Chapter 8 - A City of Coquina

The battle between the former pirates and Arnest’s soldiers resulted in not too many casualties. Ten of the elf soldiers were heavily wounded while sixteen of Clyde’s men were killed. The heavy armor was able to protect the soldiers’ vitals while while the thin cloth that the pirates wore was easily cut through.

Before Arnest allowed Clyde to go back to his boat he decided to place Rufus, an unlikely candidate, as an observer. His job this time was to keep Clyde and his men in line with Arnest’s orders and to make sure they didn’t go back to pirating.

Arnest made this decision partly because he felt Rufus would be loyal the true. Despite Rufus’s identity as an idiot, this was mainly due to him being honest to a fault. Whatever he thought, whether it was appropriate or not, he would blurt out whenever he first got the chance. The other reason is that if Clyde decided to betray Arnest, he wouldn’t lose a lot of his fighting force. Rufus proved he wasn’t adept at fighting when he was seen during the last fight, running below deck to hide.

All together Arnest’s fighting force had swelled from a hundred fifty men to two hundred overnight. Twenty of the new crew were the strange sickle-sword wielding warriors. He didn’t expect to double his men and number of ships when he was first given the elf soldiers from Princess Mirima but he would have to keep at this rapid pace if he wanted to conquer Lanex. However conquering Lanex was still a distant thought for Arnest.

Three days and three nights had briskly passed since then. White clouds snaked through the sky like albino cobras, constricting around each other. Sometimes fish would shoot out of the water and briefly fly for a moment, before dipping back into the ocean. The atmosphere on the ship was quite good and everyone was excited to arrive at the great city, Zanabo.

On the fourth morning, when the suns rose from a dark orange to a bright yellow, a giant achromatic white curved barrier was seen in the distance. A khopesh man yelled out, “It’s Zanabo!”

Arnest who was in his cabin was eventually informed by a soldier. When he walked out and saw the majestic walls he had a puzzled look. “What are those walls made of?”

“The legends say they’re made out of giant tortoise shells.” answered Rogar.

After the fight the other day, Rogar had come onto the ship to thank Arnest for protecting his tribe from the pirates. After a light dinner Arnest offered to let him sleep in a spare cot, giving Rogar a good night’s rest. Rogar never wanted to leave the ship after that peaceful night.

“Zanabo was said to be founded thanks to the hero, Kamu, who went around to different islands slaying their monsters. The giant tortoises were one of these monsters called ‘Zanas’, which means “fake island” in the native tongue. It’s said that for hundreds of years they would sleep and only the top of their shell would be exposed. Then the land would grow on their shells and people may end up settling on them, thinking it was a normal island. But once the Zanas wake up, they would dive deep into the ocean, drowning everyone living with them.”

“So the city is named after a monster. But why are they white?”

“They're said to be a deep forest green but after years of sun they became bleached white.” Rogar said as the small fleet continued to row onwards towards the city of coquina.

They passed through hollowed out shell that arched over the entrance. A shadow was cast, but only briefly, as a wondrous and bright view came into frame. There were pearly buildings that formed another stunning facade. There were hundreds of ships docked in the bay and a bustling main road directly in the center of the city. Even from afar a person could see the lines of push carts, colorful stalls and a flood of people.

Arnest had his men dock on the east end of the pier and he jumped off the ship, making a loud thud that shook the dock. His men didn’t seem to notice as Arnest sprinted into a narrow street. He slid his hand against the hard limestone walls of the houses as he passed by. There were speckles of sea shells and each wall looked like a single rock without any seams.

He meandered through the maze and found the main street fairly quickly. The stall immediately in front of him was selling slices of a full hog, being roasted on a large skewer. His mouth watered when he could smell the crisped skin. Unconsciously he started to near the pig stall and the vendor took notice.

“Young man, would you like some of Zanabo’s finest hog?” he said with an accommodating smile.

“Yes, I would love some.” Arnest said and reached to grab some of the meat.

The vendor slapped his hand and his face immediately soured. “You have to pay first.”

“Pay?”

“Yes, pay. With money.”

“I don’t have any money.” Arnest looked down dejected.

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“Then go away! You’re bothering my customers!” he  shouted and shooed him away with some hand motions.

“But there isn’t anyone else here-”

“LEAVE!” The vendor left the stall and started pushing Arnest away.

Arnest tried to fight back but a fully grown man would naturally have more strength than a pre-pubescent child. For each inch Arnest pushed back, he was pushed away another. In the struggle, Arnest tripped and fell into the canal that ran through the middle of the main street. He fell straight down to the bottom but soon pushed upwards with his legs. But when he reached the surface, a small canal boat rammed into his head, rendering him unconcious.

… … … …

… … … …

“Cough! Cough!”

Arnest spewed out water out of his lungs, while violently coughing. Once he regained some normalcy he looked around. There was a sea of people walking on the street around him and vendors yelling compliments about their own wares. To his left side was a young boy crouching above him, curiously staring.

He wore mismatched patchwork clothes that made him look similar to one of the reformed pirates. His hair was unkempt and grimey but his smile was brimming with white.

“Are ya okay, mister? Why were you swimmin’ in the canal?” the boy asked.

“I wasn't swimming. I was pushed in.” Arnest said while getting off the ground.

“Oh. Well maybe they didn't see ya cause you're so short!” The boy measured his hand up to Arnest’s head.

“Are you one to talk, shorty?” Arnest also raised his hand to measure the boy’s height.

“My sister said I'll grow taller when I'm older. You're already too old to grow!”

“I'm only twelve!” Arnest was feeling a bit frustrated.

“Well that doesn’t matter.” the boy started to dust off his pants while standing up. “My boss says to get people to come see the show.” He grabbed Arnest’s hand and started to drag him towards a large beige tent that was set up in the town square.

A jovial tune and cheers could be heard that eminated from the tent. It got louder as the boys approached the entrance. With his free hand, the boy parted the cloth flap to the side and entered with Arnest.

Inside the tent, the origin of the noise became immediately obvious. There was a huge crowd that was chanting, clapping and celebrating while the performance went on. The musicians sat near the entrance to the left, the crowd had their fun to the right while the rest of the space was for the main show. All sorts of contraptions made of rope and wood were set up and acrobats performed on them. Even though the musicians were mostly adults, the acrobats were solely composed of little children. The young boys and girls were no older than the boy who led Arnest to the show.

The boy led Arnest to an unoccupied seat and sat him down. “Enjoy the show, mister.” he whispered into his ear and then disappeared into the crowd.

Little children dressed in the same patched clothes spun in intricate twirls and contorted in unthinkable positions. It was quite clear that they had been trained since they were born. Otherwise they couldn't be this skilled in these inhuman techniques at such a young age.

A round man wearing a red suit and top hat weaved his way past the jumping acrobats towards the center. “Ladies and gentlemen! Thanks for watching the show!” The plump tomato made a deep bow and deftly twirled his hat like he's done it a thousand times.

“For the end of our show, we’ve saved the best for last.”

He dramatically raised his hands towards the sky and shouted “I now, proudly present the king of the rope, Shorty!”

“Shorty!”

The crowd all cheered for the next performer. Arnest looked and saw a small figure climbing up a pole towards a tightrope. He was curious to see how the acrobat would safely make it across but he noticed that the figure had similar features to the boy who led him here. And the closer he looked, he realized it was really that little boy!

“His name is Shorty? How fitting." Arnest thought to himself.

Shorty swiftly reached the top at the tightrope and started to ready himself. He took a deep breath and took one step forward. The crowd all held their breath. He slowly took another step. Some in the crowd wondered when he would fall and others wished for it. But Shorty steadily walked across the rope.

When he reached the midway point he wobbled a bit but regained balance soon after. Walking for a bit more, he suddenly stopped.

He jumped upwards off the rope! Everyone gasped in fright and elation. At the last moment he grabbed the rope and swung himself back on the tightrope. Shorty continued to stand as if nothing had happened. And he then walked to the end of the rope and climbed down the pole.

Applause and cheers for the king of the rope blasted throughout the tent.

“Shorty!”

“The king of the rope!”

Arnest looked at the unassuming boy and just clapped along with the crowd. A sudden brilliant idea came to him, making Arnest smile uncontrollably.