“Oh, you are a naughty man. Perhaps, I will have to spank you and teach you a lesson,” she said with a mischievous chuckle.
Oshri began to struggle but the woman’s size and strength was too much for him. Kai wondered why he did not use magic to escape but he figured the old man did not mind his circumstances as much as he was showing.
“So, I’m going to take a bath now,” Kai said, suddenly very uncomfortable with the current situation. He grabbed Jaime by the arm and pulled him the in direction of the bathhouse without waiting for a response.
“Do I really have to travel with that guy?” Jaime asked as they soaked in a hot pool.
“He’s really not so bad, you know,” Kai said with a laugh. “Sometimes we don’t always get to choose who we travel with so just try to make the best of it. They need you at the tower and Oshri will be a tremendous help with the restoration.”
Jaime groaned and sunk deeper into the steaming water so just his head was exposed. “You know you shouldn’t go alone. I could help,” he grumbled.
“You will be more of a help at home,” Kai said. “Besides, I will have a guide while I am on Evresh. It will be quick trip and I will be home in no time.”
“But, he’s insufferable.”
“You’re being insufferable,” Kai said. “Let’s hurry. I’m starving.”
The two men took a quick plunge in a cold pool before toweling themselves off and dressing in robes provided for them while their clothes were being laundered. They made their way to the dining hall to find a table already laid out for them with a large selection to choose from. Oshri and Betsy were at a table in deep conversation, their plates already half empty.
“Hello, boys,” Betsy called out when she saw the two men. She waved at the buffet and said, “Eat, eat.”
Kai and Jaime each took a wooden platter and filled it with thick slices of roasted meat covered in a fragrant brown gravy, small loaves of freshly baked bread, and a variety of steamed vegetables. There were also trays filled with baked goods, many Kai could not identify but that didn’t stop him from sampling all of them.
“Oshri was just telling me you are headed for Evresh,” Betsy said when the two men settled down at the table. “I have never been but I’ve heard some pretty incredible stories about it.”
“I look forward to the adventure,” Kai said, after pushing the food into one cheek. “If I can find a ship to take me there.”
“Oh, that won’t be a problem,” Betsy said. “There’s a captain who owes me a few favors. He won’t be happy about it but he will get you there.”
Kai nodded his thanks as his mouth was too full to respond verbally.
“They say there are many dangers there,” Oshri said. He pushed a small velvet bag across the table toward Kai. “This is a poison you can coat your arrows or sword with. It is extremely potent so be sure that whatever you use it on deserves to die because death will be very quick.”
Kai took the bottle from the bag and examined the contents which had the look of thick molasses. He was about to open the bottle when Oshri leaped to his feet.
“What are you doing?” the old man shouted. “Don’t open it here, especially while you’re eating. Are you daft?”
Kai stopped immediately and nodded his agreement with the Oshri’s assessment of his actions. He tucked the bottle into a pocket of his robe and made a mental note to transfer it to his travel bag.
“Just a very thin coat will do. It is very, very, very potent,” the old man said with the most serious face Kai had ever seen.
“I understand,” Kai said. “Thank you.”
Oshri sat in a huff and shook his head. “You’re a crazy man,” he said and stuffed a berry-topped cake into his mouth.
“Well, eat up,” Betsy said, pushing herself away from the table. “I will see to some rooms. You will definitely need a good night’s sleep before your adventures.”
Kai was about to argue but there was something inside him that assured him that she was right.
8
Traveling by ship was not Kai’s preferred method of transport. In fact, he hated it. He hated it more than just about anything in the world. Thoughts of all the other places he could be instead crossed his mind as he hung his head over the side of the wave-battered ship in case the feeling he had in his stomach decided to put in an appearance.
“Looks like he’s gonna blow again.”
“We should’ve brought along a wet nurse for this baby.”
The jeers of the crew members would have had him up in arms if he could stand for more than a few seconds. He had managed to drag himself up to the deck, with more than a little help from the crew, after he had thrown up on a table in the galley after a particularly big wave had violently jarred the ship. They will get what’s coming to them, he thought between bouts of nausea as he desperately clung to the ship’s railing.
The wind blew hard in the expanse of ocean between Droll and the Grim Isles called the Grey Sea. The crossing was dangerous for an unexperienced crew as there was no land in sight to help navigate so it was necessary to use the stars. Kai knew, however, this was a not a group of green sailors, but a crew of sea-battered mariners who had sailed this route many times before.
The crew of the Sangriana were on the second day of their journey and were expecting to see the first sign of land at some point before noon. They still had four full days left before they reached Evresh which would make this sea voyage the longest one Kai had ever taken and he was regretting every moment of it.
“If you get sick on my deck like you did in my galley, I will personally throw your ass off this ship.”
Kai managed to open an eye to see Captain Browe towering over him. The serious scowl on the man’s face told Kai he was not, in any way, joking.
“I …” Kai could not manage to speak. When he tried, his throat burned with the remnants of his stomach contents.
“Take this dragon-loving scab below deck. Put up a hammock in the forecastle hold and lock him in. I don’t want to see his pathetic face for the rest of the trip.”
Kai felt hands grab him and roughly drag him across the deck. He tried to resist and hold onto the railing but he was so weak that a sharp kick to his ribs promptly ended his attempt. He could not see who was moving him because his eyes would not stay open but he silently vowed revenge on them as they let him tumble down the ladder into the lower hold. He lay in a heap at the bottom, unable to move under his own power. Kai had no idea how long he was lying there but it seemed like an eternity. Suddenly, he was roughly grabbed and dragged off.
“Why would you even bother with the hammock?”
“He did pay for passage. You know what, just forget about him. I’ll take care of everything.”
“You’re wasting your time.”
The voices were all unfamiliar to Kai. The few, brief moments he had when his mind allowed clear thoughts to form were filled with fear. These strangers could very easily take advantage of his weakness and dispatch him from the world. No one would be the wiser. Perhaps thankfully, these moments did not last long, replaced by nausea and lucidity.
Kai had no idea how long he lay in the hammock, swinging back and forth with the movement of the ship. His body continued to fail him with sickness between long bouts of nightmarish sleep. He would occasionally regain his senses and find a cup of cool, clean water being carefully held to his lips, relieving his mouth of dryness and keeping him from dying of dehydration. The hold he was kept in had no windows so even when he was conscious enough to investigate his surroundings, he had no idea what time of the day it was.
He could eventually get water on his own, as long as he maintained a steady hold to whatever was close enough. A bucket for fresh water had been left on a swaying hook which allowed the bucket to move with the ship without spilling and provided Kai with an excellent method of holding himself up.
Getting up to go to the bucket and then back to the hammock took all the energy Kai had so he lay still for
a long time, just listening to the sounds of the ship. He still had no idea if it was day or night but he could wager an accurate guess from the movement and the shouting.
The hammock was strung up in a storage hold. The room was not the biggest Kai had ever been in but it was mainly used for storage, instead of holding prisoners. I wonder if that’s what I am, he thought. The door was locked but if he was then they would have put him into the brig.
As Kai pondered his situation, he heard footsteps approaching followed by the sound of a key being pushed into the keyhole. There was an audible click and the door swung open.
“Ah, you’re awake, I see,” a small, burly man said, who Kai did not recognize. The man was almost a head shorter than he would be, if he could stand. The man had a friendly grin that stretched almost as wide as his waistband. “Yep. How ya feelin’?”
“Like I want to get off this ship and never step foot on another ever again in my life,” Kai said, his voice barely a whisper.
“Yep. It’s funny you say that,” the man said as he pulled up a stool next to Kai’s hammock. He filled a cup with water and handed it to Kai as he sat. “My name is Finnely, by the way. I am the ship’s cook.”
“Kai,” Kai said after wetting his mouth with the cool water. The man looked to be in his late forties and had seen his share of the world. A thick, dark beard, streaked with silver, covered his face but it did not hide the signs of a hard life at sea. “I thank you for taking care of me. I do not too well on the sea.”
“Yep. Least I could do. My grandpa was a Dragon’s Tail so I have a soft spot. Many of these boys hate what you stand for and did not want to take this trip so when you started getting in the way with your flailing and puking, they were just gonna throw you overboard. I convinced the captain to let me take care of you. That’s why I locked you in here. I wasn’t locking you in. I was locking them out,” Finnely said with a chuckle.
“Well, thank you, Finnely,” Kai said, pondering the implications of the man’s honesty.
“Yep. So, I’m glad you’re feeling better because I helped you out again,” Finnely said, a faint look of nervousness crossing his face.
“Oh?” said Kai, a bad feeling filling his empty stomach.
“Yep. The boys want to chase after a Royal transport ship our scouts picked up. Those ships usually carry the biggest and best jewels found in the mines of Evresh so it is impossible to convince them otherwise without risking mutiny. What I did for you was convince the captain, we’re cousins, see, that we should just leave you here.”
Kai’s mind began to race, although it was still clouded by sickness so any thought he had was left unfinished. One thing prevalently came to mind though.
“Where is here?”
Finnely laughed. “Yep. Sorry. We are anchored off an island in the chain on the way to Evresh. This is a main route. You’ll get picked up in no time. I’ll give you some water and food. You’ll be fine.”
Kai could not help but feel fear at the prospect of being left alone on an island but the thought of being on solid ground was appealing to him.
“Well, Finnely. I guess thank you again.”
“Yep. I know we are pirates but we don’t have to be savages,” Finnely said as he got up and extended his hand. “Come on. We gotta go now.”
Kai grabbed the man’s hand and was surprised by the strength the shorter man displayed. Finnely pulled him to his feet and with ease although Kai did nothing to help him. The ship’s cook also let Kai use him as a crutch as his legs were still wobbly.
“I got you’re pack ready to go. I added two canteens of fresh water and enough food to last you a week, if you are careful with it,” Finnely said as he led Kai to the ladder up to the main deck. “There is a fresh water spring about a mile into the forest. The route is marked with carvings on trees. Once you find the first one, you will understand. Don’t wander too far off the trail. Make a camp on the beach and only go inland when you need water. There are plenty of ships that pass by here so build a fire to signal them.”
Kai was desperately trying to sort through his thoughts as he was listening to Finnely’s advice. He climbed the ladder to the main deck and was met by bright sunlight and the jeers of the entire crew who had gathered to see him off.
“Don’t worry about these animals,” Finnely said, trying to be reassuring. “Captain’s ordered them not to touch you.”
That did not stop them from spitting on him and screaming insults in his face. Kai gritted his teeth and endured the gauntlet. He saw his pack sitting at the end of the double lined row of sailors, who did actually turn out to be pirates. As he walked toward it he tried to shut out the oral attacks and focus on his goal.
He saw his weapons were with his pack so that gave him some solace.
“Yep. So, you’re going to have to swim. You can swim, can’t you?”
Finnely’s voice broke his concentration.
“Swim?”
“Yep. Captain, very generously, is allowing you to take a small raft for your pack but you can hold on to it to keep yourself afloat.”
Fear once again gripped Kai as he looked out toward the shore, which looked very far away. He did notice, however, there was a hut built close to the treeline on the shore. Perhaps there was some hope.
“Quiet.” Captain Browe’s voice boomed over all the noise as he stood on an upper deck. The pirates were suddenly silent and all attention turned to him but he said nothing more.
“Yep. Good to meet you, Kai. Sorry about all this, but you know,” Finnely said, holding out his hand to shake Kai’s but the Daxrah had locked eyes with Captain Browe and did not respond.
Kai tried to read Browe’s expression but his face contained no emotion at all. He wanted to shout at the captain but he could not bring himself to use his voice. Suddenly, Browe gave him the slightest of nods and disappeared into his cabin.
“His grandpa and my grandpa are the same guy.”
Kai turned around to face Finnely. The cook’s wide smile was a sharp contrast to the hateful looks of the men around him.
“Why do you hate the Daxrah so much?” Kai asked.
“Yep, well, I don’t hate the Daxrah and I don’t think any of these fellows hate the Daxrah either but you are sworn defenders of the dragons so there you go.”
Kai added confusion to his mixture of extreme emotions. “We are defenders of the Dragonbloods, not the dragons. But, why do they hate dragons so much?”
Finnely laughed. “What is a Dragonblood without a dragon? Pirates hate dragons because they are bad for business. Yep. Every man who spends his life on the sea knows the tales of the old days when the dragons would raid ships for their treasure. Now the beasts are back so our days on the water could be numbered.”
“They would raid ships for treasure?”
“Yep. They would watch until the ship took a large haul then attack the ship. I imagine it was pretty tough to defend against a dragon. You would know. You’ve actually seen one of the animals, haven’t you?”
Kai knew from watching Isabella and Sisera in action that there were very few things in this world that could defend against their attack. He nodded.
“Yep. So, then you can imagine the fear these men feel when we are out there. You just happen to be guilty by association so don’t take this too personally,” Finnely said as he handed Kai a small raft made of thick branches lashed together with thick rope. The raft was only half his height tall and the same wide but it seemed sturdy enough.
“I guess things could have been a lot worse for me so thank you, Finnely,” Kai said as he pushed the raft overboard. Finnely handed him his pack and weapons which he lashed together with a piece of rope and lowered onto the raft.
“Yep. Well, good luck, Kai,” Finnely said, extending his hand once again. This time Kai gripped he man’s hand and gave it a firm shake. “I do hope we meet again someday.”
“I would be glad to, Finnely,” Kai said sincerely, considering the situation.
K
ai turned to look at the crew who were still standing around him, watching, their faces still hateful. Without saying another word, instead giving them the Daxrah salute, he jumped overboard.
The cold water was a shock when he hit feet first but he quickly recovered as adrenaline took over his body. He swam to the surface and then to his raft. Water filled his ears but he could hear the shouts of the crew as they shouted nasty farewells.
The ship immediately raised anchor and set sail but Kai did not watch them go as he was concentrating on getting to shore before he was swallowed by the ocean.
He rested his upper body on the raft and kicked his legs behind but he found the method to be slow and take too much of his energy. He finally found if he used a sidestroke while pulling the raft behind him he made the best time.
Thankfully, the waves were not very big so often they would help push him along, however, they did hinder him occasionally. A couple of times, a large wave crashed down on him, scattering him and his gear. He did have enough forethought, though, and had tied himself and everything together with the rope he had used to lower his pack down.
After what seemed like hours, he finally made it to shore. He flopped down on the sandy beach and caught his breath. He fumbled with his pack and found the canteens of water that Finnely had stored for him. The water was like nectar but he was careful not to drink too much.
When he had recovered enough to walk again, he left his pack but took his bow, quiver, and sword belt. He strung the bow, nocked an arrow, and set off to explore his temporary home starting with the hut.
As he approached, he saw it was a crude, sheltered enclosure and not so much a traditional hut. There was a narrow entrance that looked to have once had a door once. Kai could see stacks of chopped wood piled behind the walls which were made of cut logs set upright and held together by some means unknown to Kai without closer inspection.
It looks livable, he thought to himself. At least there is lots of fuel for a signal fire.
Kai raised his bow and carefully went through the entrance way. The area inside the enclosure was wide and comfortable. It was completely covered by a roof made of woven branches except for the area above the cooking pit in the middle. There were a few low stumps Kai guessed were used for chairs and a low table made by building up dirt and putting a piece of flat wood on top. The table held a few simple and useful tools but the ones that really stood out were a hatchet and a wood saw. There was a sleeping area next to the fire made up of mats woven from a material unknown to Kai.
Dragon Flight: Sisera's Gift 3 (Dragonblood Sagas Book 5) Page 6
