Chapter 15

“Listen up!” Beryl said on the upper deck of the ship, the crew gathered all around her. “What we first need to do is retrieve some of our equipment which was lost when the Golden Bride sank in the waters on the coast of Alarunta.”

“How important is said equipment?” Gaius said, walking along behind the crew. “And can we not simply buy replacements for them elsewhere? I have friends in Kathol who can get us some state-of-the-art equipment from Ormland. Or, if we really need something that badly, we can sail to Calhorn and see what we can find there. Worst comes to worst, I have some contacts in Xenji who can get us some stuff from the Commonwealth.”

“No, we need these,” Beryl said. “They are of the utmost importance to us. Without them, capturing Admiral Sebastian will be extremely difficult, bordering on impossible. They include old notes from our wizard back then as well as a few devices that can dampen the power of the lich.”

“Such as?” Gaius raised an inquisitive brow.

“Some ancient texts from Zengo, Ubastis, Videan and Kithiya,” Beryl said. “Some of them hundred or perhaps even thousands of years old. And, before you ask, they’ve all been tightly sealed in a chest that’s waterproof so you can be sure that they’re still intact. There are also several devices there such as a Solomonian Cube, a Horusian Mirror and a Storm rod.”

Sienna started up at that and came closer to the prince to speak to him.

“My prince,” she said. “Those items she speaks of, they are used to conjure powerful magic. What she says is true. They’re one-of-a-kind and I don’t think anything similar can be found here in other parts of Pyril. I mean, you’d be very lucky if you managed to find them anywhere else in the Confederate Islands. She is right Your Highness; we must retrieve those artifacts if we are to recapture Admiral Sebastian and hope to contain his power.”

Gaius looked at the owl and then at the mink.

“A salvage operation then,” Gaius said. “But you must understand that what you ask will require special tools in order to be done. I am somewhat aware of the topography of the waters around Alarunta and I know that they are actually very deep. We will need a diving bell to even make the operation possible and we will have to find special breathing apparatuses such as algae tanks if we want to be thorough in retrieving the equipment you speak of.”

“Aye, Your Highness,” Beryl nodded. “I meant exactly that. I was hoping perhaps that you could provide some resources to get us the gear you mentioned. I assumed that being a prince of Delmaron grants you privileges we commoners lack.”

“That they do,” but the lion looked doubtful. “But you have to understand, I don’t even know where to find the things you mentioned. Now, if we were in Delmaron or at least among the more civilized parts of the Confederate Islands I could ask around for a diving bell and a few algae tanks. However, you have to understand that these kinds of devices are likely very few and far between in places like Pyril.”

“Actually,” Zane the cobra said, surprising everyone. “There’s someone I know who might have access to the things you just mentioned.”

“Who?” Gaius asked. “And I hope you’re certain that this man has what we need.”

“I believe Count Belford the Jackal has those apparatuses you just mentioned.” Zane answered. “And, if I’m not mistaken, he lives in Karlaca which isn’t too far from where we are.”

“Wait, Count Belford?” Father Stanwick the badger, official chaplain of the ship, said with a questioning look. “Isn’t he some sort of heretic? I was told that he had been charged with heresy and even witchcraft by the local clergy. It was said that he dabbled in black magic and all sorts of foul sorcery.”

“Yes, the count is well known for his eccentricity,” Zane agreed. “As a matter of fact, it was what got him banished from the alchemic community as well.

“But one thing is for sure, the man was very wealthy. He was after all a favorite nephew of one of the kings of the Dark Isles. The places he had been to and the things he had found were to be marveled at. For instance, he’d shown as an ancient clock that was found in Kithiya that was somehow powered by the sun. He also had a strange pistol that could fire five to six bullets rather than just one or two. And of course, he does indeed have a diving bell and a good collection of algae tanks if I remember correctly. Unfortunately, as mentioned, he is quite the eccentric.

“No, not just eccentric. Suffice to say the man was mad as hell as well. It was rumored, but never proven, that the man had truck with evil spirits and dark gods. It was said that he studied deeply the Sallow Scriptures of the ancient Pyrilians, the people whom Zebastonian explorers often found themselves fighting. Father Stanwick is right and I heard it from the leader of the alchemic community that Count Belford was caught cutting up corpses in order to enact vile rituals to please the dreaded gods of the old tribes of Pyril. There is even the persistent rumor that the count had sacrificed his own wife and daughter in order to advance his research in the occult.

“But again, a lot of them are indeed just rumors. None have ever really been proven yet. For all we know, his wife and daughter simply left him because of his bizarre hobbies. And of course, cutting up corpses without due reason is indeed a crime in the eyes of the Creator, the laws of man-kin and not to mention the corpses living relatives, it was never proven that said corpses were slain by him.”

“So, we have at least that,” Beryl said. “What say you, Your Highness?”

“Hmm...” Prince Gaius smiled. “I do believe it’s time we paid the island of Karlaca a visit!”