Vuroth's Tear: Even the Gods Cry

Chapter 40

Chapter 40

The Lucky Fin finally docked and Kass stood on deck, he couldn't wait to be on land again. The group traveled across the ramp onto the dock and as soon as they were across, Kass wore a huge smile on his face.

"Welcome back to dry land," Shouted Cap with a pat on Aven's back.

The place was so small, it wasn't even a village, just four small buildings and a dock only big enough for one ship.

"So we need to make our way to Chaston," Donovan spoke, stating the obvious.

Resh recalled the directions, "We go northwest from here, if we travel with you on our backs again, it should only take a few days."

Aven looked around, he couldn't help the feeling that something was wrong. He looked at the crew and Cap still on deck, "Does something seem wrong to you?" Aven asked in a low tone so only his friends would hear.

Donovan looked confused, "What do you mean?"

"Why would Cap sail to Drabin? There is nothing here, they aren't loading or unloading anything, except us," He looked at his friends, "do we even know if this is Drabin?"

Resh nodded, "You may be right. The people I talked to in Syrdania about Chaston, they gave the impression that Drabin was a busy port town, I mean, that's what I got from them at least."

Aven turned and stared back at the ship, "Cap, where the hell are we? This isn't Drabin, is it?"

The old man shook his head, "No, this isn't Drabin," He smiled, showing off his rotting and missing teeth as he stepped down the ramp, "I meant to talk to you about that."

"Where are we?" Aven was getting furious, the old man had lied to him. They had things to do and very little time to do it.

Cap apologized, "Aven, we cannot dock at Drabin, not with an ember Mage and Lycans," He nodded at Aven's shock, "yes, I know what you are. I befriended a pair of Elementals a long time ago. Good men, I don't remember their names. It was so long ago.

"Verik and Haveth?" Aven blurted out.

Cap got excited, "Yes! That was their names. The one with the blue eyes, he healed my hand after it got torn off in an accident aboard my ship."

"But how did you know I was a Mage?" Aven asked him.

Cap looked at him and laughed, "My boy, you wear the same clothes as those two men, when I recognized the clothing, I knew to look at your eyes. The glow isn't easy to see, still very dim, but you're young."

"How did you know Verik and Haveth?" Aven walked with the old man while they spoke.

"Oh, I would let them hop across the sea from time to time," Cap was so casual about it all.

What were the odds that Aven and his friends would encounter a man that his father and uncle knew? He looked at Cap, "So, where are we?"

Cap smiled, "It's a place I used for a while to store some of my supplies on this side of the sea. I haven't used it for quite some time, as you can see. Drabin is about two hours from here so you shouldn't be too far off schedule," He came closer, "One of my men heard you and your friends talking. It sounds like you have a lot to deal with, so my men and I will wait here to bring you back across the sea."

Aven felt a little relieved, he had been trying to plan a way back across the Galden sea, "Thank you, Cap. We will try to be back as soon as possible."

Velana and Resh went into the woods to hunt while Kass waited for Dawn to return to him with information about the area. Aven sat alone at the end of the dock watching the waves crashing against the shore. The sun was hidden by dark clouds that slowly drifted towards them, bringing a storm with it. Aven barely acknowledged the coming storm. He just wanted to find Quinn and get answers. Then he would be able to return and kill Tola for everything that had been taken from him, from all of them.

Donovan stood and watched Aven, he knew that his friend was in pain. He worried that Analda's death may have broken him. He turned to see Velana and Resh dragging a deer into the clearing. He decided that he should talk to Aven while they prepared dinner.

Donovan crouched next to his friend, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Don," He snapped back.

Donovan sighed, "Aven, I know you're hurting, we all are. You said it yourself, we are a family. Family talks to one another."

"You want me to talk, Don? What the hell is there to say?" He stood, Donovan rose with him, "Analda is dead, Verik is dead, Toth, Jazel, Stein... All of them are dead, what will change if I talk about it?"

Aven started to walk away but Donovan grabbed him and received a punch for it. Holding his jaw, he spoke, "It wasn't your fault!"

Velana, Resh and Kass rushed to them. Resh grabbed Aven and held his hands behind his back with lycan strength. Velana stood between them and locked her eyes on Aven, Donovan stood behind her, bleeding from his mouth.

Donovan spit blood onto the sun bleached wood dock, "You need to stop blaming yourself for everything, Aven. You were a kid when your mother died, Verik chose to stay behind," He paused for a moment, "Analda's death wasn't your fault either."

Rain began to fall around them, Aven stood staring at Donovan, his grip tightening around the scabbard of his sword. He had to remind himself that he was staring at his best friend because at that moment, his fury made it hard not to cut him down.

"He's right, Aven. None of their deaths were your fault," Velana spoke softly to him, "we are all hurting but you need to be strong, for us, we need you."

Kass looked up and saw Dawn soaring high above. He watched his companion dive towards the ground before landing on Kass' outstretched arm. He had a silent conversation with the bird and then relayed the information to Resh and Velana.

"He said the area looks clear, the husks haven't made it here yet. He said there doesn't appear to be any danger between here and Chaston," Resh was happy to offer good news, and hopefully cool Aven's rage.

Donovan ran his hand through his rain soaked hair and looked at Aven, "Let's find Quinn so we can get back and kill that bastard."

Aven nodded and Patted his friend on the back, his own silent apology. Velana and Resh stripped off their clothes and packed them back in the bag so they would have them when they got to Chaston.

"Cap, you and your men can have the deer, we will see you soon," Aven shouted before climbing on Velana's back with Donovan.

Kass was hesitant about climbing on Resh's back again but knew it would be easier than being on the ship. He let Dawn soar into the sky and took a deep breath before hopping on. Resh took off easy at first, he could feel Kass' fear through the mental connection. His grip on Resh's wet fur got tighter as they sped up.

Drabin was a beautiful town made of white stone and a long pair of docks full of elegant ships. It was a quiet, peaceful place for tourists and traders alike. Merchants had a boardwalk of stands to sell their items to newcomers and locals alike.

The buildings were simple but had something beautiful about them at the same time. In the center of the town there was a monument, an iron anchor wrapped in brass ivy.

The sea was choppy from the storm that was washing over the coast. Waves crashed against the dock, splashed against the ships while rain poured down. The Crews stayed aboard their ships to care for them while they bounced and bobbed on the waves.

A young crewman, new to sailing, felt nauseous and rushed to the side of the ship. The sickness subsided and shock set in at the sight of a man floating face down in the water.

"Man overboard!" He screamed for help. Other men from his ship rushed to the edge and then went crazy looking for something to help get the person out of the water. The person wasn't moving, the water crashed over them, forcing them beneath the surface. A man jumped, there was a long fall before he hit the violently thrashing waters and as soon as he surfaced he started swimming to the one floating.

He turned the man over and saw it was a corpse, long dead and mummified. He waved to his men to tell them it was a false alarm but the body sprang to life and grabbed him, pulling him below the surface of the water. Men on the boats all around started screaming. Husks climbed up the sides of the ships and began slaughtering everyone aboard. The creatures climbed onto the docks and began their assault on the people of the town. The people of Drabin didn't stand a chance.