Chapter3

"Well, shit..." she whispered to herself. Kendrik began unlocking all the cells in the row. The men gathered outside their cells, uncertain of where to go next.

"Follow us, boys... my sis knows the way out." Kendrik turned and flashed a grin in her direction as he headed down the stairwell. Kendra followed close behind, showing them the hidden door. As they came out into the moonlight and fresh air, the men almost cheered... Some of them had been locked up for years in those horrid conditions.

"Here..." Kendra turned to them. "The world has changed a lot in recent times... I'll gate you to Buccaneer's Den... you'll be able to get started again there on the merchant ships or with those people that have odd jobs you might be uhhh... qualified for..." She flipped through her runebook hastily and found her rune to the Den... an island in the middle of the ocean filled with naughty folks of all ilk. Even British's guards dared not venture to that island. Somehow, Kendra knew these guys would be right at home...

After the last of the recently escaped trudged through the portal, Kendrik turned to his sister beaming proudly yet again. "Thanks, sis... couldn't have done it without you..."
"Don't mention it... Let's get the hell out of here." The young woman jogged over to her boat and dashed up the plank, awakening the tillerman. "Raise anchor!" Kendrik helped the tillerman raise the anchor as Kendra barked out further orders. "Back! Come about! Forward!" The elderly tillerman complied with each of her orders, swinging the tiller here and there to get them on their way and whispering the words of power that summoned the winds. Kendra pulled a map from her pack and scribbled some notes on it before handing it to the tillerman.

"A map!" he exclaimed. He studied it briefly before he handed her back the map. "I know just where we be headin, miss..."

Kendrik turned to his sister. "Uhhh... where exactly are we headed, sis?"

Kendra removed her floppy hat and readjusted her ponytail. "Serpent's Hold. There's a stable there that you can access from outside the town. I'm sure by the time we get there, the cities will be crawling with guards looking for you."

"Fair enough... I take it you stabled Schmendrik then?" The hungry thief began to rummage through the hold for food and ale. He found a plentiful supply of both. His sister knew him and his appetite well.

"Sure did... poor thing was confused as all hell." Kendra pawed through the hold for some fruit. It was old and dry, but still not too terrible.

"Thanks, Kendra... I love that horse..." He paused to take a bite of ham, almost devouring the entire thing in one hungry bite. "I'm thinking I need to stay low for a while. My place will be more than likely staked out for a long ass time... and the majority of what little equipment I have left is in the bank at Buc's. I'll need to snag a disguise kit before I try and retrieve any of it." He paused again to chug down half a bottle of ale. "Have a rune to the island of Jhelom?"

"Yeah... I think I have one for near your old place there... Why?"

"I have some stuff stashed out in the jungles there... figured all the serpents and alligators would keep it safe." He smirked and took another huge bite of ham. "We'll get our mounts and gate to Jhelom. I feel naked as hell." Kendra checked her brother over. It was certainly strange to see him without his usual attire, armed to the teeth with daggers and krysses and explosion potions dangling from his belt. He looked... vulnerable... yet inside that vulnerable seeming body and mind lay one of the most dangerous men alive. She was glad to be on his side...

�