The Constable nodded and some of the nearby townsfolk whispered excitedly, drawing a concerned glare from Rosh. “It is rare that we get visitors. As wondrous as it is here, we yearn for the tales you bring.”
He leaned in closer and said, “We’ve many fine young ladies here that yearn for some fresh blood from the skies as well, if you know what I mean.”
Rosh brightened a little, his glower fading. He cleared his throat and mumbled, “Seems like a fine enough port to me, Captain.”
Dexter rolled his eyes, but kept his rebuke to himself.
“Indeed, Captain, it is a fine place we have here. I am the Constable but I’ve not seen a crime committed in two years – and then it was young troublemakers that drank too much of our wine,” the Constable offered.
Dexter turned and glanced at the other ships; he could see no one standing watch on them. That gave both credence to the man’s words but also nagged at the back of his mind.
“We’ve some items to trade, if you’re interested, Constable,” Dexter said. “We come bearing simple supplies, arms and equipment mostly – if you’re truly an uncharted peaceful world, I suspect you’ve great need of steel.”
Lorren’s eyes flashed. “We’ve little need of weapons here,” he said. “Some may find interest in it though. Mostly we trade in our market in town, but for such a load I’ll grant you pass to set up shop here on the shore.”
Dexter nodded. “If you’ll clear some room for us, we’d be happy to oblige.”
Constable Lorren smiled and turned, waving his hands in a shooing motion and telling people to go back to their business. Grumbling, people began to disburse. Lorren turned back after many had gone and said to Dexter, “You and your crew are invited to join us tonight. It’s the Festival of Lords you’ve come upon, a grand time to be had by all!”
“Festival of Lords?” Dexter asked, glancing at Xander and Rosh, both of whom looked blankly back at him.
“Sure enough,” he said, nodding excitedly. “Our Lord serves as Governor of Deepingdale as long as they deem fit, then when they wish to step down, a festival is called. There are tests and trials anyone interested must go through. The winner becomes the new Lord of Deepingdale.”
Without looking, Dexter knew Rosh’s eyes were wide. He found it a bit odd himself, but then shrugged. The people of Deepingdale were clearly a different sort.
“Some merriment would do us well,” Dexter said, thinking of how he could use a bit of a chance to relax himself. “But that’s for later. We’ve work to be done now.”
“Of course!” The Constable said. “By all means, do as you must. Send for me should you have any troubles, I’m sure there will be plenty of people about pretending to not be interested.”
Dexter chuckled and nodded, then turned and headed back up the plank to the Voidhawk. He saw most of the crew gathered and waiting on the deck. Only Keshira remained at her post. With a sigh, he called her over then turned to address them all.
“I reckon you heard the man, we’re to set up our goods over there. Not our way normally, but gold is gold. As for the festival, we’ll be drawing lots to see who gets left behind.”
“Captain, he said it was safe here,” Bailynn said, surprising Dexter.
He turned to look at her and smiled. “That’s what I’d tell someone whose ship I planned on stealing.”
She nodded and kept her mouth shut, but he could see the troubled look in her eyes. He suspected she was worried she would be forced to stay behind on the boat.
* * * *
Their wares sold quickly. The coins they received for them were dated, but their weight was true and Dexter made no trouble with accepting them. They now mingled with the townsfolk at the festival. Bekka remained behind at the ship; she had drew the short straw but had shown no concern about it.
The Festival of Lords consisted of some unusual but excellent food for the crew of the Voidhawk. The drink, also unusual, was equally palatable. Entertainment was fleeting, they found, but the reason behind it was soon apparent. The games were to be the entertainment. Games that the crew was invited to participate in.
The games were taxing, and segued from one to another with more and more people eliminated each step of the way. Some of them focused on thinking and logic, while others were geared toward the more physical aspects that made Rosh and Dexter more comfortable. It was not until near the end of the contests that Rosh and Dexter found themselves both eliminated. Jenna and Logan were the sole representatives from the Voidhawk still in the running. At the end of the final challenge Jenna remained and all the others had been eliminated.
Rosh and Dexter exchanged a surprised look while she stood bathed in light that came from a circle of flameless torches surrounding her. Every source of light they had seen thus far had been magical. Even the food was cooked without fire upon magical plates not so different from the heatstone Jodyne used.
Jenna shrugged and looked embarrassed as she stared back at them. Willa giggled, her small frame easily affected by the alcohol of the festival. Not only that, but aside from a stolen sip here and there, it was the only alcohol she had ever had.
Willa snickered again when the cheering stopped. She silenced herself quickly when she noticed that she was receiving some strange looks. The townsfolk had not only stopped cheering, but they had fallen to one knee. Constable Lorren hurried up to her side and offered her a beautiful golden pendant with a softly glowing ruby set in the middle of it.
“Captain,” Keshira said from where she sat. The pleasure golem reacted when spoken to, but had otherwise done little more than to glance around disinterestedly. This was her first signs of showing initiative.
“Yes?” He turned, surprised at her near outburst.
“The pendant Jenna is putting on is filled with powerful magic,” she stated calmly.
Dexter glanced up at Jenna, concerned. His reactions and thinking were somewhat dulled by the alcohol, however, so it took a moment before he spoke again. “What sort of magic?”
“I do not know, I only possess the ability to know that it is magical.”
Dexter nodded and frowned. He blinked and watched, not certain he was seeing things properly. Almost before his eyes he saw the elven woman’s gaze drift over him. He flinched in what he saw revealed in it. There had been a long moment where she gazed upon him dully, as though unfamiliar with who he was. Her smile had slackened as well.
A roar broke his attention. He turned and saw a grizzled old man with an eye patch slam his fist onto the table. “Jasper Highsail, you whore-son!”
His gaze was directed at Rosh, who could only stare back in shock at the man.
Dexter surged to his feet, coming to the aid of his Arms Master. “Friend, you’ve got the wrong man,” he said, one hand slipping to his pistol.
The old man continued to stare down Rosh. “The Hell I do! He struck a deal with me and then turned me loose when the deal went sour so he could get away!”
“Thing is,” he said, leaning in closer and glaring with his one eye at Rosh, “I ‘spect you had that planned all along!”
“I got away though, lost half me crew and near as much of me ship! We ended up finding this place and decided to settle in – safer and more prosperous than dealing with pirates like you!”
“I should gut you like a fish,” he continued, giving no one a chance to interrupt. “And maybe I will if the new Lady will let me – but first I got to know why you ain’t aged a day in a score of years?”
“I ain’t Jasper Highsail,” Rosh said. He stared back at the man and stood up, dwarfing the one eyed man. “Name’s Rosh, and I ain’t never met you before.”
“Captain of the Shark’s Teeth?” Dexter asked, surprised to hear the name. He had not heard of the infamous pirate captain in many years, but now he was putting it together and remembered the stories.
“Rosh is my Arms Master, I’m the Captain of the Voidhawk. I’ll vouch for him that he’s never had ship nor crew in his charge, and he’s ag
ed a day for every day I’ve known him,” Dexter said. “Have some more of your fine brew, friend, and let’s put this behind us,” he added.
Rosh glared at him a minute longer, then walked away, heading away from the Festival and towards the ship. Dexter watched him go, open mouthed, before returning his attention to the table. The old man walked away a moment later as well, heading to the table he had come from.
“What was that?” Willa asked softly from nearby. The sudden excitement had sobered her up – if only briefly.
Dexter shook his head. “If you find out, let me know.”
Dexter searched for Jenna but she had disappeared. He cast about for her, but found her nowhere to be seen. Sighing, he slumped back to his seat and took another drink that now lacked the sweet taste of relaxation. “Stay as long as you like; I’m off for the ‘Hawk.”
Keshira rose and followed him obediently. The others remained, looking uncertainly towards one another, but then deciding to settle in and see what else remained of the night.
Dexter, mildly drunk, turned once he had left the festival behind him and found Keshira less than a dozen feet behind him. “Why are you following me?”
“Captain, I exist to serve you,” she said.
Dexter growled and waved a shaky finger at her. “I don’t deserve no serving. Nobody does!”
Keshira looked at him. She said nothing, but stood there patiently.
“What now?” Dexter cried, seeing her complacency.
“I am failing you, Captain, I do not understand.”
Dexter threw his hands up in the air and rolled his eyes. “What? What are you not understanding?”
“You said nobody deserves to be served,” she said. “But you clearly serve the members of your crew.”
“That’s not serving,” the mildly drunk captain said. “They be my responsibility. Swearing service to me means I owe them my support too.”
“If they swear service to you, are you not someone then who should be served?”
Dexter stared at her for a long minute. “Why do I bother?” he muttered. “You can’t learn what it means to be human. You can’t know responsibility or friendship or love. No matter how much I tell you, you’re nothing but a walking and talking chair,” he said with disappointment.
Dexter turned to walk away again, feeling like he had failed. He took a few steps and glanced back, seeing that Keshira had not moved. “Not following me like a lost puppy?”
“Captain, I feel your disappointment,” she said to him. “We are bonded and I can feel you through it.”
Dexter grunted. She had told him this before. It had bothered him then, but now it was of little interest. He had given up hope of her ever being anything more than a mindless automaton.
“It causes a disturbance in me,” she continued. “Something is not right. Do you know what it is?”
“How would I know?” He snapped back at her.
Ignoring his temper she replied, “You can feel it through the bond we share.”
“I don’t-“ Dexter stopped, realizing what she had just said. “Wait, you mean this bond… it’s something I can use too?”
She nodded. “Yes, Captain, it works both ways.”
“What does that mean?”
“You can feel what I feel and communicate with me through it. With training, you can experience my senses through it as well.”
“Your senses,” he said slowly. “You mean I can see what you see and hear what you hear?”
“With training and time, yes Captain.”
“How do I do it?”
“Concentrate on me and will yourself to feel the connection to me,” she explained. “It may help if you close your eyes.”
Dexter stared at the beautiful construct before him and realized how he had trained himself to not really look at her. To not really think of her as a person in spite of all that he had said. He cursed himself for his contrary behavior and forced himself now to look upon her fully. Doing so, however, quickly left him distracted as he became entranced by her impossible physical perfection.
“Aye, close my eyes,” he muttered. He closed them and thought of her again, struggling to feel some sort of connection to her.
“You have done this before, Captain,” she said softly. “You have spoken to me without speaking.”
“I have?” he asked, eyes opening in surprise.
She nodded. “Yes Captain, you were always distracted but very focused on your distraction, it helped you connect to me without realizing it.”
Dexter nodded and closed his eyes again. He focused again on her, but instead of spamming random mental thoughts in her direction, he tried to feel her. In a rush that nearly knocked him from his feet, a new world of sensation and possibility opened up to him.
“I feel you,” Keshira said to him, her tone different than normal, though he did not notice. “I have felt you before, but this time it is different.”
Dexter nodded. “Yeah… different.”
Dexter’s senses swam with Keshira. It was a strange and alien feeling, sensations not his own tingled through him. Emotions, he was familiar with, and recognition of what was happening set in.
“You… you feel,” he said, realizing something that he had not truly appreciated before. “I’m sorry, Keshira,” he said.
A rush of emotion welled in her, washing away the sadness with pleasure. She knew, she could feel him as well. She knew he was genuine in his remorse. “I know other people think and feel,” he explained, for himself more than for her. “I know it, and yet it never really mattered.”
“I know better now,” he muttered.
Dexter glanced up at the beautiful construct that suddenly seemed more human to him than anyone before ever had. “Keshira, that thing you felt. The disturbance – it is called sadness. I treated you poorly and it made you sad. I am sorry.”
“And now?” she asked.
“Joy,” he said.
She nodded. “It is part of my construction,” she explained. “The emotions – you can deny them to me, if you desire. You have absolute power over me, Captain.”
Dexter’s eyes widened. “What? No – never! That’s a cruelty that should never be done. Not to you nor anyone. In fact, when you’re happy, it’s okay to smile.”
Keshira smiled, her full lips curling up and revealing her equally perfect teeth. Dexter whistled through his teeth. “Be careful with that,” he said. “You’re likely to cause some hearts to stop if you share that with too many men.”
Keshira looked at him with a head cocked to the side, but Dexter just laughed. “You’ve much to learn, my friend, but I’m thinking I’ve got a fair bit to know yet myself!”
“Now then, I’ve got to find Jenna – seems I owe her a thing or two,” he said. “Any chance you see where she went?”
“The tower,” Keshira said. “After she donned her prize, she slipped away and headed towards the tower.”
Dexter frowned. He wondered why she would go there. Then again, by winning she was allegedly the new Lord of Deepingdale. Perhaps she had been so angry with him that she was ready to begin her new post and be rid of him.
* * * *
“Rosh!” Bekka said, surprised to see the large man stomping up the deck. “Are there problems?”
“What?” He snapped, then softened. “Sorry, just ain’t in the mood for it.”
“What happened?” The always inquisitive half elf asked.
The large man took in a breath to brush her off, then paused and blew it out. “Nice place here,” he said, turning and staring at the town from the edge of the deck.
Bekka nodded. “As fair as any,” she replied.
“I see it in the eyes of the others – felt it in my own heart,” he continued. “Some of them’s thinking of staying – ‘specially now that Jenna’s in charge.”
“Wait, what?” Bekka asked, suddenly alarmed. “What do you mean, in charge? In charge of the ship? Did something happen to the Captain?”
&nbs
p; Rosh looked at her for a minute, sorting out his thoughts. He shook his head. “No, ain’t nothing wrong with him. I meant she’s the new Lord…er, Lady of this place.”
“So it’s true then? The Festival of Lords truly does pick a new Lord and Jenna won the title?”
Rosh nodded. “Aye, she won and put on this amulet they gave her, then she took off, heading to the tower. I reckon we got an easy time of it here now, with her running things. Maybe she’ll even offer us titles too.”
Rosh scowled as his earlier thoughts came back. “Don’t matter, I ain’t staying.”
Bekka, confused at the talk of staying, could only nod. “I think we will all stay with the Captain. He’s a rare man that cares for his crew.”
Rosh shrugged. “Don’t be so sure,” he grunted. “If he’s so caring, why’d he spurn Jenna? Takes a fool to turn something offered like that down – and a damn mean fool to lead her on otherwise.”
“What are you talking about?” she asked him, concerned.
“After she got scratched, we locked her up in the hold,” he explained. “I was keeping an eye on it, I saw how strong them things was once they turned. If she turned, I meant to put her down quick.”
“Dexter went in there with her, and the things I heard were the kind of things you hear when two people are fighting or…”
Bekka’s eyebrows rose in understanding. “They didn’t come out with no fresh bruises,” Rosh finished.
“I didn’t know,” Bekka said softly. She meant to say more but they were interrupted.
“Rosh, is everything all right?” Willa called from below. Her voice sounded a little slurred, but not too badly.
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