63

At last the voice normalizes.

"Sorry," Dr. Sabbatine said.

"What happened?" Vecla asks.

"I was planning to send equipment to you," Dr. Sabbatine said. "After all, your chances would be greatly improved by a few hundred Niani heavy repeaters and a robust selection of explosives."

"That's what I've been saying!" Alexius cries.

"The good news is that I believe I can open the rift fully," Dr. Sabbatine says. "The bad news is that I cannot do so with that mountain in the sky. The False Icon has a kind of influence over the rift I do not understand. Stralchus might, but, well…"

"You should have run more tests on the Specular," Control tells you, as if this is your fault.

The doctor falls into gloomy silence as you travel.

You see signs of fighting on either bank of the river. You take turns scouting the terrain ahead to help the boats avoid ambush. You spend most of the next day listening to scouting reports and figuring out how to avoid feathered apes and mercenaries as the riverway starts to branch. Then scouts race back to your position with a new report: "The Tyrant! The Tyrant!" But they sound jubilant, not terrified. Soon you see why.

Rounding the bend, you encounter evidence of a terrific battle: corpses of men and apes choke the river, slowing your movement. And then–

"The Tyrant!" Therko says.

"And Echidnos, that horrible elephant," Control says.

It's hard to tell where one ends and the other begins, there's so much blood. Echidnos's pagoda is gone; so is one of the Tyrant's legs. They're both dead, covered in wounds inflicted by one another, as well as countless arrows and javelins. You look for survivors, but they all seem to be gone, leaving human and simian corpses to choke the river. But then you spot them: ophidians, skulking at a bend in the river, armed with crossbows. Perhaps they were waiting for the Cerulean Guards to return, but they'll be just as happy to kill you.

"I am tired of these evil creatures," Therko says. "Let's make an end of them. We should duck their first volley, beach our canoes, and kill them before they can reload."

"I'm glad you've recognized the weakness in crossbows, Therko," Alexius says, "but do you know the thing they do well? Punch through anything. Like our hull. Let's move fast and try to get around them."