5/17/2019
As we continue the story of Rising Tide we invite you to sit back and enjoy, Sacrifice.
By EM Malachi
Those guarding the shore of the Isle of Deeds
saw the pirate sloop before they noticed the rowboat it was pursuing. It was
clear the small craft had a head start, but one man rowing could not match the
wind for speed.
The knight in command made the call to protect
the fleeing boat, ordering the Hold’s cannons to track the pirate ship. When a
few shots came close, the pirate ship veered to avoid the fortified island, but
its crew fired a parting shot at the rowboat. Striking the side, the cannonball
obliterated the boat, sending its occupant flying.
The knight commander was surprised when he saw
the survivor crawling out of the surf. The man struggled to stand after the
swim. It was a young pirate with a longsword strapped to his back. He was
clutching a stone object tightly to his chest. Seeing the line of knights, he
held out what he was carrying before collapsing.
*****
The Lord of the Den had demanded ships, and
the Guild had heeded Hook’s command. Every galleon, brigantine, and sloop was
deployed with the purpose of cutting off Britannian sea routes. Shipbuilding
efforts in Yew and Minoc were set ablaze. The pirate fleet brazenly sank
merchant ships docked in Moonglow. A night’s skirmishes with the Royal Navy in
Brittany Bay left the entire city without sleep.
Because of the chaos, the fleet preparing to
retake Valor Island was instead ordered to join the blockade of Buccaneer’s
Den.
*****
The old gargoyle ran a talon over the Rune of
Valor. “I see a powerful corruption here and the rot is spreading, moving
through the connection toward the shrine itself. There is something else too. A
darkness on the edge of my vision. Whatever power this Rankin tapped into, I do
not believe even his death will end the spell.”
Mariah was distraught. “That is why I
need answers from the Codex. May I borrow the necessary artifact from the
gargoyles? I need to save the rune.”
Naxatillor gave a sad sigh. “My friend, you
already know what you must do. Healers from both our peoples know that a limb
cannot always be saved, but it is the greater whole that matters. To save the
shrine, you must sacrifice the work of your friend.”
“Do you have any idea how hard that is? This
was Julia’s final masterwork. She gave her life for me, and her spirit came to
me for help. I owe her this.”
The gargoyle painfully extended his wings.
They still bore scars that Naxatilor had received when the seer had peered too
far into the Ethereal Void. He looked so very old. “I have outlived all of my
hatchkins. I would trade the mantle of age and all I am to see their faces
again. What I do now, I do for the world they died to build, a world they never
got to see. A world where my people live and work with humans and elves and
Meer and others for the greater good. So their sacrifice was not in vain.”
“For what she lived for, you must be the
woman Julia died to save.”
