Author's Notes: Hey everyone sorry it has been so long since I last updated, I hope that this will make it up to you. As always I own nothing.
Karl stared out at the waves as the ships cut through the water, leaving the lands of the Dark Elves behind, forever Karl fervently hoped. There had been a few arched eyebrows from the other Shadow Warriors when they had approached the ship and more than one hand had reached for weapons. For a moment Karl feared that they were about to be killed by the very people that they hoped to be rescued by, but then Agliar had stepped forward and had said something in their own language to them and they had allowed Karl and the others to board.
The coast had been misty and rocky and Karl feared that they might wreck but the elves clearly knew their business and the ships were soon out on the open ocean running eastward. The elves, Agliar included, for the most part ignored the humans once they had been assured that they posed no threat to them, though one of them had given Karl a pair of boots, they were made of soft leather and very comfortable and felt sturdier than any boots that he had worn before.
Agliar had assured them that in Lothern, the central trading hub of Ulthuan, there would be no difficulty in finding ships that would be able to take them anywhere that they would wish to go. The only problem was that neither Karl or any of the others had any money, in fact all that they had was their weapons and the cloths on their backs. As things stood their only hope was to either find a ship willing to hire on three men who knew little to nothing about sailing or who would be willing to take said three on out of charity, and as far as Karl knew that particular virtue could be in depressingly short supply at times. His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a cry from the look-out in the crow's nest. Looking in the direction of the elf's pointing hand and saw that land had been spotted.
At first Karl thought that it was a solid wall of white cliffs but there was suddenly a break in them forming a channel. As they sailed into it the channel Karl saw an enormous lighthouse of white stone and an even larger statue. It was a male elf in elaborate armor. It was so skillfully formed that Karl wondered if it had been sculpted using magic. The face was almost too large to study in detail but from what he could see the face had an almost haunting air to it. At first it seemed to have an expression of grim determination but as they drew closer he saw that there was more to it, if one looked closer one could see deep in the eyes something more, a strange mixture of grief and furry that bordered on madness. Even though it was only a statue Karl found that the eyes made him uneasy and he could not hold their gaze.
As they passed the statue and he looked forward again he saw that they were entering a natural harbor filled with ships that seemed to come from all parts of the world, including a number of ships that were clearly from the Empire, the sight of which filled Karl with homesickness. Beyond the ships was a great city. At first Karl thought there was something odd about it but he could not put his finger on it, then he realized what it was, it was the smell. While he could smell the scents of the ships the city did not smell entirely right. It lacked the stench of a human city that would have assaulted his nostrils, instead it smelled of spices and incense and other smells that he could not identify and the magic. The magic here was so thick he could practically taste it.
His thoughts were interrupted by Agliar coming up to him. The elf came and stood beside him, for a moment they stood in silence. The Shadow Warrior had donned garb similar to his comrades and looking at him Karl got the idea that, in his own way, Agliar was as out of place in the bright city before them as Karl was.
"Lothern," the elf said at last; "The gem of Ulthuan." As he spoke Karl could not help but hear the trace of scorn in the elf's voice. His face must have shown this because the after a moment the elf elaborated. "They are soft here. They are far from the war and think only of wealth, pleasure and meaningless social climbing. They know nothing of the cruelties of the world and what is done in the shadows to keep them safe." Karl was silent for a moment. He thought back to the Empire where some feasted while others fought for their lives against hordes of Beastmen.
"I know what you mean." He said simply, the elf looked at him for a moment and then he nodded his head in agreement.
"Yes, I think you do." Nothing more was said as they entered the harbor.
As they drew into the port Karl could not help but notice how different the ship he was on was from the other elf ships in the harbor, they were a dark color as opposed to the lighter colors of the ships in the harbor and when they disembarked Karl saw that other elves kept their distance and seemed to be made uneasy by the presence of Agliar and his fellows.
As Karl and the others disembarked Agliar came up to him; "Farewell, you fight well and I feel that we shall fight together again." Karl simply nodded and then followed Sir Coty and Wilfred into the city.
It turned out to not be nearly as difficult to get home as he had feared, it turned out that both Bretonnia and the Empire maintained embassies in the Foreign Quarter and they were able to arrange for the three of them to arrange passage on two ships, one would set to sail for Marienburg with the evening tide, the other would be sailing for L'Anguille in Bretonnia. They went to the harbor together and stood there for a moment. They all stood there for a moment none of them able to speak, after all they had been through Karl found that he did not want to say goodbye. In the end they said nothing, just nodded and then parted, Karl and Wilfred went to their ship while Sir Coty went to his. The voyage was blessedly uneventful and they arrived in Marienburg without incident. While the cult of Ulric was barely acknowledged in the Marienburg, were Manann held sway, there was a small temple and this provided Wilfred with a horse and supplies to get back to Middenheim and report. He asked Karl if he wanted to go with him and Karl was tempted but in the end he declined, he felt that he should return to Altdorf and try to find Marx and fill him in on what had happened. Wilfred accepted this and said no more on the subject till he departed. He mounted the borrowed horse and looked down at Karl.
"Blessings on you, child of Ulric." He then he turned and rode away. Karl watched him go, fingering the steel wolf-headed amulet, the symbol of Ulric, which the old priest had given to him. He was about to turn and start to seek out means of getting to Altdorf when he caught a familiar smell, turning he found himself looking at Wilhelmina.
"Well, this is a surprise." He said, though he knew that it probably wasn't.
"You are a smart dog, don't act like a dumb one." She said in a tone of exasperation, though a slight smirk was tugging at the corner of her mouth. "Marx heard about your arrival at Lothern and you're coming here. Come," she said, turning and walking away; "We have work to do." Karl sighed and started after her.
"What is the job?" He asked her back.
"The Master's pet vampire." She said, not bothering to look back at him as she walked.
"What about her?" Karl asked, surprised at the mention of the creature whom he had half forgotten.
"It seems its former companions found out about its arrangement with Marx and are not happy about it. The vampire paniced and ran. Marx thinks it is too valuable to waste so you and I are going to find it and retrieve it before the others kill it."
Author's Notes: Hello everyone, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Sorry again that I have not updated in so long, my drive took a holiday but I think it's back and I hope to have the next chapter much sooner. For those who do not know Manann is the god of the sea. Well, that is it for now the other day was Missing Children Day so please pray for missing children everywhere we have some missing on the news, in Truckee Nevada and in LA, as well as the woman and her child being held in prison in the Sudan, she under death sentence for marrying an American and being Christian, her name is Meriam Ibrahim and her child is still a toddler and sick, learn more at the American Center for Law and Justice, the Americans held abroad, the trapped miners in Turkey, victims of kidnapping and human trafficking and all who need it, bye and may Jesus bless you. Happy Memorial Day and all who gave the last full measure of resolve.