“Give me that!” said Sagar, running over to Ryn and holding out his hand. Ryn handed over Sagar’s sword reluctantly.

The man in black lay on the grass gripping his shoulder which had become a mess of red. Elrann’s shot had only grazed it, but that had been enough to incapacitate him, for the moment at least.

The man in black opened his eyes and looked at Ryn. The boy expected resentment, or rage, but all he saw there was a look of resignation. The man’s eyes were grey, but there were many shades in them. There was darkness there, but, yes, also some light. And there was...there was fire in them too. Ryn was sure of it. In that moment he knew this man too had seen things that he had never wanted to see. They shared something in common.

Sagar stood over the man and raised his sword, point-down, ready to impale. “Filthy bounty-hunter scumsucker. I don’t normally go in for charity, but I’ll be doing the world a kindness by removing you from it.”.

“Wait!” Ryn cried.

Sagar froze, sword still poised, snapped his head round.

“What is it, pup?”

“Don’t kill him,” said Ryn, not entirely sure why. “He… he might be able to give us information. He might be able to tell us why there’s a bounty for finding us.”

“What’s come over you, pup?” said Sagar, brow twisting in confusion. “We know why we’re being hunted. We’re dangerous to the Empire. This piece of scum just tried to kill us, and he nearly did a good job of it too.”

“Boy’s got a point though, ya know,” said Elrann. “I didn’t shoot to kill him. Elsewise he’d be dead already. We could get some information outta the bountyhunterman.”

Sagar looked dumbstruck at her, but his expression said “You too?!”

“I’ve got some rope in my kit bag,” said Elrann. “I could tie him up.”

Sagar lowered his sword and rubbed his temples, shaking his head like he had just witnessed a conference of imbeciles.

The engineer ran to the man in black and set about tying his arms behind hism.

Sagar sighed and helped them tie him up.

“What are you doing?” the man in black said.

“Didn’t ya hear?” said Elrann. “It’s your lucky day, bountyhunterman. Farmboy here decided to show mercy on you.”

“Why? Why not just kill me and be done with me?”

“Guess ya really weren’t listening. You’re gonna fill us in on what the hell the Morekemians are up to. Now stop wriggling!” Elrann punched the man in black in the face. He complied more easily after that.

The threat to their lives taken care of, Ryn suddenly had the sense that there was something important from which he had temporarily been distracted...

“Nuthea!” he shouted and rushed back to the princess’s side.

He knelt next to her on the grass and put his ear to her mouth. A little rush of air, and his ear got slightly colder.

“She’s still breathing! Thank the One, she’s still breathing! She’s bleeding heavily, but she’s still breathing!”

Sagar came over. “Bandage her up and get pressure on the cut!” he barked. “Haven’t you ever had to treat a battle wound before?”

“No!”

“Right. Course you haven’t. Bloody farmboy.”

Following Sagar’s instructions with trembling hands, Ryn helped the pirate tear a strip from the hem of Nuthea’s dress, wrap it around her abdomen and pull it into a tight knot. The strip had been clean, save for some mud and dirt from their escape from Ast, but it quickly turned red.

“She needs help!” said Ryn desperately. “She needs to see a healer!”

“You think I don’t see that, pup?” Sagar sounded almost as distressed as Ryn felt. “Rrr. You’re right, godsdammit. We’ve got to get her help, and soon.”

The pirate strode back over to the man in black, who now lay on the grass with his hands tied behind his back and his eyes closed. Elrann had done a good job of securing him.

“You!” Sagar shouted down at him. “Scumsucking bounty hunter! Where can we find the nearest healer? Where’s the nearest settlement? Tell me!”

Sagar kicked the man hard in the ribs, eliciting a deep grunt.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

The man opened his eyes and glared up at the pirate. He looked to be scowling, though Ryn couldn’t completely tell under the face covering.

“Why should I tell you, Imfisi freeloader?”

Sagar kicked him again, even harder, and the man went over on his side.

“Tell me! Tell me or I’ll kick your stomach out your backside!”

The pirate reached down and flipped the man onto his back again, then pulled the man’s head scarf off, revealing the rest of his face. His skin was dark, but around his mouth it had been stained properly black. Jet black. In blotches. Like he had been eating lots of some soft, black fruit.

“Tell me or I kill you!” yelled Sagar. “And I won’t let my clients talk me out of it this time!”

The man hocked up, then spat in Sagar’s face. Ryn remembered Nuthea doing the same thing to Sagar not so long ago on his ship. I’ve got to save her. Mum. Dad. Cleasor. Nuthea.

Sagar wiped the saliva from his cheeks, which had turned the colour of beetroot. For once he didn’t growl or curse.

“Ah, so I see you’re a poppy addict,” Sagar said slowly, sadistically. “I know the way to your heart.” He grinned, making him look like a wolf. “Tell us where the nearest healer is to be found, you scumsucking sack of poodoo, and I’ll buy you some poppy.”

The man said nothing at first, his stained mouth a tight line, but then the line wobbled, then it split. “W...will you?” he said like a pleading child.

“It’s the best chance of a hit you’ve got right now,” said Sagar. Ryn didn’t know what they were talking about but he intuited it had something to do with the black colouring around the man’s mouth.

“N-Nont,” said the man, lips trembling. “Nont. That’s the nearest town. You’ll want to go to Nont to find a healer. Now, about this poppy-seed…”

“Nont.” Sagar licked his lips. “Yeah; I’ve heard of it. Alright, you’ll take us to Nont.”

“About this poppy seed…” said the man. “How much will you give me? How much will you be able to buy?”

“Oh, about a pound,” said Sagar, and the man shivered where he lay with what seemed to be anticipation. “Now tell me quickly, scumsucker: how do we get to Nont? Which way? Tell me!”

“You were heading that direction anyway,” said the man. “It’s an hour or so’s walk South-East through the forest and then over the Pescari fields. I can show you the way if you want. You can buy me the poppy there.”

“And they have a healer?”

“Yes; I believe so. —You will be able to buy poppy from the healer.”

“Pup, help me with the princess!” Sagar said. “Woman, get the scumsucker here up and walk behind him to make sure he doesn’t run off.”

“Hey I don’t take orders from anyone,” said Elrann, “especially if they keep calling me ‘woman’.” But she moved to do what Sagar said all the same, grabbing the man’s arm and hoisting him to his feet. “You’re so insecure you’ve gotta have a nickname for everyone, don’t ya? Well, I’ve got my own nickname for you, pirate-man…”

Sagar either didn’t hear or, more likely, ignored her. Ryn and he picked Nuthea up, Ryn holding her around the ankles, one in each hand, and Sagar with one hand hooked under each of her arms. She was surprisingly heavy. Maybe it was the gold she wore. Maybe she carried more gold about her person. They began to walk like that, with Elrann walking a little way behind with her pistol held to the back of the man in black, who told them which way to go.

Their progress was painfully slow. Ryn looked down at Nuthea and his throat tightened. Her skin had turned white as milk. The makeshift bandage they had made for her stomach was soaked through now, and blood had begun to drip onto the grass.

“Is there any way we can do this any faster?” Ryn said.

“You’ll never get her there in time like this,” the man in black offered unexpectedly. “I gave her a good deep cut—not deep enough to kill her right away, but she’ll bleed out in an hour or two. My blade is also coated in ajanga—poison so you really need to get her to a healer as soon as you can, and you better hope they’re a good one. If you want to get to Nont to buy me my poppy-seed faster, you’d be better off taking my cochobo.”

“WHAT?!” Sagar shouted, and almost dropped Nuthea. He lowered her to the ground with Ryn, then strode over to the man and smacked him round the head.

“Ouch! That was for what?”

“You had a cochobo this whole time and you didn’t tell us?! Where is it?!”

The man nodded in a completely different direction to the one they were walking in. “Tied up a few hundred paces that way. I rode her till I found your trail, then dismounted and snuck up on you.”

Sagar roared with irritation, then ran off in the direction the man had indicated.

Poison? thought Ryn, looking at Nuthea’s pale face again. Hold on, Nuthea! Please don’t die!

Sagar returned a few moments later seated —atop a yellow cochobo.

“Help me get her on it, pup,” Sagar said as he jumped down. Together they lifted Nuthea’s unconscious body as carefully as they could and laid her across the back of the cochobo, which cawed and lowered its head obligingly.

Once Nuthea was on Sagar swung himself back up and mounted the animal, sitting behind her and clasping the reins that ran to the cochobo’s beak.

“Which way to Nont, scumsucker?” Sagar demanded. “Tell me now and I’ll get you your poppy-seed quicker.”

At the mention of poppy-seed the bounty hunter’s hand shot out and pointed in a particular direction through the trees.

“That way. A short ride. Come back quickly.”

Sagar wheeled the cochobo round to address Ryn and Elrann. “Make your way to Nont by foot. Bring the scumsucker if you really must. If he tries anything, kill him. I’ll get the princess to a healer and meet up with you there. Got it?”

Ryn looked up at the skypirate. He cut quite a figure atop his golden mount, proud and erect, piratical ponytail swishing behind him, exposed eye shining, and with Nuthea draped in front of him like some distressed damsel he was heroically rescuing.

There was just one thing wrong with this picture.

“Hang on,” Ryn said, “this ‘bounty hunter’ was clearly after you and Nuthea, but he didn’t know who I was. If people are hunting for you in Nont, it’s clearly safer if I take Nuthea to the healer.” He was surprised at his own boldness. But Nuthea’s plight demanded it of him.

“Be quiet, pup,” Sagar said like Ryn was an irritating pet. “I’ll steal in quickly and go straight to the healer’s house. Nobody else will even know I’m there. See you in Nont.”

He turned the cochobo to leave, but Ryn wasn’t convinced. Without considering it any further, he rushed forwards, grabbed Sagar’s boot, and yanked him as hard as he could off the cochobo.

“Hey!” Sagar was taken completely unawares and slid from his seat in a single movement, crashing to the ground on his backside.

He shouted other things, vile and obscene things, but Ryn was barely listening. Instead, he was pulling himself up next to Nuthea on the cochobo.

And then he was riding as fast as he could in the direction that the bounty hunter had pointed, towards Nont, to try to find her a healer and save her life.