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Dearest Readers, may the shores be welcoming to you, and your landings always gentle.
THE HIDDEN SWORD: A TALE OF BALDUR'S GATE
Book One: From the Earth | Chapter 13: Riverbank
Wood creaked and groaned, accompanied by the gentle splashing of water. Then came the thumps of unsteady footing, murmurings, gasps for air.
Irse squirmed. Her Teacher must have sensed the movement for he leaned back and loosened his hold.
"Are any of you hurt?" he asked, checking on them.
"There's a bump… over here," the elf answered, frowning as she rubbed at a hair whorl. "Ah, wait. It's always been there. Nador Butt-Kisser said that Father had always dropped me on my head as a baby. From the tower window."
She grinned. "That's why I have a noggin like an iron pot."
"Good. You are unscathed."
Irse turned to the woman beside her and poked the dwarf in a few places. "Hey Dotie! ... Dotie! You're all right?"
The half-duergar knuckled her own temple and muttered what sounded like a curse in the tongue of the Underdark. "Maybe if ye'd kept yer knobby elbows off my face, I wouldn't even know we'd already plowed through a soddin' mountain!" Dotie hissed as she swatted at the girl's hand.
"Yep, she's fine," Irse answered her own question with a smirk.
He acknowledged her with a nod. Okami let go of the railing but winced and rubbed his arm and shoulder.
"You're hurt!" she fretted and reached out to him.
He smiled, pained but reassuringly. "A mere strain, nothing that will hinder."
Run aground but otherwise mostly intact on the outside, the ship now listed somewhat to its left. Sounds of rushing water could be heard coming from the cargo hold.
Thankfully, the women survived the crash - the older girls had the good sense to protect the little ones. Some leaned themselves against the sides, others were visibly stunned or confused, while a few crawled across the planks in an effort to stand.
Unfortunately, Safana and her escorts had been quicker to recover.
Okami gripped the hilt of his sword but paused as two of the guards already had their blades against their own hostages. The other men wasted no time as well. They went around hurriedly and prodded at some of the girls with the broad side of their weapons, kicked at the ones still on the floor, and grabbed the younger ones by the elbow to haul them up on their feet.
"Come with me, Captain. Your work isn't finished," Safana summoned at Shar-Teel. With an exasperated grunt, the captain rose from her place, and cast an apprehensive look at Nells still unmoving and lying on the floor.
"Burn this filthy piece of driftwood when you're done. We've not far to go. I have a contact in Berdusk just for failures like this!" Safana called after her men.
Sullenly, the captain herself herded the rest of the girls away as the men retreated last while still holding on to their captives.
As soon as the slavers had alighted from the ship, the elf crept towards the side to peek over the railings. She saw Safana and the others heading for the thick of the forest in the general direction of Berdusk, likely to follow the shoreline while remaining hidden.
Left to themselves, the rest of the crew hastened over to the first mate at the helm. Nells lay curled on her side, awake but motionless. Dotie tried to lift her by the shoulders but the half-elf cried in pain.
"She may be suffering from internal injuries. Stay here, keep her awake while I look to see if they had left behind anything that could help her," Okami instructed them. First he searched the captain's quarters, but apparently found nothing of use for then he rushed down into the flooded cargo hold.
"I'm fine. No wounds but maybe bruised my ribs a bit and twisted my ankle. Just hit the floor a little too hard," Nells groaned as she propped herself on her elbows. She stretched out a hand and Dotie took it, allowing the half-elf to support herself as she gingerly leaned on one arm to rise in a sitting position and rest against the mast. They waited for the blacksmith in anxious silence, fidgeting, worry etched on their faces, clearly wondering what would happen and have to be done next.
Irse blinked and remembered something very important.
The girl reached into her pocket, took out the biscuits and unwrapped them hurriedly but with care.
"Still whole!" Irse cheered at the miracle. She was about to devour a piece when she noticed the others staring. The biscuits were offered around but Nells refused with a weak smile and a shake of her head. Irse shrugged her shoulders and popped one into her mouth, chewing with contented half-lidded eyes. The rest were promptly crammed into her mouth.
"How can ye be eatin' at a time like this?" Dotie snapped incredulously.
The elf canted her head, tongue poking at the cheek and gums for leftover chewed up biscuit mush in her mouth. A quick swallow, pounding at her collarbone to help it go down without a drink.
"They could have been crushed in my pocket. Do you know how hard it is to get crumbs out of the seams? That's how you get ants in your pants," Irse reasoned defensively as the dwarf continued to scowl at her.
"Why would yer ma's and da's sisters be wantin' the scraps in yer trousers?
"Ants! Not Aunts!"
"Why stop with aunts? With yer twiggy bones, ye can stuff a whole soddin' elf clan in one pant leg!"
The budding argument was interrupted by a duet of coughing – one pained in front of them, the other impatient behind them.
Okami had already returned with empty hands. "Anything of use, they may have taken with them. The ship will no longer sink but it is still unstable. It is best if we make for the riverbank." He turned to look at his apprentice, eyebrow raised. The elf grinned, quickly licking off a crumb from the corner of her mouth.
At Nell's insistence to be moving now, they pulled the first mate to her feet, propped between the dwarf and elf. Okami alighted first and helped to ease her down the boat.
They had not gone far from the ship when the group came upon three of the guards approaching, swords drawn and intending to carry out their employer's command. One of the men stepped back while the other two forwarded to meet them.
Irse left Nells with Dotie and jogged over to the blacksmith who had gone ahead of them. She drew her own bokken but he barred her wordlessly with his arm. She looked up at him, about to ask if the crash had rocked his head that he saw only one foe where there were three, but the cold look on his face gave her pause.
Suddenly Okami charged, blade flashing from the sheathe; the guards likewise. He parried the blow from the first one, the second man swinging in between them immediately from which the blacksmith evaded, found an opening and drove his sword into the man's gut between jerkin and belt. Blade pulled out just as swiftly, arching to block the other guard's incoming sword with force to push it aside, leaving the mercenary open to a slash across his face and another at his neck, blood spraying from a severed artery. It was over in seconds.
Blood dripping from the katana at his side, Okami marched with slow deliberate steps towards the last man standing. The mercenary glanced with terrified eyes at his mates slumped upon the red-stained grass, and held out one free hand as if it would ward his coming doom. He tossed his own weapon to the side and fell to his knees.
"Don't kill me! I'm just following orders!" he groveled, one trembling hand raised in surrender.
"Your hands and face on the ground," the blacksmith ordered.
"No, you!" the man yelled as his free hand pulled something from his back pocket. The mercenary uttered an arcane word and pointed it at them. A wand.
Not waiting to see, Okami dashed towards Irse, putting himself between her and whatever it might discharge.
Rather than a fireball or a lightning bolt, golden light exploded around them. Vision cleared in a wink, only in time to see her Teacher's eyes roll to a close as he crumpled lifeless to the ground, sword falling from his open hand.
No!
Behind them, she heard Nells scream Dotie's name. The elf cried and scrambled to his side. Kneeling, she picked him up by his shoulders and frantically tapped his cheek begging him to wake up. No wounds, no marks, his face serene as if in slumber, yet unresponsive as she called to him.
"What did you do to them?" Irse demanded.
The man appeared more surprised, staring at the wand in his clutches. "Damnit! This thing doesn't work on knife-ears?"
"They're only unconscious, Irse! A sleep spell!" Nells shouted, herself kneeling beside the fallen dwarf.
"Doesn't matter now. At least half my work's already done," he sneered as he tossed the thing away and rose to his feet, drawing another weapon from his belt - a long dagger, some good nine inches of steel.
The elf gently laid her Teacher down on the ground and grabbed her own bokken.
It was up to her now. She walked towards the mercenary; wooden sword raised at chudan, mid-level guard. Seeing his opponent wielding a longer weapon than his, the man backed away. They circled each other.
First to strike, the slaver lunged and swiped with his dagger. It was cleanly deflected but she hopped back, instinct driving her away from his reach. The mercenary continued his attacks, ducking from her defensive counters but weaving his own nearer and nearer. He finally got close enough; startled, the elf tried to sidestep but all he had to do was swing his blade at her. A sudden sting as the dagger bit into her arm, Irse stumbled away and rounded immediately to face him. A quick glance and she frowned at the blood seeping into her torn sleeve. The wooden sword wavered for a moment.
Reading her hesitance, the man rushed at her once more, the swings and thrusts of his dagger now quicker, more confident. She held the bokken out, barely moving and using it instead as a shield and to feebly swat at the enemy. A feint from him, a blunder on her part. Irse staggered back, a second gash in the other arm.
The elf cast a worried glance at her Teacher, still unconscious. The guard saw and laughed.
"Those things work for a pretty while, girl. By the time he should wake, he won't!" And the man motioned as if slitting the throat of an imaginary victim, clearly proud of his penchant for finishing off an opponent who couldn't fight back.
Anger tightened her grip on the bokken. They charged at the same time, parrying each other's attacks. But frustration directed her swings even as the man confidently ducked each one. In desperation she drove the bokken forward at level to his face, an attempt to smash the cocky grin spreading on his mouth. To her surprise he grabbed the wooden sword with his free hand and yanked at it. Irse lost her balance, gasping as she felt blade slash her shoulder. Only luck and muscle memory pushed her to slide back before he could attempt another stab. The mercenary wiped the sweat from his lips and twirled his long dagger, seemingly unconcerned at having to take his time.
He's toying with her!
Breathing now heavy and blood patching on her shoulder. C'mon! What are you afraid of? Getting shanked in the face of course! Irse snorted at herself in irritation. She had already done everything she had learned, yet nothing's working against a man with a smaller weapon! Even when she blocked his strikes, he still got through. But was that what she was trying to do? Defend herself, hold out for as long as she could?
If he gets to her before her Teacher comes to?
Then they will all die here. And she the first one to go.
Is that what she was afraid of? Her mind snapped into realization as the question was met by another – one almost forgotten but now recalled from not too long ago.
How will not being afraid to die be what keeps me alive?
A hand briefly touched her left ear and she remembered her Teacher's answer. The elf breathed in deeply and lowered her weapon from defensive chudan to open waki, the bokken at her left and tip pointing behind. The mercenary narrowed his eyes as if guessing her following move - given the stance, her next strike apparently coming from her left. He shifted his foot forward, clearly confident at having read his inexperienced opponent's next step.
She launched herself at him, still in waki and unguarded. Dagger blade came at her but this time the elf made no move to block, only sidestepping and bokken still pointing behind. Again, the familiar sting of another dagger cut grazing the shoulder, but ignored as mind and foot now worked together to keep moving. The man leapt back, likely having expected the wooden sword to swipe at him but it never came.
Instead of staying put, Irse continued to charge at him, readying for an upswing. The mercenary met her again but at the last second upon closing the gap, he switched the blade from his right hand to his left to avoid her incoming upward strike, perhaps aiming for her right shoulder or neck as well.
Instantaneously however, Irse slid to her left, pivoting to face the man's left side. The bokken reversed trajectory to arch from behind then to a downswing to reach and smack at the man's right hand, causing him to falter. Then without pause, she brought the bokken up, connecting with his jaw.
A satisfying crack, and he spun with momentum before falling to the ground with a thud.
Shocked, the elf blinked a few times before it hit her. She got him!
Grasped the wooden sword with both hands and raised it above her head in triumph, did a gangly little victory jig but halted at an alarming realization.
"Wait...is he... dead?" Irse stammered and stepped back.
Nells reassured her, "Not likely. Feel his wrist for a pulse."
The girl shuffled closer to the prone body. A trembling hand stretched out to take the man's wrist, but it shrank back in disgust. Irse remembered him as the guard who had tried to do his business at the stern.
"What if he doesn't wash his hands?"
The first mate sighed a little too loudly. "All right, just… look and see if he's still breathing."
Irse poked at him with her bokken. He didn't respond but his fingers twitched. The elf exhaled with relief. They would be able to take this one alive and bring him to the authorities at Berdusk.
Elated and the hurt of her wounds ignored, Irse raced back to the ship to fetch rope, finding and grabbing a coil of free lines on deck. She returned and proceeded to hogtie the man, recalling the ways with which her Teacher showed her how to firmly knot a cord.
When the mercenary was bound and secured, the elf gingerly checked his belt and pockets for anything useful. Hopefully, he would happen to have a bottle of those cure-all healing potions brewed for the healers back at the Keep and always bought in wholesale by visiting adventurers-slash-scholars. She often thought it amusing to watch those swashbuckling types buy bundles if not crates of the bottled stuff from the apothecary, breaking into hysterics whenever Brother Karan had to tell them that he'd already run out of stock. The way they went about it, one would think they'd die if they stubbed their toe against a table and had no potion to drink away the "ouchies".
But seeing the anguish in Nells' face as she tried to ignore the pain and sit up – it was now understandable why they treated such magical aids as a matter of life and death. With a start, she realized she had forgotten about the patches of blood on her sleeve. The rush of battle yet to subside had definitely numbed her wounds. She cringed at the thought of when she would have to change shirt later and see the damage for herself.
Except for a pouch of coins that she tossed to the side, she found nothing of note on his person. The elf moved on to the ones that had been slain by her Teacher. For a moment, the girl hesitated, wondering if it wasn't disrespectful to be looting corpses, especially that of the recent dead, but reminded herself that had it been bandits, and by association – bad folk such as these slavers, they wouldn't even think twice of stripping hers of valuables even before the life had completely bled out of her veins.
A quick check on them yielded a single vial, the pasted strip of parchment label confirming that it was what she needed. Only one bottle and even smaller than the ones in Brother Karan's apothecary, but it was better than nothing. Irse scooted over to Nells and handed her the bottle.
"There's still enough left over," the girl offered as she uncorked the vial and put it in the first mate's hand.
Nells hesitated, gesturing to the elf's arms and shoulders. "What about you?"
"Just scratches," she brushed it off but the half-elf still looked at her with concern. "These are nothing. We also got cats back in Candlekeep." Cats the size of the rats at the Gate.
Nells took the bottle and cork from the girl but only drank a few sips, leaving the vial with more than two-thirds of its contents. She re-sealed the potion and waved a dismissive hand at the look of protest on the young elf's face.
"That should be enough to patch up the worst inside. Don't worry, I'll live. We should save the rest for now, just in case" the first mate decided.
Irse got up, walked over to Okami and knelt beside him. "That man said they won't wake until after a while. But we'll lose track of the others if we wait any longer."
"You're going after them by yourself? No, Irse! It's too dangerous! At least let me go with you. I'll slow us down but... you saw what that woman's capable of, and she still has one of her escorts with her." And Shar-Teel.
"You're not fully healed and someone has to watch over them," the elf reasoned as she gestured at their fallen companions. "How about I stay hidden? I'll only follow them, maybe get a sense of where they're going. I'll leave tracks in case Teacher comes to or I'll return as soon as I can."
The young elf laid the bokken at her side, hands balling into fists and resting on her knees. It sounded like a good plan, but Nells was right. If caught, she would be outnumbered - a trio of steel against a wooden stick. But what could one do to better the odds?
If only there was some way to make her Teacher regain his consciousness now. But magic was magic, and even her infinitely patient foster father had acknowledged her utter lack of affinity for the arcane.
Maybe if she smacked him hard enough.
The elf snickered with a bit of satisfaction at the thought, then grimaced. Or maybe not.
Irse sighed as she looked at her Teacher, his eyes still closed and his lips unmoving.
Suddenly she had an idea.
Hastily, the girl untied the silk cord at his sash, removed the scabbard, and gathered the fallen katana near his hand. Reached into her pocket, finding the kerchief that Okami had used to wrap the biscuits, shook it free of crumbs, then used the cloth to wipe the blade before re-sheathing. She got to her feet to secure the sword at her own belt.
"I know I made a promise, but -," the elf whispered at him. "I swear, I'll bring it back without a scratch." She turned to face the woods, about to take a step.
"Please, be careful!" the first mate shouted after her.
Irse looked over her shoulders at Nells with a grin, and cast her a mock salute. One deep breath, left hand taking hold of the scabbard, now ready and determined.
And then like a deer unbound, the elf sprang forth on her feet, running swiftly as the wind into the forest.