Chapter 30: The Highest Bidder

The spray from the mortars bounced off of Tuborg’s protective shield and puddled around the group as they watched mercenaries pour out of the old jotun camp two or three at a time. There were so many: far more than Nienna anticipated. She wondered where they were all coming from. They outnumbered them by at least twenty, and they had no idea if others were still hiding inside. Once everything settled and the debris cleared from the air, Tuborg dropped the shield, his chest heaving from the energy spent to keep them all protected.  

“Where the hell did they get those cannons?” Clarkus growled.

Alena raised her hand in a pulling motion towards the sky. A hulking mass of bone and sinew rose from the frozen ground and entwined until Gordo fully formed. She felt better having her golem at her side. “Maybe they took them from the ship before it crashed,” she offered.

“It doesn’t matter where they got them,” Nienna snapped back. She immediately regretted the unintended harshness of her tone. The combination of the developing situation and her physical ailments had put her in a foul mood, and she found it difficult to not give in. She sighed sharply, trying to lower her stress levels. “We can’t let them pin us against the cliff. We need to keep moving forward. It’s the only way out of here.”

Dee nodded. “Agreed. We’re not going to let them drive us off this cliff.” She drew her greatsword from its holster, now energized by the prospect of a worthy battle. Looking over her shoulder, she flashed a grin at Tuborg and Alena. “Right?”

“Right,” they replied in unison.

In his own reply, Clarkus beat the pommel of his sword against his chest plate and let out a mighty roar. “Let’s show these fools just how sharp our blades are!”

He led the charge toward their enemies, ready to fight through to freedom. In that moment, Nienna felt like the improbable could be possible. Maybe they would make it through after all—until Nienna caught sight of a tall woman leading two malformed jotun out of the camp. The creatures were far too pale and encrusted in ice, just like the one they encountered previously at the Priory camp. Heavy chains secured around their necks and wrists clattered together with every languid step they took. Through the growing crowd of mercenaries and Inquest, Nienna spied Commander Morrow holding both sets of chains in her hands, leading the creatures forward into the fray. She then pulled the jotun to heel and belted out a command to halt. The mercenaries also obeyed.

Unsure of what was going on, Nienna ushered her people to stop as well.

“What’s going on?” Dee asked as they all regrouped.

“I don’t know. Everything just suddenly—stopped,” Nienna replied. She remained on guard, not trusting this moment of peace. She looked back and forth along the group of mercenaries who were staring them down like predators sizing up their prey. As she tried to figure out why everything had ceased, a strange, far-off sound caught her attention. She could only now hear the hum because of the silence that had fallen over the shear. Nienna looked over her shoulder at the spot she focused on earlier while crossing the bridge. She furrowed her brow, noting its position had moved and grown larger.

The group of mercenaries parted as Captain Morrow made her way with her pets to the front. “Well look what we have here. Seems we have a pack o’ dogs who thought they could sneak their way up the mountain without us knowing. We made you back in Hoelbrak. Figured you wouldn’t resist the chase.”

“Why are you helping the Byrnes? Can’t you see what your employers are doing is madness? They’re killing innocent people over a personal vendetta,” Nienna said, trying to appeal to any better nature that might be lurking underneath Morrow’s tough exterior.

Morrow smirked, unfazed by her words. “I answer to the highest bidder. Who the hell cares what my employers are doing and what they want me and my crew to do—as long as they pay.” Greedy chuckles broke out amongst her people.

Alena’s little nose wrinkled as she frowned. “Money? That’s all you care about?”

Morrow narrowed her eyes at her. “I wouldn’t expect a little rat like you to understand.”

Clarkus bared his teeth and let out a warning growl as he stepped forward, strategically placing himself between Morrow and his asura friend. “Why don’tcha come ‘ere and say that a little closer,” he challenged, beckoning with his index claw.

Morrow let out a hearty laugh, merely amused by the gesture. The noise startled the frozen jotun, and they started to back away, but she yanked on the chains and gave them a sharp command to stop. The creatures voiced their displeasure with deep growls but eventually acquiesced after a few more assertive yanks of the chains.

“Money is everything in this world,” the commander explained. “It makes things happen. It offers a sense of security not many other things can. The deal we have with our employers sets me and my crew up nicely for the rest of our lives. Paid a handsome deposit too, and if everything works out, we’ve got a few more perks coming our way.”

Nienna raised an eyebrow. “What if we paid you double?” she proposed.

“Don’t be ridiculous. You couldn’t afford us.”

“You don’t know that. Don’t you want a backup plan? What happens if it all falls apart?” Nienna pressed. “What are you going to do then?”

“We still have our deposit,” Morrow said with a grin, “and maybe a quick plunder of the wreckage before we disappear back into the shadows until the next job.”

Dee leaned over to Nienna. “What are you doing?” she whispered.

“Stalling.”

“Stalling? Why the hell are you doing that and not finding us a way out of this mess?” the norn replied.

“You remember the message I sent Danae?”Nienna asked.

“I do.” She cocked her head to the side and flashed her friend an incredulous look. “Bear’s back, you don’t expect she’s just going to pop up and save us all, do you? You told her we were going to the Priory Headquarters, not traipsing through the Shiverpeaks.”

Nienna offered Dee a hopeful smile. “Maybe there’s still a little luck left for us in the world.”

“I don’t know. It’s not wise to put all our eggs in one airship basket,” the norn warned.

Morrow whistled to get their attention. “Hey, chatterboxes.” She made her way to the front of her people, pulling the jotun forward. Her people made sure to give her a wide birth. “The Byrnes wanted to leave you a little present. It’s a shame though. I could use a little more muscle on my crew.”

“Wait, hold on. I still have one more question before you loose your pets on us. Where’s Seren?” Nienna inquired. She swallowed hard, trying to ignore the looming threat the jotuns presented.

Morrow paused and cocked an eyebrow. “Who?”

“Young woman with dark hair and heavy armor. You dragged her and another one of my people out into the courtyard back at that Priory camp where we first met.”

Morrow thought about this for a moment. “Oh, that one. Her sylvari friend set fire to my airship, and we had to bail. Left that one behind since she was trouble, but the Byrnes thought the brunette was far too valuable to be left as a hostage for us, so they took her with them and left us with these two beauties.”

Nienna frowned as severe disappointment hit her hard. She bit back the stream of curses threatening to roll off her tongue. She couldn’t let Morrow see how badly this affected her. She couldn’t give that woman another hold over her and the others. She looked over her shoulder again. The dot in the sky was still growing larger. She desperately hoped that was Danae’s ship heading their way. She knew it was a lot to ask for, but they could really use the win.

“Oh well. Our generous benefactors would like me to make sure you enjoy your gift.” She uttered a sharp whistle, and the front line of mercenaries and Inquest backed away even further. With a devilish smirk, Morrow dropped the chains, pulled a pistol from her belt, and fired a shot into the air, driving the towering creatures forward to attack. The rest of the mercenaries whooped and hollered as the jotun galloped toward Nienna and her people and then eventually joined in on the advance.

“Oh boy,” Alena uttered, her long ears drooping. She raised her hand, ready to give Gordo instructions as soon as the impending danger was close enough.

Clarkus looked down at his friend and winked. “Don’t worry, we’ve got this,” he tried to assure her.

Dee leaned over to Nienna. “That better be her ship. We barely survived one of these frozen jotun. Not sure how we’re going to handle two and the rest of those goons.”

As the two groups collided, the sound of battle filled the air. Nienna focused on the nearest mercenary: a masked individual wielding a sword and torch. She threw her axe at them, and it spun before her as claws manifested from her energy dug into her opponent’s torso. Nienna’s axe returned to her just as they lunged at her, and the two weapons clanged as she blocked the strike. The bright illumination from their torch nearly blinded Nienna as they swung it at her. She craned her neck and leaned back, but the edge of its flame caught her upper sleeve, burning a hole through to her skin. She yelped as her flesh burned and searing enveloped her entire limb.

Her opponent moved to strike again, and Nienna raised her axe to block. With her free hand, she grabbed their torch and used all her might to twist the burning end back toward them. The flames lapped at their mask, catching the material on fire. They howled in pain, consumed by the growing immolation which eventually enveloped their entire head. Overwhelmed by their situation, Nienna took the opportunity to deal a lethal blow.

When she glanced over to see how the others were doing, something knocked into her side, sending her down into the snow. She glanced up just in time to see one of the jotuns towering over her. It pulled back a leg that was almost as thick as a tree trunk and swung it in her direction. Nienna rolled out of the way just as the leg sailed by. With a white-knuckled grip, she waited for its leg to come back before swinging her axe at the thick flesh, cutting into it just above the ankle.

Somewhere in the midst of battle, Nienna heard Tuborg cry out. She wove her way through the edge of the fighting, dodging strikes as she ran toward him. A small team of Inquest had snuck their way through battle, each wielding a pistol and baton with an electrified end had managed to surround and get the better of the sylvari. They took turns lunging and shocking him until he lost his grip on his shield and fell to his knees. One of the Inquest circled around behind him and subjected him to a series of shocks at the back of his head until he collapsed.

“Alena, a little help please!” Nienna called out to her and pointed where Tuborg’s unconscious body lay in the snow.

The asura replied with a sharp nod and reached out her little hand, her palm to the sky. Two bone minions clawed their way out of the snow, their flesh smooth as ice. Their skeletal mouths parted, and they let out an otherworldly hiss as they followed their mistress’ command to attack the Inquest who were now trying to carry Tuborg away. They scrambled through the snow and lunged at the Inquest the same time Nienna reached them. Together, they made quick work of two, but the third Inquest member escaped back into the safety of the mercenaries unscathed.

“Tuborg?” Nienna called out as she bent over him. When he didn’t respond, she tried shaking him by the shoulders. “Tuborg, c’mon. Wake up.”

“We need to get him up. They’re moving in,” Dee warned before turning back toward an attacking mercenary wielding a sturdy staff tipped with a mithril spearhead. The norn swung her blade, and there was a sharp crack as the wood split under the heft of her strike.

An arrow whizzed by Nienna’s head, startling her, and landed in the snow a few feet away. Swallowing her panic, she tried to think of what to do. The other jotun was closing in on her direction, and they didn’t have time to carry him out of harm’s way. They couldn’t drag him along as they fought their way through either. Despite the exhaustion consuming every inch of her body, she got to her feet and planted herself between Tuborg and the oncoming threat. A group of mercenaries, who had braved approaching from the second jotun’s flank, approached with their weapons trained on her. With everything she had, Nienna called on every ounce of energy she had left and braced herself for the attack.

A sudden roar echoed off of the foothills as the Raven’s Revenge rose over the southern rise. Its large, black envelope and sails cast a dark shadow down below on the shear, covering the field of battle. Captain Danae Morgan and Markus Ferin strode out onto the bow as the ship cleared the peaks and descended, hovering just above the shear behind Nienna and her people. The engineer had a rifle propped up on his shoulder and an unusual contraption under his arm. Leaving her pistols holstered, Captain Morgan reached for the comm on her belt and held it at her mouth to speak.

“Stand down and drop your weapons.” The captain’s words bellowed from a set of amplifiers on the bow.

Her face twisted in frustration, Morrow bellowed, “who the hell are you?”

“Captain Danae Morgan with the Order of Whispers. I’ve been tasked with bringing in the red-head and her people.”

Since his arms were full, Markus tapped his captain’s side with his elbow. “Uh cap’n, should we be saying that? We’re not exactly with the Order anymore.”

Making sure her thumb was off the broadcast button, Danae chortled. “They don’t need to know that.”