Unsure what to do next, Koronos goes back to the tavern to think while staring at the flames and embers in the fire pit. After some time of being lost in thought, he hears a commotion outside, so he goes out to investigate and sees Hidgken standing on a half-barrel, shouting to the men that have gathered around.
“... And furthermore, this menace of the ape-tribe must be stopped! They stole away one of ours, they stole our dear Nombi!” Hidgken shouts to the mob of men and women, they shout after him, in agreement. He continues, “this one is a great warrior, he killed the God Emperor Octavius, so he can surely kill one little witch, then we should finish the job, kill all of those vicious savages!” The crowd cheers with bloodlust in their hearts.
Having heard enough of this nonsense, Koronos walks over there slowly, looks at Hidgken, slowly reaches out with his hand as the angry mob falls silent, holding it there in the air in front of Hidgken. The town leader looks curiously at the Kazarian’s hand, recoiling slightly, and then the big blue hand easily pushes Hidgken off the barrel, making him fall on his behind, and the mob gasps.
Koronos speaks to give the merchant and the crowd an admonition, “close your teeth, lying, lecherous dog.” He turns to face the mob and continues. “The Meibon are a peaceful tribe, Nombi wasn’t taken by them, she ran away from this fool!” He gestures to Hidgken for the last part and continues, “there is no witch, there hasn’t been any witches on Terra Primius for thousands of years, this is known! Heed my words and heed them well, you will leave the Meibon be and leave Nombi in peace or you will regret it, this I promise to you all! I will say no more.” Then he starts to walk to the dory where he left it tied on the docks with Shelove joining him at his side, like she is wont to do.
Shouting behind him, Hidgken yells to the Kazarian’s back, “I hope you can row that dory to Titans, because I’ll not grant you passage on my ship, not for all the gold in Octavia, not now, not ever! Do you hear me, you blue savage?!”
Ignoring the merchant, Koronos continues walking until he reaches where the dory is tied off and hears a voice behind him, it says, “excuse me, sir, is it true, you saw my Nombi?”
Koronos turns his body and head to look back to see a dark-skinned, middle aged bald man of average build with a blond beard worn in long mini braids.
The man continues, “I-I’m Syloth, I’m Nombi’s father, is she okay, is she happy? I see y-you have her blanket, her mother, my dearly departed wife made that for her, before she passed away,” he gestures to the woolen blanket that is now used as a cloak resting upon the Kazarian’s broad shoulders.
“I am Koronos, and yes, she is well, and she is happy living with the Meibon. I have spoken with her. She gave me this blanket and provisions for my journey, she showed kindness without asking for anything in return, she is a good woman.”
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The man asks, “Are you going back there? If you do, will you tell her I am sorry for making the arranged marriage? I thought Hidgken could give her a better life than I had. Also, I don’t mind you using my dory, so you can tell her this.” Syloth gestures to the boat that Koronos was using.
Koronos replies, “I am no thief, I’m merely borrowing it for now. Your leader here is a foolish man and will likely make war with the Meibon, therefore it will be a war with me as well. But I will tell her of your regrets.”
Out in the middle of the ever-foggy bay, as he rows the boat to the shoreline, he says to Shelove, “we may be here for some time, and I’d rather be with the Meibon for the winter than in that town with that idiotic merchant.”
She conveys through the Bond, “yes, Meibon is better than humans, humans are ignorant and their village smells like dead, rotten fish.”
Koronos laughs for the first time in many days, “I don’t need your acute cat nose to notice that as well. I find that most human settlements stink of one kind of foulness or another.”
Once he reaches the black sand of the shoreline, he easily hulls the heavy wooden boat up onto the shore to keep it from being washed out to sea and ties it off around a large rock to secure it in place. That’s when Shelove senses it, she conveys danger is near through the Bond.
“Okay, I’ve had about enough of that beast, I’m going to try to reach it, even though it’s stubborn,” Koronos tells her quietly, trying not to alarm it. Using his hand to help guide and focus his powers, he reaches out with his mind, seeking the bird-beast forest lord. Without trying to alarm it, he conveys, “calm, we merely wish to pass through these lands, to the mountains of the bears’ domain.” Then he sees it, a shadow in the mist at the tree line about two hundred paces, it’s watching but not advancing.
Through the Bond, it conveys, “you seem to be okay, but I do not like your furry friend. Go, be gone then.” Then it silently fades back into the mist of the dark, looming, giant trees of the ancient forest.
Koronos thinks he figured out why the giant bird-beast doesn’t cross the sea ice to Little Rock Island when it freezes; perhaps it is too heavy for the ice? Furthermore, even if it can swim, falling through the unstable ice and being trapped underneath it would be a death-sentence. Even if it did make it across the ice, the island has jagged cliffs of some kind or another all the way around it, the narrow steps carved into the rock can barely accommodate Shelove, let alone something as big as the Lord of the Forest.
The Kazarian and his animal companion make their way back to the Meibon, retracing the path they took not even a day ago. They push hard and reach the village before midnight. Then he reaches out with the Bond to Soulseeker, to let him know he has arrived, without alarming the entire village. The village tribal chief is pulled from his slumber and answers by opening the front gate quietly, trying not to disturb the sleeping.
Soulseeker conveys through the Bond, “welcome back blue traveler, in truth, I am glad of your return because I have many questions… But I trust your plans to venture afar didn’t happen as you had wished?”
Through the connection they share, Koronos replies, “Trouble comes this way, we must make ready. They are coming for Nombi but even if she were to leave, it wouldn’t matter, the leader of Little Rock Island wants your people eradicated. I believe they will come soon, with fire, arrows and malice.”