Therewas another mage here.
In away, this was good, because it meant the pirates were not fighting thenecromancer.They were not yet incurring the wrath of the ancient woman whostill claimed this city as her dominion.In another way, this was very bad,because it suggested the puppeteer sorcerer had managed to enslave a bevy offellow mages, which would allow them to wield the magic of their thralls as ifit were their own.
Therecould be an army of magic wielders ahead of them.How many would control theelements?What of enchanters?Illusionists?
Anotherexplosion rang through the city, shuddering the old bones.There was a dullthump of cannon fire.
Isaacpaused, biting his lip.
“Noslacking, squire!”
Zariaran ahead, slapping his back as she went.Isaac was forced to follow.As theyturned the corner into an adjacent boulevard, he saw a grisly collection ofbodies, all of them pirates, all of them killed through elemental destruction,their faces crusted over with ice or the burning remnants of their fur.Besidethem, a few human bodies lay dead in their own blood.The humans were wearingblack robes.Their faces were empty.One had been chopped through with acutlass, from shoulder to sternum, without making a single wince of pain.Another had four quarrels sticking from his chest.
Aparasite sigil was carved in each of their heads.
“Fuck!”Zaria cried.“They got Hopkin!”
“Who?”
“Mycrew!”She stopped, looking at the pirates.A growl escaped her.“Soren, youcunt!”
“Didyou like them?”Isaac asked, confused.
“Someof them!”
The hyenatapped the black tip of her nose, mouthing a prayer.When it was done, she wentsprinting up the street, no longer slowing her pace.Isaac was soon leftbehind.He almost shouted for them to remain together, but ended up followingin silence.
Hismind raced with the sight of the dead mages.
Thepuppeteer sorcerer, who had arrived nearly a day ahead of them, clearlypossessed a very large legion of thralls.This would make them extremelydangerous.Because the thralls were trained in magic, the sorcerer couldselectively imbue them with energy stolen from the others, increasing thestrength of specific thralls until they were capable of nearly unlimitedcasting, like an arquebus which required no time to reload.
Itappeared that all the mages were elementals.Isaac was only prepared fornecrotics.
Thiswould not be easy.
Heraced through the streets of bone, his feet slapping over brick and twistedbodies alike.Rivers of blood flowed over a pavement bathed in the soft colorof gold.Eventually, the rows of houses and shops ended in a wide open plaza,the ground paved and studded with the metatarsals of a human foot.Ahead, theopen space ended with the high-walled courtyard of a palace.Over the wall, thepalace itself looked like an overflowing mound of skulls, each of theindividual heads the size of a building.
Heremembered glimpsing this pyramid from the watchtower.Isaac guessed, purely oninstinct, that it had once served as the center of government for thenecropolis.
By now,a new regime had taken hold.
A ringof fortifications had been built around the palace walls, which largelyconsisted of makeshift ramparts, slapped together with whatever odd bits ofwood could be scavenged and nailed into place.The rib-shaped bars of the gateshad been barricaded with stolen furniture.In the center of the courtyard wall,someone had draped a black pirate standard across the pelvis-shaped parapets.Isaac could barely discern the crumpled symbol of a canine skull overcrossbones.
Thefighting was taking place just on the other side of the courtyard.He could notsee it from here, but he could hear the sounds of crackling ice, see the orangeblooming of fire, feel the punch of explosions and screams.After a moment, henoticed Zaria slinking beside the outer wall, her shadow occasionallylengthening beneath the streams of fire.
Therewas an automaton ahead of her, standing guard outside the courtyard wall.Itappeared like a suit of armor.It was three times the height of a man.Itsshape was vaguely malevolent.
“Zaria!”Isaac shouted.
She didnot hear him.
Hecursed to himself, adopting a crouched run as he attempted to clear thedistance across the surrounding plaza.When he was halfway through, the roaringthump of a cannon came from the palace, and a portion of the courtyard rampartexploded outward, split apart with a ball of chain-shot, which swung wildlyinto the city beyond.Moments later, the legless torso of a human splattered onthe pavement.
“Gods!”Isaac said.
He gaveup the low crouch, now sprinting openly across the plaza.By the time hereached Zaria, she had climbed halfway up the leg of the automaton, finding purchase on the intricate carving of runes across itsstonework exterior.The golem stood like a slashing of shadow, its form unmovedby the chaos.He saw a protuberance on its face, like the mouth of a mosquito.He saw a lipless mouth rising vertically along its chest.
“Zaria!”Isaac hissed.“Get down!”
