was enough to leave the legionnaire lying unconscious on the stones.
In the silence that followed, hurried footsteps could be heard coming from the direction of the imperial ship, even though no one was moving, whilst amongst the Ytrens the quiet clink of coins being exchanged rang out. Somehow, in such a short space of time, the onlookers had already decided how the clash would end. A slight commotion broke out amongst the imperial soldiers on deck, and the sailors standing closest to the gangway parted.
‘What’s going on here?’ asked First Officer Hex, before he’d even had a chance to look at anything. Sergeant Pleinselin appeared right behind him. The elf was wearing nothing but a tunic and looked as though he’d only just been dragged out of bed.
‘Why aren’t they in the brig?!’ His melodious voice didn’t match the furious expression that suddenly appeared on the elf’s face. ‘Who let them out?!’ He pointed at the two figures lying on the deck and began to look around.
‘Bosun!’ Cargah Hex put on a stony mask of calm, and his voice seemed utterly devoid of any emotion. And yet, at that single word, a pale fear gripped the sailors, quite literally, for Einar saw the blood drain from the faces of several of them.
In the silence that hung over the deck, a tall, slender man with a sickly pale complexion pushed his way through the small crowd. He stopped beside the First Officer and swept the quay with a watchful gaze. Without a word, he merely nodded and walked back amongst the sailors. At that very moment, a commotion could be heard amongst the Ytrens who had arrived from the direction of the settlement.
Einar tore his gaze away from the imperial officers and looked at the warriors. A druid had stopped beside Horik, who was bent over the boy they’d fished out of the water. The healer leaned over the drowning victim and examined him for a moment, then took a jar of ointment and some bandages from his bag. Treating the wounded boy took no
