Standing, she wiped the sweat from her brow with the back of her hand and looked up at Gemal. He opened his mouth to ask her what to do, but he was silenced by her look of hopelessness. With a flick of her head, she pointed him towards those she knew she could not help. With a heavy heart, he crouched down to talk to the nearest of his dying men. Unable to speak, the sailor bit his lip and nodded, tears flooding his face. Swiftly, Gemal drew his short, heavy sword and knocked the man unconscious.
* * *
The sun was beginning to rise by the time the deck had been cleaned and the wounded tended to. The somewhat wan morning light made all movements appear stiff and disjointed. All were exhausted, yet Gemal somehow managed to keep the ship sailing towards their destination. A slight breeze caught in the lacklustre sail, giving the Elspeth little speed, but it was enough, leading them away from the island of Hajan where the beasts must have come from.
The able-bodied on board had dwindled so low that Lief and Maledorian had to help with the manning of the ship. With instructions from Elonan, Lief scrambled up the mast to unfurl the secondary sails while Maledorian lent his strength to tightening the ropes. Defyance spent her time tirelessly with the seriously wounded, whereas Taslessian spent most of that day in bed. He had dangerously exhausted himself by using magic against their winged assailants. The only reason that he was able to stay in the battle for the duration was because every time that he felled one of the beasts, he stole some of its life energy so he could continue to fight on. For a wizard in a battle, that was a common attack, yet it turned the victim into a dried up husk of its former self, and the moral-laden young man deplored it.
Every chance he got, Lief stepped into Gemal’s room to see how Darci was fairing. Most times he entered to see the defenceless young girl tangled up in her blankets, tossing and turning to some internal fight. Taking his handkerchief, he would use his scented water to cool down her face. His gentle touch did much to quieten her down so he could check on her wounds. Deep guilt assaulted his soul as he replayed the battle over and over in his mind. If he had kept just one more arrow, he would have been able to save her as soon as she had been taken from the ship. Instead, his lack of fighting ability had let him down – let his friend down. Again he left her side, knowing that there were things that needed to be done.
* * *
Pain. A dull throbbing in the head. Movement equalled pain. Dreams equalled movement that led again to pain. A soft touch, a friend nearby, safety, then again, the pain returned.
Darci’s eyes fluttered open; an act in itself that was difficult given the encrusted sleep on her eyelids. Her head pounded and her mouth was dry. Moving slightly, she found that her shoulder was a mass of agony. Suddenly her mind flashed back to the battle. Winged beasts, death and torture, her abduction, falling, falling and then nothing. The echo of fear in her mind snapped her out of her fatigue as she blocked out the memory of almost drowning. Finally, she decided to get out of bed.
With slow, stiff movements, Darci put on the torn remains of her clothes. The shoulder in her shirt and jacket was shamefully revealing, forcing her to take the simple blanket off the bed to use as a cloak. With that uncomplicated task completed, she again sat down on the bed. As the ship rocked from side to side she stared at nothing but the scratched wooden wall opposite.
Although she was up, she was not quite awake. In some detached kind of way, Darci knew that she was suffering from shock. The consequences of the battle were just beginning to sink in. She had never seen anybody die, let alone witness multiple brutal murders. None of those murders would have been committed if it were not for her presence. The price that innocent people were paying was indescribable. How could anything or anyone be worth the cost?
After a while, with her arms wrapped around her knees, she started rocking back and forth. She could no longer stand to be alone. Stumbling off the bed she made her way back on deck. Now was neither the time for self-pity nor selfishness. She should not be the only able- bodied person on board not helping in some way, so she stepped towards the door. Head lowered to the deck, she walked towards to the exhausted Defyance, quietly asking her what she could do to help.
Chapter 8
Two days had passed since the attack. The weather had been kind and the wind behind them, although blustery at time, had managed to keep the ship sailing in the right direction. Time was spent tending to the wounded and adjusting the sails to the unpredictable winds. Watch changed on the even hour, leaving only two hours for sleep, but their relentless will to continue was not without reward. With a particularly strong gust of wind behind them that echoed a sigh of relief, the sailor in the crow’s nest finally spotted land.
Before the Elspeth had even been tied to the dock, Elonan had jumped onto the pier, running towards the sleepy-looking town. Moments later, people began heading towards the ship. Glove covered hands were raised in front of eyes to block the blinding rays of the morning sun. Young and old dressed in thick furs quickly made their way towards the stricken vessel. The ice that covered the timber muffled the noise of footsteps on the wooden pier. Without a single order, the townspeople banded together to help carry the injured off the ship and take them to their local healer. Those not strong enough to help the wounded, led the rest of the sailors to the inns of the town. The nightmare voyage was finally over.
Darci almost rolled down the gangplank as she stumbled off the ship. Her feet dragged along the ground as she took each torturous stride one step at a time. Her blurry eyes only focused on the feet in front of her. She did not know to whom they belonged, nor did she care. The short journey from the ship to the nearest inn passed by in a blur. Dream images of an icy cobbled path, a door and the warmth of a fire floated by. Silence greeted their entrance; perhaps the patrons were shocked to see them all in their dishevelled appearance, or perhaps there was simply no one there. Finally, the young girl could only remember welcome softness of the bed that she was placed on.
* * *
The next day, Darci was finally awoken by the warmth of the winter sun shining through a thick window covering a small square of her blankets. After blinking her heavy eyes to clear them, she was pleasantly surprised to find herself under many blankets and on top of a real bed. Soft breathing to her left caused her to turn her head just enough to see Defyance sleeping peacefully in the bed next to her. Wriggling around to get more comfortable caused a cold wisp of air to blow under her cover, making her grasp it tightly to draw it around her body. As she exhaled, a small white cloud formed, proving just how frigid the air was. The warmth that the sun provided was little more than a farce.
Finally gathering the courage to move, Darci dressed as quickly as she could with only one hand. She paused, grabbing a large piece of polished glass to look at her shoulder. The four deep cuts into the muscles of her shoulder were still angry, open wounds, but they were mending well thanks to Lief’s vast knowledge in healing. With a sigh, she put on the rest of her clothes. She knew that the wound was going to scar terribly, giving her a permanent reminder of the bloody battle at sea.
She placed a hand on the wall as she closed her eyes, trying to block out the terror on the faces of the sailors who had died, the bloodthirsty grins of the evil beasts, and that petrifying fall into the deadly depths of the ocean. Finally, she shook her head to clear her mind, a stray strand of light-brown hair falling over her deeply concerned blue eyes. She had to go find someone to talk to about something, anything, just to keep her sane.
Wandering downstairs, she instantly noticed a major difference from where they had stayed in Chinta. For one, the atmosphere was not the same. There may have been quite a few people already drinking, but none even seemed capable of the boisterous behaviour she had witnessed in the Blazing Unicorn. The room was lit mainly by a large fire in a stone hearth; the few glass windows on this side of the building were edged with ice and condensation. The men who were present, sat talking amongst themselves, ignoring her as she looked everyone over.
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Amongst the well-kept furniture of the average sized room, the young girl spied a few of the sailors from the Elspeth, including Gemal. The burly sailor was sitting apart from the rest of his comrades at his own little table. His tattoo-covered face was locked in a look of contemplation. Tapping his fingers on the table he eventually gave up his train of thought, and as soon as he saw Darci he motioned for her to join him.
Darci weaved her way through the tables to stand in front of Gemal. “I’m surprised that ye’re awake, lass after such ’n ordeal.” He used his heavy booted foot to kick out the chair just across from himself, motioning for Darci to sit.
“I may be up, Gemal, but that doesn’t mean that I’m awake,” Darci responded.
The bosun smiled at her remark.
“The only reason that I’m up and about at all is because I’m rather hungry.” Her hand fell to her stomach, which felt smaller and tighter than it ever had.
Gemal gestured to a young boy who was sitting behind the bar. His eyes widened as he noticed that he was to bring food to Darci. News travels fast, she thought as he hurried over towards them.
“My dad said that I was to give you anything that you wanted, Ma’am, mainly cos of your scary knight friend though. Is it true that you survived a fall fifty meters into the freezing water after being attacked and lifted off the deck of the Elspeth by a huge vampire monster?” The words tumbled out of the wide-eyed boy, as he stood, barely able to keep still, in front of Darci. It was obviously a rare occurrence for anything of interest to occur in this quiet, cold and out of the way town.
Darci smiled at the look on the boy’s face, despite the over exaggeration. His eyebrows were raised so high that they were almost hidden by his short fringe and his eyes were almost as wide open as his mouth; feet moving from side to side as he impatiently awaited a reply.
“’Tis,” said Gemal as he gave the boy a hearty slap on the back, almost knocking him over. He then pulled the boy closer. “And I was the sailor who felled the beast with a spear pulled from one of its slain brethren.”
Darci did not think that it was possible, but the boy’s mouth opened further as he gasped in awe at Gemal’s revelation. A small squeak escaped the boy’s mouth and with an ardent laugh, Gemal sent him on his way, turning back only to see that his high spirits were not shared. His young friend however, looked as if it had been her fault the beasts had attacked and that by associating with her could bring down the same doom upon them all.
With another sigh, the Bosun tried to gather his thoughts, eventually finding the best words that he could put together. “I know that the whole thing might have been terrifying for one as young as you, but I find that ’tis better to look at scary things like that in a somewhat… good point of view, if you get what I mean.” Gemal seemed to have a problem explaining what he wanted to get across to Darci, yet he began to see the slight glimmer of understanding in the depths of her innocent blue eyes.
“What doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger?” Darci ventured.
Gemal rubbed his chin before nodding in agreement.
Quick little footsteps announced their meal. With the same look of awe still plastered on his face, the serving boy set a plate of hot bread and butter on the table, also giving her a warm cup of milk. Standing behind her for a moment he quickly whipped out his hand to touch her on the head before dodging around the tables, back to the relative safety of the kitchen. Darci followed the boy’s retreat only to be distracted by the smell of warm food enticing her to forget the incident. While unseen to most, another young boy paid up the prized round slingshot stones for the successful dare.
“Now, I know that you’ll be want’n to eat yer fill, so I guess that I’ll do the talken to keep your mind offa things.” With that, Gemal gratefully launched into a story about one of his crewmates. He knew that most young girls would baulk at such colourful use of language, but he was hoping that such outrageous behaviour would take Darci’s mind off her recent shock, if only for a small while.
Darci marvelled at Gemal’s mood. Half of the crew had been murdered in a battle that they did not have any idea about. She would have thought that he would have been drowning his sorrows in a cup of the strongest stuff that this place supplied. Yet the usually quiet bosun appeared to have fared well from the battle, as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. At least he was doing his best to get over such a horrific experience, whereas she could not even start coming to terms with the event.
Pausing for effect after a particularly audacious part of his story, Gemal noticed that Darci’s eyes were unfocused, as if looking far away. It was then he realised that his story had fallen on deaf ears. Scratching the back of his head, he began to explain further, starting with yet another great sigh, “Many a man has died on the sea by the hand of the mother ocean or by battling whilst sailing her. Me point of view on death is much like that of scary things. Yer have to look on them in a… happy light. Fer me, I’m not sad when a friend dies, but I’m happy cos they no longer ’ave to stay in this world to put up with my company fer one thing.” An awkward grin broke the usually stony face.
Gemal was going to explain his mood in greater depth when Darci noticed Maledorian coming down the stairs. Her lips curved upwards slightly as she took a sip of her milk. Knowing the knight’s habit with whatever drinks were available, it did not take her long to figure out what he had been doing since they had arrived. His eyes were underlined with dark bags and uneven patches of hair covered his usually youthful chin. His usual chirpiness was gone, and given their lack of sleep lately, he did not look to be in a pleasant mood.
Timidly, one of the serving boys approached the knight to ask him if he felt like anything to eat. Maledorian stopped still, turning his head to look at the boy, glaring at him in a way that made Darci wonder if it truly was the man she knew. Stammering his apologies, the boy backed away a few steps before turning and running away.
“Get him the same as what the lass has, just more of it, lad,” Gemal said. The boy again bolted out of the room to the kitchen, glad to have something useful to do after such an encounter.
“Mornin’ mate,” Gemal greeted the knight. Maledorian acknowledged the greeting with a curled lip snarl, adding a barely audible grunt. Under the table, Gemal nudged Darci with his arm, whispering to her a comment about not being in the best of moods. Darci, with a mouth full of bread, raised a single eyebrow at the remark, returning her concerned gaze to the knight.
* * *
As the sun moved across the cold blue sky, everyone seemed to find something to occupy themselves with. Taslessian used the time to pore over a book that he had manage to appropriate from one of the inn keeper’s many and varied goods, while Lief spent most of his time aiding the local healer with the wounded from the ship. After eating, Darci returned to her quarters, tired from too much sleep. She lay in bed to simply stare into nothingness while Defyance kept her silent company, tending to her armour and daggers to make sure that they were all in top order.
For the ill-tempered knight however, the day held more important things. Maledorian spent the cool but sunny afternoon looking for a guide with sleighs who could take them to Sahat’s cave. The first couple of more reputable guides ended any talks of dealings at the first mention of the mighty dragon. One was even brazen enough to slam a door in Maledorian’s face. Fortunately for that man, the less than pleasant young knight had better things to do than take out his temper on the hasty man’s hide. It wasn’t until Maledorian reached the more dilapidated part of town when he finally found what he was looking for.
A sharp knock on an old wooden door brought out a short man dressed in thick furs. Maledorian stood with his hands in his pockets, moving from side to side to keep his body warm, ignoring the eager look on the man’s face.
“I need a guide and provisions to take me and four others to the cave of Sahat.” Not wishing to waste his cold, foggy breath any more than he had to, the knight shut his mouth.
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The man lowered his eyes to the ground for a moment while he considered the offer. The sound of a baby crying reached his ears from inside the house, followed by the comforting noises of a woman. A small sigh escaped his lips before he looked back at the stranger in front of him. Maledorian allowed himself to be scrutinised. He was wearing fine enough clothes and the long sword at his belt spoke of someone with power. Adjacent to the sword, was a tightly secured pouch that looked to be full of coin; whether it was chips or flats, who knew? But a customer was a customer and they were rare at this time of year. The man stuck out his hand to shake that of the knight’s.
Maledorian allowed himself to smile. For the first time that day, something had gone right. Gladly, he delved into his coin pouch to give the man who would be his guide more than was required for the entire trip and supplies. The man smiled gratefully, knowing that he was in the knight’s debt. Yet the weight of a new family lay heavily on his shoulders, and as reluctant as he was to upset this new and generous customer, he could not chance leaving his wife and newborn alone in this life.
“I am glad for your generosity, sir, however, I can only take you to a place where you can see your destination. From there, I am afraid I shall have to leave you and your group to return to my wife and son.” For a moment the man regretted his words. What if the customer found his family loyalty to be cowardice?
Thinking for a moment, Maledorian nodded. From what he could gather, most of the people in Menarik knew exactly where he wanted to go, but this was the first man who had not balked at the mention of the mighty dragon. The knight had no one he could truly call family, yet he knew how he felt about failing in his duty, and being a provider for a family was one of the most sacred duties of all. He had heard the villager’s tail known by even the youngest villager that scared most people away from the alluring treasures that Sahat was supposed to possess. It was said that any of the riches were free for the taking, if, and only if Sahat felt you worthy. If you were unworthy, like the fabled friend of a friend, you faced a grim death at the hands of Sahat himself. For that, apparently to be eaten was considered a kind death.