Newt, peeking from out of the shutters in the deckhouse shrieks in surprise and stares wide-eyed as the Amedi are pulled under. She and her parents had posed as fisher folk for most of her life, so she’s spent a fair amount of time on the river or along its banks but had never seen or heard of anything like this happening.

Rain mutters under her breath, “Holy shit”. She quickly gathers her wits and checks on Aramek and finds that his wounds have been closed by Gar’s will.

Aramek yells to Gar, “Thank you for your help!” and to Rain he says, “Don’t ask me why but I just had a feeling Father Gar’s amicable relationship with the naga might come in handy. Just don’t tell him or I’ll never hear the end of it.”

Fingol looks out over the railing at the capsized canoes drifting by. I wonder what the guardsmen think of Father Gar’s friends now?

Gar also wonders for a moment if the nagas were in fact responsible for this, but then shrugs and heads back to the stern saying,“If anyone here at the bow needs more healing, follow me to the stern.” With that, he sets off at a jog toward the back of the boat.

Indranil lowers his bow, unstrings it, and slips it back into its leather case over his shoulder. He takes a deep breath and rubs his head. ”By The gods! I thought we were lost!”

Indranil looks over the roof to see how Lorindel and Uglash are doing, “Brother, Uglash are you well?”

Uglahs grins back and gives him the thumbs up.

Brother Uglash? Fingol starts, I must have misheard.

Lorindel looks over his mates to make sure everyone is okay, and then heads down with Indranil to the main deck. “Can’t say that was unexpected,” Lorindel says cavalierly. ”The question is,” he continues to Indranil, “was the girl bait or is she with them? I’ll leave that for others to decide.”

Indranil laughs quietly and says to no one in particular, “and they think me paranoid.”

Indranil looks over the Javan Queen and it looks like a porcupine so full of arrows stuck in the wood that he remarks, “I am amazed we are not all dead. The gods smiled upon us this day and lent us their protection. Have they taken an interest in our expedition as well?”

Fingol checks on Sgt. Apone and sees that he has also been healed by Gar.

Fingol turns to Aramek, “How’s your hand? And how did Snoop fare in his first battle?”

“Thanks for asking, Sir Fingol,” Aramek nods in reply. “By the way Snoop was squirming he was doing his best to stay out of the way.” Snoop nips Aramek as a retort to this accusation. “Ouch! I mean he was doing his best to protect me.” Aramek says with a smile and a blush.

Indranil overhears this and asks, “Who is Snoop?”

Snoop pokes his head out from Aramek’s pocket and gives Indranil a toothy grin, as though to say, ‘Watch out!’

Indranil mutters to himself, “Got to watch out for that ferret – so he don’t eat my balls.”

Aramek gives a friendly wink to Rain and then follows after Gar. Snoop, sensing Indranil’s feelings toward him, gives him a ‘and don’t you forget it’ squeak.

Ragnbjorn surveys the ship and the crew. After a moment he says, “I have sent a message to Prince Prospero telling him of the razing of Cypress Hill and of this ambush. I told him that I would send him an update tomorrow. For now, I would like the Marinus brothers to keep watch out here. Guardsman Rain, please check on Newt and take her down into the hold. Try to find a hammock and some water and rations for her. We’ll want to talk to her later. Father Gar, Fingol, I’d like to speak with you both in the deckhouse now that we have a moment. We need to reassess our mission here I think.”

Rain nods and takes Newt down to the hold to where Rain’s hammock is. “You okay? I’m gonna take you down to the hold and a few of us will come down later to talk with you. You will be safe there for now.”

Indranil and Lorindel move back up atop the deckhouse to keep watch as instructed.

Fingol heads into the deckhouse as he is asked.

Since Gar ran ahead of the others, he takes the time to stabilize Dale, Kash, and Frost at the stern. When Aramek, Hex, and Ferro arrive, he centers himself and takes a deep breath in and out and then intones, “Om!” twice to send out the healing positive energies granted him by Obad-Hai. When everyone is healed, Gar follows Fingol into the deckhouse.

Down in the hold, the three fishermen and Master Ailil quickly mob Rain and Newt and begin questioning her anxiously about what is happening above deck.

The first is Master Ailil of the Fishmongers Guild. Ailil is an older man with golden hair turning to grey, light blue eyes, and fair skin. “What is happening up there?” he hisses in his whispery voice.

Eochaid the Shrimper, asks, “Who is this? What happened to her?” Eochaid is dark tan, with light brown hair, and dark brown eyes. He cups his hand to his right ear to catch the answer.

Lugaid, known as Crabby, a tanned man with auburn hair and gray eyes, asks, “Are…are…are we being attacked by the lizardfolk? Is…is…is that who destroyed Cypress Hill?”

Finally, there is the other Lugaid, known as Fishbate, who is also well tanned with dark brown hair and amber eyes. His voice is deep and fills the room, “Have we really escaped? Are we returning to Westkeep? I knew this was a fool’s errand!”

Rain attempts to take immediate control of the situation. “Gentlemen, stand back and I will answer all of you in turn!” Rain then answers over her shoulder while locating an empty hammock next to her own for Newt and leading her there with an arm over Newt’s shoulder, “We were attacked by what appears to have been Amedi warriors who we now assume sacked Cypress Hill. Yes we have escaped and are heading back downriver towards Westkeep. This here is Newt, the only survivor we were able to find. She has been through quite a bit so none of you will bother her right now. Is that understood?” At this last question she turns around to face the four of them with a face that says, ‘I don’t care who you think I am to you, you will obey me!’

The delegates, and particularly Master Ailil, are not impressed however. He glares at Rain and says, “Don’t get snippy with me, young miss. You better remember whom you’re dealing with. Westkeep will starve without the Fishmonger’s Guild, but one less guttersnipe of a recruit will hardly be missed. Come along gentlemen, we will save our questions for Sir Ragnbjorn. No need to waste our time with riffraff.” With that Master Ailil turns and strides away, the three other delegates in tow.

Rain laughs at him as they walk away then says to Newt, “Well that went better than I had hoped for, now they really will leave you alone. Have a seat here and help yourself to some food and water.” Rain indicates the free hammock and where food and water can be found. “I am going to head up for a bit, but some of us will be down to check on you shortly.”

Rain moves up to the deck house seemingly to check back in with Fingol and Ragnbjorn, but really just trying to find out what the next move is.

Up in the deckhouse, Ragnbjorn looks solemnly at Fingol and Gar and then says, “I fear that Sir Indranil is right. If we stay out here and there is another Amedi force like the one we just faced we are doomed. On the other hand, I fear for Chief Rahk and the lizardfolk. If they have not already been wiped out, they soon will be, and that may set in motion the prophecy of the Great Druidess. Also, I don’t know what came to our aid out there; it could be any number of things that are not necessarily friendly to us either. It could be the water nagas, but there would have to have been a number of them to take on all three of those groups. And if there is indeed more than one of them, I don’t want to trust our safety to their moods, even if Lord Heslex seemed to have taken a liking to Father Gar. So what do you say, should we try to hide this boat in one of the bayous and seek out Chief Rahk to see if we can avert this prophecy, or should we head back to Westkeep and when more troops can be spared we can bring a force back up here to clear out any of the Amedi who might remain and then look for the lizardfolk?”

“Milord, if seeking out the lizardfolk is our primary mission,” responds Gar, “then we should make haste into the bayou to find them before all are gone. If we turn back now then all will be for naught. I feel a surge of healing energy deep within me. I will do my utmost to keep everyone alive, Sir Ragnbjorn.”

Fingol jumps in after Father Gar, looking Ragnbjorn in the eye, “Father, the final decision is yours, and I don’t envy you the responsibility. My mind is much like Father Gar’s, however, if we head back to Westkeep now, we will be abandoning the lizardfolk to the Amedi. I don’t know what we can do to save them. I don’t know what saved us. I do know that the prophecies we have been given push us on.” 

After a pause he continues, “Regarding Indranil, I see that he is an excellent soldier. If you prefer him to be second in command, I would gladly give him the post. You know my temperament has never been for command, or military matters. I can represent the Prince without the honor of being your second.”

Ragnbjorn considers this. “I agree, I think we should search for Chief Rahk and the Malarat tribe. I worry though about the Javan Queen, its crew, and the other delegates. They are too vulnerable and will only get in the way. Maybe they should go back. The three of us, the Marinus brothers, and perhaps some of the guardsmen, probably Rain and Aramek at least, should grab some of those empty canoes out there, and make our own way down the bayous and then to the lizardfolk village. My worry, though, is that whatever is in those waters will come after us as well. Oh, and perhaps you are right Fingol. I’ll keep Sir Indranil as my second in command as regards military matters, he is a couple of years senior to you and I don’t want to seem like I’m biased by choosing you, my son, over him. But you make the decisions regarding diplomatic matters as the Prince intended, he only appointed us to be guides and interpreters. As for the latter, your Draconic is coming along very well.”

At the thought of Sir Indranil as second in command, Gar is overwhelmed and begins to feel light-headed. His eyes flutter and then he keels over with a loud thump like a felled tree. For Gar, it seems to him that Obad-Hai catches him and speaks to him.

Rain comes back up into the deckhouse just as Gar falls. Ragnbjorn sees her but says nothing, and Fingol’s attention is on the fallen Gar.

When Gar opens his eyes, he looks up at father and son. Then Gar rubs his head and slowly sits up. “I guess Obad-Hai wanted to add his two gold pieces to the conversation as well.”

Standing up a little shakily, Gar collects his thoughts and then says, “My god just told me, ‘You have done well my child, you have indeed become an even greater vessel of the life giving power that you and your companions will need to survive what is to come. Do not abandon the lizardfolk. They need your aid, just as you needed theirs. Take only the bravest and strongest of you. Bring the girl Newt as well. She knows where you must go next even if she does not realize it, and in the future she may be the key to confounding the forces arrayed against you.’” Gar scratches his head. “Could that have been the lizardfolk who just saved us?”

Fingol thinks back to when Gar had his earlier vision a few days ago, I knew we should’ve hit him again!

“Yes, indeed. I had wondered if it could not also have been the lizardfolk,” Ragnbjorn says thoughtfully. “They are good swimmers and can stay under far longer than humans. It could indeed have been them.”

Down below, Newt heard the thump of Gar falling. Instinctively, she looked upward, although there was no way to see what happened without coming back up into the deckhouse. She decides to leave well enough alone since no more shouting or cries of alarm can be heard. All seems calm up above.

The fishermen had heard it too, and are now muttering among themselves. Newt leaves her place and goes over to them. Perhaps I can get some information from them while my rescuers are busy. They may even have information that those soldiers might be reluctant to pass along.

Approaching them, she asks again, “Why are you here? Don’t the soldiers like you? What’s going on, and why does he,” she indicates Fishbate, “think you’re on a fool’s errand?” She keeps her face genuinely curious, but internally, she smirks and hopes she hasn’t pushed her luck too far.

Ailil looks down his nose at Newt, but then he smiles, and in his whispery voice says, “Well, well, so you do speak. We are here because those fools up there,” he points up to the deck, “think that the snakeskins can be reasoned with, and their ridiculous Prince has ordered us to come out here to find them and negotiate a peace treaty with them. What is needed is to exterminate those savages who are no better than those Amedi scum. As for that, what happened out there? Did we escape those rebellious slaves?”

Newt knows that the humans often refer to the lizardfolk as “snakeskins.” She also recalls what her parents had once told her about the Amedi. They had once been the slaves of the Sea Princes who had ruled these lands. When the Scarlet Brotherhood came, they were freed and recruited as soldiers alongside the Amedi who already filled the Brotherhood’s legions. She senses that Master Ailil is not just opposed to negotiating but would do anything to prevent it.

In answer to Ailil’s question, Newt responds, “Yes, we caught the wind in our sails, and were going to try to go around them, but then I saw all the attackers get pulled under the water. I’ve never seen anything like that before, and I’ve been on the river all my life. What was it?”

The three fishermen and Ailil all look at one another, obviously puzzled and alarmed. Ailil says, “It may be that the water nagas have come to our aid. That Lord Heslex seems to have taken a liking to Father Gar. Perhaps that is it. The naga are hardly to be trusted, and neither is that freakish Flan priest. The naga are undoubtedly saving us – for when they get hungry later.” The other fishermen nod in agreement.

Ailil turns back to Newt, “Now who are you? Did you live in Cypress Hill?”

Newt says, “Not exactly, my parents and I lived a few miles away in a cabin along one of the bayous. We fished and caught crabs and shrimp that we brought to the trading post. We just came into town a couple of days ago when the Amedi attacked and burned the whole place down. My parent’s hid me in a hole and then disappeared.”

Ailil clucks sympathetically, “A sad story indeed, young one,” though she can tell that in his stony heart he could really care less.

Newt follows the conversation among the fishermen and the Guild Master a bit longer, but heavy eyelids got the best of her. She returns to the table and falls asleep there before she finishes her bread.