It was five days before we saw land.
Five. How should I say this? I hated sailing. I really really hated it.
The calm winds had persisted for FIVE days, and for five days I was forced to do nothing but wander the ship.
By then I had talked to every crew member as extensively as I could, except, ofcourse, for Zek and the cats. It turned out Liawynn had a fear of heights, Black Ink had a fear of fire- not surprisingly- and Salis had a love for gardening. Who knew?
I had watched the waves for hours, until I had gone thirsty. Apparently the only time I wanted to jump in the water was the one time I could not.
“You can’t drink that!” they said, “It’ll kill you!” they said. Their logic confounded me.
Sometimes I even missed my conversations with stump. Oh that old fool, I wondered where he was now? Perhaps he had gained notoriety in my absence. Perhaps he had finally been made into logs. Regardless of where he was, I was sure he had not suffered as much as I.
That said, at least the trudge had ended. I nearly fell over the railing when I saw the land up ahead. The glorious glorious land. Black Ink had pointed it out first.
“Land ho!” he had called. Land whatever indeed.
I watched as the vibrant greens came bursting into view, glowing beneath the midday sky. More green than I had ever seen before. The nearest Cliffside was covered by it. As we got closer I noticed monolithic stone spires towering out of the green. Each spire with various clumps of forest in between. Reaching so high, the spires earned clouds of their own.
“Those are relics of the past.” pointed Ersel, “Left there by a long forgotten race called the Aragossins, the men of stone. Some say those spires are their houses.”
Houses?!
Bilal stepped past us as the land got ever closer. He jumped and caught a rope, hoisting himself to a higher position on the mast.
“They may be relics,” he said, “but the local folk treat them as shrines.” He pulled out a looking glass and pressed his eye dumbly against it, “No new camps from when last I was here. Good.”
“Captain.” started Liawynn as the man slid down, “We should keep moving, we can stop at Akir’s refuge.”
Bilal compressed his looking glass, “That is two days away. Besides we don’t want Brambleburn jumping again.”
I glared at the ensuing snickers. Even Liawynn chuckled. How could she!
Bilal’s laugh out did the rest, “I’m sorry Bramble. It’s hard to forget.” He assured me.
“Yes yes, quite.” I snapped.
Bilal traced the edge of the sky with a hand on his brow, “There is a river, a few leagues down the channel. It is just wide enough for the Calypso and at the river’s end lies a free-village. We’ll be there by sunset.”
Liawynn was taken aback, “I had never heard of this place, when had you gone there?”
“Back when I was in Aramir’s crew. It was the first town I traveled to outside the capitol.” Replied Bilal, “Though, it was very small, a settlement for free folk. They called it Hangman’s Bay.” A smile pinched the edge of his mouth, “I’ve heard it has grown since then.”
--
Dock bells stifled the air and ships dotted the harbour. It was no small ‘village’ anymore.
The Calypso approached the docks ever so slowly, while colourful fowls hovered over the masts. Merah and Serah had already gotten to work chasing the birds off, wrestling the ropes as they did so.
As we docked, the creak of the ship stretched to the final note. Black Ink and Zek walked out of the lower quarters with a long wooden plank on their shoulders.
“Steady, steady” instructed Bilal as the duo moved the massive beam.
A voice flew in from far below the ship, “Bilal! Is that ya mon?!”
Bilal rushed to the edge of the ship, sticking his head just off the railing.
“Salazan! By the spirits, how have you been?!” he shouted back.
“Cut this nonsense, come down already.” Replied the voice.
Bilal did just that, instantly stepping the railing and jumping below.
I ran to the edge, as did the others. I heard the splash when I got there.
The voice continued its odd recital, “Haha still a crazy bastard I see!”
Black Ink and Zek passed us, and plotted the beam with a loud plunk. A pathway now stretched between the pier and the ship. Mortimer raced to the pier, Yinji hot on his trail. Salis, well behind her mossy companion. Liawynn shook her head as a soaking Bilal swam up to the pier.
“He only does that for his closest friends.” She said.
I considered the prince, then the first mate, “What about you? Not going after him?”
Again she shook her head, “No, I am the first mate, if the captain leaves the ship, she falls under my command. My care. Besides, I imagined you to have left first.”
I scanned the city past the docks, it was a villa of shanty houses stacked in a mess of planks and foliage. Most of those houses were so close, that they extended into each other. I was a long way from my homeland. Further than I had ever imagined.
“I am not that eager. Yet perhaps this town is worth seeing.” I made for the plank, stopping half way through with one hand on my cloak, “Do I need to hide myself?”
“From the looks of it, no. The lands outside your country are dangerous, but almost none require you to hide yourself.” She chuckled glancing at her captain below, “Lest you have a bounty.”
“Bramble.” Entered Ersel’s voice, “Let’s go.”
I twitched as I reluctantly obeyed. “I would have gone anyway,” I puffed.
Ersel talked cheerily ahead of me, turning back once she snickered, “I know.”
“One more thing.” Started Liawynn. I glanced at her for all but an instant. “Be careful.”
--
Strange how whenever humans gathered it was noisy, strange how whenever anything with a mouth gathered it was noisy. The streets of Hangman’s Bay were no exception.
I traveled with Yinji, Ersel and Salis. The rest save for Black Ink and Liawynn had left the ship to explore the city. As soon as we left the harbor Ersel stepped in front of me, “Bramble, keep your chin up. No-one can be trusted here. Am I understood?”
Typical Ersel, as paranoid as she was. “That said, look around you!” she interjected. She spun once, stretching her arms about her, “This is a new land, and every land has its history. We’re headed to a tomb of unfounded treasures, these people may be my best bet to what may be there. You however, are a walking tree with a mouth no less. For your own sake, try not to make a scene.”
My brows twitched, “A god such as myself would not dare be intimated by mere mortals.” I said.
Ersel let out a long drawn out sigh, “Exactly why you should stay quiet in the first place.”
How rude! How incompetent! “But I-”
“Need to stay low, I, on the other hand, need to find out what this is.”
Ersel searched in her pockets, reaching all around herself. It looked quite odd, as if she was a beggar who had caught a terrible itch. Only seconds later she withdrew the key from before. Nimbly juggling it between her fingers, she held the key out toward me. “I have a feeling Icarus may have been here at one time, and for that matter, it’s possible that the people here may know about him and this key.”
“Ersel.” I said quietly, “Is it really gold you’re after, or is it something else?”
She strayed from the question, avoiding my sight for all but a second. She replied as quietly as I, “I told you what I’m after.”
Still the thought had escaped me, what Ersel wanted had always been clearly gold. Yet something I saw in Starsreach told me otherwise. An image of the worn townhouse behind a curtain of droplets flashed in my head.
“Besides!” She continued, “In my lifetime, I haven’t encountered a problem that could not be solved by gold!”
My brow twitched once more, “Must I remind you how short that life of yours is. More so how much I care, or lack thereof.”
“Well of course you’re coming with me.” She hummed.
“Really?” entered Yinji, he had perplexed look about him, “Too bad, I was about to ask the tree walker if he’d accompany Salis. She has a habit of getting lost.”
Ersel eyed me with grin on her face, I had a bad feeling. She breathed inwards, and that feeling got worse, “Well I can’t let Salis get lost, not with all your crew has done for me and my familiar. Bramble, as your master, I command you to accompany Salis…” She turned to Yinji, “Does she have a family name?”
Yinji shook his head, “Isdamari slaves often forget their names to spare their families the shame. It is an odd tradition I must admit.”
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“Alright then.” Nodded Ersel, “Brambleburn, you are to stay with Salis- who lacks a name- so that she does not get lost.”
The horrid nature of this decree felt worse and worse the more I realised it. I, a god, reduced to nothing but an escort? A porter for a creature who’s lifespan was shorter than my pinkie? Preposterous! Absurd! Ludicrous!
And here I stood, unable to refuse. I really hated magic.
“Fine.” I said. “Where is she?”
Ersel looked to Yinji, Yinji looked back. I realised what had happened the moment Yinji glanced at me, his face as dull as rock.
And so I set upon the impossible task of locating the small creature. Small creatures, as if by habit, were very hard to find. I eyed the protruding fixtures of the nearby shacks. Then I saw the hordes of people sprawling between them. This was no easy task.
I left the pier to the sound of hollow steps, I had no idea where to start. At the mouth of the town I caught a glimpse of Ersel sneaking into one of the rare alleyways. I snickered for a moment, quite aware of the less than satisfactory conditions of alleyways from first hand experience. At least the imp who held my chains would suffer. Even at the slightest. But what if she were attacked…
I thought for a moment about her wellbeing- now that it mattered- but soon I realised the absence of a certain feeling. I no longer had the urge! As the creature disappeared into the shadows, I curled and uncurled my hands. Perhaps it was because I knew what I was, regardless of whether I accepted that or not. Or perhaps, it was due to her earlier command. My task was, after all, to look for Salis, not to protect Ersel.
So, for what it was worth, I was free. Free of any annoying urges to ‘protect’ my master, free of the leash I so despised. For now at least. I pushed through some of the busy denizens of the town, careful not to make too much contact. These things were far dirtier than the humans of Starsreach, and that was an understatement. No matter, my task was to find Salis, and the faster I did that, the more time I would have for myself. Free time to myself. Another creature brushed past me and I shivered. My first act as a free god would be to find a corner devoid of life. Somewhere that was preferably not a boat. I was sick of those to.
As I passed more and more creatures, the crowd grew denser. Smellier. I scanned the sea of heads below me. Some had hair, others fur, ears, even the odd hat. I would never find Salis this way. Never-
An opening in the crowd a little ways from ripped into a gaping half circle, all gathered before some sort of tavern. A man, dressed in a gold lined coat, tumbled out of the establishment.
“Out with ye, gold coat. We don’t server yer kind in these parts.” Shouted a rather burly man.
The grounded man managed to stand, “The Empire can do great things for the people here!” he stammered back. “Think of the order!”
The crowd erupted into simultaneous huff, some even threw fruits at the ‘gold coat’.
“This is a free city, mate.” bellowed the first man. “The only great thing accomplished here, was separating from yer ‘beloved’ empire.”
“Aye!” shouted an on-looker.
“Here here!” cried another.
“Um excuse me.” Entered a final voice- this one far supressed than the others. “Do you know any magic?”
I held my head with my hand. The voice was that of Salis. A single, not to mention, short creature standing in front of a forest of uncouth beasts. She was merely a shrub compared to them.
The gold-coat stared back at Salis, dumbfounded, “Why yes miss. We have six magic academies. Free entry exams to all tax-payers and-gah!”
The former man pulled the gold coat by his back collar, “Aye, the tax-payers and all worthy citizens, given yer not made a slave first! OR did he forget to mention that miss?”
“Oh, I wouldn’t be a slave.” Replied Salis, “My captain freed me. He said I would never wear chains again.”
The burly man dropped the gold-coat, somewhat lost by his expression, “Yer telling me, that you were a slave to those pigs, and now you want to go back!” he clapsed her shoulders, “What have they done to ya, girl!”
I stepped in, I figured this was a better time than ever. “She is no slave, and she will not be one again.” I said.
“Bramble…” trailed Salis.
“And what ye be?” motioned the burly man.
I thought the answer was obvious, “Haven’t you heard of me? I’m a go-”
“A friend!” interrupted the gold-coat. He stood up, dusting his coat as he dared shake my hand, “A friend of mine, we’ve been travelling together, and we just happened to be passing by. I suppose it’s time to leave. Come, my friend!”
The burly man eyed me, “Do ya know this scum?” asked the Burly man.
“No.” I answered, “But I believe he’s an idiot.”
The crowd exploded in laughter, and the burly man seemed pleased. “Alright then.” He started, “I’ll leave you to him, just make sure he never returns to me establishment or I’ll teach him why we only like gold in our coins.”
The gold-coat audibly gulped, staggered back, and fell flat on his behind.
The burly man then turned to the audience, “Now get going you lot! Lest you be hear for drinks, I’ll flog ya on the spot.”
Soon after the crowd dispersed, and I found myself with my task completed. “Let’s go.” I sighed, motioning Salis to follow me.
“I can’t.” she retorted.
I turned to face her, but as I did she hurried past me. Immediately, she leaned to help the gold-coat up.
“Why thank you miss.” Said the idiot.
Salis did not wait for him to get up, “Do you know any magic?” she pressed.
“I…I do not. No.” he answered, “But the empire has academies! You can learn there!”
I eyed the gold-coat closely, from what little I could tell about humans. This one was young, a boy perhaps. A sproutling. “Tell me, sprouting,” I started, “what do you know about familiars?”
The boy wiped his muddied hands on his coat, “Familiars, that’s quite advanced magic. I don’t think it is even possible. Why do you ask?”
“No reason.” I lied, remembering Ersel’s warning. I glanced at Salis, “Salis, we must really go.”
“No wait!” shouted the boy, “I must thank you for saving me just then. You and the miss.”
My displeasure peaked, and my answer became more the clearer. “I rather not. One so divine such as myself do not need material ‘thanks’ anymore for I have transcended beyond that. I have-”
“I’ll go.” Spoke Salis. My brows twitched for a third time that day, my task had somehow grown endless.
…
“And there I was at maw of Kanes, my crew a halfway to the boat, the beast a mere arms length away when second mate Azar tripped over a rock two skips ahead of me.”
“And then what!” shouted the somehow fascinated Salis. I thought the end was obvious. They all died except the fool who lived to tell the tale.
Cups clinked in the distance, all the while the random rhythm of steps fluttered in my ears and muffled banter filled the gaps. I leaned back in my chair and let my arms cross against my chest. I had no reason to be here save to escort Salis. The Gold-coat insisted on lunch as a thanks. Odd how that only served one of us. In fact the more and more this gold-coat, who so rashly dubbed himself ‘Sedrick’, continued, the more apparent it was that he only cared about Salis. I was a mere accessory to his charade, and I had no need to humor him further.
I watched eagerly as Salis neared the end of her meal. Counting every bite as if it were her last.
“I managed to get to the ship as poor Azar volunteered to stay behind. I tried to convince him otherwise, but he convinced me instead. I still remember his words, ‘For the Empire, and her beauty!’ tis the most beautiful words I ever heard.”
Well no words could describe how uninterested I was. “Salis, the others will be looking for us. I believe it is time to leave.” I urged her. “Salis?”
I leaned in to find the Isdamari slowly wiping tears from under her blindfold. “Poor Azar” she managed.
I let out a deep sigh and massaged my temples with one hand. How could she..? How could he..?
“Ah, but he died for the glory of the empire!” smiled Sedrick. Of course I was not convinced, Salis, on the other hand, may have just have well been.
A peak of sunlight met my eye, and I knew it was time to leave. I made to stand when Sedrick stopped me, “Azar.” He whispered, “Ah! I remember now! Azar had told me about a man who had summoned a familiar. Twas an old folk tale passed down in his family.”
I slowly returned to my seat. Finally something that mattered, I had grown tired of incompetent rabble. “How did he do it? How did this man summon a familiar?” I asked.
“Ah, my friend, this man was no regular magi. They say he had inherited powers far beyond the gods! That one day he ventured to a lake and saw a fey bathe in its waters.”
“A fey! As in a magical spirit?” shot Salis. Her initial distress had completely vanished.
Sedrick laughed, “Aye, but this is only a tale. Spirits do not exist. But in tales of old, they say if you see a fey, you do not look at it, for if you do, the fey will never let you go. But this man stared. He stared and stared until the fey noticed him. Nay, the fey saw him all along. The fey asked him why he looked, and he simply said, ‘because beauty shall never again avert my eyes’. The fey was taken aback, instantly in love, and with a kiss the fey enthralled the man equally. They say the man returned to the lake every day for seventy seven days. Until one day the man returned, with his village in alit. Ransacked by barbarians.
He said he had nowhere to go. That he had no family, no friends, nor wealth. He sought only the fey who sought only him. Pleased by his devotion the fey granted him a gift: a power which dyed his eyes as violet as the night sky near dawn. She said ‘a pair of eyes which see only mine will serve you and your wishes till our fates once more intertwine.’ With that the fey disappeared, and left the man harrowing in despair, having his only other companion. Though now he had power, the power that his new eyes granted him. Though he had no realised it then.
He set off to the land and traveled from village to village, learning little by little the new magic’s he possessed.
They say he saw the visages of his people long dead, that he could talk to them, and even summon them for periods no shorter than a day. He basked in his new found powers, learned them as well as he could and as seasons passed he slowly forgot about the fey that started it all.
After his journey had come to an end, he found his old village once again. There he rummaged the ruins, and though most had turned to ashes one doll among it all had remained. He channeled his powers into the burnt doll, and with an eye for a companion made it into a women. This was his familiar.”
Transformed, that seemed to fit what I went through. More so the eyes. I remembered the ‘witch’ as Ersel dubbed her, that strange women. Eyes as violet as the night sky before dawn.
“The familiar told him that she watched him ever since the village had burned. That all her memories were that of the doll. The man and the familiar spoke at length about how the village used to be. They became close companions, friends, and eventually lovers. The man made his familiar his wife and freed her of the bonds of a familiar. The two lived in peace for several years within a cottage overlooking the village, until one day the fey returned.
As once she saw a man who loved her without sway, now she saw that same man with another. Outraged and heartbroken the fey devised a plot to make him suffer. One day, the once familiar left to get water at the lake. Only when she did, the fey grabbed her and pulled her into the waters. The man who had by chance gone to help his wife stumbled across her limp body floating in the water. He rushed and pulled her out, trying as hard as he could to save her life. Without no more options, he used all of his power to bring her back. It worked, yet in turn he stole her fate instead, drawing his last breath as she regained hers.
The fey shot out from the lake and wallowed as her actions had cost the life of her beloved. With distraught lips she cursed the day he ever wondered to her lake, and cursed the woman who had taken him away. She said, ‘What once was a gift to my one light, I spit upon thee as a curse and a blight. You will wonder the land with death in your eyes, and madness awake in all yours thoughts and cries. This I swear upon thee and any who seek to help thee try.’ With that, the woman’s eyes turned violet, and the lake became a pitch black.
The Fey, pleased by her own malice, disappeared, and the women, now alone and with sorrow, was forced to wander the land. Forever cursed until the day she died.”
I cocked my head, “So only violet-eyes can summon familiars?”
“What an odd thing to say.” Chuckled Sedrick. “But that is the only kind of person I know who would be able to do it. I hope that answers your question.”
“It does I suppose.” I lied. In actuality I had even more questions than before, but asking them would reveal what I was, and that was something I could not afford. “We should be going.” I said to Salis. For once, she nodded.
“Thank you, Sedrick.” Said Salis.
Sedrick nodded, “No thank you. Until we meet again.”
Salis and I made our way out of the tavern. Well I rushed her out. I could not take any more chances. After all Salis had a habit of getting lost.
At the exit I shielded my eyes against the burning sun. The day was almost at its end.
“Salis! Tree-walker! There you are.” I spun to find Yinji by my side. “I’ve been scouring the town looking for you.”
“Will you take her?” I asked.
“Of course, you two seem to be having too much fun.” He laughed.
Salis gawked at me from behind her blindfold, “Brambleburn, you’re a good escort. Thank you for what you said about me earlier.”
“Earlier?” I asked.
Shouts stopped Salis before she could respond. Familiar shouts. Ersel’s shouts. “Stop that thief!” she echoed. “Stop, damned Tulek!” Funny. I had gotten used to people yelling that at her. Of course without the Tulek part.
Just then, I caught a glimpse of a small fury creature as it rushed past me, as well as the gleam of a golden key. I knew that key.
Ersel reached me seconds later, “Bramble!” she cried between huffs, “Good, help me. That Tulek stole the key.”
I felt as if my momentary freedom had been robbed from underneath me, “But I just-”
“No objections! Just come!” she shot back. She made a similar expression to Yinji and Salis, and they nodded.
We ran to the town gates. Luckily there wasn’t much of a crowd, but even then the Tulek was too fast. By the time we had reached the gates, the creature had already disappeared into the jungle. Ersel, Yinii, Salis and I stared into the green abyss.
“I need that key.” Said Ersel. She spun to me, “And you’re going to help me get it back.”