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‘As we approached the East Watchtower, the Karajan was as flat as the marshes of Lumreek.’ The flames flickered in Bardon’s yellow eyes. ‘I had never set eyes on the Archon’s sea defenses, but the sailors informed me we would see the giant waves long before we’d be upon it.’ Elodi clutched his hand. It remained cold despite spending the evening wrapped in blankets and huddled beside the fire. The innkeeper of the single hostelry in Frescove was reluctant at first to grant them entry. But Elodi had assured him Lord Broon was simply exhausted and malnourished, and not a carrier of the plague. But it had taken three gold coins to finally convince the man.

Bardon kept his eyes on the fire. ‘Reassured, I assumed the Archon had calmed the seas to allow us passage.’ His head dropped. ‘But as we drew level with the tower, a terrible churning of the waters began. From what you tell me of Uluriel’s possession, it’s now obvious it was our enemy who controlled the seas. They must have waited until our fleet sailed into the trap… and then stir the currents.’ His voice broke. ‘The sea reared up in places and sank in others. Many ships were sucked into whirlpools.’ He shivered, pulling the blanket closer to his chest. ‘It’s a terrible sight to see a large ship swallowed into a maelstrom so deep you can almost see the ocean floor. The doomed crew tried in vain to stay afloat, briefly sailing on its steep sides, but many fell from the decks into the darkness below.’ His jaw clenched. ‘We lost so many… so many good souls. Ships drawn close to the edges disappeared without trace with all hands lost. Those of us avoiding those perilous pits, by sheer luck I may add, were lashed by gigantic walls of water. The waves stacked so high they shut out the sky, growing ever taller until they toppled over, crashing onto decks, smashing galleons to matchsticks in seconds.’ Bardon shook as he relived the carnage. ‘I’m afraid General Kragan’s ship was among the first to be lost.’

Elodi chilled at the memory of the storm on the Elyssen Sea. ‘How did you survive?’

‘We fortunate few who kept our masts and had some sails to speak of, were blown farther east. The more experienced skippers managed with great skill to navigate the waves and steer a course clear of those terrifying whirlpools. But we couldn’t escape the clutches of the undercurrents. It was if hands beneath the waters dragged us towards the rocky headlands and cliffs of Mundrake’s Isle.’ Elodi’s grip softened. Plague Isle. Had she made a terrible mistake? Bardon continued. ‘Of the dozen or so ships that escaped the violent waters, I saw four come to grief on the rocks. The sea is so cruel. They’d survived the worst only to be tossed overboard in sight of shore. They were at the mercy of the waves which mercilessly dashed them against the rocks or dragged them to the bottom.’ His shaking hand went to his face. ‘Just eleven of the forty-four ships leaving Caermund made landfall on Mundrake’s Isle. Although landfall is not the right word, hurled more like. Yes, we were hurled onto the few beaches along the shore. Of these only one ship remained in a state we could possibly repair.’ He nodded over his shoulder. ‘And as you saw, it’s hardly what you’d call seaworthy.’

Elodi rested her hand on his shoulder. ‘You must have been on that island for the best part of two months.’

He shuddered. ‘And like you, I too was familiar with the tales of Plague Isle… as many refer to it. And I can tell you now, it thoroughly deserves that unwholesome name. It is indeed a bleak and lifeless place as the stories tell. It’s surrounded by the warm seas of the south and should be a land teeming with life. Yet... it’s as if the island has drifted in from the north, clinging to the cold, defying the southern climes to melt its icy heart. If it wasn’t enough to banish those suffering from the plague from their homes, they had to spend their last, miserable days in that place. Little can live on that wind-battered isle other than insects that drain your blood with a greed belying their size. Storms blow in from the Karajan with monotonous regularity, and when they take their misery elsewhere, the constant chill wind offers little solace. And there’s no shelter to be had. Once away from the cliffs, the land is mainly flat, consisting of marshes swarming with midges and those nasty hornrasps. And where the marshes relent, it’s rocky land is smothered with thick, flowerless gorse. And their sharp thorns would sooner tear you to shreds than allow you to shelter beneath. It seems the whole isle wishes you dead.’

Elodi rubbed his shivering shoulders. ‘But you survived. And you say at least a thousand still live?’

Bardon let out a long sigh. ‘More than twice that made it ashore.’ His voice wavered. ‘If we thought making landfall was the end of our ordeal, we were to be bitterly disappointed.’ He cleared his throat and straightened. For a moment, Elodi saw Bardon as she had known him, but the effort soon drained him, and he shrank into the chair. ‘It is a gloomy place. Even the sun shuns the isle. We made our way inland in a desperate attempt to shelter from the wind. At first, we thought our luck had changed as we found a small settlement of ramshackle huts. They were on the west side of a ridge, affording us some respite from the gales.’

‘Settlement? But I thought—’

‘Built, no doubt, by those unfortunate to somehow survive the plague.’

Elodi’s heart sank. ‘Survived? And there was no way back. What a terrible way to exist.’

‘But exist they did, and for a number of years.’ He shook his head. ‘If the poor souls hadn’t suffered enough, they then had to endure having their flesh torn off in chunks by hornrasps, and then ripped to pieces by the thorns. Those recovering from the curse must have soon envied the dead.’

Elodi stared at the fire. ‘I can’t begin to imagine the lives of those poor wretches.’

‘They were resourceful, I’ll give them that. They had to be to scrape a living in that dreaded place. Yet they still went to the trouble of burying their dead with dignity. It must have been a struggle to dig graves with their bare hands, and then in the few places the soil was deep enough.’ Bardon groaned as he reached for his cup. ‘Over the next few days, more survivors washed up among the many dead. Understandably, none wanted to live in the huts inhabited by plague exiles. We set up our own camps, building huts as best we could with the wreckage from the ships. We had enough food for two weeks or so, but when that ran out, we did our best to fish, or shoot down the few birds foolish enough to approach the coast. But tellingly, few do. And… I’m afraid, we had no choice but to eat the few horses that survived.’ Bardon winced. ‘Yes, it was not agreeable to us, but we had little fodder for them, and the horses became uncontrollable at night. We lost a few who ran over the clifftops in their panic.’ His hands clenched his cup. ‘A frightened horse makes a sorrowful sound. The fear soon spreads to all in earshot.’

Bardon straightened. ‘But we still had hope in our hearts in those early days. We numbered around two and a half thousand in total, which was more than I could have expected. But alas, that means close to ten thousand perished and yet lie at the bottom of the sea. So many fine people gone for good, betrayed and lost in the most horrifying of ways, unable to fight back. All those souls lost without trace or glory.’

Elodi patted his knee. ‘Then we shall ensure their sacrifice does not go untold.’ But as soon as she spoke the words, she heard how hollow her promise sounded.

Bardon looked to Elodi for the first time since recounting his tale. ‘To think we stood beside the Archon with Uluriel inside his head. And… we stopped him leaping from his tower.’

She grasped his cold hands. ‘Not a day passes when I don’t think what might have happened had we not intervened. But we weren’t to know. Uluriel deceived us all.’ She refilled his cup, daring to ask her next question. ‘How did you lose so many after you landed? Did they starve?’

His gaze went back to the flames. ‘Not all the far-fetched rumors of that isle are… so far-fetched.’ He took a deep breath. ‘We set about repairing the ship least damaged by the rocks. But few of us had the necessary skills. Thus, the work was painstakingly slow with many mistakes made. And, after what we’d experienced, all were wary of setting sail in a makeshift ship. Mund’s shoreline is dominated by cliffs more than ready to lure a wayward vessel to be dashed on its rocks. And yes, sadly, the dying did not end. Many failed to recover on the meagre rations. But it was not just the weather and bleak nature of the land that took them.’ Bardon leaned closer to the fire but could not prevent shivering. ‘I have never been a superstitious man, Elodi, but I saw things in the darkness that challenged my lifelong beliefs. The tales tell of the spirits of the dead, full of wrath for those that exiled and abandoned them to their miserable fate. At night, many of us believed we… saw them, or at the very least felt their presence.’

Elodi’s blood froze. ‘Wraiths?’

‘Worse. They were more than just apparitions, these had… a presence. They drain your spirits, almost as if they’re sucking the very life from your bones, seizing back what was taken from them. Many of us became ill, but from no obvious cause. We were all hungry but fought on. But for others it was like they just gave up hope and departed this realm. But there was another danger. Not all who died, perished in their sleep.’

Bardon stopped as the innkeeper brought food. The lord looked to the plate but chose not to eat. He turned back to Elodi and gripped her hand. ‘What I’m about to tell you must not leave this room. It may be a true account, or it may be a trick our troubled minds played upon us. By now we were delirious, half-starved, and frightened by our own shadows. I don’t know for certain whether I dreamed what I saw. Or if awake, it was a fever from the marshes that took many of us, filling our heads with nightmarish visions. Maybe in the weeks to come as we recover, we’ll come to know the truth of what we saw, but until then I’d appreciate your discretion.’

Elodi nodded. ‘You have my word.’

‘Thank you. If times are as difficult as you say, the last thing we need is our story adding to the fear if it turns out to be a figment of our fevered minds.’

‘Agreed. Please, go on.’

Bardon’s eyes widened. ‘We woke on the mornings following sightings of… wraiths, to find some of our fellow survivors had gone. It wasn’t unheard for those close to madness to throw themselves from the cliffs to end their suffering… but these had not. We came across them near to the old graves… as if torn apart by wolves.’

Elodi gasped. ‘But surely there are no wolves on that isle.’

‘Indeed. And we soon came to a shocking conclusion. At first, I refused to believe my eyes, but we found graves where the earth was disturbed. It appears…’ he cleared his throat, ‘it appears not all who died on that isle, rest in peace.’

‘What! You mean…?’

He kept his eyes on his cup. ‘They are not truly dead.’

Elodi grasped the arms of her chair. ‘We had a similar problem at the pass, but they had died recently. Those on the island were exiled three hundred years ago. How could that be?’

Bardon’s jaw clenched. ‘Perhaps our presence stirred them from their unnatural slumber. As grim as it was, we decided to dig up one of the disturbed graves. We found what can only be described as a ghoul. Blood stained its long nails, and…’ he grimaced, ‘the few remaining teeth in its skull had flesh stuck in between. By day, we exhumed those with signs of activity and burned the creatures within. As for their nature, I can only assume the poison left by our enemy was more than a plague, more of a curse intended to sow fear and unrest for many years to come. So, while the actions of our ancestors to expel them to the islands appears cruel, it may have been a wise move. I only hope our pyres finally allowed those poor souls to rest.’

Elodi put down her drink. ‘I believe you may be right. In Harlyn, those who caught the plague were incarcerated in remote villages until recovered. Those who died were burned, as it was feared even the dead could still spread disease. Perhaps only Mund exiled them and let them be. Regardless, that is a terrible fate these people suffered.’ She placed her hand on his arm. ‘Do you need to rest? Or are you able to complete your tale?’

He shook his head. ‘I’d rather finish, thank you. I find it helps to talk of what I’ve tried to bury at the back of my mind. And then there is much I’d like to know about the unfolding events here. But from what you’ve already told me, it seems we are in a tight spot.’ Bardon smiled. ‘But congratulations on replacing the old fool, Kernlow. I’m sure his heart is in the right place, but had he stayed in command for much longer, the fate of the realms would have already been sealed.’ He took her hand. ‘You are by far a better prospect for the realms.’

Despite her recent successes, Elodi flushed. ‘That is good of you to say. But I feel it is you who should lead now you have returned. As the longest serving leader of a realm, the position rightly belongs to you.’

Bardon sighed. ‘I am old and from a different age. I am exhausted and suspect my best days are well behind me. No, Elodi, it is you who is better suited to take on the challenges ahead.’ He beamed. ‘And now I know about your mother. Ha! Didn’t I always say she had the strength and skill to match an Amayan. Well… now I know why. And… if anything, I would say you might even surpass her.’

‘Again, that is kind of you to say. But not all has gone my way. The loss of Calerdorn weighs heavy on my mind. We don’t yet know where we will meet the enemy, and… Nyomae fears our foe has yet to reveal its full strength.’

He patted her hand. ‘Much that happens seems ill at the time. Who can predict how the future will unfold. I will stand beside you, Elodi. I will advise where you think you need it, but I will follow.’ Bardon massaged his legs. ‘But these old bones creak more than they should, so accept my offer… for what you think that is worth.’

Elodi held his gaze. ‘It was not so long ago I made the same vow to you in my room at Archonholm. And to repeat what you said to me at the time’ — she winked — ‘your support will be worth more than you think.’ She sighed. ‘But look, I have interrupted your tale. Please, do continue.’

‘There is little more to be said. After our gruesome discovery, we decided to set sail before our crude ship was fully seaworthy. But we preferred to take our chances on the open sea, despite our dread, rather than be eaten by a long-dead ghoul. We sailed for days up and down the coast, reluctant to land straightaway. While unaware of Uluriel’s hand in our misfortunes, in our hearts, we knew something was afoot, whether through intuition or from our weakness. We feared the Five had fallen in an enemy coup and were thus wary of setting ashore. I apologize if our meandering way caused concern for the people of Mund. But as our health and state of our minds deteriorated, we could wait no longer and found what we thought was a remote bay.’ He smiled. ‘But how fortunate you were there to greet me, eh.’

Elodi nodded. ‘Fortunate indeed. I am informed the rest of your crew have been brought ashore and are housed in and around Frescove. Healers from Caermund will be here by dawn, and dozens of fishing boats have set sail for Mundrake’s Isle to bring the remainder back. They, and you, when well enough, will be taken to Caermund where you’ll receive the best treatment. I have asked for the healers of Abernost to attend. I trust they will have knowledge of what afflicts you. But from what you say, I will also instruct work to begin on incinerating the buried on the island. Sadly, it is not a task we are unaccustomed to these days.’

Bardon stretched. ‘A necessary precaution in the light of what we know our enemy is capable of. With hindsight, we should have sailed into Caermund, but none were thinking straight.’ He yawned. 'But perhaps it was fate that we came here and found you.’

‘I would like to think it was fate rather than luck. We are in desperate need of something going our way if we are to turn back the evil tide coming south.’ Elodi held his hand and was relieved to find it had warmed. ‘I know you require rest, but there is much to discuss. We have decisions to make on the defense either side of the Kolossos, and I also have two loyal captains from Broon who should be placed under your command. I’m sure they will be heartened by your return. The unrest in Keld spreads, and—’ Elodi turned as a man entered. She stood, annoyed at the interruption. ‘I specifically expressed I was not to be disturbed.’