David Gross: An Opportunity for Profit

Brindra grunted and looked at the sand. The others nodded, the dwarfs rings jingling faintly.

Sharessa shook back damp ringlets from her face and squared her slender shoulders. "Let's see what Turbalt's men salvaged from the ship. Maybe-"

"There he is," said Belgin. They all looked to where the pale Edenvaler pointed, and there was Belmer emerging from the green forest.

"Let's go hear our orders," said Shar.

"What?" said Brindra. "That's insane!"

Belmer gave the big woman a cold stare but said nothing else.

"She has a point, sir," said Rings as diplomatically as possible. "Why don't we just light a signal fire? We're so close to Eldrinpar that there's bound to be a ship by soon."

"I don't want to arrive by ship," said Belmer. "We'd have had Turbalt set us ashore before entering Eldrinpar anyway. Considering our task, the fewer who see us enter the city, the better. We'll set out across land tonight."

"The forests of Doegan are not safe," said Anvil. "Especially at night."

"After all the troubles we had at sea, you're afraid of walking through the woods?" Belmer seemed amused.

"Sir," said Sharessa. "We're pirates, not caravan guards. The sea's our place." She smiled silkily at Belmer. His eyes seemed to flicker a moment, and then his lips tightened.

"We're not talking about simple bandits or wild animals," said Belgin reasonably. "The fiends aren't natural creatures. They come from another world, and their powers-"

"The fiends of Doegan can tear a man apart," said Ingrar. His voice took on the cadence of a childhood rhyme. "They catch you up in iron claws and feast upon your heart. They break your bones with burning stones and-"

"Enough," interrupted Belmer. "You're being paid for dangerous work… and to obey."

"And so we will," said Sharessa quickly. "But they say there are even more fiends in the woods lately. An entire caravan was lost last month."

Belmer shrugged. "Rumor turns wolves into wyverns and foxes into fiends. If I'd thought a few forager's tales would frighten you off, I'd have hired Turbalt's crew for less."

Rings bristled at the reproach, and Brindra darkened, a muscle in her jaw twitching.

"It's true that we spend most of our time at sea," said Anvil. "But you can see the truth of it in their eyes in Eldrinpar. There's something out there." He stared into the darkening woods, and all the Sharkers' eyes followed his. Even Belmer glanced at the trees. Here and there a flash of color broke the monotony of the green, and the variety of plant species made the woods more a jungle. A distant sound of swallows lulled the sky to sleep.

"Maybe so," said Belmer. "But if there is anything out there, it would do well to fear us." He looked at each of the Sharkers in turn as he continued.

"You have lost much in the past days," he said. No one reacted to that statement of the obvious. "But you have survived in the face of powerful adversity. Redbeard couldn't burn you with the Kissing Shark, and he couldn't catch you after. Every time we've been attacked, we've won through. You'll fail now only if you can't muster the strength that each victory gives you."

Brindra looked ready to say something, but Sharessa interrupted her. "We'll follow you on land as we did at sea, but we need rest tonight. And Turbalt's crew won't make it two mileb." The Sharkers muttered their agreement. The men of the Morning Bird weren't seasoned pirates like the Sharkers, and they were weaker for having a weak and indecisive captain.

"Well camp after we've made a good start through the woods," said Belmer. "But we leave the crew behind. They'll only slow us."

"But sir," protested Rings. "We can't just leave them shipwrecked." Sharessa felt the same way. The Sharkers were pirates, but they were sailors first. They couldn't abandon the crew that had brought them this far over sea.

Belmer's eyes narrowed. Sharessa feared for a moment that he might punish Rings as he had Kurthe. Instead, he considered Rings's words, smiled faintly, and said, "Very well. But if they slow us, we leave them."

"Aye," said Rings. "Aye," agreed the others, except for Brindra. Belmer didn't seem to notice, but Sharessa thought she saw his eyes slide briefly toward the big woman.

"According to Turbalt, we must head for the hills to the northeast," said Belmer. "Rings, you take Turbalt's men. Spread them out to find a likely path. We haven't much light left, so hurry."

"Aye, sir," said Rings. He sounded almost cheerful now that they were doing something again.

Belmer turned to Sharessa. She felt his eyes caress her body with a casualness that was almost insulting. "Take the waterskins from the salvage and fill them at the stream." He pointed to where he had emerged from the woods earlier. "Find some good branches for torches. There are only a few lanterns from the ship." "Aye."?* #??

They left the beach and pushed into the forest. Their feet were silent on the thick loam, but everywhere they moved, thick fronds shushed in their wake. Only Sharessa moved quietly, slipping gently through the green leaves and branches. Her body was still used to the gentle motion of a ship's deck, and a floor that did not move seemed at once strange and reassuring.

"I hate this," muttered Brindra. She held her big arms close to her body. "You can't see anything through these trees."

"One night in the woods," said Sharessa. "Then a few days in the city, and we'll all go back to sea."

"I still hate it," said Brindra. The big woman had never liked land, especially narrow city streets and thick forests. Her shudders were contagious. Sharessa felt the woods looming on all sides, too. Somehow it felt more confining than a tiny ship cabin. At least at sea, the open air was only a few steps away.

They found the stream, and Anvil shrugged off the mantle of waterskins he had draped over his shoulders. Sharessa took one and immediately began filling it with cool stream water.

"Let's hurry," she said. She turned to Anvil, putting a warm hand on the big man's arm. "See if you can find some good branches." He nodded and moved away, eyes seeking deadfall in the darkening twilight. The others knelt by the stream, plunging the goatskin bags into the stream.

As Sharessa stoppered the second waterskin, a piercing cry cut through the forest. The Sharkers froze and listened. For a long moment, the only sound they heard was that of the stream.

"It's just a bird," said Ingrar uncertainly.

"Listen!" Belgin lifted his waterskin out of the stream and laid it gently on the ground. They all listened but heard nothing.

"Anvil!" called Sharessa in a loud whisper.

"Right here," came the big man's rumbly voice. Sharessa saw him standing no more than twenty yards away, crouched by a tilting shadowtop. Brindra and Belgin sighed audibly at the sight of him. They all fell silent again. A minute quietly strangled itself to death before anyone spoke.

"No birds," said Sharessa. The others nodded. They had heard neither the sparrows nor any other birds since the scream.

"Which way did it come from?" asked Sharessa. Brindra, Ingrar, and Belgin pointed south. When Anvil crept up, he nodded southeast.

"All right, let's go." Shar put down the waterskin, quietly loosened her sword in its scabbard, and led the way southeast.

They moved quickly through the slender trees. Ingrar cursed quietly upon entangling one foot in some creeping vines. Before he could slip out of them, Brindra slashed once with her curving cutlass, and he was free.

"Damned tangle," she spat.

"Quiet," said Sharessa. She gestured forward, and they followed her. The Sharkers traveled another hundred yards through the woods.

"Down!" hissed Sharessa. As one, the Sharkers dropped into crouches. They had all heard the rushing sound ahead. Before them was a small clearing through which the last breath of twilight floated to the forest floor. Sharessa could make out three or four figures on the other side.