RAVEN'S GAMBIT | Part 26: Waters of the Dead
Tessa ‘Quickfingers’ Vell pressed her ear to the old wooden door, her breath steady, listening. Moments passed. Nothing but the gentle hum of running water. Her fingers traced the edges. No traps. She gave the signal.
Hachiro Noboru opened the door. The room beyond was unlike anything they’d yet seen.
A stream of water ran through the far side of the room—but instead of flowing through a trough, it hovered in midair, about two feet off the ground, suspended unnaturally between two tunnels.
A faint glow shimmered around it. Resting against the near wall were eight rectangular rafts, just large enough for two.
“These platforms... or rafts,” Hachiro said, “only enough for sixteen.”
“Who will go?” Theron Blackroot asked.
One by one, they launched.
Raft 1: Hachiro and Theron fumbled at first but got their rhythm and drifted into the current.
Raft 2: Elowyn Mosswhisper and Kaela Virell followed with grace.
Raft 3: Khopesh and Tavrix 'Whisper' Malen mounted cleanly.
Raft 4: Agent Marcus Virelli and Brock ‘Bull’ Dawson boarded without issue.
Raft 5: Dr. Elias Finch and Lin of the Whispering Wind struggled briefly, then launched.
Raft 6: Seren Willowmere and Jahari 'Duststep' Malek drifted out smoothly.
Raft 7: Kael the Ember-Eyed and Elric Duskwind joined the procession.
Raft 8: Kaelen Firebrand and Thalia Emberbranch closed the line, pushing off with minor difficulty.
Those who stayed behind—Elaren Duskroot, Trix Vorn, Shino of the Whispering Leaves, Tessa 'Quickfingers' Vell, Kael 'Fingers' Vire, and Taya Vex—watched silently as the last raft vanished down the glowing stream.
Midway through the winding passage, disaster struck.
Raft 3 tipped. Khopesh swam, unbothered by the water. Tavrix wasn’t so lucky—caught in the current, his body vanished beneath the surface. Drowned.
Raft 2 and 4 capsized near the chamber’s entrance. Elowyn, Kaela, Marcus, and Brock swam for the exit, drenched but alive.
They emerged into a brightly lit chamber, scattered with bedrolls and belongings. The signs of recent habitation made the air heavy with unease.
Suddenly—a net launched, narrowly missing Hachiro and Theron. Both rolled off their raft into combat stances. Another net ensnared Khopesh, dragging him from the water. And from the shadows came the blade of a longsword, piercing Agent Marcus Virelli’s chest. He collapsed without a sound.
“AMBUSH!” Theron roared.
Brock drew his Colt Navy, firing at the assailant—but the bullet ricocheted off heavy armor. Dr. Finch’s derringer hit one of the rogues. Lin loosed a spell. Kaela and Elric followed with Magic Missiles. Kaelen Firebrand’s spell felled one of the ambushers.
Then the armored figure stepped forward, blood glistening on his blade.“I am Sir Bluto Sans Pite. You are trespassing.”
Hachiro snarled, locking eyes with the knight.“Then you die as one who takes what is not his.”
Their blades clashed. Hachiro scored a strike; Bluto carved across the samurai’s chest. Theron’s Eldritch Blast singed the knight’s cape. Elowyn struggled with Wave, awkward in her grip. Khopesh slammed one rogue into a wall. Brock fired blindly in pain. Finch and Lin delivered more spells. More rogues fell.
But Bluto was unrelenting. He impaled Brock, the revolver falling from the dying man’s hand.
Hachiro cried out and drove forward. More Magic Missiles rained from Kael, Elric, Kaelen. Thalia loosed an arrow—Bluto batted it aside.
The rogue commander lifted his sword to finish Hachiro—but the samurai turned his blade, catching the strike on its flat.“Now,” Hachiro whispered.
Theron’s final Eldritch Blast ripped from his palm. It struck Bluto full in the chest. The knight screamed as his flesh burned away, armor collapsing around the ashes that once were a man.
Silence fell. Then came the first breath.
They counted the dead. Agent Marcus. Tavrix.
They retrieved what they could, gathered their wounded, and rested within the now-cleared chamber, weary and reduced once more. The mountain had taken again—and still had more to give.