78. Of hangman’s meals, riches and a little bit of preparation

Cassandra Pendragon

It was strange to not fly on my own, even more so as I didn’t see my body nor Erya’s, well at least not with my eyes. While we had been within the hoard clouds had been rolling in from the south and the night was dark enough to make me feel almost blind if it weren’t for my second vision. It allowed me to see Erya and the swaths of energy that swirled around her close by, her hand firmly wrapped around mine while she worked her magic on us, keeping us invisible and airborne. Once again she was channeling her magic through the focus Greta had made and we rushed through the night, not more than another blurry shadow in a sea of black.

A stiff breeze tousled my hair and ruffled my tails, it carried the smell of rain and a faint scent of seaweeds with it, chasing away my fatigue. If I focused hard I could still hear the sounds of the animals on the green slopes behind us. We had left the crater not 5 minutes ago, after a last exchange with Pete and the others. Over a hearty dinner which had consisted mainly of meat, fruits and water from the emerald springs we had reviewed our plan one last time and had squabbled a little about everything we had wanted to take with us. Viyara and I had pulled an astonishing amount of treasure from the magma cave, she with her magic and brute strength me through my stamp. Meanwhile Barzuk and Erya had raided the rest of the complex, especially the kitchen, library and workshops. They had hauled almost more things into the throne room than us. Munching through deliciously roasted drumsticks and a whole grilled piglet we had gone back and forth, mainly over one question: what should we do with the island once we left? I hadn’t wanted to get involved too much, it had been Viyara’s decision after all and so I had mainly focused on devouring as much as I possible had been able to and had tried to reach through the tattoo for Ahri once in a while. Unfortunately she had still been out cold or at least her presence had been too far removed for me to communicate with her, which had somewhat calmed me down as I couldn’t imagine she’d still have been dreaming if something really bad had happened.

In the end this had been what we had come up with: I’d store the most valuable artefacts in my stamp while Viyara would carry everything else.

We had quickly debated whether or not we should use one of the flying stones to transport even more but we had quickly decided that we’d lose it sooner rather than later considering what else we had planned for the night. Erya would try to get close enough to the ship to send one of the portal rings to Pete who’d hide it somewhere onboard. I’d come along in case there were wards surrounding it that would prevent Erya from reaching through, which we all thought more than likely. In that case I’d try to slip through somehow and do it manually, given that the wards would probably not even recognise me. At least that was what Mephisto had claimed. I wouldn’t disturb the flow of magic as it would simply part around me, unable to hold on to me. Pete would provide a diversion if necessary and as soon as I was off again, Erya would use their connection to get him off the ship.

In the meantime Mephisto, Barzuk and Viyara were going to prepare Erya’s ruby, secure Viyara’s load and rig the outer halls. Once we were out of there they’d explode, sealing the inner chambers  behind hundreds of meters of rock but leaving the central areas and the volcano as a whole intact. In the end Viyara hadn’t been able to destroy the place she had grown up in and we hadn’t argued too much, considering that we had already taken away the most dangerous items. Besides the figurines, the frozen snake, Erya’s gem and nearly a literal ton of jewels and gold we would take quite a lot of provisions with us. I had lost track of the artefacts we’d bring along pretty quickly, I hadn’t understood the majority of them and frankly hadn’t cared too much. What I had taken stock of were the things Mephisto intended to use to repair my spear, but, as always, it’d be quite the complex process. Nothing I’d be willing to risk right then and there. What had stuck with me were the rune armour, Viyara had shoved onto Barzuk, overruling his protests, a huge golden circlet she had worn in her dragon form, a jewelled breastplate as well as a weapon for her tail. The items would shrink right along with her during her transformation, the breastplate turning into a crystalline full body armour on her humanoid skin. Most other things had been quite obscure, from complex rune stones that would somehow help with enchanting and creating new artefacts, over a gem that could supposedly produce a constant stream of energy, a portable version of the enchantments that provided the lair with magic, to a set of crystals that turned any form of energy into pure manifestations of the four elements: fire, water, earth and air.

Some items had also been chosen for their destructive abilities as to not risk anybody else ever finding them. A small, black diamond that supposedly contained a poisonous essence that could wipe out entire islands in mere hours, a golden rod, intricate runes overlaid with enchantments running along its sides, that would rip the life and soul out of a victim and banish them into a container for later use. Somehow that thing had been broken when it had been my turn to have a look at it. It had been strange, really. I had fumbled my grip when I took it from Viyara and when I had reflexively tried to catch it with my wings it had combusted, leaving behind only ashes. Oops.

There had only been a couple of things I found truly fascinating: Mephisto had found a healing artefact much stronger than the one on the cane. It was a set of gems, that would allow the holders to freely exchange any form of energy. With a little effort limbs would grow back if enough life force was exchanged through the link and if the soul hadn’t fled yet, even resurrection should be possible. There had been a few rings that held useful properties, at least in my opinion, from invisibility to a translation spell but they wouldn’t work on me, at least not without some changes. The only thing I could use was the cloak Barzuk had given me. As most artefacts it was surprisingly sturdy and the effect would only target others, not myself. It wouldn’t render me invisible but rather make others simply ignore me as soon as their gazes would fall on me, unless I deliberately wanted to catch their attention. Sure enough, if I was going to run at someone, weapons drawn, it wouldn’t do much good but at least now I’d be able to move through a crowd without turning heads. Additionally it already had two large slits along the back that would allow me to manifest my wings without the risk of shredding either the cloak or the enchantments on it. I had also found a beautiful fan, nearly indestructible and covered in runes that cancelled out magic. Closed it was suitable as a dagger or, opened, to be thrown like a discus. Once the kinetic energy was spent it’d return to my hand on its own which made it an ideal secondary weapon in my opinion. The only downside was, that I had no clue how to use neither a discus nor daggers but I would learn.

The meal had done wonders and as I was gliding through the air beside Viyara I almost felt refreshed. I was pretty sure that I was mainly running on adrenaline, some magic stimuli from the meal and the energy I had taken from the rod but for now it was good enough. I’d probably crash heavily once I had the chance to relax but that was fine with with me. For now I relished the flow of cool air on my face and the feeling of freedom that always came over me when I was flying, even though I was tethered to Erya at the moment.

The two ships had split up and, from what Pete had told us, every practitioner was aboard one while the dragon stayed with the rest on the other. Now they were on opposite sides and both were patrolling along an imaginary line, more ore less 10 kms away from the island. We were heading towards the “Old Roger”, Pete had told us her name, and I was straining all my sense to at least get a glimpse of the dragon, who I knew was leaning against the railing somewhere, focused on the island. We would be directly in his line of sight but Erya had assured me that while her magic wouldn’t turn us completely invisible to the naked eye it would repel any from of scrying magic and the disable any magic Galathon could have cast over the island, thin as the net would have to be. The dark night would protect us from being spotted by chance and I felt reasonably safe.

Once or twice I had been sure to see a huge humanoid figure move along the outer edges of the deck, an even darker spot in front of a pitch black canvas but that had probably been my imagination. When we came close, maybe 1 or 2 kms still between us and the ship, Erya slowed our flight until we stood in the air. Her fingers twitched in my hand and I heard her voice in my mind:

“We’re close enough. Give me a moment, I’d like to find out if there are wards around the ship without triggering them… Drat, of course there are. Alright how do you want to do this?”

“Depends, how close can you get me?”

“Pretty close, I’d say around 100 meters before the wards could detect me. Any closer and there is a decent risk. Galathon has probably centred them on himself and they become stronger the nearer we are to him. Should I drop you onto the sails? Can you survive that without your wings?”

“No, it’s too high, I’d have to slow down somehow or I wouldn’t be able to hold onto anything. I was rather thinking the reverse. Why don’t you throw me with your magic form underneath the ship? Once I’m close to the hull the ship should block the view and I can use my wings.”

“Huh, that could work. I could only give you a boost in the beginning, though. Once you’re past the wards I won’t be able to reach you without activating them.”

“I know but that’s fine. Only make sure that you at least propel me close enough that I’m not in full view anymore. Once I’m gone, reach out to Pete. I’m not going to bother sneaking through the ship. I’ll try to phase through the hull directly and hide the portal ring somewhere on the lowest floor. If the explosion is as powerful as Mephisto claimed it shouldn’t make much of a difference where we place the thing. With a little luck I can get out the same way and just drop until you can catch me. We return to the others and once we’re packed and ready to go you’ll summon Pete. Agreed?” I could feel her concentrating on something else before she answered:

“Agreed. Pete told me that, while some pirates are bound to be lurking around down there since they are hiding from the dragon, the brig is empty. It’s close to the stern on the lowest floor. You should be able to enter there unseen. If we wait another couple of minutes Pete will make sure that nobody is around and lock the room from the outside.” I nodded reflexively before conveying my approval mentally.

“Please, ask him to do that.” Her presence drifted away again, while she headed for a spot below the ship and I tried to reach Ahri one more time but there was still no change. Slowly I was starting to worry but on the other hand, it might very well be that her body would suffer much more from the backlash than mine. That wasn’t great either, but as long as I could feel her I could at least be certain that she was still breathing and everything else could be fixed, I hoped. There was nothing I could do either way for now, except hurrying back as fast as I could and I was already attempting to do just that.

5 minutes later we had arrived and Erya spoke up again:

“Alright, the brig is clear and I used Pete to cast a minor ward around it. It’s only a small deterrent but it should help keep away anyone who doesn’t have a strong will and a good reason to be there. Best of luck, Cassandra. And thanks again, however this turns out, it has been a pleasure meeting you and I’m looking forward to finally meet the girl who charmed you so completely.”

Without giving me a chance to replied her grip tightened and she physically hurled me upwards, her thin arms once again displaying a strength far above my own. As soon as our fingers parted, her magic curled around me and with a push I accelerated even further and shot towards the ship,  my tails fluttering behind me.

I felt the invisibility spell break once I was close to the ship, still shooting through the air with enough speed to make my eyes water. I sent a trickle of energy into my tails and took control of my flight, using them to change my angle minimally. I slowed down with each passing second, the looming shadow above me growing accordingly. Erya’s aim had been close to perfect and at the zenith of my trajectory I was only a handful of meters below the hull. I unfurled my wings and immediately latched onto the reinforced wood above me, pulling my body close to the rough surface and pressing my wings against it. I hung there like a oversized spider with too many, glowing legs and breathlessly listened for any form of alarm.

Luckily I hadn’t been spotted and everything remained quiet. I could hear the creaking of sails when the ship adjusted its course and the faint thumps of boots hitting seasoned wood but nobody was shouting and I couldn’t hear the dragon’s voice. The smell of rust and wet cloth tickled my nostrils and through the hull the faint fragrance of rotting wood and something acidic like sulphur reached me. With a thought one of my wings slithered through the layers or oak and metal, leaving behind only a small, circular hole with clean edges, almost imperceptible.

It was a risk, admittedly, but the faint impressions of a windowless room with chains dangling from the walls and a massive door reinforced with bands of steel rewarded me. A shower of silvery sparks later I manifested in pitch black darkness, the heavy scent of wood saturated with blood and excrements nearly made me gag. Now that I had all of my wings inside, my second vision showed me enough details to remain well away from the chains and the floor beneath them, stained as they were. I quickly placed the ring behind the door, tails held high to not touch the filthy ground. Even if someone would open the brig now, it would be well out of sight. I pushed one of my wings through the same hole I had made previously and stepped through the hull again. My wings vanished the same instant and I allowed gravity to pull me away.

A mere handful of seconds later it was already troublesome to make out the shape of the ship above and it vanished completely into the darkness a moment or two later. Except for the roaring wind in my ears and the whistling of my body hurtling towards the waves below the night remained quiet. Suddenly I felt the tingling of magic around me and a web of energy embraced me tightly. My fall slowed immediately until I hovered in place. Warm arms reached around my waist and Erya whispered into my ear:

“Well done, they didn’t notice a thing. Even Pete doesn’t know you left the ring and are safely away again.” She squeezed my middle and her hot breath tickled my ear. “Let’s be off. I can’t wait to see the fireworks.” Effortlessly she pulled away towards the volcano while her magic hid me once again.

Pressed against Erya I had to wonder if it hadn’t been too simple. For the first time, something had actually worked out as planned and I couldn’t help myself, I had a sinking feeling that we had overlooked a crucial detail but try as I might, I couldn’t put my finger on it. I just hoped it wouldn’t bite us in the ass later on. Or maybe I was just a little paranoid.