Yobra envied the creatures of the Rankf Sea. Wind fluttered his brown robes as he stood upon the deck of the Kiss of solitude and the unmistakable smell of salt stung his nostrils as he peered into the depths of the endless blue sea. If he were the least of the fish that swam the waters he would have been content with the grand scheme of things. If all he had to do was crest the endless waves and dive the depths in search of food or a mate he would have been happy. Happy. Yobra's face twisted in disdain at the word. He had lived for forty three years among the Remu. He had two wives and six children and throughout the entire period of his existence he'd never come to consider himself as happy. Neither his wives nor his children stirred the feeling of joy within him. Same could be said about his position within the Remu court.
How could he be happy? The Remu worked twice as hard for half the gain in order to meet the their yearly quota to the mighty Binoria. Sure, Remu was known throughout the realm when it came to matters of commerce due to their hold on the production of Rankf Leviathan oil but what good was the prestige of such if half of all their proceeds were allocated to another Kingdom? Yobra fought the urge to scream into the expanse of endless sea. It would not be befitting of a council member to vent his frustration at the sheer unfairness of life before his fellow Remu on deck. Gods he wished he was a fish.
Yobra placed his hand on the ship's bowsprit and leaned forward while surveying the waters. He fought down the urge to dive in as he used to do in his youth. Yobra admitted to himself that he missed the weight of the water above him as he dared to venture deep into the endless blue towards the dark depths if only to escape everything that he knew. At his age escape was nothing but a mere fantasy, no matter how hard he tried he could not shake off the miserable feeling of being part and parcel of a weak Kingdom. The Remu carried themselves with the same pride they once held when they'd had a king. It was foolish for the reality of things always shone whenever the Remu pressed their backs to buildings so as to give Binorians as much space as possible to trod upon their Kingdom's paths.
"I'm wearing armor, if you fall off the boat I'll have to strip in order to dive in to get you and I really don't feel like going through that provided I'm naked underneath." Terrac said. Yobra didn't have to turn around to see who'd spoken. He knew the man in the same way his ancestors had known how to navigate the sea by use of stars. Yobra took a step away from the bowsprit and sighed. If it was up to him he'd be cuddling with his second wife other than standing on a boat under the scorching noon sun. There was work to do though, the same work he loathed, work brought about by his kingdom's subservience to Binoria and he was not one to shy away from duty.
"Have they talked?" Yobra asked while staring out at the sea, not meeting the Knight's eyes.
"Two of them are as stubborn as Rankf sea weeds but the skinny bald one will break if separated from his companions' resilience." Terrac said. His deep voice sounded bored but then again the man never knew cheer. "Captain said we've neared the Leviathan belt." The Knight added.
Yobra nodded and turned around. He walked past Terrac who stood head and shoulders above him. The Knight's copper hued face was a crisscross of scars and if it wasn't for his sandy hair falling over his forehead Yobra was sure more scars would have been availed. Yobra made his way to the middle of the deck where three bloody men knelt with four large boxes behind them. Terrac's bronze armor clanked upon the wooden deck as he followed close behind the council man.
"We are Remu." Yobra said while standing before the three kneeling men. They all had blood dripping down their mangled faces courtesy of Terrac but beneath the blood their skins were similar to Yobra's. So was their hair if Yobra hadn't dyed the tips of his black. "As my fellow Remu I am obligated to give you a second chance. Talk and your lives will be yours once more."
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Two of the men avoided his gaze, choosing instead to stare at the floor boards while one bald man's eyes darted in all directions as if looking for a way out of his current predicament. There was no way out, the Remu coast was miles away.
"Why and how were you in possession of the boxes?" Yobra asked but his questions were met with silence. Yobra flicked a finger at Terrac then pointed at the man with the longest mane of hair. Terrac didn't need a sword, he walked over to the man and placed his hands on his head and chin, with a twist the man's neck audibly broke and his corpse fell on deck, his sightless eyes on his comrades. The bald man whimpered and attempted to crawl away but his bounds didn't let him. Yobra repeated his question with his eyes meeting the bald Remu man. Silence met him once more, he flicked a finger at Terrac and pointed at the bald man.
"Please, please don't kill me. I have children." The bald man begged as Terrac made his way to him.
"Talk and your children will still have a father when the sun sets." Yobra said. "I will let you go."
The bald man spared a glance at his kneeling companion who returned his gaze menacingly. "We were paid five vigons for each box to transport and dump them into the Rankf sea from Binoria ." "Coward! You bastard I'll kill you!" The bald man's companion said.
"Who paid you?" Yobra asked.
"A servant.. He.. He wore grey silk so he must have been a palace servant." The bald man replied while trying to turn in order to see Terrac who stood behind him.
"Was this a ploy by Binoria to bring about war to Remu?" Yobra asked as the bald man's companion strained against the chains holding him to the deck of the ship in an effort to get at the bald man.
"I don't know. We were just paid to deposit the boxes into the Rankf Sea." The bald man replied.
"How many times have you done this?" Yobra asked.
"More than two hundred times." The bald man said while lowering his head in shame. Yobra nodded again and walked over to the large wooden boxes. They were air tight and made of dark hardwood with the symbol of a Leviathan etched on each of their faces. With effort he tore off a box's lid and peered inside. He'd seen the box's contents before but the sight of the severed limbs and heads of children still made him want to hurl. They were children, dead children at that. It didn't matter if their pale white skin and blond heads marked them as the offspring of the Kingdom he hated the most, they were still just children. The Binorians were clearly monsters if they would do this to their own. And the fact that they attempted to implicate Remu in their animosity by depositing the corpses of their offspring at their shore enraged him.
Yobra spoke without turning to Terrac, his eyes on the severed bodies crammed into the box. "Throw them into the sea and pour the contents of the boxes after them." "That will call the Leviathans." Terrac replied.
"I know." Yobra said.
"Please, please! I have children!" The bald man begged, forcing Yobra to turn to him. "I talked, you said you'll let me go if I talked."
"I am letting you go." Yobra said.
The Kiss of solitude made its way to the Remu shore. The crew had emerged from the hall to work the masts and the captain from his cabin to steer the ship. Yobra smiled at the Remu See nothing, witness nothing mantra that had gone into effect immediately the three men had started to be tortured by Terrac. He was certain that word of what had happened would not leave the ship but he'd still have to pay a little extra vigons to ensure it remained so. Behind the boat the two men screamed in the sea while surrounded by blood and severed bodies they'd been paid to discard and had in the end earned their pay. A large dark green dorsal fin the size of two ships emerged from the distance while heading to where the two men splashed in their efforts to stay afloat amidst the waves. Yobra was disappointed that the blood had called forth a Leviathan calf but the creature would still serve its purpose. He just hoped it won't turn its attention on their fleeing ship, he did not plan on being swallowed whole today. Damn, he still wished he was a fish.