0.0.0 - Prologue

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  There’s a lot you can find if you’re willing to look where others won’t. The black, tarry morass of a swamp that choked an ancient country to death was one such place. Fetid, foul—and packed with treasure. The first men to plumb its depths found the bottom quickly, but as time wore those depths grew deeper which only ignited their greed. There were no fish to be had in these waters, its “fishermen” pulled in a more alluring catch. A whole land had been drowned under this vast lake in one of the many calamities of the last era. The water swirled with an eerie opacity that concealed many glittering objects and myriad dangers. Not to mention the water itself which was almost a poison in its own right. Small boats and barges trawled through this place at all hours dredging what they could; crewed by the desperate, greedy, and the deranged.

  Jik was of the greedy kind. Seated at the prow of a small ship, the diminutive figure of a young man stared into the darkness of the twisted trees and islands that dotted the black waters. Fog rolled in constantly in these parts, a constant roil of twisting gray mists that made the job of a watchkeeper difficult. Jik was one of the best for his age, but that was because he didn’t rely upon sight.

  Magic, though it had many names among the many cultures, was rare—especially in a backwater place such as this. Those aboard the ships had never questioned how, or even where he learned it. It didn’t matter in these parts. He rarely spoke to them if he could help it, but rather was focused inward on the somber voice that haunted him at all times. In these times of chaos many people were reincarnations of their ancestors, possessed by demons…or worse. it wasn’t something worth telling others if you wished to remain among the living.

  An eerie chill ran down his spine, accompanied by the all too familiar grating voice which interrupted his thoughts. The demon inside his mind spoke at last today.

  There’s something in the fog, Jik.

  “There’s something in the fog. We leave now.” muttered Jik, scowling at the loss of potential profits in this section of the swamp. They hadn’t found anything worth selling in days. He took a look over his shoulder to confirm he had been heard. There was a shuffle of activity as the weary souls on the ship reeled in their gear: nets and drag lines, poles, hooked staves… whatever they had on hand or had collected over the past months working here. These waters covered an entire submerged empire, there was treasure to be found from an unfathomable era. Jik had been born after the great war that consumed the heavens, the realms themselves had cracked apart destroying their connections and had cast the races of the realms into despair and deprivation. People just had to make do with what they had.

  A comment came from the deck below as a man popped his head out of a hatch. “You sure, Jik?” asked a man in what could be charitably described as rags. He scuttled back below the top deck to begin turning the ship around after seeing Jik’s face. These waters were treacherous, it didn’t make sense to risk one’s life, without sufficient profits of course.

  Jik nodded solemnly before turning back to the dark waters. Most ship captains these days had seen at least one boat torn apart by the things in these waters and islands, or a man dragged overboard…the living ones didn’t tend to question their watchers.

  There was creaking, and a deep thrum of an engine below as the ship laboriously turned. The splashing of the waves and the harsh sound of straining metal hung in the air. Jik was unperturbed as he walked along the deck, keeping a close eye on the fog that hung all too heavily on the small landmasses. He strained his ears, searching for signs of danger, but only heard muttering from the crew. Displeased at the lack of treasures. These grim folk only braved the waters out of necessity of course. Perhaps they owed someone a bit too much money?

  The deck, rusted through in parts and often stained mysteriously, was a testament to the danger of these ships. Though calling these rigs “ships” was generous. The men piloting them weren’t much better: bandits, treasure seekers and criminals. Jik spat into the waters below as the barge turned. He was none of these. That haunting voice compelled him into all manner of trouble…He could even hear it in his dreams. It was useful though, like right now as a matter of fact.

  The beasts have caught something.

  “Have they?” thought, Jik. He heard nothing, but he trusted it completely. Muffled wails in the distance cut off his train of thought. Maybe they wouldn't go home empty handed after all! Not every boat out here did an honest day’s work everyday. They weren’t murderers certainly, but is it really stealing once a treasure's owners are dead?

  “No.” cackled Jik, straining his senses and ears he found little and so began poking the long pole he was carrying in the water. You just had to follow the “vibrations”. He was incredible at finding his way through the murk and to wriggling “fish”. It was an unnatural sense he had gained from conversing with the voice. Breathing in deeply, he stilled his body and let his senses flow through and down the pole…

  The lapping of the waves on the sides of the boat. The soft sounds of people shuffling listlessly. The metallic click of instruments as the captain below guided the ship. He needed to go out deeper and so he threw his senses farther. Dimly he was aware of someone tapping on his shoulder, but he paid it no mind. In the distance he could “feel” claws running on metal and wood. There it was. He raised the pole out of the water and broke his trance. Jik tapped his spear against the hull several times rhythmically, stopping only when he heard tapping from below the deck.

  The ship lurched into motion in a new direction, deeper into the darkness and fog. They passed by small islands dotted with trees that clawed at the ship’s sides with banks of mists filling the swirling waters. The gray, dim light that filtered through the clouds cast everything in shifting shadows. Little could be heard in these damp surroundings of sloshing water and rustling from the movements of people on the ship. Sound did not travel far in these parts. Everything was always muffled. It was choking and stifling. The smell was thick enough that it coated one’s tongue. Jik tapped on the side of the boat again, causing it to turn again, a smaller turn this time. He grimaced as he took in a breath, the deeper areas of this place were sickening.

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  There was a hint of salt within the foulness of the breezes that blew in these parts, giving the impression that somewhere in the distance there was a great sea…not that anyone had found it of course. Maps had ceased to be accurate in these parts decades ago; the landmasses and waters within shifted in bizarre and unpredictable ways. Considering that this body of water was inland only made the situation more curious seeing as you couldn’t sail across it and hope to live unless you hugged the shoreline.

  His reverie was shaken as an imposing landmass came into view. A small isle, overgrown and surrounded with jagged outcrops and cliffs that rose above the waters. This was for sure where the screaming had come from. The less experienced tended to believe the islands here were safer than the waters after all, but they provided no sanctuary. A beached ship could be vaguely seen stuck between the teeth of sharp rocks and a sandbar. Jik felt a presence walking up behind him.

  “They were chased onto the shore?” asked Captain Vans, expecting a response in short order.

  “Not a single corpse in the water or any swimmers from what I feel, they took to the land.” replied Jik promptly. He poked around in the water, delving into it with his senses. “No cargo in the water as well…it could still be aboard.”

  “Do we have time to salvage their ship?” said Vans, “We don’t want any of ours to die here.”

  Jik took a deep breath before exhaling slowly and closing his eyes. The world disappearing around him to be replaced by a field of ripples, small eddies and currents disturbed the flow where men worked on the rig, hurrying to prepare for potential danger. The beached ship in the distance made few disturbances in the flow, except for a small ripple created by the magic of its engine. His senses flowed to the edge of the shore like a creeping mist, moving up to the edge of the dense foliage and dark plants before probing the forest. There was nothing.

  “It’s clear at least until the treeline.” Replied, Jik. Confident in his assessment he took the pole out of the water, and stowed it on the deck before adjusting his coat. It was time to get to work.

  The captain nodded, they hadn’t made good money in a long time. It was worth the risk. He turned to the rest of the crew barking orders as they sprang into action.

  The risks were quite serious. Jik had only been in this line of work for a few years and he’d already stopped trying to learn most people's names.Their shadowy forms on the boat, dimly seen in the mist would all too easily be lost beneath the waves. He felt a slight vibration in his skull, before the voice spoke again.

  Mortal lives fade quickly, whether cut short or taken by time.

  Jik tended to ignore it at times like these. Perhaps it was for his own ego, but he didn’t always agree with it. The voice had opinions…dark thoughts at times that were chilling. He finished fastening his coat tight to his body, you didn’t want your clothes to be too loose when raiding.

  The ship sailed closer to one stuck on the rocks. Ropes were thrown over the sides with hooks, attaching where they could on the skewed vessel and a small swarm of activity developed as dark figures climbed along the ropes to the beached ship.

  “Grab what you can Jik, be fast.” said Vans who remained aboard their ship with several guards armed with swords, light interlocking plates of metal armor over toughened leather and a few firearms. Guns weren’t too effective at killing the beasts in these parts but shooting them several times tended to stun them or force them out of the sky. If they were richer they would’ve paid for a mage to accompany them. Their eyes scanned the sky without rest.

  Jik hopped over the edge of the ship, taking note of the churning water below as he shimmied across a rope. The winds whipped across his clothes making him sway dangerously but this was nothing to him. He placed his hands one over another, in a practiced manner quickly finding himself at the other end. He hadn’t heard screams from the forest or anything to indicate a problem, but there was something there in the darkness.

  Focus. We need to take the ship’s core.

  The voice was often insistent on taking certain objects, Jik collected them dutifully, but they tended to disappear without a trace. It wasn’t worth questioning, they were on the same side. Magical engines, objects imbued with Qi and energy, were worth an incredible amount but Jik had never sold one. The crew was busy ferrying objects between the two ships; crates of objects covered in black murk, things made of strange metals, bones of beast and human alike carved with strange symbols.

  Jik headed below the deck into the cramped spaces where the machinery and bridge were located. The tilt of the boat made his progress difficult as he went down a set of wooden stairs into total darkness. The lack of light didn’t bother him, he didn’t need light to see…he had found out recently he didn’t even need to breathe often. Many things had changed as the voice grew more talkative in his life, he had started to have doubts he was even human. There were other more magical peoples in the world afterall.

  A heavy wooden door blocked his progress to the engine room, though pitch dark he could see the tools spread all over the floor as well as stains of blood. Broken wood and pieces of metal littered the floor. On the other side of the door he could sense at least one corpse, it tended to be difficult to tell when they were in many pieces. There were many valuable things scattered throughout the rooms below deck: weapons, guns, discarded pieces of armor, salvage and components of ship and yet…

  Worthless. Take the core.

  “They were attacked and abandoned the ship.” thought Jik, “We have to be quick about this.”

  He could break the door easily, it was only made of wood and metal but it would attract far too much attention and there was a better way. Reaching out with his divine senses he could feel the shape of the lock and slowly, carefully, open it by reaching out with the power and jamming the tumblers into place. Jik prodded it with magic and felt the small clicks as he manipulated the lock to open it. He pressed his body against the door in case someone came down the stairs, it was a reasonable precaution in case someone stumbled through the dark. A final click sounded as the door opened, and beyond it was a yawning abyss.

  The smell was oppressive here; musty, damp, tinged with iron and gunpowder. The floor in the small room of the engine was slick with a mixture of substances that squelched under his boots as he carefully walked in. He gingerly stepped over the motionless form he felt from outside, offering a prayer for forgiveness as he did so, and continued to the center of the room where the core was located. It was a crude thing made of imbued metal and magic, still thrumming with life as it powered a dying ship. It was bigger than a man, and weighed at least half a ton…

  “Take it.” Jik thought.

  Gladly.

  The space in the small room seemed to shiver and waver for a moment and the boat shook slightly. In a moment, it was gone. There was silence now in the engine room, it had become almost tomb-like. The slight hum died into nothingness as Jik gathered random objects into a sack. Pieces of metal and tools from a ship sold for quite a pretty penny still. He briefly considered rifling through the pockets of the corpse but decided against it. It would be in poor taste, they didn’t have anything on them seemingly valuable as well.

  After gathering what he could he put his hands against a low spot in the hull, against it he could sense the water moving and lapping against the sides…and pushed through the wood with his hands, it splintered and groaned in protest, the metal of the ship’s hull on the outside deforming until the panel started cracking. His hands bit into the metal and were barely even marked, the shards of jagged metal failing to cut him even lightly. As the metal failed, there was a slow patter of dripping. The sound of water seeping in could be heard in the engine room reverberating in confined space. Checking once again that no one was nearby, he simply hit it as hard as he could with a fist, breaking through it fully with a harsh groaning sound. As water began to rush into the lower levels of the ship, the frenzied sounds from the above decks quickened and yelling could be heard from above. Jik took a quick glance, proud of his work, before cupping his hands around his mouth and yelling as loud as he could.

  “Time to go!.” screamed Jik, making sure that those above could hear him. “The boat is leaking below, we need to leave now!”