Defending Marlette Lake

Too many islands had sprung up at the edge of Marlette Lake, which had grown. The merfolk and the naiads feared this place, and he did not blame them.

As Brady paddled across the water, he saw creatures lurking in the depths. A few rose to see him, to peer at Brady with eyes of deep purple and mouths like nightmares.

They neither knew Brady nor feared him, which he took as a good sign. Had either been the case, Brady doubted his travels would have gone so smoothly.

As it was, Brady landed on a large island and took stock of what he had. His ruck held a week’s worth of hiking, a fair amount of ammunition for the Colts, his Bowie knife, and warclub.

The island had increased in size. Perhaps the largest to ever appear from the Comstock, and he had no doubt who was behind it.

Big Jack Davis, Alhazred’s man, might have prevented his mother from leaving the Comstock, but he was not stopping her from helping the Silver Fever to spread. Not that it needed much assistance.

He walked for about half an hour when he heard the steady thrum of troops marching in unison. A few moments later, Brady caught sight of the soldiers.

Like the other troopers Brady recently faced, these men wore uniforms he was unfamiliar with and carried rifles both new and strange. Their swords, though, Brady was all too familiar with edged weapons.

When the troops saw him, they halted, spread out, and charged Brady at the order given in antique Farsi. None of them shot at the lone man.

Brady could not say the same. He emptied the Colts, the revolvers thundering and tearing the air as the slugs tore through the charging troops.

When the men reached him, Brady was ready. Bowie knife in one hand, warclub in the other. It was blood and violence, pain and terror.

They beat Brady with the rifle stocks, and he gutted them with the knife. Some stabbed with bayonets and knives, while Brady crushed their skulls.

They held his arms, and Brady bit out their throats. They did not have to chase after him.

They died, and when Brady killed the last of them, he searched for more to kill. He knew where to look and how to ride the flume.