Patrol 2: Lost & Found

Chapter 29

Three bodies lay strewn about the deck, their skin weathered and wrinkled, the wind tugging at their hair and clothing, giving them the illusion of motion; dried blood surrounded them, black pools coating the planks. Vania shivered and looked away quickly from the eyeless sockets staring at her, the mouths of the corpses open in eternal silent screams.

"No noticeable wounds," Eddin murmured at her side. "Must've died from the sickness."

After a quick look at all three corpses, Bergin added, "Doesn't look like anyone has touched the bodies, aside from the sea birds and flies. Wonder if they were the last of the crew left?"

"So, the wizard must be down below," Derry surmised.

"Derryl, wait," A'lei'iana grabbed his shoulder before he could cross the deck to the hatch. She cocked her head to one side. "D'merdon. Do you hear that?"

Eddin froze, also tilting his head first one way and then another, ears swiveling slightly as he strained to hear. "No. What did you—" He turned quickly to the dinghy overturned on the deck, pushing Vania behind him. "Yes. What is up here with us?"

"Let's find out. Ducard." A'lei'iana gestured, crooning a strange language at the bear. It looked at her, grumbling lowly, then approached the small boat with a snarl.

A soft rustling sound came from under the boat. Ducard growled louder, the sound drawing the griffin to stand beside the bear, snapping its beak and hissing.

From below the hatch, the thudding of feet on wooden planks echoed up, the slow steps of someone laboring up the stairs.

Bergin drew his knife, eyes darting from the hatch to the dinghy, and back. "Does anyone else sense that?"

"Yes," A'lei'iana replied, also drawing her blade.

One of the corpses stretched out an arm, fingers gripping the deck, and pulled itself closer to the group by the ramp.

"Is this wizard of yours also a practitioner of necromancy?" A'lei'iana asked, brown and gold eyes watching the three corpses all crawling toward them.

With a loud snarl, Ducard swiped one large silver paw under the dinghy, a strange groaning growl coming from the animated corpse the bear drew from under the boat. Bear and griffin tore into the dead sailor until it was a mangled pile of parts, no longer moving.

"It would appear so," Eddin replied grimly. At the snap of his fingers, the lizard-like Eluri jumped from his shoulder and landed on the deck, growing to the size of a large dog. "Bergin, did the harbormaster mention how large the crew was of the Swift Crests?" Another sailor, clearly dead, crawled up out of the hatch and slowly raised itself to standing, then ambled across the deck toward them.

Vania stared at the animal Eddin had brought; it appeared to be a strange mixture of feline and lizard, with pointy grey ears, tassles standing up in tufts from the ears, and golden talons. The creature flapped its black bat-like wings and twitched its spiked tail as it snapped and clawed at the approaching trio of crawling corpses.

"Umm," Bergin replied, taking his eyes off the twice-dead corpse by the dinghy, "Harbormaster said the captain initially reported five sailors ill... She didn't give a total number of crew, but the captain reported deaths and illnesses regularly..." He went silent a moment, eyes scanning the deck for other lurking threats while he mentally tallied the numbers. "Twenty-one."

"That leaves sixteen potentially down below with the wizard," Eddin replied.

"Then we have our work cut out for us," A'lei'iana replied.

"A'lei'iana, you should stay up here with your bear and griffin," Derry said quietly. "Eddin or Bergin can stay with you. Vania and I will go below. He knows we're here, or he wouldn't be sending his puppets. I need to get to him before he kills Cianna."