"

  "I can confirm as much," Nocthorn said with a slight bob of her head. "I ran a suite of tests to check for strong essence presences. There are none remaining in this vilge."

  "Well done," he said. "Was the lord mayor a challenge?"

  "No," Lazur said.

  "Yes," Viridian said at the same time.

  The puppets looked at each other, then Viridian pointed to Carnel. "Ah, a small casualty," Maldrak said. "Is Miss Carnel well, artificer?"

  "She'll be fine," the young man said with a pleasant nod. "A wire was cut when this was lodged into her head." He reached down and picked up a knife which he handed to Maldrak hilt-first.

  Maldrak picked it up and eyed the bde. "A dragon scale knife. Jorvin would know more about this than I. An interesting find. From the lord mayor, I presume? Yes, that would make sense. He was a dragon-blooded noble, then. Did he have any other artefacts on him?"

  "The knife and a sash," Viridian said. She bent down and retrieved a long length of cloth from an opened chest, then she scooped out a small book as well. "And this was in his room. There were things there too... ah."

  "Clothes, which Viridian wants to keep," Lazur said. "As well as a small amount of coinage. Gold and silver."

  "Keep that," he said. "Once we have things set up in a more appropriate way, you may well find a pce to spend it."

  "A pce to spend it?" Nocthorn asked. "Money having any worth depends on civilization still being functional."

  "And there might still be pces where it is," he said. "In fact, I believe that you'll be surprised by how many pockets will remain, even if the central government has colpsed. A dynasty as old as Draya Calyrex does not go gently into the oblivion of history."

  The young magus eyed him, but she nodded even if her doubt was clear. Good. He enjoyed her trust, and he preferred the young mages in his employ to have doubt for all things in their hearts. It made them all the better at practicing the magical arts.

  "In any case, we will finish securing this small vilge. You three... once Carnel here is repaired enough you may wish to prepare to travel once more. There is yet more work to be done. Now that we've secured a nding, it's more important than ever that we gain access to that mage's tower I mentioned prior."

  "I remember," Viridian said. "Somewhere close to the town of Shorefarm?"

  "Yes," he said. "Somewhat south and east of town, if I'm not mistaken. We need access to that tower. If it's still inhabited, then find out, and inform me. If it's been gutted, then I need to know. The sooner the better. Several pns hinge on it."

  "What sorts of pns?" Viridian asked. That earned her a look of mild disapproval from Nocthorn, which was reasonable. In a normal chain of command that wouldn't be for the puppet to know.

  He waved her question away with a gesture. "The tower has a communications array that can reach far greater ranges than anything I could do aboard the Gentle Tidings. I need to inform some partners that we've made ndfall and have secured a safe space for them to do the same. There's more, but that's the primary thing that I need now."

  "Okay," Viridian said. "We can leave when Carnel is fixed."

  "Carnel would want us to use our essence first," Lazur said.

  Maldrak nodded. "A fair ask. Artificer Woodbone, do you have what you need to work through that task on hand?"

  "I do," young Woodbone said. "And I'm done with this doll head. The essence use would actually make the wire that broke stronger, and maybe her head as well."

  "She doesn't need a stronger head," Lazur said.

  Maldrak wasn't sure if that meant that she found Carnel headstrong already, or if she was pointing out how none of their vital functions beyond sight and speech were locked in their heads. It didn't matter.

  "See Sir Jorvin about anything you might need for a trek that might take a day or so. It might well be nearly night by the time you arrive at the tower."

  "Magus," Nocthorn said. "The puppets captured a number of serfs. I was wondering if you knew what to do with them? There are about ten of them, sir. All in... poor states of health, but alive."

  "Truly? Interesting. They'll come in handy, whether alive or not," he said. That was a strange opportunity, but not one he would scoff at. "You've done me yet another service, puppets. I won't forget this so easily. Were our work not so urgent, I would ensure to reward you now, but as it is, daylight is burning. Now, Magus Nocthorn, would you accompany me as I inspect this town? I want to see what we are working with here."

  ***

  RavensDagger