VIII
"It's getting a little chilly in here."
"Well, we are still soaking wet," Zarne observed, watching as Annika stamped her feet and rubbed her arms to warm herself. The constable was also on the verge of shivering, but for the moment he was simply too exhausted to keep himself warm. "Do me a favor and see if there are any blankets, or tarps, or anything here that we can use to keep warm."
"I thought you didn't want me stealing anything," Annika said, a sarcastic tone to her voice as she turned a smile to her protector.
"We're not stealing, we're borrowing," Zarne grumbled, not in the mood for jokes. "Now look around and see if you can find something."
"I'm stealing on the orders of a constable," Annika said, a touch of humor to her voice as she disappeared behind the boxes stacked high in the warehouse. "How times have changed."
Zarne ignored the thief as he simply leaned back against the boxes where he had originally fallen, closing his eyes momentarily as he tried to ignore the thousands of aches and pains in his body. He was beginning to feel like one large bruise after the tribulations of the day.
"I'm getting too old for this," Zarne grumbled, carefully removing his tunic and examining his chain shirt. Where the priest of Nerull had hit him, the chain links had been distorted or even broken in places, requiring repairs that would cost him more than a few silver once he was even able to find a smith to make the repairs. The blood staining his tunic and armor, however, was a clear reminder of the fact that he had suffered a serious injury. Slowly, wincing in pain as he aggravated the wound with the jagged ends of a few broken rings, Zarne pulled his chain shirt over his head and dropped it to the ground beside him.
The wound in his side was more serious than he had first thought, but for the moment there was nothing he could do for the vicious puncture except try to bandage it somehow. Shaking his head in dismay at the injury, the constable picked up his ruined tunic and gingerly dabbed at the corners of the wound, trying to wipe enough blood away to make a more detailed assessment.
"I couldn't find…" Annika started, coming back into view around the boxes with a single canvas tarp in her hands. She stopped as she saw the wound, her mouth dropping open in shock and a definite hint of revulsion.
"Yes, I'm fine," Zarne said, before she could even voice her concern. Annika hurried to his side, dropping to her knees as she examined the puncture herself.
"I… this… are you sure?" the thief stammered, pushing the constable's hands away from the wound.
"Yes, I'm sure," Zarne said, although he was not truly sure of the answer. At any rate, Annika was no priest or healer, and the last thing he needed was for her to continue poking at the injury in some misguided attempt to help him. To his surprise, however, the girl reached inside her shirt and withdrew the tiny jar of ointment that he had given her that morning.
"I… I didn't think my leg really needed it, this morning," Annika explained, her cheeks reddening slightly as she tried to explain why she still had the jar. "I thought, you know… maybe we'd need it later? I mean, now?"
"Good thinking," Zarne said, smiling faintly. Annika's nervous smile broadened into a full grin, and quickly the thief opened the jar. For a moment she stared into the jar, but then she simply tilted it enough to pour out the water that had collected on top of the ointment. "I can take care of it," Zarne said, holding his hand out for the salve.
"No, no, I'll do it," Annika offered hastily, almost slapping the constable's hand away from the jar. Before he could say anything further, Annika had already scooped out a bit of the ointment.
"Okay, but just be… ow!" Zarne snapped, pulling away from the thief as Annika made contact with the wound. Annika drew back quickly. "Be careful!" the constable ordered, still wincing in pain.
"I barely touched you," Annika pointed out, leaning forward again to continue her work. Zarne gritted his teeth again as the thief began applying a heavy dab of the salve to his wound. "I could only find the one tarp," Annika said as she worked. "I guess we'll have to share it for the night."
"I guess," Zarne said, noting that the thief seemed just a bit too eager about spending the night under a single blanket. Anything more he was about to say, however, was cut short as she managed to aggravate his wound even further. Zarne bit back a cry of pain and forced an agonized smile to his lips as Annika dropped back slightly to examine her work. The thief's proud smile faded slightly as she saw the constable fighting to keep his agony in check. "Good job," Zarne forced out, trying to placate the girl's desire to be helpful.
"I hope that stuff works as well as it did this morning," Annika said, tracing the barely visible scar across her cheek where her gash had been. Zarne shrugged.
"It couldn't make things any worse, at any rate," the constable said, pulling his shirt back on over his head. As he settled back against the crates, Annika dropped down on his uninjured side and pulled the tarp across them. The thief tried to pull herself up against the constable, but Zarne withdrew slightly.
"I won't bite," the thief said, resting her head on his chest as she forced herself next to him.
"I didn't think you would," Zarne said. Annika giggled slightly as she turned to face the constable.
"I was serious when I asked if any of the wheelwright's sons were available," she said.
"I suppose you had a certain wheelwright's son in mind," the constable guessed. Annika smiled slightly as she pulled herself closer.
"He's pretty handy with a sword," the thief said, running a hand through his hair. "And he's a respected officer of the law."
"I see," Zarne said. "I suppose he's also almost twice your age?"
"I don't see why that's a problem," Annika said, leaning in to kiss the constable. Zarne gently pushed her away. "What? What's wrong?"
"Annika, you don't want me," Zarne said.
"Yes I do," Annika countered. "I think I would know if I didn't."
"No, you don't," Zarne said. "It's just the moment, that's all. We've been through a lot today, and neither of us are thinking straight right now."
"I am thinking straight!" Annika protested. "I mean, I've spent the better part of two days with you now, and no one has ever been this nice to me!"
"That's the point," Zarne said. "All you have to compare me to is Bartel, or Espen, or someone else like that. So what happens when someone who's as nice as me, but younger and better looking, comes along?"
"Zarne, I love you," Annika said, trying desperately to convince him. Zarne shook his head.
"You're exhausted, and I'm exhausted," the constable said, deciding to put off the argument for another day. Annika sighed in frustration, realizing the evasion for what it was. "Let's both get some sleep, and once we get rid of that rod of yours, then we can discuss this."
"At least… at least let me stay close to you tonight," Annika requested, forcing herself underneath the constable's arm. Reluctantly Zarne allowed the thief to rest her head on his chest again, but any concerns he may have had about the girl's motives disappeared as she fell almost instantly asleep in his arms.
"And you are certain the girl is inside."
"I would not have come to you if I was not," Espen said, standing at the edge of the pier where the Narval was docked. The warehouse where Zarne and Annika were hiding was amazingly close to the Urhalian merchant vessel, but the assassin doubted Evgeny or his crew would have ever found the pair there if not for his help. "Annika and Zarne took shelter there just this evening, but I doubt they will remain in one place for long. The constable is smart enough to keep on the move. You must strike now if you wish to capture her."
"I still think this feels like a trap," one of the other sailors, Miroslav by name, said quietly. "How did you know we were looking for her?"
"It was very difficult to conceal that fireball from anyone on the docks last night," Espen stated. The assassin despised using the Urhalian language, as he considered it crude and guttural compared to Utrecht, but he was fluent in the language while the Urhalians continually tripped over their broken Utrecht and had difficulty understanding more than the most basic vocabulary. "I thought you might pay a finder's fee for information about her location."
"I see," Evgeny said flatly. "And what were you expecting in payment?"
"Ten gold is all I ask," Espen replied, smiling slightly as he straightened out his simple black tunic. Evgeny's eyes narrowed slightly as he considered the offer. Espen could have cared less about the money; to him, ten gold was barely worth the trouble of simply walking from the Magie Vierkant to Haven-straat. But the sudden appearance of a dozen or more Urhalian sailors in the warehouse would throw Zarne and Annika into a panic. Add in Bartel, along with two of his muggers, who were already halfway to the warehouse, and the inside of the building would turn into mass chaos. In the middle of such confusion, Espen would likely have little trouble at all stealing the rod of wonder that Annika had found without the backlash associated with killing a constable.
"Ten gold," Evgeny repeated. The first mate turned back to Miroslav for a moment, conversing quietly for a moment about the price. Finally, Evgeny turned back to the assassin.
"Five gold," the Urhalian said. Espen nearly laughed.
"I suppose that will have to do, considering I have already parted with my information," the assassin said, reining in his mirth and trying to inject just the right amount of melodrama into his voice. Evgeny stared at him for a long moment, trying to read something in the assassin's face, but finally reached into his belt pouch and removed a handful of gold and silver coins. The Urhalian counted out the fee in his hand, eyeing Espen suspiciously as he did so, then slowly dropped the coins into Espen's outstretched hand. Espen smiled at the Urhalian as he accepted his payment, not even bothering to count the assortment of silver and gold in his hand to be certain of the fee.
"Let's go," Evgeny finally snarled, leading his men to the warehouse with a curt wave of his hand. Espen watched them go for a moment, even waving as Evgeny shot a last, suspicious glance over his shoulder, then turned and started to the front of the warehouse.
"You don't think Espen was lying to us, do you?"
"Quiet, Niels," Bartel ordered, keeping his voice low as he crept up to the western side of the warehouse. The gang leader had not been happy with the prospect of taking on van Erison and Annika himself; he was, after all, a leader, and should have been able to trust Tiede and Niels with this job. But the prospect of cutting his fees to Espen in half was enough to warrant his personal attention, especially with the Broken Harpoon gone for at least half of the spring trading season. "Just keep a look out for any constables or Annika."
"Something just feels wrong about this," Tiede added quietly, glancing nervously around the docks. Bartel turned on the mugger abruptly, grabbing the front of his shirt.
"Well if it hadn't been for the two of you losing Annika earlier, we wouldn't be in this bind!" the gang leader snapped, fighting with all his might to keep his voice down to a whisper. "Now keep your mouth shut, and when we get inside, find the girl and the rod!"
"Sorry," Tiede said timidly, flinching away from the irate gang leader. Bartel hesitated a moment longer, letting his threat sink in, before turning back to the lock on the warehouse door. It had been some time since he had been forced to pick a lock, but the gang leader smiled as he found himself quickly unlocking the door with a few deft twists of his picks. Slowly Bartel nudged the door open, wincing slightly as it creaked on its hinges. Without turning back to the two muggers Bartel waved them forward, watching for a moment as the two disappeared into the shadows to search for Annika in the recesses of the dark warehouse. Bartel hesitated a moment, listening to the darkness, but if the two were inside, they were not making any noise. Finally Bartel started into the darkness, working his way noiselessly through the alleys of crates inside the warehouse to find his wayward conscript and the magical rod she had discovered.
Niels suddenly appeared in front of him, startling Bartel into action. The gang leader's daggers were in his hands and ready to throw before he recognized his underling. Bartel shot the younger mugger a furious glance for the sudden appearance as he sheathed his weapons. Niels shrugged apologetically, then gestured to his left. As Bartel realized what he was signaling, the gang leader began to smile. Silently he followed after Niels as the mugger led him through a narrow passage between two rows of boxes, joining Tiede at the edge of a large opening.
"There they are," Tiede whispered with a broad smile, pointing to the open space. Bartel looked past the two muggers, forcing himself to stifle a laugh as he saw Annika curled up against Zarne underneath a makeshift blanket.
"Knock him out, then grab her and the rod and let's get out of here," Bartel directed, turning back to Tiede. "And be quick about it."
Tiede nodded eagerly and drew his sap as he began to creep forward, but before he had taken more than a step the large doors to the waterfront slammed open with a violent crash.
He had almost fallen asleep when the sound of splintering wood brought him immediately back to his senses.
Zarne leapt to his feet in a heartbeat, nearly throwing Annika to the ground as he reached for his long sword. The constable's hand closed around nothing but air even as Zarne remembered losing the blade to the bottom of the harbor, but the lost weapon was forgotten immediately as the constable found himself confronted by at least a dozen furious Urhalian sailors.
"Bartel!" Annika exclaimed suddenly. The constable spun quickly even as Annika rushed past him, in time to see a stunned Bartel, along with Tiede and Niels, staring in shock at the sailors' sudden appearance. Before he could even react to the double threat, Annika had stumbled back into Zarne, nearly knocking him over as she desperately searched for a way out. "What do we do?"
"I'm pretty much out of options," Zarne said, glancing from Bartel to the Urhalians and back. He could try breaking through the thieves, but the time he would lose fighting them off would allow the sailors more than enough time to catch up to the pair.
"Give us girl, or we kill you!" the barrel chested sailor in the lead demanded, pointing angrily to Annika. His eye was still swollen and partially closed from Zarne's earlier attack on him. "She pay for burn ship!"
"Give me the rod, Annika," Bartel ordered, taking a step forward and drawing his daggers. Annika pushed herself behind Zarne as the two groups advanced on the pair, desperately searching for a way out of the closing vise.
The two groups seemed to lunge forward at the same time, ready to pin Annika between them. Zarne grabbed the thief by the wrist and dove forward, barely avoiding the grasp of one sailor and landing a wild punch to Bartel's gut as he raced past the gang leader. Tiede's sap whistled dangerously close above the constable's head as he rushed past them, but the mugger was little more than an afterthought as Zarne dragged Annika forward. One sailor had managed to catch the girl by the arm, and for a moment Annika screamed in pain as she was stretched between the two.
"Let go of me!" Annika shouted, kicking wildly at the Urhalian that had caught her. One kick landed solidly on the sailor's shin, shocking him enough to let go of the girl and send both her and Zarne crashing forward through a short stack of flimsy crates. Zarne slammed to the ground in a shower of broken pottery and wooden splinters, losing his grip on Annika for only a moment as he cursed and shouted in pain from the wound in his side and a long, thankfully shallow slash across one of his arms from a pottery shard. As the constable stumbled back to his feet, he heard Annika scream, "I wonder what this does!"
The effect was more comical than anything else. Six Urhalians, Bartel, and Niels all dove for cover, nearly running into each other in their hurry to get out of the path of whatever effect the rod might summon. As for the rod itself, the only thing it seemed to do was conjure forth a jet of foul smelling but otherwise harmless bubbles.
"I hate that thing!" Bartel exclaimed, jumping back to his feet and waving his hand furiously through a number of the bubbles. Annika backed up a step as the Urhalians also recovered from their initial shock.
"Annika, look out!" Zarne shouted, suddenly seeing Tiede rushing along the top of a stack of crates towards her. Annika turned and brought the rod to bear, but Tiede was a step faster as he dove off of the top of the crates and slammed into the smaller thief. The two tumbled to the ground in a flailing mass of arms and legs, and as they rolled across the stone floor the rod clattered off of the stone as it slid free of Annika's grasp.
The barrel chested Urhalian was back suddenly, launching a powerful right hook at Zarne in an attempt to take the constable quickly out of the fight. Zarne dropped under the punch and scrambled away from a second sailor's kick, already realizing that he could never hope to stand against a dozen angry Urhalians and Bartel's little crew. With a renewed burst of energy, Zarne shot across the room after the one thing that might allow both him and Annika to escape their irate attackers. Bartel, seeming to recognize Zarne's destination, threw himself into a full sprint, neatly dodging between two sailors and diving across the floor in his attempt to beat Zarne to the rod slowly rolling across the floor.
"This is priceless."
Sitting just above the wild melee on the center rafter of the warehouse, Espen could not help but smile at the spectacle he had helped to engineer. Annika, only just untangling herself from Tiede, was quickly becoming trapped in a ring of angry Urhalians, while Bartel and Zarne both reached the rod of wonder at the same time. The two men rolled to their knees with one hand on the rod; Bartel landed a quick jab in Zarne's face, crushing the constable's nose, while Zarne punched the gang leader in the throat. Bartel stumbled to the ground, wheezing for breath, but somehow the gang leader managed to hold onto the rod and drag Zarne back down with him.
"Zarne! Zarne, help me!" Annika screamed. Espen glanced back to the terrified girl as she struggled futilely in the arms of a pair of sailors even as Tiede writhed on the ground, holding his groin in agony.
"Let go!" Zarne shouted furiously, kicking Bartel one more time. The gang leader relinquished his grip and rolled away on the ground, allowing the constable to turn the rod on the Urhalians. "I wonder what this does!"
The newest magic was as effective as it was bizarre. A torrent of tiny, glittering gemstones shot out of the rod's tip, pelting the Urhalians and even Annika with enough force to send everyone scrambling for cover. As surprised by the shower of gems as anyone else, Zarne was frozen for a moment in shock, just enough time for Niels to crash into him from the side.
"I'd almost love to sit here and watch all night," Espen said to himself, suppressing a chuckle as he dropped off of the rafter and glided to the ground. With his cloak of invisibility, he easily avoided the worst of the melee and came up next to Zarne as he and Niels fought over the rod.
"Zarne!" Annika screamed again. Still wrestling with Niels, the constable swung the rod quickly.
"I wonder what this does!" the constable shouted, just as Niels jerked his arms up back. A bolt of lightning thundered out of the rod, throwing almost everyone to the ground as it blasted a hole through the thatched roof of the warehouse.
The lightning bolt quickly reinforced to Espen that he needed to act quickly; both the rod and its current wielders were far too erratic. The assassin lunged forward quickly, grabbing the tip of the rod as Niels and Zarne once again tried to rip it free of each other's grasp. Quickly Espen cocked one arm to throw a punch in Zarne's face, but before he could strike something jerked his cloak down and to the side.
"What in the Abyss?" Bartel asked, standing almost directly behind Espen. The gang leader had drawn one of his daggers to attack van Erison, but somehow he had caught the corner of Espen's cloak. The assassin's eyes went wide as Bartel tried to yank his blade free of the fabric.
"No! Get off, you idiot!" Espen screamed. It was too late; Bartel ripped his dagger through the cloak, shredding both the cloth and the magic that had had been imbued in it. As the cloak ripped, Espen winked back into view, startling Bartel, Zarne, and Niels.
"Espen?" Bartel and Zarne both asked at the same time. Niels hesitated only a moment, staring in shock at the suddenly visible assassin, before turning and punching Zarne in his already flattened nose. The constable stumbled back, relinquishing his grasp on the rod as he brought his hands to his face on reflex and leaving Niels in sole possession of the magical device. The young mugger clutched the rod to his chest as he backed away a step, a smile coming to his face as he looked down at the bronze rod.
"Give it to me, boy!" Espen snarled, forgetting Bartel's destruction of his magical cloak. Niels' smile faded instantly as he looked up at the assassin, but instead of acquiescing the mugger turned the rod on his antagonist.
"I wonder what this does!" Niels shouted. Espen dove immediately, seeking to avoid whatever harmful spell might issue from the item, but the move proved unnecessary. Five balls of brilliant light slowly puffed out of the end of the rod and floated to the ceiling, lighting the warehouse with their illumination. The Urhalians, Zarne, and Espen all hesitated for a moment as they watched the globes float to the ceiling, almost expecting the spheres to explode or ignite the roof of the building. Annika seemed to be the only one unconcerned with the globes of light; just as Niels turned away from the floating lights the thief slammed into him, knocking the mugger to the ground and the rod free of his hands. Espen turned immediately on the rod as it clattered along the floor, racing against Annika for the bar. The girl somehow managed to reach it first, diving across the floor and coming to one knee with the rod in her hands. Without a second's thought Espen launched himself at her, desperately trying to reach the girl before she could activate the erratic rod.
"I wonder what this does!" Annika shouted. Already in the air, Espen could do nothing more than brace himself for a fireball or something even more unpleasant, but as soon as she spoke the words Annika vanished. Espen hit the ground with uncharacteristic clumsiness, but his lapse of style was easily forgotten as he somehow managed to kick the rod into his own hands as he landed on his palms. Slowly the assassin stood up, turning over the bronze rod in his hands for a brief instant to admire the rod he had finally acquired.
He lost it a second later as Evgeny drove him back to the ground.
For a brief instant, she thought she had made Espen into a towering giant. That idea was dispelled as soon as the rod rang off of the stone, almost directly on top of her.
Annika reacted on reflex more than thought, dodging out of the way of the now enormous bronze rod as it bounced along the ground dangerously close to her. The rod, and everything else in the warehouse, was still its normal size, but Annika had been reduced to less than half a foot tall, making the rod seem like a falling tree. With a last burst of speed the thief threw herself clear of the rod, barely managing to avoid the magical device as it skipped only an inch over her head.
Espen suddenly crashed along the ground, kicking for the rod as he tried to regain his balance. The impact of his landing lifted Annika clear of the ground and threw her across the floor, bouncing off of the leg of one man and landing flat on her back. Gasping for breath and fighting off a wave of dizziness as her head banged off of the floor, the thief barely managed to scramble out of the way of her former gang and the Urhalians as they rushed across the room after Espen.
"Zarne! Zarne, where are you?" Annika screamed at the top of her lungs. Her voice seemed as small as she was, however, and not even the Urhalians that were nearly trampling her seemed to hear her call. Annika whirled around quickly, trying to locate the constable, and quickly found Zarne stumbling back to his feet and wiping the blood from his nose and mouth just beyond the fringe of the wild melee that had tightened around Espen and the rod bouncing along the ground.
"Annika!" Zarne shouted, rushing back into the fray. Annika screamed for him again, but the constable nearly stepped on her in his race to find her in the jumble of sailors and thieves.
"I'm right here! Zarne, look down!" Annika yelled, trying to chase after the constable as he plunged through the Urhalians. Espen and Bartel appeared from the fray even as Zarne disappeared into it, wrestling for control of the rod as the sailors quickly turned on them.
"I wonder what this does!" Bartel shouted, still trying to wrest the magical item away from the rival gang leader. A thick green mist issued out of the rod and surrounded Bartel, turning him instantly the same olive tone of the vapors. Espen could barely keep a straight face as Bartel rolled away, screaming in shock as he discovered his new pigmentation, but his amusement was shortlived as Zarne rammed his way through two Urhalians and practically overran the assassin. As the two tumbled to the ground, the bloodied constable somehow pried the rod free of Espen's grasp and tumbled back to his feet.
"I wonder what this does!" the constable shouted, turning the rod on the rapidly closing Urhalians. Once again everyone in the path of the rod tried to throw themselves out of the way, but there was no chance to escape the rod's newest effect. A deluge of rain suddenly poured down inside the buildings, instantly soaking the entire warehouse. Annika dodged wildly as the huge drops threatened to knock her to the ground, but the falling water quickly became a secondary concern as the thief found herself being swept away by the strong current.
"Stop using rod!" one of the Urhalians shrieked furiously as the rain abruptly ended. Annika only recognized the accent as she desperately tried to grab hold of the nearest stationary object, nearly tearing her hands open as she attempted to catch herself on a large, broken pottery shard. Annika let go of the sharp pottery and tried to swim against the current again, until she slammed back first into someone's foot.
"Then get back and give me the girl!" Zarne shouted. Annika looked up as she heard the voice, realizing that by some chance she had actually been carried right back to the constable.
"Give us rod!" the Urhalian shouted.
"You wanted the girl! The rod is mine!" Espen retorted.
"Girl is gone! Give us rod!" the Urhalian shot back, advancing again on Zarne. The constable started to back away, but not before the thief managed to climb on top of his boot and begin to pull herself up along the side of his pant leg.
"Get back or I'll use this damn rod again!" Zarne threatened, waving the rod in front of him. A splash of water arose from his left, and the constable nearly shook Annika free as he whirled top face the new threat. "I wonder what this does!"
Tiede tried to dodge out of the way of the rod as Zarne spun on him, but the mugger found himself far too late to avoid the effect. The mugger stopped in his tracks, doubled over for a moment, but as Tiede stood to his full height again, he found himself growing rapidly larger. The newly enlarged Tiede, at least half again as large as he had been a moment ago, broke into a broad grin as he turned again on Zarne.
"I hate this rod!" the constable snapped, quickly searching for a quick escape from the giant mugger. The constable backed up quickly, but Tiede managed to cover the remaining distance in a heartbeat and kicked Zarne in the stomach with enough force to launch him back into another stack of crates. The rod went flying out of his hand as the constable landed, but somehow Annika managed to keep her grip on Zarne's clothing. Dazed and nearly unconscious, Annika scrambled up his chest as Zarne groaned in pain and put on hand to his face.
"Sido sidere sidi, obhaeresco!" someone chanted out quickly. Annika glanced around quickly, but the thief suddenly found herself stuck fast to Zarne's chest as a magical web descended on the warehouse. Although she could see nothing more than the constable's chain shirt, she could hear the Urhalians, Bartel, and Espen all shouting in confusion and shock at the newest magical deterrent.
"Zarne!" Annika shouted. "Zarne, can you hear me?"
"I am too old for this," Zarne grumbled, straining only for a moment against the web that pinned him to the shattered crates. The constable managed to look down, and Annika tried to smile the best she could as she saw his eyes go wide.
"Um, hi," Annika said with a faint smile, struggling for a moment to try and wave to him.
"What in the Abyss is going on here?" someone demanded angrily. Although she could not see the speaker, Annika was reasonably certain that the voice belonged to the same person that had cast the web spell.
"Give us girl!" one of the Urhalians shouted defiantly. Annika could feel the web shake as he tried to pull himself free. "Let us go, and give us girl!"
"That rod is mine!" Espen added angrily. Annika managed to turn her head enough to see a man with graying black hair and a full beard step forward, holding the rod in one hand as his sharp blue eye swept across the ruined warehouse.
"I hate to be the bearer of ill news, but this rod is not yours," the apparent wizard countered smoothly. "And even if it was, do you think I would give it back to you after this… this mess?"
"Give us girl!" the Urhalian shouted. "She burn our ship! She must pay!"
The mage hesitated for a moment as he looked around the room, but he seemed to pick out Annika quickly despite her reduced size and the webbing covering her. The wizard chuckled slightly before turning back to the Urhalian.
"If you planned on selling her, I doubt she will be of any value now," the mage said. "I doubt she is even six inches tall."
"Someone must pay for ship!" the Urhalian snarled. One of the other sailors snapped what could only be a warning in their own language.
"Since I feel somewhat responsible for letting this rod out in the first place, I will make… some compensation," the mage stated after a slight hesitation. "I will come see you in the morning to discuss the damage dealt to your ship. For now, I think I should take this rod safely away from the lot of you."
"Wait a minute!" Tiede exclaimed. "You're just going to leave us all here like this?"
"I don't think it's currently in my best interest to free you all," the mage explained with a smirk. "I mean, there are at least twenty of you, and only one of me."
"I don't suppose you could at least free the two of us?" Zarne inquired. "So maybe we'll have a chance to get away before the rest of them decided to kill us."
"Oh yes, I had almost forgotten about that," the mage said, turning to the trapped constable. "Your diminutive friend is not above reproach in this, and I have a certain… special way for her to pay me back for the gold I will be giving these sailors."
Annika suppressed a shudder of fear at the mage's plans for her, but before she could voice her concerns a wave of vertigo, very similar to the one she had felt when the rod had teleported her into the sewers, washed over her.