Four Horsemen Book 5 - Old Histories: Chapter 1

Mesurial glided through the shimmering portal, emerging into the warm waters around Lady Delmara's island within the Coral Bastion. Cheers erupted from the gathered boats and people on the dock. Several children waved enthusiastically from smaller vessels that bobbed in the crystalline waters.

Petor turned back toward where they'd come from, watching the watery portal shrink into nothingness. The moment it winked out, reality fractured beside them. A doorway of black marble materialized, its surface etched with flowing script that shifted and changed, refusing to settle into readable text. Crimson light pulsed from within the carved symbols, casting an eerie glow across Mesurial's deck.

Desari drew her dagger, Valter had a hammer in hand and Mya leveled a pistol with the portal and then pointed it skyward.

"Well shit boss," Mya said as Limos stepped onto the deck, the others relaxing as well.

"I had to wait until you were away from the water lord's purview," Limos held out an information packet with Mya's name scrawled upon it.

Desari held the helm and sheathed her blade as Mya put her pistol away.

There was none of Limos' playfulness, just  brusque professionalism.

"There have been developments at Osola," Limos said, extending the packet toward Mya. Gone was his customary drawl and theatrical flourishes.

Mya reached for it but held back her hand.

"Any trickery?" She squinted at him.

"I will deduct the cost from your earnings and take twenty percent per week on any debt going forward. That should give you enough motivation to get this sorted out quickly," Limos quirked a smile. "I swear no other trickery."

Mya reached out for the information packet.

"What happened for you to come here?" Mya asked as she started breaking the seals.

"Osola, the last redoubt of the Mardun traders might be under attack as we speak," Limos said.

Mya kneeled down on the deck, spreading out the information packets.

"Osola?" Desari asked.

"An Island, a hidden refuge of the Mardun traders—their last refuge. It seems that their enemies knew this and allowed them to gather everyone there—this is to be their last battle," Limos offered, Mya tearing into the packets of information.

Petor saw maps highlighting battle plans.

“That bastard Braden, he let my people think Osola was safe, unknown. He allowed them to gather in one place as all the other ports closed up.” Mya stuffed away the packets into her storage devices and stood. “Limos, I’ll need supplies.”

Braden, isn’t that the guy who killed her?

"To add to your debt?"

"In trade for all of the goods within my holds," Mya pulled out her ledger and passed it to Limos.

He took it, with his free hand, releasing his cane that stood on its own as he reached up and pulled a ledger from a black portal that appeared next to his ear.

"These are the goods I have," He passed it to her.

Mya flipped through the pages.

"What is your plan?" Desari asked.

“The Irdun gods of sea, land, and sky have banded together with pirates and their navies to attack our last redoubt."

Didn't take a genius to figure out what she thought of their attempts at creating a fighting force.

"An attack that’s supposed to happen within the next twenty-four hours,” Mya put her fingers into the pages and kept flipping. "I will warn my people and look to get as many people out of Osola as possible."

A piece of paper and a pen flew around Limos floating next to Mya's ledger that he dragged his sharpened and manicured nails down, the pen wrote upon the paper rapidly.

"What is their plan of attack?" Petor asked.

"They intend to encircle the island, then they will bombard it until the defenses are down—they know the locations through Braden I would assume. Using that they'll launch their forces against the island to create a beachhead, sanctifying the ground as they go so that we cannot bring the dead to bear." Mya said.

"They have or will insert teams onto the islands to sabotage the key defensive rituals and to report back to their leadership," Limos added.

"You went through the information?" Valter asked.

Limos closed the book with a snap, his vulpine smile revealing his sharpened teeth. "A happy employee is a productive employee. And I do not take kindly to others messing with my people."

Petor felt a chill run through his spine. Limos had never revealed the depths of his power. He used guile wit and humor to cover over who he was—what he was.

He'd only seen that mask slip but a few times. The Limos Trading Company spread across worlds and planes, and if What he had heard with the negotiations of the Nether Forge master. He dealt with Emperor's kings and gods.

And yet here he was serving Mya her information packet. He might be cold, calculating, vicious and completely unreadable—but he was their cold, calculating, vicious and unreadable bastard.

"We're your problem solvers aren't we? Don't think you'd hire us from the dead unless we were the best of the best," Petor said.

"Middling," Limos said, waving his hand back and forth, taking the piece of paper from mid air. There was a light to his eyes, a warmth that replaced the cold hardness from before.

"With gods navies and pirates thrown into the mix," Maya's sarcastic tone had an edge to it, the fingers of her left hand buried in the ledger.

"Sounds like a target rich environment doesn't it?" Valters deep rolling voice cut through, a confidence, a hunger.

Mya looked up from the ledger, frowning.

Limos passed her the piece of paper atop her ledger as the floating pen disappeared behind him. “I’ll purchase it all, four million, sixty two thousand?”

“Done,” She held out her hand without trying to haggle.

Shit this is serious.

Limos shook it.

“How many are we facing?” Valter asked.

“The information puts it at Seventy thousand,” Mya said.

"How are your seed stocks looking? I'm going to need to resupply," Len said.

Limos waved a hand a table appearing and a velvet sheet falling upon it before he produced three boxes that he drew back revealing seeds within, each with a card of information infront of them.

“Three sets of armor, for someone of my build without enchantments,” Valter asked.

"What are you all doing?" Mya asked. "This was not in our contract."

"And yet you helped me when my people were under threat, lets see those information packets?" Desari held out her hand, it wasn't a question.

Mya pulled them out, Petor saw something vulnerable in her eyes before it disappeared.

"A Mardun Trader pays their debts." She vowed.

"So do the four horsemen, even if we have to die first," Petor said.

“I have sets in steel and Mithril,” Limos told Valter.

“Mithril?” Valter asked.

“Seventy eight thousand per set, crafted grade, innate durability.” Limos pulled out a bracer from thing air and held it out to Valter who turned it over in his hands.

“Do you have any teleportation items?” Mya asked.

“Three that might suit your needs, one a doorway that will allow fifty people through, another that is a tapestry, you must weave its designs together to the destination you wish to achieve. You can use it once every three hours for two minutes. Then there is the circle of the wayfarer, stone markers that you lay down to jump into other worlds, it will allow sixty people to pass through," Limos said.

“The Planar gem could move a lot of people but it would need a massive amount of power,” Desari said as she flipped through pages of the information packet.

"I'll take the three sets," Valter told Limos.

He drew out three mannequins of armor, one silver, another blackened, a third grey with a blue hue.

Petor took out the different seeds that seemed the best based on their description, then tested them with his mana, categorizing how fast they would grow and the ways he could feel them able to grow.

Mya moved up to the table, Limos moving to meet her as she flipped to the page where her index finger was stuck among the pages.

“I’ll buy all of your, ammunition and powder. She flipped to the next page and pulled out her finger. "Then I'll grab your cannons too." Another finger was drawn out. "I'll also buy up your small, medium and large barriers and then the scrolls and artifacts that control wind, water or earth."

"For teleportation we can use the conch for sure," Desari said, still reading. "The conch opens up a portal through the water, it should work as long as you’re going from water to water. If you can find a place where the barrier of the world is ‘thin’ like a convergence point, it should be easier to punch through. Then power is going to be your biggest constraint. How many people?

“Twenty five thousand people at least,” Mya said.

Desari sunk into silence.

“Distance, type of teleportation and mass passing through increase the cost,” Limos raised his head.

"The planar gem could teleport the entire island, with enough mana, but it doesn't have that much mana."

"How much mana are we talking about?" Mya asked.

"Every square meter takes a green core," Desari said.

Mya nodded her head, "Maybe, just maybe."

"You have that many cores stored away?" Petor asked.

"Doubtful with the fighting going on this long, but there is a place with that kind of power. Though I'd need your help," Mya looked at him.

"You've got it."

"It'll be a last resort. We don't have time to go there first so conch it is," Mya said.

"Valter, we’ll need an enchantment that would keep the flow of mana even to feed the conch continuously and make sure it doesn’t get destroyed," Desari said.

“Recharging plate with a fixed output, I can do that, add in a restoration enchantment too,” Valter took out his metal book, it hit the table with a thump as he flipped through the pages. Desari moved around Mya to his side, still reading the packet.

Mya reached out her hand to Limos.

"A dangerous thing to be in a deal with a devil," Limos warned.

"Better the devil you know than the devil you don't and what's a second deal?" Mya said.

Limos' mouth spread in a smile without revealing his teeth and shook her hand.

They held hands, Limos transferring the goods from his storage device over to Mya's. At the same time hatches across the ship opened as Mesurial's cranes started drawing up the wares within the ship up out of her holds.

Limos released her hand.

"A pleasure doing business with you Mya as always."

"Ah, you sweet talk a trader like that one starts wondering on how they've lost."

"A fair price given and fair price recieved," Limos pinched the brow of his hat in salute as the crates and wares pulled from Mesurial's hold rose up and flew towards him, Limos holding out his hand as it disappeared into his storage.

His yellow slitted eyes fell on Petor, an eyebrow raised in question.

"I'll get these ones, as much as you have," Petor tapped on the table indicating the seeds. "The rest of my credit, can you convert into cores?"

"Certainly," Limos held out his free hand and Petor shook it.

He felt a connection to his storage device and accepted it, feeling the space fill with crates. A few minutes later it was done.

"I will take the same deal," Desari reached out her hand to Limos.

"Certainly!" Limos held her hand and repeated the process.

Petor checked his storage device seeing the crates of cores that filled it and then the crates with the seed names upon the.

He moved to the side and pulled out the seed crates and went through them, checking them. Then he started taking them out, charging them up with mana and creating seed-shots combining the seeds together and growing them slightly so their roots kept them as a tight projectile.

Valter and Desari talked to one another, Valter with a plate of metal atop the table as they discussed mana flow and regulation.

Petor continued preparing his seed-shots while Valter and Desari worked on the enchanted plate. Mya organized her newly acquired supplies, methodically checking each item before storing them away.

Limos gathered his floating table, the velvet cloth rippling as it folded itself. "I have other matters requiring attention. Other problems needing solutions." He adjusted his hat. "Try not to die again - the paperwork is rather tedious."

The doorway he had arrived through appeared infront of him and the marble doors swung inward.

"Could you tell Jaxus to expect people showing up at Anvil Spike?"

Limos snatched up his cane. "I guess I can do another small favor." He raised his cane in salute as he walked through the doorway. "Till next time Horsemen." He walked forward, he stepped through into darkness, the doorway closing and disappearing.

Mya spread out a map on the deck.

Petor turned to look at it, absently making seed-shot and storing them away.

The other two moved over, Valter wiping the last of the metal shavings from the runes he'd carved into the plate away before storing it.

"This is Osola," Mya indicated to the map.

Mya's finger traced the outline of Osola on the map - a near-perfect circle save for the flattened northern edge.

There was a fresh water lake in the northern region, a large town built around it and trailing down the higher region to the south and the inland bay and harbor.

The inland bay ran from the west curving inside the island to the south east.

The terrain around the island was mostly cliffs and bluffs, other than the sandy beach along the southeastern shore.

"The harbor entrance is here," she tapped the narrow southwestern inlet. "Less than two hundred meters wide with coral reefs on both sides. the two peninsulas lie one infront of the other, hiding the entrance. Perfect for defense, but also perfect for bottling us up. They'll concentrate their heaviest ships here."

"The defenses aren't just the obvious ones," Mya traced her finger along the cliff faces. "We carved into the rock, creating hidden positions. The cannons are placed to fire across the island's frontage, not just straight out to sea."

"Any force that manages to establish a beachhead will face concentrated fire across their line of advance. The elevated positions let us mount heavier guns than ships can carry - no need to worry about deck stress or recoil breaking apart wooden planks."

Petor's face was grim with the information. One cannon shot would sweep across the landing zones, reaping a terrible harvest. It was ingenious as its intent was terrible.

Desari studied the positions. "Smart setup. They'd need to silence multiple batteries to create a safe landing zone."

"Unfortunately, Braden knows the layout." Mya's jaw clenched.

"And about the ritual sites," Desari said.

"What do they do?" Valter asked.

"They're the core defenses of any Mardun island. Through them you can raise many more dead than you can raise yourself—without expending your own mana. You can view the entire battlefield as if you are there in person and activate different attacking and defensive rituals. There are rituals that will make a smoke that will be impossible for others to see through but allow our crews to see through," Mya said.

"We need to secure those and get them operating first before the enemy can sabotage them. How hard are they to move?" Desari asked.

"Very, they're built into the island themselves and tied in as a massive ritual of their own," Mya grimaced.

"If you can't move them, hide them," Petor said.

"They already know where they are," Mya said.

"Petor has a point, we've got those earth altering artifacts and scrolls, we can close up the entrances, trap them and seal them off, then create a new entrance," Desari said.

"Where will they land?" Petor asked.

Desari tapped the sandy beach. "Its the most open area and allows access into the island, there are other beaches around the island that they're going to test out."

"But they'll still station ships there to complete the encirclement," Mya said.

"They aim to advance to these locations," Desari pointed to three locations. beyond the beach.

Mya nodded. "If they can get cannons up there then they can fire across the harbor and into the buildings beyond that are built up the hill to the growing fields and fresh water lake."

Desari put her hands on her hips with a grimace on her face. "Information says they're bringing seventy thousand soldiers."

Petor whistled through his teeth. The number was staggering.

"It's not just the numbers," Mya's voice carried a grim edge. "The United Irdun Forces are bringing everything they have. The pirates will deploy their cultists - nasty pieces of work who commune with dark gods and can call forth beasts from the depths."

She pointed to several markers on the map. "The self-proclaimed 'righteous' forces will position their priests among the troops. These aren't your typical battlefield healers - they enhance soldiers' strength, speed, and stamina. Worse, they sanctify the ground and stops us necromancers from raising their dead against them."

"If there are priests, champions?" Valter asked.

"Yup, gods do love to have a strong fist around. They're loyal hand-picked warriors blessed by their gods."

Valter grunted. "Command structure?"

"Champions and priests will serve as officers. The pirates know their way around ships, but they're the smaller part of this force. The land-based nations following the righteous gods - their troops are the real hammer. Professional soldiers, well-trained, well-equipped. Once they get a foothold on shore..." Mya let the implications hang.

"How would you rate their ships?" Desari asked.

Mya's expression was dark.

"They've added ships of the Mardun to their ranks—those without souls like Mesurial. Those are the best ships in their fleet. They've also got the prizes we sold them through the years clearing the seas of pirates. They're older ships but they have cannons that work. They might have gotten better with the ships but it has been five years. Middling ability—but they have numbers."

"And they'll all be enhanced by their priests," Desari added.

"Exactly. The pirates might struggle on land, but those army units are bred for it. This isn't some ragtag force - it's a professional military backed by divine power. With all the support they want from their gods and from their nations."

"So Mardun has guns laid in that will hurt the enemy, rituals that should give them a nasty surprise, anything else we should consider?" Petor asked.

"My normal tactics of using the undead, rituals and necromantic powers will be greatly diminished and while the traders are deadly to any that face them upon the seas. We're not well suited for fighting on land," Mya said.

"What is your plan?" Valter asked.

“Get the Mardun Traders the fuck out of Irdun.” Mya said.

"I like simple plans," Valter grinned. He took out the plate he'd carved earlier and handed it to Desari. "For the conch. I've got armor to enchant."

"And I'm still doing seed-shots," Petor said, storing a freshly made one and taking out other seeds.