Treachery's wake

23

The druid saw her companions splash into the water near the piers. She pulled hard on an oar, spinning the rowboat around. Malthooz lay in the bow of the craft, his head cradled in the folds of Mialee's robe. Vadania knew that he didn't have much time left. She'd been holding them in the shadow of the cliffs, but that offered only limited safety. She hadn't expected to see them plunge out of a sewer tunnel, then again, she hadn't really expected to see them again at all.

Fire raced along the docks, backlighting Vadania as she laid her back into the oars. The spreading flames from Mialee's fireball had ignited one of the neighboring ships. In no time, the whole area was in chaos as captains and crew struggled to get their vessels away from the advancing flames. A thick black cloud hung in the air above the city. The inferno fed on tar-soaked planks and pilings.

"What have we done?" the druid muttered to herself.

"Only what we had to do," Mialee responded behind her.

The staff still rested in the bottom of the boat. Vadania kicked it and the thing rolled to the stern. The druid shuddered as she thought about what it might have done in the wrong hands, what it might still do. She'd already seen enough of the artifact's twisted magic, and she suspected that was only a hint of its real power.

By the time they reached the rogue and the barbarian, the two were at the end of their endurance. The icy water had reduced them to simply struggling against the weight of their armor and weapons in an effort to keep their heads above water. Lidda's lips were blue, her skin pale white from the frigid chill of the harbor. Even Krusk's normal gray complexion looked waxy and pale.

Mialee hauled the halfling woman into the rowboat and set her down near Malthooz, but between herself and the druid, they could not get Krusk over the side without threatening to upend the craft and dump them all into the bay. The shivering half-orc simply clung to the transom as Vadania rowed for the far shore.

"Flint's dead," Lidda said through chattering teeth.

Vadania glanced at the frozen head, still clutched tightly in Krusk's hand and bouncing against the gunwale. The news was no surprise. She nodded grimly.

The port of Newcoast still burned. No boats followed in the company's wake. Ships milled in the harbor or headed toward the open sea, but none seemed to pay any special attention to them.

At last, the bow ground up on the gravel along the southern shore of the harbor.

"It will take a while for the news of our escape to spread through all this confusion," Mialee said as she stepped out of the vessel and struggled to drag it farther up the beach. "That's if it ever does."

"I guess that depends on how deep the lines of deception run," the druid replied. "Who knows what and who cares?"

Mialee and Vadania helped the halfling to her feet, and the three of them carried Malthooz to dry land. Krusk, shivering and stiff, waded in and collapsed beside them.

Malthooz opened his eyes as the four of them hovered over him. He smiled when he looked at Lidda and Krusk.

"I knew that youd make it," he said as his eyes fell on the symbol of Pelor around Krusk's neck.

Krusk fingered the wooden disc. He lifted it over his head and set it down on Malthooz's chest.

"I brought you this, too," he said, swinging the guild master's severed head before Malthooz's wide eyes.

"That's a fine gift," Malthooz whispered.

"You grab his legs," the barbarian said to Vadania and Mialee as he slipped his arms under Malthooz's shoulders.

A word from Malthooz stopped him.

"Leave me be, Krusk. I will go no farther today."

Vadania looked around them. Farther up the slope were the edges of pastures and farm fields. A man stood there, watching the port burn. He glanced at the companions then went back to his work, unloading bales of hay from a rickety wooden cart for the flock of sheep that hovered in the meadow around him.

Malthooz beckoned Krusk with his finger to come closer. The barbarian knelt close to his friend's face, his ear hovering just over the half-orc's mouth. A few words passed between the two of them, but none of the others could hear what was said. Vadania turned away. It wasn't her business.

Krusk stood up and moved away. Vadania and the other women watched as Malthooz's head sank back down to the ground. A smile spread across his lips as his gaze fell on the head, and a look of serenity came over his brow. Then, with a rasping sigh, he was gone.