Gratin hadn\u2019t remained in freefall for long. He began to fly, soaring upwards to find his way back onto the ship.<\/p>\n
He didn\u2019t make it, Abaddon dropping out of the hole to meet him halfway, raining death from above with fire lances. Gratin took evasive action, dodging in mid-air in a range of aerial manoeuvres, zipping between the flames as he raced towards his attacker. Abaddon watched as Gratin closed in on him, smirking wildly as the mage approached. Gratin was charging a fire blast but Abaddon was prepared. He gathered his energy and clapped his hands together, creating a static sphere that rapidly expanded until it was five metres in diameter, engulfing Gratin as he closed in on his target. The moment the attack hit him, Gratin\u2019s muscles seized up, paralysis taking hold.<\/p>\n
He began to fall, gravity once again the reigning force. He tried to move but his muscles refused to respond. It was as if his limbs had been filled with lead, the tissue unyielding.<\/p>\n
Abaddon was following his descent, rapidly catching up until he could reach out and grab Gratin by the hood. Gratin swung violently as Abaddon caught him, the crimson monk raising his prey to eye level.<\/p>\n
\u201cI must apologise, Brother<\/i>, for using such a dirty trick. You put up a worthy<\/i> fight though, of that you can<\/i> be proud,\u201d Abaddon told him, adjusting his hold so that he was gripping the merc by the arm. Gratin could only grunt a response as Abaddon began the journey back to the cruise liner.<\/p>\n
—<\/p>\n
The air mage grunted in frustration as he tried to make the engines start. He had cleared the turbines of the largest chunks of hull but they were struggling to spin. The pilot decided to try giving them a jump start, quickly re-exiting the craft and taking up a position in front of one of the wings. He let out a long breath in a bid to clear his thoughts before moving his arms forward and summoning a gust of wind that battered the turbines\u2019 rotor blades, forcing them to turn. He then manipulated the slipstream so that it looped back over the ship and hit the turbines on the other side, causing them to begin spinning as well. He kept the air flowing, pushing the blades to pick up more and more speed until he was confident enough to attempt the next stage of his plan.<\/p>\n
Casting his mind out, he focused on the cockpit and the ignition key still waiting in there ready to be used. With a very careful thought, he concentrated on making the key turn, the air in the cockpit doing his work for him. The key turned and the engines began to splutter, struggling to decide if they wanted to work or not before finally roaring to life, the turbines turning due to their own volition.<\/p>\n
The pilot dropped his arms, panting heavily as the magical slipstream dissipated. He found himself chuckling with relief as he jogged back to the cockpit and took his seat at the controls. The plane began to move backwards at his command, the edges of the craft scraping against the walls of the larger ship as it sought to free itself. Slowly it edged its way backwards outside, the end beginning to tip as more of its bulk emerged into the daylight until finally it tipped all the way, the craft falling like a stone as gravity took hold.<\/p>\n
The pilot wrestled with the controls, struggling to right the plane and prevent it from plummeting into another crash site. The plane wobbled as it fell, its nose slowly raising up from its descent and barely avoiding smashing into the desert below as it shot upwards, back towards the cruise ship. Elated, the pilot looped around the larger ship a couple of times before coming in for a smooth landing on the deck to wait for his compatriots.<\/p>\n
The two mages landed on the decking nearby, Abaddon dropping Gratin unceremoniously on the wooden floor, attracting the attention of the pilot mage who had left the confines of his ship to try and apply some further repairs to his craft.<\/p>\n
\u201cPrepare the binding spells<\/i>! I want Brother Gratin secured<\/i>. Then contact our client and tell them we\u2019ll be arriving<\/i> in Galmanoc within the hour to make the trade<\/i>,\u201d Abaddon barked, the pilot immediately ceasing what he was doing.<\/p>\n
\u201cB-but sir! I don\u2019t have the equipment! Jenkins is the Binder!\u201d the pilot protested.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell then find him. Quickly<\/i>,\u201d Abaddon replied with just the right amount of menace in his voice to send the pilot running for the exit. Abaddon sighed in annoyance as he watched the fleeing acolyte leave, folding his arms across his chest.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo think, these cretins<\/i> are what the Monastery is filling its ranks with these days. And they may very well advance<\/i> far enough to become a Finder<\/i>. The institution\u2019s going to the dogs<\/i>,\u201d he idly muttered to his captive. Gratin didn\u2019t answer and Abaddon paid him no mind.<\/p>\n
One of Gratin\u2019s fingers twitched. This prompted Abaddon to kick him in the face.<\/p>\n
—<\/p>\n
The crackling in the hallway outside the door was becoming the loudest noise in the room. Blaise had stuffed the bed\u2019s blanket under the chest of drawers against the door to prevent smoke from getting in. She was nervously attempting to chew a fingernail without even realising, instead working away at the tip of her leather glove, a minor indication of a recurring phobia regarding being trapped in burning buildings she\u2019d had since childhood.<\/p>\n
The two suits were focused on the one slim window in the room. Gun suit was giving suit-who-had-thrown-crowbar-into-hallway-<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s your names, guys?\u201d said Doug, flexing his bionic arm having reattached it. He was fed up of thinking of them collectively as \u2018the two suits\u2019, and the latter as variations of \u2018the guy with no crowbar\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis guy here is Benny \u2018the Ballache\u2019,\u201d said gun suit, who was currently stood with both hands wrapped around Benny\u2019s shoe, with Benny\u2019s other foot on his shoulder. Benny had smashed the glass out of the thin horizontal window at the top of the room and was trying to look outside for a means of escape, or someone to call out to for help. Benny glanced down briefly at gun suit, annoyed.<\/p>\n
\u201c…\u2018Ballache\u2019?\u201d repeated Doug. \u201cWhat, he kicks people in the nuts a lot?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNah, he just doesn\u2019t stop complaining,\u201d explained gun suit. Benny shifted his weight, accidentally clipping gun suit in the ear using his foot on purpose.<\/p>\n
\u201cShaddap,\u201d said Benny. \u201cIt\u2019s Benny Spigotoli.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I\u2019m Bert Benolli,\u201d said gun suit. Doug smirked.<\/p>\n
\u201cDoesn\u2019t sound very Italian. \u2018Bert\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat, you expect us all to have names like \u2018Frankie\u2019 and \u2018Tommy\u2019? You sir, are a stereotypist1<\/a><\/sup>. I\u2019ll have you know that I\u2019m quite proud of my name,\u201d said Bert, haughtily.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s short for \u2018Cuthbert\u2019,\u201d stated Benny, apropos of nothing. Bert accidentally jerked his hands, intentionally bumping Benny\u2019s head on the ceiling.<\/p>\n \u201cCan we get out up there?\u201d snapped Blaise, not listening to any of the small talk and currently engrossed both with the window and the task of gnawing the coating off of the end of her gloved finger. Benny stuck his head sideways in the gap, and then pulled back out.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not looking good. All I can see is blue sky outside. Guessin\u2019 it\u2019s a long way down, even if we could get out of this tiny gap.\u201d Bert lowered Benny down, and Benny leapt to the floor, landing on his feet. Doug began feeling the wall next to the bed with his human hand.<\/p>\n \u201cGotta plan,\u201d he said, drawing back and then punching his bionic fist through the wall. He pulled it back out and peered through the fresh hole. The walls were made of two thin boards of wood with a slim cavity between them. With his bionic hand he tore a few chunks away from the gap, the plaster and the wood flimsy to the robotic touch.<\/p>\n \u201cWanna hand?\u201d asked Benny.<\/p>\n \u201cNah, I\u2019ve got it.\u201d Doug picked up the fire extinguisher on the bed and began slamming the bottom of it against the edges of the hole. It made for an effective battering ram, and within a few minutes the small hole had grown into something just big enough to climb through. Smoke was drifting in from the adjoining cabin they\u2019d broken into.<\/p>\n \u201cLadies first,\u201d said Doug, stepping back and gesturing with his hand to Blaise, who didn\u2019t need any prompting.<\/p>\n —<\/p>\n Abaddon circled the prone body of Gratin, glee etched into the curvature of the sneering grin currently sitting on his lips. When he tensed the left corner of his mouth, the rough skin that was once his cheek and lower eyelid would droop slightly, revealing the many cracks of red around his bloodshot eyes.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019ve had<\/i> this coming for a long while, Brother<\/i>,\u201d he mused. \u201cYou were the only one who ever<\/i> provided real sport when it came to sparring. And then you decided to leave<\/i>, for some reason.\u201d<\/p>\n One of Gratin\u2019s fingers spasmed. Abaddon lurched over and casually placed one of his feet on the gloved fingers in question. He was fairly certain that Gratin was unconscious, but you could never be too careful.<\/p>\n \u201cDid you think that the Order<\/i> wouldn\u2019t eventually catch up to you?\u201d said Abaddon, deep in rhetoric. \u201cPerhaps you just didn\u2019t care<\/i>. Mind you, I can sympathise<\/i>. It gets so boring<\/i>, when you\u2019re ahead of the curve, ahead of all the other students. It\u2019s not much of a living, inside the walls<\/i> of the Order. So closeted<\/i>, so confining<\/i>.\u201d<\/p>\n He paused, only to briefly nudge Gratin\u2019s head carefully with his foot. Turning the rogue mage\u2019s head over, catching the light, Abaddon chuckled at the deep piano black of Gratin\u2019s skin under the mask.<\/p>\n \u201cYou never did fit in<\/i>.\u201d Abaddon ran his fingers through his hair, pushing it back, and grinned widely at nothing in particular, bar his own thoughts. \u201cBut then, neither did I!<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\n —<\/p>\n The corridor was now completely aflame. The acolytes had used the self-burning carcass of their colleague, the one who had been first assaulted with a crowbar and then shot in the face, and assisted it with a little extra fire in igniting the corridor. The wallpaper was peeling and bubbling, the air veiled in thick smoke.<\/p>\n At the end of the corridor, at the landing around the top of the stairs, a group of four of them stood, not entirely sure what to do next.<\/p>\n \u201cJob\u2019s a good \u2018un2<\/a><\/sup>,\u201d said one acolyte, wearing an earring in the shape of an ankh. He clapped his hands together theatrically, as if removing the dust off of them after some particularly dirty work.<\/p>\n \u201cAbaddon\u2019s going to be pissed if he finds out we didn\u2019t kill them personally,\u201d said another acolyte, this one wearing a nose stud.<\/p>\n \u201cScrew Abaddon,\u201d replied the first, \u201cwe\u2019ll just tell \u2018im that we burned \u2018em so badly that their ashes were all that was left, and that they were swept away with the wind.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019ll say that we should\u2019ve scooped up the ashes and brought them to him,\u201d said the second, worriedly playing with their oversized sleeves.<\/p>\n \u201cJust because we\u2019re fire mages, doesn\u2019t mean we\u2019re fireproof<\/i>,\u201d a third acolyte remarked, this one wearing trendy black tortoiseshell glasses.<\/p>\n \u201cTartarus is,\u201d said the fourth mage, this one sporting some amazing acne. The hipster mage with the glasses squinted at him, signalling disapproval.<\/p>\n \u201cThe point is,\u201d he scoffed, \u201cunless you want to head into that blazing inferno and check for the bodies yourself, we\u2019ll just assume the best.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re supposed to confirm the kill,\u201d said the second mage with the stud. \u201cOh bother.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLook, we\u2019ll just lie. They\u2019re not gettin\u2019 out o\u2019 there alive,\u201d said the first mage, trying to reassure his comrade (and himself). \u201cAbaddon will have to come check himself if \u2018ee\u2019s that worried about it. Come on, let\u2019s get back to the airship.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGoing back to Abaddon\u2019s the other thing I\u2019m worried about,\u201d griped the nervous mage with the stud. The third mage with the glasses rolled their eyes.<\/p>\n \u201cLook,\u201d he said, crossing his arms to intentionally err on the side of patronising, \u201cit\u2019s not like they can just break down the walls-\u201d<\/p>\n He was interrupted by the sudden loud hammering on a nearby wall, which caused all four acolytes to flinch or startle. It was a repetitive dull thud, something heavy and hard against something not so sturdy. The fake and tacky-looking lacquered woodwork effect in the middle of the wall opposite them began to peel and crack.<\/p>\n \u201cSon o\u2019 a bitch,\u201d gasped the first mage, \u201cwhat the \u2018ell is that?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh crap, oh crap,\u201d panicked the second mage, hopping up and down and chewing on a knuckle as nerves overtook them. The mage with the glasses grabbed him by the sleeve and began dragging him towards the wall where the noise was coming from, loud even over the creaking of expanding floor beams and buckling walls in the corridor of fire.<\/p>\n \u201cCome on, let\u2019s take a look!\u201d he ordered. The first and fourth acolytes joined, the fourth jostling the nervous one forward as they attempted to wrestle from the hipster\u2019s grip. All four stood in front of the wall as watched dumbly as an outward lump formed in the centre of it, cracked lacquered walling and plaster vibrating with every thud<\/i>.<\/p>\n \u201cSomeone\u2019s trying to get out, I think,\u201d said the fourth mage, scratching at the large spot on his temple. The hipster mage scoffed a snort of derision.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re not going to get out through a solid-\u201d<\/p>\n There was a muffled cry from behind the wall, not of despair, but of anger. Two of the mages gulped in surprise.<\/p>\n \u201cI think,\u201d said the hipster, now beginning to question their own certainty, \u201cthat someone really wants to get through-\u201d<\/p>\n There was a burst of plaster and shredding lacquer, and the end of a red cylinder punched through the wall. It quickly retracted, and a shiny clawed hand began pulling at the edge of the hole, breaking off bits here and there. The hand disappeared back in and was quickly replaced with a man\u2019s head. He had a chipper smile on his face, and seemed really happy for a guy trying to break through a wall to escape a fire.<\/p>\n \u201cHow\u2019s it hanging, tossbags?\u201d he asked. The mages didn\u2019t know how to react to this, resorting to confused horror. \u201cHold that thought,\u201d added the man. His head disappeared back through the hole, and the red cylinder returned, sitting snugly in the hole it had created. The mages looked at the cyclinder, then each other, and then back at the cylinder. The first mage coughed awkwardly.<\/p>\n \u201cD\u2019 ya think we should be gettin\u2019 out o\u2019 the way-\u201d<\/p>\n There was a loud bang, and then suddenly the world was filled with white smoke, red metal and pain as the cylinder leapt from the hole, punched the first mage in the face, bounced off a wall, took out the fourth mage\u2019s legs, bounced off another wall, broke the hipster\u2019s ribs, hammered the second mage\u2019s spine irreparably out of shape, span across the floor and then settled and rolled away.<\/p>\n In the confusion the hole had been kicked open bigger by three men, two in suits and the third, the happy laughing man, in a leather jacket. The acolytes didn\u2019t see much beyond this, as a woman with hair the colour of fire hurriedly clambered out of the hole, drew two guns and shot them all. She seemed more concerned about the fire in the corridor to her left. Hipster mage managed to snort derisively as they died, thinking that she could have at least cared a little more if she was going to kill them.<\/p>\n \u201cThat was a laugh and a half,\u201d said Doug, wiping the sweat off of his forehead with the back of his normal hand.<\/p>\n \u201cGreat, whatever, let\u2019s get out of here,\u201d said Blaise as she ran for the stairs. Left alone with the suits, Doug just shrugged and smiled.<\/p>\n \u201cOffer of a drink is still on if you two are up for it?\u201d<\/p>\n —<\/p>\n The corridor fire quickly leaked over into the rooms lining it, and spread over through open windows outside, where it got the taste for fresh oxygen and quickly took to engulfing the entire top floor of this part of the ship, wreathing it in fierce orange flame. The fire and smoke attracted the attention of practically everyone else on the ship, and the various decks quickly became filled with tourists and travellers running around; some were looking for an attendant to inform, others looking for a way off of the ship. Some simply ran around because that\u2019s what everyone else was doing.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think we\u2019re gonna be able to take you up on that drink,\u201d said Benny. The two Mafiosos and the mercs were on the lowest deck under the fire, looking up and watching it slowly envelope the structure above.<\/p>\n \u201cWhy not?\u201d said Doug, \u201cI figure we\u2019ve got about an hour before the entire ship burns to the ground3<\/a><\/sup>.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s one reason,\u201d Bert said, pointing across the deck. Two men dressed in shirts and waistcoats lumbered past at speed, their arms full of bottles. The bartenders were looking for a way out and were salvaging what they could.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d take that to mean a free, open bar myself,\u201d chuckled Doug. Blaise gripped his human shoulder with one of her hands, hard. Taken aback by such a gesture, Doug looked at her, only to realise that she wasn\u2019t looking at him. Her gaze was affixed on some point on the floor in front of her, as if she was engaged in a staring contest with one of the nails keeping the decking in place.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have to get off this ship. Now<\/i>,\u201d she stated flatly. She said it with no emotion, as if just reading a fact out aloud. Doug placed his normal hand on hers, and she snatched it back, as if snapping out of a daydream. Doug realised that she hadn\u2019t realised that she\u2019d placed her hand on his shoulder, and the moment of fear in her eyes before her expression returned to her default frown of indignity was enough to tip him off as to not ask why she had an aversion to fire, other than the obvious reasons.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d say that\u2019s another reason,\u201d said Bert, looking over Blaise with one eyebrow raised.<\/p>\n \u201cAlright, alright, we\u2019re leaving. Just need to grab Gratin and find the emergency escape on this thing. Dunno, perhaps we\u2019ll ask one of the attendants what to do,\u201d said Doug. On cue, the burly man in the ill-fitting uniform ran past, waving his arms and ranting hysterically.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re all gonna die, the thing\u2019s automated! They didn\u2019t ever account for a massive fire! We\u2019re doomed!\u201d he raved, running through a nearby set of double-doors.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, that sucks,\u201d said Doug.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019re we gonna do to get off this tub? I don\u2019t feel like burnin\u2019 alive, pers\u2019nally,\u201d complained Benny.<\/p>\n \u201cThere,\u201d Blaise said, jigging her finger enthusiastically towards the rear of the ship. \u201cWay out. Let\u2019s go.\u201d Without another word she took off by herself, dashing away. The three men spotted what she\u2019d been pointing at. Just above the line of one of the decks, near the conference area, was the rounded tip that unmistakably belonged to some sort of aircraft. Doug recognised it as the same one that had crashed through the side of the conference room, and noted the lack of explosions of flame around that area. Either the fight Gratin had got himself into had ended, or maybe they had decided to settle their differences with a quiet game of chess, which struck him as unlikely. Possibly an arm wrestling contest though. Do mages arm wrestle?<\/i> he thought, getting completely off-topic.<\/p>\n Not typically, no<\/i>, interrupted a foreign thought in a completely different voice inside his head. If you and Mistress Blaise could arrive and cause a distraction, I would be most grateful<\/i>, said Gratin inside his head. I was going to contact the Mistress, but given the anxiety I can detect in her thoughts I didn\u2019t intrude into her mind<\/i>, he added.<\/p>\n Doug nodded, both in response and as a natural gesture towards coming to a decision on a course of action. He cricked his neck and flexed his arms, the bionic one clacking and clicking as metal rubbed against metal.<\/p>\n \u201cSo, guys,\u201d he said, placing his arms around the shoulder of both mafia men in a friendly manner and giving them a friendly squeeze, \u201cwhat line of work were you in before I completely fucked up your career prospects?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cUs? We\u2019re just low-level enforcers,\u201d Bert replied as Doug began walking them in the direction of the aircraft. \u201cSmall-time stuff. Don\u2019t get me wrong, it\u2019s not that we don\u2019t have ambition, but get too far and you open yourself up for attention, you get where I\u2019m coming from?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNot really,\u201d said Doug.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat he\u2019s sayin\u2019 is, climb the ladder too high and some idiot might step in and shoot you in the head. Possibly by mistake,\u201d said Benny, with only a hint of sarcasm. Doug simply grinned and chuckled, and was reassured to find the two suits join in after an awkward pause.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s your speciality, guys?\u201d asked Doug.<\/p>\n \u201cBreaking and entering,\u201d said Benny. Doug thought this made sense, as Benny\u2019s smaller stature was ideal for crawling through basement windows and clambering swiftly up drainpipes.<\/p>\n \u201cShooting people in the head,\u201d said Bert. Doug remembered Bert\u2019s big gun and felt it digging into his side.<\/p>\n \u201cHmm, how d\u2019ya feel about grand theft aero?\u201d Doug asked jovially. Bert cocked his gun, Benny cracked his knuckles.<\/p>\n \u201cFeels pretty good,\u201d replied both, at the same time.<\/p>\n Gratin hadn\u2019t remained in freefall for long. He began to fly, soaring upwards to find his way back onto the ship. He didn\u2019t make it, Abaddon dropping out of the hole to meet him halfway, raining death from above with fire lances. Gratin took evasive action, dodging in mid-air in…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[59,43,64,65,32,47,31,33,42,66,60,9],"class_list":["post-183","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-mercenaries-tale","tag-abaddon","tag-airships","tag-benny-the-ballache-spigotoli","tag-bert-benolli","tag-blaise","tag-dalminetti-mafia","tag-doug-mccracken","tag-gratin","tag-magic-and-mages","tag-tartarus","tag-the-galactic-finders-of-the-tserulian-monastery","tag-the-mercs"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.payneful.co.uk\/tales-of-sin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/183","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.payneful.co.uk\/tales-of-sin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.payneful.co.uk\/tales-of-sin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.payneful.co.uk\/tales-of-sin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.payneful.co.uk\/tales-of-sin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=183"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.payneful.co.uk\/tales-of-sin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/183\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.payneful.co.uk\/tales-of-sin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=183"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.payneful.co.uk\/tales-of-sin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=183"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.payneful.co.uk\/tales-of-sin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=183"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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