I headed toward the entrance thinking of the best way to deal with the situation and decided just to rush onto the boat as it docks would be our best bet. The boat can't be very large if it fits down here. Tory and Tindol and everyone else met up with me and were ready. Everyone just went with what I said and prepared for the ambush.
While waiting I learned that the horses were relieved of their items and let loose into the wild. The packs and stuff were brought down here. Thirty minutes go by and I start to wonder if I was wrong and maybe they were leaving a port or something when finally we see a boat through the doors window. It's a simple rowboat with four people on board. There's no Kat and I realize my mistake. There's a ship outside the cave. “The plan doesn't change except try to keep one alive.” I said while looking back to see them all nod.
As the boat docks the four men on the boat are talking and they all share a sense of relief about solid ground and back to safety. As the first pair of boots hits the docks I burst through the door and charge the boat at full speed. The short dash ends with a left hook to the man on the docks chest who barely had time to even acknowledge me which sends him flying farther than I expected and he lands in the water. The other three scramble as they prepare attacks then they stop and throw their hands up almost in unison as the rest of my party join us.
Tory walks up and stands next to me with her large sword drawn and ready. “We surrender, Champions of Eldrin.” one finally says. “Is The princess outside?” They nod, “Yes sir.” “How many...” splashing and the sounds of a man gasping for air breaks our “conversation”. Tindol and one of the others pull the man out of the water. I looked over to Tory who never stopped watching the three like I did. Annoyed at myself, I take this as a lesson to remember.
Toryani spoke next, “How many are on the ship?” “Uh, there's eight no nine Tamsa and the ship's crew.” “How many crew?” “A dozen, maybe more. I don't know.” The man talking looked at the other two for more information. One replied, “closer to twenty but they are just crew. There's an armed escort as well.” The other two glared at him. I take a step onto the boat which groans under my weight. “Oh really now?” The man who mentioned the armed escorts was clearly the youngest of the three. I looked at him, “Anything else I should know?” “They guard the ship and seem quite powerful.”
“Tory?” “Sir?” “What do you want to do with them?” “Throw them into the prison cells inside and have the others watch them while we get the princess back.” I nod then sigh, “I’m going alone…” “But Sir..” “If I go alone there might be no bloodshed and we can all get home safely.” “Sir, If you aren't back in thirty minutes I will take the small rowboat and come after you.” I nodded as we disarmed the men and sent them inside, then I took the boat they came in on and headed through the cave back out to sea.
Rowing a boat in the ocean against the waves wasn't fun but I quickly spotted the ship and knew where I was headed. It was a smaller merchant looking ship with three masts and sails. It reminded me of a smaller medieval galleon. It wasn't very far out and I could see people on the deck. They quickly realized I was not one of their men. It quickly dawned on me how dumb this was and again how Tory already knew that. Luckily they hadn't shot arrows or magic at me or tried to sink my boat. They instead made sure the rope ladder was ready for me. Maybe only one person was smart.
An older, rougher looking man with a trimmed white beard and who was also well dressed stood near the ladder as I approached and introduced himself, “Greetings sir, I am Captain Rhys of the merchant ship Bellona. Before you come up this ladder I need to ask you what your intentions are?” “I would like to come to a peaceful solution to this mess and go back home." I said the truth but not about the subject he was referring to. “Are you armed?” What does a mage say to this? “I am unarmed.” Which I was technically. He nodded “Welcome aboard.” And he stepped back out of my line of sight.
As I reached the top of the ladder I saw the captain standing next to clearly the ship escorts and a few Tamsa members. I pulled myself up and walked toward them. I stopped a few feet in front of them. My own height still kind of shocked me as I towered over all of the people in front of me.
“Hello, I'm Tom and I guess you all know why I am here?” I looked towards the escorts and the six of them didn't seem aware. Three men and three women all wearing a red tabard over various types of armor. I couldn't tell if they were elves or humans or both. They all had a melee weapon and a bow and seemed very normal in terms of fighters that I've seen here. One of the three women clears her throat, “I am Feleen.” She points to her tabard, “As you can see we are from the mercenary branch of the Trade Union and I would like to hear why you have come.” “ Well on this ship in a covered cage is my betrothed. The Tamsa took her for demaging.” I pointed at the black cloaked and clothed Tamsa members standing next to them. No one seemed shocked that Tamsa members were on board. “Oh interesting. The Trade Union and Tamsa work together?” “Coin is coin.” “ I get that but at the same time you will be defending people who kidnapped a princess and caused a massive war.” Feleen and her party were clearly shaken by this news as was the captain but I could see the Tamsa members getting ready. The captain stepped forward “Explain.” “One of your cargo is Princess Katilandituril who was kidnapped while under the protection of the humans in the human kingdom. She is also my betrothed.”
One of the Tamsa members in front of me moved quickly right as a sharp pain hit me in the back. The mail armor wasn't as good without the padded armor under it. Poisoned knives again I assumed. I evaded and turned towards where the knife came from and a few Tamsa where there with more coming up to the top deck. I could literally track the knives flying at me with no problem at all except the fact that there were many. As I rolled behind some barrels I could hear the captain yelling, “Halt this madness!” and saw the escorts guarding him from stray knives. No magic, I don't want to hurt innocents or the ship. When I saw an opening between the assault I rushed to the nearest one, who happened to have thrown the first knife. He had barely moved to jump back when I returned his knife to him in his chest. I picked him up and threw him towards the two near the ladder. It took longer than I expected and more effort than it was worth. I was rewarded with two more knives. One in my lower thigh and one in my neck which made everything go white for a second.
I used my memory to get to cover behind the riggings of the main mast. While removing the knives and taking a breath I noticed the body seemed to have knocked the two off the ship. “We paid for your protection!” One of the Tamsa yelled. Feleen and two others stepped forward towards me when I heard almost a whisper from behind her. “No love..” She halted and I realized I spent too much time caring and was almost flanked again. “Best I just start charging and punching” I think to myself. I throw both my newly acquired knives at the one farthest from me, hitting him square in the chest with one and missing with the other then I charge the nearest one and punch with all I've got which was another bad idea. The gore I caused almost made me vomit instantly for some reason. A reaction I hadn't had before. I reached another and held my punch but still hit him hard enough to send him flying breathless.
Three left, no five left, the two I knocked overboard had made it to the top of the ladder. “Enough!” Feleen yelled at the top of her lungs. Her deeper voice made the yell strong enough to actually work or maybe the Tamsa knew her strength. “Take the Tamsa into custody!” Her group walked forward and the Tamsa surrendered.
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Up to this point everything seemed surreal and like a dream but this fight on this ship felt very real and I have killed so many people… bad people in self defense maybe but they were still people with lives I've snuffed out. I wanted to mourn the loss of my innocence but Feleen walked up to me, “You would have killed them all.” Her voice laced with sadness. I nodded, “Did I have a choice?” She sighed, “The Union won't like this. I did my job though and if your wife is here then I wont get into trouble.” “Betrothed” I corrected her, “And we should try and find her.” “The captain and his crew are already looking. Are you alright?” “Just a flesh wound.” I say with a smile. Thinking about it, the knife to my neck must have hit my spinal cord or something to cause that whiteout. “No, you are bleeding quite a lot.” She pointed at my bloody leg. “Heal.” I healed my leg mostly to stop the bleeding and left the other two wounds for now.
The poison seemed to make my regeneration weaker but I still felt it working. “I figured you were a powerful mage. Why didn't you attack with magic?” “Too destructive.” She must have realized what may have happened if she would have attacked me and I was forced to use magic. I assumed she was anyway since she was staring into the deck of the ship deep in thought. “I’m going to find the captain and help search for Kat.” I said to try and get back on track to why I was here. “Right, I hope she's here and well, for both our sakes.” She mumbled the last part while she turned and headed towards her group as I headed into the cargo hold.
Right as I headed down the steps a young man came to me. “We found her and others sir. Follow me.” he turned and started walking down past the crew's quarters which were mostly cots and random stuff then down into the cargo hold. We quickly went through the maze of cargo.
Towards the back the captain and some of his crew were banging at a lock on one of the cages. The cage was in a wooden paneled box. The captain looked up at me with sadness in his eyes. He tapped the man banging away and the man stopped. “They told me this was medical supplies and food. All but four were. I was transporting seven people…” His words got quieter as he looked down at the cargo hold floor. “I’ll help. Do you have a bar or something to stick in the loop of the lock?” The man held up a short metal rod used in some of the rigging I saw. “Perfect.”
I took it and placed it inside the loop and twisted until something popped. The cage broke before the lock did. Inside laid two people. Both women were naked and looked starved. They probably didn't weigh more than eighty pounds. “Detect.” “Cleanse.” With their poison removed I assumed they would wake eventually. “We need to cover them. One of the crewmen ran off and the captain tapped my shoulder. “She's in there.” he pointed to another cage.
My heart broke seeing her. Kat's clothes were all torn up and she looked so unhealthy. Her pale skin was covered in cuts and bruises. “Detect.” The amount of poison in her was many times more than the other two. “Cleanse.” “Detect.” Her wounds were mostly surface wounds. The bruising was mostly on her upper arms and legs. I looked awkwardly toward her groin area and it seemed she was not assaulted in that way thankfully. “Heal.” After a few seconds her bruising and cuts were no more. Her face that showed pain was now peaceful. “Sir…there's two more cages.” I forced myself away to help the others. The next two cages were more of the same two men and two women, all four nude, starved, and poisoned. We covered them and put them into the crew's cots. Kat was put into the captain's quarters.
Tory arrived with Tindol and a few of the more battle hardened prisoners. Luckily I heard the captain yell down to Tory and I left Kat’s bedside and rushed out the door. “..Princess is resting peacefully I assure you and Tom is well.” He looked up at me. “Ah, here he is now.” “Hey Tory. Kat is resting in the captain's quarters. There were also six others here.” I could barely read her through all that armor but she seemed more relaxed at the news. “Very good sir. Can we come aboard?” She looked to the captain. “Of course you can Champion.” Tory and a few of the others climbed up and Tindol said he would bring the others from the hideout. Tory followed me to Kat’s bedside where she leaned over her for a moment before sitting down. “She is so beautiful…” Her words were almost a whisper. Kat’s pale skin was still dirty and her black hair was a mess although not matted. Even with that she really was one of the most beautiful people I have ever seen.
I moved a chair over to the bedside where we sat in silence for a while before Tory finally spoke. “Sir, I need to speak with the captain about the information that the princess is safe. We need to relay that as soon as we can.” “Sounds good.”
After an hour I wondered if maybe the poison put her into a coma for good or something. Tory checked on us and left. I took my mail armor off and crawled into the bed and lay on my back next to her. Her quiet snoring helped me think about things.
She would have given her life for mine. She really did love me. Dying for me… It's time to decide. It’s been about two months since I left earth. Besides Maria and my unborn son, what's there? I mean that's everything in the world I need. I don't even know if I can get home. So what's here in Magarnia? Magic and exploration. There are also adventures and so many questions. There's…Kat rolled over and cuddled next to me as if on queue. I’m staying, aren't I?
Is my love for Maria so weak? Or is it that hopeless? Even if I got home, what would the reception be like? Will I be my normal human self or look like the brute I am now? One of my favorite movie plots pops into my head. It's about a man who gets marooned on an island and after a few years he gets home to find his wife remarried. That could be me. “Wilson...” I mumbled. “Hmm, Tom?” Kat whispered.
I turned my head towards her and her eyes were still closed. “I’m here Kat. You're safe now.” She didn't say anything but she snuggled a little closer and stayed asleep.
I was just drifting off when I heard Tory's armor come in. “Sir?” Tory spoke quietly. So I wouldn't move Kat, I just turned to her, “Yes?” “We are headed back to Shasti to relay information effectively.” “ETA?” “Sir?” “Oh, how long?” “Will we be there before the first light tomorrow.” It was around noon. “Thank you.” “Sir.” She nodded and walked out.
Kat gasped and jerked up letting the bedding fall. Her tattered clothes revealed much. She had a confused look on her face, “Tom?” Her eyes started watering. “Detect.” She whispered. She must have noticed her magic still worked because she fell on top of me in a hug and she started bawling.. “I'm here Kat.” I whispered while returning her hug. “Everything is going to be fine now.” I stroked her hair while she cried into my neck.
After a while she took some deep breaths and calmed down. “I woke up a few times but was so weak I could not do anything…I knew what they had planned for me. With me demaged they could safely ransom me for gold. Losing you and magic...” She started tearing up again. “Well Kat you didn’t lose either.”
We lay there in silence for a while. “Tom? What happened?” “We were attacked and I was much more guarded than you were so they took you. Then the prince of Eldrin visited me in a prison cell and helped me get up here to rescue you.” “Where is here?” “North of Shasti. We are headed there now. Your capture may have caused a war.” She gasped and sat up. “Oh no!” I wrapped a sheet around her then she finally noticed her clothes, “Everything will be alright. How are you feeling?” I tried to change the subject as I stood up. She smiled, “I’m tired but I feel really good. Expending all that magic helped me to grow a little as well.” She sighed and took a breath then stared into my eyes. “So Shasti then Eldrin?” She wasn't asking about Eldrin. “Then what?” I asked. “What do you mean?” She looked confused. “I thought about this. What will I do? Search libraries, ask mages, go on grand adventures looking for a chance to go home. And even if I did would it be the same home I left or would I be the same? Na.” “What are you saying Tom?” “I think I’ll stay. It’ll…” she leapt onto me and gave me a hug with all she had. “Oh, Tom!” She started crying as did I. My tears were mostly about acceptance of loss though. I made my choice.