The breezy air was heavy with the funk of salt and sun baked bird shit. Overhead, the harsh cries of seagulls and cormorants intermixed with the roar of the waves crashing along the rock jetty sheltering the bay from the might of the open ocean. Daana noticed none of this over the frantic beating of her own heart as she twisted and pulled, attempting to break free of Ashwyn’s vise-like grip.
“Unhand me!”
“Oh sweet goddess, child. You are one for the dramatics today. What has gotten into you?” Ashwyn grumbled as she tugged Daana along behind her. Their progress would have been swifter had Daana not planted both feet firmly against the worn wood deck and was actively pushing in the opposite direction. It wasn’t working as effectively as she intended, but at the very least, it was slowing them down.
“I’m not a child!” Despite her best efforts, the worn tread of her boots was no match for the orc’s raw strength. Daana’s feet slid out from under her and she landed hard on her ass. To her dismay, the undignified pulling did not stop and she was dragged with the seat of her pants catching every snag and splinter along the way.
“And it’s sense, by the way,” Daana added. “Sense has gotten into me and I don’t want to do this anymore!”
Her rescue came from the most unlikely of sources. Ellisar stepped forward, blocking Ashwyn’s path. Her arms were locked tight across her posh green and silver embroidered frock coat. “Hold up. It’s Daana’s call, isn’t it? If she wants off the boat, let her.”
“Yes, thank you, Ellisar! Let’s do that!” Daana had never imagined these particular words to spill forth from her mouth, but here she was. Intentional ploy to derail the trip aside, it was nice that she and Ellisar were finally seeing eye-to-eye on something. Who knows, perhaps Daana would buy the elf a drink afterwards. Together, blessedly intoxicated and with their feet planted firmly on sweet, sweet dry land, they could commiserate over whoever’s stupid idea it was to go by boat.
Unfortunately, the person responsible for said idea was not so easily swayed. “Normally, I would agree,” Ashwyn said, grunting as she lifted Daana by the arm and set her back onto her feet. “But she’s clearly not thinking with her smart brain at the moment. Poor thing’s gone floppy. Some food and a little rest should have her right as rain in no time.”
More words passed between the pair, but Daana couldn’t decipher them over the sounds of her own mounting panic. Her heartbeat hammered in her ears like a war drum. Despite the frosty, salt-laced wind, the skin on her face burned to the touch. The only other sound she could hear was the crashing waves as they struck the jetty from across the bay. Slam, crash, boom. Slam, crash, boom–it grew louder, and louder, and louder.
She had to get away, now, before her panic overwhelmed her completely. And yet, no matter how she tried, she couldn’t wrench free of Ashwyn’s grip. The orc was simply too strong to overpower.
There is one way.
The thought caught her by surprise. Although she hadn’t had much use for them since the incident on the mountain, Daana had kept the armlets that’d helped make her the most infamous seeker back at the Division of Divination. Corrupt or not, you didn’t just part with something that powerful on a whim. There was even a little bit of magic left in the stones. Not a lot, but enough in case of emergencies. And this certainly felt like an emergency.
Daana swung her pack around and fought to open it with a single hand, sweat gathering along her brow as she concentrated on her work, hoping Ashwyn was too preoccupied to notice. Working the bag open at last, Daana’s hand plunged through her tightly packed belongings until she reached the bottom. She spread her fingers, groping along the strange assortment of personal possessions until her fingertips touched the small, waddled bundle she kept tucked away in the corner. Gripping the wadded sock, she wrenched it free with a single pull, grateful she didn’t empty the contents of her bag as she did so.
She had to get free. She had to return to land. Now, before it was too late and she got trapped on this gods-forsaken boat.
Ashwyn and Ellisar were still arguing, which was fortunate because it meant they hadn’t yet noticed what Daana was doing. Alas, this also meant Ashwyn’s firm grip kept tightening around Daana’s left arm, leaving her with the awkward challenge of trying to unravel the wadded sock one-handed. In the end, it didn’t matter. The power stored within the stones sprang to life, reaching out to her with the sweetest of songs as it wormed its way through the material and up her arm. The familiar warmth of magic lit a fire within her bones that had been long extinguished.
The sweat on Daana’s brow was slick and beginning to drip down her nose. She ignored it, consumed with the raging heat building within her core. Get out. Get free. The words echoed across her mind as the icy panic running rampant through her veins melted away.
Was this the way, though? Was she sure? After all, she’d sworn off magic. Ever since she’d helped banish the dark spirit on the mountain, her powers hadn’t operated the same. No matter how slow she took things or tried to ease back in with a simple spell, something inside her would lose control. A simple flame spell had turned downright disastrous a few months back. What if it happened again?
Get out. Get free. Use it and no one will be able to hurt you again.
“Daana?”
She nearly jumped out of her skin when a clammy, leathery hand touched her own. Shaking the thoughts from her head, Daana realized she’d forgotten all about Snag. He stood beside her, gazing up with wide, yellow eyes rimmed in worry. “I didn’t mean for my fretting to get in your head,” he said. “It’s going to be fine. Ships make the crossing all the time. We’ve survived a lot worse than this, you an’ me.”
Daana barely recognized her own whispered voice. “I can’t do this.”
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
“Give yourself some credit, girl. You’ve done far scarier shit than this.”
“Yeah,” Ellisar agreed, breaking from her conversation to contribute her thoughts on the matter. “Like what you did in Alkurth. Who could forget that?”
The empty pit churning within Daana’s stomach felt as though it was going to open up and swallow her whole. There wasn’t any need to round on Ellisar as Snag was doing a well enough job of it on his own. “Knock it off, El! We agreed we weren’t going to bring that up anymore.”
Ashwyn, still gripping Daana’s arm like a vise, leaned closer to Ellisar and murmured, “What happened in Alkurth?”
“She burnt the city to the ground.”
“What?” The orc’s grasp lessened for a split second before she re-committed, perhaps just a touch rougher than before. Ashwyn’s dark eyes roved back and forth across the crowded deck, assessing whether it was safe to make her inquiries here or save it for somewhere more private. The busy crew paid them no mind as they hustled about preparing the vessel for launch, allowing Ashwyn’s curiosity to get the better of her. “You mean with, like, torches, right?”
“She’s the daughter of she-who-will-not-be-named,” Ellisar replied flatly. “If it involved torches, do you think I would be mentioning it right now?”
“But I thought Daana wasn’t capable of…you-know-what.”
“Oh definitely capable. Maybe a little too much at times.”
“Which is why she swore off it for good.” Snag stepped forward, still glaring daggers at Ellisar for spilling what they had all previously agreed to take to their graves. He fiddled with the black and gold cane in his hand, seemingly torn between whapping the elf across the knees with it or slamming the metal tip against the deck.
“Only ‘cause you made a stink about it,” Ellisar said. “I maintain that Daana should have stuck with the cursed magic. That kind of power is sure to come in handy, you know.”
“It was killing her!”
“That wouldn’t have stopped her, Snag.”
“Yes, it would have! Not everyone is a chaos monster like you!” Fury won out at last and Snag’s cane struck the deck with a resounding slam.
“Then explain why she’s got her armlets in her hand.” Ellisar tilted her head at Daana. The wind tore at her neatly brushed hair, undoing hours of tedious plating. “That’s right. I went through your bag a ways back. You never got rid of those like you said.”
Some of the fury dissolved from Snag’s curled expression. He whipped his head to look at Daana, hurt tugging along the edges of his jagged mouth. “Daana?”
Daana’s panicked gaze shifted from him to the bundle clenched in her hand. The bubbling heat within her chest fizzled out as quickly as it had come. Oh gods, what was she doing? This wasn’t the way. She’d let fear get the best of her and nearly allowed herself to lose control. “I, uh, was just…”
“About to blast the ship to pieces,” Ellisar helpfully finished the sentence for her.
Snag wasn’t taking the news nearly as well as Ellisar. “Seven realms, Daana! You tryin’ to kill us? Why would you even keep those?”
“I didn’t want to be helpless, okay? I’m not like you. I don’t have the means to defend myself. I just wanted to–”
The corner of Snag’s eyes twitched as he thrust his clawed finger in the direction of the water. “Do like you should have done two months ago and throw those damned things overboard!”
“Sweet goddess, Snag,” Ellisar rolled her head back with a groan. “It’s an empty gesture and you know it. They’re a symbol of her power, not the real thing. You want to get rid of the cursed magic? You’ve got to throw her overboard too.”
Snag appeared furious enough to try.
Ashwyn intervened before he had the chance. She unlocked Daana’s arm from her own and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder instead. “I’m obviously a little lost here. What’s with the sock?”
Wordlessly, Daana peeled back the wool fabric, revealing the pair of leather armlets with matching amethyst stones.
Ashwyn’s brow furrowed as she bent her head for a closer look. “That’s not making this any clearer. Someone tell me what I’m looking at here?”
Snag obliged her. “Daana used the magic stored in those stones to burn down Alkurth.”
“Accidently!” Why was everyone glossing over that? It wasn’t like she’d meant to! “And it wasn’t the whole city, either. It was just the city watch building!”
Alright, a handful of shops near the city watch might have caught flame as well. And then a few stables and whatever structures butted up alongside them. All in all, it had been maybe a city block, at most. Which, again, had been a complete accident–Daana’s part in starting the fire, anyway. As much as she would love to point fingers at Ellisar for making the night in question substantially worse, it was best just to leave the whole ordeal behind them and never speak of it again.
“Ah,” Ashwyn said in the tone of voice that implied she didn’t understand but also likely had no desire to. “And why are we not throwing the jewelry in the ocean? Seems like a pretty straightforward plan.”
“Thank you!” Snag said.
Ellisar disagreed, widening her defiant stance. “Because it’s the only thing that makes her useful.”
“May I propose a compromise then?” the orc offered. “How about instead of allowing Daana to carry them, the stones are entrusted into my care for the meantime? Boat doesn’t get burned to a crisp, we make the journey safe and sound, everyone lives, but we have the option to use the magic if necessary? How’s that sound?”
Daana perked at the idea. “Really?”
“Sure.” Ashwyn outstretched her hand and, after taking a moment to safely bundle the contents back into the sock, Daana placed them into her hand. The pair shared a warm smile. It was a beautiful, trusting moment that was over in the time it took Ashwyn to coil her arm behind her and lob the bundle as far out over the water as she could. The sock sailed a ways before disappearing beneath the undulating surface with an inaudible splash.
Ellisar cupped her hands to her mouth. “Boo!”
“Glad we got that taken care of.” Once more, Ashwyn’s hand encircled Daana’s arm as she pulled her towards the cabin area. The journey went much smoother without Daana resisting. She didn’t dare this time. “Now let’s get to our lodging. I suspect there’s a lot more you three aren’t telling me and this Alkurth business is just the tip of the iceberg.”
Daana glanced behind her and immediately regretted it. Snag was still glaring at her, teeth clenched so hard, he looked to be on the verge of drawing blood. She turned around again, stomach dropping lower as the cabin neared. Alas, despite her vigilant attempts to keep the infamous Alkurth incident locked away in her memory forever, it had an annoying habit of resurfacing at the most inconvenient of times.
Daana’s fingers twitched as an insatiable itch clawed up her hand. Clenching her fist, she tucked the unruly appendage into her coat pocket before anyone took notice. The dread pooling in her chest doubled as she walked. The magic, as brief as its contact had been, had stirred the monster lurking beneath her skin.