The Dragon Isles

Chapter Fifteen

A mixture of anger and fear flashed across Lakuda’s gaunt face. “Tempest!” she gasped. Then her eyes narrowed. “It’s that accursed Drakenvaal!” she hissed. “Isn’t it?”

“Absurd,” Shimmer countered.

“Well… she’s been known to associate with dragons before!”

Shimmer said nothing, but his orangish eyes flared with anger.

Lakuda’s angular face softened. “I meant no offense,” she said. “Your choice of… friends is your own, of course.” Shimmer nodded slowly.

“Well?” Lakuda said, swimming to the exit of the throne room, “Are you coming?”

“I think,” Shimmer said, “that I shall stay here and contemplate your words.”

Lakuda’s dark eyes narrowed and her lean jaw trembled. “This is no time to be petulant.”

Another tremor shook the reef-villa. Pieces of coral drifted down from the hall ceiling, and a small pillar supporting a window arch crumbled.

“Suit yourself,” Lakuda growled. “With the dragon loose, I must tend to business. We’ll have that drink later, and forget our differences?”

“Yes,” Shimmer replied. “Perhaps.”

Lakuda frowned at him, then turned and swam out of the room, taking the guards with her.

Shimanloreth stood alone in the room, thinking.

“Give me some of that seaweed,” Karista said, reaching toward Trip. “After all, it’s mine.”

The kender handed her some; he’d already doled out other bits to himself and Kingfisher’s former captain.

“A moment ago, you had no intention of escaping,” Ula said slyly.

“A moment ago, we weren’t in danger of drowning,” Karista replied. She sloshed around in the rising waters of their prison chamber.

“We’d welcome any other aids you might have for the occasion,” Mik said.

“I’ve nothing to weave spells with here,” Karista replied. “It all went down with the ship. And, even if it hadn’t, with the gods so long departed, my powers are next to nothing.” She stuffed the magical seaweed into her cheek and glared at them.

“Maybe you’ll assist us in overpowering the guards, then,” Mik replied.

“If I must,” she said.

Ula laughed.

The chamber shuddered again, and another leak sprang up.

Mik glanced out the window. Flashes like lightning in the darkness silhouetted a terrible battle between Reeftown’s sea elves and Tempest’s forces.

As Mik watched, a horrible visage appeared at the porthole. It was neither human nor elf. Blotchy scales covered its terrifying countenance. Its mouth was like a sucker ringed with sharp teeth. Its eyes glowed red. Small Turbidus leeches clung to its skin. The creature pressed its face against the glass of the porthole and leered at the captives inside.

Mik jumped back as the thing raised its clawed hand and pounded against the glass. Trip gasped and Karista squawked in surprise. The scaly fist smashed into the window, but the thick glass held firm.

“Time to go,” Ula said.

“Agreed,” said Mik.

All four captives splashed back down the passageway to where they’d first entered their prison. The corridor was partially submerged, but they found a dry ledge near the pool.

They all paused there, peering into the rising water.

“I can’t see any of the guards,” Mik said.

“They’re probably just down the tunnel, out of sight,” Ula replied.

“Any idea which way we should go if we get past them?” Mik asked.

“Follow me,” Ula said. “I’ll improvise.”

The corridor shook, and another piece of coral fell from the arched ceiling. The water grew higher around them, nearly reaching the top of the small ledge they stood on.

“Let’s go,” Mik said. Ula dived into the water, and he jumped in right after her. Trip and Karista followed.

It took a moment for Mik’s eyes to adjust to the gloomy waters. The magic of the seaweed wasn’t as potent as that of his necklace. The air didn’t smell so sweet, and he felt vaguely nauseous.

Ula streaked ahead as the guards turned to face them. Luckily, there were only two-the others having been called away to help fight the dragon. Ula ducked aside as the first man thrust his spear at her. The sea elf moved as swiftly as a barracuda and as gracefully as a dolphin. She clouted the guard on the back of the neck with the flat of her hand, and the sentry stumbled forward.

Mik grabbed the haft of the man’s spear. He wrested the weapon from the sentry’s grip and elbowed the man in the face. The guardsman went down.

The sailor swam forward as Ula struggled with the second guard. It was all Ula could do to avoid being skewered by his spear. As it was, the weapon’s blade traced a long scratch up her side, cutting free a piece of her already scanty outfit.

Ula cursed and wrestled with the guard as Mik bore in. The guard ducked under the sailor’s thrust, but Mik had expected that. He wheeled the spear in his hands and smashed the haft into the man’s back.

The sentry grunted in pain. Ula clouted him on the jaw, and his head snapped back. The group quickly pulled the stunned guards up the corridor into the rapidly filling air pocket near the cell.

Trip and Karista confiscated the sentries’ other weapons as Ula and Mik hefted their “borrowed” spears.

“Leave their daggers,” Mik said.

“Aye, captain,” Trip replied.

“Why leave them anything?” Karista asked.

“We’ve weapons enough,” Mik replied. “I won’t leave them defenseless in this chaos. They might need to protect themselves.”

“Lead the way,” Mik then said to Ula, and they all splashed back into the water once more.

They passed numerous corridors as they swam. Several times, they passed small breaches in the wall that gave them a glimpse of the fighting outside. Reeftowners swam everywhere, battling with evil fish under the dragon’s command. Finally, they came to a branch in the tunnels where there seemed to be no good choice.

“This one will take us back into the palace,” Ula said, “while I’m pretty sure this will take us outside-into the midst of the fighting.”

“Doomed… either way!” burbled Karista.

“Not either way,” said a deep voice.

From the inner corridor emerged the gleaming form of Shimanloreth. He looked even larger and more formidable in the confined space of the tunnel.

Mik and Ula lowered their spears at him, while Meinor and Trip drew their swords.

“We won’t… go back,” Mik said, the seaweed’s enchantment distorting his voice.

“I’ll fight you if I have to,” said Ula.

Shimmer laughed, and the corridor shook. Fine sand floated down from the ceiling.

“You won’t have to,” he said. “Not today.”

Mik and Ula lowered their weapons and breathed a sigh of relief.

“Not ever,; I hope,” Ula said.

“We’ll see,” Shimmer replied. “I was coming to free you, though you seem to have done the job yourselves. I brought your possessions. They would have been due me anyway, as my share of the forage.”

“Our weapons?” asked Mik.

The bronze knight nodded. “Them as well.” He handed two pearl-handled daggers to Trip and a dagger and cutlass to Mik.

Then he handed the enchanted fish necklace to Mik. The captain put it on, and immediately felt the nauseous tug of the different enchantments. He took the wad of seaweed out of his mouth and handed it to Trip, who stuffed it in a pocket.

“In case we need it later,” Mik said to the kender.

Trip nodded his understanding.

The amulet’s strong magic filled Mik’s lungs and he felt better instantly. Another gemstone scale cracked and fell off the necklace.

“So many gems gone…” he thought But, instead of voicing his concern, he said, “Which way?”

“Follow me,” Shimmer replied.

As fighting swirled through the submerged streets of Reeftown, Tempest’s dragonspawn lieutenant had taken on a special mission.

A convenient breach in a coral wall allowed Mog access to the inner corridors of Lakuda’s undersea villa. A handful of razorfish, sharks, and Turbidus leeches-all under the power of the sea dragon-accompanied the dragonspawn as he swam through the murky corridors toward the chamber where he’d spotted the surface dwellers.

Mog’s “troops” encountered little resistance during their journey; most of the sea elves were outside the walls of the town boss’ home, battling Tempest’s forces. Those few unfortunates Mog’s troops met, they quickly slew and devoured.

The passageways of Lakuda’s dwelling twisted and turned through the coral reef, so it took some time for Mog and his allies to find the correct wing of the villa. As they approached, a strange scent in the water caused Mog to pause.

The dragonspawn swam cautiously forward, sniffing and listening. Soon, he heard voices from the corridor ahead. He crept to the corner and peered around.

Ahead swam a small group of humanoids, including the surface-dwellers he’d spotted earlier-the ones Tempest was especially interested in. They numbered five, and were a motley crew: humans, kender, sea elf, armored knight.

Easy prey, Mog thought.

In his mind, he saw pictures of the dismemberment to come-his sharks biting the hapless victims in half, his razorfish stripping the flesh from the prey’s bones, his leeches swirling in whirlpools of carnage.

He imagined himself cracking open the knight’s bronze armor, breaking the man’s bones, and sucking out the still warm marrow. The eyes of the victims would taste good as well-especially the succulent ones of the kender. Other soft, meaty portions of their prey he would savor as well-all the best parts, for was he not the commander of Tempest’s legion?

Mog started forward. Then something brought him up short. He’d been so preoccupied with thoughts of the feast to come, that he hadn’t noticed there was something strange about this rag-tag group. Something about the knight… perhaps.

Did his mistress share this feeling? Was this the reason she was so interested in these fleshy creatures? He tried to call to his mistress, but she was lost in the frenzy of battle. Images of blood and death clouded his mind. For a moment, Mog reveled in them.

When the red haze faded, the question remained. What was Tempest’s interest in this group?

Mog did not know. Still, the strange scent lingered in the water. Uncharacteristically, Mog decided to fall back. There was something here that he must watch. Wait and watch.

No need to kill these creatures now. He and his minions could harvest them just as surely later.

Then, when the time was right, Mog would slay them all.

Mik, Ula, and the rest moved as quickly as they could through the tunnels beneath Lakuda’s villa. Shimmer set the pace, swimming quickly and gracefully despite his cumbersome-looking armor.

The undersea hallways continued to shake as they went. Pieces of coral dislodged themselves from the ceiling, and some of the passages were clogged with great clouds of disturbed silt. Their voyage took them ever deeper into the bowels of the reef behind Lakuda’s villa. Gradually, the hidden corridors began to slope upward.

“Ouch!” Trip stopped.

“What’s wrong?” asked Mik.

“Something hot… in one pocket,” the kender replied.

“What do you mean?” Mik asked.

Trip pointed to one of his vest pockets and mouthed the words, “The diamond.”

“Give it to me,” Mik said.

Trip nodded, fished the artifact out, and surreptitiously handed it to Mik while Ula, Karista, and Shimmer kept swimming.

Mik took the black diamond’s setting. It didn’t feel hot to him, merely somewhat warm. The sensation of holding it brought images of the lost treasure to his mind. He tucked the artifact securely within a hidden pocket in the waistband of his pants.

Swimming hard, they quickly caught up with Ula and Karista. The sea elf gave them a curious glance, and Mik said, “Nothing to worry about.”

Suddenly, the coral tunnel shook more violently than it had before. The floor buckled, and huge cracks appeared along the length of the ceiling. Then, with a deep rumble, the passageway began to collapse.