"That's an awful lot of questions."
"Here's another one. How come Jennesta's still alive after going through the… What did they call it? The vortex. Not only didn't die but ends up helping to run a human empire. How did that happen?"
"I don't know, Coilla. And I do dwell on these things. But sometimes I think there are some mysteries we'll never solve."
"Perhaps."
He stood. "I need to check on Jup."
"What's he doing?"
"Trying to use his farsight. Remember that big life force he detected? I thought it'd be a good idea to have some warning if we're going to run into it."
"Has he seen anything?"
"Not so far. But Haskeer's been needling him again, and it throws him off. That's what I need to check on."
"All right. I'll be with the kelpies if you want me." She nodded to the far end of the deck where the sea horses were herded together. A bunch of grunts with buckets on ropes were hauling up water to douse them with.
He finished by telling her, "You remember what I said about Pepperdyne." Then he turned and walked away.
He passed a stack of chests stowed nearby. What he didn't notice was Standeven sitting on the deck behind them, chin resting on raised knees, listening.
The rest of that day and most of the next passed without incident.
They were into the afternoon when land was spotted. The kelpies grew excited in their rather stately way, and the band prepared to disembark.
When they were close enough to see the island in detail, the old kelpie who had first befriended them was puzzled.
"My folk are on the beach," he rumbled.
"What's strange about that?" Stryke asked.
"You don't understand. My kin shouldn't be cavorting openly in the sea, and certainly not in the daytime, for fear of the Gatherers."
"Could they have come and gone?" Jup wanted to know, his heart sinking.
"If they had, you can be sure kelpies wouldn't be enjoying themselves in broad daylight."
As they nosed in and dropped anchor, things became clearer. The kelpies on the beach were joined by a group of two-legged beings, waving frantically.
"They're… dwarfs," Jup whispered, not daring to get his hopes up.
He didn't wait for the gangplank. Tossing a length of rope over the side he agilely shinned down it. Splashing knee-high through water, then onto the flaxen sand, he saw someone running towards him.
Spurral flew into his arms.
The following hours were filled with explanations and renewed camaraderie, for orcs and kelpies alike. At one point, Haskeer marched up to the couple, slapped Spurral heartily on the back and bellowed, "Well done! Always knew we'd find you."
Jup watched open-mouthed as he swaggered past.
"Maybe he's not so bad after all," Spurral said.
Haskeer barged his way to Stryke and asked, " Now can we get out of this place?"
"Soon as we can."
"Good. Ceragan's starting to look really good compared to some of the places we've been."
"Yeah, well, hold on. The stars didn't get us there last time we tried. We have to work that problem out."
"That must have been something you did wrong, Stryke."
"If I did, I did it wrong a lot of times."
"So how we going to sort that one?"
"I don't know. Maybe — "
"Excuse me," Spurral interrupted, "but what about these dwarf survivors?" She waved a hand in their direction. They were sitting morosely by themselves further along the beach.
"What about 'em?" Haskeer said.
"We've got to take them home. Back to their island."
"Shit, can't somebody else do that?"
"Who? The kelpies aren't a seafaring race."
Coilla nodded. "She's right."
"Yes," Stryke agreed. "We take them back. Then we'll think about the stars."
"But we won't think about them tonight," Spurral announced. "The kelpies are laying on a celebration for everybody, and they're keen on celebrations, I can tell you."
"And to spice it up a bit," Coilla added, "I've got a little something here I found in a cabin on the goblins' ship. Didn't mention it before; thought it might be a surprise." She took out a small black pouch, loosened its strings and poured some of the contents into her hand.
The others crowded round and instantly recognised the heap of tiny pinkish crystals.
"Pellucid," Haskeer all but drooled.
Coilla clamped her hand shut. "But only with the permission of our captain, of course."
"What do you say, Stryke?" Spurral wanted to know. "Do we deserve a little relaxation after all we've been through?"
"There were a couple of times when crystal led us to some bad outcomes," he replied, stern-faced. A smile cracked it. "But I don't think this is going to be one of them."
25
The celebration was good. It must have been, because most of those present would never be able to remember it.
There was drinking, feasting, boasting and inane giggling. The latter was due to the pellucid, which bathed the proceedings in a dreamy, kaleidoscopic haze.
A high point, for Wheam if no one else, came when the tyro, sober and without the benefit of crystal at that juncture, came to them excitedly. He was holding something.
"Look what I found on the ship!" he exclaimed.
"What'd ya say?" Haskeer mumbled, his eyes red pinpoints.
"I thought that if Coilla found that crystal lightning on the ship there might be other things of value. And I found this!" Beaming, he held up the object.
"Wha'issit?"
"A lute! It's not like any I've seen before, it's a goblin one I suppose, not that you'd think those creatures would appreciate music, but you never know, do you, anyway it's more or less the same as the sort I'm used to, so I thought — "
" Aaarrghh! Talk plain. And slow."
"Ah. Yes. I found this lute." He held it aloft once more, and wobbled it. "It'll replace the one I lost. I can sing my ballads again."
"If I could get up, I'd kill you."
"So you don't fancy hearing anything now then?"
They say that even when Wheam started to run, Haskeer was still crawling after him.
There were a lot of thick heads the next morning, and Dallog was kept busy tending minor wounds inflicted during the horseplay. But the band was accustomed to quick recoveries after revelry, and dunkings in the tepid brine, voluntary and otherwise, sobered the majority.
Anxious as everybody was to be off, the kelpies insisted on a prolonged farewell ceremony complete with rambling speeches and numerous toasts. Though Stryke ordered that the latter should be in coconut milk as opposed to alcohol.
They finally shipped out mid-morning.
The journey back to the dwarfs' island was without event, which at least gave the band a chance to fully recover. Jup's spirits had soared. Not that much was seen of him and Spurral during most of the voyage. The only damp blanket was Standeven, unsurprisingly, who continued to brood when he wasn't dogging Stryke's footsteps.
At first, their arrival caused something of a panic. The islanders assumed that the advent of a three-master meant another visitation by Gatherers. Once that was sorted, and it soaked in that the slavers had been defeated, there were joyful scenes. The Wolverines, partied out, accepted the accolades with fixed, clenched-toothed smiles.
As soon as they could, Stryke and his principal officers slipped away. Pepperdyne accompanied them, and Standeven tagged on, like a dependant cur. They made their way up to one of the dead volcano's lower ledges.
Stryke surveyed the view. "Seems fitting that we should leave this world from the place where we entered it."
"And good riddance," Haskeer offered.
"Oh, I don't know," Coilla said. "Just look at it. There are a lot worse places."