Galen Vesa
“Forgive me. I did not want to wake you…”
Familiar plum eyes smiled at me through the grass. Our noses almost touched, and I could feel her arm around me. Huddled underneath a cape, we shared our warmth in this cold autumn breeze.
“Al?”
Her other hand held mine in her grasp. Her smile burned up even brighter when I called her name.
“Meanie! You took your time to come back! I’ve been waiting whole five years to kick you butt for what you did last time!”
She flicked my nose with her finger.
“Leaving me alone like that… I had to finish on my own! That is soo uncool.”
Another flick. Without a warning, she climbed atop me and I learned that not only my clothes were missing.
“What are…”
She closed my lips with a kiss and with one fluid thrust of her hips we became one.
“Later… we will talk later… and don’t you dare vanish this time!”
Her body burned with desire. I asked no questions. If this was a dream, my banana did not wish to wake up while wind carried her cries over the endless grass.
“You mind telling me now what this is all about?”
“Me getting some, obviously. Mind if we stay like this until the herbs were out? Oh, by the way, I drugged you while you were unconscious…”
“That I’ve think I’ve noticed. How long will that last?”
“An hour, maybe two or three. Hard to tell. I gave you ten times the amount before any effect showed up. You’re a strange one. Consider it your punishment for the last time and…”
She wiggled her hips.
“Apologies accepted.”
Silent and motionless, we stayed that way while the lesser moon lazily rolled through the sky. Without a word spoken, the morning came. So did we. Several times.
“Enough. I’m sore all over. Let us get something to eat and we will talk. What? Don’t look at me like that, even creeps like us need breakfast from time to time.”
She got up went to fetch her robe although instead of putting it on, she neatly folded it and hanged the bundle on her floating stuff.
“Pervert.”
“if you don’t want me staring then put something on.”
“After what we did last night? No thank you. First a bath, then a breakfast.”
I followed her example and picked up my stuff without putting anything on. The herbs still worked.
“What is going on? I thought…”
“That it won’t happen since I kicked the bucket? No such luck.”
Not exactly fear but sadness washed over her face. She hid it with a forced smile.
“Yeah. I know. Knew for a while back. The lantern is creepy stick. Oh, by the way, it doesn’t like when you call it that.”
“It?”
I looked at the floating staff that followed us, bundled with her robe.
“Yes. It, her, him. I have no Idea. I stick to it since it's least confusing. Told you it won’t make any sense on empty stomach.”
I left it at that.
“Then what about… us? Are we…”
“Ooow yuck! Yuck, yuck, yucky yuck! Of course we're not!”
“We’re just friends with benefits. You never let me make it more than that…”
A bit of anger.
“And the most annoying thing is, I know it’s not your fault.”
Her head hung low.
“Thank you.”
She whispered after a while.
“It is difficult to have a meaningful relationship with anyone when all they see is the tomb I guard.”
I did not press any further. I’ve been through this before. Not a lot of people would stick around someone like me or her.
“I must really seem like a creep now do I?”
“I’ve seen worse. Like the one in the mirror.”
It got a chuckle out of her.
“You’re sure you’re a creep? You’re too beautiful to be one.”
She froze as if stricken by lightning. Tears dripping from her eyes.
“Me? Calling me beautiful? That’s way too creepy. Even for your… “
“Why? I’d say ten out of ten. I subtracted one for the scars and bite marks but you’re still a solid ten and those melons…”
Her fist sprawled me along the ground. The perpetual mystery. Why did some women answer my comments with violence? Up to this day I have no idea.
“I stand corrected. From this angle I’ll give you twelve out of ten.”
“Pervert.”
Her lips have spoken but, suffice to say, we have not reached the town until late into the noon.
Everooth. How different it felt. I arrived here for the first time among death and destruction. Now? Not even a hint of what was to come could be seen. We took our bath in the river that separated the grasslands from the city outskirts, near the bridge I crossed while battling the dead. Now? The place appeared as if from my memory. Without trouble I found the spot where the redhead fell. Aside from the simple wooden bridge, nothing else changed.
Free of the wandering hordes of the undead, the sunny outskirts gleamed with cheerfulness. Merchants traveled down the road and while nobody spoke, all that we passed made way before us. Some covered their faces as we walked by. Most pretended we were not there. Not even the city guards acknowledged our presence.
Alirea guided me through a maze of backstreets and alleys until we reached an inn. One of the many, one she picked at random. To my surprise, the moment we sat behind one of the tables, an innkeeper appeared beside us.
“A bowl of that soup. Whatever it is, it smells so nice! And scrambled eggs with bacon. Lots of bacon. I love bacon. Oh, and some bread for the soup. My companion will have the same.”
She ordered and the innkeeper obliged without a word of complaint. We were even presented with two pints of heavily spice ale.
“Oy, don’t stare. Dig in. I know you don’t need much but it’s all on the house. We can have as many seconds as we want. “
She stuffed her mouth with eggs, bread and bacon, all the while other patrons hurriedly finished their meals and left, making sure avoid our table.
“Are you sure?”
She forked out a giant chunk of meat out of her soup.
“Of course I am. They know I won’t leave until I get what I want, and they know no one else would come while we’re here. They’ll try to get rid of us as soon as they can.”
An interesting way to cope with reality. Using people’s prejudice against them. That’s freaking brilliant. Logic would approve of her.
“Once there was this inn the old town area. Not very nice people run it. The innkeeper’s wife served me some slop and told to pay for it ten silvers. I booked a room with them for a whole week until the owner came begging me to leave them in peace. That place no longer there but the story seems to be making rounds.”
Al wolfed down the eggs, the soup and one more plate of beacon. Then she proceeded to finish what left of my serving and concluded her meal with an earth shuddering burp. After that we left the inn and meandered through the city. Such a lively city. One that no longer existed.
Undisturbed, we found an empty spot on the city walls where we sat, dangling our legs over the edge.
“Where do I begin… It’s never easy with you. The noodle of time already did a number on me in the tomb but with you here…”
Her fingers drum against her knees.
“So, you got the stick... erm, I mean the staff.”
She showed me her wrist with the familiar bracelet stuck around it.
“Welcome to the creepy club.”
“Creepy club?”
“Yup. Can’t get any better. I hope…”
A pause. As if she remembered something painful.
“I have no Idea how it’s choosing its owners, but it does so only after the current one die. To make it worse, you can’t die while you’re holding it. Well, your body can die but your soul will be stuck in it until you pass the buck. Rotting meat and all that joy included.”
“The next one to bear the staff must take it off your hands. You can’t just give it out to some random person. Speaking of which… How did I die? No. Don’t tell me. Waiting for that moment would drive me insane. I just don’t want to die inside that cursed tomb. What else was I…”
“The staff will use you. Do not get any funny ideas. There is nothing you can do to make it work for you. If it doesn’t want to help you, it won’t. On the other hand, if it wants something done… just trust me on this one. You want to do it as fast as possible. “
“You can’t get rid of it. Others can’t get rid of it for you and as far as I am aware, you can’t destroy it. Not even dragon fire can dent that thing. I’ve been whacking people, monsters and undead with it and not a scratch.”
“You can call it the Lantern or a piece of shit that destroyed my life. I have no idea where the first name came from but the second one will get self explanatory quite fast.”
“At its own choosing, the thing will send you back to it's previous owner and make sure you'll have this awkward conversation. Whatever you say doesn’t matter if you cover the basics. What it is, how the succession works and who’s the boss. And before you ask, you are not quite here and not exactly there. I've been through the same thing with my master and I have no idea how that works. You just are.”
“This leaves me with the most troubling topic since I already covered the other two. If you think of time as this big wet noodle, then the Lantern can be seen as a fork. It can twiddle that noodle to the point where nothing makes sense anymore. And it often does, among other things… It’s also a source of power and a source of the most annoying tune that can get stuck in your mind.”
She entwined her fingers with mine and rest her head on my shoulders. Sobbing.
“Can we… Until the sun sets.”
I hugged her.
“I don’t want to die. Not in that place.”
Her tears dripped in a steady stream. I kept my mouth shut.
Just what could I say?
***
“Welcome to my very own castle! So, what do you think?”
Al asked grinning at me. She dragged my sorry ass out of the city and away, deep into the moor. Here, within the dancing grasses, a shanty structure stood cobbled together from rocks, wood and everything else the girl found. It even had a crooked door missing the knobs and held in place with a length of hemp rope. I’ve been pulled inside to marvel at a broken rocking chair, patched with some twigs. A piece of wood supported by few stones. It pretended to be a table. A kitchen counters. And probably everything else that required a flat surface. Opposite the door, an inviting heap of animal furs played the bed while in the middle, surrounded by blackened stones, a pile of ash sat undisturbed.
“I like what you did with the fire pit. Couldn’t have one at my old place.”
Not that it stopped my neighbors. They tried to burn a pile of garbage in the middle of the living room. Everything had stank like burning tires for a week and we didn’t have any electricity after the firefighters finished putting the crap out.
“Last time you were more interested in my bed.”
A wink.
“You showed up reeking of blood and burned meat, fell unconscious on my bed and spent nine days sleeping.”
She poked my chest with her finger. Accusing.
“Not even saying hi Al or, how’s it going or I’ll live or don’t worry.”
“I’m sorry…”
“I know you’re not and I don’t mind. Well I do mind. It annoys me to no end, but I understand. That’s the way you are. Anyway, I already made you pay for it. Did I not?”
Her mood lightened up as she plopped down on the furs.
“That was fun. Messy, awkward and fun. And my body kept on sneezing. Uh, I feel like I am gonna be walking funny for a week.”
Ah yes, this is what people describe as awkward.
“Sometimes I wish I'd never touched that damn thing. I wish I’d be a normal girl. Get chased by boys. Find someone I could grow old with. Have plenty of kids. The boring usual stuff.”
“But no. I wanted power. I wanted to be a hero, someone important… Silly fantasies of a child. Where did that brought me? People look at me like I am a freak of nature. Nobody wants to speak with me. Day and night, I’m chasing undead and gods know whatever else creepy crawlies that decrepit tomb spits out. Up until recently I’ve been a virgin of five hundred winters and I talk to plants when I’m lonely.”
“Don’t forget about your imaginary friend from the future.”
I laid down beside her. I could sympathize. I have no love for heroes.
“There’s that too.”
She snuggled against me.
“There’s that too… gosh, you smell so nice. How do you do that? I can scrub all day and I still stink of old basement, blood and moldy dust.”
“Not exactly my doing. A lot happened since I came to this world. Including you. Can I ask, how did we…”
“No. I have enough of noodling around with time on my hands to worry about more. You’ll see it when you’ll get there. Also, I would feel like a beggar if it would turn out we did that just because I told you that we did it. I’m a lady you know, I don’t sell myself for some pity change.”
I marveled at the plum eyes shining next to my face. Such beauty. There were times I had paid for a much less appealing company. Guilt would probably have something to say about all this.
“So, you told me about the stick. Gave me breakfast. And some herbs we may try again later if you wish but how does the rest of this work?”
“You stay as long as it’s deemed necessary. Which can be anything from a day to a whole eternity. Then you go back to the exact time you were taken from. Whoever or whatever rules over the lantern makes the choice. I have spent nine years in the past while Faina taught me. Reading, writing. How to dress wounds. How to recognize certain signs. How to navigate the tomb. All that amazing skills I may need while dealing with whatever crawls out. In your case, I don’t know. I can show you around the tomb if you want or we can spend that time out here. I don’t get many visitors.”
Her grip on my arm became tighter. We spent some time in silence just resting there.
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“Before I came here, I was on ship. Something happened with the crew. There were those shadows that made people attack me. The lantern came to life and burned everything. Then I woke up here. Do you know what those were? Are they connected with this place?”
Suddenly an unspoken sadness marred her eyes.
“Black, smoky things that reek so bad you want to gag?”
“I could not describe them any better. What are those?”
“The short answer is, I don’t know. For all I can tell these are neither spirits nor souls. My master called them memories, if that makes any sense to you. They do not come from the tomb, but people often bring them here. Whatever creates those, is beyond my knowledge. What I know though is, what you had already experienced. They reek. Most people can’t feel that but those that can describe a putrid fetor coming from those shades, people they attached themselves to or objects they had contact with.”
“Be vary of that smell. The lantern aggravates them, forcing them to manifest. They will attack you and others around you if you come close enough.”
“Most of the time, some light or a whack with the staff is enough to banish those things but sometimes… you may not be able to remove one without killing the host.”
I could see all her willpower went into suppressing her tears.
“And the host will say and do things it otherwise would not do.”
“Ah! I forgot! I’m so sorry! I… I promised and I forgot! I was supposed to show it to you!”
She grabbed my wrist in an iron hold and like before begun pulling me behind her as we once more run through the moor.
“Where are we going?”
“You’ll see! Faster, it’s almost sunrise!”
We ended up on a hill overlooking the city when the sun lazily climbed up from beyond the horizon, its warm rays piercing through the dark of the dawn.
And the flowers bloomed.
Hundreds of white bells opened to greet the new day and new hope.
But my eyes were locked not on the flowers but on a single name cut in a solitary rock that stood there atop the burial mound.
Doseie Whiteclaw, the light of the darkest hour.
“I don’t understand. She can’t be here… Not yet. Not now.”
The letters were weathered by wind and rain. The stone bleached by sun. The earth packed hard by the flow of time.
“Oh, oh gosh! I’m so sorry! I don’t…”
My left eye leaked. Recently it tended to do that. I didn’t notice.
“It’s fine. Thank you. I think she would enjoy this place. It’s beautiful.”
Not that I knew anything about her, but she seemed like a person who would enjoy this spot. Those flowers would fit nicely with her fur.
“Um, is she like someone you knew?”
“No. Not really. She saved my life. Twice.”
I still remembered the warmth of her blood over my body.
“I’m not exactly a religious person, neither do I feel any connection with the gods of this place. Can you offer a prayer or something for her? She had given away her life for the useless idiot I am. I do hope she can forgive me it ended like that.”
Al did not ask any more questions. She shook of dust from her robe then knelt and begun praying. Her whispers carried along in the morning breeze. I stood watching the swaying flowers.
It really is a lovely place. Thank you. Do come visit from time to time.
I turned just to catch a glimpse of those feline eyes that watched me so intently back then. Now, I blinked, and they were gone. Gone like she was.
“Huh? What are you looking at?”
“Nothing. Probably nothing.”
“Don’t tell me there are ghosts here. I hate ghosts… urgh!”
That’s when the whip of lightning smacked the sky and thunder roared and wailed in a distance. Al’s bracelet unclasped itself and changed into the staff that placed itself between her and the incoming danger. Her face paled in terror.
“Something… something is coming here. Such power…”
She grasped onto the staff just to remain standing. Beads of bloody sweat dripped down her chin. Whatever was coming even I felt it. The breath crushing pressure getting closer and closer. I raised my head in time to see a lightning come down from the sky a fleeting moment before the roaring thunderclap rung in my ears.
Even though the lantern protected Al from the blast, the shockwave tossed her away from the hill. I could not see where she fell. I could not move. All I could… I just stood and stared at the newcomer.
Clad in scales and fire, a woman rose from where the lightning struck. Tall, towering a head over me. With a mane of burning flames and horns atop her head. Her long pointy ears, grislied at the ends, twitched when she saw me.
And everything around her came ablaze. Mana. Air. The ground she stood at. Even my body burned but the flame did not harm me.
*Traveler. Are you the one to claim my treasure? *
Her voice penetrated my mind when her beastly eyes locked on mine. They too were this beautiful, crystal blue. Not unlike the color Erta's eyes had.
“I do not know what you mean by that...”
The power she radiated intensified to the point where ground beneath us changed to molten glass and raw mana begun crystalizing in the air.
*By the grave of a woman that have not been born yet, you will find your equal. One who shall claim your most prized treasure. The serpent told me. That shall be the price I am to pay for the life of my unhatched daughter. *
She raised her chin and let out a cry. Long, terrifying dragon cry. My own blood boiled in response to this cry. Her clawed hand grabbed my neck and she tilted my head to inspect my nosebleed. Suddenly she lifted me up to her eyelevel. Doing my best to hold onto her arm, I felt her tongue lick off the blood from my lips.
*What kind of monster are you, human child? To even have the stolen blood of my kin burn in your veins. *
I felt her grip tighten around my neck to the point I could not breath.
*Accursed serpent… Choose wisely for you shall hold more than her life in your grasp. Would you sacrifice one for the sake of many? She whispered into my ears, bartering the life of my child. *
She roared in my face, blinding me for a moment yet her grasp lessened.
*That what I praise the most I give to you traveler for I sworn by this price. Let the song of my kin burn you to cinders if you so desire its power. *
Without giving me a chance to refuse, she sang her song. The song of dragons. And the world burned around us while her melodic voice called fire to life in a language no mortal should hear or comprehend. And my soul burned alongside her. My lips joining her tune. We sang the song of the dragon kin. We sang it as equals, with my second heart matching the beat of her dragon heart.
And we became one as fire of several torches can become one and burn with even stronger flame. Like so, we burned together until the song stopped.
Her hand released me, and I fell to the ground. No longer connected, I still felt her flame burn within me. No. That was no longer her flame. That which burned within me was the song itself. Igniting the heart that could not burn on its own.
Surprise or perhaps even fear. I am not sure what I saw in her eyes. The human didn’t burn to ash. Then something else came to her mind.
*Find Pellicora. That is the message the Serpent told me to convey. I have done her bidding today and I will no longer take part in her meddling, but gods be my witness, shall I regret my choice, I will erase you traveler. *
With that said, she spread her wings and flown away.
***
“Easy. You have bumped your head quite hard.”
Al groaned painfully. Her head smashed a rock to pieces where she fell but otherwise, I couldn’t find anything amiss with her. There was no blood anywhere and her breathing seemed normal, so I just let her rest. What else could I do anyway?
“My head… What happened?”
She sat up, rubbing the back of her skull.
“A dragon happened. Blown you away from the hill. Tried to kill me then, halfway there, changed her mind and started to sign. Then threatened to kill me and left. Oh, and somebody wants me to find Pellicora. Whoever that is.”
“That don’t make any sense.”
“Welcome to my life. Will you be alright?”
“I’ll live, I think. The stick doesn’t seem to want me dead just yet.”
My body began to shine, and golden dust flaked off at an alarming rate.
“Oh… you're going…”
“It appears so. Will I see you again?”
“Yup. You will. Well, not me per se but my younger self. Do remember to warm that oil before giving me a massage. I do not tolerate cold hands anywhere near my butt.”
“What happened with the no noodling policy?”
“It comes right after warm oil makes Al happy, policy.”
She stuck her tongue at me then winced in pain. Magic or not, that bump on the back of her head is going to cause an awful headache. I put my arms around her while I still could.
“Save some of those herbs for the next time.”
“Pervert.”
She pressed her face against my chest. Suddenly it felt as if I knew her forever. As if we could go back to her hut and stay there till the end of time.
“I’ll be waiting…”
Her whisper drowned in a torrent of wind as my consciousness rushed through the ages, back to my body. And I was aware of that. What more, it seemed natural. As if I did it before. As if it always been a part of me. Like flying in your sleep. Just how on earth do people know what flying feels like?
Then I fell.
Heavy as if made of lead, my mind plopped backed into my body and at the same time, my body flopped onto the floor. Or deck. Or whatever you call it on a ship.
The Lantern floated beside me, undecided. Had I fulfilled its wish? I have no idea. I suppose I did since it collapsed again into a band of metal and wrapped itself around my wrist.
“All lords sleeping in the sea, what in seven hells was that lassie?”
The captain on the shaky legs and his brave men keeping a brave distance behind him found me below deck, among the rubble.
“I have dealt with some stowaways traveling on this ship.”
And I had no intention to barter with the crew right now. I wanted time to think.
“Is there a cabin I can use? I wish to rest.”
To my surprise, one of the better cabins in the, how do they call it... the stern. Yes, one of the cabins in the stern became mine. It even had a latch on the inside which I used. It also had a bed that, after swapping the bedsheets, I also used.
Whatever the crew did while I slept probably included a gathering finalized by a popular vote. Were the odds in my favor? That may be a rhetoric question at this point… Well, they left me alone so at least some good came out of it. I slept through the night and half of the day. Not that I felt tired. I haven’t been tired in years. My body just shut down whenever it couldn’t handle any more use. Hence, I often found myself waking on sidewalks until I adopted a sleeping schedule. Let the world burn but I go to sleep at the same time every day. And it worked. Until now. Now I had no idea how to address this issue.
Not that I needed the sleep anymore. Whatever magic kept me alive, it also kept me awake if I wanted to be awake. Well, a nice and heavy smack on my noggin would put me out but that does not count as normal circumstances.
Emptiness bothered me.
People are creatures of habit. Ignoring voices and chugging meds being my habits which I was deprived of. What should I do now? Talk with the captain? Most likely. Ask to be dropped off at the nearest port and, then what? Find someone to get rid of this collar. If at all possible. My nails can’t scratch the damn thing. Neither the cuffs want to submit to my attempts. The chain I tossed back into the sea a while ago. It was heavy but rather soft. My nails cut through it like butter. Well, iron butter and it too took me a fair deal of scratching.
“Pardon me lassie,”
Someone knocked on my door.
“Captain is asking, whether you'll join him for dinner. We caught a fat tuna this morning and the cook made good use of it.”
Now, this I did not expect. I thought they would want to toss me overboard the moment they come to their senses. A dinner invitation is… possibly some sort of a rouse to get me to come willingly. Possibly. Or I’m just being me and can’t see something obvious.
I've ripped my bedsheet at one end. Tied the separated parts to the collar then wrapped the rest around me and voila, an almost respectable gown. Almost makes the difference. I'm getting better at making improvised clothing, aren’t I?
I found First officer bent against the wall, with his face plastered to a hole that most likely gave him a good view of my cabin. It took him a moment to register my presence and when he did notice, his mind raced to provide an excellent excuse.
“Damn borers! They'll eat this ship alive! There are holes everywhere! You! Go get the carpenter to pluck this one!”
Well, as the excuses goes, I have heard worse.
“And other holes that may give view of that cabin.”
I added. My voice pleasant and bleached out of any emotion.
“Ah… Yes. That one and any other in that wall! On the double!”
He shouted at the boy standing further along the corridor and looked at me. His mind stopped working somewhere around the place where my pillows pressed against the bedsheet. Eh. Why did it happen so often? These were just luggage.
“The dinner?”
“A…. oh, yes. Yes. Right. Come this way please. Come this way. The captain is waiting.”
Captain Ilo Balarra lived a flight of stairs below me in the gallery that dubbed as his office. And His dining room and judging by the rolled-up blankets, also his bedroom. Right now, a table bolted to the floor took center place and somebody even went through the trouble of setting it up with silverware. If you consider a fork as the dining set. Well, one made of silver that is.
What did I expect anyway?
“Ah, how kind of you Lassie to accept my invitation. Please sit. “
The man in question came and guided me to my seat and to my surprise, sat himself on an upturned barrel, right across me. Oh, mine was the only chair in that room.
I had trouble recognizing the man. He got himself a clean shave and don his finest uniform. Or what left of it. All that just to stare at a pair of pillows hidden underneath a bedsheet. No, I don't think so.
“In seven moons we had not caught a single fish. Yet today, the sea spared us. “
The cook came in, proudly holding the dish he made. A grilled tuna steak with a seaweed salad and sliced apple. One apple. Carefully, he laid it before me as if an offering to a wicked god and then served the captain. Although, the captain did not get an apple. At the same time, his first officer brought us tall, crystal cups and filled them with wine.
Balarra stood up with his cup.
“On behalf of me and my men, I wish to convey our gratitude o holy maiden of the sea!”
“Ay!”
Both the cook and the first, concurred his cheerful statement. Eh. I knew it would bite me in the ass. Best I snuff the flames before they turn into a bushfire.
“Captain, as grateful as I am for your hospitality, there is nothing holy about me. What I did yesterday had nothing to do with you or your crew. I was attacked and I defended myself. Nothing beyond that. Do not ascribe to me what I am not.”
Either he swallows that, or they may try to enshrine me.
“Be it as you say, we are still grateful. This ship had been cursed for the longest time. Many great men she held, died in horrible ways for naught. We had not made port in over a year. Daemons and plagues pestered us day after day, yet I had lost more people to petty lies than to the sea. “
I could see his grip on the cup tighten.
“This morning, for the first time in many moons, our spirit compass worked and gave us a heading. Even the wind is favorable. If it holds, we should be able to see land in a moon and make port in two. That is, if we secure enough fresh water. Last night it rained. It may last us till we make port. If it rains again, we shall refill as much as we can.”
“If not, we may still land somewhere along the shore and search for water. This region of Zaeria is sparsely populated but its coastline is riddle with rivers. That will help us reach Tangarro, Zaeria’s nearest port to our location. After that… I will sell this ship, if anyone would be willing to buy it. Pay off the crew and be rid of it all.”
He emptied his glass stabbed his food, unloading all his frustration on his grilled steak. I followed his example and we ate in silence. his officer refilling our cups from time to time. I had taken part in many stiff dinners but this one would probably be described as uncomfortable. And it didn’t bring me any way closer to a solution to my current issues. I didn’t even know where I was.
“Captain, If I may ask, how far are we from Fenira?”
“Around six to nine moons depending on the weather. We are on the dusk of winter and the season of changing winds. When the winds changes, it’ll be neigh impossible to sail there without magic propelling the ship.”
Six to nine months. Okay. No. Not okay. Not okay at all. Since it takes that long to get there it means that someone took at least much of time to get me here. Which means… which means I have at least six months long hole in my memory. Not cool. Not cool at all. Not eve the experimental meds I took messed me up that bad.
“Forgive me lassie. As much as I want, we cannot get you there. We have no supplies and no strength left for such journey. The only thing that holds this ship together is mere hope and a bottle of rum and we are very low on both. “
Balarra interpreted my silence as disappointment or perhaps something along those lines. Suddenly he laughed.
“In the end she was wrong about it. The serpent you seek. “
He stared me in the eyes. So confident of his guess.
“Ay, I can guess. There is no other reason for you Lassie to go there. The serpent is known and revered by many. I pry not into your wants and affairs but this much I can tell you. She is naught but a fraud. A fraud that brought ruin to many. Many people.”
“What better proof can I give than my ship? Ay. Once she had told me, before I even considered to leave the land behind me, the sea shall bring you both, riches and misery. ”
He stared bluntly into the table. His face marred with regret.
“The sea had dealt me my share of misery, but I am no richer than I was when I stood before her. I will die without a copper to my name. The same way I was born.”
The serpent. Such coincidence. As if fate wanted to set me up. Perhaps that last guy that sent us hate mail and curses after I rejected his complaints, had more to his name than fancy business cards with the word shaman on it. I may as well ask.
“You speak of the serpent, quite recently someone had relayed me a message that I believe may have come from her. Per chance, perhaps you may know Pellicora?”
He frowned at that and shook his head.
“Again lassie, I can not be of any help ‘sides from warning you not to do the wench bidding. Her words sound sweet, yet they ruin and kill.”
“Skip… pardon me skip… I… I do know her, skip. Well, I do know of her.”
The cook swallowed a ball of fear stuck in his throat. Sweat doused his forehead.
“She sank east of the port we are heading to.”
“Ay, I can still remember the name as if I heard it yesterday. Pellicora, The cursed ship. There was no grander beauty to grace the waves. Five masts, two hundred fire canons, two thousand tons of cargo, a crew of three hundred and yet she still skipped the waves as if the wind carried her in its arms.”
“No other ship to this day can make a run from Feeh to Corro and back under four moons. That is a six-moon ride over the tide and by best wind.”
“People told that her captain sold his soul to get that ship. Others tell that the wood would bloom and sprout leaves as if the tree they cut it from still lived. Even more told stories of mates going missing after signing up with the boat. That these poor fellas were fed to the ship. ”
“Ay, many such tales were told about her and the gold she made for ‘er captain. So much gold that they used it as ballast instead of rocks. So many precious stones, they littered the floor of the cargo hold.”
“Rain, hail, storms or hurricane. She sailed without care over waves as high as mountains while her captain laugh death in the eye. Pellicora, the daemon ship where you could serve to make a quick coin. Or die a horrible death in its bowels. “
“And then she sank. Sank days of leaving Tangarro, the easiest port to navigate in this part of the sea. Sank with the sea as smooth as a polishes mirror. Sank taking all the souls with her.”
“And people tell.”
“On a calm and sunny day, those who dare can go watch the ship sitting on the sand in those crystal waters. Not a mast broken. Not a hole visible in her hull. Not a soul spared from the slaughter.”
“On a sunny day one can see the bones of the crew standing to attention on the deck. “
“No one knows why she sank. She rests no further away than a day from her last port. With the sky so blue and the sea so calm, no one knows why she sank. Only ever so often, people tell. Tell that the crew got greedy. Put steel through her captain's heart. Then someone said, look ya lads, my blade has drunk the captain's blood! Now I am the first of you.”
“But the ship, she wanted no other man. She took them all to the bottom of the sea.”
“What a touching story. I wouldn’t put it any other way. Almost made me weep. “
The odd one clapped, sitting atop the table while time froze around us. I wonder. Maybe if I ignore her, she'll go away like the others do? I continued eating.
“Now, now. That’s impolite of you my little whabbit. Ignoring me like that while I only wish to help.”
“Help? An interesting way of putting that. Last I remember you stabbed me then all of this mess happened. “
I gestured around with my fork then put more tuna in my mouth.
“But it helped did it not? Don’t you feel better? Lighter? Is it not easier to breath now? Has the weight not gone away from your shoulders?”
She picked up the last chunk of apple from my plate and bite it in half. My body did seem better.
“What are you?”
“Not telling. What’s the fun in that? Besides, with all that crowd inside does it really matter. One more or less, who would notice?”
Oddly enough, the lantern did not react to her presence. As if disappointed, she put the half-eaten apple back on my plate.
“Stiff as always I see. One word of advice. It would be quite beneficial to all involved if a certain mermaid decided to, go skinny dipping somewhere around tomorrow’s noon. Preferably so, within proximity of a certain sunken ship.”
“And why would she do that?”
“How should I know?”
She winked at me.
“Ask the mermaid.”
Time returned with a whoosh and a puzzled stare of the captain. The kind of stare people gave me when they noticed I wasn’t listening.
“Is everything alright lassie?”
No. Never been. Not since I could remember. The question is do I dare to mess it up even more? First the dragon and now she. What did I get myself into this time? I really should start making some contingency plans for just such occasions.
“Yes. It is nothing. Just… Captain, can we sail to the wreckage of Pellicora?”
“And why would we do that lassie?! We had scarcely escaped one curse why would I go bothering the dead? To be cursed again?!”
“I Believe there’s an artefact among the lost cargo of that ship that could free me from these shackles.”
Or whatever the heck there is. I don’t know, they don’t have to know either.
“And what if there isn’t?”
“Then, if what your men say is true, there should be enough gold there to buy me my freedom and to reimburse your crew for any inconvenience.”
Jingling coin did solve lots of issues and sunken ships were sometimes full of it but he did not seem convinced.
“Captain, the dead have no use of gold. Besides, they cannot harm anyone. It is the living that one should be afraid of.”
Or so I told myself. I just hoped…
“No. I will not make such choice. We are so close to getting home. I will not risk my men for a bunch of trinkets.”
“Captain,”
The first officer remembered he too had a tongue. Or perhaps the greed spoke through him.
“I mean no disrespect but… I think the crew should hear it. Selling the Pigeon will never make enough money for all of us.”
“Ay,”
The cook chimed in.
“Who would buy a cursed ship? Skip, I think we should vote. The moment we failed to reach Tamir on time, we were dead by the sea law. There is nothing waiting for us on that shore.”
Ilo searched for solace in his cup yet the liquor did not seem to his liking.
“Very well. Gather the crew. You will have your vote and you lassie, pray do stay in your cabin until this is over.”
I acknowledge him with a nod, finished my meal and shuffled away to my cabin. Which I locked and barred with an empty chest I found there. Just in case. The heated discussion among the crew could be heard below deck.
The captain's baritone played the voice of reason while others challenged his stance. I couldn’t hear all they said but the speakers so far identified themselves with one of the two prominent groups.
One, let us help the holy maiden (and get rich along the way) or two, let us dunk the vile creature of the sea, back into the waves where it belongs.
Can’t say I fancy either of those. Anyway, the discussion lasted the entire noon and included several bouts of heated argument exchange. With the use of fists and other blunt implements. Thankfully, they came to a mutual understanding and the vote happened.
As the noise died down, the first officer knocked on my door and inform me of the results. The greed has triumphed.
He also asked that I stay in my cabin until we get there. Some folks weren’t that happy.