War Preparations Part VIII- Rats Nest and Beyond

He stormed out of his stateroom like a madman possessed and holding his head. "What is that noise, its been annoying me since I awoke" Both Razulah and Dwalin looked at each other wondering what was going on with Boris. "What noise Captain, Tis just the seagulls and the waves" Both men said it at exactly the same time.

"Bah, that noise" Boris pointed to the nearby dock. An eerie light engulfed the entire island and suddenly the fog materialized as if on command. "Captain, I". Razulah was cut-off in mid-sentence as Boris narrowed his eyes then saw Marak circle the islands making noises never heard before. It was a warning from the large blue dragon as if it sensed death nearby.

"Josephus. let her in slowly toward the dock. Do not anchor, do not dock here. Keep her nearby as I will swim in under the fog. If I am not back by first light let Dwalin have fun with the silver cannons. He turned at Dwalin who was grinning from ear to ear. "Only If I am not back by sunrise.". There was something that had changed in Boris since his initial transformation. It was a blood-thirst that drove him now.

"Razulah, send a seagull to Mr. Dubois, we never finished our conversation and he may still want to advice us on what he found".

Razulah walked over to Boris who was pacing back and forth like a caged lion. "Here Captain, this may clear your mind". Boris looked at the pipe, grabbed it and inhaled deeply three times then letting out one big exhale. "Ah, now I see why you are so cool, calm and collected Razulah" Boris was not a man to exceed in many indulgences but tonight something in the air was different. He felt the effects as his brain smiled at him. He grabbed the rum bottle and took two deep swigs from that.

They were within 100 yards from the dock. Boris looked at Dwalin one last time and winked at him. "Sunrise, if not Boom!!!!, Blow the island out of the water". As he finished those words he ripped his shirt off and dove into the murky water swimming towards shore.

 

The water was cool and refreshing and Boris swam quietly reaching the docks. While under the docks he kept a vigil for guards yet none could be seen. Fog, no guards, nothing at all. This place seemed a ghost town. Marak circled one part of town from far above and that is the direction in which Boris headed.

Boris walked for quite a while until he reached the courtyard. He heard one voice and followed it climbing the wall. He landed quietly and followed the voice of a man who kept walking back and forth tending his garden and talking to himself about statues. The man seemed to not have noticed Boris walking up to him until Boris broke his silence. "Good evening, I am Captain Boris Mondragon and have a question for you". Boris took the wet journal copy from his back pocket and shook some of the water off it. "That eerie glow emanating from your island caught my attention as well. I have been told that an expert in the dark arts and knowledgeable on the Obsidian Cabalist Order lives on this island. Do you know where i can find this person?"

Boris watched as the man looked at him and continued on with tending his garden. This would take patience yet something about this mysterious man had caught his attention. He also noticed that Marak had stopped circling this place and had headed back towards the docks.

 

By the time she had got back home a thick fog had turned the familiar streets and sights of the town into a land that only bore a slight resemblance to normality. No guards and their demented pets were to be seen, in fact the town itself was remarkably quiet, come to think of it she hadn't seen a soul since spotting the approaching ship. Stranger and stranger it all seemed, and felt.

Had the Baron spotted the visitors, had the fog hidden their approach to him, or was this fog created by him to hide his plan for their destruction? Maybe he hadn't seen the approach, maybe he had eaten down at the 'Dirty Duck' the previous day, infamous for its ability to cause its patron's a case of the deli belly, and was constrained by nature to his porcelain throne. To many questions, no answers, she was beginning to feel nervy and jumpy. She must get a message to him, but how?

A plan was needed…..Emptying her back pack on the table out spilled, 3567 arrows, a wardrobe, one old cloth shoe, 123 wolf hides, a guillotine, 34 mandrake root, a cabbage, 4 carrots, a jar of worms, a torch, a small rusted greenhouse and her coconut bra. Hmmm…..a devilish idea formed into her mind. Grabbing the coconut bra and separating the cups from the string, she proceeded to empty the jar of worms into one half of them then joined them together with the now useless string…….a flaming worm bomb.

"Hargol, When I throw it to you, I want you to swipe it with your best bear paw, I want a home run over the Barons wall, right up to his upmost window if you can?"……..Hargahhhh Graaaaagh

"Good Girl, it will be lit as well so be very careful you don’t get your fur on fire, ready?"

Haarggggh Graaagh……

With that she pitched it towards the giant bear, who was as good as her grunt, swiping the flaming worm filled coconut skywards straight over the tall wall and heading towards the Barons' dark tower….

 

A desolate island off the coast of Verdantis, the city of Rats Nest had been built with fortified walls for a reason, it kept most visitors out. The unnatural fog had been a regional bonus that made it difficult for sailors to make port, and harder still for those inside the walls to find their way. The Baron's tower loomed deep behind these walls, surrounded by dead trees and additional walls which could only be interpreted by outsiders as an invitation to turn around and walk the other way.

Yet here in the Baron's inner courtyard stood a man dripping wet with swamp water.

Moments before a black seagull had landed directly on the Baron's shoulder with a note tied to its beak. Calmly, he had read the note before brushing the black bird off allowing it to return to the grey skies of Rats Nest and beyond. He had already been delayed too long by this interruption, and this second distraction was testing his patience.

For it was inside these walls that the Baron worked his gardens containing all manor of plants, some exotic and others more utilitarian, but none without purpose. There was an order to Rats Nest, from the gardens to the walls, it was all part of a plan. A plan that centered on his ability to remain focused in his routine. A plan that would require time. A plan that would demand precision.

The first stage of that plan could be seen out over the city, where one could not miss the scaffolding around four large structures. They would eventually be shrines. Orta, Lady of the New Dawn, Anapa, Lord of Death, Cruciatus, Lord of Agony, and Visayon, Lord of Arcane Power would peer atop the city's skyline as a not so gentle reminder of what once was and what would be again.

"Good evening, I am Captain Boris Mondragon and I have a question for you", the man still dripping wet had begun a monologue.

"That eerie glow emanating from your island caught my attention as well. I have been told that an expert in the dark arts and knowledgeable on the Obsidian Cabalist Order lives on this island. Do you know where I can find this person?" Drocis watched as the man's words seemed to pour from his mouth like a river. Perhaps that's what made him so wet, he thought.

He stood and turned until he was square with the surprise guest. He'd not had one of those since Anthill had decided to have a roof party on his tower. The thought amused him, and he wondered if the thief still felt the fall. Then suddenly, he noticed what appeared to be a flaming coconut sail over the keep walls toward the highest part of his tower! With a befuddled look he watched with shocked awe as the flames hit against the top most window.

Enough, he thought. Whatever was going on here was about to stop.

 

Both men looked at each other eye to eye. Neither flinched nor spoke until the missile sailed overhead and the a growl was heard. Marak thought Boris. A woman screamed and the Blue Dragon was somewhere nearby. He had to stop what was a disaster in the making. He took the wet journal and handed it to the large man who was paying more attention to the missile that had struck his window than to him or what was going on outside his courtyard.

Boris took a running start and leaped up barely clinging to the top of the wall. The adrenaline due to what was happening on the other side of the wall pushed him over and he landed on his feet. There was Marak snarling at a large bear who was protecting a woman covering her breasts with her hands. "Marak, back off". Boris stood between dragon and bear and in a split second the bear swiped at Boris' head. Fortunately Boris was quicker than the bear. Another swipe would have been fatal except that Marak picked up Boris around the shoulders with his front claws and took off towards the dock. He looked back as the dragon gained altitude, saw the Large man shake a fist at him and the woman running in the other direction away from him with her bear right behind.

Marak continued on the low level flight until right above the main deck of the "Dragon" He dropped Boris from about 10 feet above the deck and a loud thud was heard. The sun was about to rise and Dwalin ran upstairs from the first level. " Ahh tis you Captain. I was getting my new toys ready to fire". Boris waved him off. "Josephus, set sail for Etceter. Razulah get me a paper and quill. I must send letters to two people on that island and they must be dispatched immediately".

Boris put on dry clothes and heard Marak scratching at the top of his quarters. He stepped outside to see the dragon look down on him. "Thank you my friend you have impeccable timing. I will have the men give you some meat, you earned it". He went back inside to dictate the two letters. "Sir, I believe you mistook me for a common thief. Read the journal once it is dry and let me know your thoughts on the subject matter. The continent is at stake here. I apologize for my hasty exit yet time is of the essence. Captain Boris Mondragon."

He wrote the other letter thinking again of the woman he briefly saw. Something about this woman seemed familiar yet he could swear it was the first time he saw her. "Milady, I sincerely regret we met on those terms yet I assure ye the dragon meant ye nor your bear any harm. He was protecting me on a mission that I must conclude soon yet I hope to see you again someday. Captain Boris Mondragon",

"Razulah, send these out immediately on our fastest seagulls. They must reach the recipients as soon as possible" The large priest took care of the two letters immediately while Boris headed downstairs to the first level where Dwalin sat cursing at life in general. "Dwalin, my friend, soon as we are half a league away from the island, I want you to fire once and hit the coconut tree nearest the nearest tip of the island. Show me your aim". Dwalin grinned at Boris. "Aye, Captain, I will show you what these toys can do".

Boris again headed to the top deck and kept looking at the island that grew smaller with each passing minute. His thoughts on the woman he saw and the feelings she stirred in him. There was something in the air tonight.