Session 31, Part 8
“So, wait, these locath seem to be saying that we're their rulers too,” Kormak said, turning to Bail.
Bail motioned for the workers to get back to rebuilding the dock they were working on. “So, we own Port and Landspear Lake now?”
“I guess, I don't speak fish that well or they don't speak Common that well, one of the two. Why don't you talk to them?”
Bail sighed and glanced over at the Turtle. “I wish Suniel would finish rebuilding Keeper already. He's much better at this diplomating stuff than I am.”
“Or maybe if Harold was here...” Kormak said with a grin.
Bail gave him a long, flat look then dusted off his hands and went to speak with the locath bobbing in the bay.
“So, the dwarf says that we're your kings now... or something.”
The locath nodded furiously. “Underdakul rule Locath. Underkakul die. Nakral rule Locath. Nakral die. You rule Locath.”
“Well, let's hope we don't continue on in that particular legacy,” Kormak said. “There's a definite pattern there.”
“What do our new rulers ask of us?”
Kormak and Bail stared at each other for a few seconds, then turned back to the locath at the same time.
“I want a pony and a toy ship and-”
“Trade with Port, open up shipping. If there's any of the Freehold settlements out there in the Steamport area, don't harass them. Guide them through storms, help them find their way. Port needs all the help it can get right now.”
The locath nodded rapidly and disappeared under the water.
“I liked my list better, but yours had a certain lordly ring to it. Maybe you're getting the hang of this.”
Bail grunted and turned to see Suniel and Keeper standing behind them.
“I see Keeper is back in one piece,” Bail said with a nod to Suniel.
“Any word from Harold while I was... indisposed?” Suniel said, returning Bail's nod.
“No, he's probably gone back to the Crystal Towers,” Kormak said. “See if he can't let the Ashen Towers steal back what's left of the Skyland.”
“I'll check. Let's head back where there's less distractions,” Suniel said. He pulled out the doorknob, planted it firmly in the air, turned it, pulled, and stepped through the doorway into the near pandemonium of the Black Coach House.
They followed him through the courtyard, through the main doors, and into the Library. Suniel pulled out several books and a handful of strange crystals. A few minutes later, the crystals were laid out in an array on a table, the books sitting open nearby for easy reference.
Suniel waved his hands over the crystals, murmured under his breath for a minute, then stared intently at the table in silence for several seconds. When he spoke again, his lips barely moved and Bail could only barely hear what the wizard was saying.
“What have you gotten into, are you safe?”
Bail and Kormak looked around, as though expecting someone to appear and reply. Keeper just shook his head. “Sending.”
“Oh, sending.” Kormak said with a nod. “That makes total sense then... what?”
Suniel sighed. “Harold hasn't been able to retrieve the True Stone, I think we need to go there to help.”
Bail snorted. “Need to? Aren't there more of them around here that Keeper can find?”
Surprisingly, Keeper nodded in agreement. “With the Omni-Seeking Stone that you brought back from the Fae Wood, I can detect all the True Stones on Felskein.”
“Harold might know where this one is though,” Suniel said. “And, more importantly, he probably knows who or what has it. We go there first.”
There was quiet authority in Suniel's words as he glanced between them.
Bail grumbled, Keeper nodded, and Kormak threw in his own vote of “what the hell.”
“Hold hands with the person next to you,” Suniel said.
“What if I don't have a person, I just have a metal man that thinks he's a-” Kormak was only partially through whatever he was going to say when Suniel closed his eyes, said a word, and they were no longer in the Coach House.