The Dusk Guard Saga: Beyond the Borderlands

by Viking ZX


Chapter 5 - The Manticore

Ruffian’s Wharf - West Docks

“All right,” Blade said, eyeing the faint shape of the Manticore as it bobbed up and down next to the dock. “That’s it, right?”

“Yes,” Hain said, his voice barely carrying over the faint whistling wind and the deep groan of the ice grinding against the shore. “That’s Ennuis’s ship.”

“It doesn’t look like much,” she said, eyeing the flat-bottom as the vessel tugged against the dock. “It looks like a river boat.” The front of the ship was turned away from them, the prow facing out towards the ice, the silver moonlight just bright enough that she could make out the shape of the underside as it floated above the ice.

“It’s an old dredger,” Alchemy said, the dull-orange earth pony appearing by her side as if by magic. “They stole it and rebuilt it about fifteen years back. Turned the hull space into a weapons depot and crew quarters, stuff like that. Pretty typical for around here.” She glanced at him, one eyebrow cocked, and he shrugged. “Ennuis brags a lot,” he said by way of explanation.

“Right,” she replied, turning her gaze back towards the Manticore. The wind picked up, gusting, and she watched as the ship twisted slightly, the lines securing it to the dock going tight before slackening once more. “And you’re sure we can pilot the thing?”

“We can crew it, if that’s what you mean,” Hain said, pointing one claw out from their hiding spot. “The Manticore only has a single mast and the two side-sails,” he said, pointing them out. “Even if it wasn’t modernized, we could crew her easily enough.”

“No propellers,” Blade said, frowning as she ran her eyes over the rear end of the ship. “Too new?”

“That and fuel’s a bit costly,” Hain said, dropping his claw back into the shadows and glancing in her direction. “So, leader, what’s the plan?”

“Give me a minute.” She eyed the faint ship, rolling her gaze across it and the dock. It really did remind her of the river scows she’d seen used by the Rover clan back home, long and wide with a raised, well-lit rear bridge atop at least two levels of cabin structure that let the captain of the ship see his entire deck spread out before him, safe from the elements. Except where those scows had ridden low in the water, piled with goods bound for the nearest naval ports, and had borne an impressive crane arrangement in the center of the deck, the Manticore was floating gently above the surface of the ice, its deck clear from what glimpses she was getting, and it lacked the heavy, metal arm of a crane.

Still, the plan would work. Provided they could get to the Manticore and clear it without anyone noticing them.

All right, she thought, studying the back of the ship, keeping her eyes just off to the side of the well-lit windows so her eyesight wouldn’t adjust. A faint shadow moved across one of the windows, and she nodded. So there’s at least one pony inside, and then … The Manticore twisted once again as the wind gusted, turning just enough to the side that she could make out a faint lump leaning over the side of the railing. Another guard? The shape turned, moving down the deck, and she nodded. Guard.

“I see one guard on the deck, and there’s at least one other pirate inside,” she said, glancing at Alchemy and Hain. “You two see anyone else?”

“There’s probably a third guard inside,” Hain said. “Unless Ennuis really is foolish, there’s bound to be a relief down below somewhere, keeping the oil-heater going and relaxing until their watch.”

“Right,” Blade said, nodding and looking back towards the ship. “Three guards then. One on the bridge, one on deck, and one below. We come from the rear, flying low. Hain, you see the rear walkway behind the cabin?” She could barely make it out against the shadow of the ship, but the railing was visible enough, marking an open space that wrapped around the back and sides of the ship’s bridge.

“Yeah,” he said. “Barely.”

“We come in low and then angle up to land on that,” she said, mentally mapping the plan of attack inside her mind. “One of us goes up onto the roof and gets into position to take down the guard on the deck.”

“What’s the signal?” Hain asked.

She paused. Right, we can’t say anything. “Count of ten,” she said, nodding. “From the moment one of us slips up onto the roof.”

“What about me?” Alchemy asked.

“Move up the dock,” she said, turning her attention towards the long, empty stretch of wood. There were no other ships berthed along its length. Apparently no one wanted to be close to the Bloodhooves’ ship. “With luck, the guard won’t be able to make out who you are and will assume you’re just one of them. But,” she said, glancing in the direction of the lean earth pony and eyeing the heavily packed saddlebags thrown across his back. “Try not to get too close until we’ve already made our move.”

Alchemy nodded, his expression unreadable, and she turned her attention back towards the Manticore. “Once the guard on the bridge has been taken down—silently as possible—we’ll converge on the lower levels and root out any troublemakers.”

“And if there’s a whole group of pirates sleeping belowdecks?” Alchemy asked.

“Then I get to see how you pulled off what you did back at the hospital,” Blade said, crouching and spreading her wings. “Hain? You ready?”

“Who am I going for?” he asked, lowering his body into a crouch. “Deck? Or bridge?”

“Uh … deck,” she said, picking at random. It’s been years since I’ve worked with anyone else like this, she thought as she turned her eyes skyward. I’m not used to having to think about breaking tasks up like this. “Wait for it …” The sky was mostly cloudless, but here and there small bits of grey fluff drifted across the sky like wool. It wasn’t enough to block out the brilliant light of the moon, low in the sky to the southeast, but it would hopefully be enough to give them a little cover.

There! The moon dimmed slightly as the tail end of one of the clouds passed over it, and she darted out from under the warehouse overhang they’d been hiding under, Hain following a moment later. She spread her wings, her talons digging into the frozen ground and kicking up small clumps of dirt as she ran down towards the silt-covered beach, where tons of ice had ground against the rocky shoreline over and over again until there was nothing left but a barrier of fine dirt.

She used the silt as a launching point, kicking off of it and spreading her wings wide as she soared over the ice. Up ahead, the stern of the Manticore loomed, the dull moonlight just enough to paint the lumpy-looking surface in sterile grey. She tilted back as the rear of the vessel drew closer, tucking her wings towards her hindquarters and giving herself a final boost upwards, her talons reaching out and easily digging into the wood below the railing. With the last of her upwards momentum, she pulled her body up and over onto the narrow walkway, tucking her wings close to her sides and pressing herself gently up against the side of the cabin. Hain was just a few feet away, his own eyes alert as he pulled himself up. He gave her a single look, a nod, and then, picking a spot between the rear windows of the bridge, slid up onto the roof, so silent he might as well have been a mirage.

Ten count, she told herself as she began to slide across the walkway, ignoring the pull of the rough wood as it tugged at her belly fur. There was a small, narrow door set into the back of the bridge, barely wide enough for her to fit through, but it would have to do. Six … She rose up slowly, keeping herself well below the rear windows, and wrapped her talons around the door’s handle.

Three. Alchemy moving down the dock, trying to look as casual as possible. It didn’t really work, though the moonlight was at least hiding the color of his coat. Two. Beyond him, the raised vantage point of the bridge was enough that she could see distant flames still burning near the eastern side of the town, around where Hain’s home had been immolated. Hopefully the fire hadn’t spread too far before the townsfolk had gotten it under control.

One. Her grip tightened, digging into the cold metal, and then she whipped the door open, exploding across the interior of the bridge. A stunned earth pony looked up at her in surprise, his tattooed jaw dropping in shock as her fist swept in towards his head. The faint thunk of the impact reverberated up her foreleg as the pale-green pony folded, his eyes rolled back into his head as he slumped. She snaked her other foreleg beneath his barrel as he collapsed, not stopping but slowing his fall so that the sound of his body hitting the deck was muffled.

Hain? she wondered as she stepped around the comatose pony, looking out through the large windows at the bridge’s front. They stretched from ceiling to floor, tilted forward at the top to give her the best possible view of the deck. Below her she could just make out the faint shape of Hain as he shoved a limp looking pegasus over the rail. The body plummeted out of sight as it dropped toward the ice.

All right, that’s a kill, Blade thought as the shape that was Hain turned towards her. She gave him a nod, fully aware that he could see it. Given what the pirates would have done to them, though … Now just to take care of that last—

A door burst open down on the deck, light spilling out from within one of the cabins below her as a diamond dog stepped out. He froze in surprise for a brief moment as he saw Hain, and then his hand was darting for the small crossbow hanging at his side even as the griffon began to lunge forward.

Neither of them made it. Alchemy appeared out of nowhere, his hooves flying in a rapid, sweeping series of movements that crashed into the diamond dog’s head and chest. The blows moved so fast they were almost impossible to track, Alchemy’s hooves a blur as he drove his target back with hit after hit. The diamond dog made one desperate punch back, and Alchemy stepped to the side, wrapping his forehooves around the dog’s arm and heaving the heavy sapient up and over his body. Blade felt her jaw drop as the lean earth pony threw his target, rolling him across his body and sending him sailing over the side of the Manticore to land on the dock in a heap.

How … How did he do that? she thought, her mind reeling as Alchemy darted in the open door. A moment later she heard the sound of hooves rapping against wood, and she turned to see him coming up the interior stairs, rising onto the bridge with a fluid grace that now looked more off than ever.

“How—?”

He cut her off with a wave of his hoof as he slid to a stop in front of the ship’s wheel. “Later. Hain can get the rigging for the sails that isn’t automatic checked from out there, but someone needs to cut the mooring lines.” He glanced down at the unconscious earth pony she’d left on the floor. “And unless we’re bringing him with us—”

“I got it,” she said, grabbing one limp hoof and dragging the green pony across the floor. He was heavy, but not heavy enough she wouldn’t be able to toss him over the side to the dock with his friend. Or onto the ice. But killing an unconscious opponent wasn’t right, even if he probably would have returned the favor.

Hain was already up in the rigging when she stepped out onto the deck, the icy cold wind immediately reminding her how warm the inside of the ship had been. And that she still didn’t have any warm covering other than her ragged-looking scarf.

The green pony’s body made a muffled thump against the dock as she tossed him over the rail, his head banging against the thick wood. On a whim she glanced at the nearby form of the diamond dog. Maybe he’d been smaller than she’d thought, and his apparent size had just been a trick of the light?

But no, she could see the vastness of his build from the Manticore. He was easily almost as large as Ennuis had been. And this opponent hadn’t been wounded beforehand.

Clearly there’s more to you than you’re letting on, she thought as she took a quick glance up at the bridge. Alchemy was standing on his hind legs behind the wheel, pulling at levers, his attention turned up towards the rigging on the central mast. I’m definitely going to ask about that as soon as we make it out of here, she thought as she turned towards the mooring lines. It’s time to learn about the capabilities of my “team.”

The mooring lines were thick, but not so thick that a few moments sawing with her newly regrown talons couldn’t cut through them. The first rope parted and slithered over the gunwale, dropping away towards the ice as she moved for the second line. It too parted, and then there was only one line left, growing tight near the front of the ship as the rearwind pushed the ship forward. It snapped before she’d cut it all the way through, the two halves dropping away; the Manticore lurching beneath her feet as it jerked free of the dock.

Small sails rippled above her as they caught the wind, pulling the ship even further away from the dock. The Manticore began to bob almost immediately, rising and falling as it slipped silently over the ice, gliding on the wind. It was, she decided, a little like being on an ocean, but without the sound of rushing water slapping against the sides of the boat or crashing over itself in endless waves. All that there was in its place was the endless groan of the ice.

“First time on an ice skimmer?” Hain asked as he dropped down from above, tucking his wings close to his sides as the wind picked up once more. Up above, the lights of the bridge went out, leaving the deck lit by nothing but moonlight.

She nodded. “Never thought I would ride on one until I knew I was coming here. It’s weird.”

“It is,” Hain said, rocking slightly as the boat kicked beneath them. ‘Still, it’s the only way to cross the ice.”

“Right.” She turned, eyeing the already shrinking shoreline and pile of buildings that was Ruffian’s Wharf. “You think they’ll follow us?” she asked, eyes narrowing.

“Are you asking for a hunch, or my tactical assessment?” Hain asked.

“The assessment,” she said, stepping over to the side of the boat and resting her forelegs on the gunwale. There was a swivel mount nearby, the kind that was used to steady large crossbows or other weapons when they fired. She made a note to check the ship’s armory later and see if there were indeed weapons. Ruffian’s Wharf was still sinking into the distance, but the tense feeling in her gut hadn’t quite left yet. “I want to know if they can catch us.”

“Follow us, certainly,” Hain said, resting his forelegs on the railing next to her. “I doubt they’ll catch us, though. Most of the boats in Ruffian’s Wharf are dredgers like this one used to be. They’re heavy, and generally have even less sail.” There was a rumble beneath the deck, and outriggers began to fold out from rear of the Manticore, fanning out to both sides and spreading additional sailcloth between them. Down below, the ice began to slide past at an even quicker rate.

“But if you’re wondering how long you’ll need to wait until that nervous feeling in your gut goes away,” he said, dropping back down onto the deck. “Well, it won’t.”

“What?” she asked, tearing her gaze away and looking at him. “What do you mean?”

The older griffon shrugged, the grey of his feathers looking even more bland than normal in the moonlight, though it did serve to highlight the faint black speckling across his wings that had at one point probably been a lot more vivid. “You just stole a ice boat from the Bloodhooves, kit. If you rest easy before you’re well away from here, you’re not thinking hard enough about the consequences.”

“Great advice,” she said, her voice dry. “I’ll keep it in mind.”

Hain shook his head. “A good tactical assessment isn’t always a glowing one, kit. A good tactical assessment is one that’s honest. Do I believe that anyone from Ruffian’s Wharf  can catch us right now? No, I don’t.” He shook his head. “But regardless of that, a well-padded griffon or pegasus pony could catch up to us in the next few miles if they were able to keep warm enough.”

“Right,” Blade said, turning her eyes skyward. “So we’ll need to keep an eye out.”

“More than that,” Hain replied. “Ennuis isn’t going to let this go. Neither will the Bloodhooves. Or the cult, once they get word that you’re looking for them.”

“Yeah, well that I don’t mind,” she said, turning and giving him a grin. “Cracking heads is what I get paid to do usually anyway. If they want to come to me instead of me having to look for them, that’ll make this job a lot easier.”

“Easy …” Hain shook his head. “Kit, I don’t know how many jobs you’ve been on, but they usually don’t qualify as easy.”

“You don’t know my jobs,” Blade said, unable to hold back a faint chuckle as she looked back in the direction of Ruffian’s Wharf. “So far, this one doesn’t even seem that odd. Especially not compared to my last one.”

“Which was?” Hain prompted.

“A long story,” she said, shaking her head. “One involving some seriously questionable unicorns and a special forces division. Oh, and a building.” She turned towards him, hiding a shiver from the cold—or from something else—with her wings. “A building that collapsed … along with some other stuff that’s kind of classified.” Like the soulless golems. Lots of them. Though those had been kind of cool.

“If you say so, kit,” Hain said, turning towards the cabin door. “So, why don’t you come in and we’ll watch through the rear windows so we don’t freeze to death. And while you’re at it, we can get some things straight about this team.”

“Like what?” she asked, turning to follow him as he opened the door and stepped inside, light cascading across the deck. “And shouldn’t we check the rest of the boat for other occupants?”

“Probably,” Hain said, waiting for her inside the door. She shut it behind her as she entered, closing off the cold chill of the outside air. “And we should probably douse the lights down here, too. Plus check the oil reserves to make sure that we’re topped off, just in case we aren’t.”

“So I should do it?” Blade asked, lifting an eyebrow as she looked at him.

“No,” Hain said, shaking his head. “That would mean I was giving you orders. First things first, chick, let’s make this clear about this little team you’ve put together. I am not in charge. Got it?”

“But—” She blinked, her tail slashing through the air behind her. “That’s why I wanted to hire you.”

“You hired me to advise,” Hain said, his voice firm and brokering no argument. “And to fight, if needed. But I will not lead. That’s your job.”

“And if I order you to lead?” Blade asked, resting back on her haunches.

“Then I quit,” Hain said. “Head for Equestria. Or somewhere other than the Ocean. I’m not welcome here any more.”

“So then you’re going to …?”

“Advise, like I said.” Hain sat back and glanced at the nearby oil lamp. “For instance …”

“Someone needs to turn that down or off,” Blade said, nodding. “I get it. Why don’t you do that, and I’ll check below decks for any other surprises.”

“And if you find any?” Hain asked, rising and lowering the lamp with one carefully placed talon.

“That’s what these are for,” Blade said, clicking her talons together for emphasis. “I’ll meet you on the bridge in a few minutes.

So now I’m the leader now, she thought as she made her way below, pausing to check the oil heater and its supply when she found it. The long, cylindrical tank was almost full, and she moved on, checking the ship’s rooms one by one. It wasn’t spacious by any means, but it was certainly liveable. The crew quarters were laid out in a series of somewhat orderly bunkbeds. The galley was stocked, though the food looked fairly subpar, and the armory, when she found it, was decently supplied with blades, a variety of griffon-made crossbows—most heavily modified—and even some gunpowder. There was a forward armory as well, with deck access ports—probably for servicing the deckside weapon emplacements.

No cannons, though, she thought as she worked her way back. Then again, it was a small, refurbished dredger. Maybe they hadn’t wanted to take the time and effort when a ballista with an explosive head was easier to manage.

She moved up, back to the main deck level and then past it, and found that most of the next level, the one directly beneath the bridge, had been taken up by what looked like a gaudy, over the top captain’s cabin, complete with what looked like trophies, a safe in one corner, and a number of maps strewn across the desk.

I’ll look at those later, Blade thought, giving the room’s corners a quick check and finding nothing. There might be something useful on them, or maybe—hello, what’s this? Something glimmered in the faint light, shining on one end of Ennuis’s desk. Is this … It is!

It was a revolver. An old one, from the dents in the metal and the questionable appearance. But a revolver nonetheless. Faint words had been stamped across one side of the metal barrel, words that looked like Griffon but upon closer examination appeared to be worn and faded Minos. Which made sense. The minotaur engineers had been one of the first to come up with a firearm, after all.

Huh, she thought, hefting the revolver in her palm and wrapping her talons around the grip. It was a bit heavy, and her long talons made it awkward to grip, but even so.

Maybe Hain would want it, she thought, checking the chamber to make sure it was empty before setting it back down on the desk. Though I’ll bet Ennuis is going to be mad we’ve got it. Not that it was any sort of prize. It’d probably jam before making it through all seven shots, she thought as she left the cabin. If he even has ammo for it. Gunpowder isn’t cheap, and neither are bullets. Assuming he had any of the latter to begin with. Someone would have to check later. She doused the lights and left.

Up on the darkened bridge, Alchemy was at the wheel, though he didn’t seem to be doing much but keeping an eye on the ice ahead. Hain was standing near the back, looking out one of the rear windows. He looked in her direction as she climbed up the stairs, moonlight cutting across his face. “Find anyone?”

“No,” she said, shaking her head. “You?”

“I haven’t seen anyone following us, if that’s what you mean,” he said, turning his attention outside the window once more. “We’re not far enough away that we can stop worrying about it though. We’ll have to give it a few hours.”

“Right,” she said, nodding. It was a little unsettling the way he kept deferring to her. Even if he had declared her the leader of the group. “So, you suggested—” He coughed, and she shook her head. Right. I need to get answers about this group.

“So,” she said, starting again. “If I’m going to be in charge of this group, we’ll need to get some things straight. Like first,” she said, turning towards Alchemy. “I want to know how in the sands of Turuncu you, Alchemy—” The dull-orange pony looked in her direction, a look of faint surprise on his face. She didn’t stall. “—managed to throw a diamond dog several times your weight and size over the side of the boat. For that matter, you cleared out a whole room full of ponies and one slightly injured minotaur.”

“So could you,” Alchemy said, leaning over and pulling one of the levers on the side of the steering console. There was a dull thunk as something—probably an autopilot—engaged, and Alchemy turned, giving her his full attention. “Between yourself and Hain, you two probably could have fought off his entire crew if you needed to.”

“Yeah,” she said, grinning as she flexed her talons. “We could, couldn’t we?” A glance at Hain showed that he was shaking his head, and she snapped her attention back towards Alchemy. “That’s Hain and I though, and I know where he and I stand. I’m one bout away from being a bıçak ustası, a blademaster.” She saw Hain’s eyes widen at the revelation, and couldn’t resist flashing him a grin. That’s right, she thought. I didn’t mention that did I? But I am now. “He might have suspected,” she said, lifting one pair of talons. “But since I’d trimmed my talons and ruined half of my repertoire, in addition to being on my back feet for the fight he saw, he probably didn’t guess. Now you know,” she said, nodding in his direction.

“And I hired Hain because he’s a tactical genius,” she said, turning back towards Alchemy. “I doubt if he’s told you, but he served in the Regency Wars.”

“Blade …” Hain said, a warning tone in his voice. She shot him a glare.

“Deal with it,” she said. Hain’s eyes flashed, his wings twitching outward ever so slightly. “I won’t bring up all the details, Al,” she said as she moved her eyes back towards the pony. “You’ll have to pry those out of Hain on your own time. Or out of a history book.” There was a sharp hiss of breath warning her that she was getting close to flying too far. “But the point is,” she said, dialing it back and noting that Hain’s talons had scraped the wood underneath the window. “Hain’s a masterful tactician with an eye for patterns and exploitable weaknesses. I figured if I needed intelligence about the Ocean, he could offer it. And now that I know I’m going to need to deal with a slightly militarized cult, I want him for his tactical advice. His fighting prowess doesn’t hurt either.”

“Which brings us to you,” she said, sitting back. “I hold the contract, and I can fight better than most creatures alive. Hain is a brilliant tactician who can plan out a battle plan that could trick his opponents into fighting one another. You though …?” She let the words hand in the air. “Hain recommended you, and clearly you can fight. Plus probably fill in for a doctor when we need it. But ... You’re hiding something. And I need to know what it is.”

Alchemy’s face had hardened, though it didn’t look like he was angry. Just … unsure. He turned towards Hain, his head cocking to one side as if saying “Should I?”

“Just tell her, Alchemy,” Hain said, his voice a little more tight than normal. Maybe she had pushed things a little far. “She’ll figure it out anyway, and she is the one in charge.”

“She’s not telling us everything, though,” Alchemy said. “She hasn’t told us who we’re working for, for example.” He looked back in her direction. “Or how she did that healing trick earlier.” The look on his face wasn’t hostile, but the slight narrowing of his eyes made the suspicion in his voice all the more evident. “Shouldn’t this be an even trade?”

Blade shook her head and laughed. “Believe me,” she said. “If I knew how I’d done that healing thing earlier, I’d tell you all about it. I really don’t know, though if you’re curious, it’s been going on for almost two weeks now.” Ever since the night I lost to Steel. She shoved the thought away. There would be time to dwell on it later. “You’re more than welcome to try and figure it out, but all I know is I’ve been in pretty good health since then.”

Alchemy sat back, but the look of suspicion was mostly gone. Instead, it was being replaced by a look she’d seen before on other ponies, usually when they encountered a griffon for the first time: Curiousity. A hunger for knowledge.

“Now, as far as who’s hired me and why,” she said, sitting back on her haunches and picking her words carefully. “For now, you don’t need that information, and I doubt my employer would want word of it getting out.”

“In other words,” Hain said, leaning forward. “Your employer doesn’t want their name attached to whatever it is we’re going to most likely do?”

She gave him a nod. “That’s definitely one way to put it,” she said. “All you need to know is that they’re paying us, and paying us well. But the contract rests with me, so—”

“So no backstabbing, I get it,” Alchemy said, resignation on his face as he waved his hooves. “Fine. But I’m going to ask that you do the same with what I’m about to tell you.”

“Not backstab you with it?” Blade asked. “Or not let word of it get out?”

“Both, preferably.” Alchemy sat back and let out a long sigh. “Look, what I’m about to tell you may sound strange but … Look, what if I just show you?”

“Show me what?” she asked. “That you can throw a diamond dog three times your size?”

“No, I—” Alchemy shook his head and took a step towards her. “Here, this is the easiest way, all right? Just hit me.”

“What?”

“I’m serious,” he said, tilting his head back. “Hit me. Right on the chin.”

Blade glanced at Hain, who seemed to be watching with a bemused expression. “Are you—?”

“Just do it,” Alchemy said. “Hard as you can. Or at least,” he said, grinning. “Try to.”

She narrowed her eyes as Alchemy gave her a smug look, and then stepped forward, tensing the muscles in her body. “All right …” she said, eyeing his body and looking for any signs of tenseness or careful positioning. He looked relaxed, but with the confident look he was giving her. “Here—”

She didn’t finish her sentence, lashing out with first one fist, and then, even as his eyes snapped to it, pulling it back and using the reversal to add more force to her other fist as it rocketed toward his chin.

It missed. His head snapped to the side, her fist sliding past his cheek harmlessly. She pulled it back to a ready stance, eyeing him as he gave her a smug smile.

“Try again,” he said, tilting his chin upwards. “If you’re fast enough.”

She went for an uppercut, her knuckles arcing upward beneath his jaw … and once again meeting air as he seemed to just slide out of the way.

“You’re fast,” she said as he slid back into his relaxed stance. “Really fast.”

“No,” he said, shaking his head and closing his eyes. “Try again. Come on, weren’t you just telling us you were almost a bikak whatever? It sounds impressive, and Hain seemed to think it was, come on, just—”

Her spread talons lashed out, aiming for his chest this time rather than his head. It was a clear target, harder to move than his head, and she pulled her claws back, driving her palm towards his sternum.

She missed. Again, Alchemy moved so quickly he might as well have teleported, going from a seated position to a standing ready position so fast she was sure she’d blinked at the wrong moment.

She pressed forward, switching to her training in Fury stance and rising on her hind legs, lashing out with both her wings and elbows as fast as she could, escalating the force of her attacks until she was no longer pulling her punches.

And still she couldn’t seem to hit him. He was sliding around every blow, his body twisting and snapping to new positions every time she threw a move. She could hear a faint woosh with each movement, each twist and turn he made as he dodged blow after blow, his body moving so impossibly fast that the air itself was being displaced.

Then a hoof blocked her strike, soaking up the blow and deflecting it off to one side. She began to twist, spreading her wings as she threw her weight to one side to offset the sudden change in momentum … And then her hind legs were swept out from beneath her, feet leaving the ground as Alchemy hooked her feet from behind. She stretched her wings even further, trying to regain a sense of balance, and then her side met the wooden deck, a lance of pain shooting through her right wing as it twisted beneath her body.

Alchemy stepped back as she pushed herself up, again moving with the fluid—and now she was certain, unnatural—grace she’d noticed about him before. He was breathing a little harder than normal, but he hadn’t even broken a sweat.

“All right,” she said, glancing at Hain only to get an impassive look that wouldn’t have been out of place on a stone in return. “So you’re some kind of fighting prodigy, and you hide—” Her words died off as the confident look vanished from Alchemy’s face, and he slumped to one side, his body doubling over as a series of coughs ripped through him. The coughs persisted for almost a quarter of a minute, and as they finally subsided and he looked back up, her eyes widened. Alchemy’s face was hollow, slick with sweat.

“Pushed it too far,” he said, shuffling toward his saddlebags and flipping them open with one shaky hoof. Gone was the confident, fluid movement, replaced instead with a sick leanness that reminded her of someone suffering from the feather flu. She watched in mute shock as he pulled a small vial out of the bags, popped the cork, and tipped it back, downing the entire contents in one quick gulp.

The change was immediate. The labored breathing stopped, as did the tremors, and when he turned back towards her he looked healthy and confident once more, though the sheen of sweat still shone across his coat.

“What was that?” she asked as he stepped over to the ship’s wheel, glancing out the front windows at their heading once more. “Is that what you’re normally like? Sick? And you’re just tough because of the potions?”

“No,” Alchemy said, shaking his head and reaching down by the wheel. There was a heavy clunk as the autopilot disengaged, and then he was turning the wheel slightly, adjusting the ship’s course. “It’s a good guess though.”

“I thought similar the first time I saw it,” Hain said, glancing in their direction from the rear window. “Though he let me think that for a little longer before giving me the actual explanation.”

“Which is?” Blade asked, turning her eyes towards Alchemy once more.

“Closer to what you just said than you might think,” he said, re-engaging the autopilot. “How familiar are you with how the science of potion-making works?”

“Not very,” she said, shaking her head. “I’ve come across it before, but most of the trade with the Plainslands happens on the southern side of the Empire. I’m from the north.”

“Well,” Alchemy said, leaning against the wheel. “It’s like any other science, really. I suppose the closest relation it would have would be chemistry.”

“Pretend I’m not a scientist.”

“Right. Well the first rule still applies,” Alchemy said. “Especially since it’s the first rule they teach to everyone who makes even a passing interest in the art of potion making.”

“Which is?” she prompted.

“Never. Mix. Potions,” Alchemy said, glancing out the forward windows before turning his attention back towards her. The faint moonlight, combined with the still slight sheen of sweat, gave his flat expression a grim cast. “Potion experimentation is dangerous, and mixing completed potions designed to do certain things in large quantities can have unexpected effects.”
“Like what?” she asked, though she had a feeling she already knew the answer.

“The infamous case that all Plainslands students learn about is a visit to see a zebra alchemist’s headstone,” Alchemy said. “In this case, the zebra in question is the headstone.”

“Ouch,” Blade said, nodding.

“Yeah,” Alchemy said. “Mixing and matching potions can result in something fatal, something harmless, an explosion, or an uncontrollable reaction.”

“And what’s happened to you …” she began.

“—is the result of that, yes,” he said, shaking his head. “Only I survived.” He hung his head and turned back towards the windows, staring out over the silver-white, moonlit ice. “To make a long, painful story short, things went wrong. My teacher and her students, which included myself, were attacked by a pride of wrathlions. I did the only thing I could think of, and drank every pony enhancement potion we had on hoof. And …” He tapped at the wheel, the sound echoing across the bridge. “At first, it worked. I was stronger, faster, pumped up on every enhancement I could have conceived. I drove off the wrathlions, saved everypony, and then I collapsed.”

“I spent the next few days in a coma,” he said, turning back towards her. “My body deteriorating as the potion bled out of my system. Only my teacher’s genius with potion crafting saved me. She worked backwards from what I had consumed, combined that knowledge of herbalism and potioncrafting, and managed to bring me back from the brink of death.”

“And now you need that potion or you’ll die,” she finished. To her surprise, he shook his head.

“Worse,” he said. “Mixing those potions? It wasn’t safe. I lived, but they broke something inside of me. My internal magic field, the one everyone has? It’s destroyed. In constant flux. I don’t have access to earth pony magic anymore. If I get regular doses of the potion my teacher created—the one based off the mixture I drank, which I’ve since improved—I stay alive. My magic field stabilizes, my body works in harmony, and all is well. Better than well, actually,” he said, shooting her a grin. “I’m far stronger and quicker than any pony has any right to be. I heal incredibly fast. But the more I do, the more I require of my enhanced self, the faster my body burns through the potion … and the harder the strain on my weakened body.”

“I probably won’t live past fifty,” he said, turning his attention back towards the window. “Every sip of my treatment lowers my life expectancy, but without it my organs fail, my magic breaks apart, and I die. Too much of the potion, and my body begins to burn itself out, killing me in a slower manner but with no less certainty. In other words, I’m dying. Slowly, but surely, with every sip. I can’t live without it, and I can’t live with it.”

“And this potion requires ethereal crystal,” she said, nodding as the piece slid into place. No wonder he was so defensive of the stuff.

“Yes,” he said. “That’s how I ended up here. The Ocean is the best known source of the stuff, and if I wanted to avoid paying the markups, well …” He shrugged. ‘It’s not bad. In the meantime I can still continue my potions work, even if it does take time to get all the ingredients.”

“Can’t you refine your potion?” she asked. “Use it for others, even in a condensed version?”

“It didn’t work,” he said. “We tried. My teacher and I. Best case scenario, it didn’t do anything. Worst case …” He sighed. “We had to purge before it killed whoever imbibed it. We couldn’t replicate the exact mix of the potions I drank. I’ve tried since to refine the mix, figure it out, but …” He shook his head as he trailed off. “Anyway, that’s why I’m strong. As long as I’m killing myself faster than normal, I’m more than an ordinary pony. I can jump impossibly high, move impossibly fast—”

“What happens when you get hit?” Her question seemed to catch him off guard, his head pulling back in surprise.

“I still get injured,” he said after a moment. “I’m tougher than normal as long as I’m on a dose of my potion, but I can still crack bone.” A pause. “It hurts, even though it heals in seconds. Again, as long as I have a supply of my potion.”

“So what you’re saying,” she said, running a talon down the side of her beak as she sat back. “Is that basically, you’re a super soldier?”

“I—What?” Alchemy pulled back, his eyes open wide. “A super soldier?”

“Well, a dying one, obviously,” she said, shrugging. “But you’ve gotta focus on the positives, right?”

“I die if I don’t have a supply of my potion.” His response was deadpan, dry.

“So you’re a high-cost asset,” she said, waving her talons. “So what? I picked almost two-hundred bits off of Ennuis and his crew back at the medical center. If you run out of glitter, we’ll just get some more.”

“It’s also killing me,” Alchemy said, though his words came out without much force behind them.

“Eh,” Blade said, shrugging again. “So live while you’re young. You’re what, in your early twenties?”

“Almost my thirties,” he said, the beginnings of a smile on his face.

“Alright, so that still gives you twenty years or so,” she said, grinning at him. “Yeah, your dying early is tragic. Its a thunderhead on the horizon, I won’t disagree there. But hey, in the meantime, you’re kind of a super soldier. And that, I can use.”

“I like your attitude,” he said, nodding, a thoughtful look on his face. “Though I’ve got to warn you, my goal with potions was to be a doctor. That’s what I’ve studied for.”

Her grin widened. “Yeah, well you know what my old commander used to say about the difference between a doctor and a soldier?”

“No.”

“They both make the same cut for different reasons,” she said, the words coming out with a laugh. “It’s a flexible skill set, in other words. Besides, I saw the way you were moving. You studied some form of zebra combat, didn’t you?”

Makucha ya Paka,” Alchemy confirmed. “Talon of the cat.”

“I like it,” she said, nodding. She glanced over at Hain, who was still keeping watch out the back window. “And he knew all this?”

“Hain was one of the few people I told,” Alchemy said. “Mostly because I moved into the house that had his bolt hole, and figured we could trade secret for secret.”

“I see,” she said, nodding and then turning back towards the pony. “Which leaves me with one last question. Why keep it a secret? The cult?”

He nodded. “They don’t like any magic that isn’t ‘natural,’ in their own terms. The last thing I wanted to do was get picked up by one of their recruitment groups and end up like some ponies.”

“Some ponies?”

“Experiments,” Alchemy said, his expression darkening. “At least, that’s what everypony calls them. I don’t see any reason they wouldn’t be that, based on what little I know about them. They’ve dropped hints before, but pretending to be sick has usually worked to throw their jackals off my scent.”

“You do realize that if you’re working with me, in the capacity I want you to work as now that I know this, they’ll probably figure it out soon enough,” she said, stepping up alongside the wheel and peering out over the ice. She could see it undulating as she watched, some force far beneath the thick, jagged surface constantly shifting the grinding, jagged edges and sending new spikes of razor-edged ice spitting up out of the old.

“You want me to fight,” Alchemy said. “Combat.”

“It looks like that’s what this job is shaping up to be,” she said, giving him a sideways look. He didn’t seem too bothered by the idea. “I’m slightly familiar with Makucha …” Her words stumbled, and she shook her head as he gave her a knowing grin. “However you pronounce it,” she said, turning her gaze out over the ice once more. “It’s a close in combat style, isn’t it?”

“Yeah,” he said. “Very much in the thick of things.”

“Were you good at it?”

“I was alright.” He shrugged. “The potion makes me better than I am.”

“You’ll get better with practice,” she said, nodding. “I’m going to count on you to put that potion ability of yours to good use while you’re part of this team, understand?”

“What if I run out?”

“Then you can make more, and we’ll scrape up the glitter for it,” she said. “In return, at the end of the mission, I promise I’ll give you your fifty-thousand. Enough to buy years worth of glitter,  and live pretty high in the meantime.”

“Will there be a lot of killing?” he asked, looking over at her. Her words caught in her throat as she saw the cautious look on his face.

“I ...” She paused, thinking fast and pausing for a moment. “Not unless you want there to be. Incidental kills happen. That’s the job we’re on. I don’t want you pulling punches or getting Hain or I killed. But a direct killing … I won’t ask you to kill someone in cold blood. Some sapients just can’t stomach it.”

“I can handle death,” he said, his words coming out quick. “I just don’t know about being the direct cause. I am a doctor.”

“Indirect is okay though?” she asked, cocking an eyebrow.

“I don’t know,” he said. “It’d probably help me sleep a little easier at night.”

“Hain or I will handle things if it comes to that,” she said, nodding. “And before you ask, yes, I’ve killed before. No, it’s not easy. It weighs on you.” There was a familiar, faint, oddness in her chest, the same feeling she always got when she thought about it.

“How’d you deal with it?” he asked. “I mean, I’ve lost patients, but …”

“You never asked Hain?” She glanced back at the elderly griffon, but he was still looking through the rear windows, though doubtless he was listening.

“It never came up,” Alchemy said. “I didn’t want to pry too much. I didn’t even know he was a commander.”

“He was a general,” she said, watching as Hain’s wings twitched. “But that’s beside the point.”

“Well, either way I was a doctor,” Alchemy said. “I didn’t expect to ever steal an ice dredger or get hired for my combat skills.”

“Well, judging off of tonight’s showing, you’ve got the skillset for it,” she said, giving him a thumbs up. “But if you’re not ready to watch someone die, this might not be the job for you.”

“And if I say that it isn’t?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” she said, shrugging. “I guess it depends on if Hain can pilot this thing. “We let you off at Ender’s Isle—”

“Where I promptly get picked up by Ennuis’s buddies,” Alchemy said, scoffing. “No thanks.”

“Then I guess you’re stuck with us,” she said, grinning. “Guess you’re going to learn how to fight.”

“Not a career change I saw myself making,” he said. “But I guess it beats the alternative.”

“That’s the spirit,” she said, slapping a talon across his shoulder. “Trust me, by the time this is done, you might even learn to have fun with it.”

“Fun?”

“Last week I blew up a train engine,” she said, grinning and noticing that Hain had shot her another surprised look. “Trust me, when all the screaming is done, there’s a reason I like this job.”

“Blowing things up and money,” Hain said, his dry voice shocking them both. “How noble.”

“You’re one to talk about nobility.” The words slipped out of her beak before she could stop them, and she caught sight of Hain’s shaking head as he turned back towards the back of the boat.

“What—?” Alchemy began, but his jaw snapped shut as soon as she saw the look on her face.

“Nothing wrong with money,” she said, the ruff on the back of her neck flaring with irritation. “A job’s a job, the money’s good.” There was a sudden pang in her chest, an unwelcome echo of the feeling she’d had earlier. The good mood was gone, the atmosphere tense once more.

“Anyway,” she said, looking back to Alchemy. “Do you need anything else? Any lingering worries?”

“No,” he said, shaking his head. “I’m in. You’re right. The money is good, and I’m going to need it now.” She saw him glance toward Hain, and then he mouthed a query. She shook her head.

“Fine.” She turned towards Hain. “Hain? Get some rest. You’ll need to pilot the ship when Alchemy gets tired. I’ll take the watch.” He acknowledged her words with a single nod, and then moved past her, his beak shut tightly and his eyes straight ahead.

Ancestors’ bones, she thought as he moved down the stairs. You stepped in it that time. She’d guessed he’d be testy about his past, but apparently it was still a scar he was wearing. Which could explain the booze bottles outside his home … unless they were a deliberate ploy. I might want to ask about that later, she thought as she stepped up to the rear window. A brilliant moon hung above the horizon like a spotlight, its cold rays glistening off the ice. Or even apologize.

Still, it was something that could wait until later. “He’ll be fine,” she said, answering Alchemy’s question before it could even be asked. “I pushed it, and I’ll deal with it later.” For a minute the cabin was silent save for the endless groan of the ice.

“But what did he do?” Alchemy asked at last. He was looking back at her, a concerned look on his face. “I never asked him before, but—”

“What he had to do,” she replied, turning her gaze back out the rear window. “The right thing.” She could see Alchemy’s reflection in the glass, his mouth opening once more.

“It’s not my place,” she said before he could speak again. “Just … for now, don’t worry about it. Just trust him, all right?” Alchemy turned back to the wheel, eyes forward once more.

I guess this is why you should never meet your heroes, she thought as she watched the ice slide by. The Hain I met today isn’t really much like the old records of him. Well, she conceded, not when he’s not running for his life. That had been more like the griffon she’d hoped to find.

Then again, she couldn’t blame him. I made the same choice he did, she told herself. Only I chose different. And she’d just told Alchemy that Hain had made the right choice.

So, what choice did I make, then? she asked. The wrong one? Below her the ice slid by, the rearward winds propelling the ship along. She stared out across the Ocean for a long time, watching the moonlit surface pass.

The answer never came.

Count of Laws Broken: 9
Total Laws Broken: 57
Damage Value (In Bits): 203
Total Damage Value (In Bits): 37,416