Chapter 106:
Anton, Verona, Kal and Cetina stood at the prow of The Snowberry. The sea spray splashed his clothes, slowly encrusting them with thin white lines of dried salt, stiffening his hair and drying his skin but he didn’t care. He, no, they had accomplished something that appeared impossible. In the hull of The Snowberry, hundreds of Beast-kin slaves sat silent and still. Waiting to be free and feel the sun on their faces. The freed Beast-kin had worked wonders on the rest of the slaves. None had said a word to the crew and accepted every meal and drink with a silent thanks. Wilford asked Anton several times each day what he did to make the Beast-kin slaves, who outnumbered them by over an order of magnitude, so docile and compliant. Anton put on a brave face when he suggested teaching the Seocurian’s what he did. Such a thing would make him the most sought-after man in Seocuria. Before they parted Anton needed to sort that out. There couldn’t be any word of what happened beneath the decks reaching the slavers.
Verona, nestled in his arms, hummed her wordless tune as her head bobbed from side to side. Over the past few days she had become increasingly fond of cuddling, even outside of bed. She didn’t have much of an answer other than she wanted to cuddle. Anton didn’t mind as it always felt good to feel her soft and warm form underneath his fingers.
Verona stopped humming and turned to Anton. “Won’t be long now until we reach solid ground.” Verona chuckled. “And another day closer to home.”
Anton kissed her head. “Shouldn’t be much longer than two weeks or so once we do. And after everything we’ve been through I’ll be glad to see home again.”
“I’m really interested in seeing this place you come from.” Cetina leant against the wooden railings. The sea salt didn’t mix well with her metal armour. Currently she only wore her chest armour over her normal yellow, blue and red clothes. “It makes a lot more sense that you came from some far away city than from the mountains near the Clans, dressed and acting like you do.”
“Did you ever believe that?” Anton asked.
Cetina paused before shrugging. “I’m not sure. I don’t think so but you gave me a lot of gold so I didn’t really worry about it. And you were nice to me, so…”
“Not much longer now,” Kal said. Her gloved hands gripped impossibly tight on the wooden railings. “Then you’ll be free. All of you.”
Anton reached over and held Kal’s hand. Her masked face jerked towards him before her stance softened. The past few days had been an absolute whirlwind of emotions. For nearly half of her time awake she spent speaking with her mother. There was a lot of making up to do, a little over two decades worth, in a very short time. Each time she came back Kal seemed a little happier and moved with a lighter step. Apparently, Marion continued to express concern over their relationship but Kal reiterated that she wasn’t forced or coerced into any sort of relationship.
“I can’t believe it.” Kal’s hands rattled on the wood. She took a deep breath to calm herself. “After so long-”
A tremendous splash interrupted her. To the starboard side of the ship a small boulder crashed into the water several hundred meters away. Anton watched the ripple of water travel over the surface towards their ship. The ripple was small when it reached them but he felt the ship rise and shift slightly. The source of the boulder, and why it didn’t cause any alarm, was the giant mountain range that travelled along the horizon to their right. The giant, sheer grey mountain range began a few days before the coastal border between the Graterious and the Kar Kingdom and had continued ever since. A few of the mountains were capped with snow but otherwise were grey and lifeless.
Verona lent over and chuckled. “At least that’s one thing we don’t have to worry about in…our home.”
Wilford’s heavy steps caught Anton’s attention. “Everyone. According to the map, we’ll be arriving at Dragon Tooth bay very soon.” He pointed to two mountains that rose above the others. “If the map is correct that’ll be the entrance. The only entrance. Are you sure about this?”
Secretly, Anton was not. This was unexplored territory. An unknown land that could be bristling with Kobolds, Goblins or something even worse. However, it was the only port they could use. The Graterious and Kar Kingdom sea border had been defined by the giant near vertical mountain range. There appeared to be no way through the mountains nor anything that could even pass as a rocky beach, just sheer vertical mountains. To the south of Dragon Tooth Bay were open beaches. That would have been a better spot to land. But that lay south of the fifty-mile exclusion line from the old capital, Surdon. Why Nithroel had chosen such a distance was beyond him but that was what they had to work with. That left only one place to dock.
Anton nodded. “Yes. That is our destination, but be cautious. We don’t know what’s waiting for us.”
“You don’t even know where you’re going?” Wilford frowned angrily.
Anton kept his face flat. “Take us in and you’ll get your money. And your ship to do with as you wish, within reason.”
His tune change immediately. A captain wasn’t much without his ship. And all he had to do to get one was to do as he was told and keep his mouth shut.
Wilford nodded. “Understood.”
He bowed and left them alone. Kal immediately grew more and more excited. She rested her hands on the railing and calmed herself down.
“Not much longer now.” She said.
The ship slowly travelled parallel to the mountain range. Just as they were about to turn Anton smelt something odd on the wind. Kal picked it up as well, quickly followed by Verona and Cetina.
“Is that smoke?” Anton asked. He looked around the ship but couldn’t see any wisps of smoke rising up. That had been a constant worry during their trip but thankfully had been unfounded. For something like that to happen so close to their destination.
Verona nodded. “Yeah. Where…”
“Behind the mountain range.” Kal pointed into the sky. “You can just make out the trails against the clouds.”
Anton looked and saw the trail of smoke just starting to rise over the mountains. At first glance, the smoke was incredibly thin but the more he looked he realised there was more than a single trail, the amount of smoke was so great that it was difficult to differentiate against the clouds above them.
“Is anyone meant to be here?” Verona asked, holding his hand. “Everyone in the old Kingdom is supposed to be dead. Expect us…”
“Remember Nithroel said there were more people in the Kingdom than just us?” Verona slowly nodded. He doubted she wanted to remember much of her meeting with Jira and Nithroel. “If they were protected by the mountain walls, and the map shows there are some big mountains on the other side that might form a natural barrier, they might still have survived. Well, until now.”
Wilford approached, his eyes focused on the trails of smoke. “Are we still going in?”
Anton nodded. “Yes. We’ll be able to handle anything that comes at us.”
“U…Understood.” Wilford still didn’t look that happy but followed his word nonetheless.
The Snowberry passed the edge of the mountain range and entered Dragon Tooth Bay. The sheer grey mountains encompassed almost the entire of the interior of the bay except for two small gaps on the far side. However his elation at having returned to land quickly dissipated. The far side of the bay was burning. Anton used a prayer to improve his vision. A wooden settlement covered a large stretch of the far shoreline nestled between the two gaps in the mountain range. Nearly all of it was burning. Some of the buildings had completely burned down while others were only just starting to erupt in flames. Amongst the flames he could see things moving. Some were very short while others looked like humans. Verona grabbed his arm. When he looked at her the world spun and nearly caused him to vomit. Verona chuckled and pointed to the northernmost part of the bay. Giant purple crystals burst through the grey mountain range.
“Fuck. It’s that fucking crystal chasm,” Anton said. “We saw it heading towards the mountain range in the distance…”
“A what?” Cetina asked.
Anton removed the enchantment and the world returned to normal.
“On our way to Graterious, we passed over a giant crystal chasm.” Kal began to explain. “It was filled with Goblins-”
“And that purple fog,” Verona added. She nodded to the purple crystals. “I can see some from here.”
Kal nodded. “That too. We managed to cross a bridge, which Anton collapsed to stop a horde of Goblins from following us, and made it into Graterious. But…But it wasn’t there when I crossed that area not too long ago. So it’s very recent.”
“Have you heard about anything like that?” Anton asked Cetina.
Cetina shook her head and looked to the chasm. “No. No, I’ve never heard of anything like this. We had to deal with a few Goblins in Thessos but Clansmen were our main concern. But I’ve never even heard of something like that.”
“Maybe we should have asked those three mages if they’d heard of anything like this.” Anton mused. “Oh well, it wasn’t really something we were worried about then.”
We haven’t asked anyone back at Atros if they’d heard of something like this. Though that’d probably just be asking Bertram or Sybil.
“But.” Anton rest his hands on the wooden railing. “Looks like we’re going to have to deal with that thing again. At least the purple fog isn’t reaching the burning settlement.”
Anton didn’t think he, or Kal, had enough mana to give every Beast-kin immunity to the fog. If there were a few lingering strands he hoped they would be strong enough to get through it to the other side.
“Does anyone see a place where we can dock?” Cetina asked. “We can’t just have this ship beach on the shore and then just hop off.”
“I certainly hope we don’t have to.” Anton smiled at Cetina. “But I can see something that looks like a jetty.”
Anton patted Verona and Kal’s arm and strode towards Wilford. Wilford didn’t look that happy, neither did many of the sailors, but they held their faces firm, though they constantly watched him out of the corner of their eyes.
“Is this what you expected?” Wilford asked quietly. He stood to the side of the wheel while a sailor steered the ship to the shore. “I’m pretty sure this isn’t right.”
Anton looked to the burning village. He was sure he heard a scream over the crashing of the waves and groans of the ship.
“This isn’t what I expected either but take us in any way. Can you see a jetty or somewhere for us to dock?”
Wilford took out a small spyglass and looked to the burning settlement. “There’s a jetty, quite a large one, on the south and northern side. The north one looks like it’s burned down but the south looks to be okay…”
Wilford went silent and frowned. “What are Seocurian’s doing here?”
“What?”
Wilford handed Anton the small spyglass. “Really. I don’t think it’s hard to tell if it’s a Seocurian or not.”
Anton looked through the spyglass. It was nowhere near as good as his prayer enhancement but it was good enough to make out human figures running to the south away from the burning village. All had dark hair and very dark skin, incredibly dark.
But, why where they here?
“Interesting.” Anton passed the spyglass back to Wilford. “We’ll find out what’s going on in just a bit.”
Wilford nodded as Anton returned to the front of the ship. Verona twirled a small dagger in her hand, the tip spinning on her finger.
“Better safe than sorry.” Verona smiled.
Anton held out his hand for Verona to take some blood. Cetina watched in silence while Kal directed her attention back to the burning village.
“This’ll be the first time we’ve had a real fight since...” Verona glanced at Cetina. “For a while.”
“Thank the gods we didn’t have to fight that Griffon,” Anton said. He looked to Cetina. “Will you be alright fighting here? We don’t know what we’ll be up against.”
Cetina nodded. “I’ll be alright. If what you’ve said is right it’ll just be Goblins. That isn’t too much of a problem. I’ll need to put on all my armour though.”
“I need to get my bow as well,” Kal said. “I don’t want to be fighting them up close. Not after everything we’ve been through.”
“We’d better get everything else ready too,” Verona added, turning away from the burning village. “And everyone. We might not have long once we dock.”
“Especially if they try and swarm the boat.”
Verona nodded and gently pulled him along. They quickly reached their rooms and took every weapon they needed. Luna, sleeping on her small bed, squeaked excitedly as they entered. Each gave her a pat before gathering their gear. There wasn’t much for each to get, they wore their armour most of the time, and were soon ready.
“I don’t think we should take Luna with us just yet.” Anton scratched behind her ears. “Just in case something goes wrong. I don’t think she can swim.”
“I can’t swim.” Kal chuckled as she checked the string of her bow. “Never had much of a chance before.”
“But you could swim in the bath.” Anton smiled.
Kal flushed slightly as she remembered their time in Porswea. Her hand fidgeted with her ring. “Yes…Yes, I did. But nothing like the ocean. Unlike Verona, I could actually touch the bottom of the bath.”
Verona stuck out her tongue and pouted cutely.
“We need to look into getting one of those for our house,” Anton said. “I really liked that bath. So much better than a bucket with a towel. It felt so good to just soak and relax in some hot water. All the stress just washing away. Though having two beautiful women to share it with also helps.”
Verona laughed. “That was one of the best…We really need to get one. Though our house might be a little small with everything that’s about to happen. We’ll need more room for the bath, that comfy bed…a few other things, and somewhere for Luna to sleep and live. I’d really like our garden to always be a garden and not some sort of pen for her.”
Anton nodded. “Once we get the Beast-kin back we’ll have a look at that. See if the houses around us are free. If not, we’ll have to get Zac to make us a new one.”
“Our bed isn’t that bad,” Kal said as she fastened the bow to her back. “I didn’t have any problem with it. It seems fine.”
“But which would you prefer?” Verona smiled.
Kal hesitated. “Probably the bed from Porswea. What about you, Anton?”
Anton shrugged. “Truth be told I liked having you both underneath the stars. Something about holding you both, wrapped up in a soft blanket with a fire crackling away beside us…”
Verona and Kal chuckled.
“That was nice,” Verona said. “And a little different. Not that different is bad.”
“I think there’s a name for people that enjoy doing that sort of stuff,” Kal said very softly. Anton remembered that she had once stolen clothes from an establishment that catered to all sorts of strange whims.
“But I would prefer that good bed. While I’d love to re-enact those nights right now we’ve got more pressing matters…” Anton frowned.
“What’s wrong?” Verona looked far more worried than he was.
“We’re about to have several hundred people with us.” Anton smiled. “There’s not going to be a lot of time to ourselves.”
“Oh…”
“And everyone’s going to want to talk and thank you,” Kal added. “Every time I went down to speak with mother they always wanted to stop me and ask about you. It got a little annoying after the tenth time.”
“Never my intention.” Anton threw up his hands. “But we should really get going.”
Both nodded furiously. They gave Luna another rub before leaving their room.
“We’ll come back for our other gear.” Anton looked along the abandoned corridor. “Did either of you hear if Cetina has already gone through?”
“One way to find out.”
Verona knocked on the door. “You there, Cetina?”
“Yeah.” Cetina’s voice sounded a little strained. “I’m just having a bit of trouble getting my armour on. Something’s gone wrong with my chest armour. One of the straps…”
“You want a hand?”
There was a pause before the door opened. Cetina emerged with her chest armour half fastened and her limb guards hanging loose.
“Yes. Yes please.” Cetina pulled at her chest armour. “One of the straps has twisted and I can’t get it fixed with the rest on. But I don’t want to undo the others.”
“Right-o.” Verona smiled. “Let me have a go then.”
Verona opened the door and entered her room. It was quite clean and tidy, something Anton expected from a soldier. All her belongings, not that she had much, were bundled into a small pack, one with a shock and blue skin changing protection prayer cast over it that would only open for Cetina. They couldn’t open it, unless he removed the magic first. However, there was a small empty flask sitting by her bed. One with a faint red stain near the opened lip. Cetina saw him looking and winced. Anton peered into the room and couldn’t see any more.
“It’s just the one.” Cetina looked away in shame.
Anton nodded as Verona started to unfasten the clips on Cetina’s side. Cetina didn’t need to be patronised or demeaned for having a single drink. He made a note to keep an eye on it for later.
“No.” Verona shook her head and passed her spear to Anton. “One of them has got really twisted right at the base. How did you manage to do that?…I’ll need to get under there to fix it.”
Cetina nodded and opened her armour as much as she could. Verona grunted as her hand travelled over the inside of her armour and brushed against her plain yellow shirt.
Verona chuckled and smiled at Cetina.
“What?” Cetina frowned as Verona tugged hard on her armour.
Verona chuckled again. “Not bad. Not bad. You…You might want to get some real padding under there.” Cetina flushed slightly. “Those aren’t meant to work like that.”
“What?”
Cetina frowned at Verona then looked to Anton and Kal. Anton hadn’t been looking but her shirt was rather tight across her chest. And she didn’t seem to be wearing a bra of any kind. As he didn’t want another hard punch on his side he looked away while Kal looked at him, her face blank. He could see her hand twitching and reach for his side when Verona cried out in success.
“Right. Got the little guy.” Verona smiled as she pulled the chest piece closed. “Can you guys help out on the other side?”
Anton went for Cetina’s legs while Kal worked on the other side of the armour. They quickly had all her armour fastened tight. Cetina took a step back and pulled on her armour pieces, nodding in approval.
“Thanks...” Cetina glanced at Verona, frowned again, and picked up her sword and shield. She bounced the shield and gave a final nod. “Alright. I’m ready to go.”
Cetina moved past them and began walking up the stairs to the upper levels. Anton looked to Verona but he received a wide smile and thumbs up. Verona chuckled and slapped his back. Her smile elicited a strange feeling.
“She’s just being herself.” Anton and Kal said in unison.
Kal laughed, lowered her mask and took his hand. She squeezed it tight and led him back to the prow. Cetina still looked oddly at Verona but Verona paid her no mind. She looked forward towards the burning settlement. Soon they would reach the large southern jetty. Now he could see the people and goblins running about. The Goblins were torching the buildings and attacking the Seocurian villagers while they fought back in tight groups with strangely hooked spears and other long implements. Thankfully the Goblins seemed more than content to slowly advance while burning down the village. Anton saw a group of Seocurians point to their ship, their body language spoke of utter bewilderment. Another surge from the Goblins quickly crushed such thoughts as they desperately fought them off.
“What’s the plan then?” Verona asked. “Kill all the Goblins and figure it out from there?”
Anton nodded. “Yep. I’ll start attacking with lightning the moment we get in range. Hopefully, that’ll distract or frighten them long enough for the villagers to get somewhere safe. Hopefully.”
Kal nocked a normal arrow while Verona activated her power. Her red glow caught the attention of the crew, many whispering and turning still from shock. The crystallised blood hovered around her head, ready to strike with a simple thought. Cetina drew her sword but frowned at the dent on her tower shield. While the shield still functioned nearly perfectly the dent was a reminder of her eye injury. When they were safe in Atros he would find a way around that.
Everyone aboard the ship was utterly silent as they reached the wooden jetty. The wood was old, bleached and damaged by unending sprays of salt but still looked strong. When they began to slow the Goblins stopped and looked towards them, their ears drooping and cocking their heads to the side. Goblins had poor eyesight but no one could miss something that big. They abandoned the assault on the villagers, who took the opportunity to retreat deeper into the village, and began charging along the wooden jetty.
The sailors threw a wooden plank down to the jetty. The Goblins hesitated for a moment before continuing their charge. Verona ran down the plank and threw her crystallised blood. The Goblins didn’t stand a chance. Their bloody chunks fell into the water, the water turning red with blood, as Verona stopped parallel to the prow of the ship and continued to attack. Within a minute all the Goblins were dead or fleeing. Kal loosed her arrow into one of the few remaining Goblins while Anton fired a few lightning bolts. The water became turbulent as the bodies tumbled into the water fish and other small creatures began to feast.
Anton followed closely behind by Cetina and Kal, walked down to the jetty. Verona took up more blood and smiled as he approached. Cetina moved in front of Anton and drew her sword.
“How far are we going?” Verona asked.
“There’s still Goblins inside the village,” Kal said, nocking a lightning arrow. “I don’t want to risk a Goblin lunging at us after all this.”
“No…Not after all this.” Anton looked at the end of the jetty and saw more Goblins approaching. He loosed a lightning bolt and killed the group. “We’ll head to the end of the jetty and lure out every Goblin we can. Then let the Beast-kin out and have them take up some of their weapons. Better to have something rather than nothing.”
Kal looked towards him.
“They need to be ready to fight to defend themselves. Just like us.”
“A lot of them seem pretty strong on their own,” Verona said. “Like those two that we bought alongside your mother.”
“I’m sure Kristof or Rasha could just smash a Goblin flat with their hooves.” Anton looked at the ship. “Or just punch them in two. If things get bad we might need a few of the stronger ones to help out. But only if they agree.”
“Kristof managed to break the iron links and Rasha almost managed to rip hers free,” Cetina grumbled.
“True. But they’ve been quite nice after that.”
“Only because they thought you might throw them overboard,” Cetina said. “That kept them from misbehaving. After they tried to kill you. If they’d got free I’m sure they would have tried.”
Cetina’s tone had taken quite a change. He couldn’t quite name what it was but she wasn’t happy with some of the Beast-kin. More of an issue with individuals than with their whole kind. Verona threw up a silver brow at Anton, her red glowing eyes looking deep into his. Anton shrugged and motioned for them to advance. Goblins began to pour out of the village towards them, attracted by the sounds of lightning. Several hundred lay dead by Verona’s magic before they reached the end of the jetty, the bodies had to be pushed into the water so they didn’t trip, but no more were willing to attack. Over the roar of the burning buildings he could hear Goblins chittering. Where the Seocurian villagers had gone he had no idea, but no more Goblins were willing to attack them.
“Cetina? Could you make some noise with your shield? See if that gets their attention.”
Cetina struck the flat edge of her sword on her shield. The clanging rang throughout the air. Two small groups of Goblins, lured by the noise, were quickly dispatched by Verona’s magic. Cetina made another clanging on her shield but nothing came forward. There wasn’t any more noise coming from the village apart from the roar of the flames.
“Hello?!” Anton yelled into the village. “Is anyone there?”
He waited for some time but nothing came back.
“Hello?” Anton yelled again.
Again there was nothing.
“Are they all dead?” Verona asked. “I know I saw a whole bunch running away. So some should still be alive.”
“We saw them heading to the south.” Anton gently pushed them forward. “We’ll stay together and try and find them before we go any further. I don’t want to have a couple hundred Beast-kin and supplies just dumped here.”
Kal nodded the hardest as they slowly advanced to the south. Cetina, the most heavily armoured, stood between them and the buildings. She kept them as far away as possible from the buildings, as did Kal, so nothing could jump out at them. They passed building after building with their windows closed and fastened shut. This Goblin attack wasn’t something that had descended without warning.
“Anything?” Anton asked as they neared the last few buildings.
“I thought I heard something,” Kal whispered back. “Maybe a baby’s cry. I’m not sure.”
“Might want to take down the blood,” Anton said. “Just in case. So they aren’t freaked out.”
Verona nodded and withdrew her blood and power. She held her spear tight, now the only thing she had to defend herself with.
Kal moved past the last corner and motioned to stop. Anton moved behind her and peered around. Huddled in a large group, backed against the last building in the settlement, stood almost two hundred terrified Seocurians. They looked nothing like those from the empire; these wore simple and worn peasant clothes, dirty and slightly haggard. The class of people they saw in Danafra might not be the case throughout the empire. An outer perimeter of men, and a few women, armed with hooked spears, ploughs and forks, looked towards them. They looked worse than the others, covered in wounds and grime, and their hands shook with a dangerous mixture of exhaustion and adrenaline. For a moment their faces couldn’t believe what they were seeing. It quickly changed to relief and elation. Some even started to cry.
“Thank you!” a woman, cradling two children, in the centre of the huddle cried out. “Thank you that you’ve come.”
“Hush.” Someone snapped at her. “We don’t know who they are. We don’t know if there are more Goblins. And there’s just four of them.”
Anton waved at the Seocurian villagers. They appeared to relax a little but kept their weapons raised. “Hello. My name is Anton. The Goblins are dead but there might still be some lingering about. How many people do you think are still left in the village?”
They appeared hesitant to respond. Verona looked at him and shrugged.
“Try again.” She whispered.
“Most of the Goblins are dead and other people could be injured or dying. Can you speak?” Anton asked. “Can you understand me?”
An older man, his hair grey and back stooped, pushed his way through. “Hello, strangers. We can speak, though some of us are more frightened than others.” The way he spoke, and the way a faint and awkward smile crept up his face, reminded him of a Seocurian Bertram. “Who are you and why are you here?”
The older man appeared to be more mentally together compared to his fellows.
“That…Will take some time to explain.”
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“Are you from the ship?”
Anton nodded. “Yes. But I’ll tell you right now that we didn’t come to rescue you. Nonetheless, we are going to help. So, how many more people are left in the village?”
“There should be seven hundred people in the village.” The old man looked those around him. “But I don’t think even half of us are left.”
At least we know where the other survivors of the kingdom were. Shame we didn’t get to them sooner.
“But there might be some still hiding.”
“We’ll come with you through the middle of the village and see who we can find,” Anton said. He motioned for the girls to advance. “Though you might be a little surprised by what we can do.”
“You were the ones that killed the Goblins. I don’t think we really have much choice.”
As Anton approached the Seocurian villagers they tensed even more. Some stepped back and all always kept their hooked spears pointed towards them.
“If you, and some of your best men, come with us we can find any survivors,” Anton said. “A lot faster than if we just do it.”
He knew he was acting a bit like a lord, commanding people he had just met, but he didn’t want to waste more time talking. Once they started to offload the Beast-kin there would be time. Though that alone would make more problems for all involved.
The old man nodded and pointed to a dozen of the stronger villagers. They were more than a little hesitant as they slowly advanced towards the still burning village.
“Is it just the four of you?” The old man asked.
He couldn’t move very quickly but did his best. Anton motioned for the girls to stay close near the back. Just in case.
“For now, yes,” Anton replied. “When we came into the bay we saw your village on fire and decided to help.”
“We…We are extremely grateful for your help.” The old man bowed his head. He looked between the girls, frowning for a second at Verona’s silver hair, but didn’t make an issue of it. “My name is Ndale. And I’m the village chief and elder…” A frown formed on his wrinkled dark skin. “Only because I’m the oldest. I don’t know if I’m actually all that good.”
He motioned to the burning and ruined buildings, the great plumes of smoke rising into the sky, and sighed, dropping his hands to his side. The Seocurian villagers started their search through the village, knocking on doors and shouting for survivors. A few times they heard noises from inside. Weary, terrified and dirty faces emerged. Men and women, of all ages, hesitantly emerged. The Seocurian villagers waved them out and sent them to the others in the south. As they passed they looked oddly but none were brave enough to ask.
Anton looked at Verona and Kal. “Keep your eyes out. I just want to ask a few questions.”
Kal nodded and nocked a normal arrow. Ndale heard and looked back. Upon seeing Kal with the bow he still wasn’t overly relieved. He, like everyone else, didn’t know what to make of Kal’s mask, but his face softened when Anton looked down at him.
“Ndale. Can I ask you a few questions?”
Ndale nodded as another group of rescued villagers ran past to the south. “I’ll answer to the best of my ability. I have no reason to deny the questions of those that saved us.”
“I thought the entire Kar Kingdom was supposed to be dead. Nothing more than ruins, beasts and monsters.” Anton nodded to a dead Goblin, one previously killed by the villagers. “So how are you still here?”
Ndale took a deep breath. “Our ancestors, several generations ago, came here from Seocuria. We aren’t natives to the Kar Kingdom. Our skin is too dark, you see.”
Anton looked forward as a Goblin ran towards the north. The villagers were about to give chase when Kal loosed an arrow. It whizzed past their heads and struck the Goblin in the back, felling it instantly. The villagers looked back and gave a cursory nod.
“I’ve only seen people from Graterious and Seocuria,” Anton said. “I haven’t seen someone from the Kar Kingdom before.”
Ndale nodded. “Well, yes. The people of the Kar Kingdom have skin more like…your silver haired friend. Very light. Anyway, they took our ancestors in when they fled the Empire and allowed them to settle here. We would manage the port and the fisheries and they would let us stay and give us protection from the Empire.”
“Sounds odd.” Verona looked to Ndale. “That a different Kingdom would just let you in like that.”
“They were having problems at the time. It was a few winters before the collapse started, maybe thirty or forty, and they needed to keep this bay open but didn’t have the soldiers or people left to do it. Everything was starting to collapse in on itself. So when we turned up they were more than willing to let us stay. Free labour…” Ndale’s face darkened slightly.
“But why did you leave the Empire in the first place?”
Ndale took a deep breath. “My…Our ancestors didn’t agree with what the Seocurian Empire was doing to their Beast-kin slaves.” Kal stopped and looked at him. “I’ve never met a Beast-kin but the stories say they were treated extremely badly. So badly that some spoke out about it.”
“That didn’t end well, did it?” Anton asked. “Not when their whole economy relies on slaves.”
“No. Most were killed, their lands seized. Those that survived went quiet and those that could flee, did. They ended up here and we’ve been here ever since.”
“The village looked quite large when we came into the bay. More than large enough for seven hundred people.”
“Yes. We had about three or four thousand people once.” Ndale nodded to the purple crystals jutting over the edge of the mountain. “But those emerged at the end of spring. And Goblins have been pouring out of there ever since.”
“Why weren’t you over-run before?” Cetina asked. She looked to the mountains to the west. “If the lands beyond are full of Goblins and other things…”
Anton got the feeling the question was more directed at him rather than Ndale.
“We’re not sure. There are only two ways through the mountains. We keep an eye on them but nothing more than a few weak and sickly Green Goblins ever come through. Sometimes there are whole seasons without a single Goblin. Not now though.”
Cetina nodded and glanced at Anton.
“More of them!”
A small group of Yellow Goblins, with Greens in tow, ran down the centre of the village. The villagers formed a rudimentary line, their weapons raised to fight but they were clearly terrified. Anton would have been too. Fighting something like that up close, with just a wonky spear without any armour, was not something he enjoyed. He patted Verona’s shoulder and moved forward. The villagers parted for him, thinking he was going to fight alongside them. Instead, he raised his hand and unleashed a small volley of lightning bombs. The explosions tore through the unarmoured Goblins and broke their lines. Anton threw a few lightning bolts after the escapees. The Seocurian villagers stepped away, afraid of the power that he contained, but Anton simply smiled and returned to Ndale and the girls. Ndale’s eyes bludged from his sockets.
Verona laughed at his reaction. “We get that a lot.”
Ndale shook his head. “That…I can see why the Goblins weren’t a threat for you. But…Please give me a moment.”
He took a deep breath, scrunched and rubbed his eyes.
“Okay.”
A door from several houses ahead opened. Twenty battered and terrified Seocurian’s emerged, half held spears while the others held children and babies in their arms.
“Ndale!” One yelled. “What’s happening? Are the Goblins still out there?”
Ndale looked at Anton. “They are being dealt with. Head to the south and you’ll find the others. They’ll look after you. Everyone with a weapon needs to stay with us.”
A few of the armed Seocurian villagers traded words before they separated.
“How much more of the village do we have to check?”
“To the halfway marker.” Ndale waved the villagers forward. “I say marker, it’s a small monument from the old Kar Kingdom. Near the end, they liked making lots of these things. Everything beyond that’s burned down and abandoned.”
They continued in relative silence through the village with only the shouts of the villagers cutting through the crackling of the flames. About seventy more villagers were found, far more than Anton expected, and more groups of wandering Goblins. Anton dealt with them each time. He didn’t know how they would react to Verona’s power, though she was starting to pout near the end, like she thought he was coddling her.
The monument was a small stone obelisk three meters tall. It appeared the Seocurian villagers used this as some sort of gathering point. Racks of drying fish, large baskets of salt and strange fruits filled the small space around the obelisk. Many had been broken by the rampaging Goblins.
Once the Obelisk held an inscription but it had long been lost. Not to time but to vandalism. Large scratch marks covered the words and completely erased whatever it originally said. If Ndale was correct it was probably a message of glorification of the old Kar Kingdom.
“Such a mess,” Ndale muttered as they approached the Obelisk.
While the villagers started to fiddle and pick up the damaged goods Anton approached the Obelisk. Verona moved next to him and ran her hand over the stone.
“Any idea what it is?”
“Just a monument like Ndale said.” He replied. “Though I wonder why they removed the words.”
“If it wasn’t a problem why not just leave it?” Kal added.
“Exactly. Though…It could just be children with too much time on their hands. Or perhaps someone’s that’s drunk.”
Cetina shuffled and looked away.
Anton placed his hand on the monument and quietly chanted a prayer to restore the writing. It took some mana but the stone began to groan and shift underneath his hands. When he withdrew his hand the writing had been restored. However, it was just what he thought.
“In the twelfth winter of the reign of King Robert Kar the Third, Duke Moshe Lucas of the Gela Estate, slew the White Dragon, scourge of the Kar Kingdom,” Anton shrugged. “Knighted as the Protector of the Realm.”
“That’s what this thing says?” Verona asked, shaking her head. Kal nodded while Cetina could only shrug. “Why go through all that effort to put that here?”
“To satisfy someone’s ego?” Kal offered. “I don’t understand it either, but maybe he wanted to show off.”
“Seems like a lot of effort just to compensate for someone’s ego,” Anton grumbled.
Kal almost chuckled while Verona shook her head.
“Well, it is the right shape I suppose. And out of the way enough...” Verona chuckled. “Whatever. What happens now?”
“Is that your ship?” A villager asked.
From their current position they could see along the jetty towards The Snowberry. Anton saw Wilford and the other sailors looking pensively towards them. If anything they looked like they wanted to cast off right away, but they didn’t want to deal with several hundred Beast-kin below. Some of which were free to roam about the bottom levels of the ship.
“It is,” Anton said. “But we didn’t come here to rescue you. We came here to offload something. Quite a few somethings, and then travel further inland.”
“What?” Ndale couldn’t believe his ears. Neither would Anton if he was honest.
“We…We are transporting Beast-kin.” Anton said. “Not slaves, but free Beast-kin.”
“What?” Ndale and the Seocurian villagers were stunned. Too many things were happening to them right now. Their brains just shut down.
“They’re friendly. But some might be more than a little shocked to Seocurians here. I ask that you don’t do anything aggressive towards them. It’ll take nearly every ounce of their strength just to hold themselves back and they don’t need anything to aggravate them.”
“You surely have a plan to deal with so many Beast-kin…”
“We have a plan.” Anton smiled, not that Ndale was reassured. “But we need to start offloading right away. And with your village almost secured…”
“I cannot stop you.” Ndale looked at the broken remains of his village. “But where are you going? Are you going beyond the mountain?”
Anton nodded. “We are. But we can take care of ourselves.”
“Well…Thank you for saving us from the Goblins. I don’t want to think what those horrible things would have done to us.”
“It’s not a problem. We’ve seen what those things do.”
A knowing silence filled the air. Anton’s anger at the creatures only grew. When Atros had enough strength they would purge them from the lands at every possible opportunity. Nobody deserved to have their lives torn apart by such wretched little creatures.
“I don’t know if there’s any more Goblins about to attack but you should head back to the others.” Anton began. “See what you can do to help them. Once we’re done we’ll see about helping you whatever way we can.”
“Thank you.” Ndale bowed his head. “Thank you for everything you’ve given us.”
He and the other villagers quickly scurried off, always looking towards the north and purple crystals protruding from the mountain. Anton nodded towards the ship.
“They can’t stay here.” Anton began as they reached the edge of the jetty. “Maybe another day if they’re lucky. And I think they know it.”
“They’re lucky they even made it this long,” Kal added. She looked to the mountain in the north. “But not tonight. Do you think they’re ready to live beyond the mountain, Anton?”
“What are you two talking about?” Verona asked with a frown. “They’ve done alright…Better than we did at any rate. The Goblins are dead and, with a little help, I’m sure they’ll be able to defend themselves. Just like we were, without having a Grand Mage on our side.”
Anton smiled awkwardly and held Verona’s side. She looked confused when he turned her towards the purple crystals in the distance. While neither had an eye enhancement it was clear that more Goblins were slowly trickling through the chasm. They spread out with no clear direction in mind but eventually some would start wandering towards them.
“Oh,” Verona frowned. “Oh, I see.”
“And I don’t know if we can close it.”
“Your magic’s really strong though,” Cetina said quietly.
“I suppose so.” Anton patted Verona’s shoulders and continued moving towards the ship. “But I don’t know what would happen if I did use my magic. I could collapse the entire mountain. Or worse, I might close that part and just draw every Goblin in that chasm right on top of us. And then we’ll all be screwed, especially since I won’t have that much magic left.”
Cetina nodded. “So what happens to them now?”
“Well, it’s really up to them. It is their choice but I don’t think they have much of one. We may want to take them with us if we can.” Anton looked at Kal. “I know that it might be a problem but I don’t want to just leave people to such a terrible fate.”
“Why wouldn’t you want to help them?” Kal asked with a curious tone, cocking her head.
“They do look like the Seocurian’s of the Empire. I-”
“I’m not that stupid,” Kal said adamantly. “I can tell if they’re a slaver, and I don’t need to look at the colour of their skin to figure that out.”
“Some of the other Beast-kin might have a problem with that though,” Anton said quietly. He nodded to the ship. “They have been beaten and abused by people that look like that nearly every day of their lives. I don’t know how they’ll react when they see them travelling with us. Even if they are just fishermen.”
Kal stopped. She looked at the wooden pier, everything was silent apart from the light splashing of the water. Slowly she nodded.
“I understand what you’re saying. But that’s their problem to bear. I know it’s going to be tough for them but they need to work it out for themselves. We...We may need to stop some fights that might break out.”
“Like if Rasha and Kristof try anything?” Anton smiled.
Verona laughed. “Oh yeah. Those two would be able to break fifty people before someone stopped them. Not to mention your old friends could be pretty dangerous too. I don’t want to fight a Drakeling or a Cobra if I’m honest.”
“Or any of the bigger ones,” Cetina added.
“I’ll talk with Marion and see what she can do…” Kal sighed. “Though she might be the most difficult of all. Since, you know.”
Anton took and held Kal’s hand as they approached The Snowberry. The sailors looked relieved to see them return, one even started to untie some ropes but was stopped by his fellows. Wilford met them at the top of the plank.
“We heard more lightning. Is everything alright?”
“For now it is,” Anton replied. “But there’s more Goblins coming from the purple chasm up there. But we won’t be staying here long. Start offloading all the Beast-kin and our materials and supplies. Once we are all safely on land you are to head back to Rusaddir and do not speak a word about what happened here. Understood?”
“Perfectly. Don’t say anything and money will keep coming. Speaking of...”
“I’ll get the rest of your money now. Do you have the pen and paper that I gave you?”
“Yes...I’m not going to get into trouble for having something like that, am I? The Church of the Holy Father doesn’t like any of that stuff.”
“Only if you get caught. So just keep it somewhere safe and try not to draw too much attention to yourselves. That means you really shouldn’t be spending it up. You should try and repay those nobles first, right?”
Wilford slowly nodded. He seemed disappointed Anton hadn’t forgotten about his little problem.
“We’ll get them up here and out the ship. Don’t forget your stuff either.” Wilford signalled to some nearby sailors. “Once we set sail we won’t be turning back. Something about this place doesn’t seem right.”
Anton looked at the purple crystals jutting from the grey mountains. “I wonder what that could be.”
---[]---
“Come on everyone,” Marion shouted over the rumble of the moving Beast-kin from the bottom of the ramp. “We need to keep moving.”
Marion, alongside Kristof, Rasha, Eider, Irso and Ulyaa, tried their best to keep the Beast-kin slaves moving out of The Snowberry and to the shoreline. Rasha and Kristof, two of the larger Beast-kin, stood at the front of the queue. Both wielded a simple large wooden stick as a weapon. Their strength alone made it a dangerous weapon. And even if it broke they could simply kick or punch their way through a small horde of Goblins. Each Beast-kin held as much as they could carry of their supplies and equipment. Anton didn’t like using them as carriers but thankfully they didn’t complain. If anything they looked used to it.
The human sailors watched the spectacle in silence with a mixture of awe and fear. Despite every Beast-kin free of their shackles none attacked. They kept their distance though, with their hands over their weapons, just in case. Verona and Kal walked with Rasha and Kristof at the front of the Beast-kin column while Anton and Cetina waited on the ship with their horses. Their horses were grateful to be outside and able to move once again. Especially Cetina’s horse. It was almost scowling at her but nonetheless happy to be free. Luna, as before, was nestled in her special pack and peered out at the world beyond. She seemed quite excited, especially when Anton scratched her behind her ears.
“That’s basically everything,” Wilford said as the last Beast-kin walked past. “We’ve got enough supplies to make it to the next port. We can’t spare any more.”
“That’s fine,” Anton replied. “We’ll find our own out there. We’ve got maps for water and we can hunt for food.”
“I don’t know how to butcher an animal but I’ll help whatever way I can,” Cetina added.
“Thanks.” Anton turned to Wilford. “But we’ll be fine.”
Anton handed over the remaining gold coins and a few extra for good measure. Wilford’s eyes widened in surprise and elation at the sight.
“Don’t spend them all at once.” Anton smiled as they led the horses down the ramp. “We’ll be in contact soon. Good luck.”
The horses nervously traversed down the wooden plank down to the jetty. Marion turned as she patted the shoulders of the last Beast-kin that passed.
“Anton.” Her clawed hands scratched nervously at her hips. “Are you sure you know what you’re doing? That you can actually get us through those lands to this Atros place that my daughter keeps talking about?”
“Absolutely.” Anton motioned for her to follow the Beast-kin convoy. “We simply head through the mountain pass and head back towards the road that we followed to Graterious. Hopefully there won’t be much to fight. But just the four of us is more than strong enough to deal with just about anything that comes our way.”
“Even a hundred Goblins?”
Anton chuckled. “I’m sure Cetina could deal with that with her eye closed. But a few thousand wouldn’t be a problem for us.”
“I don’t want Kal to be fighting.” Marion frowned, her furred face casting odd shadows.
“She fights from the rear, so she’s as safe as she possibly can be,” Anton replied. It didn’t help assuage Marion’s concerns. “But I do everything I can to make sure she’s safe.”
“I spoke with her but she won’t give it up.”
“No...And I’m not going to tell her that either.” Anton said. “She’s a grown woman and mature enough to make her own decisions. And no one has the right to tell her what to do. Not even her husband.”
Marion looked deep into his eyes. Her own looked nearly identical to Kal’s, perhaps a little darker with small flecks of black throughout the bright green, alongside the searching look. Finally, she nodded and took a breath of resignation.
“I understand…But I just want her to be safe. I don’t think I could live with myself if, after all this time thinking that she was dead, something were to happen to her.”
“Nothing will.” Anton patted her shoulder. The rough cloth bounced under his touch, her short green fur bounced just like Kal’s. He didn’t want to tell her about Zig and the wolf’s tooth. He wondered if Kal had told her about those things yet.
Rasha and Kristof yelled as the leading edge of the Beast-kin column reached the end of the jetty and solid ground. Everyone was to be glad to be touching solid ground again. Verona and Kal ran in front of them and towards the southern end of the village, where the Seocurian villagers would be waiting.
“Marion. How do you think they’ll react to seeing the Seocurian’s here?”
Marion scrunched her face. She, like the other Beast-kin, had been shocked when Anton told them what they had found waiting for them in Dragon Tooth Bay. The immediate thought was this was some elaborate trap but they realised that would be too much effort even for the most elaborate scheme with no real payoff. Anton’s story didn’t help convince them but they agreed to try and keep the Beast-kin from doing something stupid and lashing out. A few strikes from someone Rasha or Kristof would keep anyone under control.
“Hopefully, with Kristof and Rasha there, and Kal, they’ll be able to keep control. Eider, Irso and Ulyaa should be enough to keep everyone else moving.” Marion winced. “But I don’t know what I’ll do when I see them. I’ve spent every day…”
Anton nodded. It would be incredibly difficult, perhaps truly impossible, to push such thoughts and ingrained feelings from their mind with a snap of their fingers. Nonetheless, it was heartening to see they were at least going to try and not give into hatred.
“I hope the other Beast-kin can keep under control too. I get the feeling that we might be travelling with them for the next little while.”
Marion frowned but Anton pointed to the purple crystals in the distance. Marion had the same eyes and sense of sight that Kal had, she could see the Goblins continue to pour out of the chasm.
“Oh.”
The first Beast-kin reached the south of the village just as they reached the end of the jetty. Anton saw Rasha and Kristof’s forms move between the Beast-kin and the Seocurian villagers huddling near the last few buildings. Anton motioned for Cetina to follow him. They both mounted their horses and rode to the front, leaving Marion alone at the rear. They passed Eider, Irso and Ulyaa, each who were trying their best to keep the Beast-kin moving and in a rough line. Anton said his thanks as they passed.
When they arrived at the front the Beast-kin were utterly shocked and confused. Rasha and Kristof were holding the Beast-kin back as they snarled at the scared Seocurian villagers. The villagers had remained in their tight group and held their weapons towards the Beast-kin. They seemed more terrified of the Beast-kin than the Goblins. Verona spoke with the villagers and tried her best to placate them while Kal was helped Rasha and Kristof do the same. The sound of the approaching horses, especially Cetina’s warhorse, calmed everyone down.
“Calm down, everyone,” Anton said as he dismounted. It appeared to work a little bit for the Beast-kin but they were still incredibly scared and angry. “I just want you all to take a deep breath before you say or do anything.”
“What are they doing here?” A Beast-kin asked, rather, demanded.
“She’s got a point.” Rasha said to Anton. “One I want to know too. Especially after you said that we would be free of them.”
She held the wooden beam in her large hands ready to strike the Beast-kin. He doubted that she would try and attack either side but she looked the part, especially someone that’s nearly three meters tall and who’s arms where thicker than Anton’s waist.
“Do you doubt me?”
Rasha shook her head. “No. I have no reason to doubt you. But I’m just a little surprised. It all sounds a little fanciful.”
“I bet. Can you keep them moving?”
“Where?” Rasha looked around. “I can’t see anywhere we can just stop.”
“I’ll go ahead and see what I can find.” Cetina lightly kicked the side of her horse. “There’ll be somewhere just before the mountain that we can stop and get organised.”
“Could you please do that Cetina? And Rasha, can you keep the Beast-kin moving? It’s not doing anyone any good having them here.”
Cetina kicked the side of her horse again and rode towards the mountains. She glanced at Rasha once before pushing through the Beast-kin. Rasha nodded and strode through the Beast-kin after her. They parted for her, more than just her being large and wielding a large stick, a sense of fear remained in their eyes, and she started directing them towards the mountains. They glanced worryingly at the Seocurian’s before moving on. Kristof, holding the wooden stick tight in his large hands, stepped back and kept the Beast-kin from spilling out or moving towards the Seocurian villagers.
“Anton.” Kristof turned his head slightly towards Anton. “What’s happening with them?”
“Right now I’m not sure. But just keep the Beast-kin moving for now. When Marion gets here we’ll have a chat about what’s going to happen next.”
Kal moved away from the slowly passing column of Beast-kin and stopped by his side. She didn’t say anything and simply held his hand. It wasn’t tight, out of fear or desperation, but out of warmth and a need for contact. It wouldn’t be long before she would be free to take off her mask. If any Beast-kin had a problem with her they would deal with that then.
Eider, Irso and Ulyaa passed alongside the rest of the Beast-kin. Anton smiled and waved them on. They, at first, smiled, but he could feel the anger boiling up from within the moment they saw the Seocurian villagers. Even with a warning it wasn’t enough to completely control their emotions. Eider hissed as she saw the Seocurians and Irso’s claws and spines flexed in readiness to strike. Thankfully they kept themselves under control and continued moving.
Finally the last of the Beast-kin passed. Kristof caught Marion’s attention and she parted from the rear of the group. She told them to keep going and she’d join them later. She took a deep breath as she approached, keeping the still terrified Seocurian villagers in her line of sight.
“So…” Marion glanced at Kal. “What happens now?”
“Since you are, effectively, the representative of the Beast-kin slaves, I wanted to bring you into the discussion on what we’re going to do with them.”
“I know, from what my daughter’s told me about you, that you aren’t going to kill them.” Marion looked at the villagers tattered and salt-stained clothes. “I know they aren’t the Seocurian slavers but…Anyway, why me? I’m just an old woman.”
Kal patted her mother’s arm. Marion smiled and squeezed her daughter’s hand.
“To be fair to Marion.” Verona slunk up to Anton and took his other arm. “You made sure that everyone on the council has their positions because they were your friends.”
“I didn’t…” Anton squeezed Verona’s side. “It was because they were the best people for the job…Though I think they just told everyone what they would be doing and they just said yes. Hmm…”
“Either that or potentially upset a guy that could obliterate a city with a snap of his fingers with another powerful mage hanging off his side.”
Anton chuckled. The thought that his current position was only based on his powerful magic had turned up more than once. Though he wasn’t abusing it. At least he thought he wasn’t.
“True. But I think that Marion’s a good choice for a Beast-kin representative.” Marion threw up a dark green brow on her fur covered face. “I’m sure that you’ll get along with everyone else.”
“Will you do it, mother?” Kal asked.
“Are you a part of this thing as well, this council?”
Kal nodded. “Sort of. I go with Anton and no one’s said anything yet.”
“Alright. I’ll do it. But I don’t know how good I’ll be.” Marion scratched her cheek. “So, we wasted all that time talking about nothing…”
“Time to go speak with Ndale and see what he has to say.”
Anton turned to the Seocurian villagers. They tensed and Ndale worked his way through the crowd, he had been standing just behind the line of armed villagers. He smiled awkwardly as they approached.
“I didn’t expect you to have this many Beast-kin.” He chuckled nervously. “I know I haven’t seen one before but I knew what they were the moment I saw them…They don’t like us very much.”
“Um…It’s complicated.” Anton looked to Marion and Kristof, who held their faces blank. “But I wouldn’t hold it against them. They’ve had a very rough life and there are just some things that are not going to change any time soon. They’re not bad people...”
Ndale slowly nodded. “I understand. Our ancestors were not nice to your kind.”
“They still aren’t,” Kristof spoke very softly. Ndale seemed quite anxious but Kristof chuckled nervously when he saw Anton looking towards him. “But, if what Anton said about you is true, then it’s not your fault. If anything your ancestors tried to make things better.”
“Thank you.” Ndale bowed his head. “It is something that still weighs on our minds. But what are you planning to do now with all these Beast-kin?”
“We are still planning to head through the mountains. But there is something. A small problem." Anton held back a bitter smile. "One unrelated to the Beast-kin."
"What do you mean?" Ndale's eyes nervously twitched between them. "It'll be difficult to rebuild after the goblins but we'll manage. We always have."
"That's kind of the problem." Verona chuckled once. "They aren't really gone."
"What?"
"The purple crystals in the mountain are spewing out hundreds and thousands of the damn little things. And I don't have the strength to seal it, if that would actually stop it. Which I don't think it will. If anything it'll probably make them even angrier and bring a real horde down upon you. I don’t know how many are in there. It could be a few hundred or it could be millions. I simply don’t know. No one here can stop them."
Ndale fell weak to his knees. The villagers came to his aide, those far behind in the group gave Anton glares of hate. To them, he made their chief crumple with but a few words.
"I'm sorry to say this but I don't think you can live here anymore."
"So...So what do we do?" Ndale rose, with his legs still shaking. "Where can we go? Beyond the mountains there's nothing..."
He couldn't finish another sentence. He closed his eyes and shook his head.
"Well." Anton began, looking at everyone on his side. "There is somewhere you can go."
"Oh..." Marion winced slightly. "Now I understand."
“If you wish, you could come with us.”
Anton looked to the Beast-kin in the distance. Cetina had led them to a small plateau just before the mountain pass. She, and the other girl Beast-kin were doing their best to keep them under control and calm. It appeared to be working.
“The trip will be long and may be dangerous, but we have a city, a growing city, that survives against all odds in the wilderness. One that needs many more people.”
Ndale looked at the people behind him. Quite a few were old and many were young, not strong enough to make the journey without assistance.
“I’m not going to force you.” Anton smiled. “But we can’t stay here any longer.”
He nodded to the jetty. The Snowberry had already begun to sail away. Ndale sighed and looked at his people.
“We are just simple fishermen-”
“Fuck this!” Someone from deep within the villager huddle said loudly.
A Seocurian woman stood up, the same woman that spoke up before, a young boy and girl clutching tightly to her hands. She pushed through the others roughly as her children struggled to keep up with her. She was a middle-aged woman, the Seocurian’s skin tended to hide their true age quite well, with quite a good figure. Overall she looked similar to a Seocurian version of Marion.
“Unlike the rest of you, I’m not going to wait here and die.” She looked at Anton. “Do you really have somewhere for us to go? Where you can free from those stupid Goblins?”
“Sort of. Goblins are still a problem but we have high walls and lots of weapons to defend ourselves with. Not to mention…” Anton summoned a small lightning and fireball. “We’ve got a lot more than fishing spears and pitchforks.”
The woman looked back to the others. She chuckled and pushed her children forward. They appeared to be the same age as Shawn and Jocelyn.
“My name’s Lerato. And these are my children, Saburo and Lili. Say hello.”
“Hello.” Both children meekly waved and shied away behind their mother.
They grew more nervous as they looked at Kristof’s rather imposing form. Marion lightly bumped his side and he softened his posture. She caught Anton’s eye.
“Children…Children aren’t to blame for the mistakes of their parents.”
“Neither are we really.” Lerato retorted. “My parents or my grandparents had nothing to do with what happened to you. Not that that matters either.”
Marion slowly nodded but said nothing more.
“So, can we come?”
“So long as you are willing to do your part.” Anton smiled. “We don’t have food or space for slackers.”
Lerato laughed and rolled up her sleeves, revealing an impressive set of muscles. “Don’t worry about me. I can handle myself, better than my husband at least.”
“Is he here?”
“No. The Goblins killed him.”
Lerato spoke flat and devoid of emotion, far more so than one would expect. However, no one was willing to refute her claim. Anton shrugged and waved Lerato, and her children, towards them. Anton looked at Ndale and the other Seocurians. They appeared on the verge of coming with them.
“How much food and portable water do you have?” Anton asked Lerato.
“We’ve got some. Not so much water, we’ve got a stream coming down from the mountain that we use, but we’ve got lots of salted fish and fruits.”
“They’ll probably help stretch our supplies quite a bit.” Anton slowly nodded. He looked to Ndale and the villagers. “We really need to get moving. If you want to come with us, now’s your last chance.”
Several villagers stepped forward, scared and unsure of what awaited them but determined to not fall in their village. The rest, seeing some were willing to go, quickly joined.
“Seems like the decision has been made.” Ndale chuckled. “But Lerato speaks true. We don’t have that much in the way of water or food with us. And most of it was on the northern side of the village…”
“Gather whatever you can,” Anton ordered. “We will wait a bit longer while you get everything you can carry. But only the most essential items. We can replace anything except your lives. Even my magic can’t do that.”
Ndale organised the villagers into small groups that fanned out into the village.
Verona pulled on his arm and smiled. “Nice one. I thought we would have to leave them behind.”
“They didn’t look like they really wanted to go,” Kal said. “Except that Lerato woman.”
Lerato had moved to the side and currently spoke with Marion and Kristof. Despite the Beat-kin’s ingrained hatred for Seocurian’s they appeared to get along just fine, baring the odd twitch from Marion’s eyes when Lerato leant too close.
“Do you think her husband really just died?” Anton asked quietly.
“No.” Verona shook her head. “My gut tells me she killed him in the confusion.”
Anton looked down at her. Verona shrugged weakly. “That’s what it's saying. Though, no one really cared that he was dead. Something to ask when we’re on the move again.”
“How many people are you bringing back to Atros?” Kal chuckled. “Our husband is going to be leading almost a thousand people, half of which hate the other half, across monster and beast infested lands…I think this might still be a dream.”
Anton kissed her mask before gently prying it free. Kal resisted but allowed Anton to remove it. He smiled when he saw the mocha toned, and slightly sweaty, face exposed to the light.
“Thought you would like that.” He kissed her again. “Since we’re so far away from anyone that would want to hurt you. Now I can actually see the face of someone I love.”
It felt strange to say that when they would be travelling with Seocurians and Beast-kin, an unknown number who could be puritans and want Kal dead or gone, just like the people of Atros first wanted, but he didn’t want to hide her away. Kal smiled and nuzzled her head into the crook of his neck. Marion looked at the sight and her eye twitched. Lerato saw Kal’s face and let out a small whistle. Kal’s ears pricked up but quickly fell flat once again.
“Not long now and we’ll be home.” Anton squeezed them both and led them back to the horses.
---[]---
Wilford had never been so glad to be rid of someone in his life. While the four had been good guests; polite, kept to themselves and paid well, there was something about them that gave him chills. Money, vast sums of money, had smothered that feeling but now they were sailing once again the feeling came back. He waited until they had passed the threshold to Dragon Tooth Bay before he said a word.
He let out a great sigh and felt the wind leave his lungs. One of his sailors rushed to his side but Wilford waved him away. They all knew he was being a bit dramatic.
“What do we do now?” The sailor asked, a tall lanky man.
“What do you mean? We head for home, that’s what we do.”
“No…I’m talking about…What we carried.”
The other sailors nodded as well. When Anton, that crazy and slightly aloof man, told him they were heading for Danafra he didn’t think much of it. He hadn’t dealt with slaves for many, many winters. Too much trouble, but the man was willing to pay a fortune. And throw in a ship, rent-free. When several hundred slaves were loaded onto his ship Wilford almost quit there and then. But not a single slave even looked the wrong way during their travel. Some were free of their bonds and allowed to roam the lower levels of the ship. But no one, not one, had tried to attack them. How had he done that?
Wilford shook his head. “We say nothing. Absolutely nothing. You lot understand? Not a single word of anything we just did to anyone, ever.”
“But he’ll call on us again.” The lanky sailor awkwardly smiled. “This is his ship.”
“Yes. But it’s ours to do with as we please. So long as we respond to his calls. And I don’t think it’s a good idea to ignore them.”
He said it was a communication pen….Is it really or is it some sort of cursed artefact? Who knows? And I don’t really want to know. But…His money is good. And that’s all that matters.
“Ignore that for now.” Wilford puffed out his chest. “With one job we can pay off every debt we owe and still have a lot left over for the better things in life. Set sail for Rusaddir. Wine, women and debauchery await us!”
A might cheer rang throughout the ship. Wilford couldn’t help but think of the simple pen resting on the table in his quarters. He just hoped he wouldn’t get too drunk, make a fool of himself and let the Church of the Holy Father catch wind of what they’ve done. Perhaps a closer port, one where the Church held no sway would be better. Safer at the very least. Definitely safer.