Spring ended almost as quickly as it had begun and thus began summer. The sun shone brighter and the weather was warmer. Like the seasons, Arindall was evolving. Maloi had done well on his promise to get volunteers to come live in the village and had exceeded expectations. He had brought over one thousand people.
After Maloi’s return, Archard, Michelle, and Davis forced Eben to pay the necessary gold to fund the defense of Arindall. During Maloi’s absence, rumors of what was happening around the continent had grown worse. Invaders had attacked Eshil Domain. No, Eshil Domain was invading Malvarian. Azzellia was under attack but Lerin was keeping word of the attacks quiet.
A couple of rumors were proven to be right. Eshil Domain’s rebels were growing in strength, causing many problems for its citizens. Skahad’s rebel bands had also grown, and proven far more tenacious than expected. Reluctantly, Eben gave more gold to Maloi so that he could bring in an additional two thousand people. A lot of the volunteers thought Arindall would be safe from whatever was coming and viewed the payments they received as easy money.
Arturo hoped Arindall could avoid what was coming. He wanted to fight but he didn’t want his family to be in danger. He was helping his father train recruits. The newest were far from skilled; most had never held a sword before today. Archard was yelling at a group who had disobeyed his instructions and was having them do additional training exercises.
Jen was observing the scene with interest from behind a large woodpile. She thought she was hidden, but Arturo had caught her looking. She ducked behind cover once she saw him. Hiding a smile, he watched a pair of trainees practice striking a dummy. One of them was a young man, not much older than Arturo. He carried the sword clumsily and swung without much force.
Wishing he could go train by himself, Arturo helped correct the recruit’s stance. He showed the trainees a proper stance and the recruits started to improve. They had a long way to go before any of them became worthy fighters. Sometimes Arturo wasn’t sure it would be possible.
Finally, the training session ended. “That’s enough for now. You will return tomorrow at the crack of dawn, understood?” Arturo hollered as the recruits put away their swords.
All of them said yes in unison and scurried away before Arturo or anyone else could order them to do something else.
Once they were gone, Arturo headed toward Jen’s hiding place.
“What are you doing back here, little sister?” Arturo teased.
“I knew you saw me,” Jen said defiantly with her arms crossed. “I wanted to watch the training. Mother was very surprised with how fast I finished my chores today.”
“She doesn’t know you’re here, does she?”
Jen looked at the ground and nodded. “You know how she is. She would forbid me to go. I’m supposed to be a good girl,” she said, looking disgusted. “But Mother won’t be able to stop me from leaving once I become of age.”
Technically that was true. Nobody could stop Jen from leaving once she hit sixteen years old. But without training, Jen wouldn’t last long on her own. Not unless she went with someone else.
“You thinking of going with Jahad when he leaves next year?” Arturo almost laughed at her gaping mouth. Jen thought she was sneaky, but he knew her and how she felt about Jahad.
“It isn’t proper to discuss this with you,” Jen said. “Anyway, I best be going before Mother realizes I’m here.”
Laughing to himself, Arturo watched Jen hurry off without looking back. He shook his head and walked toward the beach. He couldn’t help admiring how Arindall had changed in response to the threat. A palisade wall was being built around the entire village along with outposts on the edges. There were a lot more guards patrolling the streets. He used to know all the guards. Now he barely recognized most of them.
On his way toward the water, Arturo saw Dorvan, walking the streets in his armor. Dorvan had been one of the first to volunteer as a guard. He was decent with a spear, but not so much with a sword. Walking alongside him was a taller guard Arturo didn’t know.
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It was crazy to think that there might be a couple more thousand people coming. Maloi had left a few days ago for another recruitment trip to Carhan. It would be a month before he returned. Arturo hoped all the training would pay off if an attack came.
Arturo found himself on the beach, staring at the ocean. The water was drifting in and out of the shore. Waves splashed a giant rock in the water. What caught his eye, though, was a boat with a man and woman standing by it.
He didn’t recognize them. They were a middle-aged couple; the woman had blonde hair.
The man noticed him first. “Hello there. Hope we aren’t causing any trouble,” he said.
“Not at all,” Arturo said, glancing at the boat. It was a decent-sized craft that could easily fit four people. He saw food, water, and blankets in the boat, and a cover to protect them from rain. “You going out onto the water?”
“Sure am,” the man said proudly. “My wife and I are going to see what’s across the ocean.”
Arturo bit his tongue to stop himself from saying they would be going to their deaths.
The man noticed his silence. “You think we’re going to die, don’t you?”
“Well… nobody has ever come back from the Unknown Waters,” Arturo said.
The woman smacked her husband lightly on the back. “You’re being rude. Give him your name before you go blabbing about sailing!”
“Oh, yeah. My name’s Parad and this is my wife, Joslyn,” the man said, reaching out to shake Arturo’s hand.
Arturo introduced himself in return. “Is there any reason you’re going to try sailing across the Unknown Waters?”
“There is one,” Joslyn said before her husband could reply. “With all the uncertainty going on, we decided why not be the first to sail the Unknown Waters?”
Arturo didn’t think that made much sense, but he didn’t want to offend the couple. “If you don’t mind me asking,” he began, choosing his words carefully, “What makes you think you’ll do any better than the others who’ve tried?”
Parad gave him a sly smile and stretched out his right hand. “Because of this,” he said. A whirlwind of rocks floated up from the ground and circled around his hand.
Arturo gasped. Parad was using the power! He regained his composure quickly and was surprised to realize he felt uneasy. This was the first time he’d ever seen someone use the power. He wished he was wearing the Verian armor right now. If Parad decided to use the power against him, he would be as helpless as a babe.
There was a loud smack and Parad began rubbing his right cheek. “What do you think you’re doing!” Joslyn yelled and looked as though she wanted to slap him again. “You shouldn’t be showing anybody that you can use the power!”
“There’s nothing this boy can do about it now,” Parad replied and lowered his hand. “Besides, we’re about to leave, and there ain’t a single mage around these parts.”
“I wouldn’t tell anyone anyway,” Arturo added.
Despite Parad’s words, Joslyn looked relieved and said thank you so quietly that he wasn’t sure he was supposed to hear.
“How long have you been able to use the power?” he asked.
Parad looked at the sky thoughtfully. “I discovered it when I was sixteen. I didn’t start practicing until ten years ago. With how dangerous the Unknown Waters are, I’ve been training extra hard. I feel confident that I can deal with any threat out there.”
He has a point, Arturo thought. He wasn’t aware of anyone trying to sail the Unknown Waters with the power. None of the mages from Mortham Tower had attempted to—not to his knowledge, at least. Would the power be enough to keep Parad and Joslyn safe? Nobody knew what happened to the adventurers who tried crossing the water.
“I’ve been dreaming of this day since I was a child. The power scared me at first, but now I realize Tarmella gave me this gift to do what no one has done before,” Parad continued, then released the power. The floating rocks fell to the ground.
“You’re not the only one,” Joslyn said, grabbing Parad’s hand. “I’ve always wanted to go on an adventure and this is my chance. We are going to be the first people to cross the waters and mark our names in history.”
The couple didn’t look scared. Arturo could see their determination and realized it was no different than his dream to travel the world and make a name for himself.
“I still think it’s suicide,” he started to say, and almost laughed at the scowl Joslyn gave him. “Yet it’ll be a grand adventure. I hope you make it back. If you do, would you come find me if I’m here? I would love to hear your story.”
“Sure, kid,” Parad said. “Well, it’s time for us to go. If you don’t see us again, know that we did this with no regrets.”
At least for now, Arturo smiled. “Good luck. I hope to speak with you again,” he said.
If the couple did die, he would never know. He was leaving Arindall next year and who knew how long Parad and Joslyn would be out in the ocean.
Joslyn jumped into the boat first. Parad began pushing the craft into the water and hopped in. Parad raised both his hands and pointed them at the beach. It took a second for Arturo to realize what he was doing. Power blasted out of Parad’s hands, sending the boat flying across the waters at a speed nobody could match without using the power themselves.
After several minutes, the boat was out of sight.
Arturo remained at the beach for some time, staring at the area he last saw the boat. Did he witness the first people cross the Unknown Waters? It would be crazy for someone to cross the waters in his lifetime. He hoped so. The story Parad and Joslyn could tell would be legendary. Night started to fall before he took his leave. The water splashed loudly behind him as he vanished into the darkness.