THE KEEPERS RISE

Chapter 14 - Bay for Blood - Part 1

*Remember to click the play button to listen to the soundtrack as you read!*

Trycho startled awake, head pounding. His ears were filled with the low rumble of moving metal and grinding gears. He found himself laying on his belly and instinctively pulled his arms close, reaching an unsteady six-legged standing position. A wall consisting of many interconnected metal plates was right in front of his face, and it was covered with red and black markings that he couldn't quite make out in the dim lighting.

Pushing himself upright with his middle legs, the anthrod tried to extend his Dark stone's stream to light the room better but found that it was blocked with red magic. Sighing, he backed up to see the wall in its entirety. His heart plummeted when he noticed the three black claw marks across the now visible circular logo that he knew all too well. The howling Red Wolf insignia, easily three times his height, loomed over him like a past mistake finally coming to light.

"Oh, look," he heard an unfamiliar gruff voice tease behind him, "The little insect woke up." Trycho whipped around a little too quickly and held his throbbing temples as he scanned his surroundings. His bug brain was instantly overwhelmed by the shifting movements of perhaps a hundred mostly humanoid beings.

The species in the room varied dramatically, but they all wore easily recognizable red and black Red Wolf uniforms, complete with capes, that looked as frayed by the struggles of mercenary life as their ragged faces. He peered around the room and was met with harsh, untrusting stares.

Closer to the ground, he noticed a few glistening mechanical canines about half his height sitting at attention near Red Wolves that were likely their owners. The wolf imitations were covered in sheet metal and had visibly turning gearwork inside that powered them with shuddering clunks. One of them cocked its razor-thin head at him greedily, to the sound of scraping steel.

Suddenly, Trycho heard someone moan softly and looked down to see Councilor Archimedes Quin sprawled on the ground beside him. Archimedes tentatively stood up and squinted at the anthrod, pressing one of his hands into the emblazoned wall to catch his balance. "Fates, Trycho, where-" He stopped himself when he saw the uniformed mass. "Oh," he murmured shakily.

Archimedes made an attempt to ask Trycho what had happened, but his friend just shook his head, saying with a harsh whisper, "I'll explain later."

Two human Red Wolves, one male and one female, were at the front of their so-called pack, and they approached the two Dark mages with disdain. The woman had strikingly dark skin, and despite her apparently lower rank, she strutted like she owned the ship. Trycho supposed that the difference between seven and eight ranking stripes on the Red Wolves' shirt cuffs didn't matter much in the grand scheme of things. She twirled a dreadlock with her finger and said slyly, "You boys are a long way from home." Neither of them responded.

In the silence, the man started to laugh. He appeared markedly different from his disheveled crew. His light brown hair was neatly swooped to the side, and he looked clean and almost princely. "You definitely know us, even if you've never met us," he sneered. "Does 'Nicolai' ring a bell?" He leaned casually against the wall, facing Archimedes's frozen form, and mockingly shook his pinched fingers near the Councilor's ear. "Ring-a-ding?" he goaded. "A little one? Right there?"

Archimedes's hand snapped up, grabbing the Red Wolf's wrist. "Listen, Admiral," He said with the least amount of respect that such a title could possibly carry. "The Dark Council won't let you..." He paused, cursing the residual slumbug venom. "They won't let you get away with... holding me hostage... You know that."

"That's Supreme Admiral to you," Nicolai spat, ripping his hand out of the Councilor's grasp in disgust, "And I don't think they have a choice. Have you even seen the Dark Council recently, kathumis?" He forced this last word out with a crackling snarl. When Archimedes remained mute, he walked a few paces towards his pack. "Have any of you?" The crewmates exchanged wry head shakes and snickers. "Marka," he jibed, facing the woman, "Surely you have."

"We chased those Councilors of yours all the way out of their Continuum before they vanished," Marka told the two mages in a sing-song tone, "And we've heard," she continued, face darkening, "That you two know where they are."

Trycho did his best to ignore the taunts. "Where is my crew?" he asked measuredly.

Nicolai leered at him like he had just told a hilarious yet confusing joke. "Well, we had no use for them," he said simply.

Trycho hissed and put a foot forward into a ready stance, reaching for the staff on his back. He found nothing but open air, and a startled and concerned Councilor Quin held him back by a hand. It was too late. Before Trycho could have taken another step, Nicolai reflexively pushed his palm towards the anthrod, eyes flashing bright red, and a wave of magic rammed Trycho back into the wall, holding him firmly against it.

"I hope you weren't expecting to get away with that," Nicolai remarked, raising an eyebrow smugly. He looked to Quin, who edged away in terrified compliance. "You know, I've also heard that you've been traveling with the young Keepers. I'm sure their Powerstones would be rather useful to us." He smiled and gazed up at the rickety ceiling, deep in his corrupted imagination.

"You can't just take their stones," Trycho said, struggling uselessly against the magic. At a slight twitch from Nicolai's hand, it suddenly gave way, and he fell forward, barely catching himself on Quin's shoulder. "They're impossible to unbind," he wavered.

"Oh?" Nicolai grinned deviously at the two Dark mages, and they glanced at each other with apprehension. "We'll see about that."