War of the Wisps

They decided to start by going to the docks. “We should start by looking for the Wisps along the coast and figure out if they are connected to the pirates,” Andrew reasoned. “Maybe we can find one of the fishermen who saw them.” So they landed where one of the piers connected to land. The locals gave Jarnvaror a good deal of distance, but it seemed like they’d seen him enter the city, or at least heard about it already, because no one panicked at the sight of him. They just watched as Andrew and Anna dismounted.

Andrew looked back at his brother. “Are you coming?” he asked.

“Jarn and I will ask around the docks,” Peter said.

“You and Jarnvaror… On your own… in the middle of a city,” Andrew said.

“At the edge of one,” Peter said. Andrew glared at him, to which Peter only chuckled. “Don’t worry. We’ll be fine.”

“Splitting up is probably a good idea,” Anna said. “We can go and check a pub or some other gathering spot.” Andrew frowned at her, but she went on in a lower tone, “Besides, people might be a little more willing to talk without Jarnvaror in their face.”

“You don’t think they’d be more willing to?” Andrew asked.

Anna shrugged. “Then we have one team trying both ways.”

Andrew sighed. As uncomfortable as it made him to leave Peter alone, he knew that his brother wasn’t likely to start anything on his own. “Alright,” he said. Looking up to Peter he called, “We’ll meet back here soon.”

Peter waved them off, then directed Jarnvaror over to a group of dock workers nearby. Andrew and Anna followed the streets deeper into the city. The buildings closest to the docks were warehouses, but as they walked, they came to long street that was mostly shops. It didn’t take them long to find a pub. The building had had a sign hung over the door depicting a grinning eel wrapped around a full pint glass.

Despite the early hour, the pub had plenty of patrons. A pair of musicians sat in one corner playing a bawdy song that half of the guests were singing along with. It smelled like fish, worse even then the docks, but light streamed in through the rafters, and the barkeep smiled at them. “Welcome to Ol’ Eel Eye’s! Thirsty, or looking for dinner?”

Andrew glanced at Anna. She nodded to him. “You’ve been the speaker so far,” she said. “But I definitely wouldn’t mind getting something to eat.”

Andrew nodded. “What have you got for food?” he asked.

The bartender grinned. “We’ve always got a bit of lobster or crab if you’d like shellfish, and my old lady makes a fantastic fish stew. We’ve also got chowders of clam and conch we can whip up for you.”

“Crabcakes?” Anna asked. “I had those once up north, and they were very good.”

“Aye, little miss, we can do crabcakes!” the barkeep said. “And you, sir?”

“Something light,” Andrew said. “We’re here hoping to find some information.”

His expression didn’t change, but the barkeep tilted his head in confusion. “Information? Looking for work in town, or…”

“We’re here from Woadrok, looking to deal with the Wisps,” Andrew said.

The barkeep pursed his lips. He hesitated a moment before asking, “You are the ones who came in with the dragon?” Andrew nodded. The man gave a nervous laugh. “Well… What do you want to know, then?”

“We heard that there were stray Wisps out along the coast,” Andrew said. “We were hoping someone could tell us exactly where.”

“I see,” the barkeep replied. “I’m afraid I can’t help you there.”

“Do you know anyone who could help us?” Anna asked.

The barkeep shook his head. “You’d have to ask the fishermen. I don’t know who actually saw those things.” The barkeep backed up to a door that presumably led to the kitchens. “Now, let me go ahead and get those crabcakes for you,” he said.

Andrew sighed. “So much for trying a pub,” he muttered.

Another patron started chuckling. Andrew looked over where another man sat at the bar a few stools down. He was tanned, his black hair receding. “Old Tony’s never comfortable around you official types.”

Andrew felt a pit grow in his stomach, though he tried not to show it on his place. “Don’t know why he should,” Andrew said. “This place looks fine.”

The man laughed. “’Course it does. Just a place for us sailors to relax.” The man’s tone was dripping with sarcasm, but before Andrew could reply, he went on. “And it sounded like you needed to talk with sailors. Any who may have seen some of those yellow lights floating out on the water.”

“Do you know someone?” Andrew asked.

The man shrugged. “I may have seen them myself, actually.”

“That’s great!” Anna said. “Where were they?”

The man grinned at her. “Sorry lass, but I don’t remember at the moment.”

Andrew realized what the sailor was trying to say. He wished he’d caught on sooner. He reached into his pocket and drew out a small bag of coins. “You’d like us to pay you for the information, is that it?” Andrew asked.

“Oh, nothing so untoward,” the sailor said, but he eyed the pouch with greed. “Though a few coins might help get a drink to clear my head.”

Now Andrew smiled. “Actually, I can’t see any problem with that,” he said. Though he hadn’t given it much thought, it had occurred to him that they may need to pay for information. He hadn’t considered that any of the sailors would ask in such a round about way, but seeing the greed in the sailor’s eyes as the man looked at his pouch of coins, Andrew began to relax. He put his hand over the ouch of coins, and the man’s smile vanished.

“A drink isn’t so much,” Anna said.

Andrew shrugged. “I don’t think he just wants a drink,” he whispered to Anna.

“You wound me,” the man said.

Andrew drew out a few coins and held them up. The man eyed the silver but didn’t make any move to take it. “Drinks to remember, you said? Is this enough.”

“Might be,” the man said.

Andrew added another coin and placed the small stack on the bar, under his hand. “You know, I’m pretty sure we’re allowed to pay for information officially,” Andrew said in a low voice. “I don’t know why you insist you’re doing something else. But it does make me wonder: how many sailors in here could we ask who’d tell us where the Wisps are for free? Or at least cheaper than this.”

The sailor shook his head, his grin returning. He leaned forward and whispered, “Being smart enough to recognize the game doesn’t mean you know how to play, boy. A bit of free advice. Never call out the game. Some folks don’t take that too well. Understand, greenhorn?”

Andrew felt his face flush. His fingers tightened around the coin, and the sailor frowned at him. Then Andrew felt Anna take his free hand. Halcyon’s influence flowed over him. He took a breath, then nodded to the sailor. “Thank you for the advice, then,” he said. He took his hand from the silver. “And if you can remember anything about the Wisps, we’d be very grateful.”

“Don’t mention it,” the man said, scooping up the coins. “As for the Wisps,” the man screwed his face up like he was trying hard to remember. “Ah, yes. I’ve only ever seen them along the coast north west of the city. That’s the only place we hear about them from. And very close to the coast, too, past where the beach turns into cliffs. Never closer to town than that.”

Andrew nodded. “Thank you. Anything else?”

The man’s grin grew wider. “Afraid I can’t quite remember.”

“Got it,” Andrew said. He stood, ready to leave, just as the Barkeep came out with their food. He sat back down and ate one of the crabcakes with Anna.

“Do you want to check with any other sailors to confirm what he said?” Anna asked.

Andrew shook his head. “I don’t think I want to try that ‘game’ again,” he muttered.

They returned to the docks. Peter was still with Jarnvaror, who’d crawled out to the end of one of the piers, next to a ship. The other dock workers looked over at the dragon from time to time, but otherwise continued with their own tasks. As Andrew and Anna got closer, they could hear Peter shouting back and forth with someone on the ship. “Okay, thanks!” Peter called. “We can check along there, too.”

The Jarnvaror noticed the pair and snorted a greeting. Peter looked and waved at them. “Sounds like you’ve been able to talk to a few people,” Anna said once they were close enough she wouldn’t need to shout.

Peter shrugged. “Nah, just him,” he said, jerking his head back toward the ship. “No one on the docks will let me and Jarn get close. They all just jogged away like they couldn’t hear me.”

“Wonder why,” Andrew muttered. Then he shook his head. “What did your man say?”

“They tend to be seen up north when it’s stormy,” Peter said. “There are some caves along the coastline, too, but no one goes in them. Kind of a deathtrap during high tide, apparently.”

Andrew nodded. “The sailor told us something similar.”

“He didn’t mention the storms, though,” Anna pointed out.

“Probably because I didn’t pay him for that,” Andrew muttered.

“Wait, you had to pay him?” Peter asked.

“Let’s just go,” Andrew said.

Andrew and Anna mounted and Jarnvaror took to the air. Peter told Jarnvaror to stop at any caves he saw along the coast, or if he saw a Wisp out over the water. Bellow, the coastline stretched in a long curve, bending from the south into the west. About two kilometers from the city, the beach changed from white sand to a rocky pile, and not long after that, cliffs rose out of the sea.

Jarnvaror called back the first time he saw a cave, and he approached it. But as the group got closer, they saw it was a hole in the middle of the cliff face. Anna might have fit into it, but the others wouldn’t, and none of them would have been able to get to it.

“I hope that’s not all the caves,” Andrew said, though the wind stole his words so the others couldn’t hear him. A few minutes later, though, they found the second cave, which was much more promising.

It lay under an overhang, so it seemed like little more than a crack in the cliffs running parallel to the water. Around it, stone spires rose up, and a bank of sand had formed between them, just large enough for Jarnvaror to land on.

Andrew dismounted and looked into the cavern’s mouth. It was broad and low ceilinged, and very, very dark. “Your man said this was a death trap?” he asked.

Peter shrugged, still atop Jarnvaror. “Something about the tide coming in and flooding it. Seems fine now, though.”

“The tide probably floods the cave,” Anna said. “And in the darkness, no one would be able to find their way out.”

“So what do we do?” Andrew asked.

“Well,” Anna began. “We’ll at least have Halcyon for light.”

“And I can stay out here with Jarnvaror. If the water looks like it’s getting too close to the cave entrance, I can have him call into the cave for you.”

“Right,” Andrew muttered. He looked to the edge of the sandbar. He wished he knew enough about the tides to know whether or not it was coming in or going out, but he thought there would be enough warning. He nodded to Anna. “Let’s get going, then.”

The two crept under the overhang. The cave was more a crack in the cliff than anything else. Anna went first, holding up her wrist and whispering until a blue light began to emanate from her bracelet. A few moments later, they’d squeezed through, and the cave widened out so they could both stand upright. The ceiling of the cave was maybe twenty centimeters over Andrews head, though in the light of the Wisp, Andrew saw stalactites and decided it might be better to crouch anyway. The floor was uneven and rocky. Little tide pools rippled as the pair passed by, heading deeper into the cave. The whole place echoed with the sound of water dripping or lapping at stone.

The walls did not stay an even distance apart. Every few feet it seemed like the walls narrowed so Andrew had to squeeze between them again, then they would widen again. it would twist and turn. Andrew was sure they’d only been in the cave a few minutes, but he could no longer tell what direction they were facing.

They had no warning when they were turning around the last bend. The cave floor had risen, taking them up into the cliffs a little more, then made a sharp turn and suddenly there was more light. The cave opened into a chamber the size of a small, comfortable room, though everything inside was still stone.

Everything accept the six orbs of yellow light, floating back by the wall.

“We found them!” Anna breathed, moving over to them.

The moment she took a step, Halcyon rushed forward. Alarm rang throughout Andrew’s head, Halcyon’s pouring in and mixing with his own. The Wisp, ever calm, flashed yellow green as he joined the six. He hovered there, blinking back and forth from azure to a color like dry grass.

Andrew grit his teeth, feeling the influence of the other six fluctuate in his head. “What is he doing?” he asked Anna.

“I don’t know!” Anna said. She was clutching her own head, and Andrew realized she might be facing the true force of these Wisps for the first time.

But as they watched, Halcyon stopped changing color. He settled back into his normal sky blue. He bobbed up and down at the edge of the semicircle the other Wisps formed. As his influence settled, competing with the other Wisps, Andrew realized the six were still. They didn’t seem to respond to Halcyon’s fit. Still, the blue Wisp stayed close to the one at the edge, waiting.

“They aren’t supposed to be still like that, are they?” Andrew asked.

Anna shook her head. “I’ve never seen any Wisps still like this before.”

“Do you know what it means?” Andrew asked. Anna shook her head. Andrew scanned the cave walls and floor surrounding the Wisps. Perhaps, he thought, there was magic holding them here. But he didn’t see any sign of it. “Can you tell if there’s anything about this place that might be causing it?”

Anna looked back at him. “I don’t know what I’d be looking for,” she said.

“Can’t you sense enchantments or something?” he asked.

Anna thought for a moment. “Maybe,” she said. “I wasn’t thinking. Though…”

Andrew felt his stomach rise as if he were falling. “Though what?” he asked.

Anna shook her head. “Nothing. Most likely,” she added. “But just in case, stand by the entrance.”

Andrew blinked, but decided it would be best to do as she said. She held out her hand and closed her eyes. A glow formed on the back of her wrist, and at first, Andrew thought she was calling on the rest of her Wisps. But the glow was different. It came from her new gem, the one from Sol, and it didn’t seem like living smoke, the way the Wisps did. A minute later, she opened them and nodded. “There’s a spell binding them,” Anna said. “Something behind them, under the stone.”

“Great. How do we get that?” he asked.

Anna shook her head. “There’s something about the stone,” Anna said. “I don’t think I could move it with magic, though.”

“You don’t know how?” Andrew asked.

“I do in theory,” Anna said. “But even if I get that right, I’m pretty sure its booby trapped.”

Andrew frowned. “Maybe you could just try breaking the enchantment from here, then? Maybe then Halcyon could do his thing with these six.” He looked at their calming friend. He was sure Halcyon was trying to release the Wisp he was hovering next to, but by the influence, he knew it wasn’t working.

Anna looked back at him. “Unweaving a spell is really dangerous,” Anna said. “I could try, but if I get it wrong…” she motioned an explosion with her hands.

Andrew nodded. “Then don’t try,” he said. “We can come back later, once we’ve dealt with the pirates. I’m sure these are connected to them.”

“What makes you say that?” Anna asked.

“If the Wisps are enchanted to stay here,” Andrew said, talking a little slower than normal as he put his thoughts into words, “then I’m pretty sure there are only two groups nearby who could do that. The pirates with their mage, who seems more likely, or whoever they got their other Wisps from in the first place. Either way, they seem connected.”

Anna looked back at them. “But why leave them here, unguarded?” Anna asked.

Andrew shrugged. “That’s why I think it’s probably the pirates who left them. There needs to be a crystal for the spell, right?” Anna nodded.

“It’s under the rock,” Anna said. Then her eyes went wide.

“It’s not that they’ve left the Wisps here unguarded,” Andrew said. “I think the Wisps are the guards for whatever treasure the pirates of have buried.”