Page 78 of The Storm of the Empire

“So how is Faolan?” Jaxus asked, sounding like he was coming unstuck from his silence to a topic that was safer.

“Well, I think. He seemed to be valued on the ship and happy enough in his work. I didn’t get to know him all that well.”

“It’s good to know he is thriving out here. He always wanted to stretch his wings,” Jaxus said wistfully.

“Okay, can we pick up from the smuggling so I can understand how we got to the undead?” Nyx said, urging the story on.

I nodded, but Jaxus was wide eyed.

“Wait, no, you have to go back. Undead?!”

Realizing they all needed to know everything, I ran them through where I’d gotten to with Nyx.

“Where on the coast did you say this ghost drop took place?” Jaxus asked.

“I was below decks, but according to Luka, it was around where the sea meets the foothills of the Wild Mountains, which would be a challenging place for anyone to wait for a ship but ideal for smugglers since it’s barely inhabited land.”

“And after you left there, you sailed to Damona Island?” Nyx asked. “But the rest of the cargo was confusing?”

“Yes, we were searching for Alora’s egg and went through a good number of crates. It was like a supply drop for an outpost. Large scale basic supplies. Nothing I could fathom the priests needing in a big haul like that since they are self-sufficient. But then we docked on the west side of Damona Island, and that’s where it was all for. We unloaded there and spent the night.”

“I don’t understand how they brought a ship into that part of Damona Island,” Nyx said. “The West side is sheer cliff and treacherous sailing.”

“There is a small port built into the cliffs there, I couldn’t believe it myself, but I saw it with my own eyes. It’s nearly invisible from the sky too, so a dragon flying over wouldn’t see it unless they knew what they were looking for. They have this large pulley system to pull the ship docking into a massive cave to conceal it.”

“What in the Goddess’ name?” Nyx stared off in thought for a moment before he went on. “And all these basic supplies went there. What do you think they are doing there, setting up some kind of outpost themselves?”

“It think that’s exactly what they are doing, but Nyx, when Luka and I did some looking around, we found a cavern where they are keeping undead. Hundreds of them. More than I could count.”

“Fuck,” Jaxus said sharply. “Right under our nose. No wonder you’ve seen some of them in the First Kingdom.”

Zaria placed her hand over her mouth, and Kiera looked up to the Goddess for salvation.

“I told you they were coming from somewhere closer!” Nyx said, clearly vindicated.

“Considering the circumstances, we figured it was part of your madness,” Zaria said sheepishly.

“My judgement has always been mostly sound, even in my grief.”

“Mostly,” Kiera muttered.

I wasn’t sure what they were all talking about, so I went on, needing to get the rest of this off my chest. “I’ve wanted to come back and report what we know to you several times, but Luka kept convincing me that we needed to find out more. But that was too much. There are undead in the First Kingdom, and he wanted to keep going and do nothing! It made me doubt him. What if he is involved? He seems to know fae in all these dark places, and he came from fae we know are involved in growing Dragon’s Bane—no offense, Zaria. But he still insists on wearing his pendant like some mark of loyalty to them. What am I supposed to think?”

“It’s understandable to doubt in those circumstances,” Zaria spoke. “But I promise you, Luka is not a part of what our families were involved in. He was, out of necessity, but he worked his way out and has used all the insight he gained during that time to help us. He wears that pendant out of some misplaced homesickness. Not for the fae or what they stood for—he wears it for a life we had no choice in but was still ours. He drifts now and doesn’t feel as though he really belongs anywhere, and that pendant is the only link back to when he actually did. Whether he wanted to or not.”

I dropped my head into my hands. It was all too confusing.

“So where are they now?” Jaxus interjected. “Luka and Faolan, I mean. He didn’t come back with you?”

“He wouldn’t. His cover was more important to him than warning you.” I looked up at the expectant faces. “Back with the ship, I guess. We had a disagreement, and I left. I couldn’t allow this to go unreported, and he wanted to see the trip through to see what else he could learn.”

Zaria gasped. “You left him there with the undead?”

“They were not an immediate threat. The ship will be setting sail again as soon as new cargo is loaded.”

Zaria looked to Nyx, “We must go!”

“Hold on. We can’t just fly off on a whim without gathering some intelligence and making a plan,” he said firmly. “We need a full scale flight to make sure we can take them by surprise and dispatch the undead.”

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