'So, it's done?' Siegmun asked, unfazed by Riniock's sudden arrival at his private cabin.
'It is,' Riniock confirmed as he began emptying his pockets.
'Are those the proofs?'
'They are. The map he used to track our coordinates, a paper detailing our current position, and the written orders he was following.'
Siegmun took the documents and examined them carefully. A slow, satisfied grin spread across his face as he tucked them away, his expression smug with victory.
Rising from his seat, he strode over to his closet and retrieved two bottles of mead from his stash. Returning to his spot, he slid one across the table towards Riniock.
'You've done well,' Siegmun said, watching him closely. 'But I can tell – this one wasn't just business for you. Was it personal?'
Riniock met his gaze, hesitating only for a moment before nodding.
'Payback for what they did to you at the college?' Siegmun pressed.
'Payback won't be complete until Irgod is dead,' Riniock replied, tilting the bottle in his hand. 'Everything before that? Just a hobby.'
'I see. Well, I won't pry any further.'
Riniock popped open his bottle and took a deep swig. 'I'd appreciate it if you didn't.'
'Then I assume you left his cabin undisturbed?' Siegmun asked.
'I did.'
'Needs clean up then. And the body?'
'Taken care of.'
'How?'
'Overboard. He's feeding the coral at the bottom of the sea by now.'
'Efficient.' Siegmun smirked, leaning back. 'That's why, out of all the acolytes – new and old – you're my favourite. Say, I know you're planning to take out more of those Ikshari bastards. If you've got something in mind, count me in.'
Riniock took another sip and winced. 'I'll keep it in mind.'
'You'd better. I still have to clean up after you and fill in Balidor and Aikan on the latest developments. In the meantime, you might want to check on your friend – Elred, wasn't it? The one you pumped full of alcohol to create a diversion.'
'Guess I should,' Riniock muttered, sounding almost indifferent. 'I'll be in touch.'
'Right. And thanks for the help.'
Riniock waved a hand dismissively as he walked out of the cabin.
A short while later, he found himself in a large medical cabin, where the expedition's travelling medicar tended to patients. Elred lay sprawled across a cot, unconscious, a line of drool trailing from the corner of his mouth.
The medicar – different from the one back at the college – passed by, sighing when he noticed the young man still occupying his bed.
'Still here?' he grumbled, striding over and shaking Elred roughly until he groggily stirred, eyes unfocused. 'Go sleep off your hangover somewhere else. I'm not here to babysit adolescents after a bad night of drinking.'
Elred groaned, stretching. 'Where am I?'
'If you're still here when I come back, I'll knock you out and leave you outside my door,' the medicar snapped before moving on, gathering supplies as he exited the room.
Elred squinted, struggling to focus on the figure before him. 'Riniock? That you, man?'
'Who else, numbskull.'
'What wrong with 'im,' he rubbed his eyes, clearly meaning the medicar.
'You,' Riniock said flatly. 'But let's leave that for later.'
Elred straightened on his cot, sitting up as he struggled to piece together the events of the previous night.
'What do you remember?' Riniock asked, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. 'What happened to you?'
Elred scratched his head, his brow furrowed. 'I'm not sure…'
'Do you remember how you ended up in the medicar's cabin?' Riniock pressed, gauging the extent of his recollection.
Elred wasn't the sharpest, easily led, and even easier to distract. Even if he did recall something, Riniock was confident he could steer the narrative in his favour.
'Eh, what does it matter?' Elred finally said, brushing it off with a chuckle. 'Probably drank too much. My whole body's tingling – like a million ants crawling under my skin.'
'You're alright, and that's what matters most.'
'True,' Elred agreed, swinging his legs over the side of the cot and slipping on his shoes. 'Best not to overstay my welcome. And that medicar? He's terrifying…'
Riniock chuckled in turn. 'That he is. Let's go.'
Aboard another ship, its sails still dishevelled from the now-passed storm, the delegation worked to restore order after a rough few days at sea.
Meanwhile, within his cabin, Irgod sat in silence, staring out the small square window, his mind adrift in a sea of thoughts. His contemplation was cut short when a mysterious coffer materialised before him, its lid snapping open with unsettling finality just a few paces from his bed.
'Gods above…' he muttered, startled.
Something inside the coffer caught his eye, compelling him to rise and investigate. As he approached, the gruesome truth became clear – a severed hand rested within, propped upright with two fingers deliberately extended.
Irgod recoiled, disgust twisting his expression.
His gaze then landed on a folded note at the bottom. He plucked it from the coffer and read aloud:
'The left now severed, two remain. Next will be the right's, and eventually, the serpent's head.'
'Arthian…' Irgod breathed, his stomach knotting at the realisation. His eyes flicked back to the severed hand, now even more repugnant in his sight. The two outstretched fingers made sense now – a taunt, a warning. Two targets remained: him and Piddruin.
There was only one person audacious enough to orchestrate such an act.
'That bastard…' he hissed, voice thick with fury.
The sheer audacity of it burned at him. And worse – there was nothing he could do about it. Not here, not now. If he reported this to Master Fladd or anyone else, it would be his own death sentence. Fladd was neither merciful nor patient, and one misplaced word would see him reduced to ash before they even reached home.
Yet to let this insult stand…
Irgod clenched his fists, his breath slow and controlled as he swallowed his anger. He couldn't let it slip – not here, not where it could be seen. But as he struggled to contain it, his mind churned with one thought.
He needed a way to make Riniock pay.
It clicked in his mind like a trigger being pulled. Irgod shot up from his bed and stormed out of his cabin, his pulse pounding in his ears. Down the corridor he went, his pace unrelenting until he reached a particular door. Without hesitation, he kicked it open, the wood splintering under the force.
Linry barely flinched.
'What gives, Irgod!' she snapped, jolted only by the sudden intrusion.
His glare was murderous. 'What did you tell him?' he growled. 'What did you tell him, Linry?'
A slow, knowing smile spread across her lips as she took in the rage twisting his face. Unbothered, she lounged at the edge of her bed, one leg draped over the other. She tapped her cheek in mock thought.
'I've told him a lot,' she mused. 'You'll have to be more specific.'
The words had barely left her mouth before Irgod's hand shot forward, hurling a fireball that singed past her head, missing by a hair's breadth. The air crackled with heat. Yet Linry didn't so much as flinch.
'Don't play coy with me, you whore,' he seethed. 'Why did he kill Arthian?'
She burst into laughter. 'He killed Arthian too? No wonder you're in such a bitch of a mood.'
'Answer me now, or regret it.'
'Rot in Murat, Irgod!'
His lip curled in a manic snarl. He lunged at her, fists igniting with blazing fury.
Linry reacted instantly, ducking and weaving past his first few swings before her own limbs erupted in flames. She struck back with equal ferocity. Their blows clashed like hammer against anvil, sending shockwaves through the cabin. Wood groaned as it splintered, drapes whipped in the heated gusts, and furniture skidded across the floor.
Irgod pressed his advantage, hammering through her defences. His strikes landed, searing her flesh.
Linry gritted her teeth, countering when she could, but he was relentless. With a swift manoeuvre, he batted her arm aside, creating an opening. In the next breath, his hand locked around her throat, flames licking up her neck, searing towards her chin.
'You treacherous whore!' he snarled. 'I'll kill you and send you to him in pieces.'
Linry's lips curled into a faint, breathless chuckle. Through the choking grip, she still found amusement in the burn scars on his neck.
'Are you giving me a matching tattoo?' she rasped. 'If you put some effort into it, you might even come close to master's skill.'
'Shut up! This is also a result of your loose legs!'
She took her chance. Her skin ignited with a searing burst of heat, forcing Irgod to release her with a hiss of pain. The moment her feet hit the ground, she gathered her strength, then unleashed a roaring wave of fire that blasted Irgod off his feet. He was sent hurtling down the corridor, through wooden panels, his body slamming onto the deck outside with a heavy thud.
He groaned, pushing himself up, blood trickling from fresh cuts across his body.
'You will pay for your treachery…'
Linry emerged from the corridor, her hands ablaze with a menacing glow. Burn marks lined her throat, blackened fingerprints seared into her skin.
'Perhaps I should inform the master about what's happening,' she said, her voice devoid of its usual mirth.
Then, from behind Irgod, a voice like a blade against stone cut through the tension.
'Inform me of what exactly?'
A cold shiver ran down Irgod's spine. His body stiffened, his breath faltering. Slowly, he turned, his head tilting down as his shoulders crept up.
'Master Fladd…' he started, voice dry. 'Linry, she –'
'Irgod has been drinking,' Linry interrupted, her tone measured with seriousness, deliberate. 'He barged into my cabin, laid his hands on me…forced himself on me.'
She tilted her head, exposing the raw burns around her neck for all to see. Several crew members had gathered on deck, silent witnesses. Amongst them, Master Fladd.
'Master…that's not true,' Irgod protested, his voice tight with barely restrained panic.
'Silence!'
Fladd's voice thundered across the deck, a roar so fierce that all fell still.
'I did not try to –'
Irgod's protest was cut short as his feet suddenly left the ground. An invisible force yanked him upward, suspending him in the air like a puppet on severed strings.
With so many witnesses and the undeniable evidence of his assault on Linry, Fladd had no choice but to punish him. Even if he knew of Linry's own betrayals – her fraternisation with the enemy – he could not afford to overlook Irgod's actions. He needed to make an example of him.
Without warning, Irgod's body was hurled across the deck with bone-crushing force. He slammed into the mast, rebounded off the banisters, and crashed into the crates, each impact leaving a fresh bruise, a new welt. The ship groaned under the violence of his flight.
Linry hid a satisfied smile, pleased with how effortlessly she had twisted the situation to her advantage.
When Fladd had seen enough, he flicked his wrist downward. Irgod plummeted like a stone, hitting the deck with a sickening thud. He lay sprawled, black and blue, gasping for breath.
Then, from high above, a voice shattered the silence.
'Land ho!'
All heads turned towards the crow's nest, where a lookout stood perched, pointing to the horizon.
Their homeland had come into view.