The Black Bulwark, a six-hundred and twenty foot long prison barge. Lovingly nicknamed by its guests for the dark iron used to build the massive floating detention center. Those that went in, never came out. What had Elucard gotten himself into? He did not know. What did breaking out some poor thief have anything to do with being a bodyguard to a mage? A look at the bigger picture situation. A means to the end. They needed transport to Tradewind City, Cut-Throat needed a couple of well trained mercenaries. A means to the end.

“See it just over them waves, boys?” Cut-Throat called out over the loud crashing waves.

The sea was rougher than it was for the last two days. Although it was in the dead of night, the low hanging moon gave a soft glow to the looming storm clouds.

Elucard moved his mask over the brim of his nose and raised his forest green hood. He flexed his fist several times to steady his nerves. He infiltrated castles and cities. Over roofs and through the skies. On the waves was just another day. Just a stroll in the park. Then why did he have moths fluttering in his stomach?

“Ready, Elucard?” Inle shouted.

Elucard sucked in a chest full of air. “Yeah, let’s get this over with.”

Cut-Throat pulled out a spy-glass from his silky sash. “When I escaped last year, there were fifteen men patrolling the deck. If you lads are as good as you say, it should cause ya no trouble at all. Shady is in 3-F. Third level, sixth prison cell.”

Cade and Elucard leaped on the railing of the ship, minding their balance with slight adjustments of their hips and knees. Cade lifted a wide platform of water to meet his feet which he gingerly stepped on. He waited Elucard and Cut-Throat to do the same before lowering it to the water’s surface.

“Is this safe?” Cut-Throat asked?

Cade ignored the question. “Hold on to me,” he said. He let Elucard and the captain grip his arms. “Let’s go!”

The water disc gunned forward, skimming over the waves like an arrow cutting through the air. Elucard narrowed his eyes as tears blurred his vision and sea mist slipped over his hands. Closer and closer the barge came into view. Towering in the night air, larger than any ship Elucard had ever seen, taller than any wave that Naonis could summon. A monster—a titan of the sea. How many prisoners did it hold? Surely the entire criminal underground of Abyss could fit in there at the very least!

The two shrouds and the pirate reached the hull of the ship. Elucard revered his head back to see the deck. “My turn,” he said with a cunning smirk. He pressed his hand flat on the ship, Then he closed his eyes and imagined Ivy. Growing from his hand came a wall of ivy and leaves crawled up the side of the ship and over the railing.

“Come, before anyone notices us,”whispered Elucard.

Together the three quietly scrambled up the vines and onto the deck. Elucard dispelled his magic and watched as the ivy crumbled and fell to the sea below. He crouched down hiding in the shadows. Sliding his ninjato out, he conjured a toxic black film over his blade, both to tone down any reflection of moonlight from his blade and incapacitated the prison guards without killing them. Koda didn’t need an international incident on his hands.

“Which cell is McGee in again?” asked Cade in a silent whisper.

“Do ya listen, lad? Third level, sixth cell,” Cut-Throat whispered back with a hint of frustration in his voice.

Elucard and Cade sprinted across the deck. Their movements were so fluid and so graceful, they seemed to glide through the shadows, as if they had been assassin’s all their lives. Cut-Throat trailed close behind, careful to not get into their way.

With each guard they encountered, Cade gagged the guard from behind and kicked and buckled him backwards. Like a ballet, Elucard pierced the guard’s thigh with the precision of a surgeon to avoid the femoral artery and risk an unnecessary death.

With the poison rendering a long nap to the unsuspecting guards, Elucard and Cade pulled the bodies behind crates or into empty barrels before sneaking up the winding stairs to the third level and entered the third block.

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Inside the barge, a layer of humid air wafted down the hallways. Steam pumped and seeped from the maze of pipes that cluttered the ceiling. Elucard dashed from cell to cell, counting with each door passed.

One. Two. Three. Four. Five…

“Here,” Elucard whispered just loud enough for Cut-Throat and Cade to hear him.

A slender man approached the bars. His skin was pale and eyes were dark. His oily black hair fell past his left eye and a curved nose like an eagle beak made the defining feature of his face. He gave Elucard a coy smile.

“Can I help you, my fine gentleman?” Despite his disheveled appearance, his voice came off suave, almost like a nobleman preparing to procure fine art from Elucard.

Elucard walked closer to Shady McGee. He inspected the sustainability of the bars with a rough shake. A good set of kicks could pop out one. Enough for someone as thin as Shady Mcgee to squeeze through.

“Hmm, are you some type of assassin?” Shady asked. He held up a handful of shurikens and Elucard’s ninjato with his other hand.

Elucard’s eyes widened. He was just holding that sword!

“How in the— Give me those!” Elucard growled as he swiped his things back. Elucard sheathed his blade and put the shurikens back in his pouch. “We’re here to get you out. Stand back.”

“Oh.” Shady put up his hand. “I’m here because I need to be.”

Cut-Throat and Cade came from behind Elucard

“Shady, what in the blazes are ya talkin’s about?” Cut-Throat asked.

“I found it, Cutty,” whispered Shady. “I know where the Diamond Key is.”

“Enough with the old wive’s tales, Shady. Ya didn’t find nothin’. Ya just chasin’ ghost stories again.”

“No this time I found it, I stumbled across a map to an island called Phellos while pulling off a heist in the citadel.”

Cut-Throat banged his head against the bars. “We gotta get you out of here. Our window for an escape is closin’.”

“What’s he going on about, Cut-Throat?” asked Cade.

“The bloody Skyripple. He thinks he found the Diamond Key.”

“And since I did, I am safer here than I am out there. There are people looking for Thorton’s Spear, Cutty. Bad people.”

Cade looked at Cut-Throat and pulled him away from the bars. “We’re out of time Cut-Throat. He doesn’t want to leave and I don’t want to be here any longer than I have to be.”

Elucard nodded. “And like a ghost story, we must vanish into the shadows.”

***

Cade strolled into Stryneth’s small room in the Salty Goat. The mage sat at an oak desk stirring colorful powders into solvents. Worn over his eye was a brass monocle with several lenses extended forward to allow him complete control over the delicate details of working with his tiny seeds and rare flowers. Any misplaced incision could ruin the plant.

“What is it, Inle?” Strife spat without looking up from his work.

Cade eyed the door and locked it behind him. He sat on the bed across from his guildmate and hunched over. “What do you know of the Diamond Key?”

Strife blinked and quickly turned to face the shadow elf. “How do you know of the key?”

“My mission for Cut-Throat. We had to rescue a thief that knew the location of it.”

“Impossible…” Strife said under his breath. “Do you remember the details of where this thief is?”

Inle tilted his head. “Is Master Wraslyn seeking the Skyripple? What is it?”

“Tell. Me. The. Location, Inle,” Strife said slowly.

“Four hours north of here. A prison barge. Cell 3-F.”

“You did well, Inle, Master Wraslyn will be pleased,” Strife said.

“Tell me what the Skyripple is?” asked Inle once more.

“A weapon he needs. So that no man or woman can stop him from reaching his goals,” Strife explained. “There are five keys to unlock the tomb where the Skyripple is kept. The Sapphire Key, the Ruby Key, the Onyx Key, the Emerald Key, and finally, the Diamond Key.”

Inle pursed his lips. “I still know so little of Master Wraslyn and his plans, when will I be brought further into the fold?”

Strife smiled and patted Inle’s hand. “Every piece has its role, Inle, but each is equally important to winning the game. You will realize this one day.”

Inle lied down with a heavy sigh. “Yeah, I know you’re right, but I still hate being in the dark all the time.”

Strife turned back to his poisons. “Wraslyn has many secrets. He keeps his life and plans shrouded deep in his mystique. I, myself, know very little of his plans. I may know more than you, but only because I was brought into the guild before you. In time he will trust you more, Inle, and in time he will tell you more.”

Inle fidgeted with his glamor pendant. Was it all worth it? All the secrecy and danger. The questionable intentions. The misery he brought to countless lives. The Dead of Winter claimed it was all for the greater good. To bring the ultimate gift to the masses, to unite with the gods…but was it worth it. He didn’t know anymore. All he knew was he loved Elucard and they wouldn’t want that. He had choices to make and it could be between a good life and a bad death.