The sailors all went barefoot, the marines wore boots and the captain had a heavier stride.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” the priest asked in a confidential tone. He studied the undergrowth by the riverbank with nervous eyes. He ducked his head as the ship swept through a curtain of vines.

“No,” Kormak said. “But what else could we do? Wait for the Kraken to come back? He might never do that.”

“You really think there’s an alternative route.”

“He might be wiped out. The elfwoods can be a hostile place for mortal men.”

“You sound as if you have had experience of that.”

“I have.”

A movement among the trees got his attention. Something was there, among the shadows. A deer emerged.

“I doubt we are going to be so lucky as to find the forest has swallowed our prey.”

“I fear you are correct.”

“It seems strange that a salt water pirate like the Kraken should suddenly decide on a river voyage.”

“It seems strange to me that a sorcerer should turn pirate and start raiding the coasts of Siderea,” Kormak said. “But it has happened. It’s why I am here. The Trefal Merchant’s Guild made a sizeable donation to my Order to ensure it.”

“You think there is a connection between the Kraken being a sorcerer and this little excursion through elf country?”

“Terves was right—we have no idea what is really up here. There could be anything within these woods. They stretch hundreds of miles east of here, all the way to Taurea, and no man has ever crossed them.”

“Or has at least recorded the tale, you are right about that. I’ve heard stories of everything being up here from giant walking trees to a lost city of the Old Ones.”

The water swirled by the prow of the ship. The sweeps moved in time to the drumbeat. Frater Jonas stood by his side in companionable silence till eventually the Guardian spoke, “He’s here for a reason. He has to be. Why come all this way otherwise.”

“This Black Priest—what do you think he is?” There was a curious edge to Jonas’s voice.

 “I don’t know. It may be an Old One bound to service by soul pact or it may be an apprentice.”

“A strange apprentice who seems more powerful than most masters.”

Kormak tilted his head and stared at Jonas. The little priest smiled. “Magic is studied openly in Siderea, Sir Kormak, and I have found it necessary to learn about it. Sorcery is no easy thing to work. To so swiftly summon the sort of creatures this one did beggars belief. An archmage would struggle to do such a thing and, thank the Light, there are few of those in this world. If this being is as powerful as those poor people implied I fear even you, with your formidable blade and your formidable talents, might struggle to overcome it. And it is the servant...”

“Is it?” Kormak said.

“Ah, now that is an interesting question,” said Frater Jonas. “Perhaps the man we are pursuing is not the one we want at all. Perhaps it is this Black Priest, although I suspect priest is very much the wrong word to describe him.”

Kormak studied the priest. He was taking all of this rather too well. Most priests would have been filled with righteous fury or simple terror at the thought of what the Kraken and his companion had done. “You may be right,” Kormak said.

Frater Jonas made a small grimace that might have been a smile.

“Blessings of the Light upon you, brother,” he said then he bowed and made the Sign of the Sun before he walked away.







CHAPTER THREE


“I NOTICE YOU were chatting with our ship’s chaplain earlier,” said Captain Zamara.