SoulQuest (2 page)

“You place too much stock in legends and folklore, my dear.”

“What the hell are y’ thinkin’, kid?” asked Swul as Zarim and Ekala entered the bridge of the Excalibur.

The stout faerie barely stood above three feet. He wore a dark green cap with a short brim, casting a shadow over his unnaturally blue eyes, which seemed to sparkle. A cigar sat clamped between his teeth, and his entire appearance seemed somewhat at odds with the gossamer wings that protruded from the slits in his gray shirt and embroidered vest, the color of which matched his cap and his pants.

Zarim cast the faerie a dazzling smile as he passed a raised platform which housed an ornate chair with a red cushion. A few feet in front of that, on a slightly lower level, was a large steering wheel and an instrument console.

“We need to make some waves.” Zarim took the wheel, turning the Excalibur a hundred and eighty degrees. He reached for the large throttle, a rod extending from a point near his feet and accelerated.
 

“Think we can outrun ‘em?” asked Ekala.

Zarim smiled as he patted the wheel with affection. “Not a ship on the planet that can outrun my baby.”

His eyes widened as the proximity alarm flashed on the console. “Don’t tell me that...”

“What?” asked Swul.

“That Dreadnought ship is closing in on us—and fast!” Zarim turned to Swul and Ekala. “You two, go man the cannons! Reduce that damn ship to scrap!”

“You an’ me are gonna have words later, Zarim,” said Swul.
 

“Not now, little man!” Ekala grabbed Swul by the back collar of his shirt and yanked him behind her. Swul nearly dropped his cigar, but caught it and broke from her grasp, his wings flapping and raising him above the ground. He flew after her, quickly overtaking her as they descended the steps past the middle deck and down to the lower one. At the ship’s aft were cannons and an intercom system. As the pair moved into the seats mounted to the two rear cannons, the Excalibur was struck by a shell from the Dreadnought ship, causing the two of them to rock as the ship quaked.

The intercom crackled to life with Zarim’s voice scratching through. “You two better hurry up before pieces start falling off my ship!”

“Don’t get yer panties in a bunch,” said Swul. The cannon was too high for his diminutive frame, so he had to stand on the seat to see over the edge. “You know I hate these damn things!”

The cannons had wide barrels with a rack attached to it that fed shells into the weapon. Swul maneuvered the cannon, lining up the sight with the Dreadnought attack ship, and fired. There was a momentary lapse as the cannon reloaded and he heard Ekala fire her cannon as well. Both their shells struck the Dreadnought, but failed to deter it and it increased its speed, firing two shells of its own.
 

The Excalibur slewed to the left and the sudden shift in momentum caused Swul to lose his balance. He hung onto the cannon’s handles as it swung to the side, but used his wings to redirect him back.

“The hell’d you learn how to fly?” shouted the stout faerie.
 

Zarim’s responding voice crackled through the intercom. “Would you rather fly with a hole in the hull?”

“Rassum frassum...” muttered Swul. He climbed back into his seat and repositioned his cannon, and directed a sidelong glance to the beautiful piratess manning the gun to his left. “How you doin’, sweetheart?”

“I’d say better than you, but that’s because I can actually use the restraint harness on this thing,” said Ekala. She brought her cannon to the ready as a fresh shell slid into the barrel. She focused the sight, catching it dead on the Dreadnought. A pull of the trigger and the shell tore through the air. It cut the distance between them and the enemy and blew right into the bridge.
 

“Jackpot,” she said with a grin.

For a moment, the Dreadnought kept on them, but then thought better of it and veered off. Swul watched with a smile on his face. “Can’t believe it, you scared off a Dreadnought ship, babe!”

“I’m good that way,” said Ekala as she unfastened the harness. She walked back towards the bridge with Swul flittering behind her. Once they reached the bridge, Zarim offered a broad smile of his own and embraced Ekala.

“That was nothing short of amazing!” he said.

“Go on,” said Ekala.
 

“Let’s save the celebrations, kid.” Swul struck a match off Zarim’s armrest and lit a fresh cigar. “What the hell were you thinkin’ attracting Dreadnought attention like that?”

“Calm down,” said Zarim.

“Nah, I won’t calm down!” said Swul. “What’s the point? The bounty from a job like that ain’t worth the risk! All you did was lift some socialites’ wallets. Big freakin’ deal! We don’t need Dreadnoughts on our tail!”

“The point, my faerie friend, is that it sends a message. It spreads the word and our legend grows,” said Zarim.
 

Swul enunciated his points with his cigar clasped between two fingers. “First off, I’m no damn faerie. They cast me out, remember? Second, I was almost killed by one of those Dreadnought squads. I ain’t looking to go up against ‘em again.”

“You don’t have to remind me, pal. Who’s the one who saved your ass?” asked Zarim.

“Savin’ me from the fryin’ pan don’t give you no right to toss me in the goddamn fire!”
 

“Listen up, short round,” said Zarim. “Last time I checked, I was the captain of this ship, not you! So if you got a problem with the way I do things, why don’t you flitter off somewhere else?”

“Why you self-righteous, rat-bastard—”

“You forgot ‘roguishly handsome’.”

“—roguishly han—hey!”

Ekala moved towards the helm as Zarim and Swul continued the argument. She leaned against the wall, shaking her head with an amused disapproval. “You’re like damn kids when they get this way.” She knew the faerie had a point, though. Their take? Probably not worth risking Dreadnought attention. But on the other hand, their reputation made things run a bit more smoothly. And she
did
love going after the rich.

She finally decided they’d been arguing long enough. “So what’s our travel plan look like?”

Zarim looked away from Swul, and at console which had a map of the world showing their current position. “I’ve got a course plotted for Delfor. We can refuel and resupply there.”
 

Ekala huffed.

Zarim glanced over at her. “I know Delfor’s not your favorite place, but—”

“I just don’t trust Gax,” she said. “He’s a first-class creep.”

“Yeah, but if not for him, we wouldn’t have the Excalibur. And he gives us quite a bit of work,” said Zarim.

“I suppose,” said Ekala. “Still, he makes my skin crawl.”

The city of Xanadar sat nestled in the mountainous regions of the Shanla continent. It had been virtually untouched by the expansion of the Imperials based in Serenity, the location providing natural defenses from invading hordes.

Here was a place of spiritual enlightenment. A long and rough path led to Xanadar, but those who made the trek considered it a test of their fortitude. Many longed to learn from the guru known as Master Quand.
 

Quand was in the midst of a meditation seminar with several of his latest students, teaching them proper breathing techniques, when his eyelids snapped open. His head began to throb as an incredible force surged through his body.

Quand collapsed, his body going into a seizure as the concerned students milled around him. None of them had been here very long and they had no idea if this were part of the class or if Quand was truly in some form of danger.
 

A monk standing near the door pushed through the crowd, falling to his knees alongside of Quand. He tried to hold the man down until the seizure subsided. When it finally had, Quand looked up at the students surrounding him, studying their quizzical expressions.

“Master Quand?” asked the monk. “Are you okay?”

“No, Fei,” said Quand.

“What’s the matter?”

“It’s the Soulstones,” said Quand. “One of them has awoken.”

The Excalibur lowered from the clouds, its hull skidding above the surface of the sea. As its speed decreased, more of the hull lowered until it was racing atop the water. The speed decreased even more as the airship approached the port city of Delfor, moving into an open dock large enough to accommodate the ship.
 

On the outskirts of the empire’s reach, Delfor was one of the few free ports left in the world. As such, it was a prized location for ships of the air and sea, both legitimate and otherwise, to resupply or rest without any questions asked.
 

Once the Excalibur had been secured, the crew disembarked. Wings whirring and cigar clenched between his teeth, Swul relished being out in the open air once again. Without worries of the Empire’s reach, he had nothing to fear from drawing attention to his strange appearance. Ekala, although she generally disliked their reasons for making port at Delfor, did enjoy the freedom the city possessed. Zarim, on the other hand, was here simply for business. He never liked spending too much time in Delfor, just wanted to get in and get out.
 

On the pier, Zarim raised the hood on his cloak. “Okay, I’m gonna meet with Gax. Shouldn’t take more than an hour or two. Think the pair of you can stay out of trouble until then?”

Swul grinned as he wrapped his arm around Ekala’s legs. “We’ll be at the bar if y’ need us.”

Ekala smiled and patted the top of the faerie’s hat. “Take your time, we’ve got some drinking to catch up on.”

The two walked past Zarim, drawing quite a few stares from confused onlookers. Zarim called after them, “no brawling, okay?”

Ekala waved a dismissive hand in response without even breaking stride. Zarim shook his head but couldn’t help the smile.

“Give ‘em about thirty minutes before they get into trouble, if we’re lucky,” muttered Zarim.

The young pirate moved through the market square, avoiding peddlers who tried to accost him for his patronage. The food venders frequently approached potential customers, holding skewers of exotic delicacies and enticing them to come to the booth. Others asked if Zarim was interested in some companionship. A few advertised lodging for the night, and there was no end to the vendors who walked around trying to sell jewelry or “priceless artifacts” from some distant, foreign land. Zarim had grown used to the peddlers over his many visits to Delfor. He ignored them, tuning them out like so much white noise.

Once he reached the end of the market square, he turned down an alley. The shadows cast by the buildings concealed the area in darkness and the alley was strewn about with garbage and occupied by a few homeless vagrants. Two hundred yards down the alley Zarim stopped, his eyes flashing briefly as his hand moved beneath his cloak.

The attacker came from around the corner, pistol in hand, but by the time he brought it to bear, Zarim already had his own pointed at the man’s forehead. The attacker was unshaven and dressed in miserly clothing. The two foes sized each other up.

“Do we have to go through this every time, Kef?” asked Zarim.

Kef just chuckled and lowered his weapon. Zarim did the same. “One day, I will get the drop on you, my friend.”

Zarim patted Kef on the shoulder. “Keep dreaming. I’m here for Gax.”

“Of course, of course, come with me.” Kef motioned for Zarim to follow him around the corner. He came to a heavy iron door and banged three times. A panel slid open, a pair of eyes checked them, and then the locks turned. The door opened and a large, burly man stood there, nodding to the pair as they entered.
 

“Well, well, well.”

The voice was nasal-sounding. It belonged to a lanky fellow with round goggles on his thin face and draped in a long coat. He approached Zarim with a wide grin.
 

“How’s my ship doing?” he asked.

“You mean
my
ship, Gax,” said Zarim.

Gax snickered. “Did I? Forgive my memory, but the last I remember, the terms of our agreement state that the ship belongs to me. You are still in the leasing period, my young friend.”

Gax moved to a round table with two chairs and sat in one. He motioned for Zarim to sit opposite him. He linked his fingers together and rested his elbows on the table. “So what have you brought your old friend, Gax?”

Zarim pulled his cloak back to reveal a satchel hidden beneath it. He rested the satchel on the table and opened it, then drew out a large bag of coins and dropped it on the table. “Ten percent, as per our arrangement.”

Gax took the bag into his lap and two other arms emerged from the front of his coat to hold the bag open. His upper hands searched through it, running his fingertips over the coins. “Excellent.”

“So we square?” asked Zarim. “Because we do have some other business to discuss.”

“But of course. Sit, sit.” Gax closed the bag and handed it off to Kef. “So what can I do for you, Zarim?”

Zarim sat in the chair and leaned across the table. “It’s been a while since you had any jobs for my crew. The more we pull smash and grabs on rich folks, the more attention we draw to ourselves. We had to tangle with a Dreadnought on this last one.”

Gax threw his arms to the side. “What can I tell you? Times is tough, my friend. Times is tough. When I get a job, I tell you. These days, not much work going around, though. With the passing of days, Ra’kad increases his empire’s reach. More and more Dreadnoughts patrolling the skies and seas. Making a dishonest living isn’t as easy as it used to be.”

“Then how about you cut me a break?” asked Zarim. “Let us float for a little longer between payments.”

Gax clicked his tongue. “‘Fraid not, pretty boy. ‘Fraid not. I’ve a business to run, it don’t stop and start at your convenience.”

“Well, the more we have to contend with Ra’kad’s forces, the more we risk capture or death. And if that happens, you won’t even get ten percent. You think about that.” Zarim stood. “Now I’ve got some technical things to go over with you. Patch up my ship so we can get away from here.”