Chapter Eleven #2
Feeling the wind starting to rise on the back of my neck, I removed my helmet and opened the tin.
The stench of pearly barnacles assaulted my nose, but I pulled a large glob from the slimy paste with my finger, eyed it, and then smeared it on my tongue.
The taste made me gag, but I let it sit while the sails billowed with the salty air our captain was summoning.
Once the paste had melted, I swallowed it down, capped the tin, and let my chin rest on my chest after rinsing my mouth with some tepid water from my hip flask.
Funny enough, I trusted Porgo to see us safely to the Blood Fens.
Seems faith grew when both sides gave it a bit of sun and water.
During our day and night on the ocean, I washed the grime of the desert combined with the stink of quadoth from my skin. I cleaned the viscera of the undead from my armor. I sharpened my sword, and I readied myself for what might meet us when we arrived at the basalt pillars.
Teryn had taken the time to read, sip tea, and eat small mounds of figs in honey.
I rested beside him the final night, pulling a whetstone over my blade, eager for this to come to an end.
My guts were sour, acidic, but the paste was aiding me in not losing the food I had taken into me.
Porgo was close to buckling when we finally sailed up to an island lit by the twin moons.
A small isle, it looked out over the sea to lands that to this day remained uncharted.
The people of Melowynn needed a navy to explore further, and that, along with the demise of the queen’s family, had come to a halt because they were the only ones on the mainland with the skills to build ships and sail them.
Now that Lady Raewyn Frostleaf, our new queen, was on the throne, seafaring was once more being given its due.
Hence the need for ports and discussions with harbor masters, royal officials, and honored sea captains.
If this mission to bring back the prince and princess failed, so too would the negotiations.
That seemed to be the plan of the Court of Gray Ice as far as I could see.
Kidnapping our heirs had surely gotten the king’s attention.
If one of his children came home with a scratch, I feared that any peace between the elves would be wiped away like frost on a windowpane.
“This is the end,” Porgo announced, lowering his arms with a groan. With a huff, he went to one knee, his tattoos fading as he struggled to stay conscious. The short but fast journey had done him in, his arms dangling like dead fish at his sides.
I glanced from my sword to the sheer cliffs of the basalt pillars. The sheer white sides of the island stood out sharply under the glow of two moons. They were close, yes, but not touching yet. We would see full alignment on the following night. We had made it. Just.
The ship bobbed on the soft waves. I rose and padded over to lower the anchor, my mouth coated with barnacle paste.
I feared the taste would linger on my tongue forever.
Teryn went to tend to our bone-weary captain, pushing tea and small bites of bread at him while I cranked the large wheel.
A splash off the port side let me know the anchor had hit the water.
A few dozen more feet wheeled off before the rope went slack. The anchor now rested on the sea floor.
“I will rest while you parley,” Porgo was saying when I returned to where Teryn had led him to rest amid the pillows.
“A few hours will do. My magicks are drained. Mahouk, you must not allow them to intimidate you with their numbers. I know this sort. I ran with rebels for many seasons, and they are as clever as a desert fox.”
“So am I, my friend,” Teryn assured him. “We will see you shortly with the children in hand. You did see to your end of the plans for after the conclusion of this negotiation?”
“Yes, yes, of course.” Porgo took a sip of red tea, his bald head reflecting the moon glow like a lantern. He was a handsome man in a rough, uneducated manner. “I know you will bring the young ones out. I have faith.” His seafoam gaze flickered to me. “Protect him with your life, mainlander.”
“You have my vow.” I placed my fist on my breastplate and lowered my head.
Porgo said nothing, just nodded, and we left him to rest. Teryn changed into a harrier, leaving his robes and earring behind.
I picked them up and stuffed them into a small bag over my shoulder.
Holding the bag aloft, he dove to pluck it from my grasp.
I gazed at the Silvura with no small amount of trepidation.
The sea below was calm. Flecks of white foam floated on top of the gentle crests.
“Shall I fetch a pillow for you to rest your chest on as one does a child learning to swim?” I heard from behind me.
Salty bastard.
I leaped over the side, and the water swallowed me up.
With a gasp, I came to the surface. The sea was warm.
With a belch, I began swimming to the shore.
My strokes were strong, if not graceful.
Porgo would surely laugh, but I managed to keep my head above water until I could find purchase on the sandy shore.
Wading out of the ocean, saltwater running from me, I took a moment to look skyward.
Far above was Teryn, circling, while I stood here soaking wet with salt drying in my ears.
Once more, I wished my people had not given up on our magical heritage.
Flying would be much easier than climbing but climb I must.
The harrier swooped down from the night sky, landing on a small ledge where I could begin the ascent.
The bird—Teryn—called out three sharp kek-kek-kek calls.
Raptor speak for “Grab here!” I presumed.
Hoisting my bag onto one shoulder, I tied a short length of rope around the central handle of my shield and then looped that over my left shoulder.
“If I fall, remember the love that we made fondly,” I told the harrier.
It snapped its beak at me in aggravation as I grabbed hold of the rock with two hands.
Taking to wing, Teryn flapped upward a bit and to the left, landing where he felt I could go next.
And so we moved, foot by foot, up the dark stone walls of the basalt pillar, until we reached the round opening of a cavern midway up the cliff.
Heaving myself over the lip, I crawled in and lay on the cool rocky ground to catch my breath.
A gust of sandy wind blew into my ear. Teryn returned to his elven form as I lay with my cheek in the dirt.
“You climb like a monkey,” he said as he placed his hand on my heaving back.
“If monkeys climbed…like me, they…would be extinct.” I eased myself up to sitting, pleased with myself for keeping in shape.
A fat guard is not an effective guard as things crop up in the line of duty that require a hardy constitution.
Scaling the side of a cliff in the dark was just one odd example among many.
“Their predators would pick them off with ease.”
He gave me a small pat on the shoulder and then dug into his rucksack to dress himself.
His robes were dark, rich red and embellished with gold threads.
Expensive leather sandals graced his feet, and his earring was slid back through the hole in the tip of his ear.
He looked regal. I, on the other hand, was soggy with seaweed stuck in delicate places.
Fortunately, the role of guardian did not require a refined ensemble.
My sword, shield, and armor were my calling card.
“I suspect they know that we have arrived,” Teryn announced with volume, his voice carrying down a tunnel lit with flickering torches.
Several forms stepped from the shadows, tallest among them Jaska Ashwish.
Immediately, I noted that the people here were not just Sandrayan.
All manner of commoners stood at his side.
Those from the Black Sands, the woods of the Glotte, the Witherhorn Mountains, and even the hardy russet-skinned people of the Bhaston Tundra stood shoulder to shoulder with the pale elves of the mainland.
My hand went for the hilt of my sword as I lifted my shield, taking a protective step in front of Teryn.
“The Peacemaker and the Bronze Warrior. Welcome to our humble abode,” Jaska called, his arms out as if he were welcoming us to a palace.
Teryn placed a hand on my arm, stepping around me, his amber eyes meeting mine.
“There is no need for worry. These people wish to speak to us, not battle us.” His sight left mine to land on Jaska—unarmored and without weaponry—waiting patiently as if he had ample time.
Which he did. At the moment, he held all the cards in this game.
“That is correct, is it not, Jaska Ashwish?”
“Aye, that is correct,” the large elf replied, his short blond hair still neatly clipped to his head as a royal guard would wear it. He was a large man, stalwart, and a vile kidnapper. “If we wished you dead, you would be dead by now.”
“The witch in the desert certainly gave it her best try,” I replied, still on guard, my sword at the ready. This was not an ideal situation. Fifteen enemies before us and a sheer drop to our death behind. Amended to my death for Teryn could sprout feathers.
“She was acting of her own accord,” Jaska was quick to reply. “Her role was to merely ride along to gather information if possible. To keep an eye on you two. I have notes written to her, and her replies, if you wish proof. Killing the envoy would do us little good.”
Teryn stepped forward, hand out. I tensed as he strode to Jaska. “I wish to believe your words to be true. No peace can ever be reached if the two sides cannot show good faith.”