The Silver Sect

"I'm thrilled you have made the right decision. I have a contact in Zarcum, I will let her know you are coming." He looked as if he was about to send a telepathic message, then stopped. "Wait, what do I call you? She will need to know whom to expect."

"The Silver Sect," Garrok said.

"The Silver Sect... I like it! It has a nice ring to it." He finished sending the message and waited a few seconds. "Ok, she is expecting your arrival. Actually, Erigos, you probably know her."

"Is that right?"

"It's Ambassador Trixia Qas'otamon."

"I'm afraid I don't know her."

Rothox noticed the curious look Tilamonka gave Erigos.

"Well she is lovely, you'll get along splendidly, her being the Ambassador for Viviar and all. Either way, you should be off, it is a long journey to Zarcum. My servant will take you to shore."

"Oh," nearly forgetting the orb they had found, Rothox handed it to him. "We found this on a being that we believe was working for Ottothal."

Tilamonka took the orb, examining the smooth dark surface. "I'll look into it, thank you."

"She seemed to have been communicating through it to someone. Let's hope this can help us stop whatever Ottothal is planning."

"Let's hope!" With a flourish, the smoke filled the room and once again they were outside the tower.

The servant took them toward what they imagined was the eastern side. At the edge of the city, out of thin air, a door appeared to the real world. Once through they all felt slightly sadder.

"That feeling you have is normal. The magic in Til'ka is constantly working to make some of the more murderous beings not be so, well murderous." The gate sealed shut, and they were back on the empty island, the magic boat having moved around to the eastern side on its own.

It took an hour to reach the little lake village of Laslo. Situated alongside the lake it would be hardly noticeable, blending in with the rainforest at its back, if it weren't for the wooden docks jutting out onto the water. Tilamonka's servant left them on a small rocky beach, in a small cove off to the side of the town under the guise of the fog.

A few people looked at them oddly as they arrived mysteriously from the forest beach. A group of people stared out into the lake, expectantly. An older man with a scraggly white beard, bald head with a few blots of discoloration hobbled over to them.

"Where's the ferry, we've been waiting for a couple of days now?" He asked.

"Destroyed," Garrok stated bluntly.

Tears welled up in the old man's eyes.

Alissa jumped in, "I'm sure whoever you are waiting for is fine, although it might be a few more days before they fix the ferries." She glared at Garrok. Sensitivity was not a strong suit of his.

The old man nodded a thank you, brushing away the little tears that had escaped.

The small town of Laslo was just another small town on the way to Zarcum via the Emperor's Road, there wasn't much to it besides a small tavern, a general store, and the boatmen that bring travelers down the river. A thick rainforest skirted the edge of the village, heading south and east, the direction they needed to go. There are two ways to leave the city: by road or the river. The river is the faster route but the more dangerous, depending on the river guide's ability to navigate the rapids and the crocodiles. The rainforest isn't without its dangers but the journey is slow. Wanting to travel quickly the sect approached the boatmen.

A barefoot wild-haired man was using a knife to whittle a tip on what appeared to be an oar, he looked up as they neared while continuing to scrap his blade along the wood sending shavings tumbling into the grass.

"Howdy there! How can Billy help ya'll?" He said with a thick boatman accent.

"Who's Billy?" Erigos asked.

The river guide laughed, "Why, I'm Billy."

"Well Billy, we need to get to Zarcum as fast as possible. We understand the river is the way to do that," Erigos said.

"River can't take ya to Zarcum, only to Bashville then down the river toward the ocean. Billy just goes to Bashville." The dull expression on his face spoke volumes as he returned to his whittling.

"Sorry, can you take us to Bashville?"

"Why didn't ya say so! Course Bill can." Jumping to his feet, "Ready to go?"

"That's it? You are ready to go now?"

"Sure can! Billy's boat is right oe'r there! He pointed to what looked like more of a raft sitting on the edge of the river. "Ain't she a beaut."

Billy pulled the raft into a little off-channel area of the river. The raft was just large enough for them to all fit. As they clambered on, he kept it steady for them. Billy pushed off from shore and the raft caught the current of the quick stream. The beginning of the journey was smooth as Billy expertly navigated the waters using his oar to maneuver any shallow or rocky areas with his oar. He chatted a lot, telling them all crazy stories of past passengers, monsters, and near-death experiences. Some were too hard to believe and others were so outrageous that to make it up would have been more ridiculous.

Hey Billy, how do you get back after going downstream?" Alissa asked after a few minutes of his stories.

"Now that there is a trade secret." He laughed, showing gaps in his teeth before leaning in toward her and whispering, loud enough that everyone could hear, "We have a wagon," he winked. His breath smelt of bark and fish. A few hours later rapids appeared on the river, at first they started small but eventually, the party was white-knuckling whatever part of the small boat they could grasp. Billy stayed level-headed and rode it out, knowing where to hit the drops. After a couple of hair-raising minutes the river calmed, it was here that Billy seemed on edge.

"What is it?"

"This here is the most dangerous spot."

The sect looked back over toward the rapids and Erigos spoke what they were all thinking, "Worse than that?"

Billy nodded in silence and slowly drifted the raft with his oar as the river had slowed.

"There be crocs in this part. Theys wait after the rapids, easy meals. Mus keep quiet, don't be disturbing the water but me oar." He gently dipped his oar into the river, to keep the boat from hitting a rock. However, it was not rock. Just as the raft slipped beside, narrowly avoiding it, it moved. A giant crocodile opened its gaping maw revealing two rows of jagged dagger-like teeth. Before it could snap down Billy flipped his oar around and jammed the pointy end he had been carving into the beast's open throat. It let out a guttural growl before sulking back into the depths.

"Is it dead?" Alissa asked.

"Just I reckon and pissed. It'll be back and most likely with friends now that there's blood in the water." Not a few moments later an angry hiss filled their ears followed by that same guttural growl as four more crocodiles slowly snaked toward them. Their eyes poked above the water focused on their waiting meal.

"Oh boy," Billy frantically started paddling.

He was no match for the speed of the crocodiles. They bashed into the raft attempting to knock them off. Alissa reacted first, she leaned over and placed her hands in the water.

"Alissa, get your hand--" Erigos stopped as a web of lightning flooded across the surface of the water. It seemed to slow the attack, for now as crocodiles backed off, sinking away from the shocking pain. Billy focused on paddling, putting distance between them, amazed at what the little human had just done. Erigos removed a couple of javelins he had tied to his pack and tossed one to each of Rothox and Garrok. With the javelins and the fear of more pain from Alissa, they kept the giant crocodiles at bay. As soon as the river picked up speed their attackers gave up and backed off to await an easier meal.

"Well, ya'll are welcome to raft with me anytime," Billy said, as he brought them to shore in the town of Bashville a couple of hours after their close encounter.

They thanked Billy and tossed him a few gold coins before making their way onto the docks. A few dock workers rushed by to help Billy hitch his raft to a pulley system that lifted it out of the river, swinging it toward an awaiting cart. Billy sauntered past the sect and gave them a wave before joining his raft on the cart. It was getting late and unsure of where to go they searched around for a central location to find a place to stay.

The Stein River served as the main street for the town of Bashville which sat on the widest part of the river. The logging town used the Stein as their principal source of shipping and travel to other parts of the town and Empire. Not quite large enough to be considered a city it was a bustling burgh. Large barges carrying freshly cut dark wood timbers floated their way to the mill, the extensive building at the center of the town. Out the back of the mill, the tidy cut logs made their way down the river on large barges toward other cities in the Empire. Easily the largest building in town, the mill was the focal point on the river. That is where the Sect ventured toward. Chatting with a few locals in the space outside the front of the mill they found lodgings for the night.

The Darkwood Lodge was located directly beside the mill. The large tavern was busy with mill workers, lumberjacks, and barge drivers, all frequenting the Darkwood Lodge, as their after-work watering hole. There were no open tables, so they asked to join with two other men, who obliged but wanted to keep their conversation private, so they turned to each other and whispered. Garrok couldn't help but eavesdrop on hearing them say, "What are we going to do about the missing workers?"

"Not sure, but if this keeps up, they'll shut the camp down and the entire town will struggle," the other man replied.

Noticing Garrok leaning, the first man spoke, "Do you mind, half-orc?"

"Actually, I do. I think we can help with your predicament, for some coin," he grinned.